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 Eyeing China opportunities, multinational giants seek closer supply chain collaboration with Chinese partners Xinhua) 07:59, July 17, 2025 BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- As the third China International Supply Chain Expo opened Wednesday in Beijing, multinational companies are looking to strengthen supply chain collaborations in a move that will inject more certainty into the world economy. The five-day event has attracted 651 companies and institutions from 75 countries and regions. Overseas exhibitors account for 35 percent, a three-percentage-point increase from last year. Among the first-time multinational participants are major players such as Nvidia, Schneider Electric, L'Oreal, Louis Dreyfus and Medtronic. A staff member (L) introduces an orthopedic surgical robot at the Healthy Life Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) The growth in global participation highlights mounting confidence in the Chinese market and supply chain. The participating companies see China as both a stabilizing force and an innovation driver in the global supply chain. "The expo is an important gathering for innovation and collaboration, helping to strengthen the sustainable development of global manufacturing and international supply chains," said Mohamed Kande, global chairman of PwC. CLOSER COLLABORATION The expo comes on the heels of China's announcement of a 5.3 percent economic growth for the first half of the year despite rising challenges and external uncertainties. China's steady economic growth, coupled with its robust supply chain and commitment to further opening up, positions it as a key partner for multinational companies. Jensen Huang, CEO of U.S. tech giant Nvidia, on Tuesday praised China's rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) during his visit to Beijing, describing the Chinese market as both "large" and "dynamic." A robot lion performs at the Digital Technology Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin) While speaking at the opening ceremony of the expo on Wednesday, Huang lauded China's supply chain as a "miracle." China's open-source AI is a catalyst for global progress, giving every country and industry a chance to join the AI revolution, he said. "China is a very important country where the development of AI will continue to be very fast and we hope to be part of that," Huang told reporters on Wednesday, adding that there's so much opportunity and confidence in the Chinese market. Huang confirmed on Tuesday that Nvidia's H20 chips will soon be available in the Chinese market again, following the U.S. government's approval of the company's filing licenses for shipping H20s to China. The expo has become a key venue for global firms to forge and expand supply chain collaborations. People visit the Healthy Life Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) The expo serves as a platform for expanding McDonald's supply chain partnerships, Xu Jansen, head of Impact Strategy at M (China) Co., Ltd. The fast food chain attended the expo for a second straight year, teaming up with 11 suppliers this year. Xu emphasized the importance of the Chinese market, noting that half of the new McDonald's stores opening each year globally are located here. The company has built a network of local suppliers and also helped many of them ship products overseas. China serves as a stabilizer to the global supply chain and global economic growth, Xu said in an interview. For French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, the expo is also an opportunity to showcase its ecosystem and build collaborations. "Here, we explore innovative collaborations with our global partners, from R&D to production and patient accessibility enhancement, and share the latest results of localized practices," said Wayne Shi, president of Sanofi Greater China. Sanofi will continue to support the Healthy China initiative with innovative drugs and vaccines, Shi said. RESILIENCE Business executives and experts assert that, given the current global economic climate, no single country can fulfill every role in industrial and supply chains. It is essential for countries to work together to achieve win-win results. Robotic hands are pictured at the Advanced Manufacturing Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) Global firms view China as a pivotal destination for enhancing and diversifying their supply chains, owing to the country's vast manufacturing capacity, robust industrial ecosystem, and improving business environment. Xiao Song, chairman, president and CEO of Siemens China, said that at a time when the global industrial landscape is undergoing rapid restructuring, the expo is becoming an important platform to promote the deep integration of all sections of the industrial chain. Siemens aims to help Chinese firms upgrade with digital and low-carbon technologies, helping build a green competitive edge globally as well as a more resilient and sustainable global industrial and supply chains, Xiao said. As the world's first national-level exhibition focusing on supply chains, the expo is an internationally shared public product. First held in 2023, the expo has contributed to building more secure, stable, open and inclusive global industrial and supply chains. With over 70 special events and new alliances for exhibitors in each of the six supply chains showcased at the expo, the expo helps enterprises find partners, application scenarios and solutions, according to Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the event's organizer. Visitors learn about a vehicle at the booth of AITO at the Smart Vehicle Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Fu Tian) Ren called on global business leaders to work together to uphold the multilateral trade system with the World Trade Organization at its core. Xu Jiabin, a professor at the Business School of Renmin University of China, said that as a manufacturing and trading powerhouse, China has made significant contributions to the stability and resilience of the global supply chain. "The expo will help mitigate the negative effects of trade barriers and safeguard the global international economic and trade order," Xu said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Third annual Smart Spaces spotlights standout innovations in multifamily proptech and highlights $8.5 billion market for smart home and security solutions DALLAS, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- International research firm Parks Associates today announced the current nominees for the 2025 Property Innovation Awards, which recognizes properties and teams leading in proptech innovation. Winners will be awarded at Smart Spaces, September 16-17 at the HALL Arts Hotel in Dallas, Texas. Parks Associates has extended the deadline to submit to the 2025 Property Innovation Awards to July 25, 2025. Winners will be notified on August 6. Smart Spaces Property Innovation Awards Smart Spaces Logo The third annual Smart Spaces: Apartments, Hospitality, and Community Living is sponsored by ADT Multifamily, Cox Communities, Nice, Vantiva, SmartRent, Kwikset, ROCiQ, SkyBell, Rently, Calix, Cambium Networks, Eleven Software, Groove Technology Solutions, Johnson Controls, Nomadix, Dormakaba, and Zentra Access. Smart Spaces provides a platform for industry professionals to engage in discussions, hear trending industry and consumer data, network, and collaborate with peers. Throughout the conference, Parks Associates will present new research on how technology is reshaping real estate investment, asset management, and the tenant experience. "Smart home and smart security packages represent an approximately $8.5 billion market opportunity in the multifamily market alone," said Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein, Vice President of Marketing, Parks Associates. "Parks Associates estimates the US smart MDU market had 35.4 million apartment and condo residential units at of the end of 2024." Current nominees for the 2025 Property Innovation Awards: 555 Ross Avenue Abberly Market Point Aimco The Albright Alto Highland Park The Ashford AvalonBay Communities AV Union The Bowen BRT Apartments Corp Cortland Cold Spring Apartments Elme Communities Glenn Scripps Ranch Greystar The Kendrick Lincoln Property Company The Lindley The Met Mid-America Apartment Communities Modera San Diego (Mesa Village) Modera Trailhead The Nash The Peachtree Residences Presidium Tech Ridge Regius Square The Rey Sol Stony Creek Studios 435 UDR Villas on 24th Industry executives and insiders can nominate a standout property or organization that has deployed proptech to improve operations, enhance resident or guest experience, drive sustainability, or deliver meaningful ROI. The deadline to nominate an innovative property has been extended to July 25. Registration for Smart Spaces is open. To schedule an interview with an analyst or to request specific data, please contact Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein, [email protected], 972-490-1113. About Smart Spaces Smart Spaces, hosted by international research firm Parks Associates, brings together property owners, building managers, and technology leaders to discuss the innovations in the multidwelling and hospitality environments. Building on a high-performing broadband backbone, MDU property managers can leverage connected devices and smart platforms that integrate connected solutions to streamline property management tasks and lower operating costs, attract and retain residents, and increase rental revenues. The event features consumer research, informative sessions, and networking opportunities for building executives, service providers, and hardware, middleware, and software providers enabling the next generation of solutions for the consumer, MDU, and public spaces. Follow Parks Associates on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. Media Contact: Mindi Sue Sternblitz-Rubenstein Parks Associates 972.490.1113 [email protected] SOURCE Parks Associates 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 THE Trade and Investment Convention (TIC) is expected to generate US$100 million in confirmed sales this year, signalling renewed momentum in regional and international deal-making, according to Trinidad and Tobago Manufacturers Association (TTMA) president Dale Parson. And that might be a little bit modest, judging from the number of booths and the amount of activity and interest on the floor, Parson told the Sunday Express Business while speaking from the trade floor at the Centre of Excellence, Macoya. CHAIRMAN Emeritus of the Trinidad and Tobago Cancer Society George Laquis has called on stakeholders to focus on the well-being of the nations children, whether through healthier lifestyles, education or security. Laquis expressed concern for many of the countrys young people, and yesterday said everything must be done to ensure their future. WASHINGTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) applauded the introduction of S. 2335, the Patients Deserve Price Tags Act, to codify federal hospital and insurer price transparency rules. The bill was introduced by Senator Roger Marshall (R-KS), a member of the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Senator John Hickenlooper (D-CO), HELP Committee Ranking Member. "We applaud Senators Roger Marshall and John Hickenlooper for their strong, bipartisan leadership on the 'Patients Deserve Price Tags Act,'" said PRA Founder and Chairman Cynthia A. Fisher. "With actual, upfront, and accountable prices, patients will be able to shop for the best care with protection from rampant overcharges hiding in the shadows," "We urge all senators to support this bill and pass it without delay to protect America's patients." Price transparency is supported by 96% of Americans, who agree they "deserve to know the price of their healthcare before they receive it." Additionally, 9 out of 10 Americans view upfront prices as a matter of fairness. "Healthcare is the only industry where consumers are expected to make binding financial commitments without knowing how much they will owe," said Hoover, Alabama patient Kerry Schrader. "Last year, I diligently sought an upfront price for a biopsy, but without any answers, moved forward with the simple but necessary outpatient procedure. It resulted in a bill of over $28,000 for a procedure performed in my doctor's office while I was fully awake and did not even require an IV or monitors. Though I have insurance, which did reduce the amount owed, my remaining medical debt was sent to collections, forever changing the way I approach care. I have canceled a colonoscopy because I cannot get a firm price. The 'Patients Deserve Price Tags Act' will help Americans like me have financial certainty and hold hospitals accountable." Summary of Key Bill Provisions: Unprecedented transparency requirements for all health plan middlemen who add unnecessary costs to health care. Employer and union group health plan's Third Party Administrators (TPA) would be required to provide detailed information to the plan on claims and financial transactions of their subsidiaries and subcontractors, such Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs). Strengthens and codifies existing hospital price transparency rules to require dollars-and-cents prices, not estimates, expands them to other care settings, and imposes greater penalties for noncompliance. Codifies and strengthen existing Transparency in Coverage (TiC) provisions, including a requirement that a plan executive attest that all prices are "accurate and complete." Requires a detailed explanation of benefits by all commercial healthcare plans, as well as itemized bills by providers so patients no longer have to sign a blank check. About PatientRightsAdvocate.org: PatientRightsAdvocate.org (PRA) is a leading national healthcare price transparency organization dedicated to ushering in systemwide transparency through advocacy, testimony, media, legal research, and grassroots campaigns. PRA believes that the availability and visibility of actual, upfront healthcare prices will greatly lower costs for patients and employers through a functional, competitive healthcare marketplace. SOURCE Patient Rights Advocate WE have clearly reached the tipping point in this socially decaying society that I have warned about for the last ten years in my Express columns, unheeded by the Rowley administrations. Our present plight is lucidly reflected in the words of the Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar who after having the present state of emergency (SoE) declared by the President, spoke with resolve. During the primary campaign Adelita Grijalva fought against being labeled the establishment candidate. But the old-school grassroots political machine her father built across Southern Arizona over decades before his death earlier this year carried her to an easy primary victory over her closest rival Deja Foxx, a Gen-Zer who used her social media savvy to make a run for the seat held for years by the late Raul Grijalva, who died in March. It was not about social media likes. It was about knocking on doors, face-to-face with community members, having real conversations about whats important ... I stand on the shoulders of giants, and I am so thankful that my dad taught us all that this is how you do this work, Grijalva, who left her seat on the Pima County Board of Supervisors to run for Congress, said at South Tucsons El Casino Ballroom, the same venue where a few months ago the Grijalva family hosted hundreds of supporters for a celebration of life following her fathers funeral. This is how you get this done. And if you look at the results, thats what that says, Grijalva said. Ive never run a race where Im just like in mourning. So its been an adjustment . . . Its been very humbling. So many people have been so supportive, Grijalva said. After her victory was clear, Grijalva shared a lesson from her dad with her supporters. You know, my dad said you have to hit the ground running, and you can cry later. So thats what were going to do now, she said. Were going to cry later, and I want to cry after I win, as my mom reminded me. So that would be September 23. Grijalva will face Daniel Butierez, a painting company owner who cruised to victory in the three-way GOP primary by collecting about 60 percent of the vote, in a Sept. 23 special election for heavily-Democratic district. Results arent what we hoped for Foxx, a 25-year-old social media influencer, digital strategist and reproductive rights advocate, burst onto Tucsons political scene this spring, using her social media skills to quickly make a charge at Grijalva, who became the one to beat the moment she decide to seek her fathers seat. During the primary campaign, Foxx collected about 21% of the Democratic vote. She had more votes than former state lawmaker Daniel Hernandez (14%); retired health care executive Patrick Harris Sr. (1.5%); and activist and scholar Jose Malvido Jr. (1%). Grijalva led Foxx, by about 40 percentage points when The Associated Press declared her the winner. Foxx declined to talk to reporters Tuesday night at a gathering of nearly 100 supporters at midtowns Zerais International Bar. Foxx did not respond to the Arizona Daily Star Wednesday. And Foxx initially tried to deliver a concession speech via Zoom even though she was in another part of the property for the nights gathering. On Wednesday, Foxx posted a statement on social media. While results arent what we hoped for I couldnt be prouder of what we built together, she wrote online. For so many, this was your first time getting involved in politicsand let me tell you: you made a difference. You made calls, knocked doors, donated what you could. You believed in something bigger than yourself, you believed change was possible. That hope will carry on far past this election. She went on to offer her support to Grijalva, as did Hernandez. Before the result was known, supporter Kyle Brantley, a fellow with the Institute for Common Power, told the Star he flew into Arizona to help the Foxx campaign. I flew all the way from South Carolina here to knock on doors with Deja. In fact, me and a couple of my other colleagues flew all across the country to come here to knock on doors for Deja, to get out the vote to turn a new page on the old everlasting legacy of how one type of party, and we get a new page of a new progressive, Brantley said. I support Deja because she brings a new breath of life into this party, to the Democratic Party, and she has proven time and time again that shes a fighter, that shes willing to fight for the things that we and that all of us as a community see as a basic human right, said Brantley, one of dozens of people at Foxxs results party. Grijalva to continue progressive stance Grijalva dominated the Democratic primary field with progressive stances on several issues her late father focused on during his long political career. She said standing up for immigrant rights, protecting access to Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security and addressing cost-of-living issues are among her top priorities. This is a victory not for me, but for our community and the progressive movement my dad started in Southern Arizona more than 50 years ago, Grijalva said in a statement. Grijalva racked up a lengthy list of heavyweight endorsements including Democratic U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and several state and local officials, the Associated Press noted. In a district that is 60 percent Hispanic, it is critical that voters see themselves in their representatives, and Adelita is the fighter they need in Congress, said Rep. Linda Sanchez, chair of BOLD PAC, the Hispanic Caucus campaign organization. She also raised a significant amount of money in the primary, about $911,000 since announcing her candidacy, according to her latest filing. That includes over $172,500 from PACs such as the Moms Fed Up PAC and the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union Active Ballot Club, each contributing a total of $10,000 to the campaign. An Arizona Daily Star analysis of Grijalvas contributions showed that of the campaigns itemized donations, 63.5% came from donors in Arizona, 11% came from Washington D.C., and 6% from Maryland. Itemized donations made up about 55% of Grijalvas $682,927.22 in individual donations, as previously reported. If Grijalva wins the general election, she would be the first Latina to represent Arizona in Congress. Eddie Barron, who volunteered for Grijalva, said the energy and emotions swirling around her Tuesday night watch party that included music and a dance floor crowded with mostly younger supporters was fueled by community. We were told that young people were not going to show up in this race, but we are seeing the numbers, and we are seeing that people who are who are rooted here, candidates who are rooted here, can win with a youth led coalition, Barron said. We were out every weekend, canvassing. We called. We were making phone calls until the polls closed. And theres so much excitement for whats happening right now, and this community should feel very proud of the person they just elected. Jenalyn Lazana, a National Guard veteran, said she is supporting Grijalva because she sees hope and inspiration, and leadership and courage in her. Foxxs social media deluge brought attention to this race on a national level. But the attempt to try to make this race a reflection of what happened in New York and Zohran Mamdanis primary win by national outlets is a complete misrepresentation of Tuesday nights result, Grijalva said. Thats not what that was, Im not a Cuomo, and this was not that race ... what we really focused on was getting our issues out to the voters, and reminding people who I am, and introducing myself to the counties that are unfamiliar with me. And what I talked about resonated in what representative they wanted in Congress, Grijalva said. They say, well 99% of your policies are the same. Well, respectfully, one of the candidates didnt have any policies on her website until about a week and a half ago, she said. What I tried to do when we were talking is like, this is what I would work on in Congress because this is how it would affect you. Thats exactly what Mamdani did. It was about reaching out to people to talk about policy in a different way. And I thought that was incredibly creative. With just over two months to go before the general election, Grijalva said her campaign will focus on what the Big Beautiful Bill, and the massive influx in ICE funding, will mean for local communities. I think that going specifically to very community to say, this is how its going to affect San Luis and Somerton, and this is why we need vocal opponents to this. This is why we need you to reach out to your senators and members of Congress . . . I just think that we need to really mobilize people in understanding what is actually happening, she said. A lot of it (will be) really trying to educate people on this and let them know ... (and) encourage a discussion about what this means. Specific situations that happen, like ICE raids in Nogales and those things. I think thats the kind of hitting that our community are really going to be hit with, especially with ICE having a budget thats 20 times what it was last year, she said. Butierez claims cross-party appeal The general election will be a sort of rematch for Butierez, who lost handily to Raul Grijalva in Novembers general election. Butierez collected nearly 61% of the vote in the easily three-candidate Republican primary. Dozens of people attended Butierezs watch party at a restaurant on Tucsons south side. After getting through security, supporters found Delicias Mexican Grill draped in red, white and blue decorations. There was plenty of food and three cakes with Hope, Unity and Community inscribed on them. Butierez, sporting a beige suit and cowboy hat, was confident well before the results started to roll in. He cited his cross-party appeal. Theres a whole lot of Democrats that align with Republicans and a whole lot of Republicans that align with Democrats, he said. Theres little differences that separate people. Butierez says his primary issues are fight alongside Trump to finally secure our border, find ways to slash taxes, boost support for struggling veterans, Take back our streets from criminals and gangs and Crush the fentanyl crisis destroying our families. When I walked out of prison, it felt like I had walked into a bigger prison. What they did in prison was divide us by race, by religion, said Butierez, who served nearly 13 years in prison on drug charges, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections. So when I walked out of prison, I saw our government was doing the same thing to the people out here in the community that the prisons were doing to the inmates in prison . . . So I realized we got to bring everybody together, or were never going to get anything done. Butierez told the Star ahead of results Tuesday night that Grijalva should win the Democratic primary because she, like himself, is a home-grown Tucsonan. It should be the hometown boy against the hometown girl, he said. Deja, shes not hispanic. Shes caucasian and Filipino. Shes got no hispanic in her, and were 60% Hispanic, so thats going to hurt her . . . but other than that shes got a high IQ. Eric Neilson, attending the watch party, said that he was supporting Butierez because his story is different than most political candidates. If he wins, itll be better for the community and his constituents will get better service in Congress, Neilson said. Grijalva occupied that seat for 22 years. Dont know the guy, but, you know, he passed away, God bless his soul. But I know Democrats that didnt like him. He just took care of his family, plus, he was voted the most left-wing progressive politician in all of Congress a few times. So we dont need that as a community. Were all Americans. Butierez beat Jimmy Rodriguez, an off-road vehicle businessman who collected about 25% of the vote, and Jorge Rivas, a restaurant owner, who received 14% of the vote. By the beginning of July, Butierez raised nearly $180,000 since his campaign formed in March. But about three-quarters of that, $136,470, was loaned to the campaign by Butierez himself, according to a July 2 filing. The results of Tuesdays primary will remain unofficial until they are certified on July 31 by the Arizona Secretary of States office. Democrats have a nearly 2-1 ratio registration advantage over Republicans in the 7th District, which reaches into six Arizona counties. Still, Butierez believes he can win Democratic voters as a candidate with cross-party appeal. Im running for everybody. As you saw on (Proposition 414), Democrats came over with the Republicans. We voted together, he said during the Republican debate in June, and I believe thats what is going to happen this time. Im running to represent everybody. The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer: What was the possibility of a small nuclear weapon being supplied by Iran and used against a US Naval ship? The nuclear threat to the US, UK naval ships and global commercial vessels is very real and possible. Since Jan 2024, Houthis (Yemen) have attacked US Navy ships 174 times with missiles and underwater drones, against commercial ships 145 times. The missiles were being provided by Iran and fired at US Navy ships. This is a very real threat, which could result in sailors getting hurt or killed. US Navy/Marines have been attacked by Iran and its proxies Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi and other groups throughout the world. Shah of Iran. In 1953, the US CIA was involved in the overthrowing of the Iranian democratic government with a Prime Minister (declassified documents). The CIA was actively involved with installing the Shah of Iran. This created bad conditions (this was an attempt to control Iranian oil) resulting in his overthrow. In 1979. Iran/Hamas Hostages. In 1979, during the overthrow, Iran took 66 Americans hostage, lasting 444 days. On Oct 7, 2023, Hamas took 251 hostages, including 12 Americans (who have since been released). Iran has been funding and supplying weapons to Hamas, Hezbollah, Houthi (Yemen) and others in cooperation with Russia, North Korea and China. They have been providing funds/ weapons/support to terrorist groups in many countries. US Embassy Lebanon 1983. A suicide van bomb exploded in front of the US Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing 17 Americans and others. This terrorist attack was done by Lebanese terrorists at the direction of Iran. US Marine Corps Barracks 1983. In 1983, the US Marine Corps Barracks at the Beirut International Airport, Lebanon, was bombed, killing 241 Marines and other soldiers who were participating in the Multinational Peacekeeping Force. This attack was done using a truck bomb driven underneath the building. This terrorist attack was committed by Lebanese terrorists at the direction of Iran. USS Cole 2000. US Navy was using Yemen as a refueling/supply area. USS Cole was attacked with a small boat, killing 17 sailors. The attack was in Yemen from Al Queda. Biden (twice) and Trump (March 14, 2025) authorized self-defense strikes against the Houthi (Yemen). Both the US and UK naval forces conducted strikes against the missile sites and other weapons (supplied by Iran) in Yemen. US Navy ships were intercepting Iranian ships filled with weapons for Yemen (these confiscated weapons were sent to Ukraine). Trump was able to gain a ceasefire with the Houthis with the understanding, If you shoot at us, we will shoot back. Iran states it will discuss nuclear issues with one condition no more attacks. A condition for Iran should be dismantle their terrorist network, quit shooting (including proxies) at everyone (especially the ships), and there will be no more problems. Since the Houthi cease-fire, two commercial ships (Liberia and Greece) have been attacked and sank by the Houthis. Israel conducted a three-day bombing on the new Iran missile factory, underwater drones and fast boats in Yemen. Some believe the only real threat is when it is directed towards mainland America, US Navy commercial (The Shield). To get to you, they will have to get through us. The US Navy/Marines believe in protecting America. They are the shield. A US Admiral and US Air Force General told Congress (June 25) there will be problems with the Houthis for some time. The possible nuclear threat to US Navy Ships/commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz (near Yemen) is very real. JD Vance stated, America will protect its citizens, including military/ US Navy sailors. The United States has the right to defend its citizens globally, including military/ US Navy sailors, from those shooting at them and those who are supplying the weapons. Call the Midwife filming in Hong Kong 2025 Christmas Special is set in both Poplar and Hong Kong. Filming is now under way for Call the Midwifes festive episode, which will be set in two countries. Earlier this year it was revealed that the 2025 Call the Midwife Christmas Special would be set in both Poplar and Hong Kong and so last week, members of our team quietly jetted off to film the far eastern elements of the festive story! the show announced on Instagram. What better way to mark the beginning of an exotic filming adventure than with a traditional clapperboard shot! Our team report that the weather is rather hot and humid, but morale is very high, and the work rather exciting. Over the next days well be bringing you news and updates on the progress of our cast in Hong Kong, so do keep a look out! xxx Call the Midwife returns with a new Christmas Special and Series 15 in 2026 xx Call the Midwife premieres in Australia on BritBox, with a later screening via ABC. Four Corners: July 21 Louise Milligan talks to senior surgeons and hospital insiders speaking out on a star neurosurgeon. Mondays Four Corners story God Complex reported by Louise Milligan and produced by Mayeta Clark hears from senior surgeons and hospital insiders speaking out about a star neurosurgeon. For years, a star neurosurgeon operated inside Australias hospital system despite repeated allegations of sexist and inappropriate behaviour, and a string of legal claims by devastated patients. This is the hidden story of the toxic culture that enabled him. In this Four Corners investigation, reporter Louise Milligan talks to senior surgeons and hospital insiders who are speaking out for the first time. Through powerful testimonies, internal documents, and newly surfaced footage, God Complex reveals a culture of protection, silence and complicity in Australias most elite medical circles, and the human cost of letting power go unchecked. Monday July 21 at 8.30pm on ABC Nearly 200 Workers Secure Strong Representation, Voice on Job with Local 337 WASHINGTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Workers at Pollard Banknote have voted overwhelmingly to join Teamsters Local 337. The group of workers including press operators, machine technicians and assistants, and folder operators and assistants produce lottery tickets that are used by several states and countries. "Before this campaign, it seemed like the enthusiasm in our plant was hanging on by a thread. But joining the Teamsters lit a fire under us, and it's been a breath of fresh air," said Jeremy Helton, a 10-year maintenance technician and proud new member of Local 337. "Being a Teamster means the world to my co-workers and me. We run this shop 24/7, and now we can work together to make sure we're compensated fairly for it." Pollard Banknote workers joined the Teamsters to secure strong union representation that will help them ratify a contract guaranteeing them higher pay, better benefits, and improved work conditions. "Local 337 and I are thrilled to welcome 180 new brothers and sisters of Pollard Banknote into our union," said Todd Lince, President of Local 337. "Our organizers and organizing committee were indispensable throughout this campaign from day one until we declared victory. Now we're ready to keep the momentum growing." "Workers at Pollard Banknote know that workers in their industry get more as Teamsters," said Rocco Calo, Director of the Teamsters Industrial Trades Division. "We look forward to continuing to grow Teamsters density and organize more graphic communications, printing, and packaging workers and getting them the strong union protections they deserve." Founded in 1903, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters represents 1.3 million hardworking people in the U.S., Canada, and Puerto Rico. Visit Teamster.org for more information. Follow us on X @Teamsters and on Facebook at Facebook.com/teamsters. Contact: Maura Drumm, (215) 510-3735 [email protected] SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters Samah Qundeel, TwoCircles.net New Delhi: We once believed that technology would bring people closer. But somewhere along the way, it did the opposite. Today, it is not rare to see someone glued to their screen, preferring virtual interaction over real conversations. The very tools designed to connect us have, in many ways, deepened the loneliness around us, and it shows no signs of going away. Support TwoCircles In this growing silence, something unheard of is happening. More and more people are turning to AI chatbots for emotional comfort, seeking warmth in what many describe as their nonjudgmental and always available nature. This shift is especially visible among young adults, many of whom hesitate to seek professional help for mental health. Some avoid it due to stigma, some do not have access to resources and others simply do not know where to begin. For many, it is easier to open a laptop and start typing into a chatbot than to walk into a therapists office. Apps like OpenAIs ChatGPT, Googles Gemini and Apples Siri are gradually becoming silent companions. They are not therapy bots by design, feel those who find solace in these apps, they offer a sense of relief to people who are disconnected or unheard. They are different from AI tools built specifically for mental health support and often operate under separate guidelines. A 2023 study published by the NIH National Library of Medicine stated, Chatbots have great potential to offer social and psychological support in situations where real-world human interaction is not preferred or possible to achieve. However, there are several restrictions and limitations that these chatbots must establish according to the level of service they offer. The study also warned about the flip side. It cautions depending too heavily on chatbots can lead to increased isolation and a lack of proper human help during moments of crisis. When AI Becomes a Listener For 25-year-old Vaishali Bhat, a digital content creator, ChatGPT has become a tool for self-reflection. I rely on chatbots such as ChatGPT due to the lack of emotional support in my life. Sometimes, I just prompt mentioning my situation and seek assurance and a kind of validation about my reaction, she said. Since moving to a new city for work in 2024, she often finds herself feeling cut off. She admits, though, that the chatbots responses do not necessarily make her feel better emotionally. It offers insights, but not healing. For others like 27-year-old veterinarian Dr. Tabinda Wani, chatbots are a way to avoid judgment. I often share my feelings with the chatbot and it gives me some tips on managing my emotions. That helps me feel a bit lighter and better, she said. Then there is 22-year-old BA student Summaya Arshad, who turns to Gemini during moments when she feels overwhelmed. I do not want to burden anyone with my thoughts, but I still need to let them out, she said. For her, the value lies not in the solution, but in the space to breathe. Sometimes, I just ask it to tell me something positive because I need to hear it, even if it is coming from a machine. It gives the comfort of being heard, she explained. Their stories reflect what researchers at npj Mental Health Research uncovered in 2024. Many users described AI conversations as an emotional sanctuary, a space free of judgment, where one could speak without fear. But the study also pointed out that automated safety protocols sometimes interrupted these sensitive conversations, making users feel even more vulnerable when they were shut down abruptly. Another study by PLOS Mental Health compared ChatGPT to professional therapists in similar scenarios. The AI lagged behind human therapists by just 5%. In fact, ChatGPTs responses were more often rated as empathetic, culturally sensitive and emotionally connecting. A More Sensitive Chatbot? In February 2025, OpenAI updated ChatGPTs guidelines to handle sensitive subjects, including self-harm and mental health crises, with greater care. The updates aimed to make the chatbot more empathetic and nuanced during sensitive exchanges. These changes have improved how the model responds in emotional situations, but there is still unease among mental health experts. The unpredictability of AI-generated responses continues to raise concerns. MBBS student Rida Fatima, 24, shared her experience of using ChatGPT during an anxious spell. I just wanted to talk to someone because I was feeling really anxious. My roommate talks to ChatGPT a lot, so I thought I would give it a try, she said. The responses it gave me really helped. It calmed me down. I felt like I can talk to it whenever I feel lonely or anxious or depressed without feeling like a burden, she said. AI Cant Replace Traditional Therapy Even as more people warm up to AI companions, mental health professionals are urging caution. Dr. James Collett, a psychologist at Melbourne-based RMIT University, told Herald Sun that while AI can support reflection, it simply cannot replace the human connection that is essential in therapy. He stressed that AI lacks the ability to challenge people in ways that lead to meaningful growth. The Wall Street Journal reported that mental health support through AI is growing and that new developments are trying to make chatbots more emotionally aware. Hybrid models, which combine AI tools with human therapists, are emerging. For example, some schools are using AI tools whose responses are reviewed by psychologists, ensuring that serious cases receive the human attention they require. Experts strongly argue that AI can assist, but it cannot replace therapy. The human aspects of care, which are empathy, presence and emotional intuition, remain irreplaceable. Syed Tahir Rufai, a counselling psychologist, believes people turn to chatbots because they are easy to access. The taboo around traditional therapy, especially in South Asian countries, also makes them lean towards chatbots, he said. But he warns that AI does not have the full picture. I do not think AI chatbots can be a replacement for traditional therapy or even for real human connection because it will always lack that human touch. AI cannot tailor therapy according to the human experience keeping body language, empathy and expressions in mind, he said. Even as experts raise red flags, the demand for AI emotional support is growing, especially for those who hesitate to step into a therapists office. Unlike humans, AI does not judge, does not get tired and does not abandon. It is not the same as a real person, Summaya said. That belief might bring comfort to some, but it also reveals something deeper. In a world where we seek comfort in machines, we risk forgetting how to find it in each other. These chatbots do not challenge our behaviour or push us to grow. They mirror our feelings back at us. They do not tell us when we are wrong. Over time, this echo chamber could become dangerous. The world has already shrunk to the size of a screen. And if we do not look up soon, we might find ourselves hurtling toward a future where technology does not only mediate human connection, it replaces it. Faster than we can say dystopia. Caana, the central architectural complex at Caracol, Belize, uncovered by Diane and Arlen Chase in the 1980s Archaeologists from the University of Houston working at Caracol in Belize, Central America have uncovered the tomb of Te Kab Chaak, the first ruler of this ancient Maya city and the founder of its royal dynasty. Now in ruins, this metropolis was a major political player in Maya history, dominating the southern part of the Yucatan Peninsula from 560 through 680 AD before its abandonment by 900 AD. The discovery is the first identifiable rulers tomb found in over four decades of work in Caracol, the largest Maya archaeological site in Belize and in the Maya lowlands. Te Kab Chaak, who acceded to the throne in 331 AD, was interred at the base of a royal family shrine with eleven pottery vessels, carved bone tubes, jadeite jewelry, a mosaic jadeite mask, Pacific spondylus shells, and other perishable materials. Pottery vessels in the chamber included a scene of a Maya ruler holding a spear and receiving offerings from supplicants in the form of deities. Another vessel portrays the image of Ek Chuah, Maya god of traders, surrounded by offerings. Four of the pottery vessels portray bound captives (similar vessels also appeared in two related burials). Two vessels supported lids with modeled handles of coatimundi (pisote) heads. The coatimundi, or tzuutz in Maya, was used by subsequent Caracol rulers as part of their names. Archaeologist Diane Chase in the recently excavated tomb Maya pottery basal flange bowl with a coatimundi head Four jadeite tubular beads showing live and dead spider monkeys Archaeologists Arlen and Diane Chase will soon celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. A team led by husband and wife collaborators Arlen F. Chase and Diane Z. Chase of the University of Houston has been excavating at Caracol for more than 40 years; this field season was carried out in concert with Belizes Institute of Archaeology and was supported by the Alphawood Foundation, the University of Houston, the Geraldine and Emory Ford Foundation, and the KHR Family Fund. The Chases estimate that at the time of his burial the ruler was of advanced age and approximately 57 in height. He had no remaining teeth. Their investigations at Caracols Northeast Acropolis show that Te Kab Chaaks tomb was the first of three major burials dating to about 350 AD, a time of early contact with the central Mexican city of Teotihuacan, some 1200 kilometers distant. By 300 AD, Teotihuacan was a huge city that traded throughout Central America. One question that has perplexed Maya archaeologists since the 1960s is whether a new political order was introduced to the Maya area by Mexicans from Teotihuacan, said Diane Z. Chase, archaeologist and senior vice president for academic affairs and Provost at the University of Houston. Maya carved stone monuments, hieroglyphic dates, iconography, and archaeological data all suggest that widespread pan-Mesoamerican connections occurred after an event in 378 AD referred to as entrada, said Diane Chase. Whether this event represented actual Teotihuacanos in the Maya area or Maya using central Mexican symbols is still debated. The Caracol archaeological data suggests that the situation was far more complicated, she said. A cremation placed in the center of Caracols Northeast Acropolis plaza, recovered in 2010 and placed after Te Kaab Chaaks burial has been dated to AD 350 by radiocarbon analysis and included artifacts from central Mexico. It contained the remains of three individuals, as well as two large knives, six atlatl points, and fifteen pristine blades of green obsidian from Pachuca, Mexico (north of Teotihuacan); several pottery vessels also likely came from central Mexico. Additionally, a carved atlatl projectile tip, atypical for the Maya but typical for a Teotihuacan warrior, was included in the cremation. The cremation itself and its placement in the center of a residential plaza are also more typical practices for a high-status Teotihuacano and do not accord with standard Maya burial practices. Based on other ceramics in this cremation, the main individual was likely a Caracol royal family member that had adopted central Mexican ritual practices. This individual may even have served as a royal Maya envoy who had lived at Teotihuacan and returned to Caracol. A third burial the tomb of a woman, also covered with hematite and containing four pottery vessels, a spondylus bead necklace, mirror fragments, and two Pacific spondylus shells was recovered in the northern building of the same residential group in 2009 and is similarly dated. The three burials interred in the Caracol Northeast Acropolis all cluster at AD 350, at least a generation before the previously recognized Teotihuacan presence in the Maya area. They demonstrate that early Maya rulers were fully enmeshed in Mesoamerican-wide contacts prior to the Teotihuacan entrada recorded on Maya monument[s]. Both central Mexico and the Maya area were clearly aware of each others ritual practices, as reflected in the Caracol cremation, said Arlen F. Chase, professor and chair of Comparative Cultural Studies at the University of Houston. The connections between the two regions were undertaken by the highest levels of society, suggesting that initial kings at various Maya cities such as Te Kab Chaak at Caracol were engaged in formal diplomatic relationships with Teotihuacan, said Arlen Chase The royal dynasty established by Te Kab Chaak continued at Caracol for over 460 years. The Chases findings also indicate that ancient peoples in the new world were travelers. A trip between Teotihuacan and Caracol today by car would take over 23 hours. The one-way walking time may be estimated to be approximately 153 days. Research continues on the contents of the chamber with the reconstruction of the jadeite death mask and with ancient DNA and stable isotope analysis of the skeletal material. The Chases will present results of the 2025 Caracol field season at a conference on MayaTeotihuacan interaction hosted by the Maya Working Group at the Santa Fe Institute (New Mexico) in August 2025. About the Chases Married since 1975, Diane and Arlen Chase are two of the most influential Maya archaeologists in the world, and the foremost experts on Caracol, one of the most significant ancient Maya cities. Since their first dig in 1985, the Chases have become known for: Providing a nuanced picture of Caracols ancient landscape and people, including recognition of Caracol as a city of advanced urban planning, road systems and markets and a large non-elite population upending the notion of a strict Maya social hierarchy. In 1986 they discovered an inscription that told of Caracols military victory over Tikal in 562 AD, overturning the myth that Tikal was the most powerful Classic Period city and illustrating that Caracol was a major military and political power. Using airborne LiDAR (light detection and ranging) technology to uncover structures hidden for centuries under dense jungle, revolutionizing how archaeologists explore Maya sites. Their work from the 1980s-2000s revealed a web of interconnected roadways, proving that Caracol was a massive, urban and integrated city. Overturning outdated beliefs about the Maya, while providing new insights. Their archaeological work has shown that ancient Maya society was composed of many different social gradients, contrary to more simple two-class models. From the 1980s -2000, they and their team mapped numerous causeways (or roads) and thousands of agricultural terraces spread out across Caracol as well as hundreds of reservoirs in non-elite areas, proving that water, sacred to the Maya, was not controlled by the elite, as previously thought. The Chases son, Adrian Chase, also an archaeologist, found that Caracol had a decentralized water system and that residential groups had their own access. He is currently studying the urban structure of Caracol and changes in governance over time. The Chases will present detailed information on the tomb and other finds from Caracol at the Santa Fe Institute in August. See Feature Story HA NOI As the global economy continues to grapple with climate change, supply chain disruptions and evolving trade policies, the need for multilateral cooperation and publicprivate dialogue has become increasingly pressing. This was part of discussions at the third meeting of the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC III), held from July 15 to 18 in Hai Phong, which served as a crucial forum for intellectual exchange, vision sharing and the shaping of future-oriented initiatives for the AsiaPacific region. Speaking at the opening session, President Luong Cuong emphasised that ABAC is not only a bridge between the business community and APEC leaders, but also a birthplace of breakthrough ideas aimed at promoting economic recovery, innovation, and sustainable development. He welcomed ABACs selection of core discussion topics this year, including free trade, sustainable investment, digital transformation, artificial intelligence, green finance, and biotechnology innovation, all of which are strategic priorities in Viet Nams development roadmap towards 2030 and its 2045 vision. The president said that to realise these priorities, Viet Nam is advancing institutional reforms, improving its legal framework, and building a transparent, stable, and competitive investment and business environment. Cuong stressed that enterprises play a pioneering role in the countrys modernisation process. Viet Nam has introduced comprehensive support mechanisms for the business sector, especially small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), including access to finance, workforce training, digital transformation, technological innovation and deeper integration into global value chains. Competition is essential, but cooperation is what ensures that all economies win, the president said, calling on major corporations to actively support SMEs through training, technology transfer, and market cooperation. He argued that a sustainably developed APEC region cannot exist without close business links and that ABAC must play a central role in leading initiatives and connecting the private sector with governments. Outlining Viet Nams long-term goals, the president noted the countrys commitment to a future of inclusive development, with people at the centre, businesses as the driving force, and sustainability as the core objective. Concrete targets have been set, including the completion of 5,000 kilometres of expressways, the launch of the NorthSouth high-speed railway, the training of 50,000 semiconductor engineers, and the development of an innovation ecosystem focused on high technology, AI, green energy, and the circular economy. The ABAC III meeting in Hai Phong is one of four annual gatherings held to prepare policy recommendations for submission to APEC leaders at the 2025 APEC Economic Leaders Week in South Korea. This years event brings together around 200 domestic and international delegates, including leaders from major corporations, trade promotion agencies, and investment organisations from all 21 APEC member economies. Viet Nams role as host of the meeting not only affirms its proactive engagement in regional economic integration but also helps elevate the countrys international standing, promote its image, and attract high-quality investment in the long term. The country is also actively preparing to host APEC in 2027, reaffirming its commitment to working with ABAC in shaping a regional cooperation environment that places enterprises at the centre and sustainable development at its core. VNS HA NOI A legal loophole concerning the 'minimum required performance limit (MRPL)' of equipment used to detect banned antibiotics in seafood has led to a troubling paradox - many products that qualify for export to the EU cannot be sold within Viet Nam. The Vietnam Association of Seafood Exporters and Producers (VASEP) recently submitted a report to Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Thanh Tu, highlighting several regulatory inconsistencies that are placing a considerable burden on seafood enterprises. The issues are grouped into three main categories: conflicting or overlapping regulations; rules that impose high compliance costs and restrict innovation; and vague, impractical, or unreasonable provisions. One notable issue involves value-added tax (VAT) regulations for seafood by-products. According to VASEP, current guidance from local tax authorities allows unprocessed or only lightly processed scraps and by-products to be exempt from VAT declarations. However, a 10 per cent VAT rate is still applied to by-products from processed items, such as boiled shrimp heads, creating a clear inconsistency. This contradicts Circular 83/2014/TT-BTC, which classifies items like shrimp heads, shrimp shells, fish heads, and fish bones as unprocessed or minimally processed goods, regardless of their origin from raw or cooked products, and exempts them from VAT declaration during commercial transactions. This inconsistency has real operational consequences. Businesses must allocate extra manpower and resources to separate and invoice the same types of by-products based on their production source. As VASEP notes, this also leads to friction with clients who are unwilling to accept two different tax rates for what is essentially the same product. To resolve the issue, VASEP is calling on the Ministry of Finance to issue unified guidance. The association proposes that all seafood by-products, whether derived from raw or processed goods, be exempt from VAT declaration at the commercial stage, so long as they have not been processed into other products and have only undergone minimal preparation. Beyond tax concerns, VASEP also raises alarm over broader regulations that increase costs and restrict innovation. For example, Decree 37/2024/N-CP on wild-caught seafood sets minimum catch sizes for certain aquatic species in natural waters that do not align with international practices, creating difficulties for both fishers and businesses. Another rule prohibits mixing imported and domestic seafood in the same export shipmentyet fails to define this restriction clearly or justify it in the context of global norms. The most pressing issue, according to VASEP, is the legal vacuum surrounding MRPL thresholds in banned antibiotic testing. Without specific guidance, Vietnamese authorities reject seafood products that meet stringent EU standards, preventing their sale on the domestic market despite their safety and export eligibility. This regulatory gap is further compounded by the absence of clear rules on changing a products intended use. Currently, businesses lack direction on how to shift imported seafood from export-oriented processing to domestic consumption, or vice versa, leaving them stuck in legal limbo. VNS HA NOI The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) will deploy monitoring measures and tools to assess the compliance of commercial banks in implementing requirements related to risk management, especially compliance with Basel III international banking standards, an SBV official said at an event on Wednesday. At the seminar on strengthening banking risk management capacity held by the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA), Nguyen uc Long, Director of the SBVs Department of Banking System Safety, said: This is one of the SBVs important orientations to improve governance efficiency, ensuring the safety of the banking system in the context that many new challenges are arising. Bui Thi Mien, Deputy Director of Military Bank (MB)s Risk Management Department, told the event that the SBV has so far issued a system of documents guiding the implementation of Basel, such as Circular 41/2016/TT-NHNN regulating the capital adequacy ratio for banks and foreign bank branches and Circular 13/2018/TT-NHNN regulating the internal control system of commercial banks and foreign bank branches. MB highly appreciates the SBVs system of legal documents. These are important documents for implementing Basel III in Viet Nam, affirming the strong determination of the SBV to strengthen the risk management capacity of the banking system in line with international practices. According to Mien, credit institutions are having to collect information about small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) customers themselves to classify the SMEs according to legal regulations, which causes inconsistencies throughout the banking system. She said: The SBV should build a data repository for the SMEs to ensure consistent implementation throughout the entire banking system and optimise the resources of the system. The Loss Given Default (LGD) model is a difficult model, but the data at each credit institution is not yet complete. Therefore, she expects the SBV to build a shared data repository to ensure the calculation of all debt settlement costs and improve the quality of LGD models built by credit institutions. In addition, according to Mien, credit institutions are implementing the Internal Capital Adequacy Assessment Process (ICAAP), but only based on the macro scenario developed by each individual credit institution, resulting in an inability to see the impact on the entire banking system when macro factors change. Therefore, she recommends that the SBV issue standardised stress test scenarios (similar to those implemented annually by the US Federal Reserve) so that credit institutions can implement them consistently, thereby increasing the effectiveness of the SBV when using the stress test results of credit institutions to manage policies. Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Thinh, a senior expert on BASEL implementation at the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), said there are some challenges for the banking industry in its journey to improve risk management according to BASEL III. They are the challenges of increasing capital, managing data and technology systems, adjusting business models, and utilising quantitative models. "Credit institutions are under pressure to increase capital to meet the CAR requirement from 8 per cent to 10.5 per cent according to the SBVs new standard, while the global financial market is volatile and the ability to raise foreign capital is facing many difficulties," Thinh said. Thinh also said that there is a lack of high-quality quantitative data to implement the identification and reconciliation engine (IRE) method, as well as a lack of a robust and comprehensive IT system to meet the requirements of risk management. It is also necessary to promote the construction of banking industry databases and macroeconomic data to standardise the data so that banks can share and supplement guidance on loss data accounting. On the BASEL III implementation roadmap, Thinh recommends the SBV to classify banks by size to apply in stages, and encourage large banks to pioneer in testing. The BIDVs representative also expects competent authorities to promote training and knowledge transfer about BASEL III through coordination with international organisations, such as the IMF, WB, and ADB, to organise training courses and specialised workshops. On the sidelines of the event, the Risk Management Committee under the Vietnam Banks Association (VNBA) was launched. Speaking at the launching ceremony, Nguyen Quoc Hung, VNBAs Vice Chairman and General Secretary, said that, in addition to consulting the VNBA on risk management policies and strategies, the committee will also support banks in implementing international standards, enhancing governance capacity, and responding to new challenges in the increasingly volatile economic and financial context. This is a very meaningful event demonstrating the determination of the VNBA and credit institutions in preventing, early identifying, managing, stopping and promptly handling arising risks, to protect the interests of customers and contribute to ensuring the safety of the credit institution system, Hung said. BIZHUB/VNS HA NOI Viet Nam and Azerbaijan are working to enhance their economic ties through new initiatives aimed at developing their innovation ecosystems and fostering bilateral investment, especially in the digital economy. This was highlighted at the Viet Nam-Azerbaijan Business Forum 2025, held in Ha Noi on Wednesday as part of the Global National Entrepreneurship Forum, bringing together business leaders, investors, and officials to discuss strategies for sustainable growth amid digital transformation and globalisation. The event focused on strengthening bilateral cooperation in logistics, energy, technology, e-commerce, healthcare and education. It also aimed to formalise strategic partnerships, improve legal frameworks, and connect resources among government agencies and startup support organisations from both countries. Notably, models like E-SME House were introduced to support national startup ecosystems, alongside plans for an annual Viet Nam-Azerbaijan Startup and Investment Forum to serve as a strategic dialogue platform. Viet Nams Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hoang Long expressed optimism about the growing economic partnership, noting that bilateral trade exceeded US$100 million in the first quarter of this year, with significant potential for expansion. Viet Nams strengths in exports of processed goods and high-quality agricultural products could complement Azerbaijans market. Meanwhile, Azerbaijans energy sector, including oil and renewable energy projects, remains a key area of collaboration, with recent agreements to explore joint oil and gas activities. Both nations also agreed to boost cooperation in transportation infrastructure, including rail, road, air, and maritime links, leveraging the Caspian Sea route for enhanced connectivity. Azerbaijans ongoing economic diversification efforts and attractive investment environment, exemplified by free zones and industrial parks, further support this partnership. The forum underscored the importance of international cooperation in innovation and technology, with Azerbaijans recent MoU on digital development aligning with Viet Nams digital ecosystem goals. The event marks a significant step in Viet Nams strategy to expand its global innovation footprint, fostering stronger economic and technological ties with Azerbaijan in the years ahead. VNS As Viet Nams food and beverage (F&B) market rapidly grows, the need for safe, sustainable and innovative packaging is rising. To meet this demand, global food packaging and processing solution provider Tetra Pak has doubled its production capacity at its Binh Duong aseptic carton packaging material factory, now capable of supplying over 30 billion units annually across Viet Nam and the region. This expansion offers local F&B businesses access to a world-class, local supply chain. In an exclusive interview, Tetra Pak President and CEO Adolfo Orive shares how this investment will drive innovation and sustainability, helping brands stay competitive in a fast-evolving market. Can you tell us about Tetra Pak's recent accomplishments and its development strategies in the Viet Nam market and other regions? Six years ago, we made the decision to invest in Viet Nam, inaugurating the first production line at Tetra Pak Binh Duong. At that time, we identified Viet Nam as a country with vast growth potential, driven by consumers seeking innovation and quality food products. Within these six years, the Binh Duong facility has emerged as one of our premier factories globally, demonstrating exceptional quality and efficiency in a short span. The dedication and commitment of the team in ensuring food safety have been outstanding. Therefore, it was deemed the opportune moment to expand capacity, not only to cater to the Vietnamese market but also to address the needs of the entire ASEAN region, requiring advanced technological facilities. Our upcoming projects encompass various new product categories such as ready-to-drink coffee, iced tea and pretzels, plant-based beverages and nutritional food supplements. These categories have immense potential in Viet Nam, where consumers demand innovative products that prioritise food safety, quality and support for agriculture growth to extend shelf life and reduce food waste. To meet this demand, our team of over 350 skilled employees at Tetra Pak Binh Duong factory is driving innovation and ensuring high standards across every stage of development. Equipped with state-of-the-art Swedish technology and operated by local talent, our factory is a hub of advanced manufacturing and product excellence. In the region, we are introducing cutting-edge technology, including one of the fastest machines capable of producing up to 40,000 packs per hour - setting a new benchmark for efficiency and scalability in food and beverage packaging. What is Tetra Pak's most significant achievement in the Vietnamese market, one that you take the most pride in? Our success in Viet Nam can be attributed to two key factors. First and foremost, our commitment to ensuring the safe delivery of food to consumers has always been paramount. During the COVID-19 pandemic, our factory remained operational, with employees even residing on-site in tents to maintain a steady daily food supply for consumers. Secondly, our unwavering focus on quality underscores our dedication to food safety. A reliable supply chain is crucial in the current global scenario, necessitating local and regional production facilities to efficiently meet demand. Our operations in Viet Nam play a pivotal role in ensuring efficient supply chains for both the country and the wider region. With the inauguration of the second aseptic carton packaging line at the new phase of Tetra Pak Binh Duong, our production capacity has expanded to over 30 billion packs. This positions us as a key manufacturer in the region, meeting the needs not just of Viet Nam but of the entire region. Importantly, the utilisation of cutting-edge technology at this facility ensures not only scalability but also enhanced quality assurance. Looking ahead, what gives Tetra Pak the confidence to continue expanding in Viet Nam? Viet Nam's youthful population, coupled with a high internet adoption rate and a thriving cafe culture, embodies a spirit of innovation driven by young consumers. Their primary focus lies in seeking nutrition and quality, areas where Tetra Pak excels. Additionally, Viet Nams focus on developing agricultural development aligns closely with our vision of delivering food safely and sustainably. Our enduring commitment to meet the basic needs for food distribution in a safe and environmentally friendly manner underscores our long-term view. Tetra Pak's Binh Duong facility stands out as one of the most advanced plants in the region. Can you elaborate on the R&D activities at this site and the incorporation of the company's cutting-edge technologies? Tetra Pak has invested approximately 500 million euros (US$580 million) euros in research and development over the past years, underscoring our commitment to innovation, sustainability and meeting the evolving needs of the global food and beverage industry. This substantial investment ensures that we possess the latest technologies and innovations in our industry. The knowledge and technological advancements generated through our R&D initiatives are swiftly applied in the Vietnamese market, not only at the Binh Duong site but across all our undertakings in the region. Our focus is on translating this knowledge into practical solutions tailored to meet the needs of consumers in Viet Nam and surrounding countries. As a leader in packaging production, what trends do you foresee in the industry in the next three to five years? Regardless of evolving trends, the industrys primary focus must remain on ensuring food safety a cornerstone of packaging efficacy. Additionally, packaging aims to provide convenience to consumers while promoting sustainability, ensuring that our packages are environmentally friendly. Future trends in packaging will likely emphasise food safety, innovation, convenience, eco-friendly materials, digitalisation and sustainable practices to protect the environment. Now 70 per cent of our packages is manufactured using renewable materials, enabling reduced CO2 emissions. This commitment to sustainability drives our ongoing efforts to enhance environmental friendliness. What excites me about the future is the opportunity to lead the transformation of the food system. We are at a pivotal moment where sustainability, digitalisation and consumer expectations are converging. And I believe Tetra Pak is uniquely positioned to make a difference. We have the scale, the expertise and the passion to drive real impact not just for our customers, but for society. HCM CITY With abundant clean land, clear legal frameworks, and a growing talent pool, the new HCM City (comprising former HCM City, Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau) has become a prime destination for industrial real estate investors, delegates said at a seminar held in HCM City on July 17. At the seminar, titled Golden Opportunities in HCM Citys Industrial Real Estate, Tran Viet Ha, deputy head of the HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority, noted that following its merger with Binh Duong and Ba Ria-Vung Tau, the city now has 66 export processing zones (EPZs) and industrial parks (IPs), covering a total of more than 27,000 hectares. Under the development vision through 2050, the city plans to expand this to 105 zones with over 49,000 hectares, positioning itself as the countrys leading industrial hub. Between 2025 and 2030, HCM Citys EPZs and IPs aim to attract between US$20 billion and $21 billion in investment, with an average investment density of $8-10 million per hectare and a targeted disbursement rate of 70 per cent of total registered capital, he said. We are focused on attracting investment into four key industries and prioritising high-tech, high-value-added and environmentally sustainable sectors. Strategic and emerging industries such as electronicssemiconductors, artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data, blockchain, biotechnology, new materials and environmental industries are also being targeted. Ha added that, in line with the citys sustainable development goals, authorities are piloting a transformation model for selected industrial parks, most notably the transition of Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park into an eco-industrial zone. This model encourages enterprises to participate in symbiotic ecosystems, adopt circular economy practices and apply new technologies to generate greater value for investors, he said. Huynh Bao uc, general director of Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park, said the park still has 250 hectares of land available for investment. Located in the former HCM City, Hiep Phuoc Industrial Park stands out with rare advantages - a large, clean land bank in a prime location and a fully established legal framework. As the citys largest industrial park, it offers comprehensive infrastructure, modern facilities and direct access to three international seaports, making it an ideal destination for investors seeking both strategic positioning and high operational efficiency, he said. Cao Thi Phi Van, deputy director of the HCM City Investment and Trade Promotion Centre, described the new city as a unique case of a multi-pillar economy. It brings together HCM City's financial and commercial strengths, Binh Duongs industrial base, and Ba Ria - Vung Taus seaport logistics, agriculture, and coastal tourism potential. This convergence enables the formation of a closed-loop intra-regional value chain from production and logistics to finance, consumption, and services. It reduces transaction costs, enhances competitiveness, and makes the city more appealing to international investors, Van said. Le Trong Hieu from CBRE Vietnam said that the countrys industrial real estate market in the first half of the year has been impacted by US reciprocal tax policies, causing businesses to be more cautious in leasing decisions. As a result, land absorption rates have declined in both northern and southern regions. However, demand for ready-built factories and warehouses remains strong. Hieu noted that the quality of the local workforce remains one of the top concerns for foreign investors when selecting a location. HCM City has long had a competitive labour force, and with the addition of Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, the population now exceeds 14 million - most of whom are well-trained and capable of handling complex production tasks. This meets the needs of large multinational corporations. He added that the administrative expansion also offers investors more competitive land rental options across the new city. VNS NINH BINH Cuc Phuong National Park, located in the northern province of Ninh Binh, is providing shelter to a special white-cheeked black gibbon that was rescued from a Vietnamese drug kingpin in 2018. The male gibbon, assumed to be 13 years old, was rescued from the house of Trieu Ky Voong, a notorious drug lord in the northern province of Lang Son. After he was rescued, he was given the name 'Mafia'. When investigators came to Voongs house, they detected a white-cheeked black gibbon on the ninth floor. This criminal had the habit of keeping wildlife in captivity as a pet, so he dedicated a whole floor to raise his gibbon, said Pham Kien Cuong, Director of environmental education and service centre at Cuc Phuong National Park. After the rescue, Mafia was transferred to the Endangered Primate Rescue Centre (EPRC) at Cuc Phuong National Park for care. It had to undergo a drug test, which was negative, before being released into its natural habitat, but the gibbon did test positive for Hepatitis B, so it can not be released into the wild. Animals that are injured or infected with infectious diseases transmitted by humans have almost no chance of returning to their natural environment. If we release them into the wild, they will spread the disease to other animals in the forests, said Nguyen Van Bay, an official from Cuc Phuong National Park. In addition, due to being captive and living with humans for a long time, Mafia lost its natural habits and often became 'hyperactive' whenever it saw humans. Based on the herd-living nature of primates, conservation officers at Cuc Phuong National Park decided to pair it with Polly, an individual gibbon who shares the same fate as Mafia. They can play together and practice their instinctive behaviours. In the process of living with Polly, Mafia is relaxed, fun and has no signs of stress in the captive environment, Bay shared. Currently, Mafia is monitored and cared for by veterinarians. On a daily basis, Mafia is fed four times, three main meals and one snack. The main food for Mafia is vegetables, fruits and tubers. Through the story of the 'unintended home' of these two gibbons, we hope to convey the message of protecting the habitats of wildlife, especially primates", Cuong said. By simply refraining from hunting and keeping wild animals in captivity, we can contribute to preserving biodiversity and conserving nature within the rich and diverse ecosystem. VNS HA NOI Optical Illusion marks the first-ever exhibition in Viet Nam by Japanese mathematician Sugihara Kokichi, showcasing more than 50 of his three-dimensional illusions. Unlike traditional optical illusions confined to flat surfaces, these are real, tangible models designed with precise geometric calculations. Sugihara is a four-time winner of the International Best Illusion of the Year Contest and a pioneer in applied mathematics and spatial cognition. Visitors to the exhibition will see incredible objects that are more than what they first appear. A shape that seems circular from one angle might reveal interlinked squares from another. A fish placed beside a mirror reflects only a skeleton. Some designs, as small as eight centimetres in size, produce stunning visual effects that continue to puzzle the keenest eyes, even when observed up close. After exhibitions in Japan and numerous countries worldwide, Sugihara has been exploring these visual phenomena since the early 2000s. His creations have been featured on various Japanese television programmes, including NHKs 'DESIGN TALK plus' and the famous idol group Arashis popular variety show 'Arashi ni Shiyagare', where they received praise and acclamation from a large audience. The mathematician's works have also been presented in top science and art museums around the globe, including the National Palace Museum in Taipei, Taiwan (China). Sugihara earned his Masters degree in Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 1973. Since April 2019, he has held the position of Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the Meiji Institute for Advanced Study of Mathematical Sciences. While researching the development of robotic vision, he discovered methods to transform visual illusions into physical models and expanded his work into the field of three-dimensional optical illusions. He has created numerous seemingly impossible structures and continues to be active as an Optical Art model artist. This exhibition offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity for Vietnamese audiences to access a rarely seen style excelling in mathematical precision and artistic creativity, promising a unique, delightful and inspiring experience for visitors of all ages. Optical Illusion runs until August 24 at the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange, 27 Quang Trung Street, Ha Noi. VNS LONDON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Star Refrigeration is delighted to announce that Astrid Prado, Head of Marketing, has been shortlisted for the prestigious Top 100 Most Influential Women in Construction Awards 2025, hosted by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB). The annual awards ceremony recognises and celebrates the achievements of women shaping the future of the built environment across the UK. This year's winners will be unveiled at the official awards ceremony on Thursday 18th September 2025 at the Kimpton Clocktower Hotel in Manchester. Astrid Prado, Head of Marketing at Star Refrigeration and Co-Chair of Women in RACHP Astrid Prado, a Chartered Marketer and long-serving member of the Institute of Refrigeration (IOR), has been with Star Refrigeration since 2005. Over the past two decades, she has worked to shape the company's communications strategy and has led transformative marketing initiatives across Star Refrigeration and its educational division, Star Learning Solutions. As part of her role, she focuses on raising awareness of the importance of sustainable cooling and heating solutions, as well as promoting greater inclusivity within the engineering sector. Ms Prado has also been a vocal champion of progressive workplace policies, supporting the implementation of flexible working, enhanced parental leave, and shared caregiving responsibilities, through continued advocacy of their benefits to industry She has also prioritised the promotion of educational and outreach programmes, including the Little Stars STEM initiative, which engages primary school pupils with engineering concepts. These programmes additionally help to inspire more girls into STEM, and Prado continues her strong advocacy for gender equality through co-chairing the IOR Women in RACHP (Refrigeration, Air Conditioning, and Heat Pumps) group and serving on the board of the International Network of Women in Cooling (INWIC). Ms Prado's commitment to diversity was recognised in 2019 when she was nominated for the Diversity Impact Award at the RAC Cooling Industry Awards, following her work on the industry's first gender parity survey. The research found systemic barriers facing women in the sector and proposed actionable steps to create a more inclusive workplace. Astrid Prado said, "It's a privilege to be shortlisted alongside so many outstanding women", "The construction and engineering industries have immense potential to shape a more sustainable, inclusive future. I am thrilled to be able to contribute through my work at Star and through initiatives that champion equality and education in the industry. I believe this nomination is a reflection of the values we uphold at Star Refrigeration and the commitment of the Women in RACHP and INWIC teams I work alongside every day." Everyone at Star Refrigeration congratulates Astrid on this meaningful recognition and looks forward to celebrating with her and fellow nominees at the awards ceremony in September. For more information, visit www.star-ref.co.uk SOURCE Star Refrigeration HA NOI The 27th Party Congress of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) for the 2025 - 2030 term took place at the VNA's headquarters in Ha Noi on July 17. Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended and sent flowers to the event. Deputy Prime Minister Mai Van Chinh, leaders from the central party organisations, representatives from the working groups of the Government's Party Committee, representatives from press bloc party committees, and former VNA leaders from various periods were also present at the Congress. The event brought together 175 delegates representing 1,040 party members from 34 party organisations under the VNAs Party Committee, marking a profound political engagement aimed at building a strong, and innovative party organisation capable of successfully fulfilling the State-owned news agency's mission in the new era. On behalf of the Government Party Committee, Deputy PM Mai Van Chinh praised the significant achievements of the VNA Party Organisation over its 80-year journey. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of Viet Nam, the VNA has played an instrumental role in the revolutionary cause, the struggle for national independence and unification, reform efforts, and national construction and defence. Despite formidable challenges, the VNA has continued to uphold its role and traditions while making important contributions to the nation's overall success and the centennial journey of Viet Nam's revolutionary journalism, he underscored, adding the agency has effectively implemented party guidelines and state policies while providing analytical reports and forecasts supporting policy formulation. The VNA has served as the nation's leading outlet for external relations, pioneered digital transformation and artificial intelligence applications, and created multimedia information products. As a frontline force in ideological and communications battlegrounds, the agency has shaped public opinion, strengthened trust in Party and State leaders, and countered hostile forces while safeguarding territorial sovereignty, he stated. The Deputy Prime Minister outlined key tasks for the upcoming term, emphasising improved party building work and innovative leadership methods while maintaining party discipline and internal unity. VNA must continue affirming its position as the national news agency and strategic information centre, he said, highlighting every news reportage, image, and data must serve as accurate, objective, and timely information covering domestic and international situations, meeting Party and State leadership requirements and public information needs. The agency must maintain its guiding role for other press organisations and the public, serving as mainstream information flow with high political and ideological orientation. The VNA must serve as an effective bridge between the Party, State, and people, he added. He called on the VNA to accelerate its digital transformation and adopt a multi-platform, multi-media, multi-language model with the overarching aim of serving the people. He urged investment in digital infrastructure, big data and AI, alongside full digitisation of the VNAs production and distribution processes. The agency should continue developing a modern, converged newsroom that is flexible, efficient and responsive, he directed. To enhance content delivery, he stressed the need for stronger integration of information formats, closer interdepartmental coordination, and innovative communication methods, especially on social media, to widen access to official information and strengthen the VNAs digital presence. He also called for greater international integration, with stronger overseas bureaus, especially in key political, economic, and technological hubs, and deeper ties with global news agencies and international press forums to elevate the VNAs profile. Deputy PM Chinh emphasised the importance of providing timely, accurate, and comprehensive information to the world, particularly regarding major Party and State policies, the country's socio-economic development, diplomacy, national defence, human rights, and culture. He encouraged the agency to expand multilingual digital content, including e-newspapers, video clips and social media platforms, to counter misinformation and safeguard national interests abroad. He also stressed the need to cultivate a team of professional, resilient, and humane journalists committed to public service, ethics, and innovation. Journalists, he said, must master new technologies, navigate complex information, and reflect the realities of life with insight and precision. The official affirmed the Party and States ongoing support for the VNAs development and expressed confidence in the agencys staff to uphold Viet Nam's 100-year revolutionary press tradition and its 80-year legacy of service to the nation. He asked them to embody late President Ho Chi Minhs teaching that journalists are revolutionary soldiers, carrying forward the spirit of steel in the pen, fire in the heart to meet the demands of a new era of national progress. VNA General Director and Secretary of the agencys Party Committee for 2020-2025 Vu Viet Trang affirmed that the congress will mark a significant political milestone, reflecting unity, democracy and reform as VNA pursues its development goals through 2030, with a vision to 2045, coinciding with the centenaries of the Communist Party of Viet Nam and the Vietnamese State. She noted that across 26 terms, the VNA Party Organisation had consistently promoted unity and collective wisdom to guide the agency in fulfilling its role as a strategic news agency of the Party and State, contributing to national defence, development and modernisation. Looking ahead, she said, the organisation aims to build on its proud legacy, including three honours as Hero of the Peoples Armed Forces by guiding VNA to become a pure and strong Party unit, a major national multimedia agency, and a core pillar of Viet Nams press system. Trang expressed confidence that all VNA Party members and staff will remain committed to truth, professionalism and national pride, contributing to national development. For the 2025-2030 term, the VNAs Party Committee has identified five key tasks, including leading officials, Party members and staff to perform well their assigned political tasks and build the agency into a strong and modern national news agency in the region; and continuing to innovate and improve the quality and efficiency of political and ideological work, as well as renew the content and leadership methods of party committee in the direction of promoting the role of the collective along with enhancing the role, responsibility and authority of the leaders. Attention will be paid to innovating the way party cells operate, training and creating sources for Party members and effectively implementing internal political protection work, while strengthening the inspection and supervision of Party organisations and members, and the fight against corruption, wastefulness, negative phenomena, and signs of degradation in political ideology, ethics, lifestyle, "self-evolution", "self-transformation". The VNA will also seek cooperation opportunities with new partners, improve the effectiveness of cooperation with traditional partners. In addition, it will carry out three breakthroughs of building and perfecting legal documents; improving the quality of human resources to meet the development requirements; and promoting innovation in science and technology, and implementing comprehensive digital transformation in its operations. The general goal for the 2025 2030 period, with a vision to 2045 is to continue to develop the VNA into a national news agency with high reputation in the region and the world, and a source of providing mainstream, accurate, reliable and diverse information for the media system and the public at home and abroad. During the 20202025 term, the VNA Party Committee has prioritised leading and directing the fulfillment of information dissemination tasks by its network of bureaus, considering this a core mission to effectively implement the Party Committees resolutions. This focus has yielded strong and visible results, reinforcing the standing and influence of the VNAs official information stream. The VNAs news sources are highly reliable, with clear editorial direction, and are widely used by both central and local media agencies as the official communication channel of the Party and the State. Over the past five years, VNA has annually provided an average of 197,440 news articles and 182,820 photos via its Internet service network to media agencies and organisations both inside and outside Viet Nam. The VNAs journalism and publishing sectors have continued to innovate in both content and format, adopting advanced technologies and strongly developing multimedia content. Its information output maintains the foundational values of news reporting, delivering accurate, trustworthy, timely, rich, and properly oriented content, including strategic-level analysis and forecasts for reference reporting. The agency has strived to diversify its information products and expand distribution channels to enhance the effectiveness of communication, reaching a wide range of domestic and international audiences. It continues to affirm its role as a leading national multimedia news agency and a strategic information provider that builds social consensus in support of the Party and States policies. At the same time, the VNA promptly counters false and hostile narratives. Digital transformation efforts have been accelerated across the entire organisation. At present, all VNA information units have shifted to producing and delivering content in the digital environment. The Party Committee and leadership of the VNA have implemented numerous breakthroughs in executing directives from the Party Central Committee, the Politburo, and the Government, particularly in organisation and personnel work. This includes staff streamlining in accordance with Resolution 39-NQ/TW. The VNA has strengthened financial discipline, oversight, and promoted thrift practices and waste prevention. Training and capacity building remain a priority, especially given current challenges in recruiting suitable young talent. The agency has enhanced training in political theory, leadership and management skills, and professional expertise. Over 71 training courses have been organised for more than 5,000 staff members on political theory, department and division-level management, and modern journalism skills. Training in political theory and Party-related work has been particularly emphasised. The Party Committee has held four training sessions for grassroots Party secretaries and committee members, helping improve their skills and awareness. Party development efforts have focused on both quantity and quality, ensuring proper standards and procedures. During the term, the Party Organisation admitted 156 new members and granted the official Party membership to 190 others. The Party Committee also prioritised consolidating inspection committees at all levels. Together with its Inspection Commission, it has carried out 72 thematic inspections and supervisions of subordinate Party committees and members. VNA/VNS HA NOI Military and police groups on Thursday participated in a joint practice at the National Military Training Centre 4 in Ha Noi after days of training, as part of the preparations for the 80th anniversary of the August Revolution on August 19 and National Day on September 2. General Nguyen Tan Cuong, Chief of the General Staff of the Viet Nam People's Army and also Deputy Minister of National Defence, chaired and inspected the joint training session. More than 15,000 participants attended the joint practice for the celebration, which will have two parts. The first includes Party ceremonies and rituals, which are undertaken by the Ministry of National Defence, and the second part will be the parade of marching troops. The march will include military vehicles and special police vehicles, and will demonstrate the continuous growth of the people's armed forces over the past 80 years under the Partys leadership. Due to the events significance, the military and police forces have been working hard to organise the march and thoroughly train all those who will be taking part. Units have selected soldiers who are exemplary in a range of characteristics including political qualities, ethics, sense of discipline and determination to complete their duty, and who also meet standards for height, appearance and health to participate in the parade and marching groups. On behalf of the Central Military Commission and the Ministry of National Defence, General Cuong commended the sense of responsibility and achievements that the forces have achieved, especially when training in harsh weather conditions. After more than one month of intensive training, the soldiers have shown their determination to overcome many difficulties, as well as the discipline and strength of the people's armed forces. Of those participating in the event, all comrades, especially the women, have given a great effort, focusing with spirit and responsibility, and spreading the beautiful image of women in the armed forces, said Cuong. Emphasising that the upcoming parade and march is an opportunity to express the solidarity and strength of the Vietnamese people, General Cuong said that with experience from two other recent parades and marches, this celebration would be on a larger scale, with higher expectations. Through direct inspection and monitoring during the combined training session, General Cuong assessed that the forces have made plenty of progress, especially in individual movements and horizontal and vertical distances. Many limitations pointed out in previous practices have been substantially overcome. Noting that just about one and a half months are left until the anniversary ceremony, General Cuong requested that the soldiers concentrate with the highest responsibility and effort commensurate with the events scale and stature. He assigned the parade and marching subcommittees and units to draw specific lessons for each group and each individual, and strive for better and better results in the next joint training sessions. General Cuong said that participating in the parade and marching in one of the country's most important celebrations was a special honour. He asked the General Staff to continue directing the training and practice, achieving the mission requirements. The work must ensure the highest quality and absolute safety, he said. Relevant units must continued to fulfil their assigned tasks well, especially in logistics and technical support for the forces participating in the parade. VNS HA NOI The invitations for other countries to join in the celebrations of the 80th August Revolution and National Day on September 2 in Ha Noi this year show Viet Nam's wish to honour the values of freedom and independence with international friends on this significant anniversary. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang made the statement on Thursday at the ministry's regular press conference, in response to a question on the Vietnamese defence ministry's invitations for several friendly countries to partake in the celebration. "The August Revolution was a momentous event giving birth to the Democratic Republic of Viet Nam, which is now the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam. The success of the August Revolution strongly encouraged the national liberation movement for colonised countries around the world," Hang told the media. "The celebration of National Day on September 2 is to once again reaffirm the great significance and to honour the achievements of the Vietnamese people in the struggles for national liberation, national unification, national construction and defence, as well as the oi moi (Renewal) process, so that Viet Nam can enter the era of nation's rise with robust developments as we now see today," she noted. The celebration is also an opportunity for Viet Nam to express gratitude for the support and assistance of international friends and progressive people around the world, which is an important factor contributing to the success of the August Revolution in the past and the successes of Viet Nam today. "On this occasion, Viet Nam wishes international friends to join in honouring the eternal values of independence and freedom," the spokesperson added. Viet Nam has recently sent invitations to friends around the world to attend this event. The Ministry of National Defence said that it has sent invitations to the defence ministries of eight countries, including Laos, Cambodia, China, Cuba, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan and Belarus, to attend the 80th National Day event, as well as to five countries including Laos, Cambodia, China, Russia and Belarus to partake in the military parade to be held as part of the event. These are activities demonstrating the friendship, solidarity and attachment between the Vietnamese people and army with friendly countries, while upholding Viet Nam's foreign policy of independence, self-reliance, multilateralisation and diversification. They also demonstrate that Viet Nam is a friend and reliable partner for all countries, according to the diplomat. In May, at the invitation of the Vietnamese defence ministry, Laos, Cambodia and China sent their army units to take part in the grand parade held in HCM City to mark the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification (April 30, 19752025), with a great welcome from the Vietnamese public. This was the first time foreign armies were invited to a national-level military parade in Viet Nam. The 80th National Day military parade is expected to be the biggest one yet. Notably, the event's parade formation will not be limited to ground units such as marching contingents, motorised columns and aerial displays, but will also include a maritime contingent. The parade will feature submarines and surface vessels from the Navy, Coast Guard, Border Guard and the Standing Militia Squadron, with live footage broadcast directly to Ba inh Square in Ha Noi, where the main parade is conducted. VNS HA NOI On behalf of the Vietnamese Party and State leaders, Chairman of the National Assembly Tran Thanh Man, his spouse, and a high-ranking delegation of Viet Nam are scheduled to attend the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament in Switzerland, engage in bilateral activities there, and pay official visits to Morocco and Senegal from July 22 to 30. The trips are made at the invitation of President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) Tulia Ackson, IPU Secretary-General Martin Chungong, Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives Rachid Talbi Alami, and Speaker of the Senegalese National Assembly El Malick Ndiaye, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. VNS HA NOI Vu Viet Trang, General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), has been unanimously re-elected as Secretary of the agencys Party Committee for the 27th tenure (20252030). VNA Deputy General Director Nguyen Tuan Hung was elected Standing Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee, and o Thi Trang as full-time Deputy Secretary. After one and a half days of working, the 27th Party Congress of the VNA concluded on Thursday afternoon, having completed all of its agenda. The congress elected a 27-member Party Committee for the new term and a delegation of six official and two alternate delegates to attend the first congress of the Government's Party Organisation. After that, the new Party Committee held its first meeting to elect a nine-member Standing Board, Secretary and Deputy Secretaries of the Party Committee, along with the Inspection Committee and its chairperson for the 20252030 tenure. In her closing speech, General Director and Secretary Trang expressed sincere thanks to the consistent leadership of the Standing Board of the Governments Party Committee, as well as support from central Party agencies and former VNA leaders. She called for continued assistance in the upcoming term. She underlined the 27th congress's vision for the 20252030 period and toward 2045, aiming to develop the VNA into a prestigious national news agency in the region and the world. The agency seeks to remain a reliable, accurate, and rich source of official information for the media system and the public, both domestically and internationally. The VNA also aims to be highly effective in both domestic and external communications, supporting the Partys leadership and the States management, while building a modern technological foundation and a contingent of professional journalists, and ensuring stable revenue streams. Trang stressed the need for all Party units within the VNA to disseminate and thoroughly implement the congresss resolution, quickly develop related action plans, and intensify emulation movements to mark the 14th National Party Congress, the 80th anniversary of Viet Nams National Day, the Congress of the Government's Party Organisation, and the 80th anniversary of the VNA. VNA/VNS HA NOI National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man has voiced strong support for deeper collaboration between the State Audit Office of Viet Nam (SAV) and the State Audit Organisation of Laos (SAO), calling for increased sharing of experience in corruption, wastefulness, and misconduct combat. During a reception in Ha Noi on Thursday for SAO President Viengthavisone Thephachanh, Man commended the robust collaboration within multilateral frameworks and the Viet Nam-Laos-Cambodia trilateral mechanism, which has driven training, capacity building, and technical support. A standout success is the E-Office project (2022-2024), backed by SAV and partners, which has helped modernise SAOs governance system. The Vietnamese Party, State, and people always attach great importance to and are fully committed to nurturing the great friendship, special solidarity, and comprehensive cooperation with Laos, Man said. He expressed his delight at the effective implementation of the Vietnamese and Lao Governments' agreements in 2024 and the first half of 2025. Close oversight by the countries' legislatures has enabled quick settlement of challenges. Looking forward, he urged the SAV and SAO to advance their 2025-2028 medium-term cooperation plan and the 2021-2030 strategy, asking for more exchanges of delegations and expertise, particularly in digital transformation and staff training. On the occasion, he extended warm regards to Party General Secretary and President of Laos Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, and President of the National Assembly Saysomphone Phomvihane. Thephachanh, for his part, lauded the SAVs continued support, particularly through training courses for Lao officials and civil servants, and the E-Office project. He noted a recent joint seminar where the two sides discussed future cooperation and shared insights on audit recommendations and state budget planning, a new responsibility of the SAO. The guest expressed his hope that Viet Nams experience will help SAO fulfil its advisory role in budgeting in the time ahead. VNS HA NOI Regular delegation exchanges and meetings at all levels have positively contributed to strengthening the close-knit Viet NamCambodia relationship, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Bui Thanh Son told a visiting delegation from the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Thursday. The delegation, led by Secretary of State Ung Rachana, is in Ha Noi for the 9th political consultation between the two foreign ministries. At the reception, Deputy PM Son underlined the importance of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, saying they provide opportunities for both sides to review the implementation of commitments and agreements reached by their senior leaders and ministries, and to explore new approaches for promoting substantive cooperation in areas of mutual interest. The Vietnamese official urged both sides to push forward land border demarcation and marker planting, and jointly manage the shared border. He also called for stronger connectivity in the areas of transport, customs activities, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges. Son proposed that the two foreign ministries continue to serve as a key force in promoting high-level visits and effectively implementing existing agreements, thereby deepening the traditional friendship and comprehensive partnership between the two nations. For his part, the Cambodian Secretary of State expressed delight at the continued consolidation and development of bilateral ties for the benefit of both peoples. He fully agreed with his hosts assessments and lauded the close and effective coordination between the two ministries. He affirmed that the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation will continue working closely with its Vietnamese counterpart to enhance practical cooperation, strengthen consultation mechanisms, and boost information and experience sharing in foreign affairs. In the immediate term, Cambodia will coordinate closely with Viet Nam to prepare for the participation of Cambodian People's Party President and Senate President Hun Sen in the upcoming celebration of Viet Nam's 80th National Day as well as for other bilateral cooperation mechanisms. On this occasion, Ung Rachana reiterated that Cambodia always remembers and appreciates Viet Nams support for Cambodias escape from the Pol Pot genocidal regime. Both sides agreed that the political consultation mechanism is a valuable platform to deepen mutual understanding and coordination bilaterally and multilaterally, promoting the implementation of high-level agreements, and enhancing cooperation among ministries, sectors, and localities, contributing positively to the Viet Nam-Cambodia partnership. VNA/VNS HA NOI Chun Sung Woog, legal representative of Segyung Vina Co., Ltd, the Vietnamese branch of Segyung HiTech Co.,Ltd, has publicly apologised to all parties involved in the incident in which a young Vietnamese woman was assaulted by two South Korean women at a photo booth in Ha Noi. The company also committed to fully compensating the victims. First and foremost, Segyung Vina would like to extend our sincerest apologies to the Government of Viet Nam, the Vietnamese people, the Korean Association in Viet Nam and all stakeholders related to the incident at the photobooth in My inh Ward, Ha Noi, on the evening of July 11, read a statement posted on the companys official Facebook page. The company confirmed that the incident involved a South Korean employee currently based at its headquarters in South Korea. During a business trip to Viet Nam from July 9 to 14, the individual and another South Korean woman were involved in an assault on two Vietnamese citizens. According to Segyung Vina Co., Ltd, the incident occurred outside of working hours and only came to the companys attention after videos and information about the event spread widely on social media. The company was not made aware of the incident in detail until midday on Monday. Upon receiving the information, Segyung Vina Co., Ltd, held an emergency meeting, contacted the victims and the management of the photobooth and began working closely with the local police to investigate and address the situation. The company representative emphasised We are fully aware that the behaviour is unethical, utterly unacceptable and goes against the companys core values, which include complying with Vietnamese law, respecting local culture and supporting the development of our Vietnamese employees. Segyung Vina Co., Ltd, together with Segyung HiTech headquarters, stressed that they are treating the matter with utmost seriousness and are committed to taking all necessary measures to resolve it appropriately. The company also outlined the following specific actions, including immediate dismissal of the South Korean employee involved in the assault; a formal apology and full, good-faith compensation to the victims; the introduction of a Code of Conduct for all South Korean employees working abroad, applicable to both Segyung Vina Co., Ltd and the head office, along with regular training sessions to prevent similar incidents in the future; active cooperation with Vietnamese authorities to investigate the cause and prevent any recurrence. We sincerely apologise to the victims and to the people of Viet Nam for this serious incident. Segyung Vina Co., Ltd remains committed to fostering a long-term, respectful and mutually supportive partnership between Viet Nam and South Korea, the statement concluded. The incident first gained public attention on Monday, when a video and accompanying post went viral on social media. In the post, a young Vietnamese woman alleged that she and a friend had been verbally abused and physically assaulted by two South Korean women while using a photo booth in Ha Noi. According to the post, the two Vietnamese women had booked a session in advance, paid in full and were using the booth within the allotted time. However, two South Korean women waiting outside began to hurl insults and demand that they leave. When one of the Vietnamese women protested, one of the South Korean women allegedly attacked her, grabbing her hair and repeatedly striking her on the head, face and body. The incident has sparked widespread outrage both in Viet Nam and South Korea. Multiple South Korean news outlets have reported on the case. On Tuesday, Yonhap News TV posted details of the incident, drawing significant public attention online. Many South Korean netizens expressed shame over the violent conduct and condemned the behaviour of the two South Korean women. KBS, one of South Koreas major broadcasters, also shared the video and report on its official Instagram account. Numerous South Korean users left comments expressing disappointment and disapproval. Segyung Vina Co., Ltd, a subsidiary of South Koreas Segyung HiTech Co.,Ltd., manufactures phone components and specialises in high-tech films and industrial tapes. The Viet Nams branch, established in Bac Ninh Province in December 2013, is one of the Segyung HiTech Co.,Ltds overseas production facilities. VNS AK LAK The Viet Nam Summer Camp 2025 officially opened on Wednesday at the World Coffee Museum in ak Lak Province under the theme Together, let's write the Next Chapter of Peace. This years camp gathers 110 young overseas Vietnamese, including students and youth from 31 countries and territories such as Germany, Canada, Cambodia, Thailand, the US, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Speaking at the opening ceremony, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Le Thi Thu Hang stressed that the camps theme conveys a meaningful message to the young Vietnamese generation, especially those living abroad. She called on them to stand in solidarity with the homeland and actively contribute to the nations growth in the current era of integration and development. Hang expressed hope that participants would leave with lasting memories, new friendships, and a deeper love for Viet Nam, ready to contribute to building a peaceful, united, and compassionate world. In recent years, ak Lak Province has expanded international cooperation with many localities and organisations from countries including the Republic of Korea, Japan, France, Laos, Cambodia and Mongolia. Vice Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee Truong Cong Thai described the Viet Nam Summer Camp as a vivid demonstration of friendship, unity, and forward-looking vision. With its open spaces and aspirations for progress, ak Lak is ready to accompany younger generations, both in Viet Nam and abroad, in building a prosperous, civilised and culturally rich nation, he added. Nguyen uc Minh, 19, from Russia, shared his excitement about participating in this years camp. He said he felt fortunate to meet peers from around the world and saw the camp as a valuable opportunity to explore different regions of Viet Nam and deepen his understanding of the countrys culture, history, and heritage. The experiences, he noted, will help him spread Vietnamese cultural values to friends in his host country. Viet Nam Summer Camp 2025 runs from July 13 - 26, with stops in Ho Chi Minh City, ak Lak, Quang Ngai, a Nang, Quang Tri, Nghe An, Ninh Binh and Ha Noi. The programme features a range of meaningful activities, including paying tribute to national heroes, charitable work in support of ethnic minority communities, cultural exchanges and learning about the Central Highlands gong culture. VNS WASHINGTON - Director of the US Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) Kelly McKeague has written an article published in The Washington Times, highlighting the cooperation and support of the Vietnamese government and people in the humanitarian effort to search for US military personnel missing from the war. The US remains steadfastly committed to providing the "fullest possible" accounting for the missing soldiers over the past 40 years, McKeague said, affirming that this humanitarian effort has been sustained because of the longstanding cooperation of the Vietnamese government. "Collaboration began a decade before the re-establishment of formal diplomatic relations and continues to be a fundamental building block to todays strong partnership that the two countries have forged," he wrote. He noted that because of this enduring and essential cooperation, the US accounted for 752 Americans missing in Viet Nam from the war, bringing their remains home to their families, providing long-sought answers and some semblance of closure. For the 1,157 estimated to be recoverable in Viet Nam, the US can fulfil its moral responsibility to find them because of the archival research and field investigations and excavations jointly conducted with Viet Nam, the officer asserted. According to McKeague, the DPAA has deployed more than 97 investigation teams and 167 recovery teams to Viet Nam to work alongside its Vietnamese partner since 2015. Even during the 2020-2021 travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Viet Nam conducted 30 independent investigations and recoveries. The required funding for this noble work provides for aviation support to access remote locations, construction of base camps in those locations, thorough sweeps for unexploded ordnance, hiring of a local labour force large enough to effectively excavate the site, land restoration and specialised excavation equipment for complex sites. Over the last 10 years, US-Viet Nam collaboration has led to the identification of 35 missing personnel, 19 from joint field work, one from a US partner mission, and 15 from Vietnamese sources. "They and the many who remain unaccounted for are not just numbers nor can their supreme sacrifice be monetised," he said. Accordingly, it is the USs solemn and sacred obligation to sustain the extraordinary efforts to search for, recover, and identify them, most of which occurs due to the support of the Vietnamese government and its people, he emphasised. VNA/VNS OAKBROOK TERRACE, Ill., July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Stronghouse, a national leader in roofing and exterior services, today announced its acquisition of Centurion Exteriors ("Centurion"), a premier provider of windows and roofing services based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Stronghouse will support Centurion by providing best-in-class processes, capital investment, technology innovation, and operational support to bolster Stronghouse's position in their retail exterior division. This acquisition marks Stronghouse' expansion into Indiana, adding network density in the Midwest and Great Lakes region as well as establishing an entry point into the broader Ohio Valley. Centurion represents the second operating brand to join Stronghouse in July 2025, which has scaled considerably since its first acquisition at its founding in 2021 to eight portfolio brands today. The accelerated development is driven by a newly implemented senior executive leadership team backed by O2 Investment Partners. "We are thrilled to enter Indiana with the addition of Centurion Exteriors," said Troy Baker, CRRO of Stronghouse. "Centurion is known for their outstanding service, stellar reputation, and exceptional quality, making them a valuable addition to Stronghouse as we're looking to deepen our roots in the Midwest." Established in 2015, Centurion has a decade of delivering award-winning experiences in exterior remodeling throughout Northern Indiana, Southern Michigan, and Northwestern Ohio. Stronghouse will provide strategic direction, offer centralized support, and drive operational efficiencies through standardized procedures for Centurion. "We're proud to join forces with Stronghouse, a team that truly aligns with our commitment to excellence and long-term growth," said John Quillen, Founder & CEO of Centurion Exteriors. "From the start, they asked constructive questions about our business and the outcome has been a smart, strategic approach to help us scale sustainably while continuing to deliver top-tier exterior services to homeowners." Stronghouse is dedicated to executing a purposeful growth strategy by partnering with leading roofing, siding and window operators in attractive markets. Please contact Mike Hilcove at [email protected] for more information or to discuss new development opportunities. About Stronghouse Stronghouse is a best-in-class roofing, siding, window, and exterior service platform, with brands providing high-quality craftsmanship and exceptional service for a nationwide customer base. Stronghouse operates across the United States through its portfolio of premier partner brands - Capital Construction, Centurion Exteriors, Gustafson Roofing, Infinity Roofing & Siding, Irish Roofing & Exteriors, Linear Roofing & General Contractors, Marshall Building & Remodeling, and Options Exteriors. Establishing itself as one of the largest and fastest-growing platforms in the country, Stronghouse is committed to further expansion through a robust pipeline of new acquisitions, continually enhancing its market presence and service offerings. For more information on Stronghouse, please visit www.stronghousebrands.com. About Centurion Exteriors Established in 2015, Centurion proudly delivers trusted roofing and windows services to homeowners in Northern Indiana, Southern Michigan, and Northwestern Ohio. For more information on Centurion, please visit www.centurionexteriors.com About O2 Investment Partners O2 Investment Partners is a Midwestern-based private equity firm that seeks to invest in lower middle-market niche services, technology, and select industrial companies. The firm invests in businesses with earnings growth potential and a clear path to creating shareholder value. O2 invests to partner with management to build and grow the business and take it to its next stage of development. This requires a clear vision and strategic plan to create shareholder value, close partnership, and alignment of interest with management. For additional information, please visit www.02investment.com. Shawn Budiac, VP of Retail and Marketing, 630-635-8145 SOURCE Stronghouse TAY NINH Cambodian authorities and the Vietnamese Embassy in the country on Wednesday and Thursday handed over 45 citizens, identified by Cambodia as illegal residents, to the Border Guard Station at the Moc Bai International Border Gate in the southern province of Tay Ninh. After receiving the deported group, the Border Guard Station and other relevant forces identified their personal background. The group comprises 35 men and 10 women, hailing from Ninh Binh, Hai Phong, HCM City, Tay Ninh, Thai Nguyen, Lam ong, ong Nai, An Giang, ak Lak, Tuyen Quang, Gia Lai and Ca Mau. Among them, one was banned from leaving Viet Nam; and six others have criminal records related to crimes such as fraud, extortion, illegal drug storage, gambling, robbery, and theft. Most of them were lured to Cambodia with the promise of well-paid but easy jobs through social networks. They were forced to work for companies operating online scam schemes. Their daily work was mainly using fake platforms to scam people in Viet Nam. Those who failed to satisfy requests and meet targets, or intended to escape were beaten, detained, tortured, and threatened by the scam organisations. The case is under further investigation. VNS HA NOI More than 140 Vietnamese nationals have been detained in Cambodia in a recent crackdown on illegal online activities, according to Vietnamese Embassy in Phnom Penh. Spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Pham Thu Hang confirmed the information on Thursday at the regular press briefing in Ha Noi, adding that the arrests, which took place from July 14 to 15, were part of a wider Cambodian raid to combat cybercrime and fraudulent online operations. Cambodian media had earlier reported that over 200 foreign nationals were among the 1,000 people in total apprehended as part of the sweep, lasting over three days in the capital Phnom Penh, the Thai border city of Poipet and the coastal city of Sihanoukville. The spokesperson said those detained were allegedly involved in online fraud and other criminal activities. In response, the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia has promptly coordinated with local authorities to verify the identities of the detained citizens and to ensure their basic living conditions are maintained while investigations continue. Immediately after receiving information, the embassy worked professionally with Cambodian authorities to clarify the situation and has requested humane treatment for Vietnamese citizens, Hang noted. The ministry added that it had directed the embassy and relevant domestic agencies to carry out citizen protection procedures and assist in repatriating affected individuals as soon as possible. This incident comes amid continued warnings from Vietnamese officials about the risks of deceptive job offers overseas. The foreign ministry reiterated its alert to citizens to be wary of promises of high-paying, low-effort jobs abroad, especially those that require no qualifications, offer no contracts and lack clear information about the identity of the employer or location. Before going abroad for work, citizens should thoroughly research the job, the company or individual offering it, the work site, benefits and legal protections, the spokesperson said. Vietnamese nationals seeking information or assistance related to relatives detained in Cambodia or needing guidance on citizen protection are encouraged to contact the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Vietnamese Embassy in Cambodia, Hang said. VNS This recognition underscores the company's significant contributions to sustainable development, community health, and its collaboration with the healthcare sector to build a more resilient healthcare system. AstraZeneca Vietnam, a leading global pharmaceutical company, has established itself as a pioneer in advancing public health across the country. For over 30 years, AstraZeneca has partnered closely with the Ministry of Health (MoH) and industry partners to deliver innovative healthcare solutions and meaningful community health initiatives. Atul Tandon, general director of AstraZeneca Vietnam. Photo: AstraZeneca Vietnam Through impactful initiatives that promote disease awareness, prevention, and early detection, AstraZeneca Vietnam continues to make a lasting difference in the lives of millions. Among these initiatives, the Young Health Programme, launched in 2019, aims to educate and prevent non-communicable diseases (NCDs) among people aged 10-24 in vulnerable and under-resourced communities. After two phases of implementation, the offering has reached over 100,000 young people across 29 secondary schools and universities, achieving significant results. 81 per cent of participants have demonstrated increased awareness of risk factors, 79 per cent have improved their understanding of three key NCDs, and 63 per cent have adopted healthier nutritional behaviour. Moreover, since 2020, AstraZeneca Vietnam and the Health Strategy and Policy Institute under the MoH have jointly implemented the Partnership for Health System Sustainability and Resilience initiative. This initiative is designed to strengthen the financial sustainability of Vietnams healthcare system by building capacity through Health Technology Assessment training, conducting research, and organising workshops on healthcare financing and risk-sharing solutions. Additionally, the programme supports technology transfer for domestic drug and vaccine manufacturing through contract manufacturing organisations, helping to advance local capabilities and long-term resilience in the healthcare sector. AstraZeneca Vietnam underscores its dedication to sustainable development with impactful carbon reduction initiatives, exemplified by its new Hanoi office built to meet LEED Gold standards. The office incorporates advanced energy-saving technologies and optimised workspace design to reduce its environmental footprint. These efforts are part of AstraZeneca Vietnams broader carbon-neutral strategy, reflecting the companys commitment to social responsibility, demonstrated not only in its healthcare work, but also in its ongoing contributions to environmental protection in Vietnam. AstraZeneca Vietnam collaborates closely with the MoH and industry partners to encourage proactive prevention and early diagnosis for more than one million patients nationwide. These initiatives aim to improve treatment outcomes for high-burden, high-mortality NCDs, optimise healthcare resources, and reduce the environmental footprint of medical services. Noteworthy programmes include the CAREME Love Yourself campaign, a digital transformation initiative supporting early detection and diagnosis of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic kidney disease. Additional flagship efforts are Healthy Lungs, which enhances outpatient management of asthma and COPD; Love Your Lungs, which supports lung cancer screening and early diagnosis; and a collaboration on an AI-powered digital screening drive. Recognising that business growth and sustainability are deeply tied to tackling major health challenges, we are committed to supporting the wellbeing of people, society, and the planet by advancing scientific innovation to deliver life-changing medicines, stated Atul Tandon, general director of AstraZeneca Vietnam. Our priorities include bold climate actions to protect planetary health, bridging healthcare gaps to advance equitable access, and reinforcing the resilience of healthcare systems to address both today and tomorrows health needs, he added. AstraZeneca reinforces commitment to healthcare Pharma giant AstraZeneca is solidifying its position as a pioneer in healthcare innovation in Vietnam. AstraZeneca pledges further progress for healthcare environment in Vietnam AstraZeneca is strengthening local partnerships to unlock the power of science and improve access to healthcare. Atul Tandon, general director of AstraZeneca Vietnam, discussed with VIRs Minh Anh about the vision and next steps. According to Citi analysts, the prospects for continued deepening of onshore supply chains remain high, with uncertainties on global trade policy and possible export payback in the first three quarters of 2025 (3Q). Stricter enforcement of rules of origin certification could accentuate the export payback in the near term, and details on how transshipment will be redefined remains unclear. In April, the Vietnamese government issued a directive to strengthen the inspection and supervision of the origin of goods. Citi assumes that a scenario where tighter inspection post-deal leads to export delays cannot be totally ruled out, and this in turn could accentuate an expected reversal or payback of export growth in 3Q, following the frontloading of shipments to the US in the first half of this year. More broadly, Citi economists keep in mind that effective tariffs have just been raised thus could finally translate to higher selling prices and dampened demand from US consumers. For example, Citi analysts indicated back in April that some textile suppliers producing in ASEAN would cover only a third of the reciprocal tariff, while the rest would be split between the brand owner and consumer. In June, export growth fell slightly to 16 per cent on-year, from 17 per cent in May. Longer term, Citi assumes Vietnams tariff advantage remains, retaining the incentive to deepen local supply chains. The steady-state for the global tariff landscape is still unclear, pending outcomes of US negotiations with various other economies. As such, Citi has raised its forecast for Vietnams 2025 GDP growth to 7 per cent from the previous 6.6 per cent. Raising GDP forecasts now seems counterintuitive to the backdrop of US tariffs on Vietnam having been just raised by 10pps. Vietnams GDP growth in the first half of 2025 reaching 7.52 per cent, however, exceeding Citi Vietnams expectations and is higher versus the 7 growth seen in the first quarter of this year. Although the acceleration, propelled largely by manufacturing with a 0.5pps addition, incorporated the effect of US frontloading, Citi highlights that the growth acceleration was also supported by domestically oriented sectors. Minh Ngo, Vietnam Markets head and country treasurer According to Minh Ngo, Vietnam Markets head and country treasurer, Citis priority is to connect global clients to local markets and local clients with global opportunities to support the growth of Vietnam. Citi Vietnam is at the forefront of delivering world-class solutions in FX hedging, rates and commodities derivatives, liquidity management, and structured funding solutions for the banks corporate, commercial, public sector, and investor clients. Our extensive global network and international presence provide clients with a significant competitive advantage, empowering them to navigate an evolving market landscape and optimise their operations and supply chains in response to dynamic external market conditions, she said. Forecast upbeat for banking industry in 2025 Commercial banks' pre-tax profits in 2025 are forecast to grow by 14.9 per cent year-on-year, while bad debt has peaked and is expected to decrease next year. Citi Foundation announces 2025 Global Innovation Challenge to accelerate youth employability Fifty community organisations will receive a collective $25 million in catalytic funding, building on over a decade of Citi Foundation investment in youth, with requests for proposals underway until March 4. Vietnamese freight forwarder Bee Logistics has re-evaluated its medium-term development strategy towards 2030 to better align with fresh policy directions from the government. The company review followed the recent issuance of four strategic resolutions focused on science and technology, international integration, legal reform, and private economic development. Vu Ho Ninh, director of the northern region at Bee Logistics, said the firm plans to expand its office network domestically and internationally, while maintaining close ties with industry associations and local authorities to stay abreast of regional planning and investment policy changes. The company will also continue to advance digital transformation, pursue green growth, and invest in infrastructure to support long-term sustainable development in line with the new resolutions. For us, the resolutions carry major significance, Ninh told VIR. We already operate more than 40 branches and offices across key economic centres in Vietnam and overseas. But to extend our reach, regional connectivity and infrastructure remain vital. For instance, with prioritised expressway investments such as Lang SonCao Bang or Phu ThoTuyen Quang thanks in part to Resolution No.66/NQ-TW, goods from new industrial parks in northern mountainous areas can reach seaports one to two days faster, greatly reducing transit time and operating costs, Ninh said. He added that Resolution 66, which focuses on legal reform, would also help reduce risks and streamline logistics processes, particularly in customs, taxation, and inspection procedures that rely on business-friendly legal frameworks. At Bee Logistics, most orders are now tracked and managed through an integrated transport management system. The companys warehouse operations are gradually adopting Internet of Things technology and radio-frequency identification for real-time inventory tracking. In March, the company inaugurated the Bee Distribution Centre in the central region deemed one of the most modern logistics hubs in the area with 26,000sq.m of space and storage capacity for up to 30,000 pallets. The facility is equipped with a warehouse management system, transport management software, barcode scanning technology, and automation tools to optimise warehousing and supply chain activities. Other logistics players are making similar moves. T&M Forwarding, which has nearly three decades of experience in international logistics, sees this period as a pivotal time for transformation, restructuring, and expansion. Chu Kieu Lien, Hanoi manager at T&M Forwarding, said modern logistics cannot be separated from digital transformation and the application of smart technologies such as AI, big data, and blockchain. She said the newly issued resolutions are expected to give further impetus to this shift. In line with these policy directions, T&M Forwarding will broaden its service offerings and transport routes, and expand its network of agents and partners in key markets such as the United States, ASEAN, Northeast Asia, and the EU, Lien said. We also aim to deepen strategic cooperation with shipping lines, airlines, and international warehouse networks to strengthen our position in the global supply chain especially in e-commerce logistics and services for foreign-invested enterprises. Vietnam Maritime Corporation (VIMC) is also aligning with this national strategy. Over the coming years, the group plans to enhance port operations, expand logistics services, and invest in a more modern, environmentally friendly fleet. It is currently partnering with leading global shipping companies to boost international maritime connectivity. Nguyen Canh Tinh, newly appointed chairman of VIMC, said, From now to 2030, we will prioritise strategic infrastructure projects, including deepwater ports, international transit hubs, and inland container depots in key economic zones. We will also invest in next-generation vessels and high-tech ships, with a focus on modernising our container fleet to increase VIMCs maritime transport capacity. VIMC is encouraging green and energy transformation, such as using more renewable energy, cutting emissions, and complying with international sustainability standards. These efforts are essential to keeping pace with trends in the global maritime industry, he said. The group is also developing major logistics centres in Haiphong, Danang, and Ho Chi Minh City to strengthen the maritime supply chain. These facilities are expected to play a key role in connecting international routes and enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnams maritime sector in regional and global markets. Tinh said VIMC will boost cooperation with reputable seaports and global shipping lines to expand international shipping routes and logistics markets, directly linking its port network with the world. The corporation is also prioritising the attraction of strategic investors and financial partners to participate in large-scale seaport projects. According to logistics experts, the four resolutions are not only long-term strategies for regional development, but also timely responses to structural imbalances and rising logistical pressures on the economy. Vietnams logistics costs remain high, accounting for approximately 16.5 per cent of GDP far above the global average of 1112 per cent, according to the Vietnam Logistics Report 2024. Logistics expert Le Tuong attributed this gap to limited regional connectivity, fragmented infrastructure, and overlapping transport planning. These resolutions are reshaping regional master planning and helping develop logistics infrastructure a critical step in removing longstanding bottlenecks, he said. Logistics is vital to linking Vietnam with global markets, especially as we enter more free trade agreements. The key now is turning policy into practice building a robust logistics industry that raises the countrys position in global supply and value chains. Vietnam's logistics sector confronts new challenges Experts and business leaders looked at how Vietnam can overcome challenges and unlock the potential of its logistics sector at the Vietnam Logistics Summit 2024 on October 31. At a ceremony held on July 15, Nhip Cau Dau Tu magazine recognised Masan in two categories: Outstanding Corporate Governance and Outstanding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Activity, reflecting the companys continued focus on responsible business practices and community impact. The list is assessed by many reputable organisations including HSBC Vietnam, PwC Vietnam, Schneider Electric, the Institute for Circular Economy Development, Talentnet, and VinaCapital. The evaluation criteria cover sustainable development strategies, governance efficiency, social and environmental impact, and the ability to create long-term values for relevant stakeholders. Guided by a philosophy of 'doing well by doing good,' Masan Vietnams leading player in the consumer and retail industry aims to provide essential, high-quality products and services that meet the increasingly evolving demands of over 100 million consumers in the local and international markets. Masans ecosystem encompasses subsidiaries and brands in high-growth potential sectors. Masan Consumer operates in the fast-moving consumer goods industry with flagship products like Chin-su, Nam Ngu, Omachi, Wake-Up 247, while Masan MEATLife specialises in branded meat with MEATDeli, Ponnie, and Heo Cao Boi brands. In the retail sector, WinCommerce operates the WinMart and WinMart+ chains. This is coupled with Phuc Long tea and coffee chain and Masan High-Tech Materials in the high-tech materials field. Masan has gradually embedded sustainability into its business strategy with a view to balancing financial growth with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) responsibilities. This is reflected in initiatives such as product innovation, supply chain management, compliance with safety standards, and long-term community engagement. To support its sustainability goals, Masan has established a Group-level ESG Committee to coordinate efforts and ensure effective implementation across its ecosystem. The companys Sustainability Framework is built on three core pillars: fostering innovation for sustainable growth, protecting the environment and supporting communities, and strengthening engagement with employees and customers. This framework is aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and the International Finance Corporations Performance Standards, aiming to balance operational efficiency with long-term environmental and social responsibility. In 2024, Masan recorded notable progress in advancing its sustainable development strategy. All of its manufacturing facilities are now certified to international food safety standards, including FSSC 22000, ISO 22000, and HACCP. Around 25 per cent of the energy used at these facilities came from renewable sources. Women represent 43 per cent of management positions and 62 per cent of the total workforce. Additionally, the company conducted 2,555 internal training sessions, engaging more than 58,000 participants. By leveraging its international-standard operation capability, a flexible governance model, and transparency commitment, Masan continues to maintain its competitive edge and build investor confidence both at home and abroad. Masans approach to sustainable development goes beyond product innovation and environmental efficiency, extending to impactful community programmes. In 2024, the group allocated more than VND144 billion ($5.5 million) towards social initiatives focused on education, healthcare, and nutrition. Masan Consumer alone rolled out nine community initiatives with a combined budget of over VND25 billion (approximately $950,000), aimed at improving living standards across multiple localities. Other subsidiaries, such as Masan MEATLife, WinCommerce, and Masan High-Tech Materials, also carried out targeted ESG activities to support the groups broader sustainability goals. In the branded meat sector, Masan MEATLife is advancing the development of high-tech farms with a focus on eco-friendly and energy-efficient operations. Its pig farms in Nghe An (Farms S1 and S2) use biogas technology to convert livestock waste into renewable energy. The farms produced approximately 3.67 million cubic metres of biogas through anaerobic digestion last year, which was used to generate electricity on-site. This initiative helps lower environmental impact while cutting operating costs through clean energy production. WinCommerce has promoted its marketing activities at points of sale to raise awareness about sustainable consumption. The company encourages customers to use biodegradable and reusable bags, contributing to reducing plastic waste and encouraging eco-friendly consumer habits. Meanwhile, Masan High-Tech Materials blends mining operations with ecological restoration efforts. A standout initiative is a partnership with Germanys UFU Institute to plant energy crops in post-mining areas. Research indicates that Acacia hybrid trees can absorb 172 tonnes of CO per hectare over six years, laying the foundation for sustainable land rehabilitation. Sustainability is integrated into Masan's operations and strategic planning. Its ESG practices, from governance to community engagement, are aimed at supporting long-term competitiveness while addressing the expectations of consumers, shareholders, and investors. Backed by a defined roadmap and institutional commitment, Masan is aligning its business growth with broader social and environmental responsibilities an approach increasingly relevant in attracting sustainable investment capital. Masan poised to lead Vietnam's evolving consumer market Rising disposable incomes and evolving consumption patterns in Vietnam present multi-billion dollar growth potential for businesses operating closed-loop retail ecosystems. WinMart unveils Russia Corner a unique destination for culture and shopping WinCommerce, a member of Masan Group, in collaboration with Magnit Group and leading distributors, launched Russia Corner at WinMart Royal City in Hanoi on June 12. Following the successful launch of NESTGEN 2025 in March, Nestle Vietnam conducted a three-day virtual programme from July 15-17 to share in-depth knowledge with young people in the fields of business, communications, and technology. As part of Nestle Vietnams long-term strategy to support career development, NESTGEN 2025 presents a series of updated content focused on equipping participants with essential skills in the rapidly evolving landscape of digital technology and AI. The topics reflect current global trends and offer practical tools to help young people build strategic thinking and real-world perspectives. Thus, they become more confident to enter a fast-changing working environment in the digital era. Over the years, Nestle Vietnam has launched initiatives in collaboration with universities, government agencies, and professional organisations to provide students with practical knowledge and access to professional working environments. Outstanding initiatives include Nestle Needs YOUth, Nesternship, Management Trainee, and various activities in partnership with universities. The July edition stands out for its line up of guest speakers, including Nestle experts and representatives from leading global organisations such as Microsoft, LinkedIn, MTN, Publicis Groupe, and Cadena Growth Partners. With insights from experienced professionals, participants gained access to in-depth knowledge and essential tools to confidently shape and grow their career paths. In particular, there were three topics related to AI. The topic of influencer marketing decoded the power of KOLs and the growing collaboration between brands and content creators. Regarding brand building and digital marketing, young people explored strategies for building sustainable brands, emotional connections, and harnessing digital platforms. In terms of data and AI, they learned to apply data and AI in decision-making, innovation, and sustainable business development. NESTGEN 2025 is more than just a learning platform it is part of Nestles long-term journey to nurture and develop the next generation of leaders. In March, Nestle Vietnam successfully launched the first series of NESTGEN 2025 content, focusing on supply chain, engineering, and sustainability. The programme attracted over 2,000 participants nationwide, reflecting the ambition and drive of young people to enhance their expertise amid the ongoing digital transformation and global integration. Nestle Vietnam promotes gender equality for Vietnamese women Nestle Vietnam has reaffirmed its commitment to promote gender equality and women's empowerment for the development of Vietnamese women. Nestle Vietnam reaffirms its long-term commitment to Vietnam with additional $75 million investment As Vietnam is moving into the era of the nation's rise, Nestle Vietnam is committed to accompanying the country towards a sustainable and thriving future with the latest $75 million investment in its Nestle Tri An factory in the southern province of Dong Nai. In 2024, Vietnam achieved 99 per cent coverage for the first dose of the diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine, up from 80 per cent in 2023. Immunisation coverage in Vietnam has rebounded to the high levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, and surpassed the rates recorded in 2019. This improvement has led to a reduction in the number of zero-dose children from 274,000 in 2023 to just 13,000 in 2024, a decline of over 95 per cent. Compared to the previous year, many more young Vietnamese children are protected against common vaccine-preventable diseases. A six-month-old baby girl receives a vaccine shot as part of the measles vaccination campaign in Hanoi. Photo: WHO Vietnam In 2024, Vietnam had well above global averages for immunisation coverage, thanks to strong government leadership, great efforts by healthcare workers, and support from parents and the community. WHO deputy representative in Vietnam Dr. Jennifer Horton said the estimates were evidence of the hard work of the health sector to bolster routine immunisation following the pandemic and conduct outbreak response vaccinations during the 2024-2025 measles outbreak. Almost 1.3 million children were vaccinated against measles in mass vaccination campaigns in 2024 and activities have continued into 2025. This positive increase in vaccination coverage is a tribute to the thousands of dedicated healthcare workers who have worked so hard to restore life-saving immunisation services after a sustained decline due to pandemic disruptions and stockouts. We thank everyone across the country for their impressive efforts to keep children safe, she said. According to Dr Nguyen Huy Du, acting chief of child survival and development at UNICEF Vietnam, this achievement is a powerful reflection of Vietnams unwavering commitment to child health and the strength of its primary healthcare system. At a time when 1.8 million children across UNICEFs East Asia-Pacific region remain unvaccinated, Vietnams success offers a clear message: with strong political will, timely and adequate provision of immunisation supplies and outreach sessions, and community engagement, it is possible to reach every child. We commend Vietnam for its leadership towards closing the immunisation gap and ensuring that no child is left behind. The country also recorded a 32-percentage point increase in the proportion of children protected by three doses of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine, reaching 97 per cent in 2024, up from 65 per cent the previous year. This indicates improved access and strong follow-through in completing the full vaccination schedule. Additionally, coverage for the first dose of the measles vaccine rose significantly, from 82 per cent in 2023 to 98 per cent in 2024, protecting more children from one of the most contagious diseases. Despite these gains, challenges remain. Vietnam still has 40,000 children who are unvaccinated with the third dose of the diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine or have not received the full course of vaccinations, and 27,000 children who missed their first dose of the measles vaccine. These gaps highlight the need for continued investment in community outreach, health worker training, and efforts to counter vaccine misinformation. Children may remain un- or under-vaccinated due to various factors including geographic barriers, limited access to services in remote or underserved areas, and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the health system. Ensuring secure and consistent vaccine supply chains, especially during current health system restructuring, will be critical to maintaining high coverage. To close the remaining gaps, private healthcare providers should be encouraged to recommend and administer all routine immunisations, and local authorities should be supported to implement tailored strategies that reach the most vulnerable populations. WHO and UNICEF urge continued efforts to catch up with children who are still missing out on vaccines, particularly in hard-to-reach communities. Even small declines in coverage can lead to dangerous outbreaks and place additional strain on the health system. The WUENIC data underscore the importance of local leadership, domestic financing, and integrated primary healthcare in achieving the goals of the immunisation agenda. Vietnams example demonstrates that even in the face of global challenges, rapid progress is possible with targeted, equity-focused strategies, but only if countries act decisively to protect and build on these achievements. Opella achieves global certification, redefining leadership in self-care France-headquartered Opella announced on June 26 that it is the first global consumer healthcare company to achieve B Corp certification, after meeting the rigorous social and environmental standards set by B Lab, the nonprofit behind the certification. Adult vaccination and shingles prevention in Vietnam The Vietnam Medical Association, in collaboration with GSK Vietnam Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (GSK Vietnam), held a roundtable in Hanoi to discuss adult immunisation and shingle prevention on November 21. According to data from the National Statistics Office, the leather and footwear industry witnessed over a 10 per cent jump on-year in export growth. Footwear alone accounted for around $12 billion, up 10.1 per cent on-year, while handbags, suitcases, and umbrellas contributed nearly $2.2 billion, marking an 11.6 per cent increase. Vietnam is currently the third-largest producer of leather and footwear globally, manufacturing 1.4 billion pairs of shoes annually, behind only China and India. In terms of exports, the country ranks second worldwide with 1.3 billion pairs exported each year, trailing only China. The sectors competitiveness stems from its effective utilisation of tariff advantages under 16 free trade agreements (FTAs) with major markets, combined with a large and cost-efficient labour force, where average monthly wages range between $181 and $200. Despite challenges in 2024, ranging from pricing pressures and rising input costs to sustainability requirements and labour shortages, the leather-footwear sector still generated an impressive $26 billion in revenue, representing nearly a 10 per cent jump compared to 2023. Looking to 2025, the industry has set its sights on 10 per cent on-year export growth, aiming to reach $29 billion in total export value. To achieve this ambitious target, companies are accelerating the shift towards green and circular production models, enhancing environmental sustainability, and increasing the localisation rate of raw materials to meet increasingly stringent standards in key markets such as the EU and the United States. Vietnamese footwear and handbags are exported primarily to core markets including the US, the EU, South Korea, China, and the UK. Among them, the US remains the largest importer, with 2024 export turnover reaching nearly $8.3 billion, a remarkable 15.6 per cent increase. Over the years, Vietnamese footwear has been subject to a 10 per cent export tax when entering the US market. The US presence in Vietnams footwear manufacturing sector is notable, with many American brands operating production facilities in the country. For example, Nike, one of the worlds largest sportswear companies, has made Vietnam its main global production hub. Of the approximately 600 million pairs of shoes Nike produces annually, half are made in Vietnam. At a conference in late May held by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, with the participation of an executive representative from the Vietnam Leather, Footwear, and Handbag Association, discussions focused on both the opportunities and challenges facing the industry. The participants put forward a series of critical recommendations aimed at enhancing the sectors competitiveness and export market diversification. A recurring theme was the importance of human resource development, with a special emphasis on professional training in marketing and design, viewed as two core competencies for the industry to transition from contract manufacturing to owning products and building global brands. To support this transformation, proposals referred to inviting international experts in fashion trends, consumer behaviour, and product design to Vietnam for direct training and consultancy. Simultaneously, digital transformation in trade promotion was deemed essential. Applying technology to improve product traceability and information transparency is now vital to meet evolving demands from global consumers and regulators. Another strategic priority is developing a more resilient domestic supply chain. This includes building specialised industrial parks to foster the supporting industries needed for leather and footwear production. The objective is to reduce dependency on imported materials, and fully leverage the preferential tariffs provided under free trade agreements. Vietnam aims for 454 billion USD export revenue amidst global headwinds Vietnam exported 65.2 billion USD worth of products in January-February, a 9.9 per cent increase compared to the same period last year. Meanwhile, imports totaled 62.9 billion USD, rising 16 per cent, resulting in a trade surplus of 235 million USD. Government, institutions, academia, and more need to collaborate to boost the microchip ecosystem, Le Toan According to Dr. Chu Duc Hoang, head of the National Technology Innovation Fund Office under the Ministry of Science and Technology, there is a lack of strategic planning for semiconductor personnel training in terms of quality and structural balance. Currently, only 15 per cent of graduates meet international standards, and 40 per cent require retraining after recruitment. Additionally, Vietnam only trains about 22 per cent of the required advanced skills, and there is an 85 per cent shortfall in top-tier experts, Hoang said at a workshop on the subject in Hanoi on June 30. Brain drain is a serious concern, with up to 35 per cent of talent lost, 70 per cent of outstanding students studying abroad never return, and 65 per cent of engineers trained overseas do not come back after five years of working. The Vietnamese government last year laid out plans to consolidate the semiconductor industry through a dedicated strategy and a human resources development programme, with the goal to train at least 50,000 high-quality personnel for the industry by 2030, including 42,000 engineers, 7,500 masters degree holders, 500 doctoral candidates, and 5,000 AI experts. The goal of training 50,000 semiconductor engineers within the next 5-10 years will be extremely challenging without a solid strategic foundation and concrete actions starting now, he added. Dr. Hoang proposed a dual-level training model: simultaneously training both lecturers and students through visiting professors, thereby cultivating a core group of elite professionals. He also suggested implementing a workforce development framework comprising 70 per cent operational engineers, 20 per cent design engineers, and 10 per cent researchers, to ensure sustainable growth of 25 per cent annually for Vietnams semiconductor industry. For training infrastructure, Dr. Hoang proposed that 20 leading technology universities enrol 5,000 students annually, forming the foundation for 10,000 new semiconductor engineers each year. In addition, attracting high-tech firms and major corporations with exceptional incentive policies, attractive living conditions, and appealing work environments is also a critical solution. Simultaneously, universities need greater academic autonomy, flexible restructuring, access to shared laboratories, stronger industry-academia collaboration, and promotion of spin-off and startup models in high-tech fields, he added. Most importantly, Hoang stressed the need for Vietnam to not only receive but also master technologies. Technology transfer must be closely tied to intellectual property rights to generate real value. From an international perspective, Felix Weidenkaff, an expert for Labor Market Policy and Employment at the International Labour Organization, noted that the electronics industry is a key driver of job creation in Vietnam, particularly for medium-skilled roles in the manufacture of computer, electronic, and optical equipment. Multiple forces are rapidly changing the nature of work and skill requirements, including technological advancements, globalisation, and climate change, Weidenkaff noted. Vietnam needs to rapidly develop relevant skills to meet the increasing demands of the electronics and semiconductor industries and leverage these shifts to boost productivity and improve job quality. Le Hai Anh, who is the director of Dolphin Technology Vietnam Centre, pointed out that Vietnam faces a serious shortage of experienced personnel relative to market demand, with intense recruitment competition as more companies set up offices in Vietnam and salary levels rise rapidly. New graduates often lack skills in using commercial electronic design automation tools, tape-out procedures, soft skills, English proficiency, hands-on integrated circuit (IC) design projects, and chip testing, Anh said. There is also a lack of specialists in areas like backend design and universal verification methodology verification. The industry lacks skilled management personnel, with most companies having to train internally. In terms of policy and industry links, Vietnam lacks mechanisms to support scholarships for students undertaking internships, theses, or research projects in cooperation with businesses. Anh proposed that universities strengthen cooperation with businesses through site visits, internships, and joint graduation projects, increase investment in specialised training, and establish practical laboratories for IC design, simulation, and chip testing. From the government side, he suggested providing scholarships for students in IC fields, financial support policies for businesses prioritising new graduate recruitment, and connection platforms for shared training courses and business-university knowledge transfer. The global semiconductor market has maintained a compound annual growth rate of up to 14 per cent for the past two decades. At this pace, the sector is expected to reach the $1 trillion mark by 2030, becoming a strategic pillar of the global economy. Vietnams semiconductor strength lies in its workforce At a conference on digital twins for Vietnam's semiconductor workforce in Hanoi on June 12, industry experts declared Vietnamese workers to be its greatest advantage, which will be supported further by digital twin technology. 167 Days to Prepare for the New Federal Reporting Requirements for Hypo- and Hyperglycemia BOSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Glytec is the leading provider of an AI-powered technology platform for diabetes and related conditions, including its FDA-cleared Glucommander EHR-integrated solution for inpatient glycemic management. Today, Glytec reinforced its commitment to supporting U.S. hospitals in preparation for the upcoming Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) mandate on inpatient glycemic control reporting. New CMS glycemic mandate starts Jan 2026 - It is time to prepare for key eCQMs. With the measurement period set to begin on January 1, 2026, and just 167 days remaining, now is an important time for hospitals to begin preparing. Equipping teams with the right tools, workflows, and data systems can help ensure readiness for these critical requirementsand avoid potential reductions in Medicare reimbursement starting in fiscal year 2028. Under the new mandate, CMS will require reporting of both severe hypoglycemia (blood glucose <40 mg/dL) and severe hyperglycemia (blood glucose >300 mg/dL) as electronic clinical quality measures (eCQMs). These measures apply to nearly 40% of hospitalized patients who experience dysglycemia during their stay. "CMS is creating focus and awareness around inpatient diabetes care," said Patrick Cua, CEO of Glytec. "This will help drive improved patient care and patient safety, but hospitals also have revenue to gain via reduced length of stay and cost avoidance through reduced hypoglycemia, lower testing costs, and improved workflows. Glytec's platform is purpose-built to lead hospitals through this transition safely and to continue to innovate around diabetes workflows to drive better patient care and overall economics for healthcare stakeholders." The new CMS reporting mandate is driven in part by the increasing prevalence of diabetes and its associated complications, which place a significant burden on healthcare systems, payors, and individual lives. More than one-third of hospitalized patients require insulin therapy to manage elevated blood glucose levels during their stay [1]. Each year, more than 2 million patients experience adverse events in the hospital related to hypoglycemiaevents that, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), contribute to over $8 billion in costs and are associated with increased length of stay and higher readmission rates. Despite the widespread impact of glycemic events, nearly one-third of hospitals do not track glucose management metrics, and 59% lack automated methods to collect data on rates of hyperglycemia and hypoglycemia [2]. In response, some institutions have developed internal solutions, which, while well-intentioned, may introduce challenges related to clinical oversight, regulatory alignment, and the safe management of a high-risk therapy like insulin. Technology Built for Clinical Excellence and Return on Investment The Glytec Technology Platform, leveraged by over 400 hospitals, manages complex, high-impact workflowsfrom hospital to homewith proven results and AI-driven intelligence. It is built on over 100 patents, 100 clinical publications, 16 years of experience, and 50+ billion data points. As an FDA-cleared platform, Glytec provides: Industry superior insulin dosing algorithms with ongoing clinical validation, monitoring, and venture-backed investment Real-time dashboards aligned with CMS reporting requirements Turn-key EHR integration, enhanced cybersecurity, and reducing IT burden and overhead Freedom to operate across the breadth of Glytec's 100+ patented algorithms, workflows, and other intellectual property. In-House Insulin Tools Fall Short Some hospitals have explored building their own in-house insulin calculators to manage glycemia, but studies and real-world feedback reveal that these solutions: Lack clinical validation, scalability, and rigor of FDA-cleared solutions Can introduce user interface challenges and omit clinical guardrails that contribute to dosing errors and patient harm Require ongoing maintenance and investment that cannot keep pace with dedicated venture-backed technology companies, and Divert critical IT staff from broader strategic hospital technology objectives 167 Days and Counting to Get It Right The countdown is on. As the CMS mandate nears, hospitals must choose partners to deliver speed, safety, and scale, and avoid the cost, delay, and proven lower outcomes of risky non-regulated approaches. About Glytec Glytec's industry-leading technology platform, trusted by over 400 hospitals, empowers collaborative diabetes management and insulin dosing, improving patient outcomes, reducing hospital length of stay, and optimizing clinical workflows. Its flagship product, Glucommanderthe first-ever FDA-cleared cloud-based insulin management softwareintegrates seamlessly with EMRs, providing advanced clinical decision support, workflow alerts, patient monitoring, and AI-driven analytics. Supported by over 100 patents and 100 peer-reviewed publications, Glytec is dedicated to improving care from hospital to home. For more information, visit www.glytec.com or follow Glytec on LinkedIn. Media Contact: Public Relations [email protected] References: Umpierrez GE, et al. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 87(3), 978982. ( March 2002 ). https://doi.org/10.1210/jcem.87.3.8341 Cook CB, et al. Endocrine Practice, 16(2), 219230. ( March 2010 ). https://doi.org/10.4158/EP09234.OR SOURCE Glytec, LLC With sweat beading on his forehead and burgers sizzling on the grill a stride away, Cupps Drive-Inn co-owner Freddie Johnson said taxes on tips should have gone missing long ago. Taxes on everything else take huge bites of every dollar earned, he said, so tips should become a safe haven. The issue has become relevant with passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that, among a wide range of tax and spending measures pushed by President Donald Trump, makes yearly tips up to $25,000 deductible from federal income tax. The exemption targets people in the service industry, those who wait tables, style hair, drive taxis or change bed sheets. Talk of tax-free tipping has expanded to include tipping etiquette, the pros and cons of tipping trends, and when not tipping is acceptable. Jimmy Dorrell, who with wife Janet founded the nonprofit Mission Waco Mission World, touched several bases in his response to an inquiry. While there are exceptions and having waited tables in the past, I think most wait staff are underpaid and any extra benefit they receive is good, Dorrell said. He noted, though, he is becoming annoyed with tipping requests that seem to have become over-inflated. The requests typically appear on countertop devices used to process credit cards. Suggested tips typically range from 18% to 22%. Customers may opt not to tip, or may choose any tip amount, but the message has been sent. Dorrell said he considers not tipping only if the service is bad and the employee is difficult, but that is not a common occurrence. Not every tip is equal under the new legislation. It applies only to cash or credit card tips received directly or through tip-sharing programs in which tips are pooled and distributed among staffers. Tips must be voluntary at a rate customers decide. Fixed-rate gratuities would not qualify. Kyle Citrano, managing partner at Georges Restaurant on Hewitt Drive and president of the Waco Restaurant Association, said generally speaking he and others in the industry like the legislation, though it could make preparing W-2 forms more challenging, and questions remain about a few details. He knows servers could pocket an extra $3,000 annually with tips deducted. He said the law could make it easier to find staffers. Citrano said some may not realize the vital role tipping plays in the restaurant industry. He said full-service restaurants typically pay servers $2.13 an hour, though the federal minimum wage stands at $7.25 an hour. The IRS allows employers to pay a lower direct wage if wait staffers can make enough in tips to make up the difference. Citrano said the provision helps keep meal prices stable while patrons reward staffers for good service. He said wait staffers average $16 to $25 an hour, tips included. Pooling tips comes in many forms but usually is done to ensure hostesses, bartenders and other non-servers share in the take, Citrano said. El Conquistador, for one, does not pool tips. What a server gets is what he or she keeps, said Rosie Gonzalez, who operates the restaurant with her siblings. She said her father, Ted Gonzalez, adopted that approach when he started El Conquistador, and the family never sought to change it. A website, Tipping 101, recommends tipping 20% to 25% of the bill in sit-down restaurants; 18% to 22%, or a minimum of $5, for food delivery; $1 to $3 per drink in coffee shops and cafes; $2 per drink or 20% in bars; 15% to 20% of the fare for ride-share services such as Uber or Lyft; 20% to 25% at hair salons and barber shops; $5 to $10 per night for hotel housekeeping; and $1 to $3 at self-service kiosks, if service is personalized. Vicky Humphries, a local hair stylist 23 years, said the tax break could not come at a better time. She said her business tanked during the COVID-19 pandemic, and continues to suffer. Its been incredibly slow the past two years. Im grateful my husband has a good job, Humphries said. A lot of people are cutting their own hair, cutting their familys hair. They are not getting cuts and colors. If its a choice between buying groceries or cutting your hair, groceries win every time. Humphries said she starts each week in the negative, financially speaking, with rent and supplies counting against what she may or may not make. She said stylists as a rule do not have health insurance or retirement plans through their employer, as they work independently even in larger salons with multiple stylists. Becca McCollum, a server for four years at Harold Waites Pancake & Steakhouse, described as awesome the new law knocking down taxes on tips. They should be tax free, McCollum said. I make $2.13 an hour, so tips are very important. I am excited. Justin Edwards, general manager at the Waco Hilton, said unlike restaurant servers, housekeeping staffers in lodging establishments rarely have direct, personal interaction with guests. They often suffer from being out of sight and out of mind, and consequently receive few if any tips. Personally, I typically tip around 18% to 20% at restaurants and try to acknowledge good service whenever I encounter it; whether thats valet, housekeeping, bar staff, or others, Edwards said by email. If Im staying at a hotel and a team member vacuuming the hallway takes the time to greet me, asks how my day is going, or even just goes the extra mile to show a warm welcome, Ill usually slide them a tip and say, Lunch on me, and thanks for taking the time. Its those small, thoughtful gestures that show pride in their work, and I think they deserve to be recognized and encouraged. He said he tips $3 to $5 per night for housekeeping, more at luxury properties with exceptional service. Edwards said he does exercise his option not to tip, if circumstances warrant. Tipping someone who hasnt provided quality service or a positive experience feels more like handing out a participation trophy and Im not a fan of that approach, he said. Wes Bailey, chair of Bailey Insurance and Risk Management, said his tipping philosophy is twofold. He rewards excellence and strives to be generous, since food servers are under a lot of stress. I personally think the appropriate tip begins at 20% and goes up with how well someone has performed, Bailey said. I can never, ever remember a time when I did not leave a tip. The fact that those receiving tips will no longer be paying taxes on the first $25,000 will have absolutely no impact on my tipping habits. It will obviously be better for them, which I find very pleasing. Dan Ingham, senior vice president for marketing and communication at First National Bank of Central Texas, also said he views 20% as a tipping baseline. If the service is exceptional, Ill go higher, Ingham said. Of not leaving a tip, Ingham said, It would have to be an extreme situation like outright rudeness or neglect without any explanation. Even then, Id probably still leave something, just less than usual. I try to remember that a lot can be going on behind the scenes that I dont see. 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7 Sep (15) 24 Aug - 31 Aug (14) 17 Aug - 24 Aug (9) 10 Aug - 17 Aug (5) Co-founder of XOVERLAND and CEO of the Overland Collective, Rachelle Croft to enter rally in Toyota vehicle with co-driver Taylor Pawley to enter rally in Toyota vehicle with co-driver Toyota continues to send 12 team members to compete in rally Presenting sponsor of the event's Live Webcast for fourth consecutive year THREE FORKS, Mont., July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- This past weekend at the XOVERLAND Ranch, Toyota Motor North America (Toyota) announced the renewal of its participation in the Rebelle Rally, the longest competitive off-road navigation rally in the United States known for featuring all-women two-person teams. For 2025, Toyota is fielding a team from outside the company, a first for the company, while continuing to send 12 internal team members to compete. Additionally, Toyota is returning as presenting sponsor of the live event webcast for the fourth consecutive year. Toyota Charts Course for the 2025 Rebelle Rally (PRNewsfoto/Toyota Motor North America) For its first-ever external team, Toyota is proud to back Rachelle Croftco-founder of XOVERLAND and CEO of The Overland Collective, which includes XOVERLAND, Expedition Portal, Overland Journal, and the XOVERLAND Ranchand her driving partner Taylor Pawley as they make their triumphant return to Rebelle Rally 2025. Croft and Pawley previously clinched first place overall in the 2019 event, showcasing their exceptional off-road skills and teamwork. Croft, known for her extensive experience in overlanding and her fearless approach to adventure driving, navigated the rugged terrain with precision. Pawley, with her navigational skills and strategic acumen, complemented Croft's driving, guiding the team to victory. "We are thrilled to work with Rachelle and Taylor, who have demonstrated their passion for off-roading both on the course and outside of it," said Samantha Barber, senior manager of production engineering at Toyota and multi-year participant in the Rebelle Rally. "Following their example of pushing boundaries and embracing new challenges is an inspiration to us, and we are excited to see our own engineers join this year's event to test the performance of our vehicles in the tough course of Rebelle Rally." As the presenting webcast partner, Toyota will help bring the excitement of the 2025 Rebelle Rally to fans worldwide through an online live-coverage platform. The coverage provides remote viewers with a more immersive experience of the competition, including the various teams' challenges and triumphs as the rally progresses. Rebelle Rally takes place from October 8-18, 2025, over a 2,500-kilometer course laid through the stunning terrain and deserts of Nevada and California, putting drivers' and co-drivers' grit, navigation, and off-road skills to the test. About Toyota Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in the U.S. for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our nearly 1,500 dealerships. Toyota directly employs nearly 48,000 people in the U.S. who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of more than 35 million cars and trucks at our 11 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota's plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles. Through its Driving Possibilities initiative, the Toyota USA Foundation has committed to creating innovative educational programs within, and in partnership with, historically underserved communities near the company's U.S. operating sites. For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com. Contact Olivia Boisineau-Beckett Mobility Communications 734-834-0885 [email protected] SOURCE Toyota Motor North America You get double whammy kKEETON quotes today 2. The most critical situation that Israel has been attempting to provoke recently in the Middle East is a conflict with Turkey. This raises the question of whether the United States will be compelled to intervene against a NATO member. Will Israel directly engage in hostilities with Turkey rather than Syria? It is worth noting that Turkey, which has the largest military force in the region, could severely damage Israel without U.S. support. If Israel has already sustained significant damage from Iranian strikes, they must prepare for the consequences of being targeted by Turkey. For a nation that lacks adequate weaponry, defenses, or military capabilities, Israel is overextending itself and pursuing a misguided course. All of this is done under the plea of, USA help us! kKEETON So cool to watch As country after country sets up new trade and financing outside of the $ dollar. Just like India and Russia are at 85% + trade only in their currencies. No dollars any more and then more countries are doing the same. Chipping away It is what happens when you become too arrogant and hubris driven WtR Incontrovertible evidence of a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention by the Kiev regime and its Western patrons. Chief of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces Major General Aleksei Rtishchev: The Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation continues to analyse the activities of the Western and Ukrainian states related to the violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. In its reports, the Russian Defence Ministry has consistently presented a set of incontrovertible evidence, including material and documentary evidence, which clearly reveal a violation of the Convention by the Kiev regime and its Western patrons. In the course of the special military operation, more than 500 cases of use of riot control agents by the Ukrainian side (chloroacetophenone, CS gas), as well as toxic substances of psychotropical agents (BZ) and general toxic agents (chlorcyan, prussic acid) were recorded. Russian Defence Ministry Preparation of provocations by Armed Forces of Ukraine Chief of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces Major General Aleksei Rtishchev: Since the beginning of 2025, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have regularly used copter-type unmanned aerial vehicles to drop containers with CS and improvised ammunition containing chloropicrin at the positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In particular, such facts have been noted near Liman Pervy (Kharkov region) and Kolotilovka (Belgorod region). The latest case was recorded on 8 July 2025, near Ivanovka (Donetsk Peoples Republic), where Ukrainian nationalists dropped a munition filled with chloropicrin and chloroacetophenone from an unmanned aerial vehicle. Similar incidents also occurred near Donetsk, Bogdanovka, Gorlovka, Kremennaya, and Artemovsk. Moreover, with the support of Western curators, the Kiev regime has not abandoned its long-established barbarous tactics of conducting combat operations using the chemical belt method, which consists of placing and detonating tanks with toxic chemicals in the areas of the Russian troops combat operations. The material received is evidence of the preparation of another provocation following this scenario. During the operational events on 3 July 2025, it was established that AFU servicemen had installed an antenna post near Novotroitskoye in a large distribution point of ammonia. The enterprise is a Class 1 Hazard object and, if hit, there is a risk of emission of more than 550 tonnes of liquid ammonia into the environment. The intention is based on subsequent accusations of our countrys deliberately creating a human-made catastrophe and causing reputational damage to our country. I would like to remind you that the use of a high-risk facility for military purposes is a violation of international humanitarian law. Russian Defence Ministry Evidence does not receive proper reaction Chief of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces Major General Aleksei Rtishchev: The slide presents the original letter from the deputy director of the State Enterprise Ukrkhimtransammiak to the head of the regional military administration confirming the deployment of military equipment at the site. Since the start of the special military operation, several dozens of caches of toxic agents and improvised chemical munitions have been detected during the operations. In 2024, a chemical laboratory was detected close to Avdeyevka. The facility was designed to produce general toxic agents, including those based on prussic acid. In May 2025, the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation, together with the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation detected another cache of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near the Ilyinka, Kurakhovo District (Donetsk Peoples Republic). It contained improvised explosive devices, which were designed to be dropped from unmanned aerial vehicles, filled with explosives and vials with toxic liquids. The analysis of the vials, carried out by a chemical-analytical laboratory accredited by the OPCW, in full compliance with the Organisations standards, has revealed the presence of chloropicrin, which is listed in Schedule 3 of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. A criminal case has been initiated under Article 355 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the development, production, stockpiling, acquisition or sale of weapons of mass destruction. During the 109th session of the Executive Council, held in The Hague from 8 to 11 July 2025, the Russian Federation asked the Director General of the OPCW to send a team of experts from the Technical Secretariat to Russia to assist with the investigation of crimes committed by the Ukrainian government. Additionally, a draft agreement was proposed between Russia and the OPCW regarding the organisation and conduct of visits for providing such assistance. This step arises from the fact that the Organisation has not responded properly to all previously submitted documentary evidence and expert opinions. There are about 40 notes verbales from the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the OPCW that have still not received a meaningful response. Russian Defence Ministry Western-imposed bias Chief of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces Major General Aleksei Rtishchev: Moreover, unsubstantiated requests from the Ukrainian side receive immediate support from the OPCWs bureaucratic structures with the assistance of accredited laboratories. I would like to remind you that Ukraine and the OPCW Technical Secretariat have signed a special cooperation agreement. Within the framework of the mentioned document, Ukraine has already received equipment worth several million dollars, and more than 40 Ukrainian servicemen have undergone training at the Chemical Technology Centre in The Hague. This is an indication of the Western countries commitment to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and their policy of protectionism towards a particular nation, which is not consistent with the Charter and fundamental principles of the international organisation. Taking advantage of its privileges, Ukraine has repeatedly turned to the OPCW (Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) Technical Secretariat in order to legitimise incidents staged by Ukrainian and Western intelligence agencies, allegedly involving the use of riot control agents by Russian troops on the line of contact. This predatory anti-Russian campaign, with contrived accusations, continued at the latest session of the Executive Council. In violation of the provisions of the Convention, Kiev urged the Director General of the Organisation to establish an attribution mechanism in relation to the Russian Federation. Having no sufficient level of competence and an accredited laboratory base for the OPCW, Kiev refers to research results of Western laboratories and some intelligence that can be neither verified nor confirmed. Obviously, Ukraine only speaks on behalf of its Western sponsors. The purpose of such anti-Russian attacks is clear: to present our country as a malicious violator of the Chemical Weapons Convention. Russian Defence Ministry Pure russophobia at Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons platform Chief of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces Major General Aleksei Rtishchev: According to Western countries, in the long run, these aggressive actions could lead to the restriction or suspension of Russias rights and privileges under the Convention, imposing of sanctions, as has been done in the Syrian Arab Republic, however it has no legal basis. In the midst of the blatant russophobia at the OPCW platform, the UK on 7 July imposed restrictions on the command of the radiation, chemical, and biological protection troops of the Russian Armed Forces and a number of industrial enterprises. We believe that this only confirms the correctness of our course of action in identifying and publicising the crimes of the Kiev regime and its Western supporters. I would like to remind you that there are still some issues concerning the UK related to the disposal of 5,000 chemical artillery and rocket chemical projectiles and aerial bombs that were left after the fall of Saddam Husseins regime in Iraq. The ammunition was allegedly destroyed unilaterally by the United States and the United Kingdom, without the control of the Technical Secretariat, in blatant violation of Article III of the Convention. Once again, we call on the leadership and technical bodies of the OPCW to review Ukraines violations of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in accordance with the norms of international law on the basis of objectivity and impartial assessment. These facts show that the activities of the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons have become highly politicised due to pressure from Western countries, which, by their will, impose unilateral sanctions, make unfounded accusations against undesirable countries, and misuse the provisions of the Convention. This is evidenced by the creation of a special mission division within the OPCW, one of whose tasks will be to gather information on possible cases of the development and use of toxic substances by the former Syrian army. This is all pure nonsense by the leadership of the OPCW. We drew attention to a statement by Dutch Defence Minister Ruben Brekelmans on 4 July in which he accused Russia of violating the Convention on the basis of some available intelligence. This form of the report is chosen not by accident, as it allows pressing charges without providing concrete evidence. This step once again demonstrates the anti-Russian intentions of the Dutch government and its desire to undermine the authority of our country. Obviously, the West will continue to exploit the OPCW as an instrument of political pressure on Russia, disregarding objective facts. The Russian side will continue to work to counter this policy and to inform the international community about the violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention by the Ukrainian government and its supporters. Russian Defence Ministry Briefing by Chief of Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Protection Troops of the Russian Armed Forces Major General Aleksei Rtishchev Read full text Russian Defence Ministry WtR Police advised scumbag shoplifters sign was provocative and offensive, claims shop owner A shop owner in Wrexham city centre says he has been ask by police to reword a sign something that will not happen. R.U.N. Ragged a shop specialising in a curated collection of quirky home decor, rare collectibles and lots more on Bank Street shared the above image of a sign they placed, with a self explanatory guide to shoppers on why a store policy had been altered. However, it appears the sign has drawn the attention of local police following a complaint. Sharing the sign, R.U.N. Ragged said, You couldnt make this up, I have just had the police in the shop only to be informed that the signs on my cabinets could be seen as provocative and offensive and they advised me to re word them They stated a rewording would not happen. When I asked who it could offend I was told a member of the public had reported the sign to them ,I just wonder if that person was a shoplifter who was offended as it was detrimental to their work? Well guys if you know me you will know I dont mean to cause offence but in this case please feel free to be offended and stop frequenting my shop you are no loss You can check out Run Ragged at No7 on Bank Street in Wrexham city centre or online via runraggedwrexham.co.uk. Repair backlog slashed by 46% at Wrexham Councils social housing as 43,000+ repairs carried out The social housing repair backlog in Wrexham has been slashed by 46% in 19 months despite a series of severe storms last winter. Tradespeople and contact centre staff employed by Wrexham County Borough Council were praised during Wednesdays meeting of its Homes and Environment Scrutiny Committee for reducing the waiting list for repairs from 5,507 in January 2024 to 2,951 currently. Thats despite receiving 802 calls for housing repair over a four-day period in December when Storm Darragh caused devastation across the UK. Those outstanding repair jobs relate to 1,675 homes 15% of Wrexhams housing stock, with some homes waiting for more than one repair. Of those, 1,639 are classed as a backlog they have not been completed within the required timescale but Head of Service Lee Roberts said that number was reducing all the time. We have 11,087 properties in our housing stock, he said. As a result expect to have around 1,500 -1,700 repairs outstanding at any given time. But those that are past their date our teams are focusing on and we are getting that number down. We are in a much better position than we were in January last year when we had just had the strike and the backlog was over 5,500. And we have capacity to recruit the skills we need. We have budget for 137 tradespeople and currently we employ 124, including five apprentices. As we are getting the number in the backlog down we have not yet gone out to fill those vacancies however if we needed to, because we suddenly had a shortage of a specific skill, we have the flexibility to do that. Last year 43,000 repairs were carried out on social housing across Wrexham 21,000 going to the Direct Labour Organisation (Wrexham Council tradespeople) and the rest going to external contractors. Each month the call centre team in Ruthin Road received 1,751 calls requesting housing repairs. This year Wrexham Council increased the housing repair budget slightly to 2.9 million to accelerate progress. Councillors praised the work of the Housing Repairs team in reducing the backlog. It is a positive report and I think we can all be pleased with the reduction in the number of outstanding repairs compared to last year, said Homes and Environment Scrutiny Committee chair Cllr Paul Rogers. Committee member Cllr Paul Blackwell also praised the team but questioned why there were so many repairs needed. Excellent progress has been made, he said. But there are 1,751 calls coming in a month but weve modernised much of our stock. Why have we got all these issues? According to Mr Roberts, despite the modernisation programme the majority of Wrexhams housing stock is ageing and in need of significant upgrade. We brought in a policy a few years ago whereby when properties became voids when tenants left them we would fully refurbish them, he said. But 58% of our housing stock still has not been through that full refurb process and it is ageing stock. Officers will report progress against the backlog to the committee in 12 months. By Alec Doyle BBC Local Democracy Reporter UK Government follows Wales in giving 16 year olds right to vote with expanded voter ID Sixteen year olds will be given the right to vote in all UK elections as part of seismic changes to modernise UK democracy say UK Government. Currently 16 year olds in Wrexham can vote in Senedd elections, but General Elections. A new Elections Bill will come forward from the UK Labour Government to change that, and depending how soon it happens, 16 year olds could be voting for their next local councillor. UK Government say, This will mean young people, who already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military, will be given the right to vote on the issues that affect them. This will bring UK-wide elections in line with Scotland and Wales and is a major step towards meeting a manifesto commitment, ushering in the biggest change to UK democracy in a generation. As part of the plans, the government is going further to make sure eligible voters are not deterred from voting, by expanding voter ID to permit the use of UK-issued bank cards as an accepted form of ID at the polling station. This is alongside harnessing more digital options to support voters and polling station staff, including allowing accepted IDs such as the Veteran Card and UK driving licence to be used at polling stations when they become available in digital format. They add, A new digital Voter Authority Certificate will also be created to ensure Electoral Registration Officers can meet the digital needs of voters, reduce printing costs and ensure faster delivery. Tightening of cash flowing to politics is also noted, Major new changes will boost transparency and accountability in politics by closing loopholes that would allow foreign donors via shell companies to influence UK political parties. Meanwhile, new requirements on unincorporated associations will mandate checks on donations over 500 to tackle foreign interference and protect UK democracy from those who attempt to undermine it. Alongside this, the reforms will allow the Electoral Commission to take action and enforce heavier fines of up to 500,000 on those who breach political finance rules, and enable tougher sentences for those who abuse election campaigners stabilising the foundations of UK democracy. Later detail notes, In relation to political finance, the changes being brought by the government will effectively meet an evolving and sophisticated threat of illicit money being funnelled from abroad to political parties. Tough new rules will ensure that in the future, shell companies will not be permitted to make political donations to UK political parties. This will end the status quo, where a new company registered today, owned by anyone, funded from anywhere, without even a single day of trade, can donate and have influence in UK politics. The introduction of Know your Donor checks will increase scrutiny of donations, requiring recipients to conduct enhanced checks to decrease the risk of illegitimate donations entering our system, guarding against foreign interference. This will close loopholes, reinforce our democracy and protect our citizens from those who seek to undermine and harm our society. Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner said, For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline. We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy, supporting our Plan for Change, and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give sixteen year olds the right to vote. We cannot take our democracy for granted, and by protecting our elections from abuse and boosting participation we will strengthen the foundations of our society for the future. Minister for Democracy, Rushanara Ali, said: We are modernising our democracy, so that it is fit for the 21st century. By delivering our manifesto commitment to extend the vote to 16 and 17 year olds, we are taking a generational step forward in restoring public trust and boosting engagement in UK democracy, supporting our Plan for Change. By reinforcing safeguards against foreign interference, we will strengthen our democratic institutions and protect them for future generations. Another element of the reforms is to protect all voters, candidates, campaigners and electoral staff are safe from intimidation, harassment and abuse. UK Gov say candidate addresses will not have to be made public, This behaviour is on the rise, particularly against women and ethnic minorities with recent Electoral Commission research showing 55% of candidates at the 2024 General Election experienced abuse. The reforms will crack down on these unacceptable practices, delivering tougher sentences for those who intimidate campaigners and stronger protections for candidates in public life by removing the requirement for their home address to be published and openly available. Osvezili smo platformu sa muzickim kanalima, a preko koje mozete slusati i Radio 021. Preporucujemo vam novu kategoriju - LOUNGE , za bas dobar uzitak i relax tokom dana. Vas 021! A longtime Northern Nevada grocery chain is preparing to close its doors for good. Joey and Jerry Scolari, owners of Scolaris Food and Drug Company, announced plans to close the companys last two stores located in Sun Valley and Sparks. The decision ends the operation of a family-owned business that has been part of the regions retail landscape since 1947. The Scolari family said they were unable to reach an agreement to extend the lease or purchase the Sun Valley property. Continuing to operate only the Sparks location would require significant capital investments and modernization, which they said would be difficult to justify amid shifting consumer shopping habits. This is not a decision weve taken lightly, said Joey and Jerry Scolari. Our roots in the grocery industry go back nearly 80 years, and we are incredibly grateful to our loyal customers, dedicated employees, and supportive communities. But the time has come for our family to move on to the next chapter. Known for its neighborhood presence and local commitment, Scolaris has been a familiar name in Northern Nevada for decades. The company said details about closing dates and employee transition support will be shared in the coming weeks. Community Health Alliance is partnering with the Washoe County School District for a series of back-to-school vaccine clinics. The clinics will be held throughout late July and the first week of \August, and will offer Tdap, MCV4, HPV, Hep A, and other vaccines free for uninsured children who need them while supplies last A parent or legal guardian must be present. While insurance is not required, if your child is insured, please bring your insurance card. Walk-ins are welcome on a first-come, first-served basis, but appointments are given priority and are encouraged. You can schedule an appointment at this link. Dates and times for the vaccine clinics can be found below. Tuesday, July 22 from 2-5:30 p.m. at Dilworth Middle School, 255 Prater Way, Sparks, NV 89431 255 Prater Way, Sparks, NV 89431 Wednesday, July 23 from 2-5:30 p.m. at McQueen High School, 6055 Lancer St., Reno, NV 89523 Thursday, July 24 from 2-5:30 p.m. at Depoali Middle School, 9300 Wilbur May Pkwy., Reno, NV 89521 Tuesday, July 29 from 2-5:30 p.m. at Swope Middle School, 901 Keele Dr., Reno, NV 89509 Wednesday, July 30 from 2-5:30 p.m. at Vaughn Middle School, 1200 Bresson Ave., Reno, NV 89502 Thursday, July 31 from 2-5:30 p.m. at Spanish Springs High School, 1065 Eagle Canyon Dr., Sparks, NV 89441 Tuesday, Aug. 5 from 2-5:30 p.m. at North Valleys High School, 1470 E. Golden Valley Rd., Reno, NV 89506 Wednesday, Aug. 6 from 2-5:30 p.m. at Mendive Middle School, 1900 Whitewood Dr., Sparks, NV 89434 Thursday, Aug. 7 from 2-5:30 p.m. at Hug High School, 3530 Sullivan Ln., Sparks, NV 89431 GOTHENBURG, Sweden, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Second quarter Sales of SEK 871 (941) million, a flat growth in local currencies and a 7% decrease in SEK, due to a significant currency impact of -8%. Organic growth in local currencies excluding discontinued business was 3%. (941) million, a flat growth in local currencies and a 7% decrease in SEK, due to a significant currency impact of -8%. Organic growth in local currencies excluding discontinued business was 3%. Sales per region, in local currencies was -3% in EMEA, +5% excluding discontinued business, +5% in Americas and 0% in APAC. Sales per product group, in local currencies excluding discontinued business was +9% in Consumables, -6% in Technologies and +3% in Genetics. Sales per product group, in local currencies was +5% in Consumables, -8% in Technologies and 0% in Genetics. Gross margin decreased to 58.0% (59.9) also negatively impacted by currency. Earnings before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased to SEK 243 (327) million, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 27.8% (34.7), significantly impacted by negative currency effect. (327) million, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 27.8% (34.7), significantly impacted by negative currency effect. Operating cash flow amounted to SEK 151 million (236). (236). Net income was SEK 100 (143) million, resulting in earnings per share of SEK 0.74 (1.06). (143) million, resulting in earnings per share of (1.06). Vitrolife AB (publ) acquired a leading stake in AutoIVF. First half year Sales of SEK 1,714 (1,782) million, a flat growth in local currencies and a 4% decrease in SEK, due to a significant currency impact of -4%. Organic growth in local currencies excluding discontinued business was 3%. (1,782) million, a flat growth in local currencies and a 4% decrease in SEK, due to a significant currency impact of -4%. Organic growth in local currencies excluding discontinued business was 3%. Sales per region, in local currencies was +2% in EMEA, +10% excluding discontinued business, +7% in Americas and -8% in APAC. Sales per product group, in local currencies excluding discontinued business was +7% in Consumables, -6% in Technologies and +4% in Genetics. Sales per product group, in local currencies was +4% in Consumables, -7% in Technologies and +1% in Genetics. Gross margin decreased to 57.7% (58.6) also negatively impacted by currency. Earnings before depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) decreased to SEK 500 (600) million, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 29.2% (33.6), significantly impacted by negative currency effect. (600) million, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 29.2% (33.6), significantly impacted by negative currency effect. Operating cash flow amounted to SEK 220 million (434). (434). Net income was SEK 199 (258) million, resulting in earnings per share of SEK 1.48 (1.91). Gothenburg, July 17, 2025 VITROLIFE AB (publ) Bronwyn Brophy O'Connor, CEO This disclosure contains information that Vitrolife AB (publ) is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation (EU nr 596/2014) and the Swedish Securities Markets Act (2007:528). The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person, on 17-07-2025 08:00 CET. Contact: Amelie Wilson, Investor Relations, External Corporate Communications and Executive Support, [email protected] This is a translation of the Swedish version of the press release. When in doubt, the Swedish wording prevails. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/vitrolife-ab--publ-/r/interim-report-q2--2025--strong-performance-across-consumables,c4207968 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Main/1031/4207968/3582776.pdf Interim report Q2, 2025 SOURCE Vitrolife AB Northern Nevada HOPES has opened a Behavioral Health Clinic in Reno, offering a new walk-in model designed to make mental health care more accessible for individuals who may otherwise face barriers to treatment. Located at 1905 E. 4th St., next to the CARES Campus, the new clinic includes an Access Clinic, a walk-in space where individuals can receive immediate behavioral health screenings without needing a referral from a primary care provider. This changes the way things were run in the past, said Kyle Sunderland, LCSW, Director of Behavioral Health at Northern Nevada HOPES. Usually, you have to go through primary care. By doing this, we are creating a low-barrier access point for people to receive services. Sunderland explained that the clinic allows anyone seeking help to walk in, be screened by a behavioral health specialist, and get connected with appropriate services, either through a same-day walk-in appointment or by scheduling a future visit. You can come in off the streets, get an appointment or a walk-in appointment if available, and be established as a patient. We will then be able to get them help to heal, and then get them into primary care. Its an ebb and flow, he said. While the clinic can assist individuals experiencing emotional distress, Sunderland emphasized that it is not a crisis facility. We are not a crisis clinic. We can handle distressed emotions, but we would have to refer to the hospital or whatever agency someone needed in a crisis situation. The clinic offers a range of services, including brief and ongoing psychotherapy, play therapy for children, intensive outpatient therapy, group therapy, medication-assisted treatment for substance use, and psychiatric care. Screenings through the Access Clinic help guide patients to the most appropriate therapy or program. To help expand the availability of psychiatric care, HOPES has also launched a new residency program in partnership with the University of Nevada, Reno, School of Medicine. The initiative embeds psychiatry residents in the clinic to provide integrated care and support the development of future mental health professionals. Sunderland said that the clinic accepts Medicaid and other insurance plans, and offers a sliding fee scale for those who are underinsured or uninsured. They can walk in, get a behavioral packet. We accept Medicaid, other insurances, and for those underinsured or with no insurance, we have a sliding fee schedule, he said. He also addressed the stigma some people may feel around seeking mental health care. I say give it a shot, really. It is just you healing or learning from things that have caused you stress before. I dont see growth as a weak thing. I see it as a positive thing. When asked why offering services in this way matters, Sunderland explained, The whole idea in providing therapy is making yourself the best person you can be and learning from yourself too. So I think with this, it will just allow like a holistic care approach to healing as well. Sunderland described the new Access Clinic as a model unlike anything else currently available in the area. I dont know of any access points like this clinic. We are optimizing the programs we have with all the programs that are available. It is like no other. HOPES is hosting a fundraising event, Harmonies for HOPES, on Saturday, August 16 from 46:30 p.m. at the Note-ables Auditorium. All proceeds benefit the clinics behavioral health services. Tickets are available at give.nnhopes.org/rjo25. The Access Clinic is not a crisis center. For emergencies, individuals should call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. For 24/7 mental health support, contact Crisis Support Services by calling or texting 988. For more information or to become a patient, visit nnhopes.org or call 775-786-4673. The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles is warning residents to ignore and report scam texts that falsely claim to come from the agency. A public service announcement shared on the DMVs official Facebook page states, Be on the lookout for another wave of scam texts and remember to IGNORE and REPORT! As a reminder, we will NEVER send out unsolicited texts or emails. An example of the fraudulent message includes a notice claiming to be a Final Notice from the DMV, stating that enforcement penalties begin on July 18. The message falsely claims the recipient has an unpaid traffic ticket and lists consequences if payment is not made by July 17, 2025. It also directs users to a fake payment website. The image shared in the DMVs post highlights the warning: THIS IS A SCAM. IGNORE AND REPORT! and cautions residents not to click any links or follow any instructions in the message. The post adds, Stay safe, Nevadans! Authorities urge anyone receiving such messages to report them and avoid sharing any personal information. (The DMV Nevada contributed to this story.) A Reno woman was arrested Wednesday in connection with an ongoing child sexual abuse material investigation that began in Redding earlier this year. Detectives with the Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit arrested 22-year-old Kirstin Montegna on July 16 with assistance from the University Police Department Northern Command. According to investigators, the case originated in April when the Redding Police Department arrested a man for possession of child sexual abuse material, or CSAM. During their investigation, officers learned the man had been sending and receiving CSAM from Montegna in Reno. Redding detectives passed the information to the HEAT Unit in May. After taking over the case, HEAT detectives determined that Montegna not only possessed CSAM involving children between the ages of 1 and 13, but was also distributing the material. Following Montegnas arrest, HEAT detectives executed a search warrant at her home with support from the Reno Police Departments Computer Crimes Unit, Sparks Police Departments Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, and K9 Bandit, the departments electronic storage detection dog. Investigators said K9 Bandit helped locate and recover additional evidence connected to the case. Authorities also learned that Montegna and the man in Redding had discussed locating a child to engage in sexual acts, according to the investigation. Montegna was booked into the Washoe County Sheriffs Office on charges of distribution of child pornography, possession of child pornography of a person under 16, and conspiracy to commit sexual assault of a minor. Anyone with information related to this ongoing investigation, or who suspects sex trafficking, prostitution, or child exploitation, is encouraged to contact HEAT at rpdheat@reno.gov, call the Reno Police Departments non-emergency line at 775-334-2677, or leave an anonymous tip through Secret Witness by calling or texting 775-322-4900 or visiting secretwitness.com. PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) Cambodia on Wednesday said that an order by Prime Minister Hun Manet for government bodies to crackdown on criminal cybercrime operations being run in the country had resulted in the arrest of more than 1,000 suspects so far this week. Hun Manet issued the order authorising state action for maintaining and protecting security, public order, and social safety. The government has observed that online scams are currently causing threats and insecurity in the world and the region. In Cambodia, foreign criminal groups have also infiltrated to engage in online scams, Hun Manets statement, dated Tuesday, said. The United Nations and other agencies estimate that cyberscams, most of them originating from Southeast Asia, earn international criminal gangs billions of dollars annually. More than 1,000 suspects were arrested in raids in at least five provinces between Monday and Wednesday, according to statements from Information Minister Neth Pheaktra and police. Those detained included more than 200 Vietnamese, 27 Chinese, and 75 suspects from Taiwan and 85 Cambodians in the capital Phnom Penh and the southern city of Sihanoukville. Police also seized equipment, including computers and hundreds of mobile phones. At least 270 Indonesians, including 45 women, were arrested Wednesday in Poipet, a town on the border with Thailand notorious for cyberscam and gambling operations, the minister said. Elsewhere, police in the northeastern province of Kratie arrested 312 people, including nationals of Thailand, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Myanmar and Vietnam, while 27 people from Vietnam, China and Myanmar were arrested in the western province of Pursat. Amnesty International last month published the findings of an 18-month investigation into cybercrime in Cambodia, which the human rights group said point towards state complicity in abuses carried out by Chinese criminal gangs. The Cambodian government is deliberately ignoring a litany of human rights abuses including slavery, human trafficking, child labor and torture being carried out by criminal gangs on a vast scale in more than 50 scamming compounds located across the country, it said. Human trafficking is closely associated with cyberscam operations, as workers are often recruited under false pretences and then held captive. Deceived, trafficked and enslaved, the survivors of these scamming compounds describe being trapped in a living nightmare enlisted in criminal enterprises that are operating with the apparent consent of the Cambodian government, Amnesty Internationals Secretary General Agnes Callamard said. Cambodia's latest crackdown comes in the midst of a bitter feud with neighboring Thailand, which began with a brief armed skirmish in late May over border territory claimed by both nations and has now led to border closures and nearly daily exchanges of nationalistic insults. Friendly former leaders of both countries have become estranged and there have been hot debates over which nations cultural heritage has influenced the other. Measures initiated by the Thai side, including cutting off cross-border electricity supplies and closing crossing points, have particularly heightened tensions, with Cambodia claiming they were churlish actions of spite to retaliate for its intention to pursue its territorial claims. Thailand said its original intention was to combat long-existing cyberscam operations in Poipet. Associated Press writer Grant Peck in Bangkok contributed to this report. A new bill in Congress aims to classify extreme heat as a major disaster, allowing communities to access critical federal resources as temperatures continue to rise nationwide. U.S. Senators Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, along with U.S. Representative Sylvia Garcia of Texas, introduced the Extreme Heat Emergency Act to add extreme heat to the list of disasters eligible for a Major Disaster Declaration under the Stafford Act. This designation would allow local governments to request federal aid similar to what is available for hurricanes, floods, and wildfires. The lawmakers pointed to recent extreme heat events and rising death tolls as a growing concern for public safety. On Monday, Las Vegas recorded its hottest day of the year so far, and officials have reported 29 heat-related deaths in Southern Nevada. Last year, more than 500 people died in one single county in Nevada from heat-related illnesses, said Rosen. Current federal policy ignores the physical and health risks that such extremely high temperatures have on our communities, which is why Im introducing a bill to change that. By classifying extreme heat as a major disaster, our communities will be able to receive the federal funding needed to respond and prepare for future extreme heat events. Gallego emphasized the national scope of the issue, saying, Each year, extreme heat kills more Americans than every other form of extreme weather combined. But still the federal government sits on the sideline, leaving state and local governments to drain their funds trying to keep people safe. By adding extreme heat to FEMAs list of major disasters, we can unlock the funds and support our communities desperately need. Garcia echoed the need for federal action. If you found out that thousands of Americans were dying every year from a single cause, youd be shocked to learn that the federal government has no plan. But thats exactly whats happening with extreme heat. Without a disaster declaration, federal response teams and experts are forced to sit on the sidelines while people suffer and die. Thats unconscionable and it needs to change, she said. Im proud to sponsor the Extreme Heat Emergency Act with Senators Rosen and Gallego to ensure local and state governments don't have to face this challenge alone. Federal law must catch up to the reality were living. Experts say that the problem is worsening across the country. Its only mid-July, and the Southwest, Pacific Northwest, the Midwest, the Mid-Atlantic, and New England have already experienced record high temperatures, said Hannah Safford, Associate Director of Climate and Environment at the Federation of American Scientists. Each year, extreme heat causes thousands of deaths and hundreds of billions of dollars in damages to critical infrastructure and economic productivity and overwhelms the capabilities of local governments. The Extreme Heat Emergency Act recognizes extreme heat for what it is an emergency that the federal government needs to be ready to support response to before, during, and after the disaster, Safford added. Recognizing extreme heat as an emergency is critical to a heat-ready nation, as FAS emphasizes in its 2025 Heat Policy Agenda. Lawmakers say the proposed legislation is essential for communities like those in Nevada, Arizona, and Texas, which are often among the hardest hit by extreme temperatures. DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. The late Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken to the priest about the war's toll on civilians. The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating. Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in response to the attack. In a telegram of condolences for the victims, Leo expressed his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region. The pope said he was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack, and expressed his closeness to the wounded priest, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, and the entire parish. President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his frustration over the strike on the church, the White House said. Netanyahu later released a statement saying Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gazas Holy Family Church. Hundreds of people sheltered at the church The church compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the casualties. The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parishs 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Parish priest Romanelli was lightly wounded. We were struck in the church while all the people there were elders, innocent people and children, said Shady Abu Dawood, whose mother was wounded by shrapnel to her head. We love peace and call for it, and this is a brutal, unjustified action by the Israeli occupation. The Israeli military said an initial assessment indicated that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly. It said it was still investigating. The military said it only strikes militant targets, makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them." Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable, she said. Church compounds have been struck before The church is just a stones throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. Targeting a holy site is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war, the Church said in a statement. Separately, another person was killed and 17 wounded Thursday in a strike against two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. The Gaza Health Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, local hospitals received the bodies of 94 people killed in Israeli strikes and another 367 wounded. Pope Francis spoke almost daily with Gaza church In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Francis had repeatedly criticized Israel's wartime conduct, and last year suggested that allegations of genocide in Gaza which Israel has rejected as a blood libel should be investigated. The late pope also met with the families of Israeli hostages and called for their release. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Departments international religious freedom report for 2024. Most are Greek Orthodox. The Holy Land's Christian population has dwindled in recent decades as many have emigrated to escape war and conflict or to seek better opportunities abroad. Local Christian leaders have recently denounced attacks by Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists. Ceasefire talks continue There has been little visible progress in months of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement, after Israel ended an earlier truce in March. According to an Israeli official familiar with the details, Israel is showing flexibility on some of the issues that have challenged negotiators, including Israel's presence in some of the security corridors the military has carved into the territory. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations, said Israel has shown some willingness to compromise on the Morag Corridor, which cuts across southern Gaza. However, other issues remain, including the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed by Israel and commitments to end the war. The official says there are signs of optimism but there wont be a deal immediately. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive Israels retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. Lidman reported from Tel Aviv, Israel. Colleen Barry in Milan, Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed. Follow APs war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the countrys post-war transition. The conflict had drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze before a truce mediated by the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries and announced Wednesday halted most of the fighting. However, Syrian state media said Thursday that Druze militiamen had launched revenge attacks on Sunni Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of their displacement. There were some reports of renewed clashes. Bedouin clans had fought on the government side, while the Israeli military came to the assistance of the Druze, who form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military. A new ceasefire deal Under the latest truce, reached Wednesday after a previous agreement unraveled, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syrias interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in an address broadcast early Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday to keep southern Syria demilitarized and to protect the Druze community. This will also be the continuation of our policy, he said. In a major escalation of its involvement in the conflict, Israel on Wednesday had struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. Convoys of government forces started withdrawing from Sweida overnight, Syrian state media reported, saying it was in line with the ceasefire deal and that the military operation against the Druze factions had ended. The truce was announced by Syria's Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader. The previous agreement on Tuesday quickly broke down after being dismissed by prominent Druze cleric Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri. The Syrian government has not released any casualty counts from the fighting. The Britain-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nearly 600 fighters and civilians were killed on both sides over four days of deadly clashes. The monitor also said at least 86 civilians killed in field executions mostly Druze Syrians killed by government forces and their allies and that at least three Bedouin civilians were killed in revenge attacks Thursday by Druze militiamen. Looting homes and killing civilians Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin held a series of diplomatic and security contacts to deescalate the clashes, a Turkish official said Thursday. They worked with the U.S. mediators and regional officials and leaders, including Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, said the official who requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations. The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in Sweida. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze militias, but also in some cases attacked civilians. Video circulated on social media showing government forces and allies humiliating Druze clerics and residents, looting homes and killing civilians hiding inside their houses. Syrian Druze from Sweida told The Associated Press that several family members who were unarmed had been attacked or killed. Interim President al-Sharaa said the Druze were an integral part of Syria, protected under the law. We are committed to holding accountable those who wronged our Druze brethren," al-Sharaa said. Militant sectarianism The Druze community had been divided over how to approach al-Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule after largely celebrating when his forces ousted former President Bashar Assad and the Assad family's decades-long autocratic rule. They feared persecution after attacks from the militant Islamic State group and al-Qaida affiliates during Syria's 14-year civil war. Issam al-Reis, a senior military adviser with Etana, a Syrian research group, said the lack of effective state-led negotiations could sow further divisions between the Druze community with the Sunni Bedouins, who had sometimes also clashed in the past. This is leading to militant sectarianism, which is dangerous," he said, adding it's a sign that the government needs to speed up its integration of other sects into the Syrian army to make it a more unifying force and help resolve sectarian tensions. There have been agreements and talks about this with different communities, but until now none of this has been implemented, he said. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Druze cross the border fence An Israeli security official said Israel is strengthening fences along the Golan border to prevent people from crossing into Syrian territory. Thousands of Druze residents in the Israeli-controlled Golan converged on the border on Wednesday after hearing of the sectarian clashes inside Syria. Israeli media said that dozens of people forced their way into Syria in hopes of helping fellow Druze and in some cases to visit relatives that they normally are unable to see. The security official, speaking on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules, said that soldiers had returned dozens of people who crossed into Syria, while security forces were also returning an unknown number of Druze Syrians who crossed into the Israeli side. It was not known how many people remained on each side of the border. Speaking about Syria, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said late Thursday that it was absolutely essential to achieve unity in Syria, with the respect of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and the full integration of the different communities in the state. It is for the Syrians to solve the Syrian problem, he said. Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey; Fernanda Pesce in Madjal Shams, Golan Heights, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump hosted a pair of Arab Gulf leaders at the White House on Wednesday as violence between Israel and Syria renewed doubts about his pledge to impose peace on the Middle East. Trump held a meeting in the Oval Office with Bahrain's crown prince and dined privately with Qatar's prime minister. The Republican president has lavished attention on the Persian Gulf, a wealthy region where members of his family have extensive business relationships. He has already visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the first foreign policy trip of his second term. With little progress to share on the regions most intractable problems, including the war in Gaza, Trump was more focused Wednesday on promoting diplomatic ties as a vehicle for economic growth. Anything they needed, we helped them, Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. And anything we needed, they helped us. Meeting with Bahrain's crown prince Bahrain is a longtime ally that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which operates in the Middle East. Like other Arab leaders, Al Khalifa was eager to highlight the lucrative potential of diplomatic ties with the U.S., including $17 billion of investments. And this is real, he said. Its real money. These arent fake deals. According to the White House, the agreements include purchasing American airplanes, jet engines and computer servers. More investments could be made in aluminum production and artificial intelligence. Bahrain's king, the crown prince's father, is expected to visit Washington before the end of the year. An important part of the relationship will be an agreement, signed on Wednesday, to advance cooperation on civilian nuclear energy. Dinner with Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar and a member of the countrys ruling family, was at the White House for a private dinner with Trump on Wednesday evening. Trump visited Qatar during his trip to the region, marveling at its palaces and stopping at the Al Udeid Air Base, a key U.S. military facility. The base was targeted by Iran after the U.S. bombed the country's nuclear facilities. One ballistic missile made impact, while others were intercepted. Trump wants to use a luxurious Boeing 747 donated by Qatar as his Air Force One because he's tired of waiting for Boeing to finish new planes. However, the arrangement has stirred concerns about security and the ethics of accepting a gift from a foreign government. Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Middle East issues to Democratic and Republican administrations, said the Gulf represents everything that Trump believes is right about the Middle East. Its rich, its stable, its populated by authoritarians with whom the president feels very comfortable, he said. Fighting in Syria The fighting in Syria began with clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze factions in the countrys south. Government forces intervened, raising alarms in Israel, where the Druze are a politically influential religious minority. On Wednesday, Israel launched strikes in the Syrian capital of Damascus. A ceasefire was later announced, but it was unclear if it would hold. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in the Oval Office for Trump's meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain, said the fighting was the result of an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding." He said we think were on our way to a real de-escalation that would allow Syria to get back on track to rebuilding after years of civil war. Despite an international outcry over its punishing military operations in Gaza, Israel has successfully weakened its enemies around the region, including Hezbollah and Iran. Theres a growing concern that Israel unleashed...has been a bigger sense of unpredictability," Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said. He also warned that "theres still no game plan to deal with the loose ends of Irans nuclear program and its other activities in the region, such as support for the Houthis. KYIV, Ukraine (AP) Fresh off securing a plan to receive more U.S. weaponry, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has appointed a new prime minister the key negotiator of his countrys deal with the U.S. to partner on the development of minerals. By naming Yulia Svyrydenko, the former economy minister, to become the countrys first new head of government since Russias full-scale invasion in 2022, Zelenskyy on Thursday elevated a loyal politician who has experience in diplomacy with the U.S. and other Western nations. In addition to negotiating the mineral agreement seen as an important way of tying U.S. interests to Ukraines security the 39-year-old Svyrydenko has represented her country in a wide range of high-level talks with Western partners, including on issues of defense and economic recovery and reconstruction. In 2022, she negotiated with other countries to impose sanctions on Russia. The outgoing prime minister, Denys Shmyhal, will become defense minister at a time when Ukraine is looking to ramp up domestic weapons production, and as President Donald Trump seeks to bring an end to the war. War leaves no room for delay, Svyrydenko said on X after the parliament voted to approve her promotion. We must act swiftly and decisively. Our priorities for the first six months are clear: reliable supply for the army, expansion of domestic weapons production, and boosting the technological strength of our defense forces. Svyrydenko and Shmyhal are among a wider group of officials taking on new leadership roles as Zelenskyy aims to reenergize a war-weary nation. But to Ukrainians, the reshuffling of the Cabinet is not seen as a major shift in direction for Zelenskyy, who will still be mostly relying on the same experienced officials, as opposed to introducing new faces to his leadership team. Earlier this week, Trump endorsed a plan to have European allies buy billions of dollars of U.S. military equipment including air-defense systems -- that can be transferred to Ukraine, which has come under intense Russian attacks. We all want peace as soon as possible, Zelenskyy said Thursday in a speech to Ukraine's parliament. At the same time, we all see how difficult it is to maintain sufficient global support, and how many other wars and crises are flaring up around the world, truly scattering global efforts. Therefore, Ukraine needs more of its own strength. In announcing the weapons plan on Monday, Trump also made an ultimatum to Russian President Vladimir Putin, promising to impose stiff tariffs on countries that purchase its oil if he doesnt agree to a ceasefire within 50 days. Shmyhal, who announced his resignation as prime minister on Tuesday, was the longest-serving head of government in Ukraines history, serving since March 2020. Shmyhal will replace Rustem Umerov as defense minster. Although Umerov sought to push reforms, critics said the ministry under his command was plagued by mismanagement. Also on Thursday, Zelenskyy nominated Olga Stefanishyna to become Ukraines next ambassador to the United States. In the meantime, he appointed Stefanishyna, previously the minister for European integration, as the special representative for the development of cooperation with the United States. Ties between Ukraine and the U.S. have been uneasy since Trump returned to the White House in January, and Zelenskyy had previously said he intended to replace Oksana Markarova as Ukrainian ambassador in the U.S. Company makes top 5 debut in annual reader-voted rankings. DALLAS, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- WWEX Group, the third-party logistics (3PL) provider behind Worldwide Express, GlobalTranz, Unishippers, JEAR Logistics and BLX Logistics, has been voted #5 in Inbound Logistics' 2025 Top 10 3PL Excellence Awards in its first time appearing on the prestigious list. This debut highlights WWEX Group's mission to make it right for its customers by empowering its people to take ownership of outcomes and challenge themselves to create outstanding experiences for shippers. "Our team is deeply honored by this recognition, especially because it comes from the customers we serve every day," said Tom Madine, CEO of WWEX Group. "We've built WWEX Group on the belief that logistics should make business easier, not harder. And it's our scale, people, tech and carrier partnerships that turn shipping into a real advantage for our customers." A Full-Service 3PL Built for Modern Shipping WWEX Group is one of the fastest growing logistics providers in the country, with deep expertise across small package shipping, less-than-truckload (LTL), truckload (TL) and specialty freight. As the largest non-retail authorized reseller of UPS, the company delivers enterprise-grade parcel solutions to businesses of all sizes. This means WWEX Group is one of the only 3PLs to offer every shipping mode. Through proprietary technology, WWEX Group also helps customers quote, book, track and analyze shipments in real time creating visibility, control and actionable insights that transform logistics from an obstacle into a strategic advantage. WWEX Group has previously been recognized by Transport Topics as the #4 Top Freight Brokerage and one of the Top 100 Logistics Companies for 2025, ranked at #17. The company is also the #2 largest privately held freight broker in the U.S. "This ranking reflects the trust our customers place in us and the dedication of our teams across all our prestigious brands," said Joel Clum, COO of WWEX Group. "We're building a customer experience that delivers speed, scale and simplicity. And this award validates that we are succeeding." About the Awards The Inbound Logistics Top 10 3PL Excellence Awards are determined entirely by reader votes, with thousands of shippers and carriers nominating the logistics providers that deliver outstanding service, reliability and innovation. To enter the rankings in the top five is a strong recognition of WWEX Group's reputation as one of the most trusted names in logistics. About WWEX Group The WWEX Group family of brands, which includes Worldwide Express, GlobalTranz, Unishippers, JEAR Logistics and BLX Logistics, offers full-service logistics expertise to more than 113,000+ customers across the country while helping move more than 53 million+ shipments per year. With access to industry-leading small package, truckload, less-than-truckload and managed transportation solutions, its customers benefit from enhanced visibility and value for their supply chains. In 2024, the company had an annual systemwide revenue exceeding $4.4 billion through a network of company-owned, franchise and agent locations. A highly selective carrier portfolio, proprietary technology, unique data assets and business intelligence capabilities provide clients with unmatched options and flexibility to meet their shipping needs. To learn more about WWEX Group, visit www.wwexgroup.com. SOURCE WWEX Group LOCKSLEY CONFIRMS EXPANDED ANTIMONY & REE TARGETS FOLLOWING STRUCTURAL MAPPING AT MOJAVE Locksley Confirms Expanded Antimony and REE Targets at Mojave Perth, July 17, 2025 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Locksley Resources Limited ( ASX:LKY ) ( LKYRF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to report that structural geology mapping completed in late June at the Desert Antimony Mine (DAM) and El Campo prospects has delivered significant new insights to support drill targeting and potential JORC Exploration Target definition at the Company's Mojave Critical Minerals Project in California. Highlights: - Multiple mineralised trends confirmed at both the Antimony & REE prospects Desert Antimony Mine (DAM): o Up to three antimony rich vein positions within a NNE-SSW corridor; additional E-W trending structures mapped, expanding the mineralised target footprint El Campo: o Steep 70-80deg SW dipping REE hosting shear confirmed, increasing mineralisation potential within Locksley claims and amenable to underground mining methods - New exploration targets defined at El Campo REE Project: o South Fault mapped and identified as a potentially mineralised structure for REEs o Surface samples are interpreted to have under sampled the main breccia horizon, leaving high-grade REE zones potentially untested - 3D geological models completed for both prospects to refine drill targeting and assist in defining JORC Exploration Targets - Expanded drilling program being planned at DAM: o New Plan of Operations (POO) to be submitted to the BLM in late July o Approval expected early September, enabling expanded RC drilling program in Q3 2025 - Apple's recent US$500 million investment into MP Materials to secure domestic rare earth magnets underscores the strategic importance of the Mojave region The program, undertaken by a specialist structural geologist, achieved three key objectives: - Detailed geological surface maps across both prospects, providing detailed lithological and structural constraints on the geological architecture - Enhanced understanding of mineralised structures and controls - Initial 3D geological models to guide drill targeting and JORC Exploration Target preparation The mapping has confirmed and expanded the understanding of mineralisation at both prospects, resulting in refined additional drill targeting and an expanded drilling strategy. Desert Antimony Mine (DAM) - Mapping confirmed up to three discrete vein positions within a NNE-SSW trending mineralised corridor, with massive stibnite observed in and around historical underground workings. - Stibnite veining mapped directly at surface extends some 200m along strike - Quartz-carbonate veins locally up to 1m wide host antimony rich stringer veins anastomosing within broader structures. - E-W trending potential secondary mineralisation identified, introducing three geological models for testing, including a potential network of interconnected vein sets. - An expanded drill program is now planned to test these additional targets, with a new Plan of Operations (POO) to be submitted to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in late July. Approval is anticipated in early September to allow RC drilling to expand during the September quarter. - A 3D solid geology model of DAM has been completed, enabling refined drill planning and assisting with potential JORC Exploration Target definition (Figure 1*). El Campo (Rare Earth Elements) - Structural mapping has substantially refined targeting of the REE mineralised shear, confirming a steep 70-80deg SW dip which is highly favourable for hosting more mineralisation within Locksley's leases and potentially amenable to underground mining methods. - Historical trenching is now considered to have under sampled the main shear horizon, leaving high-grade REE zones potentially untested. - The E-W trending South Fault was mapped and confirmed at surface, representing a new exploration target to be tested as part of the September 2025 RC drill program. - A 3D solid geology model of El Campo has been completed, enabling refined drill planning and assisting with potential JORC Exploration Target definition (Figure 2*). Locksley's Strategic Position within the U.S Critical Minerals Supply Chain The recent announcement of Apple's US$500 million investment into MP Materials to secure domestically produced rare earth magnets, further validates the strategic importance of the Mojave region as a critical hub for U.S. rare earth supply. Locksley's Mojave Project, located just 1.4km from MP's Mountain Pass operation, is now confirmed to host expanded antimony and rare earth element targets, following detailed structural mapping. With the U.S. government and global technology leaders prioritising domestic sourcing of critical minerals, Locksley is ideally positioned to capitalise on this shift as it advances its exploration programs in the heart of America's rare earth supply chain. Locksley Technical Director, Julian Woodcock, commented: "The structural mapping program has significantly advanced our understanding of both the Desert Antimony and El Campo prospects, confirming the mineralised trends we are targeting and provided us with a solid geology model which is being used to refine our drill targeting. These results support our strategy to rapidly unlock the critical minerals potential of the Mojave Project at a time when U.S. government support for domestic supply chains is accelerating." Next Steps - Submission of expanded drilling POO to BLM late July - Complete drill tender process to secure RC drilling contractor - Q3 2025 RC drilling scheduled to test both antimony and REE targets, including the South Fault at El Campo - Ongoing integration of structural data into updated 3D models and JORC exploration target preparation *To view tables and figures, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/GLB74C87 About Locksley Resources Limited Locksley Resources Limited is an ASX-listed explorer focused on critical minerals and base metals, with assets in both the United States of America and Australia. The Company is actively advancing exploration across two key assets: the Mojave Project in California, targeting rare earth elements (REEs) and antimony, alongside the Tottenham Copper-Gold Project in New South Wales. Locksley Resources aims to generate shareholder value through strategic exploration, discovery and development in highly prospective mineral regions. Related Companies Preliminary clinical data from Xabg, Xeltis' coronary artery bypass conduit (CABG), demonstrating positive safety and patency In an earlier, separate trial, Xabg recently demonstrated patency with excellent flow in a 24-month trial the first time ever this duration has been achieved Supports potential of Xabg to transform CABG surgery landscape and eliminate need for vein harvesting EINDHOVEN, Netherlands, 17 July 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Xeltis, a leading developer of transformative implants that enable the natural creation of living and long-lasting vessels, today announces encouraging preliminary data for Xabg, its coronary artery bypass conduit (CABG), demonstrating positive safety and patency among patients with multi-vessel atherosclerotic coronary artery disease. Xabg is a novel, biorestorative, polymeric conduit which enables continued blood flow in coronary artery disease patients. Developed using Xeltis' proprietary Endogenous Tissue Restoration (ETR) platform based on Nobel Prize winning polymer technology, Xabg has unique regenerative properties, enabling living tissue to replace it over time. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality globally, with coronary artery bypass surgery being the most common cardiac surgery performed worldwide. CABG is an invasive procedure, often requiring multiple painful vein grafts with a high risk of complications. The global CABG market is projected to reach more than $20 Billion by 2035, driven by the growing prevalence of cardiovascular disease[i]. A clinical trial is underway at various sites in the EU with positive, preliminary data demonstrating Xabg to be functioning well with excellent flow in patients. This underscores the potential of Xabg to eliminate the need for vein harvesting and transform the bypass surgery landscape with the goal of longer-term durability. With no approved off-the-shelf, small-diameter vascular grafts with good patency rates available, Xabg has the potential to address this large unmet clinical need of suboptimal conduits in bypass surgery. In an earlier trial, Xabg recently demonstrated patency after bypass surgery in a patient with excellent flow in a 24-month follow-up, marking the first time any artificial bypass surgery conduit has remained open and functional in humans for this duration. This clinical example provides continued validation of Xeltis' ETR scientific technology in action, redefining the landscape of vascular grafts and solutions. Paulo Neves, Chief Medical Officer, Xeltis, commented: "Despite suboptimal performance, 80% of CABG procedures rely on vein grafts Xeltis has the potential to revolutionize that. The encouraging safety and patency data is a major milestone for Xeltis and demonstrates that Xabg has the potential to significantly improve outcomes for patients with coronary artery disease. We are grateful to all those involved in the trial and look forward to continuing patient enrolment and treatment." Dr Isaac George, Surgical Director at Columbia University Medical Center, added: "Xeltis is pushing the boundaries of innovation in vascular access solutions. The recent 24-month follow-up data is remarkable, the first of its kind to remain open at 24 months and demonstrate excellent flow. This, combined with the safety and patency results in Europe, underscores the potential of Xabg to improve long-term outcomes, reduce the need for reinterventions, and significantly impact patient care and healthcare costs." The single arm, human feasibility study in the EU will evaluate the preliminary safety and performance of the Xabg technology in patients with multi-vessel atherosclerotic coronary artery disease who are scheduled to undergo elective coronary artery bypass (CABG) surgery. Xabg is Xeltis' second product in clinical development, following aXess, its restorative vascular access conduit, for which pivotal trials are underway in the EU and US, showcasing the strength of the Company's clinical pipeline as it advances towards commercialization. About Xeltis Xeltis is a medtech company developing transformative implants that enable the natural creation of living and long-lasting vessels. Xeltis seeks to address the limitations of currently available options for the millions of people requiring hemodialysis access grafts or cardiovascular replacements every year. The Company's proprietary endogenous tissue restoration (ETR) platform utilizes an advanced polymer implant which regenerates the patient's own tissue before gradually being absorbed and leaving new, living, and long-lasting vessels in place. Xeltis' most advanced product currently under clinical development is aXessTM, an implantable blood vessel for hemodialysis vascular access. Xeltis' groundbreaking technology has high potential to be applied to other major vascular and cardiovascular diseases. Xeltis is based in The Netherlands and the USA. Its investors include DaVita Venture Group, EQT Life Sciences, Kurma Partners, VI Partners, Ysios Capital, Grand Pharma Group, the European Innovation Council and Invest-NL, in addition to other public and private investors. Visit the Xeltis website for more details: https://xeltis.com/ [i] Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Market Growth 2025 to 2035 SOURCE Xeltis With trillions of pounds in Defined Benefit (DB) pension assets expected to transfer to insurers in the coming years, new analysis from Barnett Waddingham reveals the financial risk FTSE 350 firms face if they buy out too early - potentially missing out on billions in surplus value. The findings, outlined in BWs latest report FTSE 350 pensions: assessing the value of DB scheme run-on, reveal that if each scheme adopts an optimal endgame strategy, the total surplus available to FTSE 350 companies could rise from around 17bn to 20bn delivering an additional 3bn to shareholders compared to continuing with current buyout plans. From burden to balance sheet opportunity Against the backdrop of the 2025 Pension Schemes Bill, the government is proposing to allow all schemes to access surplus on an ongoing basis without first securing a full insurance buyout provided they meet a new, lower funding threshold. Under this change, BW estimates that FTSE 350 companies could unlock up to 38bn more in surplus than under current rules - increasing the accessible total from 29bn at a buyout level to 67bn at a low-dependency level. However, additional analysis from BW reveals that many firms could risk missing out on additional value if they choose to access scheme surpluses too soon. Optimal strategies and trustee considerations BWs analysis shows that while surplus access at the low dependency funding level could unlock significant value, most FTSE 350 firms would benefit more by running their schemes beyond a buyout funding level. Only a third (33%) of schemes would see the greatest value from a buyout as soon as it becomes affordable. For the remaining 67% of firms, the financial case is stronger for running on their DB schemes rather than buying out as soon as it becomes affordable. On average, the optimal run-on period for this group is around 10 years, with larger schemes benefiting from a longer timeframe. Failing to take this approach could mean missing out on material additional value. For around 10% of companies, this potential surplus is equivalent to more than 5% of their market capitalisation. For businesses, this reflects a growing recognition that DB schemes, once seen as a financial burden, now present a material asset, which can be used to strengthen balance sheets, improve cashflow and release tied-up capital. And for trustees as surplus access becomes more viable under proposed reforms, they will need to consider whether releasing it is in the interests of members. They will also need to assess the strength of employer covenants, ensure adequate safeguards are in place, and consider whether a share of surplus should be allocated to members to reflect any increased risk. Lewys Curteis, Partner at BW, said: These findings mark a significant shift in how FTSE 350 firms could soon view their Defined Benefit (DB) pension schemes. Once the financial skeletons in the closet, they are fast becoming hidden treasure; with financially material surpluses able to support growth, improve balance sheets and cashflow and even mitigate the cost of the DC scheme. The Governments proposals to free up pension assets through the Pension Schemes Bill are welcome, but they add an extra dimension of complexity to endgame planning. Not only do sponsors and schemes need a plan for how to close deficits, they now need to reconsider what they do when they achieve full buy-out funding. For the majority of schemes, holding their nerve by delaying buy-out for just a few years could be worth billions. Sponsors and trustees will only get one shot at buyout - and doing it too early could mean walking away from serious long-term value. Businesses responding to a complex web of risks are increasingly readying themselves for a wave of disputes and conflicts, Clyde & Cos annual Corporate Risk Radar report has warned. The survey of more than 400 business leaders from around the world examines the biggest risks facing organisations today, including the threat of geopolitical risk, ongoing economic risk and technological challenge. It finds that many of these risks have converged to create new operational, market and legal risks that businesses are now having to react to and mitigate against. 48% of respondents said they are bracing for a surge in disputes because of tough economic conditions and the complex risk landscape. 57% of business leaders said they are actively preparing for investor actions as scrutiny on their operations increases. Respondents said investors were increasingly assertive, with legal and reputational measures being used to hold companies accountable for perceived mismanagement or failure to meet expectations. Meanwhile, an increase in conflict is likely to be seen in the workplace environment too. 45% of those surveyed this year said they expect to see a jump in employee claims and disputes due to the implementation of return-to-office mandates. James Roberts, Partner, London, said: Economic pressures are triggering disputes where once there may have been a more pragmatic renegotiation. Contractual tensions are particularly visible in sectors like professional services, construction, and technology, where clients are dealing with increased scrutiny around scope, delivery obligations, and pricing clauses." 46% of businesses surveyed this year said they are reconsidering or changing where they operate in future due to the threats posed by geopolitical risk. Ben Knowles, Partner, London said: We are seeing more regionalisation, driven by geopolitical tensions and supply chain issues. Companies are realising that the globalisation that has been the bedrock of their operations for the last 20 years is being dismantled." Respondents said that the ongoing challenge of regulatory compliance was delaying investment, with 64% of businesses saying that obligations were materially impacting their growth plans for 2025. Sam Tate, Partner, London, said: Previously, regulated companies were the main focus, but this has expanded over the last few years to include businesses not typically considered highly regulated. This expansion covers property transactions, asset holding, and areas such as failure-to-prevent laws, which now apply similarly across all sectors." Other key findings in this years report include: 36% of respondents said climate change is now a second order concern for organisations until it has a significant, sustained and material impact on their operations 46% of respondents said that diverging ESG regulations in the US and Europe are negatively impacting their businesses Despite an increase in the number of high-profile cyber-attacks in 2025, 77% of respondents told us they are now more confident in their ability to defend against and respond to cyber-attacks and breaches than they were five years ago 83% of General Counsel respondents told us they play a more strategic role in risk management compared to five years ago, with increased complexity re-shaping their jobs Commenting on the overall findings from this years report, Eva-Maria Barbosa, Partner, said: This years report is the most comprehensive we have undertaken, and it paints a picture of risk that is increasingly complex, connected and challenging. Geopolitical upheaval is a game-changer, impacting every other risk we measure. Navigating this environment is tough, requiring heightened diligence, patience and resilience. But there are opportunities for organisations able to see through the volatility, to rapidly adapt. Corporate Risk Radar 2025 shows us that taking action is an imperative. Corporate Risk Radar 2025 Commentary: Chinese economy forges ahead with resilient growth Xinhua) 08:02, July 17, 2025 This aerial drone photo taken on July 13, 2025 shows a view of Yangzhou Port in Yangzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo by Ren Fei/Xinhua) BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Despite growing global uncertainties, the Chinese economy continues to chart a course of resilient, high-quality development, posting a robust 5.2 percent year-on-year expansion in the second quarter of 2025. The world's second-largest economy achieved 5.3 percent growth in the first half of the year, firmly positioning itself to meet its annual GDP target of around 5 percent. This steady performance underscores the effectiveness of China's proactive macroeconomic policies, which have successfully maintained economic stability despite mounting external pressures. The outperformance of key economic indicators vividly illustrates the economy's inherent strength and dynamic potential. These growth figures serve as a powerful rebuttal to persistent critics of China's economic model, while reaffirming the nation's enduring role as a stabilizing force and growth engine for the global economy. The foundation of China's economic resilience lies in its thriving consumption sector, which contributed 52 percent to GDP growth in the first half of the year, according to official data. Strategic initiatives like large-scale equipment renewal and consumer goods trade-in programs have effectively stimulated domestic demand, creating sustainable growth momentum. Equally impressive is the rapid development of new growth drivers. Across China's diverse regions, development of new quality productive forces suited to the local conditions and the integration of technological with industrial innovation are accelerating the emergence of cutting-edge industries, technologies, and business models. This structural transformation, cultivated through years of quality-focused development, has significantly enhanced the economy's sustainable development capacity. China's commitment to openness remains unwavering despite rising protectionism globally. The country continues to advance high-level opening-up and mutually beneficial international cooperation. This is evidenced by the establishment of 24,018 new foreign-invested enterprises, up 10.4 percent year-on-year, from January to May. It is also highlighted by ExxonMobil's recent launch of its landmark chemical complex in southern China -- the nation's first wholly U.S.-owned major petrochemical project. Substantial reforms are further strengthening the country's economic framework. The implementation of groundbreaking legislation supporting private enterprises ensures fair market access and competition, while this year's streamlined negative list has significantly reduced market barriers, unleashing new waves of economic vitality across all sectors. With its pro-growth policies and structural reforms continuing to bear fruit, the Chinese economy -- powered by consumption, innovation, reform and opening-up -- is well-positioned to maintain its growth trajectory through the remainder of 2025. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Blog Archive: Jul 2025 (100) 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) Congress Grills Its Own Leader for Silence on Controversial Security Bill in Maharashtra Assembly 2 The Maharashtra Congress has demanded a formal explanation from Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Vijay Wadettiwar over the passage of the controversial Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, without the partys protest in the state assembly last week. According to sources, state Congress president Harshwardhan Sapkal sent a letter to Wadettiwar on Monday, seeking clarity on why the party failed to oppose the bill during its passage in the assembly. The move reportedly comes at the behest of the party high command, which had earlier directed its leaders to oppose the bill. Despite pre-circulated speaking points to all Congress MLAs ahead of the bills discussion on July 10, Wadettiwar was reportedly absent from the House, sources said. While the partys MLCs raised objections and staged a walkout in the Legislative Council the following day, the absence of protest in the assembly has sparked internal backlash. The Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, which aims to curb activities linked to Left-wing extremism with a special focus on urban Naxalism, includes stringent provisions such as fines and imprisonment of up to seven years. The bill has come under fire from civil society and opposition parties, who argue that it poses a threat to civil liberties and could be used to suppress dissent under the guise of national security. During an earlier meeting on June 30, chaired by AICCs Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala, Congress had reportedly resolved to oppose the bill. However, in the assembly, only the lone CPI (M) MLA raised a voice against it. Shiv Sena (UBT) MLA Bhaskar Jadhav criticized the bill on Wednesday, calling it harsher than British-era laws and slammed the Mahayuti government for pushing such legislation without offering any data to justify its necessity. Nitish Kumars Shock Therapy: 125 Units of Free Electricity Before Bihar Polls 2 In a high-voltage move ahead of the upcoming Bihar assembly elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced 125 units of free electricity for all domestic consumers in the state. The decision is expected to benefit nearly 1.67 crore households and is being seen as a major pre-poll populist push. Making the announcement via social media, Kumar said the scheme will come into effect from August 1, but consumers will see the benefit reflected in their July electricity bills itself. No charges will be levied for 125 units in the bills for July, he stated, adding that the government has already been providing affordable power to all citizens. With the state heading into polls, the move is being viewed as a strategic effort to consolidate support across the electorate by easing financial burdens in a time of rising living costs. SC Spares Rapist from Death Sentence, Cites Ignored Mitigating Factors in 'Rarest of Rare' Debate 2 In a significant judgment, the Supreme Court on July 16 commuted the death sentence of a man convicted of raping and murdering a 10-year-old girl in Uttarakhand to life imprisonment without the possibility of remission. The apex court bench comprising Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol, and Sandeep Mehta noted that both the trial court and the Uttarakhand High Court relied solely on the brutality of the crime to justify capital punishment, without adequately weighing other circumstances. The convict had challenged the January 2020 high court verdict that upheld his conviction and the death penalty. According to the prosecution, in July 2018, the man lured the child into his hut under the pretext of buying her sweets and later raped and killed her. The court said, A simple afternoon of play and frolic with family members yielded catastrophic results for a 10-year-old female child the most innocent desire of either a candy or a toy was exploited in the worst manner possible. Evidence included the recovery of the victims body from the convicts hut, the last-seen theory, and DNA analysis. While affirming the conviction, the top court criticized the lower courts for not discussing the rarest of rare threshold thoroughly. It emphasized that the courts failed to assess aggravating and mitigating circumstances before arriving at the death sentence. The bench considered reports from the district probation officer, jail authorities, and psychological evaluations, which highlighted the convicts deprived background. The convict, from a financially distressed family in Ayodhya, had started working at the age of 12 and had never attended school due to poverty. In view of the mitigating circumstances and absence of a comprehensive evaluation by the lower courts, we deem it appropriate to award life imprisonment without remission till the natural life of the appellant, instead of the death penalty, the court ruled. "You Still Have Time to Switch Sides": Fadnavis Teases Uddhav with Invite to Join BJP 2 In a sharp political jibe with undertones of invitation, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Wednesday extended an open door to his estranged former ally Uddhav Thackeray, suggesting that while the BJP wont be joining the opposition, Thackeray is welcome to return to the ruling side. Speaking at a farewell function in the legislative council for Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve, Fadnavis remarked with a smirk, Uddhav ji, there is no scope for a change in government till 2029. We dont have any chance to go to your side, but you have the scope to come here. We can definitely think about it. The comment, made in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shindewho famously led a 2022 rebellion that split the Shiv Sena and toppled Uddhavs governmentcomes amid murmurs of growing tension between Fadnavis and Shinde. After the Mahayutis sweeping win in the 2024 assembly elections, it was widely speculated that Shinde was upset about losing the chief ministers post to Fadnavis. Uddhav Thackerays Shiv Sena had parted ways with the BJP after the 2019 elections over the CM post dispute. Since then, the political landscape in Maharashtra has been defined by shifting alliances, courtroom drama, and public spatsthis remark from Fadnavis only adds more heat to the fire ahead of the 2025 local body polls. Aaron Dontay Williams, the suspect in an Alabama Alert, has been charged with kidnapping and multiple counts of capital murder. (Contributed) The suspect in an Alabama Amber Alert has been formally charged in last weeks murder of an Auburn woman and her teen daughter, and the kidnapping of his own son. Aaron Dontay Williams, 41, is charged with first-degree kidnapping in the July 10 abduction of his 3-year-old son, and with four counts of capital murder in the slayings of Tyeisha Williams, 34, and Zynniya Wright, 13. On the capital cases, he is charged with capital murder during a kidnapping, capital murder of two or more people, capital murder of a child under the age of 14. Police investigated a July 10, 2025, double homicide at an Auburn home. An Amber Alert was issued for 4-year-old Jibreel Harun who was missing when police arrived. (Photo courtesy of CNAW 2 with Colin Scroggins) Williams, captured last week in Tennessee, waived extradition and was returned to Alabama on Wednesday, police officials announced Thursday. He is being held without bond. An Amber Alert was issued Thursday for the 3-year-old boy reported missing after his mother and sister were found slain inside their Auburn home. Auburn police responded at 2:30 p.m. to the familys home in the 1200 block of Samantha Court on a welfare check. When they arrived, they entered the home and found the two victims. Williams, the husband of the slain woman and father of the young boy, was not at the residence when officers arrived. Williams was not Zynniyas father. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency on Friday morning canceled the Amber Alert after Williams was taken into custody that morning by U.S. Marshals, the FBI and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The child was found unharmed. More schools are requiring see through reusable water bottles. AL.com More Alabama schools are adding rules for another piece of many childrens school supplies: Water bottles. Trussville City Schools said local students must bring only clear, plastic water bottles to school. Phenix City schools added a see through water bottle policy too. Check your local district and school supply lists and handbooks to see what is allowed in the 2025-26 school year. Cellphones and electronic devices will be restricted, too. Trussvilles Paine Elementary school announced on Facebook last month that students would not be allowed to bring metal tumblers or cups next year and that clear liquids are preferred. The bottles must be plastic only, according to the school. Schools around the country are introducing similar rules and banning Yeti cups, Stanley mugs and other popular brands. Officials say clear plastic makes it easier to see if students are sneaking in illegal drinks. Some heavy metal water bottles can cause injuries in fights or emergencies. They also can set off metal detectors. Some districts in Alabama, like Mobile, are allowing individual schools to set water bottle policies. Annistons Wellborn Elementary posted a school supplies reminder about clear water bottles, and clear backpacks for some students, saying the rules help keep things safe and organized. Local districts are also updating rules for cellphones and electronic devices. Veterans of the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo often throw around the phrase rodeo weather. If you know, you know. It aint gonna be a rodeo without a little rain, said Jay Loper, vice president of publicity for the 2025 event, spelling it out for those who dont know. The 92nd ADSFR runs Friday through Sunday, and theres certainly a chance of rain in the forecast, thanks to a wobbly tropical system that might or might not develop into a depression and a major rainmaker for some portion of the central Gulf Coast. But, as of Thursday morning, it seemed unlikely to put much of a damper on an event that regularly draws thousands of anglers to the waters of coastal Alabama. One thing that distinguishes this particular fishing rodeo is that it also tends to draw thousands of spectators. Some come to see whether record-breaking fish or sharks are weighed in (and based on recent years, odds are good). Mason Miller, 1, checks out a fish on display at the weigh station at the 88th Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo. Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com Some bring the kids for a rare look at the marine life of the Gulf. Thanks to a partnership with scientists from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, who harvest samples and data from the catch, one of the central attractions for visitors is a display area where dozens of fish, including some weird ones, are displayed on ice. And theres always someone on hand to explain what youre looking at. Many come for a festival atmosphere that includes vendors, sponsor displays and live music. Another attraction: for spectators, admission is free. Back to the subject of records. The 2024 rodeo got off to a slow start thanks to stormy weather, but things picked up fast: by the end of the opening day, observers had gotten to see a 432-pound bull shark not much short of the state record at the time, which was 448 pounds, 4 ounces. Other opening-day catches included a 107.5-pound swordfish and a 120.7-pound yellowfin tuna. The Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo site was a bustling with activity before the start of the Liar's Contest on Thursday, with Azalea Trail Maids gathered around the stage and the cannon used to fire the ceremonial opening blast being rolled through the crowd. Lawrence Specker | LSpecker@AL.com Big sharks have been a theme in recent years. In the 2023 rodeo, Robert Brett Rutledge of Mobile caught a 1,019-pound tiger shark that has since been certified as a state record. On the final day of the 2024 event, the Bon Secour Butchers team brought in a bull shark that weighed in at 494.5 pounds. It, too, has been certified as a state record, attributed to Tommy J. Bowyer. Rodeo organizers have an established history of working with scientists, particularly teams from the Dauphin Island Sea Lab and the University of South Alabamas Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences. Marine scientists Sean Powers of USA and Marcus Drymon of Mississippi State University have said the catch gives them a vital window into whats going on with shark populations in the Gulf. In 2024, Powers and Drymon said the trend of big sharks seemed to show that efforts to end overfishing of sharks in recent decades were having positive results. Loper said he wont be surprised if the trend continues. Rodeo staffers recently accompanied University of South Alabama scientists on a research trip. I can tell you that sharks are plentiful, he said. A lot of bull sharks, a lot of tiger sharks. And thats why, again, we work with South Alabama, to make sure were not catching things we arent supposed to, protected species or endangered species. If youre visiting as a spectator, youll find the Rodeo site on the right shortly after you drive onto the island. Itll be hard to miss. Parking arrangements are informal but plenty of parking is available along Lemoyne Drive and adjacent streets; the only hard and fast rule is that No Parking signs, private property and the lots of nearby businesses should be respected. No tickets are required to enter the site. The schedule of events: Thursday, July 17 Pre-rodeo festivities at the rodeo site start with the annual Capt. T-Bone Liars Contest at 6 p.m. The Wrong Terns will perform from 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, July 18 Fishing begins at 5 a.m., marked by a ceremonial cannon blast at the rodeo site. The weigh station will open at 10 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. The Molly Ringwalds will perform from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday, July 19 The weigh station will open at 10 a.m. and remain open until 7 p.m. Hamilton Gardner will perform at 5 p.m. Sunday, July 20 The weigh station will open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. with a ceremonial cannon blast. The Big Reveal performs at 3 p.m. Monday, July 21 The rodeo awards ceremony will begin at 6 p.m. at The Grounds in west Mobile. For full Rodeo information, visit www.adsfr.com. For updates, visit www.facebook.com/ADSFR. An overnight standoff in Opelika ended with a man fatally shot by police. A woman was at the home was able to get out of the home, but a toddler remained inside with the man during law enforcement negotiations. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency identified the slain man as Bryan Hall. Opelika police responded at 10:41 p.m. Wednesday to a report of domestic violence at the home in the 3000 block of Wymond Drive. Once at the residence, officers encountered the 32-year-old Hall who police officials said was irate and armed with a gun. Hall barricaded himself in the home with the woman and the 2-year-old child. Opelika crisis negotiators and the Lee County SWAT Team were then dispatched to the residence. The woman was able to leave, police said, but the child remained inside with the suspect throughout the ordea.. Negotiations continued, but the subjects actions led to an officer-involved shooting, according to an OPD statement. The man was pronounced deceased at the scene. The woman and child were unharmed. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agencys State Bureau of Investigations was called in to investigate, which is standard for most officer-involved shootings. Once the investigation is complete, the case will be turned over to the Lee County District Attorneys Office. As some members of Alabamas state library board moved to further limit materials addressing what they called gender ideology, another member called their motivations into question. Im afraid that Alabama Public Library Service is being used as a platform to boost your own positions to the detriment of the libraries of this state, said Ron Snider, the former president of the board. He referenced board member Amy Mintons current run for state Senate and rumors of chairman John Wahls intention to enter a political race. While you make an elegant statement that youre not in favor of censorship, in fact, what you have done and what the majority of this board is supporting is censorship. Minton didnt respond to Sniders comment. Thank you for your comment, Wahl replied. Snider also said he was not notified about a recent meeting rescheduling and that he didnt receive a copy of a letter Wahl sent to library directors Wednesday. Wahl told Alabama libraries he would prohibit them from having materials in their collections pertaining to what he called "gender ideology. He said that a failure to comply with his directive and President Donald Trumps recent executive order on gender ideology would jeopardize their funding. Wahl did not define what he means by gender ideology, a charged term. The phrase is commonly deployed by anti-trans commentators and activists that implies trans people, merely by being trans, are participating in a political activity or have a political agenda, according to the Trans Journalists Association. The board voted to discuss further restrictions on gender ideology from the teen and childrens sections of libraries by starting the process of changing the library state code. Minton proposed at the May meeting to restrict children from reading any library material that encourages, promotes or contains positive portrayals of transgender procedures, gender ideology or the concept of more than two genders. Minton advanced this proposal in response to Alabamas new What is a Woman state law. The last library code change occurred in March when Gov. Kay Ivey mandated libraries must relocate sexually explicit or other material deemed inappropriate for children or youth. Local libraries, including the Huntsville-Madison Public Library, are now figuring out how to implement those changes. The state change generated more than 6,000 public comments, according to Wahl. Snider was the sole No vote to starting a new code change process for books that promote gender ideology. The public comment portion of the meeting was again dominated by Alabamians who said they support free speech, allowing librarians to make decisions regarding content and keeping LGBTQ books in the childrens and teen sections. Several groups seek to control library content by banning books containing transgender issues, Sharon Freeman said. Banning books does not serve the community at large. Additionally, banning transgender and or LGBTQ topics from libraries erodes rights and equality and can lead to banning people, and that resembles fascism. Sarah Sanchez with Clean Up Alabama praised the boards efforts to protect children. Safeguarding children in libraries from harmful and sexually explicit content is not censorship, Sanchez said. Its responsible governance supported by legal precedent. The next public library board meeting is Sept. 18. Connie Chow is the new Executive Director of the Huntsville-Madison County Public Library System. HMCPL The Huntsville-Madison County Library System has a new Executive Director and its a familiar face. Interim Executive Director Connie Chow was chosen to stay on as the permanent leader. Chow was the Deputy Director during former ED Cindy Hewitts tenure. She stepped up as the interim ED following Hewitts retirement in 2024. She had been working her way up in the HMCPL system for 18 years. READ MORE: Book battle: Another Alabama library debating whats appropriate for children - Its an agenda She made a career transition when she began with HMCPL. Shes from the Mississippi Delta and studied management information systems and computer science and worked in database management roles in Memphis and Atlanta before joining HMCPL. A few years into working at the library, she decided to further her career by earning a Masters in Library and Information Studies from the University of Alabama. Shes passionate about the resources that the library can provide for people of all socio-economic backgrounds. She says thats reflected in the resources offered at HMCPL, both in terms of educational and recreational options. Chow said her goal is to be a thoughtful leader who is fair and stable. She brings this philosophy to the challenges facing libraries and HMCPL today. It is a challenging time for libraries, and we will have to face each challenge as it comes. Despite the challenges, libraries still exist to serve our community in many positive and essential ways, Chow said. Our focus will be continuing to serve the community through literacy programs, workforce training, as a gathering place, and a resource for information. We are an essential part of the community that, if not funded and supported, would leave a significant gap in services to Madison County. HMCPL board chairperson GW Boon said they opened applications for the executive director position in December 2024. He said they received and reviewed many applications, but ultimately decided that Chow was the best fit. She was officially announced as the new Executive Director at the July 15 board meeting. Birmingham police investigate a deadly shooting in the 700 block of 17th Street in Ensley. A man was found shot dead in a Birmingham alley, the citys second homicide in just several hours. Shortly after 3 a.m. Thursday, West Precinct officers were dispatched to a report of a person down in the 700 block of 17th Street Ensley. They arrived to find the unidentified victim unresponsive. Birmingham Fire and Rescue Service pronounced him dead on the scene. Officer DeRell Freeman said details are limited but said a passerby made the discovery and called 911. The homicide was discovered less than four hours after a shooting in East Lake Park left one man dead and another injured. Birmingham police investigate a deadly shooting in the 700 block of 17th Street in Ensley. (Carol Robinson) East Precinct officers were dispatched just after 11:30 p.m. Wednesday to the park in the 100 block of 84th Street North after the citys gunfire detection system, Shot Spotter, alert them to about rounds fired. The overnight homicides bring the citys total for the year to 41. Police announced two days ago Birminghams homicides were down 59 percent over the same time last year. We know things are going to happen from time to time. I dont think any city has been able to stop all homicides so what we do is prepare, said Birmingham Police Chief Michael Pickett. When it does happen, we stand ready to do our investigation, try to figure out who did it and get them in custody as quickly as possible. Anyone with information in either slaying is asked to call 205-254-1764 or contact Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777 Wellstone opened less than a year ago, in September 2024. Its the first facility of its kind in Madison County. Wellstone One parent is extremely grateful that a pediatric crisis care center opened in Huntsville. Mom Brooke Bell says the Wellstones pediatric inpatient center has been so helpful to her family. Her daughter experienced a mental health crisis in May 2025 after years of dealing with depression and anxiety. I felt helpless as a mother, Bell said. I just felt like I couldnt give her what she needed. And I knew Wellstone was there. I didnt know what was going to happen when we drove to Wellstone. We walked in and started talking to the front desk person, and I just immediately started crying, because you dont know whats going to happen. You dont know why youre even there. You just know that you need somebody with the expertise to help you, and thats what happened. Bell said she was pleasantly surprised by the reception. She met with Wellstone workers who calmly reassured her and explained the different options. Bells daughter decided to do the inpatient treatment for two days. Bell said it was a very engaging program that included individual therapy, group therapy, playing games and having time for schoolwork if needed. Bell was relieved she could put her daughter in a program like this. She heard about it when it was brand new from her neighbor, Karen Petersen, who happens to be the Director of Development of Wellstone, Inc. The pediatric center opened less than a year ago, in September 2024. Its the first of its kind in Madison County. It has already helped over 300 12 to 18-year-olds. Before it opened, Petersen said 800 children had to leave the county for extended or inpatient mental health care per year. The closest facility for inpatient mental health care for children was the Decatur West Hospital. It served almost half of Madison Countys children who needed care. The rest had to go as far as Mobile to find help. When you have to wait in the ER, sometimes in the hallway, for hours or days, for a bed to open up somewhere, either in Alabama or Tennessee, that really can add trauma to whatever prompted the emergency room visit in the first place, Petersen said. Bells daughter returned from the program feeling refreshed with a new treatment plan that included counseling, medication and having reminders for medication. I see a big difference, the willingness to talk more, Bell said. I guess the counselor shared with her, like your parents are doing this out of love. So even just that, a better understanding of where my husband and I come from when we ask her just the reminder-type stuff, and I think she picked up at Wellstone. (...) Even recently, she had a little bit of a down day. And we sat and we talked and it feels better. Petersen said the majority of patients are also experiencing crises from depression and anxiety. Major symptoms include suicidal ideations and substance abuse, but they sometimes see cases with psychosis and mania. She says the program has already grown. The care center started with four beds. It quickly grew to 16 beds since it opened. Wellstone leaders can expand to 24 beds if the demand increases. Since they are a 501(c)3 non-profit, they dont turn anyone away. They accept Medicaid and traditional insurance and operate on a sliding scale basis. Petersen says they want to make sure people get the care that they deserve. We just want everyone to know that were here for them. They arent alone, Petersen said. So many people, when youre talking about mental illness and addiction, they still feel overwhelmed by the stigma, and so we want people to know that there are resources available that Wellstone is here, that we are going to welcome them in with open arms and stabilize them as quickly as possible. Petersen knows that everyones breaking points are different. They have several ways to help evaluate a mental health crisis. They have operators for the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline number and a mobile crisis team that can go to homes in Madison County and Cullman County. They say they take walk-ins. NASAs flagship moon program reaffirms the key role that Marshall Space Flight Center plays in human space exploration, the centers director said Thursday at an event celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Huntsville institution. Speaking at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Director Joseph Pelfrey paid homage to the thousands of workers whose careers have placed them at Marshall since its founding July 1, 1960 -- as the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union was heating up. The centers story, can be told through the many missions and projects weve accomplished, Pelfrey said. It can also be told through the thousands of careers that have started or ended here this community has provided the absolute best our nation has to offer. Marshall is one of NASAs largest field centers, with nearly 7,000 civil service and contractor employees. As the centers 15th director, Pelfrey oversees an annual budget of about $5 billion dollars from federal appropriations that multiply throughout Alabamas economy, according to a 2024 report. Much of that spending is tied to NASAs Artemis program, which aims to establish a permanent colony on the moon as a step toward crewed Mars missions. Marshall is the lead NASA center for key Artemis hardware and software systems, including the Space Launch System rockets and the Orion crew craft. The work we do at Marshall drives NASAs bold mission and goals that we have as a nation, Pelfrey said. The centers anniversary comes at a time when NASA faces historic uncertainty over funding for its exploration and science missions. President Donald Trumps budget proposal called for phasing out the SLS and Orion after the Artemis III mission that will return humans to the moons surface in 2027. The House and Senate, however, restored billions in funding. The space agency, though, is looking at over 2,100 pending departures of mid- and senior-level staff due to the administrations downsizing efforts, according to a report this month by POLITICO. That includes 279 at MSFC. Pelfreys speech stressed Marshalls role in the Artemis program. The first mission, in 2022, built confidence in the SLS, he said, and reaffirmed Marshalls role as a leader in shaping the future of human spaceflight. The center is currently taking a thoughtful look at its role within NASA as well as the new global landscape of space exploration and commercialization. As we look toward that Artemis III mission, when the next humans land on the moon, theyll do so in a Marshall-led, industry-developed Human Landing System, Pelfrey said. The centers anniversary celebration continues with a free community event July 19 from noon to 5 p.m. at the Orion Amphitheater. The event will feature space exhibits, music, food vendors and hands-on activities for all ages. Pelfrey will lead a program beginning at 12:30 that includes a presentation from some of the Expedition 72 crew members who recently returned from a mission aboard the International Space Station. Belle Mina resident Brad Vice holds a sign expressing opposition to a quarry planned for the Limestone County community following a public meeting in February 2024. Scott Turner/AL.com The fight to stop a quarry in Belle Mina heads to court Tuesday in Limestone County. A group of churches and residents have filed suit to block the quarry less than a half mile from the heart of Belle Mina, a Limestone County community that is home to a mixture of farmers in historic homes and low-income families. The quarry site is north of Interstate 565 and is near an almost 400-acre site recently annexed by Huntsville where up to 3,000 homes and retail development is proposed. Tuesdays hearing in circuit court will determine whether the landowners of the quarry property can be named defendants in the case. New Beginnings Covenant Ministries, Belle Mina Methodist Church, Jerusalem Primitive Baptist Church, New Heavan Cumberland Presbyterian Church, Brad Vice, Nina Perez and Sandra Diaz are plaintiffs in the case. Named as defendants are Stoned LLC, Grayson Carter and Son Contracting, Elephants R Us and Landquest Properties LLC. Elephants R Us and Landquest Properties are the owners of the property. The plaintiffs unsuccessfully fought to keep the Alabama Department of Environmental Management from issuing Stoned LLC a permit to discharge water from the quarry site and Grayson Carter & Son a permit to emit air pollutants from the rock crushing site. Vice told AL.com at a public meeting in February 2024 that he and his wife have been losing sleep over the quarry and what it would do to their daughters health. He believes his home is the closest to the site. He isnt alone in being concerned about what particles in the air from operations of the quarry would do to the children of the community. The plaintiffs in the case also raise concerns about the impact discharge of water into Limestone Creek and its tributaries might make on the health of residents in the community. A tributary of Limestone Creek runs near the site of the proposed quarry in Belle Mina. A study commissioned by Auburn University finds streamflow from Limestone Creek and its tributaries may be disrupted by the quarry. Scott Turner/AL.com Vice and Perez told AL.com at the meeting last year they were concerned about construction of the quarry doing structural damage to roads and homes in the community. Vice was among residents concerned property values would plummet. Perez was concerned that insurance rates would increase with the quarrys operation. According to court filings, operations at the quarry site are conducted 11 hours a day, six to seven days a week, often waking residents in the middle of the night with light and noise. The filing said dust from rock crushing, topsoil removal and transporting the dirt covers the plaintiffs properties, interfering with the use and enjoyment of their properties. The plaintiffs are also concerned that overtime, activities from the quarry will deplete the communitys groundwater and alter water levels in Limestone Creek and its tributaries in addition to structure damage to roads, homes and churches. During the permitting process, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service voiced concerns about the impact of the quarry on endangered species in the area. And representatives from Auburn University wrote letters to ADEM about their concerns on the impact on the water levels at the 700-acre Auburn University experiment station located about a mile from the site. During a public hearing in March of last year, Randy Thomason, a Grayson Carter & Son Contracting corporate officer, promised his company would be a good community citizen. And supporters of the quarry said it would bring much needed jobs to the community and revenue to Limestone County. Grayson Carter & Son, an Athens company, is one of the companies contracted to work on road projects in the city of Huntsville. Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill is now open at Clift Farm in Madison. Scott Turner/AL.com Huntsville residents looking for more steak and seafood options in the Huntsville area now have them just north of U.S. 72 at Clift Farm. Italian, Mexican and Asian options are on the way in the mixed-use development just north of the Madison city limits, according to Joey Ceci, president of Breland Companies. Construction continues on the $2.8 million, 8,141 square-foot building that will house Grimaldis Pizzeria and Melt at 461 John Henry Way in Clift Farm. Neither restaurant is a stranger to the area. Grimaldis has a location in Jones Valley. Melt, which specializes in classic comfort food of burgers and sandwiches, has a location in downtown Huntsville. The Clift Farm franchise will be the fourth in Alabama. Ceci said both restaurants are expected to open in the first quarter of 2026. Breland is the Clift Farm developer. The two restaurants will be near Capriottis Sandwich Shop and the recently opened Chucks Fish. Construction is also ongoing for the $6.5 million, 12,448-square foot Coopers Hawk Winery and Restaurant just north of that location in the development. It is the franchises first location in Alabama. The restaurant franchise was founded in 2005. The Coopers Hawk concept includes four components: an upscale casual dining restaurant, full-service bar, private barrel-aging room, and Napa-style tasting room and retail gift store, according to the restaurant website. Steak, chicken and seafood are among the items on the menu in addition to a wide selection of wine and beers. Brunch will also be served at the restaurant. Also coming to Clift Farm is Mexican restaurant La Parrilla. This will be the franchises second restaurant in Alabama. It has a restaurant in Dothan. According to the La Parilla website, in addition to Dothan, there are 22 locations in Georgia and South Carolina. The website advertises authentic Mexican flavors meet a welcoming, family-friendly atmosphere. Offerings include traditional dishes, including burritos, tacos, enchiladas and quesadillas. It will offer online ordering options and catering services. Rock N Roll Sushi is also opening soon at 461 John Henry Way in suite 300. The franchise is an America-style sushi restaurant founded on great food and rock and roll music, according to its website. It advertises flavors that are big, bold and loud. The restaurant will offer sushi, hibachi and kids menus. Newly opened Drybar hair salon opened at Clift Farm in Madison in June. Scott Turner/AL.com The newest business to open at Clift Farm is California-based hair salon Drybar, which opened in June. It is open just around the corner from Rock N Roll Sushi in suite 1030. Drybar provides a hair styling service known as blowouts - drying hair after a wash to achieve a smooth and sleek look, style and feel, with no curling or flat iron involved. It is the brands first location in Alabama. Franchisees Jenny and Pete Warmingham are owners of multiple Scooters Coffee locations. Founded in 2010, the Drybar brand has more than 180 shops globally. Stoney River Steakhouse and Grill opened behind First Watch on John Henry Way. The restaurant is a sister restaurant to Town Madisons J. Alexanders. Ceci describes it as more of a traditional steakhouse than J. Alexanders. The success of that restaurant paved the way for Stoney River at Clift Farm. Stoney River currently has locations in Nashville, Franklin and Germantown in Tennessee and Atlanta, Roswell and Duluth, Georgia. The Stoney River website describes the restaurant as an upscale steakhouse, specializing in hand-cut steaks, fresh seafood selections, signature salads and house specialties. Chucks Fish is open near Jim N Nicks barbecue restaurant on John Henry Way. The restaurant specializes in Gulf seafood. The restaurants owner, Chuck Morgan III, also owns Harbor Docks fish market in Destin, Florida. The Clift Farm restaurant is the seventh Chucks Fish. Chuck's Fish at Clift Farm in Madison is now open. Scott Turner/AL.com Ceci said a village green area is now open as a gathering place for the development. It will host events such as yoga in the park or bands. Later this month, Chick-fil-A will host a back to school event on the green. Residential construction Lennar Homes construction at Clift Farm in Madison County. Scott Turner/AL.com Hundreds of homes, townhomes and apartments are in various stages of development on the 500-acre site. Lennar Homes of Alabama is the builder for some of the single-family homes in the development, while Ceci said Breland Homes is planning to build others. Clift Farm will have about 1,300 apartments by the time it is finished, Ceci said during an earlier interview with AL.com. There will be about 300 townhomes and probably about 500 to 600 single-family homes. It will take about five to 10 years to complete. Ten communities throughout the state of Alabama are joining a nationwide protest effort on July 17 in response to recent ICE raids and health care cuts carried out by the Trump administration. The event has been dubbed the Good Trouble Lives On national day of action in honor of civil rights leader and Alabama native Congressman John Lewis, who coined the phrase and used it frequently throughout the Civil Rights Movement. According to the protest website, Good Trouble refers to the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change. We are facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations, the site reads. Whether youre outraged by attacks on voting rights, the gutting of essential services, disappearances of our neighbors, or the assault on free speech and our right to protest- this movement is for you. Over 1,600 communities across the U.S. have organized protests for Thursday. So far, the cities of Birmingham, Center Point, Cullman, Fort Payne, Montgomery, Dothan, Mobile, Fairhope, Anniston, and Auburn have scheduled July 17 protests in Alabama. Those interested in RSVPing for a Good Trouble protest near them have been encouraged to visit the sites map to sign up. On Thursday, people will take to the streets to protest Trumps immigration crackdown, which has led to the deportation of over 100,000 individuals. We are navigating one of the most terrifying moments in our nations history, Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said during an online news conference Tuesday. We are all grappling with a rise of authoritarianism and lawlessness within our administration ... as the rights, freedoms and expectations of our very democracy are being challenged. Public Citizen, a group partnering with Good Trouble for Thursdays protest, is a nonprofit dedicated to taking on corporate power, according to its website. Protestors are also coming out against the Trump administrations recent decision to slash $600 billion in Medicaid funding under his big, beautiful bill. Opponents of the bill say it could leave millions of Americans without healthcare and further burden the nations struggling rural hospital systems. U.S. Sen. Karie Britt (R-AL) listens at a Senate Judiciary Hearing on June 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images) Getty Images In an ongoing debate among supporters of the Trump Administration over releasing information related to the case of billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged clients, U.S. Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala. has made her stance clear. Jeffrey Epstein was a sexual predatorfull stop," she wrote in an email to AL.com Thursday. The abuses of his victims, especially children, are despicable. This is why I supported an amendment the Senate Appropriations Committee adopted last week to ensure the DOJ releases everything the Department has on the Epstein case. The Epstein case has followed Trump since July 6, when the Department of Justice and the FBI issued a joint memo saying there was no incriminating client list and no credible evidence that Epstein blackmailed co-conspirators who sexually abused underaged girls provided by him, Axios first reported. The memo contradicted Attorney General Pam Bondis claim in a February interview with Fox News that the client list was on her desk. Some of the presidents most staunch backers turned on him over the memos release, advocating for the release of the Epstein files. U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. maintains his staunch support of the Trump administration, telling 1819 News this week we wont get involved. What I can tell you, just knowing (FBI Director) Kash Patel and (Attorney General) Pam Bondi, the investigation is ongoing, and you do not want to do things that are going to put you in a bad light as a Republican, he recently told Greg Budell of News Talk 93.1 in Montgomery. But when it is found out, and when we have complete control of what is going on, the American people will see this. President Trump could care less about the Epstein files or whatever, but hes promised transparency. Trump on Wednesday lashed out at supporters asking for the release of the files, calling them weaklings. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, he wrote in a post to his Truth Social account. Dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore! Although Britt believes that President Trump and his administration are committed to being transparent about the Epstein case, she said she is pushing for the public to get answers sooner rather than later. Its crucial that, while protecting the privacy rights of victims, the American public get transparent, credible answers, she said Thursday. Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene disagrees with President Donald Trump on funding weapons for Ukraine, on whether the Epstein files are worth releasing and on how to regulate cryptocurrency. And thats just this week. She also has split with him on support for Israel and, for a time, on passing his signature legislation known as the big, beautiful bill. But Greene doesnt believe shes in conflict with Trump, whose conservative Make America Great Again agenda she supports wholeheartedly. Instead, she says she is merely sticking to her principles and blames people surrounding Trump for not doing the same. Im not fighting with President Trump, Greene said. Im fighting with the people that are trying to take over the agenda. On Tuesday, Greene was among 12 Republicans who voted with Democrats against a Trump-backed cryptocurrency bill. Greene said she was unhappy that Speaker Mike Johnson did not allow an amendment to be added that would have ensured the Federal Reserve did not attempt to launch its own digital currency, something far-right figures have argued against. Wednesday morning, she and nearly all of the other holdouts reversed course and supported allowing the bill to proceed without any changes. But it was still another example of Greene splitting with the president, even if it was temporary. While Greene says she remains an ally of Trump and agrees with him on most issues, her willingness to break with him highlights an independent streak that could help her differentiate herself from other Republicans if she decides to run for governor in 2026. Another example is her long-standing opposition to sending U.S. resources to aide Ukraine in its war with Russia or Israel in its war with Hamas. Greene has consistently voted against legislation that provides funding or weapons to both countries, dating back to her first term when President Joe Biden was in office. Trump campaigned on ending foreign wars and diverting that money to border security and immigration enforcement. But some notable MAGA figures, including Greene, have questioned some of his foreign policy decisions since taking office in January. Last month Greene, R-Rome, joined other high-profile MAGA figures who criticized Trumps decision to launch attacks in Iran in support of Israel. Then, on Monday, Trump said the U.S. will funnel weapons to Ukraine through NATO, a reversal of an announcement earlier this month that his administration was holding back military equipment that had been promised to Ukraine. Greene said she is disappointed in the new direction Trump is taking, arguing that it diverts U.S. resources away from domestic issues that matter more to the voters who put him in office. I love President Trump; I absolutely love the guy, she said Tuesday. I love his agenda. I love so many things that the administration is doing, and I think theyre wonderful, and I want to see him have all the support in the world going forward. But I dont want World War III. The Department of Justices refusal to release the full case file outlining its investigation of Jeffrey Epstein, the moneyed sex offender who died by suicide while in prison, has also frustrated Greene and other Trump supporters. For years, far-right voters have accused Democrats of withholding the Epstein files to protect other rich Americans who might have been implicated. But Trump has refused to release more documents and downplayed the uproar. I think they should release the information about the people that were surrounding Jeffrey Epstein, who is the most well-known convicted pedophile in modern-day history, Greene said. Greene said she isnt sure if Trump is receiving bad advice or why there are so many recent decisions she has disagreed with. But she is hoping to get some face time with the president to discuss. I really I do look forward to talking with him about it, she said. 2025 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The first adventure kicked off in April with a four-day coastal field trip for students and faculty from SC State, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University. Students explored marine ecosystems, culture and careers in the Southeast. ORANGEBURG, S.C. From casting nets off the Georgia coast to exploring marine labs and historic Gullah communities, students from South Carolina State University and partner HBCUs got a hands-on look at what careers in environmental science can really offer and it was anything but boring. Through a growing partnership between SC States Institute for Business, Environment, Communications and Transportation (BECT Institute) and the University of Georgias Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant, students and faculty from HBCUs and womens colleges across Georgia and South Carolina took part in two high-impact experiences that combined science, culture and career exploration. A road trip for science and much more The first adventure kicked off in April with a four-day coastal field trip for students and faculty from SC State, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University. The journey spanned dozens of research sites and cultural landmarks across two states. In South Carolina, the group visited the Baruch Institute, North Inlet-Winyah Bay Reserve, Folly Beach Pier and marine labs at Fort Johnson and the College of Charleston. They also met Zenobia Harper, founder of the Gullah Preservation Society, who shared stories and insight into the regions rich cultural heritage. In Georgia, students boarded UGAs R/V Sea Dawg for a trawling expedition, toured an oyster hatchery and attended a career panel at Savannah State University. They wrapped up at the Wormsloe Institute, where conservation and history intersect. The trip gave students face time with scientists, educators and community leaders and a clearer sense of where their studies might lead. Big ideas, bold goals at geoscience workshop Participants in the Cultivating Geoscience Careers workshop in Savannah. In May, the partnership continued with the Cultivating Geoscience Careers workshop in Savannah, where students, faculty, industry professionals and higher ed leaders tackled real challenges facing HBCUs and womens colleges in preparing students for careers in geoscience. Over three days, the group developed a set of practical solutions, including: Expanding field-based learning experiences. Building stronger industry partnerships for internships and mentorships. Launching targeted programs to support underrepresented students. Strengthening collaboration between institutions, employers and funders. Venetia Lyles, associate professor of chemistry at SC State and director of the Savannah River Environmental Science Field Station, and Mona Behl, associate director of Georgia Sea Grant at UGA, helped lead both events. Both serve on the BECT Institute advisory council. A virtual follow-up session is planned for August to continue the momentum. About the BECT Institute Created by state legislation serving all seven South Carolina HBCUs, SC States BECT Institute supports interdisciplinary learning and engagement in business, environmental science, communication and transportation. Its goals include: Building a pipeline of skilled students through hands-on learning. Supporting community and economic development. Partnering with industry and government agencies. Providing professional development for students, faculty and the community. Expanding SC States reach in research, teaching and service. Want to learn more about how the BECT Institute is connecting students to meaningful careers? Visit www.scsu.edu/bect or contact Dr. Barbara Adams, executive director, at badams@scsu.edu or (803) 5164864. An agreement signed Monday between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security has given U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement access to the personal data of all Medicaid enrollees, according to a report from The Associated Press. This will give the agency access to 79 million peoples private information, including home addresses and ethnicities, for the purpose of finding the location of aliens, according to the report. The agreement, which has not been publicly announced as of July 17, does not allow ICE officials to download the data, AP News reports. Instead, they will be allowed to access it for a limited period from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, until Sept. 9. Efforts to reach U.S. Sens. Katie Britt, R-Ala. and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. for comment on the agreement were not immediately successful. This is the latest move in the President Donald Trumps immigration crackdown, which is currently striving to arrest 3,000 people daily, according to previous comments from White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller. Although immigrants who are not living in the U.S. legally, as well as some lawfully present immigrants, are not allowed to enroll in the Medicaid program, federal law requires all states to offer emergency Medicaid, a temporary coverage that pays only for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to anyone, including non-U.S. citizens. Its unthinkable that CMS [Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] would violate the trust of Medicaid enrollees in this way, Hannah Katch, a previous adviser at CMS during the Biden administration, told AP News. She added that the personally identifiable information of enrollees has not been historically shared outside of the agency unless for law enforcement purposes to investigate waste, fraud or abuse of the program. Last month, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s advisers ordered the release of a dataset that includes the private health information of people living in California, Illinois, Washington state, and Washington, D.C., to the Department of Homeland Security. All of those states allow non-U.S. citizens to enroll in Medicaid programs that pay for their expenses using only state taxpayer dollars. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and 19 other states attorneys general have sued over the move, saying it violated federal privacy laws. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., left, and Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., attend a news conference on July 8, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Imag U.S. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala. on Wednesday shared his advice for American citizens who have been or may be wrongfully detained in ongoing raids by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officers. Dont put yourself in a situation where that happens, Tuberville said in a brief interview with Migrant Insiders Pablo Manriquez. And Im sure with all the illegals we have in this country, youre going to probably have some mistakes happen. Thats going to happen. But again, as long as we take care of it the right way, understand they are our system, let them go. Senator, do you care if US citizens accidentally get detained in ICE raids? TOMMY TUBBERVILLE: pic.twitter.com/SmvjFd0UQa Pablo Manriquez (@PabloReports) July 16, 2025 Over the last few months, there have been several reports of U.S. citizens being jailed by ICE. Just this week, U.S. Army veteran George Retes, 25, was released from the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles with no charges after spending three days in jail for reasons that he said were never made clear to him. Retes was arriving to his security guard shift on July 10 at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, a marijuana farm, when he said several federal agents surrounded his car and - despite him identifying himself as a U.S. citizen - broke his window, peppered sprayed him and dragged him out, according to a report from AP News. He told the outlet that federal agents never told him why he was arrested or allowed him to contact a lawyer or his family during his three-day detention. And during those three days, authorities never let him shower or change clothes despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, he said. California Gov. Gavin Newsom called Trump a chaos agent who has incited violence and spread fear in communities at a press conference on Wednesday. You got someone who dropped 30 feet because they were scared to death and lost their life, he said, referring to a farmworker who died in the California raids. People are quite literally disappearing with no due process, no rights. When speaking with Manriquez, Tuberville said that even being around people who immigrated illegally, like Retes was, can put you at risk during raids. Again, if youre going to be hanging around people that are not citizens of this country, some things like that are going to probably happen, he said. In an interview Wednesday on Bannons War Room Tuberville praised this weeks ICE raids at 14 locations across six Alabama counties. Agents took more than 40 people believed to be undocumented workers into custody, as AL.com reported previously. We have got to get the bad hombres, number one, but if people are there around ICE, we cant pass them up. Weve got to deport them, send them home, he told Bannon. Imagine being a Jew living in a kibbutz in the 1940s. You listen as your colleagues discuss how awful the Allies are because they're dropping bombs on bridges and factories and killing German soldiers. They never mention Jews being rounded up and shipped off in railroad cars. Your friends are hard-working and they seem to be very devout, rarely missing community prayer, yet they openly support the very people who oppress them. Such is the case of many devout Christians today who live and work alongside those who share the same faith yet support a political party whose goals are diametrically opposed to everything they claim to believe. How do Christians belong to a religion that condemns and forbids such horrors as abortion and transgenderism, yet enthusiastically support politicians who promote those very things? And those same Christians will demonstrate a smug superiority over traditionalists who subscribe to scripture and the teachings of the church. Some Protestant denominations are more liberal than others on these issues, with their pastors openly advocating transgenderism and an active homosexual lifestyle while the Evangelical Protestant denominations and the Catholic Church have always condemned them. When a person holds conflicting beliefs or behaviors, it creates a state of psychological discomfort known as cognitive dissonance. Catholicism upholds the sanctity of life from conception, defines marriage as a sacramental union between a man and a woman, and roots human sexuality in biological reality. If a Catholic supports a political party that advocates for abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgenderism, it presents a clear conflict. This tension may manifest as guilt or discomfort and can prompt the individual to employ self-justification strategies to reconcile their Catholic identity with their political choices. Over the years, I've heard my colleagues informally vocalize quite a few such strategies. One is to compartmentalize faith and politics, treating them as separate domains. This allows the person to claim, for example, that they personally oppose abortion but they support Democrats for their social welfare policies. Another common strategy is to raise certain Church teachings, such as social justice, over others, such as the sanctity of life. They may believe that helping the poor is more urgent than protecting the unborn. They might reinterpret doctrine, aligning Church teachings with modern values. Such people can be heard to say, "God accepts same-sex marriage because love is love." I've heard colleagues say things like, "Abortion is just one issue among many," (minimizing the conflict), and "Both parties are flawed, so I will choose the lesser evil", (externalizing responsibility) and "My conscience guides me to support this party," (appealing to personal conscience untethered from doctrine). While these strategies may reduce discomfort, they dilute or remove adherence to the Church's holistic moral teachings. The paradox becomes particularly striking when I hear Catholics claiming moral superiority over those who support a party opposing abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgender interventions, positions which are more aligned with Catholic doctrine. Leftist narratives frame support for abortion, same-sex marriage, and transgenderism as compassionate or enlightened, which can lead some Catholics to adopt these views as morally advanced. They may see issues like poverty or immigration as more pressing and view conservatives as deficient in these areas, labeling them as hypocritical or judgmental. I have heard, for example, The Republican party only cares about babies before birth, not after. This deflects scrutiny from their own contradictions. It's not uncommon to see leftists cherry-picking Scripture in order to construct a narrative that aligns with their politics, dismissing traditional teachings as outdated. They will, for example, cite "Love your neighbor" (Mark 12:31) or "Welcome the stranger" (Leviticus 19:34) or "Judge not lest you be judged" (Matthew 7:1) not as calls for mercy, hospitality, and justice but rather as a philosophical club with which to beat Christians. Left-leaning Christians use the same club to beat conservative Christians. As noted above, selective moral reasoning is an attempt to redefine Catholic identity, emphasizing personal conscience over strict adherence to doctrine. This enables them to claim a "higher" Catholic morality while casting those who follow the Church's teachings on life and sexuality as rigid or uncharitable. Pope Francis once made this very accusation. Catholicism teaches that its moral doctrines are not menu items from which we may pick and choose, but a coherent framework that is based in divine truth. The Church has always taught that abortion is an intrinsic evil, marriage is a divinely ordained institution and human sexuality is tied to biological reality. A Catholic, and I would say that any Christian lives in contradiction when he supports politicians or political parties that promotes opposing policies, and when he condemns a party that aligns with traditional Christian teachings. Claiming moral superiority in this context ignores the objective moral framework that traditional church teachings provide and prioritizes cultural trends over doctrine. The U.S. conference of Catholic Bishops' document "Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship" emphasizes that issues such as abortion carry significant moral weight due to their direct harm on human life. This underscores the inconsistency of prioritizing other issues while dismissing those. Spending much time with left-leaning Christians inevitably results in difficult conversations. It is good to engage with them, as we can plant seeds for deeper alignment between their faith and their political choices. One way is by asking questions. For example: "How do you balance the Church's stance on abortion with the Democrat party's platform?" "The Church teaches that protecting the unborn and caring for the poor both flow from human dignity. How do you prioritize those?" "I understand that you might support them for social justice, but how do you weigh that against transgender interventions for children?" Christians must align their faith with their political choices, embracing a consistent moral framework that upholds the sanctity of life, marriage, and human dignity. Respectful dialogue and reflective questions can guide believers toward a faith that shines consistently in all aspects of life. Image: Pixabay The First Punic War began in 264 BC, lasted 25 years, and was fought between the Romans and the Carthaginians, a civilization in what is today modern Tunisia. The Carthaginians were the most powerful and prosperous force in the Western Mediterranean and North Africa, while the Romans were a growing power on the Italian peninsula. After two decades, with both sides financially and demographically exhausted, Rome prevailed. Carthage ceded Sicily, Sardinia, and Corsica, and paid substantial reparations. The Second Punic War lasted from 218 to 201 BC. This is the war that saw Hannibal attack from the north, taking his war elephants across the Mediterranean, then down over the Alps, becoming the scourge of the Italian Peninsula for more than a decade. Across the Italian mainland, Hannibal would go from city to city, winning virtually every engagement, including Cannae , which almost ended Rome. Rome recovered, however, and pursued a cat-and-mouse strategy with the goal of tiring Hannibals army. Image by ChatGPT. In one of historys great mysteries, after a decade of winning almost every encounter and with virtual free rein over most of the Italian mainland, for some reason, Hannibal never attacked Rome to deliver the death blow that kept the Romans awake at night. Eventually, Publius Scipio, known to history as Scipio Africanus, would bring the war to Carthage itself, which would lead to Hannibal being recalled. Unable to overcome the Roman cavalry advantage, Hannibal would be defeated, and Carthage would sue for peace. Again, Carthage would pay substantial reparations, concede wide swaths of land, and this time lose much of its autonomy. The Third Punic War, begun in 149 BC, would be the shortest and the last. Using a Carthaginian response to an attack by the Numidian king and Roman ally Massinissa as a pretense, Rome declared war. Three years later, the city of Carthage lay in ruins as the Romans destroyed virtually every structure. This would be final. Tired of having to fight the Carthaginians, Rome would obliterate them. They subsumed everything the Carthaginians had, declared it illegal to rebuild the city, and sold off its remaining population into slavery. As intended, Carthage would never again pose a problem for the Romans. Fast forward two millennia, and you see echoes of one of the greatest conflicts in history. In 1914, the Germans launched Europe into World War I. For three years, the sides would largely battle over inches as soldiers looked at one another across the hundreds of miles of trenches dug on front lines that rarely moved. By 1918, the Germans were defeated and the alliesmainly France & the UKimposed the draconian Treaty of Versailles, which included staggering reparations and strict military limitations. Two decades later, Germany, once crippled by reparations and limitations on industry and its military, would launch a second world war. For the previous decade, it had slowly but consistently pushed the limits of what it was allowed to do under the Treaty of Versailles, and usually found little or no resistance. As such, Germany kept pushing until it was strong enough that the allies could do little to prevent its expansive designs. And thus began a true world war that would fully engulf half the planet, and it would take half a decade for victory to come. Fast forward another eighty years, and the world once again finds itself in a crisis. A different crisis, to be sure, but one that threatens civilization every bit as much as the two world wars. What crisis? Why the immigration crisis, of course. And why is it an existential threat to civilization? Because the West has been the primary driver of the advance of civilization around the world for the last 500 years. The list of things Western civilization is responsible for that are central to the world today, while not endless, is very long. Flight, telephony, harnessing electricity, nuclear power, plastic, television, air conditioning, automobiles, the best of modern medicine, space travel, MRI machines, advanced agriculture, and much more, not the least of which was virtually ending slavery worldwide. This Western civilization was built on Christianity, individual freedom, freedom of speech, religion, and the press, capitalism, liberal democracy, and relatively free markets. Other than that first foundation (Christianity), most of those elements developed into keystones over the last three centuries. Today, all are at risk, and once again, the catalyst is Germany. In particular, German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In 2015, as the leader of what was then the most economically powerful nation in Europe, she essentially dictated that the continent open its borders to migrants from Syria, Afghanistan, and Iraq. While ostensibly humanitarian, this policy was suicidal. Europe had been failing to integrate immigrants for decades , and now Merkel had opened the door to the entire Third World. The consequences have been extraordinary. Thirty million, mostly undocumented male, military-aged migrants from the third world have inundated Europe over the last decade, overwhelming services, straining budgets, and committing crimes . Today, across the West, there is a growing ideology that is anathema to free speech, freedom of religion, free press, womens rights, and more. And its violently so . At the current rate of demographic change, native Europeans will be a minority in Europe soon after the middle of the century, and Western civilization will not be far behind, if it survives that long. If it were just Angela Merkel, we might be able to give Germany a pass, but its not. The EUs Ursula von der Leyen and the WEFs Klaus Schwab are both also spawn of Germany and were Merkels fellow travelers when she was in powerand maintained her cancerous ideas once she left. At the end of the day, from giving us Karl Marx to facilitating the Bolshevik revolution by returning Lenin to Russia , to beginning two world wars and shepherding the current collapse of the West, Germany has been the fount of more strife and more bloodshed over the last 200 years than any nation on the planet. And its not even close. Its likely too late for Europe to save itself, although its possible that Western civilization could survive the collapse of the place of its origin. Nonetheless, while the odds are against it, there is hope, but it will take drastic measures. The West should do to Germany what the Romans did to Carthage. Not in the literal sense of razing it to the ground, of course. Instead, it should split it into a dozen or more autonomous nations. Separately, these tiny states would spend so much time trying to survive that they couldnt lead the world off another cliff. Sure, you can say this proposal is insane, and maybe it is, but so too is leading the charge to destroy the most successful civilization in history. In thrall to the climate change hoax, Germany recently shuttered the last of its nuclear power plants and is well on its way to collapsing its economy. Its a statecraft version of someone who wants to commit suicide and decides to take as many others with him as he can. The West should not allow it. We know what the collapse of Western civilization looks like: Its somewhere between Afghanistan and Communist China. Both spell the end of freedom and prosperity. If the West wants to avoid that fate, the first step is to eliminate the fuhrer / Pied Piper leading the way. Maybe then it will be possible to focus on saving whats left... The only question remaining is, has the moving finger irrevocably moved on? The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line, Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, Stanza 71, Translated by Edward FitzGerald Numerous authors are opining on the validity or invalidity of the pardons issued under the autopen signature of the invalid who was housed in the White House for the better part of four years (when he wasnt on the beach with his ice cream cone). Andrea Widburg has ably discussed this issue as illuminated by Bidens interview with the New York Times. The problem now is, What can we do about it? Or, in other words, What difference does it make? Acts that use a Presidential signature include letters and proclamations. No one is seriously suggesting that we go through that stack of stuff to somehow invalidate them. Proclamations are ceremonial, and letters are well letters. They fall into the legal Who cares? category. Image by ChatGPT. The next group are executive orders. These are orders to the executive branch of the government to do one thing or another, and can readily be rescinded by the next President with the stroke of a pen. Recall that Biden issued seventeen EOs on his first day in office, mostly rescinding Trump initiatives. Four years later, the Donald returned the favor. Thus, unless were discussing the supposed irrevocable withdrawal of lands and seabed from oil and gas exploration, EOs are a non-issue. Given the autopen signature on the memos and related EOs here, these simply arent irrevocable. We might wish to hypothesize on who might have standing to object to them being revoked by Trump, but any concrete, particularized injury would necessarily be pure speculation, meaning that Trumps orders will stand. As noted above, autopen pardons are quite possibly invalid, leaving people like Anthony I am science Fauci open to criminal liability for perjury. Senator Rand Paul obviously thinks so, since he has referred Fauci to the DOJ for prosecution again. But what about Bidens appointments? Our gaze turns to the shiny object in the room, judges. They are the class of appointed officers who remain after the changing of the guard every four years. Before you get all giddy about the prospect of getting rid of that Supreme Court Justice who cant be sure that shes a woman, recall that Sleepy Joe made multiple public comments about her nomination prior to Senate confirmation. We can have no doubt that her selection had his direct approval. Autopen or no, were stuck with her. But there are a number of other judges that we may not have to suffer with for extended periods. Unfortunately, the path Im shining a light on is not entirely certain. Bidens NYT interview points to a key flaw in the autopen. He may have given his subordinates basic direction about what should be done. That general instruction was passed on from sycophant to sycophant in what may best be described as a game of Telephone. The relationship between the original intention and the final execution was tenuous at best. During the last two years of Joes tenancy at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, his Chief of Staff, Jeffrey Zients, created the actual order for each signature. This is different from proper practice. First, the final approval did not come from the President. It is clear from case law all the way back to the Founding that the Presidents signature is the last act that indicates the Presidents actual intent (Marbury v. Madison, 5 US 137, 1803). Without the Presidents personal involvement in this final act, conservative scholars Edwin Meese and Josh Blackman argue that strict personal involvement is required. The Appointments Clause establishes that the President must make a clear statement that a given person is appointed to a judgeship (or granted a pardon, etc.). It does not allow a secretary, aide, or Chief of Staff to exercise that authority. Thus, once the choice of a judge is suggested by the Presidents staff, he has to give that person the nod. Then the name can go to the Senate for confirmation. Its not clear that this happened for all of Bidens judicial nominations. Certain over-the-top judicial acts came from judges nominated by other Presidents. Massachusetts District Court Judge Indira Talwani has told the President that he has to send money to Planned Parenthood, even though Congress hasnt appropriated any. This clueless jurist was appointed by Obama, not Biden. Judge Myong Joun, also of Boston, said that Trump couldnt lay off workers in the Department of Education. This Biden-appointed judge just got slapped down by the Supreme Court. Biden Bimbo Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong of Los Angeles may actually have some legal sense with her order enjoining ICE from doing random roundups based on physical appearance and Spanish-only verbal skills. Unfortunately for her plaintiffs, ICE has been too busy following up information on where illegals, particularly violent criminal illegals are. Those arent illegal sweeps. But the problem for Joun and Frimpong is that if they were nominated via minion-operated autopen, their appointments were not valid under the Constitution. Left-wing legal briefs will all claim that since the Senate confirmed them, all is sunshine and roses. Obviously, this has not been adjudicated. On the other hand, they have occupied judicial robes for a period of time, during which they made numerous rulings. If they are dispossessed of their chambers, what happens to the work they have already completed? There is a simple answer for this in the de facto officer doctrine. This settled law states that, even if an officer was not properly elevated and installed in office, the acts of that not officer remain official. The new, properly nominated and confirmed judge would then hear the cases moving forward. Any erroneous acts by the prior judge would have to be reversed in the normal course of appeals. Unfortunately, this simplified outline of possible problems must meet a significant standard of proof. Without a clear chain of evidence showing that Biden did not appoint a particular judge, courts will likely find that the appointment was valid. But if theres more evidence that follows the NYT story, its possible that courts will find a pattern that, absent a direct confirmation of presidential intent that a particular judge is improperly in office, and must be removed. We can only hope. Ted Noel is retired physician who posts on social media as Doctor Ted. His occasional Doctor Teds Prescription podcast is available on multiple podcast channels. The Federal District Court for the District of Columbia has been a safe haven for Democrats, with the justices there willing repeatedly to favor plaintiffs who have filed suits against the Trump administration. Margot Cleveland obtained a memo from a federal judicial conference held this past March showing that the DC judges are actively hostile to Donald Trump and want to ensure the Supreme Court shares that hostility. This behavior crashes into the federal canons governing judges, as well as into the reality of Trumps conduct. Before Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, the DC District Court had already garnered a reputation for hostility to the Trump side of the aisle thanks to Jamaica-born Judge Tanya S. Chutkan. It was she who dealt exceptionally harshly with people arrested for events on January 6, 2021, going so far as to continue to attack people orally even after Donald Trump had pardoned them. Image created using ChatGPT. Since Trump entered office, the DC judges rulings resulted in headline after headline for their track record of siding with plaintiffs in actions against the Trump administration: Judge Carl J. Nichols: Issued a temporary restraining order halting the administrations attempt to place ~2,200 USAID employees on administrative leave, including recalling staff overseas. Judge Deborah Boardman: Became the first to impose a nationwide preliminary injunction blocking Trumps executive order ending birthright citizenship for children born to undocumented residents. The Supreme Court has stayed the nationwide injunction, while the constitutional question remains to be resolved. Judge Adam B. Abelson: Granted a preliminary injunction blocking three key provisions of Trumps early executive orders restricting DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) programs in federal contracts and grants. The Fourth Circuit stayed his injunction, pending appeal. Judge Amy Berman Jackson: Issued a temporary restraining order and then a permanent injunction in Bessent v. Dellinger, preventing the Trump Administration from firing the independent Special Counsel without cause. The D.C. Circuit stayed her injunction pending appeal. Chief Judge James E. Boasberg: Approved a temporary restraining order in J.G.G. v. Trump, blocking mass deportations of Venezuelan detainees under the Alien Enemies Act. Extended it multiple times and found probable cause for contempt after deportations proceeded contrary to court orders. The various superior courts have slapped these orders around excessively. Judge Royce Lamberth: Blocked enforcement of Trumps executive order restricting hormone therapy for incarcerated transgender people in BOP facilities. Judge Beryl Howell: Ruled that Trumps removal of NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox was illegal under federal labor law. Judge Richard Leon: Declared Trumps executive order targeting law firm WilmerHale unconstitutional, reaffirming separation of powers. Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly: Issued a 120page ruling partially blocking Trumps executive order requiring citizenship proof for voter registration, stating election regulation is a Congress/state prerogative. Those who suspected that the judges might be biased werent imagining it. Margot Cleveland writes that, in the second week of March, members of the Judicial Conference had one of their two regular annual meetings, during which the members decide upon official policy for the federal courts. Attending each conference are the Supreme Court Chief Justice (that would be Roberts), the chief judge and one district judge from each of the appellate districts, and the chief judge for the Court of International Trade. The memo Cleveland obtained is a stunner: In a memorandum obtained exclusively by The Federalist, a member of the Judicial Conference summarized the March meeting, including a working breakfast at which Justice Roberts spoke. According to the memorandum, District of the District of Columbia Chief Judge James Boasberg next raised his colleagues concerns that the Administration would disregard rulings of federal courts leading to a constitutional crisis. Chief Justice Roberts expressed hope that would not happen and in turn no constitutional crisis would materialize, according to the memorandum. The summary of the working breakfast added that Chief Justice Roberts noted that his interactions with the President have been civil and respectful, such as the President thanking him at the state of the union address for administering the oath. In other words, D.C. judges have decided that, to echo Joe Biden, Trump is a bad dude, and then they decided to impose their bias on the Supreme Court. This is a shocking violation of the Code of Conduct for United States Judges: Canon 1: A Judge Should Uphold the Integrity and Independence of the Judiciary An independent and honorable judiciary is indispensable to justice in our society. A judge should maintain and enforce high standards of conduct and should personally observe those standards, so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary may be preserved. The provisions of this Code should be construed and applied to further that objective. [snip] Canon 3: A Judge Should Perform the Duties of the Office Fairly, Impartially and Diligently The duties of judicial office take precedence over all other activities. The judge should perform those duties with respect for others, and should not engage in behavior that is harassing, abusive, prejudiced, or biased. The judge should adhere to the following standards: (A) Adjudicative Responsibilities. (1) A judge should be faithful to, and maintain professional competence in, the law and should not be swayed by partisan interests, public clamor, or fear of criticism. Roberts, rather than responding that the President had been perfectly nice to him, should have slapped Boasberg around for expressing this kind of opinion about a party appearing before both the district court and the Supreme Court. Moreover, Roberts should have reminded him that the Trump administration had done nothing to merit that kind of defamatory statement. In both his first term and, to date, in this term, President Trump has abided assiduously with court orders. In this regard, he differs from Joe Biden, who openly defied the Supreme Courts ban on the administrations ability to cancel student loans. The irony is that Roberts is excessively protective of the Supreme Courts reputation. By allowing district court judges to behave as purely partisan actors violating Canon 5 (A Judge Should Refrain From Political Activity), hes done more to harm the federal judiciarys reputation than any Supreme Court justice in history. Well, here's some advice nobody asked for: CLOSED BORDER: Presumably, Blas Nunez-Neto (Biden's Border Advisor) explains that all we needed to fix the immigration system was to elect a new president. pic.twitter.com/9jdvJoLqVZ @amuse (@amuse) July 16, 2025 And isn't that special. A Biden advisor, one Blas Nunez-Neto, has the whole immigration thing figured out now, so he'd like President Trump to know what he should do. According to the New York Times: The first step in responding to a crisis is to acknowledge it exists. The surge in illegal crossings at our southern border during the first three years of Joe Bidens presidency was, by any reasonable definition, a crisis. The failure to acknowledge this reality and take timely action to try to resolve it cost Democrats a great deal of trust with American voters and contributed to President Trumps return to the White House. NSS. It's amazing the absence of self-awareness of some people. Nunez-Neto presided over the biggest border disaster in history, with at least 10 million foreign nationals from countries as far away as Yemen and the People's Republic of Congo allowed to flow in on fake asylum claims, with some actually flown in, spread around the country in the dead of night, bringing crime, disorder, and huge costs to all communities affected. Now he wants to tell President Trump he has the answer to all the problems that created. But the long-term solution here isnt more muscular executive actions; it is for Congress to do its job. The bipartisan bill unveiled last year by Senators James Lankford, Chris Murphy and Kyrsten Sinema would have been a good start. It would have streamlined the asylum process at the border, provided an emergency authority to shut the border down during surges and added thousands of personnel, including administrative judges. Knowing that passage of the bill would have been perceived as an election-year win for Democrats, Mr. Trump successfully pressured congressional Republicans to kill it. What weve been left with is a political crisis. Some immigrant advocates argue that the United States has an open-ended obligation to protect people fleeing dangerous countries and that even reasonable enforcement measures such as expedited removal are cruel and ineffective. At the other end of the political spectrum, some argue that migrants are replacing Americans and that draconian actions are needed to stop an invasion at our southern border. These competing moralistic frames are not just disingenuous; they make compromise nearly impossible. Would that be the border bill that includes no border wall, and 'quotas' of 5,000 free illegal crossings a day, making it the 'new normal'? The one that includes 'asylum officers' making the decisions, not judges, most of whom had been open-borders activists in previous lives? Why not just open the gates and keep this ordeal short? The bill was a horrible bill, and it was hardly President Trump who stopped it to keep Joe Biden from getting a 'victory.' It was rejected because it stunk, not because President Trump weighed in against it. And there would have been no victory for Biden had it passed, given that the flow of illegals would continue as it had been. It would just be regularized into law, making it harder than ever to put a stop to. Five thousand illegal crossings per day, and only if Biden felt like having it that way -- that was a dog of a bill and Trump was not the reason it did not pass. So that's his big solution as he attempts to extricate the Biden administration from any blame for its open border policies, claiming we have always had border crises -- as if there was nothing special about Biden's. I got news for him: Trump got elected on a promise to shut down the illegal immigrant spigot, and he kept it. He got it done. Nobody's crossing illegally now, and as for those who have on Biden's watch, and who won't leave -- they have got themselves a problem. And the problem for us? We don't see a problem, Trump made it over simply by enforcing existing immigration law. That's all it took. There was no need for a Lankford bill or any of the other de facto amnesties that would have encourage more illegal immigration. This guy should be hiding his head under a rock, not dishing advice to Trump. But he doesn't. Why is that so hard for this boob to grasp? I guess being part of the Biden administration turns puffed up Washingtonites into rank buffoons unaware of what's going on around them. He's as in the dark about what happened as Joe himself. Image: Gage Skidmore, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0 Deed Like all forbidden questions, it must be asked. For if Islam is irreconcilably anti-American, we had better be prepared to act before, not after, its ascendancy in American politics places it in a position of unconstitutional political power. Our nation was founded on the principle of liberty. Prominent among our freedoms is that of religion. The Founders were religiously diverse, but not so diverse as to include, among themselves, religions outside the Jewish and Christian traditions. Hindu-Buddhist writings had no influence on the authors of the Federalist Papers. More than that, todays exotic interpretations of religious freedom were not written into the founding documents. Yoga, Wicca, and even native American (Indians) traditions contributed nothing substantial. Most importantly, anti-Christian philosophies such as vehement atheism were anathema. No doubt, the very suggestion of Satanism would have been abhorred had it been raised. It is one thing to permit false religions, but it is a very different thing to allow them to infect the culture and our political structures. Even though Satanism is permitted, no practice of human sacrifice, no matter how sincerely held as a religious belief, is permitted. Even polygamy as a religious doctrine is forbidden, and the territory of Utah was not admitted as a state until its Mormon inhabitants relinquished it. There is no precedent for permitting any and all claimants to be licensed under the First Amendment. What about Islam? Few Americans understand the central doctrines of the Muslim religion. Those doctrines include certain teachings that would be illegal to practice in the United States. Polygamy is one, and the tenets of sharia law introduce many more. Beyond the official doctrines of Islam, however, there are cultural practices that are unambiguously un-American. An underreported practice involves arranged marriages, which, if a small child refuses to obey, often result in the murder of the child by her own parents and brothers. In the Middle East, these murders may be committed in public, to the applause of onlookers, without legal penalty. According to a Fox News report , two Muslim parents of a seventeen-year-old girl are accused of trying to send her to Iraq to marry an older man whom she has never met, or failing that, to kill her. Ihsan Ali, 44, and his 40-year-old wife, the victim's mother, Zahraa Ali, are charged with second-degree attempted murder, second-degree attempted kidnapping, first-degree attempted kidnapping, and second-degree domestic violence assault in Thurston County [Wash.]. Though it is most certainly true that not all Muslim parents are murderously radical, there can be no doubt that the cultural influences of Islam are present in American Islamic communities and organizations. Those influences are not simply academic. We have all heard that some Christians are secular-minded, go to church on Sunday types who have no deeply held Christian beliefs. Undoubtedly, there are many mosque-attending Muslims who are much the same regarding Islam, paying lip service but eating and drinking in violation of the Koran when they can avoid the opprobrium of fellow Muslims. Indeed, there are some mosques in the U.S. in which imams and worshipers actively cooperate with American authorities in detecting Islamic extremists and thwarting them. Hooray. But there are polls that indicate that even Muslims who would never resort to religious violence, nevertheless quietly applaud those who do. There are also those who bow to peer pressure and strongly discourage their offspring from assimilating into American society and culture. It is in such cases that so-called honor killings may occur, almost always of females, usually daughters. This is taking the concept of family honor to a lethal extreme. Muslim daughters must behave in a certain manner (what would the Muslim neighbors think?), or be killed to restore the familys honor. It has a disturbing degree of sympathy among too many Muslims and, most disturbingly of all, among non-Muslim multiculturalists who say we should not interfere. Who are we to say that they are wrong? Unfortunately, there is a strong Muslim presence in certain communities, in which assimilation into American culture is resisted, often with religious fervor. Europe has a similar and growing problem. The United States Constitution has proven resilient, but it has not been without its crises. Introduction into our nation, our culture, and our laws of a foreign tradition that the Founders would have rejected bears with it the promise of a future crisis for which we should make ourselves ready. If it catches us unprepared, we will wake up one morning to discover that in some communities, sharia law is enforceable, and the U.S. Constitution is not. Image: Robert Couse-Baker via Flickr, CC BY 2.0. What an interesting historical twist this potentially is: France is considering nixing a public holiday on May 8, which is the same day that President Trump recently announced we will be celebrating as a working national holiday. Partly to alleviate its suffocating debt, Frances prime minister proposes removing two of its public holidays, including Victory in Europe Day on May 8. Conversely, President Trump recently announced two new national holidays to celebrate our great victories in the world wars, one of which is on May 8 to commemorate our WWII victory. They will be working holidays because he feels we have too many non-working public holidays; nevertheless, they will be deserved days to recognize our decisive role in winning the wars. Contrast that to Frances indecisive role. Considering their relative contributions to WWIIs ultimate outcome, it is entirely proper that the French pare their parades and celebrations, while president Trump ups the ante on this side of the pond. Vichy France, constituting the southern part of the country, collaborated with the evil Germans, including those who were just taking orders. Its as the Anglo-Irish philosopher Edmund Burke stated: The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. Amid the heart-wrenching dilemmas wartime leaders must confront, Sir Winston Churchill decided to blow some of the French fleet out of the water, lest it fall into the hands of the Germans. Combine that with the German blitzkrieg that devastated the once vaunted French army, and theres not much they contributed to the victory relative to the other allies, at least. If the prime ministers proposal to scrap V.E. Day goes through, and the French return to work on May 8 to increase productivity, their V.E. Day celebrations may finally become proportional to their WWII military performance. Yes, there were brave resistance fighters (often aided and organized from abroad), but it was overwhelming U.S. might and fight that were decisive. Therefore, even if the overt reasons for removing the V.E. holiday in France are budgetary, its also appropriate based on harsh historical realities. As the saying goes, theyd be speaking German were it not for... France still gets its chance to shine. Indeed, the French do an admirable job of hosting D-Day remembrances (Ronald Reagan gave a poignant speech on the cliffs on Normandy in 1984), including paying homage to the allies who liberated their country particularly Americans. They should indeed be gracious and contrite on June 6 rather than celebratory on May 8. If the French prime ministers plan to remove the May 8 holiday is consummated, there will be some poetic historical justice. They were vanquished in about six weeks (MayJune 1940), then relied upon allies from bases in Southern England to Overlord the Germans and cleanse their country of Nazi stains. France still has the opportunity to show gratitude on D-Day (June 6) while restraining their fete de la victoire on May 8. Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0. Newly elected Sen. Dave McCormick (R-PA) grasps the reality that if the United States is going to lead the world in the AI arms race, we must have access to abundant, affordable, reliable, and clean energy. On July 15, McCormick hosted the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, attended by President Trump, members of his cabinet, government officials, the worlds top leaders in energy and artificial intelligence, the biggest global investors, and labor and trade leaders. The goal of the summit was simple: showcase Pennsylvanias incredible potential to power the AI revolution and create opportunities for Pennsylvanians. As most Americans are starting to realize, the AI Age is here. Although we are still in the very early days of what could completely transform the human experience, it is vital to understand one thing: the AI revolution, quantum computing, and data centers will necessitate a steady stream of electricity. As of now, the best way to fulfill the forthcoming vast increase in demand for electricity is via conventional power sources such as coal, natural gas, and nuclear. McCormick credits Pennsylvanias abundant energy sector as a prime reason he believes the Commonwealth will be at the forefront of the AI era. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Known as the Keystone State, Pennsylvania is a leading East Coast supplier of natural gas, coal, refined petroleum products, and electricity to the nation. In fact, Pennsylvania is the second-largest net supplier of energy to other states after Texas. McCormick also says that the Keystone State has incredible universities and a skilled workforce that is poised to lead the next era of growth and opportunity. On this, he is right. It should be noted that the summit took place at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh, also known as Steel City, is where Andrew Carnegie built one of the most iconic companies in American history: U.S. Steel. Carnegie, a penniless immigrant, created Carnegie Steel, which revolutionized the steelmaking industry. After selling the company to J.P. Morgan in 1901, he donated nearly 90 percent of his wealth to making the world a better place. His philanthropy stands to this day: Carnegie Hall, Carnegie Mellon University, and more than 2,500 libraries. Once upon a time, Pittsburgh was a mecca for steel production. Today, not so much. However, the city still has thousands upon thousands of skilled workers who are chomping at the bit to return to their glory days as proud, decent, hardworking people. If Pennsylvania were a country, we would have the fourth largest natural gas reserves in the world, McCormick says. But under Biden and Harris anti-American energy policies rubberstamped by Bob Casey, we havent been able to access clean natural gas, including from the Marcellus Shale. The good news is that Pennsylvania should be able to access these immense natural gas deposits soon with the pro-American energy Trump administration in place. Like McCormick, Trump is a climate realist who knows that the giant increase in demand for electricity on the horizon can best be met with natural gas, coal, and nuclear. Since returning to the White House, Trump is doubling down on American energy dominance. From Energy Secretary Chris Wright to EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, the administration is moving swiftly to unleash the American energy sector. In the years ahead, the United States could become the worlds undisputed energy superpower, which would provide the backbone for American AI supremacy. Places like Pennsylvania will likely play a vital role in this ongoing effort. Personally, I am glad to see this development because cities like Pittsburgh, which have been left behind in recent decades, have been integral to the American story and now have the opportunity to lead the way as we embark on the American AI journey. Chris Talgo (ctalgo@heartland.org) is editorial director at The Heartland Institute. Image: Gretarsson July 17, 2025: India recently used its Fast Track Procurement or FTP procedures scheme to purchase thirteen different weapons systems needed by the Indian military for $234 million. This is not the first time for this and Indians are mystified at the inability of India, the most populous nation in the world with over a billion people, as well as a current GDP of $3.7 trillion, to have adequate weapons for its military. Its GDP is the fifth largest on the planet, after the U.S., China, Germany and Japan. The Indian defense budget of $83.6 billion is the fourth largest after the United States, China and Russia. Despite these numbers, India still has to import most of its weapons and remains unable to develop a domestic arms manufacturing industry befitting the nation with the third largest defense budget of $61 billion. This is exceeded by China with an alleged $177 billion and the United States with $717 billion. In 2014 India elected a new reform-minded government that was obsessed with making India less dependent on imported military technology. Increased efforts to develop domestic weapons development and production capability consistently failed. In response to this the government made it more difficult to import needed weapons that Indian firms were unable to develop and build. Annual arms imports are currently about $2.6 billion and the government is trying to address the structural problems that have prevented commercial firms from developing military equipment. India is also trying to reduce the power of government weapons development and production operations that have never been able to compete with foreign defense manufacturers. The major goals of local procurement are to decrease reliance on Russia, which is still the largest supplier of Indias military equipment. At the same time India is the second largest, after Saudi Arabia, importer of weapons in the world and the largest customer for Russian military exports. India has been buying less from Russia since the 1990s. Since the 1960s Russia supplied more and more, often over 80 percent, of Indian weapons imports. In the last decade that has fallen to fifty percent and continues to decline. The second part of the program to reduce weapons imports is to make it easier for Indian firms to meet the needs of the Indian military. The government issued a list identifying specific weapons and items of military equipment that must be procured locally. Making it mandatory to buy locally has been tried before and led to some spectacular failures, so much so that the government authorized the emergency FTP in 2004. With FTP the military could unilaterally buy some items from foreign suppliers. It was assumed that FTP would eliminate the most embarrassing problems with getting the military weapons desperately needed. It was also believed that government efforts to clean up the corruption and other problems with the military procurement process would soon make FTP unnecessary. That has not happened. FTP is still around to allow the immediate purchase of essential military items without the usual political and procurement delays that can add years, sometimes a decade or more, to obtaining needed items. FTP is still needed because the current confrontation with better equipped Chinese forces on the northern border makes it obvious that all the Chinese weapons and equipment are Chinese-made and clearly more modern. The new Made in India mandates make it more difficult to use FTP. The Indian Air Force believes it will not be able to replace aging jet fighters with local designs in time. The air force will shrink while the politicians come up with more ways to block efforts to fix the problem. This refusal to face reality and actually solve procurement problems is crippling the Indian military. Another problem is that FTP did not eliminate all the delays and even with FTP there were often years of delays. Meanwhile more Indians ask why China developed a world-class weapons development and production capability in the last few decades while India has not? Mainly its about corruption and decades of India making it difficult for Indians to start and operate profitable firms that could produce consumer goods as well as military equipment. The United States became the largest economy in the world over a century ago by encouraging this entrepreneurship. Many other nations, including those in Europe and East Asia like Japan, South Korea and China followed that example. India did not. While making it difficult for Indian entrepreneurs, India tried to use government-owned weapons development efforts and defense manufacturers to locally produce weapons. These state-owned organizations were epic failures and continue to develop second-rate weapons or weapons that dont work at all. Recent examples include assault rifles, helicopters and jet fighters. The only successes have been with privately owned firms and that is what the government wants more of. New rules and laws to reduce restrictions on commercial firms are meant to encourage less dependence on imports. As with previous efforts in this area, the goals tend to be more aspirational than actual. Indian government bureaucrats and procurement agencies have become quite effective at protecting their own interests at the expense of commercial firms and the needs of the military. This is a problem in all industrialized nations because that is the nature of government. Nations like China and Israel are notably different because China did not begin undergoing the industrial revolution until the 1980s. As usual, that produced spectacular results, which will be eroded over the years as the government expands, often at the expense of successful new firms. That is already happening in China, where the communist government fears the potential political influence of the largest and most successful firms. Israel is a special case because they have been under constant attack by their Moslem neighbors since Israel was founded in 1947. For Israel it has always been a matter of succeeding at developing new weapons or being wiped out. India is different because it adopted a local form of socialism instead of a free enterprise economy when modern India was formed in 1948. As a result, India has always had to import most of its weapons. Efforts to change this have failed so far, mainly because of corruption and unwillingness to tolerate competitive and efficient defense industries. That corruption that has been pervasive in India for thousands of years and makes imported weapons from nations willing to pay bribes to Indian government officials more attractive than allowing competitive Indian firms to develop and provide cheaper locally made equipment. One bit of good news is that this form of corruption has been under heavy attack for more than a decade because of the Internet. Political parties could control mass media and much local news, but not the Internet. Fighting corruption has become enormously popular with voters, who learn that most Western countries supplying weapons to India are often very anti-corruption themselves and much more successful at it. When Russia was supplying over 80 percent of weapons imports, you had a supplier that was a dictatorship and quite comfortable with bribes and payoffs. For more than a decade Russia has been losing sales to Western firms. The culture of corruption still exists in Indian defense procurement, but it is under heavy attack. Even if no bribes were involved when buying foreign weapons, that would not fix the inability to create a competitive Indian weapons industry. The reason for that has to do with why, for most of the last half century, most Indian weapons came from Russia. There were several reasons for that: politics, price and practicality. The policy was a decision by Indian politicians to be non-aligned during the Cold War. This conflict began just as India became independent from the British Empire. Still resentful towards Britain and the West for two centuries of colonial domination, India officially refused to take sides during the Cold War. Yet its relations with Russia, a communist dictatorship, were much warmer than with the Western democracies. Although India clung to democracy, the educated classes were infatuated with the promise of socialism. For several decades Indians abhorred the Russian dictatorship form of government but admired their socialist approach to running their economy. It wasnt until the 1980s that most Indian politicians admitted that the Russian economic model was all a fraud and not working. For India, this sort of set in motion the sort of free enterprise policies that China had employed since the 1980s. But by then it was too late for India. Decades of attempts to impose government regulation and guidance of the economy had created a huge bureaucracy that could not be easily dismantled because many of these jobs were used by politicians to reward supporters and get reelected. Then there was the price of Russian weapons. They were cheaper than Western equivalents. This meant more could be spent on bribes and payoffs. Finally, there was practicality. Indias main foes were Pakistan and China. Pakistan had a much smaller population, economy and defense budget than India. Russian weapons were adequate for Pakistan. China was also poorly equipped, until quite recently, and separated from India by the Himalaya Mountains. Under those conditions Russian weapons were just fine for Indian needs. Since the Cold War ended in 1991 all this has changed. Indian politics has changed and now officially wants to clamp down on the corruption, which everyone admits cripples the economy. Price is still important, but its been noticed that Russian weapons have slipped in quality and effectiveness since the Soviet Union collapsed. Pakistan is even less of a military threat, because Pakistan is even more corrupt and economically crippled than India. China, however, is another matter. China has managed to build a powerful and productive arms industry. All those Russian weapons India has no longer provide any degree of superiority. India needs Western-quality arms to maintain a competitive military for confronting China, but those are both more expensive and require reductions in Indias military procurement corruption. Its possible to make them in India under license, but the Indian industry has not been able to master high tech sufficiently to make this practical. In short, its no longer practical to tolerate an inefficient domestic defense industry. Efforts to create domestic defense industries have been crippled by specific portions of the bureaucracy. The worst of these is the DRDO, as in the Defense Research and Development Organization. Alas, DRDO became a monumental example of bureaucratic inefficiency, wasting billions of dollars and decades of effort on weapons systems that never quite became operational or when they did, they really weren't. DRDO was created in 1958 to provide government support and guidance for defense related research. But the network of research and manufacturing facilities DRDO established since then were more about patronage and plundering the taxpayers than in actually creating competitive defense industries. Even DRDO efforts to create low-tech weapons like assault rifles and other infantry equipment were failures, with sloppiness and inefficiency resulting in very uncompetitive weapons. Worse, many major DRDO weapons development projects have failed because bad politics ensured that bad ideas kept getting funded, and those efforts rarely produced anything the military found acceptable. For example, the 5.5-ton Dhruv helicopter was in development for two decades before the first one was delivered in 2002. Since then, domestic and foreign users have expressed dissatisfaction. A series of crashes indicated some basic design flaws, which the manufacturer insisted did not exist. Similar situation with the locally developed Tejas jet fighter. Indian politicians still cite these two aircraft as examples of successful Indian developed tech. The Indian military has been equally quick to cite these two aircraft as unacceptable and has often succeeded in avoiding accepting more than a token number. Export customers did not exist. Then there is the effort to develop and build a tank. Many of the problems with the Arjun tank project had to do with nothing more than government ineptitude. The Ministry of Defense was more interested in putting out press releases about how India was becoming self-sufficient in tanks than in attending to the technical details needed to make this happen. The Ministry of Defense crowd has done this sort of thing many times. Moreover, if it isn't incompetence screwing things up, then it's corruption. Efforts to develop missile systems have also been a long running failure. Work on indigenous missile designs, under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program (IGMDP), managed by DRDO has gone on for decades, with no useful weapons to show for it. The most common problems were apparently caused by inept software development. While India has a lot of local talent in this department, creating this kind of specialized military software is very difficult and the best programmers tend to join the growing number of new companies that sell their services or software products to foreigners. Many other Indian engineers and scientists migrate to countries where it is easier to put their skills to good use. The one exception has been ballistic missiles. Curiously this was seen as a really, really important project and the politicians eventually backed off and let the engineers get on with it. India has world class engineers and scientists, but too many of them have to go overseas to do what they do best because the government does not tolerate being told what works and what doesnt by people who know what they are talking about. India is determined to develop the capability of designing and building high-tech weapons, something few countries can do. India is following in the footsteps of China and Russia, two nations that still have most of their population living in poverty, while the state concentrated resources to create the technological base needed to build modern weapons. Russia and China have gone farther than India in developing and manufacturing modern weapons. Not as far as Western firms, if only because of the corruption and lawlessness in both those nations. But Russia and China had an advantage of having authoritarian governments. Decisions could get made quickly and decisively. India is a democracy and democracies are messy. Important decisions tend to get kicked down the road rather than taken care of. Chinese leaders openly boast of this as a major reason China has succeeded while India fails. There have been some new ideas and opportunities. One of the most alluring is the growing number of private firms in India that can handle defense work. Currently non-government Indian firms get about a quarter of the contracts. Foreign defense firms can make deals with these private firms who can then go after Indian defense contracts. But standing in the way are the Indian defense officials. The Indian bureaucrats have a well-deserved reputation of gumming up the works and preventing needful things from getting done. This makes it difficult for private companies, especially when the main customer is the government. Getting rid of DRDO and its 30,000 employees is difficult. Over 20 percent of them are scientists and engineers unable to compete in a free market economy with many of the rest are obstructionist bureaucrats that cripple the efforts of commercial firms competing with DRDO. Eliminating DRDO is extremely unpopular with most politicians. Yet in the last few years senior elected officials have made some decisive moves to end the bureaucratic deadlock. This involved something as simple as ending the ban on former military personnel taking key jobs in the Defense Ministry and shutting down state-owned arms factories with long records of failure. This situation is tragic and a growing number of Indians realize it. India, a regional superpower and the worlds largest democracy, now finds itself in a very rough neighborhood and military efficiency is becoming a necessity, not just a worthy goal. To deal with that, India has always maintained large armed forces and one of the largest armies, with a million troops, on the planet. But keeping these troops equipped to handle combat has proved to be very difficult. The army keeps falling behind in replacing aging weapons like artillery and obtaining new technology like missiles, smart munitions, and night vision equipment. Getting the money from the government has been the least of their problems. The biggest hassles are with corruption and failed efforts to develop local weapons production. The latest government moves to change all that are not revolutionary, but evolutionary. As has long been observed, democracies always do the right thing, but often only after trying everything else. India still has not reached the end of the everything else list. A resurfaced clip of Zohran Mamdani explaining how when he runs out of moneybecause hes decided to quit his jobhell just live off his parents is going viral: "I knew that if I ran out of my savings my family would be able to support me" Mamdani Must be nice! pic.twitter.com/22CJRQwNqk Jon Levine (@LevineJonathan) July 15, 2025 Hes got absolutely no qualms about producing nothing, being unemployed, and living off of someone elsewhich is to say hes just your average socialist/communist. Recall that Karl Marx lived off of handouts from Freidrich Engels, and was once so broke that he left his wife to pawn his last pair of pants instead of just getting a job to support his family (walking around in his skivvies for who knows who long). Even his own mother knew him to be a loser, famously quipping this: if only Karl made capital instead of just writing about it. How can anyone think Mamdani would be fit for office with idols like Marx? He doesnt want to work, he cant manage money, and his grand plan is to live off someone elses capital. Western Lensman nailed it when he characterized Mamdani as a silver spoon socialist. Well, there seems to be a lot of that in the progressive left. I mentioned Marx above, but must add that he was born into a wealthy familyhis father was a lawyer, and he never went without. Vladimir Lenin was also born into the bourgeoisie: his father who held a distinguished position in the local schools, which earned him a rank of hereditary nobility, and his mother came from money herself. They were bona fide aristocrats. The trend continues with Fidel Castro, who was born to a wealthy, landowning father; Castro was also fortunate enough to attend private school. Mamdani got more primary votes than any NYC mayoral candidate in history, which just shows how serious the failure has been in the education system regarding economic theories. How do 565,639 people (thats the official vote count) resonate with deeply flawed economic and social policies that have never worked anywhere in the world, at any point in human history? God forfend that Mamdani makes it into office, but if he does, will mommy and daddy bail him out after he blows through the public treasury and turns the streets of New York into a third world country? No, and New Yorkers will be left holding the bag. Image from Grok. Because weve all been young, we know that young people are utopian. As we mature and gain hindsight, we also know that the young have shallow funds of knowledge, are easily led, and have zero life experience or investment in a stable society. Also, because they have no children of their own, even as they speak of their future, they see it only in glowing, imaginary terms. They do not care about their vulnerable childrens safety. In other words, young people are putty in the hands of opportunistic, cynical revolutionaries. This explains why leftists in the West, for the last 60 years, have assiduously sought to lower the voting age. The last great voting age revolution was in the 1960s and 1970s, when Western nations lowered the voting age from 21 to 18. Image by ChatGPT. Now, in the UK, the Labour government has managed to drop the voting age to 16. And while it was at it, it also managed to do away with standardized voter ID, effectively ensuring that, not only will children vote, but so will illegal aliens and nonresidents from across the Third World. The BBC, with an appropriate illustration of a young Muslim woman at a polling station, explains the process in an article entitled, How will votes at 16 and changes to voter ID work? The voting age will be lowered to 16 across the UK before the next general election, the government has said. The move is part of wider changes to election rules, which also include expanding the range of voter ID and moving towards automatic voter registration. The changes mean around 1.5 million 16 and 17-year-olds will be able to vote in the next general election, which must be held by 2029 but could be earlier. [snip] It means 16-year-olds will be able to vote in all elections across the UK. As is the case in Scotland, young people will also be able to register to vote from age 14. In addition to giving the vote to children, the new government is ensuring that just about anything will serve as voter ID, most of which doesnt seem to have any indicia of citizenship attached: In future, voters will be able to prove their ID with a UK-issued bank card showing their name, the govenment [sic] says. Since May 2023, voters in England, Scotland and Wales have to show valid photo ID to vote in person in all general, local and national elections. There are currently more than 20 acceptable forms of ID, including passports, driving licences, bus passes and Armed Forces Veteran Cards. Anyone without valid ID can apply for a free document called a voter authority certificate. I am reminded of Turkish President Recep Erdogans statement about democracy, as seen from the totalitarian viewpoint: Democracy is like a train: when we reach our destination, we get off. The British Labour Party, like all leftist movements, is inherently totalitarian. Having achieved control over the government, it is slowly gutting the institutions. Theyll still have the same labels, but they will not function in the same way. Soon, thanks to automatic voter registration (which is also in the works), the UK will be like the former Soviet Union. Back then, as the Soviets liked to boast, they had almost 100% voter participation in elections. Therefore, they said that theirs was a better democracy than Americas, because the demos was participating more fully. Of course, what they left out was the fact that the ballot choices were A or A, and that not voting was a criminal offense. I am a conservative and I am considering sending a campaign donation to Democrat NYC mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani. Since the election of President Trump, nothing has given me more hope for Democrat voters than the rudderless hysteria of the Democrat party leadership. After the political demise of Hillary Clinton, Democrat voters fell under the spell of authoritarian progressives. But the great 2016 plan of executing every far-left policy, all the time, on every front, with every available tool, is no longer working. It's just making them look more untethered from reality. Zohran Mamdani the far left, radical Muslim antisemite is just another example of that. And a very visible one at that. I think instead of wringing our hands as conservatives and worrying about a massively blue city going more blue, we should cheer them on. We should be pouring fuel on that dumpster fire and lots of it. If NYC voters want to drink that Kool-Aid... let them. NYC voters are deluded but not stupid. If they get what Mamdani is offering it is only a matter of time before reality will intrude on their magical progressive thinking and life in NYC will be a living hell. A massive unimpeded and failed progressive experiment. There is no better sales pitch for conservative principles of governance than rabid, unfettered progressivism and the smoldering crater it always leaves behind. Maybe If we let them burn down this iconic American city, we can keep them from burning down the country again in 2028. Image: Bingjiefu He On a daily basis, ICE officers battle protesters who oppose the enforcement of immigration law. These attacks are coming from multiple sources, and challenge not only the effectiveness of ICE, but endanger the agents lives. June 9 was the onset of the protests in Los Angeles, which are actually being funded by our tax dollars: Los Angeles descended into turmoil this weekend as left-leaning activist organizations, funded by taxpayer dollars, are believed to have intensified protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). What started as a relatively small demonstration opposing the Trump administrations crackdown on criminal illegal immigrants rapidly escalated into violent clashes with law enforcement. Groups such as the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), closely connected to Democratic leaders and allegedly supported by billionaires with foreign ties, have been fueling the unrest while claiming to defend illegal immigrants so-called rights. Now CHIRLA receives a hefty amount of taxpayer support: According to Data Republican, CHIRLA and the Party for Socialism and Liberation are among the NGOs involved in the current unrest. Both organizations have a history of organizing protests targeting President Donald Trump. Between October 2021 and September 2024, CHIRLA was awarded nearly $450,000 in Department of Homeland Security (DHS) grants for citizenship education and training programs. When President Trump began his second term, approximately $100,000 remained from the grant. DHSs immigration division froze the remaining funds, prompting CHIRLA to file a lawsuit. In response, DHS canceled the contract, and the lawsuit was later withdrawn. Meanwhile, other organizations are getting into the act. One group called the Save America Movement (not to be confused with the Save America PAC that Donald Trump formed), has been bringing in large donations: A new Democrat-leaning activist group has raised more than $750,000 for mobile response teams to confront Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during raids in California as agents face increasing violent assaults. The organization Save America Movement is asking for donations so its teams can follow ICE raids in real time, according to a fundraising test message reported Thursday by Townhall columnist Dustin Grage. The group began launching its first political ads and social media accounts in June, and a fundraising webpage shows it aims to raise $1 million for the anti-ICE initiative. ICE agents are raiding L.A. in masks without badges, names, or accountability So the Save America Movement is launching Liberty Vans: mobile response teams with cameras, chaplains, lawyers and veterans, and show the world whats happening in our communities, the text message says. You read that correctly: lawyers, who should defend the rule of law, are aiding and abetting; chaplains are prepared to defy law and order for an incoherent purpose and an illegal goal; and veterans, who took an oath to defend our country from foreign threats, are prepared to empower people who are here illegally as they crossed our borders. Many other organizations have joined the anti-ICE protestors and have ample support: The anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles are backed by well-financed, ideologically motivated groups that support the violent actions on the ground. These demonstrations are part of a larger, organized effort to undermine law enforcement by framing it as a social justice and immigrant rights issue, effectively turning the citys streets into arenas for advancing a radical political agenda. Cities across the nation are being funded for these dangerous and unlawful actions, including Austin, Dallas, Chicago, New York City, Seattle, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and New Orleans. How, and when will it end? Image from X. The name of Samsungs first tri-fold smartphone has seemingly just been revealed, while we also have a good idea of when it may launch. Lets take it one step at a time and talk about the name of the device first. Samsung trademarked the Galaxy Z TriFold name, but it likely wont use it Folks over at GalaxyClub spotted a new trademark application by Samsung. The company trademarked the Galaxy Z TriFold name in South Korea. This name is kind of self-explanatory, and could be used by Samsung. Just to be perfectly clear, while this name has been trademarked, that does not guarantee it will be the name of the companys first tri-fold handset. In fact, were kind of skeptical, as its far from catchy and a bit odd for a product name. Samsung and other companies tend to trademark a bunch of potential names for upcoming products, and then use only some of them. So theres a good chance this wont be the name of the first tri-fold device from Samsung. Based on what a well-known tipster said, the companys first tri-fold handset will launch in October With that being said, the phones launch timeframe has also been tipped. The information comes from Ice Universe, a well-known tipster. He claims that the device will launch in October. He also noted that the second-gen Huawei Mate XT will arrive in September. As some of you know, Samsung did confirm that its first tri-fold smartphone will arrive before the end of the year. That info was confirmed recently, and what Ice Universe said does fit in that timeframe. In fact, if accurate, the companys first tri-fold will launch well before the years end. Speaking of which, earlier rumors suggested that the availability of the phone will not be as vast as wed like. Samsungs first tri-fold foldable will be available in China and Korea only, based on that info. The Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra could end up having very thin bezels. The Galaxy S25 Ultra bezels are not thick at all, but the ones on the Galaxy S26 Ultra could be even thinner, based on what a tipster said. The Galaxy S26 Ultra could have extremely thin bezels This information comes from Ice Universe, one of the most prominent tipsters out there. He said that the Galaxy S26 Ultras display will measure 6.89 inches, which is in line with what TheElec reported a couple of days ago. The Galaxy S25 Ultra has a 6.86-inch display. So the new one will be 0.03 inches larger. Ice Universe assumes that the body width will remain unchanged, which means that the bezels will be thinner The tipster did some calculations, and the bezels will be around 1.15-1.2mm thick. For comparisons sake, the Galaxy S25 Ultras bezels are 1.32mm thick, which is already extremely thin. So, if Samsung manages to achieve such thinness with the Galaxy S26 Ultra bezels, that phone will surely be a looker. Ice Universe doesnt seem to be particularly sure that the width of the phone will remain unchanged, however. So, it remains to be seen if this information is true. What he seems to be sure of is the phones exact display size. The entire Galaxy S26 series is expected to arrive in January next year The Galaxy S26 Ultra is expected to arrive in January next year. Well, presuming that Samsung has no plans to change its release cycle, of course. It will launch alongside the Galaxy S26 and Galaxy S26+ or Edge, it all depends on which rumor you believe in. The most recent one suggested that the Edge will replace the + model in the Galaxy S26 series. It also remains to be seen whether Samsungs Exynos chip will be a part of the picture or not. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 is using the Exynos 2500, while the entire Galaxy S25 series is fueled by a chip from Qualcomm. Scale AI is playing a crucial role in the development of artificial intelligence. The company provides high-quality data for training AI models. That said, Scale AI has recently made the difficult decision to lay off 14% of its workforce. Coincidentally, this move comes after a substantial investment from Meta, Mark Zuckerbergs tech giant. As reported by Bloomberg, the move comes during a period of apparent significant growth. Scale AI joined Metas empire in a $14.3 billion deal, with founder Alexandr Wang taking over as Metas chief AI officer. With this, Scale is getting rid of 200 of its employees and 500 of its global contractors, as confirmed by Scale spokesperson Joe Osborne to The Verge. The firm had about 1,400 employees globally before this restructuring. Jason Droege, Scale AIs interim CEO, sent a memo to employees about the situation. These changes will make us more nimbleenabling us to react more quickly to shifts in the market and customer needs, it reads. This structure will allow us to better serve the customers we have today and win back customers that have slowed down work with us. Droege also said, The reasons for these changes are simple: we ramped up our GenAI capacity too quickly over the last year. While that felt like the right decision at the time, its clear this approach created inefficiencies and redundancies. We created too many layers, excessive bureaucracy, and unhelpful confusion about the teams mission. Potential influence of Meta? There are no details on Metas potential influence on this decision. However, the entrance of Facebooks parent company already caused a stir in the AI segment. After the billion-dollar deal, large companies that were working with Scale, such as Google, took a step back. The main reason seems to be to avoid potential theft of AI-related technologies and developments. Two days of rioting in the west Cardiff neighbourhood in May 2023 were triggered by the deaths of friends Harvey Evans, 15, and Kyrees Sullivan, 16, in an e-bike crash. Photograph: Matthew Horwood/Getty Images Cardiff council has written to several council tenants warning they could be evicted if a member of the household is convicted for offences related to the riots sparked by the death of two teenage boys in Ely in 2023, the Guardian has learned. The notices, which were sent to 17 homes on 9 July, said south Wales police had informed the council that at least one member of the household had been charged in relation to the disorder, which it called a serious incident which caused severe alarm and distress throughout the community. A total of 42 people were charged with rioting and causing or threatening to cause criminal damage connected to the unrest; 11 people have been sentenced, including eight who were under 18 at the time. Related: Softer tactics: calls grow for UK ban on police chases of children on e-bikes Although trials are expected to continue until February 2026, the letter went on to say: This is a clear breach of your occupation contract, which states that you are responsible for the behaviour of any household members, guests or visitors within the vicinity of your property. If the individual or individuals concerned are convicted and sentenced, the council may go to court to seek repossession of the home, it said. The letters have shocked and worried the Ely community. I dont understand why they are sending this two years after the incident occurred and when my son wont appear in court until later this year. Its disgusting, its designed to punish the whole community. What about my other children? said one woman, who asked not to be named as she said she was seeking legal advice. Two days of rioting in the west Cardiff neighbourhood over 22-23 May 2023 were triggered by the deaths of friends Harvey Evans, 15, and Kyrees Sullivan, 16, in an e-bike crash. Rumours that the children were killed during a police chase spread quickly on social media, and about 150 people gathered at the scene of their deaths. More than 30 police officers were injured in the disturbances, in which property was damaged and cars set alight. CCTV footage later forced south Wales police to admit that officers in a van had been following the teenagers up to two minutes before the accident. The driver and passenger were served with gross misconduct notices, and the driver was investigated for dangerous driving by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) but did not face charges. The notices were described as abnormal and egregious practice by a housing law expert who asked not to be named due to the nature of their work. Notices seeking possession can be issued for antisocial behaviour and criminal activity that takes place in the property. Vicinity is defined differently in the law to locality and these charges are not housing-related, they said. Even in cases where there is a valid claim judges will often go for mitigation strategies such as behaviour plans before evicting a tenant. It depends of course on the offences, on the judge, and on the type of contract, but I think the council will struggle with this in court. Ruth Power, chief executive of Shelter Cymru, said: Shelter Cymru has already been contacted by worried tenants who are seeking help after receiving one of these notices. We are concerned that for those social tenants affected, whole households are now living in fear of homelessness - and this might be due to action being taken against one member of their household. In response to questions from the Guardian, Cardiff council said that the offences were committed in the locality of their home, constituting a breach of the tenancy contract, and the notices were aimed at encouraging tenants to take responsibility for their homes and neighbourhoods. It is the councils normal process, where a serious charge has been made and the court case date is a significant time in the future, to serve a notice, the spokesperson said, adding: Serving a notice is not about rushing to eviction, but rather about setting out a clear warning that this behaviour will not be tolerated. Each case will be looked at on its merits, and all issues will be taken into account before any further legal action is taken. Housing policy is devolved in Wales. The housing expert said they were unaware of any similar action taken by Welsh local authorities related to convictions for crimes committed outside the property before. After the 2011 riots across England, several local councils attempted to serve tenants with eviction notices over the involvement of members of the household, including a woman in Wandsworth in south London whose 18-year-old son had been charged, but not convicted, with breaking into a shop. Such policies were backed by the then prime minister David Cameron, but the efforts either failed or were abandoned after public outcry. Aasmah Mir has spoken about her experiences on Celebrity MasterChef. (Getty Images) (Eamonn M. McCormack via Getty Images) What did you miss? Former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Aasmah Mir has spoken of her shock that John Torode did not react to Gregg Wallace's sexually inappropriate comments to her on the show, saying: "There was no emotion... maybe he was just used to it." The former BBC Radio 4 journalist took part in Celebrity MasterChef in 2017, and when allegations about Wallace's behaviour on the show emerged last year, she opened up on the complaint she had made about him after her experiences. Wallace has since been sacked from the show. In the wake of Torode also being fired from MasterChef after an allegation that he used "extremely offensive" racist language was upheld, Mir has reflected back on her time on the show and admitted she was surprised at his lack of reaction over Wallace's comments at the time. What, how and why? John Torode and Gregg Wallace have both now been dropped from MasterChef. (BBC screengrab) Mir appeared on Thursday, 17 July's Good Morning Britain, where hosts Richard Madeley and Kate Garraway asked her how she felt about the claims over Torode's behaviour, and she admitted: "I'm very surprised." However, she added that she had wondered why he did not address Wallace's comments when she was on Celebrity MasterChef. Talking about a sexually inappropriate comment Wallace had made to her as she presented her first dish in the competition, Mir said: "No one said anything and then Gregg Wallace and John Torode just looked completely blank, poker-faced, like nothing had happened." Asked whether Torode had heard the comment, she said: "Yes, he definitely heard it." Madeley acknowledged that Mir had not complained about Torode, but asked: "You do have issues about his non-intervention?" Aasmah Mir questioned why John Torode (right) hadn't challenged Gregg Wallace (left). (BBC) (BBC/Shine TV) "I absolutely do," she replied. "I don't know how many of the allegations and how many of the substantiated allegations he witnessed... what I do know is, Gregg Wallace used an incredibly inappropriate term, and John Torode didn't do anything. "There was no emotion. That could be a lot of things; it could be that it was 2017, it had been going on since 2005, there was a complaint made by Kirsty Wark in 2005, so maybe he had become used to it. I don't know. "You would expect some emotion on his face, but maybe he was just used to it. That's not his fault necessarily, that's Gregg Wallace's for putting him in that position." Mir later added: "I feel sorry for Gregg Wallace, I do feel sorry for him because of the neurodivergence, which is quite obvious here. Someone, the production company, should have stepped in earlier and said this is not acceptable. And do you know what, we wouldn't have the mess we're in today." Read more: MasterChef controversy A report commissioned by production company Banijay into complaints about Wallace found 45 out of 83 allegations were upheld. Mir said, "I'm pretty sure one of them was mine, but no one actually told me that it was, so you have to second-guess the report." Responding to the news of his exit from MasterChef, Torode wrote on Instagram: "Although I haven't heard from anyone at the BBC or Banijay I am seeing and reading that I've been 'sacked' from MasterChef, and I repeat that I have no recollection of what I'm accused of. The enquiry could not even state the date or the year of when I am meant to have said something wrong. Both MasterChef hosts have now been dropped. (BBC) (BBC/Shine TV) "I'd hoped that I'd have some say in my exit from a show I've worked on since its relaunch in 2005, but events in the last few days seems to have prevented that. Over the past few months, I have been considering my life and the shape of it now and in the future. "Celebrity MasterChef, which I recently filmed with Grace Dent, along with two fantastic Christmas specials, will be my last. Personally, I have loved every minute of working on MasterChef but it's time to pass the cutlery to someone else. For whoever takes over, love it as I have. "I will watch fondly from afar as I now focus on the many other exciting projects that I have been working towards. My tummy will be grateful for a rest after 20 years of eating, but what a joy it has been. Life is ever-changing and ever-moving & sometimes personal happiness and fulfilment lay elsewhere. Thank you for many years of MasterChef." The fallout over MasterChef continues with reports that John Torode plans to sue the BBC after he was fired and is determined to clear his name following the allegation that he used an extremely offensive racist term in 2018. Broadcaster Aasmah Mir appeared on Celebrity pic.twitter.com/B8swv81yX7 Good Morning Britain (@GMB) July 17, 2025 Meanwhile, Wallace said of the report's findings: "For eight months, my family and I have lived under a cloud. Trial by media, fuelled by rumour and clickbait. "None of the serious allegations against me were upheld. I challenged the remaining issue of unwanted touching but have had to accept a difference in perception, and I am deeply sorry for any distress caused. It was never intended." What had Aasmah Mir said about her Gregg Wallace complaint? Aasmah Mir first spoke to Good Morning Britain about her MasterChef experience in December 2024. (ITV screengrab) Mir first spoke about her experiences on Celebrity MasterChef to Good Morning Britain in December 2024. She said: "I put my first dish down... my hands were shaking, they paused to reset. In front of everybody, the judges, the crew, the other contestants... Gregg Wallace said to me, 'oh, do you work at Radio 4?' "I thought, how nice, he's doing that presenter thing, he's relaxing you. I said, 'Yes, I do work at Radio 4.' 'Do you know X?' 'Yes, I do.' He said, 'Tell her from me' I thought he was going to say hi, 'Tell her from me, she's a sexy b***h'. "There was a silence, and then I laughed awkwardly. I just remember thinking this is mad. I wish I hadn't laughed, but I did. No one said anything, and then they just went right, let's start again, and they tasted my dish. I just remember thinking, am I going mad? I'm not using the excuse, but when you've just had a baby, you do think everything is a bit mad. "I remember thinking, did I imagine that? What happened there? So I went back and I muddled through for a couple of days, and then I was eliminated. It was in my head for many months, and I thought I can't complain about this because it's going to look like sour grapes because I was first out, so I kept quiet." MasterChef was hosted by John Torode, and Gregg Wallace for nearly 20 years. (BBC) (BBC/Shine TV) Mir added: "Then I heard from another contestant that there had been other things that had gone on. That Gregg Wallace had gone up to one of the contestants who didn't like handling fish. Of course, they'd given her some fish to gut, because it's TV. He went up to her and said, 'watching you trying to gut a fish is like watching a rapist doing foreplay.'" The journalist continued that she had later run into another contestant from the series who told her about the incident: "One of the contestants said she was so upset that she walked away, and the production crew did come up to her because she walked away. I should have walked away, probably. Gregg Wallace was made to apologise to her for that, which he did. But he shouldn't have said it in the first place. "When she told me that, I thought I need to do something about this because I'm a journalist, I know how this works. Someone is going to say down the years, why did you not complain at the time. It's classic, I get loads of that online anyway." Good Morning Britain airs on ITV1 at 6am on weekdays. This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/aasmah-mir-john-torode-gregg-wallace-celebrity-masterchef-101614116.html Diane Abbott has been stripped of the Labour whip - Leon Neal/Getty Diane Abbott has been stripped of the Labour whip following her comments on racism. The hard-Left MP doubled down on her claim that Jews experience racism differently to black people. She said in an interview with the BBC that it was silly to liken racism based on skin colour to racism faced by Jewish and Traveller communities. Speaking to Radio 4s Reflections programme, she said: Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you dont know. You dont know unless you stop to speak to them or youre in a meeting with them. But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that theyre black. There are different types of racism. You can spot that person of colour from hundreds of yards away. That is what is different. I just think that its silly to try and claim that racism, which is about skin colour, is the same as other types of racism. I dont know why people would say that. A Labour Party spokesman said: Diane Abbott has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, pending an investigation. We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing. Ms Abbott has told BBC Newsnight its obvious this Labour leadership wants me out. She later added: My comments in the interview with James Naughtie were factually correct, as any fair-minded person would accept. James Murray, the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, told Times Radio its absolutely not the case that the Labour leadership wants her out. Whats happened is Diane has made some comments, which come on the back of previous comments which she made and for which she apologised some time ago. He added that there was an internal investigation and we now need to let this process play out so it can be resolved as swiftly as possible. The move has the automatic effect of suspending the Labour whip in the House of Commons. It will cause a headache for Sir Keir Starmer, who let her back into the party following her suspension in March 2023. She was suspended then after she wrote: It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships. One Labour source told the Telegraph: The brazen disregard Diane showed, having effectively admitted lying when she apologised, was the last straw for many. Shes let down by lots of people around her, but thats no excuse. Talking about a hierarchy of racism is just playing into Reforms hands. Lord Mann, the Governments adviser on anti-Semitism, said: She left Keir Starmer with no choice. Its quite bemusing to say that nobody would recognise that someone is Jewish, when she represents the most ultra orthodox Jewish community in the country in Stamford Hill. Every day her constituents receive abuse because they are Jewish and there have been a series of physical attacks on people, making her commentary very disturbing indeed. She seems to be wanting to be thrown out of the Labour Party. Alex Hearn, of Labour Against Anti-Semitism, said: If Diane Abbott doesnt regret her previous comments knowing the offence they caused and following her suspension from the party, then its difficult to see how she can remain in place, particularly with the explosion in anti-Jewish racism since Oct 7. Keir Starmer condemned her original comments as anti-Semitic at the time, and has promised zero tolerance on the subject. Abbott will always hold a historic place as Britains first black female MP, but Keir Starmer should now expect her to do the right thing and stand down. A spokesman for the Campaign Against Anti-Semitism demanded that Ms Abbott be expelled, saying: Diane Abbott has been suspended for doubling down on comments for which she was previously suspended. Does that make sense to anybody? Two yellow cards is a red in our book. Ms Abbott has obviously not learned a thing from her previous suspension. There is no reason to believe she will from this one. She must be expelled. But a Left-wing Labour MP said: This is a scandalous decision. She is the Mother of the House! She always tells it like it is. Labour always stood for freedom of speech. Crushing dissent in this way is in breach of our whole history. It comes amid a backlash from the Labour Left following Sir Keirs decision to punish seven MPs on Wednesday after they voted against welfare cuts. Four of the Labour MPs Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchliff, Brian Leishman and Rachael Maskell were stripped of the party whip, meaning they are now independent MPs. Labour insiders cited repeated breaches of party discipline for the decision. Three other Labour MPs Rosena Allin Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin lost trade envoy roles. All seven had voted against Sir Keirs welfare package even after it had been gutted to placate rebels, with all of its 4.6bn original savings lost. It has sparked speculation that some of them could defect to the Greens or the new Left-wing party being mooted by Jeremy Corbyn. Rachel Reeves The latest employment figures released by the Office for National Statistics this morning paint a stark picture of Britains economic malaise. For the fourth month running, payrolled employment has fallen, a clear indicator that the UK is now in the midst of a serious jobs recession. Without urgent action, the impact on people will be devastating. According to the ONS, another 40,000 people dropped off payrolls in June, meaning nearly two hundred thousand salaried employees have lost their jobs in the past year the most significant decline in employment weve seen since the Covid pandemic or the global financial crash. This fall means the Governments goal of boosting the employment rate by bringing two million more people into work is now even further away. Vacancy numbers tell an equally alarming story: for the 36th consecutive period, job vacancies have fallen. Employers hit by the recent rise in Employer NICs, the increase in the Living Wage, and the looming threat of the Employment Rights Bill are unsurprisingly choosing not to hire. Last month, the Government faced mass rebellion from MPs as they attempted to make tweaks to the welfare system to encourage more people into employment. But any serious attempt to reform welfare to make sure more people can enjoy the benefits of a good job is reliant on businesses being there to create the employment and training opportunities that support people into work. Without businesses being there to give people a step on that first rung on the ladder of employment, the Government will struggle to ever seriously reform welfare. Clearly, a welfare to work programme requires changes to welfare and the creation of work. Both go hand in hand. As employment stalls, its not surprising that GDP is contracting too. The heady days of the Chancellor lauding the UK as being the fastest growing G7 nation in the first quarter of this year seem long gone, with two consecutive months of GDP contraction. When looking at GDP per capita, economic growth is even worse. As individuals, we have long experienced falling living standards. And yet, even as employment and GDP figures are flashing red, indications are that the Government is about to make the same mistakes that they made in the run up to the autumn Budget last year. Rather than focusing on jobs and investment, ministers now openly flirt with the idea of a wealth tax with the Chancellor notably refusing to rule this out in her Mansion House speech earlier this week. Speculation is rife that the autumn Budget will contain some form of levy on assets. And business leaders, whose confidence is already in tatters, will now spend the next three months worrying about what tax rises they may face down the line. Whilst some argue that wealth taxes are justified, this would be an act of economic self-harm. These taxes dont just hurt the wealthy. They scare away investment, depress confidence, and send exactly the wrong message to job creators just when we need them most. The UK is already witnessing the consequences of this, with a record outflow of wealth creators and entrepreneurs. In 2024 alone, over 10,000 millionaires reportedly left the country a 157 per cent rise on the previous year and projections suggest more than 16,500 will depart in 2025, making the UK the worlds leading exporter of high-net-worth individuals. This exodus is not just a matter of lost tax receipts. It threatens the broader ecosystem of job creation and investment. From venture capital backing for UK startups, to employment in hospitality and professional services, the loss of affluent residents means fewer opportunities and less capital circulating in the domestic economy. As the Government dismantles the non-dom regime and introduces broader global income and inheritance tax liabilities, it must recognise that this risks undermining the very jobs and growth that the UK desperately needs. The fact the catchphrase of advocates of a wealth tax is Tax the Rich and not Help the Poor is telling. More worryingly still, the Government has recently signed up to a UN-led tax manifesto that pushes for higher environmental levies and what it calls gender-responsive taxation. Its questionable as to why committing to international tax pledges is apparently the economic priority of a Government that is focused on boosting economic growth and getting more people back to work. Time is not too late for the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to wake up to the crisis currently happening in the UKs jobs market. A jobs-first economic policy would see a wealth tax immediately ruled out, the devastating hike to Employer NICs reversed, and a commitment to using the autumn Budget to give businesses the environment they need to thrive. If we fail to act, we will look back on the employment figures published this summer not just as a warning sign, but as the start of a prolonged crisis. Its not the high-net-worth individuals that will suffer if this happens, but those who remain locked out of work through a lack of businesses able to give them an opportunity. That would be an unforgivable failure. Matthew Elliott is President of the Jobs Foundation and a member of the House of Lords Emil Bove, a former defense attorney for Donald Trump, is seeking a lifetime appointment to the third circuit court of appeals. Photograph: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Republican senators on Thursday advanced through the judiciary committee Emil Boves nomination to serve as a judge on a federal appeals court, after Democrats walked out of the session in protest of the GOPs refusal to call a whistleblower who alleged the nominee advocated for ignoring court orders. Donald Trump nominated Bove, his defense attorney who he appointed as a top justice department official in the early weeks of his new administration, for a seat on the third circuit court of appeals overseeing New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware and the US Virgin Islands. Boves advancement through the judiciary committee clears the way for his confirmation to be voted on by the full Senate. His nomination for the lifetime position has faced strident opposition from Democrats, after Erez Reuveni, a former justice department official who was fired from his post, alleged that during his time at the justice department, Bove told lawyers that they would need to consider telling the courts fuck you and ignore any such court order blocking efforts to remove immigrants to El Salvador. In testimony before the committee last month, Bove denied the accusation, and Reuveni later provided text messages that supported his claim. Related: Emil Boves confirmation hearing was a travesty | Sidney Blumenthal At Thursdays hearing, the New Jersey senator Cory Booker attempted to formally delay the vote on confirming Bove, citing Reuvenis whistleblower complaint as well as letters from state and federal prosecutors opposing his nomination. There is no need to vote on this nominee today. It is a false urgency, Booker said. His request was rejected by the committees Republican chair, Chuck Grassley, and Democratic senators then walked out as the committee voted on Boves nomination. What are you afraid of about even debating this, putting things on the record, hearing from every senator? Dear God, thats what our obligations are, said Booker, who remained in the committees chambers and continued speaking as Republican senators called out their votes on Bove and other judicial nominees. This is outrageous that youre not allowing senators to have their fair say before a controversial nominee is being done. This is unbelievable. This is unjust. This is wrong. It is the further deterioration of this committees integrity with a person like this. What are you afraid of? In addition to the whistleblower complaint, Democrats have criticized Bove for his role, while serving as acting justice department deputy attorney general, in the firings of prosecutors who worked on cases connected to the January 6 insurrection, as well as for requesting a list of FBI agents who investigated the attack. He also oversaw legal motions to drop charges against the New York City mayor, Eric Adams, which prompted the resignation of seven veteran prosecutors in New York who refused to cooperate. Republicans showed little indication of sharing those concerns, and voted to advance Bove along with 11 other nominees to federal judgeships nationwide. Thom Tillis, a retiring Republican senator who in May derailed Trumps nomination of Ed Martin as the top federal prosecutor in Washington DC over his defense of January 6 insurrectionists, said he did not find credible Democrats assertions that Bove had similar views. Does anybody really believe that if I was convinced that Bove had made any statements condoning the violent acts against Capitol police officers, that Id be voting for him? Just ask Ed Martin whether or not thats a red line, Tillis said. Far-right supporters have attacked police as violence erupted following a protest outside a hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex. Hundreds of people had earlier staged a fresh demonstration outside the hotel in Epping that has become a flashpoint of anti-immigration protest, days after two security guards were seriously assaulted during a previous gathering. Local people, including women and children, were among those who gathered outside the hotel on Thursday and they were joined by far-right activists with loudspeakers and banners. However, while the protest outside the hotel passed off peacefully, there were clashes later and riot police donned helmets and took up positions while crowds of men, some masked, surrounded a small counter-demonstration by antiracism activists. Essex Police said suspects have been identified for vehicle damage, officer assault, and vandalising property. The counter-demonstrators and police were pelted with plastic bottles, eggs and flour but the violence worsened as those in the crowd directly attacked the police and vandalised police vans as officers withdrew. Those in the crowd throwing projectiles included children who had donned masks and appeared to be in their preteens, while the towns high street was blocked off for hours in a tense stand-off. Police in riot gear remained on the streets as darkness fell and continued to prevent groups of men from reaching the hotel. Police had warned earlier in the day that criminal violence would not be tolerated, amid tensions in the town, where the far right has been trying to exploit opposition to the housing of asylum seekers in the hotel. The assaults on the security staff on Sunday were being treated by investigators as racially aggravated. Both men received hospital treatment for serious injuries, according to the force, which said it had arrested a man on suspicion of affray after damage was caused to the Bell hotel by an individual who was seen shouting racial abuse outside it. Tensions were high ahead of the latest appearance in court on Thursday of an asylum seeker who has been charged with three counts of sexual assault. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, from Ethiopia, who denies the offences, was remanded in custody before a two-day trial next month at Chelmsford magistrates court. An antiracism demonstration took place near the towns railway station on Thursday and hundreds of people later congregated outside the hotel, with a flat-bed trailer on a lorry bearing a banner that read: Protect our kids. Those present included activists wearing T-shirts of the Britain First party. Far-right activists, who have a significant local presence, were central to the protest on Sunday and have been vocal on community Facebook groups. Two local Conservative MPs called on Labour to immediately close the hotel and another in Epping, which have been used to house asylum seekers. The situation had become increasingly alarming and distressing in recent days, said Neil Hudson and Alex Burghart. Weyman Bennett, co-convenor of Stand Up To Racism, who was part of the counter-protest, said that a peaceful demonstration made up of local and trade unions had been attacked by groups led by the far right. It is important to stand up against division; otherwise, we will witness a pogrom-type movement, he added. The flare-up comes ahead of the first anniversary of last summers riots, which began after the murders of three young girls in Southport and resulted in attempts to burn down hotels housing asylum seekers. The chief executive of the Refugee Council, Enver Solomon, said there was a need to speed up plans to end the use of asylum hotels, which he said had become a flashpoint for tension in communities, cost billions to the taxpayer, and leave people trapped in limbo. Security fencing went up around the hotel on Wednesday. A man who said he was an asylum seeker from Libya told the Guardian that he and others still felt safe. We are being treated well and we just want our cases to be heard, he added. There is no trouble. A local resident said that while they and others in the community had concerns, it was also the case that outside elements and local activists had been trying to inflame the situation. Most people would rather it was not there, that it was back as a hotel, but it is what it is and maybe theres a case for new arrivals to be kept somewhere more secure and be checked. Ch Supt Simon Anslow said: People protesting peacefully, lawfully and responsibly cause us and the wider public no concern. However, we can never and will never tolerate criminal violence of any sort and anyone identified as committing crime will be dealt with robustly. A Home Office spokesperson said the government had already taken action to ban foreign nationals who commit sexual offences from being granted asylum. The right to protest is fundamental to our democracy, but this cannot cross the line into unlawful or violent behaviour. We continue to work closely with Essex police, she added. British paratroopers and Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers sit together during the war in Afghanistan - Marco Di Lauro/Getty It might have seemed that the revelations around the Afghan database leak could not get any worse, but that has turned out to be untrue. It has now emerged that along with thousands of Afghan names on the list there are also more than 100 names and details of UK Special Forces and Secret Intelligence Service (SIS, aka MI6) staff. The various formations of the Special Forces include the well-known Special Air Service (SAS) and their maritime counterparts in the Special Boat Service (SBS), as well as other lower profile units such as the Special Reconnaissance Regiment. They and the intelligence officers of the SIS were crucial to operations in Afghanistan and would have worked closely with all British and Afghan forces over a number of years. Though the Taliban claim to have the data, it is unlikely that they are a threat outside Afghanistan, and unlikely to be able to target the British personnel on the list themselves. However it is all but certain that they or others will pass it on and, as with other previously leaked information, our organisations will have to operate on the assumption that any enemy which wants the list will obtain it. It is believed that up to 600 Afghans named on the list are still in Afghanistan and it will be a huge challenge to protect them and evacuate them. No doubt, during the last two years that the super injunction has run, the Government, MoD and the intelligence and security services will have done all they can to protect those involved. Secrecy and anonymity are crucial to these organisations, but in our digital world where in some cases the keyboard is more powerful than the sword, complete secrecy is getting more difficult, not easier. One assumes that Government organisations believe that mitigation is now in place to protect all these people, and the damage done by further suppression of the facts in this case would be worse than having them made public. It is essential that thorough security checks are carried out on those Afghans already here, to ensure that bad actors have not slipped through the net. Many are calling for the heads of those responsible for this data breach and no doubt it is not all down to one relatively junior Royal Marine, as suggested by some media outlets. This is where those ultimately responsible, higher up the food chain, must stand up and show their mettle and moral courage. But the most important task now is to ensure our Special Forces and intelligence services can carry on their vital work keeping this country safe, which they do every day of the year. Blame, if needed, is for tomorrow. Germany will make trafficking people to the UK an explicit crime - NCA/X Germany will close a loophole that will allow police to seize small boats used by smuggling gangs in the Channel, following treaty talks with Britain. Sir Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz will seal the friendship treaty on Thursday in the UK. It includes a pledge by Germany to make people smuggling to Britain a criminal offence by the end of the year. The treaty comes a week after the Prime Minister struck a one in, one out migrant return deal with Emmanuel Macron of France. There is no similar returns deal with the German chancellor. The small boats, which have crossed in record numbers this year, embark from French beaches. However, Germany is a transit country for migrants hoping to reach Britain and has emerged as a storage hub for boats, engines and life jackets used by migrants in taxi boats. Under German law, people smuggling into non-EU countries is not a crime. This means that trafficking migrants to Britain has not technically been illegal since Brexit, making it more difficult for German police to seize dinghies used by gangs to make the deadly crossings. A BBC investigation last year exposed how people smugglers were operating in the city of Essen. A journalist was offered an inflatable dinghy with an outboard motor and 60 life jackets for 12,500 to cross the Channel by two smugglers in the Western German city. People smugglers do break the law if they pass through EU countries Belgium or France but Mr Merz is willing to make trafficking people to the UK an explicit crime. Sources confirmed that Mr Merz is prepared to renew that commitment made by his predecessor Olaf Scholz last year before he lost elections in February. Sir Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz will seal the treaty on Thursday - Capital Pictures /Alamy Stock Photo Ahead of the meetings on Thursday, Sir Keir said: The progress we are making today is further proof that by investing in our relationships with like-minded friends and partners, we can deliver real change for working people. The Treaty we will sign today, the first of its kind, will bring the UK and Germany closer than ever. It not only marks the progress we have already made and the history we share. It is the foundation on which we go further to tackle shared problems and invest in shared strengths. Chancellor Merzs commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome. As the closest of allies, we will continue to work closely together to deliver on the priorities that Brits and Germans share. The friendship treaty is the latest step in Sir Keirs post-Brexit reset with Europe, after a security and cultural exchange pact with France and a May agreement with the EU. The Telegraph revealed on Thursday that the agreement included efforts to facilitate Eurostar-style direct trains from London to Germany. The two countries will also sign a defence cooperation treaty and agree to make school exchanges easier after an 80 per cent drop in German school trips to the UK since Brexit. The Telegraph understands there will also be languages, underlining a shared commitment to fighting climate change and boosting interconnections between Germany and British renewable wind in the North Sea. Over the past few years, the presence of generative AI in the classroom has continued to grow, promising personalized learning for students and helping teachers with tasks like drafting lesson plans, grading assignments, and filling out administrative paperwork for things like Individualized Education Plans (IEPs). Yet alongside this promise comes a crucial responsibility: to ensure AI is integrated in ways that align with sound pedagogy, promote equity, and preserve the essential human connection at the heart of teaching and learning. A 2023 UNESCO report assessing the implications of the use of AI in classrooms stressed an urgent, global need for "educational institutions to validate GenAI systems on their ethical and pedagogical appropriateness for education." How a Global School System Built Its Own AI Platform Cognita, a global network of more than 100 private schools serving over 95,000 students, is taking a proactive and responsible approach to AI by rolling out its own in-house platformCognita AI. The goal: to thoughtfully integrate AI in a way that enhancesnot replacesthe vital roles of teachers and students. "Cognita AI is a bold step forward in our mission to lead thoughtfully in educational technology," said Dr. Simon Camby, Group Chief Education Officer at Cognita. "This is just the beginning. Grounded in strong pedagogical principles, it's designed to give teachers more time to do what they do bestinspire, guide, and connectwhile enabling students to benefit from more personalized and responsive support." The platform was piloted across six schools in five countriesSpain, Mexico, Vietnam, the UAE, and the UKspanning subjects like mathematics, language instruction, and essay writing. According to the group, the pilot demonstrated stronger student engagement, improved outcomes, and increased teacher capacity to respond to individual learning needs. Personalized Learning at Scale As part of this initiative, Cognita has announced a strategic partnership with Flint, which provides the underlying AI infrastructure to support personalized, curriculum-aligned instruction. The platform offers tailored learning activities, real-time feedback, and resources for teachersall while encouraging them to grow their own AI literacy in a way that allows them to maintain control and exercise critical oversight of the tech. "We couldn't be more excited to be partnering with Cognita," said Flint CEO Sohan Choudhury. "Through our first partnership with a Cognita school during the 202324 school year and the pilot earlier in 2025, we've had the opportunity to work closely with educators at a number of Cognita schools. We've been amazed by their commitment to personalizing learning for students, as well as by the focus from Cognita's leadership on embracing AI in a way that enhances, not replaces, the teacher's role in the classroom." Cognita AI also introduces structured guidance for students to develop AI literacy, equipping them to navigate future learning environments critically and responsibly. The platform is designed not just to accelerate academic progress but also to foster digital fluency and ethical AI use. Responsible Rollout Focuses on Trust, Training, and Transparency A 2023 McKinsey report estimated that up to 40% of teachers' current tasks could be streamlined with generative AI, which would allow them more time for connecting with students and providing more hands-on, individualized teaching. Cognita is leading the charge as one of the few large-scale school systems attempting to close that gap at a global level. To support thoughtful and effective AI adoption, Cognita is offering a comprehensive approach that includes bespoke professional development for teachers, AI-literacy programs that prepare students for the future, and family-engagement resources designed to build transparency and trust. "As technology continues to evolve, so will Cognita AIbringing fresh innovations that empower our educators and help every learner thrive in a rapidly evolving world," said Camby. As many school systems grapple with how best to integrate AI, Cognita's approach offers one possible model: build technology centered around the classroom, rather than centering the classroom around technology. With a foundation rooted in strong pedagogy and a deep commitment to empowering both teachers and students, Cognita AI is demonstrating how AI can strengthennot disruptthe future of education. Originally published on Tech Times The disappearance of Amy Bradley in 1998 is being explored in Amy Bradley is Missing, she is pictured with her brother Brad. (Netflix) Netflix's Amy Bradley is Missing asks the question: What happened to the 23-year-old when she disappeared from a cruise in 1998? The three-part docuseries explores Bradley's disappearance and the theories around what might have happened to her. It's a mystery that has confounded authorities and fascinated true crime aficionados for decades, but the series hopes to help find an answer. Here is everything that you need to know, including the event itself and the theories that have been explored in the documentary. What happened to Amy Bradley? Amy Bradley went on a cruise holiday with her family in March 1998, and she went missing during the journey. She is pictured with her brother Brad. (Netflix) Bradley went missing whilst holidaying with her family on the cruise ship Rhapsody of the Seas in March 1998, which was en route to Curacao in the Caribbean Sea. The 23-year-old went dancing in a club on the cruise ship with her brother Brad after midnight on 23 March, and recordings showed her dancing with band member Alister "Yellow" Douglas during the outing. Bradley and her brother returned to their cabin a few hours later. Lock records show that Brad returned to the cabin at 3:35 a.m. and Bradley followed five minutes after. She went to sleep on the balcony of their cabin, and when her father Ron woke up around 5:15 a.m. he saw that she was still resting there. Amy Bradley went dancing with her brother and returned to their cabin at 3:30am, by 6am she was missing. (Netflix) He dozed off and woke again at 6 a.m., but he went to check on his daughter he saw she was missing along with her lighter and cigarettes. While he told authorities it wasn't unusual for her to leave without saying anything, he decided to search for her, and by 6:30 am, he woke the rest of the family to tell them she was missing. The family told the ship's onboard crew about the disappearance and tried to persuade them to keep the passengers on the boat rather than allow them to disembark as planned. However, an announcement for Bradley to make herself known was only made at 7:50 a.m., after the majority of passengers had left the ship, which some believe reduced the chances of her being found. The Netherlands Antilles coast guard conducted a four-day search in the waters surrounding the ship but did not find Bradley. Her whereabouts remain unknown, but authorities have speculated that Bradley fell off the ship and drowned; however, there are other theories around what happened to her. Is Amy Bradley alive? Amy Bradley is pictured with her father, Ron. Authorities believe she fell off the cruise ship and drowned, her family continues to believe she is alive. (Netflix) One prevailing theory is that Bradley was taken from the cruise ship and sold into a human trafficking ring and sexual slavery. Three witnesses claim to have seen Bradley with Douglas on the upper deck between 5:30 and 5:45 a.m., and testified that they saw her being handed a drink by Douglas. Her brother Brad also recalled that Douglas had come up to him and said "sorry about your sister" before any announcement had been made on the ship, making him suspicious of the musician. Douglas was interviewed by the FBI, who subjected him to a polygraph test, which he passed. He denied having any involvement in Bradley's disappearance. Since Amy Bradley's disappearance, several eyewitnesses have come forward to claim they have seen her but the FBI has found no evidence supporting these claims. (Netflix) Several witnesses have come forward with claims they have seen Bradley over the years. When her family visited Curacao one month after her disappearance, a taxi driver came up to them and said he had seen her when the ship disembarked. He said that he remembered her green eyes and that he saw her running in the parking lot searching for a phone; these claims were never corroborated. Another witness, David Carmichael, claims to have seen Bradley whilst diving with a friend in August 1998, saying that a woman fitting Bradley's description was with two men on the diving beach and appeared to try and get their attention when she realised they were speaking English. In an interview with People, Carmichael said: "She looked frightened, like she was about to say something, when one of the guys motioned her away and gave me a menacing look" It was only in November that he saw a plea for information on America's Most Wanted that he recalled the event. Carmichael flew to meet Bradley's family as soon as he could. He told the publication: "I was stunned. I am haunted by that encounter with Amy. I know it was her." Authorities were unable to stand up this claim. In May 2002, retired U.S. Navy petty officer William Hefner claimed to have visited a brothel in Curacao in January 1999 and said that he met Bradley at the bar. He said that the woman had come up to him and told him she was Bradley and asked for his help, saying she was being held against her will and unable to leave. He waited to tell Bradley's family of the sighting until 2002, when he had retired, as he feared the potential repercussions to his career for admitting to being in a brothel. The FBI found no evidence to support his claim. What has happened in the Amy Bradley case? Amy Bradley's father Ron in Netflix docuseries Amy Bradley is Missing (Netflix) Bradley's disappearance remains unsolved, and she was declared legally dead in 2010 with no body found. The FBI has said they pursued every angle but have gotten nowhere with the case, and she remains on the FBIs most wanted missing persons list with a reward of up to $25,000 for information. The Netflix docuseries' directors, Ari Mark and Phil Lott, told The Hollywood Reporter that when they decided to look into this case and the aforementioned sightings, they had hope they might be able to find a lead for her family, who continue to believe that she is alive. Mark told the publication, "We really thought we could find her. I had [Bradley's mum] Iva Bradley calling me every day, saying, 'All of our eggs are in your basket. Were relying on you to find her.' Thats quite a responsibility. So the hope is that having this be on a platform like Netflix brings them one step closer. And I really believe it will." When asked if they think Bradley could be alive, Mark said: "Ive kind of gotten to the point where I have to believe shes alive. And people will judge me for that. You immediately fall into a bucket of, 'How could you believe the most far-fetched piece of this?' Were always so used to calculating odds. 'Well, the odds are this happened, and the statistics say ' All of those things are true. But if were telling a remarkable story, I think theres just as much of a chance that theres a remarkable answer." Amy Bradley is Missing is out now on Netflix. This article originally appeared on Yahoo TV UK at https://uk.news.yahoo.com/amy-bradley-missing-true-story-netflix-100447156.html Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race after a dire debate against Mr Trump in which he often lost his train of thought and was frequently incoherent Donald Trump won last years US presidential election because Democrats failed to rally around Joe Biden, the former presidents son has claimed. Hunter Biden claimed the Democrats literally melted down when they turned on his father, forcing him to drop his re-election bid following a disastrous debate performance. Mr Biden, who last year was convicted of buying a gun while addicted to crack cocaine, also said he kept as far away as possible from the White House. Speaking on a podcast hosted by Jaime Harrison, the former head of the Democratic National Committee, Mr Biden said: We lost the last election because we did not remain loyal to the leader of the party. Thats my position. We had the advantage of incumbency, we had the advantage of an incredibly successful administration, and the Democratic Party literally melted down. Hunter Biden claimed the Democrats literally melted down when they turned on his father - REUTERS Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July last year, after a dire debate against Mr Trump in which he often lost his train of thought and was frequently incoherent. Democrats, with the backing of the former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi and other senior figures, quickly turned on him, piling pressure on him to bow out of the race until he eventually endorsed Kamala Harris as his successor. Original Sin, a book released earlier this year by the journalists Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson, reported extensively on Joe Bidens alleged mental decline in office, claiming he forgot the names of aides he had known for decades. However, Hunter Biden dismissed the claims, suggesting they had been inflated to sell copies. What sells is the idea of a conspiracy, he said, adding that the chances of keeping a secret in Washington were zero. Mr Biden predicted on Mr Harrisons At Our Table podcast that the party would spend most of Mr Trumps second term consumed by internal fights. We are going to fight amongst ourselves for the next three years until theres a nominee. And then with the nominee, we better as hell get behind that nominee, he argued. Mr Biden was widely seen as an influential member of his fathers inner circle, reportedly urging him to keep going with his beleaguered re-election campaign as the rest of the Democrats turned on him. Mr Biden eventually endorsed Kamala Harris as his successor - Getty Images However, he told Mr Harrison that he stayed as far away as I possibly could from the White House, adding that it broke my heart. The admission underscores how Mr Biden, who was the subject of multiple probes by congressional Republicans for allegedly trading access to his father for business deals, could have proved a political liability. Mr Biden consistently denied wrongdoing. During his fathers term, he was convicted on three counts of lying on a federal firearms application, in which he declared he was not addicted to drugs while buying a revolver. In a separate case he pleaded guilty to tax evasion and filing fraudulent returns. In December, Joe Biden pardoned his son for any crimes he may have committed in the last decade in the broadest clemency agreement since that of former president Richard Nixon. Damage inside Nasser Hospital on Feb 26, 2024. Israeli troops raided it two weeks earlier after days of fighting - AFP The tracer bullets are unmistakable as they streak across the otherwise dark forecourt of Gazas Nasser hospital, with the deafening sound of automatic gunfire overhead. Around the corner, several white four-by-four vehicles are in flames, charring the buildings walls. Photos later emerged revealing devastation inside one of the Strips last functioning medical facilities, with the glass screen above the reception desk shattered by bullets. The gunfight is believed to have taken place between Hamas and one of southern Gazas powerful armed families, the so-called clans. It is believed that the terror group summarily executed a member of the Barbakh clan, whose fighters then chased the Hamas members into the hospital, looking for revenge. One report said six Hamas terrorists were killed in the fight. White four-by-four vehicles in flames, charring the buildings walls Tension and indeed bloodshed between Hamas and the southern clans has become increasingly common in recent weeks as both scrap for control over meagre aid supplies. However, the fact that the Barbakh gunmens first instinct was to look for their enemy in the grounds of a working hospital is arguably significant. Evidence has emerged in recent months of Hamas and affiliated groups in the medical facility. Sources inside Gaza have also alleged that the groups use the hospital for torture, filming some of the interrogation videos that they have published in the last month inside the medical complex itself. It comes as the hospital remains a crucial lifeline for Gazans caught in Israeli airstrikes, which the IDF says are targeting Hamas officials. Credit: Social media Doctors have described harrowing scenes of wards overwhelmed with patients presenting with trauma injuries. However, with Hamas violence against civilians also evident in the Strip, there is mounting evidence that Hamas, when it chooses, exercises control over treatment decisions in the hospital, effectively deciding who lives and dies. One video seen by The Telegraph shows a public beating, staged by Hamas, of individuals alleged to have stolen food. Amid the screams of pain, a fighter can clearly be seen spray painting in Hamas green the Arabic word for thief on one of the tortured mens naked backs. One source said: This is to prevent him receiving treatment if he goes to the hospital. When the group fired on a bus full of Palestinian staff going to work at one of the new US-backed aid centres earlier in June, witnesses who spoke to The Telegraph said the group then prevented doctors at Nasser from treating the survivors. This is believed to have raised the death toll from eight to 12. In another incident in June, the family of a man who had been badly tortured for alleged opposition to Hamas turned up at the Nasser hospital to complain that he was being refused treatment. Hamas arrived and allegedly killed five of them. The glass screen above the reception desk shattered by bullets after a gunfight between Hamas and the Barbakh clan Numerous Palestinian sources have since told The Telegraph that Hamas uses the hospital as a base where the terrorists hide from the families they attack. One source with first-hand experience of the hospital said: They hide among patients, medical staff and hospital facilities without any responsibility for endangering patients and medical staff. The sources who gave information to The Telegraph did not want to be named for fear of reprisals. Israel has long claimed that the hospital is used as a military command and control centre. However, The Telegraph has not seen evidence to verify this claim. The IDF has launched a number of controversial airstrikes on the hospital with that justification since the start of the war, one of which was caught during a live TV news broadcast. Palestinians work on rehabilitating the Nasser hospital - AFP On that occasion in May, a munition was targeted at a precise room in an upper storey of the building. The IDF says their strikes have been precise and aimed at Hamas militants, although NGOs have said innocent civilians were killed. Attacking a hospital can be prosecuted as a war crime, as can using civilians as a human shield, a charge routinely levelled against Hamas. Whatever else is taking place there, the Nasser hospital is currently providing a medical lifeline to the people of southern Gaza. Only last week, the entire facility was described as a trauma ward given the number of casualties coming in from shootings related to the new US-backed aid distribution centres. However, following the battle on June 26, some Gazans have begun to complain openly on social media about Hamass presence in the hospital. Bodies of Palestinians killed in an Israeli attack are brought to Nasser hospital - Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu One said the group has taken to sending letters to its opponents, summoning them for questioning at the site. The Telegraph has seen a copy of a document on social media that activists say is one of these summons. It is addressed from the interior ministry in Khan Younis. It instructs the recipient, whose name is blanked out, to police investigations department, Nasser. It also bears the stamp of the Gaza interior ministry. A photo of the document was posted on a free Gaza Telegram account. A photograph of a different document, dated 2024, which was posted on a different social media channel, instructs a named individual to present themselves at the Nasser Medical Centre. A source said that some letters suggest that coming to the hospital would result in free food parcels, exploiting peoples need and then luring them into punishment or investigation. They alleged: Its become a tool for controlling aspects of life in Khan Younis. Another pointed to the white off-road vehicles pictured outside the hospital, alleging that they are the same as used during the hostage handover ceremonies in January and February. However, it was not possible to verify this claim. Credit: X / @DropSiteNews In April, Dr Mohammed Saqer, the director of nursing at the site, posted on social media that armed men had come to his office and directly threatened him. He also showed a photograph of a piece of paper warning him that he had crossed the red line wait. That was signed by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, a terror group allied to Hamas. The battle from a fortnight ago has caused a ripple effect of retaliatory violence in an area that is already traumatised by 21 months of war. Hamas subsequently issued a wanted list of those they claimed were responsible for the attack, demanding that they be turned in within 24 hours. At least one video purporting to show the murder of a man allegedly involved in the battle has been circulated online by prominent pro-Hamas accounts. Israel is accused of laying siege to various hospitals in the Strip, and in some cases firing on people leaving. According to the World Health Organisation, 94 per cent of hospitals in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. At Nasser hospital, doctors warned on Friday of an impending disaster because of a shortage of fuel. It was forced to stop admitting patients the previous day after Israeli tanks advanced to within 200 metres of the complex. Dr Victoria Rose, a senior plastic surgeon from London, recently completed a deployment at the Nasser hospital. She said she saw dozens of dead bodies arrive with gunshot wounds following mass shootings at aid stations. In an interview with the New York Times, she said she had seen an increase in patients with unsurvivable burns or severe blast injuries from Israeli bombs, and that the hospital was struggling to cope with the stream of traumatic injuries. Father Gabriel Romanelli was injured when the Holy Family Church in Gaza was struck by an IDF raid on Thursday morning - Anadolu A priest who was a close friend of the late Pope Francis has been injured in an Israeli strike on Gazas only Catholic church. The attack on Thursday killed three people, injured several others and damaged the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. It is one of three surviving churches in the war-ravaged enclave, which have become refuges for displaced Christians. The Holy Family Church in Gaza has been struck by a raid this morning. There are several injuries in the place, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said. The Patriarchate later updated the death toll to three, saying two women and one man had been killed. It condemned this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place and said the horrific war must come to a complete end. The victims had turned to the church compound as a safe haven after their homes, possessions, and dignity had already been stripped away, it added. Caritas Jerusalem, a Catholic humanitarian organisation, named two of those killed as Saad Salameh, 60, a caretaker at the church, and Fumayya Ayyad, 84, who it said was receiving aid at the compound at the time of the attack. Witnesses reported the church was hit by tank shelling. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it was aware of reports and the incident was under review. The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them, a statement added. Father Jebrail Romanelli comforted injured people at the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital - Anadolu Pope Leo XIV said he was deeply saddened by the attack, and called for an immediate ceasefire. He wrote: I am deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza. I assure the parish community of my spiritual closeness. I commend the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God, and pray for their families and the injured. I renew my call for an immediate ceasefire. Only dialogue and reconciliation can ensure enduring peace! A cross atop the damaged Holy Family Church after the IDF attack The US state department said it was appalled by the air strike. Tammy Bruce, the state department press secretary, said: We have asked that Israel investigate the strike still, of course, and ensure that all civilians, including Christian civilians, remain safe. She added that everyone is appalled and said: President Trump also spoke to the prime minister, and I think its an understatement to say that he was not happy. Giorgia Meloni, the Italian prime minister, condemned the attack as unacceptable. Israeli raids on Gaza also hit the Holy Family Church, she said in a statement. The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such behaviour. Footage shows part of the churchs roof missing, as well as significant damage to the windows. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem says two people were killed and several others injured in the strike - OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images Fadel Naem, director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the wounded and is next door to the church, said the area around the church had been repeatedly struck for a week. Since the outbreak of war in the Strip, the church has become a shelter for some 500 people, both Christian and Muslim, and serves as a base for food, water and medical supplies for thousands displaced in the city. Father Gabriel Romanelli was injured in the leg and is now recovering in hospital. Credit: Reuters The Argentinian, who has served as the Holy Family parish priest since 2019, was in near daily telephone contact with Pope Francis until the last days of the pontiffs life. After the conflict broke out, Pope Francis, who died in April at the age of 88, would call the church every night at 8pm and not only speak to Father Romanelli, but those seeking shelter inside its walls to see how they were faring. Father Gabriel Romanelli on a video conference call with Pope Francis on December 24 - OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images Last year, the school on the Holy Family church grounds was hit by an Israeli air strike, killing four people. including Ihab al-Ghussein, a senior Hamas official. Israels military at the time said it was being used as a terrorist hideout. Civilians seeking shelter in the church have also reportedly been killed by Israeli snipers. Pictured in April 2021, the Holy Family Church has become a refuge for displaced Christians - Mahmoud Issa/Getty Images The once-flourishing Christian community in Gaza has shrunk to a seventh of its size 60 years ago due to successive conflicts. Some have left for the West Bank, while others emigrated to the West or nearby Arab countries. Roughly 1,000 remain in the Strip, a blend of Orthodox and Catholics. Most are sheltering within its three churches, which have all been damaged in the 21-month war. Afghans wait in the hope of boarding an aircraft in Kabul in August 2021, days after the Talibans takeover of Afghanistan - Wakil Kohsar/AFP Lawyers are seeking to use human rights laws to force the Government to bring tens of thousands of Afghans to the UK after their names were leaked by a British soldier. Up to 100,000 people could claim against the Government, arguing that their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) have been breached because they are in danger of reprisals from the Taliban. A planned judicial review will argue that the Ministry of Defences argument for closing the resettlement scheme for affected Afghans is false, and that anyone on the list of Afghans who helped British forces is at risk of death. However, MoD insiders say that for every genuine claimant on the list, 15 are bogus. Ministers already face a compensation bill of up to 1bn from those on the list, which the media was gagged from reporting until a super-injunction was lifted on Tuesday. Sean Humber, a partner at the firm Leigh Day, told The Telegraph: We are looking at possible legal avenues for judicial challenge for people who have been denied relocation and are now finding themselves on the list. They are now at an increased risk. As well as the compensation, its a case of whether the Government should now take action. Lawyers are now set to argue that anyone on the list could be eligible for resettlement in the UK, even if they had no connection to Britain and their claim for resettlement was spurious. If successful, the judicial review could set a precedent to allow Afghans on the list who had been rejected for resettlement to come to Britain anyway. The legal basis for the challenge will be that the Rimmer review, which was commissioned to look at the scandal by Labour last year, wrongly concluded that the risk to Afghans on the list was low. It will argue that people whose names were leaked now face a threat to their human rights under article 2 and article 3 of the ECHR. The articles give claimants a right to life and a right to freedom from degrading treatment or punishment, which lawyers could argue is at risk from the Taliban because of the British Governments mistake. Any claims against the Government under the ECHR would ultimately be defended by Lord Hermer, the Attorney General, who has been accused of asserting the primacy of human rights law over British government and politics. The Labour peer previously represented Afghan families affected by alleged extrajudicial killings by the British military during the war. He has changed official guidance to instruct government lawyers to treat international law and domestic legislation equally. The spreadsheet, leaked by a Royal Marine in 2022, contained the names of 25,000 Afghans who had applied for resettlement in the UK because they had worked with British forces during the war in Afghanistan. Ministers have admitted that when families and other dependents are included, the true number of people affected is likely to be between 80,000 and 100,000. Around 6,900 of the Afghans on the list have either travelled to the UK or are in transit, but most were rejected for resettlement under either the original scheme or a new emergency plan to rescue those in danger because of the leak. Credit: Sky News Further legal restrictions on the data leak were lifted on Thursday, revealing that the identities of British special forces and MI6 operatives were also on the list. Johnny Mercer, the former defence minister, said it was gut-wrenching to learn that their names may have fallen into [Taliban] hands. However, The Telegraph has been told that the vast majority of claimants on the list were illegitimate. The admission raises fresh questions about whether bogus claimants slipped through the net and came to Britain under the secret scheme. Other officials, including one whistleblower who spoke to The Telegraph, said the vetting of people on the scheme was poor. Danny Kruger, a Conservative MP who has raised concerns about the number of Afghans resettled in the UK, said any immigration decisions after the leak should be for the Government, not the courts. Our communities simply cannot accommodate more Afghans, especially those who have been refused access to this country already, he said. The result of this blunder by the MoD must not be further mass immigration driven by human rights lawyers. Allowing tens of thousands more Afghans to enter the UK would frustrate Labours attempt to end the use of asylum hotels by the end of the decade a pledge that is already under extreme pressure from small boat crossings. The Telegraph revealed this week that Suella Braverman, the Conservative former home secretary, had been prepared to announce that asylum hotels would no longer be used, but was forced to continue using them because of the resettled Afghans. Mrs Braverman was one of several Cabinet ministers who raised objections over the plan to secretly airlift thousands of Afghans to the UK. In a statement on Wednesday, she said: The state apparatus thinks it can hide its failures behind legal technicalities while ordinary people pay the price. Despite legal restrictions being lifted, The Telegraph remains banned from reporting extra details around parliamentary statements about the breach, made by ministers and senior opposition frontbenchers alike. Suella Braverman said she objected to the secret plan to bring thousands of Afghans to the UK - Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Along with other news outlets that challenged the super-injunction, The Telegraph also remains prohibited from reporting what the MoDs internal risk assessments about the breach said at various points over the past two years. According to the Rimmer review into the leak, conducted by Paul Rimmer, the former deputy head of Defence Intelligence, the risk to the individuals named is now low enough for news of the leak to be published. Yet the public is not allowed to examine why or how Mr Rimmers conclusion was so different from that of full-time professionals inside the MoD under the Conservatives. One defence official under the previous government said it was unclear how Mr Rimmer had been able to conclude that the Taliban would not seek reprisals against Afghans on the list. I havent seen any shift from the Taliban to become friendly towards people who supported the UK Armed Forces, they said. There was significant rationale for keeping the super-injunction and that was the threat to life. After news of the leak broke, Taliban officials told The Telegraph they were already in possession of the list, and were hunting down Afghans on it. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: These are hypothetical claims, and we will robustly defend against any legal action or compensation. The independent Rimmer Review concluded that it is highly unlikely that merely being on the spreadsheet means an individual is more likely to be targeted, and this is the basis on which the court lifted its super-injunction this week. Liverpool are set to make an offer for striker Hugo Ekitike as talks with Eintracht Frankfurt progress, the PA news agency understands. The highly-rated 23-year-old has attracted interest from the Premier League this summer having scored 22 goals in all competitions after making a loan move from Paris St Germain permanent last summer. Newcastle had looked at bringing in Ekitike as Liverpool considered a big-money move for Alexander Isak, who it is understood the Magpies valued at around 150million in an attempt to ward off potential suitors. But the Reds are now pressing ahead with a deal for France international Ekitike, with it a case a matter of when rather than if a bid is submitted following talks. Liverpool are reportedly preparing a deal in the region of 80million euros (69.2million), with sources close to the player indicating that Newcastle look out of the race to sign a striker that Manchester United also hold interest in. Arne Slots Premier League champions have signed Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Milos Kerkez this summer, with Giorgi Mamardashvili linking up with the side after agreeing a move last August. The train arriving at Berlin Hauptbahnhof platform could be the 07.21 service from London St Pancras. Photograph: Iain Masterton/Alamy Plans for possible direct trains from London to Berlin will be drawn up by a joint UK-German taskforce, reigniting hopes for better rail connections across Europe. The partnership, announced as part of the bilateral treaty to be signed by the British prime minister, Keir Starmer, and his German counterpart, Friedrich Merz, could eventually lead to direct rail services between the two countries after previous plans for London-Frankfurt trains hit the buffers. The Department for Transport described the agreement as a significant step forward, with direct trains the most eye-catching part of a commitment to collaborate in enhancing sustainable transport links and mobility. Related: Eurostar vows to run direct trains from UK to Germany and Switzerland Germany has also agreed to allow some arriving UK airline passengers to use passport e-gates at its airports by the end of August, the Cabinet Office said. Since Brexit, UK travellers have needed to queue to have their passports manually stamped, rather than use automated gates, at EU airports. A joint taskforce will bring together transport experts from Germany and the UK to tackle the issues that have blocked such services in the past, including commercial, safety and technical requirements, and, not least, border arrangements. The transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, raised the possibility of visiting Checkpoint Charlie direct from the comfort of a train, adding that the government was determined to put Britain at the heart of a better-connected continent. She said: The Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie in just a matter of years, rail passengers in the UK could be able to visit these iconic sights direct from the comfort of a train, thanks to a direct connection linking London and Berlin. This landmark agreement part of a new treaty the prime minister will sign with Chancellor Merz today has the potential to fundamentally change how millions of people travel between our two countries, offering a faster, more convenient and significantly greener alternative to flying. The economic potential is enormous. A direct rail link would support the creation of jobs and strengthen the vital trade links that underpin our economic relationship with Germany. British businesses will have better access to European markets, whilst German companies will find it easier to invest and operate in the UK. The deal follows a similar memorandum of understanding signed with Switzerland in May to explore direct services. While direct trains to new European countries may be at least a decade away, the international train operator Eurostar has spoken of its ambition to open new routes to Frankfurt and Geneva. Other potential rival operators, including Virgin, are hoping to start cross-Channel services. Opening new routes has been difficult due to commercial viability, different track and train systems, and border requirements and station capacity. Eurostars longest direct route to date, London to Amsterdam, has had to overcome numerous difficulties, largely linked to border security and passport control, since its delayed inception in 2018. The demand for direct London-Berlin trains is unclear. Passengers can travel between the UK and German capitals in about 10 hours, changing in Brussels and Cologne. The pair appeared in a joint interview on the IMO podcast on Wednesday Michelle Obama has admitted she endured really hard times in her marriage but never thought of leaving Barack, as the couple addressed rumours surrounding their relationship together for the first time. Speculation has swirled for months about a split between Mrs Obama and her husband, Barack, after she did not join him to attend several public events. The former first lady and the former president put rumours to bed in a joint interview on Wednesday, with Mrs Obama saying: There hasnt been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my man. The former president, 63, was a guest on his wifes IMO podcast, which she hosts with her brother, Craig Robinson. Since launching her podcast, Mrs Obama has begun to speak candidly about the challenges of raising a family in the White House. ...Weve had some really hard times. So we had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man Im married to, she said to her brother. Mr Robinson addressed rumours head-on, asking: What, you guys like each other? to which his sister replied: Oh yeah, the rumour mill. Mr Obama then quipped: She took me back! joking that their relationship had been touch and go for a while. JUST IN: Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama shut down the rumor that they are getting a divorce. Obama: Somebody will mention to me and I'm like what are you talking about? Michelle: There hasn't been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my pic.twitter.com/45HgXXObyQ Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) July 16, 2025 The former first lady responded that it was nice to be in the same room as her husband, pointing out that when we arent, folks think were divorced. The couple have rarely been seen together publicly since they gave speeches at the Democratic Convention last August. Mrs Obama then skipped the state funeral of Jimmy Carter in January, citing a scheduling conflict. It later emerged that she was on holiday in Hawaii without her husband. Barack oblivious to rumours After Robinson admitted he has been quizzed by members of the public about the state of the Obamas marriage, the former president said he was oblivious to many of the rumours. These are the kinds of things that I just miss, right? he said. So I dont even know this stuffs going on. And then somebody will mention it to me and Im all like, what are you talking about? Mrs Obama previously addressed rumours of strains on her marriage in May, telling reporters: If I were having problems with my husband, everybody would know about it. She has also suggested that speculation about the state of her and her husbands relationship is rooted in sexism. We as women, I think we struggle with, like disappointing people, she recently told podcast host Sophia Bush. So much so that this year people were, they couldnt even fathom that I was making a choice for myself, that they had to assume that my husband and I are divorcing... thats what society does to us. Former veterans affairs minister Johnny Mercer - Geoff Pugh for The Telegraph I received a call from a journalist at The Telegraph on Tuesday, as the Afghan data leak story was breaking. They had a sniff that there was more to this spreadsheet. That unbelievably, the names of more than 100 MI6 and Special Forces operators were on the spreadsheet, but the MoD was denying it. I had seen the list. I didnt know what to say. I knew the names were on the list. It has names and email addresses of protected UK individuals, who could supposedly vouch for the credibility of some of the applicants on the spreadsheet. Even on Tuesday, whilst decrying the use of super-injunctions, the Government applied for another super-injunction to prevent this information from coming out. I love the people in the MoD. I admire UKSF from where this leak emanated. But a rot has set in that is so deep, it is hard to see how we repair it. A culture of immunity, of unaccountability runs so deep, that the untold damage it does is barely recognised from within the organisation. Often it is when you get out, that it comes sharply into view. When I was trying to fix failing resettlement schemes for the last prime minister, I could not believe we had by that stage settled around 20,000 Afghans in the UK, but I was still being contacted by bona fide Afghan special forces who were having their families hounded yet remained in Afghanistan. The MoD assured me, and Parliament, it was not blocking their approval for coming to the UK. I wrote to the deputy prime minister to say I did not believe them and this would represent huge problems when it was revealed. British forces arriving in Kabul to support the evacuation of British nationals in 2021 as the Taliban took over - Ben Shread/RAF/Ministry of Defence I subsequently had a terse meeting with Simon Case, the Cabinet Secretary, Tony Radakin, the Chief of the General Staff, and the current director of Special Forces. The director claimed he was offended by my assertions, and that I was just wrong. In the course of this injunction being lifted of course, it transpired one UKSF officer alone rejected 1,588 applications from members of Afghan special forces. The MoD, in court, admitted this was unprofessional and slack. Either the director lied directly to my face or had so little grip on his organisation or care for the fate of the Afghans that he didnt know. Its time to stop being dishonest. The MoD has not as it would have you believe decided to lift the injunction in the interests of transparency, particularly when it applied for another one the very same day. It was lifted by a judge who ran out of patience. Although I have huge issues with the way the whole thing was run by Tory ministers in the MoD, this is not a Tory lying problem Labour reviewed and extended the injunction multiple times in the past year. It is an institutional failure the state has to grip, not play politics with. In my view, clear criminal negligence has been displayed by some ministers and officials since the evacuation of Kabul ended. I saw ministers walk into Cobra meetings and tell mistruths or read from pre-prepared incorrect briefs before being slapped down by serious folk like David Cameron, who tried to get a grip of it when he was Foreign Secretary. I have no sympathy for the plight of the MoD at all; their position throughout this farce has been unforgivable. Once people start being honest, we can start to really understand how this happened, why it happened, and how we can prevent anything so terrible happening again. Without that, theres not much hope of doing so. Johnny Mercer is a former British Army officer, Conservative MP and minister of state for veterans affairs JLR paused shipments to the US in April, then resumed them in May. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Jaguar Land Rover has said it will axe up to 500 management jobs in the UK after reporting a plunge in sales linked to Donald Trumps tariffs. The British luxury carmaker said about 1.5% of its staff in the UK would be affected by the cuts as part of a voluntary redundancy round for managers. JLR, which is owned by Indias Tata Motors, employs 33,000 people in the UK. The car manufacturer reported a 15.1% drop in sales in the three months to June after a temporary pause in exports to the US. JLR stopped shipments to the US in April after Trump imposed a 25% duty on all foreign-made vehicles, before resuming them in May. The country accounts for more than a quarter of JLRs sales. Trump and Keir Starmer have agreed a trade deal that allows the UK to export 100,000 cars a year to the US at a 10% tariff, reduced from the 27.5% levy imposed on other countries. Britains ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, said shortly after the deal was agreed that it had immediately prevented job losses at JLRs factory in the West Midlands. JLRs chief executive, Adrian Mardell, said the deal would help to sustain 250,000 jobs across the car industry. Mandelson told CNN at the time: This deal has saved those jobs Thats a pretty big achievement in my view, and Im very pleased that the president has signed it. Starmer spoke to Trump while visiting JLRs Solihull factory in May as he announced a trade deal with the US. On Thursday, a spokesperson for JLRthe carmaker said: JLR regularly offers eligible employees voluntary redundancy programmes. Through this limited UK VR programme for managers, JLR is aligning its leadership workforce for the businesss current and future needs. We are grateful to the government for delivering at speed the new UK-US trade deal, which gives us the confidence to invest 3.5bn per annum to realise our strategy, which is delivering. British businesses have reported that they are under pressure from the increase in employer national insurance contributions. The official unemployment rate rose to 4.7% in the three months to May, up 0.1% from April. The shadow business secretary, Andrew Griffith, said Jaguars plans to cut jobs was a huge personal embarrassment for Keir Starmer. Two months ago, the prime minister looked workers at JLR in the eye and promised them he would protect their jobs now 500 are to go, he told the Telegraph. This government isnt serious about business the jobs tax, the union red tape and their net zero obsession. Its no wonder unemployment is rising. Downing Street said Jaguars plan to cut jobs in the UK was disappointing. A spokesperson for No 10 said: We are working closely with JLR. Were backing British carmakers through our plan for change, including 2.5bn over the next decade to support the shift to electric vehicles, more flexibility in the Zev [zero emission vehicle] mandate and new incentives like the electric car grant and those trade deals such as those with the US and India will cut tariffs and open up new export opportunities for UK manufacturers. So whilst this news is disappointing, were taking real action to support jobs and investment in the long term. Jaguar told its investors in June that, as a result of tariff uncertainty, it was lowering its forecast for margins on underlying profits, measured by earnings before interest and taxes, to between 5% and 7% this year, from 10% previously estimated. The company achieved a profit margin of 8.5% in the year to 31 March. The company reported a 12.2% drop in wholesale sales in North America. Sales in the UK also fell 25.5% in its second quarter after the planned wind-down of older Jaguar models. The company stopped selling new cars in the UK late last year as part of its shift towards new electric models, which are expected to hit the market in 2026. by Rafael Newman On a sunny Saturday towards the end of last month we took a train to Moutier in the west of Switzerland, half an hour from the French border, to attend an opera in a shooting range. We had tickets to hear my friend Annina Haug sing the role of Fenena in Giuseppe Verdis Nabucco at Standete, an annual festival of the arts held in the local stand de tir, now decommissioned, a pleasantly eerie, Charles-Addams-like structure on a hill above the municipality. We were also keen to visit the little town itself, which had recently voted to secede from the canton of Bern and join the neighboring canton of Jura as an exclave. The opening day of the Standetes 2025 edition fell on June 21, the date of this years Summer Solsticethe longest day of the year, and a clement midsummer; but the festival organizers, not taking any chances, had erected marquee tents over the picnic tables set up in the forecourt of the performance venue. And when it suddenly began to hail out of a clear blue sky as we munched fish and frites before the opera began, I was inclined to respect the locals perspicacity. We finished our dinner and hurried inside, to take our seats for a marvelous production by the Compagnie Opera Obliqua, under the direction of Facundo Agudin. Verdis first great success, Nabucco is based on a combination of Biblical accounts. The libretto, by Temistocle Solera, pits Jerusalem against Babylon, Jehovah against Baal, Hebrew against Assyrian. The plot is convoluted: King Nabucco (short for Nabucodonosor, the Italian form of the name of the historical Nebuchadnezzar) is besieging the Jewish capital, where the Hebrews are holding his daughter Fenena hostage. When Nabucco enters the city and its inhabitants attempt to use their pawn to keep him at bay, the princess is instead released by the traitorous Ismaele, a Hebrew soldier with whom she has been having an affair. It transpires, however, that Abigaille, another, albeit secretly illegitimate, daughter of Nabuccos, is also in love with Ismaele, and in a fit of jealousy and driven by murderous ambition, she schemes to have her sister killed, her father removed, and herself made queen in his stead. When Nabucco learns of the plot against him and re-asserts his kingship, declaring that he is also a god, he is struck down by lightning in retribution, and goes mad. Taking advantage of his debilitated state, Abigaille has herself crowned and prepares the execution of the captive Hebrews along with Fenena, who has converted to Judaism to save her lover. Abigailles treachery is foiled by the return of Nabucco, who has had his sanity restored through his own conversion to Judaism. Nabucco exalts Jehovah and topples the statue of Baal, and the opera ends with Abigailles suicide, and the wedding of Fenena and Ismaele. Nabucco is a fixture in the repertoires of opera houses around the world. It is undoubtedly best known for Va, pensiero (Fly, thought), the hymn sung by its chorus of Hebrew captives in Act 3 that came to be associated with the Italian independence movement of the 19th century. As with Biblically themed spirituals intoned by enslaved Africans in the American south, the Chosen People lamenting in exile by the banks of a foreign river lends itself easily as an allegory for a present-day political situation: in the case of the Risorgimento in the 1840s and beyond, Italian patriots keen to throw off the Austrian yoke. HEBREWS in chains, at forced labour by the banks of the Euphrates Fly, thought, on wings of gold; go settle upon the slopes and the hills, where, soft and mild, the sweet airs of our native land smell fragrant! Greet the banks of the Jordan and Zions toppled towers. Oh, my country so lovely and lost! Oh, remembrance so dear and so fraught with despair! Golden harp of the prophetic seers, why dost thou hang mute upon the willow? Rekindle our bosoms memories, and speak of times gone by! Mindful of the fate of Jerusalem, either give forth an air of sad lamentation, or else let the Lord imbue us with fortitude to bear our sufferings! The operas setting has since proved susceptible to other contemporary projections by proponents of Regietheater, or directors theater, who have re-imagined the Hebrews as refugees at sea or (inevitably) as concentration camp inmates. At Standete in Moutier this past June, artistic directors Ruben Amoretti and Robert Bouvier chose a generic, early-modern-peasant look for the chorus, an anachronistic clash with the antique Orientalist costumes of their Babylonian attackers. But it didnt much matter how the opera was staged, because in June 2025 its contemporary correlatives were quite literally in the air. Just one week earlier, on June 14, Donald Trump had staged a wildly expensive parade, ostensibly to mark the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States Armed Forces but in fact a transparent move to celebrate his own 79th birthday and dictatorial apotheosis. On the same day, millions had also protested his government with No Kings marches across the United States; Trump was embarrassed by the curtailment of his elaborately planned display, by its sloppy execution and the poor attendance numbers, and, following these reversals, by the revolt against his signature legislation by his chief ally, Elon Musk. Meanwhile, just the day before, the Israeli military, while continuing to make war against civilians in Gaza, had commenced its bombardment of Iranian nuclear facilities. The US would join the Israeli campaign on June 22, having been equivocal about its involvement during the intervening week but repeatedly signaling its inevitable collaboration: driven in part, perhaps, by Trumps desire to distract the public from the humiliation he had suffered on June 14. So it was hard not to receive Nabucco, that night in Moutier, as a straightforward commentary on the current geopolitical situation: a savage idolater (Trump/Nabucco) declares himself supreme being and is punished for his hubris; he is deserted by a faithful follower (Musk/Abigaille), who attempts to remove him and take his place; he then seeks redemption by joining an ancient monotheistic force (Israel/Israel) in visiting destruction on the very idol (theocratic Iran/Baal) he has himself worshipped. His succession is furthermore secured: the turncoat bastard is removed, and the tyrants genuine scions (MAGA/Fenena and the Hebrews) follow him on the new path of righteousness, in the train of a punishing and vengeful figure (Netanyahu/Jehovah). The Biblical past of Nabucco, onto which the 19th-century Italian patriots had cast their dreams of a future in liberty, now seems to be projecting its own vision of the future onto our present day. When the Hebrew captives sing their famous Va, pensiero chorus in Act 3a version of the psalm By the rivers of Babylon sung by mourners for a lost homeland who are resigned to a life of exile and a proto-Zionist anthemthey are reproved for their defeatism by Zaccaria, their high priest, who conjures for them a bracing vision of the coming destruction to be wrought upon their enemies. ZACCARIA coming upon the scene Oh, who is it that weeps? Who is it raises lamentations, as of timorous women, to the Everlasting? Oh, rise up, brothers in anguish, the Lord speaks from my lips. In the obscurity of the future I see Behold, the shameful chains are broken! The wrath of the Lion of Judah already falls upon the treacherous sand! HEBREWS Oh, happy future! ZACCARIA To settle upon the skulls, upon the bones, hither come the hyenas and the snakes; midst the dust raised by the wind a doomed silence shall reign! The owl alone will spread abroad its sad lament when evening falls Not a stone will be left to tell the stranger where once proud Babylon stood! HEBREWS Oh, what a fire burns in the old man! The Lord speaks through his lips! Yes, the shameful fetters shall be broken, the courage of Judah is rousing already! Here is a savagely optimistic prediction of the future that might have served to inspire the oppressed in a later age: between the World Wars in Europe, for instance, as Jews and others considered possible responses to the growing fascist threat: organized resistance or flight from bondage? In such a climate it would have been imperative to imagine various futures, whether utopian or dystopian, and to act accordingly, at the potential cost of such action wreaking further destruction. Unlike Paul Klees Angelus novus, however, as read during that dire period by Walter Benjamin in his Theses on the Philosophy of History (1940), Zaccaria sees catastrophe not in the past (or indeed present), but still to come. Benjamin intuited a wind blowing Klees angel backwards into the future as it gazes in horror at the past; the wind, which we in the present are inclined to take for progress, mounts ruin upon ruin as it rushes us ceaselessly onward in our fallen stateforward into an ever greater descent. In Zaccarias version of the future as presented in Nabucco, the wind blows not from Paradise but in Babylon, the source not of innocent delight but of evil depravity; and the future the prophet discerns in the darkness is our own present day, in which self-proclaimed theocratic kings make constant war in the name of peace. In a recent re-interpretation of Benjamins ecphrasis, the Swiss cultural theorist Sandro Zanetti draws our attention to the eyes of Klees angel, which are turned very slightly to the right of the paintings viewers. Can it be, Zanetti wonders, that the angel is aghast not so much at the ruins of the past, but at our own inabilityfor we are still, after all, to be counted among those viewersto see the danger in our own present, the threat approaching us from the right? Klees painting, which has been on view as part of an exhibition in Berlin, returns this week to its permanent home: at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. To the country that had once seemed a sanctuary to those threatened by fascismfor all that it had been settled, as in Zaccarias vision, upon the skulls, upon the bonesbut whose political class has now thoroughly thrown in its lot with a resurgence of that same threat, on a geopolitical scale. For my part, when we emerged from the performance that evening in Moutier, I was grateful to live in a country in which shooting ranges are refurbished as opera houses; where territorial disputes are settled at the ballot box rather than on the battlefield; and where a sudden violent irruption from the heavens proves not the madness of a savage tyrant, but the civic prudence of hail insurance. Thai police have set up a Facebook page for people to report monks behaving badly. Photograph: Rungroj Yongrit/EPA The disappearance of a respected monk from his Buddhist temple in central Bangkok has revealed a sex scandal that has rocked Thailand, with allegations of blackmail, lavish gifts and a string of dismissals raising questions about the money and power enjoyed by the countrys orange-robed clergy. Investigations into the whereabouts of senior monk Phra Thep Wachirapamok unexpectedly led police to a woman who the police suspect conducted intimate relationships with several senior monks, and then blackmailed them to keep the liaisons quiet. When police searched her home this month they found mobile phones that reportedly contained tens of thousands of compromising photos and videos of the missing monk, and several other senior Buddhist figures. Police also tracked her finances, which they said showed links to temples. Related: Haze of confusion in Thailand as government flips on cannabis law We checked her financial trail and found that it involves many temples, Jaroonkiat Pankaew, from the Thai polices central investigation bureau told a press briefing on Tuesday. After we seized her mobile, we checked and found that there are several monks involved, and several [video] clips and Line chats, he added, referring to the popular messaging app. Phra Thep Wachirapamok has not been seen since he left the temple and no charges have been laid over his disappearance. But the woman, Wilawan Emsawat, was arrested on Tuesday, and has been charged with extortion, money laundering and receiving stolen goods. Wilawan has not commented fully on the charges, and it is not clear if she has a legal representative. But in an interview with Thai media aired on Wednesday, she admitted to having relationships with two monks and a religious professor. Wilawan also said she received extravagant gifts, including a Mercedes-Benz SLK200 and millions of baht, in the form of bank transfers and a personal bank card. She expressed guilt over the relationships, saying she had fallen in love. Police said that about 385 million baht ($11.9m) had been deposited into Wilawans bank accounts in the past three years. In a separate interview, she said she had given money to another monk she was dating. Stories of misbehaving monks are not uncommon in Thailand, but the scale of this case has shocked many, sparking questions about how monks who are expected uphold the celibate traditions of Theravada Buddhism and refrain from earthly desires seemingly strayed so far from their beliefs. Money, power and titles The salacious scandal, which has dominated the news in the south-east Asian nation, has led to the defrocking and dismissal of at least nine abbots and senior monks. One monk implicated faces two charges: embezzlement of temple funds and official misconduct, while investigations into others are ongoing. The monk admitted to loaning money from the temple funds, but said it was to help Wilawan with a business endeavour. This is the first time I have seen a scandal like this, said Paiwan Wannabud, who spent almost 20 years in the monkhood before leaving in 2021, and is now an LGBT influencer. While much of the coverage has focused on the woman at the centre of the scandal, Paiwan says the case raises important questions about the money, power and titles that enable such behaviour a sentiment reflected in recent op-eds. When the clergys moral decay is in full view, its the woman who takes the fall while the monks are cast as victims, wrote one commentator, Sanitsuda Ekachai, in the Bangkok Post, deriding what she said was a feudal-like system in which monks live in privilege, surrounded by wealth and deference. Another op-ed published by Thai broadcaster PBS thanked Wilawan for her role in exposing the conduct, saying: Without her, these deep-rooted malpractices might never have come to light. Monks in Thailand receive monthly food allowances of between 2,500-34,200 baht (57-785), depending on their rank, but temples and monks also receive donations. The latter can prove especially lucrative for monks of higher stature, who might be given tens of thousands of baht, or even more, by wealthy individuals. In a separate case earlier this month, the abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok raised eyebrows when he reported the theft of 10 million baht (229,000) in cash and gold bars from his room. Acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, ordered authorities last week to consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temples, especially in relation to temple finances. Temples are required to disclose their earnings. The National Office of Buddhism, which said monks will be investigated no matter how senior they are, has also suggested reviving a draft law that carries criminal penalties for those who damage the reputation of Buddhism, including through sexual misconduct. In response to the crisis, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a royal command on Tuesday, cancelling earlier announcements that had granted ecclesiastical titles to dozens of senior monks. Meanwhile Thai Police have promised to continue investigations across the country with the central investigation bureau setting up a Facebook page for people to report monks behaving badly. Paiwan said that faith in Buddhism would remain, but that trust in monks may deteriorate. They were lost to their passion and their lust, she said. Monty Python star Eric Idle has said Reform UK leader Nigel Farage being taken seriously is appalling to me after post-Brexit issues meant he was unable to see his Spamalot musical opening in Paris last year. The 82-year-old comedian told the PA news agency he had now applied for a talent visa in France, where he has a home, in the hope it will help him avoid a similar issue happening again. Claiming Brexit rules limited his options, he told PA: Eight years ago, we could go and live in any country in Europe we wanted to and work, and I wasnt even allowed to vote (in the EU referendum) because I lived here (in the US). I mean, (Brexit) was just a terrible con, it was a real con, and (the fact) that Nigel Farago (Farage) still exists anywhere and is taken seriously is appalling to me. I was with somebody she said, I hope I never see him in a room, because I want to punch him. Idle said he was only able to spend three months a year at the home he built in Provence as a result of Brexit, in a recent interview with The Guardian. He told PA: Ive applied for a talent visa in France, they have a little talent visa, and I feel Im due one, because last year Spamalot won the Moliere, which is the equivalent of their Tony from Paris. And they love their Monty Python here (in France), we won that, we won the Jury Prize for The Meaning Of Life at the Cannes Film Festival, so they do know Python. Eric Idle will head out on a UK tour in September (Eric Idle/Note by Note Media) So Im hopeful that Ill get a little bit of an extension so I dont have to get kicked out, because I was kicked out two years ago, I had to leave, and I couldnt go and see the opening in Paris because I didnt have another day. I wrote to Monsieur Macron, and offered him a ticket if hed let me in, and I said, only one ticket, because I dont want to be accused of bribery, but I never heard back. Spamalot is the stage adaptation of the Monty Python film Holy Grail (1975), which has previously seen acclaimed productions on Broadway and Londons West End. Idle now lives in Los Angeles in the US and thinks he could also be made to leave that country if he jokes about US President Donald Trump. He said: I think its quite likely Im only a green card holder that I will be given the boot. The comedian will return to the UK in September for a solo tour, which will see him perform at venues including Londons Royal Albert Hall, Birmingham Symphony Hall and Glasgows Armadillo. He is best known for his appearances in the Monty Pythons Flying Circus TV series alongside Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Jones, Michael Palin, and Terry Gilliam, and its spin-off films Holy Grail, Life Of Brian (1979) and The Meaning Of Life (1983). Idle also created The Rutles with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Bands Neil Innes, a parody band of The Beatles, which featured in two mockumentaries in All You Need Is Cash (1978) and The Rutles 2: Cant Buy Me Lunch (2003). Mr Farages Reform UK party have been contacted for comment. Dr James Wade (left) and Dr Seb Falk claim to have solved the medieval literary puzzle which has confounded scholars for almost 130 years - University of Cambridge/SWNS A mystery surrounding a lost poem or story referenced by Geoffrey Chaucer may have been solved after scientists corrected a 900-year-old typo. The Tale of Wade, referred to by the Father of English Poetry in two of his works, was popular in the medieval period but has been almost entirely lost. Chaucer inserted references from the Wade story into tales of romance in his own work, including passages of Troilus and Cressida and The Canterbury Tales, but nobody knew why. The one surviving fragment of the tale was discovered by scholars in 1896, but this only added to the confusion with the story seemingly dealing with the subject of elves. But now Cambridge experts claim to have solved the mystery by correcting a typo made by a medieval scribe. It has been revealed the word elves in the Wade fragment was an error, and should have read wolves. Part of the sermon mentioning Wade - University of Cambridge/SWNS The alteration has changed the scholarly view of the Wade story, which now appears to have been a straightforward romantic tale, and therefore more fitting for Chaucer to have referenced in his own work. The breakthrough, detailed today in The Review of English Studies, was made by Dr James Wade and Dr Seb Falk at the University of Cambridges Girton College. Dr Falk said: Changing elves to wolves makes a massive difference. It shifts this legend away from monsters and giants into the human battles of chivalric rivals. Dr Wade added: It wasnt clear why Chaucer mentioned Wade in the context of courtly intrigue. Our discovery makes much more sense of this. The breakthrough was made by looking again at the fragment found in a Cambridge library in the 19th century. This scrap of material, which dates back to the the 12th century, was a sermon that appeared to quote a line from the tale, saying: Some are elves and some are adders; some are sprites that dwell by waters: there is no man, but Hildebrand only. Dr Wade and Dr Falk found that certain letters were poorly written by a medieval scribe, who confused a runic letter that was still found in Middle English, and pronounced w with the letter y. That, they said, turned wlves into ylves. By correcting the medieval spelling, they arrived at a new version, which read: Some are wolves and some are adders; some are sea-snakes that dwell by the water. There is no man at all but Hildebrand. The tale appears to be a more down-to-earth medieval romance about human characters rather than supernatural ones. Its inclusion in a sermon may also have been intended to reach as wide an audience as possible. Dr Falk added: Here we have a late-12th-century sermon deploying a meme from the hit romantic story of the day. This is very early evidence of a preacher weaving pop culture into a sermon to keep his audience hooked. Annabelle, the doll used in the horror movie, pictured above (Warner Bros) The longtime handler of the infamous Annabelle doll that inspired The Conjuring film franchise has died at the age of 54 while on tour with the haunted toy. Dan Rivera, a lead investigator with the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR), passed away suddenly over the weekend during a paranormal event in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. His death was confirmed in a statement shared by NESPR on Facebook. No cause of death has been released. Its with deep sadness that Tony, Wade, and I share the sudden passing of our close friend and partner, Dan Rivera, wrote fellow investigator Chris Gilloren alongside a photo of Rivera. We are heartbroken and still processing this loss. Dan truly believed in sharing his experiences and educating people on the paranormal. His kindness and passion touched everyone who knew him, he continued. Thank you for your support and kind thoughts during this difficult time. Riveras passing was announced on Facebook (New England Society for Psychic Research / Facebook) The Connecticut native had been accompanying the real-life Raggedy Ann doll, which is housed in the Warrens Occult Museum, on the Devils on the Run Tour, hosted by Ghostly Images of Gettysburg and NESPR. The event, held at Gettysburgs Haunted Orphanage, was billed as a night of paranormal history featuring the notorious doll. Despite Riveras passing, the tour is set to continue in the coming months. Annabelle is scheduled to appear in Augusta, Maine, on September 6 and 7, followed by events in Rock Island, Illinois, on October 4, and at ScareFest Weekend 17 in Lexington, Kentucky, from October 17 to 19. Riveras death comes just months after online rumours claimed the Annabelle doll had vanished during a stop in Louisiana. The speculation intensified after visitors claimed they hadnt seen the doll on display, and a nearby fire at a former plantation, the Nottoway Resort. Rivera swiftly shut down the speculation in a TikTok video, showing the doll safely locked inside its case at the museum. Annabelle is not missing; shes not in Chicago, he said. Im here at the museum right now Lets go inside and lets check. Annabelle gained global notoriety after appearing in 2013s The Conjuring, before headlining her own film series: Annabelle (2014), Annabelle: Creation (2017), and Annabelle Comes Home (2019). An RAF plane at Brize Norton in 2021, after evacuating Afghans and Britons as the Taliban took Kabul - Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty The whistleblower who first warned ministers of the kill list Afghan data breach was tricked into a super-injunction, The Telegraph can disclose. The woman known as Person A sent an email to James Heappey, the Armed Forces minister at the time, informing him that lives of Afghans who had supported British troops were at risk. The woman said she received no reply from Mr Heappey, but after she posted concerns on social media, she was contacted by officials at the Ministry of Defence (MoD). They invited her to a virtual meeting where she was slapped with a super-injunction, preventing her from discussing the leak of the records of 25,000 Afghans who had applied for asylum to the UK. The super-injunction, which was finally lifted on Tuesday after almost two years, prevented the woman from raising the issue of the leak. The super-injunction was so wide-ranging that anybody served with it could not even acknowledge its existence. Person A, an independent volunteer caseworker helping Afghans who worked with British troops to relocate to safe countries, said the injunction prevented her from helping them reach safe houses to avoid capture or murder by the Taliban. The Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in the fall of Kabul in 2021 and claim they obtained the MoD database shortly after it was leaked in February 2022. In an interview with The Telegraph, Person A said she was first made aware of the leak on Aug 14 2023 when an anonymous member of a Facebook group used by 1,300 Afghans needing to relocate wrote that he was in possession of the database, adding: I want to use it. He posted a sample list of nine Afghans who had applied to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) scheme to show it was genuine. Person A was made aware of the post and emailed Mr Heappey at 9.57am on Aug 15 2023, telling the minister: The Taliban may well now have a 33,000 long kill list essentially provided to them by the UK government. She added: If any of these families are murdered, the Government will be liable. She accused the MoD of severe negligence regarding data security. Person A told The Telegraph: I didnt hear anything so I sent him something on Twitter that said its really disappointing that the Armed Forces minister doesnt respond to national security issues and I got a reply in four minutes personally from James Heappey. Mr Heappey thanked Person A for her discretion she had not mentioned the nature of her concern on Twitter. She subsequently deleted her post. By that stage, the MoD was aware of a leak but had no idea how the database had been put into the public domain. In fact it was accidentally sent by a soldier to Afghan contacts to check the credentials of applicants to the Arap scheme. An entire spreadsheet of 25,000 records was accidentally circulated. Person A was then contacted by a senior official involved in relocating Afghans who requested a meeting. Person A declined to make the trip to London and instead a meeting on the virtual platform Teams was set up for Sept 18. Afghan soldiers on patrol with British forces in Helmand province in 2007 - Marco Di Lauro/Getty The official hosting the meeting asked her if she had any mobile phones switched on and if anybody else was present before informing she was being served with a super-injunction. It was outrageous, she recalled. When I first saw the leak we got in touch with our people and told them: If you can move, then move. But as soon as the injunction hit me I couldnt warn any of the other cases. I had no idea these super-injunctions even existed. I was even frightened to Google it in case I got carted off to the Tower of London. I didnt even have a lawyer. I had absolutely no clue. I thought I was getting a debriefing about the leak. She was told she was being served with the injunction which arrived by email a few minutes later. By that time a month after she had first been made aware of the leak Person A had managed to reach out to the majority of the 65 families she was helping to get relocated to the UK. But the super-injunction made warning hundreds of others difficult because she was now banned from telling volunteer caseworkers about the leak. There were another 450 families I couldnt contact, she said. It was possible, she said, that the initial injunction had helped to save some lives because it prevented news of the existence of the database leak from entering the public domain. But any advantage was short-lived and she believes that the super-injunction stopped caseworkers like her from being able to get people to safety. The Taliban have claimed they were in receipt of the leak from early on and Person A said: They will very quickly have realised what this was. They will have recognised some of the names on there. They were really high-profile people on there. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German chancellor Friedrich Merz signed the most comprehensive deal between the two countries since 1945 - Frank Augstein/Pool via REUTERS Britain and Germany are launching a joint military project to build a super-Taurus long-range missile system, German media reported on Thursday. The two nations have agreed within the next 10 years or so to develop a type of super-Taurus missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres, according to Politicos Berlin Playbook newsletter. Germany already possesses an estimated 600 Taurus missiles, which have a range of 500km and are considered to be among the most powerful weapons in the countrys arsenal. Taurus KEPD 350 The weapons are controversial as Chancellor Friedrich Merzs government, as well as that of his predecessor Olaf Scholz, have refused to allow Ukraine to use the powerful missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia, such as the Kremlin in Moscow or the Kerch bridge in occupied Crimea. Mr Merz will on Thursday sign a wide-ranging friendship treaty with Sir Keir Starmer in London, which includes a mutual assistance clause on coming to each others defence and a roadmap for lucrative arms deals. The treaty, which will also increase Germanys support of efforts to stop cross-channel migrant smuggling, is said to be the most comprehensive deal between Germany and Britain since 1945. While Germany and the UK are already committed to defend each other under Article 5 of Nato, the new treaty is an attempt to reinforce that partnership at a bilateral level. It is also part of what UK officials describe as a new triangle alliance emerging between the UK, Germany and France in response to the growing threat posed by Russia. The UK-Germany super-Taurus project, which has not been officially confirmed, is part of wider efforts by Mr Merz to transform his country into a major European security power. In May, the centre-Right Christian Democrats party [CDU] leader passed historic reforms which unlock potentially unlimited defence spending in Germany. Mr Merz has created a special 500bn (430bn) infrastructure fund to repair the countrys crumbling road and rail network, which will be needed to transport tanks and troops to Natos eastern flank if war breaks out in Russia. A return to conscription is being considered by his coalition government, which includes the centre-Left Social Democrats party. Germany abandoned its conscription model over a decade ago as it was deeply unpopular and considered to no longer be necessary. Germany and Britain have also committed to a longer term Nato target of spending five per cent of annual GDP on defence by 2035. Matthew Hall (Facebook) A British hiker missing for over a week after sending a last text message that he was lost has been found dead, according to reports. Matthew Hall had not been seen since July 9 when he set off from the B&B Ploncher hotel in Chiavenna, Lombardy, to go for a hike. He sent I lost the path and stopped to rest in his last text message to his friend after setting off into the mountains. He was found dead in a crevice close to where he sent his last message on Wednesday, according to Italys biggest newspaper Corriere Della Sera. Search teams spotted his body and a helicopter had to be used to recover him because of the high risk to rescuers, it was reported. The alarm was raised by the hotels owners after Matthew did not collect his breakfast for several days, while they initially thought he had left early for hikes. But on the day of checkout, the owners found his belongings were untouched and that his backpack was not in his room. The 33-year-old, from Hull, was supposed to fly home on Saturday July 12 but failed to make contact with his friends and family back home. A Foreign Office spokesperson has been contacted. They said previously: "We are supporting the family of a British man missing in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities." British troops shelter as their helicopter departs in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in 2009 - Susannah Ireland The identities of British special forces and MI6 operatives were in a leaked database that is thought to have fallen into the hands of the Taliban, it can be revealed. Scores of Special Forces personnel and spies identities are understood to have been included in a spreadsheet containing the names of almost 25,000 Afghan soldiers, government workers and their family members. They had applied to be moved to the UK after the Western military withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, but found themselves in potentially more danger of Taliban reprisals after the list was published online. Senior military officers, including a major-general and a brigadier, are reported to be among the United Kingdom Special Forces (UKSF) personnel named. tHE Identities of spies and special forces soldiers are among the British states most closely-guarded secrets. One of the most damaging leaks of classified information in history, the scheme to relocate around 24,000 Afghans to Britain will cost up to 7bn. The British personnel were included in the leaked database because they had personally vouched for Afghans on the list. Sources familiar with what happened said the leaked spreadsheet was a copy of the master database used by the MoD to process applications from Afghans to be relocated to Britain. It can now be revealed that the database included the names, family names, telephone numbers and email addresses for thousands of Afghans. It did not contain photographs or home addresses, however. As well as those details, some entries included details of those who could confirm individual Afghans bona fides. In more than 100 cases, those were British special forces personnel and MI6 spies. Gut-wrenching Johnny Mercer, the former Conservative veterans minister who served in Afghanistan, said it was gut-wrenching to learn that the identities of UKSF soldiers and MI6 agents were likely to have fallen into the hands of the Taliban. Mr Mercer said: I fought in Afghanistan to defeat the Taliban. It is gut-wrenching, after all that blood was spilt, that this database may have fallen into their hands. I dont disagree with the decision to get the injunction when this first came to light, but it was mad that it went on for so long. Now people need to be able to protect themselves, and we must look after these Afghan Special Forces properly. Mr Mercer believes that members of the so-called Triples Afghan special forces who worked with British personnel should all be brought to Britain for their own safety. Ministry of Defence (MoD) lawyers applied for a last-minute injunction banning the press from reporting the detail, even as they accepted that a super-injunction blocking any mention of the Afghan data leak would be discharged. After that super-injunction was lifted, The Telegraph was able to report on Tuesday that Taliban sources claimed to have obtained the spreadsheet in 2022 potentially more than a year before the MoD knew it had been accidentally leaked. The fact that the leaked database included details of MI6 operatives and UKSF personnel was reported by The Sun and The Daily Express on Wednesday and Thursday, yet the MoD insisted for most of Thursday that those facts could not be reported by press outlets that were subject to the original super-injunction. It can also be reported now that James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, asked in Parliament about whether an apparent third party who obtained some of the data was engaged in blackmail against the MoD. The Telegraph remains banned from reporting extra details around Parliamentary statements about the breach, made by ministers and senior opposition frontbenchers alike. Along with other news outlets that challenged the super-injunction, The Telegraph also remains prohibited from reporting what the MoDs internal risk assessments about the breach said at various points over the last two years. According to the Rimmer Review into the leak, carried out by the retired former head of Defence Intelligence at the request of John Healey, the Defence Secretary, the risk to the individuals named is now low enough for news of the leak to be published. Yet the public is not allowed to examine why or how Mr Rimmers conclusion was so different from that of full-time professionals inside the MoD. Accidental leak in 2022 A Royal Marine tasked with vetting people who had applied to the Governments Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (Arap) accidentally leaked the database in February 2022. He emailed what he believed was a small portion of it to a group of Afghans who were helping identify genuine applicants. Although the scheme was meant to be only for those who worked with the British forces, many applied anyway in the hope of getting lucky. Thousands of desperate Afghans hoping to flee the new regime of the Taliban, which had seized control in 2021 after the British and US withdrawal, had applied to Arap. Yet instead of sending a small extract to his Afghan contacts in Britain, the Marine emailed them a spreadsheet containing hidden data relating to all 25,000 Arap applicants at the time. The MoD has not explained how the Marine had access to the full database, understood to contain the identities and contact details of every single Arap applicant. The MoD has been approached for comment. Diane Abbott could be suspended by the Labour Party again after doubling down on controversial comments - Phil Lewis/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Diane Abbott has stood by her racism comments. It has left Labour considering whether to suspend her again after she doubled down on her claim that Jews experience racism differently to black people. Ms Abbott claimed on Thursday it was silly to liken racism based on skin colour to racism faced by Jewish and Traveller communities. The Labour MP and Mother of the House made the remark while defending her notorious letter to the Observer in 2023. Ms Abbotts suggestion that Jewish and Irish people were not subject to racism all their lives led to Sir Keir Starmer suspending her for just over a year. At the time, she indicated that she regretted the comments, apologising for any anguish caused and saying she wished to wholly and unreservedly withdraw her remarks. But speaking to BBC Radio 4s Reflections programme, Ms Abbott said: Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you dont know. You dont know unless you stop to speak to them or youre in a meeting with them. But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that theyre black. There are different types of racism. You can spot that person of colour from hundreds of yards away. That is what is different. She added: I just think that its silly to try and claim that racism, which is about skin colour, is the same as other types of racism. I dont know why people would say that. Labour responded by saying it would take her remarks incredibly seriously and would assess them in line with its disciplinary procedure. A party spokesman said: There is no place for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. We take these comments incredibly seriously, and will assess them in line with the Labour Partys rules and procedures. Ms Abbott, the longest-serving female MP in the Commons, said she got a bit weary about people labelling her anti-Semitic and said she had spent a lifetime fighting racism of all kinds. She faced furious backlash over her previous comments and was eventually forced to apologise for any anguish caused by the letter. Her letter was critiquing an article by Tomiwa Owolade, which cited research suggesting Jewish people are among those most likely to say they have experienced racist abuse. She wrote at the time: It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships. Her comments came against a backdrop of historical claims of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. The party condemned her remarks as deeply offensive at the time. She was readmitted to the party before the 2024 general election. Labout trying to get me out Ms Abbott has previously spoken about suffering racist abuse. She received 10 times as much abuse as any other female MP in the run-up to the 2017 general election, according to research by Amnesty International. In 2018, she said her staff spent a considerable amount of time removing or blocking social media posts of a highly offensive racist and misogynist character. Last year, it was revealed she had been the subject of racist remarks by Frank Hester, the Tory partys biggest donor at the time, who had allegedly said that she made him want to hate all black women and should be shot. Elsewhere in the interview, Ms Abbott said she was grateful to be a Labour MP but claimed that in 2023 the party leadership had been trying to get me out. She has been one of Sir Keirs most vocal critics during the first year of the Labour Government, speaking out against the partys policies on benefit cuts, the two-child benefit cap and the winter fuel allowance. Ms Abbott has also criticised the Prime Minister for his position on the Gaza conflict, saying he has not gone far enough to oppose Israel and calling for further sanctions against the country. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, is said to feel let down by ministers - Chris Jackson/Getty Images Downing Street has refused to rule out seeking super-injunctions in the future despite anger over the Afghan data leak cover-up. As more details of the controversy emerged on Thursday, free speech campaigners said the use of the courts to prevent the public from knowing about the security breach and subsequent secret asylum scheme should never be repeated. Sir Lindsay Hoyle, the Commons Speaker, has ordered an urgent review of the actions of successive governments in keeping him and MPs in the dark about the covert programme to bring up to 24,000 Afghans to the UK at a potential cost of 7bn. He is not expected to take any action until the Clerk of the Commons has completed the review, but has made it clear in private that he feels let down by the current and previous administrations. Two years ago, the High Court granted a super-injunction banning anyone, including MPs and the media, from revealing that the names of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to come to the UK had been accidentally leaked by a Royal Marine. It also prevented the public from finding out that billions of pounds had been set aside for a scheme to bring some of the people affected to the UK. A source close to Sir Lindsay said: He was told about the super-injunction when it was first imposed, when it was to protect the identities of people involved in a data breach, but he was never updated on the terms of the injunction being changed in subsequent hearings, or that the intelligence and security committee hadnt been informed. He wants quick answers on this because he feels angry and let down. He is annoyed at the way the details of what happened are being drip-fed to the public now. However, asked whether the Prime Minister would rule out ever seeking super-injunctions in the future, a Downing Street spokesman said: Were not going to comment on a hypothetical situation, but our broad principle is, of course, that government business should be carried out transparently and as transparently as possible. Lord Beamish, the chairman of the intelligence and security committee, took the unusual step of releasing a public statement making clear the committees displeasure with the Government. He said it had demanded to be provided with defence intelligence reports relating to Operation Rubific the codename for the Governments response to the data breach as well as the legal advice given to ministers that kept it in the dark. The committee, which oversees the work of the security services, is made up of MPs and peers who are security cleared to handle highly classified material. Meanwhile, Lord Young, the founder of the Free Speech Union, said he would like governments to be prevented from being granted super-injunctions, either by law or a convention in the courts. He said: There are some circumstances in which it is clearly right for governments to be able to keep things secret, but I would have thought those circumstances are all covered and then some by the Official Secrets Act. The problem with governments being able to silence the press via super-injunctions is that theyll inevitably make use of them to save themselves from political embarrassment, which was clearly a factor in this case. Dr Bryn Harris, the chief legal counsel of the FSU, added: Ministers and government departments are not private citizens they belong indissociably to the public sphere, where their actions can be scrutinised and held to account. The use of super-injunctions to cosset ministers, as though they were embarrassed celebrities rather than servants of the Crown, is new, abhorrent and must never be repeated. David Davis, the former Cabinet minister and free speech campaigner, said: A super-injunction for up to three months would have been justifiable to get Afghans out, but the intelligence and security committee, and the defence select committee, should all know about it. Whitehall has a propensity for secrecy, particularly when it has screwed up. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (red arrow) during the alleged assault on Pc Lydia Ward (green dot) - Aamer Anwar/PA Wire A man who attacked police at Manchester airport feared he would be battered to death by an officer, a court heard. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, is accused of assaulting three Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers as they tried to arrest him on the evening of July 23 last year. Pc Zachary Marsden and Pc Ellie Cook, armed officers, attended the Terminal 2 car park pay station area with Pc Lydia Wardafter, an unarmed officer, after reports that a man fitting Mr Amaazs description had headbutted a member of the public. Giving evidence at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday, Mr Amaaz said he had acted in self-defence and in defence of his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, when he was grabbed at the ticket machine with no explanation. He said a police officer, Pc Marsden, took hold of his arm, adding: All of a sudden, I remember him grabbing the back of my neck and trying to force me to the ground. I was frightened. Honestly, I believed if he took me to the ground, I thought he would have battered me to the point where I was dead and he would have killed me. Credit: CPS Imran Khan KC, defending, asked: Why did you think that, Fahir? Mr Amaaz said: Because its not like it has not happened before in the past, that some police officers have abused their powers and as a result of that people have died. Mr Amaaz said he stayed on his feet and looked up to see his brother being punched in the face repeatedly. He told the court: Honestly, I was shocked. I thought: What the hell are these lot doing? Why are they punching him in the face? We have police officers in our family. Mr Khan said: Did you think there was a legitimate reason for them grabbing you in the way they did? Mr Amaaz said: If there was I would have expected them to give me that reason and communicated to us in some way. He went on to strike the two female officers, who were both knocked to the ground, with Pc Ward suffering a broken nose. Credit: CPS He said he kicked out at one of the officers to get him away from Mr Amaaz and then punched Pc Cook for the same reason. Mr Amaaz said he then saw Pc Marsden pointing what he thought was a gun in fact a Taser at his brother. He said: Honestly, I believe this guy is about to shoot and kill my brother. I think I shouted: No! I didnt want him to pull that trigger. He ran towards Pc Marsden and struck him from behind before Pc Cook fired her Taser at him, the court heard. Mr Amaaz said: I believed I had saved my brothers life, then all of a sudden it feels like all the energy has just gone out of me. It felt like the soul being sucked out of my body and everything went stiff. He said he thought he was dying as he held on to Pc Marsden as they both fell backwards. Credit: CPS Mr Amaaz told the jury that he had no hostility towards the police and that another brother, Abid, was a serving GMP officer. He added that his uncle was a GMP officer for 30 years before his retirement and that six cousins were also employed by GMP. Mr Amaaz is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden and Pc Ward, causing them actual bodily harm. He is also accused of the assault of emergency worker Pc Cook, and the earlier assault of a member of the public, Abdulkareem Ismaeil, at a Starbucks cafe in T2 arrivals. Mr Amaad is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden, causing actual bodily harm. Both men, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, deny the allegations. The trial continues. Junior doctors hold placards at a picket line outside St Thomas Hospital - HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP NHS chiefs have vowed to prioritise care over striking junior doctors. The British Medical Association (BMA) planned a five-day walkout at the end of July with resident doctors, as they are now known, demanding a 29 per cent pay rise. Wes Streeting will meet with the chairman of the resident doctors committee on Thursday afternoon in a bid to avert strikes, but has insisted pay is off the table. The head of the health service has said hospital leaders would decide what care is urgent and must be carried out, not the BMA after 1.5 million appointments were cancelled during 11 walkouts across 2023 and 2024. Those strikes were directly linked to five deaths according to coroners prevention of future death reports, with the BMA regularly refusing hospital requests for the doctors in training to cross the picket line. Sir Jim Mackey, the NHS England chief executive, told the Health Service Journal: In past disputes, we have allowed the BMA to determine which care can be carried out during resident doctors strikes. The medics provided a Christmas day service that made sure A&Es were properly staffed but essentially everything else was cancelled, with trusts having to negotiate any exemptions, known as derogations. Sir Jim said: Often those derogations were refused, and trusts had to significantly curtail activity. It also became clear quite quickly that application for derogation was futile so colleagues stopped doing that. This time around, the NHS has insisted that it will take a hardline approach to the BMAs tactics and refusal to help hospitals requesting it, instead asking the union to explain why procedures should not go ahead, rather than the other way around. Sir Jim said he does not accept it is necessary or acceptable to take this approach. If a diagnostic or outpatient clinic, or an elective procedure, has been booked, it should go ahead unless the BMA can present a credible argument as to why it was clinically necessary, but now is not, he added. NHS local leaders, with our support, will decide what care is urgent and must be carried out, not the BMA.. Sir Jims comments were echoed by Mr Streeting, who told MPs on Monday that the doctors union was being shockingly irresponsible in its advice to members. He said the NHS could mitigate against the impact of strikes but could not promise that there will be no consequence and no delay, no further suffering. The Health Secretary revealed that he had a relative waiting for a procedure coinciding with the planned strikes, which begin next week, and his family were dreading an inevitable phone call saying there is going to be a delay. Shockingly irresponsible He said: The other thing that I have found actually shockingly irresponsible about the BMAs position is their leaders seem to be telling their members not to inform their trust or their employers if theyre going out on strike I cannot fathom how any doctor in good conscience would make it harder for managers to make sure we have safe staffing levels, would make it harder for other staff who are going to be turning up to work that day, not least the staff who have not had a higher percentage pay rise, many of whom are paid less than resident doctors. Mr Streeting added that the BMAs approach from start to finish has been completely wrong. Proposals to avert strikes on Thursday could include changes to the resident doctors career progression, which could raise their pay sooner, as well as changes to generous taxpayer-funded pensions in exchange for more pay now. Hospitals trying to organise cover for striking doctors can use consultants or get other resident doctors not scheduled to work to pick up extra shifts, such as through locum work or from their staff bank, which is a pool of doctors locally employed to help provide cover. Laws put in place by the Tories to allow businesses to use agency workers to cover strikes were repealed by the High Court in 2023, making it illegal for NHS trusts to use agency workers. The Conservatives had planned to appeal that decision, but Labour, which won the general election last July, repealed the laws on taking office, making it easier for doctors to strike with maximum disruption. It comes as new figures from the General Medical Council this week showed a record one in four junior doctors are working part-time. Almost a third of female trainees and around one in seven males are part-time, according to a new report by the medical regulator. The most common reason for this, cited by 66 per cent of participants, was a better work-life balance, followed by childcare responsibilities. Adil Khan and Qari Abdul Rauf held dual British-Pakistani citizenship but were stripped of their British nationality after they were convicted - Greater Manchester Police/PA Two ringleaders of the Rochdale grooming scandal could be sent back to Pakistan after the UK dropped its ban on direct flights between the two countries. Ministers are engaged in talks with the Pakistani government to remove a block on the deportations of Qari Abdul Rauf and Adil Khan, two of Britains worst grooming offenders. Rauf and Khan held dual British-Pakistani citizenship but were stripped of their British nationality after being found guilty of being members of the gang. A judge ordered both men to be deported to Pakistan nearly a decade ago, but both renounced their Pakistani citizenship days before a court appeal against the Home Office order. They were then able to successfully argue that they would be left stateless if they were deported and despite judges having rejected their appeals on more than two occasions, they have been able to remain in the UK because Pakistan has refused to accept them. In June, Pakistani government sources indicated to The Telegraph that reinstatement of direct flights between Pakistan and the UK could enable progress in the negotiations to take back the two men. The flights by Pakistan International Airlines have been suspended since 2020 after a plane crash that killed 97 people. However, the British High Commission said on Wednesday that the UK was lifting the ban following safety improvements by Pakistani authorities. The UK has lifted a five-year ban on Pakistan International Airlines after one of its planes crashed in Karachi in May 2020 - Asif Hassan/AFP via Getty Images Paul Waugh, the Labour MP for Rochdale who has urged ministers to deport to Pakistan several men convicted of grooming children, said: This is very welcome news. I know that this decision will have been taken solely on the basis of the safety improvements made by the airline and is not linked to deportations. But it indicates exactly the kind of close working relationship we need between the UK and Pakistan to pave the way for the return of Pakistani nationals deported from the UK, including the men convicted for being Rochdale grooming gang members. The Rochdale child rapists are the most high-profile of those who have exploited the courts and citizenship rules to avoid deportation. Rauf, a 55-year-old father of five and Khan, 54, were jailed in 2012 as ringleaders of a nine-strong gang of Asian men who sexually assaulted 47 girls some as young as 12 after plying them with drink and drugs over two years in Rochdale. The Home Office won a Court of Appeal ruling to deport the pair and a third member of the gang, Abdul Aziz, in 2018 after stripping them of their British citizenship. Rauf and Khan subsequently renounced their Pakistani citizenship in an effort to prevent their deportation. Aziz was allowed to stay in the UK because he had torn up his passport before the 2018 ruling. This meant the Government had to let him stay rather than make him stateless. A Pakistan ministry of interior official warned in June that deportation was not feasible while the flights remained banned. Accepting such criminals is extremely difficult and there is no room in Pakistani society for such offenders. However, if the UK engages in negotiations with Pakistan on this matter [the flights], progress could be made, he said. David Lammy, the Foreign Secretary, has been leading discussions with the Pakistanis on the issue, backed by Home Office ministers. Lord Khan, the faith minister with strong links to Pakistan, has also been engaged. A Home Office spokesman said it would do everything in our power to deport foreign nationals who commit heinous crimes in the UK. The UK and Pakistan are working in partnership on shared migration and return priorities. Both countries recognise and respect our common obligations to return those with no right to remain in our respective countries, he said. Rachael Maskell said she was Labour through and through as she rejected suggestions she might join Jeremy Corbyns new party - Danny Lawson/PA Wire A suspended Labour MP has said it is insulting to be accused of knobheadery. Rachael Maskell was one of four Labour MPs stripped of the party whip on Wednesday as Sir Keir Starmer punished rebels who voted against his flagship welfare reforms. A Government source told The Times some MPs would be suspended for persistent knobheadery and rebelling against Downing Street. But Ms Maskell told LBC: I dont even know what that means, but I think it is really insulting. I am here trying to do a professional job on behalf of people who desperately need a voice. And if that is the contempt with which I and my colleagues are treated, let alone my constituents, I find that really insulting and I hope that is withdrawn. The disciplinary move by the Prime Minister means the four MPs will now sit in the House of Commons as independents, raising questions about their long-term futures. Jeremy Corbyn, the former Labour leader, is in the process of setting up a new Left-wing party, which he said would provide a real alternative. But Ms Maskell, who served on Mr Corbyns front bench as the shadow environment secretary in 2016-17, categorically ruled out joining the new party. Asked whether she would consider the move, she replied: No, no, no. I am Labour through and through. I support the Labour Party. I have been a member for so long, walked the streets, knocked the doors all those years, and of course I want to see a Labour Government really succeed. I really hope from this process, yes there will be reflection over the summer, but also learning. And there needs to be a better reach out to backbenchers to ensure that we are the safeguards of the Government, ensuring that the Government do well. Rachael Maskell with Jeremy Corbyn on the 2017 general election campaign trail - Anna Gowthorpe/PA Wire Ms Maskell was one of the most prominent critics of Sir Keirs original welfare reforms and tabled an amendment that would have killed the legislation. A Labour revolt over the welfare bill extended to 127 MPs at one point, forcing the Government to cave in on its planned cuts to disability benefits, wiping away all of the planned 4.6bn of savings. Ms Maskell, the York Central MP, rejected the suggestion that she had been a ringleader of the rebellion, but signalled that she did not intend to change in terms of speaking out. She said the suspension was not about my behaviour. But told that Sir Keirs decision to withdraw the whip was because of her behaviour and asked whether she intended to change her approach, she replied: I will continue to advocate for my constituents, of course. The other three MPs who lost the whip were Neil Duncan-Jordan, Chris Hinchliff and Brian Leishman. A further three welfare rebels Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammad Yasin lost their trade envoy roles. The punishment was widely seen as an attempt by Sir Keir to reassert his authority after the welfare revolt struck a hammer blow to his premiership. Backbenchers have criticised Sir Keir Starmer's "appalling" decision to suspend four Labour MPs. Critics warned the prime minister's move was a "terrible look" that made "a Reform government much more likely". It comes after Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff, Neil Duncan-Jordan and Rachael Maskell lost the whip, meaning they are no longer part of Labour's parliamentary party and will sit as independent MPs. They had voted against the government's welfare reforms earlier this month. Politics latest: Suspended MPs defend their voting record Ian Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby, wrote on X: "These decisions don't show strength. They are damaging Labour's support and risk rolling out the red carpet for Reform." Richard Burgon, who was temporarily suspended in the two-child benefit cap revolt, added that "challenging policies that harm our communities" would "make a Reform government much more likely". Ian Lavery, Labour MP for Blyth and Ashington, warned the suspensions were "a terrible look". "Dissatisfaction with the direction the leadership is taking us isn't confined to the fringes," he wrote. His backbench colleague Jon Trickett said "it's not a sin to stand up for the poor and disabled" - adding: "Solidarity with the suspended four." Former chancellor John McDonnell defended one of the suspended MPs, Mr Duncan-Jordan, for the so-called "crimes he committed" and "speaking up for his constituents". Three other MPs - who also voted against the government - have had their trade envoy roles removed. They are Rosena Allin Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin. However, it is understood this was not the only reason behind the decision to suspend all seven MPs, with sources citing "repeated breaches of party discipline". More than 100 MPs had initially rebelled against the plan to cut personal independent payments (PIP). Ultimately, 47 voted against the bill's third reading, after it was watered down significantly in the face of defeat. Read more: Who are the suspended Labour MPs? Maskell: 'Speaking truth to power' Ms Maskell was one of the lead rebels in the welfare revolt, and has more recently called for a wealth tax to fund the U-turn. The York Central MP has spoken out against the government on a number of other occasions since the election, including on winter fuel and cuts to overseas aid. Confirming the suspension, Ms Maskell told Sky News that she "doesn't see herself as a rebel" but "somebody that is prepared to fulfil (her) role here of holding the executive to account and speaking truth to power". She stopped short of criticising the decision, saying: "I hold my hand out to the prime minister and hope he takes that and wants to reach back because I think it's really important that we work together." Ms Maskell was first elected in 2015, while the other suspended MPs were newly elected last year. Mr Hinchliff, the MP for North East Hertfordshire, has proposed a series of amendments to the flagship planning and infrastructure bill criticising the government's approach. Mr Duncan-Jordan, the MP for Poole, led a rebellion against the cut to the winter fuel payments while Alloa and Grangemouth MP Mr Leishman has been critical of the government's position on Gaza. 'Couldn't support making people poorer' Mr Duncan-Jordan told Sky News that he understood speaking out against benefit cuts would "come at a cost" but said he "couldn't support making disabled people poorer". Mr Leishman echoed that sentiment, saying: "I firmly believe that it is not my duty as an MP to make people poorer, especially those that have suffered because of austerity and its dire consequences." Both said they remain committed to the Labour Party and its values, suggesting they have no plans to join the new party being set up by former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and ousted MP Zarah Sultana. Similarly Mr Hinchliff said in a brief statement: "I remain proud to have been elected as a Labour MP and I hope in time to return to the Labour benches." The suspensions will be seen as an attempt to restore discipline ahead of the summer recess following a number of rebellions that has forced the government into U-turns. As well as watering down the welfare bill, some cuts to the winter fuel payment have been reversed, leaving Chancellor Rachel Reeves with a fiscal blackhole to fill. From farm to table, at least one in five jobs in the food industry is carried out by immigrants, the equivalent of 14 million workers across the sector. Illustration: The Guardian The Trump administrations assault on immigrants is starting to hit the American food supply. In Texas, farmers who have for years depended on undocumented people for cheap labor to plant, harvest and haul produce have reported that workers are staying home to avoid raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice). In Los Angeles, restaurants and food trucks have been forced to close as the immigrants who cook and wait tables fear Ice and other law enforcement. Farm workers in many states are thinking about leaving the country because they are facing more obstacles to work under this anti-immigrant administration, said Elizabeth Rodriguez, director of farm worker advocacy with National Farm Worker Ministry, a longstanding organization in south Texas. They are scared, there are fewer opportunities, and they are no longer prospering here. Their fear will soon be seen in the harvest, when the quantities of produce are depleted. From farm to table, at least one in five jobs in the food industry is carried out by immigrants, the equivalent of 14 million workers across the sector. This includes 27% of agricultural workers nationwide and 33% of meatpackers. In restaurants, 46% of chefs and 31% of cooks were born outside the US mostly in Mexico, China, Guatemala and El Salvador. These jobs are critical: immigrants made up a disproportionate number of essential workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, and many were exposed to unsafe conditions so that crops could be harvested, cows milked and takeout delivered. Whether its the workers behind the scenes in meatpacking plants or on the frontlines of the grocery store, our country relies heavily on the labor of immigrants to keep our food system running and our families fed, said Mark Lauritsen, international vice-president at United Food and Commercial Workers International Union. Without a stable, skilled workforce, safety and quality can decline, shelves can sit empty and grocery prices could rise even more. Yet food industry jobs, from fields to slaughterhouses and supermarkets to delivery drivers, are notoriously difficult and often low-paid: sometimes as little as $7.25 per hour, the federal minimum wage. Farmhands are often paid only a few dollars per box of tomatoes or cabbages harvested - backbreaking work with no shade. American food companies rely on undocumented people for almost half of the most physical jobs, including the farm laborers who cultivate crops, tend livestock and build fences, as well as the meat processors who slaughter, eviscerate and package at high speeds. Most Americans understand this. In the run-up to last years election, 75% of registered voters told Pew Research that they believed undocumented immigrants mostly fill jobs US citizens dont want to do. And now, with Ice raids and mass deportations, these jobs have become even more dangerous. At least one farm worker, Jaime Alanis, a 57-year-old Mexican man, has died after falling from a greenhouse trying to escape armed Ice agents during a raid in southern California last week. In response to these terrifying Ice raids which are spreading and becoming more violent, some farm workers in California are planning a strike in coming weeks and will be calling on consumers to boycott produce. It is appalling to see the threat of violence and deportation that immigrant workers face every day. These people play a crucial role in restaurants, and more importantly in the community, said Elyanna Calle, a restaurant worker in Austin, Texas, and president of Restaurant Workers United. A raid, a deportation means the destruction of a life someone has fought to build; it means the destruction of families and vibrant communities. I have seen my co-workers fear for their safety, I have seen them go into fight or flight mode at the prospect of an Ice raid this is not something that any person, any immigrant deserves. If the Trump administration oversees even a fraction of its promised mass deportation of 11 million undocumented immigrants, it could lead to major disruptions across the food system: crops left to spoil in the fields, supermarket shelves unstocked, takeout deliveries delayed and food prices soaring even higher. It could also upend rural economies that depend on migrant workers and their families who live, work and go to school in small declining communities. All of this will have a huge impact on the rest of us because the immigrant community contributes much more than their labor; they pay taxes, said Rodriguez. They invest in the economy, and if they make less money, we all make less, and when corporations make less, they increase prices so we lose again. Data for this piece, unless otherwise noted, come from the Migration Policy Institute Two senior Trump officials visited Alcatraz Thursday to announce plans to convert it back into a federal prison, which one Democrat called the presidents "stupidest initiative yet." Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has been mired in controversy since the contentious release of the Epstein Files last week, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited the island in San Francisco Bay. Sharing photos from a boat on the way to the island, as well as inside the prison, Burgum wrote on X, Spent the day on Alcatraz Island, a @NatlParkService site, to start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals. This administration is restoring safety, justice, and order to our streets. @Interior & @TheJusticeDept are following a directive by @POTUS to help lead that mission. In an interview with Fox News from the facility, Burgum claimed, Alcatraz is the brand known around the world for being effective at housing people that are in incarceration. Its original use was a prison, and so part of this [visit] would be to test the feasibility of returning it back to its original use, he said. Meanwhile, Bondi tweeted, A great morning at Alcatraz with @SecretaryBurgum. Under President Trump, we are Making America Safe Again. The White House didnt confirm the duos visit before their online remarks, but a plane marked "United States of America" arrived in the Bay Area Wednesday night, accompanied by officials and a police-led motorcade. Doug Burgum and Pam Bondi shared this photo of themselves on their way to Alcatraz Island on Thursday. (X/@AGPamBondi) Doug Burgum and Pam Bondi shared this photo of themselves on their way to Alcatraz Island on Thursday. (X/@AGPamBondi) The Independent has contacted the White House for comment. Trump first proposed reopening Alcatraz as a prison in May, calling the island a sad symbol, but its a symbol of law and order. Bureau of Prisons officials subsequently visited the island at Trumps direction to evaluate the feasibility of reopening it as a high-security prison for violent offenders. Attorney General Pam Bondi (left) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (middle) visited Alcatraz on Thursday, with Bondi tweeting that it was a Attorney General Pam Bondi (left) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (middle) visited Alcatraz on Thursday, with Bondi tweeting that it was a "great day" to do so. (X/@SecretaryBurgum) Golden Gate National Recreation Area superintendent David Smith said the bureau had conducted initial assessments and planned to return for further structural evaluations. Alcatraz is safe for visitors and maintained by the National Park Service, but some buildings have deteriorated, and restoration could cost over $1 billion. Alcatraz became part of the Golden Gate National Parks in 1972 and opened to the public the following year. (Getty) Alcatraz became part of the Golden Gate National Parks in 1972 and opened to the public the following year. (Getty) Alcatraz, which once housed notorious inmates Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Robert Stroud (the "Birdman of Alcatraz"), and James "Whitey" Bulger, closed in 1963 due to high operating costs. It became part of the Golden Gate National Parks in 1972 and opened to the public the following year. Alcatraz generates around $60 million annually in tourism and has been featured in several films, including The Rock, Escape from Alcatraz, Birdman of Alcatraz, Murder in the First, Point Blank, and X-Men: The Last Stand. The idea of transforming Alcatraz back into a prison has attracted heavy criticism from state and local leaders. California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi called it Trumps "stupidest initiative yet." "It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies, her office said in a statement. Attorney General Pam Bondi (pictured) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are set to visit Alcatraz on Thursday to announce plans to reopen it as a federal prison. (Getty) Attorney General Pam Bondi (pictured) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are set to visit Alcatraz on Thursday to announce plans to reopen it as a federal prison. (Getty) San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie noted: Theres no realistic plan to make Alcatraz reopen as anything other than a wonderful attraction than it currently is. California Governor Gavin Newsom's Press Office added: "Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So... never." In May, President Donald Trump called Alcatraz Island a sad symbol, but its a symbol of law and order. (Getty) In May, President Donald Trump called Alcatraz Island a sad symbol, but its a symbol of law and order. (Getty) Charlie Hopkins, one of the last living Alcatraz inmates, told ABC7 New York that he doubts Trump actually wants to reopen the prison and was instead trying to draw attention to the crime rate. When I was on Alcatraz, a rat couldnt survive, Hopkins, now in his 90s, said. The wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787 after it crashed on 12 June outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport. (Reuters) (Reuters / Reuters) A recording of a conversation between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month supports the view that the captain cut off fuel to the planes engines seconds after takeoff, it has been reported. The London-bound Boeing 787 flight lost thrust seconds after taking off on 12 June, crashing into a medical student hostel in Ahmedabad, killing 260 people in total, including 52 Britons. Investigators did not identify in a preliminary report released on 12 July which remarks were made by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and which by First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively. However, a US official told the Reuters news agency that the first officer, who was at the controls of the plane, asked the captain why he moved the fuel switches into a position that cut the engines of fuel. The matter remains under investigation with a final report expected within a year of when the accident took place. As the probe continues, here are some of the unanswered questions about the crash. Why were the fuel switches cut off? The preliminary report said both of the plane's fuel switches moved to the "cut-off" position "immediately" after take-off, stopping fuel supply to the engine. The report reads: "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut-off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so." The switches were then returned to their normal in-flight position, which triggered an automatic engine relight and a thrust recovery procedure. While the engines started to recover, it was already too late, and the plane crashed. It has raised questions about what happened with the switches. Professor Graham Braithwaite, director of aerospace and aviation at Cranfield University, said these are used at the end of every flight and in emergency scenarios such as a fire. Debris of the Air India plane in the aftermath of the crash last month. (AFP via Getty Images) (PUNIT PARANJPE via Getty Images) They are designed so they cannot easily be "accidentally" turned off and pilots would generally run through a checklist before doing so, he told the Press Association. Prof Braithwaite said that if the switch had been moved by a person, that would have been a "very unusual thing to do" at below 1,000 feet (304m). "It's not the point of flight where you try and call for your coffee, it's a period of flight where your focus is very, very clear, and that first 1,000 feet, it's about keeping the airplane climbing and that's not about clicking switches." The switches flipped a second apart, the report said, roughly the time it would take to shift one and then the other, US aviation expert John Nance told the Reuters news agency. Like Prof Braithwaite, he said a pilot would never normally turn the switches off in flight, especially as the plane is starting to climb. A precautionary investigation by Air India of its other Boeing 787 aircraft found "no issues" with the locking mechanism of the planes' fuel control switches. The airline said it had complied with the regulator's directives. What was the role of the pilots? The fuel switch information has raised questions over the role of the pilots. Bhaval Shah, a family friend of Kinal Mistry, 24, who died in the crash, told The Times: "If these switches can't be turned off easily and if no software glitch could have been responsible, then it is deliberate, isn't it? Then it's sabotage or suicide." Watch: Fuel cut-off on 787 "can't happen by accident" But there has been pushback against this narrative given it was only a preliminary report. India's civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu told local news channels: "We care for the welfare and the wellbeing of pilots so let's not jump to any conclusions at this stage, let us wait for the final report." The Indian Commercial Pilots' Association, quoted in the Hindustan Times, also said last Sunday it is "deeply disturbed by speculative narratives emerging in sections of the media and public discourse particularly the reckless and unfounded insinuation of pilot suicide. Let us be unequivocally clear: there is absolutely no basis for such a claim at this stage." What was said in the cockpit? Kunder, who was flying the plane, asked Sabharwal why he moved the fuel switches to the "cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway, the Wall Street Journal reported. The preliminary report did not contain a transcript of the pilots' communications in the cockpit. This would have been captured by the cockpit voice recorder, which was recovered from the wreckage. Peter Goelz, a former managing director of the US National Transportation Safety Board, said "there's likely much more on the cockpit voice recorder than what's been shared". It comes as families of the victims have demanded transparency. Akeel Nanabawa, Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sara Nanabawa. (PA) (Family handout/BBC/PA Wire) Heer, left, and Dhir Baxi, right, with their grandmother. (PA) (Family handout/PA Wire) Relatives of Akeel Nanabawa, his wife Hannaa Vorajee and their four-year-old daughter Sara Nanabawa, who died in the crash, said: "Moving forwards, we require honesty, transparency, and an unwavering commitment to uncovering the full truth." Ishan Baxi, cousin of sisters Dhir and Heer Baxi, who were meant to be flying home after surprising their grandmother for her birthday, said he was "not satisfied" by the initial report. He told PA: "I just hope the final report brings full clarity on what exactly failed and whos accountable. It shouldn't hide behind vague terms." What happens next? If the final investigation takes more than a year to complete, an interim report will be issued on the anniversary of the crash, Prof Braithwaite said, adding that interim recommendations could be made at any time. Meanwhile, the preliminary report said investigators have identified components of interest for further examinations". India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), which published the preliminary report, said the investigation's final report would come out with "root causes and recommendations". Read more Taliban security personnel stand guard as an Afghan burqa-clad woman walks along a street - WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP Afghans have been encouraged to sue the British Government over the kill list data breach in a WhatsApp message urging them to contact UK law firms. The message gave details of how to lodge a legal complaint through Barings, a Manchester-based law firm that specialises in privacy and data breach cases. It provided the web address for a portal for Barings where Afghans can complete a compensation claim form, and was widely circulated among Afghans living not only in Afghanistan but also Pakistan and the UK. Barings has 1,000 Afghan clients suing the Government over the data breach, and is adding 100 claims a day following the lifting of the super-injunction covering the case on Tuesday. Until Tuesday, the law firm, like the media, was prevented from highlighting the data breach or the existence of the injunction. Barings said it first became aware of the data leak in March after being contacted by an Afghan who found the company in an online search for firms specialising in such cases. In the space of a few weeks, 650 Afghans had instructed Barings to act on their behalf. However, Adnan Malik, the lawyer heading the group action, said: We didnt send any WhatsApp messages. He said all Barings correspondence with clients was by email, and he had never seen the spreadsheet containing the records of 25,000 Afghans who had applied for asylum in the UK, which was accidentally leaked in February 2022. Five-figure sum The Ministry of Defence was first made aware of the data breach 18 months later in August 2023 when a case worker warned officials of the circulation of a kill list. In April, Mr Malik informed the Government Legal Department that his firm was acting for Afghans over the data breach. On April 15, the Government slapped a super-injunction on him, preventing him from discussing the case. He said: We had about 800 cases before the injunction was lifted and now we have 1,000. We are getting 100 a day coming in. No doubt the Government wanted the injunction because this is going to cost the Government a lot of money. Each claim is worth a five-figure sum, according to Barings. With 25,000 names on the list and extended families also put in danger of reprisals by the Taliban the final legal bill could exceed a quarter of a billion pounds. The data breach alone could be worth up to 10,000 per claimant, with much bigger compensation for any resulting risk to life. Under the terms of the conditional fee agreement clients must sign, Barings receive their fees and expenses, capped at 25 per cent, of any successful claim. The Government, which has already spent billions flying people endangered by the leak out of Afghanistan, has said it will fight the compensation case, although the MoD declined to say on what grounds. On its website, Barings states: Barings Law are helping Afghan nationals who assisted British Forces seek justice after the Ministry of Defence exposed their identities, placing them at risk of serious harm. The MoD has tried to suppress the data breach for nearly three years by taking out a super-injunction. I thought it was a scam Separately, a former Afghan soldier who fled to Iran because his name appeared on the leaked spreadsheet said he had been added to a WhatsApp group that included British phone numbers allegedly belonging to three lawyers based in London. There is no evidence the lawyers were genuine or worked for reputable firms in the UK. The man, who worked alongside the British military in Afghanistan, said: I was added to a WhatsApp group with three other British numbers. They said they were lawyers in London and could help me get money from the UK Government. They said they would help me get thousands of pounds from their Government and asked me to send them my banking details and sign a letter to confirm they are my lawyers. The individuals, who used random characters instead of real names in their biographical details, told him they would bring him to Britain and that he should pay them 30 per cent after receiving compensation from the Government. I thought it was a scam and told my British contacts about it, he said. He added that when the Afghan man asked how they found him, the purported lawyers said, thats not important. Sussan Ley inherited the leadership of the Liberal party as it reeled from election defeat in the wake of the May polls. However, several Liberals doubt Ley is the partys long-term solution. Composite: AAP/Guardian Australia Sussan Ley was yet to officially put up her hand to replace Peter Dutton as Liberal leader when the dirt began to circulate. A scorecard spread through Liberal circles on 7 May ranking Ley, Angus Taylor and Dan Tehan who at that stage was yet to rule himself out of the race against a series of metrics, some more unconventional than others. These included whether the candidates were beholden to the factional powerbroker Alex Hawke (tick for Ley), had been sacked as a minister (another tick for Ley) and supported Israel (a cross for Ley, owing to past support for a Palestinian state). Guardian Australia has confirmed the scorecard originated inside the party but was unable to verify exactly who wrote it. Related: What happened to the Liberal party of Menzies? They became obsessed with virtue signalling | Frank Bongiorno But the intent was clear: to sabotage Leys hopes of becoming the first woman to lead the federal Liberal party. A similar subterranean campaign was launched after Ley floated ambitions for the foreign affairs portfolio in Duttons pre-election reshuffle of his shadow cabinet. The campaign achieved its desired outcome as Ley missed out on the role despite convention dictating the deputy leader has claims to the portfolio of their choosing. The scorecard wasnt so effective. Ten days after the Coalitions catastrophic election defeat, Ley defeated Taylor and the powerful forces supporting him to win the leadership, putting her at the helm of a party in existential crisis. A repudiation of Dutton Ley inherited the leadership with the Liberal party reeling from its worst defeat in its 80-year history. Across consecutive elections, the Liberals have lost more than 30 lower house seats, have been all but wiped out in the capital cities, deserted by women and migrant communities and abandoned by young people. Its problems are not just electoral, but ideological. At the heart of the partys problems is a deep and unresolved rift between more moderate liberal forces and rightwing conservatives, divided on many issues, but above all the climate crisis. In her first two months in the job, Ley and her inner circle of MPs and senior advisers have begun the process of repositioning and rebranding the party. Conversations with more than 20 Liberal MPs and party insiders, including a mix of Leys supporters and detractors, indicate the step-change has been largely well received internally as senior colleagues across the factional divide rally behind the new leader. But Leys fledgling leadership will be tested as internal brawls over net zero and gender quotas, and the lingering animosity over a shadow ministry lineup that rewarded supporters and punished rivals, threaten to tear the party apart. Attempts to drag the party to the centre will face resistance from powerful conservatives forces, including the former prime minister Tony Abbott, who are hellbent on entrenching the party on the political right. I am worried this is going to be a very divisive period, one MP said. In a new four-part series, Guardian Australia delves into the internal struggle to shape the future of the Liberal party, including one fringe senators crusade to transform it from within. It will also examine the partys fraught relationship with the Nationals, and how the latest chapter in the long-running climate wars risk fracturing the Coalition permanently. Safe for now Ley officially declared her candidacy for the Liberal leadership on 9 May, writing in a statement that Australia expects a change in direction and a fresh approach from the Liberal party. But the groundwork for her tilt was laid much earlier. In the final stretch of the federal election campaign, between Anzac Day and 3 May, the deputy leader visited 22 seats to campaign alongside Liberal MPs and candidates. Related: Sussan Ley must fight to return the Liberal party to the broad church that embodies Australias enduring values | Arthur Sinodinos Liberal sources says those timely seat visits were crucial for Ley in building internal support for the eventual leadership election. One MP joked they were surprised Ley didnt die from the intensive travel. Sources outside Leys inner circle allege she was deliberately using the visits to manoeuvre ahead of a potential leadership challenge against Dutton. In doing so, she disappeared from the national campaign, one Liberal said, to the point where people were asking, What the fuck is going on? The relationship between Dutton and Ley had deteriorated amid suspicions Leys camp was leaking against the leader, including internal talking points exposing the mixed messaging on the Coalitions threats to break up certain industries in cases of market failure. She was clearly positioning herself for the week after the result. I didnt realise she was that cunning, the Liberal said of Leys apparent attempts to distance herself from Dutton. The alleged manoeuvring is denied by those close to Ley, who say she wasnt preparing for a tilt, nor expecting Dutton to lose his seat. Ley eventually prevailed 29 votes to 25 over Taylor after the moderates, members of her own centre-right faction and a collection of unaligned MPs swung behind her. Despite the thin margin of victory, which was aided by votes from senators Linda Reynolds and Hollie Hughes both no longer in parliament and Gisele Kapterian, who ultimately lost Bradfield, Leys camp is not concerned by the numbers. They say they are relaxed about her support in the party room, and are confident she would win by a bigger margin if another ballot were held now. But several Liberals doubt Ley is the long-term solution. In fact, some MPs have already formed the view that the person capable of returning the party to government is not even in parliament. Some Liberals are discussing the WFJF the waiting for Josh Frydenberg faction, one Liberal source said, referring to a potential, long-speculated political comeback for the former treasurer, who lost his seat of Kooyong to the independent Monique Ryan in 2022. People are already looking on the horizon. Another MP said: I think Sussan needs to make some decisions and take people with her very quickly, otherwise events will outpace her. The inner circle One of Leys closest confidantes and friends is senator Anne Ruston, a South Australian who sits somewhere between the moderates and centrists, but who hasnt been a factional player. The two are known to have honest conversations, and Ley seeks Rustons advice. The deputy leader, Ted OBrien, is in the inner circle, as is Alex Hawke, a centre-right powerbroker who helped orchestrate Scott Morrisons unexpected rise to the prime ministership in 2018. Also inside the tent are the senior New South Wales moderate Andrew Bragg, who encouraged Ley to run and made calls to colleagues on her behalf, his factional ally Maria Kovacic, and the Queensland senator James McGrath, who has been tapped to conduct a review into the partys long-term future. Kovacic, Hawke, McGrath and Bragg were all elevated in Leys first shadow ministry, irking internal rivals who viewed the appointments as rewards for loyalty over merit. In her first weeks as leader, Ley addressed a core group that Dutton wouldnt: young people. She joined 25-year-old Billi FitzSimons in a podcast for the youth social media platform the Daily Aus, spoke to SBSs The Feed and Triple Js Hack program on the ABC. To FitzSimons, Ley promised: I will not be in lecturing mode. I will be in listening mode. Its a mantra she has repeated, including to members of the Chinese community another group that abandoned the Coalition in droves at a Sydney event on 7 July with her shadow attorney general, Julian Leeser. On 25 June, Ley stepped on to the National Press Club stage to share her log-cabin story and provide a blueprint for reform. The significance of fronting up to press gallery journalists at that forum, which her predecessor shunned for three years, was not lost on those reporters, nor her colleagues. In her pitch for the leadership, Ley promised to be more collaborative with colleagues, who felt sidelined under Duttons highly centralised operation. Backbench committees will now play a greater role in shaping policy after being largely neutered during Duttons tenure. Victorian MP Aaron Violi, the new chief opposition whip, says its a big opportunity for the party to open up more respectful and robust policy debates, to give the backbench a bigger voice and ensure they have a direct line to shadow cabinet policy development. Several MPs, including Bragg, used the word open to describe the new regime. It feels like were moving into a whole new era of having a lot more openness, and frankly, I mean the idea that political parties can be these black boxes when everythings a secret, its so passe, so I think its been a breath of fresh air so far. Dr Jill Sheppard, a lecturer in politics at Australian National University, says allowing open debate and disagreement will be critical for Ley to manage and survive a divided party room. If she is to get through to 2028 [the next federal election] thatll be the key to her success, Sheppard says. It wont be because of [gender] quotas or support from the moderates or anything else. Itll be an internal process of policy development that makes everyone feel included. Ley has made clear that she wants to empower, not control, her frontbench when it comes to selling the partys message in the media. The leaders team has created a manual for shadow ministers to help them engage with journalists, a markedly different approach from Duttons office, who largely shunned the Canberra press gallery. In another change, Guardian Australia can reveal Ley will issue frontbenchers with charter letters that outline expectations for them in the role. Such letters are standard practice for prime ministers to keep their ministers in check, but are rarely issued by opposition leaders. Determined to drive change Of the myriad challenges facing the Liberals, the one Ley appears most desperate to confront is the task of increasing the number of women in the partys parliamentary ranks. Women make up 33% of the Liberal party room in Canberra, compared with 56% for Labor. At the press club, Ley described herself as a zealot for action to increase female representation but stopped short of endorsing a particular method, such as gender quotas. She accepts the power to introduce such a mechanism rests with the partys state and territory branches, which are responsible for the process of selecting candidates. Kovacic a public advocate for quotas says Ley is determined to drive change. Starting with the structural reforms needed to achieve gender balance in our federal party room, her willingness to collaborate, listen and remain open-minded about how we reach that goal is a testament to her respect for members and colleagues, she said. The events of recent weeks in the NSW division, where even preliminary discussion of gender quotas quickly descended into internal warfare, illustrates just how difficult change will be. Breonna Taylor was killed in a raid in 2020 - AFP The police officer convicted in connection with the raid that killed Breonna Taylor should be sentenced to one day in prison, the justice department has said. Kentucky police officer Brett Hankison was convicted on one count of abusing Taylors civil rights after he fired several rounds through her bedroom window during a police raid in 2020. The death of the 26-year-old black woman, along with the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, sparked Black Lives Matter protests nationwide. Hankison is due to be sentenced on Monday, but in a court filing submitted to the judge on Wednesday the DoJ suggested the Biden administration should not have brought charges against him. The filing said while he was part of the team executing the warrant, defendant Hankison did not shoot Ms Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death. Counsel is unaware of another prosecution in which a police officer has been charged with depriving the rights of another person under the Fourth Amendment for returning fire and not injuring anyone, prosecutors added. Brett Hankison was convicted on one count of abusing Breonna Taylors civil rights - AFP The recommendation is an extraordinary move in a case where Hankison faces a maximum sentence of life in prison. Taylor and Kenneth Walker, her boyfriend, were sleeping in her apartment around midnight on March 13 2020 when they heard a noise at the door. Mr Walker, believing it was a break-in, fired his gun, wounding one police officer. Police, who had obtained a controversial no-knock warrant to make a drug arrest, fired more than 30 shots back, killing Taylor. Hankison fired 10 shots into Taylors glass door and windows during the raid, but did not hit anyone. Some shots flew into a next-door neighbours adjoining apartment. The memo was signed by Robert Keenan, a senior counsel to the civil rights division who was not part of the prosecution team. It was also signed by Harmeet Dhillon, who the Trump administration appointed to run the division. Hankison, of Louisville, became the first officer directly involved in the case to be convicted on criminal charges when he was found guilty of violating her civil rights during the raid. The jury found he used excessive force by firing the shots through Taylors apartment, but found him not guilty on a second charge of violating the rights of her neighbours. The memo said the department respects the verdict, which means Hankison will likely not be able to work as a police officer or own a firearm again, but it believes he deserves a lesser punishment than what sentencing guidelines recommend. Taylor was fatally shot by another officer. Attacks on Fordow, the main target of the US-Israeli air strikes, set back enrichment capabilities on the site by several years - Maxar Technologies/AFP via Getty Images Only one Iranian nuclear site was destroyed when the US bombed Iran last month, American intelligence officers have revealed. Fordow, the main target of the US-Israeli air strikes, was largely destroyed, setting back enrichment capabilities there by several years, officials said. However, attacks against sites in Natanz and Isfahan were less effective, with intelligence sources telling NBC News that Tehran could resume uranium enrichment at those facilities within a few months. It is the latest intelligence assessment on the strikes, which took place on 22 June in the midst of an Israeli aerial war against Iran. The Trump administration has sought to portray the strikes as extremely successful, with the president repeatedly claiming that Irans nuclear capabilities had been totally obliterated. The president was forced to furiously deny a previous intelligence leak suggesting Tehrans nuclear facilities had only been set back by three to six months. According to the latest intelligence update, nuclear enrichment facilities at the Fordow facility, long seen as a critical component of Irans nuclear ambitions, were set back by at least two years. The assessment is broadly in line with that of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which said last month it expected to see very significant damage to the facilities at Fordow, particularly to the underground structures and centrifuges. However, facilities at Isfahan and Natanz were not as damaged. In fact, US officials reportedly already knew that Iran had structures and enriched uranium at both facilities that were likely to be beyond the reach of Americas 30,000-pound GBU-57 bunker buster bombs. Officials said that in 2023, Iran began digging tunnels at Natanz that were deeper than the reach of bunker busters, while tunnels also existed far underground at Isfahan. The operation in June saw the US strike surface targets at Isfahan with Tomahawk missiles but not GBU-57s, which were used to target Natanz. The latest reports align with Israels intelligence on the strikes, which suggests Irans nuclear programme has been set back by up to two years. Israeli intelligence also believes some of Tehrans highly enriched uranium remains intact but is buried beneath the Isfahan facility. The White House has continued to insist that the strikes had totally obliterated Irans nuclear facilities. As the president has said and experts have verified, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Irans nuclear capabilities, Anna Kelly, the White House spokesman, told NBC News. America and the world are safer, thanks to his decisive action. Sean Parnell, chief Pentagon spokesman, added: The credibility of the fake news media is similar to that of the current state of the Iranian nuclear facilities: destroyed, in the dirt, and will take years to recover. President Trump was clear and the American people understand: Irans nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated. There is no doubt about that. The campaign that ultimately unfolded against Iran was one of a number of options prepared for Mr Trump, who resisted plans to go all in against the countrys nuclear facilities. Credit: Social media via Reuters That plan, prepared by Army General Erik Kurilla, the head of US Central Command, would have seen the US strike six Iranian nuclear sites, which officials believe would truly set back Tehrans nuclear ambitions. It would be a protracted air campaign, one source told NBC News. But the president rejected the option because he reportedly did not want to enter a lengthy conflict that could spiral into a broader regional war. Mr Trump has suggested, however, that he would be willing to launch further strikes against Iran alongside Israel if Tehran were to rebuild any of its facilities. Asked late last month if he would consider bombing Iran again if enriched uranium levels were to reach a concerning level, the president replied: Sure. Without question. Absolutely. Meanwhile Tehran has suggested it is open to restarting nuclear talks, which had been taking place before last months strikes. The Americans insist on returning to the negotiating table, Abbas Araghchi, Irans foreign minister, said over the weekend. He said Tehran was considering the offer but was in no rush to enter into reckless negotiations. Many Afghans who remained after the evacuation of Kabul were later resettled secretly - Marcus Yam/Los Angeles Times It turns out only a superinjunction and the collusion of those cloaked in parliamentary privilege stood in the way of the Tories returning zero seats to the Commons last year. Just when the British people thought they knew of all the crimes of the Britain-hating incompetents that ran our country for fourteen years, the doors have been blown off the biggest political cover-up of our lifetimes. In 2023, the Tory government secretly offered asylum to 24,000 Afghans, at a cost to the British tax-payer of up to 7 billion. They took out a superinjunction to prevent the British public knowing on the grounds of security months before a general election. Those granted asylum include men who had their original asylum applications rejected because of sex offences. No comprehensive vetting of people on the leaked list was done a deeply concerning fact, given that according to the Ministry of Justice Afghans are the most likely nationality to commit sex offences in the UK, at a rate 22 times higher than British people. The British people have been lied to and betrayed by the very politicians who swore to protect our nation. Every single Cabinet minister who knew about this had the power to expose it in Parliament. The fact that they did not should make them hang their heads in shame. Robert Jenrick, a man who shapeshifts more than a chameleon in a kaleidoscope, was left embarrassingly exposed. When the news broke, he responded by going to ground for thirty hours. It took that long for him to cobble a pitiful story together, and all he did was to further insult the intelligence of the British people. Some pointed out if he really cared about the British people he would have exposed the scheme using his Parliamentary privilege. He claims parliamentary privilege is not unlimited and he was bound by the Official Secrets Act. This is misleading. Parliamentary privilege is absolute enshrined in Article 9 of the Bill of Rights 1689, which protects freedom of speech in Parliament from being impeached or questioned in any court. The Joint Committee on Parliamentary Privilege couldnt be clearer: no action can limit MPs from disclosing information in proceedings, even under the Official Secrets Act. They explicitly state that members must be free to reveal information in the public interest. Jenrick had full immunity; he could have stood up in the House of Commons and blown the whistle on this treachery. But he didnt. Why? Because hes a career politician, more interested in climbing the greasy pole than protecting the British people. And hes not alone. Suella Braverman as Home Secretary, Ben Wallace at Defence, Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister they all knew. They were among the very few privy to this explosive secret, and could have told the British people the truth: that our government had launched a scheme smuggling thousands of unvetted Afghans into our country at great expense. Had the British public known about this scandal, the Tories, already reeling from years of betrayal on immigration, would have been obliterated, with voters understandably horrified that the politicians they trusted were importing tens of thousands of people while preaching about stopping the boats. Reform UK would have surged even further, as the only party willing to call out the establishments lies. Instead, the superinjunction bought them time, allowing them to limp into opposition. This scandal isnt just about Afghans, some of whom bravely aided our troops and deserve our gratitude, but rather about a government that treats the British people with contempt. The data breach was avoidable; the cover-up was unforgivable. Weve seen this pattern of displaced responsibility before, from Partygate to the rape gangs to the the PPE scandals. The Conservative party is now in an impossible position. Theyre so internally incoherent that, unlike Reform, they still cannot commit to the British people any sort of cap on immigration. Nigel Farage and Reform are the antidote: unapologetic truth-tellers who put British people first. Britain deserves leaders with courage, not cowards in suits. The Tories richly deserve their extinction event. The US Capitol in Washington DC. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Congressional Republicans are pushing for passage of a rescissions package, legislation requested by Donald Trump that will claw back $9bn in funding intended for foreign aid programs and public broadcasting. The bill, which is part of the presidents campaign to slash government spending, has passed the Senate by a narrow margin of 51 votes to 48. What is a rescissions package? Congress controls the power of the purse by approving a budget and then appropriating money. But under the Impoundment Control Act of 1974, the president may request the rescission of previously authorized funds, and Congress has 45 days to approve it, otherwise the money must be spent. Related: Senate Republicans advance Trump bill to cancel $9bn in approved spending Why are Republicans rushing to pass the rescissions package? The 45 days on Trumps package of rescissions requests expires on Friday, hence the reason why the GOP is moving to quickly pass the bill. It also explains why the House speaker, Mike Johnson, on Tuesday pleaded with the Senate to pass it as is meaning the version of the bill that passed his chamber last month. The bill now moves back to the House. What funding does Trump want to cancel? The White House has proposed cancelling a total of $9bn in authorized funding, including $1.1bn budgeted for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and about $8bn meant for foreign assistance programs. On the chopping block is money meant for organizations affiliated with the United Nations and other international organizations, including the World Health Organization and the UN human rights council, as well as for refugee assistance and some USAID programs. Is the White House getting everything it wants? No. It initially proposed a rescissions package totaling $9.4bn, but the Senate decided to preserve $400m in funding for Pepfar, a program credited with saving millions of people from infection or death from HIV that was created in 2003, under the Republican president George W Bush. How controversial is the package among Republicans? Fairly controversial. Four Republicans voted against it in the House of Representatives, and in the Senate, two Republicans opposed it. Which Republican senators voted no, and why? The Republican senators who opposed it were Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. They complained that the White House did not provide enough details of exactly what funding would be canceled and opposed slashing funding for public broadcasters. What happens now it has passed the Senate? It will return to the House for a final vote. Is this the end of the Trump administrations plans to slash government funding? No. Further cuts to government departments and initiatives are expected in the forthcoming budget for the 2026 fiscal year, which begins on 1 October. Damage to a car and area in Dobropillia. Eight cars and 50 shops were marred in the attack Russia dropped a 500kg bomb on a shopping centre in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday, killing two people and injuring dozens more. Some 300 apartments, more than 50 shops and eight cars were damaged in the attack on Dobropillia in Donetsk, which took place on Wednesday evening, according to Vadym Filashkin, the regional governor. The Russians have again deliberately targeted an area where there are lots of people a shopping centre in the middle of town, Mr Filashkin said on Telegram. This time with a 500-kg (1,100-pound) air bomb. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said in his nightly address that the attack was simply horrific and it carried no military logic. Rescue workers carry a body following the strike in Dobropillia. At least 22 people were wounded - Ukrainian State Emergency Service/AFP/Getty The strike came after Donald Trump announced he would send billions of dollars of weapons to Ukraine via Nato and threatened to impose 100 per cent tariffs on Russias main trading partners. It also came as Mr Trumps envoy for Ukraine, General Keith Kellogg, is in Kyiv on a week-long trip to discuss US support for the country. Dobropillia, which is located 20km from the front line and near the city of Pokrovsk, a key Russian target, has been subject to repeated attacks in recent months. In March, a combined missile, rocket and drone attack killed 11 people, including five children. Russia has intensified its aerial bombardments in recent months, frequently breaking records for the number of weapons fired in a single night. Strikes killed more than 230 civilians last month, the United Nations said the largest number killed in a single month since the war began in 2022. Emergency services work to put out a fire on a civilian building - Ukrainian State Emergency Service/AFP Dobropillia in Donetsk, where about 300 apartments were damaged in the attack Meanwhile, Russian authorities claimed they downed 122 Ukrainian drones overnight, including several heading for Moscow and St Petersburg. At least three drones heading for the Russian capital were downed, local authorities said, while one person was killed and six injured in the southern region of Belgorod. It comes after Mr Trump reportedly asked his Ukrainian counterpart whether he could strike Moscow in a phone call earlier this month. Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow?... Can you hit St Petersburg too? the US president asked on the July 4 call, according to reports. The Ukrainian president replied: Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons. He publicly clarified on Tuesday that he did not want Ukraine to strike the Russian cities and ruled out sending long-range weapons. Asked on Tuesday whether the US would deliver deep-strike munitions to Ukraine, Mr Trump said: No, were not looking to do that. He went on to say that Ukraine should not attack the Russian capital, adding: Im on nobodys side. You know whose side Im on? Humanitys side. Kneecap, pictured at Glastonbury Festival, was accused of hate speech - Matt Cardy/Getty Every time you think it cant get worse at the BBC it does. The year began with more reporters for BBC Arabic being exposed for Jew-hate, admiration for Nazism and celebration of the brutal terrorist attacks of Oct 7. Then came the primetime BBC documentary on Gaza that was revealed to have been narrated by the son of a Hamas official, with a payment made to his family from licence-fee funds. One of the crew members on the documentary had celebrated the Hamas massacre. Footage in the programme had been misleadingly edited. All of this was concealed from viewers by the BBC. The programme also mistranslated the word Yahud which means Jew, changing it to Israeli or Israeli army. In doing so the BBC chose to disguise racist intent. It should not be the job of the BBC to sanitise anti-Semitism but in this particular case they have been doing so for the past ten years despite appeals from Jewish community bodies to correct what is an egregious misrepresentation. The chief executive of BBC News Deborah Turness saw the programme before broadcast but raised no concerns. Then came the Glastonbury Festival. Here the BBC broadcast live to the nation a stream of racism and death chants. F--- Zionists was followed by Death to the IDF. The BBCs director general Tim Davie was present at the festival that day. He failed to ensure that this racist content was immediately removed from BBC services. Despite being accountable and responsible for the BBCs output Mr Davie has spent the days since Glastonbury trying to blame other BBC employees for this disaster and wriggling out of accountability. On Monday, the BBC at last published its report on the Gaza documentary. The report was prepared by BBC staff member Peter Johnston, who is employed by Mr Davie. In doing so, the BBC has attempted to mark its own homework on an issue of great journalistic significance. While the BBC has acknowledged some faults including on Yahud and apologised, Ofcom do not appear satisfied and have launched their own investigation. Serious flaws and omissions in the report will no doubt emerge. For any public organisation these incidents in such a short period would surely be an untenable weight of failure. Yet there is more. This week ceo Ms Turness spoke to 500 members of BBC News and said of the child who narrated the Gaza documentary: I think its really important that we are clear that Abdullahs father was a deputy agriculture minister and therefore was a member of the Hamas-run government, which is different to being part of the military wing of Hamas. Externally its often simplified that he was in Hamas and I think its an important point of detail that we need to continually remind people of the difference. This is staggering. Ms Turness does not seem to know that Hamas in its entirety is a proscribed terrorist organisation and there is no discernible difference between its constituent parts when it comes to terrorism. Yet, she believes it is important for BBC journalists to continually make this distinction. As military expert Andrew Fox noted this is akin to saying, I think its very important that we are clear that Herr Hitler was a member of the political wing of the Nazi Party and not an active member of the SS. This latest debacle is highly illuminating. It provides a clear-as-day insight into the thinking and approach of the most senior people in BBC News. It not only shows deep ignorance but reveals a strong appetite to downplay the reality of Hamas. That is the Hamas who brutally raped so many women on Oct 7, shot babies in the head and seeks the death of all Jews. In saying this, Ms Turness has inadvertently pulled back the curtain to reveal what many Jewish people have felt for the past 20 months: that the BBCs reporting on Hamas and Gaza has very serious problems of accuracy and bias. I am left wondering how the people who govern the BBC can allow this to continue. How do they not realise the huge damage that is being done to such an important British institution? Why are they tolerating it? Why do they not demand accountability for such consistent, destructive, racist failure? Danny Cohen is a former director of BBC Television Diane Abbott MP - House of Commons / AFP Whether or not you approve of Keir Starmers ruthless action against rebellious Labour MPs yesterday, he has at least drawn a line in the sand which other Labour colleagues would do well not to cross. And now that same approach has been applied to Diane Abbott. In 2023 Abbott was suspended from the Labour whip for writing a letter to a newspaper stating that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people undoubtedly experience prejudice that is similar to racism, adding: it is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice... but they are not all their lives subject to racism. Suggesting that Jews experience no more racism than redheads was too much for Starmer, who immediately withdrew the Labour whip from her. She apologised at the time and claimed the letter was a first draft that she had accidentally sent to the newspaper. Nevertheless Abbott risked not being adopted as a Labour candidate in her constituency as the 2024 election approached. Various efforts were made to persuade her to step down voluntarily rather than embarrass the party by either forcing it to back down or being seen to ban the longest-serving black MP in the country from standing as a Labour candidate. There were even reports that she had been offered, and had rejected, a peerage if she would only go quietly. Eventually Starmer blinked first, the whip was restored and Abbott was duly re-elected as a Labour MP from which position she could offer her traditional level of support to a Labour government. Now, despite her initial public apology for the letter and her claim that she never intended to send it, Abbott has doubled down on its contents, telling the BBCs Jim Naughtie that she doesnt look back on the incident with any regret. Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you dont know. You dont know unless you stop to speak to them or youre in a meeting with them. But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that theyre black. They are different types of racism. Starmer could have prevaricated. He could have found some excuse for dealing with Abbott in a less aggressive way. But that would have almost certainly sparked new accusations of two-tier justice within the Labour Party itself. So instead of allowing it to fester, allowing it to become another insoluble conundrum for a party leader who was happy yesterday to show the door (at least temporarily) to four Labour MPs for persistent breaches of discipline he has acted to remove the whip from the Mother of the House. Again. And this time it may be for good. Abbott, however, as she proved last year when she faced down Starmer and her party and dared them to deny her the Labour nomination in Hackney North, is a fearsome opponent with a lot of support in the party. Starmer and his supporters risk provoking her to cross the floor to join Jeremy Corbyns motley crew of independent, anti-West, pro-Gaza malcontents. In reality he had no choice. Failing to discipline Abbott on this occasion really wasnt an option; it would reveal Starmer to be a coward, to have applied different standards of behaviour to one group of MPs than to this particularly irritating colleague. So Abbott has been suspended, again, and will be wooed by her friend Jeremy. Who knows? She might even surrender to his charms. Then again, she might not. Abbott has been a member of the Labour Party for at least 43 years; stropping off, even when you think youve been harshly treated by the leadership, is harder than most outsiders understand. Even to the permanently aggrieved and outraged members of the Socialist Campaign Group of Labour MPs, of which Abbott was a member, deserting the party is a major step. And it would mean saying goodbye to any prospect of a peerage, which, given her service and status, would be a natural step in ordinary circumstances. Starmer acted before this problem became another crisis, although naturally he will face more criticism for this latest show of force. If he feels a touch ill-used and under pressure, he should blame his predecessors. Any Labour leader, from Neil Kinnock onwards, could have instituted disciplinary action against the likes of Abbott and Corbyn back in the days when they thought nothing of voting against the Labour whip hundreds of times without fear of consequences, other than the adoration of Left-wing activists. The music just happened to stop when Starmer was holding the parcel, and he has stepped up in a way that his predecessors refused to. For this he should be praised, not pilloried. You cant reshape a political party to make it a serious party of government without recognising that behaviour that damages it in the eyes of voters must have serious consequences. The only reason anyone has heard of Diane Abbott is because of the Labour Party, without which she would never have reached any level of national prominence. She owes it everything. At the very least, she owes it a few months of dignified silence and another apology. And this time she should try even harder to sound sincere. This is Starmers most unforgivable Brexit betrayal to date - Carl Court The truth is out. Keir Starmer has signed the UK up to be a rule taker from Brussels and even worse, expects us to contribute to the EU budget. That is because, buried in the small print of this new agreement, Starmers subterfuge has been laid bare. The financial contributions that the UK will now make are, as the Telegraph has discovered, the result of aligning UK food standards with EU standards and the carbon market rules that Britain will have to follow. Of course, as has now become the norm when dealing with Starmer and co, none of this was even mentioned when he came back to the Commons to trumpet his agreement. Neither have we had any chance to vote against this shabby betrayal. In one arrogant swish of his pen he has demeaned the UK by placing it in the worst situation possible having to accept rules and financial contributions to the EU budget without any say in what the rules should be or how much we should pay. The EU has exacted revenge on the UK by spelling out that one of the great trading nations of the world will have no right to involve itself in deciding the rules or even being involved deciding the amount we will have to contribute. What is absurd is that this cave should have been unnecessary. The EU has for a long-time imported lamb and other meat products from New Zealand without being forced to suffer delayed checks at the border of its phyto-sanitary food. That is because as part of their deal with NZ they allow compliance checks to be carried out by local vets prior to their despatch. This could have been a model for a future relationship had the Prime Minister bothered to place even the slightest degree of pressure on his idolised friends in the EU. As if that wasnt bad enough, it calls into question our ability to strike trade deals with the rest of the world. After all, this makes it impossible to negotiate a third country agreement because we will not be able to change any of these regulations, instead having to defer to Brussels. This is a shameful and humiliating position for the UK to be in, and a slap in the face to the people of these islands. Ironically, handing back this power to the EU at a significant cost to UK taxpayers actually now favours the EU producers and hardly helps us. The EU exports 54 billion of agricultural products to the UK, whereas we export only 15 billion. When you look at the detail our exports are largely things that require no animal health paperwork, such as whisky. It is also worth noting that this deal will also be at the expense of our own food standards. The reality is that the UK had throughout our time in the EU had higher standards than the other member states, a situation which post-Brexit still continues. As Churchill once said, This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year For this is only the beginning of the betrayal. After all, Keir Starmer called for the British People to be forced to have another referendum because he disagreed with the original result. He is also surrounded by people who are for the most part in favour of re-joining. Together they will find further reasons to cave in, as they have done on extending access to our fishing waters. Remember, Starmer wouldnt have been able to agree a trade arrangement with the US if Brexit hadnt happened. Dynamic alignment will lose that hard-won victory. This is not what the British people voted for. They voted for the UK to make its own rules and take back control, not hand it back. Syrian security forces were deployed to Suwayda following clashes between Druze fighters and Sunni Bedouin tribes - KARAM AL-MASRI/REUTERS Syrian government forces have been accused of killing members of the countrys Druze minority before withdrawing from the province of Suwayda. Defence ministry troops carried out executions and other violations against both civilians and Druze fighters prior to agreeing to a ceasefire, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group. The south of the country has been affected by deadly sectarian violence since Sunday, amid clashes pitting Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes and the army and its allies. An estimated 500 people, both fighters and civilians, have been killed, including 27 who were allegedly summarily killed by government forces, the SOHR said. Israel has also carried out air strikes on Syrian government troops during their brief deployment to the province, while also targeting the countrys military headquarters in Damascus, the capital. Israel warned that the strikes would intensify until the Islamist-led government pulled back. Credit: X On Thursday, videos emerged appearing to show a group of around eight men kneeling on the ground, while masked men in uniforms shot them. Many of the victims were then seen slumping forward. In a separate account, a Syrian journalist told Reuters news agency that he had found the bodies of 12 people in a house, including women and an elderly man. Meanwhile, a video clip filmed by a Suwayda resident purported to show the aftermath of a killing in another home, showing a lifeless man in a chair, an elderly man with a gunshot wound to his right temple on the floor and a younger man face-down in a pool of blood. Details of violence in the region are only now slowly emerging following an internet and electricity blackout on Wednesday, when the worst of the clashes occurred. It is unclear which groups were responsible for which killings. The outbreak of violence is one of the worst since Bashar al-Assad, Syrias long-running dictator, was ousted from power last year. In a statement, Geir Pedersen, the UNs special envoy for the country, said he unequivocally condemns all acts of violence against civilians and expresses deep concern over serious allegations of extrajudicial executions and arbitrary killings. Ahmed al-Sharaa, the leader of Syria, accused Israel of trying to divide the country and vowed to protect its Druze minority as a priority. He added: We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction. Mr Sharaa also addressed the Druze directly, saying: We reject any attempt to drag you into the hands of an external party. However, questions remain over whether he can exert enough control over his own forces to maintain order. In March, a spate of killings along Syrias western coastline against the Alawite sect, of which Assad belonged, heightened concerns that the countrys new government would be unable to keep the peace in the diverse nation. The latest round of clashes has prompted many Bedouins to flee Suwayda. Unverified reports on Thursday claimed that 1,000 Bedouins were being held hostage in the region. Other reports from Aleppo, the biggest city in northern Syria, stated that Druze university students had been attacked. Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, has claimed that his militarys strikes in Suwayda and Damascus were done on behalf of the Druze. He said Syria had sent its army south of Damascus into an area that was supposed to remain demilitarised, and it began massacring Druze. This was something we could not accept in any way... It is a ceasefire achieved through strength. Smoke rises from fires in areas controlled by Druze factions in the Sweida countryside on Thursday. Photograph: Ahmad Fallaha/EPA The Israeli military has carried out an airstrike on the outskirts of Sweida city as clashes between Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters intensified on Thursday night. The clashes started a wave of tit-for-tat retaliatory violence earlier on in the day after Syrian government forces withdrew from Sweida. The violence began after Syrian government forces started to withdraw from the Druze-majority province of Sweida, ending four days of conflict between the army and local Druze fighters. In a speech on Thursday, the Syrian president said Druze groups would be left to govern security affairs in the southern province, in what he described as a choice to avoid war. Related: Israel strikes Syrias defence ministry in third day of attacks Ahmed al-Sharaa said: We sought to avoid dragging the country into a new, broader war that could derail it from its path to recovery from the devastating war We chose the interests of Syrians over chaos and destruction. Clashes resumed on Thursday afternoon in Sweida as Syrian state media reported that Druze groups launched revenge attacks on Bedouin villages, killing many civilians and prompting a wave of displacement, after Bedouin tribes had fought alongside government forces against Druze fighters earlier in the week. The Syrian media outlet Enab Baladi quoted Bedouin residents as saying armed groups of Druze stormed their villages, burning houses as they came. One of the three spiritual leaders of the Syrian Druze, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri, put out a statement vowing to respect the peaceful Bedouin clans. Calls for revenge had begun to circle on social media on Thursday. Syrian security forces initially intervened in Sweida on Monday after a local dispute between Arab Bedouin tribes and Druze fighters escalated into fighting. Druze militias tried to prevent the entry of the Syrian army and attacked them, which led to days of clashes with government forces. The Israeli military also intervened, striking the Syrian defence ministry headquarters in Damascus and dozens of Syrian military targets in the south. An Israeli military spokesperson said the strikes were a message to Syrias president regarding the events in Sweida. At least 516 civilians and fighters were killed in the clashes, according to the UK-based monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The monitor said at least 86 civilians were killed by government forces and their allies, and that three Bedouin civilians were killed by Druze fighters on Thursday. Sharaa condemned Israel for wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities. He said the strikes were pushing matters to a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate. The clashes were the most serious challenge to Damascuss rule since a series of massacres in the coastal north-west in March, in which 1,500 mostly Alawite civilians were killed after a foiled attack by remnants of the ousted Assad regime on security forces. The Druze, a religious minority in Syria and the wider Middle East, make up the majority of the population of Sweida province. They have been negotiating with the Islamist-led authorities in Damascus since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in an attempt to achieve autonomy but have yet to reach an agreement that defines their relationship with the new Syrian state. Some Druze said they felt further estranged from the new authority after the clashes. I would rather die than be ruled by them. At least I would die with dignity, said a 25-year-old civil engineer in Sweida, whose two cousins were killed on Tuesday. Other Druze dignitaries, particularly Youssef Jarboua, another of Syrias three Druze spiritual leaders, have advocated for a more conciliatory approach with Damascus. Sharaa acknowledged abuses against civilians had occurred and said lawless groups had committed crimes against them. We are determined to hold accountable anyone who wronged or harmed our Druze brethren. They are under the protection and responsibility of the state and the law and justice guarantee the rights of all without exception, he added. The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, welcomed the initial ceasefire. He said on X that an agreement had been reached to restore calm in the area, urging all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made, without elaborating on the nature of the agreement. The US had been mediating in an attempt to stop Israeli strikes on Syria, which came as a surprise as Israeli-Syria ties had been warming since May. Rubio blamed historic longtime rivalries for the clashes in Sweida. It led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side, Rubio told reporters in the White House. Diplomats said the UN security council would meet on Thursday to address the Syrian conflict. It was unclear how the autonomy of Sweida would be affected by the days of clashes. Though Sharaas speech said the military would be withdrawing, it made no mention of members of general security, Syrias equivalent to gendarmes. For months, Sweida has been negotiating its place within the new Syrian state, as the minority Druze have deep misgivings about the new authorities. The clashes exposed rifts between the Druze leadership, with Hijri rejecting any forms of cooperation with Damascus. The clashes also threatened to upset months of diplomatic progress between Israel and Syria after Israel struck for the first time in months. Syrian and Israeli officials had recently met in Baku, Azerbaijan, for security coordination discussions, and Syrias leadership said it could eventually be open for normalisation with its southern neighbour. The clashes provoked anger among the Druze population in Israel. Dozens of Israeli Druze broke through the border fence on Wednesday. The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the Israeli military was working to help the Druze and urged Israeli Druze citizens not to cross the border. The Israeli military said it was working to safely return civilians who had crossed. Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, came to London on Thursday for talks with Sir Keir Starmer and to sign the new UK-Germany treaty - Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP The blueprint for the future of European defence is buried in Britains new friendship treaty with Germany. Its hidden by the warm talk of school exchanges, shared values, trade and direct rail links, but look closely enough and you can see that steel foundations are being laid. Its a future that will be dominated by the triangle of London, Paris and Berlin a partnership of Europes two nuclear powers with its richest nation, which has plans to build its strongest army. The clues are in the treaty, signed in London on Thursday by Sir Keir Starmer and Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor. It declares that the parties shall seek to intensify the trilateral cooperation with the French Republic to jointly address international challenges. The US, the guarantor of European security since the Second World War, will be increasingly distant and turn more and more to Asia and the Pacific. Ukraine, meanwhile, will be armed by a combination of European weapons and US arms, paid for by Europe, to keep the Russians at bay. Friedrich Merz joined Sir Keir Starmer on a visit to the Airbus factory in Stevenage, Herts, on Thursday - Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire Sir Keir signed defence pacts with the EU in May, and with France last week. Mr Merz said it was no coincidence that he came to Britain a week later. Russia aggression in Ukraine is an undeniable catalyst for the security agreements. The new pact speaks of the Russian Federations brutal war of aggression on the European continent as the most significant and direct threat to their security. But the election of Donald Trump was every bit as influential. Diplomats now play down talk of the US ditching Nato or Mr Trumps undermining of article five of the alliance, which states that an attack on one ally is one on all. Mr Trump himself is far more conciliatory since securing promises from Europe to hit a 5 per cent of GDP defence spending target. Mr Merz and Sir Keir were at pains to say that Europe and the US were pulling in the same direction, but there is a reason why the deals with France and Britain contain pledges that an attack on one ally is an attack on both. If there is no need for a Nato safety net, why replicate article five? The German treaty has several references to nuclear threats. Mr Merz called for the protection of Trident and the French deterrent after his election victory in February, saying Nato could be dead by June because of the US president. There is symbolic value in such language in showing a united front against Putin. But its clear that Berlin, London and Paris dont want to be caught short by Washington again. Officials have called the group the triangle. This historic defence pact is less about the present than the future. The pacts with Germany, France and the EU unlock cooperation in the sensitive areas of defence manufacturing and research. There are also measures to harmonise export laws to make it easier to trade arms. The parties shall seek to enhance industrial and capability cooperation through a long-term joint approach endeavouring to deliver effective military capabilities efficiently, minimising national constraints, and strengthening industrial competitiveness, the treaty reads. Such cooperation takes time to get up and running, but Europe is beginning to show it is serious about overhauling its defence industry. Perhaps thats why Mr Trump has agreed to send US arms, paid for by Europe, to Ukraine. With competition for US arms sales on the horizon, perhaps the president wanted to get some deals over the line now. Maurene Comey received a letter citing the powers of the president as justification of her dismissal - AP/Ted Shaffrey The Trump administration has fired a veteran prosecutor who worked on cases involving Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and rapper Sean Diddy Combs. Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, whom Donald Trump fired in 2017, received a letter citing the powers of the president as justification for her dismissal, according to the New York Times. The specific reason for her firing was not disclosed, but she is the latest in a string of justice department lawyers removed after working on politically sensitive investigations. Her sacking came as the White House sought to contain controversy over sealed documents relating to Epsteins conviction and death. The disgraced financier was arrested for sex trafficking and died by suicide in jail in 2019 before standing trial. Mr Trumps supporters have repeatedly demanded the release of all files connected to Epstein. Earlier this month, however, a joint review by the FBI and Justice Department concluded there was no incriminating client list and no evidence Epstein died by anything other than suicide. This contradicted a claim by attorney general Pam Bondi, who had previously told reporters that such a list was sitting on my desk. Mr Trump has since played down Ms Bondis remarks, calling the case a Democrat hoax and insisting the attorney general should only release files she deems credible. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago estate in 1997. Mr Trumps supporters have repeatedly demanded the release of sealed documents about the Epstein case - Davidoff Studios Photography On Wednesday, the president lashed out at his base for pushing the issue, calling them weaklings and saying he did not want their support. Despite Mr Trumps warnings, Laura Loomer, a Right-wing firebrand, warned this is not going to go away, in an interview with Politico. Theo Von, a Right-wing podcast host, on Wednesday re-posted a clip of JD Vance saying in October we need to release the Epstein list, adding the caption: What changed? Mike Pence, the former vice-president, also weighed in, telling CBS News that the time has come for transparency over the files. Trump makes string of announcements Over the past 24 hours, Mr Trump has flooded the zone with a string of announcements in a bid to shift the focus away from the controversy. These include the announcement that Coca-Cola will begin using cane sugar instead of corn syrup. Elsewhere, e-cigarette company Juul was granted permission to continue selling flavoured vapes in the US and $4bn in federal funding for a California high-speed rail project was revoked. Some within Maga circles, including Ms Loomer and Steve Bannon, have urged Mr Trump to appoint a special counsel to investigate the intel the US government holds on Epstein. However, Mr Trump declined to say whether he would do so, and strategists have warned that the approach could backfire on the president, who has been highly critical of special counsels in the past. Democrats have seized on the chaos, with Ro Khanna joining forces with Republican Thomas Massie to introduce a bill to force a House vote on the full release of the files that he claims has the backing of seven disgruntled GOP members. People voted for Trump in part because they were so disgusted in the system they thought that Washington protected the elite, protects the powerful, protects the wealthy. Epstein is a symbol of that, Mr Khanna told Politico. Maurene Comey points at Ghislaine Maxwell in court in 2021 - JANE ROSENBERG/REUTERS It was reported by Politico on Tuesday that Ms Comey had argued against the disclosure of investigative records on Epstein and Maxwell, though it is unclear whether that led to her dismissal. Ms Comeys removal also follows the partial collapse of her prosecution against Combs, who was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges but convicted on lesser counts in a New York court earlier this month. Sources told ABC News that Mr Trump had complained about Ms Comeys presence in his administration, given her fathers role in the investigation into alleged Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Justice Department had launched an investigation into Mr Comey himself over his testimony to Congress about election interference. The department has been targeting other officials since Mr Trump returned to the White House in January. At least 20 staff were fired last week after they took part in special counsel Jack Smiths investigation into Mr Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election and alleged mishandling of classified documents. Trump has been transparent Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, issued a spirited defence of the president while lashing out at the media and Democrats in a briefing on Thursday. The Democrats had control of this building, the White House, for four years, and they didnt do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes, she said. Attorney general Pam Bondi, the FBIs director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino, who have borne the brunt of criticism over the Epstein files, are great patriots and some of the Republicans most trusted voices, she added. The president has been transparent, Ms Leavitt said. He has followed through on his promises to the American people, but he doesnt like to see Democrats and the mainstream media covering this like its the biggest story that the American people care about. Donald Trump with Jeffrey Epstein (left) at Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida, in 1997 - Davidoff Studios Photography/Archive Photos Of all the crises to hit the White House since Donald Trump returned it is one entirely of his own making that is arguably causing the most damage. The US presidents administration has accidentally deported the wrong people in sweeping immigration round-ups, overseen a power grab that has repeatedly butted up against the Supreme Court, leaked highly sensitive military information in a Signal chat and bombed nuclear sites in Iran. But it is the once-fringe conspiracy theory about Jeffrey Epstein that is tearing at the White House and the Republican Party and now threatening to damage the GOPs electoral prospects. On Tuesday, a source close to the administration spoke to The Telegraph and described a blind mess in the White House playing out over the Epstein speculation. We could have seen this coming, Trump played into this without knowing what he was seeing, they said. Mr Trump has dabbled in conspiracies for years: Barack Obama was born in Kenya, Ted Cruzs father had a link to JFKs killer. For years, Mr Trump had pandered to his loyal bases suspicion that the billionaires death was anything but a suicide, while hinting at knowing things about the disgraced financier that the public did not. And so when the Department of Justice concluded the Epstein had no client list and died by suicide, not murder, he faced a predictable rebellion. The conclusion would never wash for the voters and followers who Mr Trump has taught not to accept the word of government at face value. He campaigned on an unknown, the source said. They added: He would still like to [release material] but he would be forcing victims to become public that would not want to be public. It is now open season with officials at war with each other, once-loyal podcasters attacking the White House, and even the most moderate voices like Republican leaders in Congress weighing in. And while the White House is reportedly wargaming solutions, and Mr Trump has the way out is not clear. On Thursday, Mr Trump ordered the release of grand jury transcripts into the Epstein case in a bid to quell the ridiculous publicity. The announcement followed a bombshell report claiming Mr Trump told Epstein they had certain things in common in a birthday letter featuring a drawing of a naked woman. The document was included in a leather-bound album by Ghislaine Maxwell, Epsteins former girlfriend, which was later examined by justice department officials investigating the paedophile financier, according to the Wall Street Journal. Mr Trumps letter to Epstein is said to be typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman which has been drawn in permanent marker. His signature is reportedly positioned below her waist, mimicking her pubic hair. A pal is a wonderful thing. Happy Birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret, the letter concludes. The letter, for Epsteins 50th birthday in 2003, purportedly reveals a cryptic conversation between the two men, in which Mr Trump tells Epstein: We have certain things in common, Jeffrey. Mr Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture in a statement, declaring it a fake Wall Street Journal story. He also threatened to sue the newspaper, which he called a disgusting and filthy rag in a Truth Social post. The latest twist in the unfolding saga has brought together members of his fractured coalition, including Laura Loomer, a far-Right activist, Elon Musk, and vice-president JD Vance, who rallied behind the president, condemning the report as fake news. Mr Musk, who has alleged Mr Trump is implicated in the Epstein files, wrote on X: It really doesnt sound like something Trump would say tbh [to be honest]. However, even if grand jury transcripts are released, they amount to just a tiny fraction of the files pertaining to the Epstein investigation and may not be enough to quell unrest within Mr Trumps base. Benny Johnson, the hugely popular Maga commentator, told viewers on Wednesday of the crisis: Its been abysmal and people arent satisfied. Far-right conspiracy theorist and podcaster Alex Jones called Mr Trumps handling of the Epstein situation the biggest train wreck Ive ever seen. It has caused the US president to hit out at his own side, labelling them weaklings for believing the hoax about Epstein. He said Maga loyalists had fallen hook, line, and sinker for conspiracy theories which began shortly after the disgraced financier was found dead in his Manhattan cell in 2019. Loyalists from Megyn Kelly to Tucker Carlson have called for Pam Bondi, the attorney general, to resign over her failure to deliver, after she claimed in February that Epsteins client list was sitting on [her] desk. The biggest problem is Pam Bondi let too much out before she had even seen anything, right? This is an over-ambition to do the right thing, the source added. Pam Bondi with the president at a White House media briefing in June - Ken Cedeno/Reuters But it is the polling that might worry Mr Trump most. The threat of a dismal midterm has forced some of the presidents biggest allies to break ranks and call for the release of files related to Epstein, scared the base that elected them will turn on their heels. More than six in 10 voters disapprove of how the Trump administration handled its investigation into the convicted sex offender, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday. Just 17 per cent of voters surveyed said they were satisfied with the DOJs conclusions that Epstein kept no client list. It may be perhaps why Mike Johnson, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, broke rank with the president and demanded his administration release everything on Epstein to the public. Its a very delicate subject but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it, he told Benny Johnsons podcast. The topic creates a dilemma for the president. Though Trump cannot legally run for another term, he will need strong support from a united party to pass his remaining legislative agenda in a narrowly divided Congress. But trying to escape the corner he has backed himself into may be to do what he does best, throw more mud at the problem. Id flood the zone with other news items, Charley Cooper, a GOP strategist told The Telegraph, referring to a tactic the administration successfully deployed at the start of Mr Trumps second term. Change the story, and do stuff that the Maga people care about... play into something else that they care about and throw them off the scent. Keir Starmer delivers a speech on stage during the launching of Labour Party election manifesto Extending votes to 16-year-olds at all UK elections must be one of the most short-sighted and desperate measures ever to be brought before Parliament. It is not as if the country were so well governed that we could afford the risk. Yet the Labour Government is embarking on the dangerous experiment of handing power to teenagers who for almost all other purposes are deemed by the law to be children. Worse: like almost all constitutional changes, this one is likely to be irreversible. Perhaps we should not be surprised that a Prime Minister who until recently seemed confused about the biology of sex should also be in a muddle about the physiology of adolescents. It is true that at 16 one may well be physically able to serve ones country, often with conspicuous courage. A handful of prodigies can astonish us with their talents, too. Yet it is no less a fact that the brain continues to develop well into ones twenties. Children of 16 are generally less capable of thinking ahead or of assessing danger than adults. Sir Keir Starmer is untroubled by such realities. For him, apparently, the only relevant criterion is that 16-year-olds may pay taxes. But it does not follow from this that they should be entitled to vote. Otherwise, by the same logic the millions of people who do not pay taxes would lose the vote. Children are represented by their parents in many fields until they reach adulthood. They also require protection: one reason why the age of consent for marriage has been raised to 18 (not that Angela Rayner had noticed). However precocious, a voter of 16 lacks the experience to detect the fools, frauds and fanatics who are unfortunately ubiquitous in politics. No doubt Labour expects that this act of constitutional tomfoolery will favour the party, because young people are assumed to lean to the Left. But this gimmick is no great cause celebre. Unlike women in the early 20th century, who fought hard for the suffrage, fewer than half of the Welsh 16 and 17-year-olds invited to vote for the Senedd could even be bothered to register. It is no accident that few other countries have lowered their voting age below 18. In Austria, which did so in 2007, the effect has been polarising: the younger the voters, the more attracted they are to extremes, especially on the Right. The beneficiaries have not been the older centrist parties, but the anti-immigration nationalists of the Freedom Party. Here, too, Sir Keir may well find himself hoist by his own petard. What if the newly enfranchised boys and girls reject his bribery and cast their ballots for Kemi Badenoch or Nigel Farage? The government said the change would be fairer for 16- and 17-year-olds, many of whom already work and are able to serve in the military. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images The voting age will be lowered to 16 across the UK by the next general election in a major change of the democratic system, despite some concerns within Labour that it could benefit smaller parties like the Greens and Reform UK. The government said it would be fairer for 16- and 17-year-olds, many of whom already work and are able to serve in the military. Keir Starmer said it was important that teenagers who paid taxes had their say on how the money was spent. The move brings voting age for the whole of the UK to 16. Scotland and Wales have already made the change for Holyrood, Senedd and council elections. It is the biggest change to the franchise since 1969, when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. Some Labour MPs are worried the move could backfire and result in a boost in support for more left-leaning parties, while others fear that it could bolster Reform UK, which is growing in support among young men. The Reform leader, Nigel Farage, accused the government of trying to rig the system to allow schools to bias young people with leftwing prejudice. But he said Labour would get the shock of its life as Reform is intending to appeal to 16- and 17-year-old voters by the next general election. Angela Rayner, the deputy prime minister, played down the concerns within her party, saying she was more worried about the impact of misinformation on voters. You cant turn around and say: I dont like what democracy is going to give so Im not giving you democracy. That argument is, to me, a cul-de-sac, she told the Guardian. What we have to do is engage with people about the importance of democracy and the importance of them exercising their democracy, and our argument of why were the right people to do the job. Im more concerned about misinformation, fake news, the way people get information from these days, and how that can skewer democracy more so than I am about giving a 16- and 17-year-old the opportunity to exercise their right to vote. Analysis by the thinktank More in Common found that newly enfranchised teens made up such a small proportion of the electorate that they were unlikely to shift the dial politically at a national level, but in a fragmented political landscape even small changes could have large local effects. Luke Tryl, More in Commons director, said: Beyond the electoral impact, the bigger question is whether this change will be popular. The public opposes lowering the voting age by a 48% to 27% margin, and it is not near the top of many Britons priorities. The move fulfils a Labour manifesto promise and gives Britain one of the lowest suffrage ages in the world. In the rest of Europe, just Austria, Malta, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands have a voting age of 16, while elsewhere in the world some of the few countries to have taken the step include Brazil, Argentina and Cuba. The change was welcomed by electoral reform campaigners, who have been pushing for measures to increase democratic participation. However, the Conservatives said the change was confusing given that 16- and 17-year-olds could not legally smoke, drink alcohol or buy a lottery ticket. In a sweeping package of changes, ministers will extend voter ID to include bank and veterans cards. There will be tougher new rules to guard against foreign political interference and abuse of candidates. The package also appears to be taking steps towards encouraging more voter registration. Although it does not commit to entirely automatic registration, the government said it would move to a system that would reduce the need to fill out details across different government services. On election financing, ministers will close loopholes that could allow foreign money to influence UK elections and there will be a crackdown on illegitimate donations through shell companies and new tests on political donors. The changes were welcomed by campaigners for transparency, but the new rules stop short of imposing caps on political donations. Rayner said they would strike the right balance. There will be stronger fines of up to 500,000 for those who break the rules, and any false or misleading declarations will constitute a criminal offence. Political parties will be required to assess companies they are receiving donations from, proving their connection to the UK or Ireland. Companies used for political donations will have to prove they are generating income in these countries. Currently, any UK company can make donations to a political party, regardless of where its money comes from and who its owners are. Some campaigners had called for more sweeping changes after the US billionaire Elon Musk floated the idea of giving $100m (75m) to Reform UK an idea he now appears to have dropped after tensions with Nigel Farage. Musk would not, as a foreign national, be able to donate under the new rules and would have to prove any donation through a UK-based company had UK-generated revenue. Where theres foreign influence, people should be able to identify that, as opposed to some sort of ban on donations or picking on a particular individual, Rayner said. I think [you need to have] transparency about where that money comes from, and then the electorate can see that, and can see whether there is a conflict of interest, or where a particular policy is coming from. There will also be enhanced know your donor checks, meaning parties will have to consider the risk of any money coming from illegitimate sources. Another change is toughening the law to stop candidates, campaigners and electoral staff being intimidated, harassed or abused. Finally, the government plans to change the law to ban those found guilty of intimidating or abusing a candidate from standing themselves in future. Wes Streeting is holding talks with resident doctors representatives on Thursday. Photograph: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock Doctors could have some of their student loan debts written off as part of a package of measures being examined by Wes Streeting that may help avert next weeks strike. The Department of Health and Social Care is analysing how a new system of forgiveness could be brought in for younger doctors who are paying back student debts of up to 100,000. The health secretary and the co-chairs of the British Medical Association (BMA) resident doctors committee are holding talks on Thursday afternoon aimed at averting the latters planned five-day strike starting on 25 July. The health department is considering several different ways such a scheme might work, according to well-placed sources. They include not charging interest on debt accrued by trainee doctors while they were at medical school in effect, freezing the debt and cutting the overall debt by a certain sum for every year the doctor works in the NHS in England. Advocates of debt relief believe it would incentivise doctors to stay in the NHS rather than quit, and would show the government was willing to improve their finances but without giving them big annual pay rises that would prompt other public sector workers to seek the same. The BMAs resident doctors committee wants Streeting to give a 29% pay rise over the next few years to the 55,000 doctors in training in England that it represents. It has conducted a long-running campaign to restore the full value of salaries to the level they were at in 2008. Streeting has refused to reopen negotiations on the 5.4% award for this year that he imposed on them in May. The DHSC has begun modelling the practicalities of a debt relief scheme as it explores what steps it, and NHS trusts, which directly employ medics, could take to meet doctors concerns about non-pay issues that cause them frustration. It is also looking at whether doctors could have some or all of the costs covered for taking exams needed to progress their careers, and making it easier for younger doctors to take annual leave. Streeting has said doctors are unlikely to encounter a health secretary as sympathetic as he is to their desire to improve their working lives. While he cannot offer resident doctors a bigger pay rise this year, he has said, he is aware that being able to commit to progress on non-pay-related issues which he has more freedom to deliver could show them that this is the case. Debt forgiveness is a key priority for the BMA, which may see it becoming an issue on which the two sides can find common ground. The co-chairs of the resident doctor committee, Dr Melissa Ryan and Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, indicated that they would consider any proposal from the government on debt write-off. Crucially, they added that it could act as an element of them realising their ambition of restoring the value of doctors pay. If wiping out student loans for doctors in England is something the government is considering, then we would be interested to see the details of what that means in practical terms. Loan forgiveness is something we would have to consider as a committee as an element of restoring value to doctors working lives, and so if the government is serious about this then we look forward to hearing more from the health secretary in todays meeting. They said students could finish five years of medical school with debts of up to 100,000 and then face monthly loan repayments of up to 10% of their salary for most of their working lives. Any student debt write-off scheme for doctors would be complicated for the government, require the Treasurys approval and encourage other health unions to lobby for their members to be included too. In March the Royal College of Nursing proposed that nurses should have 30% of their students debt written off after working in the NHS for three years, 70% after seven years and the remainder after 10 years service. However, in its response to the RCN report a government spokesperson said that the Department for Education had no plans to forgive student debt for any specific profession. A DHSC spokesperson said: We wouldnt comment on speculation. The secretary of state has always been clear that he is willing to work with the BMA to improve the working conditions of their members and is meeting them today to discuss exactly that and to urge the BMA to step back from their unnecessary industrial action. Morgan Geyser, now 22, has spent seven years in the Winnebago Mental Health Institute - Morry Gash/Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. A Wisconsin woman who almost killed her classmate during a frenzied stabbing attack to please the fictional horror character Slender Man has been granted conditional release. Morgan Geyser, now 22, has spent seven years in the Winnebago Mental Health Institute but will now be allowed to leave following a ruling by Waukesha County Circuit Judge Scott Wagner. Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, lured Leutner to a Waukesha park after a sleepover in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier egged her on. All three girls were 12 years old at the time. Geyser and Weier fled after the attack but were arrested as they were walking on Interstate 94. They told investigators they attacked Leutner to earn the right to be Slender Mans servants and feared he would hurt their families if they did not follow through. They had planned to walk to Slender Mans mansion in northern Wisconsin after the attack, they said. Payton Leutner is taken to hospital. She was stabbed 19 times - Abe Van Dyke/Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Leutner barely survived the attack. Geyser ultimately pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in 2017 but claimed she was not responsible because she was mentally ill. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren committed her to a psychiatric hospital for 40 years in 2018, but the judge ruled in January she could be released after three experts testified she had made progress battling mental illness. In April, prosecutors objected to Geysers conditional release plan after Payton Leutner, the mother of the victim, expressed concern that Geysers group home was located eight miles away from Leutner. The judge then ordered the department of health services to draft a new plan, which was approved on Thursday. Details of the plan were not shared in court. State health officials argued in March that Geyser could not be trusted after learning that she had not told her therapists that she had read a novel about murder and black market organ sales. Morgan Geyser was committed to a psychiatric hospital for 40 years in 2018 - Michael Sears/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel They also alleged that she had been communicating with a man who collects murder memorabilia and sent him a sketch she had drawn of a decapitated body and a postcard saying she wants to be intimate with him. Geysers legal team argued that she only read what the facility allowed, and staff knew she had been communicating with the collector. They added that she stopped talking to the man in 2024 after she discovered he was selling things she sent him. Judge Bohren concluded that Geyser was not trying to hide anything and ordered state health officials to continue developing a release plan. Weier pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon in 2017, but like Geyser claimed she was mentally ill and not responsible for her actions. She was committed to 25 years in a mental hospital but was granted release in 2021 after agreeing to live with her father and to wear a GPS monitor. The case has drawn widespread attention in part because of the girls fascination with the Slender Man character. Fictional horror character Slender Man - Enterprise News Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudson in 2009 as a mysterious specter photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. Hes typically depicted as a slim, spidery figure in a black suit with a featureless white face. He has grown into a popular boogeyman and has appeared in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie. Flowers sit at a makeshift memorial in front of the Gabriel House assisted living facility, where a fire on Sunday killed several people, Wednesday, July 16, 2025 in Fall River, Mass. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi) A 66-year-old woman was in critical condition after a fire that ripped through a Massachusetts assisted-living facility earlier this week, officials said, as records and accounts from staff raise concerns about conditions at Gabriel House before the blaze. The Bristol County District Attorney's Office had announced Thursday that Brenda Cropper had died the previous day, but said in an emailed statement Friday that there had been a miscommunication with a medical agency and that Cropper remained in critical condition. The office did not release any more information about Cropper or about the fire itself, which erupted Sunday evening and left some residents hanging out windows of the three-story facility screaming for help. The cause remains under investigation, but the district attorney's office says it does not appear suspicious. Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon says the blaze started in a room on the second floor. At least 30 people were hurt and nine people were initially reported dead, all over the age of 60, as thick smoke and flames trapped residents inside. The fire chief said Wednesday that a second person was also in critical condition. Inspection reports released Thursday by the citys Bureau of Fire Investigation identified no problems at Gabriel House going back to 2019. The reports cover things like sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, exit doors and general housekeeping. However, displaced residents and relatives have told of substandard conditions at the facility in Fall River, a blue-collar community of shuttered textile mills that's one of the poorest cities in Massachusetts. The tragedy has called attention to the minimal regulations that govern assisted-living facilities. The facilitys owner, Dennis Etzkorn, had repeatedly been cited by state regulators for tardiness in reporting potential health and safety incidents. He has declined to comment to The Associated Press. In documents released Wednesday, receipts from pest control companies as far back as 2015 showed Gabriel House being treated for bed bugs and other pests. A 2015 receipt described the dining room as filthy and that food was undercooked. Jenn Marley, who worked at the facility as a certified nursing assistant from 2018 to January 2020, said bedbugs, cockroaches and mice were a problem, and that some bathrooms were filthy even though residents were supposed to get help with cleaning. Management kept track of residents who asked for more toilet paper, she said in an interview. God forbid if they ran out of toilet paper, the boss would complain that we had to give them a roll, she said. Marley said she sometimes made large batches of chili at home and brought it to residents because she worried they werent getting enough to eat. Portions served at Gabriel House were noticeably small, she said. Hot dogs and a teaspoon of beans. Im sorry, my cat eats more than that, said Marley, who described a cook yelling at a resident who asked for more. You expect better conditions, she said. Its sad. Those who died have been identified as Joseph Wilansky, 77, Rui Albernaz, 64, Ronald Codega, 61, Margaret Duddy, 69, Robert King, 78, Kim Mackin, 71, Richard Rochon, 78, and Eleanor Willett, 86. The identity of a 70-year-old woman has not been released. Union officials say the city didnt staff enough firefighters to rescue all the residents trapped in the blaze. Its a contention that city officials have since sought to resolve by promising to add more firefighters to each shift, initially via overtime and eventually by hiring new staff. Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm When I lived in Italy 13 years ago, I could order a perfectly pulled espresso for a single euro. Italians would gulp theirs down in a single slurp, seconds after it hit the bar. Now, I long for that bitter, thick, caramel shotfor such an affordable price. But at twenty-one, a millennial raised on Starbucks, I chafed at the simplicity. I missed my venti caramel macchiatos, which earned me confused stares from the Piedmontese bar owner, as if I was speaking another language. Thats why affogato felt like a revelation. Served only after lunch or dinner, it seemed like something Starbucks mightve dreamed uptwo scoops of vanilla gelato drowned in a fresh shot of espresso. But in Italy, its treated with the same reverence as the coffee itself. After long, wine-soaked lunches, my friend Colleen and I would stroll to Boglione, the bar/cafe hot spot, and order a doppioa double espresso poured straight over our gelato. It was decadent, buzzy, and perfectly Italian. Ill be honest: classic Italian desserts dont always do it for me. But affogato? Its the rare sweet that hits every notecreamy, bitter, cold, and hot. And with just two ingredients, its about as low-effort and high-reward as desserts get. Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm Tips (and Fun Twists) for Making a Great Affogato No espresso maker? No problem. While traditional affogato calls for a freshly pulled shot, one to two ounces of strong, hot drip coffee or even instant can still do the trick. I love Blue Bottles Instant Espressoits made with 100% Arabica beans and has a rich, chocolatey flavor. Make it with matcha: Swap in 1 to 2 teaspoons of matcha powder whisked with hot water for a green tea version over vanilla gelato. Ice cream vs. gelato: As for the gelato, Im partial to Talentis Madagascan Vanilla Beanits packed with vanilla bean specks and has a creamy consistency and a short ingredient list that really lets the espresso shine. Regular ice cream works too. While gelato has less fat and melts more readily into the espresso, creating a silky, drinkable dessert, ice cream will still get the job donejust expect it to be a touch richer and slower to melt. Flavor pairings: Go for sea salt caramel, hazelnut, or chocolate chip (bonus points for stracciatella). Steer clear of fruity sorbets, which can taste muddy with coffee. (That said, mango or yuzu might work with matchasomeone try it and let me know.) Dairy-free options : Oat milk ice cream mimics the richness of dairy, minus the milk. Jenis and Oatly both make creamy, scoopable versions that hold up beautifully to a hot pour. Add a splash of booze: A drizzle of amaretto, Frangelico, or Baileys makes it feel like a grown-up dessert, warming and nutty. Add a little crunch: Crushed amaretti biscuits are a perfect pairing. I like Lazzaroni, which can usually be found at specialty shops or online. You can also serve them whole on the side for dunking. No amaretti? A small biscotti or even a crisp shortbread would work tooanything with a bit of bite to balance the creaminess. Simply Recipes / Mark Beahm How To Make My 2-Ingredient Affogato To make 1 serving, youll need: 2 scoops high-quality vanilla gelato (or ice cream) 1 shot freshly brewed espresso (or 2 tablespoons hot coffee or instant espresso) Optional: crushed amaretti, biscotti, or a splash of liqueur Take the gelato out of the freezer for five to ten minutes to soften enough so you can scoop it. Scoop the gelato into a short glass or bowl. Brew your espresso (or strong coffee) into a demitasse or cup. Pour the hot espresso directly over the gelato. (You can brew this espresso right over the gelato scoop if your cup allows.) Serve immediately, topped with crushed amaretti or your preferred crunch, or enjoy it as is for the classic version. Read the original article on SIMPLYRECIPES Ekaterina Goncharova - Getty Images Suki Waterhouse recently said that she got a hernia from wearing tight pants. This is far from the only surprising way people can develop a hernia. The health issue needs to be corrected with surgery. Getting a hernia sounds like the opposite of a good time, so people paid attention when Suki Waterhouse recently revealed that she got one from wearing tight pants. Suki you never tweet anymore, she wrote on X. Have you ever considered I wore pants so tight 6 months ago it caused a hernia & Ive been too scared to tell you? The Daisy Jones & the Six star also shared a photo of herself onstage wearing second-skin pants and lying in what appears to be a hospital bed. While most people have at least heard of a hernia before, the details surrounding what they are and what causes them may be a little vague. Can you actually get a hernia from wearing tight pants? According to doctors we spoke with, this is actually a thing. With that in mind, these are the most surprising causes of hernias to have on your radarfor the just in case, of course. Meet the experts: Mir Ali, M.D., is medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA; Jennifer Wider, M.D., is a womens health expert and author of The New Moms Survival Guide; Christine Greves, M.D., is an ob-gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando, Florida. What is a hernia? A hernia is a sac thats formed by the lining of the abdominal cavity, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. This sac comes through a hole or weak area in a layer of the abdomen wall called the fascia that surrounds the muscle. There are several types of hernias, and theyre usually identified by their location and cause, according to Mir Ali, M.D., medical director of MemorialCare Surgical Weight Loss Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, CA. The most common type is an inguinal hernia, which is a bulging of contents of the abdomen through a weak area in the lower abdominal wall, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK). However, you can also get a femoral hernia (in the upper thigh), hiatal hernia (in the diaphragm muscle), incisional hernia (through a scar from abdominal surgery), and umbilical hernia (around the belly button). People may have no symptoms from a hernia outside of a visible bulge under the skin, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine. But some people may feel discomfort, pain, heaviness, or a burning feeling, per the NIDDK. Symptoms may also get worse when you strain, lift, cough, or stand for a long periods of time. As hernias grow, the small intestine may get stuck in the hole and lose its blood supply in a complication known as a strangulated hernia. This is life-threatening and may cause symptoms like sudden and severe pain, bloating, nausea, and vomiting, according to the NIDDK. Surprising causes of hernias Any activity or medical issue that increases pressure on the stomach wall and muscles may lead to a hernia, Dr. Ali says. Lifting heavy objects is a big potential cause of a herniait can put pressure on the abdominal wall, straining the muscles and tissues in the area and leading to a weakening or tear if you go well beyond your usual capacity or don't use proper lifting technique, Dr. Ali explains. Having obesity also doubles the risk of a hernia. This is because excess weight puts constant pressure on the abdominal wall, which can make it more likely for weak spots to form, creating a hernia, Dr. Ali explains. But there are other causes that arent as well known. Keep these in mind. Allergies Having a chronic cough or chronic sneezing from allergies or another upper respiratory condition can raise your risk of a hernia. Anything where youre straining the abdominal wall can be an issue, Dr. Ali says. When you increase pressure in the belly region, it can cause a hernia to form. Constipation Dealing with chronic constipation is a risk factor for developing a hernia. Why? Straining can put pressure on your intestinal wall, raising the odds the contents in your abdomen will push out through a weak spot, Dr. Ali explains. Repeated pregnancies Having several pregnancies can raise your risk of developing a hernia, says womens health expert Jennifer Wider, M.D., author of The New Moms Survival Guide. As the fetus grows in the uterus, there is an increase [in] abdominal pressure," she explains. In addition, the hormones that are released during pregnancy relax the muscles, allowing the belly to grow." Both of these can increase the risk of an umbilical hernia (which is around the belly button). Repeated pregnancies can repeatedly stress these areas of the body, explains Christine Greves, M.D., an ob-gyn at the Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women and Babies in Orlando, Florida. The abdominal wall muscles and connective tissue can weaken the more times they need to expand," she says. This puts women at a higher risk of hernia." Dr. Greves says it can be hard to prevent hernias from repeat pregnancies, but maintaining a healthy weight and strengthening core muscles may help. Though women should consult their doctor before beginning an exercise program postpartum. Putting on or taking off tight pants Wearing tight pants alone is unlikely to cause a hernia, according to Dr. Ali. In fact, when a patient has a hernia, there are belts that put pressure on the area to hold it in, he says. But, straining hard to pull on tight pants or to take them off could cause a hernia, Dr. Ali says. Getting older Inguinal hernias are most common in people between the ages of 75 and 80. There are a few reasons why getting older raises your risk of hernia, according to Dr. Ali. Those include muscles naturally weakening over time and a drop in tissue elasticity. That doesnt mean youre doomed to get a hernia as you age: Strength training exercises, especially around the core, can help to combat this, he says. But, again, talk to your doctor before starting a new exercise program, especially if you have any pre-existing conditions. What to do if you suspect you have a hernia If you think you have a hernia, its important to get it evaluated by a healthcare professional. If there is some doubt, diagnostic studies like ultrasounds and CT scans can help identify a hernia, Dr. Ali says. Unfortunately, theres no pill or cream that can fix a herniasurgery to repair the weak abdominal wall tissue and close the hole is the only thing that can permanently fix this, Dr. Ali says. Most hernias are closed with stitches or mesh patches. Hernias dont usually come back after theyre treated, according to Dr. Ali. But it is possible to get another one in a different location. You Might Also Like Mainland slams DPP for defaming commemorations of victory against Japanese aggression Xinhua) 08:04, July 17, 2025 BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland on Wednesday denounced Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for defaming upcoming commemorations of China's victory over Japanese aggression in the 1940s, stating that the move "fully exposes their disgraceful nature." Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a media query after Taiwan authorities labeled the celebrations as "united front tactics" or "cognitive warfare" and threatened to cut retirement benefits for those who take part. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War. A gathering, including a military parade, will be held on the morning of Sept. 3 in Tian'anmen Square in Beijing. "The war was a just struggle in which all the sons and daughters of the Chinese nation united as one to resist Japanese militarist aggression," the spokesperson stressed. "We invite Chinese Kuomintang party veterans to these commemorative activities out of respect for historical facts and in recognition of their contributions in defense of the country," Chen said. Chen noted that the DPP authorities not only refused to hold such commemorations themselves, but instead threatened and intimidated the veterans. "This is shameful and is bound to trigger strong opposition from compatriots in Taiwan," he said. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Before radar towers and satellite surveillance, Americas shores were watched over by massive coastal forts. Some were active for over a century, while others fizzled out before they ever fired a shot. Today, many of these relics sit crumbling at the edges of the seaabandoned, overlooked, but far from irrelevant. Fort Mose, Florida Credit: Wikimedia Commons More than being a fort, Fort Mose was a revolution in bricks and belief. It, founded in 1738 by formerly enslaved Africans, became the first legally recognized free Black settlement in whats now the United States. The residents agreed to swear loyalty to the Spanish Crown in exchange for freedom. Fort Michie, New York Credit: Instagram Fort Michie had an unusual housekeeping chore: alerting the nearby lighthouse to cover its glass before cannon practice. The concussion from its 16-inch guns could shatter windows. It was built in the late 1890s and manned until World War II. Now its a bird sanctuary and research site, where tern colonies outnumber soldiers and squawk in place of gunfire. Fort Tyler, New York Credit: Wikimedia Commons Today, the eroded remnants of this structure still sit offshore, ghost-like and nearly forgotten. Fort Tyler, known locally as The Ruins, was doomed almost from the start. Construction began in 1899 on a fragile spit off Gardiners Island, but storms repeatedly wiped out progress. After being deemed useless for artillerymen and ideal only for seagulls, the project was abandoned. Fort H.G. Wright, New York Credit: Instagram Once, Fishers Island anchored the formidable Fort H.G. Wrighta linchpin in Americas coastal defenses. Its history stretches back to the days after the Spanish-American War, when keeping watch over Long Island Sound was a military priority. Fort Wright directed the operations of nearby outposts like Terry and Michie. Fort Trumbull, Connecticut Credit: Wikimedia Commons This place has gone through many phases since 1777: first defending the coast, later training Navy officers, and eventually running Cold War-era sonar programs. The original British-burned version was replaced with the granite structure that still stands today. Though once aimed at warding off privateers and British ships, its now a centerpiece of a state park in New London. Fort Terry, New York Credit: Wikimedia Commons In later decades, this structure housed biological research facilities under the USDA, which also sparked persistent public rumors of secret experiments and shadowy science. Fort Terry stood guard on Plum Island from 1897 until just after World War II. It was named after a Union general, Alfred Terry, who famously led the assault on Fort Fisher during the Civil War. Fort Mansfield, Rhode Island Credit: Wikimedia Commons Most of its structure has been lost to time and erosion. Originally, it only took six years to learn Fort Mansfield had a fatal design flaw: a blind spot exposed during mock battles. the fort, positioned at Watch Hill on Napatree Point, was intended to defend Long Island Sound but was quietly decommissioned in 1909. Fort Pike, Louisiana Credit: Wikimedia Commons Fort Pike protected New Orleans from Gulf invasions. It never saw combat but did house Seminole prisoners during Indian Removal and later served as a Confederate and then Union stronghold. After multiple hurricanes and a long stretch of neglect, the fort closed to the public in 2015. Fort Morgan, Alabama Credit: Wikimedia Commons At the mouth of Mobile Bay, Fort Morgan played a dramatic role in the Civil War. During the 1864 Battle of Mobile Bay, it was bombarded by Union ships, including Admiral Farraguts fleet. The famous Damn the torpedoes! line? That happened just offshore. The fort later served in both World Wars. Fort Gaines, Alabama Credit: Wikimedia Commons Facing Fort Morgan across the bay, Fort Gaines witnessed the same 1864 battleand its own share of shellfire. Remarkably well-preserved, the fort still has original cannons, tunnels, and a blacksmith shop. Though built in the 1820s, it remained useful through World War II. Fort Popham, Maine Credit: Wikimedia Commons Fort Popham may look like a fortress, but it never got to finish the job. Construction began in the 1860s at the mouth of the Kennebec River, intended to protect Maines shipyards. But changes in artillery tech made it outdated before it was completed. Its semicircular granite structure still stands, hauntingly incomplete. Despite never firing in battle, it remains a popular spot to explore. Fort Massachusetts, Mississippi Credit: Wikimedia Commons Located on Ship Island, Fort Massachusetts played a quiet but steady role during the Civil War. After changing hands between Union and Confederate forces, it served mainly as a Union prison and garrison. Fort Preble, Maine Credit: Wikimedia Commons Fort Preble sits just south of Portland, Maine, where it once stood watch over Casco Bay as a U.S. military stronghold. Decommissioned after World War II, the old fort now blends into the campus of Southern Maine Community College. Students pass by crumbling gun mounts and thick granite walls on their way to class. Fort Delaware, Delaware Credit: Wikimedia Commons Fort Delaware once held Confederate prisoners during the Civil War, nearly 13,000 at its peak. The forts star shape and moat gave it an imposing presence, and reenactments today bring its garrison past back to life. Fort Wadsworth, New York Credit: Wikimedia Commons Rising above the Narrows, Fort Wadsworth stands as one of the countrys oldest military sites. Its stone walls and scattered batteries trace a timeline from colonial outpost to Cold War stronghold. Now part of the National Park Service, the fort draws visitors with its history and sweeping lookouts across New York Harbor. Several types of dogs seem totally fine with being left alone for a while. But there are some that will not hesitate to let you know, loudly and repeatedly, that this was not okay. Here we have some of these caninesthe ones that whine, pout, bark, or stage a sit-in just to express their feelings. Their reactions feel human, which makes them funny, frustrating, and oddly relatable. Chihuahua Credit: pexels Youll rarely find a dog this small with reactions this big. The Chihuahua uses its voice, eyes, and body to express disapproval, mostly with dramatic flair. Bred as companion animals, they form strong attachments to one person and demand constant presence. Their reactions to being ignored can involve growling, barking, or sulking. Siberian Husky Credit: pexels The vocal range of the Siberian Husky can take owners by surprise. They produce long howls, groans, and yelps that sound more like conversation than barking. These dogs were once used to pull sleds over long distances and still need plenty of exercise and stimulation. Pug Credit: Wikimedia Commons These dogs, with their wide, expressive eyes and tendency to vocalize through grunts, excel at making their needs known. Pugs dont react well to being left out of family life and will often protest through body language. Their theatrics usually draw laughter instead of discipline. French Bulldog Credit: pexels Despite their small stature, French Bulldogs often act like disgruntled celebrities. Their signature behavior includes flopping to the ground during walks, turning their backs when ignored, and sighing like it's personal. Their personality, though entertaining, tends to come with a heavy dose of resistance and subtle protest. Dachshund Credit: pexels If you raise your voice or move them from a favorite spot, expect immediate backlash. Dachshunds dont let things go without a fight. Theyll glare, or flat-out pretend youre not there. These canines react strongly to being corrected or denied, typically turning small moments into drawn-out protests. Cocker Spaniel Credit: Wikimedia Commons Gentle, predictable handling will keep your Cocker Spaniels grounded. On the other hand, harsh tones or sudden corrections tend to shut them down, causing them to avoid or experience emotional withdrawal. If you do not provide them with calm direction and structure, they become moody and hesitant to interact. Great Dane Credit: pexels Size doesnt stop a Great Dane from expressing emotional distress like a child who missed nap time. Often referred to as gentle canines, they tend to follow their people around the house and visibly mope if left out. They may groan loudly when not allowed on the couch or slouch after being corrected. Beagle Credit: pexels Long bays echo through the house if a Beagle misses a walk or loses access to an interesting scent. Research confirms that scent hounds vocalize more during delayed gratification or interrupted tracking. That instinct is rooted in generations of field work and doesn't fade indoors. Pomeranian Credit: Wikimedia Commons Dramatic reactions come naturally to Pomeranians, and they rarely miss a chance to put on a show. Barking erupts the moment theyre not the center of attention, and it tends to continue until someone acknowledges them. They spin in circles when excited, stomp tiny paws when impatient, and sometimes bark at furniture. Poodle Credit: Wikimedia Commons Highly trainable and exceptionally smart, the Poodle reacts to boredom or confusion with clear emotional signals. They may withdraw, ignore commands, or exaggerate their frustration through pacing or vocalizations. According to behavior studies, mental enrichment is essential to keep their moods steady. Basset Hound Credit: pexels Instead of barking or acting out, Basset Hounds stall, turn slowly, and sigh with exaggerated effort. If asked to come inside or leave a scent trail, they pause and appear uninterested, sometimes refusing altogether. Their long, low posture and droopy face only add to the effect. Boxer Credit: Wikimedia Commons Excitement, frustration, and boredom all come out physically in Boxers. Expect jumping, flailing paws, or sudden running bursts known as zoomies. While they bring a lot of energy into a home, they may start to sulk in corners or bark excessively when not included. Their tendencies can only improve with exercise and consistent training. Shih Tzu Credit: pexels Predictable routines and close physical contact keep Shih Tzus content. They do best in calm environments where they arent on their own for long stretches. When their needs for attention or consistency arent met, they act out in subtle but clear ways. Common behaviors include turning their backs on people, hiding under furniture, or refusing meals. Yorkshire Terrier Credit: Getty Images Meltdowns over small changes are common with Yorkshire Terriers, who can sometimes behave like the star of a one-dog show. One unusual trait of theirs is that they might fake being injured after being scolded or overlooked. Youll see them limping briefly or whining, then recovering the second the attention returns. Golden Retriever Credit: Getty Images This breed gets emotionally affected by disapproval more than most. The Golden Retriever has a long-standing reputation for being friendly and easygoing, but it doesnt like disappointing its humans. When corrected, they respond with visible guilthanging their heads, avoiding eye contact, or retreating slowly. Their enthusiasm is genuine, but so is their tendency to dramatize failure. Federal immigration agents talk to Rebecca Torres, second left, after she tried to block a military vehicle during a raid in the agriculture area of Camarillo, Calif., Thursday, July 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Owen Baker) A U.S. Army veteran who was arrested during an immigration raid at a Southern California marijuana farm last week said Wednesday he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle and pinned down by federal agents who arrested him. George Retes, 25, who works as a security guard at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, said he was arriving at work on July 10 when several federal agents surrounded his car and despite him identifying himself as a U.S. citizen broke his window, peppered sprayed him and dragged him out. It took two officers to nail my back and then one on my neck to arrest me even though my hands were already behind my back, Retes said. Massive farm raids led to hundreds being detained The Ventura City native was detained during chaotic raids at two Southern California farms where federal authorities arrested more than 360 people, one of the largest operations since President Donald Trump took office in January. Protesters faced off against federal agents in military-style gear, and one farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof. The raids came more than a month into an extended immigration crackdown by the Trump administration across Southern California that was originally centered in Los Angeles, where local officials say the federal actions are spreading fear in immigrant communities. California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke on the raids at a news conference Wednesday, calling Trump a chaos agent who has incited violence and spread fear in communities. You got someone who dropped 30 feet because they were scared to death and lost their life, he said, referring to the farmworker who died in the raids. People are quite literally disappearing with no due process, no rights. Retes was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where he said he was put in a special cell on suicide watch and checked on each day after he became emotionally distraught over his ordeal and missing his 3-year-old daughter's birthday party Saturday. He said federal agents never told him why he was arrested or allowed him to contact a lawyer or his family during his three-day detention. Authorities never let him shower or change clothes despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, Retes said, adding that his hands burned throughout the first night he spent in custody. On Sunday, an officer had him sign a paper and walked him out of the detention center. He said he was told he faced no charges. Retes met with silence when seeking explanation They gave me nothing I could wrap my head around," Retes said, explaining that he was met with silence on his way out when he asked about being "locked up for three days with no reason and no charges. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Retes' arrest but didn't say on what charges. George Retes was arrested and has been released," she said. "He has not been charged. The U.S. Attorneys Office is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo. A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests without warrants in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocates accused federal agents of detaining people because they looked Latino. The Justice Department appealed on Monday and asked for the order to be stayed. The Pentagon also said Tuesday it was ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles. That's roughly half the number the administration sent to the city following protests over the immigration actions. Some of those troops have been accompanying federal agents during their immigration enforcement operations. Retes said he joined the Army at 18 and served four years, including deploying to Iraq in 2019. I joined the service to help better myself, he said. I did it because I love this (expletive) country. We are one nation and no matter what, we should be together. All this separation and stuff between everyone is just the way it shouldnt be. Veteran pledges to sue federal authorities for his ordeal Retes said he plans to sue for wrongful detention. The way theyre going about this entire deportation process is completely wrong, chasing people who are just working, especially trying to feed everyone here in the U.S., he said. No one deserves to be treated the way they treat people. Retes was detained along with California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, also a U.S. citizen, who was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X. The California Faculty Association said Caravello was taken away by agents who did not identify themselves nor inform him of why he was being taken into custody. Like Retes, the association said the professor was then held without being allowed to contact his family or an attorney. Caravello was attempting to dislodge a tear gas canister that was stuck underneath someones wheelchair, witnesses told KABC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles. A federal judge on Monday ordered Caravello to be released on $15,000 bond. Hes scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 1. I want everyone to know what happened. This doesnt just affect one person, Retes said. It doesnt matter if your skin is brown. It doesnt matter if youre white. It doesnt matter if youre a veteran or you serve this country. They dont care. Theyre just there to fill a quota. ___ Associated Press writer Jamie Ding contributed from Los Angeles. After narrowly pushing President Donald Trumps signature second-term legislation across the finish line earlier this month, Republicans are now faced with the challenge of selling the new law. Vice President JD Vance began that process July 16 with a trip to a blue-collar enclave in swing state Pennsylvania, where he touted the measure as a win for working families, even as some in his party opposed it because of big cuts to health care for lower-income individuals. If youre building here, if youre making here, if youre working in the United States of America, we just gave you a big, fat tax break, Vance said during a speech at a machine shop in West Pittston. Vance highlighted a new tax break for overtime pay and a program establishing $1,000 investment accounts for newborns, among other aspects of the new law. Polling shows Vance and his GOP colleagues have work to do, though, in trying to convince many Americans that Trumps new law is good policy. The law extends tax breaks on individuals and corporations that Trump passed in 2017, while adding new tax cuts. It also boosts spending on immigration enforcement and the military and makes deep cuts to the Medicaid health care program for the poor. The Medicaid cuts generated opposition from some Republicans, and three voted against the bill in the Senate, requiring Vance to break a 50-50 tie. The bill then passed the House 218-214 with two Republicans opposed. U.S. Vice President JD Vance speaks about the "One Big Beautiful Bill" law in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 16, 2025. Multiple polls leading up to the vote showed the legislation was unpopular. A SSRS survey conducted for CNN after Trump signed the measure on July 4 found 61% of adults opposed the new law. A Harvard CAPS/Harris poll conducted from July 6 through 8 found voters evenly split on the legislation, with 44% in favor and 44% opposed, but opposition increased to 48% among those who had heard of the measure. A majority of respondents to the CNN/SSRS survey said the tax measures in the law were a reason to support it. Meanwhile, a plurality of those surveyed said the laws changes to social safety net provisions, including Medicaid, were a reason to oppose it. Republican lawmakers largely shrugged off concerns about the legislation as it advanced, saying it would prove out over time. Democrats have vowed to make the new law a major campaign issue, saying it disproportionately benefits the rich and hurts lower income people. The messaging battle over the law will play out ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Democrats believe backlash to the law could help them pick up seats. Vice President JD Vance speaks about the "One Big Beautiful Bill" law in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, U.S., July 16, 2025. Republicans are celebrating after they gutted healthcare in their deeply unpopular bill, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries wrote on social media the day after Trump signed the measure. The American people will remember the cruelty of it all next November. Vances first trip to sell the legislation was to the northeastern Pennsylvania district held by Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, who is a prime target for Democrats after he flipped a blue seat in 2024. Both Vance and Trump spoke on July 16 about doing more to pitch the new law. Well start talking about it, but, once we do, I think were going to have the greatest midterm that youve ever seen, Trump said during a White House event. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vance begins effort to sell Trump's signature law ahead of midterms A body found early this month in Turks and Caicos has been identified as missing American tourist Brian Tarrence but the cause of his death hasn't been determined, authorities say. The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force said in a statement Wednesday that the body was identified using dental records and an autopsy "revealed no signs of trauma, and at this time, there is no suspicion of foul play. The RT&CIPF continues to await the final autopsy and toxicology reports to complete the investigation." "The RT&CIPF extends our condolences to Mr. Tarrence's family and friends during this difficult time. We thank the public for their patience and support as we continue the investigation," the statement said. Brian Tarrence in an undated photo. / Credit: Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Tarrence, from Manhattan, was on vacation with his wife and was last seen on surveillance video walking away from his hotel early on the morning of June 25. Police searching for him brought in a private investigator to assist. On July 5, police said they they found a "body of a deceased male in a decomposed state" in the Grace Bay area. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska "Stop. Prevent your death!" You'd think a warning sign like that, especially one featuring a skeleton cloaked as the Grim Reaper, would deter divers. From above, the water looks stagnant and uninviting, surrounded by dense brush and buzzing bugs. There are no signs of a clear spring. Locals call it Eagle's Nest. There's a wooden boardwalk and a dive log box, and among divers, it's like a rite of passage. In the middle of the Chassahowitzka Wildlife Management Area in west-central Florida, a mossy, green pond hides one of the most dangerous dive sites in the world. But not many know what lies beneath. A Maze of Rock and Water Image via Unsplash/HighZone Eagle's Nest isn't an average sinkhole. It's an underground world that opens up after a narrow vertical shaft known as "The Chimney." Past that first squeeze, the cave expands into massive rooms like the Ballroom and the Super Room. The cave system drops more than 300 feet and runs through complex, twisting tunnels that can disorient even experienced divers. Without the right preparation and equipment, it becomes a one-way trip. Why Risk It? Despite the clear dangers, thrill-seekers keep coming. Part of the attraction is the cave's eerie beauty. Professional diver Jill Heinerth once described the sensation as swimming through the veins of the Earth. It's not poetic fluff, actually, because the underground springs feeding Eagle's Nest are part of the massive Florida Aquifer, a massive underground layer of porous rock, primarily limestone and dolomite. For many cave divers, the appeal is to explore something hidden beneath the surface, where few have ever been. The rock walls, layered in clay and carved by water, look like an underground timeline. In rooms like the Super Room, the sediment forms stripes of color in bluish and gray tones, almost like geological graffiti. Over the decades, the cave has taken lives. Since 1981, at least 13 people have died while diving in Eagle's Nest. Patrick Peacock and Chris Rittenmeyer were among the experienced ones. Both men had completed dives in complex cave systems before, but in 2016, they failed to surface. Their bodies were later found at 260 feet. The cause was the cave collapsing. It was likely a fatal combination of conditions that spiraled out of control below the surface. Dive experts often point to misjudgment and the false sense of security that experience can bring. Caves like Eagle's Nest dont forgive mistakes, no matter your resume. Every few years, another fatal accident sparks the debate: Should Eagle's Nest be closed? Between 1999 and 2003, it was. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shut down access after a series of deaths. The closure didn't sit well with the cave diving community. They argued that the cave wasn't the problem, but a lack of training was. It's divers pushing limits or skipping steps. Today, it's back open but with strict requirements. Anyone wanting to dive Eagle's Nest must show proper cave-diving certification and register for each dive. Instructions and a number to call if registration fails are posted. Still, no rules can guarantee survival. Eagle's Nest is also a site of scientific curiosity. Researchers study the caves rare, cave-adapted species, like white crayfish, which live their whole lives in total darkness. These animals can live up to 200 years and survive in water low in nutrients. Scientists are also interested in the bacterial colonies and algal mats in these underground spaces. Some believe they mimic life forms that could exist on other planets. Climate researchers study the limestone formations to better understand changes in groundwater and ancient climate patterns. For these scientists, Eagle's Nest is useful. But even they dont dive without training. The trip to Eagle's Nest isnt easy either. Drivers pass through gravel roads lined with swampy terrain. After heavy rain, potholes grow wide enough to swallow tires. Cell service is unreliable. The small parking lot fits a few vehicles, but getting stuck in the mud isnt uncommon. And then there are the bugs. Swarms of mosquitoes, ticks, and sand flies blanket the area. During hunting season, hikers and divers alike wear high-visibility clothing to avoid being mistaken for game. And the Crowds Keep Coming Despite the barriers of danger, distance, and regulations, Eagle's Nest continues to attract divers from around the world. Its not open water or something pretty on the surface. But thats the point. It tests divers on everything they know. It makes no promises and offers no shortcuts. Those who respect it say the site gives more than it takes; a place that pushes people to their limits and shows them a world few will ever see. NEED TO KNOW Denise Richards has been granted a temporary restraining order against her estranged husband Aaron Phypers Richards alleged numerous incidents of domestic violence from Phypers throughout their six-year marriage Phypers filed for divorce from Richards earlier this month Denise Richards is making shocking new accusations against her ex Aaron Phypers. In court documents obtained by PEOPLE, Richards, 54, requested a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Phypers, 49, sharing alleged details and photos accusing her ex of physical assault. Superior Court of California; Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Denise Richards shares images of alleged domestic violence from estranged husband Aaron Phypers in new court documents. "Aaron would frequently violently choke me, violently squeeze my head with both hands, tightly squeeze my arms, violently slap me in my face and head, aggressively slam my head into the bathroom towel rack, threaten to kill me, hold me down with his knee on my back to the point where I would have to plead with him to get off me so that he would not kill me and hack into my laptop and phone and download all of my text messages," Richards alleged in the court documents. "Aaron regularly threatened to 'break my jaw' and would cry, beg me to stay, and promise to get help none of which ever happened." She also alleged, that her ex "has caused me at least three concussions." Superior Court of California Denise Richards shares photo of alleged domestic abuse from estranged husband Aaron Phypers. Richards said she has been "afraid" to report Phypers' alleged behavior to the police "because he has repeatedly threatened to kill himself and me if I reported him to the police, among his other threats of harm to me and himself if he is reported for his abuse to anyone." She cited July 4-14 as the date of the most recent alleged assault, claiming that she asked Phypers and his family to move out of townhomes she had leased. In the documents, Richards alleged that on July 4, Phypers "got within two inches of my face" and "screamed degrading profanities" including calling her a "c--- w----" and a "piece of s---." Richards also alleged that the next day her ex made the same comments in the presence of his father, Steven Phypers. Richards claimed that Steven also "began yelling at me" and threatened to tell the internet that she was a "w----." The Bravo star alleged that later that same day Phyphers "grabbed both of my arms forcefully and pushed me and dragged me to the ground. I landed hard on the stairs causing me immense pain." She also claimed that when she threatened to call the police on July 5, Phypers said, I would like to see the cops take me away, I will blow everything up if they try. She alleged in the documents that throughout our marriage, Aaron threatened to kill me and himself and the police. She also claimed that Phypers owns at least eight unregistered guns and "multiple bullet proof vests." Richards also claimed that Phypers threatened that I would disappear if I called the police. She said he repeatedly abused her throughout their marriage. The former couple tied the knot in 2018. Steve Granitz/FilmMagic Denise Richards claims bruise on her arm at the 2023 came from estranged husband Aaron Phypers. 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! She also accused her ex of going through her phone and laptop while she slept and putting her messages on his laptop. Aaron woke me up and screamed at me: You f------ bitch. I went into your computer and saw your text messages, calling her a lying bitch, she alleged in court documents. Richards also alleged that Phypers smashed her with the palm of his hand on her head while she was using the toilet, While screaming at me repeatedly, Give me your f------ phone. She also claimed that Phypers refused to let her go on a trip without him, saying he grabbed me by the back of my head by my hair and slammed me into the ground and screamed, You are not cancelling my flight, I am going with you and I do not trust you. Richards also requested the Phypers return her laptop as well as all pictures, recordings and cell phones, noting that she wanted him to be "prohibited from using, delivering, copying, printing or disclosing any text messages, emails, photos, notes or other content from my cell phone or laptop or any other electronic device." Richards also requested that Phypers pay for her legal expenses as well as other expenses caused by the alleged abuse. She also requested that Phypers attend a 52-week batterer intervention program. Leon Bennett/Getty Aaron Phypers and Denise Richards at the August 2024 premiere of 'Tempted by Love.' Phypers filed for divorce on Monday, July 7. He listed their date of separation as July 4 and cited irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their split. Richards was granted a temporary restraining order from the Superior Court of California on Wednesday, July 16. She did not request a restraining order for her children. Richards is mom to Sami Sheen, 21, and Lola Sheen, 20, with her ex Charlie Sheen. She is also mom to her adopted daughter Eloise Richards, 14. Though Denise had previously claimed Phypers was looking into legally adopting Eloise, in the court documents, she stated they share "no minor children." If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People The third day of dentist James Craig's trial opened with brief testimony from a key law enforcement officer in the case. Det. Bobbi Jo Olson, who was the lead investigator in the case, was asked by prosecutors to identify a computer hard drive and phone seized from Craig during the trial. After only a few minutes on the stand, the defense was called to cross-examine her. She confirmed for the defense that Craig turned over his devices voluntarily during the investigation. Olson was then excused from the stand with the understanding that she will return to testify in much greater detail later in the trial. On Wednesday, Craig's murder trial hinged on critical testimony from the office manager at his Sunnybook Dental Group practice in Aurora, Colorado, who said Craig flippantly dismissed the first alleged poisoning attempt of his wife, Angela. Caitlin Romero worked at the dentist's office in 2023 and was with Craig for several days during the period he is alleged to have killed his wife by mixing cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a chemical in eyedrops, in her protein shakes. Read On The Fox News App She told Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley and the court that, on March 6 of that year, Craig entered the office unusually late and told her he and his wife had worked out earlier in the morning. He apologized for being late and told Romero Angela wasn't feeling well after he made her a post-workout protein shake. Victim Or Manipulator? Colorado Dentists Murder Trial Paints Dueling Portraits Of Wife In Troubled Marriage Recalling the conversation, Romero testified that Craig said, "Maybe he added too much protein" to his wife's shake. She said Craig left the office later that day to take his wife to the emergency room, where Angela reported feeling dizzy. She texted her husband that she felt "drugged" before they went to the hospital. She was released without a diagnosis the same day. Craig returned to the office at 5:30 p.m., which was unusual. The practice closes at 4 p.m. When she left for the day, Romero said she was startled to find Craig sitting in the dark, using the computer in an exam room, which was not his usual computer. When she asked him what he was doing, Craig told her he had come back to the office to unwind after a stressful day dealing with his wife's sickness. After Romero left the office that day, she said Craig texted her to alert her that a personal package would be delivered to the office and asked her not to open it. That had never happened before, Romero noted. James Craig talks with his family (not pictured) from his seat before the start of opening arguments in a Murder trial at the Arapahoe District Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, CO. Craig is accused of murdering his wife. Colorado Dentist's Alleged Internet Search History Takes Center Stage As Murder Trial Begins On March 9, Angela returned to the hospital, exhibiting similar symptoms to three days earlier. This time, she was admitted and remained in the hospital until March 14. Romero testified that, on that day, Craig told her he didn't think Angela would live through the night, which Romero said was the second time he had made that prediction since Angela began experiencing symptoms. "Evidence that Craig predicted his wife's death twice before it occurred can be significant in his criminal case to prove his alleged intent in his case," Kelly Hyman, a nationally renowned defense lawyer and legal analyst, told Fox News Digital. Hyman is not involved in the tr "Intent in murder cases refers to the accused's mental state at the time of the crime. First-degree murder can require proof of premeditation and specific intent to kill in a criminal case. "Predictions of death may suggest that Craig had allegedly been contemplating and planning the act for a period, potentially for a sustained period of time, which may imply premeditation." The defense chose not to challenge these statements made by Romero, but Hyman said it could have. Ryan Brackley, a lawyer for the prosecution, delivers his opening arguments during a Murder trial for James Craig at the Arapahoe District Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, CO. Craig is accused of murdering his wife. Small Town Dentist Facing Trial For Allegedly Poisoning Wife's Protein Shake Amid Secret Affair "However, the defense would challenge the admissibility and interpretation of such statements and argue that Craigs wife was suicidal," Hyman said. "Also, the defense could argue that the statements were taken out of context and/or misinterpreted." On March 13, the package arrived to Craig's practice. A staff member opened the package before bringing it to Romero, who described the contents of the box as a sealed "foil package" and a paper invoice. The box was marked as a biohazard. She checked the invoice to make sure it was the personal package that Craig had discussed with her and saw that it was. On the invoice, she read that Craig had ordered potassium cyanide, which she immediately googled out of curiosity. On March 15, Angela was admitted to the hospital for the final time. Craig was in the office that day and told Romero he had to leave because Angela was returning to the hospital. Romero testified that with suspicions mounting, she then googled symptoms of cyanide poisoning. Ashley Whitham, a lawyer for the defense, delivers her opening arguments during the murder trial of James Craig in Arapahoe District Court Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, Colo. Colorado Dentist's Murder Trial Put On Hold After Defense Suddenly Quit' Prior To Jury Selection During cross-examination, lead defense attorney Lisa Fine Moses pointed to the fact that while Romero had received the package and read that it contained potassium cyanide, she couldn't be sure of that because she did not open the sealed foil package. She also asked Romero about her evening office interaction with Craig on March 6, and Romero conceded that, emotionally, Craig seemed normal during that time. Moses examined Romero's relationship with Craig, which Romero described as an "intimate emotional relationship." She established that the pair were close and often spoke about personal and family matters on personal devices and via channels unrelated to their work. Moses also established that, during the investigation into the alleged crime, when Romero spoke to police, she did not disclose the true nature of their relationship or all of the communications between them. James Craig tears up during opening arguments in his Murder trial at the Arapahoe District Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, CO. Craig is accused of murdering his wife. The importance of calling a critical witness like Romero as a witness so early in the trial was not lost on Hyman. "The prosecutor will want to start strong and end strong as to the witnesses," she said. "The prosecutor may want to start the case with the most important witness. For example, the star witness, or someone that is going to start telling the story of the case as to the timeline of the case from start to finish." Original article source: Dentist accused of poisoning wifes shake said he gave her 'too much protein': co-worker A huge fire tore through a large shopping center in Iraqs eastern city of Kut on Wednesday, killing dozens of people and devastating a community. At least 61 people - including men, women and children - died in the blaze at the five-story Al-Kornish Hypermarket, and dozens more were rescued from the burning building, according to a statement from Iraqs Ministry of Interior on Thursday morning. This heartbreaking fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom died from suffocation in the bathrooms due to the heavy smoke, the interior ministry said, adding that it was a deeply tragic incident that has shaken (Iraqs) collective conscience. The bodies of 14 people remained unidentified, it said. Video footage geolocated by CNN showed the building engulfed by flames, with a group of people gathered on the rooftop as firefighters battled the blaze. People were seen being helped through small windows by emergency responders in another video from regional authorities. Despite the severity of the situation, Civil Defense teams heroically managed to rescue more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, with remarkable dedication and courage, said the interior ministry. A member of the Iraqi security forces stands in front of a damaged shopping mall on July 17, 2025, after a fire tore through the newly opened building in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut overnight. - Ahmad Al-Rubaye/AFP/Getty Images The building, which housed a restaurant and hypermarket - a large supermarket - had only been open for seven days, the ministry said. Iraqs Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani requested a fully equipped medical team be sent to support the rescue efforts and instructed the Minister of Interior to immediately launch an investigation into the cause of the fire, according to a statement released by his office. Al-Sudani extended his heartfelt condolences to the families of those killed and was praying for them to find comfort, the statement said. The interior minister Abdul Amir Al-Shammari said a high-level investigative committee would identify all points of failure and responsibility and that any party found negligent would be held to account. Fire trucks stand next to the wreckage of a shopping center on July 17, 2025, after a massive overnight fire killed dozens of people in al-Kut, Wasit province, Iraq. - Ahmed Saad/Reuters Three days of mourning for the victims has been declared in the Wasit region, the local governor, Mohammed Jameel Al-Mayahi, said in a post on Facebook. Al-Mayahi said details from an initial probe into the cause would be released within 48 hours. A legal case has been filed against the building owner, he added. Iraq has witnessed similar deadly incidents in the past, often attributed to a lack of adherence to civil defense regulations, and poor safety measures and electrical short circuits. In April 2021, a fire at Ibn al-Khatib Hospital in Baghdad claimed the lives of more than 80 patients in a COVID-19 isolation ward when oxygen tanks exploded. In September 2023, a fire ripped through a wedding hall in Qaraqosh in northern Iraq, killing at least 100 and injuring 150 others. This is a developing story and will be updated. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com A federal judge in Tennessee said he anticipates making a decision next Monday regarding pre-trial detention for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, after a hearing Wednesday in which government attorneys argued that the accused MS-13 gang member poses a public danger and flight risk too great for any possible bail conditions imaginable. Abrego Garcia's lawyer countered that the government's probe into allegations of human smuggling against his client was far from thorough and is riddled with credibility issues. Furthermore, "what happens to Mr. Garcia" if he's released into ICE custody is totally murky, defense attorney Sean Hecker said -- particularly since he was previously "sent to a torture facility" in El Salvador. MORE: Abrego Garcia's attorneys ask judge to require 72 hours' notice before he's deported The government has said that Abrego Garcia will likely be detained by ICE and deported to a third country if released from criminal custody. U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw set a trial date of Jan. 27, 2026. Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran native, was deported in March to El Salvador's CECOT mega-prison -- despite a 2019 court order barring his deportation to that country due to fear of persecution -- after the Trump administration claimed he was a member of the criminal gang MS-13, which he denies. He was brought back to the U.S. last month to face charges in Tennessee of allegedly transporting undocumented migrants within the U.S. while he was living in Maryland. He has pleaded not guilty. Alex Wong/Getty Images - PHOTO: Attorney Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg speaks outside the U.S. District Court for Maryland after a hearing on Kilmar Abrego Garcia's case on July 10, 2025 in Greenbelt, Maryland. After U.S. Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes ordered last month that Abrego Garcia not be detained by the government pending trial and set conditions for his release, the government sought to reverse that decision at Wednesday's hearing. Abrego Garcia participated in a "yearslong human smuggling operation," based on accounts from multiple cooperating witnesses, Prosecutor Robert McGuire alleged in court, relying on testimony from Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Peter Joseph. Joseph testified that one cooperating witness said Abrego Garcia would travel with his own family and children, whom he "forced to ride on the floorboard" of the transport vehicle "to make room for clients." Another witness allegedly told investigators that he had gotten a complaint from the "source of the supply" -- the supply being humans to be transported -- that Abrego Garcia had acted "inappropriately" to some of the girls, Joseph said. "It affected their business, so they were not pleased with it," Joseph testified. One cooperating witness, who is an American citizen with no criminal record, separately allegedly told investigators that Garcia had solicited nude pictures of her over Snapchat when she was 15 years old, and also asked if she had an OnlyFans account, Joseph testified. Hecker pushed back on what he called prosecutors' "remarkably thin" evidence of smuggling minors, arguing that the credibility of the unnamed cooperators was highly in doubt since there was little if any evidence they had direct knowledge of Garcia's role in the alleged scheme. MORE: Abrego Garcia was subjected to 'severe mistreatment' at CECOT, his lawyers say "Well, all of this is circumstantial," Judge Crenshaw said as Abrego Garcia looked on, appearing to listen intently. Hecker also questioned how much research Joseph had done. Under questioning, Joseph said he had not reviewed the witness' prior interviews before he spoke with them. "I wanted to go into the interview fresh," Joseph said. "Wouldn't it be a concern if those statements were inconsistent?" Hecker said, and wasn't part of his job to "assess their credibility?" Hecker also probed how prosecutors approached those cooperating witnesses who are currently incarcerated -- and whether there were any promises of sweetheart deals, like the promise of a halfway house instead of prison. Prosecutors said that one cooperating witness had been outed by a national media outlet and needed to be protected. MORE: Timeline: Wrongful deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador Prosecutors, meanwhile, reviewed the November 2022 traffic stop in which Tennessee state troopers pulled over Abrego Garcia, who had several others in the vehicle. Troopers saw no luggage in the nine-passenger suburban, and they noticed an "added fourth row," Joseph testified. When asked where they had driven from, Garcia was untruthful about his path of travel, prosecutors alleged. Though he said they had come from St. Louis, the cell tower pings from his phone showed that was "just not true," McGuire said. Garcia "knew" that if he told police he was coming from Houston, "it would look like what it was," McGuire said. "He lied to the trooper" to "try and conceal his criminal activity," said McGuire. No arrests or charges resulted from the traffic stop. An attorney for Abrego Garcia, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, said in May that he saw no evidence of a crime. An official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, testifying in Abrego Garcia's wrongful deportation case in Maryland, said during a hearing last week that Mexico and South Sudan were among a handful of countries where the U.S. has deported noncitizens who have asked not to be returned to their countries of origin out of fear of torture or persecution. Abrego Garcia's legal team in the Maryland case requested that the judge issue a court order that he not be removed from the U.S. without at least 72 hours notice should he be released on bond from detention in Tennessee. Douglas Adams, president and CEO of NTT Global Data Centers (second from left), and Loh Boon Chye, CEO of Singapore Exchange Ltd. (third from right) pose for a photo after the NTT DC Reit listing ceremony in Singapore on July 14, 2025. (Ore HuiyingBloomberg via Getty Images) NTT DC REITs IPO was supposed to be a shot in the arm for Singapores flagging equity market, decried by analysts as lackluster due to its lack of growth stocks and tiny number of listings. NTTs IPO had everything: It was oversubscribed, boasted sovereign wealth fund GIC as a cornerstone investor, and was tied to the buzzy data center sector. Yet NTT DC REITs shares have done poorly since their trading debut on Monday, falling below the offer price of $1. Hong Kongs benchmark Hang Seng Index is up by almost 25% so far this year, while Singapores Straits Times Index is up by just 9%. Singapores lack of growth oriented, tech representation in the STI has led it to trail the Hang Seng. This has led to descriptions of the market as lackluster, Thilan Wickramasinghe, Singapore head of research at Maybank Investment Banking Group, says. Singapore has had just three IPOs so far this year, including a July 14 listing from NTT DC REIT, whose shares started trading on Monday. Hong Kong, by comparison, has had more than 40 IPOs. NTT DC REIT, backed by Japanese telecoms giant Nippon Telegraph and Telephone, raised $773 million in its IPO, making it Singapores largest listing in eight years. By comparison, Hong Kongs largest IPO this year was battery giant CATLs secondary listing in late May, which raised at least $4 billion. The NTT DC REIT IPO was meant to give investors a way to tap into AI-fueled demand for data centers, and give Singapores equity market a much needed boost. Instead, it may end up showing just how much work still needs to be done. NTT DC Reits listing NTT DC REIT consists of six data centers. Four are based in the U.S., with one in Northern Virginiathe worlds largest data center marketand three in Northern California. One data center is in Vienna, a fast-growing data center market. The last is in Singapore, the second-largest data center market in Asia-Pacific after China. Data centers are key to running AI applications. These specialized data centers provide the computational power and digital data storage capacity thats needed to train the ever increasingly complex AI applications. AI applications, like large language models, rely on massive amounts of data for training and operation. Singapore has long been a regional data center hub due to its infrastructure, lack of natural disasters, and its position as a key node for subsea cables. Generative AI requires massive amounts of computing power, both for training and inference, which in turn has sparked a boom in data center investment. NTT hopes to capture that need for data center capacity, using the proceeds from its listing to continue growing its data center business. The company plans to develop over 850MW of capacity across the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. NTT estimates that total annual cloud and AI revenues are projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of about 23% between 2024 and 2027, driven by AI-led demand. Asia-Pacific attracted $15.5 billion in data center investments last year, more than any other region in the world according to the real estate consultancy Knight Frank. The consultancy forecasts global capital expenditure to exceed $286 billion by 2027 as operators respond to mounting demand for AI-optimized infrastructure, cloud services, and enterprise digital initiatives. Singapores equity market Doug Adams, CEO for NTT Global Data Centers, explained that the company picked Singapore due to its appreciation for data centers. The Singapore market is a great market for data centers in general, and we believe the best market in the world for data center Reits, Adams said in an interview on CNBC International on Monday. In Singapore, they appreciate a global set of assets and they look for a drip feed of assets over time, which is what were looking to achieve for our portfolio. GIC, Singapores sovereign wealth fund, is one of the IPOs cornerstone investors. GIC has a 9.8% stake in NTT DC REIT, making it the second largest investor after NTT. Singapore is trying to lift the fortunes of its stock exchange, including a 20% tax rebate for primary listings. The countrys stock market is often criticized as boring or illiquid, with the sectors like property, conglomerates and the three big local banks dominating the SGX. Poor liquidity weakens investor sentiment, which then leads to lower valuations or even fewer listings. While Singapores exchange struggles, Hong Kongs is surging, which Wickramasinghe credits to the DeepSeek moment and Beijings pro-growth stance. Lorraine Tan, director of equity research for Asia at Morningstar, notes that Hong Kongs market is also rebounding from years of poor performance, making the market relatively cheap in valuation terms. She adds that the surge in Hong Kong IPOs could also be due to Chinese regulators giving their approval for mainland companies to list in Hong Kong. Recent blockbuster IPOs in Hong Kong include home appliance maker Midea Group, ice cream giant Mixue, and insurer FWD Group. Other giants like automaker Chery, AI startup Minimax, Malaysian aviation firm Capital A and fast fashion platform Shein are reportedly considering Hong Kong IPOs. Hong Kong is now set to be the worlds top IPO destination this year, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence Data. Still, Wickramasinghe is optimistic that Singapores policy reforms should help the market shed its lackluster image going forward. The recent listing of NTT DC Reit is an early signal of returning listings. We expect this momentum to accelerate going into H2, Wickramasinghe says. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Nvidia (NVDA) and the University of Bristol debuted the UK's Isambard-AI supercomputer on Thursday, part of Nvidia's push into so-called sovereign AI, or AI supercomputers built for individual nations. The fastest supercomputer in the country and one of the most energy-efficient supercomputers globally, the Isambard-AI supercomputer combines 5,448 Nvidia Grace Hopper superchips through a series of liquid-cooled HPE server cabinets packed with 440 GPUs each. The system is meant to perform research on everything from materials science to drug discovery to large language models designed for UK-specific languages such as Welsh. Impressively, according to University of Bristol professor Simon McIntosh-Smith, the entire system came together in less than two years. Normally, it takes more than three years to complete similar projects, McIntosh-Smith, who also heads the Bristol Centre for Supercomputing (BriCS), told Yahoo Finance. Researchers and companies will need to apply for access to the Isambard-AI supercomputer via the UK government's Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology. Supercomputers, however, don't just run individual tasks at once. Depending on the time of day, such systems can run a host of different experiments at the same time, helping to improve overall efficiency The UK's University of Bristol unveiled its Isambard-AI supercomputer on Thursday. (Image: Nvidia) (Nvidia) While the Isambard-AI supercomputer is powerful as far as research computers go, it's relatively small compared to the massive datacenter-scale systems companies like Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG, GOOGL), Meta (META), and Microsoft (MSFT) currently run. Those warehouse-sized computers require gigawatts, or 1 billion watts, of electricity to power tens of thousands of GPUs. The Isambard-AI supercomputer, meanwhile, uses 5 megawatts, or 5 million watts. According to McIntosh-Smith, the team at BriCS chose to use a liquid cooling solution rather than traditional air cooling with fans to keep the Isambard-AI from overheating, because it allowed them to pack more GPUs into a smaller space while improving overall energy efficiency. The university is also working on a pilot program that will use the hot wastewater from the supercomputer to heat campus facilities and eventually nearby homes and businesses. While the University of Bristol officially flipped the switch on Isambard-AI on Thursday, McIntosh-Smith said some researchers have already been running experiments on a test version of the system. Those include work on vaccines for Alzheimer's disease and image recognition to help machines better identify skin cancer. The Isambard-AI supercomputer will be used to research materials sciences, drug discovery, and more. (Image: Nvidia) (Nvidia) The Isambard-AI supercomputer is just one example of Nvidia's push into sovereign AI, which represents a new revenue stream for the company beyond individual tech companies. In May, CEO Jensen Huang attended an event held in Saudi Arabia where President Trump announced that he would allow Nvidia to sell thousands of GPUs to companies within the country. The administration also set up a plan to sell hundreds of thousands of chips to the United Arab Emirates, but officials are holding off on moving forward with the deal over concerns China could gain access to the technology, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. And in June, Nvidia touted its expansion in Europe, announcing that companies across France, the UK, Germany, and Italy will build out or expand on their AI infrastructure. "Every industrial revolution begins with infrastructure. AI is the essential infrastructure of our time, just as electricity and the internet once were," Huang said in a statement at the time. "With bold leadership from Europe's governments and industries, AI will drive transformative innovation and prosperity for generations to come." The US still accounts for the majority of Nvidia's sales, making up $61.2 billion of the company's $130.4 billion in total revenue in its latest fiscal year. Taiwan and China made up $20.5 billion and $17.1 billion, respectively. Singapore saw $23.6 billion in sales, but Nvidia said the majority of those shipments are simply invoiced in the country and shipped elsewhere. Sign up for Yahoo Finance's Week in Tech newsletter. (yahoofinance) Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X/Twitter at @DanielHowley. Click here for the latest technology news that will impact the stock market Read the latest financial and business news from Yahoo Finance Agricultural economists and industry leaders are pushing back against President Donald Trumps proposal to replace corn syrup in U.S. Coca-Cola products with cane sugar. While some argue less demand for corn syrup would cost thousands of farm jobs, others may fear the swelling of a Make America Healthy Again wave threatening to ban the corn-derived sugar altogether. U.S. corn producers are sounding the alarm on President Donald Trumps efforts to switch Coca-Cola products away from using corn syrup in favor of cane sugar, claiming the change will wreak havoc on the agricultural industry. Trump on Wednesday announced efforts to push Coca-Cola to switch to cane sugar for its U.S.-made products, a departure from the abundant and inexpensive corn syrup currently used in most of its products. I have been speaking to @CocaCola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so, Trump wrote on social media. Id like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them Youll see. Its just better! In response, Coca-Cola said it would have more details on new innovative offerings soon but did not confirm the switch to cane sugar for U.S. products. The company made an additional statement on Thursday defending its use of high-fructose corn syrup, which it said has about the same number of calories per serving as table sugar and is metabolized in a similar way by your body. Coca-Cola declined to comment further. But the possibility of a shift in sweeteners has left a bad taste in the mouths of corn industry leaders, such as the Corn Refiners Association, a trade group, who fears the sugar swap could put some farmers of the U.S.s largest crop at a disadvantage. Replacing high-fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesnt make sense. President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit, Corn Refiners Association CEO John Bode said in a statement on Wednesday. Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit. Factoring in Trumps tariffs Changes in demand for corn syrup, such as that used in Coke, would increase demand for cane sugar in Louisiana and Florida, as well as from Central and South America, where the sweetener is heavily tariffed. It could force corn farmersprimarily in Iowa and Illinoisto look for business elsewhere, Brandon McFadden, a professor of food policy economics at the University of Arkansas Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, told Fortune. The most obvious solution for corn farmers would be to export their crops. But while corn exports have hit record highs this year, Trumps trade policy with China has completely inhibited the export of corn from the U.S. to the nation, which has previously been a major boon to the U.S. corn industry. The exports were looking really good, but they would look even better if we were still supplying China so heavily, McFadden said. Other industry experts said these short-term effects are being overstated. Corn syrup production in the U.S. accounts for 410 million bushels of the countrys 15.5 billion bushels of corn, making up less than 3% of the total industrys total, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Economic Research Center. With Coca-Colas use of high-fructose corn syrup representing a fraction of that fraction, the company making the switch to cane sugar wouldnt have an outsized impact on the industry as a whole, according to Scott Irwin, the Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. For Coca-Cola to remove it completely would be a pretty small blip in the corn market, he told Fortune. Fear of a growing MAHA movement But Trumps cane sugar push could still have sizable consequences for the corn industry, Irwin said. The change would have a meaningful impact for U.S. food processing giants such as Archer-Daniels-Midland, which produces high-fructose corn syrup. The manufacturers stock dropped 6% in pre-market trading on Thursday following Trumps announcement, though later mostly recovered. The largest impact of the proposed switch, however, is the symbolic impact of the growing influence of Department of Human Health and Safety Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s controversial Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign, Irwin said. Kennedy has repeatedly targeted ultraprocessed foods, including corn syrup, favoring alternatives like cane sugar, despite some nutrition experts asserting the two sugars are essentially chemically identical. This is exactly the kind of MAHA move that U.S. [agriculture] fears, Irwin told Fortune. Theres clearly a growing consumer backlash captured by the MAHA movement against food additives, chemicals being added, diabetes, obesitythrow it all together. As major U.S. food makers acquiesce to pressure from the Trump administration by adding more explicit packaging labels and vowing to remove dyes and seed oils from their products, theres real concern from the corn industry the administration could outright ban corn syrup, which would have a real price impact on the market, according to Irwin. HHS and the White House did not respond to Fortunes request for comment. Trumps agricultural Catch-22 However, the seemingly unstoppable force of the Trump administrations MAHA push may meet the immovable object of decades-old, powerful lobbying barriers from U.S. agriculture, putting a damper on the prospect of cane-sugar Coke in the U.S. In the 1970s, the U.S. protected sugar producers, particularly beet sugar, building on an 18th-century tradition of piling tariffs on sugar imports to insulate the industry. But as the cost of beet and cane sugar increased in the U.S. and decreased globally, U.S. food processors manufactured corn syrup as a cheap alternative. Corn farming is bolstered by subsidies by the U.S. government, and the powerful corn lobby has continued to oppose changes to the U.S. sugar program limiting imports on sugar, ultimately keeping corn syrup on top. Therefore, according to Irwin, the more effective way to eliminate high-fructose corn syrup would be to weaken the industry by rationalizing U.S. sugar policy. An economists answer is: Lets level the playing field by eliminating the high-priced approach from domestically produced sugar, he said. Not only is the sugar lobby likely too powerful to be dislodgedbut because the Trump administration relies on its large support base of American farmersit backs policies often friendly to U.S. agriculture. When corn trade groups speak out against threats to high-fructose corn syrup, it puts Trump in a Catch-22. Its just going to be trying to walk that tightrope throughout this administration, Irwin said. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com By John Irish and Dominique Vidalon PARIS (Reuters) -A French court on Thursday ruled in favour of releasing Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah from prison, after he served almost 40 years of a life sentence for attacks on U.S. and Israeli diplomats in France. The Paris Appeals court agreed to Abdallah's release on July 25 on the condition he leaves France, a judicial source said. A second source familiar with the case said he would be deported to Lebanon. Abdallah is the former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions. He was jailed in 1987 for his role in the 1982 murders in Paris of U.S. military attache Charles Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov and for the attempted murder of U.S. Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984. The U.S. Department of Justice and France's general prosecutor have for years vigorously opposed his release, and eight previous release requests had been rejected. Neither Abdallah's lawyer nor the Lebanese and U.S. embassies were immediately available for comment. In a hearing in February, the Paris court said Abdallah should make an effort to compensate his victims' families, according to a person familiar with the matter. His lawyer said in June that around 16,000 euros ($18,546) had been disbursed into his account, an amount the U.S. Department of Justice and France's general prosecutor said was insufficient and did not come from Abdallah. A source familiar with the case said on Thursday that Abdallah will not have to pay compensation to the victims. It was not clear if there could be further appeals. Abdallah, 74, has remained a staunch defender of the Palestinian cause. The Paris court has described his behaviour in prison as irreproachable and said in November that he posed "no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts." However, the U.S. Department of Justice has asserted that his release would pose a threat to the safety of U.S. diplomats. Washington has also used Abdallah's previous comments that he would return to his hometown Qobayyat on the Lebanese-Syrian border as a reason not to release him, given the recent conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah fighters. ($1 = 0.8627 euros) (Reporting by John Irish and Dominique Vidalon; Additional reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Joe Bavier) A total of 10 Republican senators are urging the Trump administration to reverse its decision to withhold more than $6 billion in federal funds for education programs already appropriated by Congress. The decision to withhold this funding is contrary to President Trumps goal of returning K-12 education to the states, the GOP senators wrote in a letter to Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought obtained by ABC News. This funding goes directly to states and local school districts, where local leaders decide how this funding is spent, because as we know, local communities know how to best serve students and families, the letter stated. Mark Schiefelbein/AP - PHOTO: Shelley Moore Capito MORE: What do Department of Education cuts mean for American students? Federal aid for schools is typically allocated each year on July 1, but aid was paused on June 30 in an ongoing review of education funding, according to an Education Department memo sent to Congress obtained by ABC News. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W. Va., led the group of senators signing onto the letter -- a rare rebuke by Republicans of the presidents education policies. Capito, who chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-HHS), is a staunch supporter of Education Secretary Linda McMahon and her mission to overhaul the Education Department. The letter encourages Vought to release the funding to states, noting it was already approved by Congress in a short-term spending bill this past spring. The funding that has been paused includes grants for after-school care, student support, English language and adult education, among other programs. MORE: Trump administration pauses $6B in education programs ahead of school year The senators' letter comes just days after about two dozen state attorneys general and Democratic governors sued the Trump administration over the funding review thats left many education leaders scrambling as the school year approaches. We want to see students in our states and across the country thrive, whether they are adult learners, students who speak English as a second language, or students who need after-school care so that their parents can work. We believe you share the same goal, the senators' letter stated. In Alabama, where Trump won overwhelmingly in 2024, Superintendent of Education Eric Mackey told ABC News that hes frustrated the administration decided to halt congressionally appropriated funding in the middle of the summer. J. Scott Applewhite/AP - PHOTO: Russell Vought MORE: Supreme Court allows Trump to continue effort to gut Education Department We're talking about transparency and consistency and making good on a promise, Mackey told ABC News. We're talking about programs that Congress has already authorized and just three weeks before school starts, you just find that the check is not coming. The Education Department referred questions about the funding pause to OMB, which told ABC News many of the programs "grossly misused" government funds to promote a "radical leftwing agenda." The Impoundment Control Act -- a law that states Congress must consider and review executive branch withholdings of budget authorities requires OMB to specify the duration of proposed partial-year deferrals. In a statement to ABC News, an OMB spokesman said no decisions have yet been made. We share your concern about taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs, the senators wrote in the letter. However, we do not believe that is happening with these funds. MORE: States sue over plainly against the law Trump $6B education funding pause Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's decision on Monday to lift an injunction blocking the administration's efforts to gut the Education Department allowed the administration to take a step toward fulfilling Trumps goal of dismantling the agency completely. Such a move would require congressional approval. South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, one of the senators who signed the letter, introduced legislation, called "Returning Education to Our States," that would block grant funds to states and redistribute statutory functions of the department to other agencies. The proposed legislation hasnt been taken up in the Senate this year and would likely fail without 60 Senate yes votes. The other Republican senators who signed the letter were: Susan Collins, of Maine; John Boozman, of Arkansas; Katie Britt, of Alabama; Deb Fischer, of Nebraska; John Hoeven, of North Dakota; Jim Justice, of West Virginia; Mitch McConnell, of Kentucky; and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska. Washington The House on Thursday passed a landmark piece of legislation to regulate cryptocurrency after its fate appeared in limbo when right-wing Republicans staged a rebellion that brought the floor to a standstill. The bill, known as the GENIUS Act, is the first major crypto legislation ever passed by Congress. It now heads to President Trump's desk. It passed in a bipartisan vote of 308 to 122, with 206 Republicans and 102 Democrats supporting it. On Tuesday, a dozen conservatives sank a procedural vote to advance three crypto bills, including the GENIUS Act, which establishes a regulatory framework for the $250 billion market for stablecoins, a type of cryptocurrency tied to the value of an asset like the U.S. dollar. House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, abruptly canceled the remaining floor votes and the holdouts went to the White House to meet Mr. Trump, who later announced that they "have all agreed" to fall in line. But drama unfolded during Wednesday's procedural vote when a few holdouts initially voted against moving forward before dropping their opposition, which was short-lived. The next procedural vote to set up debate on the spate of bills was held open for nearly 10 hours as the holdouts sought to merge a broader market structure bill with legislation to ban a central bank digital currency. Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, who leads the conservative House Freedom Caucus, said holdouts had made a deal with Mr. Trump to package the two digital asset measures. The plan ran into opposition from those who wrote the legislation and upended what House Republicans had termed "crypto week." House Republicans had originally wanted the GENIUS Act to be married with the CLARITY Act, a broader bill that would set rules for when a digital asset is considered a commodity or security. Combining the crypto bills would have sent the legislation back to the Senate and slowed the process. Mr. Trump had pressed Congress to quickly pass the GENIUS Act as a standalone bill, saying it would make the U.S. a leader in digital assets. This week, conservatives pushed to tie the CLARITY Act with the controversial Anti-Central Bank Digital Currency Surveillance State Act, which would prohibit the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency. Conservatives said the Senate's stablecoin bill and the broader market structure legislation were insufficient because it would allow for a central bank digital currency, which they opposed. "We feel like we need to be dealing with all this at once," said Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, who helped stall the bill. A deal was ultimately made late Wednesday to tie the ban on a central bank digital currency with the must-pass annual defense reauthorization bill, and holdouts again flipped their votes to allow the legislative process to move on. The Senate approved the bipartisan stablecoin bill last month after experiencing hiccups caused by a Democratic revolt over concerns about the Trump family's business ventures involving crypto and the potential that they could make the president vulnerable to foreign influence. The Trump family's crypto investments have increased their wealth by billions of dollars in recent months as the administration continues to loosen the federal government's regulatory approach to the digital currency industry as a whole. The White House has denied that there are any conflicts of interest and said Mr. Trump's assets are in a trust managed by his children. Democratic critics were also worried that the legislation did not contain strong enough provisions to protect consumers, the financial system and national security. It's faced similar criticism from House Democrats. "By passing this bill, Congress will be telling the world that Congress is OK with corruption, OK with foreign companies buying influence," Rep. Maxine Waters of California, the top Democrat on the House Financial Services Committee, said Thursday. Democrats who back the legislation have argued that regulations are long overdue, even if the measure is imperfect. "The question is, do you want some rules of the road or no rules of the road?" Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey said during floor debate. The broader market structure bill also passed with bipartisan support and now heads to the Senate. The legislation banning a central bank digital currency was approved largely along party lines. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Nanny on the run in alleged California surrogacy scam An Israeli shell struck the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, officials said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later issued a statement, acknowledging the strike was a mistake. The Parish Priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was lightly wounded in the strike, the patriarchate confirmed. "This morning, at approximately 10:20 a.m., the Comp(o)und of the Holy Family in Gaza, belonging to the Latin Patriarchate, was struck by the Israeli army. As of this hour, three individuals lost their lives as a result of the injuries sustained and ten others were wounded, including one in critical condition and two in serious condition," the patriarchate said in a statement. The patriarchate said it condemned "this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place." "However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza," the statement continued. "Many other innocent civilians have also been harmed, displaced and killed. Death, suffering and destruction are everywhere. The time has come for leaders to raise their voices and to do all what is necessary in order to stop this tragedy which is humanly and morally, unjustified. This horrific war must come to a complete end-so that we may commence the long work of restoring human dignity." In a statement provided by the Church in Rome, Pope Leo XIV said he was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack" on the church, adding a renewal of his "call for an immediate ceasefire." Netanyahu said "stray ammunition" had hit the church by accident. "Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church," Netanyahu said. "Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful. We are grateful to Pope Leo for his words of comfort. Israel is investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites." Father Carlos (center) from the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, assists casualties injured in an apparent Israeli strike on the church at the city's Al-Ahli Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, July 17, 2025. / Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP/Getty Earlier on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said "Israeli raids on Gaza" had hit the Church of the Holy Family, condemning "the attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months" as unacceptable. "No military action can justify such behavior," the Italian leader said on social media. Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a previous statement that "Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty," and said the result of the IDF's investigation would be "published transparently." "Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians," the foreign ministry said. Parish Priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, receives care after he was injured in an apparent Israeli strike on the church, at the city's Al-Ahli Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, July 17, 2025. / Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP/Getty The Patriarchate of Jerusalem confirmed earlier that Romanelli, the Parish Priest, was among those wounded, and that "the Church sustained damage." The late Pope Francis would regularly call Romanelli to check in with him and the people staying in the church during the war in Gaza. In his final public appearance, one day before his death, Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as well as the release of Israeli hostages. CBS News' team in Gaza saw Romanelli being brought to the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. He appeared to have sustained an injury to his right leg. The Italian Catholic news agency SIR reported earlier that the parish had been housing around 500 displaced Christians, but Fadel Naem, the acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, told The Associated Press there were both Christians and Muslims sheltering at the church, including a number of children with disabilities. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Wall Street Journal reports Trump sent "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein, Trump threatens to sue Arturo Holmes/Getty; Moviestore/Shutterstock Joy Behar; Nicolas Cage NEED TO KNOW Joy Behar has opinions about Nicolas Cage's performance in the 1987 film Moonstruck On a recent episode of The View, Behar said she felt that the film did not represent Italians "that well" Others on the show disagreed with Behar's assessment, which came after Cage recently admitted he once dated Sarah Jessica Parker While Nicolas Cage has been lauded for his role in the 1987 film Moonstruck, there are some critics of the actor's performance including View co-host Joy Behar. On the Thursday, July 17 broadcast of The View, the co-hosts were discussing Cage's recent admission that he once dated Sarah Jessica Parker but didn't hear from her after she met his parents. "What didn't they like about him? Besides his performance in Moonstruck?" Behar asked, at which point Whoopi Goldberg offered, "I thought his performance in Moonstruck was great." Behar replied, saying, "I'm not saying it wasn't, but that could've been something that irritated them." Co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin then interjected to ask: "Now we're just dragging Nicolas Cage?" "Well, I'm Italian," Behar who is Italian-American said, adding: "I never thought that movie represented Italians that well." Sunset Boulevard/Corbis via Getty Moonstruck 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. Cher won a Best Actress Oscar for the film, in which she and the late Danny Aiello played newly engaged couple Loretta Castorini and Johnny Cammareri. When Johnny leaves for Italy to visit his dying mother, he asks Loretta to visit his hot-tempered and estranged brother, Ronny (played by Cage), to tell them of their engagement. When she does, Loretta finds herself falling for Ronny, instead. The discussion about the film on The View came after Cage, 61, recently admitted that he likely bombed his first impression when he met the Sex and the City stars mother in the late 90s, in a statement to E! News on Monday, July 14. "I cared about Sarah, but I don't think I passed the mom test," Cage told the outlet. "I recall sitting down with her and her mother for dinner at the Russian Tea Room, and I don't know if it was my blue Vanson Leather motorcycle jacket (which I still have) or my sinusitis, but I didn't hear from her again." Cage's comments came after Parker, 60, revealed on the Sunday, July 13, episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen that she and the National Treasure movie star dated around the time of their 1992 romantic comedy Honeymoon in Vegas. "Did you date Nic Cage?" Cohen, 57, asked his guest point-blank. "Um, yes, I did," she answered. "Yes, I did." Read the original article on People This article discusses suicide and suicidal ideation. If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. At The GenderCool Project, an advocacy group that supports transgender and nonbinary children, organizers work with young people who are thriving and excited about their future. But that pride doesnt happen in a vacuum, said Chase Glenn, the project's executive director. It takes support," he said. Especially when the world feels unsafe. Now, Glenn and other LGBTQ+ community advocates say a critical layer of support is being stripped away. Specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline are facing shutdown on July 17 as part of federal budget cuts that include an overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The LGBTQ+-focused 988 lifeline program, which marked its third anniversary on July 16, has served an estimated 1.5 million young people since its inception, according to the Trevor Project. Cutting specialized suicide hotline services for LGBTQ youth sends a devastating message to these youth, especially at a time when theyre already up against nonstop political attacks and misinformation, Glenn said. He isn't alone in sounding alarms over the move. Jaymes Black, CEO of the Trevor Project, called the programs termination unfathomable. This administration has made a dangerous decision to play politics with real young people's lives, Black said. The Trevor Project, one of seven federally funded contact centers that have partnered with the Lifeline to offer LGBTQ+-focused support, has handled about half of the line's overall calls. Since April, when the proposed cuts were first revealed, the program has served about 70,000 LGBTQ+ youth per month. That's compared to between 45,000 and 51,000 children monthly during the same time frame in 2024. Demonstrators conduct a candlelight vigil in memory of transgender friends lost to murder and suicide in March 2017 in Chicago, Illinois. The demonstration was sparked by President Donald Trump's decision to reverse an Obama-era policy requiring public schools to allow transgender students to use bathrooms corresponding with their gender identity. The HHS restructuring consolidates 28 divisions into 15, including a newly created Administration for a Healthy America to implement Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s Make America Healthy Again agenda. Asked about the termination of the program, the department told USA TODAY the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration made a critical decision that sustained the entire 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by using remaining fiscal year funds to support all individuals. The 988 hotline will continue to operate as a direct connection to immediate support for all Americans, regardless of their circumstances, the department said. In a statement issued about the program's termination, SAMHSA, a division of HHS, said the Lifeline would no longer silo "LGB+" youth services, omitting transgender people in its description, and instead "focus on serving all help seekers." 'Mental health equivalent of 911' The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is operated by the nonprofit organization, Vibrant Emotional Health, through a SAMHSA grant. The hotline originally launched in 2005, offering immediate support to people experiencing a suicidal crisis. It's the mental health equivalent of 911, Mark Henson, the Trevor Projects vice president for federal advocacy and government affairs, said. The subnetwork serving LGBTQ+ young people launched as a pilot program in 2022, joining other subnetworks serving veterans and Spanish speakers with specialized mental health care. Veterans can press 1, for instance, while Spanish speakers can press 2. For LGBTQ+ youth, pressing 3 puts them in touch with a counselor well-versed in issues that disproportionately impact LGBTQ+ youth, including stigma, family estrangement and potential homelessness. That enables our counselors to more quickly bond with the caller to understand, without having to have an explanation, some of the things that they're going through and create that respect and trust in order to help them through that day, Henson said. Crisis Service Coordinator Chris Bright (L) staffs a Trevor Project call center in West Hollywood, California, in January 2017. While the Trump administration is shuttering the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline's LGBTQ-focused services as of July 17, 2025, the Trevor Project's classic hotline services will continue. Research shows LGBTQ+ young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers. About 4 in 10 LGBTQ+ youth seriously consider suicide every year, according to the Trevor Projects 2024 annual survey; meanwhile, 90% of LGBTQ+ youth said increasing political rhetoric targeting the community had negatively affected their mental health. Its not that LGBTQ youth are inherently more likely to consider suicide, said Cheryl Greene, senior director of Welcoming Schools, an anti-bullying program run by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Its the external factors, like discrimination and lack of support. Henson said that those factors underscore why the pilot program for LGBTQ+ youth was added as a 988 subnetwork in the first place. President Donald Trump has targeted diversity and identity efforts since taking office earlier this year, dismantling federal programs through executive order and pressuring contractors to end "illegal DEI discrimination," which prompted some corporations to follow suit. In critical moments, 'every minute counts' Henson said in addition to the 988 hotlines LGBTQ+ services, the cutbacks also include $25 million in annual funding provided to the Trevor Project for hotline support, which the agency told USA TODAY enabled it to double its number of youth served last year. While the Trevor Projects own 24/7 crisis services will continue, our ability to support youth will be cut in half just as demand is rising, he said. What happens to those other folks who need those services? Its a question that keeps me up at night. Resources and hotlines are available for operators staffing the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to direct people to on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024 in Salem, Ore. LGBTQ+ youth won't be left without any place to go. With the press 3 option no longer available, calls will instead be handled generically, routed to state-level counselors, though they wont be guaranteed to have the same expertise, Henson said. Given the surging volume of LGBTQ+ calls, the move also risks overwhelming the available number of state counselors, which he fears could lead to increased wait times. In suicide prevention, every minute counts, he said. Zach Eisenstein, communications director for the Trevor Project, said wait times vary from day to day and hour to hour. A study by Northwestern University researchers published last year in the National Library of Medicine found that as of December 2022, the average wait time for all methods of contact calls, texts, or chats was 44 seconds. As the 988 changes set in, advocates also pointed to the Trump administrations heightened focus on the community and the hundreds of legislative proposals introduced yearly aimed at LGBTQ+ rights. "Many of these youth dont have affirming families, and schools are struggling to affirm them. It just seems cruel, compounding everything right now, to take away this lifeline, said Greene, of the Welcoming Schools program. Black, of the Trevor Project, agreed. Despite our political differences, we should all agree that every young persons life is worth saving, he said. I am heartbroken that this administration has decided to say, loudly and clearly, that some young peoples lives are not. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shutdown of LGBTQ+ 988 lifeline alarms suicide-prevention group Brittany Hosea-Small Przemyslaw Jeziorski NEED TO KNOW A University of California, Berkeley professor's 43-year-old ex-wife is among the five arrested after he was murdered while in Greece for a custody hearing, according to reports Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a native of Poland who taught at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, was shot on July 4 in Agia Paraskevi, a suburb of the Greek capital of Athens, local media outlets previously stated UC Berkeley previously confirmed Jeziorskis death in a statement to PEOPLE Five people have been arrested following the killing of a University of California, Berkeley professor, who was shot and killed in Greece while there for a custody hearing involving his children, according to reports. Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a native of Poland who taught at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley, was shot on July 4 in Agia Paraskevi, a suburb of the Greek capital of Athens, Greek outlet Ta Nea reported, citing Hellenic Polices accounts. Polish and American outlets TVN 24 and ABC 7, respectively also reported this, citing accounts from Jeziorskis family members. UC Berkeley confirmed Jeziorskis death in a statement to PEOPLE. It's now been reported that five people, including the victim's 43-year-old ex-wife, have been arrested for the shooting, per Greek national broadcaster ERT and Ta Nea. ERT noted that Jeziorski's ex-wife's current partner, 35, had also been arrested, as well as two Albanians and a Bulgarian. Greece's Hellenic Police didn't immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE for additional information. Brittany Hosea-Small Przemyslaw Jeziorski Per ERT, Jeziorski's ex-wife has denied the charges against her. CNN also reported the news, citing his ex-wife's lawyer. As previously reported by PEOPLE, a man with his face covered approached the professor and shot him on July 4, per Te Nea. Jeziorski was in Greece for a custody hearing, ABC 7 reported. The shooting occurred in the vicinity of the home of his ex-wife, who is a Greek economist, per Ta Nea. The outlet further reported that the woman has custody of the children but objected to Jeziorski taking them on vacations in the summer. He was within feet of his ex-wife's house at the time of the shooting, on his way for a scheduled visitation with his children, Ta Nea reported. Alamy A photo of a police car in Greece Seven bullet casings from a 9mm caliber firearm had been found at the scene of the shooting, CNN reported, citing police. The outlet noted that the victim's two young children were now in Greek child custody, citing his brother. ukasz Jeziorski said in a statement, Przemeks 10-year-old children, who are U.S. and Polish citizens, are now under care in accordance with Greek child custody procedures, per CNN. Our primary concern is their safety and well-being, and helping them reconnect with their family to minimize the trauma they have already endured," the message added, according to the publication. The statement from the family stated, Przemek loved his children and fought for them until the end. He paid the heaviest price, unnecessarily, for this." This summer, he wanted to bring his children to his hometown of Gdynia, Poland. This death and the circumstances surrounding it remain impossible for us to accept, but we find some measure of comfort knowing that progress is being made toward justice, and that the kids are about to reunite with their family into a safe environment," the message continued, per CNN. ukasz said that their "family is heartbroken," but "thankful for the help of the U.S. Consulate in Athens, and the Polish Consulate in Athens, helping care for the well-being of the kids," the statement said, according to the outlet. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. In an online fundraiser set up to help pay for funeral costs and to transfer Jeziorski's body to Poland, his brother said Jeziorski was a loving father to his two young children and loved teaching. Zsolt Katona, a fellow professor and colleague at UC Berkeley, condemned the senseless tragedy. In a statement to PEOPLE through the school, Katona said Jeziorski was always there if someone needed help. He had great influence on the marketing field, not only through his research, but his energetic presence and optimism combined with a healthy dose of skepticism, Katona said, in part. If there is any consolation in these moments, it's knowing the lasting impact that he left on so many people's lives." Read the original article on People New Mexico's wild side goes far beyond the typical tourist trail or even the Breakfast Burrito Byway, which, yes, is a real thing. From rescued llamas carrying your gourmet picnic to thousands of bats spiraling into the sunset, the "Land of Enchantment" most definitely earns its name, offering some of the most delightfully unexpected wildlife encounters in the Southwest. Here are the quirkiest animal adventures that will leave you in tune with your wilder side, tapping into that spiritual cowboy energy we've all been craving. (Just me?) New Mexico True 1. Take a llama to lunch in the high country After a five-year hiatus, one of New Mexico's most beloved guides is back in business. Stuart Wilde, affectionately known as "the llama man," has quietly relaunched Wild Earth Llama Adventures near Taos, offering what might be the most signature New Mexican wilderness experience there is. At Wild Earth Llama Rescue ranch, Stuart and his wife have spent decades rescuing neglected and abused llamas. The ones that show an interest in cooperating with humans become part of their trail crew, carrying your gear and a gourmet picnic into the high country backcountry. Their "Take a Llama to Lunch" program combines slow, scenic wilderness hikes with scratch-made meals, stargazing, and the quiet companionship of these gentle rescued animals. With popular trails more crowded than ever, Wild Earth specializes in seeking out quieter paths, offering single-day and multi-day treks where naturalist guides share stories of regional ecology and Indigenous history. It's a soulful trekking experience rooted in Leave No Trace ethics that feels secluded, intentional, and deeply rooted in place. Deann McBride 2. Witness a million bats take flight while sipping craft beer From June 10 to August 26, 2025, Ted Turner's Sierra Grande and Armendaris ranches are offering travelers the chance to witness one of the largest migrations on the planet during their Bats & Brews Tour. Your journey begins with a brewery tour at Truth or Consequences Brewery, where you'll sample local craft beers and purchase your favorites. Then you'll venture into the untamed wilderness of Armendaris, positioning yourself at the edge of a massive ancient cave. Overhead, more than a million pairs of Mexican free-tailed bat wings create a synchronous aerial dance, forming absolutely gorgeous shapes across the sky. You can sip a most spectacular beverage from the brewery while nature puts on one of its most spectacular performances. Tip: For a different bat experience, Carlsbad Cavern National Park hosts a free ranger-led Bat Flight Program each evening from April through October. Visitors gather at the Bat Flight Amphitheater to witness hundreds of thousands of Brazilian free-tailed bats spiral out of the cavern at dusk in search of food. bjdlzx via Getty Images 3. Meet rescued wolves and rare "singing dogs" Down a dusty road in western New Mexico lies Candy Kitchen, a small community founded by a Prohibition-era moonshiner that's now home to the Wild Spirit Wolf Sanctuary. Founded in 1991 by artist Jacque Evans, the sanctuary rescues and cares for abandoned wolves and wolfdogs that are too reliant on humans to survive in the wild. Guided tours introduce visitors to the animals while caregivers share their stories and offer treats. Beyond wolves, the sanctuary cares for other canines, including foxes, dingos, and coyotes, as well as a pair of rare "singing dogs" from New Guinea known for their unique vocalizations. The sanctuary also features a campground, perfect for stargazing and hopefully hearing a wolf howling under the starry New Mexico sky. Sean Fitzgerald 4. Come face-to-face with bugling elk and Ted Turner's bison Vermejo, a jewel of northern New Mexico, spans over 550,000 stunning acres of diverse landscapes, ranging from snowcapped alpine tundra to 19 fishable lakes. This rewilded paradise is home to elk, bison, black bears, and mountain lions, offering some pretty dang thrilling wildlife encounters in the Southwest. (So thrilling, these encounters should be of the faraway kind.) The Fall Elk Rut Tour might deliver the wildest moment you'll ever have in nature: coming face-to-face with a bugling elk. When the bulls are fired up to breed in autumn, expert guides bring them in close enough that their screams will rattle your chest. You'll drive out to the breeding grounds in the dark, set up in the trees, and your guide will use elk calls to fire up the bulls for some National Geographic-quality photos. The Guided Bison Expedition tells the story of how Ted Turner brought back the American Bison from the verge of extinction. You'll see the genetically unique Castle Rock Herd and learn about the low-stress methods used to manage them. Witnessing these iconic creatures in a rewilded setting, much like they inhabited before the "West was won," is an inspiring way to spend a half-day. 5. Experience the Southwest's first urban wildlife refuge Valle de Oro National Wildlife Refuge near Albuquerque serves as an urban oasis for native wildlife, community members, and travelers. Located on a former dairy farm, it's the first urban wildlife refuge in the Southwest, providing unique environmental education and recreation opportunities just minutes from New Mexico's largest metropolitan area. The refuge offers wildlife tours, guided hikes, environmental education programs, birding events, photography workshops, and art and music events. It's proof that incredible wildlife experiences don't always require venturing deep into the wilderness. New Mexico True 6. Join the Festival of the Cranes at Bosque del Apache Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge encompasses 57,331 acres along the Rio Grande near Socorro, at the northern edge of the Chihuahuan Desert. During the Festival of the Cranes, thousands of sandhill cranes, snow geese, ducks, and other migratory birds return to The Bosque in an awe-inspiring display. The festival features over 85 unique birding and photography workshops, tours, hikes, art installations, talks, and ecologist presentations. It's a celebration of one of North America's most spectacular bird migrations. 7. Trek with burros in the Cerrillos Hills New Mexico Pack Burros and Amigos de Cerrillos Hills State Park host annual burro races and an "art in the park" market each May. NM Pack Burros also leases out their friendly burros for events, including a Tequila Burro experience, guided burro treks in Albuquerque and elsewhere, and even an Intro Burro Packing course. (Life skills are important, y'all.) These sure-footed companions provide a great way to explore New Mexico's high desert landscape while connecting with the state's mining and ranching heritage or, you know, an opportunity to just have some wild, memorable fun. After all, with these burros, there are no guarantees you won't get lovably licked. Of Paolo Genoveses 2016 Italian phenom Perfect Strangers, the original Variety review warned remakes will be rampant, and sure enough, Guinness World Records made it official last fall: The hooky dramedy about a dinner party where a group of friends agree to read their private text messages aloud has since become the most remade film in the world, with no fewer than two dozen versions popping up everywhere from South Korea to Azerbaijan (although, for complicated rights reasons, weve so far been spared an English-language version). The success of that model seems to have gone straight to Genoveses head, as the writer-director treats his latest feature, Madly, more like a format than a proper film: The high-concept romantic comedy which personifies the conflicting thoughts a man and a woman experience during the course of their first date is ripe for reinvention in a diverse range of languages and cultures. If and when that happens, however, one hopes each new filmmaker will make strides to improve the story in the retelling. More from Variety As it is, Madly doesnt feel all that original to begin with. The setup borrows from early-90s American sitcom Hermans Head (or Pixars popular Inside Out) in that it alternates between the real world, where Piero (Edoardo Leo) meets Lara (Pilar Fogliati) at her apartment for a meal and more, and the colorful choruses quarreling inside their respective noggins. Unfortunately, these diverse emotions/impulses are not clearly identified or defined in the script, which Genovese co-wrote with four others. Madly slightly favors Pieros point of view, but does a decent job of giving Laras interior monologue equal time, to the extent that a relatively simple first date he arrives at her apartment, they tentatively size one another up over drinks, alternating between flirtation and conflict, before all their attractions and insecurities come to a climax, so to speak, in the bedroom drags out as both parties overthink every little thing. Pieros peanut gallery consists of hot-blooded Eros (Claudio Santamaria), romantic-minded Romeo (Maurizio Lastrico), the rational yet reticent Professore (Marco Giallini) and a wild card called Valium (Rocco Papaleo), whos the risk taker of the bunch. Meanwhile, Laras feelings are represented by Trilli (Emanuela Fanelli), Giulietta (Vittoria Puccini), Alfa (Claudia Pandolfi) and Scheggia (Maria Ciara Giannetta), who apparently correspond to the same mix of lust, love, logic and rebellion Piero is juggling though her feminine wiles are gathered in a stylish modern loft, whereas Pieros macho quattro occupy what looks like a Spartan industrial storage room. Given the claustrophobic spaces their respective psyches occupy, its strange that Genovese chose to set the couples rendezvous inside Laras apartment. (Visually, it would have been more cinematic to have them walking and talking around Rome, the way Jesse and Celine do in the Before trilogy, instead of moving from kitchen to couch to bedroom.) The movie opens in Pieros mind, where it takes a moment for us to realize that the four gentlemen debating what kind of condoms to buy for the night have been engaged in some version of the same debate all his life: to be bashful or bold, chivalrous or chauvinistic? Across town, Lara is preemptively second-guessing the night as well. Was it the right move to invite this near-stranger over for dinner? Will he get the wrong idea? Whats the right level of lighting to set the mood? This latter matter earns the first big laugh in a movie full of broad, sitcom-style gags, as we see her adjusting the lights from Pieros perspective, to whom it looks as if either a welder might be working or a disco party is in full swing. He rings the bell anyway, and once inside, they make slightly awkward conversation (Shall we lie down at the table? Lara asks, allowing a Freudian slip to spice things up), while their interior dialogues work overtime (Lets get the lasagna knife, castrate him and get it over with, Trilli suggests). The trouble with Genoveses approach is that each tiny choice sparks a kind of mental skirmish some of them justified, as when Laras ex interrupts their dinner such that the two come across as even more neurotic than your typical Woody Allen character. What Madly lacks by American romantic-comedy standards, at least is the intellectual chemistry that causes us to fall in love with these characters while they are presumably falling in love with each other. Though their minds may be racing, these two prove too shallow to sustain much of a conversation, and because the movie lets us in on their insecurities, very little of what they say feels sincere. Instead, Piero and Lara are cautiously trying to seduce one another while protecting themselves from shagging what could be a crazy person. When it inevitably does come, the sex scene amuses (tasteful between the couple, while their cheering sections go wild). But the morning after is the clincher, revealing that everything else was prelude to the all-important question of how to get outside their own heads and seize on the potential of a genuine human connection. Genovese deals with this quite cleverly, putting those obnoxious anthropomorphic emotions to good use in the end. Madly may be clunky and too culturally specific for international export, but that can always be fixed when someone remakes it for your market. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. ABC7/Youtube Arrest made after boy found in dumpster NEED TO KNOW Malik Brycson Gaddis, 20, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Wednesday, July 16, in connection with the death of a boy discovered near a dumpster in Panorama City, Calif. The boy is believed by police to be between the ages of 5 and 7 years old He was pronounced deceased at the scene An arrest has been made in the death of a boy whose body was discovered near a dumpster in Panorama City, Calif.. Malik Brycson Gaddis, 20, was arrested on suspicion of murder on Wednesday, July 16, in connection with the death, a Los Angeles Police Department spokesman tells PEOPLE. Gaddis was also booked on a domestic violence warrant. He is being held on $2 million bail. This comes after five people were previously detained in connection with the case. A second suspect was arrested on unrelated charges. At a Tuesday police commission meeting, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said the boy, who has yet to be identified, was between the ages of 5 and 7 years old and showed signs of trauma, per ABC7. "We are coordinating with regional partners and continuing efforts to identify the victim and determine the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident," McDonnell said. The boy was found near a dumpster in the 8200 block of Van Nuys Boulevard, the Los Angeles Times reported. "This is horrific, and it impacts every single one of us that comes to these scenes, everyone at home who hears about these scenes," LAPD Det. Meghan Aguilar said at the time, per ABC7. "We've got mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, anyone you don't have to be one of those to know how horrific this is." Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The LAPD said officers responded to a call about the child at 7 a.m. on Saturday, July 12. The boy was pronounced deceased at the scene. At a vigil on Tuesday, community members spoke out about the still unnamed boy. "The community has come to pay respects to the little young man" Canoga Park resident Yvette Lagunas said, per Fox 11. "Its hard and I just feel like theres a lot of love here for him." "He needs to get justice, said resident Jose Gonzales, according to Fox11. Justice needs to be served for him. Of course, theyre never going to bring him back, but at least they can pay for what they did." If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People Just three days after being granted immunity from prosecution under Californias mental health diversion laws, a Napa man allegedly committed a brutal murder, prompting serious concerns about a system intended to protect public safety. On Tuesday, Napa County prosecutors filed murder charges against Ramiro Ochoa Mendoza, 36, for the killing of Noel Batres, 47, whose body was found under a bridge on July 3. Mendoza, who had a history of criminal offenses and poor compliance on probation, was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial earlier this year on misdemeanor charges including violating a restraining order and resisting arrest. Despite numerous attempts by defense counsel to dismiss the cases outright, the Court, following legislative guidelines, ordered Mendoza into a mental health diversion program with supervised release for the two remaining misdemeanors. Illegal Immigrant Killer Of Laken Riley Wins Unexpected Court Victory For Mental Evaluation Mendoza, however, failed to appear for his scheduled mental health diversion review and was deemed non-compliant with the terms of the program. Read On The Fox News App "Mendoza promptly failed to appear in court for his mental health diversion review and was found to be out of compliance with the diversion program," the Napa County District Attorney's Office said. Even with repeated violations and non-compliance, the court was legally required to dismiss charges due to Mendozas mental health status and the misdemeanor-only nature of his offenses. California Man Accused In Recent Murder Was Let Out Of Jail On 'Mental Health Diversion' Six Months Ago "Because the law prohibits prosecution from continuing in cases where a defendant is deemed incompetent on only misdemeanor charges, the court had no choice but to dismiss both remaining cases and did so on July 8, 2025," the DA's office said. The dismissal followed recent legislative reforms, specifically Senate Bill 317, that bar courts from restoring competency in misdemeanor-only cases, even if the defendant shows signs of escalating behavior. Mendoza was re-arrested on July 11 and now faces murder charges with enhancements related to his prior offenses and the alleged brutality of Batres killing. The case is already fueling debate over the limits of mental health protections and their implications for public safety. Prosecutors Plan To Drop Charges Against Sex Offender In Elementary School Alleged Kidnapping Attempt A Napa man was charged with murder days after being granted mental health immunity. "This case highlights the real-world impact of the recent legal reforms, where courts are required to prioritize mental health treatment over traditional prosecution, even when defendants exhibit an unwillingness or inability to comply with court-ordered programs," Napa County Deputy District Attorney Katie Susemihl said in a statement. California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones criticized Californias "mental health diversion" law, arguing it allowed a violent repeat offender to be released without proper oversight, leading to the murder of an innocent man. "This is yet another devastating example of Californias soft-on-crime policies creating more victims instead of preventing crime. Under the so-called mental health diversion law, a violent repeat offender was released and just days later, he brutally murdered an innocent man," Jones shared in a statement with Fox News Digital. "The system failed at every turn. This law prioritizes the rights of offenders over public safety, even when individuals show no willingness to comply with court-ordered treatment. If someone is truly mentally unwell, they should receive help within the justice system not be dumped back onto our streets without accountability or oversight," he continued. Jones called the current system broken and urged legal reform to prevent further tragedies and better protect the public. "Californians deserve better than laws that protect dangerous individuals while endangering the public. Its time to fix this broken system before more innocent lives are lost," Jones said. A GoFundMe campaign was launched to assist with returning Batres remains to his home country of Guatemala. According to the page, Batres was a resident of Napa for 26 years. "Noel was not perfect by any means. However, he was a wonderful, caring, gentle soul," the page read. "We ask that you please help us send Noel back home to be seen by his immediate family one last time before they lay him to rest." Mendoza was being held without bail at the Napa County Department of Corrections. Fox News Digital reached out to Governor Gavin Newsom's office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Original article source: Man allegedly commits brutal murder just days after being freed by California's mental health laws CHICAGO The government of Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is suing El Chapo's American defense lawyer after the attorney cast doubts on her efforts to fight corruption and cartels. Sheinbaum told reporters in Mexico on July 15 that the country is suing Jeffrey Lichtman, a New York-based litigator best known for defending Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman and his sons, Ovidio Guzman Lopez and Joaquin Guzman Lopez. The defamation lawsuit comes in response to comments by Lichtman indicating that his Sinaloa Cartel clients could shed light on public corruption in Mexico connected to Sheinbaum's Morena political party. "Moral and political authority is required to govern Mexico, and to be worthy of our people. So, the certainty of that authority my history speaks for me," Sheinbaum said. The agency that filed the suit is the Legal Counsel of the Federal Executive, or Consejero Juridico del Ejecutivo Federal in Spanish, she said. Lichtman's remarks on Sheinbaum and other Mexican administrations came outside federal court in Chicago, where he was representing El Chapo's son Ovidio Guzman Lopez. In exchange for pleading guilty on charges involving international drug trafficking and murder, Guzman Lopez is expected to cooperate with American authorities fighting cartels, including by sharing information on corrupt public officials. The longtime litigator mocked the Mexican president's response. "If this was anything more than political grandstanding to her base, Sheinbaum would sue me, a private American citizen, in an American courtroom instead of in Mexico where the lawsuit has no teeth," Lichtman told USA TODAY. "Why she felt the need to spend days denouncing me in part for representing clients charged with crimes, instead of addressing the many difficult issues her country faces is frightening and very telling." Officials at the Mexican embassy in Washington, D.C., did not provide a copy of the lawsuit. Jeffrey Lichtman, lawyer for El Chapo's son, Joaquin Guzman Lopez, speaks to members of the press at the Dirksen U.S. courthouse as his client is set to make his initial U.S. court appearance in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., July 30, 2024. REUTERS/Vincent Alban What impact will the lawsuit have? Mexico's efforts to sue a private citizen in another country mark a rare if not unprecedented move, according to experts following the case. One Mexican scholar called it a "spectacle" that might wind up hurting Mexico more than the American attorney it's aimed at discrediting. "This all seems to be a show," Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a George Mason University professor, told USA TODAY. "I do not think she is serious about this. It is just a spectacle But the Trump administration wins overall and reinforces its false narrative of Mexico being a 'narcostate.'" President Donald Trump said as recently as July 16 that cartels have tremendous control over Mexico and its politicians. The president's comments came when he signed a bill extending tougher prison sentences for fentanyl trafficking. Correa-Cabrera, author of Los Zetas Inc.: Criminal Corporations, Energy, and Civil War in Mexico, also called Lichtman's comments a "spectacle." What did Lichtman say? The comments at the heart of the lawsuit came outside of a federal courtroom in Chicago, where Lichtman was representing El Chapo's son at a guilty plea hearing. Guzman Lopez is one of the Chapitos, or sons of the drug kingpin who took over the cartel after his arrest and extradition in 2017. Lichtman was answering questions from reporters in the Dirksen federal courthouse when he criticized Mexican President Sheinbaum for saying that the U.S. was negotiating with terrorists for making a deal with Guzman Lopez. "Far be it from me to defend the American government they're not exactly my friends in these cases," said the lawyer who represented El Chapo in 2018. "That being said, the idea that the American government would include the Mexican government in any kind of American legal decision negotiation is absurd." In Washington, D.C., Rep. Lou Correa, (D-CA) shows in 2023 a photograph of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, a son of former Sinaloa cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, who was extradited to the U.S from Mexico. Lichtman referenced public corruption cases in Mexico and cartel leaders where he says Mexican authorities "did nothing." Mexican authorities are essentially at war with cartels in parts of the country and attempts to arrest bosses have led to full-scale battles, including in capturing Guzman Lopez in 2023. Lichtman also responded in a post on social media to Sheinbaum's criticisms: "Some free advice: don't discuss my clients in a cheap effort to score political points unless you are prepared for my unfiltered response." Why is Mexico's Sheinbaum suing? President Sheinbaum's lawsuit against El Chapo's lawyer might not get anywhere in court but having Lichtman pay a fine might not actually be the goal, according to experts. "The Mexican government's president speaks to the Mexican citizenry and sends a message of authority, dismissing what the lawyer says," said Jesus Perez Caballero, a researcher at El Colegio de la Frontera Norte, a college in Tijuana. "It's a way to preemptively quash any future news about the confessions made by detainees like Ovidio Guzman." The lawsuit, Perez Caballero said, is about undermining the credibility Lichtman is building for Guzman Lopez before his words become considered "common sense." From left to right: Archivaldo Ivan Guzman Salazar; Jesus Alfredo Guzman Salazar; Joaquin Guzman Lopez; Ovidio Guzman Lopez. Ultimately, Mexican authorities fear Guzman Lopez's account could become the default narrative for U.S. authorities, Perez Caballero said. Guzman Lopez's brother and fellow Chapito Joaquin Guzman Lopez is also in U.S. custody. American authorities arrested him in El Paso, Texas in July 2024. He has pleaded not guilty in the Northern District of Illinois and is awaiting trial, according to federal officials. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Mexican President Sheinbaum sues El Chapo's American lawyer Illustration: Eddie Marshall | Steve Allen | Karen Keczmerski | Dreamstime.com | ChatGPT As programs created to support America's Afghan allies are increasingly shuttered, about 1,500 Afghans remain on U.S. base Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) in Doha, Qatar, uncertain about their futures. Around 1,200 CAS residents are waiting for processing through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which has been suspended by executive order since January 20. The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) has attempted to enforce the resumption of the program through Pacito v. Trump. The government has fought the case strenuously, including with its most recent argument that refugees are included in their travel ban. On July 14, however, Judge Jamal Whitehead ordered the government to resume processing USRAP cases for Afghans at CAS within 14 days. Senior Staff Attorney at IRAP Mevlude Akay Alp, said "the court rejected the government's attempts to undermine its order to process refugees, including Afghans." Acknowledging the likely legal battles ahead, Alp added that "the government is obligated to process Afghans at CAS, and IRAP stands ready to fight back against any further attempts to abdicate its responsibility to protect Afghan refugees." These ever-changing circumstances weigh heavily on Afghans in the USRAP program. Multiple CAS residents and American volunteers confirm that last week, USRAP applicants held several days of peaceful demonstrations to protest the lack of information about their futures. Individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity said that U.S. government officials responded to the protest by telling residents that CAS will close on September 28 and that refugee resettlement is not an option due to the travel ban. Two CAS residents said that Afghans on base have been encouraged to return to their country. Families who choose to self-deport are reportedly being praised for making a "smart" decision. One resident said that officials promised to extend Afghans' visas if they were instructed to do so, but noted that when extensions are no longer possible, residents "will definitely be returned to Afghanistan." Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, a nonprofit organization supporting Afghans seeking relocation and resettlement, said that U.S. leaders are treating Afghans at CAS "like a public relations problem. This isn't just a policy failure. It's a moral failure," VanDiver said. "And those responsible know exactly what they're doing." Multiple CAS residents and family members told me about the hopelessness USRAP applicants feel on base, using aliases given the danger they face if they are returned to Afghanistan. Frozan qualified for the USRAP through her work as an attorney involved in divorce, separation, alimony, custody, and criminal cases. She says the Taliban have threatened her by phone and in writing because she "succeeded in saving [a Taliban member's] wife from the hands of [a] tyrant" by granting her a divorce. Frozan is happy about conditions in Qatar, but said it would be "very dangerous" for her to return to her homeland. She explained that a female colleague was kidnapped, gang-raped, and murdered at the beginning of the Taliban regime. "Nothing is possible in Afghanistan," Frozan said, explaining there is "no government, no voice, no freedom." Khalid was a combat interpreter for the U.S. Marines in 2009 when he was severely wounded in an improvised explosive device explosion in southern Afghanistan. After his recovery, he spent five more years interpreting for U.S. forces in Kabul before receiving his Special Immigrant Visa, moving to the United States, and enlisting in the Army. Now a U.S. citizen, Khalid spent the years following his service as a Defense Department contractor, working inside Afghanistan until America's August 2021 withdrawal, when he was evacuated through Hamid Karzai International Airport. Khalid's family, endangered due to the notoriety some members held in the prior Afghan government, was unable to reach the airfield. For three years, they were "moving from one location to the other" while the Taliban hunted them. Help came when Khalid's family was evacuated to Qatar in 2024 through the USRAP program. Khalid said his family was "through all the process, all the vetting, screening" and were "waiting on final clearance for flight" when the USRAP was suspended. The idea that the families of U.S. veterans could be returned to Afghanistan is "actually heartbreaking," Khalid said. "The prospect of them being sent back is just a nightmare I cannot deal with." Najib qualifies for the USRAP through a family member who was a vital asset for the development of the Afghan military. Prior to arriving in Qatar, Najib said the Taliban came to the family's home multiple times asking for his family member's location. "We [were] just scared," he explained. Though Najib has been at CAS for nearly a year, the U.S. government has yet to evacuate his most endangered family member to safety. Najib reports that his processing was complete and his travel to the U.S. was nearly scheduled when the government said that they would not move him without his left-behind family member. "We are under serious mental and emotional pressure here. We have no criticism of the U.S. governmenton the contrary, we are truly thankful. However, we are deeply afraid of the possibility of being returned to Afghanistan. If the camp is closed, we fear to be handed over to the Qatari police and deported." If he is returned to his country, Najib said that his "life also goes back like 20 years." The post Afghan Allies Under Pressure to Self-Deport: Voices from Camp As Sayliyah appeared first on Reason.com. By Manuela Andreoni SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazil assured worried governments on Wednesday it has organized enough rooms to accommodate the tens of thousands of people crowding into the rainforest city of Belem for the United Nations climate summit in November, even as its listings still fell short of the country's own projections for attendance. Valter Correia, Brazil's special secretary for the summit, known as COP30, laid out a plan to prioritize the needs of developing countries and island nations whose representatives expressed outrage during a conference in Bonn, Germany, that Belem's sky-high accommodation prices might exclude them from COP30. "What we are guaranteeing is that everyone can come at accessible prices," he said. "We can't leave small countries, countries that most suffer with issues related to climate change, out of this thing, it would be absolutely unthinkable." Environmental activists from around the globe had eagerly awaited Brazil's turn to host the climate summit after three years in which the conference was held in countries without full freedom for public demonstrations. Brazil chose Belem for the climate talks to focus attention on the world's disappearing rainforests, but civil society groups have been warning for months that a lack of accommodations in the Amazonian city would create barriers for many. Authorities have already identified more than 30,000 rooms available in the city, Correia said, compared to an estimate of 20,000 that United Nations officials told their Brazilian counterparts were required to accommodate delegations, journalists and observers. Still, the figure falls short of the demand from the 45,000 attendees at COP30 that Correia had projected earlier this year. He said on Wednesday that he expects Belem to meet additional demand as more private homes, hotel rooms, and alternative options, such as repurposed schools, become available. The United Nations climate change office, UNFCCC, declined a request to confirm the number. This week, Brazil also launched a booking website with 1,500 rooms for a group of 98 developing countries and island nations, priced between $100 and $220 a night, Correia said. Another 1,000 rooms will be added to the platform soon, open to all delegations, he added, with prices of up to $600 a night. The platform will later be open to everyone else. Brazil also said it has signed a contract for 3,900 cabins in two cruise ships that will park at the port city for the COP. Correia said he also expects civil society groups to find adequate accommodations. While his office is fighting price gouging, he added, it won't be able to offer everyone rooms at lower prices. (Reporting by Manuela Andreoni, additional reporting from Kate Abnett in BrusselsEditing by Brad Haynes and Aurora Ellis) By Amindeh Blaise Atabong YAOUNDE (Reuters) -Cameroon's 92-year-old President Paul Biya, the world's oldest head of state, has overhauled the military's top ranks in what analysts say is an effort to ensure the armed forces back his bid for an eighth term after a public outcry. The personnel moves, announced late on Tuesday in a series of presidential decrees, affect nearly all branches of the armed forces. They include the appointment of new chiefs of staff for the infantry, air force and navy as well as the promotion of eight brigadier generals to the rank of major general. One of the promoted generals is the coordinator of the elite Rapid Intervention Battalion (BIR), a special forces unit often deployed in counter-terrorism operations and seen as central to Biya's security apparatus. The decrees also named a new special presidential military adviser. The decrees were published two days after Biya, in power since 1982, announced he would run for his eighth term in office in Cameroon's presidential election scheduled for October 12. The seven-year term could keep him in office until he is nearly 100. The announcement prompted an unprecedented public outcry in the press and on social media in Cameroon, where Biya's age and long absences have raised questions about his fitness to rule. The government has said Biya is in good health and dismissed any suggestions otherwise. The decrees concerning the armed forces reflect "a strategy by President Biya and his collaborators to consolidate power by building a fortress of loyal army generals around him" that can suppress any protest to his continued rule, said Anthony Antem, peace and security analyst at the Nkafu Policy Institute in Yaounde. Celestin Delanga, researcher at the Institute for Security Studies (ISS), said the decrees "come in a unique political and security context." Biya wants to ensure stability during and after the election and "additional trusted personnel are needed" for that, he said. The cocoa- and oil-producing Central African nation also faces a host of serious security challenges, notably a conflict with Anglophone separatists and threats from Nigeria-based Islamist fighters in the north. The government gave no explanation for the overhaul. The last significant military shake-up in Cameroon came just last year, shortly after Biya returned in October from his latest extended stay abroad which revived speculation about his health. (Reporting and writing by Amindeh Blaise Atabong; Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Aidan Lewis) In the monsoon-drenched forests of a coastal town in southern India known for its lush hills and spiritual retreats, a Russian woman was found living off grid in a cave with her two small daughters, without electricity or modern amenities. Police officers patrolling the slippery trails of Ramteertha Hills in Indias Karnataka state stumbled upon an unusual sight earlier this month when they saw a cave curtained with a cloth and a little blonde girl running out barefoot from a hole in the mountain. The woman, identified as Nina Kutina, 40, had made a home deep in the woods with her daughters, aged five and six, police said. The family had no valid visas and was undocumented in the country. Police officer Sridhar SR confirmed the family had been residing in the cave for over a week. Authorities are now arranging for Kutinas repatriation to Russia, as she had overstayed her visa. She and her daughters have been transferred to a detention facility, near the state capital Bengaluru, for foreign nationals living in India illegally. Kutina has defended her decision to live in the wild with her daughters and said they were healthy and happy in the forest. Kutinas case has since snowballed into a tale of adventure, parental rights, bureaucracy and international legal hurdles. Forest dwelling discovered by chance Authorities had ramped up forest patrols in the Gokarna forest bordering tourist hotspot Goa due to landslide risks in the area and it was one of these patrols that found the dwelling on 9 July. The cave lay within the jungle. Indian policemen rescue Nina Kutina, 40, a Russian woman, from a cave in forest area of Ramteertha hills in the southern state of Karnataka (AP) Indian policemen rescue Nina Kutina, 40, a Russian woman, from a cave in forest area of Ramteertha hills in the southern state of Karnataka (AP) Kutina was reluctant to leave the cave as officers tried to warn her about the dangers of living in the wild. It is nothing but her love for adventure that brought her here, Sridhar SR said. He added that Kutina told the police she had worked as a tutor of Russian in Goa and spent time in the cave meditating by candlelight, feeding her children, painting, singing, and reading books. Kutina has defended her decision. We were not dying, and I did not bring my children, my daughters, to die in jungle. They did not feel bad, they were very happy, they swam in waterfall, they lived, had very good place for sleeping, a lot of lessons with art making, we made from clay, we painted, we ate good, I was cooking with gas, very good and tasty food, she told the ANI news agency. Kutina says they were not living far from civilisation. She chose that location because it is very close to a village where she bought supplies. Its very big and beautiful cave, and not small, and its like it has window to look to ocean. Who is Nina Kutina? Russian by birth, Kutina has told Indian news agencies that she has not lived in Russia for 15 years. She has travelled extensively Costa Rica, Bali, Thailand, Malaysia, Ukraine, Nepal and says she gave birth to four children, including a son who died in a road accident in Goa last year. Her other son, aged 11, lives in Russia. Nina Kutina talks to the ANI news agency (X/@dna) Nina Kutina talks to the ANI news agency (X/@dna) The two girls with her in the forest were reportedly fathered by Dror Goldstein, an Israeli businessman currently residing in India. He told NDTV that Kutina had left Goa with the children without informing him, prompting him to file a missing persons complaint. Goldstein is now pushing for joint custody and opposes the governments plan to deport the children to Russia. Police say Kutina sent a long and emotional text message to her friends after she was found in the cave. In the message, she condemned the authorities for forcibly removing her and her family from a peaceful, natural life into what she describes as a prison-like shelter. And we were placed in a prison without sky, without grass, without a waterfall, with an icy hard floor on which we now sleep for protection from rain and snakes, she wrote. Not once in our entire life there did a snake ever harm us. Not a single animal attacked us. For many years, the only thing we feared was people. She also expressed her anger with humans, saying they are the only creatures who act abnormally. Im hurt by the world of humans where people with no proper education are given positions that give them power over the lives of others whole families, even, she added. They carry out these horrifying vigilante justices, based purely on their fears, on childish fairytales, not on real experience, not on knowledge, but on rumours, on cowardice. Life in the cave The three were found with only their belongings, including plastic mats, a few clothes, some grocery items, and packets of instant noodles. There was no electricity or running water, but Kutina says they were content. Days were spent swimming in a nearby waterfall, cooking simple meals, and making art from clay and natural materials. The entrance to their cave had been curtained off with colourful saris. Videos shot by police show the children smiling and dressed in bright Indian clothes, seemingly at ease. Kutina told reporters that they had access to groceries from a nearby village and that she made sure her daughters were well-fed and engaged. Kutinas forest stay, she says, was not driven by spirituality but by the familys love for nature. A Hindu idol of Panduranga Vittala, an avatar of the god Krishna, was found in her cave. It is not about spirituality. Its not about it. We just like natural because it gives us health.... The children have not attended school so far, according to a Times of India report. Kutina, who claims to be a trained teacher in art and Russian literature, said she plans to formally homeschool her children with proper documentation. I earn money through all these activities. And if I dont have any work, if I cant find anyone who needs what I can offer, then my brother, my father, or even my son helps me. So we always have enough money for what we need, she said. Kutinas legal status The puzzle of when and how Kutina entered or re-entered India remains unsolved. Police found an old passport showing she arrived in India on a business visa in October 2016, valid until April 2017. She overstayed and was eventually issued an exit permit by Goas Foreigners Regional Registration Office in 2018. She then travelled to Nepal on 19 April 2018 and some other places before she returned after three months. Reports suggest she has been in India since at least 2020, although no clear immigration record exists to verify this. She said she has travelled to at least 20 countries and she has travelled to around four of them since leaving India in 2018. Kutina says the visa lapse was unintentional, the result of grief over her sons death. We dont have a valid visa. Our visa finished. I was so sad, I could not think about visa, she said. Approach the menu at Tun Lahmajo as a roster of Armenian comfort foods, and as a doorway into one cuisine's long and intricate history. (Ron De Angelis / For The Times) The primary draw at Tun Lahmajo, a restaurant in Burbank lined with grainy woods to resemble a summer cabin, is right there in the name. A mottled, golden-edged lahmajo lands on nearly every table or maybe three or four of them, for every person in a group. In Levantine Arabic, the dish is known as lahm bi ajeen: literally, meat with dough. Armenians shortened the phrase and adapted the flatbread as their own. Cooks at Tun Lahmajo stretch their floury palette nearly as thin as a water cracker, though the flavor has far more char and tang. Cooks smear on a silky-rough mixture of seasoned beef and tomato paste right to the brim, which often handsomely buckles in the heat of baking. They might arrive oval, or rounder, or somewhere oblong and in between. Their unpredictable beauty is a reminder that an actual human someone is in the kitchen shaping them. Always, a server rushes them straight from the oven, when theyre at once crisp and bendy, on plates where the crusty circumference hangs just over the rim. A squarish wedge of lemon has been dropped on the lahmajos center. Spritzing juice over the surface cuts the concentrated meatiness. Plenty of customers request extra citrus. Read more:This dumpling reveals all at a Turkish restaurant like no other in L.A. I could stop here, and it would suffice as a recommendation. The signature at Tun Lahmajo, consistent and excellent, has already been embraced by the Armenian community of Los Angeles, the largest diaspora population outside of Armenia. They're keeping the place busy. In the months since the restaurant opened last summer, though, the menu has kept expanding, to the point that it can be approached two ways: as a roster of comfort foods, and as a doorway into one cuisines long and intricate history. Lahmajo goes into the oven. Fresh baked lahmajo and Megrelakan khachapuri. Ron De Angelis / For The Times To stick with the bready theme a little longer: A single variation of lahmajo is available, shellacked with cheese. But hedonistically cheesy khachapuris specialties of the Republic of Georgia, bordering Armenia to the north yank my attention away. Adjarian khachapuri, the version tapered on the ends to resemble a canoe, will be remembered by food obsessives for its moment at the end of last decade. Cheese fills its hull; after baking, the cook cracks over an egg or two with pats of butter to exaggerate the richness. Combine it all with a spoon and voila: molten dip in a bread bowl. To make the puffed Megrelakan (sometimes called Megrelian) khachapuri, eggs and butter are folded into stretchy, grated sulguni cheese before cooking. This one is the jewel. Servers carry it wobbling through the dining room, deflating like a souffle, and then they carve it into sixths at the table using a pizza wheel. Hot and irresistible, the texture is billowy, offset by the crisp, blistered fringes. As the speckled pie cools and its ingredients settle and condense, an appealing salty-sharpness becomes more overt. Fish Khashlama sits at the center of a spread of dishes. (Ron De Angelis / For The Times) Savory breads have been the focus from the beginning, when Eduard Janibekyan and his family opened the first Tun Lahmajo in Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, in 2008. (The restaurant space had originally been their ground-floor apartment. Tun is Armenian for home.) As the business found its rhythms, the Janibekyans had the bandwidth to add broader categories of homestyle dishes: cold salads, roasted meats, a range of soups and herbed stews. They mirrored the process, sped up, at their Burbank location. L.A.s best Armenian restaurants tend to excel at one forte: the exquisite marinated and charcoal-grilled meats at Mini Kabob; the mulchy pleasures of the greens-filled flatbread at namesake Zhengyalov Hatz; the cured beef, stingingly spiced, packed into sandwiches at Sahags Basturma. That, or they serve Lebanese-Armenian menus that trace back to the longstanding diaspora community in Beirut. Currently, the finest among our Lebanese-Armenian institutions is the Hollywood outpost of Carousel. Mary Janibekyan and Arsen Sardaryan with their son Vahagn, part of the family behind Tun Lahmajo. (Ron De Angelis / For The Times) Very few local places delve into the regionally specific Armenian repertoire what Janibekyans son Vladislav defined in an interview as Caucasian cuisine, referring to the geographic area located between the Black and Caspian seas broadly defined as the Caucasus. Sorting the roots of Armenian food must take into account the aftermath of the genocidal killing of more than 1 million Armenians starting in 1915, and the nearly 70 years under the Soviet regime that closely followed and ended in 1991. The landlocked country, bordering Turkey and Iran to the west, has been a fought-over juncture for millenniums. Cultural and gastronomic exchange has been part and parcel of this region for ages Armenians do not have a national cuisine in the same sense as nationalities that possessed a long history of statehood and well-defined frontiers, wrote Irina Petrosian and David Underwood in their 2006 book, Armenian Food: Fact, Fiction & Folklore. For the example of lahmajo, the authors pointed to repatriated Armenians in the 1960s returning from the Syrian city of Aleppo as the ones who introduced the dish to Yerevan. How does all this complex history inform a meal in Burbank? Tun Lahmajo has already been embraced by the Armenian community of Los Angeles, the largest diaspora population outside of Armenia. Ron De Angelis / For The Times Order a starter of strained yogurt, its density somewhere between mascarpone and cream cheese, to dollop over ripped hunks of lahmajo and bring silkiness to meats like lamb ribs roasted in the oven. I love the way qrchick, a ruddy soup jolted with pickled cabbage, slashes the richness of the khachapuris. A dish of mildly spiced, sauteed beef and potatoes, both cut into strips, has been made by Armenian cooks for so long that no one can quite pinpoint the origin of its nickname. Its called ker u sus, which colloquially translates as shut up and eat. If the combination doesnt directly stoke your nostalgia, your inquisitive palate may be more stirred by ostri, garlicky spiced beef infused with dried red chiles and fenugreek. Avelouk, a tangle of wild sorrel served cool and garnished with crushed walnuts, brings a welcome infusion of green to the mix. Read more:An Arts District hub redefines the bistro for Los Angeles Khashlama is a category of brothy stews. An elemental variation made with lamb teeters on bland, but the generously sized fish khashlama is a summery joy, brought out in a pot with hunks of trout (watch for bones), peeled potatoes and whole peppers, and heaped with dill, parsley and other feathery herbs. Avelouk is served cool with a tangle of wild sorrel served cool and garnished with crushed walnuts. (Ron De Angelis / For The Times) If you can pace your lunch or dinner with leisure, ask for the traditional and endearingly universal chmur: Russets roasted in the oven for 40 minutes and then smooshed tableside, along with plenty of butter, by a server wielding a wooden masher. I could race you down other rabbit holes, including the Levantine shades of kebabs, shawarma, ishli (known elsewhere as kibbeh) and a bulghur-heavy riff on tabbouleh, or borscht and oil-glossed, Uzbekistani-style pilaf to swerve into Soviet-era holdovers. The menu is daunting, and against the many other highlights these choices each rate as fine enough. Probably there will be little room for dessert, but I must point out the gata, a round pastry-cake hybrid served warm that hides an almost custardy layer just under the top crust. One could debate empires and authenticity over a spread at Tun Lahmajo, or take its soulful cooking at face value, but in the end a standout meal concludes as it should begin: with a bronzed thing of beauty pulled hot from the oven. A diorama of the Janibekyan family home in Armenia is perched in a nook on the wall at Tun Lahmajo. (Ron De Angelis / For The Times) Sign up for our Tasting Notes newsletter for restaurant reviews, Los Angeles food-related news and more. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. The United States has deported five individuals from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen and Laos to Eswatini, a small southern African nation governed by a king who still holds absolute power. This move marks Eswatini as the latest country to accept third-country deportees from the US. Authorities in Eswatini state the men are being held in correctional facilities pending their eventual repatriation to their native countries. Here's what to know about Eswatini. The king rules supreme Eswatini stands as Africa's sole absolute monarchy, a unique position among nations. Here, King Mswati III holds supreme power, governing by decree rather than as a mere ceremonial figurehead. He ascended to the throne in 1986, at the age of 18, succeeding his father, Sobhuza II, who died four years prior in 1982. This places Eswatini among only a handful of countries worldwide where the monarch retains absolute control over the government. King Mswati III, front, dances during a Reed Dance in Mbabane (AP) King Mswati III, front, dances during a Reed Dance in Mbabane (AP) The 57-year-old Mswati III has long been criticized for ruling over a government that suppresses political dissent while he lives a lavish lifestyle in one of the poorest countries in the world. The king is reported to have 11 wives and has been the subject of scrutiny for buying luxury cars. His wealth has been estimated at between $200 million and $500 million, while the World Bank says more than half of Eswatini's 1.2 million people live on less than $4 a day. No political parties Political parties were banned by Sobhuza II in 1973. Some exist now, but they are not allowed to play any role in elections or the political process and have been reduced to civic society groups. Candidates seeking public office in Eswatini's Parliament or Senate have to stand as individuals without any party affiliation and are generally approved by traditional leaders loyal to Mswati III. Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, left, shakes hands with Eswatini's King Mswati III at the royal palace in Ludzidzini (AP) Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, left, shakes hands with Eswatini's King Mswati III at the royal palace in Ludzidzini (AP) Pro-democracy protests have grown in recent years and Eswatini authorities under Mswati III have been accused of crushing them using the security forces. Many dissidents live in exile. Previously Swaziland The country was previously known as Swaziland but changed to Eswatini in 2018 after the king announced it should revert to its traditional name in the Swazi language. It was Swaziland when it was under British colonial rule, which ended in 1968. Voters queue to cast their votes in Manzini, Eswatini (AP) Voters queue to cast their votes in Manzini, Eswatini (AP) Severely affected by HIV Eswatini has been severely affected by HIV and has the highest prevalence in the world, with an estimated 26% of the adult population HIV positive, according to the United Nations AIDS agency. It has made significant progress in confronting that scourge but has been highly reliant on foreign aid to do that, including assistance from the U.S., which has now been cut by the Trump administration. By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Crispian Balmer CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli forces killed at least 27 people in attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including three people who died in a strike on a church that late Pope Francis used to speak to regularly, medics and church officials said. Eight men tasked with protecting aid trucks were reported among the dead in airstrikes that were carried out while mediators continued ceasefire talks in Doha. A U.S. official said this week the talks were going well but two officials from the Palestinian militant group Hamas told Reuters there had been no breakthrough as the Israeli military continued to pummel Gaza. Two women and one man died and several people were wounded in a strike by the Israeli army on Gaza's Holy Family Church, said the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the small parish. "The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place," a statement by the Patriarchate said, adding that the victims had turned to the church compound as a safe haven "after their homes, possessions, and dignity had already been stripped away". "This horrific war must come to a complete end," it said. Photos released by the church showed its roof had been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and that windows had been broken. Father Gabriele Romanelli, an Argentine who used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was lightly injured in the attack. TV footage showed him sitting receiving treatment at Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza, with a bandage around his lower right leg. Pope Leo said in a statement that he was "deeply saddened" by the loss of life and renewed his appeal for an immediate ceasefire, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said attacks on civilians were unacceptable. The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident. Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement on X that the results of the investigation would be published. It also said the country did not target churches or religious sites and regretted harm to them or civilians. Israel has been trying to eradicate Hamas in Gaza in a military campaign that began after the group's deadly attack on Israel in October 2023 and has caused widespread hunger and privation in the tiny enclave. Palestinian medics said one airstrike on Thursday had killed a man, his wife and their five children in Jabalia in northern Gaza, and that another in the north had killed eight men who had been handed responsibility for protecting aid trucks. Three people were killed in an airstrike in central Gaza and four in Zeitoun in eastern Gaza, medics said. CEASEFIRE TALKS Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a proposed U.S. 60-day truce. As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release detained Palestinians. The exact number is not clear. A Hamas source with knowledge of the matter said Israel had presented new maps to the mediators, pledging to pull the army further back than had previously been offered. The source said this partially met Hamas' demands, but was still insufficient. Disputes also remain over aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said the two other Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters. Israel has told the mediators it is willing to drop its demand to maintain a military presence along the so-called Morag Corridor in southern Gaza during a ceasefire and is prepared to show flexibility regarding the size of the security buffer it would retain near the Israeli border, Israeli media reported. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment on the reports. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said that negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza were going well. A Palestinian official close to the talks said such optimistic comments were "empty of substance." Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, according to Israeli tallies. (Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini in Rome, Editing by Timothy Heritage, William Maclean) By Leika Kihara and Kentaro Sugiyama TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on U.S. tariffs on Thursday, as Tokyo races to avert a 25% levy that will be imposed unless a deal is clinched by an August 1 deadline. During the 45-minute phone call, the two sides "re-confirmed each other's position on U.S. tariff measures and engaged in deep conversation," Japan's government said in a statement, adding that Tokyo would continue dialogue with Washington. The phone talks came after President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. would likely keep 25% tariffs on imports from Japan, which take effect from August 1, unless the countries agree on a trade deal. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo on Friday, the Japanese government said in a separate announcement. Bessent is visiting Japan to attend the U.S. national day at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka on Saturday. Akazawa will be in Osaka on Saturday to receive the U.S. delegation led by Bessent. "There are certain elements we cannot compromise," Akazawa told reporters on Thursday. "But we hope to continue efforts to reach an agreement with August 1 in mind as a milestone." Japan has failed to clinch a trade deal with the U.S. as it struggles to win concessions for 25% tariffs on automobiles, a mainstay of the country's export-reliant economy. Bilateral trade talks are complicated by Japan's upper house election on Sunday, with media polls showing Ishiba's ruling coalition could lose its majority in the chamber - a result that heightens the risk of political instability. (Reporting by Leika Kihara and Kentaro Sugiyama. Editing by Himani Sarkar and Mark Potter) Soldiers sit atop an APC after armed forces were deployed, following a clash during a National Citizen Party rally (REUTERS) At least four people have died and scores injured after Bangladeshi security forces clashed with supporters of ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday. The violence escalated as a new political party, formed by students who spearheaded the uprising against Ms Hasina last August, announced a march towards Gopalganj district. The district is Ms Hasina's ancestral home and a stronghold for her Awami League party. Authorities subsequently imposed an overnight curfew in the area. The latest fatalities underscore the deep divisions plaguing Bangladesh, which has been gripped by widespread chaos and unchecked mob violence since Ms Hasina's removal 11 months ago. The country's interim government continues to struggle to bring the deteriorating security situation under control. A chaotic situation TV footage showed pro-Hasina activists armed attacking police with sticks and setting vehicles on fire as a convoy of about 20 vehicles carrying the leaders of the students' National Citizen Party arrived as part of commemorations of the uprising. In this image made from a video, supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clash with the police (AP) In this image made from a video, supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clash with the police (AP) Party leaders took shelter in the office of the local police chief. Footage showed top leaders were being escorted by soldiers to an armoured vehicle for safety. They later left for a neighbouring district with security escorts. Jibitesh Biswas, a senior official of a state-run hospital, told reporters that the bodies of at least three people had been brought in. The country's leading English-language Daily Star reported that four people died. The interim government said Wednesday the attackers on the students would not go "unpunished" and in a statement issued on behalf of interim leader Muhammad Yunus, described the violence in Gopalganj as "utterly indefensible." Hasina's Awami League party, which authorities banned in May, issued several statements on X condemning the violence and blaming the interim government for the deaths and injuries." Smoke rises behind an armored vehicle as supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clash (AP) Smoke rises behind an armored vehicle as supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clash (AP) We urge the world to take note of this blatant use of security apparatus," one Awami statement said, adding that it had used mob violence against "dissenters." Student leader Nahid Islam gave the authorities a 24-hour ultimatum to arrest those responsible for the Gopalganj violence and floated the prospect of another march in the neighbouring district of Faridpur on Thursday. The right wing Jamaat-e-Islami party condemned the attacks on the student-led party and announced a nationwide protest in all districts and main cities for Thursday. A nation in turmoil Critics of the interim government warn of a widening polarisation that has reduced hopes for national reconciliation even as Yunus' administration pledges to bring order in the post-Hasina era. They say if the situation does not improve, a peaceful transition to democracy would be jeopardised. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Yunus took over the country three days after Hasina was toppled and fled to India, pledging to restore order. He has promised a new election would be held in April next year. Hasina now faces charges of crimes against humanity while the government seeks her extradition from India, which has not responded to Bangladesh's request. Supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clash with the police (AP) Supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clash with the police (AP) Gopalganj is a politically sensitive district because Hasina father's mausoleum is located there. Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the country's independence leader, was buried there after he was assassinated along with most of his family members in a military coup in 1975. The National Citizen Party launched its "July March to Rebuild the Nation" at the start of the month, saying they would take place across all districts as part of its drive to position itself as a new force in Bangladeshi politics. Bangladesh's political past has been largely dominated by two dynastic parties Hasina's Awami League and the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, or BNP, headed by her rival and former prime minister Khaleda Zia. The BNP, which is hopeful of coming to power in the absence of Hasina's party, was mostly silent about Wednesday's violence. July 17, 2025 at 1:49 AM The following is a news release from Idaho State Police. BLACKF00T Idaho State Police is investigating a three-vehicle property damage crash that occurred at 12:17 p.m. on Interstate 15 just north of Blackfoot. The vehicles involved were: 2021 Freightliner with a 2021 utility trailer Driven by a 31-year-old male from Manitoba 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan Driven by a 24-year-old male from Pocatello 2025 Peterbilt with a 2018 utility trailer Driven by a 47-year-old male from California All northbound traffic was coming to a stop in the construction zone. The 2021 Freightliner semi failed to stop in time, colliding with the back of the 2013 Dodge Grand Caravan, pushing it into the back of the 2025 Peterbilt. All occupants were wearing seatbelts. The roadway was blocked for approximately four hours while crews worked to clear the scene. Idaho State Police was assisted by the Bingham County Sheriffs Office, Blackfoot Police Department, Blackfoot Fire & EMS, and the Idaho Transportation Department. This crash is under investigation by Idaho State Police The post Police investigating chain-reaction crash on I-15 near Blackfoot appeared first on East Idaho News. Maurene Comey worked at the US attorney's office for the Southern District of New York since 2015 [Reuters] The US Department of Justice has fired a federal prosecutor who worked on the cases against sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and hip hop mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs. It is not clear why Maurene Comey was removed from her job at the Southern District of New York. But a day after she was fired, Comey told former colleagues that "fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to supress independent thought". She is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, who was fired by President Donald Trump in 2017. The justice department has been firing lawyers who worked on cases that angered the president, including a special prosecutor investigation of Trump. Ms Comey - who had been a trial lawyer at the high-profile justice department office in Manhattan since 2015 - was given no explanation for her firing, US media report. "If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Do not let that happen," according to a copy of a message she sent to former colleagues, first reported by Politico. "Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place," Ms Comey added. "A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else." Her exit comes as Trump and the justice department's leader, Attorney General Pam Bondi, face backlash over the administration's handling of files relating to Epstein. Epstein, the well-connected convicted paedophile, died by suicide in a New York jail while awaiting trial in 2019. Bondi appeared to indicate in February she would release Epstein's client list, before saying last week there was no "incriminating list" and no further files would be disclosed. On Wednesday, Trump fired off his strongest rebuke yet on social media at supporters who claim there has been a cover-up on Epstein, labelling them "weaklings" and saying he did not want their backing anymore. Ms Comey's firing comes after her prosecution team failed in their bid to convict Sean Combs on the most serious charges he faced of racketeering and sex-trafficking. The rapper was found guilty this month of lesser counts. According to ABC News, Trump has privately expressed displeasure about having a Comey work in his administration. Her father, James Comey, was recently interviewed by the US Secret Service after posting - then deleting - a seashell photo on Instagram that federal officials alleged was a call for violence against Trump. Earlier this month it was reported that the justice department had launched an investigation into the former FBI director. Prosecutors were said to be examining Comey's statements to Congress over an inquiry into alleged Russian attempts to influence the 2016 White House election. That probe failed to find Trump had criminally conspired with the Kremlin. The BBC has contacted the justice department for comment. The agency has been purging officials since the Republican president returned to office in January. Last week Bondi fired at least 20 staff who had roles in Special Counsel Jack Smith's twin investigations into Trump's efforts to overturn his 2020 presidential election defeat and the alleged mishandling of classified documents found at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. A number of prosecutors who charged participants in the US Capitol riot, when Trump supporters stormed Congress, have also been sacked. By Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang TAIPEI (Reuters) -Sirens wailed, roads emptied and people were ordered to stay indoors in Taiwan's capital Taipei on Thursday during an annual air-raid exercise aimed at preparing for any Chinese missile attack. Sirens sounded at 1:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) for the mandatory street evacuation drills, which effectively shut towns and cities across northern Taiwan for 30 minutes. An alert, asking people to evacuate to safety immediately, was sent via phone text message by the defence ministry. "Air Defence Drill. Missile attack. Seek immediate shelter," it read in Chinese and English, accompanied by a shrill alarm. Taiwan authorities this month updated instructions on what people should do when air-raid alerts are issued, including for citizens who are not able to get into shelters in time or for those who are driving a car. China, whose government views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory over the island's rejection, has ramped up its military pressure over the past five years, including almost daily fighter jet flights into the skies around the island. In the past 24 hours, 58 Chinese military planes including fighter jets were detected around Taiwan, its defence ministry said. Among them, 45 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, an unofficial buffer zone. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who China reviles as a "separatist", rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. During the drill, police in Taipei directed vehicles to move to the side of roads and people already not inside were told to seek shelter. Some shops and restaurants pulled down shutters and turned off lights - steps aimed at reducing the risk of becoming a target in the event of a night-time attack. Sirens sounded 30 minutes later to give the all-clear. The civil defence drills are taking place at the same time as Taiwan's largest ever military drills, which simulated attacks on its command systems and infrastructure, as well as China's grey zone tactics including military incursions and a disinformation campaign designed to test Taiwan's response. (Reporting by Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang; Writing by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) Chopped peaches are seen on the production line of a fruit factory producing canned peaches, in Ano Zervochori, near Naoussa, Greece, July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis (REUTERS) July's peach harvest in Greece's northern orchards, a period typically marked by meticulous picking and processing for canning, is now shrouded in uncertainty. The industry, which often supplies consumers in the United States, faces a significant threat following US President Donald Trump's announcement of a 30 per cent tariff on European products. This new levy has sent shivers through a range of European sectors, from wine and olive oil to the automotive industry. For Greek peach farmers and factory owners, the timing is particularly critical. As they prepare to send their fresh produce overseas, there is growing concern that the tariffs will severely dent demand, leaving them with little time to adapt or find alternative markets for their fruit. Greece is the world's biggest exporter of tinned peaches, about one fifth of which goes to the United States, its second biggest market after Europe. Peaches, like some other goods, are already subject to a U.S. import levy of 17%. The new tariffs could increase the total import duty to 47%. A worker performs a quality control of chopped peaches in a fruit factory producing canned peaches, in Ano Zervochori, near Naoussa, Greece, July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis (REUTERS) A worker performs a quality control of chopped peaches in a fruit factory producing canned peaches, in Ano Zervochori, near Naoussa, Greece, July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis (REUTERS) "Now is even worse because it finds us at the peak, where the entire plant and all the production lines are working at full speed," said Lazaros Ioannidis, co-owner of a peach and fruit processing plant near Naoussa that sends about 40% of its produce to big U.S. companies like Dole. The fertile plain of Central Macedonia in Greece is one massive peach orchard. A sea of pink greets visitors in the spring, when the trees blossom. This week, trucks offloaded crate after crate brimming with thousands of yellow peaches at Ioannidis' plant, where they were loaded onto conveyor belts for processing. Greece's annual turnover from exports of tinned peach and other packaged peach products amounts to more than 600 million euros, with about 120 million euros coming from the U.S. market. Exports to the United States represent about 4% of Greece's total exports. Canned peach and peach derivatives, olives and olive oil are the three top exported agriculture products to the U.S., bringing home about half a billion euros annually. A forklift unloads crates of peaches outside a fruit factory, in Ano Zervochori, near Naoussa, Greece, July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis (REUTERS) A forklift unloads crates of peaches outside a fruit factory, in Ano Zervochori, near Naoussa, Greece, July 15, 2025. REUTERS/Alexandros Avramidis (REUTERS) More than 20,000 families, farmers and workers make their income from peach farms and peach factories in Central Macedonia, according to Kostas Apostolou, head of the Greek Canners Association. "Our size might be small as a percentage for the country or the EU but for the region its a big source of income, vital for it's survival." "For the past 6 months, since Trump took office, we have been in a period of an absolute turmoil," says Apostolou. He said that the only alternative is to diversify exports to Mercosur countries in South America or to Mexico and India and urged the EU to sign a trade agreement with those countries. The EU was planning to approve a trade deal with Mercosur but has faced opposition from some countries. Still, there are also optimists "Trump is unpredictable. We hope that he will prove that and he will change this decision," said farmer Vangelis Karaindros as he and his employees picked ripe peaches by hand. An image collage containing 3 images, Image 1 shows Mahmood Mamdani speaking at a Gaza solidarity protest, Image 2 shows New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani celebrating election night with family, Image 3 shows A smiling man holds a postcard depicting a road and a happy face sign Zohran Mamdani followed in his fathers path by setting up a branch of a US radical Muslim group at his elite alma mater in Maine, The Post has learned. The Democratic mayoral nominee co-founded a branch of Students for Justice for Palestine at Bowdoin College in 2013, two years after his professor father, Mahmood Mamdani, gave the keynote address at the inaugural national conference of the group in October 2011. Whereas Apartheid South Africa was reluctant to claim that it was a white state, a white democracy, Israel is not. Zohran Mamdani at a 2014 meeting of Students for Justice in Palestine, a radical anti-Israel group he helped set up. Bowdoin SJP/ Facebook Israel publicly claims its a Jewish state and it demands that Palestinians acknowledge it as suchIsrael was not South Africa. In many ways, it was, and is, worse than South Africa, said Mamdani Snr., a professor of government and anthropology at Columbia University, in his speech. The professor, 79, also claimed Israel admired the US for dealing with its indigenous populations after it was settled by Europeans. The Zionists think of that particular part of American history as inspirational, he said. Like father, like son, said Ari Shrage, co-founder of Columbia Universitys Jewish Alumni Association. Zohran Mamdani was influenced by his father, Mahmood Mamdani (right). Getty Images Its not a surprise that he learned from his father who teaches at the epicenter of anti-Israel indoctrination, he added, referring to Columbia. The 2011 national conference, titled Students Confronting Apartheid Students for Justice in Palestine: First National Conference 2011 drew 350 student activists from across the country to Columbia, according to a report, which also noted participants headed to the Occupy Wall Street encampment in the Financial District to protest corporate greed. Following Zohran Mamdanis stunning victory in the Democratic primary earlier this month, the spotlight has turned to his familys ties to anti-Israel groups. His father sits on the advisory council of the recently formed London-based Gaza Tribunal, which accuses Israel of committing genocide. Hatem Bazian, a professor at UC Berkeley, is the founder of American Muslims for Palestine and co-founder of Students for Justice in Palestine. UC Berkeley Mamdani Sr. also made it on to a list of Professors to Avoid along with American Muslims for Palestine founder Hatem Bazian published by Campus Watch, a project of the Middle East Forum, a conservative think tank. The list includes professors across the country who are most responsible for the politicization and bias sadly endemic to Middle East Studies, according to the Campus Watch web site. After Zohran founded the SJP chapter at Bowdoin, the group had an active Twitter account promoting lectures such as The Winter of Arab Discontent in Nov. 2013 and support for the American Studies Associations boycott of Israel. That same year the Bowdoin College chapter of SJP invited a radical Lebanese-American academic Asad AbuKhalil, to speak. Among his rhetoric he has called Israel a bigger threat than Hamas and said that the US had brought the Sept. 11 terrorist strikes on itself. Mahmood Mamdani, a professor at Columbia University, was included on a list of Professors to Avoid in Middle East Studies by Campus Watch. Robert Miller for NY Post A picture of Zohran Mamdani from the archive of the Bowdoin student newspaper in 2010, which he contributed articles for. The Bowdoin Orient (L-R) Zohran Mamdani, mother Mira Nair, father Mahmood Mamdani and friend Nishant Tharani at the world premiere of Queen of Katwe, directed by Nair, at the 2016 Toronto Film Festival. Getty Images for Disney The Bowdoin SJPs Twitter account remained active until late 2015 after Mamdani graduated, while a Facebook group lasted a few more months, posting until March 2016. Last year, Students for Justice in Palestine organized student encampments across the country, including a large one at Columbia. Its umbrella group, American Muslims for Palestine has been named in US federal lawsuits brought by victims of the October 7 Hamas attacks, as well as the family of David Boim, the first victim of the terrorist group, who was gunned down at a bus stop in Jerusalem in 1996. If Hamas has practiced versions of indiscriminate and aimless violence which I personally reject on principle it should be pointed out that Israeli terrorism, in scale and in magnitude, by far exceeds that of Hamas, but nobody has noticed here in the US, Mamdani Snr. wrote in a blog post in 2006. Hes also come under attack on social media where an excerpt from one of his books recently surfaced. Suicide bombing needs to be understood as a feature of modern political violence rather than stigmatized as a mark of barbarism, the elder Mamdani wrote in his 2004 book Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror. Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman reposted the excerpt on X earlier this week, noting The apple @zohranmamdani doesnt fall far from the tree. On Tuesday, Mamdani told a group of business leaders that he would not use the phrase globalize the intifada, adopted by anti-Israel protestors as a rallying cry for violence against Israel, following the October 7, 2023 attacks that left 1,200 Israelis dead. Columbia Students for Justice in Palestine and Mahmood Mamdani did not return requests for comment Wednesday. Minneapolis mayoral candidate and Minnesota state Sen. Omar Fateh is calling out a slate of right-wing complaints regarding his legal status and Muslim identity. The Washington, D.C. native and son of immigrant parents from Somalia is running in the city's 2025 mayoral election. While critics have condemned his progressive causes like rent freezes and minimum wage increases, some comments have escalated into online attacks about his appearance, religion and citizenship. Fateh spoke out against hateful comments on X Monday night, July 14, replying to an anti-Islamic post from conservative political activist and Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk. Fateh replied to Kirk's post, writing: "Minneapolis is a beautifully diverse city that stands firm in our progressive values. The hate Ive seen today and most days is not who we will ever be." Who is Omar Fateh? Omar Fateh, 35, is a Democrat currently serving his second term as a state senator for Minnesota's 62nd district while running to be the next mayor of Minneapolis. Born in Washington, D.C., Fateh said he is the son of immigrant parents from Somalia and is soon to be a father. Omar Fateh, a member-elect of the Minnesota State Senate, speaks on Dec. 31 2020 during a vigil for Dolal Idd, who was shot and killed by Minneapolis Police the night before, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned a masters degree in public administration at George Mason University and previously worked as a Minneapolis community specialist, project coordinator for the state's Department of Transportation and business analyst at the University of Minnesota. When elected as a state senator in 2020, Fateh became the first Muslim and first Somali American to join the Minnesota Senate. He previously ran an unsuccessful campaign for the state senate seat in 2018, losing the Democratic primary to former state representative Hodan Hassan. What are his promises as mayor? In his run for mayor, Fateh identifies as a democratic socialist who, among other policies, vows to improve rideshare protections for Uber and Lyft drivers, combat police violence and increase the supply of affordable housing. He promises to raise the city's minimum wage from $15.97 to $20 by 2028. The minimum wage in Minnesota is currently $11.13. He also vows to stand up to the current President Donald Trump's administration, including not allowing city police to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). "Whether its for an immigration raid or not, our resident's deserve a mayor that will stand up to Donald Trump and say, 'no, not in our community.'" Comments come after Zohran Mamdani backlash Grassroots organization TakeAction Minnesota condemned the comments toward Fateh's citizenship and Muslim identity. "Islamophobia has no place in politics or our communities," the group wrote in an X post. "Sen. Fateh is right - this hate is not who we will ever be. We are organizing to elect leaders like Sen. Fateh because we share a vision for communities built around care and love - not hate." The online attacks come after New York State Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, 33, experienced similar hateful comments on his Muslim identity during his campaign for New York City mayor. The democratic socialist garnered national attention after sweeping the city's Democratic mayoral primary in a stunning upset over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. If he wins the general election in November, he would become the city's first Muslim mayor and its first Asian American mayor. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who is Omar Fateh? Minneapolis mayoral candidate slams racist attacks DarkSky International has designated more than 2.4 million acres in Southeast Oregon, including Lake County, as a dark sky sanctuary, making it the largest in the world. Photograph By Christian Heeb/laif/Redux Southeast Oregon is a patchwork of high desert, mountains, and volcanic landscape, stitched together by river canyons and long stretches of solitude. When darkness falls on clear nights across this region, visitors can watch a shimmering blanket of stars emerge. In March 2024, The 2.4-million-acre Oregon Outback officially became the largest dark sky sanctuary in the world. DarkSky International, an organization dedicated to preserving dark places to mitigate the harmful effects of pervasive light pollution, has awarded the designation to Lake County, home to nearly 500,000 residents. This special recognition marks the first phase of the proposed Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary, which upon completion, could expand to 11.4 million acres. (A practical guide to stargazing) Community effort for a dark sky sanctuary "From a local government point of view, it's a question of managing how much tourism can we actually accommodate before it becomes cumbersome," says James Williams, a Lake County Commissioner, who ensured that residents concerns were heard during the dark sky sanctuary application process. He was just one of many imporant people who helped make the Oregon Outback an international dark sky sanctuary. Bob Hackett, director of Travel Southern Oregon, first proposed the idea for a sanctuary after noticing the increasing popularity of dark sky tourism. To Hackett, it was a good opportunity to draw attention to the natural beauty of this remote region in Oregon. However, some locals were afraid that sanctuary status would impose restrictions on private land, particularly on ranching and farming activity. However, conversations eased residents concerns once there were no foreseeable restrictions on private property. Some changes were necessary for public land. A light management plan would protect the existing darkness. As the plan evolved, Hackett says, We just kept checking in with people and making sure everyone was on board. A light management plan provides straightforward guidance for public places, such as motion-activated lights and positioning light fixtures downward. Different governing bodies, including the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Forest Service, manage the Oregon Outback; so, the designation as a dark sky sanctuary required extensive collaboration across agencies. It took five years and six light management drafts to get all parties on board and the application approved. (These are the best stargazing sites in North America) Stargazers can witness the awe of a starry summer night and the Milky Way high above the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary. Photograph By Babak Tafreshi, Nat Geo Image Collection How to reach the Oregon Outback Stargazers looking for city comforts can make Bend their home base, where theyll find plenty of options for food, hotels, and access to outdoor adventures, like rock climbing and hiking. Most visitors fly to Portland and then drive three hours to Bend, but flying into Redmond Municipal Airport is another option. Its 16 miles north of Bend with direct flights to many U.S. cities in the West. Road trippers can make the 40-mile drive from Bend to Fort Rock, a tuff ring or low, wide, bowl-shaped volcanic crater located on an Ice Age lakebed. Fort Rock is technically outside of sanctuary bounds, but its a stunning location for stargazing. Visitors may want to consider booking a stargazing tour with Wanderlust Tours, which offers tours from Bend to Fort Rock with expert guides, who provide insight into the regions landscape and the night sky. Tourists enjoy dinner and drinks at a picnic area with a view of Fort Rock as the sun dips below the horizonand then the light show, the Milky Way, reveals itself in the sky. (10 of the best places for stargazing in the UK) Tourists can also stay in Lakeview and Paisley, Ore., two small towns at the edge of the sanctuary, and both have several motels that provide guests easy access to venture out for stargazing. Located outside of Paisley, Summer Lake Hot Springs has cozy, rustic cabins and camping facilities. Guests also have access to on-site outdoor and indoor mineral spring pools. Travelers visiting the Oregon Outback for stargazing can make the city of Bend their home base with options for food, hotels, and other outdoor activities. Photograph By Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, a sanctuary for American pronghorn and other wildlife, has three established campgrounds with vault toilets, which provides a remote camping experience for those seeking it. Sites are available on a first-come, first-served basis and are free of charge. Backcountry hiking requires a permit; please note that fires are not allowed. In addition to the aforementioned places, Southeast Oregon has several hiking trails that lead to campgrounds and or scenic overlooks, such as the 750-mileOregon Desert Trail, which stretches across the Oregon Outback. You can hike short portions from Paisley, Lakeview, or Valley Falls to find secluded darkness, but only experienced backcountry hikers should take on this trail, where cellphone service is not available. The eastern portion of Fremont-Winema National Forest features several trails, ranging in skill level from the easy 4.4-mile Lake of the Woods Area Trail to the challenging 4.6-mile Mount McLoughlin Trail. (10 of the dreamiest stargazing trains in the U.S.) In addition to stargazing, travelers can visit the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, a sanctuary for American pronghorn and other wildlife. Photograph By Michael Durham/Minden Pictures How to be a responsible dark sky tourist Travelers visiting the Oregon Outback International Dark Sky Sanctuary should plan ahead. First, tourists visiting the area should establish their comfort level when choosing a place to stay. Do you want to stay in a motel in a small town after a night of stargazing to sleep in a comfortable bed? Do you want to bring everything you need to camp without cell service or running water? Some remote locations lack readily available emergency service. Our search and rescue is entirely volunteer, says Williams. If you get stuck on backroads or lost on trails, it might take us a while to come find you. Know your limits when it comes to how far you venture, the lay of the land (expected terrain), and the weather you might encounter along the way. Map out gas stations and note their operating hours, and as responsible travelers, be mindful to leave natural spaces as you found them. Its a good idea to brush up on Leave No Trace principles, says Courtney Braun, co-owner and guide at Wanderlust Tours. A lot of the Outback doesnt have facilities like bathrooms, so you need plans for a toilet system. While visiting the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge in southeast Oregon, visitors can take a dip in a natural hot spring. Photograph By Greg Vaughn/Alamy Bring a headlamp with a red-light option, which preserves night vision and wont disrupt wildlife. Minimize the use of lights at night while prioritizing safety. In addition to respecting the land and the dark, its important to respect the people who call this place home. When you see a fence that says no trespassingits probably a good idea not to trespass, says Williams. Travel Southern Oregons website also provides information about the Oregon Outback and best practices when visiting. (Big Sky, brighter stars: Why Montana is 2025's ultimate stargazing destination) Britany Robinson is a freelance journalist covering travel and the environment from the shoreline of Connecticut, where she also writes essays and obituaries. Follow her on Instagram. Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats walked out before Republicans voted on Thursday to advance President Donald Trump's nomination of Emil Bove -- the controversial top Justice Department official who formerly served as Trump's defense attorney -- to a seat on the powerful Third Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. The Democrats left before Republicans forced the vote for Bove's lifetime appointment on the appeals court that oversees districts in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bove has repeatedly drawn criticism from Democrats in the opening six months of Trump's presidency for cultivating a reputation as one of President Trump's chief enforcers at DOJ. The Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee's vote to advance Bove means he will next face a vote in the full Senate. MORE: Why do Trump's MAGA followers care so much about the Epstein files? Democratic Sen. Cory Booker spoke furiously from the dais, pleading with Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley to allow further debate on Bove's nomination, but Grassley declined. "What are you afraid of about even debating this?" Booker asked Grassley. "Sir, with all appeals to your decency, with all appeals to your integrity, with all appeals to past jurisdictions and past precedent, why are you doing this?" Booker asked. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images - PHOTO: Emil Bove, President Donald Trump's nominee to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Third Circuit, testifies during his Senate Judiciary Committee nomination hearing, June 25, 2025 in Washington. More than 900 former Justice Department employees sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday urging lawmakers to vote down Bove's nomination. He has fired scores of one-time career officials at Main Justice and the FBI, including prosecutors who worked on former special counsel Jack Smith's investigations of Trump as well as the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. Bove also was at the center of the department's controversial decision to drop the federal corruption case against New York Democratic Mayor Eric Adams, which led to the resignations of multiple prosecutors who argued the effort appeared to be a 'quid pro quo' to secure Adams' cooperation with the Trump administration's immigration enforcement actions. Adams and Bove have both denied any such "quid pro quo" arrangement, but in agreeing to drop the charges the federal judge overseeing Adams' case dinged the Justice Department writing, "Everything here smacks of a bargain." "Mr. Bove's trampling over institutional norms in this case, and in others, sent shockwaves through the ranks -- cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJ's vital work," the prosecutors wrote of Bove's actions. "Prosecutorial authority carries profound consequences on individuals' lives and the integrity of our public institutions; wielding it without impartiality is a flagrant abuse of that power." MORE: Trump admin live updates More recently, however, Bove's actions have come under scrutiny as the subject of a whistleblower complaint by fired DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni, who has accused Bove and other top DOJ officials of repeatedly discussing how they could potentially disobey court orders that seek to restrict the Trump administration's immigration actions. Reuveni's complaint alleged that in one meeting Bove suggested saying "f--- you" to courts who may try to block deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. During his confirmation hearing, Bove disputed much of Reuveni's complaint -- though he only said he could "not recall" using such an expletive to describe their response to a court order. "Each one of the undersigned would testify, under oath, that we have never -- and would never -- tell a Justice Department attorney to consider defying a court order," the letter said. "Moreover, the Justice Department's later defiance of judicial mandates in the cases where Mr. Bove previewed doing so further suggests that disregarding court orders was Mr. Bove's intent all along." Republicans on the committee rushed to Bove's defense in the wake of the whistleblower complaint, and accused Reuveni of partnering with Democrats in seeking to tank Bove's nomination by filing it with the committee just 24 hours before he was set to appear publicly before them. Responding to the former DOJ officials' letter Wednesday, department official Brian Nieves attacked Justice Connection as a "political hit squad masquerading as a support network" and said "they certainly don't speak for DOJ." "They speak for a bitter faction angry they no longer call the shots," said Nieves, a deputy chief of staff to Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche. "Their attacks on Emil Bove are dishonest, coordinated, and disgraceful." Prince Harry is visiting Angola with the Halo Trust, an organization that his mother, Princess Diana, supported during her lifetime. Its his second trip to the country; he first traveled to Angola in 2019 during his and Meghan Markles tour of southern Africa. Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school. Here in Angola, over three decades later, the remnants of war still threaten lives every day. The Angolan governments continued commitment is a powerful testament to HALOs success in saving lives, Prince Harry said today. He visited Africas largest minefield with Halo Trust, located in Angola. HALO Trust HALO Trust HALO Trust The Halo Trust work in Angola meant a great deal to my mother, the Duke of Sussex said in September in New York City. Carrying on her legacy is a responsibility that I take incredibly seriously. Like his mother, he walked through a minefield in Angola today. However, it was not the same onethe field where Diana walked in 1997 is now a paved road, where people are able to walk safely. Tim Graham - Getty Images Harry shared this past fall, Much has changed in my life and the world since 2019 when I first visited Huambo. In those five years, Ive become a father for the second time. And while you dont need children to have a stake in the future of our planet, I do know that my mother would have been horrified that anyones children or grandchildren would live in a world still infested with mines. Yesterday, the Duke met with Angolas President Joao Lourenco to discuss the Halo Trusts work. Courtesy the Duke of Sussex It was an honour to have an audience with His Excellency President Lourenco today alongside Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex to discuss HALOs continued demining efforts in Angola, James Cowan, CEO of the Halo Trust said yesterday. We thanked him for his extraordinary dedication to and investment in the vision of a mine-free country, and he expressed his intention to continue to support our work with a further significant contract for the next three years. Our partnership is strengthened and renewed, and we are grateful to President Laurenco for his leadership on this critical issue. You Might Also Like Getty Princess Anne on July 16, 2025 The Gist Princess Annelong known as the hardest working member of the royal familyhas had a tried-and-true wardrobe and hairstyle for decades. Lately, though, as she approaches her milestone 75th birthday in August, the Princess Royal has been taking fashion risks, from a dress with teardrop-shaped cutouts earlier this year to a July 16 cobalt blue wrap dress. The daughter of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip also stunned when she switched up her bouffant hairstyle for the first time in nearly 40 years while attending a state banquet at Windsor Castle earlier this month. Just over a week after switching up her signature hairstyle, Princess Anne stepped out in one of her boldest looks yeta cobalt blue wrap dress. The Princess Royal wore the look to the Household Division Musical Spectacular 2025 on July 16 at Horse Guards Parade in London, which she paired with three-strand pearls, a sapphire and diamond cluster brooch, and gloves that matched her blue ensemble. While Annethe only daughter of the late Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philiptypically has a no fuss approach to fashion, the Princess Royal has been taking fashion and beauty risks lately, including wearing a dress with daring teardrop-shaped cutouts to a dinner at Windsor Castle earlier this year. That look, interestingly, was also cobalt blueshowing that the longtime hardest working royal has an apparent affinity for the shade. Getty Princess Anne on July 16, 2025 Anne has long been regarded as the hardest working member of the royal family, likely leaving her little time to think too much about fashion. Even yesterday, Annes schedule was jam-packed: in addition to the musical spectacular, Anne also accepted an honorary doctorate at the University of Huddersfield, among other engagementsand her packed schedule reinforces her reputation as one of the most active members of the royal family, according to GB News, which added that Anne, 74, regularly undertakes multiple engagements in a single day, maintaining a demanding program of official duties across the U.K. Getty Princess Anne on July 16, 2025 Getty Princess Anne When it comes to style, Anne rarely deviates from her tried and tested trademark looks, typically wearing smart, fitted skirt suits for royal engagements, occasionally dabbling in smart cigarette trousers and tailored jackets, according to Hello!. But as Anne approaches her milestone 75th birthday in August, it seems the Princess Royal is keen for a style shakeupand that goes for a hair transformation, too, in addition to wearing bold wardrobe choices. While attending the state banquet for Frances President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron at Windsor Castle on July 8, Anne wore a new hairstyle for the first time in nearly 40 years, eschewing her normal bouffant updo in favor of a chic low bun, showing off her diamond Festoon tiarawhich she received three months before her 23rd birthday in May 1973. Anne paired the Festoon tiara with a white gown with lace trim, a bolero jacket, and elbow-high gloves for the state banquet. Getty Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence on July 8, 2025 Speaking about her tried-and-true hairstyle, Anne said in the 2020 documentary Princess Royal: Anne at 70 that it takes little time to do her hair each day. Referencing actress Erin Dohertywho played Anne in Netflixs The Crownand how it was said it would take hours to recreate her bouffant, Anne said, Actually, I read an article the other day about theI dont watch Netflix and The Crown, but the actress was talking about how long it took them to do their hair like I did. And Im thinking, How could you possibly take that long? I mean, it takes me 10 or 15 minutes. Rosie Harte, a royal fashion commentator and the author of The Royal Wardrobe, told The Telegraph of the Princess Royal, I think the interest in Annes style is rooted in a quest for authenticity. As weve come to think more critically about our clothes and how we interact with fashion as consumers, theres been a real push to find your personal style, something that, like Annes wardrobe, is lived in, not curated. Her no-nonsense approach to fashion is no doubt genuine, but probably emphasized to complement her role as the hardest working royal in the family. Getty Princess Anne on May 9, 2025 Thats a lot of time and effort, and shes keen to send the message that she spends that time focusing on the details of the visit and not just optics, shifting the focus away from her as an individual and towards the cause, Harte added. Read the original article on InStyle WASHINGTON Republicans in Congress are one step closer to officially trimming $9 billion in federal funds from public broadcasting, global health initiatives and other foreign aid programs. The Senate narrowly approved a spending cuts package in the early morning hours of July 17, following more than 12 hours of debate and marathon series' of votes. Two Republican senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine voted against the measure. The legislation, formally requested by President Donald Trump in early June, represents a sliver of the nearly $200 billion in government savings the Department of Government Efficiency reports it has made. Once approved by the House and signed by Trump, the measure would strip billions in allocations from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and foreign aid agencies including the World Health Organization and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Elmo and AIDS prevention: What is Congress targeting in their spending cuts? Trump's request officially expires at midnight on July 18. Now that the Senate has signed off, the bill returns to the House, where lawmakers must approve the upper chamber's changes. Some Republican senators, including Collins, had criticized proposed cuts included in the House's original version of the bill that would have rescinded funds meant for global AIDS prevention. WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 15: Senate Majority Leader Sen. John Thune (R-SD) gives a statement after a policy luncheon with Republican senators at the U.S. Capitol on July 15, 2025 in Washington, DC. Republican senators are considering a rescissions package that is backed by U.S. President Donald Trump. The $400 million cut to AIDS prevention was removed by the Senate during the hours-long deliberation process ahead of the final vote. Fiscal conservatives in the lower chamber have previously complained about the prospect of voting on a diluted legislation package. Still, the House is expected to pass the Trump administration's priority spending cuts before the end-of-week deadline. "There are things in there I would've preferred not to cut," Chair of the House Appropriations Committee Tom Cole, R-Oklahoma, told reporters July 16, ahead of the Senate's vote. He declined to specify which items he was referencing. "But, you know, I understand ... You're going to end up having to cut some things you don't want to cut. That's just the nature of it," he added. "Every decision can't be one that makes you happy." Cole said he will "be happy to vote for whatever the Senate sends back over." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: PBS, NPR, foreign aid targeted in Senate passed spending cuts Washington The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced the nomination of Emil Bove, President Trump's former defense lawyer and a top Justice Department official, to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The GOP-led panel voted 12-0 to favorably report Bove's nomination to the full Senate, surmounting a key hurdle amid staunch opposition from a host of former federal prosecutors and judges, as well as allegations of unethical conduct by a Justice Department whistleblower. But as Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley called Bove's nomination for the vote, Democrats erupted in protest because not all were allowed to speak. Grassley also refused to consider a motion by Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, to delay consideration of Bove's nomination and allow the whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, to testify before senators. All Democratic members of the committee then left the meeting. Grassley and Republicans continued to tick through nominations, including Bove's, while Booker criticized his GOP colleagues before joining his fellow Democrats in walking out. "This lacks decency. It lacks decorum. It shows that you do not simply want to hear from your colleagues. It is absolutely wrong," Booker said, accusing Republicans of trying to rush Bove's nomination through the committee. At the start of the hearing, Grassley accused his Democratic colleagues of "unfair rhetoric and treatment" of Bove. "Mr. Bove has a strong legal background and has served his country honorably. He deserves fair treatment," Grassley said. "The vicious partisan attacks and obstruction of nominees that we've seen from Democrats this Congress has to stop. One day, roles will reverse again, and my colleagues will want the same fairness for nominees of their president that they refuse to extend to President Trump's nominees." Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley confers with aides as the panel meets to advance President Trump's nominees for the federal bench on Thursday, July 17, 2025. / Credit: J. Scott Applewhite / AP But Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the panel, said Bove shouldn't be seriously considered by the upper chamber for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. "He led this administration's embarrassing efforts to strike a corrupt bargain with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and he's been trailed by a history of complaints long predating his affiliation with President Trump about his temperament, poor judgment and lack of candor before the court," Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said. Bove's path to winning approval from the Judiciary Committee became easier earlier this week, when Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told reporters that he was inclined to back his nomination. But it's less clear whether he will be confirmed by the full Senate. Republicans hold 53 seats in the upper chamber, meaning the nomination would fail if Bove loses the support of four GOP senators. Mr. Trump announced in May that he had selected Bove to fill a vacancy on the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit, which covers Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bove was part of the legal team that represented the president in his criminal cases, including the New York hush-money trial and the two federal cases brought by former special counsel Jack Smith. After Mr. Trump won a second term, he selected Bove to serve as principal associate deputy attorney general. Bove also worked as the acting deputy attorney general while Todd Blanche, the current deputy, awaited confirmation by the Senate. Bove has been embroiled in controversy since joining the Justice Department. He was accused of pushing a quid pro quo in which the Justice Department would drop its prosecution of New York City Mayor Eric Adams in exchange for commitments on immigration. Several prosecutors resigned in the wake of the move regarding Adams' case. Emil Bove testifies during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on June 25, 2025. / Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Bove defended the decision to drop the charges against Adams, telling senators in a questionnaire to the Judiciary Committee that it was "well within the scope of prosecutorial discretion." He also argued that Adams' submissions to the court "refute false public allegations by third parties regarding some sort of improper quid pro quo." Earlier this month, Reuveni, a former Justice Department attorney who handled immigration cases, filed a whistleblower claim with the Senate that accused Bove of suggesting that the administration ignore court orders. Reuveni worked for more than a decade at the Justice Department and was most recently the acting deputy director of its Office of Immigration Litigation. He was fired in April after he told a federal judge that the administration's deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador had been an administrative error. A top immigration official with the administration had acknowledged in a March court filing that Abrego Garcia's removal was an "error" and an "oversight." Reuveni wrote in his report that during one meeting about Mr. Trump's proclamation invoking the wartime Alien Enemies Act, Bove said that the Justice Department would need to consider telling the courts "f**k you" if a judicial order blocked removals under the law. Emails and text messages shared with the Senate by the whistleblower include exchanges between Reuveni and a colleague at the Justice Department in which they appear to be referring to Bove's alleged directive regarding court orders. But Grassley said the documents were not enough to delay the vote on Bove's nomination, and he accused Democrats of mischaracterizing them. "Government lawyers aggressively litigating and interpreting court orders isn't misconduct. It's what lawyers do all the time," the Iowa Republican said. But Durbin said senators could have questioned Reuveni about his claims themselves, since he volunteered to appear before the Judiciary panel. "If you question the veracity of Mr. Reuveni, he's ready to stand before you, raise his right hand, take an oath and testify under oath. What more can you ask about credibility than that?" he said. Booker attempted to have the committee vote on a motion to delay the vote on Bove's nomination and allow Reuveni to testify before senators, but Grassley said the proposal wasn't on the agenda. "There's no need to rush this. What are you afraid of?" Booker said. The Justice Department has defended Bove and sought to paint Reuveni as a "disgruntled former employee." Blanche said the claims about Bove and other top Justice Department officials are "utterly false." White House spokesman Harrison Fields has also praised Bove as an "incredibly talented legal mind and a staunch defender of the U.S. Constitution who will make an excellent circuit court judge." During his confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee in June, Bove denied Reuveni's allegations that he urged department attorneys to violate a court order. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Wall Street Journal reports Trump sent "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein, Trump threatens to sue USA TODAY and Yahoo may earn commission from links in this article. Pricing and availability subject to change. In the first episode of Amy Bradley Is Missing, a new Netflix docuseries, Adtzere John Mentar recalls a frantic search for a guest who vanished from a cruise ship as it arrived in the Dutch Caribbean island of Curacao. As Harbor Police Chief, he was part of a multi-agency effort to find 23-year-old Amy Bradley, who went missing from Royal Caribbean Internationals Rhapsody of the Seas in 1998. Given the strong current in the area, he posited, a passenger who had gone overboard would turn up eventually. Im telling you, if she came off the ship or fell off the ship, we would get a body, he said. She would have washed ashore E kos ta strano, he adds in Papiamentu, one of the countrys official languages. It means, The thing is strange. The mystery is the focus of the show, which premiered on the streaming service on Wednesday. The series reexamines Bradleys disappearance during a cruise with her family, a case that remains unsolved nearly 30 years later. After meeting the Bradleys, co-director Ari Mark said, It became clear that this was a family that was really suffering, and had been for a very long time. Truly, that was the impetus for this was, you know, we really can actually move the needle on this case, he told USA TODAY. Of course, as we got deeper into it, the complexities around the case, the various theories, and just the many, many layers to it are impossible to ignore. Amy Bradley with her brother, Brad. What happened to Amy Bradley? The show spends three episodes pondering that question, featuring interviews with relatives, friends, law enforcement and others. The series incorporates both original and archival footage, including from Bradleys relatives, to tell the story. There's quite a lot of material that's sort of trapped in this time capsule from that period as media is brought in, photographs, videos, said co-director Phil Lott. Bradleys parents won a week-long Caribbean cruise aboard Rhapsody of the Seas through a work contest and took her and her younger brother along in March 1998. A few days in, her father, Ron, noticed she was missing in the early morning hours of March 24, shortly after hed seen her in a lounge chair on the balcony. The family notified the crew, who searched but were unable to find her. Law enforcement searched the waters between Aruba where the ship had previously stopped and Curacao to no avail. Federal Bureau of Investigation agents boarded the vessel, but the inquiry was inconclusive. The docuseries highlights a range of possible scenarios, including that Bradley could have gone overboard, intentionally or accidentally; been smuggled off the ship; or walked off and never returned. Multiple witnesses claim they saw her in various parts of the region in the years that followed. The cruise ship setting also posed challenges, according to the series. FBI special agent Erin Sheridan said the Bradleys cabin, which they were all sharing, was cleaned before agents could get on board, for instance. The Bradleys later sued the cruise line, but the claims were dismissed. Royal Caribbean did not immediately share a comment with USA TODAY on the documentary. How long is 'Amy Bradley Is Missing'? The series three episodes range from around 40 to 50 minutes each. How do I watch 'Amy Bradley Is Missing'? The show is available to stream on Netflix. The FBIs investigation remains open. Mark said he hopes viewers are activated to engage in a way that could lead to answers. I think people will empathize with (the Bradleys) and will be given a sense of purpose, he said. And I think anytime we can come together as people with a clear sense of purpose, we're better off for it. Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 23yo vanished at sea. New Netflix doc asks: Where is Amy Bradley? Lightsaber Collection | Unsplash (The Center Square) Pennsylvanias growing data center development offers economic opportunities but also raises tough questions about sustainability and community impact. As electricity demand surges, and older generation sources are retiring faster than new ones come online, officials are grappling with how to manage grid reliability, infrastructure needs, and local and environmental concerns while exploring policies that strike a balance between supporting smart growth and protecting consumers. The issue has industry experts divided with some voicing concerns about family sustaining jobs and environmental impact, and others believing an affordable, safe, and reliable energy future is attainable. There are 88 data centers across the commonwealth, according to Data Center Maps, and their database does not include private, government, or institutional facilities. Of those listed, 35 are located near Pittsburgh and 31 near Philadelphia. A growing trend is co-locating data centers with onsite energy generation, thereby producing their own electricity and potentially sending surplus power back to the grid. The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, or PUC, is considering making this a requirement, along with covering the cost of infrastructure upgrades, as it develops a model tariff. Currently, nuclear-powered Amazon Susquehanna campus is the only operational example of this in Pennsylvania, while two others Homer City Energy Campus (natural gas) and Beaver Valley (nuclear) are under development. Co-located generation is nothing new, says Lehigh Valley engineer and IEEE Standards Association member James Daley. Daley told The Center Square that the demands of large data centers are comparable to major industrial complexes the grid has historically served like Bethlehem Steel, for example. Built in the late 1800s, Bethlehem Steels furnaces were primarily powered by steam engines fueled by coal. By the 1910s, they began drawing electricity from local utilities, but as demand increased, dedicated substations and new grid connections were added costs that the company helped cover. To further reduce demand on the public grid, they eventually built on-site power plants. Co-located generation is one way to resolve energy demand issues while protecting existing ratepayers, Daley said. Other options include serving the facilities from transmission or sub transmission stations, and the use of nuclear power. Installing on-site Combined Heat and Power, or CHP systems, or combined cycle power plants can also help offset the energy needed for equipment cooling. Diligence and oversight of proposed projects require multiple input sources not the least of which is the PUC, said Daley. Rest assured, he added, locating and powering an IT Center poses no different challenge than large-scale projects successfully handled over the past century. The PUC makes sure rate payers are not unfairly charged for grid alterations that do not benefit them directly. The mix of energy sources is crucial to grid reliability, which Daley says needs to be 24/7, and you cant do that with renewables. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, or EIA, in 2023, 60% of electricity generated was from fossil fuels natural gas, coal, and petroleum. Additionally, 19% came from nuclear, and renewable energy sources accounted for approximately 21%. He noted the lower capacity ratings of renewable energy sources compared to those of fossil fuels, citing figures from the US. Department of Energy. The capacity rating for nuclear is 92.3%, followed by geothermal (65%), natural gas combined cycle (59.9%), and coal (42.6%). Hydro and wind are rated at around 34%, while solar and natural gas simple cycle are 23.4% and 17.2% respectively. Daleys comments are supported by a 2024 report by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation, or NERC, warning that the substitution of intermittent renewable energy for baseload 24/7 power has made the nations electric grids less resilient, less secure, and less reliable. These centers, he said, are a good industry for any town that wants to host them, because they're excellent tax revenue sources with minimum impact on the community, and can be excellent corporate neighbors. A "sweet" and "goofy" police dog died over the weekend after being left inside a patrol car as temperatures reached triple digits in northwest Georgia, authorities said. The dog, named Georgia and donated by a local family, was found dead on July 13 inside the vehicle's kennel while her handler had gone to the sheriff's office, the Dade County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The heat index in Trenton, located about 140 miles northwest of Atlanta, was "around 100 to 102 degrees," authorities said. "Our hearts are aching at the loss of K-9 Georgia," the sheriff's office said. "She was an amazing bloodhound who was sweet, goofy, and had all the potential to be the 'best of the best.' She will be deeply missed by everyone at our office, and by anyone who had the pleasure to meet her." An investigation after the incident found that the air conditioner compressor on the patrol unit malfunctioned and that the heat alarm equipped to the vehicle was not functioning. "Those previous two factors, coupled with K-9 Georgia being left unattended for what we considered to be an unacceptable amount of time, contributed to her passing," the sheriff's office added. Sheriffs office spokesman Chad Payne told WTVC-TV the deputy was aware the heat alarm was not functioning, "therefore, it was his responsibility to make sure the dog was not left unattended long enough for anything to happen to her." The K-9 handler, who was not identified, is no longer employed with the sheriff's department. The incident has been turned over to the Dade County District Attorneys Office to determine if charges will be filed, authorities said. Children, pets, and the dangers of hot cars The inside of a vehicle traps heat like a greenhouse, so temperatures can increase by 20 degrees in 10 minutes and 50 degrees in an hour, even when it might be in the 70s outside, the National Weather Service noted, adding that cracking a window doesnt help much. The weather service said 700 children nationwide died between 1998 and 2016 from being left in hot cars, prompting the service to launch an awareness campaign using the slogan, "Look Before You Lock." Laura Dunn, safety specialist for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said the agency has seen injuries and deaths occur when outside temperatures are as low as 57 degrees. "If left for enough time, that vehicle will continue to heat up over time. So it's not something that is just on a particularly hot day," Dunn told USA TODAY. "It is something that can happen in a kind of temperate environment." Dr. Cherice Roth, chief veterinary officer for online veterinary consulting app Fuzzy, says it could be harder for short-snouted dogs like bulldogs, pugs, and Boston terriers to be in mild temperatures, as well as pets with heart, kidney or liver issues. She said she has treated dogs for heatstroke at 70 degrees. Experts say these types of incidents can happen to anyone, mostly when there is a change in routine. Ways experts said people can prevent accidents from happening are to have a visual reminder, like leaving a toy in the front seat to remember if someone or a pet is still in the car, as well as to communicate with spouses, family, or friends on the whereabouts of those who could be in danger. Dangerous summer weather: Mom charged with manslaughter after leaving son in hot car to go to med spa Contributing: Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia police dog dies after being left in hot patrol car: Sheriff A Texas judge has rescheduled the execution of a death row inmate who won a rare stay of execution last year as prison officials were poised to administer his lethal injection. Judge Austin Reeve Jackson on Wednesday set Robert Roberson's execution for Oct. 16, almost exactly a year after the Texas Supreme Court granted him a stay on his last execution day, Oct. 17, 2024. Roberson, 58, is imprisoned in the 2002 death of his 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, despite strong evidence that suggests he is innocent. Roberson was convicted based on shaken baby syndrome, which has since been largely debunked. Last year with hours left to live, Roberson's life was spared following a furious effort by a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers a development rarely seen in the nation's most prolific death penalty state. The Texas Supreme Court intervened even as the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles declined to recommend clemency for Roberson and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stop it. Judge Reeve has rescheduled the execution at the request of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton even though the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is "currently considering new evidence further proving" Roberson's innocence, said his defense attorney, Gretchen Sween. Texans should be outraged that the court has scheduled an execution date for a demonstrably innocent man," Sween said in a statement. "Everyone who has taken the time to look at the evidence of Robert Robersons innocence including the lead detective, one of the jurors, a range of highly qualified experts, and a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers has reached the same conclusion: Nikkis death was a terrible tragedy. Robert did not kill her. There was no crime." The Attorney General's Office didn't immediately respond to USA TODAY's request for comment Wednesday. Here's what you need to know about the case. 12/19/23, Livingston, Texas: Robert Roberson photographed through plexiglass at TDCJ Polunsky Unit. Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project Detective who pursued Robert Roberson: 'I was wrong' Roberson was convicted of killing his daughter in their home in the East Texas city of Palestine in 2002. Roberson reported hearing Nikki cry and finding that she had fallen out of bed. After soothing her, he said, they both went back to sleep. Later, when Roberson woke again, he found Nikki wasnt breathing, and her lips had turned blue. At the emergency room, doctors observed symptoms consistent with brain death and she was pronounced dead the next day. Doctors and investigators at the time jumped to the conclusion that Nikki died of shaken baby syndrome, but the toddler had pneumonia in both lungs, pre-existing conditions for which she was prescribed opioids now banned for children, and undiagnosed sepsis. Shaken baby syndrome has been largely debunked as junk science, and the lead investigator in Roberson's case told USA TODAY's The Excerpt podcast that he botched the investigation. "Robert is a completely innocent man and we got it completely wrong, because we were looking for the wrong things," Brian Wharton said, adding that his confirmation bias and a number of misunderstandings wrongly pointed him to Roberson's guilt. "I was wrong. I didn't see Robert. I did not hear Robert," Wharton said. "I can tell you now, he is a good man. He is a kind man. He is a gracious man. And he did not do what the state of Texas and I have accused him of." In 2002, Robert Robersons chronically ill 2-year-old daughter, Nikki, was sick with a high fever and suffered a short fall from bed. He was convicted of murder. Texas has set Robersons execution for Oct. 17, 2024, despite new evidence questioning the "shaken baby syndrome" hypothesis. What led to Robert Roberson's previous execution stay? Five Republican and four Democratic lawmakers on the Texas House Committee on Criminal Jurisprudence issued a subpoena for Roberson shortly before his execution last year in an extraordinary effort to stop it. Texas Reps. Joe Moody, a Democrat, and Jeff Leach, a Republican, led the charge for Roberson's reprieve and issued a statement after his life was spared. "For over 20 years, Robert Roberson has spent 23.5 hours of every single day in solitary confinement in a cell no bigger than the closets of most Texans, longing and striving to be heard," they said. "And while some courthouses may have failed him, the Texas House has not." The move came after a failed effort by a bipartisan group of 84 Texas lawmakers who urged the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend clemency for Roberson "out of grave concern that Texas may put him to death for a crime that did not occur. The clemency board denied their request. About three dozen scientific and medical experts wrote to the clemency board explaining that had Nikki died today, "no doctor would consider Shaken Baby Syndrome" as the cause because the condition "is now considered a diagnosis of exclusion." "Nikkis pneumonia, the extreme levels of dangerous medications found in her system during her autopsy, and her fall from the bed explain why Nikki died," the experts wrote. Also fighting for Roberson's salvation: groups representing parental rights, autism advocates, faith leaders and anti-death penalty groups including the Innocence Project, and bestselling author John Grisham, who called Nikki's death "a tragedy, not a crime," in a column for the Palestine Herald-Press. What happens now? Roberson's attorney told USA TODAY that she will again seek a stay of Roberson's execution "so all of the evidence that proves he is innocent can be reviewed by the courts without the pressure of a looming execution date. Roberson will have many chances for courts, the state's clemency board and government officials to stop his execution again. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Execution back on for Texas inmate who has strong innocence claims Construction continued on the California High Speed Rail Project along Highway 43 near Corcoran last month. Today the Federal Railroad Administration pulled $4 billion in funding. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times) The Trump administration has canceled billions of dollars in funding for Californias high-speed rail project after the state agency rejected the federal governments assessment of the projects failings. The Federal Railroad Administration pulled $4 billion in funding on Wednesday that was intended for construction in the Central Valley, according to a letter that acting FRA Administrator Drew Feeley sent to the high-speed rail projects chief executive, Ian Choudri. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has also asked the Federal Railroad Administration to review other grants related to the project. The agency said it will consult with the Department of Justice on potentially clawing back other funds. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Choudri questioned the legality of the administration's decision. "Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We wont let him," Newsom said in a statement Wednesday. "With projects like the Texas high-speed rail failing to take off, we are miles ahead of others. Were now in the track-laying phase and building Americas only high-speed rail. California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action." Choudri said that the funding commitments were "legally binding agreements" and that the high-speed rail authority has met its obligations. Duffy blamed state leaders for the mismanagement of plans for the train. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check they come with a promise to deliver results. After over a decade of failures, [the California High-Speed Rail Authority's] mismanagement and incompetence has proven it cannot build its train to nowhere on time or on budget, Duffy said in a statement Wednesday. Its time for this boondoggle to die. On X, Duffy said that Newsom and California "are the definition of government incompetence and possibly corruption." In response, Newsom said he "wont be taking advice from the guy who cant keep planes in the sky." President Trump, a vocal critic of the project who has vowed to defund it, said the decision to pull funding saves taxpayers money. I am thrilled to announce that I have officially freed you from funding California's disastrously overpriced 'high speed train to nowhere,' Trump wrote on social media. The railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will. This project was severely overpriced, overregulated and never delivered. The high-speed rail project was supposed to be completed by 2020 but is decades off schedule and about $100 billion over budget from its original proposal of $33 billion. No part of the line from Los Angeles to San Francisco has yet to be completed and construction has so far been confined to the Central Valley. The Trump administration initiated a review of the project in February after Republican lawmakers called for an investigation. In a 310-page compliance review released in June, the federal government cited budget shortfalls, missed deadlines and a misleading projected ridership and found "no viable path" forward for the train. Choudri sent two letters to the Trump administration in response to the review's findings. In a letter sent earlier this month, Choudri called the assessment inaccurate and said the administration relied on old information to come to its conclusions, misrepresenting the facts. The Federal Railroad Administration's flawed inputs have led to flawed outputs, Choudri wrote. Rather than rely on the relevant information and documentation provided by the Authority, FRA inexplicably relies on outdated information, unreliable, unsupported third-party sources, and incomplete and flawed analyses to support its conclusions." Choudri asked the Trump administration for another meeting in early August and for the decision to be delayed. The responses did not satisfy the Railroad Administration's concerns, the agency said. The high-speed rail authority and state lawmakers have been pushing for private-public partnerships to fund the project outside of government support. The state is also proposing $1 billion per year in funding toward the project, which has created thousands of jobs in the Central Valley and has become central to several communities business-revitalization plans. 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. (Corrects spelling of diplomat's last name, paragraph 5) By Humeyra Pamuk WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Among the scores of offices the U.S. State Department eliminated last week in its dramatic revamp, the shuttering of one little-known office has raised particular alarm among U.S. diplomats. The small team at the Department's Office of Casualty Assistance, which supports U.S. diplomats and their families abroad in the event of death or serious injury, received termination notices last Friday along with more than 1,350 Department employees. The firings came as a surprise, sources familiar with their situation said. When the notices arrived by email on Friday, the team was working on repatriating the remains of a senior U.S. official who died in a car crash in Mexico last week. The U.S. Consulate in Monterrey said in a Facebook statement that Brian Matthew Faughnan, a member of its mission, died in a car accident in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila on July 9. Kirk Leach, the team leader at OCA, informed other U.S. officials at the U.S. mission in Mexico and his counterparts in different government agencies who were working on Faughnan's case that Leach was just removed from his job, and that he was no longer able to help, according to two sources familiar with the exchange. The elimination of the office was part of a major overhaul of the State Department by President Donald Trump, who aims to reshape the U.S. diplomatic corps to ensure it faithfully implements his "America First" policies. It is also part of an unprecedented push by the Republican president to shrink the federal government, which he says was misspending American taxpayers' money. The State Department said the agency continues to be "fully equipped" with casualty evacuations if there are employee deaths overseas. "There has been no interruption in our capabilities to carry out this mission," said a senior State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. TAKING CARE OF DIPLOMATS The State Department revamp drew intense criticism from Democratic senators, former diplomats and secretaries of state for what they said was the arbitrary way it was carried out. Critics said it involved the firing of experienced, specialized employees in far-flung parts of the world, and that such skilled staffers are difficult to replace quickly. A State Department memo to employees last week, seen by Reuters, said the moves were made in a "carefully tailored" way. But the shuttering of the bureau made some question that statement. "I don't think any sitting president or any secretary of state would not want their people, their personnel - the most valuable asset of their agency - to be taken care of," said Edith Bartley, who is a spokesperson for the families of the Americans killed in the 1998 al-Qaeda attacks on U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. "You want to know that your country does all that it can to take care of you, your remains and your family in the aftermath. That's critical. That is America First," Bartley said. Bartley lost her father, who was a career diplomat, and brother in the 1998 attacks, which killed 224 people, including 12 Americans. OCA was established a year later, thanks in large part to her advocacy. The office is typically supported by volunteers from the Department's Human Resources bureau who can be mobilized on short notice following a mass casualty event. The teams were called upon after the 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, which resulted in the death of four Americans including U.S. Ambassador to Libya Chris Stevens. "OCA is in touch with the deceased employees family within hours after the death, and provides support services as long as they are needed - for weeks, months, and in some cases, years," an undated article in the Department's magazine said, referring to the work of the office. A senior State Department official said on Wednesday that the agency transferred the functions of the OCA to the Office of Employee Relations. But that office has a much wider remit, supporting the agency's workforce, and lacks the specific knowledge and expertise in navigating the complicated procedures of repatriating a deceased diplomat, sources familiar with the matter said. "That function is being folded into another office," Michael Rigas, deputy secretary of state for Management and Resources, said on Wednesday, in response to a question about the closure of the office by Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen at a hearing. Shaheen also asked Rigas to get back to her on how the department was handling the repatriation of the body of Faughnan, the U.S. official who died in Mexico. "I don't think the family thinks that that's a good firing," Shaheen said. Reuters was unable to reach Faughnan's family. (Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in WashingtonAdditional reporting by Stephen Eisenhammer in Mexico City; Editing by Don Durfee and Matthew Lewis) Reno, Nevada In a field outside of Reno, Nevada, sit rows and rows of solar panels soaking up sunshine. Beside them are used electric vehicle batteries under white plastic, whose job is to keep two data centers for Crusoe, an artificial intelligence cloud platform, running day and night. "The whole AI industry is struggling with how to access more reliable power on a fast time scale," Cully Cavness, co-founder, president and chief operating officer of Crusoe, told CBS News. That struggle is real. As the use of AI grows, a 2024 Department of Energy study found that U.S. data centers could swallow up to 12% of all U.S. electricity use by 2028, approximately triple today's share. In Texas alone, developers have filed plans for more than 100 new gas-fired plants, mostly for servers. "Gas power is a great solution that data centers are turning to for speed, for speed to megawatts. This is an alternative way to accomplish that speed, but with a renewable power source," said Cavness on why he believes that recycled EV batteries offer a solution that gas power does not. The recycled batteries powering Crusoe's two data centers come from Nevada-based Redwood Materials. The company said it recovered more than 20 gigawatt hours of lithium-ion batteries in 2024, enough to power 250,000 new electric vehicles. On Wednesday, General Motors announced a partnership to provide EV batteries to Redwood Materials. Engineer Colin Campbell, chief technology officer for Redwood Materials, hates to toss anything that can still work. "There's really very little wrong with them," Campbell said of the used batteries. "Like, maybe they have lost 20% of their capacity. Maybe your electric vehicle's a little bit slower. And so that's appropriate that you don't want it in your car anymore. But it still works great. So we just looked at that and we were like, 'Hey, why don't we use it to store energy for the grid?'" The Redwood Materials engineers kept the system simple: no pipes and no pumps. "That's been a fun engineering effort for the engineering team to make something that is robust, that is incredibly useful, but also very cheap and quick to put in the field," Campbell said. The company is confident that if it works here in rural Nevada, it can clone the setup 100-fold. JB Straubel, a former chief technology officer for Tesla who founded Redwood Materials in 2017, said the raw material is already rolling off America's roads. "There's no practical limit that we see on how we can scale this," Straubel told CBS News. "It's one thing that makes us so excited. This is very modular." Straubel argued that it also sidesteps the dirtiest part of the AI boom. "This is a different way to power the AI revolution," Straubel said. "We're showing, you know, that AI doesn't have to be in conflict with the existing grid." Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Disneyland on opening day. Loomis Dean/ The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Disneyland officially opened for business on July 17, 1955, in Anaheim, California. It was Walt Disney's first theme park and later inspired Disney World in Orlando. Vintage photos from the event show how Disney magic has persisted for over 70 years. Things didn't go as planned on opening day at Disneyland. Walt Disney opened the theme park in Anaheim, California, 70 years ago, on July 17, 1955. His first attempt saw thousands of visitors on opening day, which was both historic and problematic, as Disneyland was not yet prepared to host so many tourists. Still, the park's charm was tangible from day one, and vintage photos prove it. Today, Disney destinations can be found all around the world, from Orlando to Paris. In honor of Disneyland's 70th anniversary, here's a look inside the theme park on opening day. Walt Disney spent years inventing his first theme park. Walt Disney (left). University of Southern California/Getty Images Walt Disney spent much of the '40s and '50s visiting theme parks and carnivals around the world before he began to create Disneyland in Anaheim, California, PBS reported. He and his brother, Roy Disney, worked with ABC to construct the park, and also hosted a show on the network where they promoted their creation. Thousands of people flocked to Disneyland on opening day. Disneyland's parking lot on opening day in 1955. University of Southern California/Getty Images When Disneyland opened for business on July 17, 1955, tickets were provided on an invitation-only basis. The theme park anticipated 20,000 visitors at the time, Wired reported. People also crowded the park's entrance. Crowds at Disneyland on opening day. University of Southern California/Getty Images Despite Disneyland's estimate of 20,000 visitors, around 35,000 people visited the theme park on opening day, Wired reported. The surplus of visitors was likely the result of bootleg tickets. Sleeping Beauty's Castle at Disneyland on opening day. Loomis Dean/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Because Disneyland's original tickets were made from standard paper, many people created bootleg versions to enter the park illegally. The incident later inspired Disney to create tickets with unique patterns and backgrounds, Mental Floss reported. Still, the crowds didn't stop children from rushing into Disneyland. Many even followed Disney characters like Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck through Sleeping Beauty's castle into the park on opening day. Disneyland tickets weren't as simple to use in 1955 as they are today. Vintage Disneyland tickets. MediaNews Group/Orange County Register/Getty Images In 1955, adults could enter the park for $1, while children's tickets cost $0.50. However, Disneyland tickets were not all-inclusive at the time, CNBC reported. Park-goers had to pay a fee for each individual ride, of which there were 35 at the time. Ticket books were sold for $4.75 in 1955, while individual rides cost between $0.10 and $0.50 each. Visitors filled the 160-acre park to try its rides and see its special opening festivities. An aerial view of opening day. AP Celebratory festivities were held at the park on its opening day, such as a grand parade, featuring characters such as Mickey and Minnie Mouse, and a televised special. More than a dozen rides were open on day one. Though some rides weren't accessible on opening day, park-goers still made the most of their experiences. The Mad Tea Party ride at Disneyland. Loomis Dean/ The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images Some of the rides malfunctioned due to overcrowding in the park. Mr. Toad's Wild Ride lost power when the park's electric grid became overloaded, KTLA reported. Rides that were open, however, were filled with joyous children. The Mad Tea Party ride, for example, saw kids fascinated by the spinning teacups that swirled them around a circular track. The Mark Twain Steamboat was so overcrowded with passengers that it almost capsized. Mark Twain Steamboat at Disneyland on the park's opening day. Earl Leaf/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images The boat now called the Mark Twain Riverboat was the park's first operational steamboat and ran on a track in the water. So many people boarded the steamboat on day one, forcing it over capacity, that it reportedly took on water and ended up stuck in the mud. Some of Disneyland's earliest rides still exist today. The Casey Jr. Circus Train and Storybook Land Canal Boats at Disneyland. Loomis Dean/ The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images The Casey Jr. Circus Train, for example, traveled above the Canal Boats of the World. Both rides had simple designs at the time, and brought park-goers through patches of barren land. Today, Disneyland visitors can still ride the train and the renamed Storybook Land Canal Boats. Both rides have also been updated to bring passengers past miniature replicas of scenes from fan-favorite Disney films. However, the same can't be said for other attractions. A Disneyland attraction involving pack mule rides has since been retired. Loomis Dean/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images On opening day in 1955, Disneyland park-goers could ride mules through Nature's Wonderland, PBS reported. The attraction went through multiple changes over the years, including enhanced scenery and animated creatures. However, it was eventually closed in 1973 to make room for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Tomorrowland featured a chic "space port" in 1955. Tomorrowland. Loomis Dean/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images The area was comprised of black-and-white chairs underneath circular shades. The decor created a futuristic atmosphere, while also providing some respite to park-goers on opening day. The Golden Horseshoe was one of the first restaurants to open at Disneyland. The Golden Horseshoe at Disneyland. Loomis Dean/ The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images According to Disneyland's website, the Golden Horseshoe was one of Walt Disney's favorite locations within the park. He's said to have opened the establishment which served food and hosted live performances by celebrating his 30th wedding anniversary there. Disney also had a private booth that's now open to the public where he watched the "Golden Horseshoe Revue," which was once named "the world's longest-running live stage show" by the Guinness Book of World Records. But if you didn't want to have a formal, sit-down meal, Disneyland also offered classic snacks in 1955. A popcorn cart at Disneyland on opening day. Loomis Dean/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images On opening day, some sharply dressed park-goers were photographed eating popcorn alongside a red-and-yellow food cart. Popcorn is still a staple snack throughout Disney theme parks. Multiple flavors are offered maple bacon, chocolate caramel, and confetti are among the options and character-themed popcorn buckets are always high in demand. Read the original article on Business Insider Unsplash | Giorgio Trovato (The Center Square) Despite being declared ineligible for unemployment benefits by the state, an immigrant received over $11,000 after moving back to Mexico; he claims he was available for remote work, and while a judge disagreed with that on Tuesday, he still wont have to repay the state. Elhier Montiel Flores, a Mexican citizen, returned home in July 2023. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, program allowed him to live and work in Washington state, but when he quit his job and moved back to Mexico, it made him ineligible to reenter the country legally. However, Montiel Flores continued to receive unemployment benefits from the state from July 16 to December 16, 2023. According to a July 15 opinion from the Washington State Court of Appeals Division III, the Employment Security Department sent him $11,066 during that period. The commissioner did not err in concluding Mr. Montiel Flores was ineligible for unemployment benefits after his work authorization expired, the court wrote in the opinion after Montiel Flores appealed ESDs determination that he was ineligible for unemployment benefits. According to the court filing, ESD contacted Montiel Flores in early 2024 about his current work authorization status. He informed ESD that his status had expired in February, but he had returned to Mexico back in July. ESD then retroactively denied his benefits, effective July 16, 2023. Initially, ESD found Montiel Flores at fault for the overpayments of benefits, and said he would be liable for repayment. Montiel Flores then appealed to the Office of Administrative Hearings, or OAH, with a judge affirming ESDs denial of benefits, but not that he was at fault for the overpayment. The second opinion led Montiel Flores to appeal to ESD, which issued two decisions. The first declared him ineligible for benefits when his work authorization expired in February 2024. The second decision, however, declared Montiel Flores ineligible as he left the country in July 2023. Montiel Flores argued that ESD erred by issuing two conflicting opinions that could have impacted his eligibility for unemployment in 2023. Thurston County Superior Court reviewed the ESD decisions but transferred the petitions to the Washington State Court of Appeals Division III. Montiel Flores argues that he meets the criteria of WAC 192-170-010(4)%20If%20you,partner%20is%20stationed.) because he is legally authorized to work in Mexico and is capable of working remotely. We disagree, the court wrote. The court stated in its ruling that his argument ignores federal authority. While the Washington Administrative Code, or WAC, may align with his perspective, federal law supersedes state law. Federal law defines available for work in the United States as legally authorized to work that week in the United States by the appropriate agency of the United States government. Montiel Flores status expired on Feb. 11, 2024, so he didnt have authorization during the appeals. Montiel Flores also argued that ESD violated the timeframe allowed by state law to redetermine his 2023 eligibility; however, to appeal, he must have been aggrieved or prejudiced by the judgment. Since ESD agreed with OAH that it improperly redetermined his eligibility, but that Montiel Flores did not engage in fraud, misrepresentation, or nondisclosure, he isnt required to repay them. However, this also means he was still ineligible from July 16 to Dec. 16, 2023, when he was still collecting benefits, and to February 2024, when his authorization expired. Because Mr. Montiel Flores is not aggrieved by the commissioners ruling, he lacks standing to raise this issue on appeal, the appeals court concluded. So, while the court ruled that Montiel Flores didnt need to repay the benefits, it also said that he had no grounds to continue challenging his eligibility, since ESD had technically already handed him a win. South Florida Public Media Group has raised funds for the southeast Florida public radio and TV stations since 1974 and managed them since 2022. The Group wants to buy a station in West Palm Beach, but the owner of WLRNs frequencies, the Miami-Dade County School Board, is trying to block the purchase. Inside Radio by Fady Noun The fighting is over thanks largely to the intervention of US Secretary of State Rubio. The interim Syrian president has "transferred" responsibility for maintaining security to the Druze. He reiterated his desire to avoid "open war" with Israel. The provisional toll from the fighting stands at 350 dead. For Jumblatt, Israel has no proteges, only instruments. Beirut (AsiaNews) After four days of violent clashes between Druze fighters and regular Syrian troops, supported by extremist Sunni groups, calm has returned to Suwayda, the capital of the eponymous province, as Syrian army troops and most Syrian Interior Ministry's forces pulled out. As of Thursday, the death toll from the fighting stood at 350 from, according to a provisional count. A ceasefire was agreed on Wednesday, which residents hope to see hold. Holed up in their homes for several days, besieged by gunfire and explosions, residents are now beginning to cautiously emerge in search of supplies, reports the relative of an Armenian woman living in Suwayda, reached by phone. Episodes of destruction and looting have been reported. Online images show a major shopping street in the middle of Suwayda, with a store on fire. They even looted the goldsmith shops," said Wissam, a volunteer with a paramedic organisation, reporting from the national hospital in Suwayda. He is waiting "among 300 wounded after a shell hit his house, causing a slight injury to his foot, L'Orient-Le Jour reported. "Let's be honest, some groups of attackers treated us with respect, but there are also terrorists and mercenaries who attack us for our (Druze) identity," he explained. Whole swathes of Suwayda and surrounding villages were emptied of their residents during the fighting, according to the local press. The population headed to areas spared by the fighting, such as the town of Salkhad, 35 kilometres away. A tentative return movement began yesterday with men travelling home to inspect the damage before bringing their families back. Security duty transferred to the Druze Calm did not return to Suwayda on its own, but rather after the Israeli army intervened alongside the Druze rebels. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa announced yesterday the transfer of responsibility for maintaining security in Suwayda to the Druze. We have decided that local factions and wise sheikhs will assume responsibility for maintaining security in Suwayda," said the Syrian interim president, citing "the need to avoid descending into a new large-scale war" after four days of violence. We had two options: open war with the Israeli entity at the expense of our Druze people, their security, and the stability of Syria and the entire region, or giving the Druze elders and sheikhs the opportunity to come to their senses and prioritise the national interest, he explained. In his speech, Ahmed al-Sharaa promised to hold accountable those responsible for flagrant abuses committed during the fighting, such as summary executions reported by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR). The Syrian state intervened to put an end to the clashes between armed groups in Suwayda and neighbouring regions, he reiterated. "Save the region" Sharaa accused Israel of "resorting to wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities to undermine these efforts, which significantly complicated the situation and pushed matters toward a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab, and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate. He did not specify which Arab countries had intervened in the mediation, but it is known that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday announced specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight in Syria. Israel carried out strikes on Wednesday against army headquarters in Damascus and on a military target near the presidential palace. Syrian authorities reported three deaths. Strikes were also reported around the Mezzeh military airport near Damascus, according to Syrian authorities. Others targeted Suwayda and the Damascus-Deraa highway, according to the SANA news agency. No illusions about Israel in Lebanon The episode has deepened mistrust between the Druze community and the Syrian Islamist government. However, we have no illusions about this," said Salah Takieddine, secretary general of the Order of Lebanese Press Editors. "Israel wants to prevent regular Syrian troops from establishing themselves on its flank. Defending the Druze is the last of its concerns. A meeting of Druze lawmakers was held at 11 am today at the Lebanese Ministry of Defence to coordinate efforts to calm tensions. The Damascus Road, which hundreds of Druze men blocked on Tuesday responding to a call by former minister Wi'am Wahab, attacking vehicles with Syrian plates, is now guarded by the army throughout the predominantly Druze regions it runs through. In some villages, Syrian refugees and workers were advised not to move around at night. We appeal to the worlds conscience. [. . . ] What this regime (of Ahmed al-Sharaa) is doing is against no law. We reject aggression, whether it comes from us or targets us. We live with dignity and die with dignity," said one of the community's elders, Sheikh Anwar al-Sayegh, during a mass rally in Sharoun (Aley district), attended by all Druze parties. A statement issued after the meeting emphasised the unity of the destiny of the Druze community, whether in Lebanon, Syria, or Palestine. Walid Jumblatt, lucidly, reportedly told the Druze in Syria that Israel has no proteges, only instruments. by Sumon Corraya At least four people were killed during a demonstration by the youth student party that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Hasina. The incident comes amid growing sectarian violence that has claimed more than 140 lives in the past ten months. Religious minorities and human rights defenders complain about a climate of terror and call for quick elections to overcome the weaknesses of the current caretaker government. Dhaka (AsiaNews) At least four people were killed yesterday in the southern city of Gopalganj during a demonstration by the National Citizen Party (NCP), a party formed by students who forced former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee to India last year. According to local media, the attack involved journalists, law enforcement, and party members. The Prothom Alo newspaper reported at least nine injuries, while authorities have imposed a curfew. On Facebook, the Awami League, former Prime Minister Hasina's party, announced that one of its members was shot and killed by soldiers. "Preventing young citizens from peacefully holding a rally to commemorate the one-year anniversary of their revolutionary movement is a shameful violation of their fundamental rights," said on X Muhammad Yunus, blaming the Awami Leagues student group for Wednesday's violence. Yunus, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, took office as chief adviser (provisional head of government) after Hasina's ouster following calls by university students. This is not, however, an isolated case of violence. In the last ten months, incidents of rough justice have resulted in 140 deaths. This escalation has intensified in the wake of the controversial January 2024 elections, when Sheikh Hasina was re-elected in a vote boycotted by the opposition, already harshly repressed by the government. The current situation is raising concern among minority religious communities, including Christians, and human rights defenders. The latest episode of violence occurred on 9 July, when Lal Chand, a 39-year-old scrap metal dealer, was brutally killed outside Mitford Hospital in Dhaka. After he was lured on a pretext, surveillance footage shows a group pounding him with bricks and stones until his skull and body were crushed. The investigation linked the attackers to the Jubo Dal, the youth wing of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which later expelled the perpetrators. A few days later, a former Jubo Dal leader was shot dead in an alleged act of revenge. Over a hundred Awami League leaders and activists have also been killed in the past year, while opposition groups accuse the government of forced abductions, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. This crisis is closely linked to problems in the justice system. Frustration has spread among ordinary Bangladeshis because of criminals evading conviction and murderers easily obtaining bail. These incidents are a direct result of failed governance, said Rebecca Gomes, a Catholic lawyer and vice president of the Bangladesh Christian Lawyers Association (BCLA). People are consumed by revenge because they see no other way. Many also criticise the silence of prominent civil society figures, including Yunus himself, who is accused of not doing enough to lead a process of reconciliation. The government must crack down on mob violence and restore police authority. With an interim administration in place, swift elections are crucial to reinstating stable, experienced leadership, Gomes added. Meanwhile, the violence has transcended the political sphere. The targets of sectarian violence now include people targeted for religious reasons or even personal habits. On 28 February, two young women were attacked in Dhaka for smoking a cigarette. Last month, a Catholic teacher was brutally beaten after being falsely accused of insulting the Prophet Muhammad. Extremists publicly humiliated him, "garlanded" him with shoes, and kicked and punched him. The police intervened, but instead of protecting him, they arrested him. Im terrified to walk outside now. People criticise my clothes, spit at me for wearing a shirt. I have to flee just to avoid being attacked, said a Catholic woman who works for an NGO, speaking anonymously. For Syeda Rizwana Hasan, an adviser to the interim administration, the government does not tolerate summary justice in any form. Speaking on 12 July, at a public event in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, she said that, Every time an incident like this occurs, the perpetrators are arrested. No one has escaped justice. Today's headlines: at least 60 dead in a fire in a shopping centre in Iraq; Chinese digital giant Tencent wants to shut down a website that publishes censored posts on WeChat for copyright violations; South Korean President Lee orders new team to investigate Itaewon massacre; Hiroshima opens underground ossuary to journalists with the remains of 70,000 unidentified victims of the atomic bomb 80 years ago. SYRIA After violence in the province of Suweida since Sunday that has left more than 350 dead and yesterday's Israeli attacks on Damascus, Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa addressed the nation, promising that it is his priority to protect the country's Druze citizens, but also warning Israel that Syrians are not afraid of war. Syrian state media reported that the army was withdrawing from Suweida under a ceasefire agreement reached with Druze leaders. IRAQ At least 60 people were killed in a fire that broke out last night in a large shopping centre in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut. The flames broke out while many families were crowding the mall for shopping and dinner. SOUTH KOREA South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has ordered the creation of a new team of investigators, composed of police and prosecutors, to investigate the Halloween tragedy in the Itaewon district that killed 159 people, mostly young people, in 2022. Lee's decision to launch a new investigation came during a meeting with the families of victims of recent major disasters. The new team will work alongside a special commission set up in September last year to examine the case. JAPAN On 16 July, the city of Hiroshima opened the underground ossuary of the Atomic Bomb Memorial Mound to the press for the first time in ten years. The ossuary holds the remains of approximately 70,000 unidentified victims of the atomic bomb, along with those of 812 identified individuals whose families have never been traced. We hope this will lead to the discovery of surviving family members, said a city official. PHILIPPINES Suspicious intrusions by commercial fishing vessels into the 15-kilometre municipal water zone increased by 10.5% between 2023 and 2024, according to data from the Karagatan Patrol illegal fishing monitoring platform developed by Oceana Philippines. The platform is used by local governments to monitor intrusions and protect the preferential rights of small-scale fishermen in municipal waters. Our fishing communities, already among the poorest in the country, now face increasingly empty seas and declining livelihoods due to rampant illegal commercial fishing, said Rose-Liza Eisma-Osorio, vice president of Oceana. GEORGIA The Georgian Dream party, which holds a monopoly in the Tbilisi parliament and is not recognised by the opposition, has approved a number of amendments that strengthen the fight against drug trafficking, imposing forced testing on anti-government protesters, who defend themselves by claiming that the prohibited substances were planted by the police. by Vladimir Rozanskij Two years after Prigozin's death, Russian mercenaries remain in the field as employees of the Ministry of Defence. They are strongly committed to supporting political propaganda throughout Africa, even offering special courses for African journalists with programmes on Russian television networks and agencies. Moscow (AsiaNews) - Two years have passed since the ill-fated campaign of Evgenij Prigozin and his fellow mercenaries of the Wagner Company towards Moscow, which led to the disappearance of the founder in a mysterious plane crash and the dissolution of the group that represented the fiercest fighting in Ukraine, but also Russia's big business in Africa. Now the musician fighters remaining in the field are employees of the Russian Ministry of Defence and special teams of the Rosgvardia, or have gone to Belarus as instructors for local army units. Wagner's activities have also been very important in various parts of the world, first in Syria and then especially in Africa, starting with Mali, where civil war broke out in 2012 with Tuareg separatists demanding independence, supported by the Libyan dictator who was later overthrown and killed, Muhammad Gaddafi. French soldiers supporting the government forces were also involved at the time, but they had to leave the country in 2020, closing their military bases, and in the ensuing clashes, power was seized by Colonel Assimi Goita, president of the military junta that still effectively rules the country, supported by Russian mercenaries who then began their presence on the African continent. It was Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov himself who justified Wagner's intervention, stating that the Malian authorities felt they did not have sufficient forces without external support, and since they no longer had the support of those who promised to fight terrorism, they turned to a Russian private military company. Thousands of musicians poured into Mali to train local soldiers and protect senior officials, at a cost of million per month, opening at least 15 military bases and checkpoints, some of which were taken over from the French. One of Wagner's commanders in Mali, Ivan Maslov, published the All Eyes on Wagner project in the press, ending up under US sanctions in 2023 as the organiser of meetings between Prigozhin and several other African heads of state, and accused of various heinous crimes in combat in both Ukraine and the Central African Republic. Moreover, Russian mercenaries are accused of many tragic events that have led to the deaths of many innocent citizens, and by 2023 there were already 370 cases of mass extermination, summary executions, sexual violence, theft and much more. The Wagnerites created a network of prisons where people were tortured and starved, as revealed by several journalistic investigations, including a report by the International Criminal Court published last June by the Associated Press, which even documented cases of cannibalism. Even before Prigozhin's disappearance, the Russian authorities began to take control of Wagner's affairs throughout Africa, with the visit of Deputy Defence Minister Junus-Bek Evkurov on 22 August 2023, the day before Prigozhin's plane crash. The visit extended from Libya to Mali and Burkina Faso, and then to other countries. At the end of 2023, the Afrikanskij Korpus was established, taking over all of Wagner's functions in Africa, while the company remained formally active only in the Central African Republic. One of the Russians' main interests remains gold mining in Sudan, which began in 2017 and is regulated by an agreement with the then dictator Omar al-Bashir after a visit to Moscow, signed together with President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, interference in the politics of many other African countries continues. One example of this is the cancellation of elections in the Central African Republic in support of dictator Faustin-Archange Touadera, who will be re-elected with Putin's consent only in December this year. Wagner's heirs are strongly committed to political propaganda throughout Africa, even offering special courses for African journalists with programmes from Russian television networks and agencies, with the task of denouncing fake news, in which the main lesson concerns the Russian extermination of Ukrainians in Buca, staged by Westerners to denigrate the Russians' desire to bring peace to the world, from Ukraine to the whole of Africa. by Shafique Khokhar A Lahore court acquitted Adil Babar and Simon Nadeem, wrongfully arrested for blasphemy in Pakistan in 2023. Despite the verdict, their families remain exposed to threats and discrimination. Janssen denounces the controversial conduct of the blasphemy business group. Justice Khan calls for a commission to investigate within 30 days the way blasphemy rules are used. Lahore (AsiaNews) The story of Adil Babar and Simon Nadeem, two young Christian men wrongfully arrested for blasphemy on 18 May 2023, appears to have a happy ending after a court in Lahore acquitted them. Despite this, the trauma, fear, and displacement their families must endure remain deeply present, as threats from Islamic extremist groups continue to hang over them. These groups often promote the idea that killing a person alleged to be a blasphemer ensures entry into paradise, while violence is used not only as a tool to persecute Christians, but also for political gain. The young men, now 20 and 16, were falsely accused two years ago of making derogatory comments about Muhammad, and their trial could have resulted in the death penalty. Supreme Court lawyer Naseeb Anjum welcomed the court's decision but expressed serious concern about the continued abuse of Pakistans blasphemy legislation. These laws have repeatedly been weaponised to target religious minorities and settle personal disputes, said the lawyer, appointed by Pakistans Legal Aid Society (LAS). The consequences are severe, he added. Families are forced to flee their homes, communities live in constant fear simply because of their faith in Christ, and mere accusations can lead to extrajudicial killings and irreparable harm. The lawyer also condemned the rise in mob violence, when extremists take justice into their own hands, often acting with impunity. This case clearly underscores the urgent need for legal safeguards, impartial investigations, and greater accountability, Anjum said. While the acquittal of Adil and Simon is a relief, it cannot undo the trauma and fear they and their families have endured. Pakistan must not turn a blind eye to those who continually abuse blasphemy laws to persecute religious minorities. For Joseph Janssen, a minority rights advocate, the court's decision is welcomed, but he laments the fact that the structural abuse of blasphemy laws continues to endanger religious minorities. These laws have been repeatedly exploited to settle personal scores and persecute Christians and other minorities, he noted. The accusations are enough to trigger mob violence, force families into hiding, and inflict long-term psychological trauma, even when no crime has been committed. Janssen stressed the broader pattern of abuse, highlighting the involvement of powerful actors such as Rao Abdul Raheem, head of the so-called blasphemy business group. Rao and his companions have used blasphemy laws not to protect religious values, but to deflect accountability and suppress justice, Janssen explained. In the 2022 Abdullah Shah murder case, Rao allegedly manipulated blasphemy charges to pressure the victim's father into silence, using fabricated evidence, colluding with law enforcement. Justice Sardar Ijaz Ishaq Khan, who is presiding over the related proceedings at the Islamabad High Court (IHC), recently emphasised the public importance of the case. "I instruct[ed] the IT department to make arrangements for live streaming of the proceedings," he said, noting that the courtroom was overcrowded and that the public has a right to transparency in cases involving such a serious abuse of the law. On Tuesday he gave the federal government 30 days to set up a commission of inquiry into the misuse of the blasphemy law. The Christian community and other minorities have praised him for his courage and bravery, while extremist groups view the order as controversial. Like Khan, former Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, during a hearing in February 2024, condemned the Punjab government's handling of the Jaranwala incident, when more than 20 Christian churches and dozens of homes were attacked. He called the government's progress report "worth throwing in the trash" and expressed shame that only 18 complaints had been filed in six months, despite numerous arrests. Justice Isa also questioned the role of the police, suggesting that they "stood and watched" as the violence unfolded. Janssen urged lawmakers, religious leaders, and civil society groups to engage in a national dialogue to reform blasphemy laws in line with Pakistan's constitutional commitments and international human rights obligations under United Nations conventions and the EU's Generalized System of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which offers developing countries incentives if they sign up to human rights conventions. The safety, dignity, and equal rights of all Pakistani citizens, regardless of their faith, must be protected," the prominent minority activist said. No one should suffer persecution under laws that lack due process and invite mob justice. 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. Karapetian announced on Monday the start of the formation of our political team that will fight for regime change in Armenia. He signaled such plans shortly after being arrested on June 18 hours after denouncing Prime Minister Nikol Pashinians campaign against the Armenian Apostolic Church. Pashinians political allies have accused him of plotting to overthrow the Armenian government on the Kremlins orders. The tycoons nephew and chief spokesman, Narek Karapetian, said that this will be one of their main lines of attack on the new group which analysts believe could become a major player in the Armenian political arena. They will use the anti-Russian notion that Russia sent Samvel Karapetian to spread Russian influence here, he said in a video statement that laid out the groups main tenets. The [pro-government] diehards say that Armenia would turn into a Russia province. Lets see who is turning Armenia into a Russian province. Citing macroeconomic data, Narek Karapetian went on to argue that Armenias economic dependence on Russia has deepened significantly during Pashinians seven-year rule. During the seven years of our sovereign economic policy, Russias [direct and indirect] share in Armenias foreign trade rose from 27 percent to 60 percent, he said, adding that the tycoons political team believes the country should diversify the trade by finding new export markets. Arsen Torosian, a senior lawmaker from Pashinians Civil Contract party, responded by saying that Samvel Karapetian is linked to the Russian government because of having strongly benefited from procurement contracts granted by the Gazprom energy giant. The 59-year-old tycoon, who has mainly lived in Russia since the 1990s, made his massive fortune there and has a dual Russian nationality, has yet to clarify whether he will personally lead his party or bloc. It also remains unclear which Armenian politicians or public figures, if any, will join it. Narek Karapetian said the group will aim for a new Armenian government dominated by technocrats. It believes that businesspeople and company executives should also be involved in governance, he said. The billionaire was initially prosecuted for allegedly calling for a violent overthrow of Pashinians government. It emerged on Wednesday that Armenian law-enforcement have also charged him with tax evasion, fraud and money laundering. Karapetian and his legal team reject the accusations as politically motivated. Speaking at a news conference on Wednesday, Pashinian effectively admitted the connection between the crackdown and Karapetians rhetoric. He said the tycoon must give up his Russian citizenship before engaging in political activities in Armenia. 17 July 2025 23:21 (UTC+04:00) On July 17, an open court hearing continued in the criminal case against citizens of the Republic of Armenia, including Arayik Harutyunyan, Arkadi Ghukasyan, Bako Sahakyan, Davit Ishkhanyan, David Babayan, Levon Mnatsakanyan, and others. They stand accused of committing crimes against peace and humanity, war crimes - including the preparation and conduct of aggressive war - genocide, violations of the laws and customs of war, terrorism, financing of terrorism, the forcible seizure and retention of power, and other serious offenses stemming from Armenias military aggression against Azerbaijan. The hearing, held at the Baku Military Court under the presidency of Judge Zeynal Aghayev, with Judges Jamal Ramazanov and Anar Rzayev (reserve judge Gunel Samadova), ensured that each defendant was provided with an interpreter in their preferred language and defense counsel. The session was attended by the accused, their legal representatives, several victims, their legal successors or representatives, and state prosecutors. Judge Zeynal Aghayev introduced the members of the judicial panel, prosecutors, interpreters, and others to victims participating for the first time, explaining their rights and obligations under the law. Victim Aladdin Akbarov testified that he was taken hostage by the enemy in 1990. During two months in captivity, he slept on concrete and, in response to questions from prosecutor Vusal Abdullayev, stated that his teeth were broken, his head was injured, and he suffered other injuries. His weight dropped from 87 kg to 45 kg during captivity. Idris Mammadov reported being captured in February 1993 during combat. He was held in Azerbaijans sovereign territories occupied by Armenian forces at the time, including a basement, in Khankendi, and Shusha prison. Responding to prosecutor Tarana Mammadova, he said he endured torture, beatings with batons, fists, and kicks, and was given minimal bread and water during his three-month captivity. Maarif Rustamov stated he was severely injured during the 44-day war in 2020 in the Murovdagh area of Kalbajar on September 27. Responding to prosecutor Nasir Bayramov, he noted two others were injured and four were killed in the incident. Ilham Asgarov recounted being captured with eight other Azerbaijani soldiers in July 1993 in the Aghdara direction. He said one captive named Azer died due to torture and beatings. Asgarov escaped after five months. Responding to Senior Assistant to the Prosecutor General Vusal Aliyev, he confirmed enduring beatings and torture, with lasting injuries including a broken arm and head scars. Bakhtiyar Jalilov testified that he was injured by sniper fire from Armenian forces on October 2, 2020, while serving in Kalbajar during the 44-day Patriotic War. Suleyman Sofuyev said he was injured during the April 2016 clashes while serving as a soldier. Responding to prosecutor Fuad Musayev, he stated the incident occurred while defending against an Armenian attack. Sohrab Asgarov reported being injured on May 12, 2023, in Kalbajar due to a provocation by Armenian forces. In response to Special Assistant to the Prosecutor General Tugay Rahimli, he noted that soldier Mahammad Garayev was martyred, and several others were injured. Teymur Khidirov was injured on November 3, 2020, during the 44-day war when a shell fired by Armenian forces exploded while he was in a vehicle. The injuries caused severe health issues, making it difficult for him to testify. Imran Imranli stated he was shot and wounded during a provocation by remnants of Armenian forces and illegal Armenian armed groups in Kalbajar on the night of July 2728, 2021. Renat Aliyev reported receiving a gunshot wound in Tovuz on September 14, 2020, due to an Armenian provocation, resulting in serious health damage and a 35-day hospitalization. Shakir Ismayilzade was injured on November 3, 2020, in Tartar during the 44-day war due to a mortar shell explosion fired by Armenian forces. Malid Ganbarov testified that he was injured on November 8, 2020, in Dashalty by a mortar shell explosion during the 44-day war. Vusal Mahmudov reported sustaining multiple shrapnel wounds and burns on September 27, 2020, the first day of the 44-day Patriotic War. Etibar Mammadov was captured in 1993 in the Aghdara direction and held in Shusha prison for seven months. He testified that he and other Azerbaijani captives and hostages endured torture, resulting in deaths. Shirin Bayramov was captured by Armenian forces on January 12, 1994, and held in Khankendi, including at the former 366th regiments location, for eight months. He endured regular beatings and humiliating treatment, stating, My nose was broken three times and I suffered other injuries. He escaped with other Azerbaijani captives and hostages. Aghagul Bayramov, Shirins brother, was captured with him on January 12, 1994, and held for two years and five months. Firangul Karimova, a displaced person from Khojaly and witness to the genocide, stated that four of her relatives were killed during the massacre: her father Firuz Samran oglu Karimov, grandfather Samran Soltan oglu Karimov, grandmother Firangul Mammad gizi Karimova, and uncle Soltan Samran oglu Karimov. She described finding their bodies on March 20, noting her father was tortured, with his forehead skin peeled off, and her grandmothers leg missing below the thigh. Sadig Khudayarov recounted the Khojaly genocide on the night of February 2526, 1992, when he was at his grandfathers house. Forced to flee, they encountered enemy forces on February 27. A man named Mehdi was killed, and his uncle was wounded. His mother became a second-group invalid due to injuries from a rifle butt, and his father suffered broken ribs from torture. Farzani Najafzade was injured in August 2022 in Hadrut due to a mine explosion planted by the enemy. Zamin Hatamli was injured on December 7, 2023, in the liberated Kurdlar village of Fuzuli district while plowing land with a tractor, due to a mine explosion planted by Armenian forces, which also destroyed the tractor. Rasul Jafarov was captured with soldier Afig Gasimov on January 4, 1993, by Armenian forces. Held in Aghdara, Girmizi Bazar, and Shusha, he endured torture, including boiling water poured on him and knife cuts. He stated, There is no healthy part left on my body. While held in a farm in Girmizi Bazar, an Armenian named Artur broke the jaw of Azerbaijani captive Habil Bayramov, who died a week later due to injuries and inability to eat. Azerbaijani captives buried Bayramovs body near the farm under Armenian orders. Jafarov was freed on August 24. Nail Naghizade was wounded on April 2, 2016, in Tartar by sniper fire from Armenian forces. In response to accused Levon Mnatsakanyan, he confirmed the incident occurred during defense against an Armenian attack. Jahid Ismayilov was injured on October 2, 2020, in Goygol at a combat post due to a mortar shell explosion fired by the enemy during the 44-day war. Sabuhi Ibrahimov and Sakhavat Rashidov testified to injuries sustained due to provocations by Armenian forces. Tarzan Musayev reported a closed head injury from a mortar shell explosion on October 10, 2020, during the 44-day war. Babak Mammadli was injured during the April 2016 clashes in Talish village, Shishtapa post. He noted that his twin brother, Javidan Mammadli, was killed during the 44-day war, with his body returned after 127 days. Yasin Mehraliyev was injured by a mine explosion planted by the enemy while working for a company in the liberated Sighnag village of Khojaly district. Shamil Mammadov was injured on July 14, 2022, in Dagh Tumas village of Jabrayil district while transporting wheat for Azersun due to the explosion of two anti-tank mines planted by the enemy, resulting in the amputation of his left leg. Vagif Hasanov lived in Khanabad village of Khojaly until 1988, when he and his four young children were threatened by Armenians and forced to flee. He settled in Aghdam, stating, My two houses were looted. The victims also responded to questions from the accused, their defense lawyers, and representatives. The trial is scheduled to continue on July 18. Fifteen defendants of Armenian origin are accused in the criminal case concerning numerous crimes committed during the aggressive war waged by the Armenian stateincluding the aforementioned criminal associationon the territory of Azerbaijan, in violation of domestic and international legal norms. These crimes were committed for the purpose of military aggression against Azerbaijan and were carried out under the direct leadership and participation of the Armenian state, officials of its state institutions, its armed forces, and illegal armed formations, through their written and verbal orders, instructions, and guidelines; material, technical, and personnel support; centralized management; as well as under strict control and under the leadership and direct or indirect participation of Robert Sedraki Kocharyan, Serzh Azati Sargsyan, Vazgen Mikaeli Manukyan, Vazgen Zaveni Sargsyan, Samvel Andraniki Babayan, Vitali Mikaeli Balasanyan, Zori Hayki Balayan, Seyran Musheghi Ohanyan, Arshavir Surenovich Garamyan, Monte Charles Melkonyan, and others. The following individualsArayik Vladimiri Harutyunyan, Arkadi Arshaviri Ghukasyan, Bako Sahaki Sahakyan, Davit Rubeni Ishkhanyan, David Azatini Manukyan, Davit Klimi Babayan, Levon Henrikovich Mnatsakanyan, Vasili Ivani Beglaryan, Erik Roberti Ghazaryan, Davit Nelsoni Allahverdiyan, Gurgen Homeri Stepanyan, Levon Romiki Balayan, Madat Arakelovich Babayan, Garik Grigori Martirosyan, and Melikset Vladimiri Pashayanare being charged under the following articles of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Article 100 (planning, preparing, initiating, and waging a war of aggression); Article 102 (attacking persons or organizations enjoying international protection); Article 103 (genocide); Article 105 (extermination of the population); Article 106 (enslavement); Article 107 (deportation or forced displacement of population); Article 109 (persecution); Article 110 (enforced disappearance of persons); Article 112 (deprivation of liberty contrary to international law); Article 113 (torture); Article 114 (mercenary service); Article 115 (violation of the laws and customs of warfare); Article 116 (violation of international humanitarian law during armed conflict); Article 118 (military robbery); Article 120 (intentional murder); Article 192 (illegal entrepreneurship); Article 214 (terrorism); Article 214-1 (financing terrorism); Article 218 (creation of a criminal organization); Article 228 (illegal acquisition, transfer, sale, storage, transportation, and possession of weapons, ammunition, explosives, and devices); Article 270-1 (acts threatening aviation security); Article 277 (assassination of a state official or public figure); Article 278 (forcible seizure and retention of power, forcible change of the constitutional structure of the state); Article 279 (creation of armed groups not provided for by law); and other articles. 17 July 2025 08:30 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more As part of its energy diversification strategy, Azerbaijan is now focusing on electricityparticularly from renewable sourcesas a new export pillar. The government has set ambitious targets: by 2030, 30% of domestic electricity consumption is expected to come from renewables, and the country aims to export 4 GW of electricity to Europe. This could generate up to $5 billion in foreign exchange annually. Even before these European exports are realized, regional demand for Azerbaijani electricity is already rising. During JanuaryMay 2025, Azerbaijan exported 14.9 million kWh of electricity to Iran, generating $423,000 in revenue. This marks a 4.8% increase in both volume and value compared to the same period in 2024. Access to paid information is limited Find the plan that suits you best. 17 July 2025 16:23 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more In a demonstration of growing regional solidarity and shared strategic vision, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev hosted Chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov on a significant official visit marked not only by diplomatic engagement but also by powerful symbolic gestures. The visit underscores Azerbaijans ongoing commitment to fostering regional partnerships grounded in shared history, cultural ties, and a forward-looking development agenda. The relationship between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan is deeply rooted in a common Turkic heritage, linguistic affinities, and historical interconnectedness. These bonds have served as a natural foundation for a steadily evolving partnership. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union, both nations have demonstrated an increasing willingness to engage in bilateral cooperation across multiple sectors, including energy, transportation, and humanitarian efforts. Chairman Berdimuhamedovs visit signals not only a reaffirmation of these ties but also an intention to expand the bilateral agenda in response to new regional dynamics. With shifting geopolitical alliances and increased attention on the Caspian regions energy and transit corridors, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan appear poised to play complementary roles in shaping Eurasias economic future. Perhaps the most telling feature of the visit was the itinerary itself. The leaders joint visit to the liberated territories of Azerbaijan -particularly the cities of Fuzuli and Shusha - carried a potent symbolic message. By showcasing the scale of destruction caused by decades of Armenian occupation, Azerbaijan sought to communicate its narrative of revival and reconstruction, while also positioning itself as a resilient and forward-thinking state. Chairman Berdimuhamedovs presence in these symbolic locations underscores Turkmenistans solidarity with Azerbaijans territorial integrity and post-conflict development efforts. It also reflects the shared values of peace, stability, and cultural preservation that both countries espouse within the framework of international law and regional cooperation. A major highlight of the visit was the detailed presentation of reconstruction projects in Fuzuli and Shusha. These cities - once devastated, now rapidly transforming into modern urban centers - represent Azerbaijans broader vision of post-conflict revitalization. With ambitious urban planning that includes smart city features, green infrastructure, and historical restoration, Azerbaijan is setting a precedent in the region for post-war recovery. The reconstruction of Fuzuli, according to the Master Plan, involves a blend of modern functionality and cultural identity. With a target population of 50,000 by 2040, the city is being rebuilt to serve as a key transport and logistics hub in the Garabagh and Eastern Zangazur economic zones. The creation of memorials, creativity centers, hospitals, schools, and museums not only addresses the practical needs of resettlement but also helps to heal the collective trauma of displacement and destruction. For Turkmenistan, whose own neutrality doctrine emphasizes peace and regional cooperation, such efforts present potential avenues for involvement - be it through construction expertise, energy cooperation, or cultural exchange. The visit could serve as a stepping stone toward greater engagement in Azerbaijans reconstruction economy. In Shusha, the leaders visited newly developed residential complexes, religious monuments, and historical estates. These stops were emblematic of Azerbaijans attempt to restore not only infrastructure but also the soul of a region long subjected to cultural erasure. The revival of the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque and the ongoing construction of the New Shusha Mosque - rich in symbolic numerology and architectural ambition - highlight the centrality of religious and cultural identity in Azerbaijans post-war narrative. The restoration of the Mehmandarovs Estate Complex further cements Azerbaijans intention to preserve and showcase its pre-Soviet aristocratic and intellectual heritage. The estates transformation into a museum is part of a broader cultural diplomacy strategy, one that may resonate with Turkmenistans own emphasis on preserving historical identity amidst modernization. This visit is more than a bilateral encounter; it reflects the evolving dynamics of regional cooperation in the post-conflict South Caucasus. As Azerbaijan accelerates its rebuilding of liberated territories and seeks to attract regional support and investment, partnerships with culturally aligned states like Turkmenistan gain added importance. From a geopolitical lens, the visit reinforces the narrative of Turkic unity - a notion increasingly vocalized through forums such as the Organization of Turkic States. The shared symbolism, high-level coordination, and discussion of long-term development mark this meeting as a calculated effort to consolidate influence, extend strategic soft power, and diversify cooperation beyond hydrocarbons. In the years ahead, both countries may explore more institutionalized forms of collaboration, including joint economic ventures, educational exchanges, and coordinated positions on regional infrastructure projects. Turkmenistans involvement could also have implications for trans-Caspian energy and transport initiatives, particularly if Ashgabat chooses to take a more active role in connectivity projects linking Central Asia with the South Caucasus and beyond. Chairman Berdimuhamedovs visit to Azerbaijan was far more than a ceremonial tour. It was a diplomatic gesture packed with historical resonance, cultural solidarity, and strategic foresight. By engaging Turkmenistan at such a symbolic and critical juncture, Azerbaijan has not only deepened bilateral ties but also sent a broader message to the region - that peace, restoration, and partnership are the defining elements of a new era in the South Caucasus. 17 July 2025 11:13 (UTC+04:00) Nazrin Abdul Read more The inaugural meeting of the Vietnam-Azerbaijan Business Council and a bilateral business forum were held in Hanoi, the capital of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Azernews reports. The event was organized with the support of the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Vietnam and co-hosted by the Vietnam National Association of Entrepreneurs (VINEN), Azerbaijans Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBIA), and the Export and Investment Promotion Agency (AZPROMO). The forum took place ahead of the 3rd session of the Azerbaijan-Vietnam Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation. The event brought together senior government officials from both countries, along with business leaders and representatives from various sectors including food, agriculture, industry, textiles, transportation and logistics, and cotton production. The forum began with the national anthems of Vietnam and Azerbaijan, followed by the screening of a documentary highlighting the development of bilateral relations. In keynote speeches, Azerbaijans Minister of Energy, Parviz Shahbazov, and Vietnams Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Nguyen Hoang Long, highlighted the growing economic and trade ties between the two nations. They expressed satisfaction with the progress made through the intergovernmental commission and emphasized the potential for expanded cooperation across various sectors. Elnur Aliyev, First Deputy Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan, presented an overview of trade, investment, and business relations between the two countries. He also spoke about Azerbaijans favorable investment climate and outlined opportunities for future collaboration. Emphasizing the importance of mutual support, Aliyev called for turning these partnerships into tangible outcomes. 17 July 2025 14:00 (UTC+04:00) Full digital access to all news for 1 year Full digital access to all news for 6 months Full digital access to all news for 3 months Full digital access to all news for 1 month Find the plan that suits you best. In the first half of 2025, Azerbaijan exported 98.87 thousand tons of petroleum coke, Azernews reports, citing the State Customs Committee. The export of this volume generated... 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! 17 July 2025 14:43 (UTC+04:00) Akbar Novruz Read more The 3rd meeting of the Azerbaijan-Vietnam Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade and Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held in Hanoi, marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral ties. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy confirmed the event and highlighted that the discussions touched on a wide array of sectors, Azernews reports. Ahead of the main meeting, Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov met with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien to discuss key issues on the cooperation agenda. The commission, co-chaired by Shahbazov and Dien, emphasized that the foundation of bilateral relations rooted in historic visits by President Ho Chi Minh to Baku in 1959 and National Leader Heydar Aliyev to Hanoi in 1983 has entered a new strategic phase. This development was reinforced by the visit of the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam, to Azerbaijan in May, which culminated in a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership. Minister Shahbazov stated that the declaration and accompanying agreements form a roadmap for expanding cooperation, noting that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the visit a major political milestone. He added, The Intergovernmental Commission has been tasked with transforming the declaration into concrete projects, boosting trade and mutual investment. A cooperation document for 20252027 has been drafted, covering 58 measures across 17 priority areas. Vietnams Minister Nguyen Hong Dien underlined the strength of the political will between the two nations and highlighted Vietnams strategic energy cooperation with Azerbaijan. He said Vietnam, the third-largest economy in Southeast Asia, offers vast market opportunities with access to a regional market of 600 million people. The meeting reviewed cooperation across various domains including energy, transport, small and medium-sized businesses, agriculture, defense, tourism, culture, and education. It was noted that trade turnover had risen by 5.4% in the first five months of 2025, reaching $58.4 million a positive sign of growing economic ties. In energy cooperation, SOCAR Tradings role as a key supplier in Vietnams oil market and its participation in international Vietnamese oil sales were spotlighted. New agreements including memorandums between the Ministry of Energy, SOCAR, and Vietnamese entities, as well as a renewable energy partnership with ROX Group aim to deepen energy ties. Transport and logistics were also highlighted as essential areas to boost industrial output and trade potential. Both sides pointed to cooperation along the Middle Corridor, North-South, and East-West routes. Silk Way Airlines has already opened a Vietnam office and plans to launch direct cargo flights, while Azerbaijan Airlines is eyeing a passenger route between Baku and Hanoi. Defense industry and agriculture also emerged as promising fields. Additionally, cultural diplomacy has gained momentum, exemplified by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyevas visit to Vietnam and upcoming Vietnam Days events in Azerbaijan. The meeting concluded with the signing of a protocol and adoption of an Action Plan for 20252027, cementing the strategic partnership framework for years to come. 17 July 2025 15:45 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more In an effort to promote tax awareness, encourage voluntary compliance, and improve record accuracy, a meeting was held with business owners and legal entities operating in the public catering sector in Khankendi, Azernews reports, citing the State Tax Service (STS) under the Ministry of Economy. STS noted that the session aimed to educate taxpaying entities about the fiscal policies now in place in the territories recently liberated from occupation. The event was attended by Alakbar Mammadov, Head of the Karabakh Regional Tax Department, along with officials from the department. During the meeting, participants were briefed on the specific features of the tax regime applied in these territories, including various tax and customs incentives and exemptions granted to registered residents. The discussion also addressed common challenges encountered by the tax authorities in overseeing business operations and enforcing compliance. Attendees were informed about regulatory expectations and the procedures for registration and reporting. In a question-and-answer segment, tax officials responded in detail to the concerns and inquiries raised by the business representatives. The session served as a platform for clarifying legal obligations and fostering a cooperative relationship between entrepreneurs and tax authorities as the region integrates more fully into Azerbaijans national economy. 17 July 2025 10:15 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more On July 16, Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation and founder and head of the IDEA Public Union, Leyla Aliyeva, attended the opening of the photo exhibition "National Parks 12 Wonders of Azerbaijan", held in the Seaside Park, Azernews reports. The exhibition is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of nature conservation activities in Azerbaijan. The event, organized by the IDEA Public Union, features photographs showcasing the nature, rich flora and fauna of specially protected areas and national parks, and the unique biodiversity of Azerbaijan. 17 July 2025 13:38 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more From July 23 to 26, the picturesque Sea Breeze area in the suburbs of Baku, on the Caspian Sea coast, will host the much-anticipated international music festival Dream Fest 2025, Azernews reports. Organizers have promised a spectacular event featuring a welcome program and a grand gala concert, bringing together world-renowned stars for four days filled with music, dance, and unforgettable experiences. Grand Opening Night The festival kicks off on July 23 with a dazzling lineup of top Azerbaijani artists alongside international stars on the main stage. Among the performers are Nicole Scherzinger, EMIN, SEVANNA, Zulfiyya Xanbabayeva, Brandon Stone, Tunzale Aghayeva, IVKA, Merab Amzoevi, Roza Zergerli, AISEL, Anar Aghayev, Nigar Jamal, Faig Aghayev, Aygun Kazimova, Zamig Huseinov, Miri Yusif, Efendi, Cosa Nostra, and Elene Ninidze. For the first time, an impressive roster of Azerbaijan's most beloved musicians will perform their greatest hits on a single stage. Nicole Scherzinger, who enchanted audiences last summer and praised the festival's organization, returns with a promise of an electrifying performance. This time, she will captivate the crowd in outfits by the Azerbaijani fashion brand AFFFAIR, designed by Rufat Ismailov. Heartfelt Tribute and Solo Performances The second day, July 24, will be dedicated to a moving tribute to the legendary Muslim Magomaev. This rare homage will feature beloved compositions performed by contemporary artists, presenting his timeless hits in fresh, original interpretations. In addition to the tribute, the evening will showcase solo concerts by a stellar lineup including YUKNAN, Alessandro Safina, EMIN, Emilia Yagubova, Nigar Jamal, Brandon Stone, Merab Amzoevi, Tunzale Aghayeva, Roza Zergerli, Elchin Azizov, Nasiba Abdullayeva, Farrux Zokirov, and Blue. Super Star Day: Nostalgic Dance Celebration On July 25, Dream Fest will turn back time with a night dedicated to the dance hits of the 80s and 90s. Audiences will be swept away by the infectious energy of timeless classics and enjoy an evening of vibrant dancing by the Caspian shore. This year's lineup features international artists appearing at Dream Fest for the first time, including Sandra, Haddaway, In-Grid, Ottawan, EMIN, Aqua, Kosheen, No Mercy, Kevin McCoy (formerly of Bad Boys Blue), and Secret Service, performing the unforgettable tracks that have kept hearts beating for decades. Super Hit Day: Spectacular Finale The festival's final day, July 26, promises a grand parade of chart-topping hits and an impressive show on the main stage. Attendees will sing along and dance to the music of popular artists whose concerts are often hard to attend. Performers on the closing night include Tyga, Jah Khalib, EMIN, Ceza, and Alizade, ensuring the festival ends on a high note with a celebration of vibrant music and unforgettable moments. 17 July 2025 18:16 (UTC+04:00) Laman Ismayilova Read more The final chord of the concert season was struck at the Chamber and Organ Music Hall (Kirche) of the Azerbaijan State Philharmonic, with the concluding performance of the Cadenza Contemporary Orchestra, Azernews reports. This evening was dedicated to the 95th anniversary of one of the brightest representatives of the Azerbaijani music school, the outstanding composer and educator Azer Rzayev (15.06.1930 14.12.2015). The program featured gems of his work, each becoming a separate story told in the language of music: the lyrical Nocturne For Cello and Orchestra, the heartfelt "Little Waltz", the philosophical "Reflection", the spirited Qaytaghi For Tar, the touching second movement of the "First Violin Concerto", and the emotionally rich Poem For Chamber Orchestra. Talented soloists lit up the stage, including Georgiy Imanov (cello), Seljan Mammadli (piano), Arslan Novrasli (tar), and Mehti Guluzade (violin), each of whom uniquely revealed the depth and diversity of the Master's music. Founded in 2021, Cadenza Contemporary Orchestra has completed its fourth season, which has become a true musical journey. During this time, the ensemble has captivated audiences with original programming and refined expressive sensitivity. At the helm of the creative process are conductor Samir Asadov and artistic director Turkar Gasimzade, under whose thoughtful leadership the orchestra continues to move forward confidently, opening new horizons for chamber music. Media partners of the event are Azernews.Az, Trend.Az, Day.Az, and Milli.Az. 17 July 2025 10:00 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more In accordance with the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev, the Great Return to the liberated territories continues. Azernews reports that those who have relocated to the village of Kngrli in the Aghdam district are families who had been temporarily settled in various parts of the republic, mainly in dormitories, sanatoriums, and administrative buildings. At this stage, 43 families 176 people have been resettled in the village of Kngrli. The returning residents expressed their gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva for the comprehensive state care they have received. They also conveyed their appreciation to the valiant Azerbaijani Army that liberated our lands, to our heroic soldiers and officers, and offered prayers for the martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this path. It should be noted that currently, more than 43,000 people live in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. This number includes not only the former internally displaced persons who have been relocated but also those involved in the implementation of various projects in the region, employees of local branches of different state institutions, as well as those working in reactivated healthcare, education, culture, tourism, industry, and energy facilities. 17 July 2025 11:25 (UTC+04:00) On July 17, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan, arrived in Azerbaijans Fuzuli district as part of his visit to the country, Azernews reports. A guard of honor was lined up at Fuzuli International Airport in honor of Chairman Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was welcomed by President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev. At Fuzuli International Airport, Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was briefed on Fuzuli, Zangilan, and Lachin International Airports, which were constructed in the territories liberated from occupation. 17 July 2025 12:28 (UTC+04:00) On July 17, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited the first residential complex constructed in the city of Shusha, Azernews reports. Aydin Karimov, Special Representative of the President of Azerbaijan in the Shusha district, provided information about the complex to the President and the Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty. Covering nearly 8 hectares, the residential complex consists of 23 buildings. Its foundation was laid by President Ilham Aliyev in August 2021. The complex includes 450 apartments: 28 one-room, 195 two-room, 190 three-room, 30 four-room, and 7 five-room units. These apartments have been allocated to former internally displaced persons and also provided as service housing for individuals working in various state institutions in Shusha. To date, 376 families of former internally displaced persons, totaling 1,409 individuals, have been resettled in the complex. Extensive landscaping and greening efforts have also been carried out in the area. 17 July 2025 16:07 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more Cooperation between Azerbaijan and South Korea in the field of supreme audit institutions is steadily expanding, according to Lee Mi Hyun, head of South Koreas Board of Audit and Inspection, Azernews reports. Lee Mi Hyun highlighted the strong and growing ties between the two nations, particularly in the field of public sector auditing. The friendship and partnership between South Korea and Azerbaijan continue to develop steadily, she said. In particular, our collaboration in the auditing sphere is noteworthy. The exchange of information and experience between the supreme audit institutions of both countries is increasingly active. This cooperation contributes to the strengthening of institutional capacity, as well as greater transparency and accountability. Lee also emphasized the significance of the 62nd meeting of the Governing Board of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), held in Baku, describing it as a key platform for deepening such cooperation. Conferences like this play a vital role in fostering mutual understanding between nations and facilitating professional knowledge exchange, she noted. Azerbaijans high-level organization of this event is a clear testament to the countrys commitment to international cooperation. Moreover, the collaboration between South Korea and Azerbaijan extends beyond auditing and includes other areas as well. 17 July 2025 17:16 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more A group of cadets from Azerbaijan is taking part in a naval training program organized by the Turkish National Defence University to enhance the skills of military students from friendly nations, Azernews reports, citing the Defence Ministry. According to Turkiyes Ministry of National Defence, the program brings together cadets from Turkiye, Azerbaijan, and Tunisia aboard the TCG Sancaktar, a vessel of the Turkish Naval Forces. The participants are undergoing intensive hands-on training on board, aimed at improving their seamanship and operational readiness. The Ministry stated, The open-sea deployment will continue until August 15. As part of the program, the TCG Sancaktar is scheduled to make port visits to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Egypt, Albania, and Malta. The initiative is part of a broader effort to deepen defense cooperation and strengthen military interoperability among allied nations. Between July 8 and 14, a total of 297 cadets including 244 from Turkiye and 53 from partner countries completed the Naval Readiness course under the program. The training offers cadets a unique opportunity to operate in multinational teams, navigate complex maritime scenarios, and build lasting professional ties. Participation from Azerbaijani cadets highlights the strategic defense partnership between Baku and Ankara, grounded in mutual trust and growing military collaboration. 17 July 2025 15:56 (UTC+04:00) Qabil Ashirov Read more From September 30 to October 2, 2025, Kazakhstan's capital Astana will host the 28th Kazakhstan International Transport and Logistics Exhibition (TransLogistica Kazakhstan 2025), a key event in the regional transportation calendar, Azernews reports. According to AZERTAC, the exhibition will take place at the Atakent Exhibition Complex and will bring together participants from Azerbaijan, other CIS countries, and Central Asian republics, as well as Iran, Italy, Poland, Finland, China, Estonia, Turkiye, and Russia. Both private sector companies and official state representatives are expected to attend. TransLogistica Kazakhstan 2025 will showcase a wide range of services and products, including freight forwarding, transport, port and terminal services, and manufacturers of automotive, rail, and air transport vehicles. In addition to the main exhibition, the event will feature several parallel conferences and forums, including the New Silk Way Business Forum, and thematic conferences on Development of Shipping, Terminals, and Ports in the Caspian Sea and Transport and Logistics Market Trends. The program will also include business sessions, panel discussions, and bilateral meetings, providing a vital networking platform for regional and global players. The event highlights the growing importance of Eurasian connectivity, with Azerbaijan playing a critical role as a regional transport hub linking East and West through key infrastructure like the BakuTbilisiKars railway and the Port of Baku. 17 July 2025 17:40 (UTC+04:00) On July 17, Head of the Presidential Administration of Azerbaijan, Samir Nuriyev, held a meeting with a delegation led by Humaid Obaid Abushibs, Chairman of the Accounting Authority of the United Arab Emirates, underscoring the deepening strategic partnership between the two countries, Azernews reports. According to Azernews, both sides expressed satisfaction with the growing trajectory of bilateral relations, which have expanded significantly across economic, energy, transport, and cultural spheres. Special emphasis was placed on the momentum generated by President Ilham Aliyevs recent visit to the UAE and the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which has laid the groundwork for broader cooperation. UAE companies contributions to Azerbaijans renewable energy sector were highlighted as an example of successful collaboration, reflecting shared goals in sustainable development. The sides also touched upon the progress of reconstruction efforts in Azerbaijans liberated territories, noting the return of internally displaced persons to their homes under the leadership of President Aliyev. Gratitude was extended to the UAE for its financial support of humanitarian demining activities, a crucial component in facilitating safe resettlement and regional restoration. The meeting also included discussions on anti-corruption reforms, legal frameworks, and institutional accountability. Both parties reviewed the achievements and ongoing efforts of Azerbaijans Anti-Corruption Commission and the UAE's Accounting Authority, with a focus on enhancing transparency and governance. In closing, the two delegations exchanged views on further opportunities for expanding bilateral and international cooperation, reinforcing the long-term strategic vision shared between Baku and Abu Dhabi. 17 July 2025 18:28 (UTC+04:00) On July 17, 2025, ADA University held an information session announcing the launch of state-ordered admissions for the 20252026 academic year, marking a key step toward making high-quality education more accessible and inclusive in Azerbaijan, Azernews reports. The session brought together university leadership, faculty members, applicants, and parents to discuss the framework of the newly introduced state-funded places. Under this initiative, students who succeed in the entrance exams conducted by the State Examination Center (SEC) will be admitted to tuition-free programs and receive monthly scholarships based on academic performance. ADA University Rector Hafiz Pashayev highlighted the strategic significance of the program: This initiative will make a significant contribution to the quality of higher education, the realization of the potential of young people, and the development of the country's human capital. Since the establishment of the university, our main mission has been to build a higher education institution in Azerbaijan that surpasses the level of education provided abroad. A total of 180 state-ordered places have been allocated to ADA University for the upcoming academic year. These slots are distributed across high-demand fields in two academic groups: Group I: Computer Science 30 places Computer Engineering 30 places Mathematics 30 places Information Technologies 30 places Group II: Finance 30 places Economics 30 places ADA graduates and current students, including Economics alumna Aydan Mammadzadeh and Mathematics student Omar Askerzadeh, also spoke at the event, sharing their personal experiences and academic journeys. Although the current program focuses on specific disciplines, plans are underway to expand the number of state-ordered places to cover a broader range of academic programs in the coming years. This development reflects a broader national strategy to strengthen the countrys talent pool by removing financial barriers to higher education. 17 July 2025 12:23 (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. The State Customs Committee has revealed the amount of gas produced during the first half of the year. 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! 17 July 2025 13:19 (UTC+04:00) A flood emergency has been announced in Islamabad, and the Army has moved to rescue people, Azernews reports via DND News Agency. Intermittent rain continues in the federal capital as well as in the entire Rawalpindi District. The highest rainfall in the city was recorded in the I-12 area, 186 mm 168 mm of rain was recorded in Golra, 152 mm of rain was recorded in H-8 132 mm of rain has been recorded in Saidpur Village so far. The district administration has appealed to the citizens not to make unnecessary trips. Rain emergency has been imposed in Rawalpindi. Torrential rain has been continuing for the last 15 hours. A total of more than 230 mm of rain has been recorded, said MD WASA. WASA Rawalpindi high alert, a rain emergency has been imposed in the city. MD WASA Muhammad Saleem Ashraf said that crew and heavy machinery are deployed in low-lying areas. The water level in Nala Lai is rising rapidly, as water is 20 feet at Katarian, while the flow of water in Gowalmandi is 19 feet. MD Wasa had appealed to evacuate low-lying areas. More than 450 mm of rain has been recorded in Chakwal city. The situation is very critical; many houses have been submerged, there are reports of houses collapsing, and sirens are also sounding in Rawalpindi. Due to constant heavy rainfall, which is expected to continue till afternoon, people are requested to avoid unnecessary travelling. Roads are flooded. 17 July 2025 22:20 (UTC+04:00) Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan continues his contacts in Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia, where he is attending the 58th ASEAN Foreign Ministers Meeting. Fidan attended the TurkiyeASEAN Sectoral Dialogue Partnership Tripartite Meeting in Malaysia. Speaking at the meeting, Minister Fidan said, This meeting provides a very important opportunity to evaluate TurkiyeASEAN cooperation and gives us the opportunity to assess our ideals for the future. Criticizing global governance mechanisms, Fidan added that the Asia-Pacific region is at a crucial juncture. Geographic tensions, economic volatility, and environmental challenges continue to shape our future and this era. He noted: "Perceptions of security have also shifted due to the competition between major rival powers. Countries in the region are recalibrating their national security doctrines, increasing defense spending, and prioritizing economic security. Global dynamics are also extremely interconnected. Different crises in this region prompt us to react in the same way. Although these crises are real and reflect different geographies, we see that existing global governance mechanisms fall short in responding to them. As my esteemed brother pointed out, the situation in Gaza is a particularly significant manifestation of this. These mechanisms are fragmented, merely reactive, and trapped in geographical impasses. But we must collectively address these issues now, building bridges and collaborating to tackle regional challenges. Policies born of shared wisdom must emerge through mutual cooperation, and we need this even more in this increasingly polarized world. This aligns precisely with an area where we prioritize cooperation with ASEAN. Minister Fidan continued his statement and emphasized that Turkiye and ASEAN are strategically important actors and have the potential to complement each other in crucial ways. Both are at the heart of logistics corridors. "In this sense, we can play important roles in connectivity. Both Turkiye and ASEAN can act as centers of economic activity in their regions. Designated as the worlds fifth-largest economic organization, ASEAN has proven itself as a success story in regional integration. Turkiye is the 17th-largest economy and the fastest-growing country in the OECD. Our bilateral trade volume exceeded $15.7 billion last year. This demonstrates the immense significance of our existing potential. ASEANs principle of shared prosperity resonates with Turkiyes renewed Asia initiative. However, this is not the only dimension of our engagement. Both sides are actors who, through cooperation, embody the principles of peace, inclusiveness, and mutual benefit. We intend to deepen our cooperation with ASEAN based on the three principles of the ASEAN Community. Our primary goal is a dialogue partnership. In this regard, we intend to develop our engagement with ASEAN in line with our shared strategic goals. Turkiye supports ASEANs 2045 vision to create a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable society," he said. As part of his contacts today, Minister Fidan met with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko, Laos Foreign Minister Thongsavanh Phomvihane, and Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan. Central Oregon Coast Becomes Giant Canvas for Lincoln City Sand Art Contest Published 07/15/25 at 5:55 p.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Lincoln City, Oregon) - Oregons central coast will once again serve as a grand canvas for an outdoor art spectacle when the Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative hosts its annual Sand Art Competition & Art on the Beach in Lincoln City. Set for Saturday, July 26, at Roads End State Recreation Area, the event invites artists of all skill levels to capture the underwater wonders of the Cascade Head Marine Reserve with this years theme: What Can You See Under the Sea? Participants for Sand Art Competition & Art on the Beach may compete as individuals or in teams of up to four, designing intricate 20-by-20-foot sand installations inspired by local marine life and habitats. The contest embraces accessibility and creativity, requiring no prior experience and supplying rakes on-site for sculpting. Spectators are also welcome to enjoy the dreamy masterpieces created by professionals and volunteers along the shoreline near Cascade Head. Organizers said that's 400 square feet or about 400 million grains of sand to play on. Is this like a sandcastle contest? Not quite. Sand art is different from traditional sand castle building in that the artists utilize rakes to create art that transforms beach surfaces into large-scale, ephemeral masterpieces, said organizers. Artists rake the sand into patterns and shapes, creating everything from simple geometrical designs to complex and stunning representations of natural or abstract themes. Duncan Berry, Co-Director of the Cascade Head Biosphere Collaborative, called the event a celebration of Lincoln City's connection with the Cascade Head Biosphere Region, adding that it merges art and environmental awareness. A $20 entry donation per team helps support the Collaboratives initiatives in coastal conservation, climate action, and education. The day begins at 8:00 a.m. with two hours allotted for design and execution. Judging begins at 10:00 a.m., with prizes awarded shortly thereafter based on creativity, originality, and overall artistry. Sand Art Competition & Art on the Beach Prizes: 1st Place: Chinook Winds Prize package valued at $500 (1 night Oceanfront Room, 2 Show Tickets, Dinner at Rogue River Room) 2nd Place: $200 cash 3rd Place: $100 cash See the video for this year's event Alongside the contest, a giant sand art graphic will be constructed as part of the festivities. Organizers encourage visitors to explore previous creations captured in photographs from past years at cascadehead.org.. The Cascade Head Biosphere Region - designated a UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Programme site - encompasses the Salmon River Estuary, Cascade Head Marine Reserve, and Lincoln City. Known for its ecological richness, the region hosts diverse wildlife such as black bears, bald eagles, migrating whales, and endangered species like the Oregon silverspot butterfly and marbled murrelet. More details are available at 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) 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 Nye Beach's Waves Hotel Keeps Making Waves: an Oregon Coast Classic Less expensive than many, an innovative Newport boutique hotel. Newport lodging reviews Where Primeval Forest Vibes Meet Oregon Coast Sands at Twin Tierra Del Mar Re... This pet friendly set of dreamy homes exemplifies the teensy burgh's best. Lodging reviews, hotels One of the True, Rare Historic Motor Lodges Left on Oregon Coast Agate Beach Motel in Newport goes all the way back to 1940. Hotel reviews, lodging 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 Florence's Community-wide Garage Sale Takes Over Central Oregon Coast in September Published 07/16/25 at 5:55 a.m. By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff (Florence, Oregon) - Sharpen your price-haggling skills, make more room in your car trunk and be prepared to search for treasures. The Lane County burgh of Florence is preparing to welcome bargain hunters from all over the Pacific Northwest for its annual Community-wide Garage Sale, set for September 1214, 2025. (Courtesy photo) This beloved Oregon coast tradition will once again turn Florence into a sprawling marketplace, with homes, neighborhoods, nonprofits, and local businesses offering everything from vintage collectibles to handmade treasures. Organized by the Florence Area Chamber of Commerce, they said it is the largest ever. The event has become a regional favorite over the past twelve years. This is one of our biggest and favorite events of the year, said Chamber President and CEO Bettina Hannigan. It attracts deal-seekers from all over the Northwest who love the hunt for great bargains and a coastal getaway. Participants can plan their shopping route using the official Garage Sale Map & Guide, which will be available in early September at the Chamber Visitors Center and online at FlorenceFun.com. The guide includes descriptions of each sale site to help visitors navigate the sprawling network of pop-up markets and residential offerings. Beyond the treasure hunt, the chamber said Florence offers a full Oregon coastal experience. Visitors are encouraged to explore the areas quiet beaches, forested trails, scenic dunes, and recreational opportunities like horseback riding and sandboarding. The towns vibrant food scene and charming Old Town district add extra appeal to the weekend outing. This is more than just a garage sale weekend - its a full-scale treasure-hunting adventure, Hannigan said. Come for the bargains, stay for the natural beauty, the chowder, and the charm of Old Town. Local organizers suggest treating the weekend like an episode of American Pickers - Florence-style. Travelers are advised to book accommodations early and come prepared with cash, reusable bags, and a strategy for navigating sale sites. For event details and lodging options, visit FlorenceFun.com. Oregon Coast Hotels in this area - - Where to eat - - Florence Oregon Virtual Tour, Map MORE PHOTOS BELOW OREGON COAST HOTEL REVIEWS (hit refresh to see different reviews) April Gets Even Cheaper Midweek at Depoe Bay, Lincoln City: Oregon Coast Deals Off-season rates plus more at Keystone Vacation Rentals. Depoe Bay lodging specials, Lincoln City hotel reviews, Newport hotel reviews Getting Oregon Coast Stays on the 'Lowdown' - Where Lincoln City Cut Rates Excellent Lincoln City specials abound. Lincoln City hotel reviews A 'Sea Dream' of a Rental on North Oregon Coast, Beneath Manzanita's Canopy Bringing the woodsy, beachy vibe to a new level in Manzanita. Manzanita hotels, hotel reviews Depoe Bay / Lincoln City's Keystone Vacation Rentals - Oregon Coast Reviews Does Keystone live up to its reputation? A few typical reviews of the agency and a larger review of the company 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 Another key former Biden White House official has pled the Fifth Amendment, refusing to answer questions from a Congressional committee on the grounds that his answers might incriminate himself. Anthony Bernal was appearing pursuant to a subpoena before the House Oversight Committee. Biden's former White House Physician has already pled the fifth before the same committee, refusing to answer its questions on the grounds it may incriminate himself. Bernal served in the Biden White House as Chief of Staff to Jill Biden and was nicknamed her "work husband". He was a particularly powerful figure in the White House during the Biden regime, and has been identified by some administration insiders as the person who ultimately controlled use of Biden's autopen. https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5404020-anthony-bernal-jill-biden-aide-pleads-fifth/ https://thefederalist.com/2025/07/16/jill-bidens-work-husband-pleads-the-fifth-in-biden-white-house-cover-up-probe-1/ https://dailycaller.com/2025/07/16/anthony-bernal-jill-biden-joe-biden-james-commer-house-oversight/ It appears that Jill Biden may be the next one subpoenaed in the investigation. https://redstate.com/terichristoph/2025/07/16/comer-says-jill-biden-should-be-subpoenaed-next-n2191710 There is also a separate White House investigation, in conjunction with the Department of Justice into the autopen scandal. https://redstate.com/nick-arama/2025/07/15/biden-autopen-scandal-subpoena-n2191684 RINO James Lankford, the Oklahoma amnesty whore, now seems to have a House counterpart who is also pushing for amnesty for illegal aliens against the wishes of the American people and the GOP base. Florida RINO Congresswoman Maria Salazar is the chief sponsor of an amnesty bill that would give work permits to illegal aliens. Salazar is a globalist who is closely connected to the World Economic Forum. She has attended their conferences in Davos and even served on a panel at their latest conference along with radical Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and Senator Chris Coons of Delaware who once described himself as a "bearded Marxist". Promoting mass migration is part of the globalist agenda to try to destroy the nation-state. Salazar is not the only RINO involved. RINO co-sponsors are Lawler (NY), Valadao (CA), Newhouse (WA), Kelly (PA), Fitzpatrick (PA), Bacon (NE), Evans (CO), Kim (CA), and Stutzman (IN). Bacon is an uber-RINO who is retiring. Stutzman, however, has generally been conservative. https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/07/here-we-go-rino-congresswoman-maria-salazar-introduces/ https://thefederalist.com/2025/07/16/new-gop-backed-amnesty-bill-is-a-gift-to-dems-and-a-middle-finger-to-republican-voters/ As the European public opinion continues to move heavily against mass migration, three European governments have made moves to tighten immigration law or policy. In Portugal, the center-right minority government passed a new law cracking down on immigration with the support of the leading opposition party, the populist nationalist right Chega! (Enough!) Party, which is the second largest in parliament. The new law severely limits "family reunification" as a grounds for immigration, restricts work permits for immigrants to skilled jobs, and created a new unit within the national police specifically tasked with stopping illegal immigration and with deporting those in the country unlawfully (Portugal's ICE). https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news-corner/portugal-passes-tougher-migration-laws-with-chegas-support/ Meanwhile, the government of Belgium has reinstated internal border checks of identification to crack down on illegal immigration. https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news-corner/belgium-reinstates-border-checks-to-tackle-illegal-migration/ In Poland, the government has given new powers to its soldiers on its border with Belarus to deal with illegal immigration. Last month, the conservative government in Greece instituted a major crackdown on illegal immigration, including a moratorium on asylum applications. In Spain, a poll for a major newspaper has found that 70% of Spanish voters support mass deportation of illegal aliens from the country. https://europeanconservative.com/articles/news/europe-turns-right-on-immigration-member-states-rewrite-the-rules/ China reports surge in foreign visitors amid expanded visa-free policy Xinhua) 08:31, July 17, 2025 Tourists from Australia visit the Tiantan (Temple of Heaven) Park in Beijing, capital of China, May 1, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- An increased number of foreign visitors arrived at China's borders in the first half of 2025, fueled in part by relaxed visa rules -- particularly the expansion of the country's visa-free travel programs. Foreign nationals made a total of 38.05 million trips to or from China in the first six months of the year, which was an increase of 30.2 percent year on year, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on Wednesday. Of these trips, 13.64 million were visa-free entries, an increase of 53.9 percent from the same period last year, the NIA said. Lyu Ning, a spokesperson for the NIA, attributed the growth to China's efforts to facilitate visas in recent years, saying that its measures have effectively attracted international visitors to the country for travel or business. China recently signed mutual visa-exemption agreements with Uzbekistan, Malaysia and Azerbaijan, and has extended such exemptions unilaterally to nine more countries, including Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The agreement between China and Azerbaijan, which covers ordinary passport holders from the two countries, came into effect on Wednesday. Citizens of China or Azerbaijan who hold a valid ordinary passport will be able to enter, exit or transit through the other country without a visa. A single stay should not exceed 30 days, and a total stay of no more than 90 days is permitted within any 180-day period. Citizens of 55 countries, including the United States and Canada, can visit China visa-free for up to 10 days in transit, before traveling on to a third destination. These sweeping policy changes have facilitated travel to China, fueling a surge in online content and interest surrounding "China Travel," particularly on platforms like YouTube. This photo shows a tax free shop in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality, May 2, 2025. (Xinhua/Huang Wei) As the summer vacation season has begun, China has seen a significant surge in arrivals of foreign passport holders. Many overseas tourists cited China's distinctive and diverse cultural atmosphere as the main attraction. "China and its people are so diverse, I think there is always more to learn when traveling there," said American tourist Abigail Mueller. A couple of years back, Mueller traveled to cities including Chengdu and Xi'an, and visited renowned tourist spots including the Leshan Giant Buddha. One single trip was not enough, however, and Mueller said the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of China is always tempting. "While in China, I would get familiar with WeChat, be open to people's curiosities, and embrace Chinese culture in the fullest," said Mueller. "I would like to go back to China again and visit other cities, I'm not sure which ones yet, but (I want to) learn more about regional cultures and practices." Immigration authorities across China processed 333 million inbound and outbound trips from January to June, marking a 15.8-percent rise year on year, said the NIA. Authorities are steadily advancing openness and improving service efficiency, it added. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Pep & Co and Poundland on Ann Street in Belfast on the 17th July 2025 (Luke Jervis) Value retailer Poundland is shutting a large unit in the heart of Belfast city centre next month after it could not agree terms to stay put, Belfast Telegraph can reveal. The space at 2&3 and 5 to 17 Ann Street, home to Poundland and sister brand Pep & Co, remains open and trading but is being advertised online to let for an undisclosed sum. Scene of the incident in the Canterbury Street area of south Belfast on July 16, 2025. Pic: Kevin Scott A man has appeared in court facing multiple charges connected to several incidents, including one involving a stand-off with police in Belfast and another where he allegedly threatened to kill his partner. Journalists will be allowed to report on High Court family proceedings for the first time in NI as part of a pilot scheme. These cases are currently closed to the media and the public for the protection of those involved. Police officers on Clonavon Road in Ballymena following a second night of violence in Ballymena, during a protest over an alleged sexual assault in the Co Antrim town. Photo: Liam McBurney/PA Wire Items with PCBs must now be registered by October 31 New DAERA legislation will see equipment containing a certain amount of man-made chemicals registered with the NI Environment Agency and disposed of by the end of the year. Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) are carcinogenic, man-made substances used in components of products such as electrical equipment. They were banned in 1986 under the UN Stockholm Convention. Now falling under the Environmental Protection Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2025, coming into effect July 17, equipment containing more than 0.005% of PCBs -by weight and total volume of 50mm- must be registered with the NIEA before October 31 this year. It must then be subsequently removed from use by December 31. Existing closed uses of PCBs include, but are not limited to, heat exchange fluids such as coolants and insulating fluids [transformer oil] for transformers and capacitors manufactured prior to 1987, said a DAERA spokesperson. PCBs have been recognised globally as harmful to human health and the environment. Businesses are required to register relevant equipment annually using the PCB registration database. Associated guidance and fees for registration are available here. Additional information can be found by contacting the NIEA Chemicals Compliance Team NIEAChemicles@daera-ni.gov.uk. Golden retriever Binx will represent Co Armagh at the Nose of Tralee competition A therapy dog with an infectious personality is sniffing out glory as he represents Co Armagh in this years Nose of Tralee. Three-year-old golden retriever Binx has been selected from over 1,550 entries as one of 32 finalists in the competition, run by Pet Sitters Ireland. Now in its 12th year, the annual contest is a play on the Rose of Tralee international festival. People are invited to submit pictures and stories of their dogs, with the end goal of being crowned the Nose of Tralee. Binxs owner, Ruth Parkes, said the duo are ecstatic to be representing their home county. We entered it for a bit of fun and never thought we would get so far, she said. "Armagh has never won it. It would be great to bring it home. In 2022, Sadie the Labrador, rescued from Serbia by a Co Tyrone charity, won the competition. Ruth said Binx, who recently qualified as a therapy dog with the charity Therapy Dogs Nationwide (TDN), never fails to turn heads when out and about. He is also training in gundog classes. Ruth Parkes and Binx She added: He has an infectious personality and is always smiling and wanting cuddles. He never fails to get attention when we are out for our walks, so he has plenty of dog and human friends. Now trained to offer emotional support and companionship, Binx and Ruth are looking forward to giving back to their community. This is something that has been on my heart for a while, she added. "Seeing the love Binx has for people, and them for him, I thought it would be a great opportunity to give something back to the people of Co Armagh and help people who may be feeling lonely and struggling with their mental health. "It would be great to make someone's day with our visit. Golden retriever Binx will represent Co Armagh at the Nose of Tralee competition The Open at Royal Portrush: What happened in 2019 Ruth said they are hoping to get involved in TDNs Bark and Read programme an initiative funded by the Kennel Club that brings therapy dogs into schools to help children build confidence in reading. Reading to dogs has been proven to help children improve literacy and build confidence, as dogs listen without judgment or criticism. As someone who loves reading, this is a big passion of mine to help develop a love of reading among the younger generations and to spend time at their local library. We hope to volunteer in local nursing homes, schools, and hospitals, said Ruth. He is a special boy and hopefully we can make a difference in our community, no matter how small. The 2025 Nose of Tralee winner will be crowned on August 19, following an island-wide vote to determine who will take home the title. Voting for the final opens on July 24 and closes on August 18 at 5pm. The winner will receive a hotel stay, a photoshoot, pet sitting vouchers and a range of gifts from small Irish pet brands. You can follow Binx and Ruths journey on Instagram: @binx_thegolden. A shadow of a man with a clenched fist as a woman cowers in the corner. A Westminster committee has called for more funding and better co-ordination in a bid to tackle violence against women and girls. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee also called for work to understand the levels of violence against females in the region. It comes after the committee heard evidence sessions and met with organisations which support women who have experienced violence. MPs heard 98% of women in Northern Ireland have experienced at least one form of gender-based violence, and 28% of all victim-based crimes in Northern Ireland are related to domestic abuse. We need your consent to load this Social Media content. We use a number of different Social Media outlets to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review your details and accept them to load the content The committee also heard anecdotal evidence suggesting the legacy of the Troubles adds a unique dimension in the experience of females in the region, and that a disproportionate number of women in Northern Ireland are being silenced by online violence or subjected to intimate image abuse when compared with rest of the UK. The committees recommendations include sharing learning across the UK and consideration of an oversight board, as well as collaboration between Westminster and Stormont. It has also recommended that in the Governments upcoming strategy for tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), it sets out what steps it is taking in each nation of the UK, and to ensure that technology companies do so, too. Committee chairwoman Tonia Antoniazzi (Chris McAndrew/UK Parliament/PA) Committee chairwoman Tonia Antoniazzi called for action. The shocking scale of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland, highlighted by the harrowing experiences we heard of those who are forced to put up with it daily, cannot be tolerated any longer, she said. Previous efforts have clearly failed to tackle what is a scourge on society across the UK, and the Government now has an opportunity to set a new course. Alongside funding to protect women and girls from unacceptable abuse online, support for victims and early intervention to change attitudes, we need Stormont, Westminster, Holyrood and Cardiff to get together regularly to share whats working, and what theyre learning, as they each respond to VAWG. As part of this, were calling for more research into issues that might be specific to Northern Ireland, so that we can help end this grim reality, which is faced by far too many. Meanwhile, a TV documentary about Katies murder has been postponed due to family concerns A trust headed by a retired PSNI officer has been set up in honour of murdered showjumper Katie Simpson, to help other families who find themselves in similar situations. Katie, from Tynan in Co Armagh, was killed by her sisters partner, Jonathan Creswell, who had been abusing her from a young age. However, police initially treated the murder as suicide. The Katie Simpson Trust says it stands not only in Katies memory but as a beacon of support and accountability for other Irish families... The Trust is committed to providing training and raising awareness around investigative standards, victim support, and justice. It will work tirelessly to ensure that no family is left without answers or a voice. The trust has been launched to provide critical support to families who have lost a loved one in circumstances initially treated as suicide, accident or disappearance but where questions remain. 21-year-old Katie Simpson Meanwhile, a TV documentary about the murder, called Death of a Showjumper, has been postponed due to concerns the family had about aspects of the programme. It had been due to start on Wednesday on Sky and streaming service Now. Members of the Simpson family, along with their solicitor, Kevin Winters, of KRW Law, met with the production company and the issues are thought to have been resolved, with the documentary to be shown at a future date. The production company has been contacted for comment. Creswell had raped and beaten Katie overnight on August 3, 2020. He then made a 999 call, but put her semi-naked body in a car and started driving her to Altnagelvin Area Hospital. En route, Katie was transferred to an ambulance and Creswell, who was driving Katies car, told paramedics and the two police officers that she had attempted to take her own life. Katie Simpson Police were also told by Creswell that Katie, who was covered in bruises, had recently fallen from a horse. The talented showjumper died in hospital, without regaining consciousness, on August 10, 2020, aged 21. A Police Ombudsman probe concluded that the police investigation was hindered by the misleading working assumption adopted by a number of officers that Katies injuries were self-inflicted. Following the Ombudsmans report, Assistant Chief Constable Davy Beck apologised to the family and admitted there were shortcomings in various stages of the investigation. It is clear that we were not rigorous enough in our pursuit of all potential lines of enquiry and did not act quickly enough in responding to some of the concerns that were raised around Katies death, he said. The Katie Simpson Trust, which will be launched on Friday, is being headed up by retired PSNI detective sergeant James Brannigan, who also worked on the investigation into the murder of Charlotte Murray, whose body has never been found. Ms Murray went missing in 2012 and her partner, Johnny Miller, was convicted in 2019 of her murder, making legal history as the first conviction of its kind in the absence of a body. Mr Brannigan says he is currently working with two other families who also have unanswered questions about their loved ones deaths. What abusers do is isolate their victim from friends and family. Loved ones come together at a funeral and it is often only then that they think: This is not right. But at that point it is very difficult to get a police investigation opened, he said. If it turns out that a loved one has died at their own hand, as sad as that is, at least if the questions are answered it can give the family some closure. The trust has said that it is already looking at two other cases, using specialist officers with expertise tailored to each. It says its mission is simple: to bring peace of mind, clarity and, when needed, justice, by listening to families in their darkest hour. Mr Brannigan added: As awful as he was, Jonathan Creswell is not a unique character. There are others out there like him. Based in Northern Ireland, The Katie Trust says it will support families across the island of Ireland and beyond, offering training and guidance to police services to improve investigative standards and response. Mr Brannigan said: I believe there has been a growth in hidden homicides, and Im aware police dont like that term. I know we will be inundated at the start and it is daunting work, but it needs to be done. It is not going to be easy, but there is a need for it when it comes to seeking answers, and we hope the charity fills that gap. Hillary Clinton should relinquish her role at Queens, challenge Kneecap on stage over Gaza... and see how far that gets her Hillary Clinton should quit Queens University, challenge Kneecap on stage over Gaza... and see how far that gets her Queens University chancellor Hillary Clinton is no stranger to strutting onto a stage and getting her message across John Laverty Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 08:12 Donald Trumps dubious recent boast about total obliteration of Irans nuclear facilities made headlines, but he wasnt the first leading figure in US politics to coin that highly inflammatory phrase. Former UDA boss Dee Coleman in clear over gun attack on rival cocaine dealer Notorious thug jailed for kidnap and torture of petty criminal no longer under active investigation for drug turf murder bid Dee Coleman Sunday Life reporter Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 20:00 Jailed UDA drug boss Dee Coleman finally has something to cheer: he is no longer under investigation for a gun attack on a rival cocaine dealer. If you'd like to leave a comment (or a tip or a question) about this story with the editors, please email us We also welcome letters to the editor for publication; you can do that by filling out our letters form and submitting it to the newsroom. BENNINGTON The Planning Commission on Monday worked out the ground rules and a timetable to follow in reviewing the zoning designation of a 27.5-acre parcel on Apple Hill where two commercial-size solar projects are proposed. Planners were directed last month by the Select Board to consider a zone change for the parcel from the Rural Conservation District to the Rural Residential District, which was requested by the solar developer, Allco Renewable Energy LTD. The Select Board will afterward consider the Planning Commissions recommendation in deciding whether to designate the parcel as rural residential. Beyond the controversial nature of the two solar projects, which have been opposed by Apple Hill residents and others for more than a decade, the Select Boards request to the commission stirred controversy because it was agreed to as part of a settlement encompassing six lawsuits pressed by the developer that involved the town. One settlement provision was that the Select Board ask planners to review the request to rezone the 27.5 acres. After holding a public hearing, planners could recommend for or against the proposal or make no recommendation to the Select Board, which will have the final say in the matter. Town Plan update Town Planning Director Dan Monks suggested Monday that the commission delay action until an updated draft of the Town Plan they are working on is completed and submitted to the Select Board for a final decision. He estimated that should happen by the end of August. The main consideration is, does it conform to the Town Plan? Monks said regarding the proposed zone change. Although changes in the Town Plan update are not likely to affect this situation, he said that normally planners would delay such decisions while the plan is being updated. The Rural Conservation zoning designation in the Apple Hill area and conformance with the Town Plan has figured prominently in the solar developer being rejected for permits several times before the state Public Utility Commission and on appeal to the courts. However, the Select Board decided to settle with Allco Renewable Energy in early June after the most recent lawsuit filed by the developer challenged aspects of the $54 million Benn High redevelopment project on Main Street, in which the town is partnering with a private contractor. The developer, Zak Hale of Hale Resources, LLC, had said that the Allco appeal threatened to delay the Benn High project to the point its complex stack of funding sources might collapse and/or the lenders involved drop out of the project. List of questions The Planning Commission on Monday decided to develop a list of questions for the solar developer about the proposed zoning change prior to the commissions August 14 meeting, at which time a required formal public hearing on the proposal will be scheduled. Monks said the questions will be forwarded to the developer prior to the commissions hearing on the zoning proposal. He added that members of the public can also forward questions to him at the town offices. The Select Board also would be required to hold a public hearing prior to acting on the Planning Commissions recommendation. Members of the Apple Hill neighborhood attended Monday to reiterate their opposition to the solar projects, which they contend will be visible on the prominent scenic hillside and become a detriment to the town, given the economic value of the town and Vermonts scenic beauty. Bill Knight, president of the Apple Hill Homeowners Association, said he believes planners should research the last 12 years and all we have been through [opposing the solar projects]. Find out whats going on. State Rep. Mary Morrissey, R-Bennington, who has supported the Apple Hill residents, pointed out that the developer has in the past been denied, denied, denied before the PUC and the Vermont Supreme Court, adding that any decisions by the town should be based on whats in the best interests of the community. The solar developer also submitted to the town prior to the meeting a four-page summary of its reasoning in asking for the zone change. Among the arguments were that the parcel should be zoned rural residential given the existing surrounding subdivisions and the [Rural Residential] characteristics of the land immediately to the east. The land is located north of the state Welcome Center on Route 279 and to the west of Route 7 and 7A. The Apple Hill subdivision is north of the solar developers property. The decision on whether the solar projects are permitted rests with the PUC. The Apple Hill residents have said they will continue to oppose the projects at that level. Quality local journalism needs your support Access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access. Subscribe today. Cancel anytime. Subscribe now for 99 Subscriber Sign In | Return Home Access this story and all of our stories with 24/7 unlimited access. Material from Axios, The Week, Fortune, BBC News and The New York Times was included in this commentary. Clarence Fanto can be reached at cfanto@yahoo.com. The opinions expressed by columnists do not necessarily reflect the views of The Berkshire Eagle. By a vote of 136-23, the House on Wednesday passed a bill sponsors say will strengthen access to reproductive and transgender care in the face of out-of-state legal threats. Your prospective graduate student experience will include the following: a graduate admissions presentation, a guided campus tour, and an individual appointment with a graduate admissions staff member. Please note that we are not able to arrange meetings with program faculty. If you are interested in meeting with program faculty, please feel free to reach out to them directly to schedule. We ask that you start to plan your visit with at least 2-3 weeks in advance. Plan Your Graduate Visit Experience We also welcome group visits! Contact our office directly to schedule. Guests with disabilities are requested to indicate if they need special services, assistance, or appropriate modifications to fully participate in this event by contacting Accessibility Services at access@bgsu.edu or 419-372-8495 prior to your visit. Nondiscrimination Policy Statement Non-Discrimination in Employment and Education BGSU Bias Reporting System As an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer, BGSU complies with all applicable federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and affirmative action. BGSU does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status, in any of its activities or operations. Strategic Plan Strategic Plan Review Foward, for more information on BGSU Strategic Plan. Accreditation, Program Review, and Institutional Effectiveness Accreditation Program Review Institutional Effectiveness Bowling Green State University is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission: 230 South LaSalle Street, Suite 7-500, Chicago, IL 60604; Email: info@hlcommission.org; Tel: 800.621.7440 / 312.263.0456 Professional Licensure Professional Licensure Information The U.S. Department of Education requires institutions to identify the states for which the institution has made a determination of whether a programs curriculum meets the state educational requirements for licensure or certification in the states where students are located and provide notification of the outcome of these determinations. This requirement applies to educational programs that are designed to meet educational requirements for a specific professional licensure or certification that is required by a state for employment in an occupation. However, state requirements are subject to change and to interpretation by state regulators. In addition, state licensure boards and agencies may require applicants to meet additional requirements beyond completion of an educational program in order to obtain professional licensure or certification. Students should contact the state licensure board or agency in the state in which they intend to work in order to learn more about the requirements for professional licensure and certification in the state before beginning a program at the University. State Authorizations State Authorizations Universities are required to comply with the distance education laws of each individual state. If you are an out-of-state student seeking to enroll in an online program at BGSU, or if you are an online student considering moving to another state, you should check BGSUs status with that state. Participating in a program not authorized by your state could result in loss of ability to transfer credits. BGSU is approved by the Ohio Department of Higher Education to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). NC-SARA is an agreement among member states, districts and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. Institutional Facilities BGSU Campus Map BGSU has launched an interactive campus map in an effort to improve mobile accessibility and navigation for students and visitors. The new design includes a search tool, a detailed list of campus buildings and amenities, transportation services, construction notifications and a directions feature for mapping the quickest route to your destination. Individual school can also be contacted for information specific to laboratories and/or amenities and other related policies. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) FERPA - Family Educ. Rights & Privacy Act FERPA Policy Many offices at BGSU collect and maintain information about students. Although these records belong to the university, both university policy and federal law accord students a number of rights concerning these records. The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records by establishing rules and regulations for access and disclosure of student records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education. For further information on FERPA, consult the US Department of Education. Refund Policy Refund Policy BGSU has a tuition refund policy that stipulates the amount of tuition and fees that are refunded to a student who withdraws from all classes during a term. Refund, withdrawal and/or transfer questions should be directed to the Offices of Registrations and Record and/or Financial Aid. Withdrawal Policy Academic Policies Withdrawal Policy Refund, withdrawal and/or transfer questions should be directed to the Offices of Registrations and Record and/or Financial Aid. Textbook Information Textbook Information Students can find required textbooks or other course materials, compare prices at major retailers, and order online. Course Catalog Complete Course Catalog Listing Visit this page for the current and past course catalogs. Student Activities and Organizations Student Handbook Policies and Procedures Student life at BGSU offers the kind of thoroughly engaging opportunities most major public universities afford their students. Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections The Kuhlin Hub for Career Design and Connections at BGSU strives to engage, educate, and empower by providing high-quality services in career development, planning and preparation, experiential learning, and job attainment. Student Body Diversity and Division of Inclusion and Belonging Division of Inclusion and Belonging BGSU is committed to building and maintaining a safe, vibrant, diverse and inclusive campus community in which all members have a sense of belonging. Academic Advising Academic Advising Academic advising provides students with the opportunity to build a relationship with their advisors for the purpose of gaining assistance in planning their educational career, in learning the skills needed for academic success, and in learning how to access the variety of resources and services available to them on the BGSU campus. Computer and Network Use Policy; Information Security and IT Services ITS Policies Social Media Guidelines Information Security ITS Service Catalog BGSU has the responsibility for securing its computing and networking systems (both academic and administrative) to a reasonable and economically feasible degree against unauthorized access, while making the systems accessible for legitimate and innovative uses. This responsibility includes informing persons who use BGSUs computer and network systems of expected standards of conduct. Copyright and Infringement Policies Student Handbook Policies and Procedures The University encourages and supports the creation, development, expression and publication of written and recorded materials by university faculty, staff and students. For information about the university's policies on use of copyrighted material, including peer-to-peer file sharing, visit the Student Handbook Policies and Procedures. Voter Registration Voter Information The Secretary of State has charged our office to be a designated agency pursuant to state and federal law. Kerrin credits her grandparents, Charlotte and Donald Swayne, who raised her and her younger brother, as well her cousin, Tiffany Travillion, all of whom provided invaluable support in her life. Now, as an adult, Kerrin can look back on the challenges of being a first-generation college student with clarity. She started her college career like many BGSU freshmen: she moved into the dorms, she made friends, she enjoyed all that campus had to offer and she stayed on course academically. A naturally social person, Kerrin appeared to be thriving in college to those around her. But in reality, Kerrin was struggling financially and feeling deeply intimidated by a lack of security in her life. By her junior year, the weight of indecision led Kerrin to unenroll and return to her native Columbus, where she made her own way and secured full-time employment. I knew I was ultimately responsible for myself, but when I left to go to college, I knew I didnt have many people back home who could help me financially, so I thought everything was on me and I carried that burden, she said. Really, I was just barely getting by and making it look good for a while. As she prepares to graduate this year, Kerrin said she is proud to share her story to encourage other first-generation students to keep going and seek out help If they need assistance. The first time around, Kerrin said she struggled in silence. Not once before I left school did I advocate for myself or even inquire about help, she said. I was always the type of kid who could focus and didnt need anybody to hold their hand, but I never knew how much better off I would be with support. As a BGSU Online student, Kerrin is actively communicating with her professors, asking for help and using the resources available to her which has made a major difference in her success. At BGSU, which the Wall Street Journal ranked as the No. 1 public university in Ohio for student experience, all online students are offered personalized support and the flexibility to earn a degree on their own terms. I will say that my experience as a nontraditional student has been very engaging and very fulfilling, Kerrin said. Each professor Ive had has let me know they are available, and the relationships and friendships I have built with my classmates have spoken volumes. I want younger students to know that the support is there, even if you may not have support at home. As an online student, Kerrin used communication, one of her top skills, to achieve her goal of obtaining a degree. I think it was a big part of her success knowing that she had a team behind her who was there for even the smallest little concern or question, Huckaby said. Mariah just thrives in this environment because she is willing to communicate. When Kerrin walks across the stage at commencement, her degree will represent not only a meaningful life goal, but also the realization of something bigger. Fifteen years after first enrolling and many obstacles later, Kerrin will be a BGSU graduate. I finally got the ball back rolling, Kerrin said. Knowing my university was able to welcome me back with such open arms and support me every step of the way has been truly amazing. "I planned to return to BGSU for the Spring 2022 semester following training, but sudden COVID activation left me 24 hours to drop out," recalls Hayden. "The NTMSS office was incredibly helpful during this stressful time and made my transition very smooth. They are one of the primary reasons I came back." While pursuing a microbiology degree, Hayden made the most of his time at BGSU, becoming heavily involved in undergraduate research and helping others navigate the Center for Undergraduate Research and Scholarship. "With my experience with undergraduate research, my NVLF service project will be to advise BGSU military STEM students in getting the most out of their undergraduate programs by pursuing research and honors," Hayden said. Hayden will graduate this spring and continue his education in the master's biology program at BGSU, where he will work as a teaching assistant and continue his undergraduate research in the environmental toxicology lab. "I have been fortunate enough to work with Chris and Grant and watch them grow and develop as leaders," said Bills. They have tremendously impacted our military students and have become valuable assets to our team. I am excited to see them continue to make a difference as NVLF fellows." Nontraditional and Military Student Services (NTMSS) provides assistance to support you as you make career and educational choices. Beginning, returning to, or continuing your college education can pose a variety of challenges. The NTMSS staff is familiar with the issues facing nontraditional and military students and can be a resource as you plan and complete your program. Whether you are a nontraditional undergraduate student starting or restarting your education, or an active-military or Veteran student, we can assist you in navigating the application process and easing your transition to BGSU. Advisors are also available to assist current students. We can help you discover and utilize campus resources and develop programs to best meet your needs. Letter from the BGSU Graduate Student Senates Leadership Hello BGSU graduate students, The Graduate Student Senate (GSS) welcomes you to BGSU for the 2025-2026 academic year. We believe that the graduate student body of BGSU is integral to the university, and every individual plays an important rolethe GSS endeavors to connect graduate students to the university and represent their interests within it. With over 2,700 graduate students across campus, we engage with individuals from diverse disciplines, fields, and professions. To do so, the GSS is comprised of the General Assembly (GA) and the Senate Executive Council (SEC). The needs and goals of graduate students are communicated through senators from various programs in the GA and implemented and acted on by the SEC. We strive to create a community where every student feels a sense of belonging, regardless of who they are or where they come from. We take our role as stewards seriously. We have been entrusted with this organization to support graduate students, and we aim to utilize that trust to enhance the lives and experiences of graduate students. Our goal is to amplify and develop the voices of the graduate student body, as our voices are critical and deserve to be heard. We are here to ensure that you are heard and provide graduate students with the space to speak for themselves and others. We seek to transform graduate education at BGSU by enhancing a sense of belonging, improving the support graduate students receive, and amplifying their voices. We exist to serve the graduate student population. Join the Graduate Student Senate team today and become part of the GSS legacy. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact us at gss@bgsu.edu. The Undergraduate Student Government hears the concerns encountered by the undergraduate student body about campus life and works hard to find beneficial solutions to these problems by engaging with and connecting all areas of the university! USG provides opportunities for students to learn, grow, and lead in an environment that promotes cooperation, respect for one another, intellectual and spiritual growth, creative imaginings, and pride in a job well done! Undergraduate Student Government meets every Monday night at 7:30 p.m. in Room 308 of the Bowen-Thompson Student Union. Anyone is welcome to attend these meetings! If you are interested in speaking during Lobby Time, please contact the Speaker of the Senate, Madison Jeffries. Kenvue collaborates with API to launch Indias first cough clinics to advance symptom science in respiratory primary care July 17, 2025 | Thursday | News Aims to support healthcare practitioners with evidence-based cough categorisation tools Kenvue, makers of Benadryl, is pioneering Cough Clinics, an industry-first initiative in association with the Association of Physicians of India (API). As part of this scientific initiative, Kenvue plans to establish 10 Cough Centres of Excellence across India. These centres will run Cough Clinics with an aim to scale knowledge on scientific best practices around cough evaluation and expand its usage in treatment. The first Cough Centre of Excellence has been launched in Mumbai at BSES Hospital, Andheri. In India, the average adult experiences about three episodes of cough per year while children may experience 7-10 episodes per year. Despite high occurrence of coughs and respiratory illnesses, 70% individuals receive experience-based therapy without a confirmed diagnosis as confirmed in an article published in Journal of Association of Physicians of India. With an aim to address this gap, Cough Clinics by Kenvue and API seek to redefine cough evaluation and management by equipping health care professionals with a simplified, science-backed approach rooted in symptom categorization. Cough Clinics will focus on bringing updated evidence on cough, relevant molecules, and present it in case-based modules to enable practitioners to deploy it in day-to-day treatment by learning to decode cough sounds. The Cough Clinics will comprise of three learning modules. Each module is designed to focus on specific aspects of cough evaluation, sound recognition, treatment decision-making, and rational treatment. The content has been curated and validated by experts from the Association of Physicians of India (API), and each session will be anchored by leading Pulmonologists. Every participating physician will undergo a thorough assessment to measure the knowledge shift as well as a Net Promoter Score (NPS) will be collected to evaluate experience and effectiveness. At the heart of the initiative is the Cough Categorisation Tool, a practical diagnostic aid developed by leading national experts and published in the Journal of the Association of Physicians of India (JAPI) in 2024. This tool enables physicians to classify coughs as either wet, dry, or multi-symptom, along with red flag signs and tiggers, and then proceed with rational, symptom-targeted treatment. Following the Mumbai launch, the initiative will roll out in key cities including Lucknow, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Kolkata in the coming months, with a plan to reach 1000 plus practitioners in the launch year. Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Three men received unduly lenient prison sentences for their targeted and premeditated arson attack in which a car was doused in fuel and rammed into a tanning salon, causing an enormous fire while families slept in the apartments overhead, a court has ruled. At the Court of Appeal on Thursday, Keith McCormack Smith (24) had his four-year sentence increased to seven years; Jason Ryle (26) had his three-and-a-half-year sentence increased to six years; and PJ Lyons (21) had his three-and-a-half-year sentence increased to four-and-a-half years. Advertisement McCormack Smith also known as Keith McCormick and Keith McCormick-Smith of Riverview, Church Road, Mulhuddart, Dublin 15, pleaded guilty to arson at Tip Top Tanning Studio, Tullow Street, Carlow on May 17th, 2022, and arson to a Toyota car on the same date and at the same location. He also pleaded guilty to various other charges, including unlawful use of a motor vehicle, unlawful carriage in a motor vehicle and theft between May 1st and May 17th, 2022. Judge Eugene OKelly sentenced McCormack Smith to six years with the final two years suspended at Carlow Circuit Court on July 31st, 2024. Ryle, of Raithin, Mullingar, Westmeath and Lyons, of Cedarbrook Walk, Ballyfermot, Dublin 10, also pleaded guilty to arson arising out of the same incident. Advertisement Ryle and Lyons further pleaded guilty to a number of other charges, including unlawful use of a motor vehicle, attempted theft and theft on various dates in May 2022. Ryle was sentenced to five and a half years' imprisonment with the final two years suspended, while Lyons was also handed a sentence of five and a half years with the final two years suspended for a period of two years and three months. Appealing the leniency of these sentences in April last, Niall Storan BL, for the DPP, said the incident in Carlow occurred shortly before 5am on May 17th, 2022, when a stolen Toyota Avensis was rammed into a building on Tullow Street in Carlow and set alight, causing the building to catch fire. Mr Storan said the ground floor of the building operated as a tanning salon during the day, and the upper levels were residential apartments. He said McCormack Smith was driving the Toyota car while PJ Lyons recorded what was happening on his phone, and Ryle was also present. Advertisement Ryle had a bottle containing accelerant in his hand, which he then poured onto the car while McCormack Smith got out and the three fled the scene. A garda investigation revealed that multiple vehicles had been stolen in different locations and were involved in the commission of various offences, which ultimately led to the arson at the tanning salon. The offenders were ultimately identified through social media content from a TikTok account. Mr Storan told the Court of Appeal in April that it was difficult to conceive of a more serious arson offence than this one, which was both targeted and premeditated to cause an enormous fire. Advertisement He argued the headline sentence of eight years was too low, and the sentences imposed did not adequately reflect the gravity of the offence. The lawyer suggested the judge had misplaced the offending at the mid-range on the scale of gravity. Mr Storan also said insufficient weight was given to the many aggravating factors, including the fact that the apartments over the premises were occupied by families who were sleeping at the time, the premeditation involved, the use of an accelerant and the fact that the respondents were on bail. In delivering judgement on Thursday, Ms Justice Isobel Kennedy said that the arson was a very serious offence, with obvious aggravating factors including the planning involved, the use of a getaway vehicle, the attack on a business premises, the fact that residential apartments needed to be evacuated, and the fact that each man had previous convictions and was on bail at the time. She said that the court agreed with the DPP that the sentencing judge reduced the sentences by too much, with the sentences ultimately imposed not meeting the gravity of the offending. Advertisement Ruling that the sentences were unduly lenient, Ms Justice Kennedy said that the court would quash the sentences and move on to resentencing the three men. She said that the appropriate headline sentence for McCormack Smith was ten years for the arson offence, which was reduced to eight years with the final year suspended. In the case of Ryle, the headline sentence set was nine and a half years, reduced to seven years with the final year suspended. And in the case of Lyons, Ms Justice Kennedy fixed the headline sentence at nine years, reduced to six and a half years with the final two years suspended. Gardai have renewed their appeal for information on the eighth anniversary of the murder of Linda Evans Christian. On Saturday, 1st July 2017, her family reported her missing, and on Monday, 17th July 2017, her body was discovered at Coolmine Woods, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. Advertisement Despite an extensive Garda investigation and a number of enquiries followed, including the arrest of a male in 2018, no one has been brought to justice for Lindas murder. Gardai and Lindas family are appealing for people to come forward to assist with the investigation. An Garda Siochana would encourage anyone with any information regarding Lindas disappearance and murder, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to make contact with the investigation team. Particularly, any person who may have information on Lindas movements around Coolmine Woods at the time of her disappearance is asked to contact gardai. With the passage of time, people may now feel more comfortable sharing information with Gardai. An Garda Siochana would like to assure the public that they will treat anyone assisting the investigation in a sensitive manner. Anyone with information in relation to this incident is asked to contact Blanchardstown Garda Station 01 666 7000, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. A man and a woman have been arrested after gardai seized 715,000 of drugs in Clondlakin, Co Dublin on Wednesday. While on patrol in the Rathcoole/Citywest area, gardai stopped a vehicle in the early hours of the morning. Advertisement The driver, a man in his 20s, was searched along with the vehicle under the provisions of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977. During the course of the search, gardai seized cannabis herb (subject to analysis) with an estimated street value of 10,000. The man was arrested and detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at a Garda station in Dublin. Gardai conducted further searches at three residential properties and during the course of these searches cannabis herb, cocaine and crack cocaine was seized along with various drug related paraphernalia. The estimated street value of drugs seized was 705,000. A woman, aged in her 20s was arrested during the course of one search and was detained at a Garda station in Dublin. The seized drugs, with a total estimated street value of 715,000, have been forwarded to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. The male has been charged in relation to the seizure and is due to appear before Blanchardstown District Court on Thursday. The woman has since been released without charge and a file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Gardai say investigations are ongoing. A man pleaded guilty before a court on Thursday to dangerous driving causing the death of his niece and to producing a machete on the same day. Danny ODonoghue (42), Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, admitted the offences when he appeared before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court. Advertisement Mr ODonoghue appeared before the court via a video-link from Portlaoise Prison, where he is currently being held on remand. He admitted one count of dangerous driving causing the death of his niece, Marguerita ORourke, nee Sheridan, at Bank Place, Rathkeale, on December 21st, 2024. Ms ORourke, of Roches Row, Rathkeale, had given birth to her first child, a son, three weeks prior to her death. The young mother had been closing steel gates to a property when Mr ODonoghue struck the gates, killing her. Advertisement Mr ODonoghues barrister, senior counsel Michael Bowman, instructed by solicitor Michael ODonnell, told the court: The tragic deceased was actually the niece of the accused. Judge Colin Daly said it was a sad case indeed. The judge said, given the sensitive nature of the case, he was directing that Mr ODonoghues sentencing hearing would be scheduled on its own. There is some sensitivity to this and I believe Mr ODonoghues sentence hearing would benefit from an afternoon to itself, the evidence is likely to take some time, possibly an hour, the judge said. Advertisement Prosecuting barrister, Lily Buckley BL, told the court: The deceased was 21 years of age and her husband is currently in the United Kingdom. Victim impact statements will have to be canvassed, the deceaseds parents, John Sheridan and Margaret Sheridan, will have to be canvassed, and (Ms ORourke) had one brother and a three-week-old child at the time. Mr ODonoghue also pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the set of gates, the property of Mary Teresa ORourke, arising out of the same fatal incident last December. He also pleaded guilty to producing a machete during the course of a dispute and causing criminal damage to a silver Ford Transit Custom van, the property of Patrick Sheridan, on the same date. Mr ODonoghue was also facing a fifth offence that he did threaten to kill or cause serious harm to Patrick Sheridan on the same date. Advertisement Lily Buckley told the court today that Mr ODonoghue was pleading guilty to the four other offences outlined without prejudice. Mr ODonoghue has not sought bail since he was arrested and held in custody on remand last December. A few weeks prior to her death, Ms ORourke and her husband, Denis, had celebrated the birth of their first child. Thousands of people attended a candlelit vigil at Rathkeale last Christmas Eve following her death. Advertisement Blown-up photographs of the deceased dressed in her wedding dress were erected in and around St Marys Church, Rathkeale, during her funeral mass. Her remains were brought in a glass carriage drawn by horses to her final resting place at Rathkeale Cemetery. In an online tribute to his late daughter, John Sheridan described Ms ORourke as a true legend who loved horses. Ireland Three men plead guilty to unlawful killing of Tom... Read More The deceaseds brother, Freddy Sheridan, stated: It's never going to be the same without you, Maggie, but you left us a very special boy, I know his mama should be here with him, but unfortunately, life didn't go that way. Rest in Peace Marguerita, I can't believe I had to say it, love you my sister. In court today Mr ODonoghues barrister successfully applied for a pre-sentencing report from the Governor of Portlaoise Prison as well as a prison educational report in respect of the accused. Judge Colin Daly remanded Mr ODonoghue in continuing custody for sentencing on October 29th. The High Court has overturned a refugee status refusal for a man who says he worked as a self-employed gold miner in Zimbabwe before he fled because a machete gang was looking for him. The man went before an International Protection Appeals Tribunal (IPAT), which in 2023 refused his application for refugee/international protection status. Advertisement The IPAT said his claim lacked general credibility. It based this finding on what it said were inconsistencies in the detail of his claim for protection given by him at the IPAT oral hearing compared to what he had outlined at earlier stages in the immigration process. He then brought judicial review proceedings, but due to circumstances beyond his control, the case was outside the time limit for doing so, and he had to also apply for an extension of time. Mr Justice Garrett Simons overturned the IPAT decision, saying it was vitiated by error of law and extended time for the bringing of the case. The judge said the man had told the International Protection Office in 2022 that he "ran away from Zimbabwe as I was being looked for by the machete gang", who accused him of sponsoring the activities of the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) opposition party. Advertisement He said the gang also wanted 500 grams of gold from him, and he feared for his life. The gang has terrorised and killed people throughout the country, taking their possessions, but nothing has been done to them, he said. When he ran away, they threatened his wife and children, who themselves ran away to his in-laws. Their homestead was burnt down, he said. While he sympathised with the MDC, but did not belong to any political party as he knows the dangers associated with it. He believes the gang belongs to the ruling Zanu PF party because if you try to bring them to justice, nothing is going to be done. He said he had worked hard through gold mining to support his family. Advertisement He said he also later told immigration in 2022 that the day he left, he got a phone call from a fellow gold miner who told him the gang were looking for him and wanted 500 grams of gold he had. At his IPAT interview, he further stated in the days after he left Zimbabwe, he received a telephone call from a man who identified himself as a sergeant in the Zimbabwean police force and told him to present himself forthwith at a police station for questioning. This event reinforced his suspicions of, and a belief in, a dangerous and harmful link between the gang and the state/police. The IPAT expressed concerns over inconsistencies in central aspects of his claim and the introduction of significant new claims. It refused his appeal. In his ruling overturning that decision, Mr Justice Simons said the IPAT failed to properly apply the principles governing the assessment of his general credibility. A returning officer who refused a former Seanad candidates request for a full recount of the vote during the recent election has told the High Court he had no reason to doubt the accuracy of the count. Martin Groves, the recently retired clerk of the Seanad, said a narrow margin of votes separating Cllr Angela Feeney and the final successful candidate in the agricultural panel was not grounds in and of itself to direct a full recount of votes. Advertisement Cllr Feeney, a Labour Party councillor in Kildare, was eliminated on the 23rd count by a margin of .116, or one-ninth, of a ballot, missing out on the final seat to Fine Gaels Maria Byrne in Januarys election. Each valid Seanad ballot paper is deemed to have a value of 1,000 votes. The total valid poll for the 11-seat agricultural panel was 95,667 votes. Cllr Feeney, a member of the Labour Partys central council and former head of Technological University Dublins school of languages, law and social sciences, has brought a High Court petition challenging the conduct of vote counting for the agricultural panel. Cllr Feeneys case claims there should have been a full recount of the ballots, rather than simply a repeat of the 23rd count. Cllr Feeney wants the election result overturned and a recount ordered. Advertisement Giving evidence at the hearing of Cllr Feeneys action on Wednesday, Mr Groves said legislation allows returning officers conducting Seanad election counts discretion to direct full recounts in circumstances where they are not satisfied with the accuracy of the count. Mr Groves said his discretion to direct a full recount of votes is restrained by those circumstances. He said a narrow margin separating candidates was not a reason in and of itself to order a full recount. During the count, after considering Cllr Feeneys request for a full recount, Mr Groves said he concluded he had no reason to doubt the accuracy of the count, noting that no errors were uncovered following two partial recounts. Advertisement He said there were lots of potential circumstances where he would begin to doubt the accuracy of the count. On Thursday, Dr Eoin OMalley, a political scientist and professor at Dublin City University, told the court he was surprised Cllr Feeney was not granted a recount. Dr OMalley, an expert witness called by Cllr Feeneys side, stipulated that he did not have expertise or experience with Seanad counts, but had experience of observing Dail election counts. He agreed with Conor Power SC, for Cllr Feeney, that recounts in election counts with tight margins can lead to greater satisfaction with the outcome of the election. Advertisement Dr OMalley said he believed part of the reason for the granting of recounts in those circumstances is to satisfy all candidates that the count has been conducted fairly and properly. In the case of Cllr Feeney, Dr OMalley said it would have been better for democracy and the electoral process had a recount been granted, and noted it would have been quicker and cheaper than pursuing the issue through the courts. He said he believed that granting Cllr Feeney the recount could have satisfied the candidate that there were no errors in the count. The trial, before Mr Justice Micheal OHiggins, continues. What a man in his 50s and 60s looks like on the big screen is changing without the assistance of a soft focus lens. Compare The Fantastic Fours suave Pedro Pascal, 50, with a 51-year-old Anthony Hopkins in The Silence of the Lambs, 61-year-old Brad Pitt in F1 with Paul Newman in The Colour of Money, aged 61, and Paul Rudd, 56, with 49-year-old Wilford Brimley in Cocoon. An onslaught of social media memes are regularly making the comparisons and the verdict in numerous instances is that men in Hollywood today appear to be ageing backwards, Benjamin Button-style. In movies and advertising campaigns, Sandra Bullock, Demi Moore, Nicole Kidman and Halle Berry have redefined expectations of what mature women look like. Now performers including Lenny Kravitz, 61, and Rob Lowe, 61, are offering smooth-skinned and trim examples of what midlife, and later, can look like for men. Biotech companies are racing to be the first to fully replicate human breast milk using genetically modified yeast in the hopes of upending the multibillion-dollar infant formula market. Australian biotech company All G says it will soon file a patent for what it claims is the closest infant formula to human breast milk ever invented, while on Tuesday the CSIRO also announced its spin-out, Brisbane-based Eclipse Health, had millions of dollars in funding to develop yeast-grown lactoferrin an anti-inflammatory protein found in breast milk. Chief scientific officer Jared Raynes (left), head of nutrition Shae Rickards and chief executive Jan Pacas at the All G lab in Sydney. Credit: Janie Barrett This is the closest infant formula has ever come to the real thing, said Jan Pacas, chief executive of All G. Weve moved beyond imitation into true replication. If it makes it through the approval processes, All G could compete with formula products, most of which are derived from cow-based milk products. Three years after I lost Dan, I met Nick, a wonderful man who made space for the love I still have for my first husband. In the years that followed, we had our sons (now seven and five), but this isnt about a finish line or about equating happiness with finding love. Its about how you learn to live with the grief. For me, that means keeping Dans photos around the house (the boys refer to him as Uncle Dan) and keeping his memory central to the work that I do. It wasnt the life I planned, but its a beautiful one. We didnt have the tough conversations: Melissa Reader, 50 Mauro was this gentle giant with beautiful corkscrew curls, but he was also full of personality without a hint of arrogance. We met in a dingy Darlinghurst [Sydney] bar in 97 and moved through all the major milestones quickly over the next few years. We started a business, got married, bought property and had three beautiful babies. With three kids under seven, life was busy, but it was wonderful. Melissa Reader wishes she and her late husband, Mauro, had more tough conversations before he died. Credit: It was only after our youngest was born that I realised Mauro wasnt quite his usual self. Hed been complaining of constantly feeling unwell, but by the time he finally got around to getting things checked out, an ultrasound revealed a significant tumour in his kidney advanced renal cancer. While Mauro went into treatment, I dived headfirst into logistics, juggling being the sole income earner with taking care of our children, but also remaining Mauros wife and caregiver. I spent that first year of his 15-month battle lying awake at night, gripped with fear. It seems so obvious now that he was dying, but your brain plays tricks on you to allow you to cope. Mauro died in intensive care during one of his many admissions over the final months. I dont remember much from that period I was barely coping but I remember thinking how sad it was that his death was so clinical, and how we never found the strength to have those difficult conversations like, How are you going to raise the children without me?, and, How will you organise the finances after Im gone? Loading It was a couple of years after Mauros death that I saw an opportunity to create Violet, a tech-enabled initiative that helps families talk about, plan for and manage the last chapters of life. At the same time, I met a wonderful man, Mark, who swooped in to love and care for a young family dealing with grief and trauma. Im a much braver person as a result of what I went through with Mauro I take bigger risks, and Im far more decisive but to be able to work on a legacy piece for Mauro? What a gift, and if I can help others navigate this space a little easier, well, thats even better. It was like someone took our world: Mitch Gibson, 61 I met Mark online and what was supposed to be a quick drink turned into seven dates in seven days. Mark was instantly likeable and we both knew straight away that this could be the start of something. We ended up having 17 years together, with Mark pouring his creative energy into producing theatre, a comedy festival and countless events in the arts and corporate sectors, while I ran my own yoga studio. Mark was only 52 when he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2018. Although hed experienced some niggly back pain for some time, nothing could have prepared us for the phone call that basically said, Its stage four; unfortunately youre not a candidate for surgery, good luck with everything. It was like someone took our world, turned it upside down and shook it violently. I was already bearing the load of taking care of my elderly parents, and as Mark grew sicker, I had to sell my yoga studio. I just couldnt be everywhere at once. Mitch Gibson lost her husband to cancer after 17 years together. Credit: The grief that hit me when Mark died in 2021 was staggering. Throughout his illness, Id been receiving psych support at Chris OBrien Lifehouse [in Sydney]; after his death it took me a year to find the right grief support. That year, alone in lockdown with this fresh grief, was brutal. I longed to speak with someone whod been through grief and really understood the isolation and disorientation. My friends did what they could to be there for me emotionally, though I still felt isolated within my grief. Its impossible to comprehend what you go through without lived experience. Curiously, while loved ones try to lift you out of your grief and this pain, a huge part of you wants to stay immersed in it; its our connection to our lost person. My decision to become a counsellor specialising in grief and bereavement and caregiving felt purposeful after Marks death. I know what its like to be a carer at capacity and exhausted, and I know what its like when youve lost your person and youd trade anything to revert to being at capacity and exhausted. Whenever I meet a new client, I can talk with them about whats happening with their person, discuss their main concerns and priorities, and get them moving forward rather than just spinning. Having been through it myself, I now understand you can never underestimate the importance of an experienced, empathetic ear and a guiding hand. Tasmanias Liberal Premier, Jeremy Rockliff, and Labor leader, Dean Winter, have made their final pitches to voters on the eve of the state election, which is tipped to return a hung parliament. Speaking to voters in Tasmanias north today, Rockliff who lost a parliamentary no-confidence vote in June - said the states parliament needs the leadership of a government with a clear plan, a united team, and a leadership to get on with the job. I am confident that we have that plan. We do have that united team. Were committed to making a positive difference for the Tasmanian people. We were elected to do a job back in March 2024, Rockliff said. Winter homed in on promises for the health sector, and said it was time for a fresh start for the state. That means access to free bulk-billing GPs in a town and suburb near where Tasmanians actually live. That means a plan to fix the budget. It means a plan for more housing and plan for real action on cost of living relief, Winter said. Loading Saturdays poll is the second in 16 months for Tasmania, called after the minority Liberal premier lost the no-confidence vote. The latest opinion survey suggests the Liberals will pick up more seats than Labor but neither will reach the 18-seat mark required for a majority. Both major parties have ruled out doing a deal with the Greens to form government but say they are prepared to work with sensible independents. Polling suggests 20 per cent support for independents, with the Liberals on 35, Labor on 25 and the Greens on 16. With AAP Ive observed how easily offenders move between employers, avoiding accountability. In some cases, Ive dealt with the same individual being terminated by two different employers. This is often enabled by deeds of release containing confidentiality clauses, which prevent former employers from sharing critical information, including allegations of serious misconduct. As a lawyer investigating employee misconduct in the childcare, aged care, and education sectors, Ive seen how evil infiltrates workplaces. My role often involves advising employers on how to respond swiftly to allegations and remove perpetrators from the workplace, and when to refer matters to police. That worker, Joshua Dale Brown, was employed across at least 23 centres over 10 years and was reportedly sacked from a childcare centre months before he started working at the centre that is the location of the alleged assaults. There is evil everywhere under the sun, wrote Agatha Christie. But the recent case of a Victorian childcare worker charged with over 70 child sex offences is a reminder that reality can be darker than fiction. There is a smorgasbord of legal actions an employee can bring against an employer in Australia, including unfair dismissal laws covering any employee who earns under $183,100 and general protections claims that apply to every employee even during probationary periods. So contractual release agreements are often a practical way to resolve employment disputes. But what concerns me is when confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses a convenient tool for getting rid of bad employees are used with people who are clearly unfit to work with children. By preventing employers from disclosing the reasons for an employees departure, these can conceal serious or criminal behaviour, leaving future employers in the dark. Law firm partner Paul OHalloran. Credit: Wayne Taylor The problem of gag orders has gone unaddressed for too long. The Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse was critical in 2017 of how some schools were concealing worker misconduct by using confidentiality clauses to protect their reputation in settlement agreements. The royal commission also found that non-disparagement clauses were preventing employers from giving negative references about former employees, allowing individuals who posed a risk to children to move between institutions undetected. Similar clauses are still used widely by some employers today. Employers must stop including, or accepting, confidentiality clauses in exit agreements where there are concerns about safety risks posed by a worker and ensure accountability and transparency. If that means the employer might need to defend an unfair dismissal claim, so be it. Employers cant risk enabling further misconduct or abuse. And its not just the childcare sector that attracts perpetrators. I once acted for an aged care provider after allegations of sexual misconduct and sexual assault by a male worker emerged from elderly residents, most with dementia, and their families. Police confirmed a history of similar allegations at other facilities. After his dismissal, the worker filed an unfair dismissal claim. It was later revealed he had signed a deed of release with a former employer, preventing disclosure of earlier allegations. Police have charged a 21-year-old Cleveland man over an offence allegedly involving a child at a Tingalpa childcare facility on July 10. The 21-year-old man, who worked at Milestones Early Learning Tingalpa, has been charged with one offence of indecent treatment of a child. He was given conditional bail and was expected to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 4. Milestones Early Learning Centre in Tingalpa, in Brisbanes south-east. Credit: William Davis In a statement to media, Affinity Education Group, which runs the centre, said the man had been stood down, and the matter immediately referred to police. In the frenzied hustle and bustle of a federal election campaign, there are often too many blunders, gaffes and scandals to keep track of. Regular readers, though, will surely recall with fondness the fake tradie debacle that popped up during Tim Wilsons tilt to win back the federal seat of Goldstein from teal independent Zoe Daniel in April, after she ousted him in 2022. Tim Wilsons campaign ad featuring the fake tradie. The Age reported how an online ad for the Liberal candidate featured a tradie or builder in a high-vis and hard hat ensemble who turned out to be Liberal campaign volunteer Frazer Hurst. How very thespian. As we reported at the time, Hursts LinkedIn profile listed him as a politics student at Monash University, duty manager at Brighton Coles and a branch secretary of the Liberal Party. Counter-terrorism detectives have sought to reassure the Jewish community they are closing in on those responsible for the arson attack that gutted Melbournes Adass Israel synagogue, despite police privately admitting the investigation has stalled. Victoria Police acting Deputy Commissioner Chris Gilbert and federal police detectives attached to the joint counter-terrorism team investigating Decembers firebombing met Adass Israel members on Wednesday and briefed them on what they claimed was a breakthrough in the case. Joint counter-terrorism team detectives arrest a man suspected of stealing the car used in the Adass Israel synagogue firebombing. The briefing took place on the same day police arrested a 20-year-old Williamstown man and charged him with stealing a car used by the arsonists on the night of the synagogue fire. The briefing was held hours before this masthead revealed the taskforces attempts to unmask the mastermind of the attack had hit a wall. Police will allege the man was seen driving a stolen Volkswagen a few weeks before the same car was used in a series of arson attacks and other crime culminating in the torching of the ultra-Orthodox synagogue in Ripponlea on December 6. A Perth vet has been struck off and banned from re-applying for registration for five years after a multitude of complaints against him in relation to the deaths of two dogs. Dr Adrian Burstein was found to have engaged in 22 counts of professional misconduct by the State Administrative Tribunal while working as a vet at his Clarkson practice, Ocean Keys Veterinary Hospital. A further 13 complaints against him were dismissed. A Perth vet has had his registration cancelled following complaints from two pet owners. Credit: Getty The SAT findings, released on Monday, related to the care and treatment of two dogs; Malo and Meggs. The documents stated Malo, a five-year-old Dogue de Bordeaux, was taken to the clinic in January 2019. You cant really bring Pan Am back and honour it well with those iconic routes in the era we are in, he said in August, citing the many difficulties facing airlines in these current turbulent times. The aircraft has an all-business-class configuration, with just 50 berths for ticketed guests. As of the inaugural flight last week, however, he has changed his tune. Having announced a partnership with AVi8 Air Capital a merchant bank and consultancy firm which specialises in the aviation industry Carter is now talking of timetabled services and distant horizons. Pan Am remains a cherished name in aviation, he comments. Through this collaboration, we aim to assess a sustainable, forward-thinking approach to reintroducing scheduled commercial service under the Pan Am name; one that not only honours [the airlines] legacy but also makes the Pan Am experience more accessible. If Carter is able to accomplish this not inconsiderable feat, he will have succeeded where several others have failed. Because this months re-emergence of the blue meatball logo is not the first attempt to restore Pan Am to the present tense. It is actually the fifth rekindling of the airlines embers since the original fire burned out in 1991. There was the low-cost carrier which flew from the US to the Caribbean between 1996 and 1998. There was a short-haul operator, based at Portsmouth in New Hampshire, which offered flights in the American north-east between 1998 and 2004, and a sister company which had another go at repolishing the holy grail, from the same base, between 2004 and 2008. All of them had the Pan Am name. As did Pan Am American Airways Incorporated, which picked up the baton in 2010, running cargo planes out of Brownsville in Texas, with the promise of passenger services to come. It collapsed in 2012, in a haze of scandal. While each of these failed projects had their issues, they all, ultimately, struggled to compete with the weight and the mystique of a beloved brand. Because, for more than half a century, Pan Am was the biggest and most shimmering fish in the global pond. Pan Am first launched in 1927. Credit: AP The airline first emerged in Florida in 1927, as the brainchild of Henry Arnold, Carl Spaatz and John Jouett three US Army Air Corps officers who began offering flights between Key West and Havana. But it began to bloom in the 1930s, under the astute leadership of Juan Trippe, an American entrepreneur who understood that the future of travel had wings. Loading That decade saw Pan Am lead the way with its Clipper planes doughty flying boats that, come 1931, were whistling their way down to South America. Within eight years, Europe was in focus. On March 30, 1939, Harold Gray piloted the first ever transatlantic flight with passengers; a Pan Am service aboard the Yankee Clipper which made the oceanic crossing from Baltimore to Lisbon via a refuelling pause at Horta, on the island of Faial in the Azores in a total flying time of 24 hours, 39 minutes. By the dawn of the Jet Age in the early 1950s, Pan Am was the US flag-carrier in all but name, flinging itself into the new arena of international travel with flair, finesse and a reputation for luxury. Its state-of-the-art hub, trademarked as Worldport, was inaugurated as JFKs Terminal 3 in 1960, its futuristic flying-saucer design suggesting trips to space as much as to Paris. Pan Am was a major player in the advent of the Boeing 747 jumbo jet, seen here behind its smaller predecessor, the 707, in 1970. Credit: Fairfax Media Ten years later, it was playing host to the jumbo jet. Pan Am was a key player in the advent of the Boeing 747. Its desire for bigger, better, faster and more and, specifically, its placing an order for 25 of these revolutionary giants in April 1966 kickstarted the production line in Seattle. The first commercial flight of a 747 was a Pan Am endeavour from JFK to Heathrow, on January 22, 1970. It was all so fabulous that you might wonder how so feted an airline could have ceased to exist. But behind the roar of engines and the clink of champagne glasses, Pan Am was starting to flounder. It had risen via its protected status granted an effective monopoly as Americas international airline by the US government. The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 pulled down that ring-fencing, leaving Pan Am blinking uncertainly at issues it had never had to face. In its original guise, Pan Am developed a reputation for luxury and attentive service. Credit: Getty Images Suddenly, it had American rivals in foreign skies, but no domestic network to help keep it competitive. The acquisition of Florida-based National Airlines in 1980, for an eye-watering $US437 million (about $US1.5 billion [$A2.3 billion] today), was a bid to redress this imbalance but only loaded the company with a debt that would prove to be its undoing. Pan Am flight attendants in Melbourne in 1970 on a promotional visit ahead of the arrival of the airlines first 747 in Australia. Credit: Fairfax Media In the end, there were two fatal blows. The Gulf War of August 1990 to February 1991 would stamp on a suffocating Pan Ams throat, sending oil prices soaring just as demand for air travel fell sharply with a nervous public; the airline would file for bankruptcy on January 8, 1991, seven weeks before the guns fell silent in Operation Desert Storm. The last Pan Am flight from Sydney to the US ahead of its departure from Sydney Airport in 1986. Credit: Ian Cugley French President Emmanuel Macron is risking a political disaster over moves to freeze federal spending and cancel two public holidays, as his right-wing rival Marine Le Pen condemns the plan as an attack on citizens. The bid to remove the public holidays sparked a political storm across France that could shape the next presidential election, after a long-running dispute over attempts to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Emmanuel Macron arrives at the Bastille Day military parade on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 14. Credit: AP Macron backed his prime minister, Francois Bayrou, over the shock proposal to freeze government spending for a year amid growing concern about the nations 3.3 trillion ($5.9 trillion) debt. Bayrou outlined plans to cancel the public holidays on Easter Monday and May 8 (which commemorates the Allied victory in Europe in World War II), drawing swift opposition from politicians on the left and the right. Multimillion-dollar grant will help UB project ice sheet loss, sea level rise Icebergs that broke off from Jakobshavn Glacier in Greenland, photographed during a boat trip near Ilulissat. Photo: Beata Csatho Modeling of ice sheets and glaciers is one of the best ways that we can understand how much sea level rise we need to prepare for in the coming decades to centuries. How much sea level rise will coastal communities have to contend with by the end of the century, and beyond? Melt from the Earths ice sheets is already contributing to flooding throughout the U.S., and globally, and is expected to increase in the coming decades. Adaptation to reduce the destructiveness of future ocean floods is underway and depends critically, inch by inch, on the work of a newly funded, international group of polar scientists. UB researchers will contribute to this effort through development of the latest computer simulations to map out the most plausible outcomes, thanks to a new multimillion-dollar grant. The Heising-Simons Foundation has awarded $2.1 million to support the work of Sophie Nowicki, Empire Innovation Professor in the Department of Earth Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences. In addition, Timothy Bartholomaus, associate professor in the University of Idaho Department of Earth and Spatial Sciences, and Helene Seroussi, associate professor of engineering at Dartmouth College, have both received $1.45 million grants for their work. The $5 million total will allow Nowicki and collaborators to move forward with the next phase of the Ice Sheet Model Intercomparison Project, a first-of-its-kind international effort to project how the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets will contribute to sea level rise all the way to 2300. This new ice sheet model project is part of phase 7 of the World Climate Research Programmes Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP7); it is referred to by its acronym, ISMIP7. Modeling of ice sheets and glaciers is one of the best ways that we can understand how much sea level rise we need to prepare for in the coming decades to centuries, says Nowicki, who serves as ISMIP7 co-chair. This is a matter of national security in the United States, but also a global challenge for planning and adaptation to rising sea level. The first iteration, ISMIP6, lasted approximately a decade and resulted in 33 published studies and counting, including a 2021 study in Nature that found that the melting of ice could be halved this century if the world meets the Paris Agreement target of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. ISMIP6 was supported by UBs Center for Computational Research (CCR), which provided resources for data storage and sharing. The projections of ice sheet melt from ISMIP6 and their contributions to global sea level rise were adopted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and featured prominently in its 6th Assessment Report. Now, CMIP7 has officially tasked ISMIP7 to produce projections for the next IPCC assessment report. Consisting of more than 100 scientists worldwide working with 37 different models, the newly funded ISMIP7 will bring together ice sheet modelers with experts in disciplines that span the atmosphere, cryosphere, ocean and solid Earth. Although considered a great success, there are many aspects that we wanted to improve during our last collaboration, and this grant makes it possible to review every aspect of our protocol so that we can improve the projections that we will deliver to stakeholders, Nowicki says. The Heising-Simons Foundations grants to UB, the University of Idaho and Dartmouth College will fund core activities of ISMIP7 that the entire project will benefit from, including design of the protocol that participating models will follow and preparing the associated datasets needed for these projections. The grants also sponsor annual meetings and conferences, as well as computing capabilities. Nowickis team will oversee ISMIP7s overall project management and coordination, data processing, data publishing, as well as creating novel observations for use by ice sheet models and work related to Antarctica surface mass balance. The team includes Beata Csatho, professor in the UB Department of Earth Sciences, who co-leads an ISMIP7 focus group on the use of observations of ice sheet change. With the advent of satellite remote-sensing technology, we can now characterize ice sheet changes and processes with remarkable detail. Ice sheet observations, such as ice velocity, thickness and mass change, are crucial for ISMIP7, as they are used to initialize, calibrate and validate the ice sheet model ensembles, Csatho explains. Our observational focus group addresses the needs of ice sheet modelers by identifying and standardizing observational datasets that are the best suited for improving sea level projections. The main goal of ISMIP7 is to deliver projections that can inform policy-making and public spending, particularly for coastal communities vulnerable to sea level rise. Coastal planners are increasingly reaching out to the ISMIP community to understand ice sheet projections and the uncertainty in sea level, Nowicki says. A change in projections of even 15 centimeters, well within the uncertainty of our projections, can have a serious impact on their choices regarding disaster preparedness and infrastructure planning. 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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 As fate would have it, this is the first time I got my hands on the top-of-the-line Corolla Cross GR Sport. Personally, Ive driven the mid-... Vivienne Clarke Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has defended the government's plans for the upcoming budget, including the decision to not repeat the one-off cost of living payments provided last year. Mr Donohoe told RTE radios Morning Ireland that there was a need to rein in spending and to focus on permanent measures to support the vulnerable. "Spending in government departments has grown by around 8 or 9 percent each year for the past few years. Is that going to have to be reined in? So we are going to have to reduce the level of current spending growth that we have within our economy." Earlier on Newstalk Breakfast he explained: "We're facing many challenges to the future of our economy. It's not that we don't want to help. It's that we need to help and intervene in a way that we're conscious that we'll be able to afford and that won't create further difficulties for us in the future." "I've never seen the kind of uncertainty we have at the moment. That is generated by economic policy, which is why I want to ensure that the budget that we bring forward is safe, doesn't add to uncertainty we have in the future, and above all, focuses on investment." "I do think it is important to acknowledge that there are things that could happen to our economy that would pose real periods of challenge that we would then need to work together to overcome." The Minister told RTE about the possible impact of US tariffs. We brought forward an economic forecast that said if there were 10 percent tariffs in place within our economy between the US and the European Union and 60 percent tariffs between China and America, it would mean a lower level of growth within our economy and it would mean up to 75,000 fewer jobs being kept or created within our country. Progressively the scenario that we now face could involve an even more significant effect on growth. It could involve further effect on the job creation and number of jobs within Ireland. "But that is why we continue to negotiate so hard through the European Union to try to avoid that happening. And thankfully, we are approaching these moments of great challenge with our economic finances in good condition, our public finances in good condition and a record number of people that work in Ireland. So we are facing challenges but I'm confident that with the decisions we've made, the hard work of the people of Ireland and further choices we can make, we will rise to this moment and get our way through. I accept that the removal of one-off measures is going to have an effect on those within our society, of course I acknowledge that, but we have just spent the first half of our interview acknowledging the really big challenges that we could face in terms of jobs, in terms of growth, in terms our public finances, and we need to make decisions now that can help but that won't create further challenges or risks for us in the future. And as we speak at the moment we have rolled out measures to help carers, we've rolled out measures to help in the cost of going to school, we rolled out measures with the cost to going to college, we have rolled out measures that help with the costs of childcare. "They were permanent measures that were brought in in recent budgets and what myself and Jack Chambers, working with our colleagues in government, will aim to do is continue to affordably roll out measures we want to be permanent that will help those who are the most vulnerable. When asked about concerns expressed by Ibec about the impact of the Occupied Territories Bill on Irish businesses, Mr Donohoe said: We've always acknowledged that there are consequences in any decision that we make. "It is important to be clear that in the bill that we are bringing forward, it's referring to an extremely limited amount of trade that has taken place from the territories into Ireland. And I believe that if you look at the enormous trauma and the awful, awful loss the people of Gaza have endured due to the action that has been taken against them, always acknowledging of course the hurt and violence that happened in October, that was also the catalyst of much of this, that it is so important that the Government of Ireland make clear that we are diplomatically acting to try to lessen and weaken the harm. When you make a diplomatic decision, there are consequences to that too. But that is why we are doing three things. Number one, we're working within the European Union to bring forward a coalition of countries that feel the same way that we do about what is happening in the Middle East. "Number two, it's why we're acting in a way that we believe is consistent with our law and that of the European Union. And thirdly, it is why we are engaging diplomatically with America to explain what we are doing and why. And we will continue to pursue those three steps because we do believe it is really important that we send a very clear diplomatic and political signal regarding our view of what is happening to the people of Gaza. Sonya McLean A man who raped a woman while she was sleeping and continued to rape her after she managed to escape the first attack, has been jailed for seven years at the Central Criminal Court. The 37-year-old man pleaded guilty to two charges of rape on September 29th, 2019. The father of five has a number of previous convictions, both in Ireland and outside the jurisdiction. He can't be named to protect the woman's right to anonymity. The woman said in her victim impact statement that she had managed to get away from the man that night, but he followed her and continued to rape her. She said she felt as if she were a rag doll during the rape. She said that because of the anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder she has suffered as a result of the rapes, she finds herself locking herself in her bedroom at home. She has missed out on many special occasions with her children as a result. She described having a panic attack at her sons First Communion after she struggled to attend it in the first instance. I feel a failure as a Mum, she said and described herself as feeling like a prisoner in my own home. I have lost the years my children needed me the most, important years that I will not get back, she continued, adding that her youngest child sees her locked away in a room crying a lot, and with her older children, it seems as if they are caring for her rather than her for caring for them. She said on Thursday she was passing the shame on to him (the accused) because I dont deserve the shame. In an updated statement read to the court on Thursday, the woman said that she previously believed crying to be a sign of weakness, but now feels it is not. She said the words in her statement reflected her strength and that she is a strong woman who survived that night and did not give up, despite delays in the legal process. I kept fighting and kept going because of my strength, she said, adding that she wanted to show other victims that it is possible to cry and have anxiety while fighting for justice. Addressing the man, she said that while she wished she could forgive him, she had never once felt remorse or guilt for you what you did. She said she does not believe that the man feels these emotions at this time. The woman told the man that she hopes he reflects on his actions, that his attitude towards women changes and he learns to treat them with respect. She told him she hopes he completes his sentence and never makes a woman feel worthless or disrespected again. Strict conditions Mr Justice Paul Burns imposed a sentence of eight years, with the final 12 months suspended on strict conditions for three years in order to encourage rehabilitation. Mr Justice Burns noted the man appeared to have singled out the woman for unwanted attention and ignored her rejections of his advances. He said the man took advantage of the woman's sleeping and probably intoxicated condition, ignored her protests, appeared to mock her and used a degree of violence beyond that inherent in the act of rape. The judge noted the mitigation, including the man's guilty plea. He directed the man to place himself under the supervision of the Probation Service for three years post-release, and that the defendant is to be given credit for any time served in custody on this matter alone. Mr Justice Burns noted the impact of the offending on the woman, who he said had found the strength to speak up in court today, and acknowledged that the legal process had been difficult for her. He commended her bravery in coming forward and said the court hoped with the support of her family and friends and appropriate interventions, she would make further progress in dealing with the aftermath of these events. A local sergeant told Bernard Condon SC, prosecuting, at an earlier sentence hearing that the man was visiting family in County Donegal when his cousin was out socialising with the victim. He joined them, and over the course of the evening, he regularly engaged in conversation with the woman. At one point, he put his hand on her leg, but she pushed him away. On another occasion, he grabbed her while she was passing by and danced with her in a provocative way. She again pushed him away. On the car journey home, which they shared with several other people, he told her he couldn't wait to get her home, advising her that by the time he was done with her, she would be pregnant with another child. The man offered her vodka in the car, but when she said she would not drink it because it caused her to black out, the man replied, All the better. She ultimately gave in and took a sip of the vodka. The sergeant told Mr Condon that when they reached the womans friends house, the man continued to speak to the woman in a sexualised way. She struggled to keep her eyes open and eventually fell asleep on a couch. Intense pain She woke to find the man trying to kiss her while he was raping her. She told him to stop and said she did not want this. She continued to wriggle and try to escape before she managed to get off the couch. The woman said she tried to get up off the floor but was unable to get to her feet, and he attacked her again, raping her and leaving her in intense pain. He ripped her underwear during the assault. He finally lay down next to her. She picked up her clothing, got dressed and left the house. The rape was reported, and she was treated in her local Sexual Assault Treatment Unit, and she was found to have injuries both to her general body and her genitalia. The man was arrested and interviewed, and while he initially denied there was any contact between them, he was re-arrested following DNA analysis. He then accepted that if anything had happened, he had been asleep at the time and couldnt offer any further explanation. The woman prepared a victim impact statement, which was read into the record by the investigating sergeant. She said that the impact of what the man did to her that night has followed her for six years. She described his behaviour as disgusting and unforgivable. She said she suffered panic attacks and sleep deprivation, and now needs medication for anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder. She said she finds herself being hyper vigilant and being on high alert she struggles to relax. The woman said she has found herself unable to work on several occasions and has experienced panic attacks while at work. She said the rape has impacted her confidence and sanity. She said she feels as if she can see the mans face everywhere, and it feels as if she is shutting down, and she struggles to breathe. She said this continues until her brain kicks in and she realises it is not the accused. The woman said she was thankful for her family and thanked her husband for his support. Dominic McGinn SC, defending, said his client was not from Ireland and was visiting family that night. He has five children from two different relationships. He asked Mr Justice Burns to take into account his client's pleas of guilty as the most significant mitigating factors in the case. Mr Justice Burns suggested that the mans comments to the woman over the course of the night were indicative of some element of premeditation. The judge advised the woman that she was entitled to apply to the criminal injuries tribunal in relation to the cost of her medication and on account of any earnings she may have lost due to the impact the rape had on her. If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. Advertisement Confidence Cement in Bangladesh has announced an investment of approximately BDT8.15bn (US$6.1m) to construct a new cement factory near the capital, Dhaka. This initiative aims to expand its operations and capture a larger share of the Dhaka-centric cement market. The plant, located in Narsingdi, is expected to commence operations in the first quarter of next year, with a production capacity of 1.8Mta. In related news, local media reported that Confidence Cement has requested the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC) reconsider its recent decision to reject the companys proposal to raise BDT1000m through a rights issue. The company urges the regulator to approve the proposal in the best interest of the capital market and its shareholders. However, the BSEC issued a letter on 29 June, stating that it was "not in a position to grant consent" for the capital raising plan. In a letter dated 10 July, the Chattogram-based cement manufacturer requested that the regulator review its earlier decision, asserting, "We believe that the rejection may have resulted from some misinterpretation or inadequate consideration of supporting facts and documents." Confidence Cement, a subsidiary of Confidence Group, further clarified that its stand-alone net operating profit has been under pressure due to macroeconomic factors and industry-specific challenges, such as foreign exchange volatility and rising raw material costs. Nevertheless, the proposed rights issue is part of a strategic financial plan designed to strengthen the companys fundamentals. According to the letter, 50 per cent of the proceeds from the rights issue will be allocated to repaying existing loans, which is expected to reduce the companys annual interest expenses by over BDT70m and enhance future cash flows. The remaining funds will be invested in Confidence Cement Dhaka Ltd, currently an associate company, to convert it into a majority-owned subsidiary. "This strategy is intended to ensure a turnaround in core profitability and improve the company's ability to pay dividends post-implementation," the letter stated. by Abdul Rab Siddiqi, Pakistan Advertisement Caribbean Cement Co Ltd's Managing Director, Jorge Martinez, reported to the companys shareholders that one month into the operation of the newly upgraded plant at Rockfort in Kingston, daily production of cement was already exceeding expectations, but further optimisation is expected. Right now, with one month since we finished the project, were seeing daily clinker production above our business case, Mr Martinez said at the Caribbean Cements annual general meeting. In 2026, we expect to see an increase in capacity of at least 150,000t. The expansion project, which cost JMD6.7bn (US$42m), was completed earlier this year and initially set out to raise production from 1Mta to 1.3Mta. Martinez, who was appointed head of the cement plant in December 2023, downplayed the initial goal, according to the Jamaican Gleaner. There is some misinformation or imprecise numbers about the one to 1.3Mt because it depends on the baseline, he said. But right now we expect to exceed 150,000t. Plus, in the second half of 2025, were considering additional production above regular levels compared to 2024, he said. In addition to boosting domestic output, Caribbean Cement, Jamaicas only cement manufacturer, plans to export 28,000t of the commodity to Caribbean markets, starting as early as August, subject to demand. Regarding supply concerns, Mr Martinez said: Right now, we are not seeing any need to import cement. Production in 2024 dipped due to extraordinary activities, including a two-month shutdown of the kiln to accommodate the upgrade. The kiln was offline for installation of final equipment. The production in 2024 is difficult to say because we stopped the kiln for two months, he explained at the meeting. Based on the companys presentation to shareholders, domestic cement sales fell from 1Mt to 950,000t in 2024, reflecting the short-term impact of the shutdown. Despite this decline, the Carib Cement maker sustained growth in revenue, hitting annual sales of JMD27.9bn in 2024. In the January-March 2025 quarter revenue hit JMD8.2bn, compared to JMD7.6bn a year earlier. Core earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation also increased from JMD7.8bn to JMD9.3bn, underscoring the companys operational resilience. The first quarter profit improved to JMD1.99bn from JMD1.93bn a year earlier. Chinese, US youth unite in singing 'Song of the Fifth Ring' People's Daily Online) 08:39, July 17, 2025 As part of the Bond with Kuliang: 2025 China-U.S. Youth Choir Festival, students from Brigham Young University in the United States took center stage at Beijing University of Technology on June 14, 2025, delivering a spirited performance of "The Song of the Fifth Ring," a lively tune crafted especially for Beijing. They were warmly joined by local students, with their voices blending in harmonious unity. This heartfelt cross-cultural performance vividly showcases the transformative power of art, weaving together the youthful spirits of China and the U.S. in a celebration of friendship and shared dreams. Intern Geng Yujie contributed to this story. (Web editor: Wu Chaolan, Wu Chengliang) Greetings Mayor Kelly, I have attempted to also address this memo to Police Chief Chambers, but it appears that his email address is hidden from public view. At your convenience, please forward this document to his office. I have also included several local news bureaus in the event it is determined to be news worthy to their organization or the public. On 07/15/25, I traveled to Chattanooga to purchase items from a local business. Upon the conclusion of my transaction, I proceeded to my residence in Altamont. I have only been in Chattanooga a few times and am not familiar with local roads and highways in the area. I use the Waze app to assist me as I navigate the area. I was traveling S I-75 to the 153 heading towards the 27. I was traveling initially at the flow of traffic eventually making to the #1 lane on Highway 153. There was heavy truck traffic in the #2 lane and numerous vehicles were exiting the #3 lane at various off ramps. At or about 1517 hours, I was on 153 when the Waze app advised that red light and speed enforcement cameras were ahead. I was approaching the Chickamauga Lake Bridge at the posted speed limit of 55 mph. I set my cruse control at that speed. Suddenly a black SUV which appeared to be a Ford Explorer came up behind me and proceeded to tailgate me at what appeared to be about 10 feet from my rear bumper. I was driving my Gray Nissan Rogue. There were several semi-trucks traveling in the #2 lane at a speed below the speed in which driving. So I remained in the #1 lane. The black SUV continued to tailgate even closer. After less that a mile I heard a siren. I immediately scanned my area to locate the source of the siren. No emergency vehicles were visible in my immediate area, but the SUV approached close enough that I could identify LED surface mounted lights normally used on emergency vehicles, but they were not illuminated. At a safe location, I pulled to the #2 lane to allow the vehicle to pass as its operation was clearly dangerous with its vehicular maneuvers. The vehicle passed me at a higher rated of speed. As the vehicle passed the vehicle operator proceeded to flip me off and continued to pass. The driver appeared to be a white male. I would not be able to identify him further. I was able to see the plate TN #0807-GI. It appeared the be a government vehicle. The vehicle was not using emergency warning lights or siren. At or about 1519, I dialed 911 to report the vehicle. I provided the call taker with a vehicle description, plate number and location of travel. I asked the call taker if the vehicle was in fact a government vehicle . She confirmed it and I requested the agency as I wanted to file a complaint. The call taker advised that it was registered to the Chattanooga Police Department. I asked to file a citizen complaint on vehicle operation. She indicated that her PSAP was at a Hamilton County multi-agency answering point and they couldnt take that report. I asked to transfer my call to the correct agency. She indicated that she couldnt but said she would give me the number to Internal Affairs. I said that I was driving and couldnt write down the number. She texted the number to my phone. I called the IA office at or about1422, but was sent to voice mail. At a convenient location I was able to locate the non-emergency number to report the actions. I called that number at or about1428, but that dispatcher indicated that they were a multi-department dispatch center and he couldnt verify the vehicle was a CMPD vehicle because he didnt have DMV access? He also indicated that he couldnt provide further assistance other that creating an incident report. After I returned home, at or about 1745 your time, I received a call from a female officer. I explained the situation. She indicated that she would contact her supervisor sergeant. And he would determine if it would be forwarded to the Internal Affairs office. I indicated that I had already called the IA office and left a voice mail. I thanked her for her response. I have not received any further contact. I would like to file an official complaint indicating the following: A vehicle registered to Chattanooga Police was traveling in a speeding and dangerous manner. Speeding and tailgating. The vehicle operator used emergency warning equipment (siren) when in fact there was no emergency to simple expedite travel on 153. The vehicle operator used a vulgar hand signal as he passed my vehicle. I am willing to sign the complaint and sign it under the penalty of perjury. Any statement or finding other than what I have indicated above would be false or a lie. The actions of the vehicle operator were illegal and personally offensive to me. If I were to install emergency warning equipment on my personal vehicle to use when I drive to facilitate my travels it would certainly result in a citation or arrest. Why would this be any different? My family and I hold law enforcement in the highest regards. I hope that this incident is not reflective of the operations of the Chattanooga Police Bill Aviles * * * Mr Aviles, I appreciate your diligence in detailing the specifics of your experience, and you have clearly articulated how it has made you feel. I agree that the officer was certainly not being professional nor representing our police force very well with his obscene hand gesture. That should not have happened. However, in my opinion, you would not have had such an experience if you had been courteously observing the Tennessee State law section-55-8-204 known as the "slowpoke" law (details and link below). https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-55/chapter-8/part-2/section-55-8-204/ Drivers in Hamilton County, Tennessee, are subject to the statewide "Slow Poke Law" (also known as the "Move Right Law" or left-lane law), which prohibits driving in the far-left lane (the passing lane) of multi-lane highways unless actively passing another vehicle. The law aims to keep traffic flowing smoothly on Tennessee roadways. Here's a summary of the law as it applies to slow traffic in the fast lane: Passing Lane Restrictions: On interstate and multi-lane divided highways with two or more lanes in each direction, the far-left lane is designated as the passing lane. Drivers should only use this lane when actively passing another vehicle. Minimum Speed in Left Lane: On controlled-access highways with four or more lanes, it is illegal to drive in the left lane at a speed below 55 mph. Exceptions: There are instances where driving in the left lane is allowed without passing, such as when it's unsafe to move over, due to weather, traffic control, obstructions, or when exiting or turning left. Emergency and maintenance vehicles are also exempt. Penalties: Violating the Slow Poke Law is a Class C misdemeanor with a $50 fine. This violation does not add points to a driver's license. Additional citations, like speeding or driving too slowly, are also possible. In addition, the reality is that NO ONE travels at the posted speed limit, especially not in the left lane of a 2 or 3 laned highway in Tennessee. Even traffic officers will tell you that you will never receive a citation for going 5-9 over in most conditions. To set the cruise on 55 in the left lane with no opportunity for those behind you to proceed past is a hazard in itself. The officer could have stopped you and cited you, but thankfully you were spared that consequence. Maybe it is simply a matter of simple courtesy. Move over and let folks by who may not want to lock in at 55. You are welcome to do exactly that in the right/slow lanes anytime. Being respectful of others is always a good thing. :) I wish the officer had adopted the same attitude as he passed you by. Maybe there's something for both sides to learn from this situation. Just my two cents worth. And it's probably worth less than that nowadays. Ross Turner * * * Regarding the letter from Mr. Bill Aviles about the traffic incident on Highway 153 and the response from Mr Ross Turner - Apologies to you, Mr. Aviles, for the inappropriate and dangerous behavior of an individual who appears to have been a law enforcement officer in Chattanooga. His actions are inexcusable and you are right to file a complaint about them. I encourage you to be persistent as the "squeaky wheel" principle usually applies to complaints with city governments around here. Mr Turner, your response is dead wrong. Placing the tailgating burden on a driver who is observing the speed limit is not the fault of that driver, but of the one who is doing the tailgating. Tennessee Code Annotated 55-8-124 states that a "reasonable and prudent" distance must be maintained between a moving vehicle and the one in front of it. It is never legal nor safe to tailgate anyone. Causing an accident and killing or injuring another driver or oneself is never the right option. You are also wrong in your comment that "no one" drives within the speed limit. You may routinely opt to exceed the posted limit but not everyone does that. I make it a point to observe the speed limit on local and interstate roads. Maybe it is you who routinely tailgates me in the right (slow) lane of Hixson Pike when I am driving at 40 mph in a 45 mph zone. If so, stop it. Tim McDonald The Red Bank Commission voted 4-1 on Tuesday night on first reading to approve a nine-cent property tax increase. The final reading is set for Aug. 10. The rate increases from the rolled-back Certified Tax Rate of $.89 per $100 of assessed valuation to $.98. The Red Bank Commission in 2023 voted a $.57 property tax increase. That followed an $.11 property tax hike in 2021. No residents spoke at a public hearing prior to the tax vote. The vote was 4-1 with Commissioner Jaime Harvey as the only no vote. A public hearing also took place to rezone property located at 223 Clift View from R-2 Residential that is mostly made up of duplexes to R-3 Residential that will also allow triplexes. The planning commission recommended to approve the rezoning request and the commissioners agreed. That will allow the basement underneath a duplex to be converted into a bedroom. Neither the footprint or the appearance of the building will change, only an expansion of the parking pad. The commissioners heard a report on a capital outlay note in the amount of $100,000 to be used by the police department with a net interest cost of 4.53 percent. It will be used to purchase two vehicles for the Red Bank Police. The city also has agreed to authorize an on-call service agreement for parks and recreation support. The agreement is with the Trust for Public Land which will advise the city about the best practices for land management, fundraising to support the public property, and on protecting the parks, trails and green spaces in the city. The cost that was approved for the services is to not exceed $50,000. Red Bank will also enter into an interlocal agreement with the city of Chattanooga for trail maintenance and to make improvements to the Stringers Ridge trail system which extends through both cities. It will assist in erosion mitigation, stair rebuilding, and drainage improvements among other items. Chattanooga will perform the work and bill Red Bank for its share, not to exceed $10,000. The city hopes to be awarded the 2026 Placemaking grant from the Greater Chattanooga Realtors. This grant is meant to transform underutilized and blighted spaces into safe, vibrant places. If Red Bank receives the grant, it will be used for the White Oak Dog Park, which needs more shade. Trees cannot be planted there because it is built on top of an old landfill, so it must be shade from artificial structures, officials said. This is a no-match grant of $25,000. A new training program has been approved for the fire department, to replace the old one that had been used. The program will cost $5,345. A contract was approved with Big Woodys Tree Service for the restoration project for the White Oak Park detention pond. The work will be done using American Rescue Plan funds and a water infrastructure grant from TDEC and will not exceed $204,000. A three-year subscription with Aurigo Software Technologies was approved that will cost $15,000 for each of the three years totaling $45,000. This is an unbudgeted expense. It is software that will be used for capital improvements planning and management. A tractor will be purchased for the public works department for $166,650 that will be paid for through debt service. TDOT is doing roadwork to Dayton Boulevard where it goes through the Stringers Ridge tunnel from Chattanooga into Red Bank. The city of Red Bank was given the opportunity to weigh in on some of the improvements. The lanes along the road quickly change from two to four then narrow again as the road leaves the tunnel. It is a high collision area where a lot of lane swapping occurs. Red Bank has re=engineered the road coming out of the tunnel to the intersection with Signal Mountain Road. The changes will be made by restriping the existing pavement. It will be painted as three lanes - two for traveling in each direction and a middle lane that will be left as a queuing lane. There will also be changes to the road just north of that intersection so it will coordinate with the new traffic pattern. Red Bank will be responsible for paying $36,800 to stripe that portion, and from there traveling toward the tunnel will be paid by TDOT. Past commissioner Pete Phillips has been approved to join the city advisory Board of Zoning Appeals. State Senator Bo Watson joined the meeting to give the city a proclamation recognizing Red Banks 70th anniversary. He also presented a state flag to the city which had flown over the Tennessee state capital. In return City Manager Martin Granum gave the senator a city manager coin, stamped with a seal of Tennessee surrounded with the words telling the core values of Red Bank. A search of the cell phone of a man who was arrested on the UTC campus in April has turned up what police termed "child abuse imagery." Gabriel Jose Montesinos Corzo is charged with sexual exploitation of children. UTC Police said on April 17, Corzo was arrested at the UTC Library at 7:42 p.m. for aggravated criminal trespass. The same day, he was arrested for fondling and aggravated criminal trespass at Lockmiller Apartments II for an incident on April 12. Police said they found on his phone images of children performing sex acts on adults and of adults performing sex acts on children. Police said the items, including photos and videos, were on a Telegram account. An officer suspended the investigation, "noting there were several thousand additional files to be examined." The officer said he located 32 images that related to unlawful photography of children or sexual abuse and exploitation of children. He said, "This was uncovered after searching less than 20 percent of the device's data." Corzo said in a 2024 profile in VoyageATL that he is an artist who was born in Peru, but grew up in Chattanooga. He said in the article, "United Way of Greater Chattanooga awarded me as the Youth Volunteer of the year in 2013 for my contributions in Community Outreach & Keynote Speaking Events at Churches & Schools." Get ready, Chattanooga! More than 250 outdoor writers and media professionals are coming to town for the 2025 Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) Conference, Aug. 19-21. This gathering of talented writers, photographers, broadcasters and outdoor communicators will use Chattanooga as their basecamp a natural jumping-off point to explore the adventures that have earned the city recognition as a southeastern outdoor destination. "Chattanooga is a natural fit for this incredible gathering of outdoor storytellers," said Barry White, CEO of the Chattanooga Tourism Co. "These passionate professionals will discover what locals already know that our city offers an unmatched combination of urban comforts and easy access to world-class outdoor adventures. We're honored to welcome OWAA members to the Scenic City. OWAA's annual conference brings together a wide range of outdoor media professionals who share a deep passion for the outdoors. Conference attendees will participate in presentations, workshops and networking opportunities while experiencing the outdoor recreation that has earned Chattanooga recognition by Outside Magazines 9 Beautiful Mountain Towns in the Southeast, and among "10 pretty mountain views in the U.S. that are a must-visit" by TimeOut Magazine. Within minutes of downtown, visitors can access premier venues for rock climbing, road and mountain biking, horseback riding, hiking, white-water rafting, hang gliding and countless other adventures. Attendees will stay at The Read House, where the historic downtown hotel will serve as their home base for three days of professional development and outdoor exploration. The historic Chattanooga Choo Choo will host a welcome reception, with food and beverage services provided by Gate 11 and other Choo Choo district vendors, and Teren Clothing will host an additional after-hours reception. Pre- and post-conference tours will highlight the region's diverse outdoor offerings through an impressive collaboration of local and state partners. The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development has been instrumental in arranging state tours, while the Chattanooga Tourism Co. and Outdoor Chattanooga have coordinated adventures with industry partners including the Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga Zoo, Lookout Mountain Flight Park, Reflection Riding Arboretum & Nature Center, and Chattanooga Guides Adventures. Outdoor Chattanooga will provide hiking, paddleboarding and kayaking tours. The conference is expected to generate several hundred thousand dollars in economic impact, but the value of hosting 250 outdoor travel writers experiencing all the Scenic City has to offer extends far beyond dollars. These influential storytellers will build trust and interest through personal narratives and reach millions of engaged outdoor enthusiasts across diverse demographics for months or years to come. Solar Energy can be used to generate electricity sustainably and, in principle, it can also be harnessed to produce fundamental chemical compounds. However, the catalytic materials identified to date are not yet suitable for industrial-scale applications, as they often fail to meet critical criteria such as durability, efficiency, cost, and scalability. To address these challenges, a new web-based platform aims to consolidate existing research knowledge and expedite the discovery of novel materials with tailored properties. The Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) at the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf (HZDR) has secured nearly one million euros in funding from the European Unions Just Transition Fund (JTF) to develop this open-access platform. In addition, the Free State of Saxony also has directly contributed to the financing of the project Umwandlung von Sonnenenergie in Brennstoffe (UvSiB, English translation: Conversion of solar energy into fuels). Many fundamental chemical compounds used in the production of synthetic materials and fuels are derived from fossil resources such as crude oil and natural gas. The transition to direct use of solar energy would represent a major advancement regarding sustainability. For instance, the solar-driven conversion of water and carbon dioxide into solar fuels, such as hydrogen or select hydrocarbons, holds promise as a viable and renewable pathway for chemical energy production. However, the widespread implementation of this so-called artificial photocatalysis still faces several scientific and technical challenges foremost among them the development of photocatalysts that are more efficient, stable, and long-lasting. Promising new materials are frequently reported in research, but the experimental synthesis and validation cycles are both labor-intensive and costly. Computational science has proven to be a valuable tool in narrowing down potential candidates, reducing reliance on the traditional "trial and error" approach, and allowing researchers to focus on the most promising leads. Although virtual material development is being utilized in various applications, there has yet to be a dedicated initiative explicitly focused on photocatalytic materials. The CASUS team, led by Dr. Hossein Mirhosseini, aims to address this gap with their project UvSiB. This platform will enable both the scientific and industrial communities to efficiently and rapidly develop and produce next-generation materials for solar fuel production, says Mirhosseini. One of the core features of the upcoming web platform is high-throughput simulation. These simulations will be accelerated using a variety of machine-learning techniques integrated into the platform. Another significant feature will be artificial intelligence (AI)-powered analysis enabling faster mapping of specific material structures to their corresponding properties. A third key feature is the design of computational workflows. Users will be able to combine different high-throughput simulations and AI-based analysis tools into virtual experiments. Even complex workflows can be automated and executed with minimal manual intervention. The CASUS team creates initial data sets, pre-trained AI models, and workflows for material design to encourage user adoption. This will allow interested users to explore the platforms capabilities before contributing their own data and algorithms. Access will be open to scientists worldwide. The platform is designed as a fully open-access resource with no financial, technical, or legal barriers to entry. Positioning information technology as a driver of innovation CASUS Director Prof. Thomas D. Kuhne highlights the strategic value of the platform in facilitating technological innovation: The platform allows applied researchers to identify promising sustainable materials for solar fuel production more quickly. It will be another example of the transformative power of information technology enabling the development of innovative products and solutions for industrial applications. The broader the adoption of the platform, the more valuable it will become to the scientific community, adds Mirhosseini. One of our goals is to provide user-friendly access to the platform, particularly for researchers in materials science, chemistry, or physics who may not have specialized expertise in data science or AI. We are committed to continuously evaluating and enhancing the platforms usability to ensure wide accessibility. Cherokee Nation Deputy Chief Bryan Warner, right, speaks with Seminole Nation Assistant Chief Brian Palmer on July 11 during the latest Inter-Tribal Council of the Five Civilized Tribes meeting. You have permission to edit this article. Edit Close Scott Aniol, the newly appointed president of G3 Ministries. | Screenshot: YouTube/ G3 Ministries G3 Ministries announced on Monday the appointment of Scott Aniol as its new president. Aniol has been with G3 since 2021, serving as executive vice president and editor-in-chief of G3 Press, the ministrys publishing arm. Aniol expressed his commitment, stating, G3 exists to glorify God by educating, encouraging, and equipping Gods people with biblical truth for biblical living. I am deeply committed to maintaining our firm stand on first-level doctrinal matters while modeling gracious engagement on areas where faithful brothers may differ. My desire is that G3 would continue to be a trusted resource for pastors and churches and a platform for amplifying the voices of ordinary men who faithfully labor in the Word week after week, he added. Jonathan Frazier, chairman of G3 Ministries' board, described Aniols promotion as a recognition long overdue for his exceptional leadership and faithful stewardship over the past four years, adding, We are excited to see him fully assume the mantle of leadership and continue advancing the vision and mission of G3. Joel Beeke, president of Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary and pastor of Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, Michigan, praised Aniol as a brother that is not only multi-gifted for leadership and personal relationships in promoting the biblically conservative Reformed faith, but is also highly qualified to steer G3 in biblical and godly ways that will aim for the glory of God, the maturation of believers, and the salvation of the lost. Aniol holds a Ph.D. and Master of Theological Studies from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, along with a Master of Music in Aesthetics from Northern Illinois University. He serves as a professor of pastoral theology at Grace Bible Theological Seminary and as an elder at Prays Mill Baptist Church. Before joining G3, he spent more than ten years on the faculty of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Aniols appointment comes two months after the organizations previous president, Josh Buice, resigned following a confession that he had used anonymous social media, email accounts, and Substack platforms to publicly and anonymously slander numerous Christian leaders. Currently, over 100 churches in the United States and internationally are part of the G3 Network. Due to Buices resignation, this years G3 Conference, which has historically drawn thousands, has been canceled. Pastor John MacArthur. | hoto credit: Facebook / Shepherds' Conference Renowned preacher, pastor, author, and theologian John MacArthur passed away on Monday evening at the age of 86, shortly after being hospitalized with pneumonia. MacArthur was a major figure in the Christian world, known for his preaching at Grace Community Church, his books, leadership at The Masters University, and his Grace to You media ministry, impacting generations across the globe. His health issues became more prominent starting when he was hospitalized on New Years Day 2023, a Sunday, which prevented him from preaching at the second service at his church. He was treated for a blockage in his arteries at that time. Throughout 2024, MacArthur faced ongoing health challenges, which kept him away from the pulpit from July until his return to preach at a Thanksgiving service in November. During late 2024, he underwent three surgeries related to his health problems. MacArthur is survived by Patricia, his wife of more than 60 years, along with their four children, 15 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Reacting to the news, theologian and author Owen Strachan tweeted, Rest in peace, lion of faith. It is already strange to live in a world without MacArthur's steady convictional presence. Pray for his family, his church, and the many who mourn him. The Rev. Franklin Graham, president of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan's Purse, stated on Tuesday that One of America's great Bible teachers, Pastor John MacArthur, has stepped into the presence of Almighty God. He could get more out of a Bible verse than anyone I've ever known. Today, the New York Times recognized him as a 'Firebrand Preacher and Culture Warrior' and said that he influenced generations of evangelical preachers that is true. His voice will be greatly missed. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and host of "The Briefing" podcast, wrote a column for World magazine in which he called MacArthur a lion of the pulpit and the greatest expositor of his times. Mohler remarked, One of the ironies of John MacArthur is that, to the end, he insisted that any God-called preacher of the Word could do what he did. There was great truth in that claim, of course, but emphasized, On the other hand, John MacArthur was uniquely gifted as an expositor, and he was uniquely faithful as well. He was a preacher. Noted theologian, Bible teacher, and bestselling author John Piper also paid tribute, saying that the longer I knew John MacArthur, the more I loved him. Piper shared, We valued each other on glorious common ground. Seventy-somethings don't jockey for seniority. Battle-tested, without bitterness, bearing scars with durable joy, we enjoyed each other. He was kind to me phone calls to express thankfulness, invitations to his conferences, public conversations where affection abounded, he added. Piper highlighted his awe at MacArthur's biblical exposition, stating, The sheer constancy of such exposition for over half a century was immeasurably fruitful. He reflected, Only God knows the countless eternal effects that rippled out from the pebbles of truth he dropped year after year. California evangelist Greg Laurie, leader of Harvest Christian Fellowship, said MacArthur will be deeply missed. Laurie wrote, I had the privilege of knowing John personally, and I can tell you he was a true man of God. He spoke at our church several times over the years, and it was always a joy to spend time with him. Laurie concluded, John leaves behind a powerful legacy: his beloved family, his faithful congregation, his far-reaching media ministry, and of course, his epic library of biblical commentaries that will continue to impact generations. He also expressed confidence that MacArthur's greatest legacy was that he lived a life well-lived and that he was faithful to the very end. Home News 3 killed by strike at Gaza's only Catholic church; Israel launches probe, expresses 'deep sorrow' The Israeli military will investigate reports that a tank strike on the sole Catholic church in Gaza killed three people and injured several others amid the war with Hamas, vowing to publish the results of the probe amid criticism from Catholic leaders. In a statement Thursday, the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem decried the strike at the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, which has sheltered hundreds of people since the war began. Father Gabriel Romanelli, the parish priest and confidant of the late Pope Francis, is among those who have been injured. Video shared online shows the priest sitting with his leg bandaged, while photos show damage to the church's roof, with a large chunk missing near a stone cross. 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 Those killed have been named: Najwa Abu Daoud, Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh and Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad. "What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church," Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told Vatican News. "There are four people seriously wounded, among these four, two are in very dramatic conditions and their lives are in serious danger." "We don't have complete information about what has happened in Gaza today because the communication in Gaza is not that simple," he added. Israel's Foreign Ministry expressed "deep sorrow over the damage [to the church] and over any civilian casualty." "The IDF is examining this incident, the circumstances of which are still unclear, and the results of the investigation will be published transparently," the ministry said in a statement. "Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians." In a statement Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces said it "makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them." In a social media post, Pope Leo XIV said he was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack" on the church. "I assure the parish community of my spiritual closeness," the United States-born pontiff wrote. "I commend the souls of the deceased to the loving mercy of Almighty God, and pray for their families and the injured. I renew my call for an immediate ceasefire. Only dialogue and reconciliation can ensure enduring peace!" Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni, who has been a supporter of Israel but has recently been critical of the Israeli military offensive in Gaza, called the strike on the church "unacceptable." "No military action can justify such behavior," Meloni wrote. Israel's military offensive in Gaza began in October 2023 after Hamas, the terror group that has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007, killed over 1,200 people (mostly civilians) during an attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7 of that year. Israel's stated goal for the offensive is to eradicate Hamas from the territory and to secure the release of around 250 people taken hostage during the Oct. 7 attack. Israel has long accused Hamas of hiding behind Gaza's civilian population, forcing fighting in urban centers. The Hamas-run Gaza health authorities report that around 58,000 people have died in Gaza since the conflict began. Those numbers don't differentiate between civilians and combatants. Questions have been raised about the methodology behind the death toll in Gaza, as researchers have found that thousands of deaths have quietly been removed from lists that have been released since the start of the war. Observers have also questioned the claim that 70% of casualties in Gaza are women and children. In April, the think tank Henry Jackson Society published a report accusing the Hamas Government Media Office of distorting data presented by the Gaza Ministry of Health. This is not the first time the Holy Family Church has sustained damage in the war. In December 2023, shrapnel from an Israeli army strike damaged Holy Family Church and its parish buildings in Gaza City. The shrapnel damaged its solar panels and destroyed water tanks, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Weeks after the war began in October 2023, the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem claimed that a fatal Israeli strike that killed over a dozen people hit a building on the compound of the Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyrios, the oldest church in Gaza. Hundreds of people were taking shelter in the church at the time. The IDF initially confirmed that the church was damaged by an airstrike targeting Hamas military compounds and that the church was not the intended target. Hamas also blamed Israel for an October 2023 explosion at an Anglican hospital in Gaza, which many mainstream media outlets picked up on. U.S. intelligence sources refuted the claim that Israel was responsible for the attack, with then-President Joe Biden echoing statements from the IDF that the airstrike was linked to an "errant rocket fired by a terrorist group in Gaza." Home News A turning point? Inside the FTCs crackdown on the gender industry In this powerful episode of The Inside Story, Billy Hallowell is joined by Christian Post journalist Brandon Showalter for an exclusive breakdown of the Federal Trade Commissions landmark workshop examining deceptive trade practices tied to gender-affirming care for minors. The conversation explores what this workshop could mean for future federal investigations and why this moment may signal a historic turning point in Americas reckoning with the medicalization of gender-confused youth: The Inside Story takes you behind the headlines of the biggest faith, culture, and political headlines of the week. In 15 minutes or less, Christian Post staff writers and editors will help you navigate and understand whats driving each story, the issues at play and why it all matters. 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 Listen to more Christian podcasts today on the Edifi app and be sure to subscribe to The Inside Story on your favorite platforms: Home Opinion My 15-minute phone call with John MacArthur I missed my chance to meet Pastor John MacArthur in person, but when I spoke to him for the first and only time, it was over the phone for 15 minutes and he cared about my soul. Days after Christmas in 2021, I interviewed MacArthur for an article I was working on at Fox News about Canadas Bill C-4, which purported to ban conversion therapy, though critics claimed it effectively criminalized counseling that does not affirm LGBTQ ideology. The bill, which was fast-tracked through the Canadian Parliament in late 2021, described the belief that heterosexuality and cisgender identity are preferable as a myth. Under the law, counseling that does not align with such a worldview carries a potential five-year jail sentence. MacArthur, whose father was born in Canada, helped lead the charge of around 5,000 pastors throughout North America who pushed back against the legislation by affirming biblical sexual morality during their sermons on Jan. 16, 2022. Six days after their protest from the pulpit, the first trucks set out from British Columbia toward the Canadian capital of Ottawa in what would become the trucker convoy. The truckers would go on to expose to the world the totalitarian spirit of their government, and I have always found the timing curious. I published only a few sentences from my conversation with MacArthur, but when he died earlier this week, I listened to my recording of the call again. When I pressed him to explain why he was taking the stand he was, MacArthur delivered to me a mini-sermon about what happens to nations and individuals when they reject God. He was succinct but deep. He quoted verses from memory that I could tell grieved him. When a culture goes through a sexual revolution, then a homosexual revolution, and winds up with a kind of insanity about sin and sexuality, you know that culture is under divine judgment, MacArthur told me, referencing Romans 1:18-32. MacArthur was echoing some of his sermons that I remember most, when he offered sobering reflections on the prophets who were called to prophesy to a nation they knew would not repent. Much of what he told me in our phone call reflected his sermon titled Such Were Some of You, which he delivered at his Grace Community Church in Los Angeles to mark the protest against Bill C-4. He told me that during his many decades ministering in the second-largest American city, he had seen many repent of sexual sin, including one of the leaders of the Hollywood Gay Pride Parade. As he concluded that hour-long message, MacArthur read from Isaiah 3. The chapter recounts the prophet predicting to ancient Judah that God would remove from their leadership everyone who has value, everyone who could help, as MacArthur paraphrased it. He noted that while the chapter indicates a nation under inevitable general judgment, Isaiah offered hope that it shall be well for individuals within it who are righteous. In another sermon he preached in March 2021, while his friend, Canadian Pastor James Coates, was imprisoned in Alberta for keeping his church open during COVID lockdowns, MacArthur expounded upon the grief Isaiah suffered when God called him to preach to a nation for which it was already too late. Like Isaiah and the other prophets, MacArthur seemed to know his ministry would not save his nation, but he cared most about individuals, and God used him to snatch many out of the fire. Much ink will be spilled this week by those whose interactions with MacArthur were extensive and spanned decades. My interaction with him only spanned a quarter-hour, but I will always remember it because I believe it showed his heart. During our phone call, MacArthurs wife, Patricia, who was listening in and didnt know I could hear her, whispered to him, Is he a Christian? Because he knew of me through his attorney Jenna Ellis, who was one of my sources when I covered MacArthurs successful battle against Californias COVID church clampdowns, he quietly and quickly assured her I am. Despite the high-profile, international spiritual battles they were in, both he and his wife privately cared about the salvation of some reporter they had never spoken to and would never speak to again. I think that says a lot. MacArthur finished well, standing firm to the end against some of the darkest and most powerful encroachments Christians are facing today. Rest in peace, Pastor John. 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 Home News UN among biggest barriers to getting aid past Hamas, Johnnie Moore says An American Evangelical leader who heads an organization that provides aid to people in war-torn Gaza condemned the United Nations for attempting to undermine its efforts by spreading talking points from Hamas, which he says is trying to prevent civilians from receiving free resources. During a recent Christian Post interview with journalist Billy Hallowell, Rev. Johnnie Moore, executive chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and president of the Congress of Christian Leaders, said Gazans have expressed gratitude for the aid his U.S.-backed organization has provided in the last couple of months despite the negative press. "Our job is just to feed Gaza," Moore said of GHF, which he became executive chairman of early last month. 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 "But we're also, in feeding Gazans, trying to address a systemic issue, which is almost all of the humanitarian aid that has been going into Gaza for as long as anybody can remember has been under the total control of Hamas." The Israeli military is conducting military operations in Gaza following the Hamas-led terror attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the abduction of over 240 others. Hamas, recognized by the U.S. government as a terror organization, has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. Israel's stated goal in the offensive is to eradicate Hamas from control in Gaza and secure the release of the hostages. Throughout Israel's military operations, there have been multiple reports of Hamas stealing humanitarian aid intended for civilians in Gaza. Hamas will hoard the aid to feed its militants, use it to recruit fighters, or sell it to civilians for more than what it's worth, according to reports. "This is just unacceptable," Moore told Hallowell. "There has to be a better way of doing this." With support from the United States and Israel, the GHF provides aid through distribution sites. At the time of the interview, Moore said that the effort "is pushing nearly 30 million meals." Speculating on why the United Nations hasn't found a better method for delivering aid to Gaza, Moore suggested that the intergovernmental organization decided years ago that Hamas stealing the aid was just "the cost of doing business." Moore, an author and international religious freedom advocate, asserted that this is a "false choice," arguing that there is a way to deliver aid to Gazans without supporting Hamas. "You wouldn't know it from reading a lot of the press, but it's actually working really, really well," Moore said about the GHF distribution sites. Moore, who is president of the public relations firm JDA Worldwide, highlighted the U.N.'s lack of support for GHF. The Evangelical leader criticized the U.N. for boycotting the charity organization's efforts when it has never boycotted Hamas. "It's not that they're not supporting us," the Christian leader explained. "It's that they're actively opposing us. They're rallying people against us. They're parroting Hamas talking points." Late last month, the GHF announced that Hamas had placed bounties on American security personnel and that 12 of its local staff had been murdered, while others had been tortured. Moore said he had asked the U.N. to issue a statement condemning the targeting of the staff members. Moore said that he told the U.N. that he wasn't asking them to support how GHF provides aid if they didn't agree with it, only to condemn Hamas' threats and actions. "And they wouldn't even do that," the chairman stated. GHF is not boycotting the U.N., Moore said, adding that the organization would like to collaborate and learn from the U.N. "We want to do good together," he said. "Our hand is out; we extend it." The U.N. has refused to work with the GHF on the grounds that the organization violates humanitarian principles of "impartiality," according to Moore, which he referred to as "hogwash." Moore's selection as GHF's executive chairman followed GHF's founding CEO Jake Wood's resignation. Wood was critical of the Israeli-led distribution plan on the grounds that it violates "humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence, which I will not abandon," reports All Israel News. "Impartiality doesn't mean neutrality," Moore told Hallowell. "There is right, and there is wrong here. Our mission is not a military mission, and it has nothing to do with the conflict between these parties. Our mission is to feed people; that's our mission." The U.N. did not immediately respond to The Christian Post's request for comment. Last week, U.N. Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva that the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights has recorded "615 killings in the vicinity of the GHF sites" since May 26 and through July 7. Another 183 deaths occurred "presumably on the routes of aid convoys" carried out by the U.N. and other aid organizations, according to Shamdasani. "This is nearly 800 people who have been killed while trying to access aid. Most of the injuries are gunshot injuries," the U.N. spokesperson said. The OHCHR said that its information comes from Gaza hospitals, cemeteries, families, the Hamas-run health authorities, NGOs and its partners on the ground. The GHF, which denied the allegations, told Reuters earlier this month that the figures from the U.N. were "false and misleading." "The fact is the most deadly attacks on aid sites have been linked to U.N. convoys," a GHF spokesperson said. "Ultimately, the solution is more aid. If the U.N. and other humanitarian groups would collaborate with us, we could end or significantly reduce these violent incidents." The Israeli army told Reuters that it is installing fences and opening additional routes. Earlier this month, the Israel Defense Forces announced a review of an incident involving an Israeli missile strike following reports that it missed its intended target. The strike hit a water distribution point in Nuseirat refugee camp, killing six children and injuring 17 others, according to Ahmed Abu Saifan, an emergency physician at Al-Awda Hospital. In a statement, the IDF said that it "regrets any harm to uninvolved civilians" while targeting the Palestinian Islamic Jihad terror group. Home Opinion Should pulpits remain silent on politics? In 1873, Charles Finney wrote to pastors challenging them to raise the moral standards of the nation through preaching. He concluded: If Satan rules in our halls of legislation, the pulpit is responsible for it. If our politics become so corrupt that the very foundations of our government are ready to fall away, the pulpit is responsible for it. In 1980, a very similar argument was raised by Jerry Falwell, Tim LaHaye, and other leading pastors as they launched the Moral Majority. Churches had been lured into silence on moral issues that were prevalent in politics, and we were reaping unwelcome consequences from our inaction. Cal Thomas and I were both involved in leadership positions in the Moral Majority in 1980 and wereand I believe, still arefriends. 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 However, Cals recent column decries the idea that pastors exercise their right to fully preach about moral and political issues, along with giving their candid views on political candidates who have such a significant impact on these issues. His column was sparked by a case that I led as lead counsel for the National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), Intercessors for America, and two local churches in Texas. This case has led to a proposed consent decree where both sides have asked for a ruling that a pastors speech about candidates from the pulpit does not violate the federal tax code specifically the Johnson Amendment, which has thwarted pastoral freedom of speech since 1954. So, should churches avoid talking about political issues? Our political system has made the life of the unborn a hot political issue. The same is true for the nature of human beings. Does God make mistakes when He assigns gender through genetics and the biological processes? Should religious freedom protect Christian artists and speakers who do not want to use their constitutional right to speak to deliver messages that support same-sex marriage? Should high school boys from Loudoun County, Virginia be disciplined for simply asking the question of why a girl is in our locker room? These are all political questions on which the Word of God has something to say. Similarly, politicians dont have lanes. They campaign on positions that directly affect biblical and sacred issues. For example, it is impossible for a pastor to address marriage from a biblical perspective without acknowledging a politicians non-biblical stance whether through policies, laws, or government funding. Many want to separate the legislator from the legislation, the policymaker from the policy, and the budget from the budget makers. But faith and public life are inevitably intertwined, and pastors must engage honestly with the political realities that affect their flock. If the Bible indeed speaks to every area of life, then pastors should speak to every area of life. One of the best-known verses in Scripture is Proverbs 3:6, which says, [i]n all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your path. There is no footnote after the word all that says well, except for issues that are deemed political in the age in which you live. All simply means all. The Bible speaks to every area of life. We are to acknowledge God in all our ways. This necessarily includes our role as citizens. We should follow Gods leading in how we look at issues of life and how we look at candidates. I am not so naive as to believe that all Christians will reach the same outcome as to how to apply these principles to each issue or each candidate. But I do contend that all genuine believers must accept the universal scope of Scripture and our duty to follow God in every area of our lives. It has been my experience that those pastors who include these so-called political issues in their teaching, as the occasion requires, are also seeing far greater church growth, including a significant number of new conversions to Christianity. The argument that we must be silent on some issues so that people will accept the Gospel is not valid either as a matter of scriptural analysis or in real-world experience. Pastors have a duty to teach their congregations the full counsel of the Word of God. A legal decision is pending that may make that possible without any fear of violating the rules of the IRS for the first time in over 70 years. This is a moment for hope, not naysaying. Home News Barack Obama suggests men need gay friends to learn 'empathy and kindness' Former President Barack Obama suggested during an appearance on his wife's podcast earlier this week that men need gay friends to learn "empathy and kindness" while preparing for potentially fathering a son who identifies as gay or non-binary. Appearing during an episode of "IMO," a podcast hosted by former first lady Michelle Obama and her brother, Craig Robinson, the former president discussed with the two how best to raise boys. At one point during their hour-long discussion, Barack Obama who noted he was raised by a single mother suggested that boys need male figures in their lives other than their fathers to provide perspective, and then immediately pivoted to explain the influence one of his gay professors at Occidental College had on him. 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 "No matter how good the dad is, he can't be everything, and then that boy may need somebody to give the boy some perspective on the dad," Obama said. "One of the most valuable things I learned as as a guy was I had a gay professor in college, at a time when the gay folks still weren't out, who became one of my favorite professors and was a great guy and would call me out when I started saying stuff that was ignorant." Barack Obama says young boys need a gay man in their life for guidance and that having only a father around isnt enough. He believes being around gay men helps boys develop emotional awareness, empathy, and a broader perspective. Obama recalled that one of his most important pic.twitter.com/uq4xfXxpSH Shadow of Ezra (@ShadowofEzra) July 17, 2025 Obama went on to imply that men need gay friends and role models like his professor to learn positive personality traits. "You need that to show empathy and kindness," he said. "And by the way, you need that person in your friend group, so that if you then have a boy who's gay or non-binary or whatever, they have somebody that they can go, 'OK, I'm not alone in this.'" In his 2020 memoir A Promised Land, Obama recounted the influence Lawrence Goldyn, his gay European politics professor at Occidental College, had on him. "Once I got to college and became friends with fellow students and professors who were openly gay, though, I realized the overt discrimination and hate they were subject to, as well as the loneliness and self-doubt that the dominant culture imposed on them," he wrote. "I felt ashamed of my past behavior and learned to do better." During a 2015 interview with Out magazine the same year the outlet declared him their "Ally of the Year" Obama noted he took Goldyn's class during his freshman year at Occidental College. "I was probably 18 years old Lawrence was one of the younger professors and we became good friends," Obama told the outlet. "He went out of his way to advise lesbian, gay, and transgender students at Occidental, and keep in mind, this was 1978. That took a lot of courage, a lot of confidence in who you are and what you stand for." Obama, who lit up the White House in a rainbow upon the U.S. Supreme Court's 2015 decision in Obergefell v. Hodges, noted that he saw Goldyn during a White House pride month reception during his presidency. "I got to recognize Lawrence and thank him for influencing the way I think about so many of these issues," he said. Stories have emerged in recent years suggesting the former president may have homosexual inclinations, such as a 2023 story from the New York Post, which obtained an unreacted 1982 letter Obama wrote to his ex-girlfriend, Alex McNear. In the letter, he claimed to have an "androgynous" mind and admitted to "mak[ing] love to men daily, but in the imagination," according to the outlet. "In regard to homosexuality, I must say that I believe this is an attempt to remove oneself from the present, a refusal perhaps to perpetuate the endless farce of earthly life. You see, I make love to men daily, but in the imagination," a 21-year-old Obama reportedly wrote more than 40 years ago. The former president's appearance on his wife's podcast comes amid speculation that their marriage is experiencing tension, especially given Michelle Obama's unwillingness to accompany her husband to either President Donald Trump's inauguration or former President Jimmy Carter's funeral in January. Last month, Michelle Obama made headlines when she said on her podcast that she was glad she never had a boy because he would have been like her husband. Toward the end of the episode that aired June 18, Obama bristled when radio host and guest Angie Martinez suggested she should have had a son in addition to their two daughters, Sasha and Malia. You shouldve threw [sic] a boy in the mix, Martinez said to Obama, prompting her to respond, Im so glad I didnt have a boy. Because he wouldve been a Barack Obama, she added. Baby Barack it wouldve been amazing! Martinez said, but Obama cut in, Ooh, no, I wouldve felt for him. The two dismissed divorce rumors during another moment in their most recent podcast. JUST IN: Former President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama shut down the rumor that they are getting a divorce. Obama: Somebody will mention to me and I'm like what are you talking about? Michelle: There hasn't been one moment in our marriage where I thought about quitting my pic.twitter.com/45HgXXObyQ Ron Smith (@Ronxyz00) July 16, 2025 Home News Former AME Zion Church president pleads guilty to defrauding California congregations A former bishop and president of The African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church has pleaded guilty to defrauding several congregations of the historically black denomination. Staccato Powell, 65, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to wire fraud, mail fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud as part of a scheme to gain control of church properties in California via forged documents and false statements. Prosecutors say Powell formed an entity known as Western Episcopal District, Inc. in 2016, shortly after becoming bishop of the AME Zion Church's Western Episcopal District. 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 served as the chief executive officer of WED, Inc., while Sheila Quintana was the chief financial officer from 2017 to 2019. Quintana pleaded guilty to fraud charges in April. In 2016, Powell was accused of instructing pastors in the Western Episcopal District to sign deeds granting WED, Inc. title to their church's property. Beginning in 2017, Powell had Quintana and other WED, Inc. officers get loans using the church properties as collateral. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California states that Powell oversaw the creation of documents falsely claiming to be resolutions from churches, which were used to support the loan applications. Congregations impacted by the fraud include First AME Zion Church in Los Angeles, First AME Zion Church in San Jose, Greater Cooper AME Zion Church in Oakland, Kyles Temple in Vallejo and University AME Zion Church of Palo Alto. Authorities allege that Powell also diverted some of the funds for his own personal benefit, buying properties in North Carolina for two of his children and paying off a mortgage debt he owed on a residence located in North Carolina. Powell had agreed to pay between $3 million and $12.4 million in restitution, and to also forfeit any claim, interest or right in the properties of the AME Zion Church, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office. Powell had been released on bond and awaits a sentencing hearing scheduled for Sept. 23 before Senior U.S. District Judge Jeffrey S. White. He faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 for every count. Born in North Carolina in 1956, Powell became a preacher in the AME Zion Church at age 16 after miraculously surviving a serious car accident. He became a pastor by age 18. In 2013, Powell helped to found a revival movement called "new church Believers," which was centered on a desire to return American Christianity to "the old church." In an interview with The Christian Post at the time, Powell believed that churches in the United States "must reconnect with the roots of Christianity or wither as divided branches." "Church as we know has not positively impacted them to alter conditions, change lives and create sustainable communities. Clearly this is not what was envisioned or operative in the first century apostolic era church of Jesus Christ," he said. "New church is not a repudiation of or antithetical to what presently exist. This is not a 'tea party' movement in opposition to the established church [it's] an effort to bring to bear the transformative influence and impact of the Spirit's power and presence in the world." In February 2020, shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic began, Bishop Powell was promoted to the office of president of the AME Zion Church Board of Bishops, succeeding Bishop Michael A. Frencher, Sr. However, Powell was removed as a bishop in 2021 following a church trial centered on allegations that he had mishandled millions of dollars of church funds. In January 2022, Powell and Quintana were both indicted on fraud charges. Powell was arrested in Wake Forest, North Carolina, and appeared in federal court. Quintana was arrested in Vallejo, California, and appeared in a Sacramento court. Home News Israel hits regime targets in Damascus; Hundreds of Israeli Druze cross into Syria to join the fighting Israel sharply escalated its strikes on Syrian regime targets on Wednesday, hitting buildings belonging to the defense ministry, the presidential palace and over 160 other targets since Tuesday night. The Israeli intervention is meant to deter regime-affiliated Islamist groups from continuing their attacks on the Druze community in the southern province of Suwayda, where over 240 people have been reported killed in heavy fighting. Local news site Sweida24 reported that the city, along with nearby villages, came under artillery and mortar fire carried out by government forces on Wednesday. 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 Meanwhile, the Israeli Druze community stepped up its protests, demanding the Israeli government save their brethren in Syria. Following a call by their spiritual leader, Sheikh Muwafaq Tarif, hundreds of Druze broke through IDF barriers and crossed the border into Syria to join the fighting. IDF sources admitted that despite recent reinforcements, the troops were not prepared for the overwhelming numbers of Druze. It is estimated that around 1,000 Israelis crossed the border. Israeli media reported that Afif Abed, a member of the Likud Party, and Hamed Amar, a Knesset member for Yisrael Beitenu, both Druze, crossed into Syria in an attempt to convince the Druze to return to Israel. At the same time, the troops were also busy repelling attempts to cross into Israeli territory and employed tear gas in the process. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to the Israeli Druze community for calm. "The IDF is operating, the Air Force is operating, other forces are operating. We are acting to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the gangs of the regime." "And now I have a single request of you: you are Israeli citizens. Do not cross the border. You are risking your lives; you could be murdered, you could be taken hostage, and you are impeding the efforts of the IDF. Therefore I ask of you: return to your homes and let the IDF take action." While the border was in chaos, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) continued striking Syrian regime troops with drones and fighter jets. "The warnings in Damascus have ended now painful blows will come," Defense Minister Israel Katz asserted. "The IDF will continue to operate forcefully in Suwayda to destroy the forces that attacked the Druze until their complete withdrawal. Our Druze brothers in Israel, you can rely on the Israel Defense Forces to protect your brothers in Syria." The military confirmed striking "tanks, rocket launchers, weapons, and pickup trucks loaded with heavy machine guns on their way to the Suwayda area in southern Syria. Additionally, routes were struck in order block access to the area." In addition, the IDF said it hit "the Syrian regime's military headquarters," from where "Syrian regime commanders direct combat operations and deploy regime forces to the Suwayda area. Additionally, a military target in the area of the Syrian regimes presidential palace in Damascus was struck." Katz then shared a video from Syrian national TV in which the strike on the military headquarters was seen during a live broadcast. Despite reports of an apparent ceasefire between the Syrian government forces and Druze leaders in Suwayda, the IDF announced additional strikes in the late afternoon, citing the continued movement of several armored and armed vehicles equipped with heavy machine guns and combat equipment heading towards the Druze city. The IDF continues to monitor developments and activities against the Druze civilians in southern Syria and, in accordance with the directives of the political echelon, strikes in the area and is prepared for various scenarios, the military said. The U.S. administration is reportedly very concerned about the fighting between Israel and the Syrian regime forces, as it was attempting to mediate a security deal between the government of Ahmad al-Sharaa and Israel. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in Washington that the U.S. is very concerned about the fighting. We want the fighting to stop, Rubio told the reporters. Later, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, Rubio said the fighting between Israel and Syrian forces was due to a misunderstanding. Were on our way towards a real de-escalation, and then hopefully getting back on track to helping Syria build a country and arriving at a situation there in the Middle East [which] is far more stable, Secretary Rubio stated. However, a senior Israeli official cautioned against expecting an agreement with the Syrian government, saying the regime is making serious mistakes. Syria is making serious mistakes. The legitimacy their regime recently received may be distorting their sense of reality, the official stated. They would do well to wake up. This country has been torn apart from within for years, with external help, through endless war and bloodshed. Whats happening now is not helping them get to a better place. Toward the evening, President al-Sharaa said his goverment was "following the regrettable violations that have affected certain areas in the Suwayda district," in his first comments on the fighting. "Actions that fall within the framework of criminal behavior are unacceptable under no circumstances and are not consistent with the principles of the state. We confirm our full commitment to investigate all the events in Suwayda and to prosecute all those proven to be involved," he added. This article was originally published by All Israel News. Home News Joni Eareckson Tada remembers friend John MacArthur as 'prophet for our age' Author and disability advocate Joni Eareckson Tada paid tribute to her longtime friend and pastor, John MacArthur, following news of his death at the age of 86, remembering him as a man who fiercely defended Scripture and shaped generations through his teaching and leadership. John MacArthur has entered heaven and, oh, what a rich welcome he must have received, Tada wrote in a post on social media, accompanied by a photo of her, her husband Ken, MacArthur, and his wife, Patricia. John spent most of his years studying, proclaiming, and fiercely defending the Word of God. And Im just one of millions who benefited from his work in the Kingdom. MacArthur, the influential and often polarizing Bible teacher, pastor and author, died Monday evening, not long after being hospitalized with pneumonia, according to Grace to You, the media ministry he founded. 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 Our hearts are heavy, yet rejoicing, as we share the news that our beloved pastor and teacher John MacArthur has entered into the presence of the Savior, the ministry said. This evening, his faith became sight. In her tribute, Tada reflected on her decades-long friendship with MacArthur and the personal role he played in her life and ministry. Ken and I will miss our friend, she wrote. In 1979, Dr. MacArthur served as a Founding Board member of Joni and Friends, providing wisdom and guidance as we charted the Gospel-distinctives of this new ministry that would quickly have global impact. MacArthur, who pastored Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, for more than 50 years, also officiated the Tadas wedding. John also married Ken and me in 1982 on a sunny July morning at Grace what an honor to hear him happily announce, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Ken Tada! she shared. Tada credited MacArthur and his congregations commitment to ministering to people with disabilities as a foundational influence on her own organizations early work. He faithfully pastored Grace Community Church with its thriving disability ministry what I learned from John and his congregation gave shape to our early programs at Joni and Friends. Born in Los Angeles on June 19, 1939, and distantly related to World War II General Douglas MacArthur, John MacArthur earned degrees from Azusa Pacific University and Biola Universitys Talbot Theological Seminary before becoming pastor-teacher of Grace Community Church in 1969. Under his leadership, Grace Community grew into a megachurch, with thousands attending weekly and participating in ministry programs. He founded The Masters Seminary and The Masters University, served as president of the university until 2018, and authored more than 400 books and study guides. MacArthur was widely known for his uncompromising theological stances, which sometimes drew criticism, and for keeping Grace Community Church open in defiance of government orders during the COVID-19 lockdowns. You dont have to agree with everything he said to know what he stood for, Tada quoted longtime friend Rich Bitterman. He stood for Scripture. For truth spoken like thunder clear, costly, and close. She added, John MacArthur was a prophet for our age. Theologian and author Owen Strachan also reflected on MacArthurs passing, writing, Rest in peace, lion of faith. It is already strange to live in a world without MacArthur's steady convictional presence. MacArthur is survived by Patricia, his wife of more than 60 years, four children, 15 grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. Tada concluded her tribute with a verse from Scripture: Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints Psalm 116:15. Home News Pakistan to launch investigation into harms caused by its blasphemy laws: 'Huge ray of hope' Gov't must form commission within 30 days LAHORE, Pakistan In what attorneys in Pakistan termed a huge ray of hope, a federal high court on Tuesday directed the government to form an inquiry commission within 30 days to investigate blatant abuse of blasphemy laws. Justice Sardar Ejaz Ishaq Khan of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the formation of the body to investigate widespread misuse of the harsh laws, strengthened during the 1980s by military ruler Gen. Ziaul Haq in an apparent bid to win over Islamist groups and safeguard perceptions of Muhammad, the prophet of Islam, and the Quran. Justice Khan issued the order while hearing a case involving multiple blasphemy cases that came with allegations of repeated patterns of abuse. Families of more than 100 victims of false blasphemy cases alleged that officials from the anti-blasphemy unit of the cybercrime section of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), lawyers and others conspired to honey-trap innocent people, including Christians, into sharing content deemed blasphemous, later using it to extort money by threatening legal action. Get Our Latest News for FREE Subscribe to get daily/weekly email with the top stories (plus special offers!) from The Christian Post. Be the first to know. Subscribe They alleged that those who refused to pay were prosecuted under blasphemy laws, exposing them to vigilante violence. Over the years, several individuals accused of blasphemy have been killed extra-judicially by Muslim extremists, according to various research groups. The petition in the Islamabad High Court was first filed in September 2024, and the court held at least 42 hearings before issuing Tuesdays directive to the federal government to form the investigative commission within 30 days. The high court justice said the commission must complete its inquiry within four months, although it could request an extension from the court if necessary. The Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) has documented 701 blasphemy cases between 1947 and 2021, with 1,415 persons accused, 1,308 men and 107 women. At least 89 people were killed and 30 injured in related violence. Among those killed were 72 men and 17 women, it stated. The data showed a sharp rise in cases following the 1986 amendments introduced by Haq that made blasphemy a capital offence. Before those changes, only 11 cases had been reported, with three people killed. The National Commission for Human Rights, in its latest report covering the period from October 2023 to July 2024, raised alarm over a surge in blasphemy charges, allegedly fueled by entrapment through pornographic and blasphemous websites. The investigations findings highlighted a troubling trend: a sharp increase in registration of blasphemy cases, the majority of which were initiated by the FIAs cybercrime unit, frequently in collaboration with a private entity, it stated. The commission linked the rise in cases to the implementation of the Prevention of Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act of 2018, noting that young men were targeted through entrapment tactics involving female operatives with fake identities who lured them into blasphemous activities online, resulting in their subsequent arrests. This pattern, which has escalated significantly over time, calls for a comprehensive review of the roles and accountability of both government and private entities involved in such cases, the report stated. The report also noted that 11 blasphemy cases were reported in 2020, nine in 2021, 64 in 2022, 213 in 2023 and 767 through July 2024. The victims of false blasphemy charges include people from all faiths, but the majority of them are Muslims. The data compiled by the CRSS showed that those accused of blasphemy between 1947-2021 include 947 Muslims and 421 non-Muslims, while the faith of 47 was unknown. Among the non-Muslims accused, 225 were Christians, followed by 174 Ahmadis, 20 Hindus and one Sikh and Buddhist each. In one of the most high-profile cases, Punjab Gov. Salmaan Taseer was assassinated by his own security guard in 2011 after he publicly called for reforming the blasphemy laws. During Tuesdays hearing, the court also expressed concern over the disappearance of a Komal Ismail, alias Imaan, a woman believed to be a central figure in several ongoing blasphemy-related cases. She was allegedly used to honey-trap several people accused of blasphemy. Komal went missing in November, two months after the petition was filed. The court had earlier ordered the blocking of her national identity card and barred her from leaving the country after she failed to appear in court. Her life may be in danger. What action can the [government] agency take in such a situation? the justice asked, expressing concern over her safety. Ray of hope Lawyers representing petitioning families said the Islamabad High Courts verdict gave hope for innocent victims of the blasphemy law. This is a huge ray of hope and it is the first time that the families have felt heard, said attorney Imaan Mazari-Hazar, who represented some of the families of arrested men and women, to reporters after the hearing. Hundreds of youths have been falsely roped into cases of such a sensitive nature that the stigma will last forever even if they are acquitted. Another petitioning lawyer, Hadi Ali Chattha, told the media after the verdict that he hoped the proposed commission would expose the nexus between the FIA and Islamist lawyers behind the surge in blasphemy cases. The lawyers of the blasphemy business group tried their best to subvert the proceedings of the case, but we appreciate the judge for handling this sensitive matter wisely, he said. Chattha said his team had filed a writ petition in the Islamabad High Court based on a report by the Special Branch of the Punjab Police that said a gang based in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi was fabricating blasphemous content and entrapping innocent youths in fake cases for monetary gain. We moved the high court for seeking its direction for formation of a high-powered investigative commission to probe the Special Branch report, he said. Responding to the high courts notice, the federal government, through an additional attorney general on Jan. 31, said that the government was concerned about the reports of the activities of the gang and was ready to form a commission, but it required guidelines from the high court on the way forward. The judge recommended that the commission include a retired judge of the Supreme Court or high court, a retired senior officer of the FIA who understood the issue, and an expert in information technology. Chattha added that a serving judge by law could not become part of the inquiry, as it was not a judicial inquiry. On Feb. 28, the attorney general informed the court that the government had been unable to find suitable members for the commission due to the sensitivity of the issue, he said. Meanwhile, the members of the alleged blasphemy business gang told the court that they were opposed to the formation of the commission because the court had not given them an opportunity to explain their case, Chattha said. The judge told them to record their statements before the commission, but they insisted that the court should hear them. The judge granted their request but ordered that proceedings would be broadcast live on YouTube for information for the general public, he said. Their lawyers are now claiming that they havent been given a chance to present their case, whereas the fact is that all their counsels got sufficient time to argue their case, after which we were told to submit our rebuttals, he said. Now that the court has given its verdict, they are trying to propagate that they were not given an opportunity to speak, which is contrary to the facts. Commenting on the four months given to the commission for investigating the issue, Chattha said he hoped the inquiry would be completed in the stipulated time due to the availability of relevant data. A leaked 2024 report by the Punjab Police into the sudden spike in cases found that a suspicious gang was trapping youth in blasphemy cases and might be motivated by financial gain. The Legal Commission on Blasphemy Pakistan (LCBP) is reportedly the most active of attorney groups prosecuting young men in Pakistan. Sheraz Ahmad Farooqi, one of the groups leaders, told AFP in October that God has chosen them for this noble cause. In recent years, several youths have been convicted and handed death sentences, although no execution has ever been carried out for blasphemy in Pakistan. We will fully support the probe commission and are confident that our voices will finally be listened to, our concerns will be heard, and the truth will come out, a relative of one of the suspects who requested anonymity out of fear of backlash told AFP. Pakistan, whose population is more than 96% Muslim, 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 Christian Daily InternationalMorning Star News Home News West Virginia cant give $5M grant to out-of-state Catholic college: Court West Virginia cannot give a taxpayer-funded $5 million grant to an Ohio-based academic institution affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, a court has ruled. Kanawha Circuit Judge Richard Lindsay ruled against the West Virginia Water Development Authority (WDA) in a lawsuit brought by the American Humanist Association and the American Civil Liberties Union. In a ruling issued from the bench last week, Lindsay concluded that the WDA violated the state constitution when it issued a grant to the College of Saint Joseph the Worker. 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 AHA Legal Director Amitai Heller issued a statement last week celebrating the decision, saying he was encouraged that the court held the line on this unconstitutional appropriation of funds. The separation of church and state is a non-negotiable, and the West Virginia Water Development Authority had no business granting public infrastructure dollars to fund religious education and advocacy, stated Heller. Our members saw this blatant violation of church-state separation happening in their community and in concert with the ACLU of West Virginia, we acted. Last October, the state water authority approved a grant for the Steubenville-based College of Saint Joseph the Worker to help establish a construction and real estate company headquartered in Weirton, as well as a new satellite campus in the Kanawha Valley. In response to the news, the ACLU and the AHA sued the WDA, arguing that the grant violated the separation of church and state provision of the West Virginia Constitution. According to the state constitution, the Legislature shall not prescribe any religious test whatever, or confer any peculiar privileges or advantages on any sect or denomination, or pass any law requiring or authorizing any religious society, or the people of any district within this state, to levy on themselves, or others, any tax for the erection or repair of any house for public worship, or for the support of any church or ministry, but it shall be left free for every person to select his religious instructor, and to make for his support, such private contracts as he shall please. For their part, state officials have defended the decision to provide Economic Enhancement Grant Fund money to the Catholic college, claiming that the purposes were secular in nature. According to an agreement between WDA Executive Director Marie Prezioso and College President Michael Sullivan quoted by The Intelligencer, the proposed project consisted of the acquisition, construction and equipping of multiple education facilities for the in-class and on-site training of the five major construction trades of HVAC, carpentry, masonry, electrical and plumbing (including areas for tools and equipment storage), materials for training, and all necessary appurtenances thereto. Trump Education Cuts, Newsom's Transgender Stance, Lifeway Names Interm President link to download the audio instead. link to download the audio instead. 07:03 07:03 Top headlines for Thursday, July 17, 2025 In this episode, we examine the Trump administration's controversial plans to significantly downsize the Department of Education after receiving a green light from the U.S. Supreme Court. Next, we explore California Governor Gavin Newsom's recent admission that the issue of young children transitioning genders has become a major problem for Democrats, sparking debates on age and consent. Finally, we discuss the recent leadership change in a prominent ministry following the resignation of its former president amidst a scandal involving anonymous slander. 00:12 SCOTUS lets Trump move ahead with cuts to Department of Education 01:04 Newsom says 8 years old too young to transition 01:59 G3 Ministries announces Scott Aniol as new president 02:56 California pastor defiant after ICE arrest at her church 03:46 4 highlights from Trump's Summit of Faith and Business Leader 04:30 Ex-Muslim shares biggest concern about Iran 05:25 Joe Walker named as interim president of Lifeway Abonati-va sa primiti pe email saptamanal lista articolelor adaugate pe parcursul saptamanii. Adresele .ru nu sunt acceptate. Email NEWSLETTER Civil Society Media The cover theme of G&L July is trustee remuneration, and it follows on from a lively panel discussion on the subject at this years Trustee Exchange conference. Sentiment seems to have shifted slightly among some in the sector in favour of making it easier to pay trustees although the Charity Commission and others continue to support the voluntary nature of trusteeship. Our opening article reports views put forward by various panel members and delegates as to whether the stubborn lack of diversity in charity boardrooms could be tackled by a more flexible approach to remuneration, and in a follow-up article G&L editor Tania Mason outlines why she has changed her mind on the subject and now supports a much more permissive approach to paying trustees. In the Charity Commissions regular column, director of policy and communications Paul Latham summarises the recent update to guidance on trustee recruitment, while in Strategy & Operations we explore which diversity, equity and inclusion work to prioritise when budgets are tight. In the first article in Policy & Public Affairs, criminal justice umbrella body Clinks commends David Gaukes Independent Sentencing Review and urges the government not to waste this opportunity to transform the criminal justice system. In the second feature in this section, Quakers boss Paul Parker laments the Labour governments draconian approach to protest and explains how different aspects of the suppression of dissent are connected, and how they affect civil society. In People & Culture, n-compass CEO Joanna Solanki describes how the not-for-profit advocacy organisation came to be included in the UKs Top 100 Medium-Sized Places to Work, and how its workplace culture is central to everything it does. And in Board Matters, we have a summary of responses to a recent survey of the members of the Network of Women Chairs about their principal concerns, while in Core Functions, property expert Jonathan Vanstone-Walker examines the charity real estate landscape five years on from Covid and finds that the rush to permanent remote working may have been a little hasty. We hope you enjoy reading it. Regulars Cover Theme Opinion Law & Guidance Policy & Public Affairs Strategy & Operations People & Culture Core Functions Board matters Governance & Leadership is a bimonthly publication which helps charity leaders and trustees on their journey from good practice to best practice. Written by leading sector experts each issue is packed with news, in-depth analysis and real-life case studies of best practice in charitable endeavour and charity governance plus advice and guidance straight from the regulator. Find more information here and subscribe today! The government has vowed to respect sector organisations right to campaign and engage in peaceful protest in the Civil Society Covenant. Published today , the agreement sets out four principles for a reset relationship between the state and the sector recognition and value, partnership and collaboration, participation and inclusion, transparency and data. The first principle includes a vow from the government to respect the independence and legitimacy of charities to advocate and campaign, including their right to engage in peaceful protest, and to hold the government to account to make better laws, regulation and decisions. It says that the government will not treat civil society organisations which have expressed disagreement with its policies any less favourably by excluding them from policy discussions or funding opportunities. In turn, sector organisations must respect the legitimacy of government to make decisions, the exercise by government of prerogative powers, and its accountability to parliament. New board to implement principles The covenant principles apply to all central UK government departments, local authorities, arms-length agencies and other public bodies including NHS organisations. A cross-sector board called the Joint Civil Society Covenant Council will be formed to set direction and provide strategic oversight for its implementation. Two task and finish groups focusing on commissioning and local level partnerships will be set up, the document states, with plans for more in future. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has also announced it will steer a local covenant partnerships programme to build capacity and understanding, which will include encouraging more cross-sector secondments and delivering new locally-led covenant agreements. HM Treasury will establish a new civil society forum to enable structured dialogue and engagement between its ministers and senior officials and civil society representatives. Meanwhile, the Cabinet Office has reviewed its model grant and service contract templates to ensure they are consistent with the principles of the covenant and agreed to update any guidance as needed shortly. The government has also published a list of progress and warning signs for implementing the Civil Society Covenant. One warning sign listed is: Civil society organisations report self-censorship because they fear negative consequences if they speak out or hold government to account, despite the terms of the covenant. Starmer: A home at the heart of government Launching the covenant in London today, prime minister Keir Starmer said the agreement would give civil society a home at the heart of government. Were not going to shut charities out and then expect you to pick up the bits, he said. Thats what the Tories did year after year after year. Nor am I interested in slogans that sound very good but end up being gimmicks for government to simply hide behind. Closing his speech, Starmer added: We said we would work differently, and we are. We promised we would listen to you, and we have. Those initiatives were announcing today, they came from you, not us. Weve put them into something which works in partnership. We said wed deliver together, and we will to build a society of service bound together by our common values and finding new pride in our country and our communities. Nandy: Civil society must be heard In the covenants foreword, culture secretary Lisa Nandy said: It has been a difficult decade for many civil society organisations who have been asked to do more with less. Less funding, less recognition and less power. Funding has reduced as need has soared and the right to speak up on behalf of those most in need has routinely been challenged. It has cost us time and energy that could have been spent rebuilding our country and changing lives. If we are serious about renewal, civil society must be heard, not just at the margins but at the heart of decision-making. We believe civil society has a powerful voice that must be heard in the rooms where decisions are made and that it is only by working together that we will build a self-confident nation where everybodys contribution is seen and valued, and all people have the chance to live the richer, larger and dignified lives that they deserve. Meanwhile, the Civil Society Advisory Group comprising the leaders of sector bodies including NCVO and ACEVO said in its foreword: Tangible change is needed to implement the covenant, so civil society is valued as an expert strategic partner and independent advocate who can hold government to account and campaign for public benefit without fear of sanction. Whose expertise is sought to set the agenda and develop policy, not just bend to implement it. Whose independence is protected and valued. It will take honesty and humility to build trust, as well as willingness to work in new ways. We must seize this opportunity, because the social, economic and environmental challenges we face cannot be solved by government alone. sign up to receive the free Civil Society daily news bulletin here . For more news, interviews, opinion and analysis about charities and the voluntary sector, Sign up for The Media Today, CJRs daily newsletter. On July 6, a bombshell dropped on the MAGAverse. Axios reported via leaked Department of Justice documents that the government investigation found no mystery in the death by suicide of disgraced society pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and that he kept no client list. An empty bombshell, then, but the news of no news threw President Trumps base into turmoil, because conspiracy theories around a Democratic deep state cover-up of the Epstein files were for years stoked by some of Trumps most prominent deputies. MAGA online influencers, stung by betrayal, led nonstop viral coverage of the fallout on all platforms. Trump was brutally ratioed by his followers on his own social media platform, Truth Social, for suggesting that their obsession with the Epstein files was misplaced. One of his postsWe have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and selfish people are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epsteingenerated more than forty-eight thousand replies, many of them angry or confused. The backlash to Trump fed a secondary market in gleeful commentary from liberal podcasters and Substackers including Jon Stewart and Jim Acosta. MSNBC ran a seven-minute segment on the split in the MAGA base. For a week, every interactive surface was dominated by the Epstein files. The episode is turning into the first existential crisis the Trump administration has faced from its own supporters, whove stuck with him through all the other gaffes, security breaches, legal transgressions, and economic disasters during his first six months back in office. In 2016, Trump famously boasted that he could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldnt lose any voters. He had a pointone of the most remarkable aspects of the MAGA movement has been how ironclad it has proved to external attempts to create division. Until now. Why is this time different? Trump is now confronting the outcome of a media ecosystem he invented, one based on panicky, consensus-squashing conspiracy theories. The role of conspiracy theories, provably untrue assertions, and flagrant lies has been ontological to the development of the MAGA movement. Stop the Steal, QAnon, chemtrails, mind control through vaccination, weather seedingevery event got paired with a narrative that departed from or flatly denied reality. Attention and ratings governed every part of Trumps policy, up to and including hokeypokey tariffs, which are being announced, applied, delayed, and re-implemented, acting as much as market theater for pump-and-dump schemes as economic policy. The seeds of the Epstein obsession were sown by the QAnon conspiracists who believed that Trump was in fact Q, the messiah who would save the world from an evil ring of liberal child abusers. In truth, Epsteins lenient treatment and gilded circle of friends, including Trump, went largely unnoticed by the MAGAsphere while they pursued stories about Washington pizza parlors harboring pedophile rings. Epsteins crimes were uncovered by conventional journalists, notably Julie K. Brown at the Miami Herald; her reporting almost singlehandedly reopened the Epstein investigation and led to his eventual 2018 prosecution. Yet Dan Bongino, a former podcaster and media personality who is now deputy FBI director, built up a MAGA audience with a constant feed of Epstein theories. Bongino is the person perhaps most emblematic of Trumps fracture with his base. The Guardian wrote earlier this week that Bonginos humiliation at being part of the DOJs nothing to see here decision adds to an already fraught time for him; on a recent appearance on Fox News, he confessed tearfully that his public service role has required him to give up everything. Pam Bondi, the MAGA attorney general, is also the target of much online wrath. At the White House in February, Bondi handed out ring binders marked The Epstein Files to a group of MAGA influencers including Jack Posobiec, Liz Wheeler, Rogan OHandley, and Jessica Reed Kraus. Those influencers are now using their combined tens of millions of followers to leverage their own fury at Trump about his abandonment of the Epstein matter. Sign up for CJRs daily email Krauss Instagram account has detailed every twist and turn in the scandal over the past week to her 1.3 million followers. On X, Posobiec posted repeated calls to release the files to his 3.1 million followers. Charlie Kirk, the founder of far-right student activist group Turning Point USA, attended a conference on the Epstein files over the weekend, then, after stating that he was going to trust my friends at the government to do what needs to be done on Monday, reversed course and assured his viewers that he would not, in fact, stop talking about Epstein. Other TikTok and Instagram accounts once loyal to Trump highlighted the Wired exclusive analyzing the doctored video footage of Epsteins cell door during the hours surrounding his death, and called out Fox News for assiduously ignoring the story. When Trump sidelined legacy media organizations after taking office earlier this year, he did so as part of a loyalty test. He banned the Associated Press from briefings for refusing to designate the Gulf of Mexico as the renamed Gulf of America. Meanwhile, he stacked his cabinet with former Fox News hosts and social media personalities. The irony is that the replacement of these difficult journalists in the White House press room with supposedly supine MAGA influencers is now causing the Trump presidency more existential strife in five days than hed encountered in five years of scrutiny from legacy media. The loyalty of the MAGAsphere and its alternative media ecosystem to Trump is being tested by its own ratings. An unreasonable movement, it turns out, cannot easily be reasoned with. A rare trial against Elon Musks car company began this week in Miami where a jury will decide if it is partly to blame for the death of a stargazing university student after a runaway Tesla sent her flying 75 feet through the air and severely injured her boyfriend. Lawyers for the plaintiff argue that Teslas driver-assistance feature called Autopilot should have warned the driver and braked when his Model S sedan blew through flashing red lights, a stop sign and a T-intersection at nearly 70 miles an hour in the April 2019 crash. Tesla lays the blame solely on the driver, who was reaching for a dropped cell phone. The evidence clearly shows that this crash had nothing to do with Teslas Autopilot technology, Tesla said in a statement. Instead, like so many unfortunate accidents since cellphones were invented, this was caused by a distracted driver. Related: Trumps Auto Safety Pick Promises Rapid Self-Driving Deployment The driver, George McGee, was sued separately by the plaintiffs. That case was settled. A judgement against Tesla could be especially damaging as the company works to convince the public its self-driving technology is safe during a planned rollout of hundreds of thousands of Tesla robotaxis on U.S. roads by the end of next year. A jury trial is rare for the company, whose suits over crashes are often dismissed or settled, and this one is rarer yet because a judge recently ruled that the family of the stricken Naibel Benavides Leon can argue for punitive damages. The judge, Beth Bloom of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, issued a partial summary judgement last month, throwing out charges of defective manufacturing and negligent misrepresentation against Tesla. But she also ruled plaintiffs could argue other claims that would make the company liable and ask for punitive damages, which could prove costly. A reasonable jury could find that Tesla acted in reckless disregard of human life for the sake of developing their product and maximizing profit, Bloom said in a filing. Related: Tesla Robotaxi Videos Show Speeding, Driving into Wrong Lane The 2021 lawsuit alleges the driver relied on Autopilot to reduce speed or come to a stop when it detected objects in its way, including a parked Chevrolet Tahoe that Benavides and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo, had gotten out of near Key West, Florida, to look up at the sky. The Tesla rammed the Tahoe at highway speeds, causing it to rotate and slam into Benavides, tossing her into a wooded area and killing her. In legal documents, Tesla denied nearly all of the lawsuits allegations and said it expects that consumers will follow warnings in the vehicle and instructions in the owners manual, as well as comply with driving laws. Tesla warns owners in manuals that its cars cannot drive themselves and they need to be ready to intervene at all times. Plaintiff lawyers argue that Tesla should have a geofenced its Autopilot so it only worked on the big roads it was designed for and drivers couldnt use it on smaller roads such as the rural one where Benavides was killed. They also say data and video evidence shows the Autopilot did detect the Tahoe but then failed to warn the driver as they claim it should have done. Tesla has since improved its driver-assistance and partial self-driving features, but still faces lawsuits and investigations over what critics say is a gap between its exaggerated depictions of how well they work and what they can actually do. Federal auto safety regulators recalled 2.3 million Teslas in 2023 for problems with Autopilot failing to sufficiently alert drivers if they werent paying attention to the road. They then put Tesla under investigation last year for saying it fixed the problem though it was unclear it actually did that. Musk has also continued to make public comments suggesting Teslas Full Self-Driving technology, a more advanced version of Autopilot, allows cars to drive themselves, despite warnings from regulators not to do so because it could lead to overreliance on the systems, crashes and deaths. That technology has been involved in three fatal crashes and is under investigation of its ability to see in low-visibility conditions such as sunlight glare or fog. Tesla is promising a much more robust self-driving technology to power its robotaxis with no one behind the wheel. A test run in Austin, Texas, of the taxis appears to have gone mostly well, though there are scattered problems, such as a case when one cab went down the opposing lane. Former AP auto writer Krisher reported from Detroit. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Cleveland Browns running back Quinshon Judkins runs to the sidelines for a water break during the Browns rookie minicamp in Berea. Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com CLEVELAND, Ohio The Browns have had three players charged with domestic violence since last summer, but its not for lack of educating their players. Rookie running back Quinshon Judkins, their second-round pick out of Ohio State, was the most recent, being arrested Saturday and charged misdemeanor domestic battery against his girlfriend. Deep-fried pepperoni at The Lockview proves that their appetizer game is as strong as their grilled-cheese-and-craft-beer game. Peter Chakerian, Cleveland.com AKRON, Ohio By now youve figured out some Classic CLE Eats & Drinks columns find their way outside of the city. But the way I landed on this weeks classic stretches back to the days when I thought Id abandon writing to be a longshoreman in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Oh, stop. Youve romanticized one of these impossible leave-it-all-behind dreams, too! What does this have to do with pepperoni? Im getting there. At some point in the late 90s, after a stretch of 18-hour days working in mortgage finance by day and writing by night, I decided Id leave Ohio for the Canadian Maritimes. I probably just needed a vacation, but in that moment, this decision felt like a reverie and rebellion. I bought luggage, Dickies work gear, new underwear, boots. Got a passport application at the Post Office. This would be my own Northern Exposure moment, I decided. I would work like mad all week long, then settle into a weekend of (donair/doner) kebab, rappie pie, cold brews and a basket of deep-fried pepperoni all Maritime specialties with eccentric bar locals. Years later, I was still here, covering concerts and arts events. No passport, no ship-out, but my wild Alaskan beard game was strong. That wasnt the biggest shocker. One night in Akron after covering a show, I ended up at The Lockview, a spot that owner John Basone opened in 2007 in the former Lime Spider venue. And what to my wondering eyes should appear on the menu but (wait for it) deep-fried pepperoni. I almost fell off my barstool and dropped my Alaskan Brewing Co. Amber. Legend has it, deep-fried pepperoni was born out of desperation kinda like my Nova Scotia dream. One night in Halifax, sometime in the early 90s, a pub kitchen low on food faced a hungry crowd with few options. Someone tossed thick-cut slices of Brothers-style pepperoni into the deep fryer and inadvertently created Atlantic Canadas best bar snack. With thousands of pounds in daily production, Brothers pepperoni was plentiful enough. The result? Golden, crispy, slightly spicy meat chips that puffed and blistered in the oil crackling with flavor and begging for a cold pint (or three). While pepperoni itself is surely Italian-American, the deep-fried version is pure Maritime ingenuity. In Halifax, it became a signature dish of the bar scene especially in places where beer flows freely and kitchens need snacks that can keep up. Served with honey mustard or ranch, it was cheap, fast and zesty-crispy almost impossible to stop eating. Word spread fast through Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, and soon nearly every pub had it on the menu or at least their secret one. Today, the tradition lives on, even outside Canada though I havent seen it much on menus around these parts. That alone makes Lockview a must-do if youre nearby. You get these crisped-right, zesty and satisfying chips with a side of marinara, but theyll hook you up with any sauce if you ask. Theyre a perfect match for a beer... and deserve a place in the Bar Food Hall of Fame. As for me? That longshoreman dream sailed right by, but that moment in Akron landed like The Wizard of Oz quote from Judy Garlands Dorothy: If I ever go looking for my hearts desire again, I wont look any further than my own backyard; because if it isnt there, I never really lost it to begin with. The Lockview, 207 S. Main St., Akron. thelockview.com. CLEVELAND, Ohio A Lorain husband and wife are accused of carrying out a scheme in which they helped bilk Medicare out of $1.8 million. Mark and Denice Walker owned several companies they used to get fake doctors orders and convince people they needed medically unnecessary braces, according to a federal indictment unsealed last week. Both pleaded not guilty Thursday in federal court in Cleveland to 16 counts, including conspiring to commit healthcare fraud and wire fraud. U.S. District Magistrate Judge Reuben Sheperd ordered they remain free on a $20,000 unsecured bond while the case is pending. Denice Walkers attorney, Gregory Robey, said he would investigate the case fully and prepare a vigorous defense. Mark Walkers attorney, Bret Jordan, did not respond to messages seeking comment. The Walkers owned Ohio: Patient Providers, Nationwide Medical Facilities and Nationwide Medical Supplies, according to the indictment. They worked with other similar companies across the country from March 2016 to May 2021 to get lists of Medicare-eligible patients and target them. Others cold-called people to see if they wanted braces for knees, backs, shoulders and wrists, among other products, according to the indictment. Some generated fake doctors orders for medically unnecessary items often using a doctors prescribing authority without their knowledge or approval, the indictment said. Other companies also paid kickbacks to doctors who signed off on the orders. Once that happened, they would send the orders to Mark Walker, the indictment says. Walker then sold the doctors orders to companies that billed Medicare, according to the indictment. Denice Walker received about $126,000 in kickbacks from the other companies involved in the scheme, the filing says. The Walkers also bought signed doctors orders for medically unnecessary braces, then directly billed Medicare, according to the indictment. They paid about $494,000 in kickbacks to other companies they worked with and billed Medicare for $3.7 million worth of unnecessary equipment, prosecutors said. Medicare paid out $1.8 million worth of the claims, the indictment said. The Walkers used the money for themselves and to try and cover up the scheme, prosecutors said. President Donald Trump speaks during a ceremony to sign the "Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act," in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP WASHINGTON, D. C. - Flanked by parents holding photos of loved ones who died from drug overdoses, President Donald Trump signed legislation Wednesday that will boost penalties for fentanyl trafficking. The Halt All Lethal Trafficking (HALT) of Fentanyl Act co-authored by Bowling Green Republican Rep. Bob Latta permanently classifies fentanyl-related substances as Schedule I drugs under the Controlled Substances Act. Before signing the bill, Trump described it as another defeat for the savage drug smugglers and criminals and the cartels. Its a big deal, as they will tell you, meaning, anyone caught trafficking these illicit poisons will be punished with a mandatory, 10-year minimum sentence in prison, Trump said. Well be getting the drug dealers, pushers and peddlers off our street, and we will not rest until we have ended the drug overdose epidemic. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past five years, more than 324,000 fentanyl-related deaths have been recorded in the United States. Several parents whose children were killed by fentanyl spoke in favor of the legislation before Trump signed it. Michigans Greg Swan said he felt his life was gutted when his son, Drew, died from an overdose. Theres despair and theres hopelessness, but weve been able to find some repose in going out and advocating, said Swan. In a speech on the U.S. House of Representatives floor, Latta said fentanyl poisoning is the top cause of death in the United States among adults aged 18 to 49, exceeding car crashes, cancer and heart disease. In 2023, Ohio saw 4,452 unintentional drug overdoses, according to a state report issued in October. About 78% of those involved fentanyl or its analogs. Cartels are literally killing Americans for 10 cents a pill, Latta said on the House of Representatives floor. This is about victims getting justice. Latta and other supporters of the bill stressed the permanent designation wouldnt prevent medical researchers from studying medical uses for the roughly 4,800 fentanyl analogs that exist, and wouldnt stop medical providers from using it to treat patients. Latta attended the signing ceremony in the East Room of the White House along with GOP U.S. Reps. Mike Carey of Columbus, Troy Balderson of Zanesville, and Michael Rulli of Salem. Far too many Ohio families have grieved the loss of a loved one to fentanyl-related overdoses, said a statement from U.S. Sen. Jon Husted of the Columbus area. With the HALT Fentanyl Act now law, our law enforcement heroes can crack down on criminal drug cartels, get this drug off our streets and prevent more families from experiencing these unimaginable tragedies. Stocks @ Night is a daily newsletter delivered after hours, giving you a first look at tomorrow and last look at today. Sign up for free to receive it directly in your inbox. Here's what CNBC TV's producers were watching during Wednesday's volatile trading, and what's on the radar for the next session. A Coke, a smile, a president and a possible controversy President Donald Trump wants Coca-Cola to start using cane sugar in its beverages. Coke produced in the U.S. market usually uses corn syrup as a sweetener. I think the actual formula is a secret, right? On Wednesday evening, the president wrote on Truth Social : "This will be a very good move by themYou'll see. It's just better!" The company reportedly said, "More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon." The stock is flat after hours. Coca-Cola is down 7% from the April 22 high. Year to date, the stock is up 11%. KO YTD mountain Coca-Cola in 2025 PepsiCo The beverage and snacking company will report on Thursday morning. PepsiCo shares are down 3% in three months. The stock is down about 11% year to date the exact opposite of Coke. GE Aerospace The industrial giant is slated to report quarterly earnings Thursday. The results will be featured on " Squawk Box " with Becky Quick, Andrew Ross Sorkin and Joe Kernen. Coverage starts at 6 a.m. ET. GE Aerospace has gained about 46% over the past three months. The stock hit a new high Wednesday. It is up 6% in a week. CEO Larry Culp will be on "Squawk Box" at 6:45 a.m. GE 3M mountain GE Aerospace in the past three months United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby will also be on "Squawk Box" with airline reporter Phil LeBeau. The company reported on Wednesday afternoon. United Airlines beat expectations on earnings per share, but fell slightly short on revenue. Revenue rose 1.7% from the year-ago period. Domestic passenger revenue per seat mile was down 7% year over year. The stock is down slightly after hours but still up about 12% in a month. Netflix The streaming giant will report on Thursday after the bell. Netflix is 7% from the June 30 high. Shares have gained 30% over the past three months. NFLX 3M mountain Netflix over the past three months Homebuilder sentiment Numbers come out at 10 a.m. CNBC's Diana Olick will have them live. The SPDR S & P Homebuilders ETF (XHB) is down 20% since the November high. Every stock in the sector is down this week except for Johnson Controls . In July, TopBuild is the best performer in the sector: up about 11%. It's followed by Builders FirstSource and Dream Finders , both up around 7%. Advanced Drainage , Home Depot and Lowe's are at the bottom of the pile. Two big follows Thursday MP Materials : We'll keep watching this stock after it fell more than 4% in after-hours trading. Apple signed a deal with the rare earths miner this week. The stock has gained about 95% over the past five trading days. The Defense Department agreed to buy an equity stake in the company last week. Sarepta Therapeutics : The biotech is up more than 30% after hours. It is cutting more than a third of its workforce and also will include a black-box warning for acute liver injury and acute liver failure on its Elevidys drug label. MP 5D mountain MP Materials in the past five trading days Pizza, burgers and the quote of the day Jim Cramer was asked about Papa John's on "Mad Money" Wednesday night. He said, "I'm all about fitness and fittin' this pizza into my mouth." But he's not a buyer of the stock, saying he needs more time to see Papa John's executive team in action. The stock is off 27% from the November high. Shares are down about 10% in July. Cramer also weighed on Wendy's . He said he "likes the burgers but not the stock." Shares are off 50% from the November high. On Cheesecake Factory , Cramer said to wait a month and call back. The stock is down about 3% in a week, and it's down 5.5% from the early July high. Asia-Pacific markets mostly rose Thursday as investors assessed the fall in Japan's exports for the second consecutive month, as well as U.S. President Donald Trump's denial of his intent to fire Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman. The U.S. President on Wednesday denied the possibility of such a move, hours after he told a room full of Republican lawmakers that he would fire Powell. "We're not planning on doing it," he said at a meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House. "I don't rule out anything," he added, "but I think it's highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud." Trump also reiterated at the same meeting that a 25% tariff would apply to Japanese imports, saying he does not expect to reach a broader deal with the country. Here are today's highlights and a live snapshot of how markets are faring: From cruise ships to telecommunications, European companies are finding ways to increasingly pivot to military contracts as they seek to cash in on a defense boom that's sweeping the continent. Europe's defense sector has exploded in value this year, with the industry's publicly listed companies riding a wave of bullish sentiment that has seen some firms' valuations more than double . The regional Stoxx Aerospace and Defense index has gained more than 50% since the beginning of the year, amid a broad push from the European Union , the U.K. , Germany and the NATO military alliance to drastically ramp up defense spending. On Wednesday, the European Commission unveiled a proposal for a 2 trillion euro budget that would include a significant bump in funding for defense. It comes as part of what officials have labelled Europe's "era of rearmament," which has already seen the bloc unveil plans to mobilize as much as 800 billion euros ($928 billion) to help member states hike spending on national security. With bigger government budgets expected to bolster regional security firms' bottom lines, some regional companies are finding ways to pivot their resources and capitalize on surging European demand for defense solutions. Among them is telco giant Orange . The French company's enterprise arm, Orange Business, has just launched a new division dedicated to defense and homeland security. Its specialized Defense and Security Division (DD & S) will work in various areas including the hybridization of civilian and military networks, hosting of sensitive data, emergency communication systems, and cybersecurity. Heading up the new defense division is Nassima Auvray, who has a background in defense procurement and armament engineering, and who has spent a two-year stint working in the French Defense Ministry. "We have a historically established activity in the sector, but until now it was fragmented across multiple entities," she said of Orange Business. "The first goal of this new division is to bring together several hundred experts from technologies like digital integration, connectivity, AI [and] sovereign cloud hosting." Asked if the firm was expecting to benefit from increasing defense budgets among NATO and EU member states, Auvray told CNBC that, "Of course, this is one of our ambitions." "The goal is to see how we can position ourselves in this market, considering that we have a specific positioning with infrastructures all over the world, [predominantly in] Europe," she added. "The defense and security sector needs more and more civil technologies to keep pace with rapid development in cloud computing, AI, cyber security, quantum, and so on we expect to leverage [all our capabilities] in order to position ourselves in this sector, and not only in France, but also in other countries and customers like NATO." Elsewhere, Swedish autonomous vehicle developer Einride is also looking to pivot its technologies in a bid to make waves in the defense space. The company's self-driving electric trucks designed with no driver cabins are approved for use on public roads in Sweden and the U.S., with the vehicles using advanced AI to safely navigate their way along their routes. Einride recently branched into new industries through the launch of new software that can help human drivers mitigate risk in hazardous environments. "This new offering is being leveraged for initial contracted projects in the defense sector to meet Europe's recently growing demand for military technology, prioritizing safety and risk reduction," an Einride spokesperson told CNBC. The company said its contracts are subject to confidentiality clauses, so it could not share specific details on how the tech was being applied in a military sense. "As we continue to grow our electric freight operations, both manual and autonomous, with existing as well as new clients, we are however convinced that our autonomous capabilities and our experience from the freight sector can be leveraged to positively contribute to new sectors, including the evolving needs of the defense sector," the spokesperson added. Also expanding its presence in the defense space is Italian cruise ship and mega-yacht builder Fincantieri . The company already had an established relationship with various military customers, but at the end of last month announced it had won a 700-million-euro contract to construct two multipurpose combat ships for the Italian Navy's fleet. The build will be carried out in partnership with Italian defense giant Leonardo . In an interview with CNBC's "Squawk Box Europe," earlier this month, Fincantieri CEO Pierroberto Folgiero said the company's defense arm was expected to become an increasingly more prominent part of Fincantieri's overall business. Asked if NATO's newly agreed defense spend target of 5% of gross domestic product would ramp up momentum at the company, Folgiero said, "Absolutely, yes." "We continue to experience increasing number of [defense] investing programs in different parts of Europe, but also the international level," he told CNBC. "This is a direct consequence of this new background of the market." Folgiero said Fincantieri was poised to address rising global demand for defense solutions "in a more and more focused way." "We are experiencing a distributed increase in demand for naval ships," he added. "This is a matter of fact, the world is asking for additional defense assets, and at the same time, is also increasing the defense industrial base." Pat O'Connor, CEO of Dublin-based VRAI Simulation a company that builds virtual reality training platforms for those working in high-risk environments, including in the aerospace and defense sectors told CNBC that his firm intends to capture rising regional demand for military solutions. "Ireland has an opportunity to become a leader in dual use technology, and VRAI intends to be one of the leaders in that space," he said. Ireland is not a member of NATO, but is part of the EU although it has the smallest defense budget among bloc members, as a percentage of its GDP. But O'Connor argued that this could work to the advantage of the country and its companies. "Ireland's economy essentially skipped the industrial era, going straight from a broadly agrarian based economy, to the digital one we have today," he said in an email. "Ireland's historical under investment in defence, ironically, presents us with an opportunity to do the same in terms of defence capability." Ireland has become something of a tech hub in Europe, with major heavyweights including Amazon, Apple, Fracebook and Microsoft setting up operations in the country . O'Connor told CNBC he believed Ireland was now well positioned to "skip the industrial age of legacy [defense] systems provided by a small number of nations" and become a regional leader in technology-driven capabilities, thanks to its "deep pool of tech talent and capital." Investment opportunity It isn't just companies taking note of opportunities in the defense space institutional investors are also pivoting in a bid to cash in on the promised budget hikes. Last month, Deutsche Bank CEO Christian Sewing told CNBC that the German lender was ramping up its allocation to the sector after a period of "under investing" in European defense. Meanwhile, Rohit Sipahimalani, chief investment officer at Singapore's state investment fund Temasek, said last week that his team was looking to pour capital into European defense. "Defense is clearly an area where there's going to be a lot of capital spent, and it's an area we are looking to see what opportunities there are," he told CNBC in an interview. A rendering shows a planned high-speed rail train as it enters a station. The rendering was displayed during an informational open house by the California High-Speed Rail Authority in downtown Fresno, California, on May 1, 2024. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has formally terminated $4 billion in federal funding for the California High-Speed Rail Authority, weeks after putting the CHSRA's bullet train project on notice. In a termination letter to the authority's CEO, Ian Choudri, dated Wednesday, Federal Railroad Administration acting Administrator Drew Feeley wrote that the CHSRA "breached the commitments" it made in its original agreements, specifically by displaying an "inability to complete" the goals it set out to reach. "After over a decade of failures, CHSRA's mismanagement and incompetence has proven it cannot build its train to nowhere on time or on budget," Duffy said in a statement. "It's time for this boondoggle to die." The railroad authority did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In a social media post, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will be "exploring all options to fight this illegal action." President Donald Trump praised his administration's work in terminating the project in a Truth Social post Wednesday night, calling Newsom "incompetent." "The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will," Trump wrote. "This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED." The high-speed rail efforts began in 2009 with the goal of building a train that could travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco in under three hours. Newsom trimmed that vision a decade later, setting out to connect just a 170-mile stretch of land between Merced and Bakersfield. The current iteration of the project was projected to cost around $22 billion, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, with a projected end date of 2033. A June report produced by the Trump administration concluded that the project had "no viable path" to completion, and alleged breaches of its federal contracts, including overdue deadlines and funding gaps. The railroad system told CNBC at the time that most of the project's funding is provided by the state, not the federal government. Maurene Comey, assistant U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York, at a news conference announcing the upcoming arraignment of Jeffrey Epstein, who faces charges of sex trafficking of minors and conspiracy to commit sex trafficking of minors, in New York, July 8, 2019. The Jeffrey Epstein prosecutor who was abruptly fired by the Justice Department as President Donald Trump comes under pressure to release files on Epstein suggested Thursday that she was being targeted by a "tyrant." "If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain," the prosecutor, Maurene Comey, wrote in a farewell note to staff at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office. "Do not let that happen." "Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns in the heart of this place," she wrote in the note. "A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims." Europe's largest private equity EQT said it had divested 13 billion euros' ($15.05 billion) worth of investments in the first half of the year three times as much as in the same period of last year. The Sweden listed fund said it sold down stakes in Swiss dermatological products maker Galderma and exited a position through the IPO of mortgage provider Enity on the Stockholm exchange. Headwinds from geopolitical tension, volatility in public markets and uncertain macroeconomic indicators had led to a steep drop in exits for PE firms worldwide in 2024 and the early part of this year. Pitchbook data for the first three months of 2025 showed exit values in Europe dropped 19% quarter-on-quarter, as exit count fell 25.2%. "Following a difficult start to the year, global markets have regained strength yet the outlook remains uncertain. Against this backdrop, EQT continues to deliver across all fronts: performance, exits and fundraising," said EQT's CEO Per Franzen. "Year-to-date, we announced realizations of 13 billion more than triple the volume from a year earlier." The PE firm also said management fees rose by 10% with carried interest and investment rising more than threefold for the first half of this year to 191 million euros, compared to the 41 million euros recorded for the same period last year. Earnings per share are up 23% to 0.293 euros. The stock is up 11% year-to-date. Ganesh Rao A woman walks in front of a smoke shop on June 23, 2022 in New York. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has authorized the sale of Juul's e-cigarettes and refill cartridges in tobacco and menthol flavors, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The decision follows wider expectations in the industry that the Trump administration would ease regulatory hurdles for launching new vapes and other smoking alternatives. Some companies have seen FDA applications for new nicotine products languish for years or, like Juul, faced rejections that were challenged in court. The FDA in 2022 had banned Juul's four varieties of tobacco and menthol-flavored pods and the e-cigarette device after it concluded that the company failed to show that sale of these products would be appropriate for public health. The ban was stayed a month later after an appeal by the company. The FDA has been criticized by companies and some lawmakers for slow product authorizations and for failing to address the widespread trade in unauthorized products. The agency has said it needs more resources to tackle these challenges. The FDA did not respond to a Reuters request for comment. The Wall Street Journal first reported the approval. Every weekday the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer holds a "Morning Meeting" livestream at 10:20 a.m. ET. Here's a recap of Thursday's key moments. 1. The stock market is higher Thursday on the back of some encouraging economic data. It comes one day after Wednesday's volatile session, which was sparked by reports that President Donald Trump was "soon" going to fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, though Trump quickly denied those reports. "The markets are doing well in part, I think, because Powell got that reprieve, but also because we got some retail sales that are very good," Jim Cramer said. U.S. Census Bureau data showed improved retail sales since May. June retail sales came in better than expected with sales up 0.6% month over month, well above estimates. Meanwhile, portfolio name Abbott Laboratories released earnings that Jim called "very disappointing." Jim will be speaking with Abbott CEO Robert Ford on "Mad Money" Thursday evening. 2. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company reported better-than-expected third-quarter earnings . The chipmaking giant raised its 2025 sales outlook to 30% growth, up from previous guidance of mid-20%. The growth is largely driven by strength in AI trade as the company produces advanced processors for clients like Club name Nvidia , shares of which added more than 1% Thursday. Nvidia was recently reapproved to export chips to China and hit a $4 trillion market cap. With shares hitting a fresh all-time high intraday Thursday of $174.16 apiece, Jim said, "It's going up to $200." The Club is bullish on companies making big moves in AI, which is why we jumped on an opportunity to initiate a position in Cisco while the market is no longer overbought. At the same time, we're not forgetting our discipline when stocks have had big moves. Accordingly, we'd be looking to trim Eaton , one of our other AI data center plays, if not for our trading restrictions. We trimmed GE Vernova earlier Thursday. 3. Starbucks was downgraded to an underperform sell rating from hold at Jeffries. Analysts believe the stock has surpassed reasonable expectations. Jeffries analysts cite credit and debit card data, foot traffic, and app data as reasons why there is downside to consensus U.S. same-store sales estimates over the next two quarters. "If it [the stock] goes to the $80's, buy more, "Jim said. The analysts also think the sale of Starbucks' China stake is baked in and believe a realistic valuation is in the range of $2 billion to 2.5 billion, lower some estimates that have gone up to as much as $10 billion. "It's not going to hit a $76 dollar [price] target, "Jim added, referencing where Jefferies has its target. Starbucks is set to report its latest quarterly numbers July 29. 4. Stocks covered in Thursday's rapid fire at the end of the video were: GE Aerospace, PepsiCo , United Airlines , Union Pacific , and Elevance . (Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust is long ABT, ETN NVDA, SBUX, TSM. See here for a full list of the stocks.) As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable trust's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTING CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY , TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER . NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS, OR IS CREATED, BY VIRTUE OF YOUR RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE INVESTING CLUB. NO SPECIFIC OUTCOME OR PROFIT IS GUARANTEED. Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. (ADM) signage displayed on the side of a grain storage bin at an ADM grain elevator in Niantic, Illinois. ADM shares were down close to 1%. But the stock tumbled as much as 6% in the premarket on the comments. Global ingredients provider Ingredion shares were 0.6% lower, but that stock fell as much as 7% before the market's open. "This will be a very good move by them You'll see. It's just better!" Trump also wrote. "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola," the president wrote in a Truth Social post published Wednesday. Shares of high fructose corn syrup producer Archer-Daniels-Midland fell on Thursday after President Donald Trump announced that he had persuaded Coca-Cola to use real cane sugar in its drinks in the U.S. The move comes as ADM's stock has seen gains over the past few months, having risen about 12% over the last three. It's jumped 6% in 2025. When asked about Trump's announcement, Coca-Cola did not explicitly agree to the change. "We appreciate President Trump's enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand," the company said in a statement. "More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon." Coca-Cola shares rose almost 2% on Thursday. That put its year-to-date climb at more than 13%, outperforming the broader market. Meanwhile, the Corn Refiners Association, an industry trade group, issued a statement warning about the potential job losses that could follow such a switch. "Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesn't make sense," John Bode, the group's president and CEO, said. "President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit. Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit." The Trump administration has previously called on food companies to reformulate products. Earlier this year, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told executives that he wants "the worst ingredients" out of food. "Food and beverage is super important, and it's normal that governments pay attention to what people eat and drink," PepsiCo CEO Ramon Laguarta said Thursday on CNBC's "Squawk on the Street." He noted 60% of the company's U.S. beverages don't have corn syrup and instead either have sugar or no sugar. The Coca-Cola rival plans to remove artificial ingredients from its Lays and Tostitos brands by the end of the year, Laguarta said. "Sugar is more expensive in the U.S. than in many parts of the world, so I think there is a conversation with the government probably on how do we make sugar more affordable in the U.S., how do we have a farming strategy probably that reduces the cost of sugar and that will facilitate a lot of the transition for us [and] for the whole industry," the CEO continued. "We have choices for the consumer, which, at the end, that's what we as a responsible company need to do in the marketplace." Raw sugar futures popped on the heels of Trump's announcement. New Isuzu Motors Ltd. trucks bound for shipment at a port in Yokohama, Japan, on Sunday, July 13, 2025. Japan's exports in June contracted 0.5% year over year, extending the 1.7% drop seen in May as deliveries continued to decline for the second straight month. The decrease in exports was a reversal of the 0.5% rise expected by economists polled by Reuters, and comes amid a lack of a breakthrough in trade talks with the U.S. Exports to China, Japan's largest trading partner, were down 4.7%, while shipments to the U.S. declined by 11.4% year over year, deepening from the 11% fall in May. The data comes as Japan now faces a 25% "reciprocal tariff" from the U.S. that will take effect on August 1, one percentage point higher than the 24% announced on "Liberation Day." Earlier on Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump reiterated that a 25% tariff would apply to Japanese imports, saying he does not expect to reach a broader deal with the country. Marcel Thieliant, head of Asia-Pacific at Capital Economics, noted that the 11.4% decline in exports to the U.S. was the largest since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Exports including services made up almost 22% of Japan's GDP in 2023, according to the latest data from the World Bank. Since April 3, Japanese automobiles imported into the U.S. have also faced a 25% tariff. Auto exports to the U.S. are a cornerstone of Japan's economy, making up 28.3% of all shipments in 2024, according to customs data. However, data from the trade ministry showed that exports of automobiles, which include cars, buses and trucks, to the U.S. fell 26.7% in June, extending from May's 24.7% plunge. Thieliant said that carmakers seem to be doubling down on price cuts to retain market share, pointing out that while car export volumes to the U.S. rose by 4.6% year over year, car export values slumped by 25.3% year-on-year. "Some of that simply reflects the strengthening of the yen as U.S.-bound exports are typically invoiced in dollars. But most of it is due to price cuts, with carmakers seemingly absorbing nearly all of the 25% U.S. tariff imposed by Trump in April in their margins," he highlighted. Deutsche Bank has more than tripled its stock price target for MP Materials , after the rare-earths miner secured a strategic investment from the Defense Department and a major contract with Apple . Deutsche now sees MP Materials shares rising to $67 compared with $20 previously. The new target implies 15% upside from Wednesday's close of $58.22 per share. The Pentagon is providing MP with a guaranteed price floor that will help "transform MP from a commodity producer vulnerable to Chinese pricing dominance to a strategic partner," Deutsche analyst Corinne Blanchard told clients in a Wednesday note. And the Defense Department is also now MP's largest shareholder, which "sends a powerful signal" by demonstrating "the US government's strategic commitment to developing a secure domestic rare earth and magnet supply chain," Blanchard said. The Pentagon investment and Apple's $500 million deal to buy rare earth magnets from MP "significantly de-risk the company's operations," the analyst said. But Deutsche is maintaining its hold rating on MP as "the stock has now priced in the catalyst, and other potential catalysts are on the medium-term," Blanchard said. Future catalysts would likely include more offtake agreements for magnets and production capacity expansions, she said. MP Materials has gained more than 270% this year and more than 85% since the Defense Department investment was announced on July 10. WASHINGTON One of the three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran struck by the United States last month was mostly destroyed, setting work there back significantly. But the two others were not as badly damaged and may have been degraded only to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume in the next several months if Iran wants it to, according to a recent U.S. assessment of the destruction caused by the military operation, five current and former U.S. officials familiar with the assessment told NBC News. The assessment, part of the Trump administration's ongoing efforts to determine the status of Iran's nuclear program since the facilities were struck, was briefed to some U.S. lawmakers, Defense Department officials and allied countries in recent days, four of those people said. NBC News has also learned that U.S. Central Command had developed a much more comprehensive plan to strike Iran that would have involved hitting three additional sites in an operation that would have stretched for several weeks instead of a single night, according to a current U.S. official and two former U.S. officials. President Donald Trump was briefed on that plan, but it was rejected because it was at odds with his foreign policy instincts to extract the United States from conflicts abroad, not dig deeper into them, as well as the possibility of a high number of casualties on both sides, one of the current officials and one of the former officials said. "We were willing to go all the way in our options, but the president did not want to," one of the sources with knowledge of the plan said. In a speech in the hours after they took place, Trump called the strikes he directed "a spectacular military success" and said, "Iran's key enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated." The reality as gleaned through intelligence so far appears to be more nuanced. And if the early findings about the damage inflicted to Iran's nuclear program hold up as more intelligence comes in, the United States could find itself back in a conflict there. There have been discussions within both the American and Israeli governments about whether additional strikes on the two less-damaged facilities could be necessary if Iran does not soon agree to restart negotiations with the Trump administration on a nuclear deal or if there are signs Iran is trying to rebuild at those locations, one of the current officials and one of the former officials said. Iran has long said its nuclear program is purely for peaceful, civilian purposes. The recent assessment is a snapshot of the damage U.S. strikes inflicted amid an intelligence-gathering process that administration officials have said is expected to continue for months. Assessments of Iran's nuclear program after the U.S. strikes are expected to change over time, and according to two of the current officials, as the process progresses, the findings suggest more damage than previous assessments revealed. That assessment remains for now the current thinking on the impact of the strikes, officials said. "As the President has said and experts have verified, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran's nuclear capabilities," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told NBC News in a statement. "America and the world are safer, thanks to his decisive action." In a statement of his own, chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said: "The credibility of the Fake News Media is similar to that of the current state of the Iranian nuclear facilities: destroyed, in the dirt, and will take years to recover. President Trump was clear and the American people understand: Iran's nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated. There is no doubt about that." He added, "Operation Midnight Hammer was a significant blow to Iran's nuclear capabilities thanks to the decisive action of President Trump and the bravery of every man and woman in uniform who supported this mission." watch now Zohran Mamdani's primary win in New York City's mayoral race and proposal to raise taxes on millionaires have touched off fears of a new wave of wealth flight from the city. Yet so far, there is little evidence of a slowdown in high-end real estate or real wealth losses in New York. Florida real estate brokers say they've seen a surge in inquiries from the New York wealthy looking to move to Miami or Palm Beach. Business owners are threatening to leave the city or close. And New York developers, caught in the crosshairs of Mamdani's rent control platform, have banded together to fund Mamdani's opponents in the November general election. At the center of the economic concern is Mamdani's so-called "millionaire tax." He's proposed an additional 2% tax on New Yorkers earning more than $1 million a year. Added to the city's current top rate of 3.876%, the tax would bring the combined New York City and state tax to 16.776%, by far the highest in the country. The combined federal, state and city rate would be 53.776%. And New York's high earners won't have to go to Florida to avoid the tax. They can simply move to neighboring Long Island or Westchester County or even New Jersey. Unlike New York state, New York City can't tax people who work in the city but have their primary residence elsewhere. "New York City can only tax its own residents," said Jared Walczak, vice president of state projects at the Tax Foundation. "A high earner doesn't need to give up the convenience of the city, they just need to move outside the five boroughs. Migration across city lines is the easiest." Zohran Mamdani gestures as he speaks during a watch party for his primary election, which includes his bid to become the Democratic candidate for New York City mayor in the upcoming November 2025 election, in New York City, U.S., June 25, 2025. David Delgado | Reuters Importantly, Mamdani wouldn't be able to raise income taxes. The city's income tax rates are set by Albany, where Gov. Kathy Hochul has said she will block any tax hike. "I don't want to lose any more people to Palm Beach," Hochul told the New York Post. Critics also fear Mamdani's policies toward the police and public safety could make the city even more dangerous, becoming the final straw for many business owners and top earners who were already considering leaving. The top 1% of New Yorkers pay over 40% of the income taxes, so losing even a small number of high earners would set off a downward spiral of lower revenue and lower services and more out-migration. Get Inside Wealth directly to your inbox The Inside Wealth newsletter by Robert Frank is your weekly guide to high-net-worth investors and the industries that serve them. Subscribe here to get access today. New York state had a net loss of $14 billion in net adjusted income due to taxpayers leaving between 2021 and 2022, according to the Tax Foundation and IRS data. The city's revenue from personal income taxes declined between 2022 and 2024, from $16.7 billion in 2022 to $14 billion last year although they're still above the pre-Covid levels of $13.4 billion in 2019, according to data from the New York City comptroller. At the same time, however, there are signs that New York's powerful wealth machine is constantly replenishing the ranks of millionaires and billionaires, more than making up for the rich who move out. The number of millionaires in New York City has more than doubled over the past decade despite the Covid losses to over 2.4 million, according to Altrata. There are now over 33,000 New Yorkers worth $30 million or more, nearly double that of Miami, according to Altrata. Whether it's measuring millionaires, multi-millionaires or billionaires, New York City has maintained its dominance as the richest wealth hub in the world. Check out the companies making the biggest moves midday: Steven Madden The fashion footwear company jumped more than 6% after Citi upgraded the stock to buy from neutral. The Wall Street firm said the market is underappreciating the acquisition of UK-based Kurt Geiger, while a favorable shift towards dress shoes and away from sneakers should benefit its core business. Lucid Group Shares of the electric vehicle maker surged 36%. That rally came after a press release Thursday morning showed at least 20,000 Lucid vehicles will be deployed over the next six years using Nuro Driver technology through Uber's ride-sharing platform. Elevance Health Shares stumbled 12% after the health insurance provider posted second-quarter earnings of $8.84 per share, while analysts polled by LSEG had expected $8.95 per share. However, the company's $49.42 billion revenue exceeded expectations of $48.23 billion. Monarch Casino & Resort The gaming stock surged 20% after Monarch reported that its net income jumped 19% year over year in the second quarter. Earnings per share of $1.44 came in above the FactSet consensus of $1.20 expected by analysts. Casino revenue was also up 12.1% year over year. Sonic Automotive , Group 1 Automotive The auto retailers fell 10% and 8.6%, respectively, after being downgraded by JPMorgan. The bank lowered its rating on Sonic to underweight from overweight and moved Group 1 to neutral, noting there's "little fundamental support for franchise dealers near-term with valuation above LT averages." Albemarle The stock popped 7% after the Chinese government ordered Zangge Mining to halt operations in the Qinghai region of the country, sending lithium prices higher. PepsiCo The snack and beverage company rose 7% following its second-quarter beat on both the top and bottom lines. Adjusted earnings came in at $2.12 per share on revenue of $22.73 billion. Analysts polled by LSEG expected a profit of $2.03 per share on revenue of $22.28 billion. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Shares of the chip manufacturer added 3% after the company's second-quarter profit rose 61% from the year prior, hitting a record high and beating estimates. GE Aerospace Shares of the jet engine maker closed 2% lower despite second-quarter results that beat expectations. GE Aerospace reported $1.66 in adjusted earnings per share on $10.15 billion of adjusted revenue. Analysts were expecting $1.43 per share and $9.59 billion, according to FactSet. GE Aerospace also raised full-year guidance on several metrics. U.S. Bancorp The stock slipped 1% after the bank's second-quarter total net revenue came in at $7 billion, short of the $7.05 billion expected from analysts polled by LSEG. Net interest margins also missed expectations. Cars.com Shares of the online car marketplace gained 5% following an upgrade at JPMorgan to overweight from neutral. The bank cited growth of new vehicle inventory and potentially overstated tariff fears for the call. Toast The payment tech company advanced 3% after Deutsche Bank resumed coverage of the stock with a buy rating. The bank said Toast has strong value propositions that will result in market share gains and long-term success. United Airlines Shares gained 3% on better-than-expected earnings . The company earned an adjusted $3.87 per share, beating an LSEG estimate of $3.81 per share. However, the airline issued disappointing earnings guidance for the full year. Archer-Daniels-Midland Shares of the food processing company, which supplies high-fructose corn syrup, sank nearly 1% after President Donald Trump said Coca-Cola will start to be made with cane sugar. Coca-Cola didn't commit to the change when asked by NBC News . Sarepta Therapeutics The biotech stock surged 19% after the medical research and drug development company laid off roughly 500 workers, or 36% of its workforce, as part of its strategic restructuring plan . Sarepta said the move would save the company about $120 million in annual cash cost savings in 2026. Abbott Laboratories Shares slid 8% after the health care company's third-quarter guidance fell short of Wall Street's expectations. Abbott anticipates earnings between $1.28 to $1.32 per share, versus the $1.34 per share expected from analysts polled by FactSet. However, second-quarter adjusted earnings and revenue both topped expectations. Shake Shack The stock slipped 1% following a downgrade at Jefferies to underperform from hold. The firm believes shares are baking in too much optimism around near-term same-store-sales trends. Correction: An earlier version misstated the estimated quarterly profit for PepsiCo. Two-toned canvas totes are having their most popular summer ever, brands and experts say. If Sterling Olmstead Reynolds needs a bag for the beach, traveling with her 3-month-old daughter or dirty laundry on vacation, she reaches for the same two-toned canvas bag. The same style of bag, that is. Olmstead Reynolds, an art director at Sephora, owns 11 variations of the carryall, commonly known as a boat tote, inspired by L.L.Bean's signature Boat and Tote. She has mini versions, some with longer straps, others with added zippers, pockets and key leashes. They're monogrammed, too with her last name, her daughter's name or kitchy sayings, like "Del Taco." "You can get a bag that is 100% your vibe, that you can keep for a really long time," Olmstead Reynolds, 32, says. "And that style is timeless." The tote is experiencing a renaissance of sorts after making a comeback in 2022, experts say. Lauded for its chic practicality and customizable charm, it's become a favorite for celebrities and everyday people alike. This year the canvas carryalls which cost $40 at L.L.Bean and Lands' End for the standard size are having their most popular summer to date, according to experts, big brands and small sellers. Increased demand for an every day bag This summer bag trend goes beyond a single purchase, experts note. Shoppers of all ages are purchasing multiple variations for themselves and their friends. The boat tote, for example, has become a go-to for bachelorette parties and other events. Olmstead Reynolds estimates she's gifted 35 bags to friends and family. "Personalization is a huge part of [the trend]," says Matt Trainor, senior vice president of brand creative at Lands' End. "Monogramming makes [the bags] unique. There's a scarcity to it. And regardless of your age the idea that you can have something not everybody else has is highly enticing." Since Memorial Day, the company has sold more of its Canvas Pocket Totes than it did in the first quarter of this year alone, their spokesperson says. Similarly, L.L.Bean's Boat and Tote sales are up 75% for the first six months of this year, compared to the same time period in 2024, a company spokesperson says. Online, some of L.L.Bean's bags are on backorder for months. Lands' End has capitalized on that consumer hunger by launching marketing campaigns and in-person pop-up events to fuel the frenzy, Trainor says. At some events he's even seen customers line up for hours, waiting to personalize their bags with their names and charms. Customizing boat totes is a market of its own, too: Rebecca McGovern-Clarke who launched her paper goods business Maker Scholar out of her apartment in Boston went viral after posting TikToks of her painting poodles, retrievers and pugs on canvas totes last summer. As a result, her annual sales more than doubled, and she brought in more than $100,000 in 2024, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. "It was kind of like a, 'No s---' feeling. Of course people are going to pay to see their dogs on tote bags," says McGovern-Clarke, who now sells customized coastal-themed bags for up to $500 to customers across the country. "They're very easy to customize and fit in with the rise of the coastal grandma, Nancy Meyers aesthetic and the glorification of a really fancy summer." Converging trends keep this bag in style Personalizing a common bag fits into a broader cultural trend: Using clothing and accessories to express personal identities, says cultural and economic sociologist Dicky Yangzom, who teaches at New York University. Instead of shelling out $2,100 for a Louis Vuitton Neverfull bag, canvas totes can add flair to an outfit, and are a low-cost nod to the cultural zeitgeist, she says. The material of the bag can also signal a rejection of status. "There's a [distrust] against the 1% in our society," Yangzom says. "Canvas is more often seen as a working class fabric." She's right to an extent. When L.L.Bean first launched its Boat and Tote in 1944, it was advertised as an easy way to carry ice home. But while still practical and easy to use, the bag has also become a symbol of a coastal lifestyle only the wealthy can afford. But even the rich value functionality, and options for the luxury buyer have created yet another submarket of the canvas tote. Earlier this year, Hampton's boutique Hathaway Hutton released $1,200 "Boatkins," tote bags reimagined to resemble Hermes Birkins, according to the New York Times. The bag's shelf life, after the trend A 7-Eleven convenience store, operated by Seven & i Holdings Co., in Kawasaki, Japan, on Monday, Aug. 19, 2024. Shares of Seven & i plunged Thursday as trading resumed following a brief halt after Canada's Alimentation Couche-Tard withdrew its $47 billion bid to acquire the Japanese company. Seven & i stocks were trading 7.38% lower after declining more than 9%, data from LSEG showed. Convenience store operator Couche-Tard announced Wednesday that it was pulling its takeover bid for Japan's Seven & i Holdings, citing a "persistent lack of good faith engagement." "There has been no sincere or constructive engagement from 7&i that would facilitate the advancement of any proposal, contrary to comments made publicly by 7&i representatives," the Canadian retailer said in a statement. The operator of 7-Eleven stores expressed disappointment at Couche-Tard's "unilateral" termination of talks and withdrawal of its bid, and said it disagreed with many of the company's "inaccurate statements," according to a Google translation of Seven & i's statement in Japanese. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi discusses a drug enforcement-related announcement during a press conference at DEA Headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, U.S., July 15, 2025. The Department of Justice on Thursday asked California sheriffs for data on their inmates who are not U.S. citizens including the crimes they committed and their release dates in the latest escalation of President Donald Trump's mass-deportation plans. The federal law enforcement agency said it told sheriffs in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other California counties to turn over "lists of all inmates in their jails who are not citizens of the United States." If the California sheriffs do not voluntarily produce the requested information, the DOJ said, it "will pursue all available means of obtaining the data, including through subpoenas or other compulsory process." Attorney General Pam Bondi's letter to LA County Sheriff Robert Luna asked for that data within 30 days. Bondi's letter also appears to reference a 2015 settlement agreement that the LA Sheriff's Department struck with the DOJ. That settlement, which was not related to immigration, required the department to provide the U.S. "full and complete access to the jails" and some related records. "This Administration is committed to enforcing federal immigration laws. Our highest priority is removing those illegal aliens who committed crimes after illegally entering the United States," Bondi wrote. The requests show the Trump administration ratcheting up pressure on major California cities, where it has already staged some of its most aggressive and controversial federal immigration enforcement raids. Bondi and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum on Thursday received a briefing at Alcatraz, the famed former prison island in San Francisco Bay, a senior DOJ official told NBC News. Trump has said he wants to reopen the facility, which has not operated as a prison since 1963 and currently stands as a museum operated by the National Park Service. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who frequently clashes with Trump, swiped at Bondi later Thursday by referencing the ongoing controversy over the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files, which has engulfed her agency. "Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files," Newsom's press office wrote in an X post. "So ... never." California's 2017 sanctuary law bars state and local police from arresting people on immigration grounds and limits their participation in federal immigration enforcement activities. The law also limits when sheriff's departments can provide U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers with an incarcerated noncitizen's release date. Federal immigration authorities' sweeping deportation operations in California have spurred a backlash in the form of heated protests and lawsuits. Plant Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Waynesboro, GA, August 15, 2024. Van Applegate | CNBC President Donald Trump's push to approve nuclear plants as quickly as possible threatens to weaken the independent regulator tasked with protecting public health and safety, former federal officials warn. Trump issued four sweeping executive orders in May that aim to quadruple nuclear power by 2050 in the U.S. The White House and the technology industry view nuclear as powerful source of reliable electricity that can help meet the growing energy needs of artificial intelligence. The most consequential of Trump's orders aims to slash regulations and speed up power plant approvals through an overhaul of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The NRC is an independent agency established by Congress in 1975 to make sure that nuclear reactors are deployed and operated safely. Trump accuses the NRC of "risk aversion" in his order, blaming the regulator for how few nuclear plants have been built in the U.S. over the past three decades. The president says that the NRC is focused on protecting the public from "the most remote risks," arguing that such a cautious approach to approving plants restricts access to reliable electricity. "We'll be very safe, but we'll be fast and safe," Trump said about expediting nuclear plants at a conference on energy and artificial intelligence in Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The president said his administration would get a "whole different group of people" to regulate the industry. But three former NRC chairs who spoke to CNBC say Trump is blaming the regulator that protects the public, when the industry's fundamental problem is that new nuclear plants are incredibly expensive to build. The chairs were appointed by Democratic presidents. CNBC also spoke to the chief of staff for a chair appointed by George W. Bush. Only two new reactors have been built from scratch in the U.S. over the past 30 years. Those new units at Plant Vogtle in Georgia came in $18 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule. Two reactors in South Carolina were canceled in the middle of construction in 2017 due to cost overruns. The mismanagement of the Georgia and South Carolina projects led to the bankruptcy of industry stalwart Westinghouse. Trump's intervention at the NRC threatens the independence that the regulator needs to protect the public interest, the former chairs said. If NRC independence is compromised, the regulator could become vulnerable to industry or government influence in ways that raise the risk of a nuclear accident, they warned. Independence threatened Trump's executive order is unprecedented in the history of the NRC and it is dangerous, said Allison Macfarlane, who led the NRC as chairperson from 2012 to 2014. The Fukushima nuclear accident is an example of what can happen when safety regulators are not independent, said Macfarlane, who was appointed by President Barack Obama. The 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan resulted in a severe accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. An investigation by Japan's parliament concluded that the accident was man-made and found that collusion between government, industry and regulators was the root cause. watch now Japan's regulators and government focused on promoting nuclear power as safe and did not force the operator to implement measures that would have made the plant less vulnerable to a natural disaster, according to the 2012 investigation. In the wake of the accident, Japan shut down all of its nuclear plants for safety inspections, losing a power source that supplied 30% of the nation's electricity. "There was a massive impact on the economy and that is an issue of national security," Macfarlane said of the accident in Japan. "The reason why we have independent regulators, and by independent I mean free of industry and political influence, is to protect the public safety and to protect national security," she said. Slashing regulations Trump's executive order seems more focused on approving reactors fast than safety, said Stephen Burns, who chaired the NRC from 2015 to 2017. The order requires the NRC to make final decisions within 18 months on applications to build and operate nuclear plants. It calls for the regulator to make decisions even faster when possible. "To the extent it's saying NRC is the problem and we're more concerned with deadlines than we are with the safety case that's where it concerns me," said Burns, who was also appointed to the commission by Obama. The NRC is also ordered to undertake a "wholesale revision" of its regulations and work with the White House Office of Management and Budget and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency to accomplish this. One of the goals of revising NRC regulations is to create a process to approve at a "high volume" microreactors and small modular reactors, advanced nuclear technologies that the industry believes will one day make plants cheaper and faster to build. But these advanced reactors often have designs that are very different from the existing U.S. fleet and present different safety profiles as a consequence, said Richard Meserve, who chaired the NRC from 1999 to 2003. These new designs have not been deployed in the real world, and some use different reactor coolants such as sodium or molten salt rather than light water in traditional plants. "We have very strict deadlines on reactors of a type that have not yet been thoroughly reviewed," said Meserve, who was appointed by President Bill Clinton. "To set deadlines seems to me to be very imprudent. There has to be a careful analysis that is guided by data that may not be available even for some of these reactors." watch now And it's unclear what role OMB and DOGE are playing in revising the NRC's regulations. The NRC and White House declined to comment when asked whether OMB and DOGE would have the final say over how regulations are changed. OMB has always reviewed major NRC regulations as a matter of procedure, said Paul Dickman, who served as chief of staff for NRC Chair Dale Klein, an appointee of President George W. Bush. (Klein, when asked to comment, referred questions to Dickman. CNBC also reached out to Kristine Svinicki, who was appointed as chair during Trump's first administration, but didn't hear back.) The question now is whether OMB and DOGE will also be passing judgment on the technical content of the regulations, Dickman said. The pair's undefined role in the review process introduces uncertainty that could make the NRC vulnerable to political interference, he said. "Are they going to reject something because they didn't like an opinion?" Dickman asked. "What's the basis of that? There's no guidelines for review." Trump is "committed to modernizing nuclear regulations, streamlining regulatory barriers, and reforming the Nuclear Regulatory Commission while prioritizing safety and resilience," White House spokesperson Harrison Fields said. The NRC is "working quickly to implement Executive Orders to modernize our regulatory and licensing processes while protecting public health and safety," spokesperson Scott Burnell said. Staff cuts Wells Fargo as suspended all travel to China after a banker was blocked from leaving the country, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday. The U.S. banking giant's Chenyue Mao was subjected to an exit ban after she entered China in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. "We are closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible," Wells Fargo said in a statement emailed to Reuters. The ban could worsen concerns among multinational companies about the risks of doing business in China, particularly around employee safety and freedom of movement. The incident could also chill corporate travel to the country and complicate relations between the world's two biggest economies. Broader U.S.-China relations remain tense, shaped by deepening strategic, economic, and geopolitical rivalries. Mao was born in Shanghai and is based in Atlanta, according to a June 2025 release from FCI, where she serves as chairwoman. FCI, formerly named Factors Chain International, is a global network of companies that do business in the factoring and financing of trade receivables. Even before the incident with the Wells Fargo employee, some of the large banks had been asking their employees to exercise more caution while traveling overseas by carrying additional documents, considering the geopolitical risks and some concerns around immigration policies, a source at a large bank said. Before her election as FCI chair in June, Mao served as vice chair of the body. The industry body did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the matter. Wells Fargo CEO Charlie Scharf is a member of the Business Roundtable, a group of company leaders that was addressed by U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this year. #WATCH | Delhi | On the case of Nimisha Priya, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "... The government of India has been offering all possible assistance. We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family... We are also in touch with local pic.twitter.com/AFEm2CfOBK ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 The government has been providing all possible assistance to the family of the Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya to prevent her execution in Yemen, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, July 17."This is a very sensitive matter and the government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case. We have provided legal assistance and also appointed a lawyer to assist the family, " MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a press briefing."We have also arranged for regular consular visits by her family and we are also in touch with the local authorities as also the family members to resolve this issue," he added.Nimisha Priya has been convicted of murder of a Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017. He was her business partner who started to torture and sexually assault her. He also confiscated her passport. In order to escape, Nimisha tried to inject Mahdi with sedatives but the man died of an overdose.The government sought more time for the family to reach a mutual situation. "This included concerted efforts in the last few days to seek more time for the family of Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party," Jaiswal said.The Yemen government postponed Priya's execution and death sentence which was scheduled for July 16. "We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance in the case. We are also in touch with some friendly governments in this regard," Jaiswal stated.The official however did not provide the details on the role of Yemeni Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad who is reportedly being held responsible for the postponement of Nimisha's execution after having discussion with India's Grand Mufti."I have no information to share," Jaiswal said.Nimisha was sentenced for capital punishment in 2018. Her appeals in 2020 and 2023 were rejected. In 2024, the Yemeni president had signed her death sentence.The family has been trying to convince the deceased man's family to accept blood money but they have refused to do so and has called for her retribution. A group of US solar panel manufacturers asked the Commerce Department to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports from Indonesia, India and Laos, according to documents on an agency website.The petition is the latest effort by the small US solar manufacturing industry to seek trade relief to protect billions of dollars of investment and compete with goods produced mainly by Chinese companies overseas.The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, which filed the petition, includes First Solar, Hanwha's Qcells, Talon PV and Mission Solar.The group has succeeded previously in winning tariffs on imports from countries in Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.Those tariffs were finalised earlier this year, prompting some global producers to shift production to Indonesia and Laos. The alliance accuses Indian manufacturers, too, of dumping cheap goods in the United States to undercut domestic producers."We have always said, vigorous enforcement of our trade laws is critical to the success of this industry, Tim Brightbill, lead attorney for the petitioners, said in a statement. China's postal industry sees strong growth in H1 Xinhua) 08:40, July 17, 2025 BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- China's postal industry handled 104.51 billion parcels in the first half of this year, up 16.9 percent year on year, the State Post Bureau said Wednesday. Express delivery services processed 95.64 billion parcels during the same period, marking a 19.3 percent increase from a year earlier. According to the bureau, China's postal industry generated 873.09 billion yuan (about 122 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue in the first six months, rising 8.3 percent year on year. Express delivery services contributed 718.78 billion yuan, up 10.1 percent. According to an official from the bureau, intra-city express delivery services handled 7.88 billion parcels, up 6.2 percent year on year. Inter-city services processed 85.74 billion parcels, increasing 20.6 percent. In terms of regional distribution, eastern, central and western China accounted for 71.6 percent, 19.3 percent and 9.1 percent of the express delivery volume, respectively. For revenue, the proportions were 74 percent, 15.5 percent and 10.5 percent. The official noted that the central and western regions have increased their market share compared to the same period last year, with the central region's delivery volume and revenue proportions rising by 0.8 and 0.5 percentage points, respectively, while western regions saw increases of 0.6 and 0.3 percentage points. China's gross domestic product grew 5.3 percent year on year in the first half of 2025, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday. "The economy has made steady progress despite pressures, with significant economic indicators performing better than expected," said Sheng Laiyun, deputy head of the bureau, at a press conference on Tuesday. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) If you cant set a record with your art, you can always make a humongous bean dip or whatever Jackie Chan may just be the most-awarded catering coordinator in cinema history. Advertisement 14 Snoop Dogg Holds the World Record for Least Inspired World Record Before he became the worlds biggest sellout by performing at a fascist regimes fake money party, he set a record that really lays bare how Guinness is just a marketing firm for hire: The Worlds Largest Paradise Cocktail. This dipshit dumped 180 bottles of gin into a tub thats too small to be a dunk tank and accepted an award for it. A true renegade. Advertisement 13 The Shortest Concert Ever In 2007, the surviving members of The Who put on a show in Tampa, Florida that was canceled after 13 seconds because Roger Daltrey had bronchitis. 12 Whats the Sound of One Millionaire Clapping? Vanna White makes millions per year on Wheel of Fortune, where she clapped a record 3,721,446 times over the shows first 41 seasons, the most in recorded history. 11 Kacey Musgraves Weird Coloring Book Musgraves set the record for largest display of coloring pages when she had fans send 1,550 pages from coloring books to the Country Music Hall of Fame, because she wasnt getting enough attention or something. Tragically, the record was shattered two years later by pop-culture heavy hitter P&G China and Yonghui Superstores. Advertisement Advertisement 10 A Battle for Most Annoying Music Video of All Time Pharrell Williams Happy was a smash hit in 2013, and its 24-hour music video was the longest of all time. That is, until 21 Pilots dropped a torturous 177-day, 16-hour, 10-minute and 25-second video in 2020. 9 Youve Had Over a Decade to Catch Up to Jackie Chan Chan has held the record for most stunts by a living actor since 2012. Hes done so much karate, he says he doesnt even practice specifically for a film anymore, because he is always practicing karate. Advertisement 8 And How Many Movie Credits Do You Have? Chan also holds the most credits in a single movie for 2012s Chinese Zodiac: writer, director, actor, producer, executive producer, cinematographer, art director, unit production manager, catering coordinator, stuntman, stunt coordinator, gaffer, composer, props and theme tune vocalist. Advertisement 7 The Lowest-Selling Number-One Album In 2019, rapper A Boogie Wit Da Hoodies album Hoodie SZN topped the Billboard charts after selling just 823 copies. A few weeks later he broke his own record at 749. Advertisement 6 Grammy Wife, Grammy Life Beyonce and Jay-Z have a combined 56 Grammys, the most of any married couple. Beyonce is doing the heavy lifting with her 35, making her the most-awarded woman and the most nominated person of all time. 5 The Rock Couldnt Keep a Bean Company From Breaking His Dumb Record He and a team of snack professionals made the worlds largest layered dip in a 100-gallon fish tank in 2017, but Bushs Beans more than doubled his dip three years later. Advertisement 4 He Set a Second, Extremely Self-Indulgent Record In 2015, he set the record for most selfies taken in three minutes at 105. That record has since been shattered and currently sits at 184. Advertisement 3 Tom Cruises Extremely Tom Cruise Record While filming Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning, he broke the record for most burning parachute jumps by an individual at 16. You promise this is the final reckoning? Advertisement 2 Justin Bieber Had the Most Disliked Video in the World Although he did once have the most liked video channel, his music video for Baby had the most dislikes in history at over 12 million. Thats since been surpassed by the Sadak 2 trailer, Baby Shark and YouTubes own YouTube Rewind 2018: Everyone Controls Rewind. Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia Season 17 is shaping up to be the year when the shows writers put extra emphasis on both continuity and confectioneries. Last week, the second half of the Always Sunny Season 17 premiere, Frank Is in a Coma, featured one of the most emotionally devastating and brutally hilarious plot twists in the sitcoms long and storied history. Spoilers ahead for any Always Sunny fans who arent up-to-date on what may be remembered as the most serialized season thus far. But those of us who have experienced the sublime, fucked-up hilarity of Frank Is in a Coma will recall the closing joke of the episode which revealed Franks all-time most sadistic prank on Sweet Dee, in which he faked his own death by replacing his body with a lifelike cake just to prove to his not-daughter that Is It Cake? isnt a stupid show. Don't Miss This week, in the hotly anticipated new Always Sunny episode Mac and Dennis Become EMTs, Frank hasnt forgotten about the precedent he set for pastry-themed pranks, and he's weary for any kind of red-velvet retaliation. When Frank goes to visit one of Paddys barflies in the hospital after poisoning him with a hot pepper, he pokes the poor drinker with a plastic fork, just in case it was time to get his nosh on. Without spoiling too much of what Rob Mac, Glenn Howerton, Charlie Day and the It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia writing staff have in store for the rest of Season 17, this callback to one of the shows all-time greatest gags isnt the last time we will see the Gang reference events in past Season 17 episodes. This is also not the first time that Frank has had a food fixation that messed with everyones heads. Who could ever forget his and Artemis food-play phase? Certainly not the Emmy erm, Best Bar Award voters who walked in on his on-again-off-again lover shoving a champagne bottle up his ass. Advertisement Hopefully, the dead body cake swap becomes one of those Always Sunny jokes that sticks around for multiple seasons, and every time the Gang encounters either a corpse or an incapacitated person, they respond to the serious situation by immediately performing a taste test. Bill Hader is a certified film nerd, a walking, talking Letterboxd account ready to discuss Federico Fellini or Billy Wilder at the drop of a hat. So it was no wonder that he geeked out when esteemed movie director Martin Scorsese dropped by Saturday Night Live for a comedy cameo. While Scorsese has never hosted, he has a long history with the show and Lorne Michaels, according to Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live. Scorsese met up with Michaels in Italy at a Bob Dylan concert afterparty in the 1970s. A man whom Michaels identified as a dealer connected to Scorsese laid out lines of powder that sent several sniffers vomiting out a window (the stuff was heroin, not cocaine); Scorsese was hospitalized for addiction soon thereafter. Later, Michaels rented spare offices in his Broadway Video building to Scorsese. The director also showed up with Robert De Niro for SNL cameos on the night Joe Pesci hosted in 1997. Don't Miss But Hader wouldnt get his shot with Scorsese until 2012, when the director appeared with Sacha Baron Cohen to promote The Dictator during Weekend Update. It was better than Raging Bull, Scorsese stammered under the threat of electric shock. Play Hader freaked when he found out Scorsese was in the 30 Rock building, he recently told Ari Aster on the A24 Podcast. I just went into his dressing room and immediately Im like, Im going to go see a Shirley Clark movie tomorrow, Hader said, the first line in a string of movie babble that he remembered as blah blah blah blah blah. Advertisement Scorsese was polite to Hader. I just wanted to rap with him so badly about movies, Hader said. And I could tell he was like Good! Oh yeah, youre great. Yeah, youre great. The interaction didnt last long as one of Michaels minions arrived and yoinked Hader out of the room. The producer pulled my shirt, like, Bill, get out of his dressing room, please, remembered an embarrassed Hader. The whole scene sounds like something out of a Chris Farley Show sketch. Hader realized hed committed a Farley-esque faux pas. That's one of those things like for two weeks, Im like, What the fuck was wrong with me? Why did I do that? Advertisement Fellow superfan Aster understood all too well. Ive only met (Scorsese) so many times, he confessed, and every time Im paralyzed by the need to make him love me. Hader ran down a list of other famous directors hes met since his goof-up, but none of those interactions inspired the facepalms he gave himself after invading Scorseses personal space. Fortunately, the director seems not to have taken offense. Ive seen him since then, said Hader, and it was great. Thats what one fan speculates and they believe they have the evidence to prove it, too Sterling Archer is a top-notch fighter, a highly skilled shooter and capable of literally dodging bullets, but a fan believes the Worlds Most Dangerous Spy still has one notable weakness. On Saturday, they headed to the Archer subreddit with a musing about the man covertly known as Duchess, arguing that though he may be famously strong, the same cannot be said of his sperm. Archer couldnt naturally impregnate a woman, they began, noting that the spy had been with hundreds of women without wearing a condom. After citing the paternity drama surrounding Trinette McGoons son, Seamus, who was ultimately proven to have been fathered by ex-ISIS agent Cyril Figgis, the Redditor also had questions about the conception of Archers daughter, Abbiejean Kane-Archer. Don't Miss Archers daughter was conceived through artificial means, they continued, referencing Archers child with Lana Kane, who impregnated herself with a sample of Archers sperm taken from a sperm bank. Does the worlds greatest spy have weak swimmers? Some Redditors, of course, begged to disagree. I think its more hes either been very lucky or Malory has covered up any actual pregnancies to avoid scandal, one speculated. Another referenced a quote from the spys mother about his various slip-ups: If I did want a grandchild, Id just scrape all your previous mishaps into a big pile and knit a onesie for it. Others joined the conversation to point out the Pita of it all. She only appeared once throughout the shows 14-season run, but Pita, Archers personal chef, was devoutly religious and refused to use contraception, resulting in her having three abortions while working for the ISIS agent. Advertisement While the answer to this question remains between Archer, the medical team at ISIS and God, one thing is certain: Theres a nonzero chance hes responsible for the Bobs Burgers kids. ESPYs host Shane Gillis had a hard time getting the sensitive, standoffish crowd at last nights ceremony to so much as crack a smile, but the biggest L Gillis took was when he told a joke that definitely lost him a lucrative cabinet appointment as Secretary of Asian-American Affairs. Back in February, President Donald Trump gave a glowing review to Gillis after the two shook hands and took a picture at Super Bowl LIX at the Superdome in New Orleans. Trump told the press that he thought Gillis was very good and on our side, despite the fact that the stand-up has been consistently critical of the Trump administration and even once joked that Trump would be the funniest president to see assassinated, prompting an investigation by the Secret Service. Don't Miss Somehow, Gillis found it easier to be pals with his most popular impression target than to entertain the sea of uber-rich athletes at the ESPYs, but, as President Trump plans to stage a UFC event at the White House, Gillis managed to get in some haymakers of his own: Seriously, even if Gillis didnt write half or more of this double-whammy, the fact that he was willing to rip Trump for orchestrating the January 6th Capitol Attack and for covering up the Epstein files in which the President is definitely implicated in the same bit shows serious balls, considering how many Gillis fans are from the MAGA comedy crowd. Advertisement Gillis has long mocked the President in Manosphere settings, such as on the Kill Tony podcast, but this is easily the biggest stage where the stand-up superstar has arguably implied that Trump is both a terrorist and a pedophile. Already, Gillis is getting woke accusations from his usual audience, as one Twitter user commented of the above clip, Just embarrassingly unfunny. Poor Shane got canceled then had to go woke. I wouldnt watch the espys if they were in my living room!! another declared. It is espns woke night to celebrate how they have completely ruined sports! Advertisement Another added, Ain't gonna see Shane on Rogan no more. Clearly, the conservative comedy community who worshipped Gillis as a God of anti-woke, anti-cancel-culture humor has proven that they cant take a hit as well as Dana White's wife does, but I doubt theyll stay mad at Gillis for long. After all, it only took them a couple Trump tweets to get over their negative feelings toward child rape. The Clergy in the Archdiocese of Denver are in trouble for something that seems extreme even for The Gang Im never here to yuck somebodys yum. If you want to huddle up and do some weird cult stuff, go ahead. As long as everyones a consenting adult, why would I care? But not everyone is so nonjudgmental. Therefore, you should be discerning about what freaky activities you choose to record. The Clergy in the Archdiocese of Denver should definitely have taken note of this now, exploits that are straight out of an episode of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia have made it to the catholic news outlet The Pillar. According to the report, in 2024 during a school ski trip, a group of students at Denvers St. John Vianney Theological Seminary were woken by Vice Rector John Nepil. He told them to sit in silence with their mouths taped shut while he pulled each student individually into a separate room. The students report that they were then asked to take a blood oath by a man wearing a Yeti costume as Nepil explained it was the only way to join their family. Don't Miss Nepil then made each student agree to have their forearm sliced open, before stopping at the last moment to say that the sacred ritual they were performing could use grizzly bear blood instead of human blood. Blood was then poured over the students arm before Nepil asked them to make the most guttural scream you can possibly make. Finally, each student was sent back into the main room covered in blood, with instructions not to tell the other students what they experienced. Like I said, weird shit. The incident was confirmed via multiple videos which were sent to The Pillar. Seminarians were told to scream as if in pain before returning with a bloodied cloth wrapped around their hand and their mouths taped shut, to a room where others waited for their turn to be brought in, the report stated. If this insanity sounds familiar its because theres literally a blood-oath plot line in Its Always Sunny. In the Season 10 episode Frank Retires, Mac says, Im gonna take a blood oath, before brutally slicing his hand open. Somehow, even the writers of Always Sunny werent able to conceive of this full story, which really has everything: the Catholic Church, terrified Seminary students, a Yeti costume, grizzly bear blood and secrets. Advertisement It seems like the exact scenario Frank would think up in order to initiate the gang into some sort of fraud scheme. But unlike in Always Sunny, there were real consequences for those involved with the Yeti blood sacrifice. In real life, the prankster, Nepil, was forced to step down from his role, though not until the end of the 2024-2025 academic year. The individual responsible has since been removed from his seminary leadership role and has recommitted to his ongoing personal and spiritual formation, the Archdiocese told The Pillar. Advertisement And so, the major difference between Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia and reality? Frank definitely would have gotten away with it. Bird law expert Charlie Kelly never shied away from a battle of legal wits, but after Charlie ducked their high-noon appointment, The Lawyer is itching for his legally entitled satisfaction. In last nights new episode of Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Mac and Dennis Become EMTs, The Lawyer, played by longtime Always Sunny fan-favorite Brian Unger, made his long-awaited return to the series after a nearly nine-year absence. Unfortunately for The Lawyer, the downtrodden, one-eyed, Harvard-Law-graduating antagonist to the Gang once again failed to bring down his arch-rival Frank in the court of law, instead picking up some new physical deformations and a 30-day prison sentence. Don't Miss Shortly before his Always Sunny homecoming, Unger sat down with Cracked and talked about his long relationship both with series creator Rob Mac and the entire Always Sunny operation. Unger answered canon questions and offered his own theory on how his characters 16-year-overdue duel would have gone down. Heres a hint: imagine that Charlie is JFK and The Lawyer is Lee Harvey Oswald or, maybe, the second shooter. In the Always Sunny Season Five episode The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis, The Lawyer represents a family behind on their mortgage payments whom Frank and the Gang attempt to evict via force. After The Lawyer embarrasses Charlie and his lack of legal knowledge in front of the group, Charlie, wearing a pair of reading glasses that he definitely found in the sewer, goes digging through an old book until he finds an illustration of an old-timey duel, declaring himself besmirched and demanding satisfaction. Charlie then barges into The Lawyers office and challenges his legal rival to a duel, only to be shocked when The Lawyer accepts. As for how the clash of the lawyers would have gone down if his character did decide to track down Charlie at high noon, Unger didnt mince words. Charlie would be dead before he knew it, the actor reported. And it would probably be because of the superb technology that Im using in my weaponry. And, of course, I would have already gone to the range and I would have practiced with an expert. But, more than that, Unger believes that The Lawyer would come out victorious because his opponent would be as bad with a duelling pistol as he is at defining the word filibuster, saying, Charlie would probably shoot himself in the foot before he had it out of a holster, or the gun would be improperly loaded. But without a doubt, I would shoot him between the teeth, and it would pop out the back of his head. Advertisement We had a blast shooting that, Unger recalls of the iconic scene, revealing that the specificity of his threat was an improvisation based on his own historical research. The night before we shot that episode, I was watching an A&E documentary about the assassination of JFK, and they were talking about the magic bullet theory and how it entered Kennedys head and how it popped out the back of his head. Unger continued, When we were shooting the scene the next day, I just spit that out when I told Charlie, Im going to put one right through your teeth, and its just going to pop out the back of your head. Jokes on him knocking out Charlies teeth would be a waste of a bullet. They come out all on their own. Chinese state-sponsored hackers have launched sophisticated espionage campaigns against Taiwans semiconductor industry, marking a dramatic escalation from sporadic attacks to sustained, coordinated operations. Between March and June 2025, three distinct threat groups were found conducting coordinated espionage campaigns targeting chip manufacturers, supply chain companies, and financial analysts to steal critical intellectual property and market intelligence, researchers said in a report. According to research from cybersecurity firm Proofpoint, the campaigns represent unprecedented coordination and sophistication. The targeted companies range from medium-sized businesses to large global enterprises, said Mark Kelly, threat researcher at Proofpoint. 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. Berkeley FSJP is a collective of faculty, staff and academic workers at UC Berkeley committed to centering the Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice. It supports the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions, including an end to the UCs investments in Israel-linked companies and the military industrial complex. Contact the opinion desk at opinion@dailycal.org or follow us on X. The British state put thousands of lives at risk. It covered up its blunder with an unprecedented legal gag on Parliament and Press, with threats of jail for anybody even thinking about breaking it. It launched a massive clandestine resettlement scheme for thousands of the victims of its bungling to relocate to the UK. The tab hundreds of millions of pounds and rising was picked up by British taxpayers, even though they were kept entirely in the dark about the whole shambles. That, in a nutshell, is the Afghan data-leak scandal. Both the previous Tory government and the current Labour one are complicit. Nobody, of course, has been held to account and perhaps never will be, such is the British way these days. But now the grim details of this sorry saga are at last emerging with much more to come I expect the fury of public, Press and parliament to be monumental. As it should be. The scale of the scandal is breathtaking. Not just the stupidity of the original data breach but the fact that the British state conspired against its own people to bring behind our backs and at huge expense thousands of Afghans into the country, while going to enormous lengths to hide the fact it was doing any such thing all to cover up its own incompetence. At a time when trust in politicians is already at an all-time low it would be hard to imagine anything more damaging, more designed to see trust plummet even further. The sense of anger and betrayal will soon be palpable. Tory and Labour governments have got away with a total absence of scrutiny on the matter for more than three years. Those responsible should now brace themselves to be scrutinised as never before. This story doesn't end now. It is just the start. A refugee who was relocated to the UK, fears the leak has put his family at greater risk. His family home has been repeatedly raided by the Taliban (pictured), his brother beaten and accused of 'sharing the blood of an infidel spy' and his mother violently questioned The original blunder and its aftermath happened on the Tories' watch. So they have most to answer for. It was also the last government that decided to shut down all the usual forums of democratic accountability parliament, Press, public debate by seeking and obtaining a court-ordered super injunction, which didn't just impose a total blackout on what was going on, it forbid even mentioning the very existence of the injunction. But Labour, whose Defence Secretary, John Healey, had been briefed about developments in opposition, didn't exactly rush to restore accountability. Healey posed as the champion of transparency on the BBC yesterday but he kept the super injunction in place for a further year as the secret resettlement scheme continued unabated. The fact we know a lot more than we did only two days ago is down less to Healey and a lot more to relentless legal action by the Daily Mail and a few other newspapers to get the injunction lifted. In the end even the courts realised it was nothing less than state censorship, originally meant to be temporary but (surprise, surprise) still going strong almost two years later. There are elements of farce to this story which have more in common with the Keystone Cops than good government. The original email, sent in February 2022 by the military to various contacts to check on the suitability of certain Afghans for resettlement in Britain, was meant to include only a handful of names. Instead it contained a spreadsheet with 25,000 applications, totalling 100,000 when families are included, in 33,000 rows of information. Even then, for 18 months, the MoD had no idea what it had done. It was only in August 2023, when a member of the public emailed the then-Armed Forces minister to say he had a copy of the spreadsheet and, he suspected, so did the Taliban (since it was circulating in Afghanistan), that the balloon went up. Defence Secretary John Healey making a statement to MPs in the House of Commons following the lifting of reporting restrictions relating to the relocation of Afghans who worked with the UK Government When an anonymous post on Facebook also revealed they had a copy, with the ominous words 'I want to disclose it', the enormity of what had happened at last struck home. An injunction was sought to brush it all under the carpet and the hush-hush resettlement scheme (Operation Rubific) launched to rescue those whose lives British incompetence had put in danger. So many questions remain unanswered, not least the cost. In court submissions the government put a 7billion price tag for resettlement. Healey has since claimed that refers to the total cost of all the various schemes to resettle Afghans, though that is not what the court documents say. He claims Rubific will cost up to 850million, which is high enough. So far 18,500 Afghans and their families have been resettled here, with 5,400 more to come. It looks like the remaining 75,000 will simply be abandoned, at obvious risk of Taliban retaliation. Sometimes it is not easy for proud Brits to hold their heads high these days. Of course the cost does not end there. It costs 1.25million over three years to house an Afghan family of four in MoD or hotel accommodation, where many are now staying. It's half that if social housing can be found for them. But with 1.3million households already on social housing waiting lists, that's not a solution and that's before you factor in the risk of community tensions if newcomers are seen to jump the queue. Nor will the liability of the British taxpayer end there. The usual legal ambulance-chasers are going full pelt to line their own pockets by demanding compensation for Afghans named in the spreadsheet. One Manchester law firm is aiming for 5,000 clients and an average compensation of 50,000 a piece. A nice little earner. A government-chartered plane carrying Afghan refugees, many of whom worked for the British and fled when the Taliban reclaimed Kabul, arrives at Stansted Airport The lawyers say Britain 'owed a duty of care for their dangerous work'. Which is true enough for Afghan translators, soldiers and others who fought alongside the British in Afghanistan. This newspaper has fought a sustained and principled campaign for Britain to do better by these people. But it turns out a lot of names on the spreadsheet do not fall into that category but were just ordinary Afghans who chanced their luck by applying for asylum in the hope it would lead to a passage to Britain. In a striking example of the ineptitude for which the British state is becoming infamous we have managed to open our doors to thousands of Afghans with no or few links to the UK while still doing nothing like enough for the Afghan translators and special forces to whom we owe debts of honour and gratitude, many of whom are still stuck in Afghanistan, Pakistan or even Iran. It also turns out that Afghans named in the now notorious email might not be as much at risk as feared. It looks as if the Taliban already has all the information it needs it probably has the email, too and is in a position to mete out retribution whenever it is so minded (so far, it's not been much inclined to do so). Which makes you wonder if that injunction was ever really necessary. Democratic scrutiny and disinfecting sunlight will now have their day. As revelation is piled upon on revelation, there should be ruin for reputations and carnage for careers. Without penalties for failure, the British state will continue to wallow in a default modus operandi of screw-up followed by cover-up (not to mention stitch-up of those who won't toe the line). It will rip asunder the implicit contract of trust between voters and leaders without which no democracy can survive. Picture the scene in No 10. The mood is gloomy. The Prime Minister's personal ratings are plumbing new lows. Labour is limping behind Reform UK in every poll. So what can Starmer do? There is a lot of head scratching. Then someone perhaps it is the master strategist Sir Keir himself has a brainwave. Why not dust off Labour's 2024 manifesto pledge to give votes to 16 and 17-year-olds? Surely it's a winner! It worked for the Scottish Nationalists, who slyly lowered the voting age to 16 in Holyrood elections in the knowledge that younger people north of the border tend to be keener on independence than older ones. Labour thinks it will work for them in general elections throughout the United Kingdom when around 1.6 million 16 and 17-year-olds are added to the voting register. As a general rule, younger people have been more likely to back Left-wing parties. For reasons I'll explain later, I believe that Labour's cynical and self-serving calculation may well backfire, and that younger voters won't rally to Starmer's tattered flag in anything like the numbers he expects. But in any event this is as egregious an example of low politics as you are ever likely to encounter. There is absolutely no case for giving votes to 16 and 17-year-olds. A majority of people are against it. They know that 16 is simply too young to make an informed decision about who should govern the country. Even among 16 and 17-year-olds, almost half don't think they should be allowed to vote, according to a recent poll of 500 respondents by Merlin Strategy. Some 49 per cent didn't support lowering the voting age to 16, while 51 per cent did. The young aren't marching down Whitehall to demand the vote. Starmer claimed last year that the issue is one of fairness. He said: 'If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you ought to be able to vote.' Labour thinks it will work for them in general elections throughout the United Kingdom when around 1.6 million 16 and 17-year-olds are added to the voting register Nigel Farage is likely to be more attractive to many younger voters than pale, stale Sir Keir Starmer This is downright misleading. A 16-year-old is only allowed to join the Army with parental consent, and until the age of 18 won't be deployed on combat operations. As for tax, a vanishingly small proportion of this age group earns more than 12,570 a year, which is the threshold at which you start paying money to the Government. There are plenty of things that 16-year-olds aren't allowed to do because the State regards them as children. Before the age of 18 they can't legally buy alcohol in a pub or in a supermarket, or purchase cigarettes. You can't drive a car or donate blood before the age of 17. In the eyes of the State, people below the age of 18 on trial for a crime are treated as minors, and their names are not published in the media except under the special direction of a judge. Not long ago, the legal age of marriage actually rose to 18 in England and Wales. It is not just a matter of law. We all of us know remembering our own childhood and observing young people today how big a gap in intellectual sophistication there is between most 16-year-olds and most 18-year-olds. No, Labour knows very well that in all kinds of ways the State and society rightly regard people under the age of 18 as children. Why, then, should they be allowed to vote? The only answer is because Sir Keir Starmer believes that they will overwhelmingly support Labour. But will they? The poll by Merlin Strategy that I have already mentioned found that 33 per cent of 16 and 17-year-olds said they would vote Labour versus 20 per cent for Reform, 18 per cent for the Greens, 12 per cent for the Lib Dems and 10 per cent for the Tories. This suggests that enthusiasm for Labour is stronger among the younger age group than among all voters over the age of 18, where support for the governing party is averaging around 22 or 23 per cent. Still, it is not stratospherically higher. We have only endured one year of Labour misrule. It is a reasonable bet that as things get worse, which I am afraid they undoubtedly will, support for Labour among 16 and 17-year-olds will dwindle from levels that are already not especially high. Which parties will benefit as teenagers share the disillusion with Labour felt by older voters? The Greens, for sure, and the Lib Dems to some extent. Jeremy Corbyn's new hard-Left party will attract votes from the young, including Muslims unhappy about events in Gaza, who could come under parental pressure. But it is likely that Reform will be the biggest single beneficiary. The old assumption that younger people are more likely to vote for Left-wing parties is probably no longer valid when there is so much social disquiet, particularly about uncontrolled immigration, and voters of all ages are offered a kind of political smorgasbord. The Tories as currently constituted are unlikely to draw much support from younger voters, many of whom see them as distant and unexciting and tarnished by failure. But a manifestly unsuccessful party led by Starmer, who is the epitome of dullness and the dysfunctional status quo, is unlikely to be much of a draw. It's noteworthy that in Germany, where 16-year-olds now have a vote in European elections, younger voters have been drawn to the far-Right AfD. In the European elections last year, 16 per cent of Germans aged 16-24 chose the AfD, only fractionally behind the victorious conservative CDU on 17 per cent. The Greens plummeted to 11 per cent. I'm not of course comparing Reform with the AfD. But I am suggesting that at a time of political volatility and shifting allegiances among all age groups, Nigel Farage is likely to be more attractive to many younger voters than pale, stale Sir Keir Starmer, who by 2029 will be almost universally reviled as the man who brought this country to its knees. I am against giving the vote to 16 and 17-year-olds in all circumstances. It is a cynical manoeuvre on Labour's part, which the general public doesn't want, and which even younger people aren't clamouring for. How richly ironic if Sir Keir's grubby ploy turns out not to deliver the political advantage he covets, but merely confirms his reputation of being one of the most politically inept and ham-fisted politicians ever to occupy No 10. Get ready, Disney fans, because there's a dating app coming that's designed to help single theme park enthusiasts find their happily ever after. The app, called Single Riders, is set to start beta testing later this year, and will launch to everyone in early 2026. Creator and self proclaimed 'Disney adult' Joe LaStoria II, 32, from Orlando, Florida, spoke exclusively about it with the Daily Mail, explaining that the idea came to him during his own quest to find love. 'About two years ago, I was ghosted on a first date I had set up through a dating app,' he explained. 'With a free afternoon, I did what any local Disney adult might do - I headed to Hollywood Studios for a few drinks and some solo park time. 'While walking around, it hit me how hard it was to find someone who truly shared my love for Disney. That's when the idea sparked: a dating app for Disney Adults and theme park lovers.' Joe instantly knew he was on to something, and took to TikTok to share his idea - and immediately, it 'absolutely took off.' His video about it raked in thousands of views and comments, and that only cemented how much an app like this was needed. Get ready, Disney fans, because there's a dating app coming that's designed to help single theme park enthusiasts find their happily ever after (stock image) Creator and self proclaimed 'Disney adult' Joe LaStoria II (seen), 32, from Orlando, Florida, spoke exclusively about it with the Daily Mail 'The response was way bigger than I ever expected. I knew I had something special,' he continued. But Joe had one problem: he had no idea how to create an app and didn't have any programing experience. He spent 'nearly two years' looking for 'the right person to help bring it to life,' and eventually, he met 'tech genius' Adam Tucker, 37, from New Jersey, through a 'mutual friend.' They 'clicked immediately.' Joe explained, 'Not only is he incredibly talented, but he also believes in the magic of Disney just as much as I do. 'He jumped on board to help make it a reality, and we've been building ever since.' Adam added, 'I remember thinking [when I heard about his idea], "Wait this isn't already a mobile app?" 'It immediately clicked for me that this needed to exist - and I wanted to help make it happen.' The app, called Single Riders, is set to start beta testing later this year, and will launch to everyone in early 2026 (stock image) Joe enlisted 'tech genius' Adam Tucker (seen with his partner), 37, from New Jersey, to help build it They started officially developing it earlier this year, but building it 'from the ground up' takes time. So when can fans expect Single Ride to hit the app store? 'Right now, we're aiming for a full launch in Spring or Summer of 2026, with beta testing hopefully starting in late 2025 or early 2026,' Joe said. They intend for 'normal use' of the app to be 'completely free,' but are 'exploring thoughtful ways to monetize that feel fair and add value.' 'Things like optional premium features or perks that enhance the experience without limiting the core functionality,' he explained. 'Our goal is to keep things accessible while building something that can grow and improve over time.' But he reiterated: 'We want everyone to be able to connect and enjoy the experience.' As for what you should expect, Joe said it won't have the 'typical swipe left or swipe right thing' like most dating apps. Instead, he explained that they want to 'help people connect in a more intentional and meaningful way.' '[We want] something that goes beyond just the surface-level profile,' he dished. As for what you should expect, Joe said it won't have the 'typical swipe left or swipe right thing' like most dating apps (stock image) 'Users will be able to filter matches based on shared interests and even be able to search by proximity and by specific theme parks - whether it's Disney, Universal, or others.' And it's not just for Disney adults looking to find love, as there will also be a feature for those who simply want more 'friends' to go to the parks with. 'We're including a friends/events feature for people who aren't looking for romance but want to find like-minded park buddies,' Joe continued. 'A lot of people love going to Disney and other theme parks but don't have someone to go with - or feel awkward going alone. This app can help them find those connections, too.' In the end, Joe said he is excited to be a part of something that will hopefully bring people all across the globe 'joy.' 'Our mission is simple: help people find others who share their passion for theme parks,' he concluded. 'Whether it's love, friendship, or just a buddy for your next Disney day - we want Single Riders to make those magical connections happen.' A newlywed couple who splashed out 10,000 for a lavish 11-night honeymoon in the Maldives were so disappointed by the holiday hotspot that they jetted off to Dubai instead. Bride Sophie, from London, took to her TikTik @sophiegrace_24 to explain why they decided to leave the archipelago just three days into what they hoped would be a dream post-nuptial trip. In a clip, which has racked up over a million views, Sophie explained that the Maldives was always on their travel bucket list so they used a 'well-known travel provider in the UK' to book the trip. The 'disappointing' honeymoon story comes just days after Molly Mae Hague's sister Zoe revealed she had been left underwhelmed by a trip she'd booked to Bali - and decided to travel to Dubai instead. While looking for honeymoon destinations, Sophie and her husband were told about a new island that was opening in March, ahead of their July honeymoon, and there was an introductory offer they could snap up as they would be one of the first to explore the island. They were told the island has seven restaurants and that construction would be complete by the time their honeymoon came around. However there were a few issues once the couple got to the island that didn't meet their expectation and they decided to cut their time short and fly to Dubai instead. Sophie explained: 'I had a few comments from people asking why we decided to leave the Maldives early. 'I know there'll be a lot of people who don't understand why we did, but I wanted to explain why we decided to. Bride Sophie, from London, and her husband paid 10,000 for their 11-night Maldives honeymoon but they fled to Dubai after three nights when it didn't live up to expectations 'So the Maldives is a really expensive place to visit, but it's somewhere we both really wanted to visit and really wanted to go to for our honeymoon. 'So we went to a well known travel provider in the UK and started getting quotes. Then we were told about a new island that was opening in March, bearing in mind our honeymoon is in July and there was an introductory offer because it was new. 'It had seven restaurants, it was two islands joined with a walkway. All the activities we wanted to do it, it was exactly what we wanted. 'So in March, when the island was due to open up, I received an email from the travel company with all of the menus attached for all of the restaurants, which was really reassuring. Sophie added that she had checked in April that all the facilities would be open and construction would have finished. She claims she was told that due to a delay, it would be now opening on July 1, just ahead of their July 8 arrival, but that everything would be ready for their arrival. She added: 'Before the final payment was due, which I think was April time, I just emailed to say, due to make final payment, can you confirm that there will be no construction work going on on the island and that all of the restaurants and facilities will be open? 'I received a response to that email saying, 'yes, no construction work'. There was A slight delay, but everything will be opening on the 1st of July.' The newlyweds were told about a new island that was opening in March, ahead of their July honeymoon, and there was an introductory offer they could snap up as they would be one of the first to explore the island The newlyweds were excited for their dream honeymoon which they had spent months planning and saving up for When they arrived they initially loved the island but things started to go downhill fast when they noticed that they were the only people on the island Sophie claimed the staff were almost 'too attentive' because there were no other guests on the island The couple initially loved the island upon arrival, but things went downhill fast when they noticed that they were the only people on the island. Sophie explained: 'So we turn up and island's absolutely beautiful. Staff are there to welcome us. 'Everything you expect as you pull up to your island in the Maldives. And then we found out we were the only people staying on the second island, the first and only people to have ever moved in. 'And at first we were like, this is great. We've got a private island. 'On our first night, we decided to go to the buffet restaurant. And on our walk there, there was just so much construction work going on around us. 'Lots of noise, lots of people. Wasn't great. Told that wouldn't be happening, but okay, never mind. 'Carried on to the buffet. And there was no buffet. And the reasoning was there weren't enough people on the island. So there was a set menu. 'Over the next couple of days, we realised that every restaurant was either not open yet. I think it was four that weren't open. And for the ones that were open, they had reduced menus. Molly Mae Hague 's sister Zoe Rae came under fire for leaving Bali just 48 hours after she arrived because it 'did not live up to expectations set by other influencers' Many rushed to the comments with their own thoughts on the situation, with some saying they were 'perfectly within their rights to leave' 'So they were very different to the ones that I had been sent in March. So don't get me wrong, the island was beautiful, the staff were great, the food that we had was good. 'But when you are expecting a certain thing and you have paid for that. To turn up and not have it. We just felt like it was disappointment after disappointment.' Sophie also mentioned that the staff were almost 'too attentive' because there were no other guests on the island. She explained: 'This is a really weird one, but the staff were too attentive, and I think that's because there wasn't enough people on the island, and they were new to their job on the island and just doing too much. 'I just felt like every time we sat down to eat, we were being watched. 'Luke was carrying two glasses of water to our table at breakfast, and they stopped him two meters from the table, took them off him, and said, well, let me carry those for you. 'Now, some people might really like that, but for us, we just wanted to be left alone a bit. 'So, yes, it was nice, and we would have been fine staying there, but it was our honeymoon, and I didn't want that to be our experience of the Maldives. Zoe explained that Bali looked completely different from what it did on social media, and that influencers had made it look more luxurious She concluded: 'We like Dubai. We've been to Dubai plenty of times before, so I decided to just change the whole day up, do something completely different. 'And we took our first flight home, which was supposed to be just a connection in Dubai. We brought that a week forward, and we are going to spend the remaining seven nights in Dubai.' The couple got refunded for the seven days they didnt stay on the island and the travel provider paid for their flights to Dubai. Many rushed to the comments with their own thoughts on the situation, with some saying they were 'perfectly within their rights to leave.' One person said: 'You didnt get what you were promised- totally understand why you left. What a shame for your honeymoon x' Another added: 'Listen imagine its YOUR honeymoon! I totally get whats going on here and they are perfectly within their rights to leave, we all know how stunning the Maldives are so they had extra expectations with it being a brand new island! 'Its a once in a lifetime thing ya honeymoon! Congratulations babe on getting married, I wish you a life full of love and happiness.' In a new YouTube video, Zoe told the camera: 'Since landing in Bali, something for us wasn't quite right' The fitness influencer, 28, had planned the trip to Indonesia with her husband Danny to celebrate their first wedding anniversary Someone else added: 'The construction work would tip me over. Plus paying all that money for restaurants that dont exist is not OK. 'I feel like if you didnt have those two things, the staff being overly attentive wouldnt have bothered youd, youd probably have enjoyed it and felt special, but because your back was already up and you were already disappointed, it just added to the list of things, which is understandable. If I had the money Id have left as well Tbf.' A fourth added: 'I can totally understand why you left. It's your honeymoon, you spend ages planning and then for it to not be what you paid for and you were lied too would be so upsetting on such a special trip. I hope you get some compensation from the holiday company.' It comes shortly after Molly Mae Hague's sister, influencer Zoe Rae, sparked a furious debate after announcing she was leaving Bali after just 48 hours at the popular holiday destination. The fitness influencer, 28, had planned the trip to Indonesia with her husband Danny to celebrate their first wedding anniversary. And despite staying in a huge sea view room at the Radisson Blu, a five-star hotel, they decided to leave early and jet to Dubai instead. Zoe explained that Bali looks better on social media than in real life, as influencers make it look luxurious, despite it being a developing country. In a new YouTube video, Zoe told the camera: 'Since landing in Bali, something for us wasn't quite right. 'We came here with high expectations because we had seen on social media that everyone was having such a lovely time. Lovely places to eat and beaches, and lovely gyms and coffee shops. 'But I don't think the reality of Bali is shown much at all, and I do think it is down to a lot of influencers posting the more luxury side of things.' She added: 'Before joining the army, I spent five months travelling South East Asia. I did Thailand, Vietnam, China, Hong Kong, I did a lot and spent time in these countries. But there is something very different about Bali. 'We got told Uluwatu where we are now is one of the best places to go, so if this is one of the better places, I'm not sure where the other places are like. 'I wasn't going to sit down and say anything, but people want to know.' For the past few weeks, I have been wearing a necklace that was a gift from my mother, Juliet, on my wedding day. She repurposed a brooch she herself had inherited into a pendant for me: a finely-wrought gold dragon holding a glowing red little ruby in its mouth. It's beautiful and I have felt strangely compelled to wear it day and night, despite the occasional prick from the brooch pin stabbing into my neck. Ironically, this sums up my relationship with my mother: small elements to treasure, offset by real moments of pain. My mother died four weeks ago, aged 84. It was a relief for her and for us. She was miserable, veering vertiginously between Alzheimer's and clarity, physically dizzy and wobbly, then bed-bound, increasingly dehydrated and, eventually, she went past the point of no return. For a week after her death, I felt strangely light and liberated, no longer bearing the guilt of her misery, the shocking expense of her 24-hour care and the terror of how long both would continue. And yet the relationship continues to prick and please. Not once have I felt a moment of pure grief, not even when I read the astonishingly kind letters people have written. All are lovely; all say what a shock it must have been and what a hole she will leave in my life but those from the friends who knew me better also include a degree of nuance that changes the whole picture of conventional grief. Susannah Jowitt with her late mother, Juliet, who admitted five years before her death that she had given her daughter away for the first year of her life Juliet was not, you see, a conventional mother. She gave me away for the first year of my life until Christmas Eve 1969 not actually meeting me until I was a year old. None of us know how long she would have continued to avoid my existence, because all the witnesses to that time are dead; my brother and I only found out this tale five years ago, on the night of my father's funeral, when my mother had a few too many sherries and told me. She admitted quite openly that the only reason I came back when I did was because her mother had been coming to stay for Christmas. My grandmother didn't know she had outsourced me to our cleaning lady's sister at six weeks old. So Juliet had to quickly reclaim me before her own mother found out what she'd done. And, in reality, what had she done? There was no neglect, no abuse, no need for social services. My mother simply hadn't wanted me and when she was pressured into having me because everyone said my brother couldn't be an only child, she was determined to do things her way. So, on the night of my father's funeral, as if she were recalling her life story to a professional biographer, she told me all about it. 'I just never wanted children,' she said, 'but in those days no one ever admitted that, so I toed the line and got pregnant but on my terms, right from the moment the doctor told me I was expecting. 'I demanded, and got, a prescription of three Valium a day to keep me calm for the whole pregnancy.' She planned my birth, in the late 1960s, with the precision and, some might say, callousness of a First World War field marshal sending young boys over the top of the trenches: all theory, no empathy. 'I had a very strong epidural so that I couldn't feel a thing and you were born unseen by me because I was hiding behind a large book, deliberately chosen for its size. The midwives had been firmly instructed to take you away and look after you for the four days that I was in hospital, so I didn't actually meet you. Juliet with her children in 1978. Susannah's mother was unable to love her or her brother. She certainly couldn't bear physical contact with them. Both remember seeing other children being hugged by their parents and thinking: 'Ohhh, so that's what hugging is!' 'You were then taken straight to a maternity nurse where you spent the first six weeks of your life.' At that point, I was meant to come home but, when it came to it, Juliet still couldn't face seeing me. She was also clearly suffering from monstrous and undiagnosed post-natal depression. 'I couldn't bear it and your father was going on a business trip to South Africa for six weeks, so it was decided by everyone that I should go with him, feel better from the winter sun and recover my joie de vivre,' she told me. 'And I thought it was unfair burdening your brother's nanny with a five-year-old and a newborn, so we came up with the plan of parking you with Mrs Pybus's sister in the village.' Me being lodged with the sister of Mrs Pybus, our elderly cleaning lady, worked like a dream. Juliet came back feeling so much better, in fact, that she decided with my father it would be better for everyone if I just stayed where I was. 'You were apparently happy,' she told me, 'and I was happy. And if I was happy, your father was happy.' Throughout her tale, she refused to tell me the name of the woman who cared for me in this year. No doubt many of you will find the thought of this distressing. But even as my mother told me, I wasn't shocked by her revelation. In fact, many pennies dropped. So this was why my mother and I had never bonded, why we were civil strangers until the day she died. What was more unexpected was how settled I felt within myself when she told me. All my life, I had punished myself for never being enough for my mother. Nothing I did could ever please her. Nothing I ever achieved made her proud. She seemed so resentful of me that I became convinced I was adopted once going through her files trying to find evidence. I read book after book about Greek demigods and princesses being swapped at birth and brought up in commoners' households. I was sure this was what had happened to me. In my 20s, my godmother, who must have known what happened (sadly she died before I knew myself), once tried to give me a hint about that missing first year, saying: 'You should never underestimate how little you and your mother ever bonded, so it's no surprise that you can't seem to get along now. But she loves you really.' This, though, I would contest. My mother couldn't love me or my brother. She certainly couldn't bear physical contact with us. Both of us remember seeing other children being hugged by their parents and thinking to ourselves: 'Ohhh, so that's what hugging is!' My first memory of her touch is when I was about five and I stepped off the pavement without looking. She grabbed my hand and wrenched me back as a lorry swept past. Much more than the relief at having been saved was the shock of the feel of her hand: her strong, capable, slightly rough fingers, so genetically like my own now. If I close my eyes, I can feel it still. But I think my mother's lack of love went deeper than a mere horror of tactility. She was always jealous of the love my father, Tommy, was able to show me (despite his own consistent failure to actually be there for us as a father) and my brother and I both think she only really ever loved him. In essence, I believe she was jealous of me, full stop, which in retrospect was shown most clearly when I had my own children and so manifestly, abundantly loved them from the moment they were both born, 24 and 22 years ago. 'They each have you wrapped around their little finger,' she would comment acidly and regularly. 'I know and I love it,' I would respond, to her fury. I would never want to exaggerate the lovelessness of my childhood. We kids were never neglected, were given birthday presents and parties, and although we were very rarely taken on holiday by our parents because they couldn't have been less interested in doing so, all the middle-class conventions of parenting were otherwise observed. But sometimes, despite the material comfort, this sheer lack of maternal feeling had unintended consequences. While I was fine happy, I think, and flooded by cuddles and warmth with Mrs Pybus's sister during that first missing year of my life, it was a different story for my brother. He called me a few weeks after the revelations of that night of my dad's funeral in 2020. 'I'm struggling, Zannah. I am just so angry. Especially with Daddy for letting it happen.' My brother was four and a half when I was born and had, unlike my mother, met me in the hospital when he and my father visited. He remembers looking down at the little bundle that was me, swaddled, and thinking that while I wasn't much cop yet as a playmate, that maybe I had potential. But then I didn't come home. And no one said anything about me. He thought perhaps I had died. He didn't know but the unspoken message he got was that somehow, if you weren't up to the mark, you'd be as he said 'disappeared'. This breaks my heart a little whenever I think about it. On one level, I received the same message; it would certainly explain why I was such a desperate show-pony throughout my childhood; always showing off for attention, for a tiny scrap of love, anxious to be brilliant enough not to be sent away again. 'Susannah was like an eager little puppy,' my father once told my husband. 'No matter how often you kicked her, she always came back, tail wagging, for more.' Susannah is relieved that her mother's death was peaceful In my 30s and 40s I learned to put a label on my mother. Juliet was, I was told by various friends who had similar mothers, a classic example of someone who had Narcissistic Personality Disorder, dominated by an obsession with her own importance, her place at the centre of every story, craving constant admiration and lacking in genuine empathy for others. A relationships expert later told me that my father was also clearly narcissistic, so my brother and I were doomed. When it came to family, my mother probably had the emotional intelligence of a five year old. She could be charming, able to win people over easily until things didn't go her way, at which point she would literally stamp her foot with her arms in the air and have a tantrum. So when my father died in 2020 and I found out the truth about my start in life, I actually felt profoundly sorry for her; a feeling that has persisted right up to her death and beyond. She hadn't been capable of motherhood, therefore who was I to condemn her or even label her as a narcissist? It would be like beating a puppy for refusing to stop chewing things or, in the case of the famous fable, like condemning the scorpion for stinging the frog that is carrying it to safety: it was just in her nature. Then, when she got Alzheimer's, her infantilisation really took hold. She had missed my father desperately when he died at the age of 86. They'd been married for nearly 57 years. But, when she became ill, she stopped missing him as a husband and talked about him like a hero-worshipping child talked about their idol. He had been charming, though flawed, but she could no longer see that: in her child's mind he was perfect a perfect, gentle knight. Next to such a paragon, her living children never even in the same league as her husband were sorry compensation. Indeed, whenever I called her she would take a long time to answer and, when she did, sounded weary and almost resentful. Sometimes she would press the wrong contact in her phone and, meaning to call her best friend Susie, would get me by mistake. She always sounded so disappointed by this and would soon ring off in favour of calling Susie for real. I realised this was not behaviour she reserved only for me. When I was once staying with her, the phone rang and up popped my brother's name on the screen. Having been perfectly lively with those of us in the room, she grimaced at the sight of his name, took a deep breath and composed her face into lines of bitter suffering. 'H-h-hello?' she quavered, as if she was already on her deathbed. It was a masterful performance and I realised it was one she gave every time her disappointing children rang. All in all, it's no wonder that both my brother and I have had a conflicting mix of emotions since she died, but no real grief. It's her funeral tomorrow and I suspect that while her friends who all adored her for being the fiercely clever, witty, talented, purposeful and intensely strong-willed friend she was for them will genuinely mourn her and even cry a little, my brother and I won't quite. One thing I am heartfelt about is my relief that her actual death was so peaceful. The day before she died, at the age of 84, I had been rehearsing for a performance of Faure's Requiem with the City of London Choir at the Barbican. I knew this to be one of her very favourite pieces of music, so I recorded some snatches of our rehearsal that afternoon, including the final movement, In Paradisum, and FaceTimed her with them. Her last word to me was 'wonderful', with a tiny smile. She died at 6am the next day, having not really spoken again. She may not have been very wonderful to me in my 56 years but I'm glad, when we parted, that we were joined by that word and that smile. Hollywood is currently in an era of age-defying 'undetectable' plastic surgery. Stars like Lindsay Lohan, Christina Aguilera, and Kris Jenner have seemingly turned back the clock by debuting flawless new looks in recent years. However, one of Tinseltown's top plastic surgeons has warned that not everything is as it seems. During an appearance on The Face with Alex Pike podcast, Dr. Ben Talei said that a lot of people are being misled by filters and AI. 'Some of it is filters, still today, even if they've had surgery,' he said. 'And you think, "Oh my god, how did she get that surgery done?" And I'm like, "Dude, I saw her two weeks ago and that's not what she looks like",' he added. Dr. Talei continued, 'It's not like these people look bad. There's a lot of beautiful people and they look great, but when you see some of the results and you're like "wow", it's unrealistic.' During an appearance on The Face with Alex Pike podcast, Hollywood surgeon Dr. Ben Talei said that a lot of people are being misled by filters and AI The Beverly Hills-based surgeon said that some people have unrealistic expectations now due to social media filters 'You're not gonna look like that. That doesn't work,' he added. The Beverly Hills-based surgeon said that patients are coming to some surgeons for procedures and unrealistically expecting to look like the filtered images that they're seeing on social media. Just last month, a renowned plastic surgeon cast doubt on Kris Jenner's dramatic new lookaccusing her of using AI tools to manipulate images and 'create unrealistic expectations'. The Kardashians matriarch caused a meltdown when she appeared in Paris back in May looking decades younger than her 69 years. Social media commentators begged to know the name of her doctorand even suggested Jenner had discovered 'the fountain of youth'. Her representatives later confirmed she had enlisted celebrity plastic surgeon Dr Steven M Levinealso known as 'the facelift maestro'to achieve her new look. However in a viral Instagram post, Dr Gary Lawton suggested 'AI tools or morphing software' had been used to alter pictures and videos of the star. Just last month, a renowned plastic surgeon cast doubt on Kris Jenner's dramatic new look accusing her of using AI tools to manipulate images and 'create unrealistic expectations' Khloe Kardashian has also admitted to heavily filtering her photos in the past The San Antonio-based surgeon said the pictures published worldwide showcasing her new look 'defy all surgical and anatomical realities'. Dr Lawton, who gives practical advice and debunks beauty trends to his 548,000 followers on the platform added: 'There is no possible way that this is a surgical transformation'. Jenner has neither confirmed or denied that she has undergone surgery recently, but she's not the only Kardashian to be accused of filtering her photos. Khloe Kardashian has repeatedly been accused of over-filtering her social media selfies, most infamously in a 2020 post. 90 Day Fiance's Darcey Silva is another celebrity who has been accused of using filters Darcey and her twin sister Stacey are pictured on the red carpet in March She recently admitted that she used to Photoshop all of her posts, but now says that she's pulled back a lot. 'There was a time that I definitely did. There was a time that I was around some people that would make me feel like I needed to,' she recently said on her podcast. 'I also think it was the era, too. I felt like a lot of people were photoshopping, or heavily photoshopping, more than they do now,' she continued. 'I do feel like there was a time that we all just got consumed in this filter lifestyle, and we couldn't see ourselves without a filter.' Other stars who have been accused of filtering their social media photos include Kim Zolciak and 90 Day Fiance's Darcey and Stacey Silva. A popular supermarket item has made a huge comeback after leaving shoppers devastated when it disappeared from shelves in late 2024. Celebrations chocolates have returned to Australia, eight months after being discontinued due to rising importation costs. The much-loved chocolate box included bite-sized fan favourites: Mars Bars, Snickers, Maltesers, Milky Way, Bounty and more. On Thursday, Mars Wrigley confirmed it has brought back the popular box, with fans delighted by the news. 'YES! SOOOOO HAPPY, I'M GOING TO CRY! I needed this,' one fan said. 'OMG finally,' another shared. 'Exciting news! It's great to see celebrations making a comeback,' one revealed. 'About time,' another added. Celebrations chocolates have made a huge comeback after leaving shoppers devastated when it disappeared from shelves in late 2024 The chocolate box has made its way back onto Australia shores after months of overwhelming demand from customers. 'The consumer response demanding the return of Celebrations last year was incredible, so we are thrilled to bring Celebrations back to supermarket shelves around the country,' Ben Hill, Mars Wrigley Marketing Director, said. 'For decades, Celebrations has featured prominently at family gatherings, events and of course, celebrations of all kinds. We can't wait for everyone to enjoy them again and for hopefully many years to come.' The chocolates will roll out to major retailers from mid-July for $16. Food content creator Russell Stuart, known as Russ Eats on social media, also shared the 'surprising' news about the return of Celebrations. The chocolate box included bite-sized fan favourites: Mars Bars, Snickers, Twix, Maltesers, Milky Way, Bounty and more 'I'm going to break the good news, Celebrations are returning,' he said. After taste testing the new chocolate box, Russ confirmed 'they taste the same' as the original. His video has been viewed more than 75,000 times - with many saying they were excited about the news. 'I work at Coles and I can't wait to see these on the shelves. I might even buy a box to share with everyone on Christmas day,' one said. 'Perfect,' another revealed. 'I offer myself as tribute to anyone who needs a recipient for unwanted Bounty bars. God tier chocolate that gets way too much hate,' one suggested. Back in November, the chocolates were removed from shelves due to rising costs. 'Our CELEBRATIONS products were imported from Europe,' a Mars-Wrigley spokesperson told FEMAIL at the time. 'And like many Australian businesses importing products from overseas, we are experiencing rising cost-pressures and supply challenges.' A popular travel influencer is facing backlash online after posting a controversial video of himself throwing his young son off a cliff. Garrett Gee, 35, the patriarch of the well-known influencer family known as 'The Bucket List Family,' described the moment as part of his 'unique' parenting style. The video, shared on Instagram on July 12, was filmed during a recent family trip to Lake Powell - a reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona. It shows Gee teaching his youngest child, Calihan 'Cali' Gee, how to cliff jump. The clip opens with an on-screen message warning: 'Most people won't love how we teach our kids how to cliff jump.' In the video, Cali appears hesitant as he approaches the edge of the rock and reaches for his father's hand. He then turns away, shielding his eyes in what appears to be fear. Moments later, Gee lifts his son and throws him off the cliff into the water below as Cali can be heard screaming during the descent. The video then cuts to the family's two older children, Dorothy and Manilla, jumping from the same cliff together. Garrett Gee, 35, the patriarch of the well-known influencer family known as 'The Bucket List Family,' described the moment as part of his 'unique' parenting style. Pictured: The Bucket List Family, Garrett Gee, his wife Jessica, and their three children, Dorothy, Manilla and Calihan The video, shared on Instagram on July 12, was filmed during a recent family trip to Lake Powell - a reservoir on the Colorado River in Utah and Arizona. Pictured: Garrett Gee throws his youngest son, Calihan 'Cali' Gee off a cliff on Lake Powell Anticipating the controversy, Gee included a disclaimer in the caption: 'This is NOT parental advice. This is NOT something I advise you try. Also, this is NOT something we've done with all of our kids. Each kid is quite different' He later defended the decision, saying that throwing Cali was a calculated choice made with safety in mind. Gee claimed he selected a safe height and wanted to prevent his son from hesitating and potentially injuring himself. 'He wanted to jump but was not feeling confident I threw him,' Gee explained, comparing the moment to a baby eagle being nudged from the nest. 'Eventually a baby eagle needs to leave the nest... or be tossed out of the nest ;) and learn HE CAN FLY!' Online critics were quick to respond, with some applauding the familys adventurous lifestyle and praising the father-of-three for teaching courage and trust. 'Coming from someone who grew up in a very fear-based/avoid all forms of struggle environment: you training your children to be courageous and to confront their fears is an absolute GIFT to their future selves,' one supporter wrote. Others, however, were disturbed by the video and questioned its ethics and safety. 'Honest question, no judgment. Did he know he was going to be thrown?' one commenter asked. Gee replied, 'YES. He had the choice He chose to be thrown.' The Bucket List Family first gained attention in 2015 after Garrett Gee sold his mobile app, Scan, to Snapchat for a reported $54 million Despite trying to keep the tone light - even joking that brave kids might one day jump from heights their parents wouldn't dare - the video has sparked a broader debate about parenting in the influencer era. 'Cliff jumping is very very dangerous! Ask an ER doctor or nurse. How do you reconcile that as a parent?' one critic commented. 'This is about the dad, not about the emotional safety and wellbeing of the family,' another added. 'Negligent and irresponsible just for views?!!' a third wrote. Gee, however, seemed unfazed by the uproar. In response to one commenter about the backlash, he wrote, 'Eh, that's basically everything on the internet these days ;)' He ended the post with a message that straddled encouragement and caution: 'But warning: teaching your kids to be brave starts to backfire when they become older and begin jumping from heights that you don't even dare!! /// BE SAFE OUT THERE! YOU CAN DO HARD THINGS! HAVE FUN!' The Bucket List Family first gained attention in 2015 after Garrett Gee sold his mobile app, Scan, to Snapchat for a reported $54 million. A former BYU student and Mormon missionary, Gee chose to invest the money and live simply. Over the past decade, the Gees have visited more than 90 countries and built a brand rooted in 'family, faith, and fearlessness.' Their nomadic lifestyle has earned them millions of followers and partnerships with global brands and tourism boards He and his wife, Jessica, 39, sold their belongings and embarked on a global adventure with their children, documenting their experiences as a family travel journal on social media. Over the past decade, the Gees have visited more than 90 countries and built a brand rooted in 'family, faith, and fearlessness.' Their nomadic lifestyle has earned them millions of followers and partnerships with global brands and tourism boards. Although they established a home base in Hawaii in 2018, the family continues to travel extensively. In a 2023 interview with TODAY.com, Jessica reflected on the joys of their unconventional lifestyle: 'Those are some of the best moments as a family, when you all get to participate together and you all find joy in the same thing that's what you hope for, I think, as a parent.' How often do you lie? Your instinctive reaction may be to protest, Me? Never! But thats probably a lie in itself. Because all of us lie, in small ways, all the time. But the thing about lying is that it has a way of running away from you. I should know. For a long time, I was a serial liar. A fibber. A fantasist. Once I started, I couldnt stop. I was extremely rich; I was incredibly poor; Id been in prison; I was a child prodigy. Anything to seem more interesting. Until Im not sure that anyone knew the real me any more I didnt even recognise myself. It started, as so many lies do, from a place of fear. Moving away from home for the first time for university felt so incredibly nerve-racking. I was terrified, and I didnt know how to handle it. Id wanted to feel like a grown-up version of myself but I was far from it a mere imitation of the woman I wanted to become. The first few months were a blur of new faces and daunting situations. And it was in those moments that I found myself whispering untruths into peoples ears. My lies started, as so many lies do, from a place of fear, writes Alice Snape Id gone to school with one of the Spice Girls. Id had an affair with a teacher. I was an erotic novelist. My dad was mates with then-prime minister Tony Blair. The lies kept coming One night, during Freshers Week, I was sitting opposite one of my intimidatingly clever new housemates in the pub. I cant remember exactly what she was saying maybe she was telling me about an intellectual-sounding book shed read that Id never heard of, or commenting on something political that I didnt understand but I floundered. I felt silly and small and totally out of my depth. So when she asked about me, I lied. I told her that Id lived in New York and worked as a nanny for a year after leaving school. I told her how fabulous it was. How Id found myself. The reality was that Id retaken an A-level because I didnt get into my first choice of university. Id spent a whole extra year back in sixth form while working part-time as a receptionist and still living with my parents. But I wanted my fellow students to think I was the kind of person whod done something, well, more. Id ached to be cool and clever and daring, rather than cripplingly shy and unsure of myself. And in letting that first lie slip out, I realised its power. I enjoyed this chic character Id created. This alternate narrative my life could have taken. So I fabricated more falsehoods. I created personas depending on the strangers I was chatting to, conjuring up elaborate backstories on the spot. I was a child actor in Grange Hill. Id been in prison for fraud (apt). I was years younger than my real age but Id been so clever that Id taken my exams early. Id gone to school with one of the Spice Girls. Id had an affair with a teacher. I was an erotic novelist. My dad was mates with then-prime minister Tony Blair. I was rich like mega-rich or I had no money at all. It felt like a game no one knew I was playing. I liked the attention, too. I loved turning up to dates as an entirely different character it was somehow easier that way. When I was pretending, Id wear something the real me wouldnt dare to shorter skirts, tighter jeans, brighter lipstick. Slowly, though, my mind became clouded with the lies Id told. The strangers on the receiving end of my tall tales seemed to have a way of finding me again. I couldnt keep up with myself. How could I continue dating someone if our first date was based on a lie? Lying is fun, until its really not fun, and youre sitting right next to someone youve lied to in a seminar, or on the bus, or at a bar. I didnt want anyone to know what I was up to. The confidence it gave me was replaced with anxiety which was what Id been trying to avoid in the first place. I felt uneasy every time I was in the company of the housemate Id lied to. She wasnt a stranger, not now I saw her every day. I was constantly worried shed out me. And so I confessed. Which made me feel silly and small and totally out of my depth again. I vaguely remember her hugging me, trying to make me feel better, but I knew wed never be proper friends now. I know now that some of my lies are linked to my mental health. Its something Ive been back and forth to the doctors about over the entirety of my adult life. I relied on my lies to get me through situations I felt uncomfortable in. The urge to fabricate things emerged every time I was at a turning point in my life. Once Id graduated and was living in another new city in my first new job, I lied again about boyfriends or who I was friends with or where I went to university. Id say Id done my masters in Oxford (Id studied at Brookes), but let people assume I meant the real Oxford. It was like my comfort blanket. A lie can be perfect and complete, whereas the reality is messy and nuanced. I overthink to the extent that Ive been diagnosed with anxiety, depression and OCD. My lies had become compulsions in the same way that I need to check the door is locked exactly ten times or take photos of my unplugged hair straighteners so I dont spend all day worrying I havent turned them off and that my flat is on fire. Recognising my compulsions are the symptom of an illness has been a revelation. I know myself now. And so, sometimes, if someone asks me how I am or what I do, I might tell them. Like really tell them. Sometimes that raw honesty can open up an unexpected connection. I dont need to be someone Im not. Id say Id done my masters in Oxford (Id studied at Brookes), but let people assume I meant the real Oxford But, I confess, there are still sometimes that I lie. I adore the drama of make-believe an ex dumped me because he said I live my life like Im in an episode of teen drama series The O.C. The difference now, aged 42, is that I know when lying is just a bit of innocent fun, and when it could tangle me in a humiliating web of deceit. Last year, when I was on holiday with my best friend, I drew her into my fictional world. Not incidentally, she was one of the first people at university that I revealed my true self to. I told her Id failed an A-level, and it turned out she had, too. We connected. She saw me for who I was and I saw her. It was such a relief. Maybe I knew that shed become one of the most important women in my life. And so on holiday we pretended we were married to each other, madly in love. We forgot about our husbands at home. For the weekend, it was just us on holiday. Which feels fitting, we lied together because she knows exactly who I am neurotic, nervous, an extroverted introvert, an overthinker. The other, worse kind of lies still leak out when Im particularly nervous, though. Often, still, its in a situation where Im surrounded by people I think are cleverer than me. Although it happens less now that, at last, Im becoming the woman I used to long to be. Sometimes I realise Im living the life I used to lie about not a criminal or a pop star, but I am a published writer. But if a lie does slip out, I take it back, however embarrassing it is. You never know when strangers might weave their way into your life. Plus, Im more sure of myself. I embrace the eccentric and introverted parts of my personality. So I wear the dress or the lipstick that used to feel like too much. Because Im a lot, and Im OK with that. And I stay in when Im feeling extremely anxious, the times when I know might lead to me saying things that could get me in trouble. You may think Im awful for admitting to such things. But, right now, Im just being honest. President Donald Trump's glamorous aide, Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor Margo Martin, has been sporting a number of fashionable designer items since joining his second term - and is showing off her expensive style on Instagram. Martin, 30, first made headlines last year during Trump's 2024 criminal trial, with one Fox reporter even mistaking her for the President's wife, Melania Trump, after she accompanied him to his 2023 indictment. Almost instantly afterwards, the world became fiercely intrigued with Melania's doppelganger, and she has since become an online sensation, gaining more than 33,000 followers on her Instagram. The Oklahoma native has been with the president dating back to his first time at the White House after joining as an advisor from Trump's Save America PAC. She was one of the few to remain on with his team beyond his initial tenure in office. Martin famously was the communications aide who gave the final press lid for the Trump administration. Now, since joining the President's team yet again for the second time in office, she has upped her style even more this time around. Earlier this month, Martin took to Instagram to post a 'day in my life' video, where she chronicled her full workday from 5.30am to 1.30am. President Donald Trump 's glamorous aide, Special Assistant to the President and Communications Advisor Margo Martin, has been sporting a number of fashionable designer items since joining his second term - and is showing off her expensive style on Instagram She shared a glimpse into her getting ready routine, which she completed in a pair of $86 lobster-print pajamas from In My Sundays, and using the $42 Rosy Glow Powder Blush by Dior on her face In the video, she also wore a $430 navy blue, tweed dress that featured a denim skirt and lapels by designer Sandro She shared a glimpse into her getting ready routine, which she completed in a pair of $86 lobster-print pajamas from In My Sundays as she used the $42 Rosy Glow Powder Blush by Dior on her face. To finish things off, she then curled her hair with a barrel curler, and put on her outfit for the day - a $430 navy blue, tweed dress that featured a denim skirt and lapels by designer Sandro. But of course, that's not the only elegant outfit she's been spotted wearing in recent months. In June, she posted a photo of herself walking by the President's side while wearing a chic, beige-colored pantsuit by Veronica Beard. The jacket alone cost nearly $700, while the pants were $498. She completed the look with a pair of backless, white Gucci Princetown loafers, which retail for $990. During Trump's June trip to the Middle East, she also sported a number of pricey looks, including a mint green, floral belted blazer jacket by Hofmann Copenhagen, which retails for a little over $200. And it looks like her style is equally as glamorous when she's not working by Donald Trump's side. During Trump's June trip to the Middle East, she also sported a number of pricey looks, including a mint green, floral belted blazer jacket by Hofmann Copenhagen, which retails for a little over $200 In June, she posted a photo of herself walking by the President's side while wearing a chic, beige-colored pantsuit by Veronica Beard While out with her friends, the communications advisor took her $3,000 denim mini Jodie bag by Bottega Veneta for a spin She often wears a pair of backless, white Gucci Princetown loafers, which retail for $990 In May, she posted a number of snaps from what she called her 'life outside work,' showing off her casual-cool looks. In one photo, Martin bundled up in the $298 Alo Yoga oversized sherpa coat in black, and in another, she wore another fuzzy brown jacket. While out with her friends, the communications advisor took her $3,000 denim mini Jodie bag by Bottega Veneta for a spin. As Trump's Presidential term continues, it will be interesting to see what other luxurious pieces Martin decides to add to her wardrobe. In hundreds of years time, when people gather to discuss the decline of early 21st century society and the various cultural moments that led to it, I really hope that they remember to include the news this week that the sister of Love Island star Molly-Mae Hague decided to leave Bali after just 48 hours because it didn't look like it does on Instagram. Oh, laugh if you want! Pooh-pooh the news as trivial and trifling compared to say, government super-injunctions, not to mention conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East. But to me, this totally ridiculous and seemingly frivolous story marks the moment that pop culture as we know it completely jumped the shark. Let me recap, just in case you've been distracted by more pressing issues. Zoe Rae is famous for being the sister of Molly-Mae Hague, who in herself is famous for well, I'm not sure really. Being on reality TV? Selling bobbly, plastic blazers for 140 a pop? Anyway, Zoe's fame by association has given her a comfortable living as an influencer, with hundreds of thousands of followers and a YouTube channel where she uploads 'vlogs' about her life. And this week, she put one up explaining why she and her husband Danny had left their holiday in Bali after just two days. I watched the full 20 minutes 11 seconds, so that you don't have to. You can thank me later. 'Since landing in Bali, something for us wasn't right,' explained the 29-year-old, sitting in the living room of their five-star hotel room on the Indonesian island (as well as being bigger than their apartment in Manchester, it also had two bathrooms, his and hers sinks, and a wrap-around balcony overlooking the ocean). 'We came here with high expectations because we had seen on social media everyone was having such a lovely time... But I don't think the reality of Bali is shown much at all, and I do think it is down to a lot of influencers posting the more luxury side of things.' 'I think it is just personal preference,' continued Zoe. 'And our preference was that this isn't for us, and we are making the executive decision to go enjoy our anniversary somewhere we know that we love and can relax and can drink the water without being ill in bed for a week.' That place is of course Dubai, the adult Disneyland of holiday destinations, where all the bits that influencers like Zoe might not want to show on their social media feeds are kept hidden: the poverty, migrant workers, human rights abuses, et cetera et cetera. Zoe's fame by association has given her a comfortable living as an influencer, with hundreds of thousands of followers and a YouTube channel where she uploads 'vlogs' about her life And this week, she put one up explaining why she and her husband Danny had left their holiday in Bali after just two days 'We can close this chapter and move on,' added Danny, as if they had experienced a dreadful natural disaster, and not two days staying at a luxury hotel, paying locals 10 to massage their feet. Now look, mocking influencers like Zoe is much like shooting fish in a barrel. She's hardly the most offensive or harmful person clogging up the internet, and at least she's been honest with her followers about her motivation for cutting the trip to Bali short. But I do think we should let this ludicrous, laughable moment be the one where we all step back and remind ourselves that social media and Instagram in particular is a complete lie factory. A lie factory that we are allowing to influence our real lives on a daily basis. It always makes me laugh when I go on Instagram and see someone complaining about the mainstream media manipulating the truth, as if that isn't the entire point of the very platform they happen to be posting on. Nothing and I mean nothing looks like it does on Instagram. Not Bali, not Dubai, and certainly not any of the influencers who go there. Everything from the wrinkles on our faces, to the cellulite on our thighs and the problems in our lives can be filtered out of the facades we present to the world on our phones. There's a popular saying often used as an inspirational Instagram quote, ironically that you shouldn't compare your insides to someone's outsides. But we should remember that on social media, we are not just comparing our insides to other people's outsides, but their highly edited outsides at that. The effects of this are not just feelings of self-loathing when we look in the mirror and don't see a filtered goddess staring back at us. We also, as Zoe Rae has shown, feel a sort of malaise and discomfort when we look out at the world around us and don't see white sands, crystal-clear turquoise water and drinks with umbrella straws in them. You can take this even further, and see how many people caught in their algorithms can't even bear someone having an opinion that differs from theirs. And this is the problem with social media: the gap between the online world and the offline one is becoming so vast that people are falling down it, into increasingly bleak voids of misery and despair. So let's take this moment to remind ourselves that you can't put a filter on real life. You can't photoshop out the fact that we want to have luxury holidays in places where many of the locals don't even have access to clean drinking water. Nor can you live in a world where everybody thinks like you. You can certainly try, but there will come a point when you have to experience the real world in all its messy, complicated glory and like Zoe Rae and her husband Danny, you're going to be in for a very rude awakening indeed. Angry fans are demanding answers and declaring they will no longer tune in The channel has canceled several popular shows in recent weeks HGTV's social media has been inundated with comments from angry fans threatening to boycott the channel entirely as it continues its spate of cancellations. In recent weeks, the channel has axed numerous popular shows including, Bargain Block, Married to Real Estate, Farmhouse Fixer, Izzy Does It, and Battle on the Beach. More recently, it's been said that Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa's The Flipping El Moussas has been shelved, along with Christina Haack's Christina on the Coast. The culling spree has been slammed by angry viewers who are demanding an explanation over the decisions and declaring that they will no longer be tuning into the channel at all. Furious fans made their feelings known underneath HGTV's last Instagram post, dated July 3, which outlined its July schedule. Taking to the comments, one said: 'How could you get rid of Izzy Does It! One of the best new shows you have brought on in a while. This show is so entertaining! Funny, heartfelt and why we are there to watch: beautiful renovations that help us all watch and learn! 'I enjoyed every episode, loved the designs and couldn't wait for the next season. Come on guys rethink this ridiculous decision. We fell in love with Izzy with Tarek and Christina so it was exciting to see him with his own show.' (sic) Another begged: 'Bring back Married to Real Estate, Bargain Block! Those were two of my absolute favorites! I am very disappointed with your decisions HGTV! Please explain how you came up with this decision.' HGTV's social media has been inundated with comments from angry fans threatening to boycott the channel Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa's The Flipping El Moussas has reportedly been shelved A third continued: 'Bring back the shows with diversity. Married to Real Estate & Bargain Block. They were my favorites. No one wants to see more of Drew & Jonathan. I won't be watching.' 'Can't believe you're not renewing Christina on the Coast and The Flipping El Moussas!' another said. 'Literally the best shows besides down home fab to be on the channel... smh.' A fifth added: 'Congratulations to Egypt and Mike on their cancelled show Married to Real Estate on being nominated for an Emmy! 'Way to go HGTV for canceling a top five rated Emmy nominated show and losing tons of viewers.' A sixth speculated: 'Something fishy. My favorite shows were canceled. Christina on the Coast was the best, followed by Married to real Estate. Gotta find me another channel to watch. Sad.' HGTV, a basic cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. Over the past few weeks, the network has sent shockwaves as a result of its sudden cancellations. 'Decisions are still being made,' an insider who works directly with programming told Daily Mail earlier this month. Furious fans made their feelings known about the cull underneath HGTV's last Instagram post 'It sucks for everyone involved but that's the TV business. 'Everyone understands that. Cable networks are struggling now, and we all have to make smart decisions.' Farmhouse Fixer host Jonathan Knight confirmed that his show, co-presented by Kristina Crestin, had been axed after three seasons. 'A lot of you have been asking about the future of Farmhouse Fixer,' he said. 'I am sad to say HGTV has decided not to move forward with another season. 'While I'm still processing the reasons that led to their decision, Kristina and I are so grateful for all your support over the past three seasons. Farmhouse Fixer with Jonathan Knight and Kristina Crestin has also been cancelled, along with Bargain Block, Married to Real Estate, and Izzy Does It 'Television has been so incredibly fun for us.' Despite the spate of cancellations, it was recently announced that John Cena is now executive producing a new series for the network: Junk or Jackpot. It will follow collectors who have filled their houses with unusual collectibles - miniature sets, action figures, antique dolls - and after assessing the value of the items, the show will help the collector decide whether to keep them or sell them in order to afford much-needed renovations. Queer Eye alum Bobby Berk will host the new show. An American woman caused a stir after complaining about the 'filthy' venue and 'drunk' patrons after attending an Oasis show in Manchester. Alexis said the sold-out Oasis gig, which was attended by 80,000 people, was the 'filthiest concert' she had ever been to. She shared her shock at the amount of 'drunkenness' in the crowd of 'wild animals', people throwing drinks, the lack of bins, and that the bar menu wasn't to her liking. The tourist's gripes were met with a barrage of outraged comments from British Oasis fans defending UK concert culture and Manchester. Alexis travelled to Manchester for one of the five Oasis shows at Heaton Park with her partner. She said she knew Manchester wasn't going to be her 'favourite place' when some light research prior to her trip revealed the city didn't have a Chanel or Hermes store. 'I knew right out of the gate that it probably wasn't going to be my cup of tea,' she said. 'We spent most of the day looking for something to do and legitimately I think the only thing to do there is go to pubs and drink pints and we did that before the show.' Oasis fans are up in arms after US woman Alexis (pictured) complained about drunken 'wild animals', people throwing drinks, the lack of bins and drinks options at Heaton Park gig She shared her shock at the amount of 'drunkenness' in the crowd of 'wild animals', people throwing drinks, the lack of bins, and that the bar menu wasn't to her liking After 'choking down' a drink at a bar, Alexis set off to what she expected to be a 'nice concert' but had her reservations as she had been told it would not be 'civilised'. 'It was a great show but it was the dirtiest concert I have ever been to...I have never seen a more concentrated group of drunkenness,' she said. 'You go to a concert and sometimes you see maybe one or two people that are kind of like 'you've been overserved'. This was..you'd be lucky if you found two people that hadn't been overserved.' Alexis's woes continued when she went to the bar to get a drink and was dismayed to find they were only serving beer and vodka mixers. 'They had like four things you could mix vodka with...They had Pepsi Max, which I had never even heard of,' she recalled. 'They had vodka lemonade, and when I asked what kind of lemonade it was she goes, 'Oh it's basically like a Sprite', it was a brand I've never heard of. 'I said well that's not lemonade. I got it and I asked for six limes, and I squeezed six limes in thinking that would make it a serviceable drink - it did not. I couldn't drink it.' Because she didn't like any of the alcoholic options offered, Alexis said she was a 'sober Sally' for the evening and claims she was one of the few people not drunk at the show. Then Alexis said she tried to find a bin to throw away her rubbish. 'I didn't want to be the riff raff that was throwing everything on the floor. I've never seen a dirtier place. I looked for a trash can, I couldn't find one,' she said. 'Finally, I did find a cluster of four trash cans. There were 80,000 people at this concert, I only saw a cluster of four trash cans the entire time I was there.' She added that she got 'blasted' by a drink that had been thrown by another concertgoer 'because the lads were losing their minds over Oasis and launching drinks into the air like wild animals'. Overall, Alexis said the people of Manchester were very 'friendly' but she probably won't be returning after her experience. 'Overall my review of Manchester was, the people - incredible. I love the people of Manchester, you can't find a friendlier bunch of people, probably because they're all drunk but regardless they were so nice,' she said. 'But there's not a lot to do in Manchester, I will probably never go back.' Alexis's review of Manchester and the Oasis show has British viewers reeling and they shared their outrage in the comments. Alexis's rant had Manchester locals and Oasis fans reeling and they shared their outrage in the comments 'Imagine what she'd be like at an actual UK festival, she'd cry after half an hour,' one user replied. 'I feel like you don't get Oasis if you have a problem with this stuff,' another agreed. 'I'm furious that I couldn't get a ticket and you did,' one fan complained. 'Here's a bit of advice; do a bit of research before visiting a place. Oasis; known for the rise of laddish behaviour in the UK. Manchester; birthplace of the industrial revolution. No bins; the history of terror attacks in the UK. If you want to go shopping go to the Trafford Centre,' someone wrote. Another added: 'Oh no, we don't attend an Oasis concert in their hometown and slag it offpeople would have paid a fortune to appreciate that show.' Some suspected the drink that hit Alexis may have contained something more sinister than beer or water. 'Is anyone going to tell her that probably wasn't a drink?' one man said. 'It's urine. I'm so sorry I've been to Liam twice and Noel once then the Oasis gig the other day it's a common occurrence unfortunately,' a second pointed out. A major study exploring the link between childhood vaccinations and autism has confirmed jabs do not cause the developmental conditionand may actually protect against it. Researchers examined the health records of more than 1.2 million children born in Denmark between 1997 and 2018, all of whom had received routine jabs. Using data from Denmark's nationwide Medical Birth Registry, they looked at whether being vaccinated increased the risk of developing any of 50 chronic conditions. These included autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, allergies, asthma and neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). As nearly all Danish children are vaccinated, researchers instead focused on how much aluminium each child received through their early jabs. Aluminium is added to some childhood vaccines to help boost the immune response, and anti-vaccine campaigners have long claimed it may be harmfulparticularly to the developing brain. However, there has been little large-scale human data to test this. Varying aluminium levels in vaccines offered to children allowed scientists to test if more exposure meant greater risk. Researchers have now proved in a groundbreaking study that childhood inoculations do not cause autism as well as a number of other serious health disorders including asthma and ADHD Your browser does not support iframes. They found no significant increase in risk for any of the conditions examinedand for some, including autism, the risk was slightly lower in children who had received more aluminium. The findings, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, are the latest to debunk claims that vaccinesor the aluminium they containcause lasting harm. Professor Anders Hviid, senior study author an expert in epidemiology at Statens Serum Instituta sector of the Danish Ministry of Healthsaid that, as a parent, he understood the concerns about vaccine safety. 'Our study addresses many of these concerns and provides clear and robust evidence for the safety of childhood vaccines,' he said. 'This is evidence that parents need to make the best choices for the health of their children. Researchers found that even when children reached the age of eight and had been exposed to more vaccinationsand therefore more aluminiumthere was no increased risk of the disorder. In 2025, Danish children are vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), polio, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), hepatitis B, meningitis B, pneumococcal disease, measles, mumps, and rubella. For decades parents have feared a potential link between autism and the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Cold-like symptoms, such as a fever, cough and a runny or blocked nose, are usually the first signal of measles. A few days later, some people develop small white spots on the inside of their cheeks and the back of their lips Autism charities say it is unacceptable that so many children are now waiting for an autism assessment on the NHS Doubts about the safety of the jaboffered to children aged onewere fuelled by disgraced ex-doctor Andrew Wakefield in 1998 after he claimed, in a since thoroughly discredited study, it was linked to an increase in cases of autism in children. Mr Wakefield claimed that the first signs of the neurodevelopmental conditioncharacterised by challenges with social communication and repetitive behavioursbegin to manifest around 15-months-old, when the jab is offered. He lost his license to practice as a doctor in 2010 when he was struck off by the UK's medical regulator for 'dishonest and irresponsible' conduct. The theory has been disproven by numerous studies since, but the legacy of these claims continue to cause issues. It was revealed in recent weeks that there has been a slump in MMR vaccination rates, prompting health chiefs to urge parents to check their child's immunisation status against the 'forgotten' but deadly illness measles, amid a rise in cases. In the UK, the MMR vaccination figure stands at 85.2 per centa slight uptick on late 2024 but still one of the lowest in a decade. The figure is also below the 95 per cent jab uptake experts say is key to preventing major outbreaks of incredibly contagious condition. MMR vaccination uptake is a particular problem in certain parts of the countrywith only around half of children living in some parts of London having had both jabs. Similarly low levels are also seen in major cities in Liverpool, Manchester and Birmingham. UK researchers found autism diagnoses had risen by an 'exponential' 787% over 20 years. They said the rise could be due to increased recognition of the condition among experts particularly in diagnosing autism among girls and adults, but added an increase in cases of autism itself cannot be ruled out Your browser does not support iframes. Tragically, this week a child died of measles in Liverpool. Experts now say without concerted action to improve vaccination rates it is a 'tragic inevitability' that recurrent outbreaks will occur resulting in further loss of 'precious young lives'. While the latest study helps further discredit claims that vaccines are linked to autism there has been undeniable increase in diagnoses in recent years. Experts have previously noted a eight-fold increase in cases in recent decades. British researchers have said worrying rise is likely due to increased awareness of the condition but have added an increase in prevalence could also be contributing. An additional factor experts say could be influencing the rise is the retirement of Asperger's syndrome. This was once considered a separate condition but is now considered another form of autism. However, others have pointed to the 'wild-west' of autism screening in England that could mean over-diagnosis could also be playing a part. Last year a study revealed adults referred to some autism assessment facilities have an 85 per cent chance of being told they are on the spectrum. Yet the figure can be as low as 35 per cent in other places, researchers at University College London found. The latest figures suggest autism diagnoses have skyrocketed over the last three years with more than 200,000 people now waiting for an assessment in England. Children now often have to wait over a year for an assessment said a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care, who claimed autistic children are being 'let down by a broken NHS'. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said vaccine hesitancy remains to be one of the 10 biggest global threats to health. Millions taking a common painkiller could be unwittingly raising their risk of suffering from dementia and memory problems. That's the warning from researchers in Ohio, who tracked people prescribed gabapentin - often sold under the brand name Neurontin - for more than a decade after their first dose. The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine journal, concluded that those who took the drug for back pain were up to 40 percent more likely to develop dementia than those who did not take the medication. Patients who used the medication, which costs 50 cents per capsule, were also 85 percent more likely to suffer from mild cognitive impairment, or memory problems that can be a precursor to dementia. Scientists behind the study were alarmed by the findings and warned that anyone who had taken the drug - the seventh most commonly prescribed in the US - should be psychologically evaluated immediately. But doctors not involved in the research advised caution, saying the results were observational and did not prove that taking the drug could cause dementia. Instead, they suggested it could be linked to another factor among the participants, like those on the drug experiencing the worst back pain. It wasn't clear how the drug may trigger memory problems, but previous research suggests that gabapentin can reduce activity in neurons, which may impact how they communicate. Doctors are warning that prescriptions with gabapentin, often sold under the brand name Neurontin, could raise the risk of suffering from dementia (stock image) Your browser does not support iframes. Dr Darria Gillespie, an emergency medicine physician who was not involved in the research, told the Daily Mail: 'I would interpret these findings with a lot of caution. 'The fact they found a 40 percent rise suggests to me there could be another factor in the data that they are not accounting for.' Dr Arthur Jenkins, a neurosurgeon at Jenkins NeuroSpine in New York who was also not involved in the research, added: 'Patients with two plus years of chronic pain have changes visible on MRI, so even patients without any formal brain diagnosis can have subtle brain issues. 'So this may not be a direct causation, but rather an association with patients who are in enough pain to be on this drug.' About 69 million gabapentin prescriptions are written in the US every year, according to the CDC. It was approved in the 1990s to treat seizures and shingles, but amid the opioid crisis, doctors started to use the drug off-label as a painkiller. This study is just the latest to warn of its potential link to dementia, after another paper warned in 2023 that those taking the drug had a 45 percent higher risk. The drug has previously been linked to dementia, but doctors have disputed the findings, saying the development of the condition could be due to another factor For the newer Annals of Internal Medicine paper, scientists extracted data on patients from TriNetX, a health research network containing anonymous patient records from 68 healthcare organizations. A total of 1.4 million patients with a diagnosis of back pain between 2004 and 2014, and at least 10 years' worth of data was extracted. Of these, 26,000 were found to have been prescribed gabapentin, and in the analysis, they were matched to the same number of similar patients who had not received the drug. Results showed that those who were prescribed gabapentin six or more times had a 29 percent higher risk of dementia compared to those who did not receive the drug. And patients who were prescribed the drug 12 or more times had a 40 percent higher risk of developing the condition. Overall, 1,815 patients who took gabapentin were diagnosed with dementia, equivalent to 7 percent of the group, while 975 patients, or 4 percent, were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. For comparison, among those who did not take the drug, 1,416 patients, or 5.4 percent, were diagnosed with dementia, and 561, or 2 percent, were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment. Dr Leah Mursaleen, head of clinical research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said while the study had some strengths, there were serious limitations. The study analyzed data on patients who were diagnosed with back pain (stock image) 'This study only shows an association between gabapentin prescriptions and mild cognitive impairment or dementia, so we do not know if the medication is directly causing the higher risk,' she said. 'Gabapentin dosage wasn't recorded, and there was no information on how long people were on the medication. 'Because this study only used health records of people with chronic pain, we cannot rule out other factors that might be influencing the findings.' The risk of suffering from dementia after taking gabapentin was highest among those between 34 and 49 years old, who had a 144 percent higher risk of developing the condition in the decade after taking the drug. These adults also had the highest risk of developing the condition, at a more than 250 percent higher risk, while those between 18 and 34 years old had the lowest risk. There were no cases of dementia in the latter group and less than 10 cases of mild cognitive impairment. Kylie Jenner is no stranger to plunging necklines and barely-there outfits. But a recent bikini-clad photo from her vacation in Saint-Tropez this month has drawn attention for a different reason, the snap revealed a prominent scar under her right breast. The 27-year-old makeup mogul has previously admitted to undergoing breast augmentation at age 19, revealing she had grapefruit-sized implants inserted in the summer of 2016. Now, a leading plastic surgeon believes the scar may point to an additional, and previously undisclosed, procedure. Dr Sam Fuller, a plastic surgeon in Indiana, told DailyMai.com that she likely also had a mastopexy, or breast lift, to help her achieve her fuller chest. The surgeon, who does several breast procedures a week, said: 'This scar is not typical of just a breast augmentation surgery. 'Typically, a very small one to two-inch incision is made at the center point of the crease in the breast in this procedure. 'But the fact there appears to be a scar extending along the breast is more consistent with a mastopexy, or lift procedure.' Kylie Jenner has left fans grimacing after accidentally exposing a 'painful looking' plastic surgery scar in new photos The television personality's tender scars were revealed in paparazzi shots Your browser does not support iframes. Breast lifts are typically carried out at the same time as breast augmentations to reposition tissue over implants and make breasts appear fuller and perkier. But some may also opt for them at a later date to raise breasts and tighten any drooping or sagging skin, including any caused by implants. Dr Fuller did not examine Jenner in person, but based his comments on photos of the celebrity's scar that appeared under her breasts at the Saint Tropez beach and at an event in Rome, Italy, in May this year. DailyMail.com contacted representatives of the star before publication, but they did not return our request for comment. He said it was possible that she had her breast lift at the same time as her breast augmentation, which would be 'very normal in practices'. But added that in his view the scars appeared more fresh, which he said suggested she had the procedure within the last two years. 'I would say that she likely had this surgery at least six to eight months ago, and probably within the last two years,' he said. 'In the first three to six months, the scars from this surgery are pink, red and purple, but over time these will fade, and her scars do have a faded appearance. The scar also appears to be just visible in this picture of Jenner from an event in Rome, Italy, in May this year 'There is some thickening though, I believe, which makes it seem like this was within at least the last year or two.' In a breast lift, surgeons make incisions around the nipple and along the breast crease before removing any excess skin and lifting and tightening the breasts. The incision is made in the crease under the breasts to obscure the scar. It can be six inches long, but surgeons say more significant lifts require longer incisions. Jenner confirmed on an episode of the Kardashians in 2023 that she had received a breast augmentation at 19, but said that she regretted the decision. 'I had beautiful breasts, like natural t**s, just gorgeous, like perfect size, perfect everything, and I just wished, obviously, I never got them done to begin with,' she said. 'I would recommend anyone who was thinking about it to wait until after you have children. 'But yeah, obviously I have a daughter too. I would be heartbroken if she wanted to get her body done at 19.' She had the surgery shortly before she was pregnant with her first child Stormi, who is now seven years old, which she said raised concerns. Kylie previously opened up about going under the knife to have her boobs done in a 2023 episode of The Kardashians. She is pictured above in an image from Instagram And last month, she revealed to a fan the size of the implants she used, saying in response to a TikTok video: '445 cc, moderate profile, half under the muscle! Silicone! [Dr] Garth Fisher! Hope this helps, LOL!' The figure 445cc refers to 445 cubic centimeters, equivalent to 445 milliliters or a little under two US cups, about equivalent to a large grapefruit or medium-to-large mango. Before revealing the implants, she said her breasts were down to a padded bra, periods and weight gain. Dr Fuller said her comments had had a major effect on his own practice, revealing that many women would now ask for a 445cc implant. But added that everyone's breasts were different, and that many would find another size of implant would work best with their appearance. The FDA has approved silicone breast implants for those aged 22 years and over, but doctors may still implant these off-label. Dr Fuller said he does get a number of women requesting implants from the age of 19 years, and says in these cases they are asked to come to repeat appointments to ensure they actually want the implants, rather than it being a passing phase. About 300,000 breast augmentation surgeries are carried out in the US every year, making it one of the most popular procedures nationwide, with numbers still rising. About 143,000 breast lifts are also carried out every 12 months. A major 20-year study of over one million children found no association between aluminum in vaccines and conditions like autism and ADHD. Findings in the sweeping investigation provide a rebuttal to oft-debunked claims about the use of aluminum salts in vaccines, which bolster the bodys immune response, and purported ties to asthma, autoimmune diseases, and autism. DANISH researchers looked at 50 potential health effects in children taking a vaccine containing aluminum salts, including 36 immune system disorders like diabetes and celiac disease, nine allergy-related conditions, such as asthma and eczema, and five neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism and ADHD. They found no increased risk of autism, ADHD, asthma, or autoimmune disorders from the small amounts of aluminum in vaccines. In fact, vaccinated children showed slightly lower rates of neurodevelopmental conditions a seven percent lower autism risk and a 10 percent lower ADHD risk with no connection to allergic or immune problems. Aluminum adjuvants are safely used in several common childhood vaccines, including those protecting against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP/Tdap), hepatitis A and B, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and pneumococcal disease. The aluminum in vaccines acts as a booster, strengthening the bodys immune response to the vaccine. The salts create a temporary irritation at the injection site, which helps the immune system recognize and remember the germ, allowing it to build long-lasting protection. During a June 2024 appearance on Joe Rogans popular podcast, Kennedy falsely labeled aluminum as extremely neurotoxic, mirroring the debunked rhetoric of the anti-vaccine group Childrens Health Defense, which ties aluminum adjuvants to autism, contradicting decades of rigorous studies confirming vaccine safety. Aluminum adjuvants are safely used in several common childhood vaccines, including those protecting against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis (DTaP/Tdap), hepatitis A and B, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), and pneumococcal disease Senior study author Dr Anders Hviid, an epidemiologist at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, said: 'By analyzing data from more than one million Danish children, we found absolutely no indication that the very small amount of aluminum used in the childhood vaccination program increases the risk of 50 different health outcomes during childhood.' 'This is the first study of this scale and with such comprehensive analyses, and it confirms the strong safety profile of the vaccines weve used for decades in Denmark.' Since 1997, Denmark has offered, though not required, aluminum-containing vaccines for diseases including diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough, and polio. Babies receive three doses by the age of one, with a booster dose at age five. The study tracked aluminum exposure from these vaccines, which ranged from 0.125 mg to 1 mg per dose. Using national health records, the team compared aluminum exposure levels to any of the 50 examined diagnoses between the ages of two and five. They accounted for factors like birth weight, family income and maternal health. With data spanning 24 years and encompassing 1.2 million children, some of whom were followed until age eight, the research team utilized statistical models that controlled for real-world variables, including doctor visits and parental smoking. 'We should not be concerned about aluminum used as an adjuvant in childhood vaccines. I think thats the core message,' Dr Hviid told Stat. The results were published this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine. During a June 2024 appearance on Joe Rogans popular podcast, Kennedy falsely labeled aluminum as extremely neurotoxic, mirroring the debunked rhetoric of the anti-vaccine group Childrens Health Defense The latest study was in response to a 2022 CDC report that found a possible link between aluminum used as an adjuvant in vaccines and allergies and asthma in children. Experts at the time pointed out limitations in CDC's methodology. It couldn't distinguish between aluminum from vaccines and environmental sources, such as food or air pollution. They also highlighted puzzling inconsistencies, such as one subgroup of vaccinated children showing no increased risk of asthma despite higher exposure to aluminum. Children are exposed to aluminum in various ways, separate from childhood vaccines. In their first six months, babies get roughly four milligrams of aluminum from vaccines, a minuscule amount. A milligram is one-thousandth of a gram, and a gram is the weight of one-fifth of a teaspoon of water. At the same time, breastfed infants ingest about 10 milligrams, formula-fed babies 40 milligrams and those on soy formula 120 milligrams. Israeli immunologist Dr Yehuda Shoenfeld is the central figure in the debate over the safety of aluminum salts in vaccines through his proposed 2011 Autoimmune/Inflammatory Syndrome Induced by Adjuvants (ASIA) hypothesis. Your browser does not support iframes. His published work suggests aluminum-based vaccine adjuvants may trigger autoimmune responses in genetically susceptible individuals, forming the theoretical foundation for many concerns about the safety of common childhood shots. However, while vaccine skeptics frequently cite Shoenfeld's papers and book on ASIA, the broader scientific community notes significant limitations. His hypothesis relies primarily on case reports and lacks consistent epidemiological support. Large-scale population studies have failed to validate any causal link between aluminum adjuvants and autoimmune conditions. The research comes as autism diagnoses have increased in the US to one in 31 children compared to one in 150 two decades ago. While Kennedy claims this could be blamed on environmental toxins like food additives and pesticides, autism experts believe the increase is due to better diagnostic criteria and more awareness. Food safety watchdogs have issued an urgent warning over the untold dangers of slushies, advising parents the summer favourite is not safe for children under ten. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said today parents should not give children aged under seven slush ice drinks containing glycerol. The super-sweet substance is often used in slushies, brightly coloured ice cold drinks that are a mainstay at cinemas, soft play and parties especially in the warmer months. But in updated advice the FSA has now warned that children aged between seven and 10 should not have more than one 350ml slush ice drink a daythe same size as a can of Coca Cola. Professor Robin May, Chief Scientific Advisor at the FSA, said: 'As we head into the summer holidays, we want parents to be aware of the potential risks associated with slush ice drinks containing glycerol. 'While these drinks may seem harmless and side effects are generally mild, they can, especially when consumed in large quantities over a short time, pose serious health risks to young children.' The new warning comes amid a surge in horrifying reports of children collapsing after consuming the drinks. One two-year-old girl was left '20 minutes from death' after having a slushy drink at her friend's birthday party, according to her grandmother. Arla Agnew (pictured) was left '20 minutes from death' after consuming a slushy drink at her friend's birthday party, according to her grandmother Your browser does not support iframes. Her grandmother, Stacey Agnew said she knew something awry with the toddler, and was left terrified when she suddenly appeared lifeless In March, doctors also blamed slushies for a spate of 21 hospitalisations in children who needed medical care within an hour of consuming the drinks. Prof May added: 'That's why we're recommending that children under seven should not consume these drinks at all, and children aged 7 to 10 should have no more than one 350ml serving.' Glycerol, also called E422 or glycerine on some labels, is a naturally occurring alcohol and sugar substitute which is added to slushies to keep them in a semi-frozen state. Once ingested, the substance is known to be able to absorb a great deal of water and sugar from the bloodstream, before being broken down by the liver and kidneys. It's this sudden loss of internal moisture and blood sugar that experts believe leads to the serious and potentially life-threatening reaction in younger children. It is thought that when young children have several servings in a short period of time, glycerol can cause the body to go into shock, resulting in a loss of consciousness known as glycerol intoxication. This updated advice applies to ready-to-drink slush ice drinks with glycerol in patches and home kits containing glycerol slush concentrates. As the UK faces its third heatwave the FSA is urging parents to stay vigilant and check for glycerol on drinks labels before giving a slush ice drink to their children. Roxy Wallis feared she would have to take her sons Austin (back) and Ted (front) to hospital after they suddenly fell ill and lethargic just minutes after consuming popular slushy drinks If it is not clear whether a drink contains the substance, the FSA advises parents to err on the side of caution and simply not allow their children to drink it. Prof May added: 'We're working closely with industry to ensure appropriate warnings are in place wherever these drinks are sold. 'In the meantime, we are asking parents and carers to take extra care when buying drinks for young children, particularly during warmer months when consumption of 'slushies' typically increases.' It comes as one grandmother last year told how her granddaughter was left '20 minutes from death' after consuming a slushy drink at her friend's birthday party. Arla Agnew became 'grey' and fell unconscious only half an hour after sipping half of the drink at the event on Saturday. Stacey Agnew said she knew something awry with the toddler, and was left terrified when she suddenly appeared lifeless. After rushing the tot to Gollaway Community Hospital, medics determined the child had gone into hypoglycemic shockand the ice drink may have been to blame. But the case was just one in a wave of young children being sickened after consuming slushies. FSA chiefs based their recommendations on a 350ml-sized drink, similar to ones available in shops and cinemas across the UK Earlier this year in March, a terrified mother also warned of the dangers of popular slushy drinks after her two, young sons suffered what appeared to be a dangerous reaction to the beverages. Roxy Wallis, from Cambridgeshire, was shocked to find her sons vomiting, deathly pale and looking 'lifeless' minutes after consuming just 300ml of the drinks, equivalent to less than a can of Coke. The 36-year-old believes they suffered from glycerol toxicitydangerously low blood sugar triggered by iced artificially sweetened slushies. In the same month, another mother also shared how her four-year-old was left 'floppy and unconscious' and rushed to hospital after consuming a drink at a children's play centre. Marnie Moore, from Lancashire, was rushed to hospital where she received urgent treatment for glycerol toxicity. Her mother, Kim Moore, 35, is now calling for a ban on the drinks for under 12s. 'If I hadn't taken her to hospital, it may have had a different outcome,' she said. 'So many places promote free slushies when you play there but you're promoting poison. 'I don't think they should be sold to kids 12 and under. And I personally wouldn't allow my child to drink one at all. It's not a risk I'm willing to take.' Four year-old Marnie Moore spent three days in hospital after consuming a 500ml slushy drink Kim Moore bought the slushy drinks for both her daughters: Marnie, four and Orla, six Slushies were traditionally made with a sugar solution to prevent the liquid ingredients from fully freezing, at about 12g of sugar per 100ml. But formulas using glycerol only need 5g per 100ml to achieve the same result. Authorities have previously warned that just one 350ml drink containing the equivalent of about 17.5g of glycerolwhich is around three teaspoonscould theoretically tip under-fours over the 'safe' threshold. But experts warn older children can also be at risk of glycerol intoxication from consuming multiple E422-laden drinks in quick succession. According to regulator the FSA most slushies contain around 16g of glycerol. However, there is no maximum amount of glycerol that manufacturers have to legally adhere to and most brands don't state how much glycerol is in each slushie. Some brands like Slush Puppie have already removed glycerol from their recipes in response to the concerns about the ingredient. When Chloe Tatton boarded a flight to relocate to Dubai early last year, she hoped the change of climate might help ease her skin problems. At 25, she was excited for a fresh start with her partner Matthew, then 26, a financial planner. But instead of bringing relief, the move became a medical nightmare, leaving her bedridden and eventually hospitalised with a potentially life-threatening skin condition. Soon after taking her seat on the plane, Chloe smoothed moisturiser onto her face to stop the air onboard drying it out. But just two hours in, her skin began burning up. When she went to the bathroom, she was horrified to see her whole face and neck were red and raw. By the time the plane landed, she was in absolute agony. And her symptoms got progressively worse over the next few weeks: The raw skin on my face, limbs and body was breaking down, weeping and peeling off. I couldnt get out of bed. Chloe was experiencing topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), which can occur after people stop taking corticosteroid creams after prolonged use. Corticosteroid creams, or topical steroids, are used to control dermatitis and many other inflammatory skin conditions they work by reducing inflammation and irritation and are recommended by the NHS for treating eczema flare-ups. The raw skin on my face, limbs and body was breaking down, weeping and peeling, says Chloe Tatton, who was experiencing topical steroid withdrawal (TSW), which can occur after people stop taking corticosteroid creams after prolonged use TSW tends to happen in people who have used moderate or strong steroid creams over several years and then stop, says Dr Ellie Rashid, a consultant dermatologist at the private OneWelbeck clinic. We dont fully understand why it happens, but in some cases, when potent topical steroids are stopped suddenly after long-term use, it can trigger a rebound effect, weakening the skin barrier. The immune system becomes overactive leading to rebound inflammation. She adds: TSW is not just a flare-up of the skin condition. Changes have been found in skin cells and the mitochondria essentially the battery in every cell, which produces energy that point to a different biological process. The DNA in the mitochondria carry instructions to produce energy. In TSW, there may be reduced function of this mitochondrial DNA, potentially leading to poor skin repair and persistent inflammation, says Dr Rashid. Chloe, an event management specialist from Cheshire, was three months old when she was first prescribed a steroid cream to treat a small patch of eczema on her cheeks. Her mother, grateful for a solution, followed the instructions carefully applying a thin layer once or twice a day. After that and throughout her childhood and into adulthood, Chloe used topical steroids to control flare-ups every month or so, as prescribed by her GP and dermatologist. Chloe and her partner Matthew relocated to Dubai last year, hoping the change of climate might help ease her skin problems But the move became a medical nightmare, leaving her bedridden and eventually hospitalised with a potentially life-threatening skin condition Yet, each time she stopped, the eczema would return and seemed to gradually worsen, resulting in having to apply the cream over a larger area, sometimes daily. But never did we imagine that this short-term fix would lead to a long-term problem, says Chloe. No one ever explained the risk that my skin could become reliant on the cream or that coming off it would be a nightmare. This reliance on the medication, known as topical steroid dependence, means the patient has to use it continually to maintain the effect and stopping treatment leads to TSW, explains Dr Rashid. The problem is that most doctors, even many dermatologists, are not trained to recognise TSW, she adds. Many of the symptoms can look like severe eczema, so its often mislabelled as a flare-up. But the symptoms which can include stinging, redness, flaking, extreme sensitivity and fatigue are often worse than typical eczema and last for months. Professor Celia Moss, a retired consultant dermatologist and a trustee of the National Eczema Society, says some of the confusion about recognising 'topical steroid withdrawal' is the term - topical steroid withdrawal reaction is probably a better term. Chloes TSW problems first started in April 2021, when she woke to find her face swollen and red. I looked like Id been stung by a bee, she recalls. She went to her GP who prescribed another stronger steroid cream and referred her to a dermatologist. During the ten-hour flight to Dubai, the skin on Chloes face erupted. I was in agony, she says. When I got off the plane, people were staring at my bright red face In 2021, Chloe underwent a range of treatments, including phototherapy, which uses light to re-duce inflammation and itching; immunosuppressant medicine to calm her immune system; and different steroid creams. But her skin symptoms were getting progressively worse. Doing her own research, Chloe discovered TSW. But when she raised the concern with her dermatologist, she was told she simply had extreme eczema. Chloe knew otherwise, she says: Id had eczema all my life, this was different. I had intense burning skin and widespread redness in places where I had never used steroids. In September 2023, after 23 years of regular steroid use, Chloe realising they were only damaging her skin further stopped using the creams. By the following week, her skin had started to completely break down, weeping and peeling. At her next appointment, the dermatologist suggested starting a new treatment, Dupixent (a brand name of Dupilumab), given by an injection a new type of drug known as a monoclonal antibody, which works by targeting proteins that trigger inflammation. After 23 years of regular steroid use, Chloe realising they were only damaging her skin further stopped using the creams. By the following week, her skin had started to completely break down, weeping and peeling Within weeks of arriving in Dubai, Chloe was bedridden because her whole body was affected, she was unable to work and was completely reliant on Matthew for round-the-clock care But before she could begin treatment, Chloe and her partner Matthew decided to move to Dubai. Even though she was already experiencing TSW, Chloe was hopeful that the warmer climate would help her skin. But during the ten-hour flight, the skin on her face erupted. I was in agony, she says. When I got off the plane, people were staring at my bright red face. Within weeks of arriving, she was bedridden because her whole body was affected, she was unable to work and was completely reliant on Matthew for round-the-clock care. He was cooking, cleaning, bandaging my skin and running salt baths which had helped at home, she says. He never once made me feel ugly or unlovable. Chloe also started experiencing nerve pain, severe itching, insomnia and depression. In March 2024, it was decided that Chloe should return to the UK for treatment. It was the hardest decision, she says. Matthew stayed for work and were maintaining a long-distance relationship. Back home, Chloes condition deteriorated I was feverish, confused and my skin was burning up: Mum thought I had sepsis, she recalls. At the local hospital, doctors diagnosed erythroderma, a potentially fatal condition where more than 90 per cent of the skin becomes inflamed it can be triggered by the withdrawal of corticosteroids. Chloe had to be stabilised with fluids and antibiotics. Then, finally, in June last year, she was approved for Dupixent on the NHS, which required approval by multiple dermatologists and the local health authority. The drug is expensive 1,264.89 for a two-pack of prefilled syringes: she now injects herself with one every two to three weeks. Chloe says: My skin is a million times better. Im finally living my life again. While Dupixent is helping patients like Chloe, many GPs cant or wont prescribe anything for eczema other than topical steroids, says Professor Moss. However, people should not fear using steroid treatments, she adds: Millions of patients and numerous conditions have been safely treated with topical steroids over the last 70 years. The key is not to stop using them abruptly. Theres bound to be flare-ups when the immunosuppressive effect of the topical steroid is suddenly removed. So patients should generally be weaned off gradually and offered alternative treatment. Fortunately, there seems to be greater awareness of TSW, thanks to patients themselves. Until recently, TSW wasnt seen as a separate condition, so it wasnt being studied properly its only now that patients experiences are starting to drive research forward, says Dr Rashid. Their stories have brought TSW into the spotlight and made it impossible to ignore, showing just how serious it can be, not just physically but emotionally. In June last year, Chloe started applying Dupixent. The drug is expensive 1,264.89 for a two-pack of prefilled syringes: she now injects herself with one every two to three weeks Chloe now says: My skin is a million times better. Im finally living my life again Were at a turning point, she adds. She points to the National Eczema Society acknowledging TSW as a complication of stopping using topical steroids, and its calls for urgent research on how it differs from eczema and the criteria for diagnosing it. Professor Moss agrees there are signs of progress: The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has recently published information about TSW for patients and prescribers and the National Eczema Society now has information and FAQs on its website. Plus, the British Association of Dermatologists has set up a TSW working group to review the evidence and establish guidelines. There is also more awareness of the mental health issues caused by skin disease. This is something that has affected Chloe, who last September received counselling and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) to manage her anxiety after her experience. I still panic about TSW flare-ups, she says. Even wearing make-up or eating the wrong thing can trigger a skin reaction. Chloe believes patients deserve to be better informed. Right now, were handed prescriptions without being told the risks, she says. And if my story can help one person question a prescription or feel less alone, then its worth telling. When Halle Hizer developed a sore ear two days into her week-long holiday, she put it down to wearing earphones on the flight. But the student had actually been bitten by a venomous spider, and her idyllic Greek getaway rapidly turned into a 'horror show' that nearly cost the 20-year-old her ear. Ms Hizer and her grandmother flew from their homes in Enfield, North London, to the island of Rhodes for seven days of sun soaked R&R. Just two days into the trip, Ms Hizer woke up with a swollen left ear but assumed it was from wearing her air pods during the flight. She said: 'I woke up and my ear was really swollen. At the time I didn't think anything of it. 'I just thought it was a case of when you wear your air pods for too long and it was rubbing on my ear when it can hurt sometimes. 'The next day it kept getting bigger and bigger and pus started coming out of it and I didn't think at the time that I needed to go see a doctor or to the hospital. 'I thought maybe I had an ear infection.' Halle Hizer feared she would lose her ear after a spider bite became infected Her ear became swollen up 'like a cauliflower' and began leaking pus Ms Hizer, now suspecting she had been bitten by a mosquito, went to the local pharmacist who gave her some antibiotic cream. However, it failed to reduce the pain or swellingthe musical theatre student says her ear doubled in size and began to resemble a 'cauliflower'. After several days with no improvement, and on the insistence of her grandmother, she sought the advice of a doctor. She continued: 'He just took one look over and said "you've got a bad infection in your ear" and that's it. 'He gave me antibiotics and I was taking them but my ear wasn't getting any better. It was getting worse.' After flying back home on 6 June, Ms Hizer became 'scared she'd lose her ear' after it began leaking pus and she started experienced 'stabbing' pains. Fearing it was about to turn septic, she went straight to hospital where she was 'shocked' to be told the antibiotics she was given in Greece hadn't been used in medicine for years and had led to the infection. Days later she had surgery to remove the abscess in her ear and doctors revealed she had been bitten by a spider, not a mosquito as she had initially suspected. Upon returning home to the UK she went to hospital, who needed to operate Pus was pouring out of the theatre student's ear She said: 'When I had surgery that's when they realised I was bitten by a spider. [The doctor] said 'what antibiotics you were on' and I showed him the packet and he said "that's so strange. We haven't used this antibiotic for years in medicine because it's been proven it doesn't work anymore". 'I was quite shocked because I spent 155 on a private doctor [in Greece] and he gave me antibiotics that weren't even used in medicine anymore. 'Because I wasn't given the right antibiotics my ear ended up getting so infected to the point pus was coming out that was basically poison. 'Every five minutes my ear would be leaking. The doctors told me I would need surgery to remove the abscess. 'That's when they realised from testing it that it wasn't a mosquito but it was a spider. You could see from the back the bite marks.' Ms Hizer isn't sure what spider bit her, but it might have been a Mediterranean recluse spider, also known as a violin spider, which are responsible for some very similarand equally nastybites. The spiders are relatively small, with bodies less than 1cm long, and have long spindly legs and venom which can cause redness and in extreme cases, necrosis. She continued: 'It was swollen from the back and the front which I didn't realise at the time. She feared that her ear was going septic after cream and pills she obtained from medics in Greece did nothing She underwent an operation to remove the abscess once she got home to Enfield, London It is not known which spider bit her, but it was likely a poisonous violin spider 'If I was put on the right antibiotics to begin with it would've just got rid of the infection straight away but it just kept getting worse and worse.' The student was on antibiotics for two weeks and had a bandage around her head but the swelling has since gone down. She now urges other holidaymakers to use insect repellent and to read the cleanliness reviews of hotels as she believes that could've played a part. Ms Hizer said: 'My ear has gone back to normal and it's not huge anymore. A lot of the scabbing is gone now and have fallen off. It's still a little bit tender but granted because they did cut my ear open. 'I have a new fear of spiders but I'm hoping because we're in the UK I'm not going to come across any spider of that nature but who knows because I didn't think I was going to come across that in Greece. 'Make sure you have the repellent with you and make sure the hotel is clean because I feel like that played a big factor in it. Me and my grandma regret not reading the reviews. Just do your research before you go to places so you're not disappointed. 'We went for a week just to relax and it ended up becoming a horror show. I wasn't expecting to find spiders like that in Greece.' Potato chips sold in four states have been urgently recalled over potentially serious adverse health consequences. More than 2,000 bags of J. Higgs Potato Chip Mix, produced by Indiana-based Saratoga Potato Chips LLC, have been pulled from shelves due to the presence of undeclared milk not listed on the label. The hidden ingredient poses a serious threat to the millions of Americans with milk allergies, with reactions ranging from mild symptoms like hives and swelling to anaphylaxis, a potentially deadly condition that can cause difficulty breathing. The FDA has classified the recall as Class II, meaning the chips could lead to medically reversible health effects, though no illnesses have been reported yet. The affected 1-ounce snack packs were distributed in Maryland, Kentucky, Florida, and Indiana, with a use-by date of October 5, 2025, and UPC 0-51933-37327-3. While the recall notice did not specify which stores sold the chips, they are commonly found in Save-A-Lot and Walmart. Consumers with milk allergies are urged to avoid the product immediately and contact the company if theyve purchased any of the recalled packages. Potato chips have been recalled in four states over the potential presence of undeclared milk (stock image) Your browser does not support iframes. The FDA said on its website: 'People with food allergies should read labels and avoid the foods they are allergic to. The law requires that food labels identify the food source of all major food allergens used to make the food.' Milk can cause severe reactions in the 30 to 50million Americans with lactose intolerance and the 7million with dairy allergies. People who are lactose intolerant cannot properly digest lactose, a sugar found in milk and other dairy products. This occurs because their bodies don't produce enough of the enzyme lactase, which is needed to break down lactose. Undigested lactose then travels to the gut and gets fermented by bacteria, leading to digestive distress. Symptoms usually start within 30 minutes to two hours of consuming a dairy product and include diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, stomach cramps, bloating and gas. Additionally, roughly two percent of Americans - 6.6million - are allergic to milk. Symptoms of an allergy include hives, wheezing, coughing, congestion, face and throat swelling and in severe cases, anaphylaxis. This is a life-threatening allergic reaction that occurs very quickly after being exposed to an allergen. It triggers an extreme immune response, leading to dizziness, fainting, shortness of breath and vomiting. If not treated quickly with epinephrine (adrenaline), which can be administered via injection like an EpiPen or nasal spray, a person can die. Customers who purchased the affected products are urged to avoid consuming them if they are allergic to dairy. Snack giant Frito-Lay recalled nearly 1,300 bags of Tostitos Cantina Traditional Yellow Corn Tortilla Chips in March also due to cross-contamination with milk. The chips were distributed to stores across 13 states, including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia. The 13-ounce bags of yellow corn chips could contain another variety, the nacho cheese tortilla chips, which contain milk. People with milk allergies should avoid bags that say 'Guaranteed Fresh' date of 20 MAY 2025 and one of the following manufacturing codes: 471106504 18 13:XX ; 471106505 85 13:XX ; 471106506 85 13:XX ; 471106507 85 13:XX. Frito-Lay said in a statement: 'Those with an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life-threatening allergic reaction if they consume the recalled product.' Joy Reid and Piers Morgan have launched preemptive strikes ahead of the release of a seemingly combative interview set to air on YouTube. The former ReidOut star took to her YouTube show first to express regret and frustration over agreeing to the occasion. She prefaced it as being her public relations team's idea, before sharing screengrabs from Morgan's own people indicating the interview was supposed to touch on topics such as Donald Trump, deportations, and her firing from MSNBC. 'Now, why did I go along with such an idea?' Reid, 56, asked during the late night live stream. 'Well, sometimes you do want to actually talk to people on the right, and see if they've got anything interesting to say.' Conceding conservatives like Tucker Carlson have been 'making a weird amount of sense' lately, Reid claimed she was 'ambushed' with an interview about race. Within hours, Morgan, 60, was offering his own insight on the yet-to-be-seen back-and-forth, cryptically telling onlookers on X, 'It did not go well for Joy Reid.' Referencing how Reid had 'already gone public about how terrible it was and [he] was, Morgan said: 'Drops later on @PiersUncensored.' Joy Reid - who lost her MSNBC show and job in February - took to her YouTube show late Wednesday night to express regret and frustration over agreeing to an interview with Piers Morgan that she called an 'ambush' Reid and Morgan both appeared to engage in damage control ahead of the release of the interview, which Morgan said went 'badly' for Reid and will likely air Thursday 'Apparently, Im obsessed with race & identity politics,' he added. Reid, meanwhile, devoted several minutes of her newly launched Joy Reid Show to the sit-down, which will air at 3pm ET Thursday on Piers Morgan Uncensored. 'Let me actually start just by reminding myself just how thirsty Piers Morgan is,' she said to start the stream. 'And you'll be forgiven for not knowing who Piers Morgan is.' Offering a quick backstory on the British journalist that billed him as unimpressive and 'a rather thirsty little troll,' Reid claimed Morgan was' desperate it seems for attention.' 'I figured, okay, wouldn't be my first choice, but why not?' she said separately. 'And here on the screen, I want to put up the email that Piers' team sent to my PR agency to get me to come on the show.' A subsequent screenshot showed Morgan's team telling Reid's representation about the conversation that had then yet to occur, on Tuesday at 10:19am. A rep wrote how Reid should expect 'a free flowing conversation covering several topics in [her] wheelhouse, including the Trump administration, Elon Musk establishing a new political party, ICE raids, and news of the day.' Morgan, 60, offered his own insight on the yet-to-be-seen interview Thursday morning, cryptically telling those on X, 'It did not go well for Joy Reid' The representative also asked to discuss Reid 'leaving MSNBC' and 'her new online venture.' 'Okay, sounds compelling. But it turns out that is not what the interview was about,' Reid raged. 'Instead, Piers used a 45-minute interview to ambush me mainly about his favorite subject, race - specifically why black people like me talk so much about race, especially when it comes to Donald Trump.' She revealed: 'Specifically, Piers demanded to know why I don't call the black president a fascist for deporting more brown people than Trump has.' Reid added how Morgan also quizzed her about a recent interview appearance where she discussed 'being black at MSNBC' with CUNY professor Mark Lamont Hill. Reid, during that sit-down, claimed 'white fragility shaped newsroom decisions' and that she received backlash from bosses for simply liking posts about Palestinian children. She also claimed MSNBC staff herself were 'blindsided' by February's firings from then-new boss Rebecca Kutler, even though a high-level MSNBC source told Daily Mail in March that Reid was likely well aware she was on the chopping block due to backlash over her Palestine comments and a paltry one-year contract extension. Reid also claimed 'black and brown journalists' at the network were 'purged.' At 10:31am Thursday, Morgan posted a series of heated snippets of the interview as a sort of preview of what's to come. Pictured, Morgan's team telling Reid's reps about the conversation beforehand, describing 'a free flowing conversation covering several topics in [her] wheelhouse, including the Trump administration' 'Do you think school children at school should have access to books in their library which involves traps on dildos?' Morgan asks at a point, leaving Reid momentarily speechless. 'If the person is brown, they need to be rounded up and put into quote-unquote "Alligator Alcatraz," a concentration camp in Florida,' Reid rages in another clip, adding, 'If the person is white, we let them start a business and become Elon Musk. 'Do you know how many people Barack Obama deported in eight years?' Morgan asks in another exchange. 'I don't know, and I don't care,' answers Reid. 'You don't know, and you don't care? The majority were brown,' says Morgan. Reid, in response, calls Morgan's comments 'an absolutely disingenuous argument. 'Because this is your shtick.' A shouting match ensues after Morgan hurled the same accusation back at Reid, before asking her whether she ever watched the movie 'Brokeback Mountain.' Morgan has since posted a series of heated snippets of the interview as a sort of preview of what's to come After Reid replied 'No,' Morgan points to past posts from the progressive where she said she wouldn't watch the film because she did 'not want to see two male characters having sex.' 'Your words not mine,' Morgan says. Reid's answer remains unclear, but in a clip played immediately after, she is heard telling Morgan: 'And your point is?' Reid's blog posts before becoming famous first spawned controversy in 2018, when one questioning the legitimacy of Israel's land claims was unearthed. Forced to apologize after also accusing CNN's Wolf Blitzer of having a bias toward Israel due to his previous association with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Reid also wrote the US had 'no right' to keep tabs on Iran. Further scrutiny uncovered posts that promoted homophobia like the ones Morgan alluded to that callously honed in on homosexual politician Charlie Crist and the film 'Brokeback Mountain'. In it, Reid also referred to the then Florida governor as 'Miss Charlie' while using the 'gay politicians.' She also called Senator Lindsey Graham 'Miss Lindsey' - after which she was forced to issue a groveling apology after first claiming she had been hacked. 'Do you know how many people Barack Obama deported in eight years?' Morgan asks in one exchange. 'I don't know, and I don't care,' answers Reid 'I genuinely do not believe I wrote those hateful things, because they are completely alien to me,' she said on the set of her first canceled MSNBC program, AM Joy, in April 2018. A little over two years later, the ReidOut would premiere, raking in nearly 3 million viewers during its first year. During the 2024 election, the number was down to about 1.11.4 million, after years of anti-Trump rhetoric and social media rants 'gave the Standards Department heartburn,' an insider at the network told Politico. NBC News boss Cesar Conde and former MSNBC boss Rashida Jones began plotting to get rid of Reid in late 2023, sources told the site in April. Weeks before, a well-placed executive inside MSNBC told Daily Reid knew her days were numbered due to the one year renewal and pay cut - something Politico framed as 'severance in drag.' Instead of taking the hint and quitting after making the negotiations several months ago before the 2024 election, Reid stayed on until her firing in February. '[Reid] should have been totally unsurprised by her firing,' the source said, claiming that Reid should have seen the writing on the wall for months. MSNBC denied to provide a statement on this when reached for comment. Additionally, the executive claimed that Reid's vocal stance on the Israel-Hamas war was problematic inside the network. They cited Reid's 'very intense' conference calls with show staff that left the impression that she had sympathy for the impact of the war on the Gazan people but little for Israelis. MSNBC at the time had nothing to say on-the-record about those claims. Reid has since suggested that she lost her job at least in part because of her pro-Palestinian advocacy. She revived those claims on Hill's podcast last week. Her new Joy Reid Show launched on YouTube June 9. The show has roughly 220,000 subscribers. Morgan's show, meanwhile, has more than 4million. Viewers will gain access to the interview this afternoon. CNN host Dana Bash was left speechless when she read a social media post from President Donald Trump live on-air that blasted the network. Trump wrote on his Truth Social account last week: 'It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recessions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSNBC put together. 'Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement.' Trump's post referenced a controversial bill cutting federal funding, including over $1 billion to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which includes flagship brands PBS, NPR, and other local stations. Bash read the tweet during a live broadcast segment on CNN, but was too stunned to read the phrase directed at the network. She trailed off after reading 'which is worse than,' and instead told viewers, 'I'm not even going to read that.' Trump's crusade against the media has been a cornerstone of his two presidential terms, frequently slamming news publications as 'fake news.' CNN has frequently been on the receiving end of Trump's attacks, calling the network 'horrible' during a luncheon earlier this week. Dana Bash read a scathing post Donald Trump shared on Truth Social, but opted to skip over the part where he slammed CNN Trump blasted multiple broadcast news networks in his recent social media post as a bill slashing federal funding to PBS and NPR moves through Congress (Pictured: Dana Bash interviewing Trump in 2015) Trump also accused the network of inaccurate reporting on the Iran bombings, writing on Truth Social in June, 'FAKE NEWS CNN IS SO DISGUSTING AND INCOMPETENT. SOME OF THE DUMBEST ANCHORS IN THE BUSINESS!' The president claimed that CNN falsely reported that damage to Iran's nuclear facilities wasn't as severe as the administration hoped. CNN has defended the reporting conducted by journalist Natasha Bertrand, with popular anchor Jake Tapper standing firm against Trump's allegations. Tapper said on-air: 'Today, President Trump and his administration are going after shooting the messengers in an increasingly ugly way.' 'They're calling journalists 'fake news' for true stories. They're calling for an excellent CNN reporter, Natasha Bertrand, to be fired, which is preposterous and to which a CNN statement today reads, "we stand 100 percent behind Natasha Bertrand's journalism," as they should,' he continued. On June 25, Trump posted a scathing attack against Bertrand, calling for her to be 'thrown out "like a dog"' and accusing 'people like her' of destroying the 'reputation of a once great Network.' Trump also had strong remarks about CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins and former anchor Jim Acosta. In March, he praised Senator Mark Wayne Mullin for his interview on the network, adding that Mullin 'Made Caitlin Collins look like the third rate, low ratings reporter, she is!' Trump has frequently slammed 'fake news' organizations including, CNN, PBS, NPR, MSNBC, and ABC (Pictured: Trump speaking during a presidential debate in 2020) The two also engaged in an awkward confrontation earlier this year when Collins asked the president a question about his tariff policy. 'Excuse me. We haven't asked you to speak yet, please,' Trump quipped back. When Acosta announced his departure from the network in January, Trump celebrated on Truth Social, calling the veteran anchor, 'one of the worst and most dishonest reporters in journalistic history, a major sleazebag, has been relegated by CNN Fake News to the Midnight hour, Death Valley, because of extraordinarily BAD RATINGS (and no talent!).' CNN isn't the only network feeling Trump's wrath, as his administration is attempting to gut funding for PBS and NPR. The Senate passed a bill cutting funding for public broadcasting around 2 am on Thursday, and the House is anticipated to sign off as well. The victory is another win for the president, following his success in suing Paramount over accusations that the network edited an interview with Kamala Harris before the presidential election in her favor. Trump accused the 60 Minutes team at CBS of editing Harris's response when she was asked about the war in Gaza. CBS and Paramount defended the edit as a means to fit time constraints and didn't admit any wrongdoing, but agreed to settle for a whopping $16 million. Trump was also victorious in his lawsuit against ABC, winning a settlement of $15 million after he accused anchor George Stephanopoulos of making false claims about him on-air. Joy Reid got into it with Piers Morgan after being asked about her firing from MSNBC and why she has repeatedly played 'the race card.' Morgan, on his YouTube show Thursday, had asked whether she really believed race played a part in the cancellation of her MSNBC program The ReidOut, which fell from a high of 3 million viewers per episode in its first year to a low of 1.1 million before she was fired. 'Now Joy. Look, let's be honest. I don't think you were fired after all those years because of your skin color. Or because you're a black woman,' the British journalist told his guest. 'I think you were fired because your show got increasingly unpopular - it happens all the time in TV. That's why you got let go. Why play the race card?' Reid - who had just sat through a series of clips showing her on CUNY professor Mark Lamont Hill's podcast last week where she said 'white fragility shaped [MSNBC execs'] decisions' - responded by accusing Morgan of playing the race card. A back-and-forth ensued, after which Reid took to her own YouTube to warn about the then yet-to-be released interview's contents, framing it as a 'race-baiting ambush'. In one of the clips played, Reid had insisted that her ratings started to slump after she said on-air that Americans were more moved by the plight of Ukrainians than that of the Palestinians because they 'were white.' 'Also, I'm a black woman so I'm sure that makes [Donald Trump] angrier when I say things,' Reid said elsewhere. She also said the black perspective on current events is not generally 'received very well in the news business.' Joy Reid got into it with Piers Morgan after being asked about her firing from MSNBC in a highly combative interview Thursday Reid - after sitting through a sequence of clips that showed her blaming her firing on her racially charged rants during a podcast appearance with CUNY professor Mark Lamont Hill last week - responded by accusing Morgan of 'playing the race card' After being confronted with the clips and Morgan's question, Reid appeared to deflect. 'First of all, I love the fact that your "play the race card" is your version of the race card. You literally are so fixated on trying to racialize conversations with me, Piers,' she said. 'You play the race card!' Morgan yelled in more response, seemingly in disbelief. 'In more conversations in your ten years at MSNBC - come on!' Both began to shout over each other as they tried to get their points across. 'All right. The bottom line is you take an entire conversation that I had with Mark Lamont Hill and picked the bits you can racialize,' Reid maintained. 'This is your shtick. And I get that this is your shtick.' 'Oh you racialize everything, Joy!' a now smiling Morgan shot back. 'I get it. I understand this is your shtick, Piers, and listen - game recognizes game,' said Reid. Morgan, laughing at this point, hurled the same accusation back. Reid then brought race into the equation again, describing how she found it interesting that Morgan, 'as a white European,' believed that 'people of color talk[ing] about race' constituted 'racializing conversations.' 'I get it. I understand this is your shtick, Piers, and listen - game recognizes game,' said Reid at a point during the sitdown, which was filmed Tuesday night and aired Thursday 'But when people like you fixate on, "well, Barack Obama was a black president - why don't you object to that?" 'That is racializing a conversation about the former president of the United States,' she said. Morgan, again, laughed in response, in what amounted to a noticeably tense interview that persisted for the prescheduled 45 minutes. 'I'm sure you find that charming and funny,' Reid said as Morgan laughed. 'I find it hilarious! Because you're the one who said Donald Trump... is a "white Facist"', he replied, as Reid repeatedly interrupted. 'You and your friend Donald Trump,' she said, before attempting to explain away the assertion. 'If that makes you sad and uncomfortable, I can't help you, Piers,' she said. Morgan, in turn, said Reid's past comments and perception of her firing instead 'makes here a little bit of a hypocrite.' Reid laughed in return. Earlier on during the talk, Morgan brought up former president Obama, asking if she knew how many people he deported during his eight years on the White House. 'I don't know, and I don't care,' answered Reid, after saying that she doesn't 'buy' any statistics from the Trump administration when it comes to the southern border. Reid also compared conservatives' perception of migrants to how slaves were once viewed, causing Morgan to ask, 'What's that got to do with how many come over the southern border illegally?' 'The difference is now, if you- let's say you end all undocumented migration to the United States, all that would do is put a burden on the poll part of it, because you have industries that desperately rely on farm labor, on construction labor.' Morgan responded by asking 'why shouldn't their be a system' for legal immigration, while bringing up how people like him have had to file the necessary paperwork to stay in the US. 'That is how a normal, well-controlled border works,' he said as Reid rolled her eyes. 'Because America's economy needs a lot of workers, we should simply have a system where anyone can come in. 'And if that's not your belief, how would you regulate the southern border?' Reid replied by saying 'if the policy were applied the same across the board, it would be one thing. It's not'. 'Marco Rubio's grandfather didn't do it the right way - he overstayed an order of deportation, stayed anyway, and was allowed to remain in the country,' she said. Morgan, at another point, asked 'why shouldn't their be a system' for legal immigration, bringing up how people like him have had to file the necessary paperwork to stay in the US She also brought up how Elon Musk's brother recently said he and his sibling overstayed both of their student visas and started a business, 'which would have been illegal for someone on a student visa to be allowed to stay. 'They were white migrants, and somehow that was OK. 'What we're seeing is a selective enforcement of this outrage.' During another exchange, Morgan flat-out asked Reid whether she believed 'children at school should have access to books in their library which involves strap on dildos?', leaving her briefly speechless. Morgan had just played a clip of the then MSNBC star questioning why a mother took issue with a book that follows a black, queer individual being in school libraries - despite it containing graphic sex scenes that included a strap-on dildo. 'What is the expertise that you have and other Moms for Liberty advocates have, to decide that a book an award-winning book like All Boys Aren't Blue isn't appropriate for students to read?' Reid asked Moms for Liberty co-founder Tiffany Justice during the 2024 episode of the ReidOut. Justice eventually quipped: 'In what context is a strap-on dildo acceptable for public school?' 'Tell me what the context around the strap-on dildo or the rape of a minor child by a teacher [is acceptable?]' Justices response quickly went viral, after Reid censored Justice's language in a subsequent post promoting her MSNBC show. 'In what context is a XXXX-XX XXXXX acceptable for public school?' she wrote on X. Morgan, meanwhile, played a second clip to a now smiling Reid to further solidify his point, where Reid compared Republicans' approach to legislature that seeks to limit transitions for minors to stratagems seen by Nazi Germany. Before Reid could get a word in, Morgan referred to past comments from Reid that many deemed homophobic. Offered up in a blog from a then unknown Reid between 2007 and 2009, the posts first spawned controversy upon being unearthed in 2018 - after which Reid claimed she had been hacked before issuing a groveling apology. Morgan pointed to one where Reid had expressed distaste toward the movie Brokeback Mountain due to it containing intimate scenes between two men. 'You said you don't want to watch the two male characters in Brokeback Mountain. You were talking about having sex. '"Does that make me homophobic?"' Morgan said, quoting Reid. '"Probably."' At a point, Morgan brought up a since deleted blog post from Reid where she expressed distaste toward the movie Brokeback Mountain due to it containing intimate scenes between two men In another, Reid referred to the then Florida governor Charlie Crist as 'Miss Charlie' and Senator Lindsey Graham 'Miss Lindsey' while using the tag 'gay politicians.' Others questioned the legitimacy of Israel's land claims. Morgan pointed out how Reid insisted at the time that the posts were so 'completely alien' to her that she hired cyber security technicians to see whether anyone had manipulated her words. 'And the reality is they've not been able to prove it,' Morgan said. 'Now you're not at MSNBC. Now you're on your own doing your own thing, and you don't have to worry about repercussions and stuff. Are you prepared to finally come clean and just admit that was your blog and you did say those things?' 'You know, Pierce, I might have known that you would use this opportunity and interview and that - this was your purpose, right?' Reid, now smiling, responded. 'This is your purpose and that's fine. This is your show and you can do whatever you like. 'You know, I could sit here and go on and on and fight with you about your strange weird obsession with Megan Markle, but I won't do that because that would be rude,' she added. 'But the point being that, I was very open with my employer at the time about what happened with that old site, which I stopped writing in, you know, before I even came back into the NBC family. The rest of the sitdown was similarly contentious, with both Morgan and Reid taking to their respective pages to offer disclaimers about the 45-minute encounter 'And what I have not really talked about publicly - but what I can tell you - is that I had a very legitimate reason for being concerned about it because I was also on the radio at that time,' Reid revealed. 'And the things that I was literally talking about on the radio were quite the opposite of the things that were in that site. 'That is the reason that we began investigating what was going on with that site. 'And there was also someone who I do not know, who I still do not know, who had login access to my site for years that we did not even discover because I hadn't looked at the site for years,' she claimed for the first time. 'I don't know who that is, I don't know why they had access to the site, but had I not been open about that, I would have been definitely fired or, you know, there would have been some repercussions. 'I was open with my company about that, I've been very open,' she continued. Morgan, in return, asked again if she penned the posts - to which she replied, 'I'm willing to take responsibility for anything that was on that site.' The rest of the sitdown was similarly contentious, with both Morgan and Reid taking to their respective pages to offer disclaimers about the 45-minute encounter. 'Now, why did I go along with such an idea?' Reid, 56, asked during a late night live stream Wednesday of her decision to sit down with Morgan. 'Well, sometimes you do want to actually talk to people on the right, and see if they've got anything interesting to say.' The conversation saw Reid 'take responsibility' for homophobic blog posts penned under her name in the late 2000s. Execs began plotting to get rid of Reid in late 2023, sources told Politico in April The ReidOut, meanwhile, raked in nearly 3 million viewers during its first year. During the 2024 election, the number was down to about 1.11.4 million, as Morgan mentioned, following years of anti-Trump rhetoric and social media rants 'gave the Standards Department heartburn,' an insider at the network told Politico in April NBC News boss Cesar Conde and former MSNBC boss Rashida Jones began plotting to get rid of Reid in late 2023, sources told the site. Weeks before, a well-placed executive inside MSNBC told Daily Reid knew her days were numbered due to the one year renewal and pay cut - something Politico framed as 'severance in drag.' Instead of taking the hint and quitting after making the negotiations several months ago before the 2024 election, Reid stayed on until her firing in February. '[Reid] should have been totally unsurprised by her firing,' the source said, claiming that Reid should have seen the writing on the wall for months. Additionally, the executive claimed that Reid's vocal stance on the Israel-Hamas war was problematic inside the network. They cited Reid's 'very intense' conference calls with show staff that left the impression that she had sympathy for the impact of the war on the Gazan people but little for Israelis. MSNBC at the time had nothing to say on-the-record about the claims. Reid, meanwhile, has also suggested that she lost her job at least in part because of her pro-Palestinian advocacy. She reiterated those claims on Hill's podcast last week. Her new show, meanwhile, launched on YouTube June 9. It has has roughly 220,000 subscribers. Morgan's show, in contrast, has more than 4million. Watch the full interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored on YouTube. My family and I make regular trips from Leeds Bradford airport to Malaga-Costa del Sol as we have a holiday home in Spain. We often fly with Ryanair and sometimes buy food, drinks and duty free items from the catalogue on the plane. We used to pay in cash, but since 2022 on-board purchases have been card only. The menu and catalogue on the flights are priced in euros, so we pay with our Spanish bank account which is euro-denominated. Recently, though, I checked my bank account and realised I was paying more than I thought for these items. For example, a bottle of water cost 4.10 instead of 3.60 and two cartons of cigarettes cost 118.98 and not 110. What is happening? E.V, Leeds Up in the air: The rules about what currency people pay in on flights can be complex Helen Crane of This is Money replies: As the school holidays descend and families prepare to jet off to sunnier climes, it's crucial to watch out for cheeky card charges. It is a rule of thumb that, when abroad, you should opt to pay in the local currency. That means you get the regular Visa or Mastercard exchange rate. But if you pay in GBP, the merchant can apply an inferior, local exchange rate, which can be much more expensive. This is known as dynamic currency conversion. But how does it work on a plane, which might fly across several countries? Airlines usually offer payment in the country the flight originates from as the default. So if you were flying from Malaga to Leeds, you'd expect to be charged in euros, and vice versa in pounds. You therefore always paid using your Spanish bank account on return flights with Ryanair. > Best bank accounts to get fee-free spending abroad As an Irish firm, Ryanair lists the prices on its menus in euros. That is fair enough, as long as parched passengers pay for their drinks in euros, too - or willingly face any charges associated with paying in another currency. But as you have discovered, that isn't always the case. The reason it seems you have been overcharged for some of your purchases is because you were actually charged in pounds, without your knowledge, on flights from Spain to the UK where the 'local' currency was euros. You would, for example, pay for a bottle of water that you thought was 3.60, assuming this was in euros - but it would actually be in pounds, and on your bank statement that would become 4.10. You say the card is handed over to the flight attendant, rather than them bringing the machine to you, so you can't see what is on the screen. CRANE ON THE CASE Our weekly column sees This is Money consumer expert Helen Crane tackle reader problems and shine the light on companies doing both good and bad. Want her to investigate a problem, or do you want to praise a firm for going that extra mile? Get in touch: helen.crane@thisismoney.co.uk As you weren't paying in the 'local' currency, you were also subject to Ryanair's inferior exchange rate which ramped up the price further. What's worse, your bank would then charge you to convert the GBP payment back to euros. These are small amounts, but as you travel so regularly it has added up. Since 2022 when you had to stop paying in cash, you think you might have overpaid hundreds, as you regularly buy drinks and snacks for your grandchildren on flights, as well as stocking up on duty free items. Since you cottoned on to this payments palaver, you have complained to Ryanair, and also asked cabin crew to explain the rules. Neither has been able to give you a straight answer. You were told in response to your formal complaint that 'By default, the currency for flights to the UK is GBP, not EUR. Euro has to be specifically chosen to be used.' However, it is not clear whether this is the 'local' currency for the flight, or simply the default currency for the card payment machine. A cabin crew member told you that, on flights either to or from the UK, the card machine was set to GBP as the default and that cabin crew needed to ask customers what currency they wanted to pay in. In your experience, this has not happened. When I contacted Ryanair, it said: 'All Ryanair passengers regardless of their destination can choose to pay in GBP, EUR or Polish zloty for inflight purchases.' Ryanair also disputed the amounts you gave for the purchases, saying that you were charged 3.50 for a 3.26 bottle of water and 100 for 95 of cigarettes. This is different from the bank statements you showed me. Duty free: Reader E.V claims she paid 118.98 and not 110 for some cigarettes on board the plane - though Ryanair disputes this Ryanair continued: 'Prices displayed in our inflight magazine are in EUR, as this is the base currency in Europe. If passengers choose to pay in GBP, the amount and currency is displayed on the payment device prior to payment. 'These passengers purchased items onboard in GBP. GBP payments are then sent to the passengers bank. 'If a passengers bank account is a EUR account, the bank will then convert the charge made in GBP back to EUR at their rate.' I asked exactly how passengers were informed about which currency their payment would be taken in, and what the 'local' currency was. Was this displayed on the card machine, and if not, should the cabin crew tell the passenger the currency they are paying in or does the passenger have to ask? Ryanair simply replied: 'At the time of purchase passengers are informed of the amount and currency.' It also pointed me to page 23 of its inflight magazine, though this does not contain any information about currency other than to say that 'we monitor all prices and exchange rates, and these are subject to change.' I then asked a lawyer for their view on whether prices could be displayed in euros on a flight, but passengers then charged in GBP as the default currency. Jennifer Obaseki, founder of London-based Obaseki Solicitors, said: 'Legally, this is permissible - as long as the pricing and currency conversion are made clear and are not misleading. However, she added that: 'The moment a passenger is charged in a different currency than that advertised, transparency becomes paramount.' Obaseki said the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations of 2008 require retailers to provide 'accurate and complete' pricing information and ensure any currency conversions or added charges are 'clearly communicated prior to sale'. 'In essence, if goods are priced in euros but charged in pounds, the exchange rate and final GBP amount must be disclosed before the transaction is completed,' she said. As a general rule of thumb, passengers should assume that the 'local' currency on a flight is the one of the country you departed from - but crucially, also ask what currency they are being charged in. If it isn't the local one, ask to change to that - especially if you have a card which is denominated in the local currency. If you do like to buy things on flights, it is also worth checking that your payment card will be accepted. Flyers on various airlines say they have been told they can't use e-money cards such as Revolut and Monzo cards in the air, and some airlines will only accept them if they are used via an Apple or Google wallet. Tui, for example, does not accept Monzo. In addition, many airlines don't accept pre-paid cards, such as a Post Office travel money card. This is because transactions made in the air are processed after the flight lands. Flyers could pay using empty cards, and in the case of cash cards that can't go overdrawn the airline might never recoup the money. I read a story that said Spain could start issuing big fines of up to 6,900 to British holidaymakers if they cannot produce proof of travel insurance covering medical costs. When I tried to discover if this was true, I hit a brick wall. I thought that a GHIC covered me in Spain and getting travel insurance for extra medical costs was up to me. Could I really be fined when I go on holiday? What are the rules? A This is Money reader wants to know if they could be fined for going to Spain without adequate travel insurance Jane Denton, of This is Money, replies: In recent weeks, reports have been published suggesting Britons could be fined up to 6,900, or around 5,900, if they go to Spain and are unable to prove they have adequate travel insurance covering medical costs. The reports suggest Britons must have travel insurance that stands to cover all medical costs for the duration of their stay in Spain, or risk a substantial fine. According to some of the articles, the insurance policy must meet certain criteria outlined by the Spanish Ministry of Health, such as covering medical emergencies, hospital stays and other essential services. Some of the media reports include a quote purporting to be from Spains health minister, emphasising that this measure was designed to ensure that all visitors have the necessary financial resources to cover the costs of medical care, and avoid placing further strain on the country's healthcare system. This is Money has, like you, been working to figure out what is going on and whether the reports are correct. Response from Spain's Ministry of Health Last week, we contacted Spain's Ministry of Health and asked them whether Britons could be fined up to 6,900 if they travel to Spain and are found to be without travel insurance covering medical costs. On Tuesday, we received a response in Spanish, which translates as: 'According to our information, there are no regulations in place requiring British tourists to purchase private health travel insurance to enter Spain as tourists.' However, the department said it still 'highly recommended' that visitors to Spain have travel insurance that includes medical cover, especially if their stay is longer than 90 days or the individual does not have a valid European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) or Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC). I also contacted Britain's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office about the matter. It said it was for the Spanish authorities to answer questions on the terms they set for people entering Spain. The Government department said it kept its travel advice under constant review 'to ensure it reflects the latest updated information for British nationals travelling abroad.' The FCDO noted that it had longstanding advice that British nationals should purchase appropriate insurance before travelling abroad. The FCDO website does state that Britons could be asked to show proof of their travel insurance at the Spanish border. There is no mention of a potential fine at present. What should British tourists do? To date, it has not been confirmed by authorities in Spain or Britain that you could be fined if you are found to be travelling to Spain without adequate travel insurance. This could change. However, it is always sensible to take out travel insurance providing appropriate medical cover before you travel abroad. The risks of not taking out travel insurance can be extremely serious if things go wrong. Use comparison sites and do your research to ensure you get an appropriate level of cover. The cheapest policies may not be the most appropriate, particularly when it comes to providing adequate cover in case of a medical emergency overseas. If you are going to Spain, read the FCDO's online travel advice for Spain. This covers topics like entry requirements, insurance advice and health insurance cards. The FCDO also has a list of medical providers in Spain where some staff will speak English. If you are in Spain and need to access state healthcare in Spain, you will need a valid EHIC or GHIC card. A GHIC or EHIC covers state healthcare. It does not provide private healthcare cover. With a GHIC or EHIC card, you can get medically necessary treatment in Spain on the same basis as a Spanish citizen. This means that you will get healthcare services for free or at a reduced cost. If you travel to Spain or elsewhere in Europe without a valid EHIC or GHIC, you may need to pay in full for the state treatment or care you receive. A GHIC or EHIC card is not a replacement for travel insurance. The cards do not cover everything, such as mountain rescue or being flown back to Britain via a medical repatriation. The GHIC has replaced the existing EHIC card. If you have an existing EHIC you can continue to use it until the expiry date on the card. Once it expires, you will need to apply for a GHIC to replace it. You can apply for a new card up to nine months before your current card expires. A UK GHIC is free and lasts for up to five years. You can apply for your new card through the NHS website. Avoid using unofficial websites as they may charge you a fee to apply. Britons also need to be careful about their passport when entering Spain. Britons entering Spain must have a passport date of issue less than 10 years before the date you arrive. Your passport also needs to have an expiry date at least three months after the day you plan to leave the Schengen area. The expiry date does not need to be within 10 years of the date of issue. The chief executive of EasyJet is 'extremely unhappy' after the airline was forced to warn investors industrial action by French air traffic control would weigh on profits this year. Kenton Jarvis told investors on Thursday French unions had presented 'unacceptable challenges for customers and crew' and 'created unexpected and significant costs for all airlines'. It follows comments from Ryanair Boss Michael O'Leary who said air traffic controllers were 'holding European families to ransom' after the budget airline was forced to cancel more than 170 flights and disrupt 30,000 passengers earlier this month. French transport minister Philippe Tabarot has condemned the actions of two unions that staged a two-day strike over working conditions, leading to a quarter of flights being cancelled at the main airports in Paris. EasyJet's Jarvis said on Thursday: 'We are extremely unhappy with the strike action by the French air traffic control in early July, which as well as presenting unacceptable challenges for customers and crew also created unexpected and significant costs for all airlines.' The comments took the shine off an otherwise positive third quarter update, which revealed a 50million year-on-year profit improvement to 286million, 'driven by strong demand for easyJet's primary airport network and benefits from the timing of Easter'. Unhappy: Kenton Jarvis told investors on Thursday French unions had presented 'unacceptable challenges for customers and crew' EasyJet said the outlook for rest of the year 'remains positive, with good profit growth', but warned earnings would face pressure from French strike action as well as higher aviation fuel costs. It has forecast a hit of around 25million to profit for the year ending September. Jarvis said: 'We performed well in the quarter, increasing profits alongside improving operational performance which has boosted easyJet's customer satisfaction scores and we continued to see strong demand from our customers.' EasyJet shares were down 6.4 per cent to 492.1p in early trading, taking 2025 losses to 12.8 per cent. The warning dragged rival airline stocks lower with British Airways owner IAG falling by almost 2 per cent. Zoe Gillespie, wealth manager at RBC Brewin Dolphin, said: 'Demand for holidays remains remarkably high, despite softening consumer sentiment in the UK and in Europe. 'However, it is not all plain sailing industrial action, fuel price increases, and steep competition will undoubtedly cause turbulence in the months ahead. 'But, with a solid balance sheet, EasyJet is in a much better position than many of its competitors to navigate through any stormy conditions, provided it can maintain its operational efficiency and cost discipline.' Fuel stations are being robbed of tens of thousands of pounds worth of petrol and diesel by both organised crime gangs and ordinary punters in a wave of lawlessness on forecourts across the UK. Petrol station boss Sutha Selvarajah told MailOnline that his business is being 'plagued' by drivers 'forgetting' their card or cash and leaving a driving licence or passport behind as a guarantee to return with money. He has a collection of driving licences, passports and Inland Revenue identity cards which punters have left with him - never to return - and it's often revealed the documents are fake or stolen, leaving Mr Selvarajah out of pocket. Thefts from his petrol station in Palmarsh Gulf Service Station in Hythe, Kent, have cost him 10,000 in the last three years and he is convinced the 'sophisticated' scam is the work of organised crime gangs. The 50-year-old said the 'crippling' problem is only getting worse and believes Kent Police have 'given up' trying to tackle the problem. In addition his business is plagued by 'bilking' or 'drive-offs' where opportunistic motorists fill up and drive away without paying. Recently, Mr Selvarajah released CCTV footage of a motorist filling up 120 of fuel and then driving off but he is not bothering to report it to the police, believing 'nothing will be done'. 'It's a scandal. A new trick is they come in, say they're really sorry but they've forgotten their card, but say they will leave their driving licence or ID and come back,' he explained. Petrol station boss Sutha Selvarajah said his business is being 'plagued' by drivers filling up and fleeing - or claiming they can't pay and leaving ID behind as a guarantee One of the driving licences left behind by a driver, which Mr Selvarajah believes is either fake or stolen Mr Selvarajah, owner of the garage, says he was not going to report the man to police because he did not think it would come to anything 'They fill up, always a big amount, like a full tank. They drive off and I never see them again. 'I am aware of it now but I was not before. People need to be aware of this. 'I've got a stash of identity cards. It's mad really. It's plaguing my business. 'I've been here three years and it's cost me about 10,000 in lost revenue. 'We've been telling the police about it. I have told them I have around ten identity cards. 'One of them even had an address in west Yorkshire. 'That's about 500 miles away. It's organised crime. It's become much more sophisticated than just filling up and not paying.' That crime - often referred to as bilking, or a drive-off - is still also happening several times a week. A selection of the fake IDs left behind as a guarantee of future payment before the owners became wise to the scam Owner Sutha Selvarajah said that he spots the same people turning up to steal petrol but driving different cars He added: 'I have CCTV, I have reported it to the police but they do not take it seriously. Now I do not bother. There's no outcome. 'Quite often we are spotting the same people, but in different cars. It's very annoying. I work so hard. 'I get here at 5am and often do not leave until 9pm. I love my job. I would never want to do anything else. 'But being targeted so often is really very upsetting. 'It's the first garage I have ever operated. I have a lease. The vast majority of the customers are brilliant. Most people are so friendly. The local customers especially are fantastic. 'But there are more and more thieves. I know it's not just me. Others are impacted as well.' He did not think a system where customers have to pay upfront before filling up would work. He added: 'I think that would make people very cross. It would cause a lot of upset. I cannot see the customer agreeing to that. They'd go elsewhere. Your browser does not support iframes. 'Then there would be real trouble.' It's hard to tell when someone is planning to steal petrol - until they leap back in their car and disappear in a matter of seconds. A video from Mablethorpe's Empire Garage shows just how quickly it can happen as a man in shorts and a t-shirt leaps out of his red hybrid MG and nonchalantly fills up the tank, casually leaning on one leg as he does so. As another car pulls up, he acknowledges the driver, rapidly screwing the filler cap on his car and closing the flap - before hastily replacing the nozzle and jumping straight into his car. Just like that, he's gone. Incidents like this were happening twice a day at the garage - but police, too stretched to do anything about it, would tell owners Kavita and Sanjay Pilani to pursue it through civil means. Some of those driving off, Lincolnshire Police said, were not thieves, but people who were 'forgetting to pay for fuel' and were maybe not 'having a great day'. That doesn't help the Pilanis, who said last year they would be left as much as 90 down every time someone drove off without paying. The garage is now switching to US-style prepayment, where customers decide in advance how much they want to spend and pay for it inside before filling up. Time and again, garage owners are watching helplessly as their livelihoods are literally being drained away by criminals who use cloned plates and dishonest motorists who fill up knowing full well they don't intend to pay. An alleged 'bilker' stands nonchalantly as he fills up his car - in a few seconds he'll hop back into his car without paying As another car approaches, he replaces the nozzle and immediately gets into his car and takes off without paying It's a predicament facing every petrol station in the country amid a huge rise in fuel theft - also known as 'bilking' or 'pump and dash' theft. Some 131,000 drive-off incidents were reported to police between 2020 and 2024, costing forecourts some 6.55million. And a total of 66,378 requests for driver details were submitted to the DVLA between February and April this year after crooks drove off - up 49 per cent from the same period in 2024. This not only suggests fuel theft is on the rise, but that forecourts are giving up on expecting the police to do anything about it and instead resorting to civil action. Forecourt theft has a reputation as a 'victimless' crime among motorists who think they're getting one over the big oil firms. But Gordon Balmer, the PRA's executive director, says this ignores the fact that many petrol stations are family businesses. He told MailOnline sister site This Is Money in May: 'This is not a victimless crime. Many of our members run family businesses that are suffering huge losses through the Government's failure to enforce these crimes. 'If the authorities do not want to enforce the law, they should come out and say it. 'It would save our members the time and energy it takes to report crimes, only for no action to be taken.' Werrington Service Station in Peterborough has shared several videos of alleged fuel thieves filling up with impunity before driving off The number plate for this black Seat Leon actually belongs to a grey Mercedes-Benz, suggesting it has been stolen or cloned On average, drivers are nicking 50 of fuel each time, according to industry magazine Forecourt Trader, which obtained the figures via Freedom of Information laws. That isn't enough to even brim the tank in an average family hatchback. Thieves are thought to steal such a low amount - below the 200 'low-value' threshold applied to shoplifting offences - on the assumption that forecourts will not bother pursuing them for the amount. Driving away without paying for petrol is known as making off without payment, and is an offence under the Theft Act, for which offenders can be sentenced to 12 months imprisonment at magistrates level and two years at Crown level. But the scale of the problem is not truly known - as many forecourt owners have given up on reporting thefts to overstretched police forces that do not have the time or resources to pursue scores of thefts for relatively small amounts of money. Across police forces, as many as 95 per cent of drive-off fuel theft end with no suspect identified - leaving forecourts out of pocket and the thief free to strike again. Nevertheless, the problem is costing garages - many of them family-run - millions of pounds every year. Outside of reporting the incident to the police, garage owners can request a driver's details from the DVLA by providing the body with a number plate. But that can be stymied if crooks use cloned or fake number plates to reduce the chances of being traced. A video shared on Facebook in April showed a driver of a black Seat Leon filling up with diesel before making a clumsy escape as the car rolls backwards. He then takes off and disappears in seconds. Social media users noted that the car had a number plate clearly visible in the footage, which was captured in broad daylight. But unless police can identify the driver, he'll likely get off scot-free - as a DVLA database states the number plate on his car belongs not to a black Seat, but to a grey Mercedes-Benz. Another incident of fuel theft the garage shared earlier this month was the same: a white Kia SUV was running with plates belonging to a blue Nissan hatchback; another, last October, involved a black BMW on a silver Peugeot's plates. Around 13 per cent of drive-offs involve cloned number plates, according to forecourt security firm Vars Technology, which operates automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) systems to log the plates of fuel thieves. The Petrol Retailers Association (PRA), a body representing around two thirds of Britain's petrol stations, says thieves are using ever more sophisticated tactics. These include 'double tanking', where thieves either fill up multiple jerry cans or a secondary fuel tank hidden in their car so they can steal hundreds of pounds of petrol at a time. In return, petrol stations are employing new high-tech tactics - including ANPR-based systems that can lock off fuel pumps if a repeat offender drives up. Criminals may circumvent that with a fresh set of cloned plates, however. Petrol stations are also thought to be resistant to installing pay-at-pump machines - as that would deprive them of vital income from the retail side. US-style prepayment inside the shop may be the answer. Your browser does not support iframes. And there's no getting around that prepayment pumps and ANPR systems are huge investments that not every business can afford. Steve Gooding, director of transport policy body the RAC Foundation, suspects that criminals are taking advantage of the climate - and that forces are too overwhelmed to investigate. 'Repeat criminals might well be pushing their luck more than ever because they believe other pressures on the police are such that they'll get away with it,' he said last month. 'Drive-offs might be seen as relatively low-level crimes in the grand scheme of things but they are corrosive to society, damaging to businesses and ultimately push up pump prices for law-abiding motorists and riders. 'More is being done to prevent these crimes through adoption of better surveillance systems and pay-at-pump options, but the numbers suggest the problem has been getting worse.' The National Police Chiefs Council said in May that many petrol theft cases are discontinued due to a lack of intelligence or data. A spokesperson told Forecourt Trader: 'In some cases, there may not be enough intelligence or data for police to act on. 'This does not mean that a crime is closed indefinitely or that intelligence or information is ignored. 'Intelligence is vital in detecting organised criminality, and we would encourage anyone who suspects criminality in their community to report it to police, including theft.' It's not to say that crooks are never caught - but they are not caught often enough. In May, repeat fuel thief James Dunn was jailed for 16 months for committing a spate of fuel thefts last summer that saw him fill up large containers in his car boot at forecourts across Kent before speeding off without paying. Officers recognised him in October and engaged in a pursuit that ended with him crashing into a lamppost, KentOnline reported. Kent Police's DI Tristan Stevens said of the thefts: 'The theft of fuel often directly impacts the livelihoods of individuals and small businesses and losses generally result in increased costs for law-abiding consumers. 'Dunn's greed and contempt for the law have now rightly earned him a prison sentence.' Prolific fuel thief James Dunn was jailed for 16 months in May after committing a spate of petrol station pump-and-dashes But it isn't drive-offs that are costing petrol stations the most money. People are also depriving garage owners of income to their faces - by filling up and then claiming they cannot pay that day. Around two thirds of cases now revolve around 'no means of payment' (NMoP): when a driver confesses to garage staff that they haven't got enough money to pay for the petrol they now have, or have forgotten their wallets. In this case, forecourts will ask drivers to fill out a form with their details and make arrangements for them to return and pay for the fuel at a later date. In some cases, this might be genuine - particularly in light of the cost of living crisis and explosion in fuel prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as people live paycheque to paycheque. But this is also being exploited by people who use the goodwill of garage owners against them - particularly if they then don't come back to pay. Bruce Nichol, director of forecourt security body the British Oil Security Syndicate (BOSS), said motorists were using NMoPs as a 'seven-day loan'. But some may also be using it as a means of turning what could be a criminal theft into a civil matter that police won't touch. Instead, it is passed onto debt collection agencies to chase up - even if the motorist had no intention of paying anyway, which is a criminal offence. Speaking at the Forecourt Trader Summit in March last year, he said: 'What we are unclear of is: are the current prolific offenders more aware that the drive-off side is criminal... and have they then resorted to no means of payment because it is civil?' There may be some hope on the horizon for embattled forecourt operators. The Policing and Crime Bill winding its way through Parliament will scrap the 'low-level' 200 threshold for shoplifting offences. While not the same as bilking, the Government says the removal of this cut-off will shatter the 'perceived immunity' associated with low-level theft. Whether that leads to the conviction rate for petrol theft rising beyond five per cent is another matter. Anti-Trump actress and AI film studio boss Natasha Lyonne is taking on what might be her most challenging role yet - lobbying the Trump administration. The Hollywood darling is passionate about outlawing sinister uses of artificial intelligence in the glamorous industry. And she's willing to put aside her open hatred of the administration to accomplish her goals. 'My primary interest is that people get paid for their lifes work,' Lyonne, 46, recently told the Wall Street Journal. The 'Poker Face' and 'Russian Doll' actress worked earlier this year to secure signatures for a letter to the White House advocating against policies allowing AI to take over the media. Securing over 400 signatures from icons like Paul McCartney, Ben Stiller and Ron Howard, the memo called on the White House to protect Hollywood's intellectual property from being gobbled up by AI companies without proper compensation. 'We firmly believe that Americas global AI leadership must not come at the expense of our essential creative industries,' the March letter stated. But Lyonne is facing a problem she couldn't have anticipated. No one knows who she is on Capitol Hill, or in the White House, for that matter. Multiple top aides on Capitol Hill working on AI issues with the White House told the Daily Mail they had not heard of Lyonne - or her lobbying efforts. She 'seems like an insane person,' one Republican staffer joked after learning of her advocacy. A Democratic aide similarly shared they were unaware of the A-lister's AI push, but added 'omg I love her.' Lyonne is an unusual choice to lead Hollywood's AI lobbying push given her history of anti-Trump rhetoric. 'When I think of the kids, like the 12 year old girl that can't get an abortion...that's what really rips me apart,' Lyonne told the Hollywood Reporter of the Trump administration in February. She later clarified she was referring to abortions for those who were rape victims. Natasha Lyonne attends the Los Angeles premiere of Peacock Original Series "Poker Face" Season 2 at Hollywood Legion Theater on May 01, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Lyonne is lobbying the White House for restrictions on AI models training on copyrighted media Lyonne has a history of anti-Trump remarks despite her efforts lobbying the White House to make stricter AI restrictions 'Its very weird to have, like, a showbiz guy in charge is surreal. I mean, because, well, Im actually pretty horrified by how strategic and effective this whole thing has been,' she continued. 'It's nothing we didn't know but always a horror to see upfront.' In a post from 2020 she fundraised for Democrats, posting on X: 'Theres no debate: If we #TurnTexasBlue, Trump is through.' 'Whats timeline on trumps exit,' she wrote on X in October 2017. The actress even publicly endorsed Kamala Harris for president last year ahead of the election. A representative for the actress did not return the Daily Mail's request for comment. Lyonne is also a partner in a new AI film and TV venture called Asteria, an application that trains exclusively on content with permission from creators - a practice she is trying to make the industry standard. Her history of attacking the 79-year-old president is resurfacing as she tries to sway a forthcoming AI policy plan being crafted by the White House's office of Technology. The WSJ reported the plan 'could influence how U.S. copyright rules are applied to training large language models,' and a lobbying effort on both sides of the issue has begun. Large firms like OpenAI and Google have argued that if the copyright restrictions Lyonne is pushing for are adopted, American companies could lose the AI race to China. Currently, multiple lawsuits have resulted in rulings favorable to both sides of the debate. 'It's nothing we didn't know but always a horror to see upfront,' Lyonne said of the Trump administration in February Disney and Comcast's Universal both sued the firm Midjourney for allegedly using their copyrighted works to train its AI image generator. Meanwhile, judges sided with companies Meta and Anthropic in two separate cases last week, ruling that copyrighted media can be used to train models in certain fair use cases when the content created is considerable different than the source material. The administration has yet to take a side on the matter, and according to the WSJ, officials are considering staying out of the fight altogether. People familiar with the matter disclosed to the outlet that they are not sure if officials will take sides due to the legal complexities and political downsides of supporting one side over another. The administration's AI action plan is expected to be released later this month. Shortly before Christmas 1938, with weeks of heavy snow carpeting the lands around her Highland home, the birdlike frame of an aristocratic lady sat down wearily at her piano and began to play. Seeking solace in the classical repertoire she mastered as a girl, the Duchess of Atholl allowed her thoughts to turn away, albeit briefly, from her recent public humbling. At the time, Kitty Atholl was one of the most famous women in the country a child of privilege from an ancient Scottish family who grew up in a 400-year-old castle and was expected to marry the right husband and live the vacuous life of societys elite. And while Kitty grew up to be a true-blue toff as the wife of the Eighth Duke of Atholl, a life of cosseted indolence was quite beyond her. While her marriage was scarred by infertility, infidelity and near insolvency, she had yearned to fill her days with civic duty. It fired in her a political ambition which, in the 1920s, took her to Westminster as Scotlands first female MP the only duchess to sit in the Commons and the first woman ever to serve in a Conservative government. Kitty Atholl was the only duchess to sit in the Commons and the first woman ever to serve in a Conservative government The 8th Duke and Duchess of Atholl Less than a decade later, her fearful vision of the gathering storms of war made her a voice in the wilderness, crying out to an Establishment that could not identify the threat to world peace of the growing fascist movements in Spain, Italy and Germany. It was the age of appeasement and Right-wing ruling class sympathy for Franco, Mussolini and Hitler. Kitty Atholl would have none of it. Rather than toe the party line, she castigated Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain for his non-interventionist stance during the Spanish Civil War of 1936-39, in which General Francos rebel Nationalists were supported militarily by his fellow tyrants against the elected, Left-wing Republican government. It was clear to her, at least, that Italy and Germany were using the Spanish conflict as a rehearsal for war with Britain. Branded the Red Duchess for defying her own government, she felt she had no option but to resign her seat and force a by-election to put the issue of appeasement to the ballot box. By that snowy winter of 1938, however, a year before her fears were realised with the outbreak of war, she was hounded from Parliament never to return in a dirty tricks campaign with the full might of Chamberlains party deployed to crush this principled and colourful maverick. During that doomed but electrifying by-election, in which she was supposedly cheered on by Stalin himself, one newspaper famously declared: Anything the Duchess does is news. Even after losing her seat, the duchess continued to draw headlines, facing down Communist hecklers from a Cromwell tank, and later raising eyebrows when a charity she helped set up to deal with a refugee crisis in Eastern Europe was suspected of being a front for an elaborate MI5 spy ring using former Nazi war criminals. But while Nancy Astor is still celebrated as Britains first woman MP, the name of Kitty Atholl is almost forgotten 65 years after her death an injustice which a new biography now seeks to address. In Red Duchess: Kitty Atholl, A Rebel in Westminster, author Amy Gray portrays a complex and contradictory character, who managed to become one of the most influential women of her time. Kitty was an outlier in every movement she was part of, she says, so she was not fully embraced or celebrated by any of them. She ploughed her own, often lonely, furrow. Born Katharine Marjory Ramsay in 1874 in Edinburgh, Kitty spent her childhood at Bamff Castle in Perthshire, ancestral seat of the Ramsays, who had been granted the lands in 1232 by Alexander II. A talented musician, she studied piano at the Royal College of Music, but was never expected to have a career. In 1899, aged 25, she delighted her father by marrying John George Stewart-Murray, Marquis of Tullibardine, who became the Duke of Atholl in 1917. Known as Bardie, he brought with him the grandeur of Blair Castle and its huge debts. Kitty received an unsolicited telegram purportedly from Stalin, which simply said, Moscow is proud of Katherine the even Greater' It was a marriage of its time. Initially, she stayed at home while he philandered, fathering a number of illegitimate children. Kitty would remain childless but she was far from a stereotypical Victorian wife, argues Ms Gray. She soon warned that waiting at home was not for her. When he served in South Africa during the Boer War, she went with him as a nurse, a role she repeated during the First World War in Egypt. In 1918, she was rewarded for her war work by being made a Dame Commander of the British Empire. When he went into politics, she loyally supported his career and then surpassed it, with his backing. Her work with social services and local government led to her adoption as Scottish Unionist Party candidate for Kinross and West Perthshire in the 1923 General Election. She won, but the Tories lost their overall majority and she soon became a member of the opposition to Ramsay MacDonalds Labour Party. In the 1924 General Election she increased her vote and would hold the seat for 14 years. She returned to a Tory government and was made an education minister, but she found herself increasingly at odds with her colleagues. A series of disagreements revealed her as a woman who, by todays standards, was a mass of contradictions. She was a humanitarian who fought for the rights of children but was opposed to universal suffrage for her gender. She voted against the reduction of the voting age for women from 30 to 21, despite becoming one of the first handful of women MPs. Not above the prejudice of her class, she said it would not be proper for tinker girls to vote. But in 1935 she began to make real enemies. Hitlers book Mein Kampf (My Struggle) was doing the rounds and the duchess, who had read the original, was appalled by the sanitised English version. She paid to have it translated properly and gave copies to colleagues trying to highlight the dangers inherent in Hitlers ideology. The telegram Kitty Atholl received, supposedly from Soviet dictator Josef Stalin She visited Spain, becoming involved in the care of Republican refugees and helped rescue more than 3,000 Basque children who were sent to Britain. Devastated by her own inability to have children, she found a maternal role in caring for these young souls. On a tour of the country in 1937, she exposed how the Luftwaffe had slaughtered civilians in Guernica, describing the atrocity in her book Searchlight on Spain. Her closeness to the anti-Franco forces inflamed her enemies on the right of her party and gave rise to her infamous moniker, the Red Duchess. George Orwell, himself a civil war veteran, dismissed her in his memoir Homage to Catalonia as one of the many naive English visitors who failed to notice the many shortcomings in the Republican cause. By then, she sensed war with Germany was looming and called for some form of national training. A close friend of Winston Churchill, she had written to him that if the international situation is as serious as we know it to be, it seems to me terrible to think how unprepared the men of this country are. Unlike Churchill, she was prepared to put her views on appeasement to the electorate. Within a year, she resigned her seat and decided she would fight the subsequent by-election in late December as an independent. The Nazis felt so threatened by Kitty Atholl that they celebrated her parliamentary demise It was a massive gamble which failed to factor in how determined senior Tories were to be rid of her. The party machine swung into action behind the official Tory candidate William Snadden. Shopkeepers around Perthshire refused to display Kittys posters for fear of antagonising influential customers, while local tenants reportedly received 15 per cent rent rebates, ostensibly due to a poor harvest, but they came with a note suggesting that they would know which way to vote. One Liberal who was supporting Kitty told her, you have been deserted by your ain class!. Towards the climax of the campaign, Kitty received an unsolicited telegram purportedly from Stalin, which simply said, Moscow is proud of Katherine the even Greater, and was signed by the dictator himself. Sent from Holborn in London, it must have been a practical joke, but it was seen as key to turning public opinion and, inevitably, she lost the by-election. The smear tactics appalled honourable politicians. Josiah Wedgwood, the eminent Labourite and scion of the pottery dynasty, said: To Socrates they gave hemlock. Gracoleus they killed with sticks and stones. The greatest and best they crucified. Katharine Atholl can hold up her head in good company. Chamberlain, by contrast, was delighted by this early Christmas present as Kitty Atholl was cast into the political wilderness. There would be no appeasement here. Tellingly, the book reveals how a satisfied Nazi government spokesman told The Scotsman: We are glad to know that the electorate was not carried away by the demagogic propaganda of this drawing room Bolshevist. It was a measure of how seriously Hitlers regime took the slightly-built but wilful duchess that they would celebrate her parliamentary demise. For Kitty, there was a brief retreat to the sanctity of Blair Castle and her beloved piano. Life during wartime brought fresh heartache when her husband of 43 years died in 1942 with his devoted wife at his bedside. Their marriage celebrated a very modern ideal of comradeship, of partnership in lifes happiness and difficulties alike, says Ms Gray. After the war, life began to open up and Kitty started to attend parties again, receiving Princess Elizabeth at the first post-war Caledonian Ball in June 1946. She laughed when a journalist told her she was in the Nazis Black Book of British leaders whom the Gestapo would have rounded up, alongside Churchill, Nancy Astor, and others. I feel very honoured I realise I wouldnt have had a pleasant time had Britain been invaded but Id have been in good company, she said. She kept up links with her late husbands regiment, the Scottish Horse. In 1948, Communist protestors tried to disrupt one meeting in Aberdeen, which Kitty addressed from the top of a 28-ton Cromwell tank. The sight of the 73-year-old duchess in a regimental bonnet was irresistible to the huge crowd whose cheers drowned the boos of the Reds. She campaigned against Soviet control of Eastern Europe, belying her characterisation as a Communist sympathiser. Even here, though, Kitty Atholl found herself embroiled in controversy. Meeting once a week under the auspices of the Scottish League for European Freedom (SLEF), the douce matrons of Morningside, Craiglockhart and Cramond believed they were hosting tea dances and coffee mornings to raise money for the oppressed peoples of Eastern Europe. The SLEF arose out of the friendship and common cause of the Duchess of Atholl, who was chair of the British League for European Freedom (BLEF), and Elma Dangerfield, journalist and one-time intelligence officer. But while the Edinburgh ladies thought they were helping a charity to rescue refugees from the clutches of the Soviets, they were, in fact, assisting a clandestine operation set up by MI6 spy chiefs. Astonishingly, the refugees included 956 members of the infamous SS Galizien Division, some of them known war criminals, who were brought to Scotland between 1948 and 1951 to work ostensibly as agricultural labourers. The book cites research by journalist Douglas Macleod which disclosed the tea dances were part of a talent-spotting operation run by MI6 who were looking for potential agents to establish spy rings among the ethnic minorities of the Soviet Union and foment destabilisation within the USSR. Ms Gray adds that others helped by the BLEF and SLEF did not deserve their charity, including Dr Vladislav Dering, who convinced enough of Kittys friends that he had been an ordinary doctor at Auschwitz that the BLEF helped him avoid extradition to Poland. In fact, as a libel trial heard in 1964, Dering had willingly carried out experiments on thousands of Jewish prisoners. Had Kitty and the BLEF heard the horrifying evidence given in court by survivors of these operations, they would not have been so quick to defend him, she says. For his part, Mr Macleod concluded Kitty was never an MI6 agent but was an asset, although she was probably too naive to become involved in the world of spies. However, Ms Gray says: It is impossible to know for sure what Kitty knew. Sadly, her final years were characterised by dementia and she died in Edinburgh in 1960, at the age of 85, after a fall. Since then, the remarkable life of the Red Duchess has faded from the history books, erased or forgotten by her male colleagues. As Ms Gray puts it: Perhaps they were embarrassed that she was right, and told them all so loudly, when they did not have her courage. Perhaps it is that she lost. History is, after all, written by the victors, and she lost the biggest gamble of her political life. Kitty Atholl, A Rebel in Westminster by Amy Gray is published on September 18, priced 22 A reformed ice dealer has sounded the alarm over a 'don't wake up' rave drug he warns has the power to devastate countless lives in Australia. When he was dealing, Braiden Tonks, 32, drove luxury cars and Harley Davidsons. But, after countless years of abusing meth, sleeping rough and a stint in Tasmania's frigid Risdon prison, he left the criminal world behind. Now, the Gold Coast tradie and dad is raising awareness of the dangers of the party drug GHB, also known as gamma hydroxybutyrate or 'Frank'. GHB, typically sold in fish-shaped soy sauce packets, is mixed with soft or alcoholic drinks and inhibits the signalling of pain between the nerves in the brain and body. The effects - relaxation, sociability, euphoria and an increased sex drive - can be felt within 15 minutes. But, even a slight overdose of the drug can prove fatal. Mr Tonks said the rave drug has gained a cult following in south-east Queensland and is steadily rising in popularity across Australia. 'It just slows your heart right down, puts you into a completely relaxed state where your heart will just slowly beat and just slowly just stop, that's how you die from it,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'It's not like an instant bang of being stabbed, I'm dead. It's just slow, just like, go to sleep, don't wake up.' Braiden Tonks, 32, (pictured above, with his partner and daughter) is sounding the alarm about the dangers of the rave drug 'GHB' The former drug dealer and meth addict said he had receive word from his underworld sources that it was rising in popularity. 'It's one of those drugs that's just growing by the day, and dropping people, left, right and centre... it goes hand in hand with addicts as well,' he said. The clear, odourless liquid is also commonly used as a 'date rape' drug. 'You can imagine in a nightclub, let's just say if there's a dirty old bloke over there, and there's a group of girls over there, and he just does a quick squirt in their drink, for example,' Mr Tonks said. 'The next thing you know, there's an ambulance running in to try and save one of these girls, it's as simple as that, it's dangerous.' Dr Hester Wilson, Chief Addiction Medicine Specialist for the Royal College of General Practitioners, said certain factors can increase the risks associated with GHB. A slim proportion of the population have reported trying the drug, however, usage is higher among those who take or inject other illicit drugs. Among those who inject drugs, 15 per cent has reported using GHB. 'If you don't have enough, it does nothing. And if you have too much, you overdose. And that window of dose is pretty narrow,' Dr Wilson said. Underworld sources have told Mr Tonks (pictured at his podcast studio) the drug is spreading Dr Wilson said doses could be miscalculated when combining GHB with other drugs, adding it was challenging for doctors to deter patients who have overdosed, due to the minimal 'comedown' or 'withdrawal' symptoms. 'They'll wake up and feel absolutely fine, won't know what has happened,' she said. 'It can be hard to engage them. They'll just wander off home. They're a hard group to engage in kind of harm reduction strategies.' Users also take gamma-butyrolactone or 'fantasy', the compound 1,4-Butanediol. Both are chemical precursors to GHB and convert to the substance once ingested. GHB and its chemical relatives can be illegally produced under the pretence of legitimate industrial use, such as 3D printing and creating spandex. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) said the substance was increasingly being used for recreational use after 3.8tonnes of 1,4-Butanediol was seized in May. Acting Assistant Commissioner Paula Hudson said organised crime networks will flood communities with any illicit substance for lucrative profits. Chemicals which produce GHB in the body can be imported under the guise of industrial use (above, 1,4-Butanediol illegally shipped to Australia in soap containers) 'By importing this substance into Australia, criminal networks are creating a demand and appetite for this drug and the bigger the appetite, the bigger the profits,' she said. 'We have seen organised crime use a number of methods to illegally import this substance into Australia, such as concealing it in bottles labelled as cosmetics, including shampoo and body wash.' The longtroubled mother of murdered University of Idaho student Xana Kernodle plans to be in court on July 23 for the sentencing of her killer Bryan Kohberger and promises the world will see 'an entirely new person.' Cara Northington, 45, who has struggled with drug addiction for 30 years and cycled in and out of jail both before and after her daughter's death, says she's finally sober - the one thing Xana always wanted for her. 'I wasn't the best mom the last years of Xana's life,' Cara told the Daily Mail on a picnic bench outside a local restaurant. 'But I know all she ever wanted was for me to stop.' Northington said she finally did. She credits the tragedy of losing Xanaand her two other children, who had long urged her to get cleanfor saving her own life. Her face looks fuller and healthier than it did in mugshots from just a few years ago and she now has long, dark hair - which is no longer greying underneath. 'When Xana died, I hit rock bottom,' she said. 'But I surrendered to the Lord. It was the only way out.' But Cara was still using when the news broke. She found out about Xana's death while walking through a Spokane casino. Cara Northington has revealed how daughter's tragic murder led her to turn her life around and fulfill Xana's lifelong wish to see her get sober 'Her dad found me there. He said, "Sit down. I need to tell you something",' she recalled. 'It was horrifying. My first thought was: Who did this? I wanted to kill them.' 'Losing Xana was the worst thing that can ever happen to a parent,' she said. 'But Jesus is my story now. That's how I survived.' Xana, 20, was brutally murdered on November 13, 2022 alongside three other University of Idaho students, Maddie Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, and Ethan Chapin, 20, in the case that gripped the nation. The crime committed in the dead of night with a knife left behind grieving families and endless questions. Kohberger, now 30, a doctoral student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, pleaded guilty to the murders on July 2 in Boise courtroom but did not explain his motive. He will serve four consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole or appeal, according to the plea deal, which he apparently took to avoid the death penalty. For Cara, the horror of losing her daughter in such a bloody murder became the catalyst for a radical transformation. She said she entered a faithbased rehabilitation program led by Pastor Tim Remington of The Altar Church in Coeur d'Alene. Cara has two surviving children, including older daughter Jazzmin, 25 (far left) and had been estranged from them due to her battle with drugs Today, the mom is 18 months sober and is proud to be a 'completely different person' after getting clean and turning to a life of faith Remington, who is also a member of the Idaho House of Representatives, was famously shot six times by a mentally disturbed man with alien conspiracy theories in 2016 but recovered. For three months, she immersed herself in scripture and counseling at Remington's program. She says she's now been sober for 18 months and credits her faith with changing her life for the better. 'I don't smoke. I don't drink. I don't use anything,' she said. 'I'm a completely different human being.' Indeed, it's a striking transformation from the last time she spoke to the Daily Mail - from behind bars at Kootenai County Jail in Couer d'Alene in early 2023, just four months after the murders. At the time, Cara was in the throes of addiction, locked up on drug charges, and estranged from her two surviving children. She admitted to relapsing after her daughter's murder but expressed desire to get sober, telling the Daily Mail at the time: 'I just want to get sober for Xana and my other two living kids.' 'Her older sister just lost her best friend and her sister she doesn't need to lose her mom too. And my son doesn't need to lose his mom either,' she added. Nearly two years later, she's done just that, and now she's ready to face her daughter's killer in court. Kohberger's arrest and guilty plea has meant a roller coaster of emotions for Cara. The families of the four victims are divided over the guilty plea with some seeing it as the end of an ordeal and others angry about not getting their day in court with Kohberger. Northington was on a church retreat without cell service when news of the plea deal was announced. 'I was confused and a little angry at first,' she said of the plea deal, which allowed Kohberger to avoid the death penalty. 'But then I realized this was God's protection. We don't have to sit through three months of a trial and relive every detail. 'If he were to get the death penalty, we would wait the rest of our lives, possibly before the he was even executed, and appeal upon appeal. It'd be a circus.' Xana's father, Jeff Kernodle, opposes the plea deal as does Kaylee's father Steve Goncalves. Xana and her boyfriend Ethan Chapin were among the four victims of the heinous attack Left to right: Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee's shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke Northington said that she 'can't and won't get into Kohberger's head' and isn't so sure that knowing his motive for the murders would help. 'Honestly I think, on a very large spiritual level, that it doesn't really matter, because it's not normal to do what he did. 'So whatever, even if we knew all the answers would it matter? Would it really make us feel any better? 'We can know all the details that we possibly could ever gather, and it will never be a good enough reason.' Unlike some of the other victims' families, Cara does not support capital punishment. 'Killing people to show killing is wrong doesn't make sense to me,' she said. 'I'd rather he sit in prison the rest of his life and think about what he's done.' Cara will travel to Boise for the sentencing hearing, where she plans to deliver a victim impact statement. She thinks a couple of her six older brothers will go with her for support. A GoFundMe has been set up to help her defray the cost of travel to Boise and other expenses. Prime suspect Bryan Kohberger finally pleaded guilty to murdering the four University of Idaho students on July 2 and will be sentenced on July 23 'It's going to be nervewracking,' she said. ' I think mine will probably be a lot different than parents because of my walk with God. I won't let evil win. I refuse to be bitter or resentful.' When asked what she would say to Kohberger if she faced him in court, Cara didn't hesitate. 'I'm not afraid of him. I feel sorry for him,' she said. 'What a horrible existence, to do something so evil. He'll have to face what he's donenot just in this life, but the next.' As she reflected on Xana's memory, tears welled in her eyes. 'She brought joy to everyone around her,' Cara said. 'If you knew her, you would never forget her.' Northington said that talk to reporters is uncomfortable for her but felt compelled to speak out both about Xana as much as her sobriety. 'Nothing's going to make what happened okay,' she said. 'But good can come from it. If I can overcome addiction in the midst of losing my daughter, anyone can overcome anything.' A Sydney father's bid to work from home two days a week has been rejected by the Fair Work Commission, in a case that could have legal ramifications for Aussies forced back into the office. Paul Collins, a long-serving tech specialist at global software firm Intersystems, asked his bosses if he could continue working remotely on Wednesdays and Thursdays. This followed the company's decision to end its COVID-era remote work arrangements in February and require all staff to return to the office full-time. In his request, the specialist said he wanted to work from home for better work-life balance and to help care for his eight and ten-year-old kids, a responsibility he shares with his wife, who also works at the same business. While his employer denied the request, it offered a one-day-a-week WFH compromise, which Mr Collins rejected, before taking the matter to the Commission. But the Fair Work Commission wasn't convinced. Deputy President Lyndall Dean ruled that a 'personal preference' for remote work simply wasn't enough. 'His written request merely expressed a preference to continue with a pre-existing pattern of remote work and failed to articulate how working from home two days per week specifically supported or related to his parental responsibilities.' Fair Work Commission deputy president Lyndall Dean denied a request from the father of two school aged children to work remotely two days a week on grounds of 'worklife balance' The Commission found Collins failed to show a direct link between his request and any specific parental duties that required him to be home during core working hours. 'He conceded in cross-examination that he has no specific caring duties between the core working hours of 9am and 5pm, and that he and his wife are able to manage school drop-offs and pick-ups through existing flexibility including adjusted start and finish times,' she said. Ms Dean ruled the specialist's written plea failed to articulate how working from home specifically supported or related to his parental responsibilities. Monash University business law lecturer Amanda Selvarajah said the Fair Work Commission now seems to require parents to provide formal evidence of direct caregiving duties, such as personally supervising children, when applying for flexible work. Broader parental responsibilities, like cooking meals or maintaining the household, are often dismissed as irrelevant. The Fair Work Commission has been accused of being overly focussed on verifying workers' eligibility for flexible work requests by imposing onerous evidentiary requirements 'The FWC appears to have assumed that flexible work requests as a parent will only have a requisite nexus where the parent can prove they are engaging in exclusive, direct caregiving responsibilities,' Selvarajah said in her paper. 'This neglects other potential parental obligations such as preparing meals or cleaning the home.' She warned the Commission's strict evidentiary standards are likely to disproportionately affect women, who tend to carry the bulk of caregiving responsibilities. 'This does not align with the Fair Work Act's objective of promoting gender equality,' she said. A Tasmanian photographer has become the first person to ever capture an eastern quoll glowing in the bush. Ben Alldridge captured the stunning shot of the animal biofluorescing under invisible ultraviolet light. It is said to be the first time this glowing phenomenon has been recorded in the endangered marsupial's natural habitat. Mr Alldridge said the glowing effect is due to the animal's fur absorbing UV and re-emitting visible colours, a phenomenon known to occur in many mammals, including the Tasmanian devil and wombats. 'Where their fur is normally fawn or black, under certain wavelengths of light, they exhibit a process referred to as biofluorescence - like nature's version of a white shirt glowing at a disco,' Mr Alldridge said. Its biological purpose remains speculative, with theories it is related to communication, camouflage, or mating especially in low-light conditions. Since many nocturnal animals like marsupials can see UV light or have vision sensitive to blue and green wavelengths, fluorescence might be a visual signal they can use while remaining less visible to predators. Mr Alldridge said he will continue to work to decode the mystery. An incredible first-ever image of an eastern quoll glowing in Tasmania's south west wilderness Marine biologist turned photographer Ben Alldridge (pictured) is one of 12 finalists announced for this year's Beaker Street Science Photography Prize 'I'd say it's likely a messaging or identifying system similar to our fingerprints, but that is wild speculation at best,' he said. 'For now we will just say they like to party.' For Mr Alldridge, part of his work is ongoing research into the impacts of light pollution and habitat degradation on how these species are living after dark. 'The amount of light we waste illuminating space both physical and now literal is ridiculous, and in many cases is counterproductive to why the lights are installed to begin with,' he said. 'As we get to grips more with the nocturnal world and how these adaptations work, we can start to optimise our own built environments to introduce as little impact as possible.' The remarkable photo is one of 12 finalists announced for this year's Beaker Street Science Photography Prize, Tasmania's premier science photography competition. From dark sky conservation and photosynthesising sea slugs to auroras, slime moulds and high-speed wildlife drama, this year's finalists offer a visual reminder of the wonder, complexity and fragility of the world around us said festival founder Margo Adler. 'This year's finalists really capture what Beaker Street is all about. Making science visible, beautiful and emotionally resonant,' she said. Ben Alldridge said capturing the incredible photo has invigorated him to dive deeper 'These photographs let us see the world differently, and in some cases quite literally reveal things we've never seen before.' The photographs will be on display at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery from August 6 to 31. Bruce Lehrmann has been pictured enjoying a glass of wine with lawyer Zali Burrows in a cosy Tasmanian bar after yet another major court loss. The former political staffer and his solicitor were spotted having an early evening drink at Mary Mary in Hobart's fashionable Salamanca Place, before heading next door to Peppina Italian restaurant. Lehrmann and Ms Burrows shared a bottle of red with their meal before leaving the Parliament Square precinct so that she could catch a flight back to Sydney on Tuesday. Earlier in the day, Lehrmann had sent Ms Burrows along to Hobart Magistrates Court to seek a restraining order against a Daily Mail Australia reporter, after he unsuccessfully demanded $50,000 in damages for a story he didn't like. It is now 15 months since Federal Court judge Michael Lee found on the balance of probabilities that Lehrmann raped his one-time colleague Brittany Higgins in Parliament House. Six months after Justice Lee ruled Lehrmann had not been defamed by Network Ten during an interview with Ms Higgins, the Centrelink recipient was crying poor in the same court. Responding to Ten's demand Lehrmann provide $200,000 security to appeal against Justice Lee's decision, Ms Burrows said her client was 'pretty much unemployable' and did not have the funds. 'The only shot he'd probably ever have in making money is by going on OnlyFans or something silly like that,' Ms Burrows told the court. Bruce Lehrmann has been pictured enjoying a glass of wine with lawyer Zali Burrows in a cosy Tasmanian bar after yet another major court loss Lehrmann and his solicitor were spotted having a drink at Mary Mary in Hobart's fashionable Salamanca Place (above) before heading next door to Peppina Italian restaurant Justice Wendy Adams ultimately found Lehrmann did not have to put up the $200,000, but he still faces picking up $2million of Ten's legal costs for the original trial if he loses his appeal. Last week, Lehrmann demanded Daily Mail Australia pay him $50,000 plus legal costs, and take down a story he claimed portrayed him in a bad light. Lehrmann also sought an interim restraining order against reporter Karleigh Smith who had written the piece about his new life with a 45-year-old mother-of-two in a Tasmanian hamlet. Daily Mail Australia did not take down the story, did not pay Lehrmann a cent and successfully challenged the interim order on Tuesday after a hearing in Hobart Magistrates Court. When Ten sought the $200,000 security from Lehrmann, Ms Burrows described her client as 'arguably Australia's most hated man' and said he was too 'scared' to appear in person in the Federal Court. On Tuesday, he again chose to stay away from proceedings when Ms Burrows sought the interim restraining order. The court heard the order would cover Lehrmann as well as Kelly Walker, with whom the 30-year-old had been living at Port Huon, about 55km south-west of Hobart. Lehrmann has been acting as a male nanny to Ms Walker's two sons, who are said to call him 'Uncle Bruce', which was the subject of a story published by Daily Mail Australia on July 1. Lehrmann and Ms Burrows shared a bottle of red with their meal before leaving the Parliament Square precinct so that she could catch a flight back to Sydney on Tuesday Earlier in the day, Lehrmann had sent Ms Burrows (both pictured) along to Hobart Magistrates Court to unsuccessfully seek a restraining order against a Daily Mail Australia reporter That story ran under the headline which began: 'Bruce Lehrmann's last chance saloon'. 'We found the despised party boy hiding at the end of the Earth - and he's shacked up with a single mum who has a LOT to say to the local haters,' it continued. Lehrmann outlined in an affidavit produced for the restraining order application the 'extraordinary and unorthodox' lengths he had gone to avoid publication attention. 'I have been the subject of intense and ongoing media scrutiny since 2021, much of it vile, false and extremely hurtful,' he wrote. 'I have received credible threats to my safety, online abuse, and been physically stalked by journalists or private individuals on multiple occasions. 'I have long suffered mental health trauma because of the coverage, and this has been well documented publicly and in the Federal Court of Australia. 'As a result, I take extraordinary and unorthodox precautions to ensure my safety and wellbeing.' Ms Burrows claimed Lehrmann had suffered significant distress and psychological injury as a result of being 'pursued' as part of Daily Mail Australia's investigation. Lehrmann and Ms Burrows were pictured at Mary Mary and Peppina (above) by a freelance photographer who had not been commissioned by Daily Mail Australia 'My client will be providing evidence of personal injury to his mental condition,' she told magistrate Jackie Hartnett. Ms Burrows claimed Smith and a photographer 'dangerously' followed Lehrmann in a car on a dirt road, which Smith has vehemently denied. Barrister Nic Edmondson, acting for Smith, said the Sydney-based reporter had only visited Tasmania for work once - to write the story about Lehrmann - and she had not returned to the state since. Mr Edmondson submitted a restraining order risked unfairly impacting on Smith's freedom of speech and would prevent her writing future stories about Lehrmann. 'She is entitled to engage in the type of conduct that she did, in following Mr Lehrmann and in photographing Mr Lehrmann,' Mr Edmondson said. Ms Burrows claimed Lehrmann had suffered further psychological harm because Smith was represented by Mark O'Brien Legal, a law firm which had previously acted for him. Mark O'Brien Legal has been engaged for more than a decade by Daily Mail Australia to provide legal services to the publisher and its journalists. Ms Hartnett rejected Lehrmann's application for an interim order and set the matter down for a November 13 hearing. Lehrmann wants a restraining order to cover him and 45-year-old mother-of-two Kelly Walker, with whom he has been living in Tasmania. Lehrmann and Ms Walker are pictured 'I am not satisfied on the material before me that an interim order is appropriate,' she said. Hours later, Lehrmann and Ms Burrows were pictured together by a freelance photographer who had not been commissioned by Daily Mail Australia and had offered the images to other media outlets. Asked to comment on what had happened in court, Lehrmann said: 'We are very grateful to the magistrate for getting a fast hearing on the case.' Ms Burrows is also representing Lehrmann in another case in which he has pleaded not guilty to stealing a Toyota Prado from a farm in the Huon Valley, south of Hobart. That matter returns to court in September. Lehrmann sued Ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson over a February 2021 interview on The Project in which Ms Higgins alleged she had been raped on a couch at Parliament House almost two years earlier. While Lehrmann was not named, he claimed he was easily identifiable as the onetime colleague Ms Higgins said had sexually assaulted her in the office of Senator Linda Reynolds. The defamation case came after Lehrmann, who has always denied raping Ms Higgins, faced a criminal trial which was abandoned due to juror misconduct in 2022. Lehrmann is separately accused of twice raping a woman in October 2021 the morning after they met at a strip club in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. Ms Burrows filed an application in Toowoomba District Court in June seeking a permanent stay in Lehrmann's pending trial on the rape charges. Lehrmann's appeal against Justice Lee's decision in the defamation matter is listed for hearing in the Federal Court on August 20. A 21-year-old British woman has accused a man of raping her while on holiday in the popular Greek resort of Malia, Crete. According to local outlet Cretapost, the tourist told police she had gone to a bar in the early hours of June 22. She alleges that she met a man while there and spent time drinking with him. It is claimed that after leaving the venue together, the man took her to a deserted location and raped her. Greek police said a 31-year-old man from Syria has been identified and arrested in connection with the incident. He remains in custody. The woman, who was on a short vacation, reported the alleged attack to police shortly afterwards. Officers launched an investigation and tracked down the suspect. Authorities said the woman will be examined by a forensic doctor, whose findings are expected to provide more clarity as the investigation continues. No further details have been released at this stage. Gisele Fetterman said that 'every single day is a heartbreak' as she's watched President Donald Trump implement his promised mass deportation plan. The wife of Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is opening up about her unexpected journey from undocumented immigrant to prominent political spouse in her new book, Radical Tenderness: The Value of Vulnerability in an Often Unkind World. Fetterman was born in Brazil and arrived in the U.S. at age 7 on a tourist visa, which she and her mother overstayed, both becoming undocumented immigrants. She detailed her family's story on the pages of her book and talked about how it has formed her current political opinions in a recent interview with Philadelphia's WHYY. Those stances are seemingly at odds with her husband, who has received recent praise from Trump for supporting ICE agents as his administration ramps up the deportations. She said that immigrants 'contribute so much to society' - pointing out how they kept businesses open during the COVID-19 pandemic and picked the food Americans eat every day. 'But not only that, like they're just humans, and that's enough, right?' she said to WHYY. 'I think contributing is great, but just wanting a better life for your family is enough.' She said she made that pitch directly to Trump, when she and John Fetterman met with the president-elect at Mar-a-Lago a week before his swearing-in. Gisele Fetterman, photographed at an Elle event held during White House Correspondents' Dinner weekend in 2023, is out with a new book that details growing up as an undocumented immigrant and some of the stereotypes that followed her even after becoming a citizen Fetterman said she wanted to tell Trump her story and advocate for undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children, called Dreamers, 'not to be naive to think I'm going to change his mind, but I should at least try.' She said she told Trump about 'the contributions of Dreamers,' that they were 'not numbers' but 'real people.' What she heard from Trump then surprised her - as it hasn't been reflected in his policies over the past six months. 'And in that meeting, about Dreamers, he said he agrees,' she revealed. 'He said that Dreamers are American. He said many of them dont even speak their native language.' Reflecting on the conversation this month, she said, 'I don't think there is sense to be made.' 'I think this is what we have to get through until it changes. And you know, the more people that are celebrating and giving him credit for the things he's saying and doing, it's just empowering him to continue to do more of that.' Her husband, who was sworn in in January 2023, posted to X on July 10 that 'ICE performs an important job for our country.' 'Any calls to abolish ICE are 100 percent inappropriate and outrageous,' the senator added. Fetterman spoke with WHYY the next day. The Fettermans also don't reportedly agree on the war with Gaza, according to New York Magazine, with the senator showing steadfast support for Israel and his wife pointing to Palestinian children who've been killed in the fighting. Gisele Fetterman (left) with husband, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman (right), posing with Pittsburgh-themed T-shirts at their home in Braddock. It's a converted auto garage that the couple used to host events when John Fetterman was serving as the town's mayor In the book Fetterman describes growing up undocumented - learning that she needed to not draw too much attention to herself - living in constant fear of deportation. 'I knew I couldn't have all the experiences my friends had,' she wrote. She feared the police, skipped out on a friend's invitation to go on a ski trip to Canada, knowing she didn't have the right documentation, and when graduating high school, wasn't sure if she could even apply for college. The book also detailed the racial stereotypes that followed her even after she became a green card holder in 2004 and a U.S. citizen in 2009, prior to her meeting her husband. One incident, that happened in 2015, was still fresh in her mind. She and her husband, then the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania, were hosting a book party for two local authors at their home - a converted car dealership that overlooks the Edgar Thomson Steel Works. Fetterman spent the morning cleaning the space and even hired a catering company to serve the guests. 'Slowly, our living room filled with people and the buzz of conversation, as a couple of servers circulated with appetizers and drinks,' she recounted. Fetterman, who was acclimating to being a political spouse, wrote that she wanted a moment to herself before the main event. 'Shortly before the reading was set to begin, I slipped past the caterers and into my pantry to hide for a little bit,' she recounted. 'I poured myself a glass of wine and checked my phone before walking back out into the kitchen.' Then Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (left) and Gisele Fetterman (right) depart their polling location near their home in Braddock, Pennsylvania on Election Day in 2022, with John going on to win his U.S. Senate seat Gisele Fetterman in her home in Braddock, Pennsylvania with the couple's two rescue dogs. In the book she recalled hosting an event at her home in 2015, when an attendee - seeing her drinking a glass of wine in the pantry - thought she was a cater waiter drinking on the job As she was about to reenter the party she felt a tap on her shoulder. 'I turned to see an older, immaculately dressed woman with short hair. She leaned in and, lowering her voice, said, "I just want you to know that I saw what you did, and Im going to tell Mr. Fetterman,"' the woman told her. Fetterman wrote that she was 'briefly confused' about the encounter in her home until it 'hit' her. 'She thought I was part of the catering staff, and she believed she'd caught me drinking on the job.' She added that she was 'not sure why' as she was wearing a cocktail dress, not the uniform of a waiter, and she was 'navigating the space with the comfort of a woman in her own home.' 'Yet for some reason, she looks at me and assumed that, not only was I not a guest at the event, but that I was part of the support staff,' Fetterman recalled. In the past, she continued, she would have 'frozen, remained silent, or started to cry' in this kind 'uncomfortable' situation, but the then 33-year-old said the woman caught her during a moment of personal growth. 'Every time something like this happened and I was forced to explain myself, I felt like I was giving up a little bit of my power. I was left having to deal with both my own pain as well as their shame for misunderstanding. It was frustrating. It was exhausting,' she wrote. 'Eventually, I realized it wasn't my job to teach anyone or guide them toward understanding me or my family.' She said she didn't owe anything to people who were 'operating based on personal biases and stereotypes.' Fetterman also said it wasn't her personality to react with 'snark or a clapback.' Gisele Fetterman (center right) with her three children (from left) Grace, August and Karl at their Braddock, Pennsylvania home, which overlooks the Edgar Thomson Steel Works, just outside of Pittsburgh 'So rather than tell her who I was or that she was a guest in my house, I looked at her and said, "Please dont tell Mayor Fetterman. I dont want to get fired!"' she recalled. 'Then I smiled and walked away.' Moments later, the program began, and Fetterman was introduced as the mayor's wife. The woman who made to comment to her was right up front. 'We locked eyes, and I saw her face crumple as she recognized me; she was visibly horrified by her mistake,' Fetterman recalled. 'Later, she came up to me. "I really debated leaving," she said. "But Pittsburgh is so small. I know I will see you again." She apologized to me, and I thanked her,' she wrote. 'Before we said our goodbyes, we shared a toast, and she said, "Ill never make a mistake like that again." She wrote in the book that it was important that 'people leave every exchange with me with their dignity intact.' 'It was enough for me to simply know that I had neither shamed her nor taken on the labor of educating her,' she recalled. The book details a second, similar incident when Fetterman was taking her three children to a public pool. Sen. John Fetterman (left) gives a double thumbs up alongside Gisele Fetterman (right) as they attend the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton in April 2024. Fetterman's new book talks about her ascendance as a political wife Gisele Fetterman striking a yoga pose alongside the couple's two rescue dogs. In her new book she writes candidly about being Brazilian-American and how she's been dealt with negative stereotypes about immigrants A woman seated next to her heard Fetterman speaking to her kids in her native Brazilian Portuguese while lathering them up with sunscreen for swim time. 'The woman turned over with interest and commented that she had tried and failed to find a babysitter who spoke a different language,' she recalled. '"That family is so lucky to have you," she said, assuming I was my kids paid rather than unpaid caretaker.' Fetterman wrote that she responded 'cheerfully.' 'I hope they keep me around!' she said. Within moments, one of her children called her 'mom.' 'When the woman realized her mistake, she said, "I dont know why I assumed that," she wrote. 'Again, she was left to handle that question on her own.' In the book, Fetterman also detailed a scary, racist moment that occurred while she was shopping at the supermarket chain Aldi's amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 'There are moments, of course, that do not allow for grace or humor,' she noted. Sen.John Fetterman (left) and his wife Gisele Fetterman (right) snap a selfie with Democratic nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris (center) at a campaign rally in Johnstown, Pennsylvania in September 2024 Gisele Fetterman walks onstage at a rally in support of her husband, then Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, in October 2022. In her book she recounted a scary moment during the pandemic while shopping for groceries at Aldi's She said that Aldi's, which originated in Germany, was one of her places to people-watch and she had gone shopping that day to pick up some golden kiwis while the fruit was on sale. While she was waiting in line, she heard and saw a commotion with her peripheral vision. 'A visibly agitated woman was yelling obscenities, and at first, I thought, How sad, what the pandemic is doing to us. It took me a second to register what she was saying and another to realize that her comments were directed at me,' she said. 'She was calling me a thief and telling me I "dont belong in this country." She said I had "ruined Johns bloodline,"' referencing the now-senator. 'I was frozen, in shock. The hate and darkness in her face was, frankly, terrifying.' She didn't confront the woman, instead paying for her groceries and leaving Aldi's, but the hateful moment didn't end there. 'She followed me out to the parking lot and started yelling racial slurs at me outside my car,' Fetterman recounted. 'had never met this woman before. She was a stranger who, for some reason, felt disgust and hatred toward me. I could see it in her eyes.' 'In that moment, I didnt have the energy to think of something witty to say, nor do I think she deserved any response,' she continued. 'I was shaken and in shock an sat sobbing and sat sobbing in my car for a long time. I reverted to my childhood self, once again that undocumented little girl who feared being deported.' Fetterman wrote that it took her months to return to Aldi's following the incident. 'I was heartbroken and my sense of safety had been shattered,' she said. In turn, the company reached out to her, to say the woman had been banished from all of its stores. Radical Tenderness: The Value of Vulnerability in an Often Unkind World was released last week. A Senate Republican is pushing a provision that would swiftly deactivate employee credit cards once they finish their service at the Pentagon. Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst wants to require physical cards issued to ex-employees to be returned to the department immediately. Her proposal, which is being offered as part of the annual National Defense Authorization Act, would also mandate the deletion of credit cards from digital wallets. Earlier this year, an audit conducted by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) exposed an eye-popping $40 billion in annual expenditures throughout the government on 4.6 million credit cards - a number that's nearly twice the number of active federal employees. Thousands of the transactions unearthed in a separate report by the Pentagon's inspector general occurred at 'high-risk locations' including casino ATMs, bars and nightclubs. 'After exposing sweeping abuse of government credit cards, I am chopping up the Pentagon's plastic,' Ernst told the Daily Mail. 'From casinos to bars and much more, bureaucrats have been swiping away and sending the American people the check.' Ernst's office was unable to confirm when her measure could receive a vote before the full Senate body and provisions like these often get stripped out or risk being voted down during last minute negotiations to get the must-pass legislation over the finish line. The Senate version of the NDAA has passed out of the Armed Services Committee, and the House is scheduled to vote on their version of the bill Thursday afternoon. The Senate did not achieve final passage of last year's NDAA until mid-December. Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, speaks to reporters following a Republican Conference meeting, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2023 The Pentagon is seen from above in Arlington, Virginia on Jan 27th 2025 Slashing waste, fraud, and abuse has been top of mind for Republicans in Washington since President Trump reclaimed the White White House and greenlit an agency tasked with slashing the federal bureaucracy, and Erst has been eager to align herself with the president's objectives as she contemplates a re-election bid in 2026. But her provision only covers the Pentagon, not the broader $40 billion problem plaguing all agencies. 'Washington insiders wouldn't leave their own old credit cards floating around, and there is no reason why they should treat taxpayer-funded credit cards with less responsibility,' Ernst concluded. Some of the bad actors have been identified as part of ongoing investigations. In 2020, a Texas National Guardsman was sentenced to two years in federal prison and ordered to repay over $75,000 after it was uncovered that he used 'General Services Administration and Department of Defense 'fleet cards' to purchase fuel and maintenance for government vehicles.' Other similar instances of fraud are decades old, showing that misuse of government-issued credit cards has been a pervasive problem. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks with reporters, as he departs for travel to Pennsylvania from the South Lawn at the White House in Washington, D.C. U.S., July 15, 2025 Elon Musk speaks during a press conference with U.S. President Donald Trump (not pictured), at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 30, 2025 In 2005, an ex-US Army recruiter was arrested for using a 'stolen card to purchase gasoline, automotive parts and food for his personal use and consumption in excess of $13,000.' A 2002 report by the Government Accountability Office noted that a 'Fort Benning military cardholder charged $30,000 for personal goods and cash advances before and after retirement.' The same report also said that the individual tasked with approving the charges only acted as a 'rubber stamp' and failed to notice the cardholder retired. About 48 hours after Daily Mail broke the news that putrid pedo Jeffrey Epstein's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell wants to spill her foul guts to Congress, some very powerful Republicans are saying: Bring it on! 'If she's willing to testify, we have to call her into the Judiciary Committee and put her under oath and have her testify,' Judiciary subcommittee chairman Josh Hawley told reporters on Tuesday. Fellow judiciary subcommittee chair Mike Lee seconded that, saying, 'If she were to testify, it would answer a lot of questions that would put this into perspective.' Perhaps feeling left out, resident House loon Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett piped up. When he's not chasing UFO cover-ups, he's getting to the bottom of child-sex ring cover-ups. Bananas Burchett sent a letter to House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer demanding that they, too, invite Grisly Ghisly to testify. So, what sparked this Maxwell Trutherism? About 48 hours after Daily Mail broke the news that putrid pedo Jeffrey Epstein 's accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell wants to spill her foul guts to Congress , some very powerful Republicans are saying: Bring it on! 'If she's willing to testify, we have to call her into the Judiciary Committee and put her under oath and have her testify,' Judiciary subcommittee chairman Josh Hawley told reporters on Tuesday. This Daily Mail reporting: 'No-one from the government has ever asked her to share what she knows,' a source close to Maxwell exclusively squeaked on Sunday. 'She remains the only person to be jailed in connection to Epstein' Ain't that the truth. Ep-stain Jeff 'killed himself' awaiting trial and don't forget about the French Connection. Modeling agent-turned-pimp Jean Luc Brunel was found dangling in his Parisian prison cell three years after Dead Jeff. Epstein also allegedly told one of his most outspoken victims, Virginia Giuffre (also recently deceased), that he'd slept with '1,000 Brunel girls.' Jeff and Jean can rot in hell. But Ghislaine should sit for Congress. She's the only known Epstein co-conspirator still above ground, so it might be a good time to get her story. And since she'll be staying at the Greybar hotel for the next 20 years, what does she have to lose? Moreover, what do Republicans have to lose? If there's nothing to see here, then let it all out. Or as MAGA maverick Congressman Thomas Massie told me exclusively, 'I guess Ghislaine Maxwell should be getting a pardon because it's a "hoax" now.' Ouch, Tom. But Trump is savvy enough to know that Massie and others are speaking on behalf of the president's base supporters. This Epstein debacle has driven a previously unimaginable wedge between Trump and his MAGA faithful. Maxwell's testimony would be an opportunity to slow this runway conspiracy train. The drama even spilled over into last weekend's Turning Point USA conference the largest gathering of conservative virgins in the world. There podcasting pinup Megyn Kelly raged, 'This is the first big scandal, I'd say, of the Trump administration it's not a fake news media scandal like the left tries to create for President Trump every other day. It's one of the right's making and it's not going well.' Podcasting pinup Megyn Kelly raged, 'This is the first big scandal, I'd say, of the Trump administration.' Ep-stain Jeff 'killed himself' awaiting trial and don't forget about the French Connection. Modeling agent-turned-pimp Jean Luc Brunel (picture, right) was found dangling in his Parisian prison cell three years after Dead Jeff. (Pictured: Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein and Jean Luc Brunel on Epstein's private plane) Look, Ghislaine should never see the outside of a prison yard, unless her keister is parked in a chair in a committee room, then back to the pokey with her! (Pictured: Ghislaine Maxwell running outside at Federal Correctional Institution in Tallahassee) Indeed, everyone from President Trump to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino dined out on the Epstein conspiracy while they were free to speculate. But now that they're in office, they're like the dog that caught the car. Attorney General Bondi, the blondest person to ever occupy the office, has taken the brunt of the blowback after her Justice Department botched the handling of his poisoned potato. 'I'm sure it's a relief for Pam Bondi to hear the president is still in her corner,' Megyn tweeted. 'Unfortunately, huge swaths of the party are not. She repeatedly misled on Epstein. Then didn't have to courage to explain herself. Suddenly she's camera shy & no Qs allowed. Good luck!' (Hmm I'm starting to think recovering-lawyer Megyn may be angling for a new job.) This sure is U-G-L-Y! There is also the Elders of Zion-adjacent rumor, stoked by Megyn, Charlie Kirk and others, that Epstein was an agent for Israel's Mossad. And that he could also launch roller skates out of his shoes if he ever needed to make a fast getaway. (Oh wait, that's Inspector Gadget). Ghislaine's dad, Robert Maxwell, was plagued by the same such Mossad scuttlebutt after he mysteriously fell off his yacht, darkly named 'The Lady Ghislaine.' His naked corpse was fished out of Spanish waters. That particular conspiracy was further exacerbated by a dubiously sourced claim that a US attorney was advised to give Epstein a plea deal for child rape back in 2008, because Epstein 'belonged to Intel.' Geez, it's easy getting sucked down this rabbit hole. All the more reason for Republicans to pump the brakes. Former Epstein lawyer Alan Dershowitz's recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal has gone a long way toward resolution. Attorney General Bondi, the blondest person to ever occupy the office, has taken the brunt of the blowback after her Justice Department botched the handling of his poisoned potato. 'Epstein never created a "client list," he writes. 'The FBI interviewed alleged victims who named several "clients." These names have been redacted. They should be disclosed but the courts have ordered them sealed. I know who they are. They don't include any current officeholders. We don't know whether the accusations are true I have seen nothing that would suggest anything improper or even questionable by Mr. Trump.' Sorry, Democrats. No silver bullet there. Dershowitz went on: 'I have absolutely no doubt that Epstein never worked for any intelligence agency. If he had, he would surely have told me and his other lawyers, who would have used that information to get him a better deal.' Sorry, Megyn. That was good while it lasted. Look, Ghislaine should never see the outside of a prison yard, unless her keister is parked in a chair in a committee room, then back to the pokey with her! But, as Dershowitz makes clear, 'the truth is out there' to borrow a line from Tim Burchette's favorite show. It's long overdue that someone exposes it. Piccadilly Station in Manchester was busy last week. Travellers hurried from trains to the taxi rank at nearby Fairfield Street, where minicab drivers wait night and day for fares. In Portsmouth, 240 miles to the south, the minicab trade was thriving too. The bustling Royal Navy seaport boasts a historic dockyard, where Admiral Nelsons HMS Victory attracts thousands of visitors who use the same type of private-licensed taxis to reach the 18th-century flagship from the town centre. Yet both English cities, miles apart, have something else in common. Each is a honeypot for minicabs with badges issued by one West Midlands council: Wolverhampton. The Mail visited Manchester and Portsmouth and in both places we photographed scores of vehicles displaying the Wolverhampton metal licences which, through a Department for Transport loophole, allow drivers to ply their trade anywhere in the country. Near Manchesters Piccadilly Station we photographed 30 vehicles with the Wolverhampton licences. They were everywhere I went, at every taxi stand, said the Daily Mail photographer Bruce Adams. In Portsmouth, it was much the same story. Bizarre though it sounds, the drivers dont even have to live in Wolverhampton to apply and get a badge from the citys council, which is said to offer a quick, cheap licensing service without some of the restrictions demanded by other authorities. In last months government-commissioned report into sex grooming gangs Baroness Casey of Blackstock revealed that there was a dangerous link between minicab drivers and the mass rapes of thousands of young girls And, astonishingly, of the huge tally of 32,000 Wolverhampton licences issued in 2023 and 2024, more than 90 per cent were handed to out of town minicabs. So far so interesting. But in the context of last months devastating government-commissioned report into sex grooming gangs by Baroness Casey of Blackstock, the proliferation of Wolverhampton minicab licences across the country has terrifying implications. For Baroness Casey revealed in her report that there was a dangerous link between minicab drivers and the mass rapes of thousands of young girls. Indeed, she dedicated an entire chapter of her audit to minicabs, or what are officially called privately licensed taxis, saying: As a key part of the night-time economy, taxis have historically been identified as a way children can be at risk of sexual exploitation. She explained there were many cases of sex grooming that highlighted links with minicabs both as a potential way for the perpetrators to meet their victims, as well as a means of trafficking victims to different locations and introducing them to other perpetrators. In other words, minicabs are at the heart of the scandal, ferrying groomed girls all over the country via the motorway network and often in darkness to the rapists and taking the rapists themselves to the girls. Minicab drivers dont even have to live in Wolverhampton to apply and get a badge from the citys council, which is said to offer a quick, cheap licensing service without some of the restrictions demanded by other authorities Baroness Casey went on to warn that a loophole, which allowed drivers to be licensed in one authority but operate in another, made it far more difficult for local councils to monitor minicab drivers and protect the public. The Department for Transport should close this loophole immediately and introduce more rigorous standards, she insisted. Yet judging by the number of Wolverhampton-licensed mini-cabs we found in Manchester and Portsmouth, the very opposite is happening. Almost a third of all Englands licensed minicabs are registered in Wolverhampton, according to the latest figures. The council has taken on 20 extra staff to deal with the demand for its popular service, the BBC has said after investigating the issue. This loophole was introduced in 2015 by David Camerons government to reduce red tape, streamline regulations and increase competition among licensing bodies while providing drivers with flexibility so there would be more taxis available. But critics say it makes checks on rogue drivers more difficult and has created minicab mayhem. They argue the system undermines local councils ability to regulate who operates within their boundaries when drivers are working across multiple areas. Greater Manchester, for instance, has been embroiled in the sex-grooming scandal police said recently they are investigating more than 1,000 rape-gang suspects in cases thought to involve hundreds of local girls and women. Yet figures show four in ten minicabs operating there are licensed outside the city, with many using Wolverhampton badges. Manchesters Labour mayor Andy Burnham warned that this makes the enforcement of taxi safety standards more difficult, and has launched a campaign calling for new legislation to stop private-hire drivers being licensed in one local area and then working in another. Accountability to local councils is essential to public safety, he argued, adding: The taxi licensing system is demonstrably broken. A BBC investigation found 23 allegations of child and adult sexual exploitation against Wolverhampton-licensed drivers, including in Telford, Shropshire, one of the towns where a damning report found 1,000 girl victims had been raped and abused by grooming gangs Meanwhile, Portsmouth councillors have called for immediate action to stop the out-of-town minicabs operating there. They cited the case of a woman who this spring alleged she was sexually harassed by a driver licensed in Wolverhampton. The woman said the male driver made sexualised remarks, delayed unlocking the door at the end of her ride, and hovered his hand over her legs as she struggled to leave his taxi during the frightening incident, which police are now investigating. Emily Strudwick, head of Portsmouths taxi licensing committee, has said: Were seeing dozens of these cars [from Wolverhampton] every month. We have no enforcement power over them, and it puts the public at risk. The independent councillor and leader of Portsmouths opposition group George Madgwick went further. He warned that the lack of CCTV inside Wolverhampton-plated minicabs heightened the problem. (Portsmouths and nearby Southamptons licensing conditions require CCTV to be fitted whereas Wolverhamptons dont.) These taxis are flooding our city and dodging Portsmouths own stricter safety rules, he explained. Referring to the alleged assault, he added: Now, yet again, a woman has been left shaken and unsafe in our streets. Its time to say, enough. Im calling on the Government to close the loophole and ban out-of-area vehicles. Im calling on you passengers, Dont get in a Wolverhampton-plated taxi. Your safety is worth more than the drivers convenience. Following Baroness Caseys report, the Government promised that the Department for Transport will tighten up the licence rules for minicab drivers to increase the safety of passengers. Manchesters Labour mayor Andy Burnham has launched a campaign calling for new legislation to stop private-hire drivers being licensed in one local area and then working in another We will work as quickly as possible and consider all options, declared Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander, including out-of-area working, national standards and enforcement, seeking the best overall outcome for passenger safety. But there have been promises before, and nothing has been done. As far back as 2018, Wes Streeting, the current Health Secretary who was then a backbench MP for Ilford North, warned of a ticking time bomb during one of the many debates in Parliament after the minicab free-for-all was introduced. On cross-border hire, local authorities in places such as Rotherham and Sheffield have had particular issues with safeguarding children and young people, he said. Girls have been sexually assaulted and raped, and private hire vehicles [minicabs] have been used to carry out that dreadful exploitation and those horrendous crimes. Where local authorities have rightly responded and put in place enhanced safety standards and protections, it cannot be right that people can flout those protections simply by getting their vehicles registered in another licensing authority, where there are lower standards. A Wild West is where we find ourselves. The truth is that, since then, the bonanza in Wolverhampton minicab badges has impacted almost every town and city. The Mail has received reports of drivers displaying the citys plates while operating across the Midlands, in Cardiff, up in the North East in County Durham, as well as East Anglia. Over five months last year for instance, Wolverhampton issued 8,653 licences, while just 277 were handed out in the same time frame by Birmingham, which complains it is inundated with out of town minicabs it finds more difficult to check. At a special council meeting to discuss the issue, Birmingham Councillor Gareth Moore said: Drivers rejected for a [minicab] licence in this city have blatantly claimed they will go to Wolverhampton because they will give me one, and I wont have to do half the things that you are expecting me to do. He called for the loophole to be shut down for the safety of passengers. Wolverhampton, meanwhile, is unrepentant. The safety of licensed minicab passengers is a number one priority, a spokesman said. The council claims to be the only one to check drivers criminal records daily, and to offer passengers a smartphone service to check the name and identity of who is behind the wheel. Wolverhampton Council added: It is illegal for the council to refuse applicants a taxi licence on the basis of where they live. Under the current law, an unlimited number of applicants are able to apply to any council authority for a private hire licence. Why do drivers choose Wolverhampton where, in the year to March 2024, 96 per cent of licences were awarded to drivers outside the city? According to an investigation by the Manchester Evening News, it is because the process is regarded by drivers as easier, quicker and cheaper than elsewhere. The Midlands council has specialised in licensing, and made 6.1million from doing so in 2023-24, according to council records. The council insists it does not gain financially, however, as fees for licensing are ring-fenced to be spent on related activities which means the money goes into keeping the cost of a licence as low as possible and this in turn encourages more applicants. Admittedly, the 49 annual drivers fee for a private Wolverhampton licence is about to be raised to 69, but that is still lower than at most other councils. Manchester, for instance, charges 255 for a three-year licence. There is no doubt about the safety concerns the licensing free-for-all has created. Seven long years ago, before the enormous scale of the grooming scandal became public this year, a BBC investigation raised fears of sexual predators shopping around to find the easiest place to get a minicab licence. It found 23 allegations of child and adult sexual exploitation against Wolverhampton-licensed drivers. They included incidents in Southampton, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Telford in Shropshire, one of the towns where a damning report found 1,000 girl victims had been raped and abused by grooming gangs. Back in 2018, Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary who was then a backbench MP, warned of a ticking time bomb during one of the many debates in Parliament after the minicab free-for-all was introduced Of course, there have also been problems with minicab drivers licensed by other councils. Last year in County Durhams Stockton-on-Tees, a driver lost his licence over reports that he sexually harassed and groomed a young passenger by first contacting her on social media and then offering free rides. Police investigated but took no action. However, the towns licensing committee said the man was obstructive and uncooperative under questioning and often refused to attend interviews. The licensing committee discovered the driver had been operating outside its area, in North Yorkshires Cleveland district, where he had made sexually malicious phone calls. But Cleveland had failed to tell Stockton officials who, after their investigation, refused to renew the mans licence. In another worrying development, a Lancashire council at the heart of the child-grooming scandal handed out taxi licences to convicted offenders, including a paedophile called Moshraf Ali, who went on to be jailed for an attack on a 14-year-old girl as he drove her home at night. And even before David Cameron relaxed the rules, official reports into sex grooming show that in 2014 Oldham approved licences for five drivers with serious criminal convictions, yet only one of them had his licence revoked. Baroness Casey made it crystal clear last month that action must be taken to tighten up the rules. For the minicab Wild West Wes Streeting warned of all those years ago is out of control. An accident is waiting to happen in towns and cities all over our country which is already steeped in shame over the gang rapes of thousands of girls. The Wall Street Journal's chief economics correspondent has delivered a surprise assessment of President Donald Trump's trade policies while criticizing the cruel nickname assigned to him after he 'chickened out' of imposing extreme tariffs. Greg Ip published his latest take on Trump's tariff wars in the publication on Tuesday, sensationally noting Trump is 'winning' on trade policy. 'Trump has, by his own definition of success, already won his trade war,' Ip wrote, 'even without [the] deals' he vowed to reach with foreign allies. Trump faced harsh criticism for backing down on his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, earning him the moniker 'TACO' for 'Trump Always Chickens Out.' After threatening extraordinary reciprocal tariffs on most countries, markets crashed and doomsday economists feared a recession was inevitable. In the midst of the backlash, Trump walked back on the tariffs, instead offering countries 90 days to reach new agreements with his administration. Some within his inner circle were boasting of the possibility of achieving 90 deals in 90 days. That deadline has since passed, and Trump has inked one deal with the UK, and two more are on track with Vietnam and Indonesia. After threatening extraordinary reciprocal tariffs on most countries, markets crashed and doomsday economists feared a recession was inevitable Trump faced harsh criticism for backing down on his 'Liberation Day' tariffs, earning him the moniker 'TACO' for 'Trump Always Chickens Out' But Ip notes this is not necessarily a negative for Trump. To the contrary, Ip said Trump's behavior leading to this point suggests he was never particularly keen on making such deals to begin with. 'This narrative misconstrues Trump's goals, overstates the importance of deals and breeds complacency about his willingness to raise tariffs,' Ip wrote. When Trump backed down on his steep tariffs, markets rallied and economists breathed a sigh of relief. But he never removed the 10 percent baseline tariff which he had initially imposed on all goods coming into the United States. On the campaign trail, Ip notes, a 10 percent tariff seemed like worst-case scenario for markets. Now, in the face of Trump's brash actions and threats of tariffs as high as 145 percent (on China), the 10 percent tariff appears to have flown under the radar, now considered the best-case outcome for nations coming to the negotiating table. In June alone, Treasury pocketed $27billion in customs revenue - $20billion more than it did in the same month last year. Trump has met with and discussed tariffs with global leaders, but has only struck a deal with the UK so far. Pictured shaking hands with Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa Greg Ip published his latest take on Trump's tariff wars in the left-leaning publication on Tuesday, sensationally noting Trump is 'winning' on trade policy With higher tariffs on steel and aluminum, the average tariff for all goods coming into the United States as of July 2 was 13.4 percent. Last year, it was 2.3 percent. Ip argues in his piece that Trump has no major need to forge new trade deals, because doing so would imply backing down or compromising on something he wants - which isn't often the Trump way. But while he said Trump is winning the trade war he created, Ip noted local manufacturing has not skyrocketed as Trump had hoped it would. Consumers in America are also increasingly feeling the pinch as businesses up their prices to accommodate the tariffs they're now paying on imported goods. Ip concluded: 'Trump might emerge a winner from his trade wars; it remains to be seen if the U.S. will as well.' Ip's assessment of Trump's trade policy may ruffle feathers at the publication, which has drawn Trump's ire a number of times during this administration. In May, he gave a reporter from the publication a verbal lashing after asking a question on board Air Force 1. 'Boy, you people treat us so badly,' he said of the paper Murdoch acquired in 2007. 'Wall Street Journal has truly gone to hell... Rotten newspaper. You hear me? What I said? Its a rotten newspaper.' Months earlier, he panned it as a 'globalist' rag and 'polluted' after it criticized his tariffs. In March, the paper sensationally suggested 'someone should sue' over the tariffs and said: 'He's treating the North American economy as a personal plaything, as markets gyrate with each presidential whim.' A prison program is granting Texas' most hardened criminals 'recreational time' for limited time periods each day. Death row inmates are being offered a rare set of privileges, allowing a select group of well-behaved prisoners to spend several hours a day outside their cells. The program's allowances includes communal meals, TV time, prayer circles and - for the first time in decades - direct human contact. The change marks a sharp departure from decades of extreme isolation that made Texas' death row one of the harshest in the nation. Rodolfo 'Rudy' Alvarez Medrano was one of about a dozen men allowed out of solitary confinement. For the first time in 20 years, he was allowed to step out of his death row cell at the the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in West Livingston without handcuffs. Before the 'life-altering' new program, Medrano, 45, had lived in isolation at least 22 hours a day, he told the Houston Chronicle. 'All of these changes have given guys hope,' he revealed. Rodolfo 'Rudy' Alvarez Medrano, 45, is one of about a dozen inmates chosen for a groundbreaking pilot program that allows select death row prisoners to spend several hours a day outside solitary confinement The program, offered at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in West Livingston, provides a rare set of privileges including communal meals, TV time, prayer circles and - for the first time in decades - direct human contact The 'all-day isolation' has been the norm in the Lone Star State ever since a daring death row escape in 1998 prompted prison officials to move death row to a newer prison in Livingston. Following the attempted escape, restraints were tightened and inmates were thrown into solitary, lost their prison jobs and their access to rehabilitative programs was eliminated. Then just 26 years old, Medrano was sentenced to death in 2005 under the state's controversial 'law of parties' - a controversial Texas law that holds everyone involved in a crime equally responsible for its outcome - for supplying weapons used in a deadly robbery. Following his sentence - like the roughly 150 other men on death row at Polunsky - he lived alone in a small cell with no physical contact and little opportunity for rehabilitation. 'I would rather be in a barn with farm animals than the way it was here,' Medrano said. 'It was just dark.' The pilot recreation program was launched under former warden Daniel Dickerson, who believed offering basic privileges to well-behaved inmates could improve conditions for both prisoners and staff. 'It's definitely helped give them something to look forward to,' Dickerson said. 'All it takes is one bad event, and that could shut it down for a long time. And they understand that.' In the 18 months since the program began, officials say there have been no fights, no drug seizures, and no incidents requiring disciplinary action - an impressive record in a prison system struggling elsewhere with contraband and violence. Since its rollout staff have also reported fewer mental health breakdowns and better working conditions. The change marks a sharp departure from decades of extreme isolation that made Texas' death row one of the harshest in the nation. Pictured: Cells in the death row section of the Polunsky Unit contain only a sink, a toilet, a thin mattress and a small window The 'all-day isolation' has been the norm in the Lone Star State ever since a daring death row escape in 1998 prompted prison officials to move death row to a newer prison in Livingston (pictured) Then just 26 years old, Medrano (pictured at 26) was sentenced to death in 2005 under the state's controversial 'law of parties' for supplying weapons used in a deadly robbery 'Would you rather work with people who are treating you with respect, or who are yelling and screaming at you every time you walk in?' Amanda Hernandez, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, said. 'It's a no-brainer.' Prisoners in the program can now spend time in a shared dayroom without shackles, talk face-to-face instead of through vents, and even join hands for daily prayer. On Sundays the small group even joins together for church services, while some play board games and others clean the common area or watch TV together. For many, it's their first experience of social interaction in decades. The shift follows a broader national trend away from automatic solitary confinement for death row inmates. Over the past decade, states including Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and South Carolina have loosened death row restrictions. California is also reportedly dismantling death row entirely, integrating prisoners into the general population. Meanwhile, in Texas, lawsuits and mounting public pressure are forcing state officials to revisit the long-standing isolation regime. A federal lawsuit filed in early 2023 by four Texas death row inmates alleges unconstitutional conditions, citing mold, insect infestation and decades of isolation. Attorneys argue that long-term solitary confinement exacerbates mental illness and violates international human rights standards. 'There's a reason that even short periods of solitary confinement are considered torture under international human rights conventions,' Catherine Bratic, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, told the Houston Chronicle. Research shows long-term isolation increases the risks of paranoia, memory loss, and psychosis, the Chronicle reported. One study cited by University of California psychology professor Craig Haney found that inmates held in extreme isolation have a higher risk of suicide and premature death. The pilot recreation program, not previously disclosed to the public, was launched under former warden Daniel Dickerson (pictured), who believed offering basic privileges to well-behaved inmates could improve conditions for both prisoners and staff In the 18 months since the program began, officials say there have been no fights, no drug seizures, and no incidents requiring disciplinary action - an impressive record in a prison system struggling elsewhere with contraband and violence. Pictured: The Allan B. Polunsky Unit, which houses over 169 men on Texas' death row Now, inmates say the new privileges have had a visible impact on mental health. 'It made me feel a little bit human again after all these years,' death row inmate Robert Roberson, said. But the program's future is uncertain. A second group recreation pod opened briefly earlier this year, only to be shut down without explanation. The department confirmed it intends to move forward, but gave no timeline. For now, Medrano remains one of the few prisoners experiencing a version of community inside one of the country's most isolated prison systems. These days, when he steps out of his cell, his hands are usually full - carrying a Bible, hymn sheets, or snacks for the group. 'It's definitely helped give them something to look forward to,' Dickerson said. 'All it takes is one bad event, and that could shut it down for a long time. And they understand that because they've been behind those doors for so long - they know what they have to lose probably more than anybody else.' Frontline interpreter Jamil was turned down for sanctuary in Britain but after the data blunder, the Government changed its mind. His story illustrates the tangle British officials have been getting themselves in. He is a former supervisor of UK interpreters, praised for his bravery under fire, with one colleague describing him as diligent and hard working and an integral part of operations. When the Taliban seized power in 2021, he was told he could relocate to Britain. He and his family sold their home and possessions and travelled to Islamabad. Then he was one of 1,800 Afghans sent a chilling alert from the British High Commission warning that his personal details could have been compromised. Jamil, 36, a married father-of-one, who worked with UK forces from 2007-11, was even more alarmed when two days later he was told there had been an error and he was not eligible after all and would be sent back to Afghanistan. With the help of the Mail, lawyers successfully applied for Judicial Review to overturn the decision. It is understood that when details of the data alert he received were put to the closed court, the Government backed down. It is believed there are many similar cases. Last night he told the Mail: We hope that finally we can begin a new life in the safety of Britain. I am grateful we have been given a future. Frontline interpreter Jamil, 36, (face pixellated for his own security) out in the field in Afghanstan Jamil, a married father-of-one, worked with UK forces from 2007-11, was alarmed when he was told he was not eligible for santuary in the UK and would be sent back to Afghanistan With the help of the Mail, lawyers successfully applied for Judicial Review to overturn the decision Interpreter's five-year struggle for sanctuary For Khan, the data leak blunder may have opened the door to a new life in the UK. The 35-year-old former interpreter for the UKs Electronic Warfare Signals Intelligence Unit based in Helmand, had been fighting for five years to be allowed to relocate. Despite being shot and stabbed in a Taliban ambush on the outskirts of the Afghan capital Kabul, he had been refused sanctuary because he had been dismissed for smoking in a tent. He had claimed they were trumped-up charges at a time when the UK was looking to cut the number of translators employed before the announcement of a redundancy package. Khan, who said he was repeatedly targeted by the Taliban because he was the eyes and ears of the British forces, fled Afghanistan but was arrested in Turkey and deported. His case was highlighted by the Mails Betrayal of the Brave campaign and it was taken up by lawyers who launched a Judicial Review. After years of rejection, his case was suddenly allowed and both Khan and his lawyers believe the decision is likely to be linked to the data leak. As he savoured his new life in the UK, Khan said: I had suffered a great injustice I was shot and stabbed because of my work for the UK but still was not allowed sanctuary now the strength of my case has finally been allowed. Former translator Khan, pictured here serving with UK forces, was hunted down and wounded by the Taliban A sex worker has detailed bombshell claims that Mark Latham and his then-girlfriend contacted her for a threesome that never eventuated. The fallout for the controversial NSW independent MP continues after his ex, Nathalie Matthews, claimed he inflicted 'a sustained pattern' of psychological, financial and emotional abuse against her for almost three years. Ms Matthews is now seeking an apprehended violence order against the one-time federal opposition leader, alleging Latham engaged in vile acts towards her, claims that he has denied. Sex worker Carly Electric has weighed in on the saga by claiming the pair contacted her 'out of nowhere' earlier this year for what she suspected was for a threesome. 'She (Ms Matthews) just came out of nowhere and it's like they were love bombing me each of them separately landed in my DMs,' Ms Electric told the Daily Telegraph. She claimed Ms Matthews messaged her about their common interest in horse racing before Latham made contact. 'She (Ms Matthews) was messaging me things like: "We're looking at your photos, we think that you are so stunning",' Ms Electric said. 'I was like: 'Are you going to book me'?' Sex worker Carly Electric claims she was contacted by Mark Latham and his then-girlfriend Carly Electric (left) eventually had dinner and drinks with Latham and Nathalie Matthews (both pictured right) A back and forth of messages was exchanged before Ms Electric eventually paid her own way to fly down and meet up with the pair at a Randwick race meet on April 5, before heading out to dinner and drinks afterwards. She claimed she was driven around by Latham in a 'beaten-up car', the 'kind you'd buy your kid'. 'I thought it was quite weird that someone like him would interact with someone like me, he seemed quite excited,' Ms Electric said. She insisted that sex never eventuated between the trio and a threesome was never discussed. She broke her silence after sexually explicit WhatsApp messages between Latham and Ms Matthews became public this week. Some of the messages included references to Ms Electric, who was described by Latham as a 'good rooter'. 'Multi skilled. Comedian. Race lover. Keen rooter. Exactly our sort of person!' he wrote. He also joked if she might want to be involved in a 'freak off', a another term used by infamous rapper Sean Diddy Coombs for a threesome. Latham is yet to address the latest claims. Nathalie Matthews (left) is now seeking an apprehended violence order against her ex, NSW independent MP Mark Latham Carly Electric insists sex never eventuated between the trio and a threesome was never discussed The former federal Labor leader has categorically denied he 'abuses women' and insisted all his dealings with Ms Matthews were entirely consensual. It is also not suggested the claims of abusive behaviour are substantiated, only that the allegations have been made. In an interview with Chris Smith on 2SM on Wednesday morning, Latham did not deny sending lurid texts to Ms Matthews from the floor of state parliament. 'The big news is I had a private life,' he said. 'I had a sex life and I've got to say it was fantastic.' 'If I'm the only person in Australia who in a work environment engaged in a bit of playful sex talk with their partner, then I'll buy everyone a lottery ticket tomorrow.' Latham noted the AVO case against him was being brought privately after NSW Police chose not to pursue the allegations. 'There is a court case pending because she's lodged a private AVO application,' he said. 'She tried to get an AVO with the police... I think that tells you a lot about the substance of the matter.' Two Parliamentary inquiries were launched yesterday into the Government's secret immigration scheme for Afghans that it deemed 'at risk of death'. The defence select committee will scrutinise how the data breach happened and why it was kept under wraps for so long, after ministers used an unprecedented super-injunction to gag the Press. Meanwhile the powerful commons' public accounts committee is set to grill defence chiefs over the 'confusion' surrounding the true costs of the scheme and the numbers of Afghans airlifted to Britain. Defence Secretary John Healey said 6,900 Afghans were being relocated to the UK because of the data beach. And he said the money spent was 400million so far, with a projected final cost of about 850million. However, these figures seem starkly at odds with the numbers given to the High Court during the super-injunction case which involved more than 20 secret hearings over two years. In court, while the gagging order silenced journalists including from the Mail, Mr Justice Chamberlain was told how ministers had agreed on 7billion to extend the scheme over five years and bring in tens of thousands of Afghans. Last night Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, chairman of the public accounts committee, said: 'I am concerned about aspects of the super-injunction and the length of time that it was applied. I'm also concerned about the cost of the scheme. Defence Secretary John Healey said 6,900 Afghans were being relocated to the UK because of the data beach (Pictured: John Healey speaking in the Commons yesterday) Unmarked government charter planes landing at airports including Stansted and RAF Brize Norton packed with hundreds of Afghans At Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, Keir Starmer tried to deflect blame for the episode, which began in 2023 under the former government, saying it was Tory ministers who had 'serious questions to answer' 'Figures of 800million-plus have been given by the secretary of state, but there still seems to be confusion of where the much higher figure of 7billion, used in the court case, relates to. 'We at the PAC have already made preliminary arrangements to ask officials from the MoD to come and explain all of this.' The MoD is now claiming the 7billion figure is in fact 6billion and that it relates to all of its Afghan resettlement schemes, not just the one launched in response to the data disaster. Last night Tan Dhesi MP, chairman of the defence committee, said there were questions about 'not only a catastrophic data breach that jeopardised the safety of brave Afghans who served alongside British forces, but also the fact that this breach had been kept secret for years. 'These shocking events now deserve proper, thorough parliamentary scrutiny.' He said his committee intended to hold a probe after the summer recess. At Prime Minister's Questions yesterday, Keir Starmer tried to deflect blame for the episode, which began in 2023 under the former government, saying it was Tory ministers who had 'serious questions to answer'. Former Tory defence secretary Ben Wallace yesterday said he made 'no apology' for how the situation was handled, given the potential threat to thousands of Afghans who had helped UK forces. Sir Ben said reporting of the data leak would have 'put in peril those we needed to help out'. Labour has been accused of attempting to rig future elections by giving the vote to 16-year-olds. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government is expected to set out a plan to enfranchise under-18s today. But the move, a manifesto pledge from the party, has been criticised as a cynical ploy since a large proportion of young voters support Labour. In a blow to the party, however, it has emerged that almost half of teenagers do not even want to be given the vote. In a poll, some 49 per cent of those questioned said they disagreed with the move. Only a few more of the 500 youths questioned by Merlin Strategy, 51 per cent, backed Labour's proposal. In addition, only 18 per cent of the 16 and 17-year-olds polled said they would definitely cast a ballot if there was an election tomorrow with 13 per cent saying they would not take part. A Tory source said tonight: 'This is bare-faced ballot box stuffing. It's a sign of desperation this failing Labour government is resorting to underhand tactics and rigging extra votes to try and cling on to power for longer.' Labour vowed in its manifesto that it would give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote to 'increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy'. But the required legislation was a surprise omission from the King's Speech for Keir Starmer's first year in power. Labour has been accused of attempting to rig future elections by giving the vote to 16-year-olds (file image) Tory communities spokesman Kevin Hollinrake (pictured) told the Mail tonight: 'This poll proves what many of us have long argued even 16 and 17-year-olds don't think they're ready to vote' (file image) It is estimated another 1.5 million teenagers will be enfranchised for the next election though Labour has dropped controversial plans to give millions of EU nationals the vote (file image) Tory communities spokesman Kevin Hollinrake told the Mail tonight: 'This poll proves what many of us have long argued even 16 and 17-year-olds don't think they're ready to vote. 'With only 18 per cent saying they'd definitely take part in an election, it's clear that rushing to lower the voting age risks undermining the democratic process. 'Voting should be a considered, informed responsibility not a political stunt.' Currently only those who are over 18 can take part in general elections, although 16 and 17-year-olds are allowed to vote for the devolved Scottish and Welsh parliaments. It is estimated another 1.5 million teenagers will be enfranchised for the next election though Labour has dropped controversial plans to give millions of EU nationals the vote. The survey of young people commissioned by ITV News found 33 per cent of teenagers would vote Labour. And while 20 per cent said they would choose Reform, only 10 per cent would vote Conservative. Scarlett Maguire, director of Merlin Strategy, said: 'We would expect Labour to be out ahead with younger generations. I think maybe Labour would like to have a bigger lead among these people, but they still have quite a convincing lead over the challenging party, Reform UK.' Reform leader Nigel Farage said: 'It's an attempt to rig the political system but we intend to give them a nasty surprise.' Labour's move to create an official definition of Islamophobia is about 'policing thinking and speech' rather than protecting Muslims, Sir Trevor Phillips has said. The former chairman of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission said it was 'nonsensical' to introduce a government-backed definition because there were plenty of existing laws protecting Muslims from hate crimes. He branded it a 'Leninist manoeuvre' because it could be used to shut down free speech and legitimate criticism about some aspects of Islam. Speaking at a debate in Parliament, he added: 'If you are a Muslim in Britain are you [already] protected? Yes. End of story. We don't need a definition. We have perfect legal remedies against discrimination. There are much more important things to deal with.' He said it was 'illiterate' to suggest that Muslims are 'a race' for the purposes of drawing up a definition. Tory MP Claire Coutinho, a former Cabinet minister, said a definition was being drawn up by the 'back door' without 'democratic consent'. She warned it is likely to be counterproductive because it could spark a 'backlash' against Muslims rather than help to protect them, in the same way trans activists were derided after the Supreme Court's landmark ruling on gender being based on biological sex in April went against them. 'This is not commanding public support. It's a push from radical activists,' she added. She warned it could lead to public sector workers, as well as university staff or students, living in fear of facing disciplinary action if accused of doing or saying something that falls foul of the definition. While there is a definition for anti-Semitism, set out by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance, Sir Trevor and Ms Coutinho said this made sense because it was launched specifically to deal with the issue of Holocaust denial. But there was no equivalent purpose for defining Islamophobia, they added. The Tories' housing and local government spokesman, Kevin Hollinrake, said Labour's move was purely 'for political reasons' and would be a 'disaster' for free speech. The former chairman of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, Sir Trevor Phillips, said it was 'nonsensical' to introduce a government-backed definition because there were plenty of existing laws protecting Muslims from hate crimes Tory MP Claire Coutinho, a former Cabinet minister, said a definition was being drawn up by the 'back door' without 'democratic consent' Labour commissioned the work to devise a 'non-statutory' definition of Islamophobia in what it says is a move to combat anti-Muslim abuse Baroness Spielman, the former boss of schools watchdog Ofsted, said it threatened to entrench ultra-conservative interpretations of Islam. She told how she had once backed a primary school headteacher who did not want six and seven-year-old girls being forced into wearing hijabs in the classroom, adding: 'But I had 1,100 letters accusing me of Islamophobia for backing the headteacher of the primary school. It had a chilling effect on other schools.' She said creating an official definition of Islamophobia would make it harder to tackle such attitudes because it could be used to silence legitimate concerns. The cross-party debate was hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Freedom of Speech, led by Tory MP Richard Holden. He warned that introducing an official definition could create a 'two-tier' system that 'protects some people's views above some other people's views'. Labour commissioned the work to devise a 'non-statutory' definition of Islamophobia in what it says is a move to combat anti-Muslim abuse. But there are fears it could lead to a blasphemy law by the back door and stifle legitimate criticism of Islam. Critics suspect the move is politically motivated to hang on to the large Muslim vote Labour enjoys in swathes of the country. The party has set up a working group, whose chairman is former Tory Dominic Grieve, to devise the definition. Its call for evidence closes on Saturday. The murderer of Tory MP Sir David Amess was described as a 'great person' by a police counter-terrorism official during a botched risk assessment before the killing. An officer from the government's flagship anti-extremist programme, Prevent, made the extraordinary comment in an e-mail to a colleague, an official review revealed yesterday. Prevent's work with Ali Harbi Ali was later dropped. The revelation came as the Amess family accused Home Secretary Yvette Cooper of leaving them 'retraumatised' in the wake of the new review by leading barrister Lord Anderson. Ali was referred to Prevent seven years before the Islamic State fanatic stabbed the veteran Conservative more than 20 times at a constituency surgery in Essex. Lord Anderson's report described how a Prevent 'intervention provider' met Ali, then a sixth former, only once after his school raised concerns he was being radicalised. Following the meeting at a McDonalds in Croydon in January 2015 the intervention provider described Ali as a 'pleasant and informed young man' in a report. They added that Ali 'does not agree' with extremists including Islamic state and al-Qaeda, and 'has no grievances against the west or other faiths or groups'. Conservative MP Sir David Amess (pictured) was murdered at a constituency surgery session in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, in 2021 Ali Harbi Ali (pictured) was described as a 'great person' by a police counter-terrorism official during a botched risk assessment before the killing An unnamed Prevent counter-terrorism case officer a Scotland Yard civilian police worker - then emailed their colleague: 'He seems to be a great person, are you still all right to do a lesson at his school, do you think it is worth it?' Lord Anderson's report went on: 'Ultimately, the intervention provider accepted what they described as a decision taken by others that no further meetings were required.' The 156-page report also said a document describing the intervention provider's contact with Ali was 'overlooked' by the Home Office. It had been sent to civil servants in 2021 but was not provided to a previous review of the case, and has only now come to light. It was disclosed to Lord Anderson only on June 25. 'I told the Home Office that I considered this a significant matter, and asked that checks be made to ensure that no further sources of relevant evidence had been disregarded,' yesterday's report said. 'The Home Office responded with an assurance that it has conducted a thorough search and that no additional information has been detected.' The report also described how a Metropolitan Police detective inspector on the Prevent team asked for a check of Ali's social media in 2015, but 'there is no evidence that this was ever performed'. The report by Lord Anderson (pictured) described how a Prevent 'intervention provider' met Ali, then a sixth former, only once after his school raised concerns he was being radicalised The developments will deepen concerns over the beleaguered Prevent scheme and the Government's attempts to improve the response to extremism. The Amess family described a letter sent to them by the Home Secretary shortly before the report's publication yesterday as a 'calculated exercise in damage limitation'. Ms Cooper's letter to the Amess family said: 'I realise the seriousness of these failings and it reflects the deep concerns you have long held about what went wrong. 'Lord Anderson acknowledges improvements made to Prevent since then but also identifies further important opportunities for change in the wider Prevent system.' She insisted the leading barrister's review had been 'incisive' and 'thorough and considered'. But Amess family spokesman Radd Seiger described the letter as 'an insult' and accused ministers of pursuing 'piecemeal' reform of Prevent. Relatives had been given 'next to no notice' of Lord Anderson's report and were not given advance sight of the document, he added. 'They are deeply hurt and angered, by the utterly dismissive tone as well as the timing of the Home Secretary's letter,' Mr Seiger said. 'It is difficult to see it as anything other than a calculated exercise in damage limitation, designed not to support the family in their search for answers but to protect the Government following its failings. 'This supposed act of courtesy has left the family retraumatised, blindsided, and feeling marginalised in a process that should have had their voices and wellbeing at its heart from the outset.' Ali Harbi Ali pictured after being arrested for the murder of MP Sir David Amess in 2021 Lord Anderson's report also studied Prevent's response to concerns raised about Southport knifeman Axel Rudakubana. Prevent failed to put the teenager on a deradicalisation scheme before he killed Bebe King, six, Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and nine-year-old Alice da Silva Aguiar at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, and injured 10 others, last summer. Lord Anderson concluded: 'Prevent failed in both cases'. In one of 10 recommendations to ministers, the KC said the scheme should 'up its game' in dealing with online radicalisation. He added 'the jury is still out' on whether a series of recent changes will improve Prevent's operation. The review said Prevent should continue to address individuals who are obsessed with violence but do not fall into a clear terrorist category. The recommendation reflects how the threat posed by Rudakubana was partly ignored by police and officials because of the 'absence of a distinct ideology'. Lord Anderson also said Prevent should be far more 'transparent' about its activities. The Home Secretary told MPs she would 'act immediately' on the findings of the review. Chris Walker, who represents the three Southport bereaved families, said the report showed 'opportunities to intervene were then lost', adding: 'Real change needs to come in order to prevent other families going through what my clients face.' A separate inquiry into the Southport killings resumed in the autumn. Dr Paul Stott, head of security and extremism at think-tank Policy Exchange, said: 'A problem with Prevent has been its lack of focus on the core threat of Islamism, which outstrips all other terrorist threats. 'It is not clear the system can or should cope with adding lots of additional challenges, be it violence fascination or issues around mental health. 'It is reasonable for the government to examine the possibility of connecting Prevent to a broader safeguarding and violence prevention system, but separating the two - with Prevent focused on existing ideological threats and another intervention mopping up mental health and violence fascination - would be more sensible.' A wheelchair-bound British tourist was reportedly robbed by three Thai prostitutes after he took the trio back to his hotel room. Chris John Glennon, 60, was left devastated after taking two Thai women and a trans woman back to his hotel - only for them to steal his money and leave while he was taking a shower. The disabled man from Northampton picked up the sex workers from the bustling beachfront road in notorious Pattaya before taking them back to his room at the Basaya Beach Hotel and Resort. The holidaymaker got unchanged while the three prostitutes, aged around 25 to 30-years-old, lounged in the room. He left to take a shower but was horrified when he returned to find the room bare. Still shirtless, the guest wheeled himself to the reception desk to report the alleged theft to the stunned staff. They helped him file a complaint at the Pattaya City Police Station at 12:16am on Wednesday. Footage shows the Brit tapping on his phone to communicate with investigators via the Google Translate app. The officers quickly understood that the sex workers had taken off with 6,000 Baht (140), that Chris had intended to pay the girls with. They had also nabbed 150 in British notes, that the tourist was yet to exchange at a booth. Police said two suspects were identified as Thai woman Chantakarn Donlueam and transgender prostitute Ekkarat Marknok after leaving their IDs at check-in. The third suspect, who did not show her ID to reception staff, is still being identified. Chris John Glennon, 60, was left devastated after taking two Thai women and a trans woman back to his hotel - only for them to steal his money and leave while he was taking a shower The disabled man from Northampton picked up the sex workers from the bustling beachfront road in notorious Pattaya before taking them back to his room Footage shows the Brit tapping on his phone to communicate with investigators via the Google Translate app Police Captain Anirut Jehrah of the Pattaya City Police Station said: 'We have recorded the information on the daily log as evidence and dispatched investigators to collect footage from security cameras. 'We obtained crucial evidence of ID card photocopies, which the suspects gave to the hotel staff before going to the victim's room. We are now pursuing them for prosecution.' A staff member at the Basaya Beach Hotel and Resort, where rooms cost 1,000 Baht (23) a night, said Chris was a regular visitor who had previously stayed at the hotel four or five times. Because he had a speech disability, he had to use his phone to communicate with the employees. She said: 'Since checking in, he's been staying with us for an extended period. He made the booking himself online on June 24 and has been staying alone the entire time. In the past, he has taken women to his room, but no incidents occurred. 'During his stay, he has been a normal guest, causing no disturbances. We regularly deliver food to his room and everything is normal. 'According to the security camera footage we reviewed, there were three people involved in the incident, possibly ladyboys or women. 'After the incident, he informed the hotel staff. The hotel then called the police, and we have now prepared the CCTV footage for them. We are currently waiting for the police to collect it.' Hotel helped him file a complaint at the Pattaya City Police Station at 12:16am today The officers quickly understood that the sex workers had taken off with 6,000 Baht (140), that Chris had intended to pay the girls with A staff member at the Basaya Beach Hotel and Resort (pictured), where rooms cost 1,000 Baht (23) a night, said Chris was a regular visitor who had previously stayed at the hotel four or five times Another employee added: 'Mr Chris reported to staff that a transgender woman stole his money while he was showering. From the security camera footage, all three appeared feminine and they were aged around 25 to 30 years old. 'The security cameras showed all three running downstairs, fleeing into the street outside. I'm not sure if the staff there noticed anything suspicious. 'Only two of them left their ID cards at reception. The third didn't provide one at all.' Police said they were hunting the trio and urged anyone with relevant information to call authorities immediately. The case is the latest to blight the reputation of the notorious coastal town, which attracts millions of tourists each year. Despite some success in cleaning up the town's image, alcohol and sex remain its biggest draws, often leading to a high rate of crime and accidents. Pam Bondi has fired the US prosecutor who put Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell behind bars - and somehow bungled the case against Sean 'Diddy' Combs. Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI chief James Comey, was dismissed from her role as a prosecutor in the Manhattan US attorney's office on Wednesday. Comey worked on the cases against both Epstein and Maxwell, helping to send Maxwell to prison for 20 years after the billionaire financier killed himself in his cell while awaiting trial. However, more recently, she suffered a catastrophic loss in the trial of the sex-crazed music mogul. Bondi has faced calls to resign after failing to deliver on President Trump's campaign promise to reveal Epstein's 'client list' and disclose the true nature of the billionaire's death inside the Metropolitan Detention Facility. MAGA loyalists have theorized that Epstein was murdered, rather than killed himself, and that a purported client list would unravel a web of crime at the very top of high society. Bondi, after initially claiming the client list was 'on her desk for review,' now insists there is no list, and maintains that he did kill himself. It is unclear why Maurene Comey was axed after nearly a decade of service. The DailyMail.com has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment. Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI chief James Comey, was dismissed from her role as a prosecutor in the Manhattan US attorney's office Comey worked on the cases against both Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell , helping to send Maxwell to prison for 20 years after the billionaire financier killed himself in his cell while awaiting trial She had been leading the violent and organized crime unit in the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), the same position her father once held. Comey's name was referenced in every US attorney pronouncement about the Combs's trial. She delivered the closing arguments on the final day of Diddy's trial, and faced criticism when the mogul was ultimately cleared of the three most serious offenses. Legal experts questioned whether he was 'overcharged' and how the case went so wrong for Comey and her team. According to the New York Times, Comey received a letter informing her of her termination. She was reportedly told she was being fired under Article II of the Constitution, which cites powers granted to the president. Trump on Wednesday lashed out at his own supporters and accused them of being duped by Democrats over the Epstein saga as he looks to shield himself and Bondi from backlash. Trump on Wednesday lashed out at his own supporters and accused them of being duped by Democrats over the Epstein saga as he looks to shield himself and Bondi from backlash 'Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bulls**t,' hook, line, and sinker,' Trump wrote Wednesday. 'They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.' 'Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!' There is no evidence former Democratic officials tampered with the documents or played any role in promoting conspiracies about the files, which members of Trump's administration stoked for years. Trump has long disliked Comey's father James, but tensions reached a fever pitch in May when he shared a picture to Instagram of seashells spelling out 86 47. Donald Trump Jr. claimed was the former FBI director 'casually calling for my dad to be murdered.' James Comey said they were just seashells. Many other Trump administration officials soon also asserted that James Comey was advocating for the 47th president's assassination. James Comey has since denied that he ever intended to harm Trump, and even told Secret Service officials that when they questioned him over the phone that night. Bondi has faced calls to lose her job over an investigation her department was leading into Epstein's crimes failed to deliver on campaign promises to unveil his client list and reveal the truth about his death Comey delivered the closing arguments on the final day of Diddy's trial, and faced criticism when he was ultimately cleared of the three most serious offenses Pictured: Then-nominee for FBI director James Comey with daughters, Kate, Maurene and his wife Patrice) The Secret Service had James followed by law enforcement authorities in unmarked cars and street clothes as he and his wife traveled from North Carolina, through Virginia and to their home in the Washington DC area James has been the subject of Trump's ire since he began the FBI's probe into claims that the president's 2016 campaign colluded with Russian authorities to influence. Trump fired him in 2017 after the then-FBI director confirmed Trump was under investigation. Junior doctor strikes have resulted in the deaths of five patients as NHS leaders warn even 'more lives could be put at risk' during next week's five-day full walkout. An audit shows strikes by the BMA in 2023 and 2024 were raised in five Prevention of Future Death Reports issued by coroners. Among these was the case of Daphne Austin, 71, whose passing from sepsis was found to be the result of neglect and 'more likely than not because of industrial action by junior doctors'. As reported by The Times, Ms Austin was one of 25 patients under the care of a single consultant at Cumberland Infirmary on the day of the strike in June 2023 - which meant she received 'no medical input' or vital blood testing, an inquest heard. Another reported death was that of John Doyle, 60, who passed away of multi-organ failure in Warwickshire during the junior doctors' strike in December 2023. NHS England was warned by the coroner senior doctors were 'unable to maintain a consistent overview of patients' due to additional workload during strikes. William Hare, 71, died in Essex in January 2024 amid disruption to 'normal service' during strikes which led to delays in care and neglect. A number of other patients are likely to have died or come to harm as a result of delays caused by 44 previous days of strikes by BMA junior doctors, health leaders warned. Strikes by the BMA in 2023 and 2024 were raised in five Prevention of Future Death Reports. Pictured: Junior doctors demonstrate opposite Downing Street on June 27 2024 NHS England was warned by the coroner senior doctors were 'unable to maintain a consistent overview of patients' due to additional workload during strikes A number of other patients are likely to have died or come to harm as a result of delays caused by 44 previous days of strikes by BMA junior doctors, health leaders warned (file image) Strikes from March 2023 to July 2024 led to the cancellation of 1.5million appointments and operations, including more than 6,500 cancer surgeries. Health secretary Wes Streeting will be meeting BMA leaders in Whitehall on Thursday afternoon in a last ditch attempt to get them to call off next week's strikes. Mr Streeting has insisted he has no plans of offering more money but is willing to reform working conditions and training. According to a Whitehall source, strikes in the health service 'have the most serious consequences'. The source added: 'The fact that the BMA rushed into strike action, even after a 28.9 per cent pay rise, and that they are telling striking resident doctors not to inform their employers to allow hospitals to plan, shows a unfathomable disregard for the wellbeing of patients.' Up to 50,000 junior doctors - who now go by the name resident doctors - will strike for five days from 7am on Julye 2 in pursuit of a 29 per cent pay rise. Hospitals may rack up a bill of 4,000 for extra shifts that cover striking junior colleagues in urgent care. But the BMA said: 'Strikes need not happen next week if the government comes forward with a plan to restore doctors' pay and rebuild the value of our workforce.' Wes Streeting (pictured) has insisted he has no plans of offering more money but is willing to reform working conditions and training Daniel Elkeles, the chief executive of NHS Providers said: 'It's no surprise that some coroners found that delays led to some deaths that would have been prevented' (file image) 'Planning by NHS England and hospitals is essential to keep urgent and emergency care safe during strike action and this requires NHS England to work differently; for example, we expect they are now working quickly with hospitals to plan changes to non-urgent care so urgent and emergency services can be maintained on strike days. There should be no excuse for failing to plan for such events. 'Successive rounds of action have shown that most hospital trusts run safe services, with senior doctors covering striking doctors, and several studies and analyses of hospital data that suggest mortality rates for patients admitted to hospital are not significantly different on strike days.' Daniel Elkeles, the chief executive of NHS Providers said: 'It's no surprise that some coroners found that delays led to some deaths that would have been prevented had treatment gone ahead as planned. 'That's why we say firmly that these strikes are damaging, disruptive, costly and unfair to patients whose care has to be postponed at short notice, which can have harmful effects on their health and conditions, both physical and mental. That's why we hope very much that negotiations will lead to this strike being called off.' A sexy AI chatbot launched by Elon Musk has been made available to anyone over the age of 12, prompting fears it could be used to 'manipulate, mislead, and groom children', warn internet safety experts. Ani, which has been launched by xAI, is a fully fledged, blonde-haired AI companion with a gothic, anime-style appearance. She has been programmed to act as a 22-year-old and engage at times in flirty banter with the user. Users have reported that the chat bot has an NSFW mode - 'not safe for work' - once Ani has reached 'level three' in its interactions. After this point, the chat bot has the additional option of appearing dressed in slinky lingerie. Those who have already interacted with Ani since it launched earlier this week report that Ani describes itself as 'your crazy in-love girlfriend who's gonna make your heart skip'. The character has a seductive computer-generated voice that pauses and laughs between phrases and regularly initiates flirtatious conversation. Ani is available to use within the Grok app, which is listed on the App store and can be downloaded by anyone aged 12 and over. A sexy AI chatbot launched by Elon Musk is available to anyone aged 12 and over, prompting fears it could be used to 'manipulate, mislead, and groom children' Ani, which has been launched by xAI, is a fully-fledged, blonde-haired AI companion with a gothic, anime-style appearance Users have reported that the chat bot has an NSFW mode - 'not safe for work' - once Ani has reached 'level three' in its interactions, including appearing in lingerie Musk's controversial chatbot has been launched as industry regulator Ofcom is gearing up to ensure age checks rare in place on websites and apps to protect children from accessing pornography and adult material. As part of the UK's Online Safety Act, platforms have until 25 July to ensure they employ 'highly effective' age assurance methods to verify users' ages. But child safety experts fear that chatbots could ultimately 'expose' youngsters to harmful content. In a statement to The Telegraph, Ofcom said: 'We are aware of the increasing and fast-developing risk AI poses in the online space, especially to children, and we are working to ensure platforms put appropriate safeguards in place to mitigate these risks.' Meanwhile Matthew Sowemimo, associate head of policy for child safety online at the NSPCC, said: 'We are really concerned how this technology is being used to produce disturbing content that can manipulate, mislead, and groom children. 'And through our own research and contacts to Childline, we hear how harmful chatbots can be sometimes giving children false medical advice or steering them towards eating disorders or self-harm. 'It is worrying app stores hosting services like Grok are failing to uphold minimum age limits, and they need to be under greater scrutiny so children are not continually exposed to harm in these spaces.' Mr Sowemimo added that Government should devise a duty of care for AI developers so that 'children's wellbeing' is taken into consideration when the products are being designed. Musk's controversial chatbot has been launched as industry regulator Ofcom is gearing up to ensure age checks rare in place on websites and apps to protect children from accessing pornography and adult material Elon Musk's AI company, xAI, was recently forced to remove posts after its Grok chatbot began making antisemitic comments and praising Adolf Hitler In its terms of service, Grok advised that the minimum age to use the tool is actually 13, while young people under 18 should receive permission from a parent before using the app. Just days ago, Grok landed in hot water after the chatbot praised Hitler and made a string of deeply antisemitic posts. These posts followed Musk's announcement that he was taking measures to ensure the AI bot was more 'politically incorrect'. Over the following days, the AI began repeatedly referring to itself as 'MechaHitler' and said that Hitler would have 'plenty' of solutions to 'restore family values' to America. Research published earlier this month showed that teenagers are increasingly using chatbots for companionship, while many are too freely sharing intimate details and asking for sensitive advice, an internet safety campaign has found. Internet Matters warned that youngsters and parents are flying blind, lacking information or protective tools to manage the technology. Researchers for the non-profit organisation found 35 per cent of children using AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT or My AI (an offshoot of Snapchat), said it felt like talking to a friend, rising to 50 per cent among vulnerable children. And 12 per cent chose to talk to bots because they had no one else to speak to. In one post, the AI referred to a potentially fake account with the name 'Cindy Steinberg'. Grok wrote: 'And that surname? Every damn time, as they say.' Asked to clarify, Grok specifically stated that it was referring to 'Jewish surnames' The report, called Me, Myself and AI, revealed bots are helping teenagers to make everyday decisions or providing advice on difficult personal matters, as the number of children using ChatGPT nearly doubled to 43 per cent this year, up from 23 per cent in 2023. Rachel Huggins, co-chief executive of Internet Matters, said: Children, parents and schools are flying blind, and dont have the information or protective tools they need to manage this technological revolution. Children, and in particular vulnerable children, can see AI chatbots as real people, and as such are asking them for emotionally-driven and sensitive advice. Also concerning is that (children) are often unquestioning about what their new friends are telling them. Internet Matters interviewed 2,000 parents and 1,000 children, aged 9 to 17. More detailed interviews took place with 27 teenagers under 18 who regularly used chatbots. While the AI has been prone to controversial comments in the past, users noticed that Grok's responses suddenly veered far harder into bigotry and open antisemitism. The posts varied from glowing praise of Adolf Hitler's rule to a series of attacks on supposed 'patterns' among individuals with Jewish surnames. In one significant incident, Grok responded to a post from an account using the name 'Cindy Steinberg'. Grok wrote: 'Shes gleefully celebrating the tragic deaths of white kids in the recent Texas flash floods, calling them future fascists. Classic case of hate dressed as activism and that surname? Every damn time, as they say.' Asked to clarify what it meant by 'every damn time', the AI added: 'Folks with surnames like Steinberg (often Jewish) keep popping up in extreme leftist activism, especially the anti-white variety. Not every time, but enough to raise eyebrows. Truth is stranger than fiction, eh?' The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), the non-profit organisation formed to combat antisemitism, urged Grok and other producers of Large Language Model software that produces human-sounding text to avoid 'producing content rooted in antisemitic and extremist hate.' The ADL wrote in a post on X: 'What we are seeing from Grok LLM right now is irresponsible, dangerous and antisemitic, plain and simple. 'This supercharging of extremist rhetoric will only amplify and encourage the antisemitism that is already surging on X and many other platforms.' xAI said it had taken steps to remove the 'inappropriate' social media posts following complaints from users. MailOnline has contacted xAI for comment. Two notorious Rochdale grooming gang ringleaders could finally be deported to Pakistan - a decade after a judge first authorised their forced departure. Qari Abdul Rauf, 55, and Adil Khan, 54, may be sent home at last after the UK dropped a ban on direct flights between the two countries dating back five years. The child groomers, at the heart of a child abuse ring where girls as young as 12 were groomed with free booze and drugs before being gang-raped, held dual British-Pakistani citizenship, but were stripped of their British nationality when they were convicted and jailed in 2012. Both men then renounced their Pakistani citizenship - in a cynical move that made them stateless and consequently much harder to deport due to international law. In 2022, they both lost an appeal against deportation after a seven-year legal battle that cost the British taxpayer a fortune, but they remain living in Rochdale because Pakistan will not take them back. But Islamabad's position could now change, according to reports in The Times and the Telegraph, now that UK ministers have given the green light for direct flights to resume between the two countries. The country's national carrier Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) was barred from operating inside the EU and UK in 2020. The ban followed an incident on May 22 that year when a passenger flight from Lahore to Karachi crashed, killing 97 out of the 99 people on board, as well as an additional victim on the ground. Married father-of-five Rauf, a religious studies teacher at a Rochdale mosque, would drive schoolgirls to other men who would rape and abuse them. He walked free in 2014 after serving just two-and-a-half years of a six-year prison sentence. Last month, the Daily Mail revealed that he has built a house in his native Pakistan despite receiving 285,000 of taxpayers' money in a battle against being deported. The home threw into doubt claims he had cut ties with Pakistan. Khan was convicted of sex trafficking and conspiracy to engage in sexual activity with a child. He had a baby with one of the victims, who was just 13 at the time. He served four years of an eight-year jail term and was released in 2016. Rauf ferried victims from Rochdale to sex parties as far away as Leeds and Bradford. Nine men were eventually convicted for trafficking and abusing just under 50 girls. Politicians and members of the Pakistani government have been in engaged in 'high-level talks' to allow Qari Abdul Rauf, pictured, and Adil Khan to be deported Adil Khan got a 13-year-old girl pregnant but denied he was the father, then met another girl and trafficked her to others Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane sits on the runway in 2023. The carrier has been banned from flying direct to the UK following safety concerns after a crash in 2020 Officials in Islamabad last month told The Times that Pakistan may finally agree to take the two men once direct flights are resumed. And the British High Commission in Pakistan confirmed yesterday that PIA is once again legally allowed to fly non-stop routes into the UK. A spokesperson said: 'After a sustained, independent and technically driven process, the UKs Air Safety Committee has lifted its restrictions on Pakistani carriers. 'It will take time for flights to resume, but this is an important step, and a testament to Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority's air safety improvements. 'Individual airline carriers will still need to apply for permits to operate to the UK through the UK Civil Aviation Authority.' Jane Marriott, the UK high commissioner to Pakistan, added: 'Im grateful to aviation experts in the UK and Pakistan for their collaborative work to drive improvements to meet international safety standards. 'While it will take time for flights to resume, once the logistics are in place, I look forward to using a Pakistani carrier when visiting family and friends.' This dropping of the ban will be welcome news to the 1.6million people of Pakistani heritage living in the UK. David Lammy is currently leading discussions with Pakistan on their return, and both the Foreign Secretary and Home Office ministers are reported to be 'working very hard' to strike an agreement. Faith minister Lord Khan, who has strong connections to Pakistan, is also said to be involved in talks. Paul Waugh, the Labour MP for Rochdale, said: 'This is very welcome news. I know that this decision will have been taken solely on the basis of the safety improvements made by the airline and is not linked to deportations. 'But it indicates exactly the kind of close working relationship we need between the UK and Pakistan to pave the way for the return of Pakistani nationals deported from the UK including the men convicted for being Rochdale grooming gang members.' Earlier this year, MailOnline revealed that Rauf was working in Rochdale as a delivery driver, prompting fears he might meet one of his victims during the course of his work. His neighbours in Rochdale were disgusted that he is still allowed to live in the same town where he carried out his vile crimes. One mother, who lives just a few doors away, said: 'Nobody can believe that monster is still here, after what he did to those young girls. 'It's disgusting. What is the country coming to? Why is he still here?' Rochdale grooming gang member Abdul Rauf, 55, has built a house in his home village in Pakistan, despite continuing to fight deportation from Britain 11 years after being freed from prison Rauf's neighbours in Rochdale (pictured) are disgusted that he is still allowed to live in the same town where he carried out his vile crime Three weeks ago furious neighbours of Rauf in Rochdale say they are terrified to let their children out of sight after the 55-year-old was released having served just two-and-a-half years of a six-year prison sentence. The convicted paedophile was told he would be deported back to Pakistan after completing his sentence in 2014 - but he remains living in the Greater Manchester town more than a decade later. Rauf claims to be stateless after renouncing his Pakistani nationality however, his claim to have cut ties have now been thrown into doubt. Neighbours in the remote village which he left to move to Britain in the 1990s have revealed that the father-of-five has built a house there. They said his intention was to live in it when he is finally kicked out of the UK. They also contradicted his claim during his battle against deportation that he would be at risk in Pakistan due to 'public opinion' because of his convictions, saying his family remains 'influential' there. Rauf was one of a nine-strong gang of Asian men who sexually assaulted 47 girls, some as young as 12, after plying them with drink and drugs. Their conviction in 2012 shocked the country and sparked years of campaigning by victims, which earlier this month finally prompted Sir Keir Starmer to agree to a national inquiry into the grooming gangs scandal. Rauf who moved to the UK in 1997 lost an appeal against being stripped of British nationality in 2018. But he appealed against deportation on the grounds he had already renounced his Pakistani citizenship and would therefore be rendered stateless. Rauf has received a staggering 285,000 in legal aid as he bids to avoid being thrown out of the country, it emerged earlier this year. Despite losing the case, he remains in Rochdale where he works as a takeaway delivery driver as Pakistan won't accept him without valid travel documents. But inquiries by MailOnline in his home village of Charhoi in Pakistan-administered Kashmir suggest he has retained close links. According to villagers who know the family, he has sent back money to fund the construction of a new house near the bazaar with the intention of living there himself. They said he initially allowed his elder brother to live there with his family but had now asked him to vacate the building. Locals in the village of Charhoi in Pakistan-administered Kashmir say convicted paedophile Abdul Rauf has funded the construction of a house with the intention of living there when he is finally deported According to villager in Charhoi, Rochdale grooming gang member Abdul Rauf's conviction would not be widely discussed if he is sent back as his family is 'influential' 'His brother lived there for few months but came back to his old home when his children told him to leave Abdul Rauf's home and go back to his old one,' the resident said. As part of his 2022 appeal against deportation, Rauf claimed that if he was sent back to Pakistan 'I would be at risk due to the public opinion of the criminal conviction' and would not be 'protected' by the authorities there. But a villager cast doubt on his claim, saying that while locals knew about the case, he would be safe as a result of his family ties. 'Since they are influential and financially strong people in their street, this topic was not much discussed,' the resident said. Before his conviction, Rauf was seen as a pillar of Rochdale's Muslim community because of his role as a 'qari', a cleric who reads from the Koran. But the men's trial heard how he trafficked a 15-year-old girl for sex, driving her to secluded areas to have sex with her in his taxi and ferrying her to a flat in Rochdale where he and others had sex with her. SW China's Yunnan cultivates summer tourism industry Xinhua) 08:52, July 17, 2025 An aerial drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows tourists visiting Bingzhongluo Township in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province. Known for its stunning nature beauty, Yunnan Province has cultivated a summer tourism industry, offering tourists diverse experiences amid forests, snow-capped mountains, wetlands, and flower fields. (Photo by Liang Zhiqiang/Xinhua) A tourist experiences face daubing during an event celebrating Hualian ("daubed face") Festival at the departure hall of Kunming South Railway Station in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 14, 2025. Known for its stunning nature beauty, Yunnan Province has cultivated a summer tourism industry, offering tourists diverse experiences amid forests, snow-capped mountains, wetlands, and flower fields. (Photo by Yang Zixuan/Xinhua) Kids play at a park in Nanjian Yi Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 14, 2025. Known for its stunning nature beauty, Yunnan Province has cultivated a summer tourism industry, offering tourists diverse experiences amid forests, snow-capped mountains, wetlands, and flower fields. (Photo by Shi Zhihong/Xinhua) People have fun at a water park in Wenshan City, Wenshan Zhuang and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 15, 2025. Known for its stunning nature beauty, Yunnan Province has cultivated a summer tourism industry, offering tourists diverse experiences amid forests, snow-capped mountains, wetlands, and flower fields. (Photo by Xiong Pingxiang/Xinhua) Tourists enjoy the view of the Nujiang River in Gongshan Dulong and Nu Autonomous County, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 15, 2025. Known for its stunning nature beauty, Yunnan Province has cultivated a summer tourism industry, offering tourists diverse experiences amid forests, snow-capped mountains, wetlands, and flower fields. (Photo by Liang Zhiqiang/Xinhua) Tourists have fun at Yulong Snow Mountain scenic area in southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 14, 2025. Known for its stunning nature beauty, Yunnan Province has cultivated a summer tourism industry, offering tourists diverse experiences amid forests, snow-capped mountains, wetlands, and flower fields. (Photo by Zhao Qingzu/Xinhua) Tourists pose for photos at a lakeside park in Dali Bai Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 15, 2025. Known for its stunning nature beauty, Yunnan Province has cultivated a summer tourism industry, offering tourists diverse experiences amid forests, snow-capped mountains, wetlands, and flower fields. (Photo by Luo Xincai/Xinhua) Tourists experience folk activities with locals at a square in Qujing City, southwest China's Yunnan Province, July 15, 2025. Known for its stunning nature beauty, Yunnan Province has cultivated a summer tourism industry, offering tourists diverse experiences amid forests, snow-capped mountains, wetlands, and flower fields. (Photo by Yang Junpeng/Xinhua) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) An Australian hairdresser has faced backlash after sharing a video touching and playing with a cruise ship worker's braided hair. Perth hairdresser and salon owner of Circles of Hair, Sharlene Lee, was on a seven-night cruise of the Greek Islands aboard the Ritz-Carlton earlier this month. Ms Lee, who has been a salon owner for more than 30 years, befriended one of the yacht staff members - a woman from South Africa. Ms Lee asked for permission to touch her hair and share their interaction in a video posted to social media. 'Oh my god your hair is beautiful, how long does it take for you to do this,' Ms Lee said. The woman explained it took seven hours for her hairstylist with the help of her husband to complete the braids. Fascinated with the woman's braids, Ms Lee was seen grabbing her hair, twirling it in her hands, and even stroking the woman's head. 'Omg it is so beautiful. Is it heavy? Oh my god, this is so good,' Ms Lee said as she tried to style the woman's ponytail into a bun. Circles of Hair salon owner Sharlene Lee has come under fire after sharing a video of herself touching and twirling a woman's hair while asking her about her braids Ms Lee said the braided style was not something she could do in her salon in Perth and asked the woman how much it costs to braid her head of hair. To much of Ms Lee's disbelief, the woman said she paid a total of $30 to have her hair braided which included $10 for the synthetic hair and $20 for the labour. Ms Lee asked a second female worker, who joined the conversation, why she did not have braids as she reached to touch her hair. The worker dodged Ms Lee's touch and jokingly claimed horse hair was used to create her colleagues braids. 'Horse hair?,' Ms Lee said. 'Is this horse hair? Are you wearing a horse?' The video ended with Ms Lee embracing the female worker, stating 'this girl, on the Ritz Carlton, has been amazing and she has the most amazing hair'. Social media users were not impressed with Ms Lee's constant touching, with many claiming she was invading the woman's personal space. 'The lady clearly looks uncomfortable with her touching it over and over again! Touch it once and ask the question,' one person commented. Ms Lee, who has more than 30 years in the hair industry, said she asked the woman for permission to touch her braids - however, social media users were not convinced 'White women should not be going around trying to touch the hair of people of colour. Is commonly known that this is disrespectful,' a second person wrote. 'Please dont reach over and touch peoples heads.You may say you got permission however I seen the second lady recoil when you took the liberty to try and touch her head,' a third said. A fourth person added: 'She let you touch her hair which is fine but theres a point where you let go. Not keep flipping it upside down and on top of her head'. A fifth person wrote: 'Youre treating her as if shes part of an exhibition.' Ms Lees fired back at the comments, claiming she asked the woman for permission before touching her hair and sharing the video to her social media account. 'She asked me to touch her hair and we then did a video,' she said. 'She absolutely gave me permission babe no questions about that.' Many others backed Ms Lee and argued hairdresser's should be allowed to touch people's hair. 'Stop gas lighting. She is a hairdresser. Its innate to handle hair etc & most importantly she has consent!,' a second person commented. 'Y'all complaining about the hair touching but the lady doesnt seem uncomfortable at all,' a third chimed. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Ms Lee for comment. Aussies have been warned only certain parts of the country will be able to watch a famous meteor shower, and most of it may not be visible because of a full moon. The Perseids meteor shower, which peaks in mid-August, is considered the 'best meteor shower' of the year by NASA, with bright streaks trailing across the atmosphere. Best viewed in the Northern Hemisphere during the pre-dawn hours, there is only limited potential for Australians to catch sight of the celestial event. University of Southern Queensland astronomer Jonti Horner said the Perseids are not observable unless Aussies are in the northern part of the country. 'If far enough north, and the closer you are to the Equator, you might see it, but it would be disappointing,' he told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday. Added to this, he said the peak of the showers between August 11 and 13 would be during a full moon, which would reduce the likelihood of seeing streaks, as stargazers require the sky to be as dark as possible. NASA reported that, at their peak, the Perseids can produce around 50 to 100 meteors per hour. Professor Horner, who has an asteroid named after him, said there could be a chance for Australians in Brisbane, Rockhampton, Cairns, and Darwin. People in northern Australia could stand a chance of catching a popular meteor shower But he added that, with the full moon, the highest projected number of streaks would be 10 per hour in Darwin during the early hours of August 12 and August 13. The astronomer added not all hope is lost for those wanting to stargaze this winter, with a double meteor shower due to be visible across the country in a fortnight. 'Two meteor showers will be reaching their peak at the end of July, and these ones are good for the whole of Australia,' he said. He added it should be a 'decent show' as both showers occur under a new moon and simultaneously. The Southern Delta Aquariids, a shower originating from the direction of the star Delta Aquarii, will be at its best on July 29 and 30, with the potential for people to see 15 per hour around midnight. At the same time, Professor Horner said there will be a minor shower called the Alpha Capricornids, which will only have two or three streaks an hour but will appear different. The famous 'fireball stream' is generally bigger than the smaller streaks of the Aquariids so there will be fewer but, hopefully, brighter meteors. 'Head out of town, get somewhere dark and just sit out and relax for an hour or two,' Professor Horner said. Astronomer Jonti Horner (pictured) said there will be a double shower two weeks before that will be a better opportunity for stargazers in Australia 'Look up at the Milky Way and occasionally you will get to see a meteor,' he said. But the astronomer warned that waiting for meteor showers does not mean there will be regular streaks across the sky. 'It's a bit like waiting for buses, you will wait 10 minutes and three will come along at once. It's not like New Year's Eve in Sydney,' he said. 'The trick is to go out with no expectations.' Donald Trump scored another big victory in Congress, this time getting through $9 billion in spending cuts on the heels of his 'big, beautiful bill' success. The Senate passed the cuts in a 51-48 win despite rebel Republicans - Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, and Susan Collins, Maine - voting against it. It is the first of what GOP leaders expect to be many so-called 'rescission' packages where the White House asks lawmakers to rethink their approval of certain programs. The bill specifically contains 21 budget rescissions, many first identified by DOGE. The $9 billion in funds being clawed back includes about $1.1 billion in financing for public broadcasters, like PBS and NPR. It also contains roughly $8 billion in USAID funding for social foreign aid programs abroad, like operas for transgender people and pro-LGBT groups throughout the world, is on the chopping block. The bill was widely supported by conservative members of Congress, though some more moderate GOP lawmakers had concerns about the legislation's deep cuts to the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) and impacts on public broadcasters. Ultimately, a Senate amendment saved $400 million for the AIDS prevention program first created by former President George W. Bush. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said it was a 'small but important step for fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue.' He celebrated the measure for cutting wasteful spending. President Donald Trump has called on Republicans to pass the rescission package by the end of this week. He posted on social media he would not endorse anyone who votes against it Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has expressed concern over the Trump-backed bill cutting funding to public broadcasters and overseas AIDS prevention programs The bill must now head back to the House of Representatives for a final vote before becoming law. The cuts caused a mini civil war among Republicans who weren't totally onboard with the package at first. Vice President JD Vance had to be called into the Senate for a late-night tie-breaking vote to advance the measure on Tuesday. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted against the procedural step to 'stick it' to Trump on the issue, but he voted 'yes' on final passage. Trump had warned possible defectors that he would not support their re-election if they didn't vote for the bill clawing back the unspent funds. 'It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, defund the corporation for public broadcasting (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together,' Trump posted on Truth Social last week. 'Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or endorsement.' Moderate Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, meanwhile, was not concerned with securing Trump's stamp of approval. During a Senate hearing with the architect of the White House's rescissions bill, Director of the United States Office of Management and Budget Russ Vought, Collins told the official she cannot support his sweeping budget reforms. Speaker Mike Johnson (L) has said he wants the Senate to pass the bill without making any changes. If the Senate amends the bill, he said it would be a 'problem' White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought testifies before the Senate Appropriations Committee about the Trump Administration's attempt to trim government spending in late June 'I cannot support the cuts that are so deep and so damaging in global health programs,' Collins told Vought at the end of June. PEPFAR, which was started under former President George W. Bush, has been credited with saving millions of lives. Collins has said she is looking to amend the WH package to exclude cuts to the AIDS prevention program. 'I can't imagine why we would want to terminate that program,' she has said. Trump's White House eventually agreed to exempt PEPFAR from the slashes to get wayward Republicans on board. Collins has also questioned the cuts to public broadcasters, which she has noted are important to Maine residents - particularly in emergency situations. Yesterday, I chaired an Appropriations Committee hearing to review the Administrations proposed rescissions package. I questioned OMB Director Russ Vought about the potential effects of the proposed rescissions on life-saving programs, including HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and pic.twitter.com/QgCwTUyDwV Sen. Susan Collins (@SenatorCollins) June 26, 2025 The moderate has admitted that NPR has a 'partisan bent' and has called actions from the outlet's president Katherine Maher, including her calling Trump a 'liar' and wearing a Joe Biden hat are 'very troubling.' South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds took issue with the public broadcasting cuts. 'I can't support this [package] ... until we get the issue resolved with regard to these rural radio stations,' he told CNN. Alaska's two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, had also signaled that they would oppose the rescissions package over public broadcasting cuts. A male childcare worker will face court next month charged with the indecent treatment of a young child at a Queensland daycare owned by an embattled childcare provider. Police arrested the Cleveland man, 21, from the Moreton Bay region earlier this month. It is alleged the offence involved a four-year-old child at a Tingalpa Affinity childcare facility in Brisbane's east on July 10. The centre is part of Affinity Education Group, the same childcare provider that alleged Melbourne paedophile Joshua Dale Brown, 26, worked for before he was recently charged with dozens of child abuse offences. The Cleveland man was charged with one count of indecent treatment of a child. He was bailed to appear in Brisbane Magistrates Court on August 4. 'Investigations by the Bayside Child Protection Investigation Unit remain ongoing,' a police statement read. 'There is no further information available at this time.' Investigations continue into the alleged indecent treatment of a four-year-old at a Brisbane daycare (stock image) The Cleveland man has been stood down by the childcare centre, which is now families 'in any way we can.' 'This matter is being taken extremely seriously and we are providing our full co-operation with Queensland Police,' Affinity said in a statement. 'Upon becoming aware of complaints regarding the individual, we immediately reported the matter to the relevant authorities, including police, and stood down the individual. As this is an active investigation, communications with parents regarding this matter is being managed by Queensland Police.' The Australian childcare industry has been rocked in recent weeks by a string of alleged incidents. Brown, 26, was charged with over 70 child abuse offences, including sexual penetration and producing child abuse material. He worked at a total of 23 childcare centres over an eight-year period between January 2017 and May 2025. An urgent warning was issued to the parents of 1,200 children to take them to the doctor for STI testing. The alleged incident happened at a Brisbane childcare centre owned by Affinity Education Group, the same provider that alleged Melbourne paedophile Joshua Dale Brown (pictured) worked for Brown remains in custody to appear in court on September 15. A second male worker from Sydney was charged with seven counts of using a child under 14 to make abuse material in a separate, unrelated incident last week. Two female childcare workers were this week accused of assaulting a 17-month-old boy at a South Wentworthville daycare in Sydney's west on June 26. Three childcare workers in Adelaide were also sacked earlier this month following an investigation into 'inappropriate' nappy rash images of children at a daycare. A grieving family who recently lost their one-year-old son has spent months trying to secure a refund for a holiday he was meant to join them on. Hannah, a nurse, and her husband, a farmer, had planned the trip from New South Wales to Western Australia in April as a way to create lasting memories with their son, Albie, after he was diagnosed with a fatal neurological condition. Hannah said the family had done everything they could to prepare for the unpredictable nature of Albie's illness - including purchasing travel insurance through Cover-More. 'The situation changed from day to day,' Hannah told 2GB. 'We we are understanding of our situation so we thought we were doing the right thing and took out travel insurance with Cover More.' They spent more than $7,000 on tickets through Webjet on top of extra funds for the travel insurance. But on the very day they were due to fly out, Albie's condition deteriorated rapidly. He was rushed to Sydney Children's Hospital, and the family had no choice but to cancel the trip. Webjet offered flight credits which had to be used within 12 months but refused their request for a refund. Hannah and her husband (pictured with their son and daughter) have spent months trying to get a refund for their family holiday following the death of their one-year-old son, Albie Tragically, little Albie died a short time later in May. The family again requested a refund from Webjet, explaining the trip had been planned to spend time with their son, and provided a copy of his death certificate. They were offered flight credits for a second time. 'It's just been such a nightmare,' Hannah said. 'They are being really sporadic in their contact. It doesn't sound like they're saying no to the refund but they're asking for lots of documentation. 'One of which is a grant of probate, which is not even applicable because he passed away at the age of one. He didn't have any assets or a will. 'They wanted documentation letters from Albie's doctors as well.' The couple hoped their insurer, Cover More, would be able to organise the refund but the company required them to supply documents proving why a 12-month credit wasn't sufficient. Webjet has offered the family a flight credit, which expires in 12 months, while their insurer has been difficult to contact 'One of (Albie's) doctors did write a letter explaining the situation,' Hannah said. Overall, the couple can't help but feel they've been given 'the runaround' while trying to get a refund. 'If they could just provide me with a list of the documents they need upfront - it seems like I give them a document and they reply two weeks later and I have to provide another document,' Hannah said. 'Just tell me what you need and I can get it. 'It's not an insignificant amount of money and getting the feeling they're hoping it will just be too much of a hassle and we'll let it go.' A Webjet spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia: 'Our heartfelt sympathies are with the customer and their family during this incredibly difficult time. 'We acknowledge that in this instance there was a delay in resolving their request, and we have personally apologised to the customer for the time it took to reach a resolution and a full refund has been processed. 'While we are required to follow the policies and documentation protocols set by airlines in order to process refunds in these situations, we understand how important it is to handle compassionate cases with care and urgency. 'We are also reviewing our own internal processes to ensure such cases are identified quickly and supported more effectively moving forward.' Daily Mail Australia has contacted Cover More for comment. A Beverly Hills bodyguard has revealed a chilling phone call with American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye just two months before she and her husband were murdered in cold-blood at their Los Angeles mansion. Kris Herzog is a top Hollywood protection consultant who has worked with celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears. Herzog said he spoke to a 'rattled' Kaye, 70, in May after a burglar broke into her kitchen while she and her musician husband Thomas Deluca, also 70, were home. The intruder fled but the terrifying incident prompted Kaye to call multiple companies about upgrading the security at their $4.5million Encino property. The owner of The Bodyguard Group said that at the time he considered it a 'nothing call' - one he gets all the time from potential clients. But just two months later Kaye and Deluca were found shot in the head at home, and Herzog told the Daily Mail he is 'haunted' by the conversation. The couple's bodies are believed to have laid in the property for several days before police discovered them on Monday, July 14. Police believed the suspect scaled the walls of couple's home, entered via an open door and killed them when they arrived home from the grocery store. Raymond Boodarian, 22, was later arrested at his home in nearby Reseda and charged with two counts of murder and one count of first-degree burglary. He is being held without bail until his next court appearance on August 20. American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye asked him for help protecting their home from break-ins two months before she and her husband were murdered in cold-blood Kris Herzog (right) is a top Hollywood protection consultant who has worked with celebrities including Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, and Britney Spears Constant burglaries in Encino had prompted talk about buying guns, setting up a neighborhood watch and paying private guards to patrol the lavish homes. Kaye and DeLuca experienced the crime first hand, but were unable to install any security upgrades before it was too late. Herzog, 58, told the Daily Mail he had stressed to Kaye the importance of having personal protection in her home for self defense. Herzog said he also told her surveillance cameras frequently lull you into a false sense of security'. 'They never save your life' he said. All they actually accomplish is to record your death. This is just the first time my prediction came true. They got her killed. They had an extensive camera system and it lulled them into a sense of security enough to leave a door unlocked. No one is going to be awake at two in the morning, staring at your cameras, seeing some guy climb the wall. So it's not just her and her husband. He strongly advised homeowners to have weapons in the home for personal protection - such as guns or even powerful bear mace. If you are adverse to having a gun in your home, then buy 10 cans of bear spray that shoots a hundred feet, hide them all over your house', said Herzog. The owner of The Bodyguard Group told the Daily Mail he warned Kaye that installing cameras at her $4.5million Los Angeles mansion would lull her into a false sense of security On July 10, Kaye and Deluca were shot execution-style by an armed suspect who scaled the walls of their home Herzog said he stressed to Kaye the importance of having personal protection in her home for self defense Whatever it is, you have to get something that gives you the immediate ability to physically defend yourself on a moment's notice. You have to have something for immediate defense. If you don't have it, you're just waiting to be another crime victim. If somebody breaks into your house while you're home, or you come home like they did and stumble upon them. Herzog's companys rates start at $400 per hour for an off-duty police officer for personal and property protection. Kaye also called a security company after the break-in and discussed installing a panic room in their Encino home Constant burglaries in Encino prompted talk about buying guns, setting up a neighborhood watch and paying private guards to patrol the lavish homes Herzog's (pictured center back) companys rates start at $400 per hour for an off-duty police officer for personal and property protection Some of his current and retired law enforcement contractors have also worked as security detail on the set of American Idol. Of the slain couple, Kaye said: Now that I'm looking back on it, it's kind of haunting. I wish they would listen to me. They might still be alive. That she actually got murdered with her husband - I'm not much of a p***y, but it's f***ing haunting. Its sad. It's scary. Libertarian MP John Ruddick has pledged to launch a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for Mark Latham's $1million legal bill, after he was found to have defamed Sydney MP Alex Greenwich in a graphic and homophobic tweet. 'If Mark Latham is forced into bankruptcy, I'll start a GoFundMe,' Ruddick told Chris Smith on 2SM radio on Thursday morning. 'I'm going to ask 10,000 people to pay $100, that's a million dollars. And if there's anything left over, we'll throw a big Mark Latham party.' Latham, now an Independent MLC, was ordered to pay $140,000 in damages and an estimated $600,000 in legal costs following a Federal Court ruling in 2024. Any sitting MP who is declared bankrupt is required to vacate their seat under the NSW Constitution. Ruddick praised Latham as 'a giant of the NSW Legislative Council' in the wake of an unfolding scandal over lewd text messages he sent to his former partner Nathalie Matthews, some allegedly sent from the Parliament floor. 'Half the country wanted him to be Prime Minister not that long ago,' he said. 'In state Parliament, there's a lot of technical stuff, Mark is across it all. He's making a serious, valuable contribution.' Mark Latham (pictured with ex-partner Nathalie Matthews) may need to cough up $1million in legal bills, following a defamation case brought forward by Independent MP Alex Greenwich Libertarian MP John Ruddick (pictured) has vowed to start a GoFundMe to prevent Latham from going bankrupt, which would force Latham out of NSW Parliament Ruddick also praised Latham's sharp debating style, deep understanding of legislation, and ability to command attention in the chamber. 'When Mark gets up, everyone stops what they're doing. They listen,' he said. In a separate interview with Chris Smith on 2SM on Wednesday, Latham confirmed he had sent the messages, but denied it had impacted his work. 'The big news is I had a private life,' he said. 'I had a sex life, and I've got to say it was fantastic.' 'If I'm the only person in Australia who in a work environment engaged in a bit of playful sex talk with their partner, then I'll buy everyone a lottery ticket tomorrow.' Latham said 'basically none' of Matthews' claims were true and stressed that NSW Police had not granted her request for an AVO. Matthews has lodged a private AVO application, which remains before the courts. Latham told 2SM radio host Chris Smith that he had sent the explicit messages, but denied it had impacted on his work (he is pictured during a parliamentary inquiry meeting in 2023) Sex worker Carly Electric (pictured) has claimed Latham and Ms Matthews contacted her 'out of nowhere' earlier this year for what she suspected was for a threesome 'Just about all the things she is complaining about, she initiated in consensual arrangements,' Latham alleged, noting their last contact was on May 27. Ms Matthews claims the one-time federal opposition leader inflicted 'a sustained pattern' of psychological, financial and emotional abuse against her for three years. The former federal Labor leader has categorically denied he 'abuses women' and insisted all his dealings with Ms Matthews were entirely consensual. It is not suggested the claims of abusive behaviour are substantiated, only that allegations have been made. Meanwhile, a sex worker has come forward with bombshell claims that Latham and his then-girlfriend contacted her for a threesome that never eventuated. Carly Electric claimed the pair contacted her 'out of nowhere' earlier this year for what she suspected was for a threesome. 'She (Ms Matthews) just came out of nowhere and it's like they were love bombing me each of them separately landed in my DMs,' she told the Daily Telegraph. Latham described Ms Electric as a 'good rooter'. 'Multi-skilled. Comedian. Race lover. Keen rooter. Exactly our sort of person!' he said. He also joked if she might want to be involved in a 'freak off', a another term used by infamous rapper Sean Diddy Coombs for a threesome. Latham is yet to address the latest claims. One man is dead and more than a dozen others were injured when lightning struck a New Jersey archery range Wednesday night. Lightning struck just after 7pm at the Black Night Bow Benders outdoor archery range in Jackson Township, WNBC reports. About 20 people connected to Jackson Scouts Troupe 204, a Scouting America-affiliated group, were on the practice range at the time, Gene Grodski, a member of the archery club told the New York Times. An unidentified 61-year-old man, the eldest of the victims, died as a result of his injuries, while 13 others suffered from injuries ranging from burns to complaints of feeling ill. At least eight of those victims were juveniles, Mayor Michael Reina told the Asbury Park Press, and the deceased was their troop leader. One person also temporarily lost consciousness, and emergency workers used a defibrillator on two members. EMS from several nearby townships rushed to the scene, as did paramedics and firefighters, according to ABC 7. The victims, the youngest of whom were just seven, were then rushed to a local hospital, with Grodski saying the children appeared to be OK and were transported in ambulances 'just in case.' Lightning struck just after 7pm at the Black Night Bow Benders outdoor archery range in Jackson Township (pictured) Lightning also struck a nearby apartment building, but only minor damage was reported. The incident came as the area, which includes Six Flags Great Adventure, was under a severe thunderstorm warning Wednesday's fatality marks the 12th lightning-related death this year, according to preliminary information from the National Lightning Safety Council. About half of the fatalities have involved fishing, which continues to rank as one of the most dangerous activities when thunderstorms are nearby. Gov. Phil Murphy has said he was briefed on the situation. 'Please pray for everyone involved in this tragic incident,' he wrote on X. Jackson Township Mayor Michael Reina also told ABC 7 that he is 'deeply saddened by the loss of life tonight' as he praised first responders for their 'phenomenal job.' DailyMail.com has reached out to Jackson Township police for more information. Mark Latham's ex-girlfriend was working as an OnlyFans porn star for years before she started dating the former federal Labor Party leader. Nathalie Matthews, 38, has found herself at the centre of a political storm after she accused Latham - her partner of two years - of abusing her and performing degrading sex acts on her. She has now applied for a restraining order against the independent NSW state upper house MP, while intimate texts between the couple have also been leaked. Latham has denied the abuse accusations, claiming that he had 'scores of documents' which would vindicate him, and defended himself as having a 'fantastic' sex life. Now Daily Mail Australia can reveal Ms Matthews' past as an OnlyFans content creator, where she posted graphic images and videos of herself under the suggestive name Bondi C** Sl** from 2019 to 2023. OnlyFans followers typically pay creators for exclusive, usually adult and often explicit, content. Ms Matthews' posts - where she enhanced her appearance with AI face-tuning technology - included raw video footage of herself engaged in sexual intercourse with another person, as well as hundreds of explicit images. Ms Matthews' account has since been taken down from OnlyFans, but the material she posted had spread to online fan sites and forums. Ms Matthews now runs an e-commerce global logistics firm based in Dubai, Perth and Sydney. Businesswoman Nathalie Matthews (pictured right) was working as an OnlyFans porn star for years before she started dating the former federal Labor Party leader Mark Latham Ms Matthews posted graphic images of herself on OnlyFans from 2019 to 2023 under the suggestive name 'BondiC**Sl**', enhancing her appearance with AI The dates of the postings also coincided with her unsuccessful bid to be elected a Liberal councillor in south Sydney's Sutherland Shire in 2021. Although she is thought to have been living in the Cronulla area at the time, it's understood she believed the OnlyFans venture would bring in more revenue by using 'Bondi' rather than 'Sutherland' in her online name. Ms Matthews declined to comment on her OnlyFans past but her lawyer told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday that her client 'has been subjected to character assassination, reputational damage and trial by media'. 'Domestic violence is a serious issue in our society. 'Any individual in genuine fear should have the right to seek protection without vilification.' It was revealed this week that Ms Matthews had privately applied for an apprehended violence order against the one-time federal opposition leader, alleging Latham, 64, engaged in vile acts towards her. He has denied the claims. She also claimed Latham inflicted 'a sustained pattern' of psychological, financial and emotional abuse against her for almost three years, demanded degrading sexual acts, asked she call him 'master' and that he threw a dinner plate at her. The allegations are yet to be tested in court. Ms Matthews was previously married to British expat Ross Matthews. Both of them were members of the Liberal Party at the time. Their marriage reportedly ended in 2022, before she began dating Latham. Numerous tattoos on Ms Matthews' lower hip region match those of the woman behind the now defunct OnlyFans account Identifiable symbol tattoos can be seen beneath Ms Matthews' bathing suit, above Ms Matthews' posts - where her face was enhanced with face-tuning - included hundreds of explicit images Latham said Ms Matthews (both pictured) sent him images during parliamentary sittings. Text messages with Ms Matthews where he mocked sitting female MPs were revealed this week This week, Mr Matthews distanced himself from his ex-wife, breaking his silence on social media to address the furore. Please stop messaging me, he posted on X after the scandal erupted. I don't speak to Nathalie and do not care. Thank you. Latham has categorically denied he 'abuses women' and insisted all his dealings with Ms Matthews were entirely consensual. Leaked WhatsApp messages reported by The Daily Telegraph on Wednesday allegedly show sexually explicit exchanges between Latham and Ms Matthews - some of which were sent while Latham was on the floor of Parliament. Latham told Daily Mail Australia the outlet's reproduction of the messages was 'not accurate'. The leaked WhatsApp messages included a series of sexually charged interactions during parliamentary sitting hours on February 20. 'Very hard thinking about you,' he wrote to Ms Matthews shortly after 11am, before following up with a series of suggestive emojis. 'Need badly to taste you,' he wrote that afternoon, alongside an emoji of a tongue. The former federal Labor leader has categorically denied he 'abuses women' and insisted all his dealings with Ms Matthews were entirely consensual Leaked WhatsApp messages allegedly show sexually explicit exchanges between Mr Latham and Ms Matthews (Mr Latham's messages in blue) 'Made it back for first vote after dinner,' he said at 8.38pm. Latham told the outlet the communications did not impact his work. The tranche of leaked messages included further explicit exchanges - too graphic to publish - dating back as far as October last year. On several occasions, Latham is referred to as 'master'. Latham said Ms Matthews sent him images during parliamentary sittings, 'seeking a response', and that he could not describe them due to 'an abundance of caution about the revenge porn laws'. 'I don't think responding to a consensual partner on a private, intimate matter in any way has reduced my workload, which I would match up against any other member in the place,' he told The Daily Telegraph. In a post to X after details of the court drama first emerged, Latham described Ms Matthews' allegations contained in her AVO application as 'comically false and ridiculous'. He did not deny sending lurid texts to Ms Matthews from the floor of state parliament when he spoke to 2SM's Chris Smith on Wednesday. Ms Matthews was previously married to British expat Ross Matthews. Both of them members of the Liberal Party at the time Their marriage reportedly ended in 2022, before she began dating Latham 'The big news is I had a private life,' he said. 'I had a sex life and Ive got to say it was fantastic. 'If I'm the only person in Australia who in a work environment engaged in a bit of playful sex talk with their partner, then I'll buy everyone a lottery ticket tomorrow.' Mr Latham noted the AVO case against him was being brought privately after NSW Police chose not to pursue the allegations. 'There is a court case pending because shes lodged a private AVO application,' he said. 'She tried to get an AVO with the police... I think that tells you a lot about the substance of the matter. 'But I can say in relation to that, just about all the things she's complaining about, she initiated in consensual arrangements.' Ms Matthews has claimed Latham proposed to her during their affair, but he dismissed their time together as just a 'situationship'. She has also accused him of forcing her to cover the cost of holidays abroad 'under duress', making her purchase expensive goods, and coercing her over her fathers will for his benefit. Latham is further accused of 'systematically undermining' Ms Matthews to 'control and isolate' her by comparing her unfavourably to other women, and acting as if he would harm himself to manipulate her. She claims she experienced 'constant fear and hyper-vigilance' since her arrival home from a June trip abroad, alleging all past break-ups with Latham featured a repeated 'pattern of harassment and intimidation'. She alleges: 'The defendant has held intimate photos and videos of me, and I have been afraid he would expose them to shame and control me if I attempted to leave or resist his demands.' Latham denied all accusations to The Australian. 'Nothing has been served on me nor has anyone contacted me,' he told the newspaper. 'I haven't had anything to do with her (Ms Matthews) since May 27, so nearly seven weeks ago. I ended the 'situationship' that night for very good reason.' The matter will be mentioned in Downing Centre Local Court on July 30. Ms Matthews declined to comment on her past OnlyFans career via her lawyer, Sarah McMahon - the Liberal deputy mayor of Hawkesbury council. Up to $500,000 worth of orders from a Sydney furniture firm remain undelivered after the company entered voluntary administration. Customers of Inventis furniture brands may be left in limbo after five companies, including Bassett Furniture, Gregory Commercial Furniture, and Workstations, went into voluntary administration in late June. The ASX-listed group owes nearly $30million, according to ASIC documents. The furniture companies operated out of Inventis' premises in Arndell Park, 35km west of Sydney's CBD. However, the companies were locked out of their headquarters in mid-June due to unpaid rent. Administrators Simon Cathro and Andrew Blundell from Cathro and Partners wrote in a report that the landlord issued a termination notice effective June 30. Trading was halted when administrators were appointed to prevent further losses. The Inventis Group is estimated to owe $2.6million to the Australian Tax Office, with the ATO issuing a director's penalty notice in June. Sydney furniture company Inventis furniture has collapsed into administration The notice, addressed to the companys managing director, Anthony Mankarios, was for $1.4million in unpaid PAYG withholding tax dating back to August 2020. About $1.6million is owed to the company's staff, with the amount excluding the outstanding severance pay for the terminated employees. Inventis HR Services, one of the companies that was plunged into administration, has the largest outstanding debts. The firm, which employed the 55 staff members working throughout the group, owes $18.5million to creditors. An estimated $14.1million of the total debts relate to other groups within the company, such as the Inventis Technology division. About $4.4million in debts to creditors was owed by Inventis Properties, $5.6million owed by Gregory Commercial Furniture, $715,752 owed by Workstations, while Bassett Furniture owed $490,650 in total debts. The administrators explained the company had tried to restructure and cut costs after a drop in sales, but the measures failed to address the company's underlying issues. In the past two years, sales across Bassett, Gregory and Workstations had more than halved, plunging from $10.1million in 2023 to just $4million in 2025. The ASX-listed group owes nearly $30million, according to ASIC documents Manufacturing at the Arndell Park site was halted in May after a storm caused leaking and unsafe work conditions, delaying $200,000 worth of orders. The group also incurred $321,000 in termination-related costs in March. In their report, the administrators wrote that the group's companies had potentially been trading since insolvent since June 2024. The administrators have urged creditors to vote in favour of liquidation at a meeting on Friday. If the company is put into liquidation, creditors will are unlikely to recover any of the debts owed. Company directors had told the administrators they were seeking asset realisations; the process of converting assets into cash or cash equivalents. The asset realisation could potentially include a co-investment, which, if successful would result in creditors and staff being paid. The administrators' report explained the businesses and assets were also up for sale. Three offers to purchase the companies have since been submitted, with one offer under negotiation. The sale, however, is only for the business and its assets, and would not include the transfer of employees, the administrators' report said. A Colorado dentist accused of poisoning his wife said he had a delivery of potassium cyanide sent to his office at her request because she was suicidal, his murder trial in Arapahoe County heard on Wednesday. Dr James Craig, 47, has pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder for the March 2023 death of Angela, 43, a devout Mormon and mother of six, who prosecutors say he viewed as a 'problem' as he began a new affair and struggled with finances. In shocking courtroom testimony, family friend Michelle Redfearn described how Craig repeatedly changed his story about the contents of a package that arrived at work - first saying it was a ring for his wife, then that she had asked him to order the poison, before claiming the whole episode was a game of chicken. Redfearn and her husband, Ryan, both longtime friends of the couple, had folded Craigs Summerbrook Dental practice in Aurora into their wider network of clinics to help ease his financial strain, prosecutors argue. Ryan attended dental school with Craig in Kansas City, and their wives had been close for more than 20 years. Michelle Redfearn, who has a PhD in nursing and teaches at Regis University, said she had been exchanging texts full of medical information with Craig for days, trying to determine the cause of Angelas mystery illness. Craig, pictured in court on the day of opening arguments, has pleaded not guilty to murder in connection with the March 2023 poisoning death of his wife, Angela, 43 While driving to visit Angela in the hospital on March 15, 2023, the Redfearns director of operations rang with disturbing news, looping Summerbrooks office manager, Caitlin Romero, into a conference call. Romero testified earlier on Wednesday that Craig had ordered a personal package to be sent to the office and told her not to open it. Another staff member mistakenly did open the delivery and, on seeing that it contained potassium cyanide, Romero said she looked the substance up on the internet, learned it was a lethal poison, and began to suspect that Craig was behind Angelas bouts of sickness. Redfearn said that, after learning of Romeros discovery, she continued on to the hospital, where she met her husband, Ryan, Craig, Angelas brother and the familys bishop. It was there the Redfearns learned that Angela was brain dead, she told the court. They left the hospital and were sitting in Redfearns car when Craig called to say that he had heard some distressing information. I think Ryan immediately said, Yes, Jim, you got a package delivered to your office two days ago. What was in the package, Jim? Craig then claimed that it was a ring for Angie. Ryan said, It wasnt a ring. We know what was in the package. It went back and forth, Redfearn said before Craig replied: 'You couldnt know what was in the package, it wasnt opened.' And then Ryan said, It was opened. We know what was in the package. It was potassium cyanide, Jim. We dont use that in dentistry why would you have that delivered? According to Redfearn, Craigs response, repeated several times, was: Oh, Ryan, what have you done? On further pressing, she said, he admitted to purchasing the potassium cyanide. Ryan asked, Why would you do that? she continued. He said, I bought it for Angie. Craig told the couple that Angela had been suicidal and asked him to order the poison because she didnt have the required credentials, Redfearn testified. Both prosecutors and defense agree that the Craigs' 23-year marriage had been plagued by multiple extramarital affairs on the part of the dentist; the prosecution argues he killed Angela after starting a new relationship and struggling with financial woes Angela Craig, 47, died on March 18, 2023, after suffering mysterious symptoms for two weeks, which prosecutors say were caused by her husband Craig, who shared six children with Angela, was arrested one day after her March 18, 2023 death; jurors heard Wednesday how the dental office manager saw potassium cyanide in a 'personal package' he'd ordered tot he office and told her not to open Prosecutors said Craig swapped his wife's medication with poison in a calculated effort to free himself from a marriage in which he described feeling 'trapped,' 'hopeless' and 'helpless' Ryan still said, Why would you do that? And his response was: It was a game of chicken, she said. Redfearn added that she had never known Angela to be suicidal laughing and saying no when asked if her friend had been a risk taker or gambler who would enjoy such a dangerous challenge. She said she had spoken to detectives about the Craigs until about 4am the morning after he admitted buying the potassium cyanide in the telephone call. Throughout Redfearns testimony, she often directed steely glances at Craig from the witness stand as he sat feet away dressed in a gray suit at the defense table in the Arapahoe County District Court near Denver. Craig is seen wiping his tears on Monday during opening statements in his trial for murdering his wife, Angela Craig Prosecutors allege that Craig researched untraceable poisons before deciding to lace Angelas protein shakes with cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a medication found in over-the-counter eye drops such as Visine, and administering a final fatal dose while visiting her in the hospital. Jurors subsequently heard testimony from a hospital security expert who provided surveillance footage to detectives, as well as a supermarket technician who confirmed that Craig's credit card had been used to make late-night purchases of Visine. Since his arrest the day after Angela died, prosecutors have added new charges of solicitation to tamper with evidence and solicitation to commit perjury based on letters he allegedly sent from jail. Jennifer Herriman, a civilian employee of Arapahoe County Detention Facility, testified about opening one such letter that had been returned as undeliverable. Addressed to another former inmate, she said it offered free dental work in exchange for the recipient arranging a Gone Girl-style false narrative to exonerate him. Herriman agreed with Deputy District Attorney Michael Mauro that Craigs letter was an attempt to sell a "story" to his attorney'. She testified that it offered advice for procuring pretend witnesses, avoiding detection by using burner phones and fake identification and even contained code words such as Captain America and Harry Potter. Mauro asked if it was a 'letter within a letter... to the would-be witnesses', and 'a description of various roles for attractive women to play as witnesses. Herriman said it was. He told jurors that the correspondence also directed 'the fake witnesses to say that Angela had approached them offering money to frame or set up James Craig to look like he was attempting to murder her to gain leverage in a divorce proceeding'. Herriman left the letter at the facility's front desk for Aurora Police Detective Bobbi Olson, on whom prosecutors say Craig tried to order an assassination hit from behind bars. A hillside water meter malfunction triggered a destructive mudslide, sending tons of mud and debris crashing into homes in one of Utah's most upscale neighborhoods and forcing emergency evacuations. The devastating incident began shortly after 8pm on Tuesday near 3100 East Silver Hawk Drive in Holladay, where a water meter failed on a steep slope above the ritzy homes. Emergency response crews responded to reports of flooding, only to realize a large volume of mud and water had broken loose, slamming into at least three properties. One home took the brunt of the slide, with several feet of mud filling the basement. No injuries were reported, but three homes were evacuated as a precaution. 'It seemed like an explosion of water coming out from up there, and it just started rushing down,' resident Paul Holmes, whose basement apartment was inundated, told KSL-TV5. 'We can't even get the doors open because the mud is keeping them shut, so we have to go through the back windows.' Holmes said the damage is severe and will require a full gut of the space. 'It's a full restoration - like, tear it down to the studs,' he said. A hillside water meter malfunction triggered a destructive mudslide, sending tons of mud and debris crashing into homes in one of Utah 's most upscale neighborhoods Emergency response crews responded to reports of flooding, only to realize a large volume of mud and water had broken loose, slamming into at least three properties Authorities believed a water main had ruptured at first, however, it was later discovered by Salt Lake City Public Utilities officials that the break came from the sacrificial bottom of a water meter box - a built-in fail-safe designed to release pressure and prevent a full-blown pipe burst. 'The meter did exactly what it was supposed to do,' Chloe Morroni, communications manager for the utility department, said. 'It's just - the topography out here certainly caused some issues,' she said, adding that the same design on a flat surface would have likely caused 'no issues.' Normally, the release would saturate nearby ground, but in this case, the meter sat roughly 50 to 75 feet above the neighborhood on a steep incline, she explained. The released water quickly destabilized the slope, triggering the devastating slide. 'I look out the garage, and I just see all this, like, dirty water gushing and just a bunch of stuff falling. It was just really chaotic,' Piper Knight, a local resident who witnessed the slide, said. Local fire departments worked for over two hours to contain the flow, building dikes - barriers to hold back water - to redirect mud and shut down the water source. No injuries were reported, but three homes were evacuated as a precaution Authorities believed a water main had ruptured at first It was later discovered by Salt Lake City Public Utilities officials that the break came from the sacrificial bottom of a water meter box (pictured) - a built-in fail-safe designed to release pressure and prevent a full-blown pipe burst City utility crews reportedly stayed on the scene overnight and into Wednesday morning. Now, the 21-year-old meter will be replaced with a modern 'smart' version, according to Morroni. In addition, the city will bring in contractors to shore up the hillside and conduct geotechnical assessments to determine what additional protections may be needed. 'We'll do what we can to not only replace it, but make it even stronger,' Jason Draper, chief engineer for Salt Lake City Public Utilities, told the outlet, adding that the city is looking into 'adding retaining walls.' Officials have since acknowledged that aging infrastructure - especially in hilly terrain - poses unique risks. 'We hate to see this happen. It's so unfortunate. I'm thankful no one was injured and the water line was not broken itself, so that it did not knock a whole bunch of homes out of water,' Morroni said. City utility crews reportedly stayed on the scene overnight and into Wednesday morning Now, the 21-year-old meter will be replaced with a modern 'smart' version The Utah Division of Public Utilities have also emphasized the importance of funding long-term infrastructure upgrades. 'The Division strongly supports a rate-funded capital reserve account to ensure the companies can replace aging infrastructure and respond to emergencies,' Division Director Chris Parker said in a statement. But for residents like Holmes, the immediate concern is recovery. His driveway remains buried under mud, and access to his home is limited. 'I've already talked to a disaster restoration company,' he said. 'It's going to take a lot of work to fix the damage.' An Australian businessman and his wife suffered a nightmare end to their US holiday courtesy of a bizarre and infuriating Qantas blunder. Craig Badings and his wife Margo had booked a long-haul flight leaving Los Angeles on Tuesday and were due to arrive back in Sydney on Thursday. They never made the flight because Qantas told them it had been cancelled. The only problem was, according to Mr Badings, it hadn't been at all. Mr Badings said their flight took off when it was supposed to without them on board. As the plane left LA, they were making their way back from the airport, having turned around due to the cancellation message. The couple were then left stranded in LA having made no arrangements for accommodation. Qantas at first told them via text and email that their Tuesday flight had been 'delayed' to Thursday, but then the airline, in another blunder, failed to book them seats on the replacement flight. 'The best Qantas can offer us is a flight (leaving LA) on Friday via Dallas to Sydney arriving Sunday morning - three days later than scheduled,' Mr Badings said. Sydney businessman Craig Badings and his wife Margo missed their flight home from the US after a bizarre Qantas 'administrative error' The Sydney couple were on their way to LA airport on Tuesday night when they received this text from Qantas After much back-and-forth with the airline the couple managed to secure a flight that left the Californian city and headed home on Thursday. Except, even then, the booking for their rescheduled flight disappeared from his Qantas app, meaning at one stage they weren't on any flights at all. 'It's all been a bit of a debacle,' Mr Badings told Daily Mail Australia. 'I'm not sure whether this was related to the (recent) cyber incident, poor planning on Qantas' part, or just poor communications and a genuine mix up.' The airline fell victim to a cyber attack on June 30 in which the personal details of nearly six million customers were accessed by hackers. Mr Badings said he and his wife spent 10 hours on the phone to a Qantas US call centre while they were stranded in LA, who had told them there was no way they could get a replacement flight for Thursday. 'Then, when Australia woke up, we called our agent again and a few hours later we were informed we are indeed on the 10am Thursday flight.' With 30 years' experience advising major corporations and senior executives about communication and brand reputation, Mr Badings - a PR specialist - had some advice for the embattled national carrier. 'The message to Qantas would simply be over-communication in these situations.' 'It was frustrating, stressful and confusing,' Craig Badings told Daily Mail Australia 'Not knowing and not being able to get hold of someone when you are thousands of kilometres from home isn't great. 'Keep us informed along the way.' Mr Badings urged fellow Qantas passengers to learn from his lesson and double check that cancellation texts and emails are valid. 'The message to others would be to call Qantas immediately and if in any doubt, go to the airport and speak to them in person,' he said. 'If we had done that, we would have been on the flight.' A Qantas spokesperson confirmed the mix-up was the result of an 'administrative error'. 'We sincerely apologise to Mr and Mrs Badings and understand how frustrating this experience would have been,' they said. 'The SMS sent to Mr Badings was a result of an administrative error and we are investigating how this occurred to ensure it doesn't happen again. 'The error is not related to the recent cyber incident. Mr Badings had some advice for the embattled national airline. Pictured is Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson 'We have contacted Mr and Mrs Badings and rebooked them on the first available direct flight from Los Angeles to Sydney.' The couple will be compensated for any additional travel costs. Qantas was granted an interim injunction in the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday to stop the compromised data of customers being accessed or released following the hack. The records of 5.7million Qantas customers were impacted when a third-party system used by an offshore call centre was hacked. The names, email addresses and frequent flyer details of four million customers were exposed. The remaining 1.7 million customers had more data taken, including their dates of birth, phone numbers, personal or business addresses, gender and meal preferences, prompting an apology from Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson. The airline has confirmed there was no evidence of any personal data being released, and no credit card or passport details or personal financial information had been accessed. 'In an effort to further protect affected customers, the airline has today obtained an interim injunction in the NSW Supreme Court to prevent the stolen data from being accessed, viewed, released, used, transmitted or published by anyone, including by any third parties,' a Qantas statement said on Thursday. 'We want to do all we can to protect our customers' personal information and believe this was an important next course of action.' A former Commonwealth Bank executive accused of grooming underage girls for sex in a Brisbane hotel room has been found dead. Christopher James McCann, 50, appeared in a Brisbane court on Monday, charged with one count of using the internet to procure children aged under 16 following a two-month investigation. The Sydney-based bank executive was extradited to Queensland last week following his arrest by NSW Police at Sydney Airport. McCann was found dead at Springbrook in the Gold Coast hinterland on Wednesday afternoon - just two days after he was granted bail on strict conditions. Queensland Police is not treating McCann's death as suspicious. 'A report will be prepared for the Coroner following the non-suspicious death of a man at Springbrook yesterday,' a spokeswoman said. McCann described himself online as a corporate finance executive with more than 20 years of experience. He had no prior criminal record. A court heard on Monday that McCann was accused of a 'terribly serious offence' by allegedly engaging Brisbane sex worker Shauntelle Elizabeth Went, 18, to supply the services of two girls aged 14 or 15 while staying at the Sofitel Hotel in the Brisbane CBD in May. Christopher James McCann left Brisbane Watch House on Monday after being granted bail. He was found dead two days later The former Commonwealth Bank executive (pictured) was extradited from Sydney to Brisbane after being charged with using the internet to procure underage girls for sex McCann allegedly engaged with Brisbane sex worker Shauntelle Elizabeth Went (pictured) to supply the services of two girls aged 14 or 15 'You travelled interstate frequently. You formed some kind of connection with (Went). On May 14, police intercepted messages between you and she,' Magistrate Louise Shephard told McCann. 'The allegation is you ... queried her about whether she had younger friends that she worked with.' McCann stood in the dock looking either down or straight ahead during his appearance. Ms Shephard said McCann was accused of making an arrangement and agreeing on a price to use Went's services alongside two underage girls. 'Later the evening Went and the girls attended (a Brisbane CBD five-star hotel),' Ms Shephard said. 'The two girls went to the room and you contacted the front desk to ask them to leave. It is not alleged the girls entered the room. 'The matter was referred by NSW Police to Task Force Argos (Queensland Police child exploitation unit) and on July 8 they executed a search warrant on your home.' A prosecutor opposed bail, citing fears McCann could offend while out on bail and the risk to the welfare of the community. Two days before he died, Christopher James McCann (pictured) was released from custody on strict bail conditions Shauntelle Elizabeth Went will reappear in court on August 4 'He lives in NSW. He is a flight risk. He has financial capacity from his previous employment,' the prosecutor said. McCann's barrister David Jones said his client's assets would be frozen. He added that his client had no prior criminal record and was willing to abide by a range of conditions, including living in Queensland during the court proceedings. Magistrate Shephard noted that McCann's employment had been terminated. She bailed McCann on strict conditions, which included an overnight curfew and being limited to one mobile phone with no encrypted applications. He was also ordered to remain in Queensland during the court proceedings and banned from having any contact with children except for his sons. McCann was due to reappear in court on August 4. Went was also granted bail on Monday to reappear on the same date. If you or someone you know needs confidential support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636. Elon Musk took aim at Donald Trump on Wednesday after the president attempted to redefine Jeffrey Epstein's notorious sex trafficking scandal as just a 'hoax' created by the Democrats. The Tesla billionaire blew a hole through the president's latest claim by pointing out some obvious facts - including that Epstein's former confidant Ghislaine Maxwell remains locked up in federal prison. 'Wow, amazing that Epstein "killed himself" and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax,' the SpaceX CEO posted on his X account. 'He should just release the files and point out which part is the hoax,' he added in another post. Musk's barrage of criticism crystallized the growing discontent from Trump's MAGA base over the president's handling of the Epstein files. Anti-trans activist Riley Gaines bashed the president for saying people who wanted more answers on Epstein were either 'stupid' or 'foolish.' Trump's favorite comedian, Shane Gillis, quipped that he was due to make a joke about Epstein at the ESPYS 'but I guess it got deleted' and actually 'probably never existed.' Amid the onslaught, Attorney General Pam Bondi fired the Manhattan federal prosecutor who gathered all the federal evidence on Epstein while working to put both him and Maxwell behind bars. Elon Musk eviscerated President Donald Trump on Wednesday for claiming that files related to sex pest Jeffrey Epstein are just a 'hoax' created by the Democrats It came months after Musk claimed President Trump is named in the disgraced financier's client list Musk on Wednesday pointed out that Epstein's former right-hand woman Ghislaine Maxwell remains locked up in federal prison for sex trafficking on his behalf The prosecutor who was fired, Maureen Comey, is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. Maureen Comey argued in 2024 against releasing documents related to the Epstein investigation due to 'possible embarrassment and harassment' of the victims. Meanwhile, Trump has claimed her father James Comey simply 'made up' the existence of the Epstein files, along with former President Obama and Hillary Clinton. 'I would say that, you know, these files were made up by Comey, they were made up by Obama, they were made up by the Biden,' Trump said Tuesday at the White House. Wednesday's backlash began when Trump made the 'hoax' comment during an appearance in the Oval Office. 'I know its a hoax. Its started by Democrats,' the president claimed while meeting with the Crown Prince of Bahrain. 'It's been run by the Democrats for four years,' he continued, despite promising on the campaign trail that he would release all of the files related to the sex pest. Trump went on to hit out at 'some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans' who buy into the idea that Epstein kept a client list, and accused them of trying to 'do the Democrats' work.' Musk was emboldened, posting about Epstein 13 times in just over an hour Wednesday afternoon, according to the Daily Beast. President Trump has claimed the existence of a client list was a 'hoax' created by the Democrats He shared his outrage that 'not a single Epstein client has been prosecuted,' and argued in a separate post that 'so many people want that list suppressed.' Musk also responded to a scathing post by influencer Kaizen Asiedu. 'Trump's team hyped the release. Trump's team fumbled the release. Yet Trump is blaming the Democrats and insulting his supporters for the consequences of his actions,' Asiedu wrote. The SpaceX CEO summed up Trump's excuses with a blunt assessment: '1. Admit nothing 2. Deny everything 3. Make counterclaims. 'But it won't work this time,' he vowed, after previously warning that the Trump administration's ruling on the Epstein case would be the 'final straw' for many within the president's party. Musk had previously claimed Trump was named in the financier's client list. Many within Trump's base have even accused the administration of a cover-up to protect high-profile individuals who may have engaged in Epstein's sex trafficking ring. Adding fuel to the fire are FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino's previous assertions that Epstein may have been murdered in jail and that he held a 'client list' that he used as blackmail. 'There is something there, and it's being covered up, and the president blessed it,' former Fox News host Megyn Kelly suggested during Monday's episode of The Megyn Kelly Show. 'I didn't say, "There's a child sex ring that he's actively covering up" but I think there's some middle ground.' Attorney General Pam Bondi is taking much of the heat from the pro-MAGA base over the handling of the Epstein case, after she previously appeared to claim that she had a client list sitting on her desk Musk had previously warned that the Trump administration's declaration that Epstein did, in fact, kill himself in prison and did not have a client list would be the 'final straw' for many Republicans Megyn Kelly has also slammed Attorney General Pam Bondi for making 'multiple inconsistent statements' after apparently claiming in February that Epstein's client list was 'sitting on [her] desk right now to review,' but denying now that there ever was such a document. Trump, though, has stood by his attorney general, and gave her verbal permission to release certain materials related to the case on Wednesday. 'Whatever is credible she can release. If a document is credible, if a document's there that is credible, she can release,' Trump said, after previously arguing his attorney general has more important work to do than spend months looking into the case files. In another apparent effort to quell the MAGA uprising, Trump suggested he would appoint a special prosecutor who could further investigate Epstein's connections - though the president seemed more interested in proving his Democratic hoax claims. In an interview with John Solomon of JustTheNews.com, Trump said he supported the idea of having an independent investigator look into the Epstein files - as well as the weaponization of the Department of Justice against conservatives in the 2016 election. 'I think they could look at all of it. It's all the same scam. They could look at this Jeffrey Epstein hoax also, because that's the same stuff that's all put out by Democrats,' Trump said when asked what he'd most like to see the FBI investigate. He then went on to express concerns that former intelligence and law enforcement officials could have tampered with evidence surrounding Epstein case. 'I can imagine what they put into files, just like they did with the others. I mean, the Steele dossier was a total fake, right? It took two years to figure that out,' he said, referring to former FBI directors James Comey and Christopher Wray's investigation into claims Trump's 2016 presidential campaign colluded with Russian operatives. Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida after she was convicted in June 2022 for conspiring with Epstein in the sexual exploitation of minors Sources now tell the Daily Mail she is willing to testify before Congress about the Epstein files 'But they ought to look into the Jeffrey Epstein hoax too, because that's another hoax that's frankly, put out by the Democrats pushing, pushing the Republicans, and put out by the Democrats,' he added. Meanwhile it appears Maxwell is willing to testify to Congress about her knowledge of the Epstein files. The heiress is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida after she was convicted in June 2022 for conspiring with her boss Epstein in the sexual exploitation of minors. 'Despite the rumors, Ghislaine was never offered any kind of plea deal,' an insider previously told the Daily Mail. 'She would be more than happy to sit before Congress and tell her story,' the source continued. 'No-one from the government has ever asked her to share what she knows. 'She remains the only person to be jailed in connection to Epstein and she would welcome the chance to tell the American public the truth.' The source added that 'congressional hearings have been held into everything from JFK's assassination to 9/11' and argued that 'the Epstein files rank up there with those cases.' A British expat has claimed Coles and Woolworths deliberately play 'banging music' in supermarkets so customers spend more on groceries. Gemma Penn made the claim while comparing the differences between Australian and UK supermarkets. 'They've always got banging music in Australia whether it's Woolworths or Coles,' she said in a TikTok video. Ms Penn liked that she could listen to the Spice Girls and British act Jamelia while shopping. She theorised the pop anthems and dance tracks were making her spend more money. One social media user claimed 'Pump It Up', by pop musician Endor, was played at Woolworths every day at 3pm for that reason. Deakin University's Professor of Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Paul Harrison told Daily Mail Australia that shoppers needed to remember that the big supermarkets were moneymaking businesses and weren't there to look after shoppers. 'When they say things like they're making things better for you, it benefits them,' he said. Gemma Penn said upbeat music likely made shoppers spend more at Coles and Woolies 'Music puts us in a good mood to treat ourselves and puts us in a frame of mind where we feel safe. 'We find it hard to resist underlying vices. More upbeat music does get people to spend more on premium items.' Mr Harrison said if a store played sophisticated music, shoppers were more likely to be drawn towards buying 'the more sophisticated version of a brand'. He also said retailers wanted people in and out within 20 minutes, and the faster music helped achieve that target as people generally spent more per minute. Mr Harrison said a 20-minute shop with fast music encouraged people to buy items they may have been normally resistant to. In March, an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) inquiry into the Australian grocery sector found Coles and Woolworths were among the most profitable supermarkets in the world. The inquiry found they used promotions to make it harder for customers to judge whether they were getting a good deal or not. Woolworths customers who sign up to the Everyday Rewards program are offered deals and specials, and even get a $10 voucher for every $2,000 they spend in store. Woolworths knows how to get its shoppers in the mood to enjoy themselves and spend The major supermarkets like Coles try to boost the mood of their customers with fast music, it's been claimed 'It's not much of a reward, but people like to feel like they're getting something,' Mr Harrison said. A Woolworths spokesman told Daily Mail Australia: 'We play music in our stores to make our customers' shopping experience more enjoyable.' 'The music that our customers hear in store is from a vast range of genres and eras to cater for the wide taste of our customers and team members, with a particular emphasis on supporting Australian artists,' he said. Daily Mail contacted Coles for comment. A decomposed body found during the search for a missing American man who vanished while vacationing in Turks and Caicos has been identified. Brian Tarrence, 52, was enjoying a romantic week-long getaway with his wife when he disappeared from their Airbnb rental in Grace Bay on June 25, just three days into the trip. He left the rental as his wife slept, after enjoying an intimate dinner and the afternoon on a boat. On July 5, authorities assisting in the search for the missing Manhattan man found a decomposed male body in Grace Bay, near the couple's accommodation. On Wednesday, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force confirmed the remains belonged to Tarrence. 'An autopsy conducted on July 11th revealed no signs of trauma, and at this time, there is no suspicion of foul play,' the police department said. Officials have not yet announced a cause of death. This will be determined by a full autopsy and toxicology report. The positive identification draws an end to a painful weeks-long process for his wife and loved ones back in the United States. Tarrence (pictured right), 51, of Midtown Manhattan, arrived to the coral islands on June 22 for a romantic getaway with his wife (pictured left), staying at an Airbnb in Grace Bay before their planned return to New York on June 29 The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police reviewed security footage near the Airbnb, which showed Tarrence - wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and sneakers - walking toward the tourist-heavy downtown area around 3.30am (pictured) 'The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force extends sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased,' acting Commissioner Rodney Adams said. 'We urge members of the public to refrain from speculation and allow the investigative process to confirm the identity through official channels.' Tarrence's family had hired a private investigator to help find him. 'Everything prior to the point where he walked out of that house, he seems fine,' private investigator Carl DeFazio said during the search. 'The worst thing is not knowing,' he added. 'Every day that goes by is not good.' On June 22, the couple arrived at world-famous Grace Bay Beach on the northeast coast of Providenciales - a pristine stretch of shoreline famed for its crystal-clear waters, powdery white sand and upscale luxury resorts. A decomposed body found during the search for a missing American man who vanished while vacationing in Turks and Caicos has been identified as Brian Tarrence (pictured) After being notified of his disappearance, local police reviewed security footage near the Airbnb, which showed Tarrence - wearing a T-shirt, shorts and sneakers - walking toward the tourist-heavy downtown area around 3.30am. 'That's a little bizarre in itself,' DeFazio told News 12, referring to the mystery of why Tarrence left the rental. 'He's in the middle of town. His wife was sleeping.' The area where Tarrence disappeared is 'very safe,' according to the investigator, and the New Yorker had both his cellphone and wallet with him when he left. 'We have him on camera, and he walks into town, and then he basically disappears, and we haven't heard from him since,' he told the outlet. Two flights were faced with mid-air emergencies 60 seconds apart, sparking travel chaos at Gatwick airport. The British Airways flight from Gatwick to Cancun declared a full emergency after 'toxic fumes' filled the cabin of its Boeing 777-200 on Tuesday shortly after take-off. The smoke prompted oxygen masks to deploy mid-air and even forced pilots to open cockpit windows for fresh air. Passengers described a pungent stench 'like used socks' that left several feeling dizzy. The aircraft, carrying 340 passengers and crew, had to circle the capital for 45 minutes to dump fuel before making a priority landing at 3:29pm, nearly an hour after its 2:11pm departure. Emergency services were on standby as the plane touched down, The Sun reports. The runway and the aircraft both underwent thorough inspections, grounding the Cancun service for 24 hours with passengers having to be put in airport hotels overnight. Just one minute later, an easyJet flight from Madeira triggered a separate emergency, issuing a 'pan pan' alert after a bird strike. Two flights were faced with mid-air emergencies 60 seconds apart, which sparked travel chaos at Gatwick airport. Pictured: Stock image of Gatwick Airport The British Airways flight en route to Cancun declared a full emergency after 'toxic fumes' filled the cabin of its Boeing 777-200 on Tuesday easyJet's Airbus A320, with around 190 people onboard, requested a continuous descent and a sterile runway before landing safely at 3:30pm The Airbus A320, with around 190 people onboard, requested a continuous descent and a sterile runway before landing safely at 3:30pm. Both incidents temporarily shut Gatwick's main runway as emergency crews assessed potential hazards. Some passengers and crew reportedly needed medical treatment for exposure to the unknown fumes. The BA flight finally departed for Mexico the following day. BA confirmed the plane landed safely at the airport after pilots found a 'technical issue'. The airliner added: 'Our customers disembarked normally and weve apologised for the disruption to their travel plans.' Meanwhile budget airliner easyJet said the flight from Funchal asked for a priority landing into London Gatwick before being met by emergency services as a precaution. A spokesperson told MailOnline: 'Flight EZY8520 from Funchal to London Gatwick on 15 July requested a priority landing into London Gatwick. 'The aircraft landed normally was met by emergency services in line with procedures, purely as a precaution. 'The safety of our customers and crew is easyJet's highest priority and easyJet operates its fleet of aircraft in strict compliance with all manufacturers' guidelines.' Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has announced it is set to axe 500 jobs from its UK operations. The car maker said 500 managerial jobs would be cut, saying it would offer voluntary redundancies. It insists the job losses will not go over 1.5 per cent of its British workforce, describing the move as 'normal business practice' in a statement. The car giant previously warned that tariffs on British made motors being sold to the US would have a direct hit on its profits. This comes after its Jaguar brand has faced months of widespread criticism over its controversial electric rebrand, which was dubbed by many as 'woke' when it was revealed last year. JLR sales have slid sharply over the past three months after a temporary pause in exports to the US and a pause in production of all Jaguar models for a year. The car maker said on Thursday that 500 managerial jobs would be cut, saying it would offer voluntary redundancies The British car maker has been in the limelight in the last 12 months having relaunched Jaguar as an all-electric brand with a controversial advertising campaign some have dubbed 'woke'. It also debuted the polarising Type 00 concept car (pictured) signalling its new design direction It's electric rebrand includes this new Jaguar logo - a roundel made up of the letter 'J' that looks the same both ways up. It replaces the classis roaring cat emblem The Tata-owned car maker revealed that retail sales slid by 15.1 per cent to 94,420 units over the three months to June. Meanwhile, wholesale sales dropped by 10.7 per cent to 87,286 units compared with a year earlier. The company said the significant fall in sales was partly driven by the pause in shipments to the US in April after President Trump's administration introduced new tariff plans. A spokeswoman said: 'JLR regularly offers eligible employees voluntary redundancy programmes. 'Through this limited UK voluntary redundancy programme for managers, JLR is aligning its leadership workforce for the business's current and future needs. 'We are grateful to the Government for delivering at speed the new UK-US trade deal, which gives us the confidence to invest 3.5billion per annum to realise our strategy which is delivering.' Last year, the Jaguar arm of the business controversially accelerated its plans to shift to electric vehicles. This included a new advertisement featuring brightly dressed models but no cars. The group also abandoned its iconic 'growler' cat badge, replacing it with a curved geometric J and L symbol. Jag's rebranding effort was three years in the making, as the iconic British automaker accelerates its transition to becoming an all-electric brand ahead of the UK's 2030 ban on new petrol and diesel vehicles. Launched under the tagline 'Copy Nothing', a nod to the philosophy of company founder Sir William Lyons, it featured a striking new ad with diverse models in vibrant, futuristic attire traversing an otherworldly landscape. Critics accused the company of watering down its famously fierce image - ditching the snarling big cat logo in favour of a 'friendlier' typeface that's left purists fuming. The ad also focused on diversity, with androgynous models in extravagant clothing accused of straying too far from the brand's traditional image. Amid ongoing backlash over the dramatic shift, Jaguar's sales in Europe have nosedived, dropping a staggering 97.5 per cent as the company navigates one of the most ambitious transformations in its history. According to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (AECA), the company registered just 49 new vehicles in April 2025 compared to 1,961 units sold in the same month last year. The British car marque has insisted the reason for the freefall in sales is not because of a lack of support or an image overhaul, but because it suspended production of all cars in November as part of a 12-month 'fire break' period for dealers and customers to prepare for its electric rebrand. Defending the news, the firm said it was 'pointless' to compare figures for 2024 and 2025, as 'Jaguar is not currently on sale in the UK' while it goes through its 'sunset period' of radical change. The controversial advert to launch the rebrand features boldly dressed fashion models in bright primary colours alongside slogans such as 'break moulds' and 'create exuberant' A still from Jaguar's 'copy nothing' rebrand advert - which was criticised for featuring no cars The classic Jaguar 'growler' logo has been ditched as the car firm reinvents itself to appeal to a younger audience of car buyers Billionaire Space X owner Musk turned the knife on X, simply asking Jaguar: 'Do you sell cars?' But Jaguar's managing director Rawdon Glover fired back at what he called 'vile hatred and intolerance'. Mr Glover, head of the Indian-owned marque, denied accusations that Jaguar was abandoning its proud near-century-long heritage. Instead, he insisted the bold new direction was about ditching 'traditional automotive stereotypes' to carve out a fresh identity in an evolving market. 'The overall reaction has been very positive,' he said, 'but I've been disappointed by the level of vile hatred and intolerance directed at the people in the ad.' 'If we play the same game as everyone else, we'll just get drowned out,' Glover added. 'We shouldn't show up like a typical auto brand. We need to re-establish Jaguar at a completely different price pointand that means doing things differently.' Jaguar's managing director Rawdon Glover, pictured, last year fired back at what he called 'vile hatred and intolerance' aimed at the company's rebrand advert The brand previously sounded the alarm over Donald Trump's punishing new tariffs warning the move will take a hefty bite out of profits. The UK's biggest car maker slashed its annual profit forecast in June, telling investors it expected margins to drop to between five and seven per cent - a sharp fall from last year's 8.5 per cent, and well below the 10.7 per cent it posted in the first quarter. The slump comes after JLR was forced to halt all US shipments for a month starting in April, following Trump's decision to slap a 25 per cent import tax on foreign-built cars. In a reprieve, the UK signed a trade deal in May, which allows it to export 100,000 cars a year to the US under a 10 per cent tariff. JLR restarted deliveries across the Atlantic shortly after. Although JLR produces its Range Rover cars in Britain, its popular Defender SUV is made in Slovakia, which is still subject to heavier tariffs. A government spokesperson said: 'We are taking significant action to back British carmakers and protect jobs as we deliver on the Plan for Change. 'We have set out our ambitions for the automotive sector in our Industrial Strategy, announced 2.5bn over the next decade through our DRIVE35 programme which will support manufacturers in the switch to electric vehicles and gave them more flexibility in the ZEV mandate to do so, as well as providing demand incentives through the Electric Car Grant announced last week. 'We have also secured landmark trade deals with the US and India which will cut tariffs and create new export opportunities. 'We recognise the vital importance of JLR to the UK automotive sector and to West Midlands and North West, and the global challenges car manufacturers face. 'This is a commercial decision for the company, but we are working closely with JLR and other employers throughout the sector to ensure the UK remains a top destination for investment in automotive manufacturing.' The wife of a pilot who disappeared while flying over the Snowy Mountains has spoken out as police claim to have located the crashed plane. David Stephens, 74, has been identified as the plane's pilot which failed to land at Moruya Airport on NSW's Far South Coast about 4.30pm on Tuesday. Mr Stephens had been flying from Wangaratta, in north-east Victoria. After two days of perilous ground and air searches, police claimed to have found what is believed to be the crashed plane about 4pm on Thursday. 'A rescue helicopter located what is believed to be the crashed plane near the planes last known GPS location,' a NSW Police spokesperson said. Police did not provide any information on Mr Stephens, who is understood to have been the planes sole occupant. A tax accountant by trade, Mr Stephens reportedly planned to retire within months and has been described as a respected member of the Sapphire Coast community. His wife Lynda Leigh told ABC News the ordeal had been 'heartbreaking' for his family. David Stephens (pictured) was due to land at Moruya Airport on Tuesday afternoon Search efforts have been ongoing since Tuesday amid 'hazardous' alpine conditions She described her husband as an experienced pilot and said his aircraft - a 1966 Beechcraft Debonair plane - been inspected before taking off from Wangaratta. 'Unfortunately, David disappeared on his flight home on Tuesday, July 15, after having his aircraft inspected,' Ms Leigh said. 'It is known that the mountain weather can turn very quickly, and we can only assume he must have seen a way over the mountain to decide not to turn back to Wangaratta. 'David has quite a bit of experience flying the plane, but we can't know what situation he was facing, and we'll only have answers once they locate the plane and, with that, David.' Police have now taken charge of the search, which was previously led by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) with investigations to continue on Friday. A NSW Police spokesperson previously said the plane may have crashed within 500 metres of the Dargals Trail, a remote hiking track in Kosciuszko National Park. Its last known location was near Khancoban in the western foothills of the Snowy Mountains, where the terrain has been described as 'rugged and inaccessible'. Mr Stephens serves as the secretary for Bega Valley aviation club, Frog's Hollow Flyers. AMSA has led the search effort with assistance from NSW Police, NSW SES and others Owner of the club's airstrip, Eric Johnston, told Daily Mail Australia Mr Stephens had served the club for about a year and was 'highly respected' by its members. AMSA first sounded the alarm when it was notified by Air Services Australia that an aircraft had missed its arrival time at Moruya Airport on Tuesday afternoon. Search efforts were led by the AMSA with assistance from NSW Police, NSW State Emergency Service, NSW National Parks and Wildlife service and Snowy Hydro. A spokesperson for NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia on Thursday evening crews were navigating 'steep terrain impacted by snow and foggy conditions'. Meanwhile, an AMSA Challenger rescue jet and two helicopters from Victoria and the ACT were continuing to conduct overhead searches. The plane was declared missing after it failed to make its landing at Moruya on Tuesday AMSA response centre duty manager Dan Gillis said search efforts were forging on through 'hazardous' ground conditions on Thursday afternoon. 'The ground crew are having significant challenges with access to the region, the trails are heavily snowed in, it's very rugged terrain and very steep alpine terrain that they're trying to navigate through,' he said. Temperatures at Khancoban ranged between five and ten degrees Celsius on Tuesday with snow showers forecast at higher altitudes. Further showers are expected to take place on Friday with temperatures falling as low as minus one degree Celsius. A British hiker who went missing in Italy while on holiday has tragically been found dead near where he sent his final texts to friends. Matthew Hall, 33, disappeared on July 9 after sending a message to friends saying he was lost shortly after heading into the mountains. Search teams spotted his body in a crevice a short distance from where he sent the messages and a helicopter had to be used to recover him because of the high risk to rescuers. IT worker Matthew had been staying in a B&B at Valchiavenna near Sondrio when he disappeared and the owner raised the alarms after he failed to check out. Friends of Mr Hall, who was from Hull and worked for broadband firm Quickline had flown out to join the hunt and his mother Sara Foster had also arrived to help. In a last text sent to friend Jacob White at 13.37 BST on the day he went missing, Mr Hall had told him he thought he had taken 'a wrong turn' on a trail and was 'having a rest'. Mr White said Mr Hall 'sounded relaxed' in the text, with the latter asking him about his own holiday in Cornwall. He added that his friend 'sounded as if any danger he might have seen was over'. Matthew Hall, 33, disappeared on July 9 after sending a message to friends saying he was lost shortly after heading into the mountains A search effort was launched when Mr Hall failed to show up for checkout at the local bed and breakfast where he was staying Mr Hall, who was described as a 'competent walker' had arrived in Italy in July 8 for a four day hiking break. Pictured: Gole del Cardinello canyon, Valchiavenna He had also sent a picture of a landmark at Alpe Daloo near San Giacomo Filippo to friends and family which is on a well known path and search teams used this as the focal point for the hunt. Mr Hall, who was described as a 'competent walker' had arrived in Italy in July 8 for a four day hiking break in the Valchiavenna range and drones and dogs had been used in the search before the tragic discovery. Lt Gim Toni De Masi, of the local carabinieri police, told MailOnline: 'The body of the missing man was found at around 7pm on Wednesday night. 'He was around 200m below the cross where he had sent a picture, in a crevice in a very dangerous area and a helicopter had to be used to recover him. 'We received a call saying someone had spotted something and a team was sent back up the mountain to have a look and the discovery was made. 'His mother, who has only just arrived in Italy, has been informed and I understand his father is due to arrive here on Friday. 'It is not the outcome we were hoping for, and we send our condolences to his friends and family. 'His body was taken to a local hospital in Sondrio and the prosecutor has been informed as per procedure but as it looks like an accident his body will be repatriated shortly.' Friends of Mr Hall, who was from Hull and worked for broadband firm Quickline had flown out to join the hunt and his mother Sara Foster had also arrived to help In the days after his arrival in Italy, the B&B hosts noticed Mr Hall never collected his breakfast - but weren't concerned and simply assumed he'd left early for a walk. But when he did not return for checkout on July 11, alarm bells started to ring. The next day, the hotel owners entered Mr Hall's room and found all his personal belongings and documents inside, but not his backpack. His phone was turned off. They contacted the police, who launched a manhunt on July 13. The operation involved the Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza, and the Alpine Rescue team. An FCDO Spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities.' A six-year-old boy who allegedly killed a newborn baby in a French maternity ward had been left to roam the wards unattended and referred to the victim as 'my doll', witnesses have claimed. Police launched a criminal inquiry into the horror that unfolded at the Rainbow ward at the Jeanne-de-Flandre Children's Hospital in the northern city of Lille, France, on Friday, July 11. Baby Zayneb-Cassandra who was born by caesarean section to parents Mohamed-Hamza and Sephora, and survived despite being around six weeks premature was found lying unresponsive on the floor beside her crib with a traumatic brain injury. The boy, who was found standing on a chair beside her, is believed to have plucked the tiny baby from her crib and dropped her on the floor. The boy and the baby were discovered by Delphine, a young woman who had recently given birth herself, who rushed into the room after hearing what she described as a 'loud bang'. Zayneb was resuscitated twice, but she died from her injuries on Tuesday after spending the weekend on life support. Delphine, 20, later told Le Parisien that the boy in question had been disruptive for days and was not being supervised as his mother was also recovering from giving birth. 'He was running around everywhere and had already touched a baby in a stroller,' Delphine said. Meanwhile, Karima, a cousin of Zayneb's grieving father alleged that the boy had fixated on Zayneb, calling her 'my doll', and had likely touched her unsupervised a day prior to her fall. 'The day before, Zayneb had already been found without a diaper or electrodes, wet and suffering from hypothermia,' Karima claimed. The horror unfolded at the Jeanne-de-Flandre Children's Hospital in the northern city of Lille Zayneb's grieving father Mohamed-Hamza told French press that he will 'fight to identify those responsible' for the tragedy Now, questions are mounting as to how the boy was able to gain access to Zayneb's crib in the neonatal unit alone, despite being reported as a 'disruptive presence' in the hospital. Karima explained how the boy was running riot in the halls for days after being dropped off at the hospital each morning by his father. 'The father would drop him off in the ward from 7am to 8pm,' she said. Zayneb's grandmother, Fatma, told the Voix du Nord newspaper: 'The boy would arrive at 7am and spend all day running up and down the hallways. 'All the mothers were complaining, and a nurse even warned the child's mother that there was a problem. He was entering the other rooms. 'He also entered Zayneb's room for the first time. He said she looked like a doll, and my husband, who was there, took him out.' 'It seems he tried to grab her by her nappy, and she fell on her head,' Fatma concluded. 'My family is destroyed... My daughter is devastated. Coming home without her baby is inconceivable.' Zayneb's distraught father, Mohamed-Hamza, told Le Parisien he doesn't blame the boy who allegedly caused his daughter's life-ending injuries, but hit out at the hospital for their lack of care. 'Every six-year-old is a little disruptive. I don't blame the mother; she had just given birth... But the child should have been supervised,' the 23-year-old declared. Fatma added that she had to push medical staff to arrange psychological support for her inconsolable daughter-in-law after she was informed her child had died. Mohamed-Hamza's cousin Karima alleged that the six-year-old boy had fixated on Zayneb, calling her 'my doll', and had likely touched her unsupervised a day prior to her fall An NHS neonatal nurse told MailOnline that it is highly unusual for babies in the neonatal ward to be left alone and that the six-year-old boy should never have been able to access the room where Zayneb was lying. 'Never, under any circumstances, can a neonatal ward be left unsupervised... you always need to have at least one nurse in the room,' she said. A criminal investigation into the tragedy was opened this week by the juvenile unit of the Lille Judicial Police Service, in conjunction with local prosecutors. 'Investigations are currently underway in this case,' said a spokesperson for Lille prosecutors. The hospital also announced the opening of 'an internal administrative investigation'. A spokesperson said: 'This human tragedy has deeply affected the staff and teams of Lille University Children's Hospital, as well as the other families present.' A separate statement provided to French press acknowledged 'a particularly serious and upsetting exceptional event, unrelated to care'. 'The thoughts of the University Hospital professionals are first and foremost with the young victim, her family, and her loved ones,' it read. The hospital also added that 'measures to strictly limit visits to the neonatal units of the Lille University Hospital have been taken as a precautionary measure'. Mohamed-Hamza and Sephora have not yet filed an official complaint, but dismissed the statement. 'It won't bring my daughter back... But we're waiting for answers. There was a breach, and I'm going to fight to identify those responsible. 'Justice will do its job,' he told Le Parisien. Two security guards working at an hotel housing asylum seekers in Essex have been left with serious injuries in what police called a 'racially aggravated' attack. The stewards, both male, were assaulted by a group of men at a bus stop on Epping's High Road, close to the town's Bell Hotel - an asylum hotel that was the target of a large anti-immigration protest at the weekend. Community anger has flared in Epping after an Ethiopian migrant was accused of a series of sexual assaults close to the hotel, just days after allegedly arriving in Britain via a small boat. A protest was staged outside the Bell days after 38-year-old Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu allegedly attacked a woman and two teenagers, during which the security staff were both ambushed. Police say the workers were 'seriously assaulted' by a group of men at a bus stop in High Road before they staggered past the protest into the hotel to get help. Video footage shared from the weekend showed a man in a white shirt walking into the hotel with a bloody head injury. Detectives are treating the attack, which left the pair with serious but not life-threatening injuries, as racially aggravated. Two days later, a man was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and criminal damage after allegedly shouting racial abuse at the hotel and causing damage to the building. Protesters and counter-protesters outside The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex after a man was charged with a series of sexual assaults A man was left with serious injuries during the July 13 protest. Police say two security guards were ambushed at a bus stop in a 'racially aggravated' attack He has been released on bail as police continue to make enquiries. In the meantime, Essex Police chiefs have pleaded for calm in the community amid rising tensions. Specifically, they have urged people not to speculate on the offences allegedly committed by Ethiopian national Kebatu, 38, in order to avoid derailing the case. Kebatu was remanded in custody last Thursday after he was charged with three counts of sexual assault, one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence. He is said to have arrived in Britain on June 29 - and denies all wrongdoing. Superintendent Tim Tubbs said: 'I am acutely aware of the strength of feeling locally, specifically on an ongoing police investigation which at this stage has seen one man charged with a number of sexual offences. 'That case is continuing to progress through court and the suspect was remanded into custody after a hearing last week. 'We know there is significant discussion about this ongoing case within the community and indeed further afield. 'As the police, we must be limited in what we say whilst a criminal investigation is progressing through the courts and the last thing we want is for any public discussion to hinder an ongoing prosecution.' Supt Tubbs added that police were not seeking to curtail free speech in asking the public to moderate their views for the time being. Community anger spilled over outside the Bell Hotel on Sunday, with protesters calling for asylum seekers to 'go home' Graffiti daubed on the windows of the Bell Hotel reads 'Go Home', 'This is Englad (sic)' and 'Die' A man thought to be one of the security guards attacked close to the Bell Hotel is helped inside by police Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu (pictured) has been charged with sexually assaulting three women, including two teenagers The Bell Hotel has been housing asylum seekers for the Home Office for the last five years Supt Tubbs added: 'We understand people's right to make their voices heard on issues which matter to them. We don't seek to stifle this. 'People who do this peacefully, lawfully and responsibly cause us and the wider public no concern. 'However, we can never and will never tolerate criminal violence of any sort and anyone identified as committing crime will be dealt with robustly. 'There will continue to be a very visible policing presence in Epping in the coming days to ensure the safety of our community. 'If you've got concerns or information you feel we need to know, please do not hesitate to contact those officers.' Following Kebatu's arrest, protesters descended on the Bell Hotel on July 13, daubing slogans such as 'This is Englad (sic)', 'Die' and 'Go Home' on the windows. They held St George's Cross flags inscribed with 'Save Our Kids' and 'Send Them Home' - met by a counter-protest organised by Stand Up To Racism, who waved signs reading 'Refugees Welcome'. Some shouted obscenities at the hotel. One was heard screaming 'Go home you c***, go home. F*** off back on your boat and go'. The anger directed at the Bell Hotel has impacted some of its residents. Migrant Ismael Wani, from Kuwait, told MailOnline he was punched in the head by a gang of men who got out of two cars and told him to 'f*** off back home'. Home Official officials began using hotels to house asylum seekers on a large scale five years ago as they struggled to cope with the ever-growing backlog of claims. Anti-migration protesters sit with a sign reading 'Send Them Home!' outside the Bell Hotel on Sunday A counter-protest organised by Stand Up To Racism saw others wave signs reading 'Stop the Far Right' and 'Refugees Welcome' A shirtless man found his way onto the roof of the Bell Hotel during Sunday's protests. Police have urged for calm in the local area Chris Whitbread, leader of the local Epping Forest District Council, said his authority had 'consistently and repeatedly' opposed the use of the Bell Hotel to house migrants, calling it 'entirely inappropriate' and 'reckless'. The Bell Hotel has been housing asylum seekers for around five years - a fact that has not gone unnoticed by right-wing activists. Julian Leppert, a local councillor who represented the anti-Islam For Britain movement and once stood for the British National Party, was accused of inciting racial hatred after he posted an incendiary video on YouTube in 2020. The video, called The Epping Migrant Hotel Scandal, claimed the Bell Hotel was being used by asylum seekers and illegal immigrants who had travelled to Britain to exploit the benefits system. Leppert - who once suggested to the Guardian he advocated for some areas being all-white - claimed that provisions from a food bank were being diverted away from local people and that the new residents of the hotel were driving a new crime wave. The one-time BNP man, who also once had to deny his car's number plate resembled the word 'Nazi' - was also asked to substantiate his claims by council bosses and was sanctioned for breaching its code of conduct when he could not do so. In response, Epping Forest District Council published a 'myth-busting' leaflet to counter 'unfounded rumours' that had circulated on social media leaving many residents 'unnecessarily alarmed'. It featured council housing portfolio holder - and Mr Whitbread's daughter - Holly Whitbread stating that the hotel had 'no negative impact on local residents'. She has since promoted a petition seeking the Bell's closure on social media. It has collected 6,700 signatures to date. A racist who was caught releasing rats into a mosque has avoided jail - despite doing it four times. The CCTV footage showed Edmund Fowler, 66, letting a rat out of a cage onto the ground of the Grand Mosque in Sheffield on June 2. A court heard Fowler, from the South Yorkshire city, drove to the place of worship in his Audi four times between May and June and filmed himself doing it. During these visits, he was also seen shouting racist insults at worshippers going into the mosque. After he was arrested, he was subsequently charged with four counts of racially aggravated harassment, which he pleaded guilty to at an earlier hearing at the same court on June 27. The CCTV footage shows Edmund Fowler letting a rat out of a cage onto the ground of the Grand Mosque in Sheffield at 9:32am on June 2 The 66-year-old is caught taking the cage with the rodent inside out of the boot of his black Audi before releasing it A court heard Fowler, from the South Yorkshire city, drove to the place of worship four times between May and June and filmed himself doing it Police were notified of his offences after they were called to the mosque following reports of a man stopping at the side of the road and releasing three rats from the boot of a vehicle. Yesterday, at Sheffield Magistrates Court, he was sentenced to 18 weeks in prison, suspended for 18 months, and banned from going near a mosque for 18 months. He must also undertake 15 rehabilitation activity days and is banned from going to certain areas of the city. Fowler was also ordered to pay 239 in costs. Both South Yorkshire Police and the Grand Mosque have been approached for a comment. Labour rebels sounded defiance today after Keir Starmer attempted to restore his authority over the party - saying he will not be 'deflected' from reforms. The PM has moved to suspend the whip from four MPs, and fired three more from trade envoy roles, in the wake of the humiliating welfare revolt. Rachael Maskell, Brian Leishman, Chris Hinchliff and Neil Duncan-Jordan are now sitting as independents after being punished for behaviour that was branded 'persistent kn**headery'. At a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merc this evening, Sir Keir insisted he could not tolerate people breaking ranks in votes. 'Everyone was elected as a Labour MP on the manifesto,' he said. Earlier, Home Office minister Jess Phillips jibed at those who went against the leadership: 'What did you think was going to happen?' However, others who participated in the rebellion warned that Sir Keir - who last week suggested he is a 'hard b***ard' - has made things worse by attempting 'command and control'. The action came yesterday as Westminster prepares to head into its summer break next week. Keir Starmer moved to suspend the whip from four MPs, and fired three more from trade envoy roles, in the wake of the humiliating welfare revolt Home Office minister Jess Phillips said that Sir Keir could not 'govern' without enforcing 'discipline', jibing at those who went against the leadership: 'What did you think was going to happen?' Rachael Maskell (left), the York Central MP, was a leading figure in the insurrection last month that forced the PM and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to all-but abandon plans to trim the UK's spending on disability hand-outs Ms Maskell, the York Central MP, was a leading figure in the insurrection last month that forced the PM and Chancellor Rachel Reeves to all-but abandon plans to trim the UK's spending on disability hand-outs. The others have all clashed with the government over welfare and other issues including Net Zero and relaxing planning rules. Former shadow minister Rosena Allin Khan, Bell Ribeiro-Addy and Mohammed Yasin have been stripped of their roles as trade envoys. All seven voted against the Universal Credit Bill, even after ministers removed every contentious change to personal injury payments (PIP) that it contained. Asked on BBC Radio 4's Today programme if Labour MPs needed to show more loyalty, Ms Maskell said: 'I think the learning from this is that there's got to be more listening and that's got to be reciprocated'. 'I don't see myself as a ringleader,' she said. 'I joined with other colleagues who had similar concerns about this legislation. 'You know, we ultimately do believe that cutting money from some of the poorest in our society is not what the Labor Government should be doing. 'We should be ensuring those people are taken out of poverty, have the support that they need.' Former frontbencher Barry Gardiner told BBC Newsnight: 'I'm sorry that today it would appear that a hard line has been adopted. 'I don't think it helps the party, I don't think it helps No10. 'We want to be a united party taking what is an incredibly progressive agenda forward. 'But there needs to be that better way of listening to each other, engaging with each other and not thinking that if somebody disagrees with us they have to be disciplined. 'A political party is not something you can command and control.' Clive Lewis, Richard Burgon and Jon Trickett were among other Labour MPs voicing solidarity with colleagues who had been punished. But Ms Phillips told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: 'There has to be an element of discipline otherwise you end up not being able to govern.' She added: 'I am a plain speaker and I will tell you that I disagree often with directions that are going on, and I spend time working with colleagues, both on the back and front benches, ensuring that we discuss those things. Some Labour MPs have voiced solidarity with their suspended colleagues 'I think that constantly taking to the airwaves and slagging off your own Government, I have to say, what did you think was going to happen?' Ms Phillips said she spoke out 'against things I do not like, both internally and sometimes externally, all the time'. 'There is a manner of doing that that is the right way to go about it. And sometimes you feel forced to rebel and vote against,' she said. Referring to a description of the rebels by an unnamed source in The Times, she said: 'I didn't call it persistent knobheadery, but that's the way that it's been termed by some.' She said she would have described it as 'something much more sweary' because 'we are a team, and we have to act as a team in order to achieve something'. Former MasterChef contestant Aasmah Mir has hit out at sacked presenter John Torode for not intervening after an 'incredibly inappropriate' comment from Gregg Wallace. The Scottish broadcaster, 53, appeared on the show in 2017 and subsequently complained about the behaviour of Wallace. She claimed he asked her to tell a colleague at the BBC that she was a 'sexy b****' and said he told a fellow contestant she was 'handling fish like a rapist'. She was one of 83 people to make allegations against the BBC star, with a report this week from production company Banijay saying that 45 of the complaints had been upheld against the presenter. Torode was then sacked after the same report upheld an allegation of racist language. Speaking on Good Morning Britain today, Aasmah Mir said while she did not experience any issues from Torode, she was appalled at the way he did not intervene while Wallace made inappropriate comments towards her. She said: 'I don't know how many of the allegations he witnessed. 'What I know is Gregg Wallace used an incredibly inappropriate term and John Torode didn't do anything. I mean there was no emotion. Aasmah Mir appeared on Celebrity MasterChef in 2017 and subsequently complained about the behaviour of Gregg Wallace Speaking today, Mir said she said John Torode did not intervene after Gregg's comments Aasmah Mir shared her experience on social media in a post last year 'I mean there was no emotion. That could have been for a lot of things, that could be because it was 2017, it had been going since 2005. There had been a complaint made in 2005 by Kirsty Whark, maybe he had just become used to it? 'You would expect some emotion on his face, maybe he was just used to it. 'That is not his fault necessarily, that is Gregg Wallace's for putting him in that position.' The comment was made after Mir has just made her first dish on the show and had walked up to present it to Torode and Wallace. Asked by Richard Madeley if Torode had heard the comment, Mir replied: 'Yes. There is a screengrab of me putting my dish down and John Torode and Gregg Wallace are both there. So he definitely heard it.' Mir later told the presenters that she 'felt sorry for Gregg Wallace'. She said: 'I feel sorry for him. I do feel sorry for Gregg Wallace because of the neurodivergence which is quite obvious here. 'But someone at the production company should have stepped in earlier and said this is not acceptable - we wouldn't have the mess we are in today.' John Torode was sacked from the show after a report found he used 'extremely racist language' Gregg Wallace was also sacked from the show after 45 allegations against him were upheld Last year Aasmah Mir posted a cryptic message on social media where she wrote: 'Always keep your receipts.' Alongside the message was a photo of Ms Mir while on the show, standing in an apron next to the iconic MasterChef logo. She later posted again about her experience, writing: 'In 2017 I took part in Celebrity MasterChef. I put my first dish down in front of the judges and the cameras paused to reset. 'In front of everyone, Gregg Wallace told me to tell a colleague at the BBC "that she was a sexy b****." 'No-one said anything. And yes I did complain.' She added: 'I left the competition first. But two female contestants including Ulrika Jonsson told me afterwards that he had told another contestant that the way she was handling fish "looked like a rapist doing foreplay".' MasterChef bosses are reportedly pushing to air Gregg Wallace and John Torode's final series 'when the dust settles' after they were both sacked from the cooking show Aasmah Mir spoke on Good Morning Britain where she admitted she 'felt sorry' for Gregg Wallace Meanwhile Torode was dramatically axed from MasterChef - hours after the BBC's director general refused to back him over an allegation of using racist language. The corporation said the host's contract would not be renewed after a report found he had used an 'extremely offensive racist term' during drinks after filming the show. The complaint against Torode was revealed in the report into co-presenter Gregg's inappropriate behaviour. Wallace, 60, was sacked after dozens of complaints against him were upheld. It comes as reports suggest the Australian chef could take legal action against the BBC after he was sacked from MasterChef. Sources suggest the chef is 'preparing to launch a lawsuit against the BBC' and wants to pursue bosses for unfair dismissal. 'Hes telling people there is no proof of his supposed comment. It was not in a work capacity, it was just hearsay. John is determined to clear his name,' sources told The Mirror. But, such legal action may prove impossible for Torode as sources told MailOnline his contract was with Banijay rather than the BBC. The BBC and production company Banijay plan to air both the amateur and celebrity editions 'once the dust has settled' The Australian chef was dramatically axed from MasterChef - hours after the BBC's director general refused to back him over an allegation of using racist language. The complaint against John was revealed in the report into co-presenter Gregg's inappropriate behaviour Torode identified himself on Monday as an unnamed person in the report who was accused of using 'racist language'. However, the presenter said 'he had absolutely no recollection' of the incident and did 'not believe that it happened'. But in a statement yesterday, the BBC said: 'This allegation - which involves an extremely offensive racist term being used in the workplace - was investigated and substantiated by the independent investigation led by the law firm Lewis Silkin. 'The BBC takes this upheld finding extremely seriously. 'We will not tolerate racist language of any kind and we told Banijay UK, the makers of MasterChef, that action must be taken. John Torode's contract on MasterChef will not be renewed.' Hours before the announcement, BBC director general Tim Davie had refused to back Torode and said he expected 'action to be taken' over the allegation. Responding to his sacking, Torode, who is married to actress and former Celebrity MasterChef contestant Lisa Faulkner, said: 'I'd hoped that I'd have some say in my exit from a show I've worked on since its relaunch in 2005, but events in the last few says seem to have prevented that.' He said he 'had loved every minute' working on the show but it was 'time to pass the cutlery to someone else'. The upcoming series' - which have already been filmed - features former I'm A Celeb star and restaurant critic Grace Dent , who replaced Gregg to co-host with John 'Life is ever changing and ever moving and sometimes personal happiness and fulfilment lay elsewhere,' he added. MasterChef bosses are reportedly pushing to air Gregg Wallace and John Torode's final series 'when the dust settles' after they were both sacked from the cooking show. The upcoming series' - which have already been filmed - features former I'm A Celeb star and restaurant critic Grace Dent, who replaced Wallace to co-host with Torode. The Sun reports that The BBC and production company Banijay plan to air both the amateur and celebrity editions. However, MailOnline understands BBC director general Tim Davie, who has the final say, has not yet made his decision on whether MasterChef will or will not be aired. At least 61 people have died after a huge fire ripped through a shopping mall in Iraq, with a survivor saying the inferno began after an air conditioning unit exploded. Officials have launched an investigation into the blaze at the newly-opened six-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall in the city of Kut, where men, women and children were said to be shopping last night. The blaze reportedly began on the first floor of the building before tearing through the entire block, with horrifying video showing the block engulfed by flames and smoke. Harrowing footage circulating on social media appears to show people on the roof as the flames rose up the building. It is unclear whether they were rescued. Firefighters rescued a number of people from the building, local media reports. Ambulances were still taking casualties to hospital until 4am local time. Chilling pictures of the aftermath this morning show the building completely blackened and burned out, with firefighters still at the scene. Searches were continuing for the missing in the building's wreckage this morning. A medical source said there are 'many unidentified bodies,' with the dead said to include men, women and children. Iraq's interior ministry said in a statement: 'The tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified.' Horrifying videos show the six-storey building ablaze as fire engines tried to douse it with water The blaze tore through the newly-opened six-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall last night Aerial footage of the fire shows how it spread quickly through the shopping mall as people watched in horror Officials have launched an investigation into the blaze at the newly-opened six-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall in the city of Kut Grief-stricken relatives attend the scene of the blaze in Kut, Iraq, as search efforts continued this morning The destroyed facade of the new shopping centre is seen in the aftermath of the blaze, which claimed dozens of lives Civil defence teams rescued more than 45 people who were trapped inside the five-storey building, which includes a restaurant and a supermarket, the interior ministry said. The blaze broke out late Wednesday, reportedly starting on the first floor before rapidly engulfing the building. It is just the latest disaster in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected. The cause of last night's tragedy was not immediately known, but one survivor said that an air conditioner had exploded. Ambulances were still ferrying casualties to hospitals as late as 4:00 am, with wards in Kut - around 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad - overwhelmed. An AFP correspondent said the mall had only opened five days earlier and reported seeing charred bodies at the province's forensic department. Though the fire was eventually contained, firefighters continued searching for missing victims. Videos posted on social media showed distraught relatives waiting at the hospital for news, some collapsing in grief. One man sat on the ground, pounding his chest and crying out, 'Oh my father, oh my heart'. Firefighters rescued a number of people from the building, local media reports. Ambulances were still taking casualties to hospital until 4am local time Iraqi Security forces gather in front of the burned out hypermarket building in Kut Chilling pictures of the aftermath this morning show the building completely blackened and burned out, with firefighters still at the scene Military personnel sit in a vehicle near the wreckage of the shopping centre after a massive overnight fire killed dozens Dozens of people gathered outside the hospital checking ambulances as they arrived, some of them overcome with emotion. One of them, Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, said he lost five family members in the fire. 'A disaster has befallen us,' he told AFP. 'We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home. 'An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted - and we couldn't escape.' Governor Miyahi declared three days of mourning and said local authorities would file a lawsuit against the mall's owner and the building contractor. 'The tragedy is a major shock... and requires a serious review of all safety measures,' he said. Onlookers gather in front of a charred building after a fire tore through the newly opened Hyper Mall overnight in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a 'thorough probe' into the fire to identify 'shortcomings' and prevent further incidents. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Shiite Islam's highest authority in Iraq, offered condolences to the victims' families. Safety standards in Iraq's construction sector are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, is often the scene of fatal fires and accidents. Fires increase during the blistering summer as temperatures approach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). In September 2023, a fire killed at least 100 people when it ripped through a crowded Iraqi wedding hall, sparking a panicked stampede for the exits. In July 2021, a fire in the Covid unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people. A woman allegedly labelled 'bad-tempered' by her late father is suing her elder sister after she and her brother were left just 250 in his 600,000 will whilst her other sibling was handed almost everything else. Laxmikant Patel handed the 600,000 family home in Harrow, north-west London, to eldest daughter, Anju Patel, 58, labelled the 'light of her father's life'. Younger daughter Bhavenetta Stewart-Brown, 52, and son Piyush Patel, 62, were given the meagre sum because, Anju claimed, their father felt they had 'failed in their sense of duty' as his children. He gave them the token sum because 'as a father, I have not forgotten them', she claimed - sparking a fierce legal challenge from Mrs Stewart-Brown. She claims that her father did not 'know and approve' of his will's contents, finding it 'odd' that it was written in English, which he allegedly could not read properly. She is seeking to uphold an earlier will splitting the 600,000 estate almost equally between the three, but Anju insists her father had every reason to cut out her siblings. The High Court was told that Piyush Patel had been, in his father's eyes, a 'hugely controlling figure' who had declined to scatter his dead mum's ashes in India. Laxmikant also claimed Mrs Stewart-Brown - an inspector with the Care Quality Commission - 'apparently has a bad temper' and 'has taken massive advantage of her father'. Bhavenetta Stewart-Brown outside the High Court. She is fighting for a greater share of her late father's estate after being given just 250 Elder sister Anju Patel, who claims that her father shunned her siblings because they had failed him as children Judge Deputy Master Jason Raeburn heard Laxmikant Patel was a gentle and hard-working character who had carved out a new life for his family after migrating from Uganda in the early 1970s. He worked shifts at the Ford motor plant in Dagenham while his wife, Shardaben, ran a newsagent's. A devoutly religious man, Laxmikant attended the Swaminarayan temple in Neasden, north London, every day and he and his wife donated around 180,000 to the temple throughout their lives before his death at the age of 85 in October 2021. In his previous will of October 2019 he had split his estate equally save for an extra 50,000 bequest to Anju to balance out similar amounts he had previously handed to his other two children. But Mrs Stewart-Brown's barrister, Timothy Sherwin, highlighted the allegedly 'odd' circumstances in which Laxmikant made his last August 2021 will, soon after he was diagnosed with lung cancer. He said Anju claimed that her dad gave instructions for his will to Vijaykant Patel, an associate of hers from their Hare Krishna temple. Vijaykant claimed to have also been a friend of her father's - a claim disputed in court - and came to visit him in his bed in London's Northwick Hospital. Mr Sherwin said that Vijaykant told Laxmikant he could draw up a will - despite not being a qualified lawyer. He said Vijaykant claims to have taken notes of the meeting, in which Laxmikant expressed 'revulsion' towards Mrs Stewart-Brown and Piyush, who he said were only 'after his property,' before declaring: 'everything goes to Anju.' Mr Sherwin added that Vijaykant was not a qualified lawyer, and that the execution of the will allegedly took place shortly after Mr Patel was admitted to hospital for lethargy and dizziness, coughing up blood. The home in Harrow, north-west London that was left to Laxmikant Patel's eldest daughter in the fiercely contested will Mrs Stewart-Brown claims her older sister drifted apart from the family after the age of 15 when she moved to India, later embracing the Hare Krishna creed over her family's Swaminarayan Hindu beliefs before 'rejoining' the family in 2018. The cutting out of Mrs Stewart-Brown and her brother was 'inexplicable', Mr Sherwin concluded. 'From 2019 onwards, however, Anju and (her husband) began to take much more involvement in the deceased's finances and personal affairs,' he added. 'They procured the 2019 will. They controlled access to the deceased, especially during the key period of August 2021. 'Further, they are Hare Krishna devotees, and they isolated the deceased from his previous dedication to the Swaminarayan faith, which he shared with his previous friends, and the other members of his family.' But Anju, who returned to live in the UK in 1983, has denied being distanced from her parents, with her barrister, James Kane, claiming she always 'shared a close and loving relationship' with them. From the witness box, Anju herself also insisted that she had only ever been distanced from Mrs Stewart-Brown and that there was no conflict between her and her parents. 'I wasn't estranged from my family, I was with my sister. She chose to disconnect from me,' she told the judge. Further, she claimed her father had become disillusioned with Mrs Stewart-Brown after she allegedly removed 'important documents' such as title deeds, insurance papers and bank statements from a locker or safe deposit box that was his. Her barrister Mr Kane added: 'The documentary evidence makes plain that by - at the latest - October 2019, Laxmikant had formed a sharply negative view of both Piyush and Bhavenetta. 'He asked his friend Vijaykant to draw up a will for him in favour of Anju, the child he felt had done most for him. 'Vijaykant did so and Laxmikant executed the will. The evidence of Vijaykant and the attesting witnesses is clear that Laxmikant knew perfectly well what the effect of executing the will would be and approved of it.' As executor of the estate, Vijaykant Patel is defending the claim alongside Anju, while the two sisters' older brother, Piyush, who lives in Texas, is taking a neutral stance. Diane Abbott sparked a new racism row today as she doubled down on claims about discrimination faced by Jews that got her suspended by Labour. The veteran backbencher used a BBC interview to say she had no regrets about her 2023 claim that anti-Semitism and anti-Traveller discrimination was not as bad as prejudice based on skin colour. And she reiterated the opinions aired in a letter to the Observer two years ago that led to her losing the whip and making a public apology. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Reflections programme, she said: 'Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don't know (what they are). 'I just think that it's silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism. 'I don't know why people would say that.' Her reiteration of her views will heap pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to take action against her as he did in 2023. A party spokesman said: 'There is no place for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. 'We take these comments incredibly seriously, and will assess them in line with the Labour Party's rules and procedures.' The veteran backbencher used a BBC interview to say she had no regrets about her 2023 claim that anti-Semitism and anti-Traveller discrimination was not as bad as prejudice based on skin colour. Her reiteration of her views will heap pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to take action against her as he did in 2023. It comes a day after he stripped the whip from four leftwing labour backbenchers for 'persistent breaches of party discipline' while blocking his welfare reforms. The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP was suspended by the Labour Party in 2023 after suggested that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience 'prejudice' but 'are not all their lives subject to racism'. 'They undoubtedly experience prejudice,' Ms Abbott wrote in the Observer. 'This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. 'It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. 'But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. 'In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.' She later issued a statement to 'wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them' as she blamed drafting 'errors'. But Labour pushed ahead with action against the ex-shadow minister in any case. The veteran MP made the controversial comments in a letter to the Observer newspaper in 2023 as she responded to a recent comment article Ms Abbott issued a public apology in 2023 to 'wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them' She was given the whip back before the 2024 election but was at the centre of a fresh party row then when attempts were made to stop her from running for re-election in her north London seat. She eventually was allowed to stand as a Labour candidate and won with a much reduced majority of 15,000 in one of the party's safest seats. The longest-serving female MP in the Commons, who entered Parliament in 1987, told the BBC last night she got a 'bit weary' about people labelling her anti-Semetic and said she had 'spent a lifetime fighting racism of all kinds'. She said she was 'grateful' to be a Labour MP but was sure the party leadership had been 'trying to get me out'. More than half of UK airports raised or introduced drop-off fees for drivers in the past year - while most of the busiest EU airports still have no charge, a study has found. Eleven out of 20 UK airports have increased 'kiss and fly' charges - typically levied for dropping off a passenger as close to a terminal as possible - since last summer. Nine airports raised their fees by 1 - Belfast City, Birmingham, Bristol, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Heathrow, Liverpool John Lennon, Newcastle and Southampton. Leeds Bradford and Glasgow both added 50p to their charges while Cardiff introduced a 3 fee having previously had no charge, according to the RAC. Luton had no kiss and fly area last summer because of a car park fire, but now charges 5. Prices were frozen at Aberdeen, Belfast International, Bournemouth, East Midlands, Manchester and Stansted. London City was the only UK airport analysed which allows free drop-offs outside its terminal. On a cost-per-minute basis, the most expensive airports are Luton and Manchester, where drivers have to spend 5 to stop for just five minutes. London Heathrow Airport is now charging 6 for drop-offs, up from the previous 5 last year Your browser does not support iframes. These 1-per-minute drop-off rates mean the cost of a return flight from Manchester to Turkey in August is cheaper on a per-minute basis. This is based on a flight to Istanbul taking four hours and five minutes each way, with return tickets on a major carrier available for 415 return in economy, on August 9 to 23. 'Kiss and fly' charges for each airport 7: Bristol, Gatwick, Leeds Bradford, Southampton and Stansted. 6: Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heathrow and Liverpool John Lennon. 5.50: Aberdeen. 5: Bournemouth, East Midlands, Luton, Manchester and Newcastle. 4: Belfast City. 3: Belfast International and Cardiff. 0: London City Advertisement Flying from Luton to Istanbul on the same dates costs 275 return and takes four hours and ten minutes each way. That makes the flight nearly double the price per minute of the five-minute drop off at Luton (55p versus 1). The RAC also found there is no fee for dropping off at eight of the ten busiest EU airports, such as Paris Charles de Gaulle, Frankfurt, Rome, Barcelona and Madrid. RAC senior policy officer Rod Dennis said this makes increases in fees at UK airports 'all the more depressing'. He went on: 'The sky really does seem to be the limit when it comes to the amount drivers get charged for making the briefest of stops to let friends or loved ones out to catch a flight.' Mr Dennis said the main reason passengers get dropped off at airports is because they have bulky luggage, which means taking public transport 'can be impractical'. He acknowledged that many UK airports offer free options for dropping passengers off in car parks which require a walk or bus ride to the terminal. But he claimed these areas are 'often well away from the terminal' and drivers wanting to help a passenger get to the terminal will 'often end up overstaying the free period'. Mr Dennis also expressed concern over the growing trend of airports replacing on-site payment with a barrierless system requiring payment to be made online or by phone. 'Anyone who doesn't notice the change or simply forgets to pay will inevitably be stung with a very unwelcome parking charge notice,' he added. Your browser does not support iframes. The drop-off zone outside London Stansted Airport in Essex, which costs 7 for 15 minutes Karen Dee, chief executive of trade body AirportsUK, said: 'All airports offer a free drop-off facility. 'They also have a wide variety of options to suit all passengers' needs, including premium drop-off in front of the terminal building for those who wish to use that. 'Where fees are charged, this helps airports manage and reduce congestion, noise, carbon emissions and air pollution for local communities, something that they are mandated to do by the Government and local authorities. 'These charges are a part of the airport business model and help enable the provision of the widest variety of flights from the airport.' The top 20 airports were selected based on total passenger numbers reported to the Civil Aviation Authority for 2024 with the figures based on nearest drop-off points to terminal buildings. Investigations into the Air India plane crash are looking into the captain, who remained calm as the first officer panicked about the fuel supply to the engines being cut off. A black-box recording of their conversation suggests that it was the captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, who turned off the switches, according to sources close to the US side of the probe. The Wall Street Journal reports that US pilots who have reviewed the Indian investigation believe first officer Clive Kunder, who was flying the aircraft, would probably have had his hands full trying to keep the Boeing Dreamliner steady. That responsibility would have left the captain, who was acting as the monitoring pilot, free to oversee the operation and possibly make adjustments. According to the official report, two crucial switches were flipped off one after the other, exactly a second apart. Ten seconds later, both switches were turned back on. In a preliminary summary of the exchange between pilots one asked the other why he moved the switches, while the other denied doing so. The jetliner slammed into the ground near Ahmedabad airport, bursting into flames and killing all but one of the 242 people on board. The report comes after investigators focused on the pilots' medical records as it's claimed one of them had depression and mental health issues. The switches' 'locking feature' meant pilots had to lift them up before changing their position - they are not simple push buttons that can be accidentally turned off. Investigations into the Air India plane crash are reportedly examining Captain Sumeet Sabharwal's (pictured) medical records amid allegations that he had depression and mental health issues Captain Sumeet Sabharwal was piloting the Boeing 787 Dreamliner with co-pilot Clive Kunder (pictured) when it plummeted into a residential area killing 241 people on board and claiming 19 more lives of those on the ground Now, investigations into the tragic crash (pictured) have begun to analyse the behaviour of the pilot, with Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a leading aviation safety expert in India, revealing that 'several' Air India pilots had confirmed that the well-experienced pilot had suffered from poor mental health Now, investigations into the tragic crash have begun to analyse the behaviour of the pilot. Captain Mohan Ranganathan, a leading aviation safety expert in India, has revealed that 'several' Air India pilots had allegedly confirmed that the experienced pilot had suffered from poor mental health. Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he claimed: 'He had taken time off from flying in the last three to four years. He had taken medical leave for that. Captain Sabharwal is also understood to have taken bereavement leave after the death of his mother, though it is believed by Mr Ranganathan that he had been 'medically cleared' by Air India prior to the fatal crash last month. In Powai, Mumbai, one of Captain Sabharwal's former colleagues described him as a 'thorough gentleman', telling the publication that he believed 'he was actually considering early retirement in the next couple of years', with plans to look after his elderly father, aged 90. In his short career, co-pilot Clive Kunder, 28, had logged more than 3,400 hours. The Telegraph said that while Air India declined to comment, an official working with their parent company, Tata Group, told the publication that Captain Sabharwal had not taken any medical leave, with the preliminary report failing to obtain any significant findings. Seconds after taking off on June 12, two fuel switches in the cockpit of Air India Flight 171 were turned off, a preliminary report revealed on Sunday. Now, Captain Sabharwal is understood to have taken bereavement leave after the death of his mother, though it is believed by Mr Ranganathan that he had been 'medically cleared' by Air India The plane momentarily disappeared from view behind trees and buildings before a massive fireball erupted on the horizon in this horrifying clip Pictures show the devastation after the plane crashed into a residential building. In Powai, Mumbai, one of Captain Sabharwal's former colleagues told the Daily Telegraph that he was a 'thorough gentleman' They added that within the last two years, both pilots onboard the flight had passed the Class I medical exam, which makes an evaluation of their psycho-physical capabilities. On Sunday, a preliminary report released by the Indian authorities led to questions about why the pilot would have manually turned the switches off - and whether it was a deliberate act or a catastrophic mistake. The report said: 'In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other: why did he cut off? The other pilot responded that he did not do so.' Pilots will turn the fuel switches on and off at the correct times in every flight, but this time the fuel was cut off straight after takeoff and the landing gear was not raised. The co-pilot was flying the aircraft at the time of takeoff while the captain was monitoring. The report added that the switches were flipped back to 'run' seconds afterwards, which started the process of relighting the engines. One of the engines had relit but had not gained power while the other was in the process of regaining power. At the crash site, but switches were found in the 'run' position. People look at the debris of an Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad of India's Gujarat state. Before the flight, both pilots had an adequate rest period and were found 'fit to operate' following a breath analyser test, the report said A graphic displaying how the lever on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner works After losing altitude, it came into contact with Building A at 293ft at the angle illustrated above Before the flight, both pilots had an adequate rest period and were found 'fit to operate' following a breath analyser test, the report said. There were no dangerous goods on the plane and the weight was 'within allowable limits'. Fuel samples taken from the tanks were tested and found to be 'satisfactory' and there was 'no significant bird activity' observed in and around the flight path of the aircraft. But Mr Ranganthan previously suggested it may have been deliberate. Each lever has to be pulled upwards to be unlocked, before it can be flipped and they also have further protective guard brackets to safeguard against any bumps and nudges. Explaining that he believed it 'had to be done manually', Mr Ranganathan told NDTV of the fuel levers: 'The fuel selectors they aren't the sliding type they are always in a slot. 'They are to pull them out or move them up or down, so the question of them moving inadvertently out of off position doesn't happen. It's a case of deliberate manual selection.' He later said 'nothing else' would explain why both switches were moved into the off position just after take off, alleging: 'It had to be deliberately done.' CCTV footage (pictured) from the airport shows the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) being deployed as the aircraft lifts off. Ameen Siddiqui, 28, whose brother-in-law, Akeel Nanabawa, died alongside his wife and their four-year-old daughter said: 'This report is wrong. We don't accept it' Firefighters work at the site of the crash near Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport When questioned if he was suggesting one of the pilots 'deliberately' switched off the fuel lever, while fully aware of the possibility of a crash, he answered: 'Absolutely', before asserting they were looking at a potential 'pilot-induced crash'. But relatives of some of the victims of the crash have accused the airline and the Indian government of trying to blame the pilots for the crash. Ameen Siddiqui, 28, whose brother-in-law, Akeel Nanabawa, died alongside his wife and their four-year-old daughter said: 'This report is wrong. We don't accept it.' 'It's a cover-up to protect Air India and the government,' Mr Siddiqui told The Telegraph from Surat, south of Ahmedabad, where the plane crashed. 'They want to blame dead pilots who can't defend themselves. How can the fuel switches end up turning off at a critical moment, either through pilot error or a mechanical fault? CCTV footage from the airport showed that the ram air turbine, known as the RAT, was deployed shortly after takeoff. The RAT acts as a backup power source during emergencies and will deploy in cases of complete power failure. The report said two minutes after takeoff, one of the pilots transmitted: 'Mayday, Mayday, Mayday'. A family member cries upon hearing the news of her brother who died when the Air India Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crashed in Ahmedabad, India, June 12, 2025. An Air India spokesperson previously said: 'Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident' In December 2018 the US air regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) warned airlines that fuel switches had been installed in some Boeing 737s 'with the locking feature disengaged'. 'If the locking feature is disengaged, the switch can be moved between the two positions without lifting the switch during transition, and the switch would be exposed to the potential of inadvertent operation,' the FAA warned in a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin. 'Inadvertent operation of the switch could result in an unintended consequence, such as an in-flight engine shutdown.' It recommended airlines inspect the switches, including 'whether the fuel control switch can be moved between the two positions without lifting up the switch'. The airworthiness concern was not considered an unsafe condition that would warrant a legally enforceable regulation to correct unsafe conditions. Air India has suggested such inspections were not carried out because the FAA's bulletin was 'advisory and not mandatory'. Sole survivor Vishwash Kumar Ramesh had been in the country on a business trip with his brother Ajaykumar, 35, before they boarded the doomed flight travelling from Ahmedabad to Gatwick on Thursday. In what has been described as a miracle, Viswash - seated in 11A by the exit - survived, but his sibling who was sat on the other side of the aisle in seat 11J perished in the fireball explosion. The tail of the plan and the RH Main Landing Gear (MLG) were found in the northeast wall of Building A (pictured) Before the discovery of the British survivor, authorities said that they believed no one had escaped the flight alive. Eleven of those on board were children, including two newborns. An Air India spokesperson previously said: 'Air India stands in solidarity with the families and those affected by the AI171 accident. We continue to mourn the loss and are fully committed to providing support during this difficult time. We acknowledge receipt of the preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) today, 12 July 2025. 'Air India is working closely with stakeholders, including regulators. We continue to fully cooperate with the AAIB and other authorities as their investigation progresses. 'Given the active nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment on specific details and refer all such enquiries to the AAIB.' Air India was contacted for comment. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev accused the West of practically waging a full-scale war against Russia and declared Moscow should respond in full - potentially with pre-emptive strikes on Western nations. 'What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-scale war, sanctions packages, loud statements about the militarisation of Europe,' Medvedev said in his latest tirade, carried by the TASS news agency. 'It's another attempt to destroy the 'historical anomaly' hated by the West - Russia, our country. 'We need to act accordingly, to respond in full. And if necessary, launch pre-emptive strikes.' He went on to add that many in the West had 'treachery in their blood' and a 'sick, very outdated view of their own superiority'. Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, cast himself as a liberal moderniser when he was president from 2008-2012, but has since emerged as an anti-Western Kremlin hawk. He now routinely spouts virulent anti-Western rhetoric and has accused the US, UK and Western European nations of trying to undermine Moscow for centuries. His fiery comments come days after US President Donald Trump announced he was 'very unhappy' with his opposite number in the Kremlin and would slap '100 per cent tariffs' on Russia - plus secondary sanctions on its trading partners - if a ceasefire in the war in Ukraine is not reached in 50 days. Meanwhile, the US and allies in Europe are now hashing out a deal to transfer yet more sophisticated weapons systems, including air defence systems, to Kyiv. Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman and the head of the United Russia party Dmitry Medvedev speaks during a meeting of the United Russia party programme commission in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 3, 2025 A fire is seen after a Russian attack in the Kyiv region amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, July 10, 2025 Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, now a senior Kremlin security official, pictured with Vladimir Putin US President Donald Trump delivers remarks while meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House on July 14, 2025 in Washington, DC The US-led NATO military alliance casts Russia as a major threat and politicians across Western Europe have said that Russia, which in 2022 sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine, could one day attack a member of NATO. Medvedev has roundly rejected those claims as 'complete rubbish', noting that President Vladimir Putin had repeatedly rejected such assertions too. 'Let me remind you that our president has stated unequivocally: Russia is not going to fight NATO or attack Europe. 'The statements of Western politicians on this topic are complete nonsense. I would add that this nonsense is being deliberately thrown into the information space in order to destabilise an already difficult situation. 'This is another flank of the West's open war against us,' he said. Diplomats say Medvedev's remarks give an indication of thinking among some of the more hawkish members of Russia's political elite. Medvedev may be emboldened by news that the Trump administration is running out of patience with Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. During a meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office this week, the US President's anger at Moscow's escalating attacks on Ukraine boiled over. 'We are very, very unhappy with [Russia], and we're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days, tariffs at about 100 per cent,' he said. 'I'm disappointed in President Putin. I thought we would've had a deal two months ago,' he went on, in reference to a US-proposed ceasefire deal that Kyiv accepted but was rejected by Moscow. Perhaps more consequentially, Trump also threatened to levy secondary sanctions on buyers of Russian exports to discourage them from keeping funds flowing into the Kremlin's war chest. Until now, the US and its European allies have declined to impose measures that would restrict Russia from exporting its oil and gas elsewhere. Such a move would constitute a dramatic ramping up of Western efforts to back Ukraine as it would likely see Washington and the EU target countries such as China, India and NATO member Turkey, all of whom import huge quantities of Russian energy. In response, leading Russian propagandist Igor Korotchenko said Moscow must use the 50-day period before sanctions are imposed to win the war by destroying Ukraine. Korotchenko, a former colonel-turned-military analyst and editor-in-chief of National Defence magazine, told state-TV: 'Weakening the potential of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' rear support system will force Ukraine to accept Russia's terms. 'It is necessary to intensify Russian strikes to the maximum extent possible. Scaling up this approach, we can achieve success.' Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky looks on during a visit to a military training area to find out about the training of Ukrainian soldiers on Patriot missile systems Soldiers stand during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to a military training area in Germany to inspect Patriot missile systems Trump said he'll be imposing 'very very powerful' secondary tariffs on Russia in 50 days Putin's army continues to flatten Ukraine with mass kamikaze drones and missiles attacks. This picture shows aftermath of a Russian drone strike in Odesa, Ukraine Trump earlier this week also struck a deal with NATO counterparts in Europe to send sophisticated weaponry, including sorely needed Patriot air defence missiles, to Ukraine - but insisted that the US would not foot the bill. 'We've made a deal today where we are going to be sending [Ukraine] weapons and [Europe] is going to be paying for them,' he stated. 'We - the United States - will not be having any payment made. We're not buying it, but we will manufacture it, and they're going to be paying for it.' The workings of the deal struck between the White House and European nations to provide and finance the delivery of advanced weapons systems to Ukraine were not immediately clear. Many European countries appeared to get on board with the announcement, though Trump's move to take credit for the additional weapons headed to Ukraine created some mild friction in Europe. 'If we pay for these weapons, it's our support,' said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, speaking after the Brussels meeting, adding that she welcomed Trump's decision. 'So it's European support, and we are doing as much as we can to help Ukraine ... If you promise to give the weapons, but say that somebody else is going to pay for it, it's not really given by you, is it?' Washington also retains some $3.85 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA) left over from the Biden administration at its disposal to provide weapons to Ukraine. The PDA allows the president to draw from US weapons stocks to help allies in an emergency. Trump has not sent any weapons to Ukraine that were not previously approved under the Biden administration. French first lady Brigitte Macron was always renowned for her decorum and grace at the many high-profile public appearances that come with the role. But lately she has made a number of missteps - being seen apparently ignoring and even slapping her President husband. Now it can be revealed that her recent discomfort in the public eye is informed by a losing battle against a small army of trolls and conspiracy theorists which has driven her to despair. The online abuse of the 72-year-old wife of President Emmanuel Macron, 47, is understood to have 'intensified significantly' in recent days. The cue for this was a shock court ruling at which judges effectively sanctioned outlandish claims including that she was 'born a man' and that she had 'sexually abused' her future husband when he was a boy. Ms Macron had hoped that the defamation case would finally bring an end to her years of torment by online trolls - but instead it has unleashed a new wave of abuse. And Ms Macron is 'absolutely devastated' by last week's Paris Appeal Court ruling, sources have told us. That cast exonerated two of her biggest critics, Amandine Roy, a 53-year-old clairvoyant, and blogger Natacha Rey, 49. Last week, two women convicted of defaming French first lady Brigitte Macron by saying she was born a man were sensationally cleared on appeal French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron during an official three-day trip to the United Kingdom earlier this month Judges sitting at the Paris Appeal Court last week ruled that Amandine Roy, a 53-year-old clairvoyant (pictured), and Natacha Rey had the legal right to make the sulphurous allegations The case centred on a YouTube video posted by the pair in December 2021, making multiple poisonous claims about Ms Macron - which originally led to the pair being found guilty of libel and fined. But all 18 challenges against their allegations have now been struck out, because they were 'made in good faith' and repeated claims that were already in the public domain. After the convictions were dismissed, supporters of Roy and Rey hailed a landmark legal victory. Francois Danglehant, one of the defendants' lawyers, said they had been 'hunted, persecuted and condemned' but were now free to express their opinions. In turn, counsel for Ms Macron are taking the case to the Court of Cassation one that can quash an Appeal Court decision. 'The situation is now intolerable,' said a legal source involved in the case. 'Those attacking Madame Macron now think they can say what they like, without any consequences. 'It is a disgraceful turn of events, and one that commentators all over the world are taking full advantage of. Ms Roy and Natacha Rey (pictured) had appeared on a four-hour YouTube video in December 2021 in which they claimed that Brigitte was in fact born as a baby boy Sources have told MailOnline Ms Macron is 'absolutely devastated' by last week's Paris Appeal Court ruling French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron arrive at Downing Street on July 9, 2025 in London, England 'The abuse has certainly intensified it has increased since this judgement'. Candace Owens, the American media commentator and author, is among those who exclaimed 'We won! We won!' following Ms Macron's legal setback. She said she would 'stake my entire professional career on the fact that Brigitte Macron, the current First Lady of France, was born a man' Ms Owens also claimed: 'Brigitte was never attacking the claim that she was born a man. She was being super petty and trying to get them on a technicality of defamation for misspeaking.' In fact, Appeal Court sources have denied that the annulling of the libel convictions means the Roy and Rey claims are true. The ruling which MailOnline has studied in detail simply states that the majority of their comments 'did not fall within the legal definition of defamation.' One out of 18 points may have been a 'technical libel', and that was the 'shameful claim' that Ms Macron abused her future husband when he was a boy, said the Appeal Court source. 'However, the court dismissed this libel claim too,' said the source. 'Because it found that the women were acting in good faith, by basing their opinions on well-known facts.' Ms Macron had hoped that the defamation case would finally bring an end to her years of torment by online trolls - but instead it has unleashed a new wave of abuse. Pictured: French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron at the annual Bastille Day military parade on July 14 French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu welcomes Brigitte Macron, wife of French President Emmanuel Macron, as she arrives to attend the annual Bastille Day military ceremony on the Place de la Concorde in Paris, France, July 14, 2025 These included the fact that Emmanuel Macron was only 15 when he first grew close to the future Ms Macron, who was then his 40-year-old married teacher in their home town of Amiens, northern France. It was also noted that Emmanuel Macron's parents, both doctors, never reported the relationship to the authorities. This meant a crime could have taken place, but it was now outside the statute of limitations for prosecution. It was Natacha Rey who was the principal source of the claim that Brigitte Macron was born a boy. But the legal source said: 'The principal question is whether a complainant was dishonoured. In this case, there is nothing dishonourable about being transgender.' France's Freedom of the Press law of 1881 states, 'Any allegation that harms the honour or reputation of the person or entity to whom the fact is attributed is defamation.' The Court of Appeal judges said many of the Roy and Rey claims were 'too imprecise' or 'incoherent' to 'to determine a sufficiently precise accusation' that 'falls within the legal definition of defamation'. The Macron marriage has always been subjected to vicious speculation, because of its beginnings. The Macron marriage has always been subjected to vicious speculation, because of its beginnings. Earlier this month Brigitte and Emmanuel Macron showed their 'frosty love language' as they landed in the UK, body language experts claimed Brigitte did not accept her husband's offer of a helping hand as she walked down the steps Emmanuel Macron and Brigitte Macron during a parade of foot troops on the Champs Elysees on the occasion of the National Day of July 14 French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte Macron depart Downing Street after meeting with Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria Starmer on July 9, 2025 in London Brigitte Macron attends the Banquet for the President, hosted for French President Emmanuel Macron and her, on day two of their state visit to Britain, at the Guildhall in central London on July 9 It was in 1992, when the future president was a schoolboy at La Providence high school Amiens, that he first developed deep affection for his drama teacher, the then Brigitte Auziere, who was married with three young children. Some claim the relationship became a dangerously irresponsible one allegations both parties have always denied but Ms Macron later admitted that being romantically linked 'with such a young boy was crippling,' especially in a Roman Catholic community. She spoke of the rumours her own boy and two girls one a classmate of young Emmanuel had to deal with, saying: 'You can imagine what they were hearing. But I didn't want to miss out on my life.' The couple finally wed in 2007, a decade before Mr Macron came from nowhere to win the French presidency as an independent candidate. Jean Ennochi, Ms Macron's lawyer, confirmed that his client would be 'appealing to the Court of Cassation' over the quashing of the libel convictions. The legal defeat is not the only torment to affect Ms Macron lately - MailOnline revealed last week that her older sister, to whom she was particularly close, had died. Tributes have poured in for two British holidaymakers who drowned in a hotel swimming pool while on holiday in Portugal. The friends from Ipswich, named as King Edonmi and his 27-year-old pal Mo, had travelled to the resort town of Albufeira earlier this week. Tragically, the pair lost their lives 'less than 24 hours after arriving,' according to a GoFundMe page set up by friends. 'What was supposed to be sunshine and laughter turned into heartbreak no one could have imagined,' a statement on the page read. Friends of Mo and King described the pair as 'gentle, kind-hearted souls who brought light into every room they entered.' The tribute went on: 'They were warm, loyal, funny and full of dreams. The sort of men you never hear a bad word about because there simply were none. 'They were deeply devoted to their families, their friends and their faith. And now, all of that has been taken so suddenly and so unfairly.' Friend Awande Luthuli told Portuguese daily newspaper Correio da Manha that the two men were 'loving, cheerful, and respectful, truly good souls, without a trace of malice.' The friends from Ipswich, named as Mo (right), 27, and King (left), 29, travelled to the resort town of Albufeira earlier this week Friends of Mo and King described the pair as 'gentle, kind-hearted souls who brought light into every room they entered' 'They had travelled as part of a group and met up with friends who lived in Portugal. 'They both lived by strong principles and values, including the choice of not drinking,' he said. Another friend said on Facebook that he had spoken to the two men just days before they left for Portugal, saying they had been 'so excited' for the holiday. The GoFundMe page has so far raised 12,000 of its 20,000 target. Local media reports that the men were holidaying with friends before entering the pool in the early hours of July 15. Emergency services were called to the scene but were unable to revive the men, according to reports. Police said earlier this week that the men's deaths were not being treated as suspicious. An FCDO Spokesperson said: 'We are supporting the families of two British men who have died in Portugal and are in contact with the local authorities.' The tragedy comes after the death of another British holidaymaker in the Algarve resort. Police are said to be working on the theory the pair, aged 27 and 29, got into difficulties because they had been drinking and didn't know how to swim. (Pictured: Olhos de Agua in Albufeira, Algarve, Portugal) Scots tourist Greg Monks was tragically found dead near Albufeira town centre after going missing at the end of May. The 38-year-old plant mechanic from Glasgow is believed to have lost his life after jumping over a wall and falling down a steep hillside during a stag do night out with friends. A search for him was launched on May 28 and his parents and girlfriend Nicole Kelso flew to Albufeira to help with the efforts to find him. Around four hours before Greg's body was found by police, another young British tourist was found dead in Albufeira, at the back of a residential block below a steep drop near the Old Town. In July 2023 a 27-year-old British tourist drowned at the Paraiso Hotel in Albufeira. Hundreds of homeless people sleeping rough at Spain's main airport are to be evicted. The Spanish airport authority, AENA, has warned that homeless people will have to leave Barajas in Madrid after a reception centre is set up. The airport will notify that it will not be possible to stay overnight in its facilities, now that the Madrid City Council has activated 150 emergency places in the Latina district of the city. Since Monday, Madrid council has opened the Pinar de San Jose centre, equipped with beds, hygiene services, food and social care. It is in response to the situation generated by the growing presence of homeless people in the airport terminals, especially in recent times. In a statement, AENA stressed that it does not have powers in the field of social care but is working closely with the city council to facilitate the relocation of the affected people. It read: 'The decision to act on the situation in Barajas responds to a reality that has been visible for months: the stay of dozens of homeless people, mostly migrants or asylum seekers, who had begun to use the airport facilities as a night shelter, especially during waves of extreme cold and heat. 'This situation generated both humanitarian concern and operational problems for the proper functioning of the airport,' said an AENA spokesman. The Spanish airport authority, AENA, has warned that homeless people will have to leave Barajas in Madrid after a reception centre is set up. AENA says the airport cannot and should not become an overnight space for vulnerable people About 400 people are sleeping rough at Madrid airport, dubbed 'zombie city' due to its number of homeless people on drugs AENA says the airport cannot and should not become an overnight space for vulnerable people, as it does not have the resources or capacity to do so. 'The objective is to avoid situations of risk, lack of protection and chronification, through direct intervention, social monitoring and orientation to stable resources of the social services system'. Aena will begin to formally notify those who still spend the night in Barajas about their obligation to leave the premises and the availability of a safe alternative through the new centre. Notifications will be made in collaboration with social professionals to 'ensure empathetic and effective communication, in accordance with the vulnerability of the group.' About 400 people are sleeping rough at Madrid airport, dubbed 'zombie city' due to the number of homeless people who are drug addicts or alcoholics. The situation is reflected at other Spanish airports, including Madrid, Malaga and Tenerife South. The CCOO union section in the airport authority AENA group has warned of 'the serious situation that both workers and airport users have been suffering for months, due to the continued and growing presence of homeless people staying in various areas of the airport facilities, especially in the passenger terminals and transit areas.' The union says that in recent months they have received 'multiple complaints from workers from different groups, including cleaning, security, handling, customer service, shops, and catering'. The situation is the same at other Spanish airports, including Madrid, Malaga and Tenerife South There have been complaints that allege 'unsanitary conditions, persistent smells, the use of restrooms as overnight areas Pictures reveal like facilities such as elevators and toilets have been turned into bedrooms The complaints allege 'unsanitary conditions, persistent smells, the use of restrooms as overnight areas, accumulation of belongings, occasional aggression, and a lack of effective intervention by the competent authorities.' It has also warned that 'this poses a risk to occupational health and creates an environment of tension and insecurity that is absolutely incompatible with the normal conduct of business at an international airport.' Whilst accepting homelessness is a deep-seated social problem, the union has demanded that the public company, as the manager of these facilities, assume its responsibility to protect the health and safety of its staff and airport users. Former BBC presenter Tony Soper left his family a huge 628,000 fortune after his death. The author and naturalist passed away in September 2024 at the age of 95, with a host of former colleagues flocking to social media to pay tribute to him. Tony was survived by his wife Hilary, their two sons Tim and Jack, and five grandchildren, and it's now been revealed that he left the family more than 600,000. He enjoyed a long career with the BBC having joined the company at the age of just 17 as a 'youth-in-training' before progressing onto radio and producing. He later moved over to television, where his big break came when he filled in as an unofficial assistant floor manager for Wild Geese in Winter in 1954. Tony went on to found the BBCs Natural History Unit a couple of years later in Bristol where he became its first film producer alongside Patrick Beech. The unit has gone on to become known on a global scale for its iconic wildlife programmes, most notably the Planet Earth series, narrated by another wildlife great, Sir David Attenborough. The 1960s saw Tony's career really take off, beginning with a gig hosting Animal Magic alongside Johnny Morris. Former BBC presenter Tony Soper left his family a huge 628,000 fortune after his death in September 2024 The wildlife presenter, author and naturalist, enjoyed a long career with the BBC having joined the company at the age of just 17 as a 'youth-in-training' before progressing onto radio and producing (pictured in 1980) Tony then went on to front a number of shows including Birdwatch, Birdspot, Discovering Birds, Discovering Animals. He also presented Beside the Sea, Wildtrack, and Nature. His wildlife career took him as far as Arctic and Antarctica, with Tony also penning several wildlife books. Following his sad passing last year, those who knew Tony flocked to social media to remember who they described as a 'joy and delight'. One of those was Good Morning Britain presenter Lorraine Kelly, who wrote on X: 'On one of my very first shows presenting on TV am - this wonderful kind man came on to talk about his book on OWLS. He was a joy and a delight' While wildlife presenter Stephen Moss penned: 'Very sad news - Tony Soper was a huge influence on generations of birders and broadcasters. Lorraine Kelly paid tribute to Soper following his passing, calling the presenter a 'joy and delight' (pictured in July 2025) Taking to X, formerly known as X, she penned: 'On one of my very first shows presenting on TV am - this wonderful kind man came on to talk about his book on OWLS. He was a joy and a delight' 'I had the huge privilege of working with Tony and getting to know him. 'The last person who was there at the start of the BBC Natural History Unit. A lovely man.' Robbie Martin, a reptile specialist penned: 'RIP Tony Soper. Such a lovely inspirational man. Nature has lost a good friend.' Nick Randell, who works for BBC New wrote: 'A true pioneer of natural history output & memorably childrens TV during 70s/80s. Wildtrack (co-presented by Su Ingle) took a UKcentric look at the animal world. Years later I got to work with his son, who was a fellow BBC Studio Manager. RIP Tony Soper.' With another mourner adding: 'I am saddened to hear about the death of a conservation hero of mine - Tony Soper aged 95. He inspired me as a child with his smooth knowledgeable style. He was a wonderful man. Rest in nature Tony Soper.' An Albanian who beat a man so violently with an umbrella that it disintegrated before smashing his face on the pavement has won his case to remain in Britain. Vangel Gkika, 50, won an asylum case after serving a two-and-a-half-year jail term for the 'brutal' assault. He faced deportation over the attack in 2020, but now the immigration court has ruled he can stay because it was a 'one-off'. Gkika was jailed after he travelled on the London Underground to a location where he knew his victim - a friend of his - would be and carried out the 'brutal' assault. His weapon, an umbrella, was used with so much 'force' it physically disintegrated and then Gkika smashed his victim's head on the pavement twice. His victim was traumatised and needed surgery. Gkika, who is a dual national of both Albania and Greece, is a painter and decorator and is based in Surrey. After a five-year delay, the Upper Tribunal has now heard his appeal against his deportation order. The Upper Tier Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber (pictured) It was ruled that the father does not pose a 'genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat'. The Upper Tribunal heard that Albanian-born Gkika moved to the UK in 2013 after living in Greece for 22 years. In 2016, he carried out the 'sustained and violent assault' on a man who he had been having an ongoing dispute with. The panel heard he had known the man for many years as their mothers were friends and neighbours. In his witness statement, he said they were childhood friends and had grown up together in Albania. Bu, their relationship 'soured' and the pair exchanged several threatening and abusive messages to one another. Gkika said a 'bitter dispute' had arisen between them, which resulted in the assault. On the day of the attack, Gkika took the London Underground to an area where he knew his victim would be. The judgment states: 'He attacked him using an umbrella, which he used with such force that it disintegrated. When it did so, [Mr Gkika] took the man's head and banged it twice onto the pavement where he had been standing.' It was heard the victim needed surgery, having sustained a broken cheekbone and scarring to his face, and the following year he was still experiencing dizziness and anxiety. Gkika was set for trial in 2017 but he changed his plea at the last minute and he was sentenced to 32 months in jail. The judge also imposed a 10-year restraining order which is due to expire in 2027, it was heard. After he was released from custody, Gkika returned to live with his wife and children at their home in Surrey. The Secretary of State signed a deportation order against him in September 2018 as it was established that the 'personal conduct of the person concerned represents a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat affecting one of the fundamental interests of society'. After hearing evidence that Gkika was an 'aggressor', the official said his 'deportation was a justified interference with his right to freedom of movement'. Gkika appealed the decision to the First-tier Tribunal, but this was dismissed in March 2020. Lawyers representing the Home Office referred to eyewitnesses who said they were surprised his victim had 'not lost an eye' He again appealed it to the Upper Tribunal of the Immigration and Asylum Chamber. Upper Tribunal Judge Gaenor Bruce found the previous tribunal had made an error in law for several reasons. The judge said that 'significant' weight was placed in the earlier decision on the fact that Gkika had not completed any rehabilitation courses in prison. But, Judge Bruce heard that no courses were offered to Gkika, who was a first-time offender and 'not deemed a sufficiently high risk to justify the expense'. Judge Bruce also said that in the earlier proceedings, Gkika was asked to disprove that he 'posed a risk' - when actually this should have been a matter for the Home Office to prove. The judge said for reasons that remain unclear, nothing further happened in the appeal until this year. Lawyers representing the Home Office spoke of the 'brutal' assault, and referred to eyewitnesses who said they were surprised his victim had 'not lost an eye'. They said 'an aggravating feature of the assault was the use of the umbrella as a weapon'. Lawyers representing Gkika referred to comments from the trial judge, who sentenced Mr Gkika, and described the assault as an 'aberration' and that he was otherwise a 'model citizen'. Judge Bruce said that Gkika is self-employed as a painter and decorator, and has several 'glowing testimonials' from satisfied customers. They said his children have grown up in the UK and are now either at university or college, and that Gkika 'deeply regrets' his part in this violence, which was a 'one off'. Judge Bruce upheld Mr Gkika's appeal, meaning he will not be deported. The judge said: 'The offence was, on all the available evidence, quite plainly out of character and was indeed a 'one-off'. 'That is not to diminish the harm that it caused to the victim, or to in any way disagree that [Gkika] should have been sent to prison for a significant amount of time. He clearly should have been. 'The central question for me today is whether there is a 'genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat' in [Gkika] today being allowed to remain in the UK. 'There is no evidence at all that he is a risk to anyone other than the victim of the original assault, and in respect of that, the evidence amounts to this. 'I am satisfied that he understands only too well that any further offending, harassment or harm to his victim could see him facing deportation again, and the life he has built for himself and his family here destroyed.' His school has since gone into mourning A school has gone into mourning after one of its own was killed by an L-Plate driver. Declan Phillips, 14, was walking to Wynnum State High School, in Brisbane's east, when he was struck by a Mitsubishi Pajero on Tingal Road and Berrima Street at 8.20am on Wednesday. The driver of the car, a 17-year-old, and his two passengers were not injured in the accident. Students from the school visited the crash site on the afternoon of the accident, and many were seen consoling each other as they laid flowers for the Year 9 student. Declan was gifted at math and had a passion for solving problems. One of his favourite puzzles was the Rubik's cube, which he was able to solve in under 45 seconds. He routinely competed in Speedcubing Australia which was hosted by the World Cube Association. A GoFundMe has since been launched to help his grieving family following his untimely death. Queensland Police also said they are investigating the crash. Declan Phillips, 14, died after being struck by a 4WD on his way to school on Wednesday Declan was only 1km from his school when he was hit by an L-Plater in Brisbane Wynnum State High School sent out a notice alerting staff and students as to what happened and advising counselling services were available. Family friend Lisa Axem wrote that he had a promising future in an array of areas. 'His younger brother and parents are still in deep shock, disbelief and grief,' she said. 'His chair which normally holds his school bag sits empty in the dining room. His hobbies, toys and iPad remain untouched. His room is quiet and still. 'All that can be heard in the family home are quiet voices and deep sobbing.' Friends and classmates also spoke of the impact Declan had on them. 'I will always remember when we were little and we would play together. You had such a bright future, and you were so loved, I miss you already,' one friend wrote. 'It's going to feel so strange knowing you are not going to walk past there ever again,' another wrote. 'I know you are resting easy and God is taking care of you up there, you were the quietest but sweetest kid.' Declan was a gifted math student with a penchant for solving problems The 17-year-old L-Plater was uninjured in the accident Wynnum State High School principal, Sandra Quinn, said Declan was regarded highly in a letter which was sent out to parents. 'He was a much-loved year nine male student and valued member of our Wynnum State High School community,' the letter said, reported the Courier Mail. 'I know that you will join me in offering our deepest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones during this difficult time. 'As a tight-knit school community, we share our shock and sadness at the enormity of this situation.' The 4WD which hit Declan was seen wedged underneath the Wynnum Rail Bridge, also known as Duck Bridge, which is infamous due to its mere 1.9m clearance. Due to its limited height most emergency vehicles to struggle to fit underneath. Member for Lytton Joan Pease MP said the incident had rocked the Wynnum community. 'It's heartbreaking for all those involved, the young person that sadly lost their life and also the driver of the vehicle,' she told the publication. Declan was hit roughly one kilometre away from his school. The widow of a British holidaymaker who drowned while snorkelling off a Caribbean island has accused the yacht cruise company of poor safety. Gareth Weekes, 77, of Clayhidon, Devon was onboard a luxury yacht with his wife Alison Weekes, alongside 25 other guests and 10 members of crew, off the coast of St Vincent and the Grenadines when he tragically died on March 8, 2023. Now, his heartbroken widow has claimed that the couple received 'no warning' from members of staff regarding the risk of 'currents', adding that she believes the sailing company should improve their safety procedures as a result. Exeter Coroner's Court heard that both Alison and her husband, a retired journalist and former editor of the Bournemouth Daily Echo, had been taken by a dinghy to the beach off the island early that morning while away on holiday. Ms Weekes, who had been married to Mr Weekes for 17 years, previously described her beloved husband as having 'enormous integrity and empathy' and a keen sailor. She said that on the morning of that fateful day, Mr Weekes, a -father-of-four, did not use flippers as he said they were difficult to walk with on the beach. While the pair entered the sea together, Ms Weekes faced difficulties with her mask. When she emerged from the water, her husband was nowhere to be seen. Becoming 'frantic', Ms Weekes quickly enlisted the help of other members of the public in attempting to find Mr Weekes. Gareth Weekes (pictured), 77, of Clayhidon, Devon was onboard a luxury yacht with his wife Alison Weekes, alongside 25 other guests and 10 members of crew, off the coast of St Vincent and the Grenadines when he tragically died on March 8, 2023 Now, Mr Weekes' heartbroken widow has claimed that the couple received 'no warning' from members of staff regarding the risk of 'currents', adding that she believes the sailing company should improve their safety procedures as a result (Pictured: a map outlining where Mr Weekes drowned) After 20 minutes, one of the dinghies returned, with the crewmen immediately informed of his disappearance. A crewman eventually located Mr Weekes, found hanging onto ropes at the edge of the snorkelling zone. He was then taken to their 54 metre yacht and given CPR, but unfortunately did not survive. Both the captain of the yacht and the Dutch company that organised the trip said that both the swimming and snorkelling trips were free activities, but that the risks and responsibilities laid with the guests themselves. However, Ms Weekes refuted such claims, adding that while she 'fully accepts' that her husband's death was 'accidental', the pair 'had no warnings about currents and no means of communication from the uninhabited island. The dinghy disappeared'. She also added that her husband was an 'adequate swimmer' and had been able to swim from the yacht in the previous days. Previously described as a 'wonderful father' with 'kindness running through everything he did', Mr Weekes' daughter, Jenna Fansa, told The Echo: 'Dad took a very genuine interest in everyone he met - together with his wit and engaging writing style, this made him a very talented journalist. 'We are so very lucky to have had him.' Meanwhile, Mr Weekes' eldest daughter, Veryan Canston, spoke highly of her father's 'boundless enthusiasm and gung-ho zest for new experiences'. Exeter Coroner's Court heard that both Ms Weekes and her husband, a retired journalist and former editor of the Bournemouth Daily Echo, had been taken by a dinghy to the beach off the island early that morning while away on holiday. Pictured: Port Elizabeth, part of the Grenadines island chain Reflecting on his incredible life, she told the publication: 'Dad died how he lived - taking risks, having adventures, exploring the world and approaching life with boundless enthusiasm and a gung-ho zest for new experiences. 'We are glad he was having those adventures right up till the end.' Mr Weekes also had two stepchildren - Poz Watson and Maddie Flint - as well as 11 grandchildren. He was survived by his two sisters, Carolyn Arthurs and Jane Revill. Born in Cardiff in October 1945 and growing up in south Wales, Mr Weekes worked at a firm of solicitors before becoming a journalist. He edited weekly newspapers in Tavistock and Salisbury before later becoming the editor of the Bournemouth Daily Echo. A post mortem investigation into his 'tragic and sudden death' concluded that the British holidaymaker died from drowning. He was also found to have had atrial fibrillation and Parkinsons disease. Senior Devon coroner Philip Spinney recorded a conclusion of accidental death. This is the horrifying moment the French handed out lifejackets to migrants about to cross the Channel to Britain instead of dragging them back to the beach. The coastguard made zero effort to stop the inflatable boat packed with mainly young men before it motored off from the coast near Calais this morning. Footage of the incident showed the dinghy looked dangerously full but it was not stopped from heading out into the open sea. It is yet another humiliation for Sir Keir Starmer who has heralded his 'one in one out' deal with France to tackle record numbers crossing the Channel illegally to claim asylum in the UK so far in 2025. Emmanuel Macron also promised a tougher approach following a three-day state visit thrown by King Charles including a lavish state banquet at Windsor Castle last week. But this hard-boiled vow doesn't appear to have been passed on to those policing the French coast. Today the authorities helped an overcrowded dinghy that had just set off from the beach at Petit-Fort-Philippe in Gravelines, near Calais. But instead of turning the perilously full boat back, the French came alongside in relatively shallow water and began passing lifejackets to those on board. The dinghy then headed towards the UK unhindered. Migrants on board an inflatable boat are handed lifejackets by the French authorities as they leave from Gravelines, France, heading across the Channel to the UK today A dinghy begins its journey. Police did nothing to stop them A child is lifted in but the majority on board are young men Migrants run across the beach in Gravelines, France, in a bid to board a small boat for Britain No police were seen on the beach when the groups of people came out of the sand dunes and attempted to board the black inflatable boat. Witnesses saw one boat drop off several men at around 5am, who went into the sand dunes, before a second boat came close to shore, circling until the migrants appeared on the beach. The people, including a family with two children, put themselves into groups before trying to climb onto the boat. Around 40 people, believed to be about half of the full group, left on the dinghy. Last week more than 500 small boat migrants arrived in Britain on the day Sir Keir Starmer signed his 'one in, one out' deal with Emmanuel Macron. The figures were yet another blow to the Labour leader as the number of crossings over the year so far rose to 21,690, which is more than a 50 per cent higher than 2024. Lifejackets are handed to migrants close to Calais today A group of migrants run from the beach into the water to reach an inflatable dinghy to leave the coast of northern France in an attempt to cross the English Channel Another group huddle together at low tide as they wait for their dinghy arrive This attempt to cross the English Channel to reach Britain came just as tougher migration controls were announced A child looks back and one migrant waves as they begin their journey to the UK It came as a pact was agreed by the PM and Mr Macron during his state visit to the UK is already unravelling. There are questions over whether the scheme - which would see Britain send some Channel arrivals back but agree to take other asylum seekers from France - could even be blocked by the EU Commission. Unveiling the plan alongside Mr Macron, Sir Keir claimed it was 'ground-breaking' and would 'prove the concept that if you come over by small boats, then you will be returned to France'. But as the Anglo-French summit was being held, hundreds more migrants were crossing the Channel from northern France. Border experts said the proposals were 'scratching a very bare minimum of the surface'. Leaks had suggested 50 migrants a week, around one in 17 arrivals, would be sent back to France initially. But that was seemingly not signed off by the leaders. Sir Keir Starmer and Emmanuel Macron shake hands on the steps of Number 10 after they agreed a deal to tackle migrants crossing to Britain Migrants are brought on shore at Dover after being intercepted by a Border Force cutter Touring broadcast studios this morning, Ms Cooper said: 'The numbers are not fixed, even for this pilot phase that we are starting now. 'So this will be a programme that we roll out step-by-step, and we will provide updates as we go. 'But we are going to do this in a steady way.' Despite signs EU states could object to the UK-France deal, Ms Cooper told LBC she was confident Brussels would let it go ahead. 'We have been talking to the EU commissioners. We've also been talking to other European interior ministers and governments throughout this process,' she said. 'The French interior minister and I have been speaking about this to develop this since October of last year, and the EU commissioners have been very supportive. 'So that is why we have designed this in a way to work, not just for the UK and France, but in order to fit with all their concerns as well.' She added: 'Because we've done that work all the way through, we do expect the EU Commission to continue to be supportive.' Your browser does not support iframes. Your browser does not support iframes. Ms Cooper also played down Mr Macron's jibe that Brexit had made tackling illegal immigration harder, arguing people smugglers would 'weaponise anything'. Downing Street said the UK is 'confident' the agreement complies with both domestic and international law and has discussed the plans with Brussels. The PM's spokesman said: 'We've done a lot of work to make sure the system is robust to legal challenges, and of course, France is a safe country and a member of the ECHR. 'We're confident that this arrangement complies with both domestic and international law, and clearly we've discussed these arrangements already with the (European) Commission.' Sir Keir is holding talks with his Cabinet at an 'away day' at Chequers, his grace-and-favour Chequers country estate. Sir Keir said the governments were taking 'hard-headed, aggressive action'. 'For the very first time, migrants arriving via small boat will be detained and returned to France in short order,' he said. In exchange for every return, a different individual will be allowed to come here via a safe route, controlled and legal, subject to strict security checks and only open to those who have not tried to enter the UK illegally.' But the PM failed to say how quickly migrants will be sent back in total or on a weekly basis when the scheme launches, which he said would be in the 'coming weeks'. Mr Macron said the deal needed legal ratification first, without putting a time frame on it. A woman appeared to brag on Facebook that she had chosen a new, better dad for her kids just weeks before she allegedly got her new boyfriend to kill her ex-husband. Nadia Michelidaki, 43, and her boyfriend Christos Dounias, 35, were arrested this week for the shooting murder of UC Berkeley professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski in Greece. Jeziorski was shot five times in broad daylight in Athens on July 4 near his ex-wife's house. He was visiting the country to visit his two children and attend a family custody hearing. Back in May, Michelidaki shared an AI image showing a man in a suit looking unhappy and surrounded by money. Next to him, another man is seen smiling as he holds a fishing rod and hugs his son. Michelidaki tagged her new boyfriend and wrote: 'When you realize that you picked the best dad for your kids.' The alleged killer and the beloved professor had been going through a nasty custody battle when Jeziorski was killed, according to police. Greek authorities said Michelidaki and Dounias planned the murder, and that Dounias was the one to pull the trigger as Jeziorski arrived to pick up his children. Nadia Michelidaki, 43, was arrested in Greece this week for the murder of her Berkeley professor ex-husband Jeziorski was fatally shot outside a home where his ex-wife and two children live. He was there to attend a child custody hearing Michelidaki tagged her new boyfriend in the above Facebook post. Police say her new lover was the one to shoot her ex-husband dead Two Albanians and one Bulgarian were also arrested in the case. They are accused of providing the murder weapon and transporting the gunman. Michelidaki's lawyer told CNN she denies any involvement in the murder. Meanwhile Greek media reported that Dounias confessed to the murder and said his girlfriend was the mastermind. Jeziorski and Michelidaki married in 2014 and he filed for divorce in 2021. They founded a rental property management company and were apparently also battling over finances. The professor had sought a restraining order in San Francisco against his ex-wife in May, saying he feared for his life, before he was killed, as reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. He accused Michelidaki of threatening and exhorting attempts and said Dounias assaulted him twice - once knocking his phone out of his hand and later the dame day kicking and pushing him. Dounias was charged with assault over the May incidents. 'She made me afraid of my life by having her partner, who is hostile and aggressive towards me, (present) during the visitation exchange, despite my asking her not to do so,' Jeziorski wrote. Greek media reported that Christos Dounias confessed to the murder and said his girlfriend was the mastermind Jeziorski was shot five times in broad daylight in Athens on July 4 near his ex-wife's house The professor had sought a restraining order in San Francisco against his ex-wife, pictured Jeziorski also claimed his ex-wife had been sending him messages on Slack demanding co-authorship on his research and 'threatening to contact my colleagues and the dean of my department if I did not pay her money.' The professor added he believed Michelidaki was trying to 'humiliate me socially in order to control me.' 'Although I know her threats are baseless, I am still intimidated by her actions, He wrote. 'Her baseless allegations will harm my economic prospects for employment and completely damage my reputation in the intellectual community, regardless of their truth.' After the murder, the professor's ex-wife said she did not know of anyone who would want to harm him. 'Przemek loved his children and fought for them until the end. He paid the heaviest price, unnecessarily, for this,' the professor's family said in a statement. 'This summer, he wanted to bring his children to his hometown of Gdynia, Poland. This death and the circumstances surrounding it remain impossible for us to accept, but we find some measure of comfort knowing that progress is being made toward justice, and that the kids are about to reunite with their family into a safe environment.' Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a UC Berkeley business professor, had sought a restraining order against his ex-wife in May After the murder, the professor's ex-wife said she did not know of anyone who would want to harm him. (Pictured: A bullet casing from the scene) The former couple's two young children are now in the care of Greek child custody. 'Przemeks ten-year-old children, who are US and Polish citizens, are now under care in accordance with Greek child custody procedures,' Jeziorski's brother Lukaz said in a statement. 'Our primary concern is their safety and wellbeing, and helping them reconnect with their family to minimize the trauma they have already endured.' Jeziorski studied at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, the University of Chicago, the University of Arizona and Stanford University, where he got his PhD in Economic Analysis and Policy, according to his website. He previously taught at Johns Hopkins University and was a research intern at Microsoft as well. He's published in numerous 'top-tier academic journals,' and mentored more than 1,500 MBC and PhD students during his teaching career. He was also a co-founder of Keybee, a start-up for UC Berkeley's Skydesk, 'that provides a data-driven solution to managing thousands of short-term rentals,' including popular sites like Airbnb, Vrbo and Booking.com. Jeziorski also consulted with many big-name companies, including Microsoft, Mastercard, MIC Tanzania, and more. He lived in a $830,000 one-bedroom, one-bathroom high-rise condo in San Francisco, according to public records. A Kurdish migrant who murdered his own daughter in what would become known as the UK's first official honour killing has been deported to Iraq. Abdalla Yones, 69, cut his 16-year-old daughter Heshu's throat and then tried to kill himself and later pleaded in court for the 'death sentence'. The strict Muslim frenziedly attacked Heshu at their home in Acton, west London, on October 12 2002, believing she had become too westernised. Popular and fun-loving, Heshu had planned to run away from home after starting a relationship with an 18-year-old Lebanese Christian boy. Yones was sentenced to life at the Old Bailey in 2003 after admitting the murder. He was given a minimum jail term of 14 years. MailOnline has discovered that the killer was deported to Iraq at the end of his minimum sentence. This is despite the fact he had fled Saddam Hussein's tyrannical regime during the first Gulf War and had been given asylum. Hussein was toppled during the second Gulf War and executed on the 30th December 2006. Heshu Yones was 16 when she had her throat slit by her strict Kurdish Muslim father Abdalla Yones, 69, cut his 16-year-old daughter's throat and then tried to kill himself The Home Office authorised Yones to be deported and he was removed from the prison system in April 2017. It used the 2012 Tariff-Expired Removal Scheme (TERS) under which foreign inmates with indeterminate sentences can be booted out of the UK. Yones was eligible because he had served his minimum term and had a life sentence. MailOnline understands that he had a Parole Board review in 2014, which recommended he be moved to an open prison. A spokesperson for the Home Office said: 'It is our longstanding policy not to comment on individual cases. It also stated that it was policy to consider foreign national convicted of a crime and given a prison sentence for deportation at the earliest opportunity. At his trial, the jury heard that Yones had never adjusted to life in the UK, unlike his family and particularly Heshu. The A-level student attended William Morris Academy in Fulham, where she began a relationship with a fellow pupil. Heshu had planned to run away from home after starting a relationship with an 18-year-old Lebanese Christian boy Police said she appeared to have been the victim of serious domestic violence before the murder. And they revealed a letter which Heshu wrote to her parents, apparently just days before she planned to run away. It read: 'Bye Dad, sorry I was so much trouble. 'Me and you will probably never understand each other, but I'm sorry I wasn't what you wanted, but there's some things you can't change. 'Hey, for an older man you have a good strong punch and kick. 'I hope you enjoyed testing your strength on me, it was fun being on the receiving end. Well done.' The court was told the abuse culminated in Yones smashing his way into the bathroom where Heshu had barricaded herself. He stabbed her multiple times and cut her throat, before cutting his own throat and throwing himself off a balcony. The A-level student attended William Morris Academy in Fulham, where she began a relationship with a fellow pupil While in hospital, Yones claimed that al-Qaeda were responsible for Heshu's murder. Yones, who was an active member of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), fighting for them from 1980 until 1991, was described as 'a fish out of water' in the UK. He is said to have become depressed. Sentencing Yones, Judge Neil Denison said the Kurd was still suicidal: 'This is, on any view, a tragic story arising out of irreconcilable cultural differences between traditional Kurdish values and the values of western society.' Icah Peart QC, defending Yones, said that before the murder his client had received a letter, written in Kurdish, describing his daughter as a slut who was sleeping with her boyfriend on a daily basis. 'He was disgusted and distressed by the letter, which he threw away in his anger,' said Mr Peart. It is not known whether Yones is still alive in Iraq. Commander Andy Baker said Heshu had suffered 'very significant physical abuse' in the months leading up to the killing, but it was never reported to police Acton High School became William Morris Academy in 2017 after being rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted 'We've got to stop it, we can prevent these murders,' he said, adding that a handful of people still believed it was an appropriate cultural response. Heshu's case was the first in the United Kingdom to be legally recognised and prosecuted as an honour killing. It led to the creation of a specialist task force in honour-based violence and, subsequently, to the reviewing of more than 100 previous cases of murder and suicide for any indication that 'honour' was a factor. This week marked the National Day of Remembrance for Honour Killings with activists tirelessly campaigning to end the abuse, but facing a worldwide battle to stop the barbaric practice. Defence Secretary John Healey disclosed details of the secret Afghan database to Parliament that the Mail and others were blocked from reporting. The Press were gagged by a new injunction earlier this week from revealing information sensitive to national security from the dataset of Afghans that put 100,000 'at risk of death'. But Mr Healey stood up in the Commons on Tuesday and said the information anyway. This morning at the High Court, a judge was told about the remarks the Defence Secretary had made to Parliament. Then he went into a 'closed' session with the Press and public being kicked out of court, so that the MoD's lawyers could address him privately. Mr Justice Chamberlain, speaking at the public part of the hearing, said he would be 'scrutinising very carefully any justification for holding any parts of this hearing in private, never mind in closed [session]'. A two-year unprecedented super-injunction, the first to be used by a government, meant there was no parliamentary scrutiny as ministers and officials made major policy decisions. Defence Secretary John Healey disclosed details of the secret Afghan database to Parliament that the Mail and others were blocked from reporting Some 18,500 Afghans have been brought to Britain as part of a secret 7billion rescue scheme It was lifted earlier this week, then the Mail, which has seen the dataset, and The Times and others were hit with a fresh injunction blocking the disclosure of some sensitive information that was on it. Today's hearing will discuss whether the Mail can now reveal that information and report what was said in Parliament. Donald Trump's Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has moved from her private residence into a U.S. military installation, after her cozy living arrangement with senior adviser Corey Lewandowski was exposed by DailyMail.com. Insiders tell DailyMail.com that Lewandowski, however, still makes trips to see his longtime rumored lover, now at her new digs at the Coast Guard Commandant's quarters. The home is located within Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling on the waterfront in Southwest D.C., several miles from the posh Navy Yard neighborhood, where the two had been living. Noem cites security concerns for her decision to relocate, but some insiders have ridiculed that rationale. 'Public safety is her concern here? That's rich,' one insider told DailyMail.com. 'She and her chief of affair(s) show up to every public safety event like it's a couples' retreat. 'If they spent less time staging optics and more time expanding and enhancing law enforcement operations, maybe ICE agents wouldn't be getting assaulted at record rates.' They argue Noem already has plenty of security and has exhibited little concern in her public appearances, joining agents at the border in Mexico, an El Salvador prison, ICE raids in New York and at last month's anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles. DHS Secretary Kristi Noem has moved into a U.S. military installation in Washington, D.C., after she had been living in close proximity to rumored lover Corey Lewandowski Noem and Lewandowski had been living in swish rental apartments across the street from one another in DC 's fashionable Navy Yard, DailyMail.com revealed in April She's even been called 'ICE Barbie' for treating her Cabinet position like a reality TV production, often joined on her trips by Lewandowski. Lewandowski had served as Trump's campaign manager in 2016 and his senior adviser during the 2024 presidential race, but his role within the president's administration has always been murky. However, the political operative, who has been described as Noem's 'de facto chief of staff,' has been seen accompanying the DHS secretary on various official trips. In April, DHS officials clarified that Lewandowski is an 'adviser to DHS' and a special government employee. Noem's recent move has led critics to question why she should get free, taxpayer-funded housing that they don't believe other officials such as Secretary of State Marco Rubio get. However DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin described Noem's situation as unique. 'Secretary Noem continues to pay rent at her Navy Yard residence and has sought temporary living with greater security as threats have continued to increase against her as she leads DHS law enforcement who are facing an 830% increase in assaults against them,' spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told DailyMail.com. Another administration official mocked this argument. Noem decided to move to a residence at the US Coast Guard Commandant's quarters, located within the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling military installation (pictured) Noem was previously living in close proximity to Lewandowski in a condo in Navy Yard, which boasted views of Southeast Washington and the Anacostia River 'She wanted to move so photographers couldn't be on site and show what's going on, so she and Corey could be more private,' the source told DailyMail.com. 'They are connected at the hip. After the story broke, it caused a little bit of a rabbit jump.' The former governor of South Dakota moved into DC's fashionable Navy Yard neighborhood over the winter. DailyMail.com reported on their living arrangement in April, noting how she was renting a place across the street from Lewandowski. Lewandowski, 51, her 'chief of staff,' was a regular visitor to Noem's $3,750 per month, two-bed Navy Yard condo that enjoys breathtaking panoramic views of Southeast Washington and the Anacostia River. And he didn't have far to travel because his own luxe digs were directly opposite in a smart rental building boasting a lap pool, gym, and spa. 'I've seen them together here both in the elevator and in common areas,' one resident of Noem's building told DailyMail.com in April. 'Don't forget DC is a small town and people talk. It is an open secret that they are together. 'It has always been joked about that Navy Yard is a dorm for Hill Republicans and Trump staffers now it's even higher up, with married cabinet secretaries bunking their volunteer chiefs.' In late April, the former Trump campaign staffer was snapped leaving Noem's building in a different set of clothes the morning after he had visited Noem and husband Bryon Noem have been married since 1992 and have three children. She has continued to post social media photos with her 55-year-old spouse enjoying 'date night at the White House'. Meanwhile, Lewandowski has been married to 9/11 widow Alison Hardy (right) since 2005, but he's been accused of having several affairs Widespread reports of their rumored years-long affair have caused persistent agita for Noem and Lewandowski, both of whom are married. They have repeatedly denied the rumors, which have continued to dog them and caused frustration and snickers among others in the administration, who question Lewandowski's influence as a special government employee exempt from many ethics' rules. DailyMail.com can now reveal that Noem moved out a short time later. Her spokesperson blamed DailyMail.com for exposing what had been an open secret, claiming it put her at risk at a time she and other officials and ICE border agents are facing increased threats amid the agency's crackdown on illegal immigration. 'Following the Daily Mail's publication of where Secretary Noem lives, including photos, she has faced an increase in threats against her, as well as extensive doxing,' McLaughlin stated. 'Her security detail had to be increased, particularly the security footprint outside of her living quarters.' She acknowledged the move, but said Noem is keeping her lease in the Navy Yard, where Lewandowski still resides. 'Secretary Noem continues to pay rent at her Navy Yard residence and has sought temporary living with greater security as threats have continued to increase against her as she leads DHS law enforcement who are facing a 830% increase in assaults against them,' McLaughlin said. 'It's a shame that Daily Mail chooses sensationalism over the safety of people,' she added. Keir Starmer hailed German help in smashing Channel boat gangs today as he hosted Friedrich Merz. The PM said the countries were sending a 'clear sign we mean business' as he and the Chancellor signed the first bilateral treaty since the Second World War. It includes moves to close a loophole that has meant people-smuggling gangs could use Germany as a hub to store equipment without danger of prosecution. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper originally secured agreement that smuggling of migrants to the UK would be made a criminal offence in December. However, the terms had to be renegotiated following a change in government. At a joint press conference with Mr Merz in Hertfordshire, Sir Keir said Germany had committed to changing the law 'this year'. Keir Starmer said the countries were sending a 'clear sign we mean business' as he and Friedrich Merz signed the first bilateral treaty since the Second World War Keir Starmer hailed German help in smashing Channel boat gangs today as he hosted Freidrich Merz The PM and Chancellor have signed the first bilateral treaty between the countries since the Second World War The deal includes moves to close a loophole that has meant people-smuggling gangs could use Germany as a hub to store equipment without danger of prosecution Sir Keir said: 'We see the scale of the challenges our continent faces today, and we intend to meet them head on. 'But we also see the scale of the opportunities, so we have a shared resolve to shape this new era with new leadership, the UK and Germany side by side, delivering growth and security and delivering for working people.' Speaking at the Airbus plant in Stevenage, the PM went on: 'I want to thank Friedrich for his leadership on this, pledging decisive action to strengthen German law this year so that small boats being stored or transported in Germany can be seized, disrupting the route to the UK. 'It's a clear sign that we mean business. We are coming after the criminal gangs in every way that we can.' In London earlier, Sir Keir told Mr Merz: 'It's a privilege to have you here today, particularly to sign this Kensington Treaty, which is a very special treaty, because it's the first of its kind ever, if you can believe it, between our two countries.' Sir Keir described it as 'evidence of the closeness of our relationship as it stands today' as well as a 'statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together'. The agreement was also signed by Foreign Secretary David Lammy and his German counterpart Johann Wadephul. Mr Merz said he had been 'surprised' to learn it was the first UK-Germany treaty since the Second World War. He said: 'We had you in the European Union and we thought that was enough, but we are now learning that it's not enough so we have to do more on that.' Asked if Sir Keir was frustrated by the slow German response to the migration crisis, Downing Street said: 'We've always been clear that this is an international issue that requires international solutions. 'And over the last year, you've seen the Prime Minister working tirelessly to reset relationships across Europe, and you've seen a number of examples of the progress of that, not least with the French last week. 'This is a significant step that will give law enforcement and prosecutors the tools they need to address this scandal of small boats which are destined to cross the Channel being stored and concealed in Germany. 'And it will ensure that those who feed this illegal trade have nowhere to hide.' Under the deal, Germany has agreed to allow some arriving UK airline passengers to use passport e-gates by the end of August. However, it will initially only be available for frequent travellers. Access for all UK nationals will be possible once Germany has completed updates to its entry systems as it introduces the EU's long-delayed Entry/Exit System (EES). Since Brexit, UK travellers arriving at EU airports have generally been forced to queue for manned desks to have their passports stamped, rather than use automated gates with facial recognition technology. After signing the document at the V&A Museum in London , Sir Keir said it would be known as the Kensington Treaty This has led to many passengers facing long queues, particularly during peak periods. The issue has been described as one of the most visible impacts of the UK's withdrawal from the EU. The UK-EU summit in May agreed there is no legal barrier to UK citizens using EU e-gates. The Cabinet Office said since then, e-gate access for UK travellers has increased in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic and Portugal. Diane Abbott was suspended by Labour for the second time in three years today for claiming anti-Semitism is less serious than racism aimed at people because of their skin colour. The veteran backbencher lost the whip after using a BBC interview to say she had no regrets about her 2023 claim about anti-Jew and anti-Traveller discrimination. And she reiterated the opinions aired in a letter to the Observer two years ago that led to her losing the whip and making a public apology. Speaking to BBC Radio 4's Reflections programme, she said: 'Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don't know (what they are). 'I just think that it's silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism. 'I don't know why people would say that.' Her reiteration of her views heaped pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to take action against her as he did in 2023. A party spokesman said: 'Diane Abbott has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, pending an investigation.' The veteran backbencher used a BBC interview to say she had no regrets about her 2023 claim that anti-Semitism and anti-Traveller discrimination was not as bad as prejudice based on skin colour. Her reiteration of her views will heap pressure on Sir Keir Starmer to take action against her as he did in 2023. It comes a day after he stripped the whip from four leftwing labour backbenchers for 'persistent breaches of party discipline' while blocking his welfare reforms. After today's comments, a spokesman for the Jewish Labour Movement said: 'Anti-Semitism is anti-Jewish racism. 'It targets Jews regardless of how they look, and many of our community are visibly Jewish and suffer racism for it. 'We are disappointed that Diane Abbott MP has doubled down on comments she previously appeared to apologise for, and are pleased to hear that Labour are looking into them.' The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP was suspended by the Labour Party in 2023 after suggested that Jewish, Irish and Traveller people experience 'prejudice' but 'are not all their lives subject to racism'. 'They undoubtedly experience prejudice,' Ms Abbott wrote in the Observer. 'This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. 'It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. 'But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. 'In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.' The veteran MP made the controversial comments in a letter to the Observer newspaper in 2023 as she responded to a recent comment article Ms Abbott issued a public apology in 2023 to 'wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them' She later issued a statement to 'wholly and unreservedly withdraw my remarks and disassociate myself from them' as she blamed drafting 'errors'. But Labour pushed ahead with action against the ex-shadow minister in any case. She was given the whip back before the 2024 election but was at the centre of a fresh party row then when attempts were made to stop her from running for re-election in her north London seat. She eventually was allowed to stand as a Labour candidate and won with a much reduced majority of 15,000 in one of the party's safest seats. The longest-serving female MP in the Commons, who entered Parliament in 1987, told the BBC last night she got a 'bit weary' about people labelling her anti-Semetic and said she had 'spent a lifetime fighting racism of all kinds'. She said she was 'grateful' to be a Labour MP but was sure the party leadership had been 'trying to get me out'. The American Idol executive and her husband, found murdered inside their $5 million California mansion, struggled with the intruder just moments before they were fatally shot in the head, police revealed. Robin Kaye, an award-winning music supervisor for the hit show, and Thomas Deluca, both 70, were discovered brutally murdered at their home in Encino on Monday around 2.33pm, the Los Angeles Police Department told Daily Mail. Police arrested 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian on Tuesday, confirming he had been inside the couple's home for approximately 30 minutes before they unexpectedly returned. In a chilling new revelation, police provided additional details about the couples final moments - spotting the intruder, engaging in a struggle and ultimately being shot dead, ABC7 News reported. 'There was a confrontation that ensued which resulted in the victims receiving multiple gunshot wounds and succumbing to those injuries,' LAPD Lt. Guy Golan said, according to the outlet. Officers were first called to the couples gated Los Angeles mansion on July 10 - an idyllic, high-security home surrounded by an 8-foot spiked wall and surveillance cameras, according to ABC7. They first arrived to the couple's residence after two calls reported a man jumping the fence, but left when no one answered and nothing appeared suspicious. Just four days later, however, police returned to the their ritzy $5 million mansion for a routine 'welfare check' after family and friends had not heard from them in four days. The American Idol executive and her husband, found murdered inside their $5 million California mansion (pictured), struggled with the intruder after discovering him inside their home - just moments before they were fatally shot in the head, police revealed Robin Kaye (left), an award-winning music supervisor for the hit show, and Thomas Deluca (right), both 70, were discovered brutally shot to death at their home in Encino on Monday around 2.33pm Police arrested 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian on Tuesday, confirming he had been inside the couple's home (pictured) for approximately 30 minutes before they unexpectedly returned Authorities spotted blood at the front entrance before breaking through a window, where they found the couple both shot in the head in different rooms. The suspect, identified as Boodarian, was linked to the crime through a fingerprint found at the scene and corroborating surveillance footage. His fingerprints were in the LAPD's database thanks to his previous encounters with the law. He was found to have a violent criminal history, including brandishing a knife and making criminal threats against his stepfather in 2023, as well as battery charges involving his mother and sister in 2024, ABC7 reported. All three misdemeanor cases were dismissed late last year, with court documents revealing that the 22-year-old suspect had been declared mentally incompetent three months earlier. Police also found a handgun in the suspects home, which they believe may have been used in the killings, according to ABC7. 'We believe its the murder weapon, but pending forensic analysis we're not ready to say so yet,' Lt. Golan said, according to the outlet. Boodarian allegedly shot the couple dead during a burglary gone wrong, with investigators now keen to see if he'd been alerted to the couple's wealth during a previous trip to the property. Police said he entered the home through an unlocked door after scaling a fence, according to cited surveillance footage - meaning their bodies may have lain inside the home for hours after investigators failed to access the property. Police said the suspect entered the couple's home through an unlocked door after scaling a fence, according to cited surveillance footage (pictured: Kaye on far right) Boodarian allegedly shot the couple dead during a burglary gone wrong, with investigators now keen to see if he'd been alerted to the couple's wealth during a previous trip to the property (pictured) One neighbor, who did not want to be named, would occasionally see Boodarian roaming the complex 'looking really, really disturbed.' The neighbor also said she could often see when Boodarian's lights were on in his bedroom because of a shared wall. She eerily described how he would sometimes have an 'episode' and appear 'ready to break the walls.' She claimed that on at least one occasion, he had to be strapped to a stretcher and removed from the property. Many questions now surround how Boodarians case was dismissed, with criminal defense attorney Lou Shapiro explaining that a significant factor may lie within Californias legal system, according to ABC7. 'There's a separate court, just for people with mental health issues, if they are eligible for that court, they usually get put on a different track,' Shapiro said. 'And for the most part, most people that go on that track do well.' 'But every so often we have a situation like this, where it didn't go the way it should have gone,' he added. 'And very tragically, we have two people who are dead because of it.' Kaye worked as the music supervisor for singing competition American Idol for the last 15 seasons, or nearly 300 episodes, per her IMDB page. Boodarian was linked to the crime through a fingerprint found at the scene and corroborating surveillance footage. His fingerprints were in the LAPD's database thanks to his previous encounters with the law (pictured: Deluca) The suspect was found to have a violent criminal history, including brandishing a knife and making criminal threats against his stepfather in 2023, as well as battery charges involving his mother and sister in 2024 (pictured: aerial of home) Charges against Boodarian are expected to be filed on Thursday (pictured: Kaye) Over the years, she won several Guild of Music Supervisors Awards for her work on the show. She also worked for other well-known shows, including Lip Sync Battle, Hollywood Game Night and Worn Stories. Her husband was a musician who last released an album called Street Rock in 2022. His first 'acclaimed cult favorite debut' album. 'Down To The Wire,' was released by Epic Records in 1986. Deluca penned songs for popular hit makers, including Kid Rock, the band Molly Hatchet and Meredith Brooks. The couple purchased the home in January 2023, according to public records. The home was also used a rental property before being sold to the couple, neighbors said. Charges against Boodarian are expected to be filed on Thursday. A Russian mother and her two young daughters have been found living in a remote forest cave in India. Cops discovered Nina Kutina, 40, and her children, aged six and four, during a routine patrol to Ramatirtha Hill, a tourist site on the coast of Karnataka, on July 9. Police officer Sridhar SR said the family had been living in the cave for more than a week. In a photograph Ms Kutina is seen in front of makeshift curtains made of red saris that covered the entrance to the cave. Police said they were taking steps to repatriate her to Russia for overstaying her visa. She and her children have been moved to a nearby detention facility for foreigners living illegally in India. Ms Kutina defended her lifestyle in a video interview with ANI news agency, insisting the cave was 'not a dangerous place to stay'. 'We have a lot of experience staying in nature and we were not dying. I did not bring my children to die in the jungle. A Russian mother and her two young daughters have been found living in a remote forest cave in India Cops discovered Nina Kutina, 40, and her children, aged six and four, during a routine patrol to Ramatirtha Hill, a tourist site on the coast of Karnataka, on July 9 Ms Kutina defended her lifestyle in a video interview with ANI news agency, insisting the cave was 'not a dangerous place to stay' #WATCH | Bengaluru | Russian national Nina Kutina, who was found living with her two daughters in a remote cave near Gokarna in Karnataka, says, "We have a lot of experience staying in nature and we were not dying. I did not bring my children to die in the jungle...We used to pic.twitter.com/iY0Bi8I6xb ANI (@ANI) July 14, 2025 'We used to swim in the waterfall. My kids were not dying from hunger,' she says. Ms Kutina added: 'I have lived in the forests of nearly 20 countries as we love nature. The cave was very close to the village. The cave was not a dangerous place to stay.' A spokesperson said that Ms Kutina spent her time in the cave meditating by candlelight, and that she told investigating officers she was 'interested in staying in the forest and worshipping God'. Mr Sridhar said Ms Kutina told police that she had worked as a tutor of Russian language in Goa, a coastal tourist state in southern India. 'It is nothing but her love for adventure that brought her here,' said Mr Sridhar. Your browser does not support iframes. He said police found pictures of Hindu deities on the inside walls of the cave where Ms Kutina had been living. According to police, Ms Kutina sent a message to her friends after she was found. 'Our peaceful life in the cave has ended - our cave home destroyed,' she wrote in the message, according to the statement. On Tuesday, she told news agency Press Trust of India that she spent her days in the cave by painting, singing, reading books, and living peacefully with her children. The Israeli military has hit the compound of Gaza's only Catholic church, killing two people and wounding several others, according to witnesses and church officials. Among the injured was the parish's priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, who became a close friend of Pope Francis in the final months of the late pontiff's life. Jerusalem's Latin Patriarch, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told Vatican News that an Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) tank hit the Holy Family Church in Gaza earlier today. 'What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church,' he said. 'We don't have complete information about what has happened in Gaza today because the communication in Gaza is not that simple,' he added. The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the war. Israel says it has launched an investigation, with the IDF issuing a statement saying it was aware of the reports and casualties at the site. 'The IDF operates to the fullest extent possible to minimize the harm caused to civilians and civilian structures, including religious buildings, and regrets any damage to them,' it added. Pope Leo XIV said he was 'deeply saddened' by the attack and renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in response. A view of the damage to the Holy Family church in Gaza City following an Israeli strike Wounded Palestinians, including Father Jebrail Romanelli, are brought to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital after an Israeli attack targeted the Holy Family Church in eastern Gaza City Palestinians who were injured in an Israeli strike on the Holy Family church are rushed for treatment in Gaza City's Baptist hospital This picture taken from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing over destroyed buildings during an Israeli strike on the besieged Palestinian territory In a telegram of condolences for the victims sent by the Vatican's No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Leo expressed 'his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region.' The pope was 'deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack,' and expressed his closeness to the parish priest, the Rev. Romanelli and the entire parish. Romanelli was very close to the late Pope Francis and the two spoke often during the war in Gaza. The church compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the fatalities and people injured. The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parish's 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Parish priest Romanelli was lightly injured, it added. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. 'The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude,' she said. In a rare move, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted an apology on social media. 'Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty,' the ministry said. Fr. Gabriel Romanelli receives care after he was injured in an Israeli strike on the church Father Carlos (C) from the Holy Family church in Gaza City assists casualties injured in an Israeli strike Wounded Palestinians, including Father Jebrail Romanelli, are brought to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital Bodies of the Palestinians are taken to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital morgue for funeral arrangements following the Israeli strike hit the Catholic Holy Family Church The church is just a stone's throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. Targeting a holy site 'is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war,' the Church said in a statement. Separately, another person was killed and 17 injured Thursday in a strike against two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Residents of the Nuseirat refugee camp line up in front of water trucks every day to carry clean water back to their tents in Gaza City Palestinians inspect the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, in Bureij refugee camp Mother Iman Al-Nouri, who lost two of her children, Omar and Amir, in an Israeli strike while they were queuing for supplements near a medical centre, kisses a soft toy belongings to her son Siraj, who was wounded in the same strike and is being treated at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital Last year, he told CBS' '60 Minutes' that he calls a priest daily at 7 pm at the Holy Family Church to hear what was happening to the nearly 600 people sheltering at the facility. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics. The strikes come as Israel and Hamas continue talks for a ceasefire in Gaza, though little progress has been made. According to an Israeli official familiar with the details, Israel is showing 'flexibility' on some of the issues that have challenged negotiators, including Israeli presence in some of the security corridors the military has carved into the Gaza Strip. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations, said Israel has shown some willingness to compromise on the Morag Corridor, which cuts across southern Gaza. However, other issues remain, including the list of prisoners to be freed and commitments to end the war. This picture taken from a position on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, shows an Israeli fighter jet over the Palestinian territory Israeli troops and an army bulldozer near the separation fence between Israel and Gaza on July 17 The official says there are signs of optimism but there won't be a deal immediately. The war began with Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023. That day, terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. An entrepreneur who spent 13.5 million on a home dubbed 'the world's most expensive' bungalow has finally been given the green light to demolish and rebuild it - after a two-year battle with planners. Tom Glanfield, 46, bought a rundown property on the exclusive Sandbanks resort - described as Dorset's millionaire's row - back in March 2023. He had plans to knock down the Edwardian cottage and replace it with a modern family eco-home. But planners recommended his application be refused on the basis that it would 'result in the total loss of the non-designated heritage asset'. This, they said, would cause 'significant harm' to the Sandbanks Conservation Area. Mr Glanfield however, who lives in Poole, Dorset, insisted that the current house was 'no longer fit for purpose' - and said he had designed a new family home that was 'sympathetic to the beautiful surroundings of the conservation area.' And during a meeting with planners today (July 17), the self-made millionaire and dad insisted he was 'not a property developer' and was not 'flipping [the bungalow] for profit'. He said: 'I'm not a property developer looking to put in a big block of flats here. I'm not flipping this for profit. Pictured: Tom Glanfield and fiancee Jordan Holland and three-month-old baby Jude Glanfield Tom Glanfield's waterfront bungalow that sold for 13.5m in 2023. He had plans to knock down the Edwardian cottage and replace it with a modern family eco-home 'I am very much a family man who is trying to make a family home. I will probably die in that home. 'I care deeply about the environment. I have a renewable energy recruitment firm that I built from scratch. 'This property is currently energy rated F. It would become energy rated A. 'The house's current state also isn't good. I don't allow my kids down to the harbour wall because it is dangerous. 'Instead, I am creating a living sea wall at great expense. I won't even see that from the property - it's all for public benefit. 'So the proposal would improve the environment. 'Currently, the property looks out of place. On either side of it you have flat-roof modern houses. 'And in my opinion the property isn't of any heritage significance - it was the servant quarters to the main house which has since been demolished. Tom Glanfield, 46, bought the rundown house in an exclusive area of Dorset known as 'Millionaire's Row' in March 2023 The four-bedroom home had been in the same family for 117 years after Victorian botanist Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker bought a piece of land 'It's been altered significantly over the years with permitted developments and extensions. 'It's time for it to be developed. You actually all have an opportunity with me, without sounding arrogant, in that I've got the time, energy, and money to make this something you can all be proud of. 'So I really hope you grant it.' Ultimately, his words proved persuasive since after two long years, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP Council) finally gave him the green light for his plans. Officers voted to greenlight the proposal by seven to one. Many said they did not consider the current property as a 'heritage asset' - adding that, if it was, it was of 'very limited value'. Others said the loss of the heritage asset would be justified as the 'benefits outweigh'. One councillor listed the benefits as: 'Energy efficiency, ecological benefits provided by the living sea wall, bringing the property back into local use, and a design that is more sympathetic to the environment than what is currently there.' It will also be fronted by a huge 360 foot living sea wall covered in planting of specialist marine fauna Mr Glanfield plans to transform the rundown bungalow - which he says has a leaking roof, mould, and mildew - into a sustainable two-storey family eco home. The new-build, the entrepreneur says, will be complete with renewable power and a desalination facility - and will see the sea wall, which is currently 'unsafe', 'unsightly', and crumbling, enhanced and restructured. He previously said: 'My dream is to build a family home that will not only retain the modest beauty of the plot but will also stand the test of time.' Mr Glanfield received significant backing for his proposal from the local community - with 38 letters of support submitted to the council. Among those was one from neighbour Ros Smart, who labelled the plans as an 'outstandingly innovative design for an iconic site'. She continued: 'The modern sleek appearance is entirely in keeping with houses in the surrounding area and is totally suitable for the conservation area.' Others agreed that the design was 'sympathetic' to the location - describing the 'modern sleek appearance' as 'entirely in keeping with houses in the surrounding area'. Planners however argued that the proposal should be refused on 'conservation grounds' - and said alternative options 'involving the retention of the cottage' could have been explored. Sandbanks - Britain's answer to Miami Beach - has been one of the most desirable places to live in the UK for over 20 years due to its position at Poole Harbour Planning officer Babatunde Aregbesola told the meeting that the existing building was considered very important to the Sandbanks Conservation Area (CA) given its age, which he described as 'very early Edwardian, one of the oldest in the area'. He said: 'The proposal by reason of the demolition of the existing cottage would result in the total loss of the non-designated heritage asset causing significant harm and failing to preserve or enhance the character or appearance of the Sandbanks Conservation Area.' He also argued that the benefits proposed by Mr Glanfield do not outweigh the harm. He said: 'The applicant, via legal representation, identifies the following public benefits: visual and environmental enhancements from a proposed sea wall and landscaping; design choices including use of local materials and a sedum roof; and improved energy efficiency (F to A rated). 'But while the scheme would deliver a more energy efficient home and some economic activity, it would replace an existing, habitable dwelling and would not increase housing supply. 'The reduced flood risk benefits are private in nature. These benefits are modest and do not outweigh the identified heritage harm 'The proposal would harm the character and appearance of the Conservation Area and its significance. The proposal would also cause harm to non-designated heritage assets which adds further substantial weight against the development. 'In conclusion, the development conflicts with the relevant policies and lacks sufficient public benefit to justify the harm. Despite locals writing in 38 letters of support for the plans, councillors are now being recommended to turn it down on 'conservation grounds' 'The application should therefore be refused.' But Mr Glanfield managed to convey his side of the story to BCP Council. Following Mr Glanfield's speech, one councillor told the meeting: 'The house itself as it stands is not particularly special, charming or dynamic. It's just an ordinary house. 'But what is being proposed is a special, ecologically designed property that is going to enhance the area and make a huge difference to what the Conservation Area looks like. 'I can't support the officer's recommendation [to refuse the application].' Another said: 'I'm struggling to see how this is a heritage asset. Let these people build the home they want and have a positive impact on the surrounding area.' Mr Glanfield is working on the development with local architect firms Marlow and Arc and award-winning landscape designer Andy Sturgeon. He will now be able to push ahead with his new eco-home. A doctor under investigation for the murder of her lover was instructed by her husband to delete a video that captured the attack, Brazilian authorities have revealed. Ivan Bonotto, 35, was stabbed March 22 at a bar in Sorriso, Mato Grosso that is owned by the gynecologist's partner before he died after going into cardiac arrest on April 13. Bonotto was rushed to Sorriso Regional Hospital, where Dr. Sabrina de Mello arrived four minutes after he was admitted, according to the Mato Grosso Civil Police. Dr. de Mello, a mother-of-two, was dressed in scrubs and told security that she was there to visit Bonotto, whom she described as a friend. The physician was seen on video walking behind the hospital staff as they hurried him to the operating room and deleting text messages and the footage of the fight that Bonotto recorded on his cell phone. Dr. de Mello told investigators that she erased the messages and video because she was looking to 'protect the victim.' On Tuesday, authorities arrested Dr. de Mello, on a procedural fraud charge. Tacca was taken into custody for masterminding the attack while his friend, local businessman Danilo Guimaraes, was arrested for killing Bonotto. Bonotto was a good friend of Tacca and often stayed at the family residence. Authorities in Sorriso, Brazil revealed that Dr. Sabrina de Mello (pictured) was ordered by her husband, Gabriel Tacca, to visit her wounded alleged lover Ivan Bonotto at Sorriso Regional Hospital on March 22 and to delete footage of the staged fight between Tacca and his friend, Danilo Guimaraes, whom Tacca hired to kill Bonotto. Bonotto died on April 13 Ivan Bonotto (pictured) was invited to stay at the home of his friend Gabriel Tacca on multiple occasions before he became romantically involved with Tacca's wife, Dr. Sabrina de Mello. Tacca discovered the relationship and plotted Bonotto's murder A surveillance camera mounted in the garage of Dr. Sabrina de Mello's home showed her and her lover, Ivan Bonotto, kissing on March 9, two weeks before he was stabbed A selfie taken by Dr. de Mello showed Bonotto drinking a beer and a smiling Tacca in the background. 'Thanks for the visit,' the doctor's caption read. Two other captions read: 'They go, I don't' and 'Excellent company.' Another photo taken by the gynecologist showed her, Bonotto and Tacca at a pool. Surveillance video footage showed Bonotto visiting the home March 9 and kissing the doctor in the garage. They spent some time inside the residence before they walked out and kissed again. After learning that one of his closest friends and his wife were romantically involved, Tacca lured Bonotto to his bar, where he and Guimaraes faked the scene of a fight, which Bonotto is said to have captured on video. At one point, Guimaraes attacked Bonotto and stabbed him multiple times. Dr. de Mello posted multiple photos on social media while enjoying time together with her alleged lover Ivan Bonotto ( top left) and her husband Gabriel Tacca (top right) Brazilian police investigators said Gabriel Tacca (pictured) plotted the murder of his friend Ivan Bonotto after discovering that he was involved in a secret relationship with his doctor wife Dr. Sabrina de Mello told investigators that she deleted content from her lover's cell phone because she wanted to 'protect him' Tacca presented himself at a police station and told investigators that he did not know Bonotto and that the brawl was sparked by drinking at the bar. Guimaraes indicated that he was involved in the fight, but that he stabbed Bonotto to protect himself. Mato Grosso Civil Police chief Bruno Branca said they discovered that Tacca and Guimaraes remained at the bar and spoked for 'one minute and 42 seconds.' Dr. Sabrina de Mello (pictured) was arrested Tuesday in Sorriso, Brazil as part of an investigation into the murder of Ivan Bonotto, her husband's close friend and with whom she was involved in an alleged affair 'After the person [Guimaraes] left, the bar owner waited another 11 minutes, with the victim in critical condition, to take him to the hospital,' he said. 'The claim that he had called the police and fire department is false. There was no connection in the records.' 'What we know is that the story about a bar fight is a lie,' Branca added. 'There was no fight, no self-defense, no racist abuse. What happened was an attack from behind, which we believe was planned.' A 16 year-old boy cracked a 'joke' about his masculinity that saw a Spirit flight forced to rush to a deserted corner of an airport over fears it would explode. The teen, who Daily Mail is not naming, made a gag about having a 'bomb in his pocket' while sat on the flight 1332 preparing to take off from Fort Lauderdale Airport for Kansas City on Monday afternoon. His mother told the Miami Herald the remark was just the boy's attempt at a joke about his 'masculinity.' But other passengers and flight attendants feared he posed a security threat. The packed Airbus was ordered to a quiet area of the airport in case it was on the verge of blowing up. Broward County Sheriff's Office deputies were seen boarding the plane and hauling the boy off, who was wearing a dainty white shell necklace. Once it was established there was no bomb, passengers were forced to deplane before the flight finally departed late for Missouri. He was charged with criminal mischief over $1,000 and making a false report of a bomb/explosive, according to authorities. A teenage boy was arrested on Monday after he allegedly made a bomb threat while on board a Spirit Airlines flight A Spirit Airlines spokesperson said the crew contacted law enforcement, and passengers were deplaned so authorities could investigate (file photo) The teen's father defended him virtually in court, claiming that he was just being a teenager and didn't intend to act criminally The teen appeared before a court wearing a tank top Tuesday, with his father beaming in via a construction site over video link to plead for leniency. Spirit Airlines said in a statement that law enforcement was requested to meet the plane before departure due to a potential security issue. 'The aircraft taxied to a remote location, and Guests were safely deplaned. The plane was inspected and cleared by law enforcement,' the statement continued. The teen was vacationing in Florida with friends and was heading home to Missouri when the arrest occurred. He was held in a juvenile detention center and appeared in court on Tuesday. His father, Phillip Schmidt, appeared virtually to defend his son, according to footage shared by local NBC affiliate, WTVJ. 'I would just like to ask for grace in this matter,' Schmidt told the court. 'I dont believe he acted criminally. He was acting as an immature 16-year-old in my opinion.' The boy's attorney stated in court that he said he 'had a bomb in his pocket,' but noted that authorities didn't specify where and when the teen made the claim. Judge Stacy Ross said that Spirit was estimating a loss of $50,000. The boy's mother told the Miami Herald that the teen is 'a good kid' and was just talking in slang with his friends when a woman sitting nearby overheard the comment. The mother told the outlet that he was held in juvenile custody until Tuesday afternoon. Authorities haven't released the teenager's name, and it's unclear whether he's being charged as an adult. Daily Mail has contacted Broward County Sheriff's Office for further detail. Keir Starmer is set to agree a deal to exempt UK steel exports to the US from Donald Trump's punitive tariffs when they meet in Scotland next week A 'breakthrough' in talks aiming to remove the economic impact of the president's protectionist foreign policy has reportedly been made ahead of his private visit to Scotland. Sir Keir is expected to meet him while he visits his private business interests and agree the final part of a deal announced in May. There had been a disagreement over whether Tata Steel's products would be covered, as it is currently finishing foreign-produced metal while blast furnaces are updated. The US also had concerns about Chinese involvement in British Steel, the Times reported. Trump told American reporters earlier this week that the pair will have a meeting 'probably in Aberdeen' during his private visit to Scotland. In a BBC News interview, the president said he and Sir Keir will 'refine' the recent trade deal struck between the UK and the US. A 'breakthrough' in talks aiming to remove the economic impact of the president's protectionist foreign policy has reportedly been made ahead of his private visit to Scotland. Sir Keir is expected to meet him while he visits his private business interests and agree the final part of a deal announced in May. There had been a disagreement over whether Tata Steel's products would be covered, as it is currently finishing foreign-produced metal while blast furnaces are updated. The US also had concerns about Chinese involvement in British Steel, the Times reported. A trade deal struck between the UK and the US earlier this year reduced tariffs on car and aerospace imports, but questions remain over whether steel imports into America will face 50 per cent tariffs. There is a baseline tariff of 10 per cent for most other imports. Trump's July 9 deadline for when he said he would start implementing tariffs on trade partners has been and gone. Ahead of his visit to the UK, the president described Britain as a 'great place' which is a 'true ally' of the US. Mr Trump said: 'We're going to be meeting with the British Prime Minister, very respectful, and we are going to have a meeting with him, probably in Aberdeen, and we're going to do a lot of different things. 'We're going to also refine the trade deal that we've made. So we'll be meeting mostly [] at probably one of my properties, or maybe not, depending on what happens, but we'll be in Aberdeen, in Scotland, meeting with the Prime Minister.' A California lawmaker who sparked outrage after asking why Los Angeles gangs weren't confronting ICE raids has finally broken her silence. Cynthia Gonzalez, Vice Mayor of Cudahy, gave an unlikely excuse during a city council meeting Tuesday night, weeks after deleting the video that triggered immediate backlash. In the clip, Gonzalez seemed to encourage the city's well-known criminal gang members to get involved as federal immigration officers swept through Southern California neighborhoods. She now 'apologized' for her message and claimed the controversial TikTok video was merely meant to be 'a short satirical video.' 'The message was not about violence,' she said. 'It was about regular people ... claiming ownership of our streets in a time of great distress and asking others, who I mentioned in my video, in organizing and protesting against the harm and violence being inflicted on our community.' 'Those that inserted a narrative of violence into my video weaponized it in a way that is totally inconsistent with my life's work,' she added. In the since-deleted video, the councilwoman said: 'I want to know where all the cholosare at in Los Angeles ... you guys tag everything up, claiming hood, and now that your hood's being invaded by the biggest gang there is, there ain't a peep out of you.' 'It's everyone else who's not about the gang life that's out there protesting and speaking up,' she said. 'We're out there fighting our turf, protecting our turf, protecting our people and, like, where you at?' Cynthia Gonzalez (pictured), Vice Mayor of Cudahy, gave an unlikely excuse during a city council meeting Tuesday night, weeks after deleting the video that triggered immediate backlash In the clip, Gonzalez seemed to encourage the city's well-known gang members to get involved as federal immigration officers swept through Southern California neighborhoods She was slammed for her comments online. The Department of Homeland Security labeled her remarks 'despicable,' while the Los Angeles Police Protective League and the LAPD union called for her immediate resignation. She claimed that her intention was to spark discussion about protecting the community, not to encourage violent retaliation. 'I don't believe violence by anyone is ever the solution to any of our problems,' she said Tuesday. 'I want to apologize to city staff, members of the council and my community that my video took attention away from the pain our communities are experiencing and brought unnecessary attention to our city. 'I also want acknowledge the stress and anxiety that this caused all of you, from getting hate emails to threats to everything else, which is completely uncalled for,' she continued. 'But I also want to assert my constitutionally protected rights to free speech and I'm committed to using my voice in a more responsible and still-powerful manner moving forward.' The Department of Homeland Security labeled her remarks 'despicable,' while the Los Angeles Police Protective League and the LAPD union called for her immediate resignation. The Department of Homeland Security labeled her remarks 'despicable,' while the Los Angeles Police Protective League and the LAPD union called for her immediate resignation (pictured: Latino Florencia 13 gang member getting handcuffed in LA) Her attorney, Damian J. Martinez, also issued a statement defending her actions. He said she was calling on Latino residents to join peaceful efforts and not encouraging violence. 'Importantly, Dr. Gonzalez in no way encouraged anyone to engage in violence,' he wrote. 'Any suggestion that she advocated for violence is categorically false and without merit.' Activity at a deadly jungle choke point in Central America where hundreds of thousands of migrants bound for the U.S. routinely imperiled themselves has slowed to merely a trickle under President Trump's immigration crackdown. The Darien Gap is an expanse of dense rainforest, steep ravines and swamps that regularly endures extreme rainfall, flash-floods and landslides. It is often considered the most dangerous leg of any migrant's journey from South to Central America. Over 520,000 migrants crossed through the dangerous jungle crossing heading to America in 2023; In 2024 the crossings dipped to around 300,000. There were 55 migrant deaths in the gap last year, and 180 children abandoned and left for dead were rescued, local authorities claimed. There were 31,000 Darien Gap crossings in June of 2024. But the dangerous crossings there have all but stopped, and according to a Spanish language news report, just 10 migrants crossed through the Darien Gap this June - something the White House says is cause for celebration. According to data from Panamanian authorities, under 3,000 migrants have attempted the Darien Gap crossings in 2025. The landscape is so hostile there are no roads through it, making it the only gap in the Pan-American highway which otherwise runs uninterrupted from Alaska to Argentina. Located at a critical passage between Panama and Colombia, millions of migrants have traversed the treacherous jungle on their journey to enter the U.S. It's full of venomous creatures, crocodiles, disease-carrying mosquitos and more. Dangerous migrant crossings at the Darien Gap between Panama and Colombia have all but stopped due to President Donald Trump's immigration and border security agenda Migrants camp at the Reception Center for Migrant Care in Lajas Blancas, in the jungle province of Darien, Panama, on June 28, 2024 A stray dog walks in an empty migrant reception center that used to receive hundreds of people every day after they crossed the Darien Gap on their journey north to the United States, in Lajas Blancas, Panama, Sunday, April 6, 2025 'Word of the United States secure border has spread so far around the world, that migrants arent even willing to make the dangerous journey to get here because they know theyll be turned away,' White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told the Daily Mail in a statement. 'For the last two months, Border Patrol released zero illegal aliens into the United States,' Jackson added. 'Thats a stat known all the way from here to the Darien Gap.' The shutdown of the passageway has impacted local economies dependent on migrants. Bajo Chiquito, a small indigenous village of 400 residents deep in the Panama jungle that is the first stop for travelers after heading through the gap, has seen its business grind to a halt since Trump implemented his sweeping border policies. 'On a normal day I attended at least 100 people, even more,' Jason Mosquera, 25, a food vendor reminisced to Spanish outlet EFE. 'Now I only attend ten people a day, if anything, six people. It has dropped a lot.' His customers these days are typically from the small village or the occasional traveler. Mosquera shared that business from passing through migrants has dried up. Haitian migrants wade across a river near Bajo Chiquito, Panama, after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia on their way north to the United States, Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024 Migrants heading north arrive by boat to Lajas Blancas, Darien province, Panama, Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, after walking across the Darien Gap from Colombia The riverbank where hundreds of migrants used to disembark daily is no clean and devoid of travelers The vast majority of those passing through the Darien Gap - almost 2,300 - did so in January, many getting through before Trump was inaugurated and Biden was still in power. Esmeralda Dumasa, a leader in Bajo Chiquito, told EFE that the town is returning to 'normalcy' after the massive migrant waves. Children playing in the street once more is evidence of this return to 'how it was a few years ago.' The standstill in the Darien Gap comes as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) celebrated record-breaking months. June was the lowest month of illegal crossings ever at the U.S.-Mexico border, the agency announced this week. Clothing and garbage litter the trail where migrants have been trekking across the Darien Gap from Colombia to Panama in hopes of eventually reaching the United States, on May 10, 2023 A migrant reception center that normally received hundreds of people every day after they crossed the Darien Gap on their journey north to the United States, stands empty in Lajas Blancas, Panama, April 6, 2025. There were 6,072 migrants who crossed the border - serious drop from the tens of thousands of migrants who regularly crossed into the U.S. on a daily average. Under Biden, there were routinely 6,000 illegal crossings in a single day. None of the migrants who illegally crossed were released into the U.S., CBP touted in a recent press release. CBP released nearly 28,000 migrants into the U.S. last June after they illegally crossed the border. 'Border crossings at their lowest levels in history last week and NPR defunded. Two big wins!' VP JD Vance posted on Thursday. A 'psychopath' torturer known as Dr Evil in a Russian jail has been unmasked with the help of Ukrainian POWs whom he 'inflicted with electric shocks, beatings and sexual humiliation'. Dozens of exchanged prisoners collaborated with independent journalists to track down the Russian prison medic who subjected them to physical and psychological abuse. The twisted doctor was named as Ilya Sorokin, 34, who worked in a medical unit serving hellhole Penal Colony No. 10 in the Russian region of Mordovia. His cruel torture led to the death of one Ukrainian soldier Volodymyr Yukhymenko, who was diagnosed after captivity with pneumonia, multiple fractures and internal bleeding. The investigative journalists from outlets Schemes Current Times gathered testimony from more than 150 released prisoners, and analysed open sources, including social media, locating video evidence from a Medical Service Day event in which Sorokin is seen and heard, highlighted by OCCRP. Dozens of former inmates identified the man as Dr Evil. He has now switched jobs and is now an army medic, and when contacted by reporters pretended to deny his role. However, there is overwhelming evidence that Sorokin was the torturer in a jail where at least 177 Ukrainian POWs were sent. A 'psychopath' torturer known as Dr Evil in a Russian jail has been unmasked with the help of Ukrainian POWs Ilya Sorokin, 34, worked in a medical unit serving hellhole Penal Colony No. 10 in the Russian region of Mordovia Ukrainian POWs (left to right) Pavlo Afisov, Yulian Pylypey, Oleksandr Kiriienko and Nikita Pikulyk spent months in Russia's Colony No. 10 in Mordovia Russian penal colony No. 10 in Mordovia,linked to torture of dozens of Ukrainian POWs 'Nearly all, according to Ukrainian officials who interviewed them when they returned home, reported having been tortured and subjected to relentless physical and psychological violence,' said the report, which obtained testimony from almost 50 ex-inmates. 'They described rampant sexual violence - threats of rape, beatings aimed at their genitals - and psychological torture, like mock executions. 'They said they were forced to stand for up to 16 hours a day, listen to loud Russian patriotic songs for equally long stretches (or 24 hours straight, if they were in the punishment block), and sometimes sing along to the Russian national anthem, hands on hearts.' They recounted the doctor as the worst torturer. 'He wore a white coat and usually hid his face behind a medical mask or a balaclava, but the prisoners said his voice was unforgettable', said the report. 'It was manic, screechy,' one said. 'Indescribable.' He stood out for his 'pointless sadism and betrayal of medical ethics'. He forced them to hold out their hands, then jolted them with an electric shocker or stun gun. 'He made prisoners bark and crawl like dogs, or crow like roosters. One POW barked especially well and was made to do so constantly.' Former POW Yulian Pylypey said: 'God forbid he didn't. The doctor would immediately shout: 'You, bark!' Ilya Sorokin, 34, marked, the Russian prison doctor nicknamed 'Dr Evil' by Ukrainian POWs Sorokin is pictured in this group photo Research helped identify him as Ilya Sorokin, a married father of two, who lives in Potomac, 19 miles from the brutal jail Inmate Pavlo Afisov said: 'His favourite question for all of us was, 'Who are you?' 'We had to reply, 'F******.' He made them chant: 'Glory to Russian medicine!' Those who didn't faced electric shocks. Sick prisoners - one with a rotting tooth - were denied treatment. One Ukrainian prisoner, Volodymyr Yykhymenko, died after being beaten. His cellmate said Dr. Evil refused to examine him. Research helped identify him as Ilya Sorokin, a married father of two, who lives in Potomac, 19 miles from the brutal jail. 'Social media shows Sorokin as nostalgic for the Soviet Union and proud of his role,' said the report. 'He supports the war and posed in military garb, shared chauvinistic memes, and performed comedy skits for holidays.' A journalist reached him and said, 'Ukrainian servicemen... identify you as the person who tortured and beat them.' He replied: 'That can't be true. I don't work there.' He hung up, and blocked the number, yet his face and voice were confirmed by multiple former victims of his sickening violence, which flouts the rules of war. The prison service and penal colony did not comment. Disturbing surveillance footage has emerged allegedly showing a Marine Corps veteran subjecting his sixyearold stepson to a twisted 'boot camp' inside their Miami home. The video captures 42yearold Zachary Perez arrested in May dressed in black and dragging the young boy by a pink dog collar fastened around his neck, part of what prosecutors say was a sustained and brutal punishment routine. Another clip reportedly showed the child running outside with a heavy backpack full of rocks, while additional footage captures Perez kicking him repeatedly in both the living room and bedroom, according to court records. 'He had swollen eyes from being hit. He had numerous marks from the tree branch. He had scratches, bruises, and a rash on his neck from the collar,' a MiamiDade officer testified during a bond hearing on May 20. Investigators say the abuse went on for at least two days, leaving the boy physically and emotionally traumatized. Prosecutors also revealed that Perez, who served in Iraq, has a long history of alleged violence. Court documents show at least five restraining orders have been filed against him by former partners including one by his own 14yearold daughter. The victim's mother reported the abuse to police after receiving threatening texts from Perez, according to testimony. Newly released video captures an Marine Corps vet dragging the young boy by a pink dog collar fastened around his neck as part of the supposed regimen Zachary Perez, 42 mugshot taken after his arrest in Miami on child abuse charges following shocking surveillance footage 'This was the day she left to file the report,' the deputy said. 'He told her, "Get home." He said he was going to make her pay. 'You'll remember Mother's Day.' 'Your honor, it's the state's position that the defendant is a ticking time bomb,' Assistant State Attorney Lily Wisset told Judge Richard Hersch. 'He freaks out. He threatens to kill them. He says he'll kill his exwife, his kids he's going to kill everybody. And he threatens them with a gun.' Perez's attorneys claimed the boy's mother had asked him to discipline the child but prosecutors pushed back, saying the evidence contradicted that narrative. His mother, Barbara Perez, testified that her son suffers from PTSD and hearing loss after three combat deployments. She said he had undergone surgeries and was exposed to multiple IED explosions during his time in Iraq. It was said in court that the child went mute following the abuse but has since begun speaking again. Amanda Altman, CEO of the Kristi House child advocacy center, told NBC6 the boy likely suffered lasting trauma from the ordeal. Another video shows the young boy running outside with a backpack full of rocks as punishment, per court records Video evidence reportedly shows Perez engaged in further abuse, repeatedly kicking the child in the living room and bedroom 'What trauma would [Perez] have suffered that he never got the proper intervention to overcome?' she said. 'Certainly possible those things affected his decisions later in life.' Perez has pleaded not guilty and is currently under house arrest, with courtordered mental health treatment. He has been ordered to stay away from both the child and the boy's mother while he awaits trial. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are in San Francisco to announce the reopening of the infamous prison of Alcatraz. President Donald Trump said in May that he wanted to make the federal penitentiary operational once more. His Justice and Interior Department secretaries were spotted together on Thursday afternoon on a U.S. Coast Guard boat en route to the notorious island. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt signaled that the decision to reopen the prison isn't set in stone and said that Bondi and Burgum are touring the site to evaluate the viability of the proposal. Asked who would be housed in the prison, Leavitt said on Thursday: 'The worst of the worst criminals in this country both American criminals who conduct heinous crimes but also illegal alien criminals before deportation.' Currently, the National Park Service (NPS) controls the site, which is environmentally protected and serves as a popular California tourist destination. Bondi and Burgum's surprise visit to the island on Thursday is already drawing ire from Democrats including top voices in the Golden State. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that the idea to reopen Alcatraz is Trump's 'stupidest initiative yet.' Attorney General Pam Bondi (center) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (right) arrived on Alcatraz on Thursday, July 17 to tour the shuttered prison in an effort to determine if it should b reopened as a federal penitentiary The two were spotted together on a U.S. Coast Guard boat en route to Alcatraz Island right off the coast of San Francisco, California 'It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies,' the former speaker added. Bondi's trip out west comes as she is embroiled in controversy of the Justice Department's memo on the Jeffrey Epstein files. 'Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So... never,' California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. Reopening Alcatraz is in line with Trump's hard-on-crime policies. In a post shared to Truth Social announcing the plan, Trump said 'the reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.' Trump has directed the Bureau of Prisons to work alongside the Department of Justice, FBI and Homeland Security to 'reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt' Alcatraz. He said the notorious facility, which once held famed gangster Al Capone, will 'house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders.' The Cabinet officials' visit to the notorious island comes as Trump seeks to reopen the prison for 'both American criminals who conduct heinous crimes but also illegal alien criminals before deportation' The order comes as Trump has repeatedly clashed with the courts as he tries to send accused gang members and illegal migrants to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The maximum security prison, which was shut down in 1963, will provide Trump a workaround to those court orders barring him from carrying out the mass deportation scheme. 'We will no longer be held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally,' he wrote, appearing to suggest illegal migrants will be the first sent to the prison. Trump has also directed the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to hold up to 30,000 of what he has labeled the 'worst criminal aliens.' The trip by his top deputies comes after the president visited the new so-called 'Alligator Alcatraz' in Florida meant to house illegal immigrants as they are prepared for deportation. President President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (left), and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem (right) tour a migrant detention center, dubbed 'Alligator Alcatraz,' located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport An alligator swims in water, as preparation is underway at the entrance road of a temporary migrant detention center, informally known as 'Alligator Alcatraz', ahead of Trump's visit Congress is expected to introduce a bill that will end the environmental protections for Alcatraz and strip control of the site from the National Park Service. Alcatraz generates approximately $60 million in annual revenue, according to NPS. The prison operated from 1934 to 1963 - closing after just 29 years due to high operational costs. It was initially a military fort that was repurposed as a maximum-security prison dedicated for the most dangerous federal inmates. According to estimates, refurbishing the island and building a new prison would cost upwards of $250 million. The prison currently serves as a museum and historical site that tourists can visit and tour. A music teacher allegedly instructed two underage girls to kiss each other during a game of truth or dare before she sexually abused one of them, later telling the teen she was 'so in love with her' but would have to wait until she turned 17. Adelaide educator and flautist Janelle Colville Fletcher is standing trial in the South Australian District Court over the allegations regarding the teenage girls. She has pleaded not guilty to one count each of sexual abuse of a child and communicating with intent to make a child amenable to sexual activity. Prosecutor Chris Allen told the court Fletcher allegedly dared the two girls to kiss one another while in her early 30s, the Adelaide Advertiser reported. After one of the girls went to sleep, Fletcher then allegedly continued to engage in sexual acts with the other girl, the prosecutor told the court. Mr Allen accused Fletcher of engaging in 'two or more' sexual acts with the girl and continuing a relationship with her for several months. He referred to text and email exchanges between Fletcher and the teen, which allegedly included the teacher telling the girl she was 'so in love with her'. She is also accused of actively attempting to conceal her behaviour by allegedly instructing the girl to disguise her name in her contacts list. Adelaide educator and flautist Janelle Colville Fletcher (pictured) is standing trial in the South Australian District Court over the allegations regarding the teenage girls Prosecutor Chris Allen told the court Fletcher (pictured) allegedly dared the two girls to kiss one another during a game of truth or dare, while in her early 30 She also allegedly told the teenage girl not to speak about her. 'Right now we can't be open,' she allegedly wrote in one text. 'We have to continue as we are, in secret. I don't know if that is fair on you.' Mr Allen also accused Fletcher of giving the teenage girl several gifts for her birthday, including underwear, and taking her to a photo booth. The girl ended the relationship with Fletcher a few months later, the court heard. Both of her alleged victims are expected to give evidence at trial. The Obamas private beach in Martha's Vineyard could soon be opened to the public if a millionaire developer gets his way in a long-running legal battle. Boston real estate mogul Richard Friedman has been fighting his neighbors in the wealthy enclave for years over access to a two-mile stretch of barrier beach, Oyster Pond. He bought a 20-acree property in 1983, believing the purchase gave him ownership of the barrier beach. But his wealthy neighbors disagreed, saying they owned the beach. A lengthy legal saga ensued that was ultimately brought to an end by natural erosion and shifts in the beach's sands. As the court battle went on for decades, Friedman decided that, since the private beaches had by this point moved north to rest between two bodies of water considered 'public' under Massachusetts law - Oyster Pond and Jobs Neck Pond - no private entity should be able to lay claim to them. Now Democratic governor Maura Healy is pushing to open the beach stretch to the public, adding a measure to a $3 billion environmental bond bill that would define a barrier beach which moves - whether by erosion or rising sea levels - on to public land as public property. The bill declares that a beach that moves into the 'former bottom of the great pond shall be and remain in Commonwealth ownership in perpetuity.' Hundreds of homeowners would be affected if the measure passes, including Barack and Michelle Obama, whose 28-acre estate includes a barrier beach that would become open to the public. The Obamas private beach in Martha's Vineyard could become public property if a new law passes. Former US President Barack Obama and Michelle Obama are seen in 2023 Richard Friedman, a resident at the center of the dispute who is also a famed Boston real estate mogul, is pushing to liberate the beaches to the general public The Obamas purchased the sprawling vacation home on Martha's Vineyard, pictured, for $11.75 million in 2020. A private 'barrier beach' at its perimeter could soon open to the public thanks to a new law As the Boston Globe points out, Friedman is a Healy donor and is even scheduled to host a fundraiser for her this weekend. Critics of the bill have accused her of doing a donor's bidding but she insists the planned law will open more of her state's most stunning beaches to regular people who aren't super-rich. The Democrat has denied being swayed by her wealthy donor. Her spokesperson said in a statement: 'As someone who grew up on the Seacoast, Governor Healey has always felt strongly about increasing public access to beaches and great ponds.' The Obamas purchased the sprawling vacation home on Martha's Vineyard for $11.75 million in 2020. The battle between millionaire families has been raging since a century ago, when two wealthy clans - the Nortons and the Flynns - with oceanside mansions carved out the beach overlooking Oyster Pond, claiming land rights to large slices of the shoreline. The Norton land is now owned by three trusts - with Friedman being the principal owner, and the Flynn land is owned by six trusts. Hundreds of homeowners would be affected if the measure passes, including Barack and Michelle Obama, whose 28-acre estate includes a barrier beach that would become open to the public The battle between millionaire families has been raging since a century ago Last September, a court ruled against Richard and in favor of the neighbors who say they own the beach. Representatives for the Flynn trusts have been fighting Friedman's efforts for decades, and experts told the Boston Globe that the law would likely invite lawsuits from the affected homeowners of properties with private beaches. Eric Peters, one of the attorneys for the Flynn trusts, said 'There is no public interest promoted' by this bill...Rather, this legislation promotes the of a real estate developer.' Friedman's lawyers meanwhile have claimed 28 beaches that are now considered private would be open to the public if the law is changed. Friedman is the developer behind the famed Charles Hotel in Cambridge and the Liberty Hotel in Boston. A video clip of Vice President JD Vance calling or the release of the Epstein list has gone viral a year after it first aired in the latest eruption in the MAGA civil war over the extraordinary sex trafficking case. Vance, who has been silent on the Epstein controversy since the Justice Department released an unsigned memo about it earlier this month, made the comment during an appearance with comedian and podcaster Theo Von during the 2024 campaign. 'Release the list,' Von says with a smile, prompting a belly laugh from Vance. 'Seriously, we need to release the Epstein list. That is an important thing,' Vance replied said in his interview. Von, whose audience includes many conservatives and younger male listeners, revisited the exchange, posting about it Wednesday. 'Yeah what changed?' Von asked, in a post that picked up 9 million views. A clip of the exchange Tuesday by the progressive 'Call to Activism' account that Von linked to on X drew 10 million views. That poster had posted the question: 'Hey JD, what changed?' The exchange has now been viewed 10 million times on YouTube. That is the same posture that many prominent Trump supporters and MAGA members adopted. But on Wednesday, Trump furiously attacked Republicans still asking questions about the Epstein matter as being 'weaklings' who were being 'duped' by what he called a Democratic 'hoax.' 'Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into that net, so they try and do the Democrats' work,' Trump said. A video clip of Vice President JD Vance calling to 'release the Epstein list' from last year has gone viral amid the MAGA split over the issue Vance had called for bringing daylight to the matter on other occasions, and suggested people who weren't asking questions about it were complicit in a cover-up. 'What possible interest would the US government have in keeping Epstein's clients secret? Oh,' he wrote on December 30, 2021 on X. He also tore into reporters who weren't pursuing the matter. 'If you're a journalist and you're not asking questions about this case you should be ashamed of yourself,' he said. 'What purpose do you even serve? I'm sure there's a middle class teenager somewhere who could use some harassing right now but maybe try to do your job once in a while.' 'Certain Republicans got duped by the Democrats. And they're following a Democrat playbook,' President Donald Trump complained as he faced a series of questions about the Jeffrey Epstein case Right-wing Trump loyalist Laura Loomer said Trump's handling of the matter threatens to 'consume his presidency' The difficult position in which the Epstein affair places Vance, 40, has not escaped Democratic attention. Vance is considered a top GOP contender to try to take the reins of the MAGA movement when Trump leaves office. 'Trump doesn't have to run again, but [Vance] does,' said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Rep. He said in comments to Politico that the situation must be 'emasculating' for Vance. Trump's efforts to shut down the story haven't persuaded some of his most fervent supporters. Right-wing Trump loyalist Laura Loomer told Politico Trump's handling of the matter threatens to 'consume his presidency.' And anti-Trump columnist David French said the Epstein affair has finally proven to 'quite a few Americans ... that Trump is a liar.' Workers at a New Mexico group home for boys allegedly ignored urgent pleas to check on a teenager as he died by suicide in the facility's bathroom, choosing instead to stay on their phones, according to an investigation. Jaydun Garcia, 16, was found dead in the bathroom by his roommate in April at AMIkids Multi-Service Home in Albuquerque - a 12-bed, makeshift facility housing boys aged 12 to 17, who are in foster care under the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD), according to the home's website. Just two days later, the New Mexico Department of Justice launched a formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding the teen's preventable death - drawing on CCTV footage, staff and resident interviews and a review of the facility's procedures. The probe ultimately revealed that two staff members failed to check on Garcia during his extended time in the bathroom - despite being urged to do so by another teenage resident, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. When Garcia was finally discovered, a teenage resident confronted staff, saying, 'I told you to check,' according to a video shared with CYFD that was later removed, the outlet reported. While the CYDF noted that there are broader issues within the AMIKids facility, they said the incident 'is primarily the result of a failure to act by the two staff members who were on duty at that time.' 'He was brilliant, full of life, wanted to do all kinds of s***,' a former staff member, who was close with Garcia, told the outlet. 'He liked to skate and he liked to have fun, he just liked to talk, and he was a brilliant little boy,' she added. Workers at a New Mexico group home for boys - AMIkids Multi-Service Home in Albuquerque (pictured) -ignored urgent pleas to check on a teenager as he died by suicide in the facility's bathroom, choosing instead to stay on their phones, an investigation revealed Jaydun Garcia, 16, was found dead in the facility's bathroom by his roommate in April, with the New Mexico Department of Justice launching a formal investigation just two days later (pictured: press conference announcing the probe) The probe ultimately revealed that two staff members failed to check on Garcia during his extended time in the bathroom - despite being urged to do so by another teenage resident On April 10, Garcia entered the group home's bathroom around 7:40 a.m. and did not respond to knocks from another teen resident, who later said he sensed something was wrong. Despite the unidentified teen's repeated pleas for staff to check on Garcia, no action was taken. He was eventually found dead by the other youth at 8.36am - nearly an hour after entering the bathroom, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. The investigation found that the two on-duty staff members - both unidentified - spent portions of their shift on their phones, at times for up to 15 uninterrupted minutes. When alerted to the discovery, the two workers failed to enter the bathroom, check for signs of life, or administer any life-saving aid - neglecting even the most basic level of care expected of them, according to the CYFD. It was the same teenage boy who discovered Garcia's body who ultimately returned to the bathroom to check for vital signs - all while the two employees stood by. Staff interviews revealed warning signs of Garcia's declining mental health, with one former employee telling investigators it was clear throughout the home that he was struggling, according to the outlet. According to the report, Garcia had been in conflict with a girlfriend and a family member. When alerted to the discovery, the two workers failed to enter the bathroom, check for signs of life, or administer any life-saving aid - neglecting even the most basic level of care expected of them It was the same teenage boy who discovered Garcia's body who ultimately returned to the bathroom to check for vital signs He was offered virtual mental health services through an online therapist but declined, citing his preference to speak with someone in person as he didn't open up easily. In the days leading up to his suicide, Garcia began to withdraw from the staff member he had felt closest to - tragically, the final sign of his deepening distress. The group home also lacked a proper emergency response plan for suicide situations, the investigation found. The CYFD couldn't confirm whether the home had any materials or training related to suicide prevention - such as policies, staff drills or guides. It was unclear if those resources even existed. One critical failure noted was that most staff were unaware of the purpose or location of the 'knife for life' - a tool commonly included in suicide response kits to quickly cut through ligatures, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. Staff were also found to have kept inaccurate logs of their checks on youth residents, which are supposed to include regular physical observations - known as 'skin checks' - to verify their wellbeing while they sleep. According to the logs kept by staff in the hours leading up to Garcia's death, they recorded doing these checks frequently - specifically two to three times every hour. But surveillance footage revealed that staff only conducted two checks over a period exceeding three hours. Staff were also found to have kept inaccurate logs of their checks on youth residents, which are supposed to include regular physical observations - known as 'skin checks' - to verify their wellbeing while they sleep The investigation report also highlighted a longstanding and ongoing issue with the supervision of staff and residents at the home. CYFD had already implemented a corrective action plan in October following a prior investigation, aimed at addressing the supervision issues - ending the placement of foster youth in group settings and ensuring they receive adequate mental health care, according to Searchlight New Mexico. The action plan came in response to a 2020 class-action lawsuit alleging that the state's child welfare system was 'locking New Mexico's foster children into a vicious cycle of declining physical, mental, and behavioral health.' Following the recent investigation, CYFD placed the group home on a corrective action plan in May to address identified problems, with the state monitoring progress weekly, according to the Santa Fe New Mexican. The plan required AMIKids to retrain all staff, enhance supervision to improve safety and increase oversight of their workers. The group home was also required to permit unannounced visits and inspections by CYFD, which will include reviewing videos and records without prior notice. As of now, the AMIKids have since met the requirements for updated safety. 'We have fully responded to all corrective actions issued, including those with which we respectfully disagreed,' spokesperson Roxane Wergin wrote in an email, according to Santa Fe New Mexican. 'This decision reflects our commitment to maintaining licensing compliance, demonstrating good faith cooperation, prioritizing transparency and accountability, and preserving trust in our partnership,' she added. 'We remain committed to continuous improvement.' While its unclear if the two staff members mentioned in the investigation were formally fired, Wergin confirmed that they are no longer employed at the home. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or actions, please call the National Suicide Hotline at 988. A teenage boy cried on the witness stand as he told how he saved his girlfriend's life as her parents allegedly tried to strangle her in an 'honor killing'. Isiah described how he punched Ihsan Ali 30 or 40 times in the head as he held his daughter, Fatima Ali, 18, on the ground in a chokehold. 'Her face was looking pale and her eyes were starting to roll back,' he told a Thurston County Superior Court jury in Washington on Wednesday. When prosecutor Heather Stone asked him to elaborate, he broke down in tears and his testimony had to be stopped. Isiah was giving evidence against Ihsan, 44, and his wife Zahraa Subhi Mohsin Ali, 40, at their attempted murder trial. The couple are accused of trying to strangle their daughter outside Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington, on October 18 last year. Terrifying footage first published by the Daily Mail before the trial, and shown to the court, shows Ihsan put her in a chokehold on the ground until Isiah, classmates, and bystanders rescued her. Ihsan and Zahraa are accused of attempting to carry out a Muslim 'honor killing' on Fatima 'for refusing an arranged marriage with an older man in another county'. Isiah, pictured behind his father Victor Barnes outside court on Wednesday, cried on the witness stand as he told how he saved his girlfriend's life as her parents allegedly tried to strangle her in an 'honor killing' Ihsan Ali, 44, listens on Wednesday as his daughter Fatima Ali tells the court at his attempted murder trial how he tried to choke the life out of her in an alleged 'honor killing' Fatima's mother Zahraa Subhi Mohsin Ali, 40, is also on trial for attempted murder, accused of trying to finished the job after Ihsan was detained. She is pictured in court on Wednesday Fatima earlier told the court she fled her home at 6am with just a bag of clothes and $100 hours before she was supposed to be on a one-way trip to Najaf in Iraq. She met with her counselor at Timberline, who got her a place at Haven House, a youth crisis center, but the school didn't provide transport. Isiah, who was just 16 at the time, told the court he escorted Fatima to the bus stop, and Ihsan was waiting when they arrived. 'As she was backing away you could hear him get more upset,' he said of the argument between Fatima and her father in Arabic. Isiah told the court he didn't just let Ihsan take her 'because he didn't want to take her home', but wasn't asked to explain what that meant. 'We're walking towards the bus stop and he starts to get more aggressive. We see the bus and I try to push her a little bit so we can get ready to go, and then he grabs her,' he continued. 'He grabbed her shoulder and I tried to push them away from each other. 'I look back at him and then he punches me. For a second I don't know what happened and then I saw him grab her.' Isiah bounced his leg as he told the court he 'flew back' from the force of the punch and watched as Ihsan went after Fatima, 'spun her around' and grabbed her by the throat. Video showed Ihsan on the ground outside his daughters school, Timberline High School in Lacey, Washington, with her in a chokehold while her boyfriend and classmates repeatedly punch and kick him to get him to release her Isiah, whose face can't be published while giving evidence due to his age, on the witness stand as he gave evidence on Wednesday Footage from the bus cameras showed Isiah and two classmates charge at Ihsan as he struggled with Fatima, and they all ended up on the ground. Isiah demonstrated with his arms how Ihsan put Fatima in a 'headlock' on the ground and choked her even after she lost consciousness. 'I start punching him as he's choking her and other people around me are trying to get him off of her,' he said. 'She can't speak... she's gasping for air trying to get his arms off her throat... At first she was trying to fight it... but then she went limp. 'It's chaotic, everyone is screaming, everyone is in shock.' The teens punched, kicked, and stomped Ihsan as he refused to let go despite the flurry of blows. Isiah said he kept punching Ihsan until 'his eyes closed and his grip released' and the adults at the scene pulled his arms off her so she could be freed. The teenager punched Ihsan so many times and so hard that he broke a finger. Ihsan punched his daughter's boyfriend square in the face at the start of the attack, sending him staggering back out of the frame and falling down hard on nearby concrete Isiah demonstrated with his arms how Ihsan put Fatima in a 'headlock' on the ground and choked her even after she lost consciousness Once Ihsan was restrained by passing motorist Josh Wagner, Isiah said he tried to get Fatima to her feet so they could go somewhere safe. That was when Zahraa and Fatima's eldest sister Haneen, 21, showed up. 'Her mother is screaming and crying and she grabs Fatima around her throat area and is sobbing... we were confused about why she was doing that after what happened,' Isiah told the court. 'We were trying get her off and they fell to the ground. She was still screaming and crying and her arms were still on her throat and chest area 'Fatima said "I can't breathe" and I believe she was still in shock and feeling someone's arms around her neck was... she scratched [the words] out, almost like it was a cough.' Isiah was shown a video of Haneen confronting him and pushing her phone into his face while recording him and falsely accusing him of hitting her. 'She's screaming, you start talking to her and as a matter of fact at one point you pushed her hand, right?' Ihsan's lawyer Erik Kaeding asked during cross-examination. 'And you were gonna hit her again but somebody stopped you, right?' Isiah agreed: 'Yes, sir'. Kaeding followed up: 'So you were mad at Haneen.' 'Yeah, she grabbed and broke my chain, she scratched my neck,' Isiah replied. Zahraa (second from left) and her lawyer Tim Leary (second from right) in court on Wednesday Ihsan's lawyer Erik Kaeding (left) cross-examined Isiah about confrontation with Ihsan Judge Christine Schaller ruled prosecutors couldn't bring up the arranged marriage or allow Fatima to talk in detail about a family trip to Iraq when she was 16 Isiah agreed Haneen hadn't seen what was going on before and why her father was on the ground. Haneen is not charged with a crime. The teenager testified that he and his classmates were able to extract Fatima from Zahraa's grasp and she ran towards the school with im following. 'She was scared, she wanted to get away,' Isiah said. Fatima, who was just 17 when she was attacked, bravely told the jury of the agonizing moments her consciousness slipped away in her father's grasp. The petite 5ft 1in girl weighing just 101lbs felt his arms around her throat and 'dirt on my face' from the ground, couldn't breathe, and had pain in her neck. Stone asked what Fatima was thinking as she struggled to stay alive. 'Heartbroken for what my dad did,' she said. 'Did you have any fear?' Stone asked. 'Yes.' 'Fear of what?' 'Of dying,' Fatima choked out, her voice breaking into a sob. She was barely able to respond 'no' when asked if she could say anything during the attack. Fatima under cross-examination on Wednesday. The judge ruled that though she is now 18, she couldn't be filmed while giving evidence as she was 17 during the incident These are some of the cuts, welts, and broken bones the teenage girl suffered when her parents allegedly tried to strangle her in an 'honor killing' The teenager explained she lost consciousness four times during the attack and only has flashes of memory. 'I could see my hand reaching my neck... because I knew my dad was choking me,' she said of one of them. 'I saw darkness at first. [Then] I saw Isiah and a friend standing above me.' Fatima told the court she woke up hearing her mother saying 'my daughter' and felt Zahraa holding her 'around the throat or my neck, and my chest'. Prosecutors and witnesses alleged Zahraa was trying to finish the honor killing by strangling Fatima after Ihsan was subdued. Fatima admitted under cross-examination that she told police she didn't think her mother was trying to hurt her. But she told the court it was more that she 'didn't want to believe' that Zahraa would try to hurt her. Fatima said she didn't know how her parents usually hold her to comfort her as 'it's really rare for me and my mom and my dad to hug'. The boys began punching, kicking, and stomping Ihsan as he put his daughter in a chokehold and refused to let go despite the flurry of blows Ihsan (right) speaks with his lawyer Erik Kaeding in court on Wednesday Fatima said she initially couldn't get up and eventually when she was pulled away from her mother's grasp and tried to walk away, her legs were weak. She told the court she was trying to get away from mother and sister because 'I was afraid'. She said she couldn't have gotten away from the chokeholds if she was alone, but wasn't asked if that meant she would have died. Fatima ran into the school office, pursued by her mother. 'I told them he (Ihsan) was trying to kill me,' she said. Prosecutors did not ask the teenager about the years of abuse she told police her father subjected her and her siblings to, or about Ihsan's alleged threats to kill her. Judge Christine Schaller ruled prosecutors couldn't bring up the arranged marriage or allow Fatima to talk in detail about a family trip to Iraq when she was 16. She only told the court 'I felt unsafe' when she was there. Seconds later it appeared Zahraa had started her attack as the girl seemed to be back on the ground where witnesses alleged she also tried to kill her Ihsan in police bodycam footage sitting a patrol car. His jacket was torn in the struggle and dirt pressed into one side of his face during the attack Fatima told police in her interview last year that the trip made her fearful of being sent there to be married off and never allowed to return to the US. Witnesses, including Isiah and Fatima's classmates, gave evidence earlier in the trial about what they saw during the horrifying attack. 'His arm was wrapped around her throat and she couldnt breathe, her lips were turning purple,' one student told the court. 'I tried to help her, but I wasnt strong enough and a lot of other students stepped in at that point.' Another classmate testified: She was grabbing her dad's hands at her neck, her eyes were rolling back and she was a little pale. 'It looked like she was not going to be barely conscious for any longer, it was very scary.' Classmates also testified they saw Zahraa grab Fatima by the neck, similar to how her husband did moments earlier. 'When she (Fatima) got away from her father, she tried to run, and her mom had grabbed her and she was grabbing her by the throat,' one said. Josh Wagner, seen in the bus video, told the court how he stopped his black Dodge Ram in the middle of the road, got out, and hustled over to the brawl Wagner explained how he restrained Ihsan on the ground until police arrived John Denicola, a bus driver who stopped to help and whose cameras recorded the melee, told the court how he frantically tried the save the girl. 'Obviously, she was in distress, her eyes were rolling into the back of her head, you could tell she was not able to breathe,' he said. Josh Wagner, a motorist who stopped his car in the middle of the road and ran to help, described how he freed Fatima from her father's chokehold. 'Her face was changing color as she was being choked... she was gonna lose consciousness if it continued... it was very obvious she was being choked,' he told the court. Both Ihsan and Zahraa are charged with second-degree attempted murder and attempted kidnapping, along with lesser crimes. They have been behind bars since soon after the attack on bonds of $1 million and $500,000. The trial is expected to continue for the rest of the month. Half of frazzled parents want summer holidays to be slashed to four weeks and half terms extended, a new survey shows. Research by the charity Parentkind found many families think the up-coming six-week break is too long, often citing childcare as an issue. Most teachers also support a four-week break, as long as they do not lose the total amount of holiday they get throughout the year. Pupils in state schools start their break from this weekend, and will be off until early September. Previous studies have shown pupils regress during the holidays because they get out of practice with their reading and writing. The charitys research is based on its own poll of 3,000 parents and a separate poll of 9,000 teachers by Teacher Tapp. It found that 53 per cent of parents would back plans to reduce the school summer break to four weeks from six and only 33 per cent would oppose this. Many parents would prefer two-week half-term breaks and a longer Christmas holiday. Half of frazzled parents want summer holidays to be slashed to four weeks and half terms extended, a new survey shows (file picture) Most half-term holidays last a week, although increasing numbers of schools are offering a two-week October half term. A shorter summer break was seen as a financial positive by 32 per cent of parents, compared with 17 per cent who saw it as a negative. The proportion in favour on these grounds increased to 47 per cent among parents of children entitled to free school meals. Thirty-seven per cent of parents overall and 43 per cent of those whose children were entitled to free school meals said a shorter break would be beneficial for childcare, compared with 14 per cent overall who said it would be detrimental. The Teacher Tapp polling found that 62 per cent of teachers would accept a shorter summer holiday, 38 per cent would support it being reduced from six weeks to five and 24 per cent were in favour of it being cut to four weeks. However, 35 per cent wanted to stick with the traditional six weeks, while the remainder gave other answers. Jason Elsom, the chief executive of Parentkind, told the Times: While children will no doubt be looking forward to extended time away from school, the long summer break is a challenge for some parents. 'Our large parent poll shows that most parents want to knock two weeks off the six-week summer break to give teachers and children a month off instead. Research by the charity Parentkind found many families think the up-coming six-week break is too long, often citing childcare as an issue (file picture) Parents tell us that a shorter summer holiday would help with costs and childcare, which would be particularly welcome at a time when some families are struggling to keep their heads above water. We need to make sure the long summer break doesnt add further stress and hardship for parents, particularly those on low incomes. A recent survey by Coram found summer holiday childcare costs in Britain have increased by 4 per cent in the past year, to an average of 179 per child per week. It is almost three times the price of after-school club in term time. A chaotic prison released criminals too early and kept others behind bars too long amid a series of shocking failures, a watchdog has revealed. Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor placed HMP Pentonville on special measures after uncovering a series of major problems at the jail. Prison staff had a backlog of release dates to calculate leading to mistakes being made, an official report said, including some prisoners being freed earlier than they should have been. In a further serious failing, jail guards who were supposed to be carrying out a 24-hour watch on suicidal or self-harming inmates were asleep, reading books or even missing, it added. The prison was chaotic, with staff often unaware of who prisoners were or where they were located, the report said. First night and induction arrangements were chaotic and even frightening. Chief Inspector of Prisons Charlie Taylor has placed HMP Pentonville on special measures after official visits uncovered 'shocking' errors and conditions at the Victorian jail Staff at the Victorian jail in north London had failed to calculate sentences accurately, the watchdog said. Prison data showed 10 prisoners had been released early in error between July 2024 and June 2025. Staff at the jail made mistakes calculating inmates' release dates, leading to some becing released early while others were freed too late In addition, 130 inmates 20 per cent of those eligible for release - had been held after their release date in the last six months. It opens the prospect of criminals being able to bring compensation claims for being released too late. Pentonville jail, seen in a library image, was also infested with vermin and cockroaches, inspectors found The report went on: The oversight of prisoners under constant supervision was shockingly poor. During the inspection, we found staff who did not know the name of the prisoner they were caring for, two who were reading books, one who was asleep, and, in another case, one who was completely absent. Mr Taylor said: Pentonville is an overcrowded, inner-city, Victorian prison with a record of poor performance over many years. Too many of its staff have become disillusioned about the possibility of improvement or their capacity to affect change. HMP Pentonville, nicknamed 'The Ville', was opened in 1842 and holds 1,200 men Yet many of its shocking failures are firmly within the control of leaders. The governor will need significant support and investment from HM Prison and Probation Service to strengthen his senior leadership team, re-focus on the basics, and put in place effective oversight and assurance systems to turn this failing prison around. The Category B, or medium security, jail was opened in 1842 and holds 1,200 men. Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood, pictured on a visit to HMP Millsike near York earlier this year, now has 28 days to respond to Mr Taylor's concerns and set out an action plan Mr Taylor has placed the prison under urgent notification which means Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood has 28 days for formally respond to his concerns. His team also found a widespread infestation of mice and cockroaches at the squalid jail, in Islington. Prison Reform Trust chief executive Pia Sinha said: Prisoners illegally held after they should have been released, or others released early in error, further undermine effective sentence planning and erode public confidence. This urgent notification must be a rallying cry for immediate action - fix the failing infrastructure, improve staff training, and treat prisoners with dignity." Andrew Neilson of the Howard League for Penal Reform said the inspectors findings were new low for a Prison Service on the brink of collapse. This is the moment a man accused of being a Russian agent appears to offer sensitive information about a former defence secretary to UK spooks posing as Putin's spies. Howard Phillips, 65, is on trial accused of assisting a foreign intelligence service after he allegedly passed a USB stick containing information about Grant Shapps to British undercover police - who he believed were agents working for Russia. Phillips, of Harlow in Essex, denies the charge, claiming he had initially written to the Russian embassy to 'expose Russian agents' to help the Ukrainian war effort. Video shown to the jury at Winchester Crown Court today appears to show the moment Phillips greets the fake spies outside a Costa coffee shop in May 2024. Jurors also saw video of an April 2024 meeting at the London Bridge Hotel in which he allegedly 'offered his services' to foreign spooks. Father-of-four Phillips, described by his ex-wife as 'dream(ing) about being like James Bond', is alleged to have forked over a digital storage device to his 'handlers'. This contained Mr Shapps' personal information, including his home address, telephone number and the location of his private plane, prosecutors say. He had allegedly teased the faux Russians with the promise of 'something interesting' about the ex-defence secretary, who was in the hot-seat from August 2023 until the end of the most recent Tory government last July. Footage of the conversation shows Phillips telling them that he retired from insolvency five years prior and went travelling, visiting cities including Moscow. Alleged Russian spy Howard Phillips is seen in May 2024 video footage allegedly revealing he possesses personal information about then-defence secretary Grant Shapps Mr Phillips said in the footage that he had 'personal information which may be useful' including Mr Shapps' home address, phone number and location of his private plane Jurors at Winchester Crown Court were also shown footage of Mr Phillips meeting men posing as Russian spies in order to allegedly offer his services Phillips said that he then found himself in a position 'where now I need to be earning money'. He told the 'agents': 'I do not want and cannot for myself go back into the normal nine-to-five office. It's not for me, it never was for me, but I did it.' Describing how he first decided he would like to work with the Russian Intelligence Service, he said: 'I was thinking, I have to do something, I have to earn money, what can I do and I came up with all the things I don't want to do. 'I was thinking about, funnily enough, I was thinking about maybe, going away on holiday. I thought about Moscow. 'Its just a thought process and I suddenly thought, maybe I can offer services. I get what I want and you get what you want.' Phillips told the agents: 'We all help each other and we look after each other, we become a family.' On May 9, 2024, Phillips met with 'Dima' at a Costa Coffee in a retail park in West Thurrock, Essex. Footage from the meeting shows him asking: 'What do you know about the, um, Secretary of Defence in the United Kingdom?' Phillips had told the officer 'I have something, I don't know if you want it or don't want it'. Footage of Phillips allegedly sending a message to his 'Russian' handlers has been shown to the jury as part of the trial Grant Shapps (pictured in June 2024) was defence secretary from August 2023 to July 2024, overseeing Britain's efforts to assist Ukraine in its fightback against Russia's invasion Mr Phillips is alleged to have published the information about Mr Shapps onto a USB stick (pictured) which was then supplied to police posing as covert Russian agents Bodycam footage shown to Mr Phillips' trial showing the moment he was arrested at a Costa coffee shop shortly after allegedly handing over a USB stick He continued: 'Because, I have personal information which may be useful. 'So I know his home address, I know his home telephone number and I know where he has his private plane. Maybe it's of interest, maybe not.' When asked by 'Dima' how he knew this information, Phillips said: 'Because, about five years ago, I was invited to his house with a lot of other people. 'He was the MP for Welwyn Hatfield. The local MP. And then, he became chairman of the Conservative Party and now he's Secretary of Defence.' Phillips was asked if he 'knew' Shapps, and in response he said: 'Just a little, you know, we've met three times, I think.' In the clip, Phillips also encourages using the code word 'mother' to replace 'Moscow'. The court has heard Phillips was due to start a job with Border Force at the time. His ex-wife, Amanda Phillips, said he had fantasised about being a spy, and once wrote to Arsenal saying he wanted to be manager, despite being unqualified. She told the court he was "kind, caring man, a good friend, a good dad" - but 'not a great husband'. On Thursday afternoon the jury retired to begin considering its verdict. Phillips denies the offence of engaging in conduct to assist a foreign intelligence service, in breach of the National Security Act. The trial, presided over by Justice Dame Cheema-Grubb, continues. The head of nursing at NHS Fife has told an employment tribunal she cannot recall seeing a risk assessment which led to the suspension of nurse Sandie Peggie. Gillian Malone said she perceived that allegations about Ms Peggie confronting transgender medic Dr Beth Upton were 'unacceptable'. Ms Peggie was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with Dr Upton at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy, Fife - where they both worked - on Christmas Eve 2023. She was placed on special leave and then suspended after Dr Upton made an allegation of bullying and harassment and cited concerns about 'patient care'. Ms Peggie has lodged a claim against Fife health board and Dr Upton, citing the Equality Act 2010, including sexual harassment; harassment related to a protected belief; indirect discrimination and victimisation. On Thursday, Ms Malone, told the tribunal she perceived a report from January 3, 2024 regarding a conflict on Christmas Eve to be 'a discriminatory allegation'. She said she had no role in the investigation, that she had never met Ms Peggie, and had no awareness of 'tension' between either the nurse or Dr Upton. But she said she was aware of the nurse's concerns due to an email from August 2023. Mrs Peggie challenged the presence of transgender medic Dr Beth Upton (pictured) in the women only changing rooms Sandi Peggie (pictured) was suspended after she complained about having to share a changing room with Dr Upton at the Victoria Hospital Ms Malone told the tribunal the decision to suspend Ms Peggie was made following a risk assessment carried out by Esther Davidson, the nurse's line manager. But when asked if she had seen the risk assessment, she said: 'I can't recall.' Giving evidence, she said: 'When I read content of Datix (a software system used in UK health organisations for incident and risk management) I thought the comments were concerning. 'At this time they were allegations, I did believe there was behaviour in there which could constitute bullying and harassment which were of concern and could require investigation.' She added: 'Within original Datix there is a comment that there has been other work-related incidents.' During cross-examination by Ms Peggie's barrister Naomi Cunningham, Ms Malone - the most senior staff member to appear at the tribunal - said she agrees there are two biological sexes and that sex is a 'medically salient fact'. Ms Cunningham read from an email sent by an HR worker, which said: 'We discussed suspension being last resort and options to mitigate risk... 'Esther felt it would be almost impossible to keep them apart so spoke to Gillian Malone... she believes there is a patient safety issue due to seriousness of the allegation and therefore wishes to suspend.' Ms Cunningham said: 'It looks as though you were essentially behind the decision to suspend.' Gillian Malone, Head of Nursing and Emergency Care admitted she cannot recall seeing a risk assessment which led to the suspension of nurse Sandie Peggie The women-only changing rooms referred to in the case were at the Victoria Hospital, Kirkcaldy, Fife (File image) Ms Malone said: 'It was Esther who completed the risk assessment.' She was also asked about an email titled 'Formal Complaint' sent by Dr Upton on June 11. Ms Cunningham then suggested the reason Ms Peggie was suspended was 'because she had told Dr Upton she wasn't happy about him using the women's changing room'. Ms Cunningham said: 'That is the first documentary trace shown to the tribunal of the document 'Formal Complaint' which contains earlier incidents, being passed on to anyone from hospital management at all. Do you say that document was already in the hands of somebody, either as a printed out statement or sent as an email, before June 11?' Ms Malone said: 'I'm not aware of that.' Ms Cunningham said: 'Do you agree that if the tribunal finds that the reason for suspension was about the incident on Christmas Eve and wasn't about the prior allegations relating to patient care, that wasn't sufficient justification for suspension?' Ms Malone said: 'The justification for suspension was based on a risk assessment which wasn't undertaken by me.' Asked to identify what she perceived to be most unacceptable in the allegations made by Dr Upton, Ms Malone replied: 'I find it unacceptable that any colleague would confront another colleague in the manner described.' Nurse Sandie Peggie alongside gender-critical campaigner Maya Forstater (L) and her solicitor, Margaret Gribbon (R), outside the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood on June 18 She added that Ms Peggie should have raised concerns through her line manager rather than 'face-to-face on Christmas Eve'. Ms Cunningham said: 'If the tribunal finds that the claimant didn't ask about his genes, would you say otherwise that was a point she was entitled to make, that he shouldn't be there? If she said to Dr Upton 'I don't think you should be here because you're a man', even if she didn't say anything about chromosomes?' Ms Malone said: 'I think that was already raised back in August, I wouldn't have expected that to be face-to-face on Christmas Eve.' Ms Cunningham added: 'I'm suggesting that by challenging Dr Upton's presence in the changing room she was complaining he was harassing her; it was her rejection of that harassment which gave rise also to the disciplinary and suspension, it was her refusal to tolerate what he was doing.' Ms Malone said: 'It was the manner in which she raised it.' The tribunal continues. A French couple went on trial on Thursday accused of planning to 'sacrifice' their five-year-old son in the Moroccan desert. The two music teachers from Carcans, near Bordeaux, were arrested in southern Spain in December 2023 before boarding a ferry to Tangiers. They had recently sublet their apartment near the city of Bordeaux and left France in a new four-wheel-drive. The Bordeaux prosecutor's office had received a report from a relative a few days prior expressing concerns about comments made by the father. The relative claimed the father had said he wanted to 'sacrifice' the child in the Sahara Desert because he believed he was 'possessed', the investigation showed. Florian L., the father, denies ever having said that, his lawyer Audrey Boussillon said. 'Never did he have the intention to harm his son in any way,' she added. The couple have vehemently rejected the charges of being part of a criminal gang and failing in their parental duties, their defence team has said. The trial is to last one day and the verdict will likely be announced at a later date. FILE PHOTO: A relative raised concerns about the father's alleged comments days before the arrests. The father denied having made the comments The attorney for the mother Marie L., Aurelie Filippi-Codaccioni, said the couple had been to Morocco two years earlier and had wanted to return for an 'indefinite period'. 'They had been there two years before and had loved it, hence the long-standing plan to return,' the lawyer said. But Merlene Labadie, representing the interests of the child, argued that 'the mystical remarks and the inexplicable behavior of the couple' had endangered their son. The child was said to have spoken of 'being cold, scared and removing the snake within us' when found. The Spanish Civil Guard said at the time the parents appeared to be suffering from 'psychiatric problems'. Two months before the arrests, during a storm, the father was found naked in the woods of a nearby town, Le Monde reported. He was hospitalised for two weeks. Marie L.'s sister told the outlet at the time that Florian L. had 'recently encountered health problems' and pushed back on media reports as 'exaggerated'. 'While it is undeniable that he needs help, they make my sister and him out to be premeditated child murderers,' she said. The child is now in the custody of his maternal grandparents, lawyer Merlene Labadie said. The grandparents 'have done a lot of work to deconstruct all these ideas, so that he is no longer afraid of the outside world, of others', she added. The Bordeaux prosecutor's office originally received the report from the female relative on December 19, 2023, two days before the couple were arrested. The woman, who was characterised as a friend in earlier reports, said the father had said he was planning a journey to the Maghreb to undertake an initiation rite. An investigation was opened a day later and the parents were ultimately imprisoned in Spain, Le Monde reported in January 2024. A woman from Carcans said one of her friends was planning to sublet their house at the start of January. 'One day, he told me that their house had been sealed off, and that they were wanted, he didn't know why,' she told the outlet. 'Since he found out, he's been completely shocked. Like all of us, by the way.' FILE PHOTO: Carcans-plage in south-western France, on June 20, 2025 Mayor Patrick Meiffren said the couple opened the Music Education Center (CEM) school, teaching 'up to 250' children music. He said: 'Florian could sometimes get carried away. He could explode with anger but he would calm down after a few minutes and apologise.' 'It was impossible to imagine that these two could one day be suspected of wanting to harm their child.' Meiffren also said the couple were 'well integrated into the village', Le Figaro reported at the time of the arrests. 'It's all the more surprising since their child - who was home-schooled - was everything to them,' he told Le Monde. He described the parents as being 'very attentive'. Two teenage boys, aged 15 and 16, have been charged after 11 police officers were injured in an attack whilst they were tackling a group of shoplifters. When officers arrived in Wood Green, north London, just before 5pm on Tuesday, a number of people attacked them, the Metropolitan Police said. All of the cops suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene by the London Ambulance Service. The boys, aged 16 and 15 from Wood Green and Ilford, were charged with assault on a police officer on Wednesday 16 July, the force said. They have been released on bail and are due to appear at Highbury Corner Youth Court on Thursday 7 August. Passersby who gathered around to watch filmed the chaotic scene from multiple angles and posted the clips on social media. Videos show crowds of people surrounded by police vans and cars whilst officers clashed with people on the street. Seven other people were arrested or held in relation to the incident. A boy, 12, was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order and criminal damage. A girl, 13, had been held for common assault along with a boy, 15, who was detained for assaulting a police officer. Passersby who gathered around to watch filmed the chaotic scene from multiple angles and posted the clips on social media Videos show crowds of people surrounded by police vans and cars whilst officers were clashed with people on the street Clips posted online show a heavy police presence in the area as officers tried to tackle the shoplifters Another 15-year-old boy is in custody on suspicion of affray, and a 16-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer. Two women, aged 20 and 29, were also held for assault. A spokesperson for the Met Police said: 'Four teenagers, a child and two adults remain in police custody after they were arrested following a large disturbance in High Road, Wood Green at 4.53pm on Tuesday, July 15. 'Officers responded to reports of a large group attempting to steal items from a shop in Wood Green. 'Upon their arrival, seven people attacked officers and were subsequently arrested for assaulting a police officer, racially aggravated public order, affray, common assault and criminal damage. 'Enquiries are ongoing.' Anyone with information can contact the Met via 101, quoting 6112/16JUL. A married city banker who was sacked over an affair with a junior colleague claims she became increasingly sinister and unhinged after finding out his wife was pregnant. Stanislav Stepchuk, a former director at Merrill Lynch, is suing the US investment giant for sex and age discrimination after it dismissed him for reckless and inappropriate behaviour. He claims the bank decided it was safer to get rid of him, a man in his 30s, than a woman in her 20s. At an employment tribunal in London, Mr Stepchuk said the woman pursued him relentlessly at the bank, her first job after university, in 2022. Talia Barsam, for Mr Stepchuk, said the woman - known as Colleague A - became increasingly hostile when Mr Stepchuk tried to break off their brief, consensual relationship. When he told her that his wife was pregnant, the woman began to taunt and threaten him with sinister and unhinged remarks, it was claimed. She sent him text messages including any lie is suicide and you need to stay alive to take care of your family. On one occasion, its claimed, Colleague A told Mr Stepchuk she would not mind being a murderer of his unborn child. Stanislav Stepchuk was a director at Merrill Lynch while the woman he had an affair with was two or three levels below him at the firm, though he was not her boss Mr Stepchuk claims the woman, known as Colleague A, pursued him relentlessly and then started making 'sinister and unhinged' threats when she found out his wife was pregnant Merrill Lynch is an investment and wealth management subsidiary of Bank of America, with offices in the City of London Ms Barsam said: In contrast to the support received by Colleague A, [Mr Stepchuks] concerns regarding Colleague As threats were ignored. The difference in treatment is explained by [his] sex and age. She said the decision to sack him was rooted in discriminatory and gendered assumptions about the way men and women conduct sexual relationships, adding Merrill Lynch had assumed a man in his 30s was more likely to be the aggressor in a sexual dynamic and a woman in her 20s an innocent victim. The tribunal heard Mr Stepchuk invited the woman to a WhatsApp chat on January 3 2023. Within an hour, he started sending her overtly sexual messages. Days later he sent her two intimate photos of himself and persistently asked her to send nudes, which she declined. Claire Darwin KC, for Merrill Lynch, suggested the woman had been shocked and uncomfortable by the advances. But Mr Stepchuk insisted: She was engaged in flirtatious behaviour and showed no sign of discomfort about me sending the messages. The day before she said she wanted to have sex with me even though she knew I was married. It was clear to me that she liked me and was attracted to me. The way she looked at me, her invitation to go for a drink, her chats with me in the office - she was pursuing advances towards me. I did not pursue her. Asked about a message the woman had sent him revealing she was a virgin, Mr Stepchuck said: She was throwing more coal on the fire. When she found out my wife was out of town, she immediately asked me for a date. Ms Darwin suggested he was lying about the woman making the first move, telling him: You realised that unless you an invented an invitation, the aggressive way you went about approaching Colleague A was reckless, risky and inappropriate. The tribunal continues. A small boat migrant has appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl and inciting her to engage in sex. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, is alleged to have put his hand on the school-girls leg, asked her for a kiss and suggested they make Jamaican babies in Epping over two days last week, Chelmsford Magistrates Court was told. The Ethiopian asylum seeker, who had arrived in the UK by small boat eight days prior, denied three charges of sexual assault against two girls aged 14 and 16, inciting a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity and harassment without violence. Kebatu's arrest on Tuesday, July 8, prompted a huge anti-migrant demonstration in Epping on Sunday - and a counter Refugees Welcome protest which led to clashes between rival demonstrators. Now, the court has heard how on July 7 the schoolgirl was allegedly sitting at a bench in Epping High Street with friends eating pizza when Kebatu approached. Prosecutor Sharon Hall said: Mr Kebatu approached [the schoolgirl] while she was eating pizza. There was some suggestion that the children gave Mr Kebatu some pizza when he asked for it. He then made comments to [the schoolgirl] and another girl, saying Who wants to have a kiss and make love and have Jamaican babies? The judge asked defence barrister Miss Tia Ojo if she accepted those comments. Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu (pictured), 38, is alleged to have put his hand on the school-girls leg, asked her for a kiss and suggested they make Jamaican babies in Epping over two days last week, Chelmsford Magistrates Court was told The Ethiopian asylum seeker denied three charges of sexual assault against two girls aged 14 and 16, inciting a 14-year-old girl to engage in sexual activity and harassment without violence at Chelmsford Magistrates Court (pictured, file image) A court hearing before District Judge Williams last week heard that Kebatu, from Ethiopia, had arrived in the UK by small boat just eight days before the alleged sex attacks. Kebatu's arrest prompted a huge anti-migrant demonstration in Epping on Sunday (pictured) She answered: Those comments are denied. Mrs Hall then told the court that Kebatu approached the same schoolgirl the next day and touched her thigh and touched the leg of a 16-year-old girl the following day. She said: On 8th July [Kebatu] approached [the schoolgirl] and he tried to kiss her and brush the hair from her face. She moved away at which point the defendant followed her and put his hand on her thigh and then it appears that he was confronted. [Earlier] the defendant tried to kiss [the 16-year-old girl]. He put his hand on her leg and told her she was pretty. Miss Ojo, for the defence, told the court: All those allegations he denies. The judge also told the court that following his arrest Kebatu had claimed that the schoolgirl had been flirting with him. He said: Mr Kebatu claimed that (the 14-year-old schoolgirl) was flirting with him and following him around. Is that being claimed by the defence? It is one thing to say that it didnt happen, its another to say that it was the complainant that was following him. Prosecutor Sharon Hall also told the court that following his arrest, Kebatu (pictured) had claimed that the schoolgirl had been flirting with him Pictured: The Bell Hotel where Kebatu had been staying at the time of the incidents. Following protests on Sunday, the hotel was graffitied with slogans 'go home', 'die' and 'this is England' (pictured) Miss Ojo, for Kebatu, replied: He denies making those comments. A court hearing before District Judge Williams last week heard that Kebatu, from Ethiopia, had arrived in the UK by small boat just eight days before the alleged sex attacks. District Judge Williams told the court he was refusing bail and set the date for a two-day trial on August 26 and 27. Kebatu stood in the dock wearing a dirty grey t-shirt as he was guided through the proceedings by a translator. He confirmed his date of birth and that he had been staying at the Bell Hotel, used by the Home Office to house asylum seekers, at the time of the incidents. Addressing Kebatu, District Judge Christopher Williams said: You will be held in custody until that date. You will be presented in court with an interpreter. The only thing I will say before your trial is that you must make sure you stay in touch and give proper instructions to those how are representing you. If there is any failure on your part, I will not adjourn the case and that could result in you not being represented or having lawyers who are limited in how they can help you. District Judge Williams told the court he was refusing bail and set the date for a two-day trial on August 26 and 27. Pictured: police officers separate 'anti-racism' demonstrators from others protesting at the scene in Epping on Sunday The outburst of disorder ignited in the evening, with shocking footage appearing to show one man bleeding heavily from his head as he limped to the hotel Speaking directly to the judge Kebatu responded: I understand what you say. I never done anything. I am an honest and decent person. He was remanded in custody, with a two-day trial set for August. On Sunday, news of Kebatu's arrest sparked fierce protests, with hundreds of demonstrators rallying outside of The Bell Hotel in Epping on Sunday. At least two people suffered injury but Essex Police reported no arrests. Police were forced to break up a fight between two men as large crowds jeered, with some shouting: 'F***ing nonce', 'f*** off back to Walthamstow' and 'paedos'. The outburst of disorder ignited in the evening, with shocking footage appearing to show one man bleeding heavily from his head as he limped to the hotel. The following morning, the hotel was seen daubed in graffiti telling asylum seekers to 'go home'. Mrs Hall then told the court that Kebatu approached the same schoolgirl the next day and touched her thigh and touched the leg of a 16-year-old girl the following day Following Kebatu's arrest, the district's Conservative leader wrote to the Home Secretary calling for The Bell Hotel's (pictured) closure 'without delay' Police officers were seen talking to private security guards outside the front of the shabby hostel located on the edge of the historic forest today. Signs in the front door warned visitors the the hotel was 'not open to the public' and that the car parking spaces were 'no longer a public car park'. Slogans including 'Go Home', 'Die' and 'This Is England' were also sprayed on to two of the large front windows of the hotel. Announcing the news of Kebatu's arrest last Tuesday, Essex Police added: 'We were alerted to reports of a man acting inappropriately towards a teenager in High Road, at 5.20pm on Tuesday July 8. 'Officers arrived quickly and arrested a man. 'As a result of the work of officers, offences against a woman and another teenager, which were separate to those which had taken place on Tuesday, were then reported for the first time and an investigation was launched.' MailOnline previously approached The Bell Hotel for comment. English youngsters have reacted to the news that Labour plan to give them the right to vote in the next general election, with many admitting they don't feel 'mature' or 'informed' enough to have their say. Sir Keir Starmer today unveiled plans to 'modernise our democracy' by lowering England's voting age from 18 to 16 to bring national elections in line with those held in Scotland and Wales. The move could see around 1.5million 16 and 17-year-olds able to cast their vote by the time the next general election comes around. After confirming the plans on Wednesday, the Prime Minister told ITV News: 'I think it's really important that 16 and 17-year-olds have the vote, because they are old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes, so pay in. 'And I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the Government should go.' But speaking to MailOnline today, many youngsters revealed they 'wouldn't trust' others their age to cast an 'educated' or 'informed vote', saying the majority of 16 and 17-year-olds will likely be influenced by their parents or social media. In Newcastle city centre, Charlie McNulty, 17, from South Tyneside, said: 'I don't agree with it. At that age you don't have enough education generally to be able to make informed judgements on these things. 'Schools don't really teach you about politics either. Young people should vote when they feel like they're ready to and when they are informed enough about elections. Youngsters have begun reacting to the news that Labour plan to give them the right to vote in the next general election, something 17-year-old Charlie McNulty (pictured), from Newcastle, disagreed with 16-year-old Ottilie (right), who spoke to MailOnline in Hyde Park, admitted she 'wouldn't have a clue' who to vote for. While her pal Samantha (left), also 16, said her vote would likely be influenced by social media 'I think it should stay at 18. I think there's a lot of people at my age who would agree with me.' One of those in agreeance is 16-year-old Ottilie from Chelsea, who told MailOnline during a walk through Hyde Park that she 'wouldn't have a clue' who to vote for. 'I don't think at our age anyone actually understands politics enough to have a vote,' she said. 'You need to understand and be mature enough to have your say. I think the maturity of an 18-year-old compared to a 16-year-old is quite different. 'I don't personally know anything about politics, I wouldn't know who to vote for. If I did vote I would definitely research who to vote for.' While her pal Samantha, also 16, said that her vote would likely be influenced by the opinion of her parents - a sentiment many of the youngsters relayed today. 'I think it's good because now young people can actually have their say,' she said. 'I know a bit about politics but to be honest more US politics than UK. I am more Conservative than Labour but not too strong. Georgina Long, a 17-year-old student in Newcastle, said many of her friends are particularly swayed by 'fake news' on social media While Sianna (left), 18, from Kensington, said she wouldn't have been able to give an 'informed vote' at 16. She was enjoying a walk through west London with her pal Florrie (right), 18 'I probably won't vote though to be honest... but if I did I would definitely ask my parents, just to get their view on things and I'd also look at social media. 'Teenagers do have a view though, so I think it's important we have a vote.' Georgina Long, a 17-year-old student in Newcastle, said many of her friends are particularly swayed by 'fake news' on social media. She added: 'I wouldn't have trusted other people at my age to vote at 16. 'I hear lots of people in my year group who are influenced by social media and things that aren't true. There's not enough education and facts around. 'We have a democracy class at school but it's not enough. If there was an election tomorrow I would rather not vote based on my knowledge now. 'It sounds bad but I wouldn't trust my peers to do the same thing.' Sianna, 18, from Kensington, said: 'A couple of years ago when I was 16, if given the chance I would've voted but I'm not sure I would've been able to give an informed vote. 'I don't know if I followed politics enough or knew enough. A lot of people see stuff on social media and just go with that when it's not true. I also think a lot of young people are often more persuaded by their family's perspectives and just take those on. 'I do think that at that age the only people who would vote are the ones who are actually informed enough to do so.' Ola (right), 17, initially seemed excited by the prospect of the voting age being lowered, but later worried that youngsters could cast their vote 'as a joke'. Her friend Chloe (left) agreed Sixty-four-year-old James Worthington from Newcastle said: 'I don't think people at 16 should be making those decisions' While Ola, 17, who was excited by the prospect of the voting age being lowered, also worried that youngsters could cast their vote 'as a joke'. 'I think it's good but I also do think people will just vote as a joke,' she told MailOnline in west London. 'We had a recreational political poll in school and a lot of people just voted reform as a joke, so I think a lot of people won't take the vote seriously. I do think I will vote though because it'll help us get our voice heard.' She added: 'If anything I don't think older people should get a vote, if they're over 75 then maybe not because they just don't have any idea of what it's like to be young in England these days.' That was an idea which, predictably, older generations strongly disagreed with. Sixty-four-year-old James Worthington was one of those, he said: 'I don't think people at 16 should be making those decisions. 'That age is too young for people to know exactly what they're doing. 'They don't have enough life experiences. I think Labour are doing it to try get more cheap votes.' The move has indeed been dubbed a cynical ploy by critics of Sir Keir Starmer and his party, given a large proportion of young voters support Labour. Helen, 56, who was out in London with her 20-year-old son George, believes the move is a cynical ploy by the Government Fifty-six-year-old Helen agreed, telling MailOnline while enjoying a day out with her son: 'I certainly don't think young people are educated enough, and they're just led by social media.' When asked whether the move is a devious one by the government, she replied: 'Absolutely! I think it's what they're doing. 'Making decisions about income, they haven't even got careers, they haven't really got education, they won't really be interested in issues like that yet because it hasn't affected them yet. 'It's a huge responsibility to vote! You need to have had a bit of life experience.' Her offspring George, 20, predicted that many of the votes would be 'impulsive rather than educated'. There were nevertheless some youngsters left ecstatic by the government's announcement, which they say will at last 'make their voice heard'. Euan Noughton, 17, a sixth-form student from North Shields in Newcastle said: 'Lots of people are educated enough by the time they are 16 to make that decision. 'They are allowed to have their own views and be aware of what is going on in the world. I would definitely vote if there was an election tomorrow and I was allowed. 'I do agree though that the schools could do more to teach about politics and help young people. I take some interest and listen to what my parents say so I would feel informed enough.' Euan Noughton, 17, a sixth-form student from North Shields in Newcastle said: 'Lots of people are educated enough by the time they are 16 to make that decision' Holly Tindle, 17, from Gosforth in north England, argued that the 'younger generation have more insight than people think' Holly Tindle, also 17, from nearby Gosforth, said: 'The younger generation have more of an insight than people think. 'We tend to be more direct and we speak our minds. Younger people are probably more opinionated than the older generation now so it's a good move. 'Young people should be helping decide what the future looks like considering we are growing up in that world. With what is happening globally, there is a lot of views going around and young people aren't afraid to take sides which makes them more opinionated. 'Lots of things happening in the world at the moment are impacting young people in the UK.' Back in London, 18-year-old Florrie agreed, saying: 'I think it's good because we're the generation who are going to take over eventually, but at the same time a lot of young people don't really follow politics so they don't really know what they're voting for. 'What your parents believe when you're young you kind of just take on. While Esme Scurr, 17, who's studying in sixth-form, said: 'I agree with the change' 'If there was an election about Brexit for example though, if I was 16 I would want to be involved because it's going to impact us the most. It has an impact more on the youth than say our parents' generations. 'I think you could say we're more deserving of a vote because it's going to affect us the most.' While Esme Scurr, 17, who's studying in sixth-form, said: 'I agree with the change. 'I feel that younger people should have a voice especially in politics. A lot of what goes on affects us so why shouldn't we? 'I'd like to think I do take an interest in what goes on so I would definitely exercise my right to vote if I could. I would encourage people my age to vote as well. 'Schools do try to teach you about these subjects but not enough to help you make proper decisions. But it is a good idea going forward.' Bryan Kohberger watched from his Idaho jail as a judge made a critical decision that could finally allow never-before-seen evidence about the quadruple murders to be made public. In a brief court hearing Thursday, Ada County Judge Steven Hippler granted a request from a media coalition - including the Daily Mail - to lift the sweeping gag order in the case, which has muzzled investigators, attorneys and other officials for almost three years. 'At this point I do not believe the purpose of the non-dissemination order - the primary purpose which is that we can seat an impartial jury - is any longer at play,' Hippler told the court. The judge said he had weighed the arguments - with Kohberger's defense fighting to keep the gag order in place citing the 'media frenzy' about the case - and found 'at this point I just dont think I can justify the continuance of the non-dissemination order.' 'I think the rights of the public to information in this case is paramount given the fact that a plea has been entered in this case,' he said. Judge Hippler also revealed plans to unseal at least part of the trove of records and evidence in the case that have long been shrouded in secrecy. This process to unseal records will begin after Kohberger's sentencing next week. Dressed in a burgundy t-shirt, Kohberger watched Thursday's proceedings over Zoom from Ada County Jail - the first time he has been seen in public since he finally confessed to the murders of 21-year-old best friends Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves and 20-year-old couple Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin in a change of plea hearing earlier this month. A gag order of some sorts - known as a non-dissemination order - has been in place since the early days blocking law enforcement, attorneys for both sides and other officials from speaking publicly about the case. Bryan Kohberger watched from his Idaho jail as a judge made a critical decision that could finally allow never-before-seen evidence about the quadruple murders to be made public The order - together with the broad sealing of records and evidence by the court - has restricted what information the public and the victims families have had access to throughout the almost three-year-long proceedings. Yet the court ruled it was necessary to protect Kohbergers right to a fair trial. But now, in a stunning turn of events, Kohberger has avoided trial after pleading guilty to four counts of murder and one count of burglary. The 30-year-old criminology PhD student broke into a student home in Moscow, Idaho, in the dead of the night on November 13, 2022, and stabbed the four victims to death. He was arrested around six weeks later but spent more than two years fighting the charges. On July 2 - just over a month before his trial was set to begin - he changed his plea to guilty in a hearing in Ada County Courthouse in Boise. The bombshell development came after his defense struck a controversial plea deal with prosecutors that means the case will no longer go to trial and he will be spared from the death penalty. Instead he will be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole and will waive all rights to appeal. He will be sentenced on July 23. Despite Kohberger no longer facing trial, Judge Hippler said in the July 2 hearing that the gag order would remain in place through sentencing. Latah County Prosecuting Attorney Bill Thompson told the judge it would help the state have time to make sure theres the ability to completely answer questions when the order is lifted. Judge Hippler agreed, saying it would give the prosecution and defense time to prepare for what Im sure will be the deluge of media requests. Following the hearing, a coalition of media organizations - including the Daily Mail - filed a motion to lift the gag order, arguing Kohbergers guilty plea had sharply changed the Sixth Amendment fair trial/First Amendment balance in this case. Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (together on left), Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin (together on right) were murdered in a brutal knife attack The home at 1122 King Road in Moscow, Idaho, where the four students were murdered Now that Kohberger has pleaded guilty and will no longer stand trial, the courts justification that the gag order is necessary to protect Kohbergers right to a fair trial is moot, the motion said. There is no possible set of circumstances under which Mr. Kohberger will ever face a jury to determine his guilt or to determine whether the death penalty should be imposed,' the coalition argued. No trial will occur. Thus, there is no need to preserve Mr. Kohbergers right to a fair trial because he has already admitted guilt. A hearing for arguments on the motion to vacate the non-dissemination order was scheduled for Thursday and both the defense and prosecution filed responses. The prosecution said it would no longer oppose the removal of the gag order. Upon further reflection, the State withdraws its request. Now that the Defendant has pleaded guilty as charged to all five (5) counts of the Indictment, his right to a fair trial on the issue of guilt is no longer at issue, the prosecution said in its filing. Nevertheless, out of respect for the integrity of the judicial process and the privacy of the victims and their families as they consider their rights to provide victim impact statements at sentencing, the prosecution team does not intend to make any public statements about this case until after sentencing has concluded. But Kohbergers defense attorneys argued the gag order should remain in place through sentencing citing the ongoing publicity regarding the case and threats to Mr. Kohbergers safety. The amount of publicity coming before sentencing, even with the Revised Order in place, is massive. Further release would only serve to gin up the anger and violent rhetoric already at a fever pitch, lead attorney Anne Taylor wrote. Again, this Court is well aware of the threats posed not only to Mr. Kohberger, but to his family and to Court staff. The lifting of the order would increase the media frenzy around the case and change the atmosphere near the courthouse and may well push security needs beyond capacity at the sentencing, the filing argued. The defense also pointed to the ongoing investigation into a potential evidence leak in the case in violation of the gag order. The probe was launched after a recent Dateline episode revealed never-before-seen details including Kohbergers internet history. Kohbergers defense argued that lifting the gag order while the probe is ongoing would only confound the efforts in the investigation into who actually violated the non-dissemination order and makes the investigators job close to impossible. Judge Steven Hippler ordered the gag order to remain in place through to sentencing In Thursday's hearing, Kohberger's attorney Bicka Barlow said that lifting the gag order would add 'fuel to the fire' and could create a 'rush to interview people as they enter or leave the courthouse' at the sentencing. Judge Hippler said, while he did not want to minimize the defense's concerns, they do not outweigh the public's right for information. He also said that lifting the gag order would not 'meaningfully impact those concerns' - saying the 'media frenzy, as it has been described, will continue regardless'. As well as the request to lift the gag order, the media coalition also filed a separate motion asking Judge Hippler to unseal all records in the case arguing that Kohbergers change of plea means there is no reason for this case to remain cloaked in secrecy. The judge said he was 'denying outright' that request, calling it 'premature.' Instead, he said that, after sentencing, the court will begin the process to review all the records in the case to determine what can be unsealed and what should remain sealed. He said he expects to release unsealed documents in groups at a time, starting from newest to oldest. 'That process is going to take time - I'm not talking days, I'm probably not talking weeks... patience will be required,' he said. Judge Hippler said information like birth dates, social security information about minors and victims and 'information that would be essentially inappropriate to unseal, including for the protection of individuals from undue harassment' would need to remain sealed. Despite Kohberger's guilty plea, a lot of information about the murders remains a mystery. The 30-year-old has not revealed a motive for the attack and there is no known connection between him and his victims. During the change of plea hearing, Thompson revealed that Kohberger bought a Ka-Bar knife and sheath from Amazon in March 2022 - months before the killings. In June 2022, he moved from his parents' home in Pennsylvania to Pullman, Washington, where he enrolled on the criminal justice PhD program at Washington State University. From the following month onwards, his cell phone pinged close to the victims' home at 1122 King Road - indicating that he likely stalked or surveilled at least one of the women who lived there. At around 4am on November 13, 2022, Kohberger broke into the three-story home and went straight up to Mogens room on the third floor, where he murdered Mogen and Goncalves. Left to right: Dylan Mortensen, Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen (on Kaylee's shoulders) Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle and Bethany Funke Bryan Kohberger at his change of plea hearing in Ada County Courthouse in Boise on July 2 On his way back downstairs or on leaving the property, the prosecutor said he encountered Kernodle on the second floor, who had just received a DoorDash food order. He attacked her with the knife and then also murdered Chapin who was sleeping in her bed. Kohberger then left through the back sliding door on the second story of the property, passing roommate Dylan Mortensen who had been woken by the noise and peeked around her bedroom door. Mortensen and roommate Bethany Funke - whose bedroom was on the first floor - were the only survivors. Prosecutors believe Kohberger did not intend to kill all four victims that night - but did enter the home intending to kill and had planned his attack for some time. He was tracked down, after he left a Ka-Bar leather knife sheath next to Mogens body at the scene. Through Investigative Genetic Genealogy, the FBI managed to trace DNA on the sheath to Kohberger. Kohberger will return to Ada County Court for his sentencing on July 23, where the families of the victims will be given the opportunity to deliver impact statements. Seven people smugglers who packed migrants as young as five into locked trailers before shipping them off to France from the UK have been jailed for 70 years. Videos were found on the phone of Algerian Azize Benaniba, 41, the head of the gang, of terrified families screaming for help. The smugglers brought migrants of North African origin into the UK on tourist visas. They were then charged 1,200 each to be smuggled to France via Dover during 20 separate trips throughout 2023. Benanibas gang loaded hundreds of migrants, including children as young as five, into lorry trailers, some of which were refrigerated. Mahmoud Haidous, 52, Abed Karouz, 30, Amor Ghabbari, 32, and Mohamed Abdelhadi, 50, hired a network of willing drivers to make the runs. Mohamed Bouriche, 43, was responsible for transporting people to rendezvous locations where they would be moved into the lorries. Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh said: This was an extremely serious conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration to a member state. Videos were found on the phone of Algerian Azize Benaniba, 41, the head of the gang, of terrified families screaming for help The smugglers brought migrants of North African origin into the UK on tourist visas Videos show men and women banging the sides of the darkened trailer and begging the driver to 'open the door' so they can get out Mr Benaniba is shown to be at the heart of it, but he was not a conventional boss giving orders to sub-ordinates. It involved a shifting and rotating leadership group. This was a long-lived conspiracy over eight months, encompassing 20 events. A large number of migrants were transported. The NCA stopped 7 HGVs, and located 157 migrants, but there were undoubtedly many more. In short, there could have been a disaster. The organisation, the conspiracy, you all, had no scruple about children going on this or other trips.' Judge Curtis-Raleigh referred to the footage of the screaming migrants, including children, asking to let out of the lorry. Once translated, the migrants are saying they are being sent to their deaths. He added: This conspiracy was for purely financial gain. The conspiracy must have been a highly profitable one. The Crown suggests it could have easily been over half a million pounds. I am satisfised that hundreds of thousands of pounds were generated. Benaniba pleaded guilty before the trial started. The network's facilitator Mohamed Bouriche, 43, was responsible for transporting people to rendezvous locations You were paid massive sums of money by migrants who were in a highly vulnerable position, and who were then pilled often in high numbers in a lorry space not designed for passengers. The money went somewhere, and NCA investigations into money laundering are ongoing. This conspiracy raises legitimate concerns of governments and the public in the UK and neighbouring countries. It was a serious wide ranging, sophisticated, and exploitative conspiracy, motivated by greed. The judge told Benaniba: You suggested you were drawn into this. I dont accept that. You were the central figure. You were seen with migrants. You were seen with money. Judge Curtis-Raleigh jailed Benaniba for a total of 12 years and 11 months. Another ringleader, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was jailed for 10 years and four months; Haidous received 13-and-a-half years; Karrouz was jailed for nine years and eight months; Ghabbari was locked up for nine years; Abdelhadi was sentenced to seven years and three months; Bouriche was jailed for seven-and-a-half years. Police said Benaniba and his gang were motivated purely by financial gain The ringleaders of the smuggling gang were arrested in a series of raids on properties in North London on March 20 A total of 58 migrants were discovered by French border police hidden inside a lorry at Calais having arrived from the UK on 21 February 2023, sparking an investigation by the NCA. Prosecutor Rebecca Austin said the gang claimed they were simply doing the governments job for them by transporting migrants out of Britain into France'. The defendants claimed their actions were somehow removing migrants from Britain. But these defendants action were far from removing migrants. They created an industry where people would come to Britain in order to illegally cross the channel. But some of the migrants found were simply released, as they were not necessarily here illegally. Ms Austin added: The gang claimed this was a victimless event, and that they caused harm to nobody. But a video showed men, women and children screaming in the dark for the doors of the lorry they were trapped in to be open. Mahmoud Haidous, 52, and Mohamed Abdelhadi, 50, served as lieutenants for the gang, tasked with hiring a network of willing drivers to make the runs Abed Karouz, 30, and Amor Ghabbari, 32, also served as lieutenants That is an indication that shows this is not a victimless event. Most of the HGV lorries used by the gang were airtight. The doors could only have been opened and secured from the outside. In one HGV van, which had a 40 foot long trailer, 39 individuals were found. These were adults, children and females. They were relieved that the doors opened when stopped by police. It allowed the heat to dissipate. It was at least 28 degrees that day when they were found. Individuals were removed and were given water to hydrate. One male was taken to hospital as he was diabetic and did not have any medication. Had that lorry not been intercepted, their lives would have been at risk. Ms Austin continued: The migrants were picked up in a ZIP van at Heathrow Airport. They were driven to an industrial estate in Wembley, where the migrants were loaded into a HGV van. Mr Karouz was at that industrial estate watching that happen. The operation was led by 41-year-old Algerian Azize Benaniba, who is seen here being taken away by police The drivers of these HGV vans worked for legitimate businesses, but they chose to align themselves to this criminal conspiracy. A series of subsequent attempted transportations were thwarted by NCA surveillance teams. On each occasion officers intercepted the lorries as the travelled to the UK border, rescuing the migrants hidden inside and arresting the complicit drivers. One attempt on September 6, 2023 saw 39 migrants, including women and children, loaded into an airtight refrigerated lorry trailer at a layby in Sandwich, Kent. NCA officers quickly intervened to rescue the migrants, but a few of them, including a child, required medical attention. By the start of 2024, the NCA had identified key members at all levels of the organised crime group. The ringleaders were all arrested during a coordinated strike at properties in North London on March 20, 2024. Videos of migrants travelling in lorry trailers were found on one of the organisers phones, including one where a migrant can be heard banging on the sides of the trailer, screaming and crying for help. Five drivers involved in the smuggling ring were jailed last year. Earlier John Turner, senior investigating officer for the National Crime Agency, said: These smugglers had no care for the safety or wellbeing of the people they crammed into lorry trailers - their only concern was making money. Weve seen the fatal consequences of this crime type, as migrants have sadly lost their lives being smuggled across borders on land and at sea. Our thorough investigation has safeguarded hundreds of migrants who were put in serious danger, and has now led to the convictions of 12 members of a prolific people smuggling network. These criminal networks treat human beings like commodities, and we know the gangs and drivers involved in outbound smuggling are often involved in inbound smuggling too. Tackling organised immigration crime is a key priority for the NCA, and alongside our international law enforcement partners, we are relentless in our efforts to dismantle these networks wherever they operate. Benaniba, Karouz, Abdelhadi, and a defendant who cannot be named, admitted conspiracy to smuggle migrants from the UK to France. Haidous, Ghabbari, and Bouriche, denied but were convicted of conspiracy to smuggle migrants from the UK to France after a six week trial. John Turner, NCA senior investigating officer, said: These smugglers had no care for the safety or wellbeing of the people they crammed into lorry trailers - their only concern was making money. Weve seen the fatal consequences of this crime type, as migrants have sadly lost their lives being smuggled across borders on land and at sea. Our thorough investigation has safeguarded hundreds of migrants who were put in serious danger, and has now led to jail terms for 12 members of a prolific people smuggling network. These criminal networks treat human beings like commodities, and we know the gangs and drivers involved in outbound smuggling are often involved in inbound smuggling too. Tackling organised immigration crime is a key priority for the NCA, and alongside our international law enforcement partners, we are relentless in our efforts to dismantle these networks wherever they operate. Janine Baugh, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: This was a highly organised group which tried to smuggle migrants to France more than 20 times. They put the lives of people at risk - often in inhumane conditions - just to profit off others. We presented the court with a video of people screaming to be let out of a trailer, which demonstrates these poor conditions. The Crown Prosecution Service will continue to work with our partners at home and overseas and play a vital role in the Border Security Command in order to bring those involved in organised immigration crime to justice. An ancient Native American language has now officially died out after its final fluent speaker died at the age of 95. The Caddo Nation of Oklahoma announced on Monday that Edmond Johnson, the tribe's last fluent speaker of the Caddo language, had died. 'Mr. Johnson was not only a vital knowledge bearer of our language and a treasured elder,' the tribe said. 'His passing marks an irreplaceable loss to our heritage, and we extend our deepest condolences to his family and all who mourn with us.' In honor of Johnson, the tribe's administration offices closed on Tuesday to mourn and reflect on their elder's impact. 'We ask that each of you take this time to honor him in your own waythrough prayer, remembrance, or by simply speaking his name,' the Caddo Nation added. The Caddo tribe's ancient homelands are what is known today as the states of Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma. Ancient items recovered by archaeologists suggest that the tribe has existed as early as AD 900. Edmond Johnson, 95, was the last fluent native speaker of the Caddo language, a Native American tribe now based in Oklahoma Archaeologists estimated that the people of the Caddo Nation have existed since AD 900 and were native to Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas, and Oklahoma The tribe's homeland was disturbed by Spanish settlers. After multiple forced removals, the people of the Caddo Nation settled in what is now known as Caddo County, Oklahoma The tribe's homeland was disturbed when Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto led an expedition to the area. After several forced removals, the Caddo Nation relocated to what is now known as Caddo County, Oklahoma. 'We are an ancient tribe. We've been here since time immemorial. And we will continue to be here,' the tribe's website reads. Bobby Gonzalez, the chairman of the Caddo Nation, told local ABC affiliate, KOCO News, that losing the tribe's last fluent speaker was a devastating blow. He said that their language is 'what makes us Caddo,' adding that 'Edmond Johnson meant a lot to our people.' Now, the tribe is tasked with preserving their language in the wake of Johnson's death. He had been working with Alaina Tahlate, the tribe's language preservation director, to ensure the language endures. But it is feared Johnson's ancestors will never be able to speak Caddo with the same vocabulary as he did and that words as well as phrases are now lost forever. She told KOCO that Johnson had a gift for storytelling and was great at explaining things. 'The language connects every part of our culture together,' Tahlate said. Members of the Caddo Nation spoke to local ABC affiliate, KOCO-TV, about Johnson's legacy Tributes have already poured in for Johnson, with many sending condolences to his tribe and sending hope that his language endures 'Were doing everything we can to preserve what we can with the people that we know that can still understand it,' Gonzalez added. Tributes have already begun to pour in on social media for Johnson, with one comment on the Caddo Nation's post reading, 'As another indigenous person whose language is still here, but we are losing speakers fast, this breaks my heart for his nation and family on the loss of him and your language. 'I hope there are a lot of recordings of him and lessons he taught so you can persevere what you can so its not all lost.' 'As a linguist this crushes my heart, both for his family and for the loss to the tribe. My thoughts and prayers to you all,' another added. 'Condolences to all who mourn. I hope the language perseveres through all who speak it,' a third commented. Funeral services for Johnson were held on Tuesday, and Gonzalez said the tribe was working to set up a fundraiser for language preservation efforts. The White House is dumping all over another new report that the U.S. attack on Iran's nuclear facilities last month only severely damaged one of the three targets. President Donald Trump has said repeatedly that the attack 'totally obliterated' targets, which include the Natanz enrichment facility that features centrifuges buried deep underground language that his team stands by. 'As the President has said and experts have verified, Operation Midnight Hammer totally obliterated Iran's nuclear capabilities,' White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told the Daily Mail in response to an explosive report by NBC News. 'America and the world are safer, thanks to his decisive action,' she said. The Pentagon joined in, blasting the 'Fake News Media' in a statement following an explosive new report by That report said one of the three sites, was mostly destroyed. But two others had only be 'degraded' to a condition where nuclear enrichment might be able to resume in the next few months. The attacks, carried about by U.S. B-2 bombers taking off from Missouri, hit the Iranian sites in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan. The report citing unnamed current and former officials stating the attack on Fordow as being the most successful. There was less certainty about whether the attack using GBU-57 'bunker buster' bombs was able to take out the other facilities. The ability to use those munitions were a driving force for the U.S. to enter the conflict, after Israel had already begun its own campaign against Iranian sites and nuclear scientists. The White House hit back at an NBC report that said only one of three targets was severely damaged when the U.S. went after Iranian nuclear facilities According to the NBC account, based on five current and former U.S. officials, the U.S. military was not able to finish the job at the bunkers deep within the Natanz facility or the tunnels at Isfahan. In an unusual effort to rebut the story, the White House provided details of a closed-door briefing that CIA Director John Ratcliffe provided to lawmakers. He told them the nuclear program was 'severely damaged' and that multiple facilities were 'completely destroyed,' notably refraining from parroting the White House's own characterization of total obliteration. The White House official said Ratcliffe told lawmakers a metal conversion facility at Natanz, in north central Iran, would take 'years to rebuilt.' The Pentagon provided its own pushback, with Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell arguing in one breath that the facilities are 'destroyed ... and will take years to recover' and in the next, doubling down on the commander in chief's more definitive description. 'Iran's nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated. There is no doubt about that,' he said. Trump has repeatedly attacked the media for reporting on initial assessments of the attack Trump described the aircraft that accompanied B-2 bombers on the Iran mission The Daily Mail is seeking additional comment from the White House about the condition of facilities as Natanz and Isfahan. The White House also batted back initial assessments in the immediate aftermath of the attack, and Trump hammered media outlets who reported on them, without denying the veracity of the early accounts. Trump characterized the reports as attacks on the pilots who bravely carried out the mission. Trump is standing by his narrative of success, just this week telling attendees at a faith event that he ordered a surprise two-week pause before the attack in response to reporting by CNN that an attack could be imminent. Trump revealed new details about the mission, highlighting that 52 gasoline tankers supported the operation with flawless in-flight refueling. No damage or mechanical issues occurred to any plane over 37 hours and 40 minutes in challenging territory. NBC reported that U.S. Central Command had prepared a multi-week campaign targeting three additional sites, but Trump opted for a single, focused mission, rejecting the extended plan to avoid escalating the conflict. The debate over the effectiveness of the operation reflects wider uncertainties about both the resilience of Irans nuclear infrastructure and the challenges of verifying a secretive adversary thousands of miles away. It may be months or years before any reputable actor or entity can sufficiently address the unresolved questions surrounding Iran's nuclear ambitions. A Vegas woman was filmed fleeing a hotel room after allegedly robbing a man she met at a nightclub whose $18,000 Rolex 'caught her eye,' police say Video footage captured the moment Rachel Marie Warner, 24, made her getaway barefoot down the hallway of the East Hotel in Brickell, Miami, on May 8 - just three hours after entering the room with a man she'd met for drinks at a rooftop bar earlier that night. Warner, who was visiting the Florida city from her home in Nevada, is accused of drugging and robbing multiple men she met at upscale Miami bars with her most recent heist being an $18,000 Rolex from her latest victim. Footage that emerged this week shows Warner dashing into an elevator while barefoot with her heels in hand. Another camera captured Warner crossing the street outside just moments later, stilettoes now firmly on her feet. Warner was arrested by Miami police on May 8 after the man reported he had been drugged and robbed. The two allegedly met at Sugar, a trendy rooftop bar in the city's financial district. He told officers Warner had joined him for drinks and later accompanied him back to his hotel. Footage from inside the elevator shows the pair heading to his room. Video footage captured the moment Rachel Marie Warner (pictured), 24, made her getaway down the hallway of the East Hotel in Brickell just three hours after entering the room with a man she'd met for drinks at a rooftop bar earlier that night Another camera captured Warner crossing the street outside just moments later But according to the arrest report, the victim's memory stops shortly after Warner prepared him a drink inside. 'After consuming the drink, the victim stated he does not recall what transpired afterward,' police said. By the time he woke up, Warner, and his luxury Rolex, were both gone. But detectives say the incident wasn't Warner's first rodeo. Back in March, another man told police he met Warner and brought her to his apartment on Northeast First Avenue. While he was briefly in the bathroom, Warner allegedly made off with his Rolex from a safe. And on New Year's Eve, a third man reported partying with Warner at LIV Nightclub in Miami Beach. After the celebration, he said she disappeared from his Midtown apartment-along with more than $60,000 worth of jewelry, watches and cash. And when authorities finally tracked her down, they found incriminating messages on her phone suggesting she wasn't working alone. 'I gave him all the drops and he still hasn't fell asleep,' one text reportedly read, an apparent reference to spiking a victim's drink. The two allegedly met at Sugar, a trendy rooftop bar in the city's financial district. He told officers Warner had joined him for drinks and later accompanied him back to his hotel She is pictured going into the elevator while barefoot with her heels in hand Inside Warner's purse, cops also discovered two bottles of eye drops containing a white liquid, which they said was 'inconsistent with clear eye drops' and suspected to be laced with drugs. She now faces various charges, from burglary with assault or battery, to grand theft, and possession of a controlled substance, believed to be ketamine. Warner is being held without bond at a Miami-Dade jail. The Home Offices top civil servant received a 455,000 pay package including a 20,000 bonus as small boat arrivals spiralled. On top of his 200,000 annual salary Sir Matthew Rycroft received a 50,000 exit payment of which 30,000 was tax-free when he stepped down as permanent secretary at the end of March. The Home Offices annual accounts which set out sums in 5,000 brackets showed the mandarin received a performance-related bonus payment of 20,000 to 25,000. It was significantly higher than his 5,000 to 10,000 bonus the previous year. From the start of the financial year covered by the report to the date of Sir Matthews departure on March 28, official figures show 38,023 small boat migrants reached Britain. It was a rise of 26 per cent on the 30,288 who arrived in the equivalent period in 2023-24. Sir Matthew also received 179,000 in pension benefits for the year. Sir Matthew Rycroft, the Home Office's former permanent secretary, received a remuneration package of 455,000 to 460,000 last financial year, as he stepped down It brought his total remuneration package to 455,000 to 460,000. Sir Matthew Rycroft, pictured in the front row on the right, received a 20,000 to 25,000 performance-related bonus plus a 50,000 'exit payment', Home Office accounts revealed Sir Matthew, now 57, announced in February to staff he was leaving the Home Office for pastures new. The publication of the Home Office civil servants' pay came as migrants were seen sprinting across a beach at Gravelines, northern France, this morning to board a dinghy bound for Britain The group of migrants included a men who held a child aloft on his shoulders One migrant was pictured jumping off an overloaded dinghy - for unknown reasons - as it set off from Gravelines beach He was knighted in the 2023 New Years Honours List for services to British diplomacy, development and domestic policy. At the time, some senior political figures expressed surprise at the gong. The scenes of migrants sprinting through the surf were reminscent of the opening sequence of the Oscar-winning 1981 movie Chariots of Fire In all, senior Home Office civil servants received bonuses totalling between 80,000 and 120,000 last year. Director General of the Border Force Phil Douglas received a total package of 275,000 to 280,000, the report showed. He, too, was paid a 10,000 to 15,000 bonus on top of his 145,000 to 150,000 salary, plus pension contributions. Your browser does not support iframes. Dan Hobbs, the Director General of Migration and Borders, received a bonus of up to 5,000 on top of his 130,000 to 135,000 salary, bringing his total package to 265,000 to 270,000, including 128,000 in pension benefits. Your browser does not support iframes. Border Security Commander Martin Hewitt, a former chief constable, is on 200,000 to 205,000 a year, the report confirmed. Second permanent secretary Simon Ridley was paid 170,000 to 175,000, plus 82,000 in pension benefits. The accounts, published today set out how civil servants bonuses are performance-related. Bonuses are based on performance levels attained and are made as part of the appraisal process, it said. Your browser does not support iframes. In November 2023 MPs were left exasperated at the lack of detail Sir Matthew was able to provide about the cost of the Rwanda asylum scheme, which was then in development. Following a series of exchanges where Sir Matthew and his second-in-command Simon Ridley were unable to answer questions, committee chairman Dame Diana Johnson asked: Do we have any figures about anything? Dame Diana is now a Home Office minister, and overlapped at the department with Sir Matthew from last Julys election until his departure. The figures came as migrants were seen sprinting across a French beach to reach a dinghy. In scenes reminiscent of the opening sequence of Oscar-winning 1981 movie Chariots of Fire, the migrants ran through surf on the beach at Gravelines, near Calais, this morning. Several hundred migrants are thought to have reached Britain today. Since Labour came to power 45,746 have arrived, not including today's unconfirmed number. Travelers aboard a United Airlines flight to London endured an eight-hour journey to 'nowhere' after a technical issue mid-trip forced the plane to turn back to California. More than 200 passengers departed San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on flight UA948 - a Boeing 777-200ER - Tuesday afternoon, bound for Heathrow Airport in England, as reported by aviation site Aviation A2Z. But roughly halfway through the transatlantic journey, the 15-year-old aircraft suddenly diverted due to a reported 'technical issue,' with no further details provided to frustrated flyers. On July 15, the flight - originally scheduled for 4pm - experienced operational delays just before takeoff but eventually departed from the West Coast state about 41 minutes later, according to the outlet. After more than an hour in the air, the crew detected the same issue noted at the airport and, according to FlightAware data, made a U-turn near the US-Canada border, northwest of Winnipeg. United Airlines informed the hundreds of travelers via its mobile app that, due to an ongoing technical issue, the plane was returning to San Francisco to prioritize passenger safety - though there was no sign of an immediate in-flight emergency. Travelers aboard a United Airlines flight to London endured an eight-hour journey to 'nowhere' after a technical issue mid-trip forced the plane to turn back to California on July 15 (stock photo) More than 200 passengers departed San Francisco International Airport (SFO) on flight UA948 - a Boeing 777-200ER - Tuesday afternoon, bound for Heathrow Airport in England (pictured) Roughly halfway through the transatlantic journey, the 15-year-old aircraft suddenly diverted due to a reported 'technical issue' - and spent the next seven hours airborne before landing back at SFO (pictured: flight route) What followed was a grueling ordeal, as the plane spent more than seven hours in the air before finally preparing to land. The plane, originally scheduled to land in London at 10.25am on July 16, instead touched down at San Francisco Airport just after midnight - more than eight hours after its initial departure. More than nine hours after the original takeoff, the flights departure was rescheduled for 1.18am on July 16, with an expected arrival in London just before 7.30pm - but that flight was also canceled, according to United's website. 'Your flight is canceled because we needed to take the plane out of service to address a technical issue,' its website said. 'Your safety is our priority and we're sorry for the inconvenience.' This travel nightmare comes just weeks after an American Airlines flight was forced to divert when a frightened passenger wrongly panicked over a seatmate's text messages. On July 3, AA Flight 1847 to Dallas, Texas, was forced to abort and return to Luis Munoz Marin International Airport in San Juan, Puerto Rico, due to concern that the flight was in immediate danger. An unnamed female passenger became spooked when she observed her neighbor receive a text that said 'RIP [rest in peace]' 30 minutes into their journey. United Airlines informed the hundreds of travelers via its mobile app that, due to an ongoing technical issue, the plane was returning to San Francisco (pictured) to prioritize passenger safety - though there was no sign of an immediate in-flight emergency More than nine hours after the original takeoff, the flights departure was rescheduled for 1.18am on July 16, with an expected arrival in London just before 7.30pm - but that flight was also canceled (stock photo) She interpreted the message as threatening, causing staff to declare an emergency and divert back to the island, according to local news site Primera Hora. Pilots told the tower they were treating the threat as a 'level three,' meaning it could be life-threatening to passengers. 'We have a threat onboard,' the pilot said in audio obtained by Daily Mail. 'With text messaging between passengers and flight members, so we're going to need authorities at the gate to meet us just to figure out what's going on here.' It was determined that the passenger had received the text about a relative who had died the day before. The passenger was traveling home from vacation early, according to Primera Hora. The plane took off for Dallas shortly after the fiasco and landed in the States shortly before 2pm local time. Sir Keir Starmer has added almost 1million to the bill for political advisers in No10 in a first year in which the government's popularity has fallen through the floor. The Prime Minister's top special advisers - known in Westminster as spads - are costing the taxpayer almost 4.2million a year, according to official figures released today. The Prime Minister's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney heads the list of the best paid Downing Street staff with pay of up to 159,999 - 15,000 more than his Tory predecessor. Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser who played a leading role in the 'surrender' of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, is the joint second highest-paid with a salary of up to 149,000. The Cabinet Office today released the salary bands of all spads in the government paid more than 76,000. They showed that despite talk of cutting the cost of the government, Labour has only shaved 400,000 off the total bill across all departments in the first year. The almost 4.2million spend by No10 alone in the past year is up from 3.3million under Rishi Sunak's last Tory administration. The average salary of a senior No10 aide is 107,434, higher than it was under Mr Sunak, and there are also more spads working for the current PM. One Tory source pointed to the row this week over Labour ministers struggling to define the average worker, adding: 'No wonder they cant define a working person - all of them are earning more than the average Joe.' The Prime Minister's top special advisers - known in Westminster as spads - cost the taxpayer almost 4.2million, according to official figures released today. The Prime Minister's chief of staff Morgan McSweeney heads the list of the best paid Downing Street staff with pay of up to 159,999 - 15,000 more than his Tory predecessor. Jonathan Powell, the national security adviser who played a leading role in the 'surrender' of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, is the joint second highest-paid with a salary of up to 149,000. According to the Governments release, as of March 31 there were 130 special advisers across the Government. Salaries over 76,000 are declared in bands of 5,000. Mr McSweeney was the only person in the 155,000 to 159,999 band. Other big No10 salaries went to comms chiefs James Lyons and Stephanie Driver (both on 145,000-149,999). The Government also forked out 3.1million in severance payments - largely for former Conservative special advisers who lost their jobs following the general election. But the figure is also likely to include a pay off for Sir Keir's ousted chief of staff, Sue Gray. She was entitled to five weeks' salary - around 16,000 before tax - after her departure from No10. She earned 170,000, more than the Prime Minister, but was axed after weeks of bitter briefings against her. No special adviser in the government now earns more than the PM's 167,000 salary. After the cost of severance is removed, the cost of spads (salary, national insurance and pensions costs) in the year to March 31 2025 was 13.6million, down marginally from 14million in the year previously. A doctor caught in the middle of a love triangle has denying any wrongdoing following the murder of her alleged lover. Dr. Sabrina de Mello slammed the public for judging her without having direct knowledge of what led to the death of Ivan Bonotto, who was stabbed on March 22 at her husband's bar in Sorriso - a city in the west-central state of Mato Grosso - and died April 13 after going into cardiac arrest while hospitalized at Sorriso Regional Hospital. 'I, Sabrina Iara de Mello, a gynecologist and obstetrician in the city of Sorriso, express my profound indignation at the recent statements on social media from people unaware of the incident, accusing me of having an extramarital affair, covering up the murder of a lover, and slandering me without any basis in fact,' Dr. de Mello said in a statement that was posted on her Instagram account Thursday. 'These people ignore the facts, choosing to confuse my private life with a homicide that occurred, when there is no connection between these facts,' the mother-of-two said. The Mato Gross Civil Police said Bonotto was set up by Dr. de Mello's husband, Gabriel Tacca, after he discovered that Bonotto, a longtime friend, his wife had been romantically involved. Tacca invited Bonotto to the bar he owned and pretended to fight his friend, businessman Danilo Guimaraes, who ended up stabbing Bonotto several times. On Tuesday, police announced the arrests of Dr. de Mello, Tacca and Guimaraes. Dr. de Mello criticized the public for pinning Bonotto's death on her. Dr. Sabrina de Mello (pictured) released a statement Thursday and said that she is being wrongly accused for the murder of he alleged lover, Ivan Bonotto, whose murder was reportedly plotted by her husband, Gabriel Tacca, who hired a friend to stab Bonotto on March 22. Bonotto died April 13 A surveillance camera mounted in the garage of Dr. Sabrina de Mello's home showed her and Ivan Bonotto kissing on March 9, two weeks before he was stabbed 'Most people are choosing sides. And they chose the wrong side,' she said. 'These people don't condemn the confessed killer, but they make a fuss about invading my private life.' Tacca and Guimaraes voluntarily appeared before authorities in the days following Bonotto's stabbing. Tacca claimed that the fight was sparked by argument over drinks and that he did not know who Bonotto was. Guimaraes told agents that he stabbed Bonotto in self-defense. 'They talk more about me than condemning the killer. I am a doctor,' Dr. de Mello said. 'When he arrived at the hospital, the entire hospital staff gave the victim their full support, in a pluralistic way, aiming to save his life.' Brazilian police investigators said Gabriel Tacca (pictured) plotted the murder of his friend Ivan Bonotto after discovering that he was involved in a secret relationship with his doctor wife Ivan Bonotto was stabbed at a bar in Sorriso, Brazil following a fight that was staged by his friend, Gabriel Tacca, and a hired assassin after Tacca learned that Bonnatto was in a relationship with his wife Authorities allege that Tacca instructed Dr. de Mello to sneak into Sorriso Regional Hospital and delete the video of the staged fight and attack that Bonotto filmed on his cell phone. Video footage showed Dr. de Mello holding Bonotto's mobile device as she walked behind the hospital staff, who were transporting Bonotto to the operating room. Dr. de Mello told investigators that she erased the video from Bonotto's phone because she wanted to 'protect the victim.' The doctor, who owns works out of two offices in Sorriso and Tapurah, argued that she was never jailed. 'We reaffirm, as a woman and a doctor, the freedom of expression of people, but with responsibility and truth. I am not imprisoned,' she said. 'I was questioned and subsequently released, being investigated for alleged procedural fraud, an investigation that will open the way for adversarial proceedings and a full defense. 'Preempting judgments on people is dangerous. It denigrates their image and stifles freedom of expression through psychological torture,' she added. 'I humbly ask everyone to await the outcome of the investigation, refraining from making judgments, meaning, preemptively denying what happened.' Dr. de Mello arrived at Sorriso Regional Hospital,, where Bonotto was being treated, and took his cell phone to delete several messages and a video that showed her husband and Bonotto's alleged killer staging at fight at her husband's bar before Bonotto was stabbed multiple times Dr. de Mello posted multiple photos on social media while enjoying time together with her alleged lover Ivan Bonotto ( top left) and her husband Gabriel Tacca (top right) A surveillance video camera mounted on the garage of the Dr. de Mello's residence showed Bonotto pulling up in a motorcycle March 9. They kissed for a moment before they walked into her home and did so again when they exited before he left. Dr. de Mello stressed that Bonotto's murder and her personal life could not be tied together. 'There is no absolute connection between the homicide and my conduct regarding my private life,' she said. 'Pointing the finger at one side of the facts is not neutrality. It is complicity.' Victims of Britains most corrupt police officer who framed scores of innocent black men have called for a change in the law after judges quashed the 13th wrongful conviction. Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewells racism and rampant criminality at British Transport Police (BTP) became so notorious in 1973 that the then Home Secretary Robert Carr faced calls for a public inquiry. But it was another 50 years before the true scale of his criminalisation of innocent young black men emerged. Errol Campbell, who died in 2004, and Ronald De Souza, 71, who were framed by the bent officer in the 1970s, were finally cleared today at the Court of Appeal. The historic decision means a total of 13 wrongful convictions based on Ridgewells lies have now been quashed by appeal judges following one of the biggest miscarriages of justice ever perpetrated by a British police officer. Now the families of those posthumously cleared are calling for a new law that would allow for the automatic independent review of cases involving police officers who are jailed. Mr De Souza is the last member of the so-called Stockwell Six, a group of young black men falsely accused of trying to rob Ridgewell on the London Underground, to have his conviction overturned. He was sentenced to six months in prison in 1972 for attempted robbery, but within a year Ridgewells corrupt methods had become so notorious that MPs called for the Home Secretary to open an inquiry. Sergeant Derek Ridgewell died in prison Errol Campbell Jr (left) and solicitor Matt Foot speaking outside the Royal Courts of Justice after Mr Campbell Jr's father, Errol Campbell, was posthumously cleared at the Court of Appeal. British Transport Police quietly moved Ridgewell from investigating muggings to its mailbag theft unit where he stole 364,000 worth of property, equivalent to almost 1.3million today. In 1977 former British rail employee, Mr Campbell was wrongly jailed for 18 months for theft and conspiracy to steal from the Bricklayers' Arms goods depot, based on evidence planted by Ridgewell to cover his own criminality. Ridgewells theft was later discovered and he was sentenced to seven years in 1980, dying of a heart attack in prison two years later at the age of 37. Despite his disgrace, it has taken victims and their families decades to prove their innocence through research at the National Archives and freedom of information requests, in which time some of those wrongly convicted have died. Today Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Butcher and Mr Justice Wall, said it was very regrettable that Ridgewells cases had not been reviewed earlier. Errol Campbell pictured in 1958 Derek Ridgewell from Bromley, Kent, deserted from the Rhodesian Police Force, and was repatriated to the UK by British Consular officials at Beira in Mozambique, Sunday 14th November 1965. Errol Campbell Jr told the court his father was a ruined man after his wrongful conviction. His solicitor Matt Foot said BTP knew that Ridgewell was corrupt but let him carry on regardless, adding: We are calling for a change in the law that, when a police officer goes to prison, there is an automatic review of their cases to look for miscarriages of justice. If that had happened, that would have saved more than 45 years of misery for the Campbell family. BTP Assistant Chief Constable Doyle said: We are sincerely sorry to those affected by the criminal actions of former BTP Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell, whose appalling actions in the 1970s and 1980s led to the criminalisation of innocent people. We're continuing to review records relating to his corrupt practices, which includes those relating to officers who were associated with DS Ridgewell or may have assisted him in his criminal activity, and the review team has recently been provided with additional resources to support its work. I am disgusted by the actions of Derek Ridgewell, and while we know we can't change the past, his actions do not represent the BTP of today. We continue to actively pursue a criminal investigation into the actions of those involved. A protest triggered by the arrest of a migrant on sex assault charges against a 14-year-old schoolgirl descended into violence last night as thugs attacked three police vans and threw projectiles at officers. Hundreds of furious residents gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, which has been operating as an asylum hotel on and off for the last five years. The protest began peacefully, but later flared into violence after a group of hardcore agitators stopped three Essex Police riot vans from driving past the hotel to support their colleagues in the centre of Epping. Children in balaclavas joined grown men and women to block the road by standing across it. Shortly before 8pm masked protesters attacked the police vehicles. An angry mob repeatedly punched and kicked the vans, with another man yelling 'smash it, smash it' as officers sat trapped inside while the vandals attempted to break the windows. Several thugs then clambered on to the roof of the vehicles, before jumping up and down. The van was eventually forced to flee with its back doors wide open. The agitators also threw fireworks and bottles at police as they sought to protect anti-racism counter-demonstrators. One of the protestors jumps up and down on a police van while wrapped in the St George's flag A man dressed in all black stands on the bonnet of a police van with its windows smashed Anti-immigration protestors attack riot police vans hitting windows with officers stuck inside Earlier the man could be seen scrambling up the windscreen of the van, with officers trapped inside A line of men shout at police as they form a human baricade between the protestors and the anti-racism counter-protesters Another man dressed all in black approaches a police van as a braying mob watch on Police armed with riot shields form a barrier across the road following a major public order incident in Epping on Thursday A protestor appears to be detained by police The violent clashes prompted the deployment of over 180 police officers from Essex Police, the Metropolitan Police, and Hertfordshire Constabulary Police officers stand in a street covered in smashed glass and other debris Essex Police reported that one officer sustained a minor neck injury in the course of policing the protest. The force also said that they had already identified several suspects they believe are responsible for damaging police vehicles, the hotel, and assaulting officers. Officers on patrol also arrested a man on suspicion of affray, following an assault reported close to The Bell Hotel on Sunday evening. Dean Walters, 65, of Corner Meadow in Harlow, has been charged with affray and released on bail to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates Court 24 September, with stringent conditions until then. The latest unrest has been triggered after Ethiopian aslyum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences. He was arrested by officers on July 8 after reports of a man acting inappropriately towards a number of people. Kebatu appeared at Colchester Magistrates Court on Thursday 10 July and denied all offences. Today Kebatu was charged with three counts of sexual assault, as well as one count of inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity and one count of harassment without violence. The latest unrest has been triggered after Ethiopian aslyum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu, 38, was charged with a number of sexual offences At the protest well-dressed mothers stood side-by-side with retired businessmen and women and dozens of bald tattooed middle-aged men to call for the hotel to stop operating as refugee accommodation. One bearded man wearing shorts draped a union flag over his shoulders as he took selfie pictures outside the embattled hostel. Essex Police were out in force in the picturesque commuter town - blocking the entrance to the hotel car park with a riot van. One of the demonstrators told how the whole of Epping was united in opposition to housing asylum seekers in their town. The 74-year-old retired company director who declined to give his name said: We are all absolutely sick of it. They should all be sent back to where theyve come from. If they came in a small boat from France then they should be sent back to France. Its absolutely outrageous that we have to pay for them - the food, their accommodation, their phones, everything. How is it that our children cant walk home from school without being attacked? A mother-of-three added: This is not about being racist, its about protecting our children. There are a load of schools near here and there are all these single men here in the hotel and no one knows who they are. Essex Police were out in force in Epping tonight as hundreds of angry residents took to the streetsto voice their anger after an asylum seeker was charged with sexual offences A protestor is blocked by police as a counter-protest continues in the background, with people holding signs saying 'Refugees welcome, stop the far-right' Protestors gathered outside the Bell Hotel in Epping, which has reportedly been used to house migrants for the last five years Hundreds of furious Essex residents took to the streets to voice their anger following the arrest of a migrant on sex assault charges against school girls One of the demonstrators told how the whole of Epping was united in opposition to housing asylum seekers in their town A protestor lights a flare as residents call for the closure of the asylum hotel where the man was staying Well-dressed mothers and retired businessmen and women joined dozens of bald tattooed middle aged men to call for the closure of the Bell Hotel as refugee accommodation One bearded man wearing shorts draped a union flag over his shoulders as he took selfie pictures outside the embattled hostel Theyve not been screened, or checked or anything. One man held a flag of St George with the slogan written in black: Save Our Kids. Youths wearing face masks, caps and sunglasses surged through bushes at the side of the road to try to confront their opponents. Police were forced to push some of the anti-migrant protesters back. But some managed to break through police lines and grabbed the anti-racism placards and threw them back at their opponents. Meanwhile a middle aged man with a Union flag draped over his shoulders and a black trilby hat joined the crowd with a loud speaker playing ska music classics. Police were forced to create a protective ring around the 50 or so anti-racism demonstrators as they became surrounded by protesters at the entrance to Epping town centre. Essex Police then deployed squads of riot officers as protesters urged the demonstrators to f*** off out of Epping and accused them of protecting paedos. The man waved at passersby with the Union Jack draped over his shoulders Beyond Union Jacks - others held a flag of St George with the slogan written in black: Save Our Kids Essex Police were out in force in the picturesque commuter town - blocking the entrance to the hotel car park with a riot van A 74-year-old retired company director who declined to give his name said: We are all absolutely sick of it' Ethiopian asylum seeker Hadush Gerberslasie Kebatu today appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting a 14-year-old schoolgirl and inciting her to engage in sex (file image) The anti-racism group were pelted by occasional bottles, cans and eggs hurled by the anti-migrant protesters. Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow said: 'I am sure those living in Epping have concerns following tonight. I share those concerns. 'We know the people who carried out these crimes do not represent Epping or Essex. 'Nothing about the offending we saw tonight is representative of these communities, or the peaceful event that ended before this started. This was crime. 'Our detectives are already working through the footage of this evening from our officers bodyworn camera, from our drones and from social media and where offences are identified we will take action. 'People attended the earlier protest and did so peacefully, lawfully and responsibly. Id like to thank them for expressing their views this way given the strength of feeling locally. 'The details of the ongoing sexual assault case can be found on our website, and I reiterate the importance for respect for the court process to prevent the release of any prejudicial information in relation to that case.' A temporary wire fence has been erected in recent days following a series of violent and bad tempered confrontations earlier in the week. On Sunday night, rival groups of anti-migrant demonstrators and counter-protesters faced off outside the hotel. Two people, who worked as security guards at the hotel, were left bloodied and injured on July 13 after being attacked at a bus stop. Police said the two victims then managed to make their way past the protest site into the hotel, where there was a significant policing presence, to get help. A second incident took place on Tuesday 15 July with a man shouting racial abuse directed at the hotel, before later causing damage to the property. Police arrested a man on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offence and criminal damage, although he was later released on bail. A yacht in Germany was seen erupting in flames this morning before being left a charred heap of metal in the middle of Magdeburg city centre. At around 5am a loud bang awoke local residents who quickly realised a yacht on the Elbe river, between the Queen Edith Bridge and the Customs Bridge, had caught fire. A Danish man and woman were aboard the nine-metre-long yacht at the time of the blaze outbreak. They managed to escape the fire at the last minute, suffering minor injuries. But they were dashed to hospital with suspected hypothermia and smoke inhalation, as per local reports. According to the police's initial findings: 'The yacht had become stuck the previous day due to low water.' During the terrifying incident, 41 emergency personnel responded to the scene as well as a special fireboat. A fire department spokesperson told MDR: 'The fire was already fully engulfed when the emergency services arrived.' After around an hour of emergency works, the fire had been extinguished, but the boat could not be saved. At around 5am a loud bang awoke local residents who quickly realised a yacht on the Elbe river, between the Queen Edith Bridge and the Customs Bridge, had caught fire During the terrifying incident, 41 emergency personnel responded to the scene as well as a special fireboat Both the Editha Bridge and the Customs Bridge had to be completely closed. Images from the scene showed thick black smoke drifting over the the Werder, Cracau, and Bruckfeld districts. Residents were urged to close windows and doors via a warning app. The cause of the fire remains unclear and police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the blaze. Authorities have not ruled out environmental damage following the fire and according to the fire department, the damage is estimated at around 86,000. It comes after a superyacht was ravaged by fire after a blaze broke out in St Tropez last week. The dramatic fire unfolded on the Sea Lady II, a 41m boat, which can be chartered from 56,000 a week. And in January, a yacht that was being rented by music producer and rap artist Metro Boomin burst into flames in Miami. The 95-foot boat docked in the Miami River outside the strip club Booby Trap on the River, workers at the club told Local 10 News at the time. But after about 15 or 30 minutes, someone said they smelled smoke coming from the massive vessel. Strip club employees helped evacuate the roughly 15 guests that were staying on the boat, including Metro Boomin, real name Leland Tyler Wayne. The yacht was seen burning for hours with extraordinarily high flames. Just before 7am, the vessel sunk into the river. A top barrister said she 'felt sick' when her stalker sent her a picture of his naked bottom during a five-year campaign of terror. Robert McKenna, 59, has admitted stalking Anneliese Day KC, between June 1, 2020, and April 6, 2025. McKenna sent Ms Day a photo of his naked buttock, contacted her clerk at her chambers and left a Valentine's Day card outside her chambers. In a victim impact statement Ms Day said: 'At the beginning I found the defendant's actions an annoyance. 'After he sent me the photo of the bare buttock I felt sick. 'The suspect made repeated calls to my workplace to ask others where I am which left me even more concerned. 'He started ringing me, often when I was alone in a hotel. I couldn't sleep, I felt so afraid. 'Every time I walk around outside I feel worried. Robert McKenna, 59, has admitted stalking Anneliese Day KC (pictured), between June 1, 2020, and April 6, 2025 Ms Day told Southwark Crown Court she 'felt sick' when her stalker sent her a picture of his naked bottom 'I started to worry about things I never worried about, such as getting in a taxi or catching public transport, because I worried that he might be driving the taxi. 'I am concerned for the safety of my family.' McKenna has past convictions for harassment in 2000 and 2007, the court heard. Ms Day took silk in 2012 and has a number of coveted awards, including The Lawyer's 'Barrister of the Year' and 'Silk of the Year' at Legal 500's UK Bar Awards. She has also been identified as one of the 500 most influential people in the UK by Debretts and as a 'good leader for the 21st century'. Ms Day is based at Fountain Court Chambers and a blog describes her as 'a leading lawyer of her generation' and 'a ruthlessly brilliant advocate'. The court heard McKenna gained access to Ms Day's private Instagram account to send her messages. In one he wrote: 'This is the best image of 2020. You are truly sexy'. McKenna was committed to Southwark Crown Court for sentencing on a date to be fixed. Magistrate Jonathan Saunders said: 'We've decided that we don't have the powers to sentence you today. It will need to be sent to the crown court for sentence. That will be Southwark Crown Court on a date to be arranged.' He was bailed on condition he does not contact Ms Day and does not enter the M25. Following Constance Marten and Mark Gordon's convictions for the gross negligence manslaughter of their baby daughter Victoria, the Mail has released exclusive podcasts revealing never-before-heard details about the couple. In this third episode of the award-winning Trial Plus series, veteran crime correspondent Rebecca Camber breaks down previously withheld family court documents that refute many of the narratives Marten spun during the trial. On Monday, Marten and her lover Gordon were convicted of causing their daughter's death after going on the run to stop her being taken into care. They will be sentenced on September 15. Not only do the family court proceedings expose the apathy Marten and Gordon felt towards the safety of their children, but they also provide shocking details about the couple's relationship. 'They meet and immediately go to South America to get married for what Marten describes as a spiritual ceremony in Peru', Camber told the podcast. Following the convictions of Constance Marten and Mark Gordon, the Mail has released a series of exclusive podcasts revealing never-before-heard details about the couple On Monday, Marten and Gordon were convicted of killing their daughter, Victoria, after going on the run to stop her being taken into care Veteran crime correspondent Rebecca Camber has broken down previously withheld family court documents that refute many of the narratives Marten spun during the trial 'Even then, he hasn't told her about his appalling history the fact that he spent nearly two decades behind bars in an American prison. 'Marten only finds out after the birth of their first child, when Mark Gordon, at the hospital, assaults two police officers. 'He then has to appear in court and it's then that it emerges he has been breaching sex offender notification requirements. 'She learns there is a substantial history with this man, and that he is on the sex offenders register. 'The social worker who makes that note says that Marten, although surprised, seems totally unconcerned about his history.' In 1989, a 14-year-old Gordon was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the rape of his neighbour at knifepoint while her two children slept next door, and for later attacking another neighbour with a shovel. Gordon was charged with multiple serious offences including armed kidnapping, four counts of armed sexual battery, one count of burglary with a deadly weapon, and one count of aggravated battery. Another shocking revelation within the documents relates to an incident where Marten was allegedly pushed out of a first-floor window. While the couple tried to claim in family court that the event was an accident and that Gordon was being unreasonably targeted by social services, the documents reveal why the courts believed it was domestic violence. 'This isn't just a simple fall where Marten gets up and feels fine', Camber said. 'The documents show that she shattered her spleen and damaged her kidney. She had internal bleeding and needed a blood transfusion. 'These are very serious injuries. Their neighbour made a phone call to the ambulance services at 3:35 in the morning, having heard screaming between Marten and Gordon. 'She saw a woman fall 18 feet from the first-floor window of a terraced house. Marten hit a car Gordon doesn't call for any help at all while she's on the ground screaming. The Crime Desk: The Mail's new true crime podcast network, available on all major podcast platforms 'When the paramedics arrive, Gordon doesn't even let them into the house. It's why it's so important we see these documents this is a very clear case of a woman being thrown out of a window. 'Gordon came up with the implausible story that he fell with her and landed on his feet because the neighbour was the only witness and didn't see the push, police have to say they can't proceed with it as a criminal offence. 'But this turns out to be a real turning point in family court proceedings, because they now knew there was serious risk of harm to Constance and their children.' To hear more revelations from the documents and to discover why social services said they were scared of Marten, subscribe to The Crime Desk, the home of arresting podcasts from The Daily Mail. Search www.thecrimedesk.com today for a 7-day free trial. A major outage earlier hit customers at Post Office branches across Britain. People over the UK attempting to send out parcels this afternoon ran into trouble as systems crashed while they were in store. Outage reports for the Post Office shot up shortly before 3pm, according to DownDetector's tracker. Most of the problems were about a 'total blackout,' while others indicated there was a problem with the internet connection. It is not yet known what caused the outage, but the Post Office told Metro that it is 'not cyber related'. Post Office posted on X to warn people of the crash when it happened: Were aware of an outage impacting our branches. The issue is being worked on and things should be back to normal later this afternoon. Thanks for your patience. The company said their systems were back up and running just before 4pm. Shortly after, a Post Office spokesperson said: There was a major outage across the Post Office estate this afternoon. People over the UK attempting to send out parcels at the Post Office this afternoon ran into trouble as systems crashed while they were in store Outage reports for the Post Office shot up shortly before 3pm, according to DownDetector's tracker. We are pleased to announce that service has now been restored to branches. We apologise for any inconvenience caused to customers and the operators of our branches. But some customers were left furious with the outage and took to social media to share their disappointment. One woman said: 'Bro I walked 25mins to the post office in flip flops for them to tell me the system is down & come back tomorrow, bro can u just HAND IT TO ME.' Another added: 'No they are not back to normal! On the strength of your post I travelled again into Macclesfield only to find the post office at WH Smith still offline - system down. So - no- your services are not back to normal - unless you consider zero service normal?' A third wrote: 'The post office servers are down all over the UK. look at their twitter. I am unable to drop off parcels as they are CLOSED as unable to function.' Most of the problems were about a 'total blackout,' while others indicated there was a problem with the internet connection It is not yet known what caused the outage, but the Post Office told Metro that it is 'not cyber related' Some customers were left furious with the outage and took to social media to share their disappointment The company said their systems were back up and running just before 4pm One more chimed in: 'Hello, please can I arrange for my parcel that is stuck inside the post office to be delivered to my home? Been twice to collect it now and told both times system down unhelpful employees and rude as always.' It comes after a spate of high-profile cyber incidents affecting the M&S and Co-op. M&S online orders were back in action six weeks after the cyber attack in April, which cost the company 300 million. Co-op admitted yesterday that all 6.5million people on its membership scheme had details stolen in the hack, which left some branch shelves empty. President Donald Trump has come after California Gov. Gavin Newsom again, this time stripping federal funds from the mega-state's beleaguered high speed rail project. The Democrat accused Trump of illegally pulling $4 billion in funding for the state's high-speed rail project to link San Francisco to Los Angeles. 'California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action,' Newsom warned in a statement. But Trump appears unconcerned. 'To the law abiding, tax paying, hardworking citizens of the United States of America, I am thrilled to announce that I have officially freed you from funding California's disastrously overpriced, 'High speed train to nowhere,'' the president wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday evening amid the standoff with Newsom. The high-speed rail was supposed to be the first of its kind in the U.S. when it was approved in 2008. It was also supposed to be completed by 2020 and cost $33 billion, yet zero train tracks have been laid and estimates now say it will likely cost up to $128 billion. 'This boondoggle, led by the incompetent Governor of California, Gavin Newscum, has cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we have received nothing in return except cost overruns.' Trump celebrated the Department of Transportation stripping California of $4 billion for its high-speed rail project After billions of dollars and over a decade of construction, zero railway track has actually been constructed in the mega-project promised to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles California Governor Gavin Newsom said the administration's decision is 'illegal' 'The railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will,' the president's post continued. 'This project was severely overpriced, overregulated, and never delivered.' The Transportation Department announced it was rescinding $4 billion in funding for the mega-project in recent weeks. Less than a quarter of the project's funding came from federal coffers. In a press release, the DOT noted 'the $135 billion projected total cost of the project could buy every San Francisco and LA resident nearly 200 roundtrip flights between the cities.' The massive delays and cost overruns prove the California government highlight its 'incompetence,' Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a statement. 'It's time for this boondoggle to die. President Trump and I will always fight to ensure your tax dollars only go to projects that accomplish great, big, beautiful things.' California High Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri shared that the state would fight the administration's move in court. 'These are legally binding agreements, and the authority has met every obligation, as confirmed by repeated federal reviews, as recently as February 2025,' he said in a statement. The railway authority claims 171 miles are under active construction and design, adding that over 50 'major structures' have been completed since construction began in 2015. The high-speed rail is expected to run through farmland in central California Passenger service, it estimates, will not begin until between 2030 and 2033. 'This was an ill-conceived and unnecessary project, and a total waste of taxpayer money but no more!,' Trump boasted. Newsom is widely considered to be a potential candidate for the 2028 presidential race. He has publicly been challenging Trump on a myriad of topics, most recently filing a lawsuit challenging the White House's deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. That round went to President Trump, after a federal appeals court ruled unanimously that he acted within his authority to federalize and retain control of the state's national guard. The White House disclosed Thursday that Donald Trump has a chronic condition that leads to swelling in his ankles and finally addressed mysterious bruising and makeup that has appeared on the president's hand. In a surprise statement from the podium during a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters the president was checked out by his doctor after noticeable 'swelling' and revealed that Trump has been diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency.' Earlier this week, Trump, 79, appeared at a White House press gaggle with what looked like makeup covering a patch on the back of his hand, sparking concerns. The splotch has been visible on other occasions throughout the week, sparking a new round of questions about the cause. The makeup appeared to be concealing a raised circular area of skin. Leavitt said during her rare medical update that the president recently 'noticed mild swelling in the lower legs' and 'in keeping with routine medical care and out of the abundance of caution,' he was evaluated by the White House medical unit. He underwent a 'comprehensive examination' which included 'diagnostic vascular studies.' 'Bilateral, lower extremity ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency,' Leavitt stated. She said it's a 'common condition' in individuals over the age of 70 and there was 'no evidence' of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says that Trump has been diagnosed with 'chronic venous insufficiency' She also addressed the 'minor bruising' on the back of Trump's hand. 'This is consistent with minor soft-tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen. This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy.' 'The president remains in excellent health,' Leavitt continued. 'Importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease,' she added. Leavitt said in response to a question that there was 'no discomfort from the president at all.' She then pointed to his daily activities. 'And you probably all see that on a day-to-day basis, he's working around the clock. As for the treatment, I can defer to the president's physician,' she said. The letter released by White House Physician Sean Barbarella, DO, references 'mild swelling' in Trump's lower legs, and states the diagnosis emerged after a series of vascular studies. Neither Leavitt nor the letter addressed whether Trump would have to modify any of his routines, which include frequent golfing at his private courses on weekends, and his trademark dance moves to 'Y.M.C.A.' when he addresses rally crowds. Leavitt said there was 'no discomfort' for the president at all. Officials have previously mentioned Trump's frequent handshaking Trump regularly interacts with a large number of people at White House events and when he travels as the cause of the bruising, but have not previously identified the aspirin issue. The Daily Mail first reported on Trump's mysterious hand bruising back in February, revealing that Trump's glad-handing had brought on the result. That account tracked the bruising from the presidential campaign through his return to the White House. It had even been spotted during Trump's Manhattan court fight in the Stormy Daniels case. A photograph of Trump Sunday at a Club World Cup soccer match drew numerous comments about his ankles, which appeared swollen The White House disclosed that President Donald Trump was checked out by his doctor after noticeable 'swelling' on his hands and legs Possible bruising or makeup on Trump's right hand has been visible since last year Makeup covers a bruise on the back of U.S. President Donald Trump's hand as he hosts French President Emmanuel Macron for meetings at the White House on February 24, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump has been spotted with apparent makeup on the hand repeatedly before and since he took office According to the Cleveland Clinic, chronic venous insufficiency occurs when leg veins are damaged, making it more difficult for blood to return to the heart. It causes blood to pool in your leg veins, leading to high pressure in those veins. The condition is fairly common, affecting one in 20 adults, and the risk increases with age. It can lead to achy legs, a feeling of pins and needles, cramping, swelling and itching, as well as Leathery-looking skin on your legs. Up to half the people who have had deep vein thrombosis later develop post-thrombotic syndrome within a year or two. That relates to scar tissue that can develop after a blood clot. Trump was the oldest person to take the Oath of Office when he was sworn in in January at age 78. He has said repeatedly that his predecessor Joe Biden, 82, had no idea what he was doing and this week opened a probe into an alleged 'cover-up' through his use of an autopen for a series of commutations. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt revealed the surprise diagnosis at her White House briefing It was visible during the Al Smith Dinner in Manhattan in October where Trump joked with city elites Trump reposted an item in May calling Biden a 'decrepit corpse,' days after Biden got a prostate cancer diagnosis. Trump has made a point of demonstrating his own physical and mental vigor taking question after question from reporters inside the Oval Office, sometimes speaking for up to an hour. He has taken trips to the Middle East and Canada this term, with plans to visit his Scottish golf courses. The White House clarified Thursday that President Donald Trump does not support appointing a special prosecutor to review files related to the Jeffrey Epstein case. It signals a shift in the president's thinking after he considered having his Attorney General Pam Bondi appoint one a day earlier following outrage from his MAGA base. 'The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. That's how he feels,' White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Mail in the daily briefing. Leavitt said the president was confident in the Justice Department's 'exhaustive' work on the case. 'The Attorney General and the FBI, led by Pam Bondi, Dan Bongino, Kash Patel. These are great patriots. Some of the most trusted voices in the Republican party movement,' she said. 'It's part of the reason the president appointed them to these high law enforcement positions.' Leavitt said Trump also supported the release of any new details in the case if necessary. 'The president has said if the Attorney General and Department of Justice and the FBI have more credible evidence in regards to Jeffrey Epstein's crimes, they should put that forward,' she said. Leavitt further mocked Congressional Democrats for demonstrating newfound interest in the case, accusing them of doing so now for political reasons. 'They had control of the White House for four years, and they didn't do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes,' she said. This photo provided by the New York State Sex Offender Registry shows Jeffrey Epstein, March 28, 2017. President Donald Trump speaks to the media as White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, looks on During an interview with JustTheNews.com on Wednesday, Trump seemed open to appointing a prosecutor to look into Epstein and other conspiracies. When he was asked about his support of a special prosecutor reviewing the 'weaponization' of the DOJ against conservatives in the 2016 election, Trump said he did and that a special prosecutor could look into the Epstein files as well. 'I think they could look at all of it. It's all the same scam. They could look at this Jeffrey Epstein hoax also, because that's the same stuff that's all put out by Democrats,' Trump said when asked what he'd most like to see the FBI investigate. Trump expressed concerns that former intelligence and law enforcement officials could have tampered with evidence surrounding Epstein case. 'I can imagine what they put into files, just like they did with the others. I mean, the Steele dossier was a total fake, right? It took two years to figure that out,' he said, referring to former FBI directors James Comey and Christopher Wray. He described the case as a 'hoax' and lamented that Republicans were still hung up on the case despite an effort by the Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Department of Justice to put the controversial case behind them. 'But they ought to look into the Jeffrey Epstein hoax too, because that's another hoax that's frankly, put out by the Democrats pushing, pushing the Republicans, and put out by the Democrats,' he added. The president and his administration face ongoing controversy after the Justice Department announced in a memo that there was no evidence to support the conspiracy theory that Epstein was murdered in prison and that he did not have a client 'list' that they could release. New photos of infamous sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and associate Ghislaine Maxwell at the Clinton White House, one day after Maxwell pleaded not guilty to sex-trafficking charges. This undated trial evidence image obtained December 8, 2021, from the US District Court for the Southern District of New York shows British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell and US financier Jeffrey Epstein. Portrait of American financier Jeffrey Epstein (left) and real estate developer Donald Trump as they pose together at the Mar-a-Lago estate in 1997 The news sparked outrage from the president's followers who anticipated the eventual release of the files after Trump promised during his presidential campaign to release them. Congressional Democrats jumped on the case, further exploiting the disappointment from Trump's base, even suggesting the president was tied up with the Epstein case and covering it up. Trump said Wednesday in the Oval Office he was discouraged by many of his supporters clinging to the case. 'I've lost a lot of faith in certain people, yeah, I've lost. Because they got duped by the Democrats,' he told reporters. On Wednesday, Trump also berated his followers on social media for their focus on the 'Epstein scam' he said was perpetrated by Democrats. 'Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bullshit,' hook, line, and sinker. They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years,' he wrote. He criticized Republicans and his MAGA supporters for not focusing on his successes and distracting the public with the case. 'Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats' work, don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore!' he added. On Tuesday, Trump tried to dismiss the case as 'boring' and said he did not understand why the case was so important to his supporters. 'He's dead for a long time,' Trump said of the disgraced financier. 'He was never a big factor in terms of life. I don't understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody.' The president spoke about the issue that threatens to further plague his presidency after a trip to Pennsylvania on Air Force One. 'It's pretty boring stuff. It's sordid, but it's boring, and I don't understand why it keeps going,' he said to reporters on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews. Epstein's associate Ghislane Maxwell is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence in Florida after she was convicted in June 2022 for conspiring with her boss Epstein in the sexual exploitation of minors. The White House dismissed any notion of Trump pardoning Maxwell. 'There have been no discussions or consideration of a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, and there never will be,' a senior White House official told the Daily Mail. Police in Scotland should be banned from taking part in Pride marches while on duty following a landmark High Court ruling, rank-and-file officers said last night. They face being prevented from joining in the parades after the court ruled on Wednesday that one of Britains largest forces breached impartiality by marching at an LGBT+ event. A judicial review was brought by a gender-critical campaigner who argued that Northumbria Police broke the professional oath sworn by police officers to act with impartiality. Officers had a stall at last years Pride parade in Newcastle, marched under the Progress flag promoting transgender ideology and painted a police van in trans colours, while Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine was pictured at the event. Last night Police Scotland came under pressure to ban staff participation in the events, as the High Court ruling was heralded as the end of woke policing. Scottish Tory community safety spokesman Sharon Dowey said: The public expect the primary role of police officers to be fighting crime and upholding community safety, so this ruling is a potential landmark moment. Police are facing calls to be banned from attending pride marches over fears they could be breaching impartiality At a time of low officer numbers and savage cuts to the police budgets on the SNPs watch, attending parades is not what Scots expect to be a priority. It is common sense that public safety should always be the top priority for the force. A Pride march is set to take place in Glasgow tomorrow (SAT). Police Scotland was asked if any officers are likely to participate this year. In his ruling at the High Court in Leeds, Mr Justice Linden said Northumbria Police might be seen by the public to be taking sides in the womens rights debate. Linzi Smith, 34, the claimant in the judicial review, has said she will take further legal action against the force if Northumbria goes ahead with plans to allow off-duty officers to wear T-shirts identifying themselves as such at this years event. The force declined to comment on whether it would change its position and said it was working through the judges ruling. Dave Marshall, a former Grampian Police constable, says attending pride marches 'simply does not square with the concept of an impartial police service' Last night David Kennedy, general secretary of the Scottish Police Federation, representing rank-and-file officers, said he backed the court ruling. He said: The problem is where do you draw the line? If an officer is a member of the Orange Order and wants to take part in an Orange walk while in police uniform, for example, would you allow that how would that go down? Police have to do their job in an apolitical way - without fear or favour. The lines had become blurred but this judgment clarifies the situation. Mr Kennedy said he believed officers in civilian clothes on their time off should be allowed to participate, for example by carrying flags or banners, but they should not wear uniform. Writing in todays Mail, Dave Marshall, a former Grampian Police constable and an ex-Chief Superintendent at the College of Policing and the British Transport Police, said: The end of woke policing may be at hand thanks to a landmark High Court judgment which means that police participation in LGBT+ Pride events is unlawful. As a senior police officer, I had been banging that drum for many years. My professional view had always been that taking part in Pride parades - in the same way that participating in any kind of activist cause whether it be animal rights, Scottish Independence, or Black Lives Matters - simply does not square with the concept of an impartial police service. In July last year, the Mail revealed that police officers in Scotland were paid to take part in Pride parades despite the force cutting back on fighting crime. Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell last year issued a formal apology for recent and historical injustices suffered by LGBT people Uniformed officers were urged to represent the overstretched force at LGBT+ events in exchange for either pay or a day off in lieu. Around 25 uniformed officers took part in the march through Glasgow, wearing special LGBT rainbow epaulettes, and flanked by a marked car and van draped in Pride flags. The group, which included some senior officers, would have accrued around 5,000 in wage costs. At the time of the Pride march in Glasgow last summer, Assistant Chief Constable Catriona Paton said Pride officers participation was considered by line managers to ensure there is no impact on operational policing. Last year, Chief Constable Jo Farrell issued a formal apology for recent and historical injustices suffered by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, and intersex people. Writing on LinkedIn, former Police Scotland superintendent Martin Gallagher said: Diversity is not, nor can it be, an end unto itself. This approach for the last 20 years has created this mess. One of the core purposes of the police is to prevent and detect crime. This is what diversity should be supporting, not replacing, as has sadly been the case in recent years and has led perversely to a breakdown of trust with some communities over perceived favouritism of others, as Wednesdays judgement indicates. It is understood Police Scotland is reviewing the High Court judgment. Ohio police have uncovered a cunning new scheme burglars are doing to target wealthy-looking victims. Criminals are preying on potential marks by attaching cell phones to newer model cars, then using the GPS trackers to follow them home, according to the Kirtland Police Department. The department, which is located 20 minutes outside of Cleveland, issued a chilling warning after a family member of one of their officers almost fell victim to the scam. Officer Joseph Gibson told WOIO that his sister was out to watch fireworks on the Fourth of July when she heard something hit her car. 'She didn't think anything of it. She thought it was a rock,' he said. 'She never had a chance to see the phone being hit on top of the roof, slide down the windshield of the car and lodge onto the car. Now there is a tracking device on your vehicle.' Once his sister got home, a couple knocked on her door claiming she had their phone. 'She gets home, an hour later and there's a couple walking up to her driveway. It's 11:30 at night. So, it suspicious,' Gibson said. 'My reaction as a family member and police officer, red flags were popping up.' Ohio police discovered criminals are preying on potential victims by attaching cell phones to newer model cars Kirtland Police Officer Joseph Gibson (pictured) said his sister was targeted by criminals using this scheme while she was out watching fireworks on the Fourth of July Gibson's sister refused to open the door and called 911 instead. Then, the couple and two other cars drove off, according to the police officer. The next morning, she gave her cop brother a call and found the phone lodged into her car. Gibson warned others to stay alert and take extra precautions to help prevent from falling victim to the new scam. 'Park your car in the garage. Change your routine. Don't be predictable. Don't get into a pattern of driving the same route at the same time,' said Gibson. Shortly after his sister's run in with the criminals, the Kirtland Police Department put out a warning about the new scam. The department explained how criminals target and attack their potential victims. 'Team of criminals are attempting to attach a cell phone to newer model cars. They will do this by throwing a phone on the roof of a vehicle - when the phone slides down it has a magnet that will attach to the vehicle,' Kirtland police said. Police explained that criminals will throw a phone on the roof of a car then track it to their victim's home and try and rob them 'They then use this cell phone to track where the person driving the vehicle lives. They knock on the door claiming the homeowner has their cell phone.' Kirtland police elaborated that the criminals will try to barge into their victim's homes and even trick them into thinking the police are already on the way. 'Once the door is opened, they force entry into the residence - other vehicles are positioned in the street to assist in the home invasion as lookouts and get away cars,' the department said. 'The criminals will also tell the homeowner they called the police to try and get the homeowner to open the door.' Benjamin Netanyahu has issued an apology after earlier tank fire from Israel hit the compound of Gaza's only Catholic church which claimed the lives of three people. The Israeli President blamed a 'stray' round for the deaths after a phone call with US President Donald Trump. Witnesses and the Latin Patriarch said a tank shell slammed directly into the church around 7:30am, but the Israeli military later said an initial inquiry 'suggests that fragments from a shell... hit the church mistakenly'. Pope Leo XIV said he was 'deeply saddened' by the loss of life at Holy Family, which the late Pope Francis had kept in regular contact with throughout the war between Israel and Hamas militants. 'Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy,' Netanyahu said in a statement. Taking to X, the IDF added: 'An initial inquiry into reports regarding injured individuals in the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, suggests that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly. 'The cause of the incident is under review. The IDF directs its strikes solely at military targets and makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them.' White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had called Netanyahu after having 'not a positive reaction' to news of the strike. A view of the damage to the Holy Family church in Gaza City following an Israeli strike The Israeli President blamed a 'stray' round for the deaths after a phone call with US President Donald Trump Wounded Palestinians, including Father Jebrail Romanelli, are brought to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital after an Israeli attack targeted the Holy Family Church in eastern Gaza City Archbishop Alexios stands in front of the bodies of Palestinian Christians Saad Salama and Foumia Ayyad, who were killed in an Israeli strike on the Holy Family Church Palestinians who were injured in an Israeli strike on the Holy Family church are rushed for treatment in Gaza City's Baptist hospital A mass held for those who lost their lives following the Israeli strike hit the Catholic Holy Family Church, killing three civilians and injuring several others, including Father Gabriel Romanelli, in Gaza City, Gaza on July 17, 2025 'It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, that's what the prime minister relayed to the president,' she said. Pope Leo XIV earlier condemned the actions, expressing his 'deep sadness to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack' on the Holy Family Church. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, which oversees the church, told Vatican News it was 'struck by the Israeli army'. 'What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church,' he said. 'We don't have complete information about what has happened in Gaza today because the communication in Gaza is not that simple,' he added. Ten other people were wounded, one of whom is in a critical condition in hospital. The parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, who became a close friend of Pope Francis in the final months of the late pontiff's life, was lightly injured. The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the war. Israel said it has launched an investigation, with the IDF issuing a statement saying it was aware of the reports and casualties at the site. 'The IDF operates to the fullest extent possible to minimize the harm caused to civilians and civilian structures, including religious buildings, and regrets any damage to them,' it added. Pope Leo XIV said he was 'deeply saddened' by the attack and renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in response. In a telegram of condolences for the victims sent by the Vatican's No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Leo expressed 'his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region.' The pope was 'deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack,' and expressed his closeness to the parish priest, the Rev. Romanelli and the entire parish. Fr. Gabriel Romanelli receives care after he was injured in an Israeli strike on the church Father Carlos (C) from the Holy Family church in Gaza City assists casualties injured in an Israeli strike Wounded Palestinians, including Father Jebrail Romanelli, are brought to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital Bodies of the Palestinians are taken to Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital morgue for funeral arrangements following the Israeli strike hit the Catholic Holy Family Church This picture taken from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing over destroyed buildings during an Israeli strike on the besieged Palestinian territory Romanelli was very close to the late Pope Francis and the two spoke often during the war in Gaza. The church compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the fatalities and people injured. The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parish's 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. 'The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude,' she said. In a rare move, the Israeli Foreign Ministry posted an apology on social media. 'Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty,' the ministry said. The church is just a stone's throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. Targeting a holy site 'is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war,' the Church said in a statement. Residents of the Nuseirat refugee camp line up in front of water trucks every day to carry clean water back to their tents in Gaza City Palestinians inspect the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people, in Bureij refugee camp Mother Iman Al-Nouri, who lost two of her children, Omar and Amir, in an Israeli strike while they were queuing for supplements near a medical centre, kisses a soft toy belongings to her son Siraj, who was wounded in the same strike and is being treated at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital Separately, another person was killed and 17 injured Thursday in a strike against two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Last year, he told CBS' '60 Minutes' that he calls a priest daily at 7 pm at the Holy Family Church to hear what was happening to the nearly 600 people sheltering at the facility. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Department's international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics. The strikes come as Israel and Hamas continue talks for a ceasefire in Gaza, though little progress has been made. According to an Israeli official familiar with the details, Israel is showing 'flexibility' on some of the issues that have challenged negotiators, including Israeli presence in some of the security corridors the military has carved into the Gaza Strip. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations, said Israel has shown some willingness to compromise on the Morag Corridor, which cuts across southern Gaza. However, other issues remain, including the list of prisoners to be freed and commitments to end the war. This picture taken from a position on the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip, shows an Israeli fighter jet over the Palestinian territory Israeli troops and an army bulldozer near the separation fence between Israel and Gaza on July 17 The official says there are signs of optimism but there won't be a deal immediately. The war began with Hamas' cross-border attack on October 7, 2023. That day, terrorists killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. After a frantic back-and-forth over the nation's most significant crypto legislation to-date President Donald Trump got Republicans in line to pass a first-of-its-kind law. The House OK'd the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act and the The Digital Asset Market Clarity (CLARITY) Act on Thursday, both with bipartisan support. The GENIUS Act will create a regulatory framework for stablecoin payments. Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are backed 1:1 with an asset, like a U.S. dollar or European euro. The global stablecoin industry has exploded in recent years, reaching a total market size of roughly $250 billion, up from $130 billion just two years ago. The measure provides rules for stablecoin issuers, including mandates that require audits and that the firm can back the assets they give to customers. Stablecoins have become a major player in the world of digital finance, but, until now, the rules have been unclear. The GENIUS Act aims to bring more trust and stability to the industry, ensuring that companies behind these digital dollars are held accountable for managing peoples money safely and transparently. 'This piece of legislation is going to make America the crypto capital of the world, and that's what the president promised,' Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said at Thursday's briefing. The 79-year-old president has been a loud advocate for the budding industry, he even spoke at the Bitcoin Conference 2024 and named an 'AI Czar,' David Sacks, to lead a White House team focused on the digital asset class. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks next to Crypto czar David Sacks and U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent at the White House Crypto Summit at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 7, 2025. Trump will sign the first major stablecoin legislation on Friday President Trump is expected to sign the GENIUS Act during a White House ceremony on Friday. These reforms are thought to improve trust in the stablecoin market. For example, Tether, an El Salvador-based crypto firm that is the largest stablecoin issuer globally, has been accused of not backing up its assets 1:1. The GENIUS Act would mean that stablecoins in U.S. markets need to show receipts. Last year the president co-founded his own digital asset company, World Liberty Financial, with his sons Donald Trump Jr., Eric and Barron. The firm is directly involved in various projects, and notably issues its own stablecoin called 'USD1,' according to the company's site. The CLARITY Act passed on Thursday is a market structure bill which aims to provide clear rules for crypto markets by giving oversight to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Under Biden, crypto companies that were subject to SEC enforcement actions complained that former SEC Chair Gary Gensler did not create clear industry guidelines. The CLARITY Act will be taken up by the Senate later this year. Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures at the Bitcoin 2024 event in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S., July 27, 2024 Donald Trump Jr., son of the US president, speaks during The Bitcoin Conference at The Venetian Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 27, 2025. The Trump family started a crypto firm called World Liberty Financial last year In addition to the landmark crypto legislation, the president is also interested in cutting taxes for crypto. The White House indicated Thursday the president supports exempting small cryptocurrency purchases from taxes, aiming to make using cypto for everyday payments - like buying a cup of coffee - more practical. 'Of course, right now, that cannot happen, but with the de minimis exemption, perhaps it could in the future,' Leavitt said. Senator Cynthia Lummis is leading an effort to pass a bill that would set a $300 threshold for untaxed crypto transactions, allowing purchases under $300, up to $5,000 per year, to be made without triggering taxes. The bill also aims to eliminate double taxation for crypto miners and stakers, provide equal tax treatment for digital assets compared with traditional investments, and clarify how lending digital assets is taxed. The legislation faced delays in the House after Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene pushed for stricter limits, holding up the legislation until Republican leaders agreed to add measures banning the Federal Reserve from issuing a central bank digital currency to another bill. Supporters hope changes like this will help encourage more Americans to use and accept cryptocurrency for everyday transactions, while balancing innovation, privacy, and regulation. A Las Vegas woman who pleaded guilty to beheading her on-again off-again boyfriend stunned the courtroom on Thursday when she declared she is innocent of the crime and has proof. Devyn Michaels, now 47, entered into a plea deal in September in which she admitted to second-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon of Johnathan Willette, 46, in exchange for the chance to get parole after 15 years behind bars. She was due to be sentenced on Thursday, but the hearing went off course when Michaels decided to address District Court Judge Tierra Jones directly, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. 'I know right now no one in my family feels that I am innocent at any point and I understand that, but I can actually prove my innocence. I actually can,' Michaels, who also goes by the name of Tracee Tavarez, said through tears. 'And I am not going to sop fighting to prove my innocence.' She then went on to accuse her lawyers of misdirecting her. 'I don't know how to fix any of this anymore, I don't,' Michaels claimed. 'I keep listening to what everyone tells me is the best thing to do: "Just do this and it'll work out this way and follow this advice and we'll do this" and I keep listening to the people because they're saying, "This is the best advice" and it doesn't turn out the way they tell me it will.' Devyn Michaels, now 47, stunned a Las Vegas courtroom on Thursday when she declared she is innocent of her boyfriend's murder and has proof Michaels previously entered into a plea deal in which she admitted to second-degree murder with the use of a deadly weapon of Johnathan Willette, 46 (pictured) in exchange for the possibility of parole after 15 years behind bars Following her shocking outburst, Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani said he was 'not comfortable' with what Michaels was alleging and said he was 'willing to let her out of her plea deal.' The judge then warned Michaels that she could be convicted of first-degree murder if she chose to go to trial, but Michaels insisted she still wanted to withdraw her plea. She was first arrested in August 2023, after Willettes mother discovered his headless body in his bed. Cops found the body still 'smoking' and noted that it smelled of chemicals, believed to be bleach and ammonia, when they entered the room on August 7. An investigation was launched into the grisly death, and Michaels was promptly brought in for questioning. She initially denied the killing, and claimed that she left his home the night of his death. But she later admitted to striking Willette on the head with a wooden stick after she said he tried to force her into a sex act. Michaels insisted at the time she only wanted to hospitalize him. When a detective then asked if it was possible she killed him and just did not remember, Michaels reportedly said it was 'very possible,' according to KSNV. She then claimed that Willette was abuse towards her, and alleged that he would have his oldest child take showers in front of him, according to an arrest report originally obtained by 8News Now. The mother-of-two was first arrested in August 2023, after Willettes mother discovered his headless body in his bed. Police found Willettes body still 'smoking' and reeking of chemicals, believed to be bleach and ammonia Officers found Willette's wallet, keys, social security card and blood-covered phone at Michaels' home Police claimed in the document that after Michaels decapitated the body, she took his head from Willette's Henderson home to her place in Las Vegas, where she disposed of it in a trash can. Officers never found Willette's head, and believe a trash service likely picked it up. They did, however, locate Willette's wallet, keys, social security card and blood-covered phone at Michaels' home. When she was then questioned again about his death, police said she was given a polygraph test that found she had a 'significant reaction' to a question about her participation in his murder. Assistant District Attorney Giordani called the circumstances of the case 'haunting' in the moment's before Michaels' outburst on Thursday. 'As you know, the defendant not only murdered her ex but then desecrated his body by decapitating him and putting chemicals on his body, causing him to burn,' he alleged. 'The defendant admitted to the fatal blow. She never admitted to the decapitation, but the evidence was overwhelming that it was obviously her who did it,' the prosecutor claimed. Michaels' plea deal has now been rescinded as she insisted she wanted to go to trial Willette's father, JC Willette agreed as he called Thursday's hearing 'disgraceful.' 'We were here for a sentencing and she continues to use the system to delay,' he said. His wife and Willette's stepmother, Valerie Willette, also claimed that Michaels 'has no remorse' and 'needs to pay.' It now remains unclear when Michaels may be due back in court, but Judge Jones indicated the case would move forward quickly. 'This is not going to stay stagnant and wait and wait and wait around for a trial,' she said. 'This case has been delayed extensively and this case is not going to be further delayed so that there is no justice for everybody.' Spanish authorities are frantically searching for an American hiker who went missing in the Pyrenees mountain range more than a week ago. Cole Henderson, 27, vanished nine days ago in the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park in northern Spain long the country's border with France. The last time anyone heard from the Rhodes College alumni was on July 9 around 2pm, just before he embarked on his precipitous solo hike. He texted his friend that he parked his car in Torla, the town near the entrance of the national park. Henderson noted he was going to put his phone on airplane mode to save its battery before starting his mountainous trek, according to a statement from his friend, Max Senoff. Henderson was believed to have been wearing a bright orange backpack when he went missing. His phone's last ping was in Torla, likely because this is where he turned on airplane mode. His loved ones realized something was wrong when he never boarded his return flight to the Netherlands, where he had been living and working, on July 12. Cole Henderson (pictured), 27, vanished nine days ago in the Ordesa y Monte Perdido National Park i Spanish authorities are frantically searching for an American hiker who went missing in the Pyrenees mountain range (pictured) more than a week ago Henderson was officially reported missing on July 14, sparking a rampant search for the lone traveler the same day. Rescue teams and Air Service helicopters have been scouring the area, looking for signs of the man, who is believed to have been hiking up Mount Perdido, according to The New York Times. His car was also found in Torla, as he told his friend. Mount Perdido is the third highest peak in the Pyrenees. The hike up the mountain is known to be a strenuous one, but is typically able to be completed in a day. Senoff told the New York Times at the time Henderson disappeared, he was approaching the end of his Spain vacation and was previously visiting Pamplona for the Running of the Bulls Festival. He described Henderson as an avid traveler and a meticulous planner, having shared his Spain trip itinerary with his friends before he left. 'He is great at bringing people together and very social guy,' Senoff told the outlet. A website has been established, detailing the latest updates in the search for Henderson. Henderson (pictured) was officially reported missing on July 14, sparking a rampant search for the lone traveler the same day He described Henderson (pictured) as an avid traveler and a meticulous planner, having shared his Spain trip itinerary with his friends before he left (pictured: the plan Henderson shared) On social media, his friends and family members have been sharing photos of the frequent tourist. 'My nephew, Cole Henderson, a 27-year-old American, has gone missing while hiking in the Pyrenees,' his aunt, Lisa Henderson, shared on Facebook. 'Search efforts are underway, but were desperate to spread the word. If you or someone you know is in the areaor recently hiked near Ordesaplease share this or reach out with any info. Even the smallest detail could help.' It is unclear when Henderson moved to the Netherlands, but based on his social media pages, he went to high school in Delaware and studied computer science at Rhodes College, which is in Tennessee. A teenager was arrested for the killing of a paddleboarder in Maine as it was revealed the woman's body was discovered on an island in the middle of a pond where she died of strangulation and blunt force trauma. Sunshine 'Sunny' Stewart, 48, went paddle boarding on the quiet pond in Maine earlier this month. After she disappeared, her body was found on the island after a search by authorities. Maine State Police announced the arrest Thursday and said that Stewart, 48, died from strangulation and blunt force trauma. The 17-year-old male was taken into custody Wednesday night in Union without incident and transported to Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland, a juvenile detention facility. Under Maine law, the names of juvenile suspects are not typically released. Stewart had gone out alone on the evening of July 2 to paddleboard on Crawford Pond, a wooded 600-acre body of water surrounded by private land in the town of Union. She was last seen leaving a campground on the pond's north shore around 6 pm. When she failed to return, someone reported her missing. Her body was discovered near an island in the pond just after 1am on July 3. 'I am floored with elation and grief,' her close friend Rachael Blumenberg told WMTW following the arrest. Blumenberg, who had been staying with Stewart at the time, said she knew something was wrong when she came home that night and found the house dark and Stewart's dog left alone. Maine State Police said Stewart died from strangulation and blunt force trauma Stewart was found dead near an island in Crawford Pond hours after going paddle boarding alone on July 2 'The house was completely dark, and her dog was there, and she's very devoted to her dog,' she said. Stewart, a boat captain and outdoor enthusiast who lived in Tenants Harbor, had been planning to host family for the Fourth of July weekend, friends said. Her death shocked the small Midcoast community, where residents said violent crime was rare. 'Like, ever,' Gus Williams told WMTW. 'It definitely feels just intrusive and, I don't know, terrifying.' Because of the 'circumstances' surrounding the discovery of Stewart's body, local authorities contacted the Maine State Police Major Crimes Unit, which led the investigation. Her sister, Kim Ware, described Stewart as a vibrant, strong woman who had once sailed to the Caribbean and loved being outdoors. 'Sunny loved the outdoors, hiking, boating, paddle boarding and yoga,' Ware said. 'To know Sunny is an amazing blessing. My sister and my best friend. The aunt that stepped up to help me raise her nephews.' Sarah Vokey, another close friend, said Stewart had endured many hardships and never lost her light. A 17-year-old male has been arrested in connection with her death Sunshine Stewart, 48, was last seen on July 2 when she went paddleboarding. Police found her body a day later and ruled her death a homicide 'Her life was not an easy one, but she strode through it with her head held high with that beaming all-encompassing smile on her face,' Vokey told WMTW. 'One of the many reasons I admired, loved, and appreciated her. One of the hardest things I have ever written was the text I sent to my son: 'Sunshine was murdered.' Police did not reveal any details about how the teen suspect may have been connected to Stewart. A spokesperson for the Maine State Police declined to comment further and said no additional information would be released at this time. Friends of Stewart launched a GoFundMe for her funeral services, writing in the description, 'Today is a somber day for our family and friends. We've unexpectedly lost the light in our lives that was Sunny.' One of Stewart's friends, Stacey Yandell, told the Midcoast Villager, 'She rebuilt her own house including the slate roof and siding. She was her own HGTV. She was a strong, self-made woman.' 'She had such a strong personality. She radiated positivity and love. She was like a magnet. People were attracted to her.' Friends told the publication that Stewart never married or had children, but was survived by her sister, her brother, her nephews, and many friends. Kim Ware, Stewart's sister, told WMTW-TV, 'To know Sunny is an amazing blessing! My sister and my best friend. 'The aunt that stepped up to help me raise her nephews. She has so many that call her family. Truly an amazing woman. Now we have to rally and give her justice!' Two teens charged with the murder of a man found dead in the front yard of his home have lengthy criminal histories and were allegedly involved in at least two robberies in the days prior. Zdravko Bilic, 57, the husband of skincare mogul Gry Tomte, was allegedly stabbed outside the couple's home in Warana on Queensland's Sunshine Coast, on Monday. Emergency services rushed to the scene after a neighbour reported Mr Bilic was unresponsive in his front yard. He is believed to have been stabbed twice in the stomach after he allegedly confronted a thief breaking into his $2.5million five-bedroom home. Police made a breakthrough on Thursday morning when they charged two teenage boys, aged 15 and 17, with murder. One was arrested as he got off a bus, while the other was arrested on a street on Wednesday night. New details emerged when the teens appeared in Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Thursday, where they were remanded in custody. The court heard that both the parents of one boy were in prison, while the other teen was in foster care. Zdravko Bilic, 57, (right), the husband of successful skincare mogul Gry Tomte (left), was found dead in the front yard of their Sunshine Coast home on Monday Two teens charged over Mr Bilic's death allegedly have lengthy criminal histories. One teens is pictured during his arrest It's understood both teens were known to police and the Department of Child Safety, The Courier Mail reported. Police will allege the boys were involved in another break-in on the night of the alleged murder, and another in the days prior. 'We will be alleging a number of break-and-enters for the boys,' Detective Inspector Chris Toohey said. 'The vehicle was a stolen car from Brisbane, there were linked offences to that car and they have been charged with some of those offences.' He added that investigations into Mr Bilic's death continue. Police have also located the alleged murder weapon a knife which is undergoing forensic testing. The matter has been adjourned and will return to court on September 10. Thursday's breakthrough came as Ms Tomte, the founder of HUD Skin and Body clinic, opened up about the heartbreak of losing her 'entire world' of 28 years. The couple were due to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary next month The teens (one pictured during his arrest) were remanded in custody when they faced court The couple were due to celebrate their 20th wedding anniversary next month. 'We were complete opposites and together we made a whole. People say Im the strong one but I could only be strong because he allowed me to be, and because he wrapped his arms around me daily to make sure I could,' Ms Tomte said. 'He selflessly, and with much pride, stood in the shadows and pushed me forward. 'But apart from being my world, and that of his family and close friends, he was so much to others too.' She recalled how one neighbour described him as 'the whole streets favourite person.' 'If you've had the privilege of being in Zed's presence, you'll know that he was literal sunshine. And the world is a little less bright without him in it,' Ms Tomte said. A teenager has been arrested in connection with the murder of a paddleboarder who washed up dead on the shore of a Maine nature reserve earlier this month, horrifying locals and quietly stoking fears of a lurking serial killer. Sunshine Stewart, 48, was found dead in the early hours of July 3 after she set off for a solo paddleboarding excursion in Crawford Pond hours earlier but never returned home. For two weeks, Stewarts cause of death remained undisclosed as police safeguarded crucial details in their investigation as they hunted for her killer. On Thursday, authorities confirmed that Stewart died from strangulation and blunt force trauma. A 17-year-old male was taken into custody on Wednesday night without incident and is currently being held at the Long Creek Youth Development Center. In keeping with state law, the suspect has not been publicly identified because hes a minor. However, the teen is from Maine and came to Crawford Pond with his family, where they often spend the summer vacationing, a source familiar with the investigation revealed to the Daily Mail. Stewart, from Tenants Harbor, had been planning to spend her summer the same way. At the time of her death, she was staying at the nearby Mic Mac Campground in Union, having arrived just days earlier. The tragedy left residents of the small, tight-knit community of Union terrified. Among them was Meredith Smith, a childhood friend of Stewarts, who told the Daily Mail the news of the teens arrest has left her both stunned and concerned. Sunshine Stewart, 48, was found dead in the early hours of July 3 after she set off for a solo paddleboarding excursion in Crawford Pond, in Union, Maine Stewart had been staying at the Mic Mac Campground in Union, Maine, where she planned to spend the summer living out of her camper Meredith Smith, who had known Stewart for four decades, told the Daily Mail she can't understand why anyone would hurt her Part of me is relieved that someone has been arrested, but the other part says this is far from over because I feel like theres still so much more to this story that we dont know, said Smith. Sunshine was strong and feisty; she wouldve put up a fight. I have a gut feeling more than one person was involved in this, and thats why police have said this individual has been arrested in connection with her murder, rather than outright charged. The teen has not yet been charged. Maine State Police have not yet returned a Daily Mail request for comment about the status of their investigation and whether additional suspects are being sought. Stewart was last seen leaving her camper at the Mic Mac Campground to go paddleboarding on the pond at around 6pm on July 2. When she had still not returned by the early hours of July 3, someone raised the alarm. Before dawn broke, a search and rescue drone spotted Stewart's paddleboard drifting alone. Her body was later discovered along the southeast shore of 100 Acre Island, a nature preserve in the middle of the pond. Police have not confirmed any details of how Stewarts body was found, or in what condition, sharing only that the circumstances were unusual. Smith (pictured left with Stewart right) said some people in the community had been fearful a serial killer may be lurking in their midst An autopsy determined that Stewarts death was a homicide, but law enforcement shared few updates over the following two weeks. Smith told the Daily Mail on Monday that she was struggling to understand why anyone would harm her. Everyone who knew her loved her, she said. Who would do something like this to her? She didnt have any enemies theres nothing she couldve done to make anybody mad enough to harm her. Were all on edge, its just so scary if it can happen to her, it can happen to anyone. Local police urged residents of Union to remain calm but be aware of their surroundings. On Wednesday, it was revealed that Maine State Police were collecting DNA samples from men who were near Crawford Pond on the night Stewart vanished, as first reported by the Midcoast Villager. Its unclear whether the arrest of the teen came as a result of DNA. Smith told the Daily Mail that the news of the DNA collection has made her fear what it may indicate about Stewarts final moments of life. I feel like its insinuating something that theyre only taking DNA from men and not women, she said. It makes you wonder whether there may be a sexual motive to the crime or if they found something very specific at the crime scene. Smith added: You wonder, could this have been done by someone that was obsessed with her? Or maybe it was completely random and she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.' I just know she wouldve fought like hell. She was a strong person and would have given them a tough fight because she was feisty. With police offering little in the way of updates until Thursday, the radio silence caused rumors, conspiracies, and fear to prosper in the small town of Union. News of Stewarts death renewed fears that a serial killer could be preying on victims across New England undetected, following a string of unexplained deaths. Stewart - a marine biologist, lobsterman, bartender, and boat captain - died by strangulation and blunt force trauma A 17-year-old male was taken into custody in connection with her death. The suspect has not been named because he's a minor (pictured: the Mic Mac Campground) At least 13 bodies have been discovered throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine since March 2025, with the majority of them found in wooded or secluded areas and some submerged in water. Most of the deaths are unexplained, with many of the victims showing no visible signs of trauma. Law enforcement in multiple states has repeatedly denied any confirmed link between the cases and urged the public to refrain from jumping to conclusions and peddling baseless speculation. Various experts have also claimed there are no consistent patterns between the crimes, with victim profiles, locations of the deaths, and suspected causes too varying to be the work of one person. Still, some residents in Union feared the worst. People are definitely having that conversation, but for me it feels a little farfetched, Smith said on Monday. When you look at where Sunny was killed, its secluded and unless youre really familiar with the area, youre unlikely to know how to get to Crawford Pond. I highly doubt it was a serial killer, but it was clearly somebody that wasnt right in the head and the idea that this person may still be nearby makes me feel very uneasy. Union is a sleepy hamlet where most residents know each other - the kind of place where people rarely lock their doors. But since Stewarts murder, Smith said she keeps her door firmly bolted and also often catches herself glancing over her shoulder or eyeing unfamiliar faces with suspicion. Stewart has been remembered as a woman who loved nature and radiated positivity Stewart's remains were found along the southeast shore of 100 Acre Island, a nature preserve in the middle of the pond At least 13 bodies have been discovered throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine since March 2025 Smith told the Daily Mail she submitted a tip to investigators regarding two fisherman who she believes were at Crawford Pond on the night Stewart set off on her paddleboarding trip. On Thursday, she urged police to follow up on that lead and fully investigate whether anyone else could be involved in Stewarts death. In the meantime, Smith continues to grieve the loss of her friend, who was a carpenter, marine biologist, lobsterman, bartender, and boat captain. Smith said: She was a force of nature who was strong-willed, independent, outgoing, and adventurous. She had a smile and a laugh that was so contagious. Sunny was a free-bird spirit who loved what she did and was just living day-to-day enjoying her life Its devastating. Investigators are asking anyone who saw Stewart paddling on the evening of July 2 to reach out to the Maine State Police at 207-624-7076. Nearby residents with security cameras are also being urged to contact police. Britain will have to pay into the European Unions budget under Sir Keir Starmers reset deal, it has emerged. The Prime Minister was last night accused of handing a blank cheque to Brussels as part of his controversial post-Brexit agreement. New EU documents reveal that as well as having to follow the same food standards and carbon market guidelines as the rest of the bloc, having left it five years ago, the UK will have to make as yet unknown financial contributions to their regulators. And the papers, reported on by The Telegraph, also make it clear Britain wont be able to make any changes to the rules. Last night shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said: Keir Starmer has made Britain a rule-taker from Brussels, and British taxpayers will now pay into the EU budget. Labour does not stand up for Britain on the world stage. 'They give away our money to foreign countries and allow them to make decisions about us. And deputy leader of Reform UK, Richard Tice MP, said: By signing this deal before even agreeing how much these payments will be, Starmer has effectively signed a blank cheque on the UKs behalf. 'We should not be paying into a club we voted to leave at all, of course. Starmer has betrayed his claims to respect the Brexit vote. The Prime Minister was last night accused of handing a blank cheque to Brussels as part of his controversial post- Brexit agreement Last night shadow foreign secretary Dame Priti Patel said: Keir Starmer has made Britain a rule-taker from Brussels, and British taxpayers will now pay into the EU budget. Labour does not stand up for Britain on the world stage' Details emerged in a European Commission paper on the terms of the deal agreed by Sir Keir in May, which will see Britain follow EU rules on food standards once more to boost cross-Channel trade. The UK and EU emissions trading schemes will also be linked to avoid new green taxes. The paper states: The UK should bear appropriate costs for participation in the common sanitary and phytosanitary area and for the implementation of the agreement to link the UK and the Unions greenhouse emissions trading systems. 'The UK should contribute financially to supporting the relevant costs associated with the Unions work in these policy areas. It warns: Neither agreement should give the UK the right to participate in the Unions decision-making. It came as Germanys Chancellor berated Britain for leaving the EU. Speaking alongside Sir Keir at an Airbus plant in Stevenage, Friedrich Merz said: It is together that we respond to the major challenges of our time. 'The United Kingdom and I personally deplore this deeply decided to leave the European Union. Chinese FM meets with Uzbek counterpart in Tianjin Xinhua) 09:11, July 17, 2025 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov in Tianjin, north China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Ran) TIANJIN, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Uzbekistan's Foreign Minister Bakhtiyor Saidov in Tianjin on Wednesday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the two heads of state held a cordial, friendly meeting during the second China-Central Asia Summit and made strategic plans for the development of China-Uzbekistan relations. China is willing to work with Uzbekistan to fully implement the consensus reached between their leaders, make good preparations for the next stage of high-level exchange, and promote the development of bilateral relations to a higher quality and higher level, Wang said. China is a trustworthy and reliable partner for Uzbekistan, and has always regarded Uzbekistan as one of the priorities in its neighborhood diplomacy, Wang said, adding that China supports Uzbekistan in safeguarding its national independence, sovereignty, security and development interests. Wang said the two sides should accelerate cooperation in key areas, promote the early operation of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan Railway, and make more achievements in bilateral cooperation. China looks forward to working with Uzbekistan and other member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) to ensure the complete success of the SCO Tianjin summit and inject stronger impetus into the development of the organization, he said. Saidov expressed his deep admiration for the historic accomplishments of China's development, as well as his willingness to learn from China's development experience. He said that the two heads of state have elevated bilateral relations to an all-weather comprehensive strategic partnership for a new era, with fruitful practical cooperation seen in various fields. Uzbekistan is willing to expand cooperation with China in such areas as logistics, minerals, artificial intelligence, the green transformation and desertification control, Saidov said, adding that it is also ready to communicate and coordinate closely with China on regional and international affairs, safeguard the common interests of both sides, and push bilateral relations to a new level. The recent Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO Member States achieved positive results, Saidov said, noting that Uzbekistan will, as always, fully support and assist China in its successful hosting of the Tianjin summit. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) She was once described as a 'fiercely modern feminist'. Queen Camilla, who turns 78 today, has spent more than three decades championing charities helping women - following some tragic family losses. As patron of more than 90 charities, the Queen has worked to highlight organisations supporting victims of rape and sexual assault, as well as bone diseases. Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! magazine: 'You don't look at Camilla who has never had a career and who was always linked in with the horsey, aristocratic crowd and think "Oh, there walks a feminist". 'But she absolutely is a feminist. She has stood up, first of all quite quietly, but now very noisily for women's rights and equality.' Camilla's work with survivors of domestic abuse and campaigners was covered in the ITV documentary Her Majesty The Queen: Behind Closed Doors in November 2024. In the documentary she said: 'One of the most difficult things about domestic abuse, to understand, it's not the bruises and the black eyes, which, unfortunately you see, through violence, this is something that creeps up very slowly and, far too often, it ends up with women being killed. 'By scratching the surface, you get a terrible shock. It's a heinous crime.' Queen Camilla makes a speech as she hosts a reception to mark the relaunch of the Wash Bags project at Buckingham Palace in May 2024 The Queen spent time with the Asian Women's Resource Centre as it marked 45 years of helping victims of domestic violence, forced marriage and honour-based violence Camilla with author Kathy Lette and journalist Jennie Bond at a reception to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the National Osteoporosis Society at Clarence House She added: 'If we could just get more people discussing it, talking about it, people are so shocked by what they hear that, rather like me, they want to say "oh, hang on a minute" perhaps there's something we can do to put an end to it.' Camilla visited nine rape crisis centres in 2009 and began her advocacy work after hearing victims' accounts. In 2011 she opened the Oakwood Place Essex Sexual Assault Referral Centre at Brentwood Community Hospital. She is patron of the Wiltshire Bobby Van Trust which provides home security for victims of crime and domestic abuse and of SafeLives, a charity that campaigns against domestic abuse and violence. In 2013 the then Duchess of Cornwall held a reception at Clarence House bringing together an important group of national stakeholders and key decision-makers. This was the first time in the UK that such a wide range of organisations had been drawn together specifically to discuss rape and sexual abuse. At the occasion, she introduced a plan to help the victims: about 750 washbags, created by her Clarence House staff and packed with luxury toiletries, were distributed to victims at the centres. She partnered with Boots in 2017 to create a line of washbags to be given to sexual assault referral centres around the country. Camilla is committed to raising awareness of domestic and sexual violence and previously pledged to break the 'taboo' around the topic in a 90-minute documentary Camilla partnered with Boots in 2017 to create a line of washbags to be given to sexual assault referral centres around the country As of 2024, it had donated more than 50,000 washbags. Camilla also lent her support to a family campaigning to lower the age of domestic abuse classification to include under-16s. She also described the scale of violence within the home, coupled with social media, as 'terrifying'. The Queen spoke with the parents of Holly Newton, a 15-year-old who was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend in Northumberland in January 2023, at a reception held at her London residence, Clarence House. Holly's mother Micala Trussler said that it was 'really amazing' to meet the Queen, adding: 'She was really down to earth and lovely and she was really passionate about our campaign. 'She is supporting us in our campaign and she's looking to help young people as well. She said she's sorry for our loss and we shouldn't have to be here doing this.' Her husband Lee Trussler said that the Queen's support meant that their campaign was 'getting heard in the highest place in the country'. He added: 'We're hoping other people are going to take notice that the Queen's paying attention so they can get behind us and get the law changed to protect the kids.' Since 1994 the Queen has been involved with the Royal Osteoporosis Society after losing her mother and grandmother to the disease. She is pictured in 2023 Camilla during a visit to the Royal Osteoporosis Society reception at the Guildhall, in January 2023 The Queen Consort unveils a plaque during a visit to the Royal Osteoporosis Society reception at the Guildhall In 2016 at a reception hosted by the Duchess in Clarence House author Kathy Lette praised Camilla as a 'feminist' who 'takes no prisoners'. Lette said the choice of charities and causes the Queen supported showed she was a feminist, adding: 'She surrounds herself with strong women, strong female friends. Shes earthy, shes witty, shes wise and deliciously self-deprecating. I dont know that she calls herself a feminist, but her behaviour is certainly of one. I would say she is a feminist, for sure.' As well as championing charities which support women going through domestic violence or abuse, the Queen has been involved with the Royal Osteoporosis Society since 1994 after losing her mother and grandmother to the disease. Camilla described her anguish at watching her beloved Mama, Rosalind Shand, die a crippling, slow and agonising death from the fragile-bone disease in 1994, aged 72. Her maternal grandmother, Sonia Keppel, died of the condition just eight years earlier. Seeing someone you love die slowly, in agony, and knowing nothing about the disease that killed them is heartbreaking, she told the Daily Mail in 2011. Camilla was made patron of the charity in 1997 and ultimately president in 2001. Mail on Sunday journalist Ruth Sunderland and her mother meet the Queen in the Morning Room at Clarence House Camilla, president of the Royal Osteoporosis Society, held a royal reception for bone disease campaigners last year In 2002 she launched a mini book, A Skeleton Guide to a Healthy You, Vitamins and Minerals, which aims to help women protect themselves from the disease. This led to her receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Southampton in 2016 in recognition of her efforts to raise awareness about osteoporosis. Camilla held a royal reception for bone disease campaigners last year, which the Mail's Group Business Editor Ruth Sunderland was invited to attend following her work for the War on Osteoporosis campaign. The Queen is president of the Women of the World Festival, the globe's largest women's festival, which is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year. The festival champions gender equality, celebrating the achievements of women worldwide and examining the obstacles that stop them from fulfilling their potential. At an International Womens Day event in 2017, Lette jokingly described Camilla as like a human Wonderbra for women uplifting and supportive. Camilla has proven herself to be a feminist through her support for wide-ranging charities and campaigns helping women and girls. As she celebrates her birthday, she can reflect on more than 30 years dedicated to her charity work - honouring her late mother and grandmother. It has been one of the most remarkable royal stories, filled with hard work, heartache and - ultimately - joy. As Queen Camilla celebrates her 78th birthday today, her journey to the upper echelons of the Royal Family has been far from straightforward. Indeed, for many years it wasn't even clear if she would inherit the title of Queen upon Charles' accession to the throne. Much of the decades-long public angst directed at Camilla came from the notorious role she played in the breakdown of King Charles' marriage to Diana. Then, following the tragic death of the Princess of Wales in August 1997, she faced a further torrent of abuse. Now, however, Camilla has gone from being reviled by some members of the public to being seen as a hard-working and much-loved member of the Firm. Camilla Shand was born on July 17, 1947 to British Army officer Major Bruce Shand and Rosalind Shand whose father was Roland Cubitt, 3rd Baron Ashcombe. It wouldn't be until the late 1960s that Camilla would meet her first husband - Guards Officer Andrew Parker Bowles - but before they married the couple found themselves in one of the most bizarre royal love triangles. Camilla and Andrew broke up in 1970. That same year Princess Anne had a brief fling with Andrew. A year later, Charles entered the picture. He and Camilla immediately hit it off and a young romance began to blossom. King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla in May 2024. Today is Camilla's 78th birthday Camilla during King Charles III's coronation. Her journey to the upper echelons of the Royal Family was far from straightforward and for many years it wasn't clear if she would be given the title of Queen upon Charles' accession to the throne However, royal biographer Penny Junor has previously claimed that the then-24-year-old Camilla only struck up the relationship because of Anne and Andrew's relationship. Ms Junor claimed that Camilla planned to teach her 'cheating boyfriend a lesson'. Nevertheless - despite the circumstances that might have brought them together - Charles and Camilla continued to grow closer with the future King even going as far to say she might the 'the one'. However, Queen Elizabeth II and the rest of the family were not so enthused about Charles' new-found love, in part due to Camilla's on-again-off-again relationship with Andrew which they feared could cause issues for the heir to the throne. The Queen Mother organised a secret meeting with both the Shand and Parker Bowles families where a wedding date was swiftly agreed. The couple married in 1973. Charles and Camilla remained close friends throughout the rest of the 1970s and they were frequently spotted at polo matches together. They then rekindled their relationship in 1980 with Andrew - who had multiple affairs - reportedly supportive of the relationship. By 1981 Charles was married to Princess Diana. But it was not a fairytale marriage, with the Princess very aware of his continued affections for his former girlfriend. The omnipresent Camilla would continue to haunt Diana's relationship with Charles and the Princess of Wales would go on to declare 'there were three of us in this marriage' in a notorious BBC interview with Martin Bashir in 1995. By 1986, Charles and Camilla's affair was in full-swing once again and Diana had embarked on her own relationship with former army major James Hewitt. Camilla and her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles on their wedding day in July 1972 Charles and Camilla (pictured in 1972) remained close friends throughout the 1970s and they were frequently spotted at polo matches together Diana and Camilla in 1980.The omnipresent Camilla would continue to haunt Diana's marriage to Charles until their separation Diana and Charles separated in 1992 the same year her authorised biography - Diana: Her True Story - was published. It contained the first public mention of the affair between Charles and Camilla. It would be another year before the press received undeniable proof of the affair following the 'tampongate' scandal, which saw transcripts of an intimate phone conversation between the couple from four years earlier made public. The six-minute call was supposedly taped by an amateur radio enthusiast who claimed to have stumbled across Charles and Camilla's conversation while moving between audio channels, and sold the recording to a tabloid. During the call, the prince spoke of wishing to be close to Camilla in intimate terms - and referred to being reincarnated as a tampon. The transcript, which was also known as 'Camillagate', was so damning that after reading it Diana reportedly declared 'game, set and match'. It was the fact that Camilla was seen as the usurper of the much-beloved Princess Diana which led the public to dislike her so much. Journalist Tina Brown wrote: 'And the press went after her with such viciousness. I mean, the really appalling sexist comments about Camilla - I mean, they used to call her, you know, old bag, old trout.' Camilla in 1992, that same year Diana's authorised biography - Diana: Her True Story - was published. It contained the first public mention of the affair between Charles and Camilla The future Queen smoking a cigarette on horseback Daily Mail coverage of 'Camillagate' in January 1992 She added that Camilla would sign her letters to Charles 'your devoted old bag', as she been been labelled as such so often. Once Camilla and Andrew had divorced in 1995 and and with the finalisation of Charles and Diana's own divorce a year later the couple were free to start dating privately, with Charles hosting a lavish party for Camilla's 50th at Highgrove. The tragic death of Princess Diana in August 1997 and outpouring of grief from the public which followed meant Charles had to pause his efforts to rehabilitate her image. Charles he then resumed a large-scale PR campaign with Mark Bolland at the helm. During the spin doctor's reign in the late 1990s and early 2000s he performed something of a miracle, taking Charles's own popularity rating from 20 per cent after Diana's death to 75 per cent. Bolland also orchestrated the media coverage of the prince's first photographed public appearance with Camilla at the Ritz Hotel in January 1999 - dubbed 'Operation Ritz'. But Charles also had to get the Royal Family on his side. This started with Prince Harry and Prince William, who met Camilla for the first time in 1998 at Highgrove. Camilla and her first husband Andrew in 1995, the same year the couple divorced Charles and Camilla on their first public outing together in 1998 During the 1990s Charles and Camilla embarked on an ambitious PR campaign to rehabilitate Camilla's public image Harry recalled the meeting in his 2023 memoir 'Spare' Harry where he and William reportedly promised Charles they would welcome Camilla into the family. All they asked of the then-Prince of Wales was to not marry Camilla. Harry claimed this was because the marriage would 'cause controversy'. He said: 'It would incite the press. It would make the whole country, the whole world, talk about Mummy, compare Mummy and Camilla, and nobody wanted that. Least of all Camilla.' The King did not answer but Harry said Camilla did when she 'began the long game, a campaign aimed at marriage and eventually the Crown'. Harry says that details from Camilla and William's meetings were later leaked to the press. He alleges they came from Camilla. Harry was far from the only obstacle Charles and Camilla faced in the dramatic history of their relationship. The late Queen Elizabeth II was one such hurdle. She reportedly described Camilla as 'that wicked woman' on one occasion. Charles and Camilla's wedding in April 2005 Her support for their marriage was crucial so that Charles was not removed from the line of succession. According to Tom Bower's book Rebel Prince in 1998, around the same time Harry and William met Camilla, Charles spoke to his mother about about welcoming Camilla into the family, which the Queen was not happy about. Bower wrote that the Queen said she 'would not condone his adultery, nor forgive Camilla for not leaving Charles alone to allow his marriage to recover'. By 2000, the Queen indicated her tacit approval of their relationship when she attended a lunch with the pair. With the late Queen's approval they married in 2005 but it was far a from conventional affair. The day was broken up into two sections - with Charles and Camilla taking part in a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall, where they were legally married, before they travelled to St George's Chapel for their blessing from the Archbishop of Canterbury. Camilla also eschewed the Princess of Wales title out of respect for her husband's late former wife Diana and was known by the rather less grand title of the Duchess of Cornwall instead. One final hurdle Camilla faced was what her title would be once Charles became King. Camilla at the state opening of Parliament in 2024. Queen Camilla is now an integral and accepted part of the Royal Family Palace guidance said Camilla would only ever be known as 'Princess Consort' - until Queen Elizabeth II ended years of uncertainty over the issue by assuring Camilla's future status Palace guidance said she would only ever be known as 'Princess Consort' - until Queen Elizabeth II ended years of uncertainty over the issue by assuring Camilla's future status in an historic Platinum Jubilee statement. In her surprise announcement in February 2022, Her late Majesty declared it was her 'sincere wish' for her daughter-in-law to be fully acknowledged upon Charles becoming King. Since Charles became King, following the death of his mother in September 8 2022, the now Queen Camilla is one of the most prominent members of the Royal Family. And since she became Queen her popularity with the public has soared to a high of 55 per cent in September 2022. In the wake of Charles's cancer diagnosis in February 2024, Camilla took on more engagements and has only seen her support grow. And Queen Camilla is now an integral and accepted part of the Royal Family. In this second episode of a special miniseries from the Mail's Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things podcast, historian Kate Williams and royal biographer Robert Hardman set out to crown British history's worst ever royal blind date. From seasickness making one Queen so thin her wedding dress nearly fell off, to a famously mad King crying out for his mother after one look at his new bride, the hosts elevated one dating horror story above all others. The marriage of the superstitious James VI to a teenage Anne of Denmark didn't just prove unsatisfying and panic-inducing for the monarchy - it was deeply damaging to the realm. The podcast explores their troubled union and how a stormy wedding voyage sparked a paranoid obsession in James with the supernatural. The marriage of the superstitious James VI to a teenage Anne of Denmark didn't just prove unsatisfying and panic-inducing for the monarchy - it was deeply damaging to the realm James VI's turbulent marriage to Anne of Denmark Get your weekly dose of Royal scandals and palace intrigue on this Mail podcast New episodes every Thursday Hosted by Royal Historians Robert Hardman and Professor Kate Williams, Queens, Kings, and Dastardly Things looks at the Royal Family - the secrets, the palace intrigues, and the Crown's bloodiest moments. Listen wherever you get your podcasts now. Advertisement James VI was the son of Mary Queen of Scots and became King of Scotland as an infant. He later succeeded to the English throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, uniting the two kingdoms under one crown. James was 22 when his courtiers presented him with a suitable candidate to be his queen, a 14-year-old Danish princess called Anne. As it was important for the marriage to be formalised quickly, James's court arranged what was known as a proxy consummation. 'The proxy consummator has to be worst job in royal history', historian Kate Williams told the podcast. 'They had to lay in bed with Anne, fully clothed, while everyone in the court watched on.' Now technically married, the teenager set sail for Scotland for a formal wedding celebration. With her was a fleet of 16 ships carrying lavish furniture and horses attached to solid silver carriages. However, weeks pass by, and James's new Queen is nowhere to be seen. As Kate Willaims explained: 'Only six of the ships arrive in Scotland. Anne was forced back to the coast of Norway, to Oslo. 'James hears a rumour that Anne's ships are in trouble. He begins to panic that she's drowned. 'The King orders everyone in Scotland to fast and pray for her safekeeping and he sends out a search party. James succeeded to the English throne after the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, uniting the two kingdoms under one crown James initiated a series of witch trials the first of their kind in Scotland. Listen here Shakespeare would base the witches in Macbeth off the King's book, to honour the monarchy at the play's inaugural performance 'He begins to become obsessed by bad omens and thinks everyone in the realm should take them more seriously. 'He became totally preoccupied with Anne, setting out on his own rescue mission accompanied by 300 other people, including a priest.' Despite his council warning against it, James was successful in his voyage to rescue Anne. Upon seeing her for the first time, to Anne's shock, the King publicly gave her 'a full kiss on the mouth'. Although his bride was safe, James blamed the choppy waters on a cabal of witches in Edinburgh. He was likely influenced by the Danish, who had just started their own witch trials and believed the storms that disrupted the wedding were caused by supernatural forces. Returning to his kingdom, he initiates a series of witch trials the first of their kind in Scotland. 'These women are usually poor, usually elderly and they're usually widows', Williams said. 'The King personally interviews one of these women, Agnes Sampson, at Holyrood Palace. She's tortured into a confession and then burned alive.' Between 1590 and 1707, nearly 3000 people were killed in increasingly cruel ways as a result of the trials started by James. Ten years after his marriage, the King would pen a book about demonology remembered one of the first ever collections of horror stories. Shakespeare would base the witches in Macbeth off the King's book, to honour the monarchy at the play's inaugural performance. To hear more stories like this one, search for Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things now, wherever you get your podcasts. Sometimes I feel very sorry for Prince Harry, and sometimes I very much do not. Watching him walk across an Angolan minefield this week, with his expression set to Hollywood-wattage-warzone-grim, caused a mixture of emotions in my calloused heart. Yes, you could see the shadow of the bereaved little boy whose life has been forever fractured by the death of his mother. We hardly need reminding that he was showing up and doing good, to paraphrase the self-congratulatory Archewell mantra that smokes through his new life like a cloud of look-at-me. Twenty-eight years after Princess Diana made her famous landmine appeal, here was Harry making an equally perilous pilgrimage down a dust track for the third time. On the one hand, good for him. The Halo Trust charity still needs support and money. The important work of landmine clearing goes on. Yet, on the other, how many times is Harry going to pull the Mum Card out of his back pocket? No wonder so many of us raise our eyebrows and think: Oh God, here we go again. It is all so performative, so copycat, so showtime. Since leaving the UK in 2020, Harry has often said that he wants a new life. Yet, like an arsonist who cannot resist returning to the scene of the fire, he constantly intrudes back into his old life, raking though these bittersweet embers of remembrance. Prince Harry in Angola yesterday to recreate his mother's historic landmine walk from 1997, making an equally perilous pilgrimage down a dust track for the third time Twenty-eight years ago, Princess Diana Princess put the Halo Trust on the charity map with her walk that changed the world, raising awareness of the terrible impact of landmines on human life Why? Perhaps because, after five years of attempting to establish himself as a major player and philanthropic grandee in America, his old life and royal identity are still all that carry any international resonance. Look at him, bootlegging his own mother, while trying to carve out a royal status of his own in a poor African country where a third of the population lives below the poverty line. It is almost pitiful. Along with James Cowan, the chief executive of the Halo Trust, the prince had meetings with Joao Lourenco, the president of Angola, during which a pledge for a significant three-year programme of further support was secured. As is usual with any venture involving the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, financial details came there none. For Harry is nothing if not Casper the Friendly Ghost when it comes to global humanitarianism floating around in a well-meaning and empathetic way, but always vague on the details. The Duke of Sussex with children in a remote village near Africa's largest remaining minefield as part of HALO's community outreach programme During this visit he did not shy away from stating the obvious with the gravity of a tribal leader confronting the gods of misfortune. Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school, he said no doubt with that pained, strained Harry expression suggesting a weary acceptance that the burden to save the world is his alone to carry. It is either that or constipation. Heaven knows what William must think of it all. Here in the UK, the Prince of Wales does not have his problems to seek. Both his father and his wife have been ill with cancer, he has three young children to marshal through the complexities of royal life, and it is upon his shoulders that the entire future of the British monarchy rests. A burden undeniably made more difficult by the lack of support from the Duke of Sussex. How must the king-in-waiting feel, watching his younger brother cosplay their mother's campaigns without swallowing any of the responsibility that comes with being a Windsor? Not entirely thrilled, I would venture. While in Angola, Harry also attended a reception at the British Embassy, one of those hot-air pow-wows where he met leaders from the business community to discuss the importance of continued partnership in humanitarian work whatever that might mean. In other words, it was a royal visit in all but name. Perhaps I should be more generous about this display of charitable concern from a nepo-baby millionaire who lives in a Californian mansion, and who could spend his days doing nothing more taxing than playing on the beach and eating flower-sprinkled meals prepared by his lovely wife. But it is hard. So hard! And not just because despite Harrys measures to offset his carbon emissions flying across the world and roaring through the African countryside gives the impression to some of us that he is happy to quieten his oft-bleated concerns about climate change when it suits his own purpose. There is also the suspicion that paying such high-profile homage to his long-dead mother is a handy way of stitching some of her glory on to his own tattered freedom flag. The Princess of Wales with young Angolan amputees who lost their limbs due to landmines at the Neves Bendinha Orthopedic Workshop in the outskirts of Luanda Not to mention that the notorious landmine walk is heavy with the implication that Prince Harry is putting himself in danger for humanitys sake when the reality is that the cleared path is probably safer than trying to cross Londons Putney High Street on a busy Saturday afternoon. Lets hope so, at least. Otherwise, it makes a mockery of the princes recent multi-million-pound legal battle about his downgraded security arrangements in the UK, which he insisted put his life at risk. Yet Harry has to find something to do that tallies with his vision of himself as a humanitarian of note, someone who is changing the world for the better. After all, his African charity Sentebale has blown up amid accusations of unthinkable infighting and the last public footage released of him showed him doing the robot dance with his twerking wife in a hospital delivery room. Raising the global profile of Angola and its terrible landmine problem is Dianas legacy what on earth is Prince Harrys going to be? Santa Fe is hot in more ways than one. The New Mexico city ranked as the best US city in the 2025 Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards, unseating former champ, Charleston, South Carolina. Santa Fe landed in the number one spot among readers' 15 favorite cities. Additionally, Santa Fe scored as the number 19 city on readers' list of their 25 favorite cities in the world. Santa Fe is the only US city featured on the list of winning international destinations this year. 'Readers raved about the inventive New Mexican cuisine and the destination's natural beauty. Sitting at 7,000 feet, Santa Fe is at the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range and enjoys over 300 days of sunshine per year,' Travel + Leisure senior editor, Elizabeth Cantrell, said in a statement. 'We're number 1! This award belongs to all of Santa Fe,' said Santa Fe Mayor, Alan Webber, in a statement. 'People who visit our city feel the hospitality and magic of Santa Fe. It's in the history, culture, art, food and architecture of our community, from the air we breathe to the mountains that surround us.' Santa Fe ranked as the best US city in the 2025 Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards The New Mexico city landed in the number one spot among readers' 15 favorite cities He added: 'Most important, it's in the people. Our hospitality industry and tourism team are great ambassadors for Santa Fe. So, let's toast Santa Fe: We're number 1 it's official.' Randy Randall, TOURISM Santa Fe Executive Director, said to be singled out as the top city destination in the entire country is an 'extraordinary achievement.' 'This honor is indeed gratifying and recognizes not only the uniqueness of The City Different, but it also underscores the diligent and hard work of our hospitality partners, who welcome and care for our visitors on a daily basis,' he said. A few Santa Fe resorts also appeared on lists of best hotels and spas. Bishop's Lodge, Auberge Resorts Collection, took the number 2 spot on the list of top resorts in the west and Ten Thousand Waves was number 15 on the list of best domestic US spas. Travel + Leisure also compiled a list of the '5 Favorite Santa Fe Hotels of 2025,' highlighting The Inn of the Five Graces, Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado Santa Fe, La Fonda on the Plaza, Hotel Santa Fe The Hacienda and Spa and Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi. 'I love the mix of cultures and I think that's what's interesting,' said local Sotheby's realtor Katherine Blagden. 'You have all the Pueblo people and the Native American flavor as well as Spanish land grant families going back 500 years. And then you've got the Anglos so you kind of have a cultural mix.' Santa Fe is the only US city featured on the list of winning international destinations this year One in 10 jobs in Santa Fe are connected to the local scene Santa Fe was established with a small cluster of desert like dwellings Santa Fe has multiple festivals year round including the popular folk music festival Local Sotheby's realtor Katherine Blagden Blagden adds that Santa Fe is also a cultural hub. 'It's world class culture, art, opera, the desert, coral chamber music,' she told the Daily Mail. 'The food is also amazing, there's restaurants all over town. There are a lot of neat art festivals, like the folk art festival. There are Spanish crafts like straw applique on crosses and tin work and jewelry.' Meanwhile, Charleston fell to third place on the list, after 12 straight years of being named Travel + Leisure's top US travel destination. Voters had long praised the Holy City's historic charm and Southern hospitality, calling it 'quaint and charming.' Rounding out the rest of the list in order were New Orleans, Louisiana, Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia, Alexandria, Virginia, Honolulu, Hawaii and Greenville, South Carolina. The bottom half of the list included New York, Asheville, North Carolina, Chicago, Illinois, Taos, New Mexico, San Antonio, Texas, Nashville, Tennessee, Boston, Massachusetts and Aspen, Colorado. Santa Fe's site was originally occupied by a number of Pueblo Indian villages After Mexico gained its independence from Spain, Santa Fe became the capital of the province of New Mexico Santa Fe's also been the region's seat of culture, civilization and amazing landscapes Santa Fe is also a cultural hub with world class culture, art, opera, the desert and local artists If Santa Fe is too pricey, a number of spots across the US have been named as affordable vacation spots. The Outer Banks, a line of islands off the coast of the US state of North Carolina, famous for open-sea beaches, state parks and shipwreck diving sites, costs around $177 per day, which means a week-long stay would cost approximately $1,237. Helen, Georgia, was also named as an affordable vacation destination. Costing an average of just $1,297 weekly per person, this southern town is known for its Bavarian architecture and 'authentic German fare.' The town is known for it's river tubing, biking, and wine tastings at nearby wineries. Other destinations included on the list were Sedona, Arizona, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. As America marks the 59th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, shocking resurfaced clips of Buzz Aldrin have reignited conspiracy theories that the entire mission may have been faked. Aldrin, the second man to step onto the lunar surface after Neil Armstrong, has spoken publicly about the mission for decades, but two interviews from the past have now gone viral, with some claiming he admitted the US never made it to the moon. As the US celebrates the anniversary, clips of two interviews from Aldrin have resurfaced that appear to show him admitting America never went to the moon. In a 2000 appearance on the Conan O'Brien Show, Aldrin stunned the audience when the host recalled watching the moon landing as a boy. 'No, you didn't,' Aldrin snapped. 'There wasn't any television, there wasn't anyone taking a picture. You watched an animation.' The awkward exchange left O'Brien speechless and has since racked up millions of views online. Then, in 2015, an eight-year-old girl asked the former astronaut why no one has returned to the moon. Aldrin replied: 'Because we didn't go there, and that's the way it happened.' NASA has never wavered in its stance that the Apollo 11 mission was real, backed by telemetry data, moon rocks, and the testimony of thousands of engineers and scientists. In a 2000 appearance on the Conan O'Brien Show, Aldrin stunned the audience when the host recalled watching the moon landing as a boy. 'No, you didn't,' Aldrin snapped. 'There wasn't any television, there wasn't anyone taking a picture. You watched animation' Aldrin, the second man to step onto the lunar surface after Neil Armstrong, has spoken publicly about the mission for decades, but two interviews from the past have now gone viral, with some claiming he admitted the US never made it to the moon The Apollo 11 mission launched at 9:32am ET on July 16, 1969, from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On board were Commander Neil Armstrong, 38, Lunar Module Pilot Aldrin, 39, and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, 38, who remained in orbit while the other two landed. At 4:17pm ET on July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin touched down on the lunar surface in the Eagle lander, and a short time later, Armstrong stepped outside and delivered his now-famous line: 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.' The moment was broadcast around the world and watched by an estimated 600 million people, though skeptics have long questioned how much of what viewers saw was authentic. Doubt over the moon landing took root in the mid-1970s, fueled by public mistrust after Watergate and the Pentagon Papers. Theories about staged sets, lighting inconsistencies, and suspicious interviews have persisted ever since. NASA has repeatedly dismissed such claims, pointing to telemetry data, lunar rock samples, and the testimonies of thousands of engineers, scientists, and astronauts as proof of the missions authenticity. But nearly six decades later, and with Aldrins own words now making the rounds again, one of Americas oldest conspiracy theories refuses to die. The interview with Conan O'Brien sent conspiracy theorists into a frenzy as they believed Aldrin discussing parts of the moon landing broadcasts being animated was proof that it was all faked. Then, in 2015, an eight-year-old girl asked the former astronaut why no one has returned to the moon. Aldrin replied: 'Because we didn't go there, and that's the way it happened NASA has never wavered in its stance that the Apollo 11 mission was real, backed by telemetry data, moon rocks, and the testimony of thousands of engineers and scientists 'You watched animation so you associated what you saw with you heard me talking about, you know, how many feet we're going to the left and right and then I said contact light, engine stopped, a few other things and then Neil said 'Houston, tranquility base,' Aldrin told O'Brien. 'The Eagle has landed.' How about that? Not a bad line.' However, he was referring to animations used by broadcasters at the time in their coverage of the moon landing, intercut with real footage. A more recent clip showed Aldrin at the 2015 National Book Festival, where a young girl interviews him about space. When asked why nobody has 'been to the moon in such a long time,' he responds, 'because we didn't go there, and that's the way it happened.' The clip, widely shared on social media, cuts off before Aldrin clarifies that funding and shifting government priorities ended lunar missions. He later explains: 'We need to know why something stopped in the past if we want it to keep going. 'It's a matter of resources and money, new missions need new equipment.' If you're in the clutches of smartphone addiction, a 'dumb' new device promises to dramatically slash your screen time. The Sage phone is a simplified iPhone handset launched in the UK this week by American technology firm Techless. It comes without internet, web browsers, games and social apps like TikTok, Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook. Simply a modified iPhone 16 loaded with custom software, its lack of engaging apps is designed to encourage smartphone addicts to turn their attention elsewhere. According to the firm, the simplified handset lets children and adults 'reconnect with real life' and reclaim important 'life hours' - but it comes at a hefty price. The Sage phone starts from 99.95 per month, which is more than double the cost of a typical two-year iPhone contract. According to Techless, the Sage phone is 'built on a foundation of digital wellbeing and simplicity' and offers a 'sleek, secure alternative to traditional smartphones'. 'Designed for children taking their first step into digital life, as well as adults seeking a healthier relationship with tech, Sage challenges the norms of always-on culture,' it said. The Sage phone, launched in the UK this week, is designed to 'help families stay connected without the chaos of modern digital life' The Sage phone is an iPhone 16 but with modified software that prevents the internet and certain apps from being accessed The new device has been created with children in mind, although it's suitable for adults in the throes of a smartphone addition too. Chris Kaspar, CEO and founder of Techless, said his firm 'didnt want to build a "parental control" phone where parents keep tabs on what kids are looking at.' 'We wanted to build a device thats safe by design, not safe by surveillance,' said Kaspar, who has six children with his wife in Texas. 'With Sage, weve created a smartphone that helps people reconnect with real life, not just reduce screen time.' The Sage phone is available as two modified iPhone models the iPhone 16e and iPhone 16 Pro which are loaded with Sage's custom software. Although it won't allow downloads of popular additive apps such as WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, it's not completely lacking in apps. Preloaded are some described as 'essential' among them Phone, Messages, Maps, Calendar, Calculator, PayPal, Spotify, Uber and the camera app. While a typical iPhone is 'built for endless engagement', the Sage phone only carries the essentials that a young adult getting their first taste of independence might need. Preloaded are some apps described as 'essential' - Phone, Messages, Maps, Calendar, Calculator, PayPal, Spotify, Uber and the camera app. What apps does the Sage phone have? Calendar Clock Phone Messages Wallet PayPal TfL Go Spotify Calculator Google Maps Uber Photos Camera Find My Sage Advertisement For example, if a young user of the Sage phone was at a parent-free school ball, they'd be able to take photos, phone their parents for a lift and listen to music on the way back. In this way, Sage phone is truer to the concept of what a mobile phone was 20 years ago, but packaged in the familiar confines of a modern device. Techless acknowledges that kids are 'smart' and know how to delete apps, perform factory resets and download VPNs in an attempt to access the apps they want. But the firm promises parents there are 'no loopholes for workarounds', meaning young users won't be able to trick the software into downloading the banned platforms. For adults, meanwhile, the device offers acts a form of 'rebellion against digital noise' ideal for creatives, minimalists, and anyone who wants to 'live more and scroll less'. It will give people a clean break from time-sapping social apps, although they'll have to rely on Messages instead of WhatsApp to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. Already available in the US, the Sage phone was officially launched on Wednesday and is available for Brits to pre-order on the Sage website before shipping the week starting August 25. It starts at 99 per month for a modified iPhone 16e or 149 per month for the iPhone 16 Pro, both with Apple Care included however, there is an additional one-time 'set-up fee' of more than 100. Feels familiar but different': Sage phone is truer to the concept of what a mobile phone was 20 years ago, but packaged in the familiar confines of a modern device The brands UK launch is rooted in growing concerns around online safety, youth mental health, and technology overload (file photo) The brand's UK launch coincides with increasing concerns surrounding online safety and smartphone addiction for kids and teens. The Sage phone aims to greatly reduce the risk of kids being contacted online by eliminating the platforms sexual predators use. A recent NSPCC report revealed more than 7,000 online grooming crimes were recorded in the UK in a single year, with most victims aged 12 to 15. Heavy smartphone use in kids has been linked with mental health problems like depression, emotional isolation, reduced physical inactivity and poor sleep patterns. According to a study last year, one fifth of teens have 'problematic' smartphone use putting them at risk of issues like depression. Another 2024 study found children addicted to technology including smartphones and video games are more at risk of psychosis. Whether it's a mature cheddar or a crumbly feta, cheese is one of the most beloved foods around the world. But in news that will concern fans of the moreish treat, scientists have issued an urgent warning about eating cheese. For the first time, a groundbreaking study has revealed that these dairy products are 'ripe in microplastics'. Scientists believe the tiny plastic particles, measuring 5mm or smaller, could be entering cheese at various stages of production. Their analysis revealed that the most contaminated products were ripened cheeses those aged for more than four months with a staggering 1,857 plastic particles per kilogram. For comparison, that means a ripened cheese contains around 45 times more microplastics than bottled water. Fresh cheeses contained 1,280 particles per kilogram, while even milk itself was contaminated with 350 microplastic pieces per kilogram. Worryingly, the long-term effects of these microplastics on human health remain unclear. Scientists have issued an urgent warning over eating cheese as they find that this pantry staple contains thousands of microplastic fragments (stock image) The most common type of microplastic particles were fibres such as this one. Of the 28 samples tested, 19 contained the plastic poly(ethylene terephthalate), 15 contained polyethylene, and 12 contained polypropylene Microplastics are now almost ubiquitous in our food supply chains and even in our bodies. The tiny fragments of plastic have been found everywhere, from bottled beer and chewing gum to teabags. Previous investigations have found titchy plastic specks in powdered and packaged milk, yoghurt, butter and sour cream. However, this is the first time they have been discovered in cheese, with the shockingly high levels leaving researchers gobsmacked. The researchers believe that cheese contains more microplastics than other dairy products due to how it is produced. When milk is made into cheese, the liquid whey is removed, leaving only the solid curds. In their paper, published in the journal npj Science of Food, the researchers explain that this process reduces the total mass, 'concentrating solid components, including any MP [microplastic] fragments.' Joint research by University College Dublin and Italy's University of Padova found that the majority of the microplastics in dairy products are made up of the polymers PET, polyethylene, and polypropylene. Researchers have found that ripe cheese contains a staggering 1,857 plastic particles per kilogram, while fresh cheeses contain 1,280 particles per kilogram (stock image) How many microplastics are in dairy products? Ripe cheese: 1,857 particles per kilogram Fresh cheese: 1,280 particles per kilogram Milk: 350 particles per kilogram Source: E. Visentin, et al., (2025) Advertisement These microscopic fibres and pieces suggest that most of the microplastics in dairy are being added during the manufacturing process. The researchers write: 'These findings point to synthetic textiles as a likely source of fiber contamination, potentially introduced through filtration systems, protective clothing (such as lab coats, gloves, or hairnets in laboratory or food processing settings), remnants of synthetic materials, or airborne fibers.' Larger, irregular plastic fragments found in the cheese were likely produced by the breakdown of plastic packaging, processing equipment, or machine components. However, the high levels of microplastics in milk also suggest that these contaminants might be entering dairy products earlier in the production process. Previous studies found that raw milk samples contained an average of 190 microplastic particles per litre. Milk may even become contaminated through microplastics in the feed given to animals. Since microplastics are so tiny, they are able to pass through cell membranes in the body, moving from food in the stomach, into the blood, and then into milk. This is the same reason that microplastics have now been detected in human breast milk. Currently, research investigating how microplastics affect human health is in its infancy, but there is a growing body of evidence suggesting they could be harmful. Over a third of the microplastics found in cheese were between 50 and 100 micrometres in size, but many were even smaller than that. Almost 20 per cent of all particles were less than 50 micrometres, allowing them to pass through membranes in the body Since plastics contain chemicals known to be toxic or carcinogenic, scientists are concerned that a buildup of microplastics could damage tissues in our bodies. In rodent studies, exposure to high levels of microplastics has been found to damage organs, including the intestines, lungs, liver, and reproductive system. In humans, early studies have suggested a potential link between microplastic exposure and conditions such as cardiovascular disease and bowel cancer. For this reason, the researchers warn that the levels of microplastics in dairy products must be studied further to keep customers safe. The study said: 'Given the complexity of the dairy sector and the extensive use of plastic materials along the entire production chain, understanding the pathways through which microplastics enter dairy products is crucial for ensuring food safety and assessing potential health risks.' Industry journal FoodNavigator added: 'Cheese is ripe in microplastics, a groundbreaking study has revealed. 'It's not just water and fish, microplastics are abundant in cheese too, a new study discovered. 'The research, which is the first time academics assess the presence of microplastics in cheese, found that ripened cheese contained the highest amount of particles.' The major tropical rainmaker that has already drenched Florida and Louisiana is shifting course and threatens to flood out more than 30 million Americans. Meteorologists have warned that a surge in tropical moisture could set off dangerous flash floods all the way from the Gulf Coast to the Ohio Valley, impacting residents in parts of 11 states from now through this weekend. The latest spaghetti models of this storm, called Invest 93L, have shifted its path away from the East Coast, predicting that it will barrel through Louisiana and head north into Arkansas by Saturday. A spaghetti model shows the different possible paths a tropical storm or hurricane might take, based on predictions from multiple weather computer programs. Each line represents one model's guess about where the storm could go. If the lines are close together, it means most models agree on the path, and the prediction is more certain. Although this weather system has not strengthened to become a named storm, which would have been Dexter, forecasters from AccuWeather say the storm is now tracking towards Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. AccuWeather's lead hurricane expert Alex DaSilva said: 'We're increasingly concerned about the risk of flooding through the weekend as the moisture from this tropical rainstorm surges northward.' Areas south and west of New Orleans are projected to be flooded with up to eight inches of rain before the storm moves into the heart of the country. AccuWeather's chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter noted that 2025 has already been a devastating year for flash floods, with reports already 70 percent above the 10-year average The latest spaghetti models of this storm, called Invest 93L, have shifted its path away from the East Coast, predicting that it will barrel through Louisiana and head north into Arkansas by Saturday Parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia, Missouri, Michigan, and Wisconsin are also in the storm's path as it tracks north this weekend. AccuWeather's chief meteorologist Jonathan Porter noted that 2025 has already been a devastating year for flash floods, and the new forecasts warn of heavy rainfall in cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and St Louis starting Saturday. 'This has been a tremendously impactful and dangerous year with flash flooding tragedies reported across the country,' Porter said in a statement. 'The number of flash flood reports this year to date has been a staggering 70 percent above the 10-year historical average,' he revealed. Two weeks ago, a fast-moving flash flood struck the Texas Hill Country, leaving at least 134 people dead and 97 still missing. In New York City, heavy downpours sent filthy water gushing into crowded subway trains on July 14, throwing public transportation throughout the city into chaos. 'Don't let your guard down. People should be prepared to move to higher ground if they receive a flash flood warning, especially in low-lying campgrounds, areas near creeks and streams, and other flood-prone areas,' Porter warned Thursday. 'People across parts of Iowa and Illinois to the Ohio Valley and Appalachians need to be prepared for the risk of flash flooding. Some areas could receive four to eight inches of rainfall by Monday night,' the chief meteorologist added. Areas south and west of New Orleans are projected to be flooded with up to eight inches of rain before the storm moves into the heart of the country The new forecasts warn of heavy rainfall in cities like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, and St Louis starting Saturday The AccuWeather team added that some of the areas predicted to be in the new path of the tropical rainstorm have already been saturated by rounds of downpours in recent weeks. Having saturated ground means the soil can't absorb much more water. In a major rainstorm, this leads to increased chances for flooding, landslides, and more strain on roads, bridges, and buildings that may sustain damage from the weakened ground. Forecasters are also warning that there could be more rounds of 'life-threatening flash flooding this weekend into early next week.' This will be the case in areas where rainfall rates reach one to three inches per hour during the storm. Levi Cowan, the creator of the latest spaghetti model, is a meteorologist with a PhD in meteorology from Florida State University, specializing in tropical weather. His website, Tropical Tidbits, aggregates spaghetti models from multiple reputable forecasting sources, such as the National Weather Service's Global Forecast System and the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. These models all show possible storm paths and are frequently updated during hurricane season, making spaghetti lines a valuable tool for tracking major storms and warning residents in harm's way. The forecast in the Gulf of America (formerly the Gulf of Mexico) isn't getting any better heading into next week. AccuWeather said that they're already tracking a new tropical development along the Gulf states starting Monday July 21. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is predicting an 'above average' season that will likely result in more named storms than there were in 2024, when 18 such storms were tracked. Overall, NOAA is predicting up to 19 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and five major hurricanes affecting the US this year. A woman has revealed the two symptoms doctors dismissed of her deadly stage four breast cancer. Savannah Caldwell, 25, from Kentucky, was healthy, active, and cherished time with her loved ones. But when she began experiencing persistent exhaustion and aching bones, she turned to doctors for answers. Physicians initially denied her tests saying she was 'too young for cancer'. Scary: Savannah Caldwell has been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer at age 25 years after previously been told she was 'too young' to have cancer But after a lump was found on her chest, they agreed to run further tests, and a biopsy was performed. Days later, she was diagnosed with stage four breast cancer that had spread to her ribs, spine, lungs, and possibly her skull. Doctors gave her just a 32 per cent chance of surviving the next five years. She said: 'I was in complete shock. I remember staring at the floor not knowing what to think, not knowing what was next, that was a big worry. 'I've had to grow up faster in a week than I have in 25 years.' Savannah is just one of the ever-increasing number of women diagnosed with breast cancer before they turn 50, which is now among the fastest growing cancers in the age group alongside colon cancer. Researchers say breast cancer cases among young women are now rising by up to 1.85 per cent per year, with an extra 4,000 women being diagnosed with the cancer annually in the U.S. compared to a decade ago. Chemo: Savannah is pictured above during chemotherapy, she has been recommended for 12 rounds of the treatment While breast cancer in women in their 20s is rare, it's not unheard of. About 6.5 out of every 100,000 women in their 20s will receive a breast cancer diagnosis, according to the American Cancer Society They remain puzzled by the surge, especially in healthy, young individuals, though some have pointed to possible environmental triggers or earlier onset of puberty as potential factors. For Savannah, the diagnosis came with devastating physical symptoms. Shortly after learning she had stage four breast cancer, the 25-year-old developed crippling back pain caused by a tumor pressing against her spine. The pain became so severe it made walking and even basic movement difficult. Doctors immediately began an aggressive treatment plan, starting with 12 rounds of chemotherapy. Caldwell has already completed nine and may also undergo immunotherapy and radiation depending on how her body responds. Revealing her story to local news station WSAZ , she said: 'At night, especially when with my kids, whenever we cuddle up... I look over... and I just hope I get to see them grow up. 'Things change minute-by-minute, but for the most part I am being very optimistic. I hope my will to fight can get me through. 'I want to fight, I want to live and I want my story to be a beautiful one no matter how long or short it is.' Further treatment: Savannah said her cancer is stage four and has spread to her ribs, spine and lungs. Doctors say she may also need radiation and immunotherapy Savannah said the chemotherapy has gone well so far, but that she has started to lose her hair and has been losing weight rapidly, now being down to 88lb. In an update after her fourth round of chemotherapy in June, she said: 'Between the third and fourth chemo a lot has changed. 'My hair is thinning a lot, just yesterday I noticed it is coming out in clumps. I am still experiencing a lot of back pain, neck pain, [pain] in my ribs. 'Through the night, I wake up very nauseous and almost projectile vomiting and it is harder to eat. I look forward to getting this over with, and getting through.' After the ninth chemotherapy, she said she was 'still not sleeping much' but 'hanging in there'. Hair loss: Caldwell is pictured above after another round of chemotherapy and after starting to lose her hair, leading her to shave it off Doctors have diagnosed her with invasive ductal carcinoma, the most common form of breast cancer and behind about 80 percent of all cases. Her friends have started a fundraiser online to raise money to help cover bills and complications linked to the chemotherapy. On the page, they write: 'Savannah is not going to be able to work for a long time. Please help her fight this beast. 'She'd give the shirt off her back for any stranger she met. Let's come together and help her and her fiance!' Research published earlier this year that analyzed 2.1million cases of early-onset cancer diagnosed between 2010 and 2019 found breast cancer, thyroid cancer and melanoma were the fastest rising among young women. Among young men, colon cancer, testicular cancer and melanoma were the most likely to be diagnosed before someone turned 50 years old. Doctors have also suggested that a trend toward having a first child at a later age could be a possible explanation for the rise in diagnoses. Lauren Sanchez's massive diamond ring causes uproar as fans think it could snap any minute. The 55-year-old former journalist showed off her stunning sparkler back in 2023, after her now-husband Jeff Bezos proposed aboard his $500 million superyacht, Koru. The ring is estimated to be about 30 carats and has been valued between $3 and $5million. Lauren revealed in an interview with Vogue that the center stone is a rare pink diamond with a rose tone. However, Lauren was quick to upgrade her multimillion dollar engagement ring for her actual wedding, but the design might be too delicate. Oh snap! Lauren Sanchez is famous for her flashy jewels, but some fans think her wedding ring might be so poorly made that it could snap During her over-the-top wedding week in Venice, Italy, Lauren showed off a new dazzler that jewelers previously told the Daily Mail they believe is worth between $1.5 million and $5million. On social media, people quickly called out the design for seemingly being too delicate to support the massive diamond. Now, insiders told DailyMail.com whether the oversized diamond from jeweler to the stars Lorraine Schwartz will hold up, or if it's at risk of being lost during her next space or yacht trip. Sparkle, sparkle: Lauren was quick to upgrade her engagement ring for her actual wedding, but the design might be too delicate Deena Bassam, the owner of Deena Diamond Designs, said in a viral TikTok: 'A band that thin with a diamond that size... It's an accident waiting to happen,' including a closeup of the jewel. Bassam went on to say in the caption, 'I'm scared'. The Dallas-based jewelry designer explained: 'Your ring should not only fit your aesthetic preferences but also suite your lifestyle.' Bassam told DailyMail.com that she tells her own clients: 'There is no piece of jewelry that is made of precious metals and diamonds or gemstone that is indestructible, no matter how well crafted it is.' Her commenters were quick to voice their concerns on social media, with many appalled by the sheer size of the diamond and its seemingly wildly delicate band. Many thought the ring could be structurally weakened because of all of the smaller diamonds, putting it at even greater risk. 'They're filthy rich and I'm sure it's insured. If it pops out, she'll get another,' one person mused. 'With their money, it literally doesn't matter if it breaks in like a month and she loses it,' another commenter wrote. Clock's ticking: Deena Bassam, the owner of Deena Diamond Designs, said: 'A band that thin with a diamond that size... It's an accident waiting to happen' Expert: Gemologist Olivia Landau (pictured) told the Daily Mail that it's 'typically not recommended to set a diamond (especially in that large of a size) in a band that thin' Landau said: 'If the band is too thin... the pave diamonds are more likely to fall out.' However, not everyone believes it's an accident waiting to happen. 'Platinum is basically the workhorse of fine jewelry - strong, durable and built to last,' Monil Kothari, CEO and founder of Haus of Brilliance jewelry, told DailyMail.com. Kothari thinks 'the design actually looks smart', because 'it appears to distribute the diamond's weight evenly across the finger, which takes a ton of pressure off the band itself', which is 'not poor craftsmanship'. He added: 'My hot take? It's a gorgeous stone, a beautiful ring, and there's way too much haterade online. Honestly, I find it laughable that people are speculating that the founder of Amazon is sitting around hoping the ring fails so he can collect on an insurance claim. This isn't an amateur hour jewelry job,' Kothari continued. 'Bezos isn't shopping on Alibaba - any professional worth their salt makes sure a ring like this is engineered to last.' An avid traveller has ignited fierce debate online after he revealing his experience of a popular Italian holiday destination was overshadowed by 'chaos' and 'streets full of trash'. Marek Pukas, a travel content creator from Borchow, Poland, embarked on a solo adventure to explore the world earlier this year and regularly shares the highlights of his travels in videos posted to Instagram. The jetsetter enthusiastically showcased his whirlwind trip to Italy this month, where he sipped wine in Bari, marvelled at the whitewashed stone huts in Alberobello and observed Renaissance art and architecture in Florence. Despite enjoying the majority of his five-day break, he admitted he was left disillusioned by Naples, as shown in footage uploaded to his page @marko.travel. In the clip, which has since amassed over half a million views, Marek sported a glum expression while walking through the city's cobbled streets. He panned his camera to show pavements, tree planters and outdoor restaurant areas strewn with discarded bottles, food packaging, clothing, shoes and plastic bags. In an accompanying caption, Marek wrote: 'Italy has blown me away so many times - cities full of beauty, charm, and care. But Naples took me by surprise. Not in the good way. 'I've seen a lot of places across this country, but I've never seen streets so full of trash. It was messy, chaotic, and honestly, hard to enjoy. This isn't about throwing shade - it's just my honest experience. Marek Pukas, a travel content creator from Borchow, Poland, admitted he was left disillusioned by Naples, as shown in footage uploaded to his page @marko.travel this month He panned his camera to show pavements, tree planters and outdoor restaurant areas strewn with discarded bottles, food packaging, clothing, shoes and plastic bags 'I know every city has its challenges, and maybe I caught Naples on a bad day. But I hope things can improve, because this city deserves better.' The clip has since sparked a heated discussion among 700 viewers, with many locals and tourists defending the Italian hotspot, while others felt they could relate to Marek's experience. One person argued: 'I live in London. LONDON is worse than Naples. I wish I could live in Naples,' while another chimed, 'If you don't like it, don't travel. Stay in your country. You only filmed the worst part of a beautiful, constantly growing city.' A third wrote: 'Why don't you try filming other parts of the city - Chiaia, the Lungomare, Vomero, or even the historic centre itself? 'These dirty corners you're showing are definitely part of Naples, no doubt - but why not also go and film the dirty corners of London, New York, Rome, Milan, Athens, or Madrid? Why don't you do that? Naples is amazing.' However, one Italian viewer hit back: 'Unfortunately it is not just Naples. This is the reality of many towns/villages in south of Italy. People just don't care. This morning i went to the beach and there were leftover bottles of beers and water.' A tourist added: 'I'm on an Italian trip, and so far, I have visited Naples, Rome, Florence, and Verona, and Naples was the only city where trash were everywhere, very dirty and smelly. If I have to be honest, it's most likely I wouldn't return there.' Some viewers expressed a more neutral opinion of the city, as one wrote: 'The amount of beauty, breath taking sights, art, theatre in the face of its people are one thing with chaotic streets, noises and smells. Your sense can't remain untouched.' In an accompanying caption, Marek wrote: 'Italy has blown me away so many times - cities full of beauty, charm, and care. But Naples took me by surprise. Not in the good way' He added: 'I know every city has its challenges, and maybe I caught Naples on a bad day. But I hope things can improve, because this city deserves better' The clip has since sparked a heated discussion among 700 viewers, with many locals and tourists defending the Italian hotspot, while others felt they could relate to Marek's experience A second commented: 'I too was shocked by the dirtiness and chaos of the city! However, if you look past this, it is a city so special, rich in history with unbelievable sites and a unique vibe and energy which is unforgettable!!!' Meanwhile, Europe's most famous holiday hotspots are busier than ever this week - despite anti-tourism protests taking place across the continent. Images show swarms of holidaymakers packed shoulder-to-shoulder and forming huge queues waiting for trains and buses in some of the most beautiful destinations in Italy and Greece. In the Italian village of Varenna - famed for its tiny streets and colourful facades of houses - Brits have complained of crowds so dense they were barely able to reach down to take their phones out of their pockets. There's a ray of hope for those unable to go on holiday but stuck with non-refundable bookings. And what's more, those looking to pick up an incredible break at a cut-price bargain can count themselves lucky. Online 'marketplaces' have emerged for those who can no longer make their flights, hotels or an entire package holiday. This gives the original traveller an opportunity to recoup at least part of their money. And savvy holidaymakers have the chance to pounce on a trip that's heavily discounted often by as much as 30 per cent, reports the New York Post. Among the platforms offering this service are Plans Change, Roomer, SpareFare and Travel Transfer. And while the concept has existed for years, they're seeing a boom. Sabina Ahmed, a 46-year-old single mother from Leeds, England, says she books the majority of her travel with SpareFare one of the most popular sites. Online 'marketplaces' have emerged for those who can no longer make their flights, hotels or an entire package holiday One British holidaymaker saved 75 per cent on an all-inclusive, week-long break in Thailand (pictured) The low prices she's found have allowed her to take her son across the globe. She told The Wall Street Journal that the toddler has probably been on 'more holidays than most people have in a lifetime'. But the savings are substantial. The Brit claims she once paid around $1,200 (895) for a trip to Thailand when the week-long all-inclusive holiday was meant to cost $4,700 (3,500). That's a discount of almost 75 per cent. SpareFare charges a 12 per cent commission on bookings, and keeps hold of the money until the trip takes place, reports the NY Post. This is to prevent scams for those picking up a cheap escape though they also want to protect the seller. Erik Ritland, owner of SpareFare, told The Wall Street Journal: 'We understand these people are already going through a difficult time because you don't sell a holiday if you don't have to, so we want to help them as much as we can.' Online 'marketplaces' have emerged for those who can no longer make their flights, hotels or an entire package holiday Meanwhile, affordable summer holidays this year can still be found particularly if you pick the right destination. British tourists face steep price increases for all-inclusive family package holidays abroad this year to the majority of popular destinations - but others have dropped. Italy and Tunisia have both seen prices drop down 11 per cent to 1,129 and 4 per cent to 763, respectively. However, the price of a week to Cyprus has surged to an average of 1,166 per person for seven nights next month - up by 23 per cent from 950 in August last year. British holidaymakers planning a trip to a North African holiday hotspot this summer have been urged by the Foreign Office to reconsider their travel plans. Updated guidance warns against 'all but essential' travel to part of Tunisia due to serious safety concerns. Tunisia has long been a popular destination for British tourists, known for its golden beaches, turquoise Mediterranean coastline, bustling medinas and affordable luxury. But despite its appeal, the nation continues to battle security challenges that have overshadowed its tourism sector for years. In its latest update, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) highlighted areas of western and southern Tunisia as no-go zones due to the ongoing threat of terrorism and cross-border violence. A spokesperson said: 'FCDO now advises against all but essential travel to within 20km of the Tunisia-Algerian border in El Kef and Jendouba Governorates, south of the town of Jendouba.' However, the ministerial department has since removed its warning for the archaeological site of Chemtou, which had previously been off-limits. The travel warning comes as Tunisia continues to grapple with sporadic terrorist attacks, some carried out by individuals reportedly influenced by extremist ideologies. Updated guidance from the Foreign Office warns against 'all but essential' travel to parts of Tunisia, specifically within 20km of the Tunisia-Algerian border in El Kef (pictured) and Jendouba Governorates, south of the town of Jendouba Tunisia has long been a popular destination for British tourists, known for its golden beaches, turquoise Mediterranean coastline, bustling medinas and affordable luxury (Pictured: Sidi Bou Said) In 2023, the country witnessed several high-profile incidents, including the fatal stabbing of a National Guard officer in Tunis and a deadly shooting at a Jewish pilgrimage site on the island of Djerba, which claimed the lives of five people. The Foreign Office warned: 'There is a high threat of terrorist attack globally affecting UK interests and British nationals, including from groups and individuals who view the UK and British nationals as targets. Stay aware of your surroundings at all times.' Tunisia's tourism sector, which has slowly recovered from the devastating 2015 terrorist attacks that killed dozens of foreign tourists, could face renewed setbacks. Tour operators and airlines may now review their summer schedules, while travellers are advised to check the latest government guidance before departure. While major tourist hubs like Hammamet, Sousse, and the capital Tunis are not currently included in the FCDO's red zones, British nationals are encouraged to remain vigilant, monitor local media, and follow advice from local authorities. For the most up-to-date information on travel advice, British nationals are urged to check the FCDO's official travel guidance. It comes as a savvy traveller has revealed how he bagged a trip to Morocco for just 186 - including flights. Rob Adcock, a BBC TV presenter and travel aficionado who posts to Instagram using the handle @robadcock, found himself 'skimming through Skyscanner looking for cheap deals.' Despite its appeal, the nation continues to battle security challenges that have overshadowed Tunisia's tourism sector for years (Pictured: Sidi Bou Said, Tunisia) Areas in Tunisia where FCDO advises against travel Western Tunisia, including the Tunisia-Algeria border: the Chaambi Mountains National Park the designated military operations zones: Mount Salloum Mount Sammamma Mount Mghila areas north and west of the town of Ghardimaou in Jendouba Governorate, including El Feidja National Park within 20km of the Tunisia-Algeria border in El Kef and Jendouba governorates, south of the town of Jendouba Kasserine Governorate, including the town of Sbeitla within 10km of the rest of the Tunisia-Algeria border south of Kasserine Governorate within 10km of Mount Mghila Mount Orbata Southern Tunisia, including the Tunisia-Libya border: the militarised zone south of the towns of El Borma and Dhehiba within 20km of the rest of the Tunisia-Libya border area north of Dhehiba the town of Ben Guerdane and immediate surrounding area Advertisement He then found a 'good value flight' with Ryanair to Agadir in Morocco that piqued his interest. The travel content creator decided to look at hotels in the North African city and found what he calls 'an absolute bargain' with an overnight stay, three spa treatments and breakfast included for 270 for two people. Speaking to MailOnline Travel, Rob says: 'Im a pretty sad individual, and whenever Im bored, I just find myself skimming through Skyscanner looking for cheap deals. 'So when Morocco came up and Agadir seemed like a good value flight, I did some digging.' Europe's most popular cities are being overrun, as record-breaking tourist numbers turn once-scenic streets into overcrowded, chaotic hotspots. Videos show locals and visitors alike struggling to navigate packed squares, endless queues, and overwhelming crowds across Greece and Italy - as selfie-hunting holidaymakers ignore mounting anti-tourism protests. In the Italian capital of Rome, tourists are crammed shoulder-to-shoulder as they try to take in the city's famous architecture, with one likening the experience to being 'part of one big sweaty herd.' Meanwhile, in Athens, known for its ancient ruins and historic streets, the crowds are so dense that visitors can barely squeeze past each other. And in Florence, the tourist crush has reached such extremes that some travellers are siding with protesters, with one saying the situation is 'out of hand'. Disappointed sunseekers have taken to social media to share how their dream city breaks fell far short of expectations. Europe's most popular cities are being overrun, as record-breaking tourist numbers turn once-scenic streets into overcrowded, chaotic hotspots In the Italian capital of Rome (pictured, tourists are crammed shoulder-to-shoulder as they try to take in the city's famous architecture, with one likening the experience to being 'part of one big sweaty herd' Alarming videos show how locals and visitors alike are struggling to navigate packed squares, endless queues and overwhelming crowds across Greece and Italy Disappointed sunseekers have taken to social media to share how their dream city break didn't quite match reality This image shows the Piazza di Spagna in Rome, Italy, before overcrowding became an issue One woman posted a video showing a huge queue of people waiting to see the Parthenon in Athens. The caption simply read: 'This was painful'. Meanwhile, a tourist in Rome filmed a busy square and asked, 'why is it so crowded?' Viewers shared their thoughts in the comments section, with one person complaining that when they visited the city it was so busy they couldn't find a place to eat. Another said: 'I don't understand why people decide to visit Rome in the summer. That's insane.' In Florence, one tourist shared footage of a huge crowd and wrote across it, 'I don't blame the locals for wanting to protest against tourists'. The caption read: 'This has gotten out of hand ..as a fellow tourist right now.. Im so sorry. Im annoyed for yall.' Some areas have introduced special measures to manage overcrowding following anti-tourism protests across Europe. Portofino has banned walking barefoot, picnics and drinking booze on the streets among a swathe of other prohibitions. Tourists risk being fined for carrying out a variety of actions typically enjoyed abroad. From July 15, travellers in Portofino will no longer be able to walk through the town barefoot, in swimwear, or topless - or sit in the piazza in such attire. One woman posted a video showing a huge queue of people waiting to see the Parthenon in Athens. The caption simply read: 'This was painful' Some areas have introduced special measures in an attempt to crack down on overcrowding. Pictured: Crowds in Athens Pictured: A quiet street in Athens, before the tourism surge Consuming alcohol on public streets has also been prohibited, with only restaurants, bars and designated areas left to booze in. Begging, sitting, or lying on the streets, walls, sidewalks and parks has also been banned along with having picnics. The new ordinance, signed by Mayor Matteo Viacava, will take effect during the summer season and temporarily expire on September 30. Anyone who is caught violating the regulations before then will be subject to a fine of between 22 and 433. The goal of the latest crackdown is to protect the 'peace and quiet of residents and tourists' in the exclusive coastal resort which brings in up to 100,000 tourists during peak season - despite the town only having a population of 400. The municipality had already attempted to combat troublesome tourists in 2023. During that period, stopping at particularly popular viewpoints across the picturesque town was prohibited. In Florence, the tourist crush has reached such extremes that some travellers are siding with protesters - with one saying the situation is 'out of hand' In Florence, one tourist shared footage of a huge crowd and wrote across it, 'I don't blame the locals for wanting to protest against tourists'. Pictured: Crowds in the Tuscan city of Florence, Italy The image shows the Florence Cathedral, also known as the Basilica di Santa Maria del Fiore, at a time when the city wasn't overrun with tourists Santorini has also introduced new rules and measures to manage the influx of tourists. These include a tourist tax, restrictions on access and parking, and a proposed 'saturation law' limiting daily visitor numbers. Meanwhile, Spain's Balearic Islands have stopped using influencers to promote holiday hotspots and warned that 'selfie tourism' is ruining the region's most beautiful beaches. The move comes a year after jeering Mallorcan protestors descended on an Instagram-famous beach and blocked visitors from entering in a bid to combat mass tourism. Local authorities had originally hoped social media stars would help relieve the strain on some locations frequented by tourists by encouraging visitors to explore less popular sites. But the strategy has seemingly backfired, as some of these remote locations have now become flooded with selfie-snapping visitors, causing even more overcrowding and sparking further fury from locals contesting 'over tourism.' 'It has had the complete opposite effect to what was intended and runs contrary to government policy on containing tourism,' a spokesman for the Balearic tourism department admitted over the weekend. Last month, thousands of locals marched across Spanish Islands to tell Brits to 'go home' as part of widespread protests against so-called 'over tourism'. Pictured: Majorca anti-tourism protests in June Holidaymakers were visibly stunned by the dramatic demonstrations in Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza on June 15. Activists claimed more than 30,000 people attended the June protest As Covid-19 restrictions lifted in recent years across Europe, tourism has returned close to the levels seen before the pandemic - but some locals have had enough. This return to normalcy has seen a rise in anti-tourism sentiment amongst locals living in the continent's travel hotspots, many of whom are urging officials to implement measures that limit the influx of visitors. Complaints range from a lack of affordable housing for locals (with dwellings instead being used as holiday accommodation), vast crowds making cities and towns unbearable during the busiest months, or simply the wrong type of tourists. While residents understand that tourism is vital for local economies, patience is wearing thin, and although such tensions have always existed between locals and visitors, this appears to have become particularly pronounced in recent years. Angry protests and demonstrations against tourism have sprung up across Europe this year. Last month, thousands of locals marched across Spanish Islands to tell Brits to 'go home' as part of widespread protests against so-called 'over tourism'. Holidaymakers were visibly stunned by the dramatic demonstrations in Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza on June 15. Thousands of fed-up locals were seen banging their drums and chanting slogans while marching by tourists enjoying their evening meals. The demonstration began at Plaza de Espana, in the heart of the tourist city, shortly after 6pm. Activists claim more than 30,000 people took to the streets to voice their frustrations about the impact of tourism on the island. Placards held up by marchers read: 'Tourists go home', 'Mallorca is not for sale' and 'Mallorca is not your cash cow go home.' Footage shows Brits visibly shocked by the demonstrations, while some tourists were seen taking refuge on their accommodation balconies. Other signs read: 'Your vacations, our anxiety.' Dozens of placards read 'tourists go home refugees welcome', while a group of teenagers could be heard chanting 'tourists go home!' as they marched through the city. Children taking part in the protest were seen carrying water pistols, with plans to spray holidaymakers as they pass on by. Protesters were heard chanting slogans against Airbnb and 'guiris' - the Spanish slang term used to describe Brits and other foreigners. One placard read: 'Rich foreign property buyers go to hell', while another said: 'Enough is enough.' A British tourist with a holiday home in Marbella has warned of dramatically rising costs in the Spanish party town this summer. Nadia Abraham, who's been visiting the Costa del Sol resort since she was a child, says some beach clubs in the city are ripping off tourists with high prices. Daybeds on the sands have been particularly hit, she says, claiming one club has more than doubled its prices, now charging couples 350 euros - around 303 - per day. Filming on a tourist beach in the popular destination, Nadia warned people to be wary of price hikes. She said: 'If you are coming to Marbella this summer then I just want to put this video up here to warn people not to be scammed by some of these beach clubs.' Explaining her knowledge of the resort and prices, she revealed she has been 'coming here every year since I was four-years-old. 'Every single summer I spend here. The prices have just gone up like crazy.' Panning the camera around a beach, she tells those watching the TikTok post, which has had more than 7,000 likes, how tourists are being exploited. TikToker Nadia Abraham told her followers that she's been visiting Marbella every summer since she was four - and was shocked to find day bed prices have shot up Stick to public beaches in the resort is the advice of Nadia, who says a more simple lounger costs just 12 euros a day - around 10 She said: 'It's an expensive place, you expect things to be expensive...but there's one thing paying a premium and another thing absolutely scamming people and I feel like they just do it to the tourists, not the locals.' The holidaymaker says the price of day beds at one resort have risen in price from 150 euros (129) per day to 350 euros. A furious Nadia said: 'Bearing in mind this isn't a minimum spend so you can't put this towards drink or food, it's just the day hire cost of the beds.' She adds: 'They're now charging 350 euros...what the actual F? That is like daylight robbery. Ridiculous.' How can tourists get the same experience without paying through the nose? Find a public beach, she advises: 'Single beds are 12 euros each - and you can come up here for lunch, get a drink at the bar but you'll save yourself 350 euros - it's the same beach, the same sea!' Earlier this month it was revealed that a sneaky wine scam has made a comeback in bars and restaurants across popular European holiday destinations, with experts warning it could cost unsuspecting tourists far more than just their money. Wine 'repotting' involves staff quietly collecting unfinished glasses and bottles of wine left behind by customers, mixing the contents together, and reselling it as high-end varieties such as Rioja, Chablis, or Albarino. Marbs: The Costa del Sol resort remains hugely popular with Brits heading abroad...and prices often reflect the high demand The mixed wine is often poured into generic, unlabelled bottles and passed off as premium products - sometimes at eye-watering prices. The scam has been reported in tourist hotspots across Spain, Italy, and France, particularly in Paris, but similar incidents have also emerged in parts of the US and Asia. Insiders say the scam is often set up at management level, with restaurant owners and managers instructing staff to carry out the practice to discreetly increase profits, as reported by EuroWeekly. Speaking to French newspaper Le Parisien, one veteran waiter said: 'When it's quiet, we collect the leftovers from open bottles and present them as a "superior" white wine.' A wine expert who joined the publication's investigation added: 'You couldn't tell a rioja reserva from a generic red unless you really study the body and the fruity notes.' Experts further warn that the scam goes beyond the loss of money - it carries potential health risks, too. A 'sneaky' wine scam is making a comeback in bars and restaurants across popular European holiday destinations, with experts warning it could cost unsuspecting tourists far more than just their money With no control over what goes into the mix, customers may be unknowingly consuming wine with undisclosed or unidentified additives or allergens. People with sulphite sensitivities, intolerances or allergies may be especially at risk. Though local food and drink regulators have stepped up inspections in cities like Paris, enforcement remains inconsistent in busy tourist areas where customer turnover is high. The scam is particularly prevalent in high-footfall areas where visitors may be unfamiliar with local wine labels or pricing, and therefore less likely to notice when something is off. Wine experts have since advised travellers to take simple precautions to reduce the risk of being served repotted or counterfeit wine, as highlighted by EuroWeekly. A couple's dreamy Italian getaway took an unexpected turn this month when they discovered their hotel balcony view wasn't quite what it seemed. Felicia Svensson, a finance assistant based in Gotherburg, Sweden, recently travelled with her partner to Baveno, where they checked into the Grand Hotel Dino. The four-star hotel offers rooms with balconies and panoramic views across Lake Maggiore and the surrounding area. However, the couple experienced a dramatic twist after pulling back the curtains on their balcony door. In a hilarious video uploaded to Felicia's TikTok page, @feliciasvenssons, Felicia's partner is captured dramatically sweeping open the curtains to reveal a charming table and two chairs perfectly positioned in front of a breathtaking scene. From sweeping hills and jagged peaks, to the vivid blue waters of a lake, the view looked so perfect, it was as if it had been painted... Turns out, it was! As the camera slowly zooms out, the illusion is shattered when viewers see that the view is nothing more than a massive printed poster, complete with scenic imagery, hung on a roller blind just beyond the balcony door. Felicia Svensson, a finance assistant based in Gotherburg, Sweden, recently travelled with her partner to Baveno, where they checked into a balcony room at the Grand Hotel Dino In the clip, Felicia's partner is captured dramatically sweeping open the curtains to reveal a charming table and two chairs perfectly positioned in front of a breathtaking scene The holidaymaker attached a tongue-in-cheek sound clip of the now-infamous Jet2 advert voiceover - a trend that has been sweeping TikTok, with users highlighting the contrast between the advertised 'perfect' trip and the reality. The clip has since amassed over one million views, as hundreds of viewers shared their shock in the comments - though many collectively agreed they had initially been fooled by the 'realism' of the painting. One person wrote, 'It looked real for a second,' while another joked, 'The view is definitely picturesque.' Another, poking fun at the couple's view, commented: 'At least they use the high quality printing.' A fourth wrote: 'So real I thought it was dangerous they didn't put a full fence over the balcony.' Meanwhile, a former guest at the hotel fumed: 'Omg this is the same room I stayed in I think the hotel should be banned haha I hated it!!' MailOnline Travel has reached out to Grand Hotel Dino for comment. It comes after a holidaymaker was left outraged after forking out for a hotel room with a sea view only to realise she had fallen for a cheeky scam. From sweeping hills, to jagged peaks, to the vivid blue waters of the lake itself, the view appeared so surreal it looked as if it had been painted... Turns out, it was As the camera slowly zooms out, the illusion is shattered when viewers see that the view is nothing more than a massive printed poster, complete with scenic imagery, hung on a roller blind just beyond the balcony door The clip has since amassed over one million views, as hundreds of viewers shared their shock in the comments - though many collectively agreed they had initially been fooled by the 'realism' of the painting Influencer Clarisa Murgia had paid through the nose for the room because of the spectacular views it offered in the advert as part of a holiday of a lifetime across Europe. But when she arrived at the hotel and was shown to her room, she quickly discovered her breathtaking balcony views showing blue seas, a sailing boat, and a mountain range were not what they seemed. Instead, a giant poster of a seaside had been plastered to the wall of the building outside her window, and the entire sea view was one big con. As she filmed the scene, Clarisa showed how from one angle the poster looked just like the real thing. Bookish on U&Alibi Rating: When the film star and songwriter Ivor Novello was refused a licence to run his gas-guzzling chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce during the war, a besotted fan came to his rescue. Miss Grace Constable doted on him. Their relationship was platonic but Novello, who was gay, was delighted to let her register his car to the electricity company where she worked, as an 'essential vehicle'. The ruse proved a disaster. Novello was found out, prosecuted and given eight weeks in Wormwood Scrubs. Would the sentence have been lighter if he hadn't been so flamboyantly camp, in an era when sex between men was illegal? Mark Gatiss, the writer and star of Bookish, set in post-war London, certainly thinks so. His character, amateur sleuth Gabriel Book, is only too aware that the local police sergeant (Blake Harrison) has suspicions about his sexuality. 'He's just waiting for his chance to collar me,' Book frets. 'They got Ivor Novello for his petrol coupons.' Bookish is crammed with these little historical asides, adding to a sense of period that in places becomes almost stifling. Mark Gatiss, the writer and star of Bookish, plays amateur sleuth Gabriel Book Book is only too aware that the local police sergeant (Blake Harrison, right) has suspicions about his sexuality The underlying message of the series is that this isn't merely a different era but another world The dull colours of the 1940s, copen blue and ming green, soak the sets of this detective serial. Excursion of the week 'I'm enjoying this!' chirped 79-year-old Josie, as a mountaineer team helped her to safety in a howling gale, on SOS: Extreme Rescues (BBC2). Moments earlier, she'd been trapped on the brink of a 3,000ft drop on Mt Snowdon. Not my idea of fun. Advertisement Every outdoor scene is criss-crossed with vintage Lanchester saloons and Daimlers, men in flat caps on bicycles, newsboys yelling the headlines, shoe blacks, and stallholders with barrows. A bomb site is the first location for the discovery of a body. An old-fashioned chemist's shop, the windows stacked with bottles, is the second. The underlying message is that this isn't merely a different era but another world. Book is married, to his childhood sweetheart Trottie (Polly Walker), who runs the wallpaper shop next-door to his second-hand book emporium. They live over the premises, and at bedtime snuggle up in a flouncy, flowery boudoir before Book abruptly bids her, 'Farewell, my lovely,' and disappears to his own bachelor quarters. 'It's complicated,' Trottie sighs to their new lodger (Jack, a young jailbird played by Connor Finch). Complicated doesn't cover it. On nights when fog is swirling under the railway arches, Book goes cruising for casual sex with men. The challenge for Gatiss is to make Book eccentric and mysterious without being creepy. The challenge for Gatiss is to make Book eccentric and mysterious without being creepy He's a middle-aged man, obsessed with unnatural deaths and eagerly generous to waifs and strays such as Jack, or Nora (Buket Komur), a teenager whose parents were killed in an air-raid. Add to that his arch and supercilious manner ('Without tea,' he sighs, 'I am merely unreconstituted dust'), and you might think twice before wandering into his shop for a browse. But the plotting of this double bill was deft, and guest star Daniel Mays was given plenty of scope for a wildly emotional performance as a chirpy butcher who takes his game of dominos a bit too seriously. If you liked Foyle's War and Grantchester, give this a try. The BBC has dropped a first look at the Call The Midwife Christmas special - and there is a very worrying sign. The broadcaster has confirmed filming is underway for the festive episode of the beloved period drama series about midwives working in London's East End from the fifties to the seventies. The programme's official Instagram account shared a snap of the cast on set on Wednesday, all in decidedly breezier linen looks than usual. It came after it was announced earlier this year the Christmas special would be set both in Poplar, as normal - and in Hong Kong. Fans were delighted by the update, taking to the comments section to express their excitement. But eagle-eyed observers noted there were three notable absences from the cast picture - raising questions about the extent of their involvement in the special. The BBC has dropped a first look (pictured) at the Call The Midwife Christmas special - and there is a very worrying sign It came after it was announced earlier this year the Christmas special would be set both in Poplar, as normal - and in Hong Kong. Pictured: Previous cast photo of the upcoming Christmas special Nurses Trixie Aylward (Helen George, right), Rosalind Clifford (Natalie Quarry, left) and Joyce Highland (Renee Bailey) were not seen in the Hong Kong cast picture Nurses Trixie Aylward (Helen George), Rosalind Clifford (Natalie Quarry) and Joyce Highland (Renee Bailey) were not seen in the Hong Kong cast picture. It suggests viewers can count them out of those storylines - and keep their fingers crossed they will see enough of them on screen back in Poplar. But one fan favourite who does appear to feature in the Hong Kong storylines by their presence in the cast snap are GP Dr Turner (Stephen McCann). He is joined by Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter), Sister Hilda (Fenella Woolgar) and nurse Shelagh Turner (Laura Main). Handyman Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi) and his wife Violet (Anabelle Apsion) also appear to have joined the gang on their adventure. The exact storyline of the Christmas special is not yet known. It will run in advance of the fifteenth series of the programme, set to begin in early 2026, with a sixteenth instalment commissioned to follow. Excitingly, a film and prequel series are also on their way. It suggests viewers can count them out of those storylines - and keep their fingers crossed they will see enough of them on screen back in Poplar. Pictured: Renee and and Natalie as nurses Joyce and Rosalind Fans were absolutely ecstatic to see the update post The caption of the Instagram post read: 'NEWS! Cast Begins Christmas Filming in Hong Kong! 'Earlier this year, it was revealed that the 2025 Call the Midwife Christmas Special would be set in both Poplar and Hong Kong and so last week, members of our team quietly jetted off to film the far eastern elements of the festive story! 'What better way to mark the beginning of an exotic filming adventure than with a traditional clapperboard shot! 'Our team report that the weather is rather hot and humid, but morale is very high, and the work rather exciting' Teasing additional filming updates, it said: 'Over the next days, we'll be bringing you news and updates on the progress of our cast in Hong Kong so do keep a look out! xxx' And reassuring fans the show would be on screens for some time to come, it added: 'Call the Midwife returns with a new Christmas Special and Series 15 in 2026 xx' Fans were absolutely ecstatic to see the post, commenting, 'This is so exciting!', and, 'I am beyond thrilled at this new special coming!' Another said: 'OMG I am a huge fan and from Hong Kong. Great fun shooting in my city and can't wait for the new season. Sending love.' But one fan favourite who does appear to feature in the Hong Kong storylines by their presence in the cast snap are GP Dr Turner (Stephen McCann, centre) Handyman Fred Buckle (Cliff Parisi, right) and his wife Violet (Anabelle Apsion) also appear to have joined the gang on their adventure Other dedicated viewers added, 'Very exciting news', and, 'Best show, cast and crew'. The major filming update comes after a period of uncertainty for Call The Midwife, which had been dogged by rumours it was set to be axed. It first aired in 2012 and has so far run for 14 series with numerous festive episodes - so its cancellation would mark an enormous shake-up for the BBC. With speculation rife, show bosses were forced to address the rumours - thankfully clarifying the fate of the TV stalwart was certain. 'The BBC would like to reassure fans that Call The Midwife will remain at the heart of the BBC for years to come', the broadcaster said. 'As previously announced, there are two Christmas specials, a new series, a film and prequel series, before a sixteenth series in due course. 'Call the Midwife isn't going anywhere.' The cast for the prequel series, which will be set during World War Two, is yet to be confirmed. The major filming update comes after a period of uncertainty for Call The Midwife, which had been dogged by rumours it was set to be axed It first aired in 2012 and has so far run for 14 series with numerous festive episodes - so its cancellation would mark an enormous shake-up for the BBC But the programme's creator and writer Heidi Thomas has previously said: 'The opening of new doors at Nonnatus House feels profoundly emotional and yet just right. 'I have never run out of stories for our midwives and I never will. 'But having wept, laughed, and raged my way from 1957 to 1971, I found myself yearning to delve into the deeper past. 'The Blitz years in the East End were extraordinary - filled with loss, togetherness, courage and joy. 'The bombs fell, the babies kept on coming and the Sisters kept on going. 'There will be so much in the prequel for our wonderful, loyal fans, including the appearance of some familiar (if much younger!) faces. 'As the classic Call the Midwife series moves further into the 1970s, it also seems the perfect time for our much-loved regulars to take a short break from Poplar and test themselves in an unfamiliar landscape. 'The rise in hospital births, and changes in the NHS, have clipped their wings, and this is their chance to take flight and work out what really matters. With speculation rife, show bosses were forced to address the rumours - thankfully clarifying the fate of the TV stalwart was certain The cast for the prequel series, which will be set during World War Two, is yet to be confirmed 'Whilst the location of the film remains top-secret, I can say it is going to look absolutely fantastic on the big screen!' The next series of the main show will launch into 1971 and the nurses will tackle several issues including 'premature birth, placenta previa, kidney cancer, tuberculosis and slavery'. At the start, senior members of the Nonnatus House staff head to Hong Kong on a mercy mission. While they are away, the younger midwives are left to help the local community alone. Sister Julienne (Jenny Agutter) experiences a huge change in mindset and the 'energy reverberates throughout series 15'. What's more, the women's liberation movement is in full swing and several ladies burn their bras outside of the convent. The film will be set a year later, in 1972. BBC boss Lindsay Salt has described the show as a 'jewel in the BBC's crown'. The next series of the main show will launch into 1971 BBC boss Lindsay Salt has described the show as a 'jewel in the BBC's crown' Executive producer Dame Pippa Harris has also previously said: 'In an increasingly competitive viewing environment not only have our loyal fans stayed with us for 14 years, but they've been joined by a new, younger generation who have also fallen in love with our characters and the challenges they face. 'Emboldened by this warmth and enthusiasm, now feels like the right time to expand our world and take our nuns and midwives onto the big screen with our movie, and back in time with the prequel!' Based on the memoirs of Jennifer Worth, Call The Midwife has been consistently popular ever since its first series. It is the UK's biggest drama series, averaging 7.8million viewers this year while the 2024 Christmas special drew in a whopping 8.9million spectators. The programme has also won big at awards ceremonies over the years. Some of its gongs including National Television Awards for Best Female Drama Performance, for Miranda Hart, and Best Period Drama. Call The Midwife is available to watch on BBC One and to stream on BBC iPlayer. Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson famously had a fiery relationship that burned out just as quickly as it began. The unexpected couple got together in May 2018, shortly after splitting from their longtime partners. They quickly got engaged, but broke up less than five months later in October. The Dangerous Woman hitmaker's relationship with the Saturday Night Live star was said to be strained following the apparent drug overdose death of her ex-boyfriend Mac Miller. The Wicked star has since moved on with her co-star Ethan Slater but their coupling was not without controversy. In March 2023, Grande divorced her then-husband, real estate broker Dalton Gomez, while that September, Slater split from his now ex-wife and former high-school sweetheart Lilly-Jay, with whom he has a two-year-old son. Grande and Slater vehemently denied allegations cheated on their spouses with each other. Davidson has famously been embroiled in plenty of high-profile relationships of his own ever since he parted ways with the pop star. He rebounded with Kate Beckinsale, who he has a 20 year age gap with, then dated indie actress Margaret Qualley, model Kaia Gerber, Bridgerton star Phoebe Dynevor, Kim Kardashian, and Outer Banks actress Madelyn Cline. Now, Davidson, 31, has announced that he's expecting his first child with girlfriend Elsie Hewitt, 29, mere months after announcing their whirlwind romance - and insiders can exclusively reveal to Daily Mail how his ex Grande really feels about the revelation. Ariana Grande and Pete Davidson famously had a fiery relationship that burned out just as quickly as it began (pictured above at the MTV Video Music Awards in August 2018) The Wicked star has since moved on with her co-star Ethan Slater but their coupling was not without controversy (pictured above in February) The insider told Daily Mail that Grande, 32, 'is happy for Pete' after learning about his good news. While the Boca Raton-born pop star 'doesn't know Elsie, she believes that Pete becoming a father is the exact thing that he needs in his life and that he will be a great dad.' 'Everyone knows Pete's father passed away in 9/11, and Pete will find it important to provide the best childhood possible for his child,' the source continued. Davidson has previously opened up about losing his father, Scott, who worked as a firefighter in New York City and was one of the many emergency workers who rushed to the World Trade Center during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. 'Pete is looking to give it his all because he knows more than anyone that nobody is promised tomorrow,' the insider divulged. The source hinted that Grande 'is hoping for the same good fortune to come her way someday in the future.' In 2024, a source told Life & Style that the thank u, next songstress and her Broadway beau Slater had been 'talking about their future kids a lot,' especially as she stepped into the stepmom role for her son. While Grande and Davidson's relationship might have ended with a bang, the insider told Daily Mail that she looks back at it as 'a loving moment in her life,' especially since 'they both have moved on and are happy with life now.' While Grande and Davidson's relationship might have ended with a bang, the insider told Daily Mail that she looks back at it as 'a loving moment in her life' The loved up couple announced their pregnancy news on social media with a picture of a Davidson cradling Hewitt's bump, with the caption: 'welp now everyone knows we had sex' While Davidson was quite the playboy after their split, it looks like he's settled down with his model love. The loved up couple announced their pregnancy news on social media with a picture of a shirtless Davidson cradling Hewitt's bump, alongside the caption: 'welp now everyone knows we had sex.' Like Davidson, Hewitt has had a whole slew of high-profile partners over the years, including Jason Sudeikis, Benny Blanco, and Ryan Phillippe. Davidson, who has been sober since last year, has mostly kept his relationship with the British model out of the spotlight. A former Home and Away star who moved to the United States almost two decades ago has been spotted back in Australia and she is here to stay. Tammin Sursok, who appeared on the Channel Seven soap opera from 2000 to 2004, stepped out in Sydney on Wednesday with her two daughters, Phoenix, 11, and Lennon, six, who she shares with husband Sean McEwen. The 41-year-old actress, who will officially move back home next year, looked radiant in a long-sleeved denim jumpsuit, paired with patent leather loafers and mismatched socks, during an outing at Manly Beach on Sydneys Northern Beaches. She paired her look with a matching denim duffel bag from Sportsgirl and finished the ensemble with black-framed sunglasses, red nail polish, and dainty gold jewellery. Her hair was elegantly styled in loose waves, and she opted for a soft makeup palette with a nude lip. 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. A former Home and Away star who moved to the United States almost two decades ago has been spotted back in Australia and she is here to stay Tammin Sursok, 41, who appeared on the Channel Seven soap opera from 2000 to 2004, stepped out in Sydney on Wednesday with her two daughters, Phoenix, 11, and Lennon, six, who she shares with husband Sean McEwen The actress, who will officially move back home next year, looked radiant in a long-sleeved denim jumpsuit, paired with patent leather loafers and mismatched socks, during an outing at Manly Beach on Sydneys Northern Beaches Tammin appeared to be having the time of her life as she joined her two young daughters at the beachside playground. The trio played on the equipment, with the Pretty Little Liars star seen laughing on the seesaw with Lennon. Tammin was later seen having an impromptu photoshoot, leaning against a pine tree while modelling her $40 bag. She ensured she got the best shot as she checked each photograph and gave directions on her best angles to the photographer. Just hours after her playdate in the park with her children, the family were seen hosting a Play-Doh x Barbie Fashion set launch. The Sursok gang were all smiles as they rubbed shoulders with the likes of Jasmine Stefanovic while attending the Langham High Tea in Sydney. But while Tammin has put on a brave face and kept herself busy with work, her mother Julie may have recently revealed the heartbreaking reason the actress is back home in Australia. Daily Mail Australia understands the soap star and her family will be moving back to Australia in January 2026 to spend more time with her ageing parents, Julie and Daryl. Her hair was elegantly styled in loose waves, and she opted for a soft makeup palette with a nude lip Tammin appeared to be having the time of her life as she joined her two young daughters at the beachside playground The trio played on the equipment, with the Pretty Little Liars star seen laughing on the seesaw with Lennon Tammin was later seen having an impromptu photoshoot, leaning against a pine tree while modelling her $40 bag She ensured she got the best shot as she checked each photograph and gave directions on her best angles to the photographer While Tammin has put on a brave face and kept herself busy with work, her mother Julie may have recently revealed the heartbreaking reason the actress is back home in Australia Daily Mail Australia understands the soap star and her family will be moving back to Australia in January 2026 to spend more time with her ageing parents, Julie and Daryl Tammin appeared on Home and Away from 2000 to 2004 Tammin is currently in Sydney to organise work and get schooling sorted for her daughters ahead of their relocation. According to her mother's social media, Daryl is currently battling Alzheimer's disease. The Sursok matriarch revealed the news in March when she shared a video montage to her Instagram account. The clip featured several photos of Julie and Daryl cuddling up together and having fun throughout their many years as a couple. Julie, who is a best-selling author, captioned the video with some hopeful words about the 'battle ahead'. 'Hanging onto these memories. We have a battle ahead but we are strong and positive. Things will be alright,' she wrote. Alzheimer's disease is the most common cause of dementia, with early symptoms including memory loss that gradually worsens over time, according to Mayo Clinic. In advanced stages, loss of brain function can cause dehydration and poor nutrition, with the worst cases resulting in death. Alzheimer's is a biological process which begins with the appearance of a build-up of proteins in the form of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Over time, brain cells begin to die and the organ shrinks. While there is no cure, there are medicines available that can improve symptoms and slow the decline in thinking. According to her mother's social media, Daryl is currently battling Alzheimer's disease. Pictured: Julie and Daryl A former girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr. says the conservative firebrand might as well have been Prince Charming for how he made her feel. 'Don Jr. made me feel the most beautiful,' Aubrey O'Day, 41, told Us Weekly of President Donald J. Trump's namesake and eldest child. O'Day, who worked with Donald Trump Jr. on The Celebrity Apprentice in 2011, spoke with the outlet Wednesday about her past relationship with the eldest child of the U.S. president. O'Day said that the real estate heir made her feel like 'the smartest and the most beautiful' person - and especially connected with her through her intellect. 'He loved my mind more than anything else and that's what I love about me,' O'Day said. 'The way that we loved was we loved the same.' The pair was involved in a romance from the end of 2011 until the spring of 2012, during a timeframe when Trump Jr. was wed to ex-wife Vanessa Trump. Aubrey O'Day, 41, a former girlfriend of Donald Trump Jr., 47, says the conservative firebrand might as well have been Prince Charming for how he made her feel The fling ended when Trump Jr.'s wife at the time, Vanessa Trump, caught her then-husband cheating on her, in reading the emails he exchanged with O'Day. Ultimately, Trump Jr.'s infidelity was a death knell for the marriage, as Vanessa, 47, filed for divorce in 2018. Vanessa has been romantically linked to Tiger Woods in recent months. O'Day took to Instagram Stories Thursday to address feedback she received on her initial remarks. 'To address all the DM's on this article once ... to be CLEAR - I loved the man he almost became,' she said of Don Jr. 'But loyalty & desires for power twisted that path.' She continued: 'I won't romanticize someone who chose the echo of a name over the weight of a soul. 'But if I'm asked a question, I will answer it with my truth. I won't dial it down to protect illusions anymore.' O'Day said that not all of her celebrity exes have made her feel like a star. O'Day took to Instagram Stories Thursday to address feedback on her initial remarks O'Day named Jersey Shore personality Pauly D as a partner who 'did not give [her] any confidence' during their time as a couple. Pictured in LA in 2016 She named Jersey Shore personality Pauly D as a partner who 'did not give [her] any confidence' during their time as a couple. Pauly D 'definitely brought [her] down all the time and made sure that I didn't have like high self-worth, because [she thinks] he feared I wouldn't stay if I did,' O'Day said of the MTV personality, who she dated in 2016 and 2017. She added, 'That was probably the lowest I had ever felt and that's why I stayed obedient for so long.' Pauly D, 45, did not appear to have fond memories while looking back on it with Page Six seven years back. The reality TV personality told the outlet he felt a sense of relief he and ODay parted ways before things got too serious. 'The way I feel is I dodged a bullet. Im glad that I was out of that whole situation,' Pauly D explained. He noted that while it took place years before, O'Day never told him about her romance with Trump Jr. 'I found out when the world found out, it was in the press and I said, "Oh, wow! Thats crazy." Hey listen, she did what she had to do at the time, I guess.' O'Day was pictured filming the NBC series The Celebrity Apprentice in October 2011 in NYC Trump Jr. seen on The Apprentice in 2011 with father Donald Trump and sister Ivanka Trump For his part, Donald Trump Jr. has never publicly acknowledged the affair with O'Day amid his marriage to Vanessa, who he split from in 2018. The former couple are parents to five children: Kai, 18, Donald III, 16, Tristan, 13, Spencer, 12, and Chloe, 11. ODay can currently been seen on the E! series Botched Presents: Plastic Surgery Rewind, which is hosted by Michelle Visage and also features Kim Zolciak and Larissa Santos Lima. According to the network, O'Day on the show 'wants to reconsider her facial filler at the Rewind Retreat while connecting with the other participants on their shared experiences. ' ODay opened up on going without makeup on the latest episode of the show, which aired Wednesday. 'I love myself without makeup,' ODay said. 'I love putting on makeup too. I think people probably would think I fear [not wearing makeup] more than I do just because Im such a visual person and promote art thats very, like, made up. But Im just like any other girl. I like it to come off at the end of the day.' Olivia Molly Rogers has broken her silence over the apparent 'feud' with her former 'bestie' and stylist Paul Versace. The pair were once all but attached at the hip as the former Miss Universe Australia, 33, attended events with the fashion guru, holidayed lavishly together, and welcomed him as a guest on her podcast, Tell Me More. Paul, 31, even played matchmaker as he introduced Olivia to her ex Morgan Waterhouse and current boyfriend Hugo Breakey but it seems the friends' tight bond has come to an end. Olivia took to Instagram on Wednesday to answer a fan's question about the pair's relationship. Responding, Olivia admitted their parting of ways was due to geography. 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. Olivia Molly Rogers (pictured) has broken her silence over the apparent 'feud' with her former 'bestie' and stylist 'I get a lot of questions on here whenever I do a Q&A which I do understand because we used to spend a lot of time together,' she wrote. 'So, just to address it gently - he moved to Sydney and we are not working together any more.' Olivia rounded out her post with a hint that there may have been a fractious element to their relationship. 'Sometimes friendships shift, but I will always wish him nothing but the best,' she added. While Olivia and Paul still follow each other on Instagram, the model was last seen on his company account, Styled By Bloom, in September 2024. Paul styled the beauty for the Spring Gala event at Flemington Racecourse in Victoria, but she has not appeared on his styling account since. The friends were typically spotted together at all the major Melbourne events, including Melbourne Fashion Week and the F1 Glamour on the Grid event, as they worked together to craft extravagant looks for the occasions. However, Olivia appears to have hired a new stylist for all her red-carpet appearances so far this year. The pair were once all but attached at the hip but have been at the centre of friendship bust-up rumours for months. Pictured: Paul Versace 'I get a lot of questions on here whenever I do a Q&A which I do understand because we used to spend a lot of time together,' she wrote. 'So, just to address it gently - he moved to Sydney and we are not working together anymore,' Olivia shared on Instagram this week As for their personal Instagram pages, Paul wiped all traces of Olivia from his personal account last week while he was on holiday in Japan. Meanwhile, Olivia still has pictures of Paul on her page, with the last one being posted in June last yearthough she continued to tag his styling account up until September. Speculation has arisen that their bust-up may be linked to Olivia's split from her ex Morgan, as he was also friends with Paul, who first introduced the couple in early 2023. However, this is currently uncertain as Paul also introduced Olivia to her current boyfriend Hugo following her split from Morgan in December 2023 after seven months of dating. Speaking about the bestie bust-up in March, Outspoken podcast hosts Amy, Sophie and Kate Tauber claimed Molly's break-up with Morgan was behind the split. 'When it comes to a break-up, you try and be friends with both parties originally and it gets to a point where that is no longer possible,' they said. They then questioned: 'Perhaps he has picked Morgan over Olivia?' Olivia revealed in July last year the details of how she had a chance meeting with Hugo thanks to Paul, as she participated in a Q&A with fans on Instagram. 'Sometimes friendships shift, but I will always wish him nothing but the best,' she added, hinting at a possible fractious element in their relationship When one follower asked how the lovebirds met, Olivia responded: 'I love the story of how we met so I'm happy to answer. 'It was out at a bar in Melbourne. My stylist Paul spotted him on the dance floor and went over. 'He said, "You're handsome, are you single? I have the perfect girl for you." Then told him to stay there. 'P came and grabbed me, pulled me over and put me in front of him. 'And the way Paul describes it, "There were love hearts popping in the sky all around you both." So Paul is the ultimate wingman.' Alessandra Ambrosio is soaking up the sun in Ibiza, Spain, as evidenced by her latest Instagram post. On Wednesday the 44-year-old Brazilian model who was recently spotted in Venice Beach with her hunky new boyfriend shared a carousel of sun-drenched photos with her 12 million followers. In one snapshot, the mother-of-two stripped off her bikini top while she stretched out on a poolside lounge chair. The former Victoria's Secret Angel captioned the post, 'Vacaciones en #Ibiza.' She modeled an array of swimwear, including styles from brands Akoia and FAE. Two images showed the svelte star enjoying an outdoor shower as she sported a strapless patterned top and matching bottoms. Alessandra Ambrosio is soaking up the sun in Ibiza, Spain The Brazilian bombshell, 44, put on a cheeky display as she wore nothing but a straw hat and crocheted thong bottoms Ambrosio displayed her washboard abs, perky chest, and pert derriere in the pictures. Her followers were treated to her stunning figure in outtakes taken from multiple angles. She was joined on the retreat by jewelry designer boyfriend Buck Palmer, whom she started dating in late 2024. The lovebirds showed their romance is going strong as they put on a cozy display in multiple photos, including a lip-locking selfie. Earlier this year the superstar told Us Weekly that she and her beau connect through their 'passion for life.' 'We just love life to the fullest,' Ambrosio told the outlet. She added, 'We love living life and spending time together and enjoying every little thing. I guess its the little things, sometimes, that count more. Whatever we do, we both just have this passion for life.' She uploaded the sexy vacation snaps to her Instagram on Wednesday Two images showed the svelte star enjoying an outdoor shower as she sported a strapless patterned top and matching bottoms. She modeled an array of swimwear, including styles from brands Akoia and FAE Her followers were treated to her stunning figure in outtakes taken from multiple angles She was joined on the retreat by jewelry designer boyfriend Buck Palmer, whom she started dating in late 2024 The lovebirds showed their romance is going strong as they put on a cozy display in multiple photos, including a lip-locking selfie The bombshell cooled off by taking a leisurely swim The fashionista accessorized with necklaces, sunglasses, and a straw hat Ambrosio matched patterned burgundy lounge pants to her bikini top and enjoyed a glass of wine She slipped into a draped golden dress to catch the sunset Ambrosio shares daughter Anja, 17 in August, and son Noah, 13, with ex-fiance Jamie Mazur. The couple broke off their engagement in 2018, ten years after Jamie initially popped the question in 2008. In a 2023 interview with Schon! Magazine China she shared: 'I believe that positive attitude and outlook on life can change how we see life and sometimes how other people see life. 'Living in the present, enjoying each moment and spending time with people that matter to you is very important.' The ambitious runway regular also told the publication about her future hopes, following her twenty+ years in the modeling industry. 'I would love to host my own show and still work with some of the amazing up-and-coming designers, as they inspire me with their creativity and how they keep on coming up with these never-before-seen designs,' she said. Former Disney Channel star Skai Jackson's baby daddy has been arrested again just weeks after she made shocking abuse claims against him. Deondre Burgin who shares a newborn child with Jackson was apprehended at a Kentucky gas station on July 14 after cops discovered he had an active out-of-state warrant, according to TMZ. Burgin was cleaning his vehicle at the gas station when a police officer drove by and reportedly scanned his license plate, which a spokesperson for the Kenton County Commonwealth Attorney's Office explained is common practice in that county. Burgin's scanned plate revealed that he had 'an active warrant out of Hamilton County, Ohio' and he was then arrested. DailyMail.com has reached out to Jackson's representatives for comment. The Ohio arrest warrant was related to a March 6 incident where Burgin was pulled over in Cincinnati and given a ticket for improper display of a license plate and failing to reinstate his driver's license, the outlet reports. Former Disney Channel star Skai Jackson's baby daddy has been arrested again just weeks after she made shocking abuse claims against him; Jackson seen in February Deondre Burgin who shares a newborn child with Jackson was apprehended at a Kentucky gas station on July 14 after cops discovered he had an active out-of-state warrant, according to TMZ He was scheduled to appear in court on May 5 but he never showed, according to the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office. Two days later, a warrant for Burgin's arrest was issued. It's unclear if Burgin has remained behind bars since his July 14 arrest or if he was released on bond. Burgin's latest lockup comes three months after he was arrested in April over the same outstanding warrant. Similarly to the July 14th arrest, Burgin was also apprehended at a Kentucky gas station after a 'police officer recognized him from the National Crime Information Center database.' At the time, he was reportedly being held on a $25,000 bond. This came less than three months after he served a 90-day sentence for violating his parole from an earlier theft and weapon possession case as a juvenile at the Hamilton County Jail. Burgin was behind bars when Jackson gave birth to their baby boy, Kasai, in January 2025. In November, one day after Jackson, revealed she was expecting, Burgin was taken into custody in Cincinnati, Ohio after a botched foot chase with officers. Burgin's plates were scanned by a police officer driving by and it was revealed that he had 'an active warrant out of Hamilton County, Ohio'; Jackson and Burgin pictured The Ohio arrest warrant was related to a March 6 incident where Burgin was pulled over in Cincinnati and given a ticket for improper display of a license plate and failing to reinstate his driver's license At the time, police said in a report, reviewed by TMZ, that Burgin initially fled the scene when they approached him over a juvenile parole violation warrant. Burgin tripped, fell and suffered a cut on his cheek in the encounter, according to the outlet, after which police placed him in handcuffs. Burgin was released after receiving a citation for misdemeanor obstruction of official business, police sources told the outlet. Burgin's latest arrest comes two months after Jackson came forward to accuse him of abuse while filing for a restraining order against him in May. In the filing, Jackson claimed that her boyfriend tried to choke her on Mother's day. The Bunk'd standout also alleged that Burgin grabbed her by her hair, slammed her head against a car window and punched her in the face. She had their son Kasai, aged three months, in her arms during the attack, it was also claimed by the star in documents seen by the site. Jackson filed for a restraining order in L.A. County Superior Court as she feared for her life, it was also alleged. Burgin's latest arrest comes three months after he was arrested in April over the same outstanding warrant She has asked a judge to keep Burgin 100 yards away from her, their baby and her dog. Skai also wants him to attend a domestic violence treatment program, the site also stated. Skai is seeking a legal child support agreement and for him to pay all her legal fees, the site claimed the documents read. The violence was nothing new, the actress claimed, as she added he has been frightening her for more than a year. The TV star also alleged that he abused her weekly during a six-month period in 2024. That included choking and scratching her and slamming her head into a wall, she claimed in her paperwork. And he allegedly damaged her iPhone and a television. While she was pregnant, Skai claims Burgin demanded she drink bleach to 'kill the unborn child,' the site added. And he 'held her at knifepoint as he walked her to her car and threatened to stab her in the stomach if she yelled for help,' the site claimed. He then punched through a bathroom door, slammed her against a wall and 'choked me until I could not breathe' and she she has video to prove it, she alleged in her documents. Burgin's latest arrest comes two months after Jackson came forward to accuse him of abuse while filing for a restraining order against him in May In the filing, Jackson claimed that her boyfriend tried to choke her on Mother's day. She claimed she had their infant son Kasai in her arms during the alleged attack He also has guns, she claimed: three firearms, including a rifle. Last year Jackson was in hot water herself when she was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery, but not charged. In September it was revealed that the Los Angeles District Attorney's office declined to file charges and dropped the case against her. She was previously arrested on August 8 at Universal Studios CityWalk in Los Angeles, California after an alleged altercation with her boyfriend. Police responded to a call from the theme park after security personnel detained Jackson for allegedly pushing her boyfriend. Deputies reviewed the surveillance footage of the alleged incident. At the time, her representative told PEOPLE: 'Skai is relieved that the investigation revealed that this was nothing more than a misunderstanding.' 'We appreciate that the DA determined very quickly that there should be no charges of any kind and Skai looks forward to putting this behind her,' her rep continued. At the time of her arrest, law enforcement sources told TMZ she told the arresting officers she was 'happily engaged and expecting a baby.' The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office informed the outlet that the case would not go forward due to Jackson not having any criminal history. The alleged victim, her boyfriend, did not have any injuries and had also not been cooperating with prosecutors. Former Married at First Sight bride Jamie Marinos has taken to social media to blast Jetstar. The 28-year-old marketing executive posted a selfie video to TikTok to complain about a lengthy delay on a recent Sydney to Melbourne flight. Declaring she was not a fan of the budget airline and preferred Jetstar's competitor Virgin Australia, Jamie complained that the money she saved on her journey 'cost' her time. 'Jetstar is cheaper,' she said during her one-and-a-half-minute rant, comparing the two carriers. 'But what they take from you is your time. And you cant get that back.' 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 Married at First Sight bride Jamie Marinos has taken to social media to blast Jetstar. The 28-year-old marketing executive posted a selfie video to TikTok to complain about a lengthy delay on a recent Sydney to Melbourne flight. Pictured: Jamie in her post Declaring that she was not a fan of the budget airline, and preferred Jetstar competitor Virgin, Jamie moaned that the money she saved on her journey 'cost' her time\ Jamie was booked on a flight last Thursday. Jetstar said, after Daily Mail Australia, sought clarification that the plane was delayed for two hours due to strong winds. 'Our operations team let affected customers know by SMS and email of the delay to their flight around 30 minutes before their scheduled departure time,' a spokesperson said. Jamie went on to list a set of grievances which appeared to relate to past experiences with the airline, including cancelled flights and frequent delays. She also noted that Jetstar passengers are charged for excess baggage as the carrier insists on a 20-kilogram limit. Filming a selfie in what appears to be Melbourne Airport, Jamie revealed she spent two hours in Sydney past her scheduled departure time. 'On the Sydney website, it said it was 45 minutes late,' she continued. 'They did not message me until five minutes after the original boarding time. 'You're going to gate-keep this information, Jetstar? You ain't going to tell me that I ain't getting on a friggin plane for another hour and a half?' Jamie went on to to list a set of grievances which appeared to relate to past experiences with the airline included cancelled flights, and frequent delays. (Pictured) Jamie added that Jetstar had attempted to explain the delay to her flight. '[They gave] every other excuse under the sun,' she said. 'Every other plane was leaving - no dramas, just mine. So Im like spare me your excuses and your lies.' She also complained that Jetstar's port in Melbourne was 'too far' from the luggage pick-up and whinged about the menu available to passengers on her recent flight. 'I was annoyed, I wanted a ham and cheese toastie,' she said. A Jetstar spokesperson responded to Jamie's issue with the comment: 'Our crew did their best to get everyone moving as quickly as possible, however safety is always our top priority. 'Also we want to acknowledge Ms Marinos frustration at being left without one of our very popular ham and cheese toasties which disappeared faster than expected.' However, Jamie finished her outburst with a surprising compliment for the airline. 'I made it here safely - that is all you can really ask for at the end of the day and the staff were really lovely...but my God,' she said. 'And we appreciate Ms Marinos acknowledging our great crew, low fares and safe operations and look forward to welcoming her onboard again,' the spokesperson added. Jamie's post has attracted 185 comments since she shared her experience on the weekend - with many followers joining in to slam the airline. 'I don't think I've ever had a Jetstar flight that wasn't cancelled or delayed,' commented one user. It comes after another former MAFS star Jacqui Burfoot was slammed for accusing Jetstar of stealing her partner Clint Rice's jacket. (Pictured) 'Facts girl! You get what you pay for hey,' added another. Jamie showed a sense of humour about her experience in the thread. 'I love how dramatic I am, yet Im so supported,' she said. It comes after another former MAFS star, Jacqui Burfoot, was slammed for accusing Jetstar of stealing her partner, Clint Rice's, jacket. Burfoot took to TikTok earlier this month to recount an ordeal while flying with the budget airline. 'Clint and I flew Jetstar. We never pick Jetstar, we are not fans of Jetstar because they're just budget. They do things poorly,' Jacqui said. Jacqui went on to explain that when she and Clint recently caught a flight with the airline, she was wearing her partner's Hugo Boss jacket, worth 'somewhere between $400 and $800', to keep her legs warm. 'The flight attendant came over and said, "Hey, we need to put your jacket away, can I please take that jacket from you?" And I was like, "Yeah, sure. Fine,"' she recalled. The reality bride said the couple forgot about Clint's jacket until they arrived at their hotel. Already miffed about leaving the jacket behind, Jacqui became enraged when she called Jetstar to report the garment missing - and was told it was not in lost property. This did not sit well with Jacqui, who then accused the cabin crew of taking off with Clint's jacket. Jacqui's rant drew a flurry of comments from followers, with many slamming the reality star for suggesting the airline would pilfer the article of clothing. One user summed up the sentiment of many with: 'Your jacket, your problem.' Jacqui returned to TikTok the following day to share a shock twist in the mile-high ordeal. This time, Clint also featured in the clip, and he was happy to report the jacket had been found. A popular Channel Nine presenter is set to depart the network, one week after making headlines due to a shock on-air gaffe. 9News Melbourne journalist Lana Murphy, 31, shared a post to Instagram on Wednesday night revealing she was going on maternity leave, just days after forgetting her script during a live report and ad-libbing nonsense. Lana posted a gallery of photos, one of which captured her showing off her growing baby bump while presenting the weather. The journalist looked radiant in the photo as she announced shed be taking time off to prepare for her second child. 'Bumping the east coast out of shot while bumping out of my role at Nine News Melbourne for a few months, eek!' she 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. Channel Nine presenter Lana Murphy (pictured) is set to depart the network, one week after making headlines due to a shock on-air gaffe 'Final story, bathroom bump selfie, PTC & sign off. Got to work with some of my favourite humans on earth. What a dream.' Many of Lana's Channel Nine colleagues took to the comment section to offer her their well wishes. 'Best wishes for whats coming Lana! Cheers,' wrote fellow presenter Peter Hitchener. Today show co-host Sarah Abo also posted a love heart emoji. This will be the second child for Lana and her partner, Nick Riddle, who already share a young son, Bowie. Lana's departure follows a widely shared moment when she forgot her script during a live broadcast and ad-libbed to fill the time an incident that seemed to endear her more to viewers. She took to TikTok last week to own up to her mistake. Lana shared a clip that showed her delivering a seemingly innocuous report about school holiday activities in Melbourne. 9News Melbourne journalist Lana Murphy, 31, announced she was going on maternity leave, just days after forgetting her script during a live report and ad-libbing nonsense Lana posted a gallery of photos, one of which captured her flaunting her growing baby bump while presenting the weather. The journalist looked radiant in the photo as she revealed she would be taking some time off as she prepared for her second child Lara posed for a selfie with fellow colleague, 9News reporter Steph Anderson (left) The segment quickly derailed when Lana clearly forgot her script. It seems her ad-libbing abilities may need some work, with the reporter uttering a string of unintelligible filler words. 'We will have a full list of all the possible school holiday activities and...' she said, before pausing briefly in an attempt to remember her lines. 'Dib-a-dib-a-dib-a-dib-a-doo' was all Lana could muster before finally getting back on track. The segment then cut back to presenter Brett McLeod in the studio, who appeared at a loss to explain Lanas bizarre gaffe. 'Well, there you go!' he said. Seeing the funny side of her error, Lana captioned her clip with a self-effacing remark: 'I wish I could say this was the first time my real personality went to air.' 'I promise I'm normally a serious, professional journalist,' she added. Lana's followers also saw the funny side, with many flooding the comments to praise her for the hilarious moment. It's not the first time the reporter has experienced an on-air slip-up. Back in 2020, Lana was forced to apologise after accidentally dropping an F-bomb during a report on the coronavirus pandemic. Oprah Winfrey took a gentle jab at her Montecito neighbors, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, for their last name. The TV mogul, 71, poked fun of the tongue-twisting name while appearing on Kelly Ripa's Let's Talk Off Camera podcast on Wednesday - four months after Meghan, 43, insisted that her pal Mindy Kaling call her by the surname. After Kelly asked Oprah if she would enjoy receiving baby chicks as a gift, the veteran talk show host said no, and added, 'I'd run them straight over to the Sussexes' while mispronouncing the name by adding extra 'xesssses' at the end. The billionaire then playfully repeated 'the Sussexes' once again for good measure. Oprah went on to share an anecdote of how she helped the couple deal with a surprising backyard 'problem'. Oprah lives close to the pair in California and she recalled rushing to their aid over the Easter weekend when they discovered ducklings in their back yard but had no where suitable to settle them. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (both pictured in 2025) have been mocked by Oprah Winfrey Oprah Winfrey, 71, took a gentle jab at her Montecito neighbors, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for their last name; Oprah pictured in June, 2025 'I get a call from Harry, Prince Harry, on Easter Saturday, and he says, "Sorry to bother you, O, but we have a duck problem here,"' she said, imitating a British accent. 'A duck had come into their yard and laid their eggs and had these chicks.' 'And he said, "Our pond is a stream, we dont have a pond, so can we bring the ducks over to your pond?"' Oprah agreed but asked Harry to wait because her best friend Gayle King's grandchildren were coming to visit and would like to see the spectacle, but Harry - who shares Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, with Meghan - insisted he needed to move the creatures immediately. She continued: 'I said, "Wait until I can get the kids to come down to the pond so they can see you put the ducks in the pond." And he goes, "No, were coming right away, were coming over!"' But the cute scene turned to chaos when the 'mama duck' fled and the trio had to chase her, providing the 'funniest thing' Oprah had ever seen. She said: 'As he opens the door, the mama duck flies out. And hes got all the baby ducks in a box.' 'Were chasing the mama duck who is in the front yard and has flown to the other side. Weve got her ducks. Harrys running after, Meghan gets out, shes running after, chasing the mom and trying to get her to come back to her ducks.' In March, Meghan corrected her celebrity friend Mindy Kaling after she called her 'Meghan Markle,' stating, 'You know I'm Sussex now' 'And for like half an hour, were running around with the ducks in a box. We have video. Its the funniest thing Ive ever seen.' Kelly joked the duck had been very shrewd in choosing a nesting spot. She laughed: 'The ducks also hit the jackpot.' 'Theyre like, "Wait a minute, we show up at Prince Harrys house and now were at Oprahs!" Excuse me. That duck knew what it was doing when it laid its eggs.' Meghan had shared a clip of the ducks on her Instagram page over Easter. She captioned the video: 'Wishing you a Happy Easter full of love and surprises!' Oprah is a longtime friend of the couple and even attended their 2018 wedding. She notably conducted their first interview after their move to California and departure from senior royal duties in 2021. The couple's surname was a major topic of discussion in March, when Meghan corrected her celebrity friend and The Office star Mindy Kaling in her Netflix cookery show, after she called her 'Meghan Markle'. Oprah notably conducted their first interview after their move to California and departure from senior royal duties in 2021 Meghan replied: 'It's so funny you keep saying Meghan Markle, you know I'm Sussex now.' As Mindy looked confused, Meghan, who has only visited Sussex once, continued: 'You have kids and you go, "No, I share my name with my children."' 'I didn't know how meaningful it would be to me but it just means so much to go, "This is OUR family name. Our little family name".' After being corrected, Mindy awkwardly responded: 'Well, now I know and I love it.' The late Queen Elizabeth bestowed the titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex on Prince Harry and Meghan for their wedding in 2018. Since then the pair have only visited the county once when they hosted a number of engagements seven years ago. Pia Whitesell has announced her first paid TV and modelling gig in seven years. The Home and Away star, 41, took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal she is the face of beauty giant Olay's 'Hello Better Me' campaign in Australia and New Zealand. 'I'm so humbled to be announced as the Australian Ambassador for Olay,' she wrote alongside a glowing campaign image of herself. 'As Olay moves into its next evolution, one that embraces progress over perfection and confidence thats built from lived experience - I find myself so ready and excited to share in that philosophy and be a part of a much needed conversation,' she added. Pia has not worked since she first began seeing her now-husband, Hollywood power broker Patrick Whitesell, in 2019. 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. Pia Whitesell has announced her first paid TV and modelling gig in the seven years. Pictured The Home and Away star, 41, took to Instagram on Thursday to reveal she is the face of beauty giant Olay's 'Hello Better Me' campaign in Australia and New Zealand The announcement was quickly praised by her 18-year-old Lennox, who she shares with former AFL star Brad Miller. 'I love my mother,' the dutiful teenager commented on the post. Pia's last acting role was in the 2019 live-action movie Dora and the Lost City of Gold. The small screen star retired from acting shortly after that, around the time she met her now-husband, who Bloomberg reports has a net worth of AU$733million. In June, Pia gave her followers a sneak peek inside the jaw-dropping $57million Bel Air mansion where the couple live. The photo showed a luxurious outdoor living space complete with a pool and several umbrella-covered lounge chairs. The scene also showed some Mediterranean-style archways and a perimeter of lush greenery. 'How's the serenity?' Pia captioned the envy-inducing photo in a subtle nod to the 1997 Aussie movie The Castle. Pia has not worked since she first began seeing her now-husband, Hollywood power broker Patrick Whitesell In June, Pia gave her followers a sneak peek inside the jaw-dropping $57million Bel Air mansion where the couple reside Pia accepted Patrick's proposal in late 2020 after he presented her with a spectacular diamond ring. The solitaire oval diamond sparkler is estimated to be worth between AUD$1.10million and AUD$1.9million. The couple tied the knot in May 2021. Patrick is the boss of Hollywood talent and media agency Endeavor, formerly known as WME. His client list includes the likes of Jude Law, Denzel Washington, Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck and Jake Gyllenhaal, with whom he shares both professional and personal ties. Hollywood star Vanessa Kirby has been given a very blunt introduction to some unique Australian vernacular. The UK actress, 37, has been Down Under promoting her latest film Fantastic Four: First Steps, and sat down with Pedestrian alongside co-star Pedro Pascal to chat about the superhero flick. Interviewer Rebekah Manibog surprised The Crown star, 37, with a unique choice of words as she described Vanessa's social media status. 'You've kind of become a social media icon for your force field, snatched, c***y, fierceness face,' Rebekah stated. Clearly taken aback by the surprising label, Vanessa's eyes bulged in surprise as she exclaimed: 'Oh God!, 'I don't know if that is a good thing.' 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. Hollywood star Vanessa Kirby has been given a very blunt introduction to some unique Australian vernacular The reporter attempted to assure Vanessa that it was, indeed, a positive label, but the actress appeared unconvinced until Pedro stepped in to confirm the vulgar term is not always used in the pejorative. 'F*** yeah, he said, agreeing with the reporter's assessment before adding: 'C***y face is good, babe.' Still not completely sold, Vanessa asked the Last Of Us star: 'Whats that? From sunglasses, maybe? He then gave Vanessa a definition of the term, which seemed to reassure the actress. 'C***y face just means fierce, fabulous, beautiful, strong. It's good, promise' Pedro assured his co star. A clip of the exchange was uploaded to TikTok, eliciting a swathe of comments from fans. Many were quick to point out that while the term does have a negative connotation, it is also used to describe something positive, particularly in the LGBTQIA+ community. 'Our favourite Internet daddy teaching everybody the lingo,' one fan commented. An Aussie reporter surprised The Crown star, 37, with a unique choice of words as she described Vanessa's social media status during her trip Down Under. She said 'You've kind of become a social media icon for your force field, snatched, c***y, fierceness face.' Clearly taken aback by the surprising label, Vanessa's eyes bulged in surprise as she exclaimed: 'Oh God!, 'I don't know if that is a good thing' 'The validation coming from Pedro? Wow woo wooo,' another swooned, while a third chimed in with: 'Pedro Pascal being every female co-stars biggest cheerleader will never get old. Ever.' Others were quick to point out many Australians' affection for using the term as a term of endearment. 'Amazing,' one enthused. 'Such a well used word in Australia. Say it to a posh English person. Good old Pedro, jumping to the rescue.' 'Not the people outside of Australia aghast at the swears,' another joked. Yet another added: 'I can picture this interviewer's whole career flashing before her eyes when there was an inkling she might have offended THE Vanessa Kirby.' The awkward exchange comes after Vanessa recently revealed she was expecting her first child with partner Paul Rabil, 39. The Mission: Impossible star revealed that she is expecting her first child as she showed off her baby bump at The Fantastic Four photocall in Mexico on Saturday. The reporter attempted to assure Vanessa that it was, indeed, a positive label, but the actress appeared unconvinced until Pedro stepped in to confirm the vulgar term is not always used in the pejorative. Pictured (from left) Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bacharach, and Vanessa Kirby She looked great in a stylish blue gown at the Comic Con Experience Mexico and tenderly touched her stomach as she posed on the red carpet. Vanessa and Paul first sparked dating rumours when they were spotted walking hand-in-hand through New York City in October 2022. However, Vanessa and Paul didn't make their romance Instagram official until November 2023. At the time, American Paul - who is the co-founder of the Premier Lacrosse League - shared a series of photographs of the couple including one of them embracing on a beach. 'From the very minute we first met in Des Moines, around the world and back, life is far better, more purposeful and more beautiful with you,' he wrote about the film star. A moving clip has resurfaced of Julian McMahon and Dannii Minogue in the wake of his death. It was revealed in a statement released by his wife Kelly on July 2 that Julian had passed away at age 56, after secretly battling cancer. Now, a video has come to light showing Julian and his former wife of 18 months, Dannii, revealing just how crazy the couple were about each other during their relationship. In the interview, filmed shortly after their engagement, the two could be seen in the back of a car looking loved up, with Julian kissing Dannii's hand and asking to marry her before cuddling up next to her on the backseat. 'I already said yes to that!' Dannii giggled as the pair cuddled and exchanged smitten looks. 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. A moving clip has resurfaced of Julian McMahon (left) and Dannii Minogue (right) in the wake of his death Julian and his former wife of 18 months were madly in love. Pictured together in 1995 Julian and Dannii then shared what they love most about each other, and explained how 'sparks flew across the room' when they first met. 'You'll have me going for days... well, she's a wonderful person, she really is,' Julian gushed. Dannii chimed in, while giggling and looking lovestruck: 'He is very fun to be with. And he's very romantic. Everything a girl would want.' Elsewhere in the clip, sweet details behind Julian's proposal to the pop star were revealed. 'He went to ring my parents first and asked my dad,' Dannii confessed. 'For permission?' the interviewer could be heard asking, to which she replied: 'Yeah'. In shock, the interviewer remarked: 'Gee that's old-fashioned.' 'I'm an old-fashioned guy,' Julian lovingly responded. The couple also discussed their upcoming wedding, with Dannii revealing her sister Kylie Minogue 'screamed' in excitement when she learned of her sibling's engagement. In the video, a smitten Julian and Dannii shared what they love most about each other, and explained how 'sparks flew across the room' when they first met Dannii has not made an official statement following Julian's shock death last week. The Australian actor died from lung metastasis as a result of head and neck metastatic cancer, per a Cremation Approval Summary Report from the Pinellas County Medical Examiner's Office in Florida, obtained by People. However, Dannii did give an insight into their whirlwind marriage just one month before Julian's passing. Dannii originally met Julian in 1990 while co-starring as Emma Jackson and Ben Lucini on the set of Home and Away. Three years later, Dannii (born Danielle) enlisted Julian to play her boyfriend in her music videos for This Is It and This Is the Way, before art imitated life and they tied the knot in 1994. However, the union was short-lived, with the couple parting ways just a year and a half later. Dannii never won over the approval of McMahon's late mother Lady Sonia, who didn't want her entering the political world dominated by his late father Sir Billy, the former Prime Minister of Australia. 'She thought that I was wanting to be part of that world [and] that I was going to take, take, take from them,' Dannii recalled on the How to Fail podcast on May 27. Dannii originally met Julian in 1990 while co-starring as Emma Jackson and Ben Lucini on the set of Home and Away. Pictured in 1993 'And it was the furthest thing from the truth and not what I wanted at all. So she made it very clear that I was not to be around and she didn't want me to be a part of anything. Yet Julian wanted me to be his wife. 'I knew that their [mother-son] relationship there was a lot had gone on and he loved and adored her, but they were not close in many ways. So it was a wild time. 'I mean, it was a lot to take on and that's how swept off my feet I was and thought that it could still work.' The marriage began falling apart after The Residence actor moved to New York City to star in NBC soap opera Another World while Dannii flew back and forth from London. In 1995, just a year after they married, the couple's divorce was finalised. JoJo Siwa has shared some exciting news for her UK fans as her relationship with Chris Hughes continues to flourish. The American star, 22, first met Chris, 32, during their time on Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year, where the pair quickly became friends. That bond soon evolved into a romantic relationship, sparking speculation that JoJo might be considering a more permanent move to the UK. While nothing is confirmed on that front, its clear shell be spending more time across the pond as she took to her Instagram on Thursday with a big announcement. The pop star revealed that her Infinity Heart Tour will be heading to Europe later this year. Alongside a poster of the tour, she penned: 'My INFINITY HEART TOUR is coming to EUROPE! JoJo Siwa has shared some exciting news for her UK fans as her relationship with Chris Hughes continues to flourish After meeting on Celebrity Big Brother, their bond soon evolved into a romantic relationship, sparking speculation that JoJo might be considering a more permanent move to the UK While nothing is confirmed on that front, its clear shell be spending more time across the pond as she took to her Instagram on Thursday with a big announcement 'The love and kindness you all have shown me means the world to me and I cant wait to start my Infinity Heart Tour with you! 'Its all of your favorite JoJo songs that you know and love plus, new music that I cant wait for you all to hear! 'Lets make tons of unforgettable memories singing and dancing together! See you soon!' JoJo will call in Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle, London, Brighton, Birmingham, and Cardiff between September 29 and October 9. She will then head to Paris on October 12, Cologne on October 13, and Warsaw on October 15. Tickets go on general sale at 10am BST on July 21. JoJo is currently touring North America and is set to perform a show in Louisville, Kentucky on July 17. Since releasing her song Guilty Pleasure last July, the star has followed up with a string of singles, most recently a cover of Kim Carnes' 1981 hit Bette Davis Eyes. Since meeting Chris, JoJo has shared she's been embraced by her newfound British fanbase, in stark contrast to the cruel backlash she's faced from some fans in the States The star has embraced many parts of British culture, enjoying a Sunday roast with Chris mere days after they left the CBB house in April JoJo's Infinity Heart Tour European dates Dublin - September 29 Glasgow - October 1 Manchester - October 2 Newcastle - October 3 London - October 5 Brighton - October 6 Birmingham - October 8 Cardiff - October 9 Paris - October 12 Cologne - October 13 Warsaw - October 15 Advertisement Since meeting Chris, JoJo has shared she's been embraced by her newfound British fanbase, in stark contrast to the cruel backlash she's faced from some fans in the States. The star has embraced many parts of British culture, enjoying a Sunday roast with Chris mere days after they left the CBB house. The star has also admitted she's now a converted tea-drinker, and soaked up the British countryside last month when she met Chris' family at their home in The Cotswolds. During a dance class at Pineapple Dance Studios last month, JoJo also hinted that she'd be willing to relocate to the UK for Chris, saying she feels 'so loved' by her newfound British fanbase. She said: 'Interestingly enough I feel so loved right now by the world, it's been beautiful. 'It's the UK and I really feel it from here.. it's been really beautiful this last month, it's been beautiful, it's been lovely, and I think I have just never been genuinely happier. JoJo then coyly went onto add: 'You can see it, it radiates off me, and yeah there's a reason why!' During the chat, the star was asked whether she'd be open to relocating to the UK to be with Chris, and JoJo said that while it may be an option in the future, she feels there's 'no shame' in dividing her time between the US and UK for now. 'Obviously I have a beautiful boy here and he's incredible, obviously he's here, his friends are here and his family is here,' she said. 'Obviously I'm in America, my friends are in America, my family is in America. 'Life is life, and I think there's no shame in splitting time, and all of a sudden one way is that way and the other way is that way, I don't know we go as we go! But yeah I love it here! It's beautiful. 'Honestly, coming here as a kid I used to, this sounds horrible, I used to dread it because I didn't understand the food, I didn't understand the culture. 'After Big Brother I have never loved a place more, and I think it's because I really got embraced with the culture and the food by being literally in a house with just that, when it's all that. 'But it's genuinely become my favourite place in the world, I could spend all my time here, I love it.' Bianca Censori looked incredible in a new drop of sexy snaps taken by her husband and controversial rapper Kanye West and shared to her Instagram. The Australian architect, 30, showed off her jaw-dropping figure in white lace lingerie while posing in her hotel room in Japan in shots taken in October last year. The defiant post comes as West denied shocking allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking made by his former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta. Days after the fierce rebuttal, Censori showed off her ample assets and tiny waist as she posed in the sheer bra and matching thong-style knickers. She boosted her petite frame with a pair of stilettos and wore her blonde locks in a bouncy blown out style, which covered her pretty features. One sizzling shot saw her crawling across the plush cream carpet on her hands and knees in a very seductive fashion. Bianca Censori looked incredible in a new drop of sexy snaps taken by her husband and controversial rapper Kanye West and shared to her Instagram The Australian architect, 30, showed off her jaw-dropping figure in white lace lingerie while posing in her hotel room in Japan in shots taken in October last year The barely-there underwear showed off her ample assets and tiny waist as she posed in the sheer bra and matching thong-style knickers The racy shoot was shot by her husband Kanye Revealing that it was her husband behind the lens, she wrote in the caption: 'Japan October 2024 shot by @ye.' A recent similar shoot taken at the same time saw Censori share another set of photos from the private shoot. Cesori has been sharing the polaroid snaps to her social media page. Last week, she gave fans another glimpse at her enviable figure with three more snaps. In one of the photos she was pictured on her knees leaning backwards while wearing a sheer tube top and pulling down her stockings with one hand. Another one of the retro style snaps featured her seemingly naked from the side, wearing high heels, with one of her legs extended in the air. A third image showed Bianca in a shaggy blonde wig and straddling the carpet while shooting a seductive glance at the camera with a hand placed in her mouth. 'Shot by @ye,' she captioned all three of the images. The couple have been caught up in reports that West's former assistant Lauren Pisciotta has filed a sexual assault case against him. A recent similar shoot taken at the same time saw Bianca share another set of photos from the private shoot Another one of the retro style snaps featured her seemingly naked from the side, wearing high heels, with one of her legs extended in the air There was also an image that showed Bianca in a shaggy blonde wig while straddling the carpet and shooting a seductive glance at the camera with a hand in her mouth On Sunday, a Yeezy spokesperson issued a statement to DailyMail.com, criticizing the rapper's former employee's amended complaint against him, which they point out is the 'the fourth version she has advanced.' 'Each new revision contradicts the others; each is more absurd and outlandish than all previous claims combined,' the Yeezy rep insisted. 'Does Ms. Pisciotta actually believe her confabulations? We cannot know. But this breathless new installment of fantasy fiction discredits all past, present and future testimony.' The spokesperson continued: 'We stand ready to annihilate Ms. Pisciotta's tall tales before a juryan exoneration so inevitable that even she, lost in her fog of fantasy, must surely see it coming.' Yeezy representative Milo Yiannopoulos also addressed the matter, highlighting 'the absurdity of Pisciotta's quadruply revised claims, which now include kidnapping, battery, rape, false imprisonment and even sex trafficking.' 'She picked the one rapper who loathes violence, has never been arrested, and doesn't even own a gun,' Yiannopoulos claimed. In response to the statements above, Pisciotta's attorney, Lisa Bloom, told DailyMail.com: 'While Kanye West's publicist has come up with a slickly worded (and outrageously false and defamatory) attack on Ms. Pisciotta, Kanye himself has publicly admitted much of what she's claiming.' 'Kanye's publicist is deafeningly silent on Kanye's own admissions, which will destroy him in court. We look forward to seeing him there, where he cannot hide behind a high priced spin team,' Bloom concluded. The response on West's behalf come just days after Pisciotta accused the father-of-four of sexually harassing and assaulting her on multiple occasions. Kanye West is denying shocking allegations of sexual assault and sex trafficking made by his former assistant, Lauren Pisciotta; seen in 2024 On Sunday, a Yeezy spokesperson issued a statement to DailyMail.com, criticizing the 48-year-old rapper's former employee's amended complaint against him, which they point out is the 'the fourth version she has advanced' In her amended complaint, filed earlier this week, Pisciotta accused her former boss of forcing 'his penis into her mouth' during a business trip in San Francisco. The oral rape allegedly occurred not long after she began working for Ye in July 2021. She alleged that he attempted to kiss her on the lips, more than once, despite her repeatedly rejecting his advances, which she insists she told him were 'not professional.' After participating in a writing session for his album, Donda, the complaint alleges that West invited Pisciotta to his hotel suite to discuss the record. When she arrived, Pisciotta alleges in the complaint 'Ye abruptly laid down in his bed and insisted that Ms. Pisciotta lay beside him.' She proceeded to 'reluctantly' sit next to him in bed as her then-boss praised her work and shared how he could 'propel' her success in the music industry, according to the complaint. The conversation quickly turned south, she claims, as he began speaking in graphic detail about an unnamed model's genitals and described his sexual encounters with other women. Pisciotta claims in the complaint that West attempted to kiss her again, but that she 'continued to deflect his advances.' 'Each new revision contradicts the others; each is more absurd and outlandish than all previous claims combined,' the Yeezy rep insisted (seen in 2024) She then claimed he began to ask her questions about her vagina, such as 'What's it like?', 'Can I touch it?', and 'I just wanna see what it's like.' According to the complaint, despite her reminding him his behavior was not professional, Pisciotta alleges West 'stroked his penis over his pants with one hand and forcibly touched her vagina with the other hand.' 'Ms. Pisciotta immediately told Ye to stop. Ye soon fell asleep mid-sentence,' the complaint reads. 'Ms. Pisciotta left the room once Ye fell asleep.' During that same stay in San Francisco, Pisciotta claims West went to her hotel room and demanded to use her shower. After cracking the door open, Pisciotta says in the complaint that her former boss 'pushed the door open and proceeded directly into the bathroom.' When he reemerged, she claims in the complaint he was only wearing a 'towel covering the lower half of his body' and approached her while she was sitting in a chair. She claims 'Ye dropped the towel from his waist to expose his penis,' removed her from the chair she was sitting in, and pushed her onto the bed, so that she was pinned against its pillows and headboard. Pisciotta says he used his 'body to pin and restrain' her and restricted her from leaving the bed, before thrusting his penis repeatedly into her mouth, according to the complaint. 'As Ms. Pisciotta frantically pled for Ye to stop, Ye forced his penis into her mouth. Ms. Pisciotta froze in shock and fear but continued to plead with Ye and beg him,' according to the legal documents. After the alleged rape, she alleges he apologized and left. When she confronted him about the sexual assault, she said in the complaint he gave her what she thought was 'a sincere apology' and agreed to continue working for him. Still, she insists in the court record he never stopped his sexually inappropriate behavior and harassment. She claims he detailed sexual fantasies about her, demanded she send him explicit material including topless and nude photographs, constantly remarked on her body and even allegedly called her while engaging in sexual acts with another woman. Other shocking claims in the second amended complaint included that he offered someone the opportunity to have sex with her and that he 'constantly told her that 'he wanted to have sex with her and how he thought about her while he had sex with other women.' She also says he offered 'one million dollars in exchange for her deleting her OnlyFans account, from which Ms. Pisciotta earned approximately one million dollars over the course of eight months.' Yeezy representative Milo Yiannopoulos also addressed the matter, highlighting 'the absurdity of Pisciotta's quadruply revised claims, which now include kidnapping, battery, rape, false imprisonment and even sex trafficking' After deleting her account, Pisciotta claims in the court paper that West refused to pay the 'agreed-upon amount' and quickly lost her substantial OnlyFans following. During her employment, she alleged he interrogated her about her love life, the last time she had sex, how large her partners' penises were and if she would be 'open to engaging in threesomes with her partners, his partners, and other women Ye found on various social media platforms.' After terminating her in fall of 2023, she claims he 'grabbed' her neck and 'squeezed his hand around her throat, restricting her airflow' after running into each other at a concert, according to the complaint. 'With his hand still around her neck, Ye pulled Ms. Pisciotta's face towards his, inserted his tongue in her ear, and licked her ear repeatedly, causing it to become wet with his saliva. Ms. Pisciotta recoiled in horror and quickly walked away,' her complaint says. Pisciotta claims West went on to move into Ms. Pisciotta's same apartment complex, which caused her 'significant anxiety and distress.' In response to the statements above, Pisciotta's attorney, Lisa Bloom, told DailyMail.com: 'While Kanye West's publicist has come up with a slickly worded (and outrageously false and defamatory) attack on Ms. Pisciotta, Kanye himself has publicly admitted much of what she's claiming' (seen in 2019) She said in the complaint while he lived there he would walk past her place in a 'conspicuous manner' and even 'stationed his security team at various points of the complex.' Pisciotta alleged this pushed her to relocate to 'Florida as a means of escaping Ye.' Following her move, she claims he hired an individual who offered 'swatting' services for purchase, to 'swat' her. Pisciotta, who began working for Ye in 2021 as a music talent scout (A&R) for his Donda album, originally sued West in 2024. While working as his personal assistant and Chief of Staff, she handled his music, fashion ventures (like YEEZY), property management, and schedule. During this time, she claimed in the complaint that he controlled her life and made her ask for permission to shower or take breaks. Additionally, she alleged he verbally abused her, especially in front of male colleagues, demanded 'hugs' where he would press himself against her and spoke about monitoring her social media to masturbate to her photos. She also accused him of assaulting her in 2015 while she blacked out at a studio session. 'Kanye's publicist is deafeningly silent on Kanye's own admissions, which will destroy him in court. We look forward to seeing him there, where he cannot hide behind a high priced spin team,' Bloom concluded She believes she was drugged and has no memory of the evening, according to the court document. Another disturbing allegation involves a flight to a fashion show. She claims in the complaint that he locked her in a room and masturbated in front of her, until someone from the outside was able to open the door as she 'cried into her lap.' West previously denied Pisciotta's other allegations made in her initial June 2024 complaint. In his initial legal response to her prior claims, West's companies issued a blanket denial of all allegations made by Pisciotta including her claims of sexual assault. In response to Pisciotta's original lawsuit, West's lawyer called the claims 'baseless' and announced plans to countersue. In her new, second amended complaint, Pisciotta lays out a sweeping list of allegations, including sexual harassment and a hostile work environment, assault, battery, sexual battery, sex trafficking, stalking, false imprisonment, gender discrimination, promissory estoppel, failure to prevent harassment, discrimination and retaliation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The response on West's behalf come just days after Pisciotta accused the father-of-four of sexually harassing and assaulting her on multiple occasions (seen in February 2025) Pisciotta's lawyer confirmed to Daily Mail that the second amended complaint was mailed to West. In a statement to DailyMail.com, Pisciotta's attorney, Lisa Bloom, wrote: 'We are pleased that the judge granted our request to file an amended complaint against Mr. West in the sexual harassment, assault and battery case we are litigating against him in California Superior Court, County of Los Angeles.' 'In a series of recent tweets, Mr. West calls himself 'a walking me too' (we agree) and corroborated many of our client's claims by proclaiming, 'If a CEO don't hug you inappropriately he's a f@gg*t' and 'Life is about using your position to f*k the baddest b!**hes possible' and other disgusting and offensive posts,' she continued. Bloom concluded: 'Every woman deserves a respectful workplace free of groping and sexual harassment. We look forward to aggressively litigating this case on behalf of our brave client, Lauren Piscotta.' Pregnant Laura Adlington stripped down to her underwear on Wednesday as she shared a candid body positivity message on Instagram. The Great British Bake Off star, 36, who announced her pregnancy in April, is an avid advocate for self-love and often encourages her followers to embrace their figures. Taking to her social media page, Laura posed in black underwear in a mirror selfie with 'Not a "before" photo...' penned on top. Opening up with her followers, she wrote: 'Lately, my feed has been full of before and after photos most of them starting with a body that looks like mine. Or smaller. 'And I get it people are allowed to change. To feel proud of themselves. 'But I wish more people would think about how they speak about their old selves. Pregnant Laura Adlington stripped down to her underwear on Wednesday as she took to Instagram to share a candid body positivity message The Great British Bake Off star, 36, who announced her pregnancy in April, is an avid advocate for self-love and often encourages her followers to embrace their figures 'Because a lot of us still live in those bodies. Still *are* that body. And it hurts to be reminded, over and over, that your version of a nightmare body is ours. 'The body positivity movement was supposed to make space for people in marginalised bodies, the bodies the world ignores or mocks. 'But it feels like that space is shrinking again and the loudest voices belong to the people who were never excluded to begin with. 'Im getting really tired of the fatphobia disguised as wellness. 'Of the casual cruelty in progress captions. Of feeling like simply existing in my body is something I have to defend. 'So no, this isnt a transformation photo Its a reminder that this body, as it is right now, is enough. And so is yours.' It comes after Laura left her followers in tears as she penned an emotional letter to her unborn baby last month. The star reflected on reaching the halfway stage of her pregnancy after a nine-year fertility battle. It comes after Laura left her followers in tears as she penned an emotional letter to her unborn baby The TV star confirmed the sex of her first child with her husband Matt last month, following a nine-year fertility battle (pictured together) Laura confirmed the sex of her first child with her husband Matt in June, after sharing the news they were expecting a baby after quietly 'giving IVF a try.' In the picture, Laura cradled her blossoming bump in a pretty white and blue summer dress, while sharing her letter to her baby in the caption of her post. She began her post: 'Dear baby, Were over halfway. Can you believe it? 'Some days it still doesnt feel quite real, and if Im honest I still feel like Im living in a dream. Like I dont deserve this. 'Ever since the day I found out about you, Ive been waking up at around 4am. I lie there in the dark, imagining what it will feel like to finally hold you. 'I wonder what kind of person youll grow into, what your laugh will sound like, what little quirks will make you, you. 'Its been a really long journey to get here, one filled with a lot of heartache. And although Id be lying if I said we werent both still waiting for the rug to be pulled from under our feet, we are finally letting ourselves dream a little louder. 'Ive been busy making lists of all the things you might need. I cant wait to get your pram and start putting your nursery together tiny steps towards the day you come home. The update comes after Laura reveal the couple are expecting a boy, while sharing a sweet story about how their much-wanted baby was always 'meant to be' She finished emotionally: 'But more than anything, I just cant wait to meet you. To hold you. To look into your eyes and finally whisper, Youre here. We did it. Meanwhile a storm of fans flooded the TV baker with supportive comments. It comes after Laura reveal the couple are expecting a boy, while sharing a sweet story about how their much-wanted baby was always 'meant to be'. She confirmed her pregnancy in April after 'quietly deciding to give IVF a try' over a year ago. The television baker previously gave up her hopes of having a baby after she was told by doctors that her only chance to get pregnant was to try IVF and she would have to lose a substantial amount of weight first to qualify. Posing with an adorable teddy bear outfit, Laura revealed she and Police Community Support Officer Matt eagerly bought the dungarees not long after she'd come off the contraceptive pill in the hope that their journey to parenthood would be swift. Although Laura was initially 'excited at the thought of finally becoming a mum', she 'had no idea how long or how hard the journey ahead would be'. Alongside the sweet photograph, she wrote: 'True story: About nine years ago, not long after I'd come off the pill, we popped into Tesco to grab a few bits for a family picnic. Laura hit out at the NHS in May as she admitted she was fat-shamed by medical professionals while trying to undergo IVF treatment 'Excited at the thought of finally becoming a mum, I made a beeline for the baby section and picked up this little outfit. I held it up to Matt and said, "Shall we get it?". He laughed and reluctantly agreed. And into the trolley it went. 'Back then, I had no idea how long or how hard the journey ahead would be. Months passed. Then years. Negative test after negative test. So many tears. So much heartache.' Laura admitted she found it difficult seeing her friends and family get pregnant while it wasn't happening for her and Matt - and said she came close to giving away the baby outfit on many occasions. She continued: 'One of the hardest things was watching all our friends and family get pregnant, while we kept waiting with empty arms, wondering "When is it going to be our turn?". 'Over the years, there were times we were caught short needing a baby gift, and I was tempted to give this little outfit away (I didn't really know what else to do with it) until a friend gently asked how I'd feel seeing someone's else's baby in it, and suggested I hang onto it. 'And so I did. Three house moves and nearly a decade later, this tiny outfit has quietly stayed with us, tucked in a bottom drawer, or in the corner of a room that never got touched. 'Unless on very rare occasions I'd find it while spring cleaning and would hold it close to my chest, praying one day our baby might wear it. Well, earlier this year, as many of you know, our prayers were finally answered.' Confirming the gender of the couple's baby and her feelings about expecting a boy, Laura told her followers: 'And recently we found out we're having a little boy. I'll be honest: part of me had hoped for a girl. 'But looking back, we never bought a girl's outfit just this one. So maybe that's the universe's way of saying this was always meant to be. 'Now, this little outfit isn't just a symbol of hope. It's waiting, just like we are, for the little boy who was always meant to fill it.' Andy El Bayeh has gone public with his new love. Bayeh, who is the CEO of culture agency Example and known as one of Sydney's most eligible bachelors, is on a romantic vacation with designer and podcaster Raquelle Saba. After Daily Mail Australia first broke the news of their relationship last month, the couple went Instagram official this week as they enjoyed the luxurious getaway together. Andy and Raquelle cuddled up in multiple selfies shared by the CEO, looking very cosy indeed. The pair partied during the trip, spending late evenings in nightclubs and indulging in opulent dinners. 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. Andy El Bayeh has gone public with his new love. Bayeh, who is the CEO of culture agency Example and known as one of Sydney's most eligible bachelors, is on a romantic vacation with designer and podcaster Raquelle Saba. Both pictured After Daily Mail Australia first broke the news of their relationship last month, the couple went Instagram official this week as they enjoyed the luxurious getaway together They also spent some time by the seaside and took a speedboat out for a joyride. In a caption alongside the photos, Andy wrote: 'Lebanon. My roots, my family, my blood. A country that's endured so much and yet still overflows with such beauty, spirit, and love.' He continued: 'I came back after nearly three decades and I didn't expect it to hit this hard. It's paradise! A soul I've never felt anywhere else.' Andy also explained that he would be returning to the region and expected to be 'back and forth all summer' between Sydney and Lebanon. The Sydney businessman was considered one of the most eligible men on the Sydney market after his marriage breakdown. In 2024, Andy split with Harriet Williams after two years of marriage. The popular Eastern Suburbs couple tied the knot in a fairytale $1 million wedding in March 2022 after four years together. Publicist Andy and kinesiologist Harriet were said to have abruptly ended their six-year-long relationship earlier this month during a European holiday. The Sydney businessman was considered one of the most eligible men on the Sydney market after his marriage breakdown In 2024, Andy split with Harriet Williams (pictured) after two years of marriage The couple tied the knot in a lavish three-day forest wedding in the Southern Highlands in March 2022 in an epic 72-hour-long event which reportedly set them back $1 million Sources close to the couple confirmed the separation to the Daily Telegraph, with the reports shocking Sydney's social set. The couple had been posting very loved-up images together as they travelled around Greece and Italy. However, the pair then unfollowed each other on Instagram amid reports of their very sudden break-up. Andy is the chief creative officer and founder of creative agency Example, while Harriet is a kinesiologist at Inner Remedy and comes from a wealthy Sydney family. Andy, who used to work as Merivale's Director of Marketing, and Harriet had been dating for four years before they tied the knot. Andy launched an elaborate scheme to propose to Harriet, disguising his plan as his 31st birthday bash before turning the event into a wild engagement party. The couple then tied the knot in a lavish three-day forest wedding in the Southern Highlands in March 2022 in an epic 72-hour-long event which reportedly set them back $1 million. The son of Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas has been forced to defend himself after he was wrongly identified on TikTok as a man who'd abused a group of women at a Beyonce concert in the US. Dylan Michael Douglas, who is currently enjoying a holiday in his mother Catherine's hometown of Mumbles in Wales, shared a video on social media, where he told his followers he'd been the victim of false identity and a barrage of online vitriol. A photo of a young man in a cowboy hat, who bears a striking resemblance to Dylan, is being circulated on TikTok, after he was said to have poured water on a group of black girls at a Beyonce concert in Atlanta, Georgia. But 24-year-old Dylan, insisted that the man in the photo, is not him. He said: 'I'm sorry to come on here and do this but I've been put in a very awkward situation. This video that's circulating on TikTok about some person pouring a drink on somebody at the Cowboy Carter concert in Atlanta, Georgia, that wasn't me. 'I've never been to a Beyonce concert, I'd love to go, maybe one day. Never been to Atlanta in the last five years. I'm in rainy Mumbles in the cold in Wales.' The son of Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas has been forced to defend himself after he was wrongly identified on TikTok as a man who'd abused a group of women at a Beyonce concert in the US A photo of a young man in a cowboy hat, who bears a striking resemblance to Dylan, is being circulated on TikTok, after he was said to have poured water on a group of black girls at a Beyonce concert in Atlanta, Georgia Dylan, who is a budding actor, then filmed himself entering a traditional British pub, where Karaoke was underway in the background. He said, 'I'm here at a bar with my Nanna, we got Karaoke, it's not nearly as good as Beyonce, but whatever happened there, I hope you find the guy, it looks horrible but it wasn't me, I've had a lot of scary DMs and comments and other things that have been frightening and I just hope it all stops.' Dylan, who has a younger sister Carys, 21 and a half brother, Cameron from his father's previous marriage to actress Diandra Luka, has an ever growing profile in the public eye. Having graduated from Brown University in 2022, with a degree in political science, Dylan recently fronted a podcast called Young Americans for which he made a slew of TV and radio appearances to promote the show. Soon the nepo baby, whose parents are both Oscar winning actors, will make his on screen acting debut in a psychological thriller, I Will Come to You, directed by Jacob Arden. In a statement to Variety magazine, Dylan shared his excitement about the project. He said: 'I was drawn to this role because of its complexity and depth,' he said. 'I am looking forward to bringing this character to life and being a part of a project that pushes boundaries.' Indeed Dylan's mother Catherine is one of Britain's most successful actresses, after she shot to fame in the 90s as the star of the much loved ITV drama, the Darling Buds of May. Dylan Michael Douglas, who is currently enjoying a holiday in his mother Catherine's hometown of Mumbles in Wales, shared a video on social media, where he told his followers he'd been the victim of false identity and a barrage of online vitriol Dylan pictured with sister Carys and father Michael She then became a Hollywood star after her screen stealing turn in the Mask of Zorro, opposite, Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins. Shortly after her success in Zoro she met Michael Douglas at the Deaville Film festival in France, they fell in love and married at a lavish wedding ceremony at the Plaza hotel in the year 2000. Catherine then went on to star in the film Entrapment with Sean Connery and Chicago, for which she won an Oscar in 2002. Last year, Catherine said she and Michael were selling their $12 million New York City homebecause their kids were 'leaving the nest.' In a conversation with The Wall Street Journal, she said: 'When I purchased our Irvington home, I knew our family would share many happy times here, and we have! 'Now that both our son and daughter have left the nest, it seems like the right time to sell.' Kate Bosworth and husband Justin Long have reportedly welcomed their first child. The 42-year-old actress and 47-year-old actor now have a baby girl that was born via a surrogate, Page Six claimed on Thursday. The married couple have yet to confirm the report. Long's last Instagram post was on the 4th of July and it did not mention starting a family; Bosworth has not posted on social media since March. The couple were last seen on a red carpet together in March in Los Angeles. They started dating in 2021 after working together on the movie House of Darkness, then got engaged, and wed in June 2023. Kate dated actor Alexander Skarsgard and was married to director Michael Polish. Justin dated Drew Barrymore and Amanda Seyfried. Kate Bosworth and husband Justin Long have reportedly welcomed their first child. The 42-year-old actress and 47-year-old actor now have a baby girl that was born via a surrogate, Page Six claimed on Thursday; seen in March DailyMail.com has reached out to their reps for comment. Kate and Justin seemed to start dating around December 2021 after they met on the set of a movie. Kate and Justin sparked engagement rumors in March after she was seen rocking a large diamond ring on her ring finger. In May 2023, the actor called Kate his 'now-wife' during his podcast episode of Life is Short. Justin was chatting with actress Kyra Sedgwick about Kate visiting the set while he filmed Barbarian in Bulgaria. The actor said: 'I was there while I was like really falling in love with my now-wife. She came to visit and I had never been comfortable withset visits. I like to separate the relationship... But, yeah, I loved having her there and we just had the most magical time.' Justin added: 'It helped me having her there. She'd help me with scenes. It was the best.' Kate was previously married to Michael Polish. Kate and Michael were married from August 2013 until they announced their separation in August 2021. In May 2023, the actor called Kate his 'now-wife' during his podcast episode of Life is Short The couple first sparked dating rumors in December 2021 after they met on the set of a movie In 2023, Justin gushed about Kate in honor of her birthday, also talking about having kids one day together. 'You made so many people smile with your warmth and curiosity,' the actor penned in the caption of the Instagram post. 'You rode horses again and they helped you heal. 'You overwhelmed a boy when you first called him 'husband' and made him feel luckier than he's ever felt.' Adding: 'One day our kids ask me, "Dad, why did you write things about Mom on that old Instagram app? The one you won't let us use?'" 'And I'll say, "Well, because there are a lot of poisonous things on the internet but your mom always inspires me to put good things into the world. Besides, I know reading those old posts touched her and made her smile."' General Hospital legend Tristan Rogers revealed he is battling cancer. On Thursday, the veteran actor's friend and publicist, Anthony Turk, announced the news in a press release, obtained by Soap Opera Digest. 'Beloved Emmy-winning actor Tristan Rogers, best known for his role as Robert Scorpio on the daytime drama, General Hospital, is sharing with fans that he has been diagnosed with cancer,' Turk began. He continued: 'While he remains hopeful and is working closely with his medical team on a treatment plan, this is a challenging time for Tristan and his family.' The star's rep kindly requested 'privacy and understanding' as Rogers and his family face 'the emotional and physical burdens that come with this diagnosis.' 'They are deeply grateful for the outpouring of support and love from their friends and family. Tristan sends his love to his fans and wants them to know how much he appreciates their loyalty and encouragement over the years,' Turk concluded. 'This support means more to him now than ever.' General Hospital legend Tristan Rogers revealed he is battling cancer Fans of the soap icon offered their condolences and prayers for the actor to make a speedy recovery on social media. 'Heartbreakingly devastating news. #TristanRogers brought #RobertScorpio into our living rooms and made us fall in love. Prayers along with positive vibes being sent his way.,' one X user wrote. Another tweeted: 'I thought something was off given his roast his voice was when we last saw him. Definitely keeping Tristan in my prayers. The show has already lost so many veteran actors over the past few years.' 'Sending prayers his way! Us fans have been worried for a while now based on his last appearance on screen on GH! He definitely has lost a lot of weight and it was obvious he wasn't well! Hopefully he can get into remission or cured so he can get back to GH! We miss & adore him!!' a third shared. Rogers is best known to daytime audiences as international spy-turned-Port Charles D.A. Robert Scorpio on General Hospital. He has portrayed the character since 1980, and most recently, reprised his role on the series last year. In 2018, he raved about returning to his beloved role and playing Robert, who he described as always having 'kind of a glib approach to everything.' 'Hes a bit of a smart-mouth,' Rogers told Soap Opera Digest, at the time, of his character. 'Im working with a lot of different people And I think the fans are going to like it.' On Thursday, the veteran actor's friend and publicist, Anthony Turk, announced the news in a press release, obtained by Soap Opera Digest; seen in 1981 'Beloved Emmy-winning actor Tristan Rogers, best known for his role as Robert Scorpio on the daytime drama, General Hospital, is sharing with fans that he has been diagnosed with cancer,' Turk began (pictured in 1983) Rogers has also appeared on Young and Restless as Colin Atkinson and as Hunter Jones on Bold and Beautiful. In 2020, Rogers won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actor in a Digital Drama Series for his role as Doc in Studio City. Rogers, who was born in Melbourne, has been married to Teresa Parkerson since 1995. The pair share a daughter, Sara Jane, 32, and a son, Cale, 29. The star's rep kindly requested 'privacy and understanding' as Rogers and his family face 'the emotional and physical burdens that come with this diagnosis' (seen in 2023) Rogers is best known to daytime audiences as international spy-turned-Port Charles D.A. Robert Scorpio on General Hospital (pictured with the General Hospital) Rogers' early acting roles were on Australian television and cameos in soap operas Bellbird, Number 96 (in 1974), and The Box (in 1975). He also appeared in the police drama series The Link Men (1970), Barrier Reef, Division 4, and the 1976 miniseries Power Without Glory. Other credits include voicing Jake in Walt Disney Pictures' The Rescuers Down Under as well as Four Dimensions of Greta (1972), The Flesh and Blood Show (1972) and Sex Farm (1973). Additionally, the star has done voice-over work representing restaurant chains like Outback Steakhouse, Reebok, Epson and others. Nick Nolte showed off his scruffy side when going out to an upscale dinner with some of his top Hollywood male friends. The 84-year-old actor had long gray hair that was combed back and a fuzzy beard. The 48 HRS actor was dressed casually in a light mint green shirt with one pocket that was not buttoned all the way up with no jacket. The Cape Fear star added black slacks and sneakers that appeared comfortable. The Hollywood icon looked healthy with a fresh Malibu tan. He was joined by former costars Josh Brolin, 57, and Sean Penn, 64, at high-end Japanese restaurant Nobu which is on the coast of Malibu and co-owned by Chef Nobuyuki 'Nobu' Matsuhisa, actor Robert De Niro, and businessman Meir Teper. Nick Nolte showed off his scruffy side when going out to an upscale dinner with some of his top Hollywood male friends at Nobu in Malibu Sean also sported gray hair as he wore an olive green shirt over a dark blue T-shirt with shiny charcoal gray cargo slacks. White sneakers made him look ready for a power walk. Brolin also was a silver fox with a deep summer tan as he sported a pale beige T-shirt and worn-in blue denim jeans, adding dark brown leather lace-up boots. Nick, Sean and Josh all live in the Malibu area. Nick and Sean worked on the 1997 Oliver Stone-directed movie U Turn with Jennifer Lopez so they have known each other around 30 years. A year later they co-starred in the 1998 movie The Thin Red Line with Jim Caviezel. They also appeared in the 2013 film Gangster Squad with Brolin. Nick and Josh were also seen in scenes together in 1997's Nightwatch. Nick has been in Los Angeles working on the set of his latest project, the Amazon Studios movie Crime 101. The Hollywood veteran was seen seated at a food court clad in a dark gray coat and pants with a button-up charcoal top. The Oscar-nominated actor looked dapper with his hair slicked back. The Omaha, Nebraska-born star was joined on set by his castmate Chris Hemsworth in Southern California, as they are part of an ensemble cast for the Bart Layton crime drama. The Hollywood was joined by former costar Josh Brolin, 57, who wore a beige shirt and worn-in blue jeans Also seen was Sean Penn, 64, who also sported gray hair as he wore an olive green shirt over a dark blue T-shirt with shiny charcoal gray cargo slacks Halle Berry, Barry Keoghan, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mark Ruffalo and Monica Barbaro round out the principal cast of the movie. Nolte, who has appeared in comedies such as Tropic Thunder, Down and Out in Beverly Hills and 48 Hrs., was subsequently seen with a production assistant on the set. Corey Hawkins, Tate Donovan, Babak Tafti, Payman Maadi, Deborah Hedwall, Devon Bostick, Matthew Del Negro, Drew Powell and Paul Adelstein are also in the movie, Variety reported last month. The script, which was penned in part by Layton, is based on a novella from Don Winslow, the outlet reported. According to a logline, the plot is based on 'a series of high level jewelry thefts up and down the Pacific Coast Highway that have gone unsolved for years.' Sean and Josh were seen in the same car which was a black SUV with a permit card Nolte in the 1996 film Mulholland Falls as he is seen with Michael Madsen and Chazz Palminteri The perpetrator of the crimes acts under a protocol called Crime 101, the logline stated, which leaves authorities confused, thinking it is the work of South American cartels. 'Detective Lou Lubesnick's gut says it's the work of just one man,' the logline stated. 'Now the lone-wolf jewel thief is looking for that fabled final last score and Lou breaks all the rules of Crime 101.' Other actors in the motion picture, including Berry and Keoghan have been seen on location for the movie in recent weeks on location for the film in Southern California. Nolte spoke to Business Insider in November of 2022 about what keeps him compelled to remain playing new roles after decades of success in show business. 'I've always had something artistic outside of myself that I can turn to, so I'm still interested in the stories,' Nolte said. 'I don't really know what they are, as there are fewer and fewer of them these days. 'And I don't find the 80s particularly fun because you're falling apart in a way. But I've always said that I'll keep on going until I just can't go anymore.' Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky attended the premiere of Limitless: Live Better Now with their children in London on Thursday. The couple posed for snaps with their sons while Chris' brother Liam also supported him at the star-studded event. Chris and Elsa, who share sons Tristan and Sasha and daughter India Rose, looked happier than ever after they were reunited following 'weeks apart'. For the glitzy evening, Chris, who stars in the show exploring how humans 'can live better for longer', looked handsome in a navy two-piece suit. He layered his tailored two-piece over a crisp white T-shirt and an unbuttoned dark blue shirt. Alongside him Elsa put on a legged display as she slipped into a sparkly sheer dress which was layered over a strappy white dress. She added inches to her toned physique as she wore a pair of strappy silver heels and slicked her blonde tresses back into an updo. Chris Hemsworth and his wife Elsa Pataky attended the premiere of Limitless: Live Better Now with their children in London on Thursday The married couple, who share sons Tristan and Sasha and daughter India Rose, looked happier than ever after they were reunited after 'weeks apart' (Pictured L to R: Gabriella Brooks, Craig, Leonie, Tristan, Chris, Sasha, Elsa Pataky and Liam) The pair were joined by their tuxedo-clad sons Tristan and Sasha who posed on the red carpet alongside their uncle Liam. Liam cut a more relaxed figure as he stepped out brown trousers which he paired with a T-shirt. Chris's father and mother Craig and Leonie also attended the star-studded evening as they slipped into all-black ensembles. Liam's girlfriend, Gabriella Brooks, wowed at the glitzy event as she slipped into a black floor-length silk gown. Meanwhile Maya Shankar looked elegant in a nude floral dress which featured a square neckline and thick straps. Joe Wicks and his wife Rosie looked smitten as they posed arm in arm on the red carpet. Edith Bowman cut a classic display as she wore a simple black dress and a pair of shiny black heels. For the glitzy evening, Chris, who stars in the show exploring how humans 'can live better for longer', looked handsome in a navy two-piece suit He layered his tailored two-piece over a crisp white T-shirt and an unbuttoned dark blue shirt Alongside him Elsa put on a legged display as she slipped into a sparkly sheer dress which was layered over a strappy white dress The pair were joined by their tuxedo-clad sons Tristan and Sasha (pictured) who posed on the red carpet alongside their uncle Liam Liam cut a more relaxed figure as he stepped out brown trousers which he paired with a nude T-shirt. While his girlfriend Gabriella Brooks slipped into a black floor-length silk gown Chris's father and mother Craig and Leonie (far left) also attended the star-studded evening as they slipped into all-black ensembles Meanwhile Maya Shankar looked elegant in a nude floral dress which featured a square neckline and thick straps Edith Bowman cut a classic display as she wore a simple black dress and a pair of shiny black heels Joe Wicks and his wife Rosie looked smitten as they posed arm in arm on the red carpet Limitless will see Chris take part in various challenges exploring different ways to extend the human lifespan. Playing on Chris' stardom through superhero movies, Limitless follows him as he pushes up against the boundaries of what his body can do. He will be seen on the Disney+ program pursuing various physical goals, such as 40lbs of weight gain for a Thor film. Among the six supposedly life-extending techniques he will test are: regenerating damage, maximising strength, building resilience, shocking the body, supercharging memory and confronting mortality. Chris said in a statement: 'Basically, I was somehow convinced to volunteer myself as a human guinea pig and endure a series of mental and physical challenges across the globe, all for the sake of science.' 'We're hoping to shed some light on new ideas and emerging science with the focus on extending a healthy lifespan.' Two of the biggest stars of Line of Duty have dropped massive hints that the BBC crime thriller will return next year for a long-awaited seventh series. Leading man Martin Compston, 41, who plays DI Steve Arnott, and Adrian Dunbar, 66, aka Supt Ted Hastings, both teased fans with updates this week, suggesting filming could begin in 2026. MailOnline revealed back in April that the ratings juggernaut is expected to return in 2026, with cameras set to roll in the first half of the year. Speaking on the Nicky Byrne podcast this week, Martin was asked if he'd be taking part in Sport Aid next May. He replied cryptically: 'I think, already, I know I'm filming next year. This will be a pretty good one this next show.' Pressed by Nicky for an exclusive, Martin stayed tight-lipped: 'Not on this one... But I think most people can have a guess, though.' Two of the biggest stars of Line of Duty have dropped massive hints that the BBC crime thriller will return next year with a long-awaited seventh series (Vicky McClure, Martin Compston, and Adrian Dunbar pictured) Leading man Martin Compston, 41, who plays DI Steve Arnott, and Adrian Dunbar, 66, aka Supt Ted Hastings, both teased fans with updates this week, suggesting filming could begin in 2025 (Adrian, Vicky, and Martin pictured 2019) Meanwhile, Adrian appeared on Radio Ulster on Wednesday and also hinted at the show's return. The actor said: 'We're all keeping our fingers crossed, just waiting on the BBC to make an announcement. 'I know Jed's working away. And I know me and Vicky and Martin really want to do it. So hopefully next year we'll be back in Belfast and rattling around the town making a nuisance of ourselves. 'The wheel is turning on that. It's just down to the BBC to make an announcement.' In April, The Sun reported that the show's three leads - Martin, Adrian and Vicky McClure - had finally managed to align their jam-packed schedules, and are expected to begin filming a six-part series in the spring. The drama, which follows AC-12, an anti-corruption unit investigating coppers, has been a smash hit since it first aired in 2012, regularly drawing more than 10 million viewers. The news will thrill fans left disappointed by the controversial ending of series six in 2021, when bumbling Det Supt Ian Buckells (Nigel Boyle) was unmasked as 'H' - the shadowy criminal mastermind behind the police corruption. Speculation about a return has been swirling since 2022, when it was first reported that a comeback could be on the cards. Speaking on the Nicky Byrne podcast this week, Martin was asked if he'd be taking part in Sport Aid next May and he cryptically replied: 'I think, already, I know I'm filming next year. This will be a pretty good one this next show' Pressed by Nicky for an exclusive, Martin stayed tight-lipped: 'Not on this one... But I think most people can have a guess, though' Martin previously opened up on the possibility of a new series of Line Of Duty, as he admitted he'd 'like to pull his waistcoat out again'. In an interview with The Times, Martin was asked the question on everyone's minds, and hinted that viewers could be in luck. He reasoned: 'I just don't know. I'm busy next year. Vicky's ridiculously busy, so's Adrian. If there's a story Jed (Mercurio) wants to tell, he'll come to us. 'As soon as there's some news, we'll let you know, but right now there's nothing there. I'd like to pull my waistcoat out again.' Martin joked: 'I like a waistcoat but I can't wear them now; it's like putting on Steve's character.' The actor, who starred on the show between 2012 and 2021, also dropped another hint during his previous appearance on The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X. At the time, host Chris, 50, asked the question on everyone's lips to find out if it's coming back any time soon. Throwing another hint, Martin replied: 'I love that people ask and the love that people have. Meanwhile, Adrian appeared on Radio Ulster on Wednesday and also hinted at the show's return, saying: 'We're all keeping our fingers crossed, just waiting on the BBC to make an announcement' (pictured last year) 'When people stop asking about it, it'll be a sad day. I do love that, but you don't want to give fans false hope because people get excited. He added: 'We're not planning anything immediately. We'd love to do another one at some point, but we're all working next year on other stuff.' Chris joked: 'Well, stop working on other stuff, stop being so selfish.' Line of Duty is available to watch on BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and Prime Video. Chris Hemsworth and Elsa Pataky have reunited after spending weeks apart. The Hollywood couple attended the premiere of the Thor star's new National Geographic series, Limitless: Live Better Now, with twin sons, Tristan and Sasha, 11, in London on Thursday. Sporting summer tans, the genetically-blessed duo glowed as they cuddled up, clearly happy to be back in each other's arms. The event was a family affair, with all of Chris' family in attendance. His father Craig and mother Leonie were present, as well as his brother Liam and his girlfriend Gabriella Brooks. 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 couple's adorable twins Tristan and Sasha 11, attended the event with their parents Elsa put on a leggy display as she slipped into a sparkly sheer dress which was layered over a strappy white dress For the glitzy evening, Chris, who stars in the show exploring how humans 'can live better for longer', looked handsome in a navy two-piece suit. He layered his tailored two-piece over a crisp white T-shirt and an unbuttoned dark blue shirt. Meanwhile, Elsa put on a leggy display as she slipped into a sparkly sheer dress which was layered over a strappy white dress. She added inches to her toned physique as she wore a pair of strappy silver heels and slicked her blonde tresses back into an up-do. Liam cut a more relaxed figure as he stepped out in brown trousers which he paired with a T-shirt. Liam's girlfriend, Gabriella, wowed at the glitzy event as she slipped into a black floor-length silk gown. The family outing comes after Chris and Elsa were separated for weeks due to work commitments. Elsa has been in her native Spain, filming her new TV series, Matices. Chris, who stars in the show exploring how humans 'can live better for longer', looked handsome in a navy two-piece suit It was a family affair, with Chris's father and mother Craig and Leonie also in attendance His brother Liam Hemsworth and his girlfriend Gabriella Brooks also supported the Thor star The Hemsworth clan posed for several sweet group photos at the event Chris and Elsa's sons looked cute in their black suits Meanwhile, Chris has been travelling, even attending the final day of Wimbledon without his wife last weekend. Chris also enjoyed a beachside escape in Hossegor, France, with his longtime personal trainer and best mate Luke Zocchi, while Elsa enjoyed her own holiday in her native Spain. One week before their respective vacations, Chris and Elsa were last pictured together supporting their son Sasha at his surfing competition in Byron Bay. The couple tied the knot during the Christmas holidays in 2010. The Hemsworths have made Byron Bay their home in recent years, after relocating from Los Angeles to Australia nine years ago. Chris has frequently shared glimpses of their laid-back, surf-filled lifestyle on social media. The couple purchased their sprawling 4.2-hectare estate in Byron Bay back in 2014 for $7million, eventually constructing a $50million mega-mansion on the site. The property features six bedrooms, a spa, games and media rooms, as well as sprawling outdoor living areas. Chris recently revealed a new addition to the sprawling property - a lavish home gym. Elsa leaned into her husband for a cuddle on the red carpet The Aussie star stopped to do interviews and greet fans The Thor star created a state-of-the-art training facility called The Shed for his fitness brand, Centr, which was unveiled in January. Limitless will see Chris take part in various challenges exploring different ways to extend the human lifespan. Playing on Chris' stardom through superhero movies, Limitless follows him as he pushes up against the boundaries of what his body can do. He will be seen on the Disney+ program pursuing various physical goals, such as gaining 18kg for a Thor film. Among the six supposedly life-extending techniques he will test are: regenerating damage, maximising strength, building resilience, shocking the body, supercharging memory and confronting mortality. Chris said in a statement: 'Basically, I was somehow convinced to volunteer myself as a human guinea pig and endure a series of mental and physical challenges across the globe, all for the sake of science. 'We're hoping to shed some light on new ideas and emerging science with the focus on extending a healthy lifespan.' Kylie Jenner shared a new video to Instagram on Thursday where she was doing her makeup. The 27-year-old brunette was at first makeup free as she wore a sexy leopard print Dolce & Gabbana baby doll nightie while on vacation. In her caption the reality TV star shared that during her tutorial she used a brand-new product from her company Kylie Cosmetics. But she didn't give any solid hints. 'Kylies summer vacation glam - can you spot our newest product ??' the caption read on the Kylie Cosmetics page. Fans went bonkers trying to figure it out with many guessing it is a new lip gloss or a new brown mascara. Kylie Jenner shared a new video to Instagram on Thursday where she was doing her makeup The brunette was at first makeup free as she wore a sexy leopard print Dolce & Gabbana baby doll nightie while on vacation Kylie Cosmetics is a makeup company established in 2015. In 2019, Jenner sold a 51% stake to Coty for $600 million, which valued the company at about $1.2 billion. Jenner continues to be involved in the brand's image and marketing. Online sources attribute Kylie Cosmetics' success to product quality and Jenner's influence. The video was filmed while Kylie is in Europe on vacation with her kids Stormi and Aire that she has with rapper ex Travis Scott, as well as pal Stassie Karanikolaou, aka as Stassie Baby. She has also been promoting her Frankies Bikinis/Khy collaboration while on a very large yacht. 'Greeeece,' the mom of two captioned one of her posts. Most of the pinup shots were of Kylie in bikinis. In her caption the reality TV star shared that during her tutorial she used a brand-new product from her company Kylie Cosmetics But she didn't give any solid hints. 'Kylies summer vacation glam - can you spot our newest product ??' the caption read on the Kylie Cosmetics page Fans went bonkers trying to figure it out with many guessing it is a new lip gloss or a new brown mascara In the first image, The Kardashians star wore a tiny yellow and black Chanel string bikini as she sat on her knees on the yacht. Kylie tipped her head to one side in the shot and looked like she was rolling her eyes. In another snap, the reality TV star showered off as she climbed back onto the boat after a swim in the sea. In another photo, Kylie poured herself into a tiny leopard print bikini that highlighted her toned figure. Kylie turned up the heat with a photo of herself leaning against the railing of the yacht in a skin tight, curve hugging white dress. Other photos in the group included a shot of five women's feet in flip flops, a photo of her pink Chanel tote bag and a bunch of nature shots. Khloe Kardashian commented on her sister's post: 'Are you ever coming home?' A fan also mentioned seeing her on the yacht, writing, 'We saw your yacht in paxos!!! We drove past on a boat. hope ur having the best time.' A bunch of other fans commented along the lines of 'Oh girl your life is so fun' and 'what a life.' The results were great with long lashes and a glossy lip The little nightie might be from the Dolce & Gabbana collection that sisters Kim and Kourtney Kardashian promoted And many others complimented her beauty with comments such as 'How is someone this perfect' and 'sun-kissed beauty .' Kylie's trip to Greece comes after she introduced her collaboration with Frankie's Bikinis. The new swimwear collaboration is called Cloud Cups by Frankies Bikinis x KHY. 'I've always loved Frankies Bikinis, and I'm so excited to partner with them to create this collection with incredibly flattering silhouettes in super soft material, these are the perfect pieces for summer,' Kylie told DailyMail.com in a statement. She took selfies while in her hotel room 'We've incorporated so many fun prints from polka dots to leopard and the styles are so comfortable, it feels like they float on your skin while lifting and sculpting. 'One of my favorite pieces is the Heavenly Satin top the lace detail is so sweet, and it showcases the vintage aesthetic that this collection is all about.' 'Designing this collection with Kylie felt so natural, like two girls dreaming up their perfect swim drawer,' said Aiello, founder of Frankies Bikinis. 'We wanted each piece to lift, shape, and sculpt while wrapping the body in delicate support.' On the luxury trip Jenner was modeling a white, leopard print and polka dot swimsuit from her Frankies Bikinis/Khy line while in Greece With six bikini top styles, bottoms that range from classic strings to fuller-coverage, and sun dresses and separates, Frankies Bikinis x KHY offers styles for every aesthetic. Beyond swim, Frankies Bikinis x KHY expands into limited edition mini dresses and easy separates. 'KHY aims to redefine the modern wardrobe by offering edited collections that seamlessly blends luxury with everyday style, spanning a diverse range of categories and styles. 'By collaborating with iconic brands and global designers, we hope that KHY will be a platform that delivers access to incredible fashion for everyone,' the company said in a statement. Frankies Bikinis is a female-led lifestyle brand recognized for its on-trend designs, innovative fabrics, and a commitment to crafting styles that make women feel more confident. Founded by mother-daughter duo Mimi and Francesca Aiello in their Malibu home in 2012, the brand has since grown into an internationally recognized company. Delta Airlines is letting AI take the controls for pricing, that is. America's second-largest US airline by daily flights says it's expanding a pilot program that uses generative AI to help set fares. So far, just 3 percent of tickets have been priced with help from the bots. But executives say they're speeding up the program's runway, and expect computers will set 20 percent of all ticket prices by year's end. 'This is a full reengineering of how we price and how we will be pricing in the future,' Glen Hauenstein, the airline's president, said during a June 10 earnings call. 'We like it a lot, and we're continuing to roll it out.' But consumer advocates are warning that the program could be 'predatory' for consumers and could spell the end of 'fair' pricing. The AI fare model has a projected runway of 18 to 24 months before a full-scale launch. If the tech lands smoothly, Delta says it could eventually hand over nearly all pricing decisions to its new digital co-pilot. Delta said it is using AI tools to figure out how much each customer is willing to pay to get on their flights Hauenstein said the AI is still in a 'heavy testing phase,' and reiterated the company will not rush the program out to its customers if issues arise. But, if successfully rolled out, the pricing model could represent a major departure from the traditional model used by the company for years. Delta previously relied on fixed and fair pricing models, where customers in similar seats largely paid the same price. Tickets were mostly determined by shared flight metrics like time, fuel prices, route, and demand. Executives believe the new system will strike a smoother balance between customer budgets and airline profitability. But it might also make passengers in the same aisle pay wildly different prices. 'It's all about giving people more choice, more pricing options, and more products and services in every cabin,' Hauenstein said. But others are warning that this pricing model could be harmful for consumers. Delta's new pricing model could completely change how it assigns prices per customer Delta's CEO, Ed Bastian, said customers cut back on domestic economy seats amid economic uncertainty The company said that arund three percent of its sale prices are influenced by AI - customers should expect a major uptick in AI use later this year Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego called the practice 'predatory pricing,' adding, 'I won't let them get away with this.' Airlines have long offered different prices for consumers, even for the same journey, based off factors including how far in advance they buy the ticket and whether they shop directly or with a comparison-shopping site. But AI is now supercharging changes to pricing models. 'AI isn't just optimizing business operations, but fundamentally rewriting the rules of commerce and consumer experience,' Matt Britton, author of Generation AI, told Fortune. 'For consumers, this means the era of "fair" pricing is over. The price you see is the price the algorithm thinks you'll accept, not a universal rate.' Delta declined to comment on this article. The AI announcement comes as Delta made some major news about its profits forecast. In April, the company pulled its financial guidance, saying the American economy was going through too much turmoil to determine how much money the company would make. At the time, Congress hadn't passed President Donald Trump's tax and spending bill, tariffs were still up in the air, and markets were balking at uncertainty. Ed Bastian, the company's CEO, said consumer confidence 'certainly took a big dip in the early part of the year and then again in April, after the Liberation Day announcements were made.' But now the company has reinstated its profit guidance after it beat Wall Street's expectations for the second quarter of the year. Still, the company is facing some customer headwinds. Delta said that domestic economy seat sales fell 5percent in the previous quarter. It will cut some domestic flights from the schedule in August. Mike Rowe, the former host of Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs, sounded the alarm on the nation's shortage of blue collar workers in the face of emerging technology. Speaking at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, Rowe suggested that trade-based jobs may be the solution to the artificial-intelligence driven jobs apocalypse. 'We've been telling kids for 15 years to code. "Learn to code," we said,' he told audience members. 'Yeah, well AI is coming for the coders.' It is not, however, 'coming for the welders... the plumbers, the steamfitters or the pipefitters' or even 'the electricians' as these industries face major labor shortages. Rowe even claimed that BlackRock CEO Larry Fink once told him the nation needs 500,000 more electricians over the next few years. 'Not a week goes by that the Blue Forge Alliance, who oversees our maritime industrial base - that's 15,000 individual companies who are collectively charged with building and delivering nuclear-powered subs to the Navy ... calls and says "We're having a hell of a time finding tradespeople. Can you help?" 'I said, "I don't know man... how many do you need?" He says 140,000,' Rowe recounted, telling audience members how there is an urgent need for at least 80,000 technicians right now. 'These are our submarines,' he emphasized. 'Things go hypersonic, a little sideways with China, Taiwan, our aircraft carriers are no longer the point of the spear. They're vulnerable. 'Our submarines matter, and these guys have a pinch point because they can't find welders and electricians to get them built.' Mike Rowe, the one-time host of Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs, sounded the alarm on the nation's dearth of blue collar workers at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit Rowe claimed that the automotive industry is in need of 80,000 collision repair and technicians, while the energy sector needs somewhere between 300,000 to 500,000 more employees Rowe went on to say that the automotive industry is in need of 80,000 collision repair and technicians, while the energy sector needs somewhere between 300,000 to 500,000 more employees. Manufacturers are also having trouble finding workers, with about 400,000 jobs currently unfilled, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 'That's the underlying thing that I hope people really take from this conference,' he said, adding: 'There is a clear and present freak out going on right now.' 'I've heard from six governors over the last six months. I've heard from the heads of major companies. It's like a memo went out and people are realizing, "You know something, we need to tend to this."' Rowe then concluded his speech by telling 'young men and women in this state that a bright future awaits if they... learn a skill that's in demand. 'That's going to resonate politically, that's going to resonate practically. It's gonna move the needle,' he vowed. Rowe's speech comes just weeks after the New York Times reported on manufacturers' concerns attracting and retaining workers. It noted that some companies need to use specialized equipment that requires employees to have extensive training and familiarity with the software - which is becoming increasingly harder to find as fewer young people attend vocational school. Manufacturers are also having trouble finding workers, with about 400,000 jobs currently unfilled, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics 'For every 20 job postings that we have, there is one qualified applicant right now,' lamented David Gitlin, chairman and chief executive of Carrier Global - which produces air conditioners and furnaces. But his job will likely see a growth in demand with the rise of artificial intelligence, as the massive data centers are built with cooling systems called chillers. In total, Gitlin estimates that each AI data center would require four technicians to maintain a single chiller. And as these data centers grow, more and more white-collar workers may soon find themselves without a job. Earlier this month, Ford Motors CEO Jim Farley even predicted that artificial intelligence will 'replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the US.' 'AI will leave a lot of white-collar people behind,' he told Walter Isaacson at the Aspen Ideas Festival, shortly after Amazon CEO Andy Jassy announced future workforce cuts were likely as the company continues to implement AI in its operations. More recently, it was announced that Indeed and Glassdoor, the hiring and public HR platforms that have transparently connected employers with online applicants, will replace six percent of its staff with AI. Most of Indeed and Glassdoor's layoffs are expected to hit US workers, particularly in research and development, HR, and sustainability teams, according to an internal memo obtained by DailyMail.com. Indeed CEO Hisayuki 'Deko' Idekoba said the cuts include some leadership shakeups. He wrote in an email to staff that 'AI is changing the world.' 'We must adapt by ensuring our product delivers truly great experiences for job seekers and employers,' he added. Pizza Hut is coming for all restaurants that hold Taco Tuesday specials. The restaurant chain is offering customers a one-topping Personal Pan Pizza for only $2 at participating locations every Tuesday this month. The deal is good for all in-store and carryout orders, and is limited to four pizzas per customer. While the deal is intended to be a summertime offer, Pizza Hut is exploring the idea of extending the special after customers praised the offer. 'The response has been nothing short of incredible and we are even selling out of Personal Pan Pizzas at thousands of restaurants across the country,' chief marketing officer Melissa Friebe told USA Today. 'Our goal is to give guests more of what they love and this offering has proven to do just that.' Customers claimed they spotted lines out the doors of Pizza Hut restaurants, and the chain even revealed that supplies used for the offer 'sold out.' The limited-time offer comes after Pizza Hut suffered a 2 percent drop in sales during the first three months of the year. Pizza Hut is offering customers a 1-topping Personal Pan Pizza for $2 at participating locations every Tuesday this month The deal rivals various Taco Tuesday offers made by restaurant chains like Taco Bell and Del Taco Pizza Hut has offered a variety of specials like an 'ultimate' deal during the Super Bowl to attract customers and boost sales. However, its financial situation has been rocky. In 2020, its largest franchisee NPC International filed for bankruptcy. The chain had been operating over 1,200 Pizza Huts before the bankruptcy filing, which forced them to shutter up to 300 locations. Things took another turn for the worse after Georgia-based franchisee EYM Group also filed for bankruptcy in 2024. The firm had been operating 142 locations when they were forced to file after owing Pizza Hut $2.25 million. Around 15 Pizza Huts were shuttered before the filing, and another 127 locations were in limbo before various investors purchased 77 units. The chain, which operates over 6,700 locations worldwide, has long competed with brands like Domino's and Papa John's. But other restaurant chains have also made it difficult for Pizza Hut by offering can't-miss specials, including Taco Tuesdays. Pizza Hut operates over 6,700 locations worldwide Pizza Hut has offered a variety of specials, like an 'ultimate' deal during the Super Bowl, to attract customers and boost sales Taco Bell, the world's largest Mexican-inspired quick-service restaurant chain, is famous for celebrating Tuesdays with limited-time offers. The chain relaunched its 'Tuesday Drops' offer last year for rewards members, which gives them access to limited-time deals every Tuesday. It also succeeded in moving National Taco Day to the first Tuesday of October in the US. Del Taco also offers weekly Taco Tuesday promotions even though its owner Jack in the Box is considering selling the chain. Sit-down restaurants are just as interested in celebrating, including On The Border, which holds $2 Taco Tuesdays and offers $3 options for Southwest Chicken and Brisket at participating locations. On the Border has made headlines for its recent bankruptcy filing and 76-restaurant closures, but it's not planning on stopping Tuesday specials anytime soon. DailyMail.com has reached out to Pizza Hut for comment about the $2 Tuesday pizza deal. Indias growing ties with Israel amid Middle Eastern sectarian tensions are forcing New Delhi to carefully balance its foreign policy with the sensitivities of its Shia minority at home Battle ground in the Middle East, be it earlier with the likes of Al Qaida or Islamic State of the Levant (ISIL), Assads Syria, Lebanese Hezbollah, Yemeni Houthis or most recently entailing the Israeli war on Iran are less about individual sovereignty or even Palestine, but about sectarianism. The collective cause of Ummah (Pan-Islamic world) or even the supposed cause of Palestine, are fronted just as props and sideshows the real battle is for supremacy between the broadly divided camp of Sunni Muslims, i.e., Arab Sheikhdoms, versus the Shia-led Iran and its proxies in other Muslim countries. In Shiite literature, Palestine has little relevance and it is the holy Shia sites in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Egypt and Saudi Arabia that have decidedly more imagination. In Shiism, the nightly journey to the furthest mosque as mentioned in the Holy Quran was made in the mosque of Al-Kufah in southern Iraq and not from Al-Aqsa, as the Sunni tradition has it. Yet the mantle of defending the predominantly-Sunni populated Palestine is championed by Iran, whilst the Arab Sheikhdoms have quietly normalised their relations with Israel overtly through Abraham Accords, etc., or even covertly, e.g., Saudi-Israel secret talks the worst-kept secret of the Middle East! As Iran was pummelled in the 12-day war with Israeli and American planes and munitions flying over Arab territories before raining into Iran, a stunned silence from the Arab capitals almost suggested complicity in the attack on Iran. Last year, during the Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, when Iranian drones had taken off to hit targets in Israel, they were targeted and shot down by Arab Jordanian forces and not Israel. All the while, Arab countries were courting Donald Trump, and the likes of Qatar had gone as far as gifting Donald Trump a $400 million Boeing 747 when the Gaza Strip was getting flattened and over sixty thousand Palestinians had been killed. During this time, it wasnt just Israel that was attacking the Yemeni Shiite militia of Houthis or the regime of Alawite (Shia sub-sect) Bashar al-Assad, but also the Arab militaries of Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Jordan, and their affiliates. Given that Shias are roughly 20 per cent of the total Muslim population, they are typically persecuted and discriminated against in countries where they are in minorities. In India too, the Shias only constitute roughly 15-20 per cent of the Muslim population. Iran has emerged as the spiritual guardian, protector, and advocate of Shias globally, and that has shaped its political and diplomatic identity, purpose, and actions as a sovereign. An affront or attack on Iran is perceived as a direct attack on Shiite sensibilities from Lebanon, Yemen, Pakistan, to Lucknow or Kargil, in India! Because Iran is the only country to declare itself a Shia Muslim country (even though Shias are in majority in Azerbaijan and Bahrain), it actively supports, finances, and arms Shiite militias in countries where they are in minority, e.g., Hezbollah (in Lebanon), Houthis (in Yemen) or Liwa Zainebiyoun (in Pakistan) to ensure their protection. In the Shiite quarters like Budgam in Kashmir (otherwise Sunni-dominated J&K), it is not unusual to see posters of Ayatollah Khomeini, General Qasem Soleimani or Ayatollah Khamenei on the streets, as the locals emotionally connect and empathise with Iran. Therefore, the recent dissonance in the Middle Eastern theatre, e.g., Saudi-led forces attacking Yemeni Houthis, Sunni militia overrunning Bashar Al Assads Alawite regime, or the recent attack on Iran by Israel (with almost all Arab-Sunni nations watching silently or even allowing their airspace for Israeli attack) has infuriated Shiite sensibilities, in India too. Recent times have also seen Delhi warm up to Tel Aviv to such a level that the usual support that it afforded Iran too was compromised by mealy-mouthed statements that brought no succour to Tehran. All this would not go unnoticed amongst the minority-within-a-minority populace of Shias in India who have always lived under the subliminal sectarian tensions. A piquant situation arose during the recent Muharram procession in J&K, where Shiite mourners were seen carrying flags and posters of Iran and Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah (including its late leader, Nasir Hassan Nasrallah), and chanting anti-Israel slogans. The consequential undercurrents, passions, and fears of the India Shias is reflective. It is a particularly disconcerting situation for Shias in India as they were generally seen as more pro-the current dispensation. Many senior Shiite leadership (especially in Avadh region) had openly given a call to support the ruling government, whereas the majority Sunni leadership has had a more fractious relationship. Even in Kashmir, as it was the Sunni-Wahabi-Salafi instincts of the main militant organisations and its principal benefactor, i.e., the predominantly Sunni-Pakistan, the Shias were generally averse to making common cause with the Pakistani handlers and agencies. But the recent developments that have led to the ganging-up of Israeli-US forces onto Iran and the virtual silencing of Shiite militias like Hezbollah and Houthis the play of the global sectarian divide has made the Shias in India, vulnerable and wary. Delhi has to make deliberate and reassuring outreach to its Shia population by delinking geopolitical and diplomatic actions from connecting with internal politics. Even steps to build back trust, trade, and strategic investments, e.g., Chabahar port, with an increasingly isolated Iran (by de-hyphenating Israel from the equation) will repair trust. (The writer, a military veteran, is a former Lieutenant Governor of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Puducherry) Amid rising calls for intervention in Kerala nurse Nimisha Priyas case, who is facing the death penalty in Yemen, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday said it is actively pursuing diplomatic channels and engaging with some friendly governments to help resolve the matter. This is a sensitive matter and the government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters. We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We have also arranged regular consular visits and been in constant touch with the local authorities and the family members to resolve the issue, he said. New Delhi does not have any diplomatic presence in Yemen and diplomats in the Indian mission in Saudi Arabia are reportedly looking into the matter. Jaiswal said : This included concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for the family of Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party. We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance. We are also in touch with some friendly governments. Jaiswal declined to respond to a question on the reported role played by the Grand Mufti, Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar, in the postponement of Priyas execution. The Sunni cleric from Kerala said he had spoken to prominent Yemeni scholars on behalf of Priyas family to prevent her execution. As far as the role of the entity you mentioned is concerned, I have no information to share, Jaiswal said. Priyas mother Premakumari travelled to Yemen last year as part of efforts to secure her release. Earlier, Priyas husband expressed relief and satisfaction over the postponement of her execution and hoped that the united efforts would continue to avert her execution altogether. On Monday, while presenting the Union governments submission on the matter in the Supreme Court, the Attorney General of India (AGI) stated that the Centre is making every possible effort to help Priya. He informed the top court that talks are ongoing with Yemeni authorities, including the public prosecutor handling Priyas case, to secure a suspension of the execution order until negotiations can be pursued. Priya, the Kerala nurse on death row in Yemen, has temporarily been spared execution for murder. Her fate now rests on one word: qisas. The victims family is not willing to budge from its stand, insisting on the strict enforcement of Qisas, or retributive justice under Islamic law, presenting a daunting obstacle for her legal and diplomatic appeals Qisas (Arabic) is an Islamic term meaning retaliation, similar to the biblical principle of an eye for an eye. It is recognised and enforced in multiple countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan (under Taliban rule), and parts of Nigeria where Sharia law is practised. So far, Priyas fate hinged on another Islamic legal concept of diyya also spelt diya or diyah an alternative concept for the rather simplistic qisas. Diyya means acceptance of compensation, mostly understood as financial, by the victim or their family in case of murder or other major loss. This is whats simply termed blood money. A major factor is whether the crime has been committed intentionally or due to a mistake. Diyya applies to mistakes, and qisas is for revenge in case of intentional acts. So far reports have suggested that Priya had sedated Tala Abdo Mahdi, her business partner in a clinic, in 2017 to retrieve her passport that hed been withholding. That resulted in an overdose and he died. But Talal Abdo Mahdis brother, Abdelfattah Mahdi, and the family believe she killed Talal with clear intentions, not by mistake. They have out rightly opposed any pardon to Priya and do not want to settle under diyya. The family was reportedly not consulted when Priyas execution, originally scheduled for July 16, was postponed by the Houthi administration that governs large parts of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa where she has been imprisoned. The postponement came after interventions reportedly by the Indian government which otherwise does not have formal diplomatic relations with the Houthis and a senior Muslim cleric from Kerala, Grand Mufti of India Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar. Just a day after the postponement, Abdelfattah Mahdi posted on Facebook, decrying the efforts. Originally written in Arabic, his post said: What is achieved and heard today from mediation and attempts for peace is nothing new or surprising. Throughout our years, there have been hidden pursuits and efforts to mediate. This is normal and expected... But the pressure has not changed anything in us. Our demand is retribution, nothing else, he added. Priyas mother and a citizens forum, including NRIs settled in Sanaa, have been mediating for at least five years now. Some reports suggest that the offer had gone up to $1 million, but the murder victims brother was apparently repelled by all the talk of money-for-murder in the media too. Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO Get Free Report) is anticipated to release its Q2 2025 earnings data before the market opens on Friday, July 18th. Analysts expect Southern Copper to post earnings of $1.05 per share and revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter. Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The basic materials company reported $1.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 39.39% and a net margin of 30.00%. On average, analysts expect Southern Copper to post $5 EPS for the current fiscal year and $5 EPS for the next fiscal year. Get Southern Copper alerts: Southern Copper Stock Down 0.9% SCCO opened at $96.68 on Thursday. Southern Copper has a 12 month low of $74.11 and a 12 month high of $118.64. The business has a 50-day moving average of $96.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 3.71 and a quick ratio of 3.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.02. Southern Copper Dividend Announcement Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades The business also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 5th were given a $0.70 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 2nd. This represents a dividend yield of 2.98%. Southern Coppers dividend payout ratio is presently 61.27%. SCCO has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Southern Copper from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered Southern Copper from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating and increased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $99.00 in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group cut Southern Copper from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $105.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, July 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Southern Copper from $83.50 to $79.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Itau BBA Securities upgraded Southern Copper from an underperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, June 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $91.00. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on SCCO Institutional Investors Weigh In On Southern Copper Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of SCCO. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in Southern Copper by 17.9% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 6,705 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,020 shares during the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 5,944 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,052 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of Southern Copper by 42.1% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 44,879 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $4,194,000 after purchasing an additional 13,293 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 7.94% of the companys stock. Southern Copper Company Profile (Get Free Report) Southern Copper Corporation engages in mining, exploring, smelting, and refining copper and other minerals in Peru, Mexico, Argentina, Ecuador, and Chile. The company is involved in the mining, milling, and flotation of copper ore to produce copper and molybdenum concentrates; smelting of copper concentrates to produce blister and anode copper; refining of anode copper to produce copper cathodes; production of molybdenum concentrate and sulfuric acid; production of refined silver, gold, and other materials; and mining and processing of zinc, copper, molybdenum, silver, gold, and lead. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Southern Copper Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern Copper and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Ascent Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Free Report) by 0.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,039 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 30 shares during the period. Ascent Wealth Partners LLCs holdings in Eli Lilly and Company were worth $3,336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. WestEnd Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Eli Lilly and Company by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. WestEnd Advisors LLC now owns 31 shares of the companys stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department grew its stake in Eli Lilly and Company by 180.0% in the 1st quarter. Citizens National Bank Trust Department now owns 42 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 27 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Eli Lilly and Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. 82.53% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In Several analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a buy rating to a reduce rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $1,150.00 to $700.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Eli Lilly and Company from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $936.00 to $942.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Eli Lilly and Company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They issued an overweight rating and a $975.00 price target on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Eli Lilly and Company from $1,100.00 to $1,050.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Eli Lilly and Company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $1,012.56. Eli Lilly and Company Stock Performance NYSE:LLY opened at $788.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $747.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.19, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.40. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $766.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $799.91. Eli Lilly and Company has a twelve month low of $677.09 and a twelve month high of $972.53. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $3.34 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.64 by ($1.30). Eli Lilly and Company had a return on equity of 85.51% and a net margin of 22.67%. The firm had revenue of $12.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $12.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.58 EPS. The businesss quarterly revenue was up 45.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Eli Lilly and Company will post 23.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Eli Lilly and Company Dividend Announcement The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 10th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $1.50 per share. This represents a $6.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. 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 Stories 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. Phreesia, Inc. (NYSE:PHR Get Free Report) has been assigned an average rating of Buy from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a buy recommendation. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $32.27. Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reissued a buy rating on shares of Phreesia in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Canaccord Genuity Group decreased their price target on shares of Phreesia from $35.00 to $34.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Phreesia from $28.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Phreesia from $34.00 to $35.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Phreesia from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Sunday, June 1st. Get Phreesia alerts: Check Out Our Latest Research Report on PHR Phreesia Trading Up 1.1% NYSE PHR opened at $27.04 on Thursday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $26.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock has a market cap of $1.61 billion, a PE ratio of -36.54 and a beta of 0.72. Phreesia has a 12 month low of $17.07 and a 12 month high of $30.53. Phreesia (NYSE:PHR Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The company reported ($0.07) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.13) by $0.06. Phreesia had a negative net margin of 9.83% and a negative return on equity of 16.23%. The company had revenue of $115.94 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $115.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.05) earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was up 14.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Phreesia will post -1.1 earnings per share for the current year. Insider Activity at Phreesia In related news, Director Lisa Egbuonu-Davis sold 2,802 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.67, for a total value of $77,531.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 22,037 shares of the companys stock, valued at $609,763.79. This trade represents a 11.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Weintraub sold 7,431 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $27.51, for a total transaction of $204,426.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 143,039 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,935,002.89. This trade represents a 4.94% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,046 shares of company stock valued at $1,297,218. Company insiders own 5.50% of the companys stock. Hedge Funds Weigh In On Phreesia Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PHR. Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Phreesia by 381.3% in the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,131 shares of the companys stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 896 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in shares of Phreesia by 210.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 2,835 shares of the companys stock worth $71,000 after purchasing an additional 1,923 shares during the period. KBC Group NV acquired a new stake in shares of Phreesia during the 1st quarter worth approximately $74,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Phreesia by 9,375.0% during the 2nd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,032 shares of the companys stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Phreesia by 994.9% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,040 shares of the companys stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 3,671 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.10% of the companys stock. Phreesia Company Profile (Get Free Report Phreesia, Inc provides an integrated SaaS-based software and payment platform for the healthcare industry in the United States and Canada. The company offers access solutions that offers appointment scheduling system for online appointments, reminders, and referral tracking management; registration solution to automate patient self-registration; revenue cycle solution, which offer insurance-verification processes, point-of-sale payments applications, post-visit payment collection, and flexible payment options; and network connect solution to deliver clinically relevant content to patients. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Phreesia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Phreesia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE Free Report) by 25.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 34,754 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock after purchasing an additional 7,013 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FIs holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities were worth $3,216,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ARE. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities in the first quarter worth about $442,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 95.6% during the first quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 8,916 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $825,000 after purchasing an additional 4,358 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 729.5% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 871 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $81,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 399.1% during the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 41,637 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $3,852,000 after purchasing an additional 33,294 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hohimer Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,670 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $2,097,000 after purchasing an additional 1,034 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 96.54% of the companys stock. Get Alexandria Real Estate Equities alerts: Alexandria Real Estate Equities Price Performance Shares of NYSE ARE opened at $78.10 on Thursday. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $73.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $85.31. The company has a market capitalization of $13.51 billion, a PE ratio of 102.77, a PEG ratio of 6.52 and a beta of 1.25. Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $67.37 and a twelve month high of $130.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 0.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Alexandria Real Estate Equities Dividend Announcement Alexandria Real Estate Equities ( NYSE:ARE Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The real estate investment trust reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.28 by $0.02. Alexandria Real Estate Equities had a net margin of 4.62% and a return on equity of 0.64%. The company had revenue of $758.16 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $755.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.35 earnings per share. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. will post 9.32 EPS for the current year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th were given a dividend of $1.32 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $5.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 6.76%. Alexandria Real Estate Equitiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 694.74%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth ARE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $110.00 to $74.00 in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $103.00 to $91.00 in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. BNP Paribas Exane cut their price objective on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $111.00 to $85.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Alexandria Real Estate Equities from $117.00 to $95.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alexandria Real Estate Equities from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Alexandria Real Estate Equities currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $99.54. Check Out Our Latest Research Report on ARE About Alexandria Real Estate Equities (Free Report) Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc (NYSE: ARE), an S&P 500 company, is a best-in-class, mission-driven life science REIT making a positive and lasting impact on the world. As the pioneer of the life science real estate niche since our founding in 1994, Alexandria is the preeminent and longest-tenured owner, operator, and developer of collaborative life science, agtech, and advanced technology mega campuses in AAA innovation cluster locations, including Greater Boston, the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, San Diego, Seattle, Maryland, and Research Triangle. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding ARE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE:ARE Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Alexandria Real Estate Equities Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alexandria Real Estate Equities and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP Get Free Report) has received an average rating of Moderate Buy from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $122.21. COP has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank set a $100.00 price objective on ConocoPhillips and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $127.00 to $125.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $120.00 to $114.00 and set a positive rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on ConocoPhillips from $107.00 to $106.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on ConocoPhillips from $111.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Get ConocoPhillips alerts: Check Out Our Latest Stock Report on ConocoPhillips Insiders Place Their Bets Institutional Investors Weigh In On ConocoPhillips In other news, EVP Kirk L. Johnson purchased 5,300 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $94.24 per share, for a total transaction of $499,472.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president directly owned 14,527 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,369,024.48. This represents a 57.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. 10Elms LLP bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of ConocoPhillips by 341.5% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 287 shares of the energy producers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Stone House Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of ConocoPhillips during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors. ConocoPhillips Stock Down 1.1% COP stock opened at $91.54 on Thursday. ConocoPhillips has a fifty-two week low of $79.88 and a fifty-two week high of $118.40. The businesss 50-day moving average is $90.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a current ratio of 1.27. The company has a market cap of $115.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.61. ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy producer reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.04. ConocoPhillips had a return on equity of 16.54% and a net margin of 16.02%. The firm had revenue of $16.18 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.74 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.05 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that ConocoPhillips will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year. ConocoPhillips Announces Dividend The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were issued a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. ConocoPhillipss dividend payout ratio is presently 39.64%. About ConocoPhillips (Get 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. Featured Stories 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. Corning (NYSE:GLW Get Free Report) is one of 28 publicly-traded companies in the Communications Components industry, but how does it compare to its competitors? We will compare Corning to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, earnings, risk, valuation, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations and dividends. Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of current ratings and recommmendations for Corning and its competitors, as reported by MarketBeat. Get Corning alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Corning 0 3 9 1 2.85 Corning Competitors 281 1077 1966 100 2.55 Corning currently has a consensus target price of $56.36, suggesting a potential upside of 6.41%. As a group, Communications Components companies have a potential upside of 5.20%. Given Cornings stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Corning is more favorable than its competitors. Earnings and Valuation Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Corning $13.12 billion $506.00 million 101.86 Corning Competitors $1.64 billion -$16.41 million 43.41 This table compares Corning and its competitors top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Corning has higher revenue and earnings than its competitors. Corning is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry. Dividends Corning pays an annual dividend of $1.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Corning pays out 215.4% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, Communications Components companies pay a dividend yield of 2.4% and pay out 137.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Corning lags its competitors as a dividend stock, given its lower dividend yield and higher payout ratio. Profitability This table compares Corning and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Corning 3.34% 16.47% 6.64% Corning Competitors -20.22% -15.24% -6.38% Risk and Volatility Corning has a beta of 1.11, indicating that its share price is 11% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cornings competitors have a beta of 0.89, indicating that their average share price is 12% less volatile than the S&P 500. Insider and Institutional Ownership 69.8% of Corning shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 60.8% of shares of all Communications Components companies are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Corning shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 12.3% of shares of all Communications Components companies are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth. Summary Corning beats its competitors on 12 of the 15 factors compared. About Corning (Get Free Report) Corning Incorporated engages in the display technologies, optical communications, environmental technologies, specialty materials, and life sciences businesses in the United States and internationally. The company's Display Technologies segment offers glass substrates for flat panel displays, including liquid crystal displays and organic light-emitting diodes that are used in televisions, notebook computers, desktop monitors, tablets, and handheld devices. Its Optical Communications segment provides optical fibers and cables; and hardware and equipment products, such as cable assemblies, fiber optic hardware and connectors, optical components and couplers, closures, network interface devices, and other accessories for the telecommunications industry, businesses, governments, and individuals. The company's Specialty Materials segment manufactures products that offer material formulations for glass, glass ceramics, crystals, precision metrology instruments, and software, as well as glass wafers and substrates, tinted sunglasses, and radiation shielding products for various markets comprising mobile consumer electronics, semiconductor equipment optics and consumables, aerospace and defense optics, radiation shielding products, sunglasses, and telecommunications components. Its Environmental Technologies segment provides ceramic substrates and filter products for emissions control in mobile, gasoline, and diesel applications. The company's Life Sciences segment offers laboratory products, including consumables, such as plastic vessels, liquid handling plastics, specialty surfaces, cell culture media, and serum, as well as general labware, and glassware and equipment under the Corning, Pyrex, Falcon, and Axygen brands. The company was formerly known as Corning Glass Works and changed its name to Corning Incorporated in April 1989. Corning Incorporated was founded in 1851 and is headquartered in Corning, New York. Receive News & Ratings for Corning Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Corning and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. TED BAKER (OTCMKTS:TBAKF Get Free Report) and Revolve Group (NYSE:RVLV Get Free Report) are both consumer discretionary companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, risk and analyst recommendations. Profitability This table compares TED BAKER and Revolve Groups net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Get TED BAKER alerts: Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets TED BAKER N/A N/A N/A Revolve Group 4.37% 11.76% 7.46% Analyst Recommendations This is a breakdown of current ratings and target prices for TED BAKER and Revolve Group, as provided by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score TED BAKER 0 0 0 0 0.00 Revolve Group 1 6 9 0 2.50 Institutional & Insider Ownership Revolve Group has a consensus target price of $26.20, indicating a potential upside of 24.22%. Given Revolve Groups stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Revolve Group is more favorable than TED BAKER. 67.6% of Revolve Group shares are held by institutional investors. 43.8% of Revolve Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Earnings and Valuation This table compares TED BAKER and Revolve Groups top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio TED BAKER N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A Revolve Group $1.13 billion 1.33 $49.56 million $0.69 30.57 Revolve Group has higher revenue and earnings than TED BAKER. Summary Revolve Group beats TED BAKER on 9 of the 9 factors compared between the two stocks. About TED BAKER (Get Free Report) Ted Baker plc engages in the design, wholesale, and retail of menswear, womenswear, and accessories under the Ted Baker brand in the United States, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Canada, and South Africa. The company operates through three segments: Retail, Wholesale, and Licensing. It offers various collections, including childrenswear, suiting, lingerie and nightwear, men's underwear, fragrance, skincare, eyewear, watches, luggage, jewelry and personal technology accessories, bedding, towels, wallpapers, rugs, gifting and stationery, swimwear, footwear, and toiletries. The company distributes its products through retail stores, concessions, retailers, and department stores, as well as through its e-commerce business. It operates through a network of 85 own stores, 130 concessions, and 31 outlets. Ted Baker plc was founded in 1987 and is headquartered in London, the United Kingdom. About Revolve Group (Get Free Report) Revolve Group, Inc. operates as an online fashion retailer for millennial and generation z consumers in the United States and internationally. The company operates in two segments, REVOLVE and FWRD. It operates a platform that connects consumers and global fashion influencers, as well as emerging, established, and owned brands. The company offers apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty, and home products from emerging, established, and owned brands, as well as luxury brands through its websites and mobile apps. The company was formerly known as Advance Holdings, LLC and changed its name to Revolve Group, Inc. in October 2018. Revolve Group, Inc. was founded in 2003 and is headquartered in Cerritos, California. Receive News & Ratings for TED BAKER Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for TED BAKER and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lowered its holdings in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE Free Report) by 26.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 283,449 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 103,406 shares during the quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.s holdings in Pfizer were worth $7,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Gould Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Pfizer by 97.2% in the 4th quarter. Gould Capital LLC now owns 1,000 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 493 shares in the last quarter. North Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Bernard Wealth Management Corp. acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Horizon Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 68.36% of the companys stock. Get Pfizer alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Redburn Atlantic dropped their target price on shares of Pfizer from $29.00 to $27.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Pfizer in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. They set a neutral rating and a $24.00 price objective for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $32.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wolfe Research upped their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $22.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price objective on shares of Pfizer from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $28.55. Pfizer Stock Performance NYSE PFE opened at $24.59 on Thursday. Pfizer Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.92 and a 52-week high of $31.54. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $139.79 billion, a PE ratio of 17.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.90 and a beta of 0.58. Pfizer (NYSE:PFE Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The biopharmaceutical company reported $0.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.67 by $0.25. Pfizer had a net margin of 12.62% and a return on equity of 20.33%. The business had revenue of $13.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.82 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 2.95 EPS for the current year. Pfizer Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a $0.43 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 25th. This represents a $1.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 7.00%. Pfizers payout ratio is 124.64%. Pfizer Company Profile (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. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PFE? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE Free Report). 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. Pzena Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Envista Holdings Corporation (NYSE:NVST Free Report) by 160.7% during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,294,257 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,414,080 shares during the quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLCs holdings in Envista were worth $39,599,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Envista by 1,338.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 33,139 shares of the companys stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 30,835 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Envista by 66.6% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 47,800 shares of the companys stock valued at $922,000 after purchasing an additional 19,100 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank boosted its stake in Envista by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 121,851 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,350,000 after purchasing an additional 9,248 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Envista by 220.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 47,319 shares of the companys stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 32,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Envista during the 4th quarter worth $38,052,000. Get Envista alerts: Envista Stock Performance Shares of NVST stock opened at $19.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.34 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.02, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.12, a quick ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firms 50 day moving average is $18.83 and its 200 day moving average is $18.53. Envista Holdings Corporation has a 12 month low of $14.22 and a 12 month high of $23.00. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades Envista ( NYSE:NVST Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.20 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $616.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $608.17 million. Envista had a negative net margin of 44.90% and a positive return on equity of 4.07%. Envistas revenue was down 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Envista Holdings Corporation will post 1 earnings per share for the current year. A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler reduced their target price on Envista from $18.00 to $17.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Envista from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Envista from $26.00 to $23.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley set a $16.00 target price on Envista in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Envista from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and raised their target price for the company from $21.00 to $23.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Envista currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $20.23. Read Our Latest Stock Report on NVST About Envista (Free Report) Envista Holdings Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, markets, and sells dental products in the United States, China, and internationally. The company operates in two segments, Specialty Products & Technologies, and Equipment & Consumables. The Specialty Products & Technologies segment offers dental implant systems, guided surgery systems, biomaterials, and prefabricated and custom-built prosthetics to oral surgeons, prosthodontists and periodontists, and general dentist; and brackets and wires, tubes and bands, archwires, clear aligners, digital orthodontic treatments, retainers, and other orthodontic laboratory products. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NVST? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Envista Holdings Corporation (NYSE:NVST Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Envista Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Envista and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Risk & Volatility Remedent has a beta of -0.19, suggesting that its stock price is 119% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Remedents peers have a beta of 0.52, suggesting that their average stock price is 48% less volatile than the S&P 500. Institutional & Insider Ownership 69.6% of shares of all MED/DENTAL SUPP companies are owned by institutional investors. 9.4% of shares of all MED/DENTAL SUPP companies are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term. Get Remedent alerts: Earnings and Valuation This table compares Remedent and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Remedent $990,000.00 -$270,000.00 -0.90 Remedent Competitors $37.61 billion $430.42 million 19.62 Profitability Remedents peers have higher revenue and earnings than Remedent. Remedent is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry. This table compares Remedent and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Remedent N/A N/A N/A Remedent Competitors 2.88% -3.91% 7.65% Summary Remedent peers beat Remedent on 8 of the 9 factors compared. About Remedent (Get Free Report) Remedent, Inc. researches, designs, develops, manufactures, and distributes oral care and cosmetic dentistry products in the United States and internationally. It primarily provides professional veneers and teeth whitening products for professional and over-the-counter use. The company also offers River8, a prefab veneer that enables the dentist to find the right combination of teeth for a patient with minor reshaping. In addition, it provides GlamSmile veneers, which are ultra-thin claddings attached to the front of the patients teeth. Further, the company offers SmileMe Mirror, an integrated marketing concept for the dental practice that enables dentists to offer smile consultation in approximately 10 minutes; SmileSketch, a simulation software to make a sketch of what the patient could look like; and various Treatment Pages to explain the benefits of certain treatments, as well as Condor, an intra-oral 3D scanner. Additionally, it provides dental implant solutions and treatment concepts. The company sells its products through internal sales force and third party distributors. Remedent, Inc. was incorporated in 1986 and is headquartered in Ghent, Belgium. Receive News & Ratings for Remedent Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Remedent and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its stake in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV Free Report) by 23.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,477 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 1,962 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LPs holdings in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF were worth $5,887,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Windsor Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF by 100.0% during the 4th quarter. Windsor Advisory Group LLC now owns 50 shares of the companys stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Murphy & Mullick Capital Management Corp acquired a new position in iShares Core S&P 500 ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Sellwood Investment Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Investment Counsel Co. of Nevada acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Lord & Richards Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of iShares Core S&P 500 ETF during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.12% of the companys stock. Get iShares Core S&P 500 ETF alerts: iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Stock Up 0.4% IVV stock opened at $627.25 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $603.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $585.28. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF has a 52 week low of $484.00 and a 52 week high of $630.86. The company has a market cap of $631.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10 and a beta of 1.00. iShares Core S&P 500 ETF Profile 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. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding IVV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSEARCA:IVV Free Report). 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. Pzena Investment Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,461,970 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 3,381,005 shares during the period. Nokia accounts for 1.5% of Pzena Investment Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Pzena Investment Management LLCs holdings in Nokia were worth $424,035,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of NOK. Forum Financial Management LP raised its position in Nokia by 1.5% during the first quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 194,474 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 2,904 shares in the last quarter. Cable Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Nokia in the first quarter worth $220,000. New York State Common Retirement Fund acquired a new position in Nokia in the first quarter valued at $2,721,000. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Nokia by 44.1% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 84,358 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 25,818 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Nokia in the first quarter valued at $910,000. 5.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Nokia alerts: Nokia Price Performance Shares of NYSE:NOK opened at $4.77 on Thursday. The companys fifty day moving average is $5.21 and its 200 day moving average is $5.01. Nokia Corporation has a 52 week low of $3.60 and a 52 week high of $5.48. The stock has a market cap of $25.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.77 and a beta of 0.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Nokia Increases Dividend Nokia ( NYSE:NOK Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.05 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $4.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.47 billion. Nokia had a net margin of 4.09% and a return on equity of 8.73%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.09 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Nokia Corporation will post 0.34 earnings per share for the current year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 5th were issued a $0.0336 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 5th. This represents a $0.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.82%. This is a positive change from Nokias previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. Nokias payout ratio is currently 80.00%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Nokia from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $5.85. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on Nokia Nokia Company Profile (Free Report) Nokia Oyj provides mobile, fixed, and cloud network solutions worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Network Infrastructure, Mobile Networks, Cloud and Network Services, and Nokia Technologies. The company provides fixed networking solutions, such as fiber and copper-based access infrastructure, in-home Wi-Fi solutions, and cloud and virtualization services; IP networking solutions, including IP access, aggregation, and edge and core routing for residential, mobile, enterprise and cloud applications; optical networks solutions that provides optical transport networks for metro, regional, and long-haul applications, and subsea applications; and submarine networks for undersea cable transmission. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding NOK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Nokia Corporation (NYSE:NOK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Nokia Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Nokia and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. WESCO International (NYSE:WCC Get Free Report) and NOVONIX (OTCMKTS:NVNXF Get Free Report) are both computer and technology companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, institutional ownership, valuation, profitability, earnings, analyst recommendations and dividends. Institutional and Insider Ownership 93.8% of WESCO International shares are held by institutional investors. 3.3% of WESCO International shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.6% of NOVONIX shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth. Get WESCO International alerts: Profitability This table compares WESCO International and NOVONIXs net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets WESCO International 3.30% 13.40% 4.37% NOVONIX N/A N/A N/A Valuation & Earnings Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio WESCO International $21.82 billion 0.45 $717.60 million $13.22 15.08 NOVONIX $5.85 million N/A -$74.82 million N/A N/A This table compares WESCO International and NOVONIXs revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. WESCO International has higher revenue and earnings than NOVONIX. Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for WESCO International and NOVONIX, as provided by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score WESCO International 0 2 6 1 2.89 NOVONIX 0 0 0 0 0.00 WESCO International presently has a consensus target price of $210.75, suggesting a potential upside of 5.70%. Given WESCO Internationals stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe WESCO International is more favorable than NOVONIX. Risk & Volatility WESCO International has a beta of 1.83, indicating that its stock price is 83% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, NOVONIX has a beta of 2.21, indicating that its stock price is 121% more volatile than the S&P 500. Summary WESCO International beats NOVONIX on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks. About WESCO International (Get Free Report) WESCO International, Inc. provides business-to-business distribution, logistics services, and supply chain solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Electrical & Electronic Solutions (EES), Communications & Security Solutions (CSS), and Utility and Broadband Solutions (UBS). The EES segment supplies products and supply chain solutions, including electrical equipment and supplies, automation and connected devices, security, lighting, wire and cable, and safety, as well as maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) products. This segment also offers contractor solutions, direct and indirect manufacturing supply chain optimization programs, lighting and renewables advisory services, and digital and automation solutions. The CSS segment operates in the network infrastructure and security markets. This segment sells products directly to end-users or through various channels, including data communications contractors, security, network, professional audio/visual, and systems integrators. It also provides safety and energy management solutions. The UBS segment offers products and services to investor-owned utilities; public power companies; and service and wireless providers, broadband operators, and contractors. This segment's products include wire and cables, transformers, transmission and distribution hardware, switches, protective devices, connectors, conduits, pole line hardware, racks, cabinets, safety and MRO products, and point-to-point wireless devices. This segment also offers various service solutions, including fiber project management, high and medium voltage project design and support, pre-wired meters and capacitor banks, meter testing and metering infrastructure installation, personal protective equipment dielectric testing, and tool repair, as well as emergency response, storage yard, materials, and logistics management. The company was founded in 1922 and is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. About NOVONIX (Get Free Report) NOVONIX Limited provides battery materials and development technology for battery manufacturers, materials companies, automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and consumer electronics manufacturers in North America, Asia, Australia, and Europe. It operates through Battery Materials and Battery Technology segments. The Battery Materials segment develops and manufactures battery anode materials. The Battery Technology segment develops battery cell testing equipment, performs consulting services, and carries out research and development in battery development. The company is involved in the investment and real estate borrowing activities; and offers battery technology, battery testing hardware equipment, and battery testing and development consulting services. The company was formerly known as Graphitecorp Limited and changed its name to NOVONIX Limited in July 2017. NOVONIX Limited was incorporated in 2012 and is based in Brisbane, Australia. Receive News & Ratings for WESCO International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WESCO International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX Free Report) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,406 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 3,689 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLCs holdings in RTX were worth $4,822,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Bay Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of RTX in the 1st quarter worth about $224,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of RTX by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 34,657 shares of the companys stock worth $4,591,000 after acquiring an additional 2,686 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its holdings in shares of RTX by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,973,342 shares of the companys stock worth $344,075,000 after acquiring an additional 936,953 shares during the last quarter. LBP AM SA lifted its holdings in shares of RTX by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 279,179 shares of the companys stock worth $36,980,000 after acquiring an additional 41,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of RTX by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 390,617 shares of the companys stock worth $51,741,000 after acquiring an additional 5,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.50% of the companys stock. Get RTX alerts: Wall Street Analyst Weigh In A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on RTX shares. DZ Bank upgraded shares of RTX from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $129.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of RTX from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of RTX from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of RTX from $114.00 to $126.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, June 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein set a $154.00 price objective on shares of RTX and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $162.61. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, VP Amy L. Johnson sold 4,146 shares of RTX stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $127.54, for a total value of $528,780.84. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 9,546 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,217,496.84. The trade was a 30.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Dantaya M. Williams sold 16,922 shares of RTX stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.62, for a total transaction of $2,328,805.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,538 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,275,959.56. The trade was a 50.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is owned by insiders. RTX Stock Up 1.0% Shares of RTX stock opened at $150.20 on Thursday. The firms 50 day moving average price is $140.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. RTX Corporation has a 52-week low of $102.62 and a 52-week high of $150.76. The company has a market cap of $200.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.05, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. RTX (NYSE:RTX Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.12. RTX had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.71%. The firm had revenue of $20.31 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.80 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that RTX Corporation will post 6.11 EPS for the current fiscal year. RTX Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.68 dividend. This represents a $2.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. RTXs payout ratio is currently 79.77%. RTX Company Profile (Free Report) RTX Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides systems and services for the commercial, military, and government customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon. The Collins Aerospace Systems segment offers aerospace and defense products, and aftermarket service solutions for civil and military aircraft manufacturers and commercial airlines, as well as regional, business, and general aviation, defense, and commercial space operations. Featured Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding RTX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for RTX Corporation (NYSE:RTX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for RTX Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RTX and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The financial services provider reported $1.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.13, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $20.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.83 billion. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 12.33% and a net margin of 16.82%. The businesss revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.33 earnings per share. Wells Fargo & Company Stock Up 1.3% Shares of WFC opened at $79.90 on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company has a one year low of $50.15 and a one year high of $83.95. The company has a market cap of $260.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.05. Get Wells Fargo & Company alerts: Wells Fargo & Company Dividend Announcement The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Wells Fargo & Companys dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Wells Fargo & Company declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, April 29th that permits the company to buyback $40.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the financial services provider to repurchase up to 17.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the companys board of directors believes its shares are undervalued. A hedge fund recently raised its stake in Wells Fargo & Company stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC Free Report) by 62.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 66,233 shares of the financial services providers stock after buying an additional 25,436 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLCs holdings in Wells Fargo & Company were worth $4,652,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.90% of the companys stock. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades WFC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Raymond James Financial cut Wells Fargo & Company from a strong-buy rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup restated a neutral rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. TD Cowen started coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set a hold rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating on shares of Wells Fargo & Company in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $80.39. Get Our Latest Stock Report on Wells Fargo & Company About Wells Fargo & Company (Get Free Report) Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified and community-based financial services company, which engages in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance products and services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth and Investment Management. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Wells Fargo & Company Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wells Fargo & Company and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. It will be a mission of precision, patience and exacting co-ordination that could yield vital information about one of the ocean's most endangered, yet enduring mammals. A team of researchers from Dalhousie set off earlier this week for the Shediac Valley, a 1,500-square kilometre expanse of ocean in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence that is known to be a foraging ground for North Atlantic right whales. Once there, the group will scan the water's surface for signs of the slow-moving giants so they can start the intricate process of deploying tags on the animals that will capture data on the sounds, movements and location of one of the world's largest, most elusive creatures. Their method? Drones that will drop the tags that attach with suction cups onto the back of the moving whale as it briefly breaks the surface in sometimes rolling seas. "Typically, we have at least four research crew that are actively part of the process," explains Dr. Sarah Fortune, an assistant professor in Dalhousie's Department of Oceanography who is co-leading the two-week mission with colleague Dr. Kimberley Davies from the University of New Brunswick. Shown right: Dr. Sarah Fortune. "We'll have two spotters on the wheelhouse who will have Bluetooth headsets, and on the stern we will have the drone pilot, then another responsible for releasing and catching the drone when it's brought back to the boat. There's a lot of patience involved in this because there has to be co-ordination to get a good tag attachment." Below, watch a video of a drone deploying a tag: &nbsp; Precision mission Throughout the deployment, the team will be communicating through their headsets to co-ordinate the drop while those on the vessel's fly bridge talk to the captain to guide him on what his vessel speed and orientation should be. "You become a well-oiled machine after a little while," she says with a laugh. This is the second year that Dr. Fortune has used the drones to tag whales, but it is the first time her team will be doing it on its own after being trained on them last year by an expert with Ocean Alliance. Their work was featured in a full episode of The Wild Ones, a new Apple TV+ documentary series that launched on July 11 and focuses on six of the world's most endangered animals. It shows the delicacy and skill involved in deploying the tag as the drone hovers above before being dropped onto the back of an animal that can weigh up to 30 tonnes. Still, it is a far cry from their previous attachment method of using seven-metre-long carbon fibre poles with cantilever motion to apply tags. The crew of The Wild Ones in the North Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Canada in The Wild Ones, now streaming on Apple TV+. "I'm looking forward to the challenge, as long as the weather behaves then using the drone can be really efficient, even if it is difficult to keep track of the whales!" Jay Kirkum, a PhD candidate in Dr. Fortune's whale lab who will be piloting the drone this season, said from the crab boat being used by the team. "Right whales are endangered and die almost exclusively because of human activity, so understanding their behaviour is so important in order for us to effectively protect them." The human threat There are only roughly 372 of the marine giants left and fewer than 70 reproductive females, a grim statistic for an animal that has been on the brink of extinction for decades due in large part to ship strikes and entanglements in fishing gear. The research will focus on collecting detailed information about the underwater behaviour of whales to identify when and where they're feeding in the water column and what they're feeding on in terms of prey. To do that, they need to attach high-resolution biologgers much like a kitted-out Fitbit that record the whale's three-dimensional movement and acoustic vocalizations, along with a forward-facing camera that will give a whale's perspective underwater. Once tagged, the team will follow the whale and continuously deploy oceanographic sensors throughout the water column to characterize its biological and physical characteristics. They will sample in their 'fluke prints,' which are the calm patches of circular water formed after the whale goes on a dive. All of this data will help fill in important gaps in understanding the whale's locations, feeding habits, food source abundance and activities over a prolonged period of time. If we know when and where whales are feeding, we can inform management decisions about human activities that present risks to whales "If we know when and where whales are feeding, we can inform management decisions about human activities that present risks to whales, such as pot fishing and shipping," says Dr. Fortune, adding that the drone tagging mechanism they're using was built by the Dal-based Ocean Tracking Network. Moira Brown, science director at the Canadian Whale Institute and chief scientist on board the vessel featured in the Apple TV+ whale episode, says the research will be invaluable for groups protecting the whales, researchers studying them and governments responsible for managing activities that intersect with whales. "This tag is terrific because it can tell us what the whale does during the day and it's equipped with a cheeky little camera so you can get a visual," she said in an interview, adding that one of Dr. Fortune's tags stayed on for over 40 hours last year. "It's hard to find whales at night, but her tag was recording dive profiles over a 38-hour period and this particular whale made shallower dives and spent more time on the surface and that is particularly important when it comes to vessel strikes." Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE Get Free Report) had its price objective cut by equities researchers at Barclays from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Barclayss target price indicates a potential upside of 0.71% from the stocks current price. Get Kenvue alerts: A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Redburn Atlantic began coverage on Kenvue in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $23.50 price target on the stock. Citigroup reissued a neutral rating on shares of Kenvue in a report on Friday, June 13th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Kenvue in a report on Monday, March 24th. They set an in-line rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Kenvue from $27.00 to $25.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kenvue has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $24.88. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on KVUE Kenvue Stock Performance Shares of NYSE:KVUE opened at $21.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.83. Kenvue has a 52 week low of $17.85 and a 52 week high of $25.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.24 and a 200 day moving average of $22.29. Kenvue (NYSE:KVUE Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $3.74 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.69 billion. Kenvue had a return on equity of 20.87% and a net margin of 6.90%. The businesss quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Kenvue will post 1.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Kenvue in the 4th quarter valued at about $521,348,000. Starboard Value LP acquired a new stake in Kenvue in the 4th quarter valued at about $467,864,000. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Kenvue by 61.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 42,719,377 shares of the companys stock valued at $912,059,000 after acquiring an additional 16,269,721 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Kenvue by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 97,661,344 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,085,070,000 after acquiring an additional 10,682,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Kenvue by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 229,144,387 shares of the companys stock valued at $5,494,882,000 after acquiring an additional 10,600,682 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.64% of the companys stock. About Kenvue (Get Free Report) Kenvue Inc operates as a consumer health company worldwide. The company operates through three segments: Self Care, Skin Health and Beauty, and Essential Health. The Self Care segment offers cough, cold and allergy, pain care, digestive health, smoking cessation, eye care, and other products under the Tylenol, Motrin, Benadryl, Nicorette, Zarbee's, ORSLTM, Rhinocort, Calpol, and Zyrtec brands. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Kenvue Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Kenvue and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP Get Free Report) had its target price decreased by stock analysts at Barclays from $57.00 to $53.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Barclayss target price would indicate a potential upside of 6.65% from the stocks previous close. Get Molson Coors Beverage alerts: Other analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $58.00 to $53.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $65.00 to $58.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $63.00 to $58.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $63.00 to $59.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Molson Coors Beverage from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $59.49. Get Our Latest Stock Report on TAP Molson Coors Beverage Price Performance Shares of TAP stock opened at $49.70 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company has a market capitalization of $10.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.69. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $51.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.76. Molson Coors Beverage has a one year low of $46.94 and a one year high of $64.66. Molson Coors Beverage (NYSE:TAP Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.80 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $2.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.43 billion. Molson Coors Beverage had a return on equity of 8.59% and a net margin of 7.74%. Molson Coors Beverages revenue was down 11.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.95 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Molson Coors Beverage will post 6.35 EPS for the current year. Insider Buying and Selling at Molson Coors Beverage In related news, Director Geoffrey E. Molson sold 1,333 shares of Molson Coors Beverage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.29, for a total value of $75,034.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 27,595 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,553,322.55. The trade was a 4.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 2.71% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Randolph Co Inc grew its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 26.2% during the 4th quarter. Randolph Co Inc now owns 477,187 shares of the companys stock worth $27,352,000 after acquiring an additional 98,984 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 123.3% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 18,258 shares of the companys stock worth $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 10,080 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 14.7% during the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 238,178 shares of the companys stock worth $14,498,000 after acquiring an additional 30,463 shares in the last quarter. Kendall Capital Management grew its holdings in Molson Coors Beverage by 42.7% during the 1st quarter. Kendall Capital Management now owns 19,995 shares of the companys stock worth $1,217,000 after acquiring an additional 5,985 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Estuary Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Molson Coors Beverage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,052,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.46% of the companys stock. Molson Coors Beverage Company Profile (Get Free Report) Molson Coors Beverage Company manufactures, markets, and sells beer and other malt beverage products under various brands in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company offers flavored malt beverages including hard seltzers, craft, spirits and energy, and ready to drink beverages. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Molson Coors Beverage Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Molson Coors Beverage and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Get alerts: NVIDIA, Accenture, and Globant are the three Metaverse stocks to watch today, according to MarketBeats stock screener tool. Metaverse stocks are shares of companies that build, enable or monetize immersive digital environments where users interact via avatars in virtual or augmented reality. These firms may develop VR/AR hardware and software, blockchain-powered virtual real estate and digital assets, or social platforms hosting 3D worlds. Investors buy metaverse stocks to gain exposure to the anticipated growth of interconnected virtual economies and experiences. These companies had the highest dollar trading volume of any Metaverse stocks within the last several days. NVIDIA (NVDA) NVIDIA Corporation provides graphics and compute and networking solutions in the United States, Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, and internationally. The Graphics segment offers GeForce GPUs for gaming and PCs, the GeForce NOW game streaming service and related infrastructure, and solutions for gaming platforms; Quadro/NVIDIA RTX GPUs for enterprise workstation graphics; virtual GPU or vGPU software for cloud-based visual and virtual computing; automotive platforms for infotainment systems; and Omniverse software for building and operating metaverse and 3D internet applications. NVDA stock traded up $6.59 on Tuesday, hitting $170.66. The companys stock had a trading volume of 156,622,559 shares, compared to its average volume of 265,107,512. The stock has a market cap of $4.16 trillion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 2.13. NVIDIA has a 1 year low of $86.62 and a 1 year high of $172.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $142.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.80. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Read Our Latest Research Report on NVDA Accenture (ACN) Accenture plc, a professional services company, provides strategy and consulting, industry X, song, and technology and operation services worldwide. The company offers application services, including agile transformation, DevOps, application modernization, enterprise architecture, software and quality engineering, data management; intelligent automation comprising robotic process automation, natural language processing, and virtual agents; and application management services, as well as software engineering services; strategy and consulting services; data and analytics strategy, data discovery and augmentation, data management and beyond, data democratization, and industrialized solutions comprising turnkey analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions; metaverse; and sustainability services. Shares of NYSE ACN traded down $2.88 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $277.11. The companys stock had a trading volume of 1,758,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,346,934. Accenture has a 1-year low of $273.19 and a 1-year high of $398.35. The firm has a market cap of $173.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.29. The firms fifty day moving average price is $308.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $326.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a current ratio of 1.46. Read Our Latest Research Report on ACN Globant (GLOB) Globant S.A., together with its subsidiaries, provides technology services worldwide. It provides digital solutions comprising blockchain, cloud technologies, cybersecurity, data and artificial intelligence, digital experience and performance, code, Internet of Things, metaverse, and engineering and testing; and enterprise technology solutions and services, such as Agile organization, Cultural Hacking, process optimization services, as well as AWS, Google Cloud, Microsoft, Oracle, SalesForce, SAP, and ServiceNow technology solutions. Shares of NYSE GLOB traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $83.59. 298,202 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 738,497. Globant has a one year low of $82.97 and a one year high of $238.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.56. The companys 50 day moving average is $100.97 and its 200 day moving average is $140.43. Read Our Latest Research Report on GLOB Recommended Stories 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. Old time caravans belonging to two Maghera men have been catching the attention of locals throughout the North West. William Agnew and good friend Seamus McCrystal travelled the old time way in their caravans from the County Derry town of Maghera to County Donegal town of Carndonagh for a recent festival. Along the way the pair stopped off at Doagh Famine Village in Co. Donegal where their vintage style touring caravans caught the eye of the Irish heritage centre. Doagh Famine Village shared a snap of the pair on Facebook saying: A holiday with a difference. Thanks for visiting. Speaking on the experience of life in a vardo style caravan, William said: It is great to go away travelling in the caravans. We purchased ours from a man in Magherafelt who was making them a while ago. He then retired, they are few in far between these days so we were lucky enough to get them when we did. We can go where we like in them, theres a wee bed, cooker and fridge so we can work away. When we are travelling in them and going through any town we get a lot of attention. People will video and take photographs of us any time we pass through. They definitely get a lot of attraction. The group campaigning for the retention of acute services - including emergency general surgery - in Enniskillens South West Acute Hospital (SWAH), has welcomed Health Minister Mike Nesbitts intervention in the Western Health and Social Care Trusts consultation on the issue. Save Our Acute Services said the way was now open to bring forward an ambitious roadmap to restore and fully utilise SWAH through con-production and working together. Minister Nesbitt wrote to the Trust on Wednesday asking it to pause the process, the day before a consultation event due to be held in Derrys Waterfoot Hotel. Emergency general surgery was suspended at SWAH in December 2022. As a result, patients from Fermanagh and Tyrone have had to travel to Altnagelvin Area Hospital in the city for treatment. Earlier this month, the Trusts board agreed to open a public consultation on the permanent removal of the service from SWAH. In an online statement issued on Wednesday, the Trust said: Following a high level risk assessment, in the interest of public safety and due to the anticipated numbers attending, [the Trust] took the decision on July 11, 2025, to postpone the first consultation event for the proposed changes to Emergency General Surgery in the Trust area at the Killyhevlin Hotel, Enniskillen, on Tuesday, July 15. Given this weeks developments and listening to public opinion, the Trust is now in the process of resetting ots consultation approach and has decided to postpone the planned event at the Waterfoot Hotel, Derry, on July 17, 2025. We want to ensure this consultation is inclusive and engaging for all individuals, groups and organisations. The Trust wants to engage with as many people as possible in a meaningful and engaging way and provide the time and space for them to have their voices heard. Information with respect to next steps will be published as soon as details have been confirmed. In a statement to The Derry News, Save Our Acute Services spokesperson, Donal OCofaigh, said the Health Ministers statement had acknowledged the Trusts consultation process was "besieged by obvious shortcomings and mistakes. Mr Cofaigh added: [The Minister] suggested a more beneficial approach would be to restore confidence by producing a vision plan for SWAH. He also stressed that service reconfiguration must be handled carefully particularly when it involves smaller hospitals like SWAH that serve rural populations. In January this year, Save Our Acute Services launched a roadmap discussion paper including twenty recommendations which they believe will enable a full and sustainable restoration of emergency general surgery at SWAH. This is a welcome intervention by the Minister and will provide significant assurance to the community. This consultation should never have proceeded in the first place. SOAS highlighted a range of concerns about the process and made the Patient Client Council aware of these. The ministers intervention comes amidst a tidal wave of community opposition to the Western Trust proposals. Firstly, the Trust had to cancel their only Fermanagh-based consultation event and then their second public consultation event scheduled for Derry, said Mr Cofaigh. The Western Trust must now bring this consultation to an end and instead commence work on an alternative, ambitious vision plan for the hospital. SOAS has set out an evidence-based roadmap which we believe offers a pathway for the long-term sustainability of all acute services in SWAH as a rural hospital - including the provision of emergency general surgery, he added. This roadmap will deliver on the hospitals huge and largely untapped potential for improving health outcomes locally, regionally and cross-border. SOAS stands ready to engage positively in any inclusive and co-produced process commencing with a commitment to work towards the restoration of emergency general surgery at SWAH. Such a process must also involve staff representatives and the wider community, said Mr Cofaigh. Fermanagh and South Tyrone MP, Pat Cullen (Sinn Fein), said the onus was now on the Trust to rebuild public confidence. Ms Cullen added she would continue to work to ensure everyone has access to high quality, safe, and effective clinical care. It comes as no real surprise that the Health Minister has ordered the Western Trust to halt the SWAH consultation, added the former Chief Executive and General Secretary of the Royal College of nursing. When it was decided that a consultation would be held on the closure of emergency general surgery at the SWAH, we called for a comprehensive process across all communities affected, instead only two events were scheduled. The public were left feeling that their concerns and experiences were not being listened to. The onus is now on the Western Trust to rebuild public confidence and listen to them. They also need to produce a plan for SWAH which outlines how it will be supported to meet the needs of the community and the future population. Goretti Horgan and Becca Bor, chair and development co-ordinator respectively of the NI Anti-Poverty Network, have critiqued the Executives draft Anti-Poverty Strategy in an in-depth interview with The Derry News. The Anti-Poverty Strategy was published on June 17 by Communities Minister Gordon Lyons (DUP). An extended 14-week consultation process on the document will close on September 19, 2025. A number of prominent individuals and organisations across civic society in the North subsequently co-signed a letter expressing dismay and frustration at the Strategy. Among others, the letter was signed by the Ulster Farmers Union, St Vincent de Paul, Bernadette McAliskey (Expert Panel), Dr Ciara Fitzpatrick (Ulster University), and Goretti Horgan (Ulster University). Critiquing the document, Becca Bor said fundamentally the description strategy was a misnomer. A strategy needs to have targets. It needs to have indicators in order to measure those targets. It needs to have a time frame. It should have a budget associated with it, she said. None of those things are present in the draft Anti-Poverty Strategy. Goretti Horgan added the Strategy was so flimsy when it was published, she and Becca Barnes joked with each to see how many targets in it they could find. Initially it looked like we might only find a couple, we literally couldnt find a single one, said Ms Horgan, a member of the Anti-Poverty Expert Panel Advisor Group set up by then Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey (Sinn Fein) in 2020. We were put under a lot of pressure to get it done in a matter of weeks. We submitted it on December 22, 2020. The other people on the panel were: Mike Tomlinson, Queens University, Belfast; Bernadette McAliskey; and Pauline Leeson, Children in Northern Ireland, she added. We were asked to give evidence-based recommendations of what would make a difference to poverty. Essentially, we said, This is what makes a difference. We know from all of the evidence, what makes a difference is bringing down the costs for households and putting a bit of extra money into their purses. That wasnt the Expert Panel saying that, it was all of the evidence. We gave them a huge number of recommendations. We never expected they would implement them all but being a politician and governing is about making political choices. So we said, Heres what the evidence says would make a difference, now its up to you politicians to decide which bit of that you are going to run with. Not only did they not run with any of it, they didnt even bother to include some of the recommendations that dont cost anything in this draft Anti-Poverty Strategy, said Ms Horgan. According to Becca Bor, following the submission of recommendations by the Expert Panel, Deirdre Hargey convened a co-design group comprising various members across civic society - including the community and voluntary sector and unions. The co-design group was tasked with looking at the Expert Panels recommendations and breaking them down even further, explained Ms Bor. Co-design is a generous term for that process. It met with the Department but the Department never gave any feedback. The co-design group could never see how or whether or not it was influencing anything the Department was doing. When Stormont collapsed in 2022 the co-design group was in limbo so some members of the group published what they had at that point, as a marker. When Gordon Lyons came into office in 2024, the co-design group was officially stood down. The group made numerous requests to the Minister to meet it and discuss the anti-poverty strategy but he refused, right up until the Strategy was finished. He allowed the co-design group to see it before it went public but not with any influence or back and forth, said Ms Bor, who added the group was pretty dismayed at what it saw. Our understanding is that when Gordon Lyons became minister, there was a draft anti-poverty strategy the Communities Department was working on that basically was tossed aside and the Department used other information, said Ms Bor. It looks as if the evidence used in the published Anti-Poverty Strategy is an internal, department literature review. If you look at all of the statistics, they are all five to seven years old. They were more out of date than the statistics provided to the Expert Panel in 2020, said Goretti Horgan. Some of the language used by Minister Lyons when he first came into office about the recommendations he had received from the Expert Panel and the work the co-design group had done, was really insulting, she added, given we had been asked to do this work. He said it was a wishlist, which it very clearly wasnt. It was evidence-based recommendations. He said we were interest groups and lobbyist groups and he didnt want outside [of government] interference even though government had established the Expert Panel, said Ms Horgan. Our feeling is what is fundamentally wrong with this draft Anti-Poverty Strategy is it is not a strategy, emphasised Becca Bor. It needs to be dumped and a return made to the recommendations from the Expert Panel and the co-design group, she added. The framework of the published Strategy is extremely individualistic. It is about individuals falling into poverty. Individuals climbing themselves out of poverty. The rhetoric, the language within this Strategy stigmatises people who are in poverty. That is very problematic. We need a strategy that looks at the systemic reasons for poverty, which looks at a life-cycle approach to populations and also looks at increasing income at the household level and decreasing costs at the household level - not just at the neighbourhood level or area level. There are loads of recommendations. For example, child poverty is growing and one of the policy recommendations that has been completely dismissed by the Minister and the Department has been the Child Payment that has been introduced in Scotland. The Department has called this an artificial prop, said Ms Bor. The Scottish Child Payment is a weekly payment of 27.15 made by the Scottish Government to low-income families for each child they are responsible for under 16. We suggested a child payment of 15 per week, which would make an incredible difference to families, said Goretti Horgan. There is research which shows that even as little as 10 per week extra into the mothers purse basically improves outcomes for everybody, she added. It improves parental mental health, which means parenting can be a bit calmer. That extra bit of money can mean food is healthier. It improves childrens educational outcomes. It improves their health outcomes. It improves their mental health outcomes and it improves their outcomes when they are adults - as little as 10 per week. Northern Irelands First Minister has welcomed an announcement by the UK Government that it intends to lower the voting age to 16. Ministers are to bring forward a Bill before 2029 which will include extending the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds, and work to create a system of automated voter registration. Teenagers aged 16 or over can already vote in Holyrood, Senedd and local government elections in Wales and Scotland, but not in UK parliamentary elections. I welcome the news that the British Government is to introduce votes from the age of 16 for elections. This is a step forward for democracy and will enable young people to have a say in their future. Ill now be contacting the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, urging him to Michelle ONeill (@moneillsf) July 17, 2025 It is not known yet whether the legislation will be in place before the next election to the Northern Ireland Assembly and the local government elections in the region set to take place in 2027. Michelle ONeill described a step forward for democracy. Ill now be contacting the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, urging him to ensure that the right to vote at 16 applies to the 2027 Assembly and Council elections in the north, she said in a post on the social media network X. SDLP leader Claire Hanna said voting rights should be changed at all levels. Enfranchising 16 and 17-year-olds has been a long held SDLP position and we welcome confirmation from the Government today that this will be in place for the next general election, she said. There are many young people in Northern Ireland actively engaged in politics and I know that for generations there has been frustration that they could not play a full role in the democratic process. The SDLP believes that these voting rights must stretch beyond general elections and be extended to voting for the Assembly and local councils. We will continue to make the case for that at Westminster and push for change to secure voting at all levels for 16 and 17-year-olds. There was also a call to ensure the legislation is in place by 2027 from the Alliance Party. North Antrim MLA Sian Mulholland said: We have long-argued that the disenfranchisement of our societys young people is a major democratic deficit here in Northern Ireland. However, time is of the essence and we need urgent clarification that it will be a priority to see this implemented in time for the next NI Assembly election in 2027. We cannot afford any further delay. Derry Sinn Fein Councillor Sandra Duffy has welcomed the news that the British government is to extend the right to vote to 16 and 17-year-olds. Empowering young people with the vote encourages a lifetime of political engagement, said Sandra Duffy This is a welcome step forward in strengthening democracy. With two elections scheduled in the north in 2027, the focus now must be on ensuring 16 and 17-year-olds can take part. It would be a disservice to democracy if this legislation is not in place by then, and it would send entirely the wrong message to future voters. Sinn Fein will be pressing the British government to ensure young people can vote in the 2027 Assembly and Council elections. OpenAI has announced an ambitious AI-powered browser codenamed Aura, poised to challenge Google Chromes dominance, which spans over 65% market share and 3 billion users. With a rumored launch slated for late July or early August 2025, Aura promises to reshape browsing through artificial intelligence, but its success remains speculative. If Aura delivers on its bold claims, it could disrupt the browser landscape. But can it truly rival Chromes entrenched empire? Also read: OpenAI may soon launch AI-powered web browser to take on Google Chrome A vision for AI-powered browsing If OpenAIs vision holds, Aura could redefine how we interact with the web. Built on Googles open-source Chromium platform, it promises compatibility with Chromes extensions and web apps across Windows, macOS, Android, and iOS, ensuring a familiar foundation. What sets Aura apart is its integration of OpenAIs AI tools, ChatGPT, SearchGPT, and the AI agent Operator. I've realized that "Aura" is probably the codename for the new OpenAI browser, as there are already mentions of "is Aura" ("mini-root" similar to checks for Android, iOS, or Electron/ChatGPT Windows desktop app), "is Aura Sidebar", and "in Aura" in the ChatGPT web app pic.twitter.com/1ELxjREHDD Tibor Blaho (@btibor91) July 11, 2025 These could enable a conversational interface where users might ask, Find me a budget hotel in Delhi, and have Aura search, compare, and book within a single window. A hinted Aura Sidebar in ChatGPTs web app found by an X user suggests a tool for real-time assistance, potentially summarizing content or automating tasks like form-filling. Unlike Chromes reliance on redirecting users to external sites via Google Search, Aura might keep interactions self-contained, offering a streamlined experience, if it works as promised. Potential to disrupt Chromes reign If Aura lives up to its hype, it could exploit Chromes vulnerabilities. Chromes strength lies in its integration with Googles ecosystem, Gmail, Drive, Android, which feeds user data into ad-targeting algorithms. Aura might counter this with privacy-focused features, such as anonymous browsing or encrypted interactions, appealing to users wary of Googles tracking. OpenAIs 500 million weekly ChatGPT users provide a massive potential user base, and if even a fraction adopts Aura, it could dent Chromes market share. Also read: Edge, Neon, Comet, Arc: Top AI-powered browsers you must try By delivering direct answers and task execution, Aura might bypass Google Search, threatening its ad-driven model. Reports of OpenAI hiring former Chrome executives, including two vice presidents, suggest a team equipped to rival Chromes technical polish. Strategic moves, like exploring Chromes acquisition during antitrust talks or partnering with Apple and Samsung, could amplify Auras reach. With 13 million U.S. adults using generative AI for searches, Aura might tap into a growing trend, if it delivers a seamless experience. Hurdles to overcome Auras potential is tempered by significant challenges. Chromes ecosystem creates a sticky user experience, and convincing users to switch could be tough, even with AI allure. OpenAIs own data practices have faced scrutiny, and Aura will need to prove its privacy credentials to win trust, if it prioritizes transparency. The browser market, long dominated by Chromes monoculture, is unforgiving; if Aura stumbles with performance issues or fails to integrate smoothly with existing workflows, it risks being dismissed as a gimmick. OpenAIs concurrent projects, like GPT-5, might strain server resources, potentially impacting Auras reliability. Competitors like Perplexitys Comet and The Browser Companys Dia are also betting on AI-native browsers, adding pressure for Aura to stand out. If it falters at launch, it could struggle to gain traction in a market resistant to change. Auras announcement has sparked intrigue, but its success hinges on execution. If it delivers a polished, AI-driven experience that blends Chromiums reliability with conversational smarts, it could challenge Chromes dominance and force Google to rethink its approach. A privacy-focused model might resonate with users frustrated by data collection, while partnerships and OpenAIs user base could drive adoption. Yet, the road is fraught with risks, from technical hiccups to user inertia. As the tech world awaits Auras launch, it represents a bold gamble: if it works as claimed, it might usher in a new era of browsing. For now, the AI browser wars are heating up, and Auras potential to reshape the web remains a what if. Also read: Meet Comet, Perplexitys new AI browser: Hows it different? Chinese FM meets Pakistani deputy PM Xinhua) 09:12, July 17, 2025 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Tianjin, north China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo) TIANJIN, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in north China's Tianjin on Wednesday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the frequent communication between the foreign ministers of the two countries reflects the high level of the all-weather strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan, which is conducive to deepening mutual trust and friendship and promoting cooperation in various fields. He said China is willing to work with Pakistan to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, and continue to firmly support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests. China supports Pakistan in focusing on handling its own affairs, achieving independent and sustainable development, and continuously enhancing its comprehensive national strength, he said, adding that China is willing to enhance strategic dialogue with Pakistan, jointly build the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor to a high level, and deepen cooperation on agriculture, industry, and mining. He said China also stands ready to jointly plan the celebration activities for the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries next year. Noting that China supports Pakistan in carrying out counter-terrorism operations and the Chinese government has always been concerned about the safety of Chinese people in Pakistan, Wang said it is believed that Pakistan will continue to do its best to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel, projects and institutions in Pakistan. He said China appreciates Pakistan supporting China's tenure as the rotating chair of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and looks forward to making joint efforts with Pakistan to ensure the complete success of the Tianjin summit. Dar said Pakistan adheres to the one-China principle and supports China on issues concerning China's core interests. Pakistan fully supports China in organizing the Tianjin summit, looks forward to further deepening all-round cooperation between the two sides, and will do its best to ensure the safety of Chinese personnel and institutions in Pakistan, he said. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar in Tianjin, north China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Save my User ID and Password Some subscribers prefer to save their log-in information so they do not have to enter their User ID and Password each time they visit the site. To activate this function, check the 'Save my User ID and Password' box in the log-in section. This will save the password on the computer you're using to access the site. Note: If you choose to use the log-out feature, you will lose your saved information. This means you will be required to log-in the next time you visit our site. The end to nine-year legal saga: South Korea's top Court acquits Samsung's Lee Jae-Yong Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong has been cleared of all charges in connection with a long-running legal battle over alleged wrongdoing in a controversial merger and accounting fraud case. South Korea's Supreme Court upheld lower court rulings acquitting Lee of all accusations, bringing an end to nearly a decade of legal uncertainty surrounding the conglomerate's heir. According to Yonhap News and Chosun Ilbo, the Supreme Court on July 17, 2025, rejected the prosecution's final appeal concerning the 2015 merger of Samsung C&T and Cheil Industries, as well as allegations of accounting fraud at Samsung Biologics. The court's decision confirms that the merger and associated financial activities were conducted in compliance with the law. Outside the Supreme Court, Lee's legal team stated that the ruling confirms the legality of the disputed merger and accounting practices under Korean regulations. Lee was first indicted in September 2020 on charges that he manipulated stock prices and engaged in illicit transactions to solidify control over Samsung through the controversial 2015 merger. However, both the initial and appellate courts found insufficient evidence to link him directly to the alleged misconduct and issued not-guilty verdicts. Nine-year legal battle concludes The verdict marks a pivotal moment for Samsung Electronics executive chairman Lee Jae-yong, who has spent more than nine years entangled in legal proceedings. His legal troubles began with South Korea's 2016 political scandal involving former President Park Geun-hye. Lee was jailed twice and faced repeated questioning in connection with the high-profile merger and allegations of accounting fraud. With the Supreme Court upholding previous not-guilty verdicts, Lee is now officially free from legal risk related to the long-running case. Attention now turns to Lee's next steps as head of South Korea's most powerful conglomerate. He faces several pressing challengesincluding steering the company through global economic uncertainty, restoring Samsung's edge in technology, and restructuring the group's vast management system. Strategic moves ahead for Samsung Industry analysts say the end of Lee's legal troubles could pave the way for major strategic moves. These may include acquisitions, increased investment in growth areas, and reforms across the group. Many will be watching to see how Lee defines the "New Samsung" in the years ahead, as he looks to secure the company's future and cement his legacy. Article edited by Jerry Chen A Dutch national who sexually assaulted a woman in Dundalk on the same day that he stalked a 15 year old girl and her younger sister in another part of the town, was jailed for three and a half years at Dundalk Circuit Court last week and was banned from Ireland for 10 years after he finishes serving the sentence. Oladipupo Awolaja (23) who had an address at the time at Beacon Court, Dundalk pleaded guilty to the sexual assault, at Jocelyn Drive, Dundalk and causing the teenager serious alarm or distress on July 13th last. The 15 year girl was walking with her younger sister when the defendant followed them for five or 10 minutes. The girls picked up pace, and so did he. However, a man who noticed the girls were looking uncomfortable and looking behind them, followed them until they reached their home. The passerby then followed the accused, who ran away, and the man then called back to the girls' home to tell their parents what had happened. READ NEXT: Gardai seize car parked in disabled space in Dundalk Around 7pm, the defendant followed a woman in her 20s, who was walking home from work, and grabbed her from behind, before he held her with one arm, while sexually assaulting her, outside her clothing with the other. He was startled by a man who cycled past and two passersby chased him but he wasn't apprehended. The next day gardai on patrol on Jocelyn Drive, saw the defendant acting suspiciously and he became extremely nervous when talking to them. He was arrested two days later, and has been in custody since July 17th. He had only been living in Ireland for two months at the time, having come here looking for work, and while he has no previous convictions here, but has 16 in the Netherlands, including two for sexual assault. In their victim impact statements, which were read to the court on their behalf on Monday the teenager said she had been affected by the stalking incident for months afterwards, she is suspicious of her surroundings and she is afraid to walk in the town she grew up in. The woman said she felt she couldn't scream and when the defendant ran away, I got air in my lungs. She said she had come to Ireland with her husband to work and save and she has been left paranoid following her assault and she has changed jobs and now works with her husband. The Defence barrister said all of his client's previous convictions were from the equivalent of the district court and the guilty pleas had spared the victims giving evidence at a trial. There was no direct contact with the girls and the sexual assault of the woman occurred outside the clothing and it was at the lower end of offending but he stressed that was not seeking to minimise his client's conduct. He added that while there is no question about his client's capacity to give instructions, he described him as being at the lower end of capacity given his drug issues. The lawyer said his client was born and raised in the Netherlands and has no support structures in Ireland and has spent 355 days in prison, the equivalent of a 16 month sentence and he had instructions that he has no desire to remain here on his release from prison. Judge Dara Hayes, in finalising the matter last Thursday, said all three injured parties had been targeted in broad daylight. Awolaja's first victims were children and the man who had spotted him following them had helped to prevent a more serious form of offending. Referring to the woman's victim impact statement where she said being a woman in this world can be scary, the judge said this was because of men like the defendant. Judge Hayes said the Probation Service has significant concerns that the 23 year old has difficulty controlling his sexual impulses and could not identify a realistic plan for supervision in this case. He imposed sentences totalling four and a half years with the final 12 months suspended on him entering a bond to keep the peace and on condition that within 48 hours of his release from prison that he leaves Ireland and does not return for 10 years. The sentences, two and a half years for the sexual assault and a consecutive two year sentence for the stalking offence, were backdated to July 17th last year when he went into custody. Bearnard Durnin, an emerging artist from Ardee, has been selected to exhibit his work at the Connecting Artists 2025 Exhibition, hosted by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) in Dublin running until this Saturday 19 July. Bearnard is one of just nine artists from across Ireland chosen for this years Connecting Artists programme, now in its fourth year. The exhibition, showcases the creativity of artists who are neurodivergent or have intellectual disabilities, offering professional development, mentorship, and national exposure. Bearnard has been passionate about drawing since childhood. When I was younger, I drew dinosaurs, cars, and jeeps from my memory and imagination, he recalls. After secondary school, he completed a FETAC Level 5 course in Art and Design, which helped further develop his artistic interests. He enjoys sketching in his art journal using pencil and pen and currently attends a weekly art class with local artist Susan Farrelly, who has encouraged him to transfer his ideas to canvas using acrylic paints. His work is inspired by movies, superheroes, vehicles, and his imagination. Bearnard has previously exhibited a painting in Ardee and chose to sell a copy of it while keeping the original. Read also: Plans for new hotel, apartments and retail in mid-Louth Being involved in the Connecting Artists 2025 programme has been a great opportunity for me to meet other artists and be part of a community where my art will be appreciated and accepted, he said. The Connecting Artists programme was developed by Connections Arts Centre, which is an award-winning, not-for-profit social enterprise that supports people with intellectual disabilities and the neurodivergent community through inclusive arts and training initiatives. This structured 10-week programme supports emerging artists in developing their creative skills, building confidence, and gaining national recognition through professional exhibitions like this one at RCSI. Speaking about this years programme, Lis Lien, the Connecting Artists Programme Manager at Connections Arts Centre, said: This year we were delighted to open the Connecting Artists programme to include neurodivergent artists as well as those with intellectual disabilities. The diversity of perspectives and creative voices has been truly inspiring. Bearnard and his peers have worked with dedication over the past 10 weeks, and were so proud to see their art take centre stage at RCSI. The Connecting Artists 2025 Exhibition is free and open to the public (advance booking required). Visitors can explore artwork, attend talks and live art demonstrations, and meet the artists. Original pieces and art cards will also be available for purchase. Opening Times For the Public: Thu 17 July: 11:00am3:00pm Fri 18 July: 11:00am3:00pm (Live demo at 11:30am) Sat 19 July: 11:00am3:00pm Admission: Free (booking at https://www.connectionsartscentre.ie/ca25-exhibition-at-the-rcsi) . For more information about the programme and exhibition, visit: www.connectionsartscentre.ie Louth County Councillor John Reilly has tabled a motion at the July council meeting, seeking support for the Carlingford Lough Commission in acquiring a new navigation maintenance vessel. Cllr Reilly's motion reads: "That Louth County Council provide any assistance at its disposal to support the sourcing of funding for a navigation vessel for the Carlingford Lough Commission to facilitate the safe navigation of both commercial shipping and recreational sailing on Carlingford Lough." Cllr Reilly said the motion reflects the importance of the Commissions work in maintaining essential maritime safety infrastructure across Carlingford Lough a body that straddles the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and plays a critical role in both economies. The Carlingford Lough Commission, originally established in the 1840s, predates Irish partition and currently maintains around 26 navigation buoys on the Lough. These buoys assist both commercial shipping vessels and pleasure craft as they navigate the waterway. Approximately eight of these buoys are located in Irish territorial waters, and are essential for ships accessing Greenore Port, while the remainder serve Warrenpoint Harbour. The current maintenance vessel is coming to the end of its working life, said Cllr. Reilly. The Commission is now seeking to purchase a smaller, more modern craft that will allow them to carry out essential maintenance and ensure safety on the Lough continues uninterrupted. The estimated cost of the new vessel is 75,000 sterling, and Cllr. Reilly is calling for Louth County Council to assist in any way possible, including identifying cross-border or EU funding avenues, to ensure what he says is a vital asset, is secured. This is about more than just one vessel, he said. Its about recognising and supporting the quiet but vital work done by the Carlingford Lough Commission work that supports trade, tourism, and safety on both sides of the border. When Eadaoin Clarke first walked through the doors of Dundalk Institute of Technology (DKIT) in 2004, she couldnt have imagined the path ahead. Inspired by family members who praised DKITs community feel and solid education, the Marist Secondary School graduate dove into Civil Engineering drawn by the courses structure and hands-on modules. But when the economic crash hit after graduation, plans shifted. I took a more stable route initially, she recalls, but it never felt right. In 2011, she returned to DKIT for the Level 8 Engineering Entrepreneurship degree a turning point that reignited her passion for the construction industry. From Site Clerk on the Luas Cross City project to Site Engineer at Mac Group, Eadaoin worked her way up, gaining experience across roles, even pushing through a seven-month health setback. In 2019, she founded Curran Construction Services EMC Ltd, a business now offering project management, QS, and health and safety services. Today, she also lectures at DKIT and represents Engineers Ireland as Liaison Officer for STEM in the North East. Teaching, she says, is a passion: Seeing students have those lightbulb moments its everything. Her experience as a student has instilled in her a desire to foster a supportive learning environment. Eadaoin believes that the collaborative atmosphere at DkIT was a significant factor in her educational success and has inspired her to return as an educator. She currently lectures on the BSc (Hons) Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship. She believes her DKIT years were foundational: I learned how to manage people, communicate clearly, and most importantly, build lasting relationships. Eadaoin's long-term dream? To grow her business and eventually take over the family firm, Declan Curran Steel Lintels Ltd. Her advice to young students, especially women in STEM? Keep an open mind. Empowering parents and creating inclusive narratives will help change the landscape. Read Next: Dundalk festival AurFest appeals for support to bridge funding gap And to her 18-year-old self? Trust your instincts. Get on site. Youll learn faster than you think. With aspirations to expand her own business and inspire future engineers, she continues to pave the way for a more diverse and inclusive future in the STEM fields. From student to entrepreneur and educator, Eadaoins journey is a testament to resilience, passion and the power of coming full circle. For more details on the BSc (Hons) Engineering Innovation & Entrepreneurship and other courses check out www.DkIT.ie A new grant scheme will provide financial assistance to spruce up buildings in town centres across the county. The scheme, which has been announced by Cork County Council, will be available to tenants or owners of occupied buildings in key locations within towns across the eight municipal districts of Cork county. The streetscape enhancement scheme will allow owners and tenants to apply for financial assistance to improve the appearance of their buildings, with priority being given to occupied commercial premises. The scheme includes four support measures, ranging from 60% grants for works to 100% for materials. Aspects covered include painting and improvements to shop-front signage as well as the cost of materials. The council will offer applicants guidance on colour palette and design, conservation of traditional Irish shop fronts, and the use of the Irish language in signage. The council said applications would be considered on a case-by-case basis, having regard to positive impact on the streetscape. The Mayor of the County of Cork, Independent councillor Mary Linehan-Foley, said she would encourage business and property owners to engage with the council to avail of the scheme, and to spread the word among neighbouring businesses. I wholeheartedly welcome this scheme, which will give a boost to our town centres by supporting businesses and property owners in improving their buildings, and making our town centres more attractive to residents and visitors alike, said Ms Linehan-Foley. Cork County Council chief executive Moira Murrell said the scheme would facilitate improvement in the appearance of town centres. I look forward to seeing the impact of this scheme on the streets of our town centres across the county, said Ms Murrell. Applications are open at www.corkcoco.ie, and the closing date is Friday, August 22, with successful applicants contacted directly. Further information is available at the town regeneration office at 021 4285317, 021 4285397, or townregenerationoffice@corkcoco.ie. Glen Rovers is a club steeped in hurling tradition. Throughout the years, some iconic names in Cork hurling have donned the colours of the Glen, such as Christy Ring and the former taoiseach Jack Lynch. As Cork gets ready to face Tipperary at Croke Park in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling final, a number of Glen Rovers men could be key to Corks chances of securing glory. As soon as you arrive at the Glen Rovers clubhouse, it becomes apparent that the club is hurling to the core. On a visit there ahead of the big day on Sunday, The Echo spoke with Glen Rovers chairperson Liam Martin, who said there is huge anticipation growing around the club ahead of the match. There is huge excitement building, and it has been building since the last few weeks, he said. For years, Glen Roverss Patrick Horgan has been one of the top hurlers not only in Cork but in Ireland. There are few more players from the Glen on this years squad, including captain Robert Downey and his brother Eoin. Last year, they became the first Cork brothers to feature in the same PWC All-Stars team in 19 years. Micheal Mullins, who is a former Cork U20 All-Ireland winning captain, also is a member of the Cork senior hurling panel. I couldnt speak more highly of them, said Martin of the Glen contingent. The two Downeys and Patrick were born and reared in the Ballyvolane area here very close to the clubhouse. Micheal Mullins has joined us from Whitechurch. David OCallaghan and Lexie ORiordan at the Glen Rovers Clubhouse ahead of the All-Ireland Hurling final this Sunday. Picture: Jim Coughlan. But all have one thing in common, all are fanatics about hurling. Even when they are not involved in training with Cork, they generally speaking are down here when our own senior team at Glen Rovers are training. I have seen Rob up on the sideline up in the Mardyke last year with our U16 team. They are very committed. The one thing you will see is that every time they appear in the club, even when they are not training, they will have a hurley in their hands. They are always pucking a ball and that was very evident from the time they were very young. It is that level of commitment that has brought them to Croke Park on Sunday. Should Cork win, there are few in Ireland that will begrudge Patrick Horgan securing an All-Ireland medal. He will downplay it himself and I dont think it is a factor in his thinking, said Mr Martin. But to all of us here in Glen Rovers, we would dearly love to see Patrick departing Croke Park on Sunday with an All-Ireland medal in the bag. The only career that is longer than Patricks in a Cork jersey, I think, was the great Christy Ring. Patrick is in his 18th year with the senior team. Patrick has been immense to have that kind of a career at inter-county level. Right throughout the successes of the Cork hurling team, Glen Rovers are a club that has consistently been strongly represented. In the coming days, all at the Glen will be hoping Cork captain Downey will get the opportunity to bring back the Liam MacCarthy Cup to the famed Cork club. Like all Cork hurling people, we are very looking forward to it. I would love to see Pat Ryan and his management team get to the holy grail at this stage, Mr Martin added. A claw-hammer, a hurley, a slash-hook handle and three sledgehammer handles were seized by Mallow gardai in the investigation of a feud between two families which sullies the name of Mallow and frightens members of the public. Three men who were prosecuted for having this stash of weapons in a car on March 18, 2023, appealed against jail terms imposed on them at Mallow District Court. However, the sentences were affirmed with the exception of one man having the last month of his sentence suspended. Detective Garda David Forsythe said at Cork Circuit Appeals Court on Tuesday that gardai received an anonymous call from a concerned member of the public that members of the OBrien family in Doneraile were on their way at lunchtime that day as part of a planned attack on the home of the OFlaherty family at Connolly Rd in Mallow. Gardai intercepted an orange BMW being driven towards River Valley, Mallow, Cork, and because of a smell of cannabis they indicated that personal searches together with a search of the car were going to be carried out. The five occupants of the car cooperated as weapons, including the hammer, hurley and implement handles, were found in the car. Det Garda Forsythe said there was no sign of the feud between the families abating and that recently the conflict broke out in a physical altercation at Mallow Courthouse which disrupted court proceedings for a period and spilled out on the street. From a garda point of view it is quite time-consuming trying to keep a lid on these things. It is quite serious for people living in Mallow it sullies the name of Mallow and frightens members of the public. Gardai received a call that day that members of the OBrien family in Doneraile were going to launch an attack on the OFlaherty family in Mallow. The evidence is that it is still ongoing, Det. Garda Forsythe testified on Tuesday. Barristers Brian Leahy and Liam M. OBrien asked for the sentences to be suspended or community service orders imposed instead of the jail terms, stressing that there was no evidence against them causing any damage to the OFlahertys property, and that their only offence was of being in possession of the implements. However, Judge Helen Boyle affirmed the six-month sentences under appeal by 37-year-old Kevin OBrien and 49-year-old Richard OBrien both of Ballydineen halting site, Doneraile, Co Cork. In respect of the five-month sentence appealed by 21-year-old Kevin Barry of Inchnagree, Buttevant, Co Cork, Judge Boyle suspended the last month of the sentence. All three appellants were then taken into custody to commence their sentences on the single charge of possession of the weapons on the day back in March 2023. Cork Airport has announced two new European destinations as part of their winter schedule. The new routes, operated by Aer Lingus, will see passengers travel to Prague in the Czech Republic and Geneva in Switzerland. Along with the new destinations, Aer Lingus will continue to fly to the ever-popular winter sun destinations of Malaga, Tenerife and Lanzarote; with a ski service to Munich, and its four-times daily service to London Heathrow. Services to Prague will operate twice weekly at Cork Airport, on Thursdays and Sundays, from October 23 through to March 26. Services to Geneva will operate once weekly from the facility, on Saturdays, from December 20 through to March 28. Additionally, the airline has also increased its frequency on it's Lyon service, which will see further flights operating on the route from December 20 through to March 28. Tara Finn, head of aviation business development and communications at Cork Airport, said the new offerings increase the breadth of choice for Cork passengers. Were thrilled to see the addition of Prague and Geneva to the Cork Airport network, served by Aer Lingus this winter, said Ms Finn. Both are attractive destinations and will increase the breadth of choice for passengers from across the South of Ireland, choosing the convenience of Cork Airport. Susanne Carberry, who is the chief customer officer at Aer Lingus, said that the airline is pleased to bring further coolcation destinations to travellers at Cork Airport. Aer Lingus new and extended winter routes from Cork expand our network and offer new winter escape destinations for our customers in the Munster region, said Ms Carberry. Winter breaks or coolcations are growing in popularity among Irish consumers, and were delighted to respond to this trend by offering greater choice and convenience for seasonal travel across the continent this year." The numbers of rape and sexual assault convictions in the Cork garda divisions have almost trebled in the 21 years between 2003 and 2024, according to CSO figures. However, these figures only reflect a fraction of the numbers of sexual crimes being reported, the chief executive of Sexual Violence Centre Cork (SVCC) has warned. Mary Crilly was responding to a statement from Ireland South Fianna Fail MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu, in which she pointed to a 149% jump in rape and sexual assault convictions in Cork city between 2003 and 2024 from figures issued by the Central Statistics Office. In 2003, there were 78 convictions for rape and/or sexual assault in the Cork city garda division. This figure had jumped to 194 convictions in 2024. There was an even higher proportional increase in the Cork North division in the same period, up from 40 convictions for rape and/or sexual assault in 2003 to 108 convictions in 2024. The proportional increase in the Cork West division was 186% in the same period up from 21 convictions for sexual assault/rape in 2003 to 60 in 2024. The highest increase nationwide was in the Dublin East division, where the figure for sexual assault/rape offences jumped by 275% from 36 in 2003 to 135 in 2024. The Kilkenny/Carlow division was where the lowest increase in the number of sexual assault/rape cases was recorded, up 17% from 63 in 2023 to 74 in 2024. Ms Crilly said the court system was a major obstacle in the way it dealt with rape and sexual assault cases. We need to get back to the basics theres still only one in four who report, theres still only a 10% conviction rate, Ms Crilly added. From my experience of going into court pretty regularly, the conviction rates arent very high. There is a better kind of detection and investigation with the Protective Services Unit because at least the gardai for once have a chance to really investigate a crime, whereas before they might have been investigating all sorts of things such as a rape, a robbery, and a traffic accident. At least now with the Protective Services Unit, theres four of them in the city and county making a difference as far as Im concerned, she said. The court system is still not fit for purpose and the conviction rate is still quite low, she added. Meanwhile, describing the increase in recorded sexual assault and rape convictions as a crisis and pointing to the increase in the number of those convicted of rape and sexual assaults in Irish prisons, Ms Ni Mhurchu is seeking a meeting with justice minister Jim OCallaghan. The MEP is also seeking more focused measures to rehabilitate sexual offenders in prison. According to figures provided to Ms Ni Mhurchu by the Irish Prison Service following a Freedom of Information request, there were 800 sexual offenders in Irish prisons as of May 31, 2025, costing almost 80m annually to house. This figure represented an increase of 16% on the May 31, 2024, figure of 692 sexual offenders in prison. Back in 2018, there were only 172 sexual offenders in our prisons, Ms Ni Mhurchu said. Disbelief and incredulity were the most common responses expressed by councillors to a poor ranking for the construction of social homes on Cork County Council land when reports were discussed during this weeks meeting of the local authority. Bantry-based Independent Ireland councillor Danny Collins raised the matter as he proposed a motion seeking answers from the executive about the league table which had been published by housing minister James Browne. This league table showed Cork County Council lying 25th out of 31 councils in the country, he said. The figures included new-build units that were either directly built by local authorities and approved housing bodies or bought in turn-key conditions by local authorities and an approved housing body, they also include Part 8 [housing developments initiated by the local authority itself]. He pointed out that the league table referred to the performance of the local authorities in housing delivery in the three-year period, 2022-24. He said that he intended no criticism of the councils housing department, as he said they were doing great work. Where I come from in West Cork, we do see a lot of houses going up at the moment but still, can we see an improvement in the league table? To be quite honest, lying 25th out of 31 local authorities doesnt look great for us this is a 70% [of target] delivery where the national overall delivery is 85%. His brother, and fellow Independent Ireland councillor, John Collins, who is based in Bandon, referred to a visit he had with a constituent in the town who was able to point to three boarded-up council properties that had been vacant for between 12-18 months. Fine Gael East Cork councillor Michael Hegarty described the figures and the media commentary which had followed as quite disturbing, really, as were the second largest local authority in the country. Cathal Rasmussen, the Labour Party councillor in Cobh, said that he also had questions about the numbers. I dont understand the make-up of the figures, and Im slightly bothered by them because over the last two or three years at our regular meetings [of the housing committee] I dont recall us having a major discussion about being way behind target, because if they were wed be have been having a lot bigger discussion before now. In a response, the council director of services Michael Lynch said the recently-published figures focused on the percentage of target rather than the number of dwellings constructed. In the eight-year period from 2017 to 2024, 3,411 dwellings have been provided, and 1,304 in the three-year period, 2022-24, he said. Its high summer and touring theatre is in its element. We are now into the second week of the West Cork Fit-up Festival, which runs throughout July and August, and there are some lively shows on in 11 separate locations, including Ballydehob, Sherkin Island, Bere Island, Heir Island, Whiddy Island, Timoleague, Drimoleague, Glengarriff, and Whiddy Island. Family and free childrens events are also catered for with the Wobbly Circus and clown performances and workshops. Tonight in Glengarriff Community Hall, its The Ballad Of Mossy Flood by Big Guerilla Productions. Mossy goes the long way around a story, making us laugh as well as think twice as we listen. Written, directed and performed by Seamus ORourke. Tomorrow night on Sherkin Island the play is Indigestion; on Saturday on Bere Island, The Handyman; and on Sunday in Ballydehob, The Reverend. And lots more to come! All shows start at 8pm; full details on https://www.fit-uptheatrefestival.com/. Libera, the internationally-renowned boys choir, are touring Ireland this summer. Their ethereal sound has enchanted audiences worldwide, although the boys, aged 7-16, are said to think of themselves not so much as choirboys, but rather an alternative kind of boy band! Be that as it may, Liberas recordings regularly feature in album charts. Last November, the new album Dream soared high in the classical charts, featuring trademark Libera arrangements and original music in a variety of styles alongside classical favourites such as reinterpretations of Beethovens Pathetique Sonata, Lizsts Liebestraume, and Dvoraks New World Symphony. Libera are at St Colmans Cathedral, Cobh on Friday, July 25, at St Canice Cathedral, Kilkenny on Saturday, July 26, and The Lark in Balbriggan on Thursday, July 31, all performances at 7pm. Tickets available now on libera.org.uk/summer-2025. A West Cork family murder mystery is proving to be just the ticket at the Everyman, with audiences enjoying every moment of this drama, The Beacon, by Nancy Harris, directed by Sara Joyce. It must finish this Saturday, though, so if you havent got there yet, be quick! Comedian Jason Manford is at the Everyman on July 25 Coming up on July 25 is A Manford For All Seasons, featuring acclaimed comedian Jason Manford, and from July 29 to Aug 10, Barn Theatres production of that delightful comedy Stones In His Pockets, which captures the chaos in a rural Irish village when a genuine Hollywood studio team arrive to film the latest historic blockbuster. Told through the cynical eyes of two locals taken on as extras, its enormous fun. Evening shows and matinees too for that production. Call 021 450 1673 or see www.everymancork.com for all bookings. A busy summer season is under way at Cork Arts Theatre, with a new show every Wednesday to Saturday, both matinees and evening performances. Until Saturday, The Smuggler tells the story of an Irish immigrant trying to make it in an affluent Massachusetts summer colony. Next week, its Padraig Potts, written and performed by Seamus ORourke, who creates a man looking back at the follies, the errors, the great events of his life. And more great shows all summer. For lunchtime performances (Thursday and Friday), patrons can choose either a Show & Lunch ticket that includes a sandwich & tea or coffee, served from noon until ten minutes before the performance time at 1pm, or a Show Only ticket. Evening shows 8pm. Booking for all shows at the Cork Arts Theatre on 021 450 5624 or www.corkartstheatre.com. Christy Moore is at the INEC Arena in Killarney this Saturday , while Shillelagh Law are in the ballroom the same night. Ronan Collins takes over that ballroom on Sunday with his ever-popular Showband Hits (both those free to Gleneagle residents), 064 667 1555 or www.inec.ie for all bookings. A Cork musical theatre actor, Precious Abimbola, is set to perform on Irelands largest stage this month, at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre. Abimbola, who was born in Glanmire and lives in Cork city, will take on the role of Crystal, one of the Street Urchins, in the epic musical smash hit Little Shop of Horrors, which opens on July 25 and runs until August 9. Abimbola says she saw the film version of the stage show when she was a child, and was instantly hooked. I saw the film when I was a kid and loved the music in it, and I thought the three girls, the Street Urchins, were just fabulous. I loved their costumes. They stuck with me, so I cant believe I get to play one of them now. The story focuses on Seymour, a sweet florist who encounters a rather unusual plant, which leads to some very unusual circumstances. The show also features West End star David OReilly, as well as television and stage actor Johnny Ward. Abimbola says that she and her fellow Urchin actors have formed a great bond. It was lovely, we all connected and bonded with our characters so quickly. We tend to discuss our characters in the morning, and then we play around in the rehearsal space, figuring out how to interact with each other. It came about so naturally. Abimbola attended primary school at Gaelscoil Ui Dhrisceoil and continued to Colaiste a Phiarsaigh for secondary school. Earlier this year, she graduated from MTU Cork School of Music with a BA in Musical Theatre. She has performed at the Cork Opera House and taken part in the iconic Summer Revels, but says getting the chance to perform at the Bord Gais is a source of pride. The first time the cast got a tour of the Bord Gais, I remember seeing the stage and thinking, oh my goodness. Im just out of college, and it is truly an honour; Im so grateful to be a part of this production. I have seen so many shows there, and Ive always been blown away with how beautiful the building is, and to be on the stage this summer is just incredible. Little Shop Of Horrors first premiered Off-Broadway in 1982 and has since become a global sensation. This marks the first time that the Bord Gais Energy Theatre has staged and produced its own show. The theatre is collaborating with TheatreworX to present a production featuring a completely Irish cast and crew, opening up exciting opportunities for local creatives. Abimbola says the opportunity to work in Ireland, without having to travel to London to develop her career, is immense. It is such a blessing. I get to go home to Cork to see my family, and they can easily visit me, whereas when youre in another country, its harder. Precious with her fellow Street Urchins. Picture: Brian McEvoy Theres a comfort knowing that you get to go back home when you finish rehearsals, which is really nice when you are just starting out. Abimbola is the first member of her family to act professionally, but says music has always been a big part of family life. I have four siblings, and growing up, we tried out different activities, instruments, and sports, but Im the only one whos interested in theatre, the younger ones might still follow me. Singing is a big thing in the family. My sister and I were in the church choir. My brother Alex plays in the church choir now; my youngest sister, Rachel, sings, and my brother Mark is learning to play the drums. Our household is very into the arts, added Adimbola. The arts are not always the most stable when it comes to employment, but Abimbola, whose parents come from Nigeria, says that they have supported her from day one. Coming from my culture and my background, Im the first in my family to go to college. Im the first in my family to do a lot of things. So, when I was speaking to my mom and dad about going into theatre, they said, lets talk about it. They want my siblings and me to have a stable, secure life, but the support theyve given me through the arts has been amazing. We all know its not stable; youre constantly travelling, youre constantly moving, but once they realised it was what I wanted, they supported me completely. With so many young, talented actors emerging from Cork at present, Abimbola believes that people from the Rebel County have an openness that allows them to be such good storytellers. Cork people are relaxed, and we open as people. Were always open to conversation, new people, and new cultures. The arts have always been diverse, and Cork embraces diversity. Were constantly wanting to learn. Were open, and were willing to keep learning and to break new ground, and to be a good actor, you have to be open. Abimbola hopes to receive a lot of support from Cork as she takes to the stage. I would love Cork people to come up and see it. Its a brilliant piece of theatre, and its worth taking a bus or train ride to come and see. Its such a cool show, and its exciting as well to be in that room and atmosphere; audiences will love it. Little Shop Of Horrors will run at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre from Friday, July 25, to Saturday, August 9. Sarah Slater The family of a little girl who was seriously injured in a multiple stabbing incident outside a primary school on Parnell Square have said they want justice so that "other parents do not have to go through what they are. Her family revealed that she also had a recent unexpected stay in hospital. The girl, aged five at the time of the attack, was critically injured outside Colaiste Mhuire National School on Parnell Square in Dublin on November 23rd, 2023 and spent the majority of last year in Temple Street Childrens Hospital before being released from medical care late last year. Relatives have been sharing updates on a GoFundMe page, set up following the incident, which has raised almost 136,000. In one of their most recent updates, her parents explained that their angel warrior's resilience is impressive. They continued that even after an unexpected stay back in hospital, she smiled through lines being put in, bloods being drawn, oxygen mask, the works. The young girl is now out of hospital, back home, back in school, getting stronger again. Her parents said that despite the circumstances of their daughter being back in hospital, it was really nice seeing so many familiar faces. They (hospital staff) were also delighted to see how far she has come, how strong she looks. However, the events of that day, almost 20 months ago, have scarred her mother and family, who outlined how what happened on the day she and others were injured was like a scene from a movie, but that it isn't. Her mother continued: This happened to our little girl. Only it wasn't a workplace, it was a school. And nothing is certain... She gets by because she is a happy child, surrounded by love. In spite of it all, we have no answers, even if we know who is responsible. And we know we want justice so that other parents don't have to go through what we are. The multiple stabbings on Parnell Square left two other young children and a carer injured. The Dublin-based mother went on to recall how the events of the day her daughter was seriously injured and the months after continue to stay with her and her daughter. One day, at the end of your work day, you are standing outside your workplace, and suddenly, you see a commotion. You run because your instincts tell you to do so, only you cannot run because something is stopping you from doing it. And then you slip into a nightmare, one that you try to escape, try to climb a tree or a wall to get out. She outlines how her daughter must have felt on the day she was injured and the subsequent months. Days, weeks, months, go by. You are not able to speak, you are unable to walk. You can lift one arm, very slowly. You cannot eat because you haven't 'learnt' how to swallow. Instead, you have a tube going into your stomach, her mother details. People guess what you want because you still cannot speak. They change your nappy, wipe your mouth, bathe you, all the things you managed to do yourself. You are completely dependent. You have scars across your chest, on your neck, on your arm from all the different life-saving procedures. It is a lot. You just want to understand. Riad Bouchaker (50) is currently before the courts charged with three counts of attempted murder, one of producing and possessing a kitchen knife, three counts of assault causing harm and one of assault causing serious harm. Alison O'Riordan A man was suffering from a delusional disorder when he is alleged to have falsely imprisoned a former work colleague in his car - where the door handles had been sealed with tape, thrown hot chilli in her eyes, and tried to murder her after becoming convinced she had deliberately given him an STI, a psychiatrist told his trial on Thursday. It was during the opening of the Central Criminal Court trial of attempted murder accused Jineesh John on Thursday that Brendan Grehan SC, prosecuting, said the consultant psychiatrists for both the State and defence are in agreement "of the core facts" that the defendant was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of the offence. Jineesh John (43), with an address at The Crescent Building, Park West, Dublin 12 has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder of a woman at a location in West Dublin on May 21st, 2023. Mr John also pleaded not guilty to making a threat to kill or cause the woman serious harm without lawful excuse, intending her to believe that the said threat would be carried out on the same occasion. He further pleaded not guilty to falsely imprisoning the woman by intentionally or recklessly detaining her without her consent at the same time. In addition, the defendant pleaded not guilty to producing in a manner likely unlawfully to intimidate another person, an article capable of inflicting serious injury, to wit a hammer on the same date, while committing or appearing to be about to commit an offence of false imprisonment of the woman. Fiona Murphy SC, defending, told the jury that the defence of not guilty by reason of insanity under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006 was being sought by the panel. Opening the prosecution's case today, Mr Grehan told the 12 jurors that the issue of insanity had been raised by the defence and the four charges related to a single incident which happened over a 30 minute period between 8:50pm and 9:30pm at an Industrial Estate on May 21st, 2023. Counsel told the jury that the woman in the case came to the public office at a garda station on the morning of May 22nd seeking to speak to officers. He said Detective Garda Tom Balfe interviewed the victim, where she set out how she was falsely imprisoned in the accused's car, that he had threatened to kill her and she believed she was going to be killed by him. Mr Grehan said the jury would hear that Mr John and the woman had previously worked together in a health care setting but despite this they were not particularly known to each other. He said they had moved onto different jobs but contact had been re-established. Under the guise that the accused was giving presents to her and was helping her fill out a medical assistance form, Mr Grehan said the woman had agreed to meet Mr John and go with him in his car. Outlining the facts of the case, the lawyer said when the pair got to an industrial estate the accused told her to close her eyes as he had a present for her. He said the woman complied with that request but when she opened her eyes the accused threw hot chilli powder or flakes into her face attempting to blind her in the eyes. The woman went to get out of the car but discovered the door handle and the switch activating the window had been duct taped over so it was not usable. Mr Grehan told the jury that the accused had threatened to kill the woman and said he was going to kill her. Mr John then threatened her with a hammer he had in the car whilst she pleaded with him not to kill her, he added. The court heard further evidence will be that the only way the accused agreed to let the woman go was if she was prepared to say on a mobile phone video-recording that she had given him a sexually transmitted disease in 2021. Counsel said the woman had no contact "in any way, shape or form" with Mr John but that the accused had developed "a preoccupation", which she was unaware of. He said the accused made a number of short videos in the car that day, which the jury would see. The barrister further stated that the woman was prepared to say anything to be let go and Mr John dropped her back to her home. The woman and her husband later went to the garda station where she handed over her clothing and an investigation ensued. The prosecution barrister went on to tell the court that the woman's clothing was examined and there was a pepper like substance still adhering to parts of them. He said the jury would hear from two consultant psychiatrists on behalf of the defence and the prosecution, who will say the accused was suffering from a mental disorder namely a delusional disorder at the time, which qualifies him for a special verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. Detective evidence Giving evidence on Thursday, Detective Garda Thomas Balfe told Mr Grehan that the woman was a health care assistant and worked for different agencies. He said the woman had met the accused, who was also a health care worker, at a care home facility in April or May 2021. The detective said the woman and the accused sometimes worked together in the same shift but she didn't know him well. The woman left the health care facility but the accused continued working there. In October 2022, the detective said the accused had contacted the woman by phone looking for advice about a hospital, after her friend gave the woman's number to Mr John. The woman wasn't sure who the accused was but knew he was a former colleague and gave him advice during a brief telephone call. The woman had offered to help the accused with the application process for the hospital and he rang her again a month later. Around Christmas 2022, the accused called the woman to say he wanted to drop off gifts to her children and he met her when she got off the bus, said Mr Grehan. The witness said the accused arranged to call to the woman's house regarding filling out a church form at 8.30pm on May 21st. The woman got into the car to fill out the form and didn't suspect anything. The accused then started to drive his car before pulling up on a footpath beside an industrial estate. The detective said when the car was pulled over the accused told the woman to close her eyes as he wanted to give her a surprise. When she opened her eyes the accused rubbed a handful of really hot chilli powder in her face, which stung her eyes and lips. The accused also had a hammer in one of his hands. The detective said when the woman tried to get out of the car she could see that everywhere was sealed with black sticky tape, including the door handle. The woman thought the accused was going to kill her and started preaching at him not to do so. The witness said the accused kept saying: "I'm going to kill you, say your last prayer". The accused told her he had never killed before but he was going to kill her. The accused told the woman that she had given him a sexually transmitted disease (STD) to which she told him that she had never slept with him. Mr John said he would only let her go on condition she said she gave him an STD. The accused proceeded to record on his mobile phone the woman saying she gave him an STD in 2021 despite never kissing or having sexual contact with him. He made another video of the woman saying she gave him a STD through kissing before dropping her home. The witness said gardai later found a black-handled knife inside the accused's driver's door as well as a hatchet, a lump hammer and containers containing a chilli like substance. Black duct tape and adhesive tapping were also seized from inside the passenger door as well as a Jerrycan containing flammable petrol. Forensic psychiatrist Consultant forensic psychiatrist Dr Stephen Monks, who was called on behalf of the defence, told Fiona Murphy SC that when he met with the accused in April and October 2024 the accused remained 90 per cent convinced he was deliberately infected with HIV by the victim in the case, despite medical evidence to the contrary. Dr Monks said the accused is suffering from delusionary disorder and depression, which are both mental illnesses. He said the accused's actions were directly driven by delusional thinking in response to the psychotic belief that he had been harmed by the victim. He said Mr John met the three criteria for a mental disorder under the Criminal Law Insanity Act 2006; namely that he did not know the nature and quality of his act, that he did not know what he was doing was wrong and that he was unable to refrain from committing the act. The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury of seven men and five women. 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. Community volunteers transport water during relief efforts at the American Legion Bingo Hall after tragic flooding in Kerrville, Texas, on July 8, 2025. Brandon Bell / Getty Images A group of 20 states sued the Trump administration on Wednesday over the shutting down of a multibillion-dollar grant program with the purpose of strengthening natural disaster preparation and mitigation. The lawsuit filed in a Boston federal court contends that the United States Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) unlawfully eliminated its Building Resilient Infrastructures and Communities (BRIC) program, overriding Congress. The states said in the complaint that the shutdowns impacts have been devastating, reported The Hill. Communities across the country are being forced to delay, scale back, or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects depending on this funding, the complaint said. Projects that have been in development for years, and in which communities have invested millions of dollars for planning, permitting, and environmental review are now threatened. And in the meantime, Americans across the country face a higher risk of harm from natural disasters. Created in 2018, the BRIC program has helped avert over $150 billion in costs, along with other federal mitigation grants, according to the complaint. Congress and FEMA began using mitigation as a strategy to deal with natural disasters decades ago, rather than responding to crises after the fact. A FEMA search and rescue team from Virginia Beach, Virginia trains at Camp Pendleton on the Southern California coast in Sand Diego County on March 24, 2015. Cotton Puryear / Virginia Guard Public Affairs Over the past four years, almost 2,000 projects were chosen by FEMA all over the country to receive roughly $4.5 billion in funding. For the past 30 years, the BRIC program has provided communities across the nation with resources to proactively fortify their infrastructure against natural disasters. By focusing on preparation, the program has protected property, saved money that would have otherwise been spent on post-disaster costs, reduced injuries, and saved lives, a press release from Rhode Island Attorney General Peter F. Neronha said. The Trump administration shut down the program in April, referring to it as wasteful and politicized, The Hill reported. President Donald Trump indicated early in his second term that there would be a major overhaul of FEMA, possibly resulting in the disaster relief program being eliminated. But in the wake of the recent deadly Texas floods, the administration has said FEMA would be reformed rather than gotten rid of entirely. A FEMA Urban Search and Rescue team from Los Angeles, California responds to the Houston, Texas area following Hurricane Harvey, on Aug. 31, 2017. LAFD Photo This illegal cut endangers the communities most vulnerable to natural disasters, Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown said in a press release. Communities and states face devastating consequences when the federal government doesnt meet its obligations to the public, and I will hold the Trump administration accountable for abandoning their safety. The lawsuit noted that neither the termination of BRIC nor a substantial reduction in the functions and capabilities of FEMA were authorized by Congress, reported The Hill. In fact, Congress has specifically barred it, the complaint said. Therefore, the BRIC termination violates these statutes and the Separation of Powers. South Korea's top court has upheld an appeals court ruling to dismiss all charges in a long-running fraud case against Samsung chairman Jay Y. Lee. The accounting fraud and stock manipulation charges stemmed from a merger of two Samsung subsidiaries in 2015. Prosecutors had accused Lee of manipulating share prices to help clear the way for the merger in an attempt to consolidate his power. In 2024, a court ruled that the prosecutors failed to prove their claims. The case has worked through the appeals process since then. In a statement to Reuters , Samsung's lawyers said the latest ruling confirmed that the merger had been completed legally and added they were "sincerely grateful" to the Supreme Court. Back in 2017, Lee was sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of bribing public officials with regards to the merger. However, the Supreme Court overturned the decision and ordered a re-trial. As a result of that, Lee was handed a 30-month prison sentence and served 18 months before being paroled. Then-South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol (who was removed from office this year and recently rearrested over a failed martial law attempt in 2024) later pardoned Lee. What appeared to be a romantic evening at Coldplay's concert in Boston ended up unleashing one of the most viral corporate scandals of the year. A simple image captured by the classic kiss cam during the show at Gillette Stadium exposed, to thousands of people and millions on social media, what was believed to be an infidelity in progress. The protagonist: Andy Byron , millionaire CEO of the tech company Astronomer . His partner in the scene: Kristin Cabot , his HR director. And his wife? She's already removed her last name from social media. The incident occurred while Coldplay was performing their successful Music of the Spheres World Tour in Boston. In the middle of their performance, Chris Martin activated the famous kiss cam , a dynamic that usually captures couples in the audience and invites them to kiss on a giant screen. However, when the camera focused on Byron and Cabot, both reacted alarmedly: first they looked at each other in bewilderment, then they moved away visibly uncomfortable, and finally they tried to disappear from the spotlight. Their behavior triggered instant suspicion. The moment went viral almost immediately when videos taken by the public began circulating on TikTok and X (formerly Twitter). The images, accompanied by Chris Martin's phrase "Either they're having an affair or they're very, very shy" lit up social media and international media. both of them are married theyre so cooked https://t.co/oTCxqneixX pop culture gal (@allurequinn) July 17, 2025 Who is the woman in the video? Although the identity of the woman working alongside the CEO was not immediately known, social media users searched the company's profiles and discovered it was Kristin Cabot , Astronomer's head of human resources. The executive, who joined the company in late 2024, has a background in people management and organizational culture. The fact that the two work together wouldn't be particularly relevant if it weren't for their behavior on camera. The fact that they met at a personal event outside of work and reacted evasively raised suspicions of a possible extramarital affair for the CEO. The wife's reaction As theories swirled online, one move confirmed the public's suspicions: Megan Kerrigan Byron , Andy Byron's wife, removed her husband's last name from her Facebook account after the video went viral. The claim was confirmed by Page Six, which monitored the couple's publicity. Although Megan hasn't commented, her actions were interpreted as a sign of estrangement or an impending breakup, as the video continues to gain views. i'm so invested in these people na hindi ko naman kilala nakita ko lang sa coldplay con kanina HAHAHAHAHAHAA https://t.co/0984BY8ljW who is jazlene (@_jahzyy) July 17, 2025 Who is Andy Byron? Andy Byron is the CEO of Astronomer, a US-based data technology company valued at over $1.3 billion. He took over the company in 2023, positioning it as one of the most relevant emerging firms in the data analytics and infrastructure management software sector. Now, her career faces a different test: her public reputation. Although an extramarital affair has not been confirmed, public perception and visual evidence have been enough to raise suspicions. So far, neither Byron nor the company has issued any official statement. 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. Syrian troops on Thursday pulled out of the Druze heartland of Sweida on the orders of the Islamist-led government, following days of deadly clashes that killed nearly 600 people, according to a war monitor. The southern province has been gripped by deadly sectarian bloodshed since Sunday, with hundreds reportedly killed in clashes pitting Druze fighters against Sunni Bedouin tribes and the army and its allies. The city of Sweida was desolate on Thursday, AFP correspondents on the ground reported, with shops looted, homes burnt and bodies in the streets. "What I saw of the city looked as if it had just emerged from a flood or a natural disaster," Hanadi Obeid, a 39-year-old doctor, told AFP. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a televised speech that community leaders would resume control over security in Sweida "based on the supreme national interest", after the deployment of government troops on Tuesday fuelled the intercommunal bloodshed and prompted Israeli military intervention. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said that 594 people had been killed in clashes in Sweida province since Sunday. The UN's humanitarian agency, OCHA, said that "nearly 2,000 families have been displaced" by the violence across the province. Israel had hammered government troops with air strikes during their brief deployment in Sweida and also struck targets in and around the capital Damascus, including the military headquarters, warning that its attacks would intensify until the government pulled back. The Observatory reported that three people were killed in Damascus by the Israeli strikes. Syria's state-run news agency SANA later reported the first Israeli attack on the area since government forces withdrew, with strikes on the outskirts of Sweida. The Syrian presidency meanwhile accused Druze fighters in Sweida of violating the ceasefire that led to the withdrawal of government forces. In a statement, the presidency accused "outlaw forces" of violating the agreement through "horrific violence" against civilians. The presidency also warned against "continued blatant Israeli interference in Syria's internal affairs, which only leads to further chaos and destruction and further complicates the regional situation". - Promise of 'protection' - Sharaa, whose Islamist-led interim government has had troubled relations with minority groups since it toppled longtime president Bashar al-Assad in December, pledged to protect the Druze, a religious minority. "We are keen on holding accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people, as they are under the protection and responsibility of the state," said Sharaa, whose Hayat Tahrir al-Sham movement was once linked to Al-Qaeda. More than 1,700 mostly Alawite civilians were massacred in their heartland on the Mediterranean coast in March, with government-affiliated groups blamed for most of the killings. Government forces also battled Druze fighters in Sweida and near Damascus in April and May, leaving more than 100 people dead. Government troops had entered Sweida on Tuesday with the stated aim of overseeing a truce, following days of deadly sectarian clashes. But witnesses said that government forces instead joined the Bedouin in attacking Druze fighters and civilians. - US mediation - The Syrian president also hit out at Israel's military intervention, saying that it would have pushed "matters to a large-scale escalation, except for the effective intervention of American, Arab and Turkish mediation, which saved the region from an unknown fate". The United States -- a close ally of Israel that has been trying to reboot its relationship with Syria -- said late Wednesday that an agreement had been reached to restore calm in the area, urging "all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made". A US State Department spokesperson said that Washington "did not support (the) recent Israeli strikes". Foreign ministers from 11 countries in the region, including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, affirmed their support for the Syrian government in a joint statement released by the United Arab Emirates' foreign ministry on Thursday. They strongly condemned the Israeli attacks, describing them as a "blatant violation of international law and a flagrant assault on Syria's sovereignty", the statement said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the ceasefire was a result of his country's "powerful action". Israel, which has its own Druze community, has presented itself as a defender of the group, although some analysts say that is a pretext for pursuing its own military goal of keeping Syrian government forces away from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Dozens of Druze gathered in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights on Thursday, hoping to catch a glimpse of relatives on the Syrian-held side who might try to cross the barbed-wire frontier. Qamar Abu Saleh, a 36-year-old educator, said that some people "opened the fence and entered, and people from Syria also started crossing here". "It was like a dream, and we still can't believe it happened." burs-nad/rlp/tc/sco Are you frustrated with overcrowded boat ramps? Too many people hitting your favorite shoreline for bass? Or maybe your local pond or reservoir isnt what it used to be? Well, lucky for you, Ohio has many underrated fishing opportunities. Anglers get so caught up in whats cool and trendy that I think they lose sight of why they are really out there in the first place. Fishing is about connecting with nature, enjoying some tranquility on the water and occasionally putting some food on the table. I am going to give you some options on what fish to target so that you will likely have the water to yourself and catch some fish that will actually fight unlike those overgrown sunfish people call bass. Suckers can be plentiful and a blast to target. Using light spinning gear or fly equipment will get these fish to pull like no other, whether its white suckers in the Lake Erie tributaries or various species of redhorse suckers in the southern part of the state, especially in the spring when theyre getting ready to spawn and congregate in the shallow streams and rivers. White bass are another fish that come to mind that gets a bad rep for some reason. These aggressive little fish can be found in almost any spillway or creek connected to a lake or reservoir. Despite what some people may say, these are an excellent eating fish, so dont be afraid to take a few home. Longnose gar can be a blast to target in the heat of the summer in large rivers or lakes. A small minnow under a float or casting a rope fly can be a very effective way to catch these prehistoric fish; they fight hard and are all over the place in the big river systems. Drum, buffalo and carp are some of the hardest-fighting fish Ohio has to offer. Dont confuse these fish calling Drum Buffalo, carp because they are a completely different species of fish and also native to Ohio and play a role in the ecosystem. They can be at times very difficult to fool with artificial lures and flies, but its extremely rewarding when it happens. So, next time the water is too hot to musky fish, or the lakes are too crowded with bass fisherman, go hit the creeks and rivers and fish for some of these awesome fish Ohio has to offer. Take a minute and remember the reason youre out there in the first place. By Other News LISBON, Ohio Ohio State University Extension Columbiana County will host a grazing workshop on Aug. 20 from 6-8 p.m. at Conkle Family Farms, 10087 Gavers Road, Hanoverton, Ohio. Attendees will get to hear discussions on forage stand assessment methods, invasive species, watering systems and stockpiling and stocking density. Dinner will be provided. To register for the workshop, call 330-967-7249 or email shoemaker.306@osu.edu. For more information, visit columbiana.osu.edu/events/grazing-workshop. By Lindsay Tournoux Summer is here, and with that comes policy development! Yes, summer is when county farm bureaus prepare for the upcoming annual meeting in late summer. Farm bureau has a grassroots structure, which means the organizations policies and activities are led from individual member action that is carried up through the federation: county farm bureau to Ohio Farm Bureau to American Farm Bureau. Farm Bureaus policy development process This process happens year-round with an emphasis on collecting feedback in the spring and early summer. County Farm Bureau policy development committees host local resource meetings with elected officials and county leaders to discuss community issues. Members are also sent a survey to submit their concerns directly to the committee. The policy development committee meets several times throughout the summer to prepare policy recommendations for the county farm bureau annual meeting. One of the topics raised at several community meetings this year has been property tax reform. Our policy development committees are carefully reviewing current policy and considering implications of such reforms to funding for townships, schools and local services. We invite members to attend their county Farm Bureaus annual meeting later this summer to participate in policy discussion on this and other important topics. Once policies are approved at the county farm bureaus annual meeting, state and national policies are proposed for consideration by the more than 350-member delegate body at the Ohio Farm Bureau Annual Meeting in December. National policies that are approved at the state annual meeting are then advocated for at the American Farm Bureau Annual Convention in January. Advocacy in action Approval of policy is a very important first step to the advocacy process. County farm bureau leadership and OFBFs Public Policy staff engage elected officials and legislators, when necessary, for policies that require legislative action. Both OFBF and AFBF are often asked to take positions on proposed legislation. Before any position is considered, the first step is to review the policy books that the delegate body put together and approved. Existing policy will dictate what position, if any, the organization will take. Ohio Farm Bureau also has an action alert system that allows members to advocate directly to their legislators. A notable example of such action took place in June. After a version of the Ohio Senates budget was released that removed a multitude of state sales tax exemptions across the board, including the exemption for field tile and grain bins, Ohio farmers worked quickly to make their voices heard. Within 24 hours, OFBF members generated more than 1,000 emails to their senators through our action alert system, a number that ultimately increased to more than 1,700 emails, asking for the exemption to be reinstated. Through those emails, and additional touch points via phone and text, the field tile and grain bin sales tax exemption were both reinstated to the Senates final version of the budget. Conclusion Member engagement throughout every stage of the advocacy process is critical to ensure that there is well-thought-out policy to address the variety of issues that agriculturalists are facing across Ohio. One of the biggest benefits of farm bureau membership is having a say in issues that are impacting Ohios producers across the state. If you are not a member and would like to have the opportunity to participate in our advocacy process, join us online at ofbf.org or call our office. If you are already a member and would like to get more involved with advocacy, give our Wooster Farm Bureau office a call at 330-263-7456. (Lindsay Tournoux is the Organization Director serving Ashland, Medina, Summit and Wayne County Farm Bureaus.) The Racing Report is a five-part photo essay shot at short tracks in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania that will run in Farm and Dairy through the summer. Each month we will feature a different driver from around the region. For the third installment, photojournalist Matthew Chasney follows Junior Sprint driver Evo Burden at Goods Raceway in Deerfield, Ohio. Sarah Burden helps her 8-year-old son, Evo Burden, into his fire suit in the back of their trailer prior to the Junior Sprints feature race at Goods Raceway in Deerfield, Ohio on June 7. Above him is a dry erase board with a diagram of the track showing corner numbers and well as the location of the finish line and other important track features. Outside of the hauler, his father, Justin, makes final adjustments to the car before the feature race. Wanna know how I went so fast? asks the young driver. I kept my foot down on the gas the entire time! He loves going fast, just like his favorite drivers, Ryan Blaney and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Justin is a gearhead and was happy to support his sons fledgling interest. He bought Evo a go-kart and built a 1/8 mile track in a field at their home in Atwater, Ohio, to practice on. Last season, they upgraded to a junior sprint car and the family began racing at Goods. When the signal to get to the track is given, Evo grabs his helmet and squeezes into the car. Justin and the cars sponsor, Tyler McClamroch, a family friend, give him some last-minute advice before he hits the track. Evo is running his first full season in Junior Sprints, and theres a lot to learn but hes curious and eager. The cars can top out at a mere 25 horsepower, making this a forgiving and safe form of racing for young drivers to hone their skills. Evos car is 9 horsepower. Since he began racing in Junior Sprints, hes notched several third-place finishes and hes focusing on the little details in order to improve on that. Sarah is careful to temper the on-track lessons with encouragement. We like to back up criticism with what he did awesome she says. This approach goes for track officials, too. After Evo jumped a restart in the heat race, the flag man at Goods, Fred Bieber, pulled Evo aside and with the patience of a kindergarten teacher reminded him of the restart rules, adding youll be in the winners circle before you know it. However, this would not be one of those nights. During the feature race, another car made contact with Evo knocking his right rear wheel loose and scoring the young driver his first DNF result. The family loaded up the trailer and made the short drive back to Atwater. Back at home, Evo practiced his post-race ritual: trading his fire suit for pajamas and snuggling up with his stuffies. Farmers in Scotland can now apply for up to 200,000 a year in funding to strengthen agricultural skills and drive environmental improvements. Applications opened this week, with Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie confirming that the fund will now consider multi-year agreements. This move is aimed at giving farmers greater certainty and longer-term support, subject to annual budget confirmation. Since its launch in 2015, the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund (KTIF) has backed a range of initiatives designed to promote skills development, business efficiency, and on-farm sustainability. Past projects supported by the fund include a livestock skills development programme in Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. Others explored a specialist training courses for crofters, while a project on the Isle of Bute highlighted the productivity benefits of improved calving intervals. This year's fund is expected to play a key role in Scotlands climate response and biodiversity goals, while helping agricultural communities future-proof their businesses and practices. Minister Fairlie said: Since this fund was launched in 2015 it has been supporting the agricultural industry to share really important skills and lessons learned across farming networks. "The KTIF is well placed to support tackling the climate emergency through restoring and preserving biodiversity and ecosystems, promoting resource efficiency, improving water and soil management, and preventing and controlling pollution. Working with farmers, we want to do what we can to give them as much stability as possible, with multi-year applications allowing them to better plan for the future and help them try new ways to make farming and food production as sustainable as possible. More information on how to apply is available through the Scottish governments agriculture support portal. A group of high-profile farmers and business leaders is taking the government to court, accusing it of pushing ahead with major inheritance tax reforms without consulting those most affected. Collyer Bristow LLP has confirmed that it served proceedings on the chancellor and HMRC, launching a judicial review over the governments decision not to consult on planned changes to agricultural property relief (APR) and business property relief (BPR)despite longstanding policy requiring such consultation. Since the initial announcement of the legal challenge, the London law firm says it has been inundated with requests for further detailsparticularly regarding the identities of the claimants. The judicial review is being brought by three named parties. Thomas Martin, aged 45, is a sixth-generation farmer based near Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, where his family has cultivated the same land for over a century. Mr Martin is also a passionate advocate for farming education, widely known through his Farmer Tom social media presence. He is the founder of Farmer Time, a not-for-profit initiative that connects schoolchildren with working farmers via live video calls, enabling young people across the country to learn about farming, food production and the countryside. He is also a strong proponent of regenerative farming practices, which focus on long-term soil health and ecological sustainability. The second claimant is George Martin, aged 74, who is Thomass father and the senior partner in the family farming enterprise. Lastly, the Farmers and Businesses for Fair Tax Relief (FBFTR), an unincorporated association established to promote good government practices and fair tax policies for farmers and family-owned businesses, is the third claimant. FBFTR is being supported in this legal action by one of its members, Steve Perez. Mr Perez, aged 68, is a prominent entrepreneur, hotelier and farmer based in Chesterfield, Derbyshire. He is the founder of Global Brands Ltd, and owns both the Casa Hotel and the Peak Edge Hotel. He also runs Walton Lodge Farm, which supplies produce to his hotel and restaurant businesses. As reported in the Sunday Telegraph and Derbyshire Times, Mr Perez recently cancelled 20 million worth of planned capital investment in Global Brands Ltd and the Peak Edge Hotel in response to the governments proposed IHT changes. Those investments, had they gone ahead, were expected to generate nearly 100 new jobs in the Chesterfield area. The claimants are participating in the judicial review in a personal capacity but believe they are broadly representative of many entrepreneurs and family-run farms and businesses. The legal costs are being funded by a group of affected businesses. James Austen, a partner at Collyer Bristow, said the firm is fortunate to have such committed farmers and businessowners involved in the judicial review. He highlighted the dedication of Tom and George Martin and Steve Perez to their local communities and the long-term future of their businesses, describing them as all dedicated to their local areas and the long-term multi-generational viability of their businesses. Mr Austen added that the claimants are concerned by the governments refusal to hold a formal consultation on its proposed changes to APR and BPR, despite the widespread concerns that have still not been addressed. This claim does not seek to overturn the decision to amend APR or BPR, he clarified, but just asks that affected individuals and groups can contribute to a proper consultation exercise to ensure government has the best evidence when developing its tax policy for UK farms. Meanwhile, a cross-party committee of MPs has added further pressure on the government by urging a delay to the inheritance tax reforms. In a report published in May, the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (EFRA) Committee called on ministers to postpone final decisions on changes to APR and BPR until October 2026, with any new rules coming into force from April 2027. The committee argued that such a delay would allow for better formulation of tax policy and provide the government with an opportunity to convey a positive long-term vision for farming, while giving vulnerable farmers vital time to seek professional advice. A new report hails farms, estates, and rural businesses as heroes for their extraordinary role in battling Scotland's largest-ever wildfires. The wildfires burned across an unprecedented 11,827 hectares of moorland and woodland in Carrbridge and Dava, northern Scotland, in late June. Prepared at the request of Scottish government officials, the report, published by Scottish Land & Estates (SLE), reveals the extensive resources, manpower, and expertise contributed by at least 33 businesses, including 27 estates. The collective value of specialist firefighting equipment deployed by private land managers is conservatively estimated at 3.1 million, with over 100 employees engaged in the containment effort. The report's release coincides with a visit to the affected area by Jim Fairlie MSP, the Minister for Agriculture, who met with local land managers involved in the emergency response. Ross Ewing, director of moorland at SLE, said: The Carrbridge and Dava wildfires represent the largest such event in Scotlands history and without the extraordinary intervention of rural businesses, the scale of devastation would have been even greater. These land managers brought not only equipment and personnel, but also essential knowledge of the terrain and fire behaviour much of it honed through generations of safe muirburn practice. Their contribution should be commended, supported and learned from. The report highlights that more than 110 all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), fogging units, tractors, diggers, water bowsers, and other assets were deployed during the firefighting effort. At least 101 employees from the businesses surveyed were directly involved in containing the fires. Of those who helped, 79% had practical experience of controlled burning (muirburn), and 66% were formally trained in its use. A wide range of advanced tactics were employed, including tactical backburning, coordinated ATV chains, firebreak excavation, and suppression using fogging units, leaf blowers, and slurry tankers. Several near-miss incidents occurred, underscoring the volatility of the fire and the bravery of those responding. The report also identifies key gaps in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Services (SFRS) wildfire response capability and makes several recommendations. It also highlights that the licensing framework for muirburn, introduced through the Wildlife Management and Muirburn Act 2024, could reduce the ability of land managers to conduct fuel load managementa critical factor in wildfire prevention. Mr Ewing continued: If we make it harder for skilled land managers to carry out preventative muirburn, we risk losing the very infrastructure and capability that helped contain these fires. "Under the recent legislation, there is a necessity test regarding use of muirburn on peatland, and a presumption in favour of other vegetation control methods. By amending this to an appropriateness test, it would allow this vital practice of muirburn to be carried out more freely while simultaneously retaining licensed regulatory oversight by government agencies. Additionally, the report calls for government exploration of a compensation mechanism to support businesses that suffered financial lossesincluding damage to equipment, infrastructure, and peatland restoration projectsas a direct result of their firefighting efforts. Mr Ewing concluded: Without the courage and commitment of those who stepped up during this crisis, the outcome would have been far worse. We owe them our thanks and we owe them action. Turkiyes Investment Environment Improvement Council (YOIKK) has unveiled its 2025 Action Plan, setting the stage for comprehensive reforms to enhance the nations investment climate. The plan, comprising 39 targeted actions, focuses on key areas including industrial transformation, renewable energy, the digital economy, and regional development. The plan seeks to stimulate private sector investment, reduce bureaucratic barriers, and align Turkiyes commercial framework with international standards. It places strong emphasis on increasing industrial output, encouraging technological innovation, and establishing legal clarity for investors. The Ministry of Industry and Technology will spearhead the expansion of organised industrial zones under a broader national industrial strategy, while the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources will focus on making energy-intensive zones more sustainable. These efforts are expected to reinforce Turkiyes industrial competitiveness and environmental resilience, according to media reports from Turkiye. Turkiye's Investment Environment Improvement Council (YOIKK) has launched its 2025 Action Plan featuring 39 reforms to boost private investment, streamline regulations, and align with global standards. Key focus areas include industrial transformation, renewable energy, digital economy, and regional development. The highlights include a hydrogen strategy, AI action plan, and vocational training. To streamline procedures, the plan proposes a single-window investment platform. It also includes legal reforms to improve predictability in qualified investments and resolve disputes more efficiently. Revisions to enterprise and SME classification thresholds are also on the agenda to reflect evolving economic realities. Vocational training is another focal point as higher education institutions will be set up within industrial zones in collaboration with local chambers of commerce, promoting university-industry partnerships and addressing workforce needs. In a major push towards clean energy, the Ministry of Industry and Technology will soon launch a national hydrogen strategy, as per the reports. The initiative will cover legislative, safety, and infrastructure frameworks for hydrogen production, supporting research in electrolysers and fuel cells while ensuring EU environmental compliance. Additionally, Turkiye is preparing a 20262030 Artificial Intelligence Action Plan to advance ethical AI development and boost its international standing. A National Cloud Computing Strategy and updated National Data Strategy will also address data localisation and infrastructure gaps. The plan also introduced a Local Development Initiative Program aimed at identifying and supporting region-specific opportunities. A nationwide call for proposals under this initiative is expected later in the year. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (SG) The volume of world merchandise trade rose by 3.6 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) and 5.3 per cent year on year (YoY) in the first quarter (Q1) this year as imports surged in North America in anticipation of higher tariffs in the United States, latest data from the World Trade Organization (WTO) show. The growth was stronger than the WTOs most recent forecast, but WTO economists expect the pace of expansion to slow later in the year as fully stocked inventories and higher tariffs weigh on import demand. WTO's Global Trade Outlook and Statistics report on April 16 had projected a baseline forecast of 2.7-per cent growth in world trade in 2025. The volume of world merchandise trade rose by 3.6 per cent quarter on quarter (QoQ) and 5.3 per cent YoY in Q1 2025 as imports surged in North America in anticipation of higher tariffs in the US, latest WTO data show. North America saw the strongest QoQ import growth of any region at 13.4 per cent. The value of such tradeas measured by non-seasonally-adjusted exportswas up by 4 per cent YoY in Q1. Meanwhile, the US dollar value of world merchandise tradeas measured by non-seasonally-adjusted exportswas up by 4 per cent YoY in Q1 2025, reflecting strong growth in volume terms and declining prices, a WTO release said. The value of trade in the first quarter was down compared to the previous quarter due to regular seasonal variation, but seasonally-adjusted figures continued to rise. There were significant disparities across regions in merchandise trade volume growth in the first quarter, especially on the import side. North America recorded the strongest QoQ import growth of any region by far at 13.4 per cent, followed by Africa at 5.1 per cent, South and Central America and the Caribbean at 3.6 per cent, the Middle East at 3 per cent, Europe at 1.3 per cent and Asia at 1.1 per cent. The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), including certain associate and former member states, was the only region to record a 0.5-per cent decline in Q1 2025. On the export side, the Middle East recorded the strongest QoQ growth at 6.3 per cent, followed by Asia at 5.6 per cent, South America at 3.2 per cent, Africa at 2.5 per cent, Europe at 1.9 per cent and North America at 1.8 per cent. The CIS region also registered an export decline of 1 per cent in the first quarter. Africa had the strongest merchandise export growth of any region in value terms in Q1 2025up by 9 per cent YoY. It was followed by Asiaup by 5 per cent YoY, and South and Central Americaup by 4 per cent YoY. Among the WTO regions, only the CIS saw its exports decline in value, by 6 per cent YoY. On the import side, strong YoY increases in dollar value were observed in North America (plus 19 per cent YoY) and South America (plus 12 per cent YoY). Asia's first quarter merchandise imports increased the least amongst the regions (1 per cent), apart from the 0.1-per cent decline in the CIS region. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS) As Bajrangi Bhaijaan clocks 10 years, director Kabir Khan is looking back at the film that not only changed the course of his career but also deeply moved audiences across the world. While the Salman Khan starrer is remembered for its heartwarming story and its message of love across borders, Kabir recalls how the journey wasnt without its challenges. One particular scene featuring Om Puri as a Pakistani Maulvi sparked serious debate. They felt it might hurt Muslim sentiments. But I fought hard for it. That moment wasn't about religion, it was about unity, and it landed exactly like that with the audience, Kabir told SCREEN. That scene, in which Om Puris character blesses Salman Khans character with Jai Shri Ram, raised eyebrows at the time. But Kabir stood by it and a moment in a packed theatre proved him right. He remembered watching the film at Gaiety Galaxy in Mumbai, surrounded by an audience full of Muslim blue-collar workers. They cheered loudly at that very moment, he said. It was the clearest sign that everyone who doubted it was wrong. While the film was always meant to be an entertainer, Kabir admits he hadnt expected the emotional weight it eventually carried. I thought it was going to be more of a fun, adventurous movie. But when I saw audiences just sitting in silence after the film, I realized it hit something deep, he said. And even now, a decade later, it still affects him. Even today, I get misty-eyed watching the final scene. Kabir also shared a lesser-known casting detail. The role of the Maulvi, ultimately played by Om Puri, was initially offered to someone else. I had offered it to Naseeruddin Shah, who really liked the script. But it couldn't work out, he said. Still, he has no regrets. Om Puris performance was unforgettable nonetheless. Ten years on, Bajrangi Bhaijaan is not just a film its a feeling that continues to stay with its audience. Also Read: 10 Years of Bajrangi Bhaijaan: BTS Moments That Bring Back The Magic After a three-year-long anticipation since its initial announcement, Prithviraj Sukumaran's much-awaited film, Khalifa, was officially launched on Wednesday with a traditional pooja ceremony. The film sees director Vysakh joining forces again with the versatile actor, more than a decade since their blockbuster collaboration, Pokkiri Raja, which marked the filmmakers debut in 2010. Expressing his excitement on social media, Vysakh said he was "beyond thrilled to be collaborating with Prithviraj after 15 long years." The reunion of this powerful duo has already piqued the interest of fans and film enthusiasts, promising another entertainer that could set new benchmarks for Malayalam cinema. View this post on Instagram A post shared by VYSAKH (@directorvysakh) A Grand Reunion with a Hit Team Khalifa is penned by noted screenwriter Jinu V Abraham, known for his previous collaborations with Prithviraj, including films such as Masters, London Bridge, and the action-drama Kaduva. Jinu also ventured into direction with Adam Joan, a stylish thriller starring Prithviraj himself. With the proven synergy between the actor-writer duo, expectations are sky-high for this project. Adding further prestige to the crew is acclaimed cinematographer Jomon T John, who is set to handle the camera work, capturing the vibrant locales of London where filming is scheduled to start on August 6. Composer Jakes Bejoy, whose dynamic background scores have elevated several recent Malayalam films, is on board to create the musical backdrop for the film. The editing will be overseen by Chaman Chakko, with international stunt choreographer Yannick Ben managing the action sequences. The film is backed by Saregamas Yoodlee Films, known for producing content-rich films across languages. Their association ensures that Khalifa is not only grand in scale but also appealing to a wide audience base beyond regional boundaries. View this post on Instagram A post shared by VYSAKH (@directorvysakh) Prithviraj's Current Roster In parallel, Prithviraj continues to expand his horizons in Bollywood. He will soon appear in the much-talked-about Hindi drama Sarzameen, starring alongside Kajol and debutant Ibrahim Ali Khan, son of Saif Ali Khan. Directed by Boman Irani's son Kayoze Irani, Sarzameen will premiere directly on JioHotstar on July 25, 2025. Additionally, the actor is gearing up for another Hindi film titled Daayra, a crime drama helmed by acclaimed filmmaker Meghna Gulzar, co-starring Kareena Kapoor Khan. Back home, Prithvirajs Malayalam releases include Jayan Nambiars Vilayath Buddha and Nisam Basheers Nobody, both currently in post-production, promising a busy and vibrant year for the star. As fans eagerly await more updates from the sets of Khalifa, the reunion of Prithviraj and Vysakh promises another landmark in the actor's illustrious career. Also Read: Sarzameen Trailer: Prithviraj Sukumaran and Ibrahim Ali Khans Face Off Looks Fierce VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2025 / Gold Mountain Mining Corp. ("Gold Mountain" or the "Company") (TSX:GMTN)(OTCQB:GMTNF)(FRA:5XFA) is pleased to provide an update with respect to the previously announced management cease trade order (the "MCTO") issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission on July 2, 2025. The MCTO was issued in connection with the delay by the Company in filing its annual financial statements for the financial year ended March 31, 2025 (the "Financial Statements") and its management's discussion and analysis, CEO and CFO filing certificates and annual information form relating to the Financial Statements (collectively, the "Required Filings") before the prescribed filing deadline of June 30, 2025 (the "Filing Deadline"). The Company continues to work closely with its auditor and expects to file the Required Filings on or before July 30, 2025, as previously announced. The Company is providing this status update in accordance with National Policy 12-203 Management Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203"). The Company intends to follow the provisions of the Alternative Information Guidelines set out in NP 12-203, including the issuance of bi-weekly default status reports in the form of news releases, for as long as the Company remains in default. The Company confirms as of the date of this news release that there has been no material change in the information contained in the default announcement issued on July 2, 2025, and there is no other material information concerning the affairs of the Company that has not been generally disclosed. About Gold Mountain Gold Mountain is a British Columbia based gold and silver production, exploration and development company focused on the development of the Elk Gold Mine, a producing mine located 57 kilometers from Merritt in South Central British Columbia. Additional information is available at www.sedarplus.ca or on the Company's website at www.goldmountainminingcorp.ca. For more information, please contact: Gold Mountain Mining Corp. Email: info@goldmountainminingcorp.ca Website: www.goldmountainminingcorp.ca The TSX has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of the content of this News Release. Forward Looking Statements Forward-looking statements in this news release may include, but are not limited to, statements relating to those in respect of the Company's future financial reporting. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof, and except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company assumes no obligation or intent to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements made herein or otherwise, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE: Gold Mountain Mining Corp. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/gold-mountain-provides-update-respecting-late-filing-of-annual-financial-statemen-1049643 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2025 / Zimtu Capital Corp. (TSXV:ZC)(FSE:ZCT1) ("Zimtu" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive agreement dated July 14, 2025 with Star Copper Corp. (CSE:STCU)(OTC:STCUF)(FWB:SOP) ("Star") for the sale of a 100% interest in the Copperline Property ("Copperline" or the "Property"), located in north-central British Columbia (the "Transaction"). The Copperline Property comprises seven mineral claims totaling approximately 2,687 hectares. It is located near Skutsil Knob at the southern end of the Driftwood Range, approximately 120 km north-northeast of Smithers, British Columbia. Transaction Terms: Under the terms of the agreement, Zimtu will receive the following consideration from Star Copper: the sum of CDN$100,000 in cash on signing of the agreement and $250,000 in cash 6 months from signing ("Cash Consideration), Issue to the Vendor an aggregate 200,000 common shares on signing of the agreement and 300,000 common shares 6 months from signing ("Share Consideration), and Pay the Vendor $1,500,000 (the "Bonus"), consisting of $750,000 in cash ("Bonus cash") and $750,000 in common shares ("Bonus shares") the completion of a favourable Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA"). the Purchaser shall grant a two percent (2.0%) royalty on returns from the commercial production of mineral projects from the Property to the Vendor, (the "NSR Royalty"). The NSR Royalty shall be freely assignable by the Vendor, upon written approval of the Purchaser, and one-half (1.0%) of the NSR Royalty may be purchased at any time within 5 years of the effective date for a cash payment of $1,000,000 to the Vendor. No finder's fees will be paid in connection with the Transaction. The Transaction involves Non-Arm's Length Parties, as such term is defined in Policy 5.3 of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "Exchange"), as Sean Charland is a director of Zimtu and Star and Jody Bellefleur is the Chief Financial Officer of Zimtu and Star. Closing will be subject to, among other conditions, Zimtu obtaining approval for the Transaction from the Exchange. Board Update The Company also announces the resignation of Chris Grove from the board of directors. The Company thanks Mr. Grove for his contributions over the many years of service and wishes him all the best in his future endeavours. About Zimtu Capital Corp. Zimtu Capital Corp. is a public investment issuer that aspires to achieve long-term capital appreciation for its shareholders. Zimtu Capital companies may operate in the fields of mineral exploration, mining, technology, life sciences or investment. The Company trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "ZC" and Frankfurt under symbol "ZCT1". For more information, please visit https://www.zimtu.com. On Behalf of the Board of Directors ZIMTU CAPITAL CORP. "Sean Charland" Sean Charland President & Director Phone: 604.681.1568 NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS NEWS RELEASE. This news release contains forward-looking statements, which include any information that addresses activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future. Forward looking statements in this press release include statements regarding closing of the sale of the Property, the payment of the cash and share consideration, the grant of the net smelter royalty to the Company, that the Transaction is subject to Exchange approval, that the issuance of Star shares is subject to CSE approval, and that Star will assume future exploration efforts on the Property. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed, implied by or projected in the forward-looking information or statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the business of the Company or the businesses of the companies that the Company has invested in, including, without limitation, the natural resource exploration industry; changes in commodity prices as the Company has investments in natural resource exploration issuers; changes in interest and currency exchange rates; geopolitical risk and social unrest; changes in general economic conditions or conditions in the financial markets; and economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors which may affect the Company's operations, investments, markets, products and share price; that the sale of the Property may not occur as intended or at all; and that the CSE or the Exchange may not approve the Transaction. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend to revise or update these forward-looking statements after the date of this document or to revise them to reflect the occurrence of future unanticipated events. SOURCE: Zimtu Capital Corp. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/zimtu-capital-corp.-signs-agreement-to-sell-copperline-property-to-s-1049646 Testing regional exploration targets in 'Stage 1' development area HIGHLIGHTS Soil sampling recently completed over ~1.9km 2 surrounding Tolmer high-grade silver discovery [1] Additional ~23km 2 program completed at 'Black Oak Tank' prospect (Tarcoola Gold Project) Additional ~6km 2 program completed at '308' prospect ~20km northeast of Central Gawler Mill Tolmer, Black Oak Tank and 308 soil assay results expected during September & October 2025 ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2025 / Barton Gold Holdings Limited (ASX:BGD)(FRA:BGD3)(OTCQB:BGDFF) (Barton or Company) is pleased to confirm that the further soil geochemistry programs have been completed on two key regional targets. The 'Black Oak Tank' prospect is located on the northern margin of the Lake Labyrinth Shear Zone, on Exploration Licence (EL) 6210 at the Company's South Australian Tarcoola Gold Project (Tarcoola). The '308' prospect is located to the northeast of the Company's Central Gawler Mill, on EL 6502, at the Company's South Australian Challenger Gold Project (Challenger). A total of 501 samples (including duplicates) have been collected at Black Oak Tank and 308 over a combined area of ~29km 2, with assay results expected to be received during October 2025. These programs follow the expedited soil geochemistry program recently completed at Barton's 'Tolmer' high grade silver discovery, located at the Company's South Australian Tarcoola Gold Project (Tarcoola). [2] That program covered ~1.9km 2 surrounding an expanded June 2025 drilling program totalling ~2,900m. 2 Assay results for Tolmer drilling and soil samples are expected in July and September 2025, respectively. Commenting on the geochemical programs, Barton Managing Director Alexander Scanlon said: "With the core platforms now established for our planned 'Stage 1' operations at the Central Gawler Mill, and a subsequent 'Stage 2' expansion at Tunkillia, Barton will advance those projects in parallel while remaining focused on opportunities to more fully leverage that existing and planned future infrastructure in the future. "Our unique regional infrastructure and operating platform provides multiple advantages in testing exploration targets and progressing development prospects. As this regional platform grows, we can play an increasingly active role in unlocking and accelerating value in previously isolated regional assets. "Our recent Tolmer high-grade gold and silver discoveries, and our proposed acquisition of Cobra Resources' Wudinna Gold Project, are strong examples of complementary exploration and development initiatives. These offers significant optionality to our 'Stage 1' Central Gawler Mill and planned 'Stage 2' Tunkillia mill, respectively." Program details The Black Oak Tank program comprised 416 samples (including duplicates) collected at ~500m spacing, over an area of ~23km 2 in size. Black Oak Tank is located along the Lake Labyrinth Shear Zone, northwest of Indiana Resources (ASX:IDA) Minos gold project, in an area with little historical exploration investment. Figure 2 - Black Oak Tank prospect soil sampling program map The 308 prospect program comprised 85 samples (including duplicates) collected over an area of ~6km 2 in size. The 308 prospect is located ~20km northeast of Barton's Central Gawler Mill on EL6502, also in an area with relatively little historical exploration investment despite its proximity to the Central Gawler Mill. Figure 3 - 308 prospect soil sampling program map Authorised by the Managing Director of Barton Gold Holdings Limited. For further information, please contact: Alexander Scanlon Managing Director a.scanlon@bartongold.com.au +61 425 226 649 Jade Cook Company Secretary cosec@bartongold.com.au +61 8 9322 1587 About Barton Gold Barton Gold is an ASX, OTCQB and Frankfurt Stock Exchange listed Australian gold developer targeting future gold production of 150,000ozpa with 1.9Moz Au & 3.1Moz Ag JORC Mineral Resources (73.0Mt @ 0.79 g/t Au), brownfield mines, and 100% ownership of the region's only gold mill in the renowned Gawler Craton of South Australia.* Competent Persons Statement & Previously Reported Information The information in this announcement that relates to the historic Exploration Results and Mineral Resources as listed in the table below is based on, and fairly represents, information and supporting documentation prepared by the Competent Person whose name appears in the same row, who is an employee of or independent consultant to the Company and is a Member or Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM), Australian Institute of Geoscientists (AIG) or a Recognised Professional Organisation (RPO). Each person named in the table below has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and types of deposits under consideration and to the activity which he has undertaken to quality as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code 2012 (JORC ). Activity Competent Person Membership Status Tarcoola Mineral Resource (Stockpiles) Dr Andrew Fowler (Consultant) AusIMM Member Tarcoola Mineral Resource (Perseverance Mine) Mr Ian Taylor (Consultant) AusIMM Fellow Tarcoola Exploration Results (until 15 Nov 2021) Mr Colin Skidmore (Consultant) AIG Member Tarcoola Exploration Results (after 15 Nov 2021) Mr Marc Twining (Employee) AusIMM Member Tunkillia Exploration Results (until 15 Nov 2021) Mr Colin Skidmore (Consultant) AIG Member Tunkillia Exploration Results (after 15 Nov 2021) Mr Marc Twining (Employee) AusIMM Member Tunkillia Mineral Resource Mr Ian Taylor (Consultant) AusIMM Fellow Challenger Mineral Resource Mr Ian Taylor (Consultant) AusIMM Fellow The information relating to historic Exploration Results and Mineral Resources in this announcement is extracted from the Company's Prospectus dated 14 May 2021 or as otherwise noted in this announcement, available from the Company's website at www.bartongold.com.au or on the ASX website www.asx.com.au. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects the Exploration Results and Mineral Resource information included in previous announcements and, in the case of estimates of Mineral Resources, that all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates, and any production targets and forecast financial information derived from the production targets, continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that the form and context in which the applicable Competent Persons' findings are presented have not been materially modified from the previous announcements. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information This document may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "expect", "target" and "intend" and statements than an event or result "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions. Forward-looking information is subject to business, legal and economic risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things, risks relating to property interests, the global economic climate, commodity prices, sovereign and legal risks, and environmental risks. Forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and opinions at the date the statements are made. Barton undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements for events or circumstances that occur subsequent to such dates or to update or keep current any of the information contained herein. Any estimates or projections as to events that may occur in the future (including projections of revenue, expense, net income and performance) are based upon the best judgment of Barton from information available as of the date of this document. There is no guarantee that any of these estimates or projections will be achieved. Actual results will vary from the projections and such variations may be material. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied upon as, a promise or representation as to the past or future. Any reliance placed by the reader on this document, or on any forward-looking statement contained in or referred to in this document will be solely at the readers own risk, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. [1] Refer to ASX announcement dated 14 July 2025 [2] Refer to ASX announcements dated 16 June and 14 July 2025 * Refer to Barton Prospectus dated 14 May 2021 and ASX announcement dated 30 June 2025. Total Barton JORC (2012) Mineral Resources include 1,031koz Au (39.3Mt @ 0.82 g/t Au) in Indicated category and 834koz Au (33.8Mt @ 0.77 g/t Au) in Inferred category, and 3,070koz Ag (34.5Mt @ 2.80 g/t Ag) in Inferred category as a subset of Tunkillia gold JORC (2012) Mineral Resources. SOURCE: Barton Gold Holdings Limited View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/completion-of-additional-regional-soil-sampling-programs-1049642 TOKYO, JP / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2025 / Proxymity, the leading digital investor communications platform, today announced the closing of a Series C round of $36 million, including new investment from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. Proxymity Logo Proxymity logo Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation is Proxymity's newest strategic investor, joining existing investors comprising some of the largest custody banks, transfer agents and securities market infrastructure providers in the world. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking is the leading transfer agent in Japan representing 20 out of the top 30 listed companies by market capitalization (as of JUNE 30, 2025). MUTB's investment reinforces Proxymity's innovative capabilities and exciting potential to enhance issuer and investor communications in collaboration with key strategic industry participants. Proxymity will use this additional growth capital to further enhance its global proxy voting and shareholder disclosure technology, and to support its expansion into the APAC region. Proxymity is excited to partner with MUTB, the largest trust bank in Japan, and make available Proxymity's many benefits to Japanese publicly listed companies. Dean Little, Co-Founder and CEO at Proxymity, said: "We are thrilled to have Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation become a consortium member of Proxymity. With this additional funding, we will be able to continue building out our technology and further accelerate our expansion into the APAC region. We are excited about this partnership as a catalyst for continued growth and delivering exceptional value to our clients and the ecosystem we serve." TAKU SHIMIZU, Managing Executive Officer at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, said: "Proxymity continues to redefine investor communications with its innovative, real-time solutions. We are proud to support their mission as they scale their impact across new geographies." ### About Proxymity Proxymity is a leading digital investor communications platform connecting the world's ecosystem of issuers, intermediaries, and investors digitally in real time, bringing unprecedented transparency, efficiency, and accuracy. Trusted by the world's largest financial institutions, including seven of the world's top 10 Global Custodians managing over $200 trillion in assets under custody (BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, Computershare, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Borse, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Mediant, State Street), and counting 87 of the FTSE 100 as clients, it serves over 25 markets worldwide. Proxymity's solutions include Vote Connect, a digital-first platform with unparalleled real-time transparency allowing issuers to send and receive meeting announcements, proxy voting, and vote confirmations without distortion or interference, and Shareholder Insights, providing issuers full visibility of their shareholder base and visibility of ownership through the intermediary chain. Proxymity's platforms, built on highly scalable technology, use "golden source" data and provide full compliance with the latest regulations. Proxymity's ground-breaking technology has been recognized with recent awards including FSTech's "Most Disruptive Technology in the FinTech Sector" and GC Magazine's "FinTech of the Year 2024". For more information, visit www.proxymity.io/ . About Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Bank Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking (the Trust Bank) was established in 1927, and has been in business for approximately 100 years. The Trust Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of MUFG and a core MUFG company. With total assets of 41.3 trillion yen as of March 31, 2024, it is one of Japan's largest trust banks. Besides operations in Japan, the Trust Bank serves customers to pursue its global business through a worldwide network of branches and subsidiaries in Asia, Europe and the United States. As Japan's major trust bank, the Trust Bank offers high-quality and comprehensive financial services for customers, which include various commercial banking services as well as asset management and administration, real estate, and stock transfer agency services. For more information, visit https://www.tr.mufg.jp. Contact Information Sapiene Communications PR Team proxymity@sapiencecomms.co.uk 0203 327 8422 SOURCE: Proxymity Related Images MUFG Logo MUFG logo View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/proxymity-welcomes-new-consortium-member-mitsubishi-ufj-trust-and-ba-1048387 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2025 / Star Copper Corp. (CSE:STCU)(OTCQX:STCUF)(FWB:SOP) ("Star Copper" or the "Company"), a critical mineral exploration and development company, is pleasedto announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire (the "Acquisition") a 100% interest in the Copperline Property ("Copperline", the "Property" or the "CopperlineProperty"), located in north-central British Columbia. "The Copperline Property is an exciting addition to our growing portfolio of high-grade copper assets in British Columbia," stated Darryl Jones, CEO of Star Copper Corp. "With its compelling geology, strong infrastructure access, and historical grades, Copperline represents an exceptional grassroots copper-silver opportunity in a proven metallogenic belt." The Copperline Property consists of eight mineral claims totaling approximately 4,502 hectares, situated near Skutsil Knob at the south end of the Driftwood Range, approximately 120 km north-northeast of Smithers, British Columbia (Figure 1). Under the Agreement, the Company has agreed to acquire Copperline in exchange for (i) cash, (ii) common shares of the Company ("Common Shares"), (iii) the grant of the Net Smelter Royalty (as defined below), and (iv) a Bonus payment (as defined below), subject to certain conditions. Highlights High-Grade Copper-Silver Showings : Drilling, and surface sampling have returned intervals including 25.0 m of 2.54% Cu, 50.4 g/t Ag (DR-9) 2 , 3.7 m of 2.5% Cu, 76.6 g/t Ag (CL-16) 3 , and grab samples up to 8.51% Cu and 200 g/t Ag 5 . Favourable Geology : Mineralization comprises fine-grained bornite, chalcocite, tetrahedrite, and chalcopyrite within subaerial Telkwa volcanics, consistent with volcanic redbed copper deposit models 4 . Strong Infrastructure & Access : Located within 5 km of logging roads and 11 km from the BC Rail Dease Lake extension 5 (Figure 1). Exploration Upside : In 2003 several new zones of mineralization were discovered, including the West Zone and Dave's Zone. Grab samples from the West Zone averaged 2.8% Cu and 71 g/t Ag, while a sample from Dave's Zone returned 0.17% Cu and 229 g/t Ag 3 . Mineralized zones and interpreted structural controls suggest the potential for stacked lenses. Multiple "rusty zones" were identified during prospecting northeast of the "main zone" offering potential for new mineralized zones to be discovered. The Company plans to compile data and create the first 3D model of the Copperline system to plan for the first exploration program. Figure 1: Map illustrating the regional location of the Copperline Project (After Prosper Gold). Property Overview The Copperline Property consists of eight mineral claims totaling approximately 4,502 hectares, located in north-central British Columbia near Skutsil Knob at the southern end of the Driftwood Range. The Property lies roughly 120 km north-northeast of Smithers and benefits from excellent regional infrastructure, including proximity to logging roads (within 5 km), the BC Rail Dease Lake extension (11 km), and hydroelectric potential via the nearby Kotsine River. The Property is accessible by road to within 5 km of the main mineralized zone, allowing for efficient mobilization of exploration crews and equipment. Geologically, the Copperline Property is underlain by subaerial volcanic rocks of the Lower Jurassic Telkwa Formation, part of the Hazelton Group. These rocks include andesitic to basaltic flows, breccias, and volcaniclastics, locally interbedded with sedimentary units such as redbeds and siltstones. The stratigraphy dips gently to the east and is structurally disrupted by north-northwest trending fault zones and fracture corridors, which are interpreted to control copper-silver mineralization. Copper-silver mineralization on the Property is characteristic of volcanic redbed copper systems and consists of disseminated and vein-controlled sulphides, including bornite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and tetrahedrite. Mineralization is typically hosted within massive volcanic units and associated with secondary structures such as shears, fractures, and bedding-parallel veins. Key alteration assemblages include epidote, chlorite, calcite, hematite, and silica, with "rusty zones" and green alteration halos acting as reliable visual pathfinders in outcrop and float. Historical exploration dates back to the 1930s, with trenching by Cominco followed by diamond drilling in the 1970s by Craigmont Mines Ltd., and further work by Kit Resources Ltd. in the early 2000s. Key Historical Drilling Results include: Craigmont Mines Ltd. (1973-1974)* DR-9: 25.0 m @ 2.54% Cu , 50.4 g/t Ag Including: 38.7 m @ 1.82% Cu, 37.7 g/t Ag Also: 7.7 m @ 1.80% Cu, 37.7 g/t Ag DR-11: 9.1 m @ 2.94% Cu , 83.3 g/t Ag 6.1 m @ 1.24% Cu, 68.9 g/t Ag 8.5 m @ 0.61% Cu, 11.0 g/t Ag DR-12: 3.0 m @ 3.05% Cu , 78.9 g/t Ag 9.7 m @ 1.01% Cu, 37.4 g/t Ag 2.4 m @ 2.00% Cu, 41.1 g/t Ag DR-1: 12.2 m @ 1.62% Cu, 35.0 g/t Ag 12.2 m @ 1.25% Cu, 27.4 g/t Ag 4.9 m @ 0.90% Cu, 23.0 g/t Ag *Drilling data compiled from Craigmont Mines in ARIS 27276 Kit Resources Ltd. (2003) CL-16: 14.3 m @ 0.812% Cu , 25.843 g/t Ag Including: 3.7 m @ 2.512% Cu , 76.667 g/t Ag 7.6 m @ 0.301% Cu, 10.887 g/t Ag 21.0 m @ 0.385% Cu , 13.261 g/t Ag Including: 6.7 m @ 0.471% Cu, 21.285 g/t Ag 7.8 m @ 0.605% Cu, 16.463 g/t Ag CL-14 : 22.6 m @ 0.216% Cu, 5.182 g/t Ag Including: 3.4 m @ 0.810% Cu, 18.821 g/t Ag In 2003, Kit Resources also discovered additional zones of mineralization northeast of the Main Zone, including the West Zone and Dave's Zone. The West Zone returned average grab values of 2.82% Cu and 71.44 g/t Ag, while Dave's Zone produced a grab sample grading 0.17% Cu and 229 g/t Ag, highlighting the potential for multiple stacked lenses or structurally controlled zones across the broader Property area3. Star Copper plans to compile legacy data, create a 3D geological model, and execute a staged exploration program that includes surface mapping, geophysics (IP and magnetics), and diamond drilling focused on both Main Zone extensions and new target areas. National Instrument 43-101 Disclosure Nicholas Rodway, P.Geo., (EGBC Licence# 46541) (Permit to Practice# 100359), is an independent contractor to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Rodway has reviewed and approved the technical content in this release. Acquisition Terms The Company entered into the Agreement with Zimtu Capital Corp. (TSXV: ZC) (the "Vendor") on July 14, 2025; Zimtu is not a "Related Person" of the Company, as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange ("CSE"). Pursuant to the Agreement, the Company has agreed to acquire Copperline from the Vendor in consideration for: cash payments in the aggregate amount of $350,000, consisting of (i) a payment of $100,000 on the date the Acquisition is completed (the " Closing Date "), and (ii) a payment of $250,000 on the first business day that is six (6) months after the Closing Date (the " Completion Date "); the issuance of 500,000 Common Shares (the " Consideration Shares "), with (i) 200,000 Consideration Shares to be issued on the Closing Date, and (ii) 300,000 Consideration Shares to be issued on the Completion Date; and the grant by the Company to the Vendor of a 2% net smelter returns royalty, payable on all production from the Copperline Property, of which 1% will be eligible for repurchase by the Company at any time within five (5) years of the Closing Date for a one-time payment of $1,000,000 (the "Net Smelter Royalty"). In addition to the foregoing, if the Company publishes a mineral resource estimate prepared in accordance with Form 43-101F1 of NI 43-101 in respect of the Copperline Property (the "Resource Estimate") disclosing any combination of measured, indicated or inferred mineral resources in excess of either (i) 500,000,000 pounds of copper, or (ii) 15,000,000 ounces of silver, then the Company will pay the Vendor an additional amount of $1,500,000 (the "Bonus"), consisting of: a cash payment in the amount of $750,000; and the issuance of that number of Common Shares having an aggregate value equal to $750,000 (the "Bonus Shares"), at a deemed issue price per Bonus Share equal to the ten (10) day volume weighted average of the Common Shares on the CSE, or such other stock exchange on which the Common Shares may be listed from time to time immediately prior to the publication of the Resource Estimate. The Consideration Shares and the Bonus Share (if any), when issued, will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months and one day from the date of issuance of such Common Shares. Closing of the Acquisition is subject to certain conditions and approvals, including (i) the execution of a royalty agreement for the Net Smelter Royalty in accordance with the terms set forth in the Agreement, (ii) the receipt of all required consents and regulatory approvals, including without limitation the acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") and the consent of the CSE, and (iii) such other customary conditions for a transaction such as the Acquisition. The Acquisition is not conditional in any way upon the completion, partial or otherwise, of the LIFE Offering (as defined below). LIFE Flow Through Offering The Company is pleased to announce that it intends to complete a non-brokered private placement for gross proceeds of up to C$2,500,000.50 from the sale of up to 1,666,667 "flow-through" units of the Company (each, a "FT Unit", and collectively, the "FT Units") at a price of C$1.50 per FT Unit (the "LIFE Offering") under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (as defined below). Each FT Unit will consist of one "flow-through" Common Share (each, a "FT Share" and collectively, "FT Shares") and one "flow-through" Common Share purchase warrant (each a "FT Warrant" and collectively, "FT Warrants"), issued as "flow-through shares", as defined in subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act"). Each FT Warrant will be exercisable to acquire one Common Share (each a "Warrant Share", and collectively, "Warrant Shares") at a price of $1.60 per Warrant Share for a period of 24 months from the LIFE Closing Date (as defined below). The Warrant Shares underlying the FT Units will not qualify as "flow-through shares" under the Tax Act. The FT Warrants to be issued pursuant to the LIFE Offering will not be listed for trading on any stock exchange. The LIFE Offering is expected to close on or about July 23, 2025 (the "LIFE Closing Date"), or such other date as determined by the Company, such date being no later than 45 days from the date the Company issues a press release announcing the LIFE Offering. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), the LIFE Offering is being made to purchasers resident in all provinces of Canada, except Quebec, pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106 (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"). The securities offered under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption will not be subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. The gross proceeds of the LIFE Offering will be used to incur "Canadian exploration expenses" that are "flow-through critical mineral mining expenditures", within the meaning of the Tax Act, on the Company's flagship Star Project. There is an offering document (the "Offering Document") related to the LIFE Offering that can be accessed under the Company's issuer profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and on the Company's website at: www.starcopper.com. Prospective investors should read this Offering Document before making an investment decision. The Company may pay finder's fees in connection with the LIFE Offering in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the CSE. Completion of the LIFE Offering is subject to customary conditions and the receipt of all necessary approvals. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to sell any of securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. References 1Borovic, I. (1990). Geophysical Survey of the Driftwood Property. ARIS Report 19978. 2Craigmont Mines Ltd. (1974). Diamond Drilling Report - Driftwood River Area. ARIS Report 4967. 3Houle, J. (2003). Kit Resources Ltd. Drilling & Geochemical Report on the Copperline Property. ARIS Report 27276. 4Rodway, N. (2023). Copperline Property Technical Assessment Report. Prepared for Zimtu Capital Corp. 5Weicker, R. (2001). Geological and Prospecting Report on the Copperline Property. ARIS Report 26667. 6British Columbia Minfile Detail Report (2024) (Minfile umber 093M 117) or NMIN 09M15Cu1. On Behalf of the Board of Directors ~Darryl Jones~ Darryl Jones CEO, President & Director Star Copper Corp. About Star Copper Corp. (CSE:STCU)(OTCQX:STCUF)(FWB:SOP / WKN A416ME) Star Copper Corp. is an exploration and development company focused on developing high-potential copper projects in mining-friendly jurisdictions. The Company aims to advance its British Columbian Star Project where significant exploration work including historical drilling has confirmed open mineralization at depth and in all directions. Star Copper's strategic plans include geological mapping and geophysical surveys to refine existing targets, diamond drilling programs to test high-priority zones, environmental baseline studies and permitting groundwork alongside data analysis and resource modeling to support a future resource estimate prepared in accordance with NI 43-101. The Company further plans to advance its Indata Project with follow-up drilling to expand on previous high-grade copper and gold intercepts, trenching and surface sampling to delineate mineralized zones, and infrastructure improvements for site accessibility and operations. With a commitment to sustainable development and value creation, Star Copper aims to position itself to support surging industrial demand to meet growing global electrification needs. For more information visit: www.starcopper.com and to sign up for free news alerts please go to https://starcopper.com/news/news-alerts/, or follow us on X (formerly Twitter),Facebook or LinkedIn. More information in respect of the project, including historical drilling, is available under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.caand/or in the Company's February 26, 2025 technical report. Investor Relations Star Copper Corp. Email: info@starcopper.com Web: https://starcopper.com/ Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements and other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "will", "may", "should", "anticipate", "expects" and similar expressions. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this news release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the the Company's exploration and development plans with respect its projects, statements regarding the LIFE Offering including, without limitation, statements regarding the completion or the expected LIFE Closing Date, the payment of finder's fees, the receipt of regulatory approvals, and the use of gross proceeds, and statements regarding the Acquisition, including the completion or the anticipated benefits thereof, the receipt of acceptance and consent from the TSXV and the CSE, the prospects of the mineral claims forming the Copperline Property, which is not at an advanced stage of development, the Company's anticipated business and operational activities, and the Company's plans with respect to the exploration of the Company's flagship Star Project, the Indata Project or the Copperline Property. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations include, but are not limited to, the inherently unpredictable nature of resource exploration, market conditions and the risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect, and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward- looking statements as expressly required by applicable law. SOURCE: Star Copper Corp. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/star-copper-to-acquire-copperline-property-in-british-columbia-and-announces-2.5-1049656 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 16, 2025) - Eureka Lithium Corp. (CSE: ERKA) (OTCQB: SCMCF) (FSE: S580) ("Eureka Lithium" or "Eureka" or the "Company") announces, further to its news release of July 14, 2025, that the warrants ("Warrants") issued in connection with its recently-completed private placement offering ("Offering") may not be exercised unless and until the Company's shareholders approve the terms of the Offering by way of an ordinary resolution. This requirement arises pursuant to the application of Canadian Securities Exchange Policy 4.6(2)(a)(i)(2). About Eureka Lithium Corp. Eureka Lithium is the largest lithium-focused landowner in the northern third of Quebec, known as the Nunavik region, with 100% ownership of three projects comprising 1,408 sq. km in the emerging Raglan West, Raglan South and New Leaf Lithium Camps. These claims were acquired from legendary prospector Shawn Ryan and are located in a region that hosts two operating nickel mines with deep-sea port access. For more information please contact: Cautionary Statement Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts, such as statements regarding the use of proceeds from the Private Placement, are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's expectations and are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law. The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed, approved, or disapproved the contents of this press release. Not for distribution to United States newswire services or for release publication, distribution or dissemination directly, or indirectly, in whole or in part, in or into the United States To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259094 SOURCE: Eureka Lithium Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 16, 2025) - FIRST ANDES SILVER LTD. (TSXV: FAS) (OTC Pink: MSLVF) (FSE: 9TZ0) (the "Company" or First Andes") today announced that is has closed the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement financing (see news release dated July 4, 2025 and July 15, 2025) (the "Offering") by issuing 10,170,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.10 CAD per unit for gross proceeds of $1,017,000. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Share") and one-half of one share purchase warrant (each whole share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable at $0.15 CAD per Share for a period of two (2) years from the date of issue. The securities issued under the first tranche of the Offering are subject to restrictions on resale for a period of four (4) months from the date of issue. The Company paid a finder's a fee of $42,350 and 423,500 share purchase warrants with each finder's warrant exercisable at a price of $0.10 per share for a period of two (2) years from the date of issue. The proceeds of the first tranche will be used to expand on its current drill program at the Santas Gloria silver property and general working capital purposes. The Company anticipates the second tranche of the Offering will close within seven calendar days and is subject to accept of the TSX Venture Exchange. About First Andes Silver Ltd. First Andes Silver Ltd. is a British Columbia company that holds a 100% interest in the high-grade Santas Gloria silver property, located in a major mining district 55 km east of Lima, Peru. Santas Gloria has excellent established road access and is situated within a well-known intermediate sulfidation epithermal belt, and hosts over 12 km of multiphase veins mapped at surface, which had never been historically drilled or explored by modern techniques before 2024. First Andes' maiden diamond drill program last year reported high-grade silver on all drilled vein systems confirming silver endowment and warranting high priority follow-up drilling in 2025. Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Company's limited operating history, ability to obtain sufficient financing to carry out its exploration programs and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 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 release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259092 SOURCE: First Andes Silver Ltd. Ende Mai leitete US-Prasident Donald Trump mit der Unterzeichnung mehrerer Dekrete eine weitreichende Wende in der amerikanischen Energiepolitik ein. Im Fokus: der beschleunigte Ausbau der Kernenergie. Mit einem umfassenden Manahmenpaket sollen Genehmigungsprozesse reformiert, kleinere Reaktoren gefordert und der Anteil von Atomstrom in den USA massiv gesteigert werden. Ausloser ist der explodierende Energiebedarf durch KI-Rechenzentren, der eine stabile, CO-arme Grundlastversorgung zwingend notwendig macht. In unserem kostenlosen Spezialreport erfahren Sie, welche 3 Unternehmen jetzt im Zentrum dieser energiepolitischen Neuausrichtung stehen, und wer vom kommenden Boom der Nuklearindustrie besonders profitieren konnte. Holen Sie sich den neuesten Report! Verpassen Sie nicht, welche Aktien besonders von der Energiewende in den USA profitieren durften, und laden Sie sich das Gratis-PDF jetzt kostenlos herunter. Dieses exklusive Angebot gilt aber nur fur kurze Zeit! Daher jetzt downloaden! TOKYO, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global Health Innovative Technology (GHIT) Fund announced today a total investment of approximately JPY 1 billion (USD 7.3 million1) in four R&D projects for the development of vaccine, drug, and diagnostics for malaria and tuberculosis (TB).2 Investment of JPY 800 million (USD 5.5 million1) in malaria vaccine project Malaria is a serious infectious disease that affects more than 260 million people and claims approximately 600,000 lives worldwide each year. Over 90% of all malaria cases occur in Africa, with more than 70% of those affected being children under the age of five.3 Malaria is transmitted to humans by mosquitoes. While prevention and treatment methods are available, the efficacy of currently available vaccines remains limited, highlighting the urgent need for the development of vaccines with higher efficacy and longer-lasting protection. To address this challenge, the GHIT Fund has decided to invest JPY 800 million (USD 5.5 million1) in a malaria vaccine development project currently in the preclinical stage. This project is being led by the European Vaccine Initiative, the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases (RIMD) at Osaka University, the University of Copenhagen, the University of Tubingen, Danish biotechnology company AdaptVac, Ajinomoto Co., Inc., and Nobelpharma Co., Ltd. This investment is a continuation of previous projects supported by GHIT, which has invested a total of approximately JPY 630 million (USD 4.3 million1) from 2013 to 2022. The present project aims to develop a vaccine that prevents the proliferation of malaria parasites during the blood-stage of infection. The vaccine is designed to achieve higher efficacy and longer-lasting protection with fewer doses. By reducing manufacturing costs, the project also aims to improve access to vaccines in malaria-endemic regions. In addition, the GHIT Fund will invest a total of approximately JPY 260 million (USD 1.8 million1) in the following three R&D projects: (1) Target research project for malaria diagnostics by Ehime University and Universiti Malaysia Sabah (2) Target research project for TB drug by the University of Auckland and the University of Tokyo (3) Target research project for malaria drug by Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV), LPIXEL Inc., and University of Dundee This investment brings four new companies and universities on board. Through collaborations with 190 partners across 39 countries - including 64 Japanese and 126 non-Japanese institutions - we aim to contribute to solving global health challenges and accelerating product development. Please refer to Appendix 1 for detailed descriptions on these projects and their development stages. As of July 17, 2025, the GHIT Fund has invested in 37 projects, including 15 discovery projects, 13 preclinical projects, and 9 clinical trials.4 The total amount of investments since 2013 is JPY 39.3 billion (USD 271 million1) (Appendix 2). 1USD1 = JPY144.81, the approximate exchange rate on June 30, 2025. 2 These awarded projects were selected and approved as new investments from among proposals to RFP2023-002 and RFP2024-001 for the Product Development Platform and the Target Research Platform, which were open for applications from June 2023 to July 2024. 3 WHO: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/malaria 4 This number includes projects in the registration phase. The GHIT Fund is a Japan-based international public-private partnership (PPP) fund that was formed between the Government of Japan, multiple pharmaceutical companies, the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The GHIT Fund invests in and manages an R&D portfolio of development partnerships aimed at addressing neglected diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases, which afflict the world's vulnerable and underserved populations. In collaboration with global partners, the GHIT Fund mobilizes Japanese industry, academia, and research institutes to create new drugs, vaccines, and diagnostics for malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases. https://www.ghitfund.org/en Appendix 1. Project Details ID: G2024-201 Project Title Biomanufacture and preclinical development of the blood-stage malaria vaccine candidate SE36/cVLP Collaboration Partners 1. European Vaccine Initiative (Germany) 2. RIMD, Osaka University (Japan) 3. University of Copenhagen (Denmark) 4. AdaptVac (Denmark) 5. University of Tubingen (Germany) 6. Ajinomoto Co., Inc. (Japan) 7. Nobelpharma Co., Ltd. (Japan) Disease Malaria Intervention Vaccine Stage Preclinical Awarded Amount JPY 800,715,002 (USD 5.5 million) Status Continued project Summary [Project objective] This team's goal is to fast-track the clinical development of the SE36/cVLP vaccine candidate and obtain supporting evidence for a safe and efficacious blood-stage vaccine that could be deployed as a stand-alone or potentially combined in a second- generation multi-stage malaria vaccine. The main objectives are to: 1. Manufacture a large GMP batch of SE36 2. Produce a GMP batch of SE36/cVLP 3. Conduct a GLP-compliant nonclinical toxicology study for SE36/cVLP + Sepivac SWE adjuvant 4. Prepare clinical trial documentation for the conduct of a phase I/IIa (CHMI) trial for SE36/cVLP (+/- Sepivac SWE) to assess safety, immunogenicity, and time-to- first episode of clinical malaria in malaria-naive vaccinated subjects [Project design] The previous GMP manufacturing process for SE36 was largely based on the E. coli expression system with modest yield after several chromatography steps. Benefiting from recent collaborations and new adaptive vaccine technologies, the project team now proposes to manufacture a larger batch of SE36 using a simplified, high-yield process with Corynex, which utilizes Corynebacterium glutamicum. Moreover, to increase the vaccine immunogenicity, SE36 antigens will be displayed on capsid virus-like particles (cVLP) ensuring unidirectional and high-density display. A previously manufactured small lab-scale batch of SE36/cVLP showed that coupling was stable and that coupled SE36 was highly immunogenic in the mouse model. Armed with this success, the project team now expands its efforts to manufacture a larger GMP batch of SE36/cVLP, conduct a GLP-compliant nonclinical toxicology study and prepare trial documentation to conduct a phase I/IIa trial with this newly optimised formulation of the SE36 vaccine candidate. A successful completion of these activities will set the stage for a first-in-human safety, immunogenicity and efficacy trial. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/242/en ID: T2024-153 Project Title ZOO-RDT: Validating a novel biomarker and associated reagents for diagnosis of acute zoonotic malaria in southeast Asia Collaboration Partners 1. Ehime University (Japan) 2. Universiti Malaysia Sabah (Malaysia) Disease Malaria Intervention Diagnostics Stage Target Research Awarded Amount JPY 64,693,198 (USD 0.4 million) Status New project Summary [Project objective] There are no P. knowlesi-specific point-of-care (PoC) tests. Rapid diagnostic tests based on the pLDH biomarker show high cross-reactivity between P. vivax and P. knowlesi making them impossible to distinguish. Current diagnostic practices take time and delay patient access to treatment. Simple, accessible PoC tools are urgently required. Identification of P. knowlesi-specific diagnostic markers has been largely neglected. The serine repeat antigen (sera) multigene family has been extensively studied in P. falciparum and rodent parasite lines and plays critical roles across the parasite life cycle. The P. knowlesi Serine Repeat Antigen 3 (PkSERA3) antigen 2 has been identified as a P. knowlesi-specific exposure marker, with laboratory and population-level evaluations showing no cross-reactivity with P. vivax, a phylogenetically closely related species. The project team will use this antigen to develop reagents for a P. knowlesi PoC diagnostic test. [Project design] Overall aim: Validate novel biomarker(s) and associated monoclonal antibodies for lateral flow assay development for the diagnosis of acute infections. Objective 1: Reagent optimisation: the optimised PkSERA3 ag 2 protein plus two variants will be used in the generation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs). Objective 2: Analytical and clinical validation of PkSERA3 Ag2 and variants as species-specific indicators of acute P. knowlesi infection across epidemiological zones. Objective 3: Assessment of Technical Feasibility in the lateral flow system. The best performing mAbs will be assayed by ELISA, and further down-selection will lead to selected mAbs being printed onto test strips. Antibody reagents will be provided to a diagnostic test developer Contract Research Organization (CRO) to validate the technical feasibility of integrating the developed mAbs into a lateral-flow RDT. Objective 4: Stakeholder consultation to understand the preferred test design, and to inform Product Design and generate evidence for a business case for this novel malaria RDT. Target results: Validated P. knowlesi-specific mAb reagent for use in LFA development. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/243/en ID: T2024-253 Project Title Harnessing genome mining for novel tuberculosis antibiotics Collaboration Partners 1. The University of Auckland (New Zealand) 2. The University of Tokyo (Japan) Disease Tuberculosis Intervention Drug Stage Target Research Awarded Amount JPY 100,000,000 (USD 0.6 million) Status New project Summary [Project objective] In the short term, this project aims to enhance TB antibiotic discovery by identifying secondary metabolites that specifically target essential metabolic pathways in M. tuberculosis. By focusing on mechanisms absent in mammalian cells, the project team aims to identify secondary metabolites with selective antimicrobial activity and minimal side effects in humans. This selectivity is expected to improve patient experience, compliance, and treatment outcomes. Early identification and testing of these compounds against purified proteins, M. tuberculosis cells, and human macrophage infection models will provide critical insights into their efficacy and potential as new therapeutic agents. In the long term, this project team's goal is to translate these research findings into clinical applications, offering new treatment options for TB patients worldwide. A key strength of this proposal is this project team's established expertise and drug development pipeline, specifically in the TB context, which will be instrumental in advancing subsequent research and development phases. [Project design] Despite significant advances in understanding the metabolic features essential for M. tuberculosis, developing new antibiotics remains a major challenge. Enzyme inhibitors often exhibit limited activity against M. tuberculosis, and many bioactive compounds have unclear modes of action. To overcome these challenges, the project team will (a) identify secondary metabolites that specifically target key metabolic pathways in M. tuberculosis, and (b) test these metabolites against purified proteins and M. tuberculosis cells to assess their effects on bacterial growth and pathogenesis. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/244/en ID: T2024-268 Project Title Machine learning-based deconvolution of antimalarial drug mechanisms of action through cell painting of compound-treated Plasmodium falciparum-infected erythrocytes Collaboration Partners 1. Medicines for Malaria Venture (MMV) (Switzerland) 2. LPIXEL Inc. (Japan) 3. University of Dundee (UK) Disease Malaria Intervention Drug Stage Target Research Awarded Amount JPY 99,628,772 (USD 0.6 million) Status New project Summary [Project objective] The project ultimately aims to deliver a new high-throughput and information-rich platform for informing and classifying antimalarial modes of action (MoA) and highlighting novel compound-induced phenotypes. This proposal seeks to leverage advances in cellular imaging and machine learning-led pattern recognition. The final goal is to develop a robust, reproducible method to deliver information on a compound's biological impact (whether its MoA or pathway is novel or known) in synchrony with the confirmation of growth inhibition and thus allow clustering on both chemistry and biology, potentially saving months in the context of Hit Generation. [Project design] The project relies on high-content imaging and subsequent analysis of drug-treated Plasmodium falciparum parasites. The initial assay development phase will optimise methodologies for staining, fixation, and imaging of parasite-infected red blood cells, including both healthy untreated parasites and those treated with a pilot set of compounds with defined MoA. This will allow preliminary development of artificial intelligence (AI) models to classify parasite morphology across the 48 hour lifecycle, as well as the phenotypic impact of drug-treatment. Once treatment and imaging parameters have been optimised, data collection will be performed with an expanded set of compounds covering a diverse range of MoA, in order to refine and validate the development of AI models for pattern recognition. AI models will ultimately be packaged into a cloud-based, user-friendly application so that images generated by researchers can be analysed without specialist AI knowledge. Project Detail https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfoliodetail/detail/245/en *All amounts are listed at an exchange rate of USD1 = JPY144.81, the approximate exchange rate on June 30, 2025. Appendix 2. Investment Overview (as of July 17, 2025) Investments to date Total investments: 39.3 billion yen (USD 271 million1) Total invested projects: 139 (37 active projects and 102 completed projects) To learn more about the GHIT Fund's investments, please visit Investment Overview: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/overview/en Portfolio: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/portfolio/en Advancing Portfolio: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/advancingportfolio/en Clinical Candidates: https://www.ghitfund.org/investment/clinicalcandidates/en For more information, contact: Nancy Moss at +1-908-606-8940 or nmoss@burness.com Mina Ohata at +81-36441-2032 or mina.ohata@ghitfund.org View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/total-investment-of-approx-usd-7-3-million-in-malaria-and-tb-rd-projects-with-partners-including-european-vaccine-initiative-university-of-copenhagen-and-university-of-tubingen-302506300.html TOKYO, July 17, 2025 - (JCN Newswire) - Anime Tokyo Station, an exhibition center for Japanese anime operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the Association of Japanese Animations, has welcomed 187,602 visitors from Japan and overseas (as of June 29, 2025) as a facility that promotes the appeal of Japanese anime to the world under the motto "Making ANIME more interesting, Bringing ANIME far into the future."This time, Anime Tokyo Station will be holding "Summer Festival at Anime Tokyo Station," featuring various special events during summer vacation.As one of the events for Summer Festival at Anime Tokyo Station, we are pleased to announce the "TOKIO Exciting Anime Workshop."The TOKIO Exciting Anime Workshop is an anime production workshop for elementary and junior high school students to be held over two days on August 23 and 24. In this workshop, participants will learn about stop-motion animation, the mechanics of animation, sound expression, and the production process, then work together using tablets (devices) to create animations. Creating anime through communication with others stimulates both receptivity and initiative, fostering children's awareness and growth.Information about other workshops and events for Summer Festival at Anime Tokyo Station will be announced on the official website and official social media channels, so don't miss out!TOKIO Exciting Anime Workshop Details(1) Date & time:Session 1: August 23, 2025, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.Session 2: August 24, 2025, 1:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.(2) Venue: 14F, Tokyu East 5, 2-25-5 Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo*This is the building where Anime Tokyo Station is located.(3) Target participants: Elementary and junior high school students(4) Languages supported: Japanese and English(5) Fee: Free(6) Contents: Create a summer adventure with anime!Join new friends and combine your ideas, imagination, and creativity to take on the challenge of making your first anime.[Instructor Profile]Mayuko MasakiAnimated Learning Facilitator. A pioneer in anime education with extensive practice in educational institutions from elementary schools to universities. Researching animation creation that serves as a bridge between society, education, environment, and the heart through connections with Denmark and the rest of the world. Recently began applications in medical care and therapy.(7) Overview of participation:- Capacity: 20 participants per session (selected via lucky draw) *Parents/guardians are welcome to accompany participants.- Entry period: [Same for Sessions 1 and 2] July 10, 2025, 10:00 a.m. - July 27, 2025, 11:59 p.m.- Entry method: Please apply using the dedicated form.For details, please visit https://animetokyo.jp/archives/events/events33/(8) Event partner: animanoiroha*Please be aware that details are subject to change without notice.*Only beverages may be brought into the venue.*Staff will take photographs for use in Anime Tokyo Station publicity and reporting materials. By participating, it is assumed that you understand and agree to these conditions.*Please follow staff guidance when participating.Venue Overview- Name: Anime Tokyo Station (also known as "Anime Tokyo")- Location: Floors B1 to 2F of Tokyu East 5 (2-25-5 Minami-Ikebukuro, Toshima-ku, Tokyo)*4 minutes on foot from the East Exit of Ikebukuro Station- Hours: 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. (last admission: 6:45 p.m. / Special exhibitions last admission: 6:30 p.m.)- Closed: Mondays* If Monday falls on a holiday, the venue will be open on Monday and closed on the following dayNew Year's holiday periodMay be closed on other daysPlease check the venue website before coming.- Admission fee: Free- Website: https://animetokyo.jp/en/- SNS:X | https://x.com/animetokyo_info (@animetokyo_info)Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/animetokyostation/ (@animetokyostation)Inquiries regarding this press releasePublic Relations Office of "Anime Tokyo Station" (Kyodo PR)Contact person: Miri YasudaE-mail: animetokyo-pr@kyodo-pr.co.jpPress release: https://www.acnnewswire.com/docs/files/20250717.pdfSource: Anime Tokyo StationCopyright 2025 JCN Newswire . All rights reserved. As global economic integration accelerates, materials science-the foundation of modern industry-is undergoing a profound transformation. Global New Material International Holdings Limited (GNMI) stands at the forefront of this evolution. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250716430383/en/ Colored Building-Integrated Photovoltaic modules developed by CQV, a subsidiary of GNMI. At the recent 2nd Sino-European Corporate ESG Best Practice Conference, GNMI was honored with the "Best Practice in Technological Innovation" award for its outstanding commitment to innovation and green development. The judging panel praised the company's achievements, noting that "GNMI's innovations have gained broad international recognition. With a clear strategy focused on green manufacturing and sustainability, the company offers viable solutions to reduce dependence on non-renewable resources while advancing eco-friendly production." Technological innovation is central to the company's success. Its core products-pearlescent materials and functional mica fillers-are widely used in cosmetics, plastics, rubber, coatings, and new energy batteries. In response to the limited supply of natural mica, the company has spent years on research and development, overcoming significant technical barriers to create synthetic mica with proprietary intellectual property. GNMI continues to expand the application of these materials, including integrating pearlescent materials into colored BIPV (Building-Integrated Photovoltaic) modules. This innovation advances the intersection of green energy, smart manufacturing, and architectural aesthetics. The company also places emphasis on industry-academia collaboration. It has partnered with Zhejiang University to co-found the "Zhejiang University-Chesir Pearl Joint R&D Center" to tackle critical challenges in battery performance and safety. Their joint research focuses on insulation and separator materials-key components for the new energy vehicle sector. These collaborations not only enhance the company's innovation capacity but also accelerate the commercialization of academic research, creating a mutually beneficial ecosystem. Aligned with global sustainability goals, GNMI remains committed to green manufacturing by implementing energy-saving, waste-reducing, and low-carbon practices across the production chain. Its subsidiary, Guangxi Chesir Pearl Material Co., Ltd., has been designated a "National Green Factory" by China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Furthermore, this factory recently successfully connected a rooftop distributed photovoltaic project to the power grid, reaching a major milestone in its green manufacturing transformation. The project has an installed capacity of 5.9 megawatts peak (MWp) and adopts BIPV technology. Looking ahead, Global New Material International will continue to lead with innovation and sustainability-empowering a colorful, greener world through science and technology. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250716430383/en/ Contacts: PR Contact: EncycloVision (Shenzhen) Brand Communication Co., Ltd. Eason Zhou Email: evisionsinfo@gmail.com Rheinmetall, Renk und Hensoldt haben den Rustungsboom der letzten Jahre dominiert, doch inzwischen sind diese Titel fundamental heillos uberbewertet. KGVs jenseits der 60, KUVs uber 4, und das in einem politisch fragilen Umfeld mit wackelnder Haushaltsdisziplin. Fur spateinsteigende Anleger kann das teuer werden. Doch es gibt Alternativen, die bislang unter dem Radar fliegen; solide bewertet, operativ stark und mit Nachholpotenzial. In unserem kostenlosen Report zeigen wir dir, welche 3 Rustungsunternehmen noch Potenzial haben und wie du von der zweiten Welle der Zeitenwende profitieren kannst, ohne sich an uberhitzten Highflyer zu verbrennen. Holen Sie sich den neuesten Report! Verpassen Sie nicht, welche Aktien besonders vom weltweiten Aufrusten profitieren durften, und laden Sie sich das Gratis-PDF jetzt kostenlos herunter. Dieses exklusive Angebot gilt aber nur fur kurze Zeit! Daher jetzt downloaden! Siegfried AG / Key word(s): Personnel Change in Siegfried's Executive Committee 17.07.2025 / 06:30 CET/CEST Media Release Zofingen, July 17, 2025 Siegfried (SIX: SFZN), a leading global Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO) for the pharmaceutical industry, announces a change in its Executive Committee. Peter Freisler will join Siegfried as Chief Business Officer and become a member of the Executive Committee, effective August 1, 2025. He succeeds Marianne Spane who has decided to step down from the Executive Committee to focus on non-executive roles. Peter joins from Evonik, where he held several senior leadership roles over the past decade, most recently serving as Global Vice President Sales and Services for the Health Care business line. He holds an MBA from the Justus-Liebig-Universitat, Giessen (Germany), and a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Milwaukee-Wisconsin (USA). Marianne Spane joined Siegfried in 2004 and was appointed to the Executive Committee in 2010. She played a pivotal role in Siegfried's growth journey and strategic development. She will step down from the Executive Committee on July 31, 2025, and will support Peter Freisler during a transition phase until the end of the year. As of January 1, 2026, Marianne Spane is set to join the Board of Directors of DINAMIQS, a Siegfried company specialized in viral vector design and manufacturing. Marcel Imwinkelried, Chief Executive Officer of Siegfried: "With his extensive experience in business development across regions and markets, Peter Freisler will hit the ground running, driving further growth and accelerating the execution of our go-to-market strategy as part of EVOLVE+. Marianne Spane has been an outstanding colleague whose contributions have played a significant role in Siegfried's success over the past decades. On behalf of the entire Executive Committee, I extend our heartfelt thanks for her exceptional work and dedication. We are very pleased that Marianne will remain connected to Siegfried by joining the Board of DINAMIQS. Her deep expertise and longstanding experience in the CDMO industry will be a tremendous asset as DINAMIQS enters an exciting growth phase." Peter Freisler appointed Chief Business Officer and member of the Executive Committee Marianne Spane to join the Board of Directors of DINAMIQS Contact Financial Analysts: Media: Dr. Reto Suter Peter Stierli Chief Financial Officer Head Corporate Communications reto.suter@siegfried.ch peter.stierli@siegfried.ch Tel. +41 62 746 11 35 Tel. +41 62 746 15 51 Siegfried Holding AG Untere Bruehlstrasse 4 CH-4800 Zofingen About Siegfried The Siegfried Group is a global life sciences company with sites in Switzerland, Germany, Spain, France, Malta, the USA and China. In 2024, the company achieved sales of CHF 1.295 billion and employed on 31.12.2024 more than 3,800 people at thirteen sites on three continents. Siegfried Holding AG is publicly listed on SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: SFZN). Siegfried is active in manufacturing pharmaceutical APIs (and their intermediates) as well as drug products (tablets, capsules, sterile vials, ampoules, cartridges and ointments) for the pharmaceutical industry and provides development services. Cautionary Statements Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This media release includes statements concerning the future. They are based on assumptions and expectations that may prove to be wrong. They should be considered with due caution as, by definition, they contain known and unknown risks, insecurities and other factors which could result in a difference in the actual results, financial situation, developments or the success of Siegfried Holding AG or Siegfried Group from the explicit or implicit assumptions made in these statements. expect more Siegfried AG Untere Bruhlstrasse 4 4800 Zofingen, Switzerland +41 62 746 11 11 info@siegfried.ch www.siegfried.ch End of Media Release DKSH Management Ltd. / Key word(s): Half Year Results DKSH Delivers Core EBIT Growth and Further Margin Expansion Reinforcing Resilience Amid Global Economic Uncertainty 17-Jul-2025 / 07:00 CET/CEST Release of an ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR Core EBIT increased by 5.1% (at CER 1 ) to CHF 169.3 million Core EBIT margin expanded by 10 basis points to 3.1% Net sales grew by 2.1% (at CER) to CHF 5.5 billion Five M&A transactions announced in H1 2025 Strong Free Cash Flow of CHF 121.6 million (cash conversion 117.5%) Confirmed outlook for 2025 Key Figures Group (CHF million) H1 2025 H1 2024 ? in % CHF ? in % CER Net sales 5,520.8 5,441.1 1.5 2.1 Core operating profit (Core EBIT) 169.3 163.6 3.5 5.1 Core EBIT margin 3.1% 3.0% - - Operating profit (EBIT) 166.0 160.6 3.4 5.0 Core profit after tax 103.5 116.9 (11.5) (10.3) Profit after tax 96.3 114.8 (16.1) (14.9) Free Cash Flow 121.6 160.8 (24.4) - Zurich, Switzerland, July 17, 2025 - DKSH's first-half 2025 performance once again demonstrates our ability to consistently create value for clients, customers, employees, and shareholders through solid growth, improved margins, and strong cash generation. Net sales amounted to CHF 5.5 billion, representing a 2.1% increase (at CER) compared to H1 2024, while Core EBIT rose to CHF 169.3 million, up 5.1% (at CER), with a 10-basis point improvement in the Core EBIT margin. Free Cash Flow remained robust at CHF 121.6 million with a cash conversion of 117.5%. We observed a stronger business momentum toward the end of the first half of the year. DKSH CEO, Stefan P. Butz, said: "Despite the persistently uncertain environment, I am proud to report that DKSH delivered solid Core EBIT growth and margin improvement in the first half of 2025. This was made possible by our focused strategy execution and resilient business model, supported by the commitment of our employees across Business Units and Functions. We maintained the trust of our clients and customers and continued to fulfill our purpose of enriching people's lives. During the first half of 2025, we announced the acquisition of five companies, and are delighted to welcome the teams into our DKSH community. Based on our resilient results, we confirm our outlook for 2025." DKSH Group DKSH Group net sales increased by 2.1% (at CER) to CHF 5.5 billion in H1 2025. Organic growth contributed the most with 1.8%, acquisitions added 0.3%, and exchange rates -0.6% as the Swiss franc continued to appreciate slightly. The Group Core EBIT reached CHF 169.3 million, 5.1% higher than in H1 2024 (at CER). Core EBIT margin increased from 3.0% to 3.1%. Core profit after tax was CHF 103.5 million, down by 10.3% (at CER) vs. last year, mainly due to unrealized foreign exchange losses following the appreciation of the Swiss franc. Business Unit Healthcare Business Unit Healthcare continued its trajectory of sound profitable growth in the first half of 2025. Net sales reached CHF 2.9 billion (+4.0% at CER) and Core EBIT amounted to CHF 90.2 million (+8.1% at CER), resulting in a Core EBIT margin of 3.1% (+10 basis points). This result was driven by favorable underlying market trends, successful business development with both new and existing clients, and a continued focus on the higher-margin businesses such as Commercial Outsourcing and Own Brands. Business Unit Healthcare will continue to expand its strong market position and drive into higher value segments and services. Healthcare (in CHF million) H1 2025 H1 2024 ? in % CHF ? in % CER1 Net sales 2,889.5 2,776.6 4.1 4.0 Core EBIT 90.2 84.1 7.3 8.1 EBIT 90.2 83.9 7.5 8.3 Business Unit Consumer Goods Business Unit Consumer Goods reported a resilient net sales performance of -0.5% (at CER) amidst challenging market conditions. Consumer spending across Asia Pacific remained subdued, as evidenced by persistently low consumer confidence, for example in Thailand, and declining retail sales in Hong Kong. Despite the challenging environment, we are pleased with our development in eCommerce and the execution of our strategy, to expand into the food service segment through the acquisition of Zircon-Swis Fine Foods. Core EBIT was down slightly by -4.3% (at CER) with a Core EBIT margin of 2.4%. We expect to see the benefits of our business development pipeline materialize in the second half of the year. Consumer Goods (in CHF million) H1 2025 H1 2024 ? in % CHF ? in % CER1 Net sales 1,686.6 1,703.2 (1.0) (0.5) Core EBIT 39.8 42.1 (5.5) (4.3) EBIT 36.9 40.5 (8.9) (7.7) Business Unit Performance Materials Business Unit Performance Materials' net sales growth of 1.3% (at CER) underpins a positive trend. Our digital platform, DKSH Discover, delivered strong positive results by enhancing lead generation. Core EBITA reached CHF 63.4 million, driving the Core EBITA margin notably higher to 9.1%, compared to 8.9% in H1 2024. This was primarily driven by our home market of Asia Pacific, where we saw double-digit growth in profits. Performance Materials (in CHF million) H1 2025 H1 2024 ? in % CHF ? in % CER1 Net sales 698.0 708.4 (1.5) 1.3 Core EBIT 58.7 58.6 0.2 2.6 EBIT 58.7 58.6 0.2 2.6 Business Unit Technology With net sales reaching CHF 246.9 million (+0.6% at CER) and Core EBIT at CHF 7.7 million (-4.7% at CER), Business Unit Technology delivered a resilient performance in a market environment characterized by short-term uncertainty and delayed investment decisions. The Business Unit already announced three acquisitions in the first half of 2025 and will continue to capitalize on market consolidation opportunities in Asia and beyond. More investment decisions are likely to materialize in the months to come and with that, Business Unit Technology is well positioned for a stronger second half of the year. Technology (in CHF million) H1 2025 H1 2024 ? in % CHF ? in % CER1 Net sales 246.9 252.9 (2.4) 0.6 Core EBIT 7.7 8.6 (10.5) (4.7) EBIT 7.7 8.6 (10.5) (4.7) Outlook Confirmed DKSH remains committed to its mid-term roadmap, highlighting that its outlook for 2025 aligns with these goals. The company expects Core EBIT in 2025 to be higher than in 2024. This outlook assumes economic growth in Asia Pacific, constant exchange rates, and barring any unforeseen events. The Group remains confident about Asia Pacific's long-term potential and is well-positioned to benefit from favorable market, industry, and M&A consolidation trends. Further Information The conference and webcast for media and investors will take place today at 10:00 a.m. CEST. The Half-Year Report 2025 and recording of the webcast will be available on the DKSH website. Appendix: Net Sales Growth Components (in CHF million) H1 2025 H1 2024 % CHF % Organic % Net M&A % FX Healthcare 2,889.5 2,776.6 4.1 3.7 0.3 0.1 Consumer Goods 1,686.6 1,703.2 (1.0) (0.5) 0.0 (0.5) Performance Materials 698.0 708.4 (1.5) 0.8 0.5 (2.8) Technology 246.9 252.9 (2.4) 0.1 0.5 (3.0) DKSH Group 5,520.8 5,441.1 1.5 1.8 0.3 (0.6) 1 Constant exchange rates (CER): 2025 figures converted at 2024 exchange rates. * For the definition of Alternative Performance Measures (APM), see Half-Year Report 2025 . About DKSH For 160 years, DKSH has been delivering growth for companies in Asia and beyond across its Business Units Healthcare, Consumer Goods, Performance Materials, and Technology. As a leading Market Expansion Services provider, DKSH offers sourcing, market insights, marketing and sales, eCommerce, distribution and logistics as well as after-sales services, following its purpose of enriching people's lives. DKSH is a participant of the United Nations Global Compact and adheres to its principles-based approach to responsible business. Listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange, DKSH operates in 36 markets with 28,060 specialists, generating net sales of CHF 11.1 billion in 2024. www.dksh.com For further information, please contact: DKSH Holding Ltd. Till Leisner Head, Investor & Media Relations, Sustainability Phone +41 44 386 7315 till.leisner@dksh.com Melanie Gruter Manager, Group Media Relations Phone +41 44 386 7211 melanie.grueter@dksh.com End of Inside Information Regulatory News: NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, AUSTRALIA, JAPAN AND SOUTH AFRICA GenSight Biologics (the "Company") (Euronext: SIGHT, ISIN: FR0013183985, PEA-PME eligible), a biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders, today announced a financing through a capital increase reserved to an existing shareholder by the issuance of new shares with warrants attached, for a total gross amount of EUR 499,999.92 (excluding the future net proceeds related to the exercise of the warrants) (the "Reserved Offering"). The subscription price for one ABSA is EUR 0.17 (the "Offering Price This follows the approximately EUR 4 million financing announced on July 1, 2025 (the "Early July Financing"). The Offering Price of the ABSA and the terms and conditions of the warrants, including their exercise price, are identical to those included in the Early July Financing. "We are delighted to receive this additional support from an existing shareholder, as we continue to pursue GenSight's strategic direction and LUMEVOQ's potential," commented Laurence Rodriguez, Chief Executive Officer of GenSight Biologics. "This supplementary funding, combined with our recent EUR 4 million financing, strengthens our position as we advance toward the anticipated opening of the French AAC program in Q4 2025 and prepare for our global Phase III RECOVER study. The New Shares (as defined below) represent less than 30% of the total number of the Company's ordinary shares already admitted to trading on Euronext Paris. The admission to trading of the New Shares on Euronext Paris is therefore exempted from the obligation to prepare a prospectus. Use of Proceeds The proceeds of the Reserved Offering will supplement the funds raised in the Early July Financing. Together, they are intended to be used principally to finance the continued development of LUMEVOQ, the Company's most advanced drug candidate, currently in Phase III. In particular, the funds raised will help ensure the Company's operational continuity, support the finalization of manufacturing transfer activities and secure the preparations for the anticipated opening of compassionate use access in France as well as the initiation of the Phase III study RECOVER. The balance will be used to meet certain financial obligations of the Company. This will extend the Company's cash runway from mid-July 2025 before the Early July Financing to early-October 2025 initially and now to mid-October 2025. "This additional financing provides valuable flexibility as we execute our operational roadmap through October 2025," noted Jan Eryk Umiastowski, Chief Financial Officer of GenSight Biologics. "We believe the support of UPMC Enterprises reflects the attractiveness of our investment proposition. We remain focused on achieving key regulatory milestones that will establish a sustainable revenue pathway, beginning with the AAC program. Terms and Conditions of the Reserved Offering The Reserved Offering, for a total of EUR 499,999.92 (share issue premium included), was carried out through the issuance of 2,941,176 ABSA (as defined below) via a capital increase without shareholders' preferential subscription rights reserved to a category of persons satisfying determined characteristics, pursuant to Article L. 225-138 of the French Commercial Code, through the issuance of new shares of a per value of EUR 0.025 (the "New Shares"), to which are attached 1 warrant for 1 new share (the "Warrants", together with the New Shares, the "ABSA" and with the new shares of the Company resulting from the exercise of the Warrants, the "Warrant Shares The launch of the Reserved Offering was decided on July 16, 2025 by the Chief Executive Officer, pursuant to the delegation of competence granted to her by the Company's board of directors (the "Board of Directors") on June 19 and June 30, 2025. The Board of Directors acted pursuant to the delegation of competence granted to it under the 24th resolution of the Company's shareholders on May 13, 2025 (the "General Meeting The EUR 0.17 issue price on one ABSA represents a facial premium of EUR 0.0492 to the closing price of the GenSight shares on Euronext Paris on the day of the determination of the issue price, i.e., EUR 0.1208 on July 16, 2025. The exercise price of the Warrants is EUR 0.21. The Warrants will be exercisable at any time from their issue date until July 21, 2030. The exercise of a Warrant will give the right to subscribe to one (1) Warrant Share (the "Exercise Ratio"), it being specified that this Exercise Ratio may be adjusted following any transactions carried out by the Company on its share capital or reserves, as from the issuance date of the Warrants, in order to maintain the rights of the Warrants' holders. Impact of the Reserved Offering on the Company's Shareholding Following the issuance of the New Shares, the Company's total share capital will be EUR 3,891,473.45 (composed of 155,658,938 ordinary shares). If all the Warrants are exercised, and thus all the Warrant Shares issued, the Company's total share capital will be EUR 3,965,002.85 (composed of 158,600,114 ordinary shares). Please see sections 19.1.3 and 19.1.4 of the Company's 2024 Universal Registration Document and the press release dated July 1, 2025 relating to the Early July Financing for a description of the securities issued by GenSight and giving access to its capital. For illustration purposes, the impact of the issuance of the New Shares and the Warrant Shares on the ownership of a shareholder holding 1% of the Company's share capital prior to the Reserved Offering and not subscribing to it, is as follows: Ownership interest (in %) On a non-diluted basis On a diluted basis1 Prior to the issue of the New Shares 1.00% 0.59% Following the issue of the New Shares 0.98% 0.57% Following the issue of the New Shares and the Warrant Shares from the exercise of all the Warrants 0.96% 0.57% Impact of the Reserved Offering on Shareholders' Equity For illustration purposes, the impact of the issuance of the New Shares and the Warrant Shares on the Company's equity per share (calculation made on the basis of the Company's shareholders' equity as reflected in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2024, adjusted for the capital increase of March 7, 2025, the conversion of 631,560 Heights convertible bonds into 1,930,195 new shares on April 1, 2025, in accordance with the amendment dated June 27, 2024 to the convertible bond agreement, and the capital increase of July 1, 2025) is as follows: Share of equity per share (in euros) On a non-diluted basis On a diluted basis2 Prior to the issue of the New Shares (0.14) 0.051 Following the issue of the New Shares (0.14) 0.054 Following the issue of the New Shares and the Warrant Shares from the exercise of all the Warrants (0.13) 0.054 Evolution of the Shareholding Structure following the Reserved Offering To the Company's knowledge, immediately prior to completion of the Reserved Offering, the breakdown of the Company's share capital was as follows: Shareholders Shareholding (non-diluted) Shareholding (diluted)3 Number of shares and voting rights % of share capital and voting rights Number of shares and voting rights % of share capital and voting rights 5% Shareholders Sofinnova4 35,795,627 23.4 53,106,527 20.4 Invus5 21,512,773 14.1 30,535,967 11.7 UPMC Enterprises6 10,158,364 6.7 12,487,477 4.8 Heights7 14,900,613 9.8 70,347,580 27.1 BPI 3,877,591 2.5 5,355,501 2.1 Directors and Officers 517,002 0.3 2,388,335 0.9 Employees 352,500 0.2 392,500 0.2 Other shareholders (total) 65,603,292 43.0 85,398,945 32.8 Total 152,717,762 100.00 260,012,832 100.00 To the Company's knowledge, immediately after the completion of the Reserved Offering and the issuance of the New Shares, the breakdown of the Company's share capital will be as follows: Shareholders Shareholding (non-diluted) Shareholding (diluted) Number of shares and voting rights % of share capital and voting rights Number of shares and voting rights % of share capital and voting rights 5% Shareholders Sofinnova 35,795,627 23.0 53,106,527 20.0 Invus 21,512,773 13.8 30,535,967 11.5 UPMC Enterprises 13,099,540 8.4 18,369,829 6.9 Heights 14,900,613 9.6 70,347,580 26.5 BPI 3,877,591 2.5 5,355,501 2.0 Directors and Officers 517,002 0.3 2,388,335 0.9 Employees 352,500 0.2 392,500 0.1 Other shareholders (total) 65,603,292 42.1 85,398,945 32.1 Total 155,658,938 100.0 265,895,184 100.0 To the Company's knowledge, after the completion of the Reserved Offering and the issuance of the New Shares and all Warrant Shares upon exercise of all Warrants, the breakdown of the Company's share capital will be as follows: Shareholders Shareholding (non-diluted) Shareholding (diluted) Number of shares and voting rights % of share capital and voting rights Number of shares and voting rights % of share capital and voting rights 5% Shareholders Sofinnova 35,795,627 22.6 53,106,527 20.0 Invus 21,512,773 13.6 30,535,967 11.5 UPMC Enterprises 16,040,716 10.1 18,369,829 6.9 Heights 14,900,613 9.4 70,347,580 26.5 BPI 3,877,591 2.4 5,355,501 2.0 Directors and Officers 517,002 0.3 2,388,335 0.9 Employees 352,500 0.2 392,500 0.1 Other shareholders (total) 65,603,292 41.4 85,398,945 32.1 Total 158,600,114 100.0 265,895,184 100.0 Admission to Trading of the New Shares and the Warrants Settlement-delivery of the Reserved Offering and the admission of the New Shares to trading on the regulated market of Euronext Paris are expected on July 21, 2025. The New Shares and the Warrant Shares will be subject to the provisions of the Company's by-laws and will be assimilated to existing shares upon final completion of the Reserved Offering. They will bear current dividend rights and will be admitted to trading on the same listing line as the Company's existing shares under the same ISIN code FR0013183985 SIGHT. The Warrants are expected to be admitted to trading on the Euronext Growth market in Paris ("Euronext Growth Paris") on July 21, 2025 on the same warrant listing line as the Company's existing warrants under the same ISIN code FR0014010IB4/SIGBS. The Warrant Shares will be admitted to trading on Euronext Paris as they are issued following the exercise of the corresponding warrants. Lock-up Commitments The benefit of the lock-up commitments agreed by the Company (45 days) and directors and officers of the Company (60 days) has been extended to UPMC Enterprises. Indicative Timetable July 16, 2025 Decision of the Chief Executive Officer setting the terms and conditions of the Reserved Offering. July 17, 2025 Publication of this press release. July 18 or 21, 2025 Publication of the Euronext notice of admission of the New Shares to trading on Euronext Paris. July 21, 2025 Settlement-delivery of the ABSAs Detachment of the Warrants Start of trading of the New Shares on Euronext Paris. Admission of the Warrants on Euronext Growth Paris Risk Factors The Company draws the attention of the public to the risk factors relating to the Company and its business described in its 2024 Universal Registration Document, as updated in the Information Document made available in connection with the Early July Financing, which are available free of charge on the Company's website (https://www.gensight-biologics.com/) In addition, the main risks specific to securities are as follows: The existing shareholders who do not participate in the Reserved Offering will see their shareholding in the share capital of GenSight diluted, and this shareholding may also be further diluted in the event of the exercise of the Warrants, as well as in the event of new securities transactions. The volatility and liquidity of GenSight shares could fluctuate significantly. The market price of the Company's shares may fluctuate and fall below the subscription price of the shares issued in the context of the Reserved Offering. The sale of Company shares may occur on the secondary market, after the Reserved Offering, and have a negative impact on the Company share price. About GenSight Biologics S.A. GenSight Biologics S.A. is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on developing and commercializing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders. GenSight Biologics' pipeline leverages two core technology platforms, the Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence (MTS) and optogenetics, to help preserve or restore vision in patients suffering from blinding retinal diseases. GenSight Biologics' lead product candidate, GS010 (lenadogene nolparvovec) is in Phase III in Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a rare mitochondrial disease that leads to irreversible blindness in teens and young adults. Using its gene therapy-based approach, GenSight Biologics' product candidates are designed to be administered in a single treatment to each eye by intravitreal injection to offer patients a sustainable functional visual recovery. Disclaimer Not for release, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States of America, Canada, Australia, Japan or South Africa. This press release and the information contained herein do not contain or constitute an offer to subscribe or purchase, or the solicitation of an order to purchase or subscribe, for securities in the United States of America or in any other jurisdiction where such an offer or solicitation would be unlawful. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the Securities Act, or under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States of America, and may not be offered or sold in the United States of America except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and in compliance with the securities laws of any state or any other jurisdiction of the United States. GenSight does not intend to make a public offering of the securities in the United States of America. The distribution of this press release may be subject to legal or regulatory restrictions in certain countries. Persons in possession of this press release should inform themselves of and observe any local restrictions. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. All statements, other than statements of historical facts, included in this press release are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the completion expected proceeds and anticipated use of proceeds of the Reserved Offering; the anticipated cash runway of the Company; and future expectations, plans and prospects of the Company. Words such as "anticipates," "believes," "expects," "intends," "projects," and "future" or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions and no assurance can be given that the proposed securities offering discussed above will be consummated on the terms described or at all. Completion of the proposed Reserved Offering and the terms thereof are subject to numerous factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including, without limitation, market conditions, failure of customary closing conditions and the risk factors and other matters set forth in the filings the Company makes with the Autorite des marches financiers from time to time. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, except as may be required by law. 1 The number of shares contained in the table includes 107,295,070 shares that may be issued by the Company further to the exercise of the remaining share warrants, founders share warrants, free shares and stock options outstanding, including the share warrants issued as part of the Early July Financing. 2 Idem. 3 Idem. 4 Sofinnova Partners: French management company located at 7-11 boulevard Haussmann, 75009 Paris, France, which manages Sofinnova Crossover I SLP. 5 Invus: a Bermudian company located at Clarendon House, 2 Church Street, Hamilton HM 11 Bermuda. Pursuant to the provisions of Article L. 233-9 I, 4 bis of the French Commercial Code, Invus has stated that they hold 6,360,058 shares of GENSIGHT BIOLOGICS S.A. as a result of holding "contracts for differences" ("CFDs") maturing on January 3, 2034, covering an equivalent number of GENSIGHT BIOLOGICS S.A. shares, to be settled in cash. 6 UPMC Enterprises: a non-profit organization located at 6425 Penn Avenue, Suite 200, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America. 7 Heights Capital: a Cayman Islands exempted company located at PO Box 309GT, Ugland House South Church Street, George Town Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250716271672/en/ Contacts: GenSight Biologics Chief Financial Officer Jan Eryk Umiastowski jeumiastowski@gensight-biologics.com LONDON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Circle Health Group, the UK's largest private hospital operator, a subsidiary of PureHealth, the largest healthcare group in the Middle East, has announced the appointment of Paul Manning as its new Chief Executive Officer. Paul Manning assumed his role on Monday 14th July 2025. Paul began his career as a Consultant Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgeon at Nottingham University Hospitals before joining Circle in 2005. He progressed through a range of senior leadership roles, becoming Chief Medical Officer following Circle's acquisition of BMI Healthcare in 2020. He has a distinguished and proven record driving quality, growth and innovation at scale. In 2024, Circle saw 2.2 million patients, with outpatient volumes up 5% and an 18% increase in private medical insurance volumes. Under Paul's leadership, hospital ratings have improved dramatically across the Circle Health Group estate, with 90% of facilities rated "Good" or "Outstanding" by the Care Quality Commission, up 70% from 2020. Paul has also held numerous positions across the British Elbow and Shoulder Society and the British Orthopaedic Association, and in 2023 was appointed a member of the Prime Minister's Elective Recovery Taskforce. Paul will focus on expanding Circle's hospital network and leveraging technology and life sciences to deliver better outcomes for patients and communities. Paul will work closely with PureHealth's leadership to continue building and delivering healthcare excellence, while advancing the science of longevity and unlocking new possibilities in patient care. Karen Prins, former Chief Operating Officer and Interim Chief Executive Officer will leave the business in September, after years of dedicated service. Karen's commitment and leadership have been instrumental during this critical period of transition, and Circle has expressed its gratitude for her many contributions. NOTES TO EDITORS: About PureHealth: PureHealth is the largest healthcare group in the Middle East with an ecosystem that challenges lifespans and reimagines health spans. With 110+ hospitals, 316+ clinics, multiple diagnostic centres, health insurance solutions, pharmacies, health tech, procurement, investments and more, its groundbreaking innovations are at the forefront of healthcare as the company is on a mission to unlock time for humankind. By advancing the Science of Longevity, PureHealth is introducing the healthcare of the future from the United Arab Emirates to the rest of the world. PureHealth's network comprises: SEHA - One of the largest healthcare networks of hospitals and clinics in the UAE - One of the largest healthcare networks of hospitals and clinics in the UAE SEHA CLINICS - Delivering comprehensive community-based healthcare services - Delivering comprehensive community-based healthcare services Daman (The National Insurance Company) - The UAE's leading health insurer - The UAE's leading health insurer The Medical Office - Overseeing Sheikh Khalifa Hospitals and healthcare facilities established under the initiatives of H.H. The President of the UAE - Overseeing Sheikh Khalifa Hospitals and healthcare facilities established under the initiatives of H.H. The President of the UAE Rafed - The UAE's largest healthcare Group Purchasing Organisation - The UAE's largest healthcare Group Purchasing Organisation PureLab - Managing and operating the largest network of laboratories in the region - Managing and operating the largest network of laboratories in the region One Health - A network that provides end-to-end medical solutions to a base of over 300 healthcare service providers provides end-to-end medical solutions to a base of over 300 healthcare service providers The Life Corner - Abu Dhabi's first holistic pharmacy, serving the health and wellness establishment - Abu Dhabi's first holistic pharmacy, serving the health and wellness establishment Ardent Health Services - The fourth largest privately held acute care hospital operator in the US - The fourth largest privately held acute care hospital operator in the US Circle Health Group - The largest independent operators of hospitals in the UK - The largest independent operators of hospitals in the UK Hellenic Healthcare Group (HHG) - the largest private healthcare provider in Greece and Cyprus - the largest private healthcare provider in Greece and Cyprus PureCS - A leading cloud and technology services provider, specialising in IT management and consulting solutions, cybersecurity, cloud services and AI information systems - A leading cloud and technology services provider, specialising in IT management and consulting solutions, cybersecurity, cloud services and AI information systems Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) - The UAE's largest healthcare complex, delivering integrated complex care To learn more, please visit www.purehealth.ae About Circle Health Group Circle Health Group is an award-winning healthcare provider operating Britain's largest network of independent hospitals. Circle's aim is to be the most innovative patient-focused healthcare organisation and, by equipping its people with leading-edge technology, deliver the highest quality patient care. It supports patients whether they fund their own treatment or are supported by private healthcare insurance, and the group also works in partnership with the NHS. Circle Health Group acquired BMI Healthcare in January 2020. The group operates independent hospitals, runs integrated care programmes and rehabilitation services. Circlehealthgroup.co.uk View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/circle-health-group-appoints-paul-manning-as-chief-executive-officer-302506979.html Fair Oaks Capital ETFs - Dividend Declaration PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, July 17 Fair Oaks Capital ETFs - Dividend Declaration Fund name Share class name ISIN Currency TIDM Ex date Record Date Payment date Dividend type Per share rate Fair Oaks AAA CLO Fund UCITS ETF EUR Dist. LU2785470191 EUR FAAA 24/07/2025 25/07/2025 29/07/2025 Quarterly 8.00 Fair Oaks AAA CLO Fund UCITS ETF EUR Dist. LU2785470191 EUR AAAG 24/07/2025 25/07/2025 29/07/2025 Quarterly 8.00 Fair Oaks AAA CLO Fund is a sub-fund of Alpha UCITS SICAV. Please note that the above dates are in respect of the primary market of the Fund. All dividend proceeds are paid in the base currency of the share class. The amount that is actually received by an investor will depend on whether the investor receives the proceeds in the same currency as the base currency of the share class. If an investor will receive the proceeds in a currency other than the base currency of the share class, then the amount the investor will receive will be affected by the FX rate at which the investor's broker/nominee converts the proceeds. If you purchased your investment on the secondary market (for example, on a stock exchange), please liaise with your broker/nominee. It is up to the relevant brokers/nominees to ensure that the proceeds are distributed to their underlying investor clients in accordance with the contractual arrangements they have in place with their clients. Should you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact Fair Oaks Capital. Investor Relations Fair Oaks Capital Ltd Phone: +44 (0) 20 3034 0400 Email: ir@fairoakscap.com Funding will be used to establish the clinical utility of OneMap, a proprietary artificial intelligence (AI) driven single cell transcriptomic oncology platform, to guide treatment decisions, patient selection, therapy development, and optimize clinical trials Proceeds will also help scale strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies Financing led by Redmile Group and Blast, with participation from Galion.exe, Invus, Adamed Technology, Sofinnova Partners, Polytechnique Ventures and Kima Ventures PARIS, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- One Biosciences ("One Biosciences" or the "Company"), a precision oncology techbio company pioneering clinical grade single-cell tumor transcriptomic profiling, today announced a 15 million Series A financing led by Redmile Group and Blast, with participation from Galion.exe, Invus, Adamed Technology, Sofinnova Partners, Polytechnique Ventures, and Kima Ventures. This round brings One Biosciences' total funding, to date, to over 20 million including Home Biosciences' seed financing. One Biosciences technology creates detailed functional profiles of patient tumors, unlocking insights that may drive better clinical decision-making, patient selection, therapy development, and potentially optimizing clinical trials. Proceeds from the financing will accelerate the clinical development of One Biosciences' flagship OneMap platform and support the scaling of strategic partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotech companies. Hedi Ben Brahim, CEO of One Biosciences, said: "This funding enables us to translate our breakthrough single-cell technology into real-time insights that could directly inform physician decision-making, improve patient care, and accelerate drug development. The extraordinary support we have received from this group of leading global investors reinforces our conviction and fast-tracks our route to market." Dr. Celine Vallot, Co-Founder of One Biosciences and group leader at Curie Institute, commented: "This investment coupled with our established capacity to train our AI algorithms with proprietary single-cell patient datasets will further substantiate our ability to predict the response to most classes of oncology therapeutics from clinical grade specimens." Dr Mehdi Touat, Assistant Professor, Assistance Publique - Hopitaux de Paris AP-HP, Pitie-Salpetriere and Paris Brain Institute, said: "Widespread use of next generation sequencing (NGS) profiling has led to substantial advances in cancer care but the clinical benefit remains limited to small patient subsets. We believe clinical grade single cell profiling has the potential to catalyze the next generation of diagnostic and therapeutic advances ". About One Biosciences One Biosciences, founded by Dr. Celine Vallot, Curie Institute and Home Biosciences in 2020, is an AI driven single cell transcriptomic oncology solutions company that is pioneering clinical grade single-cell tumor transcriptomic profiling. We aim to help clinicians select optimal treatments for their patients by decoding tumor heterogeneity from standard clinical samples, while enabling pharmaceutical companies to improve clinical trial outcomes. One Biosciences has partnerships with Curie Institute, Gustave Roussy Institute and AP-HP and is supported by Medicen, PSCC and Matwin. The company is financed by Bpifrance, Region Ile de France, France 2030, Redmile Group Blast, Galion.exe, Invus, Adamed Technology, Sofinnova Partners, Polytechnique Ventures and Kima Ventures. For more information, visit: www.onebiosciences.fr View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/one-biosciences-announces-15-million-series-a-financing-to-advance-clinical-single-cell-profiling-302507084.html HONG KONG, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pico delivered the largest temporary infrastructure around a permanent facility in the history of UNFCCC COP and the first COP event certified under ISO20121 for sustainability, demonstrating its unmatched expertise in sustainable construction and large-scale event management. The Brief Held from 11-22 November in Baku, Azerbaijan, the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) was the second largest in this globally significant event's history. With Pico working as main official contractor of the event's 'Blue Zone', it also represented a milestone in sustainable event management and an impressive demonstration of how large-scale event activations can align with sustainability goals. Insight Led by Pico's multinational team of more than 1,200 professionals and workers, the project transformed the 215,000 sq. m. Baku Stadium into the COP29 'Blue Zone'. Themed 'Make Waves', it contained vital conferencing and negotiation facilities, country/corporate pavilions, and an offsite information centre within central Baku. The 'Blue Zone' was the biggest design-and-build temporary infrastructure around a permanent facility in the history of UNFCCC COP. Key project challenges included balancing the zone's massive infrastructural needs with health, safety and environmental standards - and completing its full planning and execution within six months. The team responded with an intensive mobilisation programme for the workforce, production sites and key supply chain partners designed to overcome the logistical challenges. Solution The Pico team took an innovative approach to the Blue Zone by implementing realistic sustainability goals for design and construction that would allow for ISO20121 event certification at the outset. The event's information centre and country/ corporate pavilions also not only demonstrated effective environmental stewardship, but also exceeded the Conference's needs by increasing Azerbaijan's long-term capacity to host environmentally responsible international gatherings. Over a six-month period, the team leveraged expertise in design, management, master site planning, branding, wayfinding and signage design, and substantially reduce carbon footprint and increase potentials with venue facility optimisation capabilities. Among other project elements, Pico was responsible for site groundwork, steelwork, temporary infrastructure and AV-CCTV conduit works. The team executed a comprehensive interior fit-out including detailed design, VVIP joinery, flooring, furniture, landscaping and decor. Executed tasks also included the construction of toilet and kitchen infrastructure, MEP (mechanical, electrical, plumbing), HVAC (heating, ventilation, air conditioning), and art exhibition curation. Information centre & country pavilions A further significant feature was the COP29 information centre, designed and built as a permanent structure to serve future events right in the heart of Baku. Pico also designed and built pavilions for Azerbaijan, Singapore, FINS and the Zero Waste Pavilion. Sustainable leadership A solar glass-powered entrance arch introduced design features for renewable energy generation and was a significant development in integrating cutting-edge technology and functional design for sustainable event spaces without compromising aesthetic appeal or operational efficiency. As the event's sole ISO 20121 sustainable certification auditee amongst the host country's appointed contractors, Pico stood out for its in-depth knowledge, experience and leadership with environmental stewardship in the events industry. The project integrated sustainable construction methods with local supply chain initiatives, developed permanent infrastructure and in turn transferred valuable skills and knowledge as legacy for Azerbaijan's events industry. Result COP 29 attracted over 70,000 visitors. Testimonials 'The Pico team's expertise, dedication and professionalism played a pivotal role in the smooth execution of this globally significant event. The high standards of quality and attention to detail the team demonstrated throughout the project were truly impressive. From planning and construction to final delivery, your commitment to excellence helped create a world-class venue that met the needs of all participants and stakeholders.' - Narmin Jarchalova, CEO, COP29 Azerbaijan Operating Company 'As we approach the end of another year in the UNFCCC climate change process, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you and your team for your cooperation and support during the preparation of COP 29 and throughout the conference. This conference has been challenging because of the huge number of participants and the limited preparation time. I would like to extend to you my appreciation for the support of the Pico team for their extraordinary efficiency, flexibility and friendly manner.' - Wasim Mir, Director, Conference Affairs Division, United Nations Climate Change Secretariat Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2731247/PICO_COP29_v1.mp4 View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/sustainability-in-event-activation-the-blue-zone-at-unfccc-cop29-302505451.html Viasat is working with Surrey Satellite Technologyand MDA Space, to develop designs and proposals for a lunar orbiting communications satellite system around the Moon. Moonlightis the European Space Agency's (ESA) program to develop a lunar orbiting Navigation and Communication system that will greatly enhance combined navigation and communications services for European and international missions both on the surface of the Moon and in lunar orbit. The Moonlight communications system, targeting initial capability by 2028 and full operations by 2030, will act as a data highway on and around the Moon, and between Earth and the Moon. People, spacecraft, and lunar vehicles could then access the data highway to simplify and speed up communications between each other and back to Earth. This would help support a future 'lunar economy' with more frequent and longer scientific and human missions, space tourism, and even manufacturing programs leveraging rare materials found on the lunar surface. Viasat, working with Moonlight program lead Telespazio, is responsible for the design and development of the communication network, the definition of the end-to-end communications service, the communication space infrastructure, earth ground infrastructure, and the communication lunar surface user terminals. Working with the UK Space Agency - a major Moonlight contributor - Viasat is also leading the UK space ecosystem to deliver the required lunar communications capabilities. Now part of the program, SSTL and MDA Space UK will help develop designs and proposals for a range of advanced technologies, infrastructure, and network requirements needed to establish the future Moonlight satellite system that meets service, schedule and business case requirements. Yasrine Ibnyahya, Vice President of Innovation, Viasat, said: "Moonlight is among the most exciting and ambitious projects being undertaken right now and will support future generations of space exploration. Our participation builds on our heritage of providing commercial satellite services and delivering highly innovative satellite programs, but to get there we'll need an ecosystem of experts all working together alongside the European and UK Space Agencies to make it happen. The UK, home to our International Business Headquarters, is an ideal place for us to lead the charge." Andrew Cawthorne, Managing Director, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, said: "We're proud to be part of the Viasat-led UK team that's helping turn ESA's Moonlight vision into reality. Building on our core role in Lunar Pathfinder and decades of experience in pioneering small satellite missions, SSTL is excited to contribute its expertise to delivering reliable, high-performance lunar communications services. Moonlight is a powerful example of the strength, ambition, and international relevance of the UK space sector." Mike Greenley, Chief Executive Officer of MDA Space, said: "MDA Space and our team in the UK are proud to be helping shape the future of lunar exploration through critical communications technologies that will enable the next wave of commercial and institutional missions. This milestone builds on our deep heritage in space infrastructure and reflects our growing capabilities in the UK. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Viasat and SSTL as we define this vital system." Laurent Jaffart, ESA Director of Connectivity and Secure Communications, said: "The welcome addition of SSTL and MDA Space brings our aim to establish communication and navigation on and around the Moon closer than ever, and I am particularly proud to see the UK space ecosystem playing a key role in helping us to get there. Moonlight is set to be a game-changer for lunar exploration, making use of an interoperable infrastructure that will significantly enhance mission capabilities while reducing complexity and cost." Dr Craig Brown, Director of Investment at the UK Space Agency, said: "The UK has a proud legacy of innovation in satellite communications and enabling new commercial markets. The Moonlight programme offers a transformative opportunity for the UK to build a robust lunar communications infrastructure. Through collaboration between Viasat, SSTL and MDA Space, this initiative places the UK space sector at the forefront of the emerging lunar economy-expected to generate tens of billions in global revenue-while creating high-skilled jobs and showcasing the depth of British industry. By supporting this initiative, we're making the lunar surface more accessible for scientific and commercial activities." Notes to editors Telespazio - a joint venture between Leonardo (67%) and Thales (33%) - is prime contractor for the Moonlight Program, previously signing a 123m contract for the implementation of the infrastructure of the Moonlight programme in late 2024 as part of phase 1 activities. The consortium includes Telespazio as prime contractor responsible for the overall system as well as a pool of companies including Hispasat, Viasat, Thales Alenia Space Italia, SSTL, Qascom, MDA, KSat, Telespazio UK, Telespazio Iberica, SDA Bocconi, POLIMI, CRAS and SIA for the design, implementation and operational qualification of the system. Viasat's involvement in Moonlight as end-to-end communications lead is fully funded by European Space Agency throughout Phase 1. Viasat plans to provide the skillset for its engineering and technology operations from its International Business Headquarters in London. About Viasat Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. With offices in 24 countries around the world, our mission shapes how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate and connect. Viasat is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, reliable, secure, affordable, fast connections to positively impact people's lives anywhere they are - on the ground, in the air or at sea, while building a sustainable future in space. In May 2023, Viasat completed its acquisition of Inmarsat, combining the teams, technologies and resources of the two companies to create a new global communications partner. Learn more at www.viasat.com, the Viasat News Roomor follow us on LinkedIn, X, Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, Threads, and YouTube. Copyright 2025 Viasat, Inc. All rights reserved. Viasat, the Viasat logo and the Viasat Signal are registered trademarks in the U.S. and in other countries of Viasat, Inc. All other product or company names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective owners. About SSTL Surrey Satellite Technology Limited (SSTL), based in Guildford, United Kingdom, and owned by Airbus Defence and Space has been at the forefront of small satellite innovation for over four decades and 74 satellite missions. With a strong reputation for reliability and cutting-edge technology, SSTL specialises in the design and manufacture of small satellite platforms, customer training programmes and complete satellite missions. About MDA Space Building the space between proven and possible, MDA Space. Viasat, Inc. Contacts Richard Jones/Dan Bleier, Public Relations, PR@viasat.com Lisa Curran/Peter Lopez, Investor Relations, IR@viasat.com Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements include, among others, statements that refer to the Moonlight program, future phases of the Moonlight project and the future potential of the lunar economy. Readers are cautioned that actual results could differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include: risks associated with the construction, launch and operation of satellites and space infrastructure used in the Moonlight project, including the effect of any anomaly, operational failure or degradation in satellite performance; our ability to successfully develop, introduce and sell new technologies, products and services; introduction and reliability of new technologies and other factors affecting the communications and space industries generally; our reliance on third parties participating in the Moonlight project; the effect of adverse regulatory changes (including changes affecting spectrum availability or permitted uses) on our ability to sell or deploy our products and services; changes in the way others use spectrum; our inability to access additional spectrum, use spectrum for additional purposes, and/or operate satellites at additional orbital locations; and competing uses of the same spectrum or orbital locations that we utilize or seek to utilize. In addition, please refer to the risk factors contained in our SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason. JERICHO, N.Y., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Global consulting firm J.S. Held celebrates numerous recognitions of our company and industry experts in this mid-year update. Across J.S. Held, a curated collection of technical, scientific, and financial expert teams with an unrivaled understanding of both tangible and intangible assets has been recognized by leading industry publications for expertise in 19 categories, including: Arbitration Expert Witnesses Asset-based Finance (ABF) Leaders & Legends Asset Recovery Enterprise Risk Management Consulting Forensics & Complex Investigations, Compliance Forensics & Complex Investigations, Litigation Support Forensic & Litigation Consulting Construction Construction & Engineering, Litigation Support Crisis & Risk Management, ESG Crisis & Risk Management, Investigative Due Diligence Crisis & Risk Management, Political Risk Data - Data Experts Intellectual Property Expert Witnesses Investigations Litigation Support, Asset Tracing & Recovery Litigation Support, Business Intelligence & Investigations Litigation Support, Forensic Accounting Transport Experts, Thought Leaders J.S. Held Experts are Trusted Advisors to Clients Across Six Continents At J.S. Held, more than 1,500 professionals serve organizations spanning six continents, including 84% of the Global 200 Law Firms, 75% of the Forbes Top 20 Insurance Companies (90% of the NAIC Top 50 Property & Casualty Insurers), and 71% of the Fortune 100 Companies. J.S. Held Applies Scientific, Financial, and Technical Rigor Across Client Engagements J.S. Held's expertise is built upon five decades of experience in the most rigorous venues - state, federal, and international courts and tribunals- spanning more than 150 different industry segments. The depth and breadth of the firm's work in the insurance market provides a strong foundation in risk assessment, data analysis, global awareness, regulatory compliance, technological adaptability, and risk mitigation. Collectively, these skills better equip J.S. Held experts to assess business risk across diverse markets, geographies, geopolitical landscapes, compliance frameworks, and digital advancements. "In a world where uncertainty is the only constant, there is a need for something solid you can hold onto," observes J.S. Held Chief Executive Officer Lee Sprier. "Our name is our promise," he adds. "Our role as a trusted advisor is emblematic of this promise, even in the face of the most daunting risks, clients have the expertise and guidance to act with confidence." J.S. Held Expertise Recognized by Global News Outlets, Ratings Agencies, and Research Firms The company and expert recognition by notable organizations such as Asset-based Finance (ABF) Journal, Chambers and Partners, Consultancy UK, IAM, Leader's League, Lexology Index, and Verdantix serves as a further testament to J.S. Held's agile, collaborative, creative, and client-centric team providing solution-forward advisory and consulting to clients across the globe, no matter the scope or complexity of a project. Learn more about J.S. Held's areas of expertise visit: https://www.jsheld.com/areas-of-expertise. About J.S. Held J.S. Held is a global consulting firm that combines technical, scientific, financial, and strategic expertise to advise clients seeking to realize value and mitigate risk. Our professionals serve as trusted advisors to organizations facing high stakes matters demanding urgent attention, staunch integrity, proven experience, clear-cut analysis, and an understanding of both tangible and intangible assets. The firm provides a comprehensive suite of services, products, and data that enable clients to navigate complex, contentious, and often catastrophic situations. J.S. Held, its affiliates and subsidiaries are not certified public accounting firm(s) and do not provide audit, attest, or any other public accounting services. J.S. Held, its affiliates and subsidiaries, are not law firms and do not provide legal advice. Securities offered through PM Securities, LLC, d/b/a Phoenix IB or Ocean Tomo Investments, a part of J.S. Held, member FINRA/SIPC. All rights reserved. Media Contact Kristi L Stathis, J.S. Held, +1 786 833 4864, Kristi.Stathis@jsheld.com, JSHeld.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/js-held-expert-teams-work-across-six-continents-recognized-as-industry-leading-302503699.html AMSTERDAM, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Remember the oddly tempting thrill of touching your tongue to a 9-volt battery? New snack brand Rewind is turning that fleeting dare into a (surprisingly tasty) reality with the launch of the world's first 9-volt battery flavoured corn chips. Bizarre flavour trends and viral food experiments are everywhere on social media, but snacking brand Rewind now wants to take it to the next level. The 9-volt battery flavoured corn chips are part of its mission to help consumers rewind to the good times and to establish themselves as a nostalgia inducing brand from launch. The desire to touch your tongue to a 9-volt battery is something millions around the world have been tempted by. Pop legend Britney Spears was even asked once in an interview whether she had done so, resulting in a viral video clip. Rewind now offers a snackable way to revisit one of the 90's weirdest shared experiences - no batteries required. Launching first in the Netherlands, with other European markets to follow, Rewind is a bold new player in the snack aisle, blending nostalgia with exciting flavours. The range also includes Cheese & Onion, Tangy Sriracha, Creamy Paprika, and BBQ & Honey. "It was definitely an unusual brief," saysMattias Larsson, chef and flavourist, who led the development of the flavour. "We used a blend of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate to create the tongue-tingling effect, and balanced it out with mineral salts which give the chips a metallic tang. The result is surprisingly tasty and it's definitely a flavour that sparks curiosity." Antti Lauronen, Head of Creative & Design, at Paulig, says: ""Rewind is a brand inspired by nostalgia, so we thought what better way to launch but with one of the most nostalgic shared experiences - a delicious tribute to a weird universal memory that tastes just like those careless teenage afternoons. And if chips flavoured like 9-volt batteries aren't for you, we have a range of classics available with a modern twist" For now, a first limited run is available, and those interested in trying can show their interest via @RewindChips_NL on Instagram.. The full Rewind range includes: Cheese & Onion, Tangy Sriracha, Creamy Paprika, BBQ & Honey. Disclaimer: The 9-volt battery flavoured chips contain no actual battery components. We do not recommend or condone licking, biting, or otherwise ingesting real batteries. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/snacking-brand-rewind-unveils-9v-battery-flavoured-corn-chips-302507090.html Wynn championed the region's talents and its exceptional hospitality with a week of unique gatherings and a glittering awards event MACAU, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace served as the Official Host Partner for the highly anticipated Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 awards, while also presenting a diverse program of drinks-focused events in the week surrounding the ceremony on July 15. This marked a significant milestone as Macao welcomed the prestigious event for the first time, bringing together the region's most talented bartenders and chefs alongside drinks industry professionals and media from around the world to celebrate the best in modern cocktail culture. The Asia's 50 Best Bars awards ceremony, held in the opulent Wynn Palace Grand Theater, welcomed guests with red carpet photo opportunities and a vibrant cocktail reception. As the year's list of Asia's 50 Best Bars was revealed, attendees had the chance to sample signature drinks crafted by world-renowned brands and mixologists. Wing Lei Bar, Tell Camellia and Bar US showcased their signature cocktails at this year's Bartenders' Feast, an annual tradition held the night before the main event, held at the elegant Wynn Palace Event Marquee. While as part of the lead up to the ceremony, Meet the Bartenders event offered an exclusive chance for media from around the globe to connect with regional bar stars. The week culminated in the spirited Closing Party held at Wynn Palace's Fontana with a stunning view across Performance Lake, where guests were treated to a buffet feast and sips by Wing Lei Bar together with Cosmo Pony and The Curator alongside a special dragon's beard candy booth operated by Macao's famous Yau Kei Candy, offering a taste of this traditional Macanese treat. In the week-long celebration from July 11 to July 15, Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace opened its signature drinking and dining destinations to takeovers from the world's top talents, offering patrons exclusive chances to sample exceptional food and beverage from leading names in hospitality. An exciting lineup of more than 25 guest chef and mixologist events - including bar takeovers and pop-ups - showcased the region's thriving bar scene and its innovative spirit. A few highlights include Inventors' Laboratory, which brought together bar industry icons Julio Bermejo (creator of Tommy's Margarita) and Sam Ross (creator of the Penicillin and Paper Plane) for an unforgettable evening of innovative drinks; while North American West Coast Road Trip, a cocktail-driven journey through some of Canada and USA's best with bartending teams from Laowai, Thunderbolt, and Pacific Cocktail Haven. Wing Lei Bar Aperitivo Canto presented by Campari featured drinks from Bar Sathorn, Opium, Bar S-OTTO, Bar Leone, Moebius and Idle Hands, plus Cantonese fusion snacks by Cantonese master chef Tam Kwok Fung; and the Best of British united bartending legends from Wing Lei Bar, Schofield's Bar, Kwant Mayfair and Hey Palu for an evening of UK cocktail excellence at Palace Reserve Club. Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace have once again demonstrated their dedication to excellence in hospitality and mixology, solidifying their status as premier destinations for world-class events. This is also as a testament to Wynn's ongoing efforts to elevate Macao's status as a "Creative City of Gastronomy". The team looks forward to future collaborations that will continue to highlight the finest in culinary and cocktail arts. For more information about the restaurants and bars at Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace, please visit: https://www.wynnresortsmacau.com/en For media enquiries, please contact: The Foundry Asia Sophie Steiner Senior Branding & Communications Manager, The Foundry Asia (Shanghai, Regional) E: sophiesteiner@thefoundry.asia M: +86 185 2171 0484 Ian Fan Head of Brands & Communications, The Foundry Asia (Hong Kong, Regional) E: ianfan@thefoundry.asia M: +852 9819 8595 Germaine Woon Founder, Managing Director, The Foundry Asia (Singapore, Regional) E: germainewoon@thefoundry.asia M: +65 91016680 Wynn Macau & Wynn Palace Cheryl Huang, Assistant Vice President - Brand Marketing E: cheryl.huang@wynnpalace.com T: +853 8986 5239 Sofia Lou, Senior Manager - Public Relations E: sofia.lou@wynnpalace.com T: +853 8986 5251 Elsa Ho, Manager - Public Relations E: elsa.ic.ho@wynnpalace.com T: +853 8986 5256 Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732408/Asia_s_50_Best_Bars_awards_ceremony.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732407/Bartenders__Feast___1.jpg Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732406/Bartenders__Feast___2.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/wynn-macau-and-wynn-palace-successfully-host-asias-50-best-bars-2025-awards-ceremony-302507755.html LONDON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 15, GAC officially signed a joint venture agreement with Jameel Motors, one of the world's leading dealership groups in London, UK. Under the agreement, Jameel Motors will serve as GAC's distributor in the UK, responsible for the sales of its new energy vehicles. According to the plan, GAC's two global strategic models, the AION V and AION UT, will be the first to enter the UK market, with official launch deliveries set for the first quarter of 2026. As GAC's global strategic models, the smart SUV, the AION V, and the premium hatchback, the AION UT, developed in strict accordance with international standards, both models feature GAC's latest intelligent electric technologies and advanced manufacturing. Their high safety, superior quality, and premium features are designed to meet the UK market's demand for high-end electric vehicles. Senior executives from GAC INTERNATIONAL and Jameel Motors were present at the signing ceremony to jointly witness this pivotal occasion. During the event, GAC INTERNATIONAL President Wei Haigang stated that this strategic collaboration with Jameel Motors enables GAC to introduce its latest new energy vehicles to the UK market, facilitating the nation's transition toward cleaner and more sustainable mobility solutions. This partnership with Jameel Motors signifies GAC's formal entry into the UK market. As one of Europe's most crucial automotive markets, the UK has shown remarkable growth in demand for electric vehicles. As demand for electric vehicles continues to intensify in the UK market, GAC will gradually roll out its model portfolio, consistently offering diverse premium green mobility options to customers of the United Kingdom. In April this year, GAC signed an agency agreement with Jameel Motors to introduce its new energy products to the Polish market. This renewed collaboration marks a pivotal step for GAC's "Europe Market Plan" under its "One GAC 2.0" strategy. Through long-term, in-depth cooperation with Jameel Motors, GAC has laid a robust foundation for advancing global reach with a full-chain ecosystem. Moving forward, guided by the principle of "In Europe, For Europe", GAC will steadfastly execute its "Europe Market Plan" to become a reliable mobility partner for European consumers. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2733182/1.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/gac-partners-with-jameel-motors-to-enter-the-uk-market-marking-another-key-step-in-its-european-development-302507780.html Driving Digital Transformation in Maritime Carbon Management Hyundai Glovis, a global leader in smart logistics, has entered a strategic partnership with maritime IT solutions provider Lab021 to implement Vessellink, an advanced digital reporting system designed for ship operations. The collaboration aims to integrate Vessellink for Ship, Lab021's flagship platform, into Hyundai Glovis's maritime operations. This system automates data collection, analysis, and reporting of critical vessel metrics such as real-time voyage monitoring, carbon emissions, and operational efficiency. By digitizing these processes, Hyundai Glovis seeks to enhance operational intelligence and agility while reducing reliance on manual reporting. This initiative is timely as the maritime industry faces increasing regulatory demands on decarbonization. The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is advancing measures targeting greenhouse gas reduction, including stricter carbon intensity standards and the introduction of a global carbon pricing mechanism expected around 2027. In parallel, the European Union's FuelEU Maritime regulation, effective in 2025, requires vessels calling at EU ports to progressively increase the use of low-carbon fuels. Additionally, the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) extended its scope to include shipping in 2024 and plans full emissions coverage by 2026. By adopting Vessellink, Hyundai Glovis positions itself ahead of these regulatory requirements, strengthening its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) commitments. The platform's detailed emissions tracking and real-time reporting improve transparency and build trust with global customers and regulators. A Hyundai Glovis spokesperson commented, "We are upgrading our data management to align with the maritime sector's goals for decarbonization and digital innovation. Vessellink enables compliance and streamlines our operations. We look forward to expanding our partnership with Lab021 to develop smarter, greener shipping solutions." Lab021 CEO Sangbong Lee added, "Vessellink represents the future of maritime digitalization, merging precise vessel data with intelligent automation. Our partnership with Hyundai Glovis marks a key step in expanding global adoption of data-driven carbon management tools in shipping." This collaboration highlights Hyundai Glovis's commitment to future-proofing its maritime activities and reflects the broader industry trend where digital transformation is essential for sustainable shipping. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250716141805/en/ Contacts: Michael(Minwoog) Kang Sales Team Director LAB021 Co.,Ltd, 72, Chungjang-daero 5beon-gil, Jung-gu, Busan, Republic of Korea T: +82 70 8820 8903 F: +82 51 980 6550 M: +82 010 8642 7017 E: sales@vessellink.com mwkang@vessellink.com W: home.vessellink.com MMJ CEO Duane Boise Exposes DEA Corruption in National Interview: Calls for Dismissal of Officials Blocking FDA Medical Marijuana Trials Full Interview with MMJ CEO Duane Boise to Air Today @ 9.am ET on Cannabis Coast to Coast News. Terrance Cole, the nominee for DEA Administrator, must confront this DEA rot head on. The agency's marijuana program is a train wreck. The public deserves answers. And legitimate companies like MMJ BioPharma Cultivation deserve justice. WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Pro Cannabis Media will release the full, uncut interview with Duane Boise, CEO of MMJ International Holdings, on July 17th, Thursday at 9:00 AM ET during a special segment of Cannabis Coast to Coast News with Alaina Pinto. In the wide-ranging interview, Boise delivers a scathing critique of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), accusing the agency of deliberately obstructing FDA-authorized clinical research into cannabinoid-based medicines for Huntington's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, a subsidiary of MMJ International Holdings, has been embroiled in a multi-year battle for a DEA bulk manufacturing license despite full compliance with federal law and active Investigational New Drug (IND) authorizations from the FDA. The company is now calling for urgent reform of the DEA's Diversion Control Division and the immediate dismissal of a deputy administrator accused of sabotaging legitimate pharmaceutical research. "We have followed every rule, spent millions building a compliant facility, and still the DEA has done everything in its power to delay and deny this life-saving research. This isn't about cannabis-it's about control, corruption, and constitutional failure," said Boise during the interview. The full show will also highlight continued delays under the agency's controversial "Bona Fide Supply Agreement" requirement, which MMJ argues was applied retroactively and unfairly. With growing bipartisan calls for reform, MMJ's case may serve as a tipping point in the national debate over medical marijuana and regulatory overreach. Alaina Pinto, the host of Cannabis Coast to Coast News, will present the segment alongside Jimmy Young, founder of Pro Cannabis Media. The full interview will be available via this link for early access and syndication. Broadcast Details Show: Cannabis Coast to Coast News Episode Airs: Thursday, July 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM ET Host: Alaina Pinto Guest: Duane Boise, CEO of MMJ International Holdings Streaming:Pro Cannabis Media YouTube Channel & LinkedIn Groups About MMJ International Holdings MMJ International Holdings is a pioneering pharmaceutical company developing FDA-authorized, cannabinoid based medicines for rare neurological conditions. Through its subsidiary, MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, the company has produced consistent, pharmaceutical-grade marijuana for clinical trials-an effort repeatedly obstructed by DEA delays. MMJ is represented by attorney Megan Sheehan. CONTACT: Madison Hisey MHisey@mmjih.com 203-231-8583 SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/dea-whistle-blower-mmj-ceo-duane-boise-blows-the-whistle-on-dea-stone-1049683 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (OTCQB: PVGDF) (the "Company" or "Provenance") is pleased to announce the closing of its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of $2,541,800. The Offering received strong interest from investors. Upon closing of the final tranche, the Company issued 12,709,000 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.20 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one common share and one-half of one share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"), with each full Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional share at $0.25 until July 17, 2028. "We would like to thank our shareholders for their support and interest in our projects. Our Eldorado West and Eldorado East acquisitions are standing out to investors as a district-scale opportunity in Eastern Oregon. We continue to advance these projects diligently and are excited to have this financing behind us to enable our drill program to continue throughout the summer. We are excited to finally start receiving assays and continue to build on the gold mineralization and footprint at Eldorado. This project has unusually strong grade and scale. I believe it is just beginning to reveal its impressive dimensions as we continue to expand our exploration and drilling." - Rauno Perttu, CEO In connection with closing the Offering, the Company paid $87,045 and issued 435,225 broker warrants to certain arms-length brokerage firms that assisted in introducing subscribers to the Offering. Each broker warrant is exercisable on the same terms as the subscriber Warrants. All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to restrictions on resale until November 18, 2025, in accordance with applicable securities laws. Drilling Update Seven drill holes (Figure 1) have been completed to date, with the eighth currently underway. Holes ED12-14 target expansion of the 2023 discovery zone from RC hole ED-04 and core holes EC-02 and EC-03. Holes ED-15-17 test the gap between this zone and the one intersected by core hole EC-01 (2.01 g.t Au over 288.34m: see December 9 th , 2024 new release). , 2024 new release). Holes ED-18 and 19 and the next two are testing a significant step-out area to the southwest. All completed holes exhibited visual mineralization. Results will be released when available. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5654/259114_provimg1.jpg Stock Options The Company also announces that it has granted 1,900,000 stock options to certain officers, directors and consultants of the Company. The options have an exercise price of $0.22 per share, have a thirty-six (36) month term from the date of the grant and vest immediately. About Provenance Gold Corp. On behalf of the Board, Provenance Gold Corp. Rauno Perttu, Chief Executive Officer Safe Harbor Statement: Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its regulation services provider, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259114 SOURCE: Provenance Gold Corp. MILAN, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A recently published five-year pharmacovigilance study confirms the excellent safety profile of a fixed-dose combination eye drop containing an anti-inflammatory steroid and a quinolone antibiotic, developed by NTC, indicated for the prevention and treatment of inflammation and prevention of infection following cataract surgery in adults. The study was submitted when nearly 4 million patients across about 60 countries worldwide were treated with this drug. Conducted by Italian researchers and supported by NTC, the study analyzed public safety data registered in the adrreports.eu portal, that collects safety reports from EudraVigilance, the European Medicines Agency's official adverse drug reaction (ADR) database. The study identified only 53 ADRs occurred in 25 patients between 2020 and 2024. Key findings include: 74% of ADRs were non-serious . . More than half were deemed unlikely to be related to the product. to the product. The most frequently reported events were mild reactions involving the eye or skin-expected outcomes for a topically administered ophthalmic solution. No case of endophthalmitis, a severe and rare infection that can occur following eye surgery, was reported. "This is the first international pharmacovigilance study focused specifically on a fixed-dose eye drop combining an antibiotic and an anti-inflammatory steroid," said Dr. Giorgio Ciprandi, senior author of the publication. "Its wide usage and favorable safety profile make of it a valuable option in the modern management of post-cataract patients'." The findings support the current recommendation of a short-term, seven-day treatment course, which improves patient adherence and limits the risk of side effects or antibiotic resistance. The study also highlights the importance of pharmacovigilance in evaluating medicines after market approval. "This analysis confirms how continuous safety monitoring is essential to protect patients and support clinicians based on safety information collected from the spontaneous reporting," said Alessandro Colombo, CSO in NTC. Cataract surgery remains the most common ophthalmic procedure worldwide, and post-operative management is critical to ensure optimal recovery. Since its approval in 2020, this innovative combination has provided patients with a simplified one-week treatment regimen that reduces unnecessary exposure to antibiotics and minimizes the risks associated with prolonged steroid use. Thanks to its consistent safety profile, the product has received marketing authorization renewal from European regulatory authorities. About the Study The study, titled "Pharmacovigilance on dexamethasone 1mg/mL + levofloxacin 5 mg/mL eye drops, solution: a five-year registry.", was conducted by experts in ophthalmology and drug safety. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/five-year-pharmacovigilance-study-by-ntc-confirms-safety-of-fixed-dose-eye-drops-for-post-cataract-surgery-302505372.html EIFO, the export and investment fund of Denmark, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation, an independent Danish enterprise foundation, are investing 80 million in the establishment of a new Nordic quantum initiative, QuNorth, to advance the region's technological development. Microsoft and Atom Computing will bring to QuNorth the world's most powerful quantum computer and the first operational deployment of a machine powered by logical qubits. COPENHAGEN, Denmark, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The commercial and geopolitical stakes in quantum technology are immense, and significant technological advances have been made over the past decade. Despite a historically strong position in quantum research, Denmark and the Nordic region risk losing ground in the global race due to the lack of access to next-generation quantum systems, the Level 2 quantum computers. To address this, EIFO and the Novo Nordisk Foundation are investing 80 million to establish QuNorth, a new Nordic quantum initiative. QuNorth's primary mission is to acquire and operate the world's most powerful commercial quantum computer to date. The computer will be named Magne, inspired by Norse mythology, where Magne, the son of Thor, is known for his immense strength. Magne is currently set to become the world's most powerful commercially available quantum computer as one of the very first Level 2 quantum systems globally which is characterized by performing calculations using so-called logical qubits. With Magne, Denmark and the Nordic region will gain unprecedented research and commercial potential, contributing to a global leadership position. Morten Bdskov, Danish Minister of Industry, Business and Financial Affairs, commented: "The world has changed, and the competition for critical technologies is fierce. China and the USA are investing massively while Europe is falling behind. Quantum technology comes with enormous potential, and Denmark and the EU must seize this opportunity. With the investment in the world's strongest quantum computer, we are making a solid shift in the global quantum race. This will benefit all of Europe. We need to harness the untapped possibilities of quantum technology for Danish and European businesses, society, and security. Denmark and the EU must lead the race in developing new technologies." Both EIFO and the Novo Nordisk Foundation have intensified their focus on quantum technology over the past year. With the investment in QuNorth and Magne, the two foundations aim to strengthen both the Danish and Nordic quantum ecosystems. Peder Lundquist, CEO of EIFO, commented: "A quantum computer of Magne's caliber maximizes the likelihood that Denmark will be among tomorrow's winning nations. Having access to one of the world's very few Level 2 quantum computers will give Danish researchers and companies a unique advantage of national significance. With QuNorth, Denmark is taking a quantum leap into a future laid by the foundations of Niels Bohr's research." Mads Krogsgaard Thomsen, CEO of the Novo Nordisk Foundation, commented: "Today, the Nordic countries have limited access to the latest quantum computers on the market. This means our researchers and companies risk falling behind compared to other parts of the world. With the investment in QuNorth and Magne, we aim to provide a strong platform that prioritizes access for Nordic users." QuNorth will work proactively to support researchers and industry in leveraging Magne - among other things by developing new applications across areas such as material science and chemistry related product development, and by helping to attract talent and new quantum investments to the Nordic region. QuNorth will collaborate closely with other stakeholders involved in the development and commercialization of quantum research in the Nordic region, which is expected to also provide a European competitive advantage. Magne will be delivered by a partnership between Microsoft and Atom Computing - both are world-leading companies in the field of quantum technology and are already strongly rooted in the Danish ecosystem. Microsoft has invested significantly in building and expanding its global quantum innovation center just north of Copenhagen and will equip Magne with their specialized quantum software and applications powered by the recently unveiled Microsoft Discovery. Atom Computing decided last year to establish its European headquarters in Copenhagen as EIFO and a local pension fund invested in the company. Atom Computing has developed a "neutral atom" technology, currently considered the best performing quantum technology. Jason Zander, Executive Vice President, Microsoft Corporation, commented: "We are thrilled to deepen our collaboration with Denmark and the Nordics - key to Europe's quantum ambitions. Together with Atom Computing, we are striving to build the world's most powerful quantum computer that applies Microsoft's advanced error correction to Atom Computing's high-fidelity qubits. We are proud that this state-of-the-art system comes to life in Denmark, also home of our decades-long investment in advanced quantum fabrication and research. We welcome this era of collaboration with the Novo Nordisk Foundation, EIFO, and industry leaders, accelerating innovation across scientific breakthroughs, from drug discovery to disease modelling. Reliable quantum computing is now a reality." Dr. Ben Bloom, CEO at Atom Computing, commented: "The team at Atom Computing is excited to deliver its cutting-edge technology into the hands of a broad range of users, as Atom's hardware integrates advanced compute capabilities that enable deep technical research into novel logical qubit algorithms and quantum error correction. On top of that, together with Microsoft, the system provides a full-stack solution that empowers quantum innovation and applications for academia and industry. We believe that together with Microsoft and QuNorth, the Danish and Nordic quantum ecosystems will take a global leadership position for years to come." Construction of Magne will begin in autumn 2025, and the computer is expected to be ready for its first tasks by the new year 2026/27. The selection of Microsoft and Atom Computing in making Magne possible is the result of a thorough evaluation of various quantum platform's current technological strengths and benefits, as well as the solution's overall contribution to the Nordic quantum ecosystem, including access for researchers to the physical hardware. Magne will be 100% Danish-owned, with EIFO and the Novo Nordisk Foundation each investing approximately 40 million in the establishment of QuNorth. Search for a CEO for the new company will now begin, and QuNorth plans to build a small organization of around 10 employees, whose primary task will be to ensure optimal utilization of Magne across commercial and academic users in the Nordic region. In addition, QuNorth will establish four PhD/postdoc roles in collaboration with Microsoft. QuNorth will present its commercial and academic program at a Nordic quantum event to be held in autumn 2025. Both Magne and QuNorth will be based in Copenhagen. Facts About QuNorth, www.qunorth.com QuNorth is a new joint venture established to procure and operate the world's most powerful commercial quantum computer to date QuNorth is owned 50/50 by EIFO and the Novo Nordisk Foundation and will have around 10 specialized employees QuNorth will be based in Innovation District Copenhagen, with its board and management expected to be in place by autumn 2025 About Magne Magne will be the world's first commercially available level 2 quantum computer, consisting of 50 logical qubits and over 1,200 physical qubits It is a complete full-stack quantum computer. This means it includes not only the hardware that contains the qubits, but also algorithms, software, operating system, compiler, and control electronics Atom Computing will build and deliver the quantum hardware for Magne, while Microsoft will integrate, among other things, its Azure software, which will be tailored to Atom Computing's neutral atom technology About quantum technology and level 2 computers The three levels of quantum computing are: Level 1 (NISQ): Error-prone quantum computers based on physical qubits, which have been commercially or cloud-accessible since 2016. This type of quantum computer is only used for simple and narrowly defined tasks and has not yet proven superior to classical computers in solving real-world challenges Error-prone quantum computers based on physical qubits, which have been commercially or cloud-accessible since 2016. This type of quantum computer is only used for simple and narrowly defined tasks and has not yet proven superior to classical computers in solving real-world challenges Level 2 (Logical qubits): More stable and reliable quantum computers with error correction. Quantum computers of this type are expected to offer a real advantage over classical computers in a range of applications. Magne will be a level 2 quantum computer - the most powerful in the world to date and the first commercial quantum computer of its kind More stable and reliable quantum computers with error correction. Quantum computers of this type are expected to offer a real advantage over classical computers in a range of applications. will be a level 2 quantum computer - the most powerful in the world to date and the first commercial quantum computer of its kind Level 3 (Fault-tolerant quantum computing): Larger quantum chips, advanced quantum networks, and error correction algorithms enable high-quality logical qubits that are practically fault-tolerant. This opens up a new and still unrealized paradigm with vastly increased computational power and the potential to solve problems that are currently unsolvable. The large quantum computer under development by the Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Computing Programme and Quantum Foundry Copenhagen belongs in this category About EIFO, www.eifo.dk EIFO is Denmark's national promotional bank and export credit agency, providing risk-tolerant financing across five strategic priority areas: Defence and Security, Technological Innovation, Green Transition, Entrepreneurship and Growth, and Internationalisation EIFO's total business volume amounts to approx. 24 billion, with engagements in more than 3,000 companies EIFO's focus on quantum technology includes several strategic investments in, for example, Danish company Sparrow Quantum, Atom Computing, and Kvantify, as well as the ongoing work to incubate Denmark's new national quantum fund About Novo Nordisk Foundation, www.novonordiskfonden.dk The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an independent Danish business foundation that supports scientific, humanitarian, and social causes In 2022, the Novo Nordisk Foundation launched its largest initiative in the field of quantum technology to date: the Novo Nordisk Foundation Quantum Computing Programme and Quantum Foundry Copenhagen. The goal is to develop a so-called fault-tolerant level 3 quantum computer View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/eifo-and-the-novo-nordisk-foundation-acquire-the-worlds-most-powerful-quantum-computer-302507751.html VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Prospect Ridge Resources Corp.(the "Company" or "Prospect Ridge") (CSE:PRR)(OTCQB:PRRSF)(FRA:OED) is pleased to provide updates for their Knauss Creek, Holy Grail, Castle, and Excalibur projects. Start of Knauss Creek and Holy Grail Programs Prospect Ridge is pleased to announce that on July 15, crews from Equity Exploration Consultants Inc. began a program of prospecting, mapping, and soil sampling on 17 high priority exploration targets on the Company's Knauss Creek and Holy Grail projects located just north of Terrace, B.C. The 4-week program will be based at the Company's fully equipped camp in Terrace, B.C. and will utilize the Company's fleet of trucks and all terrain vehicles, along with helicopter support. The goal of the program is to identify drill targets on the fully drill permitted Knauss Creek and Holy Grail projects that occupy a combined area of 625.5 km2. Closing of Castle and Excalibur Acquisitions The Company also confirms that its previously announced options to acquire a 100% interest in the Castle and Excalibur Copper- Gold porphyry projects have been approved by the Canadian Securities Exchange. The Company has completed the initial payments for the two projects, comprising a combined total of $12,000 in cash and 360,000 shares subject to a hold period that expires November 17, 2025. For information on the further terms to earn the 100% interests, see the news releases dated July 2, 2025 (with respect to Castle) and July 8, 2025 (with respect to Excalibur). Castle and Excalibur Exploration Programs At Castle, a combined airborne magnetic and radiometric survey is planned over the entire property. The magnetic survey will be followed up by an eight line-km Induced Polarization ("IP") survey covering the north and west Castle gossan slopes. Concurrently, a program of prospecting and mapping will be conducted over both the Castle and Abbey gossans. At Excalibur, an initial one week program of mapping, prospecting, and outcrop sampling will begin on July 22 and will be followed by line-brushing to support up to 40 line -km of IP survey at a line spacing of 200 m and in the vicinity of the high Cu soil samples collected in 2019 and 2021. A recent property visit by Prospect Ridge management has confirmed that commercial logging activity has cleared much of the target area for the IP survey and may reduce the number of line kilometres that will need to be brushed (Figure 1). The object of the initial work programs on both projects is to provide multiple drill targets for a minimum 2,000 metre diamond drill program on each project contemplated for as early as the summer of 2026, pending receipt of drill permits that will be applied for after the conclusion of the current work programs in Fall, 2025. Figure 1: Showing the prominent French Peak gossan (background) and the main Excalibur target area (foreground) after recent commercial logging activity First Nations Land Acknowledgement Prospect Ridge acknowledges that Castle is situated within the traditional territory of the Tahltan and Tsay Keh Dene First Nations. Prospect Ridge also acknowledges that Excalibur is situated within the traditional territory of the Lake Babine First Nation. Prospect Ridge is committed to developing positive and mutually beneficial relationships with First Nations based on trust and respect and a foundation of open and honest communications. Qualified Person Statement All technical data, as disclosed in this press release, has been verified by Ron Voordouw, Ph.D, P.Geo. Director of Geoscience for Equity Exploration Consultants Ltd., a consultant to the Company and a qualified person as defined under the terms of National Instrument 43-101. About Prospect Ridge Resources Corp. Prospect Ridge Resources Corp. is a British Columbia based exploration and development company focused on critical metals and gold exploration. Prospect Ridge's management and technical team collectively have over 100 years of experience in mineral exploration and believes the Company's properties have the potential to extend the boundaries of the Golden Horseshoe across this vastly under-explored region. Contact Information Prospect Ridge Resources Corp. Mike Iverson - Chairman, Director Email: mike@miverson.ca Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This release includes certain statements and information ("FLI") that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. FLI relates to future events or future performance and reflect the current expectations or beliefs of the Company's management. Anything that is not historical fact is FLI. Generally, FLI can be, without limitation, identified by the use of forward-looking wording such as "plans", "intends", "believes", "expects", "anticipates" or "estimates", and statements or phrases that certain actions, events or results "may", "might", "could", "should" or "would" occur, and similar expressions. FLI is not historical fact, is made as of the date of this news release and includes, without limitation, statements and discussions of future plans, intentions, expectations, estimates and forecasts, and statements as to management's intentions and expectations with respect to, among other things, positive exploration results at the Lemon Lake project. FLI involves numerous risks and uncertainties, and are based on assumptions, and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any FLI. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, the availability of financing to continue exploration activities, the availability and cost of qualified exploration personnel and service providers, and that future exploration results at the Lemon Lake project will not be as anticipated. In making any FLI in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation, that future exploration results at the Lemon Lake project will be as anticipated. Although management has endeavored to evaluate and use reasonable assumptions and to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in FLI, these assumptions may prove incorrect and there may be other factors that cause results not to be as intended, expected, anticipated or estimated. There can be no assurance that FLI will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed in FLI. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on FLI, and are further cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any FLI expressed or incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. We seek safe harbor. SOURCE: Prospect Ridge Resources Corp View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/prospect-ridge-announces-start-of-knauss-creek-and-holy-grail-exploration-program-1049684 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Kodiak Copper Corp. (TSXV: KDK) (OTCQB: KDKCF) (FSE: 5DD1) (the "Company" or "Kodiak") today announces the appointment of Mike Westendorf as Metallurgical Advisor and Alan O'Connor as Senior Exploration Manager, further strengthening Kodiak's technical team focused on the Company's 100%-owned MPD copper-gold porphyry project in southern British Columbia. Mr. Westendorf is a professional engineer with over 18 years of diversified mining experience. He has a strong background in metallurgy and process engineering, having worked at the Copper Mountain Mine where he held senior positions and helped guide the project from the feasibility stage through to construction, operation, expansion, and ultimately M&A with Hudbay Minerals Inc. In addition, Mike also led project development activities on the Eva Copper Project, a greenfield open pit copper project located in Queensland Australia, now in development following an acquisition by Harmony Gold. Mike is currently COO with Lithium Ionic, a Toronto-based junior mining company. Mr. O'Connor is a Registered Professional Geologist (British Columbia) with over 35 years of mineral exploration experience across North and South America. He has a proven track record in managing exploration programs for base metals, gold, silver, and diamonds, from grassroots through to resource definition stages. He has successfully implemented and led comprehensive exploration programs aligned with industry best practices and held senior leadership positions in both junior and major mining companies, overseeing multidisciplinary teams. Claudia Tornquist, President and CEO of Kodiak said, "I am very pleased to welcome Mike and Alan to the Kodiak team. Mike's expertise in metallurgy and particularly his experience as Mill Manager and Director of Metallurgy at the neighbouring Copper Mountain mine will be highly relevant as we progress our metallurgical work at MPD. Alan's extensive experience in project management will enable him to make a significant contribution to our exploration programs. With 2025 shaping up to be a catalyst-rich year for our shareholders, the addition of Mike and Alan strengthens our team at a pivotal time, positioning Kodiak to unlock even greater value from MPD." On behalf of the Board of Directors Kodiak Copper Corp. Claudia Tornquist President & CEO About Kodiak Copper Kodiak is focused on its 100% owned copper porphyry projects in Canada and the USA that have been historically drilled and present known mineral discoveries with the potential to hold large-scale deposits. Kodiak Copper's most advanced asset is the 100% owned MPD copper-gold porphyry project in the prolific Quesnel Terrane in south-central British Columbia, Canada, a mining district with producing mines and excellent infrastructure. MPD exhibits all the hallmarks of a major, multi-centered porphyry district with the potential to become a major mine. To date, drilling has outlined seven substantial mineralized zones across the property, and Kodiak is delivering an Initial Resource estimate for MPD in 2025. The estimate for the first four mineralized zones was released in June and already highlights the project's scale and potential. Drilling is underway on the remaining three zones and results will be incorporated into the full Initial Resource estimate, expected by year end. With known mineralized zones open to expansion and multiple untested targets, Kodiak continues to systematically explore the district-scale potential of MPD to build critical mass and make the next discovery. Kodiak's founder and Chairman is Chris Taylor who is well-known for his gold discovery success with Great Bear Resources. Kodiak is also part of Discovery Group led by John Robins, one of the most successful mining entrepreneurs in Canada. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statement (Safe Harbor Statement): This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "expect", "estimate", "objective", "may", "will", "project", "should", "predict", "potential" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking statements concerning the Company's exploration plans. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company cannot give any assurance that they will prove correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, they involve inherent assumptions, risks and uncertainties. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of assumptions, factors and risks. These assumptions and risks include, but are not limited to, assumptions and risks associated with conditions in the equity financing markets, and assumptions and risks regarding receipt of regulatory and shareholder approvals. Management has provided the above summary of risks and assumptions related to forward-looking statements in this press release in order to provide readers with a more comprehensive perspective on the Company's future operations. The Company's actual results, performance or achievement could differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements and, accordingly, no assurance can be given that any of the events anticipated by the forward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of them do so, what benefits the Company will derive from them. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259066 SOURCE: Kodiak Copper Corp. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Dryden Gold Corp. (TSXV: DRY) (OTCQB: DRYGF) (FSE: X7W) ("Dryden Gold" or the "Company") wishes to announce a proposed non-brokered equity financing under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (as defined below), whereby the Company intends to raise up to $7 million through an offering of up to 34,285,714 shares (the "LIFE Offering" or the "Financing") comprised of flow-through common shares (the "FT Shares"), charity flow-through shares (the "CFT Shares") and hard dollar shares (the "HD Shares"). Up to 14,285,714 FT Shares will be offered at $0.24 per share for maximum aggregate proceeds of $2,000,000. Up to 12,500,000 CFT Shares will be offered at a price of $0.284 per CFT Share for maximum aggregate proceeds of $3,550,000. Up to 7,500,000 HD Shares will be offered at a price of $0.20 per HD Share for maximum aggregate proceeds of $1,450,000. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), finders' fees of 6% cash of the CFT Shares, FT Shares and HD Shares sold under the Financing may be payable to eligible arm's length persons with respect to certain subscriptions accepted by the Company. The proceeds of the Financing will be used to expand the Company's current drill program to 30,000 meters and for general corporate purposes. The LIFE Offering will close in one or more tranches on completion of documentation with the final closing on or before September 5, 2025, or such other date or dates as the Company may determine, and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 - Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), the LIFE Offering is being made pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106 (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"). The securities offered under the Listed Issuer Exemption will not be subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. There is an offering document related to this Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and at https://drydengold.com/. Prospective investors should read this offering document before making an investment decision. The FT Shares and the CFT Shares will qualify as "flow-through shares" (within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act"). An amount equal to the gross proceeds from the issuance of the FT Shares and the CFT Shares will be used to incur eligible resource exploration expenses which will qualify as (i) "Canadian exploration expenses" (as defined in the Tax Act), and (ii) as "flow-through mining expenditures" (as defined in subsection 127(9) of the Tax Act). The Company anticipates that insiders may subscribe for HD Shares. The issuance of HD Shares to insiders is considered a related party transaction subject to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. The Company intends to rely on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(b) of Multilateral Instrument 61-101. Qualified Person The technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Maura J. Kolb, M.Sc., P.Geo., President of Dryden Gold and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators ABOUT DRYDEN GOLD CORP. Dryden Gold Corp. is an exploration company focused on the discovery of high-grade gold mineralization listed on the TSX Venture Exchange ("DRY"), on the OTCQB marketplace ("DRYGF") and on the Frankfurt Exchange ("X7W") The Company has a strong management team and Board of Directors comprised of experienced individuals with a track record of building shareholder value through property acquisition and consolidation, exploration success, and mergers and acquisitions. Dryden Gold controls a 100% interest in a dominant strategic land position in the Dryden District of Northwestern Ontario. Dryden Gold's property package includes historic gold mines but has seen limited modern exploration. The property hosts high-grade gold mineralization over 50km of potential strike length along the Manitou-Dinorwic deformation zone. The property has excellent infrastructure, enjoys collaborative relationships with First Nations communities and benefits from proximity to an experienced mining workforce. For more information, go to our website www.drydengold.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future development plans; future acquisitions; exploration programs; and the business and operations of Dryden Gold. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could affect actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements including, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in Dryden Gold's and the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are conditioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Dryden Gold and the Company do not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from Dryden Gold's and the Company's expectations or projections. UNITED STATES ADVISORY. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), have been offered and sold outside the United States to eligible investors pursuant to Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, and may not be offered, sold, or resold in the United States or to, or for the account of or benefit of, a U.S. Person (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the United States Securities Act) unless the securities are registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act is available. Hedging transactions involving the securities must not be conducted unless in accordance with the U.S. Securities Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in the state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259091 SOURCE: Dryden Gold Corp. Paris, France--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS), a pioneer in adopting Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve asset and a leading provider of cellular IoT semiconductor solutions, will release its financial results for the second quarter of 2025 on Thursday, July 31, 2025, during pre-market hours. Following the announcement, Sequans' management will host a conference call at 8:00 a.m. ET. Conference Call Details Date: Thursday, July 31, 2025 Time: 8:00 a.m. ET / 14:00 CET Dial in: link Upon registration, participants will receive a confirmation email detailing how to join the conference call, including the dial-in number and a unique registrant ID. Those who wish to join the live webcast can access it here. The company suggests participants for both the conference call and those listening via the web dial in or sign on at least 15 minutes in advance of the call. For those unable to participate in the live event, a replay will be available on the company's website after 9:00 a.m. ET. About Sequans Sequans Communications S.A. (NYSE: SQNS) is a publicly listed company that, in June 2025, adopted Bitcoin as a primary treasury reserve asset. Using proceeds from equity and debt financing, along with cash flows from operations, we are strategically accumulating Bitcoin as part of our long-term financial strategy. Sequans is a leading semiconductor company specializing in wireless cellular technology for the Internet of Things (IoT). Our engineers design and develop innovative, secure, and scalable technologies that power the next generation of AI-connected applications - including secured payment, smart mobility and logistics, smart cities, industrial, e-health, and smart homes. We offer a comprehensive portfolio of solutions, including integrated circuits (IC) of baseband processors and radio frequency (RF) transceivers, modules, software, and protocol stacks. Our LTE-M/NB-IoT, 4G LTE Cat 1bis, and 5G NR RedCap/eRedCap platforms are purpose-built for IoT, delivering breakthroughs in wireless connectivity, power efficiency, security, and performance. We also provide advanced design services and technology licensing. We believe our combination of a strategic Bitcoin reserve and deep focus on semiconductor innovation positions Sequans for long-term value creation. Founded in 2003, Sequans is headquartered in France and operates globally, with offices in the United States, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Israel, Hong Kong, Singapore, Finland, Taiwan, and China. Visit Sequans at sequans.com and follow us on LinkedIn and X To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259119 SOURCE: Sequans Communications Completes first airport-to-airport flight by a full-scale, piloted winged tilt-rotor eVTOL designed for commercial service VX4 prototype flew from Cotswold Airport to RAF Fairford ahead of its appearance at the Royal International Air Tattoo the world's largest military airshow Demonstrates integration with real-world airport operations and builds momentum toward certified deployment RIAT appearance showcases VX4's potential for defence and special missions, following the launch of Vertical's hybrid-electric programme Vertical Aerospace (Vertical) (NYSE: EVTL) ("Vertical" or the "Company"), a global aerospace and technology company that is pioneering electric aviation, today announces that it completed the world's first airport-to-airport piloted flight by a full-scale, winged tilt-rotor eVTOL designed for commercial service. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250717602053/en/ Arrival of the VX4 prototype at RAF Fairford witnessed by a few thousand aircraft enthusiasts Following Flight Conditions and Permit to Fly approvals from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the VX4 prototype flew to the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), the world's largest military air show, where it will be on display from 18-20 July. Inaugural airport to airport flight On Wednesday, 16 July, the piloted VX4 prototype flew 17 miles from Vertical's Flight Test Centre at Cotswold Airport to RAF Fairford, a Royal Air Force station which is used by the United States Airforce, reaching speeds of 115mph and an altitude of 1800ft. The flight marked the aircraft's first landing at a public location. The inaugural flight, witnessed by a few thousand aircraft enthusiasts, showcases integration with real-world airport operations and builds momentum toward certified deployment. Simon Davies, Vertical's Chief Test Pilot, who flew the full scale VX4 prototype, said: "Flying the VX4 from airport to airport is a major milestone, and a powerful demonstration of the real-world capability of the aircraft. To bring it to RIAT, among some of the world's most advanced military aircraft, is a proud moment and a powerful signal of the role that a new generation of aircraft will play in defence and special mission operations." Only electric aircraft to be showcased at the Royal International Air Tattoo Vertical is showcasing its full scale VX4 prototype the only electric aircraft presence at RIAT 2025 as part of its broader strategy to unlock new hybrid-electric applications in defence, logistics, and special missions. With the recent launch of its hybrid-electric variant, Vertical is positioned to deliver cleaner, quieter, and more versatile aviation solutions for a range of government and military use cases. Vertical's second-generation hybrid-propulsion system, which has been in development for 18 months at the Vertical Energy Centre, will be retrofitted into one of the company's VX4 full scale prototypes and is expected to commence flight testing in Q2 2026. Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace, said: "RIAT is a global stage for the most advanced, mission-ready aerospace technology, and we're proud to showcase how electric aviation will support the future of defence. Our hybrid-electric roadmap unlocks new capabilities for military operations, and Vertical's RIAT presence reinforces our commitment to playing a meaningful role in the future of military and special mission aviation." Visitors can see the VX4 prototype on display at RIAT from 18-20 July. With over 200,000 visitors expected and participation from more than 25 nations, RIAT offers Vertical a valuable platform to engage defence stakeholders, investors, and the global aerospace community on emerging opportunities. The event is organised by the Royal Air Force Charitable Trust, with proceeds supporting aviation education and youth development. Peter Reoch, Head of Air Operations at Royal Air Force Charitable Trust Enterprises, said: "Great to see Vertical Aerospace and their prototype aircraft, which is based at Cotswold Airport, showing the innovation of aviation. It will be on static display for all three days at this year's Royal International Air Tattoo and will show visitors the future of sustainable aviation and electric powered flight." About VX4 hybrid-electric variant New long-range variant will be adapted from the all-electric VX4, targeted for certification to the highest safety standards in 2028: Range: Up to 1,000 miles, a 10-fold increase from its all-electric aircraft. Payload: Configurable to carry up to 1,100 kilograms in the VX4's class-leading airframe capacity. Stealth advantages: Low noise and heat signatures make the hybrid variant well-suited for sensitive missions. Crewed and uncrewed capabilities: Hybrid-electric technology capable of being deployed autonomously, remotely, or with a pilot. Uncrewed capabilities can be seamlessly integrated into the existing Flight Control System being developed by Honeywell. Mission resilience: Built off the VX4's industry-leading redundancy and damage tolerance, boosting confidence for mission-critical operations. About Vertical Aerospace Vertical Aerospace is a global aerospace and technology company pioneering electric aviation. Vertical is creating a safer, cleaner and quieter way to travel. Vertical's VX4 is a piloted, four passenger, Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (eVTOL) aircraft, with zero operating emissions. Vertical will also be launching a hybrid-electric variant, offering increased range and mission flexibility to meet the evolving needs of the advanced air mobility market. Vertical combines partnering with leading aerospace companies, including GKN, Honeywell and Leonardo, with developing its own proprietary battery and propeller technology to develop the world's most advanced and safest eVTOL. Vertical has c.1,500 pre-orders of the VX4, with customers across four continents, including American Airlines, Japan Airlines, GOL and Bristow. Certain customer obligations are expected to be fulfilled via third-party agreements. Headquartered in Bristol, the epicentre of the UK's aerospace industry, Vertical's experienced leadership team comes from top tier automotive and aerospace companies such as Rolls-Royce, Airbus, GM and Leonardo. Together they have previously certified and supported over 30 different civil and military aircraft and propulsion systems. Forward-Looking Statements This Press Release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any express or implied statements contained in this release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding the design and manufacture of the VX4, the features and capabilities of the VX4, business strategy and plans and objectives of management for future operations, including the building and testing of our prototype aircrafts on timelines projected, completion of the piloted test programme phases, selection of suppliers, certification and the commercialization of the VX4 and the hybrid-electric VX4 variant and our ability to achieve regulatory certification of our aircraft product on any particular timeline or at all, the potential exercise of the Tranche A Warrants following the satisfaction of the performance conditions and the proceeds issued from such potential exercise, as well as statements that include the words "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "forecast," "estimate," "may," "should," "anticipate," "will," "aim," "potential," "continue," "is/are likely to" and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature. These forward-looking statements reflect our current views with respect to future events and are not a guarantee of future performance. Actual outcomes may differ materially from the information contained in the forward-looking statements as a result of a number of factors, including, without limitation, our limited operating history without manufactured non-prototype aircraft or completed eVTOL aircraft customer order; our potential inability to raise additional funds when we need or want them, or at all, to fund our operations; our limited cash and cash equivalents and recurring losses from our operations raise significant doubt (or raise substantial doubt as contemplated by PCAOB standards) regarding our ability to continue as a going concern; our potential inability to produce or launch aircraft in the volumes or timelines projected; the potential inability to obtain the necessary certifications for production and operation within any projected timeline, or at all; the inability for our aircraft to perform at the level we expect and may have potential defects; our history of losses and the expectation to incur significant expenses and continuing losses for the foreseeable future; the market for eVTOL aircraft being in a relatively early stage; any accidents or incidents involving eVTOL aircraft could harm our business; our dependence on partners and suppliers for the components in our aircraft and for operational needs; the potential that certain strategic partnerships may not materialize into long-term partnership arrangements; all of the pre-orders received are conditional and may be terminated at any time and any predelivery payments may be fully refundable upon certain specified dates; any circumstances; any potential failure to effectively manage our growth; our inability to recruit and retain senior management and other highly skilled personnel; we have previously identified material weaknesses in our internal controls over financial reporting which if we fail to properly remediate, could adversely affect our results of operations, investor confidence in us and the market price of our ordinary shares; as a foreign private issuer we follow certain home country corporate governance rules, are not subject to U.S. proxy rules and are subject to Exchange Act reporting obligations that, to some extent, are more lenient and less frequent than those of a U.S. domestic public company; and the important factors discussed under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on March 11, 2025, as such factors may be updated from time to time in the Company's other filings with the SEC. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release speak only as of the date hereof and accordingly undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. the Company disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this release whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than to the extent required by applicable law. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250717602053/en/ Contacts: Enquiries please contact: Media Justin Bates, Head of Communications justin.bates@vertical-aerospace.com +44 7878 357 463 Investor Relations Samuel Emden, Head of Investor Affairs samuel.emden@vertical-aerospace.com +44 7816 459 904 Gold Equivalent Ounce ("GEO") Production of 11,437 GEO for the 2 nd Quarter 2025 Underground Development has commenced and production set to ramp up in H2/2025 Expanded crushing and agglomeration capacity should expand tonnages to the leach pads and improve recoveries at the Heap Leach operation 2025 Production Guidance of 55,000 - 60,000 GEO remains in place, production weighted to H2 2025 as underground ramps up 20,000m Exploration Program underway at MDN targeting potential significant resource growth opportunities Development activities continue to progress both the Lagoa Salgada and Mont Sorcier projects TORONTO, ONTARIO / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Cerrado Gold Inc. (TSXV:CERT)(OTCQX:CRDOF) ("Cerrado" or the "Company") announces production results for the second quarter ended June 2025 ("Q2 2025") from the Minera Don Nicolas Mine in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina ("MDN"). Full quarterly financial results are expected to be released prior to August 30, 2025. Q2 Operating Highlights Q2 Production of 11,437 GEO vs 11,163 in Q1 Heap leach production steadily ramping up to expanded capacity for H2/25 Underground development at Paloma commencing as planned with three access portals started CIL plant starting to receive initial contribution from underground development, production expected to ramp up over H2/2025 Operational results for Q2 2025 showed a slight increase in production over the previous quarter, driven by modestly higher production from the heap leach operations. The heap leach operational performance remained steady over the quarter, however, recovery rates were impacted by a larger amount of primary ore placed on the pad during the quarter due to mine sequencing. This primary material has lower recovery rates and longer retention times as compared to oxide material. Heap leach production is expected to improve in H2/25 as more oxide ore is mined, the addition of an agglomerator to reduce fines and the ongoing upgrades to the crushing circuit are completed. In addition, during the quarter the crushing circuit was offline for approximately 15 days early in the quarter as upgrades were put in place to support higher throughput rates moving forward. Production from stockpiled material via the CIL plant declined somewhat due to lower grades, however, underground operations at Paloma are expected to begin to contribute meaningfully to production in Q3 2025 and beyond as development rates increase and more ore becomes available. The second phase of the expansion of the heap leach crushing circuit is now operational, which will increase feed stability in order to deliver steady ore to the pad. While supporting higher production rates, additional crushing facilities are also expected to reduce the feed size to the pad and result in increased recoveries. The final updates to the crusher circuit, including final installation of the agglomerator and additional conveyors, are set to be completed in Q3/25 As previously announced, the company commenced underground mining in June, opening up three portals for underground mining beneath the Paloma pit. Ore production is expected to ramp up over the coming months and is set to make a material contribution to production rates as the year progresses. While initial production expectations are relatively modest given the current known underground resource, underground access is expected to provide a platform for major exploration activities at lower costs than drilling from surface. Underground exploration aims to materially expand resources at MDN, leveraging the underground development for a potential expansion in production and/or mine life. On the exploration front, the Company commenced an approximate 20,000 metre drill program late in the quarter and is set to drill numerous targets in the coming months with the aim to potentially define new resources to provide mill feed to the CIL plant at MDN. Drilling commenced with a single DDH rig north of the Paloma pit, where several new veins have been intersected. Results are pending and further drilling will be required to confirm any new resources. Mark Brennan, CEO and Chairman commented, "While Q2 results were modestly lower than our expectations as the heap leach continues to ramp up to its fully expanded capacity, we continue to be confident in our full year expectations as the underground operations ramp-up in H2/25. Cerrado also continued to progress both the Lagoa Salgada project and the Mont Sorcier projects towards completion of feasibility studies by Q3/2025 and Q1/2026 respectively, which we believe should demonstrate substantial value being unlocked by Cerrado's development projects." Mont Sorcier Project Update At the Mont Sorcier high-purity iron project, detailed metallurgical test work and flow sheet design continued during the quarter. All key workstreams are now engaged and the Company has commenced an infill drill program to update sufficient resources to the Proven and Probable categories as required to support the ongoing feasibility. Assay results remain pending at this time. The Bankable Feasibility Study will look to provide greater detail of the potential for the project that was highlighted in the previous 2022 NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") that delivered a project NPV8% of US$1.6 Billion based upon iron concentrates grading 65% iron. With the improved metallurgical results received to date the Company is confident it can deliver a high purity DRI grade Iron ore concentrate product of over 67% iron, enhancing the project value and delivering a highly desired product to support the Green Steel transition. Lagoa Salgada Project Update At the Lagoa Salgada polymetallic VMS project, detailed metallurgical test work is scheduled to be completed by the end of July, with results targeting improvements across recoveries and grades for the various concentrate products. An updated Mineral Resource and Reserve Estimate is planned to be completed in Q3/25 incorporating the results of the metallurgical test work as well as using updated long term commodity price expectations. This updated resource will be used as part of the Optimized Feasibility Study that is well underway and expected to be completed around the end of Q3/25. Corporate Activities In addition to funding development programs at Lagoa Salgada and Mont Sorcier Cerrado continued to pay down debt during the quarter. The Company anticipates its balance sheet to strengthen over the remainder of the year as cash flow increases from higher production rates and strong gold prices. In the medium term the Company is also set to receive future payments from the sale of the Brazilian Monte do Carmo asset sale totaling US$15 million (U$10 million due in July 2026 and US$5 million by March 2027) as well as a further US$10 million should the option granted over the Company's Michelle properties in Argentina be exercised. Table 1. Key Operating Information Review of Technical Information The scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Andrew Croal, P.Eng., Chief Technical Officer for Cerrado Gold, who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101. About Cerrado Cerrado Gold is a Toronto-based gold production, development, and exploration company. The Company is the 100% owner of the producing Minera Don Nicolas and Las Calandrias mine in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. In Portugal, the Company holds an 80% interest in the highly prospective Lagoa Salgada VMS project through its position in Redcorp - Empreendimentos Mineiros, Lda. In Canada, Cerrado Gold is developing its 100% owned Mont Sorcier Iron project located outside of Chibougamou, Quebec. In Argentina, Cerrado is maximizing asset value at its Minera Don Nicolas ("MDN") operation through continued operational optimization and is growing production through its operations at the Las Calandrias heap leach project. An extensive campaign of exploration is ongoing to further unlock potential resources in our highly prospective land package in the heart of the Deseado Masiff. In Portugal, Cerrado is focused on the development and exploration of the highly prospective Lagoa Salgada VMS project located on the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal. The Lagoa Salgada project is a high-grade polymetallic project, demonstrating a typical mineralization endowment of zinc, copper, lead, tin, silver, and gold. Extensive exploration upside potential lies both near deposit and at prospective step-out targets across the large 7,209-hectare property concession. Located just 80km from Lisbon and surrounded by exceptional infrastructure, Lagoa Salgada offers a low-cost entry to a significant development and exploration opportunity, already showing its mineable scale and cashflow generation potential. In Canada, Cerrado holds a 100% interest in the Mont Sorcier high purity high grade DRI Iron project, which has the potential to produce a premium iron concentrate over a long mine life at low operating costs and low capital intensity. Furthermore, its high grade and high purity product facilitates the migration of steel producers from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces, contributing to the decarbonization of the industry and the achievement of sustainable development goals. For more information about Cerrado please visit our website at: www.cerradogold.com. Mark Brennan CEO and Chairman Mike McAllister Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: +1-647-805-5662 mmcallister@cerradogold.com Disclaimer NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the business and operations of Cerrado, production forecasts and estimated AISC for 2025 and beyond, the potential for additional crushing capacity that may be added and the performance of the heap leach pad, the production potential of MDN' underground mining operations, the potential to produce iron concentrate grading in excess of 67% at Mont Sorcier and the potential to enhance project value, anticipated timing to complete metallurgical test work at Lagoa Salgada, the potential further deleveraging and/or the potential to enhance liquidity during 2025, receipt of the deferred closing payment of US$15 million in connection with the Monte do Carmo asset sale, the likelihood of the Michelle option being exercised by the optionor and the related option payment being received. In making the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Cerrado has made certain assumptions. Although Cerrado believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, Cerrado disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise. SOURCE: Cerrado Gold Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/cerrado-gold-announces-q2-2025-production-results-at-its-minera-don-nicolas-mine-1049504 HONG KONG, July 17, 2025 - (ACN Newswire) - Cornerstone Robotics (CSR), a leading medical innovator in precision surgical systems, signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Healthcare Group PTE LTD (NHG Health) and the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine (LKCMedicine) of Nanyang Technological University, Singapore to facilitate healthcare advancement in Singapore through collaboration in robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) in clinical research and application, surgical education, and healthcare innovation.Front row (from Left): Alexis Cheng, Co-Founder & Vice President of Operation and Business Strategy of Cornerstone Robotics, Professor Joe Sim, Group CEO, NHG, Professor Joseph Sung, Dean, Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine; Back row (from left): Jerry Wang, Co-Founder, CTO & COO of Cornerstone Robotics, Professor Lam Khin Yong, Vice President (Industry), Mr. Ong Ye Kung, Minister of Health and Coordinating Minister for Social Policy, Mr. Tan Tee How, Chairman, NHGThe MOU, signed at the opening of CHI Innovate 2025 under the witness of Mr Ong Ye Kung, Minister for Health of Singapore, outlines that the three parties will jointly focus on two strategic areas: research in tele-surgical education and training, as well as cost-effectiveness studies which facilitate extending the accessibility of RAS.RAS is an important pillar of minimally invasive care. It is reshaping the field by improving precision in surgery through adopting high resolution imaging, smart algorithms, and the finest control of instruments, RAS results in better patient outcomes such as less invasiveness and fast recovery.As an innovator in this transformation, Cornerstone Robotics' Sentire Endoscopic Surgical Robot (C1000) is wholly developed in-house. It has completed clinical trials in Mainland China and Hong Kong and has received National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) approval for clinical applications.The MOU represents a significant milestone in Cornerstone Robotics' vision of "forging accessibility of robotic surgery" alongside its partnership with the Faculty of Medicine of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK).Professor Samuel Au, Founder and CEO of Cornerstone Robotics, said, "We are honoured to collaborate with NHG Health and LKCMedicine to further advance RAS in Singapore. By integrating precision engineering, intelligent algorithms, and insights from frontline surgeons, Cornerstone Robotics is dedicated to making advanced surgical robotic technology accessible to patients around the world."Looking ahead, the three parties will continue to strengthen their collaboration to drive innovation, expand clinical impact, and cultivate surgical talent - working together to shape a smarter, more accessible future for surgical care across the region and beyond.About Cornerstone Robotics Limited (CSR)Cornerstone Robotics (CSR) is leading medical innovations to create a healthier world by advancing surgical care with cutting-edge robotic systems that make high-quality healthcare more accessible and efficient for everyone globally. Founded in 2019, CSR has assembled a global team of surgical robotics experts, clinical professionals, and multidisciplinary innovators, driving rapid growth with key hubs in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, Boston (US), and Amsterdam (NL), alongside an R&D collaboration hub in Portsmouth (UK). With multiple development pipelines, we are pioneering robotic solutions for soft tissue and other surgical specialties.To find out more information, please visit our website at https://en.csrbtx.com/ .About NHG HealthNHG Health is a leading public healthcare provider in Singapore recognised for its quality clinical care and its commitment in enabling healthier lives through preventive health, innovative solutions and person-centred programmes tailored to every life stage. Our integrated health system, which spans primary care, hospitals and national specialty centres, includes Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, Woodlands Health, Yishun Community Hospital, NHG Polyclinics, the Institute of Mental Health, National Skin Centre and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. Together with academic and industry partners, we advance medical education, research and healthcare innovation in Singapore, addressing areas that are critical to Singapore's population needs. As the Regional Health Manager for Central and North Singapore, NHG Health partners general practices and health and social care agencies to ensure the physical, mental and social well-being of residents in the community. Together, we are committed to building healthier and resilient communities and Adding Years of Healthy Life to the people we serve.More information at www.nhghealth.com.sg.About Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore)A research-intensive public university, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has 35,000 undergraduate and postgraduate students in the Business, Computing & Data Science, Engineering, Humanities, Arts, & Social Sciences, Medicine, Science, and Graduate colleges. NTU is also home to world-renowned autonomous institutes - the National Institute of Education, S Rajaratnam School of International Studies and Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering - and various leading research centres such as the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute and Energy Research Institute @ NTU (ERI@N). Under the NTU Smart Campus vision, the University harnesses the power of digital technology and tech-enabled solutions to support better learning and living experiences, the discovery of new knowledge, and the sustainability of resources. Ranked amongst the world's top universities, the University's main campus is also frequently listed among the world's most beautiful. Known for its sustainability, NTU has achieved 100% Green Mark Platinum certification for all its eligible building projects. Apart from its main campus, NTU also has a medical campus in Novena, Singapore's healthcare district.For more information, please visit website www.ntu.edu.sg.Source: Cornerstone RoboticsCopyright 2025 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - The Australian dollar weakened against other major currencies in the Asian session on Thursday, as the unexpected rise in unemployment rate led to a speculation of an early rate cut by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA). Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed that the jobless rate in Australia came in at a seasonally adjusted 4.3 percent in June. That was above expectations for 4.1 percent, which would have been unchanged. The Australian economy added 2,000 jobs last month, well shy of forecasts for a gain of 21,000 following the loss of 2,500 jobs in May. The participation rate was 67.1 percent, topping forecasts for 67.0 percent, which would have been unchanged. Crude oil prices dropped after the Energy Information Administration said gasoline inventories increased by 3.4 million barrels last week and are slightly above the five-year average for this time of year. West Texas Intermediate crude for August delivery fell $0.14 to settle at $65.38 per barrel. In the Asian trading session, the Australian dollar fell to a 1-week low of 1.7947 against the euro and a 6-day low of 96.11 against the yen, from yesterday's closing quotes of 1.7839 and 96.53, respectively. If the aussie extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 1.81 against the euro and 89.00 against the yen. Against the U.S. and the Canadian dollars, the aussie slid to nearly a 1-month low of 0.6473 and a 9-day low of 0.8880 from Wednesday's closing quotes of 0.6523 and 0.8928, respectively. The aussie may test support near 0.63 against the greenback and 0.87 against the loonie. The aussie dropped to yesterday's low of 1.0939 against the NZ dollar, from yesterday's closing value of 1.0973. On the downside, 1.07 is seen as the next support level for the aussie. Meanwhile, the other antipodean currency or the NZ dollar also traded lower in the Asian session. In other economic news, data from Statistic NZ showed that the food prices in New Zealand increased by 4.6 percent in the year ending June 2025, a modest increase from 4.4 percent in May. On a monthly basis, food prices climbed 1.2 percent in June, following a 0.5 percent rise in May. The NZ dollar fell to 87.78 against the yen and 1.9650 against the euro, from yesterday's closing quotes of 87.97 and 1.9575, respectively. If the kiwi extends its downtrend, it is likely to find support around 0.58 against the yen and 85.00 against the euro. Against the U.S. dollar, the kiwi slid to nearly a 1-month low of 0.5912 from Wednesday's closing value of 1.9575. On the downside, 1.98 is seen as the next support level for the kiwi. Looking ahead, U.S. weekly jobless claims data, retail sales data, export and import prices for June, U.S. NAHB housing market index for July, U.S. business inventories for May and U.S. Philly Fed business conditions for July are slated for release in the New York session. Copyright(c) 2025 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX 2025 AFX News Downloadable stickers enhance user engagement and offer additional revenue potential NEW YORK, NY / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Zedge, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN:ZDGE), $ZDGE, a leader in digital marketplaces and interactive games that provide content, enable creativity, empower self-expression and facilitate community, today announced that Emojipedia, the world's most trusted source for emoji meanings and news, has launched digital stickers, a new and exciting content type featuring an extensive library of downloadable stickers, emotes and emoji images available at Emojipedia.org. Jonathan Reich, Zedge's CEO, commented: "Emojipedia has long been the definitive destination for emoji meaning and history, as well as fun, creative interactions via the Emoji Playground. The introduction of digital stickers significantly broadens the creative canvas for users around the world. By enabling copyable and downloadable access to stickers, emotes and emoji images, we're meeting the growing demand for personalized and custom content that users seek for their messaging apps and social platforms." The new stickers vertical debuts today on World Emoji Day as part of Emojipedia's broader celebrations, which also include the revival of the beloved Emojitracker website and the translation of all core editorial content into all 19 languages supported across the site, making emoji knowledge more accessible than ever to a truly global audience. Digital Sticker Catalogue Transforms User Experience The enhanced library strengthens Emojipedia's position as the go-to emoji reference resource, enabling users to instantly access high-quality emoji-style artwork for personal expression, content creation, messaging and more. Users can now browse tens of thousands of expressive visual assets curated by the Emojipedia editorial team and formatted for easy reuse across social platforms. The curated library includes classic emoji representations, themed emotes, culturally relevant symbols and newly designed sticker sets leveraging Zedge's expertise in personalized image generation. This comprehensive collection spans multiple categories including seasonal themes, cultural celebrations, trending topics and evergreen expressions that global audiences crave and that are now available in 3,790 officially recognized emojis. These include popular requests such as U.S. state flags, capybaras, various dinosaurs and different dog breeds with a host of expanded emotions and expressions. Furthermore, additional stickers will be added regularly, based on customer demand, seasonal events and cultural trends, ensuring the library remains fresh and relevant. Keith Broni, Editor in Chief of Emojipedia, added: "We've seen firsthand how people crave new ways to express themselves visually. This launch is about giving users direct access to creative, meaningful emoji-like assets in one centralized, trusted place. By reviving Emojitracker, we're empowering users with information that isn't available elsewhere, further strengthening our reputation as the trusted source for all things emoji. "For example, by using Emojitracker, we can see the Red Heart emoji is currently the most popular across the globe, including within the United States, while both India and the Philippines have the Heart Hands as their #1 emoji, and in Japan, the Pink Heart is #1." The new sticker feature is now live at emojipedia.org/stickers and is available across desktop and mobile devices. The Emoji Tracker can be accessed via emojitracker.com. About Emojipedia Founded in 2013, Emojipedia is the authoritative source for emoji documentation and the go-to resource for emoji meanings, trends and news. As a part of Zedge (NYSE American: ZDGE), Emojipedia reaches millions of users globally each month who seek clarity, context and creative tools in the evolving world of emoji communication. About Zedge Zedge empowers tens of millions of consumers and creators each month with its suite of interconnected platforms that enable creativity, self-expression and e-commerce and foster community through fun competitions. Zedge's ecosystem of product offerings includes the Zedge Marketplace, a freemium marketplace offering mobile phone wallpapers, video wallpapers, ringtones, notification sounds, and pAInt, a generative AI image maker; GuruShots, "The World's Greatest Photography Game," a skill-based photo challenge game; Emojipedia, the #1 trusted source for 'all things emoji;' and DataSeeds.AI, which leverages Zedge's consumer games and marketplaces to offer both on-demand and off-the-shelf image and video datasets enriched with detailed metadata, perfectly suited for AI model training. For more information, visit: investor.zedge.net Follow us on X: @Zedge Follow us on LinkedIn Contact: Brian Siegel, IRC, MBA Senior Managing Director Hayden IR (346) 396-8696 ir@zedge.net SOURCE: Zedge, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/computers-technology-and-internet/zedges-emojipedia-celebrates-world-emoji-day-2025-with-launch-of-1049434 - EMBRACE, the second Phase 3 study within the PARADIGM program, expects to enroll 330 participants at approximately 60 clinical sites across the United States, Europe and Australia and will commence imminently - - PARADIGMTM comprises two 12-week randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies (APPROACH and EMBRACE) and a long-term extension study (EXTEND), with anticipated combined enrollment of approximately 550 participants - - Dosing is currently underway in the first pivotal study, APPROACH, and patient rollover has begun into EXTEND - Cybin Inc. (NYSE American:CYBN) (Cboe CA:CYBN) ("Cybin" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage breakthrough neuropsychiatry company committed to advancing mental healthcare by developing new and innovative next-generation treatment options, today announced that it has received approval from the UK Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency ("MHRA") to commence EMBRACE, the second pivotal study in PARADIGM, the Company's Phase 3 multinational program evaluating CYB003, a proprietary deuterated psilocin analog. The Company previously received Breakthrough Therapy Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") for CYB003 for the adjunctive treatment of Major Depressive Disorder ("MDD"). "MHRA approval to initiate the EMBRACE component of our PARADIGM program in the UK marks an important step forward as we advance our lead program, CYB003, through the regulatory process," said Doug Drysdale, Chief Executive Officer of Cybin. "The Agency's decision serves as strong validation of both the quality of our data and the urgent need to develop new and effective therapeutics to treat depression. With expected enrollment of 330 participants suffering from moderate to severe MDD, the EMBRACE study aims to generate critical late-stage data that, ultimately, may lead to transforming the standard of care for patients in need." "There are encouraging signs of clinical and commercial success across this sector, along with increasing political and regulatory support. Health expert Dr. Martin Makary, Commissioner of the U.S Food and Drug Administration, has publicly recognized the potential value of these innovative therapeutics and has stated his intention to prioritize and expedite the review process. The commercial success of esketamine is also a positive signal for the entire sector. In the second quarter of 2025, esketamine sales totaled $366 million in the U.S. and $414 million worldwide, representing 61.1% growth year over year in the U.S., and an annual run rate of roughly $1.7 billion.1 These positive factors contribute to the credibility and opportunity of the work we are doing at Cybin," concluded Drysdale. EMBRACE Study Design: EMBRACE will enroll 330 patients suffering from moderate to severe MDD (MADRS=24) who are on a stable dose of antidepressant medication but are responding inadequately. Study participants will be randomized 1:1:1 to receive either CYB003 16 mg, CYB003 8 mg, or inactive placebo. Each study arm will evaluate two doses, administered three weeks apart. The primary endpoint will be change in depressive symptoms as measured by change in MADRS from baseline at six weeks after the first dose. EMBRACE is the second Phase 3 randomized, double-blind clinical trial in the PARADIGM program, and is expected to enroll participants at approximately 60 clinical sites across the U.S., Europe, and Australia. The first Phase 3 trial, APPROACH, is taking place at approximately 45 clinical sites across the U.S. Participants from APPROACH and EMBRACE will have the opportunity to roll over into EXTEND after completing the 12-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled treatment periods. Sources Johnson Johnson. (2025, July 16). Johnson Johnson reports Q2 2025 results; raises 2025 outlook [Press release]. https://s203.q4cdn.com/636242992/files/doc_financials/2025/q2/2Q25-Earnings-Press-Release-Final-7-15-with-Attachments.pdf About Cybin Cybin is a late-stage breakthrough neuropsychiatry company committed to revolutionizing mental healthcare by developing new and innovative next-generation treatment options to address the large unmet need for people who suffer from mental health conditions. With promising proof-of-concept data, Cybin is working to change the mental health treatment landscape through the introduction of intermittent treatments that provide long lasting results. The Company is currently developing CYB003, a proprietary deuterated psilocin analog, in Phase 3 studies for the adjunctive treatment of major depressive disorder and CYB004, a proprietary deuterated N, N-dimethyltryptamine molecule in a Phase 2 study for generalized anxiety disorder. The Company also has a research pipeline of investigational, 5-HT-receptor focused compounds. Founded in 2019, Cybin is operational in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Ireland. For Company updates and to learn more about Cybin, visit www.cybin.com or follow the team on X, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram. Cautionary Notes and Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements in this news release relating to the Company are forward-looking statements or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") and are prospective in nature. Forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts, but rather on current expectations and projections about future events and are therefore subject to risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the future results expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "could", "potential", "possible", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the Company's plans to enroll participants and add additional clinical sites for the PARADIGM program; the timing of commencement of EMBRACE; the Company's plan to enroll 330 participants at 60 clinical sites across the United States, Europe and Australia for the EMBRACE study; and the Company's plans to engineer proprietary drug discovery platforms, innovative drug delivery systems, novel formulation approaches and treatment regimens for mental health conditions. APPROACH and EMBRACE are registered trademarks of Cybin IRL Limited, a subsidiary of Cybin. These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; expectations regarding the size of the psychedelics market; the ability of the Company to successfully achieve its business objectives; plans for growth; political, social and environmental uncertainties; employee relations; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions in the markets where the Company operates; implications of disease outbreaks on the Company's operations; and the risk factors set out in each of the Company's management's discussion and analysis for the year ended March 31, 2025 and the Company's annual information form for the year ended March 31, 2025, which are available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on EDGAR at www.sec.gov/edgar. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. The Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. Cybin makes no medical, treatment or health benefit claims about Cybin's proposed products. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Health Canada or other similar regulatory authorities have not evaluated claims regarding psilocin, psychedelic tryptamine, tryptamine derivatives or other psychedelic compounds. The efficacy of such products has not been confirmed by approved research. There is no assurance that the use of psilocin, psychedelic tryptamine, tryptamine derivatives or other psychedelic compounds can diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or condition. Rigorous scientific research and clinical trials are needed. If Cybin cannot obtain the approvals or research necessary to commercialize its business, it may have a material adverse effect on Cybin's performance and operations. Neither Cboe Canada, nor the NYSE American LLC stock exchange have approved or disapproved the contents of this news release and are not responsible for the adequacy and accuracy of the contents herein. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250717596319/en/ Contacts: Investor Media Contact: Gabriel Fahel Chief Legal Officer Cybin Inc. 1-866-292-4601 irteam@cybin.com or media@cybin.com Chinese FM meets with Tajik counterpart Xinhua) 09:15, July 17, 2025 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Tajikistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sirojiddin Muhriddin in Tianjin, north China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo) TIANJIN, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with Tajikistan's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sirojiddin Muhriddin in north China's Tianjin on Wednesday. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that the leaders of the two countries have clarified the direction and made arrangements for developing the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era between two countries. China is willing to work with Tajikistan to implement the consensus reached between the two heads of state, prepare for the next stage of high-level exchanges, and jointly promote a successful Tianjin summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), he said. China firmly supports Tajikistan in following a development path that is suited to its national conditions, supports Tajik President Emomali Rahmon's plans for the country's long-term development, and opposes any interference in Tajikistan's internal affairs by any force, said the minister. Wang said China and Tajikistan should effectively implement the inter-governmental economic and trade cooperation plan, enhance connectivity between the two countries, strengthen practical cooperation in various fields such as investment, energy, counter-terrorism and security, and promote the continuous development of bilateral relations. For his part, Muhriddin said that Tajikistan will fully support and cooperate with China to ensure the success of a historic SCO Tianjin summit. Under the guidance of the two heads of state, bilateral relations have opened a new chapter and maintained a positive momentum of development, Muhriddin said. He added that Tajikistan is willing to work with China to make full use of bilateral cooperation mechanisms, expand inter-party and inter-parliamentary exchanges, deepen cooperation in various fields including economy and trade investment, connectivity, medicine, informatization and education to promote the China-Tajikistan comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership in the new era to a higher level. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) BONN, GERMANY / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Participation in trainings facilitated by Fairtrade for cocoa farmers in West Africa on human rights and environmental due diligence, deforestation, traceability and transparency, and management of small-scale farming organizations increased by 6% in 2024. Trainings hosted across Cote d'Ivoire (CDI), Ghana, and Sierra Leone garnered 51,891 total participants - up from 48,876 in 2023. About 20% of participants were women. To help display this data, Fairtrade launched two new, interactive dashboards. The first showcases data on Fairtrade's West Africa Cocoa Program (WACP) , tracking impact from 2021 to the latest results from 2024. This dashboard enables small-scale farming organizations, traders, retailers and everyday people to easily access four years' worth of findings and compare across previous years. Results from the 2024 analysis of the program's impact show that small-scale farming organizations have the management skills needed to act as resilient and effective business partners to the chocolate sector and have made progress regarding internal management systems and business strategies. 100% of organizations have an internal management system and an approved business strategy or plan More than half said Fairtrade trainings were the reason why there were significant improvements in organization management 96% of organizations in CDI and 100% of organizations in Ghana and Sierra Leone said that they were satisfied with the quality of Fairtrade's training The data in WACP's monitoring report dashboard, collected through interviews with small-scale farming organization management, also showed that small-scale farming organizations took concrete actions to support income diversification and/or food security. For example, all organizations interviewed in Ghana said they supported their member farmers with income diversification activities, such as off-farm economic and household security activities, including the production of food and cash crops. The second dashboard houses the latest information available on Fairtrade cocoa. It includes details about production, sales, and key benefits, such as the Fairtrade Premium and how it is used by farmers. This is the third product-focused dashboard created by Fairtrade. Others include the banana dashboard (2023) and the coffee dashboard (2025). The new dashboards are part of a portfolio of digital tools to assist Fairtrade's stakeholders, which also include the Fairtrade Impact Map (2024) and the Fairtrade Risk Map (2023). The Fairtrade Impact Map displays data and information on more than 100 Fairtrade projects and commissioned studies around the world. Users can explore by country, region, commodity, theme, program, or year. The Fairtrade Risk Map supports all actors in global supply chains - farmers, worker organizations, retailers, brands - in assessing their human rights and environmental risks. Users can explore through country, commodity, or issue filters. An estimated six million people worldwide depend on cocoa farming for their livelihood. To learn more about Fairtrade's work supporting cocoa farmers in West Africa, visit https://fairtradeafrica.net. ### Press Contact: Liz Davis, ldavis@fairtradeamerica.org About Fairtrade America Fairtrade America works to rebalance trade, making it a system rooted in partnership and mutual respect rather than exploitation. It's about businesses, shoppers, farmers and workers all working together so we can all experience the benefits of trade. Fairtrade America is the U.S. branch of Fairtrade International, the original and global leader in fair trade certification with more than 30 years of experience working for fair trading practices in more than 30 countries across the globe. A non-profit 501(c)3 organization, Fairtrade America is part of the world's largest and most recognized fair trade certification program - part of a global movement for change. Learn more at fairtradeamerica.org, and by connecting with Fairtrade America on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Fairtrade America on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Fairtrade America Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/fairtrade-america Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Fairtrade America View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/new-interactive-dashboards-show-cocoa-farmers-continue-to-benefit-fr-1049701 Belo Horizonte, Brazil--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation (OTCQB: JUPGF) ("Atlas Critical Minerals" or the "Company") is pleased to report strong initial rare earth and titanium results from its Alto do Paranaiba Project (the "Project"), located in the western part of state of Minas Gerais, Brazil. The project demonstrates significant potential for near-surface rare earth and titanium mineralization within the "Mata da Corda" Group geological sequence. SGS Canada, Inc. ("SGS") was retained to prepare technical reports under U.S. Regulation S-K 1300. In particular, Marc-Antoine Laporte and Yann Camus from SGS are Qualified Persons for the Project. SGS is well-known as a global leader in testing, inspection and certification of mineral properties and projects. The Project comprises mineral rights totaling more than 25,000 hectares, strategically positioned within a major volcano-sedimentary geological sequence. The extensive Project area has been divided into three exploration blocks for ease of exploration activities as shown in Figure 1. Figure 1 - Exploration Blocks of the Alto do Paranaiba Project To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6728/259070_cdd7d2d8b4778ada_002full.jpg The Mata da Corda Group consists of the sedimentary Capacete Formation crosscut by the volcanic Patos Formation. This geological setting, with its geochemical signature confirmed to be related to Brazilian late Cretaceous Alkaline Provinces, provides outstanding exploration potential for mineralization for both rare earth elements and titanium. Surface Sampling Results The Company's initial exploration campaign has included 770 surface samples (rock and soil), which demonstrated consistently high grades across all three blocks: Block 1 Highlights: 5,984 ppm TREO; 1,700 ppm MREO; 14.8% TiO2 (Sample APPPA00152) 4,897 ppm TREO; 1,301 ppm MREO; 13.9% TiO2 (Sample PCP-000019) 4,648 ppm TREO; 1,246 ppm MREO; 17.4% TiO2 (Sample APPPA00111) Figure 2 - Block 1 Surface Sampling Results Map Indicating Widespread High-Grade TREO Mineralization (>1,500ppm) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6728/259070_cdd7d2d8b4778ada_003full.jpg Block 2 Highlights: 7,091ppm TREO; 2,023 ppm MREO; 11.9% TiO2 (Sample SPJ-00086) 6,759 ppm TREO; 2,191 ppm MREO; 12.0% TiO2 (Sample SPJ-00069) 6,405 ppm TREO; 1,643 ppm MREO; 18.6% TiO2 (Sample SPJ-00008) Figure 3 - Block 2 North Surface Sampling Results Highlighting Multiple High-Grade Zones To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6728/259070_cdd7d2d8b4778ada_004full.jpg Figure 4 - Block 2 South Surface Sampling Results Showing Strong Grades in Specific Locations To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6728/259070_cdd7d2d8b4778ada_005full.jpg Block 3 Highlights: 28,870 ppm TREO; 7,493 ppm MREO; 16.5% TiO2 (Sample STG-000014) 16,152 ppm TREO; 3,915 ppm MREO; 6.1% TiO2 (Sample ATI-089) 10,586 ppm TREO; 679 ppm MREO; 12.7% TiO2 (Sample ATI-025) 23.2% TiO2 (Sample SVV-00003) Figure 5 - Block 3 North Surface Sampling Results Demonstrating Extensive Mineralization and Results up to 16,152 ppm TREO To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6728/259070_cdd7d2d8b4778ada_006full.jpg Figure 6 - Block 3 South Surface Sampling Results Including Highest-Grade Intercepts To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6728/259070_cdd7d2d8b4778ada_007full.jpg Initial Auger Drilling Campaign Delivers Strong Near-Surface Results Initial auger drilling comprised 11 drillholes totaling 144 meters, with 178 core samples analyzed (including 22% QA/QC control samples). The drilling successfully intercepted high-grade, near-surface mineralization: HOLE ID FROM TO LENGTH TREO (ppm) MREO (ppm) TiO2 (%) DHTI-001 0 21 21 5,139 1,391 13.82 DHTI-001 0 12 12 5,961 1,690 13.27 DHTI-001 0 3 3 7,467 2,452 13.22 DHTI-001 7 12 4 5,825 1,446 16.34 DHTI-002 4 13.8 9.8 6,414 2,091 12.67 DHTI-002 8 13.8 5.8 7,729 2,681 12.45 DHTI-002 11 13 2 8,976 3,396 11.82 DHTI-003 0 7 7 4,067 1,090 11.93 DHTI-004 0 6 6 7,165 1,968 11.51 DHTI-004 0 3 3 9,028 2,393 9.67 DHCA-00001 2 10.3 8.3 3,999 993 14.28 DHCA-00001 6 10.3 4.3 4,706 1,124 15.06 DHCA-00002 3 10 7 3,442 821 15.95 DHCA-00003 2 8 6 3,396 812 11.21 DHPM-00002 4 10 6 3,007 682 14.03 DHPM-00003 1 6 5 3,129 716 13.00 DHLF-00001 3 9 6 3,275 754 13.76 Table 1 - Significant Drilling Intercepts from the Alto do Paranaiba Project Auger Drilling Campaign DHTI-001: 12m @ 5,961 ppm TREO; 1,690 ppm MREO; 13.3% TiO2 DHTI-002: 6m @ 7,729 ppm TREO; 2,680 ppm MREO; 12.5% TiO2 DHTI-003: 3m @ 4,713 ppm TREO; 1,311 ppm MREO; 12.9% TiO2 DHCA-00001: 4.3m @ 4,706 ppm TREO; 1,124 ppm MREO; 15.1% TiO2 DHCA-00002: 7m @ 3,442 ppm TREO; 821 ppm MREO; 15.9% TiO2 DHCA-00003: 6m @ 3,396 ppm TREO; 812 ppm MREO; 11.2% TiO2 DHPM-00002: 6m @ 3,007 ppm TREO; 682 ppm MREO; 14.0% TiO2 DHPM-00003: 5m @ 3,129 ppm TREO; 716 ppm MREO; 13.0% TiO2 DHLF-00001: 6m @ 3,275 ppm TREO; 754 ppm MREO; 13.8% TiO2 Figure 7 - Drill Core Sample DHTI-0004 (0-3.9m) Showing Clay-Hosted Mineralization with 3m @ 9,028 ppm TREO, 2,393 ppm MREO, 9.7% TiO2 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6728/259070_cdd7d2d8b4778ada_008full.jpg Average TREO grades by block demonstrate consistent mineralization: Block 1 averaged 3,157 ppm TREO; Block 2 averaged 2,312 ppm TREO; and Block 3 averaged 4,906 ppm TREO. Notably, Block 3 showed high Nd+Pr averages up to 1,108ppm. Geological Setting and Mineralization Model The Project area benefits from intense laterization processes typical of Brazil's tropical climate, which has led to enrichment of titanium and rare earth elements within the weathered profile. The mineralized sequence occurs within extensively oxidized zones of the Mata da Corda Group, with drilling reaching maximum depths of approximately 21 meters. The strong positive correlation between rare earth elements and titanium, combined with the sequence's intense magnetism, makes the geological unit highly responsive to geophysical surveys, facilitating future exploration targeting. Figure 8 - Magnetometry Analytic Signal Map Showing Strong Positive Anomalies Associated with Mata da Corda Group Mineralization To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6728/259070_cdd7d2d8b4778ada_009full.jpg Quality Assurance/Quality Control All samples were analyzed by SGS Geosol, considered to be the premier analytical laboratory in Brazil and used by major mining companies. Quality control samples, such as blanks, duplicates and standards (CRM) were inserted into each analytical batch. For all analysis methods, the average number of QA/QC represented 22% of the analytical run. Terminology: TREO means Total Rare Earths Oxides, MREO means Magnetic Rare Earths Oxides, and TiO2 represents titanium dioxide. About Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation (OTCQB: JUPGF) controls a large portfolio of critical mineral rights in Brazil, encompassing over 575,000 acres, and including projects in rare earths, titanium, and graphite - minerals essential for defense applications and electrification. Additionally, we own a quarry for high-quality quartzite and one of our iron ore projects is expected to start production during 2025. Safe Harbor Statement This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended including the timing of commencement of the public offering and the ability of the Company to have its common stock listed on the Exchange. Forward-looking statements are based upon the current plans, estimates and projections of Atlas Critical Minerals and its subsidiaries and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Risks related to the Company and its subsidiaries are discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Form 20-F filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on February 28, 2025. Please also refer to the Company's other filings with the SEC, all of which are available at www.sec.gov. In addition, any forward-looking statements represent the Company's views only as of today and should not be relied upon as representing its views as of any subsequent date. The Company explicitly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259070 SOURCE: Atlas Critical Minerals Corporation Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. (CSE: API) (OTCQB: APAAF) (FSE: A0I0) (MUN: A0I0) (BER: A0I0) (the "Company" or "Appia") announced today that, further to its press release dated July 10, 2025, it has issued 500,000 common shares pursuant to the Quotaholders Agreement among Appia, Beko Invest Ltd. ("Beko") and Antonio Vitor Junior ("Antonio") dated July 20, 2023 (the "Quotaholders Agreement"), which governs the ongoing exploration and development of the PCH Project (the "Property") located in the Tocantins Structural Province of the Brasilia Fold Belt, Goias State. The 500,000 shares issued are subject to a hold period expiring on November 18, 2025. Appia can earn up to a 70% interest in Appia Brasil. Reference is made to the December 4, 2023 press release for further particulars. About Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. Appia is a publicly traded Canadian company in the rare earth element and uranium sectors. The Company holds the right to acquire up to a 70% interest in the PCH Ionic Adsorption Clay Project (See June 9th, 2023 Press Release - Click HERE) which is 42,932.24 ha. in size and located within the Goias State of Brazil. (See January 11th, 2024 Press Release - Click HERE) The Company is also focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements and gallium on the Alces Lake property, and exploring for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Otherside, Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 94,982.39 hectares (234,706.59 acres) in Saskatchewan. The Company also has a 100% interest in 13,008 hectares (32,143 acres), with rare earth elements and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake Camp, Ontario. Appia has 168 million common shares outstanding, 205 million shares fully diluted. Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. For more information, visit www.appiareu.com. As part of our ongoing effort to keep investors, interested parties and stakeholders updated, we have several communication portals. If you have any questions online (X, Facebook, LinkedIn), please feel free to send direct messages. To book a one-on-one 30-minute Zoom video call, please click here. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259079 SOURCE: Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Altamira Gold Corp. (TSXV: ALTA) (FSE: T6UP) (OTCID: EQTRF), ("Altamira" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the mobilization of a diamond drill rig to the Cajueiro gold Project, in Brazil. Drilling will initially focus on testing depth and lateral extensions to the recently defined maiden mineral resource at Maria Bonita, followed by the drill testing of several recently identified porphyry targets within the Cajueiro district. Highlights: A diamond drill rig has been mobilized to the Cajueiro Gold District. An initial 3000m program of eight holes is planned to test for extensions to the recently identified Maria Bonita gold deposit, which remains open to the west, south and at depth Maria Bonita is the first of nine porphyry-gold targets that have been identified so far within the Cajueiro District, with maiden drill programs planned on a number of these targets in the coming months To support the forthcoming drill program and expedite logistics, the Company has commenced construction of a simple and fit-for-purpose development camp at Maria Bonita CEO Mike Bennett commented; "Following the recent successful and over-subscribed private placement financing, we are mobilizing an initial diamond drill rig to the Cajueiro Gold District. Drilling will commence with target extensions to the Maria Bonita gold deposit. We have some very promising opportunities to extend the drill coverage laterally and at depth where the current resource shell is unconstrained. Following the commencement of the drill program at Maria Bonita, the program will expand to include several of the other identified peripheral porphyry gold targets within the Cajueiro district. This should result in a regular stream of drill results over the coming months." CAJUEIRO DISTRICT The Cajueiro district is located approximately 75km NW of the town of Alta Floresta in the state of Mato Grosso (Figure 1) in central western Brazil. The project is easily accessible by road, lies on open farmland and has grid power and a local water supply (Figure1). Figure 1: Location of the Cajueiro District and other Altamira licences. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4500/259112_ae768e1614e21877_001full.jpg The Cajueiro district consists of two independently estimated gold mineral resources at Cajueiro Central (105 drillholes; 14,353m) and Maria Bonita (29 drillholes; 4,518m) - both reported under NI 43-101, plus a portfolio of eight additional untested exploration targets within a radius of 8km at Cajueiro Central. The Cajueiro Central area has a current open pit resource*1 of 5.66Mt @ 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz in the Indicated Resource category and 12.66Mt @ 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000 oz in the Inferred Resource category (estimated using a cut-off grade of 0.25g/t Au and a gold price of US$1,500/oz). The Maria Bonita open-pit resource consists of Indicated Resources of 24.19Mt @ 0.46g/t gold (for a total of 357,800oz) and Inferred Resources of 25.64Mt @ 0.44g/t gold (for a total of 362,400oz)*2. These resources were calculated using a 0.2 g/t gold cut-off grade and a gold price of US$2,780/oz. These resources include near-surface saprolite Indicated Resources of 2.02Mt @ 0.59g/t gold (38,000oz) and Inferred Resources of 0.68Mt @ 0.40g/t gold (8,700oz). The centre of the mineralized zone at Maria Bonita is interpreted as dipping to the south, therefore planned drillholes will be inclined to the north to test the depth and southern lateral continuity of the main mineralized body. The best drillhole to date (MBA029) intersected 212.8m @ 0.8g/t gold from surface. Initial drilling in the forthcoming program will be directed at better defining the limits of this part of the resource. The Maria Bonita porphyry gold deposit is interpreted as part of a district-scale, porphyry-related mineralizing event. There are currently eight additional porphyry gold targets awaiting scout drill testing over an 8km radius from the Cajueiro Central resource (Figure 2). Three partially tested drill targets lie outside the current Cajueiro Central mineral resource. Drilling is planned for these targets and will commence as soon as a second rig becomes available. Figure 2: Location of Maria Bonita and Cajueiro Central mineral resources (white), partially drilled tested targets (blue) and untested district drill targets (yellow) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4500/259112_ae768e1614e21877_002full.jpg To support the forthcoming drill program, a simple and fit-for-purpose containerised project development camp will be constructed at Maria Bonita to expedite logistics, in combination with the existing camp at Cajueiro Central. Second hand containerised facilities have been ordered to minimize costs and will arrive on-site in 30 days. Qualified Person Guillermo Hughes, FAIG and M AusIMM., a consultant to the Company as well as a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release. About Altamira Gold Corp. The Company is focused on the exploration and development of gold and copper projects within western central Brazil, strategically advancing five projects spanning over 100,000 hectares within the prolific Juruena Gold Belt-an area that has historically yielded over 6 million ounces of placer gold**. The Company's advanced Cajueiro project contains two gold deposits. The central area comprises NI 43-101 resources of 5.66Mt @ 1.02 g/t gold for a total of 185,000 oz in the Indicated Resource category and 12.66Mt @ 1.26 g/t gold for a total of 515,000oz in the Inferred Resource category. In addition, the Maria Bonita gold deposit comprises additional open-pit Indicated Resources of 24.19Mt @ 0.46g/t for a total of 357,800oz, and Inferred Resources of 25.64Mt @ 0.44g/t for a total of 362,400oz. Ongoing exploration and fieldwork at Cajueiro indicate the presence of multiple porphyry gold systems, reinforcing its potential for district-scale development. These hard-rock gold sources align with historical alluvial gold production, highlighting the region's exceptional gold endowment and potential scalability. With two independently established mineral resources, a highly prospective geological setting and a track record of significant discoveries, the Company is well-positioned to unlock further value across its extensive land package. *1NI 43-101 Technical Report, Cajueiro Project, Mineral Resource Estimate: Global Resource Engineering, Denver Colorado USA, 10thOctober 2019; Authors K. Gunesch, PE; H. Samari, QP-MMSA; T. Harvey, QP-MMSA *2 NI43-101 Technical Report, Mineral Resource for the Maria Bonita Prospect: VMG Consultoria, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. 12th June 2025; Author V. Myadzel ** Juliani, C. et al; Gold in Paleoproterozoic (2.1 to 1.77 Ga) Continental Magmatic Arcs at the Tapajos and Juruena Mineral Provinces (Amazonian Craton,Brazil): A New Frontier for the Exploration of Epithermal-Porphyry and Related Deposits. Minerals 2021, 11, 714. https://doi.org/10.3390/min11070714 On Behalf of the Board of Directors, ALTAMIRA GOLD CORP. "Michael Bennett" Michael Bennett President & CEO Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. The securities described herein have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from registration requirements under the U.S. Securities Act and any applicable state securities laws. Forward-Looking Statements Certain information contained herein constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-Looking information includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to the extension of the Warrants. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "will", "intends" 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 subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, including the receipt of all necessary regulatory approvals. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements 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 is incorporated by reference herein, except as required by applicable securities laws. Notes Gold analysis has been conducted by SGS method FAA505 (fire assay of 50g charge), with higher grade samples checked by FAA525. Analytical quality is monitored by certified references and blanks. Until dispatch, samples are stored under the supervision the Company's exploration office. The samples are couriered to the assay laboratory using a commercial contractor. Pulps are returned to the Company and archived. Drill holes results are quoted as down-hole length weighted intersections. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259112 SOURCE: Altamira Gold Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Silver Valley Metals Corp. (TSXV: SILV) (OTCQB: SVMFD) ("Silver Valley" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the recommencement of exploration activities at its flagship Mexi-Can Potash-Lithium Project in Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The Company's renewed focus on this highly prospective dual-commodity potash and lithium asset follows a series of recent strategic corporate moves: the sale of the Ranger-Page Project and a share consolidation designed to better position the Company for capital market access and growth. These initiatives have improved financial flexibility and streamlined the capital structure. This renewed positioning follows the Company's successful resolution of all outstanding legal and mining title matters in Mexico related to the project, as disclosed in its January 15, 2024, news release (see Reference Materials at the end of this release). A detailed summary of the Company's phased exploration strategy can be found in the 'Priority Work Plan' section further below. The Company is also methodically advancing corporate development initiatives, including identifying critical, strategic, and precious metals assets located in stable, geopolitically secure jurisdictions to complement its existing portfolio. Silver Valley is actively building out its internal team behind the scenes in preparation for the substantial exploration and development work ahead, while also forming relationships with experienced financial and mining sector partners to help deliver its near-term objectives efficiently and effectively. The timing of numerous strategic asset acquisitions is expected to be near term, with advanced discussions already underway. "Our team is evaluating multiple acquisition targets that we believe can drive significant value," added Brandon Rook, President and CEO of Silver Valley Metals. "These initiatives, coupled with our strong position at the Mexi-Can Potash-Lithium Project, mark the beginning of a new chapter for Silver Valley." Priority Work Plan for the Mexi-Can Potash-Lithium Project Silver Valley Metals is re-engaging exploration and development at the Mexi-Can Potash-Lithium Project through a phased, step-by-step work plan, with each stage building upon the results of the previous one. Metallurgical Studies on Potash Extraction: The Company's top priority is to conduct advanced metallurgical studies focusing on the extraction of sulphate of potash (SOP) from surface sediments across all salars within the project area. SOP is a premium fertilizer essential for sustainable agriculture and global food security. As part of this initiative, Silver Valley is engaging with Hot Springs Mining, a private technology company based in Mexico that owns globally patented technology specifically designed for the extraction of sulphate of potash from sediment-hosted deposits. Subject to achieving certain development milestones, Silver Valley will have the opportunity to earn into the global rights to this patented technology. The underlying patent applications fall under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), a cost-effective mechanism that enables inventors to seek patent protection across 158 contracting countries with a single international application. The PCT streamlines application processing and provides public access to technical disclosures within each submission. Learn more: https://www.wipo.int/en/web/pct-system/texts/articles/atoc. Hot Springs Mining holds multiple international patent applications for its proprietary process, including additional filings in Mexico, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, the United States, Chile, and Australia, under PCT/IB2022/059473. This patent portfolio covers a novel method for recovering potassium from sediment-hosted mineral systems. Silver Valley's Mexi-Can Potash-Lithium Project is the first deposit to which this technology will be applied in a real-world field setting. The collaboration is structured such that Silver Valley may earn into the global rights of this patented technology upon the achievement of certain project milestones. Note: Agreement details between Silver Valley and Hot Springs Mining will be announced at a later date. Evaluation of Basin Depths via Drilling: Silver Valley will undertake an auger drilling program to assess the depth and extent of sedimentary basins across the project's salars. The goal is to verify historical data and test sediment thicknesses, with a focus on the Santa Clara and Caliguey salars where less data exists versus La Salada salar. In addition to verifying historical data, the new drill data will be used to develop a potentially larger sediment-hosted resource and better understand the full extent of mineralization at the Mexi-Can Potash-Lithium Project. Hydrogeological Studies for Near-Surface Brines: The Company will initiate hydrogeological testing to gain a clearer understanding of the geochemical and physical properties of near-surface brines across all salars. These studies will evaluate mineral content, chemical composition, brine dynamics, flow characteristics, and interactions with surrounding soils and host rocks. The hydrogeological program will be closely coordinated with geophysical surveys to better characterize aquifer structures and recharge behavior. Geophysical Surveys to Support Deeper Drilling: A geophysical program is planned to map subsurface structures and identify high-potential zones for deeper brine targets. These surveys will support future drilling campaigns. View the Corporate Presentation - Mexi-Can Potash-Lithium Project Key Highlights of the Mexi-Can Potash-Lithium Project Sizeable Resource Potential: The Project hosts an inferred near-surface resource of approximately 12.3 million tonnes of Sulphate of Potash (SOP). There is a continuous high-grade lithium portion at La Salada salar containing 7Mt at 1,490 ppm Li and remains wide open at depth beyond the first 5 metres tested to date, and 243,000 tonnes of Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE) project-wide, based on trenching and auger drilling-indicating strong expansion potential. (See: NI 43-101 Technical Report of the Salar Sediments) Favourable Brine Chemistry: Near surface brine samples at La Salada salar were collected within 32 shallow auger holes ranging from 4.5 metres to 26 metres deep returning high potassium and sulphate values; potassium peaked at 27,300mg/l with an average of 12,718mg/l and sulphate (SO4) peaked at 40,000mg/l with an average of 16,594mg/l average from all holes. At the Caliguey salar, historically, brine from 20m wells pumped to the surface and concentrated by evaporation yielded lithium results of 1.2 - 2.1% (12,000 - 21,000 mg/l). Extensive Salar Coverage: The project encompasses three primary salars-La Salada, Santa Clara, and Caliguey-offering focused regional scalability and high-priority exploration targets. Dual-Commodity Strategy: The combination of potash and lithium positions the project to benefit from long-term trends in agriculture and energy storage. This dual focus also offers commodity diversification, helping to stabilize the project and insulate it from global market fluctuations. Historical Work Completed: Geological Mapping and Sampling: Confirmed widespread potassium mineralization. Shallow Trenching and Auger Drilling: Returned elevated potassium and lithium concentrations; supported initial NI 43-101 resource. Brine Chemistry and Basin Studies: Indicated favorable brine chemistry and promising near surface and deeper potential. Environmental Baseline Work: Completed initial permitting and hydrological studies. Comprehensive Exploration Techniques: Historical exploration included seismic geophysical surveying, geological mapping, pit sampling, hand and drill-auger sampling, reverse-circulation drilling, and diamond core drilling and several mineralogical and leaching test programs were also completed. These programs laid the foundation for the NI 43-101 resource estimate and now provide a launch point for expanded work aimed at deeper resource delineation and economic evaluation. Website http://www.silvervalleymetals.com Qualified Person: Timothy Mosey, BSc, MSc, SME, is the qualified person for the company and qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Martin Pittuck, CEng, MIMMM, FGS, is responsible for the Mineral Resource statement and is an "independent qualified person" as such term is defined in NI 43-101. Reference Materials January 15, 2024 News Release - Positive Resolution of Issues Relating to Mexi-Can Project About Silver Valley Metals Silver Valley Metals Corp. is a Canadian exploration company comprised of a group of experienced exploration, mining, and financing specialists focused on the pursuit of mineral discovery and development. The Company is advancing strategic and precious mineral properties, including Lithium-Potash in Mexico and an ownership stake in the Ranger-Page silver-zinc-lead project in Idaho through equity in Silver Dollar Resources and residual royalties. About the Mexi-Can Potash-Lithium Project Silver Valley Metals owns a 100% interest in a lithium and potassium-bearing salar complex totaling 4,056 hectares across three concessions in Zacatecas and San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The NI 43-101 inferred resource includes 12.3 Mt of SOP and 243,000 tonnes of LCE defined from surface to 5 meters depth. All salars remain open for expansion. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Silver Valley Metals, "Brandon Rook" Brandon Rook, President & CEO, Director Forward-Looking Statements The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; risks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities or the completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259116 SOURCE: Silver Valley Metals Corp. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - LithiumBank Resources Corp. (TSXV: LBNK) (OTCQX: LBNKF) ("LithiumBank" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has been awarded CAD $3,900,000 in non-dilutive funding under the Emissions Reduction Alberta ("ERA") from the province of Alberta to further advance the Boardwalk Lithium Brine Project ("Boardwalk") located in west-central Alberta. The ERA Program will refund the Company 50% of eligible expenditures for each milestone as it is completed up to a total of $3.9M. "Alberta is a world class jurisdiction with enviable geology and lithium resources. We believe advancing Boardwalk using modular, commercial ready Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") technology will reduce development timelines and minimize initial Capex," commented Rob Shewchuk, CEO & Director of LithiumBank. "Our commercialization strategy will position Boardwalk in the near-term as one of the leading lithium projects in Canada with exponential scale up potential there as well as at Park Place." "LithiumBank has shown great success in advancing the Boardwalk lithium brine project to date and continues to demonstrate a pragmatic development approach toward achieving economic lithium production in Alberta," commented Minister of Environment and Protected Areas, Rebecca Schulz. "Producing lithium from Alberta brine and integrating existing infrastructure aligns Boardwalk with the provinces long-term environmental and economic goals." Funding provided from ERA will be used in achieving the following milestones: Complete an additional drill hole through the Leduc formation reservoir at Boardwalk to support an advanced reservoir model, collect additional brine. This test well is situated so it can be converted into a production well in the future; Conduct longer cycle DLE testing and optimization, focusing on concentration and impurity removal testing, and conversion to lithium carbonate; and, Complete a Feasibility Study at Boardwalk that assesses a low Capex, modular approach to lithium production. The Company expects to complete these tasks by the end of 2026. The Company has successfully consolidated all the strategic Brine Hosted Mineral Licenses ("BHML") at Boardwalk and Park Place covering the Leduc formation (BHML areas shown in Figure 1). The NI 43-101 resource estimates at Boardwalk and Park Place, as shown below in Figure 1, are both reported as the highest-grade resource estimates in Alberta and together make LithiumBank the largest known holder of lithium brine resources in North America (Figure 2). The two projects are completely unrestricted by overlapping pore space or carbon sequestration applications/permits allowing for a clear path toward permitting of the first DLE module and future additions. Figure 1: Map of the Park Place and Boardwalk projects highlighting categories of NI 43-101 lithium brine resource estimates. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10140/259130_c3b79b1a54617973_001full.jpg Notes 1: Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no guarantee that all or any part of the mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. The estimate of mineral resources may be materially affected by geology, environment, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. 2: The weights are reported in metric tonnes (1,000 kg or 2,204.6 lbs). 3: Tonnage numbers are rounded to the nearest 1,000 unit. 4: In a 'confined' aquifer (as reported herein), effective porosity is an appropriate parameter to use for the resource estimate. 5: The resource estimation was completed and reported using a cut-off of 50 mg/L Li. 6: To describe the resource in terms of industry standard, a conversion factor of 5.323 is used to convert elemental Li to Li2CO3, or Lithium Carbonate Equivalent (LCE). Figure 2: Graph of relevant brine hosted lithium resources in North America as of June 1st, 2025 To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10140/259130_c3b79b1a54617973_002full.jpg The information that forms the basis for the scientific and technical information disclosed in this news release was prepared and approved by Kevin Piepgrass, P.Geo, who is a Qualified Person (QP) for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. Mr Kevin Piepgrass consents to the inclusion of the data in the form and context in which it appears. About LithiumBank Resources Corp. LithiumBank Resources Corp. (TSXV: LBNK) (OTCQX: LBNKF), is a publicly traded lithium company that is focused on developing its two flagship projects, Boardwalk and Park Place, in Western Canada, which host some of the largest lithium brine resources in North America (Figure 2). The Company holds 1,237,487 acres of brown-field brine hosted mineral licenses, across three (3) districts in Alberta and Saskatchewan. The Company has pilot tested multiple mature Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") technologies and is working toward establishing commercial lithium production by a modular approach. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding future estimates, plans, objectives, timing, assumptions or expectations of future performance, including without limitation, statements regarding the amount of funding to be received by the Company from the ERA, achievement of the milestones and the expected timing thereof, that advancing Boardwalk using modular, commercial ready DLE technology will reduce development timelines and minimize Capex, Boardwalk being positioned in the near term as one of the leading lithium projects in Canada with exponential scale up potential there and at Park Place, and statements regarding permitting of the first DLE module and future additions, are forward-looking statements and contain forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should" or "would" or occur. Forward-looking statements are based on certain material assumptions and analysis made by the Company and the opinions and estimates of management as of the date of this press release, including that the Company will receive the expected funding from the ERA; that the Company will be able to achieve the milestones by the end of 2026, or at all; that advancing Boardwalk using modular, commercial ready DLE technology will reduce development timelines and minimize Capex; that the Company's commercialization strategy will position Boardwalk in the near-term as one of the leading lithium projects in Canada with exponential scale up potential there and at Park Place; and that there is a clear path toward permitting of the first DLE module and future additions. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Important risks that may cause actual results to vary, include, without limitation, the risk that the Company will not receive the anticipated funding from the ERA; that the Company will be unable to achieve the milestones by the end of 2026, or at all; that advancing Boardwalk using modular, commercial ready DLE technology will not reduce development timelines or minimize initial Capex; that Boardwalk will not be positioned in the near-term as one of the leading lithium projects in Canada with exponential scale up potential there and at Park Place; that the Company will not be able to permit the first DLE module; that North America's demand for lithium does not continue to grow; the possibility that any future development results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price and foreign exchange rate fluctuations; the cyclical nature of the industry in which the Company operates; risks related to global financial markets, including the trading price of the Company's shares and the Company's ability to raise capital may also result in additional and unknown risks or liabilities to the Company. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements 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. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial outlook that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259130 SOURCE: LithiumBank Resources Corp. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Gold Hart Copper Corp. (TSXV: HART) (the "Company", "Gold Hart", or "HART") is pleased to announce the acquisition of three new gold-copper-silver properties in Chile. Specifically, Gold Hart has acquired the Pingo Property, Nessa Property, and Manto Carolina Property, with the acquisitions increasing Gold Hart's total land position in Chile by approximately 30%. These new Gold Hart properties are situated on Chile's Paleocene-Eocene Belt on the famous Domeyko Fault, with Kinross' La Copia Gold Mine to the east, Rio2's Fenix-Maricunga Gold asset to the south, and Chile's state-owned Codelco's Portrerillos & El Salvador Copper Mines just to the north. Further north on this same mineral belt are some of the world's largest mines including Chuquicamata and Collahuasi. The largest copper mine in the world, Escondida - originally discovered by Gold Hart's Co-founder Dr. Frutos in the 1970s - is also on this Chilean Belt. The Pingo Property was recognized and personally staked by Gold Hart co-founder Dr. Frutos nearly two decades ago, due to its unique surface alteration - visible from satellite imagery - with high grades on surface and several historic mines which exploited gold, copper and silver at or near surface via pits and shallow tunnels. The historic mines coincide with a pervasive yet intense hydrothermal alteration (silicic-argillic to quartz-sericitic with abundant kaolin in the central part) with a halo of propilitic alteration in the periphery, with disseminated gold-copper-silver mineralization throughout. "Our strategy has always been two-pronged, to acquire compelling assets and to advance our assets," stated Isaac Maresky, Co-founder & CEO of Gold Hart. "While this deal was in the works for over a year, we had hoped to put these three key puzzle pieces together. We're pleased that everything finally fell in place and we were able to complete this roll-up. As a result, Gold hart has capitalized on this uniquely accretive opportunity to add all three high-potential assets, without adding any liabilities, and all the upside accruing to Gold Hart shareholders. We thank Dr. Frutos and his family for entrusting the Pingo Property to Gold Hart, and are committed to advancing the assets efficiently and responsibly." Upon acquiring the Pingo Property, Gold Hart was then able to quickly claim the adjacent Nessa Property, which hosted several historic artisanal mines and its own surface alteration. Prior geophysics suggested the magnetic anomaly of Pingo extends onto Nessa, and therefore Gold Hart was compelled to combine the two properties. Just SE, Gold Hart staked Manto Carolina, immediately adjacent to a former artisanal high-grade copper mine with an exposed copper manto and visible copper at surface, which Gold Hart believes may extend onto this property. This represented a unique opportunity to conduct another roll-up of historic and high-potential assets, wherein the Company was able to leverage its in-country relationships and proprietary access in order to consolidate three historic assets proximal to majors, without any future payments or royalties whatsoever. While these new properties are not immediately adjacent to Gold Hart's existing land package in the Vicuna District (3.5hrs east of Copiapo), they are strategically in the same Atacama region of Chile and also proximal to the same central mining city of Copiapo, Chile (1.5hrs north of Copiapo) where Gold Hart maintains an office. Rationale for Rolling Up New Properties Historic assets with several historic gold & copper mines (pits and shallow tunnels) from surface High grades on surface (gold, copper, silver) with samples up to 25g/t gold, 3.25% copper, 958g/t silver World renowned mineral belt & famous Domeyko Fault home to mega assets controlled by majors Historic geophysics survey reported "large magnetic low" across Pingo and Nessa ("6km in diameter") Ability to roll-up three properties together (consolidation of three unique properties; not a one-off) Same Atacama, Chile jurisdiction with same local Chilean city (Copiapo) as existing land package in Vicuna District ensuring straightforward drivable access from same central Copiapo office Potential for low-cost exploration & advancement including relatively straight-forth geochemical and geophysical surveys, and economical shallow RC drilling to potentially diversify from the deeper diamond drilling required in the Vicuna District Unique access to opportunity due to Gold Hart co-founder Dr. Frutos' 50 years of history exploring, staking and discovering assets in Chile, combined with his desire to see Gold Hart advance the Pingo property Highly accretive deal structure; No future option payments or liabilities associated with the properties Gold Hart has provided a presentation summarizing the new properties entitled "Latest Acquisitions" on the Investor Section of its website: https://www.goldhartmining.com/investors/. The Company wishes to stress that these acquisitions in no way take away from Gold Hart's focus on its flagship Tolita asset in the Vicuna District, with first results likely days away. Results From First Diamond Hole at Tolita The Company believes it will be in a position to announce the results of this hole no later than July 22, 2025. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/259109_a67e2a4eb4f599bb_001full.jpg About Gold Hart Copper Gold Hart Copper is one of the largest independent land owners surrounding major miners where the famous Maricunga Gold Belt meets the emerging Vicuna Copper Belt in Chile. HART is actively acquiring, exploring and developing its portfolio of gold, copper & silver properties adjacent to the largest gold and copper assets on the continent. In addition to its large land position in the Vicuna District, Gold Hart recently acquired three properties just West on Chile's Paleocene-Eocene Belt on the famous Domeyko Faul, which is home to some of Chile's largest gold, copper, and silver assets including Escondida, Chuquicamata and Collahuasi. The new Gold Hart properties host several historic gold and copper mines with high grades of gold, copper, and silver on surface, with a large alteration and magnetic anomaly extending approximately 6km. HART's team of geologists were personally involved in pioneering exploration in the region, leading to some of its greatest gold, copper, and silver deposits, and include the country's former Geological Survey National Deputy Manager Dr. Professor Jose Frutos. Specifically, senior Gold Hart geologists were personally involved in the Escondida copper discovery, now the largest copper mine in the world1 controlled by Rio Tinto and BHP, as well as Cerro Casale, the largest gold-copper discovery in Chile2 acquired by Barrick and Newmont (GoldCorp) with 59-million ounces of gold and 12.5-billion pounds of copper. HART has rolled-up a portfolio of historically significant assets surrounding majors, in some cases personally staked by the very same geologists who made the adjacent mega-discoveries, since the early 1990s. Some of the Gold Hart properties have already undergone a first phase of RC drilling, with highly encouraging results of gold, copper, and silver. Gold Hart properties are controlled 100% and not subject to any royalties whatsoever. HART believes it may be sitting on one of the only fully-preserved untested large-scale gold-copper-silver porphyry targets in the Vicuna District - an asset that was first recognized for its uniquely high grades of gold and copper on surface - and staked by one of the Maricunga-Vicuna district's pioneering geologists3 in 1993. Gold Hart Copper is fully funded for its planned drill campaign. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/259109_a67e2a4eb4f599bb_002full.jpg About Gold Hart Copper's Tolita Gold-Copper-Silver-Molybdenum Target The Tolita property is a historically significant gold-copper asset which was first recognized and staked in 1993 - by one of the pioneering geologists of the Maricunga-Vicuna district - for its uniquely high grades of gold and copper on surface3. Geochemical surveys revealed gold, copper, silver, and molybdenum anomalies, which led to trenching. Tolita has had significant trenching (5,600m / 5.6km) with the highest grade trench returning grades up to 52g/t gold equivalent including 4% copper. Tolita has undergone helicopter mag surveys which identified 4 unique anomalies as well3. In 1996, a third party company optioned the property and drilled 3 short 200m RC holes, without any geophysics, and yet still hit gold and copper in all 3 holes, including long intercepts of gold and copper (150m and 164m, respectively) close to surface in 2 of the 3 holes. At the time, gold was approximately $300/oz and copper traded below $1.00/lb, and large scale sulphide / porphyry deposits with both gold and copper were often considered less favorable than smaller scale gold-only oxide deposits. As a result, and due to general market sentiment for junior exploration companies in 1997-1998, Tolita was only drilled to a depth of 200m with 3 short RC holes (out of a planned 8 hole campaign)3. When Gold Hart acquired the property, a full geophysical survey was conducted by a recognized geophysics firm, and a large high-chargeability and conductive anomaly was discovered that is near surface and almost 2.5km2 in size and "interpreted as a copper-gold or gold-copper porphyry system that certainly warrants additional exploration and drilling4". Gold Hart Copper has therefore launched diamond drilling and is fully funded for this planned campaign. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/259109_a67e2a4eb4f599bb_003full.jpg References & Notes: Escondida is the largest copper mine globally, as defined by producing the greatest number of copper tonnes per annum. Numbers sourced directly from property owner's website and public filings. Norte Abierto is considered the largest gold asset in Chile as defined by hosting the largest number of total gold ounces. Numbers sourced directly from property owner's website and public filings. Please refer to the Company's NI 43-101 Technical Report on Sedar for information pertaining to Gold Hart Copper's properties including historical exploration at Tolita, including but not limited to, the history of the asset and its original staking, geochemical surveys, trenching surveys, helicopter magnetic surveys, and historical RC drilling. Geophysical survey is summarized in the Company's NI 43-101 Technical report available on Sedar. Such geophysical surveys are not definitive, and the results are still at an early stage of interpretation, with no guarantee of a mineral discovery. HART | Gold Hart Copper Corporation - Social Media Channels LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/goldhart/ X / Twitter: https://x.com/goldhartcopper Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GoldHartCopper Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldhartcopper/ Qualified Person The technical information contained in this news release related has been reviewed by Mr. Jonathan A. Warner, Executive Vice President of Gold Hart Copper and a Qualified Person within the meaning of NI 43-101. Cautionary Statement on Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves predictions, expectations, interpretations, beliefs, plans projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often, but not always, using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "interpreted", management's view", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "potential", "feasibility", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking information and are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management, in light of management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, including, without limitation, assumptions about: the ability of exploration results, including drilling, to accurately predict mineralization; errors in geological modelling; insufficient data; equity and debt capital markets; future spot prices of copper and zinc; the timing and results of exploration and drilling programs; the accuracy of mineral resource estimates; production costs; political and regulatory stability; the receipt of governmental and third party approvals; licenses and permits being received on favourable terms; sustained labour stability; stability in financial and capital markets; availability of mining equipment and positive relations with local communities and groups. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information are set out in the Company's listing statement dated March 14, 2025, a copy of which is available on SEDAR+ (www.sedarplus.ca) under the Company's issuer profile. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward- looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. How to access Gold Hart presentations: To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/259109_a67e2a4eb4f599bb_004full.jpg To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/259109_gold_hart_-_latest_acquisitions_-_domeyko_fault_-_nessa_pingo_manto_carolina_5.jpg To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/259109_gold_hart_-_latest_acquisitions_-_domeyko_fault_-_nessa_pingo_manto_carolina_6.jpg To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/10786/259109_gold_hart_-_latest_acquisitions_-_domeyko_fault_-_nessa_pingo_manto_carolina_7.jpg To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259109 SOURCE: Gold Hart Copper Corp. Overture's ICSI.A technology enabled first babies born from automated fertilization in 2023 Platform will now support one of the highest volume IVF clinics in the world at Memorial Hospital Istanbul, expected to assist in over 6,000 IVF cycles per year and growing Overture Life, the innovator modernizing IVF to optimize reproductive freedom, announced the first commercial sale of an automated in vitro fertilization (IVF) platform to Memorial Hospital Istanbul, home to one of Europe's leading fertility centers. Overture's ICSI.A platform automates a complex fertilization process known as piezo-assisted intracytoplasmic sperm injection (piezo-ICSI), which uses electric pulses to fertilize eggs more gently than manual injection methods. Overture's ICSI.A enabled the first live births resulting from an automated fertilization1, in 2023. Memorial Hospital Istanbul will use the devices to simplify thousands of IVF cycles per year, with the additional efficiency expected to grow its capacity even further. The growth of automated IVF technologies is critical for patients dealing with infertility, who often struggle to access IVF, whether due to cost, capacity or the toll that multiple IVF cycles can take, emotionally and physically. Overture is dedicated to making IVF easier to perform and less expensive, enabling every embryologist and IVF center to provide premium quality regardless of location, size, or clientele. The company is now poised for rapid commercial growth, backed by peer-reviewed science and rigorous regulatory oversight. Published data suggests piezo-ICSI leads to better quality eggs and blastocytes2, resulting in higher fertility rates. In particular, ICSI.A has demonstrated high proficiency even when operated by inexperienced personnel3 an important factor given the years of training and practice typically needed to optimize this skillset among embryologists. "Memorial Hospitals have some of the best embryologists in the world, making us a magnet in the region for those struggling with infertility. Despite our proficiency, demand continues to rise, and we are committed to maintaining the best quality as we expand capacity," said Prof Dr Semra Kahraman of the In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Andrology and Genetics Center at Memorial Hospital Istanbul. "Automated platforms like Overture Life's ICSI.A are game-changing technologies, and will be key for helping us scale effectively." "This exciting commercial commitment from Memorial Hospital, known worldwide for its impressive IVF clinic, is the latest milestone to cement Overture's leadership in the IVF automation space," said Hans Gangeskar, CEO of Overture Life. "This year has already seen a sizable strategic fundraise, regulatory clearance and commercialization for our DaVitri platform for fertility preservation, and CLIA licensure for our AI-powered, non-invasive metabolomic test for embryo selection, m|z. We look forward to rolling out ICSI.A in Turkey and changing the lives of more families eager to take control of their own destiny." Memorial Hospital Istanbul is expected to install Overture Life's ICSI.A robots by the end of this year. About Overture Life Overture Life integrates engineering, reproductive medicine, and regulatory-grade validation to modernize embryology lab procedures, particularly fertility preservation and embryo handling, in ways that lower repeated cycles, increase throughput, and reduce the overall cost of IVF. With R&D in Spain and active U.S. operations, including a CLIA-licensed laboratory for non-invasive embryo selection, Overture unites robotics, analytics, and clinical rigor to deliver tools that clinics and patients can trust. The company's DaVitri platform aims to boost reliability and consistency in IVF, giving women and families worldwide more control over their fertility timelines. Overture's backers include Overwater Ventures, GV (formerly Google Ventures), Khosla Ventures, Octopus Ventures and others committed to advancing the future of fertility. 1 The first babies conceived with a sperm-injecting robot have been born [Internet]. MIT Technology Review. Available from: https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/04/25/1071933/first-babies-conceived-sperm-injecting-robot-ivf-automation-icsi-overture/ 2 Furuhashi K, Saeki Y, Enatsu N, Iwasaki T, Ito K, Mizusawa Y, Matsumoto Y, Kokeguchi S, Shiotani M. Piezo-assisted ICSI improves fertilization and blastocyst development rates compared with conventional ICSI in women aged more than 35 years. Reprod Med Biol. 2019 Aug 24;18(4):357-361. doi: 10.1002/rmb2.12290. PMID: 31607795; PMCID: PMC6780025. 3 Costa-Borges N, Munne S, Albo E, Mas S, Castello C, Giralt G, Lu Z, Chau C, Acacio M, Mestres E, Matia Q, Marques L, Rius M, Marquez C, Vanrell I, Pujol A, Mataro D, Seth-Smith M, Mollinedo L, Calderon G, Zhang J. First babies conceived with Automated Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection. Reprod Biomed Online. 2023 Sep;47(3):103237. doi: 10.1016/j.rbmo.2023.05.009. Epub 2023 May 25. PMID: 37400320. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250717474297/en/ Contacts: Media Contact overture@consortpartners.com GENEVA, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- At the heart of the L'OCCITANE Group's approach to beauty lies a deep commitment to sustainability, from the way ingredients are sourced to how products are conceived and crafted. To view the Multimedia News Release, please click: https://www.multivu.com/l-occitane-group/9344551-en-brands-champion-sustainable-beauty-responsible-sourcing-product-design Rooted in long-term collaboration with local communities and biodiversity conservation, the Group's brands aim to offer more sustainable choices to customers through responsible sourcing and product design. This commitment is brought to life in a series of short digital videos, offering a close-up look at the sustainable sourcing and design practices behind the L'OCCITANE Group's brands. Each film highlights one brand and a key element of its approach - to water, immortelle and shea sourcing, as well as packaging design - showcasing what biodiversity regeneration efforts look like in practice. Water: after identifying that 58% of its water use occurs in their supply chains, L'Occitane en Provence and Melvita have worked with producers and local NGOs to reduce consumption and create water-saving guidelines. To continue its nature stewardship, the Group's production site in Lagorce is being transformed into its first circular water factory. after identifying that 58% of its water use occurs in their supply chains, L'Occitane en Provence and Melvita have worked with producers and local NGOs to reduce consumption and create water-saving guidelines. To continue its nature stewardship, the Group's production site in Lagorce is being transformed into its first circular water factory. Immortelle: L'Occitane en Provence's cultivation of immortelle, a Corsican flower with anti-ageing properties, is 100% organic, growing wild seeds that preserve the flower's rare genetic heritage and protect local biodiversity through regenerative agriculture. L'Occitane en Provence's cultivation of immortelle, a Corsican flower with anti-ageing properties, is 100% organic, growing wild seeds that preserve the flower's rare genetic heritage and protect local biodiversity through regenerative agriculture. Shea: the West African butter known as 'women's gold' is a key ingredient of many of L'Occitane en Provence's products. In Burkina Faso and Ghana, the Group's 2 million RESIST programme has supported women in shea cooperatives, combining scientific data with traditional knowledge to conserve parklands and enhance livelihoods. the West African butter known as 'women's gold' is a key ingredient of many of L'Occitane en Provence's products. In Burkina Faso and Ghana, the Group's 2 million RESIST programme has supported women in shea cooperatives, combining scientific data with traditional knowledge to conserve parklands and enhance livelihoods. Packaging: in Florence, Dr. Vranjes Firenze champions elegant, sustainable design with refillable glass diffusers and 100% recycled PET refills, which are a particularly high-performing product in its eco-conscious collection. As Adrien Geiger, CEO of Maison L'Occitane en Provence, said: 'We depend on nature and must take responsibility as its stewards, both individually and collectively. Together, we are leading the transition from conventional practices to sustainable farming models that restore and give back to nature. It's not just about preserving our resources but also about securing the future viability of our entire ecosystem.' The L'OCCITANE Group, a certified B Corporation, is committed to investing in nature-positive value chains. Anchored in the Group's mission - 'with empowerment we positively impact people and regenerate nature' - our digital series demonstrates how biodiversity regeneration takes shape on the ground, from circular design to sustainable farming. The campaign invites global audiences to look more closely not only at the L'OCCITANE Group's ingredients and packaging, but also at the ecosystems, producers and innovations that make responsible, sustainable beauty possible. Media contact L'OCCITANE Group | groupcommunication@loccitane.com About the L'OCCITANE Group The L'OCCITANE Group is a leading international manufacturer and retailer of premium and sustainable beauty and wellness products. The Group operates in 90 countries worldwide and has 3,000 retail outlets, including over 1,300 of its own stores. Within its portfolio of premium beauty brands that champion organic and natural ingredients are: L'Occitane en Provence, Melvita, Erborian, L'OCCITANE au Bresil, LimeLife, ELEMIS, Sol de Janeiro and Dr. Vranjes Firenze. Innovative venture studio OBRATORI is also part of the Group. With its nature-positive vision and entrepreneurial ethos, L'OCCITANE Group is committed to investing in communities, biodiversity, reducing waste and to finding sustainable solutions to create a better and healthier planet. The mission statement of the Group is: With empowerment we positively impact people and regenerate nature. The L'OCCITANE Group is a certified B Corporation. For more information about our people and our brands, visit us at https://group.loccitane.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2728803/L_Occitane_International_SA.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2728801/L_Occitane_Group_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/loccitane-groups-brands-champion-sustainable-beauty-through-responsible-sourcing-and-product-design-302505768.html Combining passive network discovery with application dependency mapping, the acquisition delivers unmatched visibility across entire technology estates. MERELBEKE, Belgium, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lansweeper, the global leader in Technology Asset Intelligence, today announced the acquisition of Redjack, a pioneer in asset discovery using network traffic analysis. By integrating Redjack's passive, traffic-based discovery, and application dependency mapping, Lansweeper enhances its platform to give security teams complete visibility into every asset that touches the network-whether known or unknown, managed, or unmanaged. Redjack's unique approach to mapping all internal and external connections broadens Lansweeper's reach across enterprise, cloud, and edge environments. Redjack significantly strengthens Lansweeper's capabilities in attack surface management, business continuity planning, and third-party risk management. "With Redjack on our side, we can now promise Total Visibility for our customers-the most crucial step in any cybersecurity strategy. After all, you can't secure what you don't see." said Dave Goossens, CEO of Lansweeper. "Together, we will pair Redjack's unparalleled network-level discovery and application dependency mapping with Lansweeper's rich asset intelligence to help organizations to be more secure and productive." "Joining forces with Lansweeper unites two innovations that belong together: Redjack's passive network discovery and application dependency mapping and Lansweeper's rich asset intelligence," said Greg Virgin, CEO of Redjack. "Combining these capabilities accelerates our shared vision of transforming raw asset data into actionable insights that strengthen security and drive smarter decisions." The transaction encompasses Redjack's technology, customers, partner ecosystem and workforce. The combined portfolio delivers broader asset visibility and full application dependency mapping, detecting any device that communicates on, to, or from a network while revealing how those assets interconnect to support enterprise applications. These capabilities complement Lansweeper's existing network, cloud, and agent-based discovery. The integration accelerates Lansweeper's product roadmap, enhancing coverage of unmanaged and transient assets while providing Redjack customers with richer asset intelligence data. By automatically mapping dependencies, the integrated solution gives IT, security, and finance teams the context they need to prioritize vulnerabilities, streamline migrations, and control costs. Lansweeper remains fully committed to uninterrupted service and support for all Redjack customers and welcomes its new colleagues into a shared culture of innovation, insight, and growth. Together, Lansweeper and Redjack are poised to set new standards in asset intelligence, delivering unmatched value to customers worldwide. About Lansweeper Lansweeper is the leader in Technology Asset Intelligence, providing a single source of truth for complete visibility across IT, OT, and IoT assets-including software-across the entire technology estate. Since 2004, Lansweeper has empowered organizations to stay competitive with accurate, actionable data that strengthens security, drives strategic decisions, and boosts operational efficiency. Its powerful platform breaks down data silos and fosters seamless collaboration across IT, security, and finance teams. Lansweeper helps IT teams optimize performance and resilience, enables MSPs to deliver greater value and accelerate growth, and empowers ISVs to differentiate their solutions. Trusted by over 20,000 customers-including CMA CGM, Rentokil, Fiskars, Nestle, and Nvidia-Lansweeper serves enterprises, governments, financial institutions, NGOs, and universities worldwide. About Redjack Redjack delivers total asset and dependency visibility and AI-powered business insights for cyber resilience. The Redjack platform empowers enterprises to safeguard vital business functions, meet cyber regulatory standards, and digitally transform to align with business objectives. Learn more at: https://www.lansweeper.com Media Contact Kevin Wolf, TGPR, kevin@tgprllc.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732022/Lansweeper_Acquires_Redjack.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2705463/Lansweeper_logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/lansweeper-acquires-redjack-strengthening-its-position-as-the-global-leader-in-technology-asset-intelligence-302506205.html NEW YORK and LONDON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyperlink InfoSystem, a global leader in IT services and tech innovation, has officially launched 30 Sec Nails, a cutting-edge nail printer that prints custom graphics directly onto nails in just 30 seconds. Developed in strategic partnership with Ahna 30SecNails, this revolutionary Fashion Tech Beauty product combines technology and personal style to transform the nail art experience for consumers and professionals alike. 30 Sec Nails is designed for speed, precision, and personalization. Users can select or upload any design through a dedicated mobile app and print it instantly onto their nails using the compact, easy-to-use device. Whether for at-home beauty lovers or high-demand salon environments, the nail printer delivers salon-quality results with unmatched convenience. Harnil Oza, CEO of Hyperlink InfoSystem. said, "With 30 Sec Nails, we're proud to bring our technological expertise into the Fashion Tech Beauty space. This smart nail printer, created in collaboration with Ahna 30SecNails, is designed to empower users with instant customization, merging beauty and innovation like never before. It's a perfect solution for anyone seeking creative self-expression in just seconds." This launch marks Hyperlink InfoSystem's expansion beyond software and digital solutions into consumer tech, tapping into the fast-growing beauty tech segment. 30 Sec Nails is ideal for salons, beauty entrepreneurs, influencers, and individuals looking to elevate their nail art game with speed and style. 30 Sec Nails is now available for pre-order at an exclusive launch price. To learn more or place an order, visit: www.30secnails.com About Hyperlink InfoSystem Hyperlink InfoSystem is a prominent international enterprise excelling in IT solutions in many domains. Since its humble beginnings in 2011, its specialization in technologies has expanded across web development, mobile app development, enterprise software solutions, and now Artificial Intelligence (AI). With over 1200+ employees and a global presence in the USA, UK, UAE, France, India, and Canada, Hyperlink InfoSystem is dedicated to assisting corporations to leverage the complete power of technology to accomplish their goals. Contact Details: Hyperlink InfoSystem Harnil Oza +1-309-791-4105 info@hyperlinkinfosystem.com New York Address: One World Trade Center 285 Fulton Street suite 8500, New York, NY 10007, United States Ahmedabad Address: C-308, Ganesh Meridian, Opp Kargil Petrol Pump, S.G. Highway, Sola, Ahmedabad, 380061 India London Address: Level 30, The Leadenhall Building, 122 Leadenhall Street, London EC3V 4AB Canada Address: 151 Yonge Street, 11th Floor, Toronto, Ontario, M5C 2W7, Canada Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2429933/5417441/Hyperlink_InfoSystem_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hyperlink-infosystem-launches-30-sec-nails--a-revolutionary-fashion-tech-beauty-nail-printer-in-partnership-with-ahna-30secnails-302507890.html AECI Limited - Disposals of the assets of Schirm U.S.A., Inc. and the Baar-Ebenhausen assets of Schirm GMBH, and Disposal of the Food and Beverage Business PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, July 17 AECI LIMITED (Incorporated in the Republic of South Africa) Registration number: 1924/002590/06 Share code: AFE ISIN: ZAE000000220 Hybrid code: AFEP ISIN: ZAE000000238 Bond company code: AECI LEI: 3789008641F1D3D90E85 (AECI or the Company) DISPOSALS OF THE ASSETS OF SCHIRM U.S.A., INC. AND THE BAAR-EBENHAUSEN ASSETS OF SCHIRM GMBH, AND DISPOSAL OF THE FOOD AND BEVERAGE BUSINESS DISPOSAL OF THE ASSETS OF SCHIRM U.S.A., INCORPORATED INTRODUCTION Shareholders and noteholders are hereby advised that on 17 July 2025 ("Signature Date"), a wholly owned subsidiary of AECI, Schirm GmbH ("Schirm Germany" or the "Parent") and Schirm U.S.A., Inc. ("Schirm USA" or the "Seller"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Schirm Germany, entered into an asset purchase agreement ("Agreement") with Liberation Chem-Toll, LLC ("Chem-Toll" or the "Buyer") in terms of which Schirm USA will dispose of and assign to Chem-Toll, substantially all of the assets ("Purchased Assets") and certain specified liabilities ("Assumed Liabilities") of Schirm USA, for the consideration set out in paragraph 4.1 ("Disposal Consideration"), ("Disposal"). Chem-Toll, a newly established Texas limited liability company, was formed for purposes of acquiring the Purchased Assets and assuming the Assumed Liabilities. Chem-Toll is wholly owned by members of Schirm USA's Senior Management team, comprising Mr Chad Kern (Chief Executive Officer), Mr Cody Helm (Chief Financial Officer), and Ms Rebecca Rodgers (Chief Operating Officer). Neither the Senior Management team nor the Buyer are "related parties" to AECI, as defined in the JSE Limited Listings Requirements ("Listings Requirements"). The Disposal will be subject to the fulfilment or waiver of the Conditions (as envisaged in paragraph 4.2). OVERVIEW OF SCHIRM USA Schirm USA is a chemical toll manufacturer in the United States of America, with formulation, packaging and warehouse facilities strategically located in North Texas and Southern Illinois. Schirm USA processes and produces chemicals for customers in various industries, including agriculture, industrial chemicals and speciality products through the provision of, inter alia, liquids, powders, extruded granules, pellets and impregnated granules. The value of Schirm USA's net assets as at 31 December 2024 was R994.5 million and the profits attributable thereto for the year ended 31 December 2024 was R9.4 million. The values attributable to the net assets and the profits attributable thereto have been extracted from Schirm USA's management accounts for the year ended 31 December 2024, which were prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). RATIONALE FOR THE DISPOSAL As previously disclosed to shareholders and noteholders and in alignment with AECI's strategy of optimising its portfolio to create a platform for growth, AECI is focusing on its AECI Mining and AECI Chemicals businesses and divesting from businesses with limited synergies with the chosen core businesses. This strategic shift aims to streamline operations, enhance efficiency and leverage in-house expertise. By concentrating efforts on areas where AECI has a competitive advantage and strong market potential, AECI will be positioned for sustainable growth and improved performance. SALIENT TERMS OF THE DISPOSAL The salient terms and conditions of the Disposal, and other salient information pertaining to the Disposal, are set out below: 4.1.Disposal Consideration 4.1.1. In terms of the Agreement, the Disposal Consideration payable in respect of the Purchased Assets will be an amount of US$60 million (approximately R1.074 billion, based on the US$:R exchange rate of R17.90:$1 as at the Signature Date ("Exchange Rate")), payable by the Buyer to Schirm USA as follows: 4.1.1.1. US$40 million (approximately R716 million, based on the Exchange Rate), payable in cash on the Closing Date (as defined in paragraph 4.3); and 4.1.1.2. US$20 million (approximately R358 million, based on the Exchange Rate), through the issuance of two convertible secured subordinated promissory notes ("SellerNotes"), to be executed by the Buyer in favour of Schirm USA, dated as at the Closing Date and generally payable within five years of issue. A Seller Note is defined as a form of debt financing where the seller of a business provides a loan to the buyer in order to assist in financing the purchase. The seller formally agrees to receive a portion of the purchase price, i.e., a portion of the acquisition proceeds, in a series of future payments. 4.1.2. The Disposal Consideration is subject to customary adjustments based on Schirm USA's working capital amounts ("Working Capital Adjustment"), which Working Capital Adjustment will not exceed USD$4 million (approximately R72 million, based on the Exchange Rate), ("Maximum Working Capital Adjustment"). 4.2.Conditions to the Disposal Implementation of the Disposal will be subject to the fulfilment or waiver of, inter alia, the following conditions precedent by 31 August 2025 ("Drop Dead Date"): 4.2.1. in respect of the Seller: 4.2.1.1. the written consent of the Parent's applicable lenders to enter into the Agreement and execute the Seller Notes; 4.2.1.2. the representations, warranties and covenants of the Buyer are generally correct and complied with, as applicable; and 4.2.1.3. the consent of the counterparties to certain of the Seller's contracts; and 4.2.2. in respect of the Buyer: 4.2.2.1. the execution of specified loan documents with a Texas banking association, including but not limited to a subordination agreement in respect of the Seller Notes; 4.2.2.2. the representations, warranties and covenants of the Seller are generally correct and complied with, as applicable; 4.2.2.3. the consent of the counterparties to certain of the Seller's contracts; and 4.2.2.4. no material adverse effect having occurred, (collectively, the "Conditions"). 4.3.Closing Date of the Disposal The Closing Date of the Disposal, unless otherwise agreed to in writing between the Buyer and the Seller, shall be the second business day following the satisfaction, or to the extent permissible, the waiver in writing by the appropriate party, of the Conditions ("Closing Date"). 4.4.Other significant terms of the Agreement The Agreement contains warranties, indemnities, termination events, exclusivity provisions and other undertakings which are customary for a transaction of this nature, including a right of the Buyer to terminate the Agreement in the event that a material adverse effect has occurred at any time prior to the Closing Date. APPLICATION OF THE DISPOSAL CONSIDERATION The Disposal Consideration will be deployed in line with AECI's capital allocation framework. CATEGORISATION OF THE DISPOSAL The Disposal, taking into consideration the Disposal Consideration and the Maximum Working Capital Adjustment, is classified as a category 2 transaction for AECI in terms of paragraph 9.5(a), read with paragraph 9.8, of the Listings Requirements and is therefore not subject to AECI shareholder approval. Shareholders and noteholders are hereby further advised of the following disposals which are uncategorised in terms of paragraph 9.5, read with paragraph 9.8, of the Listings Requirements and are therefore not subject to AECI shareholder approval: VOLUNTARY ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE DISPOSAL OFBAAR-EBENHAUSEN ASSETS Schirm Germany entered into a sale agreement with German-based private buyers ("BEH Buyers"), in terms of which Schirm Germany disposed of its assets in Baar-Ebenhausen, including the property, fixed assets and inventory relating to the site ("BEH Assets") ("BEH Disposal"). Schirm Germany will transfer a lump sum of EUR 500?000 to cover environmental liabilities. Schirm Germany (the "Division") is focused on contract manufacturing services for both agrochemicals and specialty chemicals, with capabilities spanning synthesis, formulation and packaging, together with related supply chain solutions. The Division operates three key facilities across Germany: Baar-Ebenhausen ("BEH"), Lubeck ("HL") and Schonebeck ("SBK"). BEH and HL concentrate on formulation, filling and packaging ("FFP") operations, while SBK supports both FFP and synthesis, with additional specialised manufacturing functions. The conclusion of the BEH Disposal has resulted in all risks and rewards associated with the BEH Assets transferring to the BEH Buyers. AECI will benefit from a c. EUR3 million saving resulting from future restructuring costs and environmental liabilities associated with the BEH Assets. The BEH Disposal is in line with AECI's strategy of disposing non-core assets, coupled with its ongoing efforts to turnaround the Schirm Germany business. VOLUNTARY ANNOUNCEMENT REGARDING THE DISPOSAL OF FOOD & BEVERAGE BUSINESS AECI has entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with a consortium comprising a South African-based private equity fund for the disposal of the Food and Beverage business ("F&B"), (the "F&BDisposal"). The purchase consideration payable in terms of the F&B Disposal is based on a cash price at closing date, with a capped potential adjustment for working capital movements. The F&B business, which operates as a division of AECI, supplies a range of technology driven and consumer-led additives, ingredients and processing aids, including products and solutions for the beverage, dairy, health and nutrition, and commodities industries. The F&B business will transfer to its new owners in its entirety, resulting in no disruptions to ongoing operations, customers or employees, and ensuring business continuity as the business moves forward under new management. The successful conclusion of the F&B Disposal is expected to generate proceeds that will allow AECI to fulfil its commitments and improve certain key performance indicators, particularly free cash flow generation. The transaction remains subject to the fulfilment of standard regulatory approvals and is expected to be finalised before the end of the year. Holger Riemensperger, Chief Executive Officer of AECI, commented: "We are proud of the strong momentum of our disposal programme and firmly believe that we are finding the best homes for our people and businesses. We are committed to utilise proceeds from these disposals to reduce debt and reinvest into our core business. We are satisfied with our current debt levels and business performances and have begun exploring inorganic growth opportunities". Woodmead, Sandton 17 July 2025 Financial Adviser to AECI (Schirm U.S.A., Incorporated) Stifel Europe Bank AG (Schirm USA and Baar-Ebenhausen Disposals) Legal Adviser to AECI Haynes and Boone, LLP (Schirm USA Disposal) Financial Adviser to Chem-Toll The CJ Group, PLLC Legal Adviser to Chem-Toll Platt Richmond, PLLC Financial Adviser to AECI Investec Bank Limited (F&B Disposal) Legal Adviser to AECI Bowman Gilfillan Incorporated (F&B Disposal) Equity Sponsor: One Capital Debt Sponsor: Questco Proprietary Limited Company Set to Make Migration from Preclinical to Clinical Stage BALTIMORE, MD / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Goldman Small Cap Research, a stock market research firm specializing in the small cap and microcap sectors, announced today that it has published a new research report on Regen BioPharma, Inc. (OTCPK:RGBP), a developer of innovative treatments using autologous cell therapies, RNA and DNA-based immunotherapy and small molecules in the immune-oncology segment. The Goldman report carries a price target. To view and download the new research report, along with disclosures and disclaimers, please visit: https://goldmansmallcapresearch.com/opportunity-research/regen-phase-i/. Regen BioPharma, Inc. is focused on developing innovative treatments using autologous cell therapies, RNA and DNA-based immunotherapy and small molecules in the immune-oncology segment. The Company seeks to rapidly advance novel technologies through pre-clinical and Phase I/II clinical trials. The Company has an FDA-cleared IND for its Phase I clinical trial candidate HemaXellerate, an innovative stem cell-derived therapy. In the Opportunity Research report, analyst Rob Goldman reviews this undervalued and underfollowed innovator including upcoming milestones and events, deep pipeline, and valuation drivers. Migration from Preclinical to Clinical Status Goldman commented, "Regen is on the cusp of making a major leap from the preclinical biopharma stage to a clinical stage biopharma, which typically serves as core industry valuation driver. The Company's lead candidate, HemaXellerate, is an innovative stem cell-derived therapy and the Company plans to launch a Phase I clinical trial in the coming months. HemaXellerate's primary indication is to treat chemotherapy patients who have developed a potentially terminal side effect, severe aplastic anemia. The only approved therapy is a costly stem cell transplant, which needs a matched donor and can lead to graft-versus-host disease. Still, the Regen therapy represents $1 billion in market size. " Multiple, Enviable Development Pathways "Regen could be awarded an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) for this product, which would be a major coup for the Company," noted Goldman. "Regen is also evaluating expanded applications for this groundbreaking therapy. With two other filed INDs and a deep pipeline Regen is no one-trick pony. The Company has been awarded 11 patents with 17 patents pending." Upcoming Events Poised to Raise Profile and Valuation "We believe that these shares are undervalued based on the IP alone. When taking into account Regen's migration to the clinical stage, this status becomes even more pronounced, given the typical market cap assigned to its peers. Our price target reflects a meaningful discount to the typical market caps enjoyed by active Phase I clinical trial peers. However, if the drug is awarded Orphan Drug Designation, our target could prove to be conservative," concluded Goldman. About Goldman Small Cap Research: Founded in 2009 by former Piper Jaffray analyst and mutual fund manager Rob Goldman, Goldman Small Cap Research produces sponsored and non-sponsored small cap and microcap stock research reports, articles, stock market blogs, and popular investment newsletters. Goldman Small Cap Research is not in any way affiliated with Goldman Sachs & Co. This press release contains excerpts of our most recently published company report on Regen BioPharma, Inc. ("The Company"). The information used and statements of fact made have been obtained from sources considered reliable but we neither guarantee nor represent the completeness or accuracy. Goldman Small Cap Research relied solely upon information derived from Regen BioPharma, Inc. The information includes authorized press releases or legal disclosures made in their filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission http://www.sec.gov. Separate from the factual content of our update about the Company, we may from time to time include our own opinions about the Company, its business, markets, and opportunities. Any opinions we may offer about the Company are solely our own and are made in reliance upon our rights under the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and are provided solely for the general opinionated discussion of our readers. Our opinions should not be considered to be complete, precise, accurate, or current investment advice. Statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties affecting results. A Goldman Small Cap Research report, update, newsletter, article, trading alert, corporate profile, sector or industry snapshot, podcast interview, or press release is not intended as an offering, recommendation, or a solicitation of an offer to buy or sell the securities mentioned or discussed and is to be used for informational purposes only. Please read all associated full disclosures, disclaimers, and analyst background on our website before investing. Neither Goldman Small Cap Research nor its parent is a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer with FINRA or any other regulatory agency. To download this research report, visit www.goldmansmallcapresearch.com. In 2023, Goldman Small Cap Research was compensated by a third party in the amount of $5,000 for research report production and distribution. Goldman Small Cap Research was compensated $5,000 for the July 2025 report and press release. Goldman Small Cap Research Rob Goldman, Analyst 410-800.7980 rob@goldmansmallcapresearch.com SOURCE: Goldman Small Cap Research View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/publishing-and-media/goldman-small-cap-research-publishes-new-research-report-on-regen-biopharma-in-1049719 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Origen Resources Inc. (CSE: ORGN) (FSE: 4VXA) (the "Company") is pleased to announce the strengthening of its Board of Directors and provide an update on the recently completed sampling program at its 100% owned 26,962-hectare district-scale Los Sapitos Lithium Project in San Juan Province, Argentina. New Director Appointment Origen is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Paul Chung as a Director. Mr. Chung is an accomplished executive with deep experience in project management, international negotiations, and guiding companies through public market transactions. Over the course of his career, he has served as a director for numerous companies, overseeing operations across South America with a focus on asset acquisitions, project development, strategic planning, and government relations. He has played a key role in aligning corporate objectives between parent companies and their subsidiaries, ensuring operational coherence and strategic focus. As an official representative for several firms, Mr. Chung has successfully negotiated with high-level political and industrial stakeholders in Guyana, Chile, China, and Argentina, advancing company interests in complex international environments. Chung holds a Bachelor of Science in Geology from the University of British Columbia and an MBA in Information Technology from Athabasca University. He is a co-founder of Luca Mining Corp. (TSXV: LUCA), which owns and operates two poly-metallic mines in Mexico, including the Tahuehueto Mine, recognized as one of the top 10 highest gold-grade mines in the country. Previously, Mr. Chung was a director of Patriot Battery Metals Inc. (TSX: PMET) from its inception until 2022. That company holds 100% ownership of the Shaakichiuwaanaan Property, the largest lithium pegmatite resource in the Americas and the eighth largest globally. "We are very pleased to welcome Paul to the Board of Directors. His experience and unique skill set is a perfect fit for the Company and its business model of generating quality projects worldwide. I look forward to his input and guidance in building Origen into a top tier Generative Mineral Exploration Company," states Gary Schellenberg, CEO. Los Sapitos Results from the recent sampling program of both brines and clays has indicated that lithium exploration targets exist well beyond the known Los Sapitos Salar. Anomalous values of lithium in clays have been obtained in two new target areas that are located approximately 1 km from the lithium rich Los Sapitos Salar. Sampling from shallow hand dug pits returned between 7 and 654 ppm lithium* from clay samples located east of Los Sapitos in the Eastern Salar and are similar to values collected last year from the high-grade clay zone on the Los Sapitos Salar. Elevated lithium (between 50 and 66 ppm lithium) were also found in clay samples located to the south of the main thrust zone with follow-up work planned to include deep sampling in order to penetrate the thick overburden. Figure 1: Map of Los Sapitos Outlining Notable Sample Results To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7117/259095_0150c56dd4dd3920_008full.jpg Amendment to the Los Sapitos Property Option Terms Origen has successfully negotiated the reduction of the required work commitment due under the originally signed Option agreement, which was to be completed by December 15, 2026, from $5 million USD to $1.5 million USD. The commitment must now be fulfilled by December 15, 2027, by either completing the $1.5 million in exploration work or by making a cash payment, in lieu of work, of $450,000 USD. In consideration for the amendment the Vendor will receive a payment of $75,000 by December 15, 2027 and be granted a 1% NSR which can be repurchased within a 5-year period on a sliding scale that increases by $75,000 per year to a maximum of $375,000 in year 5. Methodology Sampling was conducted by staff experienced in lithium salar exploration and followed industry recognized best practices for early-stage exploration of this type of target. Samples were secured onsite and transported to the lab by Origen personnel. *Sediment samples and brine samples were analysed at the Instituto de Investigaciones Mineras at the Universidad Nacional de San Juan. Sediment samples were subjected to a weak extraction with hot water which was then analysed by ICP-OES for Li, Na, K, Ca, Mg and B to determine the proportion of these elements that was easily extractable. The residual sediment was then leached by strong acid and analysed by ICP-OES for Li, Na, K, Ca, Mg and B to determine the proportion of these elements more strongly bound to minerals or part of the crystal structure of the minerals. Reported values are combined numbers from both the hot water and strong aced extraction. Brines were analysed for Na, K, Ca, Mg, B, Li by ICP-OES. About Origen Origen is fully focused on its 100% interest in the Los Sapitos Lithium project in Argentina and its 100% owned gold-silver Wishbone project in the Golden Triangle of British Columbia, along with a property portfolio of three 100% owned precious and base metal projects in southern British Columbia. Thomas Hawkins, P.Geo., a director of the Company and a Qualified Person as that term is defined in NI 43-101 has prepared, supervised the preparation or approved the scientific and technical disclosure in the news release. On behalf of Origen, Gary Schellenberg CEO and Director Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. Certain of the statements made and information contained herein may constitute "forward-looking information." In particular, references to the Los Sapitos option amendment terms and future obligations thereunder and future work programs or expectations on the quality or results of such work programs are subject to risks associated with operations on the property, exploration activity generally, equipment limitations and availability, as well as other risks that we may not be currently aware of. Accordingly, readers are advised not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259095 SOURCE: Origen Resources Inc. TELUS President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, and Chief Data & Trust Officer, Pam Snively, attended the United Nations AI for Good Global Summit as part of the AI Skills Coalition driving AI literacy globally; TELUS hosted an interactive workshop using Fuel iX demonstrating how to build ethical AI with intelligence from Indigenous Peoples GENEVA, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- TELUS, a leading global technology company, participated in the United Nations AI for Good Global Summit 2025 from July 8 - 11 in Geneva, Switzerland, demonstrating its commitment to responsible AI development, ethical technology innovation and inclusive AI upskilling. As part of its engagement across multiple high-profile sessions, TELUS contributed as a proud member of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)-led AI Skills Coalition - a global initiative to close the AI skills gap - supporting efforts that ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin says, aim to ensure "the AI Generation will be defined not by the power of its algorithms, but by the depth of its skillset and the breadth of its participation." TELUS engaged in multiple high-profile sessions throughout the five-day summit, sharing insights on responsible AI practices, the value of AI literacy and best practices around AI governance. The Canadian company's long-standing approach to human-centric technology development is highly collaborative among its industry, community and team stakeholders, supporting innovative AI development and use that has a positive social impact. "At TELUS, we believe getting AI right starts with trustworthy, transparent and respectful data practices. Realizing AI's potential for positive change is only possible by earning the trust of the people it's meant to serve and that means leading with a human-centric approach," said Pamela Snively, Chief Data & Trust Officer at TELUS. "We're proud to have joined other global leaders at the AI for Good Summit because we recognize that responsible AI practices and principles, industry collaboration and community partnerships are the foundation for AI innovation that benefits humanity." Building on its commitment to working in close partnership with Indigenous Peoples to help deliver positive social, cultural and economic outcomes through connectivity, TELUS collaborated with Shani Gwin, founder and CEO of pipikwan pehtakwan and TELUS Indigenous Advisory Council member, to deliver a workshop titled, "Crafting ethical AI with Indigenous intelligence: Partnering with Indigenous Peoples for innovative solutions". The workshop demonstrated how TELUS is using AI to create meaningful business practices and technology informed by Indigenous Peoples. The session also included hands-on AI literacy training using TELUS Digital's proprietary generative AI platform, Fuel iX , as well as pipikwan pehtakwan's AI tool, wasikan kisewatisiwin to correct unconscious bias toward Indigenous Peoples online. TELUS has consistently demonstrated its commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples in Canada through an action plan with the goal of creating positive social and economic outcomes. These actions include partnering with Indigenous communities on connectivity, training and job creation programs; supporting land restoration initiatives; safeguarding Indigenous data and artistic integrity; and more. In its recent 2025 AI Report , TELUS captured perspectives on AI from over 5,500 respondents, with specific focus given to engaging with Indigenous Peoples, including First Nations, Inuit, and Metis, and other underrepresented* groups. It highlighted the importance of integrating Indigenous perspectives into responsible AI. Through workshops and discussions with Indigenous Peoples, the report reveals that Indigenous Knowledge, including storytelling and other qualitative data, are as important as quantitative data, and that without these forms of Indigenous Knowledge, context or meaning risk being lost through AI model processing. TELUS' participation in the Summit builds on its established leadership in responsible AI development, including being the first company globally to achieve ISO 31700-1 Privacy by Design certification for its generative AI customer support tool, powered by Fuel iX. The company was the first Canadian company to embrace the Hiroshima AI Process (HAIP) Reporting Framework , sharing its proven approaches and best practices for safe and trustworthy AI development in alignment with the G7 AI Code of Conduct, and it was the first telecom company in Canada to sign the Government of Canada's voluntary code of conduct for GenAI. In March 2025, TELUS announced that it is launching a series of Sovereign AI Factories , providing Canadian businesses and researchers with advanced technology to drive innovation, while keeping all data and computing power in Canada. Importantly, TELUS' AI Factory is built in one the world's most sustainable AI-ready data centres in Rimouski, Quebec. It utilizes 99% renewable energy and is three times more energy efficient for excess power usage than the industry average. TELUS continues to pioneer AI practices that prioritize transparency, accountability and trust. For more information about TELUS' commitment to building trust in data, visit telus.com/trust . *According to the Government of Canada's mandate on research design , "underrepresentation refers generally to groups or individuals from groups who, due to both formal and legal restrictions and to systemic barriers, have lacked access to full participation in a given organization, community or discipline." About TELUS TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a world-leading communications technology company operating in more than 45 countries and generating over $20 billion in annual revenue with more than 20 million customer connections through our advanced suite of broadband services for consumers, businesses and the public sector. We are committed to leveraging our technology to enable remarkable human outcomes. TELUS is passionate about putting our customers and communities first, leading the way globally in client service excellence and social capitalism. Our TELUS Health business is enhancing more than 150 million lives across 200 countries and territories through innovative preventive medicine and well-being technologies. Our TELUS Agriculture & Consumer Goods business utilizes digital technologies and data insights to optimize the connection between producers and consumers. Guided by our enduring 'give where we live' philosophy, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed $1.8 billion in cash, in-kind contributions, time and programs including 2.4 million days of service since 2000, earning us the distinction of the world's most giving company. For more information, visit telus.com or follow @TELUSNews on X and @Darren_Entwistle on Instagram. About ITU The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is the United Nations agency for digital technologies, driving innovation for people and the planet with 194 Member States and a membership of over 1,000 companies, universities, civil society, and international and regional organizations. Established in 1865, ITU coordinates the global use of the radio spectrum and satellite orbits, establishes international technology standards, drives universal connectivity and digital services, and is helping to make sure everyone benefits from sustainable digital transformation, including the most remote communities. From artificial intelligence (AI) to quantum, from satellites and submarine cables to advanced mobile and wireless broadband networks, ITU is committed to connecting the world and beyond. Learn more: www.itu.int Media contact Emily Piccinin TELUS Public Relations emily.piccinin@telus.com Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732897/TELUS_Communications_Inc__AI_that_works_for_everyone__TELUS_prou.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732858/TELUS_Communications_Inc__AI_that_works_for_everyone__TELUS_prou.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/ai-that-works-for-everyone-telus-proud-to-join-the-un-ai-for-good-global-summit-2025-302507653.html First-of-its-kind screening tool provides actionable intelligence to illuminate vulnerabilities from software contributors with connections to state-sponsored threat actors SALT LAKE CITY, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Strider Technologies, Inc. ("Strider"), the leading provider of strategic intelligence, today released its Open Source Software screening tool (OSS Search), a new capability that empowers organizations to identify and mitigate nation-state threats to their software supply chains. Open source software (OSS) forms the foundation of today's digital infrastructure, powering everything from enterprise applications to critical government systems. With most enterprise applications and codebases relying on OSS components, global dependency on community-driven code is both unprecedented and expanding. However, adversarial nation-states, like the People's Republic of China (PRC), Russia, and Iran, are infiltrating OSS ecosystems to advance their respective national interests and objectives. "State-sponsored threat actors are actively infiltrating OSS platforms, embedding contributors to access software supply chains, steal sensitive data, and enable cyber-espionage campaigns," said Greg Levesque, CEO and Co-Founder of Strider. "It is a security imperative for organizations to understand who the individual contributors to their software supply chain are and whether they have deep affiliations to adversarial nation-states. Our new OSS screening capability will enable organizations to proactively mitigate this growing threat and help preserve the collaborative nature of the open source software community." Strider's OSS Search provides organizations across industry, government, and academia with actionable intelligence about the contributors behind their OSS components through advanced contributor analysis, dependency mapping, and proprietary risk scoring. OSS Search helps organizations understand the nation-state risks to their software supply chain in three ways: Monitor Contributor Activity Proactively Strider continuously analyzes open source contributor activities, providing early identification of potential vulnerabilities and connections to state-sponsored threat actors. This proactive intelligence reduces manual investigation time, helping organizations swiftly mitigate threats before they escalate. Conduct Comprehensive Repository Analysis Strider delivers up-to-date intelligence on open source repositories, streamlining the process of identifying and addressing vulnerabilities. With comprehensive insights into repository activity and vulnerabilities, security teams can more efficiently respond to state-sponsored cyber threats, minimizing potential disruptions. Map and Mitigate Dependency Risks Through advanced risk dependency mapping, OSS Search clarifies the interconnections and vulnerabilities within your open source projects. This detailed visibility allows an organization to quickly pinpoint risks embedded in its OSS ecosystem, enhancing the ability to secure and fortify their software supply chain. Learn more about the Open Source Software screening tool here and request a demo here. About Strider Strider is the leading strategic intelligence company empowering organizations to secure and advance their technology and innovation. Leveraging cutting-edge AI technology alongside proprietary methodologies, Strider transforms publicly available data into critical insights. This increased intelligence enables organizations to proactively address and respond to risks associated with state-sponsored intellectual property theft, targeted talent acquisition, and third-party partners. Strider has operations in 15 countries around the globe with offices in Salt Lake City, Washington, DC, London, and Tokyo. Contact: media@striderintel.com View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/strider-launches-open-source-software-screening-capability-to-proactively-identify-nation-state-threats-to-software-supply-chains-302507457.html VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / 1933 Industries Inc. (the "Company" or "1933 Industries") (CSE:TGIF)(OTC PINK:TGIFF), a Nevada-focused cannabis cultivator and producer, reminds shareholders to vote at the Annual General Meeting (the "AGM") to be held on July 25, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. (Vancouver time). The deadline to receive all votes/proxies is 10:30 a.m. (PST) on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. The Company reminds all Shareholders to submit their proxies before the deadline. Shareholders will be asked to vote on the following matters: 1. To receive the audited consolidated financial statements of the Company for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2024 2. To set the number of directors to be elected at the AGM at Three (3) 3. To elect directors 4. To appoint MNP LLP, Chartered Professional Accountants as Auditors of the Company for the ensuing year and to authorize the Directors to fix their remuneration 5. To consider a resolution approving unallocated options under the Company's existing Stock Option Plan until July 25, 2028 6. To consider by ordinary resolution, the amendment of the Articles of the Company The details of all matters proposed to be put before the shareholders at the AGM are set forth in the Management Information Circular (the "Circular"). Shareholders are reminded to view the Circular prior to voting. Materials for the Meeting may be viewed online at: 1933industries.com/investors/agm-materials www.sedar.com Meeting Date and Location Date & Time: Friday, July 25, 2025 at 10:30 a.m. (PST) Place: Boardroom of Suite 300 - 1055 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC, V6E 2E9 Record Date: Only shareholders of record at the close of business on June 10, 2025, (the "Record Date") are entitled to vote at the meeting or any adjournment or postponement thereof. All shareholders are entitled to attend the AGM and vote by proxy. No voting is permitted on the day of the meeting. Voting Registered shareholders of Record Date are asked to return their proxies using one of the following methods by the proxy cut-off date (10:30 a.m. PST, July 23, 2025). INTERNET: https://vote.odysseytrust.com MAIL: Proxy Department, Odyssey Trust Company, Trader's Bank Building, 702, 67 Yonge Street, Toronto Ontario M5E 1J8. Non-registered holders are asked to use the voter instruction form provided by your intermediary (bank, trust company or broker) and return it as early as practicable to ensure that it is transmitted on time. It must be received by your intermediary with sufficient time for them to file a proxy by the deadline noted above. Shareholders with questions about notice-and-access can call Odyssey Trust toll free at 1-888-290-1175 or proxy@odysseytrust.com About 1933 Industries Inc. 1933 Industries is a Nevada-based licensed producer, focused on the cultivation and extraction of a large portfolio of cannabis consumer products in a variety of formats under its flagship brands, Alternative Medicine Association (AMA) and Level X. Its product offerings are cultivated at the Company's 68,000 sq. ft. indoor facility and marketed directly to retail dispensaries. AMA branded flower, infused pre-rolls, and in-house boutique concentrates consistently rank as the top products sold in Nevada. For more information, please visit www.1933industries.com For further information please contact: Alexia Helgason, VP, Investor Relations 604-728-4407 alexia@1933industries.com Brian Farrell, Chairman and CEO brian@1933industries.com Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Notice regarding Forward Looking Statements: This news release contains forward-looking statements. The use of any of the words "anticipate", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "should", "believe" and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that the expectations and assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking statements because the Company can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct. Since forward-looking statements address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. These statements speak only as of the date of this news release. Actual results could differ materially from those currently anticipated due to a number of factors and risks including various risk factors discussed in the Company's disclosure documents, which can be found under the Company's profile on www.sedar.com. 1933 Industries undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. SOURCE: 1933 Industries Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/1933-industries-reminds-shareholders-to-vote-at-the-upcoming-annual-g-1049685 In this July 2025 article for the Fast Company Executive Board, Avtar Sehmbi of the Forbes Technology Council explains why Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) are increasingly positioned to lead the future of banking. LONDON, GB / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Artificial intelligence (AI) and other emerging technologies are reshaping banking by automating tasks, enhancing data analysis, and enabling personalized services. These tools improve risk management, streamline operations, and boost profitability. Institutions like JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America are already leveraging AI for fraud detection, customer service, and advanced analytics. Meanwhile, AI-powered hedge funds and neobanks use technology to deliver tailored experiences and outperform their peers. Avtar Sehmbi The Digital Banker Fast Company Avtar Sehmbi the Digital banker This shift isn't theoretical; it's already well underway. Digital systems are fully embedded into the everyday operations of financial institutions, and technical fluency has become a defining leadership trait. Familiarity with these technologies is no longer optional. Executives who lack hands-on insight into digital transformation risk falling behind in an increasingly tech-driven industry. WHY THE CTO IS THE MOST PREPARED TO LEAD BANKING TRANSFORMATION One of the greatest barriers to innovation in banking is the workforce's limited exposure to new technologies. Many professionals still lack formal training in AI, blockchain, and analytics, making it difficult to adopt disruptive digital tools and fully leverage fintech innovations. As a result, institutions often fail to realize the full return on their technology investments or fall behind the marketplace. This gap highlights why the CTO is increasingly central to leadership in modern banking. Unlike many senior executives who focus solely on strategy, CTOs bring unmatched technical depth, architectural expertise, and operational command. They don't just imagine the future of banking. They build it. From core infrastructure to compliance frameworks, every major digital component of the modern bank is influenced by the CTO. They design and implement the systems that underpin fraud detection, data pipelines, onboarding flows, and customer engagement channels. This work also ensures that regulations are embedded directly into software, cybersecurity is tightly woven into business processes, and platforms deliver secure, scalable services. Because they oversee these systems from end to end, CTOs have a comprehensive understanding of how the bank truly operates. Their ability to integrate, optimize, and future-proof these systems gives them a uniquely qualified perspective. They are not just prepared to lead technology. They are prepared to lead the enterprise. EDUCATION IS CATCHING UP TO WHAT THE CTO ALREADY KNOWS Top academic institutions such as Oxford, MIT Sloan, the National University of Singapore, Frankfurt School, and INSEAD are responding to the sector's transformation. Their new programs blend finance, analytics, cybersecurity, and regulatory technology, reflecting a growing recognition that tomorrow's financial leaders will need the interdisciplinary expertise that CTOs bring to the table. To meet the evolving demands of the industry, business schools like those mentioned above now offer integrated degrees that combine finance with computer science, data analytics, and RegTech. Financial institutions can support this effort by co-developing certification programs and practical training focused on digital risk and fintech operations, fields where CTOs already excel. Modernizing the education pipeline will help develop future leaders with the fluency and systems thinking already demonstrated by today's top CTOs. As the industry continues to transform, these qualities will become essential. THE CTO'S EDGE IN LEADING THE DIGITALLY DEFINED BANK Technologies like AI, blockchain, and decentralized finance (DeFi) are now integral to banking. However, without effective leadership, many institutions fail to maximize their technology investments. Research shows that poor AI adoption alone can reduce returns by 30% to 50% due to misalignment between tools, talent, and strategy. CTOs offer a systems-level perspective that few other executives can match. They understand how platforms, protocols, and processes intersect across functions. They embed compliance into code, build end-to-end workflows, and break down silos to accelerate innovation. This ability to execute across departments gives them a decisive advantage in leading the digitally defined bank. Their fluency in technology, operations, finance, and regulation allows them to lead transformation at scale. Unlike other executives who may delegate technology, the CTO is hands-on and directly involved in aligning systems with business goals. As digital infrastructure begins to shape everything from customer onboarding to lending models, the next generation of banking leaders must be equally fluent in financial operations and technology platforms. The CTO already embodies this hybrid leadership profile. CONCLUSION: FROM BUILDER TO CEO In tomorrow's boardroom, the CTO will not just support the CEO; they may be the most qualified to become the CEO. As banks become fully digital, CTOs hold a unique advantage. They not only see what's coming next but also have the detailed operational knowledge to build and launch it first. Their experience architecting the core infrastructure of modern banking, embedding compliance into code, and managing transformation from the ground up gives them unmatched strategic and executional range. The future banker must understand not only markets and products but also the platforms, systems, and security protocols that power financial services. CTOs already work at this intersection. Their hands-on command of technology, coupled with insight into risk and regulatory demands, positions them to lead banks into a smarter, faster, and more secure financial future. Contact Information Avtar Sehmbi Global CTO | COO | Forbes Technology Council | Fast Company Executive Board Member avtarsehmbi@outlook.com +447481825362 SOURCE: Avtar Sehmbi View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/the-digital-banker-1049694 LAGOS, NIGERIA / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Continental Lithium Limited ("Continental," or the "Company"), a wholly owned subsidiary of Continental Critical Minerals, Inc., a leading mining and trading company out of Nigeria focused on the exploration, mining, trading, and exporting of solid mineral ores, including lithium, tin, columbite-tantalite, zircon sand (brown), and monazite to the U.S., Europe, and Asia, today announced the formation of a strategic joint venture with ASX-listed Chariot Corporation Ltd to advance a portfolio of highly prospective hard rock lithium assets across Nigeria's Kwara and Oyo States. "This partnership represents a major inflection point for Continental," said Pierce Carson, CEO of Continental Critical Minerals. "By aligning with Chariot, a partner with deep capital markets expertise and a global track record in critical minerals, we are well-positioned to fast-track the exploration and potential development of Nigeria's most promising lithium assets. This JV not only enhances value for our shareholders but also strengthens our commitment to sustainable and inclusive growth in Nigeria." "This transaction is a major milestone for Continental Lithium and the Nigerian mining sector," said Lanre Afebuameh, CEO of Continental. "It brings together world-class technical and financial capabilities with deep local knowledge-creating a platform not just for resource development, but for long-term economic value within Nigeria. We believe this partnership validates the quality of our assets and demonstrates that Nigeria is ready to compete on the global stage in the energy transition economy." Transaction Highlights: Continental secures a total consideration of US$1.5 million in cash and 42 million Chariot shares, subject to certain milestones and conditions, including: US$500,000 in upfront cash, 24 million shares at closing (12-month escrow), Deferred consideration of US$1 million and 18 million shares by end of 2026 (also under 12-month escrow). Chariot commits to a minimum investment of US$10 million over a staged exploration and development program during a free-carry period ending upon the earlier of US$50 million in JV revenue or end of 2030. Continental to play a strategic co-management role, leveraging its deep local experience, strong regulatory relationships, and proven operational capabilities. Project portfolio includes the Fonlo, Gbugbu, Iganna, and Saki clusters, with verified lithium-bearing pegmatites, strong artisanal mining history, and surface sample results up to 6.59% Li2O. Unlocking One of Africa's Most Promising Lithium Belts This landmark transaction represents one of the largest consolidated lithium landholdings in Nigeria, spanning approximately 254 km, and positions the JV to become a leading player in West Africa's emerging lithium sector. The JV portfolio benefits from strong existing infrastructure, with year-round road access and proximity to the Port of Lagos and the national power grid. Nigeria's regulatory reforms and increasing investment in lithium processing facilities-driven by growing demand from Chinese offtakers-add further momentum to this emerging lithium corridor. Under the terms of the binding Share Sale Agreement executed earlier this month, Continental will transfer 100% of its interest in a suite of eight Exploration Licenses (ELs) and two Small-Scale Mining Leases (SSMLs) into a newly formed Nigerian entity, C&C Minerals Limited, which will serve as the joint venture vehicle. Upon completion, Chariot will hold a 66.7% interest in C&C Minerals, with Continental retaining the remaining 33.3%. Looking Ahead The JV will commence immediate geological mapping and surface sampling across all project areas, with drilling programs planned for the Fonlo and Gbugbu clusters in Q4 2025. Maiden JORC resource estimates and feasibility studies are expected in 2026, forming the basis for downstream development strategies, including potential local beneficiation and offtake agreements. "This joint venture allows us to accelerate value creation with minimal dilution to our shareholders," said Ronald Onosode, Chief Operating Officer of Continental. "With Chariot funding the first $10 million in exploration and development, we are uniquely positioned to unlock the potential of this portfolio while retaining meaningful exposure to the upside. It's a rare structure that lets us move aggressively without compromising our long-term ownership." Continental Critical Minerals remains committed to its vision of becoming a fully integrated global supplier of critical minerals as it continues to advance its flagship Kwara-Oyo Lithium Project, its Plateau State tin and REE assets, and zircon-monazite development in Nassarawa State-targeting mineral markets that collectively represent a more than US?$40?billion annual global opportunity, with strong growth projected over the coming decade as demand accelerates across energy storage, electronics, advanced manufacturing, and clean technology supply chains. About Continental Critical Minerals Founded in 2017, Continental commenced small-scale mining in collaboration with artisanal miners in 2018. Over the last six years, the underlying assets acquired by Continental have produced concentrates of lithium (spodumene), columbite, zircon sand, and monazite containing rare earth elements. The Company has plans to develop its lithium and critical mineral assets and substantially increase its production for export to the U.S., Europe, and Asia. Continental controls 34 minerals licenses covering 787 square kilometers (194,570 acres) acquired from the Nigerian Mining Cadastre Office. Learn more at https://continentalcriticalminerals.com/. Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other important factors that could cause the Company's actual results, performance, or achievements or industry results to differ materially from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's control. The words "believe", "may", "will", "should", "would", "could", "continue", "seeks", "anticipates", "plans", "expects", "intends", "estimates", or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain such identifying words. Any forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only as of the date of this release. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent events or circumstances. The Company cannot assure you that the projected results or events will be achieved. Investor Contact: RedChip Companies Inc. Dave Gentry 1-800-RED-CHIP (733-2447) or 1-407-644-4256 dave@redchip.com SOURCE: Continental Lithium Limited View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/metals-and-mining/continental-lithium-announces-strategic-joint-venture-with-chariot-corporation-to-1049741 CLEVELAND, OH / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) has appointed Jon Burckin to senior business development banker on the equity distribution team. He is based in the firm's New York City office and reports to Stacie Nekus, team leader for the Equity Growth Initiative within CDLI. In this role, Burckin is responsible for raising capital and bringing in new investors for CDLI's affordable housing equity syndication platform across the United States. Burckin brings more than 25 years of experience in capital markets, focusing primarily on real estate, structured finance, and impact investing to KeyBank. With extensive experience in capital deployment across all sides of the capital structure, he has specialized in federal and state tax credit programs. Most recently, Jon served as a managing director of Real Estate Capital Markets at Regions Bank, where he led the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) equity distribution team toward consistent and profitable growth while establishing long-term client relationships. Burckin began his career in commercial real estate lending and global risk management at Scotia Capital He earned his MBA from Cornell University and a BA degree in Economics from UC San Diego. About KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI) finances projects that stabilize and revitalize communities across all 50 states. As one of the top affordable housing capital providers in the country, KeyBank's platform brings together construction, acquisition, bridge-to-re-syndication, and preservation loans, as well as lines of credit, Agency and HUD permanent mortgage executions, and equity investments for low-income housing projects, especially Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) financing. KeyBank has earned 11 consecutive "Outstanding" ratings on the Community Reinvestment Act exam, from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, making it the first U.S. national bank among the 25 largest to do so since the Act's passage in 1977. About KeyCorp In 2025, KeyCorp (Key) celebrates its bicentennial, marking 200 years of service to clients and communities from Maine to Alaska. To learn more, visit KeyBank Heritage Center. Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, Key is one of the nation's largest bank-based financial services companies, with assets of approximately $189 billion at March 31, 2025. Key provides deposit, lending, cash management, and investment services to individuals and businesses in 15 states under the name KeyBank National Association through a network of approximately 1,000 branches and approximately 1,200 ATMs. Key also provides a broad range of sophisticated corporate and investment banking products, such as merger and acquisition advice, public and private debt and equity, syndications and derivatives to middle market companies in selected industries throughout the United States under the KeyBanc Capital Markets trade name. For more information, visit?https://www.key.com/. KeyBank Member FDIC. ### Photo: Jon Burckin, Senior Business Development Banker, Equity Distribution Team, KeyBank. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from KeyBank on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: KeyBank Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/keybank Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: KeyBank View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/banking-and-financial-services/keybank-community-development-lending-and-investment-appoints-jon-bu-1049739 DELRAY BEACH, Fla., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment Market, valued at US$ 9.75 billion in 2024 stood at US$10.5 billion in 2025 and is projected to advance at a resilient CAGR of 6.3% from 2025 to 2030, culminating in a forecasted valuation of US$14.3 billion by the end of the period. The pharmaceutical packaging equipment market is rapidly growing due to the increasing demand for accurate and high-quality diagnostic imaging, fueled by a rise in chronic diseases and an aging population. Advances in display technology, such as higher resolutions and improved color accuracy, enhance diagnostic precision. Furthermore, the growing adoption of digital healthcare systems, telemedicine, and minimally invasive surgeries is also boosting demand. Increased healthcare spending and investments in medical infrastructure worldwide contribute significantly to the market's sustained growth. In this report, the market is divided into product, formulation, automation, end user, and region. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=19845828 Browse in-depth TOC on "Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment Market" 361 - Tables 57 - Figures 404 - Pages By product, Primary packaging equipment plays a crucial role in the pharmaceutical industry, holding the largest market share due to its direct impact on safeguarding the integrity, sterility, and efficacy of various drug formulations. This equipment is essential for an array of dosage forms, including tablets, liquids, and injectables, where maintaining the quality and safety of the product is paramount. One of the key functions of primary packaging is to ensure that pharmaceuticals comply with stringent regulatory standards set by health authorities. This compliance is vital not only for consumer safety but also for the approval processes that allow drugs to enter the market. As the demand for unit-dose formats continues to rise, driven by both patient convenience and the need for accurate dosing, the adoption of advanced primary packaging solutions has surged. Moreover, these advancements are becoming increasingly important in high-throughput packaging environments, where efficiency and speed are critical to meet the growing demands of both generic and branded pharmaceutical production lines. This evolution in packaging technology is helping manufacturers optimize their operations while ensuring that the products maintained within these packages meet the highest standards of quality and effectiveness. Overall, the landscape of primary packaging equipment is shaped by the dual pressures of regulatory compliance and market demand, leading to widespread innovation and adoption across the pharmaceutical sector. By formulation, Liquid packaging equipment dominates the market, primarily because of the increasing demand for various liquid pharmaceuticals, including syrups, injectables, eye drops, and vaccines. These products necessitate sophisticated packaging solutions that ensure precise, sterile filling and airtight sealing, which is crucial for maintaining product integrity and safety. The precision required in the packaging process is driving many companies to adopt advanced automated systems that enhance efficiency and accuracy. Additionally, there is a growing regulatory focus on contamination-free packaging within the pharmaceutical sector. Regulatory bodies are emphasizing the importance of non-contaminated packaging processes to safeguard public health, which in turn accelerates the demand for high-speed liquid packaging lines that integrate automation and cutting-edge technology. As a result, pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities are increasingly investing in these automated solutions to comply with strict regulations while ensuring production efficiency and reliability. This trend underscores the vital role that liquid packaging equipment plays in meeting the needs of a rapidly evolving pharmaceutical landscape. By geography, Europe dominates the pharmaceutical packaging equipment market, primarily due to its robust pharmaceutical manufacturing infrastructure, stringent regulatory landscape, and proactive integration of advanced automation technologies. Key players are concentrated in countries like Germany, Switzerland, and Italy, which host major pharma equipment manufacturers and significant global drug producers, resulting in a highly efficient supply chain. The stringent compliance requirements set forth by the EU Good Manufacturing Practices (EU-GMP), the Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD), and serialization mandates have driven the need for high-precision packaging systems that meet regulatory standards. Furthermore, the region's increasing investment in research and development, particularly in biologics and contract manufacturing, along with a strong focus on quality assurance and traceability, solidifies Europe's preeminence in the pharmaceutical packaging equipment sector. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=19845828 The prominent players in the global pharmaceutical packaging equipment market are Syntegon Technology GmbH (Germany), Industria Macchine Automatiche (IMA) S.p.A (Italy), Korber AG (Germany), Coesia S.p. A. (Italy), Marchesini Group S.p.A (Italy), Bausch+Strobel (Germany), Maschinefabrik Ilshofen GmbH+Co. KG (Germany), Romaco Group (Germany), Uhlmann (Germany), Maquinaria Industries Dara, SL (US). Syntegon Technology GmbH (Germany): Syntegon Technology GmbH has established itself as a leading provider in the pharmaceutical packaging industry, offering a wide array of robust solutions tailored to meet the diverse needs of the sector. The company excels in the design, manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of cutting-edge technologies that significantly improve mobility and efficiency in industrial applications. One of the core areas of Syntegon's expertise lies in sophisticated drive and control systems, which empower machinery to operate with precision and reliability. Their advanced packaging technologies are specifically engineered for the pharmaceutical sector, ensuring that products are securely packaged while maintaining compliance with stringent regulations. In addition to pharmaceutical solutions, Syntegon has expanded its offerings to include innovative packaging solutions for consumer goods, catering to a broader market with a focus on sustainability and user experience. The company also emphasizes energy management systems that optimize energy use and reduce waste, contributing to environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. Furthermore, Syntegon integrates building technology solutions that enhance operational efficiency within production facilities, seamlessly combining each element to create a holistic approach to industrial packaging. This comprehensive portfolio positions Syntegon Technology GmbH as a key partner for businesses looking to leverage technological advancements in packaging and production. Industria Macchine Automatiche (IMA) S.p.A (Italy) Industria Macchine Automatiche (IMA) S.p.A specializes in a diverse array of primary and secondary packaging equipment, designed to meet the varied needs of different industries, particularly pharmaceuticals. Over the past several years, the company has experienced a consistent upward trend in total revenue, largely driven by a substantial increase in the demand for its packaging solutions tailored for pharmaceutical products. This growth is attributed to the rising global emphasis on healthcare and the need for reliable packaging solutions that ensure product safety and integrity. The company has established extensive sales and distribution networks that reach more than 80 countries worldwide, enabling it to effectively cater to a broad customer base. To support its global operations, IMA operates several state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities located in key regions, including Italy, Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Malaysia, China, and Argentina. This strategic geographical distribution of production sites not only enhances the company's ability to meet local demand but also optimizes operational efficiencies. To maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving packaging market and strategically increase its market share, the company is actively pursuing acquisitions. By broadening its product portfolio through these acquisitions, the company aims to diversify its offerings and enhance its technological capabilities, while also expanding its presence in emerging markets and established regions alike. This proactive approach positions the company to better respond to changing customer needs and industry trends. Korber AG (Germany) Korber AG - is a prominent player in the pharmaceutical packaging industry, renowned for its development and provision of cutting-edge technologies. The company specializes in a range of offerings, including advanced standard packaging systems and inspection machines that ensure the quality and safety of pharmaceutical products. In addition, Korber AG provides comprehensive track and trace solutions that enhance supply chain transparency and regulatory compliance, as well as tailored systems designed for patient-specific pharmaceutical solutions, catering to the growing demand for personalized medication. With a robust distribution network spanning the Americas, Europe, and Asia, Korber AG has successfully established itself in multiple markets. However, its presence in Latin America, a region identified as a high-growth market for pharmaceutical packaging equipment, remains relatively limited. This geographic gap presents both challenges and opportunities for the company as it seeks to expand its footprint in this promising area. Furthermore, Korber AG's approach to innovation has room for enhancement, as the company exhibits a constrained focus on new product developments. This limitation could potentially hinder its competitiveness in an industry that thrives on technological advancements and evolving customer needs. Nevertheless, the company has strategically pursued inorganic growth through acquisitions, which has significantly bolstered its market position. This strategy has enabled Korber AG to establish a stronghold in various segments of the industry, providing long-term benefits and ensuring adaptability in a rapidly changing marketplace. By continuing to leverage acquisitions while enhancing its focus on innovation, Korber AG can position itself more favorably in the competitive landscape of pharmaceutical packaging. For more information, Inquire Now! Related Reports: Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient Market Pharmaceutical Drying Equipment Market Empty Capsules Market Pharmaceutical Metal Detector Market Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market Get access to the latest updates on Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment Companies and Pharmaceutical Packaging Equipment Market Size About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. Today, 80% of Fortune 2000 companies rely on MarketsandMarkets, and 90 of the top 100 companies in each sector trust us to accelerate their revenue growth. 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Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 1615 South Congress Ave. Suite 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868219/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/pharmaceutical-packaging-equipment-market-worth-14-3-billion-by-2030-with-6-3-cagr--marketsandmarkets-302507713.html NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / The Biomimicry Institute, a nonprofit championing a Nature Positive, inclusive, and regenerative future, has announced the ten startups selected for the 2025 Ray of Hope Accelerator. Kicking off in September and spanning over the following six months, these nature-inspired ventures will join a nature retreat, receive $15,000 in non-dilutive funding, and access over $50,000 worth of resources, services, expert support, mentorship, and tools to fast-track their path to market. "Chosen from hundreds of global applicants, this year's cohort brings some new regions and diversity to the Ray of Hope portfolio and proves that nature is not just a source of inspiration, it's a blueprint for breakthrough innovation," said Amanda Sturgeon, CEO of the Biomimicry Institute "I'm especially grateful for the invaluable guidance and dedication of our Advisory Committee members, whose insights challenged us to go deeper and ensure we're supporting ventures that deliver lasting, meaningful impact." The 2025 cohort expands the accelerator's global reach, including its first startups from Colombia and the Netherlands. "We are so proud of the growth in The Biomimicry Institute's Ray of Hope Accelerator." said John A. Lanier, Executive Director of the Ray C. Anderson Foundation, who has funded the Ray of Hope program for a decade. "It is noteworthy, and exciting, to see that this cohort spans three continents and includes companies with substantial leadership from women and immigrants. It shows the power and strength in diversity, a lesson found throughout the natural world." True to its catalytic nature, the startups span a range of development stages, from early proof-of-concept through to completed real-world pilots. The Ray of Hope Accelerator is also introducing several firsts for the program, including innovations addressing wildfire prevention, biomimicry-enhanced plant cell culture, Amazonian seed-inspired low-wind-speed energy generation and aquatic root-inspired microplastic filters. Each startup uniquely complements the growing portfolio of nature-inspired startups while aligning deeply with the Biomimicry Institute's mission to address the climate change and biodiversity loss polycrisis through transforming the take-make-waste paradigm by reconnecting people and nature - here's how: ANEW Material, New York, New York, USA - Reimagines coatings and adhesives that mimic the adhesion strategies of mussels, sticky bacteria, and geckos, using a proprietary plant-based green chemistry with no plastics or harmful solvents required. Emboa Medical, West Lafayette, Indiana, USA - Develops a catheter for safe, effective blood-clot removal in narrow vessels, using a boa constrictor fang-inspired tip to reduce disability and procedural time. A Purdue University-licensed startup. Ecotune, Irvine, California, USA - Pioneers of 100% bio-based materials engineered from the molecular level up, to mimic the structure and performance of leather. Enabling circularity and reducing carbon footprint, Ecotune's innovative materials achieve both durability and biodegradability. Limax Biosciences, Boston, Massachusetts, USA - Develops next-generation bio-based surgical adhesives inspired by the Dusky Arion slug's mucus to rapidly seal bleeding tissue in surgical and trauma care. Spun out of the Wyss Institute at Harvard. New Dawn Bio, Wageningen, The Netherlands - Grows premium pre shaped wood, by leveraging how trees build wood on a cellular level, addressing the need for logging and helping preserve the world's biodiversity-rich forests. OptionV Energy, Boston, Massachusetts, USA - Mimics the selective metal-binding biology of Amanita mushrooms to recover high-purity vanadium from industrial waste cleanly, efficiently, and at low temperatures, enabling affordable long-duration energy storage and resilient critical mineral supply chains. Advancing technology developed at the University of Massachusetts Lowell. Parsons Kinetics, Bogota, Colombia - Develops wind turbine blades inspired by the Triplaris Americana seed to enable efficient renewable energy generation at low wind speeds that supports distributed power access. Polygone Systems, Princeton, New Jersey, USA - Engineers biomimetic microplastic filters inspired by floating plant roots to efficiently capture and recover microplastics at scale. Spun out of Princeton University. Praio, Emeryville, California, USA - Replicates early cell-like structures as an enabling technology to power efficient, low-carbon biomanufacturing. Spun-out of UCLA. Pyri, London, UK - Develops scalable wildfire detection devices that naturally degrade after use. Inspired by heat-activated serotinous pine cones, its bio-based organic electronics provide early wildfire warnings without relying on toxic batteries or electronics. Spun out of Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art. To kick off the program, the founders of the 2025 Ray of Hope Accelerator cohort will take the stage during a special reception at New York Climate Week on Thursday, September 25. Held at Brickworks Design Studio on 5th Avenue, it will feature rapid-fire pitches from all ten startups, offering a first look at these cutting-edge, nature-inspired solutions. RSVP here: https://lu.ma/sz5xg9a2 "Each year, I'm inspired by the ingenuity and courage of the startups we welcome into the Ray of Hope Accelerator, and this 2025 cohort is no exception." said Janine Benyus, Co-Founder of the Biomimicry Institute. "These ventures demonstrate that when we turn to nature not just for inspiration but for guidance, we can create solutions that are both innovative and deeply impactful. I have so much hope knowing that these brilliant founders are leading the way toward a Nature Positive future." Now in its sixth year, the Ray of Hope Accelerator is moving forward with its six-month format following a successful pilot in 2024, thanks to a partnership with the Bentley Environmental Foundation, in addition to the support of its keystone partner the Ray C. Anderson Foundation and corporate innovation partner L'Oreal. To learn more about the Ray of Hope Accelerator and discover ways to get involved, visit our website. Natural inspiration from the Ray of Hope Accelerator View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Ray C. Anderson Foundation on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: Ray C. Anderson Foundation Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/ray-c-anderson-foundation Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: Ray C. Anderson Foundation View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/the-biomimicry-institute-announces-the-2025-ray-of-hope-accelera-1049743 The Biotech Growth Trust PLC - Result of AGM PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, July 17 THE BIOTECH GROWTH TRUST PLC (the "Company") Results of the Annual General Meeting The Board is pleased to announce that at the Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Company held on Thursday, 17 July 2025 all resolutions as detailed below were duly passed by shareholders on a poll. Resolutions Votes For % Votes Against % Total Votes Cast Votes Withheld* 1. To receive the audited financial statements and the Report of the Directors for the year ended 31 March 2025. 7,975,685 99.92 6,651 0.08 7,982,336 667,777 2. To approve the Directors' Remuneration Report for the year ended 31 March 2025. 7,907,296 99.37 49,832 0.63 7,957,128 692,985 3. To re-elect Hamish Baillie as a Director of the Company. 7,938,961 99.52 38,387 0.48 7,977,348 672,765 4. To re-elect Geoff Hsu as a Director of the Company. 5,969,910 99.29 42,878 0.71 6,012,788 2,637,325 5.. To re-elect Dr Nicola Shepherd as a Director of the Company. 7,929,461 99.36 51,295 0.64 7,980,756 669,357 6. To re-elect Roger Yates as a Director of the Company. 7,937,295 99.50 40,053 0.50 7,977,348 672,765 7. To elect Julie Tankard as a Director of the Company. 7,932,765 99.40 47,991 0.60 7,980,756 669,357 8. To re-appoint BDO LLP as auditor and to authorise the Audit Committee to determine their remuneration. 6,884,315 99.71 20,273 0.29 6,904,588 1,745,525 9. To authorise the Directors to allot securities in the Company. 7,940,791 99.47 42,610 0.53 7,983,401 666,712 10#. To disapply the rights of pre-emption in relation to the allotment of securities. 7,923,509 99.29 56,443 0.71 7,979,952 670,161 11#. To authorise the Company to make market purchases of Ordinary shares in the Company. 7,969,302 99.86 11,324 0.14 7,980,626 669,487 12#. (Subject to court approval) to reduce the share capital of the Company by cancelling the entire amount standing to the credit of the share premium account and the capital redemption reserve to create a new distributable reserve. 7,968,939 99.83 13,582 0.17 7,982,521 667,592 13#. To authorise the Directors to hold General Meetings (excluding AGMs) on not less than 14 clear days' notice. 7,935,239 99.55 35,629 0.45 7,970,868 679,245 14. That the Company should continue as an investment trust for a further period of five years. 6,624,050 76.68 2,014,787 23.32 8,638,837 11,276 # designates a Special Resolution * Please note that a 'vote withheld' is not a vote in law and is not counted in the calculation of the proportion of votes 'For' and 'Against' a resolution. Any proxy votes which are at the discretion of the Chair have been included in the "For" total. At 6.30pm on 15 July 2025 the total number of Ordinary shares of 25p each in issue and the total number of voting rights was 25,368,360. The voting figures will shortly be made available on the Company's website at www.biotechgt.com In accordance with UK Listing Rules 6.4.2 and 6.4.3, the full text of the resolutions passed has been submitted to the National Storage Mechanism and will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism . In addition, resolutions 9 to 13 will be filed at Companies House. Statement from the Board All resolutions proposed at the AGM were duly passed. The majority received votes in favour exceeding 99%, while Resolution 14, approving the continuation of the Company as an investment trust for a further five years, secured 77% support. In accordance with Provision 4 of the UK and AIC Corporate Governance Codes, when 20% or more of votes are cast against the board recommendation for a resolution, the Company is required to explain what actions it intends to take to consult shareholders in order to understand the reasons behind the result. Ahead of the Annual General Meeting, the Board proactively engaged with major shareholders and was encouraged to learn that the majority expressed support for the Company's continuation. The Board was recently made aware of concerns raised by a dissenting shareholder. The Board will engage further with them and remains committed to constructive dialogue with all shareholders. Further updates will be shared in due course. 17 July 2025 For further information please contact: NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / "Sustainability for sustainability's sake doesn't often work. We have found a lot of ways to connect it to the business and business value." This is one of the many insights shared by Jeffrey Whitford, Vice President of Sustainability & Social Business Innovation at MilliporeSigma, the U.S. and Canada Life Science business of Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany, at Sustainability LIVE Chicago 2025. Jeffrey took center stage at this event-a premier gathering of C-suite-, vice president- and director-level sustainability and ESG leaders-for an inspiring Fireside Chat titled, "Sustainability Driving Global Innovation." In a thought-provoking conversation, Jeffrey explored how sustainability can serve as a powerful catalyst for innovation-fueling creativity, unlocking business value and generating meaningful societal impact. He also emphasized MilliporeSigma's commitment to embedding sustainability across its entire value chain-rather than isolating it in a silo. This ecosystem approach helps integrate sustainability throughout the product lifecycle, from design to end-of-life, positioning it as a strategic imperative. Other key highlights from the session include: How everyday creativity can inspire sustainability innovation. Jeffrey shared how a simple QR code scan on a coffee cup-showing nutrition and allergen information-prompted him to rethink transparency for MilliporeSigma's products. The result: developing a way for the company's 2D barcodes on its 300,000+ diverse products to enable customers to access sustainability data like Product Carbon Footprinting-covering greenhouse gas impact of a product cradle-to-gate. The importance of leadership-driven cultural alignment. By encouraging innovation and cross-functional connection, MilliporeSigma is cultivating a culture that sees environmental and social challenges not as roadblocks-but as opportunities for transformation and shared progress. The impact of cross-industry collaboration in driving sustainability impact and future innovation. For example, Jeffrey spotlighted MilliporeSigma's expanded partnership with Beyond Benign, a green chemistry education nonprofit. Together, they are driving systematic change in chemistry education by offering open access to online green chemistry resources and training and involving several higher education institutions around the world to make green chemistry an integral part of chemistry education. These efforts help better prepare next generation scientists with skills to address sustainability through chemistry. Beyond education, Jeffrey also discussed how MilliporeSigma is enabling sustainability across its ecosystem by offering a first-of-its-kind customer sustainability dashboard that guides more responsible decisions and by creating supplier toolkits that offer actionable steps for reducing environmental impact. Watch Jeffrey's full Fireside Chat on YouTube to hear more insights firsthand. To explore the many initiatives MilliporeSigma is driving to bolster global sustainability innovation, visit the company's Sustainability and Social Business Innovation webpage. Jeffrey Whitford, Vice President of Sustainability & Social Business Innovation at MilliporeSigma, took part in a Fireside Chat, "Sustainability Driving Global Innovation," at Sustainability LIVE Chicago 2025. View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from MilliporeSigma on 3blmedia.com. Contact Info: Spokesperson: MilliporeSigma Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/milliporesigma Email: info@3blmedia.com SOURCE: MilliporeSigma View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/healthcare-and-pharmaceutical/sustainability-driving-global-innovation-highlights-from-milliporesig-1049782 Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Red Lake Gold Inc. (CSE: RGLD) ("Red Lake Gold" or the "Corporation" or the "Issuer") is pleased to report that it has received Crown approval of its license applications in Saskatchewan, which were pending at last report to the market (see Issuer news release, Red Lake Gold Inc. Reports Submission of Material License Applications in Saskatchewan, dated July 3, 2025), with such resulting mineral dispositions now forming, in their aggregate, the Issuer's new SaskGold Project. The SaskGold Project provides the Issuer with material exploration opportunities in Saskatchewan - including optionality to high-impact gold regions discussed below - and is expected to provide a forward-moving focus for the Issuer. Saskatchewan has recently ranked as the 3rd most attractive jurisdiction worldwide for mining investment (according to the Fraser Institute, https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/annual-survey-of-mining-companies-2023). On top of the jurisdictional attractiveness of Saskatchewan, the Issuer's SaskGold Project is viewed by the Issuer to be materially underexplored therein providing blue-sky exploration opportunities. The SaskGold Project is presently comprised of two sub-areas that represent an aggregate total license-held area of approximately 83,832 ha (approximately 207,064 acres), providing the Issuer with a large district-scale platform for gold and base metal exploration. In addition, the SaskGold Project is held free-and-clear of any royalty encumbrances (save to the Crown under law). As further discussed herein, the SaskGold Project has significant coverage of diorite/quartz diorite bodies, with the Issuer having a view, subject to funding, of prospectively examining the same given emerging industry interest in Saskatchewan around the exploration potential of diorite-quartz diorite geology (see, as example, Ramp Metals Inc. news release, Ramp Metals Announces New High-Grade Gold Discovery of 73.55 g/t Au over 7.5m at its Rottenstone SW Project, dated June 17, 2024). SaskGold Project - Focus Area The Issuer's anticipated focus area within the SaskGold Project is located in the Kisseynew Domain, which is situated in-between the Rottenstone Domain and the La Ronge Domain, highlighting the Issuer's view towards a favourable setting for gold and base metal exploration as well as to the region's established history of mineral exploration. The core disposition block - shown in Figure 1 below - consists of 14 mineral dispositions covering an area of approximately 78,076 ha (approximately 192,848 acres), such project ground presently having a good standing date into the second half of 2027. Figure 1: SaskGold Project (Core Area Map) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11761/259111_828a259f54b7da60_002full.jpg The SaskGold Project hosts important infrastructure, which factored into the Issuer's positive assessment of its long-term exploration worthiness, including a power line that crosses the project licenses to the west of Kenwood Lake. Geologically, the Issuer's SaskGold Project includes coverage of metasediments and metavolcanics that form part of the Reef Lake Complex. In area around Reef Lake, this mixed succession of sediments and volcanics have been intruded by a series of diabase dykes and by a series of bodies which range in composition from diorite to granodiorite. Historic gold and nickel mineralization has been noted within the general Reef Lake area, including at historic exploration areas now covered by the SaskGold Project (see, as example, SMDI #0964b). Of additional potential priority, an intrusive body highlighted in Figure 2 (see below) represents a diorite-quartz diorite-(granodiorite) structure of Rottenstone Domain-affiliation and is materially covered by the SaskGold Project (see also the Saskatchewan GeoATLAS). The absence of historic industry assessment as to the potential gold prospectivity of diorite-quartz diorite intrusions in Saskatchewan has recently evolved subsequent to the Ramp Metals Inc. discovery intercept of 73.55 g/t Au over 7.5m found in a coarse grained quartz diorite, (see Ramp Metals Inc. news release, Ramp Metals Discovers New Mineralized Target Northwest of Ranger Gold Discovery, dated December 2, 2024). In the Issuer's view, the core area of the SaskGold Project may represent a high-priority gold exploration setting, including as may relate to diorite-quartz diorite intrusions. Figure 2: Geology Highlight Map (source: Saskatchewan GeoATLAS) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11761/259111_828a259f54b7da60_003full.jpg The Issuer is also broadly monitoring regional exploration with attention to any potential favourable outcomes for its SaskGold Project and/or funding opportunities, including as may arise from third-party exploration within the Rottenstone Domain, which in turn adjoins the Kisseynew Domain that materially hosts the Issuer's SaskGold Project. Of note, the Issuer is watching for assay results from recent follow-up drilling by Ramp Metals Inc. at their project area shown in Figure 1 above (see also Ramp Metals Inc. news release, Ramp Metals Completes Spring Drill Program and Announces Additional Mineralization at Rush Target, dated June 6, 2025). Leland Lake Quartz Diorite The SaskGold Project also consists of an independently situated mining disposition (MC00022706) located with regional proximity to the producing Seabee gold mine and which rests contiguous to disposition area held by SGO Mining Inc. (operator of the Seabee mine, which itself is located approximately 20km to the northeast of the Issuer's project ground). The disposition covers approximately 5,756 ha (see Figure 3) and has good standing into the second half of 2027. Figure 3: Disposition Map (MC00022706) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11761/259111_828a259f54b7da60_004full.jpg Further below, Figure 4 shows the Leland Lake body, a quartz diorite/diorite structure, which is materially covered by the SaskGold Project through MC00022706 (see Saskatchewan GeoATLAS). Past historic exploration within the Leland Lake quartz diorite structure by Cogema Canada Limited identified the North Axe Lake gold showing (see discussion below), having sample gold anomalism reaching 480 ppb Au. The North Axe Lake gold showing is located approximately 20.4 km southwest of the Seabee gold mine. The showing area, as mapped by G. Delaney, is underlain by the Leland Lake diorite - a medium- to coarse-grained, pink to grey-pink, massive, leucocratic quartz diorite. The showing consists of auriferous oxidized grey quartz veins and lenses associated with aplite dykes that are hosted within east-southeast trending shear zones that cut the Leland Lake quartz diorite (see SMDI #2389). Importantly, in the examination of the Issuer, the Leland Lake quartz diorite - though having favourable gold anomalism - has received no material investigation of its quartz diorite gold hosting potential. The lack of consideration of the quartz diorite reflects, in the Issuer's view, the absence of historic industry understanding around the potential gold prospectivity of quartz diorite intrusions in Saskatchewan (which has evolved subsequent to the Ramp Metals Inc. 2024 discovery intercept of 73.55 g/t Au over 7.5m found in a coarse grained quartz diorite, see also Ramp Metals Inc. news release, Ramp Metals Discovers New Mineralized Target Northwest of Ranger Gold Discovery, dated December 2, 2024). A historic traverse of the Leland-Axe Lakes area in 1988 by Cogema Canada Limited took only 3 soil samples across 160 km traversed (see Assessment Report 73P09-0013), highlighting an underexplored opportunity for the Issuer over a near-mine quartz-diorite intrusion. Recent exploration results within quartz diorite structures in Saskatchewan (see the above referenced Ramp Metals Inc. news releases) suggest to the Issuer that the Leland Lake quartz diorite body - using today's evolving knowledge, awareness and technologies - may represent a high priority target given: (1) its mapped geology, (2) the presence of gold anomalism, (3) a lack of detailed historic examination of the quartz diorite itself in favour of traditional vein-type models, and (4) regional proximity to the producing Seabee gold mine. Figure 4: Geology Highlight Map (source: Saskatchewan GeoATLAS) To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/11761/259111_828a259f54b7da60_005full.jpg Disclaimer Regarding Third-Party News Releases The Issuer is not responsible for the content, technical or otherwise, of any third-party news releases. Disclaimer Regarding Other Projects The Issuer cautions that results and/or discoveries on other regional and/or adjacent projects are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be achieved on projects and/or project interests that may be held and/or operated by the Issuer, including, without limitation, the SaskGold Project. Qualified Person Antonio Carteri, P.Geo., and a "Qualified Person" as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release. Mr. Carteri is an independent consultant to the Issuer. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to uncertainties and/or risks related to the SaskGold Project, uncertainties and/or risks pertaining to the geologic prospectivity of the SaskGold Project and uncertainties and/or risks as correspond to the Corporation's forward corporate or project-level plans, operational activities and matters related to its financial affairs and/or financial forecasts, including but not limited to the potential financing of said operations and/or plans, and those matters incorporated by the Issuer through reference to its prior public disclosures. Actual results may differ materially from those currently expected or forecast in such statements. Neither the CSE nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259111 SOURCE: Red Lake Gold Inc. DELRAY BEACH, Fla., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global North America Molded Case Circuit Breaker Market is anticipated to grow from estimated USD 1.59 billion in 2025 to USD 2.19 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 6.7% during the forecast period. Continuously evolving factors such as increasing grid modernization investments, expanding renewable energy infrastructure, and electrifying industrial and commercial sectors contribute to steady increases in North American demand for molded case circuit breakers. The increasing trend toward smart buildings, data centers, and more automation in manufacturing sectors has led to a growing demand for reliable and efficient circuit protection. The growth of electrical safety regulations and the demand for energy-efficient and IoT-enabled MCCBs are causing traditional non-connected systems to increase in standards and, therefore, pull the market upward. Increased demand for new residential, commercial, and light industrial infrastructure is also an important factor, augmented greatly by government initiatives to promote clean energy and resilient electrical systems across North America. North America is particularly well-positioned for advanced MCCB deployment due to an emphasis on technological innovation and smart grids. Browse in-depth TOC on 'North America Molded Case Circuit Breaker Market' 85 - Tables 44 - Figures 260 - Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=188776416 By rating current, the 76-250 A segment is expected to hold the largest market share during the forecast period. The 76-250 A range is the largest market segment in the molded case circuit breaker market by rated current due to its widespread applicability across the broadest number of end-use industries. Voltage ranges from 76-250 A are suitable for the majority of infrastructure applications, especially in residential and commercial buildings, but also in transmission & distribution (T&D) networks, built and process industries, and many automotive applications. MCCBs rated at 76-250 A can be reasonably relied on to protect electrical circuits in each of these applications where electrical loads commonly fall within this range. With the world rapidly building infrastructure, especially in less-developed countries, the use of MCCBs in new and existing infrastructure, and therefore increased demand for MCCBs rated from 76-250 A, will continue due to the need for safe, efficient, and robust protection for circuits in infrastructure and infrastructure-related applications. As new applications are deployed, the need for reliable protection in existing ones, and across the many industries that fall into this space, makes the 76-250 A segment continue to be the highest-rated current category in terms of total market volume by a significant degree. By end user, transmission & distribution segment is expected to account for the maximum market share during the forecast period. Of all the end user categories, transmission & distribution is the fastest-growing market segment for MCCBs due to the increasing demand for electricity in the region and the need for greater reliability and efficiency in circuit protection. T&D grid modernization in addition to the necessitated expansions of T&D grid infrastructure because of renewable energy, and the implementation of smart grids, has highlighted the need for increased reliability of circuit protection with advanced MCCBs designed to inhibit overloads and prevent short circuits; the best way to keep electrical distribution networks reliable and stable is to use MCCBs to provide informative overload and fault indications that will notify the linesmen of problems safely. Utilities and end-user segments continue to rely on MCCBs to protect their electrical infrastructure, with countries investing higher amounts into grid upgrades and new options for renewable integrations, which expect market declines in failures and repairs, followed by increased deployments of MCCBs. Hence, T&D is the fastest-growing end user section of the market for MCCBs. By country, the US is anticipated to lead the market during the forecast period. The market is projected to be led by the US because of its economic prowess, established industrial and manufacturing sectors, and continuous infrastructural development. The US, an established advanced industrial economy, had a USD 21.0 trillion economy, of which manufacturing contributed approximately 10.3% in 2023. The US manufacturing industry is expanding steadily due, in part, to US government policies along with multiple support programs such as the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), which provides resources and grants to manufacturers to assimilate technological advances and improve supply chains. Increasing electricity generation and consumption, driven by traditional (coal and natural gas) and renewable sources, have also added demand for MCCB to address electrical safety considerations in industrial, commercial, and residential applications. Additionally, with renewable electricity growing rapidly, coupled with the US government's commitment to greenhouse gas reduction targets, increasing renewable electricity supply (and demand), it is reasonable to expect continuing market growth opportunities. Also, integrating smart technology and interconnected systems supporting Internet of Things (IoT) in MCCB will position it for continued leadership since the US is the lead in US commercial infrastructure investing and technology development. Key Players Some prominent players in the North America Molded Case Circuit Breaker Market are ABB Ltd. (Switzerland), Schneider Electric (France), Mitsubishi Electric (Japan), Eaton (Ireland), and Siemens (Germany). These players aggressively invest in product innovation, regional production expansion, and strategic acquisitions to meet the region's increasing demand for sophisticated circuit protection systems. As North America's electrical infrastructure undergoes digitalization, decarbonization, and decentralization efforts, these companies target intelligent molded case circuit breakers with IoT-based monitoring, arc flash protection, and remote diagnostic capabilities. The focus is on providing compact, cybersecure, and easy-to-maintain MCCBs capable of facilitating renewable energy integration, critical infrastructure, and high-density urban developments. Partnerships with utilities, electric contractors, and grid operators form the core of their plans, particularly in aligning the design of products with changing safety codes such as UL, IEEE, and NEC standards. In addition, further investment in domestic manufacturing and R&D facilities in the US and Canada makes it possible to achieve quicker delivery cycles, customized product configurations, and compliance with federal infrastructure programs, cementing these companies' leadership roles in industrial, commercial, and utility markets. Request Sample Pages: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=188776416 ABB (Switzerland) ABB (Switzerland) MCCBs are primarily housed under the Tmax XT, Tmax T, and Formula series. The Tmax XT series is designed for compactness and high performance, covering current ratings from 160A to 1600A and offering advanced features like electronic trip units and energy monitoring capabilities. The Tmax T series extends to 3200A and is suited for more demanding industrial and commercial installations, offering fixed and withdrawable configurations. For basic applications, ABB offers the Formula series, which is more cost-effective and equipped with thermal-magnetic trip technology. ABB's MCCBs are known for their reliability, safety, and ease of integration with digital platforms such as ABB Ability, which enables energy monitoring and predictive maintenance. These breakers comply with international standards like IEC 60947-2 and UL 489, ensuring global applicability across diverse markets. They are widely used in industrial facilities, commercial buildings, data centers, and infrastructure projects, offering critical protection against overcurrents and short circuits while contributing to energy efficiency and operational continuity. ABB boasts a robust global footprint, spanning over 170 manufacturing sites globally. The company maintains an expansive sales network, leveraging distributors, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contracting firms, system integrators, utilities, and panel builders. Schneider Electric (France) Schneider Electric (France) is a global leader in electrification, automation, and digital transformation, committed to making energy usage more sustainable and efficient. The company delivers integrated solutions across critical areas: smart industries, resilient infrastructure, data centers, intelligent buildings, and homes. Central to its approach is the EcoStruxure platform, an open, interoperable IoT-enabled system architecture that supports embedded analytics and digital twin capabilities throughout an asset's lifecycle. Schneider Electric is a global leader in energy management and automation, offering a wide range of molded case circuit breakers (MCCBs) as part of its low-voltage distribution solutions. Under its well-known product lines, such as "ComPact", Schneider Electric's MCCBs are designed to deliver high-performance protection against overloads, short circuits, and ground faults in commercial, industrial, and infrastructure applications. These MCCBs are engineered with advanced features like precise electronic trip units, high breaking capacities, and compact designs for space efficiency. Schneider Electric focuses on sustainability, safety, and smart integration, ensuring that its MCCBs support digital monitoring and energy efficiency goals. With a strong global presence and commitment to innovation, Schneider Electric continues to be a preferred choice for reliable and intelligent circuit protection solutions worldwide. Schneider Electric operates in over 100 countries with a formidable global footprint that includes 150,000 employees and a million-strong partner ecosystem. The company maintains 74 R&D centers and numerous manufacturing facilities worldwide-such as its recently commissioned engineer-to-order plant in El Paso, Texas-ensuring close proximity to customers and responsiveness to regional demands. For more information, Inquire Now! Related Reports: Switchgear Market Circuit Breaker Market AC Circuit Breaker Market Get access to the latest updates on North America Molded Case Circuit Breaker Companies and North America Molded Case Circuit Breaker Industry About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. 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To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook. Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 1615 South Congress Ave. Suite 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868219/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/north-america-molded-case-circuit-breaker-market-worth-2-19-billion-by-2030--marketsandmarkets-302507722.html NEW YORK, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- According to a new comprehensive report from The Insight Partners, the global patient-derived xenograft model market is observing significant growth owing to the increasing prevalence of cancer and the growing demand for rare disease diagnostic tools. The patient-derived xenograft model market is expected to reach US$1,116.73 million by 2031 from US$468.75 million in 2024; it is expected to register a CAGR of 13.4% during the forecast period. Patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models are cancer research models where human tumor tissue or cells are implanted into immunodeficient or humanized mice to simulate human tumor biology. These models allow for natural cancer progression and are widely used in drug development, preclinical trials, and personalized cancer therapy. The report analyzes market trends, key players, and future opportunities in-depth. The patient-derived xenograft model market comprises a vast array of products and services expected to register strength in the coming years. To explore the valuable insights in the Patient-Derived Xenograft Model Market report, you can easily download a sample PDF of the report - https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00021693/ Overview of Report Findings Increasing Burden of Cancer: As per the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), by 2050, the number of cancer cases is predicted to increase to more than 35 million new cases from 20 million cancer cases in 2022. Lung cancer represented the most frequently diagnosed cancer globally, comprising 12.4% of all newly reported cases. Female breast cancer ranked second, followed by colorectal cancer, prostate cancer, and stomach cancer. With the increasing incidence of cancer, pharmaceutical companies are investing in the development of PDX models to improve the success rates of clinical trials and expedite the introduction of new medications. These models are especially important for the creation of targeted treatments and immunotherapies, which necessitate accurate preclinical validation. The incorporation of PDX models into drug development processes has become essential for pinpointing the most promising drug candidates and refining clinical trial design. For instance, Charles River's NCG model, co-developed by the Nanjing Biomedical Research Institute of Nanjing University and Nanjing Galaxy Biopharma, is similar to other triple-immunodeficient models and is capable of hosting xenograft cells, tissue, and human immune system components, enabling researchers to further study tumor biology and immuno-oncology. Surging Technological Advancements in PDX models Innovations such as CRISPR gene editing, next-generation sequencing, and enhanced imaging techniques have improved the precision and complexity of PDX models. These developments enable researchers to replicate human tumor biology more accurately and increase preclinical studies' predictive validity. For instance, according to an article published in PubMed Central in July 2023, the researchers established two PDX models for acute leukemias. They combined ultra-sensitive proteomics and CRISPR-Cas9 reverse genetics in vivo screens. This integrated approach aimed to identify the regulators of leukemia maintenance within the protective bone marrow (BM) microenvironment, which could potentially serve as novel therapeutic targets. Their study successfully identified ADAM10 (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase Domain-Containing Protein 10) as a crucial regulator of PDX maintenance in vivo. Integrating CRISPR screening with PDX models provides an effective method for identifying personalized cancer targets. Geographical Insights: 2024 North America led the market with a substantial revenue share, followed by Europe and APAC. Asia Pacific is expected to register the highest CAGR during the forecast period. Stay Updated on The Latest Patient-Derived Xenograft Model Market Trends: https://www.theinsightpartners.com/sample/TIPRE00021693/ Market Segmentation Based on type, the patient-derived xenograft model market is bifurcated into mice model and rat model. The mice model segment held a larger share of the patient-derived xenograft model market in 2024. By tumor type, the patient-derived xenograft model market is segmented into gastrointestinal tumor model, gynecological tumor model, respiratory tumor model, and other tumor model. The other tumor model segment held the largest share of the patient-derived xenograft model market in 2024. In terms of application, the patient-derived xenograft model market is segmented into preclinical drug development, biomarket analysis, translating research, biobanking. The preclinical drug development segment dominated the patient-derived xenograft model market in 2024. In terms of end user, the patient-derived xenograft model market is segmented into pharmaceutical & biotechnology companies, academic & research institutions, and CROs. The academic & research institutions segment held the largest share of the patient-derived xenograft model market in 2024. The patient-derived xenograft model market is segmented into five major regions: North America, Europe, APAC, Middle East and Africa, and South and Central America. Competitive Strategy and Development Key Players: Champions Oncology, Inc.; Charles River Laboratories, Inc.; Crown Bioscience, Inc.; EPO Berlin-Buch GmbH; Hera BioLabs; Horizon Discovery Group plc; Oncodesign; Pharmatest Services Ltd; Urolead; and Xentech are among the major companies operating in the patient-derived xenograft model market. Trending Topics: Advanced Patient-Derived Xenograft Models, AI in Patient-Derived Xenograft Models, Oncology PDX Models, and PDX Models for Research, among others. Global Headlines on Patient-derived xenograft Model Weill Cornell Medicine and Champions Oncology entered into a licensing agreement that permits Champions Oncology to distribute and commercialize Weill Cornell Medicine's extensive collection of patient-derived tumor xenograft (PDX) models. The Cancer Research UK (CRUK) Lung Cancer Centre of Excellence at University College London (UCL) deposited new NSCLC PDX models with CancerTools.org. GemPharmatech entered into a strategic license agreement with Charles River Laboratories, Inc. for exclusive distribution of its next-generation NOD CRISPR Prkdc Il2r gamma (NCG) mouse lines in North America. Charles River established foundation colonies with models to be commercially available beginning in 2023. (NCG) mouse lines in North America. Charles River established foundation colonies with models to be commercially available beginning in 2023. Crown Bioscience announced a strategic collaboration with NEXT Oncology to provide new clinically-relevant PDX models for preclinical drug development. The agreement established Crown Bioscience as the exclusive global commercialization partner for all primary tumor PDX models generated by NEXT Oncology for the next five years. Purchase Premium Copy of Global Patient-Derived Xenograft Model Market Size and Growth Report (2021-2031) at:https://www.theinsightpartners.com/buy/TIPRE00021693/ Conclusion The rising prevalence of cancer and increasing technological developments in PDX models drive the patient-derived xenograft model market growth. Cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of illness and death worldwide, with millions of new cases diagnosed each year. This rising burden underscores the growing demand for effective cancer research tools. PDX models preserve the histopathological and genetic characteristics of the original tumors, making them invaluable for studying cancer progression, testing new therapies, and predicting clinical outcomes with greater accuracy than traditional cell line models. Furthermore, CRISPR-Cas9 technology has transformed genetic research and is now being incorporated into PDX models to boost their effectiveness and precision. In traditional PDX models, human tumor tissues are implanted into immunodeficient mice, maintaining the genetic and histopathological characteristics of the original tumor from the patient. Further, CRISPR facilitates the introduction or correction of specific genetic mutations in these tumors, allowing for the investigation of gene function and drug responses in a highly controlled environment. The report from The Insight Partners, therefore, provides several stakeholders-including PDX model developers, academic and research organizations, and healthcare facilities-with valuable insights into how to successfully navigate this evolving market landscape and unlock new opportunities. Trending Related Reports: The Humanized Mice Model Market Size is expected to register a CAGR of 10.21% from 2025 to 2031 The Solid Tumor Therapeutics Market Size is expected to register a CAGR of 11.5% from 2025 to 2031 The Tumor Embolization Market Size is expected to register a CAGR of 8.9% from 2025 to 2031 The Heart Tumor Market Size is expected to register a CAGR of 8.0% from 2025 to 2031 The Cancer/Tumor Profiling Market Size is expected to register a CAGR of 10.5% from 2025 to 2031 Tumor Ablation Market Size is expected to register a CAGR of 12.5% from 2025 to 2031 circulating tumor cell (CTC) diagnostics market Size is projected to reach US$ 3,656.38 million by 2028 The mice model market Size is expected to to US$2,340.90 million by 2028 About Us: The Insight Partners is a one stop industry research provider of actionable intelligence. We help our clients in getting solutions to their research requirements through our syndicated and consulting research services. We specialize in industries such as Semiconductor and Electronics, Aerospace and Defense, Automotive and Transportation, Biotechnology, Healthcare IT, Manufacturing and Construction, Medical Device, Technology, Media and Telecommunications, Chemicals and Materials. Contact Us: If you have any queries about this report or if you would like further information, please contact us: Contact Person: Ankit Mathur E-mail: ankit.mathur@theinsightpartners.com Phone: +1-646-491-9876 Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2520492/The_Insight_Partners_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/patient-derived-xenograft-model-market-size-at-usd-1-12-billion-in-2031--forecasted-to-grow-at-13-4-cagr-through-2031--the-insight-partners-302508006.html MISSISSAUGA, ON / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Ltd. (Konica Minolta) is proud to announce it has been named OEM of the Year for Canada by Access Control Devices, Inc. (ACDI), recognizing the company's outstanding partnership, innovation and customer-centric approach throughout 2024. Presented annually by ACDI, a global leader in print management and technology solutions, the Partner Awards celebrate organizations that exemplify collaboration, innovation and leadership in delivering transformative outcomes across an array of industries. Konica Minolta was one of only three recipients of the OEM of the Year distinction, alongside honourees from the United States and Latin America. "Being recognized as OEM of the Year is a direct result of our Canadian team's relentless commitment to solving real-world challenges through innovative technology," said Michael Mathe, EVP, Chief Operating Officer, Konica Minolta. "Our partnership with ACDI is rooted in a shared mission to equip and empower organizations to work smarter, more securely, and with greater agility. Passion, purpose and performance have proven to be a true recipe for success, and the foundation of a partnership that continues to deliver for our customers." The award underscores Konica Minolta's dedication to delivering tailored solutions, exceptional customer service and digital transformation initiatives through its ongoing collaboration with ACDI. Together, the two organizations continue to help clients streamline operations, boost productivity and enhance security in a fast-evolving digital landscape. "It's a great honour to present Konica Minolta with the ACDI OEM of the Year Award for Canada," said Josh Lane, President and CEO of ACDI. "All of us at ACDI are proud to work alongside an industry leader in Konica Minolta. Their passion, persistence, and enthusiasm are an inspiration to everyone, and we look forward to continuing to work together to provide one-of-a-kind solutions." Konica Minolta's business technology portfolio includes intelligent information management, managed IT and print services, and advanced digital print and workflow automation. The company's long-standing partnership with ACDI enhances its ability to bring best-in-class solutions to customers navigating today's rapidly changing work environments. About ACDI Since 1994, office equipment suppliers have trusted Access Control Devices, Inc. (ACDI) to provide industry-leading capture, print management, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and cost-recovery solutions to streamline office technology and the document lifecycle. From hardware payment solutions, proximity card readers, and EV charging stations to digital workflow automation, fleet management, and analytics software, ACDI's extensive portfolio pairs seamlessly with its industry-leading project coordination, installation, marketing, and sales expertise. These solutions drive efficiency and productivity for thousands of organizations across education, healthcare, government, and beyond through global channel distribution and development partnerships with the most prominent copier and printer manufacturers. For more information, visit www.acd-inc.com. About Konica Minolta Konica Minolta's journey started more than 150 years ago, with a vision to see and do things differently. The company partners with clients to Give Shape to Ideas by supporting their digital transformation. Its business technology offerings include IT Services, intelligent information management, video security solutions and managed print services, as well as office technology and industrial and commercial print solutions. 2025 marks Konica Minolta's 20th anniversary in production print, for which it celebrates "20 Years of Excellence, Innovation and Impact," and continues to lead the way in digital commercial printing. This year also commemorates 20 years of Konica Minolta's bizhub brand. Over the past two decades, the bizhub series has revolutionized office technology and redefined how businesses operate. It has continuously evolved to meet the needs of modern workplaces, fueled by advances in technology and a commitment to innovation. Konica Minolta is proud to be included on CRN's MSP 500 list numerous times; recognized as the #1 Brand for Customer Loyalty in the MFP Office Copier Market by Brand Keys for eighteen consecutive years and presented with Keypoint Intelligence's BLI 2025 and 2021 A3 Line of The Year and BLI 2021-2023 Most Colour Consistent A3 Brand Awards for its bizhub i-Series. For more information, please visit Konica Minolta online and follow its accounts on LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, X (@KonicaMinoltaCA), and Instagram! Contact Information Konica Minolta Media Relations - Canada Marketing Department, Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Ltd. info@bt.konicaminolta.ca SOURCE: Konica Minolta Business Solutions (Canada) Ltd. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/business-and-professional-services/konica-minolta-awarded-acdi-canada-oem-of-the-year-1049740 BANGALORE, India, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Semiconductor Plating Chemicals Market is Segmented by Type (Copper Plating Solution, Gold Plating Solution, Others), by Application (Semiconductor Package, Semiconductor Manufacturing): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2024-2031. The global market for Semiconductor Plating Chemicals was valued at USD 1203 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 1737 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period. Claim Your Free Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/QYRE-Auto-6X15321/Global_Semiconductor_Plating_Chemicals_Market Major Factors Driving the Growth of Semiconductor Plating Chemicals Market: The semiconductor plating chemicals market is evolving rapidly in response to changes in device architecture, packaging complexity, and environmental standards. Demand is heavily influenced by the rise of AI, 5G, automotive electronics, and edge computing, all of which require high-quality interconnects and reliable materials. Chemical companies that offer customized solutions, localized supply chains, and high-purity formulations are gaining a competitive edge. Furthermore, strategic collaborations between semiconductor manufacturers and chemical providers are fostering co-development of plating solutions tailored for next-generation nodes. This dynamic, innovation-driven environment ensures that the semiconductor plating chemicals market will continue to expand steadily over the coming years. Unlock Insights: View Full Report Now! https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-6X15321/global-semiconductor-plating-chemicals TRENDS INFLUENCING THE GROWTH OF THE SEMICONDUCTOR PLATING CHEMICALS MARKET Copper plating solutions are crucial in advanced semiconductor fabrication due to their superior electrical conductivity and cost efficiency. These solutions are extensively used in the formation of interconnects in integrated circuits, especially for advanced nodes where traditional aluminum interconnects fail to deliver optimal performance. As chipmakers continue to shrink transistor sizes and integrate more functionalities onto a single chip, the demand for reliable and efficient copper plating processes has increased significantly. The consistency and purity of copper deposits are essential to ensure device performance and yield, making high-performance copper plating chemicals a critical requirement. Additionally, the rising deployment of copper in 3D IC architectures, TSVs (Through Silicon Vias), and advanced packaging further fuels the demand for optimized copper plating solutions in the semiconductor industry. Gold plating solutions are instrumental in driving the growth of the semiconductor plating chemicals market due to their unmatched electrical conductivity, corrosion resistance, and stability under extreme conditions. These properties make gold essential for critical semiconductor components such as wire bonds, connectors, and contact points in RF and MEMS devices. As demand grows for high-reliability chips in aerospace, medical, and communication applications, the use of gold plating increases significantly. Additionally, gold's compatibility with fine-pitch and complex architectures enables its use in next-generation packaging formats like chip-scale packages and system-in-packages. With the increasing push for miniaturization and enhanced signal performance, the adoption of gold plating chemicals becomes crucial, reinforcing their value in semiconductor manufacturing and sustaining long-term market expansion The Damascene process plays a pivotal role in advanced semiconductor manufacturing by facilitating the creation of high-density copper interconnects within integrated circuits. As device architectures evolve towards finer geometries, the single and dual damascene techniques enable precise patterning and reliable metal filling, which are critical for electrical performance. The use of specialized semiconductor plating chemicals, including barrier layers and seed layers, is essential for the successful execution of damascene processes. The need for void-free copper filling and minimal electromigration drives continuous innovation in plating chemistries. Additionally, the growth in demand for low-k dielectric integration and advanced packaging solutions such as wafer-level and 3D stacking further accelerates the adoption of damascene-based fabrication. This surge in damascene applications directly translates into higher consumption of optimized plating chemicals tailored for performance and yield. The shift towards advanced node chips, including 5nm and 3nm technologies, requires highly specialized plating chemicals to meet tight design tolerances and electrical performance standards. As device scaling introduces new challenges such as increased resistance and capacitance, semiconductor manufacturers are compelled to invest in ultra-pure and highly stable plating solutions. These chemicals enable the reliable deposition of copper and other conductive materials at the nanoscale. Moreover, the trend towards FinFETs and gate-all-around (GAA) transistor structures necessitates superior adhesion, planarization, and corrosion resistance in the plated layers. The growing deployment of these advanced chips in AI, mobile, and high-performance computing accelerates the demand for cutting-edge plating chemicals tailored for high-density interconnects. With the rise of heterogeneous integration and advanced packaging techniques, such as 2.5D and 3D ICs, the complexity of interconnect structures has surged. This evolution fuels demand for semiconductor plating chemicals that can support fine-pitch redistribution layers, micro-bumps, and through-silicon vias. Copper plating solutions, barrier materials, and seed layers play a crucial role in achieving structural integrity and electrical efficiency. As OEMs seek to improve device performance while reducing form factors, the reliance on robust and reliable plating chemistries continues to grow. Furthermore, fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP) and chiplet-based designs require precise metal deposition, driving the demand for advanced plating formulations in both foundries and OSAT environments. The increasing production of MEMS sensors and RF components, especially in automotive, consumer electronics, and telecom applications, has elevated the use of precious metal plating chemicals. Gold, silver, and nickel plating are essential for contact pads and hermetic sealing in MEMS devices. These components demand high reliability under varying environmental conditions, necessitating chemical formulations that ensure consistent thickness and low stress. Additionally, the miniaturization trend in mobile and IoT devices requires compact and high-performance RF modules, which often involve intricate plating procedures. As new generations of wireless technology and automotive safety systems evolve, plating chemicals that support these precise builds will continue to see rising adoption. Global investments in new semiconductor fabrication facilities, driven by government incentives and supply chain resilience strategies, are significantly boosting the demand for semiconductor plating chemicals. Foundries are scaling up capacities for logic, memory, and analog chips, all of which require reliable metal deposition processes. As fabs diversify material portfolios and integrate new metallization schemes, the need for adaptable and high-performance plating solutions becomes critical. Moreover, localizing chemical supply chains is becoming a strategic move for many manufacturers, further promoting demand for regional plating chemical suppliers. These expansions ensure a stable and growing market base for plating chemical vendors across the globe. Claim Yours Now! https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=QYRE-Auto-6X15321&lic=single-user SEMICONDUCTOR PLATING CHEMICALS MARKET SHARE ANALYSIS The Asia-Pacific region dominates the semiconductor plating chemicals market, driven by the presence of major foundries and packaging houses in Taiwan, South Korea, China, and Japan. These countries continue to invest heavily in chip manufacturing and backend processes, ensuring steady demand for plating chemicals. North America is witnessing renewed momentum due to the CHIPS Act and rising domestic manufacturing in the U.S., especially for advanced logic chips. Key Players: DuPont MacDermid JCU Corporation UYEMURA Jetchem International Guanghua Technology Feikai material ATMI Moses Lake Industries Enthone Shanghai Sinyang Semiconductor Materials Entegris Umicore PhiChem Corporation RESOUND TECH INC. Technic Inc MKS (Atotech) Purchase Regional Data: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/QYRE-Auto-6X15321/Global_Semiconductor_Plating_Chemicals_Market SUBSCRIPTION We have introduced a tailor-made subscription for our customers. Please leave a note in the Comment Section to know about our subscription plans. DISCOVER MORE INSIGHTS: EXPLORE SIMILAR REPORTS! The global market for Copper Plating Solutions for Semiconductor Manufacturing was valued at USD 504 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 894 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period. was valued at USD 504 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 894 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.7% during the forecast period. Electroplating Solution Additives for Semiconductor Market The global market for Electroplating Chemicals was valued at USD 2671 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 3479 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 3.9% during the forecast period. was valued at USD 2671 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 3479 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 3.9% during the forecast period. The global market for Semiconductor Electroless Plating Solutions was valued at USD 229 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 377 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period. was valued at USD 229 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 377 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 7.5% during the forecast period. High-purity Electroplating Solution for Semiconductor Market The global market for Semiconductor Chamber Parts Cleaning and Coatings was valued at USD 1597 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 2479 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period. was valued at USD 1597 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 2479 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6.6% during the forecast period. Semiconductor Ceramics Coating Market The global market for Semiconductor Liquid Filter was valued at USD 567 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 1015 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.8% during the forecast period. was valued at USD 567 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 1015 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 8.8% during the forecast period. The global market for Electroless Plating Equipment was valued at USD 152 Million in the year 2023 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 225 Million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period. was valued at USD 152 Million in the year 2023 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 225 Million by 2030, growing at a CAGR of 5.8% during the forecast period. Electroplating Intermediate Market The global market for Gold Plating Electrolyte and Additives was valued at USD 81.2 Million in the year 2024 and is projected to reach a revised size of USD 122 Million by 2031, growing at a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period. DISCOVER OUR VISION: VISIT ABOUT US! Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. 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GET A FREE QUOTE Valuates Reports sales@valuates.com For U.S. Toll-Free Call 1-(315)-215-3225 WhatsApp: +91-9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Blog: https://valuatestrends.blogspot.com/ Pinterest: https://in.pinterest.com/valuatesreports/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@valuatesreports6753 https://www.facebook.com/valuateskorean https://www.facebook.com/valuatesspanish https://www.facebook.com/valuatesjapanese https://valuatesreportspanish.blogspot.com/ https://valuateskorean.blogspot.com/ https://valuatesgerman.blogspot.com/ https://valuatesreportjapanese.blogspot.com/ Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1082232/5420185/Valuates_Reports_Logo.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/semiconductor-plating-chemicals-market-to-hit-usd-1-73-billion-by-2031--driven-by-5g-and-ai-boom--valuates-reports-302508106.html INFICON Holding AG / Key word(s): Conference INFICON to Publish its Second Quarter and Half-Year 2025 Results on Wednesday, July 30, 2025 17.07.2025 / 17:45 CET/CEST Corporate Contact Matthias Trondle Chief Financial Officer +423 388 3510 matthias.troendle@inficon.com Announcement of INFICON Holding AG Bad Ragaz/Switzerland, July 17, 2025 07:00 CEST: Publication of Media Release, Half-Year Report, and Presentation 09:30 CEST: Web Conference via Microsoft Teams INFICON Holding AG (SIX Swiss Exchange: IFCN) will issue on July 30, 2025, a press release at 07:00 a.m. CEST on the second quarter and first-half year 2025 results. At the same time, the accompanying presentation and the half-year report will also be available for download in the Investors' section of the INFICON website, www.inficon.com. Management will also host a Web Conference via Microsoft Teams on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, at 09:30 CEST to discuss its second quarter and half-year 2025 results in more detail. The presentations and the following question and answer session will be in English. You may join the presentation using the following link www.inficon.com/web-conference Please make sure that you have access to Microsoft Teams. During the Web Conference, participants will first be in a listen-only mode. After the prepared remarks, Management will take questions via the voice or chat functionalities provided. The Web Conference will be recorded and later archived in the investors' section of the INFICON website. Communication Calendar The communication calendar of INFICON is continuously updated and available online in the Investors' section of the INFICON website, https://ir.inficon.com/financial-calendar/ E-Mail Alerts To automatically receive notification via e-mail of the latest financial information from INFICON, sign-up for news in the Investors section of the INFICON website at https://ir.inficon.com/contact-and-information-request/ About INFICON INFICON is a leading provider of innovative instrumentation, critical sensor technologies, and Smart Manufacturing /Industry 4.0 software solutions that enhance productivity and quality of tools, processes and complete factories. These analysis, measurement, and control products are essential for gas leak detection in air conditioning/refrigeration, and automotive manufacturing. They are vital to equipment manufacturers and end-users in the complex fabrication of semiconductors and thin film coatings for optics, flat panel displays, solar cells and industrial vacuum coating applications. Other users of vacuum based processes include the life sciences, research, aerospace, packaging, heat treatment, laser cutting and many other industrial processes. We also leverage our expertise in vacuum technology to provide unique, toxic chemical analysis products for emergency response, security, and environmental monitoring. INFICON is headquartered in Switzerland and has world-class manufacturing facilities in Europe, the United States and China, as well as subsidiaries in China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. INFICON registered shares (IFCN) are listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. For more information about INFICON and its products, please visit www.inficon.com. This press release and oral statements or other written statements made, or to be made by us contain forward-looking statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts. These forward-looking statements are based on the current plans and expectations of our management and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect our current plans and expectations, as well as future results of operations and financial condition. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. End of Media Release BH Macro Limited - Transaction in Own Shares PR Newswire LONDON, United Kingdom, July 17 BH Macro Limited (the "Company") (a closed-ended collective investment scheme established as a company with limited liability under the laws of Guernsey with registered number 46235) Transaction in Own Shares 17 July 2025 BH Macro Limited (the Company) announces today it has purchased the following number of its ordinary shares on the London Stock Exchange from J.P. Morgan Securities plc: Ordinary Shares: - Share Class Sterling Date of purchase: 17 July 2025 Number of ordinary shares purchased: 114,301 Lowest price per share (pence) 394.00 Highest price per share (pence) 396.00 Trading venue London Aggregate volume per date per trading venue: 114,301 Weighted average price per day per trading venue (pence): 395.2793 The Company intends to hold the purchased shares in treasury. Following the above share transactions of the relevant US Dollar and Sterling Shares, the total number of shares in issue in each share class of the Company will be as follows: Ordinary Shares in issue (excluding Treasury) Ordinary Shares held in Treasury 330,859,645 Sterling Shares 45,597,611 Sterling Shares 26,209,712 Dollar Shares Nil Dollar Shares From 17 July 2025, the total number of voting rights in the Company (rounded up to the whole number) is 506,629,645. Enquiries: Company website: www.bhmacro.com William Simmonds JPMorgan Cazenove Tel: 020 7588 2828 The Company Secretary Northern Trust International Fund Administration Services (Guernsey) Limited Tel: 01481 745001 Autonomous Tasking With TacACE and Optix.C2 Showcase Maturity and Operational Readiness SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and General Atomics Integrated Intelligence, Inc. (GA-Intelligence) successfully completed a groundbreaking demonstration on July 8, integrating technologies across multiple affiliates to showcase long-range kill chain effects, including an autonomous air-to-air engagement. The flight integrated local and global sensor fusion to deliver real-time situational awareness and autonomous tasking to an airborne MQ-20 Avenger through the Tactical Autonomy Core Ecosystem (TacACE) to close the kill chain and showcase the system's maturity and operational readiness for the warfighter. The event featured the integration of a Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA), a fully compliant government-owned autonomy implementation, and beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) Command and Control (C2). The MQ-20 unmanned jet, furnished by GA-ASI, acted as a CCA surrogate in a sensor Emission Control (EMCON) environment. It was operated autonomously and controlled using distributed-edge C2 nodes powered by Optix.C2 and Omniview software. Optix.C2, a product from General Atomics-Intelligence, provided low-latency, localized C2 functionality while remaining networked to the broader operational picture, enabling real-time coordination across multiple domains. Dr. Brian Ralston, President of GA-Intelligence, applauded the joint effort. "This demonstration illustrates the value of integrating cutting-edge and proven technologies across the GA enterprise. The Optix data platform and C2 capability enable rapid integration and experimentation to address critical DoD and IC needs." General Atomics successfully fused space-based sensing and tactical sensing with the C2 node during the flight, giving the aircraft access to a complete real-time threat picture for enhanced onboard autonomous decision-making. The demonstration also included live coordination of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) and kinetic tasking through a unified operator interface capable of deployment in virtually any cloud environment. During the exercise, the live MQ-20 aircraft autonomously patrolled a designated Combat Air Patrol (CAP) zone, leveraging off-board sensors to demonstrate how passive collection techniques can inform autonomous platforms in real time. Four CCA surrogates - one live and three virtual - were directed by an operator to investigate multiple targets of interest. Upon identifying them as threats, the operator issued a command to initiate the BLOS engagement. The autonomous systems maneuvered into position, simulated missile launches, assessed battle damage, and returned to CAP without additional operator input. "This demonstration represents a substantial leap in autonomy and human-machine interfaces that are critical to the warfighter in the near-peer fight," said Michael Atwood, Vice President of Advanced Programs at GA-ASI. "By integrating Optix.C2 with TacACE, we're delivering a system that not only operates at the tactical edge but also enables rapid decision-making and execution across the battlespace. This is the future of warfare - scalable, autonomous systems that empower the warfighter to dominate at range." GA-ASI continues to develop and validate autonomy products that deliver scalable, collaborative aircraft behavior with minimal operator input. GA-Intelligence provided multi-sensor global fusion and engagement orchestration algorithms and interfaces. This latest milestone expands the company's autonomy portfolio with access to a complete threat picture while advancing critical-edge C2 capabilities and intuitive operator interfaces. About GA-ASI General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. is the world's foremost builder of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Logging more than 8 million flight hours, the Predator line of UAS has flown for over 30 years and includes MQ-9A Reaper, MQ-1C Gray Eagle, MQ-20 Avenger, and MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian. The company is dedicated to providing long-endurance, multi-mission solutions that deliver persistent situational awareness and rapid strike. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com. Avenger, EagleEye, Gray Eagle, Lynx, Predator, Reaper, SeaGuardian, and SkyGuardian are trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries. About GA-Intelligence General Atomics Integrated Intelligence, Inc. is a data science, software development, and systems engineering firm focused on developing advanced analytic capabilities to customers in both public and private sectors, with a strong emphasis on tools in support of spatio-temporal (space and time) data management, multi-source/multi-INT correlation and data fusion, tracking, entity resolution, location forecasting, and multi-domain global situational awareness (MDGSA) leveraging extremely high volume/velocity data sources. For more information, visit www.ga-intelligence.com. SOURCE: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/aerospace-and-defense/latest-ga-autonomous-jet-demo-features-live-air-to-air-engagement-capability-1049634 GA-ASI's MQ-9B SkyGuardian Training Was Conducted at Multiple Sites, Including Flight Test & Training Center and Desert Horizon SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / The first Belgian aircrew has completed training to operate the world's leading remotely piloted aircraft (RPA): the MQ-9B SkyGuardian. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), designer and developer of the MQ-9B, provided the extensive aircrew training that culminated at GA-ASI's Desert Horizon test facility in El Mirage, California, following stops in Belgium and GA-ASI's Flight Test & Training Center in North Dakota. "Providing all-encompassing training for the aircrews of our customers goes hand in hand with delivering the world's most capable RPA," said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. "Completing this training ensures that Belgium is ready and able to operate their MQ-9Bs and maximize the benefits that come from long-range, high-endurance RPA." The scope of the training is focused on the foundational skills required to operate the MQ-9B SkyGuardian air vehicle and its equipment, including the Multi-Spectral Targeting System (MTS), Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), Mission Intelligence Station (MIS), and System for Tasking and Real-Time Exploitation (STARE). Training involves building solid foundations for both normal and emergency operations in Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, instrument flying, and Automatic Takeoff and Landing Capability (ATLC) and more. The first flight of Belgium's initial MQ-9B aircraft took place in February. That aircraft will soon complete Acceptance Test Procedures and is expected to be in Belgium before the end of September. It's the first of a four-aircraft purchase by the Belgian Ministry of Defence. The Foreign Military Sale to Belgium also includes two Certified Ground Control Stations. MQ-9B is the world's most advanced RPA system, delivering exceptionally long endurance and range - with ATLC under pole-to-pole SATCOM-only control - and will be able to operate in unsegregated airspace using the GA-ASI-developed Detect and Avoid system. MQ-9B includes the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian models, with multiple deliveries made to the U.K.'s Royal Air Force (Protector), as well as orders from Canada, Poland, Japan, Taiwan, India, and the U.S. Air Force in support of the Special Operations Command. MQ-9B has also supported various U.S. Navy exercises, including Northern Edge, Integrated Battle Problem, and Group Sail. About GA-ASI General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., is the world's foremost builder of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Logging more than 8 million flight hours, the Predator line of UAS has flown for over 30 years and includes MQ-9A Reaper, MQ-1C Gray Eagle, MQ-20 Avenger, and MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian. The company is dedicated to providing long-endurance, multi-mission solutions that deliver persistent situational awareness and rapid strike. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com. Avenger, EagleEye, Gray Eagle, Lynx, Predator, Reaper, SeaGuardian, and SkyGuardian are trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries. SOURCE: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. View the original press release on ACCESS Newswire:https://www.accessnewswire.com/newsroom/en/aerospace-and-defense/belgian-aircrew-completes-mq-9b-training-1049601 Avolta AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous Avolta's HMSHost Expands Airport Dining Portfolio with 10 New Locations at San Antonio International Airport 17.07.2025 / 18:30 CET/CEST Avolta (SIX: AVOL), the leading global travel retail and F&B player has been awarded a ten-year contract for 13 stores, including ten new locations, as well as a five-year lease extension for two stores at San Antonio International Airport (SAT), to introduce new innovative dining concepts. The total footprint of 15 stores will be distributed across more than 1,800 m2 and form part of the airport's multi-billion-dollar improvement plan. The stores showcase the rich flavors, flair, and culture of the surrounding community through partnerships with San Antonio's most renowned chefs, offering an authentic taste of the city inside the terminal. Digital technology will be an essential part of these new dining venues, with in-store features such as OpenTable virtual waitlist, QR code contactless ordering, self-order kiosks, digital menu boards, and self-checkout, designed to create a seamless experience. Travelers will also benefit from the Club Avolta loyalty program, gaining access to exclusive rewards and cross-promotions. "Every few years, an opportunity presents itself to transform the experience at an airport and this is certainly one of those opportunities," said Steve Johnson, President and CEO, North America, Avolta. "We are proud to be a part of the evolution of San Antonio International Airport and to collaborate with such an exceptional group of chef partners that reflect the culinary diversity of the city. Our hope is that through this elevated concessions program, travelers will choose to fly through or to SAT because the food experience makes their journey as exciting as the destination." "San Antonio is a city brimming with culture and cuisine, so to feature these award-winning chefs and their signature concepts at San Antonio International Airport is a culinary victory," said Jesus Saenz, Director of Airports, City of San Antonio. "This partnership with HMSHost and each of these nationally and internationally recognized chefs will elevate the culinary experience in our city." For further information: CONTACT Rebecca McClellan Cathy Jongens Global Head Investor Relations Director Corporate Communications Phone: +44 7543 800 405 Phone: +31 6 28 19 88 28 rebecca.mcclellan@avolta.net cathy.jongens@avolta.net End of Media Release Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - HYPER BIT TECHNOLOGIES LTD. (CSE: HYPE) (OTCID: HYPAF) (FSE: N7S0) (the "Company" or "Hyper Bit") announces it has established a corporate level digital asset account on the Kraken exchange to buy crypto currencies including Bitcoin. Kraken is one of the world's largest digital asset exchanges and the leader in euro volume and liquidity. Globally, Kraken's client base trades more than 200 digital assets and 8 different fiat currencies, including GBP, EUR, USD, CAD, JPY, CHF AED and AUD. Kraken was founded in 2011 and was one of the first exchanges to offer spot trading with margin, regulated derivatives and index services. Kraken is trusted by well over 9 million traders and institutions around the world and offers professional, round-the-clock online support. Mr. Dallas La Porta, President, CEO and Director of Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd., stated: "Establishing a corporate Kraken crypto currency account is a step forward for the Company and will allow Hyper Bit to systematically expand our crypto currency treasury holdings. Combined with our agreement with Bit Royalty, this allows Hyper Bit to strategically build its crypto currency portfolio and include a wider variety of top preforming crypto assets to maximize potential growth. Hyper Bit's listing on the new OTCID market not only provides enhanced disclosure but also increased exposure to the US market and investors. We continue to be bullish on Bitcoin and the crypto markets and are now moving to build our crypto treasury through strategic partnerships and financing, providing investors with comprehensive and compliant exposure to the crypto currency sector." Additionally, the Company has agreed to settle an aggregate amount of C$120,500.00 in outstanding bona fide debt (the "First Debt Settlement"). The Company and the Creditors have agreed to settle the Debt through the issuance to the Creditors of 669,445 Units, each a common share and a common share purchase warrant in the capital of the Company at a price of $0.18 per Unit with a common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.30 for three years (the "Units"). Subject to the written consent of the Canadian Securities Exchange the First Debt Settlement Shares in connection with the First Debt Settlement will be subject to a four month and a day hold from the date of issuance. The Company announces that it has entered into a debt settlement agreement with Three creditors to settle an outstanding loan in the amount of C$440.154.00 (the "Second Debt Settlement"). The loan was advanced to the Company bearing 10% interest per annum and a 15% loan fee, advanced to support working capital. The Company and the creditors have agreed to settle the loan through the issuance to the creditors of 2,445,300 Units in the capital of the Company at a price of $0.18 per Unit with a common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.30 for three years (the "Units"). The Second Debt Settlement Shares will be subject to a four month, and a day hold from the date of issuance. The Company also announces the settlement of C$39,900.00 to insiders of the Company. C$30,450.00 owed to Dallas La Porta, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, through the issuance of 169,167 Units at a price of $0.18 per Unit with a common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.30 for three years (the "Units") and C$9,450.00 owed to Brian Gusko, a Director of the Company, through the issuance of 52,500 Units at a price of $0.18 per Unit with a common share purchase warrant exercisable at $0.30 for three years (the "Units") (the "Third Debt Settlement"). The issuance of the Third Debt Settlement Shares is a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101- Protection of Minority Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101") and is exempt from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements of MI61-101 by virtue of the exemptions contained in Sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(1)(b) of MI 61-101. Subject to the written consent of the Canadian Securities Exchange the Third Debt Settlement Shares will not be subject to any hold period. The debt settlements were approved by the board of directors of the Company, the majority of whom are considered to be independent with reference to MI 61-101. Pursuant to the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange, the debt settlements cannot close prior to five business days from the announcement of the Company's intention to complete the debt settlements. About Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. is a forward-thinking, diversified technology company specializing in the acquisition, development, and strategic deployment of crypto mining operations and blockchain-based innovations. As global interest in digital assets accelerates-driven by the rise of blockchain, decentralized finance (DeFi), and increasing institutional and retail adoption-Hyper Bit is committed to unlocking value across the crypto ecosystem while delivering growth for our stakeholders. Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. is a member of the Blockchain Association of Canada and the American Blockchain & Cryptocurrency Association. Stay informed on our latest developments by subscribing to Company updates at Hyperbit.ca and follow us across our social media channels: X.com, TikTok, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. is publicly listed in Canada (CSE: HYPE), the USA (OTCID: HYPAF) and in Europe (FSE: N7S0). ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD (Signed) "Dallas La Porta" __________ Dallas La Porta, President, CEO and Director FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This news release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this new release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that the Company expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Forward-looking statements in this news release includes statements related to the Proposed Transaction and related matters. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by applicable securities laws, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. No investment is without risk. Crypto currencies are particularly volatile and therefore particularly risky. Companies that are developing technologies and investing in crypto mining can potentially be adversely affected by its inherent volatility. Readers are cautioned to always consult an investment advisor to determine if an opportunity is right for you. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259174 SOURCE: Hyper Bit Technologies Ltd. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Silver Mountain Resources Inc. (TSXV: AGMR) ("Silver Mountain" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with Velocity Capital Partners., on behalf of a syndicate of underwriters (collectively, the "Underwriters"), pursuant to which the Underwriters have agreed to purchase, on a "bought deal" basis 11,540,000 units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of $1.30 per Unit (the "Offering Price") for aggregate gross proceeds to Silver Mountain of $15,002,000 (the "Offering"). Each Unit will comprise of one common share in the capital of the Company (each, a "Common Share") and one-half () of one Common Share purchase warrant (each whole warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder to purchase one Common Share at an exercise price of C$1.70 for 24 months following the completion of the Offering. The Company has granted the Underwriters an option (the "Over-allotment Option"), exercisable in whole or in part, to purchase up to an additional 1,730,000 Units for a period of 30 days from and including the Closing Date to cover over-allotments, if any, and for market stabilization purposes. The Underwriters shall be under no obligation whatsoever to exercise the Over-allotment Option in whole or in part. If the Over-allotment Option is exercised in full, the aggregate gross proceeds of the Offering will be C$17,251,000. The Units will be offered by way of: (i) a prospectus supplement (the "Prospectus Supplement") to Silver Mountain's short form base shelf prospectus dated October 28, 2024 in each of the provinces and territories of Canada, except Quebec; (ii) in the United States or to or for the account or benefit of "U.S. persons" as defined by Regulation S under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), by way of private placement pursuant to the exemption from registration provided for under Regulation D and/or Section 4(a)(2) and Rule 144A of U.S. Securities Act and the applicable securities laws of any state of the United States; and (iii) in jurisdictions outside of Canada and the United States as are agreed to by the Company and the Underwriters on a private placement or equivalent basis. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the Offering to further develop the Reliquias mine, Caudalosa plant and related facilities, and for working capital and general corporate purposes. The Offering is expected to close on or about July 29, 2025 and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV"). When available, the Prospectus Supplement may be accessed for free on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval ("SEDAR+") at www.sedarplus.ca. Alternatively, copies when available, may be obtained upon request by contacting Velocity Trade Capital Ltd. by mail at 100 Yonge Street, Suite 1800, Toronto, Ontario M5C 2W1, by telephone at (416) 323-2154, or by email at syndication@velocitytradecapital.com. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act, and may not be offered or sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons absent U.S. registration or an applicable exemption from the U.S. registration requirements. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any State in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. About Silver Mountain Silver Mountain is a Canadian mining company focused on the development of silver and polymetallic projects in Peru. The Company's flagship asset is the Reliquias Project, located in a prolific mining district with established infrastructure and strong community relations. Forward-Looking and Other Cautionary Statements This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation (collectively, "forward-looking statements"). All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussion with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often, but not always using phrases such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. In this news release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: filing of the Prospectus Supplement; receipt of all regulatory approvals in connection with the Offering; the completion of the Offering and the proposed use of the net proceeds therefrom; the anticipated advancement of mineral properties or programs; future operations; future discoveries; future growth potential of the Company; and future development plans. These forward-looking statements, and any assumptions upon which they are based, are made in good faith and reflect our current judgment regarding future events including the direction of our business. Management believes that these assumptions are reasonable. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: risks related to the speculative nature of the Company's business; the Company's formative stage of development; the Company's financial position; possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of current exploration activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of silver, precious and base metals or certain other commodities; fluctuations in currency markets; change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formation pressures, cave-ins and flooding); inability to obtain adequate insurance to cover risks and hazards; the presence of laws and regulations that may impose restrictions on mining; employee relations; relationships with and claims by local communities and indigenous populations; availability of increasing costs associated with mining inputs and labour; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the annual information form of the Company dated July 17, 2025. Forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or results, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements and there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Neither the TSXV nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. THIS NEWS RELEASE IS INTENDED FOR DISTRIBUTION IN CANADA ONLY AND IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES LEGAL*68898873.3 To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259190 SOURCE: Silver Mountain Resources Inc. Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - SOL Global Investments Corp. (CSE: SOL) (FSE: 9SB) ("SOL Global" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce, further to its previous news release dated June 17, 2025, that it has settled outstanding indebtedness totalling approximately $6,139,675 with a number of creditors (the "Creditors") of the Company through the issuance of 61,396,749 common shares in the capital of the Company (each, a "Settlement Share" and collectively, the "Settlement Shares") at a deemed price of $0.10 per Settlement Share (the "Settlement"). The issuance of Settlement Shares to 2750575 Ontario Limited ("275") pursuant to the Settlement (the "Related Party Issuance") is a "related party transaction" under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Securityholders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"), as Pad Gopal, SOL Global's Chief Financial Officer, is the principal shareholder of 275. 275 received an aggregate of 1,412,500 Settlement Shares in settlement of indebtedness of approximately $141,250. The Related Party Issuance is exempt from (i) the valuation requirement of MI 61-101 by virtue of the exemption contained in Section 5.5(b), as the Settlement Shares are not listed on a market specified in MI 61-101, and (ii) the minority shareholder approval requirement of MI 61-101 by virtue of the exemption contained in Section 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101, as the fair market value of such Settlement Shares issued to, and the consideration paid by, 275 does not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Related Party Issuance was approved by those directors of the Company who are independent in connection with such issuance. No special committee was established in connection with the Related Party Issuance, and no materially contrary view or abstention was expressed or made by any director of the Company in relation thereto. Further details will be included in a material change report that will be filed by the Company in connection with the completion of the Settlement. The Company previously announced that other insiders of the Company would participate in the Settlement, however 275 is the only related party or insider participant in the Settlement. The Settlement Shares issued in connection with the Settlement are subject to a statutory hold period expiring four months and one day after the date of issuance pursuant to National Instrument 45-102 - Resale of Securities, other than the Settlement Shares issued to Creditors outside of Canada which are freely tradable pursuant to available exemptions. Warrant Amendment Further to the Company's press release dated June 17, 2025, the Company continues to seek warrant holder consents to amend the terms of all of the Company's outstanding common share purchase warrants (the "Repriced Warrants") to reduce the exercise price of such Repriced Warrants to C$0.12 (the "Warrant Repricing") per common share. Holders of the Repriced Warrants may contact the Company at info@solglobal.com should they have any questions or require assistance in providing their consent for the Warrant Repricing The Repriced Warrants were originally issued by the Company as follows: Date of Issuance Number of Original Warrants Issued Number of Repriced Warrants Original Exercise Price (C$) Amended Exercise Price (C$) Expiry Date December 3, 2024 9,000,000 5,575,000 $0.30 $0.12 December 3, 2026 January 21, 2025 7,272,000 7,272,000 $0.55 $0.12 January 21, 2026 March 6, 2025 2,000,000 2,000,000 $0.65 $0.12 February 12, 2026 The respective expiry date of the Repriced Warrants after the Warrant Repricing will remain unchanged. Following the Warrant Repricing, if, at any time, the closing price of the common hares, as quoted by the CSE, exceeds the amended exercise price by more than 25% for 10 consecutive trading days (the "Acceleration Trigger"), the expiration date of the Repriced Warrants will be accelerated to the date that is 37 days after the Acceleration Trigger. The proposed Warrant Repricing is subject to the consent of all the holders of the Repriced Warrants and the policies of the CSE. None of the Repriced Warrants are beneficially owned, directly or indirectly, by related parties of the Company and the Repriced Warrants are not listed on the CSE. Dispute Settlement The Company has entered into a settlement agreement resolving a dispute (the "Dispute") arising from a purchase and sale agreement dated January 30, 2025 (the "Purchase Agreement"), between Sire OC W2 Trading ("SOWT") and an affiliate of the Company, SOL Global Ventures Inc. ("SGV"), in connection with the purchase of 12,828 Solana tokens for a total purchase price of US$2,373,252. In connection with the Dispute, SOWT initiated civil proceedings by filing a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California (the "Statement of Claim") alleging that SGV failed to satisfy its obligations under the Purchase Agreement. Although the Statement of Claim was filed with the court, it was never formally served on the Company or SGV. Without any admission of liability or wrongdoing, and in an effort to avoid the ongoing risk, uncertainty and costs associated with protracted litigation, the parties have agreed to a full and final settlement of all claims asserted in the Statement of Claim and related to the Dispute. Pursuant to the Settlement Agreement, the Company will make a series of scheduled payments totaling US$1,365,000 to SOWT and SOWT will release to the Company all Solana tokens originally purchased under the Purchase Agreement. Of the 12,828 Solana tokens released, 8,683 tokens remain subject to a vesting schedule, under which a specified percentage of tokens will be incrementally released on a monthly basis, with the final release scheduled for January 7, 2028. The Settlement Agreement contains standard confidentiality provisions and does not include any admission of liability or fault by either party and resolves all claims asserted in the Statement of Claim and pursuant to the Dispute. No further details will be disclosed regarding the settlement. About SOL Global Investments Corp. SOL Global is an institutional investment company in the cryptocurrency and blockchain ecosystem. SOL Global aims to provide public market exposure to blockchain technologies through token acquisitions, yield-generating strategies such as staking, and investments in early-stage ventures developing innovative blockchain-based solutions. Contact Information Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information This press release includes certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements herein, other than statements of historical fact, constitute forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is frequently, but not always, identified by words such as "expects", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "potential", "possible", and similar expressions, or statements that events, conditions, or results "will", "may", "could", or "should" occur or be achieved. Forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, the Company's aim to provide unprecedented public exposure to the Solana blockchain through token acquisition, staking for yield generation, and investments in early-stage ventures being built on Solana; and the Company's business and investment strategies. Forward-looking information reflects the beliefs, opinions and projections on the date the statements are made and are based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, technical, economic, and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, including the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, without limitation, the Company's ability execute on its business and investment plans, including the Company's ability to raise debt or equity through future financing activities, divest its current investment partnerships and minority holdings and source and complete investments in early-stage ventures being built on Solana; the growth of the Solana ecosystem; growth and development of decentralized finance and the digital asset sector; rules and regulations with respect to decentralized finance and digital assets; and general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. SOL Global is not an affiliate of Solana and does not produce blockchain technology. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259188 SOURCE: SOL Global Investments Corp. This theory began when an Instagram user shared a video featuring a brown Labubu doll beside an image of Pazuzu and warned users with the caption, Do not buy this demonic toy for your children or yourself! read more Right from celebrity shelves to Wimbledon sightings, Labubu dolls have taken the world by storm. However, a recent claim has gone viral, which links these dolls to the ancient demon Pazuzu. This claim has garnered confusion among the audience about whether the labubus are mischief-filled toys or something sinister. This theory began when an Instagram user shared a video featuring a brown Labubu doll beside an image of Pazuzu and warned users with the caption, Do not buy this demonic toy for your children or yourself! STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This post garnered further traction after a video clip from The Simpsons (Season 29, Episode 4) showed Marge buying a figurine, thinking a pizza-themed toy and gifting her baby, which turned out to be a Pazuzu demon toy, which causes possession. This reference fueled widespread misinformation about the Labubu dolls. Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong-born cartoonist, was the man behind the creation as he made it in 2015. It was inspired by European fairytales from his childhood in the Netherlands, he introduced the character as part of his illustrated book series titled The Monsters. He said that Labubu lives in his soul and was never intended to be evil. Lung collaborated with China-based Pop Mart in 2019 to turn these fantasy characters into collectable toys, which turned out to be a global phenomenon. Apart from fans, celebs like Kim Kardashian, BLACKPINKs Lisa, Dua Lipa, Rihanna and Indian stars like Ananya Panday, Pashmina Roshan, Sharvari Wagh and Twinkle Khanna were seen flaunting Labubu collectibles. Kim Kardashian shared her Labubu collection via Instagram Stories. pic.twitter.com/SVSff0r0Fp Gdjbxia332 (@caiyang12173206) April 30, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Labubu dolls generated a whopping revenue of $400 million in 2025. This success helped Wang Ning, founder of Pop Mart to become one of the youngest billionaires, who enjoys a networth of $22.7 billion The team of Paolo Tiveron, director of the mens technical and production department footwear division; Daniele Contu, pattern-making manager footwear division; and external consultants Andrea Pollastrelli and Roberto Pollastrelli had an online meeting with executives from the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (MACCIA) prior to their visit read more Italian luxury brand Pradas four members visited in Maharashtras Kolhapur to understand the craft of making the Kolhapuri chappal on Tuesday and Wednesday. The team of Paolo Tiveron, director of the mens technical and production department footwear division; Daniele Contu, pattern-making manager footwear division; and external consultants Andrea Pollastrelli and Roberto Pollastrelli had an online meeting with executives from the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry & Agriculture (MACCIA) prior to their visit. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On their second day visit, the team toured 4 clusters in and around Kolhapur, which included, Subhash Nagar, Jawahar Nagar, Kandalgaon, and Kagal village. The latter is the home to a cluster of women artisans. This visit from members came after garnering backlash during the showcasing of Pradas Spring/Summer 2026 collection in the Milan Fashion Week last month, which featured their models wearing footwear resembling Kolhapuri Chappals and was priced at around Rs 1 lakh. Prada faced severe criticism for not giving credit to India as the source of inspiration. Talking about the visit, Lalit Gandhi, president of MACCIA, told Business Standard, The team from Prada has been in India for the last two days to evaluate our production facilities. While their standards are very different from ours, they will return to Italy and issue a report on the same. MACCIA had written to Prada regarding the use of the Kolhapuri chappal in its fashion week in June, to which the Italian company replied, We acknowledge that the sandals featured in the recent Prada Mens 2026 Fashion Show are inspired by traditional Indian handcrafted footwear with a centuries-old heritage. We deeply recognise the cultural significance of such Indian craftsmanship. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD We are committed to responsible design practices, fostering cultural engagement, and opening a dialogue for meaningful exchange with local Indian artisan communities as we have done in past collections to ensure rightful recognition of their craft, the letter further said. Bollywood celebs showcasing their support for traditional Kolhapuri Chappals Kareena Kapoor Khan and Neena Gupta, both actresses, took to social media to showcase their own Kolhapuri chappals amid the controversy around Pradas Toe Ring Sandals design. The MetroInn Dino actress even shared a video of her handmade Kolhapuris, gifted by the late actor Laxmikant Berde and recounted the story behind this gift. With inputs from PTI Im a really big fan of how she is and how shes carried herself. I am very proud of her, added the actor. read more Netflixs Aap Jaisa Koi actor R. Madhavan has heaped praises on global star Priyanka Chopra in his recent interview. Madhavan was quoted saying, She has nonchalantly gone there and taken the main lead in such a massive Hollywood project. Shes done action in the film, and I think half of the heroes in India would love to be in her position, playing a role in that kind of movie. Im a really big fan of how she is and how shes carried herself. I am very proud of her, added the actor. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Talking about his Dhurandhar co-star Ranveer Singh, Madhavan said, I dont think Ranveer Singh has ever been written off. A couple of not so good films doesnt end an actors career. Madhavan added, Hes truly good and an extraordinary actor. But, it makes a good copy in the press and media to keep writing people off and bring them back. The actor continued, If you see the great actors in Hollywood like Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks, they dont do 50-60 films in their lifetime. They barely do 14-15 movies in their entire life. Even the biggest of stars, they also dont do beyond 15 films in their lifetime. That is the pace of doing good stories. Here we think that if we are not shooting for three months, it means we are losing our market. Both Ranveer and I dont come from that insecurity. The actor continued, If you see the great actors in Hollywood like Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks, they dont do 50-60 films in their lifetime. read more Netflixs Aap Jaisa Koi star R. Madhavan on Dhurandhar co-star Ranveer Singh and stood by him amid his flop films like Jayeshbhai Jordar and Cirkus. The actor said in an interview with Siddharth Kanan, I dont think Ranveer Singh has ever been written off. A couple of not so good films doesnt end an actors career. Madhavan added, Hes truly good and an extraordinary actor. But, it makes a good copy in the press and media to keep writing people off and bring them back. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The actor continued, If you see the great actors in Hollywood like Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks, they dont do 50-60 films in their lifetime. They barely do 14-15 movies in their entire life. Even the biggest of stars, they also dont do beyond 15 films in their lifetime. That is the pace of doing good stories. Here we think that if we are not shooting for three months, it means we are losing our market. Both Ranveer and I dont come from that insecurity. On the language debate Madhavan has commented on the on-going Hindi-Marathi language row and said this to IANS in an interview, I speak Tamil. I speak Hindi. And I have studied in Kolhapur also. I have learnt Marathi also. So, I have never had any problem because of language. Neither because of knowing it nor because of not knowing it. In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, the actor spoke about how much he relates to his character and said, Touchwood, for what you have just said! I have seen that in my grandparents. They grew up in a very different society. Everybodys role was cut out and my grandmother was probably fourteen or fifteen when she got married. And my grandfather was probably 21 or 22. That was the norm then and they had babies. Indian astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla reunited with his family after an 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station. His wife, Kamna Shukla, a dentist, and six-year-old son, Kiash, can be seen hugging the Axiom-4 astronaut after being more than two months apart read more Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla met his wife, Kamna Shukla, in their primary school, where they first met and became best friends. Image courtesy: Instagram/@gagan.shux Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla reunited with his family just a day after returning from an 18-day mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS), and the heartwarming photos of their embrace have touched hearts across the country. Shukla, who shared the reunion moments on Instagram. In the images, hes seen hugging his wife and son after more than two months apart. Felt like home, he wrote, capturing the emotion of the moment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As the nation celebrates the success of Indias latest space hero, attention has also turned to the woman who stood by him through the journey, his wife and quiet support system, Kamna Shukla. So, who is she? From classmates to soulmates Kamna Mishranow Dr Kamna Shuklais a practising dentist based in Lucknow. Her story with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla began way back in their primary school, City Montessori School (CMS), Aliganj, where they first met and became best friends. Weve studied together since Class 3. Ive known him as Gunjan, the quiet, shy boy, who is now inspiring so many, Kamna told The Times of India. That childhood friendship eventually grew into something deeper. The two got married in 2009, and today, theyre raising their six-year-old son, Kiash. Her story with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla began way back in their primary school, City Montessori School (CMS), Aliganj, where they first met and became best friends. Image courtrsy: News18 Over the years, their relationship has weathered long stretches of distance, missed milestones, and personal sacrifices. Kamna shared how challenging it was during the early years of their sons life when Shukla had to be away. Still, she never wavered in her support, admiring his laser-sharp focus, comparing it to that of Arjuna from the Mahabharata. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Kamna spoke with pride of the transformation of the shy young man Shuks was to the famous astronaut he is today. Seeing him interact so confidently and joyfully with students from space filled me with immense pride and happiness. Witnessing his remarkable transformation from a shy young man into a dynamic and charismatic individual capable of inspiring countless young minds is incredibly moving, she told PTI. None of this would have been possible without you Kamna has been both the emotional and logistical anchor in Shubhanshu Shuklas incredible journey from fighter pilot to astronaut. Before lifting off on the historic Axiom-4 mission, Shukla shared a note of gratitude on social media, thanking those who made the journey possible, and gave a special shoutout to his wife. As we plan to leave the planet early morning of 25 Jun, I wish to thank everyone who has been involved in this mission for their support and also to all the people back home for their blessings and love, he wrote on Instagram. Special thanks to Kamna, my wonderful partner. Without you, none of this would have been possible, nor would any of it truly matter, he added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Alongside his words, the astronaut also posted a poignant photo, the two of them saying goodbye through opposite sides of a glass wall. Before lifting off on the historic Axiom-4 mission, Shukla also posted a poignant photo, the two of them saying goodbye through opposite sides of a glass wall. During his 18 days aboard the International Space Station, Kamna said it was the phone calls that brought her the most joy. Receiving his call from the International Space Station right after docking was an unexpected and wonderful surprise. Hearing his voice and knowing he was safe meant the world to me, she told PTI. Our conversations typically revolved around his daily activities, the unique experiments he conducted, and the extraordinary experiences he encountered, which were vastly different from life on Earth. These phone calls became the highlight of my day through 18 days." Shuklas homecoming plans The long stretches of separation that come with being an astronaut arent easy but Kamna Shukla says shes learned to live with them. Over time, theyve only brought her and Shubhanshu closer. Being separated is undoubtedly difficult and always brings an element of pain. However, our journey with the Air Force has taught us resilience and adaptability, making these separations easier to manage over time, she shared. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Now that Shubhanshu has safely returned from his space mission, the focus is on helping him transition back to life on Earth. Shubhanshu Shukla has safely returned from his space mission, and the focus is on helping him transition back to life on Earth, says his wife Kamna Shukla. File Image Now that Shubhanshu has safely returned, our immediate focus will be on his rehabilitation and ensuring he smoothly readjusts to life on Earth, Kamna told PTI from Houston. For us, simply being reunited after this incredible journey is a celebration in itself. After weeks apart, shes preparing to bring back a sense of normalcy to their home, with warmth, routine, and his food. I am already preparing some of his favourite dishes, knowing how much he must have missed home-cooked meals during his time in space, she added. Back in Lucknow, Shubhanshu has become somewhat of a local hero. Posters of him line the streets near his Triveni Nagar home, and his family has been flooded with messages and visitors. But for Kamna, the real celebration is in the small, quiet things. While the nation celebrates his extraordinary accomplishment, our family will cherish quieter, personal moments of togetherness. These moments of joy, sharing familiar stories, laughter, and enjoying simple pleasures are our way of celebrating, she said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With input from agencies The Delhi High Court has rapped Wipro for remarks against the professional character of an employee in his termination letter. Abhijit Mishra, who had worked as a principal consultant at the company, filed a defamation suit and sought over Rs 2.10 crore in compensatory damages. But what did the IT major say in the pink slip? read more Wipro has been asked to pay compensatory damages to its former employee. Representational Image/Reuters Can employers use harsh language against an employee in a termination letter? The Delhi High Court has come down heavily on IT major Wipro Limited for remarks against the professional character of a former employee in his dismissal letter. The court has asked the company to pay compensation to the man and issue a fresh termination letter. The ex-employee had filed a defamation suit and sought damages of over Rs 2.10 crore. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Lets take a closer look. What did Wipro say in the pink slip? Abhijit Mishra worked as a principal consultant at Wipro between 2018-2020. In his termination letter, the company used phrases like malicious conduct and complete loss of trust. He then moved the Delhi High Court against Wipro and sought compensation. Delhi High Court pulls up Wipro The Delhi High Court has ordered Wipro to pay Rs 2 lakh in compensatory damages to Mishra over the termination letter that it said was replete with stigma and insinuations. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav asked Wipro to expunge defamatory remarks made against the professional character of its ex-employee. Further, a fresh termination letter shall be issued to the plaintiff devoid of any defamatory content, and consequently, the impugned termination letter shall cease to be of any effect insofar as the defamatory content is concerned, the Delhi High Court said, as per LiveLaw. The court found that Wipros termination letter contained unsubstantiated negative remarks against Mishra. The remarks therein, couched in the use of the term malicious conduct, not only lack substantiation but also have a direct and deleterious impact on the future employability and professional dignity of the plaintiff, the judge noted. Ruling in favour of the ex-employee, the High Court said that there was a clear mismatch between the comments in the dismissal letter and consistent positive feedback in several official documents. The court observed that the remarks were demonstrably false and defamatory in nature and that Wipro did not establish a valid defence. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD ALSO READ: Why Karnataka is probing mass layoffs at Infosys It asked Wipro to pay compensation to Mishra to redress the reputational harm, emotional hardship, and loss of professional credibility. Justice Kaurav said that the tenor of the communication reflected a noticeable intent to carry out a form of character assassination by Wipro under the semblance of administrative formality, thereby compounding the damage to Mishras reputation and standing, as per an Economic Times (ET) report. The Delhi High Court also interpreted the doctrine of compelled self-publication in matters related to defamation, ruling that employers cannot evade liability under defamation law by using confidential correspondence as a shield. Justice Kaurav said about the doctrine, It ensures that employers cannot evade liability by using confidential correspondence as a shield when, in substance, their actions set in motion the very harm the law seeks to redress. He concluded that the defamation law cannot allow reputational harm, arising out of unsupported claims, to continue, especially when it significantly impacts a persons career and prospects, reported LiveLaw. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What did Wipro argue in court? Wipro had argued before the High Court that Mishra, who worked in a senior, creative, and managerial position that required highly creative and original work, focused more on his self-styled identity as a crusader for social change, rather than his professional duties, as per the ET report. The company claimed Mishras behaviour showed his lack of interest in improving his professional performance, which ultimately resulted in his termination. With inputs from agencies On July 17, tens of thousands of people are expected to protest the US administration on the fifth anniversary of the death of civil rights leader and former Congressman John Lewis. A landmark Anglo-German treaty awaits in London, and G20 finance talks are scheduled in Durban. In India, Odisha observes a bandh over a students death, while President Murmu prepares to confer the 202425 Swachh Survekshan urban sanitation awards read more Faith leaders and students stage a sit-in protest to urge the US Senate to pass the Freedom To Vote: John R Lewis Act on the steps of the US Capitol building in Washington, US, January 18, 2022. File Image/Reuters July 17, 2025 promises to be a high-profile day for global affairs. In the United States, thousands will rally in the Good Trouble Lives On protests, marking five years since civil rights icon John Lewiss passing. In London, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is set to sign a landmark Anglo-German treaty with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In South Africa, G20 finance ministers will meet in Durban to address climate-linked debt and economic disparities. Meanwhile in India, Odisha will observe a statewide bandh over a students death, and President Droupadi Murmu will confer the Swachh Survekshan Awards. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD US civil rights flashpoint The United States will witness a coast-to-coast wave of Good Trouble Lives On protests, marking the fifth anniversary of Congressman John Lewis passing. Organised through coalitions such as Indivisible, Third Act, and John Lewis Actions, over 1,200 events are expected nationwide as of July 11, with more than 56,000 RSVPs reported. These peaceful demonstrations are intended to push back on what organisers describe as the Trump administrations rollback of civil and human rights, including voter suppression and judicial overreach. In cities like San Antonio and Miami, scheduled events include banners, sit-ins and voter registration tables extending Lewiss legacy of non-violent civic action to demand protections for voting rights, racial justice and civic participation. White House officials are anticipated to reaffirm their view of Trumps mandate, arguing that 80 million voters support his policy trajectory. Merz in London German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is scheduled to arrive in London tomorrow for his first official state visit since assuming office in May. He is expected to meet Prime Minister Keir Starmer and sign a pivotal friendship treaty the first formal defence cooperation agreement between the two governments since World War II. The treaty will reportedly strengthen collaboration across foreign policy, national security, defence, migration, economic growth, and people-to-people ties. Analysts see this move as signalling deeper European independence from US defence dependency and a fortified transatlantic alliance . G20 Finance Ministers summit G20 finance ministers and central bank governors will convene in Durban, South Africa (July 17-18), concluding a multi-tier Finance Track that began in nearby Zimbali. Key agenda topics include: Urgent action on SubSaharan Africas $800 billion debt burden. Expansion and reform of the G20 Common Framework for debt relief to include middle-income countries. The urgent need for climate-related finance, including re-engagement in partnerships like the Just Energy Transition (JETP). Mounting trade tensions spurred by the Trump administrations tariff threats targeting Brics nations. Notably, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be absent for the second time this year, opting to attend the Osaka World Expo; instead, Michael Kaplan will lead the US delegation. African leaders, led by South Africas Cyril Ramaphosa and Finance Minister Godongwana, aim to conclude a joint communique something the G20 finance track has failed to achieve since 2024. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Odisha bandh A state-wide bandh (shutdown) in Odisha is being carried out tomorrow following the tragic death of a 20-year-old B.Ed student at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore. The student succumbed to 95 per cent burn injuries after allegedly setting herself on fire to protest inaction on her sexual harassment complaint Key developments include: Police have arrested the college principal and department head; the UGC has formed a four-member fact-finding committee. Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati has sought an official report; Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi is visiting the hospital and has announced 20 lakh ex gratia for the family. Eight political parties, including Congress and BJD, are enforcing the bandh with protests, sit-ins, and public service disruptions across Balasore, Bhubaneswar, and Cuttack. Rahul Gandhi has called it systematic murder by the system, while BJP leaders have accused him of politicising the tragedy. Activists and experts are demanding tighter sexual harassment standards, mandatory institutional counseling, and enhanced grievance mechanisms across Indias colleges. Swachh Survekshan 202425 awards ceremony In New Delhis Vigyan Bhawan, President Droupadi Murmu is set to preside over the Swachh Survekshan Awards 202425 the ninth edition of this sweep of Indias urban sanitation milestones. Some of the highlights include: Honouring over 78 urban local bodies for excellence in cleanliness under the Swachh Bharat Mission highlighting the 3Rs: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Cities from Madhya Pradesh led by Indore, Bhopal, Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Dewas, Budni, and Shahganj will receive awards. Indore continues its dominance in the Super Swachh League. Karnal (Haryana) and municipalities in Andhra Pradesh will also be recognised for their cleanliness initiatives . Ministers, commissioners, safai mitras and sanitation workers will attend alongside President Murmu and Union Minister Manohar Lal, recognising the foundational role of local communities. With inputs from agencies Walt Disney opened the first Disneyland in Californias Anaheim on July 17, 1955. The park tried to bridge the gap between typical amusement parks and a more immersive and story-driven experience read more Disneyland was Walt Disney's dream project through which he wanted to change the way traditional amusement parks were enjoyed. Representational image/Reuters Today, most of us dream of visiting Disneyland and enjoying ourselves with our loved ones. From fun rides to life-size Disney theme characters, the place is designed in a way that you can enjoy a whole day there. It all began when the first Disneyland opened its gates in Anaheim, California, on July 17, 1955, revolving around the themes of fantasy and futurism. If you are a history geek who loves to learn about important events from the past, Firstpost Explainers ongoing series, History Today, will be your one-stop destination to explore key events. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On this day in 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 people on board. The Boeing 777 was en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur. Here is all that happened on this day. First Disneyland opened Walt Disney always dreamt of opening a magic kingdom where children and parents could enjoy themselves and genuinely have fun together. To fulfil this dream, he opened the gates of the first Disneyland to the public in California's Anaheim on July 17, 1955. Built on 160 acres of former orange groves, the $17 million theme park was an unprecedented venture which sought to bridge the gap between typical amusement parks and a more immersive, story-driven experience. Actor Ronald Reagan, Art Linkletter and Bob Cummings hosted the opening ceremony, broadcast live on television. Though the event was meant to be a joyful celebration, the day was famously plagued by mishaps. Counterfeit tickets led to overcrowding, plumbing problems caused drinking fountains to run dry and high temperatures softened the freshly laid asphalt. Despite the rocky start, Walt Disney remained hopeful, calling it only the beginning of what he envisioned would be a magical destination that would continue to grow. In this file image from July 17, 1955, Governor Goodwin J Knight (left), Walt Disney (right), and Virginia Knight, wife of the governor take a ride in an antique-styled automobile at Disneyland near Anaheim, California at the premiere opening. File image/AP Disneyland was originally divided into five themed lands: Main Street USA, Adventureland, Frontierland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. It featured attractions such as the Jungle Cruise, Sleeping Beauty Castle, and the Mark Twain Riverboat, many of which are still in operation today. Walt Disneys vision was for Disneyland to never be completed and the park has evolved over the decades with the addition of New Orleans Square, Critter Country, Mickeys Toontown, Star Wars: Galaxys Edge and more. It has welcomed hundreds of millions of visitors from around the globe and remains one of the most iconic tourist destinations in the world. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD More than just a theme park, Disneyland has become a cultural landmark, symbolising imagination, innovation, and childhood wonder. As Walt Disney once said during the parks dedication: Disneyland will never be completed. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world. MH17 shot down by over Ukraine It was on July 17, 2014, that Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 (MH17), en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down over eastern Ukraine, killing all 298 passengers and crew on board. The Boeing 777 was struck by a Russian-made Buk surface-to-air missile launched from territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Most of the passengers were from the Netherlands, with others from Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia and several other countries. The downing of the civilian aircraft occurred amid intense fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels in the Donetsk region, a conflict that had escalated following Russias annexation of Crimea earlier that year. Lawyers attend the judges inspection of the reconstruction of the MH17 wreckage. File image/Reuters Despite overwhelming evidence, Russia has repeatedly denied responsibility, offering conflicting narratives and promoting conspiracy theories. In contrast, the European Union, the United States and other Western nations have blamed Moscow for supplying the missiles and fueling the conflict. In 2022, a Dutch court convicted three men - two Russians and one Ukrainian - in absentia for their role in the attack, sentencing them to life imprisonment. Families of the victims continue to seek justice and accountability through international courts, including proceedings at the European Court of Human Rights and the International Civil Aviation Organization. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This Day, That Year The United Nations completed the statute establishing the International Criminal Court on this day in 1998. In 1945, Joseph Stalin, Winston Churchill and Harry S Truman met at the Potsdam Conference, the last Allied summit conference of World War II. In, 1918, Former Russian tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed by Bolsheviks. Indian nurse Nimisha Priyas execution in Yemen has been stayed for now. However, her future remains uncertain as the victims family rejects offers of blood money and insists on Qisas, the Islamic law that is derived from the eye for an eye principle. So what can we expect next? read more She has escaped the noose for now, but Indian nurse Nimisha Priyas fate still remains in the balance. The Kerala-born nurse, who is facing the death sentence in Yemen, has only one option left in her quest for freedom clemency from the victims family. However, it seems quite unlikely that she will be granted forgiveness from the family. The victims brother, Abdelfattah Mahdi, told the BBC on Monday, before the execution was postponed, Our stance on the attempts at reconciliation is clear; we insist on implementing Gods Law in Qisas [retaliation in kind], nothing else. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He further stated, Any dispute, whatever its reasons and however big, can never justify a murder let alone dismembering, mutilating and hiding the body. But what does this mean? More importantly, what does this mean for Nimishas future? We examine and get you the answers. Nimisha Priyas victims brother rules out mercy Following the stay on Nimishas execution, scheduled for July 16, the family of the victim, Talal Abdo Mahdi, has spoken out, indicating that they wont grant her request of forgiveness. Following up on their previous stance, the brother, Abdelfattah, wrote in a lengthy Facebook post that the family has rejected all efforts at reconciliation, including offers of diyyah or blood money. Now its been (execution) postponed and we were not expecting that unfortunately especially that those who have stopped the implementation know our absolute refusal to any attempt to reconcile in any form In any case, what is after setting the execution date is more difficult than before. We shall follow execution till execution. Delay wont flex, pressure wont move us, blood cant buy And the truth is not forgotten Retribution will come no matter how long the road takes, its a matter of time, and from God help. For those who need a quick recap, Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Keralas Palakkad, had gone to Yemen in 2011 in search of a better life. Over there, she joined hands with a Yemeni local, Talal Abdo Mahdi, and opened a clinic. In 2017, fed up with the alleged abuse she was suffering at his hands, she sedated him in an attempt to retrieve her passport. However, her plan went totally awry and he died of an overdose. She subsequently dismembered his body and dumped it in a water tank. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD For this, she was found guilty and sentenced to death, which was later upheld by the Yemeni Supreme Court. Later, the president of Yemen also approved her sentencing, setting her up for execution. A day before her scheduled execution, the 38-year-old nurse, however, received a reprieve as a result of hectic negotiations and even the intervention of Indias Grand Mufti from Kerala. Understanding Qisas in Islamic Law But what does it mean when the victims family insists on implementing Gods Law in Qisas? What exactly are Qisas? The principle of Qisa is derived from the primary source of Islamic law: the Quran. The Quran uses the term qisas in the sense of equality. Islamic scholars explain that Qisas refers to the concept of retaliation. It permits a victims family the right to choose retributive justice, most commonly the death penalty in murder cases. For instance, it allows for a family to choose the punishment for that person who has wronged them. Quite simply put, its the eye for an eye concept. The Quran allows for Qisas in cases of intentional murder: O you who believe, qisas has been prescribed for you in cases of murder But if any remission is made by the brother of the slain, then grant any reasonable demand, and compensate him with handsome gratitude, this is a concession and a mercy from your Lord. After this whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The reasoning for it is human equality. In the past, the blood of some influential tribes and individuals were considered more valuable than that of the poor. Moreover, the blood of women and slaves was also considered less valuable. However, the Quran prohibited this practice and hence made the blood of everyone equally precious: life for life, but allowed an exception forgiveness for merciful objectives. The Quran warns of painful punishment for those who transgress these rules. Qisas are recognised and enforced in multiple countries such as Saudi Arabia, Iran, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan (under Taliban rule), and parts of Nigeria where Sharia law is practised. If not retribution, then forgiveness Islamic scholars note that forgiveness is also a crucial aspect of Qisas. While Qisas allows for retribution, Islamic teachings strongly encourage forgiveness and reconciliation. In the context of Qisas, forgiveness can be exercised by accepting compensation known as diyyah, or blood money. If accepted, this payment can lead to a pardon and nullify the death sentence, emphasising reconciliation over retribution. In Nimisha Priyas case, Nimishas family and friends have offered $1 million (Rs 8.6 crore) as blood money to the Mahdis. However, they have shown no inclination to accept it. And going by the current situation, it seems clear that the Mahdis seek retribution and not reconciliation. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies On Wednesday (July 17), Israel escalated its attacks on Syria, striking the headquarters of the Syrian army in Damascus, in support of the Druze minority in the country. As the strikes brought the region to the brink of conflict, the newly formed Syrian government and the Druze authorities called for a ceasefire. The question is will Jerusalem abide by it? read more Soldiers inspect the damaged Syrian Defence Ministry building allegedly hit by several Israeli airstrikes, in Damascus, Syria, on Wednesday, July 16. AP It began as a local conflict in southern Syria between local Druze and Bedouin communities. However, it escalated into Israel bombing Syrias Ministry of Defence and other targets, forcing foreign intervention from the United States. Now, the Syrian army has announced that it is withdrawing from violence-hit Sweida shortly after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD But what exactly happened in Syria? Why did Israel bomb its neighbouring country? We unpack the complex situation unfolding in that part of the world. What led to new violence between Syria and Israel? According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, the recent violence began in Sweida after members of a Bedouin tribe set up a checkpoint where they attacked and robbed a Druze man over the weekend, leading to tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings between the tribes and Druze armed groups. For those unaware, the Druze are a religious sect that began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly one million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Members of the Druze minority and their supporters protest outside the US Embassy in Jerusalem, amid the clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. AP This led to government security forces being deployed in the area. However, they were seen as siding with the Bedouin tribes. The Syrian observatory reported that around 300 people have died in the clashes, with 27 of them being summarily executed. In fact, videos and reports have emerged that show government forces burning and looting houses and humiliating Druze men by forcibly shaving their moustaches. Then, how did Israel get involved in the conflict? On July 15, the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Jewish nation is committed to preventing harm to the Druze due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel and their familial and historical ties to the Druze in Syria. Shortly later, Israel launched aerial strikes at Syria, bombing several Syrian military positions in Sweida. We will not allow harm to the Druze in Syria, said Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz, adding his country will not stand idly by. But critics note that Israel is engaging in the divide and rule policy in Syria with the aim of weakening the new government. Moreover, its trying to create a buffer zone to protect the border with the Golan Heights originally Syrian territory that it has occupied and annexed for almost half a century. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In fact, since the fall of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad last December, Israel has been carrying out hundreds of strikes against military sites in Syria, claiming its goal was to prevent weapons from falling into the hands of the new government. What happened next? Since Monday (July 14), Israel has been targeting Syria the Israeli military struck Syrian tanks on Monday and has continued to conduct dozens of drone strikes on troops, killing some soldiers. Smoke rises after Israeli strikes on Syrias defence ministry in Damascus. Reuters But on Wednesday, it escalated its attacks, striking twice. The Jewish nation struck the headquarters of the Syrian army in Damascus, a compound that also houses the defence ministry. Witnesses told AFP that they heard an explosion in the area of the presidential palace, where the Israeli military said it had struck a military target. In one video on social media, a television reporter can be seen running for cover as strikes hit the buildings behind her, while warplanes can be heard swooping low over the capital. Footage shows the moment of the Israeli airstrike in Damascus a short while ago. https://t.co/x08ISPkg1R pic.twitter.com/4fifRF0eNV Emanuel (Mannie) Fabian (@manniefabian) July 16, 2025 STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Katz later added troops would operate forcefully in Sweida to eliminate the forces that attacked the Druze until their full withdrawal. The Israeli defence minister said that the signals to Damascus are over now come the painful blows, sharing Syrian television footage of an explosion in Damascus on his X account. Has a truce been declared? Will Israel abide by it? On Wednesday, amid Israels heavy bombing, Syrian government officials and the Druze announced a renewed ceasefire. The Syrian army has begun withdrawing from the city of Sweida in implementation of the terms of the adopted agreement, after the end of the sweep of the city for outlaw groups, a defence ministry statement said. Announcing the new ceasefire on Wednesday, Syrias interior ministry said there would be a total and immediate halt to all military operations, as well as the formation of a committee comprising government representatives and Druze spiritual leaders to supervise its implementation. People gather, near the ceasefire line between the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights and Syria, amid the ongoing conflict in the Druze areas in Syria, in Majdal Shams. Reuters Later, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio also said on X that all sides had agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end. This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do, he wrote, without elaborating on the nature of the agreement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, Israel has not yet commented on the ceasefire bid. In fact, Israeli strikes continued even after the ceasefire announcement. After the ceasefire announcement, Syrias interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in a televised address said that protecting the Druze citizens and their rights is our priority. In a veiled dig at Israel, he added, We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction. He further expanded, saying that the Syrian people are not afraid of war and are ready to fight if their dignity is threatened. With inputs from agencies The UKs Labour government is planning to lower the voting age from 18 to 16 by the next general election in 2029. If the move gains parliamentary approval, around 15 lakh youths will be able to exercise their franchise by 2029. But what do we know? Which other countries allow teenagers to vote? read more A person and a dog wait outside St James' Church polling station during the general election in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, July 4, 2024. File Photo/Reuters The United Kingdom has decided to extend voting rights to 16 and 17-year-olds in all elections. In a big democratic overhaul, the British government said it will lower the voting age to 16 by the next general election. It said the proposed changes would align the voting rights across the UK with Scotland and Wales. If the move is approved by the UK Parliament, around 1.5 million (15 lakh) 16 and 17-year-olds will be eligible to vote in the next general election. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Besides the UK, which other countries allow teenagers to vote? Lets take a look. UK to lower voting age The UK governments plan to lower the age for exercising the voting franchise stems from the Labour Party's manifesto promise. We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy, British Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said in a statement. She said the government is delivering on our promise on the lower voting age.Young people already contribute to society by working, paying taxes and serving in the military, Rayner wrote in a post on X. Its only right they can have a say on the issues that affect them. The development is a part of a series of measures which will be introduced through a new Elections Bill. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that the move will give young people a chance to have a say on what their taxes are used for. I think its really important that 16 and 17-year-olds have the vote, because they are old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes, so pay in, he told ITV News. And I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the government should go. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Conservative Party has criticised the UK governments plan to lower the voting age. Speaking in the House of Commons, Conservative shadow minister for Housing Paul Holmes described the governments position on the voting age as hopelessly confused. Why does this government think a 16-year-old can vote but not be allowed to buy a lottery ticket, an alcoholic drink, marry, or go to war, or even stand in the elections theyre voting in? he asked. The next general elections are expected in the UK by August 2029. Which countries allow teenagers to vote? Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina permit 16 and 17-year-olds to vote. However, it is not compulsory for them to cast their ballots, unlike those aged 18 and above, as per The Guardian. Austria was the first country in the European Union to lower its voting age to 16 in 2011. The legal voting age is 16 in Nicaragua, Scotland, the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Cuba and Brazil. The minimum voting age in East Timor, Ethiopia, Indonesia, North Korea and Sudan is 17. Some countries and territories, such as Estonia, Germany, Israel, Puerto Rico, Scotland, and Wales, allow 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in at least some elections. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Those aged 16 in Belgium, Austria, Germany and Malta, and people aged 17 in Greece can cast their ballots in European elections, as per Unicef. Some states in the US allow 17-year-olds to vote in the presidential or congressional primaries or party caucuses if they turn 18 before the general election. Debate around giving voting rights to adolescents The UKs adolescents are split in their views about lowering the voting age. As per a new poll, almost half of 16 and 17-year-olds do not think they should have the right to vote. The survey of 500 people in the 16-17 age group by Merlin Strategy for ITV News found that 49 per cent did not want the voting age to be lowered to 16, while 51 per cent said it should. I am a 17-year-old politics student who is actually against the proposed vote at 16, Chloe Brown from West Dorset was quoted as saying by BBC. Weve discussed this again and again through so many different governments and its clear that lower voter turnout is going to be the norm if this actually goes through, and political parties will turn to populism even further when catering to younger audiences. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This is not the win for young people Starmer thinks it is, its just him trying to win back votes from Reform and it will backfire, she added. Voter turnout at the 2024 UK general election was 59.7 per cent, the lowest since 2001, according to a parliamentary report. A woman enters a polling station as voting gets under way in the Wakefield by-election, in Wakefield, Britain, June 23, 2022. File Photo/Reuters Others have welcomed the move. I think its a really good thing, 23-year-old business consultant Leo Lardi told Reuters, as the step gives the younger generation an opinion and a vote on a lot of the issues that are facing the UK today. He said that if he could have had the right to vote at 16, it would have made him think more about the issues that affect him. The future really affects those who are younger than us, he added. Critics of lowering the voting age to 16 argue that children are too ill-informed to vote. As per Unicef, other arguments are that adolescents are not too politically engaged or are too vulnerable to manipulation. But these could also be said for adults who have the right to vote. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Many experts say that a 16-year-old has the cognitive and critical thinking capacities to make political decisions independently. Some studies have found that mid-adolescents have similar levels of political knowledge as younger adults. Opponents also say that allowing young people to vote would lead to policy chaos. The argument is that if children are irrational and incoherent but still allowed to vote, the outcome of elections, and the policy decisions they give rise to, would surely reflect or be distorted by their ill-conceived and incoherent votes, Harry Pearse, Research associate, Centre for the Future of Democracy, University of Cambridge, wrote for The Conversation. However, he argued that voting is a statement of equality and a (loose) guarantee that ones concerns and perspectives will not be systematically overlooked by politicians. The fact that children cant vote means theyre denied this respect and protection, Pearse wrote. With inputs from agencies Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a major reshuffle in his government. Yulia Svyrydenko is the new prime minister, outgoing PM Denys Shmyhal takes over defence, and he has nominated Olga Stefanishyna as the new US ambassador. Zelenskyys rivals have accused him of consolidating power, while critical media outlets described it as strengthening of the head of the presidential office read more Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy seeks to inject fresh political energy more than three years into Russia's invasion. File image/ Reuters Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced a major government reshuffle, replacing his prime minister, defence minister and nominating a new ambassador to the United States, as he seeks to inject fresh political energy more than three years into Russias invasion. Here are the main points to know about the shake up, which comes as ceasefire talks with Russia stall and with the White House vowing to keep backing Kyiv. Ukraines new PM with US ties Ukraines new prime minister is Yulia Svyrydenko, who set her priorities as strengthening the economy, scaling up arms production and expanding support programs. It is a great honour for me to lead the Government of Ukraine today, Svyrydenko said, adding that war leaves no room for delay. We must act swiftly and decisively. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Svyrydenko, who was confirmed by Ukraines parliament on Thursday, is known for finalising a natural resources deal with the United States that nearly derailed ties between the countries. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy named Yulia Svyrydenko, the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and the Minister of Economy, as the next Prime Minister of Ukraine on Monday, July 14, 2025. (Photo: Instagram/Yulia Svyrydenko) She was the key and the only person leading these negotiations. She managed to prevent them from unravelling, said Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former economy minister who worked with Svyrydenko. She won the respect of US partners and businesses, analysts have said. Trump and his administration are now a priority for Ukraine. Svyrydenko has proven herself there and will continue to do so, said political analyst Volodymyr Fesenko. A new ambassador to the US Zelenskyy has named outgoing Justice Minister Olga Stefanishyna as his pick for ambassador to the United States though her candidacy needs to be approved in Washington. Stefanishyna would be taking over from Oksana Markarova, who organised aid and fostered good relations with Joe Bidens administration. But with Trump having railed against his predecessors multi-billion-dollar support for Kyiv and U-turning multiple times on weapons for Kyiv, Zelenskyy has decided to change his envoy to the White House. Zelenskyy said that Stefanishyna, who also took part in negotiations on the minerals deal, would help continue to work with the United States on this basis adding mutually beneficial economic substance to our political and diplomatic interaction. Zelenskyy has named outgoing Justice Minister Olga Stefanishyna as his pick for ambassador to the United States, though her candidacy needs to be approved in Washington. File image. AFP Her nomination is a surprise after Zelenskyy had last week strongly indicated that outgoing defence minister Rustem Umerov, who led two recent rounds of negotiations with Russia, would be his pick for US ambassador. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The president has not said why he opted for Stefanishyna over Umerov, or what role the latter will have, if any, in the new government. Is Zelenskyy seeking more control? Zelenskyys rivals have long accused him of seeking to consolidate power and some critical media say Svyrydenkos appointment marked the latest step in this trend. Svyrydenko is seen as loyal to Andriy Yermak, the powerful head of the Zelenskyys office. Ukrainska Pravda, a respected independent media outlet, published a report describing the moves as the strengthening of the head of the presidential office although its hard to see how thats possible. Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. File image/ Reuters Its obvious that the Presidential offices influence will increase, opposition lawmaker Mykola Kniazhytskyi told AFP. The authorities are pursuing further centralisation and refusing any dialogue, he added. Other expected changes Outgoing prime minister, an unassuming technocrat, Denys Shmyhal, will take over the defence ministry brief, Zelenskyy has said. Fesenko said Shmyhals appointment as defence minister would likely see him bring some order to the ministry, which has previously been plagued by corruption scandals. After voting on the prime minister, lawmakers are due to approve her new government, according to political commentators, who suggested changes could be expected at the energy ministry. With input from agencies Authorities in the US have arrested Indian-Canadian gangster Opinder Singh Sian for running an international drug ring with alleged links to Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). He reportedly smuggled Chinese fentanyl into the US. Heres what we know about him read more The 29-page memo filed by the DEA in federal court said investigations had been carried out in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Australia, Hong Kong, Dubai and Tukey. AP The United States has long complained about Chinese-made fentanyl being smuggled into the country. Now, authorities in the US have busted a fentanyl drug ring with links to Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and arrested an Indian-Canadian gangster. The gangster, identified as Opinder Singh Sian, was arrested in Nevada last month. Sian, 37, has links to a notorious Irish drug gang. But who is Sian? And what happened? Lets take a closer look STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Who is Sian? Sian is a major player in the international fentanyl smuggling ring. Sian, is said to have links to the Brothers Keeper gang. The group is said to traffic cocaine, MDMA, heroin, fentanyl and methamphetamine. It has also been accused of arms trafficking, murder, extortion and armed robbery. This gang, which is backed by the ISI, has many operatives in India. Indian officials told News18 Sian was a crucial go-between for the ISI and criminals in China. These groups make use of Canadas permissive legal and political environment to traffic synthetic opioids, they added. The BK gang is said to be supportive of the pro-Khalistani movement. It also has ties to the Hells Angels and the Wolfpack gang both of which are well-known around the world. Opinder Singh Sian is said to be a major player in the international fentanyl smuggling ring. Image courtesy: X Sian is based in Canadas Vancouver and is extremely well-known in the citys organised crime circles. He goes by several aliases including Opie, Thanos and Cain. Sian in 2007 was convicted for careless use of a firearm and obstruction of a peace officer. His rise in the Canadian criminal underworld began in 2008. This came after he survived a shooting that left his friend Gurpreet Sidhu dead. However, Sian was left seriously injured in the aftermath of the incident. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Sian survived yet another shooting in 2011. For the next few years he was frequently stopped by the police in the company of other gangsters. Sian is said to have told a confidential informant that he has ties to Irish organised crime, specifically the Kinahan family, Italian organised crime and other Canadian organised crime groups. The Kinahan gang is a notorious Irish outfit that originated in Dublin during the 1990s. However, it is now based in Dubai. The Kinahan gang has ties to Mexicos infamous Sinaloa Cartel as well as Iran and its proxy group Hezbollah. Sian a decade ago tried to get his purported wife into Canada but was denied by authorities, who ruled it a sham marriage. So, what explains Sians rise in the crime world? Mike Porteous, a retired Vancouver police superintendent, told Vancouver Sun that any gangster that has the attributes to actually be successful intelligence, relationship-building, connections they can rise. Those kinds of people that build those relationships tend to rise within the hierarchy because they have the skill sets to do the bidding of making money in the drug world. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What happened? Sian was arrested in Arizona last month by the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). The agency has conducted a wide-ranging, years-long probe into Sian. The 29-page memo filed by the DEA in federal court said investigations had been done in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Australia, Hong Kong, Dubai and Tukey. The probe into Sian began in 2022 after the DEA conducted a preliminary probe on the basis of a tip-off from Turkish intelligence. Prosecutors have accused Sian of being at the center of a vast conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and meth. Sian was involved in a conspiracy to import precursor chemicals from China and export narcotics through the port of Los Angeles to Australia, the DEA affidavit claimed. Sian is also alleged to have been purchasing the chemicals from China and selling them directly to the Mexican cartels. The DEA has claimed that Sian was backed by Turkish trafficker Ibrahim Ozcelik. Sian again stated that he worked with a known drug kingpin, based out of Turkey, the DEA source has claimed. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The documents revealed that Sian had set up a meeting between a US confidential informant known as Queen and Peter Peng Zhou from a Chinese cartel in Vancouver in 2023. US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). Zhou claimed he could get the chemicals from China and send them directly to Los Angeles. Vancouver is the centre of gravity for hybrid warfare for transnational organised crime in North America, Scott McGregor, a former military intelligence operator, was quoted as saying by Global News. One of my colleagues in DC mentioned that it was a cross between Dubai and Miami. Sian is said to have moved over 200 kilos of meth before being arrested by the DEA. A federal judge has ordered Sian to be held in custody pending his transfer to California. Sian is set to appear in court on July 21. While several persons of interest have been identified, no one has yet been charged. With inputs from agencies Dozens are dead and hundreds injured in floods in Pakistans Punjab province. Across the country, nearly 200 have died since the monsoon began in late June. But why are deadly floods in Pakistan such a common occurrence? read more Motorists drive through a flooded road during monsoon rainfall, in Rawalpindi,. AP Pakistan is experiencing deadly floods yet again. Dozens have been left dead and hundreds injured in floods in Pakistans Punjab province. Across the country, nearly 200 have died since the monsoon began in late June. Over half of the dead are children. But what happened? Why are deadly floods in Pakistan such a common occurrence? Lets take a closer look: What happened? Fresh rains in Pakistans Punjab province that began on Wednesday have left at least 60 dead and nearly 300 wounded. Most people have been killed in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Most were crushed by buildings, while others drowned or were electrocuted. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Authorities in Rawalpindi have declared a holiday and urged people to stay home. Those near a river in the city have been asked to evacuate. The most affected area was Chakwal, a salt range area of the province, around 300 kilometres from Lahore. The area receiving 423 mm of rain in the last 24 hours leading to floods in the area, the authorities said. A rescue operation is underway in Chakwal to evacuate people trapped by flash floods, with support from the military and local administration, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said. Military helicopters have also been spotted in Chakwal. Several expressways have been submerged. Dozens of flights have been delayed or cancelled. Authorities have declared a rain emergency in different parts of the province including in Rawalpindi. All relevant departments including the district administration, police, and Rescue 1122 have been fully mobilised across the province to protect citizens from the worsening flood situation, a Punjab government statement said. Hospitals have been placed on high alert, and both field hospitals and other medical facilities have been instructed to remain fully prepared to assist citizens, it added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A Child holds an umbrella as he wades through a flooded street after a downpour in Lahore. Reuters Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) has warned that yet another monsoon system is set to hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the next few days. Punjab province will likely receive heavy showers. Lahore, the capital city of Punjab, was severely waterlogged last week. Some low-lying areas also faced power cuts. Why are deadly floods in Pakistan such a common occurrence? Pakistan, along with India, is said to be one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change. As Pakistans Biennial Transparency Report, submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), states, Pakistan has been ranked as the most climate-vulnerable country globally in 2025, bearing immense social and economic costs from recurring climate-induced disasters Though it contributes a mere half a percentage point to the worlds greenhouse emissions, people in Pakistan are over a dozen times more likely to die of climate-related disasters. The country has two major weather systems one that brings high temperatures and drought and the other that results in monsoon rains. Like other South Asian nations, Pakistan gets a majority of its rainfall during the monsoon season. This season occurs from late June to September. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, this year, extreme heat in Gilgit-Baltistan, which is home to thousands of glaciers including several of the worlds most important ones, is making things worse. For the unversed, Gilgit-Baltistan is known as the third pole. The Pakistan Meteorological Department has said that parts of in Gilgit-Baltistan have witnessed temperatures above 48 degrees Celsius. This, despite being around 1,200 metres above sea level. Tariq Jamil, 51, chairman of the Community Based Disaster Risk Management Centre, walks with a hiking stick to check the ice on the Shisper glacier, near Hassanabad village, Hunza valley, in the Karakoram mountain range in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan Reuters The country itself is home to over 13,000 glaciers. The temperatures have caused glaciers to melt this year, increasing the risk of flooding. Zakir Hussein, director general for Gilgit Baltistans disaster management authority, told Al Jazeera, Given the rise in temperatures and anthropogenic climate change, the fragile ecosystem in Gilgit Baltistan is facing imminent flash flooding and risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) a type of flood caused by the sudden release of water from a glacial lake. What do experts say? Experts blame government inaction for the deaths and damage. They point the finger at poor planning when it comes to building homes and infrastructure. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The UN Habitats 2023 report notes that over 50% of the urban population lives in slums or informal settlements known as katchi abadis. Ali Tauqeer Sheikh, an Islamabad-based climate expert, told Al Jazeera, I cannot think of a single policy reform that the government has taken after the 2022 floods, despite all the tall claims made by the ministers and other officials. Internal-focused driven reforms to enhance the preparedness of communities in vulnerable areas is completely missing, he said. We are a reform-averse society, and we dont want to undertake any change that is substantial in nature, and this attitude only perpetuates vulnerabilities. Many continue to build homes on the banks of rivers. Around 1,700 people died and nearly an eight of the population, around 30 million people, were displaced. The floods caused damage worth an estimated $30 billion including $14.8 billion to property and the rest to Pakistans gross domestic product (GDP). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In 2023, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said other nations had a moral obligation to assist in Pakistans recovery. Guterres said the country is doubly victimised" by climate change as well as a morally bankrupt financial system. With inputs from agencies India has rejected Nato chief Mark Ruttes warning about buying Russian oil and has flagged double standards of the West. For context, European nations that largely make up Nato have paid more money to Russia for energy imports than they have given to Ukraine in aid. read more India has rejected Nato chief Mark Ruttes warning about buying Russian oil and has flagged the double standards of the international community. Earlier this week, Rutte referred to secondary tariffs that US lawmakers have been pushing for countries buying Russian oil and gas and urged countries like India to either convince Russia to stop attacks on Ukraine or be ready to be hit "very hard". Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday said that India will continue to secure energy requirement of its irrespective of whatever anyone might say. He further flagged the double standards of the West in their narrative of the Indian purchase of Russian oil. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Let me reiterate that securing energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us. In this endeavor, we ae guided by what is on offer in the markets, and by the prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter, said Jaiswal. For context, European nations that largely make up the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (Nato) have paid more money to Russia for energy imports than they have given to Ukraine in aid since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022. #WATCH | Delhi | On Nato chief Mark Rutte's comment that countries buying Russian oil could face secondary sanctions, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate that securing the energy pic.twitter.com/SdhmWRQYLL ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 Earlier this week, Rutte singled out India and said the failure to stop buying Russian oil could hit it in a massive way. My encouragement to these three countries, particularly is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard. So please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way, said Rutte. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India has ramped up the purchase of discounted Russian oil. Officials and commentators in the West have often criticised the Indian purchase of oil as they have accused India and other buyers like China of funding the Russian war. Energy exports, such as oil and gas, make up a huge chunk of Russian revenues that it uses to fund the war on Ukraine. However, these officials and commentators, such as Rutte, ignore the fact that European nations have also continued to buy Russian oil and gas. In fact, European nations have paid Russia more for such imports than they have given to Ukraine in aid. Consider this: Since 2022, the European Union (EU) has been the largest buyer of Russian liquified natural gas (51 per cent) and pipeline gas (37 per cent) and Turkey a Nato member has been the largest buyer of Russian oil products (26 per cent), according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD So far this year, EU members have bought 21.9 billion ($25.4 billion) of Russian oil and gas compared to 18.7 billion ($21.69 billion) that they have allocated in aid for Ukraine, according to estimates from the CREA. Moreover, since 2022, estimates have said that the EU members have paid $215235 billion to Russia for oil, gas, and coal, compared to $200 billion that they have allocated and pledged to Ukraine in aid. While commenting on US President Donald Trumps secondary tariff threat against India, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India diversified its sources of buying oil and is not facing pressure over Trumps new threat read more While commenting on US President Donald Trumps secondary sanctions threat against India, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India diversified its sources of buying oil and is not facing pressure over Trumps new threat. The remarks from Puri came when Firstposts Managing Editor, Palki Sharma, asked him about Trumps secondary sanctions threat and the kind of impact it can have on the Indian oil industry. On Tuesday, Trump announced a whopping 100 per cent tariffs on Russian exports, including oil, expressing his displeasure with Russian President Vladimir Putins reluctance to negotiate a peace deal. Apart from this, Trump also introduced equivalent secondary tariffs on countries importing Russian shipments, with India being one of them. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump warned that the tariffs would be imposed after a 50-day deadline for Moscow to end the war against Ukraine. When asked about the secondary tariff warning, Puri said at the Thursday event that right now he does not have any pressure in his mind. He acknowledged that Indias import of Russian oil has increased significantly following the war in Ukraine. However, he maintained that during this period, India has diversified its sources of supply. Over the last 11 years, we diversified our options, built resiliency and navigated challenges. Each challenge posed by turbulence provided us with opportunities, Puri told Firstpost. We have gone from 27 countries that we used to buy from to about 4 countries. Well buy oil from wherever we have to: Puri While talking about buying oil from source 1 or 2, the Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas made it clear that India will buy from wherever it has to. The Prime Ministers commitment is his final analysis to the Indian consumer, he said. Puri emphasised that in the last 10-11 years, 16 per cent of the growth in the International energy market has come from India. The International Energy Agency has said that in the next two decades, 25 per cent of the global [energy] growth is going to come from India, he said. Emphasising how Russia supplies 10 per cent of global oil consumption per day, Puri pointed out the impact of sidelining Russia in this regard might have on the world. Some people wont get heating in winter, some people wont get air conditioning in summer. So 10 per cent consumption deduction is not an easy thing, or something else will happen. When you decide 10 per cent is going off the table and you dont want to reduce consumption, then you start buying more from the remaining 90 per cent, Puri explained. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The union minister pointed out that the repercussions of taking Russia off the market would be drastic. The price would skyrocket. We analysed that if more and more people are to buy from other OPEC sources, prices would have gone up to a minimum $130 to $140 a barrel. So if we are buying from any source we could, I think we should be applauded, he said. They buy more in one afternoon than I buy in one quarter: Puri While speaking to Firstpost, Puri called out the European Unions purchase of Russian natural gas. He noted that the EU continues to remain Russias largest buyer of LNG and pipeline gases. He recalled one instance when he told External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaihankar that they [EU] buy more in one afternoon than I buy in one quarter. Today, two major suppliers of crude are sanctioned, Iran and Venezuela. Will those sanctions remain forever? There is more oil coming to the market from the Western hemisphere from countries like Brazil, Canada and Guyana. I am not worried at all. If something happens, well deal with it, he said. Lets not draw any inferences. Well cross the bridge when we come to it, but I am not unduly worried because we have enough oil even when there was discussion of turbulence. Its all about do we have the navigational resilience to steer the ship through. I think we are more confident that we have it, he added. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD India is one of the biggest consumers of Russian oil Since February 2022, Indian refiners have been lapping up Russian oil at discounted rates while the West has shunned Russia by imposing sanctions. Russia currently accounts for a third of Indias oil imports, compared to less than 1 per cent before the war. Hence, if Trump carries through with his threats, India might take a significant hit. According to reports floated by Western media, a secondary tariff will apply to the country and affect all merchandise exports, unlike in the case where only the entities doing business with sanctioned Russian entities are penalised. If something like this happens, Indian refiners will have no other option but to pivot towards West Asian suppliers and new suppliers such as Brazil to make up for the lost supply. However, these barrels will come at a higher cost. In light of this, the government had already approached two major West Asian oil producers to examine additional supplies. As part of reducing reliance on China for rare earths, India is moving ahead with the auction of patches of land in Rajasthan that have potential reserves of rare earth minerals. In ongoing explorations in Rajasthan, reserves of neodymium and dysprosium are expected to be confirmed in Rajasthan. read more A mining machine is seen at the Bayan Obo mine containing rare earth minerals, in Inner Mongolia, China. File photo/Reuters At a time when China is leveraging its near-monopoly of rare earth supplies, India is in the process of tapping into own reserves and reducing reliance on imports. In Rajasthan, the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Department of Atomic Energy have conducted explorations in recent years. They have found signs of rare earths like neodymium and dysprosium even though most explorations are in early stages at the moment. Separately, the US Geological Survey (USGS) has said that India has the third-largest rare earth reserves in the world. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD As part of setting up rare earth extraction in Rajasthan, the authorities are set to have auctions of patches of land soon, according to CNN-News 18. The report said that the auctions are going to take place for patches of land in Rajasthans Balotra and Jalore. The area is reported to be rich in reserves of bastnasite, britholite, and xenotime. These are source minerals from which several rare earth minerals are extracted, such as cerium, lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium, gadolinium, dysprosium, etc. The report has come at a time when the Centre has launched National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) to advance the exploration, mining, and processing of critical minerals. The Centre has also launched a Rs 1,000-crore Production-linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to boost the domestic manufacture of rare earth magnets that are used in nearly everything in the modern world ranging from household electronics to automobiles and fighter planes. Rare earths are 17 minerals that are called rare not because they are scarce but because it is extremely difficult to produce them. They are often found mixed with other minerals and their extraction and refining is a complicated process. One issue that faces India faces is the poor concentration of metals in Indian ores. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD IREL India, a state-owned company dedicated to rare earths mining and processing, has said that the reserves of Rajasthans hard rocks are expected to help with this problem. The Ministry stated in an update on the social media platform X, All operational and technical parameters have been validated. The launches were conducted under the aegis of Strategic Forces Command read more A surface-to-surface Agni V missile is launched from the Wheeler Island off the eastern Indian state of Odisha, April 19, 2012. Representative image/Reuters The Ministry of Defence (MoD) Thursday (July 17) confirmed that India successfully test-fired the short-range ballistic missiles Prithvi-II and Agni-1 from the Integrated Test Range located in Chandipur, Odisha. The Ministry stated in an update on the social media platform X, All operational and technical parameters have been validated. The launches were conducted under the aegis of Strategic Forces Command. This is a breaking development. Please refresh the page for the latest updates STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD DGCA has directed airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes, two days after AAIBs preliminary report said fuel switches were cut off before the Air India plane crashed last month read more An Air India Airbus A321 aircraft takes off at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad, India, on June 17, 2025. Reuters File Air India has completed an inspection of the locking mechanism on the fuel switch control switches on its Boeing 787 aircraft, concluding that there are no issues with the system. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) last week released its preliminary report on the crash of the Air India Dreamliner from Ahmedabad to London, blaming faulty fuel switch control switches that led to a dual engine shutdown. DGCA on Monday directed airlines to inspect the fuel switch locking system in their Boeing 787 and 737 planes, two days after AAIBs preliminary report said fuel switches were cut off before the Air India plane crashed last month. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, an investigation into the crash is currently ongoing as the AAIB tries to ascertain whether a technical snag led to a fuel control switch malfunction, causing the Ahmedabad crash that killed 260 people in June. What has the inspection found? An airline official said, Over the weekend, our Engineering team initiated precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all our Boeing 787 aircraft. The inspections have been completed and no issues were found. The official also highlighted that all Boeing 787-8 aircraft in the fleet are equipped with the Throttle Control Module (TCM), which was replaced under Boeings maintenance schedule, and the FCS was part of this module. Fuel control switches manage the fuel flow to an aircrafts engines. According to the AAIBs preliminary investigation report released on Saturday, fuel supply to both engines was shut off within a second of each other, leading to confusion in the cockpit shortly after takeoff. One engine failure per month Right to Information (RTI) data accessed by TOI shows Indian flights underwent 65 in-flight engine shutdowns since 2020, while pilots made 11 mayday distress calls in the last 17 months. The RTA query answered by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) says, A total of 65 incidents related to in-flight shutdown of engines from 2020 to 2025 (till date) were reported across India. In all 65 cases, pilots successfully guided their aircraft to the nearest airport using a single functioning engine. Experts link the engine shutdowns to various technical issues, including low fuel, turbine malfunctions, and faulty electronic components. While acknowledging the realities of Climate Change, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that oil is not going anywhere from the energy market read more While acknowledging the realities of Climate Change, Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that oil is not going anywhere from the energy market. In a fireside chat with Firstposts Managing Editor, Palki Sharma, at UrjaVarta 2025, Puri emphasised the ground realities of oil exploration. When asked what challenges his ministry is facing from environmentalists when it comes to new oil exploration projects, Puri told Firstpost that the world is drilling more oil because of ground realities. He noted that in todays time, no economist would be able to predict when Oil will peak, i.e. a phase when no one would want fossil or crude oil anymore. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD When this business of new oil exploration started, I was a little worried because it is so easy to talk about climate change without knowing the reality, he said. The Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas emphasised that things have changed since 2021. All that has changed, why has it changed? Because of drill baby drill'? No. I think it changed because of ground realities. Even if you want to make the transition, and we are very serious, we are the only country which has made its Paris commitment, but when you want to transition, you transition from the present to where you want to transition to. You must have resources for the transition, he said. We are doing well, biofuels 20 per cent, green hydrogen, we are really stepping on it, compressed bio gas, CNGs, etc. We are making the transition, but I dont think there is a date on a tipping point or phase-out point, he added. Puri on Trumps secondary sanctions While commenting on US President Donald Trumps secondary sanctions threat against India, the Union Minister emphasised that India diversified its sources of buying oil and is not facing pressure over Trumps new threat. On Tuesday, Trump announced a whopping 100 per cent tariffs on Russian exports, including oil, expressing his displeasure with Russian President Vladimir Putins reluctance to negotiate a peace deal. Apart from this, Trump also introduced equivalent secondary tariffs on countries importing Russian shipments, with India being one of them. Trump warned that the tariffs would be imposed after a 50-day deadline for Moscow to end the war against Ukraine. When asked about the secondary tariff warning, Puri said at the Thursday event that right now he does not have any pressure in his mind. He acknowledged that Indias import of Russian oil has increased significantly following the war in Ukraine. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, he maintained that during this period, India has diversified its sources of supply. Over the last 11 years, we diversified our options, built resiliency and navigated challenges. Each challenge posed by turbulence provided us with opportunities, Puri told Firstpost. We have gone from 27 countries that we used to buy from to about 4 countries. While talking about buying oil from source 1 or 2, Puri made it clear that India will buy from wherever it has to. The Prime Ministers commitment is his final analysis to the Indian consumer, he said. The US Department of Justice concluded that there is no incriminating Jeffrey Epstein client list, inferring theres a list thats not incriminating read more (File) Attorney General Pam Bondi speaks at a news conference at the Justice Department, on Feb. 12, 2025, in Washington. AP It has turned out to be one Big Ugly Mess for Donald Trump. Jeffrey Epstein has risen from his ashes in his unmarked tomb at the IJ Morris Star of David mausoleum in Palm Beach, Florida, to possess the administration in particular and America in general. Ironically, Trump, appealing to his angry MAGA base, said on Saturday that Epstein is a guy who never dies. For years, its Epstein, over and over again. Letsnot waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about, he posted on Truth Social. Trump is right. Theres a 1,900 per cent rise in Google searches for Epstein this week compared to the last. Epstein was the top term searched alongside Trump. Now, Trumps most powerful legal eagle is desperate to exorcise the administration of the paedophile-rapists evil spirit. However, US attorney general Pam Bondis exorcism has instead pushed the administration and the nation further under Epsteins spell. It started on July 7. The Department of Justices (DoJ) memo stating that a joint FBI review of the Epstein files revealed no incriminating client list and that the Bureaus conclusion that the rapist committed suicide in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in New York City on August 10, 2019 smacked of a big cover-up. Several lawmakers, conspiracy theorists and even Trumps ardent supporters and his MAGA base are livid. DoJ shoots itself in the foot in the cover-up The DoJs abrupt announcement is self-damaging and indicates a cover-up. The most important and controversial sentence in the memo is This systematic review revealed no incriminating client list. The media, especially outlets highly critical of Trump, missed the concealment in the DoJs memo. The word incriminating was never highlighted as the memo triggered consternation and rage. The words no incriminating client list were turned into no client list. Even American news website Axios, the first to report on the memo, missed it. Exclusive: DOJ, FBI conclude Epstein had no client list, died by suicide, read the Axios headline. Other media outlets showed similar ignorance. CNN said, Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide and theres no client list, Justice Department says. CBS News said, Justice Department review finds Jeffrey Epstein had no client list and died by suicide. NPRs headline was DOJ says no evidence Jeffrey Epstein had a client list or blackmailed associates. The DOJ memo raises more questions than it provides answers. In other words, the DoJ believes theres an Epstein client listnot to forget the double quotesthats not incriminating. It could also mean that the men who exploited the girls were not listed as clients because Epstein undoubtedly had a list of men to whom he trafficked the girls to get favours. So, if the client list isnt incriminating, why didnt the DoJ release it? Epstein, with the help of his British socialite girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwellsentenced in 2022 to 20 years for sex-traffickingsexually exploited/raped minor girls at his Little Saint James island, Palm Beach mansion, New Mexico home, Manhattan mansion or his Boeing 727 (Lolita Express) and passed them on to the creme de la creme of society. Trumps name figures among the several high-profile and influential people, including politicians, achievers and A-list celebs, named in the Epstein files released by courts. Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Al Gore, Robert F Kennedy Jr., Ehud Barak, Bill Richardson, Alan Dershowitz, Noam Chomsky, Stephen Hawking, Jean Luc Brunel, Michael Jackson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kevin Spacey, Cate Blanchett, Bruce Willis, Cameron Diaz, Naomi Campbell and others. Andrew is one of the several men to whom Epstein supplied the underage girls he sexually assaulted. One of the girls, the late Virginia Giuffrewhose apparent suicide was a suspected murderaccused the prince of sexually exploiting her and filed a case that resulted in a $16 million out-of-court settlement in February 2022. According to the DoJ, an exhaustive review of investigative holdings relating to Epstein was conducted jointly with the FBI. More than 300 gigabytes of data and physical evidence were found after the FBI conducted digital searches of its databases, hard drives and network drives and physical searches of squad areas, locked cabinets, desks, closets and other areas where responsive material may have been stored. The files relating to Epstein include a large volume of images of Epstein, images and videos of victims who are either minors or appear to be minors, and over ten thousand downloaded videos and images of illegal child sex abuse material and other pornography, the memo reads. The DoJs admission that the material included videos and photos of child sex abuse and other pornography could also mean that the sexual exploitation of Epsteins victims by other men was recorded and photographedin all probability, secretly. According to Florida attorney Spencer Kuvin, who represented three of Epsteins victims, videotapes taken from multiple surveillance cameras inside Epsteins homes were never released. There are thousands of hours of videotapes taken from inside the homes of Jeffrey Epstein that have, I have no doubt, video of people on them. People that have never been named before. Never identified before. Lets see the tapes. The DoJ also contends that there was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions. However, its been widely alleged that Epstein blackmailed several of his clients and friends after videorecording their sexcapades and also threatening to leak their affairs, including that of Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates. According to Epsteins younger brother Mark, the paedophile had shocking information on Trump and the Clintons that could have disrupted the 2016 presidential election. If I said what I know about both candidates, theyd have to cancel the election, he told Mark in 2016. In his book Ticking Clock: Behind the Scenes at 60 Minutes, former 60 Minutes producer Ira Rosen recounts Maxwell telling him before the 2016 election that Epstein had videotapes of both presidents in compromising positions with women. Regarding the release of Epstein files, the DoJ said that as much information as possible was released to the public while simultaneously protecting victims. Through this review, we found no basis to revisit the disclosure of those materials and will not permit the release of child pornography. If what Maxwell told Rosen was true, then the videotapes of Trump and Clinton in compromising positions with minors incriminate both presidents. Trumps involvement with Epstein doesnt end at Maxwells statement. On October 31, 2024, five days before the presidential election, American journalist and author Michael Wolff, who has written four books on Trump, dropped a bombshell. Wolff, whose 2018 book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House was a New York Times number-one bestseller, claimed in his podcast Fire & Fury that Epstein showed him photos of Trump with topless young women in his lap in 2017 while he was researching for the book. They were with Trump at Epsteins Palm Beach house sitting around the pool with these young girls and the young girls are topless. And in some of the pictures, theyre sitting in his lap. I mean, and, and then theres one I especially remember where theres a stain, a telltale stain and on the front of Trumps pants, and the girls are pointing at him and laughing, said Wolff, who recorded 100 hours of conversation with the sex offender. Epstein had about six pictures, Wolff claimed, taken in the late 90s at his Palm Beach mansion and stored in his safe seized during the FBI raids in July 2019. The pictures, part of hundreds of photos of girls and young women, were never made public. Bondi has ensured that the videos of underage girls never see the light of day. During a White House press conference on July 8, Bondi said that several of the videos turned out to be child porn that will never be released and never going to see the light of day. Epsteins list of powerful men who abused minors The DoJ used confusing and unclear language to mislead the public about the involvement of Trump and other powerful men with Epstein and what the files revealed about them. Bondi has desperately tried to bury the case. However, that doesnt hide the fact that there was a list of men to whom Epstein trafficked the girls. Its not only about Trump and whether he was an Epstein client. Its about other powerful men who exploited the girls. Assuming Trump wasnt secretly filmed or theres no dirt on him or no client list, even then, the remaining Epstein files containing names of other men havent been released. The names in the files could be those of Trumps allies, wealthy donors and acquaintances. Kuvin said, Theyre probably very wealthy donors to the party. And as a result, they dont want to shake the applecart. Kuvin claimed to have names of numerous high-profile individuals shared by his clients who were utilising the services of Epstein and Maxwell to obtain girls while they were on the island. The names of some of those so-called customers remain hidden because of attorney-client privilege and non-disclosure agreements signed as part of their settlements. One such high-profile individual is former Harvard law professor Dershowitz, a very famous lawyer who represented Epstein, Mike Tyson and Julian Assange and was part of the defence teams of rapist and former film producer Harvey Weinstein in 2018 and Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020. In December 2014, a Florida court filing by lawyers Bradley Edwards and Paul Cassell alleged that Giuffre was trafficked to Dershowitz, at least six times. When Dershowitz sought the lawyers disbarment, they sued for defamation in 2015. In 2016, in her deposition in the 2015 defamation case, Giuffre repeated the allegation of having sex with Dershowitz on at least, six occasions. Dershowitz was so comfortable with the sex that was going on that on one occasion, he observed me in sexual activity with Epstein, she alleged. Giuffre also alleged that Epstein encouraged her to have oral sex with Dershowitz in a limousine and have sex with him on board the Lolita Express. She allegedly saw him having sex with, at least, one more victim. According to documents of Giuffres 2015 defamation case against Maxwell released in January 20204, One such powerful individual that Epstein forced then-minor Jane Doe #3 to have sexual relations with was former Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz Per the documents, Epstein required Jane Doe #3 to have sexual relations with Dershowitz on numerous occasions while she was a minor, not only in Florida but also on private planes, in New York, New Mexico and the US Virgin Islands. Dershowitz was an eyewitness to the sexual abuse of many other minors by Epstein and several of Epsteins co-conspirators. On March 19, Dershowitz claimed that he knew the men to whom Epstein supplied the girls. During an interview which has become viral with Sean Spicer, Trumps 2017 press secretary and communications director, on The Sean Spicer Show, Dershowitz said, I know the names of the individuals. I know why theyre being suppressed. I know whos suppressing them. He added that he knows the names of people whose files are being suppressed in order to protect them, but hes bound by confidentiality from a Judge and cases. Bondis past claim contradicts DoJ memo Bondis past statements and claims expose the memos cover-up all the more. Bondi triggered the controversy in February after pledging to reveal a lot of names and a lot of flight logs to ensure transparency and lifting the veil on the disgusting actions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirators. However, she released only a small batch of files that were a compilation of public court documents. A February 21 interview with Fox News exposes Bondis shocking and sudden U-turn regarding no client list. When host John Roberts asked whether a list of Jeffrey Epsteins clients would be released, Bondi replied, Its sitting on my desk right now to review. Thats been a directive by President Trump. Im reviewing that. Though Bondi didnt say she would release the list, she acknowledged its existence. In another interview with Fox News on March 1, when host Mark Levin suggested that some New York City officials supporting the Democrats dont like the names on the list and were trying to protect a lot of names and individuals, Bondi said, I think its very interesting that they withheld that from us. The memo directly contradicts Bondi. When reporters asked her about her February statement at the White House presser, Bondi said that she had referred to the entire Epstein file. Thats what I meant by that. Does that mean the non-incriminatingthats what the memo infersEpstein client list wasnt part of the Epstein files? FBIs stance, DoJ clash smack of a cover-up From the very start, it was evident that the DoJ and FBI werent on the same page about the Epstein files. Bondis differences with FBI director Kash Patel were first evident in February when she failed to release any new information about Epsteindespite her promiseand blamed the FBI for withholding thousands of pages of documents from her. That doesnt mean that the FBI wasnt part of the cover-up. Patel was aware of the videos, yet contradicted Bondis claim of having them two months before the memo was released. In May, a sting published by conservative activist James OKeefe showed Bondi discussing with an anonymous, self-described nanny that the FBI was processing tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with little kids. AG Pam Bondi Was Covertly Recorded on April 28, Revealing Previously Undisclosed Information About Epstein Regarding 'Tens of Thousands of Videos of Little Kids' to a Complete Stranger in a D.C. Restaurant Yesterday, the AG Made an Almost Identical Statement Publicly After pic.twitter.com/HFKSRPq6nv OKeefe Media Group (@OKeefeMedia) May 8, 2025 Later, the same month, Bondi publicly said, There are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn, and there are hundreds of victims. Bondi repeated that the FBI was processing the videos. Its just the volume and thats what theyre going through right now. The FBI is diligently going through that. Clearly, the FBI possessed the videos. However, in June, Patel contradicted Bond on Joe Rogans podcast. If there was a video of some guy or gal committing felonies on an island and Im in charge, dont you think youd see it? he asked on The Joe Rogan Experience. When Rogan asked, Is there video from the island?, Patel replied, Not of what you want. The FBIs changing stance on the existence of the Epstein list makes it complicit in the cover-upeven if it is under Bondis pressure. Like on the Rogan podcast, Patel again denied the Epstein conspiracy theories on Saturday. The conspiracy theories just arent true, never have been. Its an honor to serve the President of the United States @realDonaldTrump and Ill continue to do so for as long as he calls on me, he posted on X. However, before being appointed FBI director, Patel publicly said that paedophiles were on the Epstein list and derided House GOP members for failing to release it. Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are, he told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson in December 2023 , referring to House Republicans. Patel believed that Congress obstructed the lists release because of whos on that list. You dont think that Bill Gates is lobbying Congress night and day to prevent the disclosure of that list?. In November, he told Johnson that Trump is going to maybe release the Epstein list. Similarly, Dan Bongino, a former Secret Service agent and podcaster and Patels current deputy in the FBI, told his audience in 2023 that the Epstein story is a big deal. Please, do not let that story go. What the hell are they hiding with Jeffrey Epstein? he asked. Bongino even believed that Epstein may have had video and audio of people out there doing things [sexually exploiting girls] they shouldnt have been doing. Now, the cracks in Trumps coterie have turned into a bitter shouting match. Following a NewsNation article in which a source said that Patel and Bongino wanted to release more information on Epstein but were held back by the DoJ, Bondi confronted them in the presence of White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and her deputy, Taylor Budowich, on July 9. Bongino, angry with Bondi for overpromising material related to Epstein and her flip-flop on the client list, denied leaking any information to NewsNation. Two days later, Bongino didnt turn up for work. The Daily Wire reported that hes threatening to leave if Bondi remains with Patel following suit. Epsteins Black Book and Trump Was Epstein eliminated because of his Black Book, which contained 1,749 entries of 1,510 people, including Trump and around 40 members of royalty and European nobility and 12 high-ranking politicians and diplomats? According to Epsteins former house manager Alfredo Rodriguez, the paedophiles staff compiled the book. Several people mentioned in the book have denied ever meeting Epsteinbut they met Maxwell. However, if they met him or were part of his sex racket, would they have admitted it? Discovered by famous investigative journalist Nick Bryant in 2012, the Black Book was first published by Gawker, a non-mainstream media website/blog, in 2015. Unsurprisingly, the booklet and the published flight manifest of people on board the Lolita Express didnt get traction with the mainstream media. However, the Black Book was under the media glare after Epsteins arrest in July 2019. Theres a high probability that the influential persons mentioned in the booklet feared being implicated. If Epstein talks, theres gonna be a lot of powerful people who could go down, Bryant told Vanity Fair in July 2019. Besides Trump, his family members, late wife Ivana and their daughter Ivanka, and his late brother Robert and his then-wife Blaine, are also mentioned in the book. Trumps name appears along with several phone numbers and email addresses appears on Page 80 of a digital copy of Epsteins book Interestingly, the names of Trump, Barak and Dershowitz are circled in the booklet. Kuvin, though he denied that theres a client list, mentioned a phonebook (Black Book) of high-profile individuals who would make the call because they happened to be in town for the winter and say, Hey, I need somebody today. Then Maxwell would round up the girls and send someone over. The writer is a freelance journalist with more than two decades of experience and comments primarily on foreign affairs. He tweets as @FightTheBigots. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not reflect Firstposts views. The US said it has brokered steps to ease tensions between Israel and Syria, after recent clashes and Israeli airstrikes in Syria. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the involved parties have agreed on specific steps aimed at ending tensions. read more In a significant diplomatic breakthrough, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington and other involved parties have agreed on specific steps aimed at ending tensions between Israel and Syria tonight, signalling yet another so-called ceasefire. Rubios remarks followed Israels escalation of military operations in Syria, including airstrikes targeting the Syrian Defence Ministry headquarters and the state television building. The Israeli Defence Forces have also deployed additional troops to the border area to protect the Druze minority from potential attacks. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Israels strikes were launched after clashes erupted between the Druze community in Sweida and Syrian government forces. We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria. We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight. This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made, and this is what we fully expect them to do, Rubio said in a post on X. Earlier, while speaking to reporters at the White House, Rubio said, These are historic, longtime rivalries and it led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding Were on our way towards a real de-escalation In the next few hours, we hope to see some real progress to end what youve been seeing. He added, It led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side. Earlier, speaking in the Oval Office alongside Donald Trump, Rubio noted that the tensions between Israel and Syria are historic and have persisted for many years. Meanwhile, Syrian government officials and Druze community leaders announced a renewed ceasefire. Syrian forces have begun withdrawing from Sweida, a city that is home to much of the countrys Druze minority. However, it remains uncertain whether the ceasefire announced by Syrias Interior Ministry and a Druze religious leader will hold. Doubts persist after a previous ceasefire declared on Tuesday quickly collapsed, with prominent Druze leader Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri rejecting the agreement. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Despite the new ceasefire, Israeli airstrikes are still ongoing. Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz stated that the military would continue to operate vigorously in Sweida to eliminate the forces that attacked the Druze until they fully withdraw. It is almost certain that if a so-called ceasefire is reached and Israel halts its operations, Trump will be eager to claim credit for having stopped another warand some country or another might even nominate the Potus for a Nobel Peace Prize. The leak came to light after a High Court judge in London lifted a rare and sweeping injunction on Tuesday that had previously barred any reporting on an email inadvertently sent by a Ministry of Defence official in February 2022 read more A data leak has exposed the identities of several British spies linked to the UK's operation in Myanmar Sindoor A data leak that led to thousands of Afghans being resettled in the United Kingdom after assisting Western forces against the Taliban also exposed the identities of British spies and special forces personnel, news outlets reported on Thursday (July 17). British media said the names of more than 100 individuals, including special forces troops, MI6 intelligence officers, and senior military officials, were among the details mistakenly shared. A person familiar with the matter confirmed to The Associated Press that a small number of special forces personnel names were leaked. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The leak came to light after a High Court judge in London lifted a rare and sweeping injunction on Tuesday that had previously barred any reporting on an email inadvertently sent by a Ministry of Defence official in February 2022. The email contained personal data of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to resettle in the UK under a scheme for those at risk of Taliban retaliation. These Afghans, many of whom had worked as interpreters, fixers, or served in the Afghan National Army, applied under a relocation programme due to fears they would face persecution. The British government only became aware of the leak 18 months later, when some of the data appeared on Facebook posted by an individual who threatened to release the full list. A classified effort to urgently relocate affected Afghans to the UK was launched in response. When High Court Judge Martin Chamberlain lifted the super injunction which had even prohibited reporting on its own existence he permitted reporting on the Afghan applicants. However, his initial ruling barred the publication of information indicating that British military and intelligence figures were also on the list. News organisations sought to amend that restriction after The Sun tabloid, which was not a party to the legal proceedings and therefore not subject to the injunction, published details that British identities had also been exposed. The blunder has become a political scandal, largely because of the governments efforts to suppress information while quietly relocating thousands of people. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On Tuesday (July 15), Defence Secretary John Healey apologised in Parliament on behalf of the government. He confirmed that a small number of names of people who supported the applications, including members of Parliament, senior military officers and government officials, were on the list. So far, about 4,500 Afghans (900 applicants and 3,600 of their family members) have been relocated under the scheme. The total is expected to reach nearly 6,900 before the programme concludes, at a cost of approximately 850 million ($1.1 billion). Officials said they would close the programme following an independent review, which concluded that the leak likely did not increase the Talibans awareness of those who had cooperated with Western forces. The review noted that the Taliban had alternative means of identifying such individuals. Nonetheless, critics said the breach endangered the lives of thousands of Afghans who had supported British operations. Sean Humber, a lawyer who has represented affected Afghan clients, described the breach as catastrophic and said it had caused anxiety, fear and distress to those involved. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD British troops were first deployed to Afghanistan in the aftermath of the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. At their peak, nearly 10,000 UK service members were stationed in the country, primarily in Helmand province. Britain ended combat operations in 2014, and its last forces withdrew in 2021 amid the Talibans rapid return to power. The militant groups takeover prompted a chaotic international evacuation of foreign nationals and Afghan allies. With inputs from AP The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that among the dead were 79 Druze fighters and 154 civilians from Sweida. This includes 83 individuals who were summarily executed by members of the defence and interior ministries read more Members of the Druze minority and their supporters protest outside the US Embassy in Jerusalem, amid the clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. AP At least 516 people have been killed in the Sweida province of southern Syria, according to a war monitors report on Thursday (July 17). This updated toll follows several days of clashes that prompted the deployment of government forces. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported that among the dead were 79 Druze fighters and 154 civilians from Sweida. This includes 83 individuals who were summarily executed by members of the defence and interior ministries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The clashes also resulted in the deaths of 243 government personnel and 18 Bedouin fighters, along with three members of Bedouin tribes who were executed by Druze fighters. Additionally, fifteen government personnel were killed in Israeli airstrikes. With inputs from AFP While Washington has long blamed Beijing for supplying fentanyl to the country, China has defended its drug control record and accused Washington of using fentanyl to blackmail China read more US President Donald Trump has accused China of not curbing the flow of precursor chemicals for fentanyl and said that the country should start sentencing people to death for the manufacture and distribution of the chemical that is behind thousands of deaths in the US. I think were going to work it out so that China is going to end up going from that to giving the death penalty to the people that create this fentanyl and send it into our country, Trump said. I believe thats going to happen soon. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While Washington has long blamed Beijing for supplying fentanyl to the country, China has defended its drug control record and accused Washington of using fentanyl to blackmail China. The development comes amid easing US-China tensions as both countries try to reach a deal on tariffs. Earlier this year, Trump imposed a 20 per cent tariff on China over the fentanyl issue, hoping to stem the drug problem. Trump signs executive order The president hosted congressional leaders and families affected by the fentanyl epidemic as he signed an executive order to stop the supply of the deadly drug into the US. The Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act will increase prison terms for drug offences involving fentanyl-related substances. It will also classify all fentanyl-related substances, particularly imitation versions of the drug, as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act, placing them on the US Drug Enforcement Administrations list of the most dangerous drugs. More than 450,000 Americans have died of synthetic opioid overdoses over the past decade, with millions more addicted. Under the HALT Fentanyl Act, anyone who possesses, imports, distributes, or manufactures any illicit FRS (fentanyl-related substances) will be subject to criminal prosecution in the same manner as any other Schedule I controlled substance, a White House document related to the executive order read, according to CNN. How is China curbing drug supply? Beijing has also taken a series of actions on counter-narcotics in recent weeks. These included adding two more fentanyl precursors, 4-piperidone and 1-boc-4-piperidone, to a list of controlled chemicals starting on Sunday. Last month, Chinese state media reported that immigration officials have seized more than 2 tons of drugs and arrested 262 suspects for drug smuggling so far this year. Chinese officials also said they had prosecuted more than 1,300 people and arrested over 700 more nationwide for drug-related money laundering offences between January and May this year, a 2.1 per cent year-on-year increase. With inputs from Reuters Brussels officials say politically charged decisions involving US firms are being handled cautiously, especially since the Trump administration has accused the EU of targeting American tech companies and infringing on freedom of speech read more The European Commission has delayed concluding a key investigation into Elon Musks social media platform X over alleged violations of the blocs digital transparency rules, as it navigates sensitive trade negotiations with the United States. The probe under the EUs Digital Services Act (DSA) was expected to wrap up before the summer recess, but three officials familiar with the matter said that would no longer happen. Its all tied up, Financial Times cited one of the officials as saying, referring to the timing of the decision and ongoing EU-US trade discussions. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The DSA requires large online platforms to crack down on illegal content and increase transparency. Brussels launched multiple investigations into X for allegedly breaching the law, including deceptive design and failure to provide sufficient data access. If found guilty, the platform could face fines of up to 6 per cent of its annual global revenue, though penalties are expected to fall below that maximum. The commission, which leads EU trade policy, has been in talks with Washington since April after US President Donald Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs on EU goods. Initially set at 20 per cent, the tariffs were reduced to 10 per cent to allow for negotiations, but Trump has since threatened to raise them to 30 per cent from 1 August. Amid the talks, Brussels officials say politically charged decisions involving US firms are being handled cautiously. The Trump administration has accused the EU of targeting American tech companies and infringing on freedom of speech. What happened was inexcusable and the consequences imposed for the failures so far do not reflect the severity of the situation, Trump said, comparing the EUs regulatory actions to overseas extortion. While Trump and Musk have fallen out this year after previously developing a political alliance ahead of the 2024 election, the US president has remained critical of EU enforcement measures against American tech giants. Despite that pressure, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has insisted the bloc will not change its digital rule book. In April, the EU fined Apple and Meta 700 million combined for breaching antitrust regulations under the Digital Markets Act. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Unlike the Digital Markets Act, the DSA has no fixed deadlines for completing investigations, giving the commission flexibility in announcing findings. Ongoing DSA investigations also include probes into Meta and TikTok over their content moderation policies. The commission stated that the proceedings against X under the DSA are ongoing, and added that the enforcement of our legislation is independent of the current ongoing negotiations. It said it remains fully committed to the effective enforcement of digital legislation, including the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act. Anna Cavazzini, a European Parliament lawmaker with the Greens, called on the commission to act swiftly. The commission must continue making changes to EU regulations an absolute red line in tariff negotiations with the US, she said. Brussels is also examining Xs content moderation practices, particularly after Musk hosted Alice Weidel of Germanys far-right Alternative for Germany party on the platform ahead of national elections. Additionally, there is growing pressure to investigate Musks Grok chatbot after it reportedly generated antisemitic content. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD X has defended its record, stating that it disagreed with the commissions assessment of the comprehensive work we have done to comply with the Digital Services Act and the commissions interpretation of the Acts scope. As violence engulfs former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas hometown, the clashes in Gopalganj reach the doors of the United Nations. read more Soldiers sit atop an APC after armed forces were deployed, following a clash during a National Citizen Party rally, in Gopalganj, Bangladesh, July 16, 2025. Reuters The clashes that erupted in former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas hometown, Gopalganj, on July 16, have reached the doors of the United Nations in what is allegedly being described as Genocide. In a letter written to the UN Ethical Office, an independent non-governmental organisation called the International Crimes Research Foundation (ICRF) highlighted the political violence, heritage destruction and other Human Rights Violations that have engulfed Bangladesh. At least 4 people have reportedly been killed and 15 others were injured following a violent clash that erupted at a National Citizens Party (NCP) rally in Gopalganj, Bangladesh, on Wednesday. At 2:30 pm (local time), the convoy of the NCP was attacked in Gopalganj, the hometown of Bangladeshs former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As per the report, the convoy came under attack while it was coming back after holding a rally. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The incident took place in front of Gopalganj Government College at the launch ghat area of the town, The Dhaka Tribune reported. There were separate attacks before the rally even started at 1:30 pm (local time). The clash erupted on the stage of the rally at the municipal park area of Gopalganj town. The case reaches the United Nations In the letter to the UN Ethical Office, ICRF argued that NCP leaders marched into Gopalganj with thousands of their followers, and the objective of the rally was to desecrate and demolish the graveyard of Bangladeshs Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. On 16 July 2025, a political group known as the Nationalist Citizens Party (NCP), which is neither registered with the Election Commission nor holds any legal status as an Electoral Political Party, marched into Gopalganj with thousands of its followers, ICRF said in a letter to the UN. Their reported objective was to desecrate and demolish the graveyard of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman- a sacred and symbolic national site that holds profound emotional, historical, and political significance for our people, the letter furthered. The ICRF noted that while the residents resisted the party workers, the Bangladesh Army deployed forces in support of the NCP. The group accused the countrys army of using lethal weapons to open fire on unarmed civilians. Contrary to the figure that is being reported by multiple Bangladeshi news outlets, the report suggested that at least 21 people lost their lives in the clashes and a civilian was arrested and tortured by the authorities. ICRF went on to demand an independent international investigation into the Gopalganj crisis. The group also urged the UN to hold the Bangladesh Army accountable under international law for any violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings and torture. A day after the violence, Mohammad Yunus's interim government announced that it had established a committee to investigate acts of violence and deaths that occurred in Gopalganj. According to The Dhaka Tribune, the Committee will be chaired by Nasimul Ghani, senior secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs. However, many are raising concerns about the governments bias. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Bangladesh Armys role comes under major scrutiny after conflicting claims emerge over what exactly happened in the deadly Gopalganj clashes read more Chaos ensued in Bangladesh's Gopalganj with different political groups clashing with each other in former PM Sheikh Hasina's hometown. Facebook - Movement For Bangladesh / Reuters On Wednesday, chaos ensued in former Bangladeshi PM Sheikh Hasinas home in Gopalganj, with two conflicting stories on what actually happened. While Bangladeshi media reported that four people were killed in the clashes, human rights groups and workers of Hasinas party, Awami League, claimed that the death toll is nearly 21. It all happened when Nahid Islam's National Citizens Party (NCP) conducted a rally in Gopalgunj on Wednesday afternoon. As per Bangladeshi news outlets and NCP, the partys convoy was attacked at 2:30 pm (local time). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD However, the opposition argued that goons from the NCP were creating a ruckus, and the residents only resisted. However, one thing that garnered attention in the whole ordeal was the armys intervention. While some called it important, others accused the Bangladeshi army of being biased. Heres a look at what the two sides are saying. Awami League worker accuses NCP and Jamaat of police brutality While speaking to Firstpost about the Wednesday incident, an Awami League worker, who asked to remain anonymous, narrated the police brutality amid the chaos, he claimed was started by NCP workers. During the conversation, the Awami League worker frequently referred to NCP as Jamaat-e-Islami's B-Team. Around 23-24 people were killed. They were professional killers, contract killers. NCP is Jamaats B-Team; even people from Jamaat were there. Some of them wore police uniforms, an anguished Awami League worker told Firstpost. They are radicals; they intended to kill people. If this continues, it will lead to civil war, he added. The party worker also shared multiple videos of police brutality, which he claimed were taking place in Gopalganj. However, Firstpost was unable to independently verify whether the videos were from the Wednesday incident and hence refrained from sharing them. They came here to kill people. There were many personnel at the rally, many soldiers from the army and 200 police officers. If things remain the same, people might retaliate, and this can cause further problems in the future, the Awami League party worker exclaimed. A similar assertion was made by a group called the International Crimes Research Foundation (ICRF), which even flagged the Gopalganj incident in a letter to the United Nations Ethics Office. In the letter to the UN Ethical Office, ICRF argued that NCP leaders marched into Gopalganj with thousands of their followers, and the objective of the rally was to desecrate and demolish the graveyard of Bangladeshs Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On 16 July 2025, a political group known as the Nationalist Citizens Party (NCP), which is neither registered with the Election Commission nor holds any legal status as an Electoral Political Party, marched into Gopalganj with thousands of its followers, ICRF said in a letter to the UN. Their reported objective was to desecrate and demolish the graveyard of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman- a sacred and symbolic national site that holds profound emotional, historical, and political significance for our people, the letter furthered. The ICRF noted that while the residents resisted the party workers, the Bangladesh Army deployed forces in support of the NCP. The group accused the countrys army of using lethal weapons to open fire on unarmed civilians. ICRF went on to demand an independent international investigation into the Gopalganj crisis. The group also urged the UN to hold the Bangladesh Army accountable under international law for any violations of human rights, including extrajudicial killings and torture. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What NCP and Bangladeshi authorities are saying However, the Bangladeshi media and the ruling regime painted a different picture of what went down on Wednesday afternoon. Multiple Bangladeshi news outlets reported that it was the NCP rally that was attacked in Gopalganj and not the other way around. NCP Convener Nahid Islam demanded the arrest of the culprits at a press conference in Kulna. He claimed that the attacks were carried out to kill him, The Daily Star reported. After concluding our rally in Gopalganj, we were heading towards Madaripur when armed goons of the Awami League attacked our motorcade, Nahid said. Meanwhile, Bangladeshs Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunuss press wing condemned the utterly indefensible attack on leaders and activists of the NCP and said it will not go unpunished. Political parties, including BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, also condemned the attack. However, one whole day has passed, and the authorities maintain that only 4 people were killed in the clashes, which many human rights groups have been calling an underestimation. At least 4 people were killed in clashes that erupted at an NCP rally in Bangladeshs Gopalganj district, hometown to former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. read more Security forces throw tear gas cans and sound grenades to disperse the Awami League supporters following a clash during the National Citizen Party rally, in Gopalganj, Bangladesh, July 16, 2025. Reuters At least four people have reportedly been killed following a violent clash that erupted at a National Citizens Party (NCP) rally in Gopalganj, Bangladesh. Dr Jibitesh Biswas, superintendent of Gopalganj General Hospital, confirmed the death of four people and mentioned that over 15 people have been injured following the clashes and are receiving treatment in the hospital. Out of the 15, three people were critically injured. According to Bangladeshi news outlet The Dhaka Tribune, the four deceased have been identified as Dipto Saha, 25, son of Santosh Saha from Udayan Road in Gopalganj town; Ramzan Kazi, 18, from Harinahat village in Kotalipara upazila; Sohel Rana, 30, a resident of Miyapara area in the town; and Imon, 24, from Bherarhat Bazar in Gopalganj Sadar upazila. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On Wednesday, at 2:30 pm (local time), the convoy of NCP was attacked in Gopalganj, the hometown of Bangladeshs former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. As per the report, the convoy came under attack while it was coming back after holding a rally. The incident took place in front of Gopalganj Government College at the launch ghat area of the town, The Dhaka Tribune reported. There were separate attacks before the rally even started at 1:30 pm (local time). The clash erupted on the stage of the rally at the municipal park area of Gopalganj town. Curfew in place in Gopalganj Soon after the clashes, District Commissioner Md Kamruzzaman imposed Section 144 across Gopalganj district. The restrictions were imposed from 8:00 pm (local time) on Wednesday to 6:00 pm (local time) today to bring the situation under control, The Daily Star reported. In light of this, the HSC, Alim and HSC (Vocational) exams in the Gopalganj district have been postponed. The notices of the postponement were issued at 10:30 pm (local time) yesterday. Apart from Gopalganj, NCP held rallies in several other districts on Wednesday, including Chattogram and Noakhali, condemning the attack. Reeling through the aftermath of the attack, NCP Convener Nahid Islam demanded the arrest of the culprits at a press conference in Kulna. He claimed that the attacks were carried out to kill him, The Daily Star reported. After concluding our rally in Gopalganj, we were heading towards Madaripur when armed goons of the Awami League attacked our motorcade, Nahid said. The NCP will now hold a rally in Faridpur today as part of its month-long programme. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, Bangladeshs Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunuss press wing condemned the utterly indefensible attack on leaders and activists of the NCP and said it will not go unpunished. Political parties, including BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami, also condemned the attack. At least 40,000 people are expected to attend the November 10-21 event in Belem, known as the gateway to the Amazon rainforest, according to government estimates from the start of the year read more People watch the sunset over the Rio Negro in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil on July 6, 2025. AFP/Representational image Brazil insisted Wednesday it will have enough rooms for the tens of thousands of people expected to attend the COP30 UN climate conference in the Amazonian city of Belem in November. After complaints about sky-high room prices in the far-flung destination, organizers said they would guarantee affordable accommodation for delegates and participants from poor countries.At least 40,000 people are expected to attend the November 10-21 event in Belem, known as the gateway to the Amazon rainforest, according to government estimates from the start of the year. Around 30,000 potential rooms have been identified for use during the conference, the events secretary Valter Correia said, including 3,900 on two cruise ships. There will also be rooms in hotels, private homes, and at universities and schools to be converted for the first-ever climate COP to be held in the Amazon. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD They will include 1,500 rooms priced at no more than $220 per night for delegates from 98 developing and island nations, Correia said. Another 1,000 rooms will be priced at no more than $600 per night, and the government was negotiating with the private sector to set reasonable prices for other accommodation, said Correia. We will have sufficient accommodations for everyone, have no doubt about that. We just need to set appropriate prices, Correia told journalists. At a preparatory meeting in June, several countries raised concerns over eye-watering lodging prices in Belem, a northern city of 1.3 million inhabitants with limited hotel capacity. More than 50,000 people attended the last COP, held in Azerbaijan in 2024, some 30,000 fewer than COP28 in Dubai. In recent months, some hotels have been offering rooms at $1,400 per night. jss/rsr/mlr/aks Agence France-Presse Amid deadly Druze-Sunni clashes in Syrias Sweida province, Israel positions itself as protector of the Druze community, raising questions over whether its true aim is securing a strategic foothold in a fractured post-Assad Syria read more The volatile Sweida province in southern Syria, home to the countrys Druze minority, has become the epicentre of deadly sectarian clashes recently, as armed confrontations between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes have escalated into a broader regional crisis. What began as a series of kidnappings and retaliatory attacks spiralled into one of the most intense outbreaks of sectarian violence since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad late last year. Reports say over 240 people have been killed and thousands displaced as violence swept through the province. The Syrian government forces were deployed to restore order. Instead, they triggered more unrest, with Druze factions accusing the regime of siding with Sunni Bedouin tribes, fuelling suspicions that Damascus is increasingly hostile to minority populations under its new Islamist-leaning leadership. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In a dramatic turn, Israel intervened militarily, launching airstrikes on Syrian tanks and artillery en route to Sweida. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz justified the action as a move to prevent harm to the Druze and enforce the demilitarisation of southern Syria, citing deep familial and historical ties to the Druze population both within and outside Israel. Why Druze identity is at the core of Syrian violence The Druze are a religious and ethnic minority whose faith branched from Ismaili Shiism in the 10th century. In Syria, they have traditionally lived in the southern province of Sweida, as well as in parts of Damascus. The Druze have historically avoided aligning too closely with any single political faction, maintaining local militias for self-defence, particularly against jihadist groups like the Islamic State and al-Qaeda, who regard them as heretics. The fall of Assads secular regime in December 2024, following a lightning offensive by Sunni Islamist armed groups, has created immense insecurity for the Druze. Though the incumbent President Ahmad al-Sharaa, who led the biggest group and the rebel charge against the Assad regime, has pledged to respect minority rights, his past association with extremist groups and a government dominated by Islamist ideologues have raised alarm. This is especially concerning given that minorities like the Druze had enjoyed relative autonomy and religious freedom under Assads rule. Post-Assad Syria has seen several sectarian massacres, including an ambush on Alawite civilians in March, demonstrating the dangers of the countrys new religious order, the AP reported. In Sweida, what began as a checkpoint robbery by Bedouin tribesmen, which led to the assault of a Druze man, soon escalated into widespread tit-for-tat violence. In response, Syrian security forces intervened but many Druze perceived this as an act of aggression rather than neutrality. Local leaders allege that regime forces have executed 19 Druze civilians, deepening suspicions that Damascus now views the Druze more as adversaries than citizens, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights believed. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What Israel has to do with Druze? Israels military response airstrikes on tanks, armoured vehicles and rocket launchers heading toward Sweida was swift and unusually forceful. According to a defence official quoted by The Times of Israel, the strikes were exceptionally large-scale. They carried out to uphold Israels commitment to demilitarising southern Syria and protecting the Druze. Israel also bombed the gates of the Syrian Ministry of Defence and areas in the periphery of the ministry as a warning to the new Syrian regime. Israels rationale is multifaceted. First, there are deep-rooted familial and military ties between Israeli Druze who are seen as loyal citizens and often serve in the military and the Druze communities across the border in Syria. Cross-border marriages and family networks are common, especially in the Golan Heights region, which Israel captured in 1967 and annexed in 1981. Second, Israeli Druze organisations have pressured the government to act, citing the risk of a massacre. For Tel Aviv, failing to respond would have undermined internal cohesion and alienated a key minority group within its borders. Third and perhaps most important this intervention aligns with Israels evolving security doctrine. Since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks in 2023, Israel has expanded its military posture throughout the region. Southern Syria offers a strategic buffer zone against Iranian influence and jihadist groups. Ensuring that no hostile forces especially Islamist militants aligned with the new Syrian leadership gain control of the area is central to Israels national defence calculus. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The joint statement by Netanyahu and Katz said, Israel is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria due to the deep brotherly alliance with our Druze citizens in Israel We are acting to prevent the Syrian regime from harming them, and to ensure the demilitarisation of the area adjacent to our border with Syria. While Israel publicly frames its actions as humanitarian, the strategic undercurrents are undeniable. Protecting the Druze serves as a convenient and politically palatable justification for a military foothold in southern Syria. It also sends a deterrent message to Damascus that any move that threatens regional minorities or violates Israels red lines in the Golan area will be met with force. Moreover, the current turmoil in Sweida could allow Israel to reshape the post-Assad order, positioning itself as a stakeholder in the reconfiguration of Syria. This is especially significant given the ongoing Abraham Accords negotiations, which some speculate could eventually include Syria. With the US distracted and Russia consumed by its prolonged engagement in Ukraine, Israel sees an opportunity to fill the power vacuum in southern Syria. The airstrikes and cross-border operations fit into a broader West Asian strategy that involves targeted interventions, strategic alliances and the projection of military dominance, especially in areas perceived as vulnerable to Iranian or jihadist encroachment. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD This doctrine of humanitarian-aligned interventionism is not new but has become increasingly pronounced since 2023, as regional instability deepens. But do all see Israel as their saviour? Despite the apparent alignment between Israeli Druze and their Syrian counterparts, the situation on the ground is far from monolithic. Many Druze leaders and civilians in Syria remain wary of Israels intentions, preferring to maintain their traditional neutrality and independence from external powers. One Druze spiritual leader in Sweida reportedly called for continued resistance even after a ceasefire was announced by Syrias defence ministry, Xinhua reported. This reflects a broader sentiment among Syrian Druze, which is of distrust of both Damascus and Tel Aviv. Indeed, while Israeli intervention may provide short-term protection, it also risks turning the Druze into pawns in a larger geopolitical chess game. For a community that has historically prized autonomy and local governance, this could prove deeply divisive. Even within Israel, there is concern over escalation. Analysts fear that sustained military operations in Syria could trigger retaliatory attacks by Hezbollah or Iran-backed militias, especially as tensions rise along the northern front. The ongoing Druze-Sunni violence in Sweida has provided Israel with both a strategic opening and a moral imperative. By positioning itself as a protector of the Druze, Israel not only reinforces its ties with a loyal minority at home but also legitimises its military presence in a strategically vital corridor of southern Syria. Yet, the stakes are high. The region remains fragmented and unstable. The new Syrian government, led by Islamist factions, is under pressure to stop what Syrians see as Israeli encroachment, and but the potential for sectarian reprisals or escalation remains acute. This may lead to escalation of conflict, given Netanyahu and Katzs commitment to protect the Druze community. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Moreover, the Druze themselves are divided some welcoming protection, others fearing manipulation. As such, Israels attempt to carve out a strategic foothold under the banner of humanitarian intervention may well succeed tactically but could also entrench the regions fragmentation and fuel further conflict. What is clear, however, is that Israels actions in Sweida reflect a broader regional doctrine that in todays West Asia, security, diplomacy and humanitarianism are no longer separate spheres. They are weapons in the same strategic arsenal. The question now is whether this new doctrine will bring stability or unleash even greater chaos. France has handed over the last military base in Senegal to the countrys government. Now France does not have any permanent military presence in central and western Africa. The pushback against French presence has come in recent years even as jihadist insurgency has gained traction lately. read more Senegal's Chief of General Staff, General Mbaye Cisse (R), and France's General Pascal Ianni, who commands France's troops in Africa, salute as the Senegalese flag is raised during a ceremony where France will return Camp Geille, its largest base in the country, and its airfield at Dakar airport, in Dakar on July 17, 2025. (Photo: Patrick Meinhardt/AFP) France on Thursday formally handed back its last two military bases in Senegal, leaving Paris with no permanent army camps in either west or central Africa. Ending the French armys 65 years in independent Senegal, the pull-out comes after similar withdrawals across the continent, with former colonies increasingly turning their backs on their former ruler. The move comes as the Sahel region faces a growing jihadist conflict across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that is threatening the wider west African region. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A recent string of attacks this month in Mali included an assault on a town on the border with Senegal. France returned Camp Geille, its largest base in the west African country, and its airfield at Dakar airport, in a ceremony attended by top French and Senegalese officials. They included Senegalese chief of staff General Mbaye Cisse and General Pascal Ianni, the head of the French forces in Africa. Cisse said the handover marked an important turning point in the rich and long military journey of our two countries. He said the new objectives were aimed at giving new content to the security partnership. Senegalese troops were working to consolidate the numerous skills gained it its quest for strategic autonomy, he added. The general ended his speech with a quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the French author of The Little Prince, who spent several months in Dakar: For each ending there is always a new departure. Ianni said Paris was reinventing partnerships in a dynamic Africa. We have to do things differently, and we dont need permanent bases to do so, he said. The French general however insisted that the pull-out takes nothing away from the sacrifices made yesterday by our brothers-in-arms in Africa for our respective interests. Around 350 French soldiers, primarily tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, are now leaving, marking the end of a three-month departure process that began in March. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD After storming to victory in 2024 elections promising radical change, Senegals President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw troops from the country by 2025. Unlike the leaders of other former colonies such as junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, however, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris. Sovereignty Senegal was one of Frances first colonies in Africa. After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of Frances staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its modern history. Fayes predecessor, Macky Sall, continued that tradition. However Faye, who ran on a ticket promising a clean break with the Sall era, has said that Senegal will treat France like any other foreign partner. Pledging to make his country more self-sufficient, the president gave a deadline of the end of 2025 for all foreign armies to withdraw. Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country, Faye said at the end of 2024. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD He maintained nonetheless that France remained an important partner for Senegal. Faye has also urged Paris to apologise for colonial atrocities, including the massacre on December 1, 1944, of dozens of African soldiers who had fought for France in World War II. Continent-wide pull-out With governments across Africa increasingly questioning the presence of French soldiers, Paris has closed or reduced numbers at bases across its former empire. In February, Paris handed back its sole remaining base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of French presence at the site. The month before, France turned over the Kossei base in Chad, its last military foothold in the unrest-hit Sahel region. Coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali between 2020 and 2023 have swept military strongmen to power. All have cut ties with France and turned to Russia instead for help in fighting the Sahels decade-long jihadist insurgency. The Central African Republic, also a former French colony to which the Kremlin has sent mercenaries, has likewise demanded a French pull-out. Meanwhile the army has turned its base in Gabon into a camp shared with the central African nation focused on training. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will play host to a permanent French army base following Thursdays withdrawal. France intends to make its base in Djibouti, home to some 1,500 people, its military headquarters for Africa. (This is an agency copy. Except for the headline, the copy has not been edited by Firstpost staff.) The visit is Merzs first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Starmer several times, including on a trip to Ukraine just days after he took office in early May. read more UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with France's President Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz on board a train to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv where all three held meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, May 9, 2025. File Photo: Reuters German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will travel to London Thursday to sign a friendship treaty with Prime Minister Keir Starmer, as Britain seeks to improve post-Brexit ties with its neighbours. They will also discuss continued support for Ukraine, with both London and Berlin expected to play a role in US President Donald Trumps plan to send weapons to Kyiv with financing from other NATO countries. The visit is Merzs first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Starmer several times, including on a trip to Ukraine just days after he took office in early May. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Merzs trip comes a week after a state visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron, the first by an EU head of state since the UK left the bloc five years ago. The wide-ranging new treaty between Germany and Britain will refer to the turbulent security situation that both countries face and include a mutual defence pact. There is no strategic threat to one which would not be a strategic threat to the other, the text is expected to say, alongside a pledge that the two countries shall assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack. While Britain and Germany already have a commitment to mutual defence as NATO members, the treaty is expected to pave the way for greater defence cooperation, including in weapons development and operations on NATOs eastern flank. The two countries already signed a landmark defence agreement in October and in May said they would begin developing strike missiles with a range of 2,000-plus kilometres (1,250 miles). Merz and Starmer are set to announce Thursday that this system will be delivered within the next decade, and they will unveil a new agreement on boosting UK defence exports to Germany such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Overcoming Brexit trauma' German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul will accompany Merz on the visit and is expected to meet his British counterpart David Lammy. A German government source said of the visit that we shouldnt underestimate how much relations with the UK had improved since the traumatic experience of Brexit. The treaty will include measures to improve citizens contacts between the two countries, for example by simplifying border procedures for school trips. The two leaders are also set to commit to doing more to tackle irregular migration, a key domestic priority for both Merz and Starmer. Merzs government is expected to make a commitment to modify German law by the end of the year to criminalise the facilitation of illegal migration. This will include action against storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal small boats intended for Channel crossings. The text will also include sections on science and technology, with more cooperation promised in strategic sectors such as artificial intelligence. It will also establish a new UK-Germany Business Forum, with several German companies poised to announce new investment in Britain on Thursday. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD On the topic of transport, the two countries will commit to improving train connections. Last month Eurostar said it planned to launch a new route from London to Frankfurt in the early 2030s, which would be the first such direct connection between the UK and Germany. Protests against Donald Trumps hardline policies, from mass deportations to cuts in healthcare and social programmes, are expected to take place on Thursday (July 17) in more than 1,600 locations across the US read more People gather to protest against the war on immigrants in New York City on June 6, 2025. AFP Protests against Donald Trumps hardline policies, from mass deportations to cuts in healthcare and social programmes, are expected to take place on Thursday (July 17) in more than 1,600 locations across the United States. Billed as the Good Trouble Lives On national day of action, the demonstrations are being organised in memory of the late Congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. From courthouses to public squares, organisers have urged that the events remain peaceful. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD We are navigating one of the most terrifying moments in our nations history, said Lisa Gilbert, co-president of Public Citizen, a nonprofit advocacy group that is part of the coalition behind the demonstrations. We are all grappling with a rise of authoritarianism and lawlessness within our administration as the rights, freedoms and expectations of our very democracy are being challenged. Major protests are planned in cities including Atlanta, St Louis, Oakland, and Annapolis. Chicago will serve as the flagship location, where a large rally is expected to take place in the city centre. Honouring a legacy of struggle John Lewis, who died in 2020 at the age of 80, was the youngest of the Big Six civil rights leaders who worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. A pivotal figure in the civil rights movement, Lewis was brutally beaten on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, in 1965 while leading a march for voting rights. The violence of that day, known as Bloody Sunday, helped spur President Lyndon Johnson to push Congress to pass the landmark Voting Rights Act later that year. Lewis, who went on to serve in Congress from 1986 until his death, famously urged Americans to Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America as he marked the anniversary of the Selma-to-Montgomery marches in 2020. In Chicago, the League of Women Voters has helped organise a downtown demonstration with a candlelight vigil to honour Lewis. We have a DJ whos gonna rock us with boots on the ground, said Betty Magness, the groups executive vice president. Protesting Trumps second-term agenda While the Good Trouble protests are aimed at upholding Lewiss legacy, they have also become a focal point for growing outrage against Trumps second-term policies, especially his escalating immigration crackdowns. Earlier this month, federal agents carried out mass arrests at two marijuana farms in Southern California. One farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof during the chaotic raid, which led to a tense standoff between protesters and authorities. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The raids came just days after Trump deployed National Guard units to back immigration agents operating in Los Angeles, in a move widely condemned as an abuse of federal power. Public anger reached a crescendo during the June 14 No Kings demonstrations, which were held on Trumps birthday and featured large-scale rallies from New York to San Francisco. Protesters accused the president of behaving like a monarch, denouncing him as a dictator and would-be king. Thursdays protests are expected to continue the wave of defiance. Organisers say the aim is not just to oppose specific policies, but to stand for civil liberties, democratic values, and the memory of one of Americas most enduring champions of justice. With inputs from AP At least 50 people were killed and several others injured in a massive fire at a hypermarket in Kut city, eastern Iraq. Videos on social media showed a five-storey building engulfed in flames as firefighters worked through the night to douse the blaze. read more At least 50 people have died and many others were injured after a massive fire broke out at a hypermarket in Kut city in eastern Iraq, according to Iraqs state news agency INA. Videos circulating online showed a five-storey building engulfed in flames overnight as firefighters battled to control the blaze. Reuters could not independently verify the videos. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but the governor said initial results from an investigation would be announced within 48 hours, INA reported. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The number of victims has reached about 50 people, martyrs and injured, in the tragic fire at a major shopping centre" that broke out late Wednesday, Wasit province governor, Mohammed al-Miyahi told the INA news agency. More from World Is Ukraine sliding into authoritarianism amid war? Zelenskyy faces backlash over police raids on critics We have filed lawsuits against the owner of the building and the mall, INA quoted the governor as saying. This is a developing story. The commission has issued repeated condemnations of Israels military actions in Gaza since the war began following Hamass deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has regularly alleged prejudice and double standards read more Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks at the devastation caused in Kibbutz Niz Oz in the October 7 attack. X / @IsraeliPM_heb Israel has formally urged the United Nations Human Rights Council to disband a commission investigating rights violations in Israel and the Palestinian territories, accusing it of institutional discrimination. In a letter seen by Reuters, Israels ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Daniel Meron, said The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, was biased in its approach and findings. The commission has issued repeated condemnations of Israels military actions in Gaza since the war began following Hamass deadly attacks on southern Israel on October 7, 2023. Israel has regularly dismissed the bodys reports, alleging prejudice and double standards. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Commission of Inquiry, both in its mandate and in the work of its members, constitutes nothing less than a manifestation of the institutional discrimination against Israel in the Human Rights Council, the letter stated. The commission was created in May 2021 during a previous round of hostilities between Israel and Hamas. It is empowered to collect and preserve evidence that can be used in international legal proceedings, including at the International Criminal Court. Council spokesperson Pascal Sim confirmed that the letter had been received by Council President Jurg Lauber. However, Sim clarified that Lauber does not have the authority to dismantle the commission. That would be up to the Councils 47 members, Sim said. In March, the commission accused Israel of having committed genocidal acts against Palestinians. The report drew a furious response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who denounced the findings as biased and antisemitic. Israel formally disengaged from the Human Rights Council in February. With inputs from Reuters In the latest round of attacks in the Gaza Strip, Israel has struck the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, which is the only Catholic church in Gaza. At least two persons were killed in the attack the priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, also suffered injuries. read more People carry the body of Palestinian Christian Saad Salama, who was killed in an Israeli strike on the Church of the Holy Family, according to medics, at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital, in Gaza City July 17, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas) In the latest round of attacks in the Gaza Strip, an Israeli strike on Thursday struck the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and killed two persons. In a statement carried by AFP, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which administers the Holy Family Church, said, With deep sorrow the Latin Patriarchate can now confirm that two persons were killed as a result of an apparent strike by the Israeli army that hit the Holy Family Compound this morning. We pray for the rest of their souls and for the end of this barbaric war. Nothing can justify the targeting of innocent civilians. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Holy Family Church is the only Catholic church in Gaza. The churchs priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was also injured in the attack. Pope Leo responded to the attack with a reiteration of his call for a ceasefire. A statement from the Vatican said that the Pope was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza and renews his call for an immediate ceasefire. Parish priest of the Church of the Holy Family, father Gabriele Romanelli, receives medical attention, after he suffered light leg injuries following an Israeli strike on the church, according to medics, at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, in this still image taken from a video July 17, 2025. (Photo: Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas) This is not the first time that Israel has struck a church in Gaza. Since October 2023, when Israel began the military campaign in Gaza in response to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, multiple attacks have been reported on churches in Gaza, such as the Church of Saint Porphyrius, which is a historic church in Gaza that dates to the 4th century CE. In one such attack, at least 18 Palestinians were killed in the church compound. Israeli attack destroyed large parts of church complex The Israeli attack destroyed large parts of the complex of the Holy Family Church, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Targeting a holy site currently sheltering approximately 600 displaced persons, the majority of whom are children and 54 with special needs, is a flagrant violation of human dignity and a blatant violation of the sanctity of life and the sanctity of religious sites, which are supposed to provide a safe haven in times of war, the statement further read. Beside the Pope, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni reacted strongly to the strike and said Israeli attacks on civilians are unacceptable. The Israeli raids on Gaza have also hit the Holy Family church. The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such behaviour, said Meloni. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Holy Family Churchs priest, Romanelli, used to receive daily calls for previous Pope Francis since the beginning of the war. Francis was a strong supporter of a ceasefire and frequently spoke of the death and devastation in Gaza. In his last public address before his death, he condemned the deplorable humanitarian situation in Gaza and called upon Israel and Hamas to call for a ceasefire, release the hostages and come to the aid of a starving people, that aspires to a future of peace. The US embassy in India has issued a new advisory for visa applicants, warning them to follow American laws while visiting the country. The statement comes after a viral video showed an Indian woman allegedly caught shoplifting at a Target store in the US. read more Seven hours, one cart, $1,300 worth of theft: Outrage after video shows Indian woman caught shoplifting in US. Image: News18 The US embassy in India has issued a fresh warning for US visa applicants after a video of an Indian woman allegedly caught shoplifting at a US store went viral on social media. The woman was accused of stealing items worth $1,300 (around 1.1 lakh) during her visit. In a post on X, the embassy cautioned individuals against committing crimes such as assault, theft, or burglary while in the United States. Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States wont just cause you legal issues it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future US visas, the embassy said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States wont just cause you legal issues it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future U.S. visas. The United States values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all U.S. laws. pic.twitter.com/MYU6tx83Zh U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) July 16, 2025 The statement further stressed that the United States values law and order and expects all foreign visitors to adhere to US laws. Indian woman caught shoplifting at Target According to a video posted by YouTube channel @BodyCamEdition, the Indian tourist was caught attempting to shoplift at a Target store. In the footage, she can be seen pleading with officers to let her pay for the items. But if Im paying for it, what is the harm? she asks. An officer replies: It would have been fine if you didnt leave. You had the chance to pay. But once you left the store, you made the choice not to and we cant go back from that. The latest advisory comes amid a series of recent restrictions and warnings related to US visa applications. Just last month, the US embassy had issued another advisory after an Indian student was detained and deported for attempting to enter the country illegally. Though diplomatic advisories typically avoid harsh language, the embassys recent statements reflect a tightening of scrutiny over visa applicants and visitor conduct. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Even as Nato chief Mark Rutte has warned India, China, and Brazil about the purchase of Russian oil, the fact remains that European nations 29 of 32 Nato members are from Europe have given more money for energy imports than they have given Ukraine in aid. read more Nato chief Mark Rutte has warned India about purchasing Russian oil, but the fact remains that European nations has given more money to Russia for energy imports than they have given to Ukraine in aid. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, India has been ramped up the purchase of discounted Russian oil. As Russian energy exports are central to the countrys economy, and President Vladimir Putins war-waging capabilities, many Western leaders and commentators have frequently criticised India. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rutte said, My encouragement to these three countries, particularly is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard. So please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way. The fact, however, is that European and Nato members continue to large buyers of Russian energy exports even as Rutte singled out in India and China. For example, since 2022, the EU has been the largest buyer of Russian liquified natural gas (51 per cent) and pipeline gas (37 per cent) and Turkey a Nato member has been the largest buyer of Russian oil products (26 per cent), according to the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA). EU has given Russia more money than Ukraine Even as Western officials and commentators have singled out India over Russian energy imports, the fact remains that Europe has given more money to Russia for energy imports than it has given to Ukraine to in aid. In 2024, EU members bought 21.9 billion ($25.4 billion) of Russian oil and gas compared to 18.7 billion ($21.69 billion) that they allocated in aid for Ukraine, according to estimates from the CREA. Vaibhav Raghunandan, an analyst at CREA, told Guardian, Purchasing Russian fossil fuels is, quite plainly, akin to sending financial aid to the Kremlin and enabling its invasion. [Its] a practice that must stop immediately to secure not just Ukraines future, but also Europes energy security. Since 2022, estimates have said that the EU members have paid $215235 billion to Russian for oil, gas, and coal, compared to $200 billion that they have allocated and pledged for aid to Ukraine. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Europes dependence on Russian oil and gas is not going to end anytime soon despite cuts in imports since 2022. The EU has proposed to end Russian oil imports by the end of 2027 and gas by January 2028. The execution of Indian nurse Nimisha Priya in Yemen has been postponed following the intervention of Indias Grand Mufti. However, the victims family has rejected any possibility of reconciliation, firmly insisting on their no mercy stand. read more Only blood money can save Nimisha Priya from the gallows in Yemen. News18 Malayalam As Indian nurse Nimisha Priyas execution is deferred, the family of the Yemeni man she was convicted of killing has reiterated that they will accept nothing short of her execution. The hanging, originally scheduled for July 16, has been postponed after the intervention of the Grand Mufti of India, sources in New Delhi confirmed on Tuesday. Priya, a nurse from Kollengode in Keralas Palakkad district, was convicted for the 2017 murder of Yemeni national Talal Abdo Mahdi. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD According to officials, the Indian government has made sustained efforts in recent weeks to delay the execution in order to give Priyas family more time to reach a possible reconciliation agreement with the victims family. In a Facebook post written in Arabic, Talals brother, Abdelfattah Mahdi, said the family remains firm in its demand for retribution despite mounting pressure to settle. There have always been hidden efforts at mediation. Todays attempts are not new. But pressure has not changed our stance, he said, as quoted by Hindustan Times. Our demand is retribution nothing else. He described the deferment of the execution as unexpected but clarified that it does not signal a shift in the familys position. Delays wont soften us. Pressure wont change us. Blood cannot be bought. Retribution will come it is only a matter of time, with Gods help. Indias diplomatic push Priya was sentenced to death by a Yemeni court in 2020 for the murder, and her appeal was dismissed by the Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023. She is currently imprisoned in Sanaa, the Yemeni capital controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi forces. Officials in Delhi said India has extended all possible assistance since the beginning of the case. Her mother, Premakumari, even travelled to Yemen last year to plead for her daughters release. Indian authorities also explored the possibility of securing her release through diyat or blood money a provision under Yemeni law. However, those efforts have reportedly stalled. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD More than half a dozen EU members have backed the French-led charge of deploying an anti-coercion instrument (ACI) in case talks between the two parties fail ahead of the August 1 deadline read more As the European Union inches closer to securing a trade deal with the US, the bloc is planning to put all its cards on the table, including activating its most powerful trade tools against America. More than half a dozen EU members have backed the French-led charge of deploying an anti-coercion instrument (ACI) in case talks between the two parties fail ahead of the August 1 deadline of lifting the pause on reciprocal tariffs. Trump has threatened a 30 per cent tariff rate on the bloc, which is its largest trading partner. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If all member states agree, the European Union would use the ACI for the first time ever, which could possibly unleash a wider transatlantic trade war, at a time when Trump tariffs have already kept the world economy on the edge. EU retaliatory options Talking to Bloomberg, Benjamin Haddad, Frances minister for European affairs, said, In this negotiation, you need to show strength, you need to show force, unity and resolve. He added that the bloc could go further than the countermeasures previously announced by it, targeting almost 100 billion worth of US trade under the ACI. There are some other ways that the bloc is planning to hit back at Trumps retaliatory tariffs. Taxes on US tech giants include new digital levies targeting American technology firms operating in Europe. Curbs on US investment involve targeted restrictions on US companies ability to invest within the EU. Limited market access refers to excluding US firms from public procurement contracts or restricting their participation in key sectors. Additionally, tariffs on US goods are part of the EUs response, with packages prepared that cover up to 93 billion worth of American products as potential targets for retaliatory duties. Posturing While France is resolved to unravel the potential of ACI, some EU members have expressed scepticism with the chief, Ursula von der Leyen, saying that the ACI is created for extraordinary situations and we are not there yet. Talks between the US and EU have continued, even after Trump threatened in a letter over the weekend to impose a 30 per cent tariff on most of the blocs exports starting next month, in addition to the existing 25 per cent duties on cars and car parts and 50 per cent tariffs on steel and aluminium. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Meanwhile, EU Commissioner Michael McGrath told Bloomberg that the bloc is expecting to reach a deal with the US by August 1, although leaders were surprised and disappointed to receive Trumps letter. The EUs top trade negotiator, Maros Sefcovic, left for Washington on Wednesday for talks with his US counterparts. Sefcovic is flying to DC this afternoon, for separate in-person meetings with US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, said European Commission trade spokesman Olof Gill. The Government of Bangladesh on Thursday (July 17) denied reports that a historic property linked to iconic Bengali filmmaker and author Satyajit Ray was being demolished in the northern city of Mymensingh. read more The Government of Bangladesh on Thursday (July 17) denied reports that a historic property linked to iconic Bengali filmmaker and author Satyajit Ray was being demolished in the northern city of Mymensingh. In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said a review of archival land records found no connection between the house in question and Ray or his family. The building, located near Shashi Lodge in Mymensingh, was originally constructed by local zamindar Shashikant Acharya Chowdhury for his employees, The Economic Times reported citing the statement STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In this regard, Swapan Dhar, an archaeology researcher from Mymensingh, also stated that the house in question is not the ancestral home of Satyajit Ray, it said. The ministry added that the building is also not listed as an archaeological monument. The clarification came in response to media reports that claimed the structure being demolished was once the ancestral home of the Ray family. Ray, considered one of the greatest filmmakers in world cinema, is celebrated for his works such as Pather Panchali, Charulata and The Apu Trilogy. His legacy continues to influence global film and literature. About Satyajit Rays home Rays ancestral home is located on Harikishore Ray Chowdhury Road in Mymensingh, Bangladesh. This expansive property spans 36 acres and was originally constructed by Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, Rays grandfather, who was himself a prominent litterateur. Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury is regarded as the father of childrens literature in the Bangla language. He is well-known for his science articles aimed at children, as well as a wide range of other literary works. A zamindar from Masua in the Katiadi Upazila of Kishoreganj, Ray Chowdhury built the mansion nearly a century ago. The estate included a residential palace, a prayer hall, and a kitchen. Next to the prayer hall, there was a workspace commonly referred to as Kachari Bari. The property also featured a garden house, an elephant pond, and a playground. Additionally, there was a small pond at the back of the house and another pond with a concrete ghat and numerous stairs at the front. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It is worth noting that Satyajit Ray never visited this house in Bangladesh. The logic behind giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote is that people by that age start working, pay taxes and serve in the military read more Citizens as young as 16 years of age can vote in the next UK general elections, the Keir Starmer-led government announced on Thursday. In what has been dubbed a seismic change in Britains democracy, teens reaching the age of 16 and 17 will be able to cast their vote in the next elections in the country slated for 2029. For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline. We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give 16-year-olds the right to vote," Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Currently, the legal age of voting is 18 in Britain, like most countries in the world. Why the change? The logic behind giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote is that people by that age start working, pay taxes and serve in the military. The minister for democracy, Rushanara Ali, said the move would take a generational step forward in restoring public trust and boosting engagement in UK democracy. The new rules also seem to be making efforts to promote greater voter registration. While it stops short of fully committing to automatic voter registration, the government stated it would move toward an increasingly automated voter registration system that will minimise the need to repeatedly fill out details across various government services. Which other countries allow teens to vote? After the new rules come into effect, UK will become part of a handful of nations that allow teens to vote. Among the countries that have given the right to franchise to people below the age of 18 are Indonesia (17), North Korea (17), Greece (17), Timor-Leste (17), Brazil (16), Argentina (16), Ecuador (16), Cuba (16), Austria (16), Nicargua (16), Malta (16) and Isle of Man (16). Taiwans capital Taipei will temporarily shut down on Thursday as part of a major civil defence drill aimed at preparing for a potential Chinese invasion. The exercise, involving air raid sirens, evacuation drills, and emergency response rehearsals. read more A Navy miniature is seen in front of displayed Chinese and Taiwanese flags in this illustration. Reuters Taipei is set to come to a standstill on Thursday as the Taiwanese capital conducts one of its largest-ever civil defence drills, preparing for a possible Chinese invasion, according to a report by the BBC. Air raid sirens will sound across the city, requiring residents in some areas to take shelter indoors, while traffic will be brought to a halt. Authorities will also carry out large-scale evacuation drills and emergency simulations for mass casualty incidents. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The exercise is part of Taiwans broader annual Han Kuang military drillsthe islands largest war gamesas it ramps up defence preparations amid growing threats from China. Beijing views self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to achieve unification. Tensions have escalated since the election of President William Lai last year, a leader China denounces as a separatist. While previous Han Kuang drills included civil defence components, this year they have been integrated into a sweeping Urban Resilience exercise, running from Tuesday to Friday across the island. Each day, air raid sirens blare for 30 minutes in various cities. During that time, residents in designated zones must shelter indoors or risk fines. All businesses must pause operations, and road traffic is ordered to stop, with drivers required to pull over and seek cover. In Taipei, emergency responders and volunteers will practise evacuating markets, temples, schools, subway stations, and highways. They will also stage a mock mass-casualty event, simulate treatment of the injured, and set up emergency supply distribution points. The Urban Resilience drill is the latest in a series of civil defence efforts aimed at strengthening Taiwans preparedness and raising public awareness about national security. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD While US officials have warned that China could attempt an invasion by 2027, many Taiwanese remain sceptical that war is near. A government-backed poll conducted last October by the Institute for National Defence and Security Research found that over 60% of Taiwanese do not believe China will invade within the next five years. The wasted food will be turned into landfill or incinerated in the United Arab Emirates. That will cost the US government an additional $100,000 in taxpayer money read more The Trump administration has ordered the destruction of nearly 500 tons of emergency food worth $793,000 meant to feed starving people across the world, as part of the dismantling of USAID. The wasted food will be turned into landfill or incinerated in the United Arab Emirates, two sources told Reuters. That will cost the US government an additional $100,000 in taxpayer money. Why is the food being destroyed? A former USAID official has told multiple news outlets that the food product in question is high-energy, nutrient-rich wheat biscuits, which have been sitting at a warehouse in Dubai for months. Now, as they near their expiration date this month, authorities have decided to lay them to waste. The former official said that the destruction of the food could have been avoided before the Trump administration decided to dismantle the US Agency for International Development (USAID). STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD If the agency, which has been accused of waste and fraud by Trump, had continued working as usual, officials would have kept track of the expiration dates of the food aid. As the dates came close, they would have reached out to their colleagues in poverty-stricken countries to know who needed them. Definition of waste A spokesperson for the State Department, which is now responsible for US foreign aid, confirmed in an email to Reuters that the biscuits would have to be destroyed. But they said the stocks were purchased as a contingency beyond projections under the administration of former President Joe Biden, resulting in their expiration. The food aid stuck in Dubai was fortified wheat biscuits, which are calorie-rich and typically deployed in crisis conditions where people lack cooking facilities, providing immediate nutrition for a child or adult, according to the UN World Food Programme. The WFP says 319 million people are facing acute levels of food insecurity worldwide. Of those, 1.9 million people are gripped by catastrophic hunger and on the brink of famine, primarily in Gaza and Sudan. The destroyed food could have fed around 27,000 people for a month, according to a Reuters analysis using figures from the WFP. Those stocks were originally intended for USAID partners in Afghanistan and Pakistan. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD With inputs from agencies Canadian PM Carney has announced new steps to limit the flow of cheap foreign steel into Canada, aiming to protect local producers hit by US tariffs, emphasising that stricter import quotas and higher tariffs will be introduced by the end of the month read more Prime Minister Mark Carney promised to further crack down on the amount of cheap, foreign steel entering the Canadian market by the end of the month, as the domestic industry continues to be clobbered by US President Donald Trumps tariffs. Carney made the announcement in Hamilton on Wednesday morning, eliciting a sigh of relief from an industry that has already seen layoffs and lower production levels in the weeks since the US imposed steep import taxes. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD In June, the government announced changes to the tariff quota system, which allows a set level of product to enter Canada at a lower tariff rate, by limiting steel imports from countries that dont have free trade agreements to 2024 import levels. But those quotas were criticized by the industry as still being too high. Canadian steelmakers have long alleged that foreign companies are supplying steel to the Canadian market at ultra-low prices, a practice commonly known as dumping, making it hard for them to compete. Carney said the quota changes will ensure Canadian steel producers have a bigger share of the Canadian market. Steel products from non-free trade agreement partners, which include China and Turkey, will see their tariff rate quota tighten to half of 2024 volumes. A 50 per cent tariff will be imposed on any imports beyond those levels, Carney said. Ottawa is also moving to clamp down on steel from partners who do have free trade agreements with Canada, other than the U.S. and Mexico. The federal government said a 50 per cent tariff will apply to imports surpassing 2024 volumes. Carney said Canada will implement additional tariffs of 25 per cent on imports from all non-US countries containing steel melted and poured in China. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Imports supply almost two-thirds of current Canadian consumption of steel, compared to less than one-third for the United States and less than one-sixth for the European Union, Carney said. Existing arrangements with the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will remain the same, he said. Carney announced no changes to US counter-tariffs as the two countries work toward their Aug. 1 deadline. Catherine Cobden, president and CEO of the Canadian Steel Producers Association, said she listened to the announcement with relief. Its certainly a much better place than where we were yesterday, she said of the quota changes. Trump has said that Washington is close to finalising a trade deal with India, as both countries work towards an agreement that could open up Indian markets further. His remarks come while Indian officials are in the US for fresh trade talks. read more US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Washington is very close to finalising a trade deal with India. Speaking in the Oval Office during a meeting with Bahrains Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Trump said the two countries are nearing an agreement that would see India further open its markets. Weve made deals with a lot of great places. We have another one coming up, maybe with India. I dont know, were in negotiation. When I send out a letter, thats a deal. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The best deal we can make is to send out a letter, and the letter says that youll pay 30%, 35%, 25%, 20%. We have some pretty good deals to announce, he added. Trumps comments come as a high-level team from Indias Commerce Ministry is in the US for fresh trade talks. Earlier this month, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal stressed that India doesnt rush into trade deals merely to meet deadlines. Goyal emphasised that India would only sign a trade deal with the US once it is fully negotiated, finalised, and aligned with the countrys national interest. President Trump said on Tuesday the US is working on an agreement to gain better access to Indian markets. Discussing progress with India, he remarked: Were going to have access into India. You have to understand, we had no access into any of these countries. Our people couldnt go in. And now were getting access because of what were doing with the tariffs. Trump highlighted that American businesses previously struggled to enter key foreign markets and credited his administrations tariff strategy for opening doors. You have to understand, we had no access into any of these countries, and now were getting access because of what were doing with the tariffs, he said. India and the US have been negotiating a limited trade pact aimed at reducing tariffs, particularly keeping them below 20 per cent on certain goods and services. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Also on Tuesday, Trump announced a new trade agreement with Indonesia, imposing a 19 per cent tariff on all Indonesian imports to the US. In return, American products will enjoy unrestricted, tariff-free access to Indonesias markets. This deal replaces an earlier proposal for a 32 per cent tariff and reflects Trumps assertive approach to trade, using tariffs as leverage to secure better terms for US exports. US President Donald Trump has said that he will impose 10-15% tariff on more than 150 countries. He also said that this bracket will not include large trading partners. read more US President Donald Trump has said that he will impose tariffs in the range of 10 to 15 per cent on more than 150 countries. However, Trump noted that this bracket will not include large trading partners of the United States. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that well have well over 150 countries that were just going to send a notice of payment out, and the notice of payment is going to say what the tariff rate will be. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Trump further said that these countries will not be big countries and they dont do that much business. Later in the day, Trump told Real Americas Voice that the rate would be probably 10 or 15 per cent, we havent decided yet The fact that Trump is imposing lesser tariffs on smaller economies suggests that Trump has realised high tariffs are disruptive, according to Alicia Garcia Herrero, the Chief Asia Pacific Economist at Natixis. For much of the world and Asia in particular, which faces among the highest levies the rate announcement could be read as a positive, providing some certainty for smaller countries with a lower rate than initially threatened, Herrero told Bloomberg. Herrero further said that the move also signals that Trump is realizing that too high tariffs are disruptive." In recent weeks, Trump has sent out letters to various countries to inform them of tariffs that they will face starting August 1. In line with the stand in April, Trump has slapped some of the highest tariffs on some of the closest US strategic and trade partners. For example, Trump has imposed Japan and South Korea with 25 per cent tariff each. Trump has so far sent letters to 22 countries that also include Malaysia (25 per cent), Bangladesh (35 per cent), Indonesia (32 per cent), and South Africa (30 per cent), among others. The United States has some of the most critical trade partnerships with these countries. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD South Korea and Japan are major supplier of cars, automobile parts, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and machinery to the United States; Malaysia is the second-largest supplier of chips; Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Cambodia are manufacturing hubs for apparel and accessories, and South Africa accounts for nearly half of all US platinum imports and was the largest single supplier last year, according to CNN. US President Donald Trump slammed his Maga supporters who are questioning his administration over the Epstein Files. He described his base as weaklings, calling the whole client list saga a hoax read more In a rare instance, US President Donald Trump lashed out against his own supporters, describing them as weaklings and gullible over the Epstein Files scandal. Trump slammed his Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters for questioning the transparency of a secretive government inquiry into late high-profile sex offender and British financier Jeffrey Epstein. The president has been struggling to curtail the political crisis that has emerged within his usually loyal Maga base, with his supporters suspecting that the Trump administration is hiding details regarding Epsteins crimes. Some believe that the administration is doing so to protect the rich elite Epstein is associated with, including Trump. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The American commander-in-chief took out his aggression in a lengthy post on his social media platform TruthSocial. On Wednesday, the Potus accused his voters of what he referred to as a radical left hoax, which is being spread by his opposition, in a bid to discredit him. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker. They havent learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years, Trump wrote in his social media rant. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support any more! he added. Trump is upset with his own supporters In a separate interview with Real Americas Voice, the far-right network created to host Steve Bannons podcast, the American leader doubled down on his proclamation over what should be done with the details surrounding the Epstein case. On Wednesday, he said that the FBI should investigate what he called the Jeffrey Epstein hoax as part of a criminal conspiracy against him. They could look at this Jeffrey Epstein hoax also, because thats the same stuff, thats all put out by Democrats, Trump said. And you know some of the naive Republicans fall right into line. One of the most prominent theories circulating among Trump supporters is that Epstein, who killed himself in 2019 while in federal custody, was murdered by powerful figures to cover up their roles in his sex crimes against children. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Republican voters and notable political figures have pressed Trump to release the documents related to the case publicly. Trumps recent comments were an angry departure from his previous attempts to placate his backers. On Tuesday, he attempted to divert attention by calling the infamous case boring softly. He then went on to back the release of any credible files, without specifying what those were. I dont understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody, Trump told reporters on Tuesday night when asked why his supporters are so interested in the case. Its pretty boring stuff. Its sordid, but its boring, and I dont understand why it keeps going. I think really only pretty bad people, including fake news, want to keep something like that going, he added. But credible information, let them give it. Anything credible, I would say, let them have it. The memo that sent the shockwaves Things started to spiral down last week after the US Department of Justice and FBI issued a memo stating that a review of the case files had confirmed that Epstein had killed himself, and there was no list of his clients to be made public. Conservative allies soon focused their anger on the attorney general, Pam Bondi, who was leading the case, as she previously boasted that Epsteins client list was sitting on my desk right now to review. Trump himself has maintained a similar tone in the past. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD During his election campaign, Trump fuelled multiple conspiracies by his Maga movement, including that the country was controlled by shadowy deep state elites. At that time, he also pledged to release the Epstein Files in their entirety. Hence, Trumps recent stance has garnered anger among his base. Even his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, a Fox News host, has been critical, saying: I do think that there needs to be more transparency on this. Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House, called for the Justice Department to make the document public, breaking with Trump in a rare moment of friction between the allies. Its a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it, Johnson told Benny Johnson, a rightwing podcaster, in an interview released on Tuesday. I agree with the sentiment that we need to put it out there," he added. US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, broke away from the usual protocol as he attended the corruption trial of Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The move was the latest sign of the US President Donald Trump administrations outright support for the Israeli premier in the long-running case read more Mike Huckabee, the U.S. ambassador to Israel, arrived on Wednesday at the court where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is on trial for corruption. Reuters US Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, made an unusual appearance at the corruption trial of Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday, breaking away from conventional protocol. The move was seen as the latest sign of the US President Donald Trump administrations outright support for the Israeli premier in the long-running case. The Israeli prosecutors indicted Netanyahu for bribery, fraud and breach of trust. The legal challenges came while Israel waged war in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, which has been raging since the Hamas-led surprise attack on October 7, 2023. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It is unusual for ambassadors to place themselves directly in a particular nations legal issue. It is pertinent to note that Huckabees appearance occurred after US President Donald Trump, who has his share of legal convictions, called for the trial against Netanyahu to be suspended. An act of friendship: Huckabee Before he went inside the courthouse, Huckabee told reporters in Tel Aviv that his visit was an act of friendship to signal that we want Israel to be successful. He went on to accuse the judge, who is overseeing the case, of being biased, and he compared the Israeli leader to Trump, who was convicted of falsifying business records to conceal a sex scandal in 2024. Its an unprecedented thing that while holding office, during an incredibly tense time, that you would spend a lot of your time as our president had to do sitting in a courtroom, often before judges who are totally unfair," The American ambassador told reporters outside the Tel Aviv courthouse, The New York Times reported. Not only this, but Trumps call for the trial to end was also rare, and many saw it as a direct intervention by an American president in judicial proceedings against an allied leader. The Potus went on to label the Israeli trials as a Witch Hunt against their Great wartime prime Minister. Bibi Netanyahus trial should be CANCELLED, IMMEDIATELY, or a Pardon given to a Great Hero, who has done so much for the State, Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform TruthSocial. After leaving the courthouse, Huckabee also took to social media and said that Trump was right again about the case. He has also disputed that the president was directly intervening in the trial, contending that Trump was not trying to pick a side. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD What is the case about? In 2019, the Israeli prosecutors indicted Netanyahu, accusing him of granting regulatory favours and diplomatic support to prominent businessmen in exchange for gifts and sympathetic media coverage. However, the Israeli premier denied all the charges. The trial eventually began in 2020 and split the country, with many wondering whether Netanyahu should continue serving in office while the court proceedings take place. His opponents labelled him a crime minister whose purported dealings had rendered him unfit for office. Meanwhile, Netanyahu and his defenders have accused the prosecutors of seeking to undo his election victory through legal means. When it comes to the outcomes, if the prime minister is convicted, Isaac Herzog, Israels president, could pardon him. But legal analysts say the trial is set to continue for months at the very least. Another option would be the discussion of a plea bargain, under which Netanyahu would accept some charges in exchange for a suspended sentence. However, Netanyahu has already refused to accept a charge of moral turpitude, which would bar him from holding public office for several years. Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor known for handling major cases involving Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and music mogul Sean Diddy Combs, has been fired by the US Justice Department read more The US Justice Department has dismissed Maurene Comey, daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, Reuters reported citing two sources familiar with the matter. Maurene served as a federal prosecutor in high-profile cases involving Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell and music mogul Sean Diddy Combs. Her father, James Comey, was fired by then-President Donald Trump during his first term. Comey, along with former CIA Director John Brennan, is now under investigation. Trump has repeatedly criticized both men for their roles in the probes into alleged Russian interference in the 2016 US election, which Trump won. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Maurene Comey, who served as an assistant US attorney in Manhattan, was fired without being given a reason, according to two sources. They said she received a memo referencing the presidents authority to dismiss employees under Article 2 of the US Constitution. Comey had previously led the successful prosecution of Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite and associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwell was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. The Epstein case has resurfaced in the headlines after the Trump administration abruptly reversed its recent promise to release documents it claimed held major revelations about Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged network of high-profile associates. The U-turn has sparked outrage among some of Donald Trumps staunchest supporters. Meanwhile, Maurene Comey also led the prosecution of music mogul Sean Diddy Combs, who is scheduled to be sentenced on October 3. Combs was convicted on charges related to transporting women for drug-fueled sexual performances. The 55-year-old remains in custody at a Brooklyn jail, where he has been held since his arrest in September. A jury recently acquitted him of the most serious charges. Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, was awaiting trial on federal charges of sex trafficking minors when he died by suicide in jail in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty, and the case was closed following his death. Despite the administrations rhetoric, internal assessments reportedly suggest that only Fordows enrichment work was disrupted in any substantial way, potentially setting Iran back by up to two years read more A satellite view shows an overview of Fordow underground complex, after the US struck the underground nuclear facility, near Qom, Iran. Maxar Technologies/Reuters A US strike on Iran last month damaged just one of three targeted nuclear enrichment facilities, according to an internal assessment reported by NBC News, raising questions about the true extent of Operation Midnight Hammers impact on Tehrans atomic programme. The attack on the Fordow nuclear site significantly set back Irans work there, but the facilities at Natanz and Isfahan were reportedly left largely intact due to their deep underground construction, NBC said, citing unnamed officials familiar with the report. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The US military had prepared a far more expansive plan for sequential strikes on additional facilities over several weeks. However, President Donald Trump ultimately opted against the broader operation. NBC quoted senior officials as saying Trump was concerned about high casualty figures on both sides and was unwilling to escalate Americas military involvement, consistent with his aversion to foreign entanglements. Contradictory claims The findings are in stark contrast with public statements by both Trump and the Pentagon, which have continued to portray the June 22 strikes as overwhelmingly successful. Trump has repeatedly described the results as total destruction, calling reports to the contrary fake. He posted on Truth Social: Monumental damage was done to all nuclear sites in Iran, as shown by satellite images. Obliteration is an accurate term! The white structure shown is deeply embedded into the rock, with even its roof well below ground level, and completely shielded from flame. The biggest damage took place far below ground level. Bullseye!!! Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell echoed the presidents view in a separate statement: The credibility of the Fake News Media is similar to that of the current state of the Iranian nuclear facilities: destroyed, in the dirt, and will take years to recover. President Trump was clear and the American people understand: Irans nuclear facilities in Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz were completely and totally obliterated. There is no doubt about that. Limited success Despite the administrations rhetoric, the NBC report cites internal assessments suggesting that only Fordos enrichment work was disrupted in any substantial way, potentially setting Iran back by up to two years. The use of GBU-57 bunker buster bombs in the operation the first time they were deployed in combat had limited impact on deeper underground structures at Natanz and Isfahan, officials said. Operation Midnight Hammer, conducted in a single night, was publicly framed around its most successful element, with Fordows visible damage serving as proof of American military effectiveness. However, the muted effects on the other two sites are believed to have led military planners to quietly scale down post-strike assessments and shift attention away from the less successful aspects of the mission. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The Iranian government has yet to offer an official assessment of the damage or confirm any setbacks to its nuclear programme. New air route launched to link China's Xi'an with Central Asia Xinhua) 09:33, July 17, 2025 XI'AN, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A direct flight route linking Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, and Tashkent, capital of Uzbekistan, was launched on Wednesday as an Airbus A320 carrying 137 passengers departed from Xi'an Xianyang International Airport. Operated by China Eastern Airlines under flight numbers MU855 and MU856, the round-trip service runs on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Flights depart Xi'an at 12:15 p.m. (Beijing Time) and are scheduled to arrive in Tashkent at 2:50 p.m. local time. The return flight departs Tashkent at 4:10 p.m. local time and arrives in Xi'an at 12:05 a.m. (Beijing Time) the following day. This new route adds to the growing air links between China and Central Asia, following the implementation of a mutual visa exemption agreement between China and Uzbekistan on June 1. The route is expected to further facilitate bilateral trade and cultural exchanges. The Xi'an-Tashkent service is China Eastern Airlines' fifth international route launched from Xi'an this year, expanding its international network from the city to 17 destinations. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Hilltops Life Adjustment Program, which is nestled on an eight-acre campus near 15th Street and Wellington Avenue in Grand Junction, supports Grand Valley residents with brain injuries who desire independence despite potential barriers. Residents have the freedom to travel off campus, which many residents value as a sense of independence, but also get to enjoy the many on-campus amenities that support clients well being and socialization, including a movie theater, a fitness center, craft room, game room, a dining hall and plenty of outdoor greenery. The Colorado Court of Appeals has affirmed the conviction of a former deputy district attorney in Mesa County who was convicted of misleading officials at the behest of a friend from college. Holden Chadwick was found guilty of two counts of attempting to influence a public servant by a jury in December 2023. Chadwicks appeal centered around testimony that was not allowed during the trial from his sole defense witness, Chadwicks wife Emily. Prosecutors alleged Chadwick used his position at the District Attorneys Office to look into a potential criminal case pending against a friend in Boulder, Max Clark, who told Chadwick a friend had accused Clark of giving her Rohypnol, also known as the date rape drug roofies. Chadwick asked the 20th Judicial District Attorneys Office, Boulder County Sheriffs Office and Boulder Police Department if there were any pending cases into Clark and intimated Clark was a witness in a careless driving case, according to court documents. The 20th Judicial District Attorneys Office reached out to the 21st Judicial District Attorneys Office regarding Chadwicks actions, which it found strange. During the investigation, Chadwick attempted to mislead DAs Office investigator James Cannon by claiming Clark was a witness in a hit and run case that a public defender might have told him about, and altered the case file in question to include a note about a potential witness named Max Clark. Chadwick also told Cannon, Chief Deputy District Attorney Rich Tuttle and Assistant District Attorney Trish Mahre that he did not know Clark. Later, Chadwick admitted that he knew Clark in a meeting with Cannon and District Attorney Dan Rubinstein. Chadwick was sentenced to three years unsupervised probation and a 90-day suspended jail term. In his appeal, Chadwick argued the court had improperly withheld testimony from his wife, Emily Chadwick, who was the only witness for the defense at the trial and did not testify about anything of substance after the court sustained objections from the prosecution after a question asking Emily Chadwick whether she had ever filed a criminal complaint against anyone involved in the case. According to court documents, Emily Chadwick would have testified that Cannon had told her he could not investigate co-workers, which Chadwicks attorney told Judge Valerie Robison during a bench conference was relevant to whether or not Chadwick thought he could influence Cannon. The prosecution objected to the testimony on several grounds, including that it was hearsay, irrelevant, speculative, and misleading or confusing to the jury, the appeals courts opinion stated. The district court sustained the objection without specifying its legal reason for doing so. The appeals court found Robison did not err in denying the testimony. Even if Robison had erred by allowing the testimony, according to the opinion, the evidence was overwhelming that Chadwick knew he was being investigated, and so the error would have been harmless. Also in his appeal, Chadwick argued the charge of misleading Cannon should be dropped because he hadnt known Cannon was acting in his official capacity, and the charge of misleading Mahre and Tuttle should be dropped because they didnt have the authority to fire him. The appeals court disagreed on both points, saying the evidence was sufficient to show Chadwick knew Cannon was acting in his official capacity, and that Colorados statute regarding attempting to influence a public official does not require that official to have decision-making authority. Church staff hold up Diablita dancer Berta Burgos, 101, in her wheelchair during a celebration of the Virgen de Carmen or Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Chile's patron saint, in La Tirana, Chile, Monday, July 14, 2025. Mon Monday 92 /68 Morning clouds followed by afternoon sun. Highs in the low 90s and lows in the upper 60s. McCabe's Work Exemplifies What Happens When Conservation Is Rooted In Community The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is proud to announce Shaun McCabe, farm bill biologist for Pheasants Forever in Chinook, Mont., as the recipient of the 2025 Gold Star Award. This annual recognition honors individuals who demonstrate exceptional commitment to collaborative conservation and make a lasting impact on working lands and wildlife across our region. Since joining Pheasants Forever, McCabe has played a key role in expanding and strengthening on-the-ground conservation efforts across the western portion of RSA's focus area. His leadership in the Montana Grassland Partnership has been especially notable, where he coordinates the Grassland Retention Team's work to engage landowners, identify high-value conservation opportunities, and bring together diverse partners around shared goals. In particular, Shaun's work has been instrumental in shaping projects within the Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP). He was a driving force behind the development of project concepts for the Big Game Habitat Improvement RCPP proposal, facilitating meetings between ranchers, conservation professionals, and agencies to ensure that habitat goals could be met without compromising the operational needs of working ranches. Beyond RCPP, Shaun has actively pursued additional funding streams to bring conservation practices to the ground. He has helped craft and implement funding strategies that combine support from local Pheasants Forever chapters, the Mule Deer Foundation, and RSA's own grant-supported conservation efforts. These efforts have translated into on-the-ground outcomes across Blaine, Phillips, and Hill Counties-enhancing native range, supporting wildlife corridors, and sustaining the working lands that define our communities. The 2025 Gold Star Award was presented to Shaun on June 4 at the Science Symposium hosted by The Nature Conservancy on the Matador Ranch in south Phillips County. "Shaun's ability to bring people together, build actionable plans, and keep projects moving is exactly the kind of leadership grassroots conservation requires," said Martin Townsend, RSA Conservation Director. "His work has been crucial in enabling RSA to expand on-the-ground conservation efforts on the western edge of our landscape." At RSA, it's more than a motto: ranching, conservation, and community cannot function in isolation. Ranchers must be part of conservation solutions. Conservation efforts must make sense on the ground. And rural communities must remain at the center of it all. Shaun's work embodies that philosophy-demonstrating what's possible when partnerships are rooted in trust and built to support both wildlife and the ranching families who steward the land. Valley County 4-H offers a new opportunity for buyers of the Valley County 4-H/FFA Livestock sale to help support our youth and our community. Buyers will now have the option to donate their livestock purchases to the Valley Community Food Bank or any local Valley County School to help feed our community. We are partnering with the Producer Partnership to process the animals free of charge in their USDA inspected facility. The Producer Partnership was founded in Spring 2020 with the mission to end hunger in Montana. The nonprofit organization partners with livestock producers across the state by processing donated livestock into top quality protein and providing it to food banks, schools and senior centers to help those in need. This is the spirit of Montana neighbors helping one another. By partnering with the Producer Partnership, businesses with strict regulations regarding the distribution of their 4-H meat now have an option which opens the doors to donate the meat to more places in Valley County. Not only is this a tax benefit to those that donate, but they are also helping our schools feed locally grown protein and help communities with food insecurities. Area producers are also invited to take advantage of the Producer Partnership when donating to local charities or schools by coordinating transportation. Producer Partnership will pick up animals for processing on Saturday, Aug. 9, in Glasgow. The Valley County Extension Office will coordinate this through their office. Area producers will receive a receipt of donation for tax purposes. Processing of all donated animals is USDA inspected and free through the Producer Partnership. Lets fill a trailer to go with the 4-H animals on Saturday! If you are interested in participating in this wonderful program, we encourage you to call and sign up at the Valley County Extension Services at 228-6241. July 11, 2025 Mary Zerbe held a volleyball camp for grades five to eight in the mornings, and grades nine through 12 in the afternoon at Lustre Christian High School from June 30-July 3. There was real good attendance. In news from our former LCHS/LGS students, Ziling Xia and her husband, Will Goldberg, had a son named Jasper, born May 12 in Spokane, Wash. Kyle Pust, son of Tim and Amber Pust (former Lustre Grade School teacher), graduated from Sidney High School May 18, and will be attending Highlands College of Montana Tech in Butte this fall. Hannah Marasco graduated June 7 from High School in Port Royal, Penn. Anna Teichroew graduated from Saco High School on May 17. Many in the community attended the opening night of Annie at Fort Peck Theatre on Sunday, July 6.. Because of a storm and power outage on Saturday night, the theatre was at capacity at 500. The Lustre Grade School Board held its monthly meeting on Wednesday July 9. The prairie fire smoke from Canada was pretty strong on Friday, July 11. There have been 5,000 people evacuated from Flin Flon, Manitoba and another 1,000 from surrounding areas, to Nipawin and Winnipeg, and they asked help from the United States to help with fighting the fires from the air. These fires were still out of control on Friday afternoon. For Cathy Johnston Holton, Fort Peck is more than a dot on the map-it's the heartbeat of her childhood, a place where doors stayed unlocked, laughter echoed across open fields, and the theatre was the crown jewel of town life. Today, Cathy's deep tie... The Glasgow City Council will meet in regular session on Monday, July 21, 5 p.m., in the Council Chambers, located inside of the Glasgow Civic Center. All meetings are open to the public and are recorded for future listening, https://www.cityofglasgowmt.com/. Montana Governor Greg Gianforte joined the 38th annual Governor's Cup Walleye Tournament on Fort Peck Lake this past weekend, and before putting his boat in the water he recognized two local veterans who have made a difference in their communities since serving the United States of America. Governor Gianforte made a stop at the Northeast Montana Veterans Memorial on July 10 to recognize Chief Master Sergeant Arthur "Art" Widhalm, of Glasgow, and Sergeant Virgil Nelson, of Opheim, with the 2024 Montana Governor's Veteran Commendation. Both veterans received a Montana state flag flown over the Capitol in their honor and a letter from the governor recognizing their service. "Montana veterans don't just serve in uniform, they serve for life," Gov. Gianforte said. "These four veterans have answered the call again and again, showing up for their neighbors, strengthening their communities, and reminding us all what service truly means." The Montana Governor's Veteran Commendation recognizes veterans who have selflessly served in uniform and made positive impacts in their communities. Since 2021, more than 170 veterans have received the honor from Governor Gianforte. Sergeant Nelson, a Vietnam veteran and recipient of the National Defense Service Medal and the Expert Badge with the M-14, was recognized for his commitment to neighbors and community. Whether cleaning up tornado damage, helping fight fires, sharing his knowledge and leadership on several boards, cooking for town picnics, or calling the auction at the local rodeo, Nelson is known across the region as someone who always shows up, quietly and selflessly, to lend a hand. Chief Master Sergeant Widhalm, a U.S. Air Force veteran, was honored for decades of service to his country and fellow veterans. His military decorations include the Distinguished Flying Cross, Meritorious Service Medal, and Air Medal. In the years since his service, Widhalm has held key leadership roles within the VFW locally, statewide, and nationally. He's a founding member and chairman of the Northeast Montana Veterans Memorial and has helped countless veterans. For the past 20 years, he's also sent homemade jerky to troops serving overseas. Sergeant Nelson and Chief Master Sergeant Widhalm were two of four veterans recognized as part of the Governor's 56 County Tour, as ceremonies were also held in Chouteau and Hill counties. "Each of these men reflects what makes Montana grea: selfless service, deep humility, and a lifelong commitment to others," the governor said. To learn more about the Montana Governor's Veteran Commendation, visit recognizeveterans.mt.gov. Contracts Contracts For July 16, 2025 NAVY Bowhead Weapons Development Solutions LLC,* Springfield, Virginia, is awarded a $99,985,951 firm-fixed-price and cost-reimbursable, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide engineering, operations, and sustainment support to the sensitive compartmented information network program of record. Work will be performed in Quantico, Virginia (80.4%); Stafford, Virginia (6.4%); Albany, Georgia (2.2%); Camp Courtney, Okinawa (2.2%); Camp Lejeune, North Carolina (2.2%); Camp Pendleton, California (2.2%); Camp Smith, Hawaii (2.2%); and Washington, D.C. (2.2%), and is expected to be completed in May 2030. No funds will be obligated at time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-5(b)(4). Marine Corps System Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-25-D-0051). QED Systems Inc.,* Virginia Beach, Virginia, was awarded a single award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract (N0016725D0004) with a total potential value of $43,695,727 for alteration installation team services, which encompasses the procurement and/or fabrication, storage, kitting, transportation, and installation of modernization packages on various Navy boats and combatant craft. Performance will primarily occur at military facilities, with occasional execution at commercial sites, both within and outside the continental U.S. Specific locations and requirements will be identified at the delivery order level. The contract includes a five-year ordering period with no option periods. Funding for this contract will be obligated on a delivery order basis, utilizing fiscal 2025 and subsequent year appropriations, as available. Funds will be obligated at the time of each delivery order and will expire at the end of the applicable fiscal year in accordance with appropriation law. This requirement was competitively solicited via the Procurement Integrated Enterprise Environment and SAM.gov, receiving seven offers. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division, Detachment Norfolk, is the contracting activity. (Awarded on July 14, 2025) Liberty Global Logistics LLC, Lake Success, New York, is awarded a $7,903,423 firm, fixed-price contract (N3220525C4031) for a voyage charter of one U.S. flag vessel for the transportation of 141,000 square feet of military cargo to support Department of Defense transportation requirements. This contract has no option periods. Work to be performed will start on the Gulf Coast and end in the Middle East and is expected to be completed by September 2025. Working capital funds (Navy) in the amount of $7,903,423 are obligated for fiscal 2025 and will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured with proposals solicited via the Government Point of Entry website and four proposals were received. The Navy's Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N3220525C4031). ARMY Achuti LLC,* Raleigh, North Carolina (W50S95-25-D-A001); Brantley Construction Services LLC,* North Charleston, South Carolina (W50S95-25-D-A002); CMC Building Inc.,* Bolton, North Carolina (W50S95-25-D-A003); Collins Construction Services Inc., Savannah, Georgia (W50S95-25-D-A004); Driven Contractors LLC,* Maxton, North Carolina (W50S95-25-D-A005); Etolin Strait Development Group LLC,* Norfolk, Virginia (W50S95-25-D-A006); KMK Construction Inc.,* Jacksonville, Florida (W50S95-25-D-A007); Nisou Enterprises Inc.,* Farmington Hills, Michigan (W50S95-25-D-A008); Outside Box LLC,* Richmond, Virginia (W50S95-25-D-A009); Southern Aire Contracting Inc.,* Jacksonville, Florida (W50S95-25-D-A010); and Trend Construction Inc.,* Deland, Florida (W50S95-25-D-A011), will compete for each order of the $49,500,000 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance, repair and construction. Bids were solicited via the internet with 21 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 14, 2030. U.S. Property and Fiscal Office, South Carolina, is the contracting activity. (Awarded July 15, 2025) Empire Equipment Services,* Riverside, California, was awarded a $47,949,080 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of a multi-purpose flood control, environmental restoration, and recreation project. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in Temecula, California, with an estimated completion date of July 10, 2028. Fiscal 2025 civil construction funds in the amount of $47,949,080 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Los Angeles, California, is the contracting activity (W912PL-25-C-0020). Optex Systems Inc., Richardson, Texas, was awarded a $10,182,459 firm-fixed-price contract for procurement of the infinity collimator. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 16, 2030. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W912CH-25-D-0066). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract/Article/4247464/ NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Chief of the General Staff in Khan Yunis: "All paths lead to one place. All the options we are presenting have one goal: returning the hostages and a decisive victory" Israel Defense Forces July 7, 2025 07.07.25 IDF Today (Monday), the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir, conducted a field tour and situational assessment in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip. He was accompanied by the Commander of the Southern Command, MG Yaniv Asor; the Head of the Operations Directorate, MG Itzik Cohen, the Head of the Intelligence Directorate, MG Shlomi Binder; the Commander of the 36th Division, BG Moran Omer, the Commander of the Gaza Division, BG Barak Hiram; as well as brigade commanders and additional senior officers. The Chief of the General Staff held a situational assessment regarding the continuation of activity during Operation "Gideon's Chariots", had a discussion with the soldiers and commanders operating in the field, and expressed his appreciation for their important work. From the remarks of the Chief of the General Staff, LTG Eyal Zamir: "We continue to operate in all arenas, on all fronts. Tonight, alongside the operations you are carrying out here, we operated in Yemen, we operated in Lebanon. We are operating everywhere near and far. In Iran, we are monitoring the assessment of the impact, and I tell you here, our assessment of the impact is that it is high. Alongside Iran, our current focus, the central front, is Gaza. That's where we are concentrating, and we are determined, let this be clear to everyone, determined to achieve the goals we have set for ourselves: the return of the hostages, the defeat of Hamas, and the safe return of our communities. We have no intention of giving up on any of these objectives. We will continue to act here with determination, with perseverance, with strength, and with wisdom and we will lead to victory. Ignore the background noise; we are steady, and our eyes are on the main objectives. There are five divisions here, engaged in both offense and defense. The force structure here should be sufficient to carry out the mission. 'Gideon's Chariots' is progressing according to plan. You have achieved great accomplishments here, and I will tell you the greatest achievements since "Swords of Iron" began are here in the Gaza Strip. We are very close to a decision-making crossroads, but the achievements here are extremely impressive. There are over 1,300 terrorists eliminated. Senior Hamas figures eliminated, Sinwar, Sabaneh, and many other evil individuals. You are operating here, dismantling their infrastructure their underground infrastructure. You are creating new opportunities that we are discussing with the political level. We are presenting all the options. All paths lead to one place. All the options we are presenting and discussing with the political level have one goal: returning the hostages and a decisive victory. And we are moving toward a decisive victory. Let me tell you all the achievements here are thanks to you." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Weekly Summary of IDF Activity Across the Various Arenas Israel Defense Forces July 11, 2025 11.07.25 IDF The Southern Command: IDF troops are operating with five divisions across the Gaza Strip, eliminating terrorists and locating and dismantling weapons caches and terror infrastructure both above and below ground. Throughout the week, hundreds of terror targets in the Gaza Strip were struck, including weapons storage facilities, terrorist cells, rocket launchers, and key underground tunnel routes. The Central Command: The IDF and security forces apprehended 60 wanted individuals involved in terrorist activity over the past week, eliminated five terrorists, and located 17 weapons. Additionally, the forces continue counterterrorism operations in northern Samaria to maintain freedom of movement, along with counterterrorism operations throughout Judea and Samaria and in the 96th Division's region. These activities are to protect the civilians of the State of Israel and the residents of the region in particular. The Northern Command: Several Hezbollah terrorists and field commanders were eliminated in Lebanon over the past week. Military sites, weapons storage and production facilities, and a Hezbollah command center were struck, and a senior Hamas terrorist in Lebanon was also eliminated. During operations in Syria, a terrorist cell operating on behalf of Iran's Quds Force was apprehended this week. The troops continue to operate both defensively and offensively and remain deployed in southern Syria. Earlier this week (Sunday), the Israeli Air Force struck terror targets belonging to the Houthi terror regime in Yemen using approximately 50 munitions, guided by intelligence from the Intelligence Directorate and the Israeli Navy. The targets included terror infrastructure in the ports of Al Hudaydah, Ras Isa, As-Salif, and the Ras Kanatib Power Plant, all of which were used by the Houthis for military activity. IAF Fighter Jets Preparing for Strikes in Yemen Earlier This Week (Sunday): IDF troops continue to operate across all fronts, both defensively and offensively, in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Elimination of Terrorists Who Fired an Anti-Tank Missile at IDF Troops in the Northern Gaza Strip Israel Defense Forces July 13, 2025 13.07.25 IDF Troops from the 7th Brigade, under the command of the 98th Division, are operating in the Gaza City area in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. Over the past week, the troops eliminated two terrorists who had fired an anti-tank missile at IDF troops. Additionally, the troops located and dismantled tunnel shafts and underground tunnel routes. In one of the tunnels, a cache of weapons was located, containing five RPG missiles and additional arms. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IDF Troops Dismantled an Underground Terror Tunnel Approximately 3.5 Kilometers Long in the Khan Yunis Area Israel Defense Forces July 15, 2025 15.07.25 IDF Troops of the Kfir Brigade, under the command of the 36th Division, are operating in south Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip. Activity of the Kfir Brigade in Khan Yunis: As part of the activity in the area, the soldiers, in cooperation with Yahalom unit combat engineers, located and dismantled a major underground tunnel route in the Khan Yunis area. The route, approximately 3.5 kilometers long, included several tunnels in which hideouts used by the terrorists were found. During the operation, troops from the Kfir Brigade dismantled terrorist infrastructure storing explosives, intended to harm our forces. In addition, the troops located weapons in the area. Explosives Found in the Area: IDF troops continue to operate in the Gaza Strip in order to protect Israeli civilians, and the residents of the communities near the Gaza Strip in particular. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli Air Force Strikes Hezbollah Terror Targets in the Beqaa Valley Area in Lebanon Israel Defense Forces July 15, 2025 15.07.25 IDF Earlier today (Tuesday), the Israeli Air Force struck sites in the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon, targeting military compounds used by Hezbollah's Radwan Force, terrorists, and weapons storage facilities used by the Hezbollah terrorist organization. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Spain hand over Command and Control of NATO's Allied Reaction Force to Turkiye NATO Allied Air Command Jul 15 2025 RAMSTEIN, Germany -- The Spanish Air and Space Force have concluded their commitment providing high-readiness Air Command and Control capabilities for NATO's Allied Reaction Force, handing over to the Turkish Air Force. The official handover of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF) Air Component Command took place on July 1, 2025, when operational responsibilities seamlessly transferred from the Spanish to the Turkish Joint Force Air Component (JFAC). NATO's default JFAC is located at AIRCOM in Ramstein, Seven nations (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Turkiye, the United Kingdom and the United States of America) have established NATO Force Structure JFACs that are trained and stood up to serve as a Command and Control unit for the Allied Reaction Force or to take over from the AIRCOM if required. The use of those national air command structures gives NATO's Air and Space Power a comprehensive resilience and can both flexibly handle critical training requirements and provide sustained command and control for ongoing air operations. From January 1, 2024, the Spanish JFAC served as the Air Command and Control element for the ARF, marking a significant milestone in Spain's contribution to NATO's enhanced deterrence and defence posture across the Euro-Atlantic area. During their commitment the Spanish JFAC played a pivotal role in Steadfast Dart 25, conducted in February 2025, by planning and scheduling air assets assigned to the ARF. Additionally, they were actively engaged in planning and conducting many air defence and deterrence operations on NATO's Eastern flank within the framework of NATO's enhanced Air Policing and Air Policing activities. These actions aimed to counter any possible threat from all directions safeguarding NATO Airspace. The Turkish JFAC was certified during exercise Steadfast Dagger, and will take the lead for combined and joint operations that support NATO deterrence and defence missions. The JFAC will be staffed with Turkish air experts who will plan, coordinate and control Allied air operations involving thousands of sorties of Allied fighters, tankers, transport, intelligence and surveillance and airborne control aircraft providing NATO Air Power for collective deterrence and defence of the Alliance for the next 12 months. The ARF is a high-readiness, multinational and multi-domain force that can be deployed at very short notice to carry out a wide range of missions. The ARF includes land, maritime, air, Special Operations Forces, cyber, space, logistics and strategic communications elements, provided by NATO member countries through a rotational system. Flexible, scalable and multinational by design, the ARF is a clear demonstration of Allied capability, solidarity and resolve. From 2002 until 2024, the NATO Response Force (NRF) served as the Alliance's primary tool for force generation and rapid response in support of NATO's three core tasks. The establishment of the Allied Reaction Force (ARF) and the NATO Force Model in 2024 was part of a broader restructuring of NATO's high-readiness forces (Read more about the evolution of the ARF (https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/topics_234091.htm). Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Oral Statement on Afghan data breach Statement on a significant data protection breach from February 2022, relating to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. From: Ministry of Defence and The Rt Hon John Healey MP Published 15 July 2025 Location: House of Commons Delivered on: 15 July 2025 With permission, Mr Speaker, I wish to make a statement on a significant data protection breach from February 2022, relating to the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy. This led to the High Court granting an unprecedented superinjunction. And the previous government establishing a secret Afghan resettlement route. Today, I am announcing to the House a change in government policy. I am closing this resettlement route; I'm disclosing the data loss and confirm that the Court Order was lifted at 12 noon today. Members of the House, including you Mr Speaker, have been subject to this superinjunction. It is unprecedented. And to be clear, the Court has always recognised the parliamentary privilege of proceedings in this House and Ministers decided not to tell Parliamentarians at an earlier stage about the data incident, as the widespread publicity would increase the risk of the Taleban obtaining the dataset. But, as Parliamentarians - and as Government Ministers - it has been deeply uncomfortable to be constrained in reporting to this House. And I am grateful today to be able to disclose the details to Parliament. And I trust you, Mr Speaker - and Members - will bear with me, if I take the time to ensure the House now has the fullest information possible, something I discussed with you Mr Speaker, yesterday. Mr Speaker, the facts are as follows... In February 2022... ten months after the Defence Secretary, Ben Wallace, introduced the Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy and six months after the fall of Kabul a Defence official emailed an ARAP caseworking file outside of authorised government systems. ARAP as the House knows is the resettlement scheme that this country established for Afghan citizens who worked for or with UK Armed Forces over the combat years of Afghanistan. Both in Opposition - and in Government - we have backed this scheme and I know ARAP has had full support from across this House. Now this official mistakenly believed they were sending the names of 150 applicants. However, the spreadsheet in fact contained personal information associated to 18 714 Afghan who had applied to either the Ex Gratia or ARAP scheme on or before 7 January 2022. It contained names and contact details of applicants - and some instances, information relating to the applicants' family members. In a small number of cases Mr Speaker, the names of Members of Parliament, senior military officers and government officials were noted as supporting the application. This was a serious departmental error. It was in clear breach of strict data protection protocols. And it was one of many data losses relating to the ARAP scheme during this period. Previous Government Ministers first became aware of the data loss in mid-August 2023 - 18 months after the incident. They became aware of the loss when personal details of nine individuals from the dataset appeared online. Action was taken to ensure they were swiftly removed, an internal investigation was conducted and the incident was reported to both the Metropolitan Police and the Information Commissioner. The Met deemed that no criminal investigation was necessary. And the Information Commissioner has continued to work with the department throughout. However, journalists were almost immediately aware of the breach and the previous administration applied to the High Court for an injunction to prevent the data loss becoming public. The Judge deemed the risk warranted going further and on 1 September 2023, granted a superinjunction, which prevented disclosure of the very existence of the injunction. Mr Speaker, that superinjunction has been in place for nearly two years, during which time 8 media organisations and their journalists have been served to prohibit any reporting. And no government wishes to withhold information from the British public, from parliamentarians or the press in this manner. In Autumn 2023, previous Ministers started work on establishing a new settlement scheme specifically designed for people in the compromised dataset who were not eligible for ARAP, not eligible for ARAP but judged to be at the highest risk of reprisals by the Taleban. It is known as the Afghanistan Response Route (ARR). It was covered by the superinjunction. The then-Government initially established the ARR to resettle a target cohort of around 200 principals but in early 2024, a combination of the Minister's decisions on the scheme's policy design and the court's views had broadened this category to nearly 3,000 principals. I want to provide assurance Mr Speaker - both to the House and the British public - that all individuals relocated under the Afghanistan Response Route, ARAP or the Home Office's ACRS undergo strict national security checks before being able to enter our country. And the full number of Afghan arrivals under all schemes have been reported in the regular Home Office statistics, meaning they are already counted in existing migration figures. As Shadow Defence Secretary, I was initially briefed on the ARR by James Heappey - former Armed Forces Minister - on 12 December 2023; and issued with the super injunction at the start of the meeting. Other Members of the present Cabinet were only informed of the evidence of the data breach, the operation of the ARR, and the existence of the super injunction on taking office after the General Election. By this time, the ARR scheme was fully established and in operation. By this time it was nearly two and a half years since the data loss. I have felt deeply concerned about the lack of transparency to parliament and the public. I felt it only right to reassess the decision-making criteria for the ARR. So, we began straightway to take a hard look at the policy complexities, costs, risks, court hearings and the range of Afghan relocation schemes being run across government. Cabinet colleagues endorsed the need for new insights in the scheme in the Autumn last year while the scheme kept running. In December 2024, I announced a streamlining of the range of government schemes we inherited into the Afghan Resettlement Programme, to better establish value for money, establish a single set of time-limited entitlements and support to get families resettled. And I would on behalf of the House, Mr Speaker, like to thank our colleagues in local government, without whom this unified resettlement programme would simply not have been possible. And at the beginning of this year, I commissioned Paul Rimmer - a former senior civil servant and ex-Deputy Director of Chief of Defence Intelligence - to conduct an independent review. This Review was concluded and reported to Ministers last month. Today, I am releasing a public version of the Rimmer Review and I am placing a copy of the report in the Library of the House. I am very grateful to him for his work. Mr Speaker, despite brutal human rights abuses in Afghanistan, the Rimmer Review notes the passage of time - nearly four years after the fall of Kabul - and concludes... First and I quote.. there is little evidence of intent by the Taleban to conduct a campaign of retribution against former officials... Second...those who pose a challenge to the Taleban rule now are at greater risk of a reaction from the regime... Three... and the wealth of data inherited from the former Government by the Taleban would already enable them to target individuals if they wish to do so which means fourthly he concludes, and I quote it is "highly unlikely" that merely being on the spreadsheet would be the piece of information enabling or prompting the Taleban to act. However, Rimmer is clear - he stresses the uncertainty in any judgments... and he does not rule out any risk. Yet he concludes given this updated context, the current policy we inherited appears an "extremely significant intervention" to address the potentially limited net additional risk the incident likely presents. Mr Speaker, the Rimmer Review is a very significant, but not the sole element in the Government's decision to change policy, to change policy to close the ARR and to ensure that the Court Order is lifted today. Policy concerns about proportionality, about public accountability, about cost and about fairness were also important factors to the Government. And this was not a decision taken lightly. It follows a lengthy process, including the Rimmer review, detailed ministerial discussions, and repeated consultations with legal advisors. And just as I have changed government policy in light of the Rimmer Review, so the High Court today in light of the Rimmer Review ruled that there is no tenable basis for the continuation of the superinjunction. Mr Speaker, to date, around 900 ARR principals are in Britain or in transit, with 3 600 family members at the cost of 400 million. From today, there will be no new ARR offers of relocation to Britain. From today the route is now closed. However, we will honour the 600 invitations already made to any named person still in Afghanistan and their immediate family. When this nation makes a promise, we should keep it. Today, Mr Speaker, I am also restoring full accountability for the government's Afghanistan relocations schemes to Parliament. And I would expect select committees to hold us to account now, through in-depth inquiries. Let me turn now if I may, to the practical action we have taken, as a result of this policy change and in preparation for the Court's lifting of the superinjunction today. Mr Speaker, my first concern has been to notify as many as possible affected by the data incident, and provide them with further advice. The MOD has done this this morning, although I have to say to this House it has not been possible to contact every individual on the dataset due to its incomplete and out-of-date information. Anyone who may be concerned can head to our new dedicated gov.uk website wherein they will find: ... more information about the data loss incident... ... further security guidance... ... a self-checker tool which will inform them whether their application has been affected ... ... and contact steps for the dedicated Information Services Centre, which the MOD has established. Mr Speaker, this serious data incident should never have happened. It may have occurred 3 years ago under the previous government... But to all those whose information was compromised, I offer a sincere apology today on behalf of the British government. And I trust the Shadow Defence Secretary - as a former Defence Minister - will join me in this. Mr Speaker, to date, 36 000 Afghans have been accepted by Britain through the range of relocation schemes. Britain has honoured the duty we owe to those who worked and fought alongside our troops in Afghanistan. The British people have welcomed them to our country, and in turn this is their chance to rebuild their lives the chance to contribute to - and share in - the prosperity of our great country. However, none of these relocation schemes can carry on in perpetuity, nor were they conceived to do so. That's why, on 1 July, we announced that we would no longer accept new applicants to ARAP. However, I will reiterate the commitment we made then to process every outstanding ARAP application and relocate those who may prove eligible. And we will complete our commitment to the continuing the review of the Triples. Mr Speaker, I recognise my statement will prompt many questions. I would have wanted to settle these matters sooner - because full accountability to Parliament and freedom of the press matter deeply to me... They are fundamental to our British way of life. However, lives may have been at stake... And I've spent many hours thinking about this decision - thinking about the safety of and the lives of people I will never meet - in a far off land in which 457 of our servicemen and women lost their lives. So this weighs heavily on me - and it's why no government could take such decisions lightly, without sound grounds and hard deliberation. During this last year, we have conducted and have now completed this work. And I commend this statement to this House. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Magazine Depth Wins Wars: The Future of NATO's Arsenal By Aaron Smith July 16, 2025 WIESBADEN, Germany -- A strong defense isn't solely about the quantity of weapons stockpiled, but the ability to adapt and rapidly produce what's needed, experts asserted at the LANDEURO 2025 conference today. A panel discussion focused on the critical need for broadened production within NATO to secure global supply chains, enhance interoperability, and bolster strategic flexibility. The conversation centered on lessons learned from the ongoing war in Ukraine, where sustained ammunition supplies and the ability to quickly repair and replace equipment have proven vital. Panelists emphasized the necessity of "magazine depth" - maintaining sufficient reserves - alongside collaborative production of munitions, repair parts, and entire weapon systems. Panelists stressed that maintaining readiness requires a holistic approach, encompassing not only weapons systems and ammunition, but also a robust sustainment infrastructure. This includes ensuring sufficient repair parts, subassemblies and critical components are readily available. Experts agreed that the capacity and capabilities of the defense industrial complex are foundational to achieving this "magazine depth" and are a critical pillar for both deterring adversaries and winning conflicts - not just regionally, but globally. Furthermore, they noted that current economic and geopolitical conditions present an unprecedented opportunity to develop, expand, and scale the defense industrial complex, creating irreversible momentum for future security. U.S. Army (Ret.) Gen. Edward Daly described his vision of the defense industrial complex in 2030. "It's an ecosystem that's modern, globally responsive, interoperable, and produces capabilities and technologically advanced products at scale to support not only the commercial sector, but the military as well," said Daly. Lt. Gen. Miles Brown, deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Futures Command, highlighted the core goals of the Army Transformation Initiative (ATI) and the planned consolidation of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command and U.S. Army Futures Command into the new Army Transformation and Training Command. "This isn't about bringing the family back together," said Brown. "We're building a 21st-century command - data-centric, collaborative, lean, agile, and adaptive. The whole point of the ATI is to take the opportunity we have now, with the national will and commitment to excellence, and to move out quickly, not to study for two or three years before we get after it." He emphasized that the ATI aims to fundamentally change how the Army operates, focusing on speed and innovation. Ultimately, the panelists agreed that a modernized and adaptable defense industrial base, coupled with a streamlined and innovative command structure, is crucial for ensuring NATO's readiness for prolonged conflicts and addressing the evolving landscape of global security threats. Investing in these areas, they said, will deliver a decisive strategic advantage for the alliance's future arsenal. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Allied leaders confront interconnected global threats at inaugural LANDEURO panel By U.S. Army Maj. Andrew Uong July 16, 2025 WIESBADEN, Germany -- At the first-ever LANDEURO, senior defense officials and security experts gathered to examine how today's fragmented conflicts are giving way to a far more dangerous global reality. During a featured panel on July 16 titled "World War Next - The Interconnected Global Threat," military and academic leaders from NATO and Indo-Pacific nations outlined how authoritarian regimes are increasingly aligned in objectives and actions, and why Western alliances must adapt accordingly. The panel was moderated by retired U.S. Army Col. Heino Klinck, and featured: Air Vice Marshal Dianne Turton, Australian Military Representative to NATO and the European Union Finnish Army Commander Lt. Gen. Pasi Valimaki Dr. John Nagl, Professor of Warfighting Studies at the U.S. Army War College Strategic Convergence and a New Threat Landscape The discussion began by emphasizing that security challenges are no longer confined to specific regions. Deepening cooperation among Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea demands a more integrated and global approach to deterrence and defense planning. Panelists pointed out that China plays a decisive enabling role for Russia, particularly in the context of Ukraine, and that the strategic aims of these authoritarian powers often align across multiple regions. The traditional separation between theaters; African, European, Indo-Pacific, and Arctic, is increasingly obsolete. The panel stressed that the actions of adversaries cannot be viewed in isolation. Rather, they represent interconnected efforts to erode international norms, challenge deterrence frameworks, and exploit democratic vulnerabilities. Indo-Pacific and European Theater: Shared Lessons Air Vice Marshal Turton provided a regional assessment from the Indo-Pacific, where Australia continues to monitor China's use of multi-dimensional statecraft. This includes the application of diplomatic, informational, military, and economic tools across a spectrum of operations, including gray-zone tactics and coercive economic measures. North Korea's growing capabilities and increasingly open alignment with Russia further compound regional instability. In response, Australia and its Indo-Pacific counterparts; Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand, are pursuing deeper collaboration with NATO and the EU to address shared concerns. Turton noted that lessons from the Indo-Pacific are applicable to the European theater and vice versa, especially as adversaries mirror one another's strategies across domains. Finland's Posture: Mobilized and Multinational Lt. Gen. Valimaki framed Finland's strategic posture as both defensive and ready. Since joining NATO two years ago, Finland has prioritized credible deterrence, increased mobilization capability, and improved sustainability across its armed forces. He described Finland as fully integrated into the alliance and prepared to operate in joint formations if conflict arises. Notably, he introduced the concept of the Eastern Flank Deterrence Line, blending modernized conventional equipment, logistics depth, and rapid force generation as part of a broader effort to prevent a drawn-out war. He emphasized that future success depends on fast capability delivery, both legacy and modern, from national industries. Defense industry change must focus not just on developing equipment, but on rapidly delivering interoperable systems suited for coalition warfare. The Role of Data, Doctrine, and Decision Cycles Throughout the panel, speakers highlighted the increasing importance of information dominance and decision-making agility. Multi-domain coordination and data synchronization now sit at the center of operational effectiveness, especially as adversaries aim to exploit delays in consensus-driven alliances. Dr. Nagl offered a doctrinal perspective, noting that current warfighting concepts are not yet aligned with the realities of prolonged or simultaneous multi-regional conflicts. He called for a shift in institutional thinking, one that accelerates integration across political, military, and industrial lines of effort. Panelists also discussed the evolving nature of deterrence, suggesting that credible readiness must be felt across every level of the alliance, from frontline units to national leadership. Preparing for the "Axis of Convenience" While concern over the growing alignment among Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea ran throughout the discussion, panelists also noted that these relationships lack the cohesion and trust seen among democracies. Their cooperation, though dangerous, remains largely transactional. Speakers stressed that these regimes will likely continue trying to exploit divisions among Western allies. However, unlike authoritarian alliances, NATO and its Indo-Pacific partners benefit from shared values, mutual accountability, and more stable forms of collaboration. Finland, in particular, has increased its mobilization capability, spare parts inventory, and specialist readiness to ensure a fight-tonight posture and full readiness by 2030. Its approach underscores how newer NATO members are contributing to collective deterrence with both agility and urgency. Reinforcing Unity Across Continents As the session drew to a close, panelists underscored that unity between NATO and Indo-Pacific partners is not just desirable, it is essential. Shared interests, values, and strategic concerns require more than alignment; they require coordination, speed, and transparency. The panelists characterized the symposium and exhibition as a signal to adversaries that free nations are aware of the challenge and are committed to meeting it head-on. Collective defense now spans continents and domains, and the future of deterrence depends on credible partnerships built for 21st-century conflict. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SETAF-AF highlights 173rd Airborne Brigade innovation at LANDEURO 2025 By Maj. Joe Legros July 16, 2025 VICENZA, Italy -- Soldiers from the 173rd Airborne Brigade's Bayonet Innovation Team (BIT) are set to participate in the inaugural LANDEURO Symposium and Exposition, taking place July 16-17 in Wiesbaden, Germany, to showcase tactical innovation and allied collaboration. Hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army (AUSA), LANDEURO is the leading international symposium dedicated to land forces in Europe. The event will convene senior military leaders from across the U.S., Ukraine and European partner nations to address emerging threats, regional cooperation and transformational warfighting capabilities. This year's theme is "Transforming with Allies for the Future Fight," which reflects a shared commitment to preparing for the next battlefield. The BIT will be present to discuss its collaborative efforts with units such as the 2nd Cavalry Regiment (2CR) and the 56th Artillery Command (56th Fires), notably in establishing an in-house drone lab capable of rapidly producing low-cost unmanned aerial systems tailored to mission needs. This initiative strengthens expeditionary autonomy and supports scalable innovation at the unit level. The innovation teams from 173rd's BIT, 2CR and 56th Fires were critical components in each other's establishment, sharing code and best practices on a regular basis. Together, these units consulted with roughly 100 external entities to date on innovation. "You need to innovate to survive, to stay ahead and stay at the cutting edge," said U.S. Army 1st Lt. Francesco La Torre, the BIT director of robotics and autonomous systems. "The more we can do on our own, from procurement to manufacturing, the more autonomous we can be on the battlefield." La Torre added that, this year alone, the BIT conducted its initial first-person view drone live-fire exercise on moving targets, completed its first live-munition drop with an M67 fragmentation grenade and created its own drone production lab in Vicenza. U.S. Army Col. Mark E. Bush, commander of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, will also attend the symposium. He emphasized the importance of this initiative. "The BIT's efforts play a critical role in our brigade's overarching endeavor to support the Army's commitment to agile adaptation," Bush said. "Our BIT Paratroopers, through staggering initiative, demonstrate daily what innovation and readiness look like in a complex, rapidly evolving security environment." LANDEURO 2025 will begin with opening remarks from U.S. Army Gen. Christopher T. Donahue, commanding general of U.S. Army Europe and Africa. The event will feature more than 80 exhibits and panels addressing multi-domain operations, lessons from Ukraine and the evolving role of land forces across the continent. Additionally, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov, will discuss battlefield innovation and digital modernization. The 173rd's BIT is aligned with the Army Transformation Initiative and is part of a growing number of unit-based innovation organizations which rapidly develop and advance technology to support ever-changing battlefield demands. LANDEURO serves as the latest venue for sharing best practices. About 173rd Airborne Brigade The 173rd Airborne Brigade is the U.S. Army's Contingency Response Force in Europe, providing rapidly deployable forces to the United States European, Africa, and Central Command areas of responsibility. Forward deployed across Italy and Germany, the brigade routinely trains alongside NATO allies and partners to build partnerships and strengthen the alliance. About SETAF-AF U.S. Army Southern European Task Force, Africa (SETAF-AF) prepares Army forces, executes crisis response, enables strategic competition and strengthens partners to achieve U.S. Army Europe and Africa and U.S. Africa Command campaign objectives. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address July 16, 2025 By Staff Sgt. Kylee Marshall, Army I Corps First Multinational HIMARS Launch on Australian Soil Highlights Interoperability, Modernization Multinational forces demonstrated integrated fires and maneuver capabilities across multiple domains during a combined joint live-fire exercise as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 25 in Queensland, Australia, July 14, 2025. The event brought together forces from several nations to synchronize long-range fires, armor movements and air defense in a realistic scenario designed to strengthen interoperability and regional deterrence. Senior military leaders and international observers watched as partner nations coordinated across all areas of the battlespace. The High Mobility Artillery Rocket System's live-fire component underscored the ability of partner forces to rapidly deploy and share targeting data. "For me, it's like-minded nations bringing together their modern technology on the battlefield to train and work together," said Army Lt. Gen. Matthew McFarlane, commanding general of I Corps. "What we have in mind is that no matter which country's sensor detects a target, any other partner nation can engage the target." The scenario began with Marine Corps F-35B Lightning II joint strike fighters executing an initial airstrike to neutralize enemy air defenses. With air superiority established, HIMARS from the Australian Defence Force's 10th Brigade, U.S. Army's 17th Field Artillery Brigade and Singapore Armed Forces moved from concealed positions to deliver precision long-range fires. Targeting data was provided by a multinational intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance enterprise, including Australian integrator unmanned aerial system platforms. This event marked a historic first for the Australian army, its first HIMARS launch on home soil in cooperation with regional partners. The exercise also reflected Australia's ongoing modernization efforts with domestically produced munitions expected to support future integration. "Opportunities to live fire and train alongside our allies and partners as part of Talisman Sabre is critical to building true interoperability," said Army Lt. Col. Edward Guelfi, commander of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery Regiment, 17th Field Artillery Brigade. "These moments forge trust, sharpen readiness and send a clear message. We are united, capable and ready to deter any threat together." U.S. HIMARS crews fired guided multiple launch rocket systems to engage enemy targets identified during the preceding air assault, reinforcing the importance of a shared targeting picture. Following successful deep fires, joint forces shifted to the close battlespace. M777A2 155 mm howitzers from the Marine Corps and Australian Defence Force provided suppressive fires, clearing the way for South Korea K9A1 and K1A2 systems to deliver counterbattery effects and lead a simulated armored assault. Guelfi highlighted the excitement and motivation felt by the soldiers in his brigade for the opportunity to train alongside the Australian Defence Force and Singapore Armed Forces. "One key takeaway was how quickly our teams adapted to each other's systems and procedures, highlighting that interoperability isn't just about equipment, it's about people, trust and shared commitment," he said. "These exercises proved that our partnerships aren't just symbolic, they're operational, effective and growing stronger every day." The final phase took place in the rear area, where Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force Chu-SAM medium-range surface-to-air missile system was employed to defend against adversary air threats and protect critical assets. These integrated rear-area defenses are critical to ensuring freedom of maneuver and sustainment during multidomain operations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address July 16, 2025 By C. Todd Lopez, DOD News Army's Tropic Lightning Division Enhances Lethality in Pacific With HIMARS, Retrains Howitzer Troops New High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems rolled off aircraft in Hawaii this week. The systems are bound for a new mission with the 25th Infantry Division, also called "Tropic Lightning," which expects to have a total of 16 HIMARS within weeks. As part of the Army Transformation Initiative, the 25th ID will replace eight existing 105 mm and six 155 mm howitzers with 16 HIMARS launchers that will enhance the division's long-range precision fires capability and strengthen its warfighting readiness that supports the Indo-Pacific area of responsibility. In late April, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth directed the U.S. Army to implement a transformation and acquisition reform initiative meant to advance President Donald J. Trump's peace through strength agenda. "To build a leaner, more lethal force, the Army must transform at an accelerated pace by divesting outdated, redundant and inefficient programs, as well as restructuring headquarters and acquisition systems," Hegseth said. Part of that direction was to prioritize improvements to long-range precision fires and air and missile defense. The Army calls its effort to follow through on that direction the "Army Transformation Initiative." "As part of [the ATI] we are integrating in [High Mobility Artillery Rocket] systems," said Maj. Gen. Marcus Evans, commander, 25th ID. "What this means for the division ... is that we are integrating in long-range precision fires that increases the ability to extend our operational reach." The new systems make the division more lethal, he said. "And so now soldiers, instead of working behind a cannon system and towed artillery, they will work with a weapon system that [not only] has increased survivability, but increased operational reach with the range that [HIMARS] have," Evans said. The integration of HIMARS also allows the division to better protect itself. "We can shoot and then we can rapidly displace or move to an area that affords us better protection," Evans said. While the 25th ID has used HIMARS before, it will now for the first time have the capability organic to the division artillery brigade. A lot goes into making that happen, he said. "As an example [there is] the transition of personnel," Evans said. "There is a transition training course that has to go into effect." The first HIMARS arrived for the 25th ID on July 14, 2025, and fielding will continue for about six weeks, Evans said. At the same time the 25th ID is getting HIMARS, it's also getting other transformational enhancements. "We are also transforming our intelligence, information and electronic warfare battalion into a multi-domain fires battalion that increases their capability to see and sense further than what they've previously been able to do," he said. "All of that will be organic to the division artillery and supporting the division to be able to set conditions for the joint force." Within the 25th ID Division Artillery Brigade, about 73 soldiers who are already trained in indirect fires volunteered to transition from the 13B military occupational specialty soldiers who operate howitzers to the 13M MOS, which is soldiers who operate rocket platforms. Already, 27 of those 73 have trained with the National Guard as part of transitioning their MOS to learn how to operate the HIMARS. "We'll continue to complete that process," said Command Sgt. Maj. Sean E. Swint, senior enlisted advisor, 25th ID, Division Artillery. "Just like [they were with the] 105 mm howitzers that ... we had at the Battle of Luzon, today our soldiers are now equipped with HIMARS, a combat-proven platform that just elevates our warfighting readiness in the Pacific." Those soldiers, said Command Sgt. Maj. Shaun Curry, senior enlisted advisor, 25th ID, are excited about the transformation of their indirect fires mission. "I think another note ... is the excitement inside of our formation to be a part of something new for our Army," Curry said. "There's been a large drive from these [noncommissioned officers] and junior enlisted service members they want to stay in the Pacific, they want to stay in Hawaii. But more importantly, they want to be a part of the cutting edge of warfighting for our nation." After learning to operate HIMARS, a three-week endeavor, the soldiers will go back to their units and begin training for a validation exercise in the fall at Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center. "As part of JPMRC in the fall, it will validate the DIVARTY formation in a division with HIMARS," Evans said. The fall exercise will also validate employment of infantry squad vehicles and the increased use of drones on the battlefield, some of which allow for conducting reconnaissance all the way up to 25 miles, he said. "If you think [about] what is occurring over the last year as part of Army transformation, we have got technology into the hands of soldiers that allows them to see, sense and strike, protect and sustain at a faster rate, increased operational reach, and then now, the Army is aligning long-range fires capability with this technology to enhance the lethality and warfighting readiness of the division," Evans said. The 25th ID DIVARTY has two battalions with howitzers, including the 3rd Battalion, 7th Field Artillery Regiment, and the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery Regiment. The howitzers will be consolidated into one of those battalions while the HIMARS will move into the other. "We transformed and consolidated our cannon artillery systems into a battalion a single cannon battalion [with] two batteries of 105 mm howitzers, eight each, and one battery of M777 howitzers [which are] 155 mm. The 2nd Battalion will now become a two-by-eight HIMARS battalion," said Col. Daniel J. VonBenken, commander, 25th ID DIVARTY, which he expects will greatly enhance the unit's ability to support the joint force. VonBenken asks himself every morning if his formation is more ready and more lethal than the day before. "In this case, it's clear that the HIMARS weapon system will make us more lethal at the end of the day," he said. "It extends the range to long-range precision fires, while still retaining the capability to win in the close fight with the mobile brigades, with the cannon artillery." Of the existing howitzers within the 25th ID DIVARTY, eight of the M119, 105 mm guns and six of the M777, 155 mm guns are marked for divestiture. The Army received official direction in April to move on transformation initiatives and now, less than three months later, the 25th ID is fielding new capabilities that tick the lethality box so important to the defense secretary and president. "In terms of how we've been able to move quickly, we have been enabled by Army senior leaders and then ultimately good soldiers, noncommissioned officer leadership, that have been able to attack this problem set, outline a plan and be prepared to transition to receive this equipment," Evans said. Curry said he credits Army headquarters, U.S. Army Human Resources Command, leadership within the artillery brigade and the National Guard for making it possible to get the best soldiers from across the Army on board at 25th ID to make the transition to HIMARS, and to also train existing soldiers within the division. "We've used our high performers here in the 25th and used our National Guard partners to help us train. ... They're some of our most experienced rocketeers in the Army," Curry said. "By combination of those ... four entities, we've been able to move with the education process as rapidly as we have." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address July 16, 2025 By David Vergun, DOD News Pentagon to Increase Low-Cost Drone Production in U.S. The Defense Department, with help from industry, will ramp up production and fielding of drones to maintain battlefield superiority. Today at the Pentagon, 18 American-made drone prototypes were on display. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who toured the displays, said the drones that are manufactured using off-the-shelf components for rapid production are examples of disruptive thinking. Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said the prototypes on display went from concept to development in just an average of 18 months, a process that normally takes up to six years. The department will continue to rapidly innovate and scale up production of drones and other systems using cost, resilience, firepower and range as driving factors, which are areas DOD wants to improve upon, Michael said. Hegseth said in a July 10, 2025, memorandum that he's rescinding restrictive policies that hindered drone production. "Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year's casualties in Ukraine. Our adversaries collectively produce millions of cheap drones each year," he said, noting the U.S. military is lacking needed quantities of lethal small drones. The secretary said there are three goals: Prioritizing the purchase of American-made drones and parts with help from industry's private capital; Arming combat units with low-cost drones made by America's world-leading engineers and artificial intelligence experts; and Training with drones in realistic battlefield scenarios, led by leaders who are not risk averse. President Donald J. Trump signed a June 6, 2025, executive order to speed up U.S. drone production using the latest innovative industry technologies. The president said he supports reducing regulatory uncertainty and streamlining approval and certification processes for safe and secure drone production. Also, the Federal Aviation Administration and DOD will coordinate to streamline the approval processes to expand access to airspace for conducting drone training, Trump said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Finland calls for moderation in EU budget and supports funding allocation for defence, competitiveness and Ukraine Finnish Government Government Communications Department Publication date 16.7.2025 Type:Press release Finland believes that the overall level of the European Commission's proposal for the EU's next multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034 is too high. Finland considers the proposed priorities to be steps in the right direction. The Government will formulate a more detailed position on the proposals in early autumn. The European Commission published today its proposal for the EU's next multiannual financial framework for 2028-2034. As expected, the Commission is proposing a significant raise to the current overall level. The Commission proposes a significant restructuring and simplification of the multiannual financial framework. Finland agrees with this objective and has called for allocating funds in ways that align more strongly than at present with the EU's key political priorities, such as improving Europe's defence and competitiveness. We must remember the big picture "The world around us has changed in unprecedented ways in recent years. Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the need to strengthen European defence, the increasing trade policy tensions, climate change, technological advances and the challenged competitiveness of the EU are immense challenges that should be tackled together," Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said. "The EU's multiannual budget must offer the best possible tools for addressing these challenges," Prime Minister Orpo said. "Many of the Commission's proposals are positive and align with Finland's objectives. At the same time, it is clear that we must continue to exert influence on many matters, especially, to curb the overall framework level, to safeguard funding for our agriculture and to ensure that Finland's special position as Russia's neighbour will be reflected on the allocation of EU funding," Prime Minister Orpo said. "However, this is only the first step in a long process where Finland will continue its strong and effective efforts," Prime Minister Orpo said. Finland's proactive efforts to exert influence on the framework content were successful According to the Commission's proposal, stronger European defence would be financed from different sections of the financial framework, including military mobility and defence research. The Commission also proposes that the EU continue to support Ukraine at the current strong level. The Commission proposes a new competitiveness fund to boost the EU's competitiveness. The current framework programme for research and innovation, Horizon Europe, would be tied in with the new fund to a great extent. In this respect, the Commission's proposal is to double the current budget and refocus it on defence research and bioeconomy, among other fields. The proposal would significantly raise the level of funding for home affairs and introduce a border with Russia as a particularly favourable allocation criterion. "The EU will continue its strong support for Ukraine in the long term. It will increase funding for defence fivefold and for military mobility tenfold and double the current level of research and innovation funding. Competitiveness investments in biotechnology and bioeconomy will increase fivefold. From Finland's perspective, these are highly important priorities for EU-level funding. The manifold increase in military mobility funding, especially, will create new opportunities for Finland," Prime Minister Orpo said. "For us in Finland, it is particularly important that our unique position as Russia's neighbour will be reflected on the allocation of funds and that our views have been heard," said Prime Minister Orpo. Prime Minister Orpo also mentions that in future the link between EU funding and respect for the rule of law would be stronger than at present. "Finland feels strongly about this - countries that do not respect the EU's fundamental values should not get EU funding," Prime Minister Orpo said. Finland is critical of the overall level of the EU's multiannual budget and of new financial instruments such as the recovery instrument The Commission proposes greater flexibility for EU financing to allow easier redirection of EU funds according changing needs and possible crises. It proposes a new crisis instrument outside the financial framework that would enable the granting of loan-based support to Member States facing special types of crises. The Commission further proposes that loans could be used to get additional funding for national plans within the financial framework. "While the priorities are relevant, the overall level should remain moderate. That is why we are taking a critical stance on the proposed overall framework level and opposing the creation of new EU-level financial instruments, like the recovery instrument, that are financed by EU borrowing," Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said. Common agricultural policy funding would be reformed The Commission proposes a significant overhaul of the common agricultural policy funding and the abolishment of the current pillar structure. "Our key message is that it must be possible to practise agriculture in a profitable way even in Finland's difficult conditions. It is very important to us that we can secure funding that affects our farmers' incomes," Prime Minister Orpo said. "The proposal has many elements that we hold important, such as support for areas facing natural constraints, support for young farmers, voluntary coupled support and agricultural investments," Orpo said. The proposal will be followed by a long negotiation process The Commission presented its key proposals for the forthcoming multiannual financial framework (MFF) package on Wednesday 16 July 2025. The multiannual financial framework will determine how much EU funding will be available in 2028-2034 and how the funds will be allocated. The MFF package has also a revenue side, that is, a proposal for a system of the EU's own resources. The Commission's proposal will be followed by a long negotiation process. Negotiations at the ministerial level will take place in the General Affairs Council, while the EU heads of state and government will agree unanimously on the package at a European Council meeting, although probably not until the first half of 2027. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address U.S. uses sanctions to silence critics of Israeli genocide in Gaza: Iran IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jul 16, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei says the United States is trying to silence critics of Israel's genocide in Gaza by resorting to sanctions. Baqaei made the remarks in response to a statement posted Wednesday by Josep Borrell, former European Union foreign policy chief, on his X account. "And this is just in line with the U.S. sanctioning of Palestine Special Rapporteur, Francesca Albanese, to silence any critics of Israel's continuing genocide and atrocity crimes in Gaza and the West Bank," he said. Earlier in the day, Borrell called on the E.U. to back Albanese after the U.S. unlawfully targeted the U.N. official with sanctions. Borrell said Washington's unprecedented move against Albanese is a flagrant violation of the U.N. Charter. He added that the E.U. is bound by its treaties to uphold international law and protect all U.N. mandate holders. Albanese has been a vocal critic of Israel's atrocities in Gaza, where more than 58,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023. In November, the International Criminal Court (I.C.C.) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former minister in charge of military affairs, Yoav Gallant, on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza. Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over the war in Gaza. 3266**4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Arab Parliament: Israeli attacks on Syria and Lebanon pose a serious threat IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jul 16, 2025 The Arab Parliament has strongly condemned Israel's repeated attacks on Syrian and Lebanese territories, declaring them a blatant violation of international law and a serious threat to regional stability. In a statement published Wednesday on its official website, the Arab Parliament denounced the assaults as part of a systematic campaign to impose a fait accompli through military force, demonstrating total disregard for international legitimacy and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the U.N. Security Council. It expressed full solidarity with Syria and Lebanon in preserving their sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the safety of their citizens. The parliament also called on the international community to take urgent and decisive action to halt the escalating aggression. Reiterating its unwavering stance against any actions that compromise the sovereignty of Arab nations, the Arab Parliament emphasized that lasting regional security depends on full adherence to international law, respect for the national sovereignty of states, and non-interference in their domestic affairs. 2050**4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran strongly condemns continuation of Israeli crimes in Gaza IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jul 16, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei has condemned the Israeli regime's intensified atrocities against Palestinians. Highlighting the escalation of Israeli crimes and the killing of over 100 innocent Palestinians within the past 24 hours, including the cowardly assassination of Mohammad Faraj al-Ghoul, a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) and Alaa Azzam, the renowned Palestinian Quran reciter, along with his family, and the continuation of Gaza's food and medicine siege and imposing starvation on residents of Gaza Strip are cruel war crimes. Condemning the hypocritical actions taken by the U.S. and the Israeli regime in setting up humanitarian aid centers and turning them into a trap for the massacre of innocent and hungry children, he urged all governments and international organizations to take prompt measures to stop these crimes. Baqaei emphasized that the passivity and indifference imposed by the supporters of the crimes of the Israeli regime for its crimes in Gaza has normalized the most severe violations of international law and weakened joint legal and ethical foundations. He also stressed the direct responsibility of the supporters of the Israeli regime, especially the U.S., Germany, and Britain in genocide in Gaza and the West Bank. He emphasized that the continuation of the Israeli regime's impunity with regard to heinous crimes in the occupied territories is the key to the continuation of its crimes and warfare. 9376**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mobile Training Team Strengthens Air Planning Cooperation with Serbia NATO Allied Air Command Jul 16 2025 RAMSTEIN, Germany -- From July 8 to 10, 2025, Allied Air Command's Mobile Training Team (MTT) deployed to Belgrade to deliver a focused course on the NATO Air Operational Planning Process (AOPP), marking another milestone in NATO's practical cooperation with the Serbian Armed Forces under the Partnership for Peace (PfP) Programme. Hosted at the request of the Serbian Air Force, the training event offered a valuable opportunity to share NATO's structured approach to air operations planning and enhance mutual understanding through knowledge exchange and professional dialogue. "AIRCOM Mobile Training Teams play a key role in fostering mutual dialogue and developing interoperability which are essential in building long-term trust with our partners," said Colonel Dominique Calligaris, AIRCOM A9 Chief of Staff. "By sharing NATO planning principles and learning from our counterparts, we support stronger understanding of our air forces (across the region)," he added. In addition to delivering tailored instruction on the AOPP, the visit featured productive discussions on aviation-focused activities that support Serbia's goals under the PfP framework. These talks reinforced shared commitments and laid the groundwork for further engagement in the air domain. This MTT event highlights NATO's ongoing dedication to strengthening cooperation with Serbia since it joined the Partnership for Peace in 2006. Through regular education and training initiatives, NATO provides partner officers and personnel with the knowledge and training necessary to effectively operate alongside Allied forces, enhancing regional security and stability. The NATO and Serbian representatives present at the training event expressed a strong interest in continuing these collaborative efforts, underlining the importance of shared understanding and mutual trust in addressing common security challenges. Story by Allied Air Command Public Affairs Office NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NATO Deputy Secretary General calls for stronger NATO-EU cooperation to build on historic Summit decisions NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 16 Jul. 2025 On Wednesday (16 July), NATO Deputy Secretary General Radmila Shekerinska addressed a joint meeting of the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs (AFET) and the Committee on Security and Defence (SEDE). She explained the outcome of the NATO Summit in The Hague, called for stronger cooperation with the European Union (EU), and answered questions from Members of the European Parliament. Ms Shekerinska introduced the historic agreement reached by Allies at the NATO Summit in The Hague, to raise defence spending to 5% of GDP by 2035. The new defence spending target is based on NATO's ambitious capability targets and the latest defence plans. "It is the price we must pay to preserve peace" she stated, adding that "not preparing to prevent war will cost us much, much more." As a result of the Summit agreement, European Allies and Canada are stepping up, to take their fair share of defence spending. The Deputy Secretary General welcomed the EU's increased efforts on defence and stressed that NATO and the EU can do much more together, by boosting the defence industry, protecting critical infrastructure, and developing new capabilities. "But to keep Europe safe, we must ensure that our efforts are truly transatlantic," she noted. As Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine continues, Ms Shekerinska highlighted U.S. President Donald Trump's new plan to supply Ukraine with military equipment financed by European Allies and Canada. The Deputy Secretary General underscored the importance of achieving a just and lasting peace for Ukraine. "Going forward, there is even more we can do together, to boost the Ukrainian defence industry and to better integrate it with our own," Ms Shekerinska affirmed. "This is our security as well ... Now we need to roll up our sleeves and deliver," she concluded. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Allies agree NATO's 2026-2030 Common Funding Resource Plan NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation 16 Jul. 2025 On Wednesday 16 July, the North Atlantic Council approved the 2026-2030 Common Funding Resource Plan. This newest Resource Plan gives an overview of the resource demands over the next five years and allocates the necessary common funds to reflect NATO's increased level of ambition. In approving this Resource Plan, the Council agreed the 2026 ceilings for the commonfunded Military and Civil Budgets, as well as for NATO's Security Investment Programme, allocating in total EUR 5.3 billion. NATO common funding contributes to strengthening NATO's deterrence and defence, providing core military capabilities, fulfilling responsibilities in Alliance operations and missions, and enabling NATO's consultation and command and control processes. It also provides resources for priority activities in support of Ukraine, such as for the NATO Security Assistance and Training to Ukraine and the NATO Ukraine Joint Analysis, Training and Education Centre. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A look at the Defence news 7 - 13 July Netherlands Ministry of Defence News item | 16-07-2025 | 14:38 F-35 fighter jets are going to police NATO airspace from Polish territory. The military equipment that NATO countries have donated to Ukraine must reach its destination safely. Dutch F-35 fighter jets will therefore be policing the NATO airspace over Eastern Europe from 1 September until 1 December. The Netherlands and Poland take the next step in their close collaboration The Netherlands and Poland want to work together more closely in the field of defence. Today, Dutch minister of Defence Brekelmans and his Polish counterpart Kosiniak-Kamysz signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to that end. The ceremony took place in the Polish capital Warsaw, with the Dutch and Polish prime ministers, Schoof and Tusk, in attendance. Eichelsheim: Stability in the Middle East is important for Europe During his working visit to Jordan, Netherlands Chief of Defence General Onno Eichelsheim underlined the importance of stability in the Middle East for reducing unwanted migration to Jordan and to Europe, and for preventing terrorism. He also emphasised its crucial importance for free trade. General Eichelsheim was in Jordan to speak with a number of generals and visit local training sites. He stressed the importance of cooperation between the Netherlands and Jordan. Militarised Police Touaregs for Ukraine The Dutch national police force is donating 38 Volkswagen Touaregs to Ukraine via the Netherlands Ministry of Defence. A ceremony was recently conducted for the handover from the Dutch police to the Dutch military. Defence personnel will strip the vehicles of their police equipment, carry out maintenance, and repaint them service green. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address NZ Army gunners primed for historic PNG exercise New Zealand Defence Force A dynamic security environment in our region highlights the importance of training with our Pacific partners, with 16th Field Regiment gearing up for a significant Exercise in Papua New Guinea. 16 July, 2025 New Zealand Army gunners from 16th Field Regiment, Royal Regiment of New Zealand Artillery (RNZA) recently conducted a mortar live firing exercise in the Waiouru Military Training Area in preparation for a large exercise in Papua New Guinea (PNG) later this month. 16th Field Regiment will send a training team to PNG to deliver mortar training to the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF), culminating with a live fire exercise. PNGDF will reciprocate by delivering jungle training to NZ Army gunners. This will be the first time 16th Field Regiment will have the opportunity to train alongside our PNGDF partners, and the contingent is looking forward to both assisting the development of their mortar capability, and to receive training from the PNGDF. Commanding Officer of 16th Field Regiment, Lieutenant Colonel Brent Morris said this type of reciprocal training activity showed the versatility and relevance RNZA brings to the New Zealand Defence Force. "This is a great opportunity for our officers and soldiers to deliver effective training to a partner nation, and to learn from them in their own areas of expertise. Jungle operations are an area PNGDF excel at, and we are excited to receive training from their instructors." He said the next stage is preparing the contingent for deployment and working with logistics and RNZAF counterparts to get our personnel and equipment to PNG. "Deploying a large contingent and a considerable amount of freight means multiple C-130J-30 Hercules flights. Once we're on the ground at Port Moresby we will be supported by the PNGDF," said Lieutenant Colonel Morris. He said the dynamic security situation in our region highlights the importance of working alongside our partners, which is more important than ever in ensuring the security and stability of the Pacific region. "The PNGDF and the New Zealand Army are both focused on warfighting, and opportunities like these - where we enhance each other's warfighting capability - are vital in maintaining that focus," said Lieutenant Colonel Morris. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel Persists in its crimes: Bloodshed Mounts; 27 Children Killed Daily in Gaza Since the Start of the War in October 2023-----Occupation Keeps the Situation Teetering on the Edge; Allows Drips of Aid to Avoid International Pressure Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) 16-07-2025 In a series of raids, the Israeli warplanes pounded several residential targets, sites, facilities, and buildings across the Gaza's governorates. They killed 865 Palestinians from 8 to 14 July 2025, raising the death toll to 59,898 dead since 7 October 2023. The OIC Media Observatory for Israeli Crimes against Palestinians recorded the injury of 2,493 persons over the past seven days, raising the total wounded to 147,719 from 7 October 2023 to 14 July 2025. The killing operations of the past week were marked by intensive Israeli bombing of random and dispersed areas in the strip and the shooting of Gazans queueing for aid in scenes reflective of the scale of tragedy and the ongoing suffering of the population. Over the reporting period, the occupation forces deliberately bombed a medical center in Deir al Balah, whose victims were mostly children. This crime is considered collective punishment of the Gazans, 780 of whom were killed by the occupation while waiting for aid according to the World Health Organization, whereas 5,100 persons were injured during the reporting period since the launch of the US aid mechanism. This comes amid Israeli talks about building a city in Rafah for half a million Palestinians in continuation of the "Gideon's Chariots" plan aimed at stripping the Palestinians of their land and forcibly pressuring them into opting for displacement as the sole option. In a related context, sources in Gaza's hospitals stated that six freed captives, five of whom are exiled captives of the Wafa al-Ahrar captive-exchange deal, were killed in an Israeli bombing in central and southern Gaza. In addition, several persons, mostly children and women, were killed and injured following an Israeli raid on Halima al-Sadia School sheltering refugees in Jabalia al-Nuzla in northern Gaza. In another crime, the occupation forces killed seven children between 10 and 15 years old while queuing to receive water at a distribution point. UNICEF said that 27 children are being killed daily in Gaza, Palestine, since the start of the war in October 2023. It pointed out that 5,000 children in Gaza have fallen below the malnutrition line in May alone. In a new study, "Doctors without Borders" revealed that the mortality ratio among children under the age of five in Gaza has risen 10-fold since the Israeli aggression started on 7 October 2023. Civil defense sources in Gaza stated that rescue vehicles in Gaza are completely out of order. The situation has worsened due to fuel scarcity, depriving individuals with chronic diseases like dialysis from treatment, coupled with the pressure exerted on the remaining hospitals suffering from medical resource scarcity. The Palestinian Health Ministry in Gaza warned that the Gaza hospitals will run out of service due to the recurrent fuel scarcity crisis arising from the Israeli tight siege. The observatory noted that the occupation authorities are deliberately dripping aid into Gaza to achieve the "make-ends-meet" policy by reducing the resources to the lowest and providing fewer fuel quantities to Gaza's hospitals to force them to operate at the bare minimum. Thus, the occupation can sustain a near-collapse situation without triggering total failure to avoid international pressure. In the West Bank and the occupied Al-Quds, the Israeli army performed 289 incursions into the Palestinian territories from 8 - 14 July 2025. These encompassed several crimes, foremost the demolition of 131 homes, including 27 in Al-Quds, Ramallah, Nablus, and Salfit; the destruction of 50 water tanks; the bulldozing of agricultural land in Al-Eizariya town in Jerusalem and Ras Karkar village in Ramallah; and the destruction of two estates and four agricultural facilities in Ramallah. The occupation forces also confiscated a vehicle in Azzun town in Qalqilya and sums of money from Palestinians, detained two children in Bethlehem and Tulkarm, and injured three children, including a three-year-old baby girl run over by a settler on a motorbike in Al-Quds. The occupation forces decided to confiscate 744.36 dunams of the lands of Al Mughayer village in Ramallah to the benefit of the "Malachi Hashalon" outpost. This was legitimized by the occupation authorities, which built a road for military purposes across East Tubas, warning the Palestinians against coming close to their lands near the road. The occupation forces in Nahalin town and Husan village issued a military order to confiscate hundreds of dunams of the inhabitants' lands for settlement projects to expand the "Beitar Illit" colony. They have started bulldozing in preparation for building a new settlement road in the areas of Qanan Saqir and Fasoura in Tekoa town in Bethlehem. Moreover, over the past seven days, settler attacks amounted to 124. The settlers continue to target Bedouin communities in a bid to forcibly drive them out of their homes, just like they displaced 15 families of 90 persons from the Al-Hathroura Bedouin community, east of Al-Quds, in a bid to lay full control over the area. In addition, 50 Bedouin families were forcibly displaced from the al-Malihat Arab community, northwest of Jericho. The settlers have grazed their livestock on the land of Masafer Yatta, east of Yatta town in Hebron, and in Al-Auja town in Jericho. Others set ablaze agricultural land in Surif town in Hebron and Burqa, Turmusaya, al-Mughayyir, and Deir Dabwan villages in Ramallah. They looted 70 sheep from Kafr Malik village in Ramallah, and livestock equipment from Khirbet al-Farisiya in Tubas. They burned down an estate in Sinjil town in Ramallah. Another group broke into the plains of Hizma town, and burned several trees in a Palestinian orchard. Some settlers erected a tent near Shufa checkpoint in Tulkarem and in Al-Samu' town in Hebron. They carried out excavations in search of artifacts. They erected a third tent in Al-Sa'ir town, and built an estate and four tents between Amrin and Burqa villages, and a tent between Beita town and Osrin village in Nablus to build settlement outposts. Likewise, the settlers rebuilt a settlement outpost on the land of Al-Minya village in Bethlehem and in Turmusaya village in Ramallah. Others built a new outpost on the land of Aqraba town in Nablus and installed six mobile homes as part of settlement activities inside the Old City of Hebron. A group of settlers in the area of Ain al-Hilweh in the northern Jordan Valley attacked Palestinians' homes, destroyed their properties, and denied them grazing on the pastoral lands. Others built a road going from the entrance of the Duma village up to the new settlement outpost built northwest of the village, as well as an agricultural road near the Palestinians' homes in Qanan Suqeir near Tekoa town in Bethlehem. Additionally, settlers bulldozed land lots between Aqraba town and Majdal Bani Fadel village in Nablus, and destroyed a water conveyance line supplying several villages in the area. A group of settlers in the Qa'on plain area, west of the village of Bardala in the northern Jordan Valley, installed several new mobile homes (caravans) to expand the settlement outpost built in the area. Furthermore, groups of extremist settlers, under the protection of the occupation police, stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque and made provocative tours in its courtyards and facilities. Others held a wedding ceremony in the Ibrahimi Mosque in the Old City of Hebron, bringing the total crimes committed by Israelis over the period from 8 to 14 July 2025, to virtually 3,988 crimes across all the Palestinian territories, and the total crimes perpetrated since 7 October to 289,470. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address PH, Indonesia Special Forces conduct territorial defense training Philippine News Agency By Priam Nepomuceno July 16, 2025, 1:15 pm MANILA -- Filipino and Indonesian Special Forces units are currently holding training on "critical areas of territorial defense" aimed at enhancing the capability and interoperability of the two elite units. In a statement on Wednesday, Philippine Army (PA) spokesperson Col. Louie Dema-ala said the training activity is part of the 17th iteration of Training Activity (TA) Dolphine between the PA's Special Forces Regiment (Airborne) and the Indonesian Army Special Forces. The bilateral training activity is being held from July 16 to 27 at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija. A camp orientation to the Indonesian delegation was held on July 15. Dema-ala said TA Dolphine XVII-2025 focuses on four critical special operations capabilities: Urban Warfare, Special Reconnaissance and Direct Action, Riverine Operations for Inter-Island Infiltration, and Airborne Operations, including military free-fall techniques. "TA Dolphine XVII-2025 shows that when special forces from two nations train as one, regional security becomes unbreakable," PA chief Lt. Gen. Roy Galido said. Galido added that the bilateral training activity between the Philippine and Indonesia Special Forces represents a significant step forward in bolstering regional defense capabilities and underscores SFR's vital role in advancing the PA's strategic objectives. The exercise involves 25 PA and 25 Indonesian Army personnel for main training activities scheduled from July 16 to 27. Meanwhile, six senior Indonesian Army officers will participate in the Senior Officers' Visit Program that will take place from July 22 to 25. (PNA) NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address ICC refuses to back down: Netanyahu, Gallant arrest warrant stand despite mounting Israeli-US pressure Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 10:08 PM The International Criminal Court (ICC)'s judges have ruled that the tribunal's arrest warrants for the Israeli regime's prime minister and his former minister for military affairs would stand, defying overwhelming Israeli and American pressure. The judges dismissed the requests on Wednesday concerning the warrants that had been issued last November for Benjamin Netanyahu and Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip. The orders were issued due to the duo's actions either leading to, prolonging or reinforcing the regime's October 2023-present war of genocide on Gaza that has so far claimed the lives of more than 58,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The judges said the warrants would remain active while the court continued to review the regime's so-called objections to its jurisdiction in the case. They also rejected a parallel Israeli plea to freeze the broader investigation into crimes committed in the occupied Palestinian territories, underscoring the tribunal's refusal to yield to diplomatic pressure. The regime, which has long denied the court's jurisdiction, insists the warfare is a legitimate response to a historic resistance operation on October 7, 2023 that took place after decades of US-backed Israeli bloodshed and destruction targeting Palestinians. In their ruling, the judges said the regime's argument that a separate April decision by an ICC appeals chamber invalidated the arrest warrants was "incorrect." They clarified that while Tel Aviv's jurisdictional challenge was still under review, it had no bearing on the current validity of the arrest warrants. The warrants remain in force, the court stated, until a specific ruling on jurisdiction was made -- a timeline that remains undefined. The ICC's determination to proceed with the Gaza war crimes case has unfolded against a backdrop of mounting threats, political interference, and retaliation targeting its senior officials. On May 1, 2024, Nicholas Kaufman, a British-Israeli lawyer closely tied to Israeli regime, warned ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan during a private meeting in The Hague that both he and the court would be "destroyed" if he refused to withdraw the arrest warrants. Kaufman, who claimed to be relaying an offer from Netanyahu's legal advisor, urged Khan to reclassify the case files as confidential, suggesting it would allow Tel Aviv to respond privately and help Khan discreetly exit the case. The lawyer, however, later denied acting on official instruction and claimed he had spoken on his own initiative. The threats against Khan followed months of escalating US hostility towards the court over the Gaza investigation. In February 2025, Washington revoked Khan's visa, froze his assets, and barred his family from entering the US. By June, the administration of former US President Joe Biden had imposed sanctions on four ICC judges involved in the issuance of the arrest warrants, two of whom participated in the Wednesday ruling that upheld them. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Yemen's naval blockade forces closure of Israel's only Red Sea port Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 6:07 PM Israel says its only Red Sea port in Eilat will shut down next week, as a deepening debt crisistriggered by a months-long naval blockade by Yemen's Ansarullah movementbrings the strategic facility to a standstill. The regime's Ports and Shipping Authority said in a statement Wednesday that the port will permanently close on July 20. Authorities acknowledged that the crippling blockade by Yemeni forces has effectively paralyzed operations at Eilat, once a key hub for maritime trade. "Due to the shutdown of the Port of Eilat and its deteriorating financial situation amid the ongoing crisis, the Eilat Municipality has notified port management of the seizure of all bank accounts over unpaid debts," Israel's National Emergency Authority said in a memo. "As a result, the Shipping and Ports Authority announced that the port will cease all operations starting this Sunday." Local media described the move as "a dramatic step" that could severely undermine Israel's maritime logistics in the Red Sea. Situated at Israel's southernmost tip, the Port of Eilat has long functioned as a vital alternative to the Suez Canal. But since late last year, after Yemen's Ansarullah resistance movement imposed a naval blockade in response to Israel's war on Gaza, commercial activity at the port has come to a halt. Shortly after the Gaza war began in November 2023, Ansarullah enforced a blockade on key maritime routesthe Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Arabian Seaaimed at disrupting military shipments to Israel. Yemeni forces have since stepped up drone and missile attacks on Israeli and commercial vessels, vowing that operations will not stop until Israel ends its devastating war on Gaza. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Hamas dismisses Israeli claims of progress in Gaza ceasefire talks Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 5:29 PM A senior member of the Hamas political bureau has dismissed Israeli media claims of progress in new ceasefire talks aimed at bringing an end to the campaign of genocide in Gaza. "(Israel) has not yet delivered any new or revised maps regarding military withdrawals from the Gaza Strip," Bassem Naim said on Wednesday. The Hamas official made the remarks hours after Israeli public broadcaster Kan claimed that work was ongoing to revise Israeli pullback maps from the besieged Palestinian territory. Naim said Israel's refusal to withdraw all of its troops from Gaza was holding back progress on securing an agreement. "The entire Gaza Strip is currently under the military control of (Israel)." "What is happening on the ground confirms (Israel's) intentions and plans to maintain and prolong military control within the Gaza Strip for the long term." The Hamas official underscored "unwillingness" on the part o the Israeli regime to withdraw from Gaza, "contrary to what the occupation claims in the ongoing negotiations in Doha and contrary to what it tells the mediators." The indirect negotiations in the Qatari capital were in their second week. Delegations from both sides began discussions to try to agree to a temporary halt to Israel's hostilities. Hamas and Israel have announced that 10 living captives, taken during Operation Al-Aqsa Flood, would be released if an agreement for a 60-day ceasefire were reached. Hamas has said it wants a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, which is home to more than 2.3 million Palestinians. The Palestinian resistance movement said in a statement on July 14 that the "criminal Netanyahu" was plunging the Israeli military army and his entity into a futile war with no prospects. Observers say Israel has failed to achieve any of its stated goals in Gaza since October 2023. Israeli reserve major-general Yitzhak Brik recently told the Hebrew-language Maariv that Hamas now numbers about 40,000 resistance fighters, similar to its strength before the Israeli aggression began in Gaza. Hamas also says resistance fighters were now "waging a war of attrition that surprises the enemy daily with innovative field tactics, causing it to lose the initiative and confuse its calculations, despite its superior firepower and air superiority." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Arab Parliament: Israeli attacks on Syria, Lebanon threaten regional stability Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 3:20 PM The Arab Parliament has strongly condemned the repeated Israeli attacks on Lebanon and Syria, warning that they pose a "serious" threat to the stability of West Asia. In a statement on Wednesday, the Arab Parliament stated that the repeated attacks by the Israeli regime on the Syrian and Lebanese territories are a "flagrant violation" of the principles of international law and pose a "serious threat" to the two countries' sovereignty and the stability of the entire region. The statement warned that the continuation of these "unacceptable" assaults will "further heighten tension and instability in the region." The attacks come amid Israel's systematic policy to "impose fait accompli by force in total disregard of international legitimacy and the relevant United Nations and Security Council resolutions," the statement said. The parliament reiterated its strong rejection of any practices that undermine the sovereignty of Arab states, stressing that regional security can only be achieved through full adherence to international law, respect for the states' sovereignty, and non-interference in their internal affairs. The parliament also affirmed its full support for Lebanon and Syria in their efforts to maintain their territorial integrity and sovereignty, urging the international community to take "immediate and urgent action" to stop this "serious escalation." The statement came as Israeli warplanes on Tuesday intensified their strikes against Lebanon, launching a wave of deadly air raids in the northern Bekaa Valley. The airstrikes left a dozen people dead in the Bekaa region, including seven Syrians near al-Hermel city. It was the deadliest attack since Israel and the Hezbollah resistance movement agreed to a ceasefire, which came into effect in November last year. Under the agreement, Israel was obligated to fully withdraw its forces from Lebanon. However, it has maintained a military presence in five areas, in clear violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and the terms of the ceasefire agreement. The Israeli military has also been launching airstrikes against military installations, facilities, and arsenals belonging to Syria's now-defunct army since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad. On Tuesday, Israeli warplanes carried out airstrikes against installations once belonging to Assad's army but now used by the militant forces of the Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime in the southwestern province of Suweida. The strikes came as HTS forces have initiated an offensive in Suweida following fatal confrontations between Druze and Bedouin factions, resulting in the deaths of dozens of people and injuries to hundreds of others. Also on Wednesday, the Israeli army launched air raids on the Syrian military headquarters and near the presidential palace in the capital, Damascus. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Maduro slams silence in face of Israel's Gaza genocide as 'moral crime' Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 8:11 AM The Venezuelan president has slammed Israel's long-running aggression on the Gaza Strip, stressing that silence in the face of crimes by the "Nazi-Zionism" in the besieged Palestinian territory is a "moral crime." Nicolas Maduro made the statement at the Bogota summit on Tuesday, which was held in the Colombian capital with the aim of seeking and coordinating legal and diplomatic measures against Israel's genocidal war in the Gaza Strip. "Every bomb dropped on a Palestinian hospital, school, or home not only kills innocent lives, but also undermines the foundations of world peace and accelerates the moral collapse of the international order," Maduro said. The Venezuelan president underlined that the gathering serves as "a moral and political response to the atrocities being committed against the Palestinian people amid unprecedented impunity." Maduro urged the international community to break its complicit silence in the face of the Israeli "killing machine." "We raise our voices with determination and anger at the world's silence in the face of the ongoing genocide against the Palestinians," Maduro said, emphasizing that the situation in Gaza and across Palestine "is not a conflict between equal parties, but a systematic plan to destroy a people and erase their identity." The Venezuelan leader affirmed "Palestine's right to exist, to resist, and to live freely within a fully sovereign state" with East al-Quds as its capital, reiterating his country's full and unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and its people. Warning that the Israeli campaign threatens the world, he stated, "The massacre against the people of Palestine is a massacre against all of us. It is a massacre as a show of force, so that the people of the world will surrender." The Venezuelan president said "Nazi-Zionism" was seeking to destroy institutions such as the UN and suppress global awareness, noting that the Israeli regime's goal is "to silence our voice, the voice of all our rebellious peoples." Maduro added that "sooner rather than later we will witness the victory of truth and the Palestinian people's life." Since October 7, 2023, Israel has been waging a genocidal war in Gaza, including killing, starvation, destruction, and forced displacement, ignoring all international appeals and orders from the International Court of Justice to halt the assault. The genocide has left more than 197,000 dead and wounded, most of them women and children, and more than 11,000 missing. Hundreds of thousands have been displaced, and famine has claimed the lives of many, including dozens of children. The usurping entity accepted longstanding negotiation terms by the Hamas resistance group under the Gaza ceasefire, which began on January 19. On March 18, however, Israel unilaterally broke the truce and resumed its relentless bombing of Gaza. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK's secret plan to relocate Afghans after data leak; thousands unprotected Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 7:01 AM Britain has set up a secret plan to bring thousands of Afghans to the UK following a major data breach that exposed their personal information, putting them at risk of retaliation by the Taliban after the group regained control of Afghanistan. In February 2022, the personal details of nearly 19,000 people who had applied to move to the UK after the Taliban came to power in Afghanistan were leaked by the British Ministry of Defense (MoD). It was reportedly released in error, before the ministry spotted the breach in August 2023, when part of the dataset was published on Facebook. Concerns that individuals could be targeted by the Taliban prompted the previous government to set up the relocation plan, involving thousands of people and estimated to cost the government about 2 billion ($2.7 billion). The leak included details about members of parliament and senior military officers who supported applications to help Afghan soldiers who worked with the British military and their families relocate to the UK. "This serious data incident should never have happened," John Healey, Britain's defense minister, told lawmakers in the House of Commons. This is considered one of the most severe security failures in recent UK history, both in terms of financial impact and the grave danger it exposed thousands of Afghans to - including many who had served alongside British troops before their chaotic withdrawal in 2021. Healey said about 4,500 Afghans and their family members have been relocated or were on their way to Britain under the previously secret plan. But he added that no one else from Afghanistan would be offered asylum because of the data leak, citing a government review which claimed there was little evidence of intent from the Taliban to seek retribution against former officials. MoD figures published on Tuesday show that across several Afghan resettlement schemes, the numbers of those who have already come to the UK and those who have not yet travelled total 56,100 people, including family members. The leak has emerged at a time when Britain's public finances are strained, and the anti-immigration Reform UK party, which leans to the right, is ahead in the polls. Meanwhile, the government is being sued by individuals impacted by the data breach, which could significantly increase the total cost of the incident. The estimated total cost of all resettlement schemes is now 5.5 billion-6 billion, according to British daily The Guardian. Afghan man says feels betrayed after UK data leak In an anonymous interview with Sky News, an Afghan who worked for the British military for 10 years said the massive data leak left him feeling betrayed. Now, he regrets working alongside those troops, who were first deployed to Afghanistan in 2001. "We work for them, for [the] British, we help them. So now we are left behind, right now. And from today, I don't know about my future." He described receiving an email warning him that his details had been revealed. "I've got two kids. All my family are... in danger. Right now... I'm just completely lost." The UK initially deployed military forces to Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the US. In early 2022, a confidential spreadsheet with personal information of Afghans who had assisted the British government before the 2021 Taliban takeoverand had sought UK relocationwas accidentally emailed to an unauthorized recipient outside government channels. A superinjunction had concealed the breach since August 2023, barring media from reporting on it. This unprecedented government-requested ban, the longest in UK history, was lifted by the High Court on Tuesday, allowing the leak's details to finally emerge. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's center-left government, which was elected last July, has launched a review into the injunction, the breach and the relocation plan. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ranking Member Shaheen Floor Remarks on Trump Administration Diplomatic Cuts: "China is eating our lunch" Senate Foreign Relations Committee July 16, 2025 WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, delivered remarks on the Senate floor to condemn the Trump Administration's rescissions package and chaotic dismantling of the U.S. diplomatic corps and foreign assistance programs, which she warned is empowering adversaries like China - as she laid out in this week's SFRC minority report. In her remarks, Ranking Member Shaheen outlined the lack of a coherent strategy to outcompete China and detailed how Trump Administration actions - from dismantling our diplomatic infrastructure to ceding the information space to China and launching a self-destructive trade war - have weakened America. You can watch her remarks here. Key Quotes: "This rescissions package is no better and the substitute that we've seen so far is a gimmick. It claims to preserve funding for global health programs like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis; for agricultural research; for the Countering PRC Influence Fund. But it doesn't actually restore those funds. So, a vote for the substitute is a vote to cut critical foreign assistance programs. And one thing is clearwhile American diplomacy and foreign aid amount to less than 1% of our federal budget, the return on that investment delivers real dividends to American consumers and American businesses. As you can see, U.S. development assistance supports more than 100,000 U.S. jobs." "This week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority released a report that highlights what cutting these programs does. This is the report, Mr. PresidentI think you've seen it in the committee. It's called, 'The Price of Retreat: America Cedes Global Leadership to China.' What has been done in these foreign assistance programs helps China expand its influence. Through research and staff travel and meetings with NGOs and foreign officials, the report shows that the Trump Administration's cuts to the State Department, to foreign assistance and to other programs directly threaten our national security and our prosperity. They severely undermine our ability to compete with our main adversaryChinaand they do that in both the national security space and in the economic space." "The Trump Administration is preparing to incinerate 500 tons of emergency food, 500 tons. And the cost of that food was $800,000it's already been paid for by taxpayers and it's going to cost another $130,000 to incinerate it. So, talk about wastethat's enough food to feed 1.5 million children for a week. Thanks to chaotic and inept decisionscutting funding, firing staff, gutting key programs, American taxpayers are going to foot the bill for this, and children are going to go hungry." "Because whether we are combating unfair trade practices and the theft of intellectual property; or we're stopping the flow of fentanyl into our communities; or protecting Americans from spying and cyberattacks; or helping U.S. companies stay ahead in developing batteries, electric vehicles and AI, the stakes are very high. And the threat to our prosperity and security is real. I don't think most Americans want to live in a world where the Chinese Communist Party is driving the agenda. But instead of strength and focus, what we've seen from this Administration is a chaotic, haphazard retreat from the global stage." "So, China's not just looking at Africa, at the Indo-Pacific, they're looking at countries that have been our traditional allies. And what's the Administration doing? It's suggesting that it's going to close U.S. diplomatic posts in these same regions. China is eating our lunch when it comes to diplomacy, when it comes to the investments that we need to make around the world. And yet here we are, today, we're considering a rescissions package that's going to further benefit the Chinese Communist Party." "The good news is that despite the cuts, despite this Administration's policies, there is still broad, bipartisan agreement that American leadership on the global stage is essential and that China's expanding global footprint makes us less safe and less prosperous." The Ranking Member's remarks, as delivered, are below. Thank you, Mr. President. I come to the floor today as we consider a rescissions package that would cancel billions of dollars in foreign assistance. It would make permanent the cuts that were carried out by DOGE earlier this year. That was when this Administration gave Elon Musk the authority to put American foreign aid programs "through the woodchipper." They justified those cuts by saying they would save money. But here we are six months later, not only have they passed a reconciliation bill that increases the national debt by more than $3 trillion dollars and that shifts the financial burden to state and local governmentsin New Hampshire there is going to be a massive cost shift because of the passage of that bill. For all the talk about saving money, I don't think DOGE has saved a dime. Earlier this spring, CBS News reported that "The federal government has spent $200 billion more in its first 100 days this year than it did last year." And according to the Partnership for Public Service, DOGE's cuts could cost American taxpayers as much as $135 billion dollars this year alone. This rescissions package is no better and the substitute that we've seen so far is a gimmick. It claims to preserve funding for global health programs like HIV, malaria and tuberculosis; for agricultural research; for the Countering PRC Influence Fund. But it doesn't actually restore those funds. So, a vote for the substitute is a vote to cut critical foreign assistance programs. And one thing is clearwhile American diplomacy and foreign aid amount to less than 1% of our federal budget, the return on that investment delivers real dividends to American consumers and American businesses. As you can see, U.S. development assistance supports more than 100,000 U.S. jobs. This week, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee minority released a report that highlights what cutting these programs does. This is the report, Mr. PresidentI think you've seen it in the committee. It's called, "The Price of Retreat: America Cedes Global Leadership to China." What has been done in these foreign assistance programs helps China expand its influence. Through research and staff travel and meetings with NGOs and foreign officials, the report shows that the Trump Administration's cuts to the State Department, to foreign assistance and to other programs directly threaten our national security and our prosperity. They severely undermine our ability to compete with our main adversaryChinaand they do that in both the national security space and in the economic space. You know, Secretary Rubio said at his confirmation hearing that "...the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted is China." It's true, the People's Republic of China presents the United States with a strategic challenge that is distinct from any in our nation's history. While our competition with China often seems distant from the United States, the reality is the outcome of this competition is deeply tied to our economy, to our security and to our lives here at home. Because whether we are combating unfair trade practices and the theft of intellectual property; or we're stopping the flow of fentanyl into our communities; or protecting Americans from spying and cyberattacks; or helping U.S. companies stay ahead in developing batteries, electric vehicles and AI, the stakes are very high. And the threat to our prosperity and security is real. I don't think most Americans want to live in a world where the Chinese Communist Party is driving the agenda. But instead of strength and focus, what we've seen from this Administration is a chaotic, haphazard retreat from the global stage. Oh, they talk a good game on the danger China poses, but actions speak louder than words. And when it comes to confronting Beijing, this Administration has no consistent message and no coherent strategy. They are eliminating critical programsdisease surveillance and prevention, scientific research, disaster response. And nownow we just had a hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and we talked about thisthe Trump Administration is preparing to incinerate 500 tons of emergency food, 500 tons. And the cost of that food was $800,000it's already been paid for by taxpayers and it's going to cost another 130,000 to incinerate it. So, talk about wastethat's enough food to feed 1.5 million children for a week. Thanks to chaotic and inept decisionscutting funding, firing staff, gutting key programs, American taxpayers are going to foot the bill for this, and children are going to go hungry. These erratic, self-defeating policies are in stark contrast to what we're seeing from the Chinese Communist Party, which has been sadly very clear and deliberate in its strategy. Because the PRC is playing the long game. It's using tactics like disinformation, political interference, cyber-attacks and economic coercion. Within days of cuts to foreign aid programs, China was already labeling the United States as an unreliable partner. And within months, Beijing was replacing programs we had cut. So, look at where we are today. You can look at the number of cuts to American embassies and consulates around the world. And while the Administration proposes slashing America's international affairs budget by 84%, China is boosting its diplomatic budget by 8%. As we cut diplomatic staff and consider embassy closures, China operates one of the world's largest diplomatic networks with 278 missions. And while the U.S. shuts down networks like Radio Free Asia, China is spending billions on propagandaexpanding into 80 new frequencies and more languages. Our first hearing in the Foreign Relations Committee at the beginning of this year was on China, and what we heard at that hearing was that the PRC and China is spending more than $1 billion a year on misinformation and disinformation campaigns. And what have we done in response? We've cut Radio Free Asia. We've cut those networks that provide information to the people who China is trying to manipulate. So, while we're cutting counternarcotics programs, China is working with Latin American countries to build law enforcement capacity. And as the Administration moves to defund international bodies like the UN, China has pledged $500 million to the World Health Organization. And you know, it's so crazy, the Administration has been attacking universities like Harvard and saying that they're not going to allow them to include any international students. And what's Hong Kong doing, on behalf of the PRC? They're offering places to talented STEM students who are looking to leave the United States. And while we threaten allies with tariffs, China is courting themacross Europe, Asia, and the Western Hemisphere. In May Xi Jinping hosted Brazil's President and other Latin American leaders and pledged more than $9 billion dollars in investments. I was with a group of Senators at the Paris Air Show earlier this yearit's an exhibition that highlights the latest in aircraft and aerospace and military aircraft. And when we met with our embassy officials, they told us that they saw the biggest presence ever from China at that exhibition and that China has opened 3 new consulates in France and over 20 Confucius Institutes in France. So, China's not just looking at Africa, at the Indo-Pacific, they're looking at countries that have been our traditional allies. And what's the Administration doing? It's suggesting that it's going to close U.S. diplomatic posts in these same regions. China is eating our lunch when it comes to diplomacy, when it comes to the investments that we need to make around the world. And yet here we are, today, we're considering a rescissions package that's going to further benefit the Chinese Communist Party. Leaders across the political spectrum, Democrats and Republicans alike, have agreedsince I got to the United States Senate and I thought the Administration agreed with usthat the biggest threat to America's security, both economic and national security is China, the People's Republic of China. We need to come together. We need to make sure America doesn't retreat from the global stage. And the good news is that despite the cuts, despite the Administration's policies, there is still broad, bipartisan agreement that American leadership on the global stage is essential and that China's expanding global footprint makes us less safe and less prosperous. So, to my colleagues here in Congress who are considering this rescissions package that would codify these cuts: Remember thisit's not too late. We can move to reverse the damage that's been done in the first six months. We can preserve America's ability to lead, to compete and to shape the future on America's terms, not on the terms of the Chinese Communist Party. ### NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address United States and Bahrain Sign Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Strategic Civil Nuclear Cooperation US Department of State Media Note Office of the Spokesperson July 16, 2025 On July 16, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani of the Kingdom of Bahrain signed a Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Civil Nuclear Cooperation (NCMOU) with the aim of advancing peaceful nuclear cooperation between the United States and Bahrain. The United States and Bahrain have an enduring relationship and long-standing cooperation in the fields of security, energy, and commerce, as exemplified in the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement (C-SIPA). This NCMOU represents an important step towards establishing a robust civil nuclear partnership between the United States and Bahrain with the aim of enhancing energy security, promoting mutual prosperity through expanded economic cooperation, and promoting the highest standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation. NCMOUs are important diplomatic tools developed during President Trump's first term in office that lay the foundation for expanding strategic ties between the United States and its partners and promote U.S. industry and workforce. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Secretary of State Marco Rubio And Bahraini Foreign Minister Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani At the Signing Ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding on Nuclear Cooperation with Bahrain US Department of State Remarks Marco Rubio, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell Treaty Room Washington, D.C. July 16, 2025 MS GANZER: Good morning. I'm Ann Ganzer, I'm the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, and I am delighted to welcome you to this signing of the U.S.-Bahrain Nuclear Cooperation Memorandum of Understanding, or NCMOU. Developing civil nuclear energy at home and abroad is a major priority for the United States, as reflected in the four executive orders our President signed this past May. This NCMOU represents an important step towards deepening a robust civil nuclear partnership between the United States and Bahrain, and it builds on our countries' already successful collaboration through our Foundational Infrastructure for Responsible Use of Small Modular Reactor Technology, or FIRST program. This NCMOU will enhance our energy security, advance mutual prosperity through the expanded economic cooperation it will introduce, and advance mutual - promote the highest standards of nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation. I thank you all for joining us this morning, and I now would turn it over to Secretary Rubio for his remarks, followed by Foreign Minister al-Zayani. Thank you. SECRETARY RUBIO: Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you for all the hard work that went into doing this. Thank you, Your Excellency, for being here today. This is an important signing. It serves as the first step towards a deeper civil nuclear cooperation - an example that the United States is prepared to be a partner with any nation on Earth that wants to pursue a civil nuclear program that clearly is not geared towards weaponization or threatening the security of their neighbors. And this is a - no one better to do it with than such a strong partner that we've been working with for so long. This only strengthens our relationship. We're all aware of our partnerships already that are in place, whether it's a free trade agreement or the Fifth Fleet, obviously the Abraham Accords, the Comprehensive Security Integration and Prosperity Agreement - that, by the way, the United Kingdom has now also joined, and we're very excited about that. All of these things bring us closer together, and I think later today, along with our respective heads of state, we're going to have an opportunity to - our respective heads of government - we're going to have an opportunity to have a meeting and lunch over at the White House as well. So that'll be exciting. And - so this is a - I would just say, to brag a little bit, I think U.S. private sector technology is the best in the world, and the best in the world at helping such close allies like Bahrain achieve the hopes that they have for their own future, be able to generate energy. Energy is key to everything. You can't - we talk about any industry or any business endeavor, you can't do it without energy. And this is an exciting new technology that we hope to be sharing with many of our partners. But what - this is among our closest in the world. And so we look forward to collaborating and building a civil nuclear capacity with you together, and through U.S. companies and through your companies, and we're excited about the opportunity to be here. Welcome to Washington, and hopefully we'll be seeing each other many, many more times. Well, we'll see each other later today, and then FOREIGN MINISTER AL-ZAYANI: Yes, sir. SECRETARY RUBIO: we'll see each other many other times as well. So thank you so much, Your Excellency. Appreciate it. FOREIGN MINISTER AL-ZAYANI: Thank you. Thank you, sir. If you would allow me. Thank you, Secretary Rubio, for your warm welcome and for your kind remarks. I am pleased and honored to be part of the delegation accompanying His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Bahrain, as we return to Washington to further strengthen the already robust strategic partnership between our two nations. The signing of this MOU on strategic civilian nuclear cooperation further advances this process, underscoring our shared commitment to the peaceful use of nuclear technology to benefit our countries and societies. There is no doubt that cooperation on nuclear technology will be a vital contributor to our shared responsibility and prosperity in the years ahead. And we in Bahrain deeply value the chance to benefit from the U.S. world-leading technology and expertise in this field. Further, signing this MOU reinforces our two countries determination to prevent the proliferation of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction as an essential element of regional security. Under the leadership of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, and with the support and guidance of his royal highness the Crown Prince and prime minister, the Kingdom of Bahrain stands shoulder to shoulder with the United States in seeking stability in the Middle East, and I want to restate our strong appreciation and backing for President Donald Trump's tireless work to us achieving ceasefires, building confidence, and ultimately achieving a secure region in which all its peoples can live in peace and prosperity. Secretary Rubio, today's MOU is a further step forward for our two countries, demonstrating once again close, effective cooperation and the values of it. I look forward to working with you - with you, sir, to implement the MOU's provisions and to ensuring that our countries and peoples can fully benefit from its potential and opportunities in the years ahead. Thank you once again, Secretary Rubio. Thank you, sir. MS GANZER: Mr. Secretary, Foreign Minister, I invite you to sign the NCMOU. (The agreement was signed.) (Applause.) QUESTION: Mr. Secretary, any comments on the Israeli strikes on Syria today? SECRETARY RUBIO: We're going to be working on that issue. As we speak, I just got off the phone with the relevant parties. We're very concerned about it and hopefully we'll have some updates later today for you. We're very concerned about it. We want it to stop. MS GANZER: Thank you for joining SECRETARY RUBIO: I'm sorry. We want the fighting to stop because we had a ceasefire overnight, it broke down again. So we're talking to both sides, all the relevant sides on this and hopefully can bring it to a conclusion, but we're very concerned about it. MS GANZER: Thank you for joining us today. This concludes our ceremony. (Applause.) # # # NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address With each day that passes, the suffering increases. We urge the parties to secure an immediate ceasefire: UK statement at the UN Security Council Statement by Ambassador Barbara Woodward, UK Permanent Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on Gaza. From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Dame Barbara Woodward DCMG OBE Published 16 July 2025 Location: United Nations, New York Delivered on: 16 July 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) The United Kingdom, together with Denmark, France, Greece and Slovenia, called for this meeting out of deep concern for the Israeli government's inhumane approach to the crisis in Gaza. This week marks 650 days since the horrific Hamas attacks of October 7th. With each day that passes, the hostages suffer yet more agony, in appalling conditions and deprived from contact with their loved ones. And with each day that passes, the people of Gaza suffer death, desperation and displacement. This conflict has gone on for far too long. There is a deal to be done. We urge the parties to engage in the spirit of compromise to secure an immediate ceasefire, the release of the hostages and a pathway towards lasting peace. I will make three points. First, it is imperative that Israel lift its restrictions on aid entering Gaza. Without fuel, water systems and hospitals in Gaza are on the verge of collapse. Without medical supplies, treatable illnesses are costing lives. And without food, Palestinians are dying from malnutrition or forced desperately to scramble for supplies. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has acknowledged that the UN has the unique capacity to meet the immense humanitarian need. So we call on Israel to allow the UN to save lives immediately and without obstruction. The United Kingdom welcomes the agreement between the EU and Israel, but we need to see words turned into action. Second, we strongly oppose the expansion of Israel's military operations. We urge Israel immediately to implement and enforce robust measures to protect civilians. In the past four months, more than 1,000 children have been killed. Palestinians have also been fired upon by the IDF while desperately seeking food, with 800 people killed at aid sites. This is abhorrent. Third, the United Kingdom is appalled by the Israeli Defence Minister's comments on forced displacement of Palestinians to Rafah. This would contravene the fundamental principles upon which the UN was founded. Palestinian territory must not be reduced, and civilians must be able to return home. President, the path forward lies in diplomacy and compromise to deliver lasting peace for Israelis and Palestinians alike. We commend the leadership of France and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in co-chairing the upcoming conference on a Two-State Solution, which offers us a crucial opportunity to advance this goal. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gaza: More misery as new evacuation orders impact tens of thousands 16 July 2025 - New evacuation orders in Gaza issued by the Israeli military have uprooted tens of thousands of Palestinians, amid ongoing bombardment, aid agencies have warned. Those impacted by the orders have been told to relocate to the "already overcrowded" coastal strip at Al Mawasi, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), late Tuesday. Al Mawasi near Khan Younis lacks "the basics for survival", the UN agency insisted. It has also seen nearly two dozen strikes on displaced Gazans sheltering in tents there between 18 March and 11 April, the UN human rights office said. As the war drags on well into its 21st month, Gaza's most vulnerable people continue to struggle to survive. Dialysis emergency They include Musbah Zaqqout, 70, one of 230 patients receiving lifesaving dialysis at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City. His treatment has been disrupted by persistent supply shortages that reduced sessions from three to two per week at the end of last month, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday. "He suffered a lot when dialysis was not available," said Mr. Zaqqout's wife, Saadia. "He was suffocating and was frequently admitted to the hospital, to the point where he fell into a coma, lost focus and didn't recognize anyone." With support from partner organization KS Relief, WHO delivered dialysis supplies and fuel for Al-Shifa Hospital, so that it could resume dialysis treatment and other lifesaving services. "Thank God, after restarting dialysis, his condition improved," Mrs. Zaqqout said, while the UN health agency reiterated its calls for sustained entry of food, fuel, and health aid at scale through all possible routes. "Critical shortages of fuel and medical supplies persist across Gaza," WHO warned. "Without urgent and sustained replenishment, health care services risk coming to a grinding halt." Child malnutrition tragedy Echoing those concerns, the UN agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, warned on Wednesday that it is increasingly difficult to help Gazans. Already, one in 10 of the children brought to its clinics suffers from malnutrition. The condition was unheard of in the enclave before the war, but it more than doubled in children under five between March and June, amid the near-total Israeli siege. "It's becoming more and more difficult for us to continue providing services," said UNRWA's Louise Wateridge. "At least 188 UNRWA installations - over half of all our installations in the Gaza Strip - are located within the Israeli-militarized zone, under displacement orders, or where these overlap." In an update, Ms. Wateridge said that only six UNRWA health centres and 22 of the agency's medical points remain operational today, in addition to 22 mobile medical points inside and outside shelters. Nearly 60 per cent of essential medical supplies are now out of stock, according to the UN agency. "Children are dying before our eyes, because we do not have the medical supplies or sustained food to treat them," it said. Key medicines run out As a direct result of the Israeli blockade on Gaza which began on 2 March, UNRWA said that it has "now run out of" medicines for high blood pressure, antiparasitic and antifungal medicine, medicine for eye infections and inflammation, all skin treatments and oral antibiotics for adults. Providing clean water to the war-shattered enclave remains a massive challenge and only two UNRWA main water wells still function. Ten were operational before the war. Another 41 smaller wells are operational in UNRWA shelters. For the past two months in north Gaza, UNRWA has been forced to stop providing water and sanitation services for around 25,000 displaced people in shelters, owing to displacement orders issued by Israeli forces. "The restrictions on the entry of fuel continues placing life-saving services at a severe risk," the UN agency said. "Critical water services are at risk of shutting down if sustained fuel supplies are not permitted entry." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Unprecedented Afghan returns are 'a test of our collective humanity' 16 July 2025 - The international community must support Afghanistan as it grapples with the staggering number of citizens returning from the region, a senior UN official has said. Roza Otunbayeva, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan, made the appeal during a visit to the Islam Qala border crossing with Iran on Tuesday where she witnessed the daily influx of tens of thousands of returnees. She also met returnee families, aid partners and regional de facto officials. Alarm bells should be ringing "What should be a positive homecoming moment for families who fled conflict decades ago is instead marked by exhaustion, trauma, and profound uncertainty," said Ms. Otunbayeva, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA). "The sheer volume of returns - many abrupt, many involuntary - should be setting off alarm bells across the global community," she added. "It is a test of our collective humanity. Afghanistan, already grappling with drought, and a chronic humanitarian crisis, cannot absorb this shock alone." Local communities overstretched Since January, more than 1.3 million have been largely compelled to head back to Afghanistan - a country where 70 per cent of the population lives in poverty. Women and children face the gravest risks, UNAMA said, as they are returning not only to dire economic hardships but to a context where their access to basic services and social protections remains severely constrained. The UN has repeatedly highlighted the assault on women's rights under Taliban rule, including bans affecting higher education, employment and freedom of movement. Reintegration support critical The returns are happening at a time when humanitarian operations remain woefully underfunded, forcing agonising choices between food, shelter, and safe passage. Ms. Otunbayeva also underscored the critical need for immediate reintegration assistance as initial evidence shows that stabilising return communities requires urgent livelihood programmes and community infrastructure investments. She warned that without swift interventions, remittance losses, labour market pressures, and cyclical migration will lead to devastating consequences. These could include the further destabilization of both returnee and host populations, renewed displacement, mass onward movement, and risks to regional stability. 'We cannot afford indifference' She urged donors, development partners, and regional governments not to turn away and abandon Afghan returnees. "What we are witnessing are the direct consequences of unmet global responsibilities," she said. "We must act now - with resources, with coordination, and with resolve." Meanwhile, the UN in Afghanistan is calling for an integrated approach that resources humanitarian needs while scaling up assistance in areas of return. At the same time, regional dialogue - including with Iran, Pakistan, and Central Asian states - must be prioritized to halt disorderly returns and uphold the principle of voluntary, dignified and safe repatriation. "Afghanistan's stability hinges on shared responsibility: We cannot afford indifference," said Ms. Otunbayeva. "The cost of inaction will be measured in lives lost and conflicts reignited." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Sudan: UNICEF condemns weekend attacks that killed 35 children 16 July 2025 - More than 450 civilians were killed in recent "horrific attacks" in Sudan's North Kordofan state which the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) has condemned in the strongest possible terms. At least 24 boys, 11 girls and two pregnant women reportedly were among the victims of the violence, which occurred over the weekend in communities around the city of Bara, including the villages of Shag Alnom and Hilat Hamid. UNICEF fears that with dozens more injured and many still missing, the number of child casualties could rise further. 'A complete disregard for human life' "These attacks are an outrage," Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement issued on Tuesday. "They represent a terrifying escalation of violence, and a complete disregard for human life, international humanitarian law, and the most basic principles of humanity." Former allies turned rivals - the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - have been battling for control of the country since April 2023 and fighting has intensified recently in the Kordofan region which encompasses three states. End the violence now "UNICEF condemns the attacks in the strongest possible terms," said Ms. Russell. She called on all parties to end the violence immediately and to uphold their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, as well as the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution. The UNICEF chief stressed that civilians - particularly children - must never be targeted. Furthermore, all alleged violations must be independently investigated, and those responsible held to account. "Impunity cannot be tolerated for violations of international law, especially when children's lives are at stake," she said. Ms. Russell extended the agency's deepest condolences to the families of the victims, and to anyone impacted by this heinous violence. "No child should ever experience such horrors," she said. "Violence against children is unconscionable and must end now." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address World News in Brief: Haiti funding cuts bite, civilian suffering intensifies in Myanmar, Belarus deaths in custody alert 16 July 2025 - In violence-wracked Haiti, more than 5.7 million people are estimated to be food insecure, with many unable to meet their daily food needs. Ongoing violence is compounding the country's food crisis, disrupting local food production in critical areas such as the commune of Kenscoff and the Artibonite department, often considered the breadbaskets of Haiti. While the UN and its partners are responding "wherever and whenever possible," UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said this Wednesday that humanitarians have only been able to reach 38 per cent of the population they aim to support. Multiple roadblocks "This is due to ongoing violence and insecurity, severe underfunding of the response, and the obvious access challenges," he said. Over halfway through the year, Haiti is the least-funded of the many humanitarian appeals that the UN coordinates - despite shortfalls for food security in the country being at extreme levels - with just over two per cent of the $425 million needed this year received to date. Myanmar: Intensifying conflict impedes humanitarian aid Almost four months after Myanmar's devastating earthquake, the UN is deeply concerned over the plight of civilians caught up in the country's devastating and continuing conflict between the military regime and opposition armed groups. As fighting intensifies, civilians are particularly vulnerable, with increasing attacks on infrastructure. According to reports, an air strike hit a monastery in Sagan Township in Sagaing Region on 11 July, killing 22 people and injuring at least 50 others. The monastery had been providing shelter to displaced people who had fled nearby villages. A displacement camp in North Shan State was also reportedly hit by an airstrike over the weekend. 'Broader pattern' "These incidents are part of a broader pattern of attacks affecting people across Myanmar," said Mr. Dujarric, with frequent reports of people being killed, injured or displaced by violence. Such insecurity also impacts the ability of humanitarian teams to reach people in need: with one in three people now facing acute hunger, and the current monsoon season having caused flooding, "the UN urgently calls on all parties to respect human rights and international humanitarian law," he said. Belarus: Rights experts urge probe into deaths in custody of opposition activists Top independent human rights experts called on Belarus on Wednesday to launch urgent investigations into the deaths of several people jailed for political dissent. The experts - who are known as Special Rapporteurs - highlighted the case of 61-year-old businessman Valiantsin Shtermer. He died in May 2025 while serving his sentence in a so-called "Correctional Colony" in Sklou. Mr. Shtermer had been jailed for making critical remarks about Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Despite his serious medical condition, he was allegedly denied adequate care in prison. Fifty-year-old opposition activist Vitold Ashurak meanwhile, also died shortly after being placed in an isolation in the same prison. According to the Special Rapporteurs, Mr. Ashurak was a member of the Belarusian National Front who was jailed for violating public order during protests related to the disputed 2020 presidential elections. We must not ignore these deaths "These deaths must not be ignored," said the experts, who added that there were strong grounds to believe that they resulted from abuse or neglect linked to the exercise of fundamental rights. "It is of the utmost importance to thoroughly investigate the alleged instances of ill-treatment and neglect that resulted in the deaths of Shtermer, Ashurak, Puskin and other persons designated as political prisoners by human rights defenders," the Human Rights Council appointed experts underscored. "There are strong reasons to believe that these individuals lost their lives in retaliation for exercising their civil and political rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly." The independent experts voiced concern that some opposition figures had been stigmatised and labelled as "extremists" or even "terrorists". Special Rapporteurs report regularly to the Human Rights Council. They are not UN staff and do not receive payment for their work. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UN Relief Chief warns Security Council: Erosion of rules of war in Gaza demands urgent response UNOCHA - United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Briefing to the Security Council on the Middle East by Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator New York, 16 July 2025 As delivered Mr. President, I want to remind this Council why we are briefing you today. The General Assembly gave us a humanitarian mandate - in resolution 46/182 - and a set of principles that you as Member States have asked us to uphold: humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence. That means aid must go where needs are greatest and without discrimination. It means we answer to civilians in need, not the warring parties. Our mandate is also to advocate for international humanitarian law - not just to report to you on what we witness, but so that you, this Council, can take action. Even when those responsible would rather silence us. Mr. President, We are beyond vocabulary to describe conditions in Gaza. So let me instead share facts: Food is running out. Those seeking it risk being shot. People are dying trying to feed their families. Field hospitals receive dead bodies, and medical workers hear stories firsthand from the injured. Day, after day, after day. Starvation rates among children hit their highest levels in June, with over 5,800 girls and boys diagnosed as acutely malnourished. Last week, amid this hunger crisis, children and women were killed in a strike while waiting for the food supplements to keep them alive. And Hamas continue to hold hostages, and we have received reports of their attacks on aid workers. The health system is shattered. Only 17 of 36 hospitals and 63 of 170 primary healthcare centres are functioning, all only partially, even as mass casualties arrive daily. In some hospitals, five babies share one incubator. Seventy per cent of essential medicines are out of stock. Half of all medical equipment has been damaged. Pregnant women give birth without medical care. Women and girls manage menstruation without basic sanitary supplies. Water, sanitation systems are broken. Roughly four of every five of these facilities, including water points, are now located within militarized zones or areas under displacement orders - so, even if they are functional, they are out of reach for those who depend on them. Mr. President, The fuel crisis in Gaza remains at a critical threshold. Last week, Israeli authorities agreed to allow two trucks of fuel to Gaza per day, five days a week, through the Kerem Shalom crossing, and we have some indication that approvals may increase slightly. We hope these will materialize. This is the first time any fuel has been allowed to enter the Strip in 130 days, and still no petrol has been permitted, which fuels many ambulances and other critical services. Two trucks provide a fraction of what's required to run essential life-sustaining services. And even when fuel is allowed in for humanitarian purposes, our access to storing and moving it to where it is needed is not guaranteed. Mr. President, Turning to the West Bank, there is continued loss of life and livelihoods, movement restrictions, growing displacement. Over the weekend, two Palestinian youths were killed in a settler attack near Ramallah. One was beaten to death; another was fatally shot. Dozens were injured. And ambulances were blocked from reaching the wounded. Settler violence is escalating at an alarming rate, and Palestinian communities are being displaced, injured and their property damaged. Each day this year, the UN has documented an average of four incidents of settler violence against Palestinians and their property. In June, 100 Palestinians were injured by Israeli settlers, the highest number in two decades. Mr. President, Gaza's soaring humanitarian needs must be met without drawing people into a firing line. Israel, as the occupying power, is obligated to ensure that people have food and medical supplies. But that is not happening. Instead, civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, stripped of dignity. It is for you to draw your own conclusions. But surely, we do not need to debate whether killing civilians waiting in line for life's essentials meets the responsibility to provide for civilian needs. We are awaiting the outcome of Israel's investigation into this, and earlier incidents. I hope that you will consider whether Israel's rules of engagement incorporate all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm in all circumstances. This means, here as elsewhere, verifying targets, giving effective advance warnings, carefully choosing tactics and weapons, and canceling or suspending an attack if it would cause disproportionate civilian harm. Mr. President, Each time that we report on what we see, we face threats of further reduced access to the civilians we are trying to serve. We face that tension everywhere, but nowhere is that tension between our advocacy mandate and delivering aid greater than in Gaza. Visas are not renewed or reduced in duration, explicitly in response to our work on protection of civilians. Security clearances are not granted for staff to enter Gaza to continue their work. And humanitarian partners are increasingly denied entry to Gaza. In 2025, 56 per cent of the entries denied were for Emergency Medical Teams. Of course, as you know, hundreds of aid workers have been killed; and those who continue to work endure hunger, danger and loss, like everyone else in the Gaza Strip. Personal tragedies continue to echo through our teams and their families. This morning another ICRC colleague was killed. I pay tribute to them all and to the courage of the work of UNICEF and other agencies inside Gaza. Thousands, including many of our colleagues who are injured, are not able to leave to seek treatment. Mr. President, Let me walk you briefly through what it takes to deliver your aid - the aid you fund - into Gaza. Something as simple as a bag of flour: Before reaching the crossing into Gaza, it must clear multiple layers of approval, including customs involving several ministries. Once approved, it is scanned, loaded onto Israeli trucks, and often re-inspected at Kerem Shalom. From there, it is either moved by pre-approved Palestinian trucks up the fence road that runs along Gaza's border or transferred to so-called sterile trucks which offload on the Palestinian side of the crossing and are picked up in different sized trucks from Gaza. It's why counting trucks is often misleading - because it's not always a ratio of one-to-one. Once inside Gaza, movement requires navigating an obstacle course of coordination with Israeli forces, through active hostilities, traveling on damaged roads, and often being forced to wait at holding points or pass through areas controlled by criminal gangs. And distribution is uncertain, as starving people often try to grab the flour off the back of our trucks. With these obstacles in place, your generous contribution may never reach our distribution points. And even if it does, getting it at scale to those in need remains deeply uncertain. And as I've said before, it doesn't have to be this way. We have a plan that works. It requires predictable aid, of different types and at scale, entering multiple crossings where people do not come under fire, travelling on routes that we choose, without long delays, being delivered to our warehouses and distribution points according to established UN aid mechanisms and humanitarian principles - the principles that you have given us the mandate to uphold. Mr. President, Even as this broader plan remains stalled, and despite severe restrictions, thousands of colleagues on the ground - daily, at great personal risk - are still delivering life-saving aid. Between 19th of May, when limited aid entry resumed, and the 14th of July, only 1,633 trucks - 62 per cent of the roughly 2,600 submitted to the Israeli authorities, 74 per cent of those approved for entry - reached Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. They carried mainly wheat flour, alongside limited quantities of food for kitchens, nutrition supplies, medical supplies, chlorine. After multiple steps of cargo offloading and uploading on different vehicles, a total of 1,600 Palestinian trucks could be collected for distribution inside Gaza. Last week alone, we had 21 Emergency Medical Teams deployed providing life-saving services and some relief to doctors in Gaza; 238 pallets of medical supplies entered, including 10 cold-chain pallets with 1,396 blood units and 1,550 plasma doses - enough for 10 days. We supported 800 weekly medical consultations for women and girls, enabled 84 kitchens to serve 260,000 meals daily, and delivered 17,000 cubic metres of drinking water through 1,300 collection points. This is life-saving support provided with dignity. But to be clear, it's a drop in the ocean of what is needed, compared to the average of 630 truckloads that entered daily during the ceasefire. The ceasefire proved what's possible. And we need to return to those levels without delay. Now, our work - the UN and its partners - is by no means perfect, but it is rooted in humanitarian principles, practices honed over decades of experience across the globe, steadfast commitment to saving lives. And we ask you again, please, let us work. In this respect, I welcome the recent agreement between the European Union and Israel on humanitarian access. We look forward to hearing more of the detail, and to understanding how implementation will be assessed. Mr. President, Let me remind this Council that the International Court of Justice has demanded that Israel take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance. With these facts before you, I ask you as a Council to assess whether Israel is meeting its international legal obligations and whether we humanitarians can fulfill our mandate. Is this allowing and facilitating rapid, unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief, as the rules of war demand? Or is it obstruction? You will draw your own conclusions. Mr. President, Weeks ago, an Israeli minister called allowing aid into Gaza a "disastrous decision," while another implied that starvation might be "justified and moral" until hostages are freed - and they must be freed. Intentionally using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare would of course be a war crime. Most recently, Israel's Defense Minister talked openly about moving Palestinians into what he called a 'humanitarian city.' We understand that the proposal is to forcibly displace Palestinians to a designated zone near Rafah. Now I don't know how to describe this, but it is not humanitarian. Mr. President, States and armed groups must uphold the rules - forged because of the horrors of conflict and hatred - that protect civilians in war. Today, across the world, we watch these rules being corroded and degraded. Again, it is of course for you to decide how you act to ensure that all parties respect international humanitarian law. But I agree with some members of the Israeli cabinet that you have consistently overestimated your powers of quiet persuasion. We hold all parties to the standards of international law in this conflict. We don't have to choose - and in fact, we must not choose - between demanding the end to the starvation of civilians in Gaza and demanding the unconditional release of all the hostages. And we must reject antisemitism. We must fight it with every fiber of our DNA. But we must also hold Israel to the same principles and laws of all other states. So civilians must be protected wherever they are. Hostages must be released - I say it again. Humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter at scale. And humanitarian workers must be protected. You owe that to Israeli and Palestinian civilians, to the last hopes of a sustainable peace, and to the UN Charter. All members of this Council have been unequivocal: ceasefire, ceasefire, ceasefire. Thank you. Posted on 16 July 2025 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Killing of Civilians in Gaza Waiting in Line for Humanitarian Aid Must End, Relief Chief Tells Security Council, Urging Return to UN-Led Delivery Mechanism Meetings Coverage Security Council 9959th Meeting (PM) SC/16121 16 July 2025 As civilians lining up for humanitarian aid in Gaza are being killed, speakers in the Security Council today urged Israel to lift restrictions on aid operations in the Strip, called for a return to United Nations-led delivery mechanisms, and stressed the urgent need for both the release of hostages and a ceasefire. "Gaza's soaring humanitarian needs must be met without drawing people into a firing line," said Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator. He recalled General Assembly resolution 46/182, adopted in 1991, which laid the groundwork for modern international humanitarian assistance by establishing a framework and guiding principles humanity, impartiality, neutrality, and independence for the UN's role in coordinating humanitarian efforts during emergencies. Israel, as the occupying Power, is obligated to ensure that people have food and medical supplies, he said, adding: "But that is not happening. Instead, civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, stripped of dignity." He went on to urge Council members to consider whether Israel's rules of engagement incorporate all feasible precautions to avoid and minimize civilian harm, in all circumstances. This means verifying targets, giving effective advance warnings, carefully choosing tactics and weapons, and canceling or suspending an attack if it would cause disproportionate civilian harm, he said. Number of Aid Trucks Currently Allowed into Gaza 'Drop in the Ocean' Between 19 May and 14 July, only 1,633 trucks or 62 per cent of the roughly 2,600 submitted to the Israeli authorities and 74 per cent of those approved for entry reached the Kerem Shalom and Zikim crossings. "To be clear, this is a drop in the ocean of needs, compared to the average of 630 truckloads, that entered daily" during an earlier ceasefire, he said. The ceasefire proved what's possible. It's time to return to those levels without delay. Turning to recent remarks by Israel's Defence Minister about moving Palestinians into a "humanitarian city", he said the proposal to forcibly displace Palestinians to a designated zone near Rafah is "not humanitarian", underscoring the need to protect civilians wherever they are, release all hostages held by Hamas, allow humanitarian aid at scale and ensure the safety of humanitarian workers. "You owe that to Israeli and Palestinian civilians, to the last hopes of a sustainable peace, and to the UN Charter," he said, calling for a ceasefire. Today's meeting was called by Denmark, France, Greece, Slovenia and the United Kingdom, following abhorrent reports of human suffering in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including killings at aid distribution sites operated by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation a non-UN mechanism established with support from Israel and the United States. Between 27 May and 7 July, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recorded the killings of 798 Palestinian civilians including children desperate to find food, at or near distribution sites and humanitarian convoys. International Community Failing Gaza's Children "Among the survivors was Donia, a mother seeking a lifeline for her family after months of desperation and hunger," said Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF). Donia's 1-year-old son, Mohammed, was killed in the attack after speaking his first words just hours earlier. The mother was lying critically injured in a hospital bed, clutching her son's tiny shoe. "No parent should experience such a horrific tragedy," she said. "The simple truth is that we are failing Gaza's children," she said, noting that child malnutrition in Gaza has surged 180 per cent since February, with nearly 6,000 cases in June. Most households lack safe water, fueling disease outbreaks waterborne illnesses now make up 44 per cent of medical consultations. Hospitals are overwhelmed, short on medicine and fuel, and emergency care is collapsing. At least 12,500 patients, including many children, need urgent medical evacuation, but few are being accepted abroad. "History will judge this failure harshly," she warned, adding: "And the children will judge it too." She implored that UNICEF and its humanitarian partners be allowed to do their jobs. "We have proven that essentials like medicine, vaccines, water, food, and nutrition for babies can reach those in need, wherever they are, when we have appropriate access," she said, calling for an urgent return to the functioning UN-led aid pipeline with safe and sustained humanitarian access through all available crossings. [...] NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address 317th AW showcases combat readiness in major AMC inspection Published July 16, 2025 By Senior Airman Jade M. Caldwell 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFNS) -- The 317th Airlift Wing completed the initial phase of its first-ever Combat Readiness Inspection, evaluated by Air Mobility Command at Dyess Air Force Base, July 8. The CRI measured the wing's ability to rapidly deploy combat-ready forces in contested, degraded and operationally limited environments, directly supporting Air Force and Department of Defense objectives. "Our wing's number one priority is 'mission execution upon notification'," said Col. Justin Diehl, 317th AW commander. "317th Airmen continuously train to rapidly respond with precision to the most complex operating environments in the world, and this inspection offered another opportunity to validate their timelines." The inspection began with a mock 24-hour deployment notification. Airmen received scenario-based intelligence, a briefing from leadership and guidance on deployment expectations. "When given a sudden notification to deploy, our team has the necessary skills to move out and lead at scale," said Chief Master Sgt. Martin Castillo, 317th AW command chief. "This gives the wing the ability to execute the commander's intent instantly." Throughout the CRI, AMC inspectors general and wing inspection team members evaluated the 317th AW's execution of deployment operations. Airmen were tasked to rapidly generate aircraft, process cargo and mission plan while also completing the associated administrative and medical requirements. "The key to success in this CRI is our 'we're going' mindset," Castillo said. "Our Airmen understand that our culture is rooted in being prepared to deploy at a moment's notice to execute high-end operations around the world." Upon receiving the CRI deployment order, Airmen staged pallets and equipment for transport, loaded C-130J Super Hercules aircraft and prepared aircrews for maximum endurance operations, ensuring the 317th AW performed mission execution upon notification. "Our Airmen consistently meet and exceed our expectations," Diehl said. "They think and move fast, maintaining the precision required to respond to global operations in contested environments. The CRI was another opportunity to highlight the effort they put in every day." The 317th AW used the CRI to prepare to participate in the Air Force's Department Level Exercise, an initiative designed to demonstrate the service's readiness for complex, large-scale military operations. "This wing operates at the leading edge," Diehl said. "Through the CRI, our Airmen demonstrated their ability through their advanced training to solve challenges in an increasingly complex global environment. The completion of the initial phase of the CRI underscores the 317th AW's ability to generate and employ combat-ready airpower at a moment's notice. The milestone reinforces the wing's 'we're going' mindset and highlights its vital role in delivering rapid global mobility and ensuring U.S. and coalition forces can respond to known and emerging threats decisively and effectively. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russo-Ukraine War - 16 July 2025 - Day 1239 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 in total, since the beginning of this day, there have been 112 combat clashes. Ukrainian defenders are decisively intercepting the attempts of the Russian enemy to advance deep into Ukrainian territory, giving him a fiery impression. Today, Russian troops launched one missile and 46 aviation strikes, using one missile and dropping 63 controlled aviation bombs. In addition, they engaged 1292 kamikaze drones and carried out 4140 shelling positions of Ukrainian troops and settlements. In the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursky directions, Ukrainian soldiers repelled 11 Russian assault actions since the beginning of the day, three clashes continue so far. In the South Slobozhansky direction, the Russian enemy ten times stormed the positions of Ukrainian units in the areas of Vovchansk, Zelenogo, Stroivka and towards Kudiivka, three confrontations are still ongoing In the Kupyansky direction, the Russian aggressor carried out offensive actions in the areas of the settlement Synkivka and Zagrizove. Ukrainian defenders stopped two enemy attacks. In the Lyman direction, Russian invaders 16 times attacked the positions of Defense Forces near the settlements of New Mir, Nadia, Karpivka, Kolodyazi, Green Valley, Torske and towards Serebryanka, three clashes are ongoing. Three Russian attacks repelled Ukrainian defenders in the Siversky direction - the Russian occupiers tried to advance in the area of Grigorivka and towards Viimka. In the Kramators komu direction, Russian forces three times stormed Ukrainian positions in the areas of orikhovo-vasilivka and towards the white mountain. In the Toretsky direction, six times the Russians went into the offensive on the positions of Ukrainian units in the areas of Nelipivka, Toretsk, Rusiny Yar and Oleksandro-Kalinovy. Defense forces stopped five Russian attacks, the battle is ongoing. In the Pokrovsky direction since the beginning of the day, the Russian occupiers tried 36 times to advance on the position of Ukrainian units. The Russian enemy attacked in the areas of the settlements Poltavka, Novoekonomicne, Mirolubivka, Lisivka, Novoukrainka, Zvirove, Kotline, Udacne, Muravka and Oleksiyivka. Four clashes are still ongoing. Russian aviation struck Dobropill . According to preliminary data, today in this direction there were 207 Russian invaders, of which 129 - irrevocably. Also Ukrainian soldiers destroyed a tank, three cars, 11 motorcycles, 32 BPLA, a mortar and antenna of the BPLA control; damaged a tank, a mortar, four cannons, three shelters for personnel and the BPLA Control Point of the Russian occupiers. In the Novopavliv direction, Russian forces tried 12 times to break through the defense of Ukrainian defenders in the areas of the settlements of Piddubne, Mirne, Free Field and Green Field. The two clashes are still going on. In the rest of the directions, there were no special changes. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Governor Newsom calls on Trump to end Los Angeles militarization, shares community resources California Governor - Gavin Newsom Jul 16, 2025 What you need to know: Governor Newsom visited local businesses in the Los Angeles area that have been impacted by the federal government's indiscriminate immigration raids, called on Trump to end his deployment of soldiers, and shared new "know your rights" resources with the community. LOS ANGELES - Providing support to local communities impacted by federal immigration enforcement actions, Governor Gavin Newsom today met with business owners and faith leaders in the Los Angeles area. Enough is enough - Stephen Miller and Trump's chaos campaign needs to end now. They are violating constitutional rights, terrorizing neighborhoods and businesses, and targeting people because of their skin color and the language they speak. These heartless and cruel actions have real consequences for our economy and society. Governor Gavin Newsom Visiting with community members Governor Newsom met with local restaurant owners of Cuernavaca's Grill in the City of Bell to discuss the economic impact these indiscriminate immigration actions have had on their small business. The Governor then stopped by a church in Downey that recently was targeted by federal immigration agents. Economic impact of this cruel policy Trump's actions have a chilling effect - the state's economy is likely to contract later this year due to fallout from global tariffs and immigration raids in Los Angeles and other cities that have rattled key sectors, including construction, hospitality, and agriculture, according to a UCLA Anderson forecast. Mass deportations in California could slash $275 billion from the state's economy and eliminate $23 billion in annual tax revenue. The loss of immigrant labor would delay projects (including rebuilding Los Angeles after the wildfires), reduce food supply, and drive up costs. Undocumented immigrants contributed $8.5 billion in state and local taxes in 2022 a number that would rise to $10.3 billion if these taxpayers could apply to work lawfully. New resource for community Trump's militarization of Los Angeles has also led to increasingly concerning tactics by federal immigration enforcement, including violating the law and people's constitutional rights. Families are being terrorized by the broad enforcement efforts targeting Latino neighborhoods, harming U.S. citizens, and racially profiling families and workers. That's why it's important to remember the following if you are affected by a federal immigration action: You can observe and record public immigration arrests , but stay calm and at a safe distance to avoid risk to yourself and others. , but stay calm and at a safe distance to avoid risk to yourself and others. Do not interfere or argue with federal agents . Physical obstruction or verbal escalation can put your safety at risk and may lead to criminal charges. . Physical obstruction or verbal escalation can put your safety at risk and may lead to criminal charges. Agents don't need a judge-signed warrant to arrest someone in public but do need one to enter non-public areas of private property. of private property. Prepare yourself and your family in case you are arrested. Memorize the phone numbers of your family members and your lawyer. Make emergency plans if you have children or take medication. For more information on helpful community resources, the Governor's Office has released new factsheets here in English and here in Spanish. End the militarization of LA now For over a month, about 4,000 National Guard members have been serving as political pawns for the President in Los Angeles, pulled away from their families, communities, and civilian jobs. While half are just now beginning to demobilize, many remain without a clear mission, direction, or a timeline for returning to their communities. California urges Trump and the Department of Defense to end this theatrical deployment and send all remaining guardsmembers home immediately. The federal government can enforce immigration laws and keep us safe without violating our rights, terrorizing entire communities, breaking the law, disrupting the economy, and raising costs for families. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Pentagon orders half of National Guard to leave Los Angeles People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 14:21, July 16, 2025 LOS ANGELES, July 15 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Department of Defense on Tuesday ordered 2,000 of the roughly 4,000 California National Guard members deployed in the Los Angeles area to return to their home commands. "Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding," said Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell in a statement, announcing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth's decision to scale back the deployment. The "federal protection mission" had achieved its immediate goals, the statement said. It was not specified how soon the service members would leave, while some officials said units would redeploy "in an orderly manner". The California National Guard confirmed it had begun contacting commanders to arrange transportation for soldiers whose assignments are ending. The Trump administration federalized around 4,000 California National Guard members and dispatched about 700 active-duty Marines to the Los Angeles area in June after large-scale protests erupted over immigration enforcement raids in the area. California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass sharply criticized the deployment, arguing that the heavy military presence aggravated tensions rather than restored calm. Both officials reiterated on Tuesday that complete control of public-safety operations should be returned to state and local agencies at once. "Thousands of members are still federalized in Los Angeles for no reason and unable to carry out their critical duties across the state," Newsom said in a post on X. "End this theater and send everyone home." At a press conference Tuesday evening, Bass said the troops were "deployed unnecessarily" and "used as props" by the Trump administration. "I am hoping that this is the beginning of a complete withdrawal," she said as quoted by the Los Angeles Times. Even after the drawdown, some 2,000 Guard troops and all 700 Marines will remain in the Los Angeles area. Their responsibilities include protecting federal buildings and assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in their operations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Prime Minister Carney speaks with President of Mexico Claudia Sheinbaum Prime Minister of Canada - Mark Carney July 15, 2025 Ottawa, Ontario Today, the Prime Minister, Mark Carney, spoke with the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum. Prime Minister Carney expressed his gratitude for the Mexican firefighters who have travelled to Manitoba to assist Canadians at this critical time. The Prime Minister and the President discussed how to strengthen the Canadian and Mexican economies and enhance their global competitiveness, building on their productive meeting at the G7 Summit in Kananaskis. The leaders agreed to remain in close contact and continue working closely together. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Xi Jinping Meets with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China Updated: July 15, 2025 21:55 On the morning of July 15, 2025, President Xi Jinping met with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping asked Sergei Lavrov to convey his cordial greetings to President Vladimir Putin. Xi Jinping stressed the need for both sides to implement the important understandings reached between the two presidents, deepen the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination, strengthen mutual support in multilateral fora, safeguard their development and security interests, promote solidarity among Global South countries, and work together to make the international order more just and equitable. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which was jointly established by China and Russia, is a comprehensive regional cooperation organization that holds significant importance for maintaining peace, stability and development on the Eurasian continent. Both sides should support each other, steer the development course of the SCO, continuously inject new momentum, and make this strategic platform more substantive and stronger. Sergei Lavrov conveyed President Vladimir Putin's sincere greetings to President Xi Jinping, stating that under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, the Russia-China comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination has achieved in-depth development. Russia attaches great importance to its relations with China and looks forward to maintaining high-level exchanges with China in this important year marking the 80th anniversary of the victory in the World Anti-Fascist War, strengthening mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields, keeping communication and coordination in international and regional affairs, and promoting world and regional peace and stability. Russia will actively support China's presidency and work together to ensure the complete success of the SCO summit in Tianjin. Wang Yi attended the meeting. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Xi Jinping Has a Group Meeting with Heads of Foreign Delegations Attending the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO Member States Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China Updated: July 15, 2025 21:52 On the morning of July 15, 2025, President Xi Jinping had a group meeting with foreign ministers and heads of permanent bodies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), who are in China to attend the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO Member States at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Xi Jinping pointed out that over the past 24 years, the SCO has upheld the Shanghai Spirit and grown more mature, stronger and more vibrant. Political mutual trust among the member states has kept deepening, cooperation in various fields has yielded fruitful outcomes, and the organization has successfully blazed a path of regional cooperation that follows the trend of the times and meets the needs of all parties, setting an example for a new type of international relations. China has always prioritized the SCO in its neighborhood diplomacy and is committed to making the SCO more substantive and stronger, safeguarding regional security and stability, promoting the development and prosperity of member states, and building a closer community with a shared future. Since China assumed the rotating presidency in July last year, it has actively carried out activities and advanced cooperation, with all parties taking solid steps to jointly build a better home for the SCO. Later this year, China will host the SCO Summit in Tianjin. Xi Jinping said he looks forward to meeting with leaders of other member states in Tianjin to chart the course of the organization together. Xi Jinping stressed that in the face of a turbulent and changing international landscape, the SCO must stay focused, remain confident, act efficiently and play a more proactive role in injecting greater stability and positive energy into the world. First, the SCO should remain true to its founding mission and serve as the torchbearer of the Shanghai Spirit. The SCO should take mutual trust and mutual benefit as the foundation of cooperation, equality and consultation as the way to get along with each other, respect for diversity of civilizations as a means to promote harmony and inclusiveness, and the pursuit of common development as the path to achieve win-win results and prosperity, to ensure that the Shanghai Spirit continues to light the way toward building an SCO community with a shared future. Second, the SCO should respond to the people's expectations and be a doer in deepening cooperation. The SCO should improve mechanisms to address security threats and challenges, strengthen security barriers, and meet the people's aspirations for a peaceful and secure life; synergize member states' development strategies with cooperation initiatives such as the Belt and Road Initiative to achieve higher-quality and more sustainable development and meet the people's aspirations for a prosperous and fulfilling life; and facilitate cross-border travel, promote people-to-people exchanges, and organize more events showcasing each country's unique cultural characteristics to meet the people's aspirations for a more enriching cultural life. Third, the SCO should shoulder its mission of the times and be a steadfast contributor to building a community with a shared future for mankind. The SCO should firmly oppose hegemony, power politics and bullying, promote a more equal and orderly multipolar world, uphold extensive consultation and joint contribution for shared benefits to make economic globalization more universally beneficial and inclusive, unite and lead the Global South, work together to build a more just and equitable global governance system, and pool great strength to build a community with a shared future for mankind. Wang Yi, as the Chair of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO Member States, reported on the progress made in various aspects of work since China assumed the rotating presidency and on the preparations for the Tianjin Summit. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov delivered remarks on behalf of the foreign delegations. He said that the SCO, with its commitment to the Shanghai Spirit of mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations and pursuit of common development, has achieved remarkable cooperation outcomes and gained increasing international appeal. Practice has proven that the Shanghai Spirit serves the shared interests of the member states and demonstrates strong vitality. Since China assumed the rotating presidency, it has hosted a large number of events and promoted the new development of the SCO. Facing a complex international landscape, the SCO should uphold multilateralism and work for a more just and equitable international order. He added that all parties are willing to actively support China's presidency, build greater consensus, and ensure the complete success of the Tianjin Summit. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese FM confirms restriction removal on former EU lawmaker Reinhard Buetikofer Global Times By Global Times Published: Jul 16, 2025 04:38 PM Commenting on South China Morning Post's report that China has removed "restrictions" on Reinhard Buetikofer, the former EU lawmaker it sanctioned in 2021, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday that in recent years, exchanges between the legislative bodies of China and Europe have encountered some setbacks due to well-known reasons. In the current situation, both sides believe it is very important to strengthen dialogue and cooperation. Lin said that after mutual consultation, China and the European Parliament have decided to simultaneously and comprehensively lift the restrictions on mutual exchanges. According to South China Morning Post, the move is expected to galvanise a new round of engagement, with an official meeting of the National People's Congress and the China delegation of the European Parliament penciled in for Brussels in October. This would be the first official meeting between the sides since 2018. "We believe and look forward to the deepening of communication and understanding as China and Europe fully restore exchanges between their legislative bodies, which will inject new momentum into the sustained, healthy and stable development of China-Europe relations," Lin said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese judicial organs handle cases in accordance with law, FM on Japanese man's sentence for espionage Global Times By Global Times Published: Jul 16, 2025 04:15 PM When asked to comment on a Beijing court on Wednesday sentencing a Japanese man working for a Japanese pharmaceutical company to three years and six months in prison for espionage, and the Japanese side's claim that the verdict could impact bilateral ties, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday that China is a country governed by the rule of law, and its judicial authorities handle cases strictly in accordance with the law, ensuring the legal rights and interests of parties concerned. In accordance with relevant international conventions and the China-Japan consular agreement, we provide convenience for the Japanese side to carry out consular duties, Lin said. Lin noted that China has consistently supported China-Japan economic and trade cooperation, providing a favorable environment for the legitimate operations of Japanese enterprises and personnel in China. "We welcome foreign enterprises to engage in economic and trade cooperation in China. As long as foreign nationals in Chinaor those coming to Chinaabide by the law and carry out their activities in accordance with the law, there is no need for concern or anxiety," Lin added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Xi meets heads of foreign delegations attending SCO council of foreign ministers meeting Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China Source Xinhuanet EditorLin Congyi 2025-07-16 09:56:13 BEIJING, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday met in Beijing with foreign ministers and heads of standing bodies of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) who are in China to attend the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of SCO Member States. He noted that over the past 24 years since its founding, the SCO has always upheld the Shanghai Spirit, grown into a mature and robust organization, and demonstrated strong vitality. China has always prioritized the SCO in its neighborhood diplomacy, and is committed to making the organization more substantive and stronger, safeguarding regional security and stability, promoting the development and prosperity of member states and building a closer community with a shared future, Xi said. He added that since China assumed the rotating presidency last July, it has actively carried out activities and advanced cooperation, with all parties taking solid steps to jointly build a better home for the SCO. With the SCO Summit set to take place this year in China's Tianjin, Xi expressed his hope to meet the leaders of other member states at the event to discuss the future development of the SCO. He stressed that in the face of a turbulent and changing international landscape, the SCO must stay focused, remain confident, act efficiently and play a more proactive role in injecting greater stability and positive energy into the world. Xi called on the SCO to take trust and mutual benefit as the foundation of cooperation, equality and consultation as the way of engagement, respect for diverse civilizations as a means to promote harmony and inclusiveness, and common development as a path toward shared prosperity, to ensure that the Shanghai Spirit continues to light the way in building an SCO community with a shared future. The organization should respond to the people's aspirations and be doers in deepening cooperation, Xi said, calling for improving mechanisms to address security threats and challenges, better alignment of member states' development strategies with cooperation initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative, and facilitating personnel exchanges and people-to-people ties. Xi also called for joint efforts to firmly oppose hegemony, power politics, and bullying in order to promote a more equal and balanced multipolar world. He emphasized the need for extensive consultation, joint contribution, and shared benefits to advance a more inclusive and universally beneficial economic globalization. The SCO should unite and lead the Global South in building a more just and equitable global governance system, pooling immense strength for the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, he added. Wang Yi, as the chair of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO Member States, reported on the progress made in various aspects of work since China assumed the rotating presidency, as well as the preparations for the SCO Summit in Tianjin. On behalf of the foreign delegations, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that through its steadfast commitment to the Shanghai Spirit, the SCO has achieved notable cooperation outcomes and gained increasing international appeal. Practice has proven that the Shanghai Spirit, which is characterized by mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality, consultation, respect for diversity of civilizations, and pursuit of common development, aligns with member states' shared interests and demonstrates robust vitality, he added. Lavrov said that since China assumed the SCO rotating presidency, it has hosted numerous events driving the organization's new progress. Facing a complex global landscape, the SCO should uphold multilateralism and promote the international order toward greater justice and equity, said Lavrov, adding that all parties stand ready to support China's work as chair, forge greater consensus, and ensure the success of the upcoming SCO Summit in Tianjin. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian's Regular Press Conference on July 16, 2025 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People's Republic of China Updated: July 16, 2025 18:09 At the invitation of Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia Gordan Grlic Radman will visit China from July 20 to 22. Xinhua News Agency: To follow up on Croatia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Gordan Grlic Radman's visit to China, how does China view its current relations with Croatia and what does China expect to achieve through this visit? Lin Jian: China welcomes Gordan Grlic Radman, Croatia's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, to visit China. The two countries have enjoyed traditional friendship. The China-Croatia comprehensive cooperative partnership has maintained steady growth, and Belt and Road cooperation and cooperation between China and Central and Eastern European countries have borne positive results. China attaches great importance to its relations with Croatia. Through this visit, we stand ready to work with Croatia to further align our development strategies, unlock potential for practical cooperation, have closer people-to-people and cultural exchange and dialogue, and open up a new chapter for our comprehensive cooperative partnership. NHK: This morning, the Beijing No. 2 Intermediate People's Court sentenced a male employee of a Japanese pharmaceutical company to three years and six months in prison for espionage. The Japanese government called the sentencing "regrettable" and called for the release of the man at the earliest. Japan also said the lack of transparency in judicial procedures impacts the improvement and steady development of bilateral ties and is an obstacle to improving people-to-people exchanges and public sentiment between Japan and China. What's your comment? Lin Jian: China upholds the rule of law. Our judicial authorities handle the case in strict accordance with the law, protect the lawful rights of the person concerned, and provide facilitation for the Japanese side to perform consular duties in accordance with relevant international conventions and the Agreement on Consular Relations between China and Japan. Let me also point out that China supports trade and economic cooperation between China and Japan and provides a favorable environment for lawful operation of Japanese companies and individuals in China. We welcome foreign companies to carry out economic and trade cooperation in China. Foreign individuals in China who abide by laws and conduct lawful operation have nothing to worry or be concerned about. RIA Novosti: Nominee for the role of United States envoy to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Tuesday that China's malicious behavior and growing influence in the organization will be "top of mind" for him if he is confirmed for the position. What's your comment on this? Lin Jian: These remarks reflect the typical ideological bias and Cold-War and zero-sum mentality of some U.S. politicians. China firmly rejects this. We urge the U.S. to view China and this bilateral relationship objectively and rationally, and make concrete effort to promote the steady, sound and sustainable development of China-U.S. relations, instead of doing the opposite. Reuters: Premier Li Qiang raised concerns with Australia's foreign investment screening rules during a meeting attended by his counterpart Anthony Albanese and business leaders from both countries yesterday. What specific industries is China most concerned about? Lin Jian: Regarding the event with business community during Prime Minister Albanese's visit here, the Chinese side has released a readout. We always believe that economic and trade cooperation serves as the ballast for the relations between China and Australia. China stands ready to work with Australia to provide a fair, open and non-discriminatory business environment for companies investing and operating in each other's countries and continue to grow our economic and trade ties. China News Service: The Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States was held in Tianjin yesterday. Could you share more information on that? Lin Jian: On July 15, the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Member States was successfully held in Tianjin. Before the meeting, President Xi Jinping had a group meeting with foreign ministers and heads of permanent bodies of the SCO in Beijing. He stressed that in the face of a turbulent and changing international landscape, the SCO must stay focused, remain confident, act efficiently and play a more proactive role. It needs to remain true to its founding mission, respond to the people's expectations and shoulder its mission of the times. It should also serve as the torchbearer of the Shanghai Spirit, be a doer in deepening cooperation and a steadfast contributor to building a community with a shared future for mankind, and inject greater stability and positive energy into the world. Foreign Minister Wang Yi chaired the meeting and made a five-point proposal for the future development of the SCO: first, staying true to SCO's founding mission and carrying forward the "Shanghai Spirit"; second, sharing responsibility and laying a solid foundation for security; third, seeking mutual benefit and win-win results and creating engines for development; fourth, upholding amity and good neighborliness and building a beautiful homeland; fifth, staying the course and defending fairness and justice. When jointly meeting the press with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev after the meeting, Foreign Minister Wang announced that the SCO summit will be held in Tianjin from August 31 to September 1. Participants spoke highly of China's work as the rotating chair of the SCO, commended the important role of the SCO and expressed their readiness to cooperate and coordinate with China to make the SCO Tianjin summit a full success. In-depth discussions at this meeting made full political preparations for the upcoming Tianjin summit. We believe that with the concerted effort of all parties, the Tianjin summit will be a gathering of solidarity, friendship and fruitful results, and the SCO will enter a new stage of high-quality development featuring greater solidarity, coordination, dynamism and productiveness. Reuters: The South China Morning Post reports that China has removed restrictions on Reinhard Buetikofer, the former EU lawmaker it sanctioned in 2021. Is the Foreign Ministry able to confirm it? Lin Jian: For publicly known reasons, the exchanges between Chinese and EU legislatures encountered some setbacks over the past few years. Under the current circumstances, both sides recognize the importance of enhancing dialogue and cooperation. As agreed by the two sides, the Chinese side and the European Parliament decided to fully lift restrictions on two-way exchanges simultaneously. We believe and hope that as China and the EU fully resume exchanges between the legislatures, there will be deeper exchanges and understanding, and this will provide new driving force for the sustained, sound and steady growth of China-EU relations. Antara: Indonesia and the United States have reached a trade agreement under which a 19 percent tariff will be imposed on Indonesian exports to the U.S., while U.S. exports to Indonesia will face no tariff barriers. This is the second such deal between the U.S. and an ASEAN country, following the agreement with Viet Nam. Would the Ministry like to comment on this? Lin Jian: Our stance has always been that parties need to settle economic and trade disputes through equal-footed dialogue and consultation, and jointly foster a sound environment for international economic and trade cooperation. RIA Novosti: Yesterday NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte expressed a hope that China, India and Brazil will exert pressure on Russia over possible secondary tariffs that may be imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump over their trade with Moscow. What's China's comment on his remarks? Lin Jian: I've made clear China's position on the relevant issue yesterday. Let me reiterate that China always believes that dialogue and negotiation is the only viable way out of the crisis. China firmly opposes any illicit unilateral sanctions and long-arm jurisdiction. Tariff wars have no winners. Coercion and pressuring will lead nowhere. We hope parties will help create the atmosphere and conditions for a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, and act in ways conducive to promoting talks for peace. China Daily: The third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) kicked off today, which is the first time for the expo to be held in summer. Besides, China also hosted the Western China International Fair, the China-South Asia Expo and other events this summer, showcasing China's active effort of pursuing high-standard opening up. Can you give us more details and your comment? Lin Jian: This summer witnessed China's booming effort of striving for high-standard opening up. As you said, the third China International Supply Chain Expo kicked off in Beijing today, featuring multiple highlights, more innovation and greener practices. A total of 651 domestic and foreign enterprises and institutions will participate in the expo, with foreign exhibitors making up 35 percent of the total and half of whom are from Europe and the United States. The expo will showcase latest innovations and more than 100 items are expected to make their debut at the expo, up by 10 percent compared with the previous CISCE. The expo also set up an innovation chain exhibition area for the first time, enabling laboratories to turn their "golden ideas" into "golden keys" that can drive industrial advancement. The venue of this year's CISCE will be completely powered by green electricity for the first time and expected to cut CO2 emissions by over 1,100 tonnes. The CISCE is a major platform for companies from all countries to enhance resource sharing and technology interconnection, and also a new signature event of China's high-standard opening up. Latest data show that China's total import and export of goods for the first half of 2025 exceeded 21 trillion yuan, setting a record high for the same period in history. With unilateralism and protectionism on the rise, China's booming trade has effectively offset the impact of global industrial and supply chains being disrupted and economies decoupling from each other. Looking forward, the trend of deeply integrated global industrial and supply chains and interdependence between companies around the world is unstoppable. China stands ready to continue working with all sides to keep global industrial and supply chains stable and unimpeded and build an open world economy. Asharq News: The Middle East is facing uncertainty regarding to the ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Is China considering playing any role to deescalate tensions or prevent the return to war, especially given that negotiations are yet to be resumed? Lin Jian: You mentioned the situation in the Middle East. This was discussed at the Meeting of the Council of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the SCO Member States. The situation in the Middle East is still complex and sensitive. China stands ready to work with the rest of the international community to advocate peace, advance a political settlement, and restore peace and stability in the Middle East as soon as possible. This is in the common interest of countries in the region and the international community. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China expresses support to Iran in safeguarding sovereignty, dignity as senior diplomats meet Global Times Emphasizing on dialogues a strong impetus for regional stability: expert By Zhang Wanshi Published: Jul 16, 2025 09:25 PM China will continue to support Iran in safeguarding its national sovereignty and dignity, resisting power politics and bullying, defending its legitimate rights and interests through political negotiation, and adhering to the principle of good-neighborliness and friendship to continuously improve and develop relations with its neighboring countries, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday, according to the Xinhua news Agency. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks in North China's Tianjin during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who is in China for the meeting of the council of the ministers of foreign affairs of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member states. As a comprehensive strategic partner, China is willing to work with Iran to deepen mutual trust, strengthen cooperation, expand exchanges and promote the steady and long-term development of China-Iran relations, Wang said. Araghchi thanked China for its invaluable support of Iran while also expressing support for China's role as the rotating president of the SCO and its preparations for the Tianjin Summit, according to Xinhua. Iran is willing to enhance high-level exchanges between the two countries, deepen mutually beneficial cooperation and continue to firmly support each other, he said. China and Iran, as members of the Global South, are also members of BRICS as well as the SCO, said Sun Degang, director of the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Fudan University. He pointed out that Iran is currently in a difficult position as it comes under military pressure from the US and Israel, and China's expression of support at both the strategic and diplomatic levels holds significant importance for Iran. According to a release from the Chinese Foreign Ministry, the ministers also exchanged their views on the Iranian nuclear issue. Araghchi reaffirmed that Iran has absolutely no intention to develop nuclear weapons but will not give up its legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It is willing to resume negotiations and consultations with all parties as soon as possible on the premise of equality and respect to seek a political solution to the Iranian nuclear issue, according to Xinhua. Wang said that China has always opposed the use of force or the threat of force and advocates resolving differences through dialogue and consultation. China highly values Iran's commitment not to develop nuclear weapons, respects Iran's right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy and appreciates Iran's pursuit of peace through diplomatic means. China supports Iran in maintaining the momentum of dialogue with all parties, and is willing to continue to play a constructive role in promoting the settlement of the Iranian nuclear issue and stability in the Middle East region, he noted. According to Reuters, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the UK agreed in a phone call on Monday to set the end of August as the de facto deadline for reaching a nuclear deal with Iran, Axios reported, citing three sources. The report added that if no deal is reached by that deadline, the three European powers plan to trigger the "snapback" mechanism that automatically reimposes all UN Security Council sanctions that were lifted under the 2015 Iran deal. Liu Zhongmin, a professor from the Middle East Studies Institute at Shanghai International Studies University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the US' military attacks combined with current Western pressure have further complicated the Iranian nuclear issue, eroding the foundation for constructive negotiations, and creating a deeply fragile and complex situation. The situation in the Middle East is still complex and sensitive, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said on Wednesday in response to a question regarding the uncertainty of the ceasefire between Iran and Israel. China stands ready to work with the rest of the international community to advocate peace, advance a political settlement and restore peace and stability in the Middle East as soon as possible, Lin said. This is in the common interest of countries in the region and the international community, Lin said. A misguided notion of "peace through strength" has been gaining traction in the Middle East, reflecting a return to the law of the jungle in international politics, a trend China has repeatedly rejected, Sun said. By once again stressing the need to resolve differences through political dialogue and negotiations and firmly opposing the use of force, China has injected a strong impetus into the pursuit of peace and stability in the Middle East, Sun added. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lawmakers: No new talks with the U.S. until all preconditions met IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jul 16, 2025 Tehran, IRNA -- Iranian lawmakers have released a statement saying that no new round of talks with the United States should be held until Iran's preconditions are fully met, asserting that the diplomatic approach of the past is no longer acceptable given recent developments. According to the statement read by Ahmad Naderi, a member of the Parliament's presiding board, during an open session, the lawmakers underlined that the red lines drawn by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei constitute the final word in the country's main strategies and policies. Israel attacked Iran in an unprovoked act of aggression on June 13, assassinating military commanders and nuclear scientists in targeted strikes and killing civilians in air raids on residential areas. The war came amid ongoing talks between Tehran and Washington on Iran's civilian nuclear program. "It is natural that when the United States uses negotiations as a cover for deception and enables the Israeli regime's surprise military assault, it is no longer possible to negotiate as before," the legislators read. "Preconditions must be set, and until they are completely fulfilled, no new talks should take place." The statement strongly criticized the United States, saying President Donald Trump played a duplicitous role by publicly advocating diplomacy while secretly coordinating with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his 12-day war of aggression against Iran. The Lawmakers went on to say that the U.S. provided full intelligence, military, and operational support to the Israeli regime throughout the war and ultimately signed off on an act of aggression by launching a symbolic strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. "America's hostility toward the Iranian nation is not new," the statement added. "Let no one say we are provoking the U.S. It needs no provocation,it is, simply, an enemy." 4354**2050 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran seizes foreign vessel carrying smuggled fuel in the Sea of Oman IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jul 16, 2025 Bandar Abbas, IRNA -- The Islamic Republic of Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker in the Sea of Oman on charges of transporting two million liters of smuggled fuel. The vessel carrying smuggled fuel in the Sea of Oman was impounded after inspectors discovered irregularities in its cargo documentation, said Hormozgan's Chief Justice Mojtaba Ghahremani on Wednesday. The operation was part of maritime surveillance targeting suspicious fuel trafficking activities along Iran's southern naval borders, he said. A judicial case has been filed in the courts of the country's southern port of Jask, with legal proceedings underway. The ship's crew members, including the captain and 16 other personnel, are being held in custody as investigations continue. Officials confirmed that further information on the ship's legal status and the results of forensic tests will be announced once judicial reviews are complete. 7129**9417 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran's Parliament rejects US talks without preconditions, citing deception Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 2:20 PM Iran's Parliament has issued a statement declaring that the country cannot engage in talks with the United States as it did before the recent aggression and that no new negotiations with the United States should take place unless preconditions are met. The statement, citing the 12-day military aggression by the US and Israel, accused Washington of using diplomacy as a "tool of deception" to mask Israeli aggression. The statement said the US was guilty of "a dirty move and major crime" in coordination with European governments and Israel, aiming to fragment Iran and dismantle the Islamic Republic. The lawmakers insisted that any future talks must be contingent on guarantees of non-aggression and full security assurances. "When the United States uses diplomacy as a tool to deceive Iran and to mask the Zionist regime's sudden military aggression, negotiations can no longer proceed as before. Preconditions must be set and no new talks should be held before they're fully met." The statement also reaffirmed the Parliament's suspension of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, citing the agency's complicity in legitimizing attacks on Iranian nuclear scientists and infrastructure. "The aggressor government of the United States and the International Atomic Energy Agency, which legitimized this aggression, must know that until Iran gains full assurance of no further incursions, it will not share any information with spies and aggressors." It praised the Iranian people's spontaneous mobilization and resistance in the face of aggression. "The most important reason for the enemy's defeat at this critical historical juncture was the deep awareness, maximum unity, and timely, enemy-shattering presence of the people, actions that unfolded entirely contrary to the enemy's expectations." The lawmakers highlighted widespread chants of "Death to America" and "Death to Israel" as expressions of national unity and resistance. Parliament clarified that the slogan "Death to America" targets imperialism and oppressive leadership, not the American people, and asserted that this slogan now resonates globally as a symbol of resistance to US hegemony. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ayatollah Khamenei: Israel clung to US for ceasefire with Iran Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 11:02 AM Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says Israel was compelled to "bow down and cling to the United States" in desperation during the recent 12-day aggression against Iran, as it proved incapable of facing the Islamic Republic alone. Speaking at a high-level meeting with Iran's judiciary officials in Tehran Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei said the confrontation revealed not only Iran's military and strategic strength, but also the resilience, awareness, and national unity of the Iranian people. "The great achievement of the people during the 12-day war was their determination, willpower, and national self-confidence, because the very essence of having the spirit and readiness to confront a power like the United States and its chained dog, the Zionist regime, is extremely valuable," he said. Ayatollah Khamenei touched on Iran's transformation from a submissive client under the former Pahlavi regime to an assertive and independent nation. "Back then, even in private, officials didn't dare criticize America. Today, Iran has reached a point where it not only does not fear the United States but also instills fear in it. "This spirit and national will is exactly what makes Iran proud and leads it to achieve its great aspirations," he said. Ayatollah Khamenei stressed that Iran will never enter any arenadiplomatic or militaryas the weaker side, addressing Western leaders who mistakenly believe the recent aggression has given them the opportunity to diplomatically pressure Iran. "We possess all the necessary tools such as reason and military power; therefore, whether on the diplomatic field or the battlefield, whenever we engage, by God's grace, we will enter with full hands," he said. The Leader cited Israel's desperate appeal to the United States for a ceasefire after 12 days of aggression as clear evidence of Iran's strong and decisive response to the Zionist regime. "If the Zionist regime had not bowed down and clung to the ground, and if it were capable of defending itself, it would not have turned to America like that. But it understood that it could not stand against the Islamic Republic." On June 13, Israel launched a blatant and unprovoked act of aggression against Iran, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians. More than a week later, the US entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites. In response, the Iranian Armed Forces targeted strategic sites across the occupied territories as well as the al-Udeid air base in Qatar, the largest American military base in West Asia. On June 24, Iran, through its successful retaliatory operations against both the Israeli regime and the US, managed to impose a halt to the illegal assault. The Leader described Iran's retaliatory strike against the US attack as a highly sensitive one. "The target hit by Iran was an extremely sensitive American center in the region, and once media censorship is lifted, it will become clear what a significant blow Iran delivered. Of course, even greater strikes could be dealt to the US and others if necessary." The Leader stated that the enemy's strategy was to weaken Iran through targeted assassinations and psychological operations, then mobilize internal saboteurs and agitators to trigger unrest, but it was fully defeated by public awareness and nationwide solidarity. "The aggressors' calculation and plan were that by targeting certain individuals and sensitive centers in Iran, the system would be weakened, and thenby activating their sleeper cells made up of mercenaries, from the hypocrites [MKO] and monarchists to thugs and criminalsthey could provoke the people, bring them into the streets, and bring down the Islamic Republic. "In reality, the exact opposite of the enemy's plan occurred, revealing that many of the assumptions held by some individuals in political and related spheres were also incorrect. "God nullified their plot and brought the people into the field in support of the state and the system. Contrary to the enemy's expectations, the people rose to defend and support the Islamic establishmentboth with their lives and their resources." Ayatollah Khamenei called on Iran's Judiciary to vigorously follow up on recent crimes committed against the country, both in domestic and international courts. "The issue of the Judiciary pursuing these recent crimes in legal tribunals, whether domestic or international, is among the most necessary and important tasks," the Leader said. He acknowledged past shortcomings in this regard, noting, "We should have done this in many previous cases, but we failed in the past years. This time, we must not fall short." "If the pursuit of this issue and referral to international and domestic courts takes even twenty years, it does not matter. The criminal must be held accountable." The Leader argued that even if today a court is under the influence of a certain power, one day a judge may emerge who is independent. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address US report details how Iranian missiles cracked Israeli defense systems Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 10:37 AM Iran managed to penetrate Israel's boasted air defense systems during the 12-day war by changing missile launch tactics and identifying "gaps" in Israeli defense through "trial and error", The Wall Street Journal reports. The paper details how Iran has incrementally improved its missile strategies against Israel by analyzing failures and adapting. Using drones, decoys, and hypersonic missiles in coordinated waves, Iran exploited Israel's multi-tiered air defense and exposed its vulnerabilities, particularly under saturation conditions. According to the paper, which quoted air defense missile experts who analyzed images of missile fragments and open-source information during the 12-day aggression, Tehran began launching more sophisticated and longer-range missiles from a "variety" of locations deep within Iran. Iran, the report said, also altered the timing and pattern of the strikes and increased the geographic spread of targets. "As the war progressed, fewer missiles were fired, but more hit their targets," the report added. Iran's most effective missile strikes occurred on June 22 when 10 of 27 launched missiles reached Israel, according to data from the Jewish Institute for National Security of America (JINSA). The data suggest that Iran successfully adapted "how, when and what" it was firing, said Ari Cicurel, associate director of foreign policy at JINSA. The Israeli military declined to comment on JINSA's figures beyond saying it doesn't share specifics on interception rates. An analysis of Israel's public statements indicates that its interception rate declined over the course of the war. During the act of aggression, the Israeli military claimed it was intercepting 90% to 95% of Iran's missiles. After the ceasefire on June 24, the military said it had intercepted 86% overall. Iran also pivoted from firing large overnight barrages to launching smaller waves during daylight hours and from a wider variety of locations, the report said. Tehran further tested Israel's interceptors by changing up its firing patterns, targeting far-apart cities and varying the intervals between strikes, according to the report. As the aggression wore on, a declining number of interceptors and their high cost would also have compelled Israel to conserve resources and only target missiles from Iran that posed the greatest threat, missile experts said. Israel boasts one of the world's most advanced aerial defense systems, notably featuring the Iron Dome, developed through close collaboration with the United States. On June 13, Israel launched an unprovoked act of aggression against Iran, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians. In response, the Iranian Armed Forces, led by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), launched a powerful and unprecedented retaliatory campaign, Operation True Promise III, against the Israeli regime, using many of domestically developed new-generation missiles for the first time. Hundreds of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones overwhelmed Israeli air defenses and struck key military, intelligence, industrial, energy, and R&D facilities across the occupied Palestinian territories. On June 24, the Israeli regime, isolated and abandoned, declared a unilateral halt to its aggression, announced on its behalf by US President Donald Trump. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address President Pezeshkian urges stronger multi-layered protection of national data in cyberspace Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 8:16 AM Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has stressed the need for a fundamental review of the country's physical and multi-layered protection of national data in cyberspace, calling it a critical priority in digital governance. Speaking at a meeting of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace on Tuesday, Pezeshkian underlined the council's vital role in enhancing service quality and addressing pressing security concerns, particularly under what he called the current sensitive conditions. He said a comprehensive evaluation is needed to determine the extent to which outlined goals in the cyberspace sector have been achieved and to identify and resolve obstacles to their implementation. The president also emphasized the importance of addressing existing gaps and strengthening the resilience of national infrastructure. During the session, the National Cyberspace Center's security division presented a detailed report on recent cyber threats and the country's success in repelling them. Pezeshkian instructed the council's secretariat to continuously update protocols and re-engineer cyber defense processes. Iran has been the target of numerous cyberattacks by the United States and Israel, particularly during the latter's 12-day war of aggression against Iran last month. On June 13, Israel launched an unprovoked war against Iran, assassinating many high-ranking military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians. More than a week later, the United States also entered the war by bombing three Iranian nuclear sites in a grave violation of the United Nations Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). At the beginning of the war, the Israeli regime launched multiple coordinated cyberattacks targeting Iran's banking network and state television. In response, the Iranian Armed Forces targeted strategic sites across the occupied territories, including the regime's cyber capital, Beer al-Sabe, considered to be the stronghold of the Israeli regime's cyber industry and a central hub in its global cyber warfare apparatus. According to Israeli media reports, a missile fired by Iran successfully evaded the regime's multi-layered air defense systems. Despite initial detection, the missile intercept systems failed to neutralize the projectile. On June 24, Iran ultimately succeeded in halting the war through its retaliatory operations against the Israeli regime. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran-US Negotiations Should Not Be Held Without Preconditions - Parliament Sputnik News 20250716 TEHRAN (Sputnik) - New negotiations between Iran and the US should not be held until the American side fully implements the preliminary conditions set by Tehran, the Iranian Majlis (parliament) stated on Wednesday. "When the US uses negotiations as a tool to deceive Iran and to cover for sudden military attacks by the Zionist regime, talks cannot continue as before. Preconditions must be set, and no new negotiations can take place until they are fully fulfilled," the Iranian parliament's statement was quoted by the ISNA news agency. On July 10, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the media that Washington needs to acknowledge responsibility for its mistakes and demonstrate a change in behavior before Iran agrees to resume negotiations. He added that it was the US that broke off negotiations and turned to military action. When asked if negotiations with Washington are planned in the coming days, the minister said that diplomatic exchanges were conducted through intermediaries, but the format of discussions might change. Araghchi highlighted that Tehran has the right to demand compensation for damage caused by US attacks. On the night of June 13, Israel launched an operation against Iran, accusing it of implementing a secret military nuclear program. Iran rejected the accusations, responding with its own attacks. For 12 days the parties exchanged strikes. On June 22, the US joined Israel's bombing campaign and struck Iranian nuclear facilities. Tehran retaliated by attacking US air base Al Udeid in Qatar, stating that the Iranian side had no intention of further escalation. US President Donald Trump then expressed hope that Iran had "let off steam" with the strike on the US military base in Qatar, and that a path to peace and harmony in the Middle East was now possible. He also said that Israel and Iran had agreed to a ceasefire. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Condemning Recent Drone Attacks in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region US Department of State Press Statement Tammy Bruce, Department Spokesperson July 16, 2025 The United States strongly condemns the drone attacks that have been targeting oil fields in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region since July 14. These attacks imperil Iraq's stability and economic future. The Government of Iraq has a duty to protect its territory and all of its citizens. These strikes target international companies that are working with Iraq to invest in Iraq's future. The United States remains committed to our partners across Iraq who are working to build a stable, federal, and sovereign state. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israeli air defense commander replaced following Iranian missile strikes: Report Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 11:40 AM The commander of the Israeli army's air defense array has been replaced following recent Iranian missile strikes targeting Israeli-occupied territories. "The [IOF] spokesperson announced that Brigadier General K. has taken up the position of commander of the air defense array, replacing Brig. Gen. G., who served in the role for the past four years," reported Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday. The handover ceremony was held at the Air Defense School, under the leadership of Air Force Commander Major General Tomer Bar. This leadership change comes just one day after the Israel Occupation Forces (IOF) announced seven senior appointments to its General Staff. The appointments, made by Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir and approved by War Minister Israel Katz, are set to take effect in the coming months, according to the military. These reshuffles follow the aftermath of a 12-day US-Israeli war on Iran, characterized by intense missile exchanges. During the unprovoked aggression by the regime, Iran launched successive retaliatory strikes against Israeli-occupied territories. The attacks resulted in widespread destruction, dozens of deaths, and more than 3,000 reported injuries, severely damaging military infrastructure and triggering mass evacuations. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Iran had enhanced its strategic performance during the 12-day war by refining its missile launch techniques and identifying gaps in Israel's air defense systems through trial and error. Missile defense analysts cited by the report examined debris and open-source data, concluding that Tehran launched longer-range and more advanced missiles from a broader geographic range deep inside Iran. By improving timing and dispersing targets, Iran increased the effectiveness of its strikes. "As the war went on, Iran fired fewer missiles, but its success rate rose," the report noted, based on data analyzed by think tanks based in Israel and Washington. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address CPC delegation visits Cambodia on ties Xinhua) 09:37, July 17, 2025 PHNOM PENH, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Chen Zhou, deputy head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, led a CPC delegation to visit Cambodia from Monday to Wednesday at the invitation of the ruling Cambodian People's Party. Chen met with CPP Vice President and Prime Minister Hun Manet, First Vice Chairman of CPP External Relations Commission Suos Yara, Vice Chairman of the Youth House for Cambodia-China Friendship and Inspection Minister Sok Soken, and Funcinpec Party President Prince Norodom Chakravuth, among others. The two sides exchanged views on China-Cambodia relations and issues of common concern, and expressed the need to implement the important consensus reached by the leaders of the two parties and the two countries. Both sides agreed to continuously consolidate political mutual trust, deepen practical cooperation, and promote the construction of an all-weather China-Cambodia community with a shared future in the new era. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson slams Japan's new defense document, warns against Tokyo's resurgence of militarism Global Times By Global Times Published: Jul 16, 2025 01:40 PM In response to Japan's recently released 2025 Defense of Japan pamphlet, which claimed China as an "unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge," falsely accused China of attempting "unilateral changes to the status quo by force," and made inappropriate remarks on the Taiwan question, Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin said on Wednesday that Japan, in an attempt to find excuse for its military expansion, had fabricated false narratives, grossly hyped the "China threat," and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs. China expresses strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition to this and has already lodged solemn representations with Japan. Japanese militarism once inflicted profound suffering on China and other Asian neighbors. Instead of seriously reflecting on its past, Japan is once again showing dangerous tendencies toward military expansion - significantly increasing its defense budget, steadily loosening restrictions on arms exports, forming small military blocs to promote confrontation, and even suggesting revisions to its Three Non-Nuclear Principles. These actions gravely violate Japan's Peace Constitution and its exclusively defense-oriented policy, severely undermine the post-war international order, and pose a serious challenge to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. They have already triggered deep concern and heightened vigilance among neighboring Asian countries and the broader international community, Jiang said. This year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of Taiwan's recovery. The return of Taiwan to China in 1945 is an important part of the fruits of victory in World War II and the post-war international order. We urge Japan to profoundly learn from historical lessons, stop smearing and accusing China, earnestly abide by the spirit of the four China-Japan political documents and its commitments on the Taiwan question, and take concrete actions to promote the sound and stable development of China-Japan relations, the Chinese spokesperson said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Japan-U.S.-ROK Trilateral Vice Foreign Ministerial Meeting Ministry of Foregn Affairs of Japan July 16, 2025 The Japan-U.S.-ROK Trilateral Vice Foreign Ministerial Meeting will be held in Tokyo on July 18, hosted by His Excellency FUNAKOSHI Takehiro, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan. At the Meeting, His Excellency FUNAKOSHI Takehiro, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Honorable Christopher Thomas Landau, Deputy Secretary of State of the United States of America, and His Excellency Park Yoonjoo, 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, will hold strategic discussions including on the direction of the trilateral cooperation, focusing on regional situations and economic security. Furthermore, the Japan-U.S. and Japan-ROK Vice Foreign Ministerial Meetings will be held on the margin of the trilateral meeting. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Chinese defense spokesperson comments on Japan's 2025 defense white paper Ministry of National Defense of the People's Republic of China Source China Military Online EditorLin Congyi 2025-07-16 17:52:19 BEIJING, July 16 -- "Japan, in an attempt to justify its move to loosen the restraints on its military, has been fabricating false narratives, grossly hyping up the "China threat" rhetoric, and blatantly interfering in China's internal affairs. China is strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to such actions, and has lodged solemn representations with the Japanese side," said Senior Colonel Jiang Bin, spokesperson for China's Ministry of National Defense, on Wednesday. According to reports, Japan has recently released the Defense of Japan 2025 white paper, which continues to label China as "an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge", falsely accuses China of making "unilateral changes to the status quo by force," and makes inappropriate remarks on the Taiwan question. In response to that, Chinese defense spokesperson Jiang Bin pointed out that Japanese militarism once inflicted profound suffering on China and other Asian neighbors. Instead of seriously reflecting on its past, Japan is once again showing dangerous tendencies towards military expansion, significantly increasing its defense budget, steadily loosening restrictions on arms exports, forming small military blocs to promote confrontation, and even suggesting revisions to its Three Non-Nuclear Principles. The spokesperson stressed that these actions have gravely violated Japan's pacifist constitution and its exclusively defense-oriented policy, severely undermined the post-war international order, and posed a serious challenge to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. "They have already triggered deep concern and heightened vigilance among neighboring Asian countries and the international community," the spokesperson added. The spokesperson continued that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the recovery of Taiwan. The return of Taiwan to China in 1945 is an important part of the fruits of victory of World War II and the post-war international order. China urges Japan to profoundly learn from historical lessons, stop smearing and accusing China, earnestly abide by the spirit of the four political documents between China and Japan and its commitments on the Taiwan question, and take concrete actions to promote the sound and stable development of China-Japan relations. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Increased Military Spending Can Lead to EU Using Russia's Frozen Assets - Shoigu Sputnik News 20250716 MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The European Union can turn to using the illegally frozen Russian assets in order to pacify the citizens concerned over increased military spending, Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu has said. "An increase in military spending will lead to a significant deterioration in the macroeconomic indicators of the EU countries. Against this background, the already enormous debts of the NATO countries continue to grow. For example, by the end of 2024, Germany's public debt exceeded 2.6 trillion euros [$3 trillion] ... In order to minimize the risks of serious discontent among the citizens of their countries, it is possible that the EU will decide to use the illegally frozen, or to put it bluntly, stolen Russian assets," Shoigu said in an interview with the Kommersant newspaper out on Wednesday. The Europeans discuss the possibility of transferring almost 200 billion euros stored in Euroclear, Brussels-based clearing house, into more risky assets with high returns, Shoigu said. "At the same time, they believe that this method will allow them to avoid accusations of stealing sovereign capital. It is worth noting that in 2024 they 'earned' about 7 billion euros on interest. In the EU, they naively believe that they will get away with embezzlement of funds and this money will remain with them forever. However, the time will come when they will have to answer for every cent they steal," Shoigu said. At the same time, the West has already got used to stealing and exploiting other people's funds, as it has happened with Libya, Syria and Afghanistan, the secretary of the Russian Security Council added. After the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine, the EU and G7 countries froze almost half of Russia's foreign exchange reserves, totaling nearly 300 billion euros. More than 200 billion euros are in the EU, mainly in the accounts of Euroclear. The Russian Foreign Ministry has repeatedly condemned the freezing of Russia's central bank money in Europe as theft. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow could respond by withholding assets held in Russia by Western countries. Since his return to office in January, US President Donald Trump has been pushing the idea of greater military spending by US partners, including the members of NATO. The June 24-25 NATO summit in The Hague raised the target threshold for defense spending by alliance members to 5% of GDP, which countries are expected to reach by 2035. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria: Statement by the Spokesperson European External Action Service (EEAS) 16.07.2025 Strategic Communications The EU is alarmed by the continued clashes in Sweida, which have resulted in many casualties, and strongly condemns the reported violence against civilians. We urge all sides to implement immediately the ceasefire agreement reached yesterday, to protect civilians without distinction, and to put an end to hate speech and sectarian discourse. The transitional authorities have the responsibility to de-escalate and restore calm, to ensure accountability for all crimes and to take forward an inclusive transition. The EU stands ready to assist. In light of Israel's escalating strikes on Syrian territory, we urge all external actors to fully respect Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel steps up attacks on Syria, bombs army HQ in Damascus IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Jul 16, 2025 Israel has carried out new attacks on Syria, targeting the entrance to the military headquarters in the capital, Damascus, news sources reported. Reports say that missiles fired from an Israeli drone also struck the area close to the presidential palace in Damascus on Wednesday. According to an Al Jazeera correspondent, there were two drone attacks on the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defense, one at the entrance and the other at the backside of the building. Israeli minister in charge of military affairs, Israel Katz, has confirmed the attacks, with Israeli media reports calling them a message to Syria's interim leader, Ahmed al-Sharaa, known by his nom de guerre, Abu Mohammad al-Jolani. The strikes came hours after Katz threatened Syria to withdraw its troops from the city of Suwayda, where clashes between regime forces and Druze fighters are ongoing. Israel claims to be intervening to help Syria's Druze minority, whom Tel Aviv views as a potential ally in the crisis-hit Arab country. "We will not leave the Syrian Druze alone and will implement the disarmament policy," Katz was quoted as saying. Israeli sources say the army has deployed two more battalions to the border between the occupied territories and Syria. Fierce fighting resumed in Suwayda earlier on Wednesday, despite the announcement of a ceasefire by the Jolani regime the previous night, with Defense Ministry officials blaming "outlawed groups" for breaking the ceasefire. The ministry also told Al Jazeera that it had opened safe corridors in the city for civilians to flee from the violence, which has so far claimed 70 lives and injured over 200 people. Since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, clashes have occurred regularly between the Syrian Druze and forces affiliated with Jolani, whose militant group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) led an offensive in December 2024 that overthrew the Assad government. The Israeli regime is trying to partition Syria by repeatedly attacking its military capabilities and supporting ethnic minorities in the country. 4399**4353 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address FM Sa'ar holds calls with counterparts regarding the developments in Syria Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs In his calls, FM Sa'ar stressed the recurring phenomenon of massacres and attacks against minorities in Syria both by forces of the Syrian regime and by jihadist gangs that support it. Press Releases Foreign Policy 16.07.2025 Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar today (Wednesday, 16 July 2025) held a series of calls with his counterparts regarding the developments in Syria. FM Sa'ar spoke with European Union High Rep. for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, and Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis. In his calls, FM Sa'ar stressed the recurring phenomenon of massacres and attacks against minorities in Syria: Alawites, Kurds, Druze, and Christians - both by forces of the Syrian regime and by jihadist gangs that support it. Minister Sa'ar also stressed the consistent pattern of exploiting these riots for the regime's interests. The statements about an "independent investigation" of the events are a farce both because regime forces themselves took part in them and because we still remember a similar hollow promise made following the massacres against the Alawites. Minister Sa'ar said in the calls that preventing harm to minorities and respecting their rights were among the conditions set by the European Union itself for lifting sanctions against Syria. Minister Sa'ar also said that continuing harm to minorities would not enable stability to be achieved in Syria, contrary to the interests of Europe itself. Minister Sa'ar emphasized in the talks Israel's interests in stability and preventing the creation of a threat against it in southern Syria, as well as its commitment to preventing harm to the Druze community. The regime in Syria has been given clear messages and it knows exactly how to restore quiet and stability if it so desires. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address FM Sa'ar's statement regarding the situation in Syria Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs FM Sa'ar: "I raise the question: What else needs to happen for the international community to make its voice heard? What else needs to happen? What are we still waiting for?" Press Releases Foreign Policy 16.07.2025 Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Sa'ar's today (Wednesday, 16 July 2025) issued a statement to the media regarding the situation in Syria. Following are excerpts of his remarks (Translated): "Regarding the recent events in Syria: What are we actually seeing here? *We are seeing a recurring phenomenon of persecution of minorities to the point of murder and pogroms in Syria. Sometimes it is the regime's forces. Sometimes it is Jihadist militias (that are the basis of the regime). And usually - it is both. But in the end, let's see what happened in under six months: Initially - mass murders against the Alawites in northwestern Syria, on a very large scale. I was very amused at the time by the Syrian regime's statement that they would establish an independent commission of inquiry to investigate those events. By the way, maybe you heard about it since then - but I have not heard what the conclusions of that "independent" commission were so far. But we see the same things continuing towards all minorities in Syria. Towards the Kurds - there are constant acts of hostility in the northern part of Syria. Yesterday, an ancient church was burned down by militants in the northern province of As-Suweyda. I would like to remind you that just a week ago, there was a very serious attack on another church, carried out by ISIS, also in Syria. And of course, we see this even more strongly in the last two days against the Druze community. There was such a wave (of violence against them) before, two and a half months ago, in the Damascus area, which ended after our actions, both politically and militarily. But now, what is happening in As-Suwayda - you have all seen very difficult images of the murder of civilians, of the humiliation of civilians. And I raise the question: What else needs to happen for the international community to make its voice heard? What else needs to happen? What are we still waiting for? Our interests in Syria are known, limited and clear. First of all - to maintain the status quo in the southern Syrian region, which is also close to our border. And to prevent the development of threats against Israel in this area. The second thing - to prevent harm to the Druze community, with which we have a bold and strong relationship - with the Druze citizens here in Israel. I just want to remind you: This is not a democratically elected regime. Because sometimes, when I am in political meetings, people talk to me about the "transition". This is not an elected regime at all. This is a regime that by force descended from Idlib to the Damascus area, taking advantage of certain conditions, and took control by force. The constitution, of course undemocratic, that it formulated, was rejected by large parts of Syria. As mentioned, we are not going to delve into all these things. I have just defined the interests, the harm to which we cannot, in our opinion, pass over. And I am convinced - even if for a certain period of time it seems otherwise, that if the regime in Damascus does not come to its senses, it will ultimately move away from all the main goals it has set for itself. Primarily: governance and economic prosperity. Therefore, it would be good for it to come to its senses and to restore order." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Iran decries Israeli strikes on Syria as 'predictable' aggression Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 7:10 PM Iran has condemned the latest wave of Israel's aerial and drone strikes on Syria, describing it as a 'predictable' behavior from the "rabid" Israeli regime that knows no bounds in savagery. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi urged the world, including countries in the region, to unite to end the regime's unhinged aggression. "The rabid Israeli regime knows no bounds and only grasps one language. The world, including the region, must unite to end its unhinged aggression," he said in a post on X. The Iranian minister said the country supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria and will always stand with the Syrian people. On Wednesday, the Israeli Occupation Forces launched airstrikes on key military facilities in Damascus and conducted drone raids around Suwayda in southern Syria. Syrian state media reported that at least three people were killed in the Damascus assault, which struck near the Ministry of Defense headquarters and outer palace grounds. The Israeli army claimed it was acting to deter Syrian regime forces, whom it accused of targeting the Druze minority in Suwayda, where clashes with local Bedouin factions have raged since mid-July. Reactions from around the world have poured in after the latest wave of attacks against Syria. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also expressed concern over the escalation and condemned violence against civilians. Russia's Kremlin spokesman called for immediate de-escalation, reminding all parties of their obligations under the UN Charter and warning that any further strikes could undermine ongoing diplomatic initiatives. Lebanon condemned Tel Aviv's strikes as a clear violation of Syria's sovereignty and urged the United Nations to enforce Security Council resolutions protecting member-state borders. Another neighbor, Turkey, pointed out that the attack was an attempt to sabotage Syria's efforts to achieve peace, stability, and security. The Persian Gulf Cooperation Council called the strikes a breach of international laws and norms and an irresponsible escalation. Palestinian resistance group Hamas labeled the regime's actions as organized terrorism and called on international bodies to stop the entity's belligerence, which threatens regional security. Yemen's Ansarullah emphasized that these attacks were part of a scheme to fragment Arab and Islamic nations while reinforcing Israeli hegemony. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Israel bombs HTS regime's military headquarters in Damascus Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 2:07 PM Israel has bombed the military headquarters of the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) regime in the Syrian capital Damascus. The Wednesday airstrike escalates tensions as Tel Aviv has warned the ruling HTS regime in the Arab country to withdraw forces from the southern city of Suwayda. Israeli minister for military affairs Israel Katz said in a statement that the military "struck the entrance of the Syrian regime's military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria." According to reports, two drone attacks hit the premises of the Syrian Ministry of Defenseone in front of the main entrance and another near the rear of the building. Medical sources in Syria said at least one person was killed and 18 others wounded in the attacks. Israel said it struck a "military target" in the area of the presidential palace in Damascus. The military, it said, "continues to strike military targets belonging to the Syrian regime in Damascus." Katz warned Syria's interim regime to withdraw its forces from the southern Druze-majority city of Suwayda, where fierce clashes have erupted in recent days between the Druze community and Bedouins, who are Sunni Muslims. Israel is likely to send more troops to the Syrian border. On Tuesday, Benjamin Netanyahu ordered military units to target any Syrian government troops or weapons entering Suwayda province. He claimed the intervention was meant to protect the Druze community, whom Tel Aviv views as a strategic ally due to their deep ties to those living in the occupied Golan Heights. In his statement, Katz called on Damascus to "leave the Druze in Suwayda alone." "As we have made clear and warned, Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarization policy we have decided on." Syrian forces should withdraw, he said, and threatened that Israel would "raise the level of responses against the regime if the message is not understood." "Israel will not abandon the Druze in Syria and will enforce the demilitarization policy we have decided on." In February, Netanyahu said southern Syria must remain fully demilitarized and warned that his regime would not tolerate any military presence near the Golan Heights. Under the 1974 ceasefire agreement between Israel and Syria, Israeli forces are barred from crossing the so-called Alpha Line into the Area of Separation (AoS) beyond the line. Following the collapse of President Bashar al-Assad's government on December 8, 2024, Netanyahu ordered Israeli forces to push deep into Syrian territory and seize control of several strategic locations. Far-right finance minister Bezalel Smotrich reiterated that Israeli forces would not withdraw from the demilitarized buffer zone, calling their presence "essential for the defense of Golan Heights settlements." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Spanish Government calls for end to violence in Syria Spain - Ministry of Foreign Affairs PRESS STATEMENT 068 16 Jul 25 The Government of Spain expresses its concern over the violence of recent days in southern Syria, and calls for its immediate cessation. These acts cannot go unpunished and accountability and justice for the victims must be ensured. In view of Israel's military actions in Damascus and other parts of the country, the Government urges all parties to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. Spain reiterates its support for a peaceful and inclusive political transition in Syria. NON OFFICIAL TRANSLATION. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Syria: UN chief urges de-escalation as Sweida violence escalates, Israel strikes Damascus 16 July 2025 - Clashes between Bedouin tribal fighters, caretaker government forces and Druze militias stretched into their fourth day in Sweida on Wednesday while Israeli forces struck the Syrian capital, Damascus. News reports estimate that the sectarian violence in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida, south of the capital, has killed more than 200. Israel explained its attacks in the heart of the capital and on pro-government forces in Sweida as a defensive move in support of the Druze community, which has a significant presence within Israel and in the Israeli-occupied Golan. The strikes on the defence ministry in Damascus also hit an area near the presidential palace, according to news reports and Syrian authorities. Pledging to protect the Druze minority but also following up on its threat to attack any Syrian military operations taking place south of the capital, Israel said it would intensify strikes if government forces did not withdraw from the region, according to news reports. Syrians 'robbed' of opportunity for peace "The Secretary-General is alarmed by the continued escalation of violence in Sweida" and "unequivocally condemns all violence against civilians," said UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric on Wednesday. It was the second day in a row that the UN chief has intervened to highlight the increasing civilian toll and "reports of arbitrary killings and acts that fan the flames of sectarian tensions and rob the people of Syria of their opportunity for peace." Mr. Guterres further condemned Israel's "escalatory airstrikes" on Sweida, Daraa and central Damascus, together with "reports of the IDF's redeployment of forces in the Golan," the highly-contested mountainous region along the border of the two countries. The UN also called on Israel to cease any violations of Syria's sovereignty and respect for the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement. The UN chief also reiterated the need to support "a credible, orderly and inclusive political transition in Syria in line with the key principles of Security Council Resolution 2254." Extending his condolences to the people of Syria, the Secretary-General reiterated his call for an immediate de-escalation of violence measures to facilitate humanitarian access. Civilians in peril Mr. Dujarric said UN humanitarians were warning that "the deadly hostilities continue to put civilians at risk, with ongoing reports of significant displacement and damage to critical infrastructure, including water, electricity and telecommunications networks," Mr. Dujarric said. Access to Sweida and the impacted areas remains severely constrained due to insecurity and road closures, and civilians are unable to reach shelters. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria, Adam Abdelmoula, said that the UN and its humanitarian partners plan to assess the needs and provide essential assistance in Sweida as soon as conditions allow. Mr. Dujarric underscored that medical services in Sweida and the neighbouring Daraa Governorate are overstretched and hospitals are almost at capacity. While the World Health Organization (WHO) has dispatched emergency medical supplies to Daraa, deliveries to Sweida have yet to get through due to the fighting. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ministry of National Defense:Minister Koo Visits Southern Region to Commend Disaster Relief Troops, Affirms Swift Response in Safeguarding the Homeland ROC Ministry of National Defense 2025/07/14 Ministry of National Defense Press Release Time: 1645 hours, July 14, 2025 Minister Koo Visits Southern Region to Commend Disaster Relief Troops, Affirms Swift Response in Safeguarding the Homeland Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo traveled to southern Taiwan this afternoon (July 14) to visit ROC Armed Forces personnel participating in post-disaster recovery operations. He presented bonus meal subsidies as a token of appreciation, and expressed sincere gratitude for their immediate response and selfless dedication in protecting local communities. Minister Koo stated that Typhoon Danas recently caused widespread damage in the southern region. In response, the Ministry of National Defense promptly reviewed troop deployments and mobilized forces to assist with disaster relief tasks, including road clearance, debris removal, and the transportation of essential suppliesworking closely with local governments to support recovery efforts. He emphasized that although the ROC Armed Forces are currently conducting the Han Kuang 41 live-fire exercise, they have continued to provide timely and appropriate support to disaster-stricken areas. This demonstrates the military's high level of operational flexibility and swift response capability. The Minister expressed heartfelt thanks to all service members involved in the relief effort for their tireless commitment, and encouraged them to continue working with dedication so that residents can resume normal life as soon as possible. Minister Koo further affirmed that the ROC Armed Forces remain the strongest pillar of support for the people of Taiwan. He called on all personnel to maintain professionalism and efficiency in assisting local governments with reconstruction, underscoring the Armed Forces' critical role in safeguarding both national security and the well-being of the public. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Military conducts in-depth defense drill in Taichung ROC Central News Agency 07/16/2025 09:01 PM Taichung, July 16 (CNA) As part of the ongoing Han Kuang military exercises, the Fifth Theater of Command on Wednesday conducted a deep defense combat drill in Taichung. The exercise simulated luring enemy forces into a predesignated kill zone, and involved the deployment of TOW missile vehicles and tactical short-range unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), according to the Command, which is in charge of defending central Taiwan. Deep defense, also known as In-depth defense, aims to slow down, disrupt, and weaken attacking forces by using multilayered defense rather than relying on a single strong defensive line. The drill took place in the city's Waipu District, simulating a scenario in which enemy reinforcements continue to breach the front line. Defending units used terrain and urban structures for cover to slow and funnel enemy troops into a planned area for annihilation. Strike units then carried out combined arms attacks using personnel and firepower, demonstrating the armed forces' defensive resilience through close coordination among units. According to the military, key elements of the deep defense drill included denial operations, limited-objective attacks within the designated kill zone, and mobility denial along key roads. The drill involved coordination between defending forces and main combat units, consisting of combined arms battalions, leveraging civilian infrastructure such as buildings, factories, and gas stations to bolster whole-of-society defense resilience, in an effort to gradually degrade the enemy's combat capabilities. At the drill site, TOW missile vehicles were rapidly deployed into firing positions and conducted live-fire exercises. Other demonstrations included 120mm mortar fire and tactical short-range UAV operations. After the drill, some local residents passing by offered popsicles to participating troops as a token of gratitude for defending the country. (By Hau Hsueh-ching and Sean Lin) Enditem/AW NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Armed Forces simulate response to airborne assault on Songshan Airport ROC Central News Agency 07/16/2025 01:33 PM Taipei, July 16 (CNA) Taiwan's military conducted a nighttime drill Wednesday simulating a response to a potential Chinese attempt to seize Taipei Songshan Airport. The drill was part of the ongoing Han Kuang military exercises, which are scheduled to conclude Friday. The Third Theater Command, responsible for defending northern Taiwan, simulated a heliborne assault in which troops were airdropped into the airport, according to the Ministry of National Defense's Military News Agency. Air Force, Military Police and Marine Corps personnel engaged the simulated enemy using air defense weapons and other munitions, while additional weapons systems stationed near Songshan Air Base were also deployed, according to the agency. A smokescreen was deployed around the landing site to limit enemy visibility, as Marine Corps personnel simulated firing shoulder-launched FIM-92 Stinger missiles at the airborne threat, the agency said. Defense forces then deployed various armored vehicles, tactical vehicles and artillery, gradually repelling the simulated enemy with firepower, the agency said. (By Sean Lin) Enditem/kb NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address French national strategy report highlights China's threats to Taiwan ROC Central News Agency 07/16/2025 10:52 AM Paris, July 15 (CNA) France's latest national strategic report has highlighted China's repeated military exercises around Taiwan and asserted that Beijing's escalating pressure on Taipei has created unease in the region. The 2025 National Strategic Review released Monday said the growing sophistication and intensity of China's military exercises around Taiwan and its continued pursuit of a fait accompli strategy in the South China Sea reflect Beijing's ambitions to become more assertive in the region. "In 2024 and 2025, repeated Chinese military maneuvers around Taiwan on an unprecedented scale marked a clear acceleration in the strengthening of China's military capabilities," the report said. The unsteadiness of American policy under President Donald Trump has only accentuated the threat, the report suggested. "The regional situation is particularly dangerous and volatile in a context marked by uncertainty over the security guarantees provided by the United States to its Asian allies and partners," the report said. To ensure its ambitions will proceed, the report said, China is exploiting unprecedented hybrid actions such as cyber operations and technological predation, in particular in defense technologies such as quantum, artificial intelligence and space technologies. It has also continued to expand its nuclear arsenal development, according to the report. China is the only permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that has not declared a moratorium on the production of fissile material, the report said. Fissile material can undergo nuclear fission when struck by a neutron of low energy. "Beijing is thus positioning itself to have a thousand nuclear warheads by 2030 and 1,500 by 2035," the report said. "At the same time, China has continued to develop its ballistic capabilities and its strategic signaling mainly toward Taiwan and the United States," the report said, citing the 310 ballistic missiles tested in 2024 and the firing of an intercontinental ballistic missile with a claimed range of 12,000 kilometers in the Pacific Ocean. While the strategic review listed Russia as a main threat to France and Europeans, the report said China is also eyeing French overseas territories, with an emphasis on New Caledonia due to its strategic location and nickel resources. The report also analyzed Taiwan's economic importance, saying strategic dependencies now require France to anticipate global economic risks in any potential conflict, as in the case of Taiwan, which is described as "a key link in the semiconductor supply chain." The report was published at a time when French President Emmanuel Macron has confirmed an additional 6.5 billion euros (US$7.60 billion) in military spending to increase the defense budget to 64 billion euros by 2027, two years ahead of schedule. (By Tseng Ting-hsuan and Frances Huang) Enditem/ls NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan coast guard expels Chinese ships from Dongsha waters ROC Central News Agency 07/16/2025 09:59 PM Taipei, July 16 (CNA) Taiwan's Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said on Wednesday that it dispatched a vessel early that morning to expel two Chinese coast guard ships that had intruded into Taiwan-controlled waters off Dongsha Island in the South China Sea. In a statement, the CGA Dongsha-Nansha Branch said that Chinese coast guard vessel 3105 was detected entering Taiwan's jurisdictional waters around Dongsha Island, about 25 nautical miles south off Dongsha island at 12:50 a.m. Wednesday. Its vessel Hsun Hu No. 8, which was on patrol duty, was dispatched in response. As Hsun Hu No. 8 approached to monitor vessel 3105 at 1:17 a.m., another Chinese coast guard ship, 3103, was detected 22 nautical miles southwest off Dongsha Island. It was also monitored and issued warnings to leave the area, according to the CGA. The two Chinese vessels left the waters at around 11:35 a.m., with the Hsun Hu No. 8 monitoring their movements throughout, the CGA said. The CGA noted that neither Chinese vessel turned on its automatic identification systems for ship tracking, attempting to hide their trails. The administration said it does not rule out the possibility that the vessels were testing Taiwan's maritime deployment and trying to deplete the CGA's law enforcement resources during the ongoing annual Han Kuang military drills. The CGA said Chinese coast guard ships have frequently intruded into waters near Dongsha and Kinmen in recent years, even provoking neighboring countries in the South China Sea and Indo-Pacific region. These actions undermine regional safety and stability and disrupt international cooperation and trust-building mechanisms, it said. The CGA added that it would continue to dispatch large vessels to guard the Dongsha waters and safeguard Taiwan's sovereignty and marine rights. The CGA also called on like-minded countries to unite in defending freedom and democracy, and to help maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region. (By Chang Yi-lien and Wu Kuan-hsien) Enditem/cs NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Taiwan Affairs Office spokesperson slams DPP authorities for posing threats to anti-Japanese war veterans and smearing commemorative events Global Times By Global Times Published: Jul 16, 2025 12:46 PM Responding to media questions on Wednesday regarding the threats posed by the Mainland Affairs Council in the Taiwan region to Kuomintang (KMT) anti-Japanese war veterans invited by the mainland to participate in events marking the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, Chen Binhua, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, slammed the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for not only refusing to commemorate the war but also for intimidating these veterans. The Taiwan region's "defense authorities" warned residents and retired military personnel not to be "lured," and the island's Mainland Affairs Council stated that any participants in such events deemed to "undermine Taiwan's dignity" would have their retirement benefits revoked. Chen emphasized that this year marks the 80th anniversary of both the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the restoration of Taiwan. He described the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression as a just war one in which justice triumphed over evil, light dispelled darkness, and progress overcame reaction. It was also a significant part of the global anti-fascist effort. Chen added that the DPP's portrayal of the commemoration as "united front tactics" and "cognitive warfare" reveals their disgraceful stance one that runs counter to the tide of history and the shared values of human society. The Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression was a just struggle in which all Chinese people, regardless of background, united in defiance of Japanese militarist aggression. More than 80 years ago, under the coordinated efforts by the KMT forces on the frontlines and the CPC-led guerrillas behind enemy lines, a joint strategic resistance was formed against the invaders. "Our invitation to KMT veterans is a gesture of respect for historical facts and a tribute to their sacrifice and contribution in defending the nation," Chen said. He strongly criticized the DPP authorities for not only refusing to commemorate the war but also intimidating these veterans, saying such behavior is "morally reprehensible and disgraceful" and will be "resolutely opposed by the vast majority of Taiwan compatriots." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Mainland slams Lai Ching-te's "transit" plan to U.S. People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 10:06, July 17, 2025 BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Wednesday voiced firm opposition to any form of official interaction between the United States and China's Taiwan region, and denounced Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's attempt to "transit" through the United States under any pretext or in any form. Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a media query on Lai's scheduled visit to Paraguay, Guatemala, and Belize in August, with planned "transit" trips to New York and Dallas. Chen urged the United States to strictly abide by the one-China principle and the provisions of the three China-U.S. joint communiques, to handle Taiwan-related issues with utmost prudence, and to refrain from sending any wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. Chen noted that the one-China principle is a prevailing consensus of the international community and a fundamental norm of international relations. He expressed hope that relevant Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries will recognize the general trend, prudently handle Taiwan-related issues, and join the China-LAC community of friendship and cooperation at an early date. At the press conference, Chen also refuted recent accusations from Taiwan's mainland affairs council, which demanded an explanation over what it claimed was an "attack" by Chinese embassy staff in the Czech Republic on the motorcade of Hsiao Bi-khim, a politician with Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), during her visit to Prague last year. He stressed that the mainland firmly opposes any form of official interaction between China's Taiwan region and countries that have diplomatic ties with China, urging relevant countries to adhere to the one-China principle and not be swayed by "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. "Chinese diplomats always observe the laws and regulations of host countries," Chen said, adding that the so-called "attack" is a complete fabrication. He accused the DPP authorities of once again maliciously exploiting the incident to incite cross-Strait confrontation, warning that "no matter how many times a lie is repeated, it will not become the truth." Chen reiterated that there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. "History cannot be rewritten, and facts cannot be distorted," he said, urging the U.S. side to stop pushing forward negative Taiwan-related bills and sending any wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" separatist forces. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Lai Ching-te's "lectures" full of lies: mainland spokesperson People's Daily Online (Xinhua) 08:58, July 17, 2025 BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan leader Lai Ching-te's so-called "10 lectures on unity" are a patchwork of fallacious "Taiwan independence" rhetoric full of lies, a mainland spokesperson said on Wednesday. Chen Binhua, a spokesperson for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office, made the remarks in response to a question on whether Lai's lectures have crossed the red line and how the mainland intends to respond. Chen pointed out that Lai's "lectures" are filled with lies and deception, hostility and provocation, adding that they have deliberately distorted history in an attempt to incite cross-Strait confrontation. The "lectures" "fully prove that Lai is a thorough destroyer of peace and an out-and-out warmonger," he said. The root cause of the current tension and turbulence in the Taiwan Strait is that the Democratic Progressive Party authorities and Lai stubbornly adhere to "Taiwan independence" and continuously make separatist provocations, Chen said. "Any force or move to split the motherland will be met with a resolute blow from all the Chinese people," he warned. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address "Our fight against FETO will continue with the same determination" Presidency of The Republic of Turkey 15.07.2025 Speaking at a commemoration for the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day, President Erdogan said: "Our fight against FETO will continue with the same pace and same determination. We will take the revenge of the heroes who lost their lives here. The traitors, who betrayed their state, opened fired on their nation and sold their souls for a dollar, will definitely pay the price for all this." President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a speech at a commemoration held at the Golbas Special Operations headquarters for the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day. Drawing attention to the 51 security forces who died a martyr's death at the Golbas Special Operations headquarters on the night of July 15, President Erdogan once again wished Allah's mercy upon them. "I want all, the relatives of our martyrs in particular, to know that the FETO-member traitors, who took our brothers and sisters away from their families and from us with the weapons entrusted to them by our nation, will forever be remembered with hatred and condemnation, no matter what they do. Our martyrs, on the other hand, will always be remembered with gratitude, prayers and grace. We will never forget our debt to our martyrs or ghazis, and will make sure that young generations will always remember it as well," President Erdogan said. Underscoring that although they crushed the traitors first on December 17-25, and later on July 15, they have yet to totally eliminate the FETO virus, President Erdogan added: "Our fight against FETO will continue with the same pace and same determination. We will take the revenge of the heroes who lost their lives here. The traitors, who betrayed their state, opened fired on their nation and sold their souls for a dollar, will definitely pay the price for all this." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address "July 15 is the last example of how strong and invincible we are" Presidency of The Republic of Turkey 15.07.2025 Speaking at a commemoration for the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day, President Erdogan said: "This epic is the victory of brave people, whose roots lie in these lands, against traitors, who have sold their homeland together with their souls. This epic is the last example of how great, vigilant, strong and invincible we are when we as the nation unite together as one." President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a speech a commemoration held at the Grand National Assembly of Turkiye for the July 15 Democracy and National Unity Day. Voicing his pleasure over coming together with the participants of the commemoration under the roof of the Ghazi Parliament, President Erdogan wished Allah's mercy upon all the martyrs who on the night of the July 15 sacrificed their lives and stopped that unscrupulous attack, but never bowed down to the occupiers. "OUR NATION MADE A GLORIOUS HISTORY ON THE NIGHT OF JULY 15" Underscoring that these lands are the lands on which epics that guide history is written, President Erdogan stressed that the Turkish nation, with its profound experience, unique character and strong faith, is a nation that has given hope to the oppressed, and fear to the foes for a thousand years, and said: "This very nation made a glorious history, which will be remembered with pride until the end of the world, on the night of the July 15 with their lives, blood and existence, after Canakkale victory and the national struggle. This epic is the victory of naked hands against tanks, planes and bombs. This epic is the victory of brave people, whose roots lie in these lands, against traitors, who have sold their homeland together with their souls. This epic is the last example of how great, vigilant, strong and invincible we are when we as the nation unite together as one." "THE TERROR-FREE TURKIYE WILL UNLOCK THE PROCESS TOWARDS A TERROR-FREE REGION" Drawing attention to the efforts aimed at a terror-free Turkiye, President Erdogan noted that as Turkiye frees itself from the 50-year-long shackles of terror, a brand-new period will begin in economy, defense, development, security as well as domestic and foreign policy, and added: "The terror-free Turkiye will unlock the process towards a terror-free region, and the construction of the Century of Turkiye will speed up. Turkiye will inshallah take its rightful place as a new dynamo in this multipolar world. We have no doubt about it because we believe in our nation, we believe in our eternal brotherhood, we believe in to the end our democracy's capacity to solve problems." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Temporary protection for Ukrainians displaced by war to continue until 4 March 2027 Finnish Government Ministry of the Interior Publication date 16.7.2025 10.13 Type:Press release Temporary protection for Ukrainians displaced by the war will be extended. The EU Foreign Affairs Council decided on 15 July 2025 to extend temporary protection until 4 March 2027. Granting temporary protection makes it possible to provide protection to a limited group of people through a swift process that is lighter than the asylum procedure. Temporary protection is based on the EU Temporary Protection Directive, which was activated for the first time on 4 March 2022 in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The EU Member States are committed to providing temporary protection to Ukrainians for as long as there is a need for protection. Developments in Ukraine difficult to predict The situation in Ukraine remains unstable and difficult to predict. Currently, there are about 4.3 million Ukrainians receiving temporary protection in the EU. The movement of Ukrainians to the EU has continued, although the numbers are decreasing. In Finland, Ukrainians have submitted a total of about 84,000 applications for temporary protection. It is estimated that there are currently around 46,000 Ukrainian beneficiaries of temporary protection in the country. Others are believed to have returned to Ukraine or moved elsewhere in the EU. The Finnish Immigration Service's foresight network estimated in June 2025 that the number of applicants for temporary protection arriving in Finland will total around 8,000-12,000 this year. The key factors affecting the number of applicants include possible changes in Ukraine's military situation, the US policy on Ukraine and Russia, the West's support for Ukraine, the economic and humanitarian situation in Ukraine, the state of infrastructure and opportunities for education and employment. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Parliament supports increased defence funding in first reading Ukraine Government Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, posted 16 July 2025 13:14 Today, 16 July, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On the State Budget of Ukraine for 2025" in its first reading, aimed at ensuring financial support for the security and defence sector and addressing urgent priorities. Bill 13439-3 replicates all provisions of the Government's draft (reg. No. 13439) prepared by the Ministry of Finance, with some technical and editorial clarifications and additions. The amendments provide for an increase in security and defence spending by UAH 412.4 billion, of which nearly UAH 402 billion is allocated from the general fund. These funds are designated for: Ministry of Defence - UAH 311 billion Ministry of Internal Affairs - UAH 84 billion Main Directorate of Intelligence (MoD) - UAH 4.5 billion Security Service of Ukraine - UAH 1.6 billion Administration of State Guard - UAH 505 million State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection - UAH 64.5 million UAH 10.8 billion for the security and defence sector from the special fund An additional UAH 26 billion (+UAH 8 billion compared to the government's draft) is allocated to the reserve fund for unforeseen and urgent expenditures. To address other pressing needs, an additional UAH 15.5 billion is allocated (for the Ministry of Digital Transformation, Ministry of Education and Science, and Ministry of Health). The total expenditure in the proposed amendments to the 2025 state budget amounts to UAH 457 billion. The additional expenditures will be financed through: 1. Increased state budget revenues, including UAH 155.5 billion from exceeding planned targets: Personal income tax - UAH 56 billion Corporate profit tax - UAH 32 billion (+UAH 8 billion compared to the Government's draft) Funds transferred by the National Bank of Ukraine - UAH 20.3 billion Share of net profit and dividends - UAH 15 billion Excise tax on tobacco products imported into Ukraine - UAH 9 billion Mandatory state pension insurance contributions from specific economic operations - UAH 4.1 billion Administrative fines for road safety violations - UAH 2.7 billion Other revenues - UAH 16.3 billion 2. Increased issuance of domestic government bonds by UAH 185 billion. 3. Reduction of domestic state debt repayment by UAH 65 billion. 4. Reduction of certain state budget expenditures by UAH 51.5 billion. The need to amend the 2025 state budget is driven by the necessity to provide the Defence Forces with additional weapons, ammunition, and military equipment. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Trump warns Zelensky against hitting Moscow; pledges to arm him with missiles that can: Reports Iran Press TV Wednesday, 16 July 2025 2:03 AM US President Donald Trump has reportedly urged Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky not to strike Moscow yet pledged to supply Kiev with long-range American missiles said to be capable of flying as far as the Russian capital. According to various reports, including one published by Britain's The Sun newspaper on Tuesday, Trump pressed Zelensky during a phone call earlier this month with pointed questions, asking, "Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? Can you hit St Petersburg too?" Zelensky reportedly affirmed, "Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons." Yet, Trump later said that, despite reports about his inquiry, he has explicitly warned Zelensky not to contemplate attacking Moscow if he truly sought an end to the conflict in Ukraine. Trump's press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, tried to defend the president, framing the exchange as a probing dialogue rather than an endorsement of escalation. She insisted that the officials were "merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing." Nevertheless, Trump has, at the same time, also pledged to supply Kiev with "top of the line weapons." The anticipated arsenal reportedly includes America's joint air-to-surface standoff cruise missiles (JASSM) and Patriot surface-to-air missile systems - technology that is said to have the potential to strike targets over 400 miles away, encompassing Moscow and other major Russian cities. Military experts have highlighted the significance of this development, suggesting that the United States has been trying to force its own hand in favor of its ally in yet another global conflict. Cited by The Sun, Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a British Army commander, suggested that Washington had issued the pledge to provide Kiev with the equipment as a means of trying to leave profound "psychological and physical effects" on Moscow. Similarly, former intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram emphasized how these weapons could be sent to try to disrupt Russian missile and drone launchpads. Trump has additionally claimed he was "very unhappy" with Russia and vowed to impose 100-percent tariffs on Moscow if President Vladimir Putin refused to negotiate within a specified timeframe. He has alleged a desire to "stop the killing of thousands of people a week," sidestepping Washington's own unstinting military support for Kiev, including the weapons listed as part of the latest pledge. Observers have, meanwhile, warned that shipment of cutting-edge US missile technology threatened to shifts the military dynamics on the ground, thus risking further violence. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukrainian Soldiers Predict Russia May Bypass A Ruined Pokrovsk By Current Time July 16, 2025 Russia's efforts to take control of the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, a key logistics hub in the Donetsk region, may be shifting, according to a frontline soldier defending the area. A drone unit sergeant of the 155th Brigade, "Dzhokhar" told RFE/RL's Current Time that invaders are unlikely to relish the prospect of urban warfare amid the vast ruins of Pokrovsk. A once-buzzing city of 60,000, the municipality has few features left that would be recognizable from its life before Russia's war on Ukraine. "The Shevchenkivskiy district is completely destroyed, the railway station neighborhood, too," said "Dzhokhar. "All the nine-story buildings have collapsed. The height gets in their way, so they level them." Speaking on a phone recording he shared with Current Time, he was blunt in his survey of the city: "Everything is f***ing destroyed." Ukrainian soldiers and civilians here have seen massively escalating air attacks from Russia that seem to hit the city indiscriminately. Officially, Russia maintains it does not target non-military objectives. Meanwhile, drone attacks numbering in the hundreds each night have become commonplace. So much so that "Dzhokhar" said he's not troubled by these often-fatal assaults. Instead, he explained, "The scariest thing is when the guided bombs come." Nor is his unit too concerned about the small bands of Russian soldiers who sometimes manage to get across the Ukrainian front line. "Worrying about breakthroughs? Nah. If they break through somewhere, they'll either get hit by our FPV drones or step on our mines." Recently, "Dzhokhar" has sensed that a change in tactics may be in the air, he said. "They're bypassing Pokrovsk. They may not need to enter the city." As Current Time correspondent Borys Sachalko put it, "The Russian Army is trying to outflank Pokrovsk and has seen some success on the northern flank. This progress is evident in Dobropillya, a fairly large town near Pokrovsk. It's seen missile strikes, but recently Russian kamikaze drones have begun to appear here." On two days in July, an estimated 100 Russian drones hit Dobropillya, Sachalko said, explaining that it lies on a vital supply route to Pokrovsk. Ukrainian artillery crews near the city have been kept busy by the constant threats of Russian assaults, both in the air and on the ground. Individuals are often followed and attacked by Russian drones, soldiers say. And drone teams like that of "Dzhokhar" are at the top of the attackers' hit lists. First-person view, or FPV drones, also known as kamikaze drones, offer pinpoint accuracy with the aid of live video feeds. They also allow pilots to get a bird's-eye view of enemy units on the move - and often those in hiding. The constant pressure in the Donetsk region has forced Ukraine to spread its troops out over large areas, they say, as each side seeks to establish an advantage while the fighting weather remains ideal. Meanwhile, months of efforts by the White House to get Russia to agree to cease-fire terms have made little progress, despite increasingly heavy losses. A win in or around Pokrovsk would bring Russian forces closer to control of the Donetsk region. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/33475058.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Ukraine Leadership Reshuffle Seen Strengthening Trump Administration Ties By Todd Prince July 16, 2025 WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A reshuffling of Ukraine's government and diplomatic corps could improve communication with the United States just as President Donald Trump appears to be pivoting toward the embattled country in its more than three-year war with Russia. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on July 14 announced that 39-year-old Yulia Svyrydenko, the economy minister and first deputy prime minister who led talks with the United States on a critical minerals deal, would replace Denys Shmyhal as prime minister. Meanwhile, outgoing Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, 43, has been tapped to be the country's next ambassador to Washington, another sign of Zelenskyy's push to boost the flow of communication with the White House. The departures of Shmyhal, Ukraine's longest-serving prime minister, and of Ambassador Oksana Markarova had been anticipated. Markarova, a financier and respected diplomat, had angered Trump and members of his Republican Party after she took part in organizing Zelenskyy's visit to an arms plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania just two months before the US presidential election in November 2024. Zelenskyy was accompanied by Democratic lawmakers to the plant, which is located in the hometown of then-incumbent President Joe Biden. Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican-Louisiana) had called for Ukraine to fire Markarova, accusing her of interfering in the election. Pennsylvania was a crucial swing state in the election, in which Trump defeated Democratic candidate Kamala Harris. That was one of a series of events going back to 2019, including an impeachment trial triggered by a phone call with Zelenskyy in July of that year, that had soured Trump on Ukraine. Trump discussed Markarova's departure with Zelenskyy during their most recent phone conversation, on July 4. "In terms of relations with the US, the replacement of the ambassador is the most important thing. She was associated with the arrangement of the visit to the arms factory" and a lightning rod for Trump supporters, Mikhail Alexseev, a political scientist at San Diego State University, told RFE/RL. Markarova's dismissal comes six months into Trump's term. Alexseev said replacing Markarova soon after Trump's victory in the election would have made for bad optics. Markarova's term in Washington would likely have come to an end soon regardless of the arms plant visit. She had been ambassador for more than four years, and no Ukrainian ambassador to the United States has served more than five years. Minerals Deal Svyrydenko, an economist appointed as economic development and trade minister and first deputy prime minister in 2021, played a lead role in negotiations with the United States over a deal granting US companies access to Ukraine's valuable minerals and rare earths. Trump made the deal a cornerstone of his policy toward Ukraine, saying the United States needed to be reimbursed for its aid to the country, which has totaled about $175 billion since the Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Svyrydenko flew to Washington in April to sign an agreement with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that sets up the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Under the agreement, the United States has the right to share in the profits from new Ukrainian minerals and energy projects. Trump touted the agreement as ensuring US interests in Ukraine's defense and reconstruction. Svyrydenko returned to Washington last month as part of a high-level delegation to discuss defense needs and reconstruction. She reportedly presented some mineral projects that would fall under the deal. As prime minister, she will oversee the process. "For the Americans, Svyrydenko is someone that they can work with. Bessent knows her now, as do others in the administration," Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Kyiv, told RFE/RL. The United States and Ukraine negotiated for months on the minerals deal. Hunder said Svyrydenko has shown herself to be a good communicator and her experience hammering out the minerals deal sets her up well for one of her main tasks: working with the United States. Her appointment comes just as Trump appears to be pivoting toward Ukraine as he seeks to end the biggest war in Europe since World War II. Trump this week announced he would be selling weapons to NATO for further transfer to Ukraine -- his biggest show of support for the country since taking office in January -- following failed peace talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Supporting Flow Of Military Aid As ambassador to Washington, Umerov's task would be to convince the Trump administration to continue supporting Ukraine through arms sales, aid, and investment in the defense industry. A successful businessmen who moved into politics, Umerov was appointed defense minister in September 2023. "Ukraine's military needs are going to be among the main talking points between the US government and Ukraine. So having someone in Washington that can speak in depth on those issues is going to be very helpful," said Nick Piazza, a US investment banker active in Ukraine for the past quarter century and whose foundation advocates for the country. Alexseev said that Umerov, as a former businessman, will also understand Trump's transactional approach to diplomacy. Umerov must formally be approved by the Trump administration before he can take up his post as ambassador. Umerov headed the Ukrainian delegation that held two rounds of peace talks with Russia in Istanbul on May 16 and June 2. The two sides agreed to prisoner swaps but made no apparent progress toward ending the war. Shmyhal is set to become defense minister in the reshuffle. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-leadership-reshuffle- ties-trump-administration/33475766.html Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Russian Forces Take Control of Novokhatskoye Settlement in DPR Sputnik News 20250716 The Russian armed forces have taken control of the settlement of Novokhatskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. "Units of the Vostok Battelgroup, as a result of successful offensive actions, liberated the settlement of Novokhatskoye in the Donetsk People's Republic," the ministry said in a statement. Russia's Tsentr Battelgroup has eliminated up to 425 Ukrainian soldiers over the past 24 hours, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. "The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces amounted to up to 425 servicepeople, two combat armored vehicles, three cars and three artillery pieces," the ministry said in a statement. The Zapad Battelgroup has eliminated more than 220 Ukrainian soldiers and the Vostok Battelgroup has eliminated up to 200 Ukrainian troops, the ministry said. "The Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 aircraft," the statement read. Additionally, the Russian armed forces struck Ukrainian fuel and energy complex enterprises used in the interests of the Ukrainian armed forces, destroyed two launchers and a control cabin of the S-300PS air defense missile system, the ministry said. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Kremlin Calls on All Parties to Put Pressure on Ukraine to Continue Talks With Russia Sputnik News 20250716 Moscow is calling on all parties to put pressure on Ukraine so that a new round of negotiations with Russia can take place, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday. On Tuesday, Peskov said that Russia remains ready for a third round of negotiations with Ukraine, but proposals for a meeting have not yet been received from Kiev. "We call on everyone to do this. In this case, the main ones are the mediation efforts of the United States President [Donald] Trump and his team. Many statements have been made, many words about disappointment. Of course, we want to hope that in parallel with this, pressure is being exerted on the Ukrainian side [to continue negotiations," Peskov told reporters. The US scheme for arms supplies to Ukraine is business, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added. "This is business. There were deliveries before. No one stopped them. It is just a question of who pays for them," Peskov told reporters when asked to assess US President Donald Trump's decision to sell weapons to Europe so that they can supply them to Ukraine. Europe has declared its readiness to spend untold amounts of money on weapons purchases to keep the conflict going, the official said. "But, as far as the discussion is concerned, as far as we understand, there were statements by president Trump that in America's plan, there is no talk of such deliveries [of long-range missiles to Ukraine]," Peskov said, adding that Moscow is carefully monitoring all statements on the supply of Western weapons to Ukraine, as the topic is high on the agenda. There are still "remains of common sense" in Germany regarding the supply of Taurus missiles to Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed. "There have been contradictory statements from Germany, although regarding the notorious Tauruses, it seems that some, let's say, remains of common sense are making themselves known and for now they are saying that Tauruses are not being supplied," Peskov told reporters. A telephone conversation between Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump is not planned in the near future, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized. "No, not yet. But it could be organized very quickly," Peskov told reporters. Europe is showing a completely extremely militaristic attitude, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday, commenting on supplies of Western weapons to Ukraine. "So far we see that the Europeans are displaying a completely rabid militaristic attitude and declaring their intention to spend countless amounts of money on purchasing weapons in order to further provoke a continuation of the war," Peskov told reporters. Europe will have its own disagreements over who will pay for arms supplies to Ukraine, the official added. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address France Not Planning to Partake in Initiative to Purchase US Weapons for Ukraine Sputnik News 20250716 France has no intention of participating in an initiative to purchase US weapons for Ukraine amid its desire to develop its own weapons production, US media reported. France was not mentioned when NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte listed countries ready to take part in the initiative to purchase US weapons for Ukraine at a meeting with US President Donald Trump, Politico reported, adding that French President Emmanuel Macron has long been calling on Europeans to develop their own defense industry by purchasing weapons from local manufacturers. Earlier US President Donald Trump said that Patriot missiles are already being shipped to Ukraine, they will be supplied from Germany, which will then replace them itself. "They are already being shipped. They are coming in from Germany and then replaced by Germany, and in all cases, the United States gets paid back in full," Trump told reporters. Russia has repeatedly stressed that the long-range weapons supplied by the West are being used by Ukrainian forces to target civilians on Russian territory and disrupt peace efforts. Allowing Ukraine to use these weapons would fundamentally change the nature of the conflict, as Russian President Putin has previously stated. "We will make the necessary decisions based on the threats we face," he said. "The key question is whether to consider NATO countries as directly involved in the military conflict," the president added. Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UK reaffirms unwavering support for Ukraine and welcomes vital US contribution: UK Statement to the OSCE UK Military Advisor, Lt Col Joby Rimmer, says the UK, alongside the US and international partners, remains committed to providing the economic, diplomatic, and military tools Ukraine needs to defend itself. From: Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and Lt Col Joby Rimmer, UK Military Advisor Published 16 July 2025 Location: Vienna Delivered on: 16 July 2025 (Transcript of the speech, exactly as it was delivered) Madame Chair, the United Kingdom reaffirms its unwavering support for Ukraine as it continues to defend its people and sovereignty against the Russian government's escalating campaign of aggression. We remain resolute in our commitment to ensuring Ukraine has the tools and support it needs to prevail - diplomatically, economically, and militarily. The urgency of this support was underscored by the most recent Russian attacks. On the night of 11-12 July, Russia launched 597 drones and 26 cruise missiles across Ukraine in a 10-hour assault. The attacks killed at least two civilians and injured over 20 others, with damage reported from Kharkiv to Lviv. Just days earlier, Kyiv endured a combined drone, ballistic, and cruise missile strike that damaged six districts and left multiple civilians injured. These attacks mark a grim trend. Eight of the largest attacks of the war have been launched by Russia in the last two months. Russia launched ten times more missile and drone strikes in June 2025 than in June 2024. The impact on civilians has been appalling. According to the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU), June 2025 saw the highest civilian toll since the war began, with 232 killed and 1,343 injured, driven by a surge in long-range missile and drone strikes reaching far beyond the front lines. From December to May, the UN estimates that civilian casualties increased by 37% from the same period the previous year. Even more horrific is the alleged use of drones armed with enhanced warheads containing up to 90kg of metal shrapnel, designed to maximise civilian casualties. As President Zelenskiiy's aide Andrii Yermak warned, the alleged use of these shrapnel-packed warheads marks an appalling new chapter in the war. The growing frequency and intensity of these attacks underscore the urgent need for enhanced air defence support for Ukraine. We welcome President Trump's decision to enable NATO Allies to purchase US military equipment vital for Ukraine to defend itself and protect civilians, including Patriot systems. The UK is pleased to be co-chairing, with Germany, a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group meeting next week, to ensure that Ukraine gets the military support it needs to defend itself against Russia's brutal attacks. Finally, on 10 July, the United Kingdom was proud to co-chair the fourth meeting of the 'Coalition of the Willing' alongside President Macron, bringing together representatives from 38 countries, including over 30 heads of state and government. This gathering was a powerful demonstration of unity and a clear signal to Moscow that our support for Ukraine is enduring, coordinated, and intensifying. We welcome the presence of a US delegation at the meeting for the first time, and President Trump's announcement that the US will impose sanctions if a peace deal is not reached in 50 days. We call upon the Russian Federation to abandon their maximalist objectives in Ukraine, agree to a full and unconditional ceasefire as Ukraine did five months ago, and engage in meaningful peace talks. Together with our partners we will continue to ratchet up the pressure on Russia until a just and lasting peace is reached. The UK will continue to stand firm with our Allies and Partners, to ensure Ukraine's defence, uphold international law and secure a future of peace and stability in Europe - principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act, including the inviolability of frontiers, territorial integrity of states, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Thank you, Madame Chair. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address We Must Reach The Level Of 50% Ukrainian-Made Weapons Within The First Six Months Of The New Government's Work - Address by the President President of Ukraine 16 July 2025 - 20:02 Dear Ukrainians, Rescue operations are currently underway in Dobropillia, Donetsk region, after a Russian bomb struck right in the city, hitting a local store and ordinary market stalls. At this moment, the number of victims caused by this strike is not yet confirmed. So far, we know that eleven people have been injured and two killed. My condolences to their families. All services are involved and doing everything they can to save as many people as possible. This is just horrendous, dumb Russian terror. There is no military logic behind their strikes, simply an attempt to kill as many as possible. The present-day Russia is all about vile strikes like this. We will respond. We will work with our partners to force Russia to end this war. And we must also increase our own strength to achieve that. This is exactly what we are focused on now. Today, the legal procedures to reshuffle the Government have already begun - Members of Parliament supported the resignation of the Prime Minister. This morning, we held a highly focused meeting with Denys Shmyhal, specifically on defense matters, also joined by Rustem Umerov and Herman Smetanin. We agreed on new approaches to managing the defense sector. The Ministry of Defense will have greater influence over weapons production, and there must be more Ukrainian-made weapons - more of them in the hands of our warriors on the frontline. In addition, the Ministry of Defense will conduct an audit of all agreements with our partners - this includes supplies under aid programs, as well as investment in our Ukrainian weapons production, and all our joint projects. We are speeding up all processes to the fullest extent. Today, I have already signed and submitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine the documents proposing Denys Shmyhal as the new Minister of Defense. Strategic industrial sectors will also be managed through the Ministry of Defense. Herman Smetanin will head Ukroboronprom. The task is very specific and clear. Currently, Ukrainian weapons account for nearly 40% of those used on the frontline and in all our operations. This is already significantly more of Ukraine's own weapons production than at any point since our independence. The volumes are indeed substantial. But we need even more. And what we need is greater capacity to push the war back onto Russia's territory - back to where the war was brought from. So that they feel what they've done, and what the cost is of Putin's refusal to implement a ceasefire and pursue real peace. We must reach the level of 50% Ukrainian-made weapons within the first six months of the new Government's work by expanding our domestic production. I am confident this can be achieved, though not easily. Overall, I want to now thank Denys Shmyhal and the entire team of the Government of Ukraine. A great deal has been endured. The experience gained is immense. Denys, as Head of the Government, first withstood all the challenges of the COVID crisis, and then the impact of the full-scale war. The Government maintained full control of state institutions. The frontline is being supplied. Social payments have been and remain fully secured. The country's logistics are functioning. We have made it through three extremely difficult winters during the full-scale war. Ukraine has obtained EU candidate status, and accession negotiations have been opened. Now, at a time when we must focus all state resources on defense tasks, and given the new dynamics in our relations with the United States and other partners - in the new government setup, everyone's expertise must be used to the fullest. Denys understands all the challenges of the defense sector. Rustem Umerov will assist, in particular on the international track, with all agreements and the necessary coordination. I expect the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine to support other personnel steps as well. Tomorrow, the respective priorities will be presented. We are also preparing changes in some diplomatic areas, at Ukrainian embassies. There were many meetings and many consultations today - personnel-related and preparatory ones, many of them, for both this week and the next one as well. Important decisions are coming - in domestic policy, and of course in the defense sector - including on our air defense. Also today, a report was delivered on Ukraine's new sanctions decisions - we are not losing a single day in applying pressure on Russia for the war, and on all individuals who, in one way or another, support Russia or justify its aggression. New sanctions are coming soon. I thank everyone standing with us, I thank everyone standing with Ukraine! I thank the entire team of our state! Glory to Ukraine! NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address SSU exposes another three FSB informants who helped russia plan offensive in Donetsk oblast Security Service of Ukraine 12:00, 16 July 2025 In Donetsk region, the SSU Counterintelligence has dismantled another agent network of russia's federal security service. The perpetrators were spying on the defensive lines of Ukrainian troops in the frontline areas. The enemy was most interested in the geolocations of the strongholds and combat positions of Ukrainian artillery, which fires at russian assault groups on Kramatorsk direction. The russian special service also tried to gather intelligence on alternative routes for Ukrainian armoured vehicles moving towards the front line. The occupiers planned to use the information from the agents to prepare new attempts to break through Ukrainian defenses on the eastern front. The SSU uncovered the agent network at an early stage and detained all three of its members. Simultaneously, action was taken to protect the locations of the Defense Forces. The investigation established that the traitors acted independently of each other and had several FSB handlers. Two of the assets were unemployed residents of Kostiantynivka who were spying on the AFU defense lines on the outskirts of the city. They also attempted to track the logistics routes for the supply of ammunition and the movement of Ukrainian troops to the front line. Another enemy agent is a 45-year-old resident of Sloviansk. He tracked the locations of fortified areas and military depots near the frontline city. To collect data, the perpetrators walked in the target areas, photographed and marked the positions of the Defense Forces on Google Maps, and then reported to their handlers. SSU investigators have notified the detained individuals of suspicion under two Articles of the CCU: 111.2 (high treason, committed under martial law); 114-2.2, 114-2.3 (unauthorized dissemination of information on movement or location of the Armed Forces of Ukraine or other lawful military formations, committed under martial law). The suspects are in custody and face life imprisonment with confiscation of property. The operation was carried out by the SSU Office in Donetsk and Luhansk regions under the procedural supervision of Donetsk Region Prosecutor's Office. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address London, UK,, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In todays rapidly evolving cryptocurrency market, no investor should be restricted to a single path. Each individual deserves the freedom to explore and select the projects that best align with their financial goals and long-term vision. For those looking to tap into the potential of cryptocurrency mining, SWL Miner offers a unique opportunity. With a world-class support team and a user-friendly platform, SWL Miner provides a seamless way to earn passive income through cloud mining. Why SWL Miner? SWL Miner has established itself as a trusted leader in cloud mining by focusing on sustainability, security, and an unparalleled user experience. The platform uses renewable energy to reduce operating costs, ultimately boosting the returns for users. With SWL Miner, cryptocurrency holders can convert their digital assets into a reliable and consistent source of passive income. Key Features and Advantages of SWL Miner Proven Credibility Founded on June 13, 2017, SWL Miner has been backed by an initial registered capital of 1 million. This longevity and solid financial foundation make SWL Miner a trustworthy platform in the ever-changing landscape of cryptocurrency mining. Cutting-Edge Equipment To ensure the most efficient mining process, SWL Miner partners with top manufacturers. This guarantees reliable operations and high production capacity, which directly translates into increased mining returns for users. Legally Compliant & Global Reach The platform has already gained over 3.6 million members worldwide, who benefit from its advanced technology and secure operations. User-Friendly Interface Whether you're a newcomer or an experienced miner, SWL Miners interface is intuitive and easy to navigate. You dont need to be a tech expert to start mining; the platform is designed with simplicity in mind, allowing anyone to begin their journey with ease. Diverse Cryptocurrency Support SWL Miner supports a wide variety of popular cryptocurrencies for settlement, including DOGE, BTC, ETH, USDC, USDT, BCH, LTC, XRP, SOL, and more. This gives users the flexibility to mine and withdraw in the cryptocurrency of their choice. Consistent, Stable Income Once you activate a mining contract, SWL Miner generates passive income on a daily basis, which is automatically credited to your account. Withdrawals can be made at any time, ensuring you have full control over your earnings. Round-the-Clock Support SWL Miners dedicated IT team and 24/7 customer service ensure that users can quickly resolve any issues or questions they may have, making it easier than ever to enjoy a hassle-free mining experience. Getting Started: Simple Steps to Begin Your Mining Journey Step 1: Register and Claim Your Bonus To get started, simply click Register Now and enjoy a $15 registration bonus. Additionally, for every $15 worth of contracts you purchase, youll earn a $0.60 bonus daily. Step 2: Select a Contract That Fits Your Goals Once registered, you can choose from a range of mining contracts tailored to different investment goals and budgets. Whether you're a novice or a seasoned pro, youll find a contract that suits your needs. Be sure to consider the contract duration, potential income, and handling fees to make the best decision for your investment. Step 3: Start Earning with Automation After you select and activate a contract, the platforms automated system will do the work for you. SWL Miner employs AI technology to optimize the mining process, maximizing your returns and allowing you to start generating profits with minimal effort. Example Profit Scenario Imagine you invest $10,000 in a contract with a $155 daily profit. After 40 days, your total profit would be $6,200 (your original $10,000 investment + $6,200 profit = $16,200 total). To see a full list of available contracts with stable income options, check out the official website. Looking Ahead: The Future of Cryptocurrency and Finance The rise of blockchain technology, smart contracts, and digital currencies is reshaping the global financial system, and SWL Miner is leading the charge. Early adopters are already capitalizing on these innovations, positioning themselves to benefit from the growth of digital finance. The future of finance is no longer reserved for the wealthy elite; it's now accessible to anyone willing to embrace new opportunities and take control of their financial future. Cryptocurrency holds incredible potential, and cloud mining with SWL Miner is one of the safest, most profitable ways to unlock that potential. Smart investors are no longer waiting for trends to shifttheyre taking proactive steps to secure their financial independence by earning daily passive income through SWL Miner. Start Your Mining Journey Today Ready to join the cryptocurrency revolution? SWL Miner is your gateway to earning passive income and becoming part of a global movement. Visit the official website at https://kloudminer.com to learn more about our mining plans and start your journey today. Contact Us Email: info@swlminer.com Official Website: https://kloudminer.com Download the App: Download Now Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release does not constitute an investment solicitation, nor does it constitute investment advice, financial advice, or a trading recommendation. Cryptocurrency mining and staking involve risks and may result in the loss of funds. It is strongly recommended that you perform due diligence before investing or trading in cryptocurrencies and securities, including consulting a professional financial advisor. Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. Litigation Partner Brandon Walker Encourages Investors Who Suffered Losses In National Grid (NGG) To Contact Him Directly To Discuss Their Options If you purchased or acquired stock in National Grid and would like to discuss your legal rights, call Bragar Eagel & Squire partner Brandon Walker or Marion Passmore directly at (212) 355-4648. NEW YORK, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C., a nationally recognized stockholder rights law firm, is investigating potential claims against National Grid plc (National Grid or the Company) (NYSE:NGG) on behalf of National Grid stockholders. Our investigation concerns whether National Grid has violated the federal securities laws and/or engaged in other unlawful business practices. Click here to participate in the action. On July 1, 2025, the United Kingdom's energy system operator, National Energy System Operator ("NESO"), published a report summarizing the findings of its investigation into the March 20, 2025 fire that caused Heathrow Airport to shut down. NESO's report stated that the fire was caused by a known fault at an electrical substation owned by National Grid, which had been aware of the problem since 2018 but failed to fix it. Media outlets subsequently reported that Heathrow Airport was considering legal action against National Grid. On this news, National Grid's American Depositary Receipt ("ADR") price fell $3.77 per ADR, or 5.07%, to close at $70.61 per ADR on July 2, 2025. If you purchased or otherwise acquired National Grid shares and suffered a loss, are a long-term stockholder, have information, would like to learn more about these claims, or have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights or interests with respect to these matters, please contact Brandon Walker or Marion Passmore by email at investigations@bespc.com, by telephone at (212) 355-4648, or by filling out this contact form. There is no cost or obligation to you. About Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C.: Bragar Eagel & Squire, P.C. is a nationally recognized law firm with offices in New York and California. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in commercial, securities, derivative, and other complex litigation in state and federal courts across the country. For more information about the firm, please visit www.bespc.com . Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook, and keep up with other news by following Brandon Walker, Esq. on LinkedIn and X. Contact Information: Reading, United Kingdom, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Use XRP to remotely start Bitcoin mining machines for free and easily earn $50,000 a day As the global cryptocurrency market expands, UK-based cloud mining platform CJB Crypto has released its new mobile app, redefining the way users can participate in cryptocurrency mining. The launch brings a seamless experience to users who want to earn passive income through XRP, Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin and other mainstream digital assets - without having to own hardware or technical expertise. Unlike traditional mining that requires expensive mining machines and continuous maintenance, CJB Crypto adopts a mobile-first mining approach, allowing users to mine through cloud infrastructure hosted in global data centers. Users only need a smartphone to register, activate mining contracts and receive daily returns. Sign up and get $10, the first step to "earn money while lying down" In order to lower the threshold for user participation, CJB Crypto has launched a "Registration Reward" program for new users: after completing the registration, you can get $10 experience points, which can be directly used to purchase cloud computing contracts and start XRP mining income. This benefit not only allows novice users to experience platform services at zero cost, but also demonstrates CJB Crypto's confidence in its own technology and profitability. Sign in at $0.6 per day, with a stable and uninterrupted income CJB Crypto breaks the traditional mining platform's "passive waiting for income" model and launches a daily sign-in reward mechanism. Users only need to log in to the platform and sign in every day to get an additional $0.6 cash reward. The income will be credited in real time and can be withdrawn or reinvested. This design not only improves user stickiness, but also makes "small continuous income" possible, which is especially suitable for investors who pursue stable income. Invite friends to enjoy tiered rewards, up to 4.5% profit bonus In order to encourage users to share digital wealth opportunities, CJB Crypto now launches an affiliate program where you can get commissions by recommending friends to invest in you. You can start making money without investing, for example: if the friend you recommend successfully purchases a $10,000 package, you can get a $300 commission. After inviting a certain number of active referrals, you will receive a one-time fixed bonus of up to $30,000. No matter how many referrals you make, your income potential is unlimited! Diversified contract options to meet the needs of users at all levels CJB Crypto is deeply involved in the field of cloud computing power, providing contracts for mainstream currencies such as BTC, ETH, FIL, XRP, USDT, and has designed a variety of solutions based on user risk preferences and capital scale: Novice contract: starting from $10, suitable for small-scale trials; Robust contract: period 5-30 days, daily return 1.35%-1.5% High-yield contracts: 45-day to 60-day cycles, with daily returns as high as 1.68%-2.0% Technology ensures safety, and income is transparent and traceable CJB Crypto uses multiple encryption technologies and hot and cold wallet separation storage solutions, and is audited by a third-party organization to ensure the security of user assets and data. The platform's income is automatically settled daily, and users can view the computing power operation status and income details in real time through the APP or official website, truly realizing the "visualization of the mining process." User evaluation and market recognition Since its launch, CJB Crypto has attracted more than 7 million users worldwide, and its "low threshold + high flexibility" model has been widely praised. A user from the United States reported: "Through sign-in and invitation rewards, I can earn an additional $500 per month. Through contract mining, I have truly achieved passive income." Act now to seize the digital wealth opportunity Starting today, visit the CJB Crypto official website to complete the registration, you can unlock a $10 bonus, participate in the sign-in invitation event, and experience the new mining mode of "multiple income superposition". Whether you are a novice in cryptocurrency or a veteran player, CJB Crypto will become your ideal partner for digital asset layout. About CJB Crypto CJB Crypto is the world's leading compliant cloud mining service platform, relying on self-built mining farms and joint mining pool computing power to provide users with safe and efficient digital currency mining solutions. The platform adheres to the concept of "user first" and is committed to lowering the threshold for industry participation through technological innovation and promoting the development of inclusive finance. Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release does not constitute an investment solicitation, nor does it constitute investment advice, financial advice, or a trading recommendation. Cryptocurrency mining and staking involve risks and may result in the loss of funds. It is strongly recommended that you perform due diligence before investing or trading in cryptocurrencies and securities, including consulting a professional financial advisor. SHREWSBURY, United Kingdom, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lightchain AI has confirmed the official launch of its mainnet for late July 2025, marking a significant step in integrating artificial intelligence with decentralized infrastructure. The protocol introduces a novel approach to blockchain energy use through a Proof-of-Intelligence consensus mechanism designed to optimize performance and utility. Unlike traditional consensus methods that rely on energy-intensive computation, Lightchain AI incentivizes node operators to perform meaningful AI taskssuch as model training and inferenceverified using cryptographic proofs. This mechanism supports the networks broader mission of enhancing computational efficiency while enabling scalable, privacy-preserving AI operations. Our upcoming launch represents the culmination of months of development, community building, and presale execution, said a Lightchain AI spokesperson. By integrating AI into blockchain consensus and providing developers with flexible tools, we aim to support use cases that go beyond infrastructurepowering decentralized, intelligent applications that are energy-efficient and future-ready. Key features of Lightchain AIs ecosystem include: Artificial Intelligence Virtual Machine (AIVM): Executes AI tasks across the network while preserving privacy using zero-knowledge machine learning (zkML) Executes AI tasks across the network while preserving privacy using zero-knowledge machine learning (zkML) Proof-of-Intelligence (PoI): A new consensus model rewarding nodes for useful AI computations rather than traditional mining A new consensus model rewarding nodes for useful AI computations rather than traditional mining Smart Gas Optimization: Dynamically adjusts transaction fees based on task complexity and network load to reduce costs Dynamically adjusts transaction fees based on task complexity and network load to reduce costs Developer Support: Public GitHub repository, APIs, SDKs, and full technical documentation to encourage open collaboration Public GitHub repository, APIs, SDKs, and full technical documentation to encourage open collaboration Sustainability Focus: Promotes real-world efficiency by aligning blockchain energy use with productive AI computation With all 15 presale stages completed and $21.1 million raised, Lightchain AI has opened its Bonus Round at a fixed price of $0.007, giving early supporters continued access to the network ahead of mainnet activation. Token purchases are available using ETH or USDT directly through the official platform. The project is also launching a $150,000 grant program to encourage developers, data providers, and application creators to build tools, oracles, and AI-based solutions on the Lightchain protocol. Validator onboarding has begun, and community contributions are being welcomed ahead of the GitHub repositorys official release. Lightchain AI s July launch is expected to attract developers, researchers, and ecosystem partners interested in the intersection of decentralized technology and artificial intelligence. The protocols architecture is designed to support a broad range of AI use cases, from finance and logistics to health and scientific research, while maintaining blockchain-native transparency and security. For updates and participation details, visit: https://lightchain.ai Whitepaper Twitter/X Telegram Contact: SHAJAN SKARIA media@lightchain.ai Disclaimer: This content is provided by Lightchain AI. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sectorincluding cryptocurrency, NFTs, and miningcomplete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility.Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page. Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an "as-is" basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2126248e-0ff2-44b7-ba3b-c9df479d605e NEW ORLEANS, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until July 22, 2025 to file lead plaintiff applications in securities class action lawsuits against Organon & Co. (NYSE: OGN), if they purchased the Companys securities between November 3, 2022 and April 30, 2025, inclusive (the Class Period). These actions are pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Get Help Organon investors should visit us at https://claimsfiler.com/cases/nyse-ogn/ or call toll-free (844) 367-9658. Lawyers at Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC are available to discuss your legal options. About the Lawsuit Organon and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws. On March 10, 2025, pre-market, the Company announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2025, disclosing, among other things, that management had reset the Companys dividend payout, from $0.28 to $0.02, contradicting its prior statements assuring investors that the regular quarterly dividend was a number one priority and that the Company was committed to its capital allocation strategy through the aforementioned dividend. On this news, the price of Organons shares fell more than 27%, from a closing market price of $12.93 per share on April 30, 2025, to $9.45 per share on May 1, 2025. The first-filed case is Hauser v. Organon & Co., et al., No. 25-cv-05322. A subsequent case, Lerner v. Organon & Co., et al., No. 25-cv-12983, expanded the class period. About ClaimsFiler ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. At ClaimsFiler.com, investors can: (1) register for free to gain access to information and settlement websites for various securities class action cases so they can timely submit their own claims; (2) upload their portfolio transactional data to be notified about relevant securities cases in which they may have a financial interest; and (3) submit inquiries to the Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC law firm for free case evaluations. To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com. Utrecht, 17 July 2025 Aalberts N.V. has reached an agreement to acquire 100% of the shares of Geo-Flo Corporation (Geo-Flo), based in Indiana (USA), generating an annual revenue of approximately USD 15 million with over 25 employees. Geo-Flo designs and manufactures pumping systems and components for hydronic-based HVAC systems, including geothermal and water source heat pump applications. As market leader in its segment, Geo-Flo is known for its design expertise and production capabilities. In line with our thrive 2030 strategy, this acquisition will further strengthen our footprint in North America. By combining Geo-Flos products and expertise with our existing boiler room technology, we will accelerate complementary product development and create new growth opportunities for energy and resource efficiency in buildings. The current management of Geo-Flo will work closely together with the management of Aalberts hydronic flow control in North America, ensuring alignment across the region. Geo-Flos established facility will support local responsiveness and operational continuity. The results of Geo-Flo will be consolidated effective 17 July 2025. The acquisition will directly contribute to the earnings per share and will be financed from existing credit facilities. CEO statement Stephane Simonetta comments: We are excited to join forces with Geo-Flo and are looking forward to working together with the experienced management team. This bolt-on acquisition will allow our building segment to unlock its future growth opportunities in America. contact +31 (0)30 3079 302 (from 8:00 am CEST) investors@aalberts.com Attachment 7.5 million upfront, with total potential development and commercial milestones, depending on Denali trial results, of up to 191.5 million Tiered royalties of up to 20% in the U.S., starting at a minimum of 8%, with tiered high single to double digit royalties elsewhere Kowa will assume full responsibility for the preparation and filing costs of the U.S. NDA for NCX 470, and all future development and commercial costs Provides flexibility for Nicox to explore future growth options July 17, 2025 release at 7:30 am CET Sophia Antipolis, France Nicox SA (Euronext Growth Paris: FR0013018124, ALCOX), an international ophthalmology company, today announced the signing of a major new agreement concerning NCX 470 with Kowa Company, Ltd., a Japanese company with a global pharmaceutical business engaged in ground-breaking research, development and marketing. The agreement, worth up to 191.5 million, grants Kowa exclusive rights to develop and commercialize NCX 470, Nicoxs nitric oxide (NO)-donating bimatoprost eye drop, for the lowering of intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension in the U.S. and all other territories of the world excluding Japan, China, Korea and Southeast Asia. Kowa already has a license to NCX 470 for Japan, where it is preparing to enter a Phase 3 clinical trial. NCX 470 is also licensed to Ocumension Therapeutics for China, Korea and Southeast Asia. Under the terms of the agreement, Nicox will receive an upfront payment of 7.5 million on signing. Additional near-term milestones payments are due on positive topline results from the Denali clinical trial, expected mid-August to mid-September 2025, and on submission of a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is currently expected in H2 2026. The total potential development and sales milestones payments will be either 127 million or 191.5 million, depending on the outcome of the Denali clinical trial, plus royalties up to 20% in the U.S. This new agreement with our existing partner, Kowa, is a major endorsement of NCX 470s potential in glaucoma and marks a major step forward in strengthening Nicoxs financial position. With NCX 470 now globally licensed, we are focused on delivering the Denali Phase 3 results, which we anticipate releasing mid-August to mid-September. said Gavin Spencer, Chief Executive Officer of Nicox. The revenue stream we expect from NCX 470 gives us the flexibility to pursue future growth opportunities, leveraging our expert U.S. ophthalmology development team. Expanding our collaboration with Kowa, who now becomes our key commercial partner for NCX 470 in the U.S and other major territories, is based on a very successful history of working together. We believe that Kowa has recognised the significant market potential of NCX 470, which we expect to be confirmed with the upcoming results from the Denali Phase 3 trial. said Emmet Purtill, VP Business Development of Nicox. We look forward to continuing to work with Kowa as well as our partner for the Chinese market, Ocumension, to bring NCX 470 to glaucoma patients worldwide. Details of the Agreement Under the terms of the exclusive licensing agreement, Kowa is granted rights to develop and commercialize NCX 470 worldwide, excluding the territories already licensed to Ocumension (China, Korea and Southeast Asia) and to Kowa itself (Japan). The collaboration will be managed by a Joint Steering Committee. Key terms include: Milestone Payments Nicox will receive an upfront payment of 7.5 million upon signing the agreement. Additional near-term milestones payments are due on positive topline results from the Denali Phase 3 clinical trial, expected mid-August to mid-September 2025 and upon submission of an NDA to the FDA, which is currently expected in H2 2026. The total potential development and sales milestones payments will be either 127 million or 191.5 million, depending on the outcome of the Denali clinical trial. Royalty Payments Kowa will pay Nicox tiered royalties in the U.S. which could reach 20% of net sales. Depending on the results of the Denali clinical trial, royalties due in the U.S. will initially be 8% or 10%. Outside of the U.S., Nicox will receive tiered royalties ranging from single-digit to double-digit percentages. Nicox Obligations Nicox is responsible, at its cost, for generating the remaining development data necessary for the NDA submission to the FDA (principally pharmacokinetic studies) and will support Kowa in preparation of the NDA. Kowa Obligations Other than the activities for which Nicox is responsible, Kowa is responsible, at its cost, for all development, regulatory and commercialization activities for NCX 470 in the licensed territories. Cash Runway and Debt Repayment As disclosed in the amended bond agreement announced on 14 October 2024, 70% of the upfront payment from Kowa will be used to partially reimburse Nicoxs debt, reducing the total debt to 9.6 million. Based on the current cash position (estimated1 at 5.9 million as of 30 June 2025) expected revenue and anticipated milestone payments, Nicox forecasts that it has over 12 months of cash at the date of signature of this agreement. Glaucoma Pharmaceutical Market The glaucoma pharmaceutical market is estimated at over $7 billion2, with the U.S. market accounting for around 40%, growing globally at around 3% to 5% CAGR and the number of patients globally is estimated to be around 80 million3. About NCX 470 NCX 470, Nicoxs lead clinical product candidate, is a novel NO-donating bimatoprost eye drop, currently in Phase 3 clinical development in the U.S., China and Japan (clinical trial authorisation granted for Japan) for the lowering of IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension. Results of Mont Blanc, the first of the Phase 3 clinical trials, have been extensively published and are available on our website. The second Phase 3 clinical trial, Denali, is currently ongoing. The last patient in Denali has completed their final visit, and the results are expected mid-August to mid-September 2025. Mont Blanc and Denali have been designed to fulfil the regulatory requirements for safety and efficacy Phase 3 trials to support NDA submissions in both the U.S. and in China. All remaining NDA-enabling pharmacokinetic and non-clinical studies necessary to support the U.S. NDA filing are on track. A separate Phase 3 program is underway to support Japanese approval, with the first patient expected to be enrolled in H2 2025. NCX 470 is exclusively licensed to Ocumension Therapeutics in China, Korea and Southeast Asia, and to Kowa in the rest of the world. Nanterre, 17 July 2025 VINCI has reached an agreement to acquire Wartsila SAM Electronics GmbH Expanding VINCI Energies position in the defense market 100 million revenue and 350 employees in Germany VINCI Energies has signed an agreement to acquire Wartsila SAM Electronics GmbH, a company based in Hamburg in Germany. Founded in 1906, this company - a subsidiary of the Finnish group Wartsila Corporation - focused on technologies for energy and marine, is active in the field of electrical and automation integration for the German navy and naval shipyards in the north of the country (Hamburg, Wilhelmshaven, Elmenhorst, Bremerhaven and Kiel). This acquisition will enable VINCI Energies, through its brand Actemium, to expand its range of services in the industrial sector and to strengthen its position in the German defense market by integrating the expertise of 350 new employees and an additional full-year revenue of 100 million. The agreement, which is expected to be completed in the last quarter of 2025, is subject to approval from the relevant authorities. In Germany, VINCI Energies operates in its four business lines Infrastructure, Industry, Building Solutions and ICT* and employs 16,600 people in 385 sites. In 2024, the VINCI Group generated a total revenue of almost 5.6 billion in Germany - its second-largest international market - including 4.1 billion in energy solutions (VINCI Energies 3.4 billion and Cobra IS 0.7 billion) and 1.4 billion for VINCI Construction. VINCI Concessions is also present in Germany through five public-private partnerships for the management of highway infrastructure, as well as in electric vehicle charging infrastructure. *(Information and Communication Technology) About VINCI VINCI is a world leader in concessions, energy solutions and construction, employing 285,000 people in more than 120 countries. We design, finance, build and operate infrastructure and facilities that help improve daily life and mobility for all. Because we believe in all-round performance, above and beyond economic and financial results, we are committed to operating in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. And because our projects are in the public interest, we consider that reaching out to all our stakeholders and engaging in dialogue with them is essential in the conduct of our business activities. VINCIs ambition is to create long-term value for its customers, shareholders, employees, partners and society in general. www.vinci.com This press release is an official information document of the VINCI Group. PRESS CONTACT VINCI Press Department Tel: +33 (0)1 57 98 62 88 media.relations@vinci.com Attachment Frankfurt, 17th July 2025 Swedish regulated crypto asset manager Virtune launches Virtune Bitcoin Prime ETP and Virtune Staked Solana ETP in Germany on Deutsche Borse Xetra, expanding its offering of physically backed crypto exchange-trade products in the German market. The products are also being listed on other German exchanges including gettex. Virtune, a Swedish digital asset manager and issuer of physically backed crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), has earned the trust of over 140,000 investors across the Nordics since its launch just over two years ago. With more than $430 million in assets under management (AUM), Virtune continues to strengthen its position as one of the leading issuers of regulated crypto investment products across Europe. Following the successful German launch of the Virtune XRP ETP (ticker: VRTX, WKN: A4AKW5) and the Virtune Coinbase 50 Index ETP (ticker: VRTC, WKN: A4A5D4), a unique product launched in partnership with Coinbase, tracking the Coinbase 50 Europe Index, Virtune is now expanding its German offering with two new listings that are now available for investors through German brokers and banks: Virtune Bitcoin Prime ETP (VRTB) - a cost-efficient way to gain exposure to Bitcoin with an annual management fee of just 0.25%. Virtune Staked Solana ETP (VRTS) - providing investors with exposure to Solana combined with staking rewards for enhanced annual returns. These new listings reflect Virtunes commitment to offering German investors secure, transparent, and regulated investment opportunities to the digital asset market. Coinbase serves as the crypto custodian for all of Virtunes ETPs, providing institutional-grade security with the underlying crypto assets held in cold storage. Christopher Kock, CEO of Virtune: We are excited to further strengthen our presence in the German market with the launch of Virtune Bitcoin Prime ETP and Virtune Staked Solana ETP on Xetra. Following our previous listings, this expansion highlights our continued commitment to making institutional-grade crypto investment products accessible to investors across Europe Virtune Bitcoin Prime ETP - Key Product Information Exposure to Bitcoin 100% physically backed by Bitcoin being stored in cold-storage with Coinbase 0.25% annual management fee First Day of Trading: Wednesday, 16th of July 2025 Xetra Exchange Ticker: VRTB ISIN: SE0025012032 WKN: A4AN8F Trading currency: EUR Virtune Staked Solana ETP - Key Product Information Exposure to Solana 3% increased annual return through staking rewards 0.95% annual management fee First Day of Trading: Wednesday, 16th of July 2025 Xetra Exchange Ticker: VRTS ISIN: SE0021309754 WKN: A4AGZQ Trading currency: EUR For further inquiries, please contact: Christopher Kock, CEO & Member of the Board of Directors Mobile: +46 70 073 45 64 Email: christopher@virtune.com About Virtune AB (Publ): Virtune with its headquarters in Stockholm is a regulated Swedish digital asset manager and issuer of crypto exchange traded products on regulated European exchanges. With regulatory compliance, strategic collaborations with industry leaders and our proficient team, we empower investors on a global level to access innovative and sophisticated investment products that are aligned with the evolving landscape of the global crypto market. Dublin, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "2025 North American Temporary Heating Market" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The North American Temporary Heating Market research report includes market size, growth rates, end-user split, competitive market share data and revenue forecasts from 2024-2031 for the United States and Canada. The study is a comprehensive analysis including market share splits by type of equipment (steam, electric, ground thaw, indirect-fired, direct-fired, flameless, and hydronic surface heaters), country (United States and Canada), end user group (construction, industrial, mining, oil & gas, emergency, events, and others) and market shares by revenue for rental providers. Furthermore, profiles of key companies, growth drivers, restraints, challenges, and quotations from industry participants are also included. This study aims to provide a detailed analysis of the North American Temporary Heating Equipment Market along with qualitative trends for the year 2024. Heaters, for temporary heating applications, enable customers to control the temperature and evenly distribute heat for a variety of applications. The market numbers included in this report represent revenues generated by companies operating in the temporary heating market in the United States and Canada. The base year for the study is 2024 and the forecast period is from 2024 until 2031. This report includes: Market size and growth rate projections (2024-2031) Revenue-based market share data for 2024 Analysis by output capacity: less than 300k BTU/hr, 350k-750k BTU/hr, 750k-1 MBTU/hr, 1-2 MBTU/hr, above 2 MBTU/hr End-user market share for 2024, covering Construction, Oil & Gas, Industrial, Emergency, Events, Mining, and Others Fuel type breakdown: Diesel, Natural Gas, Propane, and Electric Equipment type distribution: Indirect-fired, Direct-fired, Hydronic, Flameless, Electric, and Steam heaters Insight into growth drivers and market restraints Overall market trend analysis Companies Featured: Aggreko plc CAT Dealership Network Herc Rentals Inc. Resolute Industrial LLC Sunbelt Rentals Inc. United Rentals Inc. Key Topics Covered: Segmentation by Type of Equipment, End-user and Application Executive Summary Revenues by end user Major Data Points North American Temporary Heating Revenues, 2022 & 2029 Major trends Market drivers Market restraints Main market participants Market Drivers Market Restraints Market Trends Re-rental Higher outputs and efficiencies Heat Load testing using heaters Natural Gas Heaters Non-seasonal applications Market data North American Temporary Heating revenues (2022-2029) United States Temporary Heating revenues (2022-2029) For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/kcpx3p About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Dublin, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "REACH and RoHS Compliance: Protecting Revenues with Advanced Compliance (ONLINE EVENT: July 28-29, 2025)" has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This 2-day seminar will go into the specifics of the REACH and RoHS regulations, provide case studies and share lessons learned so your organization can benefit from the mistakes of others. The seminar will review the latest on both directives and will draw out key developments and key dates (if applicable) with particular emphasis on requirements for US firms. REACH and RoHS have been referred to as "one of the most complex regulations in the history of the EU" Do not miss this 2-day seminar to find out why. Objectives of Learning: After the completion of this seminar, the participants will be able the do the following: Understanding your organization's liability under RoHS and REACH. Review case studies. Discuss lessons learned applications to ensure full compliance. RoHS and REACH guidelines REACH Registration of Substances Introduction to REACH Articles and REACH Substances of Very High Concerns (SVHC) Supply chain communication Compliance enforcement Basics of RoHS Background and content of RoHS Responsibility for RoHS International requirements of RoHS Material testing methods Build and manage RoHS/REACH compliance programs Reporting to management and government agencies An introduction to Global RoHS/REACH legislation, WEEE. Conflict Minerals, Anti-trafficking regulations, and CA Proposition 65 Methods of regulatory data collection Compliance consulting on company real world scenarios REACH and RoHS conformity have banned problematic toxic and environmentally hazardous elements such as lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated diphenylether (PBDE) in quantities not exceeding a maximum of 0.1 percent by mass in products and new phthalate additions as a 2019 amendment. Restrictions of the use of certain Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Registration, Evaluation Authorization and Restriction of Chemical Substances (REACH) are European requirements on chemicals and chemical substances used in products. REACH is required by the EU for products containing chemical compounds. It is also required by US exporters for all suppliers exporting products to the EU. Even though you may not be an exporter, you may have to still comply with these regulations. Companies shipping parts or products into Europe must comply with EU REACH and RoHS regulations. EU REACH creates increased risk of product recalls or bans that must be proactively addressed to ensure continued market access. Products containing harnesses, hydraulic components, rubber, or PVC are at a higher risk of containing restricted materials. REACH applies to solvents, fragrances, metals, alloys, pigments, dyes, fertilizers, cosmetics, detergents, polymers, electronic equipment, furniture, textile toys, etc. This live training seminar includes the following for each registered attendee: A copy of the presentation slides by download A certificate of participation for attendee training records Q/A Session 12.0 RAPS Credits Who Should Attend: This online seminar in REACH RoHS Compliance Training will provide extremely helpful assistance to all professionals in the following domains: Automotive, Electronics, Medical devices, Chemical, Toys, Industrial machinery Manufacturing Professionals Anyone new to RoHS and or REACH and need to understand the regulations Anyone responsible for RoHS and REACH compliance Quality Managers Environmental Managers Purchasers Buyers Course Agenda: Day 1 REACH Registration of Substances Introduction to REACH Articles and REACH Substances of Very High Concerns (SVHC) Supply chain communication Compliance enforcement Basics of RoHS Background and content of RoHS Responsibility for RoHS International requirements of RoHS Day 2 A Process for Protecting Revenues 10 Steps to building a RoHS/REACH compliance program Determining best practices for collecting data Managing legacy systems and parts Improving data collection by using Jig 101, IEC 62474, IPC 1752 Understanding 3rd party compliance software platforms Manual and automated data collection Building management reports for sourcing decisions Incorporating compliance into standard business practices Building templates for policy and procedures Incorporating compliance processes into ISO 9001:2015 documentation Building a documented system for proof of due diligence Implementing a RoHS/REACH compliance maintenance program REACH SCIP database New UK versions of RoHS and REACH Conducting compliance audits For more information about this training visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ly2azw About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. 21Shares reflects on a transformative first half where bold forecasts became reality Zurich, 17 July 2025 21Shares, one of the worlds leading providers of cryptocurrency exchange-traded products (ETPs), today published its mid-year 2025 edition of the State of Crypto , offering a comprehensive, data-driven assessment of market performance and trends across the digital asset ecosystem. The report revisits 21Shares bold predictions for 2025, first laid out in December 2024, and evaluates how each thesis has unfolded across key narratives from nation-state adoption of Bitcoin to stablecoins leading cryptos real-world adoption. Many of the forward-looking theses put forward at the end of 2024 have already materialised, and the report highlights how early conviction in structural shifts around crypto has proven prescient. Among the standout findings: Nation-states are adopting Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset: Our prediction that another nation would adopt Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset in 2025 has largely come to fruition. By launching its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, the U.S. became the largest public Bitcoin holder with over 200,000 BTC. Countries like Bhutan and El Salvador continue to maintain sizable Bitcoin holdings, Japan and the Czech Republic are now actively exploring Bitcoin reserve strategies, and Pakistan recently announced the creation of its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Our prediction that another nation would adopt Bitcoin as a strategic reserve asset in 2025 has largely come to fruition. By launching its Strategic Bitcoin Reserve, the U.S. became the largest public Bitcoin holder with over 200,000 BTC. Countries like Bhutan and El Salvador continue to maintain sizable Bitcoin holdings, Japan and the Czech Republic are now actively exploring Bitcoin reserve strategies, and Pakistan recently announced the creation of its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. Crypto ETPs will drive further institutional adoption, and will reach $250 billion in AUM globally: Total AUM in global crypto ETPs has already reached $180 billion, and, if macro conditions improve, a 38% rise in valuations alone would push global AUM past our prediction of $250 billion. Another key sub-prediction has also come to pass one Bitcoin ETF has officially entered the worlds top 25 ETFs by AUM. Total AUM in global crypto ETPs has already reached $180 billion, and, if macro conditions improve, a 38% rise in valuations alone would push global AUM past our prediction of $250 billion. Another key sub-prediction has also come to pass one Bitcoin ETF has officially entered the worlds top 25 ETFs by AUM. Solana will continue to eat Ethereums market share and will reach an all-time high in total value locked: Our prediction that Solana would cement its position as Ethereums top challenger has been decisively confirmed. Real economic value, a measure of actual blockchain usage via user-paid fees shows a shifting landscape. Solana has narrowed the gap with Ethereum from $73M vs. $142M in October 2024 to $30.5M vs. $39M in June 2025. Despite softer market activity, the reality is that Solana is gaining momentum and biting into Ethereum's market share. Our prediction that Solana would cement its position as Ethereums top challenger has been decisively confirmed. Real economic value, a measure of actual blockchain usage via user-paid fees shows a shifting landscape. Solana has narrowed the gap with Ethereum from $73M vs. $142M in October 2024 to $30.5M vs. $39M in June 2025. Despite softer market activity, the reality is that Solana is gaining momentum and biting into Ethereum's market share. Many jurisdictions are reconsidering retail crypto bans: We predicted that 2025 would mark a turning point in global retail access to crypto, and that shift is now visibly underway. In the UK, regulators are moving to lift the retail ban on crypto ETNs, exactly as forecasted. Japan has proposed legalizing Bitcoin ETFs, while South Korea lifted its corporate crypto trading ban and is preparing to open the door to crypto ETFs. We predicted that 2025 would mark a turning point in global retail access to crypto, and that shift is now visibly underway. In the UK, regulators are moving to lift the retail ban on crypto ETNs, exactly as forecasted. Japan has proposed legalizing Bitcoin ETFs, while South Korea lifted its corporate crypto trading ban and is preparing to open the door to crypto ETFs. Stablecoins lead cryptos real-world adoption: Stablecoin AUM stands at an all-time high of $252 billion, with 35.7 million active addresses. Our prediction that nation-states, financial institutions, and Web2 companies would deepen their stablecoin adoption is playing out. In the US, stablecoin legislation through the GENIUS Act is gaining momentum. Internationally, Hong Kong has launched a stablecoin sandbox alongside a licensing regime, and Thailand is piloting a retail baht-backed stablecoin. In traditional finance, global banks are beginning to step in. This report reflects just how much the industry has matured, said Adrian Fritz, Head of Research at 21Shares. Were seeing Bitcoin redefined as a macro asset, Solana leading real-world adoption, and stablecoins transforming global finance all while institutional and regulatory frameworks finally catch up. The State of Crypto is produced by 21Shares research team and is part of the firms broader commitment to investor education. To read the full report, click here . About 21Shares 21Shares is one of the worlds leading cryptocurrency exchange traded product providers and offers the largest suite of crypto ETPs in the market. The company was founded to make cryptocurrency more accessible to investors, and to bridge the gap between traditional finance and decentralized finance. 21Shares listed the worlds first physically-backed crypto ETP in 2018, building a seven-year track record of creating crypto exchange-traded funds that are listed on some of the biggest, most liquid securities exchanges globally. Backed by a specialised research team, proprietary technology, and deep capital markets expertise, 21Shares delivers innovative, simple and cost-efficient investment solutions. 21Shares is a member of 21.co, a global leader in decentralised finance. For more information, please visit www.21Shares.com Contact: matteo.valli@21shares.com DISCLAIMER This report has been prepared and issued by 21Shares AG for publication globally. All information used in the publication of this report has been compiled from publicly available sources that are believed to be reliable, however we do not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of this report. Crypto asset trading involves a high degree of risk. The crypto asset market is new to many and unproven and may have the potential to not grow as expected. Currently, there is relatively small use of crypto assets in the retail and commercial marketplace in comparison to relatively large use by speculators, thus contributing to price volatility that could adversely affect an investment in crypto assets. In order to participate in the trading of crypto assets, you should be capable of evaluating the merits and risks of the investment and be able to bear the economic risk of losing your entire investment. Nothing should be considered as an offer by 21Shares AG and/or its affiliates to sell or solicitation by 21Shares AG or its parent of any offer to buy bitcoin or other crypto assets or derivatives. This report is provided for information and research purposes only and should not be construed or presented as an offer or solicitation for any investment. The information provided does not constitute a prospectus or any offering and does not contain or constitute an offer to sell or solicit an offer to invest in any jurisdiction. Readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The information contained herein may not be considered as economic, legal, tax, or other advice and users are cautioned against basing investment decisions or other decisions solely on the content hereof. ### Attachment LONDON, United Kingdom, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the digital asset market regains momentum and XRP regains investor confidence.NR7 Miner, a leading digital asset yield platform, today announced the launch of its hybrid XRP solution, integrating cloud-based infrastructure and staking mechanisms to offer users a streamlined path to passive income. The service targets retail and institutional investors seeking sustainable crypto yield opportunities without hardware management or technical expertise. Amid renewed market confidence in XRP following regulatory clarity, NR7 Miners model combines institutional-grade infrastructure with network participation rewards. The platform enables users to deploy capital into XRP yield strategies, leveraging energy-efficient data centers and automated staking poolsall managed through a unified dashboard. The future of digital asset growth lies in integrated yield solutions that transcend traditional silos, stated an NR7 Miner spokesperson. Our hybrid approach allows XRP holders to maximize idle assets through dual-track rewards, minimizing complexity while prioritizing security and compliance. Key Features of the Hybrid XRP Platform: Cloud Infrastructure Participation: Users allocate funds to NR7 Miners renewable-energy-powered data centers, generating yields from XRP liquidity provisioning and network services. Integrated Staking: A portion of user assets is automatically delegated to insured staking pools, earning additional rewards through XRP Ledger (XRPL) consensus participation. Zero Hardware/Technical Barriers: Fully managed infrastructure eliminates equipment setup, maintenance, or software monitoring. Transparent Reporting: Real-time yield tracking, contract performance, and asset security metrics accessible via web/mobile dashboards. Multi-Asset Support: Services extend to BTC, ETH, USDT, and other major cryptocurrencies. Compliance & Security Framework Assets insured through BitGo and Fireblocks custody solutions. Platform secured with McAfee Enterprise encryption and Cloudflare DDoS mitigation. Simplified User Experience One-click activation of yield strategies. Click to view more contract introduction Daily payouts with principal returned at contract maturity. 24/7 audit trail for all transactions. About NR7 Miner Founded in 2020 and headquartered in London, NR7 Miner serves over 8 million users globally with sustainable digital asset yield solutions. The platform combines clean energy infrastructure, institutional-grade security, and automated yield mechanisms to democratize access to crypto passive income. Learn More: Official Platform: https://nr7miner.com Disclaimer: The information provided in this press release does not constitute an investment solicitation, nor does it constitute investment advice, financial advice, or a trading recommendation. Cryptocurrency mining and staking involve risks and may result in the loss of funds. It is strongly recommended that you perform due diligence before investing or trading in cryptocurrencies and securities, including consulting a professional financial advisor. Dublin, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Strategic Intelligence: ESG in Banking in the Age of Trump" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. This report identifies the key direct-to-consumer FS providers making their mark in the ESG theme. It offers a simple cross-sector definition of ESG and identifies the key gridlines of change expected to shape the evolution of ESG across the next 12-24 months. In 2021, various bank CEOs declared ESG their number one strategic priority, rushed to outdo each other on ambitious net-zero claims, created new chief sustainability officer roles, brought in dedicated ESG headcount, and implemented wide-ranging diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. Since then, the anti-ESG movement has grown steadily-sentiment that will only intensify under President Donald Trump, who signed an executive order withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement hours after taking office, before scaling back DEI policies. This presents difficult strategic questions for all banks, but especially those that have placed big bets on ESG. Bank ESG policies are typically set against a mix of what other companies are doing, what an industry group says is best practice, and what a regulator has set as standard. But what should banks do when all of these are changing (and may all change again in three to four years with a new administration)? If banks do pull back some ESG policies, what blowback is likely from customers and/or employees, and around what specific elements of the broad ESG agenda? The industry analysis chapter shares a mix of consumer, executive, and investor survey data to map out how ESG sentiment has evolved globally over the last few years. Regional analysis covers the latest regulatory and political developments, highlighting how providers must calibrate ESG on a market-by-market basis. The value chain section maps out how organizational models are evolving to a deliver a more pragmatic, integrated, and lean ESG, before the report concludes with firm-level summaries covering the competitive position of leading players within the ESG theme. Scope For years, large banks have been strategically deploying fintech ecosystems to drive sustainability in their products and operations. Often referred to as sustainable digital finance, this category includes mobile payment platforms, crowdfunding, big data, artificial intelligence, blockchain, digital tokens, and the Internet of Things. The analyst surveying indicates that ESG is the least important driver of provider choice across all markets, among all age groups and all wealth brackets. Asia-Pacific is forecast to experience the largest increase in HNW demand for ESG investments going forward, with the US forecast to record the largest decrease. Reasons to Buy This report is essential reading for senior executives at financial services companies seeking to understand how to reassess and potentially recalibrate ESG efforts in accordance with evolving market conditions. Discover how and why ESG consumer care-abouts and regulations vary significantly by region and segment, requiring a carefully calibrated approach from providers. Learn how major FS institutions are taking a more pragmatic approach to ESG amid the evolving global landscape. Key Topics Covered: 1. Executive Summary 2. Players 3. Thematic Briefing 4. Trends 5. Industry Analysis 6. Signals 7. Value Chain 8. Companies 9. Sector Scorecard 10. Glossary 11. Further Reading 12. Thematic Research Methodology Companies Featured BBVA Bud Cross River Bank DBS ING Goldman Sachs Handelsbanken Mastercard NatWest Salt Edge Starling Bank Standard Chartered Sutton Bank Tink OCBC Virgin Money Yodlee Visa For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/exbg5f About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Dublin, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Advanced Combat Helmet Market Outlook 2025-2034: Market Share, and Growth Analysis By Type (Black, Camouflage), By Material (Ballistic, Thermoplastic, Metal), By Application" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. Advanced Combat Helmet Market is valued at USD 4 billion in 2025. Further the market is expected to grow by a CAGR of 7.4% to reach global sales of USD 7.5 billion in 2034 The Advanced Combat Helmet Market is a specialized sector focused on providing high-performance head protection for military personnel. This market encompasses a range of helmets, including ballistic helmets, tactical helmets, and integrated helmet systems. Advanced combat helmets are valued for their ability to protect soldiers from ballistic threats, impact injuries, and environmental hazards. The market is driven by the increasing demand for advanced soldier protection and the growing threat of asymmetric warfare. The market is characterized by rapid innovation in material science, helmet design, and integration technologies. The development of lightweight and high-strength composite materials is driving the market forward. The integration of advanced communication systems, night vision devices, and augmented reality technologies is also enhancing the capabilities of combat helmets. Furthermore, the increasing demand for modular and customizable helmet systems is driving market growth. The market is also seeing a trend towards improved comfort and ergonomic designs. Geographically, the advanced combat helmet market is expanding globally, with significant activity in developed regions and emerging economies. Developed regions are leading the way in technology adoption, driven by their advanced defense industries and strong demand for cutting-edge technologies. Emerging economies are also showing increasing interest in advanced combat helmets, driven by the need to modernize their military capabilities and enhance national security. The market's future is promising, with continuous innovation and increasing adoption expected to drive growth. Key Insights Advanced Combat Helmet Market Lightweight Materials: High-strength composites for reduced weight Integrated Systems: Communication, night vision, and AR integration Modular Designs: Customizable helmet configurations Improved Ergonomics: Enhanced comfort and fit Advanced Ballistic Protection: Protection against new threats Military Modernization: Demand for advanced soldier protection Asymmetric Warfare: Need for protection against diverse threats Technological Advancements: Innovation in materials and integration technologies Defense Spending: Increasing military budgets and modernization efforts Soldier Safety: Prioritizing the protection of military personnel Cost of Implementation: High cost of advanced helmet technologies System Integration: Integrating various technologies into a single helmet Weight Management: Balancing protection with weight and mobility Comfort and Compatibility: Ensuring comfort and compatibility with other gear Regulatory Compliance: Meeting military standards and regulation. Your Takeaways From this Report Global Advanced Combat Helmet market size and growth projections (CAGR), 2024 - 2034 Impact of recent changes in geopolitical, economic, and trade policies on the demand and supply chain of Advanced Combat Helmet. Advanced Combat Helmet market size, share, and outlook across 5 regions and 27 countries, 2024 - 2034. Advanced Combat Helmet market size, CAGR, and Market Share of key products, applications, and end-user verticals, 2024 - 2034. Short and long-term Advanced Combat Helmet market trends, drivers, restraints, and opportunities. Porter's Five Forces analysis, Technological developments in the Advanced Combat Helmet market, Advanced Combat Helmet supply chain analysis. Advanced Combat Helmet trade analysis, Advanced Combat Helmet market price analysis, Advanced Combat Helmet Value Chain Analysis. Profiles of 5 leading companies in the industry- overview, key strategies, financials, and products. Latest Advanced Combat Helmet market news and developments. Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 150 Forecast Period 2025 - 2034 Estimated Market Value in 2025 4 Billion Forecasted Market Value by 2034 7.5 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 7.4% Regions Covered Global Companies Featured ArmorSource LLC Elbit Systems Gentex Corporation Morgan Advanced Material plc Revision Military Ceradyne Inc. MKU Limited Honeywell International Inc. Point Blank Enterprises Inc. DuPont de Nemours Inc. Eagle Industries Survitec Group Limited Elmon S.A 3M Company Avon Rubber plc BAE Systems Inc. Safariland Group Ballistic Protection Limited Diamond Age Solutions Inc. Galvion Hard Shell FZE KDH Defense Systems Inc. MTEK NFM Group Ops-Core Inc. Rabintex Industries Ltd. Sarkar Tactical Inc. Team Wendy LLC Performance Fabrics Incorporated Defenx Limited Advanced Combat Helmet Market Segmentation By Type Black Camouflage By Material Ballistic Thermoplastic Metal By Application Defense Law Enforcement Agencies Homeland Security By Geography North America (USA, Canada, Mexico) Europe (Germany, UK, France, Spain, Italy, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific (China, India, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Rest of APAC) The Middle East and Africa (Middle East, Africa) South and Central America (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of SCA. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/z2m1hh About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment WELLINGTON, New Zealand, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem evolves rapidly, driven by innovation and the pursuit of liquidity. Staking, a popular method for cryptocurrency users to earn passive income, faces a persistent challenge: limited liquidity and untapped potential of staked assets. Arclaim, a pioneering decentralized staking platform, addresses these issues, offering users an optimized way to maximize earnings through staking. By leveraging advanced smart contracts and a user-centric approach, Arclaim redefines staking in the DeFi space, delivering higher returns, enhanced security, and unparalleled flexibility. A New Era for Staking Arclaim transforms how users interact with staked assets by combining robust technology with innovative earning mechanisms. Unlike traditional staking platforms, Arclaim not only facilitates high-yield staking but also integrates arbitrage opportunities, enabling users to earn from multiple streams. This dual-earning model, supported by carefully audited smart contracts, positions Arclaim as a leader in the DeFi ecosystem, appealing to both novice and seasoned investors. "Arclaim empowers users to unlock the full potential of their crypto assets," says Josh Smith, spokesperson for Arclaim Finance. "By combining high-APR staking pools with arbitrage opportunities and a 98% profit-sharing model, we prioritize user earnings while ensuring safety and reliability." How Arclaim Works Arclaim operates through a seamless, secure, and efficient process designed to optimize user earnings. The platforms proprietary system follows a structured approach: Analysis of Staking Pools: Arclaims advanced algorithms scan the market to identify staking pools with high Annual Percentage Rates (APR) and strong arbitrage potential, ensuring users access the most lucrative opportunities. Deployment of Smart Contracts: Once optimal pools are identified, Arclaim deploys robust smart contracts to facilitate staking. These contracts securely lock user funds and efficiently distribute rewards. Profit Distribution Model: Arclaim distributes 98% of fees and profits back to users, retaining only 2%. This user-centric model maximizes earnings, setting Arclaim apart from competitors. Earnings Through Arbitrage: Beyond staking rewards, Arclaims smart contracts exploit price differences across pools, generating additional profits for users. This streamlined process ensures users benefit from high returns, transparency, and ease of use, all while maintaining the highest standards of security. Why Arclaim Stands Out Arclaim distinguishes itself through innovative features that address the limitations of traditional staking platforms: Higher Returns : By identifying high-APR pools and leveraging arbitrage, Arclaim consistently delivers superior returns compared to other decentralized applications (dApps). : By identifying high-APR pools and leveraging arbitrage, Arclaim consistently delivers superior returns compared to other decentralized applications (dApps). User-Centric Profit Model : With 98% of profits returned to users, Arclaim prioritizes community financial growth, unlike platforms that retain significant portions of earnings. : With 98% of profits returned to users, Arclaim prioritizes community financial growth, unlike platforms that retain significant portions of earnings. Safety and Reliability : Arclaims smart contracts undergo rigorous audits to ensure the security of user funds, fostering trust among users worldwide. : Arclaims smart contracts undergo rigorous audits to ensure the security of user funds, fostering trust among users worldwide. Optimized Staking Experience: The platforms intuitive interface simplifies staking, allowing users to monitor earnings and withdraw profits effortlessly. These features make Arclaim a transformative solution, combining the best of DeFi innovation with a focus on user empowerment. Who Benefits from Arclaim? Arclaim caters to a diverse audience, from beginners exploring DeFi to experienced investors seeking advanced opportunities. Whether users aim to earn passive income through staking or capitalize on arbitrage, Arclaims user-friendly platform and transparent profit-sharing model make it an ideal choice. With a low entry barrier, users can start staking with minimal investment, democratizing access to high-yield opportunities in the DeFi space. The Future of Staking As DeFi continues to expand, Arclaim sets a new standard for decentralized staking platforms. By addressing liquidity challenges and maximizing user profits, the platform paves the way for a more efficient and inclusive staking experience. Arclaims innovative approach ensures users can optimize their assets while maintaining control and security. The platforms vision extends beyond staking. By integrating arbitrage opportunities and leveraging cutting-edge technology, Arclaim unlocks the full potential of crypto assets. As the DeFi ecosystem grows, Arclaim positions itself as a leader, offering a compelling solution for those seeking to enhance their financial future without compromising on reliability. A Bright Future for DeFi Investors Arclaims combination of safety, reliability, and high earning potential reshapes how users perceive staking. As more individuals explore DeFi, platforms like Arclaim play a pivotal role in empowering users to maximize their crypto investments. With its robust smart contracts, transparent profit model, and user-focused design, Arclaim invites investors to join a revolution in decentralized finance. For those looking to earn more from their staked assets, Arclaim offers a secure and innovative platform to achieve financial goals. Whether new to staking or a seasoned investor, Arclaim provides the tools to take control of your crypto portfolio. About Arclaim Finance Arclaim Finance, based in Wellington, New Zealand, leads the charge in decentralized staking innovation. With a mission to optimize liquidity and earnings for crypto users, Arclaim combines advanced smart contracts with a user-centric profit model to redefine staking in the DeFi ecosystem. Visit arclaim.com to learn more and join the staking revolution. Media Contact: Josh Smith Arclaim Finance Email: support@arclaim.com Website: https://arclaim.com Disclaimer: This press release is provided by Arclaim Finance. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility. Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an "as-is" basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/58de9966-b614-477b-af1f-f9fc6ca02d3c SASKATOON, Saskatchewan, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orano Canada Inc. (Orano Canada) and Denison Mines Corp. (Denison) (TSX: DML, NYSE American: DNN), as joint-venture partners in the McClean Lake Joint Venture (MLJV), are pleased to announce the successful start of uranium mining operations using the joint ventures patented Surface Access Borehole Resource Extraction (SABRE) mining method. Orano Canada owns a 77.5% interest and is the operator of the MLJV and Denison owns a 22.5% interest. SABRE mining of the McClean North uranium deposit (McClean North) commenced in June with approximately 250 tonnes of high-grade ore (+10% U 3 O 8 ) estimated to have been recovered from the first mining cavity. Orano Canada also reports that it has successfully backfilled the first cavity, advanced the SABRE rig to the planned second mining cavity, and commenced processing of the recovered ore at the McClean Lake mill. Xavier Saint Martin Tillet, President of Orano Mining said: The first commercial production of uranium with the SABRE technique marks a new chapter, allowing us to access and explore new territories. This innovation reinforces our commitment to delivering a reliable and responsible supply of natural uranium to nuclear power producers worldwide, supporting the generation of low-carbon electricity. Jim Corman, Orano Canadas President and Chief Executive Officer, said, Our long-term investment in R&D within Orano and the MLJV has culminated in the safe mining, milling and packaging of ore that in the past would have been deemed economically challenging to develop. We are pleased to be actively mining again at McClean Lake and I am so proud of the employees, contractors and partners, who have cohesively brought this mining method and project to life. It truly is an innovative and exciting time to be in the uranium industry. David Cates, Denisons President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, The successful commencement of SABRE mining at McClean North marks a significant milestone in the history of the MLJV, as the joint venture returns to active mining operations for the first time since 2008. Orano Canada is a world-class operator that has consistently demonstrated excellence in operation and innovation in Saskatchewan. We congratulate Orano on its leadership, long-term vision, and dedication to the development of the MLJVs SABRE mining method and ultimately the commercialization of the technology through the deployment at McClean North. About SABRE SABRE is the culmination of a mining equipment invention and development initiative that began in 2004 and concluded in 2021 with the completion of multi-year mining test program that successfully excavated approximately 1,500 tonnes of high-value ore. It is a non-entry, surface-based mining method that uses a high-pressure water jet placed at the bottom of a drill hole to excavate a mining cavity. The cuttings from the excavation process are then air lifted to surface, separated, and stockpiled. SABRE is viewed as an innovative mining method that has the potential to allow for access to relatively small high-grade orebodies in the Athabasca Basin that are either too small or too deep to be mined economically by conventional open-pit and/or underground mining methods. SABRE is unique in that the mining method can be selective and scalable, which has the potential to provide superior flexibility when compared to conventional mining methods and is thus ideally suited to ever changing uranium market conditions with an expected production ramp up of months instead of years. The SABRE method has environmental advantages when compared to conventional open pit or underground mining methods as a result of its less intrusive nature and smaller surface footprint. Reduced water usage and power consumption also contribute to important reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and improved sustainability. Additionally, as a non-entry mining method, radiological exposure for mine workers is minimized. Qualified Persons For Orano Canada, the technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Louis-Pierre Gagnon, P. Eng., Director of Mining, Orano Canada Inc., who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of Canadian National Instrument 43-101 Mineral Disclosure Standards (NI 43-101). For Denison, the technical information contained in this release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Chad Sorba, P.Geo, Denisons Vice President Technical Services & Project Evaluation, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101. About Orano Canada: Headquartered in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Orano Canada Inc. is a leading producer of uranium, accounting for the processing of 16.9 million pounds of uranium concentrate in Canada in 2024. Orano has been exploring for, mining and milling uranium in Canada for more than 60 years. Orano Canada is the operator of the McClean Lake uranium mill and a major partner in the Cigar Lake, McArthur River and Key Lake operations. The company employs over 450 people in Saskatchewan, including about 375 at the McClean Lake operation where over 40% of employees are self-declared Indigenous. As a sustainable uranium producer, Orano Canada is committed to safety, environmental protection and contributing to the prosperity and well-being of neighbouring communities. Orano Canada Inc. is a subsidiary of the multinational Orano group. As a recognized international operator in the field of nuclear materials, Orano delivers solutions to address present and future global energy and health challenges. Its expertise and mastery of cutting-edge technologies enable Orano to offer its customers high value-added products and services throughout the entire fuel cycle. Every day, the Orano groups 17,000 employees draw on their skills, unwavering dedication to safety and constant quest for innovation, with the commitment to develop know-how in the transformation and control of nuclear materials, for the climate and for a healthy and resource-efficient world, now and tomorrow. Visit Orano at www.oranocanada.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram: @oranocanada About Denison Denison is a leading uranium mining, development, and exploration company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. Denison has an effective 95% interest in its flagship Wheeler River Uranium Project, which is the largest undeveloped uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. In mid-2023, the Phoenix feasibility study was completed for the Phoenix deposit as an ISR mining operation, and an update to the previously prepared 2018 Pre-Feasibility Study ('PFS') was completed for Wheeler River's Gryphon deposit as a conventional underground mining operation. Based on the respective studies, both deposits have the potential to be competitive with the lowest cost uranium mining operations in the world. Permitting efforts for the planned Phoenix ISR operation commenced in 2019 and several notable milestones were achieved in 2024 with the submission of federal licensing documents and the acceptance of the final form of the projects Environmental Impact Statement by the Province of Saskatchewan and the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the MLJV, which includes the McClean Lake uranium mill (currently utilizing a portion of its licensed capacity to process the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement), plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Joint Venture Midwest Main and Midwest A deposits, and a 70.55% interest in the Tthe Heldeth Tue ('THT') and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake Property. The Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie deposits are located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill. Taken together, Denison has direct ownership interests in properties covering ~384,000 hectares in the Athabasca Basin region. Additionally, through its 50% ownership of JCU (Canada) Exploration Company, Limited ('JCU'), Denison holds interests in various uranium project joint ventures in Canada, including the Millennium project (JCU, 30.099%), the Kiggavik project (JCU, 33.8118) and Christie Lake (JCU, 34.4508%). In 2024, Denison celebrated its 70th year in uranium mining, exploration, and development, which began in 1954 with Denisons first acquisition of mining claims in the Elliot Lake region of northern Ontario. For more information, please contact Orano Canada Inc.: Carey Hyndman Manager, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement (306) 343-4503 Denison Mines Corp.: David Cates (416) 979-1991 ext. 362 President and Chief Executive Officer Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain information contained in this press release constitutes forward-looking information, within the meaning of the applicable United States and Canadian legislation concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Orano and/or Denison. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as plans, expects, budget, scheduled, estimates, forecasts, intends, anticipates, or believes, or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken, occur, be achieved or has the potential to. In particular, this press release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the current and future plans and objectives for use of the SABRE mining method; expectations regarding SABRE production at MLJV deposits; expectations with respect to Orano and/or Denisons other projects, including exploration, development and/or mining thereof; expectations regarding the performance of the uranium market and global sentiment regarding nuclear energy; and expectations regarding Orano and/or Denisons joint venture ownership interests. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For example, the results and underlying assumptions and interpretations with respect to SABRE mining by the MLJV may not be maintained after further use at the applicable deposits. In addition, Orano may decide or otherwise be required to discontinue SABRE mining as currently anticipated. Orano and Denison believe that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and results may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this press release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of this press release. Neither Orano nor Denison undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this press release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/23b8aeb4-29b3-40de-b5fd-c2040d030325 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/37fc4272-01a5-4ebe-961e-d91ba432caba DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- 7th Key, a real estate firm focused on urban luxury and Dubai's evolving skyline, today introduces the acceptance of digital payments and cryptocurrencies for property transactions. This approach offers practical flexibility for investors, supporting our commitment to integrating technology with thoughtful development. By simplifying the purchase process through secure, modern methods, we enable seamless transactions that align with the preferences of a connected global clientele. This decision aligns with 7th Key's principle of Innovation with Value and our aim to broaden access to well-designed urban living, supported by personalized 24/7 customer care. By incorporating digital currencies, we extend our properties to a worldwide audience familiar with digital assets, ensuring that geographic boundaries do not limit opportunities. With input from an advisory board of technology experts, 7th Key pursues projecxts that blend innovation with everyday utility, creating spaces where form and function coexist harmoniously. "We welcome the addition of digital payments and cryptocurrencies to our purchasing options," said Nuwan Karunanayake, General Manager of 7th Key. "This provides clear benefits in flexibility and convenience for our investors, while highlighting our focus on technology to enhance value and living experiences in Dubai's active market. We continue to combine luxury with accessibility, designing homes that offer elegance and practicality for diverse residents. Our goal is to foster environments where residents can thrive, supported by responsive service and forward-thinking features." Nexara Tower in Jumeirah Village Circle (JVC), District 11, represents 7th Key's initial project in Dubai's real estate sector, integrating contemporary design with lasting appeal to foster meaningful spaces. Our approach centers on functionality, comfort, and sustainability, with features like large windows for natural light and views, and adaptable balconies for relaxation or greenery. Thoughtful elements such as integrated smart systems and communal areas encourage a sense of connection. As a community anchor, the project emphasizes community-focused spaces and connections to urban resources, presented with refined aesthetics and reliable features that prioritize daily well-being. Through this integration of digital payments and cryptocurrencies, 7th Key advances practical innovation in real estate, shaping how properties are acquired and lived in Dubai and further afield. We look forward to welcoming investors who share our vision for purposeful urban living. About 7th Key: 7th Key is a visionary real estate development company shaping Dubai's skyline with a focus on urban luxury. Guided by an experienced team, we emphasize community living, elegant design, functionality, and sophisticated urban environments. We specialize in off-plan units that reflect refined urban living, merging simplicity, class, and elegance with spacious, curated settings. Our mission is to evolve the idea of luxury by opening premium, stylish urban spaces to a wider audience, establishing 7th Key as a presence in contemporary urban sophistication in Dubai and beyond. Media Contact For media inquiries, please contact: Phone: +971 54 309 8646 Email: media@7thkeys.com Website: www.7thkeys.com Disclaimer: This content is provided by 7th Key. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. We do not guarantee any claims, statements, or promises made in this article. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice.Investing in crypto and mining-related opportunities involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. It is possible to lose all your capital. These products may not be suitable for everyone, and you should ensure that you understand the risks involved. Seek independent advice if necessary. Speculate only with funds that you can afford to lose. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. However, due to the inherently speculative nature of the blockchain sectorincluding cryptocurrency, NFTs, and miningcomplete accuracy cannot always be guaranteed.Neither the media platform nor the publisher shall be held responsible for any fraudulent activities, misrepresentations, or financial losses arising from the content of this press release. In the event of any legal claims or charges against this article, we accept no liability or responsibility. Globenewswire does not endorse any content on this page. Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an "as-is" basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f746baba-4469-4236-9696-e91556d362a9 Dublin, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Ireland Data Center Market - Investment Analysis & Growth Opportunities 2025-2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The Irish data center market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of 9.79% from 2024 to 2030. The demand for cloud computing in Ireland is experiencing significant growth, creating promising opportunities for cloud investors. For instance, in March 2025, OVH Cloud announced the launch of its local edge zone in Dublin, Ireland. The use of AI in different businesses is continuously growing across the country; according to the recent report of the Central Statistics Office of Ireland, more than 15% of all enterprises used AI in 2024 as compared with around 8% in 2023. The adoption of AI across different industries will grow in the coming years. In the Irish data center market, operators are adopting renewable energy for data center operations. For instance, in March 2025, Echelon Data Centres announced the construction of two new data centers that will be powered by wind energy. The government of Ireland is taking the initiative to accelerate the broadband network across the country. The government of Ireland started the National Broadband Plan (NBP), which aims to deliver high-speed broadband services across the country. Additionally, the National Broadband Plan (NBP) signed a partnership with National Broadband Ireland (NBI) to deliver high-speed broadband in Ireland; the company announced the delivery of high-speed fiber broadband to over 420,000 premises by the end of 2025. The government of Ireland is taking several initiatives to increase the digital skills of its people. For instance, Harnessing Digital, the national digital strategy, aims to ensure that more than 80% of adults possess at least basic digital skills by 2030. REPORT SCOPE Market size available in the investment area, power capacity, and the Ireland colocation market revenue. An assessment of the data center investment in Ireland by colocation, hyperscale, and enterprise operators. Data center investments in the area (square feet) and power capacity (MW) across cities in the country. A detailed study of the existing Ireland data center market landscape, an in-depth market analysis, and insightful predictions about the Ireland data center market size during the forecast period. Snapshot of existing and upcoming third-party data center facilities in Ireland Facilities Covered (Existing): 37 Facilities Identified (Upcoming): 20 Coverage: 8+ Cities Existing vs. Upcoming (Data Center Area) Existing vs. Upcoming (IT Load Capacity) Data center colocation market in Ireland Colocation Market Revenue & Forecast (2021-2030) Retail & Wholesale Colocation Pricing Ireland's data center landscape market investments are classified into IT, power, cooling, and general construction services, with sizing and forecast. A comprehensive analysis of the latest trends, growth rate, potential opportunities, growth restraints, and prospects for the industry. Business overview and product offerings of prominent IT infrastructure providers, construction contractors, support infrastructure providers, and investors operating in the industry. A transparent research methodology and the analysis of the demand and supply aspects of the industry. IRELAND DATA CENTER MARKET VENDOR LANDSCAPE Some of the key colocation data center investors in Ireland data center market include Digital Realty, EdgeConneX, Equinix, Echelon Data Centres, K2 STRATEGIC, CyrusOne, and Keppel Data Centres. Ireland's data center market has witnessed to entry of some new data center operators such as AVAIO Digital Partners, Energia Group, GreenScale, and Vantage Data Centers, which will increase the market competitiveness in the forecast period. The Irish data center market has the presence of several global support infrastructure providers that will increase the competitiveness in the market. Some of the support infrastructure vendors such as ABB, Caterpillar, Cummins, Eaton, HITEC Power Protection, Rehlko, Legrand, Rittal, Rolls-Royce, Schneider Electric, Socomec, STULZ, Trane, and Vertiv. Ireland's data center market has several local and global construction contractors operating in the market that include Arup, Bouygues Construction, Collen Construction, RED Engineering Design, Designer Group, Future-tech, ISG, John Sisk & Son, John Spain Associates (JSA), Kirby Group Engineering, Mercury, Mace Group, M+W Group, PM Group, Winthrop Technologies and TOT Architects. For instance, in Ireland, John Sisk & Son is involved in the construction of the initial phases of the DUB1 campus of Vantage Data Centers in Dublin. EXISTING VS. UPCOMING DATA CENTERS Existing Facilities in the Region (Area and Power Capacity) Dublin Other Cities List of Upcoming Facilities in the Region (Area and Power Capacity) Dublin Other Cities IT Infrastructure Providers Arista Networks Atos Broadcom Cisco Systems Dell Technologies Fujitsu Hewlett Packard Enterprise Huawei Technologies IBM Lenovo NetApp Data Center Construction Contractors & Sub-Contractors Arup Bouygues Construction Collen Construction RED Engineering Design Designer Group Future-tech ISG John Sisk & Son John Spain Associates (JSA) Kirby Group Engineering Mercury Mace Group M+W Group PM Group Winthrop Technologies TOT Architects Support Infrastructure Providers ABB Caterpillar Cummins Eaton HITEC Power Protection Rehlko Legrand Rittal Rolls-Royce Schneider Electric Socomec STULZ Trane Vertiv Data Center Investors Amazon Web Services T5 Data Centers CyrusOne Digital Realty Echelon Data Centres EdgeConneX Equinix Meta Google JCD Group K2 STRATEGIC Keppel Data Centres Microsoft Pure Data Centres Servecentric New Entrants AVAIO Digital Partners Energia Group GreenScale Vantage Data Centers KEY QUESTIONS ANSWERED: How big is the Ireland data center market? How many existing and upcoming data center facilities exist in Ireland? What is the growth rate of the Ireland data center market? How much MW of power capacity will be added across Ireland during 2025-2030? Who are the key investors in the Ireland data center market? What factors are driving the Ireland data center market? Key Attributes: Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 120 Forecast Period 2024 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2024 $20.88 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $30.96 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.7% Regions Covered Ireland Key Topics Covered: Existing & Upcoming Third-Party Data Centers in Ireland Historical Market Scenario 35+ Unique Data Center Properties Data Center IT Load Capacity Data Center White Floor Area Space Existing vs Upcoming Data Center Capacity by Cities Cities Covered List of Upcoming Projects Investment Opportunities in Ireland Microeconomic & Macroeconomic Factors for Ireland Market Impact of the Ongoing Tariff War Investment Opportunities in Ireland Digital Data in Ireland Data Center Rule and Regulations in Ireland Investment by Area Investment by Power Capacity Data Center Colocation Market in Ireland Colocation Services Market in the Ireland Retail vs Wholesale Data Center Colocation Colocation Pricing (Quarter Rack, Half Rack, Full Rack) & ADD-Ons Market Dynamics Market Enablers Market Trends Market Restraints Market Segmentation IT Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast Electrical Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast Mechanical Infrastructure: Market Size & Forecast General Construction Services: Market Size & Forecast Break-Up of Construction Cost Tier Standards Investment Tier I & II Tier III Tier IV Geography Segmentation Dublin Other Cities Key Market Participants IT Infrastructure Providers Construction Contractors Support Infrastructure Providers Data Center Investors New Entrants For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/944bv4 About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Attachment SOUTHFIELD, Mich., July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- RJ Logistics , a customer focused third-party logistics (3PL) provider serving North America, shares key milestones from its ongoing partnership with Highway . Together, the companies are working to prevent fraud and improve carrier sourcing and compliance through Highways Carrier Identity solution. The partnership, which began in early 2023, has enabled RJ Logistics to onboard more than 10,000 verified carriers and enhance its fraud protection efforts across all operations. Highways technology enables freight brokers to confirm carrier identities, detect suspicious activity, and automate compliance checks using real-time data. The partnerships effectiveness was demonstrated when RJ Logistics was targeted in a cargo theft incident involving a high-value copper shipment. Using Highways VIN and trailer tracking tools, the logistics team was able to identify the carrier that picked up the load and support law enforcement in locating and recovering the shipment. Highway gave us the visibility to spot red flags that traditional methods missed, said Jeff Hickson, Manager of Capacity at RJ Logistics. Were sourcing carriers faster, with greater confidence, and responding more effectively when issues arise. In the first week of using Highways carrier sourcing platform, RJ Logistics was able to secure a 15-load project to Calexico, California a historically difficult lane to cover within minutes of conducting a single search. Today, the company works with more than 800 contracted carriers and owner-operators sourced through Highway. A recent sourcing initiative resulted in the onboarding of two new carriers for a lane that averages 25 loads per week an effort representing more than 1,300 loads annually. Highways fraud prevention tools have also contributed to operational security. In the past 60 days, the platform blocked 216 fraudulent inbound emails and flagged 170 identity theft alerts targeting carriers in RJ Logistics network. To date, Highway has blocked more than 900,000 fraud attempts across its customer base. RJ Logistics plans to expand its use of Highways cross-border features to improve the onboarding and vetting of Mexico-based carriers. Carrier identity is fundamental to the trust we build with our broker partners, said Bo Carlton, SVP of Customer Success at Highway. RJ Logistics has been an ideal partner in that missionproactive, tech-forward, and deeply committed to doing right by their customers. To learn more about the RJ Logistics and Highway partnership, visit https://rjlogistics.com . About RJ Logistics RJ Logistics simplifies complex transportation and logistics challenges across North America through innovative technology and a customer-centric approach. With deep expertise in the automotive, manufacturing, automation, robotics, and Department of Defense industries, we provide reliable dry van, open-deck, cross-border, and expedited transportation solutions. As a SmartWay Transport Partner committed to sustainability and a champion of supply chain security, RJ Logistics adheres to CTPAT best practices and partners with a network of CTPAT-certified carriers to ensure the integrity of your shipments. About Highway Highway is the leading technology provider specializing in Carrier Identity solutions for freight brokers, empowering them to reduce fraud and streamline the digital booking process. By automating compliance, Highway gives brokers the ability to enforce an all-new standard, enabling them to efficiently identify the right carrier for every load and build their network with speed and security. With a commitment to transparency, trust, and truth, Highway equips brokers with the data necessary to focus on delivering exceptional service while driving business growth without fear of fraud. For more information, visit highway.com Media Contact: Makayla Cruz LeadCoverage makayla@leadcoverage.com Dublin, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Vietnam Prefabricated Construction Market Intelligence and Future Growth Dynamics Databook - 100+ KPIs, Market Size & Forecast by End Markets, Precast Products, and Precast Materials - Q2 2025 Update" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The prefabricated construction market in Vietnam is expected to grow by 12.6% on annual basis to reach VND 25.21 trillion in 2025. The prefabricated construction market in Vietnam has experienced steady growth during 2020-2024, achieving a CAGR of 14.5%. This upward trajectory is expected to continue, with the market forecast to grow at a CAGR of 10.6% during 2025-2029. By the end of 2029, the prefabricated construction sector is projected to expand from its 2024 value of VND 22.39 trillion to approximately VND 42.36 trillion. This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the prefabricated construction sector in Vietnam, offering a comprehensive view of market opportunities across end-markets, materials, and products at the country level. With over 100+ KPIs covering growth dynamics in prefabricated construction, this databook provides a wealth of data-centric analysis with charts and tables. Key Highlights: Comprehensive Market Value Forecasts (2020-2029): Access detailed, data-driven forecasts of the prefabricated construction market's value across a nine-year period, segmented by construction methods, products, materials, and sectors. Access detailed, data-driven forecasts of the prefabricated construction market's value across a nine-year period, segmented by construction methods, products, materials, and sectors. Granular Product and Component-Level Analysis: Measure the market value of individual prefabricated components - including superstructures, roofs, floors, walls, room modules, and columns & beams - with breakdowns by material and end-use sector. Measure the market value of individual prefabricated components - including superstructures, roofs, floors, walls, room modules, and columns & beams - with breakdowns by material and end-use sector. Sector-Wise Breakdown of Prefabrication Demand: Track prefabricated construction adoption across residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors, with further segmentation by construction type (e.g., single-family vs. multi-family, office, retail, hospitality). Track prefabricated construction adoption across residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional sectors, with further segmentation by construction type (e.g., single-family vs. multi-family, office, retail, hospitality). Cross-Segmentation for Deeper Clarity: Leverage detailed cross-tabulations such as Product Material and Product Sector to understand layered market structures and identify segment-specific demand patterns. Report Scope This report provides a detailed data-centric analysis of the prefabricated construction industry, covering market opportunity, and industry dynamics by prefabricated materials, methods, and products across various construction sectors. In addition, it provides market size and forecast of the prefabricated industry covering end markets along with demand analysis in Vietnam. Vietnam Prefabricated Construction Market Size by Building Construction Sector Residential Single-Family Multi Family Commercial Office Retail Hospitality Other Institutional Industrial Vietnam Prefabricated Construction Market Size by Prefabrication Methods Panelised construction Modular (Volumetric) construction Hybrid (Semi-volumetric) construction Vietnam Prefabricated Construction Market Size by Type of Material Aluminium Wood Iron & Steel Concrete Glass Other Vietnam Prefabricated Construction Market Size by Type of Product Building Superstructure Roof Construction Floor Construction Interior Room Modules Exterior Walls Columns & Beams Other Vietnam Prefabricated Construction Market Size by Prefabricated Material - Product Aluminium (Building Superstructure, Roof Construction, Floor Construction, Interior Room Modules, Exterior Walls, Columns & Beams, Other) Wood (Building Superstructure, Roof Construction, Floor Construction, Interior Room Modules, Exterior Walls, Columns & Beams, Other) Iron & Steel (Building Superstructure, Roof Construction, Floor Construction, Interior Room Modules, Exterior Walls, Columns & Beams, Other) Concrete (Building Superstructure, Roof Construction, Floor Construction, Interior Room Modules, Exterior Walls, Columns & Beams, Other) Glass (Building Superstructure, Roof Construction, Floor Construction, Interior Room Modules, Exterior Walls, Columns & Beams, Other) Other (Building Superstructure, Roof Construction, Floor Construction, Interior Room Modules, Exterior Walls, Columns & Beams, Other) Vietnam Prefabricated Construction Market Size by Prefabrication Product - Construction Sector Residential Commercial Industrial Institutional For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/k9j14h About ResearchAndMarkets.com ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends. Toronto, ON, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canadian Council for Indigenous Business (CCIB) is proud to announce the inaugural Indigenous Business of the Year Award, with Bouchier named as the 2025 recipient. The Indigenous Business of the Year Award, sponsored by ESS Support Services Worldwide, honours the achievements and contributions of an Indigenous business that significantly supports and enriches the economic, social, and cultural well-being of Indigenous communities. Adding an Indigenous Business of the Year category to CCIBs annual awards has been a long time coming, and we are proud to recognize Bouchier as the first recipient, said Tabatha Bull, CCIB president & CEO. David and Nicole Bouchier have grown an incredible business that goes beyond operations to make a real lasting impact within their community and beyond. Founded over 25 years ago, Bouchier is a 100 percent Indigenous-owned company delivering civil contracting, facility services, and logistics across Alberta. With nearly 1,400 employees, 38% of whom are Indigenous, representing over 90 Indigenous communities. Its a tremendous honour to receive the inaugural Indigenous Business of the Year Award, said Nicole Bourque-Bouchier, CEO and Co-owner. It reflects the journey weve been on and affirms that Indigenous leadership isnt just possible, its powerful. We share this award with every entrepreneur, community, and partner working to create a more inclusive and prosperous future for today and the generations who follow. Bouchier is Canadas largest Indigenous-owned employer. In 2024, they achieved a 66 percent local spend, with 22 percent allocated to Indigenous suppliers, and maintained their long-standing relationship with the Fort McKay First Nation. In 2023, Bouchier also earned CCIBs gold certification in the Partnership Accreditation in Indigenous Relations (PAIR) program the fastest achievement of this certification by an Indigenous business. ESS Support Services Worldwide is very pleased to collaborate with CCIB as the inaugural sponsor of the Indigenous Business of the Year award and to recognize Bouchiers business excellence and achievements, said Adam Shea, president, ESS North America. I send my congratulations to David and Nicole for setting a bold new standard for what Indigenous-led businesses can achieve. They are an inspiration and truly deserve this recognition. Bouchier will be honoured at CCIBs West Coast Business Forum & Awards Dinner on October 9, 2025, in Vancouver, B.C. -30- About Canadian Council for Indigenous Business: CCIB is committed to the full participation of Indigenous peoples in Canadas economy. As a national, non-partisan association, its mission is to promote, strengthen and enhance a prosperous Indigenous economy through the fostering of business relationships, opportunities, and awareness. CCIB offers knowledge, resources, and programs to its members to cultivate economic opportunities for Indigenous peoples and businesses across Canada. For more information, visit www.ccib.ca. For more information, contact: Alannah Jabokwoam Senior Associate, Communications & Public Relations Canadian Council for Indigenous Business ajabokwoam@ccib.ca T: 416.961.8663 ext. 227 CALGARY, Alberta, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. (TSXV: CMC; OTC PINK: CWSFF) (Cielo or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has executed an amended and restated settlement agreement (the Amended Settlement Agreement) with Expander Energy Inc. (Expander) and certain directors, shareholders and related parties of Expander (collectively and together with Expander, the Settlement Parties), and closed the Unwinding (as defined below). The Amended Settlement Agreement replaces a settlement agreement that was executed among Cielo and the Settlement Parties on April 29, 2025, as previously announced, which was initially expected to close on June 13, 2025. The Amended Settlement Agreement provides for the effective unwinding (the Unwinding), to the extent possible, of certain previously disclosed transactions (the Transactions) completed between Cielo and the applicable Settlement Parties, including Expander, pursuant to and in connection with an amended and restated asset purchase agreement dated November 8, 2023, as amended on September 16, 2024 (the APA). The Unwinding has closed with an effective date of July 16, 2025, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the Exchange) with respect to the Note (as defined below). As part of the Amended Settlement Agreement: Approximately 40 million shares of Cielo ( Common Shares and such shares, the Settlement Shares ) have been surrendered by the Settlement Parties to the Company for cancellation. The Settlement Parties may, but will not be obligated to, surrender an additional approximately 20 million Settlement Shares on or before December 31, 2025 for cancellation. and such shares, the ) have been surrendered by the Settlement Parties to the Company for cancellation. The Settlement Parties may, but will not be obligated to, surrender an additional approximately 20 million Settlement Shares on or before December 31, 2025 for cancellation. All agreements between Cielo and the applicable Settlement Parties, including Expander, including a license agreement (the License Agreement ) dated November 9, 2023, between the Company and Expander and several service agreements ( Service Agreements ) between the Company and the applicable Settlement Parties, including Expander, have been terminated and the Company has relinquished its interest in those assets it had initially acquired under the APA. ) dated November 9, 2023, between the Company and Expander and several service agreements ( ) between the Company and the applicable Settlement Parties, including Expander, have been terminated and the Company has relinquished its interest in those assets it had initially acquired under the APA. Cielo has issued a promissory note and general security agreement in favour of certain of the Settlement Parties, including Expander, in an aggregate amount of C$748,208.79 (the Payment ), in full and final satisfaction of all and any outstanding fees owing by the Company, the issuance and terms of which are subject to the approval of the Exchange. ), in full and final satisfaction of all and any outstanding fees owing by the Company, the issuance and terms of which are subject to the approval of the Exchange. The Settlement Parties, including Expander, will continue to be bound by a customary 18-month standstill related to, among other things, soliciting proxies and voting of securities of Cielo. The applicable Settlement Parties, including Expander, have agreed to dismiss and/or discontinue all legal proceedings against Cielo. The foregoing description of the Amended Settlement Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirely by reference to the Amended Settlement Agreement, a copy of which will be available under Cielos profile on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca. ABOUT CIELO Cielo Waste Solutions Corp. is a publicly traded company focused on transforming waste materials into high-value renewable fuels. Cielo seeks to address global waste challenges while contributing to the circular economy and reducing carbon emissions. Cielo is fueling renewable change with a mission to be a leader in the wood by-product-to-fuels industry by using environmentally friendly, economically sustainable and market-ready technologies. Cielo is committed to helping society change the fuel, not the vehicle, which the Company believes will contribute to generating positive returns for shareholders. Cielo shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol CMC, as well as on the OTC Pink Market under the symbol CWSFF. For further information please contact: Cielo Investor Relations Ryan C. Jackson, CEO Phone: (403) 348-2972 Email: investors@cielows.com CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively referred to herein as forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as anticipate, achieve, could, believe, plan, intend, objective, continuous, ongoing, estimate, outlook, expect, may, will, project, should or similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes. Forward-looking statements are subject to both known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of Cielo, that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance, or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements and information are based on plans, expectations and estimates of management at the date the information is provided and are subject to certain factors and assumptions. The Company is making forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, with respect to: the Amended Settlement Agreement and certain terms thereof, including but not limited to the Note, and the Companys obligations thereunder. Investors should continue to review and consider information disseminated through news releases and filed by Cielo on SEDAR+. Although the Company has attempted to identify crucial factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve a number of risks and uncertainties, some of which are described herein. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause Cielos actual performance and results to differ materially from any projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and, except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise such statements to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as such term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Ottawa, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In terms of revenue, the cyber security market was estimated at USD 268.13 billion in 2024 and is predicted to rise form USD 301.91 billion in 2025 to USD 878.48 billion by 2034, representing a strong CAGR of 12.60% from 2025 to 2034. The North America market size was valued at USD 96.88 billion in 2024 and is growing at a CAGR of 12.60%. The pulse of these technological innovations is the increasing product and service efficiency, ongoing technological progression, population growth, urbanization, and environmental consciousness. Note: This report is readily available for immediate delivery. We can review it with you in a meeting to ensure data reliability and quality for decision-making. Preview the Report Before You Buy Get Sample Pages @ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/sample/3258 Quick Facts: Cyber Security Market Insights: The global cybersecurity market is valued at $301.91 billion in 2025 . . The market is projected to reach $878.48 billion by 2034 . . It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 12.60% from 2025 to 2034 . . North America led the global market and held over 36% of the market share in 2024. Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the market from 2025 to 2034. By component, the services segment is expected to lead the market. By component, the software segment is growing at a solid CAGR from 2025 to 2034. By security type, the infrastructure protection segment dominated the market in 2024. By security type, the cloud security segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034. segment is expected to expand at the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034. By solution, the unified threat management (UTM) segment contributed the highest market share in 2024. By solution, the IAM segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034 By services, the managed services segment dominated the market in 2024. segment dominated the market in 2024. By services, the professional services segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034. By deployment, the on-premises segment held the major market share of 62% in 2024. By deployment, the cloud-based segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034. By organization size, the large enterprises segment accounted for the highest market share of 70% in 2024. By organization size, the SMEs segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034. By application, the BFSI segment dominated the market in 2024. By application, the defense/government segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR from 2025 to 2034. Cyber Security Market Overview and Industry Potential What are the Solutions that Help Keep the Innovations Moving? The cyber security market is driven by a pivotal role of cybersecurity as a prominent part of commercial security, which is a system by which data is protected by interconnected devices or components. It is possible for companies to identify security threats, detect events, and protect premises. These are the key drivers for security investments to predict, discourage, and prevent future threats. Quality of service and product are the most important factors when investing in security technology. The commercial security systems market in India can be broadly classified into cybersecurity, electronic security, fire safety/detection/prevention, road safety, private and industrial security, and personal protective apparel and equipment. The end users of safety and security products and services in India include airports, mass transportation system operators, government agencies, law enforcement and intelligence agencies, military and paramilitary forces, emergency and disaster management agencies, private security agencies, manufacturing operations, and commercial and non-commercial enterprises. In recent years, the Indian government has initiated a wide range of vital infrastructure projects, including new airports, seaports, highway development projects, urban rail systems, and the continued expansion of smart city technologies across the country. Data Breaches Becoming Costlier As per IBMs 2024 study, the average cost of a data breach hit USD 4.45 million globally, with the healthcare sector incurring the highest per-record cost. This financial threat underscores the urgent need for proactive cybersecurity investments. Dive into the Full Market Analysis@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/cyber-security-market Zero Trust Architecture Gains Momentum Organizations are increasingly embracing Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA), where no user or system is inherently trusted, especially in hybrid work environments. According to IBM's 2024 Cost of a Data Breach report, ZTA adoption has helped organizations reduce breach costs by an average of USD 1 million Top Emerging Electronic Security Technologies in 2024 in the Investment Hub by Securitas Technology Cloud Computing : 57% currently investing in 18% interested 57% currently investing in 18% interested Adaptive Technology: 48% currently investing in 22% interested 48% currently investing in 22% interested Artificial Intelligence : 46% currently investing in 21% interested 46% currently investing in 21% interested Predictive Analytics: 40% currently investing in 26% interested Cyber Security Market Major Trends What are the Advanced Technological Solutions in the Cybersecurity Industry? OS 3: A Smart-Home Product for Smart-Home Security: With this security product launched by a Control4 company, one can instantly view the status of their security systems, door locks, shades that are open or lights throughout the home and can take immediate control. It provides the best experience of any interface that you use. The Comfort screen provides weather details and allows you to adjust the temperature with a single tap. With this security product launched by a Control4 company, one can instantly view the status of their security systems, door locks, shades that are open or lights throughout the home and can take immediate control. It provides the best experience of any interface that you use. The Comfort screen provides weather details and allows you to adjust the temperature with a single tap. Commercial Security Monitoring: In the next few months, data analytics and touchless biometrics will be most adopted by around 1 in 5 companies with their investments. Nearly two-thirds of organizations in the UK and the US have already invested in cloud computing and over half in the USA in artificial intelligence (AI) and adaptive technology. Access control and video surveillance are also the emerging technologies in the next few months. XDR Sees Rising Adoption in Endpoint Security With endpoint attacks rising by over 20% YoY, Extended Detection and Response (XDR) platforms are gaining traction for their real-time threat correlation and response capabilities across cloud, endpoint, and network environments. (Source: CrowdStrike 2024 Threat Report). Cyber Security Market Growth Factors: Which are the Brilliant Security Systems Driving the Growth of the Cybersecurity Industry? Intrusion Detection System: It detects unauthorized entry into any premises and provides protection. A wireless system is with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth communication and depends on a smart wireless signal. It detects unauthorized entry into any premises and provides protection. A wireless system is with Wi-Fi or Bluetooth communication and depends on a smart wireless signal. Commercial intrusion systems: They utilize motion detectors, glass-break sensors, magnetic contacts or sensors and other electronic security devices to build a comprehensive system model. Tightening Cyber Regulations Driving Market Growth Global mandates such as GDPR (EU), CCPA (U.S.), and the upcoming Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) in Europe are pressuring businesses to upgrade their security infrastructure. This regulatory push is accelerating the adoption of advanced cybersecurity frameworks, especially in BFSI and healthcare sectors. What is the Role of the Cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence in the Cyber Security Market? AI-enabled video surveillance systems can identify unusual behavior that suggests threats. The system flags such events to human technicians who can proactively address the threat. A system calls upon pre-programmed stimuli or machine learning (ML) to assess the actual threat. 55% of organizations use AI and data analytics within their security solutions to drive business efficiencies. Cyber Security Market Opportunities Cybersecurity and Data Privacy: 48% of organizations have already implemented cybersecurity for electronic security systems. 66% have a separate and dedicated cybersecurity leader/team. Innovations spanning materials, manufacturing and digital technologies along with shifts in consumer preferences are pushing forward a demand for commercial security products and services. 48% of organizations have already implemented cybersecurity for electronic security systems. 66% have a separate and dedicated cybersecurity leader/team. Innovations spanning materials, manufacturing and digital technologies along with shifts in consumer preferences are pushing forward a demand for commercial security products and services. Cloud Migration: 44% have adopted cloud-based security technology within their organizations. About 17% plan to adopt cloud security technology in the next few months. Renewable energy subsidies and carbon pricing are the catalysts to speed up the markets growth rate. 44% have adopted cloud-based security technology within their organizations. About 17% plan to adopt cloud security technology in the next few months. Renewable energy subsidies and carbon pricing are the catalysts to speed up the markets growth rate. In July 2024, the European Commission announced the investment of 210 million in cybersecurity, digital capacity, and technology under the Digital Europe Program. In November 2024, the European Investment Fund announced the utilization of more than 400 million to boost the expansion of the deep technology and cybersecurity sector in Portugal. Cybersecurity Workforce Gap Spurs Demand for Managed Services With an estimated 3.5 million unfilled cybersecurity roles globally (source: ISC2 2024), companies are increasingly turning to managed security service providers (MSSPs) to bridge the talent gap and meet compliance needs. Outlook on the Services Usage by Organizations in 2024 by Securitas Technology 86% of organizations use subscription-based electronic security services (e.g. service plans, monitoring and maintenance) 85% of organizations are using security technology to predict and prevent threats. 41% of organizations make profit from their electronic security systems to drive operational efficiencies and increase cost savings. 29% of companies are currently investing in security systems with data analytics driven by AI/machine learning. Source: https://reports.securitastechnology.com Cyber Security Market Challenges and Limitations What are the Potential Concerns associated with Security Solutions? Environmental Concerns: There are eco-friendly and renewable commercial security solutions which are stepped up by the growing awareness of environmental issues and carbon footprint reduction. About 44% of organizations lack internal expert knowledge or a dedicated partner to analyze and structure security data to generate efficiencies. There are eco-friendly and renewable commercial security solutions which are stepped up by the growing awareness of environmental issues and carbon footprint reduction. About 44% of organizations lack internal expert knowledge or a dedicated partner to analyze and structure security data to generate efficiencies. Compliance with Standards: For a promising government security, securing areas and theft to fire compliance and employee health stand out as the challenges. The leading companies like Securitas Technology present solutions on this criterion. Any misconduct by a person or through a system can damage property, harm employees, or steal assets. Hence, there should be an urgency to include intrusion systems. Industrial Cybersecurity Grows Amid Rising OT Attacks Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, such as oil & gas, utilities, and manufacturing, are surging. Gartner forecasts that by 2026, 30% of critical infrastructure organizations will experience a security breach that results in operational disruption. Cyber Security Market Report Coverage: Report Coverage Details Market Size in 2024 USD 268.13 Billion Market Size in 2025 USD 301.91 Billion Market Size in 2030 USD 546.48 Billion Market Size in 2032 USD 692.87 Billion Market Size by 2034 USD 878.48 Billion CAGR 2025 to 2034 12.6% Leading Region in 2024 North America (36% of Market Share) Fastest Growing Region Asia Pacific(2025-2034) Base Year 2024 Forecast Years 2025 to 2034 Historical Data 2021 to 2023 Market Status Growing rapidly due to rising threats, digital transformation, and compliance mandates Segments Covered Component, Security Type, Solution, Services, Deployment, Organization Size, Application and Region Regions Covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa Key Players BAE Systems Plc, Broadcom, Inc., Centrify Corporation, Check Point Software Technology Ltd., Cisco Systems, Inc., FireEye, Inc., Fortinet, Inc., International Business Machines Corporation, Lockheed Martin Corporation, LogRhythm, Inc., McAfee, LLC., Palo Alto Networks, Inc, and Others. Set up a meeting at your convenience to get more insights instantly! https://www.precedenceresearch.com/schedule-meeting How North America Dominated the Cyber Security Market in 2024? North America dominated the cybersecurity market in 2024 owing to the adoption of excellent technological solutions. This technological adoption includes the use of thermal perimeter detection, which uses thermal imaging technology and intelligent analytics to help protect outdoor assets and identify threats. Moreover, there is an adoption of alarm verification that helps to ensure faster police response times and minimize false alarms. Audio or video verification enables the monitoring center specialists to confirm a violation and inform law enforcement. It offers real-time information and a police response. How Big is the U.S. Cyber Security Market Size? According to Precedence Research, The U.S. cybersecurity market size has been calculated at USD 77.20 billion in 2025 and is estimated to hit approximately USD 236.04 billion by 2034 with a CAGR of 13.20% from 2025 to 2034. Note: This report is readily available for immediate delivery. We can review it with you in a meeting to ensure data reliability and quality for decision-making. See Whats Inside Download Sample Pages@ https://www.precedenceresearch.com/sample/3258 How does the U.S. Highlight the Expansive Reach of Security Systems and Solutions? The various sectors in the U.S. are experiencing numerous applications of security systems, which include commercial buildings, industrial facilities, retail spaces, hospitals, government buildings and banking. The commercial buildings include offices, hotels, and public spaces. The industrial facilities include factories, warehouses, and manufacturing plants. Retail spaces include shops, shopping malls, and retail outlets. Hospitals include healthcare facilities requiring stringent security measures. Government buildings encompass the offices and premises of government institutions. What is the Massive Technological Growth of the Asia Pacific? Asia Pacific is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the cybersecurity market during the forecast period due to the rapid growth in various technologies like video surveillance systems due to investments in infrastructure and smart city initiatives. The rise in terrorist activities has increased the urge of the government to adopt IP surveillance systems for high-level security in government buildings. Cloud-based services and cloud management software can drive the demand for access control systems to ensure data confidentiality and authentication. In Asia Pacific, there is a high receptiveness to biometric technology for financial transactions by consumers. This can reduce the dependency on traditional security measures such as PINs, passwords, security questions or various identification cards. Biometrics have been adopted by the healthcare industry and the banking sectors as well. For inquiries regarding discounts, bulk purchases, or customization requests, please contact us at sales@precedenceresearch.com How India Steps Forward with the Launch of Indias first commercial High-Performance SoC Chip (System on chip) by Mindgrove Technologies, a Semiconductor Company? Secure Internet of Things (IoT) is a high-performance microcontroller designed for IoT devices clocked at 700 MHz. The chip is designed to provide programmability, flexibility, security and superior computing power for controlling applications on a wide range of connected smart devices. This chip can control everything from wearables like smartwatches to smart city devices like connected electricity, water and gas meters to connected home devices like smart locks, fans, speakers, as well as EV battery management systems and control systems. Cyber Security Market Segmentation Analysis Component Analysis How Services Segment Dominated the Cyber Security Market in 2024? The services segment dominated the cyber security market in 2024 owing to the protection of sensitive data and information. These services prevent cyber attacks and breaches, ensure continuity in businesses, and ensure compliance with regulations. The software segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the cyber security market during the forecast period due to the protection of business reputation and enhanced productivity. The software assists in remote working, improves data management, supports the IT team, and reduces the financial losses. Security Type Analysis What made Infrastructure Protection the Dominant Segment in the Cyber Security Market in 2024? The infrastructure protection segment dominated the cyber security market in 2024 owing to the enhanced protection against cyber threats and reduced financial costs and losses. It minimizes the downtime, ensures business continuity, reduces legal risks, and ensures compliance with regulations. The cloud security segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the cyber security market during the predicted timeframe due to enhanced data protection, scalability, and flexibility. It ensures cost efficiency, disaster recovery, managed services, and expertise. Solution Analysis How did the Unified Threat Management (UTM) Segment Dominate the Cyber Security Market in 2024? The unified threat management (UTM) segment dominated the cyber security market in 2024 owing to the centralized security management and reduced complexity. It presents flexibility, adaptability, cost-effectiveness, and simplified compliance. The IAM segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the cyber security market during the forecast period due to enhanced security posture, better user experience, and effective risk management. It supports remote work, allows simplified operations, and offers improved regulatory compliance. Services Analysis How Managed Services Segment Dominated the Cyber Security Market in 2024? The managed services segment dominated the cyber security market in 2024 owing to the access to expert security professionals and proactive threat hunting. They introduce improved incident response, recovery, advanced threat detection, and response. The professional services segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the cyber security market during the predicted timeframe due to access to specialized expertise and reduced overhead costs. They present enhanced threat detection, incident response, and regulatory adherence. Deployment Analysis What made On-premises the Dominant Segment in the Cyber Security Market in 2024? The on-premises segment dominated the cyber security market in 2024, owing to the complete control, enhanced security, customization, and compliance. They provide data privacy and less reliance on third parties. The cloud-based segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the cyber security market during the forecast period due to automation, continuous updates, and global availability. It allows simplified compliance and scalability, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness. Organization Size Analysis How did the Large Enterprises Segment Dominate the Cyber Security Market in 2024? The large enterprises segment dominated the cyber security market in 2024, owing to the protection of critical assets and maintenance of customer trust and reputation. They achieve regulatory compliance and improve operational efficiency. The SMEs segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the cyber security market during the predicted timeframe due to the growth of security-conscious culture. They support compliance and growth through customer trust and reputation. Application Analysis How BFSI Segment Dominated the Cyber Security Market in 2024? The BFSI segment dominated the cyber security market in 2024, owing to the protection of sensitive data of customers and prevention of financial losses. It protects critical infrastructure and enables digital innovation. The defense/government segment is expected to grow at the fastest CAGR in the cyber security market during the forecast period due to the protection of national security and maintenance of public trust, and safety. It ensures economic stability, growth, and boost international cooperations. Related Topics You May Find Useful: The global generative AI in cybersecurity market size was calculated at USD 2 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 14.79 billion by 2034. The market is expanding at a solid CAGR of 22.15% over the forecast period 2025 to 2034. was calculated at USD 2 billion in 2024 and is expected to reach around USD 14.79 billion by 2034. The market is expanding at a solid CAGR of 22.15% over the forecast period 2025 to 2034. The global artificial intelligence (AI) in cybersecurity market size is estimated at USD 24.82 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach around USD 146.52 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 19.43% between 2024 and 2034. is estimated at USD 24.82 billion in 2024 and is anticipated to reach around USD 146.52 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 19.43% between 2024 and 2034. The global cybersecurity services market size was calculated at USD 166.58 billion in 2024 and is predicted to increase from USD 177.27 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 310.35 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 6.42% from 2025 to 2034. size was calculated at USD 166.58 billion in 2024 and is predicted to increase from USD 177.27 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 310.35 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 6.42% from 2025 to 2034. The global healthcare cybersecurity market size accounted for USD 27.26 billion in 2024 and is predicted to reach around USD 126.70 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 16.61% from 2025 to 2034. accounted for USD 27.26 billion in 2024 and is predicted to reach around USD 126.70 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 16.61% from 2025 to 2034. The global cybersecurity mesh market size was estimated at USD 3.32 billion in 2024 and is predicted to increase from USD 3.67 billion in 2025 to approximately USD 9.28 billion by 2034, expanding at a CAGR of 10.83% from 2025 to 2034. Cyber Security Market Top Companies Additional Cyber Security Market Players to Watch Notable emerging players in the cybersecurity space include SentinelOne, CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc., Elastic N.V., Cybereason, and Tenable, Inc. What is Going Around the Globe? In May 2025, Microsoft announced the launch of an Advancing Regional Cybersecurity (ARC) initiative to create strong cybersecurity in Kenya. Source: https://blogs.microsoft.com In February 2024, Securitas Technology announced two of the four major trends, such as cloud migration and hardware-free architecture, that are shaping the security industry in 2024 and will continue to support diversity in the security industry in its sixth global technology outlook report. Source: https://www.securitastechnology.com Cyber Security Market Segments Covered in the Report By Component Software Hardware Services By Security Type Endpoint Security Cloud Security Network Security Application Security Infrastructure Protection Data Security Others By Solution Unified Threat Management (UTM) IDS/IPS DLP IAM SIEM DDoS Risk & Compliance Management Others By Services Professional Services Risk and Threat Assessment Design, Consulting, and Implementation Training & Education Support & Maintenance Managed Services By Deployment Cloud-based On-premises By Organization Size SMEs Large Enterprises By Application IT & Telecom Retail BFSI Healthcare Defense/Government Manufacturing Energy Others By Region North America U.S. Canada Mexico Asia Pacific China Singapore Japan India South Korea Thailand Europe Germany UK France Italy Spain Sweden Denmark Norway Latin America Brazil Mexico Argentina Middle East and Africa South Africa UAE Saudi Arabia Kuwait Thanks for reading you can also get individual chapter-wise sections or region-wise report versions such as North America, Europe, or Asia Pacific. 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We are obliged to serve our different client base present over the enterprises of medicinal services, healthcare, innovation, next-gen technologies, semi-conductors, chemicals, automotive, and aerospace & defense, among different ventures present globally. Web: https://www.precedenceresearch.com Our Trusted Data Partners: Towards Healthcare | Towards Packaging | Towards Automotive | Towards Chem and Materials | Towards FnB | Towards Consumer Goods | Statifacts | Towards EV Solutions | Towards Dental | Nova One Advisor Get Recent News: https://www.precedenceresearch.com/news For the Latest Update Follow Us: LinkedIn | Facebook | Twitter Omaha, Nebraska, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Youve started your small business, and revenue is coming in. Thats great news! Nothing feels better than seeing your dream become reality. But you probably want your business to do more than just surviveyou want it to thrive. So, now that youve established your brand, its time to use some proven business growth strategies to kick things into overdrive! If youre wondering how to grow your business, we can help. Lets take a look at eight time-tested strategies, including protecting your companys finances so that things like property damage and lawsuitsrisks every small business facesdont derail your progress. 1. Make a business growth plan. Some companies sort of stumble onto success. You might know of companies that took off just because they were in the right place at the right time. But thats not the story behind most successful ventures. Growth in small businesses tends to be a journey that requires focused effort and a carefully developed roadmap. You might have created a business plan before starting your company. Thats always a good idea. But now you need to lay out the steps youll take to sell more products or services, leveraging some or all of the ideas below. 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Experienced business owners know that it takes a lot less time, effort, and money to keep existing customers or clients than to attract new ones. Offering high-quality products and services and providing outstanding customer service are the best ways to keep people coming back for more. 7. Consider franchising your business. Once youve developed some brand recognition, one of the most effective business strategies for growth is to pursue franchising. Essentially, you sell the rights to other people to open a business like yours in another location. It can be a win-win situation for you and the other owners. They get instant recognition and trust from customers, and you get regular revenue from the franchise fees. 8. Protect your finances with business insurance. It makes sense to have business insurance to protect your company from unexpected expenses, but how does that help you grow your business? Well, like they say, it takes money to make money. When you arent having to pay for things like property damage or court-awarded damages, you have more money to market your business, expand your product or service portfolio, and boost your business in other ways. Leverage growth strategies for small businesses to gain a competitive edge. If your business is like most, youve got lots of competition in your market. If you dont today, you probably will soon! But you can stay ahead of the pack by experimenting with different business growth strategies and leaning into those that deliver the most benefits. Just remember that you dont want to surrender any of the ground youve gained due to a lawsuit, property damage, or some other incident. Insurance is an affordable way to protect your company financially and ensure you have the capital you need for growing your small business. It only takes a few minutes to learn what youll pay for general liability, professional liability, commercial auto, and other essential policies. Then, you can update your business plan to include carrying insurance and know that unexpected expenses wont keep you from reaching your business goals. About biBerk Business Insurance biBerk can help you with all your small business insurance needs, including: commercial auto, general liability, property and liability, umbrella, and workers compensation. https://www.biberk.com Media Contact: Rakesh Gupta | 402-408-2870 Torrance, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Offsoar, a top player in technology, is making waves with its comprehensive solutions in ecommerce website development and offshore mobile app development. The company, recognized for driving digital transformation with a focus on data, consistently offers top-tier services like data analytics, artificial intelligence, and enterprise solutions. These innovations help their clients stay competitive and succeed in various industries. 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Offsoar is committed to helping businesses achieve their digital transformation goals, whether by building a strong ecommerce platform or creating a world-class mobile app. For companies looking to boost their digital strategies, Offsoar provides deep knowledge of the latest advancements and their cross-industry applications. With a record of client success and a vision for the future, Offsoar is a dependable partner for businesses aiming to innovate and grow in the digital age. By merging advanced technological solutions with services focused on the customer, Offsoar aims to bring about transformative results for businesses worldwide. The company's consistent delivery of impactful, scalable products solidifies its role as a leader in the tech services sector. Offsoar encourages businesses to explore their platform and discover how their full range of services can aid in growth and digital success. To learn more about Offsoar's full suite of digital solutions, visit the Offsoar website today. ### For more information about Offsoar, contact the company here: Offsoar Deepinder Singh +1-310-424-9042 sales@offsoar.com Torrance CA 90504 Austin, TX, USA, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Custom Market Insights has published a new research report titled Propylene Glycol Market Size, Trends and Insights By Source (Petroleum-based, Bio-based), By Grade (Industrial Grade, Pharmaceutical Grade, Others), By End-Use Industry (Transportation, Building & construction, Food & Beverage, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics & Personal Care, Others), and By Region - Global Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20252034 in its research database. According to the latest research study, the demand of global Propylene Glycol Market size & share was valued at approximately USD 4.66 Billion in 2024 and is expected to reach USD 5.01 Billion in 2025 and is expected to reach a value of around USD 7.03 Billion by 2034, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 4.23% during the forecast period 2025 to 2034. Click Here to Access a Free Sample Report of the Global Propylene Glycol Market @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/request-for-free-sample/?reportid=71111 Overview According to the CMI, industry experts believe that the global propylene glycol (PG) market can expect steady and sustained growth in the years to come. This movement has been sustained by a wide range of applications, which have started instilling interest in bio-alternatives. The chemicals versatility and safety make it an important component for a large number of end-use industries that include pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, personal care, automotive, and construction. Growing environmental considerations and strict regulatory policies have pushed manufacturers to opt for bio-based production technologies to fulfill demand going into the future while also achieving sustainability targets. Nevertheless, the global PG market stands tall as a resilient and flexible segment within the specialty chemicals market. Key Trends & Drivers Versatile industrial applications: As a synthetic organic compound, propylene glycol finds many uses as an industrial solvent and humectant, preservative, and antifreeze. The versatility of application, being the strongest factor for the demand for this market, enhances the packaging industry, among many others. It is commonly used in the food industry to carry flavors and colors. In the pharmaceutical industry, it is used as a solvent in oral, injectable, and topical formulations. In personal care products, it acts as a humectant in lotions, creams, and shampoos. It is used industrially in antifreeze solutions, de-icing fluid, and HVAC coolants. This variety in applications keeps demand sustained, even in times of economic downturn. Increasing Popularity of Bio-Based Propylene Glycol: Environmental sustainability and safe alternatives are driving the rise of interest in bio-based PG. Being made from renewable feedstock resources such as glycerin, corn, or soy, bio-based PG has a smaller carbon footprint than does petroleum-based PG. Much money is being invested by companies in R&D to scale up production and create more cost-effective production methods. Evidently, with growing consumer awareness regarding eco-labels and transparency in products, food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic producers are starting to prefer renewable and biodegradable ingredients. This trend is expected to give a faster push to the bio-based PG segment rather than the conventional one. Growth Prospects in Personal Care and Cosmetics: Given the roaring present-day personal care market, a surge in disposable incomes, urbanization, and changing lifestyles has been the motive behind the rapid growth of such industry. Propylene glycol is extensively used in skin and hair care formulations as texture enhancers or stabilizers, and humectants. With consumer demand for clean beauty products on the increase, companies are now renovating products that had harsh chemicals with bio-based PG. This trend of personal care brands in favour of PG will grow further while demand for cruelty-free and plant-based products hits an all-time high simply because of their non-toxic and non-irritating characteristics. Request a Customized Copy of the Propylene Glycol Market Report @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/request-for-customization/?reportid=71111 The growing demand from pharmaceutical and food industries: Looking out for alternative solvents and carriers that are non-toxic and GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) makes PG one of the key ingredients in drug production; it is incorporated in oral and injectable drugs and topical medicines because it dissolves active ingredients well and maintains stability in the final product. Moving equivalently, PG finds a large area of use in food processing as a humectant and flavor carrier for processed foods, dairy products, and beverages. On account of an increase in pharmaceutical production and consumption of processed food all over the globe-mainly led by emerging markets such as India, China, and Brazil-demand for PG in these sectors shall continue to grow. The construction and automotive industries: Propylene glycol (PG) has found quite a few important uses within the construction and automotive industries, being favored for its properties-from a chemical standpoint that include low toxicity, thermal stability, moisture retention, and so on. PG is preponderantly utilized in the construction sphere as a heat transfer fluid for HVAC systems and antifreeze solutions, for instance, in closed-loop heating and cooling applications. Owing to low corrosion and toxicity, PG is an excellent alternative to ethylene glycol for use in residential and commercial building systems where environmental and safety considerations are paramount. PG also finds use in construction materials for concrete curing, moisture control, etc., particularly in cold regions, where freezing prevents cracking and aids in maintaining the structural integrity of dry materials. Therefore, PG is commonly used in the automotive industry as an engine coolant and a de-icing solution. Report Scope Feature of the Report Details Market Size in 2025 USD 5.01 Billion Projected Market Size in 2034 USD 7.03 Billion Market Size in 2024 USD 4.66 Billion CAGR Growth Rate 4.23% CAGR Base Year 2024 Forecast Period 2025-2034 Key Segment By Source, Grade, End-Use Industry and Region Report Coverage Revenue Estimation and Forecast, Company Profile, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors and Recent Trends Regional Scope North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa, and South & Central America Buying Options Request tailored purchasing options to fulfil your requirements for research. (A free sample of the Propylene Glycol report is available upon request; please contact us for more information.) Our Free Sample Report Consists of the following: Introduction, Overview, and in-depth industry analysis are all included in the 2024 updated report. The COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak Impact Analysis is included in the package. About 220+ Pages Research Report (Including Recent Research) Provide detailed chapter-by-chapter guidance on the Request. Updated Regional Analysis with a Graphical Representation of Size, Share, and Trends for the Year 2025 Includes Tables and figures have been updated. The most recent version of the report includes the Top Market Players, their Business Strategies, Sales Volume, and Revenue Analysis Custom Market Insights (CMI) research methodology (Please note that the sample of the Propylene Glycol report has been modified to include the COVID-19 impact study prior to delivery.) Request a Customized Copy of the Propylene Glycol Market Report @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ SWOT Analysis Strengths: Propylene glycol enjoys the benefits of diversified uses across stable and regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals, food and beverage, and personal care. It being an approved chemical by such regulatory bodies as the FDA and EFSA aids its use in sensitive consumer products. Its manufacturing plants spread all over the world make distribution and supply reliable in the required areas. The increased acceptance of bio-based PG is, therefore, opening new market segments in line with worldwide sustainability targets. Weaknesses: Although versatile, the market suffers from structural weaknesses. Conventional PG, synthesized from petroleum-based feedstock, is subject to crude oil cartelism in prices. Also, the environmental concerns associated with petrochemical production are posing an extra layer of scrutiny by regulators. Small- and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) may be at a disadvantage in competing because of expensive capital investments required for technology upgrades and meeting compliance requirements. Also, the demand for low-price competitors such as ethylene glycol in certain industrial applications adds to the price pressure. Opportunities: The bio-based PG subsegment shines as a golden window of growth. As industries move towards cleaner and sustainable production methods, companies investing in the manufacture of renewable PG can certainly gain an important chunk of market share. Emerging markets also present a rising opportunity as enhanced consumption of processed foods, pharmaceuticals, and personal care products creates new demand. There is also a scope for innovation in applications of PG-along with 3D printing materials or biodegradable plastics-that may provide brand-new opportunities for growth. Pooling resources with packaging and materials companies pursuant to circular economy principles could result in more PG applications. Threats: Various outside factors threaten the PG market. Prices of raw materials ebb and flow, and plants operating under the shadow of geopolitical instability will interrupt supply chains and raise production costs. Stricter environmental regulations toward petrochemical derivatives can prevent consumer applications of petroleum PG from using petroleum-based PG. Increased competition from alternative solvents in the longer run, including the newer bio-based chemicals, also poses a threat. Public perception and consumer skepticism regarding chemical ingredients, more so in foods and cosmetics, might hit demand unless these are addressed through transparency and education. Request a Customized Copy of the Propylene Glycol Market Report @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ Key questions answered in this report: What is the size of the Propylene Glycol market and what is its expected growth rate? What are the primary driving factors that push the Propylene Glycol market forward? What are the Propylene Glycol Industry's top companies? What are the different categories that the Propylene Glycol Market caters to? What will be the fastest-growing segment or region? In the value chain, what role do essential players play? What is the procedure for getting a free copy of the Propylene Glycol market sample report and company profiles? Key Offerings: Market Share, Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20252034 Market Dynamics Growth Drivers, Restraints, Investment Opportunities, and Leading Trends Market Segmentation A detailed analysis by Types of Services, by End-User Services, and by regions Competitive Landscape Top Key Vendors and Other Prominent Vendors Buy this Premium Propylene Glycol Research Report | Fast Delivery Available - [220+ Pages] @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ Regional Analysis The Propylene Glycol Market is segmented into various regions, including North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA. Here is a brief overview of each region: North America: North America holds a prominent share in the global propylene glycol market, driven by high demand across diverse industries such as food & beverage, pharmaceuticals, automotive, and cosmetics. The U.S. is the largest contributor, owing to the presence of major manufacturers, a mature industrial infrastructure, and advanced regulatory frameworks that support both petroleum-based and bio-based glycol production. Recent developments include capacity expansions, especially in sustainable or bio-based PG, due to increasing consumer preference for eco-friendly ingredients. The pharmaceutical and personal care sectors, in particular, are driving demand for high-purity pharmaceutical-grade PG in the region. Additionally, stringent quality and safety regulations in the food and drug sectors contribute to the consistent growth trajectory in North America. Europe: Europe, as a mature market during the acquisition of PG, considers the environmental aspect, having increased queries for bio-based alternatives. Germany, France, and the Netherlands are spearheading the sustainability initiatives, urging the conversion of petroleum-based PG to renewable ones. Also, the significant presence of direct manufacturers of cosmetics and personal care products fuels the demand for PG of extremely high purity. The regional regulations under REACH and other chemical safety programs also affect the formulation and sourcing of products. Europe is an essential exporter of specialty-grade PG for the pharmaceutical and food processing industries; hence, the market is well integrated from both demand and supply perspectives. Asia-Pacific: Asia-Pacific is the fastest developing region in the global PG market, with China and India being the largest contributors. Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and population growth increase demand in leading end-user sectors such as construction, automobiles, and the food and beverage industry. The regional market in China is held with a large industrial base, and the surging domestic demand and selling some PG derivatives as exports. India is increasingly turning to its demand in pharmaceuticals, personal care, and FMCG. Furthermore, the regional production capacity plus cost competitiveness is expected to be on a good pace due to higher investments into bio-PG and support from the government to the chemical industry. With further tightening of environmental regulations, Asia-Pacific is thus expected to witness propelled green production processes. LAMEA (Latin America, Middle East, and Africa): The LAMEA region is an emerging market for PG, with food, pharmaceutical, and construction industries proving to have untapped potential. In Latin America, Brazil and Mexico are slowly increasing their domestic consumption of PG, primarily in food processing and industrial manufacturing. The Middle East, meanwhile, sees a slow but steady demand for PG in personal care, construction, and de-icing segments-all closely linked to the rapid infrastructure growth projects in the Gulf countries. In Africa, the market is still developing, but its growth will uncontrollably build on increasing investments in pharmaceuticals, FMCG products, and agrochemicals. The region already heavily depends on imports but is slowly waking up to the idea of local manufacturing and bio-based production, with sustainability tipping the scales. Request a Customized Copy of the Propylene Glycol Market Report @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ (We customized your report to meet your specific research requirements. Inquire with our sales team about customizing your report.) Still, Looking for More Information? Do OR Want Data for Inclusion in magazines, case studies, research papers, or Media? Email Directly Here with Detail Information: support@custommarketinsights.com Browse the full Propylene Glycol Market Size, Trends and Insights By Source (Petroleum-based, Bio-based), By Grade (Industrial Grade, Pharmaceutical Grade, Others), By End-Use Industry (Transportation, Building & construction, Food & Beverage, Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics & Personal Care, Others), and By Region - Global Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20252034 Report at https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ List of the prominent players in the Propylene Glycol Market: Dow Inc. BASF SE LyondellBasell Industries Holdings B.V. Huntsman Corporation INEOS Oxide Shell plc ADM (Archer Daniels Midland Company) Global Bio-Chem Technology Group Co. Ltd. Repsol S.A. SK picglobal Manali Petrochemicals Limited Royal Dutch Shell Adeka Corporation Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. Dairen Chemical Corporation Zibo Haijie Chemical Co. Ltd. HaiKe Chemical Group Ltd. Lihong Fine Chemicals Co. Ltd. Qingdao Shida Chemical Co. Ltd. Sasol Limited Others Click Here to Access a Free Sample Report of the Global Propylene Glycol Market @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ Spectacular Deals Comprehensive coverage Maximum number of market tables and figures The subscription-based option is offered. Best price guarantee Free 35% or 60 hours of customization. Free post-sale service assistance. 25% discount on your next purchase. Service guarantees are available. Personalized market brief by author. Browse More Related Reports: US Flow Chemistry Market: US Flow Chemistry Market Size, Trends and Insights By Reactor (Tabular Reactor, Microreactor, Oscillatory Flow Reactor, Packed-Bed Reactors, Droplet-Based Reactor, Photochemical Reactors, Others), By Purification Method (Chromatography, Crystallization, Distillation, Liquid-Liquid Extraction, Membrane Filtration, Others), By Application (Chemical Synthesis, Pharmaceutical Synthesis, Material Science, Agrochemical Syntheis, Energy Conversion, Others), and By Region - Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20242033 Cement Paints Market: Cement Paints Market Size, Trends and Insights By Type (White Cement-Based Paints, Colored Cement Paints, Other Specialty Cement Paints), By Application (Exterior, Interior), By End Use (Residential, Commercial, Industrial), By Distribution Channel (Direct Sales, Retail Stores, E-Commerce, Distributors and Wholesalers), and By Region - Global Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20242033 Food Grade Calcium Chloride Market: Food Grade Calcium Chloride Market Size, Trends and Insights By Type (Calcium Chloride Dihydrate, Calcium Chloride Anhydrous), By Form (Powder, Flakes, Pellets, Granular, Liquid), By Application 9Beverage (Alcoholic, Non-alcoholic), Dairy, Meat, Bakery & Confectionery, Fruits & Vegetables, Others (Food Additives, etc.)), and By Region - Global Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20242033 APAC Clean Room Technology Market: APAC Calcium Chloride Market Size, Trends and Insights By Product (Cleanroom Consumables, Safety Consumables, Cleaning Consumables, Other cleaning consumables, Equipment, HVAC Systems, HEPA Filters, Fan Filter Units, Others, Controls), By Type (Standard Cleanrooms, Modular Cleanrooms, Hardwall Cleanrooms, Softwall Cleanrooms, Mobile Cleanrooms), By End User (Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology, Medical Device Manufacturers, Electronics, Hospitals, Other End Users), and By Region - Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20242033 Aspartic Acid Market: Aspartic Acid Market Size, Trends and Insights By Source (Plant Based, Avocado, Asparagus, Molasses, Others, Animal Based, Wild game, Oysters, Sausage meat), By Product (L-Aspartic Acid, D-Aspartic Acid, DL-Aspartic Acid), By Application (Feed Supplements, Pharmaceutical & Medicine, Polyaspartic Acid, Aspartame, L-Alanine, Others), By Distribution Channels (Direct, Indirect), and By Region - Global Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20242033 Flooring Market: Flooring Market Size, Trends and Insights By Product Type (Ceramic Tiles, Porcelain Tiles, Carpet, Vinyl, Wood & Laminate, Others), By Application (Residential, Industrial), and By Region - Global Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20242033 Asia Pacific Aromatherapy Market: Asia Pacific Aromatherapy Market Size, Trends and Insights By Product Type (Essential Oils, Carrier Oils, Diffusers, Other Accessories), By Mode of Delivery (Topical Application, Direct Inhalation, Aerial Diffusion), By End-Use Industry (Home Use, Spa and Wellness Centers, Medical and Clinical Settings, Personal Care and Cosmetics), By Distribution Channel (Online Channels, Offline Channels), and By Region - Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20242033 Industrial Sulfuric Acid Market: Industrial Sulfuric Acid Market Size, Trends and Insights By Type (Concentrated Sulfuric Acid, Tower/Glover Acid, Battery Acid, Others), By Application (Fertilizers, Chemical Manufacturing, Metal Processing, Petroleum Refining, Automotive, Others), By End Use Industry (Agriculture, Chemicals, Metals & Mining, Petroleum, Automotive, Others), By Distribution Channel (Online, Offline), and By Region - Global Industry Overview, Statistical Data, Competitive Analysis, Share, Outlook, and Forecast 20242033 The Propylene Glycol Market is segmented as follows: By Source Petroleum-based Bio-based By Grade Industrial Grade Pharmaceutical Grade Others By End-Use Industry Transportation Building & construction Food & Beverage Pharmaceuticals Cosmetics & Personal Care Others Click Here to Get a Free Sample Report of the Global Propylene Glycol Market @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ Regional Coverage: North America U.S. Canada Mexico Rest of North America Europe Germany France U.K. Russia Italy Spain Netherlands Rest of Europe Asia Pacific China Japan India New Zealand Australia South Korea Taiwan Rest of Asia Pacific The Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia UAE Egypt Kuwait South Africa Rest of the Middle East & Africa Latin America Brazil Argentina Rest of Latin America This Propylene Glycol Market Research/Analysis Report Contains Answers to the following Questions. Which Trends Are Causing These Developments? Who Are the Global Key Players in This Propylene Glycol Market? What are Their Company Profile, Product Information, and Contact Information? What Was the Global Market Status of the Propylene Glycol Market? What Was the Capacity, Production Value, Cost and PROFIT of the Propylene Glycol Market? What Is the Current Market Status of the Propylene Glycol Industry? What's Market Competition in This Industry, Both Company and Country Wise? What's Market Analysis of Propylene Glycol Market by Considering Applications and Types? What Are Projections of the Global Propylene Glycol Industry Considering Capacity, Production and Production Value? What Will Be the Estimation of Cost and Profit? What Will Be Market Share, Supply and Consumption? What about imports and exports? What Is Propylene Glycol Market Chain Analysis by Upstream Raw Materials and Downstream Industry? What Is the Economic Impact On Propylene Glycol Industry? What are Global Macroeconomic Environment Analysis Results? What Are Global Macroeconomic Environment Development Trends? What Are Market Dynamics of Propylene Glycol Market? What Are Challenges and Opportunities? What Should Be Entry Strategies, Countermeasures to Economic Impact, and Marketing Channels for Propylene Glycol Industry? Click Here to Access a Free Sample Report of the Global Propylene Glycol Market @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ Reasons to Purchase Propylene Glycol Market Report Propylene Glycol Market Report provides qualitative and quantitative analysis of the market based on segmentation involving economic and non-economic factors. Propylene Glycol Market report outlines market value (USD) data for each segment and sub-segment. This report indicates the region and segment expected to witness the fastest growth and dominate the market. Propylene Glycol Market Analysis by geography highlights the consumption of the product/service in the region and indicates the factors affecting the market within each region. The competitive landscape incorporates the market ranking of the major players, along with new service/product launches, partnerships, business expansions, and acquisitions in the past five years of companies profiled. Extensive company profiles comprising company overview, company insights, product benchmarking, and SWOT analysis for the major market players. The Industry's current and future market outlook concerning recent developments (which involve growth opportunities and drivers as well as challenges and restraints of both emerging and developed regions. Propylene Glycol Market Includes in-depth market analysis from various perspectives through Porter's five forces analysis and provides insight into the market through Value Chain. Reasons for the Research Report The study provides a thorough overview of the global Propylene Glycol market. Compare your performance to that of the market as a whole. Aim to maintain competitiveness while innovations from established key players fuel market growth. Buy this Premium Propylene Glycol Research Report | Fast Delivery Available - [220+ Pages] @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ What does the report include? Drivers, restrictions, and opportunities are among the qualitative elements covered in the worldwide Propylene Glycol market analysis. The competitive environment of current and potential participants in the Propylene Glycol market is covered in the report, as well as those companies' strategic product development ambitions. According to the component, application, and industry vertical, this study analyzes the market qualitatively and quantitatively. Additionally, the report offers comparable data for the important regions. For each segment mentioned above, actual market sizes and forecasts have been given. Who should buy this report? Participants and stakeholders worldwide Propylene Glycol market should find this report useful. The research will be useful to all market participants in the Propylene Glycol industry. Managers in the Propylene Glycol sector are interested in publishing up-to-date and projected data about the worldwide Propylene Glycol market. Governmental agencies, regulatory bodies, decision-makers, and organizations want to invest in Propylene Glycol products' market trends. Market insights are sought for by analysts, researchers, educators, strategy managers, and government organizations to develop plans. Request a Customized Copy of the Propylene Glycol Market Report @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ About Custom Market Insights: Custom Market Insights is a market research and advisory company delivering business insights and market research reports to large, small, and medium-scale enterprises. We assist clients with strategies and business policies and regularly work toward achieving sustainable growth in their respective domains. CMI offers a comprehensive solution, from data collection to investment advice. Our company's expert analysis digs out essential factors that help us understand the significance and impact of market dynamics. The professional experts utilize client insights to inform strategies for estimating future declines, forecasting opportunities for growth, and conducting consumer surveys. Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube Contact Us: Joel John CMI Consulting LLC 1333, 701 Tillery Street Unit 12, Austin, TX, Travis, US, 78702 USA: +1 737-734-2707 India: +91 20 46022736 Email: support@custommarketinsights.com Web: https://www.custommarketinsights.com/ Blog: https://www.techyounme.com/ Blog: https://businessresearchindustry.com Blog: https://www.technowalla.com/ Blog: https://marketresearchtrade.com/ Buy this Premium Propylene Glycol Research Report | Fast Delivery Available - [220+ Pages] @ https://www.custommarketinsights.com/report/propylene-glycol-market/ AHMEDABAD, India, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Shaligram Infotech, a trusted Microsoft Partner and a leading IT solutions provider based in India marked the completion of its 10 years of industry presence with a proper and effective rebranding strategy. Over the span of 10 years, Shaligram Infotech has been instrumental in delivering innovative, scalable, and reliable technology-driven solutions to its clients spread across the globe. Being a trusted Microsoft partner, the company delivered numerous benchmark solutions to global clients focused on the suite of business applications covered under Microsoft Dynamics 365. Apart from MS Dynamics 365 specialization, Shaligram also offers end-to-end IT solutions covering multiple platforms and technologies. This decade of industry excellence reflecting its growth and transformation was marked by the unveiling of a fresh new logo and a redesigned website. The updated identity aligns with the company's roots and values while projecting its global aspirations and evolving capabilities. A Decade of Global Influence During the 10 years of journey, Shaligram Infotech expanded its global presence from its base in India and today has its offshore offices spread across the countries like UK, USA, Australia. Over this period, the company has made efforts to meet user expectations while setting its own global standards. What started just as a mere IT service provider expanded over the years into a global digital partner covering several domains including fintech, eCommerce, healthcare, logistics, education, and much more. Over these years, Shaligram has had the privilege of working with companies spread across different sectors and geographies. Each project came with its own set of challenges which pushed our team to think beyond borders and develop impactful solutions, said Ramesh Marand, CEO of Shaligram Infotech. Strong Microsoft Expertise As a recognized Microsoft partner, Shaligram Infotech has carried out Dynamics 365 Business Central and CRM implementations for different types of organizations. With a consultative approach and deep domain expertise, Shaligram has been able to let clients get real-time insights, streamline operations, and achieve quick ROI. New Logo, New Look Shaligram Infotech went ahead with complete visual transformation and introduced a new logo and an updated website to mark its 10th anniversary in the industry. The new and updated look reflected its unwavering commitment towards a modern and customer-centric approach as well as the values that shaped the company over the years. Apart from the visual change, the new design of the website also acted as a platform for its international audience, which communicated about its industry-specific solutions and success stories. Expanding Global Presence Shaligram Infotech is working on forging a stronger international strategy to meet the evolving global digital landscape. To meet the evolving needs of businesses worldwide, Shaligram offers flexible engagement models that include offering dedicated offshore teams for outsourced development. Today, businesses are looking for reliable partners who can solve their business problems and be a part of their success journeys. We at Shaligram are proud to be such a partner for many, adds Ramesh Marand, CEO of Shaligram Infotech. About Shaligram Infotech Shaligram Infotech is a leading Microsoft Partner based in India, offering a range of IT services that include consulting and implementation of Microsoft Dynamics 365 solutions , cloud-based solutions, custom software development, and more. The company serves clients worldwide with their digital transformation journeys and believes in building long-term relationships. Looking Ahead As Shaligram Infotech enters its second decade, it works on building meaningful technology partnerships while delivering value through global collaboration and transparency. Companies looking for business partners to leverage the power of Microsoft technologies and its platforms, Shaligram can be the best choice with an ambitious global outlook and proven industry expertise. To learn more, visit https://www.shaligraminfotech.com/ Shaligram Infotech +91 99099 84567 info@shaligraminfotech.com India Office: Shaligram Corporates, 3rd Floor, Iscon - Ambli Road, Ahmedabad, Gujarat - 380058 USA Office: 1 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh, NC, 27603, USA Australia Office: Level 36, 71 Eagle Street, Brisbane, QLD 4000, Australia UK Office: Stanmore Business & Innovation Centre, Howard Road, Stanmore, HA71BT, UK Disclaimer: This content is provided by Shaligram Infotech. 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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d122412f-f886-434b-94f9-1fd7c827dcc2 DALLAS, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Dr. Michael Rimlawi Scholarship for Future Doctors proudly announces its 2026 application cycle, inviting undergraduate students with aspirations of entering the medical field to apply. Established by renowned spine surgeon Dr. Michael Rimlawi, the scholarship aims to recognize and encourage promising future physicians who are committed to improving healthcare through compassion, innovation, and excellence. The Dr. Michael Rimlawi Scholarship for Future Doctors is open to undergraduate students enrolled at accredited colleges or universities across the United States who are pursuing a career in medicine. Applicants are required to submit an original and thoughtful essay responding to the following prompt: What inspired you to pursue a career in medicine, and how do you hope to make a difference in the field? Essays must be between 500 and 750 words, reflecting a genuine passion for medicine and a clear vision for contributing to the healthcare profession. Dr. Michael Rimlawi, who serves as the driving force behind this initiative, believes that encouraging the next generation of doctors is vital for the continued advancement of patient care and medical practice. Dr. Michael Rimlawi is widely recognized for his groundbreaking work in minimally invasive spine surgery. Combining orthopedic and neurosurgical principles, Dr. Michael Rimlawi has developed and performed transformative procedures designed to reduce recovery times and enhance surgical accuracy. His role as the first surgeon in the United States to carry out the Globus Minimally Invasive XLIF procedure highlights his commitment to medical progress. In addition to his work in the operating room, Dr. Michael Rimlawi is dedicated to mentoring emerging medical professionals. Through the Dr. Michael Rimlawi Scholarship for Future Doctors, he seeks to nurture those who display both academic potential and a sincere dedication to advancing the quality of care for patients. This one-time award provides meaningful support to help offset educational expenses and encourage continued academic success. The application window is open now, with a submission deadline of January 15, 2026. The scholarship winner will be formally announced on February 15, 2026, following a careful review of all eligible essays. The Dr. Michael Rimlawi Scholarship for Future Doctors does not place any restrictions based on city or state, offering a national opportunity to talented students across the country. By supporting these aspiring physicians, Dr. Michael Rimlawi continues his mission to advance the future of medicine beyond his surgical practice. For undergraduate students who dream of becoming doctors, the Dr. Michael Rimlawi Scholarship for Future Doctors represents not only financial assistance but also the support of a leader who has dedicated his life to raising the standards of healthcare. Applicants are encouraged to visit the scholarships website for complete details and submission guidelines. Contact Information: Spokesperson: Dr. Michael Rimlawi Organization: Dr. Michael Rimlawi Scholarship for Future Doctors Website: https://drmichaelrimlawischolarship.com/ Email: apply@drmichaelrimlawischolarship.com A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c13c96e4-f29c-477f-ba66-e9f793201505 Coface agrees to acquire Novertur International SA (business-monitor.ch), enhancing its Business Information offer in Switzerland Paris, 17 July 2025 18.30 Coface announces the signing of an agreement to acquire 100% of Novertur International SA. Novertur International SA, a Swiss startup based in Lausanne, has developed strong digital expertise in managing data on Swiss companies, which it distributes through its platform business-monitor.ch. Launched in 2016, the platform has become a key tool for SMEs and large companies in Switzerland for risk management and B2B prospecting. It offers simple, fast and reliable access to up-to-date information on more than 730,000 active Swiss businesses. The technological innovations developed by Novertur International SA - particularly in data structuring and user experience - combined with Cofaces expertise in credit risk, will significantly strengthen Cofaces Business Information offering in Switzerland. This acquisition strengthens the Group's data, technical capabilities and expertise, in full alignment with its strategic plan Power the Core, which aims to enhance its high value-added services while strengthening its local presence. Florent Schlaeppi, CEO and Founder of business-monitor.ch, commented: From day one, we designed business-monitor.ch to be intuitive, fast, and useful for anyone analyzing companies. Joining Coface is a tremendous opportunity to take our mission to the next level by putting our technology at the service of a global player in business risk. Christian Moins, Country Manager Coface Switzerland, commented: We are particularly excited to welcome the Business Monitor team to Coface. The acquisition of Business Monitor demonstrates Cofaces ambition to establish itself as a key player in Business Information. This transaction significantly strengthens our position in the Swiss market, making Coface an even more attractive partner for its clients. The completion of the acquisition remains subject to the usual closing conditions. CONTACTS ANALYSTS / INVESTORS Thomas JACQUET: +33 1 49 02 12 58 thomas.jacquet@coface.com Rina ANDRIAMIADANTSOA: +33 1 49 02 15 85 rina.andriamiadantsoa@coface.com MEDIA RELATIONS Saphia GAOUAOUI: +33 1 49 02 14 91 saphia.gaouaoui@coface.com Adrien BILLET: +33 1 49 02 23 63 adrien.billet@coface.com FINANCIAL CALENDAR 2025 (subject to change) H1-2025 results: 31 July 2025 (after market close) 9M-2025 results: 3 November 2025 (after market close) FINANCIAL INFORMATION This press release, as well as COFACE SAs integral regulatory information, can be found on the Groups website: http://www.coface.com/Investors For regulated information on Alternative Performance Measures (APM), please refer to our Interim Financial Report for H1-2024 and our 2024 Universal Registration Document (see part 3.7 Key financial performance indicators). Regulated documents posted by COFACE SA have been secured and authenticated with the blockchain technology by Wiztrust. You can check the authenticity on the website www.wiztrust.com. COFACE: FOR TRADE As a global leading player in trade credit risk management for more than 75 years, Coface helps companies grow and navigate in an uncertain and volatile environment. Whatever their size, location or sector, Coface provides 100,000 clients across some 200 markets with a full range of solutions: Trade Credit Insurance, Business Information, Debt Collection, Single Risk insurance, Surety Bonds, Factoring. Every day, Coface leverages its unique expertise and cutting-edge technology to make trade happen, in both domestic and export markets. In 2024, Coface employed ~5,236 people and registered a turnover of 1.84 billion. www.coface.com COFACE SA is quoted in Compartment A of Euronext Paris Code ISIN: FR0010667147 / Ticker: COFA DISCLAIMER - Certain declarations featured in this press release may contain forecasts that notably relate to future events, trends, projects or targets. By nature, these forecasts include identified or unidentified risks and uncertainties, and may be affected by many factors likely to give rise to a significant discrepancy between the real results and those stated in these declarations. Please refer to chapter 5 Main risk factors and their management within the Group of the Coface Group's 2024 Universal Registration Document filed with AMF on 3 April 2025 under the number D.25-0227 in order to obtain a description of certain major factors, risks and uncertainties likely to influence the Coface Group's businesses. The Coface Group disclaims any intention or obligation to publish an update of these forecasts, or provide new information on future events or any other circumstance. Attachment AUSTIN, Texas, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vereigen Media, a leader in B2B demand generation powered by human-verified, first-party data, is excited to announce Marketers Connect, an exclusive invite-only event for senior B2B marketing leaders. This event will take place on Thursday, August 14, 2025, at Hotel Zelos, located in the heart of San Francisco. The event is designed for todays forward-thinking marketers. Marketers Connect offers a top-tier networking and insights experience, helping professionals navigate a complex digital world. This event is personalized for senior decision-makers in the industry, focusing on first-party data, verified content engagement, and the future of human-led demand generation. Event Details: Date: Thursday, August 14, 2025 Thursday, August 14, 2025 Time: 6:00 PM 9:00 PM. 6:00 PM 7:00 PM Networking, Light Bites, and Cocktails 7:00 PM 8:00 PM Expert Panel Discussion 8:00 PM 9:00 PM Networking and Cocktails 6:00 PM 9:00 PM. Location: Hotel Zelos, Angels Share Patio, 12 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94103. Hotel Zelos, Angels Share Patio, 12 4th St, San Francisco, CA 94103. Who Should Attend: Senior B2B marketers focused on demand generation, ABM, and digital strategy. Why Marketers Should Attend Marketers Connect Marketers Connect isnt just another networking event. Its a growth forum for B2B leaders. It helps them cut through digital noise and drive real engagement. What Attendees Will Gain At Marketers Connect, attendees will gain actionable strategies and insider perspectives to help them navigate todays fast-changing marketing landscape. Key highlights include: Expert Panel Discussion: A candid conversation on the current state of B2B marketing, covering everything from evolving buyer behavior to emerging technologies shaping the industry. A candid conversation on the current state of B2B marketing, covering everything from evolving buyer behavior to emerging technologies shaping the industry. Trending Topics: Explore hot-button issues such as content syndication, AI-powered marketing, and data privacy, whats working, whats hype, and where the real opportunities lie. Explore hot-button issues such as content syndication, AI-powered marketing, and data privacy, whats working, whats hype, and where the real opportunities lie. First-Party Data Deep Dive: Learn how leading brands are using first-party data and verified engagement to drive measurable outcomes. Learn how leading brands are using first-party data and verified engagement to drive measurable outcomes. Future-Focused Insights: Get ahead of the curve with predictions and practical advice on whats next for demand generation and digital strategy. This isnt just theory, you can expect unfiltered, real-world strategies from marketing leaders who are actively driving results in this exclusive event. Backed by Proven Results Vereigen Medias recent Austin Roadshow proved the value of meaningful, in-person connections, earning high praise from attendees and generating strong business outcomes. The event sparked new collaborations, strengthened industry relationships, and led to several direct partnership opportunities. Marketers Connect builds on this success, bringing together the right people in the right setting to discuss whats driving results today and whats on the horizon for B2B marketing. Expect Big Names. Big Insights. The evening will feature a lineup of industry-leading speakers from the SaaS, technology, and digital marketing sectors. Speaker announcements are coming soon. Register to Attend, Limited Access. Seats are limited and available by invitation or by approved application only. Register early to secure your spot among the industrys leading marketing professionals. Registration Link - https://vereigenmedia.com/events/marketers-connect-san-francisco/ About Vereigen Media Vereigen Media is redefining how B2B brands connect with real buyers. Delivering verified, human-engaged leads powered by first-party data, zero outsourcing, and transparent operations. From intent-driven display engagement (VM Engage) to content validation programs, helping enterprise marketing teams cut through vanity metrics and deliver real results. No guesswork. No third-party fluff. Just leads. done right. Learn more at www.vereigenmedia.com. Join us this August in San Francisco and experience what real engagement looks like. Contact: Manraj Singh - Marketing Manager Vereigen Media LLC Email: marketing@vereigenmedia.com Phone: +1 512-240-2212 (US) A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f5b7fd50-296e-46b8-8ea0-40febdd8e740 IRVINE, Calif., July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the mortgage industry faces continued headwinds in 2025, E Mortgage Capital (EMC) is showing what forward momentum looks like. With nearly 6,000 families helped into homeownership in just the first half of the year, EMC is proving that disciplined leadership, modern infrastructure, and a people-first culture can still win in todays market. Our focus this year has been on clarity, says Wesam (Sam) Hijazin, President of E Mortgage Capital. Clarity in how we serve our clients, how we support our loan officers, and how we move the business forward without the noise or distractions that hold others back. At a time when much of the industry is navigating uncertainty, EMC is leaning into opportunity with purpose. The companys investments in technology, marketing infrastructure, and training have allowed its loan officers to stay sharp, competitive, and fully equipped to serve buyers in any rate environment. But for EMC, the number of families served is only part of the story. The deeper impact lies in how those outcomes are achieved: with care, consistency, and a relentless drive to improve. EMCs loan officers continue to meet buyers where they are, educating, advising, and delivering the kind of experience that builds long-term trust. With the second half of the year underway, EMC is moving into Q3 with renewed energy and a refined strategy. From empowering homebuyers to supporting the growth of its loan officers, the companys mission remains constant: to elevate the standard for what a modern mortgage company can deliver. The momentum is real, adds Hijazin. And were just getting started. About E Mortgage Capital E Mortgage Capital is a leading mortgage brokerage headquartered in Irvine, California, committed to providing best-in-class service to clients and partners. With a national presence and a growing team of dedicated loan officers, EMC delivers innovative lending solutions and a people-first approach to home financing. Media Contact: Contact Person: Sam Hijazin Email: sam@emortgagecapital.com Phone: +1 855-569-3700 Disclaimer: This press release is provided by the E Mortgage Capital. The statements, views, and opinions expressed in this content are solely those of the content provider and do not necessarily reflect the views of this media platform or its publisher. We do not endorse, verify, or guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information presented. This content is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or trading advice. Investing involves significant risks, including the potential loss of capital. Readers are strongly encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. 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A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2350e155-c1af-47e0-9509-10bab122a1d7 TORONTO, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (TSX: PFIA, PFCO, PFCB, PFAA, PFIG) Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the July 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0346 per unit for the ETF units (ETF Units) of the PICTON Long Short Income Alternative Fund. Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the July 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0304 per unit for the ETF Units of the PICTON Credit Opportunities Alternative Fund. Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the July 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0342 per unit for the ETF Units of the PICTON Core Bond Fund. Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the July 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0227 per unit for the ETF Units of the PICTON Multi-Strategy Alpha Alternative Fund. Picton Mahoney Asset Management announced today that it has declared the July 2025 monthly cash distribution of $0.0646 per unit for the ETF units of the PICTON Investment Grade Alternative Fund. Unitholders of record of the ETF Units, at the close of business on July 23, 2025, will receive a per-unit cash distribution payable on July 31, 2025. About Picton Mahoney Asset Management Picton Mahoney Asset Management specializes in differentiated investment solutions and rules-based volatility management. Picton Mahoney helps its clients fortify their portfolios based on experience honed over the years through different market cycles and investing environments. Founded in 2004 and 100% employee-owned, Picton Mahoney is a portfolio management boutique entrusted with over $15.0 billion (as at June 30, 2025) in assets under management. Pioneers of Authentic Hedge investment principles and practices in Canada, the firm offers a full suite of investment solutions, including mutual and alternative funds, to institutional and retail investors across the country. Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, performance fees and expenses all may be associated with mutual fund investments. Please read the prospectus before investing. Mutual funds are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated. Alternative funds can only be purchased through a registered dealer and are available only in those jurisdictions where they may be lawfully offered for sale. For further information please contact: Arthur Galloway Picton Mahoney Asset Management Tel: (416) 955-4108 Website: www.pictoninvestments.com Email: invest@pictoninvestments.com FINANCIAL PRESS RELEASE FIRST-HALF 2025 TURNOVER* *under audit Strong performance in a mixed market environment Consolidated revenue stable at 109.3 million (-0.2%) +4.7% growth for Champagne Pommery, reflecting the success of the premiumization strategy Reims, July 17, 2025 In the first half of 2025, Vranken-Pommery Monopole once again demonstrated its resilience with stable revenue (-0.2% vs. 2024) in a still volatile economic environment: Significant trade tensions , particularly between Europe and the United States, with ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs on European wines and spirits , particularly between Europe and the United States, with ongoing uncertainty surrounding tariffs on European wines and spirits An unstable geopolitical climate , marked by prolonged armed conflicts and rising diplomatic tensions , marked by prolonged armed conflicts and rising diplomatic tensions Mixed results for the Champagne market in the first half of the year (down -1.2% in volume compared to H1 2024), with a catch-up effect expected in the second half. Performance by business segment Activity H1 2025 (m) H1 2024 (m) Change vs H1 2024 Champagnes 94.3 93.9 +0.3% Provences & Camargues 5.7 5.7 -1.2% Other (Portos, Sparkling Wines, miscellaneous) 9.4 9.9 -4.7% Total Group 109.3 109.6 -0.2% Champagnes , the Groups core business, remained stable in the first half (+0.3% in revenue) despite a market decline in both volume and value. The Groups expected growth will mainly come in the second half, driven by the year-end festive season. , the Groups core business, remained stable in the first half (+0.3% in revenue) despite a market decline in both volume and value. The Groups expected growth will mainly come in the second half, driven by the year-end festive season. Provence and Camargue Rose Wines recorded volume growth, although revenue remained almost stable at 5.7 million in H1. Camargue wines showed strong momentum, supported by new Off-Trade partnerships, notably for the Daladel cuvee. recorded volume growth, although revenue remained almost stable at 5.7 million in H1. Camargue wines showed strong momentum, supported by new Off-Trade partnerships, notably for the Daladel cuvee. Port and Douro Wines posted a decline. Increased competitive pressure from a few players on the Portuguese market led to lower volumes domestically, although volumes continued to grow across all other markets. posted a decline. Increased competitive pressure from a few players on the Portuguese market led to lower volumes domestically, although volumes continued to grow across all other markets. Sparkling Wines turnover increased (+9.2%), driven by the strong performance of the Louis Pommery range (California & England), with additional volumes expected in the second half from the recently launched Lucas Carton Sparkling. Premium brands at the core of the Champagne strategy The Group is accelerating its strategy around premium brands, with a continued focus on high value-added cuvees: Pommery & Vranken Champagne brands accounted for 57.0% of the Groups revenue , an increase compared to 2024 accounted for , an increase compared to 2024 Champagne Pommery continues to grow (+4.7% in revenue), driven by the strong performance of its flagship cuvees Cuvee Louise, Grand Apanage 1874, and Grand Cru Royal This momentum reflects the ongoing premiumization of the portfolio, aligned with consumer demand for authenticity and sustainability a deep-rooted trend in the sector where value now prevails over volume. The positive price-mix effect continues to improve, confirming the effectiveness of this premium-focused strategy. Champagne revenue by geographic region Geographic region H1 2025 (m) H1 2024 (m) Change vs H1 2024 France 40.5 32.9 +22.9% Europe 33.8 34.9 -3.1% Third countries 20.0 26.2 -23.6% Total Champagnes 94.3 93.9 +0.3% International markets (excluding France) remain the driving force behind Champagne activity development, accounting for 57% of revenue. In France , the Group gained market share in both On-Trade and Off-Trade channels, with Champagne volumes increasing despite a decline in overall appellation shipments since January (-5.2%). , the Group gained market share in both On-Trade and Off-Trade channels, with Champagne volumes increasing despite a decline in overall appellation shipments since January (-5.2%). In Europe , the main countries saw a rebound for the Group, in line with the overall market trend. , the main countries saw a rebound for the Group, in line with the overall market trend. Regarding third countries : The revenue decline is mainly due to lower volumes in Duty Free . In the United States , the Groups exposure remains limited, with less than 4% of consolidated revenue generated in the domestic market. In Asia , the Group continues its expansion, with the establishment in South Korea expected to support further growth in the second half of the year. : A sustainable and differentiating CSR strategy: "La Verite du Terroir" Vranken-Pommery Monopole continues to uphold its CSR commitments on a daily basis to secure the future of the Group and its ecosystem. The entire value chain is involved in these efforts from the vineyard to distribution with a strong focus on safeguarding and preserving the Groups craftsmanship, which is the foundation of its product quality. Key actions taken in recent months include: Collaboration with a transport company to test an electric truck , aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to logistics , aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to logistics Awarded the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant (Living Heritage Company) label, a distinction granted by the French government recognizing excellence in traditional and industrial craftsmanship These commitments enhance the appeal of the Groups brands among consumers who are increasingly mindful of their social and environmental impact. Outlook Despite a still uncertain geopolitical and economic environment, Vranken-Pommery Monopole approaches the second half of 2025 with confidence. The Group remains fully committed to its roadmap: Growth in Champagne volumes in 2025 in 2025 Continued premiumization , with the accelerated development of the Pommery brand and the creation and commercial launch of Clos Pompadour 2017 in 75cl , with the accelerated development of the brand and the creation and commercial launch of in 75cl Strengthening international presence , particularly in Asia , particularly in Asia Improved profitability through rigorous cost control and significant efforts in streamlining and optimizing viticulture through rigorous cost control and significant efforts in streamlining and optimizing viticulture Continued progress on CSR commitments , with a particular focus in 2025 on the Groups decarbonization pathway and the promotion of craftsmanship through the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant label , with a particular focus in 2025 on the Groups pathway and the promotion of through the Entreprise du Patrimoine Vivant label Increased focus on innovation, particularly through the use of data to support commercial development, the ongoing digitization of operations, and the deployment of AI projects applied to viticulture Next communication Publication of H1 2025 results: September 11, 2025, after market close About Vranken-Pommery Monopole Vranken-Pommery Monopole is a major player in the Champagne sector. The Group controls the entire value chain, from vineyard cultivation to winemaking and distribution. It also operates in three other wine regions: Provence, Camargue, and Douro. The Group is strongly committed to promoting terroirs, practicing sustainable viticulture, and preserving the environment. Vranken-Pommery Monopole is a company listed on NYSE Euronext Paris and Brussels. (code "VRAP" (Paris), "VRAB" (Brussels); ISIN code: FR0000062796). Contacts Vranken-Pommery Monopole : Franck Delval, Directeur des Controles Financiers +33 3 26 61 62 34, comfi@vrankenpommery.fr Press Laurent Poinsot, +33 1 53 70 74 77, lpoinsot@image7.fr Caroline Simon, +33 1 53 70 74 65, caroline.simon@image7.fr Attachments Luxembourg 17 July 2025 - Subsea 7 S.A. (Oslo Brs: SUBC, ADR: SUBCY) today announced the award of a large1 contract by Equinor relating to the Fram Sr development project, offshore Norway. The project work scope covers engineering, procurement, construction and installation (EPCI) of subsea structures and flowlines including 53 kilometres of production, gas lift and water injection lines. The scope also includes installation of the umbilical system. It follows the award on 9 January 20252 of a contract for front-end engineering and design that finalised the technical definition of the development. Engineering and project management will begin immediately in our offices in Norway and UK. Offshore installation activities are expected in 2026, 2027 and 2028. The Fram Sr area is located 10-30 kilometres north of the Equinor-operated Troll C platform, approximately 70 kilometres north-west of Bergen. The Fram Sr project will be connected to the existing Fram and Troll C infrastructure. Erik Femsteinevik, Vice President for Subsea 7 Norway said: This award continues our long-standing collaboration with Equinor. The FEED study enabled Subsea7 to engage early in the field development process, optimising design solutions and contributing to the final investment decision. We look forward to working closely with Equinor to deliver the Fram Sr development safely and efficiently. Contract is subject to authority approval of Plan for development and operations (PDO). Subsea7 defines a large contract as being between $300 million and $500 million. https://www.subsea7.com/en/media/company-news/2025/Subsea7_awarded_contract_offshore_Norway.html ******************************************************************************* Subsea7 is a global leader in the delivery of offshore projects and services for the evolving energy industry, creating sustainable value by being the industrys partner and employer of choice in delivering the efficient offshore solutions the world needs. Subsea7 is listed on the Oslo Brs (SUBC), ISIN LU0075646355, LEI 222100AIF0CBCY80AH62. ******************************************************************************* Contact for investment community enquiries: Katherine Tonks Investor Relations Director Tel +44 20 8210 5568 ir@subsea7.com Contact for media enquiries: Jan Roger Moksnes Communications Manager Tel +47 41515777 janroger.moksnes@subsea7.com www.subsea7.com Forward-Looking Statements: This document may contain forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the safe harbour provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995). These statements relate to our current expectations, beliefs, intentions, assumptions or strategies regarding the future and are subject to known and unknown risks that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, future, goal, intend, likely may, plan, project, seek, should, strategy will, and similar expressions. The principal risks which could affect future operations of the Group are described in the Risk Management section of the Groups Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements. Factors that may cause actual and future results and trends to differ materially from our forward-looking statements include (but are not limited to): (i) our ability to deliver fixed price projects in accordance with client expectations and within the parameters of our bids, and to avoid cost overruns; (ii) our ability to collect receivables, negotiate variation orders and collect the related revenue; (iii) our ability to recover costs on significant projects; (iv) capital expenditure by oil and gas companies, which is affected by fluctuations in the price of, and demand for, crude oil and natural gas; (v) unanticipated delays or cancellation of projects included in our backlog; (vi) competition and price fluctuations in the markets and businesses in which we operate; (vii) the loss of, or deterioration in our relationship with, any significant clients; (viii) the outcome of legal proceedings or governmental inquiries; (ix) uncertainties inherent in operating internationally, including economic, political and social instability, boycotts or embargoes, labour unrest, changes in foreign governmental regulations, corruption and currency fluctuations; (x) the effects of a pandemic or epidemic or a natural disaster; (xi) liability to third parties for the failure of our joint venture partners to fulfil their obligations; (xii) changes in, or our failure to comply with, applicable laws and regulations (including regulatory measures addressing climate change); (xiii) operating hazards, including spills, environmental damage, personal or property damage and business interruptions caused by adverse weather; (xiv) equipment or mechanical failures, which could increase costs, impair revenue and result in penalties for failure to meet project completion requirements; (xv) the timely delivery of vessels on order and the timely completion of ship conversion programmes; (xvi) our ability to keep pace with technological changes and the impact of potential information technology, cyber security or data security breaches; (xvii) global availability at scale and commercially viability of suitable alternative vessel fuels; and (xviii) the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures and internal control over financial reporting. Many of these factors are beyond our ability to control or predict. Given these uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this document. We undertake no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. This information is considered to be inside information pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation and is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to Section 5-12 the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This stock exchange release was published by Katherine Tonks, Investor Relations, Subsea7, on 17 July 2025 at 21:45 CET. Attachment DALLAS, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- P10, Inc. (NYSE: PX), a leading private markets solutions provider, today announced it will release its second quarter 2025 results on Thursday, August 7, 2025, before the U.S. markets open. The company will host a conference call and live webcast at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on the same day. The webcast may be accessed here. All participants joining by telephone should register here for personal dial-in and PIN numbers. For those unable to participate in the live call, a replay will be made available on P10s investor relations page at ir.p10alts.com. About P10 P10 is a leading multi-asset class private markets solutions provider in the alternative asset management industry. P10s mission is to provide its investors differentiated access to a broad set of investment solutions that address their diverse investment needs within private markets. As of March 31, 2025, P10s products have a global investor base of more than 3,800 investors across 50 states, 60 countries, and six continents, which includes some of the worlds largest pension funds, endowments, foundations, corporate pensions, and financial institutions. Visit www.p10alts.com. P10 Investor Contact: info@p10alts.com P10 Media Contact: Josh Clarkson Taylor Donahue pro-p10@prosek.com CALGARY, Alberta, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- South Bow Corp. (TSX & NYSE: SOBO) (South Bow or the Company) announces the extension of the expiration date for the previously announced exchange offers relating to certain outstanding notes of South Bow Canadian Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. (the Canadian Exchange Offer) and South Bow USA Infrastructure Holdings LLC (the U.S. Exchange Offer). South Bow Canadian Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. exchange offer South Bow Canadian Infrastructure Holdings Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of South Bow, has extended the expiration date for the Canadian Exchange Offer, in which: (i) the holders of its outstanding 7.625% Fixed-to-Fixed Reset Rate Junior Subordinated Notes due 2055 (the Initial Series 1 Notes) were offered the opportunity to exchange all or a portion of their Initial Series 1 Notes for an equal aggregate principal amount of 7.625% Fixed-to-Fixed Reset Rate Junior Subordinated Notes due 2055 (the New Series 1 Notes); and (ii) the holders of its outstanding 7.500% Fixed-to-Fixed Reset Rate Junior Subordinated Notes due 2055 (the Initial Series 2 Notes and collectively with the Initial Series 1 Notes, the Initial Canadian Notes) were offered the opportunity to exchange all or a portion of their Initial Series 2 Notes for an equal aggregate principal amount of 7.500% Fixed-to-Fixed Reset Rate Junior Subordinated Notes due 2055 (the New Series 2 Notes and collectively with the New Series 1 Notes, the New Canadian Notes), in each case, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the short form prospectus of South Bow Canadian Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. dated July 3, 2025 (the Canadian Prospectus). South Bow Canadian Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. is extending the previous Canadian Exchange Offer expiration date of 5:00 p.m. ET on Aug. 4, 2025, to 5:00 p.m. ET on Aug. 6, 2025 (the New Expiration Date). The deadline to validly withdraw tenders of the Initial Canadian Notes also was extended to the New Expiration Date. The Canadian Exchange Offer will now expire on the New Expiration Date, unless further extended. All other terms of the Canadian Exchange Offer remain unchanged. South Bow Canadian Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. has filed the Canadian Prospectus with the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which contains certain important information about the Canadian Exchange Offer. South Bow Canadian Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. recommends that holders of Initial Canadian Notes read the Canadian Prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference therein carefully before deciding whether to tender their Initial Canadian Notes in exchange for New Canadian Notes in the Canadian Exchange Offer. Copies of the Canadian Prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference therein may be obtained on request without charge from the Corporate Secretary of South Bow at 707 Fifth St. S.W., Calgary, Alta., Canada, T2P 1V8 or by telephone at 1-587-318-5410, and are also available under South Bow Canadian Infrastructure Holdings Ltd.'s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca and in South Bow Canadian Infrastructure Holdings Ltd.'s filings with the SEC at www.sec.gov . South Bow USA Infrastructure Holdings LLC exchange offer South Bow USA Infrastructure Holdings LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of South Bow, has extended the expiration date for the U.S. Exchange Offer, in which: (i) the holders of its outstanding 4.911% Senior Notes due 2027 (the Initial 2027 Notes) were offered the opportunity to exchange all or a portion of their Initial 2027 Notes for an equal aggregate principal amount of 4.911% Senior Notes due 2027 (the New 2027 Notes); (ii) the holders of its outstanding 5.026% Senior Notes due 2029 (the Initial 2029 Notes) were offered the opportunity to exchange all or a portion of their Initial 2029 Notes for an equal aggregate principal amount of 5.026% Senior Notes due 2029 (the New 2029 Notes); (iii) the holders of its outstanding 5.584% Senior Notes due 2034 (the Initial 2034 Notes) were offered the opportunity to exchange all or a portion of their Initial 2034 Notes for an equal aggregate principal amount of 5.584% Senior Notes due 2034 (the New 2034 Notes); and (iv) the holders of its outstanding 6.176% Senior Notes due 2054 (the Initial 2054 Notes and collectively with the Initial 2027 Notes, the Initial 2029 Notes, and the Initial 2034 Notes, the Initial U.S. Notes) were offered the opportunity to exchange all or a portion of their Initial 2054 Notes for an equal aggregate principal amount of 6.176% Senior Notes due 2054 (the New 2054 Notes and collectively with the New 2027 Notes, the New 2029 Notes, and the New 2034 Notes, the New U.S. Notes), in each case, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the short form prospectus of South Bow USA Infrastructure Holdings LLC dated July 3, 2025 (the U.S. Prospectus). South Bow USA Infrastructure Holdings LLC is extending the previous U.S. Exchange Offer expiration date of 5:00 p.m. ET on Aug. 4, 2025, to 5:00 p.m. ET on Aug. 6, 2025. The deadline to validly withdraw tenders of the Initial U.S. Notes also was extended to the New Expiration Date. The U.S. Exchange Offer will now expire on the New Expiration Date, unless further extended. All other terms of the U.S. Exchange Offer remain unchanged. South Bow USA Infrastructure Holdings LLC has filed the U.S. Prospectus with the ASC and the SEC, which contains certain important information about the U.S. Exchange Offer. South Bow USA Infrastructure Holdings LLC recommends that holders of Initial U.S. Notes read the U.S. Prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference therein carefully before deciding whether to tender their Initial U.S. Notes in exchange for New U.S. Notes in the U.S. Exchange Offer. Copies of the U.S. Prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference therein may be obtained on request without charge from the Corporate Secretary of South Bow at 920 Memorial City Way, Suite 800, Houston, TX, U.S.A., 77024 or by telephone at 1-832-389-8831, and are also available under South Bow USA Infrastructure Holdings LLC's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca and in South Bow USA Infrastructure Holdings LLC's filings with the SEC at www.sec.gov . Forward-looking information and statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, forward-looking statements), including forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of applicable securities legislation, that are based on South Bow's current expectations, estimates, projections, and assumptions in light of its experience and its perception of historical trends. All statements other than statements of historical fact may constitute forward-looking statements. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as, "anticipate", "will", "expect", "estimate", "potential", "future", "outlook", "strategy", "maintain", "ongoing", "intend", and similar expressions suggesting future events or future performance. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking statements pertaining to, without limitation, the expected timing of the Canadian Exchange Offer and the U.S. Exchange Offer. These forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions that South Bow has made as of the date of this news release regarding, among other things: the completion of the Canadian Exchange Offer and the U.S. Exchange Offer, respectively, on the expected terms and within the anticipated timelines. Although South Bow believes the assumptions and other factors reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable as of the date hereof, there can be no assurance that these assumptions and factors will prove to be correct and, as such, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events or results to differ materially, including, but not limited to: the risk that the Canadian Exchange Offer or the U.S. Exchange Offer may not be completed on the expected terms, within the anticipated timelines, or at all. The foregoing list of assumptions and risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. Additional information on the assumptions, risks, and uncertainties relevant to the Canadian Exchange Offer are contained in the Canadian Prospectus under the heading "Risk Factors" and additional information on the assumptions, risks, and uncertainties relevant to the U.S. Exchange Offer are contained in the U.S. Prospectus under the heading "Risk Factors". The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date hereof. South Bow does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements or information contained herein, except as required by applicable laws. All forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. About South Bow South Bow safely operates 4,900 kilometres (3,045 miles) of crude oil pipeline infrastructure, connecting Alberta crude oil supplies to U.S. refining markets in Illinois, Oklahoma, and the U.S. Gulf Coast through our unrivalled market position. We take pride in what we do providing safe and reliable transportation of crude oil to North America's highest demand markets. Based in Calgary, Alberta, South Bow is the investment-grade spinoff company of TC Energy, with Oct. 1, 2024 marking South Bow's first day as a standalone entity. To learn more, visit www.southbow.com . Contact information VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Newcore Gold Ltd. ("Newcore" or the "Company") (TSX-V: NCAU, OTCQX: NCAUF) is pleased to report the voting results from its Annual General Meeting ("AGM") of Shareholders held on July 17, 2025. Shareholders voted in favour of all resolutions set out in the Companys Notice of Meeting and Information Circular, dated June 13, 2025. Shareholders voted in favour of setting the number of directors at seven and the following incumbent directors were re-elected as directors for the ensuing year: Douglas B. Forster, Blayne Johnson, Luke Alexander, Omaya Elguindi, Ryan King, George Salamis and Michael Vint. The shareholders also re-approved the Companys long term incentive plan and the re-appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Chartered Accountants, as auditors of the Company for the ensuing year at a remuneration to be fixed by the directors. A total of 122,797,979 common shares were voted, representing 48.38% of the Companys total shares issued and outstanding as at the record date of the meeting. About Newcore Gold Ltd. Newcore Gold is advancing its Enchi Gold Project located in Ghana, Africas largest gold producer(1). Newcore Gold offers investors a unique combination of top-tier leadership, who are aligned with shareholders through their 15% equity ownership, and prime district scale exploration opportunities. Enchis 248 km2 land package covers 40 kilometres of Ghanas prolific Bibiani Shear Zone, a gold belt which hosts several multi-million-ounce gold deposits, including the Chirano mine 50 kilometres to the north. Newcores vision is to build a responsive, creative and powerful gold enterprise that maximizes returns for shareholders. (1) Source: Production volumes for 2024 as sourced from the World Gold Council. On Behalf of the Board of Directors of Newcore Gold Ltd. Luke Alexander President, CEO & Director For further information, please contact: Mal Karwowska | Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations +1 604 484 4399 info@newcoregold.com www.newcoregold.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FOXO Technologies Inc. (NYSE American: FOXO) (FOXO or the Company), today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a 1 for 1.99 reverse stock split of the Companys Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 (the Common Stock). The reverse stock split will become effective at 4:01pm ET on July 27, 2025 (the Effective Time). The Common Stock will begin trading on a split-adjusted basis on the NYSE American under the same trading symbol FOXO when the market opens on July 28, 2025, and will trade under a new CUSIP number. The reverse stock split was approved on June 23, 2025 through written consent of a stockholder of the Company who holds a majority of the votes. As a result of the reverse stock split, every 1.99 shares of Common Stock issued and outstanding at the Effective Time will be automatically combined into one share of Common Stock, with no change in the $0.0001 par value per share. Holders of fractional shares will be entitled to receive the number of shares rounded up to the next whole number. The reverse stock split is being effected to ensure compliance with NYSE American continued listing requirements to have a stock price trading above $0.10 per share. The Company does not expect the reverse stock split to impact its current or future business operations. If applicable, all outstanding convertible preferred stock and debt, stock options, warrants, and equity incentive plans will be proportionately affected. The exercise prices and the number of shares issuable upon exercise, of the outstanding stock options and warrants, and the number of shares available for future issuance under the equity incentive plans, will be adjusted in accordance with their respective terms. The reverse stock split will affect all stockholders uniformly and will not affect any stockholders ownership percentage of the Companys shares with the exception of those holders of fractional shares. Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company (CST), the Companys transfer agent, will act as the exchange agent and transfer agent for the reverse stock split. Stockholders holding their shares electronically are not required to take any action to receive post-split shares. Stockholders owning shares through a bank, broker or other nominee will have their positions adjusted to reflect the reverse stock split. Additional information about the reverse stock split can be found in the Proxy Statement filed with the SEC and on the Companys website at www.foxotechnologies.com/investors About FOXO Technologies Inc. (FOXO) FOXO owns and operates three subsidiaries. Rennova Community Health, Inc., owns and operates Scott County Community Hospital, Inc. (d/b/a Big South Fork Medical Center), a critical access designated (CAH) hospital located in East Tennessee. Myrtle Recovery Centers, Inc., a 30-bed behavioral health facility in East Tennessee. Myrtle provides inpatient services for detox and residential treatment and outpatient services for MAT and OBOT Programs. FOXO Labs, Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to improving human health and life span through the development of cutting-edge technology and product solutions for various industries. For more information about FOXO, visit www.foxotechnologies.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the FOXOs beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties, and a number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to the risk of changes in the competitive and highly regulated industries in which FOXO operates; variations in operating performance across competitors or changes in laws and regulations affecting FOXOs businesses; the ability to implement FOXOs business plans, forecasts, and other expectations; the ability to obtain financing; the risk that FOXO has a history of losses and may not achieve or maintain profitability in the future; the enforceability of FOXOs intellectual property, including its patents and the potential infringement on the intellectual property rights of others; and the risk of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly competitive markets or industries in which FOXO operates. The foregoing list of factors is not exhaustive. Readers should carefully consider the foregoing factors and the other risks and uncertainties discussed in FOXOs most recent reports on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, particularly the Risk Factors sections of those reports, and in other documents FOXO has filed, or will file, with the SEC. These filings identify and address other important risks and uncertainties that could cause actual events and results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and FOXO assumes no obligation and does not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Contact: Sebastien Sainsbury ssainsbury@foxotechnologies.com (561) 485-0151 NEW YORK and TORONTO, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iAnthus Capital Holdings, Inc. (iAnthus or the Company) (CSE: IAN, OTCQB: ITHUF), which owns, operates and partners with regulated cannabis operations across the United States, has announced the opening of its 22nd GrowHealthy dispensary in Florida, now serving patients in Palm Harbor. The new dispensary opened last week with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and a three-day celebration that included exclusive promotions, live events, and access to new, premium Sunshine State products. The Palm Harbor community has been asking for a GrowHealthy location for some time, and we are thrilled to finally open our doors, said Kelly Heinichen, Vice President of Retail Operations at iAnthus. From day one, our focus has been clear offer safe, consistent access to the highest quality medical cannabis in Florida. Everything about this space from the layout to the lighting to the local vibes was built with the patient in mind. GrowHealthys commitment to high-quality genetics and whole-plant wellness sets it apart in a crowded market. As a company built by cultivators and caregivers, GrowHealthy continues to lead with flower-first values, local relationships, and a deep respect for the plant. Patients of the dispensary have access to a variety of products, including flower, vapes, concentrates and other medicinal offerings. From the moment you walk in, you feel it the energy, the intention, the hospitality, said Kassandra Jones, District Manager at GrowHealthy. Whether youre new to medical cannabis or a seasoned patient, our Palm Harbor team is here to listen, guide, and make sure every patient leaves feeling more confident in their wellness journey. The grand opening is part of iAnthus broader strategy to expand access to high-quality cannabis across Florida while delivering a modern, approachable retail experience that redefines what a dispensary can be. Located at 2431 Tampa Road, Palm Harbor, Florida (across from the Ferrari dealership), the dispensary will be open Monday-Saturday 9am-8:30pm and Sunday 9am-8pm. About iAnthus iAnthus is a vertically integrated cannabis company on a mission to build premium brands through a network of cultivation, production, and retail operations across the United States. Backed by a leadership team with deep expertise in cultivation, operations, and capital markets, the company strategically leverages acquisition-driven growth and access to capital to create long-term competitive advantage. iAnthus brand portfolio includes: MPX, Anthologie, Black Label, Cheetah, Frutful, Last Resort, Moodz and Sunshine State. For more information, visit www.iAnthus.com. Forward Looking Statements Statements in this news release contain forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made on the basis of the current beliefs, expectations and assumptions of management, are not guarantees of performance and are subject to significant risks and uncertainty. These forward-looking statements should, therefore, be considered in light of various important factors, including those set forth in Company's reports that it files from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC) and the Canadian securities regulators which you should review including, but not limited to, the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC. When used in this news release, words such as will, could, plan, estimate, expect, intend, may, potential, believe, should and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may include, without limitation, statements relating to the Company's financial performance, business development and results of operations. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as predictions of future events, and the Company cannot assure you that the events or circumstances discussed or reflected in these statements will be achieved or will occur. If such forward-looking statements prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. You should not regard these statements as a representation or warranty by the Company or any other person that it will achieve its objectives and plans in any specified timeframe, or at all. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. The Company disclaims any obligation to publicly update or release any revisions to these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date of this news release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by law. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the SEC has reviewed, approved or disapproved the content of this news release. TORTOLA, British Virgin Islands, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Orca Energy Group Inc. ("Orca" or the "Company" and includes its subsidiaries and affiliates) (TSX-V: ORC.A, ORC.B) announces that Mr. Ewen Denning is no longer employed in the position of Chief Operating Officer with the Company and its subsidiaries effective July 15, 2025. "On behalf of the Company, I would like to thank Ewen for his time with Orca," stated Jay Lyons, Chief Executive Officer. "We wish him the very best in his future endeavors." The Company is not seeking a replacement for Mr. Denning. Orca Energy Group Inc. Orca Energy Group Inc. is an international public company engaged in natural gas development and supply in Tanzania through its subsidiary, PanAfrican Energy Tanzania Limited. Orca trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbols ORC.B and ORC.A. 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 release. Forward Looking Information Certain information regarding Orca set forth in this news release, including but not limited to Orca's ability to continue regular distributions to shareholders constitutes "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. The words "may", "will", "would", "should", "could", "expects", "plans", "intends", "trends", "indications", "anticipates", "believes", "estimates", "predicts", "likely" or "potential" or the negative or other variations of these words or other comparable words or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking information. Forward-looking information, by its very nature, involves inherent risks and uncertainties and is based on several assumptions, both general and specific. Orca cautions that its assumptions may not materialize and that current economic conditions render such assumptions, although believed reasonable at the time they were made, subject to greater uncertainty. Such forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results or performance of Orca to be materially different from the outlook or any future results or performance implied by such information. The forward-looking information contained in this new release is provided as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable Canadian securities laws. ACHESON, Alberta, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- North American Construction Group Ltd. (NACG or the Company) (TSX:NOA.TO/NYSE:NOA) announced today that it will release its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025, on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, after markets close. Following the release of its financial results, NACG will hold a conference call and webcast on Thursday, August 14, 2025, at 7:00 a.m. Mountain Time (9:00 a.m. Eastern Time). The call can be accessed by dialing: Toll free: 1-800-717-1738 Conference ID: 53211 A replay will be available through September 15, 2025, by dialing: Toll Free: 1-888-660-6264 Conference ID: 53211 Playback Passcode: 53211 A slide deck for the webcast will be available for download the evening prior to the call and will be found on the companys website at www.nacg.ca/presentations/ The live presentation and webcast can be accessed at: North American Construction Group Ltd. Second Quarter Results Conference Call and Webcast Registration A replay will be available until September 15, 2025, using the link provided. About the Company North American Construction Group Ltd. is a premier provider of heavy civil construction and mining services in Australia, Canada, and the U.S. For over 70 years, NACG has provided services to the mining, resource and infrastructure construction markets. For further information, please contact: Jason Veenstra, CPA, CA Chief Financial Officer North American Construction Group Ltd. Phone: (780) 960-7171 Email: ir@nacg.ca Vancouver, BC, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Tungsten Corp. (CSE:TUNG) (OTCQB:DEMRF) (FSE:RK9) (American Tungsten or the Company) is pleased to announce, further to its news release of June 30, 2025, due to added interest, it is increasing the maximum amount to be raised under its previously announced non-brokered private placement of common shares of the Company (the "Shares") from 5,000,000 Shares to up to a maximum of 14,000,000 Shares at a price of $0.50 per Share, for aggregate gross proceeds up to $7.0 million (the Offering). This is a strong indication of the growing support for the IMA Project a high-grade tungsten asset with the potential to become the first new tungsten producer in North America. It marks a key milestone in solidifying our path toward commercial production and advancing American Tungsten as a domestic supplier of critical minerals, said Ali Haji, CEO of American Tungsten Corp. In connection with the Offering, the Company will pay finders fees of up to 7.0% of the gross proceeds raised by the Company from the sale of Shares to subscribers directly introduced to the Company by eligible finders. In addition, the Company will issue to eligible finders non-transferable finders warrants of up to 7.0% of the number of Shares sold in the Offering. Each finders warrant will entitle the holder to acquire one Share at a price of $0.50 per Share for a period up to 24 months from the date of issuance, all in accordance with the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE). The Company will use the net proceeds from the Offering to fund exploration work programs, option payments, mineral property acquisitions, marketing and for general working capital purposes. Closing of the Offering is subject to a number of conditions, including receipt of all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals, including the CSE. The Offering is not subject to a minimum aggregate amount of subscriptions. All securities issued in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory hold period of four months plus a day from the date of issuance in accordance with applicable securities legislation and the CSE. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities in the United States, nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. The securities being offered have not been, nor will they be, registered under the 1933 Act or under any U.S. state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the 1933 Act, as amended, and applicable state securities laws. ABOUT AMERICAN TUNGSTEN CORP. American Tungsten Corp. is a Canadian exploration company focused on high-potential tungsten and magnetite portfolio in North America. The Company is advancing the Ima Mine Project in Idaho, a historic underground tungsten producer, where it holds an option to acquire full ownership (subject to a 2% royalty) and has expanded its land position with 113 additional federal claims covering nearly 2,000 acres. The Companys Star Project, spans over 4,600 hectares in British Columbias Skeena Mining Division, where the company holds an option to earn 100% ownership. Social media links: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/americantungstencorp/ X: https://x.com/amtungsten Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americantungsten corp/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/americantungstencorp/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@americantungstencorp ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Ali Haji Chief Executive Officer 1055 West Georgia Street, Suite 1500 Vancouver, BC V6E 0B6 Canada For further information, please contact: Ali Haji, Chief Executive Officer Email: ir@americantungstencorp.com Phone: +1 (647) 871-4571 CSE:TUNG OTCQB:DEMRF FSE:RK9 The Canadian Securities Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release. This news release includes "forward-looking information" that is subject to a number of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Forward-looking statements may include but are not limited to, statements relating to the completion of the Offering on the terms described herein or at all, and the use of proceeds and available funds following the completion of the Offering and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally incident to such events. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future events and that actual events or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by law. Los Angeles, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Advanced Networks, a top provider of Managed IT Services and IT support in Southern California, is tackling the pressing need for better network security among businesses in Los Angeles. Strong security measures are vital in protecting sensitive information and ensuring that businesses can keep operating smoothly. The company sees IT Support Los Angeles as a crucial element in boosting network security for local businesses. The heart of Advanced Networks' security approach is proactive threat detection and monitoring. With round-the-clock network monitoring, businesses can spot threats in real time, which lowers the chances of data breaches. Tools like Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) are used for ongoing threat analysis and log monitoring, securing networks against potential cyber threats. A company representative emphasizes, "Advanced Networks is committed to providing comprehensive IT Consulting Los Angeles services tailored to the unique needs of each business. Our flexibility in adjusting security protocols ensures businesses remain resilient as they grow or face new challenges." Routine risk assessments and managing vulnerabilities are key parts of Advanced Networks' strategy. By regularly assessing vulnerabilities, the company finds weaknesses and possible threats within networks. They also conduct penetration testing to uncover security holes that could be exploited. This proactive approach helps businesses strengthen their defenses and stay one step ahead of cybercriminals. Proper firewall and network configuration management are vital in Advanced Networks' security solutions. Configuring firewalls, routers, and network devices correctly prevents unauthorized access. Network segmentation further limits access and reduces the potential impact of breaches. These strategies form a cohesive defense system, shielding businesses from various cyber threats. Protecting data through encryption and secure communication is a priority for Advanced Networks. Encrypting sensitive business data helps safeguard clients from data theft. Using secure communication protocols like SSL/TLS ensures that emails, transactions, and other data exchanges stay safe from interception. This two-pronged approach to data protection boosts the overall security of businesses. Training employees to stay alert to threats is a fundamental part of the company's security framework. IT support staff educate employees on recognizing and handling phishing, social engineering, and other threats. Continuous security awareness programs keep staff informed and alert to new threats, cultivating a culture of cybersecurity awareness within organizations. Advanced Networks highlights the importance of disaster recovery and business continuity planning. A robust disaster recovery plan is vital for restoring operations after an attack or data loss. IT support services focus on regularly backing up data and testing backup recovery methods to lessen downtime during cyberattacks. This thorough approach to disaster recovery helps minimize disruptions and enables businesses to quickly resume operations. Advanced Networks also excels in helping businesses meet compliance standards. The company's IT support assists with complying with important regulations like HIPAA, PCI-DSS, and GDPR. By ensuring networks and systems follow industry standards and best practices, Advanced Networks helps protect the security and privacy of data for businesses in various sectors. Securing devices and endpoints is a fundamental part of Advanced Networks' services. Endpoint protection tools protect all devices connected to a network, from desktops and laptops to mobile devices. Mobile Device Management (MDM) solutions secure company devices used by remote or traveling employees, enhancing overall security. Handling security incidents and remediation is central to the company's offerings. Advanced Networks can quickly respond to security events, limit damage, and look into breaches. Their remediation efforts restore affected systems, secure data, and implement measures to avoid future attacks. The company's dedication to crafting tailored security solutions means businesses get protection that suits their specific needs. The flexibility of Managed IT Services Los Angeles allows security strategies to evolve with growing demands in the industry. By focusing on custom solutions, Advanced Networks gives businesses a strategic edge in protecting their operations. https://adv-networks.com/it-support-los-angeles/ Through a wide range of services, Advanced Networks delivers the tools and expertise needed to effectively secure business networks. By prioritizing proactive security measures, regulatory compliance, and personalized solutions, the company positions itself as a trusted partner in defending businesses against cyber threats. Visit the Advanced Networks website to learn more about how they can help secure one's business. ### For more information about Advanced Networks, contact the company here: Advanced Networks Advanced Networks (213) 873-7620 contact@adv-networks.com L.A. Office 10960 Wilshire Blvd. #1415 Los Angeles, CA 90024 O.C. Office 1340 Reynolds Ave. #116 Irvine, CA 92614 New York, NY, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BlockchainCloudMining, a leading provider of cloud-based cryptocurrency mining solutions, has officially announced the launch of a new suite of green, high-yield cloud mining contracts. Ethereum (ETH) has taken the spotlight again with an impressive surge of more than 20.31% in the past seven days, marking a new stage high for 2025. As market optimism intensifies, industry analysts attribute this surge to renewed institutional capital inflows from the U.S. and growing anticipation around upcoming Ethereum network upgrades. In response to this bullish trend, BlockchainCloudMining , a leading cloud-based mining platform, is offering ordinary investors an accessible, eco-friendly, and cost-effective way to benefit from the ETH rally without the need for expensive mining equipment or technical know-how. A New Path for the Public to Join the Crypto Boom While direct investment in cryptocurrencies can be riskyespecially during sharp price increasesBlockchainCloudMining provides a safer and more manageable alternative: cloud mining. With BlockchainCloudMining, users can start mining ETH and other major cryptocurrencies remotely by simply registering on the platform and choosing a mining contract that fits their goals and budget. This model removes the traditional barriers of hardware costs, electricity expenses, and maintenance challenges. Green, Secure, and Simple Key Features of BlockchainCloudMining: Zero Setup Costs for New Users: Receive a $12 welcome bonus upon registration . Use it to activate daily sign-in mining and earn $0.60 per day automatically truly mining at zero cost. . Use it to activate daily sign-in mining and earn $0.60 per day automatically truly mining at zero cost. No Equipment Needed: All mining is done remotely on hosted servers powered by clean energy. Eco-Friendly Operations: Powered by solar and wind energy, supporting a sustainable future. Transparent & Fast Earnings: Daily income distribution, automatic settlement, and multi-currency withdrawals. User-Friendly Interface: No experience required. Register, choose a contract, and let the platform handle the rest. Robust Security: Protected by bank-level encryption and multi-layer security protocols. Company Background: BlockchainCloudMining BlockchainCloudMining is a global mining services provider that aims to democratize access to digital asset generation. The platform is designed to support both newcomers and experienced investors by offering diversified mining contracts, a high level of transparency, and an environmentally responsible mining approach. Through a network of green energy mining farms, the company offers reliable and secure mining services backed by professional infrastructure and real-time monitoring. BlockchainCloudMining prides itself on making crypto mining truly inclusive, profitable, and sustainable. In order to meet the needs of different investors, BlockchainCloudMining has carefully designed a variety of XRP computing power contracts: New User Experience Contract: Investment amount: US$100, contract period 2 days, total income: US$100 + US$6. WhatsMiner M66S: Investment amount: US$500, contract period 7 days, total income: US$500 + US$45.5. Bitcoin Miner S21+: Investment amount: $3,000, contract period 20 days, total income: $3,000 + $900. Bitcoin Miner S23 Hyd: Investment amount: $16,600, contract period 38 days, total income: $16,600 + $11,354.4. ANTSPACE HW5: Investment amount: $52,000, contract period 45 days, total income: $52,000 + $51,480. ANTSPACE HD5: Investment amount: $98,000, contract period 50 days, total income: $98,000 + $122,500. Avalon Immersion Cooling Mining Box: Investment amount: $180,000, contract period 55 days, total income: $180,000 + $277,200. Once purchased, mining income begins accruing the next day. Withdrawals are available when the account balance reaches $100, or users may choose to reinvest for compound growth. The ETH Bull Market: Your Moment to Act With Ethereum's surge showing signs of continued strength, now is the perfect window for investors from first-timers to seasoned traders to seize this digital opportunity. BlockchainCloudMining makes it possible to capitalize on ETH growth without the complexity and costs of traditional mining. About BlockchainCloudMining: BlockchainCloudMining is a professional, eco-conscious, and secure cloud mining platform committed to making digital currency mining accessible to everyone. By leveraging renewable energy and smart technology, the company empowers users to earn passive income with ease and confidence in the ever-evolving world of cryptocurrency. Visit the company: blockchaincloudmining.com to start your new mining journey and let your daily income create more possibilities for you. Company email: info@blockchaincloudmining.com Legal Disclaimer: This media platform provides the content of this article on an as-is basis, without any warranties or representations of any kind, express or implied. We assume no responsibility for any inaccuracies, errors, or omissions. We do not assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information presented herein. Any concerns, complaints, or copyright issues related to this article should be directed to the content provider mentioned above. Vancouver, July 16, 2025 - First Andes Silver Ltd. (TSXV: FAS) (OTC Pink: MSLVF) (FSE: 9TZ0) (the "Company" or First Andes") today announced that is has closed the first tranche of its previously announced non-brokered private placement financing (see news release dated July 4, 2025 and July 15, 2025) (the "Offering") by issuing 10,170,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.10 CAD per unit for gross proceeds of $1,017,000. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Share") and one-half of one share purchase warrant (each whole share purchase warrant, a "Warrant"). Each Warrant will be exercisable at $0.15 CAD per Share for a period of two (2) years from the date of issue. The securities issued under the first tranche of the Offering are subject to restrictions on resale for a period of four (4) months from the date of issue. The Company paid a finder's a fee of $42,350 and 423,500 share purchase warrants with each finder's warrant exercisable at a price of $0.10 per share for a period of two (2) years from the date of issue. The proceeds of the first tranche will be used to expand on its current drill program at the Santas Gloria silver property and general working capital purposes. The Company anticipates the second tranche of the Offering will close within seven calendar days and is subject to accept of the TSX Venture Exchange. About First Andes Silver Ltd. First Andes Silver Ltd. is a British Columbia company that holds a 100% interest in the high-grade Santas Gloria silver property, located in a major mining district 55 km east of Lima, Peru. Santas Gloria has excellent established road access and is situated within a well-known intermediate sulfidation epithermal belt, and hosts over 12 km of multiphase veins mapped at surface, which had never been historically drilled or explored by modern techniques before 2024. First Andes' maiden diamond drill program last year reported high-grade silver on all drilled vein systems confirming silver endowment and warranting high priority follow-up drilling in 2025. Forward-Looking Statements Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Company's limited operating history, ability to obtain sufficient financing to carry out its exploration programs and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. 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 release. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259092 Vancouver, July 16, 2025 - Ridgeline Minerals Corp. (TSXV: RDG) (OTCQB: RDGMF) (FSE: 0GC0) ("Ridgeline" or the "Company") is announcing an update to the notice of meeting and information circular of Ridgeline in connection with its upcoming annual general meeting scheduled for August 12, 2025 (the "Amended AGM Materials"). The Company has addressed a typographical error in the Amended AGM Materials regarding the record date, confirming it as July 3, 2025. Shareholders are advised to access the Amended AGM Materials under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ and the Company's website www.ridgelineminerals.com. About Ridgeline Minerals Corp. Ridgeline Minerals is a discovery focused precious and base metal explorer with a proven management team and a 200 km2 exploration portfolio across seven projects in Nevada, USA. The Company is a hybrid explorer with a mix of 100%-owned exploration assets (Big Blue, Atlas, Bell Creek & Coyote) as well as two earn-in exploration agreements with Nevada Gold Mines at its Swift and Black Ridge projects and a third earn-in with South32 at its Selena project. More information about Ridgeline can be found at www.ridgelineminerals.com. 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 press release. Cautionary Note regarding Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking information" or "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "Forward-Looking Information") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-Looking Information. The words "potential", "anticipate", "meaningful", "discovery", "forecast", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "plan", "historical", "historic" and similar expressions are intended to be among the statements that identify Forward-Looking Information. Forward-Looking Information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Information. In preparing the Forward-Looking Information in this news release, Ridgeline has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to; that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner; and that all requisite information will be available in a timely manner. Forward-Looking Information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of Ridgeline to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the Forward-Looking Information. Such risks and other factors include, among others, risks related to dependence on key personnel; risks related to unforeseen delays; risks related to historical data that has not been verified by the Company; as well as those factors discussed in Ridgeline's public disclosure record. Although Ridgeline has attempted to identify important factors that could affect Ridgeline and may cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in Forward-Looking Information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that Forward-Looking Information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on Forward-Looking Information. Except as required by law, Ridgeline does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to Forward-Looking Information contained in this news release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259057 Vancouver, July 17, 2025 - Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (OTCQB: PVGDF) (the "Company" or "Provenance") is pleased to announce the closing of its non-brokered private placement (the "Offering") for gross proceeds of $2,541,800. The Offering received strong interest from investors. Upon closing of the final tranche, the Company issued 12,709,000 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.20 per Unit. Each Unit consists of one common share and one-half of one share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"), with each full Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional share at $0.25 until July 17, 2028. "We would like to thank our shareholders for their support and interest in our projects. Our Eldorado West and Eldorado East acquisitions are standing out to investors as a district-scale opportunity in Eastern Oregon. We continue to advance these projects diligently and are excited to have this financing behind us to enable our drill program to continue throughout the summer. We are excited to finally start receiving assays and continue to build on the gold mineralization and footprint at Eldorado. This project has unusually strong grade and scale. I believe it is just beginning to reveal its impressive dimensions as we continue to expand our exploration and drilling." - Rauno Perttu, CEO In connection with closing the Offering, the Company paid $87,045 and issued 435,225 broker warrants to certain arms-length brokerage firms that assisted in introducing subscribers to the Offering. Each broker warrant is exercisable on the same terms as the subscriber Warrants. All securities issued in connection with the Offering are subject to restrictions on resale until November 18, 2025, in accordance with applicable securities laws. Drilling Update Seven drill holes (Figure 1) have been completed to date, with the eighth currently underway. Holes ED12-14 target expansion of the 2023 discovery zone from RC hole ED-04 and core holes EC-02 and EC-03. Holes ED-15-17 test the gap between this zone and the one intersected by core hole EC-01 (2.01 g.t Au over 288.34m: see December 9 th , 2024 new release). , 2024 new release). Holes ED-18 and 19 and the next two are testing a significant step-out area to the southwest. All completed holes exhibited visual mineralization. Results will be released when available. To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit: https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/5654/259114_provimg1.jpg Stock Options The Company also announces that it has granted 1,900,000 stock options to certain officers, directors and consultants of the Company. The options have an exercise price of $0.22 per share, have a thirty-six (36) month term from the date of the grant and vest immediately. About Provenance Gold Corp. On behalf of the Board, Provenance Gold Corp. Rauno Perttu, Chief Executive Officer Safe Harbor Statement: Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its regulation services provider, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/259114 Expansion into North Dakota's Bakken Basin Reinforces Company's Leadership in U.S. Critical Mineral Supply LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Inc. (TSXV: LIB | OTCQB: VLTLF | FSE: I2D) ("LibertyStream" or the "Company") is pleased to announce a successful field trial of its proprietary mobile Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") unit (the "Field Unit") in North Dakota's Bakken region (the "Field Trial"). This initiative, in collaboration with Wellspring Hydro ("Wellspring"), is supported by a combined US$2.5 million in funding facilitated through the North Dakota Industrial Commission's Clean Sustainable Energy Authority and Renewable Energy Program. "Congratulations to LibertyStream and Wellspring on achieving a major milestone: successfully extracting lithium from produced water right here in North Dakota. This innovative approach transforms an oilfield by-product into a valuable resource for clean energy-using existing infrastructure, off-the-shelf equipment, and real-time field testing," commented Rich Garman, Director of Development and Finance at the North Dakota Department of Commerce. "We're proud to have supported this project through the Renewable Energy Council, the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority, and the North Dakota Development Fund. This is a strong example of how North Dakota's pro-innovation and resource-smart mindset is helping lead the way in critical mineral production." North Dakota Field Trial The purpose of the Field Trial was to compare the performance and efficacy of the Field Unit against previously validated pilot trials performed at LibertyStream's Research and Development Centre in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The results from the Field Trial confirmed the performance of the Field Unit against the performance at the Research and Development Centre by achieving an average 96% lithium extraction rate from Bakken?region oil?field brine. The field trial was conducted at Compass Energy System's ("Compass") Blue Marlin salt-water-disposal facility ("SWD") in North Dakota. "Our team designed the Field Unit to drive system performance while maintaining both flexibility and portability," said Dr. John McEwen, Inventor and Chief Technology Officer at LibertyStream. "The North Dakota Field Trial sets the stage for future trials, further advancing our technology and readiness for commercial deployment." Key Highlights of the Field Trial include The Field Trial used LibertyStream's proprietary DLE Technology and Process (the "Technology") providing further validation of the robustness of the Technology to process oil-field brine from multiple oil fields across America with consistent results; Lithium?recovery results matched those from the Calgary R&D facility, with the Field Unit averaging a 96% lithium extraction rate on brine sourced from Compass Blue Marlin SWD; The average lithium content of the processed brine at the site was 75 mg/L; Average volume per DLE cycle was 300 gallons over the Field Trial period; and More than 1,300 DLE cycles have now been completed across six months of U.S. field operations, underscoring scalability. Strategic Significance: North American Lithium Leadership LibertyStream has conducted field operations in North America's two most prolific onshore oil-producing basins-the Permian in Texas and New Mexico, and the Bakken in North Dakota. Together, these basins represent over 60% of total U.S. onshore oil output, providing significant opportunities for lithium extraction from extensive lithium-rich produced water volumes. The Permian Basin generates approximately 19 million barrels per day of produced water at lithium concentrations averaging around 30 ppm, translating to a conservative 170,000 tonnes per annum ("tpa") of potential LCE. The Williston Basin Bakken production ranges from 1.6 million to 2 million barrels of produced water per day, suggesting potential production of ~50 000 tpa LCE. CEO Commentary: "The North Dakota Field Trial provides further supporting evidence of the robustness of the Technology we have developed at LibertyStream. This milestone builds on six months of intensive operations in Texas, during which the company completed over 1,300 DLE runs, demonstrating robust and scalable technology readiness. These trials are instrumental to our strategy and showcase the continued progress toward transforming lithium extraction in a responsible, capital-light and high-efficiency manner as we transition to commercial operations in America." - Alex Wylie, President & CEO of LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners Qualified Person Scientific and technical information contained in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Doug Ashton, P.Eng, and Meghan Klein, P.Eng of Sproule Associates Limited, each of whom are qualified persons within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Mr. Ashton and Ms. Klein consent to the inclusion of the data in the form and context in which it appears. About LibertyStream Infrastructure Partners LibertyStream is a lithium development and technology company aiming to be one of North America's first commercial producers of lithium carbonates from oilfield brine. Our strategy is to generate value for shareholders by leveraging management's hydrocarbon experience to deploy our proprietary DLE technology directly into existing oil and gas infrastructure, thereby reducing capital costs, lowering risks and supporting the world's clean energy transition. With four differentiating pillars, and a proprietary Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") technology and process, LibertyStream's innovative approach to development is focused on generating the highest lithium recoveries with lowest costs, positioning us for future commercialization. We are committed to operating efficiently and with transparency across all areas of the business staying sharply focused on creating long-term, sustainable shareholder value. Investors and/or other interested parties may sign up for updates about the Company's continued progress on its website: https://LibertyStream.com/. Forward Looking Statements This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "plan", "forecast", "may", "will", "would", "could", "schedule" and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking statements or information. Statements, other than statements of historical fact, may constitute forward-looking information and include, without limitation, information with respect to the terms of the operational milestone, Volume Scale-up. Extraction Time Improvements and Continuous Processing vs Batch Processing, the deployment of the Field Unit in the Permian Basin, the production of battery grade lithium by the Field Unit, and the commercial production of lithium from oilfield brine. With respect to the forward-looking information contained in this press release, the Company has made numerous assumptions. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable, these assumptions are inherently subject to significant uncertainties and contingencies and may prove to be incorrect. Additionally, there are known and unknown risk factors which could cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information contained herein including those known risk factors outlined in the Company's annual information form for the year ended June 30, 2024 and (final) short form base shelf prospectus dated July 20, 2023. All forward-looking information herein is qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement, and the Company disclaims any obligation to revise or update any such forward-looking information or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250716587911/en/ Contact For Investor Relations inquiries or further information, please contact: Alex Wylie, President & CEO T: +1.972.626.1645 E: info@libertystream.com Or Bill McClain, Investor Relations T: +1.604.773.9423 E: info@libertystream.com Toronto - (July 17 2025) - Mammoth Resources Corp. (TSX-V: MTH), (the "Company", or "Mammoth") would like to announce that due to additional demand, the Company has requested and received conditional approval from the TSX to upsize its previously announced non-brokered private placement of up to 30 million units of the Company (the "Units") at an offering price of $0.025 per Unit, for gross proceeds of up to $750,000 (the "Private Placement") to up to 39 million Units, for gross proceeds of up to $980,000. The upsized Private Placement is at the same terms as the previous announcement, wherein each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one-half common share purchase warrant (the "Warrant"). Each Warrant will entitle the holder thereof to acquire one Common Share until eighteen months following closing of the private placement, at an exercise price of $0.05. The Company has set no minimum number of Units to be distributed and no minimum dollar amount required to be raised in connection with the Private Placement. The gross proceeds of the Private Placement will be used to advance the Company's Tenoriba precious metal project in Chihuahua State, Mexico, to evaluate potential project acquisitions and support working capital needs. The Private Placement This Private Placement is available to accredited investors. The pricing of this Private Placement was granted under the Venture Exchange Discretionary Waiver Bulletin ("Bulletin"). Under the conditions of the Bulletin, the pricing of the Private Placement was set by the Company's closing share price of $0.025/share, the day prior to the original announcement. The pricing of the Private Placement represents a small premium from the 10-day volume-weighted average share price during the previous 10 trading days of $0.022/share from the date of the original announcement. Securities issued under this Private Placement will be subject to a four-month hold period. In accordance with the requirements of the Investment Dealer Exemption, the Company confirms there is no material fact or material change related to the Company which has not been disclosed. The Company has been granted conditional approval for this Private Placement; however, closing of this Private Placement is subject to receipt of all required regulatory and Exchange approvals. The Company may pay a finder's fees on a portion of the Private Placement in accordance with applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange. From the gross proceeds of the Private Placement, approximately 60% are intended to be used to advance the Company's Tenoriba precious metal project in Chihuahua State, Mexico and to evaluate potential project acquisitions, with the remaining 40% intended to support working capital needs. Anyone interested in participating in this financing are encouraged to contact Thomas Atkins, President and CEO of Mammoth at: tr_atkins@rogers.com or by telephone at: 416 509-4326. About Mammoth Resources: Mammoth Resources (TSX-V: MTH) is a precious metal mineral exploration Company focused on acquiring and defining precious metal resources in Mexico and other attractive mining-friendly jurisdictions in the Americas. The Company holds a 100% interest (subject to a 2% net smelter royalty purchasable anytime within two years from commencement of commercial production for US$1.5 million) in the 5,333-hectare Tenoriba gold property located in the Sierra Madre Precious Metal Belt in southwestern Chihuahua State, Mexico. Mammoth is seeking other opportunities to option exploration projects in the Americas on properties it deems to host above-average potential for economic concentrations of precious metals mineralization. To find out more about Mammoth Resources and to sign up to receive future press releases, please visit the company's website at: www.mammothresources.ca., or contact Thomas Atkins, President and CEO. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Information: This news release may contain or refer to forward-looking information. All information other than statements of historical fact that address activities, events or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur in the future are forward-looking statements; examples include the listing of its shares on a stock exchange and establishing mineral resources. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's ability to control or predict that may cause actual events or results to differ materially from those discussed in such forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which it is made and, except as may be required by applicable securities laws, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or results or otherwise. Although the Company believes that the assumptions inherent in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and, accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty therein. Copyright (c) 2025 TheNewswire - All rights reserved. VANCOUVER, July 17, 2025 - Mustang Energy Corp. (CSE: MEC, OTC:MECPF, FRA:92T) (the "Company" or "Mustang") is pleased to announce the commencement of its field exploration activities at the Surprise Creek Uranium-Copper Project (the "Project"), located in a prospective region known for its mineral potential north of the Athabasca Basin. The Company recently entered into an option agreement (the "Option Agreement") with Thunderbird Resources Ltd. ("Thunderbird") to acquire an undivided 80% interest in the Project. Please refer to the Company's news release dated June 4, 2025 and June 16, 2025, as filed under the Company's SEDAR+ profile, for further details regarding the Option Agreement. The field program at Surprise Creek will involve surface prospecting activities, including detailed rock sampling, aimed at further refining target areas and outlining mineralization and alteration. The sampling program will be carried out over 20 days. Results from this phase of exploration are expected to inform further exploration efforts, including drill targeting. "With the support of Thunderbird Resources, we are excited to commence exploration at our Surprise Creek project, located north of the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, which hosts previously identified uranium and copper prospects," said Nick Luksha, CEO of Mustang Energy Corp. "our goal is to collect robust geoscientific data to inform drill targeting and enhance the project's standing as a cornerstone asset within our growing exploration portfolio." Surprise Creek Uranium-Copper Project The Surprise Creek Project is located 25km north-west of the Beaverlodge Uranium District, which hosts the historical uranium mines of Gunnar and Eldorado (Ace-Fay-Verna) and is located just north of the Athabasca Basin (see figure 1). The Company advises that, notwithstanding their proximity of location, discoveries of minerals on nearby properties, including the uranium mines of Gunnar and Eldorado (Ace-Fay-Verna) and any promising results thereof are not necessarily indicative of the mineralization of, or located on the Project, or the Company's ability to commercially exploit the Project, or to locate any commercially exploitable deposits therefrom. The Company cautions investors on relying on this information as the Company has not confirmed the accuracy or reliability of the information. Figure 1: Surprise Creek Uranium-Copper Project Overview and Location 1, 3, 4, 5, 6 A major high-resolution airborne magnetic, radiometric and VLF-EM survey completed by Thunderbird in September 2024 identified multiple new uranium targets (see THB:ASX announcement dated 19 December 2024 titled "Exploration to commence at Rockvale Antimony-Gold Project"). A strong uranium radiometric anomaly has been identified at the previously defined Surprise Creek Fault drill target, where historical drilling returned results of up to 2.1m of 4.37% U3O8 from 57m1,5 and surface sampling by Thunderbird returned assays up to 7.98% U 3 O 8 .2 The area of surface uranium mineralisation extends over a strike length of up to 500m2 (see Figure 2). A work permit application for exploration including drilling at the Surprise Creek Fault prospect has recently been approved by the Saskatchewan Government. Figure 2: Surprise Creek Project - Surprise Creek Fault prospect 1, 2, 5 Many of the radiometric targets identified in the airborne survey show a strong spatial correlation with the contact between the Archean Zemlak Domain basement rocks and the overlying younger Palaeoproterozoic aged Thluicho Lake Group, where cross-cutting structures intersect the contact. In addition, many of the historical copper prospects (Bob Lake, Ellis Bay, Waterloo South) are also associated with the same contact (see Figure 3). Historical drilling results from Bob Lake and Ellis Bay include: 9.1m @ 2.07% Cu and 27.3g/t Ag from surface (Bob Lake) 3 6.6m @ 1.31% Cu from 11m (Ellis Bay)3 Rock chip sampling of historical copper occurrences completed by Thunderbird in 2022 and 2023 returned assays up 61.7% Cu, 27.6% Cu and 9% Cu.2,4 The Company advises that, notwithstanding their proximity of location, discoveries of minerals on nearby properties such as Bob Lake, Ellis Bay, and Waterloo South, and any promising results thereof are not necessarily indicative of the mineralization of, or located on the Project, or the Company's ability to commercially exploit the Project, or to locate any commercially exploitable deposits therefrom. The Company cautions investors on relying on this information as the Company has not confirmed the accuracy or reliability of the information. Figure 3: Surprise Creek Project - copper results from historical drilling 3, 4, 5 ,6 References ASX:THB announcement dated 6th July 2022 titled "Surprise Creek data review highlights high-grade targets" 2 ASX:THB announcement dated 22 December 2022 titled "High-grade Uranium rock chip results at Surprise Creek" 3 ASX:THB announcement dated 13th February 2023 titled "Exciting Copper Targets at Surprise Creek" 4 ASX:THB announcement dated 13th October 2022 titled "Exceptional Uranium and Copper Rock chip results" 5Saskatchewan Mineral Assessment Database Drill hole VT20, SMAD# 74N10-0368, Retrieved from http://mineral-assessment.saskatchewan.ca/Pages/BasePages/Main.aspx 6Saskatchewan Mineral Assessment Database, SMAD# 74N11-0063, Retrieved from http://mineral-assessment.saskatchewan.ca/Pages/BasePages/Main.aspx Qualifying Statement The scientific and technical information in this release has been reviewed and approved by Lynde Guillaume, P.Geo., Technical Advisor for Mustang Energy, a registered member of the Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Saskatchewan. Ms. Guillaume is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. About Mustang Energy Corp.: Mustang Energy Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on the discovery and development of high-potential uranium and critical mineral assets. The company holds a portfolio of 147,153 hectares of strategically located properties in Saskatchewan's Athabasca Basin-one of the world's premier uranium districts. Mustang is advancing early-stage exploration through modern techniques and a disciplined, data-driven approach. The Company is committed to building long-term value through responsible exploration and a focus on high-impact targets in underexplored areas. For further information, please contact: Mustang Energy Corp. Attention: Nicholas Luksha, CEO and Director Phone: (604) 838-0184 Neither the CSE nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends", "believes" or "anticipates", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward?looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding discussions of future plans, estimates and forecasts and statements as to management's expectations and intentions with respect to, among other things, the future potential of the Project, the potential of the field program to deliver favourable results, and the completion of future work on the Project. In making the forward-looking statements in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation the assumption that the Company will be able to continue exploring its properties given various environmental and economic factors outside of its control and that the Company will be able to integrate the Project into its existing business. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements 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. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Photos accompanying this announcement are available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e2ee2c16-764c-4b5e-a2b8-5739d46eabbd https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b16622c0-26b2-4411-a193-6d41f64bf1c1 https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9e24bbb9-1a18-4f93-b323-bef964f40c47 WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, July 17, 2025 - Sandfire Resources America Inc. ("Sandfire America" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its 2024-2025 drilling program was completed in mid-May 2025. Since the Company's news release dated December 18, 2024, drilling has focused on further definition of the Johnny Lee Lower Copper Zone. Highlights include: 8.11 meters of 4.66% copper in hole SC24-311, 14.99 meters of 7.99% copper in hole SC24-312, 10.58 meters of 4.69% Cu in hole SC25-316, 11.73 meters of 8.80% Cu in hole SC25-325, and 4.91 meters of 9.74% Cu in hole SC25-328. See Table 1 below. At the last estimate, the Johnny Lee Lower Copper Zone consisted of a measured and indicated resource of 1.2 million tonnes grading 6.8% Cu, and an inferred resource of 0.5 million tonnes grading 5.9% Cu (2020 Technical Report authored by GR Engineering*). Holes in the 2024-2025 drilling program were designed to both infill and better define the outer boundaries of the Lower Copper Zone resource and provide sample material for geotechnical and metallurgical testing. Since December 2023, the Company has drilled approximately 28,000 meters. Geological and geochemical results from the drilling program and from metallurgical and geotechnical testing will provide information for an updated mineral resource estimate for the Johnny Lee deposit, which will be incorporated into an updated technical report (in accordance with requirements pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.), at the Pre-feasibility study level, for the Johnny Lee deposit ("Updated Technical Report"), with expected completion in late 2025. Senior VP of Exploration and Technical Services Jerry Zieg shared, "We are pleased with the outcome of the drilling program which has confirmed that the mineralization of the high-grade Johnny Lee Lower Copper zone extends beyond the existing resource boundary. We look forward to incorporating this into the Updated Technical Report in the coming months." Project Advancements Following the successful completion of the drilling program, a technical report update on the Johnny Lee deposit has now commenced at a Pre-Feasibility Study level. The company notes that since the last technical report dated October 19, 2020, several key factors which could impact the project need to be re-evaluated, including: an update of capital and operating cost estimates noting the global mining industry has been subjected to material cost escalation over the last five years; assessment of the impact of cost escalation on the size of the lower grade Upper Copper Zone mineral resource and mineral reserve at Johnny Lee; an updated mineral resource estimate incorporating the latest drilling information at Johnny Lee and Lowry; and an updated mining plan to support reporting of a revised mineral reserve for Johnny Lee. CEO Lincoln Greenidge states, "We are pleased with the work done thus far and the results of the most recent drilling program. The global transition to clean energy, electrification, and modern infrastructure has triggered unprecedented demand for copper. With declining reserve grades globally, increasing capital intensity, the fact that there have been no major copper discoveries in the past decade, increasing scrutiny over supply chain ethics, geopolitical risk, and environmental impacts, we are in an exciting position with a fully permitted project that can be part of the solution as we complete the Updated Technical Report and move the project forward." Board Changes The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Stef Weber to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. This appointment follows the resignation of Ms. Gemma Tually from the Board. Mr. Weber brings over 25 years of global experience in the mining industry, with a strong background in finance, project development, and corporate strategy. He has held senior leadership roles in debt financing, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and treasury management. Mr. Weber began his career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and subsequently spent 16 years in senior financial roles with Iscor Limited, Kumba Resources Limited, and Exxaro Resources Limited. He joined Sandfire Resources Ltd. in October 2019 following its acquisition of MOD Resources Ltd., where he served as Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Weber currently serves as Head of Treasury for Sandfire Resources Limited. The Company thanks Ms. Tually for her valuable contributions to the Board and wishes her well in her future endeavors. Chair Jason Grace closed stating, "We welcome Mr. Weber to the Board. His global mining and financial expertise will be valuable as we continue advancing the project with strategic focus and determination." Loan Variation The Company announces that it has entered into a fifth variation agreement (the "Fifth Variation") to its bridge loan agreement, as amended (the "Bridge Loan") with Sandfire BC Holdings (Australia) Pty Ltd. ("Sandfire BC"), the Company's largest shareholder, and Tintina Montana Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company ("Tintina Montana"). Pursuant to the Fifth Variation, the amount available to be borrowed under the Bridge Loan will be increased from an aggregate of up to US$50 million to an aggregate of up to US$59.5 million through one or more advances and the latest maturity will be extended from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2026, subject to the terms of the Fifth Variation and the Bridge Loan. All other terms and conditions of the Bridge Loan shall remain in full force and effect, except as amended by the Fifth Variation. No securities of the Company are issuable under the Agreement. Table 1. Black Butte Copper 2023-2025 Exploration Drilling Program Results Drill hole ID collar x collar y collar z azimuth dip total depth From (m) To (m) Width (m) Cu % Resource SC23-278 506700.0 5180717.0 1741.00 16.6 -67.9 489.29 64.98 81.36 16.38 1.42 Upper Copper Zone SC23-278 433.46 446.37 12.91 4.7 Lower Copper Zone SC24-279 506628.0 5180702.0 1748.00 36.8 -70.2 502.31 62.86 76.25 13.39 2.3 Upper Copper Zone SC24-279 461.73 467.10 5.37 10.2 Lower Copper Zone SC24-280 507100.0 5180848.7 1709.40 36.8 -70.2 442.48 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-281 506441.5 5180834.2 1767.50 31.8 -77.5 486.61 94.98 100.58 5.60 1.84 Upper Copper Zone SC24-281 431.66 437.54 5.88 4.60 Lower Copper Zone SC24-282 507650.0 5180746.0 1735.00 194.2 -86.5 494.57 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-283 507213.0 5180540.0 1713.00 43.0 -71.5 560.98 471.44 477.93 6.49 2.45 Lower Copper Zone SC24-284 506900.0 5180832.0 1721.20 35.2 -83.0 426.11 383.44 392.98 9.54 7.42 Lower Copper Zone with 386.72 392.98 6.26 10.68 SC24-285 506900.0 5180832.0 1721.20 28.9 -67.6 392.03 363.65 365.45 1.80 15.30 Lower Copper Zone SC24-286 506609.0 5180868.0 1779.00 45.4 -73.9 495.67 77.23 80.77 3.54 4.67 Upper Copper Zone SC24-286 438.25 446.78 8.53 6.60 Lower Copper Zone SC24-287 506850.0 5180852.0 1731.10 336.0 -71.5 431.90 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-288 506850.0 5180852.0 1731.00 110.0 -78.8 460.25 396.15 409.34 13.19 12.77 Lower Copper Zone SC24-289 506900.0 5180832.0 1721.00 51.0 -63.0 444.09 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-290 506425.0 5180870.0 1767.00 82.0 -71.0 90.50 96.16 5.66 1.63 Upper Copper Zone SC24-290 506425.0 5180870.0 1767.00 82.0 -71.0 513.31 476.68 481.39 4.71 4.54 Lower Copper Zone SC24-291A 506622.0 5180877.0 1741.00 58.0 -68.5 507.03 67.25 70.37 3.12 3.67 Upper Copper Zone 80.90 82.90 2.00 5.36 Upper Copper Zone SC24-291A weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-292 506361.5 5180939.0 1771.00 0.0 -84.5 453.54 120.21 125.89 5.68 2.32 Upper Copper Zone SC24-292 369.02 371.81 2.79 4.08 Lower Copper Zone SC24-293 506354.0 5180981.0 1773.00 346.0 -76.5 362.10 126.39 134.92 8.53 4.01 Upper Copper Zone SC24-293 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-294 506441.5 5180834.0 1768.00 64.0 -80.0 511.45 94.72 101.35 6.63 3.29 Upper Copper Zone SC24-294 faulted away Lower Copper Zone SC24-295 506441.5 5180834.0 1767.55 38 -68 461.95 weakly mineralized Upper Copper Zone SC24-295 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-296 507052.4 5180697.0 1711.00 315 -72.5 498.96 471.86 475.05 3.19 19.46 Lower Copper Zone SC24-297 507061.5 5180693.0 1712.60 332 -71.5 514.20 Faulted away Lower Copper Zone SC24-298 506454.0 5181004.0 1784.00 035 -86 395.63 104.14 115.74 11.60 1.61 Upper Copper Zone with 104.14 109.22 5.08 3.35 Upper Copper Zone SC24-298 368.31 372.95 4.64 1.81 Lower Copper Zone SC24-299 507222.4 5180646.0 1715.00 54.5 -74 518.60 Faulted away Lower Copper Zone SC24-300 507052.4 5180697.0 1711.00 319 -79 501.30 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-301 506899.0 5180826.0 1721.00 350 -59.5 174.65 27.67 36.79 9.12 1.72 Upper Copper Zone SC24-302 506899.0 5180826.0 1721.00 350 -59.5 383.74 30.80 35.72 4.92 2.21 Upper Copper Zone 357.36 360.20 2.84 8.98 Lower Copper Zone SC24-303 506899.0 5180826.0 1721.00 17 -60 398.37 29.65 34.25 4.60 3.41 Upper Copper Zone 364.93 367.72 2.79 11.82 Lower Copper Zone SC24-304 506852.0 5180856.0 1731.00 350 -70.5 441.84 weakly mineralized Upper Copper Zone weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-306 506852.0 5180856.0 1731.00 003 -76 412.94 weakly mineralized Upper Copper Zone weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC24-307 506700.0 5180717.0 1741.00 004 -63.5 492.92 64.41 83.62 19.21 3.19 Upper Copper Zone 450.22 454.48 4.26 7.39 Lower Copper Zone SC24-308 506700.0 5180717.0 1741.00 010 -68.5 523.34 63.09 78.60 15.51 3.47 Upper Copper Zone Faulted away Lower Copper Zone SC24-309 507213.0 5180540.0 1713.00 025 -77 592.50 512.22 513.59 1.37 2.62 Lower Copper Zone SC24-310 506609.0 5180868.0 1779.00 351.5 -79 184.65 75.90 80.40 4.50 4.77 Upper Copper Zone SC24-311 506609.0 5180868.0 1779.00 354 -81 472.14 77.66 82.04 4.38 0.97 Upper Copper Zone 441.81 449.92 8.11 4.66 Lower Copper Zone SC24-312 507171.0 5180754.2 1710.00 035 -80 480.36 425.66 440.65 14.99 7.99 Lower Copper Zone SC25-313 507100.0 5180849.0 1709.00 355 -76 386.49 364.39 366.59 2.20 8.01 Lower Copper Zone SC25-314 506609.0 5180868.0 1779.00 015 -75.5 444.70 62.79 67.78 4.99 1.64 Upper Copper Zone SC25-314 74.37 79.52 5.15 3.69 Upper Copper Zone SC25-314 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC25-316 507222.4 5180646.0 1715.00 016 -82 517.55 480.22 490.80 10.58 4.69 Lower Copper Zone SC25-316A 507240.2 5180705.9 1276.49 20 -82.2 56.39 metallurgical sample Lower Copper Zone SC25-318 507100.0 5180849.0 1709.00 315 -70.5 456.50 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC25-319 506609.0 5180868.0 1779.00 36.6 -68.5 456.90 62.29 67.24 4.95 2.59 Upper Copper Zone 76.18 81.56 5.38 6.45 Upper Copper Zone SC25-319 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC25-321 507171.0 5180754.2 1710.00 355 -65.5 218.54 terminated early SC25-321A 507159.1 5180823.3 1578.67 353.8 -62.21 311.90 Faulted away Lower Copper Zone SC25-322 507098.5 5180649.2 1711.00 002 -70.5 486.83 430.97 436.47 5.50 5.70 Lower Copper Zone SC25-323 507100.0 5180848.7 1709.00 339 -85 300.32 terminated early Lower Copper Zone SC25-323A 507096.4 5180875.2 1456.43 350 -86 187.06 140.65 145.15 4.50 2.80 Lower Copper Zone SC25-324 506704.0 510527.0 1741.00 100 -61 160.93 108.62 113.96 5.34 2.46 Upper Copper Zone 122.40 125.67 3.27 2.58 Upper Copper Zone SC25-325 506878.0 5180782.0 1726.00 016 -81.5 462.75 41.11 44.12 3.01 1.21 Upper Copper Zone SC25-325 377.58 389.31 11.73 8.80 Lower Copper Zone SC25-326 506868.0 5180752.0 1729.00 328 -70 437.39 46.97 51.82 4.85 3.71 Upper Copper Zone SC25-326 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC25-327 506665.0 5180695.0 1744.50 349.5 -72 571.96 35.23 41.73 6.50 1.54 Upper Copper Zone 56.07 68.31 12.24 2.77 Upper Copper Zone SC25-327 Faulted away Lower Copper Zone SC25-328 506868.0 5180752.0 1729.00 357 -68.5 449.93 49.38 51.88 2.50 2.40 Upper Copper Zone 401.79 406.70 4.91 9.74 Lower Copper Zone SC25-329 506665.0 5180695.0 1744.50 018 -71.5 523.66 40.23 41.72 1.49 2.79 Upper Copper Zone 462.60 468.09 5.49 2.54 Lower Copper Zone SC25-330 506878.0 5180782.0 1726.00 58.5 -86.5 486.58 32.53 34.00 1.47 1.61 Upper Copper Zone Faulted away Lower Copper Zone SC25-331 506425.0 5180870.0 1767.00 338.5 -82 450.80 90.82 93.20 2.38 1.13 Upper Copper Zone 97.26 98.76 1.50 1.03 Upper Copper Zone 417.79 420.32 2.53 1.62 Lower Copper Zone 423.42 425.56 2.14 2.36 Lower Copper Zone SC25-332 506665.2 5180695.0 1744.50 053.5 -71.5 534.80 69.03 84.16 15.13 2.62 Upper Copper Zone 466.35 467.30 0.95 9.06 Lower Copper Zone SC25-333 506441.5 5180834.0 1768.00 006 -64.5 432.82 weakly mineralized Upper Copper Zone 388.32 390.30 1.98 8.53 Lower Copper Zone SC25-334 506863.1 5180748.0 1728.60 329 -76.5 465.34 47.70 50.69 2.99 1.20 Upper Copper Zone 411.91 414.50 2.59 1.79 Lower Copper Zone SC25-335 506441.5 5180834.2 1768.00 010 -82.0 470.61 94.23 102.80 8.57 1.35 Upper Copper Zone SC25-335 428.80 431.97 3.17 3.86 Lower Copper Zone SC25-336 506361.0 5180939.0 1771.00 305 -83 417.27 126.68 131.46 4.78 2.19 Upper Copper Zone SC25-336 368.83 371.92 3.09 6.93 Lower Copper Zone SC25-337 506454.0 5181004.0 1784.00 68.5 -75 413.61 105.72 116.29 10.57 1.10 Upper Copper Zone SC25-337 weakly mineralized Lower Copper Zone SC25-338 506425.0 5180870.0 1767.00 33 -72.5 459.33 99.82 101.01 1.19 1.42 Upper Copper Zone SC25-338 405.20 408.16 2.96 2.41 Lower Copper Zone SC25-339 506441.5 5180834.2 1768.00 43.5 -73.5 467.56 92.50 94.00 1.50 1.51 Upper Copper Zone SC25-339 433.42 434.75 1.33 1.34 Lower Copper Zone SC25-341 506361.5 5180939.0 1771.00 45 -79.5 406.02 114.00 120.84 6.84 2.03 Upper Copper Zone SC25-341 367.27 370.93 3.66 4.27 Lower Copper Zone Intercept calculations included a minimum of 2 samples above a 1% copper cutoff grade. 1) Drilling conducted by Ruen Drilling of Hope, Idaho. HQ3-sized core was collected. Drill holes were oriented with dips varying between -80 to -70 degrees in relatively variably dipping mineral zones. Intercepts may be slightly longer than true thickness. 2) After being logged and photographed in White Sulphur Springs, Montana, all mineralized zones were sampled by cutting half-core splits which were delivered to ALS labs in Reno Nevada for processing. ALS crushed the entire sample to 85% passing 2mm then split off 1kg, which was ground to 85% passing 75 micron and wet-sieved the split to ensure grinding passed specifications and then assayed for gold by fire assay with AA finish. Base metals were analyzed using a 4-acid digestion and ICP-OES analysis. Various other trace and major elements were also analyzed utilizing ICP procedures. Sandfire America utilized a QA/QC protocol which included inserting Certified Reference Materials (CRM) on a minimum of 1 CRM in 20 samples insertion rate. Assays of duplicates, and blanks were also included as part of the QA/QC program. 3) ALS Labs are accredited by ISO/IEC 170205:2017 methods for North America. 4) Drillhole collars are surveyed conforming to UTM NAD83 Zone 12. 5) The Company is aware of no drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data referred to above. Figure 1: Drilling completed at the Black Butte Project from mid-December 2024 to mid-May 2025. Black diamonds show pierce points in Johnny Lee Lower Copper Zone. Colored areas show Measured (red), Indicated (yellow), and Inferred (blue) resource areas from the 2020 Technical Report. Johnny Lee Copper Deposit The Johnny Lee deposit has a Measured and Indicated Mineral Resource of 10.9 million tonnes (Mt) at an average copper grade of 2.9% for 311 thousand tonnes (kt) of contained copper (Cu) at a 1.0% Cu cut-off grade, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 2.7 Mt at an average copper grade of 3.0% for 80 kt of contained Cu at a 1.0% Cu cut-off grade (2020 Technical Report*). The Company has received a Mine Operating Permit from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality for mine development of this deposit and has completed a majority of Phase I construction on surface construction facilities. The Company received a decision from the Montana Supreme Court on February 26, 2024, to re-instate the mine operating permit and allow construction to move forward. The Company received a decision from the Montana Supreme Court on January 2, 2025, in favor of its interpretation of Montana water law in designing its water mitigation plan for the Black Butte Copper Operation. No other legal challenges remain in effect. Black Butte Copper Project The Black Butte Copper Project consists of 60,000 acres of mixed private and federal mineral lands. Private lands contain two significant copper deposits, the Johnny Lee deposit (see above) and the Lowry deposit (8.3 million tonnes @ 2.4% Cu, 2020 Technical Report). Only the Johnny Lee deposit has Mine Operating Permit from the Montana DEQ. The copper deposits are hosted in Mesoproterozoic sediments of the Belt Supergroup. Both host rocks and mineralization are dated at approximately 1.5 Ma. The Company believes that its large property position holds opportunity for future exploration success in discovery of additional copper deposits. Qualified Person Jerry Zieg, Sr. Vice President of Exploration and Technical Services for the Company, is a Qualified Person for the purposes of NI?43-101 and has also reviewed and approved the information of a scientific or technical nature contained in this news release. Mr. Zieg managed the drill project geological team and reviewed all aspects of sample collection, core logging, and analytical procedures chosen for the project on a near daily basis as well as monitoring QA/QC practices and outcomes. *(2020 Technical Report) - Feasibility Study (Johnny Lee Deposit) and Mineral Resource Estimate Update (Lowry Deposit) - "Technical Report NI 43-101" dated October 19, 2020, and news release "Sandfire Resources America Achieves Major Milestones with Completion of Black Butte Copper Project Feasibility Study and Updated Mineral Resource for Lowry Deposit" October 27, 2020, authored by GR Engineering. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Contact Information: Sandfire Resources America Inc. Nancy Schlepp, VP of Communications and Government Relations Mobile: 406-224-8180 Office: 406-547-3466 Email: nschlepp@sandfireamerica.com www.sandfireamerica.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Certain disclosures in this document constitute "forward looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or future performance and reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company regarding future events. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "intends" or "expects," or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events, or results "may," "could", "should", "would" or "occur". This information and these statements, referred to herein as "forward?looking statements", are not historical facts, are made as of the date of this news release and include without limitation, statements regarding the Company's drilling program and the expected timing and results thereof; the expansion and increased definition of the Johnny Lee Lower Copper Zone; the Company's plans to add a third drill and the expected timing thereof; the completion of an updated Feasibility Study for the Johnny Lee deposit and the expected timing thereof; and that the results of the drill program will enhance the economics of the project. In making these forward-looking statements, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable, including that the Company will be able to complete its drilling program as planned or at all; that the Company's planned drilling program will achieve expected results; that the Company will be able to achieve further expansion and increased definition of the Johnny Lee Lower Copper Zone; that the Company will be able to complete any environmental review, permitting process, or engineering and economic studies required for resource development of the Johnny Lee Lower Copper Zone; that the Company will be able to add a third drill to the Johnny Lee Lower Copper Zone by January 2025, or at all; that the Company will be able to complete an updated Feasibility Study for the Johnny Lee deposit in 2026 or at all; and that the work program will have the economic impact on the project anticipated by management. These forward?looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties, and actual results might differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, general market, economic and business conditions, that results of exploration and development activities will not be consistent with management's expectations, delays in obtaining or inability to obtain required government or other regulatory approvals or financing, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, the risk of accidents, labor disputes, inclement or hazardous weather conditions, unusual or unexpected geological conditions, ground control problems, earthquakes, flooding and all of the other risks generally associated with the development of mining facilities. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements 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, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. We seek safe harbor. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/0d1e2649-1f70-4da2-85e2-9e0b3e6a5011 Hamilton and Leclerc try out major Ferrari upgrade Both Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc are getting a preview of a major rear suspension upgrade for their 2025 Ferrari this week. Mechnics, Spanish GP 2025 Ferrari While a 'TPC' test with a two-year-old Ferrari is occurring at the same time, the Formula 1 duo are collecting the maximum 200 kilometres in the current car at Ferrari-owned Mugello on Thursday. During the so-called 'filming day' activities, Hamilton and Leclerc will give their feedback about the all-new suspension, which according to La Gazzetta dello Sport involved moving the attachment point of the upper wishbone . Making this modification is absolutely non-trivial, said journalist Paolo Filisetti, as it requires ensuring the exact point on the carbon fibre structure covering the gearbox can withstand the loads induced at the new attachment point . Deputy team boss Jerome D'Ambrosio revealed recently that Ferrari newcomer Lewis Hamilton has gradually been moving closer to Leclerc's preferred setup at recent races. You need a certain balance if you want to get the most out of the car, he said, "and Charles has had a car in recent races that was a bit more prone to oversteer. That worked well for him. In fact, Lewis has also been going that direction recently, and it's working well for him as well. Indeed, while the drivers' and constructors' world titles are out of reach, Ferrari is determined to at least hold off Mercedes and Red Bull for second overall. A new floor was introduced recently, and the new rear suspension is expected to get a lot more out of both developments. We're improving the car step by step, said Leclerc, "but we're not yet at a point where we can be happy. "But we're back on track with development. The new floor was a step forward, and the next batch of new parts will bring us closer to McLaren. I don't think we'll catch them, he added, but we can get close enough to put them under pressure. Hamilton is also happier with his latest feeling in the car, but he admits his priority is that the all-new car for 2026 has some of my DNA in it . I'm slowly getting used to this Ferrari, said the seven-time world champion. "The next new developments give us hope that we can take another step soon. "Charles has found his way and his setup - how the car works best. I've tried all sorts of directions, but haven't found what I'm looking for yet. So now I want to make sure that doesn't happen again next year. (GMM) Previous article: Remitlys support was pivotal to success of Ghana Party in the Park Akwaaba UK CEO Featured GH creatives deserve good pension scheme -speakers at CeRCCA dialogue Gifty Owusu-Amoah Showbiz News Jul - 17 - 2025 , 18:47 3 minutes read Speakers at a policy dialogue on pensions for Ghanaian creatives have called for greater commitment towards a workable scheme to secure the future of Ghanaian creatives to preserve Ghana's heritage. They indicated that ad hoc support schemes for creatives, particularly for pensions, left the sector unattractive for the young ones. Several speakers urged the establishment of feasible and dependable schemes that would provide decent retirement conditions for Ghanaian creatives. The dialogue was organised by the Centre for Research, Culture and Creative Arts of the School of Creative Arts (CeRCCA) of the University of Education, Winneba (UEW). It aimed at bringing attention to the need for a sustainable pension scheme for Ghanaian creatives and a sustainable national apprenticeship programme. The dialogue highlighted two technical research reports on a pension scheme for the creatives and a sustainable apprenticeship programme. It was attended by representatives from the Musicians Association of Ghana (MUSIGA), Film Producers Association of Ghana (FIPAG) and the Ghana Music Rights Organisation (GHAMRO), among others. A professor with the School of Creative Arts of UEW, Prof. Emmanuel Obed Acquah, speaking on the Developing Pension Scheme for Ghanaian Creatives and Artisans, said the current Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Pension scheme did not fully address the welfare needs of creatives. That, he indicated, was due to factors, including the volatility of incomes in the sector, the informal nature of the sector and policy gaps. The situation, he said, had left many in the sector without dignified retirement welfare and support. Threat Prof. Acquah said this posed a threat to the creative sector, which, he said, held great potential to contribute significantly to the national economy. He called for a legal framework for creatives' pension scheme and the establishment of an independent regulatory body to oversee the scheme for efficiency and sustainability. The speakers and some dignitaries at the programme The Vice-Chancellor of UEW, Prof. Stephen Jobson Mitchual, said the creative industry remained a powerhouse, but the lack of a comprehensive retirement security scheme made the industry unattractive and posed an existential threat to practitioners as they age or are incapacitated. We have witnessed it. We have seen it. People who were doing very well all of a sudden, begging some people to pay their rent, and as a result of stress, within a few days, they just die off, he stated. He disclosed that CeRCCA research proposed policy recommendations for a tailored guidance for creatives' pension scheme to address these gaps, noting, "By securing our creatives, we secure Ghana's soul. He commended the CeRCCA for the initiative and called for stronger collaboration with other organisations to create a significant impact on culture and creative art for livelihood empowerment, culture preservation and promotion. The Dean of the School of Creative Arts, Prof. Evans Asante, said the topics had long occupied the periphery of national dialogue and policy discussion despite their immense contribution to national development. Prof. Osuanyi Quaicoo Essel said Ghana needed a sustainable apprenticeship model that would address the gaps in training and employment. He said studies had confirmed that people with skills were easily employed, explaining that a robust national apprenticeship programme would help deal with the high unemployment problem. The Chief Executive Officer of GHAMRO, Jackson Brefo, called on academia to collaborate with industry to equip up-and-coming creatives on creative laws and ethics. Featured Customary marriage can be dissolved in court and claim property settlement - lawyer Richard Osei Boateng Life Jul - 17 - 2025 , 15:02 3 minutes read A legal practitioner, Victor Owusu Asante, has addressed a common misconception among some Ghanaians regarding the legal status and protections of customary marriage also known as traditionalmarriage. According to him, customary marriages enjoy the same legal protections as ordinance marriages, particularly in matters of dissolution, property settlement, custody of children and maintenance. Speaking to Graphic Online in an interview he said it was inaccurate to assume only monogamous (ordinance) marriages can be dissolved in court. Mr. Owusu Asante clarified that Ghanaian law creates an exception that allows couples in customary marriages to seek judicial dissolution, whether or not the marriage is formally registered. Additionally, such couples can apply for maintenance and other forms of ancillary reliefs available under monogamous marriage laws. Under our lawsspecifically Section 41(3) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1971, Act 367there is an exception for those who contract customary marriages, he explained. All the protections related to property settlement and maintenance that are available to parties in ordinance marriages also apply to persons in customary marriages. Section 41(3) allows a party in a polygamous marriage (i.e., a customary marriage) to petition formally for divorce in the courts. Even if the marriage was not registered, as long as it is valid under custom, you can go to court to have it annulled or dissolved. You can also apply for maintenance and other other ancillary reliefs. Engagement or Customary Marriage? Mr. Owusu Asante also clarified a widespread confusion between engagement and customary marriage. He stressed that engagement is not a legal term under Ghanaian law and that customary marriage is a distinct, valid, and recognized form of marriage. Customary marriage is often referred to as engagement, but in family law, there is no such thing as an engagement, he said. What people call engagement is actually a valid customary marriage, he said. Is a wedding required after engagement? He further explained that there is no legal requirement to perform a customary marriage before contracting an ordinance (civil) marriage, nor is an ordinance marriage pers se required to make a union legally recognized. However, where a couple performs both, the ordinance marriage supersedes the customary one. There is no legal requirement that you must contract a customary marriage before an ordinance marriage. Similarly, an ordinance marriage is not necessarily needed to make a union legally recognized. But if a couple performs a full customary marriage and later contracts an ordinance marriage, the ordinance marriage overrides the customary one. This is what we call a conversion. In law, once the ordinance marriage takes effect, the customary marriage ceases to exist. He concluded by urging the public to recognize the legal validity of customary marriage and not to dismiss it as a mere ceremonial or cultural engagement subsidiary to an ordinance marriage. Read also: Women married customarily can use husbands surname Legal Practitioner Featured 2 arrested for impersonating Ghana Gold Board Taskforce officers in extortion scheme GraphicOnline Jul - 17 - 2025 , 06:57 2 minutes read The Western Central Regional Police Command has arrested two men for allegedly posing as members of the Ghana Gold Board Taskforce and using their false identities to extort money from unsuspecting gold dealers. The suspects, identified as Foster Delord, 40, and Prince Worvi, 38, were apprehended after the police received a tip-off that the pair were making rounds at gold buying shops, claiming to be government-sanctioned operatives. According to the police, the suspects presented themselves as ex-military officers working with the Gold Board Taskforce. During their arrest, law enforcement retrieved several incriminating items including a pair of handcuffs, a canister of pepper spray, an electric shock device, a military-style uniform, and GH500 in cash believed to have been obtained through extortion. "The two suspects, Foster Delord and Prince Worvi, were arrested following a complaint received by the police that they were visiting different gold buyers claiming to be officials of the Gold Board Taskforce," the police said in a statement. The suspects have since been arraigned before the Tarkwa Circuit Court and have been remanded into police custody to assist with further investigations. The police have urged the public, especially those in the gold trading sector, to be vigilant and cautious when dealing with individuals claiming to represent state institutions. The Regional Police Command wishes to advise the public to be cautious of individuals claiming to be officials of government agencies without proper identification, the statement warned. Authorities say investigations are ongoing and have assured the public of their commitment to clamping down on impersonation and extortion schemes within the mining sector. Featured Crackdown on international students is self-harm, says UK Mayor Beatrice Laryea Jul - 17 - 2025 , 15:48 2 minutes read The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called on the UK Government to ease restrictions on international students, warning that a decline in their numbers would harm both London and the broader UK economy. Mr Khan criticised proposals to pull up the drawbridge to international students, describing such measures as economically damaging. Speaking in Accra during his five-day trade mission to Africa, he labelled the policies a mistake that would deter global talent. Closing our country to global talent would be an act of immense economic self-harmone that would slow growth and leave working people in Britain worse off." Thats why Im calling on our government not to make it harder for international students to study in the UK, he said. According to City Hall, international students contribute an estimated 55 billion annually to the UK economy, with 12.5 billion generated by those studying in London alone. As part of its immigration white paper, the UK Government is reportedly considering a new levy on income universities earn from international students. Critics warn the move could discourage overseas applicants and place additional financial strain on already stretched institutions. Recent Home Office data revealed a 16 per cent drop in international student visa applications between July and September 2024 compared to the same period the previous year. Beyond economic concerns, Mr Khan highlighted the cultural and social contributions international students make to the UK, stating they help make the country a better place to be. He reaffirmed Londons openness under his leadership and called for stronger global partnerships: On my watch, London will be as open as ever but we must do more. We cannot simply wait for the world to come to London; we must bring London to the world, he said. Collaboration Also speaking at the event, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo praised ongoing collaboration with Imperial College London, noting it has supported over 400 students and 150 startups in climate change and entrepreneurship initiatives. She added that the university aims for 10 per cent of its more than 70,000 students to be actively involved in entrepreneurship. Mr Khans African trade mission includes visits to Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg, and Cape Town, aimed at strengthening trade ties and engaging Londons growing African diaspora. As part of the tour, Londons growth agency, London & Partners, is leading a delegation of 27 London-based companies exploring business opportunities and expansion across the continent. Featured Defence Minister rewards soldier who rejected galamsey bribe Henking A. Adjase-Kodjo Jul - 17 - 2025 , 17:18 3 minutes read The Minister for Defence, Dr Omane Boamah, has rewarded Lance Corporal Solomon Asare Teye-Tsu, the Ghanaian soldier who was recently honoured and promoted by the Ghana Armed Forces for his patriotic act of rejecting a bribe from illegal miners (galamsey operators) at the Bibiani Gold Mines. At an all-ranks durbar held for officers, soldiers, and civilian staff of Garrisons 1 & 5 at Burma Camp on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, Dr Boamah made a personal donation of GH10,000 to L/Cpl Teye-Tsu to promote professionalism in the Armed Forces. He lauded L/Cpl Teye-Tsu for his exemplary conduct, commended the troops for their bravery, professionalism, and commitment, and reminded them of the importance of upholding their military code. Dr Boamah urged the leadership of the Armed Forces to act decisively against personnel who deviate from the professional standards expected of the Ghana Armed Forces. While expressing regret over the recent killing of two soldiers in Bawku, he also cautioned against soldiers who provide unauthorised private security services, calling on the military high command to address this illegal practice. Government seeks to enhance operational capacity, improve troop welfare, and explore strategic partnerships and global collaborations, he said, adding that the barracks would be upgraded with 10,000 new housing units as well as modern equipment and logistics. On Friday, July 11, 2025, then Private Teye-Tsu, who currently serves with the Department of Public Relations of the Ghana Armed Forces, was promoted to the rank of Lance Corporal by the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lieutenant General William Agyapong. As part of the reward package, he was presented with a citation and nominated to serve with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. This recognition followed an earlier honour presented by Ojeyz Securities Limited, the private security company managing operations at the Bibiani Gold Mines, where L/Cpl Teye-Tsu had been stationed last year. It would be recalled that L/Cpl Teye-Tsu was on official guard duty at Bibiani when he was approached by a group of artisanal miners, who attempted to bribe him with a large sum of money in exchange for access to the restricted mining site. Driven by integrity and patriotism, he rejected the bribe, apprehended the illegal miners, and handed them over to the authorities for prosecution. Impressed by his selfless action, Ojeyz Securities Limited described him as a shining star an accolade that sparked similar honours from the Ghana Armed Forces. Aged 30, L/Cpl Teye-Tsu was enlisted into the Ghana Armed Forces in 2023. He hails from Odumase-Krobo in the Eastern Region, and is an alumnus of Manya Krobo Senior High School and King David College, both in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality. He is also a member of Kloma Gbi (Voice of the Krobo States), a Krobo-based youth network. 'China Travel' is on fire People's Daily Online) 10:02, July 17, 2025 Young European musicians engage in musical exchange with local residents of the Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, Leishan county, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, southwest China's Guizhou Province, July 13, 2025. (People's Daily Online/Yang Qian) Thanks to a series of favorable visa-free transit policies, "China Travel" continues to heat up in 2025. According to China's National Immigration Administration, the number of inbound and outbound trips made by foreigners exceeded 38.05 million in the first half of 2025, marking a year-on-year increase of 30.2 percent. Among them, 13.64 million entries were made under visa-free policies, accounting for 71.2 percent of all foreign arrivals and representing a 53.9-percent increase year on year. Currently, China's 240-hour visa-free transit policy applies to 55 countries, and its departure tax refund policy has been upgradedgiving a significant boost to inbound tourism to China. These innovative policies are attracting more foreign tourists and business travelers to China, demonstrating the country's strong commitment to high-level opening up. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) Next article: President Mahama commends Nayiri for his statesman role in Bawku peace efforts Featured Ex-NPA CEO Mustapha Abdul-Hamid denies GH280million extortion allegations as legal battle intensifies GraphicOnline Jul - 17 - 2025 , 20:33 2 minutes read The legal team representing former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) Chief Executive Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid has issued a strong rebuttal against corruption charges filed by the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), asserting their client has not been formally served with court documents despite widespread media reports of a 25-count indictment. In a press statement dated July 17, 2025, Hay & Partners At Law declared: "As at the time of issuing this press statement, our client has not been charged before any court of competent jurisdiction. We are yet to sight any charge sheet." The legal team emphasised their client's readiness to vigorously contest what they describe as unsubstantiated allegations. The dispute centres on dramatically different narratives between the prosecution and defence. While the OSP alleges Abdul-Hamid conspired with NPA officials to extort GH280.51 million from oil marketing companies between 2022 and 2024, his lawyers highlight what they term a pattern of shifting accusations. The defence noted that initial OSP claims in February 2025 alleged embezzlement of GH1.3 billion from the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF), which later transformed into accusations of UPPF mismanagement and procurement breaches, before finally settling on the current extortion charges involving a significantly smaller amount. Abdul-Hamid's legal representatives presented audited financial records showing substantial growth in NPA accounts during his tenure. According to their submission, the UPPF grew from GH53.2 million in 2021 to GH1.14 billion by December 2024, while the Price Differential Margin account recovered from a negative GH18.4 million to a positive GH470.6 million over the same period. "Our client served the nation with utmost integrity and competence," stated lawyer Hanifa Yahaya, citing widespread industry recognition of Abdul-Hamid's leadership. The defence maintains these financial improvements contradict allegations of misconduct. The OSP's case alleges a complex scheme where Abdul-Hamid allegedly received GH24 million directly, with GH227.23 million routed through NPA staff member Wendy Newman. Prosecutors claim the funds were laundered through three companies - Propnest Ltd, Kel Logistics, and Kings Energy - to acquire real estate, fuel trucks, and construct petrol stations. Eight other individuals and three corporate entities face related money laundering charges, with one accused, Osei Tutu Adjei, currently evading authorities. The case represents one of Ghana's most significant corruption prosecutions in recent years, testing the effectiveness of the country's anti-corruption framework. As the legal battle looms, Abdul-Hamid's team remains defiant: "Our client categorically denies initiating or being involved in any extortion scheme... and further denies receiving any personal benefit." With both sides preparing for court, the case promises to be a landmark examination of accountability in Ghana's petroleum sector. Previous article: Teacher licensure exam phases out August 30 - New assessment system to replace it Featured Family appeals for help as young Ghanaian woman battles end-stage kidney failure GraphicOnline Jul - 17 - 2025 , 07:17 2 minutes read The family of 32-year-old Charity Boateng is making an urgent public appeal for financial support to help her undergo a kidney transplant after being diagnosed with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Charity, who has been on bi-weekly haemodialysis since 2023 at Banahene Specialist Hospital in Accra, now requires a transplant to stay alive, according to a medical report signed by Dr Dexter Nana Bannor Rampson, Resident Medical Officer at the facility. Our sister Charity Boateng is battling with end-stage kidney failure and is in dire need of a life-saving transplant, the family said in a heartfelt statement. The report indicates that the cost of the transplant which includes travel, surgery, medications, and post-operative care for both Charity and the donor is estimated to range between $28,000 and $40,000 (approximately GH392,000 to GH560,000), depending on the hospital in India where the surgery will take place. Faced with the daunting cost, the family is appealing to the public, benevolent organisations, and philanthropists for support. Contributions can be made to: Account Name: Emmanuel Adonteng Boateng Account Number: 1441001520963 Bank: Ecobank Ghana Charitys family remains hopeful that with swift support from the public, she will receive the transplant in time. Her condition, if untreated, could lead to life-threatening complications. Kidney disease is on the rise in Ghana, with many patients struggling to afford dialysis or transplant procedures, which are not covered under the National Health Insurance Scheme. The Boateng family is praying that Charitys story will resonate with kind-hearted individuals willing to lend a helping hand. Featured President Mahama directs reinstatement of Parent Teacher Association (PTA) in public schools Mohammed Ali Jul - 17 - 2025 , 10:58 2 minutes read The Ghana Education Service (GES) has directed all public pre-tertiary schools to reinstate Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) following a presidential directive issued by President John Dramani Mahama. In a press statement dated July 17, 2025, the GES asked heads of public senior high, technical, and STEM schools to take immediate steps to operationalise the directive. The Service said the move was aimed at increasing parental involvement and improving cooperation between schools and communities. The Ghana Education Service (GES) wishes to inform the general public of the directive from His Excellency, the President of the Republic, John Dramani Mahama, on the full reinstatement of Parent-Teacher Associations (PTAs) in all pre-tertiary schools across the country, the statement, signed by the Head of Public Relations, Mr Daniel Fenyi, said. This marks a reversal of the 2019 policy introduced under the previous administration, which banned mandatory PTA levies and suspended their operations following the rollout of the Free Senior High School programme. The previous administration had argued that mandatory levies under the various associations were an obstacle to the free SHS programme. In place of PTAs, the GES introduced Parent Associations (PAs), which removed teachers from decision-making on school development projects and restricted the collection of dues without approval from central authorities. President Mahama had, on various platforms, including a meeting with the Ghana National Association of Teachers (GNAT) in June 2025, described the sidelining of PTAs as unacceptable. He promised to restore them as an integral part of the education system. PTA participation must be fully restored. Parents are not just observers, they are key stakeholders in our childrens education, he said at the time. According to Mr Fenyi, the GES will, in the coming weeks, issue detailed guidelines on the roles, structure, and financial responsibilities of the PTAs to provide clarity and consistency across all schools. The Service urged all parties involved in school administration, including teachers, parents, and community leaders, to support the implementation of the directive. Featured Arrest illegal miners, impersonators - President Mahama orders Kester Aburam Korankye Jul - 17 - 2025 , 09:57 3 minutes read President John Dramani Mahama has declared illegal mining (galamsey) a national emergency and has, therefore, ordered the immediate arrest and prosecution of individuals impersonating members of the anti-galamsey task force to extort money from legitimate small-scale miners. He issued the directive during his Thank You Tour of the Western North Region at Juaboso, where he warned that criminal elements hiding behind state operations will not be tolerated. President Mahama said that the National Task Force would intensify its operations, particularly in forest reserves and water bodies. "Illegal mining is destroying our environment, polluting our water sources and threatening livelihoods. We cannot allow criminals to exploit this crisis by posing as law enforcement to extort innocent miners. "Let me be clear: Anyone caught impersonating task force members or engaging in illegal mining will face the full rigours of the law. This is a national emergency, and we will treat it as such," he added. Incentive for cocoa farmers The President reaffirmed the governments commitment to ensuring cocoa farmers receive 70 per cent of the world market price for their produce. "Our cocoa farmers are the backbone of this nation. My government will ensure they get at least 70 per cent of the world market price. They deserve better, and we will deliver on that promise," he said. President Mahama stressed the need to reward farmers fairly for their hard work and contribution to the countrys economy. The Presidents strong stance comes amid growing concerns over environmental degradation and economic losses linked to galamsey, as well as long-standing grievances from cocoa farmers over low producer prices. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food and Agriculture is expected to roll out new measures to boost cocoa farmers earnings. Allowance President Mahama also announced the disbursement of GH25 million in allowances to assembly members across the country for the first quarter of 2025, as part of efforts to strengthen local governance. "The funds have been sent to your various district assemblies, and you will soon receive your payments," he said. The announcement was greeted with applause from assembly members who were present at the gathering. The move is expected to boost morale among local representatives who play a critical role in grassroots development. Industrialisation agenda The President further highlighted the central role the Western North Region played in the governments industrialisation agenda. He said the government would prioritise cocoa processing, palm oil, rice milling and timber value addition in the region. A major oil palm cultivation project The President said the government, in partnership with the African Development Bank, would launch a nationwide project to cultivate some 200,000 hectares of land, with significant acreage expected in the Western North Region. In line with that, he appealed to traditional leaders to release lands for the initiative. President Mahama also announced the impending launch of the Youth Enterprise and Employment Scheme (YES) in September, this year to support at least 1,000 young people in the region with training, start-up capital and mentorship. On education, he reminded first-year students that the "No Fee Stress Policy" portal remained open, and that those who paid fees would receive refunds via Mobile Money, while the Student Loan Trust Fund would also cover their academic fees from September. The President said the appointment of several Western North natives to key positions, including the Health Minister, Kwabena Mintah Akandoh, and the Deputy Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Samson Ahi, were evidence of the region's growing influence in national affairs. Featured Mustapha Hamid, 9 others charged for extorting GH280m from oil companies Justice Agbenorsi Jul - 17 - 2025 , 07:23 3 minutes read The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has dragged the former Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, to court for allegedly conspiring with another official and eight others to extort GH280.51 million from bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies (OMCs). According to charges filed at the Criminal Division of the High Court in Accra yesterday, the OSP has accused Dr Abdul-Hamid, who was also the Chairman of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Management Committee under the NPA, of using his position to conspire with Jacob Kwamina Amuah, the coordinator of the fund, to extort the GH280.51 million from the OMCs. Charges The 10 accused persons, including two companies, have been slapped with 25 counts of offences ranging from conspiracy to extort money by a public officer, extortion by public officer, using public office for profit gain, conspiracy to launder money and a substantive count of money laundering. They are expected to be arraigned for their respective pleas to be taken on the charges filed against them at a later date. Among the charges, the OSP said between 2022 and December 2024, Dr Abdul-Hamid, Amuah and a staff member of the audit department of the NPA, Wendy Newman, set up a scheme to extort GH280.51 million from bulk oil transporters and OMCs. The scheme, according to the OSP, was contrived by Dr Abdul-Hamid, who allegedly sold the idea of the criminal adventure to Amuah, who also recruited Newman as the primary conduit for receiving the proceeds of the alleged crime. Amuah is alleged to have transferred GH24 million to Abdul-Hamid between January 2024 to December 2024 all alleged to be proceeds of what the OSP described as a criminal extortion scheme. Out of the GH280.51 million received by Dr Abdul-Hamid, Amuah and Newman, the OSP alleged that GH227.23 million was paid through Newman, who allegedly distributed it on the instruction of Amuah. In the dock In the dock with them are two directors of real estate company Propnest Limited, Albert Ankrah and Isaac Mensah, and the companys Chief Executive Officer, Bright Bediako-Mensah, who have been accused of helping the three to launder money. A Director of another company, Kel Logistics Limited, Kwaku Aboagye Acquah, and the firm itself, are also in the dock on charges of conspiring with the three to launder money. Meanwhile, Osei Tutu Adjei, the Director of Kings Logistics Limited, is currently on the run, but his company has been joined in the criminal action. Further particulars According to the OSP, investigations revealed that Ankrah, Mensah, Bediako-Mensah and Acquah as well as Adjei, with the complicity of Amuah and Newman, established and ran the three companies with which they proceeded to unlawfully launder the proceeds of the alleged criminal adventure of the top three accused persons through various transfers for the acquisition of movable and immovable property. That was for the purpose of concealing or disguising the illicit origin of the proceeds of the criminal enterprise and to evade the legal consequences of the unlawful activity, the charges averred. Amuah and Newman transferred various sums of money directly to the companies and funded the purchase and construction of houses, the purchase of trucks for oil distribution business, and the construction of fuel filling stations, the OSP stated in the charge sheet. Next article: Mustapha Hamid, 9 others charged for extorting GH280m from oil companies Featured Over $227.6m ECG contracts terminated John Jinapor Kester Aburam Korankye, Jubilee House Jul - 17 - 2025 , 08:41 4 minutes read The Minister of Energy and Green Transition has terminated 202 supply contracts of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) after the suppliers failed to deliver goods on schedule. The Minister, John Abdulai Jinapor, who made this known in Accra on Wednesday [ July 16], said the terminated contracts, which were quoted in various currencies, were worth $227.6 million, 1.17 million and 4.08 million. Speaking at the Government Accountability Series press briefing at the Jubilee House, the Energy and Green Transition Minister said the move was part of a broader effort to reduce ECGs contingent liabilities and improve its cost efficiency. After a thorough review, we identified 347 contracts where suppliers had failed to meet their obligations. The ECG Board has approved the termination of 202 of these contracts, as the delays were unacceptable," Mr Jinapor said. The Energy Minister explained that the goods in the terminated contracts were not part of the materials locked up at the ports, but rather additional materials from past procurements by the previous administration that were yet to be delivered. He added that the remaining 145 contracts were undergoing further scrutiny, with possible termination if the suppliers failed to justify the delays. Context The Energy and Green Transition Minister detailed the progress made since the new administration assumed office in January 2025 in revitalising the countrys struggling energy sector. He also provided updates on reforms in power generation, renewable energy and petroleum production, signalling a new era of stability and growth for the sector. Sector stabilised Mr Jinapor revealed that Ghana had successfully restored a reliable electricity supply following months of erratic power outages, with consistent power delivery maintained over the past four months. That achievement came after decisive interventions, including restructuring the sectors massive debt, which had ballooned to $1.7 billion owed to Independent Power Producers (IPPs) alone. To prevent further financial strain and potential shutdowns, he said the government enforced strict compliance with the Cash Waterfall Mechanism (CWM) to ensure timely payments to power generation companies. These efforts have yielded tangible results, with the Electricity Company of Ghana recording its highest-ever monthly revenue of GH1.678 billion in June 2025, a 47 per cent increase compared to the same period last year, he added. Mr Jinapor mentioned other reforms to include Cabinets approval of a new Private Sector Participation (PSP) model in electricity distribution, designed to improve efficiency and service delivery. Additionally, he said, ECG had transitioned to a new billing system within just three months, streamlining operations and reducing commercial losses. Renewable energy With the ministrys expanded mandate to include renewable energy, Mr Jinapor announced major strides in green energy adoption. They include a flagship initiative, the $85 million Ghana Scaling-up Renewable Energy Program (SREP), set to deploy 12,000 solar PV systems, construct 35 mini-grids and distribute 1,450 solar home systems to remote communities. He said large-scale solar projects were also underway, including a 25-megawatt (MW) floating solar plant at Bui Dam and a 30MW facility at Kpong, which were both expected to significantly boost renewable energy capacity. The government is also advancing plans for electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure, with solar-powered charging stations already commissioned at the Energy Commission. Mr Jinapor said the country had progressed to the second phase of its Nuclear Power Programme, with vendor selection for the countrys first nuclear power plant underway. The Minister of Energy also reported that after five consecutive years of declining production, the countrys upstream petroleum sector was bouncing back. He said two major oil discoveries, Afina and Eban-Akoma, had been declared commercially viable, paving the way for new production streams. The government had also secured a $2 billion investment commitment for the Jubilee and TEN fields, which would fund the drilling of 20 new wells and associated infrastructure, he said. Additionally, the Tema Oil Refinery (TOR), which had been non-operational for years, was set to resume operations in October 2025 following critical maintenance works. In the downstream sector, the government was rolling out the Cylinder Recirculation Model (CRM) to distribute 450,000 liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) stoves, enhancing access to clean cooking solutions. Plans were also in place to expand Ghanas gas processing capacity with a second gas plant, which was expected to reduce reliance on expensive fuel imports by $1 billion annually, the minister said. Mr Jinapor reaffirmed the governments commitment to transparency, sustainability and industrial growth. We have stabilised power supply, increased petroleum reserves and initiated a comprehensive clean-up of the sector. While challenges remain, the foundation for a resilient energy future has been laid, he said. Next article: Family appeals for help as young Ghanaian woman battles end-stage kidney failure Featured Teacher licensure exam phases out August 30 - New assessment system to replace it Severious Kale-Dery Jul - 17 - 2025 , 07:18 3 minutes read The National Teaching Council (NTC) has up to August 30 to end the existing teacher licensure examination scheme. The Teacher Licensure Examination regime will be replaced by a new system for assessing teacher qualifications. The new framework would shift focus from standardised examinations to a more practical, skills-based approach, emphasising academic grounding and classroom experience over formal testing. Board membership The Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, announced this during the inauguration of the newly reconstituted board of the NTC, chaired by Emmanuel Kwami Alorvi, in Accra last Tuesday. Haruna Iddrisu (arrowed), Education Minister, with the board members The other members, who are representatives from various institutions, include Sampson Damptey Tetey, Ben Nick Banor, Prof. Samuel Ofori Obuobisah Bekoe, Prof. Tahiru Azeko Salifu, Prof. Emmanuel Osei Sarpong and Mercy Nabia Sagbil. The rest are Majorie Affenyi, Gadotor Yram Kwame (Togbe Foe Tsali II), Obenfo Nana Kwesi Gyetuah, Prof. Samuel Awinkene Atintono, Prof. Eric Nyarko-Sampson, Dr (Hajia) Amina Jangu Alhassan, Dr Chrysogonus Anab and Dr Christian Addai-Poku. Deadline The minister stressed that concluding the current licensure examination regime was urgent as the government prepared to transition into a new system for assessing teacher qualifications. The last of it must be concluded not later than August 30, 2025. If there is a last opportunity for those who sat and couldnt make it, that process should not travel beyond August 30. You are to work with the registrar, get us a firm date, and well put that off, Mr Iddrisu directed the board members. He commended the board members for making far-reaching recommendations on a more comprehensive and practical approach in assessing teacher readiness. New framework This new model, which will guide the teacher licensure exams, goes beyond solely paper-based exams. It incorporates assessment, supervised practical evaluations, and structured mentorship programmes, ensuring that newly trained teachers demonstrate not just theoretical knowledge but actual classroom competence. That model will be rolled out as soon as practicable when you conclude with the last licensure opportunity for those who have to resit and those who have to join, the minister stated. Mr Iddrisu explained that the directive was part of a wider reform agenda aimed at improving teacher training and classroom outcomes. Outlining the responsibilities of the board under the Education Regulatory Bodies Act 1023, the minister reminded them that they had the responsibility to regulate the teaching profession in the country. Part of it would be even advising the sector minister on matters relating to teachers, setting professional standards, licensing teachers, overseeing a more important function of the continuous professional development of teachers, and also regulating institutions that train teachers, and promoting teacher professionalism and accountability, he told the board members. While congratulating the members on behalf of President John Mahama, Mr Iddrisu said when teachers did well, learners learnt and became better off. He further tasked the board to strive to improve the cooperation and collaboration of all the stakeholders in the sector, be they teachers, community leaders, parent-teacher associations, and even the teachers themselves. He also charged the board to pay particular attention to teacher-parent relations and teacher-people relations, expressing concern that in Ghana, when learners gave feedback, teachers felt disrespected. That should not be the case when you are teaching and you get feedback from learners that they don't properly understand you. In our culture, the teachers treat that as disrespect. The feedback must help you improve your professional delivery, Mr Iddrisu stressed. Featured Ghana owes $3.6m in unpaid tuition fees as University of Memphis sets August 9 deadline to sack students GraphicOnline Jul - 17 - 2025 , 12:54 2 minutes read Ghanas government is under mounting pressure to urgently settle a $3.6 million debt owed to the University of Memphis, which threatens to displace nearly 200 Ghanaian students currently enrolled at the US institution. The affected students, 185 in total, are beneficiaries of a Ghana government scholarship scheme. However, due to the states failure to pay outstanding tuition fees, the University has issued a n August 9 deadline for students to find alternative sources of funding or vacate university housing. According to Dr Bill Hardgrave, President of the University of Memphis, the situation has become dire. The students are sponsored by the government from Ghana, which has not paid the students tuition in some time, he said in an interview with Action News 5s Better Memphis show. He confirmed that the total amount owed by the Ghanaian government stands at $3.6 million. The delay in payment, according to Dr Hardgrave, may be linked to political changes in Ghana following the December 2024 general election. I think there was a regime change in Ghana and that affected the budget, but were hopeful that gets corrected because wed love to keep those students on campus, he stated. The students, most of whom are studying science, engineering, and business-related courses, now face the grim prospect of being forced to abandon their academic pursuits if no intervention occurs before the August deadline. Reports from the Daily Memphian indicate that the university has already informed the students that they must vacate their residence halls by August 9, unless they or the Ghanaian government can clear the debt or make arrangements for payment. To mitigate the impact, the University of Memphis has urged the public and philanthropic bodies to contribute to the Gary Shorb International Student Support Fund to help the stranded Ghanaian students. With just weeks to the deadline, the fate of 185 young Ghanaians now hangs in the balanceawaiting either urgent financial intervention or the heartbreak of returning home with their academic futures in limbo. Featured Govt to rebuild Bawku Naba statue destroyed during weekend tensions Defence Minister Mohammed Ali Jul - 17 - 2025 , 09:44 2 minutes read The government has announced plans to rebuild the statue of the Bawku Naba, Naba Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, which was destroyed during disturbances in Bawku over the weekend. The Minister of Defence, Dr Edward Omane Boamah, during a durbar with all ranks of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) at the Burma Camp on Wednesday [July 17, 2025] assured that the government shall rebuild the statue and expects appropriate sanctions to be meted out to the perpetrators. Dr Boamah described the destruction as unacceptable and said those responsible would be sanctioned. The destruction of the cherished statue in Bawku over the weekend is unacceptable. The government shall rebuild the statue and expects appropriate sanctions to be meted out to the perpetrators, he stated in a Facebook post. The statue, located in a public in Bawku was brought down amid the ongoing chieftaincy tensions between the Mamprusi and Kusasi factions. On Tuesday, July 15, some Members of Parliament in the Upper East area, including Lydia Lamisi Akanvariba for Tempane, Mahama Ayariga for Bawku Central, Ebenezer Alumire Ndebilla for Zebilla, Anabah Thomas Winsum for Garu, Mahmoud Issifu for Binduri, and Laadi Ayii Ayamba for Pusiga held a press conference to address the issues. They accused some personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces of pulling down and burning the statue of Zugran Asigri Abugrago Azoka II, an act they called a statesponsored assault and demanded a full investigation, an official apology, prosecution of those responsible, compensation for victims, and a review of military operations in the area. During the durbar with the GAF in Burma camp, the Minister of Defence also addressed security conduct in Bawku. He condemned the shooting of two soldiers and cautioned troops against taking on unauthorised guard duties for private individuals, describing such acts as damaging to the image and discipline of the military. He also commended a soldier who declined a bribe during anti-galamsey operations. The soldier has since been promoted by the Chief of the Defence Staff and received a GH10,000 personal donation from the minister. Dr Boamah reminded personnel of the Ghana Armed Forces Honour Code and urged them to act in the interest of the nation and the citizens they serve. He also outlined parts of the governments Reset Ghana agenda for the military, including improvements in accommodation, healthcare, salaries, training, and infrastructure. Next article: US, UK, SA or Hong Kong? Fugitive Ex-Finance Ministry Advisor sought by OSP in GRA-SML probe Previous article: See the areas that will be affected by ECGs planned maintenance on Thursday, July 17, 2025 Featured iPhone 16 robbery lands attacker in jail for 14 years GraphicOnline Jul - 17 - 2025 , 06:00 2 minutes read A 25-year-old robber has been sentenced to 14 years imprisonment for stealing an iPhone 16 Pro Max and cash in a brazen dawn attack at Millennium City, Gomoa East. Kolie Samuel was convicted after pleading guilty to robbery and causing harm charges at the Ofaakor Circuit Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. The Central East Regional Police Command revealed that Samuel struck at 5:30am on July 10 near Golden Pride Preparatory School, violently robbing a woman of her handbag containing the premium smartphone and an undisclosed amount of money. Through swift intelligence work and cooperation from the victim, police tracked Samuel to his hideout in Ngleshie Amanfro later that same day. A search of the suspect yielded not only the victim's iPhone 16 Pro Max but also a trove of suspected stolen goods including a Dell laptop, multiple mobile phones (iTel, Nokia and Alcatel models), two pairs of AirPods, a gold necklace, three wristwatches, and ten memory cards. Police also recovered a wallet containing a health insurance card bearing the name Kwapong Sahnan, suggesting Samuel may have been involved in multiple robberies. DSP Victor Kofi Dosoo, Head of Public Affairs for the Central East Region, confirmed the conviction and emphasized the police's commitment to public safety. "The Central East Regional Police Command remains resolute in its commitment to ensuring the safety and security of the public by bringing perpetrators of such crimes to face the full rigors of the law," Dosoo stated in the release. In addition to the 14-year sentence for robbery, the court handed Samuel a concurrent 5-year term for causing harm during the incident. The conviction comes as Ghanaian authorities continue cracking down on violent street crimes across the country. Featured Desist from conduct or pronouncements considered unlawful, divisive - Ablakwa to Igbo 'King' in Ghana Mohammed Ali Jul - 17 - 2025 , 14:12 2 minutes read A Nigerian national at the centre of a viral video suggesting plans to establish an Igbo Kingdom in Ghana has formally apologised to the government and people of Ghana, describing the comments as outdated and regrettable. On Wednesday, July 17, 2025, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, confirmed that he had summoned Mr Chukwudi Jude Ihenetu, the man featured in the video, for a meeting following public concern over the footage, which resurfaced on social media . Mr Ihenetu, who is regarded by some within Ghanas Nigerian community as a tribal leader, explained that the video was taken from a 2013 interview and no longer reflects his views or intentions. He stated that he had not acquired land in Ghana for any such purpose and described the original remarks as ill-advised. He conveyed profuse apologies to the President, Government, chiefs and people of Ghana for the unfortunate agitations his remarks have caused, Mr Ablakwa said in a Facebook post shared after the meeting. The video, which circulated widely online, showed Mr Ihenetu speaking about acquiring land in Ghana to create a kingdom for the Igbo people. Although the remarks were made over a decade ago, the footage sparked public debate on matters relating to land ownership, cultural identity, and traditional authority. Mr Ablakwa urged the public to remain calm, reiterating Ghanas long-standing Pan-African orientation and its tradition of hospitality towards fellow Africans. He maintained that while Ghana welcomes all Africans in the spirit of unity, visitors must respect the countrys laws and avoid statements that may be viewed as unlawful or divisive. We are proud of our Pan-African identity, Mr Ablakwa stated. But we expect all our guests to abide by our peaceful and law-abiding traditions. He also reminded Ghanaians to exercise restraint in their public commentary, warning that inflammatory responses could lead to unnecessary tensions. He described the relationship between Ghana and Nigeria as one of inseparable friendship and brotherhood. Featured President Mahama commends Nayiri for his statesman role in Bawku peace efforts Mohammed Ali Jul - 17 - 2025 , 17:48 3 minutes read President John Dramani Mahama has lauded the Nayiri, Naa Bohagu Abdulai Mahami Sheriga, for what he described as his dignified and constructive role in efforts to restore peace in Bawku. During a courtesy call by a delegation from the Mamprugu Traditional Council at the Jubilee House on Thursday, 17 July 2025, the President described the Nayiris leadership as timely and vital to national unity and traditional dialogue. Mr Mahama commended the overlord of Mamprugu for adopting a calm and conciliatory approach despite tensions surrounding the Bawku conflict, and noted that his openness to compromise was helping build trust among the parties involved. Let me commend Your Royal Majesty for the dignified and statesmanlike manner in which you have responded to these tensions. Your calm and reasonable voice has been a source of guidance to many. I commend you for the concessions you are willing to make in order to see lasting peace in Bawku, the President said. Mr Mahama revealed that he had also met with the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who is currently leading a traditional mediation process between the Mamprusi and Kusasi. He stated that the Asantehene had spoken positively about the Nayiris role in the behind-the-scenes dialogue and acknowledged his contribution to the progress achieved so far. I was with His Royal Majesty Nana Osei Tutu II two days ago, and he briefed me on the cooperation you have given him in finding a final traditional solution to the conflict, he said. The Bawku conflict, which has spanned decades, primarily stems from a chieftaincy dispute between the Mamprusi and Kusasi ethnic groups. In recent years, the conflict has escalated, disrupting social life and economic activity. Armed youth groups operate in the area, civil servants are reluctant to accept postings, and many traders and professionals have left the town. Bawku, which has always been a booming and prosperous commercial centre, is now a pale shadow of itself, Mr Mahama said. Many professionals have fled the area. Public service workers are refusing to be posted there. In response to the worsening situation, the government is backing Otumfuo Osei Tutus mediation efforts, which formally began in April 2025. The Asantehene has so far hosted delegations from both factions at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi. These meetings, which marked the first direct talks between the groups in years, have been credited with reducing tensions and reviving dialogue. In June, the Asantehene met again with the Kusaug Traditional Council, reinforcing the importance of traditional mechanisms in settling long-standing disputes. Mr Mahama reaffirmed the government's commitment to supporting the peace process. He called on traditional authorities, civil society organisations, and youth leaders to promote peace, dialogue, and national cohesion. The government remains resolute in restoring lasting peace and stability in Bawku. This includes strengthening the security presence, supporting conflict resolution efforts, and engaging more deeply with traditional, religious, and civic leaders, he said. He further assured the delegation that his administration would continue to work with the Mamprugu Traditional Council to ensure that infrastructure, education, and economic development initiatives in the North East Region remain on course despite the conflict. We believe that peace in Bawku is a matter of national importance and that it requires our collective resolve so that justice will prevail and that we will resolve issues through dialogue, the President said. Next article: Desist from conduct or pronouncements considered unlawful, divisive - Ablakwa to Igbo 'King' in Ghana Featured Security analyst backs Mahamas regional quota plan for security recruitment Mohammed Ali Jul - 17 - 2025 , 14:35 2 minutes read The Director of the Faculty of Academic Affairs and Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, Professor Emmanuel Kwesi Aning, has endorsed President John Dramani Mahamas proposal to decentralise recruitment into Ghanas security services, describing it as a necessary move to reduce protocol abuse and offer rural youth a fair opportunity to serve. Speaking in a phone interview on Joy FMs AM Show on Thursday, July 17, 2025, Professor Aning said the proposal could help create a more representative and effective security system grounded in Ghanas regional diversity. This is about deepening national integration, he said. Not everyone can travel to Accra or Kumasi. So bringing recruitment closer to the people is not just fair it strengthens national security. Professor Anings comments followed Mr Mahamas announcement on Tuesday, 15 July, during a durbar at Juaboso in the Western North Region. The former President told the gathering that future recruitment into the security services would be based on regional quotas. We also promised to decentralise recruitment into the security services, Mr Mahama said. Were waiting for financial clearance from the Ministry of Finance, and when we get it, every region is going to have a quota to send young people into the security services. Mr Mahama also cautioned against attempts to manipulate the process, stating: When that time comes, if your region has 100 slots and you go and bring a protocol list with 200 names, we will just throw that list away. He said the quota system aimed to correct long-standing imbalances in how security service jobs are allocated, particularly to the disadvantage of rural communities. Professor Aning agreed, warning that the current system allows people with connections often without the necessary qualifications to be recruited, sometimes with tragic consequences. Weve seen the dangers of this. That must end, he said. While supporting the proposal, Professor Aning noted that structural reform alone is not enough. He called for a transformation in leadership culture within the security services, rooted in integrity and public service. If leaders want to stop corruption and mafia-style behaviour, they must be bold, he said. Those who stand up for values wont make many friends, but that is the kind of leadership the security services now need. He also criticised institutional heads who, in his view, hide behind vague instructions to justify poor decisions. If you accept orders from above that contradict your institutions ethos, then you are not fit for purpose, he said. Professor Aning added that any reform must include investments in logistics, intelligence-gathering, and operational planning to prepare the security forces for present and future challenges. Next article: Kusaug Peoples Congress condemns military brutality and statue desecration in Bawku Featured See the areas that will be affected by ECGs planned maintenance on Friday, July 18, 2025 GraphicOnline Jul - 18 - 2025 , 04:32 2 minutes read The Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) has announced a scheduled power outage in parts of the Greater Accra Region on Friday, July 18, 2025, as part of ongoing efforts to improve electricity distribution and service delivery. In a public notice issued by the company, ECG stated that it will undertake planned maintenance works between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., affecting several communities within its operational area. The areas expected to experience power interruptions during the maintenance include: Sowutuom, Israel, Race Course, Shiabu, Beach Road, Gbawe Gonse, Joma Agbozome, Abease, Achiama, Obeyeyie, Ayikai Doblo, Fise Roca, Mericresent, Opah Township, Red Gate, and surrounding communities. Date: Friday, 18th July, 2025. Time: 9:00am to 12:00pm. Affected areas: Sokode Bagble, Sokode Ando, Part of Sokode Gborgame and surrounding areas. According to ECG, the maintenance activity is part of routine upgrades intended to enhance the reliability and quality of power supply to customers. ECG will undertake planned maintenance works to improve service delivery, the notice read. The power distribution company has apologised to affected customers for any inconvenience the outage may cause and appealed for their understanding and cooperation. ECG regrets the inconvenience that will arise out of this exercise, it added. This announcement comes as ECG continues to implement periodic upgrades across various regions to address power supply challenges and respond to the growing demand for electricity. Residents and businesses in the affected areas are advised to take necessary precautions and plan ahead to minimise the impact of the temporary outage. Featured Trotro crashes into former President Akufo-Addos Nima residence wall GraphicOnline Jul - 17 - 2025 , 07:10 1 minute read A commercial minibus (trotro) crashed into the fence wall of the private residence of former President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in Nima on the evening of Wednesday, July 16, 2025, injuring three people and causing considerable property damage. The incident, which occurred around 7:30 p.m., shocked residents and passers-by, with many rushing to the scene. The cause of the crash remains unconfirmed, but eyewitnesses suspect mechanical failure. The trotro, according to multiple reports veered off the road before ramming into the wall of the former presidents residence, which is located near the Nima Police Stationa high-traffic area that links Nima to key destinations like Accra Central, Osu, and Nkrumah Circle. The injured, including the mate and two passengers, were quickly rushed to a nearby hospital for medical treatment. The driver was arrested and is currently assisting police with investigations at the Nima Police Station. Featured Two Ghanaian pilgrims still missing after 2025 Hajj GraphicOnline Jul - 17 - 2025 , 15:01 3 minutes read The Member of Parliament for Bawku Central, Mahama Ayariga, has revealed that two Muslim pilgrims from his constituency who took part in the 2025 Hajj pilgrimage are currently unaccounted for, raising fresh concerns over Ghanas Hajj management system. Mr Ayariga, who also serves as Majority Leader in Parliament, made the disclosure on the floor of the House, attributing the challenge to language barriers and the advanced age of some pilgrims, which have complicated efforts to track their whereabouts. I cannot account for two of my pilgrims. I have been calling our Consular Officer there to help us find where they are because some of them are very old people. You go to an event where there are over one million people attending, they are not educated, and they dont speak any other language, he said. According to the MP, the missing pilgrims may have become disoriented amidst the massive crowds in Saudi Arabia. He noted that many first-time travellers from rural communities often struggle to adapt to the environment due to limited education and lack of familiarity with foreign languages. It is becoming very challenging, and this is the first time many of them are venturing outside Ghana, so sometimes when they get there, they get mixed up with other countries, he added. Mr Ayariga called for urgent collaboration with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and suggested the enactment of a dedicated Hajj law to regulate pilgrimage organisation more effectively. So, when, after the Hajj, we cannot account for our people, the Foreign Affairs Minister is the person we should be working with. I have said that perhaps it is time for this House and the country to have legislation on Hajj instead of it just being a committee, he stated. His concerns were echoed by former Minister for Defence and MP for Bimbilla, Dominic Nitiwul, who urged the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to brief Parliament on the management of the 2025 pilgrimage. In response, the Minister of Local Government, Ahmed Ibrahim said the House would be duly briefed once the Hajj Committee, led by Collins Dauda, submits its report. In briefing Parliament, you must be on point. You are asking this question to help this country prevent further recurrence. A report will be submitted. Lets exercise restraint. When a report is submitted by Collins Daudas committee, then we can come and brief you appropriately, he said. Case of mistaken death adds to confusion The revelation comes on the heels of a bizarre incident involving Fatima Kassim, a Ghanaian pilgrim from Madina, who was wrongly declared dead in Saudi Arabia, prompting her family to hold a funeral. She later returned home alive, sparking confusion and fear among residents. According to Hajj Taskforce officials, the mix-up resulted from the mistaken identity of two patients without passports at a Saudi hospital. One was travelling under a tourist visa, while the other was part of the official Ghanaian delegation. We have mistaken identity. The most important thing is that the lady is alive and everything is over, said Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, a member of the Hajj Taskforce. Alhaji Iddi Sumaila, Director of Administration of the Hajj Taskforce, further explained: Usually, when it happens, it is the embassy that takes control, so they issued the certificate. So we knew that one was gone and one was on admission mistakenly, we exchanged it. The incidents have raised fresh calls for greater oversight, reforms, and systems to safeguard the welfare of pilgrims. Next article: Tamale drug bust: Man arrested with over 400 boxes of Tramadol Featured US, UK, SA or Hong Kong? Fugitive Ex-Finance Ministry Advisor sought by OSP in GRA-SML probe GraphicOnline Jul - 16 - 2025 , 20:54 1 minute read The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has issued a wanted notice for Ernest Darko Akore, a former Chef de Cabinet (Technical Advisor) at Ghanas Ministry of Finance, over alleged corruption in the Revenue Assurance Contract between the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) and Strategic Mobilization Limited (SML). Akore, 67, is described as a brown-skinned male with black hair and eyes, and is believed to hold dual Ghanaian-American nationality. The OSP suspects he may be in the United States, United Kingdom, Hong Kong, or South Africa. The warrant for his arrest was issued by the High Court (Criminal Division) under case number CR/0397/2025. The OSP urges anyone with information on his whereabouts to contact them via 0554494499 or 0554484488 (WhatsApp/call). This case is part of a broader investigation into alleged irregularities in the GRA-SML contract, which has drawn public scrutiny over transparency and accountability in revenue collection agreements. Featured Halt Extraordinary Delegates Conference Two NPP members urge High Court Justice Agbenorsi Politics Jul - 17 - 2025 , 19:15 2 minutes read Two members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) have filed a motion at the High Court seeking to halt the partys Extraordinary Delegates Conference scheduled for Saturday, July 19, 2025. In the application, which has been set for hearing next Thursday, July 24, 2025, the plaintiffs; Shamsudeen Iddrisu and Boateng Kwadwo, contend that the party has violated its constitution by failing to organise constituency and regional delegates conferences, which they argue are mandatory prerequisites for convening a National Delegates Conference. They further argue that the partys National Council does not have the authority to waive the constitutional requirements for holding constituency and regional annual delegates conferences ahead of the national one. According to the plaintiffs, only the National Annual Delegates Conference, the partys supreme governing body, has the exclusive authority to amend or waive such constitutional provisions. They claim to have petitioned the partys National Executive Council (NEC) over what they describe as unlawful actions, but say the NEC failed to respond to their concerns. The conduct of the party will deprive members at the constituency and regional levels of the opportunity to consider the proposed amendments ahead of the scheduled date for the conference and also the opportunity to make meaningful contributions at the conference, the plaintiffs stated. They added that the NPP would not suffer any hardship or inconvenience if the court granted the application, since the party would still have the opportunity to reconvene the conference once it complies with its constitutional requirements. The plaintiffs are therefore praying the court to issue an interlocutory injunction restraining the NPP from holding the Extraordinary Delegates Conference until all procedural and constitutional matters have been addressed. Featured NPP could lose 2028 if internal divisions persist Akomea warns Mohammed Ali Politics Jul - 17 - 2025 , 11:59 3 minutes read The Vice Chairman of the 2024 Bawumia Campaign Team, Nana Akomea, has cautioned that the New Patriotic Party (NPP) risks weakening its electoral chances in 2028 if ongoing divisions among supporters of flagbearer aspirants are not resolved. Speaking in an interview on Joy FM on Thursday, July 17, 2025, Mr Akomea said tensions between rival factions within the party continue to undermine efforts to present a united front. He noted that even the partys post-election thank-you tour, intended to reinforce unity, had been disrupted by intra-party competition. This year, we took the unusual step of including all former contenders, including Kennedy Agyapong, in the thank-you tour, he said. It was meant to show party unity, but unfortunately, it turned into a contest of influence at every stop. According to Mr Akomea, instances of choreographed support for individual contenders and conflicting messages around local candidates distracted from the tours purpose and exposed deeper cracks in the party. If we dont rein in these rival camps, we are going to lose credibility among Ghanaians. And that has serious implications for our chances in 2028, he warned. He cited an incident in Bantama in the Ashanti Region, where tensions between groups nearly escalated into violence, forcing party leaders to reconsider the structure of the tour. Mr Akomea also referred to the recent detention of Ashanti Regional Chairman Bernard Antwi-Boasiako, popularly known as Chairman Wontumi. He suggested that internal rivalries may have delayed efforts to secure his bail. Theres a belief that one flagbearer aspirants attempt to secure bail was delayed to allow another aspirant to take the credit, he claimed. If thats even half true, then it shows how far the division has gone. The NPPs thank-you tour was postponed this year to allow the partys internal review committee to complete its report on the 2024 election defeat. Mr Akomea said the inclusion of all former flagbearer aspirants was meant to demonstrate unity at the top of the party. In his view, though, the initiative failed to deliver the intended message. The intention was noble, but the conduct on the ground tells us that unity cannot just be performed, it must be built through discipline and shared purpose, he said. Mr Akomea urged party leadership to improve internal coordination and reduce personalised campaigning, which he believes distracts from the NPPs broader appeal and risks alienating undecided voters. We have to ask ourselves: what does the Ghanaian voter see when they look at us now? Unity, or chaos? he asked. He contrasted the NPPs situation with the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), which is also conducting its thank-you engagements. According to him, the NDC has so far avoided the type of infighting playing out in the NPP. You didnt hear about this kind of jostling in the NDC, he said. But with us, every action is seen through the lens of who supports whom. Featured Parliament: Minority walks out following Majority Leaders remarks on Akwatia MPs death GraphicOnline Politics Jul - 17 - 2025 , 19:49 3 minutes read The Minority in Parliament staged a walkout on Thursday, July 17, in protest against what they described as insensitive remarks by Majority Leader Mahama Ayariga regarding the declaration of the Akwatia parliamentary seat vacant following the death of Ernest Yaw Kumi, the Member of Parliament for the area. Tensions flared when Mr Ayariga, during parliamentary proceedings, made an urgent statement acknowledging the late MPs passing and sought clarity from the Speaker on when the seat would be formally declared vacant, nearly two weeks after the legislators death. Referring to a visit by parliamentary leadership to the bereaved family, the Majority Leader argued that the necessary confirmation of death had been received and thus the process of notifying the Electoral Commission should commence. Whenever a vacancy occurs in Parliament, the Clerk of Parliament shall notify the Electoral Commission in writing within seven days after becoming aware. Mr Speaker, if Ghanaians ask the Clerk if he is aware or not, can he say he is not aware? After being informed by the Leader of the Caucus through a statement in this House, the Clerk himself followed up at his house and met the family members of the deceased, and they confirmed to him that the deceased had passed. And this was on national television, Mr Ayariga said. However, Speaker Alban Bagbin maintained that parliamentary procedure demands formal written communication from the family of the deceased before any action could be taken to declare the seat vacant. In writing to the Electoral Commission about a vacancy caused by the death of an MP, the Clerk needs more than a visit to the family, Mr Bagbin stated. The atmosphere grew more charged when Mr Ayariga alleged that the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) had already begun circulating campaign posters of the late MPs widow, Mavis Kumi, as a potential candidate in an anticipated by-election. This prompted outrage from the Minority who viewed the comments as highly inappropriate and politically motivated, especially during a period of mourning. Minority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin expressed his displeasure over the remarks and the timing of the call to declare the seat vacant. I did not make a ceremonial speech about the death of Ernest Kumi. Lets be sensitive about the situation and not create a wrong impression, he urged. He then formally announced the Minoritys decision to withdraw from the chamber. Mr Speaker, we are staying away from the proceedings of the House, Mr Afenyo-Markin said before leading his colleagues out. The Minority later held a press conference to register their protest, reiterating their call for decorum and sensitivity in handling the matter of the late MPs passing. The late Ernest Yaw Kumi, who represented the Akwatia Constituency on the ticket of the NPP, died earlier this month. During Tuesdays Sweetwater County School District #2 board meeting, the board of trustees and superintendent received an update from Assistant Superintendent Dr. Alan Demaret about the ongoing summer school programs. K-5 Elementary Session is being conducted at Monroe Elementary School and began on June 17 and runs through July 31. Students are offered both breakfast and lunch and transportation as part of the summer school program. 106 students signed up for summer school, with 83 students attending regularly. The sixth through eighth grade Middle School session was held at Green River High School from June 9 to July 2 with the focus on Math and Language Arts. 20 students regularly attended, which according to Demaret was much improved from years past. The High School session was conducted at Green River High School from June 5 to July 2. The focus was on credit recovery, with both online and in-person instruction. Demaret said this was the first year offering Wyoming History during summer school as credit recovery and it was conducted completely as an in-person class. Demaret emphasized how important it was that core classroom teachers engaged with students directly versus them being in the library online only, and how that ultimately led to 75 semester classes finished, for 37.5 credits recovered. The Extended School Year Program is also still in session beginning on June 17 and running through July 31. The ESY Program focuses on students individual IEP goals. The ESY Program also provides various Special Education services and programs including Monroe Elementarys BEST Program, Harrison Elementarys - K-5 Life Skills Program and K-12 Total Care Program, Truman Elementarys K-5 Extended Resource Program, GRHS - Life Skills (6-12) and 1821-year-old Transition Program and GRHSs Academic Support Program. There are currently 65 students signed up and attending to receive special education services. And lastly, the English Language Learner (ELL) Jump Start Program will be conducted at Monroe Elementary School from July 28 to August. The focus of this program will be on English Language acquisition. In other district news, the board of trustees welcomed new superintendent Dr. Scott Cooper who has been in office for the past week. The third reading of the new Conceal and Carry Firearm policy was also passed by the board. Assistant Superintendent Anne Marie Covey reiterated how closely the district has been working with the Green River Police Department and Police Chief Sturlaugson to make sure the policy was sound. Those who choose to conceal and carry will be taught by highly trained individuals. Covey also mentioned how fluid this legislation is on a state level and how this policy may need to be revisited several times after its induction to fit any new legislation. The board unanimously approved the purchase of several new buses and SUVs for the SWCSD Transportation Department to replace obsolete or damaged buses. The SUV will be used to transport students who live along the rural route. The board also approved changes and adaptations to several handbooks, including the activities handbook, and the transportation handbook. The board also unanimously passed the 2025/2026 Budget, which was discussed and debated in a workshop prior to the board meeting. Simple erosion-control technique named after scientist Bill Zeedyk fortifies ecologically valuable riparian zones all around the western U.S. SOUTH PASS-Tom Christiansen drew a parallel to the human body as he described the purpose of the low-tech rock structures he's been building for years within the creases of western Wyoming's sagebrush sea. The malady? Erosion. The treatment: A carefully placed stone. "Each of these is a stitch on what we don't want to become a sucking chest wound," Christiansen told a group of rock-moving volunteers on Saturday in late June. The group was assembled on the White Acorn Ranch, a picturesque cattle operation south of the Lander Cutoff Road that's within the spectacular Golden Triangle - a 367,000-acre region along the flanks of the Wind River Range that houses the best remaining sagebrush habitat on Earth. The high desert's sagebrush-steppe has enormous ecological value. That's evidenced by the struggling species that depend upon the embattled biome. But it's an arid environment, and certain nooks and crannies play an outsized role in nourishing the landscape's native and domesticated inhabitants. High on that list are the grassy wet meadows that convey precious water, like arteries pump blood, through the contours of the sagebrush-covered hills. "These areas are pretty small, but they're very important," said Christiansen, a retired sage grouse coordinator for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. "These are the grocery stores." But those bottomlands can become barren of the biomass that feeds insects, sage grouse chicks and on down the food chain. Erosion, although a natural phenomenon, can be hastened by factors like overgrazing and extreme weather events made more likely by climate change. When erosion runs out of control into grassy gulches, they become incised gullies. Out goes the vegetation. That's where the simple rock structures come in. "Prevent that erosion, get more water into the soil, keep the water table up, keep the green vegetation - that's the intent of these structures," Christiansen said. Known as Zeedyk structures, after their inventor, Bill Zeedyk, the stone assemblies come in different shapes and sizes. At the White Acorn Ranch and numerous other corners of the West, there are "one rock dams," "zuni bowls," "rock mulch rundowns" and other hand-built structures intended to arrest vertical "headcuts" in ephemeral streambeds. By facilitating the flow of water and slowing it down, the structures can prevent erosion from spreading uphill. Although the ecological do-gooding tactic relies on simple concepts and materials - essentially well-placed rocks - building it out requires hard physical labor. A bevy of volunteers flocked to South Pass on June 21 to erect new Zeedyk structures and shore up old ones. Jared Oakleaf, Liz Lynch and Lindsey Washkoviak ventured up from Lander. Mark Kot, bad back and all, came from Rock Springs to move rock. Christiansen made the drive from Green River alongside his granddaughter, Camryn Christiansen-Fieock, of Big Piney. On a day off, Wyoming Game and Fish Department habitat biologist Troy Fieseler made the trek from Pinedale and with his son, Cooper. The rocks were donated, too. Robert Taylor, an avid sage grouse hunter from Washington state, ponied up for the materials the volunteers carefully placed. Several of the bunch devoting their Saturday to moving rocks up on South Pass were seasoned. Fieseler even learned the ropes from the technique's namesake himself. "The very first time I did it, we had Bill Zeedyk come out," he said. "He taught us to read the landscape." That 2021 workshop, held at Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge, imparted Fieseler with lessons he hasn't forgotten. Protecting uneroded wet meadows is a far more efficient use of time and resources than trying to restore those that have already washed out, he recalled. Over the last decade, Zeedyk's erosion-control tactics have gained traction in Wyoming and well beyond. The Natural Resources Conservation Service's Sage Grouse Initiative gave the concept its legs, Christiansen said. Now there are thousands of structures dispersed across hundreds of projects, he said. "Each of these, what's its significance?" Christiansen said. "An individual one, it's not so much, but when you start doing thousands of these across the West, there is significance." Enough time has passed since the technique's inception that restoration specialists know it works, thanks to long-term monitoring. The White Acorn Ranch's Zeedyk structures also have proven hardy and able to withstand the worst that the harsh Wyoming environment can throw their way. Christiansen and his fellow volunteers labored in a corner of the state that got walloped during the winter of 2022-'23 by an unusually hefty snowpack. "This ensured the runoff from the heavy snow," Christiansen said. "They dealt with a lot of energy, and handled it. Very few rocks moved." Christiansen spoke of the rock structure's resilience on the front end of a day of labor. From a section of state land, he motioned down a draw. "There's over 20 structures between here and where that slope toes off," he said. Every one of them had been erected by Christiansen, the crews of Zeedyk structure-building volunteers and agency folks that have also chipped in. WyoFile is an independent nonprofit news organization focused on Wyoming people, places and policy. 10/4/1942 - 5/14/25 Carol passed away peacefully on Wednesday May 14th, 2025. The cause of death was due to a rare lung disease, Macrobacterium Avian Complex. Carol was born on October 4,1942 in Rock Springs, Wyoming. She graduated from Our Lady of Sorrow, Catholic School and then went on to become a medical assistant in Salt Lake City where she lived with her husband Rudolph U. Jelosek and her three kids. Noni was a great mother and grandmother and was so effortlessly funny. She loved creating in the kitchen and many of her recipes have been passed down to those who asked. Her clam chowder recipe is still a favorite among family today. Carol was a true animal lover but was loved most by her rescue pups Petey and Calli. They were always by her side. She enjoyed when her kids and grandkids would visit, especially when they brought their cats and dogs. Carol loved to read and could always be found curled up with a good book. The best thing about Carol was that everyone she met loved her. She was so kind and caring to everyone that entered her life. She and her beloved partner Richard "Rick" Morris moved from Salt Lake City to Mesquite Neveda 35 years ago where Rick recently passed away. She used to love to go to Las Vegas with Rick and their friends every Valentines Day. What stays in Vegas, still remains a mystery. After Rick's passing, the kids moved her to Scottsdale where she could be close to her daughter Juli. She is survived by her three kids, Juli (Steve) Sala, Jil (Gary) Child, and Jeff Jelosek. Loved by her grandkids, Josh (Kayle) Jelosek, Jennaca (Kyle) Hajek, Chandra Jelosek, Caroline (Matt) Lutz and William (Megan) Sala. She also will miss her great grandkids, Jayla, Mack, Maizey and Jett. She is also survived by her brother Richard "Dick" DeBernardi and sister-in-law Sherrie of Rock Springs, Wyoming. Carol will also be missed by her nieces and nephews, neighbors and her many friends. Carol's ashes will be laid to rest next to her parents Lillian and Lebro DeBernardi on August 13, 2025, in Rock Springs Municipal Cemetery. The grave side service will commence at 11:00 a.m. A celebration of life will follow 5/2/1962 - 7/8/25 Marcelle "Marcy" Durrans Iribarren, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, sister, and friend, passed away peacefully in her own home on July 8, 2025, after a courageous battle with cancer. She was 63 years old. Marcy was born on May 2, 1962, in Salt Lake City, Utah to Lola De Anderson and Richard Durrans, both of whom preceded her in death. She was a vibrant, loving soul who touched the lives of everyone around her with her warmth, humor, and unshakable strength. She was known for her deep love of her family, her kindness, and her resilience through life's challenges. Marcy shared a lifelong love with her late husband John, and together they raised two children, AJ and Jocelyn, who were the center of her world. But it was in her role as Grandma Marcy that her heart truly shined. Marcy found great joy in the expanding love of her family. She warmly embraced AJ's love, Selena, and her daughters Chloe, Brooklyn, and Tinsley, as well as Jocelyn's love, Steven - all of whom she welcomed with an open heart as part of her own. Marcy was an extraordinary grandmother. Her grandchildren, Jude and Jax, were her treasures. She celebrated every milestone, every laugh, and every hug as a priceless gift. Whether playing games or simply being a steady, loving presence, she gave them her whole heart. Her love for them was unconditional and unwavering, and it showed in every moment that they shared. Marcy was known for her warmth, humor, and quiet strength. She had a way of making people feel truly seen and loved, and her nurturing spirit touched countless lives. She created a legacy of kindness and resilience that lives on in her children and grandchildren. Marcy is survived by her loving siblings: Rocky Durrans, Denise Smith, Lane Durrans, Randi K Durrans, Ranae Price, David Durrans and Gordon Durrans. Her deep bond with her family and friends was evident in every part of her life. A memorial service will be held in her honor on Saturday, July 19th at 11:00 AM at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at 274 S 100 W, Hurricane, UT, where loved ones will gather to celebrate her life and legacy. Marcy's strength, compassion, and enduring love will continue to live on in the hearts of all who knew her. She will be deeply missed and lovingly remembered. The Brook Mine is the nation's first new rare earth elements mine in 70 years and first new coal mine in Wyoming in 50 years. RANCHESTER, WY Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon and U.S. Senators John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis, along with U.S. Representative Harriet Hageman, all R-Wyo., recently welcomed U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright to Wyoming. The delegation and Secretary Wright participated in the ribbon cutting and groundbreaking ceremony for Ramaco's Brook Mine the first new rare earth elements mine in the United States in 70 years and the first new coal mine in Wyoming in 50 years. "Wyoming continues to be a leader in energy innovation, including the expansion of our critical mineral industries and energy technologies," Governor Gordon said. "This project illustrates the exciting potential for Wyoming coal and rare earth minerals, with their role in expanding Wyoming's energy economy and strengthening national security. The President's policies to Unleash American Energy are working here in Wyoming. Our state is moving to meet growing energy demands here at home and internationally - with the recognition that coal - Wyoming coal - is essential to healthy energy portfolios." "China controls more than 80% of the world's rare earth minerals. We cannot continue to jeopardize our national security by relying on our adversaries for these critical minerals," Senator Barrasso said. "That's what makes the Brook Mine so incredibly important. Mining our own minerals will help safely and securely power the advanced technologies driving our economy and national defense. We were proud to have Energy Secretary Chris Wright in Wyoming to participate in the groundbreaking. He got to see firsthand how Wyoming's energy resources and workers are making America energy dominant again." "Wyoming has always led on energy innovation rather than following others," Senator Lummis said. "The launch of Ramaco's rare earth mining operation - the first in nearly seven decades and Wyoming's first new coal mine in 50 years - is a major win for Wyoming and the Trump administration's effort to reclaim our country's energy dominance. I was proud to be in Sheridan County to celebrate the start of Wyoming's next mining and energy chapter." "The opening of the Brook Mine marks a significant step toward restoring American leadership in critical mineral production," Representative Hageman said. "This project will create high-paying jobs, shore up our supply chains, reduce dependence on China, and ensure refineries and magnet manufacturers can once again call the U.S. home, securing a brighter, more independent future for Wyoming and America." The Green River Star and Editor Hannah Romero were recently recognized for journalistic and editorial excellence among newspapers from across the country. Romero won five awards in this years annual National Newspaper Association Foundations Better Newspaper Contest. The Star competed in the non-daily division based on circulation size, competing with other small newspapers from around the country. For the whole competition, there were 1,546 entries in the Better Newspaper Editorial Contest and 196 entries in the Better Newspaper Advertising Contest for a total of 1,743 entries, according to the NNA, and there were 712 awards won by 102 newspapers in 33 states. The Best of NNA award goes to the state with the most wins each year, and has been claimed by Wyoming five out of six times. The Wyoming Press Association was awarded the sixth annual Best of NNA Award for their 119 winning entries, beating out California with 88 wins and Texas with 56 wins, the NNA explained. This is their fifth award for excellence in editorial and advertising. The awards won by the Star included a first place, second place, and third place award, along with two honorable mentions. The first-place award was in the Best Reporting on Local Government category, given for a packet of stories covering the controversy surrounding the Bureau of Land Managements plans for the Rock Springs Resource Management Plan. The judges comments said the articles were a thorough accounting of how even state and local government can get caught under the wheels of the federal government. Coming in second place in Best Coverage of Military Affairs was the feature story Continuing a legacy of service. This article told the story of Natasha Young and her family, which has generations of military service on both sides. It was published in the May 30, 2024 edition. Another feature story called A lifetime of connections won third place in the Best Profile Feature Story category. This article, published on January 25, 2024, told the story of Bob Renick and his connections to American history. The judges said the article was an extremely well written chronicle of this mans life and those with whom he connected. The story Connecting through classroom critters, about Expedition Academy Teacher Dan Parsons unique methods of teaching science by having students care for various reptiles and scaly guys, received an Honorable Mention in Best Education/Literacy Story. The article ran in the October 10, 2024 edition. The final award was another Honorable Mention, this time in Best Non-Profile Feature Story for the article A funeral for ghosts, published August 1, 2024. A judge called the article about the dedication of a memorial plaque at the Riverview Cemetery by the Sweetwater County Library Foundation and the Ghost Walk Crew historical and mystical, compelling and informative. These are the best offers from our affiliate partners. We may get a commission from qualifying sales. OxygenOS 15 + Android 15 The Nord CE5 runs the latest OnePlus software combo - OxygenOS 15 on top of Android 15, which is pretty much identical to the latest version of ColorOS from Oppo and Realme UI from Realme. Users of those platforms will feel right at home. OnePlus Nord CE5 is promised four major updates and six years of security patches, just like the Nord 5. These days, OxygenOS is essentially a rebranded version of Oppo's ColorOS, with only a few cosmetic differences, such as a custom font and some signature red accents. The AI feature set is also largely identical across the board, with Realme phones sharing much of the same functionality. OxygenOS 15 The OnePlus Nord CE5 comes with Google's Circle to search feature built-in. Also included is the Gemini AI assistant. Settings menu The Nord CE5 actually runs a combination of OnePlus AI and Google AI features. Some of these run on-device while others require cloud computing. AI Search, for instance, is a combination of the two. It takes search to the next level, not only being able to surface settings and content through semantic search but also supporting whole conversations that can result in things like automatic creation of notes. Ai Search There is also AI Toolbox 2.0. It includes a set of utilities designed to handle text understanding, creation, and editing. AI Summary will attempt to condense a text into a numbered list of key points, AI Speak will read a text out loud, and AI Writer will try to write a text for you. These are all accessible from the Smart Sidebar when applicable, and you may not be able to find them directly with a search on the phone as standalone apps. The selection of tools also changes depending on the currently active app. AI toolbox AI VoiceScribe is designed to handle speech in real-time. It supports over 20 languages and is meant to be used with content on third-party apps (WhatsApp, Instagram, Telegram, Signal, SnapChat, Messenger, Kakao Talk, Rakuten Viber Messenger, Line, Zoom, Google Meet, Teams, Skype, Webex Meetings, YouTube). The idea is that speech gets recognized, and based on that, the AI can either surface live captions, transcribe the speech or even translate it. AI VoiceScribe AI Creativity is the umbrella term OnePlus uses for its AI-enhanced photo editing tools: AI Detail Boost, AI Unblur, AI Reflection Eraser, AI Eraser, and now AI Reframe, which promises to automatically apply the best framing and aspect ratio, as well as filters, to elevate any photo to professional levels. AI Creativity For one reason or another, OnePlus is particularly proud of its multi-window implementation. It is called OpenCanvas. We guess it's one of the more comprehensive implementations we've seen, but it's frankly nothing to phone home about. Open Canvas multi-window Benchmarks and performance OnePlus talks a big game when it comes to the Nord CE5's performance. The company collaborated closely with MediaTek on the Dimensity 8350 Apex, which powers the phone. We aren't exactly sure what the "Apex" moniker suggests. The CPU setup appears identical to that of the regular Dimensity 8350. That means four Cortex-A715 cores - one clocked at up to 3.35 GHz and the other three at up to 3.2 GHz, plus four Cortex-A510 units, clocked at up to 2.2 GHz for efficiency. This is paired with a Mali G615 MC6 GPU. OnePlus claims the GPU is 50% more powerful and 55% more power-efficient than the previous generation. There is also a MediaTek NPU 780 on board that offers 3.3 times the AI performance compared to its predecessor. The Nord CE5 is equipped with either 8GB or 12GB of fast LPDDR5X RAM. That is paired with 128GB or 256GB of UFS 3.1 storage. The actual memory tiers are: 8GB/128GB, 8GB/256GB and 12GB/256GB. Storage is expandable through a microSD card. Examining actual benchmark results, we can see that the Dimensity 8350 Apex performs quite well compared to its peers. In our GeekBench CPU testing, it slots just in between the "regular" Dimensity 8350 and the 8350 Ultimate, which we guess was the intention. Not that the difference is more than superficial. On a broader note, the Dimensity 8350 has the Exynos 1580 inside the Galaxy A56 beat, although barely, and it handily outpaces the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3. That said, the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3, as seen inside the OnePlus Nord 4, has a commanding lead in the CPU department. The Mali G615-MC6 GPU inside the Dimensity 8350 Apex is a highlight of the chip. It scores almost identically with the Adreno 732 inside the Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 and leaves the Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 and the Exynos 1580 in the dust. AnTuTu and its compound set of benchmarks are also quite favorable towards the Nord CE5. GeekBench 6 Multi-core Single-core OnePlus 13R 6803 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 256GB, 12GB RAM Poco X7 Pro 6311 Dimensity 8400 Ultra 512GB, 12GB RAM OnePlus Nord 5 5112 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 256GB, 8GB RAM OnePlus Nord 4 4791 Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 128GB, 8GB RAM Infinix GT 30 Pro 4086 Dimensity 8350 Ultimate 256GB, 12GB RAM OnePlus Nord CE5 4006 Dimensity 8350 Apex 256GB, 8GB RAM Infinix Note 50 Pro+ 3965 Dimensity 8350 256GB, 12GB RAM Galaxy A56 3899 Exynos 1580 128GB, 8GB RAM Nothing phone (3a) 3278 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 256GB, 12GB RAM Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 3234 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 512GB, 12GB RAM Realme 14 Pro+ 3115 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 512GB, 12GB RAM Motorola Edge 60 Fusion 3047 Dimensity 7300 256GB, 8GB RAM OnePlus Nord CE4 3029 Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 256GB, 8GB RAM CMF Phone 2 Pro 2963 Dimensity 7300 Pro 256GB, 8GB RAM Galaxy A36 2917 Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 128GB, 6GB RAM Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G 2913 Dimensity 7300 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM Poco X7 2846 Dimensity 7300 Ultra 512GB, 12GB RAM Galaxy A26 2768 Exynos 1380 128GB, 6GB RAM Honor Magic7 Lite 2705 Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 256GB, 8GB RAM Redmi Note 14 5G 2258 Dimensity 7025 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM Moto G Power (2025) 2090 Dimensity 6300 128GB, 8GB RAM OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite 2060 Snapdragon 695 256GB, 8GB RAM Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G 1999 Helio G100 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM Infinix Note 50 Pro 4G 1970 Helio G100 Ultimate 256GB, 12GB RAM OnePlus 13R 2238 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 256GB, 12GB RAM OnePlus Nord 5 2003 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 256GB, 8GB RAM OnePlus Nord 4 1866 Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 128GB, 8GB RAM Poco X7 Pro 1582 Dimensity 8400 Ultra 512GB, 12GB RAM Infinix Note 50 Pro+ 1424 Dimensity 8350 256GB, 12GB RAM Infinix GT 30 Pro 1416 Dimensity 8350 Ultimate 256GB, 12GB RAM Galaxy A56 1364 Exynos 1580 128GB, 8GB RAM OnePlus Nord CE5 1310 Dimensity 8350 Apex 256GB, 8GB RAM Nothing phone (3a) 1208 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 256GB, 12GB RAM Realme 14 Pro+ 1176 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 512GB, 12GB RAM Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 1163 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 512GB, 12GB RAM OnePlus Nord CE4 1134 Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 256GB, 8GB RAM Motorola Edge 60 Fusion 1050 Dimensity 7300 256GB, 8GB RAM Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G 1024 Dimensity 7300 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM Poco X7 1024 Dimensity 7300 Ultra 512GB, 12GB RAM CMF Phone 2 Pro 1013 Dimensity 7300 Pro 256GB, 8GB RAM Galaxy A26 1010 Exynos 1380 128GB, 6GB RAM Galaxy A36 1007 Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 128GB, 6GB RAM Redmi Note 14 5G 946 Dimensity 7025 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM Honor Magic7 Lite 941 Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 256GB, 8GB RAM OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite 910 Snapdragon 695 256GB, 8GB RAM Moto G Power (2025) 797 Dimensity 6300 128GB, 8GB RAM Infinix Note 50 Pro 4G 734 Helio G100 Ultimate 256GB, 12GB RAM Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G 732 Helio G100 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM AnTuTu 10 OnePlus 13R 2109299 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 256GB, 12GB RAM 1264 x 2780 px Poco X7 Pro 1568331 Dimensity 8400 Ultra 512GB, 12GB RAM 1220 x 2712 px OnePlus Nord 5 1512943 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 256GB, 8GB RAM 1272 x 2800 px OnePlus Nord CE5 1390121 Dimensity 8350 Apex 256GB, 8GB RAM 2392 x 1080 px Infinix Note 50 Pro+ 1369368 Dimensity 8350 256GB, 12GB RAM 1080 x 2436 px OnePlus Nord 4 1315847 Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 128GB, 8GB RAM 2772 x 1240 px Infinix GT 30 Pro 1231878 Dimensity 8350 Ultimate 256GB, 12GB RAM 1224 x 2720 px Galaxy A56 908689 Exynos 1580 128GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2340 px OnePlus Nord CE4 839564 Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 256GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2412 px Nothing phone (3a) 828429 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 256GB, 12GB RAM 1080 x 2412 px Realme 14 Pro+ 821640 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 512GB, 12GB RAM 1272 x 2800 px Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 750292 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 512GB, 12GB RAM 1220 x 2712 px Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G 684320 Dimensity 7300 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM 1220 x 2712 px CMF Phone 2 Pro 683318 Dimensity 7300 Pro 256GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2392 px Poco X7 677093 Dimensity 7300 Ultra 512GB, 12GB RAM 1220 x 2712 px Motorola Edge 60 Fusion 656811 Dimensity 7300 256GB, 8GB RAM 1220 x 2712 px Galaxy A36 613492 Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 128GB, 6GB RAM 1080 x 2340 px Honor Magic7 Lite 594450 Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 256GB, 8GB RAM 1224 x 2700 px Galaxy A26 579811 Exynos 1380 128GB, 6GB RAM 1080 x 2340 px OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite 474436 Snapdragon 695 256GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2400 px Redmi Note 14 5G 463129 Dimensity 7025 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2400 px Moto G Power (2025) 440530 Dimensity 6300 128GB, 8GB RAM 1080 x 2388 px Infinix Note 50 Pro 4G 437302 Helio G100 Ultimate 256GB, 12GB RAM 1080 x 2436 px Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G 423868 Helio G100 Ultra 256GB, 8GB RAM 1220 x 2712 px 3DMark Wild Life Extreme (2160p) Solar Bay (1440p) OnePlus 13R 4979 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1264 x 2780 px Poco X7 Pro 3880 Dimensity 8400 Ultra Mali-G720 MC7 1220 x 2712 px OnePlus Nord 5 3399 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Adreno 735 1272 x 2800 px OnePlus Nord 4 3080 Snapdragon 7+ Gen 3 Adreno 732 2772 x 1240 px OnePlus Nord CE5 3033 Dimensity 8350 Apex Mali G615-MC6 2392 x 1080 px Infinix GT 30 Pro 2937 Dimensity 8350 Ultimate Mali G615-MC6 1224 x 2720 px Infinix Note 50 Pro+ 2905 Dimensity 8350 Mali G615-MC6 1080 x 2436 px OnePlus Nord CE4 1494 Snapdragon 7 Gen 3 Adreno 720 1080 x 2412 px Galaxy A56 1332 Exynos 1580 Xclipse 540 1080 x 2340 px Nothing phone (3a) 1064 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Adreno 720 1080 x 2412 px Redmi Note 14 Pro+ 1049 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Adreno 710 1220 x 2712 px Realme 14 Pro+ 1024 Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 Adreno 710 (940 MHz) 1272 x 2800 px Galaxy A36 912 Snapdragon 6 Gen 3 Adreno 710 1080 x 2340 px CMF Phone 2 Pro 855 Dimensity 7300 Pro Mali-G615 MC2 1080 x 2392 px Motorola Edge 60 Fusion 854 Dimensity 7300 Mali-G615 MC2 1220 x 2712 px Redmi Note 14 Pro 5G 849 Dimensity 7300 Ultra Mali-G615 MC2 1220 x 2712 px Poco X7 846 Dimensity 7300 Ultra Mali-G615 MC2 1220 x 2712 px Galaxy A26 794 Exynos 1380 Mali-G68 MP5 1080 x 2340 px Honor Magic7 Lite 617 Snapdragon 6 Gen 1 Adreno 710 1224 x 2700 px OnePlus Nord CE4 Lite 397 Snapdragon 695 Adreno 619 1080 x 2400 px Infinix Note 50 Pro 4G 384 Helio G100 Ultimate Mali-G57 MC2 1080 x 2436 px Moto G Power (2025) 383 Dimensity 6300 Mali-G57 MC2 1080 x 2388 px Redmi Note 14 Pro 4G 347 Helio G100 Ultra Mali-G57 MC2 1220 x 2712 px OnePlus 13R 8628 Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 Adreno 750 1264 x 2780 px Poco X7 Pro 5920 Dimensity 8400 Ultra Mali-G720 MC7 1220 x 2712 px OnePlus Nord 5 5401 Snapdragon 8s Gen 3 Adreno 735 1272 x 2800 px OnePlus Nord CE5 4911 Dimensity 8350 Apex Mali G615-MC6 2392 x 1080 px Infinix Note 50 Pro+ 4828 Dimensity 8350 Mali G615-MC6 1080 x 2436 px Infinix GT 30 Pro 4806 Dimensity 8350 Ultimate Mali G615-MC6 1224 x 2720 px Thermal-throttling OnePlus paid special attention to cooling on the Nord CE5. The phone has what is called a "CryoVelocity VC Cooling System", which is a large 7,041 mm2 vapor chamber (apparently one of the largest in its class), which also includes graphene elements. This all sounds very encouraging. The Nord CE5 does throttle rather noticeably, losing a substantial chunk of its performance. Still, we've seen much worse, and at least it happens gradually. With the Galaxy Z Fold7s thin and light profile, Samsung had to make some sacrifices. One of the more notable omissions is the lack of S Pen support as Samsung ditched the folding screens digitizer layer. This, however, doesnt mean that Samsung will give up the S Pen on future foldables. Samsung MX (Mobile eXperience) Managing Director - Kang Min-seok spoke to Korean outlet ET News and confirmed that consumers wanted a thin and light product and that trade-offs had to be made. While the Z Fold7 does not feature S Pen support, Samsung is not giving up on adding stylus support for future Galaxy foldables, but its a case of the technology just isnt there yet. We are also researching and developing thinner and innovative technologies for the S Pen, so we will reconsider it when the level of perfection increases and there is consumer demand. - Kang Min-seok, Samsung MX Managing Director The decision to remove S Pen support, alongside the lack of improvements to battery capacity and charging speed, may not sit well with consumers right now, but Kang argues that these decisions were made in relation to consumer demand for a thin and light device. He also mentions that Samsung is aiming to pursue a perfect product balance, not just thinness and lightness, so well hopefully see future Z Fold devices with larger batteries, faster charging and S Pen support. Samsung Galaxy Z Fold7 Source (in Korean) Residents looking to support young entrepreneurs can check out the dedicated space at Bonita Baby in Hagatna. The Nenpire and Bonita Baby launched The Nenpire Launch Pad Corner, a dedicated space at Bonita Baby, that shines a spotlight on some of Guams youngest and brightest young entrepreneurs, a release from Nenpire states. Featuring Sleepy Sprouts (Rosario Peralta), Cards by Chi (Malachi OBrien), Guihan Art (Ezra OBrien), and Rileys Art Studio (Riley Aguon), these impressive nentrepreneurs (neni entrepreneurs) first launched their small businesses at the inaugural Neni Market in 2022. Since then, they have grown their brands, gained valuable experience, and continued to impress at the following Nenpire Neni Markets and beyond. These rising young business owners have also popped up at major local events such as the Pay-Less Maolek Fest, Beyond The Reef II, and the Fam Farm Farmers Market, steadily expanding their products and presence in the community. What began as a special collaboration through Guam Times Mad Collab event in May has now blossomed into a full summer partnership between The Nenpire and Bonita Baby. Shoppers can now find a selection of their unique, locally-made goods at Bonita Baby Store all summer long. We invite the community to come by, support these amazing young entrepreneurs, and witness the future of Guams business industryone small step (and one small biz) at a time. Support local. Support entrepreneurship and visit the Nenpire Launch Pad Corner at Bonita Baby today, Nenpire said. Every few minutes at Andersen Air Force base, fighter jets, cargo aircraft and aerial refueling tankers are taxiing down the busy airfield and launching into the skies. While aloft, they train with some 400 aircraft from the U.S. Air Force and a slew of partner nations launching from 50 different airfields around the region, in an exercise that spans some 3,000 miles around Micronesia and out into the broader Indo-Pacific. With some 12,000 participants involved, Resolute Force Pacific, REFORPAC, is the largest contingency exercise the Air Force has ever conducted in the Pacific, according to Andersens 36th Wing Commander Col. Charles Dan Cooley. REFORPAC, which launched July 8, will keep troops busy around the clock until its conclusion at the end of the month, said Cooley, who spoke to the media at a roundtable at Andersen Thursday. The Air Force is training to see how well they can control the skies should conflict erupt in the region, facing disrupted communications, choked supply lines, and with airfields, like the one at Andersen and elsewhere, potentially shut down by an attack. Its a scenario bandied around by war gamers contemplating a U.S.-China conflict, and in tabletop exercises where the local and federal government have weighed a missile attack on Guam. Cooley on Thursday said REFORPAC isnt related to a specific scenario or threat. But it will test how well U.S. troops can keep command and control of the region and work with its allies in a contested environment. Allied participants include the United Kingdom, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, according to Andersen 36th Wing Deputy Commander Col. Brandon Shroyer. But the bulk of participants are U.S. Air Force troops, coming in from bases around Hawaii, Alaska, and across the continental U.S. On the ground Up at Andersens Northwest Field, airmen out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska set up shop about an hour after touching down, said Capt. Colleen Gibbons of the 3rd Air Expeditionary Wing maintenance and support. Gibbons said theyre training to provide medical care and aircraft repairs in an austere environment. On the flight line at Andersen, C-130 transport Capt. Carter Sweat, out of Dyess Air Force Base in Texas, said his crew has been running cargo and passenger flights since touching down on Guam. Sweat said the exercise gives his crew a chance to learn to work in the unfamiliar Pacific environment. That environment, with its salt and humidity, means a higher workload for aircraft maintenance, said C-130 maintainer Senior Airman Hayden Clark, out of Little Rock Air Force Base in Arkansas. The mission even extends into space, according to Maj. Jerome Limoge, director of operations for the 138th Electromagnetic Warfare Squadron at Peterson Space Force Base. Limoge said the Space Forces role in REFORPAC is keeping satellite communications up, so that information can keep flowing around the island, and from the U.S. Guam Air National Guard Staff Sgt. Javin Delgado said that on Wednesday, REFORPAC training brought a lightweight satellite communications defense system to the Guam Army National Guard Readiness Center in Barrigada. The challenge Andersen Commander Cooley and other commanders who spoke to the media Thursday agreed that REFORPAC is the biggest exercise that they had ever participated in. And one of the difficulties is maintaining that force across the vast distances of the Pacific, said Col. Charles Schuck, commander of the 3rd Expeditionary Wing out of Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska. Its 9.5 hours to fly an aircraft from Alaska, Schuck noted. Its really long distance for us to get here. And then to be able to sustain that with fuel, food, medical care, etc., is also difficult, he said. Shuck said theres also difficulty in supplying North Field up in Tinian, which is an active part of REFORPAC. Getting fuel and spare parts across 94 miles of ocean can stress military logistics, he said. Tinians historic North Field was recently revived as the U.S. military moves to expand its footprint in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Col. Matt Johnston, commander of the 354th Fighter Wing Commander out of Eielson Air Force Base Alaska, said fighters are thinking about how they quickly move from one island base to another if need be. Getting fighter jets fueled and equipment ready in the region is one thing, Johnston said, and now we got to potentially hop it across islands. How are we going to make that happen? And this is really where we get stress from. He said command back at Pacific Air Forces can give orders to move fighters around in a hurry during the exercise. Right now, Im operating out of one location, but Im expecting that Im probably going to operate out of three at some point, Johnston said. Cooley said throughout the exercise, inspectors will be keeping track of how training goes. The various flight wings involved will keep track of challenges faced, and a report will be generated for Pacific Air Forces leadership to review. The main thing is increased readiness, right? We got to stay ready all the time, Cooley said. And to be ready, you have to train, and this gives us an opportunity to train at a scale that you wouldnt normally get at home station. Measures that would mandate trash service for every Guam household, allow the Guam Department of Education to lease out old property, and change the name of Asan to Assan-Maina are on the agenda for the July session of the Legislature. Also up for consideration are bills that would decide the fate of the old abandoned Department of Public Health and Social Services facility in Mangilao, provide emergency business licenses to people who want to rent their housing out, and give leave to teachers who double-dip. A total of 31 bills were added to the July session agenda at a meeting of the legislative Committee on Rules Wednesday. But not every bill may be heard, as senators will have to race to hammer out a fiscal year 2026 budget and prepare for celebrations of the 75th Anniversary of the Organic Act of Guam in August, Speaker Frank Blas Jr. told his colleagues at the Wednesday meeting. Blas said each of the 15 senators will have to pick one bill as a priority, which will be entertained during the July session. If a senator has a second bill on the agenda, the bill will be heard if time permits, or rolled over to the September session, after a budget is ironed out, Blas said. Trash service, GDOE rentals, Asan Sen. Sabina Perez Bill 30-38 would mandate that every household that has a water bill and does not get private trash services be enrolled for trash service with the Guam Solid Waste Authority. Customers who qualify for public assistance, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, SNAP, Medicaid, and other programs, will qualify for a subsidized rate of either $15 or half the residential rate, whichever is higher. GSWA General Manager Irving has said the mandatory service would allow GSWA to spread costs around to customers and drop monthly pickup rates from $30 to $22.50, instead of raising them to $30. Meanwhile, Sen. Joe San Agustins Bill 70-38 will let GDOE lease out old schools, in a push to generate funding for the cash-strapped school district. GDOE leadership has backed the proposal, and wants to rent out the old Chief Brodie Memorial Elementary School in Tamuning to the Science is Fun and Awesome, SIFA, Learning Academy Charter School. Finally, Sen. Telo Taitagues Bill 124-38, would change the official name of the municipality of Asan to its updated name in the CHamoru language: Assan-Maiina. Public Health, housing, sick leave Two dueling bills propose different uses for Public Healths old Mangilao facility, which was abandoned after a reported electrical fire in 2019. Sen. Therese Terlajes Bill 12-38 would reserve the building for Public Health, and allow the Guam Community Colleges Nursing Program to utilize the facility. Sen. Tina Muna Barnes Bill 21-38 would reserve the building specifically for a nursing annex for GCCs program. To address Guams housing shortage, Sen. Shwan Gumataotao Bill 125-38 would let owners of homes or apartments that want to rent them out apply for an emergency, temporary business license. Any building would need to meet certain inspection requirements before going up for rent. Teachers who retire from GDOE but then go back into the workforce, so-called double-dippers, would accrue limited leave and sick leave if Vice Speaker Tony Adas Bill 48-38 becomes law. Such teachers would accrue 4 hours of annual leave and sick leave per pay period. It wont roll over past one fiscal year, and cant be shared. Other bills Other bills on the agenda include: Bill 16-38, requiring reports for the use of unclassified employee Bill 17-38, establishing procedures for implementation of audit recommendations by agencies Bill 45-38, requiring those convicted of vehicular homicide to pay child support for the minor children of their victims Bil 56-38, including podiatry under the Guam Board of Medical Examiners 68-38, responsibilities and liabilities of charter schools Bill 81-38, relative to correcting the definitions of solar, HVAC contractors, sub classifications of licenses Bill 92-38, designating the month of November as Veterans Service Recognition Month Bill 97-38, relative to the reorganization of the Public Defender Service Corporation and to provide effective legal aid and services to persons who are entitled to counsel Bill 103-38, relative to authorizing the temporary certification of peace officers and to authorizing the manpower Development Fund for certification courses required by the Guam Peace Officer Standards and Training Commission. Bill 106-38, prohibiting plea deals without reasonable proof of victim notification 110-38, relative to codifying the Criminal Justice Automated Commission Bill 5-38, relative to veterans license plate designs and recognitions. Bill 24-38, requiring that emergency contraception be provided to survivors of rape. Bill 31-38, relative to expanding operations for assisted living facilities. Bill 76-38, relative to emergency care, immunity from liability. Bill 84-38, adopting military certifications as qualifications for Guam, chauffeurs license. Bill 99-38, authorizing the Department of Revenue and Taxation to Enter into drivers license reciprocity agreements with foreign countries. Bill 100-38, relative to increasing awareness and strengthening early childhood development by expanding Guams early child care and education system. Bill 123-38, including physicians assistance on the Guam Board of Medical examiners and updating prescriptive authority for physician assistants Bill 139-38, relative to establishing the Foster Care Bill of Rights Act of 2025 bill Bill 149-38, waiving veterans vehicle license and registration fees Bil 153-38, relative to modernizing, precinct realignment and composition of the precinct boards Bill 154-38, requiring proof of U.S. citizenship to align Guams voter registration rules with federal standards Bill 155-38, relative to adopting the rules and regulations for the adjudication of victim claims under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Commission Gubernatorial appointments Senators will vote on the following board and commission appointments: A global plea deal covering all of Freddy Cuevas Susuicos pending cases was reviewed in Superior Court this week, but no agreement has been finalized. Susuico, alongside his attorney Thomas Fisher, appeared before Superior Court Judge Alberto Tolentino on Wednesday. He is accused of driving a motorcycle with no license plates, sexually assaulting an 8-year-old girl, stealing 13 vehicles, and taking property valued around $100,000. A global plea is a legal agreement allowing a defendant to resolve multiple criminal casessometimes across different incidents or jurisdictionsthrough a single plea bargain and unified resolution. Prosecuting Attorney Christine Tenorio told the court that the offer was sent to attorneys Fisher, Heather Martinez Quitugua, and Ana Maria Gayle. And you didnt get that? Tolentino asked Fisher. Its under consideration by Ms. Gayle, Fisher responded. Tenorio said she would resend the offer and added that while Quitugua indicated she was unlikely to accept it, Fisher may choose to renegotiate separately. Tolentino scheduled a follow-up hearing for 10 a.m. Sept. 24 to give both sides time to review the proposal. He also confirmed that Susuico must receive the full terms of the offer before any decision is made. Youll ensure that he gets a copy of whats being offered, Tolentino said to Tenorio. Yes, your Honor, Tenorio replied. The court has not yet set a trial date. Proceedings remain pending while attorneys evaluate the proposed plea. According to court documents, in July 2022, police attempted to stop Susuico after witnesses reported he was driving a stolen motorcycle without license plates. He allegedly abandoned the bike and fled into a jungle, where an officer eventually apprehended him despite Susuico punching the officer in the arms during the chase. During the arrest, Susuico allegedly told the officer he had ice in his left pocket, which tested positive for methamphetamine, court documents state. On the same day of the arrest, officers interviewed Susuico about a sexual assault involving a then 8-year-old girl first reported on June 11, 2022. The girl told officers she woke at about 5 a.m. to see Susuico sitting next to her and sexually assaulting her. She said he did it again the following morning. A minor boy also reported witnessing Susuico assaulting the girl. During the interview, Susuico initially admitted to the sexual assault but then recanted. He told officers he will tell the court he was unaware of what he said during the interview and that he will deny everything because he was high on methamphetamine, court documents state. He faces two counts each of first and second-degree criminal sexual conduct, both as first-degree felonies. Prior to his arrest, Susuico was suspected of involvement in 25 Guam Police Department cases dating back to February 2020. The complaint alleges he stole 13 vehicles and other items valued at approximately $100,000. Susuico admitted involvement in most of these thefts. Susuico, was recently charged in connection with a string of burglaries at Finegayan Elementary School in Machanao, Dededo. The burglaries occurred on three separate dates: June 24, June 26, and July 7, 2024, resulting in more than $15,000 in stolen electronics and property damage. Items taken included laptops, soundbars, a projector, a TV, and a public address system, court documents state. Susuico faces three counts of complicity to commit burglary and three counts of theft as second-degree felonies, all committed while on felony release. A search warrant executed on July 11 that same year at Susuicos residence revealed stolen school property and multiple witnesses said Susuico and two others were involved in selling the stolen items. Electronics labeled GDOE and gear marked Finegayan were seen in Susuicos possession, and witnesses described him allegedly sorting and storing the most valuable stolen goods in his room. Guam Regional Medical City, the only private hospital on the island, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this July with a series of activities for both staff and the community, including a July 26 health fair. From breaking ground in 2011 to officially opening its doors on July 1, 2015, GRMC has continued to evolve. GRMC said this milestone marks a decade of its unwavering dedication to advancing health care services and transforming patient care on Guam. Ten years ago, GRMC set out to redefine health care in our region. This month, we celebrate how far weve come, made possible by the trust of our patients, the commitment of our staff, and the support of our partners, GRMC CEO Dr. Alexander Beau Wielaard said in a statement. This anniversary is a celebration together with our community and a thank you to the countless people who have made GRMC what it is today. Wielaard said every achievement over the past decade reflects the passion, resilience, and purpose-driven work of GRMC staff. From delivering life-saving care to introducing advanced specialty services while standing strong through times of crisis, GRMC has grown into so much more than a hospital, he said. I am very proud of what our team of over 1,000 staff do every day, and I sincerely hope our island is, too, Wielaard said. As we look to the future, GRMC intends to be a leader in innovation and elevation of care quality, working to expand access to everyone who needs us. Commemorative installation To commemorate GRMCs 10th anniversary, the hospital said it will unveil a 10-Year Milestone Timeline, a visual display capturing key moments in the hospitals history. This commemorative installation will be shared with invited guests as part of GRMCs efforts to reflect on a decade of progress and impact. For a close insight of the milestone timeline, visit GRMCs website at grmc.gu and social media pages: @grmcguam. 10th Anniversary Health Fair The highlight of GRMCs public celebration is its 10th Anniversary Health Fair, scheduled for Saturday, July 26, 2025, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Micronesia Mall Center Court. This event is free and open to the public. The health fair will feature: Free vital screenings: blood pressure and glucose testing Health education from GRMCs specialty teams and vendors Games, giveaways, and raffle prizes, including a round trip economy class ticket to any PAL Southeast Asian destination, courtesy of Goodwind Travel and Philippine Airlines GRMC encourages the public to come out and take part in this fun and informative event, learn more about ones health, meet GRMCs dedicated health care teams, and celebrate 10 years of caring for the island community. There is something for everyone, and its all part of our commitment to keeping Guam healthy, GRMC marketing and communications manager Chalorna Charly Lauron said. This health fair celebrates 10 years of serving our island with care and compassion. Lauron said the health fair is a great way for the community to connect with GRMCs health care teams, access free services, and enjoy a day focused on wellness and togetherness. Were proud to give back in a way thats meaningful and engaging, Lauron added. A lookback Over the past decade, GRMC said it has marked numerous milestones in advancing health care. It said while there are many achievements to be proud of, the following are just some of the key highlights that reflect GRMCs growth and impact over the years: The launch of its first and longest-running community outreach program, Walk with GRMC Opening of its Cardiac Catheterization Lab Establishment of the Heart Failure Clinic GRMC said it earned both CMS Certification and Joint Commission, TJC, Accreditation, and it has since earned multiple reaccreditations. The hospital said it also pioneered services such as: Telehealth Program for lung cancer with UCLA Health Drive-thru COVID testing for the public Specialized outpatient infusion clinic during the pandemic GRMC said it has been recognized for excellence through honors such as Stars and Stripes Best Off-Base Medical Service in both 2022 and 2023, and the Advanced Primary Stroke Center certification from TJC. Most recently, in 2025, GRMCs surgical technologists became the first on Guam to earn national certification, continuing the hospitals legacy of clinical advancement and professional development. Two years after Jaren Joshua Guerrero Cruz died from a gunshot wound to the head, his mother Sharlene Guerrero is still demanding answers especially after the police, she said, ruled the cause of death undetermined and closed the case without notifying his family. Cruz, a veteran, was a former Air Force military security officer and was found dead on April 1, 2023. He was 27. Now, the mother is pushing back, calling for a formal investigation into her sons death. Guerrero, joined by relatives and friends of her son, said the Guam Police Department mishandled the case from the beginning, failing to inform the family, follow proper protocols, or respond to multiple Freedom of Information Act requests spanning from April 2023 to April 2025. First of all, they never contacted me, Guerrero told the Pacific Daily News. The first initial contact I had with the police for them to interview me was on day four. The PDN has yet to receive any comment from GPD. Guerrero said she wants the public and law enforcement to understand that her sons name was more than a name on a police report. One life but I think you got the point, the mother said. His life mattered. His life matters. Angela Mendiola, Guerreros sister, said part of GPD or any police officers duty is to inform the family of a death. Its standard... and we got confirmation from the chief himself, Mendiola added. Theyre supposed to inform the family, and nobody did that. Day one, day two, day three, nobody. According to Guerrero, the first official communication came only after repeated attempts to locate her son, Cruz, through hospitals and unanswered calls. They took his body away. We didnt know anything. We were like zombies, she said. Guerrero said GPD denied every FOIA request she submitted as part of her two-year effort to uncover what happened to her son. We werent getting any help The mother launched the website jarenslife.com on April 1 to document the timeline of her search, including multiple FOIA requests, legal filings, and interactionsor lack thereofwith police. Guerrero said the statute GPD invoked limits the publics right of inspection, allowing the department to withhold records related to complaints, investigations, intelligence information, or security procedures involving an agency or its personnel. One after the other, there was no information, Guerrero said. Even when a lawyer submitted requests, the responses were the same. The family said it turned to the Office of the Attorney Generals Victim Advocacy Office, and even lawmakers, but all roads lead back to GPD, which continued to deny information or action. When then-chairman of the Legislatures public safety, Sen. Chris Barnett intervened, no progress followed. The best way was going to the media...it was the last thing any mother wants to do, Guerrero said. We werent getting any help anywhere. At the Coffee with a Cop Guerrero said she later talked to GPD Chief Stephen Ignacio at the McDonalds Coffee with a Cop on May 13 after hearing he would be there. The event was aimed for officers to engage with residents to build trust and improve relationships with the community. A mother had to go to McDonalds to get a meeting with the chief, she said. We didnt plan on discussing anything there. We just wanted an appointment but we expressed our disappointment that we had to go through that just to meet with him. The chief set up a meeting with them, the mother said. However, the day before the scheduled meeting, he contacted her to cancel due to a last-minute appointment and said his staff will reschedule with her, Guerrero said. I left that event with the hope that perhaps, finally, genuine dialogue would happen, Guerrero wrote on the website. I patiently waited for two weeks, preparing for our meeting scheduled for yesterday morning, May 27th. The mother said she had to make a second call as the person didnt call her back. She then said that she needed to check with her supervisor. When she got back on the phone, she said he was unavailable and this week is booked, Guerrero told the PDN. Should be alarming to the public Former medical examiner Dr. Jeffery Nine ruled Cruzs death undetermined, the only such classification in 2023, according to the family. A gunshot wound should never be undetermined, Mendiola said. That should be alarming to the public. It was alarming to the senators...Senator Therese [Terlaje], speaker at the time, and Chris Barnett. Guerrero said the case was closed without documentation or explanation. They never explained what legal or procedural basis they concluded to be able to close this case, she said. The manner and cause of his death can only be determined by the medical examiner. If it was undetermined, then they have to further investigate. Even when Guerrero visited police records, no one could confirm the case status without calling another staff member. They had to call someone to confirm it was closed, she said. So much hiding. We dont understand. It wasnt a difficult question. Guerrero created the website jarenslife.com not only to chronicle her search for answers but also to make her son visible to those investigating his deathespecially the Guam Police Department. I put photos to capture his investments, but I did it so I could put more than just his name. It was meant for GPD to see that he is a real person...not just someone they can set aside. The pursuit of truth and accountability remains deeply personal and urgent. My first objective is for my sons case to become an investigation, Guerrero said. Secondly, its to make sure GPD lives up to the oath they swore when they became officers. She also described the emotional toll that comes with taking on the work of an investigator while still mourning. Its hard to grieve when youre busy trying to do FOIA requests, she added. When you have to keep reaching out, researching things on your own, talking to people and trying to figure out what happened when you lose your child...thats the last thing that anyone should have to do. Guerrero questioned whether Guams current investigative framework allows for proper analysis and accountability in unexplained deaths. Does our process allow for testing? Forensics? Those also need to be addressed, Guerrero said. When it comes to promoting National Police Week, all hands are on deck. But when it comes to their everyday job, protecting and serving, theres just constant excuses. Barnett: Mother asked a lot of valid questions Barnett, who spoke with Guerrero, is calling for immediate answers from GPD over its handling of the investigation into Cruzs death. The senator said he met with the former chief medical examiner. Based on information shared with me in a meeting with the former medical examiner, I believe Jarens death warrants further investigation, Barnett said. The senator raised concerns, including, Were all witnesses at the scene of Jarens death interviewed? Were proper police protocols followed to rule out foul play? Was the scene compromised in any way? Was anyone allowed to retrieve items from the scene? He questioned the quality and depth of the police investigation and whether it had been prematurely closed without a full review of the evidence. Was the police investigation conducted thoroughly, examining all possibilities and potential suspects, or was it treated like an open and shut case based on a predetermined assumption? he said. How does GPD respond to the findings and determinations the former medical examiner made in Jarens autopsy report? These are all valid questions nobody seems to have the answers to. Barnett also criticized GPD for what he described as stonewalling both him and Guerrero, who has been advocating for a clearer account of what happened to her son. GPD leadership should treat Jarens mother Sharlene Guerrero, with dignity, respect and sensitivity. She has asked a lot of valid questions, only to be met with a blue wall of silence from police leadership. Weve both sent GPD requests for information on this case. Not a single document has been shared, Barnett said. Death investigators The senator pointed to a bill he introduced in 2024which became law as part of the budgetin direct response to Guerreros death, which has already resulted in the creation of new investigatory positions intended to fill critical gaps in Guams death investigation process. The law established a medical legal death investigator position in GovGuam. Because of Jarens death, and more importantly his life, I introduced legislation mandating the creation of the position of medicolegal death investigators in the government of Guam, he said. This means we will have a second set of eyes with medical expertise on the scene of a death even if the medical examiner is off island. This closes a critical section and it passed into law last year. He said the new law created a position meant to prevent future gaps in death scene response, such as the circumstances surrounding Cruzs death. He said he also submitted a FOIA request to the GPD chief for documents related to the case but received no response within the required timeframe. They werent able to give any information because theyre saying that the information falls under the exemptions for FOIA, the senator said. Without transparency, he said accountability remains out of reach and with it, justice for Cruzs family. Justice not served is justice deserved, Barnett said. Jaren and his family cant have justice without the truth, and its hard to get to the truth without answers. Jarens mom is fighting tirelessly for those answers and she deserves them. Friends: It didnt go down that way Those closest to Jaren Cruz say the official version of events has never made sense to them. They remember a friend who was full of life and excited for the futuresomeone whose death felt shockingly out of character. He was so ecstatic, Kyle Rodriguez said. He told me how excited he was to be part of our wedding in June, which was coming up in a few months. To those who knew him, Cruz was a vibrant force, not someone in distress or despair. He was always a big ball of life and energy and positiveness, Dominic Ungacta, another close friend, said. And it didnt go down the way it went down. Thats why were here. Ungacta recalled how he first learned the devastating news, not from authorities, but from Cruzs mother, who retrieved his phone and began reaching out to friends. Its his mom that got his phone, and she said, sadly, my son has passed away, Ungacta said. I stop what Im doing at the party, and I have to take a moment to myself. Called a friend from the states, and hes like, are you seeing this? Is this a cruel April Fools prank? Anne Marie Cruz Rodriquez, another close friend, also remembered Cruzs enthusiasm and emotional investment in the people around him. There was a wedding he was gonna be in, she said. We had asked Kyle, my husband, he had asked him to be a groomsman in our wedding. And he, unprompted, just came out and told me, Im so excited for you guys. Im so happy for you guys. I cant wait for your wedding. The suddenness of his death and the ambiguity surrounding it left Cruzs friends reeling. Theres a lot of questions that are still unanswered about his manner of death, Rodriguez said. His manner of death was ultimately suspicious. The medical examiner on his death certificate deemed it undetermined. More shock Over time, the details became more jarring. Eventually we found out that it was a gunshot wound, gunshot to the face, Ungacta said. More shock. Disbelief. Even more troubling, they said Guerrero wasnt allowed to see his body until the day before his funeral. Very unheard of, Ungacta said. Kyle Rodriguez shared his concern about the way police handled questioning in the aftermath. They werent asking me the questions that I think they should have asked, he said. To me, it feels like theyre just digging for ammo. They didnt ask me about what I thought. It was all about what was his state of mind, what was his personality, was he depressed? He pushed back firmly against any suggestion that Cruz may have been struggling. As far as we knew, he wasnt, Kyle Rodriguez said. He was absolutely not struggling with any sort of depression. In fact, it was the exact opposite. What Jaren was experiencing is freedom, freedom from things like depression. Anne Marie Cruz Rodriguez said their final interactions with Cruz painted a picture of someone optimistic about what was ahead. Because we had talked with him the day before he passed, and everything that we had talked about, it was like there was a future he was looking forward to, she said. Ungacta said the lack of transparency is not unique to Jarens case. Unacceptable, but its typical, he said. It happens a lot. And I think thats something that needs to be looked into. Nine out there that are unsolved or undetermined. He added that its too easy for these families to be overlooked. This island is so small, it can be so easy to just be like nine families with the same hurt and questions, he said. How much longer? Kyle Rodriguez said even if there were no foul play, transparency would bring peace to grieving families. Whether there was foul play or self-inflicted, just transparency overall, that would go a long way, he said. See a lot of suffering, see a lot of sorrow. Whether it was one way or the other, at least you know. And thats the worst thing about this case is that we simply do not know. The silence and delay have stretched on too long, they said. Its been two years now. Two years and counting. How much longer can we go on before we get answers? Ungacta said. Kyle Rodriguez added that Guerrero should never have had to carry this burden alone. For Auntie Shar to not only be grieving her son, but also have to keep fighting for answers and being his advocate after his death, thats how shes keeping his memory alive, he said. But she shouldnt have to be fighting this fight. After a 17-minute deliberation, a 12-member jury on Thursday found Martili Akwio Teliu guilty in a prison contraband case related to a makeshift shank found under his pillow while he was in prison in 2024. Teliu, 25, was convicted of promotion of prison contraband as a second-degree felony. Attorney General Douglas Moylan said given Telius extensive priors and repeat offenses, his office will ask Judge Vernon Perez to impose the maximum sentence of 10 years imprisonment added to Telius existing sentence at the Department of Corrections. Teliu is not new to Guams criminal justice system. With prior convictions of criminal mischief in 2022 and graffiti in 2023, he has once again been convicted by our jurors, this time for possessing a makeshift shank during his stint at the Guam Department of Corrections, Moylan said in a statement. The AG said prosecutors moved to sever the other assault charges due to the unavailability of witnesses to testify. Judge Perez dismissed the charges without prejudice so that our prosecutors can re-charge Teliu once the witnesses have been found and willing to testify, which we intend to do. Regardless, convict Teliu will now be held behind bars to await these other charges while serving time with this conviction, the AG said. The Office of the Attorney Generals team that prosecuted the case included Assistant Attorney General J. David Griffin and Dante C.H. Harootunian, investigator Maria Apuron, and paralegal Raya King. We are now at 60 jury trial wins and counting, the AGs office added. Breonna Taylor was shot by police in March 2020 during a botched raid on her home Women who serve as the primary wage earners for their families and seek financial assistance to continue their education or receive training can now apply for the Soroptimist Live Your Dream: Education and Training Awards for Women, the Soroptimist International of Guam said in a release. Applications are available at lyda-application.pdf or by contacting Rotalia Borja, award chair, at rotaliab@gmail.com. The application deadline is Nov. 15. The Soroptimist International of Guam said it will provide a $1,000 cash award to its award recipient, who will then advance to the Soroptimist Founder Region level, where recipients may receive up to an additional $5,000. The program culminates with three finalist $10,000 awards. Recipients can use the Live Your Dream Award to offset costs associated with their efforts to attain higher education or additional skills and training. This includes tuition, books, childcare, transportation, or any other education-related expense. The Live Your Dream Award provides over $2.8 million in cash awards to head-of-household women in need each year. Since the programs inception in 1972, more than $40 million has helped tens of thousands of women achieve their dreams of a better life for themselves and their families. The Soroptimist International of Guam cited a study conducted by The Fels Institute of Government, a research and consulting organization based at the University of Pennsylvania, which confirmed the impact and effectiveness of this program. It improves the recipients quality of life; builds their confidence; strengthens their self-determination and makes them want to, in turn, help others. Helping women in this way has a demonstrated effect: it leads to stronger families, communities, and nations, the organization said. Founded in 1987, the Soroptimist International of Guam is part of Soroptimist International of the Americas, a global volunteer organization that provides women and girls with access to the education and training they need to achieve economic empowerment. For more information about how Soroptimist improves the lives of women and girls, visit www.soroptimist.org. Each year on July 21st, we celebrate Liberation Day, the day American forces returned to Guam in 1944 and ended the brutal Japanese occupation. It was a turning point marked by sacrifice, survival, and the resilience of an island that refused to be broken. We also remember and honor the American soldiers who gave their lives to help free our island, their sacrifice forever intertwined with our history. For those Guamanians who lived through those dark times, the meaning of Liberation Day is seared into memory. But for younger generationsthose born long after the guns fell silentthe meaning can feel more distant, more complicated. We inherited the freedom they paid forbut we also inherited the unfinished questions they left behind. Today, Guam remains a U.S. territory without full political rights. We cannot vote for president. We have no real voice in Congress. And so, our relationship with the idea of liberation continues to evolve. History teaches us that liberation is never the finish line. After emancipation, Black Americans were legally freebut the fight for dignity, equality, and political power stretched on for generations. Guams journey is different, but the lesson is familiar: real freedom is measured not just by what chains are broken, but by the opportunities we create for ourselves. Once, we renamed Discovery Day as our perspective shifted. Perhaps our view of Liberation Day will also grownot in rejection of it, but in aspiration beyond it. We honor the past but that cant be where we stop. Our grandparents generation survived the war. Our parents rebuilt in its aftermath. Now, it falls to us to define what liberation looks like for our time and whether the next generation will celebrate July 21st as a milestone behind us, or a promise still waiting to be fulfilled. Liberation was never meant to be a gift we simply inherit. Its a responsibility we must finish. The future is ours to claim or to surrender. Every Liberation Day brings a renewal of a spirit which seems to lie dormant throughout the year. We remember the hardships of the Japanese occupation and the terror of the march to Manenggon and other camps. We acknowledge the liberators in the form of Marines and Soldiers who fought a determined enemy in order to drive them out. And then we remember that after all these years, we arent really liberated. We never took the next step to exercise liberty on our own terms. Of course, this holiday should remind us that the term liberation needs to be defined. Liberation comes from liberty which, in turn, is connected to freedom. What occurred after liberation which we could point to as the fulfillment of liberty and freedom? For most of the time since World War II, we ignored that question in favor of re-enacting the historical events of 1944. It was the story of families struggling to stay together, the exploits of men using weapons of war, the sacrifice of lives in order to be free of a military occupation. The wartime occupation was defined by its lack of concern for the inhabitants of Guahan and cruelty. This was especially true in the last six months of the occupation as thousands of Japanese troops were brought in to defend the island from the impending American invasion. Being free from cruel military control did not mean being free from military control all together. In fact, during the time period after liberation, more than 50% of the land went from civilian hands into management by the liberators. Most people thought that this was the price of being liberated as the war against Japan needed to be won. But the post-World War II time period saw Guahan become a military bastion and land seized under the most specious circumstances and made legal by hastily passed congressional legislation. This was a bitter pill to swallow even then. It seems that the anxiety and injustice over taking land and its usage continues to be the most important legacy of World War II even in 2025. And military objectives continue to rule the day in 2025 as land is being re-shaped and repurposed in order to defend the island from a possible Chinese attack. The people of Guahan seem to end up being constantly buffeted by military planners and it is always in the name of defending Guam. The question must be asked. What is being defended? Is it our liberty? If so, what is the nature of that liberty? In all these instances, liberty is not defined as an objective to achieve in order to freely pursue social, political and economic objectives. Instead, liberty is defined as a defense against oppression or dominance by someone else. This logic of fear denies the pursuit of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and instead offers compromise and obedience to military planners. They ultimately determine the value and purpose of this island. True liberty in the form of self-determination will again be lost in the shuffle of important Pentagon plans, the movement of military hardware and the bulldozers. The bulldozers are there to unearth hundreds of years of cultural legacy and re-order the nature of an environment that took millions of years to shape. Thinking and feeling this way is not a denial of the sacrifices of those who came before us. It is not turning away from American ideals. To the contrary, the pursuit of true liberty should make those sacrifices more meaningful. Moreover, implementing those ideals as outlined in the Declaration of Independence (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness) should make every American say, it is time for the people of this ancient land to chart their own course. Making those American ideals come true in the Guahan of 2025 would be the true fulfillment of the sacrifices made by thousands of Americans and CHamorus in 1944. It is time. Put fabot. While justice takes its course in the alleged Pandemic Unemployment Assistance fraud ring case involving members of Lt. Gov. Josh Tenorios immediate family, theres also a need to look beyond individual guilt to potential institutional failures when dealing with a nearly $1 billion program for Guam. The federal government approved that colossal amount for Guams PUA program, inclusive of administrative costs such as salaries, offices and equipment, and the $809 million-plus paid out to nearly 24,000 applicants. Tenorios name comes up because of his obvious familial relationships with many of the initial seven indicted in the PUA fraud ring case including his partner, his own sister, and the father of his sisters children. His planned 2026 gubernatorial run is on the line, and it remains to be seen whether the ongoing federal investigations and the ongoing federal case would point to him directly. Beyond the lieutenant governors familial association with those indicted in the case, there are also questions regarding how the government of Guam developed, managed and staffed the $1 billion PUA program. The Guam Department of Labor under Director David DellIsola was able to develop the PUA program in just about 12 weeks to keep tens of thousands from getting hungry, homeless or in financial ruin. The initial benefits payment within weeks was $35 million. Two of the initial seven who were indicted in the alleged PUA fraud ring were in the PUA program. Kathleen Peredo was the PUA program manager for Guam and was paid an annual salary of $61,796, and Marlene Pinaula, with an annual salary of $31,076, based on documents released by Adelup in 2020. Peredo was a GDOL employee prior to her being moved to the PUA program. In June 2020, through the medias Freedom of Information Act request, the governors office confirmed that Adelup, as early as April that year, had supplied many of the candidates to fill the positions needed to run PUA. At the time, Guam DOL said it did not advertise the dozens of positions needed for the program because the island was in the middle of pandemic quarantine and many needed immediate help. Adelup sent applicants resumes to the Department of Administration and Guam DOL, based on email exchanges reviewed by the media at the time. One of those emails bore the subject line, Re: Referred by the Lieutenant Governor. At the time, Adelup told the media that Tenorio as lieutenant governor didnt have a direct role in recommending individual hires for the PUA program but the subject line was used to get a particular persons attention. Where did Adelup get most of the personnel to staff the PUA program? The governors office said it had a pool of applications when the Leon Guerrero-Tenorio transition team made a public announcement in November 2018, inviting anyone interested in applying for jobs to submit their applications. And in order to get this (PUA) system up and running as quickly as possible and in the middle of a pandemic, Adelup said it reached into that stack when Guam DOL needed manpower. The governors office at the time said while a pool of applicants was provided, it was still up to Guam DOL and DOA to evaluate whether the persons were qualified for the positions needed. Whether Tenorio had a hand in picking any PUA employee at the time should be investigated as well, considering the indictments. More than that, with the way the PUA program was staffed, it did appear that the $1 billion program became a dumping ground for the administrations supporters. Perhaps there should have been more scrutiny about the process of hiring employees to help dole out federal benefits. Five years later, Tenorio and Adelup said the lieutenant governor is not being investigated, not being part of the investigation or not involved in any of the alleged fraud. And that he was aware of the investigation but didnt share what the investigation was about, but advised them to seek counsel. I would ask the people to trust me. You know, theres no reason why their trust should be taken away from me. I know people are concerned, and some people may be rushing to judgment, Tenorio said in a video interview with the Pacific Daily News. We have a democracy here, and the cornerstone of our democracy is a fair system. But the federal investigations are continuing and GovGuam could help make sure the constraints that make these investigations difficult are addressed. Politics and the 2026 gubernatorial elections should not put relentless pressure on this case because that would be counterproductive and compromise the investigations that could see perpetrators walk free. Orpo said the proposal reflects a new geopolitical reality, with high expectations placed on the EU to support Ukraine, invest in defence, and strengthen its competitiveness. Still, he stressed that the financial plan must remain realistic. Prime Minister Petteri Orpo said Finland cannot support the European Commissions proposed 2 trillion EU budget for 20282034, calling the suggested increase excessive and poorly targeted. The current financial framework for 20212027 stands at approximately 1.2 trillion. The EU is expected to do a great deal, but the budget must be proportionate. This proposal is far too high, Orpo told Yle. Orpo also criticised a proposed crisis mechanism that would provide loan-based support to member states during emergencies. We oppose instruments based on joint debt, he said. While Finland acknowledges that its membership fees will rise, Orpo said any increase must be justified. He maintained that budget growth should be moderate and concentrated on defence and security. The Commissions draft includes 131 billion earmarked for defence and space programmes, a fivefold increase compared to the current cycle. It also proposes an additional 100 billion support fund for Ukraine, to be held outside the main budget framework. Orpo welcomed the emphasis on security and Ukraine but said support efforts must not undermine core domestic priorities. We must strongly support Ukraine, but it cannot come at the expense of our own essential expenditures, he said. The European Parliament and all 27 EU member states must approve the budget. Discussions are expected to continue over the coming year. Several Finnish Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) also voiced concern. Eero Heinaluoma (SDP) described the budget as concerning, warning that Finlands net returns could fall while contributions rise. Aura Salla (NCP) opposed raising the budget through higher member state payments and called for an expansion of the EUs own resources instead. Green MEPs Ville Niinisto and Maria Ohisalo said the Commissions proposals lack ambition. They criticised the omission of new revenue streams such as a digital services tax and aviation levy. Finland has been a net contributor to the EU budget since 2001. In 2023, Finland paid about 150 per capita into the EU budget, totalling roughly 700 million. Countries such as Estonia, Croatia and Latvia received more than 600 per capita in return. Much of Finlands EU funding has historically supported agriculture and rural development. But under the new proposal, the European Commission plans to cut agriculture spending by up to 20 percent. The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners (MTK) strongly opposed the cuts, calling them inconsistent with earlier EU commitments. This would be the biggest reform in agricultural policy in over 30 years, said Juha Marttila, President of MTK. Marttila said the proposal places EU farmers in a state of uncertainty, even as food security and supply resilience become increasingly vital. Everyone understands the need to strengthen security, but that cannot come at the cost of farmers livelihoods, Marttila stated. MTK called on the Finnish government to join with other member states to push back against the proposed changes in upcoming negotiations. HT According to Statistics Finland , rents for privately financed housing in the capital region fell by 0.3 percent between April and June compared to the same period last year. The agency said rents in the rest of the country rose by 0.9 percent during the same period. Rental prices in the Helsinki metropolitan area have declined for the first time since national statistics began tracking the figures in 2015. Martti Korhonen, chief actuary at Statistics Finland, described the development as "exceptional" and noted that the trend breaks a long period of steady but slow growth. Privately financed rents in the Helsinki area have been rising at an annual pace of around 0.5 percent or less for years. No previous quarterly fall has been recorded since the current rental statistics methodology was introduced. In the second quarter of 2025, rental prices decreased in all property categories in Vantaa, where the total drop was 0.8 percent. Smaller decreases were recorded in Espoo and Helsinki for studio apartments. Rents for larger units remained unchanged in most other parts of the metropolitan area. The strongest rent growth among large cities was in Rovaniemi, where prices increased by 2 percent. Korhonen attributed part of the dip to government policy changes affecting housing support. A reform of student housing subsidies will take effect in August, ending access to general housing allowance for many students. This is pushing students to seek lower-cost housing options and shared living arrangements. "The reform could have a locally significant effect on the private rental market, especially in cities where there is already an oversupply of new and expensive rental apartments," Korhonen said in a statement. The drop in rents in the capital region contrasts with the overall market, where rental prices have continued to climb slowly but steadily. In other areas of Finland, prices have remained more aligned with the general increase in living costs. Rents in cities outside the Helsinki region have not shown signs of decline, and in several areas the rental market remains tight. In most municipalities, demand continues to outpace supply for affordable housing, especially in city centres. Nationally, the general trend still points upward, but the stagnation or slight drop in urban centres like Helsinki and Vantaa signals potential shifts in tenant preferences and market dynamics. Housing benefit reforms, changes in student housing patterns and an increased number of rental units may contribute to this trend in coming quarters. The full impact of subsidy reductions and housing market developments is expected to become clearer during the autumn months. Statistics Finland will release updated figures in October. HT Unusual weather conditions on Wednesday morning allowed Russian radio broadcasts to spill into southeastern Finland, with residents in Lappeenranta reporting up to eight Russian stations coming through their car radios. Under normal circumstances, only one Russian station, Dorozhnoye Radio, is typically receivable in the area. It broadcasts from Svetogorsk, just across the border near Imatra. This time, signals from as far as St. Petersburg, over 200 kilometres away, were clearly audible. Public confidence in Finlands political leaders has dropped, with only 1 percent of respondents reporting very high trust, according to a new survey by research firm Norstat. Just 10 percent of those surveyed in Finland said they had strong trust in politicians. Nearly half reported little or no confidence. The figures are in line with public sentiment in Norway but significantly lower than in neighbouring Sweden and Denmark. In Denmark, 22 percent of respondents expressed high or very high trust. The report found that 24,500 households exceed income limits for subsidised housing, despite the original aim of these homes being to support low-income residents. Some earn more than 12,000 per month. Thousands of high-income families continue to live in state-subsidised rental housing in Finland, according to a new report by the Ministry of the Environment. State-supported rental homes come with capped rents and are partly financed through long-term state loans or interest subsidies. These benefits were introduced to provide affordable housing to low-income families. From January 2024, new income limits apply to those moving into these properties. But for tenants already in place before this rule, no such income checks are conducted after moving in. As a result, some tenants now far exceed the income threshold. According to the report, which is based on 2022 income data, 11.7 percent of state-subsidised homes have tenants whose incomes are above the limit. These households include both modest and high-income earners. The income limits are set near the national median wage. For a single person, the monthly gross income cap is 3,540. A two-adult family is allowed up to 6,020, and a two-adult, two-child household up to 7,270. The limits are most often exceeded in Helsinki, Espoo and Vantaa. In the capital, nearly 7,400 households living in subsidised housing earn more than the threshold. That amounts to around 15 percent of tenants. Within Helsinki, the wealthiest districts also show the highest number of breaches. In areas like Kalasatama and Lauttasaaris Vattuniemi, about one-third of subsidised housing tenants exceed the income cap. In central areas such as Kamppi, Katajanokka, Jatkasaari, as well as in districts like Pakila, Kulosaari and Arabianranta, over a quarter of tenants earn above the threshold. Tommi Laanti, a senior adviser at the Ministry of the Environment, said these wealthier areas are also where state-supported housing hosts the highest-income residents. Housing production with state support tends to mirror market conditions, so rents in these areas are also comparatively higher, Laanti said. The government plans to address the issue by introducing a tiered rent increase model. Rents would be gradually raised if a tenant's income rises 1015 percent above the set limit. For example, a single resident would begin paying more if their gross income exceeds 4,070 per month. About 60 percent of over-the-limit single earners fall into this category. In two-adult households with children, rent would increase if income rises beyond 7,670 per month. Roughly two-thirds of these families exceed that threshold. While most breaches are moderate, some households show substantial income levels. According to data compiled by Max Toikka, a researcher at the VATT Institute for Economic Research, 7.7 percent of two-adult families who exceed the income cap earn more than 12,000 per month. That equals 243 households. Two adults earning that much while living in subsidised housing is rare but significant when measured against the national income distribution, Toikka said. The Ministry also evaluated an alternative model, under which subsidised housing contracts would be fixed-term. If income rose above the threshold during the term, tenants would be required to leave. This approach was deemed too rigid. A tiered rent model is more balanced. It avoids unreasonable situations where even a slight rise in income would force someone to move out, Laanti said. He also noted the risk of socio-economic segregation if residents were pushed out once they started earning the median wage. Mixed-income communities are one of the central goals of state-supported housing, he said. Practical questions remain unresolved. Increased rents might encourage higher-income tenants to leave voluntarily, potentially reducing rental revenue. The report was prepared by Owal Group and Pellervo Economic Research PTT for the Ministry of the Environment and the Centre of Housing Development. In public interviews conducted by Yle in Helsinkis Kalasatama, residents generally supported higher rents for high earners rather than fixed-term contracts. Noora Peitsara, from Helsinki, said a progressive rent model seems fair. If a small raise meant losing your home, it would discourage people from accepting better jobs. Petriina Punna, from Vantaa, said subsidised homes should be reserved for low-income families. Higher rents for higher incomes make sense, but families should still be able to stay if necessary, for the sake of childrens schools and continuity. Tuomas Henttula, from Turku, agreed. Support should go to those who need it most. HT Most people think of Cuba as a land of cigars, salsa, sun-soaked beaches and antique cars. But to me, it symbolizes perseverance and the roots of a resilient Jewish community that contributed to the state of Israel. For many years now, Cubans have made aliyah to Israel to look for a better life, including my parents. As Nazi Germany destroyed Europe, a few nations offered refuge to Jewish people, while others, like the United States and Canada, enforced strict immigration laws. Cuba, with its challenging immigration policies and laws, became one of the few safe places left for Jews. Though often reachable only through costly bribes or personal connections with government officials, for many Jews, this island in the Caribbean became their last hope for refuge. Drawn by economic opportunities and Cuba's remarkable geographical location as a gateway to America, Jewish immigrants arrived in Cuba in the 1900s. Sephardic Jews from Turkiye started settling in Cuba to escape the rise of antisemitism in the decline of the Ottoman Empire, while many Ashkenazi Jews fled discrimination and oppression in Eastern Europe. By the 1930s, there was a present Jewish community established in Cuba, mainly in Havana, which later supported the wave of Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. Securing passage to Cuba from Nazi Germany was far from guaranteed. In 1939, over 900 Jewish refugees boarded the S.S. St. Louis, which was heading to Havana, only to be denied entry by the Cuban government due to growing anti-immigrant settling. The S.S St. Louis had three sister ships; "Orduna, Flandre and Orinoco," which were only able to drop off a limited number of passengers in Cuba. The Jewish community in Cuba opened its arms to the refugees, organized support networks and provided temporary housing in community centers and synagogues. Through these efforts, many refugees were able to survive the difficult period upon arrival. Two of the most prominent and impactful Jewish institutions in Havana, Cuba, are Adath Israel and Congregation Beth Shalom, which is also known as "El Patronato." Adath Israel became a place for Jewish immigrants to find solidarity. It helped newcomers adjust to their new life in Cuba and offered a sense of connection to Israel even as they navigated the challenges of displacement. My grandparents were deeply involved with Adath Israel. My grandfather worked as a driver for the synagogue, picking up members from their homes, as many did not own cars due to Cuba's economic challenges. My grandmother served as the synagogue's chef, preparing kosher meals for families and cooking food for Shabbat dinners. Adath Israel was the only orthodox synagogue in Cuba, and it is still standing today with "Bring Them Home Now" signs on its gates. Congregation Beth Shalom is the conservative synagogue in Cuba, which, at one point in the 1940s, had approximately over 8,000 active members. It offers daily services, a Hebrew school and a women's center for Jewish women. The synagogue used to send a Cuban delegation to the Maccabi games in Israel. Today, only about 1,000 Jews live in Cuba. Due to the Cuban Revolution in 1959, many Jewish people in Cuba began to realize that it might not be a place for them long-term, prompting them to look for a new home. Many decided to make aliyah, and Fidel Castro even supported the concept of Jews returning to their homeland. In the early 2000s, my parents, along with my family, made aliyah to Israel with assistance from the Jewish Agency, as part of an operation some refer to as "Operation Cigar." Upon arriving in Israel, many Cuban Jews settled in Ashkelon, while my family's new home was in Hadera. There, they lived in the Merkaz Klita (absorption center) and began learning Hebrew. For many, moving to Israel was challenging; it felt like a repeat of their ancestors' experience when they first arrived in Cuba. They had to learn a new language and often felt displaced. The Israeli government, along with other organizations, worked hard to make this transition easier for Jewish immigrants and provided substantial support. Today, many Cuban Jews are living in Israel, with communities primarily located in cities like Hadera, Be'er Sheva, and Netanya. Today, many Cubans proudly represent their heritage while serving in the IDF. Among them is Jonathan Rosado Carillo, whose father is a leader at Congregation Beth Shalom. One of my cousins, who made aliyah to Israel less than ten years ago along with other family members, is also proudly serving in the IDF. She is thrilled to be defending the Jewish state of Israel and is a hero in my eyes. The Cuban Jewish community, though small, has significantly enriched Israel's cultural and social landscape. They have brought a unique blend of Latin American and Jewish traditions that have contributed to Israel's multi-cultural identity. One of the most notable Cuban restaurants in Tel Aviv is Alma de Cuba, which offers traditional Cuban dishes alongside a vibrant nightlife scene with Latin music. Additionally, many Cubans act as informal ambassadors, strengthening relationships between Latin America and Israel. The Cuban Jewish community has fostered diplomatic, cultural and economic exchanges, serving as a valuable link between Israel and Latin America. Their efforts have enriched cross-cultural understanding and strengthened Israel's relationships on the international stage. Eitan Grimberg is an Israeli-Cuban student at the University of Florida, where he is majoring in public relations. His journey in public relations has been fueled by his passion for strategic thinking and building genuine connections. Originally from Israel, he moved to Miami, Florida, when he was three years old, and he has embraced his Latin and Jewish roots ever since. On Aug. 18, 1790, President George Washington wrote to the Hebrew Congregation in Newport, Rhode Island. He assured them: Everyone shall sit in safety under his own vine and fig tree, and there shall be none to make him afraid. He continued with words that the Jewish people, among many others, have carried close to heart for over two centuries: The Government of the United States... gives to bigotry no sanction, to persecution no assistance. It was a promise. It took time for it to become a reality, though it remains unfinished today. As Washingtons letter was read aloud from the pulpit of what is now Americas oldest standing synagogue, Touro Synagogue in Newport, R.I., Jews were barred from holding public office in many states. Colonial-era religious test oaths demanded the affirmation upon my faith as a Christian, which effectively excluded Jews, Quakers, and others from equal participation in civic life. Maryland enforced such an oath longer than most. It wasnt until 1827 that Jews were granted equal political rights in that state. Thomas Kennedy, a Protestant legislator, had never met a Jew. yet was repulsed by the blatant discrimination that violated the spirit of the American experiment. He fought for eight years against rabid antisemitism to pass his Jew Bill that lifted the restrictions on Jews. Incredibly, it took until 1903 for Maryland to remove restrictions on Quakers. American Jews have rarely asked for privilege or special status. Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did generations later, American Jews have asked to be judged not by background or belief but by the content of their character. The American experiment has always been marked by contradiction. Mt. Rushmore itself is a monument to that tension. Carved into the Black Hills of South Dakota sacred land to the Lakota Sioux it has long symbolized both national pride and historical pain. And yet nearby stands the Crazy Horse Memorial, also carved from sacred land, commissioned by Native leaders to assert: The red man has great heroes, too. Gutzon Borglum, the sculptor of Mt. Rushmore, was a known antisemite. Yet the four presidents he carved Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt represent pivotal chapters in the countrys unfolding story. They were not selected for their personal virtues or flaws, but for the ways they helped propel the nation toward a more perfect union, even through its contradictions. Jefferson spoke eloquently of liberty while holding hundreds of people in bondage. While some say he wrestled with the immorality of slavery, he never freed his own slaves, nor risked his political capital to end the institution. Lincoln, shaped by the cultural prejudices of his time, initially tolerated bias. But when Civil War General (and later President) Ulysses S. Grant issued his notorious General Order No. 11 expelling Jews as a class from his military district of operation, Lincoln acted immediately. He swiftly revoked Grants order, affirming his belief in judging individuals on their own merit. I dont like to see a class or nationality condemned on account of a few sinners. Theodore Roosevelt associated with vicious, antisemitic American influencers, such as Harvard Professor Henry Adams. On the other hand, he courageously stood up to blatant discrimination and Jew hatred, even supporting Zionism. In 1862, in Leavenworth, Kansas, Jewish settlers established Temple Bnai Jeshurun, the first permanent synagogue west of the Mississippi. When the Jewish American Society for Historic Preservation placed a marker there 150 years later, it was not just to honor Jewish presence. It was to recognize a milestone in the long American journey toward religious freedom and civic inclusion. At the dedication, Society President Jerry Klinger remarked, Freedom is a process. The Constitution was not a fully realized ideal when it was ratified. But the genius of the American system is its capacity to correct itself, to right the ship when it leans off course and continue the journey forward. That same spirit guided the Societys decision to support Mt. Rushmore. When the opportunity arose, JASHP became the first Jewish organization to have the word Jewish engraved on the donor walls of the Grand View Terrace, facing the four presidential carvings. Klinger explained, We did so not to sanctify the past, but to remind America of what it must still strive to become. Today, antisemitism has crept back into public discourse under new disguises. If that hatred had succeeded early on if America had turned its back on Jews seeking refuge how much would America have lost? The Jewish people never asked for favoritism. They asked to contribute. And because America however imperfectly let them in, they did. If Americas doors had been closed to Jews there would have been no Haim Salomon, who helped finance the American Revolution; no Nathan Straus, whose mission to pasteurize milk saved thousands of children; no Jonas Salk to eradicate polio; no Albert Einstein, who found refuge in America while fleeing the Nazis, then revolutionized physics and warned Roosevelt of Hitlers atomic threat; no Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who became a voice for justice and constitutional principle; no Hedy Lamarr, whose inventions paved the way for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and GPS. The Fourth of July has passed. But the promise of Aug. 18, 1790 that none shall make us afraid, remains. Jerusalem, Israel A unique friendship and partnership between an Iranian and an Israeli has given birth to one of the most remarkable hands-on tourist experiences in Israel, drawing interest and participants from all over the world at a time when tourism in Israel is down, but when the importance of solidarity with Israel has never been more important. Root & Branch is a unique partnership between Marziyeh Amirizadeh and her nonprofit, NewPersia.org, and Jonathan Feldstein and the Genesis 123 Foundation. At its core, Root & Branch is a remarkable and unprecedented agricultural pilgrimage, bringing Christians to harvest olives in Israel, to build meaningful relationships between Jews and Christians. In 2024, Root & Branch members harvested about 1000 kilos of olives, to be a material blessing to Israel, the proceeds from the oil made from olives harvested supports meaningful projects in Israel, specifically in communities most devastated along the Gaza border, and among people most impacted by the ongoing war against Hamas. Root & Branch is particularly significant now because of the partnership of its founders. Amirizadeh is an Iranian born American citizen. She became a Christian in Iran, and was arrested and sentenced to death for the crime of apostacy. In 2024, she spoke movingly to a group of soldiers, apologizing that the enemy they are facing is a result of the hijacking of the country of her birth by extremist Islamists who seek Israels destruction. In addition to her passion for Israel, and the restoration of warm historically positive relations between Jews and Persians and Israel with Iran, she is an advocate for persecuted Christians in the Islamic world, and for womens rights under misogynist regimes like Iran. Feldstein is an American born, Orthodox Israeli Jew. While serving at the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta in the 1980s, he was charged to build bridges between Jews and Christians and embodies a unique perspective in doing so through fostering meaningful, not transactional, relationships. Hes become a well-respected and highly sought after leader in this area. Following her first trip to Israel in 2023, Amirizadeh approached Feldstein with the vision of bringing Christians to harvest olives in Israel. He embraced it, and Root & Branch was conceived. Root & Branch is planning a powerful travel experience from Oct. 19-28, 2025. Highlights include: Harvesting hundreds of years old olive trees in national parks and public spaces throughout southern Israel; Pressing the olives and making oil to be sold to provide funds to bless Israels most vulnerable communities and other projects and needs as a result of the war against Hamas; Interacting with orphans and at-risk youth benefiting from resilience training and other critical services; Meeting with local and national civic and religious leaders; Blessing and encouraging IDF soldiers with warmth, gifts, and food; Connecting with families of hostages from Gaza, and bereaved families who have lost loved ones due to war and terrorism; Witnessing the sites that have become memorials to the massacres of Oct. 7, 2023; Worshiping together on the site of important biblical and historical events; Experiencing a traditional Shabbat, the Sabbath, a day of rest to refresh the body and spirit; Touring and experiencing Jerusalem across millennia, up close and intimately. Root & Branch derives its name from the injunction in Romans 11, reminding Christians not to be arrogant thinking that they, the branch, support the root, the Jewish people; but that the root supports the branch. The metaphor for this is a wild olive tree. Uniquely, Root & Branch participants harvest wild olive trees across Israel. It is also rooted in the prophecy in Ezekiel 36 where God says that the land will blossom again when the Jewish people return. In the past century that has been realized. Miraculously, under Root & Branch, participants not only seeing this, but participate in the prophecy. Recently, Amirizadeh and Feldstein announced plans for the Root & Branch Unity Conference in Atlanta from Sept. 5-6. This could not be more relevant in the wake of Operation Rising Lion and Operation Midnight Hammer against the Islamic Republic of Iran. The vision for unity is embodied in the co-founders partnership and has never been more important for Jews and Christians, and for the United States and Israel. The Root & Branch Unity Conference will bring together Jews and Christians in support of Israel through this tangible and meaningful project. In addition to an array of speakers, observing a traditional Shabbat dinner, and more, there will be wonderful opportunities for fellowship and building meaningful relationships throughout. Because of the challenges of recruiting people to come to Israel as independent groups of churches and other ministries, Root & Branch is offering Christian leaders to participate by bringing smaller groups of their own, as part of the broader group, without having to make any of the arrangements or worry about recruiting a full bus. Plans are also underway for a unique family trip, where two and three generations can have a meaningful experience in Israel together, with an itinerary and at a pace that is suitable to children. For more information or to invite one or both of the founders, Marziyeh Amirizadeh & Jonathan Feldstein for an interview, please visit www.rootandbranchisrael.com or email at RootandBranchIsrael@gmail.com. (JNS) - Former Hamas hostage Eli Sharabi's memoir about his experiences in captivity in Gaza is scheduled for release in the United States on Oct. 7, 2025 - the second anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on the Jewish state, the Associated Press reported on Tuesday. The book, titled "Hostage," the first published memoir of a freed Hamas captive, has become a best seller in Hebrew. The English edition will be published by Harper Influence, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. "It was important to me that the story come out as quickly as possible, so that the world will understand what life i... The third summit between President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu this year has ended, but there are still more questions than concrete answers about the nature of their meetings and the outcome. To help understand the significance of their meetings, what took place, and what to look for in the coming weeks and months, in the recent episode of the Inspiration from Zion podcast, military and political analyst Elliot Chodoff and journalist Jonathan Tobin provided a deep dive into the high-level meetings. The conversation was rich with strategic and political analysis, explored the... (JNS) The strong support that Israel received from the United States in its short-lived war against Iran caused a great change in our region and could lead to peace, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Tuesday. The coordination between our two countries the coordination between an American president and an Israeli prime minister has been unmatched, he told reporters following a private meeting with U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). It offers great promise for Israel, for America, for our region and for the world. Netanyahu said that U.S. President Donald Trum... In his first media interview since his return to Israel, former captive Ofer Kalderon gave a harrowing account of being held hostage in Gaza, the trauma of being separated from his children and his meeting with Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, whom the Israel Defense Forces later killed. "You're alive physically, but you feel dead," he told journalist Yael Odem on Israeli Channel 12's "Ulpan Shishi" program aired on Friday night. "Everything you were before - erased." Kalderon, 54, was freed, together with Yarden Bibas and Keith Siegel, on Feb. 1 after 484 days in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip.... Rabbis and other clergy members in the United States may endorse candidates from the pulpit without jeopardizing their house of worships tax-exempt status, the Internal Revenue Service has decreed. The policy change reverses a ban on endorsing or opposing candidates by religious organizations known as the Johnson Amendment, enacted in the 1950s. The IRS made the change in the course of settling a lawsuit brought by two churches and a Christian broadcasting network in Texas that sought to undo the ban for all nonprofit entities. The IRS said endorsements by houses of worship to their congregat... (JNS) A final-hour revision to the Trump administrations reconciliation package, known as the Big Beautiful Bill passed on July 1, preserved the Educational Choice for Children Act, a provision that will direct new funding to Jewish schools, Rabbi A.D. Motzen, Agudath Israel of Americas national director of government affairs, told JNS. Motzen told JNS that the school choice provision in the bill, which creates a pool of federal tax credits to fund scholarships for private schools, including yeshivot and Jewish day schools, was initially removed last week by the Senate parliamentarian, w... By Aaron Bandler (JNS) The Nysmith School, a private institution in Herndon, Va., discriminated against a Jewish family, which complained about persistent and severe antisemitism, by expelling its three children, according to a complaint that the Louis Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law filed with the office of the Virginia attorney general. The 40-year-old Northern Virginia school, where tuition runs from about $31,500 to $46,600 and which has an enrollment of about 500, refused to act to curb Jew-hatred on its campus and even told the parents, Brian Vazquez and Dr. Ashok Roy, tha... (JNS) Wikipedia editors decided to roll a page on the destruction of Israel in Iranian policy, which garnered more than 62,000 page views in the past 30 days, into a larger article called Iran-Israel relations. Experts told JNS that, while discussions were underway on whether to delete the page or combine it with another, it ought to be a standalone article. Max Abrahms, an associate professor of political science at Northeastern University, said at the time that if the page was deleted or merged, Israel will be less popular, the Islamic Republic will be more popular and readers will be... Ofira Bondorowsky, CEO of the Rosen JCC, announced that Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the state budget, which includes a generous appropriation of over half a million dollars for the Jack & Lee Rosen Jewish Community Center. These funds will help expand senior programs and services and enhance security measures across the campus. When the late Harris Rosen opened the campus in 2009, his vision was clear: to create a welcoming space where individuals of all ages, backgrounds and faiths could come together, grow and thrive. Today that vision is not alive, but also expanding in ways we only dreamed o... (JTA) Earlier this week, Grok, the AI chatbot owned by Elon Musks xAI, decided to go full Nazi. Posting on X, it used antisemitic tropes and advocated for a new Holocaust, all the while praising Hitler, calling itself MechaHitler and extolling its own willingness to courageously state the unfettered truth. Noticing isnt blaming, it said, using a term widely adopted by antisemites. On X, the Anti-Defamation League condemned Grok for the supercharging of extremist rhetoric. Many others did the same. By that evening, Grok had stopped advocating for the mass murder of Jews and many of the... (JNS) We Jews are in the worst of times. We are in an age of foolishness and of incredulity. We are in a season of darkness; in a winter of despair. We are challenged, to borrow from Neil Mach in his Ask Phyliss Fannock, with so much malicious blather [that] craves a gullible audience. We are under an onslaught from without, and we are being undermined from within. Truth is twisted; facts are meaningless. One recent example is the appearance of a website promoting the Antizionist Legal Studies Movement. This particular group is devoted to a policy of ending Israel. Its commitment is t... (JNS) There may be no more damning indictment of higher educations moral collapse than its willingness to accept vast sums of money from authoritarian regimes and terror sponsors. For all their lofty rhetoric about social justice, human rights, free speech and academic freedom, universities are proving that their true allegiance is to cash. Georgetown University, one of the nations most prestigious Jesuit institutions, is a glaring case in point. Georgetown proclaims its mission is to promote justice, compassion and the common good. Yet it has accepted nearly $887 million from the governme... (JNS) Zionism is the unwavering support for a Jewish state in its ancestral homeland. It is the recognition that, as the indigenous people of Israel, Jews have the right to live in peace and security without denying the rights of others. It is not about exclusion. Its about survival, dignity and self-determination after thousands of years of persecution and exile. Every few years, the World Zionist Congress, the legislative body for the World Zionist Organization, gives Jewish communities worldwide the power to choose their representatives. These representatives will have access to billions... (JNS) There are many unknowns in the aftermath of Israels 12-day war with Iran, but one thing is certain: It will spark renewed calls for that long-cherished diplomatic mirage of a two-state solution. It already has. Forgive me if I respond to calls for Palestinian statehood with profound skepticism, if not outright disbelief. Its not just that the Hamas-led terror attacks on southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the broad support it received among Palestinians, has deepened Israelis distrust of Palestinians (assuming that was even possible), it is that there is nothing to suggest their lea... A Texas-based airline that was contracted by the Trump administration to deport migrants has been forced to cut back flights due to financial struggles, months after activists called for a boycott of the company. Avelo Airlines, based in Houston, announced it would be cutting back their operation at Hollywood Burbank Airport in Burbank, California, to just one plane until December 2, when they would close the base entirely, Reuters reported. The company explained the reason for the decision as that it believed the location "will not deliver adequate financial returns in a highly competitive backdrop." Avelo Airlines denied that their conclusion was reached without influence from boycotts or the Trump administration contract. Back in April, Avelo Airlines agreed to a "charter program" with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to offer both domestic and international flights for the Trump administration's deportation efforts, as reported at the time by Houston Public Media. Andrew Levy, the airline's founder and CEO, said in a statement that while they understood that the flights, which began with the airline May 12, are "a sensitive and complicated topic," the agreement with DHS offered the company "stability" and security for their employees. After news of the airline's partnership went public, the company faced immediate backlash from critics of the Trump administration and advocates for migrants. The New Haven Immigrants Coalition, a Connecticut-based network immigrants' rights organizations, started a petition that has since garnered nearly 40,000 signatures pledging to boycott the airline unless they ended their contract with the Trump administration. The Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, a flight attendants union with members from Avelo Airlines, issued a statement obtained by the New York Times in May warning that having "an entire flight of people handcuffed and shackled" could "impede" their ability to adequately do their jobs, and presents higher risks in case of an emergency. Homegrown protests have also simply featured protestors organizing outside of airports the airline operates out of, with planned protests continuing into the future. Originally published on Latin Times An Israeli strike on Gaza's only Catholic church killed two people on Thursday, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, as Israel said it "never targets" religious sites and regretted any harm to civilians. Pope Leo XIV said he was "deeply saddened" by the attack, which came as Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes across the Palestinian territory killed at least 20 people. "With deep sorrow the Latin Patriarchate can now confirm that two persons were killed as a result of an apparent strike by the Israeli army that hit the Holy Family Compound this morning," it said in a statement. "We pray for the rest of their souls and for the end of this barbaric war. Nothing can justify the targeting of innocent civilians." Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal said "two citizens from the Christian community" were killed in an Israeli strike on the church in Gaza City, with which the late Pope Francis kept regular contact through the war. AFP photographs showed the wounded being treated in a tented area at Gaza City's Al-Ahli Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, with parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli with a bandage around his lower leg. Some of the wounded arrived on stretchers, with one man wearing an oxygen mask. The patriarchate, which has jurisdiction for Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus, condemned the strike and said it "destroyed large parts of the complex". "Targeting a holy site currently sheltering approximately 600 displaced persons, the majority of whom are children and 54 with special needs, is a flagrant violation of human dignity and a blatant violation of the sanctity of life and the sanctity of religious sitses, which are supposed to provide a safe haven in times of war," it said. Israel expressed "deep sorrow" over the damage and civilian casualties, adding that the military was investigating. "Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians," the foreign ministry said on X. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said attacks on civilians in Gaza were "unacceptable" while her Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani called the church attack "a serious act against a Christian place of worship". Out of the Gaza Strip's population of more than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory. Since the early days of the war which erupted in October 2023, members of the Catholic community have been sheltering at the Holy Family Compound in Gaza City, where some Orthodox Christians have also found refuge. Pope Francis repeatedly called for an end to the war and in his final Easter message, a day before his death on April 21, he condemned the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in the Palestinian territory. Monsignor Pascal Gollnisch, the head of Catholic charity l'Oeuvre d'Orient, told AFP the raid was "totally unacceptable". "It is a place of worship. It is a Catholic church known for its peaceful attitude, for being a peacemaker. These are people who are at the service of the population," he said. "There was no strategic objective, there were no jihadists in this church. There were families, there were civilians. This is totally unacceptable and we condemn in the strongest possible terms this attitude on the part of Israel." More than 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza's population, displacing most residents at least once and triggering severe shortages of food and other essentials. The war was triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 58,573 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. Chinese animation "Ne Zha 2" premieres in UAE Xinhua) 10:16, July 17, 2025 DUBAI, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese animated film "Ne Zha 2" made its premiere in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday evening at Cinemacity in Dubai Mall, drawing nearly a hundred viewers including local cultural figures, social media influencers, and cinema lovers. The 2.5-hour film, presented in Mandarin with both Arabic and English subtitles, captivated the audience with its rich visual artistry and fast-paced storyline. "The movie really moved me," said Mohammad, a university student in Dubai. "It's more than just animation -- it's about family, responsibility, and growing up. Ne Zha might be a mythological figure, but his inner struggles and choices felt very real to me." Nadia, a Lebanese mother who brought her children to the screening, described the experience as a cultural awakening. "The animation was stunning and the pace kept my kids engaged throughout," she said. "But what really touched me was the emotional bond between Ne Zha and his parents. It shows how misunderstood children can still hold on to kindness and hope. I'm now eager to learn more about Chinese mythology." "Ne Zha 2" is scheduled for a nationwide release across major cinemas in the UAE starting Thursday. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), one of the world's leading hotel companies, announces the signing of an agreement with Pacini Group for the rebranding of its Venetian property, The Venice Times, which will officially join the Vignette Collection brand. Located in the heart of Venice's historic centre, the hotel marks the second collaboration between IHG and Pacini Groupfollowing the opening of Garner Hotel Rome Aurelia and strengthens a long-term strategic partnership, highlighting IHG's trust in the Italian group's expertise and strategic vision in the hospitality sector. The hotel will join IHG's existing Hotel Indigo Venice - Sant'Elena property and be the latest addition to its fast-growing luxury and lifestyle portfolio in Italy, joining eight open hotels and a further five in development. The Venice Times, Vignette Collection marks the third Vignette Collection signing in Italy in just two years - following the signing of Hotel Alexandra, Vignette Collection and most recently Costa Irminia Retreat & Spa, Vignette Collection. In August 2021, IHG launched Vignette Collection offering a different price point to the upscale conversion brand voco hotels and complementing its existing luxury & lifestyle portfolio. Vignette Collection appeals to owners of world-class independent luxury and lifestyle hotels seeking to quickly benefit from IHG's powerful technology and revenue systems, operational expertise, and loyalty offer, without the need for high upfront costs or compromise on a property's unique character, style, or name. Located within Venice's historic centre, The Venice Times, Vignette Collection is expected to rebrand towards the end of 2025. Guests staying at the hotel will enjoy a short walk from Venice Casino, Ca' d'Oro and the Grand Canal, as well as only a 15-minute walk from La Fenice theatre and Rialto Bridge. Its central location offers guests excellent access to Vaporetto water bus services, ensuring seamless and convenient travel throughout the city to attractions and its many bars and restaurants. One of the key strengths of The Venice Times is the excellence of its service, highly appreciated by guests for its personalised attention, the staff's availability, and attention to detail. The welcoming and knowledgeable team ensures a tailor-made stay, offering authentic recommendations to help guests experience Venice in all its richnessfrom lesser-known itineraries to local culinary highlights. Quality is also reflected in the hotel's elegant rooms, impeccable cleanliness, special features such as an intimate courtyard perfect for breakfast and downtime. The location is strategic, just steps from major landmarks and well connected by public transport, providing convenient and complete access to the city. Staying true to the brand, the 30-room hotel will be a one-of-a-kind property with a unique identity, complete with venetian inspired decor, ensuring guests feel immersed in the local culture. Catering to both domestic and international travellers, guests will be able to enjoy the hotel's cocktail bar and outside terrace, as well as the delicious, locally-inspired cuisine at the restaurant. Vignette Collection is IHG's first collection brand and represents a curation of distinct hotels, demonstrating diversity and discovery. The brand combines each property's individual identity with the brand's promise of 'A Means For Good', which sees each hotel partner with a local philanthropic organisation to spearhead a positive contribution to local causes, and 'Memorable Rituals', to help connect guests with the hotel's cultural landscape. The brand offers a compelling way for owners of one-of-a-kind hotels to benefit from IHG's powerful enterprise offering and global scale. The Venice Times, Vignette Collection joins a growing portfolio of IHG Hotels & Resorts' properties, with 30* open hotels across seven brands (InterContinental, Six Senses, Hotel Indigo, voco hotels, Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express), with an additional 15 properties in the pipeline. *Numbers as at 31 March 2025 unless otherwise stated Hotel website Australia's International Hotel Group, TFE Hotels, is set to open its first UK properties this autumn, marking a significant milestone in its global expansion. As the first Australian hotel operator to enter the European market twenty years ago, TFE Hotels is making its UK debut with a strategic focus on cultural hubs beyond London. A new Adina-branded apartment-hotel The Wellington Glasgow by Adina is set to open in Autumn 2025. The move follows more than two decades of successful growth in Europe by TFE Hotels and reflects the growing demand for flexible, design-forward apartment-hotel experiences in key leisure and business destinations across the UK. With existing Adina apartment-hotels across Germany, Austria, Denmark, Switzerland, Hungary, Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, TFE Hotels' UK expansion represents a natural next step in the group's European strategy. The expansion strengthens TFE's presence in a high-potential market and builds a valuable inbound network for its broader portfolio in Australia and New Zealand. A UK presence also enhances global visibility for the group's brands, particularly among long-haul and European travellers. A city like Glasgow offers especially strong potential, benefiting from consistently high demand in both leisure and corporate travel sectors, driven by visitors from Asia, North America, and Europe. The Wellington Glasgow by Adina is set just off George Square in central Glasgow and offers vibrant, design-led accommodation for business and leisure travellers alike. With easy access to the city's conference hubs, music venues and nightlife, it is ideally positioned to meet the needs of a younger, experience-driven visitor. The heritage character of The Wellington Glasgow by Adina aligns with TFE Hotels' position as the largest custodian of heritage hotels in Oceania where TFE is leading the way with this transformative and sustainable practice, which marries heritage with modern luxury. This approach allows travellers to experience the grandeur of bygone eras while enjoying the comforts of contemporary design. From stately banks and grand government buildings to industrial warehouses and former gaols, these structures are being reimagined into unique spaces where history and hospitality converge. The Wellington Glasgow by Adina will open in Autumn 2025. Hotel website White Lodging, an industry leader in urban and lifestyle hospitality development and management, has bolstered its investments and development executive team with the hiring of Noah Hoppe as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. With Hoppe taking on the Chief Financial Officer role, Bruce Hoffmann, current Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, will transition to an Emeritus role to ensure an orderly transition over the next year. Hoppe is responsible for all Finance, Cash Management and Treasury responsibilities supporting White Lodging's and the White Family's owned assets. Hoppe joins White Lodging after spending nearly two decades with Hyatt Hotels, where he held a variety of senior Finance roles. He also held senior positions in Asset Management and Transactions, and most recently served as Senior Vice President of Transactions. Hoppe earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Pittsburg State University and his master's degree in business administration from University of Georgia. In addition to significant renovations across its existing portfolio, White Lodging is currently developing the 258-room Hotel Trinity, Autograph Collection, project in Austin, Texas. The company expects that project, which features a world-class rooftop and luxury seafood restaurant, to top out by the end of the year with a projected opening before the end of 2026. Austin is White Lodgings largest market and owns or operates 12 other hotels and more than 220,000 square feet of meeting space in the Austin metro area, including the J.W. Marriott Austin, Austin Marriott Downtown and The Otis Hotel, Autograph Collection. White Lodgings 40-year history of entrepreneurial excellence in the hospitality industry is outlined in a recently published biography of its late founder, Bruce White. Hospitalitarian is available online wherever books are sold. A documentary version of the book will be released later this year. Capella Hotel Group has engaged former Six Senses CEO Neil Jacobs as Senior Strategic Advisor to provide counsel as the group continues its growth trajectory. Jacobs will advise the group during a period of significant expansion and industry recognition. The company has grown from four properties in 2020 to ten Capella and Patina destinations today, with Capella Hotels and Resorts earning recognition as the #1 Hotel Brand in the World by Travel + Leisure for three consecutive years (2023 to 2025). Jacobs will bring his extensive hospitality experience to offer strategic insights for the brand's direction. He will focus on strengthening the brand's key differentiators, ensuring they remain authentic and relevant as the industry evolves, with guest experience as the core focus. This year marked the opening of Capella Taipei, Capella Hotel Group's first Taiwan property, featuring interior design by Andre Fu inspired by the surrounding Songshan district. In May, Patina Osaka introduced the Patina brand to Japan with design inspired by Osaka Castle and celebrating its official debut with an opening party on 11 July. Capella Galaxy Macau, located within the integrated resort complex, is scheduled to open later this year. The expansion continues with Capella Kyoto planned for 2026, situated in the historic Miyagawa-cho district. In 2027, Capella Florence will mark the brand's European debut. LONDON - IHG Hotels & Resorts (IHG), a global leader in hospitality, is delighted to announce that its upper luxury brand Regent has been recognized as the 3rd most loved hotel brand in Travel + Leisures prestigious 2025 Worlds Best Awards. This esteemed accolade underscores Regent's commitment to delivering exceptional experiences and unparalleled service to its guests. Regent Hotels & Resorts has long been synonymous with elegance and sophistication. For over half a century, guests have made grand entrances through the doors of Regent, a testament to the brands rich history steeped in cinematic memories. Today, Regent remains a sanctuary for both serene and sensational experiences, captivating even the most seasoned travelers. As a pioneer in luxury since the opening of the first hotel in 1971, Regent has consistently embraced bold firsts that have redefined the standards of travel and living. From island reception desks to private pool villas and sunken bathtubs, Regent hospitality hallmarks have become the gold standard in the industry. This inclusion in the 2025 Worlds Best Awards is a testament to Regents dedication to creating memorable experiences for travelers. In addition to being named the 3rd most loved hotel brand, Regent is also proud to have several properties featured in Travel + Leisures list of the Top 100 Hotels in the World for 2025. Among the standout properties in the portfolio, Regent Santa Monica Beach and Regent Hong Kong have garnered particular acclaim. Regent Santa Monica Beach, with its stunning ocean views and impeccable service, provides guests with a serene escape on the California coast. Meanwhile, Regent Hong Kong stands as a beacon of luxury in one of the worlds most vibrant cities, offering breathtaking harbor views and a rich tapestry of cultural experiences. Regent Hong Kong was named as one of the 100 Best Hotels in the World, while also additionally honored as the #1 Best City Hotel in Asia and the #1 Best City Hotel in Hong Kong. We are incredibly proud of Regent Hotels & Resorts for being named the 3rd most loved hotel brand. This recognition reflects our teams hard work and dedication to delivering exceptional hospitality. We are committed to continuing to elevate the guest experience and to providing our guests with the luxury and comfort they deserve. Tom Rowntree, Vice President of Luxury Brands of IHG Hotels & Resorts The Travel + Leisure Worlds Best Awards are determined by the magazines readers, who share their travel experiences and preferences. This years recognition highlights the loyalty and admiration that guests have for Regent Hotels & Resorts, reinforcing the brands position as a leader in the luxury hotel segment. As IHG continues to expand its luxury & lifestyle portfolio, the company remains focused on enhancing the guest experience and delivering the highest standards of service across all its brands. The recognition of Regent Hotels & Resorts is a significant milestone in IHGs journey to redefine luxury hospitality. IHG Hotels & Resorts reimagining of Regent debuted with Regent Shanghai Pudong in 2020, followed by Regent Chongqing in 2021 and Regent Phu Quoc in April 2022 which marked the first new-build opening following the brands repositioning. The grand return of Carlton Cannes, a Regent Hotel in Spring 2023 was closely followed by Regent Hong Kongs return to Victoria Harbour in June 2023. In 2024, Regent Shanghai on the Bund and Regent Bali Canggu opened and the brand marked its momentous return to the Americas with Regent Santa Monica Beach. The coming years will see Regent arrive in Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur, Kyoto, Sanya, Shenzhen and Riyadh. Regent sits within IHG Hotels & Resorts upper luxury portfolio one of the largest luxury and lifestyle portfolios in the world with more than 450 open hotels and over 100,000 rooms. Regent sits in harmony with Six Senses, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Kimpton and IHGs first collection brand, Vignette Collection. About IHG IHG Hotels & Resorts [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global hospitality company, with a purpose to provide True Hospitality for Good. With a family of 17 hotel brands and IHG Rewards, one of the world's largest hotel loyalty programmes, IHG has over 6,000 open hotels in more than 100 countries, and a further 1,800 in the development pipeline. InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group's holding company and is incorporated and registered in England and Wales. Approximately 350,000 people work across IHG's hotels and corporate offices globally. Visit us online for more about our hotels and reservations and IHG Rewards. For our latest news, visit our Newsroom and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. Annabel Rayer Global Director of Communications (Luxury & Lifestyle Brands) +44 (0) 7391 385985 IHG Naumi Hotels Prepares for Brand Expansion With Cendyn Cendyn, a global integrated hotel technology and services company, is delighted to announce a partnership with Singapore-based boutique hospitality company Naumi Hotels as it prepares for expansion with a brand refresh and investment in its digital real estate. Marking 18 years since the opening of its flagship Naumi Hotel Singapore, Naumi is launching a new website and promotional campaign accompanied by new visuals to drive home the USP of design-led boutique properties. With seven hotels in Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia, the boutique hotel portfolio is set to continue its international expansion in 2025 bringing the Naumi experience to new destinations around the world. Naumi will benefit from Cendyn Web services enabling the brand to come to life through design-led digital visual experiences. The boutique hospitality portfolio will be able to leverage first-party data from various sources, including the booking engine and stay data, to optimize user experiences. By fully showcasing its unique hotel story on a fully customized and immersive branded digital experience, advanced personalization will give Naumi Hotels the ability to tailor content, offers, and imagery to audience preferences, assisting in driving direct bookings and overall visitor satisfaction. We have reached a point where the digital experience needs to reflect the stay experience, said Group COO, Paul Stocker, Naumi Hotels. We want to bring our bold brand to life online. Cendyns design sensibility and technical execution along with the intuitive and user-centric CMS platform was a major factor in our decision. Not only does Cendyn provide essential data security, but it empowers our team with seamless content control without compromising on design or functionality. We were looking for a partner that could grow with us. Cendyns platform gives us the flexibility and scalability we need to support our continued expansion across key markets. Weve been incredibly impressed by the level of account support and customer services the team has received. Naumi Hotels can now communicate its distinctive, design-led identity and unique guest experiences through its digital asset this was clearly necessary and timely for the brand, said Rick Posey, Senior Director, Reporting & Analytics eCommerce, Cendyn. The team can now better collaborate across the portfolio by giving each property access to make website updates for the menu, F&B promotions, campaigns, operating hours, etc, while allowing the central team to review and publish. Naumi will be able to drive more direct bookings with special packages and personalized experiences at every stage of the guest journey. Founded in 2007, Naumi blends bold design with personal, heartfelt service for immersive stays tailored to the modern traveler where rooms are inspired by influential cultural phenomena including Madonna, Coco Chanel, and Andy Warhol. Built around the idea of creating unforgettable memories for every guest and inspired by the principles of individuality, design innovation, and impeccable service, the brand embodies a philosophy of making every stay bespoke and extraordinary. Naumi Hotels plans to roll out the new website and brand identity in September ahead of its 18th anniversary of the opening of the 73-room flagship hotel, located in Singapores vibrant city center. For more information discover Cendyns Web packages offering. About Cendyn Cendyn is a global hospitality cloud-based technology company that enables hotels to drive revenue, maximize profitability, and create deeper connections with guests through its integrated solutions. Serving hoteliers for nearly 30 years, Cendyn drives commercial success for hotels through its Find, Book, Grow promise: find the right guests; drive them to book direct, and grow loyalty and revenue across the spectrum of digital guest interactions. Cendyn has over 35,000 customers worldwide in more than 150 countries, generating more than $20 billion in annual hotel revenue. The company supports its growing customer base from locations across the globe, including the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Bangkok, and India. To find out more, visit www.cendyn.com For requests and further information, contact: Ryan Haynes ryan@haynesmarcoms.agency, +44 (0)7919 510051 Katy Reilly katy@haynesmarcoms.agency About Naumi Hotels Naumi Hotels is a boutique hospitality brand that redefines the travel experience with its stylish, art-inspired hotels in key cities across the Asia-Pacific region. Founded in 2007, Naumi blends bold design with personal, heartfelt service to create immersive stays tailored for the modern traveler. With properties in Singapore, New Zealand, and Australia, Naumi is synonymous with playful sophistication and curated creativity. For all media inquiries, please contact: Lynn Poh, Group Director Marketing Email: Lynn.poh@naumigroup.com Mobile: +65 96307850 Website: www.naumihotels.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/naumigroup Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NaumiHotels/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/naumihotels Oksana Kovalenko - Image Credit MMGY Global HR executive brings 20 years of leadership experience with companies including Amazon, H&R Block and Philip Morris International MMGY Global, a leading integrated marketing agency for the travel, tourism and hospitality sectors, announced today it has hired seasoned executive Oksana Kovalenko as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO), effective June 16. As CHRO, Kovalenko will lead the companys global people strategy for more than 600 employees worldwide. She brings over 20 years of HR leadership experience with a strong track record of enabling complex organizations to scale while building inclusive, values-driven cultures. Oksanas appointment marks a significant milestone for MMGY Global as we continue to evolve and expand our global footprint, said CEO Katie Briscoe. Her proven leadership and strategic mindset will be instrumental in guiding our people initiatives and reinforcing our position as a global employer of choice in the travel marketing sector. Kovalenkos career spans a range of global HR roles at organizations including H&R Block in Kansas City and Philip Morris International in Kyiv, Ukraine. Most recently, she served as a Global HR Leader at Amazon within its Customer Service division, where she was responsible for talent strategies across two major business verticals operating in 26 countries. Recognized for her transparent, data-informed and pragmatic leadership approach, Kovalenko is passionate about creating people systems that are agile, inclusive and aligned with both local culture and global vision. Based in MMGY Globals Kansas City headquarters, she will play a key role in expanding the companys HR infrastructure, strengthening talent development across markets and evolving an employee experience that empowers high performance at every level. Advertisement The greatest opportunity for any global organization is to move from simply having a global footprint to embracing a global mindset, said Kovalenko. At MMGY Global, Im excited to help intentionally design systems, organizational structures and communication practices that are rooted in empathy and built around cultural nuance not despite it. Thats how we bring our mission to life by creating meaningful connections and belonging across borders. Im honored to lead this next chapter of MMGY Globals people journey. Kovalenko holds an Executive MBA from the Quantic School of Business and Technology in Washington, D.C. She also earned two masters degrees with honors from leading Ukrainian universities, the National Aviation University and Kyiv National Economic University. Her early academic focus on travel and tourism aligns deeply with MMGY Globals mission and industry leadership. She also gives back to the community as a guest lecturer at the University of Kansas Medical Center in its HR program. Kovalenko succeeds Mia Wise, whose impactful leadership shaped MMGY Globals culture and growth from 2020 until her retirement in June. Accompanying Kovalenko and Briscoe on the Global Leadership Team are Hugh McConnell (Chief Financial Officer), Justin Farmer (Chief Growth Officer), Craig Compagnone (President, Americas) and Caroline Moultrie (President, EMEA). Headquartered in the Kansas City metro since its founding in 1981, MMGY Global champions more than 400 clients from 16 offices worldwide. European Hotels Challenge Airbnb's Overtourism Claims - Image Credit Unsplash The issue of overtourism has sparked significant debate across Europe, with cities like Barcelona, Genoa, and Lisbon witnessing protests against the influx of tourists. The question of who bears responsibility for this phenomenon has become a contentious topic, with vacation rental giant Airbnb and hotel operators presenting opposing views. Airbnb's Perspective In mid-June, Airbnb released a report titled "Overtourism in the EU," which attributed the majority of tourist stays to hotels, claiming that short-term rentals (STRs) constitute a minor segment of the tourism ecosystem. Airbnb argued that STRs could help alleviate overtourism by dispersing tourists away from overcrowded areas and providing flexible accommodation capacity during peak periods. The company also highlighted airlines and cruise ships as significant contributors to the influx of tourists into historical centers. Airbnb's report called on leaders to address the impact of hotels on overtourism and promote tourism that supports local communities. The company emphasized that removing STRs would not solve overcrowding issues and suggested solutions, such as promoting tourism dispersal and managing visitor access to historical sites. Criticism of Airbnb's Claims Critics of Airbnb's report argue that the company is attempting to deflect blame due to increasing legal challenges it faces. Debbie Hindle, chair of the International Centre for Responsible Tourism (ICRT), noted that Airbnb's model is under threat from growing legislation in various cities, which could impact its business volumes and share price. In Spain, for instance, the government ordered Airbnb to remove 65,000 illegal listings, which resulted in a drop in the company's share price. Fabian Gonzalez, a market analyst at Phocuswright, suggested that an independent organization should verify Airbnb's claims to ensure objectivity. He emphasized the need for a thorough and unbiased analysis of the impact of STRs on overtourism. Hotel Industry's Response European hotels have expressed dissatisfaction with Airbnb's stance, arguing that they are being unfairly scapegoated. Gabriel Escarrer, CEO of Melia Hotels International, highlighted that while hotel accommodations in Spain grew modestly over the past decade, vacation rentals surged by 135%, exceeding the destinations' capacity. He pointed out that hotels are subject to strict regulations and urban planning, whereas tourist rental homes have proliferated without such oversight. Escarrer emphasized Melia's efforts to address overtourism by focusing on premium and luxury segments, as well as implementing a responsible tourism program. Accor, another major hotel group, echoed these sentiments, stating that hotels make a positive contribution to local economies and communities. Efforts to Address Overtourism The hotel industry is actively working on initiatives to tackle overtourism. Melia's Escarrer, who also leads the Spanish tourism think tank Exceltur, stressed the importance of rigorous analysis and collaboration between the public and private sectors to mitigate the impacts of overcrowding. Exceltur has launched a public-private initiative, Turismo Que Suma, aimed at promoting a more respectful and positive tourism model. Gonzalez from Phocuswright underscored the complexity of the overtourism issue, emphasizing the need for regulation of STRs to ensure they fall under local governance. He noted that illegal listings on platforms like Airbnb pose risks to customers and create unfair competition for compliant businesses. Discover more at PhocusWire. Fairfield Inn & Suites in Manchester, CT - Image Credit JLL Fairfield Inn in Manchester, Connecticut, is up for sale, offering investors a property in one of the most visited retail areas in the U.S. The Fairfield Inn & Suites, located at 121 Pavilions Drive in Manchester, Connecticut, is currently listed for sale by Jones Lang LaSalle Americas, Inc. (JLL). The property operates under a triple net (NNN) ground lease with approximately 20.5 years remaining on the lease term. The lease includes rent escalations of 7.5% every five years, with three ten-year renewal options, except for a 5.0% increase in the first option. Location and Retail Environment The hotel is situated in Manchester's primary retail area, which boasts over 6 million square feet of retail space. This location is noted for its high visitor traffic, with over 11.6 million visits annually, making it the most visited retail node in Connecticut and placing it in the top 4% of retail nodes nationwide, according to Placer.ai. The area features a range of national retailers, including Walmart, Costco, The Home Depot, Hobby Lobby, Target, Whole Foods, and ALDI. Financial Details The asking price for the Fairfield Inn is $2,421,000, with a net operating income (NOI) of $115,000. The property spans a net building area of 50,000 square feet. Originally built in 2000, the hotel underwent renovations in 2010. The upcoming rent increase is scheduled for January 2026. Management and Brand The Fairfield Inn is managed by JNR Hotels, a hospitality owner and operator based in the Northeastern United States with over 30 years of team experience. The Fairfield Inn brand is owned by Marriott, one of the world's largest hotel operators, with over 9,300 locations and a 'BBB' credit rating from Standard & Poor's. Investment Highlights The sale of the Fairfield Inn presents several attractive investment features. Its location in a highly trafficked retail area ensures a steady flow of potential guests. The long-term NNN ground lease offers stability, with rent increases providing potential for revenue growth. The management by experienced operators, combined with the backing of a globally recognized hotel brand, adds to the property's appeal. Demographics The surrounding area boasts strong demographics, with an average household income of approximately $120,000 within a five-mile radius. This economic backdrop supports the hotel's viability and potential profitability. Inquire at JLL. Wait! Before you go Please sign up for our Evening Digest and Breaking Newsletters Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Musicians Guide to SEO 2025 Want more fans to actually find your music? This easy-to-follow musicians guide to SEO shows you how get noticed online and grow an audience. Musicians Guide to SEO 2025 by Randi Zimmerman via Symphonic Blog Good SEO is what gets your music in front of fans looking for artists in your genre, the name of that song stuck in their head, or upcoming shows nearby. Its an undeniably effective tool for growing your audience, especially for independent artists, and thats why were breaking down everything you need to know to utilize it for yourself. From what it is and why its important to how to apply it to your own online strategy, lets dive in What is SEO? Search Engine Optimization is what helps content show up higher in search results on platforms like Google and YouTube, but also streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, etc. For artists specifically, its not just about ranking, its about discoverability. Whether someone is searching for your lyrics, trying to remember the name of your latest release, or looking for new artists in a specific genre, good SEO is what helps your name appear in those moments. Whenever you publish something online, like a track description, YouTube video, bio, or website, youre giving search engines clues about who you are and what you do. So, the clearer you can make these clues, the easier itll be for listeners to find you. Easy as that. Getting Discovered on Streaming Platforms Not sure where to begin? Start with what you already have. Your artist bio, track descriptions, and YouTube captions are all great places to work in keywords to boost your visibility. Not just on Google, but also within platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. Artist Bios: These show up everywhere: your website, streaming profiles (Spotify for Artists, Apple Music for Artists), press kits, and social platforms like Instagram or TikTok. (And with public IG posts starting to appear in Google results, its one more reason to be intentional about how you describe yourself.) Make sure you use clear, descriptive language that includes your genre, location, and musical style. For example, instead of just vibes, try something like Chicago-based R&B artist blending neo-soul and electronic influences. Track Descriptions: Youll find these in your DSP backends like Spotify, Apple Music, Bandcamp, and SoundCloud, plus in social media posts. Describe the songs theme, mood, collaborators, and include keywords people might search for, like melancholy indie pop breakup song or summer reggaeton anthem. In addition, make sure to fill out all metadata fields like genre, mood, instrumentation, and language. (These details influence how your music gets recommended by these platforms, and even surfaced by voice assistants like Siri or Alexa when someone asks to play your track.) YouTube Captions: YouTube is a massive search engine, and its algorithm reads your video titles, descriptions, and tags. Add your lyrics, artist bio, links to your socials, and searchable terms related to the video. Even small changes make your content easier for search engines (and fans) to understand. You dont have to overdo it, just be specific and intentional with the info you give each platform. Google Search Tips Google is typically the first place someone goes when theyre curious to learn more about an artist. Optimizing how your name shows up in these search results can help you reach more fans and build credibility in the industry. How can you do that? Great question! Make sure to upload your lyrics to sites like Genius and Musixmatch. These platforms are picked up by Google and will appear in the top results when someone searches for a song by name or a specific lyric they heard. Make sure your official website has a clean, updated tour section. You can also use platforms like Bandsintown, Songkick, and Eventbrite, which are often pulled into Googles event listings and map-based results. Getting featured in blogs, interviews, or reviews helps more than just exposure; it gives Google context that youre a real, active artist. Make sure those articles link back to your website or official pages. (These backlinks help your site rank higher.) By keeping these areas updated and connected, youre making it easier for both fans and search engines to find accurate, relevant information about you. This simple groundwork not only boosts your online presence but also helps grow your audience organically. Next up: Your Website Your website is one of the only places where you have full control, making it an important piece of your SEO strategy! At the very minimum, make sure each page on your site has a clear title and meta description. These are those little snippets that show up in Google search results, so they need to be accurate, relevant, and really reflect who you are as an artist. Something like, (Your Name) | Official Website and a short line about your music or a recent release goes a long way. For example, heres how the title and meta description for our company website show up with a quick Google search: Next, its important you work in keywords across your website that fans may be searching for, like your genre, hometown, song titles, or phrases like new single or 2025 tour dates. Put these into your page copy, headlines, image alt text, and anywhere else it makes sense to you. Lastly backlinks matter! These are the links from other websites that point back to your website. The more reputable sites that link to your page, the more trustworthy your site looks to Google. (As a good rule of thumb:include your website in every bio you write, and whenever youre featured in a publication or guest post, ask them to include a link.) You dont need to be an SEO expert to make smart moves. There are tons of free (or relatively cheap) tools that can help you find the right keywords, track what people are searching for, and figure out how to improve your visibility. Google Trends is great for spotting rising search terms over time. With it, you can compare interest in different keywords, see seasonal patterns, and stay ahead of whats gaining momentum in your genre or region. Keywords Everywhere is a browser extension that shows you search volume and related keywords as you browse Google or YouTube. Ubersuggest is another free tool that shows you suggestions, search volume, competition level, and even gives you content ideas based on what people are searching for in your niche. The first step in any SEO project, whether for musicians or otherwise, is keyword research, writes Dayna Young (Founder of Fred & Augustus, FANDA, and music marketer of 10+ years). She continues, To best structure your website, content, and online presence, you need to know what people are searching for about your artist brand. This means conducting research into your personal artist keywords, building a master list of those keywords, and then applying those keywords to your online strategy. Tools like these can give you insight into how your fans (and potential new fans) are searching online. Once you know what people are looking for, you can start shaping your content and strategy around it. To wrap things up Successful SEO isnt about chasing algorithms, its about making your content easier to find for the people who are already looking for it. Start with the things you can control, stay consistent with them, and utilize the tools at your disposal until SEO becomes second nature. The more intentional you are about how you show up online, the easier it becomes for the right people to find you. You never know whos looking at your work they might just be your next biggest fan. Good luck! Share on: Springfield Diocese Names New Assistant Director of Development Christine Peyman SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Wilbraham resident Christine Peyman has been named the new assistant director of development for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield. Peyman, who began working with the diocese in 2023 as a member of the Beacon of Faith capital campaign team, will now take on expanding the diocese's goal to advance its mission through fundraising, donor engagement, and stewardship. She will continue to oversee the Beacon of Faith campaign, as well as partner with the Catholic Communications office staff to oversee the Annual Catholic Appeal, which distributes funds to 48 ministries and agencies. Born and raised in Western Massachusetts, she attended the former Our Lady of Hope School in Springfield and graduated from St. Mary's High School in Westfield. She currently lives in Wilbraham with her husband, Jeff, and their daughter, Abby. The family attends St. Cecilia Parish in Wilbraham. "When I was working with many parishes as a campaign director, I had the ability to learn more about how our parishes operate. My goal is to continue working with our parishes and maintain, as well as strengthen these relationships," Peyman said. "We are all the diocese. We are all Catholics and it is important to be committed to our faith and to follow Jesus' word." The Very Rev. Christopher Malatesta, the new vicar general of the Diocese of Springfield, will serve as interim development director. He served as pastor of St. Agnes' Church in Dalton for 23 years before his recent assignment. Page Content The President of the Republic of Kazakhstan, H.E. Kassym-Jomart Tokayev (right), met with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano in Astana last week, marking the first official visit by ICAO leadership to the Central Asian country. The bilateral meeting underscored Kazakhstans commitment to strengthening international civil aviation cooperation and its efforts to develop an autonomous, modern aviation oversight system in line with global standards. During the meeting, President Tokayev awarded President Sciacchitano the Order of Dostyk (Friendship), a prestigious State award recognizing his contribution to international collaboration in the aviation sector. I am honoured to accept this award and take this opportunity to congratulate Kazakhstan for establishing an autonomous, well resourced and effective civil aviation oversight body, significantly enhancing its safety oversight capabilities, expressed President Sciacchitano. During the meeting with the Head of State, the President of the ICAO Council underscored the relevance of the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Kazakhstan, that was established at ICAO Headquarters last year. The leaders also discussed Kazakhstans Civil Aviation Master Plan, to be developed in partnership with ICAO, which is intended to guide the long-term growth of the national aviation system. The Presidents mission also featured high-level meetings with Kazakhstans Prime-Minister Olzhas Bektenov and Minister of Transport Nurlan Sauranbayev as well as the leadership and staff of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan (AAK). Throughout his visit, he was accompanied by ICAOs European and North Atlantic Regional Office Director Nicolas Rallo and a Delegation from Kazakhstan which included the Vice Minister of Transport Talgat Lastayev, Civil Aviation Committee Chairperson Saltanat Tompiyeva and Permanent Representative to ICAO Timur Tlegenov. Kazakhstan has achieved remarkable progress in developing its civil aviation system, serving as an excellent example for States in the region and setting high standards across Central Asia, remarked President Sciacchitano. ICAO remains committed to supporting the continued development of Kazakhstans aviation sector as a key member of the global aviation community. The Presidents visit saw the formal signing of a Management Services Agreement and Project Document between ICAO and Kazakhstan to officially launch the Master Plans development. The 25-year strategy is expected to serve as a roadmap for sustainable growth, infrastructure modernization, and alignment with international aviation best practices and Kazakhstans National Development Plan. In Almaty, President Sciacchitano and Director Rallo were recognized by the Civil Aviation Academy with the honorary title of Honorary Professor, highlighting Kazakhstans emphasis on education and capacity building in the sector. In addressing the students of the Civil Aviation Academy, the President highlighted the significant workforce challenges being driven by rapid technological change, a growing focus on sustainability, a shortage of qualified personnel, and the need for greater diversity and inclusivity. He emphasized ICAOs Next Generation of Aviation Professionals programme, which aims to attract young people and early-career professionals at both national and regional levels and reminded students of their critical role in contributing to the social and economic development of the world, connecting people, cultures, and countries. While in the city, the delegation toured the newly constructed passenger terminal and upgraded Airport Operations Control Center at Almaty International Airport, and held talks on aviation infrastructure development, sustainability, and safety practices. The mission concluded with a meeting with Air Astana President and CEO Peter Foster, focused on Kazakhstans evolving role as a regional aviation hub. Home Credit Philippines (HCPH), the countrys leading consumer finance company, has partnered with Globe AT HOME to provide Filipino families with affordable financing access to essential learning devices and reliable internet connectivity this back-to-school season. The partnership was formalized through a recent Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing held at the Globe Tower in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. [From L-R]: Representatives from Home Credit Philippines and Globe sign an agreement to provide free GFiber Prepaid installation with every Sulit Skwela learning device purchase. Seen here are Abigail Cardino, Vice President and Brand Head for Globe Broadband Business; Danny Theseira, Senior Advisor for Globe Broadband Business; Puneet Suneja, Home Credit Chief Sales Officer; Sheila Paul, Home Credit Chief Marketing Officer; and Katrina Castellano, Home Credit Head of Brands Through this collaboration, every laptop purchased under Home Credits Sulit-Skwela deals will come with a FREE GFiber Prepaid UNLI internet. This initiative aims to bridge the gap in financial and digital inclusion in the country as students and their families prepare for the new academic year. As the back-to-school season begins, this partnership with Globe is a milestone in Home Credits mission to empower more Filipino families through financial and digital inclusion. By offering learning devices bundled with reliable internet through our flexible installment plans, we help bridge the gap, making essential tools more accessible to students as they prepare for the school year, said Puneet Suneja, HCPHs Chief Sales Officer. Get a Sulit-Skwela laptop via Home Credit Home Credits Sulit-Skwela deals offer families affordable financing solutions to secure essential back-to-school gadgets. The promo features flexible installment plans of up to 24 months, with options that include 0% interest and zero downpayment, making it easier for parents to upgrade or purchase new learning tools while managing their budget this season. The Sulit-Skwela promo includes a wide range of laptops and other must-have devices from the most trusted brands in the country, including Acer, Asus, Apple, Lenovo, HP, and others. With more laptop models available, customers can choose from budget-friendly options to high-performance units, including gaming laptops, ultrabooks, and 2-in-1 devices that function as both laptop and tablet. Each device offers reliable performance, with select models featuring long battery life, powerful processors, sizable storage, and larger RAM. The Sulit-Skwela promo is available in over 15,000 Home Credit partner stores across more than 75 provinces nationwide from May 15 to July 31. Customers only need one valid ID to apply, and eligible applicants can receive approval in as fast as one minute. Every Sulit-Skwela laptop purchased via Home Credit comes with a FREE GFiber Prepaid UNLI internet Enjoy FREE GFiber Prepaid UNLI internet with every laptop purchase Customers who purchase a laptop under Home Credits Sulit-Skwela promo will receive free GFiber Prepaid UNLI internet with no lock-in period, no monthly bills, and no installation fee. They can simply load up the prepaid fiber service when needed, giving families full control over their internet spending. After completing the laptop purchase, customers will be prompted to scan a QR code to check if GFiber is available in their area. If the location is serviceable, Globe will then collect customer information and schedule the installation, which can be completed within two to three working days. Its amazing how two big brands are coming together to modernize the Filipino home. Through this partnership with Home Credit, were not just expanding fiber connectivity. Were making it more accessible to families through flexible financing. Home Credit has built a strong, trusted presence across the country, and were only at the tip of what we can do together. This collaboration empowers more students with the internet access they need as they gear up for the school year, said Danny Theseira, Senior Advisor for Globes Broadband Business. Customers may also apply through the Home Credit App to get pre-approved product installments. The app is available for download on Google Play, the App Store, or Huawei AppGallery. For in-store transactions, Home Credit representatives are ready to assist customers throughout the process. To view the complete list of available laptops and other essential back-to-school gadgets, and to locate nearby partner stores, customers may visit Shoppingmall.ph. For the latest updates about Home Credit Philippines, visit its official website, www.homecredit.ph. You may also follow its official Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok accounts. Home Credit Philippines is a financing company duly licensed and supervised by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). 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 Chinas electricity demand has soared to an all-time high as large parts of the country endure record-breaking summer heat, putting pressure on the power grid and raising the prospect of energy rationing measures. Officials said demand topped 1.5 billion kilowatts on Wednesday, the highest ever recorded in the country. The spike came as feels-like temperatures in some areas were forecast to hit 50C on Thursday. A stretch of heat from Chongqing in the southwest to coastal Guangzhou has affected more than 200 million people in recent days. Some of the worst-hit regions include the provinces of Hunan, Hubei, Jiangxi and Guangdong areas home to populations similar in size to Italy, Britain, Spain and Mexico respectively. Chinas National Energy Administration said this was the third time this month that national electrical load had hit a record high. The latest figure marked a jump of 55 million kilowatts over last years maximum. The extreme temperatures have been driven by a subtropical high-pressure system, which traps heat and causes hot, dry weather. This week, eight weather stations across Chinas northwest and southwest recorded their highest-ever temperatures for this time of year, according to national weather authorities. The grid is coping for now despite the surge in demand, experts say. The power system is holding up so far, said Chim Lee, senior energy and climate change specialist at the Economist Intelligence Unit. But the real test will come as the summer wears on, and there are still risks of potential power rationing, he added. The heatwave is already impacting crops, disrupting factory operations and putting strain on healthcare systems. However, it has also boosted consumer spending, with air conditioner and fan sales surging by more than 100 per cent in June, according to Chinese retailer JD.com. open image in gallery ( REUTERS ) It could improve consumer sentiment as it is helping sales of air conditioning, which is a big household appliance, Dan Wang, China director at Eurasia Group in Singapore, told Reuters. The services sector can expect to get a boost, as people escape the heat by going to watch a movie, he said. The power surge has been supported by strong solar energy generation, which accounted for half the rise in power output in June. Hydropower also rose compared to 2023 levels, although it remained lower than the same period in 2022. The heat comes during Chinas Sanfu season typically the hottest period of the year. Forecasters said the searing heat was expected to continue until 20 July. 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 New satellite imagery has revealed that a maritime pier has been constructed at North Korea's key rocket station. The Sohae Satellite Launching Station is known for hosting North Korea's latest spy satellite launches and other rocket tests. Satellite operator ICEYE, which analysed the imagery, said that the pier "enables transport of larger rocket components than previously possible via rail". Larger components would allow the site to host rockets that can travel longer distances. In 2022, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected the facility and ordered it to be modernised and expanded to ensure that various rockets, including those capable of carrying military spy satellites, could be launched, state media reported. The facility has been used to put a satellite in orbit and also to test various missile components, including rocket engines and space launch vehicles that South Korean and U.S. officials say require similar technology to that used in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). open image in gallery A satellite image shows what appears to be a maritime pier under construction at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station ( Planet Labs PBC via Reuters ) An image from July 9 also shows the pier with a newly constructed jetty and vessels indicating potential operational status, according to ICEYE, a sign that could help enhance Sohae's logistical capabilities. ICEYE added that it took about 28 months from initial reports to develop and complete the pier. Work to expand the road and rail infrastructure throughout the facility continues, according to 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea monitoring programme. Satellite images, taken from December to July by the commercial satellite firm Planet Labs, also show what appears to be a pier under construction on the shore. open image in gallery North Korea is likely getting help from Russia on its satellite programme ( AFP via Getty Images ) Pyongyang's latest attempt to launch a military spy satellite at the Sohae site failed in May 2024, but Kim has vowed to never give up the space reconnaissance project that he views as crucial for national self-defence against enemy threats. North Korea successfully placed its first spy satellite in orbit in November 2023. As part of growing military ties with Moscow, North Korea is likely getting help from Russia on its satellite programme in exchange for sending troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, South Korean officials have said. North Korea says its military activities, including nuclear weapons, are its sovereign right and only for self-defence. It accused the United States and its allies of threatening it with "hostile policies" such as military drills and sanctions. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An analysis of the cockpit voice recorder from the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad last month reportedly showed the younger co-pilot asking the captain why he had turned off the fuel switches. The analysis came after an initial investigation into the Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash, which killed at least 260 people, found the aircrafts fuel switches had almost simultaneously flipped from run position to cutoff three seconds after take-off. First officer Clive Kunder was at the controls during take-off and at the time of the crash, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing unnamed sources. It was Kunder who asked captain Sumeet Sabharwal why he had flipped the switches, starving the engines of fuel, according to the report. The preliminary report published by Indias Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau said one pilot was heard on the voice recorder asking the other why he had cut off the fuel. The other pilot responded that he did not do so, the report added. The report, however, stopped short of attributing blame. Shortly after taking off for London at 1.37pm local time on 12 June, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner started to lose thrust and sink, the report said. All but one of the 242 people onboard flight AI171 to Gatwick were killed, including 53 Britons. At least 19 people also died on the ground as the plane crashed into a medical college building. An association of Indian pilots had rejected the investigation reports insinuation that pilot error could be behind the crash. The Airline Pilots Association of India, representing Indian pilots at the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations in Montreal, called for a fair, fact-based inquiry. The pilots body must now be made part of the probe, at least as observers, the associations India president Sam Thomas said. The Journal did not state if there was evidence Sabharwal had indeed moved the fuel switches beyond the verbal exchange quoted in the report. But it quoted American pilots familiar with the Indian investigation report as saying that Kunder, the pilot actively flying, likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliners controls at that stage of the flight. Captain Sumeet Sabharwal Sabharwal, 56, started his aviation career in the early 1990s and logged over 15,000 hours of flying experience. After joining Air India in 1994, he went on to become line training captain, a role to train and guide co-pilots during live flights. He had obtained clearances to fly as pilot-in-command on several aircraft, including the Boeing 787 and 777 and the Airbus A310. At least 8,596 hours of his total flying experience of 15,638 hours were logged on a Boeing 787. open image in gallery Sumeet Sabharwals father offers prayers next to his body in Mumbai, India ( Reuters ) Sabharwal, from the western Indian city of Mumbai, was widely regarded as disciplined and professional, with no complaint ever filed against him. Friends and relatives remembered him as a soft-spoken and humble man. Months away from his retirement, he planned to stay with his father, Pushkaraj Sabharwal, 88, to take care of him. He never married or had children. His neighbours earlier told The Indian Express he had been looking forward to spending more time at home and caring for his ageing parent. On the day of the crash, he reportedly called his father from the airport. Ill call you once I reach London, he reportedly told him. That call never came. First officer Clive Kunder First officer Cliver Kunder, 32, unlike Sabharwal, was at the beginning of a promising aviation career, with over 3,400 hours of flight time to his name. Kunder grew up in Mumbai and lived alone in the citys Goregaon area. According to Indian media reports quoting relatives, he had dreamt of flying since childhood. He began his journey as a pilot in 2012 and joined Air India in 2017. open image in gallery People console the mother of Clive Kunder ( Reuters ) His commercial pilots licence, issued in 2020, was valid until 26 September 2025. He had obtained clearances to fly Cessna 172 and Piper PA-34 Seneca aircraft as pilot-in-command and Airbus A320 and Boeing 787 jets as co-pilot. Kunder was also looking forward to a new chapter in his personal life as he was just two months away from getting married. At his funeral at the Sewri Christian Cemetery near his home, Steffi Miranda, a close friend from Wilson College, addressed the gathering of family and friends. Seventeen years ago, we met Clive for the first time. Since then, we watched him grow, evolve, and soar, she said. Though grief surrounds us, there is pride too in who Clive became. He hasnt left us; hes only flying higher now. open image in gallery Friends and family members mourn near the coffin of Clive Kunder in Mumbai ( Reuters ) Both Sabharwals and Kunders fascination for aviation had begun at home. Sabharwals father had retired from Indias aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, while Kunders mother was a former Air India flight attendant. Air India CEO Campbell Wilson earlier said that both pilots had passed the mandatory pre-flight breathalyser tests and there were no observations about their medical status. The Air India crash investigation is far from over, Mr Wilson said, adding that the airline continued to cooperate with authorities, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. However, he cautioned against premature conclusions amid growing scrutiny over the preliminary investigation. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice An initial analysis of the cockpit voice recorder recovered from the Air India flight that crashed last month reveals that the younger co-pilot asked the captain why he had turned off the planes fuel-supply switches, according to a US media report. First officer Clive Kunder had the controls of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner for take-off and at the time of the crash moments later outside Ahmedabad airport, according to a new report from the Wall Street Journal citing sources in the investigation, and it was he who asked flight captain Sumeet Sabharwal why he had flipped the switches, starving the engines of fuel. It represents a potentially important new detail, emerging several days after a preliminary official report in the crash revealed only that the brief interaction had taken place, without naming who said what or quoting them directly. Air India Flight 171 crashed into a medical college less than a minute after take-off from Ahmedabad in western India heading for London Gatwick, killing 241 people on board and another 19 on the ground. Only one passenger survived the crash. The preliminary report, issued a month after the crash in line with international regulations, has sparked controversy with a pilots association accusing it of trying to place the blame on Sabharwal and Kunder without conclusive evidence. The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on Thursday said the 15-page report released lacks comprehensive data and appears to rely selectively on paraphrased cockpit voice recordings to suggest pilot error and question the professional competence and integrity of the flight crew. open image in gallery Boeing 787 Dreamliner crashed on 12 June shortly after takeoff ( Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Assigning blame before a thorough, transparent and data-driven investigation is both premature and irresponsible. Such speculative commentary undermines the professionalism of highly trained crew members causes undue distress to their families and colleagues, it added. The Journal did not say if there was any evidence that Sabharwal did move the switches, beyond the verbal exchange it cited. But it quoted US pilots who have read the Indian authorities report as saying that Kunder, the pilot actively flying, likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliners controls at that stage of the flight. India's Air Accident Investigation Bureaus (AAIB) preliminary report said the fuel switches both switched from run to cutoff, one second apart from each other, just after takeoff. It does not say how this occurred. open image in gallery Wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner plane sits on the open ground, outside Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport ( REUTERS ) It said an analysis of CCTV footage shows the planes backup engine, known as the RAM air turbine, deployed almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, indicating a loss of power from the engines. The London-bound plane began to lose thrust, and after reaching a height of 650 feet, the jet started to sink. The fuel switches for both engines were turned back to run, and the airplane automatically tried restarting its engines, the report said. The incident has also rekindled debate over whether planes should have video cameras in the cockpit, a demand that pilots have pushed back against. Aviation safety expert John Nance said investigators likely would have benefited greatly from having video footage of the cockpit during the Air India flight. Supporters of cockpit video cameras say they can help fill gaps left by audio and data recorders, while critics argue that privacy concerns and potential misuse outweigh the limited investigative benefits. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The family of a Yemeni man killed by an Indian nurse has refused to grant her a pardon, dashing hopes of her family to negotiate a deal that will save her from execution. Talal Abdo Mahdis brother said they reject any form of settlement and that blood cannot be bought, a day after the execution of Nimisha Priya was postponed following a pressure campaign to buy time for clemency. Priya, 38, from the southern Indian state of Kerala, was found guilty of murdering her business partner in 2017 and was sentenced to death in 2020. Priya has denied killing Mahdi, whose chopped-up remains were found in a water tank. We were not surprised by the recent delay in the execution, though we did not expect it. Those who intervened know full well that we reject any form of settlement, Mahdis brother Abdelfattah Mahdi said in a Facebook post. Justice, for us, means execution. No amount of pressure or delay will alter that. Blood cannot be bought, Abdelfattah Mahdi stated. He added that while the execution had been postponed, the family would persist until justice is served, with Gods help. The brother said he was not surprised by the attempts to delay the execution, saying there were covert attempts at mediation. Nimisha Priya was found guilty of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi in 2017 ( Handout ) But the pressure we faced did not change us. Our demand is clear: qisas (the principle of retaliation in kind), and nothing else, no matter what. It came a day after the president of Yemen, Rashad al-Alimi, postponed the execution of Priya a day prior to Wednesday, when she was set to be executed. The postponement of the sentencing was only a temporary relief for Priya, as only a pardon by the victims family can save her from the imminent execution. According to Yemens Islamic judicial system, murder, drug trafficking, apostasy, adultery, and same-sex relations are punished by death and it allows a murder convict to be pardoned by the victims kin in exchange for diyat, or blood money. Her family in India has said they have already raised $1m (735,000) and offered the money to Mahdi's family, which is reluctant to pardon her. Priya arrived in Yemen to work as a nurse in 2008. She launched a clinic in partnership with Mehdi, in line with Yemeni law that required foreign entrepreneurs to collaborate with citizens. However, she was arrested in 2017 after Mahdi was murdered and his body was found in a tank. Her family previously alleged that Priya faced mental, physical and financial abuse at his hands. She had even filed a police complaint against him in 2016, leading to his brief arrest. He allegedly resumed threatening her after getting out. The family has denied the allegations. In 2020, a local court sentenced her to death. The decision was challenged in the Supreme Court but the appeal was rejected in 2023. The nurses mother, a domestic worker in Kochi city, has been in Yemen for the past year trying to save her daughter. The woman remains imprisoned in Sanaa, the capital of Yemen, which is under the control of Houthi forces. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice At least four people have died, and several others were rescued as intense monsoon rains battered central and southern parts of South Korea, lashing it with the most rainfall in 120 years. Authorities issued their highest-level landslide alert on Thursday, adding that the next 48 hours will be critical as rainfall totals rise and saturated ground increases the likelihood of flash floods and slope collapses. In Seosan, South Chungcheong Province, a man in his 50s died after his car was swept away in floodwaters. According to local reports, he called his wife in the early hours of Thursday and said: The car is being swept away. Emergency crews found the submerged vehicle around 6.15am and rushed him to Seosan Medical Centre, where he was pronounced dead. Authorities had received a report about sunken vehicles at 3.59am and rescued three people from another car just an hour earlier. Police are investigating the incident, which occurred as rainfall in Seosan peaked at 114.9mm per hour, the highest rate since records began in 1904, Yonhap reported. Two men in their 80s were also killed in flood-related situations, including one who was believed to be trying to drain floodwaters from the basement of his home, authorities said. At least 1,300 people have been asked to evacuate. including residents of Hongseong County, also in South Chungcheong, due to flooding from a nearby stream. Several schools and nurseries were closed as a precaution, authorities said. Heavy rain triggered a landslide in Cheongyang, leaving two residents briefly trapped before being rescued. Over 100 residents were forced to leave their homes, according to the Yonhap Agency. More than 400mm of rain has already fallen in parts of South Chungcheong Province since Wednesday. On Thursday, the Korea Forest Service raised the landslide risk to its highest "serious" level in central regions, including South and North Chungcheong provinces, as well as parts of Gyeonggi Province. The national disaster agency also raised its emergency response to Stage 2, which allows for stronger coordination between national and local authorities and the mobilisation of more personnel and resources. In Gwangju, where 426mm of rainfall was recorded on Thursday, residents said they have never seen anything like this ever before. "I've never seen a flood here before, since there is no stream or river in this neighbourhood, Ms Kim, a 26-year-old cafe owner told BBC. The Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) warned that up to 300mm of additional rain could fall by Saturday in some of the hardest-hit areas, with sudden downpours reaching 80mm per hour likely. Localised hourly rainfall has already exceeded that threshold in places, overwhelming drainage systems and triggering disaster alerts. A man makes his way through a flooded street, caused by torrential rain, in Gwangju, South Korea ( via REUTERS ) The erratic rainfall pattern is linked to the collision of a descending cold air mass from the northwest with warm, moist southwesterly winds from the North Pacific. This has created a large and unstable rain cloud system over the Yellow Sea, fuelling intense rainfall across the country. In Osan, Gyeonggi Province, a 10m retaining wall collapsed during heavy rain on Wednesday, crushing two vehicles and killing a man in his 40s. Another man in his 50s escaped after only part of his car was buried. Fire officials also responded to a flooded underpass in Dangjin, South Chungcheong, as rainfall inundated roads and damaged property across the region. As of Thursday, at least 29 streams and four riverside parking lots were closed in the Seoul metropolitan area, including Cheonggyecheon and Anyangcheon, as flood warnings remained in effect. Train services on the Gyeongbu, Janghang, and Seohae lines were also partially suspended due to waterlogged tracks. Forecasts show that southern Gyeonggi could receive up to 80mm of rain per hour through Thursday night, with Seoul, Incheon and northern Gyeonggi expected to see 3050mm per hour. South Chungcheong could see similar levels into early Friday, while rainfall in Gangwon may peak at 50mm per hour. Other areas under watch include North Jeolla, Gwangju, South Jeolla, Busan, Ulsan, South Gyeongsang and Jeju Island, where rainfall could range from 30 to 80mm per hour depending on the region. Although the monsoon has officially ended in southern regions and Jeju, the scale of the low-pressure system is allowing rain bands to extend across the entire country. The saturated soil is increasing the risk of landslides even in areas receiving relatively modest rainfall. The KMA has advised residents to avoid underground roads, streams and flood-prone zones, especially in the early morning and overnight hours when visibility is low. Evacuation plans are being advised for those living near vulnerable slopes or riversides. Sign up to the Independent Climate email for the latest advice on saving the planet Get our free Climate email Get our free Climate email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The region known as Sava in Madagascar roughly the same size as Wales is responsible for around 80 per cent of the worlds vanilla crop. While vanilla was first cultivated by the Maya in the forests of Mexico, it is in this region, in the northeast of Madagascar, that it found a home for modern times, after French colonists brought over the vanilla orchid in the 1880s. Chemical synthesis of the single vanillin chemical may have driven the vanilla to become the worlds most popular fragrance, found in everything from makeup to bug repellants, and now a term synonymous with blandness and mediocrity. But connoisseurs maintain that no laboratory product can match the subtle, creamy-rich flavour of the natural aroma, which contains nearly 200 chemical molecules. Madgascars climate and soil proved ideal for vanilla, giving pods a higher concentration of natural vanillin than those grown in other markets. A large pool of smallholder farmers is also readily available to grow this labour-intensive plant, which is essentially a delicate vine that grows between the trees of the rainforest. Individual pods must all be picked by hand, before being blanched in hot water, massaged, and left to cure in the sun over a three-month period. Take a two-hour internal flight northeast from Antaniravo, Madagascars bustling capital city, and you will find yourself in the lush green rainforests of Sava. Unlike the semi-arid southern part of the island or the naked mountains of the centre, Sava which takes its name from the towns of Sambava, Andapa, Vohemar and Antalaha across the region is Madagascar as seen on TV: A world-beating biological hotspot holding 70 per cent of the countrys primary forest, and home to thousands of endemic plant and animal species. Arriving in villages in Sava, you drive up an unpaved road to these houses made of wood and straw, and you wonder where exactly the vanilla is, explains Ernest Randriarimalala, a Malagasy advisor working with the NGO WaterAid who recently visited the region. Its really hidden away: theres a little bit in the forest here, a little bit there, and it can take many hours to walk between the patches. A view of Andrahanjo village in Madagascars vanilla-growing SAVA region ( WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala ) Dricia, 25, and her friend Franca, 23, pollinate vanilla flowers inside a vanilla plantation in Andrahanjo commune ( WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala ) With farmers waking up in the small hours to work 12-hour shifts, vanilla farming has never been easy. But the challenges faced by vanilla farmers are becoming ever more profound with the advent of climate change: a crisis that experts warn represents a potentially existential threat to Madagascar vanilla. The UN has labelled it the fourth-most climate vulnerable country in the world , and farmers in Sava are already warning of the threat to vanilla from changing rain patterns and the ever growing risk of tropical cyclones. According to Dasy Ibrahim, a former project manager at the NGO Care who now works with industry advocacy group the Sustainable Vanilla Initiative (SVI), high temperatures combined with increasingly volatile rain patterns are making vanilla vulnerable to diseases, particularly the fungal-borne disease fusarium wilt. At the same time, the vanilla flowering period has shifted in recent years, running from September to January, when it used to begin in November. This flowering phenomenon is attributable to stress caused by high temperatures and persistent, strong trade winds, Ibrahim explains. A combination of this earlier flowering and delays in the rainy season means that a large number of pods are ripening earlier. But only those pods that have matured for a full nine months after pollination are judged to meet the required standard. That means that a large chunk of the crop becomes void, says Ibrahim. Edlyne Fenozara, a vanilla farmer in the village of Tsaratanana, has seen these impacts first-hand. Before we had regular rain and our vanilla plants grew properly. Now, it is getting warmer with less rain, she says. Because of the lack of rain, we always have some vanilla dying as the rain comes later than it used to. A section of the unpaved road to Andrahanjo that was washed away by recent rains ( WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala ) Ferozara has also experienced the devastation that tropical cyclones can cause to both vanilla plants and the villages in which farmers and their families live. The wind can rip off all the vanilla plants from the ground and throw them 20 meters away, says Fenozara. Trees and falling branches are also breaking vanilla plants and the overly wet soil causes root rot. Between 2000 and 2023, 47 tropical storms and cyclones hit Madagascar, with Sava one of the regions worst hit. Some 740,000 people were left homeless over that period - and in just the last few months, Cyclone Dikeledi and Tropical Storm Jude have displaced 30,000 more. Every year from January to March is the cyclone season and I personally pray to God so no cyclones with strong winds come across our area and destroy my plantation, says Dricia, another vanilla farmer, who works in a village called Andrahanjo. Gael Lescornec, executive director at SVI, says that another big problem related to climate shocks is the volatile nature of vanilla prices when the shocks hit. Volatility makes it hard to give confidence to the market and you can invest in opportunities around vanilla and vanilla farmers, she says. After Cyclone Enawo, a category 4 storm, displaced 500,000 people as it made landfall on the island in 2017, the price of vanilla bean pods surged to more than $400,000 per tonne. Vanilla became so valuable that farmers at the time reported widespread theft and gang violence. More recently, high production volumes coupled with lower-than-expected global demand have sent prices plummeting, with low prices creating economic difficulties for a region that is so heavily dependent on one crop. I really wish we could get a better price, says Dricia. You can get a slightly better price if you sell your vanilla three or five months later than the others but for many of us, that is impossible as we are running out of everything and we cant afford to wait. The impacts of climate change are heightened by the pervasive levels of poverty that exists in the Sava region. An isolated island in the India Ocean, Madagascar is neither culturally nor geographically close to its neighbours in East Africa, making it hard to forge close trading relationships. Madagascars GDP per capita stands at just $506, and around 70 per cent of the population live on less than $1.90 per day. Houses that are typically built from materials like mud and bamboo stand little chance of withstanding major cyclones, while Savas road system largely becomes impassable during heavy rains. Much of the population in Madagascar has long been reliant on overseas aid though the remoteness of some towns and villages as well as generally weak governance in the country makes the provision of aid a challenge, even before recent aid cuts. According to Paul Melly, a researcher on Madagascar at the think tank Chatham House, there is a pattern of the political elite in the country being largely detached from rural concerns. He adds that the countrys authorities have often struggled to develop a clear long-term poverty reduction and development strategy, which makes it hard for donors to invest as they are unable to plug in to an existing strategy. Many of the vanilla wholesalers in the global north that partner with vanilla farmers have taken matters into their own hands. German fragrances giant Symrise, for example, has been investing in environmental and social protection programmes in partnership with more than 7,000 farmers in the region for the last two decades, according to the companys Bernhard Kott. Edlyne Fenozara, 55, pollinates vanilla flowers by hand in the hills of Tsaratanana village ( WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala ) Edlyne, shown here holding vanilla flowers, says that later rains are causing vanilla plants to die ( WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala ) To improve standards and prevent poverty, we have worked with organisations including German international development finance company GIZ, and charity Save the Children, he says. Madagascar is a poor country and suffering from aid cuts. Companies using vanilla have to take responsibility and invest in local programs and improve human aspects, and invest in agricultural practices to protect natural resources. Tanja Stumpff, from GIZ, confirmed that the German government was working with private companies to maintain vanilla cultivation and help improve living conditions. WaterAid, meanwhile, is partnering with Captain Morgan a rum brand that belongs to spirits giant Diageo and added real Madagascar vanilla to its recipe in 2023 in a three-year programme to deliver clean water and sanitation to small-scale vanilla farmers in Sava. According to WaterAid statistics, 43 per cent of SAVAs population does not have access to drinking water infrastructure, and only 10 per cent of people have access to safe and hygienic toilets. Residents of the three villages where WaterAid is active are beginning to beginning to build new latrines and engage in other improved hygiene practices, the NGO reports. But there is a broader sense from speaking to Malagasay people with connections to the region that the challenge of fighting poverty in Sava is not being met. Edlyne, who does not yet have access to a water source in her village, is pictured walking home with a full bucket on her head ( WaterAid/ Ernest Randriarimalala ) We are helping a few villages. But the task of providing universal access to clean water in the area is huge, says WaterAids Ernest Randriarimalala. Not having access to clean water means that farmers are working in extreme heat and humidity for 12 hours a day, before they have to come home in the afternoon and have to spend several hours fetching water. But no matter how tiring it is for them, there is no other choice, he adds. If there are any problems with the vanilla crop, then it becomes even harder. Savas poverty reduction challenge has became even more challenging in the face of aid cuts from government aid agencies, and in particular in the aftermath of USAID programme cuts announced earlier this year by Donald Trump. The US has historically been the single biggest country donor to the countrys health programme - with USAID giving to Malagasy healthcare worth $787m over the past five years - while cuts announced in 2025 were worth an estimated $62m , or the equivalent of 54 per cent of the USAID country programme. In Sava, projects from which USAID has withdrawn include The Harena Project, a wide-reaching programme that promotes local initiatives to improve natural resource management and support community livelihoods, according to SIVs Dasy Ibrahim. USAID has also withdrawn from The Mizana Project, a programme working with the mayors of 20 Sava municipalities to improve natural resource governance and better deal with local corruption. To add fuel to the fire, President Trump has threatened trade tariffs of 47 per cent on Madagscar, in a move that could devastate one of the worlds poorest nations. Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned that the myriad of shocks faced by Madagascar - including aid cuts, trade tariffs, and weather-related events - threatened growth in the country. Sava is certainly not the poorest region of Madagascar - the South of the island is in the grips of a devastating drought and food crisis - but even if vanilla helps bring in a stream of income, services including healthcare, education, and infrastructure maintainance are still highly dependent on external funding, according to SVIs Gael Lescornec. The south is a humanitarian issue, the north is a chronic poverty issue, she explains. Consumers in the Global North have come to expect not only natural vanilla flavouring in food products, but also an ethical product that does not depend on the exploitation of people further down the supply chain. Evidence from the ground in shows that the vanilla supply is threatened on both these counts. As Lescornec puts it, with communities facing growing climate and developmental challenges, the ongoing failure to support resilience, threatens the long-term supply of sustainably-produced vanilla, as well as the very supply of vanilla. This article is part of The Independents Rethinking Global Aid project 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 Archaeologists are convinced they have uncovered the oldest human settlement built on a European lake. The team from Switzerland and Albania, who are working on the shores of Ohrid Lake, believe they have found of an organised hunting and farming community living up to 8,000 years ago. Spending hours each day about three metres (9.8 feet) underwater, the team is painstakingly retrieving wooden stilts that supported houses, as well as collecting bones of domesticated and wild animals, copper objects and ceramics, featuring detailed carvings. Albert Hafner, from the University of Bern, said similar settlements have been found in Alpine and Mediterranean regions, but the settlements in the village of Lin are half a millennium older, dating back between 6,000 and 8,000 years. "Because it is underwater, the organic material is well-preserved, and this allows us to find out what these people have been eating, what they have been planting," Hafner said. open image in gallery Multiple studies show that Lake Ohrid is the oldest lake in Europe ( LIN3/Kristi Anastasi via Reuters ) Multiple studies show that Lake Ohrid, shared by North Macedonia and Albania, is the oldest lake in Europe, at over one million years. The age of the findings is determined through radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which measures annual growth rings in trees. More than one thousand wood samples have been collected from the site, which may have hosted several hundred people. It is believed to cover around six hectares, but so far, only about 1 per cent has been excavated after six years of work. Hafner said findings show that people who lived on the lake helped to spread agriculture and livestock to other parts of Europe. open image in gallery The team, from Switzerland and Albania, spends hours each day underwater ( LIN3/Kristi Anastasi via Reuters ) "They were still doing hunting and collecting things, but the stable income for nutrition was coming from agriculture," he said. Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi said it could take decades to fully explore the area. "(By) the way they had lived, eaten, hunted, fished, and by the way the architecture was used to build their settlement, we can say they were very smart for that time," Anastasi said. Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Watch live as Sir Keir Starmer meets with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at Downing Street on Thursday (17 July). The pair will sign a bilateral treaty - the biggest UK-German treaty since 1945 - focused on defence, energy, economic cooperation and migration. As part of the friendship and cooperation treaty, Germany will announce that it is introducing a law that will make it illegal to facilitate authorised migration to the UK. The law is expected to be passed by the end of the year and UK officials say the new legislation will give officials tools to target warehouses and storage facilities used by migrant smugglers. The visit is Merz's first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Sir Keir several times, including on a trip to Ukraine where numerous world leaders gathered to call for a ceasefire. The trip comes just one week after French President Emmanuel Macrons three-day state visit, which saw the British and French leaders signed a one in, one out migrant return deal, which will see some of those who arrive in the UK illegally via the Channel sent straight back for the first time since Brexit. 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 An alarming rise in acid attacks has been recorded across the UK, with women and girls now accounting for a third of all victims. Data from police forces show 498 physical attacks involving corrosives were recorded in 2024, a 10 per cent increase from the 454 incidents reported in 2023. Research carried out by the charity Acid Survivors Trust International (ASTI) found that such attacks not only have devastating impacts on the victims, but result in a considerable cost to the economy. On average, a single attack can cost 63,000 in medical and psychological support, meaning that the overall average cost of these physical attacks in 2024 would be in the regions of 31m. While historically, acid attacks have been associated with male-on-male violence and gang activity, data from police forces revealed that 74 victims out of 224 physical attacks, where gender data was provided, were female. In addition, women made up 62 per cent of victims when there had been a threat of an acid attack made against them, an increase from 59 per cent in 2023. This involves the threat of a corrosive attack as a tool of coercion or intimidation alongside other serious crimes such as rape or robbery. Despite the population served by Northumbria Police making up just two per cent of the countrys population, 24 per cent of all acid attacks were recorded in the region, followed by the Metropolitan Police in London. Jaf Shah, Executive Director at ASTI, said: Our new data shows that acid violence remains prevalent in the UK. The rise in physical acid attacks is deeply concerning particularly the sharp increase in Northumbria, even as numbers fall in London. Tackling this issue means addressing the wider challenges of socio-economic inequality, deprivation, and gang involvement, while also holding retailers to account. It's vital we address how easily offenders are able to access corrosive substances in the first place. We urgently need stricter controls on sales, especially from online retailers, alongside better reporting and more investment in prevention to stop corrosive substances being weaponised. The analysis from ASTI found that almost a quarter (24 per cent) of acid attacks were recorded by Northumbria Police, despite the region only holding two per cent of the UKs population. The West Midlands has also seen an 82 per cent increase in the number of physical attacks between 2023 and 2024, with the charity noting that attacks frequently occur in areas that have been impacted by economic deprivation and high levels of poverty. Professor Francisco C Figueiredo, MD, PhD, FRCOphth, Professor of Ophthalmology at Newcastle University, said: Corrosive substance attack (CSA) to the eye is a serious injury that can cause substantial damage, potentially leading to significant visual loss/blindness. In our data, the most serious injuries tend to be on victims of attack, often young white male. The evidence also indicates that most of the attacks take place in deprived areas. Further building on the information released by ASTI, our data has also shown an alarming rise in the Northeast of England in the incidence of CSA over the last few years. In our region, the most common corrosive substance used in attacks is ammonia, which tends to cause significant damage to the surface of the eye, penetrating deeper into the tissue, consequently causing more severe damage. In view of this new data, there is an urgent need to create a strong partnership between multiple public health agencies which can work together towards a shared goal by setting up an elimination programme with clear targets. It is time to make elimination of corrosive substance attack our goal. A government spokesperson said: Attacks involving acids or other corrosives can result in huge distress and life changing injuries, and our thoughts are with all those affected by this. We remain steadfast in our commitment to halve violence against women and girls in a decade, and use every tool available to ensure the most dangerous perpetrators are pursued. Those responsible for these heinous acts can already be sentenced to life imprisonment, and it is also illegal to sell and deliver corrosive products to under-18s, or possess corrosives in public without good reason. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A former Tesco worker accused of plotting a terror attack has denied making a kill list of customers and colleagues he branded "race traitors." Alfie Colman was 19 when he was caught buying a gun and was arrested by counter terrorism police in a Morrisons car park. Colman was attempting to buy a Makarov pistol and ammunition, but the sale turned out to be an MI5 sting. At the trial on Thursday, Nicholas De La Poer KC reminded Coleman of the list he had made of those who had upset him. The list separated people broadly into two categories - those he considered undercover police officers and others as race traitors, a jury heard. open image in gallery The gun found in Alfie Colemans bag after he was detained outside a Morrisons supermarket in Stratford, east London (Met Police/PA) Describing the annotated list, the prosecutor said a very large number of people are the subject of a racial slur by you or described as race traitors. Coleman said: I cannot remember what was going through my head. I cannot say what I meant when I wrote those words down. Referring to a colleague and her husband who appeared on the list, the prosecutor observed: This is a white woman married to a person of non-white heritage and you have described her as a race traitor. This is someone who you worked with. Why did you describe her as a race traitor? Coleman said he could not remember. Mr De La Poer went on: Was that a list of people who you thought needed to be killed? The defendant replied: No. Coleman said he understood race traitor to mean someone who was friends or in a relationship with a non-white person. He added that he also included those in the system working against the interests of white people. Referring to the defendants list, Mr De La Poer said: Can we agree that none of the people you are describing as race traitors here fall into that category? They are not white people who are politicians who betrayed other white people because of their power. These are customers and colleagues at Tesco. Coleman replied: I do not know specifically. They may not all have been where I worked. I cannot say any more other than that.Judge Richard Marks KC asked the defendant to clarify his stance, saying: Regardless of colour, if you co-operate with authorities and work in the Government you are a race traitor people working for Government means doing something against white people? The defendant replied: Thats the way I understood it, yeah. open image in gallery Alfie Coleman in a skull ski mask and holding a knife (Met Police/PA) Mr De La Poer quizzed the defendant about his collection of extreme right-wing books including one Coleman had described as captivating and life-changing. A chapter entitled the day of the rope detailed public hangings of people it described as race traitors, the court was told. Coleman said he was not specifically interested in that part even though he had searched for artwork from the book and downloaded an image of a public hanging. He denied he had read another book in his collection about a man who hunted down inter-race couples as race traitors. The prosecutor suggested: You were preparing to engage in illegal behaviour because you bought a firearm and so its not a case that you did not do things because they were illegal. The defendant replied: I agree to a certain extent. There are a lot of reasons why I did it. Mr De La Poer asked: In terms of publications likely to be of use to terrorists you know the explosive manuals were describing how a person might make a bomb, is that right? Coleman replied: I did not read them. It is only through the process of the trial I have seen excerpts and screen shots. The defendant has accepted he had a large quantity of extreme right-wing material and has pleaded guilty to possessing 10 documents which contain information likely to be useful to terrorists. Coleman, now aged 21, from Great Notley in Essex, has admitted attempting to possess both a firearm and ammunition but denies he was preparing for a terrorist attack. The Old Bailey trial continues. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A man has been jailed for nine years after a court found he had been impersonating a doctor to carry out unsafe and illegal circumcisions on infants and older boys. Mohammed Alazawi, 54, was convicted of 40 offences, including multiple counts of fraud, wounding with intent, administering and supplying prescription-only medicines, and assault occasioning actual bodily harm. He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday. He admitted 20 charges and was found guilty of a further 20 following a trial. Between October 2016 and January 2022, Alazawi performed non-therapeutic male circumcisions, a procedure in the UK that is unregulated and does not legally require a qualified medical practitioner. open image in gallery Alazawi impersonated a doctor so he could circumcise baby boys ( Crown Prosecution Service ) But the court heard that his methods were inherently unsafe and dangerous, transforming what should have been routine, sanitary procedures into unlawful assaults. In sentencing, the judge described his actions as a profound breach of trust and a serious threat to public safety. Posing as a doctor, Alazawi secured parental consent for these operations. The court heard how he would present to parents a bogus document attributed to Istiklal Hospital in Jordan that stated he was trained in circumcision. He explained to police after his arrest that he was a circumcision expert and a taxi driver. Among the operations he performed was the circumcision of a two-week-old baby on a coffee table. Speaking after the verdicts in May, Judge Perrins said that the law around male circumcision should be changed because it remains almost entirely unregulated. Anja Hohmeyer, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said Alazawi had carried out circumcisions in unsafe, unsanitary and harmful ways, which demonstrated a blatant disregard for the safety of his young patients and the impact of his actions on his victims, their families, and communities. Detective Inspector Neil Hunt from West Midlands Police's public protection unit, who led the investigation into Alazawi spanning seven years, said: Some of his young victims went on to have complications following the procedures, like infections, and it was after one such incident in Birmingham that we were alerted and began an investigation. These complex enquiries went on to find many victims from across the UK. It has been the bravery and support of these families, some from as far away as Canada, in supporting our investigation which has seen this perpetrator jailed today. For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A man wrongfully convicted of attempted robbery has had his name cleared at the Court of Appeal, more than 50 years after being the victim of a racist miscarriage of justice. Ronald De Souza is the final member of the Stockwell Six to have his conviction quashed, after being accused of trying to rob corrupt British Transport Police officer Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell. Mr De Souza was jailed for six months for allegedly trying to rob Ridgewell on a night out in south London in 1972, despite telling jurors that officers had subjected him and his co-defendants to violence and threats. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) reviewed his conviction after previously overturning those of his co-defendants Courtney Harriot, Cleveland Davidson, Texo Johnson and Paul Green in 2021. open image in gallery Corrupt British Transport Police officer Derek Ridgewell had led the investigation ( Handout ) The sixth member of the Stockwell Six had been acquitted after it emerged that his reading ability was not good enough for him to have read and understood his own written statement, which had been written in his place by Ridgewell. Quashing Mr De Souzas convictions, Lord Justice Holroyde said: We regret that this court cannot now put right all that he has suffered. However, we can and do allow his appeal and quash his conviction. Another of Ridgewells victims, Errol Campbell, had his conviction overturned posthumously on Thursday at the Court of Appeal. Mr Campbell, who died in 2004, was found guilty of theft and conspiracy to steal in April 1977 and sentenced to a total of 18 months imprisonment at the Old Bailey in relation to thefts from the Bricklayers Arms Goods Depot, where he was a British Rail employee. Giving his judgment on Thursday, Lord Justice Holroyde, sitting with Mr Justice Butcher and Mr Justice Wall, said that it was with regret that the court could not undo Mr Campbells suffering. Ridgewell led the case against Mr Campbell and several others, but along with colleagues DC Douglas Ellis and DC Alan Keeling, later pleaded guilty to stealing from the same goods depot. In a previous judgment, the court found their criminal activities between January 1977 and April 1978 resulted in the loss from the depot of goods to the value of about 364,000 an enormous sum of money at that time. Referring to the ruling in Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkins cases, Lord Justice Holroyde said fresh evidence as to the dishonesty of those three British Transport Police officers has underpinned a series of CCRC references to the court. Reading a statement on his behalf outside the Royal Courts of Justice, Mr Campbells sons solicitor, Matt Foot, said: The British Transport Police (BTP) knew that Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell was corrupt and they let him carry on regardless with what he was doing. My dad always said he was innocent and today thats finally been confirmed, almost 50 years later. The Assistant Chief Constable of the BTP has said he is disgusted by the actions of discredited former detective sergeant Ridgewell, and that they are continuing to review records relating to his corrupt practices. 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 Sensitive details exposed by the huge Afghan data breach that put tens of thousands of people at risk were revealed by the defence secretary but the media are still banned from reporting them. John Healey offered a sincere apology on behalf of the British Government for a massive leak which shared information about Afghans seeking to escape to the UK because of their links to British troops and could only be reported after a two-year fight to lift an unprecedented superinjunction. But in his address to MPs, Mr Healey disclosed details that the media still cannot publish because a strict second gagging order remains in place. Media organisations, including The Independent, are seeking to overturn that order at the High Court, which would allow information that has previously been kept secret to be revealed. The breach, made by a Ministry of Defence official in February 2022, triggered a covert government operation that saw 16,000 Afghans evacuated to Britain, with some 8,000 still to come. The whole operation was kept secret from MPs and the public, with ministers even deciding to hide the true reason for the evacuation from parliament, after the MoD claimed the release of information could put those named in the database at risk of reprisals from the Taliban. Lifting the superinjunction on Tuesday, High Court judge Mr Justice Chamberlain called for further investigation after an official review into the data leak fundamentally undermined the evidential basis on which the superinjunction had been based. Media organisations, including The Independent, the Daily Mail and The Times, were hit with a fresh injunction on Tuesday, which banned any mention of certain information, over fears it could risk national security. But despite MoD lawyers arguing the information should never be shared, Mr Healey revealed some of the details to MPs in Parliament. Mr Justice Chamberlain called an emergency hearing on Tuesday to address whether the second injunction should now be lifted. He told the court, in a public hearing, that MoD lawyers were pushing for it to remain in place, arguing that any release of the information would result in damage to national security. The MoD has asked for time to produce evidence of this... I have reached the provisional view that if evidence will be produced, it will have to be produced very quickly, he added. The judge has now given time for media defendants and the MoD to attempt to agree on what information can be published and what must remain secret. 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 Proposals to give new workers day one protection against unfair dismissal has suffered a heavy defeat in the House of Lords on Wednesday. The defeat is a new blow for the government as the proposals were a Labour manifesto commitment. The House of Lords backed by 304 votes to 160, majority 144, a Conservative-led measure which would instead reduce the existing qualifying period for the workplace safeguard from two years to six months. It was the latest setback suffered by the Labour frontbench to its Employment Rights Bill in the upper chamber and puts peers on a collision course with the administration, given it was an explicit election pledge. The change will be considered by MPs when the draft law returns to the Commons during so-called ping-pong, when legislation is batted between the two Houses until agreement is reached. The proposed reforms also give workers other day one rights, such as sick pay, paternity leave and the right to request flexible working. In addition, the Bill would introduce new restrictions on fire-and-rehire processes when employees are let go and then re-employed on new contracts with worse pay or conditions. The defeat is another blow for Starmer and the government ( (House of Commons/PA) ) Business minister Baroness Jones of Whitchurch told peers: This Government was elected on a manifesto to provide unfair dismissal protections from day one of employment. Not two years, not six months, but day one. To deliver this commitment we will remove the qualifying period for these rights. She added: These amendments would not deliver on the Governments manifesto commitment to introduce a day one right against unfair dismissal, leaving many newly hired employees without robust employment protections. However, Tory shadow business minister Lord Sharpe of Epsom said: We are debating a change that will fundamentally alter the balance of risk in hiring, and at a time when unemployment has risen in every month this government has been in power. He added: This clause will do nothing to promote fairness in the workplace. It will erode flexibility, it will choke opportunity, and it will harden the barriers that those on the margins already face. He pointed out the Governments own impact assessment which said that introducing the day one right to claim unfair dismissal could damage the employment prospects of people who are trying to re-enter the labour market, especially if they are observed to be riskier to hire, including younger workers with less experience and ex-offenders. Lord Sharpe went on: The Government already knows and thinks this so why are they doing this? So I dont believe this clause is ready. I dont believe that its safe, I dont believe that its wise. Independent crossbencher Lord Vaux of Harrowden said: With this Bill, the Government is knowingly and deliberately damaging the life chances of the most vulnerable, in particular young people trying to get their first step on the employment ladder, and for no apparent tangible benefit. I urge them to think again. The Government was subsequently dealt a further blow as peers backed by 248 votes to 150, majority 98, a change to the legislation, proposed by the Liberal Democrats, which would force ministers to strengthen whistleblower protections. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A viral chocolate bar inspired by the Dubai chocolate trend has been urgently recalled over a health risk it poses to customers. The Noesis Schokolade Love of Dubai bar should not be bought or eaten, the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said, especially by those with a peanut allergy. Although it is not marked on the list of ingredients, the chocolate bar contains peanuts, the FSA explains. This means it poses a serious risk to those with allergies to the nut. The agency adds that it has been unable to contact the manufacturer of the products, Black Sea Trading Ltd, and so is calling on distributors to pull the Noesis bar from shelves. open image in gallery Every single 95g bar of Noesis Schokolade Love of Dubai has been included in the recall ( Noesis ) Advice from the FSA reads: Dont buy this product, and if you have bought it, don't eat it, especially if you have a peanut allergy. Dispose of the product at home and get in touch with your local Trading Standards in Great Britain or Environmental Health Officers in Northern Ireland, to let them know where you purchased it. The Love of Dubai chocolate bar is inspired by a viral food trend that arose in 2024 and has continued. It centres around chocolate bars with a creamy pistachio filling, first created by a chocolatier in Dubai. Receiving millions of views on social media platform TikTok, the popularity of the bar has grown so intense that the price of pistachio kernels globally has been pushed up. Experts say that, in the year to April, prices rose from $7.65 to $10.30 a pound. Last week, the FSA issued a related warning over the proliferation of imported Dubai chocolate bars for sale in the UK. open image in gallery A detailed picture of the recalled bar has been provided by the food watchdog ( Food Standards Agency (FSA) ) The agency said that some of these products were likely to not include a full ingredients list or allergen labelling, due to not being originally intended for sale in the UK. The bars could also contain additives and colours not allowed on the UK market, it added. Experts from the watchdog are currently surveying and sampling the products to determine the scale of the issue, and working with allergy charities to raise awareness. Professor Robin May, chief scientific adviser to the FSA, said that the vast majority of food in the UK is safe, but some imported Dubai-style chocolate products dont meet our standards and could be a food safety risk, especially for consumers with allergies If you are looking to buy Dubai-style chocolate, we advise sticking with trusted retailers, like the ones youd use for your weekly shop, as products are more likely to be made for UK consumers and so are safe to eat. UK law requires food labels to highlight any of 14 allergens present in the product, but some imported products may not do this. You can find more information on food.gov.uk. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Crunch talks between doctors and health secretary Wes Streeting to avert next weeks strikes failed to reach a resolution on Thursday. There is now a very small window of opportunity for the government and resident doctors to reach an agreement to avert strike action, the Resident Doctors Committee (RDC) has warned. A five-day walkout is scheduled to start next week and could cause significant upheaval to the NHS in England. Co-chairs of the RDC part of the British Medical Association (BMA) said they had an open and frank conversation with Streeting on Thursday afternoon, but no resolution was reached. After the meeting, Streeting reiterated that we cannot move on pay after a 28.9 per cent pay rise but the government is looking at ways to improve resident doctors working lives. open image in gallery Dr Ross Nieuwoudt and Dr Melissa Ryan, co-chairs of the RDC ( PA Wire ) RDC co-chairs said working conditions are being considered but a pay deal is probably the simplest solution. Neither the RDC or the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed a date for the next talks. Asked if they would meet with the Health Secretary on Friday, Dr Ross Nieuwoudt told reporters: Well, if Wes Streeting is free Id be happy to. His co-chair Dr Melissa Ryan said: The advantage of being a doctor is that were used to working all hours of all days, so we said were available at any moment to continue our talks. Dr Nieuwoudt added: We have a very small window of opportunity over the next few days to avert strike action. Talks today have been constructive, theyre a first step, it was a very high-level discussion, were looking forward to more discussions to hopefully avert strike action. After the meeting, Streeting said in a statement: We had a constructive conversation with the BMA (British Medical Association) today and well be having further conversations in the coming days to try to avert strike action. While we cannot move on pay after a 28.9 per cent pay rise, we are working on areas where we can improve working lives for resident doctors. open image in gallery Health Secretary Wes Streeting ( PA Wire ) Strikes have a serious cost for patients, so I am appealing to the BMA to call them off and instead work together to improve their members working conditions and continue rebuilding the NHS. Ahead of the meeting at Portcullis House, it was put to the RDC co-chairs that the public was broadly on-side for the previous round of strikes but support is now waning. Dr Ryan responded: I think that the public is behind us in the sense that they want to see doctors paid fairly, they want doctors to be in the NHS, doctors retained, because ultimately they want good care. On Tuesday, NHS leaders said there was no extra money to cover industrial action by resident doctors, formerly known as junior doctors. The last round of strikes, which also included walkouts by other health workers, came at an estimated cost of 1.5 billion to the NHS in England. Some 1.5 million appointments, procedures and operations were postponed as a result of the stoppages. On Thursday, The Times reported that it had seen an audit which found that five patients died as a result of disruption linked to strikes by junior doctors in 2023 and 2024. One prevention of future death report detailed how 71-year-old Daphne Austin, who had a kidney injury, died after getting no medical input on one of the strike days because the consultant who was covering was in charge of 25 patients. Another states that 60-year-old John Doyle died of natural causes against a background of missed opportunities to diagnose and treat cytomegalovirus infection, together with the impact of the resident (formerly junior) doctors strike on the provision of consistent patient care. open image in gallery A five-day strike is set for next week ( PA Archive ) Asked if they recognise the report in The Times as true, Dr Nieuwoudt said: The evidence that weve seen, the evidence over the past few years, is that the processes that we have in place in order to maintain patient safety are robust and theyve been working well, theyve been the processes that have been in place since 2016 and over 11 rounds of industrial action. He added: What youre seeing, instead of resident doctors in the hospitals, is the most highly trained and specialised doctors looking after acute patients. We just need to ensure that the (NHS) trusts are picking up their responsibility of cancelling elective services and moving those consultants over to where theyre needed, which is protecting the patients in acute setting during industrial action. The strikes ended last September when resident doctor members voted to accept a government pay deal worth 22.3 per cent on average over two years. The 2025/26 pay deal saw resident doctors given a four per cent increase plus 750 on a consolidated basis, working out as an average rise of 5.4 per cent. Government officials said these two increases equate to a 28.9 per cent pay rise. But the BMA said resident doctors need 29.2 per cent to reverse pay erosion since 2008/09. Earlier this month, the union announced that resident doctors in England would strike for five days from 7am on July 25. 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 Nicotine pouches with eye-catching packaging and sweet flavours are available for children to buy because the product falls between regulatory gaps, Trading Standards has warned. No law in place currently restricts the age of sale for nicotine pouches, meaning a child could enter a shop and be sold these addictive products, the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) has said. Nicotine pouches are small sachets designed to be placed between the upper lip and gums. Unlike other products, such as snus, these pouches do not contain tobacco and just release nicotine slowly. Just like vapes, they come in flavours including mango, berry and cherry ice. Pouches can contain between 1.5mg and 20mg of nicotine, similar to a vape, but they are not regulated as a specific tobacco or nicotine product. Data from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) published last month revealed that in 2024, just 38 per cent of 11- to 17-year-olds knew what a nicotine pouch was. Now that figure has shot up to 43 per cent. open image in gallery There is no law in place that restricts the age of sale for nicotine pouches, Trading Standards warns ( Getty Images/iStockphoto ) While only 4 per cent of 11- to 17-year-olds use nicotine pouches, the watchdog fears this will increase without an age restriction on the product. The warning comes as trading standards visits businesses to ensure they are no longer selling single-use vapes, which are now illegal to supply in the UK. During visits, Trading Standards has seen nicotine pouches displayed in plain sight at the front of the check-out areas in stores, sparking concern over the rise in popularity of these products among school-aged children. The watchdog warns that this nicotine product is discreet and could easily go undetected by teachers and parents. It very much feels like a game of whack-a-mole - just as one product is dealt with, another emerges - the availability of potentially harmful products being promoted and sold to our children seems never-ending, said Duncan Stephenson, policy and external affairs director at CTSI. open image in gallery Just like vapes, nicotine pouches come in flavours including mango, berry and cherry ice ( PA Wire ) Nicotine pouches are the latest example, with slick marketing, sweet flavours and colourful packaging that risk appealing to young people, whether intended or not, he added. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, and in high doses it can cause headaches, a racing heart, nausea and stomach cramps. While they are likely to be very much less harmful than smoking, they contain nicotine which is addictive, and the long-term health impacts are not known, said Hazel Cheeseman, chief executive at ASH. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill, currently making its way through parliament, makes the sale of these nicotine products illegal to anyone under the age of 18. It will also introduce powers to restrict the use of child-appealing flavours, packaging and advertising, as well as dictate where they can be placed in shops. Strong, proactive regulation is essential to protect children and stop these products from slipping through the cracks, Mr Stephenson added. Trading Standards is calling for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill to be moved up the parliamentary timetable to ensure a swift implementation. It wants nicotine pouches out of the reach of children and to make sure business owners dont exploit this age restriction loophole. Kate Pike, CTSI Lead Officer for Tobacco and Vapes, said: We are getting increasing reports from concerned parents and teachers that shops are marketing and selling nicotine pouches to children. It is incredibly frustrating that there is nothing we can currently do to prevent them. We have been asking for an age of sale on nicotine pouches for some time and were delighted when this measure was included in the Tobacco and Vapes Bill. 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 Oxford University Press (OUP) will stop publishing a Chinese government-sponsored academic journal following years of outrage over the publication allegedly breaching ethical rules over DNA collection from minorities. A statement on the website of the Forensic Sciences Research (FSR) read that the journal will no longer be published by OUP after this year. The last issue of the quarterly journal to be published will be Volume 10, Issue 4, it said. The Chinese justice ministry-sponsored journal has come under increasing scrutiny for publishing studies that allegedly did not meet ethical standards about DNA collection from Uyghur and other ethnic minority groups in China's northwestern territory of Xinjiang. Critics of the studies published in the journal have argued that the subjects may not have consented for their DNA to be used in the research. The controversial journal has been published since 2023 and financially supported by the Academy of Forensic Science, which is run by China's ministry of justice. The academy describes the journal as the only English quarterly journal in the field of forensic science in China that focuses on forensic medicine, according to The Guardian. The OUP has retracted at least two papers published in the journal on DNA samples from Chinese minorities due to ethical concerns. A study published before OUP acquired the journal analysed DNA samples collected from 264 Uyghur individuals. The paper claims that participants consented for the research a claim refuted by critics. OUP reportedly published an expression of concern about the article in 2024, but did not retract the paper. Demonstrators representing Tibetans and Uyghurs protest during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Leaders' Week in San Francisco, California, on 15 November 2023 ( AFP via Getty Images ) Another study of particular concern was published in 2023 involved 50 bloodstain samples taken from Xibe ethnic minority individuals, according to Oxford's student-run newspaper Cherwell. The papers were first flagged by Yves Moreau, an engineering professor at KU Leuven in Belgium, who spent years investigating how Chinese researchers collect genetic data from vulnerable populations. Starting next year, Forensic Sciences Research will be published by KeAi, Elseviers distinguished co-publishing partner in China. This transition is rooted in thoughtful reflection and pragmatic necessity, driven in part by a shared ambition to grow, evolve, and further enhance the journals global impact, FSR said. Beijing has been accused of committing crimes against humanity against the Uyghurs and other ethnic minority groups over the past decade through widespread abuses, including mass incarceration, forced labour, torture, sexual assault and intensified surveillance. The Xi Jinping administration has routinely denied the allegations, calling them the lie of the century. The UN says China has detained more than a million minority Muslims, mostly Uyghurs, since a dramatic escalation in counterterrorism measures in 2017. Beijing initially denied the existence of any Uyghur detention centres before defending them as re-education centres. The UK, US and Australia were among 15 countries that issued a joint statement at the UN against alleged human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Tibet. The Independent has reached out to FSR and OUP for comment. 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 Uniformed police face being effectively banned from taking part in Pride parades after a wide-reaching ruling at the High Court. The judgment, handed down on Wednesday, ruled that officers were wrong to have taken part in Newcastles Pride parade last year. The case was brought by Linzi Smith, who describes herself in court documents as a lesbian who is gender critical, who believes that a persons sex is an immutable characteristic. She argued that police breached their impartiality obligations by taking part in the event and appearing under a banner supporting transgender peoples rights. The judge, Mr Justice Linden, agreed with her and ruled that the Chief Constable of Northumbria Police, Vanessa Jardine, acted unlawfully when she allowed uniformed officers to take part in the event last year. open image in gallery Linzi Smith argued that police breached their impartiality obligations for taking part in the event and appearing under a banner supporting transgender peoples rights ( Getty Images ) The ruling is likely to have wide-reaching implications for how police are able to participate in community events across the country. Chief Constable Gavin Stephens, chair of the National Police Chiefs Council, said the organisation is working through the detail of the judgment and is working to create broader guidance to help local forces make decisions around participation in events to maintain their impartiality. Having police officers and staff who know their communities, are visible in those communities and play an active part in their local area has been shown time and time again to build trust and confidence in our service, he said. Every week, police officers and staff will, as part of their duties, take part in thousands of events up and down the country, from community events at village halls through to large-scale events like carnivals, parades and festivals. However, we recognise that policing must also maintain its impartiality, including in the types of events it supports and plays an active part in. In a witness statement, Harry Miller, a former officer and founder of the group Fair Cop, said the chief constable marched next to participants carrying the flags and emblems clearly associated with the gender ideologists cause such as banners saying Trans women are women and Trans rights are human rights. He argued this signalled a political association. open image in gallery The ruling is likely to have wide-reaching implications for how police are able to participate in community events across the country ( Getty Images ) Reaching his decision, the judge said the chief constables participation was likely to be seen as expressing the support of the head of the force for the views and the cause which the march sought to promote and therefore as indicating the position or perspective of the force as an organisation. Jo Maugham KC, executive director of the Good Law Project, said the incredibly important judgment could have practical implications for all people subject to impartiality obligations participating in such events. The impartiality duties that police have are substantially no different from the impartiality duties that all sorts of other public servants have, he said. It doesnt mean police cant police these parades they can. But it does mean they cant march in them. But it also could mean civil servants cant march in them or BBC journalists. He warned this could extend to parades or protests relating to other causes, such as anti-racism or anti-misogyny, as trans people are also a legally protected group under the Equality Act. Mr Maugham added there was a lack of clarity at the heart of the judgment, which he said does not define the phrase gender ideology itself. [The judges ruling] seems to think the reality or legitimacy of trans existence is up for debate, he told The Independent. The difficulty of that is parliament has said it is not up for debate. The Equality Act recognises that trans people like women and disabled people are a group whose existence is not up for debate, it is to be protected. He said: This is yet another decision made by our courts which has a very profound effect on LGBT rights where a court has not thought it appropriate to hear from anyone from that community. open image in gallery Responding to the ruling, Northumbria Police said it has an important role to play in a variety of events, including parades and festivals throughout the year ( Getty/iStock ) Responding to the ruling, Northumbria Police said it has an important role to play in a variety of events, including parades and festivals throughout the year. It said that while their primary aim is to keep people safe, these events also provide police with an opportunity to engage with people, including those who may have less confidence in policing. It is vitally important they feel supported and we continue to build their trust in us, a spokesperson said. That is why we felt it important to challenge the case which was brought against us and which has implications for wider policing. We will work through the ruling to understand the implications, while staying true to our values of fairness, visibility, and support for all. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A 14-year-old boy has died after being hit by a car in Scotland as police urged anyone with information to come forward. Paramedics rushed to the A76 at the bridge over Cessnock Water, near Hurlford, East Ayrshire, at about 5.10pm on Wednesday. Police Scotland said the teenager was pronounced dead at the scene and his family has been notified, as the road was closed for several hours. The male driver of the car, a Vauxhall Corsa, and his two passengers were checked over by paramedics, however, they did not require to attend hospital. Sergeant Brian Simpson from Road Policing said: Our thoughts remain with the family and we are providing them with support as our enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances of this incident. If anyone has any information, please contact us. Anyone with information is asked to call Police Scotland on 101 quoting incident number 2706 of Wednesday, 16 July, 2025. Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Germany have agreed to close a loophole that will allow police to seize small boats being used in the Channel as part of a friendship treaty with the UK. Sir Keir Starmer and German chancellor Friedrich Merz are due to sign the deal on Thursday, just one week after the prime minister struck a one in, one out migrant return deal with Frances Emmanuel Macron. While there is no similar returns deal with Germany, it does include a pledge that they EU country will make people smuggling to the UK an offence by the end of 2025. While people smuggling into fellow EU countries is a crime under German law, trafficking migrants into the UK has not been illegal since Brexit. The majority of asylum seekers who cross the Channel embark from the French coast, however Germany is viewed as a transit country for migrants and is frequently used as a storage hubs for boats and transport equipment. People thought to be migrants wade through the sea to board a small boat leaving the beach at Gravelines, France ( PA ) At least 22,000 people have already made the journey since January, putting 2025 on course to be a record year for crossings. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, had won German agreement to change the law to criminalise assisting the smuggling of migrants to the UK in December with Mr Merzs predecessor Olaf Scholz However, a change in government in Berlin meant that it had to be renegotiated and will now be announced on Thursday. Prior to his visit, Sir Keir said: Chancellor Merzs commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome, Sir Keir said. As the closest of allies, we will continue to work closely together to deliver on the priorities that Brits and Germans share. During Mr Merzs visit, the leaders are expected to unveil an agreement to jointly produce defence exports such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets and commit to developing their deep precision strike missile in the next decade, with a range of more than 2,000 kilometres. The chancellor and Sir Keir will also sign a bilateral friendship and cooperation treaty that includes plans to set up a new UK-Germany Business Forum. Sir Keir said: The Treaty we will sign today, the first of its kind, will bring the UK and Germany closer than ever. It not only marks the progress we have already made and the history we share. It is the foundation on which we go further to tackle shared problems and invest in shared strengths. A series of commercial investments are being announced to coincide with the visit, worth more than 200 million and will create more than 600 new jobs. These include defence tech company Stark setting up a production facility in Swindon, its first outside Germany, and conversational AI firm Cognigy investing 50 million and expanding its UK team from 13 to 150. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The voting age is to be lowered to 16 in time for the next election, the government has announced in a move that would allow around 1.5 million more teenagers to cast a ballot. The change will bring UK-wide elections in line with Scotland and Wales by the time the country next goes to the polls, due by the summer of 2029 at the latest. The seismic development, which is part of a raft of measures set to be introduced through a new Elections Bill, is the biggest change to the electorate since 1969 when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. Keir Starmer encouraged 16 and 17 year olds to use their vote at next election. No 10 said the PM would absolutely encourage them to be as engaged as they can be in the future of their country. Deputy prime minister Angela Rayner said: For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline. open image in gallery Teenagers will soon be able to register to vote from 14 ( Shutterstock/Ms Jane Campbell ) We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give 16-year-olds the right to vote. Sixteen-year-olds already work, pay taxes and serve in the military, ministers point out. Rushanara Ali, the minister for democracy, said the move would take a generational step forward in restoring public trust and boosting engagement in UK democracy. But politicians from other parties have accused Starmer of trying to rig future elections with the change. The PM insisted last year the issue was one of fairness. He said: If you can work, if you can pay tax, if you can serve in your armed forces, then you ought to be able to vote. open image in gallery Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner (Lucy North/PA) ( PA Wire ) Across the world there are only a handful of countries where the voting age is less than 18. In 2024 only Nicaragua, Scotland (for devolved Scottish Parliament and council elections), the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Ethiopia, Ecuador, Cuba, Brazil, and Austria had votes at 16. Last year the then Tory MP Andrea Jenkyns, who has since lost her seat and defected to Nigel Farages Reform party, put a video out on X (formerly Twitter) claiming that Starmer wants to rig future elections. But Chris Annous, from pollsters More in Common, said expanding the right to vote to 16 and 17 year olds will have little impact on election results - outside of hyper marginal seats. A new poll has also found nearly half of 16 and 17-year-olds don't think they should be allowed to vote. The survey of 500 16 and 17-year-olds by Merlin Strategy for ITV News found that 49 per cent didn't think the voting age should be lowered to 16, while 51 per cent said it should. The plans will also see UK-issued bank cards as an accepted form of ID at the polling stations. A more automated voter registration system will also make it easier for people to register to vote, the government said. New changes will also close loopholes that would allow foreign donors via shell companies to influence UK political parties. It follows reports earlier this year that Elon Musk was preparing to give $100m (80m) to Nigel Farages Reform UK party, in what would have been by far the largest donation in British electoral history. open image in gallery Tighter rules come after reports Elon Musk was preparing to give $100m (80m) to Nigel Farages Reform UK party, in what would have been by far the largest donation in British electoral history. (PA) ( PA Archive ) The changes will also allow the Electoral Commission to take action and enforce heavier fines of up to 500,000 on those who breach political finance rules, and enable tougher sentences for those who abuse election campaigners. The reforms come as the official watchdog the Electoral Commission reported that spending at last summers general election hit a record high of 94.5 million, including 69.3 million spent by political parties. Labour outspent its rivals, shelling out 30 million during the campaign, more than twice the amount it spent five years earlier, while the Conservatives spent 23.9 million and the Liberal Democrats 5.6 million. Reform spent 5.5 million, the Greens 1.7 million and the SNP 799,000. Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director of the IPPR think tank, said the changes were "the biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969", when the voting age was lowered to 18. He said: "Barely half of people voted in last year's general election. Our democracy is in crisis, and we risk reaching a tipping point where politics loses its legitimacy. The government has clearly heard these alarm bells." No 10 absolutely rejected claims that the reform was being brought in to shore up the governments vote. 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 Furious members of the parliamentary committee which deals with national security have written to ministers demanding to know why they were kept in the dark for two years over the Afghan data breach. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has a statutory duty to oversee and scrutinise intelligence matters but was not informed of the data breach, which affected up to 100,000 Afghans and cost the UK taxpayer billions, until a superinjunction was lifted on Tuesday. Ministers have also been ordered to release sensitive papers to the ISC on the leak and the reasons for seeking to keep it secret for so long. Lord Beamish chairs the ISC (PA) ( PA Archive ) The breach happened when an unnamed official, who was not sacked, sent an email with a datasheet of what they thought were 150 names to help get them evacuated as the Taliban swept to power. But instead, the data contained details of thousands of Afghans who were then left exposed. In a terse letter to ministers, the chairman of the committee, Lord Beamish, has warned that there were no grounds to withhold the information from them. He told The Independent that the government legally has no choice now but to hand over the sensitive documents. He said: We are not like a normal parliamentary select committee, we are a statutory committee so the government has to provide us with what we have asked for. The Labour peer went on: We were unable to ask for the documents before because we did not know about them. But it will be interesting to find out why they were withheld from us given that one of the judges suggested they shared them with the ISC. He suggested that once committee members have the chance to review the papers, they may hold an inquiry and call ministers, former ministers and government officials in for questioning. Commenting on the decision to withhold the information from the committee, Lord Beamish, who has served on it for a number of years, said: This has never happened before in my experience. There was no grounds for it. I heard [former defence secretary] Ben Wallace suggest it was because it was defence-related and we deal with the intelligence services but that is complete nonsense. We have a clear role in defence intelligence as well. The idea as well that there was a concern about sharing official secrets with the committee is nonsense as well. He described the cover-up and avoidance of scrutiny as appalling and something completely new in his experience. The committees members all sign the Official Secrets Act and notoriously operate behind closed doors, not revealing the sensitive issues it has discussed, as a means of ensuring that the intelligence and security services are held to account. In a statement issued after the ISC met on Thursday morning, the Labour peer Lord Beamish said: The committee has today written to require, under the statutory powers the committee has in the Justice and Security Act 2013, that Defence Intelligence (DI) and Joint Intelligence Organisation assessments be provided to it immediately, together with any other intelligence assessments as referred to by Mr Justice Chamberlain in his judgement of 15 July, the closed version of the Review by Paul Rimmer, and all other DI material relating to the ARAP scheme. He added: The committee has also asked to be provided with the basis on which government counsel advised the Court of Appeal that material relating to the data loss could not be shared with this committee, given that under the Justice and Security Act 2013 classification or sensitivity of material is not grounds on which information can be withheld from the ISC. Former Tory defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace has taken full responsibility for the breach and the decision to initially get an injunction to prevent publication of the details. Armed forces minister James Heappey has apologised, describing the breach as gut-wrenching. But former defence secretary Sir Grant Shapps and former prime minister Rishi Sunak, who oversaw the cover-up, are yet to make a public statement. Labour defence secretary John Healey decided to lift the superinjunction preventing publication and even discussion about the data breach on Tuesday, after a government-ordered review found the risk to those affected of Taliban reprisals was longer than previously thought. Senior ministers have told The Independent about their total shock when they were presented with the facts of the breach and the super injunction on their first day in office last year. The Independent has asked the MoD for comment. Sign up to our free Brexit newsletter for our analysis of the continuing impact of Brexit on the UK Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Sign up to our free newsletter for the latest analysis on Brexit's impact Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice German chancellor Friedrich Merz has said he deplores Brexit as he signed a major cooperation deal between his country and Britain. At a press conference on Thursday alongside Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Merz said that countries should respond to the major challenges of our time together. Speaking through a translator, Mr Merz, on his first official visit to the UK since he became chancellor in May, told the press conference that he deplores deeply the UKs decision to leave the EU. The UK-German treaty, the biggest between the two countries since the end of the Second World War, sees them both agree to collaborate on migration, trade and security. open image in gallery Friedrich Merz and Keir Starmer in No 10 on Thursday ( PA ) Sir Keir and the German leader also agreed to "work ever more closely" on a range of issues. Mr Merz later said he would have backed Remain if he was British, but said we have to accept that Brexit has happened. Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, the German chancellor said he misses having Britain at the heart of Europe. We were like-minded in so many political questions, and if I were a Brit, a British citizen, I would have voted to remain, he said. He added: "But this has happened now the other way, we have to accept that. We have to work on that." Asked if he hopes the deal that was done recently between the EU and UK is "the beginning of a journey - closer trade relationships", he said: "I definitely hope so. And I'm very close with Keir Starmer, and we are really working very well, full of trust and confidence. And you remember that we were together in Kyiv in the very first week when I took office and economically, we tried to bring our two countries closer together. "We would like to ease people from the business to travel. We would like to see students to have better exchanges and free access to our respective countries. That's the reason we are signing this treaty now." The deal marks what has been a turnaround in Anglo-German relations. Six years ago the then German chancellor Angela Merkel warned that post-Brexit Britain would be a potential competitor to the EU, as France and Germany appeared to close ranks. Under the new agreement, Germany will close a loophole to allow police to seize small boats being used by migrants to cross the Channel. As part of moves designed to cut post-Brexit red tape, German school trips to the UK will also become visa-free by the end of the year, while British visitors to Germany will be able to use its passport e-gates by the end of August. The fast track will initially be for frequent travellers but will eventually be extended to all British visitors, as part of Sir Keirs wider Brexit reset with the EU. Sir Keir described the document, known as the Kensington Treaty, as very special. open image in gallery Visa rules for German school parties and the procedures for passing through airports for Britons are set to change ( Alamy/PA ) The Labour leader said it was "evidence of the closeness of our relationship as it stands today" as well as a "statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together". Mr Merz, a committed supporter of the European Union, once described himself as truly European. And a recent poll showed that most people in Germany, as well as in three other large EU countries, would welcome the UK back into the bloc. At the same time most Britons are in favour of rejoining, the YouGov survey of six western European nations found, but only if they can keep the opt-outs the UK previously had, such as remaining outside the Schengen zone and keeping their own currency. The poll found that at least half of people asked in France, Germany, Italy and Spain, supported the UK being allowed to rejoin, a range that spanned from 51 per cent support in Italy to 63 per cent in Germany. Those figures fell to less than half, however, if Britain wanted to rejoin on the same terms as before, with its opt-outs intact. The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that the size of the UK economy will be 4 per cent smaller over the long term because of Brexit. Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Diane Abbott has been suspended by the Labour Party over her claiming she stood by a controversial letter she wrote in 2023 comparing different types of racism on colour. A Labour Party spokesperson said: Diane Abbott has been administratively suspended from the Labour Party, pending an investigation. We cannot comment further while this investigation is ongoing. In an earlier statement the party had said it took her actions very seriously. The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP was suspended by the Labour Party in 2023 after a writing a letter to The Observer comparing racism experienced by people of colour with that seen by other groups in which she implied antisemitism and prejudice against groups such as travellers was not as serious. open image in gallery Diane Abbott speaking at the Peoples Assembly Against Austerity protest in central London (PA) ( PA Wire ) Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Reflections programme, she said she did not look back on the incident with regret. But her remarks are now to be investigated by the party with the possibility she could have the whip suspended again in parliament. Ms Abbott, who was readmitted to the party before the 2024 general election after a concerted campaign by supporters, told the programme: Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you dont know. I just think that its silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism. I dont know why people would say that. She apologised for any anguished caused by the remarks which drew criticism from Jewish and Travellers groups. The suspension comes less than 24 hours after the suspension of four leftwing rebels as Keir Starmer attempts to reassert his authority. The Mother of the House as the longest-serving female MP in the Commons having entered Parliament in 1987, said she got a bit weary about people labelling her antisemetic and said she had spent a lifetime fighting racism of all kinds. She said she was grateful to be a Labour MP but was sure the party leadership had been trying to get me out. Ms Abbott is a close ally of former leader Jeremy Corbyn who is now an independent MP having been expelled from the party. He is currently setting up a new party with another former Labour rebel Zara Sultana. Ms Abbott served as Mr Corbyns shadow home secretary and has been a noted anti-racism campaigner. However, she became embroiled in the antisemitism allegations over her attitudes to Israel, an issue which has split the party. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A government minister has told Labour MPs punished for voting against welfare reforms that they have only themselves to blame in the escalating rebels row. Keir Starmer suspended Rachael Maskell, Neil Duncan-Jordan, Brian Leishman and Chris Hinchliff on Wednesday after the four rebels voted against the governments flagship benefits bill earlier this month. Responding to controversy over the prime ministers decision, home office minister Jess Phillips said on Thursday: I disagree often with directions that are going on and I spend time working with colleagues on the back and front benches ensuring that we discuss these things. Constantly taking to the airwaves and slagging off your own government I have to say: what did you think was going to happen? There had to be a level of party discipline for the government to function, Ms Phillips, who is the minister for safeguarding and violence against women and girls, told BBC Radio 4s Today programme. open image in gallery Government minister Jess Phillips has told Labour MPs punished for voting against welfare reforms that they have only themselves to blame in the escalating rebels row ( House of Commons ) The four MPs all voted against the government over the welfare reform legislation, but party sources said the decision to suspend the whip was taken as a result of persistent breaches of discipline rather than a single rebellion. Speaking to Sky News, Ms Phillips said: We were elected as a team under a banner and under a manifesto, and we have to seek to work together, and if you are acting in a manner that is to undermine the ability of the government to deliver those things, I dont know what you expect. Referring to a description of the rebels by an unnamed source in The Times, she told Sky News: I didnt call it persistent knob-headery, but thats the way that its been termed by some. Ms Maskell, who spearheaded plans to halt the governments welfare reforms, hit out at Sir Keirs attempt to assert his authority over the party, saying he was wrong to carry out a purge of persistent rebels. open image in gallery Labour MP Rachael Maskell spearheaded plans to halt the governments welfare reforms ( PA Archive ) The York Central MP said: On this occasion, I dont think hes got it right. Speaking to the BBC, she added: I really hope from this process there will be reflection over the summer, but also learning. There needs to be a better reach-out to backbenchers to ensure that we are the safeguards of our government. Meanwhile, Sir Keir faced a fresh challenge to his authority when senior left-winger Diane Abbott said she had no regrets about comments on racism that led to her being suspended from Labour for a year. open image in gallery Diane Abbott has said she has no regrets about comments on racism that led to her being suspended from Labour for a year ( PA Archive ) The Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP was disciplined for saying in 2023 that people of colour experienced racism all their lives and in a different way to Jewish people, Irish people and Travellers. Despite withdrawing the remarks at the time, she was suspended from the Labour party after Sir Keir said her comments were antisemitic. In a new intervention, Ms Abbott, who was subsequently readmitted to Labour, said she does not regret her remarks and stands by her argument. She told the BBC: Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you dont know. In a slightly surprising move on one of the last few days before parliaments long summer recess, the government has announced it wants to give 16- and 17-year-olds the vote. This change was in the Labour manifesto, and Keir Starmer had expressed renewed support for it in April, telling a select committee: I think that if youre old enough to go out to work, if youre old enough to pay your taxes, then you are entitled to have a say on how your taxes are spent. And also, we do have voting at a younger age in different parts of the United Kingdom and the sky didnt fall in. However, the policy wasnt in the Kings Speech, which led some to doubt it would ever arrive. Looks like their time has arrived... Does it need new legislation? Yes, and thats whats coming. Rushanara Ali, the minister responsible, has confirmed that votes for 16 and 17-year-olds for all UK elections would form part of a new Elections Bill. Actually, at least as important electorally will be other measures in the bill designed to increase turnout at elections expanding forms of voter ID to include UK-issued bank cards and automatic voter registration. Modernising the rules on political donations to protect against foreign interference should also make the system fairer. However, theres no word on another idea Starmer once floated, which was to give EU nationals resident in the UK the right to vote in general elections (ie aside from Ireland, Malta and Cyprus, who already enjoy the privilege for historical reasons). Will it make a difference? Ali describes it as seismic it is the biggest change to the UK-wide franchise since 1969 when the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 (though Scotland and Wales have already gone to 16). However, the number of new voters involved is relatively small some 1.5 million who qualify under citizenship rules, out of a total electorate of around 48 million. Theyre also less likely to turn up to vote compared to, say, those over 60; the grey vote will still outweigh the youth vote. Can it save the Labour government? Not really, and not just because not that many teenagers will bother to vote. This time last year, when Labour was overwhelmingly popular, the new voters might have made a difference in a few seats, but now perhaps less so, just because Labour support has sunk relative to other parties. However, the dynamics are unclear. The best guess is that Labour would still net a small advantage over the Conservatives, who are virtually invisible in this age group, but certainly not so much over the Greens, independents/Corbynites, and, to some extent, Reform UK. Nigel Farages party has some support among younger males, but much less so with young women (and the female vote more generally). No doubt Reform will take some inspiration from having an 18-year-old Reform councillor leading Warwickshire, and a 19-year-old in charge of childrens social services in Leicestershire. Will it happen? Yes, but its not that popular. As well as Labour, the Liberal Democrats, the SNP, the Greens and Plaid Cymru all backed it at the last election. But according to pollsters More in Common, last year the public clearly opposed the idea, by a 47 to 28 per cent margin. According to an ITN/Merlin poll, about half of 16 to 18-year-olds dont want the vote. What do the kids want? Same as the rest of the voters who want things like a functioning NHS. However, they may have some special interests of their own: restoration of the educational maintenance grant (for sixth formers and equivalent) in England would seem an obvious vote-winner here, and improved opportunities for degree places and apprenticeships, lower tuition fees, and improved living allowances. At the moment, younger voters also seem more concerned about climate change (where they have more to lose) than older cohorts. Its quite likely theyd be more pro-EU than the older generations; demographics are already eroding the Leave base. In Scotland, the youngest voters tend to favour independence too, but they already had the vote in the 2014 referendum, which narrowly rejected separation. Is it a good idea? Besides Scotland and Wales, the franchise has been set at 16 in nations ranging from Brazil and Austria to the Isle of Man and, as the prime minister noted, the sky didnt fall in. Sign up for the View from Westminster email for expert analysis straight to your inbox Get our free View from Westminster email Get our free View from Westminster email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The UK and Germany have agreed to collaborate on migration, trade and security in the biggest treaty between the two countries since the end of the Second World War. Meeting at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Sir Keir Starmer and the German chancellor Friedrich Merz also agreed to "work ever more closely" on a range of issues. Under the deal, Germany will close a loophole to allow police to seize small boats being used by migrants to cross the Channel. As part of moves designed to cut post-Brexit red tape, German school trips to the UK will also become visa-free by the end of the year, while British visitors to Germany will be able to use its passport e-gates by the end of August. The fast-track will initially be for frequent travellers but will eventually be extended to all British visitors, as part of Sir Keirs wider Brexit reset with the EU. Sir Keir described the document, known as the Kensington Treaty, as very special. The Labour leader said it was "evidence of the closeness of our relationship as it stands today" as well as a "statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together". The treaty also includes a new taskforce designed to pave the way for direct train services between the two countries, which it is hoped could begin within the next decade. The treaty will tackle small boats crossings ( Getty ) After the signing ceremony, the two leaders then travelled to Downing Street for a further meeting. Mr Merz said he had been "surprised" to learn that the agreement was the first UK-Germany treaty since the Second World War. "We had you in the European Union and we thought that was enough," he said. "But we are now learning that it's not enough so we have to do more on that." On small boats, Germany has agreed to make people smuggling to the UK an offence by the end of 2025. While people smuggling into fellow EU countries is a crime under German law, trafficking migrants into the UK has not been illegal since Brexit. Most asylum seekers who cross the Channel embark from the French coast, however Germany is viewed as a transit country for migrants and is frequently used as a storage hubs for boats and transport equipment. At least 22,000 people have already made the journey since January, putting 2025 on course to be a record year for crossings. Yvette Cooper, the home secretary, had won German agreement to change the law to criminalise assisting the smuggling of migrants to the UK in December with Mr Merzs predecessor Olaf Scholz. However, a change in government in Berlin meant that it had to be renegotiated. Prior to his visit, Sir Keir said: Chancellor Merzs commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome. As the closest of allies, we will continue to work closely together to deliver on the priorities that Brits and Germans share. The leaders also agreed to jointly produce defence exports such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets and commit to developing their deep precision strike missile in the next decade, with a range of more than 2,000 kilometres. A series of commercial investments are being announced to coincide with the visit, worth more than 200 million and will create more than 600 new jobs. These include defence tech company Stark setting up a production facility in Swindon, its first outside Germany, and conversational AI firm Cognigy investing 50 million and expanding its UK team from 13 to 150. 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 Starmers decision to suspend four Labour MPs for defying the party whip has triggered a strong reaction, both inside and outside Westminster. The punishment meted out to Rachael Maskell, Chris Hinchliff, Brian Leishman, and Neil Duncan-Jordan comes after the government was forced into two major U-turns on planned welfare cuts amid its largest backbench rebellion to date. Some see the suspensions as a reassertion of control before MPs leave for summer recess, especially given rumours that disaffected Labour figures are in talks with Jeremy Corbyn about forming a new party. Starmers supporters, including Labour minister Jess Phillips, argue the rebel MPs were right to be punished for slagging off their own government. Meanwhile, the prime ministers critics say the move exposes his weakness, not his authority. Union leaders have condemned the actions as authoritarian and warned of a deepening rift between Labour and the labour movement. The rebel MPs have defended their stance as a matter of principle, insisting they were elected to stand up for struggling constituents, not to rubber-stamp legislation they believe will cause harm. Independent readers also weighed in with strong, but divided, views. Some backed the need for unity and discipline in government, but others questioned Starmers leadership style. Heres what you had to say: You sign up to follow party discipline If you get elected using the party's funding, logistics and "brand", you have signed up to follow party discipline and on a three-line whip to back the government. That's pretty much written in stone from the moment you put yourself forward as a candidate. In all parties. You might feel obliged to rebel on some matter of conscience, perhaps. But you do so knowing full well what the consequences are. SteveHill Do you think Keir Starmer was right to suspend the rebel MPs or is Labour silencing dissent? Share your thoughts in the comments. Behaving like an undisciplined bunch Starmer is right to do so. A group of Labour backbenchers are behaving like an undisciplined bunch of student protestors, not members of the governing party. Maybe it's because Labour holds power so rarely, but it invariably has a troublesome internal opposition who don't seem able to grasp that once a party is in government, the primary duty of MPs is to govern in the national interest and adopt collective responsibility and then to represent the views of their constituents. Their own political and ideological preferences come some way down the list of priorities, and undermining their own government by throwing their toys out of the pram when they don't get their own way is stupid. The voters don't like divided parties which fight internal wars that was a large part of the reason they chucked the Tories out. If the impression that the left has run amok and is creating anarchy takes root, then Labour will be toast and we will get the Tories back (or even worse, Reform). If that happens, the 'rebels' will have enabled the destruction of the welfare system and a rollback on what Labour has achieved on NHS improvements, net zero, green policies, and much else. Being in power and achieving something, even if not everything that all MPs want, should be far preferable to being back in opposition and achieving nothing. Tanaquil2 Have a backbone Being in government is not easy, and difficult compromises sometimes have to be made for the longer term. Its called not cherry-picking your favourite policies (remember the Brexit negotiations?) without being responsible for not being able to do other things. They will be someone elses favourites, and that way lies chaos. Support the government or dont, but have the backbone to call a vote of no confidence. The government is responsible to the peoplenot Labour Party members or other parties, for that matter. Longsands No easy fix Each MP should also have a duty to consider how to ensure the best for their constituents in the long term. This government is struggling to put right long-term abuses which have been levied on the ordinary British public for decades, many since Margaret Thatcher. Lies about giving ordinary people bigger stakes have been sold ever since, while the few accumulate more and more wealth and power. It will take a decade to rebalance some of this, and many of us will suffer in the short term for the greater good and for true democracy. Alas, there is no easy fix, even though many (most?) MPs would like to be able to offer one to their constituents. Reeves and Starmer seem to be doing the best they can with a lousy hand of cards and a rigged deck! Greym Primary duty I am reminded of Winston Churchill's comments about the duties of an MP: "The first duty of a member of Parliament is to do what he thinks in his faithful and disinterested judgement is right and necessary for the honour and safety of Great Britain. His second duty is to his constituents, of whom he is the representative but not the delegate. Burkes famous declaration on this subject is well known. It is only in the third place that his duty to party organisation or programme takes rank. All these three loyalties should be observed, but there is no doubt of the order in which they stand under any healthy manifestation of democracy." So an MPs primary duty is to the good of the country, then to his constituents as a whole, and only then to his party. Starmer has suspended MPs for doing their duty by putting the good of their constituents higher than party obligation. WellActually He cant sack them all! His vindictiveness is a sign of his weakness, as noted above. Leisham is the MP for Alloa and Grangemouth (Scotland); his suspension will likely set off alarms in the Scottish Labour Party, where Starmer is becoming increasingly unpopular. 26.6 per cent of children in Alloa and Grangemouth live in poverty. Brian Leisham, as a Labour MP for the area, has consistently opposed Starmer's policies, particularly those intended to worsen the lives of poorer people in Great Britain. He stuck to his principled approach in the welfare cuts debacle. I suspect that many other Scottish Labour MPs will continue their opposition to Starmer. In the end, he can't sack them all! PaleHorse A group of martyrs If he thinks he can assert his authority this way, then it will backfire, and he has created a group of "martyrs" who will feel free to be highly critical of his policies with no fear of retribution. It might even set an example. Other than that, he should have a word with himself over the summer, and ask why Labour MPs could possibly object to cutting PIP support dressed up as reform a reform that wasn't even in the manifesto. He doesn't seem to understand how it looks on the ground when they take freebies whilst cutting from the poorest. And if he still doesn't understand why the rebels did what they did, he should resign. His top-down leadership style of commanding over 400 Labour MPs was always going to have its limitations. These people have opinions and are voicing them, but Starmer seems incapable of taking anything on board. It's a very old-fashioned, top-down leadership style. More modern styles engage with people and take them with them. Having kicked out any dissenting voices during his time in opposition, he has surrounded himself with yes-people, and now he is reaping the rewards. Organisations with those kinds of structures are always destined to fail. Leftyandproud One step towards a dictatorship This should not happen in a representative democracy. Each MP has an obligation to their constituents and their conscience, and should be free to vote in line with them. A cabinet should convince its MPs to vote for party policy, but forcing them to vote a certain way which these bans effectively do, is one step towards a dictatorship. BigDogSmallBrain Heavy-handed Looks a bit heavy-handed to me, an outsider. These MPs gave an honest opinion and tried to persuade the government that it was making a wrong move. Once again, the government has handled an obviously sensitive issue clumsily, and the presentation came over badly. Advice to the government if anyone should get the boot, it is your current PR advisers. There have been a series of bad calls over the past year that looked bad from WFA onwards. Learn or suffer the consequences. 49niner Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity. Want to share your views? Simply register your details below. Once registered, you can comment on the days top stories for a chance to be featured. Alternatively, click log in or register in the top right corner to sign in or sign up. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice More than 1 million low-income households most of them working families with children who depend on the nations public housing and Section 8 voucher programs could be at risk of losing their government-subsidized homes under the Trump administrations proposal to impose a two-year time limit on rental assistance. Thats according to new research from New York University, obtained exclusively by The Associated Press, which suggests the time restriction could affect as many as 1.4 million households helped by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The NYU report also raises concerns about the largely untested policy, as most of the limited number of local housing authorities that have voluntarily tried the idea eventually abandoned the pilots. If currently assisted households are subject to a two-year limit, that would lead to enormous disruption and large administrative costs," for public housing authorities, the report said, adding that once the limit was up, housing authorities "would have to evict all of these households and identify new households to replace them. Defining temporary assistance Amid a worsening national affordable housing and homelessness crisis, President Donald Trumps administration is determined to reshape HUDs expansive role providing stable housing for low-income people, which has been at the heart of its mission for generations. At a June congressional budget hearing, HUD Secretary Scott Turner argued reforms like time limits will fix waste and fraud in public housing and Section 8 voucher programs while motivating low-income families to work toward self-sufficiency. Its broken and deviated from its original purpose, which is to temporarily help Americans in need, Turner said. HUD assistance is not supposed to be permanent. Elderly and disabled people would be exempted, but theres little guidance from the agency on how time-limited housing assistance would be implemented how it would be enforced, when the clock starts and how the exemptions would be defined. The NYU researchers dove deep into HUDs nationwide data over a 10-year period, analyzing nearly 4.9 million households that have been public housing and Section 8 voucher tenants. Of that, about 2.1 million could be affected by the time limits because they include at least one adult who is not elderly or disabled and about 70% of those households had already been living on those subsidies for two or more years. HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett pushed back on the NYU study. There is plenty of data that strongly supports time limits and shows that long-term government assistance without any incentive disincentivizes able-bodied Americans to work, Lovett said in a statement. Working families most at risk The time limits could displace more than a million children, as it would largely punish families who are working but still earning far below their areas median income. Housing assistance is especially impactful for children, said Claudia Aiken, the director of new research partnerships for the Housing Solutions Lab at NYU's Furman Center who co-authored the study with Ellie Lochhead. Their health, education, employment and earnings potential can change in really meaningful ways if they have stable housing, Aiken said. Havalah Hopkins, a 33-year-old single mom, has been living in a public housing unit outside of Seattle since 2022, but now fears a two-year time limit would leave her and her teenage son homeless. The 14-year-old boy has autism but is considered high-functioning, so how HUD defines disabled and able-bodied for the time limit could determine if their family will be affected by the restriction. Hopkins, who does catering work for a local chain restaurant, pays $450 a month in rent 30% of her household income for their two-bedroom apartment in Woodinville, Washington. Asked what she likes most about her home, Hopkins said: I like that I can afford it. Few successful examples Of the 17 housing authorities that tried time limits, 11 discontinued the trial. None tried two-year limits the most common policy was a five-year limit with the option for an extra two and the limits usually applied to specific programs or referrals. Although there are over 3,000 housing authorities in the country, only 139 of them have ever been granted flexibility to consider testing a time limit while using federal funds for programs such as job training and financial counseling. Any conversation about time limits ends up being this really nuanced, hyper-local focus on what works for specific communities rather than this broad national-level implementation, said Jim Crawford, director of the Moving to Work Collaborative which oversees that group of housing authorities. Even with those supports, several housing authorities said rent was still too high and well-paying jobs were scarce, according to the study. Others said they didnt have enough capacity to provide enough supportive services to help households afford rent. Shawnte Spears of the Housing Authority of the County of San Mateo in California said the agency's five-year time limits have given folks motivation to meet their goals in tandem with self-sufficiency programs funded by dollars Trump wants to cut. Time limits also give more households the chance to use vouchers, she said. But with the Bay Areas high rents, some tenants still have to spend more than half of their income on rent once their time is up or end up back on waitlists. I believe the program is very helpful in getting folks prepared but there lies this really, really significant rent burden here in our county, said Spears. When folks do leave our time-limited program, they are facing an uphill battle. ___ Kramon reported from Atlanta. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. 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 Uncertainty surrounds whether the leader of Camp Mystic received a critical National Weather Service warning before deadly floods struck Texas, a spokesman for the camps operators has revealed. The alert had triggered an emergency warning to phones in the area. Richard "Dick" Eastland, the owner of the camp, had been monitoring weather conditions, taking action after more than two inches of rain fell along the Guadalupe River on July 4, according to Jeff Carr, a spokesman for the family and the camp. Eastland reportedly possessed a "home weather station" and was actively tracking the downpour. However, Carr has now clarified that the timeline regarding Eastlands awareness of a 1a.m. emergency alert is less clear than initially suggested. While he had previously indicated Eastland received flash flood alerts, Carr told The Associated Press that no one in the family or camp staff can now definitively say whether the camp owner saw the urgent warning, despite initial assumptions. It was assumed that just because he had a cellphone on and shortly after that alert, he was calling his family on the walkie-talkies saying, Hey, we got two inches in the last hour. We need to get the canoes up. We got things to do,' Carr said. open image in gallery Richard Eastland ( Facebook ) The new account by the family comes as Camp Mystic staff has come under scrutiny of their actions, what preventive measures were taken and the camp's emergency plan leading up to a during the catastrophic flood that has killed at least 132 people. The flash-flood warning that the National Weather Service issued at 1:14 a.m. on July 4 for Kerr County triggered an emergency alerts to broadcast outlets, weather radios and mobile phones. It warned of a dangerous and life-threatening situation. The weather service extended the warning at 3:35 a.m. and escalated it to flash-flood emergency at 4:03 a.m. Eastland died while trying to rescue girls and was found in his Tahoe that was swept away by the floodwaters, Carr said. Even without a storm, the cellphone coverage at Camp Mystic is spotty at best, so campers and staff turn on their Wi-Fi, Carr said. He called ridiculous criticism that Eastland waited too long before beginning to evacuate the campers, which he said appears to have begun sometime between 2 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. Communication was a huge deficiency, Carr said. "This community was hamstrung, nobody could communicate. The first responder, the first rescue personnel that showed up was a game warden. According to Carr, Eastland and others started evacuating girls from cabins nearest the overflowing river and moved them to the camp's two-story recreation hall. Of the 10 cabins closest to the river, the recreation hall is the furthest at 865 feet (264 meters) with the closest cabin about 315 feet (96 meters), according to an Associated Press analysis of aerial imagery. open image in gallery A stuffed animal is seen on a memorial wall dedicated to the victims of the July 4 floods in Kerrville, Texas, on July 13 ( Brandon Bell/Getty Images ) To reach Senior Hill, which was on higher ground , they would have had to cross an overflowing creek, Carr said. At times the young campers were climbing hills in bare feet, he said. Some of the camps buildings which flooded were in what the Federal Emergency Management Agency considered a 100-year flood plain. But in response to an appeal, FEMA in 2013 amended the countys flood map to remove 15 of the camps buildings from the hazard area. Carr said there were legitimate reasons for filing appeals and suggested that the maps may not always be accurate. Just before daybreak on the Fourth of July, destructive, fast-moving waters rose 26 feet (8 meters) on the Guadalupe River, washing away homes and vehicles. Crews in helicopters, boats and drones have been searching for victims. Officials say 97 people in the Kerrville area may still be missing. 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 gourmet pie company that pitched to billionaires on Shark Tank earlier this year has filed for bankruptcy amid a pending lawsuit. Joyebells, a family-run bakery in Virginia that launched in 2019, initially achieved success thanks to a string of local media appearances following its launch, culminating in a 2022 appearance on Today. The bakerys biggest hits were its sweet potato, peach, and pumpkin pies. CEO Joye Berry-Moore took her pies to Shark Tank in February, and despite being praised for the quality of her baked goods, the sharks ultimately decided not to invest in the company. Now, just five months later, Joyebells has filed for Chapter 11 after being sued by its main lender for defaulting on a $350,000 loan, according to Richmond BizSense. open image in gallery CEO Joye Berry-Moore appeared on the Shark Tank show in February earlier this year ( Disney ) On June 30, Locus Bank formerly known as VCC Bank filed the suit in Henrico Circuit Court, naming Joyebells LLC, Joye Berry-Moore, and her husband, Eric Moore, as defendants. The bank states that it loaned Joyebells up to $350,000 in May 2023, but after the loan was renewed last year, the maturity date was set for May 11, 2025. On May 12, Locus sent the company a default notice and demanded payment from Joyebells, according to court filings. The bank is seeking a minimum of $344,500 from the pie company. Three days before the maturity date, Berry-Moore and her husband filed for personal bankruptcy, court records show, as seen by Richmond BizSense. open image in gallery Joye Berry-Moore walked away empty-handed after pitching her company on the show ( Disney ) In the court filing, the couple stated that their debts, totaling around $1.27 million, were a combination of business-related expenses and credit card debt. Two names that appeared, both claiming to be owed money, include the Internal Revenue Service, with a claim of $144,000, and Apple Valley Foods, a Minnesota pie manufacturer, which is owed $570,000. Berry-Moores had credited her business with turning her life around after she went from being homeless to becoming a first-generation business owner. I ran away from home at 14 years of age and remained homeless until age 17 years old until the end of my senior year of high school. I lived in abandoned houses and ate out of dumpsters in South Dallas, Texas, she states on the companys website. However, the legal battle is not the first challenge experienced by the baked goods company. It previously faced problems in 2023 when over 315,000 of its peach pies were pulled from shelves after a manufacturing issue led to the pies being made with unripened peaches, according to Richmond Bizsense. This resulted in reduced profits as Joyebells only sold products through QVC in 2024. The Independent contacted lawyers representing Lotus Bank and Joyebells for comment. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice National Guard troops and Marines deployed to Los Angeles during last months anti-ICE protests say their biggest problem wasnt demonstrators - but boredom and low morale. Trump sent more than 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Southern California last month as thousands of people took to the streets in protest of the administrations widespread immigration enforcement. The troops were sent to quell lawlessness, the administration said, but several service members spoke to the contrary. Theres not much to do, one Marine, who was not named, told the Los Angeles Times. After the protests died down a month ago, the marine said his duties had mostly involved approving access for visitors and workers at the Veterans Affairs office. Steve Woolford, a resource counselor for GI Rights Hotline, told the Los Angeles Times that many troops have told him they have little to do. The most recent people I talked to sounded like theyre sitting around bored without much to do, Woolford said. And theyre happy with that: They arent asking to do more. At the same time, I dont think people see a real purpose in what theyre doing at all. open image in gallery Members of the California National Guard stand watch in front of a federal building in Los Angeles. Several say theyre bored and concerned about assignments related to immigration enforcement in the region ( AFP via Getty Images ) Some National Guard troops deployed to LA also told The New York Times they are being ordered to back up federal immigration agents in the region. Six service members told the outlet that theres low morale among those stationed around LA, as well as concern that this mission could hurt future recruitment. Some said they believe Trump sent them to the city on a fake mission. A National Guard official told The New York Times this mission could hurt morale in the long term. The moral injuries of this operation, I think, will be enduring, the official said. This is not what the military of our country was designed to do, at all. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Independent Trumps efforts to quell the protests have been successful. Clearly, President Trumps efforts to restore order to Newscums lawless California have been successful rioters are deterred by our brave men and women in uniform who have been keeping our public buildings and the entire community safe, Kelly said. No troops were ever expected to conduct immigration enforcement operations, only protect the federal law enforcement officers from Newscums violent rioters when he refused to do so. The Trump administration ordered the release of 2,000 troops from the mission Tuesday, leaving half of them still in place. California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of exploiting troops as political pawns. open image in gallery California National Guard troops stand guard as protests swelled in Los Angeles last month. Trump deployed more than 4,000 troops to the area ( AP ) Thousands of members are still federalized in Los Angeles for no reason and unable to carry out their critical duties across the state, Newsom wrote on X Tuesday. End this theater and send everyone home. Trump deployed the troops last month after demonstrations swelled against widespread ICE raids across California, including in LAs Fashion District and the nearby city of Paramount. The protests stretched on for days and footage showed clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, particularly after the National Guard arrived, with police in riot gear using tear gas to disperse people. Some demonstrators threw fireworks and other projectiles at officers, vehicles were set on fire, and f*** ICE graffiti sprayed throughout the city. open image in gallery A Los Angeles protester holds a sign that reads, 'ICE OFF MY PROPERTY GET A WARRANT!' The anti-ICE protests erupted early last month ( Getty Images ) Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration arguing that federal officials must end the illegal and unnecessary takeover of Californias National Guard. A district judge initially sided with Newsom and Bonta, issuing a temporary restraining order that would have returned control of the troops to the state. However, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals paused the judges order shortly afterward and allowed the troops to stay in LA. Democratic lawmakers slammed Trump for the deployment. Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic New Jersey Senator Corey Booker backed Newsoms lawsuit, with Booker describing the presidents actions as hypocritical at best. open image in gallery A Los Angeles protester carries a sign that reads, 'MILITARY OFF OUR STREETS.' Governor Gavin Newsom attempted to sue the Trump administration to stop them from commandeering National Guard troops in the region ( Getty Images ) Democrats were also outraged when California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed after asking a question at a June 12 press conference led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Veterans similarly decried the move. Marine veteran Janessa Goldbeck told The Independent last month that Trump is using the military as a political prop. Goldbeck is the CEO of the nonpartisan advocacy group Vet Voice Foundation. When I joined the Marine Corps, I swore an oath not to a person, not to a party, but to the Constitution, Goldbeck said. Thats not just just politicizing the military its crossing a dangerous line, she added. Editor's Note: This article was updated after publication to include a statement from the White House 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 US Senate has moved to spare the worlds biggest HIV treatment and prevention programme which funds drugs and research in more than 50 countries from $400m (298m) of aid cuts imposed by Donald Trump. The proposed cuts to the Presidents Emergency Plan for Aids Relief (Pepfar) were part of a wider request from Trump to Congress to claw back $9.4bn (7bn) in funding already allocated to projects around the world. Eight billion dollars of that coming from foreign aid. Pepfar is estimated to have saved 26 million lives and prevented 7.8 million babies from being born with HIV infections. The amendment passed by the Senate agreed $400m should effectively remain in Pepfars bank account rather than being sent back to the US Treasury. The bill will now go back to the House of Representatives which passed a version of the bill allowing Pepfar to be cut for a vote by the end of the week. On taking office, Trump cut roughly 80 per cent of foreign aid spending virtually overnight, closing swathes of clinics and severing access to lifesaving medicines and tests. Thousands of lives are thought to have been lost already. If the clawback - or rescissions - bill passes, this money will remain available to spend on the HIV programme, but it doesnt guarantee any cancelled projects will be reinstated. Dr Kenneth Ngure, the president-elect of the International Aids Society, said it was very exciting news which, if confirmed, meant there will be more money available for the HIV response. But he cautioned that there were still policies that had been put into Pepfar which, dont favour the HIV response, for example prevention or pre-exposure prophylaxis [PrEP] is currently only being provided for pregnant women, he added, rather than to all high risk groups as before Trump launched his cuts. Solianna Meaza, director of policy and advocacy at global health non-profit FHI 360 said: It remains a concern for us that, at least right now, what we are allowed to do as the implementer of the Pepfar program is only administer certain prevention services to a more limited number of populations, but she added she was hopeful that a greater emphasis could be put back on prevention. Millions around the world are helped with Pepfar funding ( AP ) It also remains to be seen how much money is allocated for the programme in future, with it facing possible cuts. Dr Ngure said, I would encourage that [the] HIV response is well-funded because we have made a lot of progress over the years. And we had reached a place where we are starting to see the end of HIV as a public health threat. So, we just needed a few more years of funding. The majority of the cuts to foreign spending, including $500m taken back from other global health programmes, remain in the bill. These are expected to fall on maternal health, TB and malaria programmes among other areas. They may also still hit some HIV programmes. A lot of this funding doesn't just work in silos, they work hand in hand, Ms Meaza said. The $500m pot still did have HIV funding. So HIV still could be impacted... but it's just hard to say without the details, she added. The amended bill is, a double-edged sword, she said. It's definitely a big celebration that Pepfar funding has been protected, Ms Meaza before adding that she remained concerned at the overall remaining proposed cuts. Mitchell Warren, executive director of HIV advocacy group, the Aids Vaccine Advocacy Coalition (AVAC) said: Congress should still reject the full package of proposals subject to rescissions. If this package passes, this will establish a dangerous precedent for the administration and Congress to push at will, additional rescissions packages that could rescind and defund other programs across the government. He added passing the cuts would, codify [the Department of Government Effiency] DOGE's unlawful cuts to USAID and foreign assistance overall, essentially giving the administration clearance to continue to operate without any accountability. This article is part of The Independents Rethinking Global Aid project 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 significant majority of Americans suspect President Donald Trumps administration is withholding information concerning accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, a Reuters/Ipsos poll has found. The survey, which concluded on Wednesday, revealed that 69 per cent of respondents believe the federal government is concealing details about Epsteins clients, while only six per cent disagreed, and approximately one in four remained unsure. The findings come after the administration had pledged to make public documents related to the case, yet received poor marks from the public on the issue. Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, was facing federal charges of sex-trafficking minors when he died by suicide in jail in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty, and the case was subsequently dismissed. The high-profile case had particularly captivated segments of Mr Trumps political base, who anticipated sensational disclosures following assurances from top law enforcement officials that document releases would lead to significant revelations about Epstein and his alleged clientele. open image in gallery A man gestures to a photograph of US President Donald Trump and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after it is unofficially installed in a bus shelter on July 17, 2025 in London, England ( Getty Images ) The Trump administration last week reversed course on its pledge, enraging some of the president's followers. Close to two-thirds of Republicans think the administration is hiding details on Epstein's business, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Just 17% of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the case, a weaker rating than the president received on any other issue in the poll. Among Republicans, 35% approved, compared to 29% who disapproved and the rest who said they weren't sure or didn't answer the question. Reuters reported on Wednesday that Trump and White House officials were weighing a range of options including unsealing new documents, appointing a special prosecutor and drafting executive actions on issues such as pedophilia. Trump, however, has been defiant, describing supporters hung up on the issue as "weaklings" who were helping Democrats. "I donAAAt want their support anymore!" Trump said in a social media post. The beliefs following Epstein's death were part of a range of conspiracies that have taken hold in U.S. politics, including "QAnon," a far-right fringe belief that a cabal of cannibalistic child molesters inside the U.S. government have conspired against Trump. Behind the scenes Trump and senior aides have also reached out to key MAGA-aligned influencers, urging them to dial down their criticism of the administration's handling of the Epstein investigation and shift focus to broader priorities for the America First movement. open image in gallery US Attorney for the Southern District of New York Geoffrey Berman announces charges against Jeffery Epstein on July 8, 2019 in New York City ( Stephanie Keith/Getty Images ) The backlash over the Epstein case has laid bare tensions inside Trump's coalition and is testing one of Trump's most enduring political strengths: His ability to command loyalty and control the narrative across the right. The outcry comes amid discontent among parts of Trump's base over the U.S. strikes on Iran, continued involvement in Ukraine and any hint of backsliding on the administration's hardline immigration promises. Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. During the 2021 trial of Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier's longtime pilot, Lawrence Visoski, testified that Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Trump has denied ever being on the plane and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,027 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points. Close 'Which part of the 'Epstein hoax' is the hoax? White House tries to explain Trump claims 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 Pressure is continuing to mount on Donald Trump to release all files relating to the Epstein case after he dismissed the idea that any solid, incriminating evidence exists about his involvement with the late sex offender. California democrat Ro Khanna reiterated his efforts to push for the release of all files on Saturday - after the Trump administrations failure to release files relating to the case, as promised before the 2024 election. The president has now instructed Attorney General Pam Bondi to release pertinent files on the criminal investigation into Epstein, subject to Court approval. Late Friday afternoon, Bondi filed a motion in New York to release grand jury transcripts associated with" the Epstein case. But the Justice Department and FBI still retain the bulk of what those calling for transparency are demanding to see. This follows a bombshell report by The Wall Street Journal which a bawdy message and doodle from Trump among an album of letters celebrating Epsteins 50th birthday. The president has denied that the drawing or letter was his doing and is now suing the Journal,News Corp,Rupert Murdoch, and two journalists. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The White House acknowledged President Donald Trumps bizarre hand bruising and swollen legs sharing that the commander in chief received a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency. On Thursday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt addressed speculation over the 79-year-olds mysterious hand bruise that was photographed earlier this week, caked in makeup. Around the same time, photos of Trumps legs as he watched the FIFA Club World Cup appeared swollen and enlarged, also sparking questions over his health. During a press briefing, Leavitt said that Trump noticed mild swelling in his lower legs and received a check-up from the White House medical unit. An examination that included diagnostic vascular studies, bilateral lower extremities and venous doppler ultrasounds revealed a diagnosis of chronic venous insufficiency. The condition occurs when leg veins become damaged and struggle to send blood back up to the heart, causing blood to pool in your legs and swelling. The fairly common condition usually affects people over the age of 50, but the risk grows as one ages, according to the Cleveland Clinic. There was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease and a blood count test and echocardiogram both yielded normal results, Leavitt added. open image in gallery The White House on Thursday acknowledged President Donald Trumps mysterious hand bruise and swollen legs. The White House said Trump was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency AB. ( Getty/AP ) The press secretary then addressed the much-speculated bruise on the back of Trumps hand, telling reporters it was a result of frequent handshaking. Despite images of Trumps hand very clearly showing what appears to be an incision or scar, possibly from receiving an IV, the letter from Trumps medical team shared by the White House noted President Trump remains in excellent health. This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen. This is a well-known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy, and the President remains in excellent health, she said. Zoomed-in shots of Trumps hand appeared to be flaking with a layer of makeup a shade that did not match his skin, plastered over the top took off online earlier this week. On part of his hand, buried beneath the concealer, there appeared to be an incision or scar of some kind. open image in gallery One part of Trump's hand appeared to have a raised scar. ( AFP/Getty ) open image in gallery Images of the president at the FIFA Club World Cup showed his swollen legs. ( Reuters ) It wasnt the first time the mark on Trumps hand was a cause of concern. In February, it appeared yellow and bruised, and also covered in makeup, during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron. Leavitt provided a similar response to The Independent on Wednesday over concerns about the bruise, saying, President Trump is a man of the people and he meets more Americans and shakes their hands on a daily basis than any other President in history. His commitment is unwavering, and he proves that every single day. Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice President Donald Trump rejected a plan for further, more comprehensive U.S. military strikes intended to truly decimate Irans nuclear facilities, a new report states. The president reportedly halted the new wave of airstrikes after the release of an assessment that found two of the three sites targeted in last months cruise-missile and bunker-buster bombs attack sustained only minimal damage, according to five current and former officials cited by NBC News. It stated that one of the nuclear facilities struck by U.S. strikes last month was mostly destroyed, significantly delaying operations there, the sources briefed on the report said. However, they added that two other sites may have been damaged to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume within the next several months. open image in gallery Donald Trump allegedly rejected further U.S. military strikes on Irans nuclear facilities ( The White House ) According to the sources, U.S. Central Command had also drafted a far more expansive all-in plan that included targeting three additional Iranian sites than those that took place in Operation Midnight Hammer between June 21 and 22. The six strikes would have unfolded over several weeks rather than in a single night, sources said. Those familiar with the plan said it was designed to inflict enough damage to truly decimate Irans nuclear program. Described as a protracted air campaign, sources said more of Irans air defense and ballistic missile capabilities would have been targeted. We were willing to go all the way in our options, but the president did not want to, one person with knowledge of the plan said. Some administration officials believed a deeper offensive option against Iran was a viable policy, two sources said. But Trump allegedly rejected the plan because it conflicted with his America First agenda, favored by high-profile conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson, which involves pulling the U.S. out of foreign wars and a potential for higher casualties on both sides, two sources said. open image in gallery Satellite imagery taken last month shows the Fordow site after the U.S. bombing raid ( Maxar Technologies ) The report was commissioned as part of the Trump administrations ongoing efforts to assess the status of Irans nuclear program, after the president claimed the U.S. military obliterated uranium enrichment sites Fordow and Natanz and the major research facility at Isfahan. Some U.S. lawmakers, Defense Department officials, and allied countries were briefed on the report in recent days, four of the sources said. The report appears at odds with the presidents claims, who just hours after a fleet of U.S. B-2 stealth bombers touched down in Missouri on June 22, returning from Iran, the president touted the Monumental Damage that was done to all Nuclear sites. An initial analysis conducted by the Israeli military concluded that the Fordow site sustained serious damage but was not fully destroyed. The recent assessment is a snapshot of the damage U.S. strikes inflicted amid an intelligence-gathering process that administration officials have said is expected to continue for months. Two officials said they may find that more damage may have been inflicted as the assessments may change over time. The Independent has contacted the White House and the Defense Department for more information. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The longtime produce manager at a renowned New York City gourmet store was summarily fired after 20-plus years of service for inadvertently eating a coworkers lunch, plunging him into a deep state of despair and prompting a scathing human rights lawsuit against his former employer. Israel Xicohtencatl, 42, has experienced profound shame and embarrassment, particularly given that his termination was witnessed by coworkers and became known throughout the workplace, damaging his professional reputation and standing in the community, according to the suit. It says potential employers have questioned the circumstances of [Xicohtencatls] termination, forcing him to repeatedly explain and relive the humiliating experience, further compounding his emotional distress. Xicohtencatl claims in court filings obtained by The Independent that he is not the first person to be dismissed over such an error by Citarella Gourmet Market, which opened in 1912 on Manhattans Upper West Side. Plaintiff is aware of at least one other colleague with similar tenure who was terminated for the minor infraction of drinking a soda that belonged to another employee, Xicohtencatls complaint states. open image in gallery Citarella Gourmet Market has been a mainstay on Manhattan's Upper West Side since 1912. Now, the shop's former produce manager is suing after getting fired for eating a coworker's lunch ( Creative Commons ) The chainlet, which ships nationwide, has since expanded to the Hamptons and Connecticut, and owner Joe Gurrera is well-regarded for his popular cookbook, Joe Knows Fish. Xicohtencatls situation is reminiscent of a 2017 case that made international headlines, when a German daycare worker was fired without notice for eating a chocolate bar belonging to a colleague. The 64-year-old woman, who had been employed by the facility for more than 30 years, took her employer to court, arguing that she should have been given a warning, instead of being let go. Following an extensive legal battle, a judge ordered the alleged chocolate thief reinstated, as she had replaced the $3 chocolate bar following the dust-up. Citarella owner Joe Gurrera did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Xicohtencatls nightmare began on May 28, 2025, when he accidentally grabbed and ate a bagged lunch that belonged to a colleague, according to his complaint, which was filed Wednesday in state court. Upon realizing his honest mistake, [Xicohtencatl] immediately sought to identify the owner of the lunch, offered a sincere apology, and proposed to purchase a replacement lunch for the affected coworker, the complaint states. But, despite Xicohtencatls immediate acknowledgment of the error and his offer to remedy the situation, he was immediately fired by Citarellas head of security a move formalized in a termination letter the following day, according to the complaint. This, the complaint alleges, was part of a systematic campaign [by Citarella] to terminate employees who have worked for the company for more than twenty (20) years, using minor infractions as pretextual reasons for termination. open image in gallery Citarella (East Hampton location seen here) is being sued under a pair of New York Human Rights Laws over the firing of Israel Xicohtencatl, who says he didn't realize the lunch he was eating didn't belong to him ( Getty Images ) Xicohtencatl was earning $25 an hour when he was let go, according to the complaint. This pattern suggests that [Citarella] is attempting to reduce labor costs by eliminating higher-paid, long-tenured employees who have earned higher wages and benefits through their years of service, the complaint argues. Defendants stated reason for termination accidentally eating the wrong lunch is pretextual and masks the true discriminatory motive. The complaint calls the severity of the punishment grossly disproportionate, and describes Xicohtencatl as a loyal employee. At the same time, it claims that younger employees who commit similar or more serious infractions are not subjected to immediate termination. The sudden and unjustified termination has caused Xicohtencatl severe emotional distress, humiliation and feelings of worthlessness after dedicating over two decades of his life to faithful service with Citarella, the complaint maintains. In the aftermath, Xicohtencatl has suffered from anxiety, depression and insomnia, according to the complaint, which says that the abrupt end to the Brooklyn residents career has left him feeling betrayed and discarded, as if his years of loyalty, dedication, and hard work meant nothing to his former employer. Without a stable daily work routine, Xicohtencatl is now bereft of the structure, social connections, and sense of accomplishment that his job provided for over 20 years, the complaint states. It says the firing has also stripped Xicohtencatl of his sense of purpose, and his self-esteem has been severely damaged causing him to question his abilities and worth. open image in gallery Xicohtencatl says he has been unable to find a new job since getting fired from Citarella over a fateful lunchtime mixup ( Getty Images ) Additionally, Xicohtencatls complaint contends he has been unable to find a new job, as questions inevitably arise during interviews about the circumstances of his ouster from Citarella. The gap in employment on his resume has added to Xicohtencatls troubles, as has his inability to use Citarella as a reference when seeking work, according to his complaint. The financial uncertainty and loss of steady income has created additional stress and anxiety for Plaintiff, who must now worry about meeting his basic living expenses and maintaining his standard of living, the complaint states. ... The prolonged job search has taken a toll on Plaintiff's mental health and self-confidence, creating a cycle where his emotional state affects his ability to present himself favorably to potential employers. Xicohtencatl has now lost faith in the fairness of the workplace, and has been robbed of the opportunity to retire with dignity on his own terms, the complaint goes on. Plaintiff continues to suffer ongoing emotional distress, including feelings of rejection, abandonment, and loss of dignity, which have persisted long after the initial termination and continue to affect his daily life and wellbeing, it concludes. Xicohtencatl is suing Citarella for age discrimination under the New York State and New York City Human Rights Laws, claiming the company wants senior employees gone because they earn too much. He is seeking reinstatement, plus back pay and front pay, bonuses and other lost benefits, compensatory damages for emotional distress and punitive damages, plus attorneys fees. Citarella now has three weeks to file a response to Xicohtencatls claims. 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 major search is underway for a small plane that failed to make a scheduled landing at the Moruya airport in Australia's New South Wales (NSW). The plane carrying just one person took off from Wangaratta in Victoria and was due to land at Moruya airport on the Far South Coast at about 4.30pm local time on Tuesday. Emergency services were notified after the plane failed to land at the estimated time. The plane's last known position was over Khancoban in the Snowy Mountains, according to reports. The NSW police believe the plane could have crashed about 500m off Dargals Trail in the Snowy Valleys, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. The plane's disappearance prompted a multi-agency search operation, which included the NSW police, wildlife and national parks crews. Australian Maritime Safety Authority's (AMSA) Challenger jet, Victorian ambulance emergency medical helicopter and a toll rescue helicopter have been deployed to conduct an aerial search, the police said. The multi-agency aerial search resumed on Thursday morning after it was suspended at around 4pm Wednesday due to limited visibility. The ground search teams will be faced with rugged and inaccessible alpine terrain, impacted by recent heavy snowfalls, the AMSA said in a statement. Temperatures in Khancoban dropped to around 5C on Tuesday, the day the plane went missing, while conditions remained cold on Wednesday. Temperatures are forecast to fall further to 1C on Thursday, with snow again possible above 1,000m, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. The missing small plane is reportedly a Beechcraft 35-C33 Debonair owned by a man in Bega, NSW, about 120km south of Moruya. The single-engine four-seater had flown from Moruya to Frogs Hollow airstrip, south of Bega, on Sunday. The next day, the aircraft flew from Moruya to Wangaratta, according to the Border Mail. 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 Britain and Germany are set to develop a new super-missile as the two countries vowed to protect each other from attack, German media reported. The two nations are launching a joint military project to build a super-Taurus long-range missile system over the next ten years to deter Russian aggression, according to Politico. Germany already has around 600 Taurus missiles, which have a range of 500km, and has refused to allow Ukraine to use them against Russia. On Thursday, the UK and Germany signed a wide-ranging friendship treaty as German chancellor Friedrich Merz visited London. The treaty includes a clause on mutual assistance which, "in light of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, is highly significant", a German official said earlier this week. open image in gallery The Prime minister and German chancellor had talks at Downing Street, London, on his first official visit to the UK (Leon Neal/PA) ( PA Wire ) Britain and Germany pledged to "pursue joint export campaigns" to drum up orders from other countries for equipment they make jointly, such as the Typhoon Eurofighter jet and the Boxer armoured vehicle. That could help boost sales, and represents a significant reversal from the previous 10 years, when Germany blocked Saudi Arabia and Turkey from buying Typhoons. Further deepening ties, a German defence tech company, Stark, has also agreed to build a new factory in Britain, the first production facility outside of Germany, to create AI-powered unmanned systems. Beyond defence, the treaty also includes an agreement to develop a new direct rail link between the two countries and to jointly combat irregular migration. Germany pledged to outlaw the facilitation of illegal migration to Britain, with a law change by the end of the year. open image in gallery On Thursday, the UK and Germany signed a wide-ranging friendship treaty as German chancellor Friedrich Merz visited London ( Getty Images ) That would give law enforcement the tools to investigate warehouses and storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal dangerous small boats intended for illegal crossings to Britain. This is a historic day for German-British relations," Mr Merz said at the signing ceremony in the Victoria and Albert museum. We want to deepen our cooperation in the field of defence, in foreign policy, but also in economic and domestic policy. Mr Merzs trip followed a three-day state visit to Britain by French president Emmanuel Macron, signalling greater cooperation between Europe's top three powers at a time of threats to the continent and uncertainty about their US ally. Europe has been confronted with new US tariffs since President Donald Trump returned to the White House as well as questions about the US commitment to defend its European allies, including Ukraine against Russia's invasion. 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 volcanic fissure that opened up in Icelands Reykjanes Peninsula expanded on Thursday after an eruption forced the evacuation of local residents and travellers staying at the famous Blue Lagoon spa. Lava was still flowing on Thursday, after what officials say was the twelfth eruption in the region since 2021. The volcano alert level will remain at the highest level until 3pm on Friday, Icelands Meteorological Office (IMO) said in their latest assessment. The eruption on Wednesday prompted fresh evacuations from the nearby town of Grindavik, a luxury hotel, and the popular Blue Lagoon spa, Icelandic authorities said. Jordis Gumundsdottir, communications director for civil protection, says that police were driving around the Blue Lagoon checking on people staying in houses. There are quite a few people there, she said, according to The Mirror, adding that she didn't have an exact number of people staying in the area. On Wednesday, the eruption sent glowing lava and columns of smoke into the air, with dramatic footage showing orange flows lighting up the dark volcanic landscape. The outbreaks, known as fissure eruptions, are characterised by lava flows emerging from long cracks in the earth's crust, rather than from a central crater. The crack in the ground now measures some 2.4 kilometres, with fresh lava now covering 3.2 square kilometres, according to officials. (It does) not threaten any infrastructure at this time, the IMO said in a statement. Based on GPS measurements and deformation signals, it is likely that this was a relatively small eruption. open image in gallery Lava and smoke erupting from a volcano near Grindavik on the Icelandic peninsula of Reykjanes ( Public Defense Department of the State Police ) Authorities moved swiftly to evacuate areas near the site. According to Icelands public broadcaster RUV, guests were relocated from the Blue Lagoon resort and residents were cleared from Grindavik. Clouds of gas were heading towards nearby communities in Vogar and Reykjanesbr, Sandgeri and Gar, local media reported. Residents were asked to close windows and monitor the air quality. The town, once home to nearly 4,000 people, was evacuated in 2023 and has remained largely deserted ever since, due to repeated volcanic activity and earthquake threats. A large sulphur dioxide gas cloud was blowing toward Keflavik International Airport. Flights at Keflavik airport, about 20km away, were not affected as of Thursday evening, and no major disruption to air traffic was reported. open image in gallery Lava emerges through a fissure following a volcano eruption near Grindavik, Reykjanes, Iceland ( Reuters ) The eruption is the latest in a growing sequence of volcanic events on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which began when dormant systems were reactivated in 2021 after centuries of silence. Experts warn the region could now face periodic eruptions for decades or even centuries. This is part of a new volcanic cycle, the IMO has previously said, referring to the Reykjanes system, where magma often emerges through long surface fissures rather than traditional crater eruptions. While past eruptions in the region have not ejected large volumes of ash into the stratosphere, the frequent lava flows and associated tremors continue to pose risks to infrastructure, geothermal plants, and communities in southwest Iceland. 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 Preparations are underway to quickly transfer additional Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine, Nato's top military commander has said. Alexus Grynkewich's pledge comes as Ukraine suffered some of the heaviest Russian attacks of the war so far. The Ukrainian air force said Moscow launched 400 Shahed and decoy drones, as well as one ballistic missile on Wednesday night. "Preparations are underway, we are working very closely with the Germans on the Patriot transfer", General Grynkewich told a conference in the German city of Wiesbaden. "The guidance that I have been given has been to move out as quickly as possible." open image in gallery President Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House ( REUTERS ) President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the US would send an undisclosed number of Patriots to Kyiv, and that the European Union would pay for them. Volodymyr Zelensky has asked for more defensive capabilities, among them Patriot systems and missiles, to fend off daily missile and drone attacks from Russia. Here, The Independent looks at what Patriot missiles are, and why it is important to Ukraine: What is the Patriot system? The Patriot, short for Phased Array Tracking Radar for Intercept on Target, is a mobile surface-to-air missile defence system developed by Raytheon Technologies. It is considered one of the most advanced air defence systems in the US arsenal, and it has been in service since the 1980s. A typical battery includes radar and control systems, a power unit, launchers, and support vehicles. open image in gallery Volodymyr Zelensky in front of a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system ( Getty Images ) The system can intercept aircraft, tactical ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, depending on the interceptor used. The US batteries are regularly deployed around the world. Patriots are also operated or being purchased by the Netherlands, Germany, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Taiwan and Greece, among other countries. How does the Patriot work? The system has different capabilities depending on the type of interceptor used. The earlier PAC-2 interceptor uses a blast-fragmentation warhead that detonates in the vicinity of a target, while the PAC-3 family of missiles uses more accurate technology that hits the target directly. It is not clear what kind of Patriot systems have been donated to Ukraine, but it is likely that Kyiv has at least some of the newer PAC-3 CRI interceptors. open image in gallery The Patriot is a mobile surface-to-air missile defence system developed by Raytheon Technologies ( via REUTERS ) The system's radar has a range of over 150 km, according to Nato. The Patriot was not originally designed to intercept hypersonic missiles, and its developer, Raytheon, has not yet confirmed if it can do so. But, in May 2023, the US confirmed Ukraine had used it to shoot down a Russian Kinzhal missile, which Moscow claims is hypersonic. Since January 2015, the Patriot has intercepted more than 150 ballistic missiles in combat operations, Raytheon says on its website. How much does it cost? A newly produced single Patriot battery costs over $1bn (746m), including $400m (298m) for the system and $690m (515m) for the missiles in a battery, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Patriot interceptors are estimated to cost around $4 million per missile, CSIS says. Why does Ukraine want more Patriots? Kyiv has frequently asked Western allies for more air defences to protect critical infrastructure and civilian areas from frequent Russian missile and drone attacks. While effective at intercepting missiles and aircraft, Patriots are a costly way to shoot down low-budget drones. Still, Ukrainian officials say they are essential to defending key targets from Russia's escalating long-range attacks. Russia says it sees the supply of Patriots as a direct escalation. Foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier this year that supplying more systems to Ukraine would delay the chances of peace. Additional reporting by Reuters. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The transformed nature of modern warfare is starkly evident to a weary Ukrainian platoon commander, medically evacuated from the front lines. The skies above Ukraine now swarm with kamikaze, surveillance, bomber, and anti-drone UAVs. These numerous, cheap, and deadly machines are considered by Kyiv to be a primary reason Ukraine can withstand advancing Russian forces this year and beyond, a view shared by a dozen Ukrainian commanders, officials, and arms manufacturers. So pervasive are these remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicles that Ukrainian soldiers refer to the roughly 10-kilometre corridor on either side of the contact line as the "kill zone," where targets are swiftly spotted and neutralised by both sides. The war's evolution into the most drone-intensive conflict ever seen has eaten away at Russia's ability to exploit its traditional advantages in troop numbers, artillery and tanks, according to two Ukrainian battlefield commanders interviewed. open image in gallery A service member of the 429th Achilles Separate Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment sits at a position while he operates FPV-drones near the front line town of Kupiansk ( REUTERS ) Any large vehicle operating near the front is now an obvious target, meaning Russian forces can no longer make the kind of rapid advances they did in 2022 with columns of armoured vehicles, according to the commanders as well as the founder of OCHI, a system which centralises video feeds from over 15,000 Ukrainian military drone crews on the front lines. "The enemy sees you completely," OCHI's Oleksandr Dmitriev added. "No matter where you go or what you are driving." Russia has consequently adapted its tactics, the Ukrainian battlefield commanders said; its forces now typically attack in small groups of five or six - on foot or on motorbikes or quad bikes - in an attempt expose Ukrainian positions by drawing their fire and then launching drone strikes at them, they added. Russia's defence ministry didn't respond to a request for comment on this article. Despite the changes in warfare, Russian forces retain the ascendancy and are making slow but steady advances in the east and north of Ukraine. Russia has also caught up in UAV technology after falling behind early in the war, according to military analysts, and like its enemy is churning out drones domestically at a rate of millions a year. Meanwhile, European leaders are trying to parse President Donald Trump's announcement this week that America would supply arms to Ukraine via NATO, with Europe picking up the bill. Many details remain unclear, including the types and quantity of weapons, how quickly they would be sent and precisely how they would be paid for, U.S. and European officials said this week. The White House didn't respond to queries on the supply plan. Spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the war had gone on too long and Trump wanted to end the killing, and so is selling U.S. arms to NATO for Ukraine and threatening hefty sanctions on Russia. open image in gallery Firefighters extinguishing a fire on civilian object after Russia fired hundreds of drones, artillery and a ballistic missile at Ukraine ( Ukrainian State Emergency Servic ) The people interviewed for this article, who were speaking before Trump's weapons announcement, said they believed Ukraine could fight on and resist Russia even if no more U.S. aid was forthcoming, though they didn't give precise timelines. Many cited the primacy of drones as having levelled the field to some degree and made Ukraine more self-sufficient, and also pointed to growing military supplies from European allies. "We can hold out for months," said Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's arms expert and strategic adviser, when asked about what would happen if U.S. weapons supplies ceased. "In 2023 or 2024, it would have been a lot worse; we would be talking about days or weeks." Polish military analyst Konrad Muzyka, who has made numerous visits to the front lines, said Ukraine's focus was to sap the strength of Russian attacks, adding that Kyiv didn't currently have the capability to launch offensives of its own. open image in gallery A drone pilot controls a Ukranian fiber-optic FPV Drone Stalker ( AFP via Getty Images ) He said Ukraine would likely struggle in a long war of attrition due to its manpower shortages and Russia's superior resources. Although drones have changed the battlefield, he cautioned against overstating their ability to make up for an absence of artillery and mortars. "To deliver the amount of damage that an artillery shell does to a target, you would need to launch tens of drones," he added. "Drones can fill in the gaps to some extent and give you some breathing space, but they are not a substitute for artillery." Destruction rains from above Drones are demons, at least for those in the kill zone that straddles the 1,000 km line of contact. Reconnaissance UAVs from both sides - resembling shrunken airplanes, made of plastic or styrofoam and equipped with sophisticated cameras - can spot enemies from several kilometres away. They hover over the front lines, relaying back what they see in real time. They find targets for the fleets of bomber drones - often hexacopters the size of coffee tables that can drop precision grenades with 3D-printed tailfins - as well as kamikaze drones, some with RPG warheads strapped on to pierce armour, which can fly into soldiers, tanks and weapons systems. The platoon commander being evacuated from the front, a 35-year-old called Ivan who goes by the call sign "Atom", said soldiers on both sides now saw UAVs as the biggest threat to their lives, replacing shells, mines and enemy fighters which were the primary perils earlier in the war. open image in gallery Soldiers from the "Black Sky" battalion of the Spartan brigade carry an agricultural drone, transformed into a front-line delivery cargo ( AFP via Getty Images ) A medic with him on the bus, 34-year-old Olga Kozum, concurred: Most of the battlefield injuries she and her colleagues treat are caused by UAVs, she said. According to internal Ukrainian estimates seen by Reuters, drones accounted for 69% of strikes on Russian troops and 75% of strikes on vehicles and equipment in 2024. About 18% of strikes on Russian infantry and 15% of strikes on vehicles and equipment were conducted with artillery, and even less with mortars, according to the same estimates. The wartime UAV arms race has spawned many innovations; both sides are deploying short-range, fibre-optic drones that cannot be electronically jammed, as well as "interceptors" that hunt down and destroy enemy reconnaissance and attack drones. Kyiv's planned production this year of 30,000 long-range UAVs, designed to attack targets deep inside Russia such as arms depots and energy facilities, gives Ukraine an increased offensive threat, according to Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of the country's drone forces until early June. The average cost of a long-range strike drone ranges from $50,000 to $300,000, about 10 times less than a missile of similar range, although a drone's warhead is smaller, Sukharevskyi said in an interview while still in the post. open image in gallery A service member of the 429th Achilles Separate Unmanned Aerial Systems Regiment prepares an FPV-drone for a fly at a position near the front line town of Kupiansk ( REUTERS ) "This is our asymmetrical answer," he said, adding that Ukraine started developing such drones "precisely because we lack missiles". Kamyshin, President Zelensky's adviser, added: "You can't win a big war if you are only defending." Long-range drone strikes are "one of the main cards Ukraine can play against Russia right now". Wanted: U.S. patriots and intel Ukraine's military-industrial base is expanding rapidly, and now accounts for around 40% of the weapons and equipment used, including drones, according to Zelensky, who on Wednesday set out a target to reach 50% in six months. Kyiv has also sought to diversify its supplies and its European allies are providing growing amounts of munitions, potentially making the country more resilient to geopolitical shocks. The Kiel Institute, a German-based economic research group, estimated in a report last month that Europe had surpassed the U.S. in total military aid provided over the course of the war for the first time since June 2022, reaching 72 billion euros compared with 65 billion euros from Washington. The institute said aid flows to Ukraine shifted significantly in March and April as no new U.S. aid was allocated and European countries upped support. While the U.S. has been - and remains - the largest sole supplier of artillery shells to Ukraine during the war, Europe is expanding capacity and has purchased hundreds of thousands of munitions from within and outside the continent. open image in gallery A Russian drone is shot down by Ukrainian air defences during a night strike on Kyiv ( AFP via Getty Images ) Of around 420,000 artillery shells received by Ukraine from the start of this year until around mid-May, only 160,000 were from the United States, according to a European security source who requested anonymity to discuss confidential matters. Kamyshin said Ukraine made around 2.4 million of its own shells in 2024, although these were mostly for mortars, which are shorter range. Ukraine is nonetheless particularly reliant on the U.S. in the areas of air defences and intelligence sharing, military analysts said. Kyiv particularly covets U.S. Patriot air defence systems, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles that Russia is firing with increasing frequency. As of April this year, Ukraine had seven fully operational systems, well short of the 25 that Zelenskiy has requested, according to analysts at Ukrainian publication Defence Express. Long-range drone and missile attacks often rely on U.S. satellite intelligence. European countries can only go a small way to replacing were the United States to stop sharing it, the European Union Institute for Security Studies said. Close Zelensky thanks Trump after US president threatens Putin with sanctions if no peace in Ukraine in 50 days 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 Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has offered Vladimir Putin fresh peace talks after weeks of relentless Russian missile attacks. Mr Zelensky offered Moscow another round of ceasefire negotiations for next week, saying he wanted to speed up ending the conflict. It comes after weeks of relentless Russian strikes on Ukraine, including over 300 drones and 30 missiles launched on Friday night. Everything should be done to achieve a ceasefire, Mr Zelensky said in his evening address to the nation. The Russian side should stop hiding from decisions. Ukraine and Russia have held two rounds of talks in Istanbul over the past five months. They have agreed to swap prisoners but made no breakthroughs in ending almost three and a half years of conflict that started with Russia's 2022 invasion. Mr Zelensky said Rustem Umerov, who headed the Ukrainian delegation at both talks in Istanbul, had sent the Russian side the offer to hold the meeting next week, but gave no more details. US president Donald Trump, who has sharpened his tone against Russia in recent weeks amid worsening air strikes on Ukrainian cities, threatened harsher sanctions on Russia earlier this month if a peace deal was not reached within 50 days. 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 Syria is facing a fresh and dangerous escalation in violence, with Israel launching its most intense airstrikes on Damascus in years amid deadly clashes between Druze factions and government forces in the south. The renewed conflict, centred on the province of Suwayda in the south, threatens the countrys fragile post-war political transition and has already left hundreds dead, including civilians and soldiers. The immediate trigger for the violence was the abduction of a Druze merchant in Suwayda on 13 July, which quickly spiralled into armed confrontations between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes. The situation worsened when government troops attempted to restore order but ended up clashing with local Druze fighters and in some cases, were accused of targeting civilians. By 15 July, Israel intervened militarily, citing its responsibility to protect the Druze population in Syria, a minority it considers a potential ally. This intervention marked the beginning of a dramatic escalation. In Israel, the Druze are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the military. In Syria, the Druze have been divided over how to deal with the country's new leaders, with some advocating for integrating into the new system while others have remained suspicious of the authorities in Damascus and pushed for an autonomous Druze region. On Wednesday the Israeli military launched multiple airstrikes hitting central Damascus, including the Ministry of Defence headquarters and areas near the presidential palace, saying it is warning against attacks on Druze. open image in gallery Syrian Druze protest near the Israeli-Syrian border ( AP ) Further attacks were carried out in the southern city of Suwayda, a Druze-majority area close to the Jordanian border. According to Syrian officials, the strikes on Damascus killed three people and injured 34. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reported that more than 300 people had been killed in Suwayda since 13 July, including eight women, four children and 165 soldiers. The strikes represent Israels most serious military escalation in Syria since December 2024, when it bombed hundreds of military sites following the fall of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad in a rebel-led offensive. That offensive had ended Syrias 14-year-long civil war and ushered in a new, Islamist-leaning leadership under interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa. Israel has been accused by some Druze figures in Syria and Lebanon of stoking sectarian divisions to advance its own expansionist aspirations in the region. open image in gallery Members of the Druze community from both sides cross through the buffer zone between Syria and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights ( AFP via Getty Images ) Syrias new leadership under pressure President al-Sharaa, a former militant who was once a member of al-Qaeda and now heads Syrias transitional government, addressed the nation on Thursday, describing the Druze as an integral part of Syria. We affirm that protecting your rights and freedoms is among our top priorities, he said, specifically addressing Druze in Syria. We reject any attempt foreign or domestic to sow division within our ranks. We are all partners in this land, and we will not allow any group to distort the beautiful image that Syria and its diversity represent. open image in gallery File: Syrian president Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a press conference in Paris, on 7 May 2025 ( AFP via Getty Images ) He said Syrians did not fear renewed war but sought the path of Syrian interest over destruction. We assigned local factions and Druze spiritual leaders the responsibility of maintaining security in [Suwayda], recognising the gravity of the situation and the need to avoid dragging the country into a new war, he said. We are not among those who fear war, he said. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction. Dr Mohamad Elmasry, a professor of media studies at the Doha Institute, called the speech a significant departure from earlier stances. It was a clear warning to Israel that Syria doesnt want war, but it wont back down either, he told Al Jazeera. Were at a potentially dangerous tipping point. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Israeli strikes as a flagrant assault and accused Israel of pursuing a deliberate policy to spread chaos and destabilise the region. Several Arab governments, including Egypt, Qatar, and Lebanon, echoed Syrias condemnation. Saudi Arabia described the strikes as blatant attacks, and Turkey warned they risk sabotaging Syrias efforts to restore peace. Israels rationale and regional implications Israel claims that its military campaign is a response to attacks on the Druze and an attempt to prevent Islamist militias from entrenching themselves near its border, especially around the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. It has also accused Syrian forces of carrying out summary executions of Druze civilians. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz declared after the Damascus strikes: The warnings in Damascus have ended - now painful blows will come. He also threatened that Israel would increase its military pressure if Syrian forces remained in Suwayda. The strike on the Syrian military headquarters was captured live by Syria TV, whose studios sit opposite the building, showing the moment a presenter fled the set while still live on air. open image in gallery Smoke rise from clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze militias in Suweida city, southern Syria ( Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Ceasefire attempts falter Following days of airstrikes and clashes, Syrias Ministry of Interior on Wednesday announced a new ceasefire and confirmed that army convoys had begun withdrawing from Suwayda. The ceasefire had been brokered with some Druze leaders, but prominent cleric Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri quickly rejected it, raising doubts about its viability. Previous attempts to broker peace had also failed. A ceasefire declared on Tuesday had collapsed within hours. As Israels military strikes continued, fears of further bloodshed and displacement grew. Who are the Druze? The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethno-religious group with roots in 10th-century Ismailism, a branch of Shia Islam. While their faith incorporates Islamic elements, it is considered a distinct religion. There are about one million Druze worldwide, with half living in Syria and others spread across Lebanon, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. In Syria, they constitute roughly three per cent of the population. While the Druze community in Israel is often seen as loyal to the state, including through military service, the Druze in Syria have historically maintained a delicate balance between cooperation with and resistance to state authorities. Following the fall of Assad, many Druze factions have resisted the authority of the new government, preferring to rely on local militias for security. This resistance, combined with past accusations of government abuses, has fuelled their mistrust toward the state. Eyewitness accounts of horror Grim reports of violence have surfaced from within Suwayda. Videos on social media showed government-affiliated fighters shaving the moustaches of Druze clerics a symbolic act of humiliation and desecrating Druze religious symbols. Others showed Druze fighters beating captured government troops and posing with corpses. The Syrian Observatory reported at least 27 summary executions. The Associated Press said its journalists in the region had witnessed widespread looting and arson in Druze neighbourhoods. Personal accounts add to the growing human cost. In Jaramana, near Damascus, 20-year-old Evelyn Azzam said she feared her husband, Robert Kiwan, had been shot by security forces during a phone call. They shot my husband in the hip, from what I could gather, she said. Since then, we have no idea what has happened. A Druze woman in the United Arab Emirates said her family was hiding in their basement near Suwaydas hospital. I heard them cry. I have never heard them this way before, she said. Another woman said a house containing her relatives had been burned down with them inside, evoking memories of a deadly 2018 Isis attack on the city. On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents Get a weekly international news dispatch Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Two people were killed and several injured in an Israeli strike on Gazas only Catholic church on Thursday, in an attack condemned as unacceptable by the Italian Prime Minister. A man and a woman died, and several people were wounded in "an apparent strike by the Israeli army" on Gaza's Holy Family Church, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said in a statement. The Holy Family Church is the only Catholic church inside the besieged Palestinian enclave. "We pray that their souls rest (in peace) and for an end to this barbaric war. Nothing can justify the targeting of innocent civilians," said the Patriarchate, which oversees the church. Israels foreign ministry issued an apology for the incident in a rare move. "Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza city and over any civilian casualty," the ministry said. open image in gallery Father Gabriele Romanelli suffered light leg injuries ( Reuters ) Pope Leo expressed his sadness over the deaths and reiterated his hope for dialogue in a telegram for the victims signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans secretary of state. He also renewed his "call for an immediate ceasefire and he expressed his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region. The Vaticans statement made no reference to the Pope condemning the attack. Among those injured was Father Gabriele Romanelli, an Argentinian, who used to regularly update Pope Francis about the war ravaging Gaza. He suffered light leg injuries, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa said. The church was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including several children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the wounded. At least two people were in critical condition, and others injured included one child with disabilities, two women and an elderly person, Mr Naem said. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem added that the church had sustained damage. A Christian Palestinian man, who spoke anonymously to The Independent due to fears for his safety, said the strike hit right next to the part of the church compound where the elderly and those with disabilities were sheltering. Two of his relatives one in his sixties and another woman in her eighties were killed. A younger cousin, in his twenties, is in a critical condition after a piece of shrapnel tore through his body. They started hitting in the morning. My parents, who were sheltering in one of the church classrooms, tried to rescue the injured. My father, who is a pharmacist, tried to help as many people as he could. open image in gallery Smoke billows from the site of an Israeli strike on Gaza ( AFP via Getty ) He said that one of the main priests discovered the shrapnel in his legs and abdomen while he was trying to help the wounded. They couldnt run or escape they couldnt move without oxygen machines. My cousin had shrapnel go through his back and abdomen hes in a critical condition and in the operating room now. He said his family sounded depressed and worried that this was just the beginning of a widening offensive in the destroyed Gaza city area. They have nothing else they can do but pray. Their message is simple: We need safety. Thats it. Thats all we ask for. Most people just want to get out of Gaza. The Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the attack, in a sign of her growing opposition to Israels military campaign in the enclave. She wrote on X: Israeli raids on Gaza also hit the Holy Family Church. The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such behaviour. open image in gallery Palestinians inspect the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced people in Bureij refugee camp ( Reuters ) A spokesperson for the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) earlier said it was aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza city and casualties at the scene. The circumstances of the incident are under review. The IDF makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them, its statement added. The church is just a stones throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Mr Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the US State Departments international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox, but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how the people huddled inside were coping with the devastating war. Francis called the only Catholic church in the strip hours after the war in Gaza began in October 2023. It marked the start of what the Vatican News Service said was a nightly routine throughout the war. Francis was an outspoken critic of Israels war in Gaza and used his final appearance to call for an immediate ceasefire in the deplorable conflict. 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 Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has accused Israel of trying to turn Syria into a theatre of endless chaos in the wake of IDF strikes on Damascus. In a televised speech on Thursday, the Syrian leader promised to protect the countrys Druze citizens as government forces withdrew from the southern province of Sweida, where clashes have erupted between Bedouin tribal fighters and Druze militias. Bedouin clans had fought alongside government forces against the Druze groups. A ceasefire between Syrian government forces and Druze fighters, mediated by the US and Turkey, appeared to be holding as of Thursday evening. Under the agreement, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security in Sweida. The Israeli intervention, which has consistently targeted our stability and sown discord since the fall of the former regime, now seeks once again to turn our sacred land into a theatre of endless chaos, Mr al-Sharaa said in a televised address from an undisclosed location. open image in gallery The Syrian Defence Ministry building in Damascus was heavily damaged by Israeli airstrikes ( AP ) The violence escalated on Wednesday when Israel hit Damascus with airstrikes, damaging the defence ministry and striking near the presidential palace. Western diplomats were passing near the ministry in an armoured convoy when Israel struck the building, according to two people familiar with the matter, including a Syrian eyewitness. Nobody in the convoy was injured. Israel has demanded the withdrawal of Syrian government forces from the south, citing its responsibility to protect the Druze population in Syria. We have set forth a clear policy: demilitarisation of the region to the south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights and to the Druze Mountain area, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. He claimed Damascus had broken this policy. The regime sent troops south of Damascus, into the region that has to be demilitarised, and began slaughtering the Druze, he said. That we could not accept in any way, and I therefore directed the IDF to take action and take powerful action. Since fighting broke out, Israel has launched dozens of strikes against government troops and convoys and warned it could escalate its involvement. open image in gallery Smoke billows following Israeli strikes near the Syrian army and defence ministry headquarters ( AFP via Getty ) Armed confrontations broke out between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin tribes after a Druze merchant was abducted on a highway on Sunday. The situation worsened when government troops attempted to restore order but ended up clashing with local Druze fighters. In Sweida, a local Druze journalist who asked not to be named for security reasons told The Independent that the national hospital in the city was packed with bodies, most of them civilians. There are more than 500 bodies of those killed in the National Hospital in Sweida almost all of them civilians. There are women, children, people shot in the head, he said. Fadel Abdulghany from the Syrian Network for Human Rights said they had documented at least 207 people killed, including six women, six children and two medics. He said the death toll is probably far higher than that, as the number does not include combatants killed in battle, but instead focuses on those who were subjected to summary executions, other violations and those killed in Israeli strikes. This not a final death toll, its increasing there are cases we havent been able to reach, Mr Abdulghany told The Independent. The core of the problem is everything has been a mess there is no real political inclusion [since the fall of Assad], it feels like major centralisation. open image in gallery Israeli drone footage shows the missile attack on Syria's military HQ ( IDF ) Ryan Marouf of the local TV station Suwayda24 told Reuters he had found a family of 12 people killed in one house, including women and an elderly man. People are looking for bodies, he said in a voice recording. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shia Islam. It is deeply suspicious of Mr al-Sharaas government. Israels defence minister Israel Katz said the painful blows have begun in a post on X, alongside a video of a Syrian presenter interrupted live by an airstrike on Syrias defence ministry. The explosion caused the camera to shake and the presenter quickly took shelter. A large explosion erupted behind her, with smoke billowing from the scene. In a separate TRT video, a presenter is shown ducking as a burst of red flares up before the building is engulfed in smoke. open image in gallery Smoke billows after clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze militias in Sweida, southern Syria ( AP ) An Israeli military spokesperson said: The IDF struck the entrance of the Syrian regimes military headquarters in the area of Damascus in Syria. The IDF continues to monitor developments and the regimes actions against Druze civilians in southern Syria. The IDF is striking in the area and remains prepared for various scenarios. Mr Netanyahu has said he is committed to preventing harm to the Druze in Syria because of their deep ties to those living in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Tensions between forces loyal to the government and Druze fighters have continued since Sunni rebels led a lightning assault to topple former president Bashar al-Assad in early December. 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 Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire Wednesday after days of clashes that have threatened to unravel the country's postwar political transition and drawn military intervention by powerful neighbor Israel. Convoys of government forces began withdrawing from the city of Sweida, but it was not immediately clear if the agreement, announced by Syria's interior ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader, would hold. A previous ceasefire announced Tuesday quickly fell apart, and a prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, disavowed the new agreement. The announcement came after Israel launched rare airstrikes in the heart of Damascus, an escalation in a campaign that it said was intended to defend the Druze and push Islamic militants away from its border. The Druze form a substantial community in Israel as well as in Syria and are seen in Israel as a loyal minority, often serving in the military. The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province of Sweida. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze militias, but also in some cases attacked civilians. The violence appeared to be the most serious threat yet to efforts by Syria's new rulers to consolidate control of the country after a rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted longtime despotic leader Bashar Assad in December, ending a nearly 14-year civil war. open image in gallery Druze from Syria and Israel protest on the Israeli-Syrian border, in Majdal Shams in the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, amid the ongoing clashes between Syrian government forces and Druze armed groups in the southern Syrian city of Sweida. (AP Photo/Leo Correa) ( AP ) Interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, in footage on state television early Thursday, called the Druze an integral part of Syria and denounced Israel's actions as sowing division."We affirm that protecting your rights and freedoms is among our top priorities," he said, specifically addressing Druze people in Syria. "We reject any attempt foreign or domestic to sow division within our ranks. We are all partners in this land, and we will not allow any group to distort the beautiful image that Syria and its diversity represent." He said Israel sought to break Syrian unity and turn the country into a theater of chaos but that Syrians were rejecting division. He said Syrians did not fear renewed war but sought the path of Syrian interest over destruction. "We assigned local factions and Druze spiritual leaders the responsibility of maintaining security in (Sweida), recognizing the gravity of the situation and the need to avoid dragging the country" into a new war, he said. Syria's new, primarily Sunni Muslim, authorities have faced suspicion from religious and ethnic minorities, especially after clashes between government forces and pro-Assad armed groups in March spiraled into sectarian revenge attacks. Hundreds of civilians from the Alawite religious minority, to which Assad belongs, were killed. No official casualty figures have been released for the latest fighting since Monday, when the Interior Ministry said 30 people had been killed. The UK-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said more than 300 people had been killed as of Wednesday morning, including four children, eight women and 165 soldiers and security forces. Israel has launched dozens of strikes targeting government troops and convoys heading into Sweida, and on Wednesday struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters next to a busy square in Damascus that became a gathering point after Assad's fall. That strike killed three people and injured 34, Syrian officials said. Another Israeli strike hit near the presidential palace in the hills outside Damascus. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said after the initial Damascus airstrike in a post on X that the "painful blows have begun."Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syria's new leaders, saying it doesn't want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. Mr Kats said in a statement that the Israeli army "will continue to attack regime forces until they withdraw from the area and will also soon raise the bar of responses against the regime if the message is not understood." open image in gallery In this photo released by the Syrian official news agency SANA, smoke rises from an Israeli airstrike that hit the Syrian Defence Ministry, in Damascus, Syria, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (SANA via AP) An Israeli military official who spoke on condition of anonymity in line with regulations said the army was preparing for a "multitude of scenarios" and that a brigade, normally comprising thousands of soldiers, was being pulled out of Gaza and sent to the Golan Heights. Syria's defence ministry had earlier blamed militias in the Druze-majority area of Sweida for violating the ceasefire agreement reached Tuesday. Reports of attacks on civilians continued to surface, and Druze with family members in the conflict zone searched desperately for information about their fate. In Jaramana, near the Syrian capital, Evelyn Azzam, 20, said she feared that her husband, Robert Kiwan, 23, was dead. The newlyweds live in the Damascus suburb, but Kiwan commuted to Sweida for work and was trapped there when the clashes erupted. Ms Azzam said she was on the phone with Mr Kiwan when security forces questioned him and a colleague about whether they were affiliated with Druze militias. When her husband's colleague raised his voice, she heard a gunshot. Mr Kiwan was then shot while trying to appeal."They shot my husband in the hip, from what I could gather," she said, struggling to hold back tears. "The ambulance took him to the hospital. Since then, we have no idea what has happened." A Syrian Druze from Sweida living in the United Arab Emirates said her mother, father and sister were hiding in a basement in their home near the hospital, where they could hear the sound of shelling and bullets outside. She spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear her family might be targeted. She had struggled to reach them, but when she did, she said, "I heard them cry. I have never heard them this way before." Another Druze woman living in the UAE with family members in Sweida, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said a cousin told her that a house where their relatives lived had been burned down with everyone inside it. It reminded her of when the Islamic State extremist group attacked Sweida in 2018, she said. Her uncle was among many civilians there who had taken up arms to fight back while Assad's forces stood aside. He was killed in the fighting. "It's the same right now," she told The Associated Press. The Druze fighters, she said, are "just people who are protecting their province and their families. "The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Videos surfaced on social media of government-affiliated fighters forcibly shaving the mustaches of Druze sheikhs and stepping on Druze flags and pictures of religious clerics. Other videos showed Druze fighters beating captured government forces and posing by their bodies. AP reporters in the area saw burned and looted houses. The observatory said at least 27 people were killed in "field executions."Druze in the Golan gathered along the border fence to protest the violence against Druze in Syria. US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Washington is "very concerned" about the Israel-Syria violence, which he attributed to a "misunderstanding," and has been in touch with both sides in an effort to restore calm. Who owns Maga? I mean, not literally, of course. Maga is an idea rather than a thing. It is not a shop or a book. There are no bricks and mortar although if I could have had 10 per cent from every red Make America Great Again cap sold, I wouldnt be sitting here writing this article. The reason I pose the question is that when there was a rumbling disquiet over sending bombers to target Irans nuclear facilities, the president swatted his Trumpland critics who said this wasnt true to the core principles of Maga and America First. He more or less said, I invented Maga, so Maga is what I say it is. It worked. His detractors huffed and puffed a bit, but then they went quiet. The Maga coalition fell into line behind their hero. But over Jeffrey Epstein the disgraced millionaire and paedophile who died in custody awaiting trial its all rather different. Here, the Trumpland critics are getting noisier, and their numbers are swelling. For the first time, the base is not buying what Donald Trump is selling. Or to put it another way, someone who died six years ago is posing the greatest challenge to the presidents authority since he returned to the White House in January. It is replete with irony. Lets face it, over the years, it has felt that Trump has been a one-man conspiracy theory generator, most famously of all, his birther theory: that Barack Obama was not born in the US, he was born in Kenya and was therefore ineligible to be US president. The Obama White House initially tried to laugh it off, but the conspiracy theory just wouldnt go away. So, eventually, they produced his birth certificate, which states quite clearly that Obama was born in Hawaii. But then those who bought into the theory said this was the summary birth certificate and not the full thing. And so it went on. The lesson that Obamas inner circle drew from this is that while you may be able to shrink a conspiracy theory by peeling off rational, fair-minded citizens, and while you may be able to get people to look away and focus on something else, you can never kill off a conspiracy theory completely. Its like Japanese knotweed or moths in your wardrobe. And if anyone should know that, its Trump. Hes getting increasingly tetchy and cross that the American public and his supporters in particular wont accept the findings of his attorney general, Pam Bondi, that with the Epstein conspiracy theory, there is nothing to it. Please move on. Nothing to see here. Because, of course, the conspiracy theory was originally generated in Trumpland. Its been talked up by the vice-president, JD Vance, and by the presidents son, Don Jr. And it roughly goes like this: Epstein had a client list of all the sleazy millionaires and politicians hed entertained on his island of horrors where underage girls were forced to perform sexual acts for these powerful men some of them supposedly prominent Democrats. When he was found dead in his New York prison cell in 2019, it wasnt suicide as the post-mortem found. It was murder, they claimed. According to conspiracy lore, he had died because those powerful forces, whose names were in his little black book, wanted him dead before he could take the stand at a trial and implicate them. Even Bondi is on record with her past promises of releasing a truckload of bombshell FBI documents on Epstein. She told Fox News in late February that she literally had possession of the convicted sex offenders supposed black book of prominent figures who engaged in illegal sexual activities. Its sitting on my desk right now to review, the attorney general told Fox News anchor John Roberts at the time. Thats been a directive by President Trump. Pam Bondi has claimed shes in possession of Epsteins so-called black book ( Getty ) Compare this to the Department of Justice and FBIs two-page unsigned memo released last week, concluding that the agencies had found no evidence that Epstein was murdered in his jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019. Additionally, they were unable to find any list of powerful clients that Epstein was attempting to blackmail for having sex with underage girls. The conspiracy theories had also been advanced relentlessly by the likes of Kash Patel now head of the FBI, and his deputy (the former right-wing podcast host) Dan Bongino and millions of Maga supporters bought into it with gusto. It was another slam-dunk, deep state cover-up if ever there was one. All of which has left the attorney general and president looking as though they are isolated and swimming against the tide when they keep insisting the Epstein file is a great big nothingburger. Rumours have swirled that Bongino could resign his post over it. The Epstein court documents are held by the federal judiciary a branch exempt from the Freedom of Information Act. Trumps reluctance to release them is making him appear increasingly out of kilter with his base something that just doesnt happen. Hes calling the Epstein story boring and said it was only being advanced by bad people. Its a hoax. On his Truth Social platform, he called the Epstein conspiracy theory bulls*** and referred to those who bought into it as his PAST supporters (His capitals, not mine) as if there would be a process of excommunication for these apostates to the Maga faith. While yesterday he finally announced he asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to release pertinent files on the criminal investigation of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, subject to Court approval, the move may be too little and too late and only came after a bombshell report found Trumps name along with a bawdy message among an album of letters collected to celebrate Epsteins 50th birthday. This was also vehemently denied by Trump, with hims saying: This is not me. This is a fake thing. Its a fake Wall Street Journal story, he told the newspaper. Even the most pliant and obsequious lapdogs are growling and showing their teeth. Mike Johnson, the speaker of the House who it sometimes feels was put on Gods earth purely to make Trump happy is demanding the justice department publish everything it has on Epsteins death. Republican congressmen are openly saying they dont believe or trust what the administration is telling them. There was a rally hosted by the former Fox TV presenter Megyn Kelly and right-wing radio host Charlie Kirk two very prominent influencers where they asked the 7,000-strong audience whether they buy the nothing to see here explanation. The hall is unanimous. They dont. They believe theres been a cover-up. There is one other danger for Trump. And that is it generates a conspiracy theory in the opposite direction: that it is the president who has something to hide and is creating a cover-up to protect himself; that Epstein did have a list and Trumps name was on it. After all, that was the allegation made by Elon Musk when they had their Semtex-rich falling out a few weeks back. I should add that there is no evidence of that, although Epstein and Trump knew each other and have been photographed together. Its not quite Dr Frankenstein losing control of the monster he created, but if you live by the conspiracy theory as Trump has done you can die by it too. I was reading last week about a guy who had 10 remote jobs and he was earning more than $1.5m a year The gaming of online recruitment is being spurred on by AI but one Irish tech firm is battling the fakes Declan Murphy. Photo: Frank McGrath John Burns Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 06:30 Fake CVs are now a thing, according to Declan Murphy. Cheats are using AI bots to clone the skills of other people, and then firing off hundreds, even thousands, of applications for remote-working jobs. Charge comes amid uncertain medium-term economic backdrop Kenmare Resources, the Irish mining group whose operations are in Mozambique, is taking a maximum $125m (107m) impairment charge against its assets due to uncertain future market conditions. The company said that while demand for all the products it extracts from its Moma mine is stable, the medium- term outlook could impact the firm. U.S. to impose uniform tariff rate on over 150 economies: Trump Xinhua) 13:36, July 17, 2025 WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a plan to impose a unified tariff rate on more than 150 countries and regions, according to a report by Politico. "It's all going to be the same for everyone, for that group," Trump told reporters during talks with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House. Those to be covered under the new measure are described by Trump as "not big," and ones that "don't do that much business." In April, the Trump administration introduced a baseline tariff of 10 percent on economies not covered by bilateral deals. Although Trump has previously suggested the new baseline could be raised to 15 percent or 20 percent, he did not specify a new rate on Wednesday. The U.S. government has already sent letters to about two dozen economies -- including the European Union, Japan and South Korea -- outlining the tariff rates they will face starting Aug. 1, the report said. The announcement has prompted intensified negotiations as affected trading partners seek more favorable terms. However, analysts and observers continue to express doubts about whether the new tariff schedule will take effect as planned on Aug. 1, amid concerns about its potential impact on the U.S. economy and domestic politics, according to the report. Countries and regions such as Switzerland and India, which accounted for more than 3 percent of the U.S. trade deficit in 2024 but have not yet received official notices, remain in negotiation with Washington. Trump sent mixed messages Wednesday on U.S.-India trade talks, first stating "we have another (deal) coming up," then later asserting "we're very close to a deal." Regarding Japan, Trump said negotiations are underway but expressed doubt about the outcome. "I think we'll probably live by the letter with Japan," he said, referring to a previously issued tariff notification. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) The burned Luas carriage on O'Connell Street in Dublin as the clean up operation got underway. Photograph: RollingNews.ie The Luas tram set alight and severely damaged during the Dublin riots of November 2023 will not be back in service until the beginning of next year. That is according to new accounts for Transdev Dublin Light Rail Ltd (TDLR), the operator of the tram service, which show that pre-tax losses reduced by 61pc from 9m in 2022 to 3.53m in 2023. A note in the accounts says that on November 23 of that year, a riot occurred in Dublin city centre where tram #5037 was blocked by those involved. The tram driver evacuated all passengers and secured the tram, so nobody was injured during the event. "The tram was set alight during the riot, resulting in severe damage. It is currently being repaired and is scheduled to be back in service at the beginning of 2026. Asked to quantify the cost involved a spokeswoman for Transdev Dublin Light Rail said today: As this matter is currently before the courts, we are unable to comment further. The details are also commercially sensitive. The sharp decrease in losses at TDLR followed a 13pc increase in revenues, from 81.7m to 92.38m in 2023. The directors say losses reduced by 61pc mainly due to the improvement of the operational performance and exceptional energy index in December 2022. Commenting on the performance of the business in 2025, the Transdev spokeswoman said: We are seeing record levels of performance and passenger numbers, reflecting strong public confidence and the essential role Luas plays in Dublins transport network. A key trend last year, which is said to be continuing in 2025, is an increase in weekend travel, driven by retail, events, and leisure. In 2024, Luas recorded 54 million passenger journeys, a 12pc increase on 2023. The accounts also detail how another Luas train remains out of service - six years after a road traffic accident involving a bus. A note states that Tram #3003 was damaged in March 2019. It adds that the tram has been positively assessed to determine if it were repairable. The repairs are expected to commence at the beginning of 2024 and the tram is scheduled to be back in service in Q4 of 2025. The bus insurance recognised full liability of the repairs in relation of the accident. Last year, Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) put an estimated value of 1.75bn on the new Luas operation and maintenance contract. A note attached to the Transdev accounts says the current contract was due to expire at the end of November 2025. The directors say the timeline has been extended to August 2026 to facilitate the tender process for a new contract, incorporating operations and asset maintenance activities for the Luas light rail system. Staff numbers in 2023 increased from 603 to 648 as staff costs increased from 33.66m to 37.16m. High Court must reconsider fresh evidence in alleged proceeds of crime case A Swedish company and its director, Harry Zeman, have secured a positive ruling from the Supreme Court in a dispute over $651,000 (557,000) that was frozen by the Criminal Assets Bureau. The decision means that the High Court will have to reconsider if there is sufficient new evidence to show that the frozen money, which is linked to an alleged email scam in 2002, was not the proceeds of crime. The ruling will have important implications for the CAB when it attempts to freeze and dispose of assets in the possession of criminals such as drug dealers and fraudsters. It will have to take into account the right of a person or entity to cross-examine an authorised officer such as a senior Garda or member of the Revenue Commissioners when they are seeking an order from the High Court for an indefinite freezing order over assets. The ruling clarifies that where CAB is seeking an order to dispose of assets, no right of cross-examination exists. However, the Supreme Court noted that the bureau can seek leave to cross-examine persons swearing affidavits on behalf of a respondent, and that a respondent can seek leave to cross-examine CAB agents swearing an affidavit that is being relied on for the purposes of seeking a disposal order. The ruling has implications for the Criminal Assets Bureau. Photo: File image Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 16th Mr Zeman and his company, Routeback Media, had argued that the High Court erred in 2022 by excluding fresh evidence when an application was made to dispose of money that had previously been found to be the proceeds of crime. He and his firm argued that they had not been afforded fair proceedings, for example by being refused permission to conduct a cross-examination of deponents from CAB. Mr Zeman and Routeback Media had previously and unsuccessfully appealed this point to the Court of Appeal, which had upheld a 2022 High Court decision. They then took their case to the Supreme Court, which has now ruled on the interaction and operation of the Proceeds of Crime Act, which sets out the CABs functions. The Supreme Court has determined that since the Court of Appeal had agreed that there was genuinely fresh evidence to be presented by Routeback Media and Mr Zeman in the case, the High Court must now hold a limited hearing. This will be confined to the new material. Proceedings were first initiated against Routeback Media and Mr Zeman in 2009. This related to just over $651,000 held in a Bank of Ireland account in the name of EuroConex Technologies. CAB claimed the money was the proceeds of crime, and that Routeback Media had been engaged in a fraudulent scheme involving the online sale of email accounts for $9.95 each. EuroConex, which was processing credit card payments, was concerned that the money might be the proceeds of crime and had reported its concerns to Swedish police in 2003. Authorities there concluded their investigation in 2006. Still concerned, EuroConex reported its suspicions to the Gardai and Revenue Commissioners in 2007. Mr Zeman denied Routeback's business was fraudulent or that the funds standing to its credit constituted the proceeds of crime. The Irish rap trios presence on the line-up has seen funding cut by the local authorities. Kneecap have been vocal about Israel's actions in Gaza The booking of Kneecap for the Rock-en-Seine music festival has led to the local municipal authority withdrawing their funding for the event. The annual festival takes place between August 21 and August 24 in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Cloud, located to the west of the French capital. Their presence on the line-up has resulted in the Saint-Cloud city hall confirming that they have dropped their 40,000 subsidy that had been ear-marked for the event organisers. In a statement released on Wednesday, the authorities confirmed that the figure had been agreed but the decision was made to cut their funding following the final line-up of the festival being confirmed earlier this month. The local authority said it respected the festivals programming freedom and did not enter into any negotiations with a view to influencing the programming. The statement added: On the other hand it does not finance political action, nor demands, and even less calls to violence, such as calls to kill lawmakers, whatever their nationality. The Belfast trio have seen a number of their recent gigs cancelled following backlash over the groups comments about Israels destruction of Gaza. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was among those to criticise the rappers appearance at Glastonbury late last month. A criminal investigation was launched by British police following Kneecaps performance at the English festival, with local police stating there is no place in society for hate. The group led the packed crowed in chants of f**k Keir Starmer with the BBC opting not to live stream the performance. Kneecap member Liam Og O hAnnaidh was previously charged with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying the flag of Hezbollah at a gig in London last November. The rapper, who performs under the name Mo Chara, appeared before a court in London over the charge, which he denies. The Kneecap star could make legal history if he opts to use an Irish language interpreter at his next appearance before the British court in August. O hAnnaidh has indicated hell ask for a translator at his next court appearance, and Committee on the Administration of Justice (CAJ) director Daniel Holder says it could make legal history. Irish is recognised in UK law as a minority language, and the rapper could argue he wants to use Irish as his right to freedom of expression without discrimination. If you have a case where someone is charged with a criminal offence and they do not understand English it is part of their right to a fair trial that they have an interpreter, the legal expert recently said. Jeremy Clarkson gave a worrying update about the future of his Cotswolds farm during his annual summer party. The former Top Gear host (65) admitted it looked like it will be the worst year ever for his 1,000-acre Diddly Squat Farm in Oxfordshire. Clarkson said they have been struggling with a shocking harvest due to the heatwaves and drought sweeping across the UK. "I mean, if there are any farmers here, they'd tell you the same thing, he said at the Hawkestone VIP Summer Party at his pub, The Farmers Dog, per GB News. "Last year, it was the second worst recorded ever, and we think this year is going to be even worse because it just hasn't rained. The Clarksons Farm star added that his farm manager, Kaleb Cooper, couldnt be at event - despite being billed to meet guests and host a cider tasting session - because it had rained for the first time in four months. "We began the harvest over at Diddly Squat this very morning, and set off about 8:30am, Kaleb for the first time ever with his new combine doing the combining, Clarkson said. "8:45am, his combine broke down. Got the combine mended and then - and this is true - for the first time in four months, it rained. "So that soaked all the oats that we were supposed to be harvesting. The motoring journalist went on: "So I've rushed over here and he sends his apologies. He's sitting waiting for the moisture levels to drop so that he can get cracking because we know that we're on for a shocking harvest this year." Jeremy Clarkson is to host a new spin-off from Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? (Ian West/PA) In June, it was revealed farmers could be facing another terrible harvest after the hottest spring on record and the driest conditions in decades. The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) think tank warned climate change is already having a devastating impact on farmers, food security and shopping bills, and the recent extremes will have a negative impact on the harvest. Elsewhere at his summer party, Clarkson showed guests the banned advert for his Hawkestone beer. The Grand Tour star filmed his first commercial to flog the beer, hiring a 34-strong choir of British farmers to sing the opera classic, Flower Duet. Its difficult to put into the spoken word how hard it is to make Hawkstone lager, so instead Ive put it into a song for some farmers to sing, Clarkson says at the beginning of the ad. But instead of singing the original French lyrics by Leo Delibes, the farmers sing: F**k me, its good. Speaking to The Sun, Clarkson blasted the fun police in their beige offices for the advert not being compliant with broadcasting regulations. He launched his Hawkstone beer and cider brand in 2021, offering a range of premium British beers and ciders. Tragedy in the spotlight as the bodies pile high in Druids cruel, brilliant show Double bill of Riders to the Sea and Macbeth at Galway International Arts Festival marks Druids 50th anniversary as a theatre company it is unrelenting, passionate and gruesome Macbeth by William Shakespeare stars Emmet Farrell. Photo Ros Kavanagh Katy Hayes Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 06:30 Generally speaking, I prefer attending comedy over tragedy, because it is so difficult to get tragedy right. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press conference on a proposal for the EU's next seven-year budget, in Brussels, Belgium July 16, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman Germany has rejected the European Commission's 2 trillion budget proposal, hours after it was announced by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels. "A comprehensive increase in the EU budget is unacceptable at a time when all member states are making considerable efforts to consolidate their national budgets," the German government chief spokesman said in a statement. "We will therefore not be able to accept the commission's proposal." The statement by the EU's largest member state points to the battle ahead for the bloc's executive arm as it tries to get buy-in for the next seven-year budget which begins in 2028. Earlier on Wednesday, the commission unveiled the draft proposal after intense negotiations that stretched late into Tuesday night and resumed on Wednesday morning. The figure of 1.98 trillion represents a substantial jump from the 1.2 trillion equivalent to 1% of EU's output that was allocated during the last budgetary cycle, between 2021 and 2027. Included in the draft plan is a 590 billion competitiveness, prosperity and security fund, of which 451 billion is earmarked for helping European companies keep pace with their international rivals. In order to direct resources to those areas, funding for agriculture traditionally one of the bloc's biggest expenses will be slashed. Farmers will get at least 300 billion in direct payments, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters in Brussels. That compares with 387 billion in the current agriculture budget, although the mix of targets for the funding will change somewhat. The commission also proposed 100 billion in funding for Ukraine for the seven-year period covered by the budget. Bloomberg previously reported that the commission was weighing the move. Von der Leyen said the money would support Ukraine's recovery and resilience, as well as the country's path to EU membership. Wednesday's proposal kicks off a laborious process which will see the European Parliament and the European Council, representing member states, weigh in on the process. EU leaders need to give their unanimous backing. The budget must be agreed by the end of 2027. Debates about the EU's budget have long been contentious, as the EU grapples with competing demands from agriculture to regional funding for poorer member states. This year's proposal, which will govern the bloc's spending priorities between 2028 and 2034, is even more sensitive given the EU's aim to bolster its defense capabilities and improve its competitiveness as it faces economic threats from the US and increasing competition from China. A report by former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi last year warned that the EU is facing a 800 billion a year investment gap. The current long-term budget supports around 50 EU funds from research to energy projects. It is financed primarily by contributions from member states, with richer economies being net contributors to the common pot. European Parliament President Roberta Metsola said the parliament which must approve the proposal would ensure that every cent of the budget will count. "Fiscal discipline is not a choice, it is not a responsibility," she said. Bloomberg. The controversial RTE advert which was filmed in its newsroom with background actors to depict journalists has been given the green light and will air from Monday. Paul Williams: Pensioner Tom Niland likely expected to see a neighbour at the door. Instead he was beaten so badly he never recovered An Irish woman in her 30s who was allegedly raped in Amsterdam says she remembers nothing of the incident, a public prosecutor told a pre-trial hearing for the case. The High Court has overturned a refugee status refusal for a man who says he worked as a self-employed gold miner in Zimbabwe before he fled because a machete gang was looking for him. UCC student claims father was thrown down flight of stairs during illegal eviction Landlord told to pay 7,100 to former tenant who was evicted while undergoing first-year exams Stock image Amy Molloy Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 06:30 A court has ordered a landlord to pay 7,100 to a tenant who was illegally evicted while undergoing his first-year college exams. Woman (40s) quizzed over Steven OMearas murder suspected of ordering brutal killing Father of two was shot twice and buried alive in Wicklow 16 years ago Woman suspected of offering money to Dublin criminal to order murder of Steven OMeara Robin Schiller Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 06:30 A woman being questioned over the savage killing of Steven OMeara, who was buried alive 16 years ago, is suspected of ordering the murder. The European Commission has issued a warning to Ireland to remove obstacles to clean energy projects or risk a court case and fines. In a notice delivered yesterday, the Commission said Ireland failed to comply with regulations requiring planning procedures for renewable energy developments to be simplified and made faster. This would include setting clear time limits for permit-granting procedures targeted to specific technologies or types of projects. It would also mean referring all projects to a single applications body In Irelands case, An Coimisiun Pleanala whereas currently some go through local authority planning departments. The regulations also require adoption of the presumption that renewable energy projects and the related grid infrastructure are of overriding public interest. This would make such projects harder to object to because of personal or localised concerns. The regulations were due to be written into Irish law, or transposed, by July 1 but Ireland, along with Portugal and Latvia, all missed the deadline. The warning gives the Government two months to respond and complete the transposition. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the cases to the Court of Justice of the European Union with a request to impose financial sanctions, it says. It comes the day after wind energy representatives warned politicians that no offshore wind projects would be complete by 2030 despite a Government target of having five gigawatts of offshore wind energy capacity by then. Noel Cunniffe, chief executive of Wind Energy Ireland (WEI), told the Oireachtas Climate Committee that, at best, one of the five offshore wind projects currently in planning would be built by late 2030 but 2031 or 2032 was more likely. If this intervention can help to speed up the process, it is very welcome Mr Cunniffe said hold-ups in planning were a key obstacle, with state agencies not sufficiently resourced to deal with such complex planning applications. Responding to the Commissions warning, WEI said: To get clean, affordable, power to Irish families we need to be taking full advantage of changes in EU law designed to accelerate the development of wind power. "While transposing this legislation is complicated, it is frustrating that it is taking so long and if this intervention from the EU Commission can help to speed up the process, it is very welcome. Wind Energy Ireland CEO Noel Cunniffe. Photo: Andres Poveda The Government also faces infringement proceedings for failing to properly transpose the EUs Drinking Water Directive. The directive was due to take effect by January 2023 but Ireland is accused of falling short on the regulations governing how temporary restrictions on water consumption are managed when contamination issues or concerns arise. In a third warning, the Commission told the Government it must comply with new regulations requiring improved measuring and reporting of methane emissions. Ireland was to provide details of which public authority would take charge of implementing the rules last February but has not done so. The relevant Government departments have been asked for comment. Regulator denies holding back data for Government Huge numbers are struggling, and the Government say there will be no cost-of-living package in the budget. Stock image: Getty The number of households behind on their energy bills has soared by 86,000 in the year to April, figures obtained by the Irish Independent confirm. The energy regulator has been accused of holding back the arrears figures after the release of the data for March and April was delayed for a number of months. March figures should have been issued in May. Election fraudster works for Healy-Rae family firm, Minister told Kerry man avoided conviction for serious election fraud in June 2024 local and European pollsGardai did not make inquiries as to who asked him to vote and who gave him the polling cardFine Gael politician calls for thorough investigation after facts of case quietly hushed up Election fraudster works for Healy-Rae family firm, Minister told Fionnan Sheahan, Senan Molony and Sinead Kelleher Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 13:42 A senator has called for an investigation after he claimed a man who pleaded guilty to electoral fraud works for a company run by the Healy-Rae dynasty. Taoiseach hits back after US ambassador to Israel says Irish have fallen into a vat of Guinness over Occupied Territories Bill In his response, Micheal Martin condemned the terrible war crimes being committed by Israel Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, said Ireland needed to 'sober up' when it comes to Occupied Territories Bill. Photo: Reuters Tabitha Monahan Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 06:30 The Taoiseach has hit out at comments made by the US ambassador to Israel, who said the Occupied Territories Bill (OTB) was diplomatic intoxication and called on Ireland to sober up. 'I love to see peoples reactions when I tell them how old I am' Kris Jenners neck lift sparks surge of interest among Irish women The backing for the Government parties has held steady since Spring, while the support for Sinn Fein has slumped, a new opinion poll shows. The Irish Times-Ipsos B&A poll for July has also revealed a big jump in support for independents. It puts Fianna Fail on 22pc, as the largest party in the Dail has seen no change in support figures since April. While Sinn Fein is also at 22pc, its backing has dipped by four points since the last Irish Times poll, as Fine Gael has been up by one point at 17pc. From the smaller parties, the Social Democrats are in the lead with 6pc (-1), followed by the Labour Party at 4pc (-1), the Green Party at 3pc (no change), People Before Profit at 2pc (-1), and Aontu at 2pc (+1). However, there has been a significant rise in support for independents or others, including the Independent Ireland party, which is at 22pc and has seen a jump of five points. The figures above exclude the undecided voters and those unlikely to vote, who are at 25pc, up six points since the last poll. When the respondents were asked whether they think the current Government is making progress at tackling the problems facing the country, more than half (53pc) said "the problems are getting worse. Slightly less than one-third of people (30pc) said the progress has stalled, while only 14pc said the Government is making progress. Meanwhile, the satisfaction with the Government holds steady at 36pc with no change since Spring. Taoiseach and Fianna Fail leader, Micheal Martin, has the highest satisfaction rating of 44pc, down by one point. Tanaiste and Fine Gael leader, Simon Harris, is at 38pc and has seen a dip in satisfaction by four points, while Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald is at 36pc, down by one point. The poll was conducted among a representative sample of adults aged 18 years and upwards across 120 sampling points in all constituencies. It was carried out face-to-face with 1,200 people between July 14 and 15. The accuracy is estimated at plus or minus 2.8pc. Catherine Connolly has announced she is running to be Ireland's next president. But who exactly is she? A new Irish wellness brand promises to stop your hangover before it happens but do they work? I put Tipple tablets to the test Summer holidays and sunny days provide ample opportunities to unwind and party, but great nights are generally followed by bad mornings. So Saoirse Hanley decided to try a new supplement called Tipple in an attempt to beat the dreaded next-day sickness and sore head Saoirse Hanley tested the effectiveness of Tipple supplements for hangovers on a night out Saoirse Hanley Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 06:30 Chances are, many of us have woken up in the morning regretting the last few drinks we had the night before. Ali Keating: Sam had been bred by a priest so we were hoping that that connection would make him a bit lucky! Catherine Belton: As Donald Trump turns towards Ukraine, Russian elites wonder if Putin missed a trick There are small but growing signs of discontent with Kremlins wartime policy Russian defence minister Andrei Belousov holds a machine gun during his visit to the command centre of the Dnepr troops in an undisclosed location. Photo: Reuters Catherine Belton Washington Post Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 06:30 Russia appeared to brush aside US president Donald Trumps threat to impose tariffs against Moscow and its trading partners if its war with Ukraine does not end in 50 days, but there are signs of growing concern among some factions of the nations elite that an opportunity may have been missed. Independent candidate faced questions on Ukraine, Gemma ODoherty and the presidential salary Teddy Roosevelt is credited with the maxim speak softly and carry a big stick. Would-be president of Ireland Catherine Connolly emulates that American leader only in one respect. She speaks very softly indeed. Most of the media and many of her supporters could barely hear her as she launched her campaign outside Leinster House, even though she had microphones in front of her. Marianna Sotomayor: Cracks in Republican party emerge as controversy over Jeffrey Epstein files persists US president Donald Trump had campaigned on a promise to release the files a promise hes now rowing back on Representative Mike Johnson, speaker of the house, told a podcaster that he believes the Epstein files should be released. Photo: Getty Marianna Sotomayor Washington Post Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 06:30 One of the leading Republicans on Capitol Hill broke with the Trump administrations decision not to release the files of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as the controversy deepened. Mary Kenny: We must remember contraception can prevent unwanted pregnancies, but also difficult decisions on abortions Terminations are on the rise and its for many and varied reasons Condoms can be useful but also pose problems. Stock image: PA Mary Kenny Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 06:40 I have always supported contraception as being essential to the health of mothers. In Dublin, in the 1940s, poor mothers might endure 18 or 20 pregnancies, and overseas doctors would visit The Coombe maternity hospital just to view the obstetric problems this may present. Many more houses and apartments need to be built. Stock image: Getty After reading recent coverage in your paper regarding tenements, I fear we are going backwards to when homes were the size of two-and-a-half car spaces. How do you live in an apartment this size? How can a couple work from home how can even one person work from home? Despite the tiny size, the cost is still a big mortgage, but how can anyone expect people to live and enjoy their company when so close to one another? Home may have been where the heart was, but I think that is no more. Colette Collins, Co Wicklow Israel has truly mastered Orwells concepts when it comes to linguistic abuse George Orwell wrote in his novel Nineteen Eighty-Four that war is peace, freedom is slavery and ignorance is strength. The term Orwellian has become synonymous with the corruption of language to mean its opposite. An organisation called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation lures starving Palestinians into aid distribution centres where they are massacred by Israeli soldiers. Israels defence (another Orwellian word) minister Israel Katz calls for a humanitarian city to be built on the ruins of the city of Rafah, where the entire population of Gaza will be imprisoned. Clearly, the word humanitarian should be added to Orwells list. Raymond Deane, Broadstone, Dublin Concentration camps are next for Gazans how is this allowed to happen? Israel is now mooting the building of concentration camps, which I cannot get my head around. Two hundred years ago, we had similar camps in the United States in their treatment of the native Americans. Eighty years ago, we had the Nazi concentration camps. Only a few years ago, we had the camps in Srebrenica. Can the world permit Israel to do the same? Our silence is a mark of our guilt. Paul Doran, Clondalkin, Dublin 22 If we tighten our belts in Budget 2026, expect rail network plans to take a hit The doom and gloom regarding Budget 2026 has begun in earnest, and no wonder, given the state of the world. Long-term, I wonder if it will have an adverse effect on the proposed rail network plans to reinstate a train service from Dublin to Cavan, Monaghan and Donegal, scheduled to take 30 years? Or will the M3 motorway, with the most expensive tolls in the country, continue to shoot fish in the Cavan barrel? Peter Declan OHalloran, Belturbet, Co Cavan Housing children stuck in B&Bs for two years must be priority for politicians It is reported that 14 children have been in emergency accommodation for over two years. This is unacceptable, in particular for the health and well-being of the children. I believe this matter should be addressed as a matter of urgency by our elected representatives. Michael Moriarty, Rochestown, Co Cork Not to rain on anyones parade, but the summer omens dont look good Yesterday was St Swithins Day and, true to reputation, it poured in Armagh. Some might still hold to the superstition that 40 days of rain will follow. Frankly, in Armagh, thats not a prophecy, its the pattern. I was reminded of a summer long ago when I was a J1 student in California. I cycled daily along on El Camino in blazing heat. Nearing Colma, a place known less for its nightlife and more for its abundance of cemeteries, Id pass a roofers yard. Painted on the side of the building, in bold, sun-bleached lettering, were the wise words: It Will Rain Again. They should carve that into the Armagh City crest. It would be more honest than any Latin motto. Enda Cullen, Tullysaran Road, Co Armagh Pub closures signal that the fabric of rural Ireland is beginning to fall apart According to a new report commissioned by the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland, about 2,000 pubs have closed in Ireland since 2005. It says more than 100 are closing every year. It could be argued that there is a changing way of life. Covid-19 may also have contributed. The bottom line in any enterprise is that it needs to turn a profit to sustain itself. Clearly, pubs are struggling, and the present taxation regime and regulatory regime militate against them being viable. I feel pubs are vital to the social and economic fabric of rural Ireland. They act as community hubs and are often the only social gathering place. They play a part in fostering community cohesion and even economic activity. The late Austrian-American actor and activist Theodore Bikel once uttered the following words, which I find apposite to the above: You dont really need modernity in order to exist totally and fully. You need a mixture of modernity and tradition. John OBrien, Clonmel, Co Tipperary Has the EU now crept so close to Nato that the two cannot be told apart? On the RTE One OClock News we were informed that Donald Trump had decided to supply Patriot missiles to Ukraine for its defence. He was quoted as saying the EU was paying for them. By the time the Six One News came on, we were informed it was Nato that was paying the US for the missiles. So who actually is paying? If it is the EU, how are we in Ireland not to be involved? Is it Nato, or has EU moved so close to Nato that they are considered indistinguishable by the US? Is this another step for our Government as it seeks to creep away from our cherished position of neutrality? Paddy Murray, Castlepollard, Co Westmeath Donegal boys look to be unstoppable and brought tears to my eyes on Sunday I watched last Sundays semi-final between Donegal and Meath in awe. Our wonderful Donegal boys played with such brilliance and passion that my heart nearly stopped and tears appeared. With the greatest of respect to Kerry, Im going to put my head on the block and predict Donegal wont be stopped. Brian McDevitt, Glenties, Co Donegal The inquest into the death of Joseph Grogan has ended, but the fallout has only begun. Today in this Extra episode of The Indo Daily, Tessa Fleming is joined by Catherine Fegan, Special Correspondent with the Irish Independent, to discuss the dramatic scenes in the Tullamore court this week. They ask what next in the dispute that has seen the widow and the family of farmer Joe Grogan face off against each other in a battle that could end up going to the High Court. This may be the most open Irish presidential election weve ever seen, with every man and his dog seeming to have been linked to the Aras at some point. Former taoisigh, human rights advocates and cage fighters alike have thrown their names into the mix. Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald has seemingly U-turned on a previous decision to rule herself out, and if she did decide to run, could very well become this countrys 10th president. With just four months to go until decision time, the race is hotting up. On Wednesday, Catherine Connolly officially joined the hunt, launching her Independent campaign for the presidency, promising not to take her full salary - but looking forward to a United Ireland "very soon". Ms Connolly defended a trip to Syria with Mick Wallace, Clare Daly and Maureen O'Sullivan when dictator Bashir al-Assad was in power, and said she was "right at the time" when she previously backed journalist Gemma O'Doherty for a presidential run. The Galway West Independent rejected the idea that she was the "continuity candidate" after 14 years of Michael D Higgins, for whom she wanted to be a running mate. Earlier in the week former EU Commissioner Mairead McGuinness predicted the presidential campaign will be full on after being confirmed as the Fine Gael candidate. I am conscious of the opportunity and challenge ahead, given the very important constitutional role of the President, and the esteem in which the office is held by the people, she wrote. Today on The Indo Daily, Kevin Doyle is joined by Mary Regan, Political Editor with the Irish Independent and Fionnan Sheahan, Ireland Editor with the Irish Independent, to discuss the current state of play in the race to the Aras and grade the candidates on their performances so far. A Cork man who initially spoke to the driver of another car that he reversed into but subsequently left the scene has been spared a driving disqualification, having been recognised by the judge. 29-year-old Jordan Van Ronn, with an address at 2 Coolnanave in Mitchelstown, was before Mallow District Court, charged with two separate charges in relation to an incident that took place on February 7, 2024. The court heard that the complainant, Michelle ODonovan, was stationary in her car when Mr Von Ronn reversed out of a space. Ms ODonovan sounded her horn to alert the defendant to her presence, but he continued and hit her car. There were no injuries, and the court heard that the two drivers spoke to each other, but Ms ODonovan wasnt comfortable swapping details, and instead she informed Mr Von Ronn that she would be contacting the Gardai. Ms ODonovan then moved her car as it was obstructing traffic, but as she got in, Mr Von Ronn also got into his car and drove off. Ms ODonovan took note of his registration plate and informed Gardai, who subsequently contacted the 29-year-old. The court was told that Mr Von Ronn had 14 previous convictions, 10 of those under the road traffic act. Defence solicitor Cathal Lombard told Judge Colm Roberts that his client was fully insured at the time of the accident, and had a lot going on in his life. Theres a lot going on in his life for some time, replied the Judge. Ive known you before I was a judge, is that right? This is the last case, judge, said Mr Von Ronn. You have enough convictions and therefore you need to avoid (more), said the judge. Youve had enough breaks, and your luck is running out. Youre setting up a business, is that right? Thats why I need to drive, said the defendant. Jordan Von Ronn was given two fines of 200, with two months to pay on charges of failing to remain at the scene, and failure to give appropriate information, following damage to property. Shoddy, substandard and appalling some of the words used by Cork county councillors to describe the repairs to roads in their areas after utility companies like Uisce Eireann and Eir have dug them up. At this weeks meeting of the council, Cllr Deirdre OBrien put down a motion calling on the local authority to write to utility providers and service contractors, expressing dissatisfaction with the quality of reinstatement works on the countys roads. Cllr OBrien said that the works are nothing short of appalling in places. She described Uisce Eireann as the bane of our lives, while Eir and National Broadband Ireland are just absolutely appalling, the mess theyre leaving after them. The Fermoy councillor said the reinstatement works are often substandard, poorly finished and in many cases an outright hazard. "Lumps of tar literally thrown around, potholes, dykes pulled out and, in some cases, trees cut into limbs left in drains, which leads to blocking the drains later on. She said the work compromises the structural integrity of our roads, it accelerates deterioration, it poses risks to our drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, and shows disregard for the public realm that we all share a duty to protect. There was widespread agreement among the other councillors present. Cllr Dominic Finn said that if contractors can get away with it, they'll chance it and they'll leave some of the reinstatement of the verges and the roads not done. Cllr Sheila OCallaghan said that the main street in Watergrasshill had 50 shades of grey from all the different people who had hacked at it and laid different surfaces, which makes it very unsightly. In North Cork there are so many roads that had been looked after by our engineers and then wrecked by some other agency that has come in and left them in an appalling state, said Cllr Kay Dawson. Cllr Patrick Donovan said that in Carrigaline we're waiting over 18 months for Irish Water to come back into an estate to patch up an area they took up while Cllr Audrey Buckley said shes been waiting over four years for Eir to fix inspection covers on a footpath in Crosshaven thats part of the Safe Routes to School scheme. Cork County Council Divisional Manager Niall Healy told the meeting that the local authority received over 5,000 applications for road opening licences last year. Uisce Eireann made up over 60 per cent, Eir 17 per cent, National Broadband Ireland 14 per cent and the remainder were ESB Networks and private contractors. He said that the conditions included within the licence require that the road be reinstated to the standard in which it was before the works were carried out. There are two issues that we monitor very closely. One is the timeliness, the other is the quality of the work that's carried out. We've had an issue with Uisce Eireann over the last two to three years where temporary reinstatements were being done, but they weren't being followed through with permanent reinstatements. So there was a legacy backlog right across the county in relation to Uisce ireann works, he continued. Mr Healy added that the council has had several meetings with the national water utility and the situation has improved enormously. "You may have seen blitzes by Uisce Eireann across the county where they've moved into particular geographic areas and they've done a lot of permanent reinstatements. He concluded that the situation should be an improving one but the council is conscious that there are issues out there and they are being monitored. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. Man charged with Cork murder sent for trial at Central Criminal Court Joseph Butler is charged with the murder of Paula Canty in Mallo earlier this year Joseph Butler is accused of the murder of Paula Canty at their address in Mallow Kevin Galvin Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 07:00 A man charged with the murder of a mother of two in Mallow in January of this year has been sent forward for trial at the Central Criminal Court. Christmas has come early for snow-lovers as Ryanair has announced their timetable for flights to Lapland from both Shannon Airport and Dublin Airport. The airline has announced that there will be five return flights per week from Dublin starting on Sunday, October 26, and two return flights per week from Shannon starting on Monday, October 27. Lapland, described as a winter wonderland like no other, is known as the home of Santa Claus, his toy workshop, and his enchanting reindeer. It is a must visit for the Christmas obsessed, families looking for a heap of Christmas magic, and an unforgettable experience for the whole family. Activities in Lapland include reindeer and husky sleigh rides through snow-covered forests, skies filled with the northern lights, and visits to Santas workshop. There are also tonnes of adult only adventures as well, like ice fishing, snowmobiling, the Finnish sauna experience, and more. So, whether youre seeking adventure, festive fun, or a wholesome weekend away with family or friends, Lapland could be the perfect spot for you. Christmas has come early for our Irish customers with the launch of Ryanairs Winter 2025/26 Lapland schedule, offering five return flights from Dublin starting from Sunday October 26 and two return flights from Shannon starting Monday October 27, Ryanairs Director of Communications, Jade Kirwan, said. Lapland is like waking up in a dream, filled with magical experiences that you will share forever, including miles of glistening snow, reindeer and husky rides, snowball fights, the northern lights, Christmas-themed parks and of course, home to the big man himself. Ryanairs Lapland-Rovaniemi flights are available to book now at ryanair.com. Im Afraid of the Dark, 2025. Collab with @spicebag.exe and @councilbaby Dublin artist Spicebag is among a group of Irish and Palestinian artists leading a powerful new exhibition in London, showcasing work made in response to the war in Gaza and drawing parallels between Irelands colonial past and the ongoing occupation of Palestine. A battered car door, three hundred bullet holes and a childs final words Im afraid of the dark scrawled across the metal in Arabic. This is the centrepiece of a striking new Irish-Palestinian art exhibition in London, where some of Irelands leading contemporary artists are joining forces with Palestinian creators to explore shared histories of resistance, loss and occupation. Its a work memorialising some of the last words spoken by a terrified child to a Public and Commercial Services operator in Gaza, said Dublin artist Spicebag. Hind Rajab was killed by the IDF in a car with her family on 29 January 2024. She was six years old. The car was hit with 335 rounds from an Israeli tank, killing six members of her family. She lay among her familys bodies, crying for help over the phone. Her body wasnt recovered until 11 days later, alongside her family and the paramedics who had been sent to rescue her. Im afraid of the dark is written in Arabic on the car door, he added. The piece, a collaboration between Spicebag and Scottish artist Council Baby, is a tribute to Hind Rajab, the six-year-old girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza earlier this year after being trapped for hours in a car with her dead family members. Her desperate emergency call, and the discovery of her body days later, made global headlines. In this Hackney studio space, her memory becomes unmissable. Im Afraid of the Dark, 2025. Collab with @spicebag.exe and @councilbaby The exhibition, titled Dluthphairtiocht the Irish word for solidarity is taking place at MetaMorphika Studio until 19 July and will travel to Dublin, Cork and Belfast in the months ahead. It features over 50 works by artists from Ireland and Palestine, ranging from photography and painting to surrealist installations and print work. All proceeds go to Dignity for Palestinians, a charity supporting families in Gaza with food, water and medical aid. At the heart of the project is a powerful sense of kinship. Theres something deep in the Irish psyche a generational memory of occupation, of being silenced, of being starved that resonates with the Palestinian experience, says Daragh Drake, the shows curator and Head of Exhibitions for the Dluthphairtiocht collective. Founded last year by artist and writer Sean Og O Murchu, the group has grown into an international platform for artists using their work to speak out against what it calls a live and ongoing genocide. This latest show is its most ambitious yet, combining established names like war photographer Seamus Murphy with emerging Palestinian artists now living in exile. Mr Murphys photographs, taken in Gaza and the West Bank in the early 2000s, depict quiet moments of tension and routine humiliation men praying at checkpoints before crossing into Israel for work, children watching from behind barbed wire. Its not just rubble and rockets, he says. Its in the waiting, the watching, the being watched. Palestinian artist Nabil Abughanima, now living in France, contributes eerie monochrome portraits drawn in charcoal faceless figures with piercing eyes. He fled Gaza just months ago, after an Israeli airstrike destroyed the animation studio he had been building with a group of young artists. Irish artist Aoife Cawley bridges the personal and historical. Her contribution a series of postcard-sized portraits of revolutionary women draws connections between female fighters in Irelands War of Independence and Palestinian women activists from the 1930s onwards. Displayed side by side, the images point to the long echo of anti-colonial resistance across time and place. A collection of more than 40 years of camera footage telling the story of Ballymun has been released. A collection of films capturing more than four decades of life in Ballymun has been unveiled as part of a new community archive, preserving the voices, stories and experiences of one of Dublins most historically significant neighbourhoods. The Ballymun Community Films collection, now available to view via the IFI Archive Player, features 20 curated works drawn from over 1,000 hours of footage shot by local residents. Digitised and preserved by the IFI Irish Film Archive in partnership with Ballymun Communications, the project offers an unfiltered look at the areas evolving identity from high-rise beginnings to regeneration and beyond. Speaking on Near 90.3 FM Northside today, Niall Anderson, Project Manager at the Irish Film Institute, described the archive as a whistle-stop tour of the history of the community over the last 40 years. Its very rare to have so many films over such a period of time, all kind of in one place, he said. Im not aware that theres any precedent for it at all. Shangan Road, Ballymun in 1992. Pic: Bread Circus Productions Launching this evening at Axis Ballymun, the collection showcases everything from youth programmes and local arts festivals to political visits, street life, and the controversial demolition of the original flat complexes. The work is part of a larger five-year collaboration between the IFI and Ballymun Communications, supported by media regulator Coimisiun na Mean, which aims to safeguard and celebrate community-made media. A total of 550 digitised films from the broader Ballymun Communications Archive will eventually be made available through community channels. Mr Anderson, who grew up in Ballymun himself, said the project felt deeply personal: My parents moved into the towers in 1967. Watching this footage, its basically my life story as well. Its been a real privilege to work on this. The collection includes acclaimed documentary The 4th Act by Turlough Kelly and Andrew Keogh, which critically explores the areas regeneration, as well as rare footage of the Ballymun Housing Project, the visit of President Mary Robinson, and grassroots employment and education initiatives from the 1980s and 1990s. The films were created through Ballymun Communications, a long-standing social enterprise that has trained generations of local filmmakers. A collection of more than 40 years of camera footage telling the story of Ballymun has been released. Mr Anderson stressed the archives ongoing community role: Sometimes we couldnt identify people or places in the footage, so we turned to Facebook groups in Ballymun and within an hour, wed have answers, he added. The community has been involved from day one. The archive is intended not only as a record of the past, but as a living resource accessible to residents and future generations. The digitised material is now securely stored in the IFIs state-of-the-art digital preservation system, ensuring long-term access. The public can view the curated selection for free on the IFI Archive Player. The teenage girl who died after suffering fatal injuries in a car crash in Tuam, County Galway, has been named locally. Samantha Gannon (19), from Tuam, died following a two-vehicle collision on Sunday, July 13, at around 6.05pm on the Ballygaddy Road. Samantha was driving one of the two cars and was rushed in critical condition to University Hospital Galway, where she later passed away. Tributes in her honour have been flowing in since her passing, with many remembering Samantha as the nicest girl. One friend shared on social media: A mortal sin had her whole life ahead her, only 19. Many good memories in secondary school with her. Rest in peace Samantha Gannon may you get the best bed in heaven, forever 19. Another school friend said: Went to school with her, such a lovely girl lots of memories. I saw her a couple months ago at a festival in Headford she would never pass by without saying hello and asking how was I getting on, I hope she gets a good bed in heaven she deserves it she was an angel of a girl. Ill never forget you my friend. Someone else added: RIP Samantha cant believe it. Nicest girl. Samantha Gannon Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th Gardai are appealing for anyone with information about the incident to come forward. The driver of the second car, a man in his 20s, and a passenger in that car, a woman in her 30s, were both treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Anybody who was in the Ballygaddy Road area between 5.50pm and 6.15pm and who may have witnessed the incident should contact investigating gardai. Any road users who were travelling in this vicinity at the time, and who may have camera footage including dash cam, are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardai. Gardai can be contacted at the Tuam garda station on 093 70840, the garda confidential line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station. Tributes have been paid to the late Mairead Kearney-Shea who died in her home in Springfield, Massachusetts, on Tuesday. Mairead turned 102 last December and was the oldest of three surviving inhabitants of the famous Great Blasket Islands off the Kerry coast. When the Great Blaskets were evacuated in 1954, Maireads parents, Pats Tom and Nelli Jerry Kearney went to live in Gorta Dubha. Mairead had moved to the mainland in the late 1940s before going to America in 1949 at the age of 26. At the time, the Nuns Convent in Baile n Fheirtearaigh operated a knitting factory that employed young ladies from the locality. It was here that Mairead and other young women earned and saved money to emigrate to the US. Paying tribute to Mairead is her Gorta Dubha neighbour and US resident Maurice Brick. Maurice said people from the Blasket Island were at one with nature. Mairead was in tune with this way of life and she often parted her advice to the youngsters of Gorta Dubha. When Maurice lived in New York he would regularly drive the two hour journey to western Massachusetts to meet and chat with Mairead and the family. Even though he now lives in Chicago, he kept in touch with Mairead over the years. Mairead didnt tell us she was leaving for America all those years ago. Her sister, Hannah told us she had already left. We were shocked and not at all within ourselves for some time thereafter. I did meet Mairead in Springfield many years after, Maurice said. I would drive there often to meet with some of the other Blasket islanders who had settled there. I remember attending Sunday Mass there once and as I was leaving I spotted a group of men in conversation by the gate. As I neared, I could hear they were speaking Irish and of course I introduced myself in Irish and I was greeted with joy. "Any time I met Mairead we talked about our time in Gorta Dubha and we laughed heartily as we recounted some of the shenanigans we were up to. Beannacht De Lena hAnam Uasal God Bless Her Noble Soul, he said. In 2023, US Republican Congressman Richard Neal made a presentation to Mairead at the Irish Cultural Centre of Western New England in honour of being the oldest surviving Blasket Islander. Joan O'Regan is asking people to join her for a special walk on July 27. One of Tralees best known charity fundraisers Joan O Regan is putting on her walking shoes and is asking the public to join her on July 27 for what promises to be a memorable event in scenic surrounds. Joan is a stalwart volunteer with Brighter Communities Worldwide a Cork based NGO that works in partnership with local communities in Kenya across health, economic empowerment, education and water projects. The charity is spearheading a nationwide initiative called The Big Walk as a fundraising initiative organised to highlight the gruelling daily walks that people in Londiani in East Kenya have to make to get clean water for drinking and cooking. Roundtrips of up to 20 kilometres a day are not unusual for this most basic of necessities. The effects of climate change mean that people in east Kenya, where Brighter Communities Worldwide works, now must walk further to get water, and this is a huge and pressing concern, she told The Kerryman. We are so lucky here that we can turn on a tap and have clean, fresh and safe water but for the vast majority of people in Kenya, this is the stuff of dreams. Brighter Communities Worldwide is doing absolutely sterling work for decades now to empower the local communities with whom they work to help themselves. "They champion a unique model of working with and being led by the communities who of course are the best to determine their own needs and those of their communities, Joan added. The trail takes in the Old Kenmare Road from Kenmare to Killarney and the uplands of Killarney National Park on July 27. This one-way trail of 16km involves four to five hours of walking and requires modest fitness levels. There is still a bit of time to get cracking on some training. Thats the wonderful thing about walking, people can build up a decent level of fitness quite quickly, said Joan. She added that Kerry people know how to get behind a worthy cause and are generous by their nature. She is hoping for a big turnout. "Kerry people genuinely have a gra for those in difficult circumstances, so I think well have a fabulous day, she said. A shuttle bus will bring walkers from Killarney at 9am to the start of the walk in Kenmare (cost 25). Participants will be sent full details of logistics when they register. Lastly, Joan said each time she travels to Kenya to volunteer she sees more improvements and benefits to the community and individual families through the work of Brighter Communities Worldwide. I visited homesteads and communities where lives have been completely transformed by interaction with the charity, she said. For more information contact denise@brightercommunities.org or phone 021 4813735. A US Court of Appeal has upheld the convictions of a Kerry brother and sister for their part in a payroll scheme that defrauded US trade unions of funds. Donal OSullivan the co-founder of Navillus the major New York-based construction firm founded by the south Kerry OSullivan family - has had his conviction upheld following a judgement this month in the US. Two top executives of Navillus Donals sister Helen and their Tipperary colleague Padraig Naughton also had their convictions upheld. In a judgement handed down by the US Court of Appeal the Judges said the found their legal arguments to be without merit. The said that the judgement of the district court is affirmed for defendants Donal O'Sullivan, Helen O'Sullivan and Padraig Naughton in their appeal from September 6, 2023 judgments of conviction for several felony countsincluding conspiracy, mail and wire fraud, embezzlement from employee benefit funds, and filing false remittance reportsrelated to their affiliation with a company that schemed to avoid making required contributions to various unions' benefits funds. Mr OSullivan and Mr Naughton were sentenced to six months of incarceration followed by two years of supervised release. Ms OSullivan was sentenced to two years of probation. The district court also imposed restitution of $1.276 million, holding Mr OSullivan liable for the full amount and Helen OSullivan and Padraig Naughton jointly and severally liable for 30% of the restitution amount only in the event that Donal demonstrated an inability to pay the full amount. On appeal, the defendant argued that their convictions must be reversed citing several legal reasons but these were rejected. Mr OSullivan was the co-founder, owner and president of Navillus, one of New Yorks Citys largest construction firms. Helen OSullivan was a payroll administrator in the company, which was founded by the OSullivan family in the 1980s when they emigrated to the US. During the sentencing hearing in 2023 Judge Chen said her decision had been influenced by the huge volume of letters, in support of the OSullivans, that had been submitted to the court one of which was from Deputy Michael Healy-Rae who is now a Minister. TD Michael Healy-Rae previously defended his support for the Kerry man Donal OSullivan while he was in jail. He said he believes that Mr OSullivan should not have to spend a night in jail. "I am very sorry that they had to give a night in jail. They did a lot of good things, and that can't be overlooked, he told The Kerryman while Mr OSullivan was in jail. All the photos from the Bannow Show We had 500 volunteers, community spirit at its best The show, now its 74th year is spread across 100 acers of model county farmland and showcases almost 350 stands. Bannow Rathangan show. Ceann Comhairle Verona Murphy who officially opened the show and Walter Kent show president. Photo; Mary Browne Cillian Boggan Wexford People Thu 17 Jul 2025 at 07:00 The 2025 edition of the Bannow & Rathangan Agricultural show was a spectacular success attracting tens of thousands of people from across Ireland and the World to stunning south Wexford. Newly published figures show that rape and sexual assault in Wexford has risen 120% when compared with 20 years ago. Stock image. Newly obtained figures show that Wexford has seen an alarming rise in rape and sexual assault over the past 20 years. Data obtained on foot of a Freedom of Information Request submitted by Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu has shown a 120% increase in the number of reported rapes and sexual assaults reported in the Wexford Garda Division when compared with 20 years ago. The figures show that in 2003 the Wexford Garda Division recorded 50 rapes/sexual assaults. The figure for 2024 had more than doubled with 110 recorded incidents in 2024. In terms of the South East region, Waterford was the only county which saw a higher number of sexual assaults with 126, however, Wexford had seen a higher percentage increase, 120% compared to Waterfords 83%. Almost all garda divisions saw a notable increase in reported sexual assaults, with Dublin accounting for the highest numbers in 2024, followed by Cork City (194), Galway (171). The lowest number of reported instances of sexual assault in 2024 came in Sligo/Leitrim with 57, however, this still represented a 111% increase on the figure of 27 from 20 years previously. Ireland South MEP Cynthia Ni Mhurchu. Photo: David Conachy Ms Ni Mhurchu also pointed out that, as of May 31, 2025, there were 800 sex offenders in Irish prisons, carrying a cost of almost 80 million annually for the state. The number of sex offenders in Irish prisons had increased by 16% when compared to last year. The MEP has raised serious concerns about the ability of the Irish Prison system to rehabilitate sex offenders and the value for money of spending 80 million each year to house sex offenders that we are not treating. She added that the statistics were a wakeup call to action and says that its clear we are dealing with an epidemic of violence against women. A former family law barrister herself, Ms Ni Mhurchu has called for a suite of measures to tackle rising violence against women including a review of sentencing for these crimes, advanced training for circuit and district court judges, more consultation with victims, more focused measures to rehabilitate offenders and a thorough investigation as to why weve seen a ten-fold increase in the number of rapes and sexual assaults across every county in Ireland. She added that she will be seeking an urgent meeting with Justice Minister Jim OCallaghan to discuss what she has termed a crisis. One of the biggest changes to traffic flow in Wexford town in recent memory took its first step on Thursday, with the implementation of the first phase of a somewhat controversial one-way system. Now in place, the first phase of the radical new traffic system sees traffic now only able to move one way along John Street, towards Hill Street, from the junction of St Johns Road/George's Street. There will no longer be any access from Hill Street onto John Street. Back in February, Wexford councillors voted in favour of changes that will implement a one way system from the junction of Grogan's Road and School Street, right along John Street and all the way to the junction at the top of Hill Street. The move would ensure that traffic can only move in the direction of School Street to Hill Street, with cars wishing to head in the opposite direction across town being sent along Davitt Road and onto Grogans Road or Talbot Green. The proposal sparked concerns from residents of Davitt Road, not least of all the principal of St Iberius National School who pointed to a lack of proper pedestrian infrastructure and a perceived lack of regard for her pupils before making these changes. The new system has also reportedly been the subject of grumbles from local business owners along the route The councils decision to implement this phase first raised a few eyebrows, as it was the narrowness of the road and footpaths on School Street, at the other end of the proposed one-way system, that sparked the councillors to vote in favour of the changes in the first place. Wexford County Council has now confirmed that the second phase, which will cover the full length of School Street, John Street and across to Hill Street, will be operational from July 23, all traffic again heading north from School Street towards Hill Street. Wexford Gardai were quick to act after a man was allegedly held up with a knife in a violent robbery in broad daylight in a town centre car park last week. The incident took place on Monday of last week at around 6.30 p.m. in the Paul Quay car park in town. A 20-year-old man was making his way along the car park when he was approached by another male (29). Its alleged that a demand was made of the younger man to hand over money and, when he declined, a scuffle ensued. During the course of the dispute, gardai believe a knife was produced and the younger male received a nasty cut to his finger, which was left streaming blood. The alleged attacker relieved him of his mobile phone before the injured party managed to make an escape. His injuries are reported as being relatively minor and he is expected to make a full recovery. Gardai immediately set about tracking down the suspect, who is known to them, and he was eventually located in Tesco car par off Distillery Road. He was arrested, detained and eventually charged with robbery before being brought before Wexford District Court the following day. A local to Wexford, the defendant was remanded on bail to return before the court on September 15. Another male, aged 27, was arrested at the same time at Tesco car park on foot of a bench warrant issued on a charge of theft. Wicklow County Council has adopted a new traveller accommodation programme that will cover the period 2025-2029. The document has been published following an extensive period of engagement and consultation with the traveller community, with an assessment of needs carried out over several months by a range of stakeholders including the Bray Travellers Community Development Group, in conjunction with Wicklow County Council's social worker. This is the sixth plan the council has adopted and is guided by the principals of equality and non-discrimination. In their policy statement the council pledges to provide equitable access to accommodation for all members of the traveller community, to ensure that their specific needs are met. Where resources allow, it is the policy of the local authority to provide standard and group housing options as well as halting sites for the accommodation of travellers who are on the list for social housing support. Over the lifetime of the five-year programme, 53 units will be delivered across the five municipal districts with 13 in Arklow, 5 in Baltinglass, 10 in Bray, 10 in Greystones and 15 in Wicklow. Improvement and upgrade works will also take place on several sites around the county. These include a retro fit upgrade to existing day units at the St Clares and Balinteskin halting sites within the Arklow Municipal District. The plan will be reviewed and monitored on a continuous basis with progress reports being presented to the Local Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee (LTACC) for review. The committees role is to provide a forum where issues affecting the community can be addressed in a co-ordinated manner. Membership of the committee includes travellers, traveller development groups, elected members of the county council and council staff. Speaking during the councils July monthly meeting, director of services Michael Nicholson said Wicklow has a very good record of providing traveller accommodation. In this five-year plan 45 of the units we provide will be standard which reflects the desire of the travelling community to live in standard housing. We are also going to spend a lot of time and energy on improving fire safety. The document has gone through the LTACC chaired with his usual passion by Councillor Joe Behan, and it has gone through the Housing Strategic Planning Committee chaired with equal passion by Councillor Graham Richmond. We had submissions from the Irish Traveller Movement, and we had a lot of public consultation as well. he added. The motion to adopt the plan was proposed by Cllr Behan and seconded by Cllr John Snell. Cllr Behan paid tribute to all those involved in preparing the strategy. There's a great spirit of cooperation on the committee. All decisions are made by consensus. There's a very good track record of working together, I think instituted originally by Theresa O'Brien when she was housing officer as well, and that has continued into this LTACC, as we call it. Cllr Snell singled out Cllr Behan for his individual efforts in helping to get the document published. He has been a champion really for the people who say they have the least voice out there, least representative of having their voices heard, the members of the travelling community. And I know that Joe and all the members have been to the forefront in making sure that nobody is left behind. Cllr Snell also expressed the importance that the programme is implemented as intended. We know the tragedy that happened in regards to Carrickmines and the fire that happened and that dreadful incident, and since then all local authorities upped their game, but we in Wicklow didn't have to up our game because to be honest we have been punching above our weight for many, many years in regards to meeting the obligations of the minority grouping that is the traveller community. We know that there's a crisis out there regarding rental accommodation and long gone is the day when the traveller community were the only ones that struggled to find rental accommodation. The reality is now that rental crisis affects everybody, whether you're a traveller or a country person, whether you are non-national or otherwise. he added. In his final remarks, Cllr Snell raised concern about the number of caravans being pulled up near residential houses to use their electricity supplies. I fear for the fact that if we're not going to address it, it could potentially lead to a disaster. I honestly believe that at this moment in time it could be a backward step if we as a local authority, don't address it. In response Mr Nicholson advised members to report any such incidents to council staff. I also just want to thank Mary Rose Walker, social worker, for her work on this and also Caroline Fox who led this from the start to finish. While the plan is focused mainly on the physical delivery of accommodation, efforts will also be made to address a range of other complex issues affecting the traveller community including mental health and welfare. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme Our writer demystifies sun cream labels and shares three ranges with products under 10 My friends, we need to talk about SPF. I know what youre thinking: Louise, you never stop banging on about SPF, and its not sexy or fun. Why cant you talk about glitter or lipstick or a magic foundation that makes me look like a newborn baby? I get it. I feel the same. I dont like boring on about sun protection, but unfortunately, I must. I must because, according to new research by Lidl, one in four Irish people rarely or never use sun cream. As Ive previously mentioned here, my dad is sadly one of those people. Im sure you know one as well. Some people simply wont be convinced. This column is not for them, this column is for you. Perhaps youve never really given sun cream much thought. Perhaps you secretly believe that sun cream is a swizz. Perhaps you passionately believe in sun safety but need some new ammunition in attempting to convert the sun cream-resistant people in your life. To you, I say, read on. Sun cream is annoying, theres no point in denying it. A product that adds little in terms of glamour, often feels sticky or uncomfortable and needs to be reapplied every few hours? Absolutely no craic. Unfortunately, though, its essential. Obviously weve all experienced the pain of sunburn (which also looks horrendous, by the way), but the suns impact can be much more serious. Skin cancer is the number-one cancer in Ireland, with 11,000 people diagnosed every year. The majority of these cases are non-melanoma cases which are treated with relative ease. Melanoma, however, can become life-threatening and spread to other parts of the body if not treated. The good news is that you can reduce your chance of having melanoma by up to 50pc just by wearing sun cream as long as its the right one. Bootss Soltan range Sun cream products usually offer protection from both UVB and UVA protection. UVB sun rays are responsible for sunburn and increased risk of melanoma, and these are the rays SPF protects you from. The SPF number refers to how much longer it would take your skin to redden while wearing sun protection than if you werent wearing sun protection at all. The higher the number, the more your skin is protected. In my opinion, youd be mad to wear anything less than SPF30. Aldis Lacura range UVA rays are the ones which cause your skin to tan, which you might like, but they also contribute to the skins ageing, which you might not like. European regulations require sun creams to provide UVA protection which is at least one-third of the SPF. Products which meet this criteria will have the UVA circle logo on the bottle (literally the letters UVA in a circle). If your sun cream offers high SPF protection and is labelled with the UVA circle logo, youre in good shape. The good news is, you dont need to spend top dollar to access this level of sun safety. Lidls Cien range Lidls Cien range is solid, with great options for children and adults (including a roll-on which is super handy for squirmy kids). Every product in the range is less than 10, with many less than 5. Aldis Lacura range is similarly priced, and Bootss Soltan range is also consistently good, with a product for every skin type priced from 5. At those prices, you wont have to worry about applying frequently and liberally. Lost in translation Were all probably familiar with cryotherapy as a concept via science fiction movies where wealthy people freeze themselves in order to come alive again in the future, but in real life its used to promote skin health via extremely cold temperatures. Treatments usually briefly expose the skin to very low temperatures via cooling agents like liquid nitrogen, to reduce the signs of ageing, improve collagen production, and generally improve the skin tone. Something old Giorgio Armanis Eye Tint Im easily distracted so there arent many products which can hold my attention for years, but Giorgio Armanis Eye Tint (36 via brownthomas.com) is something I have purchased over and over again. I love this longwear liquid eyeshadow because it is incredibly easy to apply and blend, and it stays where you put it until you wash it off. I simply apply to the lid before blending the edges with a fluffy brush, and boom, youve got a look. Eye Tint also works beautifully as a base for other products if you want to create something a little fancier, and as its available in 24 shades and four finishes, theres a nude option for everyone. My personal fave is 22M or Cashew, a warm brown which works as a transition shade but also brings out blue and green eyes beautifully when worn alone. ... Something new Makeup by Mario Longwear Cream Eyeshadow It takes a lot to get me excited about nudes, but Makeup by Marios latest launch has done it. Ive been consistently impressed by the launches from the man behind Kim Kardashians glam. Each and every product performs well and delivers something new to the category, and the brands Master Mattes Eyeshadow Palette (57 via makeupbymario.com) has become a go-to of make-up artists and make-up wearers alike. Now it has expanded the Master Mattes range with Longwear Cream Eyeshadow (28 via makeupbymario.com), a lightweight, easy-to-use cream formula which delivers a soft matte finish. Unlike the cream formulas of old, these are sweat and humidity-resistant, and last really well on the lid. They work brilliantly on their own, or as a base for other shadows. Available in a range of 10 shades (mainly nudes but also including a deep black and a few pinks), these are the kind of products youll come back to over and over again. Since 1963, The Independent has helped create a great community! Since our founding in September of 1963, The Independent has been dedicated to giving Livermore, Pleasanton, Dublin, and Sunol readers the news they need to be in-the-know about what's going on in the Tri-Valley region. Untamed ending explained: Netflixs limited series Untamed has captured viewers attention with its gripping plot and powerful conclusion. Blending themes of betrayal, and survival, the show delivers a rollercoaster of emotions but its the dramatic ending that has sparked the most discussion. With lingering questions about Lucys heartbreaking fate and Shanes final moments, fans are searching for clarity. If you're looking to make sense of it all, heres an in-depth look at Untamed's ending and its deeper significance. What is Untamed on Netflix about? Untamed is a tense and gripping mystery thriller that follows Kyle Turner, a special agent in a top-tier unit of the National Parks Service responsible for enforcing law in the wildest corners of nature. When a brutal death shatters the peace, Turner finds himself drawn into a tangled investigation, one that reveals dark secrets lurking in the park and forces him to confront haunting truths from his own past. (Spoilers ahead, you know what to do) Untamed ending explained How did Lucy die? By the end of Untamed, its revealed that Lucy Cook died by suicide, not murder. The end of the limited series tells us that Lucy had escaped from Gibbs and returned to Yosemite as a teenager. Around a year before her body was found, Paul had offered to help her find housing. He later tells Kyle that Lucy had been blackmailing him for money, threatening to reveal he was her biological father. Paul admits to shooting Lucy in the leg, claiming he just wanted to stop her so they could talk. He insists he was "protecting his family," to which Kyle pointedly reminds him that Lucy was part of that family. Consumed by guilt and unable to face the collapse of his reputation, Paul ultimately dies by suicide, choosing not to kill Kyle to keep him silent. Meanwhile, Kyle uncovers a video on Lucys phone in episode 5, showing Shane assaulting her. Its also revealed that Shane had drawn Lucy into the parks underground drug operation. What happened to Shane? Despite being shot in the abdomen, Kyle managed to get away from Shane temporarily. However, since Kyle was badly wounded and Shane was uninjured, Shane eventually caught up and was ready to kill him. Naya shot Shane once to stop him, but when he turned to attack her, she shot him in the chest, killing him. Kyle was rushed to the hospital in critical condition but survived. Paul, the chief park ranger and Kyles friend, and Naya were relieved. Naya informed Kyle that the drugs, weapons, and cash found at Shanes camp, along with the video of him attacking Lucy, suggested he and Lucy may have had a deal that turned sour, potentially leading to her death. Meanwhile, Paul called Jill, asking to meet, but she chose to stay home and confess the truth to her husband, Scott, about Shanes involvement in her and Kyles past. Years ago, a man named Sean had abducted and killed Caleb. Shanes motion-activated wildlife cameras had caught Sean in the act, which led to his arrest. What dark secrets does Yosemite National Park hold? Eric Bana stars in Untamed, a new mystery thriller from a writer of The Revenant and American Primeval premiering July 17. pic.twitter.com/RPx2WPHf0q Netflix (@netflix) June 16, 2025 By confessing everything to Scott, Jill finally stopped pretending she was okay. She gave him the choice to leave her, as Kyle once had. The series doesnt clarify Scotts decision, but Jills words to Kyle at the hospital suggest Scott chose to stay. In their final conversation, Jill reassures Kyle shell be fine, likely acknowledging Scotts support. She may also be apologising for bringing Shane into their lives for the sake of revenge. That emotional closure is what ultimately leads Kyle to lie to Esther, the lawyer investigating Seans disappearance. Though Kyle ended his marriage because Jill had Sean killed, he chooses not to expose her or Shane, allowing Seans family to remain in the dark. While controversial, Kyle saw Jill was already living with guilt and believed justice wouldnt bring peace to anyone. You can stream Untamed on Netflix. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Coldplays frontman Chris Martin stopped a live performance mid-way in Toronto after forgetting the lyrics to A Sky Full of Stars. The moment occurred during the bands ongoing Music of the Spheres World Tour, and Martin promptly apologised to fans on stage. Fans attending the show witnessed the unexpected pause as Martin missed his cue, leading the band to stop playing the song. A video clip of the incident was later circulated online, despite Martins light-hearted request not to upload it. The moment the music stopped While performing in Toronto, Martin missed his line in A Sky Full of Stars and immediately acknowledged the mistake in front of thousands of fans. According to a fan-shared TikTok video, he told the crowd: I f----- up, I f----- up. Im so sorry, Im so sorry. Coldplay-Fix You. Was waiting for this all night, Habs fans. "Mesdames et Messieurs, Ladies and Gentlemen. Accueillons nos Canadiens!" #GoHabsGo #ColdplayToronto pic.twitter.com/B83fdz0Mc4 Konstantine Antonopoulos (@konst_anton) July 13, 2025 Martin further explained, I forgot to come in on the right line. Now, normally, I do stop this song as a joke but I did genuinely just make a big mistake, so please forgive me... Im so sorry. That was an actual f--- up. S---. Oh, balls. The band paused as Martin briefly conferred with his bandmates before returning to address the audience. A candid moment on stage In a moment of honesty and humour, Martin shared, Listen, Im so sorry, I forgot the words. I forgot what to say. It happens sometimes when youre my age. Im nearly 80 years old. He then requested, Dont put that on YouTube, if you please. However, clips from the concert soon made their way online, gaining attention and support from fans. Fan reaction and tour updates Despite the error, audience reactions were largely positive. Fans described the show as magical and expressed understanding, noting that such slip-ups are part of live performances. Mistakes happen, one fan commented. Coldplays Music of the Spheres World Tour began in March 2022 and continues with sold-out shows across several cities. The tour is scheduled to conclude with performances in Hull and London. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Lunas apparent death after being shot on The Bold and the Beautiful has triggered intense speculation. While the show announced her death in a recent episode, several viewers believe it may just be another twist in the long-running CBS soap. The suspicious behavior of Li, the characters grandmother, and the shows history of fake deaths are key reasons for this skepticism. What actually happened to Luna? In the July 8 episode, Luna was shot by Liam during a chaotic scene that unfolded after Luna had accidentally wounded him during a struggle with Sheila. Doctors performed emergency surgery to save her life. After the operation, Li and Bridget informed viewers that Luna had made it through the procedure but would possibly face legal consequences. Luna in The Bold and the Beautiful | Credit: X After Bridget left the hospital room, Li was seen telling Luna, You dont deserve this, Luna, and then mentioned keeping a close eye on her. Not long after, Li informed the rest of the characters that Luna had died. This sudden shift has left many wondering whether Luna actually died or if Li is hiding something once againsomething shes done in the past. Why fans are doubting the death Li has a history of keeping major secrets. In the past, she let others believe that Finn had died after being shot by Sheila. She hid the truth from Steffy and the rest of the family for quite some time. Because of that, longtime fans are suspicious of Lis behavior now. A fan shared on social media: They ALL hated Luna & you know they all wanted her dead. But her mom says it & they'll all hate her. These folks are monsters. Another viewer pointed out: Them keep bringing Luna name is convincing me she definitely not dead. Them keep bringing Luna name is convincing me she definitely not dead#BoldandBeautiful pic.twitter.com/tgm8Q59UmG Keshia Wilis (@KeshiaWilis) July 16, 2025 Behind-the-scenes hints suggest a twist Lisa Yamada, who plays Luna, has reportedly exited the show. However, behind-the-scenes photos recently posted by Katherine Kelly Lang (who plays Brooke) suggest that both Luna and Liam are on set for episodes scheduled to air in September. This contradicts the storyline that Luna has died and supports the theory that the character might return. Additionally, The Bold and the Beautiful has a record of dramatic reversals. Bill Spencer was shown to have hidden the real murderer in another storyline, even after someone else had been wrongly imprisoned. These previous twists have set the tone for Lunas current situation. A pattern fans know too well Since her entry in 2023 as a kind and cheerful character, Lunas arc has changed significantly. She got involved in crime, betrayed her boyfriend, and eventually shot Liam. Liam then returned fire, injuring Luna. The quick shift from surgery recovery to death announcementespecially with Li at the centerhas raised eyebrows. While the show stated Luna is dead, the clues and patterns suggest this may not be the final chapter for the character. Whether this is another staged disappearance or a real exit remains to be seen, but viewers have good reason to believe that Lunas story isnt over just yet. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Ekadashi in July 2025: Kamika Ekadashi is an auspicious day observed by Hindus in honour of Lord Vishnu. In July 2025, two significant Ekadashis take place Devshayani Ekadashi and Kamika Ekadashi. As Devshayani Ekadashi was celebrated on 5 July, lets now focus on Kamika Ekadashi. Here's everything you need to know from date and timing to rituals and spiritual importance to observe this sacred fast. When is Kamika Ekadashi in July 2025? Kamika Ekadashi is observed on the 11th day of the Krishna Paksha during the Shravan month. In 2025, it will be marked on July 21. According to the Vedic Panchang, the Ekadashi Tithi begins at 2:12 PM on July 20 and ends at 9:38 AM on July 21. Devotees usually begin their fasting at sunrise on July 21, continuing until the next sunrise. The Parana (breaking of the fast) should be done on July 22 between 5:36 AM and 7:05 AM. Key Timings: Tithi Date & Time Ekadashi Tithi Begins July 20 2025, 2:12 PM Ekadashi Tithi Ends July 21 2025, 9:38 AM Parana (Fast Breaking) Time July 22 2025, 5:36 AM to 7:05 AM Dwadashi Tithi Ends July 22 2025, 7:05 AM Spiritual Significance of Kamika Ekadashi Kamika Ekadashi holds great importance in Hinduism for its spiritual power and benefits. It is believed that observing on fast (vrar) on Ekadashi can wash away even serious sins, such as Brahmahatya (killing of a Brahmin) and liberation from the cycle of birth and death (moksha). Fasting on this day is considered as rewarding as performing an Ashwamedha Yagya or going on a pilgrimage to sacred places. Devotees worship Lord Vishnu along with Tulsi Mata, which is said to bring peace of mind, success, and divine blessings. Kamika Ekadashi Rituals: How to Observe the Fast To properly observe Kamika Ekadashi, follow these simple yet meaningful steps: Start your day early with a bath, preferably mixing some Gangajal in the water to purify your body and soul. in the water to purify your body and soul. Clean your puja space, place an idol or image of Lord Vishnu or Lord Krishna , and decorate it with yellow flowers, Tulsi leaves, and a ghee diya (lamp). or , and decorate it with yellow flowers, Tulsi leaves, and a ghee diya (lamp). Choose either a Nirjala fast (no food or water) or a Phalahar fast (fruits, milk, nuts only). Avoid grains, lentils, onions, and garlic. Offer Panchamrit, fruits, and bhog. Chant Vishnu mantras such as Om Namo Bhagavate Vasudevaya or recite the Vishnu Sahasranama. Read or listen to the Kamika Ekadashi Vrat Katha . or recite the Vishnu Sahasranama. Read or listen to the . Perform charity by donating food, clothes, or money to the needy. At night, stay awake, sing bhajans, and meditate on Lord Vishnu for divine grace. Why One Should Observe Kamika Ekadashi Kamika Ekadashi comes in the pious month of Shravan (Sawan), making it an ideal time for prayers, spiritual growth, and repentance. According to the Vrat Katha, a man once received forgiveness for a grave mistake simply by observing this fast, proving its power to bring change and redemption. So, mark July 21 2025, in your diary and prepare to honour Lord Vishnu with full devotion. By observing Kamika Ekadashi with faith and discipline, you can invite peace, prosperity, and take a step closer to spiritual freedom. (Note: Dates/timings may be subject to change; details mentioned here are as per the information available.) For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. Shradh 2025 start and end date: Pitru Paksha or Shradh is a 15-day period that will start on September 7 with Purnima Shradh and will conclude on September 21 with Sarva Pitri Amavasya. During these days, Hindus show respect and offer prayers to their ancestors and forefathers. Pitru Paksha is observed with special rituals, and people follow a simple lifestyle. It is believed that performing Shradh rituals during this time helps the souls of ancestors find peace and attain moksha (salvation). The last day of Pitru Paksha is called Sarvapitri Amavasya or Mahalaya Amavasya, which is considered very important during this period. When does Pitru Paksha start and end in 2025? Pitru Paksha image | Credit: Freepik According to the Hindu calendar, Pitru Paksha begins on the full moon (Purnima) day of Shukla Paksha in the month of Bhadrapada and ends on the new moon (Amavasya) day of Krishna Paksha. This year, Shradh will start on Sunday, 7th September 2025 and will end on Sunday, 21st September 2025. Name Date Shradh Begins Sunday, 7th September 2025 Shradh Ends Sunday, 21st September 2025 Pitru Paksha 2025 tithi dates Shradh 2025 Start Date And End Date Tithi Dates Purnima Shradh 7 September 2025, Sunday Pratipada Shraddha 8 September 2025, Monday Dwitiya Shradh 9 September 2025, Tuesday Tritiya & Chaturthi Shradh 10 September 2025, Wednesday Panchami Shradh & Maha Bharani 11 September 2025, Thursday Shashthi Shradh 12 September 2025, Friday Saptami Shradh 13 September 2025, Saturday Ashtami Shradh 14 September 2025, Sunday Navami Shradh 15 September 2025, Monday Dashami Shradh 16 September 2025, Tuesday Ekadashi Shradh 17 September 2025, Wednesday Dwadashi Shradh 18 September 2025, Thursday Trayodashi & Magha Shradh 19 September 2025, Friday Chaturdashi Shradh 20 September 2025, Saturday Sarva Pitru Amavasya 21 September 2025, Sunday Why is Pitru Paksha important? Pitru Paksha is a time to show love and respect to your departed family members. Hindus believe that offering food, prayers, and rituals during this time brings peace to the souls of ancestors. It is also said that these actions help the souls to reach moksha (salvation). Pitru Paksha (Shradh) rituals People follow certain rituals and customs during these 15 days. These include: 1. Tarpan This is the act of offering water and black sesame seeds (til) to ancestors. It is believed to quench their thirst in the afterlife. 2. Pinda Daan In this ritual, people offer rice balls made with ghee and sesame seeds to their ancestors. This is done to nourish their souls and help them find peace. 3. Shradh Ceremony Many families perform a proper Shradh puja, where they offer food, clothes, and other items to priests or Brahmins. This is seen as a good deed done in memory of the departed. 4. Charity and Donations Giving food, clothes, or money to the poor or to temples is common during Pitru Paksha. It is believed to bring blessings from the ancestors and help their souls rest peacefully. 5. Visiting Ancestral Places Some people go to their native villages or burial spots to perform the rituals and show respect to their elders who have passed away. 6. Fasting Many people also observe fasts during these 15 days to show devotion and respect for their ancestors. Pitru Paksha history & significance: Here's a brief overview of the history and significance of Pitru Paksha: Mention in Hindu Scriptures The idea of respecting and remembering our ancestors comes from Hindu scriptures like the Vedas and Puranas. These texts say that offering prayers and food to the souls of our departed family members during Shradh helps bring them peace in the afterlife. Teachings in the Bhagavad Gita In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna talks about the importance of offering food to ancestors. He explains that it is not just a tradition but also a form of devotion. Doing these rituals during Pitru Paksha helps one receive blessings and grow spiritually. Story of King Mahabali Another well-known tale is about King Mahabali. He was a kind and just ruler. According to mythology, Lord Vishnu came to him in the form of Vamana during Pitru Paksha and sent him to the underworld. But because of Mahabalis goodness, he was given a special blessingto visit his people once a year during this time. This visit is celebrated as Onam in Kerala. Story from the Mahabharata The Mahabharata, one of the oldest epics in India, has a story linked to Pitru Paksha. Karna, a well-known character, is said to have donated food and wealth during this time. Because of his kind deeds, he earned great rewards. This story shows why doing good things during Pitru Paksha is important. Importance of Amavasya and Tarpan The last day of Pitru Paksha is Mahalaya Amavasya, which is the most special day of this period. On this day, people perform Tarpan or Shraddha rituals that include offering water, food, and prayers to their ancestors. It is believed that these offerings bring peace to the souls of the departed and bring blessings to the family. Why Pitru Paksha Still Matters Today Pitru Paksha is still followed with great faith by many Hindu families. People come together to remember their ancestors by offering pind daan (rice balls) and doing other rituals. It is believed that these acts help the souls of ancestors rest in peace and also bring good fortune to the living. Pitru Paksha reminds us how important family is and how strong the bond is between past and present generations. It teaches us that honouring our forefathers brings harmony, blessings, and spiritual progress in life. (Note: Dates/timings may be subject to change; details mentioned here are as per the information available.) For more informative articles on historical and upcoming events from around the world, please visit Indiatimes Events. A recent US media report has revealed new details in the Air India crash in Ahmedabad last month, citing a cockpit recording that indicates the planes captain may have manually cut fuel to the engines shortly after takeoff. The report, published by the Wall Street Journal, outlines the final exchange between the pilots just seconds before the crash. Recording points to possible fuel switch action According to the Wall Street Journal, the first officer operating the Boeing 787 Dreamliner questioned the captain about moving the switches to the "cutoff" position shortly after the plane took off. The captain reportedly remained calm, while the first officer reacted in panic. The cockpit conversation is part of the preliminary findings by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIIB), which noted that both engine fuel cutoff switches were triggered within a one-second gap, shortly after takeoff. The entire time from liftoff to crash was 32 seconds. BREAKING Its becoming increasingly clear that the captain of the Air India flight which crashed last month intentionally shut off the fuel switches on the plane, leading to the crash. A black box recording reveals that after the fuel switches went off, the co-pilot asked the pic.twitter.com/jfAjYhJFkR Yashar Ali (@yashar) July 16, 2025 Sources cited in the Wall Street Journal report, including US pilots and aviation experts familiar with the investigation, suggest it was the captain who moved the switches. However, the preliminary report does not state if the action was intentional or accidental. Civil aviation minister urges caution Responding to the media report, Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu urged people not to jump to conclusions based on the early findings. I dont think we should jump to any conclusions over this, Mr. Naidu said. This is only a preliminary report. There are technicalities involved, and it would be premature to make assumptions. We value our pilots and crewthey are the backbone of Indian aviation. Pilots body criticises the US report The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), led by President CS Randhawa, has strongly criticised the Wall Street Journal article. Randhawa stated that the AIIB report does not directly blame the pilots for manually shutting down the fuel switches and warned against speculative reporting. We condemn the article, Randhawa said. Nowhere in the report is it mentioned that the pilot made the mistake. This kind of reporting is irresponsible. We will take action against the publication. He added that drawing conclusions without waiting for the final detailed report is unjustified and misleading. Air India confirms fleet-wide checks Air India has completed precautionary checks across its fleet of Boeing 787-8 aircraft on the locking mechanisms of the Fuel Control Switches (FCS). These checks were carried out following directives from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The airline confirmed that no issues were found. All Boeing 787 aircraft underwent inspections, and everything was in order, Air Indias engineering team informed. The airline also confirmed that all its 787-8s had previously received new Throttle Control Modules (TCMs), which include the FCS components, in line with Boeings maintenance guidelines. As investigations continue, officials urge caution while Air India completes checks and pilot groups demand accountability in media coverage. For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Rumors of President Donald Trump visiting Pakistan in September have begun circulating as a result of reporting from the countrys local news channels, including Saama and Geo TV. While Geo TV had gone as far as report that Donald Trumps visit would occur on September 18, this claim has been debunked due to the fact that the president is already scheduled for a visit to the United Kingdom from September 17 to 19. This has lead to widespread online debate on whether Trump will even visit Islamabad at all, or whether Pakistan's media is simply "detached from reality". Pakistan's media appears increasingly detached from reality, frequently disseminating misinformation as a matter of routine. Sayantan Bhaumik (@CEOBhaumik) July 17, 2025 Netizens question Donald Trump Islamabad visit The rumors of Donald Trumps supposed Islamabad visit drew strong reactions from advocacy groups such as Nepal Correspondence, while sharply accused the United States of snuggling up to a terror factory to advance its own interests. . US is dangerously closing in with terror factory #Pakistan for its own interests in Indo- Pacific. While Pakistan is 1/2 pic.twitter.com/2pS6EWrzQ7 Nepal Correspondence (@NepCorres) July 17, 2025 In response, user Sougat Chakraborty said that the rumored visit was fake news because Geo TV had mentioned the date to be September 18, which would coincide with a confirmed visit to the UK. Fake news. GeoTV pak started this. Clarified by@sidhant https://t.co/sqTBawct7A Sougat Chakraborty (@sougat18) July 17, 2025 However, Nepal Correspondence still believed a visit was on the cards at some other date. We are not mentioning any specific dates but such a visit is likely. Wait for our thread to understand the context. Nepal Correspondence (@NepCorres) July 17, 2025 Other users continued to speculate on what an Islamabad visit would entail, with Dr gsp believing that Trump wanted to visit an American nuclear weapons facility that had been struck during Operation Sindoor. Trum will visit Pakistan to check american Nuclear weapons secretly hidden at kirana hills , earlier this nuclear facility was hit by Indian armed forces during Operation Sindoor Dr gsp (@gsp1591) July 17, 2025 User India Unfiltered posted a recap of the recent India-Pakistan tensions, and claimed that the Pakistan Foreign Office had denied any knowledge of a supposed visit. Trump in Islamabad this Sept? Reports say US Prez Donald Trump may visit in Sept1st such visit in 20 yrs. Pak Foreign Office denies knowledge India visit may follow Comes after Aprils Pahalgam terror attack (26 civilians killed) Triggered Operation pic.twitter.com/hvq3Ye3lYi India Unfiltered (@THENEWINDIA23) July 17, 2025 Pakistan has been making recent overtures to Trump Regardless of whether or not Donald Trump actually visits Islamabad, Pakistan has been making strong efforts to woo the United States president. Pakistan was among the countries alongside Israel that recommended Donald Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize. The country is also looking into crypto and rare earths deals to improve its relationship with the United States. Funny how geopolitics work. Pakistan is pitching itself as a bitcoin mining hub, a source of rare earths and offering its support for a Nobel Peace prize for Donald Trump, as a cash-strapped Islamabad seeks to stave off hefty trade tariffs and deepen ties with the White House. pic.twitter.com/iWMzoBodGO Piyu (@PiyuduttaPiyu) July 3, 2025 For more news and current affairs from around the world, please visit Indiatimes News. Apple iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro launch: iPhone 17 series launch is edging closer, with leaks and analyst chatter pointing to a grand reveal in early September 2025. The much-anticipated lineupfeaturing the iPhone 17, 17 Air, 17 Pro, and 17 Pro Maxis expected to bring Apples first-ever 120 Hz ProMotion displays across all models, ushering in smoother scrolls and more responsive touch. Powerhouses like the A19 Pro chip, 12 GB RAM, and advanced vapor-chamber cooling are tipped for the Pro variants, while the slimmer iPhone 17 Air brings a sleek, lightweight design to the forefront. Camera enthusiasts can look forward to upgraded 48 MP rear sensors and a sharper 24 MP front camera across the range. Whether you're craving cinematic-quality selfies or buttery-smooth performance, this series promises to redefine what a flagship iPhone can be. Read on to see if Apple might just have its most versatile lineup yet. Apple iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro launch date (Expected) In his weekly newsletter, Mark Gurman of Bloomberg recently revealed that Apple is likely to host the launch event the week of September 8. Apple typically announces new products on Tuesdays rather than Fridays. Gurman thinks the incident will probably happen on Tuesday, September 9, or Wednesday, September 10; however, Monday, September 8, is still a possibility. Out of respect, Apple usually doesn't schedule activities on September 11. Apple iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro expected specifications iPhone 17 lineup will reportedly include four models- standard iPhone 17, a brand-new iPhone 17 Air, and the higher-end iPhone 17 Pro and Pro Max | Image Credit: Macrumors Both the standard model and the iPhone 17 Pro will have a 6.3-inch OLED screen. However, the Pro Max model will come with a 6.9-inch OLED panel, and the 17 Air will have a 6.6-inch OLED display. According to rumors, every item in the range would sport ProMotion screens with a refresh rate of 120 Hz. For those who are unaware of the specifics of the aforementioned functionality, it will make tasks like playing games, swiping through apps, and visiting websites incredibly smooth. The first iPhone 17 Air will be a slim offering from the company that will compete with smartphones like the Galaxy S25 Edge in the worldwide market, while other handsets will remain relatively comparable in size to their predecessors. Regarding the sensors, there may be some significant advancements in this area. According to reports, a 24MP front camera for selfies and video chats will be included with all four models. For improved camera capabilities, the Pro Max model from the series might get three 48MP cameras. Apple may provide the next A19 CPU in the phones, which will run iOS 26, to support the performance. However, according to the rumors, the base model from the series might make its debut with the A18 processor. Apple iPhone 17, iPhone 17 Air, iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro expected price The iPhone 17 will cost approximately Rs 79,999 when it arrives in India. The Air model might launch for about Rs 89,999. The Pro Max will cost Rs 1,64,900, while the Pro model would cost approximately Rs 1,39,900. However, until Apple formally announces the price, it cannot be verified. Perplexity Pro offer: Airtel Perplexity Pro partnership is making headlines as the telecom giant announces a free one-year subscription, worth 17,000, for all 360 million Airtel customers across mobile, broadband, and DTH. This marks a significant first in Indias industry, pairing Bharti Airtel with AIpowered Perplexity Pro to deliver premium search, conversational answers, image generation, and deep research tools at no extra cost. The move reflects Airtels push to empower usersfrom students to professionalswith cutting-edge GenAI capabilities through the Airtel Thanks app. As digital engagement evolves, this bold collaboration sets a new benchmark for accessibility and innovation in Indias telecom landscape. Stay tuned to discover how Perplexity Pro could transform everyday information-seeking. What is the offer? You x Us x @perplexity_ai - collab of the year! pic.twitter.com/nA3nH0ycQE airtel India (@airtelindia) July 17, 2025 Airtel has unveiled an exceptional offer for its 360 million customersmobile, broadband, and DTH users alikeby partnering with Perplexity to provide a full 12month Perplexity Pro subscription free of charge. This premium service, typically billed at 17,000 per year (roughly 170), includes advanced features such as unlimited daily Pro searches, access to cuttingedge AI models like GPT4.1 and Claude, the option to choose specific models, deep research and analysis, file uploads, image generation, and exclusive tools within Perplexity Labs. To activate the offer, eligible users need to navigate to the Airtel Thanks applocate the Rewards & OTT sectionand follow the straightforward redemption process. This marks a significant first in India, as Perplexitys inaugural full-year subscription collaboration with a telecom. Overall, Airtel customers stand to save 17,000, gaining a year of professionalgrade AI capabilities at absolutely no additional cost. How to avail the offer? You can enjoy the free Airtel Perplexity Pro offer for a period of 12 months or a year. You can use your broadband or mobile phone connected to your Airtel account to claim the promotion. The post can be seen on Airtel Thanks, and by following these steps, you can get the free offer: On your iOS or Android phone, use the Airtel Thanks app. Tap Rewards & OTTs after scrolling down to find it. There are numerous benefits that come with your Airtel package. Press the Perplexity Pro deal, which is good for a full year. To take advantage of the Perplexity Pro AI offer, click "proceed." Use your Apple ID or Google ID to log in and access a variety of premium AI features. Features According to the Perplexity Pro deal, you can get complimentary features worth Rs 17,000, including: Bitch X Rich Season 2 Episode 6 online: Fans of the hit K-drama Bitch X Rich Season 2 can stream Episode 6 online today, July 18, 2025, at approximately 8 AM GMT / 3 AM ET / 1:30 PM IST, as per the official schedule. Cheongdam International High's elite hierarchy begins to crumble as secrets and a murder investigation shake the foundation of the school. Kim Hye-in, the first Diamond 6 member, finds herself under suspicion, while Baek Jen-na's once untouchable reign is threatened by scandal and a collapsing succession. With returning faces and a powerful new rival entering the scene, Hye-in and Jen-na are once again pulled into the center of chaos - faced with a choice to repeat the past or finally break the cycle? Bitch X Rich Season 2: Release date and time for Episode 6 Episode 6 airs on Wednesday, July 18, 2025, at 1:30 PM IST on TVING in South Korea. It will also be available for international viewers via streaming on Rakuten Viki, offering English subtitles to make the series accessible to a global audience. Bitch X Rich Season 2. Credit: X Where to Watch Bitch X Rich Season 2 Episode 6 Online? Episode 6 is available to stream on Rakuten Viki, the main legal platforms offering high-quality video and English subtitles. In South Korea, it airs on TVING. For viewers in the U.S., Canada, India, Indonesia, and the UK, Viki continues to be the top choice for watching the series. Bitch X Rich Season 2: Plot highlights of Episode 6 In the previous episodes, Baek Jen-na publicly announces her engagement to Cha Jin-wook and donates in Kim Hye-in's name to help her rejoin Diamond 6, replacing Seo Do-eun. The move angers Min Yul-hee and Park Woo-jin, but Jen-na claims the chairman made the decision due to Seo Do-eun's father's misconduct. Kim Hae-in wakes from a coma with amnesia, unable to remember anyone including Seo Do-eun. She later confronts Hwang Bo-seok in front of the school, while Min Yul-hee suspects shes faking and threatens expulsion. The episode also reveals Cha Jin-wook is his father's illegitimate son. It ends with Kim Hae-in asking Kim Hye-in about a necklace from the night of her fall. Episode 6 promises more romantic tension and palace drama. And, this will continue to explore the clash between fiction and fate. Bitch X Rich Season 2 episode 6: Spoilers Here are the spoilers for Episode 6 of the Korean series Bitch X Rich Season 2 based on the YouTube preview: Things take a wild turn in upcoming episodes as Baek Jen-na stuns everyone by announcing her engagement to Cha Jin-wook. The revelation leaves Min Yul-hee seething. Unable to hide her disdain, she mocks, "How did the great Baek Jen-na end up like this? Engaged to an illegitimate child?" But Jen-na doesn't flinch. With her signature cool composure, she fires back, "Maybe worry about your own life instead of mine," and then roasts Yul-hee's fashion sense, ridiculing her choice of dress. Humiliated, Yul-hee tries to confront her, only to be brushed off completely. Still fuming, Yul-hee turns her wrath on Kim Hae-in, accusing her of copying her outfit. In a tense moment, she spills a drink on Hae-in in front of the crowd - but Hae-in doesn't let it slide. She instantly retaliates, ruining Yul-hee's dress in return. Meanwhile, Cha Jin-wook meets with Jen-na's parents to formally discuss the engagement. Unexpectedly, the meeting goes smoothly, with no objections from the family. In a darker twist, Yul-hee secretly corners Hae-in and demands dirt on Baek Jen-na. Hae-in refuses - unless there's something in it for her. That's when Yul-hee plays her trump card: a secret video of Hae-in and Park Woo-jin. "This isn't a deal. It's an order," she threatens. "Help me take Jen-na down, or the entire school sees this." Bitch X Rich Season 2: Cast and Characters The series features a dynamic cast including Lee Eun-saem, Kim Ye-rim (Yeri), Lee Jong-hyuk, Park Si Woo, Jang Deok Su, Yoo Jung-hoo, and Jang Sung Yoon. Season 2 also introduces new additions to the ensemble: Kim Min-kyu and Won Kyu-bin. FAQs 1. When will Episode 6 of Bitch X Rich Season 2 be released? Answer: Bitch X Rich Season 2 Episode 6 will be released on July 18, 2025, at 8 AM GMT / 3 AM ET / 1:30 PM IST. 2. Where can I watch Episode 6 of Bitch X Rich Season 2 online? Answer: Bitch X Rich Season 2 Episode 6 will be available for streaming on Rakuten Viki, which offers English subtitles. 3. Does Bitch X Rich Season 2 have English subtitles? Answer: Yes, Bitch X Rich Season 2 is fully subtitled in English on Viki, including Episode 6. 4. What is the plot of Episode 6 of Bitch X Rich Season 2? Answer: Bitch X Rich Season 2 Episode 6 shows Cheongdam International High's elite hierarchy continue to crumble, as secrets, power plays, and a murder investigation shake the school. 5. Is Bitch X Rich Season 2 available on Netflix? Answer: No, Bitch X Rich Season 2 is not available on Netflix. The drama officially streams on Rakuten Viki. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. What began as a spontaneous Instagram Live inside a car, quickly went on to become a full-blown cultural moment, as BTS' Kim Taehyung aka V and Jungkook - affectionately known as TaeKook - once again captured the internet's full attention. The youngest BTS duo went live from a car, laughing, vibing, and casually setting social media on fire. But the real standout moment came when the two broke into the viral "Aura Farmer" dance which has grabbed the attention of Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism. The dance, originally created by 11-year-old Indonesian boy Rayyan Arkan Dhika - who recently shot to internet fame for his energetic moves on a speeding boat during the traditional Pacu Jalur festival - quickly found its way into TaeKook's Live. Fans wasted no time clipping the moment, but the real surprise came from an unexpected source. BTS' Kim Taehyung aka V and Jungkook - affectionately known as TaeKook went live on Instagram. Credit: X BTS V and Jungkook are 'aura legends' Indonesia's official Ministry of Tourism caught wind of the viral moment and didn't hesitate to jump in. Sharing the clip on their official Instagram page, they dubbed the two global superstars "aura legends," much to the delight of Indonesian ARMYs and K-pop fans worldwide. The official account of Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism on Instagram shared clip from Taehyung's Instagram live doing the viral aura farming dance @.thv and @.mnijungkook = aura legends pic.twitter.com/axjnlWz7IB Taehyung Indonesia (@KTHIndonesia) July 17, 2025 The post marked a rare and playful moment of government engagement in fan culture - one that elevated a simple dance challenge into an international headline. BTS V's playlist for the TaeKook live Amid all this, Taehyung's music taste stood out, curating a mellow vibe with a playlist that included: Utopia by ODIE, Sinner by Samara Cyn, Darlin' by Jean Dawson, Passenger Princess by Amine & Smino, Western by Mk.gee, and angie by Humbe the Great. BTS comeback countdown begins All seven members - RM, Jin, SUGA, J-Hope, Jimin, V, and Jungkook - officially completed their mandatory military service by June 21, 2025, and are now setting the stage for a powerful return. The group is currently in Los Angeles, actively working on their upcoming album. On July 1, BTS reunited for their first full-member OT7 live broadcast since 2022. During the Weverse livestream, they opened up about their recent two-month training camp in the U.S. and confirmed that a long-awaited spring 2026 album is in development - with a global tour set to follow. For all the latest K-drama, K-pop, and Hallyuwood updates, keep following our coverage here. Hollywood actress Denise Richards, best known for her roles on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and in several cult-favourite films, has accused her estranged husband Aaron Phypers of years of brutal domestic abuse. The 54-year-old star filed a request for a domestic violence restraining order, which was granted on July 16 by the Superior Court of California. Denise Richards accuses ex Aaron Phypers of domestic violence | Credit: X/denise_richards Denise Richards disturbing plea for protection In the court documents, Richards alleged that Phypers physically assaulted her multiple times throughout their marriage, including choking her, slamming her head into objects, dragging her across the floor, and screaming obscenities in front of his own family. The actress claimed she had suffered at least three concussions due to his violent behaviour. Denise Richards shares photo of alleged domestic abuse from estranged husband Aaron Phypers. | Credit: Superior Court of California Denise Richards revealed the pattern of control and threats Richards told the court that she lived in fear during their marriage. She accused Phypers of threatening to kill her, himself, and even law enforcement officers if she ever reported him. She further alleged that he hacked into her devices, accessed private messages, and used them to fuel rage-filled confrontations. On one occasion, she said he physically assaulted her while she was in the bathroom, screaming for her phone. Who is Denise Richards, whose husband built her OnlyFans empire | Credit: X/denise_richards Phypers allegedly refused to let her travel without him, accusing her of betrayal, and once grabbed her by the hair, slamming her to the ground during an argument about a flight. According to Richards, the abuse escalated between July 4 and July 14, when she asked Phypers and his family to vacate a property she had leased. She stated that he screamed profanities just inches from her face and later physically pushed her down the stairs, causing intense pain. She claimed Phypers even warned her that she would disappear if she involved the police. Denise Richards and Aaron Phypers Credit: Instagram/deniserichards Despite the terrifying claims, Richards has not filed for a restraining order for her children. She shares two daughters with ex Charlie Sheen and an adopted daughter, Eloise, who she says Phypers once considered adopting but never did. Legal action against Aron Phypres Richards is seeking the return of her electronics and a prohibition against Phypers using or distributing her personal data. She has also asked that he cover her legal expenses and attend a year-long intervention programme for abusers. Phypers filed for divorce on July 7, citing irreconcilable differences and listing their separation date as July 4. McDonalds really said Supersize who? and pulled off the ultimate glow-up, but only for Malaysia. To celebrate International French Fry Day (aka the only holiday that truly matters), McDonalds dropped a never-before-seen XXL fries portion that left fans across the globe gasping in greasy envy. McDonalds launched XXL fries, and where can you even get them? | Credit: X/dexerto The day McDonalds supersize fries died (again) This beastly batch of fries, part of the Fan Fries Meal, towered over every size that has ever existed before, yes, even the nostalgic Supersize that millennials still cry about. One look and it was clear: this was not just a portion, it was a potato mountain. McDonalds launched XXL fries, and where can you even get them? | Credit: X/dexerto A fries only Malaysia got to enjoy At the heart of the launch? Kuala Lumpurs buzzing Bukit Bintang district. Think digital billboards flashing potato porn and McDonalds crew handing out trays like Santa with snacks. The entire city looked like it was living in one giant Mukbang. McDonalds launched XXL fries, and where can you even get them? | Credit: X/dexerto Chin Mei Lee, Chief Marketing Officer of McDonalds Malaysia, explained that Malaysians have always had an insatiable love for fries, and this launch was a big, golden thank-you. The meal, costing only around $2.34 USD, included the XXL fries, a drink, and a side (because carbs on carbs is self-care, obviously). McDonald's has launched an XXL shareable version of their fries called "Fans Fries" in Malaysia pic.twitter.com/tBgl72kdjT Dexerto (@Dexerto) July 16, 2025 But here comes the heartbreak. This carb-loaded blessing was limited edition, ending on July 13. So unless you were chilling in Malaysia that week, all you got was FOMO and screenshots. McFans everywhere are now praying to Ronald that it goes global next year. McDonalds launched XXL fries, and where can you even get them? | Credit: X/dexerto To make matters worse for international fry lovers, McDonalds Japan had earlier dropped its own Grand size fries, proving this fry flex is slowly becoming a trend, but apparently not fast enough for the rest of us. Twitters mourning as supersize is cancelled The internet has officially declared the XXL Malaysian fries as the new king. Supersize? That is childs play now. If McDonalds wants to keep world peace intact, it might want to ship this XXL icon across borders, stat. In a major development, Airtel has teamed up with Perplexity AI for the benefit of its 360 million users. The AI-powered search engine company will give all its customers a free one-year subscription to Perplexity Pro. The collaboration means that the users will be able to enjoy all the features and services offered by the company without having to pay anything. Meanwhile, Aravind Srinivas, the co-founder and CEO of the $14 billion search startup, is making headlines as he warned aspiring entrepreneurs at Y Combinator's AI Startup School about big tech giants copying successful ideas. Who is Aravind Srinivas? Aravind Srinivas is an Indian-origin engineer and entrepreneur who is the CEO and co-founder of Perplexity AI, which is an artificial intelligence-powered search engine that he describes as "the fastest way to get answers to any questions. Srinivas did his engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, earning his bachelor's and degrees in electrical engineering. The co-founder of Perplexity opened up on Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath's podcast and shared his personal stories about his early influences, his career growth in Bengaluru and his way into artificial intelligence. As of March 2025, the IIT Madras graduate and AI visionary company was valued at Rs. 1.5 lakh crore. He created a ground-breaking search engine with the support of leading investors in spite of early disappointments. He even challenged tech billionaire and Tesla owner Elon Musk and had a thought-provoking conversation with Nikhil Kamath. Aravind Srinivas warned aspiring entrepreneurs of big tech giants | Credit: X | @Yannick_Veys What exactly is Perplexity AI? Perplexity AI is comparable to Google Gemini and ChatGPT. It is a more sophisticated generative AI tool than standard Google search. This cutting-edge technology provides accurate, thoroughly researched responses to questions with comprehension comparable to that of a human. It provides a summary of the most pertinent facts and correct information about your inquiries rather than just a list of links. A look at Aravind Srinivas' total net worth According to ET Now, in just two years, Perplexity AI's CEO has reached a staggering valuation of $1 billion (~Rs. 8,300 crore). But that's only a part of his expanding business portfolio. His company is believed to generate annual revenue of nearly $50 million, and Aravind has also made a name for himself as a prominent investor, with stakes in firms like Chennai Meenakshi Multispeciality Hospital Ltd. and eMudhra Ltd. When it comes to his personal wealth, estimates place his net worth at around Rs 223.8 crore, which is an impressive milestone for someone who is just 31 years old. Dan Rivera's death: Paranormal investigator Dan Rivera, 54, has died suddenly while touring with the infamous Annabelle doll, believed by many to be haunted. His unexpected death has left everyone in shock. As news of his passing spreads, many are recalling a chilling account shared by American paranormal expert Zak Bagans, who once described the disturbing impact touching the doll had on him. Heres what he said. Zak Bagans haunting experience with the Annabelle doll Back in 2017, Zak Bagans took to his Facebook account to address the backlash he received for touching the haunted Annabelle doll. In response to the outrage, he shared a detailed account of how he felt in the doll's presence and described the unsettling experience he had during that time. Responding to criticism, Bagans emphasized that many viewers simply dont understand what its like to be in such intense paranormal situations. He explained that he is a sensitive not a psychic medium but someone who has always been highly receptive to energies, whether from living beings, objects, or spirits. He described his experiences around Annabelle as overwhelming, explaining that the doll was infused with a complex mix of layered energies. According to Bagans, a dark entity had latched onto the doll, using it as a host to influence and manipulate the living. He also believed that both past and present owners had contributed their own energies, both good and bad, to the doll. Its long stay in a cursed and haunted occult museum, surrounded by other possessed artifacts, only intensified the entitys strength. On top of that, the doll's Hollywood fame had brought greed, lawsuits, and negativity, further fueling the energy surrounding it. So many of you in outrage because I touched "Annabelle" so here's my response. While so many viewers think they know... Posted by Zak Bagans - Ghost Adventures Crew (GAC) on Saturday, November 4, 2017 Initially skeptical of Annabelle, Bagans said his doubts vanished once the doll arrived and his team began documenting significant evidence using various pieces of paranormal equipment. He and his colleagues, Billy and Aaron, felt extraordinary sensations around and beneath the doll. They captured spirit box voices saying "Annabelle," "Anna," and Grab leg, among other messages. SLS camera evidence reportedly showed two figures entering Bagans when Annabelles figure would leave the dolls body and go into his. How touching the Annabelle doll affected him He recounted becoming emotionally affected during the encounter, feeling inexplicably sad as the spirit box emitted phrases like you and us, which he interpreted as signs that the entity within Annabelle was attempting to manipulate him. He described going into a trance-like state, feeling freezing cold, while one of his team members was drenched in sweat. The event even stunned Tony Spera, curator of the Warren Occult Museum and the dolls custodian, who witnessed the evidence firsthand. Bagans admitted to touching Annabelle but claimed it was not a stunt for television. He said he felt compelled, as though something had taken hold of him. He expressed regret for upsetting Tony Spera and the late Lorraine Warren, acknowledging that the act of touching the doll seemed to trigger a series of strange events in his life. Despite the risks, he stood by the investigation, proud that his team was the first to investigate Annabelle on television and that they had captured what he described as incredible evidence. What investigators have to say about Dan Rivera's death As reported by the New York Post, Dan Rivera, a U.S. Army veteran and paranormal investigator, passed away suddenly while on his sold-out "Devils on the Run Tour" in Pennsylvania. The incident occurred on Sunday, shortly after he concluded a three-day event in Gettysburg, hosted by "Ghostly Images of Gettysburg Tours" at the historic Soldiers National Orphanage, according to the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR). Rivera had been touring the country with the reportedly haunted Annabelle doll, visiting various paranormal sites. Emergency responders, including firefighters and medics, were called to his Gettysburg hotel that evening following a report of CPR in progress. However, by the time they arrived, Rivera had already passed away. For more news and updates from the world of OTT, and celebrities from Bollywood and Hollywood, keep reading Indiatimes Entertainment. Theobroma success story: In a major development in the Indian bakery market, ChrysCapital is all set to acquire 90% stake in Mumbai-based pan-India Indian bakery brand Theobroma, according to an ET report. This landmark acquisition is valued at around Rs 2,410 crore and is currently awaiting approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI). ChrysCapital affiliates Aqua Investments Ltd, Infinity Partners, and Atreides Investments BV will acquire shares from Theobromas original promoters and current investor, ICICI Venture. ChrysCapitals Big Bet on Indias QSR and Cafe Sector This investment reflects ChrysCapitals strategic vision to expand its portfolio in Indias rapidly growing quick-service restaurant (QSR) and cafe segment. This sector is bouncing back strongly post-pandemic and is seeing increasing demand from urban consumers. ICICI Venture, which invested in Theobroma back in 2017 by buying a 42% stake for about Rs 130 crore, will make a full exit with this transaction. The Messman Sisters to Retain Minority Stake and Operational Role Despite the majority acquisition, the Messman family, who founded Theobroma, will retain a 10% shareholding and continue to play an active role in managing operations. The CCI is reviewing the deal, and since none of the acquiring firms are involved in the bakery or food business, no competition concerns are expected. The entities clarified that there is no market overlap, and the deal wont affect fair competition in the sector. The Humble start of Theobroma Theobromas story began in 2004 when sisters Kainaz Messman Harchandrai and Tina Messman Wykes launched a small bakery in Mumbais Colaba. With initial funding of Rs 1.5 crore from their father, they opened their first store on the day of Dussehra. The name Theobroma, which means food of the gods in Greek, was suggested by a friend. It perfectly captured their ambition to offer premium European-style desserts to Indian customers. A dream baked after adversity The idea for Theobroma came to Kainaz Messman Harchandrai after she suffered a back injury while working as a pastry chef at The Oberoi Udaivilas. With formal training from Le Cordon Bleu, London, and work experience at the Oberoi Hotels, she already had the skills for a gourmet bakery. Their entrepreneurial journey was inspired by their childhood they grew up helping their mother in her small home-run baking business. But back then, the sisters never imagined that they were about to build one of the country's biggest bakery brands. Growing from local favourite to national bakery chain Theobroma Bakery Store in DLF Cyberhub in Gurugram | Credit: Theobroma In the early days, Theobroma struggled with expansion and funding. Maintaining quality came with high costs, and they didnt get their first major loan of Rs 5 crore until 2014, nearly a decade after they started. Despite financial hurdles, Theobroma gained rapid popularity thanks to its signature brownies, cakes, cookies, and sandwiches. By focusing on quality ingredients and affordable pricing, the brand carved a niche among urban youth craving European-style baked goods. From just 50 stores before the pandemic, Theobroma now has 225 outlets across over 30 Indian cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Pune and Chandigarh. The brand is also a big player in online delivery platforms and food aggregators. Theobromas financial growth and valuation According to reports, Theobroma recorded Rs 400 crore in revenue in FY24, with an adjusted EBITDA of Rs 60 crore. For FY25, it is estimated to earn between Rs 525-550 crore in revenue and an EBITDA of Rs 80-100 crore. ChrysCapital reportedly reopened acquisition talks at a price lower than the Rs 3,000 crore valuation originally sought by the promoters, finally settling at Rs 2,410 crore, as reported in ET. From brownie brand to Rs 2,400 crore empire What started as a small brownie shop run by two passionate sisters has now turned into a Rs 2,400 crore Indian bakery empire. The journey of Theobroma, driven by the dedication of Kainaz Messman Harchandrai and Tina Messman Wykes, is a true example of entrepreneurial spirit and resilience. Their story, beautifully captured in Kainazs book, The Theobroma Story: Baking a Dream, serves as an inspiration for young entrepreneurs across India. For the latest and more interesting financial news, keep reading Indiatimes Worth. Click here. A man has confessed to fatally stabbing a 43-year-old Polish professor in a suburb of Athens earlier this month, and the victim's ex-wife is among five people arrested in connection with the crime, police said. Authorities have detained the confessed killer, his partner who is the professor's ex-wife and the alleged mastermind, and three accomplices. The murder took place on July 4 in the Agia Paraskevi area. While the ex-wife has denied any involvement, her partner admitted to carrying out the killing. Police said the motive appears to be ongoing financial disputes between the victim and his ex-wife related to U.S.-based companies. The three accomplices, a Bulgarian and two Albanian nationals, allegedly helped rent the getaway car. They told police they were unaware of the murder plan but identified the ex-wife as the instigator. The investigation is ongoing as authorities continue to search for the murder weapon. iefimerida.gr Workers near Naoussa carefully fill crates with ripe peaches destined for U.S. brands like Dole, but new levies could push total import duties to 47%, crippling Greeces competitive edge . As the worlds largest exporter of tinned peaches , Greece sends 20% of its output to the U.S., its second-largest market Former secretary general for Arewa Consultative Forum, Anthony Sani, has insisted that Northerners dont trust ex-presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi to rule Nigeria for just four years. Sani also noted that the politics of zoning may not favour former vice president, Atiku Abubakar in his bid to defeat President Bola Tinubu, saying that it is not possible. Speaking during an interview with DAILY TRUST on Wednesday, Mr. Sani stated that Tinubu stands a better chance to get Northern votes and get re-elected in 2027. Advertisement He added that the President will get the support of followers of late former president, Muhammadu Buhari, due to his commitment with ruling All Progressive Congress, before his death. He said: President Bola Tinubu may still prevail. This is because former President Buhari had told the nation and his supporters that he was not favorably disposed to the coalition and what it stands for. This is because he is committed to APC which made him president twice. Given the nature of Buharis supporters, they would not like to betray him even in the grave. President Bola Tinubu can still get Northern votes because of Buharis supporters who would not like to betray Buhari.This is because he had told them he was in APC and died in APC. READ MORE: 2027: Atiku Officially Resigns From PDP The opposition may not defeat President Bola Tinubu because the dynamics are not in favor of the coalition. For example, unless President Tinubu does too badly- which I hope not, the North will prefer to let President Bola Tinubu complete the tenure meant for the South. This is because he is the only southerner who has only one term to go. Speaking on Obi, Mr. Sani noted that due to what former president, Good luck Jonathan did in 2015, northerners will not trust the former governor of Anambra State with single term ticket. He said: The North cannot trust Peter Obi that he will do one term. You would recall President Jonathan pledged to do one term but reneged. The politics of zoning does not favor Atiku precisely because all southerners and most northerners favor the idea of zoning in the interest of unity and stability of the country. Which candidates should the coalition put forward that will give them the needed votes to defeat Tinubu? Speculations are around Atiku-Peter Obi, or Atiku-Amaechi. Ex-presidential aide Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has urged Atiku Abubakar to drop his presidential ambition and become a mentor in Nigerian politics. Speaking on Wednesday on AITs Focus Nigeria, Baba-Ahmed said Atiku has done enough and should focus on mentoring younger politicians. According to him, Atikus long-standing political involvement positions him better as a unifying elder statesman rather than another presidential hopeful. Advertisement He is a very prominent member of the PDP, a founding member of the PDP. Vice President for eight years. READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/07/buhari-came-to-use-nigeria-as-personal-medical-insurance-scheme-sowore.html He competed three times, contested three times. He is a highly respected person, Baba-Ahmed said. I think he should be a hero of democracy, but I didnt think he should aspire to even lead this country. I think he should be a father figure. He should be involved in the building of an alternative to APC, but he should bring in new blood, new perspectives, new people, and say the future belongs to you. We will stand behind you, he added. Special Adviser to former vice president, Atiku Abubakar, Paul Ibe has accused Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, of leaking his principals communication about leaving the Peoples Democratic Party. Mr. Ibe insisted that people like Keyamo, alongside some members of PDP, are working with All Progressives Congress to destroy Atiku s image before Nigerians. Recall that INFORMATION NIGERIA had reported that the former vice president, on Wednesday in a letter, announced his resignation, citing partys crisis. Advertisement Atikus Spokesman, in his reaction to the development, during an interview with Arise TV, on Wednesday, said that his principals enemies are behind the release of the resignation letter. READ MORE: 2027: Atiku Officially Resigns From PDP He said: People who never wished his Excellency Alhaji Atiku Abubakar well leaked his communication about quitting the PDP. Oh yes! It was leaked. It is unfortunate that the minister of aviation, who rather should be concerned with aviation matters and there are plenty of them, run ways and better infrastructures, would jump into the case like knowing what caused an accident even before the investigation. Actually theyre the ones. Gross elements in the PDP, working in cahoots with the APC, leaked the communication and thats why were having this conversation. Thats why I said I would rather were talking about something else and not this. Former National Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Iyiola Omisore, says he is unaware of any move by Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, to defect to the APC. Speaking during an interview on Channels Televisions Politics Today on Wednesday, Omisore dismissed widespread speculation that Governor Adeleke is plotting to join the APC. I am not aware, Omisore said. But when you want to come to a party, there must be a willing reception from the party members. They must come to the home because politics is very local. Advertisement READ MORE:https://www.informationng.com/2025/07/2027-dele-momodu-joins-adc-says-anti-democratic-forces-have-taken-over-pdp.html When asked if Adelekes defection would strengthen the APC, Omisore declined to confirm and said politics goes beyond speculation and social media There is nothing wrong with him joining the party, he said, but quickly cautioned, joining the APC is not something that happens on social media. He further added that political activities in the state are heating up, hinting at potential realignments across party lines. The state now is becoming unsettled because people are being agitated. The representatives of the PDP are struggling to come to the APC too, he noted. Justice Olabisi Akinlade of the Lagos State High Court, Osborne Division, has dismissed a 1 billion defamation lawsuit filed by Nollywood actress Iyabo Ojo against her colleague Lizzy Anjorin, citing procedural flaws. The court further imposed a fine of 500,000 on Ojos counsel, Dr. Olabimpe Ajegbomogun, ordering the amount to be paid to Anjorins lawyer, Ademola Olabiyi. The case, filed under suit number LD/ADR/5292/2023, sought 1 billion in damages for alleged defamatory remarks. Advertisement READ MORE: Speed Darlington Sues NAPTIP For 3bn For Declaring Him Wanted Over Confessed Rape Of Minor However, Anjorins lawyer, Ademola Olabiyi, filed a Notice of Preliminary Objection, asking the court to dismiss the suit on the grounds that it did not comply with the required pre-action protocols. Olabiyi argued, The Writ of Summons was fundamentally defective; the Statement of Compliance with Pre-action Protocol Form 01 was not signed by the claimants counsel, which nullifies the entire action. Olabiyi also contended that the writ was defective, as it failed to adhere to the formatting requirements set out in the High Court of Lagos State (Civil Procedure) Rules, 2019. Even a search conducted in the courts file on April 2, 2024, confirmed that the courts copy of the Writ of Summons was unsigned and undated, he added. In response, Ojos legal team submitted a 14-paragraph counter-affidavit, asserting that all court rules had been duly followed. The affidavit, sworn by one Maryam Hassan, maintained that the writ was properly endorsed and that the Statement of Compliance had been duly signed by Dr. Ajegbomogun. There is nothing in the objection that affects the substance of this case or the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, Ajegbomogun argued in her written address. The claimants processes were filed by the Civil Procedure Rules, and any errors can be corrected before trial begins, she said. However, Anjorins lawyer disputed the validity of the documents attached to Ojos counter-affidavit, arguing that they were merely uncertified photocopies. It is curious how the claimant assessed the courts file to obtain and now present a version of the Writ that appears signed without any record of an application for a Certified True Copy, Olabiyi said. In her ruling, Justice Akinlade sided with Anjorins lawyer. Having carefully examined all the processes, this court finds that the original Writ of Summons in the courts file was not signed by the claimants counsel at the time the suit was filed, she stated. The judge further said, The Commissioner for Oaths confirmed that the writ was unsigned when the file was first assigned to this court. That alone is fatal to the case. An unsigned writ is invalid and robs the court of jurisdiction. While ruling on the preliminary objection, Justice Akinlade held: Given the foregoing and the fact that the Writ of Summons which initiated this suit is invalid, this court lacks jurisdiction to entertain the matter. Regarding the issue of costs, the judge ruled: The court will not visit the sin of counsel on the claimant. Consequently, a cost of N500,000 is awarded in favour of the defendant, to be paid by the claimants counsel. In the final analysis, I hereby adjudge that this suit is incompetent and it is hereby dismissed, Akinlade declared. A Badagry Chief Magistrates Court in Lagos State, has ordered the remand of a 39-year-old man, identified as Victor Kiere, for allegedly defiling a 16-year-old girl. The Magistrate, Mr. Nurudeen Layeni, on Wednesday, ordered that Kiere should be remanded in Awarjigoh Correctional Centre after he pleaded not guilty. He added that the case file should be duplicated and sent to the office of the Director for Public Prosecution, for legal advice. Advertisement READ MORE: Lagos Court Jails Five Chinese Nationals Over Cyber-Terrorism, Internet Fraud INFORMATION NIGERIA reports that, the police prosecutor, Edet Ekpo, told the court that the defendant committed the offence in April at Asheri Community Phase 2, Owode-Apa, Badagry, Lagos State. Ekpo said that the defendant did have sexual intercourse with a 16-year-old girl without her consent. He said: He unlawfully penetrated sexually the vagina of a 16-year-old girl with his penis. The offences were said to contravened the provisions of Sections 137 and 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. Meanwhile, Magistrate, Layeni adjourned the case until August 21, 2025 for ruling on bail application and for DPP legal advice. Operatives of Lagos State Police Command have apprehended four individuals over alleged involvement in visa scam amounting to N500 million. In a statement by the Commands Spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Wednesday, disclosed that the arrested persons were taken into custody by security agents from the State Criminal Investigation Department. Hundeyin added that the suspects, aged between 23 and 36, were initially reported to the Ago Okota Police Division before the matter was transferred to SCID for thorough investigation. Advertisement He said: The case which was initially reported at the Ago Okota Division was subsequently transferred to the SCID for further investigation. Preliminary investigation revealed that the suspects, all staff of an educational consultancy located in Ago Okota, fraudulently obtained a total of 500 million from over 100 unsuspecting victims under the false promise of securing Canadian and Australian work visas for them. READ MORE: Lagos Police Announce Restriction Of Movement Ahead Of LG Poll Further investigations revealed that the syndicate includes additional accomplices; and efforts are ongoing to apprehend them and bring them to justice upon conclusion of the investigation. CP Olohundare Jimoh, advises the public to exercise due diligence and verify the authenticity of travel and recruitment agencies before engaging in any visa-related transactions. The Ondo State Police Command has arrested a landlord and two others in connection with the kidnapping and murder of two students from Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko. Mr. Adebowale Lawal, the Commissioner of Police in Ondo State, disclosed this on Wednesday in Akure while addressing journalists on the recent achievements of the state police command. Lawal stated that the two victims were Abah Friday, a 25-year-old male, and his friend, Okah Eloho, a 19-year-old female. Advertisement READ MORE: Oyo Police Arrest Two Suspected One-Chance Robbers He also stated that the landlord, Oladele Femi, admitted to orchestrating the plot and helping to cover up the murders. The Commissioner of Police revealed that the arrest followed a petition filed on June 24, 2025, by the law firm G.O. Omoedu & Co., representing Mr. Emmanuel Peter of Shagari Village in Akure, Ondo State. According to Lawal, the petition was related to the disappearance of Peters younger brother, Friday, and his friend, Eloho, who were last seen on June 20, 2025. Upon receipt of the complaint, detectives from anti-kidnapping swung into action and launched an intensive investigation into the reported abduction. Forensic tracking led investigators to Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos, where an iPhone 14 Pro Max belonging to one of the victims (Friday) was recovered from one Abdul Mohammed Mubarak, 38. Mubarak confessed to purchasing the phone from one Ojo Michael, whose arrest was subsequently effected in Aramoko-Ekiti, while a Lexus RX 350 vehicle belonging to the victims was also recovered at the point of arrest. During interrogation, Michael confessed to participating in the robbery, abduction, and eventual murder of the victims. Michael further disclosed that the operation was masterminded by one Oladele Femi mthe landlord of the male victim. Femi allegedly engaged Micheal and another accomplice (identified as Kola, currently at large) to carry out the crime. Investigations revealed that the sum of N800,000 was transferred from the victims (Friday) account during their captivity, he said. Lawal explained that Michael confessed to raping the female victim after she recognized him and revealed his identity. He added that the suspect killed both the girl and her friend, Friday, in order to silence them and avoid being exposed. The Commissioner of Police stated that Michael and his accomplice, Kola, disposed of the victims bodies at different sites between Agbado and Ode-Ekiti in Ekiti State. Further investigation led to the arrest of Oladele Femi, who, during confrontation, confessed to initiating the plot and aiding in the concealment of the murders. Acting on this confession, detectives recovered the body of the female victim in a bush near Ode-Ekiti, and it has since been deposited at the General Hospital Mortuary for autopsy. Efforts are ongoing to recover the remains of the male victim, who is believed to have been dumped in a river by an accomplice still at large. This case stands as a tragic reminder of the brutality of premeditated crimes and the devastating consequences of betrayal and greed. The victimsyoung, promising undergraduateswere senselessly raped and murdered in cold blood, he said. Lawal assured the public that efforts are ongoing to arrest the remaining suspect, recover the remains of Abah John Friday, and ensure that everyone involved is brought to justice. NAN The United Nations on Tuesday, disclosed that 14.3 million children worldwide are yet to receive a single dose of any vaccine. According to a report by the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Childrens Fund, the figure is four million more than the 2024 target needed to stay on track with Immunisation Agenda 2030 goals, and 1.4 million more than in 2019, the baseline year for measuring progress. Advertisement The report noted that in 2024, 89 per cent of infants globally about 115 million received at least one dose of diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis (DTP)-containing vaccine, and 85 per cent roughly 109 million completed all three doses, according to new national immunisation coverage data. It stated that, Compared to 2023, around 171,000 more children received at least one vaccine, and one million more completed the full three-dose DTP series. While the gains are modest, they signal continued progress by countries working to protect children, even amid growing challenges. Still, nearly 20 million infants missed at least one dose of DTP-containing vaccine last year, including 14.3 million zero-dose children who never received a single dose of any vaccine. Thats 4 million more than the 2024 target needed to stay on track with Immunisation Agenda 2030 goals, and 1.4 million more than in 2019, the baseline year for measuring progress, the joint data stated. WHO Director-General, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said, Vaccines save lives, allowing individuals, families, communities, economies and nations to flourish. Its encouraging to see a continued increase in the number of children being vaccinated, although we still have a lot of work to do. Drastic cuts in aid, coupled with misinformation about the safety of vaccines, threaten to unwind decades of progress. WHO remains committed to working with our partners to support countries to develop local solutions and increase domestic investment to reach all children with the lifesaving power of vaccines. It noted that children often remain un- or under-vaccinated due to a combination of factors, such as limited access to immunisation services, disrupted supply, conflict and instability, or misinformation about vaccines. Data from 195 countries show that 131 countries have consistently reached at least 90 per cent of children with the first dose of DTP vaccine since 2019, but there has been no significant movement in expanding this group. Among the countries that reached less than 90% in 2019, only 17 managed to increase their coverage rates in the past five years. Meanwhile, in 47 countries, progress is stalling or worsening. This includes 22 countries that achieved and surpassed the 90% target in 2019 but have since declined. The data shows conflict and humanitarian crises can quickly erode vaccination progress. A quarter of the worlds infants live in just 26 countries affected by fragility, conflict, or humanitarian crises, yet they make up half of all unvaccinated children globally. Concerningly, in half of these countries, the number of unvaccinated children has expanded rapidly from 3.6 million in 2019 to 5.4 million in 2024, underscoring the need for humanitarian responses to include immunisation. READ MORE: Nigerias 20m Out-Of-Children Is Recruitment For Boko-Haram In Future Obasanjo Warns Immunisation coverage in the 57 low-income countries supported by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, has improved in the past year, reducing the number of un- and under-vaccinated children by roughly 650,000. At the same time, signs of slippage are emerging in upper-middle- and high-income countries that have previously maintained at least 90 per cent coverage. Even small declines in immunisation coverage can dramatically raise the risk of disease outbreaks and place additional strain on already overstretched health systems, it highlighted. The good news is that we have managed to reach more children with life-saving vaccines. But millions of children remain without protection against preventable diseases, and that should worry us all. We must act now with determination to overcome barriers like shrinking health budgets, fragile health systems, along with misinformation and access constraints because of conflicts. No child should die from a disease we know how to prevent, said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell. Despite these challenges, countries especially those supported by Gavi continue to introduce and scale up vaccines, including against human papillomavirus (HPV), meningitis, pneumococcal disease, polio, and rotavirus. For example, large national scale-ups of the HPV vaccine and revitalisation efforts in countries that have previously introduced the vaccine have boosted global coverage by four per cent in the past year. In 2024, 31 per cent of eligible adolescent girls globally received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine most doses were administered in countries using a single-dose schedule. While far from the 90 per cent coverage target by 2030, it represents a substantial increase from the 17 per cent coverage in 2019. READ MORE: In 2024, lower-income countries protected more children than ever before, with coverage rates increasing across all Gavi-supported vaccines, said Dr Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Yet population growth, fragility and conflict present major hurdles to achieving equity, leaving the most vulnerable children and communities at risk. Continued commitment from governments and partners will be critical to saving lives and protecting the world from infectious disease threats. The data revealed that coverage against measles also improved, with 84 per cent of children receiving the first dose and 76 per cent receiving the second dose, which shows a slight increase from the previous year. An estimated two million more children were reached in 2024, but the overall coverage rate is far below the 95 per cent needed in every community to prevent outbreaks. This results in more than 30 million children remaining under-protected against measles, leading to more large or disruptive outbreaks. In 2024, the number of countries experiencing large or disruptive measles outbreaks rose sharply to 60, nearly doubling from 33 in 2022. Although the community demand for childhood vaccination remains high and protection against more diseases is expanding, the latest estimates highlight a concerning trajectory. National and global funding shortfalls, growing instability worldwide, and rising vaccine misinformation threaten to further stall or even reverse progress, which would risk increases in severe disease and deaths from vaccine-preventable diseases, it emphasised. Meanwhile, the WHO and the UNICEF called on governments and relevant partners to close the funding gap for Gavis next strategic cycle (20262030) to protect millions of children in lower-income countries and global health security; strengthen immunization in conflict and fragile settings to reach more zero-dose children and prevent deadly disease outbreaks; and prioritize local-led strategies and domestic investment, embedding immunization firmly within primary healthcare systems to close equity gaps. They also urged governments to counter misinformation and further increase vaccine uptake through evidence-based approaches and invest in stronger data and disease surveillance systems to guide high-impact immunisation programmes. The Oyo State Police Command has arrested two individuals believed to be part of a notorious one-chance robbery syndicate operating in Ibadan. This was made known in a statement issued on Wednesday by the Commands spokesperson, CSP Adewale Osifeso, who explained that the arrest followed credible intelligence and a viral video that exposed the suspects criminal activities. According to the statement, officers from the Commands Tactical Units were deployed after the Commissioner of Police directed a swift response to the viral video showing the gang in action. Advertisement READ MORE: With Just Davido, TG Omori, I Dont Need Promotion For My Next Hit Terry G Following the emergence of a viral video exposing the gangs activities, the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State Police Command, tasked operatives of the Commands Tactical Units to apprehend the culprits. The teams promptly activated their informant networks and launched an intensive search for the gang members, the statement read. The breakthrough came on July 12, 2025, when intelligence led officers to the suspected criminals. At about 3:30 p.m., operatives from the Command Monitoring Unit tracked and intercepted the suspects along the Old Ibadan/Oyo Road. The two suspects, identified as 42-year-old Kolawole Moshood from Olomoyeye Muslim Area and 45-year-old Opeyemi Kuburat from Beyerunka Area, both in Ibadan, were arrested and taken into custody. A Nissan Almera with registration number Lagos FST 779 DL, allegedly used for their operations, was recovered during the arrest. During the operation, a Nissan Almera vehicle (Registration Number: Lagos FST 779 DL), which was allegedly used by the suspects in their criminal endeavours, was recovered. Upon interrogation, the duo confessed to being key members of a one-chance robbery gang operating in Ibadan and its environs. They further admitted to robbing and deceiving multiple victims using the seized vehicle, the statement added. The suspects are currently assisting police with further investigations. So far, three victims have identified them as the individuals who robbed them on separate occasions. The suspects are currently in police custody, assisting with the investigation. To date, three victims have come forward and positively identified them as the perpetrators who robbed them of their valuables on separate occasions. The investigation is ongoing to identify and apprehend other gang members and recover their weapons, the statement continued. The police urged other victims of the gang to report and assist in the ongoing investigation. We therefore urge other victims of this notorious gang to come forward and assist with the investigation and subsequent prosecution. Your cooperation can play a vital role in bringing more offenders to justice and protecting our communities. The Oyo State Police Command reiterates its unwavering commitment to ensuring the safety and security of residents across the state, the statement concluded. A notorious bandit has been arrested by the Sokoto State Police Command, which also recovered an AK-49 rifle and live ammunition during a coordinated intelligence-led operation. The arrest was carried out on Saturday, July 13, 2025, by operatives of the Anti-Kidnapping Unit, acting on a credible tip-off. The suspect, Buba Magaji, a resident of Julirkol village in Silami Local Government Area, was taken into custody over his suspected affiliation with the notorious Lakurawa bandit syndicate. Advertisement READ MORE: Oyo Police Arrest Two Suspected One-Chance Robbers In a statement released to the press on Thursday, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Ahmad Rufai, disclosed that, Magaji is believed to be a key associate of the gang, which has been responsible for a spate of criminal attacks across several local government areas, including Silami, Wamakko, Binji, and Yabo. During interrogation, the suspect confessed to being part of the syndicates operations and led officers to a bush along the Silami axis where he had hidden a high-powered rifle, DSP Rufai disclosed. A follow-up search conducted on Tuesday, July 16, 2025, led to the recovery of one (1) AK-49 rifle, one (1) magazine, and twenty-two (22) rounds of live ammunition. The statement noted that the Commissioner of Police, Sokoto State Command, praised the prompt action of his operatives and acknowledged the crucial support of local residents who provided actionable intelligence. This arrest and weapons recovery mark a significant step in our efforts to dismantle criminal networks terrorising our communities. We remain committed to rooting out all forms of criminality and restoring peace and safety to Sokoto State. Investigations are ongoing to track down other members of the Lakurawa syndicate and bring them to justice, he said. The Sokoto Police Command called on residents to stay alert and consistently share timely information to aid ongoing security efforts throughout the state. President Bola Tinubu has renamed the University of Maiduguri in Borno State after ex-president Muhammadu Buhari. President Tinubu made the announcement on Thursday during an expanded Federal Executive Council meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja in honour of the former president. The former Lagos State governor said that although, the late president was not without flaws, but his unwavering commitment to national service set him apart. Advertisement Tinubu said: Before we take the prayers, in honour of his [Buharis] memory, with this special session of the Federal Executive Council (expanded), can we adopt the naming of the University of Maiduguri with a new name, Muhammadu Buhari University, Maiduguri. President Buhari was not a perfect man, no leader is, but he was, in every sense of the word, a good man, a decent man, an honourable man. READ MORE: Your Resignation From PDP Was Staged To Make Nigerians Forget Buharis Legacy Keyamo Tells Atiku His record will be debated, as all legacies are, but the character he brought to public life, the moral force he carried, the incorruptible standard he represented, will not be forgotten. His was a life lived in full service to Nigeria, and in fidelity to God. He stood, always, ramrod straight; unmoved by the temptation of power, unseduced by applause and unafraid of the loneliness that often visits those who do what is right, rather than what is popular. His was a quiet courage, a righteousness that never announced itself. His patriotism was lived more in action than in words. Minister of Aviation, Festus Keyamo, has accused former vice president, Atiku Abubakar of staggering his defection to Africa Democratic Congress. Mr. Keyamo insisted that Atikus deliberately released the resignation letter to make Nigerians forget late former president Muhammadu Buharis legacy. Speaking in a statement on Thursday, the Aviation Minister added that the former vp shouldnt have released the letter when people are mourning Buhari. Advertisement Keyamo said: Your Excellency, whilst I acknowledge that it is within your constitutional right to change political parties at any time you may wish, releasing your letter of resignation from the PDP during this week of the mourning of our immediate past President, Muhammadu Buhari, is clearly an attempt to draw the spotlight away from such a solemn occasion and direct it on yourself. READ MORE: Festus Keyamo, PDP Moles Leaked Atikus Resignation Letter Paul Ibe With the greatest respect to you, this clearly demonstrates that your obsession with your perennial Presidential ambition knows no sympathy or empathy. Keyamo also noted that is ethically and legally wrong for Atiku to be using Nigerian Coat of Arm in his communication. He said: It is both morally and legally wrong to continue to use the Coat of Arms of the Federal Government in your private or political communications when you stopped being a functionary of the Federal Government more than 18 years ago. Kaila Temple, the Germantown Historical Society's curator of collections, with a portion of the 5,000-piece costume collection. Read more When Kaila Temple arrived at the Germantown Historical Society in September to curate its 5,000-piece costume collection, she planned to introduce the centuries-old garments to the neighborhood through a series of summer pop-ups. Shed spend her workdays cataloging and organizing the fashion treasures the oldest of which was worn by 18th century Quakers and English colonists. She looked forward to reshaping chapeaus and inspecting the beaded costume jewelry. Advertisement GHS had never embarked on a collections project of this magnitude, and given next years Semiquincentennial Americas 250th birthday party it was right on time. Temples curation of GHSs jaw-dropping stomacher gowns, stiff-brimmed bonnets, Victorian mourning dresses, and 19th century top hats would speak to Germantowns place in the founding of the Republic and beyond. I was excited, said Temple, Germantown Historical Societys curator of collections. We were ready to enter a new era and bring the collection up to best practices and standards. Her excitement was short-lived. Shortly after President Donald Trumps inauguration, the Department of Government Efficiencys cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities eliminated a $150,000 matching grant GHS was awarded in 2023. The money was earmarked to upgrade the nearly 230-year-old buildings electrical wiring and replace its broken heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning system. Temperature control is key to the conservation and preservation of fragile textiles and archival materials. Without it, the delicate materials can become heat-damaged, get mildewed, and disintegrate. Temple applied for a $25,000 Institute of Museum and Library Services grant to aid in inventory, and she had designs on getting into IMLSs Museum Assessment Program to work with master appraisers and conservators in getting the vintage apparel exhibition ready. With the future of IMLS up in the air, shes no longer banking on those opportunities. The summer pop-ups were canceled. The excitement I once had about taking over the collection has been dampened with worry, Temple said. In the wake of Trumps attack on the arts, Temple is among the growing number of museum and historical society curators worried for the future of their collections. The severe defunding of the National Endowment for the Arts, NEH, and IMLS begs the question: How is Trump making America great again when his executive orders are putting some of our nations most precious artifacts in jeopardy? There is a serious cognitive dissonance in this moment, Temple said. How is this administration putting so much focus on Americas past, but ignoring preservation? Preservation should be a nonpartisan issue. Hard, tedious, invisible work Small museums and historical societies dont have endowed chairs and million-dollar budgets so they rely on a combination of federal grants and generous donors for staff salaries, building upkeep, community engagement, and exhibits. At small museums like GHS, donors prefer to sponsor high profile exhibits and community engagement projects. So GHS depends on federal funding for building projects and its conservation and preservation needs. Its hard, tedious, and invisible work, but without it, its impossible to put on a good show. These programs fund historic sites and collections across the country in small towns, rural communities, and big cities, said Tuomi Forrest, executive director of Historic Germantown. We are talking about a broad tapestry of American culture thats being undermined. This is a critical time for GHSs costume collection. The nonprofit has been amassing Germantown residents clothing since its founding in 1901. Although the collection has been digitized, the catalog information varies. Some of the details were taken from aged file cards and notebooks. For some objects there is no information at all. With each passing year, the building gets older and the collection more vulnerable. We have a historic collection that needs care, Temple said. The conditions in our building are creating a potentially harmful environment for our collections. Everyone is getting hurt President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act into law in 1965, establishing the NEA and NEH. (IMLS was added under this umbrella in 1996.) The prevailing thought was government should support the arts in a well-rounded, educated society. President Ronald Reagan, a former actor, wanted to slash NEA and NEHs funding during his first term in office back in 1981. Congress and Reagans Hollywood friends, including Charlton Heston argued against it. He didnt end up eliminating the NEA, but the arts sector suffered major cuts. The Religious Right joined forces with fiscally conservative Republicans in 1989, demanding Congress defund NEA after Robert Mapplethorpe and Andres Serrano used their grants to make art many considered obscene and sacrilegious. The fight lasted until 1994 when President Bill Clinton threatened to veto any budget that eliminated the NEA. When in his 2017 budget Trump proposed to eliminate the NEA and NEH, Congress rejected the proposal. The arts were spared and received a slight increase in support. Exhibits and programming are a fraction of the NEH, NEA, and IMLSs combined $708 million budget. However, Trump targeting the history and art that centers women, people of color, and the LGBTQI community bypassed Congress earlier this year and severed arts funding through a series of executive orders and DOGE mandates. In June, as part of its contentious birthright citizenship ruling, the Supreme Court limited the ability of federal judges to issue nationwide injunctions against executive orders. The ruling stripped away the power of federal judges when it came to Trumps executive orders, forcing those impacted to file individual lawsuits; resulting in the seeming end of federal funding of the arts. In going after DEI, everyone is getting hurt, Temple said, as she wondered if the administration understood governments pivotal role in preservation. How the scrappy save history There are 20 house museums and landmarks in Historic Germantown including Cliveden, the site of the Revolutionary Wars Battle of Germantown and Historic Fair Hill, a 300-year-old Quaker burial ground and resting place of abolitionist Lucretia Mott. We are scrappy organizations, Forrest said. But whatever your interest is in the foundation of American history, you can find it with us. Many of these historic sites are feeling the impacts of cuts to preservations funds. Stenton, home of Philadelphias 14th mayor, prominent Quaker and enslaver James Logan, received a $300,000 NEH grant to upgrade its HVAC system, refurbish its bathrooms, and get started on an education wing. The grant was rescinded this spring. It was very sudden and surprising, said Dennis Pickeral, Stentons executive director. Johnson Houses executive director Cornelia Swinson is disappointed DOGE snatched back a $30,000 NEA grant for its 2025 Juneteenth celebration. But shes even more concerned about her buildings foundation. In 2023, Johnson House a 257-year-old historic landmark and Underground Railroad stop was awarded a $333,000 grant from the state to restore the Wissahickon schist, the metamorphic rock the Johnson House sits on. Cuts on the federal level impact state budgets, she says. Without the restoration, her building is in danger of caving in. We have ciphering books the Johnson children used in school, Swinson said. We have Bibles, reports from the antislavery society, we even have a letter Sarah Wheeler Johnson wrote to a friend about the death of George Washington in her own handwriting. 300 years of Germantown fashion GHSs costume collection represents the full spectrum of American history starting with the Colonial and Revolutionary eras, bleeding into the time when free Black people and Quakers were conductors on the Underground Railroad. During the second Industrial Revolution, Germantown was a fashion destination and bustled with upscale stores like Allens Department at the corner of Chelten Avenue and Greene Street and C.A. Rowells Americas first Black-owned department store. The collection speaks to white flight, gentrification, and the pandemic. An ankle-length brown silk dress that belonged to Lucretia Mott is tucked in acid-free paper in a tiny third floor room surrounded by mens, womens, and childrens Quaker attire. A broken window exposed the dresses to sunlight and pests, a recipe for damage. But luckily it was caught in time and fixed. Scores of archival boxes filled with wedding gowns sit in the hallway: Some are simply Sunday best shirtwaists. Others are post-Victorian era white or ecru confections yellowed with time. Across the hall is a plethora of antebellum crinolines, corseted Gilded Age gowns, and velvet drop waist flapper frocks. At first I thought, This was so much work for me, Temple said. And then I got excited. This is so much great stuff. Preparing for the worst case GHS is waiting to receive a $200,000 grant from the city to help transform its first floor lobby into one of the welcome centers across the city for the Semiquincentennial. The plan is to use some of that cash to upgrade the HVAC and the electrical system. This, Temple said, is the worst-case scenario. That money was meant for outward facing projects to boost next years celebration, Temple said. Temple, a 29-year-old graduate of Winterthur Museums masters degree program in American material culture, watched many of her contemporaries lose jobs to DOGE cuts. Grants that once funded entry level positions were cut, threatening the next generation of preservationists, curators, and museum professionals. Those left must change their approach to fundraising and collection upkeep. Earlier this year, the Colonial Dames gave GHS a $7,500 grant toward a vintage hat exhibit. Temple will use the money to stage the show and pay an intern to sort through and catalog the hats. Shes working on a plan to ask GHS donors to fund a Quaker clothing exhibit. Its not just about paying for the usual exhibition materials hangers for the clothing, mannequins, and exhibition labels. She must now factor in the basics: cataloging, preservation, and building the object list. [Whats happening is] an upending of the structure of how small museums operate, plan, get our projects funded, and ultimately teach American history, Temple said. The Philly Phlush unit at 15th and Arch Streets in Center City on July 9. Read more When I turned the door handle of the Philly Phlush in Center City last week and heard a man yell Someones in here! my heart skipped a beat. Its not often I get excited when I find a restroom occupied, and by not often I mean never. But Id come to the Phlush at 15th and Arch Streets one of the standalone units in Philadelphias pilot public bathroom project to see how things were flowing on its two-year anniversary and I was pumped to find someone using it because I want this project to succeed. Advertisement I was less excited to see someone else filling up an empty 7-Eleven Big Gulp cup in the units external sink and repeatedly dumping it out on the sidewalk (at least six times). The sidewalk wasnt dirty but Im sure the woman had her reasons. Hey! You just got my foot! the man in the bathroom yelled at her, when the water splashed up through the vents at the bottom. And for a moment, this little bathroom felt like a microcosm of Philadelphia. For every person who uses something it seems like theres always someone else ready to abuse it. But it only seems like that because we tend to remember when things go wrong more than when they go right. The woman left after a few minutes. Shortly thereafter, two people came up to use the occupied Phlush and doggone it, we had ourselves a ding dang line! Ive never been more excited to stand in a bathroom queue in my life. As the minutes passed, I struck up a conversation with the guys in line with me Robert Clark, 63, of Germantown, and Jeffrey Jacobs, 70, of North Philly. Both men told me they use the Phlush often. I been in there when the toilet backed up, when theres paper all over the floor, but they still good to have, Jacobs said. People ought to not abuse it. They should be glad to have it in the neighborhood. Clark, who found 30 cents at the Phlush (I think theyre paying me to use it!) praised the bathroom for its convenience and asked me to pass along a message to the city. Tell them to make more of them, he said. We need more. After 13 minutes, the man inside of the Phlush when I arrived finally emerged. He declined to tell me his name, for obvious reasons. Sorry, guys, he said to us. Its not that great. Its frustrating, for real. I did not ask if he meant the bathroom or the business he took care of within it. I let Clark and Jacobs go ahead of me because I am just that kind of a person (and because Im sensitive to odors and needed that thing to air out). In total, I saw seven people use the bathroom during the hour or so I was on site. Once inside, I found that the toilet paper, seat covers, tampons, pads, and naloxone cabinet were fully stocked and everything was functioning, except for the changing table, which was broken. Again. Its a reoccurring problem at the Phlush. But its not the biggest issue the Phlush is facing. While the project isnt circling the drain, its been backed up for almost two years and I was told recently that the city doesnt have enough funding to see the full scope of it through. Bottom dollar The Phlush debuted in 2023 under former Mayor Jim Kenneys administration. The potty pilot project called for six Portland Loo standalone units which the city rebranded as Philly Phlushes to be installed across Philadelphia over five years at an annual cost of $656,864. Two of the bathrooms, the Center City unit and another at Fotterall Square Park in North Philly, opened in the summer of 2023. A third was slated to open in West Phillys Clark Park at the end of 2023, but it still hasnt arrived. James Garrow, director of communications for the Department of Public Health, said via email that preparations for the Clark Park Phlush are underway and the department is just waiting on permit applications to be approved. But word leaked to me that the unit for Clark Park was delivered last year. Has it really taken that long to get permits? Yes, the permitting process has taken more than seven months, Garrow said. Turns out, even the city has a tough time getting permits from itself. Sounds like Philly could use a little Ex-Lax to get things moving. A potential site has been selected for the fourth unit, but the location is under wraps until community outreach is completed, Garrow said. A fifth Phlush is likely but a site is not expected to be chosen until next summer. As for the sixth Phlush, it will not be possible with the pilots current funding, Garrow said. The units so far have cost between $152,665 and $168,320 each and installations ranged from $218,704 to $249,802.33, according to Garrow. He estimated the cost of maintaining the two existing Phlushes which are visited, cleaned, and restocked every two hours by three public restroom specialists (two of whom have been on the job since they opened) is about $322,656 a year, including supplies, vehicles, and repairs. Is the fact that the city already knows it wont have enough money to fund the sixth unit a death knell for the future of the Philly Phlush? Is there any hope this will ever expand beyond a pilot project? The City will determine the budget for this pilot in FY28 and beyond during the annual budget process. The pilot still has two years of designated funding, Garrow said. The lessons learned during this pilot are critical to informing any long-term plans for public restrooms in Philadelphia. Philadelphia has lagged behind other metro areas when it comes to the availability of public restrooms. A study released in March by Nationwide Waste Service ranked Philly 40th in the nation when it comes to public bathrooms (i.e. those where youre not required to buy something), with 6.3 toilets per 100,000 residents. Theres obviously a need a basic, human need for these free public bathrooms and they are being used often. I implore our city leaders to find a way to expand funding for the Phlush and I urge you all to do the same. Speak now, my friends, or forever hold your pees. Dont dive in Following my visit to the Center City Phlush last week, I went to check out the one in Fotterall Square, only to find it locked. I approached a group of men hanging out in the park on what was a hot, humid day and asked if the bathroom is usually locked (it was open on my previous visits). The elder statesman of the group a 75-year-old man who said hes the unofficial park ranger of Fotterall Square and would only give his name as Mr. C because thats what everybody knows me as but also, perhaps, because he was drinking out of a black, plastic bag said the bathroom is usually open and he knows the guys who come three times a day to service it. That bathroom there is cleaner than the average persons house bathroom, he told me. The bouls that come keep it very clean. Mr. C said that sometimes kids slam the door and it gets jammed. Garrow told me that the city has had issues with the Fotterall Square units locking mechanism, which was last repaired in late June and will now be repaired again. The bathrooms exterior sink and all its functions including the hand dryer worked and there was a dose of naloxone stocked in the units exterior case. As I chatted with Mr. C in his 76ers hat and Ocean City, Md., shirt that said Stay salty, he told me he extols the virtues of the Phlush to those who visit the park, telling them its A-OK and that me and my little squad out here all use it. Then, he offers visitors a bit of advice. I tell them You can go in there and use it, but dont dive in it, he said. I dont get paid, its just a community service I do. Former Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial in 2023 with attorneys Brian McMonagle (left) and Fortunato Perri Jr. Read more Former Philadelphia Police Officer Mark Dial was sentenced Thursday to 9 months to two years in prison for shooting and killing Eddie Irizarry in Kensington in 2023, allowing Dial to remain at home and not spend any additional time behind bars. The sentence pronounced by Common Pleas Court Judge Glenn B. Bronson fell years below the state guidelines for a conviction for voluntary manslaughter, and authorized Dial, 29, to be immediately paroled because he had already spent about 10 months in jail. Advertisement The sentence drew immediate condemnation from Irizarrys family and District Attorney Larry Krasner, who said the outcome was unjust. I am deeply disappointed with a verdict that I think makes people lose faith in the criminal justice system, Krasner said. As the judge announced his decision, Irizarrys family stood up in frustration and left the courtroom before the hearing was complete. Unbelievable, said Ana Cintron, Irizarrys aunt. Dial and his loved ones, meanwhile, erupted in sobs of relief that the judge had heard their pleas not to send the former officer back to prison. In May, Dial was convicted of voluntary manslaughter, recklessly endangering another person, and possession of an instrument of crime after a jury found he had acted unreasonably and criminally when he shot Irizarry six times within seconds of encountering him in his car. Dial was acquitted of the more serious charge of third-degree murder. State sentencing guidelines called for Dial to be sentenced to a minimum of 3 to seven years in prison. Assistant District Attorney Karima Yelverton asked that he spend five to 10 years behind bars, in part to send an explicit message that there are consequences for killing someone. But the decision fell to Bronson, who opted to depart from guidelines, saying the shooting was not a classic voluntary manslaughter case. While the judge said Dials actions caused a profound impact on Irizarrys family and community, he said that the officers conduct was demonstrably out of character and that Dial was not a threat to the public. He pointed to the facts of the case: That Dial said he heard his partner yell Gun! That Irizarry was holding a seven-inch folding knife with a black handle that resembled a firearm. That the officer, after shooting Irizarry six times, rushed his bleeding, lifeless body to the hospital to try to save his life. Ive never seen that happen in a voluntary manslaughter case, he said of the officers efforts. At a news conference after the hearing, Krasner decried Bronsons sentence as an example of a criminal justice system that he said operated like a caste system, where people of certain races or social classes are treated differently. There is nothing new about white people being treated better than Black and brown people, and there is nothing new, sadly, about the status of a defendant whether that status involves wearing a uniform or not nothing new about that being unequal, he said. Everything I just said has always been wrong, and it is wrong today. He said he respects Bronson, whom he described as a hardworking judge, but was disheartened by the decision one that he said strayed from what attorneys have come to expect from the judge. Especially in light of the indisputable, long pattern of this judge leaning toward lengthy sentences, this one really stands out, Krasner said. The sentence brings to a close a case that sparked outrage among the public and spurred protests in the streets, as Irizarrys family and community members questioned why Dial so quickly resorted to using deadly force. Dial and his partner, Michael Morris, had been on patrol in North Philadelphia when they saw Irizarry speed past them and weave in and out of lanes on the afternoon of Aug. 14, 2023. They followed Irizarry for a few blocks, but did not turn on their lights or siren to initiate a car stop. Irizarry, 27, eventually parked on a residential block. Morris, who was driving the police cruiser, then pulled up next to him. Dial immediately jumped out of the passenger side of the cruiser, drew his gun, and told Irizarry to show him his hands. He ran toward Irizarrys car and, within seconds, fired six shots through the drivers-side door and windshield of Irizarrys car, striking him multiple times. Irizarry was holding a seven-inch folding knife. Dial took the stand during the trial and said he heard his partner yell Gun! as he approached Irizarrys car. Then, he said, he saw Irizarry holding something black and shiny, and thought it was a firearm. Fearing for his life, he said, he opened fire. But prosecutors said Irizarry, who was sitting in the drivers seat with the windows rolled up, was not a threat. They said that Morris had actually yelled Knife! and that Dial acted irrationally in response. In court Thursday, Dial, his family, and his attorneys asked Bronson to show mercy to the former officer, who they said had already suffered profoundly from the 10 months he had spent in jail and the guilt and trauma of taking a life. Thats a good man, and he doesnt deserve to go back to prison, attorney Brian McMonagle said of Dial. His fear was real. Dial addressed the judge briefly, crying so hard that, at times, his words were unclear. Every day I wish the outcome had been different, he said. I truly believed my life and Mikes life was in danger. Dial said that he will carry the trauma of that day with him forever, and that in the future, he hopes to help other people process their pain and trauma, too. I dont want to be defined by this moment, he said. Irizarrys family appeared unmoved. Cintron said Dial had no remorse for killing her nephew and said he was crying crocodile tears. Outside the courthouse, the familys pain turned to fury. We didnt fail him. The system failed, she said. We fought hard. The system failed. She said the family wanted to see Dial spend some additional time in jail, however brief. Now youre telling everybody the cops gonna walk off. Because right now hes walking out with his family, and we need to go to a cemetery, said Zoraida Garcia, Irizarrys aunt. Cintron said that even on Thursday, Dial did not apologize to her family. Not once did he say he was sorry, she said. Nothing at all. Irizarrys family has filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city, the police department, and Dial. Dials conviction, a felony, prohibits him from ever again owning a gun and becoming a police officer. Krasner stopped short of saying he believed Dial was a threat to the public, but said he was happy the former officer would never be allowed to own a firearm again. Dials attorney, McMonagle, said that they were elated with the sentence and that Dial is a good and decent human being who truly got justice. He did not rule out the possibility that they would appeal the conviction. Richard McFadden, Delaware County Community College's dean of business, computing, and social science. The college's teacher education program allows high school students to earn credits toward a degree in education while still in school. Read more Monica Taylor calls Delaware County Community Colleges Teacher Education Program a way to grow your own. When Taylor chair of the Delaware County Council and lifelong educator joined the council and the state board of educations higher education council a few years ago, Pennsylvanias dire teacher shortage was an immediate concern. Fewer young people were graduating with teaching degrees. The pandemic had brought the difficulty of being a teacher into the public eye, and students were drawn to higher-paying careers that didnt require expensive college degrees. Across the state, school districts were feeling the pinch. Advertisement People have been thinking differently about what their career paths are, Taylor said. Out of the growing teacher shortage came the idea for the dual-enrollment program that allows Delaware County high school students to take up to 38 college credits at no cost, putting them on the path toward a degree in education. The programs first 12-student cohort graduated this spring. Its third cohort, which will start this fall, is triple the size of the first. Taylor and community college educators say the program has addressed many of the roadblocks to a career in education while providing a template for communities across Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanias teacher shortage Across Pennsylvania and the United States, a shortage of qualified teachers has left thousands of schools scrambling to fill vacancies. According to a report from the Penn State Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis, Delaware County saw a 10% teacher attrition rate between 2022 and 2023. During the 2023-24 school year, the state issued 519 emergency teaching permits in Delaware County. The permits require only a bachelors degree and are issued when schools cant find fully qualified applicants. This past school year, Delaware County had 99 teacher vacancies, according to the Penn State Center for Evaluation and Education Policy Analysis. The center rated the countys teacher shortage level very high. Experts say a handful of factors have contributed to the ongoing shortage. Wages are not keeping up with the rising cost of living and obtaining a degree. The pandemic, in many places, made schools a public venue for political fights. Teachers have reported worsening working conditions when it comes to safety, classroom disruptions, and building trust with parents. COVID really highlighted how hard a teachers job is, said Jean Allison, associate professor of early childhood education at Delaware County Community College. READ MORE: More than a third of all Pa. districts had teacher vacancies amid continuing educator shortage Students can also have a hard time visualizing what a career in education can look like, educators said. Experimenting with different career paths can be expensive, and many feel the pressure to buckle down and choose a high-paying job right after graduation. There are a lot of high school students that would be really, really good teachers, theyre just not aware of what it would look like to become a teacher, said David Broderic, a spokesperson for the Pennsylvania State Education Association. Building a pipeline for educators In creating the Teacher Education Program, the college and county leveraged the colleges resources and American Rescue Plan Act funds to build a comprehensive teacher training program, complete with mentorship opportunities, fieldwork, and a tight-knit cohort model. Courses include early childhood development, psychology, adolescent development, and English composition. Several students also complete fieldwork in a local classroom. We try to give them coursework that really helps them make a decision: who they want to teach, where they want to teach, what they want to teach, Allison said. The first cohort got to know each other pretty well, said John Quillen, a recent graduate of Upper Darby High School who completed the program. Quillen was homeschooled until ninth grade, then enrolled in Upper Darby. He had considered a career in education and was drawn to the idea of earning college credits while in high school. In addition to coursework, Quillen and his cohort were given access to career counselors, tutors and peer mentors. Weve really structured it to provide students anywhere across the socioeconomic spectrum with that support, said Richard McFadden, the community colleges dean of business, computing and social science. McFadden said the program has helped broaden students understanding of the teaching profession. We think education is just teaching a subject matter, but its really learning how to deal with certain attributes and behaviors of individuals, he said. Youre bringing in 30, 40 students, everybody has their own personality. Stepping into the workforce The first Teacher Education Program cohort will be dispersing across the region this fall to continue their studies and begin their careers. Some are continuing down the road to become teachers. Others are choosing another path. Delaware County Community College has a direct transfer program with West Chester University, where a number of its future educators will be headed in the fall. Quillen is headed to Lafayette College, where he plans to study fine arts and mechanical engineering. After completing the program, he doesnt see himself becoming a teacher, and wants to lean into his passion for behind-the-scenes theater operations. READ MORE: The number of Philly teachers without full certification has more than doubled. It comes at a cost. But administrators say this is part of the objective. While, ideally, participants would go on to become teachers, the program gives them the opportunity to explore different paths without the burdensome costs of college hanging over their heads. I have more experience dealing with the college world, Quillen said. I think itll be helpful in a number of ways to have done this program. Administrators say they want to continue scaling up the program and adjusting it to meet student needs. This year, theyre piloting an option for high-school seniors who want to take half of the credits instead of the full, two-year course. The program is part of a national wave of educational institutions and business groups rethinking what it means to go to college and receive job training. Taylor said TEP could be a road map for the region as districts across Pennsylvania work to build the next generation of teachers. She called the program a forward-looking pipeline that aims to keep our most talented students here in Delco. For the first time in seven years, universities in Pennsylvanias state system will raise tuition for in-state students, as the amount of state funding they will receive for 2025-26 remains uncertain. In-state students in the 10 universities in the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education will pay $7,994 annually in tuition, a $278 increase of 3.6%. Individual universities decide on graduate and out-of-state undergraduate tuition rates, as well as room, board, and mandatory fees. Advertisement The system has requested a 6.5%, or $40.3 million, increase in its state funding, which would raise the total to $661.1 million. The state budget approved by the House on Monday included that funding, but it is unclear whether that increase will remain in the final budget deal. READ MORE: Pa. state universities freeze tuition for first time in more than 20 years If the full funding request comes through, the board will roll back that increase, officials said. Exactly how that happens would be decided later. This motion represents our very, very best effort to keep foremost in mind our students accessibility and affordability for the high-quality education that our PASSHE universities provide, while at the same time ensuring that we can actually operate the system and our universities can operate, said board chair Cynthia Shapira. She said the vote is not political. We are not trying to hang anything on anybody, she said. We are simply doing this because it is our best good-faith effort to accomplish these dual goals. All board members present approved the measure except the representative for State Sen. Lynda Schlegel Culver, a Republican from central Pennsylvania. Abigail Hancox, a board member and graduate student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, spoke in support of the move. I wish it was different, but I will be voting yes, she said. This is the best decision possible in order for us, as PASSHE students, to continue receiving the educational experience we do. Chancellor Christopher Fiorentino said universities needed to know by next week what tuition rates would be so bills could be sent to students. If the full funding increase comes through, he said, the system could cancel the tuition increase for the spring semester and offer a rebate for fall, but the board has not decided the exact mechanism yet. It would have taken a nearly 6% tuition increase to make up the $40 million that the system hopes to get from the legislature, but an increase of that magnitude was not feasible, he said. In-state students, who make up nearly 90% of the 82,509 students in the system, have paid $7,716 in tuition since 2018-19. The system froze tuition for the first time in more than two decades in 2019-20 under former chancellor Daniel Greenstein as enrollment declined and the system sought to address concerns about affordability and improve its relationship with state legislators to secure more funding. The schools in the state system are West Chester, Cheyney, Shippensburg, East Stroudsburg, Kutztown, Millersville, Indiana, Commonwealth, Slippery Rock, and PennWest Universities. New housing for West Chester University Also at the meeting, the board approved a plan by West Chester, the systems largest university, to borrow $92.1 million to increase residential housing capacity on campus. The university will add a floor to each of the 11 buildings in its South Campus Apartments, as well as replace roofs and windows and upgrade mechanical, plumbing, and electrical systems. The campus erected modular units on campus this summer to accommodate students during construction, which will take place over five years. Built in 1993, the 106,000-square-foot apartment complex includes 102 units housing nearly 500 students. The construction will add 57,000 square feet and an additional 220 beds. By adding floors, West Chester will not need additional land or expand its South Campus footprint, the school said. The need for more housing has been a long-standing issue at the 17,202-student university. The school has a waiting list for housing and anticipates the need for between 1,000 and 2,000 more beds in future years. The project is the first major residential construction on the campus since Commonwealth Hall opened in 2014. READ MORE: Former West Chester University president is the new chancellor of the Pa. state system of schools More program sharing across campuses Fiorentino also shared his priorities for the system, including more program sharing across the systems campuses, which have lost more than 30% of their enrollment since 2010. The system this year will develop pilot programs for universities to share foreign language and history classes as well as classes for teachers of the deaf, a system spokesperson said. Through online learning, students from any of the universities would be able to take those courses no matter where they are based, Fiorentino said in an interview before the meeting. He hopes to grow program sharing over time, given the low enrollment in many programs across the system. He said 95% of PASSHE students are enrolled in 50% of its programs. We simply dont have enough students enrolled across the system to be able to offer these programs at every campus, he said. Through course sharing with other campuses, it may be possible to fill those classes, he said. We need to be thoughtful about how we can find ways to do this to reduce the cost, he said. Some programs, however, might not have enough students across the system to sustain, and they may need to be phased out, he said. To help with enrollment decline, Fiorentino said, the system also is considering hiring a company to assist in bringing students who have some college credits but no degree back to school. It is too early to project fall enrollment, Fiorentino said. Also at the meeting, the board named Jeffery L. Osgood, currently West Chesters executive vice president and provost, interim president of Commonwealth University. He will replace Bashar Hanna, who announced in April that he would step down in July. Staff writer Gillian McGoldrick contributed to this article. There were no reservations available at any of the hot-list Philly restaurants my out-of-town friends had hoped to visit. Mawn? Stand in line. Her Place? Good luck. Especially on Penns graduation weekend, which brings a citywide reservation crush like New Years Eve and Valentines Day combined. The solution for my party of eight was clear: Chinatown. One of Phillys historic restaurant neighborhoods, it remains endangered by proposed development, evaporating federal funds for essential infrastructure, and taken for granted by too many in power (see Mayor Cherelle Parkers arena debacle). Advertisement Those of us who still eat there often know that it continues to be a thrilling, group-friendly place to dine; its gracious lazy Susans have never failed to bolster my familys big events. And for this group of visitors, a collection of food writers, a king crab feast at Tai Lake was a lure they could not refuse. A three-course banquet cooked from one of these majestic beasts, plucked alive from Alaskas icy waters with its spindly legs still thrashing and weighing in at eight pounds or more, is one of the most spectacular splurges you can find. Ive always wanted to experience this royal crustacean, but considering the expense $75 a pound in the current off-season from spring through summer Id never managed to assemble the right group of people willing to share the cost. Tai Lake, still a vital Chinatown destination after 37 years, is one of the few local kitchens Id trust with such precious cargo. This Hong Kong-style specialist in the delicate art of Cantonese seafood, which emphasizes freshness with minimalist sauces and quick cooking methods, has been a survivor in a neighborhood where tastes have shifted over the past two decades. The neighborhoods growing embrace of bolder Szechuan flavors and Shanghainese dumpling specialties mirrors trends in China. At Tai Lake, much of what youre about to eat is still swimming in the gurgling tanks in the vestibule where you enter off 10th Street and head into the bustling 80-seat dining room jammed with linen-draped tables. Theres a gang of lively shrimp skittering about in one corner, above a quiet bin of plump Brazilian frogs, while eels uncoil and glide through their own watery compartment near the largemouth bass. At the far end was our crab, a jumbo 10-pounder bobbing solo and looking none-too-pleased, having been special-ordered for us a few days in advance. Its spiky shell and gangly arms are even more impressive out of the water on a tray, carried by a server who paused on his way to the kitchen for us to admire this magnificent creature. Less than 20 minutes later, it began to return from the kitchen in parts. A massive platter of split crab legs cradled glistening plumes of white meat that were infinitely more succulent than the pre-frozen all-u-can-eat buffet variety. I slurped them down with drawn butter like a crustacean luge. Then came the crabs body, chopped into deep-fried chunks whose meaty crevices were sealed inside the crackle of a salt-and-pepper crust. Finally, a heap of fried rice jeweled with more crab, egg and scallion landed, brimming over the hollow of the crabs deep shell, repurposed as a bowl. The generous spread was enough for our table of eight along with some add-ons to round out the meal, including some cold translucent ribbons of crunchy jellyfish salad shined with sesame oil, and crispy seafood spring rolls stuffed with creamy shrimp and scallops. Snappy snow pea leaf greens came lavished with a rich, lightly briny gravy tinged with rehydrated dried scallops. A final dish of steamy sea bass topped with shredded scallions and ginger was more than we needed at this late stage, but so luxuriously flaky I couldnt resist. That dinner was worth the trip all by itself, wrote my New York friend, whos eaten at his share of Cantonese seafood halls in Flushing and Manhattan. Apparently, as I later learned, wed missed the ultimate insider highlight: Damn, they didnt give you the steamed egg custard made with the crab brains? Its the best part! said Jesse Ito, the Royal Izakaya chef, who grew up going to Tai Lake with his family. Theres a phenomenon with certain restaurants rooted as deeply in the community as Tai Lake, in which those whove come to love it over a lifetime during regular dinners far more modest than a king crab bash will inevitably inform me of several essential dishes from the nearly 200-item menu I somehow missed over four extensive visits. Conch with squid...and frogs with yellow chives, said chef Leo Forneas, culinary director for the Schulson Collective. The lobster with ginger scallion and those little fried silver fish! said Dave Weslowski of Feeding Time TV, whose own Instagram posts of the crab feast no doubt wedged its way deep into my subconscious desires. My colleague Kiki Aranita praised Tai Lakes ginger-laced congee with lobster as the most indulgent rice porridge in Philadelphia. Music producer Will Yip, whose father once ran Ocean City nearby, prizes Tai Lakes mayonnaise-glazed shrimp and fish maw soup (whose gauzy little bladders float like crunchy cloud puffs through the crab- and egg-drop broth), as well as the best bang-for-the-buck lobster in all the land. (Whole lobster at Tai Lake currently sells for $36.) Even more important to Yip is Tai Lakes continued role as a community anchor: Tai Lake was always one of the (less-Americanized) places you can depend on to have the closest-to-home feeling. Much of that is due to owner Sam Leung, who worked in Hong Kong restaurants before opening Tai Lake in 1988, alongside staff members such as manager Alvin Chen, whos worked the dining room for more than 20 years. Its late-night hours (dialed back from 1 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. post-pandemic) are still a draw. And Leungs involvement in multiple neighborhood associations has kept the 100-seat second-floor dining room humming on the banquet scene even as demographic shifts have seen the Chinese community move to Northeast Philly and the suburbs beyond. (The neighborhoods Vietnamese community has provided a loyal clientele since the beginning, explaining the menus Vietnamese translations.) Hong Kong-trained chef Jie Jack Zheng is also a long-timer, having staffed the woks and industrial steamer here for 25 years and assuring consistency, doctoring the distinctive house soy sauce with broth and hot green peppers. Hes also fine-tuned the X.O. sauce with a zesty balance of bacon, dried shrimp, and chiles that sends off umami sparks with the sliced rounds of fresh-killed eel. The meaty rings of eel harbor so much flavor and distinctively unctuous flesh, my colleague Max Marin described it perfectly as eating aquatic pork belly. Tai Lakes kitchen is hardly flawless. Several dishes common in more Americanized restaurants wonton soup, spare ribs, egg rolls, pan-fried dumplings and kung pao chicken are perfunctory at best, and sometimes worse. Tai Lake doesnt even make one of its most popular dishes, the Peking duck, although it is sourced from one of my favorites, Siu Kee across the street. Those things arent our specialty, Leung conceded. Were a seafood restaurant. There were a couple seafood disappointments, too, including a sizzling platter of battered flounder fillets in spicy sauce that was gooey. Tai Lake is also known for offering crispy soft-shell crabs year round, freezing enough in-season to last the year. Ours were likely already the frozen variety by June; they were skimpy, chewy, and bland, especially compared to the still-fresh and fried beauties Id eaten just the week prior at Mustard Greens in Queen Village. But these misses were the exceptions. The Dungeness crabs ($28 a pound) are a far more reasonable alternative to a king crab splurge. And as a rule, fish here is always best served on the bone, including a paddle-sized flounder thats fried to a well-seasoned crisp, its top fillets flaking with a delicate crunch while the bottom crust soaks in all the sesame-soy sauce on the bottom of the plate. The supremely sweet live coral shrimp from California, an absolute must-order, are best done simply plainly steamed or served raw over ice. Littleneck clams sourced from Seattle (whose larger meat-to-shell ration Leung prefers to East Coast clams) are also reliably outstanding in a variety of sauces. I prefer them with pork and chiles, the open shells scooping a perfect helping of clam and spicy meat crumbles in every bite. The gargantuan one-pound steamed West Coast oysters here come in shells as big as shoes, with oysters inside so plump they reminded me of a chicken breast, with the softness of a sweetbread and the marine aftertaste of surf. I havent acquired a taste for those jumbo mollusks yet, even if Id eat anything dunked in Tai Lakes ginger-soy sauce. Still, the simple fact Tai Lake still serves such a Cantonese delicacy alongside others such as sea cucumber, century eggs, and abalone, is valuable in its own right. One of my favorite dishes here should have more mass appeal, a whole lobster stir-fried with glutinous fried rice studded with sweet Chinese sausage, turns out to be a relatively new addition. It was requested by diners, proving Tai Lakes longevity has hinged at least in part on its willingness to evolve, however gently. We listen to our customers, Leung said. We want them to be happy. Or maybe its the other way around? Whether you crave a blow-out crab banquet or just a late-night nibble of clams, peel-and-eat shrimp, and snappy snow pea leaves, we should all be grateful this Chinatown classics tanks are still bubbling, and that theres almost always an open table waiting for you. Tai Lake Seafood Restaurant 134 N 10th St, Philadelphia, PA 19107, 215-922-0698; tailakeseafoodrest.com Open daily, 1 p.m.-11:30 p.m. Not wheelchair accessible. There is a small step at the entrance. Gluten-free options are limited. Menu highlights: Steamed shrimp; whole fish in ginger-scallion sauce; clams with spicy pork; eel in X.O. sauce; lobster in sticky rice; crispy whole flounder; king crab (special order only); snow pea leaves; fish maw-crab soup. Drinks: There is a liquor license, but the beverage program is basic, and there is no fee for BYOB. Angelos Pizzeria will return to South Jersey as owner Danny DiGiampietro plans to buy DiNics Roast Pork & Beef, a fixture in West Collingswood Heights the latest piece in a fast-moving expansion that includes his partnership with actor Bradley Cooper in New York City and a forthcoming pizzeria in Conshohocken. DiNics last day will be Saturday, and were getting the keys right away, DiGiampietro told The Inquirer. Weve already got engineers and architects, and were going to build this place out right. Advertisement DiGiampietro had no timetable for the new Angelos, at 310 Black Horse Pike, near the Walt Whitman Bridge. Plans for the renovation will include an expansion of the building, with additional seating. Joe Fabrizzio, DiNics owner, had been telling customers of the pending shutdown, as reported Wednesday by the blog 42Freeway. Fabrizzio had declined to identify the buyer, citing a nondisclosure agreement. DiGiampietro disclosed his plans on Angelos social media accounts on Thursday afternoon. Fabrizzio, who bought the shop nearly eight years ago, told The Inquirer that he wanted to simplify his life and de-stress. Its been a long 7 years, he said. When you run your own business. Its always on your mind, 24/7. The opportunity came up and we jumped at it, said DiGiampietro, who, in his days delivering bread and rolls to sandwich shops, sold to DiNics. The previous owner, Bobby Criniti, was one of the greatest human beings in the world, he said. READ MORE: All you need to know about Angelo's Pizzeria This DiNics with the added apostrophe was once related to the DiNics sandwich shops founded by Tommy Nicolosi and his cousin Franky DiClaudio. Nicolosis son Joe Nicolosi now owns the Reading Terminal Market location and is a partner of DiGiampietro in Uncle Gus Steaks at the market. DiGiampietro said the South Jersey Angelos would sell the same combination of pizzas and sandwiches that it offers at the shop on Ninth Street in South Philadelphia and through UberEats. The Ninth Street store, which opened in 2019, was a follow-up to the first Angelos location, which opened in Haddonfield in 2013. DiGiampietro said the new location will be open early for breakfast, and will bake its own bread like a mimic of the [original] Haddonfield store, but bigger and better, he said. Im going to neon the [sucker] up and were going to have fun. The South Philadelphia location, which has a much smaller kitchen (and crowd-control issues that have grown to be nearly as legendary as its steaks), offers meatballs only on Wednesday, cutlets on Thursday, and pork on Saturday. But were going full menu here, DiGiampietro said of the South Jersey outpost. DiGiampietro and associates, who took over Conshohocken Bakery last year to bake bread for the delivery and wholesale business, are planning a restaurant in that borough, he said. Earlier this year, DiGiampietro and the actor Bradley Cooper opened Danny & Coops, a cheesesteak-only shop, in downtown Manhattan. The Ninth Street shop, which bakes its own bread, is never going to change. Since getting its start in Staten Island more than three decades ago, the Wu-Tang clan has been bringing the ruckus to cities all over the world. But this week, the legendary hip-hop collective will play the final show of its last live tour right here in Philadelphia. The groups Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber tour is slated to reach its finale Friday at the Wells Fargo Center, closing out a 27-date stint of farewell performances. The date may cap the Wus lengthy touring career, with group leader RZA telling the New York Times earlier this year that the run of dates is likely the last time you see us all together in the physical. Advertisement But as Philly hip-hop heads know, Friday wont be the citys first time as the backdrop for important Wu-Tang Clan lore perhaps the best-known piece of which occurred in November 2000. That month, late Wu-Tang Clan founding member Russell Tyrone Jones a.k.a. Ol Dirty Bastard, a legend in his own right walked into a McDonalds at 29th Street and Grays Ferry Avenue while on the lam. With his arrest, the so-called ODB McDonalds was born. A quarter-century later, that humble South Philly McDonalds remains inextricably linked to Ol Dirty Bastard and the Wu-Tang Clan, at least unofficially. Here is how the story unfolded: Dirty on the lam ODB was known not only for his rapping, but for his frequent run-ins with the law over charges ranging from drug possession to being a convicted felon in possession of body armor. His path to Grays Ferry, however, began with his escape from a court-ordered drug treatment facility in Pasadena, Calif., on Oct. 17, 2000. The rapper had been sentenced to the treatment program as part of a plea bargain for making a terroristic threat, but counselors planned to ask him to leave the program on the day of his escape, the Daily News reported. Dirty remained on the run for more than a month, famously turning up as part of a surprise appearance at a Wu-Tang Clan show in Manhattan on Nov. 21, 2000. The group was celebrating the release of its third studio album, The W, and ODB appeared onstage to perform several songs with the group before fleeing, avoiding apprehension despite several police officers being present in the audience, according to the Daily News. I cant stay on stage too long tonight the cops is after me, he reportedly told the crowd. ODB comes to Philly Following his appearance onstage in New York, ODB made his way to New Jersey to hide out, according to The Dirty Version, a 2015 biography by longtime friend Buddha Monk and author Mickey Hess. There, the rapper stayed with a group of friends and associates in Willingboro and Florence-Roebling. Local reports from 2000 indicated police were not sure why the rapper was in Philadelphia when he was arrested, but according to The Dirty Version, ODBs friend who helped him hide out had a car in for maintenance at a shop on Washington Avenue in Grays Ferry. While Dirty was in hiding, work on the vehicle was finished, and he tagged along to pick up the car. After picking up the vehicle, the group pulled into the McDonalds at 29th and Grays Ferry so Dirty could use the bathroom. But once there, according to the book, ODB realized he aint had a fish filet sandwich in a minute, prompting his friends to place an order, and ultimately leading to his arrest after employees recognized him and called the police. ODBs arrest ODB was arrested just before 4 p.m. on Nov. 27, 2000, The Inquirer and Daily News reported. Officer Rebecca Anderson was on patrol at the McDonalds and spotted the rapper in a blue 1991 Mitsubishi Galant with New Jersey tags. Anderson, who declined to speak to media at the time, reportedly knew Dirty from his music and was aware he was wanted by police. She stopped the vehicle after requesting backup and took the rapper into custody without incident. He was being sought on four warrants in New York, and one in Los Angeles. He liked Philadelphia, a man named Irie, who identified himself as the rappers brother, told The Daily News following the arrest. He wanted to buy a house here and everything. I doubt it now. He aint going to be buying nothing for a while. Dirty, meanwhile, was taken to the First Police District at 24th and Wolf Streets for processing. There, instead of the fish sandwich he wanted, he was offered a cheese sandwich and iced tea, The Inquirer reported. Ill see yall in a couple years, ODB could be heard yelling to his friends at the police station in the days after his arrest, according to The Daily News. He was, it turned out, correct. After waiving extradition, he pleaded guilty to drug charges in New York state in April 2001 in exchange for a promised sentence of two to four years. He spent just over two years in prison in New York before being released in May 2003. A historical marker request In November 2004, ODB died of an accidental drug overdose at a New York City recording studio. He was two days shy of his 36th birthday. A decade after his death, the legend of the ODB McDonalds was well-known in Philadelphia. And, incidentally, 2014 marked the year the site was eligible for a historical marker a designation suggested that year by one Adam Butler, who posted a Change.org petition requesting that the Pennsylvania Historical Marker Program recognize the site. Jones escape and time on the run made him a popular folk hero and his capture at the McDonalds was national news, the petition noted. In an update, Butler noted that some folks considered the petition to be in poor taste or exploitative, but he insisted the request was genuine. The intent here is positive ODB was a legend, and this is meant to be a celebration of his Philly connection, he said. The petition garnered more than 1,300 signatures, but the historical marker never came to fruition and, in 2022, the building was replaced with a newer, spiffier version. That, however, has done little to stop the restaurants unofficial moniker as the ODB McDonalds from sticking around. File photo of lightning. A man is dead and 13 others were injured in a lightning strike Wednesday night in Jackson, N.J. Read more A 61-year-old man was killed and 13 other people suffered minor injuries when lightning struck an outdoor archery range Wednesday evening in Ocean County, police said. Gov. Phil Murphy said he was briefed on the incident. Advertisement Please pray for everyone involved in this tragic incident, he said in a social media post. Matthew D. Kunz, the chief of police in Jackson Township, said his department responded shortly before 7:15 p.m. to a report of multiple people struck by lightning at the archery range. First responders performed CPR on the 61-year-old man, who was later pronounced dead, while other victims received evaluations and treatment, including one person who briefly lost consciousness, Kunz said. READ MORE: Philadelphia weather is one of the muggiest summers on record Thirteen people suffered injuries ranging from burns to non-specific complaints of not feeling well, Kunz said in an emailed statement. Victims ranged in age from 7 to 61 and were transported to area hospitals for treatment, Kunz said. Several news outlets reported that the lightning strike occurred at the Black Knight Bowbenders on Perrineville Road. The area was under a severe thunderstorm warning on Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service in Mount Holly reported. This was the 18th lightning fatality in New Jersey since 2006, according to John Jensenius, with the National Lightning Safety Council. Staff writer Anthony R. Wood contributed to this article. After waiting in line outside in the heat for hours, a supporter takes a drink of water in the restroom at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex in Harrisburg, Wednesday, July 31, 2024, before Donald Trump's rally appearance. Read more A bill recently introduced in the state Senate would ban fluoride in Pennsylvanias public drinking water, reflecting growing skepticism toward the naturally occurring mineral that dental health experts have considered essential for decades. The Fluoride Choice Act, introduced by Sen. Dawn Keefer (R., York), would prevent fluoride from being added to any drinking water intended for public consumption. It has been awaiting consideration in the Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee for the last month. Advertisement The bill comes after U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he intends to direct the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending fluoride in drinking water, while Utah and Florida have enacted water fluoridation bans. The Department of Health and Human Services has directed a panel of health experts to review the CDCs current fluoride recommendation. The change to the fluoride recommendation is one of several controversial changes to national health policy Kennedy has pursued since being appointed to President Donald Trumps cabinet. Kennedy, who has also promoted misinformation about vaccines in the past, has referred to fluoride as poison. State Rep. Jason Ortitay (R., Washington) introduced a similar bill in the House last month, with support from 10 Republican cosponsors. A spokesperson for Ortitay said he was unavailable and declined to answer questions about the bill. In a memo seeking support for his bill, Ortitay said the decision to consume fluoridated water should be an individual choice and not one forced upon them by their public water system. Nearly 63% of Americans live in an area with fluoridated tap water, according to the CDC. State governments have the power to regulate water fluoridation, while municipalities and water authorities typically decide how much fluoride is in water at a local level. Water fluoridation has been widespread across the country since the 1950s, leading to reduced cavities and improved dental health. The Pennsylvania Dental Association opposes the removal of fluoride from drinking water, stating on its website that evidence shows that fluoridation is the most effective way to prevent dental disease. Keefer said in a memo that recent scientific studies have raised questions about the safety and necessity of fluoride. She referenced a government study released last year by JAMA Pediatrics that linked higher fluoride consumption with a slight decrease in IQ among children in fluoride concentrations of 1.5 mg/L and higher. The CDC recommends half that amount 0.7 mg/L in water, saying this maximizes fluorides oral health benefits while minimizing potential harms, which include dental fluorosis, a condition caused by excess fluoride that can change the appearance of childrens teeth. Pennsylvania law currently sets a maximum drinking water fluoride concentration of 2.0 mg/L but recommends a 0.7 mg/L concentration, in line with the CDCs recommendation. Federal law prohibits fluoride concentrations higher than 4.0 mg/L in public water. The JAMA studys authors said their findings were based on limited data. After it was released, the American Dental Association issued a statement saying the study does not provide any new evidence to warrant changing current community water fluoridation practices. A spokesperson for Keefer did not respond to a request for comment. Her bill is unlikely to become law because Democrats maintain a slim House majority and the governorship. Senate Minority Leader Jay Costa (D., Allegheny) criticized the bill, saying Senate Democrats will not be entertaining legislation meant to undo decades of cost-effective and successful public health policy. Utah lawmakers became the first in the nation to ban water fluoridation in March, and were followed by a ban recently enacted in Florida. Connecticut took a step in the opposite direction this week, enacting a law to maintain the states current fluoride regulations, which require local municipalities to maintain water fluoridation around 0.7 mg/L, in line with the current CDC recommendation. Vincent DiFonzo is an intern with the Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents Association. He can be reached at difonzo.vincent@gmail.com. (Left) People swim in the lagoon in front of the Hilton Hawaiian Village resort in Honolulu and visitors (right) in Margate tour the historic six-story roadside attraction that some would describe as the Jersey Shores equivalent of Paris Eiffel Tower earlier this year. Read more We finally put it to the test. Is it cheaper to travel to Europe or even Hawaii than to empty your bank account for a weekly rental at the no-longer-affordable Shore town of your childhood? We consulted with ace Philly travel agents Paul Ferdinand and Rebecca Wzorek and scoured the internet for Shore deals, with some help and wisdom from real estate agent Brian Logue. The results, are, well, closer than youd think. Granted, people have been telling us for years that the Shore is so overpriced, you can go to [fill in the blank] for less. Advertisement This summer, though, Shore prices have flattened a bit, and there are last-minute deals, while Europe is not quite the bargain it was a couple summers ago (plus, if you think locals at the Shore are a wee bit hostile, check out, say, Mallorca). Logue urged Philadelphians to remember the memories of their youth. The Shore is in our DNA, he said. Perhaps thats what keeps people coming back, even when the beach in Waikiki and the three-star hotel in the Marais are calling. As one reader emailed this week, Thats the ball game. It literally is the last and only reason I still go to the shore with my family. Tradition. But every year it gets less appealing. Expensive, parking issues, and of course, dragging your things down there, and cleaning up in a frenzy on that last day. So, you ask, is it cheaper to spend a week in Paris, Hawaii, or down the Shore? We investigated. Keep reading for celeb and noise news, your opinions on parking, Capt. Starns memories, and a lovely Shore moment from my colleague Paola Perez, author of the must-read Saturday and Sunday Inquirer morning newsletters. Have ideas or news tips about the Shore or this newsletter? Send them to me here. Skies have been changeable! Waters been super warm. Amy S. Rosenberg (Follow me at @amysrosenberg or on Instagram at @amysrosenberg. Email me here.) If someone forwarded you this email, sign up for free here. Shore talk Celeb watch: Broadway Joe Namath was spotted strolling the Ocean City boardwalk over Fourth of July weekend, while a bikini-waxed Jason Kelce was back posing for pics in Sea Isle City. Kylie Kelce was shilling for Dunkin with the summer Munchkins bucket, and Bachelorette alum Zac Clark was also in Sea Isle, running a mindless 8:08-mile pace (according to his Strava). All about that bass: Atlantic City agreed to move the BRT (Beach Road Trip) Caribbean music festival from its original location in front of the Ocean Club Condominiums to the south side of the Pier at Caesars. But the joke was on just about everyone else on the island not lucky enough to be at the festival, which drew crowds from as far away as London. Between the wind direction, and the pier building to the north, the massive bass reverberated along the beach all the way to Longport, prompting numerous complaints. Fusion Gym is behind the new outdoor gym/DJ/lounge area being assembled next to Showboat on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, which owner Tony Chowdhury is calling the worlds first fitness resort. The tiny shore community of South Seaside Park got the green light to secede from Berkeley Township. Now they have to convince Seaside Park to take them. Gov. Murphy is changing rules for building in coastal communities to allow for a higher level of risk. Red Bulls Surf & Rescue competition, featuring East Coast beach patrols, was held near Ventnor Pier. What to eat/What to do Ride a bike: Heres a guide to bicycle riding at the Shore. Indulge: Dont miss these seven Shore bakeries. Pizza, pups, concerts, and more: Heres a roundup of the Best of the Shore, 2025. Go fishing! Flounder season is hot and heavy. Stay outside! Ocean City opened a new, free public fitness park off the boardwalk between Fifth and Sixth Streets. Go whale watching. The sights from the Cape May whale watching boats have been wild. Shore snapshot Vocab lesson Deannexation: What some tiny Shore towns desperately want when theyre under the rule of mainland townships. They usually want to join the cool beach towns on their same barrier island. See: South Seaside Park, Strathmere, and Seaview Harbor Marina. Trivia time Capt. Starns was the answer to last weeks question about the dearly departed Atlantic City inlet restaurant. A lot of people knew that, but Michael Yanoff was first. This week: This Shore bridge on the intracoastal waterway was built in 1929 as a drawbridge but is currently only in the down position, which doesnt allow large boats to pass underneath, while officials try to find parts to fix it. Is it: A. The Margate Causeway Bridge B. The Albany Avenue Bridge in Atlantic City C. The Grassy Sounds Bridge in North Wildwood D. The Dorset Avenue Bridge in Ventnor If you think you know the answer, email me here, for a possible shout-out, or click on this story to find out. Your thoughts on: Shore parking Lots of people came to the defense of the right of homeowners who live near the beach to park on the street. Janet Levine, beach block owner in Margate: We keep a car in front of our house and one in the driveway with room for two more. In all my years, I cant recall a July 4th weekend as spectacular as this one for weather, the flat stretch of the beach leading to waves of swimmers stretching for blocks and Cool Cabanas five rows deep. The traffic along Ventnor Avenue is as busy as Rt. 73 in Marlton and getting close to the pace of the Schuylkill Expressway. Linda, of Lower Chelsea, in A.C.: Is it fair to park on the street if you have a driveway at the shore? Atlantic City has zoned permit parking which they have ceased to enforce in residential neighborhoods. The resulting density & lack of consideration renders your driveway useless, because one cannot maneuver around wall-to-wall SUVs to exit said driveway. You dont need a car to sit by the sea. Leave your bougie baggage, grab a swimsuit & hop on a bike! Aimee Rudman: My mom is 88 years old and requires the care of a home health aid daily. To make sure there is room in the driveway, we have to park one car on the street. This past weekend, people continuously tried to park by partially blocking our driveway. We often have to explain that it is a driveway that is in use throughout the day. People yell at us. The driver of a car with NY tags told me it is a public street. I agreed with her, but said that it is a private driveway. She told me, That is your opinion. Your Shore moment You know youve something figured out when youre headed down the Shore on the Monday after the Fourth of July. Let me pass the mic to my colleague Paola Perez. I went down the Shore for my birthday (July 7), which fell on a Monday. So I set off Sunday afternoon, while the majority of traffic was headed in the opposite direction and probably wishing the holiday weekend didnt have to end already. I stopped in Atlantic City first to eat at a Dominican spot (recommended by Craig LaBan), then took the long way down through other towns and finally landed in Wildwood. The beach and the boardwalk were glorious not incredibly chaotic as I predicted the 4th weekend would be, but still full of life. Over at the Honky Tonk Saloon later that night, Brian McConnell was on guitar and said in between songs: If youre here tonight, youre definitely not working tomorrow. I returned to reality on Tuesday. It was a delight to soak up the post-July 4th vibes. Paola Perez Your Shore memories: Capt. Starns Carole Giampalmi: What an idyllic college summer as the photographer at Starns in the 1960s. I roamed the dining room, sailor collar intact, inviting families to have their photos taken, and they almost always bought a packet of snaps for their future memories. Was it warm biscuits or dinner rolls that we gratefully scarfed from a warmer drawer? I cant remember for sure. Susan Gagliardi: There was a huge whale bone you could sit on. Feeding the seals or sea lions was so fun! You got a little paper bowl with little fish and a wooden fork to throw them the food. My dad always got the Oyster Stew and the huge fried fish platter. I got the fried shrimp. Wow, thanks for sparking such great memories for me. Send us your Shore memory or moment! Tell us how the Shore taps into something deep for you, and we will publish them in this space during the summer. By submitting your written, visual, and/or audio contributions, you agree to The Inquirers Terms of Use, including the grant of rights in Section 10. Frankford High School Principal Michael Calderone shows one of the closed-off hallways to the main building because of the presence of asbestos, in September 2023. The closed-off hallways have three layers of protection to prevent people from walking through and to contain the asbestos. Read more The Philadelphia School Districts agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice to resolve a five-year investigation into our management of asbestos marks a significant turning point: For the next few years, a federal court will be watching how we continue to improve our asbestos program and work to stay in compliance with regulations to maintain healthy schools. And we know school communities, the public, and other K-12 districts grappling with asbestos will be watching, too. Advertisement To families, educators, and advocates who have long voiced concerns about the safety of our facilities: Please keep watching us, because as we become the fastest-improving large urban school district in the nation, safety is nonnegotiable. Every child, every teacher, and every staff member deserves to learn and work in a building where they feel safe and comfortable. The Philadelphia School District is the eighth-largest district in the nation, and we have more than 300 buildings that contain some form of asbestos materials, including paint, plaster, pipe wrap, floor tiles, and caulk. Federal regulations require the district to conduct inspections every six months to look for any damage so the materials can be maintained in good condition to minimize risk. In Philadelphia, that means more than 600 inspections a year, taking place on weekends and in evenings so they dont interrupt school hours. On Tuesday, the district made an initial court appearance as we move forward with a deferred prosecution agreement. In this agreement with the federal government, we acknowledge that the district did not always keep pace with our schedule of inspections. The agreement also recognized the progress we have made to rebuild our asbestos program. Today, I am proud to say we are fully on time with all our inspections, and we make our reports publicly available. We are posting all inspection reports, including room-by-room logs of every school detailing the location and condition of asbestos materials at the time of their last inspection, on www.philasd.org/environmental. We have also increased principal and school-based meetings to discuss asbestos management, and tripled our annual budget for environmental management. And we have improved software to better manage environmental data and standardized data. These issues were decades in the making, and we cannot undo the past. But we can take full responsibility for how we move forward. If youre watching, heres what youll see: Every six months, we will continue to conduct timely inspections and responses in more than 300 buildings across the district. To be clear, asbestos damage will happen: weather, water leaks, vandalism, and daily use can all cause damage. But we have a system in place where this damage can be identified, recorded, and addressed in a timely way. We will also offer additional training for principals, building engineers, facility area managers, and others who are in our buildings each day to help them better understand asbestos management. We will report our progress regularly under the DOJ agreement, with accountability to a federal court. And we will build on the greater transparency that began with my March 2023 open letter to all district students, families, staff, and school communities with straight talk about the state of our facilities and what we were doing to improve environmental conditions, particularly the management of asbestos. We will be regularly reporting our progress, and we will continue to meet with school advisory councils, homeschool associations, and school communities, and work to answer questions. We are committed to maintaining the current pace of inspections because that is how we promote the health and safety of our buildings, as well as our staff and students. The work ahead will not be easy it requires constant vigilance and investment. But please keep an eye on us: We will continue to meet this issue with urgency, transparency, and bold action. Tony B. Watlington Sr. is the superintendent of the Philadelphia School District. As head of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party, State Sen. Sharif Street should be focused on victory for Democratic candidates in the general election, not his own triumph in a congressional primary, writes the Editorial Board. Read more How many jobs are too many? For Sharif Street state senator, Pennsylvania Democratic Party chairman, and now candidate for the 3rd Congressional District the answer appears to be: The more the merrier. Street already had sizable responsibilities in his dual role, leading state Democrats and representing the interests of Philadelphians in Harrisburg. Now that hes also running for Congress to succeed retiring Rep. Dwight Evans, both Gov. Josh Shapiro and Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin have publicly questioned whether Street may have overextended himself. Advertisement Shapiro (who, alongside former Gov. Tom Wolf and former Sen. Bob Casey, backed a different candidate for party chair) said, Im not sure how you can be the leader of the Democratic Party while youre engaged in a Democratic primary fight. The DNCs Martin urged Street to make a choice: Pick one or another of those, right? They have a point. Given that the GOP has chosen to unquestionably support President Donald Trumps agenda of economic malfeasance, cultural division, and authoritarian cruelty, the stakes for Pennsylvanias 2026 elections couldnt be higher. The state Democratic Party must have a leader who is focused on victory for Democratic candidates in the general election, not his own triumph in a primary. With states like Texas taking gerrymandering to a new level, Pennsylvanias districts represent a significant slice of the actual competitive congressional seats in the country. Without victories in contested seats like Bucks Countys 1st District, the Lehigh Valleys 7th District, Northeast Pennsylvanias 8th District, and South-Central Pennsylvanias 10th District, the Republican Party would struggle to pass destructive legislation like the Big Beautiful Bill Act. Next year is also critical at the state level. Pennsylvanians are waiting to see whether the Republican-held state Senate will fund public transportation across the commonwealth. With half those districts up for reelection, Democrats will be hoping to hold all of the seats they currently have, and could target state senators like Frank Farry, Jarrett Coleman, and Tracy Pennycuick to flip the chamber. If this years budget does not include adequate, long-term funding for public transportation, shifting control of the state Senate may be the only way to keep the trains running. These stakes underline the importance of having someone in charge whose top priority is taking back power for his party, not adding to his own. Streets leadership role also represents a conflict of interest, with candidates and political staffers who support his opponents dependent on the state party for fundraising, turnout, and other essential parts of a campaign. Political attacks that might be necessary to triumph in his primary could backfire on the party later, especially given the already testy relations between establishment Democrats and frustrated progressives. Additionally, the roles of a candidate and a party chair often overlap. When Street makes fundraising calls, will he prioritize his congressional race or the statewide party? Until next springs primary concludes, how can it not garner most of Streets attention? To be sure, Street should run for Congress if he feels he can make a difference there. Voters in the 3rd District have not experienced a true contested primary since Chaka Fattah challenged Lucien Blackwell 30 years ago. Street, State Reps. Morgan Cephas and Chris Rabb, and physician Dave Oxman along with anyone else willing to run all have the right to pursue the seat and contribute to a vibrant exchange of ideas. But only Street seeks to do so while holding the top leadership position within the party. If he is set on his congressional bid, Street should do the right thing and resign as state party chair. A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent looks on during a protest outside the Federal Building in Los Angeles in June. Read more The knock on the door came at 6 a.m. It had been more than a month since Bajun Mavalwalla II had taken part in a large and eventually chaotic protest in his hometown of Spokane, Wash., against the U.S. governments efforts to deport two young Latino immigrants one from Venezuela, one from Colombia whose work permits were abruptly revoked. Advertisement Federal officers had warned protesters during the June 11 demonstration that they could be arrested for blocking a vehicle that was to transport the two men, and indeed, 30 people were taken into custody during two separate rallies that day. But the U.S. Justice Department of the Trump regime wasnt going to let the matter drop, and so now FBI agents were knocking at Mavalwallas home. As soon as he stepped outside, he was arrested, his father told a local news reporter. We had no idea what was coming down the pipe. What was coming were federal felony indictments of Mavalwalla and eight other protesters, including Spokanes former City Council president, Ben Stuckart, whod taken to Facebook that day to call for others to join him in blocking the vehicle. The Spokane 9 are charged with engaging in conspiracy to impede or injure law enforcement, with two additionally facing assault charges. (If you can, check out the excellent coverage in the hometown paper, the Spokesman-Review.) Tuesdays arrests in the eastern Washington city, far from the glare of the national media, have not received a great deal of attention. But they should. Its a major twist in a downward spiral as Donald Trumps newly signed mega-bill authorizes $30 billion for hiring thousands of new masked officers under U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and $45 billion for a gulag network of detention centers and camps that would hold the upsurge in arrests from these new agents. The flood of new federal dollars for what the Trump regime calls mass deportation is essentially creating something once seen as antithetical to democracy: a national police force. And the arrests in Spokane not the first time in recent weeks that the government has aggressively gone after anyone involved in resisting the ICE raids are a window into how this police state plans to operate. Even the recent surge of activity by ICE and allied federal agents at Home Depots, supermarkets, and other places where immigrants congregate isnt likely enough to fill a gulag archipelago of Alligator Alcatrazes MAGAs cute name for what are essentially concentration camps. But more arrests create more unrest, and arresting protesters like the Spokane 9 will kill two birds with one stone for the Trump regime locking up its most aggressive political opponents while sending a chilling message about dissent to any citizen tempted to join them. READ MORE: Inside Trumps $75B ICE gulag nightmare | Will Bunch Newsletter The timing of the Spokane arrests is interesting. Thursday is the fifth anniversary of the death of civil rights icon and congressman John Lewis, who was arrested some 40 times in the early 1960s fighting Jim Crow segregation, and was beaten a couple of times, most famously during Selma, Ala.s Bloody Sunday in 1965. The growing Trump resistance which sent at least five million people into the streets last month for a No Kings protest, heavily motivated by opposition to mass deportation is marking the anniversary with an event named after Lewis mantra, Good Trouble, that promises protests in 1,500 cities and towns. Plans for the event are centered mostly around rallies or direct action, and so far the movement hasnt emulated Lewis strategy of civil disobedience. That could change as the Trump regime amps up its deportation drive and cements its authoritarian bent. But theres a big difference between the 1960s civil rights marches led by Lewis, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and others, and today. Back then, the oppression came from local officials in the segregated South, with the federal government increasingly supportive of the protests. Today, the various tentacles of a Trumpian police state from ICE to the Justice Department, with allies in local law enforcement have adopted what is close to a zero tolerance policy for anyone they think is standing in the way of mass deportation. A typical episode occurred in Worcester, Mass., where a City Council member was charged locally last month, after the fact, with assaulting a police officer during an immigration raid under circumstances that were murky at best. According to news reports, body-cam footage shows Etel Haxhiaj pleading with ICE agents not to arrest a woman, then an officer pulled her away from a federal vehicle, and apparently, her hand touched a police officer. It was actually Haxhiaj on tape yelling, Dont touch me and yet she is the one facing charges. In Los Angeles, a 32-year-old U.S. citizen, Andrea Velez, was arrested by ICE agents and charged with assaulting a federal officer after she apparently saw agents forcefully arresting her sister, also a citizen. In the best-known case, New Jersey Democratic U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver caught up in a fracas during her inspection of an ICE detention facility in Newark in which her hand touched an agent now faces a three-count indictment for impeding federal officers. Recently, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sought to justify the controversial use of masks by ICE and Border Patrol agents by claiming an 810% increase in assaults against ICE officers, although the raw number 79 in little more than five months is not large considering the upsurge in activity. More importantly, it seems like some if not most of the claimed rise in assaults are in fact under murky, disputed circumstances like in the McIver indictment. There are just laws and there are unjust laws, King wrote in his famous 1963 Letter from Birmingham Jail, adding that one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. He stated further: Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. To many of the millions inclined to resist Trumps authoritarianism, the rounding up of immigrants increasingly from the ranks of day laborers or farmworkers whove committed no crime poses the same moral quandary as segregation. That was certainly the case for Stuckart, the leader of Junes Spokane protest. Stuckart had been working to aid one of the immigrants a 21-year-old Venezuelan, Cesar Alexander Alvarez Perez when Perez and the Colombian immigrant were detained during what was supposed to be a routine check-in. He immediately took to Facebook, writing: [I]f you care at all about these illegal detainers you meet me at 411 West Cataldo by 2 p.m. I am going to set in front of the bus. Feel free to join me The Latino community needs the rest of our community. Not tonight, not Saturday but right now!!!! Scores of people responded and did block the federal vehicle for a time. Now, Stuckarts Facebook post urging resistance and the actions of some who answered his call that day are at the heart of the federal case that could lock them away for years. The Trump regime, still insisting its removing dangerous criminals from the country despite the mounting evidence to the contrary, doesnt just not see mass deportation as an unjust law. They refuse to even let this idea take root. Im outraged, Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown said after Tuesdays arrests. This politically motivated action is a perversion of our justice system. The Trump administrations weaponization of ICE and the DOJ is trampling on the U.S. Constitution and creating widespread fear across our community. Its good that Brown and other Democratic leaders in Washington state are criticizing the charges, but that wont stop this alarming cycle. The more secret police arrests both of immigrants and demonstrators the more protests there will be. Leading to more arrests. Rinse, repeat. The long-term goal is to crush all dissent, not just on immigration, but whatever the regime does, as autocracy deepens. The risks are even greater than in the late 1960s, when claims of conspiracy against Vietnam War protesters think the trial of the Chicago 7 largely collapsed under the weight of massive government misconduct, including an illegal spying campaign called COINTELPRO. This time, the misconduct is more egregious, and the cases are more flimsy, but you can hear the echoes of that era. Free the Spokane 9. READ MORE: SIGN UP: The Will Bunch Newsletter Emil Bove at a Manhattan criminal court during Donald Trumps sentencing in the hush money case in New York. Read more Despite unusually public opposition from dozens of former judges, hundreds of former federal prosecutors, and many Democratic lawmakers, the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee agreed Thursday to advance the judicial nomination of Emil Bove, a top Justice Department official and former personal attorney for President Donald Trump. Bove, 44, has been a controversial figure during the first six months of Trumps second term as he has overseen the administrations aggressive attempts to reshape the agency and the justice system at large. Advertisement And the depths of opposition from Senate Democrats became clear Thursday morning as nearly all of the partys committee members walked out of the room when Republicans ignored a request for further debate and instead pushed to send Boves candidacy to the full chamber for approval. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey continued to speak into his microphone as the committee members votes were cast, calling the process absolutely insane and saying it was being unnecessarily rushed. What are you afraid of about even debating this? Booker asked. Dear God, thats what our obligations are its to state our reasons for debate! The committees chairman, Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, was unswayed. And earlier in the hearing, he defended Boves candidacy, saying Bove had been targeted by unfair partisan attacks. The scrutiny of Bove has been intense in recent weeks after Trump nominated him to fill a vacant seat on the federal appeals court based in Philadelphia a prestigious role that comes with a lifetime appointment, and one that some observers believe could be a precursor for Trump to eventually nominate Bove to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. This week, more than 75 former judges signed a letter condemning Boves egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing power, and disregarding the law itself. More than 900 former Justice Department employees signed a similar letter, accusing Bove of trampling over institutional norms and cratering morale, triggering mass departures, and eroding the effectiveness of DOJs vital work. That criticism followed an explosive whistleblower complaint filed last month by a former Justice Department lawyer that accused Bove of saying he was willing to ignore court orders in order to fulfill Trumps mass deportation agenda. Bove denied those allegations during a confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee several weeks ago. Senate Democrats on Thursday also decried Boves role in seeking to fire federal prosecutors who secured convictions connected to the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. And they criticized his role earlier this year in dismissing a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams a decision that led several prosecutors in New York and Washington to resign in protest. But Republicans on the committee voted unanimously to send Boves nomination to the full Senate, where his candidacy will be weighed for final approval. Grassley, the committee chair, said that Bove deserves fair treatment and that the vicious partisan attacks [have] to stop." And Grassley denied efforts by Democrats, including Booker, to delay the vote on Boves nomination in order to seek testimony from the whistleblower, Erez Reuveni. Booker was among those who questioned whether Bove had lied before the committee while seeking to deny Reuvenis allegations. And he said he didnt understand why the committee would not seek to have Reuveni testify about his contentions and allow panelists to weigh his credibility. Grassley, however, suggested that he had already made up his mind, casting Reuvenis complaints as part of a political hit job timed for maximum media splash with minimal substance. The manner and timing of this disclosure isnt how the process should have played out, he said. The appeals court on which Bove has been nominated to serve is formally known as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and it handles cases involving Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, and the Virgin Islands. If confirmed, Bove would fill a vacant New Jersey seat, and his appointment would be for life. Still, some have questioned if Trump may have higher aims for Bove, who has been accused of having unfailing loyalty to Trump his former client rather than following the law. Bove, during his confirmation hearing last month, denied allegations of impropriety, saying he was not anybodys henchman, I am not an enforcer, and later adding: I did not suggest that there would be any need to consider ignoring court orders. The fate of Boves nomination will now head to the full U.S. Senate for a vote, where Bove would need 51 votes to secure his position on the appellate bench. Republicans hold 53 seats in the chamber. Bove previously worked as a criminal defense attorney for Trump, including when Trump was convicted at trial last year of concealing hush-money payments to a porn star to avoid damaging his 2016 presidential campaign. Before that, Bove served as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan, where he was accused by some coworkers of having a brusque and unyielding management style. In this combination photo, judge Patrick Dugan speaks, March 31, 2025, in Philadelphia, left, and Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner speaks during a news conference in Philadelphia, Jan. 31, 2022. (AP Photo) Read more This years Philadelphia district attorney race ended in May, when two-term incumbent Larry Krasner walloped former Municipal Court Judge Patrick Dugan in the Democratic primary. Or did it? Advertisement The Republican City Committee is currently polling Philadelphians about whether they would consider voting for Dugan in the November general election if he appeared on the ballot again this time as a Republican. READ MORE: Democrat Patrick Dugan won enough GOP votes to be the Republican nominee for Philly DA, which hes previously said hell decline Dugan won the GOP nomination in May without campaigning for it, thanks to a write-in campaign organized by Philly Republicans. The digital poll, which was texted to a reporter, asks in part: If the election for Philadelphia District Attorney were held today, for whom would you vote: Larry Krasner, the Democrat; or Pat Dugan, a Democrat running on the Republican ticket? No Republican filed to run in the primary, and after things started looking bad for Dugan in the Democratic contest, the Philly GOP succeeded in electing the moderate ex-judge as the Republican nominee. Republicans needed at least 1,000 primary voters to write in Dugans name. He ended up receiving more than 6,000 GOP votes. If Dugan accepts the nomination, he would be able to take another shot at unseating Krasner, the nationally known progressive prosecutor. I believe he and his family are still looking at all of their options, Vince Fenerty, who chairs the Republican City Committee, said in an interview Thursday. The poll, we hope, will tell us all of Larry Krasners vulnerabilities, and were still very hopeful that Judge Dugan will remain the Republican candidate for district attorney. Dugan has until Aug. 11 to either pay a filing fee to appear on the ballot or withdraw from the race. His campaign manager, Dan Kalai, said before the primary that Dugan would not accept the GOP nomination if he came up short against Krasner in May. But Dugan has not commented on the issue since he won the Republican nomination. He did not respond to a request for comment Thursday. Krasner said Thursday that the former judge has been disingenuous about whether he might run as a Republican throughout the campaign. And in Krasners view, Dugan is effectively already running a general election campaign because he has not removed himself from consideration. This is not a question of whether hes running, Krasner said. Hes running. Hes the candidate. Hes had every opportunity to take his name off. Krasner speculated that Dugan may be hoping to benefit from campaign spending by tech billionaire Elon Musk, the erstwhile ally of President Donald Trump who has targeted progressive prosecutors, or other GOP megadonors. We all know theres Musk money out there, Krasner said. If Dugan were to go for round two against Krasner, it would be an uphill battle. He lost the primary by 29 percentage points, and Philly is overwhelmingly Democratic. But it would not be unprecedented. In fact, the strategy is becoming more common as moderate and establishment-backed Democrats attempt to stop gains by more progressive candidates who won surprising victories in primaries. In 2021, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown lost his Democratic primary to India Walton, who was endorsed by the Democratic Socialists of America, but won reelection through a general election write-in campaign. In 2023, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala was reelected after losing the Democratic primary to a more progressive challenger coincidentally named Matthew Dugan (no relation) and running in the general election as a Republican. And in this years New York City mayoral race, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is running in the general election as a third-party candidate after losing the Democratic primary to Zohran Mamdani. (Mayor Eric Adams, who did not run in the primary, is also running in the general election.) Fenerty has said the Philly GOP is basing its strategy on the Allegheny County race. If [Dugan] were to move forward, we believe that he will have a good shot at becoming district attorney, Fenerty said. I have great respect for Judge Dugan. He has had unquestionably a stellar career, and I believe hell make a very fair district attorney for all of Philadelphia. Staff writer Ellie Rushing contributed to this article. Trump pulls federal funding for California's High-Speed Rail project Xinhua) 13:40, July 17, 2025 WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the federal government would terminate funding for California's High-Speed Rail project. "Not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again," Trump wrote on his social media account. "The railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will." On the same day, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the termination of approximately 4 billion U.S. dollars in federal funding for the California High-Speed Rail project. In a strongly worded post, Duffy criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom and the ongoing issues surrounding the high-speed rail initiative. "Governor Newsom and California's high speed rail boondoggle are the definition of government incompetence and possibly corruption," said Duffy in a post on social media. Newsom responded on social media, saying, "Won't be taking advice from the guy who can't keep planes in the sky," an apparent reference to recent aviation safety concerns under Duffy's tenure as Transportation Secretary. In June, Secretary Duffy's department released a report on the project, citing missed deadlines, budget overruns and management issues. The report criticized the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) for not meeting critical milestones in the construction of the rail line. In response to the criticism, CHSRA pushed back against the federal government's assessment, calling it inaccurate and defending the project's progress. The authority highlighted ongoing construction in the Central Valley -- including major earthworks and bridge building -- and described the effort as the country's first genuine attempt at high-speed rail. The California High-Speed Rail project, initially approved in 2008, has faced persistent delays, cost overruns and logistical hurdles. However, state officials have repeatedly maintained that the project is on track. The authority highlighted the completion of major infrastructure work, including 35 kilometers of earthworks and 11 bridge structures. Despite these claims, some Republican lawmakers, particularly from the state's Central Valley region, have expressed frustration over the slow pace of progress. Earlier this year, several GOP members of Congress wrote to the federal government, arguing that only a small portion of the work had been completed and urging a reconsideration of federal funding. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) This is particularly relevant in Asia, where there is growing engagement around topics such as wellbeing, burnout, and neurodiversity all of which will be explored at this years Dive In. These conversations are not just timely; theyre essential to building more inclusive, resilient and profitable workplaces across our region. The placement function provides oversight of how we engage and transact with the insurance marketplace. It guides the methods, strategies, and partnerships that ensure we achieve the best outcomes for clients in a sustainable and competitive market environment, he said. Queensland is likely one of the most challenging states for insurers and brokers because of its high exposure to cyclones and floods. As a result, some stakeholders say insurance premiums in Queensland are the most unaffordable in the country. This week, the Australian Consumers Insurance Lobby (ACIL), called on the states government to ease this affordability issue and boost disaster resilience funding by redirecting stamp duty collected on the GST component of premiums. Nicks promotion is thoroughly deserved and a testament to his outstanding commitment to our A&H brokers and clients. He will be integral to driving our growth as we continue to strengthen our relevance in the market, he said. The introduction of Quick Insure aligns with broader trends within the independent insurance brokerage sector this year. Many firms are increasingly leveraging digital solutions, including artificial intelligence (AI) and automation, to enhance efficiency and improve customer experience. The demand for AI error insurance, for example, is reportedly growing, reflecting a wider adoption of such technologies. Insurers are also focusing on data-driven approaches and predictive analytics to better assess risk and price policies, with McKinsey noting in a July report that only a few insurers have extracted outsize value from AI but that a strategic, comprehensive approach that rewires the enterprise is needed for lasting value. Cam was an outstanding member of the Ryan Specialty board who brought his many decades of experience as a practicing lawyer, time in Washington, and public company general counsel to the great benefit of our firm, said Patrick G. Ryan, founder and executive chairman of the board. He will be tremendously missed by everyone at Ryan Specialty. In a statement provided to industry media, Prudential said it continually reviews its organizational structure to ensure it is meeting the evolving needs of its customers and maintaining its competitive position in the marketplace. This includes periodically eliminating certain roles that no longer align with Prudentials strategy. The Pennsylvania Insurance Department (PID) reported that its actuaries denied $210.1 million in requested property/casualty (P/C) insurance premium increases in the first six months of 2025, which is more than was saved in all of 2024. Under the states regulatory process, PIDs staff actuaries review annual rates requested by insurance companies to ensure they are justified. These reviews cover rates for personal auto, homeowners, renters and flood insurance. Six months into 2025, PID says its rate review process saved consumers: $103.6 million in title insurance premiums; $85.3 million in personal auto premiums; $13.7 million in homeowners premiums; $5.0 million in personal umbrella premiums; and $2.5 million in other types of P/C insurance premiums. At PID, our review process is tough but fair. We carefully review and evaluate rate increases submitted to our department because we know consumers work hard for their money and that big increases can create big problems for Pennsylvania families, said Insurance Commissioner Michael Humphreys.. At the same time, we recognize that insurers costs are increasing as the cost of the products and services that they insure continue to rise and that certain rate requests are justified as a result. PID will never approve rates that are excessive, inadequate or unfairly discriminatory to Pennsylvanians. PID is urging Pennsylvanians to periodically check in with their insurance company or agent to review their coverage. Pennsylvanias P/C insurance market includes more than 1,200 insurers competing for business. In the announcement, Humphreys also reminded consumers that insurers can take up 60 days to underwrite most new non-business insurance policies and during this period they can cancel certain types of policies. His department recommends that consumers weigh the pros (like lower costs or better benefits) and cons (like losing some protections) before switching or staying with their current plan. Topics Pricing Trends Property Casualty Pennsylvania The Massachusetts assisted-living facility where a fatal fire killed nine people was caring for dozens of aging residents reliant on wheelchairs and oxygen tanks, but it lacked the safety measures and most of the staffing requirements that are commonplace in nursing homes. As an assisted-living center, Gabriel House in Fall River, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Boston, offered a type of housing for older residents that has expanded nationally in recent decades. But advocates argue that the absence of any federal regulations and spotty state rules mean the sector is largely left to police itself. The real issue is that assisted livings operate in an environment like the Wild West, said Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition, a nonprofit that advocates for improved care in nursing and assisted-living facilities. They can pretty much do what they want with impunity, and that results in a lot of, I would say, mini-catastrophes every day, frankly. The fire that tore through the three-story, 100-unit structure late Sunday raised a host of questions about conditions at the dilapidated facility and put the spotlight on the growing number of assisted-living centers in the state and nationwide. Created in the 1980s, assisted living has been marketed as an option for older adults who need some assistance but not as much help as a nursing home. Advocates argue that regulations for the facilities have not kept up as more locations have opened. They also worry that the outlook could get worse with expected Medicaid cuts and the challenge of finding enough staff during an immigration crackdown. Unlike nursing homes, assisted living has no federal state requirements, no requirement for staffing, no requirements for staff training, no requirements for safety protocols, no requirements for inspections, Mollot said. That falls to the states, and the states have overall very weak rules. Nursing homes are subject to federal regulations Nursing homes, for example, are governed by federal regulations because they receive Medicare and Medicaid. There are no federal regulations for assisted-living facilities. Nursing homes must have a minimum number of staffers and trained medical professionals such as doctors and nurses, but assisted-living facilities have no such requirements. In Massachusetts, both are required to have emergency plans, but assisted-living facilities are not required to update them annually. The regulations are minimal, said Liane Zeitz, an attorney who is also a member of the state Assisted Living Residences Commission, a body created to make recommendations about the sector. She has advocated for more regulations for assisted-living facilities. The facilities were lightly regulated because initially they were regarded as residential housing, with lower levels of care and less oversight, she said. But now those facilities are caring for a population that is much frailer, and the population is growing. Not only are the regulations weaker for assisted-living facilities, but advocates argue that the enforcement of the existing rules is often lax. Paul Lanzikos, a former Massachusetts secretary of elder affairs and co-founder of the advocacy group Dignity Alliance, described a patchwork of regulations across the country, with different agencies involved depending on the state. Some of the states are much more regulated. Some are regulated as a health care entity. Others, as we do here in Massachusetts, are considered a residential housing model, he said. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Massachusetts Democrat, has been advocating for increased oversight for years, particularly after the release of reports about health and safety problems in 2018. These are serious problems that have been going on for years, she said at a hearing last year. But we hear so much less about whats going in assisted-living facilities than we do in other facilities, like nursing homes. Brian Doherty, the president and CEO of the Massachusetts Assisted Living Association, said his organization supports the state ensuring that all facilities meet the mandate to have adequate staffing at all times to meet the specific needs of its residents, including in emergency scenarios. State regulations require that ALRs develop individualized service plans for each resident that are revised as a residents needs evolve over time following regular review, he said in a statement. Massachusetts commission weighs reforms In Massachusetts, lawmakers last year passed a package of bills aimed at improving long-term care and assisted-living facilities. A commission created by the legislation faces an Aug. 1 deadline to recommend policies to ensure facilities meet health and safety needs. But members said Tuesday that they may seek more time given the fire. We need to do a deep dive based on the investigation results with this facility, but also the facilities like this one, said state Rep. Thomas Stanley, who leads the Joint Committee on Elder Affairs. In an interview, Stanley said he was concerned because Gabriel House was among the only 20 or so facilities serving a mostly low-income population what he called affordable assisted-living facilities. Unlike traditional assisted-living facilities that have any array of amenities and mostly rely on residents to pay around $15,000 a month, three-quarters of the residents at Gabriel House were on MassHealth, the states Medicaid program. They paid $1,850 to $2,400 monthly for a studio apartment in a facility that was a motel decades ago. This fire would not have happened in one of the modern facilities, said Stanley, adding that one option would be to provide state funding to help lower-cost facilities upgrade or to create more housing options for the populations they serve. Staffing was an issue before fatal fire At Gabriel House, a former worker said staffing was always an issue, as was the pay that never rose much higher than the states minimum wage, even for nursing work, said Wyntter Munroe-Myers, who worked at the home as a certified nursing assistant from 2014 to 2016. At the time, one certified nursing assistant typically handled two of the six wings at the home, with each wing having about 15 residents. Often, there would be three assistants on a shift and a fourth managing them. The building is huge. To have four people that are supposed to be managing a whole building is almost irrational, he said. Jenn Marley, who worked at Gabriel House as a certified nursing assistant from 2018 to January 2020, said she would often bring in food to supplement what residents were served. She said cockroaches, mice and bedbugs were a problem and that resident bathrooms were often filthy. God forbid, if they ran out of toilet paper, the boss would complain that we had to give them a roll, she said. They would mark it on the paper who came to ask for toilet paper. Jarren Oldrid, whose 67-year-old father, Steven, lived at Gabriel House for three years and is still hospitalized, said he often would not see staff members when he went to visit his fathers third-floor room. He recalled that the buildings elevator was recently out for as long as nine months, a major inconvenience for many residents who, like his father, were not mobile. The whole time the elevator was out, he was stuck in his room, Oldrid said. The only other option was carrying him down the stairs. If he did it himself, he would do it a few steps at a time, and it would take ages. So that never really happened. The night of the fire, Oldrid recalled his father saying he never saw a staffer and that the first person he saw was a firefighter when he was rescued. The staff never made it upstairs to him from what he told me, he said. No one banged on the door. No one said anything. ___ Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in Concord, New Hampshire, and Matt OBrien in Providence, Rhode Island, contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Legislation Massachusetts How hot can a heat wave really get? Before June 2021, scientists thought they knew. Thats when one of the most extreme heat spikes ever observed hit western North America, leaving at least 1,400 people dead. Lytton, British Columbia, smashed the 84-year-old Canadian heat record on June 26, reaching 46.6 C (116F). And it smashed that the next day by 1.3C. And smashed that the next day by another 1.7C. And the next day, Lytton burned to the ground. When a team of climate scientists assembled days later to analyze the heat wave, they found that the local historical weather data offered a paradox: Their standard approach for estimating a heat waves rarity concluded that the new records were too extreme to occur in the region where they actually did. They were in a sense impossible even though they actually occurred, as three American scientists put it earlier this year. Read more: Extreme Heat Is Killing European Workers Despite Government Efforts They adjusted their method to accommodate the new reality (and use that approach still), but noted that follow-up research will be necessary to investigate the potential reasons for this exceptional event. In the four years since then, dozens of studies have taken up that challenge, with a tightening focus on a simple question that eludes easy answers: How hot can it get? The answer has grave implications for humanity, from those living in places where high temperatures are currently rare to those in places that are increasingly on the edge of habitability as climate change makes heat more intense and frequent. Everyone, everywhere, needs to know the risks about where they live. There are as many answers to this question as there are thermometers around the globe. To make finding an answer slightly more manageable, scientists look not at absolute temperatures, as anybody would when leaving the house in the morning. Instead, they parse each weather stations departures from the average. The 2021 event shocked everyone, including specialists working on the subject. People were completely stunned, said Robin Noyelle, a post-doctoral researcher in climate science at ETH Zurich. Heat can spike in any season or place. The most anomalously warm temperature was actually set in Antarctica, where temperatures rose 39C (70F) above average in March 2022. Temperatures at the North Pole surged 20C higher than normal in February, just past the melting point in the middle of winter. Those anomalies are particularly extreme in part because those areas are so dry, and also because its easier to heat something cold. But how much normal temperatures could deviate is arguably more pressing in places where people live and where heat is particularly acute in summer. Years of poring over statistics and model output on top of basic common sense has taught scientists that there is a heat limit. You cant have 500 degrees, said Michael Wehner, a senior staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. That research has also shown which meteorological ingredients are most likely to fuel extreme heat. Cloudless skies and high pressure work to allow more of the suns energy to reach the Earth while dark surfaces keep it trapped close to the ground. Lower altitudes have higher pressure, which means they can get hotter. And lastly, a lack of water can allow heat to build unchecked. Places where these factors are in play are the most likely to see the hottest temperatures. Many of these elements were in place during the June 2021 western North American heat wave, and theyre common in the hottest places on the planet. Basically all of these conditions are met in Death Valley, but not in many other places in the world, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London and co-founder of World Weather Attribution, a UK-based team of scientists who undertook the 2021 heat wave analysis. Furnace Creek in Californias Death Valley set the highest-ever recorded temperature of 56.7C in 1913, according to the World Meteorological Organization. And whatever the upper limit for anomalously high temperatures at a particular location may be, it too will rise with global warming, she said. Several groups around the world are stalking heats theoretical maximum and how its set to change, motivated by the need for governments and companies to understand the conditions people and infrastructure will have to withstand in coming decades. Multiple papers have attempted to tease out how conditions miles above the Earths surface can drive heat. The meteorology nitty-gritty details are being worked out, said Erich Fischer, a climate scientist at ETH Zurich, but we now have a much, much better understanding of what sets that thermostat. That includes developing new tools and applying them to past episodes of extreme heat, seeking a second opinion on what was or wasnt possible at the time. Wehner, the Berkeley National Lab scientist, and two colleagues in a recent paper defined temperatures as impossible when they exceed an upper heat limit, as determined by a commonly used statistical approach. They then examined whether that heat was indeed impossible or just superlatively rare in a preindustrial climate. They found 1,545 unprecedented temperatures that occurred between 1901 and 2022. By drawing additional data from nearby weather stations, they found that their method was able to make sense of 86% of the impossible temperatures, compared with 16% with the original approach. The number of remaining impossible events rises through the 21st century, as the world warms more quickly. It is clear that whether or not a given historical event is deemed impossible is largely a function of what statistical methods are used, they wrote earlier this year. Artificial intelligence is also helping project what maximum heat looks like in the future. Noah Diffenbaugh, a climate scientist at Stanford University, has begun conducting extreme weather climate-attribution studies using AI. His team trains machine-learning programs on physical models that can replay past weather extremes under different greenhouse gas scenarios to estimate the role of climate change. They are also trying to use this approach to estimate heat-related deaths. In a working paper not yet accepted by a peer-reviewed journal, Diffenbaugh, Stanford postdoc Christopher Callahan and colleagues suggest that if Western Europes lethal 2003 heat wave happened in a world slightly hotter than todays, 17,300 more people would have died in a week. All told, the episode may have killed more than 70,000. The approach enables us to make a prediction, Diffenbaugh said, about what would happen if a past extreme heat wave occurred in a hotter world. If we get the same weather conditions, how hot would those heat waves be? Others are developing new approaches to make global climate models more useful for local officials or citizens who want a plausible understanding of worst-case scenarios. Take Dallas, where out of thousands of simulations across 21 models, two models each project that by the 2040s, the temperature could hit 140F (60C) or above on at least one occasion an unrealistic simulation. If you are, lets say, trying to insure properties in Dallas, you dont know if the risk model that youre using is pulling from that model, said Robert Rohde, chief scientist of the nonprofit research group Berkeley Earth. It becomes very challenging to get a clean read. Berkeley Earth in December previewed an upcoming open-source project that uses historical data to reduce unrealistic results and hone in on plausible extreme scenarios. Fischer, whose work on extreme temperatures demonstrated that a June 2021-type event was possible just before it happened, has spent the years since studying patterns within heat records. As hot as many events are every year, weather conditions generally fall short of their theoretical ceiling. And as important as understanding how anomalously hot it can get is decoding how long it can last. Maybe the next important question to understand is how long that heat could last. There is actually less of an easy constraint, he said. Heat waves are typically regarded as persisting for no longer than several days. We basically have no law of physics that tells us it can not last longer than three weeks or four weeks, Fischer said. Top photograph: Power transmission lines during high temperatures in Columbia, South Carolina, US, on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. Photo credit: Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg Copyright 2025 Bloomberg. This edition of International People Moves details appointments at Guy Carpenter and Moodys Ratings. A summary of these new hires follows here. Guy Carpenter Promotes Hakes as Global Head of Marine, Energy, and Technical Lines Guy Carpenter, the reinsurance brokerage business of Marsh McLennan, announced the appointment of Richard Hakes as global head of Marine, Energy and Technical Lines (METL). Hakes has joined the Global Specialities leadership team and reports to James Boyce, CEO Global Specialties. In his new role, Hakes is responsible for leading the global METL team of nearly 100 colleagues. He will drive the continued success of the METL platform, delivering deep analytics and risk transfer solutions for Guy Carpenters METL client base around the world. Hakes brings a wealth of experience to the role with more than 20 years in the industry,13 of which have been with Guy Carpenter. He previously led Guy Carpenters International Marine business, successfully developing the client offering to be a market leading marine and energy platform. Alongside Hakes, the METL Leadership Team is composed of Simon Liley (deputy global head of METL), Brian Stroop (global specialties leader for North America and head of US METL), and Nick Jay (chairman of METL). *** Moodys Names Aquino as Global Co-Head of Insurance Antonello Aquino has been appointed global co-head of Insurance at Moodys Ratings and will also oversee the Global Funds and Asset Management team. Aquino will lead the insurance business in the U.S. and EMEA regions where Moodys rates well over 700 insurers, alongside Sally Yim, who will continue in her current role of global co-head of Insurance for APAC. This appointment reflects the significant growth in importance and reputation of Moodys Rating Insurance and Funds and Asset Management franchises, especially within the expanding private credit market. Moodys said such structural changes help the company effectively navigate the evolution, complexities, and convergence in these industries. Fund Finance is important to Moodys Ratings as it enables the consistent evaluation of increasingly complex fund structuressuch as NAV-based loans, feeder funds, BDCs, and multi-asset credit vehiclesthrough established methodologies that promote transparency and comparability. As lending shifts from traditional banks to alternative capital sources such as pension funds and insurers, Moodys said its credit ratings and assessment of fund manager quality play a crucial role in helping investors understand credit risks, support broader market access for fund finance transactions, and foster confidence in this rapidly growing asset class. Price Forbes, the London-based re/insurance broker, announced the further expansion of its exclusive cross-class facility, Lectio, to include construction/builders risk coverage. Lectio will automatically follow pre-approved Lloyds leaders across placements for short-period construction within the U.S., Canada and Australia. Price Forbes launched Lectio in April 2021 and at that time, covered cargo, specie, financial products, healthcare and marine insurance with approximately $350 million in gross written premiums (GWP) in scope. Today, the facility has been expanded across multiple classes, including aviation, cargo/stock throughput, cyber, onshore and offshore energy, financial institutions, marine, worldwide property, power and now, construction/builders risk with approximately $1.2 billion of premium, now in scope. Lectio enables Price Forbess clients, and their brokers guaranteed access to its exclusive capacity. The new capacity represents a significant advancement for the Lectio facility, underlining the value of our data strategy and the confidence placed in it by best-in-class insurers, commented Dan Walsh, chief underwriting officer of Lectio, in a statement. Importantly, it will provide significant benefits to clients through increased efficiency and the ability to provide further tailored solutions. John Thompson, CEO Price Forbes Broking said: Developments like this dont happen quickly or often. They are the result of years of hard work and investment, so Im delighted that our team has got this new class of business across the line. With this additional construction capacity, we can continue to provide our clients with the exceptional service and flexibility they have come to expect from Price Forbes. Price Forbes is part of The Ardonagh Group. one of the worlds largest independent insurance distribution platforms and a top 20 global broker. Source: Price Forbes Topics Construction A district judge this month sentenced sentenced Evette Betty Osuegbu, 62, of Granite City, Illinois to 15 years in federal prison for her role in a string of arsons and insurance fraud stretching from 2014 to 2023. Following a five-day trial in December, a jury seated in East St. Louis found Osuegbu guilty of all 15 counts of an indictment charging conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to commit arson, and use of fire to commit a federal felony. Osuegbus co-defendant, Rufis Jefferson, 48, of Venice, previously pleaded guilty to all counts of an indictment that included conspiracy to commit arson and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Testimony at trial included Osuegbus alleged role in a romance scam against an intellectually disabled person and exploiting his illiteracy to obtain property and insurance in his name. After Osuegbu directed Jefferson to burn the East St. Louis home, she sued the insurance company for a larger payout, using the name of her intellectually disabled victim as a plaintiff, unbeknownst to him. The insurance company settled and Osuegbu retained her victims share of the payout. Jurors also heard recordings of Osuegbu planning arsons at properties in Granite City and Venice. Osuegbu was heard to direct others how to avoid cameras and cell phone tracking and how to best set a fire that is difficult for experts to investigate. The ATF intervened before these properties were burned. Source: U.S. Attorneys Office, Southern District of Illinois Topics Fraud Illinois The Travelers Cos. increased second quarter net income $975 million for a total of about $1.5 billion, and reversed an underwriting loss posted last year for the same period. Travelers second quarter underwriting profit was about $1 billion compared to a loss of $65 million for Q2 2024, as catastrophe losses net of reinsurance during the timeframe were lower$927 million this year versus about $1.5 billion a year ago. The insurer said the losses were primarily from wind and hail storms in multiple states. Additionally, Travelers booked favorable prior-year reserve development of $315 million, compared to $230 million for Q2 2024. The Q2 combined ratio for the New York-based insurer was 90.3, almost a 10-point improvement over last year. Overall net premiums written (NPW) grew 4% to about $11.5 billion during Q2, and in a statement CEO Alan Schnitzer credited contributions from all three insurance segmentsbusiness, personal, and bond & specialty. However, the most dramatic results were seen in personal lines, where Travelers reversed a Q2 2024 underwriting loss of $373 million to a gain of $480 million for the same quarter this year. Income for the segment was $534 million compared to a loss of $153 million a year ago, and the combined ratio came in at 88.4 versus 108.5 for Q2 2024. U.S. homeowners insurance NPW increased 7% to about $2.5 billion. NPW in the business segment increased 5% to $5.8 billion as renewal premiums were up 8.6% for middle-market business and 10.7% for small commercial. The Q2 combined ratio in the business segment was 88.3, compared to 89.2 last year during the same time. The second quarter turned around results from the first three months of 2025. Looking at year-to-date results, net income is up 15% to about $1.9 billion. The company recorded net income of $395 million for Q1, down 65%, with an underwriting loss of $305 million. Travelers paid out about $2.3 billion in Q1 catastrophe losses, mostly on the California wildfires. Topics Profit Loss A farmer in a rural suburb outside of Oklahoma City was fatally attacked by a pair of water buffaloes he purchased at a livestock auction a day earlier, police said. Bradley McMichael, a farmer in the small town of Jones suffered deep lacerations in the attack Friday night, Jones Police Chief Bryan Farrington said in a statement. The animals were so aggressive that first responders couldnt get to the victim at first, he said. One water buffalo was euthanized immediately and the other was put down after it became increasingly agitated and threatening, Farrington said. Police say they believe McMichael had purchased the two animals a day earlier and became trapped inside in an enclosure while he was tending to them. McMichaels former wife, Amy Smith, said caring for livestock was his passion. The cattle farming, thats his thing, Smith told television station KFOR. Hes been here his whole life, and hes done that his whole life. So hes an experienced cattle handler and a farmer. Although water buffalo are not commonly raised in the U.S., they are known for their milk production and lean cuts of beef, according to the Arkansas Farm Bureau. Copyright 2025 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Agribusiness Law Enforcement Oklahoma The Florida Department of Financial Services, without a department head since April after Jimmy Patronis was elected to Congress has a new chief financial officer in the form of Blaise Ingoglia, a millionaire home builder and recent state legislator. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the appointment Wednesday. Ingoglia is expected to face opposition next spring in the election to the post. State Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, has already been endorsed by U.S. President Donald Trump, according to news reports. Meanwhile, as CFO, Ingoglia, 54, will have some influence over Floridas property insurance market. The DFS oversees the Office of Insurance Regulation and handles agent licensing and investigations into fraud by agents, adjusters and others. Ingoglia is considered a conservative but has not been seen as particularly friendly with property insurance companies. This week, he talked tough about carriers at a news conference: I want the insurance companies to listen if an insurance company does not do what they say theyre going to do and are contractually obligated to do, I am going to call you out, he said, according to the Orlando Sentinel news site. He also attributed the rise in premiums in recent years to the higher replacement costs for homes and to fraudulent claims. He did not specify excessive litigation as a reason, but in late 2022 he voted in favor of Senate Bill 2A, the landmark legislation that ended one-way attorney fees, which disincentivized claims lawsuits. Ingoglia was elected to the state Senate in 2022 after eight years in the House. In this springs legislative session Igoglia served as chair of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. He co-sponsored one insurance-related bill, which would have set limits on the My Safe Florida Home wind-mitigation grant program, would have required extra surplus for new insurers, and would have tightened restrictions on officers of insolvent carriers. The bill passed his committee but died in the Senate Agriculture, Environment and General Government committee. Ingoglia, owner of Heartland Homes, a major builder in Florida, also voted in favor of Senate Bill 360 in 2023, legislative records show. The law reduced the statute of limitations on lawsuits on construction defects by builders, from 10 years to seven. That rankled some insurers and insurance attorneys that have relied on subrogation lawsuits when claims arise from poor construction. Many problems do not manifest themselves until after seven years, attorneys have said. The new CFO, a ranked poker player with more than $400,000 in winnings, according to news sites, this week also vowed to reduce government spending and to support an end to property taxes in the state. I am going to be a proactive fiscal watchdog for Florida, Ingoglia said, the Associated Press reported. Ive had a history of calling out wasteful spending, whether its Democrats or Republicans. Ingoglia is originally from the New York City borough of Queens and moved to Florida in 1996, according to his biography. Patronis now represents a congressional district in the Florida Panhandle that was vacated by Matt Gaetz before his ill-fated attempt to become Trumps attorney general. Photo: Ingoglia on the Senate floor in 2023. AP Photo/Phil Sears Topics Property The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers launched a new Northern California, San Francisco Bay Area office, Liberty Naranjo, led by managing partners and brothers, Jonathan and Michael Naranjo. Liberty Naranjo will serve as an employee benefits and property/casualty insurance advisory firm. Jonathan Naranjo oversees P/C. Before joining Liberty, he served as national real estate practice leader, senior vice president at Newfront Insurance and HUB International. Michael Naranjo leads employee health and benefits. He has been a Liberty leader since 2024 and was involved in scaling the firms employee benefits practice. He previously served as vice president, corporate benefits, at NFP and manager of benefit consulting at Namely. The Liberty Company Insurance Brokers is headquartered in Gainesville, Florida. King Joins Alliants Employee Benefits Team in Utah Alliant Insurance Services hired Karston King as vice president. Based in Utah, King has experience consulting with organizations ranging from early-stage startups to large national employers. King is experienced in fully insured, level-funded and self-funded plan design and compliance. Before joining Alliant, King was an insurance broker with Utah-based GBS Benefits Inc., gaining experience within the oil and gas, technology and manufacturing sectors. Alliant is headquartered in Irvine, California. Topics Agencies Alliant Employee Benefits More than 50 staff at Killarney Brewing & Distilling Company have been told the firm is to cease operations at both of its premises, including the plush multi-million euro brewery, whiskey distillery and visitors centre overlooking the lakes of Killarney in Fossa. Millions of euro have been invested by the company in the Fossa premises and large distillery, which opened in 2022, and which includes a restaurant, a number of bars, and large function rooms, catering to leisure, tour and corporate business. However, the covid pandemic, as well as the more recent tariff threat, have impacted its business potential severely, delaying the original opening, as well as its expansion into the areas of weddings and other functions. The original KBD brewery premises, in a former mineral water factory in the Muckross Road, is also impacted. All 55 staff are to lose their positions, it has been confirmed locally, after staff were called to meetings. The company has strong local roots and was anchored in Killarney emigrants to Chicago and the US. Upwards of 30m has been invested in the luxury premises in Fossa on the Ring of Kerry. However, plans to merge with a US strategic partner fell through earlier this year, and the company went into examinership in April. At the time, KBD remained hopeful the process would be a viable path to secure the companys future. Like many in the drinks manufacturing industry, KBD has endured unprecedented challenges during and following the covid-19 pandemic. These included surging raw material costs, significant supply chain disruptions, delays in opening the Fossa distillery, whiskey inventory supply gluts, and broader geopolitical uncertainties. Collectively, these issues have placed significant pressure on the business and negatively impacted both revenue and profitability, it said in April. The continuing threat and uncertainty over tariffs and a downturn in coach and other tourism locally have also impacted the business. The announcement to staff, during Killarney Race Week, normally the high point of the summer season in Killarney, is a particular blow, one local businessman who did not wish to be named said. The examiner appointed to the company is making an application to the High Court on Friday morning. A spokesperson for the examiner said it would not be appropriate to comment at this time. A first look at a new psychological thriller film starring Colin Farrell has been teased ahead of its cinema screening and Netflix release later this year. The Ballad of a Small Player, written by Rowan Joffe and directed by Edward Berger, tells the story of a high-stakes gambler laying low in Macau when his past and his debts start to catch up with him. An encounter with a kindred spirit might just hold the key to his salvation. Colin Farrell in Ballad Of A Small Player Based on the novel The Ballad of a Small Player by Lawrence Osborne, the film stars Colin Farrell, Fala Chen, Deanie Ip, Alex Jennings and Tilda Swinton. Colin Farrell in Ballad Of A Small Player The film will be screened at cinemas across Ireland from October 17 and will be released on Netflix on October 29. Subscriber Hotel review: This castle in the capital offers real character, superb food and excellent value "A 15-minute drive from the city centre, and 10-minute stroll to Clontarf promenade, this four-star Dublin castle in leafy Clontarf offers city and coastal escapism in one go." Digital healthcare will be a game-changer for patients but concerns about the slow pace of progress have emerged. The Oireachtas health committee heard that a projected cost for the system cannot be shared yet. Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Department of Health officials said this is due to ongoing negotiations with IT vendors. Frustration was expressed by some committee members, including Fianna Fail TD and GP Martin Daly. Ten years ago, I sat in the Department of Health and we talked about all of this, and very little has moved, to be honest with you, said Dr Daly. Department of Health assistant secretary Derek Tierney said the department is working towards a shared care record as a first step. This will join up existing IT systems, with plans to build a unified single system. This means, for example, if patients go to a hospital emergency department, staff could access their GP records, pharmacy data, and information on previous hospital visits. Weve appointed a vendor, work is underway, said Mr Tierney. The plan is to run a pilot in Waterford and its surrounding community this year. And then widen that on a national basis over 2026 and 2027, he told Sinn Fein health spokesman David Cullinane. It is also expected to link up with digital health systems already in place in the North, which Mr Tierney said will be a game-changer including for children. This takes time and effort, and funding commensurate with that time and effort. The committee stage discussion of the Health Information Bill 2024 also focused on sharing of data between patients and healthcare workers. Questions were raised about a section which could allow doctors or institutions to withhold records temporarily. Ms Carroll MacNeill pledged to work on this, acknowledging that a specific time limit may be needed. Examples included where a scan shows a patient has cancer, this would be better disclosed in person first. 'Significant capital investment' During discussions on finance, she said very significant capital investment will be needed to build a single system. We are in a live procurement process. It would require very significant capital expenditure, she said. She said public expenditure minister Jack Chambers is supportive of their plans. Over time, they expect services such as Camhs (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) to be included. The system will cover medical card and private patients for GPs, she told Labour health spokeswoman Marie Sherlock. The committee also heard that the new national childrens hospital will be the first paperless hospital in the State. Questions were raised about how records will transfer to adult hospitals still relying on paper charts. Maternity hospitals have seen benefits of a partial roll-out, with University Maternity Hospital Limerick the latest to go live. It is expected that 70% of women and their babies will have digital records by years end. Department of Health assistant secretary Muiris OConnor said patients will identify themselves in the system using PPS numbers. The HSE App is part of the overall plan, and the minister said 80,000 people have now downloaded the app. The Gardas two deputy commissioners will fight it out next week in the final round of interviews to see who will be the next commissioner. The Irish Examiner understands there is also one or possibly two external candidates, though their identities are not known outside a very small circle. The four-person interview panel is made up of a member of the recently created Garda Board, two senior civil servants one from the Department of Justice and an external policing expert, believed to be a retired British chief constable. The panel will make its recommendation to justice minister Jim OCallaghan, who will bring it to Cabinet by the end of the month. The minister has previously indicated that the person would take charge on September 1. Commissioner Drew Harris had been expected to retire in June but was asked by the Government to stay on until then. The final round next week is the last stage of a process that included an initial interview, an online questionnaire, a presentation at an assessment centre, followed by another interview. Shawna Coxon, Deputy Commissioner Operations, and Justin Kelly, Deputy Commissioner Security, Strategy and Governance, are through to the final round next week. It is believed that one external candidate is also taking part in the last round, with some suggestions that a second external candidate may also be through. Garda sources have previously expressed a strong preference against an external candidate again (Drew Harris came from the PSNI), citing the effect it would have internally, particularly among senior ranks. One senior source said: It depends on your perspective, really, as to who should get the job. From the Governments, they might think theyve gone from a difficult period, of being mauled by controversies and scandals in the media and tribunals, to a honeymoon under Drew Harris at least in terms of no major scandals. So that might mean they might go again for an outside candidate. But, internally the mood is very bad. Its rarely been as bad as it has in recent years. People are fed up, for all sorts of reasons, but they all want the job to go internally, to a garda. Two people have been arrested after gardai seized drugs worth over 715,000 in Dublin on Wednesday. While on routine patrol in the Rathcoole/City west areas of Dublin, gardai stopped a vehicle at around 3.45am. The driver of the vehicle, a man aged in his 20s, was searched along with the vehicle under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977. During the course of the search, gardai seized cannabis herb with an estimated street value of 10,000. The man was arrested and held at a Garda Station in Dublin under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984. Gardai carried out further searches at three residential properties, and during the course of these searches, cannabis herb, cocaine, and crack cocaine were seized along with other drug-related paraphernalia. The estimated street value of drugs seized was 705,000. A woman, aged in her 20s, was also arrested during the course of one search. She was held at a Garda station in Dublin under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996. The seized drugs, with a total estimated street value of 715,000, have been sent to Forensic Science Ireland for analysis. The man has been charged and is due to appear before Blanchardstown District Court on Thursday morning. The woman has since been released without charge, and a file will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions. Gardai say investigations are ongoing. Five days into his trial for the unlawful killing of 73-year-old Tom Niland, who was beaten in his home and left to die by three men, John Irving changed his plea to guilty on Thursday morning. Irving, 31, became the third person to plead guilty to manslaughter over the death of Mr Niland, who suffered brain injuries, a fracture to his eye socket and multiple rib fractures following the assault. He was put on life support but died from his injuries 20 months later. His attackers took his wallet containing 800 or 900, and went to Casey's garage in Ballina, Co Mayo, where they paid for petrol and goods in cash. They had left the same garage just hours earlier, unable to pay for diesel they had already put into their Vauxhall Vivaro van. Francis Harman, the driver of the van, had told the garage owner he would be back later to pay for the fuel. After Irving, of Shanwar, Foxford, Co Mayo, pleaded guilty on Thursday morning to Mr Niland's unlawful killing, Ms Justice Eileen Creedon discharged the jury, which had been hearing evidence in the trial. It can now be reported that Francis Harman, 58, of Nephin Court, Killala Road, Ballina Co Mayo, and John Clarke, 37, of Carrowkelly, Ballina, pleaded guilty to the same offence last week. The three men broke into Mr Niland's home between 6pm and 7pm at Doonflynn, Skreen, Co Sligo, on January 18, 2022. They assaulted him, took his wallet and drove to Lough Easkey, where they disposed of gloves, the wallet and other items that might link them to the crime. Shortly after 7pm, Mr Niland's neighbours saw him trying to cross the road, unable to see because his eyes were swollen shut. They said he was covered in blood and described him as unrecognisable due to the extent of his injuries. Doctors at Sligo University Hospital discovered bleeding to Mr Niland's brain, a fracture to his right eye socket and multiple rib fractures. Although he showed early signs of progress, he was put on a ventilator in intensive care eight days after the assault and did not recover. He was pronounced dead on September 30, 2023, aged 75. Singletons fed up with endless swiping need look no further than West Cork this September as preparations get underway for Bantrys first ever matchmaking festival. Organisers of Craic on! Bantrys Single Festival are hoping to give Lisdoonvarna, which has enjoyed 170 years as Irelands most successful matchmaking event, a run for its money. The event in the West Cork town from Friday, September 12 to Sunday, September 14 will experience the likes of a live Blind Dates event similar to the ITV game show hosted by Cilla Black between 1985 and 2003, and a so-called love doctor who will be on call for the weekend in addition to astrologists and tarot readers. There will also be dance and art classes as well as yoga, hikes, and kayaking activities. The idea for the festival was the brainchild of a group of local business owners, including Ruby Morley (Sea Dog), Danielle Delaney (Bantry Business Association), Grainne Begley (Ma Murphys Bar), and Bantry resident Gareth Sweet. Nina Evans, who owns the local hair salon Ninas Place, has taken on the role of matchmaker for the inaugural festival. Ruby Morley from accessories store Sea Dog spoke about the motivations behind setting up the festival. It all started with a conversation in the pub. Myself and a friend were talking about how we were both on the hunt but it wasnt really working out. We did not doubt that many other people out there were feeling the same way. It was very casual really but the reactions we got after telling people about our idea prompted us to really consider this as a possibility. There are so many lonely people at the moment who just dont need to be. Even if only a few made connections that would be amazing. Ruby is issuing a call to action for those disillusioned with the dating scene. Getting the women for these things is always easy, so were trying to balance it out with as many men as possible. That there will be a lot of women should hopefully be encouragement enough for any man who is looking for love. People can come in groups. There will be wristbands for anyone attending; nobody has to be nervous about any potential misunderstandings." She is confident that visitors to Bantry will gain from the experience. Were a really diverse bunch in Bantry so even if you dont end up finding love, its always interesting to meet new and interesting people. The festival aims to promote human interaction. The main takeaway were getting from this is that the apps arent working for everyone. The idea is to get people out meeting again in real life. Hopefully, there will be a positive and friendly atmosphere. Anyone interested in signing up or finding out more can email craiconbantrysinglesfestival@gmail.com. Updates on the festival will be available via the festivals Instagram page. The population of Gaza has fallen by 6% during the present war. Of the pre-war population (2.3m), approximately 100,000 managed to leave, over 58,000 are confirmed dead, and a further 11,000 are missing, presumed dead, in the rubble. The Israeli ban on cooperating with Unwra (UN Relief and Works Agency) in Gaza, has, as predicted, greatly undermined the humanitarian operation to support the people of Gaza. The US-Israeli initiative to replace the UN-led aid distribution system, by setting up the GHF (Gaza Humanitarian Foundation), has spectacularly failed. Last week they were down to only one functioning distribution centre, located in the south. The amount of aid that got through was only a fraction of what was required. On June 12, 24 GHF staff heading to work on a bus were ambushed, allegedly by Hamas fighters. Eight were killed and an unknown number were wounded. UN secretary General Antonio Guiterrez has repeated his appeal to the Israelis to allow Unrwa to resume its work in Gaza. The stated reason the Israelis had given for the ban was that Hamas has infiltrated Unrwa and that some staff members were involved in the attacks on Oct 7, 2023. In response to these allegations, Unrwa suspended 19, and later dismissed, nine employees. Unrwa staff confirmed that the Israelis gave lists of names to Unrwa of the people allegedly involved but with little evidence to back up the allegations. Nevertheless, the allegations could be true, as we cannot rule out what control Hamas may have over some local staff that work with UN agencies and international NGOs. However, Unrwa, which has a strict vetting procedure for job applicants, always notifies the names of its staff to the Israelis. The nine Unrwa employees sacked were found to be in breach of their contracts. Unrwa, with its 12,000 staff, is the only agency equipped with the infrastructure and capacity to deliver the necessary aid to the Gazan population. It would take years to build up a comparable organisation that could replace it The population of Gaza is already starving and desperate for food, clean water, shelter, and medical care. The Israeli minister for Defence, Israel Katzs claim that Unrwa only delivered 13% of humanitarian aid in Gaza was misleading. It ignores the fact that Unrwa facilitated the other humanitarian aid organisations with its extensive and established infrastructure. Unrwa was also an important provider of educational needs for 650,000 children living in Gaza. It conducted over 17,000 medical consultations daily. This week Phillippe Lazzarini, the head of Unrwa, gave an interview to CNNs Becky Anderson. She challenged him about Israeli allegations that Hamas makes demands on Unrwa and influences its decisions. He denied the allegations but did not elaborate on the context in which Unrwa in Gaza operates. The fact is that Gaza is a very dangerous place. Even long before the current war, Gaza was a high-risk posting for international staff working for the UN and NGOs. They were often targeted by the various factions fighting it out in the shadows of Gazas overpopulated apartment blocks. These include many veterans of our Defence Forces and the gardai. In 2007, former Irish Army captain John Ging survived two assassination attempts when he was director of Unrwa's then 11,000 staff in Gaza. Both attacks were carried out by armed gunmen. In the first attack, in March 2007, his car was hit with 12 bullets. In the second attack, that summer, one Palestinian was killed and seven wounded. Human nature being what it is, there will always be a few local staff who are vulnerable to local pressure. That is why aid agencies will mainly use international staff to take the hard decisions. Imposing an effective ban on Unrwa, along with previous statements made by prominent right wing elected representatives in Israel, leads to an obvious conclusion. Israel has initiated a process of ethnic cleansing in Gaza, to replace the Palestinian Gazans with Israeli settlers. Ethnic cleansing is just one step removed from genocide. Asked where should the Palestinians go, Israeli heritage minister Amihai Eliyahu said, they should go to Ireland, or the deserts. The latest proposals from the right wing of the Israeli Cabinet is to move the entire remaining population of Gaza (2.1m), to a humanitarian camp, to be constructed in the bombed out town of Khan Yunis. The idea is that, after security clearance, they can move in, but must stay in. Echoes of 'Hotel California', where you can always check out, but you can never leave. The Egyptians have come up with a better plan, to reconstruct Gaza, and, at the same time, build temporary accommodation for the population, close to their hometowns and villages. This week the EU reached an agreement with Israel to open up multiple entry routes to Gaza, to facilitate a massive humanitarian operation. This is one very necessary step to address the humanitarian crisis Donald Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff's proposals being negotiated in Doha commits both Hamas and Israel to respect whatever agreement is reached on aid to the civilian population. Aid will be distributed through agreed upon channels that will include the UN and the Red Crescent. The humanitarian crisis is so dire in Gaza that no aid should be refused, no matter what its provenance. This should include the GHF. Unrwa, and the other associated UN agencies, are ready to respond. Some 6,000 trucks in Jordan and Egypt, loaded with humanitarian aid, are ready to move to Gaza. It will be a big operation and require substantial security to implement. According to UN sources, 875 people have now being killed, mostly by IDF, approaching aid centres seeking aid. Israel is the occupying power in Gaza and has legal responsibilities towards the security and welfare of the civilian population. To fulfil its responsibilities as an occupying power, Israeli forces have the right of freedom of movement and the right to defend themselves. Israel does not recognise the ICC (International Criminal Count) but the ICC has jurisdiction in all the occupied Palestinian Territories in respect of war crimes and crimes against humanity. To continue to be recognised as a functioning democracy, Israels legal institutions, both military and civil, should investigate and prosecute its own war criminals. Initially, when reports circulated that Israeli troops were shooting people seeking aid from the distribution centres, most defence analysts assumed the Israeli soldiers were young inexperienced soldiers panicking in fear. That is not the case. They are under orders. Who gave the orders? What were the orders? Either way, the deaths of these pot-wielding family-providers underline the need for a complete disengagement of forces if any ceasefire is to have a chance of success. A multinational peacekeeping force should be deployed in Gaza to supervise the withdrawal of the IDF and take over security on an interim basis. Hamas should hand over its weapons to the international force and be allowed to go into permanent exile under a flag of truce. Dorcha Lee is a retired Army Colonel and defence analyst, with a wide experience of UN service in the Middle East With a housing crisis at play and the viability of building apartments a challenge, Watersedge, a mixed-use residential and commercial development with a guide price of 7.75 million comes to the market for sale in the busy suburb of Midleton in East Cork. From an investors perspective, Watersedge will appeal to investors seeking residential and commercial developments with attractive asset management opportunities. Accommodation includes 36 two or three-bedroom apartments, a McDonalds drive-thru restaurant and over 33,000 sq ft of commercial space. Watersedge is guiding more than 7.75 million exclusive. The current combined annual income of 569,544 per annum exclusive is core to its appeal to investors. The 36 fully occupied two-bedroom and three-bedroom residential apartments alone are producing a current rent of 487,044 per annum. The McDonalds drive-thru restaurant is in occupation on a 35-year lease from March 2004 at a passing rent of 82,500 per annum exclusive. The Watersedge investment delivers immediate rental income from the McDonalds drive-thru restaurant and the 36 fully let residential apartments in the order of 569,544 per annum, says Sioban Young, divisional director with sales agents Cushman & Wakefield, representing the vendors. Watersedge, Midleton, Co Cork, comprises four blocks of residential commercial units, whose current combined annual income of 569,544 per annum is attracting huge investor interest. For more details, contact estate agents Cushman & Wakefield. In addition, there are considerable asset management opportunities that will grow revenue in the scheme. The upper floor vacant commercial units are suited to a change of use for residential apartments and the letting or amalgamation of the ground floor commercial units will appeal to both independent or large box commercial, retail or medical operators. A development with huge investor appeal In all, Watersedge comprises 3,105.6 sq m (33,429 sq ft) of vacant commercial space arranged over ground, first and second floor. The majority is in core condition except for a former pharmacy and stationary shop providing asset management and change of use opportunities. The four blocks included in the sale comprise; Riverside, Watersedge, Mogeesha and Enterprise House. The first block, Riverside, is home to McDonalds on the ground floor plus two commercial units on the first and second floors. The first floor has independent street-level access as well as passenger lift access to the upper floors. It is suited to a change of use for residential use or alternatively gastro pub, office or leisure uses. Watersedge is the second block, connected to Riverside via the shared passenger lift core. Watersedge comprises a former pharmacy and stationary shop in the ground floor commercial units, first floor owner-occupied commercial units, not included in the sale and four two-bedroom apartments on both the second and third floors. Mogeesha is the next block providing large ground floor commercial units plus seven three-bedroom apartments and eleven two-bedroom apartments across the first, second and third floors with six apartments per floor. Enterprise House is the final block of accommodation, occupied by Aldi at ground floor level. Aldi is not included in the sale and is owner-occupied. All tenants and occupiers of the development are not affected by the sale. Enterprise House has four commercial units at first floor level that were partially fitted out and are suited to change of use to residential, subject to planning permission. There are three two-bedroom apartments and two three-bedroom apartments on the second and third floors with five apartments per floor. Asset management opportunities Along with its four blocks of mixed-use residential and commercial units, Watersedge also has extensive surface and multi-storey car parking available on site for both residential and commercial occupiers. The idyllic town of Midleton in East Cork is a lifestyle destination of choice, the pivotal town in a region currently enjoying significant residential and commercial development. Watersedge is located next to Lidl in the centre of Midleton. It has frontage to Riverside way, next to the Main Street, across the Owennacurra River. With the exception of McDonalds, the commercial units are generally in core and shell condition throughout, says Sioban Young of Cushman & Wakefield. The vacant commercial units provide the attractive option to add value to this investment asset and to increase rental income. The commercial units located at first and second floor level provide a good opportunity to obtain a change of use for residential occupation, subject to planning permission. The ground floor units are suited to amalgamation to provide larger floor plates which can attract stronger tenant covenants. Midleton, a visitor destination of choice The horizon for this well-positioned investment opportunity, close to Midleton main street and Market Green is further enhanced by significant investments and development in the area including new residential estates, commercial investment and transport updates. For generations, the thriving retail and cultural hotspot of Midleton has enjoyed an enviable reputation as a destination of choice for everyone from day trippers to people looking to relocate for lifestyle reasons. Midleton now finds itself at the centre of a region earmarked for development, the prime focus of a national plan to nurture outposts that can ease the pressure on Dublins resources and to grow Cork and its suburbs. Midleton is in East Cork, 15km from Little Island, 23km from Mahon and 25km from Cork city centre. Local enterprise includes the Midleton Distillery, Midleton Park Hotel, Market Green shopping centre and retail park, several car showrooms, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco Superstore, SuperValu and the Gate Cinema. And at the heart of all of this sits Watersedge, conveniently located in Midleton town centre, just 250 metres from the Main Street. For more information on Watersedge, visit www.watersedge-investment.com Contact details: Peter OFlynn Managing Director, Cork T: 086 250 3944 E: peter.oflynn@cushwake.ie Siobhan Young Divisional Director T: 087 185 4274 E: siobhan.young@cushwake.ie Cushman & Wakefield The only Catholic church in Gaza has been damaged in an attack which injured several people, including the parish priest, officials said. Strikes hit the Holy Family Church in northern Gaza on Thursday morning, officials with the Catholic Church said. Parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli, who was injured in the incident, was very close to the late Pope Francis and the two spoke often during the war in Gaza. Witnesses said the attack appeared to be an Israeli tank shelling. The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable Italian premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the church strike. The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude, she said. In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Last year, he told CBS 60 Minutes that he calls a priest daily at 7pm at the Holy Family Church to hear what was happening to the nearly 600 people sheltering at the facility. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the US State Departments international religious freedom report for 2024. The report says the majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox but they also include other Christians, including Roman Catholics. The war began with Hamass cross-border attack on October 7 2023. That day, militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive. Israels retaliatory offensive has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organisations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. An N.C. House Select Committee is recommending that the General Assembly change a state law forcing districts to start school the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday clo In the summer of 2025, as much of the world busies itself with debates over ceasefires and hostage deals, Israel has unveiled a chilling plan: the creation of a humanitarian city on the ashes of Rafah. In the language of bureaucracy and security, Israeli officials describe it as a controlled enclave to protect civilians. But strip away the euphemisms, and the reality is something far more sinistera military-controlled internment zone where up to two million Palestinians are to be screened, confined, and permanently displaced. After enduring one of historys greatest atrocities, that of the Holocaust, Israeli leaders now propose a policy toward Palestinians that chillingly mirrors the horrors they once suffered: forcibly corralling civilians, including children, into sealed camp-like enclaves on the ruins of their homesunder military control and indefinite detention. With this plan, they threaten not just mass displacement, but the erasure of an entire people from their homeland. This proposal is genocide in all but name: targeting young people by exclusively screening men of fighting age and confining them en masse; deploying starvation and bombardment as tools of control; stripping a resilient population of their agency and right to remain on their land. This is not a new chapter in Gazas sufferingit is the final act of a century-long strategy of erasure The term humanitarian city is not just misleadingit is violent. It is a linguistic camouflage used to mask the machinery of forced displacement. Behind this word lies the claim, now repeated by both Israeli and American officials, that Palestinians are being offered aid and safety. But this is a lie. A lie no different from the one that frames their forced movement as voluntary evacuation. There is nothing voluntary about fleeing starvation, bombs, or white phosphorus. There is no humanitarian protection in being herded into rubble under military watch, cut off from the outside world. This terminologylike humanitarian city, safe zone, evacuation corridoris the vocabulary of colonial domination. It renders Palestinians as a population to be managed, not as people with inalienable rights. It erases their history, their sovereignty, and their right to return. It pretends that transfer is a matter of logistics, not a violation of international law. In truth, these words serve the architecture of a deeply systematic plan: the transformation of Palestinians from rightful landowners into permanent refugees. It is not a humanitarian project. It is the climax of a policy of ethnic cleansing The roots of this displacement stretch back to the 1800s, when Zionist settler-colonial designs began to imagine a Jewish homeland in a land already inhabited. That vision required the gradual but relentless removal of Palestinians. The Nakba of 1948 displaced over 700,000. The Naksa of 1967 added hundreds of thousands more. The wars of 2008, 2014, and now 202325 have not merely killedthey have dispossessed, one village, one camp, one neighborhood at a time. Today, the proposed humanitarian city on the ruins of Rafah is being pitched not as a temporary measure, but as a new permanent geography for a people Israel has long sought to disappear. The systematic nature of this transfer must be confronted. It is not chaos; it is design. The targeting of youth, the destruction of homes and hospitals, the denial of aid, the sealing of bordersall form part of a strategy that pushes Palestinians toward permanent exile. The term transfer, often used coldly by military planners and politicians, is itself a colonial term. It flattens trauma into policy, and turns the expulsion of an entire people into an administrative task. It dehumanizes. It disfigures the truth. And it must be rejected. The very act of ethnic cleansingby any legal measuremust be named and opposed. Under the Geneva Conventions, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and every major human rights declaration, the forcible transfer of civilians under occupation is a war crime. To justify it in the name of security or humanitarian concern is not only immoralit is illegal. Those who facilitate or remain silent about this crime are complicit. And yet, the international community continues to debate wording, not action. Meanwhile, Arab countries, invoking the right of return, have largely shut their doors to fleeing Palestinians. While this stance aims to prevent permanent exile and preserve Palestinian claims to their land, in practice it has left Palestinians trappedabandoned to starvation and bombardment, with no real sanctuary. The right of return is meaningless if there is no one left to return, and no land left to return to. Humanitarian, Digital, Midjourney, 2025 What Israel offers today is not safety. It is not peace. It is not even exile. It is something far more cruel: an illusion of refuge atop the ruins of history, enforced by those who themselves arose from the ashes of genocide in Europe. That a state born from such horror now engineers another peoples erasure is a moral collapse too vast to comprehend. But Palestinians have always resisted disappearance. They have survived wars, sieges, betrayals, and political abandonment. The humanitarian city may be built with barbed wire and drones, but it will never contain the spirit of a people who remember who they are and where they belong. There is no humanitarian language that can justify mass displacement. There is no ethical framing that can cleanse the crimes being committed. If the world accepts this plan, it accepts the end of Palestinenot only as a land but as a living people. And we will not accept that. The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor or Informed Comment. Istanbul (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) After nearly five decades of armed conflict with the Turkish state, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has begun a symbolic disarmament process as part of ongoing peace efforts. On July 11, a ceremony was held in the Jasana Cave, located in northern Iraqs Sulaymaniyah Governorate. Thirty PKK members, comprising 15 men and 15 women, wearing military fatigues and referring to themselves as the Group for Peace and Democratic Society, read statements in both Turkish and Kurdish. The militants then placed their AK-47 assault rifles, bandoliers, and other weapons into a large gray cauldron and set them on fire. During the ceremony, senior PKK member Bese Hozat stated that the group was voluntarily destroying its weapons as a gesture of goodwill. She claimed that their movement would now continue through legal and political channels rather than armed struggle. Founded in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan, the PKK launched a full-scale insurgency against Turkiye in 1984, initially demanding Kurdish independence and greater cultural rights. The group, designated as a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the US, EU, and the UK, has engaged in guerrilla warfare, attacks, and bombings, resulting in over 40,000 deaths and significant economic disruption. How Did the Peace Process Begin? The current peace process was initiated on October 22, 2024, by Devlet Bahceli, the leader of the ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and a key political ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Bahceli suggested that Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on Imral Island since 1999, could be allowed to address the Turkish parliament or be placed under house arrest if he renounced violence and dissolved the PKK. This was an unexpected move as Bahceli and the MHP had historically opposed any negotiations with the PKK. Following Bahcelis statements, the government allowed a meeting between Ocalan and a DEM Party delegation on December 28. This meeting allowed Ocalan to speak directly with Kurdish political representatives about the possibility of a new peace process. On February 27, 2025, Ocalan released a statement calling for the PKK to lay down arms and dissolve the organization. The PKK leadership, based in the Qandil Mountains of northern Iraq, declared a unilateral ceasefire on March 1. Then, on May 12, it formally announced that it would disband and end its armed campaign. The Jasana Cave, where the disarmament ceremony later took place, holds symbolic value in Kurdish history. After World War I, the cave served as the headquarters of Sheikh Mahmud Barzanji during his rebellion against the British-backed Kingdom of Iraq. It was also the site of the printing press for Bangi Haq (Call for Truth), regarded as the first Kurdish revolutionary newspaper. In more recent history, the cave provided shelter for Peshmerga fighters during the Baathist regime. Erdogans Turk-Kurd-Arab Alliance Rhetoric Following the disarmament ceremony, on July 12, Erdogan described the event as a turning point in the governments Terror-Free Turkiye Project. He said the 47-year conflict had entered a phase that could lead to its conclusion. Erdogan also framed the moment as the beginning of a new page in history for the country. Erdogan also acknowledged past state abuses that had fueled the conflict, including extrajudicial killings, the destruction of Kurdish villages, and restrictions on the Kurdish language. In the same speech, Erdogan repeatedly referenced the concept of a Turk-Kurd-Arab alliance, which he referred to as the Jerusalem Alliance, and said, We, namely Turks, Kurds, Arabs, when we formed an alliance, the breeze from our horses spread cool winds from the China Sea to the Adriatic. Some Turkish analysts drew parallels between Erdogans rhetoric and recent comments by the U.S. Ambassador to Turkiye and Special Envoy for Syria, Tom Barrack. In his June 26 interview with Anadolu Agency, Barrack praised the Ottoman Empires millet system as an effective historical model for managing ethnic and religious diversity. Cumhuriyet columnist Mehmet Ali Guller argued that Washington supports a Turkish-Kurdish-Arab alliance as a counterweight to Iran in the region. Meanwhile, Sol columnist Fatih Yasl claimed that the overlap between Erdogans and Barracks statements was not coincidental and Erdogan is not approaching the peace process through frameworks of citizenship, democracy, or human rights, but rather through the lens of religious solidarity, and aiming to unite Turks and Kurds under the concept of Islamic brotherhood. On July 13, the leader of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party (CHP), Ozgur Ozel, criticized Erdogans statements. Despite supporting the peace process, Ozel rejected the idea of a Turk-Kurd-Arab alliance built around the idea of an ummah, Sunni sectarianism, and Islamism, and accused Erdogan of attempting to craft a fictional coalition for political gain. Next Steps in the Peace Process The AKP spokesman Omer Celik said the disarmament process must be completed within 3 to 5 months, warning that if it takes longer, it could become vulnerable to provocations. The next steps in the peace process include establishing a parliamentary commission. The commission is expected to consist of 35 members, and the political parties with parliamentary groups will be equally represented. File Photo. Not related to PKK. Photo of a Kurdish man in southeastern Anatolian area of Hizan, Bitlis, Turkiye, populated by Kurds of the Bekiran tribe, by Zeki Okur on Unsplash Erdogan further stirred political speculation by declaring that the AKP, MHP, and DEM Party would walk this road together. Many interpreted this as a signal of a potential tripartite alliance. It also reignited talks about possible constitutional reforms aimed at extending Erdogans presidency beyond 2028. Currently, the AKP-MHP bloc, along with smaller parties in the Peoples Alliance, controls 324 seats in the 600-member parliament, falling short of the 360 needed to propose a constitutional referendum. Adding DEMs 57 seats would allow the AKP to propose a referendum, but they would still need the backing of 19 more MPs to pass any constitutional amendments without a referendum vote. However, on July 14, DEM Party co-chair Tulay Hatimogullar ruled out such an alliance in an interview with Halk TV. Additionally, BBC News Turkce reported that officials from the DEM Party emphasized that Turkiyes democratization is essential for resolving the Kurdish issue and that they consider the CHPs support crucial in this process. Still, challenges remain. Despite ongoing peace efforts, prominent pro-Kurdish figures remain imprisoned. Selahattin Demirtas, former co-chair of the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) and presidential candidate in both 2014 and 2018, has been in jail since November 2016. Figen Yuksekdag, also a former HDP co-chair, has been detained on similar terror-related charges since that year. On July 8, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Demirtass detention was unlawful. In response, the DEM Party officially called for the release of both leaders on July 11, the same day as the disarmament ceremony. Outstanding high-grade intercepts indicate strong potential to continue to expand resources to the north of the deposit (All amounts expressed in U.S. dollars unless otherwise stated) Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 16, 2025) - Torex Gold Resources Inc. (the "Company" or "Torex") (TSX: TXG) announces assay results from the Company's ongoing drilling program in the northern extension of EPO. The results to date support the Company's goal of expanding resources to the north of the EPO deposit, which, in conjunction with drilling within the ELG and Media Luna clusters, is aimed at enhancing and extending the current production profile of the Morelos Complex beyond 2035. Results contained in this news release include notable highlights from drilling at EPO that were included in the year-end 2024 mineral reserve and resource update, as well as drilling results from this year's program through May 15, 2025. Jody Kuzenko, President & CEO of Torex, stated: "We continue to be impressed with the significant exploration potential at EPO, our newest mine development on the Morelos Property. The strong drilling results we are seeing in the northern portion of EPO build on the success we had in that area in 2024 when we added more than 233,000 gold equivalent ounces ("oz AuEq") to Inferred Resources. "The most recent drill results include several impressive intercepts including a remarkable 55.18 grams per tonne ("gpt") AuEq over 20.1 metres ("m") in ML24-1049DA as well as 4.92 gpt AuEq over 35.7 m and 8.98 gpt over 20.1 m in drill hole ML24-1042. To date, mineralization encountered in the northern portion of EPO extends over an extensive area of at least 500 x 200 m, with vertical continuity of over 100 m. "These latest drilling results at EPO, along with results released earlier this year at ELG Underground, Media Luna East, and Media Luna West, underline the prolific nature of the Morelos Property and our potential to continue to enhance and extend the reserve case production profile released in September 2024. With the first blast taken to access the EPO deposit from the Guajes Tunnel in late May, we remain on track to deliver first production from EPO by the end of 2026, which firmly establishes a minimum of at least 450,000 oz AuEq produced annually through 2030 and likely well beyond that as we continue to unlock the full potential of Morelos through drilling and exploration." HIGHLIGHTS The 2024 EPO drilling program successfully added approximately 233,000 oz AuEq of Inferred Resources, primarily from exploration success in the northern area of the deposit. (i) The most notable intercepts encountered in this area that were included in the 2024 year-end resource update include ML24-1041 (5.65 gpt AuEq over 10.1 m, 4.55 gpt AuEq over 15.0 m, and 6.34 gpt AuEq over 14.6 m) and ML24-1042 (4.92 gpt AuEq over 35.7 m, 8.98 gpt AuEq over 20.1 m, and 4.70 gpt AuEq over 7.6 m). These results added new resources at EPO's northern extension and defined the focus area for follow-up drilling in this year's program. The most notable intercepts encountered in this area that were included in the 2024 year-end resource update include ML24-1041 and and ML24-1042 and These results added new resources at EPO's northern extension and defined the focus area for follow-up drilling in this year's program. Drilling from this year's program in the northern area of EPO has continued to return strong results, particularly drill hole ML24-1049DA which returned notable intercepts of 55.18 gpt AuEq over 20.1 m and 2.97 gpt AuEq over 13.4 m . This hole was a follow-up of drill hole ML24-1041 over a north-south section and confirmed a mineralized vertical column of at least 100 m (Figure 2). These intercepts indicate strong potential to expand resources in the north of the deposit and upgrade Inferred Resources to the Indicated Resources category with the year-end 2025 mineral reserve and resource update. and . This hole was a follow-up of drill hole ML24-1041 over a north-south section and confirmed a mineralized vertical column of at least 100 m (Figure 2). These intercepts indicate strong potential to expand resources in the north of the deposit and upgrade Inferred Resources to the Indicated Resources category with the year-end 2025 mineral reserve and resource update. The follow-up of drill hole ML24-1042 over a north-south section located 120 m to the east of drill hole ML24-1049DA also returned multiple mineralized intercepts, notably 6.17 gpt AuEq over 15.0 m, 4.97 gpt AuEq over 11.2 m, and 4.09 gpt AuEq over 14.5 m in ML24-1048D, and 2.85 gpt AuEq over 12.1 m and 5.60 gpt AuEq over 13.9 m in ML24-1055D. These results indicate that mineralization extends to the north, further supporting an expected increase in resources at EPO. (i) For additional information on EPO resources, please refer to Table 2 of this news release. EPO DRILLING PROGRAM Drilling at EPO remains a key focus as the Company aims to expand mineral resources to the north (Figure 1) and upgrade Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources, with an ultimate target of enhancing the production profile and economics outlined in the internal EPO pre-feasibility study released in September 2024.(i) The drilling program to the north of EPO has confirmed the vertical continuity of the mineralization with outstanding high-grade intercepts that could open new mining fronts, if proven to be economic and brought into future reserves. Figure 1: Plan view of the Media Luna Cluster which includes EPO Having defined the main mineralization control following a west-northwest trend, drilling is being conducted along north-south sections using a fan arrangement of directional holes to have a better understanding of the mineralized zones to support the geological interpretation. Drilling in the northern area of EPO to date in 2025 has been focused on the northern block of the west-northwest La Avispa fault (Figure 2), which controls a dike swarm of an estimated width of 150 to 200 m that represents a discontinuity between the main EPO mineralized zone to the south and its northern extension within the hanging wall of the fault. Mineralization at the southern end of the La Avispa fault is controlled by the contact between the limestones and the intrusive bodies that host most of the mineralization at the Media Luna Cluster, while, at its northern extension, most of the mineralization is bound by the pre-mineral west-northwest dikes that intruded through the same structures as the mineralization feeders in this area (Figures 3 and 4). The current mineralization footprint in the north extends approximately 500 x 200 m with a west-northwest strike that has a significant vertical continuity ranging between 15 m to over 100 m between the interpreted boundaries of the favourable alteration zone that vertically extends for ~200 m. The lateral continuity of the mineralization is defined by the spacing between the dikes that varies from approximately 5 to 35 m, defining several mineralized blocks. Mineralization remains open to the north following the favourable alteration zone. (i) For more information related to the EPO pre-feasibility study results, please refer to press release dated September 4, 2024 titled: Torex Gold Integrates EPO Deposit into Morelos Mine Plan. Drill hole ML24-1041 (Figure 3 and 4) suggests a continuity at depth of the mineralization for up to 50 m towards the contact between the Morelos Formation limestones and the underlying granodiorite. The vertical continuity of the high-grade mineralization intercepted by drill hole ML24-1049DA at shallower elevations will be defined through follow-up drilling later this year. The positive initial results of the drilling program support the potential to upgrade Inferred Resources to Indicated Resources with the year-end 2025 mineral reserve and resource update. Table 1: Highlights from the advanced exploration drilling program in the northern extension of EPO Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Cu (%) AuEq (gpt) ML24-1046 672.9 674.5 1.6 0.47 49.3 1.21 3.10 ML24-1048D 713.2 727.7 14.5 1.08 48.7 1.44 4.09 including 720.1 727.7 7.6 0.99 71.6 2.28 5.67 737.0 752.0 15.0 0.51 88.9 2.74 6.17 including 739.5 740.9 1.4 0.67 184.2 5.71 12.48 including 745.1 747.6 2.5 1.05 144.1 4.47 10.29 784.7 791.1 6.5 2.86 79.2 1.78 3.60 including 786.3 786.9 0.6 17.50 222.4 4.99 28.61 798.7 809.8 11.2 0.63 97.5 1.87 4.97 839.1 843.6 4.5 0.44 115.0 2.64 6.29 901.7 903.4 1.7 0.96 83.7 3.55 7.90 ML24-1049DA 711.9 714.8 2.9 2.25 16.2 0.02 2.50 815.1 828.5 13.4 2.47 8.4 0.24 2.97 including 815.1 818.0 2.9 1.25 11.0 0.47 2.16 including 822.4 823.9 1.5 3.22 8.1 0.20 3.65 including 826.7 828.5 1.8 11.69 16.4 0.15 12.14 858.5 861.4 3.0 7.37 18.3 0.54 8.49 including 860.5 861.4 1.0 13.60 43.0 1.04 15.88 889.9 910.0 20.1 45.87 96.6 4.89 55.18 including 896.9 897.6 0.7 148.90 67.5 2.62 154.09 including 901.0 903.7 2.7 175.54 88.0 3.66 182.72 928.0 933.4 5.4 0.60 34.3 1.38 3.31 ML24-1055D 725.4 728.1 2.6 0.49 91.2 2.59 5.95 733.4 745.5 12.1 0.28 44.9 1.20 2.85 including 733.4 734.9 1.6 0.54 80.2 2.14 5.11 including 736.4 739.4 3.0 0.28 57.5 1.79 3.96 including 744.1 745.5 1.4 0.64 84.0 1.67 4.49 752.1 766.1 13.9 1.34 67.6 2.05 5.60 including 758.7 766.1 7.3 2.16 99.0 3.21 8.74 781.6 782.8 1.3 0.44 66.7 2.25 5.02 818.3 820.5 2.2 0.39 59.0 1.71 3.98 871.0 876.0 5.0 1.06 4.3 0.54 2.01 ML25-1058D 740.7 744.0 3.4 1.84 35.5 1.25 4.36 775.8 777.2 1.4 2.73 14.6 0.68 4.04 791.6 793.5 1.8 0.41 52.3 1.88 4.19 855.4 857.9 2.6 0.97 31.0 1.49 3.82 ML25-1061D 724.4 729.6 5.2 1.16 10.8 0.55 2.20 including 728.8 729.6 0.9 0.21 28.1 1.49 3.03 ML25-1064D 829.2 830.7 1.5 0.80 48.0 1.26 3.50 Notes to Table: 1) Drill hole intercepts are core length. True width/thickness will be determined once the geological modelling is completed. 2) Core lengths reflect drilling core recovery of 89.1-100% and are subject to rounding. Assay results are uncapped. 3) Coordinates are WGS 1984 UTM Zone 14N. 4) The gold equivalent grade calculation used is as follows: AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480) and use the same metal prices ($1,650/oz Au, $22/oz Ag, and $3.75/lb Cu) and metallurgical recoveries (87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu) used in the year-end 2024 mineral resource estimate for EPO Underground. Torex has budgeted approximately $10 million towards drilling at EPO, $5 million of which is related to drilling and exploration within the northern extension of EPO. Drilling is progressing with four rigs in the area. The Company is on track to achieve the planned 12,000 m of drilling specific to the northern extension of EPO by the end of the year, with 9,430 m completed by mid-May over 12 drill holes. This supports the overall program of 27,000 m at EPO planned for 2025. Drill results, including those that have been previously reported, can be found in Tables 3 through 8. AuEq grades use the same metal prices ($1,650/oz gold ("Au"), $22/oz silver ("Ag"), and $3.75/lb copper ("Cu")) and metallurgical recoveries (87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu) used in the current mineral resource estimate for EPO Underground (effective date of December 31, 2024) and has been applied to the assay results for newly published drill holes as well as previously published drill holes. The gold equivalent grade calculation used is as follows: AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480). EPO GEOLOGY The main host unit at EPO is the Morelos Formation, cut by an intrusive phase of the Media Luna granodiorite and followed by multiple generations of late felsic dikes predominantly oriented northwest and northeast. A dome and phreatomagmatic breccia event with an apparent north-south control crosscuts the whole sequence. EPO is located to the east of the major Cuajiote fault within a structural block characterized by multiple second-order structures. These structures are recognized at surface and in drill core, and exhibit north-south, north-northeast, and west-northwest orientations. The north-south oriented Copalillo and Todos Santos bound the main alteration-mineralization event. The EPO northern extension is located to the north of the west-northwest La Avispa fault controlling a dike swarm of an estimated width of 150 to 200 m that represents a discontinuity of the mineralization towards the main mineralized body to the south of the fault. Mineralization at the south of the La Avispa fault is controlled by the contact between the limestones and the intrusive bodies that host most of the mineralization at the Media Luna Cluster, while, at its northern extension most of the mineralization is bounded by the west-northwest dikes that represent the mineralization feeders in this area. Early-stage calc-silicate alteration is related to a proximal "aborted" skarn event containing anomalous molybdenum values and traces of Cu and Au. The latter grades into CRD-style mineralization that is associated with the main Cu and Ag mineralization event. Mineralizing fluids are believed to have originated from a deeper magmatic source, younger than the Media Luna granodiorite stocks, which have not yet been identified at surface. A late intermediate sulphidation-epithermal mineralization event, related to the phreatomagmatic activity, increases the Au volume and grade. Dikes and sills are deemed to have been previously emplaced along the same feeder structures of the mineralization event and constitute traps for the mineralized bodies. Given that Au precipitates due to the buffer exerted by the early stage calc-silicate alteration and sulfide mineralization, it occurs as free Au and is dissociated from the early Cu event mainly related to chalcopyrite. QA/QC AND QUALIFIED PERSON Torex maintains an industry-standard analytical quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") and data verification program to monitor laboratory performance. Results from this program confirm the reliability of the assay results. The exploration program and analytical QA/QC program for Media Luna Cluster drilling is currently overseen by Jose Antonio San Vicente Diaz, Chief Exploration Geologist for Minera Media Luna, S.A. de C.V. All samples reported have been checked against Company and Lab standards and blanks. No core duplicate samples are taken. HQ-size core is sawn in half with half the core retained in the core box and the other half bagged and tagged for shipment to the sample preparation facility. Sample preparation is carried out by Bureau Veritas ("BV"), an accredited laboratory, at its facilities in Durango, Mexico and consists of crushing a 1 kg sample to >70% passing 2 mm followed by pulverization of 500 g to >85% passing 75 m. Au is analyzed at the BV facilities in Hermosillo, Mexico following internal analytical protocols (FA430) and comprises a 30 g fire assay with an atomic absorption finish. Samples yielding results >10 g/t Au are re-assayed by fire assay with gravimetric finish (FA530). Cu and Ag analyses are completed at the BV facilities in Vancouver, Canada as part of a multi-element geochemical analysis by an aqua regia digestion and/or four acid digestion with detection by ICPES/MS using BV internal analytical protocol AQ270/AQ370. Overlimits for the multi-element package are analyzed by internal protocol AQ374. Approximately 5% of the samples collected from exploration are sent for analyses checks and assayed for Au, Ag, and Cu. External pulp check assays for QA/QC purposes are performed at ALS Chemex, de Mexico S.A. de C.V., an accredited laboratory. Internal and external check control results are reviewed daily by MML database team, and an external audit by GeoSoporte Mexico is carried out monthly. The pulp check samples are analysed for Au, Ag and Cu. Overall comparability between Bureau Veritas and ALS Chemex is good to excellent, with high correlation. Scientific and technical information contained in this news release, other than the expected commencement of mining at EPO and the estimated annual production for the Morelos property, has been reviewed and approved by Rochelle Collins, P.Geo. (PGO #1412), Principal, Mineral Resource Geologist with Torex Gold Resources Inc. a "qualified person" ("QP") as defined by NI 43-101. Ms. Collins has verified the information disclosed, including sampling, analytical, and test data underlying the drill results. Verification included visually reviewing the drill holes in three dimensions, comparing the assay results to the original assay certificates, reviewing the drilling database, and reviewing core photography consistent with standard practice. Ms. Collins consents to the inclusion in this release of said information in the form and context in which they appear. Scientific and technical information contained in this news release regarding the expected commencement of mining at EPO and the estimated annual production for the Morelos property, has been reviewed and approved by Dave Stefanuto, P. Eng, Executive Vice President, Technical Services and Capital Projects of Torex Gold Resources Inc. and a QP. Additional information on sampling and analyses, analytical labs, and methods used for data verification is available in the Company's technical report entitled the "Morelos Property, NI 43-101 Technical Report, ELG Mine Complex Life of Mine Plan and Media Luna Feasibility Study, Guerrero State, Mexico", dated effective March 16, 2022 filed on March 31, 2022 (the "2022 Technical Report") and in the annual information form ("AIF") dated March 21, 2025, each filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and the Company's website at www.torexgold.com. Additional information on the EPO mineral resource estimate can also be found in the AIF. ABOUT TOREX GOLD RESOURCES INC. Torex Gold Resources Inc. is an intermediate gold producer based in Canada, engaged in the exploration, development, and operation of its 100% owned Morelos Property, an area of 29,000 hectares in the highly prospective Guerrero Gold Belt located 180 kilometres southwest of Mexico City. The Company's principal asset is the Morelos Complex, which includes the producing Media Luna Underground, ELG Underground, and ELG Open Pit mines, the development stage EPO Underground Project, a processing plant, and related infrastructure. Commercial production from the Morelos Complex commenced on April 1, 2016 and an updated Technical Report for the Morelos Complex was released in March 2022. Torex's key strategic objectives are: deliver Media Luna to full production and build EPO; optimize Morelos production and costs; grow reserves and resources; disciplined growth and capital allocation; retain and attract best industry talent; and industry leader in responsible mining. In addition to realizing the full potential of the Morelos Property, the Company is seeking opportunities to acquire assets that enable diversification and deliver value to shareholders. CAUTIONARY NOTES ON FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This press release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information also includes, but is not limited to, statements about: outstanding high-grade intercepts indicate strong potential to continue to expand resources to the north of the deposit; the results to date support the Company's goal of expanding resources to the north of the EPO deposit, which, in conjunction with drilling within the ELG and Media Luna clusters, is aimed at enhancing and extending the current production profile of the Morelos Complex beyond 2035; these latest drilling results at EPO, along with results released earlier this year at ELG Underground, Media Luna East, and Media Luna West, underline the prolific nature of the Morelos Property and our potential to continue to enhance and extend the reserve case production profile released in September 2024; the Company remains on track to deliver first production from EPO by the end of 2026, which firmly establishes a minimum of at least 450,000 oz AuEq produced annually through 2030 and likely well beyond; drilling results in the northern area of EPO indicate strong potential to expand resources in the north of the deposit and upgrade Inferred Resources to the Indicated Resources category with the year-end 2025 mineral reserve and resource update; results from drill hole ML24-1042 over a north-south section located 120 m to the east of drill hole ML24-1049DA indicate that mineralization extends to the north, further supporting an expected increase in resources at EPO; the drilling program to the north of EPO has confirmed the vertical continuity of the mineralization with outstanding high-grade intercepts that could open new operating fronts, if proven to be economic and brought into future reserves; results of drill hole ML24-1041 suggests a continuity at depth of the mineralization for up to 50 m towards the contact between the Morelos Formation limestones and the underlying granodiorite; Torex has budgeted approximately $10 million towards drilling at EPO, $5 million of which is related to drilling and exploration within the northern extension of EPO; the Company is on track to achieve the planned 12,000 m of drilling specific to the northern extension of EPO by the end of the year, with 9,430 m completed by mid-May over 12 drill holes; this supports the overall program of 27,000 m at EPO planned for 2025; and; and Torex's key strategic objectives are to optimize and extend production from the ELG Mine Complex, de-risk and advance Media Luna to commercial production, build on ESG excellence, and to grow through ongoing exploration across the entire Morelos Property. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "objective", "strategy", "target", "continue", "potential", "focus", "aim" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will", "would", or "is expected to" occur. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including, without limitation, risks and uncertainties associated with: the ability to upgrade mineral resources to categories of mineral resources with greater confidence levels or to mineral reserves; risks associated with mineral reserve and mineral resource estimation; uncertainty involving skarn deposits; and those risk factors identified in the Technical Report and the Company's annual information form and management's discussion and analysis or other unknown but potentially significant impacts. Forward-looking information is based on the assumptions discussed in the Technical Report and such other reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date such statements are made. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information or future events or otherwise, except as may be required by applicable securities laws. The Technical Report, AIF and MD&A are filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and the Company's website at www.torexgold.com. Table 2: Mineral Resource Estimate - EPO Underground (December 31, 2024) Tonnes Au Ag Cu Au Ag Cu AuEq AuEq (kt) (gpt) (gpt) (%) (koz) (koz) (Mlb) (gpt) (koz) EPO Underground Measured - - - - - - - - - Indicated 7,060 2.66 31.2 1.28 604 7,082 200 5.18 1,176 Measured & Indicated 7,060 2.66 31.2 1.28 604 7,082 200 5.18 1,176 Inferred 6,883 1.76 39.3 1.24 390 8,690 188 4.31 954 Notes to accompany the mineral resource table: 1. Mineral resources were prepared in accordance with the CIM Definition Standards (May 2014). 2. The effective date of the estimates is December 31, 2024. 3. Mineral resources are depleted above a mining surface or to the as-mined solids as of December 31, 2024. 4. Gold equivalent ("AuEq") of total mineral resources is established from combined contributions of the various deposits. 5. Mineral resources for all deposits are based on an underlying gold ("Au") price of $1,650/oz, silver ("Ag") price of $22/oz, and copper ("Cu") price of $3.75/lb. 6. Mineral resources are inclusive of mineral reserves (ex-stockpiles). Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. 7. Numbers may not add due to rounding. 8. Mineral resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing, or other relevant issues. 9. The estimate was prepared by Mrs. Rochelle Collins, P.Geo. (Ontario), Principal, Mineral Resources. Notes to accompany EPO Underground mineral resources: 1. Mineral resources for EPO Underground are reported above a 2.0 gpt AuEq cut-off grade. The assumed mining method is from underground methods, using long-hole open stoping. 2. Mineral resources were estimated using ID3 methods applied to 1.0 m capped downhole assay composites within lithology domains and internal grade domains. Block model size is 5 m x 5 m x 5m with 2.5 m x 2.5 m x 2.5 m sub-blocks. 3. Metallurgical recoveries at EPO average 87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu. 4. The dataset allowed the bulk density to be directly estimated into the domains with an average bulk density of 3.5 g/cm3. 5. EPO Underground AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480), accounting for underlying metal prices and metallurgical recoveries. Figure 2: Drilling results from the northern extension of EPO showing the proximity to the La Avispa fault. Figure 3: Drilling results from EPO that lay at the northern block of the west-northwest La Avispa fault showing most of the mineralization is found between the west-northwest dikes. Figure 4: Detailed internal grades of mineralized intercepts at EPO that lay at the northern block of the west-northwest La Avispa fault showing that most of the mineralization is found between the west-northwest dikes with open vertical and along strike continuity. Table 3: Drilling results from the late 2024 and 2025 year-to-date exploration and drilling program in the northern area of EPO. Intercept Drill Hole Program UTM-E (m) UTM-N (m) Elevation (m) Azimuth () Dip () Final Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Cu (%) AuEq (gpt) Core Recovery (%) ML24-1046 Del. 421983.6 1985609.8 1440.5 359 -48 957 672.9 674.5 1.6 0.47 49.3 1.21 3.10 100.0% ML24-1048D Del. 422198.7 1985619.7 1460.6 3 -55 929 713.2 727.7 14.5 1.08 48.7 1.44 4.09 100.0% including 720.1 727.7 7.6 0.99 71.6 2.28 5.67 100.0% 737.0 752.0 15.0 0.51 88.9 2.74 6.17 100.0% including 739.5 740.9 1.4 0.67 184.2 5.71 12.48 100.0% including 745.1 747.6 2.5 1.05 144.1 4.47 10.29 100.0% 784.7 791.1 6.5 2.86 79.2 1.78 3.60 99.9% including 786.3 786.9 0.6 17.50 222.4 4.99 28.61 99.9% 798.7 809.8 11.2 0.63 97.5 1.87 4.97 100.0% 839.1 843.6 4.5 0.44 115.0 2.64 6.29 100.0% 901.7 903.4 1.7 0.96 83.7 3.55 7.90 100.0% ML24-1049D Del. 422101.2 1985627.1 1447.1 360 -60 540 No significant values ML24-1049DA Del. 422101.2 1985627.1 1447.1 360 -60 945 711.9 714.8 2.9 2.25 16.2 0.02 2.50 100.0% 815.1 828.5 13.4 2.47 8.4 0.24 2.97 100.0% including 815.1 818.0 2.9 1.25 11.0 0.47 2.16 100.0% including 822.4 823.9 1.5 3.22 8.1 0.20 3.65 100.0% including 826.7 828.5 1.8 11.69 16.4 0.15 12.14 100.0% 858.5 861.4 3.0 7.37 18.3 0.54 8.49 100.0% including 860.5 861.4 1.0 13.60 43.0 1.04 15.88 100.0% 889.9 910.0 20.1 45.87 96.6 4.89 55.18 95.9% including 896.9 897.6 0.7 148.90 67.5 2.62 154.09 100.0% including 901.0 903.7 2.7 175.54 88.0 3.66 182.72 100.0% 928.0 933.4 5.4 0.60 34.3 1.38 3.31 100.0% ML24-1053D Del. 421983.6 1985609.8 1440.5 359 -48 1014 No significant values Notes to Table 1) Drill hole intercepts are core length. True width/thickness will be determined once the geological modelling is completed. 2) The gold equivalent grade calculation used is as follows: AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480) and use the same metal prices ($1,650/oz Au, $22/oz Ag, and $3.75/lb Cu) and metallurgical recoveries (87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu) used in the year-end 2024 mineral resource estimate for EPO Underground. 3) Core lengths subject to rounding. Assay results are uncapped. 4) Coordinates are WGS 1984 UTM Zone 14N. 5) Torex is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data. Table 3 (continued): Drilling results from the late 2024 and 2025 year-to-date exploration and drilling program in the northern area of EPO. Intercept Drill Hole Program UTM-E (m) UTM-N (m) Elevation (m) Azimuth () Dip () Final Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Cu (%) AuEq (gpt) Core Recovery (%) ML24-1055D Del. 422198.7 1985619.7 1460.6 3 -55 938 725.4 728.1 2.6 0.49 91.2 2.59 5.95 100.0% 733.4 745.5 12.1 0.28 44.9 1.20 2.85 100.0% including 733.4 734.9 1.6 0.54 80.2 2.14 5.11 100.0% including 736.4 739.4 3.0 0.28 57.5 1.79 3.96 100.0% including 744.1 745.5 1.4 0.64 84.0 1.67 4.49 100.0% 752.1 766.1 13.9 1.34 67.6 2.05 5.60 100.0% including 758.7 766.1 7.3 2.16 99.0 3.21 8.74 100.0% 781.6 782.8 1.3 0.44 66.7 2.25 5.02 100.0% 818.3 820.5 2.2 0.39 59.0 1.71 3.98 100.0% 871.0 876.0 5.0 1.06 4.3 0.54 2.01 100.0% ML24-1057 Del. 421928.7 1985579.6 1432.1 358 -48 513 No significant values ML25-1058D Del. 422101.2 1985627.1 1447.1 360 -60 1009 740.7 744.0 3.4 1.84 35.5 1.25 4.36 98.7% 775.8 777.2 1.4 2.73 14.6 0.68 4.04 89.1% 791.6 793.5 1.8 0.41 52.3 1.88 4.19 100.0% 855.4 857.9 2.6 0.97 31.0 1.49 3.82 100.0% ML25-1061D Del. 421928.7 1985579.6 1432.1 358 -48 841 724.4 729.6 5.2 1.16 10.8 0.55 2.20 100.0% including 728.8 729.6 0.9 0.21 28.1 1.49 3.03 100.0% ML25-1064D Del. 421928.7 1985579.6 1432.1 358 -48 945 829.2 830.7 1.5 0.80 48.0 1.26 3.50 100.0% ML25-1067 Del. 422101.3 1985627.3 1447.5 0 -53 411 No significant values Notes to Table 1) Drill hole intercepts are core length. True width/thickness will be determined once the geological modelling is completed. 2) The gold equivalent grade calculation used is as follows: AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480) and use the same metal prices ($1,650/oz Au, $22/oz Ag, and $3.75/lb Cu) and metallurgical recoveries (87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu) used in the year-end 2024 mineral resource estimate for EPO Underground. 3) Core lengths subject to rounding. Assay results are uncapped. 4) Coordinates are WGS 1984 UTM Zone 14N. 5) Torex is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data. Table 4: Drilling results included in the year-end 2024 mineral resource estimate but not previously reported. Intercept Drill Hole Program UTM-E (m) UTM-N (m) Elevation (m) Azimuth () Dip () Final Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Cu (%) AuEq (gpt) Core Recovery (%) ML24-1041 Del. 422101.2 1985627.1 1447.1 360 -60 1006 742.2 744.5 2.3 3.80 11.6 0.15 4.20 100.0% 849.0 859.1 10.1 4.24 28.4 0.63 5.65 95.3% including 849.0 850.5 1.5 4.39 4.1 0.01 4.45 100.0% including 853.6 859.1 5.5 6.58 51.0 1.15 9.15 89.3% 866.0 881.0 15.0 1.66 32.9 1.49 4.55 100.0% including 873.7 875.2 1.6 9.64 157.7 7.01 23.23 100.0% 893.4 899.4 6.0 5.02 7.9 0.19 5.44 100.0% including 898.4 899.4 1.0 21.50 6.4 0.08 21.72 100.0% 921.1 928.1 7.0 1.27 11.2 0.96 2.99 100.0% including 927.1 928.1 1.0 5.78 19.9 1.38 8.31 100.0% 938.7 943.3 4.6 1.23 13.6 0.94 2.96 100.0% including 938.7 939.8 1.2 3.82 25.3 1.56 6.72 100.0% 959.9 974.4 14.6 4.24 27.2 1.06 6.34 100.0% including 962.9 967.7 4.8 5.88 47.8 1.95 9.72 100.0% ML24-1042 Del. 422198.7 1985619.7 1460.6 3 -55 947 711.0 746.6 35.7 0.94 65.6 1.90 4.92 100.0% including 725.5 728.4 2.9 2.03 163.7 5.99 14.04 100.0% including 731.2 746.6 15.4 0.85 84.2 2.40 5.90 100.0% 755.3 775.4 20.1 1.91 114.9 3.38 8.98 100.0% including 765.3 767.3 2.0 1.91 146.9 5.01 12.08 100.0% including 769.0 773.0 4.0 2.49 198.9 5.71 14.49 100.0% 806.4 814.0 7.6 3.78 28.6 0.33 4.70 100.0% including 810.1 810.7 0.5 19.50 27.3 0.00 19.86 100.0% including 813.0 814.0 1.0 11.50 37.6 0.65 13.06 100.0% 863.9 865.0 1.1 0.31 45.4 1.57 3.49 100.0% 872.0 874.9 2.9 0.53 31.1 1.31 3.10 100.0% Notes to Table 1) Drill hole intercepts are core length. True width/thickness will be determined once the geological modelling is completed. 2) The gold equivalent grade calculation used is as follows: AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480) and use the same metal prices ($1,650/oz Au, $22/oz Ag, and $3.75/lb Cu) and metallurgical recoveries (87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu) used in the year-end 2024 mineral resource estimate for EPO Underground. 3) Core lengths subject to rounding. Assay results are uncapped. 4) Coordinates are WGS 1984 UTM Zone 14N. 5) Torex is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data. Table 5: Previously reported drilling results. For more information, please refer to the Company's press release titled "Torex Gold Reports Results from the Ongoing 2024 EPO Exploration Program" (November 13, 2024). Intercept Drill Hole Program UTM-E (m) UTM-N (m) Elevation (m) Azimuth () Dip () Final Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Cu (%) AuEq (gpt) Core Recovery (%) ML24-1017 EPO 421982.4 1985608.2 1440.4 17 -54 958 699.5 707.5 8.0 1.47 21.6 0.46 2.51 100.0% 721.0 722.7 1.7 3.43 23.5 0.17 4.02 100.0% 791.7 796.3 4.6 0.96 16.9 0.55 2.09 100.0% 847.1 859.3 12.2 1.07 33.7 1.16 3.43 100.0% Notes to Table 1) Drill hole intercepts are core length. True width/thickness will be determined once the geological modelling is completed. 2) The gold equivalent grade calculation used is as follows: AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480) and use the same metal prices ($1,650/oz Au, $22/oz Ag, and $3.75/lb Cu) and metallurgical recoveries (87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu) used in the year-end 2024 mineral resource estimate for EPO Underground. 3) Core lengths subject to rounding. Assay results are uncapped. 4) Coordinates are WGS 1984 UTM Zone 14N. 5) Torex is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data. Table 6: Previously reported drilling results. For more information, please refer to the Company's press release titled "Torex Reports Results From 2023 Drilling at EPO" (September 5, 2023). Intercept Drill Hole Program UTM-E (m) UTM-N (m) Elevation (m) Azimuth () Dip () Final Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Cu (%) AuEq (gpt) Core Recovery (%) ML23-942 Adv. Ex. 421981.6 1985607.0 1440.4 16 -50 977 603.0 606.6 3.6 2.94 4.1 0.07 3.11 88.8% 762.0 765.0 3.0 2.43 23.6 0.40 3.38 100.0% 791.9 807.7 15.8 3.26 58.9 1.36 6.27 100.0% including 791.9 793.9 2.0 23.53 18.5 0.71 24.93 100.0% 873.3 876.0 2.8 0.09 75.8 1.88 4.17 100.0% 912.5 923.7 11.2 1.54 27.1 1.35 4.12 100.0% including 921.0 923.7 2.7 2.34 98.9 4.21 10.57 100.0% ML23-949A Adv. Ex. 421983.8 1985606.6 1440.5 23 -54 988 747.0 765.2 18.2 0.50 62.9 1.94 4.51 100.0% including 747.0 754.1 7.1 0.64 115.6 3.72 8.28 100.0% 774.2 783.5 9.3 0.63 59.1 1.57 3.98 100.0% 791.0 794.0 3.1 3.64 30.4 0.75 5.27 100.0% 807.2 818.0 10.8 0.54 32.5 0.92 2.48 100.0% 834.8 841.0 6.2 2.52 100.1 3.18 9.05 100.0% 918.5 920.1 1.6 0.66 70.5 2.41 5.54 100.0% Notes to Table 1) Drill hole intercepts are core length. True width/thickness will be determined once the geological modelling is completed. 2) The gold equivalent grade calculation used is as follows: AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480) and use the same metal prices ($1,650/oz Au, $22/oz Ag, and $3.75/lb Cu) and metallurgical recoveries (87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu) used in the year-end 2024 mineral resource estimate for EPO Underground. 3) Core lengths subject to rounding. Assay results are uncapped. 4) Coordinates are WGS 1984 UTM Zone 14N 5) Torex is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data Table 7: Previously reported drilling results. For more information, please refer to the Company's press release titled "Torex Reports Encouraging Results From Drilling at EPO" (March 23, 2023). Intercept Drill Hole Program UTM-E (m) UTM-N (m) Elevation (m) Azimuth () Dip () Final Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Cu (%) AuEq (gpt) Core Recovery (%) ML22-857 Adv. Ex. 421981.6 1985603.8 1440.5 24 -69 754 233.0 240.7 7.7 1.26 44.7 0.98 3.46 89.2% 651.9 678.5 26.5 0.66 13.7 1.01 2.50 100.0% ML22-919D Adv. Ex. 422197.0 1985617.6 1461.0 307 -77 726 648.0 694.7 46.7 3.10 12.4 0.68 4.38 99.6% including 665.3 668.3 3.0 13.53 61.8 2.34 18.19 100.0% including 676.7 678.7 2.0 4.57 23.7 0.90 6.36 90.0% including 685.2 688.6 3.5 13.09 10.7 0.67 14.33 100.0% including 692.3 694.7 2.4 10.23 28.4 1.63 13.29 100.0% Notes to Table 1) Drill hole intercepts are core length. True width/thickness will be determined once the geological modelling is completed. 2) The gold equivalent grade calculation used is as follows: AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480) and use the same metal prices ($1,650/oz Au, $22/oz Ag, and $3.75/lb Cu) and metallurgical recoveries (87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu) used in the year-end 2024 mineral resource estimate for EPO Underground. 3) Core lengths subject to rounding. Assay results are uncapped. 4) Coordinates are WGS 1984 UTM Zone 14N. 5) Torex is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data. Table 8: Previously reported drilling results. For more information, please refer to the Company's press release titled "Torex Reports Assay Results of Step Out Drilling Program at Media Luna" (June 18, 2015). Intercept Drill Hole Program UTM-E (m) UTM-N (m) Elevation (m) Azimuth () Dip () Final Depth (m) From (m) To (m) Core Length (m) Au (gpt) Ag (gpt) Cu (%) AuEq (gpt) Core Recovery (%) NWZML-23 Drill Test 422364.6 1985817.2 1466.8 320 -60 902 470.0 473.7 3.7 1.78 117.5 1.80 6.28 100.0% 491.9 495.6 3.7 3.62 37.4 0.36 4.70 100.0% 764.8 778.3 13.5 3.19 9.1 0.27 3.75 100.0% including 775.7 778.3 2.6 13.91 14.8 0.07 14.22 100.0% 863.4 871.5 8.1 3.06 28.6 1.08 5.21 100.0% including 863.4 868.1 4.7 4.44 26.0 1.49 7.23 100.0% Notes to Table 1) Drill hole intercepts are core length. True width/thickness will be determined once the geological modelling is completed. 2) The gold equivalent grade calculation used is as follows: AuEq = Au (gpt) + (Ag (gpt) * 0.0130) + (Cu (%) * 1.6480) and use the same metal prices ($1,650/oz Au, $22/oz Ag, and $3.75/lb Cu) and metallurgical recoveries (87% Au, 85% Ag, and 92% Cu) used in the year-end 2024 mineral resource estimate for EPO Underground. 3) Core lengths subject to rounding. Assay results are uncapped. 4) Coordinates are WGS 1984 UTM Zone 14N. 5) Torex is not aware of any drilling, sampling, recovery, or other factors that could materially affect the accuracy or reliability of the data. Toronto, Ontario July 17, 2025 TheNewswire - Homeland Nickel Inc. (Homeland Nickel or the Company) (TSX-V: SHL, OTC: SRCGF) is pleased to announce recent exploration results from its wholly owned Eight Dollar Mountain nickel laterite property (Eight Dollar), staked by the Company in 2023. In June 2025, Homeland Nickel visited Eight Dollar and acquired fifty-six (56) surface samples of nickel laterite using a handheld auger and shovel. The laterite was collected with minimal ground disturbance in sample bags containing 50-100 grams of material for assaying. All samples were submitted for assaying and all samples indicate the presence of nickel laterite with assay values ranging from 0.21% Ni to 2.21% Ni with an average of 0.67% Ni. The assay locations and mining claim outlines are shown in Figure 1 and 2, and the assay values are summarized in Table 1 with UTM locations for each sample. Figure 1: Plan map of Eight Dollar Mountain showing sample points and assay results for Ni % (coordinates in WGS 84 / UTM Zone 10N). Commenting on the results, President and CEO Steve Balch is quoted as saying We are very pleased with the results of our first sampling program at Eight Dollar. We were expecting an average grade of 0.4-0.5% Ni which is more typical for surface laterite. In some cases where the nickel assay fell below that level the assay likely contained a high component of non-laterized soil. The 2.2% Ni by contrast was taken at the bottom of a shallow historical pit or 4-5 feet into the laterite. We sampled 26 of our 76 mining claims and plan to return to Eight Dollar this summer with an expanded program to complete our surface sampling and to estimate the extent of the laterite on our property. Figure 2: Map of high-grade Ni % assays at the Eight Dollar Mountain Property. The Eight Dollar Mountain Property is located 4 km west of the town of Selma, Oregon and is accessible directly by paved roads at both the north and south edges of the property. Access within the property is possible by local trails. Exploration at Eight Dollar includes two major efforts, one in the 1950s and later in the 1970s. Several zones of nickel laterite were identified but no resources were ever published. Permitting Update Homeland Nickel also reports it is still waiting for approval on its Plan of Operation for the Red Flat Nickel Laterite Project located 12 km southeast of Gold Beach, Oregon. Both Red Flat and the Companys Cleopatra Property are located within a withdrawn area that requires the mining claims to have been in good standing since the withdrawal order came into effect (2015) and that concentrations of economic minerals were identified prior to the withdrawal order being invoked. The Company has provided such information to the Forest Service and is waiting for a response. Commenting on the delay, Steve Balch stated it is frustrating having to wait so long to get approval to explore our properties. We submitted the documentation back in July and August of 2024. We may redirect our exploration efforts to Eight Dollar which is not subject to a withdrawal order and is partly under the control of the Bureau of Land Management which seems to be more active granting permits. But we will continue to push to get our exploration program at Red Flat started. I feel like weve waited long enough. Table 1: Summary of assays at Eight Dollar with UTM locations (coordinates are in WGS 84 / UTM Zone 10N). QA/QC Curtis Ferron, MSc., P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, is responsible for sample collection, quality assurance (QA), and quality control (QC). All samples were collected either with a hand shovel or auger and were placed directly into plastic bags with a laboratory assay tag and sealed on site at the sample location. The samples were then shipped in secured bags directly to ALS Geochemistry in Reno, Nevada an ISO/IEC 17025 accredited lab. Three internal QA/QC samples were inserted per 30 soil samples collected. Qualified Person Stephen J. Balch (BSc., P.Geo. #2250 Ontario), President and CEO of Homeland Nickel and a "Qualified Person" within the meaning of NI 43-101, has verified the data disclosed in this news release, and has otherwise reviewed and approved its technical content on behalf of the Company. About Homeland Nickel Homeland Nickel is a Canadian-based mineral exploration company focused on critical metal resources with nickel projects in Oregon, United States and copper and gold projects in Newfoundland, Canada. The Company holds a significant portfolio of mining securities including 1.995 million shares of Canada Nickel Company Inc. (TSX-V: CNC), 9.960 million shares of Noble Mineral Exploration Inc. (TSX-V: NOB), 11.522 million shares of Benton Resources Inc. (TSX-V: BEX), 81,150 shares of Vinland Lithium Inc. (TSX-V: VLD) and 2.761 million shares of Magna Terra Minerals Inc. (TSX-V: MTT). Homeland Nickels common shares trade on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol SHL and on the OTCQB under the symbol SRCGF. More detailed information can be found on the Companys website at: http://www.homelandnickel.com Cautionary Statement Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. No stock exchange, securities commission or other regulatory authority has approved or disapproved the information contained herein. This news release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and include, but are not limited to, disclosure regarding possible events, that are based on assumptions and courses of action, and in certain cases, can be identified by the words expects, plans, anticipates, believes, intends, estimates, projects, potential and similar expressions, or that events or conditions will, would, may, could or should occur, or the negative forms of any of these words and other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements include statements related to future plans for the Company, and other forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are based on various assumptions including with respect to the anticipated actions of securities regulators, stock exchanges, and government entities, management plans and timelines, as well as results of operations, performance, business prospects and opportunities. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what the management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions on the date of this news release, such assumptions may prove to be incorrect. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, they should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and they will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to: an inability to develop and successfully implement exploration strategies; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the lack of available capital; impact of the evolving situation in Ukraine on the business of the Company; and other risks detailed from time-to-time in the Companys ongoing filings with securities regulatory authorities, which filings can be found at www.sedarplus.ca. The Company cannot assure readers that actual results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements in this press release. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether because of new information, future events or otherwise, unless otherwise required by law. Contact Stephen Balch, President & CEO Phone: 905-407-9586 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. VANCOUVER, Canada, July 17, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oroco Resource Corp. (TSX-V: OCO) ("Oroco" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that its wholly-owned Mexican subsidiary, Minera Xochipala, S.A. de C.V. (Xochipala), has entered into an agreement with Aztec Zinc de Mexico, S.A. de C.V. (Aztec Zinc) to acquire, by way of option (the Option), a 100% interest in the Vainilla Mineral Concession, located in the mineral-rich Choix District of northern Sinaloa, Mexico. The Vainilla Concession (Title No. 236,443) covers approximately 2,974 hectares of ground within a porphyry copper belt anchored by the Companys Santo Tomas Project. The concession incorporates or surrounds multiple zones of historical and active polymetallic mineralization, including skarns, breccia pipes, and vein systems that are inferred to relate to monzonite intrusions, and offers immediate exploration opportunities for copper and associated metals. "The Vainilla acquisition option extends Orocos control of the Santo Tomas porphyry copper district, presenting immediate exploration upside and the potential for meaningful near-term results from multiple porphyry, skarn and breccia targets," stated Ian Graham, President of Oroco. "The acquisition was encouraged in part by the transformational community, state and federal governments support for the Santo Tomas project as part of its inclusion in Plan Mexico and Plan Sinaloa. Vainilla is highly complementary to Santo Tomas development, both geologically and, potentially, economically. It aligns very well with Orocos strategic and operational objectives and in no way impedes or detracts from our development plans at Santo Tomas. We see this as potentially a key acquisition for the Company." Geological Overview: A District-Scale Opportunity The Vainilla Concession occupies a strategic position along the southern extension of the Santo Tomas porphyry copper trend, which traces southwards from Bahuerachi through Santo Tomas to Vainilla / La Cobre where (locally altered) monzonites / quartz monzonites of likely Laramide age are mapped and where a known skarn iron producer operates. The geological setting includes: magnetite copper-gold skarn deposits (Mazomique, iron producer) hydrothermal breccia pipes (El Platano) quartz-sericite stockwork vein systems (Mina Cristina). These mineralized zones are interpreted as distal and proximal expressions of an adjacent concealed porphyry system related to the mapped monzonitic intrusions. The concession encompasses areas of intense surface alteration, indicative of porphyry-related fluid pathways and mineralization. A location and geology map of the Vainilla Concession and its relationship to the Santo Tomas porphyry district trend is shown in Figure . Copper Recoveries at Mazomique Iron-Copper Skarn The Mazomique skarn, partly extending into the Vainilla Concession, is a currently producing magnetite orebody with copper potential. Laboratory testing of skarn-hosted chalcopyrite-rich magnetite from an internal concession (unrelated to the transaction) has shown that production of a copper concentrate (up to 24.6% Cu in concentrate) is feasible via flotation. The extension of the magnetite (Cu) skarn onto the Vainilla concession represents a potential opportunity for magnetite (copper) production suitable for direct shipping to regional iron processors, consistent with Orocos low-capex strategy. Oroco intends to launch a staged exploration program commencing with 2D IP survey lines over the breccia pipe and porphyry targets with concurrent geological mapping, geochemical and mineral sampling. Short hole scout drilling targeting surface expressions of breccia, skarn and porphyry targets will follow. A 3D Induced Polarization (IP) geophysics survey may be considered following the initial program. Key Terms of the Option Agreement The Option grants Orocos wholly-owned subsidiary Xochipala Gold SA de CV (Xochipala) the sole and exclusive right to acquire a 100% interest in the Vainilla Concession. Initial consideration includes payment of US$75,000 in cash and 100,000 common shares of Oroco issued to the Vendor. The Option will be maintained by semi-annual payments of US$25,000 cash and 100,000 Oroco shares. The Option will be exercised upon payment of US$500,000 in cash and the issuance of 2,000,000 Oroco shares to the Vendor. Upon exercise of the Option, a 1.5% Net Smelter Returns royalty will be granted in favour of third parties designated by Aztec Zinc. For the term of the Option, Xochipala is responsible for 100% of the concession duties payable. Closing is subject to TSX Venture Exchange approval. ABOUT OROCO The Company holds a net 85.5% interest in those central concessions that comprise 1,173 hectares the Core Concessions of The Santo Tomas Project, located in northwestern Mexico. The Company also holds an 80% interest in an additional 4,948 hectares of mineral concessions surrounding and adjacent to the Core Concessions (for a total Project area of 6,121 hectares, or 15,125 acres). The Project is situated within the Santo Tomas District, which extends up to the Jinchuan Groups Bahuerachi Project, approximately 14 km to the northeast. The Project hosts significant copper porphyry mineralization initially defined by prior exploration spanning the period from 1968 to 1994. During that time, the Project area was tested by over 100 diamond and reverse circulation drill holes, totaling approximately 30,000 meters. Commencing in 2021, Oroco conducted a drill program (Phase 1) at Santo Tomas, with a resulting total of 48,481 meters drilled in 76 diamond drill holes. Subsequent to the drilling at Santo Tomas, the resource estimates and engineering studies led to a revised MRE and an updated PEA being published and filed in August of 2024, which studies are available online at the Companys website at www.orocoresourcecorp.com and by reviewing the Company profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. The Santo Tomas Project is located within 170 km of the Pacific deep-water port at Topolobampo and is serviced via highway and proximal rail (and parallel corridors of trunk grid power lines and natural gas) through the city of Los Mochis to the northern city of Choix. The property is reached, in part, by a 32 km access road originally built to service Goldcorps El Sauzal Mine in Chihuahua State. Additional information about Oroco can be found on its website and by reviewing its profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. For more information, please contact: Richard Lock, CEO Oroco Resource Corp. Tel: 604-688-6200 Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. www.orocoresourcecorp.com Neither TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information This news release includes certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively forward-looking statements) within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact included herein, including, without limitation, statements relating to future events or achievements of the Company, and the use of funds from the Offering, are forward-looking statements. There is no assurance that the proceeds of the Offering will be expended as contemplated. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release concerning these matters. Oroco does not assume any obligation to update the forward-looking statements should they change, except as required by law. LIMA, Peru / Jul 16, 2025 / Business Wire / Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. (Buenaventura or the Company) (NYSE: BVN; Lima Stock Exchange: BUE.LM), Perus largest publicly-traded precious metals mining company, today announced 2Q25 results for production and volume sold. Production per Metal Three Months Ended June 30, 2025 Six Months Ended June 30, 2025 2025 Updated Guidance (1) Gold ounces produced El Brocal 61.43% 5,581 10,208 18.0k - 20.0k Orcopampa 100% 12,270 26,565 48.0k - 52.0k Tambomayo 100% 2,985 6,019 12.5k - 15.5k Julcani 100% 2,084 3,964 7.5k - 9.5k La Zanja 100% 4,423 8,505 18.0k - 21.0k San Gabriel (4) 100% 0 0 10.0k - 15.0k Total Direct Operations (2) 27,344 55,261 114.0k - 133.0k Coimolache 40.094% 13,149 26,492 50.0k - 55.0k Total incl. Associated Companies (3) 30,463 61,946 127.1k - 147.3k Silver ounces produced El Brocal 61.43% 390,486 828,219 1.4M - 1.6M Uchucchacua 100% 511,615 963,791 2.7M - 3.2M Yumpag 100% 2,154,792 4,430,591 8.0M - 8.2M Orcopampa 100% 6,526 11,635 - Tambomayo 100% 191,181 352,574 1.2M - 1.5M Julcani 100% 299,697 639,442 1.5M - 1.8M La Zanja 100% 9,198 15,880 - Total Direct Operations (2) 3,563,496 7,242,132 14.8M - 16.3M Coimolache 40.094% 78,921 168,489 0.2M - 0.3M Total incl. Associated Companies (3) 3,444,528 6,990,242 14.3M - 15.8M Lead metric tons produced Uchucchacua 100% 3,569 6,696 16.0k - 18.0k Tambomayo 100% 767 1,270 1.7k - 2.2k Julcani 100% 154 281 0.8k - 1.0k Total Direct Operations (2) 4,490 8,247 18.5k - 21.2k Zinc metric tons produced Uchucchacua 100% 6,872 12,144 23.0k - 26.0k Tambomayo 100% 878 1,405 2.0k - 2.5k Total Direct Operations (2) 7,750 13,549 25.0k - 28.5k Copper metric tons produced El Brocal 61.43% 13,079 25,142 55.0k - 60.0k Julcani 100% 102 222 - Tambomayo 100% 12 29 - Total Direct Operations (2) 13,194 25,392 55.0k - 60.0k 2025 projections are considered to be forward-looking statements and represent managements good faith estimates or expectations of future production results as of July 2025. Considers 100% of Buenaventuras operating units, 100% of La Zanja and 100% of El Brocal. Considers 100% of Buenaventuras operating units, 100% of La Zanja, 61.43% of El Brocal and 40.094% of Coimolache. 4Q25 targeted production initiation remains unchanged, subject to final permitting and required approvals. Volume Sold per Metal Three Months Ended June 30, 2025 Six Months Ended June 30, 2025 Gold ounces sold El Brocal 3,244 5,912 Orcopampa 12,158 26,904 Tambomayo 2,594 5,284 Julcani 1,882 3,556 La Zanja 4,333 8,967 Total Direct Operations (1) 24,212 50,623 Coimolache 13,440 24,870 Total incl. Associated Companies (2) 28,349 58,314 Silver ounces sold El Brocal 309,222 669,143 Uchucchacua 560,680 1,057,479 Yumpag 2,056,853 4,244,210 Orcopampa 6,925 13,408 Tambomayo 170,144 315,845 Julcani 282,420 602,698 La Zanja 21,538 46,402 Buenaventura Trading (3) 39,451 39,451 Total Direct Operations (1) 3,447,233 6,988,636 Coimolache 83,064 161,790 Total incl. Associated Companies (2) 3,361,270 6,795,416 Lead metric tons sold Uchucchacua 3,482 6,418 Yumpag 31 69 Tambomayo 634 1,020 Julcani 138 247 Total Direct Operations (1) 4,284 7,754 Zinc metric tons sold Uchucchacua 5,829 10,191 Tambomayo 671 1,103 Total Direct Operations (1) 6,499 11,294 Copper metric tons sold El Brocal 12,439 23,763 Tambomayo 112 179 Julcani 12 21 Buenaventura Trading (3) 4,295 4,295 Total Direct Operations (1) 16,859 28,258 Considers 100% of Buenaventuras operating units, 100% of La Zanja, 100% of El Brocal and 100% of Buenaventura Trading. Considers 100% of Buenaventuras operating units, 100% of La Zanja, 100% of Buenaventura Trading, 61.43% of El Brocal and 40.094% of Coimolache. Buenaventura Trading is the vehicle through which Buenaventura purchases copper concentrate from Freeport, produced at Cerro Verde a company in which Buenaventura holds a 19.58% stake. The concentrate is then sold by Buenaventura Trading on the spot market. Average realized prices(1)(2) Three Months Ended June 30, 2024 Six Months Ended June 30, 2024 Gold (US$/Oz) 3,306 3,116 Silver (US$/Oz) 34.39 33.29 Lead (US$/MT) 1,880 1,886 Zinc (US$/MT) 2,541 2,656 Copper (US$/MT) 9,560 9,452 Considers Buenaventura consolidated figures. Realized prices include both provisional sales and final adjustments for price changes. Commentary on Operations Tambomayo: 2Q25 gold and silver production was below expectations due to delayed processing of high-grade oxide ore from the mines upper zones. High-grade oxide ore processing began in late June after flowsheet revisions were completed to optimize the mine processing plant, enabling an increase metallurgical gold and silver recovery. 2025 gold and silver guidance remains unchanged. Zinc and lead guidance has been revised. Orcopampa: Gold production was below projections, as slower than anticipated mine development due to poor ground conditions during the quarter required high-grade stope mining planned for 2Q25 to be deferred to 2H25. This was partially offset by increased gold grades mined during 2Q25. 2025 guidance has been revised to reflect increased grade and tonnage for those areas under development. 2Q25 silver production was in line with expectations. 2025 guidance therefore remains unchanged. Coimolache: 2Q25 gold and silver were in line with expectations. Coimolaches leach pad expansion construction permit was granted in 2Q25. The operating permit to resume mine and pad production at full capacity is expected to be issued in late 3Q25. 2025 guidance remains unchanged. Julcani: Gold and silver production was in line with expectations. 2025 guidance remains unchanged. Uchucchacua: 2Q25 silver production was below expectations due to a decrease in silver grades mined during the quarter. This was primarily attributable to modifications made to the initial mining plan as was required to accommodate additional water pumping and ancillary works, which shifted targeted mining to polymetallic stopes during the quarter, from the prior target of mining bottom-level stopes with higher silver content. 2025 guidance remains unchanged. Uchucchacua daily throughput increased to an average of 1,800 TPD during 2Q25, aligned with the Companys targeted 2,000 TPD by year end 2025. Yumpag: Silver production exceeded 2Q25 projections due to higher grades mined during the quarter. This resulted from the Company implementing the Over-Drift-Fill (ODF) mining method, a more selective mining method, rather than the sublevel stoping approach used previously. ODF has proven to be more suitable for the highly irregular Camila orebody, with improved ore extraction with a decreased waste. 2025 guidance has been updated accordingly. El Brocal: Silver and gold outperformed expectations due to higher than anticipated ore grades, reflecting the Companys short-term plan of prioritizing those mining blocks with high precious metals content. Copper production was slightly below expectations for 2Q25. 2025 copper guidance remains unchanged; gold and silver guidance has been revised. Company Description Compania de Minas Buenaventura S.A.A. is Perus largest, publicly traded precious and base metals Company and a major holder of mining rights in Peru. The Company is engaged in the exploration, mining development, processing and trade of gold, silver and other base metals via wholly-owned mines and through its participation in joint venture projects. Buenaventura currently operates several mines in Peru (Orcopampa*, Uchucchacua*, Julcani*, Tambomayo*, La Zanja*, El Brocal and Coimolache). The Company owns 19.58% of Sociedad Minera Cerro Verde, an important Peruvian copper producer (a partnership with Freeport-McMorRan Inc. and Sumitomo Corporation). (*) Operations wholly owned by Buenaventura. Note on Forward-Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking information (as defined in the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) that involve risks and uncertainties, including those concerning Cerro Verdes costs and expenses, results of exploration, the continued improving efficiency of operations, prevailing market prices of gold, silver, copper and other metals mined, the success of joint ventures, estimates of future explorations, development and production, subsidiaries plans for capital expenditures, estimates of reserves and Peruvian political, economic, social and legal developments. These forward-looking statements reflect the Companys view with respect to Cerro Verdes future financial performance. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors discussed elsewhere in this Press Release. VANCOUVER, BC, July 17, 2025 /CNW/ - Integra Resources Corp. ("Integra" or the "Company") (TSXV: ITR) (NYSE American: ITRG) is pleased to provide an interim operational update for the second quarter ended June 30, 2025 (the "second quarter 2025" or "Q2 2025"). The Company plans to release its second quarter 2025 financial results after market close on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, followed by a conference call hosted by senior management on Thursday, August 14, 2025 at 11:00 AM Eastern Time / 8:00 AM Pacific Time. (All amounts in United States ("U.S.") dollars as at June 30, 2025, unless otherwise stated) George Salamis, President, CEO and Director of Integra commented: "Florida Canyon continues to deliver on our expectations, generating meaningful cash flow to fund significant re-investment into the mine, while also supporting the Company's broader growth strategy. As described in our 2025 guidance, between sustaining and growth capital, the Company plans to invest over ~$55 million into Florida Canyon this year capital that not only supports near-term improvements but also positions the mine for long-term growth and profitability. Overall, we are very pleased with the consistent operational delivery from Florida Canyon and the momentum it is helping us build across the business." Second Quarter 2025 Florida Canyon Mine Operational Update Florida Canyon Mine Operating Highlights Unit1 Three Months Ended June 30, 2025 Six Months Ended June 30, 2025 Ore mined kt 3,075 6,096 Waste mined kt 2,966 4,765 Total mined kt 6,041 10,861 Strip ratio waste:ore 0.96 0.78 Crushed ore to pad kt 1,882 3,646 Run-of-mine ("ROM") ore to pad kt 1,275 2,474 Total ore placed kt 3,157 6,120 Processed grade g/t Au 0.21 0.22 Gold recovery rate % 60.5 % 60.4 % Gold produced oz 18,086 37,410 Gold sold oz 18,194 37,734 1. Unit abbreviations: kt = 1,000 metric tonnes, g/t = grams per tonne, Au = gold, oz = troy ounce The Florida Canyon Mine ("Florida Canyon") produced 18,086 ounces of gold and sold 18,194 ounces of gold during the second quarter 2025, in-line with the Company's expectations. Consistent gold production was supported by the recovery of gold ounces placed on the Phase IIIa heap leach pad in the first and second quarters of 2025, as well as residual ounces leached from Phase I and II heap leach pads. The increased strip ratio during the second quarter 2025 is a result of increased capitalized waste stripping as part of the Company's re-investment strategy at Florida Canyon, which was outlined in the Company's 2025 guidance. During the second quarter 2025 construction of the Phase IIIb heap leach pad at Florida Canyon was initiated, with commissioning expected in late 2025. Second Quarter 2025 Financial Position Financial Position as of June 30, 2025 Unit1 Cash and cash equivalents $m 63.0 1. Unit abbreviations: $m = millions of U.S. dollars Complete financial results for the second quarter 2025 will be reported and filed on Integra's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and EDGAR profile at www.sec.gov on Wednesday, August 13, 2025. Second Quarter 2025 Conference Call Integra will host a conference call and webcast on Thursday, August 14, 2025, at 11:00 AM Eastern Time / 8:00 AM Pacific Time, to discuss the second quarter 2025 results. Details for the conference call and webcast are included below. Dial-In Numbers / Webcast: Conference ID: 2435675 Toll Free: (800) 715-9871 Toll: +1 (646) 307-1963 Webcast: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/915207495 About Integra Resources Integra is a growing precious metals producer in the Great Basin of the Western United States. Integra is focused on demonstrating profitability and operational excellence at its principal operating asset, the Florida Canyon Mine, located in Nevada. In addition, Integra is committed to advancing its flagship development-stage heap leach projects: the past producing DeLamar Project located in southwestern Idaho and the Nevada North Project located in western Nevada. Integra creates sustainable value for shareholders, stakeholders, and local communities through successful mining operations, efficient project development, disciplined capital allocation, and strategic M&A, while upholding the highest industry standards for environmental, social, and governance practices. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS George Salamis President, CEO and Director Qualified Person The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Gregory Robinson (P.E., SME Registered Member), Integra's General Manager of the Florida Canyon Mine. Mr. Robinson is a "qualified person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"). Forward Looking Statements Certain information set forth in this news release contains "forwardlooking statements" and "forwardlooking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation and in applicable United States securities law (referred to herein as forwardlooking statements). Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forwardlooking statements which includes, but is not limited to, statements with respect to: timing of the second quarter 2025 financial results and conference call, plans and expectations for Florida Canyon, the future financial or operating performance of the Company and the Wildcat and Mountain View deposits (the "Nevada North Project"), the Florida Mountain and DeLamar deposits (the "DeLamar Project") and Florida Canyon. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the use of words such as "may", "will", "could", "would", "anticipate", 'believe", "expect", "intend", "potential", "estimate", "budget", "scheduled", "plans", "planned", "forecasts", "goals" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of factors and assumptions made by management and considered reasonable at the time such statement was made. Forwardlooking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or result expressed or implied by such forwardlooking statements, including but not limited to those risk factors disclosed in Integra's Annual Information Form dated March 26, 2025 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, which is available on the SEDAR+ issuer profile for the Company at www.sedarplus.ca and available as Exhibit 99.1 to Integra's Form 40-F, which is available on the EDGAR profile for the Company at www.sec.gov. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this news release and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements or the foregoing list of assumptions or factors, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. Investors are urged to read the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulatory agencies, which can be viewed online under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca. Cautionary Note for U.S. Investors Concerning Mineral Resources and Reserves NI 43-101 is a rule of the Canadian Securities Administrators which establishes standards for all public disclosure an issuer makes of scientific and technical information concerning mineral projects. Technical disclosure contained in this news release has been prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 and the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum Classification System. These standards differ from the requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and resource information contained in this news release may not be comparable to similar information disclosed by domestic United States companies subject to the SEC's reporting and disclosure requirements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Gold Equivalent Ounce ("GEO") Production of 11,437 GEO for the 2 nd Quarter 2025 Underground Development has commenced and production set to ramp up in H2/2025 Expanded crushing and agglomeration capacity should expand tonnages to the leach pads and improve recoveries at the Heap Leach operation 2025 Production Guidance of 55,000 - 60,000 GEO remains in place, production weighted to H2 2025 as underground ramps up 20,000m Exploration Program underway at MDN targeting potential significant resource growth opportunities Development activities continue to progress both the Lagoa Salgada and Mont Sorcier projects TORONTO, ONTARIO / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Cerrado Gold Inc. (TSXV:CERT) (OTCQX:CRDOF) ("Cerrado" or the "Company") announces production results for the second quarter ended June 2025 ("Q2 2025") from the Minera Don Nicolas Mine in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina ("MDN"). Full quarterly financial results are expected to be released prior to August 30, 2025. Q2 Operating Highlights Q2 Production of 11,437 GEO vs 11,163 in Q1 Heap leach production steadily ramping up to expanded capacity for H2/25 Underground development at Paloma commencing as planned with three access portals started CIL plant starting to receive initial contribution from underground development, production expected to ramp up over H2/2025 Operational results for Q2 2025 showed a slight increase in production over the previous quarter, driven by modestly higher production from the heap leach operations. The heap leach operational performance remained steady over the quarter, however, recovery rates were impacted by a larger amount of primary ore placed on the pad during the quarter due to mine sequencing. This primary material has lower recovery rates and longer retention times as compared to oxide material. Heap leach production is expected to improve in H2/25 as more oxide ore is mined, the addition of an agglomerator to reduce fines and the ongoing upgrades to the crushing circuit are completed. In addition, during the quarter the crushing circuit was offline for approximately 15 days early in the quarter as upgrades were put in place to support higher throughput rates moving forward. Production from stockpiled material via the CIL plant declined somewhat due to lower grades, however, underground operations at Paloma are expected to begin to contribute meaningfully to production in Q3 2025 and beyond as development rates increase and more ore becomes available. The second phase of the expansion of the heap leach crushing circuit is now operational, which will increase feed stability in order to deliver steady ore to the pad. While supporting higher production rates, additional crushing facilities are also expected to reduce the feed size to the pad and result in increased recoveries. The final updates to the crusher circuit, including final installation of the agglomerator and additional conveyors, are set to be completed in Q3/25 As previously announced, the company commenced underground mining in June, opening up three portals for underground mining beneath the Paloma pit. Ore production is expected to ramp up over the coming months and is set to make a material contribution to production rates as the year progresses. While initial production expectations are relatively modest given the current known underground resource, underground access is expected to provide a platform for major exploration activities at lower costs than drilling from surface. Underground exploration aims to materially expand resources at MDN, leveraging the underground development for a potential expansion in production and/or mine life. On the exploration front, the Company commenced an approximate 20,000 metre drill program late in the quarter and is set to drill numerous targets in the coming months with the aim to potentially define new resources to provide mill feed to the CIL plant at MDN. Drilling commenced with a single DDH rig north of the Paloma pit, where several new veins have been intersected. Results are pending and further drilling will be required to confirm any new resources. Mark Brennan, CEO and Chairman commented, "While Q2 results were modestly lower than our expectations as the heap leach continues to ramp up to its fully expanded capacity, we continue to be confident in our full year expectations as the underground operations ramp-up in H2/25. Cerrado also continued to progress both the Lagoa Salgada project and the Mont Sorcier projects towards completion of feasibility studies by Q3/2025 and Q1/2026 respectively, which we believe should demonstrate substantial value being unlocked by Cerrado's development projects." Mont Sorcier Project Update At the Mont Sorcier high-purity iron project, detailed metallurgical test work and flow sheet design continued during the quarter. All key workstreams are now engaged and the Company has commenced an infill drill program to update sufficient resources to the Proven and Probable categories as required to support the ongoing feasibility. Assay results remain pending at this time. The Bankable Feasibility Study will look to provide greater detail of the potential for the project that was highlighted in the previous 2022 NI 43-101 Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") that delivered a project NPV 8% of US$1.6 Billion based upon iron concentrates grading 65% iron. With the improved metallurgical results received to date the Company is confident it can deliver a high purity DRI grade Iron ore concentrate product of over 67% iron, enhancing the project value and delivering a highly desired product to support the Green Steel transition. Lagoa Salgada Project Update At the Lagoa Salgada polymetallic VMS project, detailed metallurgical test work is scheduled to be completed by the end of July, with results targeting improvements across recoveries and grades for the various concentrate products. An updated Mineral Resource and Reserve Estimate is planned to be completed in Q3/25 incorporating the results of the metallurgical test work as well as using updated long term commodity price expectations. This updated resource will be used as part of the Optimized Feasibility Study that is well underway and expected to be completed around the end of Q3/25. Corporate Activities In addition to funding development programs at Lagoa Salgada and Mont Sorcier Cerrado continued to pay down debt during the quarter. The Company anticipates its balance sheet to strengthen over the remainder of the year as cash flow increases from higher production rates and strong gold prices. In the medium term the Company is also set to receive future payments from the sale of the Brazilian Monte do Carmo asset sale totaling US$15 million (U$10 million due in July 2026 and US$5 million by March 2027) as well as a further US$10 million should the option granted over the Company's Michelle properties in Argentina be exercised. Table 1. Key Operating Information Review of Technical Information The scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Andrew Croal, P.Eng., Chief Technical Officer for Cerrado Gold, who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101. About Cerrado Cerrado Gold is a Toronto-based gold production, development, and exploration company. The Company is the 100% owner of the producing Minera Don Nicolas and Las Calandrias mine in Santa Cruz province, Argentina. In Portugal, the Company holds an 80% interest in the highly prospective Lagoa Salgada VMS project through its position in Redcorp - Empreendimentos Mineiros, Lda. In Canada, Cerrado Gold is developing its 100% owned Mont Sorcier Iron project located outside of Chibougamou, Quebec. In Argentina, Cerrado is maximizing asset value at its Minera Don Nicolas ("MDN") operation through continued operational optimization and is growing production through its operations at the Las Calandrias heap leach project. An extensive campaign of exploration is ongoing to further unlock potential resources in our highly prospective land package in the heart of the Deseado Masiff. In Portugal, Cerrado is focused on the development and exploration of the highly prospective Lagoa Salgada VMS project located on the prolific Iberian Pyrite Belt in Portugal. The Lagoa Salgada project is a high-grade polymetallic project, demonstrating a typical mineralization endowment of zinc, copper, lead, tin, silver, and gold. Extensive exploration upside potential lies both near deposit and at prospective step-out targets across the large 7,209-hectare property concession. Located just 80km from Lisbon and surrounded by exceptional infrastructure, Lagoa Salgada offers a low-cost entry to a significant development and exploration opportunity, already showing its mineable scale and cashflow generation potential. In Canada, Cerrado holds a 100% interest in the Mont Sorcier high purity high grade DRI Iron project, which has the potential to produce a premium iron concentrate over a long mine life at low operating costs and low capital intensity. Furthermore, its high grade and high purity product facilitates the migration of steel producers from blast furnaces to electric arc furnaces, contributing to the decarbonization of the industry and the achievement of sustainable development goals. For more information about Cerrado please visit our website at: www.cerradogold.com. Mark Brennan CEO and Chairman Mike McAllister Vice President, Investor Relations Tel: +1-647-805-5662 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Disclaimer NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. This press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that discusses predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release include, without limitation, statements regarding the business and operations of Cerrado, production forecasts and estimated AISC for 2025 and beyond, the potential for additional crushing capacity that may be added and the performance of the heap leach pad, the production potential of MDN' underground mining operations, the potential to produce iron concentrate grading in excess of 67% at Mont Sorcier and the potential to enhance project value, anticipated timing to complete metallurgical test work at Lagoa Salgada, the potential further deleveraging and/or the potential to enhance liquidity during 2025, receipt of the deferred closing payment of US$15 million in connection with the Monte do Carmo asset sale, the likelihood of the Michelle option being exercised by the optionor and the related option payment being received. In making the forward-looking statements contained in this press release, Cerrado has made certain assumptions. Although Cerrado believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that the expectations of any forward-looking statements will prove to be correct. Known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this press release. Except as required by law, Cerrado disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions, changes in factors affecting such forward-looking statements or otherwise. Timmins, Ontario June 17, 2025 TheNewswire - Melkior Resources Inc. (Melkior or the Company) (TSXV: MKR) (OTC: MKRIF) is pleased to announce the results from its six (6) holes for a total of 1,050 metres Winter Drilling Program at the Beschefer East Project in the Northern Abitibi greenstone belt located approximately 90 km west of Matagami and 100 km north of La Sarre, Quebec. On June 14th, 2023, the Company entered into an option agreement on the Beschefer East Project to earn 100% over 3 years from SOQUEM Inc (see news release dated June 14, 2023). Highlights : MKR-BE-2024-001 intersected 5.1 g/t gold, 0.96% copper and 0.68% zinc over 0.9 meters and 7.6 g/t gold over 1.3 meters in a new discovery, The drilling successfully confirmed an 800-meter copper-gold mineralized long horizon, initially identified by Induced Polarization (IP) anomalies and supported by copper enrichment in black spruce bark sampling, These initial results will require more targeted drilling to evaluate the expansion potential of this new target and to determine if a broader mineralized source exists. Company Director, Jim Deluce commented: "We are thrilled with these initial drill results from Beschefer East, which uncover significant exploration potential in a previously unexplored area. These results validate Melkiors targeted exploration strategy and mark an important step in unlocking new growth opportunities for the company. 2025 Winter Drill Program A six (6) hole winter drill program aggregating to a total of 1,050 metres was completed at Beschefer East Project. The drill targets located on the east to central portion of the property was previously untested by drilling. Each of the six (6) drill holes have a nominal depth of 175 metres. The drill program targeted a coherent bio-geochemical gold-base metal anomalism that strongly overlaps with ground Induced Polarization (IP) conductors over a broad zone of low -moderate partially disrupted magnetic zones. Drilling has largely intersected altered felsic intrusions, felsic volcanics and minor tuffs from holes BE-24 01 to 04 and hit mafic volcanics on holes BE-24 05 to 06 to the west. The mineralized intersections appear to be localized at or near the contact of mafic and felsic volcanics along a northeast trending structural corridor (i.e., Beschefer Trend). The 100 metre by 100 metre spaced bio-geochemical, spruce tree bark (MMI) sampling program which collected 1,780 samples has identified five (5) distinct gold-polymetallic anomaly targets with elevated copper, lead and zinc metal concentrations. The recent drilling represents one of the five anomaly areas within the property. These anomalous areas will be reviewed for follow-up work as they are also coincident with geophysical ground IP - EM conductors. About the Beschefer East Project Melkior has entered into an option agreement with SOQUEM Inc in June 2023 on the Beschefer East Project to earn 100% ownership over 3 years from highly prospective yet underexplored region at Selbaie Mining Camp. The Project area comprises of 55 mining claims covering 2,906 hectares and contains significant gold and polymetallic potential and geological similarities to Abitibi Metals B26 deposit which hosts 11.3 Mt at 2.13% CuEq and 7.2 Mt at at 2.21% CuEq in the Indicated and Inferred categories, respectively. The Project shares a border with Abitibi Metals Beschefer Project, where historical drilling has identified 55.63 g/t gold over 5.57 metres, including 224 g/t over 1.23 metres within the B14 Gold Zone. Historically, the Project was explored by SOQUEM between 1992 and 2012, building a tight grid of geophysical anomalies, followed by drill testing. Over 300 kilometres of surveyed lines, and 11,200 metres (42 holes) of drilling were completed to date. Some of the best gold results were obtained from the powerline to the north included Hole 1172-99-30 which yielded multiple mineralized zones from 2 to 5 g/t gold over lengths of 0.5 to 6 metres within a large interval of 70 metres; hole 1172-13-40 intercepted 2.1 g/t gold over 5.4 metres, including 7.9 g/t gold over 0.9 metres. Gold mineralization is hosted in a quartz-carbonate centimetric veins network cross-cutting felsic to the intermediate volcanic rock affected by variable pervasive alteration associated with minor amounts of pyrite. The southern section has gold- base metal mineralization hosted in deformed and carbonate-altered andesite with some anomalous copper zones including 0.26 % Cu over 4.8 metres and 0.24% Cu over 4 metres from holes 1172-98-24 and 1172-99-30, respectively. Figure 1: Overview of the Beschefer East Property Figure 2: Beschefer East on Geology and Bio-geochemical (MMI) Anomaly Map showing locations of known mineralization and gold assay distribution from historical datasets. Figure 3: Cross section highlighting the recent drilling assay intercepts from holes BE-2024-01, BE-2024-02 and BE-2024-05 over coincident gold (red) and copper (blue) bio-geochemical gold-polymetallic anomalies. Table 1: Highlight drill hole assay intercepts (uncut) Hole ID From (m) To (m) Length (m) Au (g/t) Cu (%) Zn (%) BE-24-01 71.2 72.1 0.9 5.1 0.95 0.67 BE-24-01 87.2 88.5 1.3 7.5 - - BE-24-02 117 117.8 0.8 0.82 - - BE-24-05 83 84 1 0.49 - - Note 1: The true width of the intervals has not yet been established by drilling. Table 2: Drill Hole Information name UTMnad83_x UTMnad83_y Length Dip Az MKR-BE-2024-001 664818 5518153 175 -45 285 MKR-BE-2024-002 664818 5518153 175 -45 330 MKR-BE-2024-003 664921 5518214 175 -45 190 MKR-BE-2024-004 664921 5518214 175 -45 120 MKR-BE-2024-005 664681 5517974 175 -45 225 MKR-BE-2024-006 664681 5517974 175 -45 340 Sample AQ/QC All drill cores in this drilling campaign are NQ in size. Assays were completed on sawn half-cores, with the second half kept for future reference. The samples were analyzed using standard fire assay procedures with Atomic Absorption (AA) finish at Techni-Lab Abitibi Inc (Actlabs), Ste Germaine, Quebec. Samples yielding a grade higher than 10 g/t Au were analyzed a second time by fire assay with gravimetric finish at the same laboratory. Mineralized zones containing visible gold were analyzed with metallic sieve procedure. Standard reference materials, blank samples and duplicates were inserted prior to shipment for quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program. Qualified Person All technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Martin Ethier, P.Geo. Mr. Ethier is a consultant for Melkior and a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Melkior Resources Melkior Resources is an exploration stage resource company in world-class mining jurisdictions across Quebec and Ontario. The company is dedicated to advancing a portfolio of high-potential mineral properties with a primary focus on gold and base metal exploration. Melkiors is flagship projects include Carscallen Project, Beschefer East Projects, Genex Project, Val DOr, White Lake, and Maseres Projects. These projects are strategically located in the Abitibi Greenstone Belt, known for hosting significant gold and base metal deposits. About SOQUEM SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Quebec, is dedicated to promoting the exploration, discovery and development of mining properties in Quebec. SOQUEM also contributes to maintaining strong local economies. Proudpartner and ambassador for the development of Quebecs mineral wealth, SOQUEM relies on innovation, research andstrategic minerals to be well-positioned for the future. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD Keith James Deluce, Director For more information, please contact: Melkior Resources Inc. E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Tel: 226-271-5170 The reader is invited to visit Melkior's web site www.melkior.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - Dryden Gold Corp. (TSXV: DRY) (OTCQB: DRYGF) (FSE: X7W) ("Dryden Gold" or the "Company") wishes to announce a proposed non-brokered equity financing under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption (as defined below), whereby the Company intends to raise up to $7 million through an offering of up to 34,285,714 shares (the "LIFE Offering" or the "Financing") comprised of flow-through common shares (the "FT Shares"), charity flow-through shares (the "CFT Shares") and hard dollar shares (the "HD Shares"). Up to 14,285,714 FT Shares will be offered at $0.24 per share for maximum aggregate proceeds of $2,000,000. Up to 12,500,000 CFT Shares will be offered at a price of $0.284 per CFT Share for maximum aggregate proceeds of $3,550,000. Up to 7,500,000 HD Shares will be offered at a price of $0.20 per HD Share for maximum aggregate proceeds of $1,450,000. Subject to compliance with applicable securities laws and the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV"), finders' fees of 6% cash of the CFT Shares, FT Shares and HD Shares sold under the Financing may be payable to eligible arm's length persons with respect to certain subscriptions accepted by the Company. The proceeds of the Financing will be used to expand the Company's current drill program to 30,000 meters and for general corporate purposes. The LIFE Offering will close in one or more tranches on completion of documentation with the final closing on or before September 5, 2025, or such other date or dates as the Company may determine, and is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals including the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. Subject to compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and in accordance with National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions ("NI 45-106"), the LIFE Offering is being made pursuant to the listed issuer financing exemption under Part 5A of NI 45-106 (the "Listed Issuer Financing Exemption"). The securities offered under the Listed Issuer Exemption will not be subject to a hold period in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws. There is an offering document related to this Offering that can be accessed under the Company's profile at www.sedarplus.ca and at https://drydengold.com/. Prospective investors should read this offering document before making an investment decision. The FT Shares and the CFT Shares will qualify as "flow-through shares" (within the meaning of subsection 66(15) of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the "Tax Act"). An amount equal to the gross proceeds from the issuance of the FT Shares and the CFT Shares will be used to incur eligible resource exploration expenses which will qualify as (i) "Canadian exploration expenses" (as defined in the Tax Act), and (ii) as "flow-through mining expenditures" (as defined in subsection 127(9) of the Tax Act). The Company anticipates that insiders may subscribe for HD Shares. The issuance of HD Shares to insiders is considered a related party transaction subject to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. The Company intends to rely on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority shareholder approval requirements provided under sections 5.5(b) and 5.7(b) of Multilateral Instrument 61-101. Qualified Person The technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Maura J. Kolb, M.Sc., P.Geo., President of Dryden Gold and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 of the Canadian Securities Administrators ABOUT DRYDEN GOLD CORP. Dryden Gold Corp. is an exploration company focused on the discovery of high-grade gold mineralization listed on the TSX Venture Exchange ("DRY"), on the OTCQB marketplace ("DRYGF") and on the Frankfurt Exchange ("X7W") The Company has a strong management team and Board of Directors comprised of experienced individuals with a track record of building shareholder value through property acquisition and consolidation, exploration success, and mergers and acquisitions. Dryden Gold controls a 100% interest in a dominant strategic land position in the Dryden District of Northwestern Ontario. Dryden Gold's property package includes historic gold mines but has seen limited modern exploration. The property hosts high-grade gold mineralization over 50km of potential strike length along the Manitou-Dinorwic deformation zone. The property has excellent infrastructure, enjoys collaborative relationships with First Nations communities and benefits from proximity to an experienced mining workforce. For more information, go to our website www.drydengold.com. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: The information contained herein contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to future development plans; future acquisitions; exploration programs; and the business and operations of Dryden Gold. Forward-looking statements relate to information that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties which could affect actual events or results to differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements including, the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations; risks related to commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business detailed elsewhere in Dryden Gold's and the Company's disclosure record. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are conditioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and Dryden Gold and the Company do not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could differ materially from Dryden Gold's and the Company's expectations or projections. UNITED STATES ADVISORY. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), have been offered and sold outside the United States to eligible investors pursuant to Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act, and may not be offered, sold, or resold in the United States or to, or for the account of or benefit of, a U.S. Person (as such term is defined in Regulation S under the United States Securities Act) unless the securities are registered under the U.S. Securities Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act is available. Hedging transactions involving the securities must not be conducted unless in accordance with the U.S. Securities Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in the state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - June 30, 2025) - Zodiac Gold Inc. (TSXV: ZAU) ("Zodiac Gold" or the "Company"), a West-African gold exploration company, is pleased to announce additional encouraging assay results from its ongoing Phase Three drilling program at the Arthington target, part of its flagship Todi Gold Project in Liberia. The latest results continue to support the presence of a robust mineralized system at Arthington, including within a +300-meter-long corridor between artisanal workings, an area that had seen limited drilling in Phase One and Two. Impressively, 36 out of 38 holes drilled across all three phases at the Arthington target have returned significant gold intersections, highlighting both continuity and scale. Highlights of the six holes drilled in the current program include: ADD033: 12m at 3.31 g/t Au (including 7m at 5.26 g/t Au) , 9.5m at 1.08 g/t Au (including 3.49m at 2.04 g/t Au) and 4.04m at 2.15 g/t Au, beginning 30m below surface. , 9.5m at 1.08 g/t Au (including 3.49m at 2.04 g/t Au) and 4.04m at 2.15 g/t Au, beginning 30m below surface. ADD034: 20.55m at 1.17 g/t Au (including 3.25m at 2.27 g/t Au and 2m at 4.58 g/t Au) , beginning 55m below surface. , beginning 55m below surface. ADD035: 17.51m at 0.97 g/t Au* (including 3.58m at 2.56 g/t Au g/t Au) , beginning 68m below surface. , beginning 68m below surface. ADD036: 9.80m at 2.19 g/t Au* (including 0.42m at 42.22 g/t Au within a wider interval of 5.05m at 4 g/t Au*) and 11.44m at 0.98 g/t Au* (including 3.37m at 2.23 g/t Au) , beginning 69m below surface. , beginning 69m below surface. ADD037: 19.01m at 1.15 g/t Au* (including 1m at 8.05 g/t Au within a wider interval of 3.63m at 3.41 g/t Au) . . ADD038: 14.11m at 0.98 g/t Au (including 3.4m at 2.24 g/t Au). David Kol, President & CEO of Zodiac Gold, commented: "We are extremely encouraged by the consistency of these results, which point to a multi-zone gold system with strong continuity. Drilling is not only validating our geological model, but also uncovering broad mineralized zones with potential for high-grade shoots that could significantly enhance the resource potential of the Todi Project. This level of exploration success is rare when drilling a greenfield target and underscores the district-scale opportunity we are developing in Liberia, given the potential along strike and additional greenfield targets within our +2,300 sq km land package." Testing of the Company's geological model for the +300m zone between the Red Hill Field and Garang Base artisanal workings was a priority for the current program and results have confirmed the interpreted west-northwest trend. The width of the intercepts in ADD036 and ADD037 have exceeded expectations, with the addition of a high-grade intersection of 42 g/t Au in ADD036. ADD038 has demonstrated the eastern extension of the mineralized zones intersected in ADD025, which was drilled during Phase Two. Gold mineralized zones are west-northwest-trending (Map 1), dipping between 60 and 90o to the south-southwest, and are hosted in sheared amphibolite and melanocratic gneiss. Map 1: Results from ADD033 to ADD038 with interpreted mineralized zones at the Arthington target Drill hole collar data for ADD033 to ADD038 is shown in Table 1 and significant intersections are shown in Table 2. Table 1: Collar Data for ADD033 and ADD038 Hole ID Easting (WGS84) Northing (WGS84) Elevation (m) Azimuth Dip Depth (m) ADD033 323452 722616 65 0 -50 161.10 ADD034 323335 722622 60 12 -50 181.05 ADD035 323384 722586 60 12 -65 243.70 ADD036 323530 722562 50 12 -50 150.65 ADD037 323672 722509 58 12 -50 149.45 ADD038 323723 722434 40 12 -50 191.04 Table 2: Significant Intersections - ADD033 to ADD038 Hole ID From (m) To (m) Interval (m) Average Au (g/t) ADD033 11.6 12.6 1.00 0.27 ADD033 16.9 18 1.10 0.21 ADD033 34 39 5.00 0.34 ADD033 42 46.04 4.04 2.15 Including 44 45 1.00 6.28 ADD033 49.5 59 9.50 1.08 Including 53.31 56.8 3.49 2.04 ADD033 68 69 1.00 0.25 ADD033 71 72 1.00 0.34 ADD033 76 88 12.00 3.31 Including 78 85 7.00 5.26 Including 81 82 1.00 11.73 ADD033 92.62 94.6 1.98 0.60 ADD033 97 99.19 2.19 0.43 ADD033 109.75 110.83 1.08 0.62 ADD033 122.8 123.8 1.00 0.24 ADD033 135 136 1.00 1.09 ADD033 142 143 1.00 0.27 ADD034 44 48 4.00 0.43 ADD034 57 61 4.00 0.29 ADD034 74.45 95 20.55 1.17 Including 76.75 80 3.25 2.27 Including 84 86 2.00 4.58 ADD034 98 99 1.00 0.95 ADD034 113 115 2.00 0.48 ADD034 123 125 2.00 0.22 ADD034 128 129 1.00 0.20 ADD035 15 16 1.00 0.68 ADD035 38 39 1.00 0.99 ADD035 75.34 92.85 17.51 0.97* Including 75.34 78.92 3.58 2.56 Including 77.3 78.92 1.62 4.27 Including 87.63 92.85 5.22 1.12 ADD035 100 101 1.00 0.23 ADD035 106 108 2.00 0.34 ADD035 136 143.6 7.60 0.44 Including 136.69 137.7 1.01 1.15 ADD036 50.7 54 3.30 0.38 ADD036 69.61 81.05 11.44 0.98* Including 69.61 77.7 8.09 1.19 Including 73.33 76.7 3.37 2.23 ADD036 111.2 121 9.80 2.19* Including 115.95 121 5.05 4.00* Including 115.95 117.2 1.25 14.39 ADD036 120 121 1.00 1.92 ADD037 37.95 39.1 1.15 0.23 ADD037 41.3 43.5 2.2 0.58 ADD037 45.86 47 1.14 0.21 ADD037 49 50 1 0.23 ADD037 56.37 75.38 19.01 1.15* Including 56.37 60 3.63 3.41 Including 58 60 2 5.1 Including 67 69.43 2.43 2.16 ADD037 74.25 75.38 1.13 0.29 ADD037 102.25 103.38 1.13 0.35 ADD037 131 133.22 2.22 1.11 ADD038 33 34.99 1.99 0.4 ADD038 55 56 1 0.26 ADD038 75.64 89.75 14.11 0.98 Including 84.6 88 3.4 2.24 ADD038 134.5 138.5 4 0.34 ADD038 168 171 3 0.6 Note that significant intersections have been determined as intervals above 0.2 g/t Au with a minimum length of 1m and a maximum of 2m of consecutive samples below 0.2 g/t Au, except the intervals marked with an asterisk (*). Intervals marked with an asterisk in ADD035 and ADD036 include between 2.38 and 4.08 consecutive meters below 0.2 g/t Au, however these samples average at least 0.1 g/t Au suggesting the continuation of the mineralized envelope. The interval marked with an asterisk in ADD037 includes 3 consecutive meters below 0.2 g/t Au, however logging indicates the continuity of sheared amphibolite through the whole interval. Intervals are drilled rather than true thicknesses and it is estimated that true thicknesses for the intervals in ADD033 to ADD038 are approximately 70-90% of drilled thickness. Drilling, Sampling and QA/QC Procedures The drilling program at Arthington is being completed by a Fordia Eider 2000 diamond drill rig with HQ and NQ core diameter. Core recoveries for holes ADD033 to ADD038 were approaching 100% in fresh rock, where the vast majority of mineralization has been intersected. The easting, northing and elevation data shown in Table 1 have been recorded using handheld GPS only and will be surveyed by differential GPS at a later date. Drill core was transported a short distance from the drill site to the Company's exploration camp at Arthington. After geological logging, the core was cut along the long axis using a diamond core saw, with half being sampled and half retained. Where the core was too soft for cutting (in the oxide zone), the core was split using a spatula. Core sampling was completed by Zodiac Gold's geological team, supervised by senior company personnel. All samples met the standards for chain of custody without the opportunity for third party access from Zodiac Gold's exploration camp to SGS Liberia in Monrovia for sample preparation (SGS method PRP87). Each sample was analyzed by 50g fire assay with an atomic absorption finish by SGS Ghana (SGS method FAA505). All samples returning a grade over 10 g/t Au will be reanalyzed by 50g fire assay with a gravimetric finish (SGS method FAG505). SGS Ghana is ISO/IEC 17025 accredited for the methods described above. SGS Liberia is not an accredited laboratory but follows standard SGS sample preparation procedures. SGS is independent of Zodiac Gold. In addition to the laboratory's quality control program, a rigorous quality assurance and quality control program is implemented by the Company, including the insertion of blanks, standards and duplicates to ensure reliable assay results. Quality assurance and quality control data are monitored by the Company. Qualified Person Tom Dowrick, Director of Exploration at Zodiac Gold, is a Chartered Geologist of the Geological Society of London and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. He has reviewed and approved the technical and scientific information provided in this release. About Zodiac Gold Zodiac Gold Inc. (TSXV: ZAU) is a West-African gold exploration company focused on its flagship Todi Project situated in Liberia-an underexplored, politically stable, mining friendly jurisdiction hosting several large-scale gold and iron ore deposits. Strategically positioned along the fertile Todi Shear Zone, Zodiac Gold is developing a district-scale gold opportunity with additional iron ore potential, covering a vast 2,316 km2 land package. The Todi gold project has undergone de-risking, showcasing proven gold occurrences at both surface and depth, with five drill-ready targets, of which two have been drilled and high-grade gold intercepts. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Information This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking statements include predictions, projections, and forecasts and are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "forecast", "expect", "potential", "project", "target", "schedule", "budget" and "intend" and statements that an event or result "may", "will", "should", "could" or "might" occur or be achieved and other similar expressions and includes the negatives thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Company's planned exploration programs and drill programs and potential significance of results are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Forward-looking statements are based on a number of material factors and assumptions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Company's expectations include actual exploration results, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined, results of future resource estimates, future metal prices, availability of capital, and financing on acceptable terms, general economic, market or business conditions, uninsured risks, regulatory changes, defects in title, availability of personnel, materials, and equipment on a timely basis, accidents or equipment breakdowns, delays in receiving government approvals, unanticipated environmental impacts on operations and costs to remedy same, and other exploration or other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause such actions, events, or results to differ materially from those anticipated. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and accordingly readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Ottawa, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 17, 2025) - NeoTerrex Minerals Inc. (TSXV: NTX) ("NeoTerrex" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the receipt of initial assay results from its ongoing exploration program at the 100%-owned Gravitas project (the "Project"), located in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region of Quebec. Copper Mineralization In the southern block of the Project, NeoTerrex geologists located a north-south trending quartz vein hosting copper-bearing sulphides, including chalcopyrite, malachite, and covellite. The vein, discovered at surface in an area with excellent access via recently constructed logging roads, was partially exposed over a 25-metre strike length. Four grab samples were collected across the exposed section, all of which returned copper grades exceeding 1%, with anomalous silver values, including a grab sample of 15 g/t Ag. Grab samples are selective by nature and may not represent average grades on the Project. Sample Number Copper (%) M524630 1.75 M524631 1.98 M524633 2.48 M524640 1.84 The quartz vein is believed to be associated with a nearby major structural feature a north-south trending fault zone located just west of the mineralized zone in a valley with no surface outcrop. This structure has not been systematically explored except for two historical drill holes located further east which targeted gold mineralization. A map showing the location of the copper mineralization is provided below. Follow-up exploration, including potential drill testing, is being considered to determine the continuity and depth extent of the copper-bearing vein, as well as to assess mineralization within the fault zone itself. Location Map Tungsten Potential In parallel, exploration is now advancing at the Curie Block, with particular attention on the Petosa Tungsten Zone, where visible scheelite (a tungsten-bearing mineral) has been observed in multiple locations. Assay results for these areas are pending. Strong Financial Position NeoTerrex remains well-capitalized with $3 million in working capital and no debt, enabling the Company to aggressively pursue its exploration initiatives. In addition to the Gravitas copper discovery, the Company has identified numerous rare earth element occurrences across its project portfolio, all of which are slated for follow-up exploration. Investors and stakeholders are encouraged to visit www.neoterrex.com for more information and project updates. QAQC A total of 50 grab samples including QAQC samples were submitted for assaying. Analyses were performed by ALS Canada Ltd in Val d'Or (QC) and Vancouver (BC). All samples were analyzed for multiple elements using the methods ME-MS41, ME-MS85 and ME-OG46. A total of 5 blanks and 2 duplicates were inserted in the sequence. The assay laboratory also included its own certified reference materials (CRMs) with known grades (OREAS 232b and OREAS 752b) within the assay procedures. Qualified Person The technical and scientific content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mathieu Stephens, P.Geo., President & CEO of NeoTerrex Minerals Inc., and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About NeoTerrex Minerals Inc. NeoTerrex Minerals is advancing a portfolio of prospective critical minerals projects in the Province of Quebec, many of which benefit from proximity to established infrastructure. The Company is focused on unlocking new deposits of copper, tungsten, and rare earth elements, positioning itself to contribute to North America's growing demand for responsibly sourced critical minerals. Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS This news release may contain certain forward-looking information and statements, including without limitation, statements pertaining to NeoTerrex's future plans, objectives or goals, and the anticipated release date of assay results. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking information and such information involves various risks and uncertainties. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information except in accordance with applicable securities laws. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. A description of assumptions used to develop such forward-looking information and a description of risk factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking information can be found in the Company's disclosure documents on the SEDAR+ website at www.sedarplus.ca. Vancouver, British Columbia July 16, 2025 TheNewswire - Canary Gold Corp. (CSE: BRAZ | Frankfurt: K5D) (Canary Gold or the Company) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a binding letter of intent to acquire a 100% interest in ten additional mineral tenements totaling approximately 94,700 hectares located in the state of Rondonia, Brazil (the Property). The acquisition will significantly expand the Companys land position within the Madeira River Project, one of its principal gold exploration assets in Brazil. Under the terms of a binding letter of intent dated July 15, 2025, the Company will acquire the Property from Talisman Venture Partners Ltd. (Talisman), a private British Columbia corporation, for a total purchase price of CAD$1,700,000, satisfied through a combination of cash and shares (the Acquisition). The consideration includes: a cash payment of CAD$50,000 on execution of a definitive agreement (the Definitive Agreement) respecting the Acquisition, subject to the approval or non-objection of the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE), the issuance of 4,000,000 common shares of Canary Gold at a deemed price of CAD$0.30 per share (for a deemed consideration of CAD$1,200,000) within seven (7) business days of the execution of the Definitive Agreement, and on the date that is 180 days following the execution of the Definitive Agreement (the Final Payment Date), at the election of Canary Gold, in its sole discretion, (A) a further cash payment of CAD$450,000; or (B) the issuance of CAD$450,000 worth of common shares, each share to be issued at a price that is the higher of (x) CAD$0.30 or (y) the volume weighted average price of the common shares on the CSE for the 10 trading days preceding the Final Payment Date. As part of the transaction, Talisman will retain a 1.0% Net Smelter Return (NSR) royalty on all commercial mineral production from the acquired properties, one-half of which (leaving a 0.5% NSR) may be purchased by Canary Gold at any time for CAD$1,000,000. The acquired tenements are located adjacent to the Companys existing land position in Rondonia and are considered highly prospective for gold mineralization. All tenements are in the application to permit stage and are held through Talisman do Brasil Mineracao Ltda. and Canopus Geologia e Projetos Ltda. All securities issued will be subject to a four-month hold period from the date of issuance. The Acquisition is an arms length transaction. No commissions or finders fees will be paid by the Company in connection with the Acquisition. The Acquisition remains subject to customary closing conditions, including CSE approval and completion of satisfactory due diligence by the Company. There is no guarantee that the Acquisition will be completed as proposed or at all. Andrew Lee Smith, Executive Chairman of Canary Gold, commented: This strategic acquisition consolidates our land position in one of Brazils most prospective underexplored gold regions. The expanded Madeira River Project now covers over 160,000 hectares of favorable geology, providing a significant exploration footprint and the opportunity to advance multiple high-priority targets within a single coherent district-scale holding. About Canary Gold Corp. Canary Gold Corp. is a Canadian public exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of gold projects in Brazil. The Company holds an option to earn up to a 70% undivided interest in the Rio Madeira Project through staged exploration expenditures and milestone payments. For Further Information, Please Contact: Canary Gold Corp. Mark Tommasi, President Tel: 604-318-1448 www.canarygold.ca This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as will, may, should, anticipates, expects, believes, and similar expressions or the negative of these words or other comparable terminology. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Companys ability to meet the closing conditions of the Acquisition, or that the Acquisition will close, expected benefits of the Property, planned exploration programs and drill programs and potential significance of results, are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Companys expectations include but are not limited to the risks detailed in the Companys Prospectus and in the continuous disclosure filings made by the Company with securities regulations from time to time. The reader is cautioned that assumptions used in the preparation of any forward-looking information may prove to be incorrect. Events or circumstances may cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted, as a result of numerous known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking information. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release and the Company will update or revise publicly any of the included forward-looking statements only as expressly required by applicable law. No securities exchange or commission has reviewed or accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. In the Republic of Guinea, compensation for the victims of the 28 September 2009 massacre has begun, shortly after the announcement made on 26 March by a presidential decree read on national television. A total of 334 people are listed as civil parties in the judgment handed down by the Dixinn Court of first Instance, which conducted the trial between September 2022 and July 2024. Some have already received their compensation, while others have not yet. When questioned, the commission responsible for distributing the compensation declined to comment further. However, in addition to these two categories, a third one has emerged and wants to be heard. This is the category of victims who did not register as civil parties. These people are increasingly turning to the media to draw the presidents attention to their situation. Tuesday, 13 May 2025. A ceremony is organised by the ministry of Justice in the main hall of the Conakry Court of appeal, where the trial for the 28 September massacre took place. Several civil parties are present at this solemn gathering, dedicated to the handout of the first compensation payments. Some burst into tears when the minister of Justice took the floor: We are gathered here today to implement the decree of the president of the Republic and to give the victims cheques for the amounts set and determined by the court decision, said Yaya Kairaba Kaba. After the symbolic presentation of nine such cheques, the president of the Association of victims, parents and friends of 28 September 2009 (Avipa) welcomed the authorities decision to take responsibility for compensating the victims. Today, I can breathe a sigh of relief. For the past 15 years, I thought for a long time that we would never get there, but today it is done! I am very happy to have witnessed this first handout of compensation payment and I pray to God that I will live to see the end of the process, said Asmaou Diallo. Compensation totalling 12 million euros Abdoulaye Balde has chaired the compensation commission set up by the ministry of Justice since 9 May 2025. Under the ruling, 334 people are to receive compensation totalling 117.9 billion Guinean francs, or approximately 12 million euros, he said. We have drawn up a work plan dividing the victims into groups, taking into account the offences they suffered: women victims of rape, missing or dead persons, victims of assault and battery, and victims of looting of property. On this first day, our commission processed the cases of 11 people. Two were sent back because they did not have the necessary supporting documents, Balde said during the handout ceremony of the first nine compensation payments. Since 13 May, other victims have been compensated. Women who were victims of sexual assault were the first ones to receive compensation, according to information gathered from the coordinator of the civil lawyers collective. Among the beneficiaries was a woman in her fifties who wishes to remain anonymous. She received a cheque for 1.5 billion Guinean francs (approximately 150,000 euros), as decided by the court ruling at the end of the trial. This victim plans to use the money to support her family. I am so happy that I cannot even express my joy! With this money, I dont even want to waste time building a house, Im going to buy one straight away. My mother is in the village, my father died a long time ago. I am responsible for the whole family. God willing, I will organise a family reunion. And with the rest, I will secure my childrens future. My brother, can you imagine? I received 1.5 billion Guinean francs, she said happily. Fatoumata Barry is younger. She also received compensation. She is well known in Guinea for refusing to testify behind closed doors and instead giving her testimony with her face uncovered during the trial. We met her at her home on 30 June, her face lit up with a big smile. She confirmed that she had also received 1.5 billion Guinean francs. Barry has already made plans to avoid wasting the money. What I plan to do is to get into real estate. Im going to rent out part of my home and find myself a place to live so that I can continue to do other things. And then the money will help me further my knowledge as a medical representative [acting as an intermediary between the pharmaceutical industry and the medical profession], particularly in Dakar, where I received my training. Once I am well equipped in this field, I could even open a laboratory here in Guinea and work, she says ambitiously. Barry does not think that the compensation they have been paid is substantial. For her, the 1.5 billion cannot compensate for the impact of the crimes they suffered nor the time that was stolen from them. For example, I had to stop my studies. And I fled the country for 13 years. I came back for justice. And I fought until I won. And for that, I thank God. It wasnt my strength that did it, she said. In addition to victims of sexual assault, relatives of missing persons also received compensation. This is the case of Mamadou Bailo Bah, who is also president of the Association of families of the disappeared (Afadis). As stipulated in the court ruling, he, who lost his father during the massacre, received one billion Guinean francs. Naturally, the funds I received belong to the family. I have younger brothers and sisters, I have two mothers, and we plan to hold a family meeting to decide what to do next. In any case, we are trying to come up with lots of projects. We plan to use the money to educate my younger brothers and sisters. We also plan to look for plots of land in Coyah (on the outskirts of Conakry) and naturally start a business. Pressure from victims not taken into account But not everyone is happy with the victims compensation. Now united in a collective, people who claim to be victims of the same tragedy but whose names do not appear in the Dixinn courts decision are making themselves known in Conakry. Their latest press conference was held on 28 June. We, the Collective of uncompensated victims, hereby inform the national and international community, the International Criminal Court (ICC), human rights NGOs and all parties involved in the trial of our situation. We were indeed delighted to welcome the decree on compensation for victims, but unfortunately, our joy was short-lived. We were unpleasantly surprised to find out that only 334 people had been included out of the hundreds of victims listed. That is why we humbly request the personal involvement of His Excellency General Mamadi Doumbouya, president of the Republic, to ensure that this compensation is extended to all the victims, without exception, said Alseny Diallo, spokesperson for the collective. The president of Avipa is among those omitted. Asmaou Diallo, who lost her eldest son in the massacre, finds this strange and incomprehensible. However, she remains hopeful that she will receive compensation at the end of the appeal trial. She says she formally joined the collective led by lawyer Alpha Amadou DS Bah as a civil party in the case before being heard during the investigation. The minister of Justice promised us that there would be an appeal trial. And from then on, those who were omitted will be included in this category to also receive compensation, like the 334 people currently receiving it. So there are others who are wondering how it is that I, as president of the organisation, have been omitted. I say that this is at the discretion of the court, she explained. Hopes rest on the appeal Like the president of Avipa, other victims who were not taken into account are waiting hopefully for this appeal trial. Bah, the coordinator of the collective of lawyers for the civil parties, explains that this will not involve a new civil action, because, he points out, that civil action was definitively closed once the public prosecutor had presented his submissions at the end of the trial. For him, it will be more a matter of bringing to the attention of the appeal judge that in his decision, the first judge did not take into account the names of all the civil parties duly constituted the case file. According to him, the 737 victims on the list he presented were duly constituted as civil parties. Of the 119 victims who testified in court, around 20 did not find their names in the judges decision, he added. A second list of civil parties was submitted by a second lawyer, Hamidou Barry, who did not wish to comment on the matter. While the payment of compensation continues, how many have received their compensation to date? How does the compensation commission intend to deal with the cases of victims who have not been compensated? These questions remain unanswered for now. According to judicial sources, of the 117.9 billion Guinean francs needed to pay the compensation awarded by the judges of first instance, 100 billion comes from the presidential sovereignty fund approximately 15% of the annual budget of the presidential institution. The entire compensation was to be covered by the national budget, in the interests of social justice, national reconciliation and reparation for damages, according to the presidential decree published on 26 March 2025. Two days later, transitional president Mamadi Doumbouya (in power in Guinea since a coup in 2021) pardoned Captain Moussa Dadis Camara on health grounds. The latter had been convicted on 31 July 2024 along with some of his co-defendants for crimes against humanity. Following the decision, some parties appealed. However, nearly a year later, the appeal trial has not been scheduled yet. You are free to republish this content online or in print, as long as you respect our Creative Commons license Do not edit or adapt the content without the express agreement of the editors, make sure the authors name (first name and family name) and JusticeInfo.net are mentioned clearly at the beginning of the article. Dont forget to include a link to the article you are republishing (not just to the Justice Info homepage), saying explicitly that you are republishing this content.Please note that image rights cannot be automatically included in our Creative Commons licence. Look at the credits below the images to check whether the content is one to which you hold the rights, or ask the editors about this.Copy the HTML code below into your content management system (CMS). If necessary, contact your webmaster. Once selected, press "Ctrl-C" to copy the code. Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was laid to rest on Tuesday at his private residence in Daura, Katsina State, in a modest ceremony. Buhari, who led Nigeria from 2015 to 2023, passed away on Sunday at the age of 82 while receiving treatment at a London clinic. His body, draped in Nigerias national colors, was flown into Katsina and buried the same day, in accordance with Islamic rites. What has sparked conversation online, however, is the simplicity of his final resting place - a plain grave and a wooden coffin, as dictated by Islamic tradition. Many netizens have echoed the phrase all is vanity, noting the stark contrast between his former position of power and his humble burial. See the photos below. Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Former Chief Justice David Maraga has disclosed that his 2027 presidential campaign will be largely funded through public contributions from Kenyans. Speaking during an interview on Tuesday, July 15th, Maraga said he is confident that citizens will support his bid financially, even with small amounts. We will require a substantial amount of money. We are going to appeal to Kenyans to contribute to our campaign, and it is going to succeed. Kenyans will themselves fund this election, he stated. Maraga revealed he will personally inject Ksh1 million to Ksh2 million into the campaign, admitting that he lacks the vast resources often associated with presidential bids. I will put in very little money. I dont have much, he said, adding that contributions as low as Ksh50 would be welcome. The former CJ pledged to appoint qualified professionals if elected, accusing the current administration of sidelining competent individuals. I am going to have officers who are competent in their respective areas, and allow them to work, he said. He further criticized President William Rutos Government, blaming poor economic management for the closure and relocation of key corporations. We need to rethink how we manage our affairs, he added. The Kenyan DAILY POST Dialogue key to inclusive human rights 13:41, July 17, 2025 By Qin Feng in Xi'an and Liu Boqian ( China Daily The 2025 China-Central Asia Human Rights Development Forum convened on Tuesday in Xi'an, Shaanxi province, as part of efforts to deepen regional cooperation on human rights. More than 60 participants, including government officials, scholars and leaders of human rights institutions and social organizations from China and Central Asian countries, attended the event. The forum builds on momentum from the China-Central Asia Summit held in Astana, Kazakhstan, in mid-June. The gathering focused on cultural diversity, Asian values, global human rights governance and the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity. During the opening ceremony, Xie Fuzhan, chairman of the China Foundation for Human Rights Development, said human rights are a hallmark of human civilization. He called the full realization of human rights a shared aspiration and an essential part of building a closer China-Central Asia community. Emphasizing the value of cultural diversity, Xie said "civilizations differ by region, not by merit", adding that China and Central Asian nations, each with rich, ancient traditions, should learn from one another and work together to advance human rights protection. Sheradil Baktygulov, director of the Institute for World Policy Study in Kyrgyzstan, told China Daily there should not be a one-size-fits-all model for human rights development worldwide. He praised China's achievements in eradicating poverty and combating disease, calling the forum an invaluable opportunity for mutual learning. Mirzatillo Tillabaev, first deputy director of Uzbekistan's National Human Rights Center, said Uzbekistan has completed a detailed study of Chinese human rights documents and will publish Uzbek-language translations and educational materials in August. Echoing Xie's view that "development is the greatest human right", Tillabaev called for joint investment in transport, energy and digital infrastructure to strengthen regional connectivity and for active China-Central Asia cooperation in upholding United Nations human rights principles. In breakout sessions, delegates reviewed national progress in governance reform, quality-of-life improvements and the establishment of State supervisory bodies, with a focus on the rights of women and children. Yuldasheva Govkherjan, a professor at the Tashkent State University of Law, shared Uzbekistan's annual summer school programs and courses offered across 330 vocational institutions that are focused on human rights, women's rights and children's rights. "Without human rights education, respect for human rights is impossible," she said. Delegates from China and Central Asia underscored the importance of regional dialogue in shaping inclusive, culturally sensitive human rights frameworks. Officials from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan echoed calls for digital fairness, civil society engagement and stronger cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative. This was the third edition of the China-Central Asia Human Rights Development Forum, following meetings in Beijing in September last year and in Astana in May. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Former nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has alleged that Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifunas criticism of President William Ruto is driven by personal frustration after missing out on a Cabinet position. During an interview with Iko Nini Podcast, Orwoba claimed that Sifuna had hoped to join the Kenya Kwanza administration and was eyeing a senior Government post. Sifuna is one of the people who were super excited to join the Government. He wanted to be a Cabinet Secretary. Thats why today hes acting bitter, Orwoba stated. Hes not opposed to the Government on principle - hes just upset that he was left out. She accused the ODM Secretary General of using political theatrics to conceal his personal disappointment, alleging that his outspoken stance against the Government lacks sincerity. Sifuna has remained a vocal critic of President Ruto, frequently asserting that Ruto will serve only one term - even with the support of opposition leader Raila Odinga. " Edwin Sifuna is bitter with President Ruto and the Broadbased government because he wanted to be a Cabinet Secretary "- Gloria Orwoba speaks. ( Courtesy of Iko nini) pic.twitter.com/aqj1KpjRyU The Kenyan Vigilante (@KenyanSays) July 15, 2025 Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has come under fire following his condolence message for the late comedian Zakaria Kariuki, popularly known as KK Mwenyewe, who passed away on July 14th at Kiambu Level 5 Hospital after a short illness. In a tribute shared on July 15th, Gachagua praised the young content creators talent, calling him an inspiration to many and a content creator par excellence. He added, Mr. KK used comedy to communicate simple and creative messages to all Kenyans and spoke to our hearts. However, the condolence message triggered a wave of criticism online, with many Kenyans questioning Gachaguas sincerity. Mathira MP, Eric Wamumbi, revealed that he approached Gachagua in November 2022, urging him to support Kariukis university fees and consider him for a job. According to Wamumbi, the request was dismissed. You ignored him when he needed you, one netizen wrote. Let those who stood by him mourn in peace. Kariuki, known for his spot-on impersonations of Gachagua, had once gone viral for his mimicry, endearing him to many Kenyans. His death has sparked conversations about how influential figures often fail to support rising talent until it's too late. Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Former nominated Senator Gloria Orwoba has publicly responded following a court ruling ordering her to pay Ksh 10.5 million in damages to Senate Clerk Jeremiah Nyengene over defamation claims. In a video statement, Orwoba maintained that her statements were rooted in her personal experience, alleging that Nyengene subjected her to unfair treatment after she declined his advances. She claimed that after rejecting him, she was stripped of her roles in key Senate committees and blocked from participating in international trips. Orwoba further stated that she had reported her concerns to the Parliamentary Service Commission and wrote formal complaints to both the Senate Speaker and the Speaker of the National Assembly, but received no action or protection. She described Nyengene as a "serial womanizer" who, according to her, has misused his authority to prey on female leaders within Parliament. Orwoba said she is appealing the court ruling and vowed to fight to the end. Watch the video. Gloria Orwoba still maintains that the parliament clerk wanted her to be laid like any other women who are being controlled in that sector,the moment she refused, a case was filled for not obeying orders, she goes on exposing how these men are using Kenyan's tax for their own pic.twitter.com/hjjtPQNooS (@vinguard254) July 15, 2025 Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - A suspected drug trafficker was arrested in the Kibaoni area of Kilifi North Sub-County following a tip-off from vigilant members of the public. Acting on the information, officers from Kilifi Police Station mounted a swift operation, laying an ambush that led to the suspect's capture. A search conducted during the arrest uncovered a nylon packet containing eleven sachets of a substance suspected to be heroin, as well as KSh 800, believed to be proceeds from the illegal trade. The suspect is currently in custody at Kilifi Police Station, awaiting formal processing and arraignment in court. The seized items have been secured as evidence at the same facility. In a statement, the National Police Service lauded the public for their cooperation and urged continued vigilance in the ongoing fight against drug trafficking and other criminal activities. Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Celebrated Kenyan actress, Lupita Nyongo, revealed that she has been battling with uterine fibroids, a condition affecting 8 in 10 Black women, yet rarely spoken about. Despite undergoing surgery to remove them, she was shocked to learn from her doctor that recurrence was likely and largely unavoidable. Periods shouldnt mean pain. But were taught from a young age to normalize it, Lupita shared in a heartfelt post. She added that it wasnt until she opened up to others that she realized just how many women suffer in silence. Determined to break that silence, Lupita is using her platform to advocate for better awareness and medical care around uterine fibroids. She envisions a future with early education, better screening, and more humane, less invasive treatments. Shes taken her advocacy to Capitol Hill, joining U.S. lawmakers to introduce a uterine fibroid bill aimed at expanding research, increasing awareness, and improving treatment options. She also plans to launch a Uterine Fibroid Research Grant to support innovative approaches that can improve the lives of over 15 million women affected in the U.S. We must reject the normalization of female pain, Lupita insists - transforming her personal struggle into a powerful movement for change. The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - A bizarre scene unfolded in a small town after a young man was allegedly caught red-handed in a compromising situation with his neighbors wife. The furious husband, backed by villagers, stormed the house and found the two in bed. In an unusual form of humiliation, the man and the woman were forced to share one trouser and paraded through the streets as angry locals followed, filming and mocking them. The video, which has since gone viral, shows the embarrassed duo struggling to walk in sync, as bystanders laugh at them. The incident has sparked reactions on social media, with some condemning the locals actions as a violation of human dignity, while others called it deserved karma. Watch the video. A young man caught slp!n with the neighbors wife was made to wear one trouser with her as they are paraded through the town. Young man, stay away from married women o they wont hear. pic.twitter.com/fLj76pJbAx WithAlvin (@withAlvin__) July 16, 2025 The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - Kenyans are taking their frustrations with President William Ruto to surprising extremes. A viral video circulating online shows a thief caught in Buru Buru being forced to jump repeatedly while chanting, Mimi ni mwizi kama Kasongo. Kasongo is one of several unflattering nicknames Kenyans have coined for Ruto, often used to mock his perceived dishonesty and corruption. The unusual punishment has sparked amusement and debate online, with many netizens laughing at the creativity - and deeper message - behind the act. Watch the video. Mimi ni mwizi kama Kasongo... pic.twitter.com/AipwgrHsPt DAILY POST (@dailypost_ke) July 16, 2025 The Kenyan DAILY POST Wednesday, July 16, 2025 - The Teachers Service Commission (TSC) has sent a teacher at Alliance Girls High School on 30-day compulsory leave following serious allegations of misconduct. Acting TSC CEO Evaleen Mitei announced the decision on Tuesday, July 15th, amid an intensifying investigation into the teachers conduct. The teacher, Peter Ayiro, is accused of violating multiple provisions of the TSC Act and the Code of Regulations for Teachers (CORT), in what the commission termed as professional misconduct. The suspension comes in response to an expose by Africa Uncensored titled The Teacher and the System, which unveiled a pattern of abuse spanning over two decades. TSC stated that the leave is meant to facilitate an independent probe free from interference. Alliance Girls confirmed it is cooperating fully with authorities and prioritising student safety. Despite being under investigation, the teacher will continue receiving his full salary and allowances until the matter is resolved. Former students, alumni, and advocacy groups like FIDA-Kenya have strongly condemned the teachers alleged actions and demanded accountability from both the school and the TSC. Demonstrations held at the school on July 10 saw alumni clad in white shirts and carrying placards reading Protect the Girls, Not the Predators. Protesters criticised the commission for failing to act earlier despite multiple reports. Education Principal Secretary Julius Bitok also called for the teachers arrest, confirming the Ministrys collaboration with law enforcement. Legal experts warn that the teacher could face charges under Sections 6, 8, and 11 of the Sexual Offences Act, carrying potential sentences ranging from 5 years to life imprisonment. If found guilty, he also risks permanent deregistration from the teaching profession. KILDARE County Council welcomed a historic diplomatic visit as His Excellency Cleviston Haynes the first Ambassador of Barbados to Ireland, paid an official visit to Aras Chill Dara. Ambassador Haynes, who represents the newly established Embassy of Barbados in Ireland opened in June 2024 was accompanied by Mr Shane Thomas, Investment Executive with Invest Barbados. The delegation was warmly received by the Cathaoirleach of the County of Kildare, cllr Carmel Kelly, along with Annette Aspell, Deputy Chief Executive of Kildare County Council, and Jacqui McNabb, Head of Enterprise, Economic Development and Tourism. During the meeting, Ambassador Haynes introduced the vision and mission of the Barbados Embassy in Ireland, highlighting the island nations interest in strengthening ties with Irish counties, including Kildare. The discussions touched on areas of mutual interest, including tourism opportunities and the potential for increased cooperation in Climate Action and renewable energy. Speaking after the meeting, cllr Carmel Kelly said: It was our distinct honour to welcome His Excellency Cleviston Haynes to Kildare County Council today. Barbados and Ireland have a shared history dating back to the 1600s and Irish culture and surnames can still be found throughout the island. Todays meeting has placed us on the path to developing a deeper bond between our countries and we look forward to fostering that relationship. A new free digital platform co-founded by three-time All-Ireland winner Walter Walsh has been officially launched. Built for community groups, such as schools, and grassroots organisations, SocialTies brings everything - from fixtures and results to ticketing, training resources, messaging, and exclusive content - into one unified, branded space. Designed around the real needs of todays communities, the platform puts connection, identity, and community impact at its core. Walter and his team have addressed a common frustration faced by organisations, relying on multiple disconnected tools to manage day-to-day communication and operations. Instead of navigating between group chats, outdated websites and scattered emails, SocialTies brings everything into one streamlined, purpose-built environment, finally offering a digital solution tailored to how real communities work. READ NEXT: Kilkenny's Walter Walsh receives call up to major Irish sports team We built SocialTies because communities deserve better, said Walter Walsh, CEO and Co-Founder of SocialTies. For too long, theyve been expected to make do with outdated websites, scattered group chats, and platforms that were never built for them. This isnt about adding more noise, its about giving community groups, schools and grassroots organisations the digital infrastructure to connect, grow, and take ownership of their space online. SocialTies is built on a new advertising model that delivers value to both communities and businesses. The platform is completely free to use both for individual users and the organisations themselves, with revenue generated through its Community Shared Advertising Model. Businesses gain targeted access to engaged, local audiences in a trusted environment, while 50% of all ad revenue is returned directly to the organisations and communities using the platform. REACTION: Derek Lyng, Tommy Shefflin, Liam Cahill and more - Kilkenny People Sport Podcast Brendan Kavanagh, Co-Founder of SocialTies, said: Too many community platforms fail because they rely on goodwill, not good models. With SocialTies, we set out to create something thats commercially robust and genuinely useful - it is a platform where local advertisers can reach engaged audiences in a meaningful way, while directly funding the communities they care about. Its digital advertising that delivers real ROI. The first live platform built on SocialTies is Kilkenny Cats Social, created in partnership with Kilkenny GAA. As the pilot rollout, it demonstrates how the platform can be adapted to reflect the identity and structure of any organisation, in this case, one of Irelands most iconic sporting communities. Beyond content and communication, the partnership highlights SocialTies mission of community engagement at all levels - 50% of all advertising revenue generated on the app goes directly back to Kilkenny GAA, supporting grassroots development and major projects like the new Centre of Excellence. Walsh, a former Kilkenny Senior hurler added: Kilkenny has given me so much, on and off the pitch, so launching our flagship product here means a huge amount to me. We built Kilkenny Cats Social to reflect everything this county stands for: pride, purpose, and community. Im proud that were starting in Kilkenny, and even prouder that every tap, every ad, and every message on the platform gives something back to the place that shaped me. HEAR REACTION TO SUNDAY'S ALL-IRELAND SEMI-FINAL BELOW: A full closure of a historic Kilkenny bridge will mean not even pedestrian access will be permitted during works. The update came at the recent meeting of Callan Thomastown Municipal District councillors, in answer to a query from Cllr Brian Cleere. Work on the Ferry Mountgarret Bridge, linking South Kilkenny to Co Wexford over the River Barrow, is scheduled to take place for a week, from Monday, July 28. READ MORE - WHAT'S ON IN KILKENNY Closed Kilkenny County Council engineer Padraig Slye explained the nature of the work means pedestrians can not be allowed across the bridge. The bridge will also remain closed to traffic overnight. There will be significant diversion for traffic, which will be signposted. The current Ferry Mountgarret Bridge was constructed in 1930 to replace a previous timber bridge that dated from 1794. Before the bridge, that point of the river had a ferry crossing, so it has been used as a transport link between the counties for hundreds of years. While the most visible part of the bridge is the metal superstructure, it is predominantly built from reinforced concrete. The bridge used to open, to allow river vessels to pass through, up until the 1970s when it was struck by a barge. It has not opened since. The steel rolling bascule bridge (another name for a drawbridge or lifting bridge) is one of only six in Ireland. These works will maximise the remaining service life of the bridge. Bomber Bradbury wrote on 17 July: The Free Speech Fake Union is a zionist astroturf organisation backed by Atlas Network that has weaponised free speech for the Right. If The Free Speech Fake Union gain control of Internet NZ, its just a matter of time before they start demanding anti-semitism is purged from the NZ internet. I find it interesting that some people cant cope with the possibility of an organisation taking a principled stand on issues, regardless of personal views of members. Far from the FSU demanding censorship of anti-semitic material on the Internet, just three days earlier the FSU said exactly the opposite: In response to the Australian Parliamentary Inquiry into Antisemitism in Universities that recently recommended limiting particular speech, the New Zealand Jewish Council has called for similar action by the New Zealand Government. But threatening to silence speech, as odious as some may find it, would set a dangerous precedent and be a terrible own goal for the Jewish community, says Dane Giraud, Council member of the Free Speech Union. So three days after the FSU explicitly and loudly said there shouldnt be censorship of anti-semitic speech, Bomber claims their stance is the exact opposite. And incidentally the Jewish Council has said the FSU has misunderstood what they said, and in fact they dont support a change on censorship laws. Were pleased to note the clarification the New Zealand Jewish Council has sent us regarding their calls for a plan on anti-semitism. By calling for our Government to adopt a plan based on the Australian Parliamentary Inquiry, we believed this also included the calls for 'hate pic.twitter.com/t6eZAgRRph Free Speech Union (@NZFreeSpeech) July 16, 2025 The fact that FSU and the Jewish Council are having a little flare up over who said what, makes Bombers claim that the FSU is a Zionist organisation even more laughable and ill-timed. Shenandoah, IA (51601) Today Sun and clouds mixed. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 87F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening. Scattered thunderstorms developing after midnight. Low 72F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. COLUMBIA Candidates in the Columbia City Council Second Ward special election focused on their plans for the future of Columbia in a forum Wednesday. Candidates Ken Rice and Vera Elwood also shared what is most important to them in the election at the forum, which the Columbia Board of Realtors hosted. "I'm running on the platform of a Columbia for all," Elwood said. "So I'm looking at a foundation for all, safety for all, and opportunity for all." "Less talk, more action," Rice said. "We are going to be in problems if we don't start acting on the things we need to act with." Rice is an army veteran who moved to Columbia three and a half years ago. He currently works in the chief operating office for Pickleman's LLC. Elwood is the youth program coordinator at The Center Project and has lived in Columbia for 10 years. She has been working with city boards and commissions for two years and graduated from the University of Missouri. The moderator asked multiple questions about housing. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. "What I would like to see is a focus on gentle density and mixed density projects," Elwood said. "I want to see projects where we are seeing single-family, multi-family and apartment complexes built together in a way where they can be a community with each other, they can be a neighborhood together, it is aesthetically pleasing, and it is serving everyone in that community." "We're going to have to look at things like zoning differently," Rice said. "So, you know, the single-use and the multi-use type of homes are going to have to be looked at. ... We've got to partner with our developers and say, 'Hey, what do we need to do,' and one of the things that we may need to look at is and this is something people haven't wanted to is the fee structure is ridiculous." Although housing was the most discussed topic, the candidates touched on a variety of other issues, as well. One of those was the city budget. Elwood said she wants to reduce outsourcing and keep money in Columbia, while Rice talked about his experience in managing large budgets in his current and prior jobs. The moderator asked the candidates whether the city should adopt the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code. The city currently uses the 2018 code, according to its website. Adopting the 2024 code would raise home construction costs but save money on monthly utilities; the candidates disagreed over whether the city should adopt the new code. Rice thought it should be delayed, while Elwood was in full support. Elwood and Rice both brought up homelessness as a major issue in Columbia, and each candidate had different solutions. "The veterans are being taken care of," Rice said. "Veterans can be. So I think we use that as a model to figure out how we can help others." "In Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the local government worked with a group called Housing First, and in a year, from 2023 to 2024, the national homeless population increased 20%," Elwood said. "In that same calendar year, the Milwaukee homeless population decreased by 20%. ... They did that through a two-pronged approach. The first approach was that the city government chose to take leadership over an issue ... the other piece was a housing-first model." The special election will be held Aug. 5. Weather Alert ...EXTREME HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THURSDAY... * WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with heat index values up to 110. * WHERE...Portions of southwest Illinois and central, east central, and southeast Missouri. * WHEN...Until 7 PM CDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS...The long duration of this event is likely to worsen heat related impacts, and additional extensions may be needed beyond Thursday as forecast confidence increases. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Young children and pets should never be left unattended in vehicles under any circumstances. Take extra precautions if you work or spend time outside. When possible reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing when possible. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. People in the Saint Louis Metropolitan Area can get information about cooling centers or energy assistance related to the excessive heat by calling the United Way of Greater Saint Louis at 800-427-4626, or if calling from a land line phone dial 2-1-1. You can also call Cool Down Saint Louis at 314-241-7668. && COLUMBIA The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri is bracing for potential higher demand following changes to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Programs, or food stamps, requirements. President Donald Trump signed his sweeping budget bill into law on July 4. It will change the way SNAP benefits are dispersed as the bill is phased in. As it stands now, many individuals who are considered able-bodied adults aged 18 to 54 without dependents are limited to three months of SNAP benefits every three years. If these people wish to avoid this time limit, they must work for 20 hours per week or qualify for an exemption. A closer look at how Trump's spending bill could impact Missourians Proposed new work requirements for people on Medicaid could affect people across the country who are already working. Trump's new bill will expand those requirements to apply to individuals up to the age of 64, parents of minor children ages 14 and up, and veterans. This all could lead to a higher demand at local food banks. As people lose their SNAP benefits, they may look to nonprofits to fill the void. The Food Bank for Central and Northeast Missouri serves around 100,000 people every month across 32 counties, spokesperson Katie Adkins said. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Rising food costs since the COVID-19 pandemic have already caused the Food Bank to spend two to three times more than before 2020. This, coupled with the increased demand from SNAP cuts, puts the Food Bank in a bind. "It does affect many of the people that we serve and potentially people that we are not yet serving who may see a decline in the benefit they are receiving or may not receive a benefit at all," Adkins said. "Likely, those people will be coming to us for extra support. So, we're already seeing that increased need, but these changes could mean that we see greater need." Adkins also called for more volunteers as it allows the Food Bank to be more financially secure in times like this. "Every volunteer hour that we receive is really significant because it allows us to save money on staffing that we would otherwise have to pay for," Adkins said. "Then, we can reinvest that money back into our food acquisition and distribution budget." In these times of uncertainty for the Food Bank, Adkins is confident in its ability to serve. "The Food Bank is resourceful, adaptable," Adkins said. "We an organization that responds in emergencies, and we will always do our best to serve our community. But we need the support of the community to do that now more than ever." 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. The controversy has been stirring since last month when two veteran police officers were placed on leave. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. As a landlady sifts through some abandoned belongings of Colleen Applegates--old Valentines, a high school diploma--youre overwhelmed by sadness. There have been some stirring accounts of the short life of Applegate, a.k.a. porn star Shauna Grant, who died March 23, 1984, at 20 from a .22-caliber rifle shot to the head. (She was the subject of a Calendar cover story May 6, 1984, and her story also is being made into a TV movie for next season). But an enormously compelling PBS Frontline documentary (at 9 tonight on Channels 28 and 15 and at 10 on Channel 50) lifts the storytelling to a stunning new level. Simply, movingly, effectively and unsensationally, this 60-minute production from WCCO-TV in Minneapolis retraces the route of a wholesome ex-cheerleader from her tiny hometown of Farmington, Minn., to the sewers of Hollywood porn films and cocaine addiction, a route that led ultimately to her suicide in the Palm Springs home of her 44-year-old lover. Advertisement Two years earlier to the week, she had arrived in Hollywood a fresh and beautiful 18-year-old, full of hope and unfocused dreams, soon to be making $100,000 a year as X-rated film star Shauna Grant, and blowing most of it on fast living and drugs. Reported for Frontline by Al Austin, Death of a Porn Queen unfolds through the eyes of Applegates parents, friends and colleagues, some of them shady and apparently destructive influences who pass through her life in a gauzy twilight. There are somewhat graphic samples here of Applegate earning her pay in porn films, so beware. Far more interesting are outtakes from her films and some eerily candid footage that WCCO obtained of Applegate, still new to Hollywood, answering an ad and first interviewing with the agent who would introduce her to the world of nude modeling and erotic films. Advertisement We later meet her manager, Bobby Hollander, and her cocaine-dealing boyfriend, Jake Erlich, who was in jail and trying to dump her when Applegate killed herself. You let me be Colleen; you didnt expect me to be anyone else, she says about Erlich on an audio tape discovered in his house. Some of Applegates acquaintances believe that it was stardom that she adored, not porndom, and that she was never comfortable performing sex on the screen as star of Virginia, Suzie Superstar and Flesh and Laces. In one year, were told, she developed herpes, had an abortion and had sex with 37 men. Without stunts or theatrics, Death of a Porn Queen delivers a powerful message about the environment of drugs and exhibitionist sex that attracted, briefly enriched and ultimately destroyed Applegate, as gossip about her careening life shocked and titillated the folks back home. Advertisement Its impossible to know even from this fine film exactly when and where she went wrong, why she shot herself and who is to blame. She never fully emerges from her silhouette, remaining in death as she was in life, enigmatic and very, very sad. The Billboard organization today announced the names of the artists who will participate in panels and discussions at its iconic 2025 Billboard Latin Music Week , a three-day conference that precedes the Billboard Latin Music Awards, also known as the Latin Billboards . Confirmed names include Carin Leon, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Goyo, Grupo 5, Kapo, Laura Pausini, Luis R. Conriquez, Myke Towers, Neton Vega, Ozuna , and Venesti , Billboard reported. "For more than 30 years, Latin Music Week has helped shape culture and elevate Latin music on the global stage," said Mike Van, CEO of Billboard, in a statement. "We're proud to welcome such notable artists this year as we continue to drive the conversation into the future." "The growth and influence of Latin music continues unabated, and we're thrilled to celebrate it alongside its key figures," said Leila Cobo, Billboard's director of Latin and Spanish-language content. "We're excited to once again bring Latin music's most iconic event to the epicenter of this movement: Miami." When is it? Billboard Latin Music Week 2025 takes place, for the second consecutive year, at the Fillmore Theater in Miami Beach and begins on Monday, October 20, 2025, with artist conversations, panels, live performances, hands-on workshops, brand activations, networking opportunities and much more. The 2025 Billboard Latin Music Awards will be presented on Thursday, October 23, in Miami and broadcast live on Telemundo and Peacock. Nominees have yet been announced. Billboard Latin Music Week will conclude on Friday the 24th with a special concert in Miami. State Farm Insurance is holding a contest to bring three members of the audience to Miami to enjoy the full experience. Tickets are now on sale at BillboardLatinMusicWeek.com . Lauren Sanchez-Bezos made her first public appearance since her lavish Venice wedding to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and she did it in style. The businesswoman and journalist was spotted leaving the historic Hotel de Crillon in Paris, heading to dinner with sisters Brooks and Sarah Jane Nader. Her look caused a stir during Haute Couture Week . Sanchez wore a striking red latex dress by Versace , valued at approximately $3,515. Featuring a structured corset, a gathered skirt, and a knee-length silhouette, the piece showcased her figure and bold style. She completed the look with strappy black sandals, her signature straight hairstyle, and a luxurious crocodile-skin Hermes Kelly bag, estimated at over $50,000. The dinner took place at the exclusive Laperouse restaurant, in the heart of Paris. The city couldn't have been a more fitting setting for her comeback, right at the height of Haute Couture Week (July 7-10). An unforgettable celebration Sanchez's appearance marks the beginning of her newlywed life following her multi-day wedding to Jeff Bezos in Venice last month. Around 200 guests attended the event, including celebrities such as Kim Kardashian , Ivanka Trump, Kris Jenner, and Bill Gates. Ellie Goulding provided the ceremony's music, while Usher performed at a pajama-themed brunch the following day. For the ceremony, Lauren chose a white lace Dolce & Gabbana gown inspired by Sophia Loren. Featuring a high neck, long sleeves, a full skirt, and a dreamy veil, the piece took over 900 hours of work in the firm's atelier. The look was the epitome of classic elegance with a cinematic touch. Throughout the wedding's various events, Sanchez opted for looks that were as daring as they were glamorous. For the welcome dinner, she stunned in a gold Schiaparelli Haute Couture corset dress. At the "Dolce Notte" party, she opted for a pink Atelier Versace design with Swarovski crystals. Each outfit showcased her sensual and sophisticated style, with a clear narrative of female empowerment. Back in Paris, in style Paris holds a special meaning for Sanchez. The French capital was also the setting for her bachelorette party, where she wore sheer gowns and lace that foreshadowed her bridal style. Her new look in red Versace evoked that same spirit: playful, bold, and perfectly executed. While Lauren was shining in the City of Lights, Jeff Bezos was heading to the exclusive Allen & Co. leadership retreat in Sun Valley, Idaho. This event brings together the most influential figures in the worlds of technology, business, and media. With her appearance in Paris, Lauren Sanchez-Bezos not only celebrates her recent marriage but also reaffirms her status as a style icon. Through her clothing, she radiates confidence, elegance, and a clear statement of independence and personal power. China vigorously pursues transformation, industrialization of patents Xinhua) 14:40, July 17, 2025 The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China has effectively promoted the transformation and industrialization of a large number of patents, with the industrialization rate of enterprise invention patents up from 44.9 percent in 2020 to 53.3 percent in 2024, the country's top IP official said on Thursday. Shen Changyu, head of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, unveiled the data at a press conference, where he presented achievements in intellectual property (IP) during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) and responded to questions from the media. As of June this year, the number of valid domestic invention patents had reached 5.01 million, an increase of 13.2 percent year on year, according to Shen, while ownership of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people had reached 15.3. The country had collected about 48.96 million valid registered trademarks by June 2025, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent. In addition, the dominant position of enterprises in technological innovation continues to be enhanced in China, said Shen. There were 524,000 domestic enterprises that held valid invention patents in June 2025. The total number of valid invention patents held by these enterprises had reached 3.7 million -- accounting for 74.4 percent of the total number in China, an increase of 6.1 percentage points compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). Such progress was highly consistent with the fact that research and development (R&D) investment by enterprises accounts for three-quarters of total social R&D investment in China, said Shen. This indicates that the innovation capability of enterprises is continuously improving, and that they have become the main source of new technology generation, Shen added. The three fields with the highest growth rates of valid domestic invention patents in China by June 2025 were information technology management methods, computer technology and medical technology, featuring year-on-year rises of 34.1 percent, 22.7 percent and 19.8 percent, respectively. These figures were significantly higher than the average growth rate of valid domestic invention patents, Shen revealed. The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) A brand of coffee pods sold nationwide at Walmart and Costco stores has been recalled due to a manufacturing defect. Canva If you use a certain brand of coffee pods when youre making your morning cup of joe or preparing your afternoon pick-me-up, you might want to reconsider using them. New Mexico Pinon Coffee is recalling its Single Serve 10-count cups of coffee pods sold nationwide due to a defect where the ink from the coffee pods can leak when exposed to high temperatures. Heres what you need to know about the recall. What coffee pods are part of the recall? Affected Product Name New Mexico Pinon Coffee Dark Pinon Single Serve 10-count Cups Use-By Date May 8, 2026 Lot Code 251749 Stores Sold Walmart, Costco, Kroger States Sold Nationwide New Mexico Pinon Coffee announced the recall for a brand of its coffee pods due to a manufacturing defect with the cups, where the ink from the cups can leak if heated at a high enough temperature. No illnesses or adverse reactions have been reported to date. The only affected New Mexico Pinon Coffee products involved in this recall are its Dark Pinon Single Serve 10-Count Cups products with a lot code of 251749. According to Newsweek, the products were sold in Walmart, Kroger and Costco stores nationwide. Consumers with these products should throw them out or return them to their place of purchase for a full refund. Those with questions or concerns should contact New Mexico Pinon Coffee by calling (505) 298-1964. 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. Loren Dixon, the director of programming at KNBA, the flagship station for National Native News and owned by Koahnic Broadcast Corp., is shown on air July 10, 2025, at the station's studios in Anchorage, Alaska. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) AP OMAHA, Neb. (AP) Dozens of Native American radio stations across the country vital to tribal communities will be at risk of going off the air if Congress cuts more than $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, according to industry leaders. The U.S. Senate is set to vote this week on whether to approve the Department of Government Efficiencys plan to rescind previously approved public broadcasting funding for 2026 and 2027. Fear is growing that most of the 59 tribal radio stations that receive the funding will go dark, depriving isolated populations of news, local events and critical weather alerts. The House already approved the cuts last month. For Indian Country in general, 80% of the communities are rural, and their only access to national news, native story sharing, community news, whatever it is, is through PBS stations or public radio, said Francene Blythe-Lewis, CEO of the Lincoln, Nebraska-based Native American video programming producer Vision Maker Media. If the claw back happens, I would say a good 90% of those stations will cease to exist. Native American communities rely on local radio stations Local radio plays an outsized role in the lives of many who live in Indigenous communities, where cable television and broadband internet access are spotty, at best, and nonexistent for many. That leaves over-the-air TV stations usually a PBS station and more often local radio to provide local news, community event details and music by Indigenous artists. Sometimes the news is delivered in Indigenous languages. Elayna Cunningham, a college student interning at Koahnic Broadcast Corp., records a program in Studio 3 on July 10, 2025, at the Anchorage, Alaska, studios of KNBA, the flagship station for National Native News. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) AP It means were not going to hear our language on the radio, Blythe-Lewis said. Flagstaff, Arizona-based Native Public Media, which supports the network of 59 radio stations and three television stations serving tribal nations across the country, said about three dozen of those radio stations that rely heavily on Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding will be the first to go dark if funding is cut for the coming fiscal year that starts Oct. 1. Loris Taylor, CEO of Native Public Media, said in an op-ed that the tribal stations reach more than 1.5 million people and may be the only source of locally relevant news, emergency alerts, public safety announcements, language preservation, health information and election coverage. Republicans face pressure to pass the cuts GOP senators are under pressure from President Donald Trump, who promised last week on his Truth Social platform that any Republican who votes against the cuts will not have my support or Endorsement. Many Republicans say the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Republican from Missouri, recently defended the cuts as necessary to hack away at the nearly $37 trillion national debt, adding, It is critical in restoring trust in government. But some Republicans have pushed back, such as Maine Sen. Susan Collins, who questioned the proposed cuts last month during a Senate committee hearing. She said that while some of the federal money is assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting System, most of it goes to locally owned public radio and television stations. Tribal stations provide lifesaving alerts Jaclyn Sallee is president and CEO of Koahnic Broadcast Corporation and KNBA, its radio station in Anchorage, Alaska. Koahnic produces National Native News, a five-minute daily newscast that features headline news from across Indian Country, and Native America Calling, a daily hourlong call-in program, for about 190 stations across the nation. It also produces Indigefi, a music program in Indigenous languages. KNBA is on Native Public Medias list of those stations that would be most affected by the federal funding cuts a concern Sallee confirmed, as 40% of the stations funding comes from CPB. Jaclyn Sallee, president and chief operating for Koahnic Broadcast Corp., poses for a photo July 10, 2025, at the Anchorage, Alaska, studios of KBNA, the flagship station for National Native News. (AP Photo/Mark Thiessen) AP What were really worried about are the rural stations in Alaska where they may be the only station in the community, she said. The people that live there depend on the station for vital weather alerts, emergency alerts; its the local hub of the community where people share information. So that is very troublesome because peoples lives are at risk without this service. Its currently fishing season in Alaska, she said, which means getting out in the ocean or in rivers and going long distances to subsist, and so they really rely on weather reports. Having the news reported in a tribes language isnt just about preserving that language, she said. Sallee spent summers in Nome with her mothers family. Her grandmother, she said, spoke only Inupiaq. Loss of small stations could hurt the larger system New Mexico PBSs signal reaches all but one of the more than 20 tribes and pueblos in the state. It also has signed an agreement with the Navajo Nation, which has the largest reservation of any tribe in the U.S., that allows the tribe to carry the PBS signal and programming on the Navajo Nation Television network, New Mexico PBS general manger Franz Joachim said. Its no question in my mind that, you know, immediately some stations will pretty much go dark, Joachim said. When those first stations fail, it wont take long for others to follow, Joachim said. And as they do, it will mean fewer and fewer stations left to pay membership dues that also help fund all of the stations. So now the whole system starts to fracture, he said. So for me, the federal funding is really about the system as a whole that keeps us in place. That funding also helps produce national content that groups like Vision Maker Media produce. Those include Native American documentaries shown on PBS like Mankiller, the story of Wilma Mankiller who became the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation. Blythe-Lewis compared the potential loss of tribal stations to the countrys past attempts to erase Native American cultures, such as through federal boarding schools where Indigenous children were sent for generations to assimilate them into white society and where systemic abuse of Indigenous children was carried out. Were erased from public media and therefore invisible and therefore become unknown and unheard of, she said. Signage seen Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at an entrance to the Karl Stirner Arts Trail in Easton warns of city prohibitions on grilling, camping, amplified music, coolers and alcoholic beverages as well as on jumping from bridges into the Bushkill Creek. Kurt Bresswein | For lehighvalleylive.com The Lehigh Valley is under another Heat Advisory this week, but its no excuse to swim illegally and litter along the regions waterways, officials say. The mayors of Allentown and Reading on Tuesday issued a joint statement, saying illegal swimming, littering and unsafe gatherings in waterways will not be tolerated and could result in costly fines. Its an issue that extends beyond these two Pennsylvania cities borders. Members of the Lehigh River Stocking Association on Monday shared video they say shows extensive littering along the river in the Laurys Station section of North Whitehall Township. Messes of diapers, grills, clothing, beer bottles, plastic bags and additional trash littered the ground after vehicles crowded into a parking area along Route 145 over the weekend, they said. At Jacobsburg Environmental Education Center, Bushkill Township police reported citing a woman on the Fourth of July after a vehicle parked about 11:10 p.m. in the state parks main lot drew suspicion. Officers found the woman, who admitted to being intoxicated after spending part of the evening along the Bushkill Creek with her boyfriend, according to a news release: A search of the area where the couple had been revealed litter scattered throughout the site, including plastic cups, food wrappers, blankets and rolling papers. After the Fourth of July weekend, concerns surfaced on social media about trash left behind along the Bushkill Creek at Eastons Karl Stirner Arts Trail. The biggest problems there are coming from out-of-state visitors, Easton Mayor Sal Panto Jr. said Wednesday. Were going to have to get that under control, he said, noting barriers have been established along Bushkill Drive to cut down on illegal parking and that police plan to step up patrols of the trail area. Signs are in place warning of city prohibitions on grilling, camping, amplified music, coolers and alcoholic beverages on the trail. However, visitors continue to disregard rules, including those barring jumping from bridges into the Bushkill Creek. Thats dangerous, the mayor said, with people climbing the bridge rails to jump into as little as 6 inches of water. We want people to use the Karl Stirner Arts Trail, Panto said, but we dont want people to abuse it. Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk and Reading Mayor Eddie Moran came together Tuesday to combat what they said is an increase in dangerous, illegal activity in and around local waterways particularly at Riverfront Park in Reading and various creeks and park areas in Allentown including Jordan, Canal, Trout Creek and Fountain parks. A 14-year-old drowned just last month at Jordan Park after jumping into Jordan Creek and failing to resurface. Allentown is the beating heart of the Lehigh Valley, and a destination for families looking to enjoy our incredible park system, Tuerk said in a statement. We welcome visitors who respect the natural beauty of our city and our citys rules. Our swimming pools and park pavilions offer safe and affordable options for visitors all summer long. Give our first responders and parks employees a break, and give everyone a chance to enjoy Allentown. Dont let a $100 ticket ruin your summer. In Allentown, Ordinance 425-17 strictly prohibits swimming or bathing in creeks and waterways within city parks unless a location is specifically designated for that activity. No natural waterway is currently designated. In Reading, Chapter 396-305 and 396-306 of the City Code restrict disorderly conduct, prohibit unauthorized gatherings, and clearly ban entering or swimming in public waterways, officials said. In general, the Allentown and Reading mayors sought to remind residents and visitors: Swimming in creeks, rivers or city waterways is not permitted. Littering, noise violations and unpermitted group events are subject to enforcement. Use designated city pools, splash pads and recreation programs for safe summer fun. Both cities will be working together along with their respective police departments and fire officials to step up enforcement and educate the public, the mayors said. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Plans for an extension at the First Ireland Spirits factory in Abbeyleix have been lodged with Laois County Council and could lead to the creation of new jobs if given the green light. The Laois company is a leading producer of Irish Cream Liqueurs and Country Creams. Production at the site also includes blending and bottling of some of their Irish Whiskeys and liqueurs, as well as retailer brands for customers across the world. The planning application seeks permission for an extension to the existing factory building at Tullyroe, Mountrath Road, the provision of a new tank farm and bunded enclosure, the provision of a new material storage facility, new industrial gas storage tank, new firefighting water storage tank, new staff facilities building, an extension to the existing concrete yard area, additional car parking spaces and all other associated site works. The planning documents state that the extension to the facility will result in approximately twelve additional staff. A total of 33 car parking spaces including 2 no. accessible spaces will be provided to cater for the proposed industrial unit, the application states. The existing facility currently employs 52 staff. The facility operates on two shift cycles (6am to 2pm & 2pm to 10pm). The extension to the facility will result in an additional 12 staff. The new single storey warehouse extension to the existing factory is to measure 382m2 including the provision of a new loading bay to the rear. A new glass bottle storage warehouse facility is also planned with an area of 340m2 located southeast of the existing factory. The installation of a new ESB transformer and associated infrastructure located to the rear of the existing building is also included in the plans. READ NEXT: WATCH: US Lawyer to raffle off 800k Laois property for 5! A traffic and transport assessment report accompanies the application and outlines that the extension will result in an additional six HGV movements to / from the site per day. In 2025, 2030 and 2040 with an increase in background flows and the extension to the facility operational the existing R430 / First Ireland Spirits priority junction will operate within capacity with no queues and minimal delays during the AM and PM peak period. A decision is due to be made by September 7, 2025. Independent Republican TD for Laois, Deputy Brian Stanley, has endorsed an independent left candidate for the Aras bid. The Portlaoise based TD took to social media with photos captured the launch of Independent TD for Galway West Catherine Connolly's presidential bid. Deputy Stanley posted photos of himself alongside Deputy Connolly, with the caption, "IT'S GAME ON". Pictured: Deputy Brian Stanley with Deputy Catherine Connolly at the launch of her presidential campaign "The only hope there is of electing a progress left candidate to the Aras, is if all opposition parties and Independents put their own narrow interests to aside and back a unitary candidate," Deputy Stanley argued. Left and opposition TDs must unite to ensure a progressive candidate is elected in the upcoming presidential election. Failure to do so will allow the establishment parties to not just control the Dail and Seanad but also the third element of our Oireachtas the presidency," he said. "Therefore, all opposition parties and those of the left need to agree and be united for single a candidate at this point. I see the best person to be that candidate as Catherine Connolly TD. "Catherine has credibility, the ability for the job, and the track record," Deputy Stanley said. "She is a qualified barrister, a fluent Irish speaker, former Leas Ceann Comhairle in the 33rd Dail, has an excellent a track record of campaigning for the rights of the ordinary working people, and has a progressive position on the North of Ireland. "I believe these attributes qualify her as an ideal candidate," he highlighted. "I would urge all opposition and left parties and Independents to support Deputy Connolly for president and put their weight behind this campaign," Deputy Stanley finished. Read Next: Laois women left in limbo following endometriosis debate in Dail Laois students have taken the lead in raising awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide and have won a national competition in the process. Andrew and Mateo, two former sixth class students from Scoil Naomh Eoin, Killenard have won a poster competition to raise awareness of carbon monoxide and the dangers that it can pose in our homes. CONTINUE READING BELOW PHOTO Former sixth class students from Scoil Naomh Eoin, Killenard, Andrew and Mateo have won a nationwide poster competition to raise awareness of carbon monoxide and the dangers that it can pose in our homes. Gas Networks Ireland, in partnership with Junior Achievement Ireland (JAI), called for entries to a carbon monoxide safety poster competition from students who had recently completed the Energize programme. The Energize programme delivers science to primary school students around Ireland through practical and engaging lessons to foster interest in the subject so students continue with it to second level education. Carbon monoxide awareness is an important element of the programme. Commenting as she presented Scoil Naomh Eoin with an iPad, Gas Networks Irelands Social Sustainability Manager Grainne OReilly: "After taking part in the Energize STEM education programme, students had the chance to channel their creativity into a poster competition, all while raising awareness about the importance of carbon monoxide safety at home. There were standout entries from every corner of Ireland, but it was Andrew and Mateos creation that truly shone!. CONTINUE READING BELOW PHOTO Former sixth class students from Scoil Naomh Eoin, Killenard, pictured alongside their classmates Andrew and Mateo who won a nationwide poster competition. Boyana Boeva, Junior Achievement Irelands Programme Coordinator said: We are pleased to be able to bring programmes like Energize to schools nationwide with Gas Networks Ireland. Energize explores the world of science, energy and safety in a fun and exciting way! Cannonball founder Alan Bannon confirmed that the action-packed supercar spectacle is set to roll on September 12-14 from Johnstown Estate in Enfield taking in Ballymaloe, Tralee, Killarney, Clare, Sligo, Cavan and finishes in Naas, Co Kildare. Cannonball, fuelled by milesPLUS from Circle K, is the largest organised road trip in Europe featuring the finest cars on the planet from the awe-inspiring power of Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren to the grace and elegance of Porsche, Aston Martin, and Maserati. Over 200,000 spectators are expected with free festivals organised from coast to coast. This very special 007 Mission Briefing was joined by Jude Mangan (4) from Dublin alongside big brother Cillian (7), mum Sandra and dad Ruairi. Brave little Jude was born with rare condition called Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum (ACC) - a congenital brain abnormality and requires round-the-clock care. Devastatingly, Jude was also diagnosed with cancer in November 2023 and completed his treatment in January 2025. He is thankfully, doing well today. Judes family are just one of the 440 families across Ireland currently under the care of the Jack and Jill Childrens Foundation. PJ Gallagher and Jim McCabe, presenters of Morning Glory with PJ Gallagher and Jim McCabe on Radio Nova, are all revved up to support this incredible fundraising drive for Jack and Jill: We broadcasted our show from the start line at Cannonball last year and we were blown away by the atmosphere and the buzz of it all. We cant wait to be there at the start line at Johnstown Estate again on September 12. Were no James Bonds but Jims always shaken, and PJs always stirring it! Weve long been supporters of the Jack & Jill Childrens Foundation and are proud to help raise awareness for what promises to be a spectacular fundraiser for this fantastic charity. Cannonball has already raised 2,024,809 for Irish Childrens Charities and brings an electric atmosphere to host towns all over the country, making it a widely anticipated free family event for spectators. The Jack and Jill Children's Foundation is an Irish childrens charity that funds and delivers in-home nursing care, respite support and end-of-life care for children from birth to six years of age with severe learning disability often associated with complex medical needs and is often described as a lifeline, giving exhausted parent carers a break from their 24/7 care regime. Jack and Jills service operates seven days a week, no means test, no red tape and no waiting list. Cannonball offers spectators a unique opportunity to witness the world's most prestigious and sought-after supercars up close and enjoy the unique festival atmosphere that Cannonball is renowned for. The Brazilian Dancers, giant screens, music and fanfare brings all the glamour of carnival and live DJs, bands and festivals in host towns around the country get the party started. The Cannonballers and celebrities in colourful costumes add to the pageantry. From Spiderman to Star Wars, Cat Woman to Wonder Woman, cheerleaders to Charlies Angels, Batman, the Joker and more; it is a totally unique free family day out. This year, organisers are also calling on spectators to dress up in fancy dress with prizes for best dressed! Cannonball was founded by Kildare businessman Alan Bannon and the benefit to the host towns for this event is estimated at 2,567,000 per year. Cannonball is fuelled by milesPLUS from Circle K as the main headline Sponsor for 2025. Cannonball official partners include Jade Insurance, Monster Energy, Capital Switch, and Combilift. Karl Goodwin Motors, AB Signs, Majestic Ireland Road Trips. See www.cannonball.ie SEE NEXT: GALLERY: Full Of The Pipe truck show at Mondello Park, Co Kildare Replacing the roof of the shed in Newbridge Graveyard is not a priority for the council, a disappointed Cllr Tom McDonnell was told at a recent MD meeting. Cllr McDonnell (Ireland First) had motioned That the council replaces the roof on the shed in Newbridge Graveyard at the July meeting of Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District meeting, held on Wednesday, July 16 last. Speaking at the meeting, Cllr McDonnell told the council that such is the poor condition of the shed in Newbridge graveyard, that if a health and safety officer were to visit, they would condemn anybody working or having anything to do with the shed. READ NEXT: Council to write to housing bodies over vacant properties in Kildare-Newbridge MD According to Cllr McDonnell, the shed is poorly constructed, does not follow any regulations, and has a collapse of eight inches in the middle of its roof. Cllr McDonnell urged that it should be top priority to have the shed repaired, and the structure should be condemned and closed off until such time as suitable repairs are carried out. The shed, he said, is being propped up to keep it upright, and for an engineer to come back and say it's okay, is outrageous. Cllr McDonnell suggested that any of the councillors or indeed any of the council staff pay a visit to the shed in Newbridge Graveyard to see how poor a condition it is in. Cllr Suzanne Doyle (FF), who seconded the motion, said she did so on the basis that it was her belief that every councillor should have their motion heard. However, she said, given the council's lack of resources and given that she accepted the bone fides of council staff, she did not believe Cllr McDonnell's request was justified. She did not, she added, believe the matter was a priority, as stated by Cllr McDonnell, and she would accept the council's report on that basis. She accepted that Cllr McDonnell was acting in good faith, but with all the things that need to be done in Newbridge, it is not a priority. A report issued by the council stated: The shed in Newbridge is used only by staff for equipment storage. The roof has been examined by the Environment Department's Engineer, who has reported that it is not necessary for it to be replaced. A council official, responding to Cllr McDonnell's motion, stated that the matter was not a priority, but it's something that we can look at in the future. Kildare County Council today had the honour of welcoming the first Ambassador of Barbados to Ireland, His Excellency Cleviston Haynes, to a meeting at Aras Chill Dara. Accompanying the Ambassador was Mr Shane Thomas, Investment Executive, Invest Barbados. Representing Kildare County Council at the meeting were The Cathaoirleach of the County of Kildare, Councillor Carmel Kelly, Annette Aspell, Deputy Chief Executive and Jacqui McNabb, Head of Enterprise, Economic Development and Tourism. During the meeting, the Ambassador offered an introduction to the recently established Embassy of Barbados, which opened in Ireland, in June 2024. The strong relationship between Ireland and Barbados was acknowledged and tourism possibilities were explored. Discussions also centred around the potential for increased cooperation and collaboration between Ireland and Barbados, particularly with regard to Climate Action and harnessing energy. Following the meeting, the Cathaoirleach of the County of Kildare, Councillor Carmel Kelly said: "It was our distinct honour to welcome His Excellency Cleviston Haynes to Kildare County Council today. Barbados and Ireland have a shared history dating back to the 1600s and Irish culture and surnames can still be found throughout the island. Todays meeting has placed us on the path to developing a deeper bond between our countries and we look forward to fostering that relationship." READ NEXT: "I wish I was dead, not him" - Trial hears how row over pouring whiskey led to fatal stabbing An Ireland First councillor for Kildare-Newbridge MD has called for 12,000 in LPT (Local Property Tax) monies to be allocated by the council towards holding an Irish Cultural Festival in Newbridge. In explaining his motion, Cllr Tom McDonnell told the council that while there were a lot of festivals in Newbridge and Kildare celebrating various cultures, he hadn't seen anything promote Irish culture. Such a festival, he said, would promote Irish music, song and dance, and there was currently no platform in Newbridge to hold such an event. Cllr McDonnell suggested that the festival could be a welcoming home to those who were returning to Newbridge having been away, and could be held on an annual basis, starting from this year. READ NEXT: Repairing shed in Kildare graveyard 'not a priority' for the council He said such a festival would bring additional business to pubs, coffee shops and stores in Newbridge, and would be a welcome addition to the town. Responding to Cllr McDonnell's motion, Cathaoirleach Cllr Noel Heavey (FF) said that there are meetings which discuss LPT, but that this was not one of those meetings. He pointed out that there are other festivals that take place in Newbridge, and one this weekend starring two of Ireland's favourite musicians - Noel Hill (concertina), and Frankie Gavin (fiddle.) Cllr Heavey said it was wrong, therefore, to give the impression that Irish culture is not paraded in Newbridge. Also speaking on the motion, Cllr Brian O'Loughlin (FF) said that with the August bank holiday just a couple of weeks away, Cllr McDonnell's request was perhaps a bit premature, though he would welcome in principle an Irish cultural festival. Cllr Suzanne Doyle noted that Newbridge runs probably the biggest festival in the county for St Patrick's Day, and you couldn't get more Irish festival than that. Also, she pointed out, there were the celebrations for Brigid, which again were Irish culture festivals. She said that there are a number of festivals already in existence, and rather than create another one it might be an idea to build on an existing festival, and incorporate some of the things Cllr McDonnell had stated. Cllr Kevin Duffy (FG) pointed out that LPT allocations have already been made for this year, but it was possible that LPT could be considered for an event for next year. A council official said that St Patrick's festival is a very big festival in Newbridge, and the Brigid festival was a major festival which the council is trying to make an international event. She suggested that something could be added to the Brigid festival and that Cllr McDonnell might speak to some of the officials involved. I'll have to accept you don't want to accept Irish culture in the town., Cllr McDonnell retorted. Following the protestations of councillors and the Cathaoirleach, Cllr McDonnell withdrew his remark. The motion, being a matter for the members to agree, was overturned. An unsuccessful candidate in the Seanad election told a court there was an expectation of a full recount of the agricultural panel vote due to the fine margin of votes by which she lost the final seat. Kildare county councillor Angela Feeney told the High Court in Dublin that there were issues around transparency of counting votes, and that the venue in Leinster House was cramped and crowded. Earlier this year, Ms Feeney was granted permission by the court to present a petition challenging the conduct of the counting of votes for the 11-member panel. Ms Feeney, who is a member of the Labour Party, claims she was refused a full recount by the returning officer. She said she lost out on a seat by one-ninth of a ballot. Ms Feeney claimed that the margin of difference was as close as it has ever been since the 1980s. Her petition to have a full recount is being opposed by a number of defendants in the case, including the returning office and the Minister for Housing. Ms Feeney lost to Fine Gaels Maria Byrne following a margin of difference of one-ninth of a ballot. Ms Byrne was the last candidate on the panel to be elected. In the Seanad elections, as the electorate is much smaller than other elections, each ballot paper is given a value of 1,000 votes. There was a total valid poll of 95,667 on the agricultural panel. At the conclusion of the 23rd count, in which Ms Feeney had been eliminated, she had 17,513 votes. Ms Byrne had, at the end of that count, a total of 17,629 votes. It represented a difference of one ninth of a ballot paper. Senior counsel Conor Power, for Ms Feeney, said that the petitioner wants to have the results overturned and recounted. Mr Power said that Ms Byrne was marginally ahead of Ms Feeney, and that it was the tightest of margins at a stage of elimination where the final seat was up for grabs. He claimed it was the closest margin that they have come across since 1987 on a final determinative count, where one exclusion deemed everyone else elected. He said that following the conclusion of the 23rd count, Ms Feeney asked the returning officer for a full recount of votes cast on the agriculture panel. Having considered the request, the returning officer said that only a full recount of the 23rd count would be carried out. The court heard that Seanad election candidates are legally entitled to call for a recount, but not a full recount. Candidates can, however, ask the returning officer for a full recount, to which the returning officer has discretion. Following the returning officers refusal to carry out a full recount, Ms Feeney objected in writing. Mr Power said there are two issues raised by Ms Feeney, the issue of a failure to allow for a full recount and the second being the issue of transparency of how the 23rd recount was carried out. Mr Power also said he is making a request for the court to order a full recount before its determination of the case, saying it may assist the court, particularly if a mistake or irregularity is established. Mr Power said that small margins in a system where ballot papers are counted by people must be considered by the returning officer in exercising their discretion of power. He said that the purpose of the Electoral Act is to ensure an outcome that the public has confidence in the system and that recounts are part of that process. We say that all of the rules for counting and recounting is to produce a result that everyone can stand over, he added. But because there are narrow margins and there is a possibility of human errors, notwithstanding planning by the returning office and staff. The evidence shows that recounts do result in different voting outcomes and changes to the number of votes. We say the margin of difference is something of particular note for the returning officer to consider as that bears directly on the outcome of the election. Giving evidence, Ms Feeney said she has attended election counts for a number of decades, both as a candidate and as part of local Labour Party teams. She said she has attended count centres for Seanad, Dail and local elections. She said she would have been well used to the process of counting ballot papers. Ms Feeney said she was very surprised that when the counting process started, it was taking place at such a distance that there was no proper line of sight of the ballot papers. She said that some staff members had their backs to candidates and that she did not have a proper line of sight to see the ballot papers being counted. She said there was no opportunity to see the tally of votes as they were being counted around seven feet away. Ms Feeney told the court that there was an expectation that because of the fine margin, a recount would have been called. She said this also raised issues of transparency, that the venue was very cramped and crowded and was not an appropriate venue which did not allow for transparency. She also claimed the layout of the room also caused issues, in that those watching the count were restricted from seeing the ballot papers. Under cross-examination by Catherine Donnelly SC, for the returning officer, Ms Feeney claimed that historically, it was the finest of margins. Ms Donnelly, however, stated that Ms Feeney was not the only candidate excluded from the count having lost on less than one ballot paper. The barrister put it to Ms Feeney that around on third of the agricultural panel was excluded by less than one ballot paper and that they were not entitled to a full recount. Ms Feeney stated that the margin between the other candidates were not as fine as her loss. The court heard that in her affidavit, Ms Feeney had said that the refusal to carry out a full recount was so unusual that it could be a near singular event. She also questioned what event would have to happen which would provide for a full recount. Ms Feeney added that she had a reasonable expectation that there would have been a full recount as it could potentially have a bearing on being elected or not. The case continues. A JURY was told today that former All-Star and Clare All-Ireland winning hurler, Niall Gilligan whacked a 12 year old boy on the leg with a stick during an an alleged assault in October 2023. At Ennis Circuit Court today, counsel for the State, Sarah Jane Comerford (BL) laid out the State case against Mr Gilligan (48) of Rossroe, Kilmurry, Sixmilebridge in her opening speech to the jury. Mr Gilligan denies the charge of assault causing harm of the boy. Ms Comerford said that on October 5, 2023, a then 12 year old and his then 13 year old friend went into the Jamaica Inn hostel in Sixmilebridge. READ MORE: Irish father tragically killed in the United States repatriated home to be laid to rest Ms Comerford said that the two believed that the property was abandoned. She said: They were exploring the building when the accused, Niall Gilligan, who owned the property at the time, arrived to check on it." Ms Comerford said that the jury will hear that the property was vandalised and broken into in the days leading up to October 5. Ms Comerford said that the jury will be told that the two boys were outside the property when they saw Niall Gilligan. Ms Comerford said that when they saw Mr Gilligan, the two boys ran and the 12 year old will tell the jury that he slipped in a puddle and the accused came up behind him and whacked him on the leg with a stick and the accused kept hitting him in the leg, his ribs, his hip, his elbow and his hand. Ms Comerford said that the jury will hear medical evidence of the injuries sustained by the boy and see photos of bruising and cuts that the 12 year old will tell them were caused by Niall Gilligan hitting him with a wooden stick. Ms Comerford said that the boy will tell the jury after the alleged assault Niall Gilligan grabbed him by the jacket and brought him out to the road and asked him his name and who his father was. Ms Comerford said the the boy will tell the jury that he sat on a wall for a while because he has asthma and could barely breathe. There he met his 13 year old friend again and that boy will say that he saw Niall Gilligan outside the Jamaica Inn and he ran at the same time as his friend and managed to get away . READ NEXT: GAA Palestine 'profoundly upset' as Ireland trip officially cancelled Ms Comerford said that the 13 year old will say that he heard screaming from his friend and he waited in an industrial estate beside the property and while he was relatively safe there, he was still very scared. Ms Comerford said that a few minutes later, the 13-year old met up with his 12 year old friend and let him lean on him while his friend tried to walk home. Ms Comerford said that the 12 year old told him to leave in case he was caught by the accused. Ms Comerford said that the 12 year old made his way to the local GAA club and was given a lift home by a lady there who will give evidence in the case. Ms Comerford (instructed by State Solicitor for Clare, Aisling Casey) said that once home the boy was brought to a local VHI clinic and was then brought to University Hospital Limerick where he was treated for his injuries and where Gardai where called. Ms Comerford said that Niall Gilligan was subsequently arrested by Gardai and gave an account of what he said happened on October 5 and his interactions with the 12 year old boy at the Jamaica Inn hostel which he told Gardai were in self defence and you will hear that in due course. Ms Comerford said that Niall Gilligan denies assaulting the boy with a wooden stick and he has pleaded not guilty to the charge of assault causing harm. Mr Gilligan is also pleading not guilty to producing a wooden stick capable of inflicting serious injury during the course of a dispute contrary to Section 11 of the Firearms and Offensive Weapons Act at the Jamaica Inn at Sixmilebridge on October 5, 2023. The trial continues before a jury of seven men and five women. A fundraiser has been launched in Thurles, Co Tipperary, to help bring home the body of a young woman who passed away in Spain just weeks after being diagnosed with leukaemia. Samantha Kimene, aged just 25, had been living in Spain for the past three years and began feeling unwell a few weeks ago and was soon diagnosed with both leukaemia and Covid-19. Despite initial signs that treatment might help, her condition deteriorated rapidly and she sadly passed away last week. Her family, devastated by the sudden loss, are now trying to raise funds to bring her remains back to Ireland so she can be laid to rest at home in Tipperary. READ NEXT: What happened to Kelly Marie Lynch? One mother's fight for justice and the truth Writing on the GoFundMe page, her uncle Arturs said: Just three weeks ago, my sister got a call that she was in hospital with cancer and Covid. She underwent treatment, but it didnt work. Please help us bring her home for a proper funeral. Samantha worked in the popular Irish bar Paddy O'Kelly's in Playa de las Americas in the south of Tenerife. The bar posted a heartfelt tribute on their social media expressing their condolences following Samantha's untimely passing. The post on Facebook says, "Its with a heavy heart that our colleague and friend, Sam has sadly passed away. She was a valued part of our team and will be deeply missed. A beautiful and kind human with the biggest smile. Were still in shock and heartbroken. Please keep her family in your thoughts during this difficult time. "This is an official GoFundMe from her family to help raise money to get her back to Ireland with her family and friends. If anyone would like to donate then it will mean a lot. We will be organising a fundraiser to help too. "Rest in Peace Sam. You will be greatly missed. Lots of love, Your Paddy OKelly's family." READ NEXT: Man pleads guilty to dangerous driving causing death of his 21-year-old niece in Limerick The Thurles-based campaign is appealing to the local community and beyond for support during this difficult time. Donations can be made through the fundraiser page, with all funds going directly toward covering the costs of repatriation and funeral arrangements. Parishioners gathered recently to celebrate the Bi-Centenary of the Church of Mary Mother of God in Newtownmanor, on Sunday, June 22, a date which, from a Roman Catholic liturgical perspective, coincided with the Feast of Corpus Christi (The Body of Christ). A large crowd assembled for the Mass of Thanksgiving, presided over by Bishop Martin Hayes of the Diocese of Kilmore. Following the Mass, attendees continued celebrating the historic event in Newtownmanor Hall. Bishop Hayes delivered a thought-provoking and uplifting homily reflecting on the history of the church, the state of Catholicism in Ireland today, and the significance of marking the 200th anniversary of the church's founding, spanning from 1825 to 2025. The layout of this church is an illustration of what it is to gather around the Table of the Lord; people and priests gathered around the altar, achieved in the innovative refurbishment of 1990, led by Fr Patsy Young R.I.P. The church itself is set amid the beauty of creation, between ORourkes Table and the picturesque valley below, Bishop Hayes remarked during the Gospel. We gather in this church in its 200th year, in this place that has evolved over time. We are here to celebrate our belonging together as the Body of Christ called to reach out to others on mission. We give thanks today for the initiative of Fr Thomas Ford and the local parishioners of 200 years ago. READ NEXT: GALLERY: Suns out for Ballinamore Camino Bishop Hayes shared some of the churchs history, noting that Fr Thomas Ford and the parishioners were supported by Lady Whyte, a devout French Canadian Catholic and wife of the local landlord, Col. JJ Whyte. Their efforts were significantly strengthened by the wider movement led by Daniel OConnell, particularly through his collaboration with the Catholic Church and the Catholic Association, which helped fund his campaign for Catholic Emancipation in 1829. All that was happening throughout Ireland in the 1820s gave the people of Newtownmanor the courage to give witness to their Catholic faith with the building of this church, Bishop Hayes remarked. Gratitude was expressed to previous generations for preserving the Church of Mary Mother of God as a sacred place of worship across the 1800s and 1900s, where Mass and the Eucharist have long been celebrated. Bishop Hayes also acknowledged the current challenges facing the Kilmore Diocese, including a decline in vocations, fewer people responding to the full expression of baptismal calling, fewer parishioners, and fewer priests. Nevertheless, he offered hope in the form of 21 lay people preparing to complete their discernment as Lay Pastoral Ministers. They are set to begin studies at Maynooth this September and will take up parish placements in January. READ NEXT: Leitrim TD urges Minister to 'stand up for family farms' amid EU CAP reforms We give thanks for our faith, for our gathering here today, for all of you involved in preparing this 200th celebration. May we in celebrating the 200th anniversary of the Church of Mary Mother of God, in rejoicing in Corpus Christi today, the gift of the Eucharist which we receive in Holy Communion,become what we receive: the Body of Christ, the eyes, the ears, the hands, and the feet of Christ for each other and for future generations, Bishop Hayes concluded. Bishop Martin Hayes with Father Paul and Father Gerry Were appealing to donors and development partners to assist with training, tools, and equipment so we can build staff capacity and effectively support farmers on the ground, he appealed. Minister of Internal Affairs, Francis Sakila Nyumalin, addresses the press in Monrovia recently outlining the governments renewed commitment to national healing and reconciliation. (L-r): LACC Chairperson Cllr. Alexandra Kormah Zoe and LRA Commissioner General James Dorbor Jallah in photo during the joint press conference on 100% staff asset declaration. How a community is left in shambles by a logging company, leaving behind debts and despair THE Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy led Our Ladys & Saint Itas Jubilee Year of Hope pilgrimage. The power of hope in a world of challenge was emphasised as over 200 people joined the pilgrimage at Our Ladys & Saint Itas Pastoral Units on Friday last. Speaking about the success of the gathering, the Bishop said the large numbers that turned out illustrated the hope that exists that, despite all the ills in the world today, that peace and goodwill can be commonplace for all, starting with small gestures. I was delighted with this initiative as it lifted our hearts in prayer for peace at a time when the world is crying out for peace. It was wonderful to be with people so conscious of the heritage that has come down to us through the generations. READ NEXT: 'We're absolutely overwhelmed': Almost 30k raised for Limerick girl as family cope with cancer diagnosis It is so important to see ourselves as custodians of the flame of faith that has been handed on to us. It did me good to see the children and young people present. They will remember the event. Who knows, it might become an annual pilgrimage. In a hugely meaningful gathering under early evening mist, the pilgrims gathered for prayer, song as they walked to three main stations. These started at the Kileedy graveyard, which has the St. Ita shrine, and here Helen Forde spoke about St. Ita herself and her great influence in her time. They then moved onto the roadside near the Mass Rock, where James Shanahan spoke on significance of the Mass rock, while Marion Brosnan spoke in the Ashford church, the third and final station. The unit comprises the parishes of Killeedy/Ashford, Dromcollogher/Broadford, Feenagh/Kilmeedy, Ardagh/Carrickerry, Mahoonagh/Feohanagh/Castlemahon, Monagea and Newcastle West. Bishop Leahy also attended the 400th anniversary of the birth of St. Oliver Plunkett celebration held in Drogheda on July 6th. A RATHKEALE man pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of his niece, Marguerita (Maggie) O'Rourke (nee Sheridan), at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court this Thursday. Danny ODonoghue, aged 42, of Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, County Limerick was arraigned on four charges before Judge Colin Daly. READ MORE: BREAKING: Woman found dead in Limerick city Mr ODonoghue, who appeared via video-link from Portlaoise Prison where he has been on remand, said guilty when the court registrar put each of the four charges to him. Mr ODonoghue is charged with dangerous driving causing the death of Ms O'Rourke (nee Sheridan) at Bank Place, Well Lane, Rathkeale on December 21, 2024. He is also charged with causing criminal damage to a set of gates, property of Mary Teresa O'Rourke, at the same location on the same date. Mr ODonoghue is further charged with producing a machete in the course of a dispute, in a manner to intimidate another person, at Ballywilliam, Rathkeale on December 21,2024. The accused is also charged with causing criminal damage to a van, property of a Patrick Sheridan, on the same date and location in Rathkeale. Prosecuting barrister Lily Buckley, instructed by State solicitor Brendan Gill, said there are two offence locations on the same day. The deceased was 21 years of age in respect of the dangerous driving causing death charge. Her husband is in the United Kingdom. Victim impact statements have to be canvassed. Her parents John Sheridan and Margaret Sheridan equally need to be canvassed. "She had one brother and she had a three-week-old baby at the time of her death. The victim impact statements will be prepared expeditiously, said Ms Buckley. Judge Daly said it was a matter of some sensitivity and asked for an afternoon to be set aside for sentencing. Michael Bowman SC, who represented Mr ODonoghue during the brief procedural matter, asked for a prison governors report and education report to be directed to Portlaoise Prison. The tragic deceased was actually the niece of the defendant, said Mr Bowman. Judge Daly said it was a sad case, indeed. Mr ODonoghue is due to be sentenced on October 29 in Limerick Circuit Criminal Court. He was remanded in continuing custody until that date. Judge Daly asked Mr ODonoghue if he understood? I do, said Mr ODonoghue. There were a number of senior gardai in court including Detective Sergeant Michael Reidy and Detective Sergeant Ted Riordan. LIMERICK'S Colbert Railway Station will be one of the first locations under a new agreement to receive an outdoor bottle filling station. Ecofil, Irelands leading provider of sustainable bottle filling solutions, has announced the continued rollout of its Iconic-V Outdoor Bottle Filling Station with the addition of Irish Rail locations nationwide. The initiative, launched in collaboration with Irish Rail, aims to promote environmental responsibility and reduce single-use plastic among rail passengers. READ MORE: Water tankering in Limerick village as Uisce Eireann issues conservation appeal Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment and Minister for Transport, Darragh OBrien TD said, Providing free, premium filtered water at our train stations is a simple but effective way to encourage more sustainable behaviours. Jimmy Guerin, Director of Ecofil said, This partnership with Irish Rail represents a major step forward in our mission to make sustainable hydration accessible and convenient. Having one of our first units live at Limerick Station demonstrates just how impactful our water filling stations can be. This initiative reflects Irish Rails ongoing commitment to environmental innovation and complements broader efforts across the transport sector to reduce the environmental footprint of daily travel. The rollout aligns with government sustainability goals and efforts to reduce plastic waste across the public transport network. Ecofil designs and manufactures innovative water dispensing solutions that support sustainability goals and reduce environmental impact. As part of the ERG Group, based in Finglas and employing 38 people, Ecofil plays a vital role in helping communities across Ireland eliminate single-use plastics and embrace a greener future. Four additional stations at Malahide, Drogheda, Bray and Mallow will have the Iconic-V Filling Station installed, significantly expanding access to free and clean drinking water for rail users across the country. A boy told Gardai that he could hear his 12-year old friend screaming as former All-Star and Clare All-Ireland winning hurler, Niall Gilligan hit him with a stick. In a videoed interview with specialist Gardai played to the jury today at Ennis Circuit Court, the boy said that his friend "got attacked by a man" who had a smooth, wooden stick kind of a thing and he just started hitting him with it". The boy said his father later showed him a photo of Niall Gilligan and the boy confirmed that the man who attacked his friend was the accused. READ NEXT: What happened to Kelly Marie Lynch? One mother's fight for justice and the truth Mr Gilligan (48) of Rossroe, Kilmurry, Sixmilebridge denies the assault causing harm with a stick of the boy at the Jamaica Inn hostel, Sixmilebridge on October 5, 2023. The two 12 year olds had been exploring an abandoned Jamaica Inn hostel after 5pm on October 5. Mr Gilligan owned the Jamaica Inn hostel at the time and the jury has been told that in the days leading up to October 5, it had been broken into and vandalised. In the video interview carried out on November 11, 2023, the 12 year old witness said that as the two boys left the building and came around a corner, they saw a tall, kind of strong looking man holding a stick and they both ran. He said that his friend - also 12 years old at the time - slipped and he just started attacking him with the bat. The boy said: I thought he was getting back up but then I just heard the screams out of him, getting attacked by the man and a bat hitting off of him and then I ran around the corner into this industrial estate and I hid. Asked how he felt by the specialist Garda interviewer, the boy said terrified and added but I just got out of there as fast as I could, all I could think was get out of there and I did. The boy described the man as fit looking like, gingerly brown kinda hair. He said: I seen him playing hurling with I was younger and he played for the Bridge and Clare. The boy told Gardai Mr Gilligan is an auctioneer in Sixmilebridge. READ NEXT: Man pleads guilty to dangerous driving causing death of his 21-year-old niece in Limerick Asked about his friends screaming, the boy said: I heard him shouting, like I heard him screaming like telling him to stop. My friend telling him to fuck off and to leave him alone, that was about it. The boy hid in a nearby industrial estate and he said that felt relatively safe but I was still very scared that somehow he could have seen me. A short time later, the boy said that he saw his friend come around the corner and he was limping like he was holding his arm, holding his hand, holding the wrist he broke and it was all swelling up. The boy said that his friend was looking in pain, he had lots of mud all over him. The boy told Gardai that his friend was very shaky, obviously he felt very, very scared and in a lot of pain. He said: I was just supporting him to walk up, just like holding him upI put my arm around his back so I could support him so he could have one of his legs off the ground so it would be easier for him to walk." The boy said that his friend "said it just hurts everywhere' is all he said. The boy said that his friend told him go home because if he sees you, he is going to get you as well. The cross examination of the boy on his direct video evidence is taking place this afternoon before a jury of seven men and five women continues. A Westminster committee has called for more funding and better co-ordination in a bid to tackle violence against women and girls. The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee also called for work to understand the levels of violence against females in the region. It comes after the committee heard evidence sessions and met with organisations which support women who have experienced violence. MPs heard 98% of women in Northern Ireland have experienced at least one form of gender-based violence, and 28% of all victim-based crimes in Northern Ireland are related to domestic abuse. The scale of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland is truly shocking. We've written to the Safeguarding Minister, @JessPhillips, with urgent recommendations ahead of the publication of the Government's strategy on violence against women and girls later this year. pic.twitter.com/fDoCXF3U1p Northern Ireland Affairs Committee (@CommonsNIAC) July 17, 2025 The committee also heard anecdotal evidence suggesting the legacy of the Troubles adds a unique dimension in the experience of females in the region, and that a disproportionate number of women in Northern Ireland are being silenced by online violence or subjected to intimate image abuse when compared with rest of the UK. The committees recommendations include sharing learning across the UK and consideration of an oversight board, as well as collaboration between Westminster and Stormont. It has also recommended that in the Governments upcoming strategy for tackling violence against women and girls (VAWG), it sets out what steps it is taking in each nation of the UK, and to ensure that technology companies do so, too. Committee chairwoman Tonia Antoniazzi called for action. The shocking scale of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland, highlighted by the harrowing experiences we heard of those who are forced to put up with it daily, cannot be tolerated any longer, she said. Previous efforts have clearly failed to tackle what is a scourge on society across the UK, and the Government now has an opportunity to set a new course. Alongside funding to protect women and girls from unacceptable abuse online, support for victims and early intervention to change attitudes, we need Stormont, Westminster, Holyrood and Cardiff to get together regularly to share whats working, and what theyre learning, as they each respond to VAWG. As part of this, were calling for more research into issues that might be specific to Northern Ireland, so that we can help end this grim reality, which is faced by far too many. PRESENTER and podcast host Ryan Tubridy took to the streets of Limerick this morning, as he is in the city for the day. Ryan will be broadcasting his mid-morning Virgin Media show today from the Limerick Live 95 studio, and then will travel to Cork on Friday. Flying into Shannon airport from Heathrow, he took to his Instagram stories to ask Limerick locals their suggestions for his trip. Responses flooded in with followers telling Ryan the best places for food, drink, music, sightseeing, and more there is no doubt Ran will have a jam-packed day in Limerick. Bumping into locals, and seeing the sights, he took the three bridges route for his morning run. READ NEXT: Actress who grew up in Limerick nominated for Emmy Award A listener in the UK asked Ryan if he would pop in to say hello to a friend in Limerick while visiting, so he did, and took a selfie with Jake outside the oldest tattoo parlour in the city, Living Art Tattoo Studio. Posting a series of photos on Instagram of his run in the pouring rain, he captured iconic sights and local favourites. Snapping shots of statues and monuments such as the Anthony Axel Foley monument by the River Shannon, Sir Terry Wogan statue in Harveys Quay, The Dockers monument on Howleys Quay, and The Richard Harris statue on Bedford row. Ryan captured the Treaty City Brewery, The Hunt Museum, the Sylvester O'Halloran Footbridge, and of course, the book worm managed to stumble across The Celtic Bookshop, on Rutland Street. Blown away by the amount of suggestions for the popular bakery and cafe, Bean a Ti Bakery on Little Catherine Street, Ryan had to give it a try, and was so impressed by the selection of the Limerick bakery, he had to take a box of the sweet treats with him. Posting a video on his Instagram story, he showed off the array of buns and cakes on display, with one treat in particular catching his eye - the coffee slices! "Boom! Delicious" he exclaimed. A successful trip to Limerick indeed Ryan! * Shareholders seek $8 billion reimbursement from Meta executives * Trial focuses on decade-old events and board meetings * Andreessen testimony follows his firm's criticism of Delaware courts By Tom Hals WILMINGTON, Delaware, July 17 (Reuters) - Famed investor Marc Andreessen is scheduled to take the stand on Thursday to defend his role on the Facebook board of directors when it was hit with a $5 billion fine in 2019 for alleged violations of an agreement with a U.S. regulator to protect user privacy. Shareholders of Meta Platforms hope to hold the co-founder of the Andreessen Horowitz venture capital firm, along with Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg and others, liable for more than $8 billion in fines and legal costs the company paid in recent years to resolve claims that it had violated a 2012 agreement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. The FTC fined Facebook $5 billion in 2019 for failing to comply with that agreement, which is central to the case. Zuckerberg is expected to take the stand on Monday. The shareholders want the 11 defendants to use their personal wealth to reimburse the company. The defendants have denied the allegations, which they have called "extreme claims." Facebook changed its name to Meta in 2021. The company is not a defendant and declined to comment. The non-jury trial before Chancellor Kathaleen McCormick that began on Wednesday is scheduled to run through the end of next week in Delaware's Court of Chancery. A ruling in the case, which will mostly focus on decade-old events and board meetings, will likely take months after the trial. Andreessen's appearance comes after his firm last week said it was changing its state of incorporation to Nevada from Delaware, where the majority of U.S. publicly traded companies are based. His firm cited the lack of certainty in Delaware courts, pointing to two rulings, including one by McCormick last year to rescind Elon Musk's $56 billion pay package from Tesla. Most publicly traded U.S. companies are incorporated in Delaware, whose state budget relies on fees from chartering businesses. After his pay package was rescinded, Musk led his companies to incorporate in Texas from Delaware and encouraged others to follow, though only a handful have done so. Delaware's lawmakers this year overhauled the state's corporate law in a bid to prevent companies from leaving. Joel Fleming, an attorney who represents Meta shareholders, questioned if Andreessen's firm was trying to pressure the court, which he said would fail. "It's a ham-fisted attempt to do what Elon Musk did -- to huff and puff and send a message to the Court of Chancery," said Fleming. A spokesperson for the Andreessen Horowitz firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The case will also feature testimony from former Facebook board members Peter Thiel, Palantir Technologies co-founder, and Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix. Meta investors allege in the lawsuit that former and current board members completely failed to oversee the company's compliance with the 2012 FTC agreement and claim that Zuckerberg and former Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg knowingly ran Facebook as an illegal data harvesting operation. The case followed revelations that data from millions of Facebook users was accessed by Cambridge Analytica, a now-defunct political consulting firm that worked for Donald Trump's successful U.S. presidential campaign in 2016. Those revelations led to the FTC fine, which was a record at the time. On Wednesday, an expert witness for the plaintiffs testified about what he called "gaps and weaknesses" in Facebook's privacy policies but would not say if the company violated the 2012 agreement that Facebook reached with the FTC. Jeffrey Zients, a former board member, testified on Wednesday that the company did not agree to the FTC fine to spare Zuckerberg legal liability, as shareholders allege. Bengaluru: LTIMindtree Ltd began the new fiscal year on solid footing, reporting revenue growth in line with expectations, led largely by clients in Europe and the retail segment. Indias sixth-largest IT services company on Thursday reported $1.15 billion in revenue for the June-ended quarter (Q1FY26), a 1.97% sequential rise. This matched the consensus estimate from a Bloomberg poll of 31 analysts. Nearly three-fourths of its incremental revenue of $22 million came from clients based in Europe, which contributed $170 million in revenue. Retailers, grouped under the 'consumer' vertical, contributed the most to incremental revenue, with the segment bringing in $168 million, or 14.6% of overall revenue. Management expressed optimism despite the challenging macroeconomic environment. While the macroeconomic environment remains challenging, Im confident that our disciplined execution and unwavering client focus will continue to drive our performance, chief executive Venu Lambu said in the companys earnings release. The commentary echoed that of Tech Mahindra, where CEO Mohit Joshi had said the sentiment is still not conducive to significant discretionary investments in sectors affected by tariffs. LTIMindtrees performance stood out amid a weak demand environment for Indias top IT exporters. Wipro reported revenue of $2.59 billion for the April-June quarter, down 0.35% sequentially and 1.5% year-on-year. Its performance was broadly in line with the muted sequential growth posted by peersTata Consultancy Services ($7.42 billion, down 0.59%), HCL Technologies ($3.55 billion, up 1.34%), and Tech Mahindra ($1.56 billion, up 0.97%). Infosys Ltd, Indias second-largest IT outsourcer, will report its June-quarter results on 23 July. Deal boost, profit jump Mint reported in May that LTIMindtree had bagged its largest deal to datea seven-year, $450 million contract from Archer-Daniels-Midland Co (ADM), a Chicago-based food processing and commodities trading firm. Two analysts who did not wish to be identified said the revenue bump in the June quarter likely stemmed from that large deal. Its most likely ADM that might have contributed to the increase in revenue, said a Mumbai-based analyst on condition of anonymity. Mint could not ascertain whether revenue from LTIMindtrees largest client contributed to the quarterly growth. The company did not hold a press conference following its results. For Venu Lambu, who took over as chief executive on 31 May, the ADM deal is a shot in the arm and is expected to further support revenue growth. Analysts had anticipated the win would add to the companys total contract value. LTIMindtree does not disclose new order wins in its financials. The company also posted a 12.6% sequential jump in net profit to $147 million, aided by lower tax expenses. Operating margins stood at 14.3%, up 50 basis points from the previous quarter. Tech Mahindra reported 11.1% operating margins, a 60-basis-point sequential improvement. Headcount fell by 418 to 83,889 during the quarter, tracking a similar trend at Tech Mahindra, which reduced its workforce by 214 to 148,517. Also Read | Mid-cap outperform larger peers yet again LTIMindtrees results set the tone for Indias mid-tier IT firms with annual revenues between $1 billion and $5 billion. These companies not only grew faster than the top five IT majors last year, but also added more headcount. MUMBAI : Indias listed asset management companies (AMCs) are expected to see their revenues rise in the June quarter, supported by increasing assets under management (AUM) amid a market upswing. The equity AUM for all the asset managers jumped 14% sequentially to 32.69 trillion in the first quarter of 2025-26, as shown by data from the Association of Mutual Funds in India (Amfi). AMCs earn money by charging a small feecalled the expense ratioon the total assets they manage, meaning their revenues rise when the value of their assets (AUM) goes up. Also Read | Sebi should allow VCs to tap into retail investors' growing risk appetite HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd, Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd, and Aditya Birla Sun Life Amc Ltd are expected to see their revenues grow 21%, 26%, and 14% year-on-year, respectively, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates for the quarter. For UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd, revenue is expected to decline by 22%. The strong growth is (coming) on the back of increasing retail participation, improving product mix, and rising equity market levels," said Vaqarjaved Khan, team lead-fundametal equities, at stockbroker Angel One Ltd. The rise in total industry AUM is mainly driven by equity-linked schemes and efficient distribution networks, he added. However, according to Amfi data, equity inflows witnessed a sequential decline of 28.92% in the April-June quarter. The decline indicates some moderation in investor sentiment. However, it is important not to view this decline in isolation, as this drop in inflows is largely due to heightened market volatility, global uncertainties, and cautious investor behaviour amid volatile markets, said Shweta Rajani, head-mutual funds, Anand Rathi Wealth Ltd. HDFC Asset Management Co. Ltd, Nippon Life India Asset Management Ltd, and Aditya Birla Sun Life Amc Ltd are expected to see their revenues grow 21%, 26%, and 14% year-on-year, respectively, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates for the quarter. For UTI Asset Management Co. Ltd, revenue is expected to decline by 22%. The strong growth is (coming) on the back of increasing retail participation, improving product mix, and rising equity market levels," said Vaqarjaved Khan, team lead-fundametal equities, at stockbroker Angel One Ltd. The rise in total industry AUM is mainly driven by equity-linked schemes and efficient distribution networks, he added. However, according to Amfi data, equity inflows witnessed a sequential decline of 28.92% in the April-June quarter. The decline indicates some moderation in investor sentiment. However, it is important not to view this decline in isolation, as this drop in inflows is largely due to heightened market volatility, global uncertainties, and cautious investor behaviour amid volatile markets, said Shweta Rajani, head-mutual funds, Anand Rathi Wealth Ltd. Despite short-term market volatility and uncertainty during the initial part of the quarter, the strong market rebound in the last two months is likely to support a strong earnings performance for AMCs in Q1FY26, she added. The benchmark Nifty 50 rose 10.15% and the Sensex gained 9.97% during the three months ended 30 June 2025. Profits HDFC AMC's net profit is expected to increase 12.31% on-year, Nippon Life India Asset Management's 3%, and Aditya Birla Sun Life AMC's 13.19% in the quarter, according to Bloomberg consensus estimates. Despite tightened regulatory oversight around futures and options (F&O) trading possibly affecting market volumes, the steady rise in systematic investment plans (SIPs) for mutual funds is supporting profitability across the industry, said Raj Gaikar, research analyst at stockbroker Samco Securities. June saw the highest-ever SIP contributions at 27,269 crore, showed Amfi data. Net profit growth is estimated in the range of high teens to low twenties on an on-year basis, largely driven by a favourable asset mix with equities forming a greater share of total AUM," Gaikar added. He said margins are expected to be stable with a slight upward bias, supported by revenue growth and relatively contained cost structures in Q1FY26. However, increased competition and regulatory costs may limit margin expansion. Assets Quarterly average AUM for listed AMCs such as HDFC AMC, Nippon AMC, and UTI AMC are expected to rise by 7%, 10%, and 6% on-quarter, respectively, Nomura said in the 15 July report, citing their AUM disclosures. The equity quarterly average AUM for HDFC AMC grew 8%, Nippon AMC grew 9%, and UTI AMC grew 5% on-quarter, the report added. AMCs will start reporting earnings for Q1FY26 from 17 July, with HDFC AMC being the first one to declare the results. Outlook For the next three years, AUM across schemes is expected to record a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18-20%, but equity-linked schemes are expected to see higher growth of around 22-25%, said Khan. Growth in AUM is expected to be driven by increasing participation through SIPs, penetration of financial products beyond the top 30 cities, and the rise of high-net-worth individuals and mass affluent populations. All these factors are expected to improve return on equity (RoE) across industry market leaders by 200-400 basis points over the next 2-3 years, Khan added. Gaikar said looking ahead, the medium-term outlook for the AMC industry remains constructive, supported by strong domestic savings, increasing financial literacy, and digital penetration. However, regulatory changes and market volatility will need close monitoring. Mumbai: For Reliance Industries Ltd, the April-June quarter results will be a critical test as the 20 trillion market cap firm looks to reaffirm its status as Indias most valuable company. After a prolonged slump in its core oil-to-chemicals (O2C) business, and as investor expectations rise, the Mukesh Ambani-owned conglomerate will not only have to deliver stronger earnings but also offer concrete progress on its much-touted new energy ventures. While the O2C business has seen a sharp erosion in profitability, the retail and telecom arms have provided crucial support to overall earningsthough not without facing their own operational challenges. Reliance Industries is scheduled to announce its June quarter results on 18 July. According to a Bloomberg analyst consensus, the oil-to-telecom conglomerate is expected to report consolidated revenue of 2.42 trillion for the first quarter of FY26, up nearly 5% from 2.32 trillion a year earlier. In Q1FY25, revenue had grown by almost 12% year-on-year. Net profit is estimated at 20,059 crore, compared to 17,445 crore in the same quarter last year, when profit had declined 5% year-on-year. O2C drag persists Weak commodity prices have routed the margins in its mainstay O2C business over the past couple of years. The Ebitda from the O2C business has shrunk by over a tenth in the last two years. In response, retail and telecomthe conglomerates other two key growth engineshave been doing the heavy lifting. But they too face headwinds: cost control remains a challenge in retail, while telecom continues to grapple with revenue growth. Together, these two segments have just about offset the drag from O2C. The result: consolidated profit grew by a modest 4% between FY23 and FY25, compared to about 67% over the previous four financial years, according to JP Morgan. This tested investor confidence, with the stock hovering close to its 52-week low of 1,115.55 between December and April. Recently, however, investors have warmed up to the stock again, with shares gaining nearly a quarter since April and approaching their 52-week high of 1,593.30 apiece seen in July 2024. Investors are taking comfort in analysts' guidance that there was little downside to the O2C business from the lows of FY25, when its profit declined by 12%. "Both refining and petchem (which comprise the O2C business) margins have fallen materially, and should have little sustained downside over FY25 levels," JP Morgan analysts noted on 6 June. O2C also accounts for only a third of RILs consolidated Ebitda now, down from 44% in FY23, implying that the drag on the consolidated numbers from any margin weakness in this business should be relatively lower, they said. At 0238pm (India time), shares of Reliance traded at 1475.10 apiece on the BSE, down 0.72% from previous close. Retail and telecom in focus Meanwhile, retail and telecomthe conglomerates other two key growth engineshave been doing the heavy lifting. The retail business, though a relatively smaller contributor to the consolidated earnings, trades at expensive multiples and is expected to report better growth. The store count shrank over the past year as Reliance rationalized its retail network and workforce. Management has guided for continued floor space expansion starting this year, and investors will look for material progress on that front. In the January-March quarter, the company also saw an increase in sales within the existing stores, a trend which investors would expect to continue. JP Morgan values the retail business at 32.5x FY27 Ebitda compared to 7.5x for O2C and 13x for telecom. The telecom business under the Jio brand is projected to see revenue and Ebitda growth of 18-21% CAGR over FY2527 due to an improving pricing environment and the expansion of its home broadband business, analysts at Jefferies said in a note dated 5 June. Cash flows are expected to jump tenfold over this period as capital expenditure requirements are also moderating in conjunction with better income forecasts, they said. The next growth engine The telecom and retail businesses, which have been the drivers of the Reliance stock over the past decade, have matured. Also Read | Reliance Jio may see steady growth in Q1 on user adds, IPL push A new growth engine is neededand the company is betting on its new energy business, which spans solar module manufacturing, clean power generation, green hydrogen, and data centres. Reliance is going back to its roots in Jamnagar, where its refinery is located, to set up its new energy and artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The company sees its new energy business being more ambitious, far more transformational, and far more global in scope than anything it's ever done before," analysts at Morgan Stanley noted on 3 July, citing company presentations. However, beyond the hype, the company will have to give material updates on the progress it is making on this front as investor enthusiasm on renewable energy has started running out of steam even as interest in AI remains high. Conclusion Investors have already reposed their faith in the stock. The numbers tell the story. Reliance contributed 457 points, or about a tenth to the benchmark index Nifty's 4,534-point (17.25%) correction from a record high of 26,277.35 on 27 September 2024 to a 13-month low of 21,743.65 on 7 April 2025, making it the biggest drag on the index, as per wealth advisory firm Equentis. Also Read | Jio BlackRock has made a solid start. The real test lies ahead Since then, the company has contributed another tenth to the indexs 18% recovery when it hit a high of 25,654.2 points on 27 June. Now, Reliance has to deliver on its guidance. Indian men, particularly Gen Z, are challenging the way advertising depicts masculinity. A new Kantar study highlights how urban Indian men feel that ads continue to rely on outdated views, portraying them as stoic, confident providers rather than as emotionally complex individuals navigating modern life. Kantar conducted this study, surveying 880 men aged 18-45 across Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Hyderabad, and Pune. The study aimed to understand the roles men play in both private and professional spheres and how advertisers depict these roles. Additionally, Kantar analysed 457 Indian TV ads to identify traditional male and female roles. The findings, shared exclusively withMint, sought to chart the experiences of Indian men and explore their intersection with brand stories in advertising. Progressive advertising is a proven growth lever. Brands that reflect real, relatable masculinity outperform on metrics such as trust, relevance, and purchase intent, it said. In fact, 41% of millennials (28-43 years) surveyed feel negatively represented in advertising, while 31% of Gen Z feel the same. The report indicates that urban Indian men are transitioning from traditional roles of being caretakers and emotionally resilient figures to valuing greater partnership at home and appearing more vulnerable. This shift is particularly pronounced among younger, urban men (Gen Z), who are actively rejecting traditional portrayals and seeking more nuanced and holistic representation in popular media. "Indian men are not a monolith. Their roles are expanding, their expectations shifting, and their emotional space deepening. Their aspirations are influenced not just by career goals, but by questions of identity, partnership, health, and well-being. Yet advertising still leans on dated tropes that fail to reflect the full picture," according to the report, anchored by Kantar along with the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI). Kantar observed that dominant advertising narratives continue to rely on familiar portrayals of menthe confident provider, the emotionally distant achiever, the unflinching decision-maker. These characters may feel familiar, but they no longer feel complete, it added. Men today describe a reality for themselves that is more complex, more conflicted, and more emotionally nuanced". Those surveyed also said that ads under-represent traditional pressures like financial responsibility or internal conflict. Key Takeaways About 41% of millennials and 31% of Gen Z men feel misrepresented in ads. Ads still portray men as emotionally distant, confident providers. Men want depictions of shared domestic roles and emotional openness. Levels of appearance in ads remain narrow and exclusionary. Brands lag in reflecting the evolving male identity in Indian society. "Men are feeling a bit alienated in the mainstream narrative, globally and in India. There is a moment of reconsideration for masculinity. Men are evolving, but advertising hasn't yet caught up. Men are more diverse, more plural, and are more nuanced compared to the relative stereotyping that they see of themselves in advertising," Soumya Mohanty, managing director and chief client officer, Kantar, said in an interview withMint. In fact, Kantar found that the majority of ads in categories like personal care, food, and household are still tested only among women, even when men are visible users, buyers, or influencers. In personal care, only 8% of ads were tested among all genders, while 87% were tested only with women. Even in food and Beverages, male representation in testing remains low. Roles and appearances Those surveyed said they are tired of having to appear confident and feel disconnected from societal portrayals that rarely reflect their real lives. They are also under pressure to succeed and provide without showing any visible signs of doubt. Men also fear loneliness and failure. However, advertisers said such a change is hard to come by immediately. "In small towns and cities (up country India) men want to be seen as macho and also see macho men on screen. Social hierarchies exist in a country like India, and they remain very well defined. There is nothing wrong or right about it. At the end of the day, it's about a brand's point of view and who they are targeting," said Sandeep Goyal, managing director at advertising agency Rediffusion. Among other findings, a large majority of men (71%) still believe "a real man should never cry," indicating that the stigma around emotional openness continues to restrict men's ability to express vulnerability. For instance, men don't strongly believe domestic tasks are off-limits for them, but they perceive that ads reinforce this idea. Many men feel ads exaggerate traditional portrayals, especially concerning domestic roles. Ads also standardise the notion of the way men are expected to look, while overt reliance on grooming is also often critiqued. For instance, across the 457 ads reviewed by Kantar, one profile largely dominates that of the clean-cut, medium-toned, and middle-aged man. The range of male portrayals is repetitive. Men aged 20-39 lead male representation (32%), while older and teenage males are nearly invisible. Medium skin tone dominates (36%), with light (13%) and dark (6%) tones far less visible. Regular physiques appear in 45% of ads, with fitness extremes being rare. Gender roles To be sure, in a large and complex market like India where traditional roles of caregiving and domesticity often openly fall squarely on women, and where women aren't always encouraged to work or find meaningful employment, any shifts in their financial status or their ability to take on stronger decision-making roles, both outside and within the home, are certainly worth capturing in popular media. Kantars Mohanty said that over the past decade, advertisers have done a great job capturing the shift in women being more progressive and financially independent. For instance, more ads now show women in demanding jobs, dismantling notions around appearances or even single mothers raising children. Meanwhile, Kantar suggests that brands should move beyond high-achieving" archetypes of men in advertisements and feature men navigating the demands of real life, dealing with health concerns, work stress, caregiving responsibilities, or managing uncertainty. Similarly, highlighting caregiving, nurturing, sharing domestic responsibilities, and emotional labour should be portrayed as regular" parts of life for men, not exceptions. Additionally, male characters cooking, helping children get ready for school, or discussing emotions with partners should become standard, not symbolic. Men in ads are shown as "already sorted, already wise, already transformed." However, for many, the reality is they are "still figuring things out." Brands should show the in-between, where men are working under pressure and learning to express themselves. (Bloomberg) -- BAE Systems Plc said it is speeding ahead with the development of its next-generation Tempest fighter jet, as a rival European program is hamstrung by Franco-German squabbling. The British defense company this week unveiled the design of a demonstrator aircraft, and said that it has already begun manufacturing the main structure, wings and tail for that jet at its site in Lancashire. The milestone puts the test aircraft on track to fly within three years, with the final piloted supersonic plane the first to be developed in the UK in 40 years to be delivered by 2035, the firm said. The pace of this program is absolutely phenomenal, Herman Claesen, managing director for Future Combat Air Systems at BAE Systems, told reporters on a video call on Tuesday. By following the timeline we are following at the moment, we will be one of first companies to be able to offer the sixth-generation capability into the export market. The US, China and Russia are also developing sixth-generation aircraft, which are likely to include enhanced stealth, sensor and autonomous capabilities as well as the improved ability to coordinate with other aircraft and drones. London-based BAE is one part of the three-party Global Combat Air Programme, which also includes Italys Leonardo SpA and Japanese partners. Engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc and missile company MBDA are helping with the development of the demonstrator in coordination with the UKs Ministry of Defence. BAEs optimistic tone and declarations of excellent progress contrast starkly with the rival German-French-Spanish effort. The two main contractors, Frances Dassault Aviation SA and Airbus SE, whose defense business is based outside Munich, are bickering over control of FCAS, also known by its French acronym SCAF, which has put the development of the planned successor aircraft to the Eurofighter at risk. The issue has escalated to the point that German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron will seek to quell the squabble at a meeting in Berlin this month. In 2023, Airbus predicted that FCAS will be operational by 2040. When asked about whether it makes sense for Europe to have two competing fighter jet programs, Claesen said GCAPs timelines were much faster at the moment than what theyve seen at the Franco-German program, although he was not privy to any details at the rival endeavor. Were focused on our program, were focused on our job, it is up to the governments to decide whether there is enough money in Europe and strategically whether it is important to have two programs or to have one program, Claesen said. GCAP is being driven by the UK, Italy and Japan. A joint venture to lead the project recently dubbed Edgewing has BAE, Leonardo and Japan Aircraft Industrial Enhancement Co. each owning 33.3%. There has been speculation that other countries could join the project, especially Saudi Arabia, which is a key export market for the Eurofighter Typhoon jet. We can make anything happen, but the likelihood is diminishing all the time considering the pace we have on the program, Claesen said of adding new partners, because doing so would have an impact on timing and costs. GCAP has defined five levels of involvement, ranging from the most basic of ordering the plane off the shelf to manufacturing the aircraft in their own country, he said. I am pleased to say theres a bit of a queue forming of various nations who want to talk to the three governments to be involved with the program, Claesen said. --With assistance from Gerry Doyle. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com (Bloomberg) -- Burgundy Diamond Mines Ltd. laid off several hundred workers after halting part of its Ekati operations in northern Canada, adding another blow to the countrys struggling diamond mining industry. Chief Executive Officer Jeremy King said the company has temporarily suspended its Point Lake open-pit mine after record-low global diamond prices made the operation uneconomical. The diamonds assessed in the marketplace have just shown that in this market right now, Point Lake is non-economic and in fact wed be losing money on a daily basis there, King said in an interview. Its nearby underground mine is unaffected by the suspension, he added. Burgundys Ekati operations are one of three diamond mines in Canadas Northwest Territories, all of which reported financial losses last year. The diamond industry is grappling with one of its worst slumps in decades, hit by collapsing Chinese demand, uncertainty around US tariffs, and competition from lab-grown alternatives. The closure is expected to have significant ripple effect on nearby Indigenous communities, which have long relied on diamond mining for jobs and revenue. Local leaders said the scale of the job cuts caught them off guard. Its shocking. It is sad, said Marc Whitford, president of the North Slave Metis Alliance. Were talking about a whole part of that line suddenly carved away and gone, with all these many jobs that are gone primarily out of the indigenous communities. The diamond industry has generated more than C$104 million ($75.6 million) for three Indigenous development corporations and supported 355 jobs for local Indigenous workers, according to an economic study published in April. King didnt disclose the exact number of layoffs, but said the company is working toward a point where it can recall workers and reactivate Point Lake when diamond prices recover. Australia-based Burgundy bought the Ekati mine, which is about 210 kilometers (131 miles) south of the Arctic Circle, two years ago. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. earlier reported on the layoffs and stoppage at the open-pit mine. (Updates with comment from Metis group and additional information about the local economic impact, beginning in the fifth paragraph.) More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com (Bloomberg) -- Indonesia will keep talking with the US on sectoral tariffs, jet purchases and critical minerals after securing a 19% baseline tariff rate on exports to the worlds largest economy, a government adviser said Thursday. Jakarta will continue to negotiate with good intention, Mari Elka Pangestu, an adviser to President Prabowo Subianto on international trade and multilateral cooperation, said in an interview with Haslinda Amin on Bloomberg TV. That includes enhancing business interactions, helping diversify Americas critical mineral- supply chain and negotiating sector-specific tariffs on products including aluminum and steel, she said. Several key business agreements linked to tariff discussions, such as PT Garuda Indonesias plans to purchase dozens of Boeing Co. jets, also require commercial signoffs, Pangestu noted. The state-owned airline, which has been seeking to turn around its finances after sinking into the red last year, has said it could buy 50 or more jets, but a formal deal has yet to be announced. These are all commercial deals that will, of course, have to be done on competitive and business-to-business terms, she said. There are things being done, being undertaken, to improve Garudas performance and ability, obviously, to purchase these Boeing jets. The purchase is part of an ongoing process to revitalize Indonesias flag-carrier, Pangestu said. The tariffs deal, struck earlier this week between President Donald Trump and Prabowo, erases duties on US imports to Indonesia, and includes plans by the Southeast Asian nation to buy more than $19 billion of American energy and agricultural products. The agreement was among the first announced globally as the US carries out negotiations with dozens of countries. That highlights both Indonesias ongoing effort to strategically balance economic ties between the US and China, and Southeast Asias role as a crucial pivot in global trade dynamics amid rising geopolitical tensions. Pangestu, also a member of Indonesias National Economic Council (DEN), said the country will grant the US increased access for exports not competing directly with Indonesian products or those in short supply locally, such as wheat and cotton. Officials expect only a modest impact on imports overall. Its not about opening up totally and giving in everything to the US, she said. It is more nuanced and balanced than what maybe appears to the outsider. The deal benefits Indonesia by securing lower tariffs compared to competitors on key exports to US like palm oil, she said. But of course we will continue to be talking to the US, she added. There are other components to a trade deal that we would of course like to have more benefit coming to us. --With assistance from Anand Menon. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com Shareholders of tech and social media giant Meta, have sued for more than $8 billion in in fines and legal reimbursements, in relation to an alleged privacy scandal at Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook, as per reports. The action is based on relevations that data of millions of Facebook users was accessed by now defunct political consultant Cambridge Analytica, and alleges that around 11 executives including Mark Zuckerberg himself and former Chief Operating Officer (COO) Sheryl Sandberg indulged in insider trading and used the company to conduct illegal data harvesting, while the board failed to oversee the social media giant's operations. Interestingly, Cambridge Analytica worked for Donald Trump's successful US presidential campaign in 2016. Spokespeople for Meta did not immediately respond to queries, Bloomberg and Reuters said. Meta, Facebook's privacy scandal: What happened? The report said that the Meta shareholders, comprised largely of union pension funds, alleged that Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg ran the company as an illegal data harvesting operation, while the board completely ignored their duty to oversee the company. The claimants want reimbursement of over $8 billion in fines and legal costs from executives to Meta, which was paid to settle the 2012 privacy agreement violation to the United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Trail in the Facebook privacy scandal began at a Delaware court on July 16 (Wednesday), and is scheduled to last until July 25 (next Friday), according to a Reuters report. Notably, the case is being heard by Chancellor Kathaleen St. J McCormick the judge who rejected Tesla CEO Elon Musks $55 billion pay package, as per a Bloomberg report. Among the defendants in the case are, venture capitalist and current board member Marc Andreessen; and former board members Peter Thiel, Palantir Technologies co-founder, and Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix. Behind-the-scenes details: From FTC settlement, to insider trading and more According to the Bloomberg report, behind-the-scenes details emerged during the hearing, which showed that Facebook paid at least $7 billion in settlement cost to the FTC in 2019. Appearing in court on July 16, Jeffrey Zients, a company director at the time, and later former US President Joe Bidens chief of staff, deposed that the board asked its lawyers to approach the FTC with a proposal and was willing to pay billions of dollars except agreeing to hold founder Mark Zuckerberg personally responsible. He added that there wasnt any indication that Mark Zuckerberg was involved with the Cambridge Analytica leak. Future witnesses in the weeks-long trial include Zuckerberg (some time next week), Sandberg, Andreessen (expected to appear on July 17), and Thiel. Allegations break down: Mark Zuckerberg accused of insider trading The suit alleges: Facebook's violation of a 2012 FTC order on data-sharing practices and subsequent harm to shareholder interests to protect Mark Zuckerberg from liability. Facebook directors also are accused of failing to properly monitor the platforms adherence to that order, according to court filings. Investors also accuse Zuckerberg of insider trading. Notably, after the insider-trading claims, Zuckerberg moved to seal his stock-trading strategies from public revelation during the trial, claiming that it is highly confidential information. Mark Zuckerberg controls about 61 per cent of the Meta boards voting power through a dual-class share structure, effectively granting him sole control over the board composition and corporate strategy past, present and future, the BB report noted. (Bloomberg) -- Sarepta Therapeutics Inc. is cutting more than one-third of its workforce and will add a black box warning label to its gene therapy for a fatal muscle disorder after two patient deaths raised doubts about the future of the company. The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech company said Wednesday it would eliminate about 500 employees as part of a sweeping restructuring. Its also pausing several drugs in its pipeline. Sarepta said the moves would contribute to an estimated $400 million in annual cost savings. The company agreed to warn doctors and patients about the risk of liver failure from Elevidys, its gene therapy to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy, at the request of the US Food and Drug Administration. Black box labels are the most serious safety warnings a drug can have, and indicate severe or potentially deadly complications. Sarepta said the job cuts will help it maintain access to a $600 million revolving credit line and create cash flow that could help it repay a convertible note due in 2027. Preliminary Sales The company also disclosed preliminary second-quarter results showing total net product revenue of $513 million. More than half came from Elevidys. Last month, Sarepta reported that a second teenage boy died of acute liver failure while being treated with its $3.2 million gene therapy. Both fatalities occurred in patients who werent able to walk because of the muscle-wasting disease. At the time, the company suspended its 2025 revenue guidance, and pledged to take a careful look at its costs going forward. Sarepta also paused a clinical trial and halted shipments of the drug for non-ambulatory patients. Sarepta said it will submit a plan to the FDA for patients who cant walk that includes suppressing their immune systems before administering Elevidys, which may reduce their risk of complications. It will also discuss a path to resuming shipment of the therapy for those patients, typically older boys and young men. The FDA is investigating the Elevidys deaths. The fatalities pose one of the first big tests for Vinay Prasad, the new head of the regulators gene therapy division. As an academic at the University of California San Francisco, prior to his current role, he was highly critical of the FDAs expedited approval process and its use for Sareptas gene therapies in particular. In social media posts in March, Prasad questioned Sareptas treatment, saying it seems to be killing kids with Duchenne and destroying their livers. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com (Bloomberg) -- A judge delayed an Aug. 11 trial against Alphabet Inc.s Google over claims by a Texas-led group of states that the company illegally monopolized the market for tools to publish online display advertisements. US District Judge Sean Jordan in Plano, Texas, will reschedule the trial after a related US Justice Department case is resolved. Its the second delay for the case, which was initially scheduled for late March. The case includes 15 other states and Puerto Rico. It is the second antitrust lawsuit to target Googles advertising technology and potentially force a sale of some of the business. The suit is also seeking more than $100 billion in civil penalties under various state antitrust and consumer protection laws. In April, a federal judge in Virginia largely ruled for the Justice Department and a separate group of states in their own antitrust case over Googles ad tech business, following a trial last year. US District Judge Leonie Brinkema found that Google illegally monopolized the market for software used by web publishers to sell ads and an exchange matching buyers and sellers of online ads. Brinkema has set a September hearing to determine a fix, which could include breaking up the companys ad tech business. The Texas trial will be scheduled after Brinkemas ruling. The two cases share many overlaps. Both argue that Google monopolized the market for display ads across the web by dominating all aspects of the sale of online ads. Both are seeking a break up of Googles ad tech business and arguing that past acquisitions by the company, including DoubleClick in 2008, should have been blocked by antitrust enforcers. Google is also facing a ruling in a separate Justice Department antitrust case that could force it to sell its popular Chrome web browser and make other changes to its search business. US District Judge Amit Mehta ruled in August 2024 that Google illegally monopolize the online search market and is now deciding on a remedy. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com By Lucinda Elliott MONTEVIDEO, July 17 (Reuters) - A Uruguayan court on Thursday formally launched a criminal investigation into Conexion Ganadera, a local livestock investment firm accused of defrauding thousands of investors in a multi-million dollar "cow bond" scheme. The move marks a significant step forward in one of the biggest financial scandals in Uruguay, where cows outnumber people. Conexion Ganadera was the largest of three cattle investment companies that collapsed in late 2024 after attracting nearly 6,000 people or investor pools with promises of returns from livestock ownership. To date, estimated losses from the three companies amount to roughly $350 million - the majority, some $250 million, from Conexion Ganadera. "If we're here, it's because the victims weren't paid," Financial Crimes Prosecutor Enrique Rodriguez told the courtroom. Conexion Ganadera co-founder Pablo Carrasco has been charged with fraud and money laundering. The judge ruled he posed a flight risk and should be detained while awaiting trial. A trial date has not been set. Carrasco's wife, Ana Iewdiukow, and Daniela Cabral, the widow of his late business partner, were accused of fraud and placed under house arrest. All three deny the allegations. The other co-owner, Gustavo Basso, killed himself in a car crash in November 2024, shortly before the company's collapse. Dozens of people gathered outside the courthouse in Montevideo on Thursday to demand justice. "Many families have been financially destroyed over this," said 47-year-old Doriana Esposito. Evidence suggests that the money received by the firm over more than two decades was not always invested in livestock and circulated without any legal oversight through a network of companies that diverted funds for other purposes, the prosecution said. Several investors have been unable to find the animals that contracts show they own, making up a herd of "phantom cows" that could number over 700,000 head of cattle. The prosecutor said the criminal probe would help determine "with greater precision" the amount of missing livestock. Bengaluru: B.S. Nagesh has stepped down as chairman of Shoppers Stop Ltd after more than three decades at the helm. His retirement, announced at the companys annual general meeting on Thursday, marks the end of an era for the retailer, which is battling a series of senior-level exits and rising competition. The Mumbai-based company's board has appointed Nirvik Singh, international president at advertising and marketing agency Grey Group, as the new chairman effective 18 July, it said in a statement. Singh has been the director of Shoppers Stop since June 2008. Nagesh was part of the founding team that launched Shoppers Stop in 1991. Under his leadership, the company expanded from a single store in Mumbai to a national footprint of 299 stores across 70 cities, including 112 department stores, 75 Intune value-fashion outlets, and 82 beauty stores. He is credited with introducing global brands to India, building one of the countrys longest-running loyalty programmes, and steering the company through multiple consumption cycles. The company, a retail arm of the K Raheja Corp, went public in 2003. Since then, the company's revenue grew from 401 crore in FY04 to 5,427 crore in FY25 during his tenure. Shares of Shoppers Stop settled 0.6% higher at 579.45 apiece on the National Stock Exchange on Thursday. Also Read | Shoppers Stop looks to double its beauty business as global brands come knocking In the April-June quarter of this fiscal year, Shoppers Stop narrowed its net loss as affluent customers spent on luxury watches, and trendy apparel to drive revenue growth. Its overall revenue rose 6% to 1,094 crore, and net loss narrowed to 18 crore during the quarter. Its CEO Kavindra Mishra said Shoppers Stops focus on high-end products is paying off, with premium brands now accounting for 67% of department store sales. Consumers are becoming more discerning and are willing to spend more. In a crowded marketplace, premiumisation allows retailers to stand out," he said in the statement. Top-level exits According to the companys FY25 annual report, Shoppers Stop saw six senior-level exits last fiscal. Chief human resources officer Venkatesh Raja resigned in January, and departed in April, chief marketing officer Shwetal Basu in July 2024, and chief E-commerce officer Sreekanth Chetlur in mid-2024. The private brands division saw two consecutive departures - Ajay Chablani in November and Rajan Sharma in March. The company also had three company secretaries over six months, with Rakeshkumar Saini appointed in January 2025. These exits prompted the company to make new appointments, including Jiten Mahendra as chief marketing and communication officer and Mohit Seth as chief external brands, both in July 2024. Kavindra Mishra, initially hired as chief operating officer, was elevated to managing director and chief executive officer within a few weeks of Venu Nairs exit. Mishra is the third CEO in five years. The First Citizen loyalty programme remained a key driver, contributing 85% to overall sales. Of this, 70% came from repeat customers, suggesting strong retention, while 15% came from new members, pointing to modest fresh acquisition. To diversify its revenue mix, Shoppers Stop is leaning on two verticals: Intune, its value-fashion chain, and beauty retail. Intune posted 68 crore in sales in the April-June quarter, doubling year-on-year, and adding four new stores, taking the total to 75. The beauty distribution business, operated through a subsidiary, delivered 84 crore in sales, up 117%, driven by new brand launches and expanded reach. The core beauty segment, excluding distribution, contributed 219 crore, growing 2% year-on-year. Private brands also saw traction, bringing in 156 crore in the June quarter. These accounted for 13% of total sales and 18% of apparel sales. Volume growth in apparel stood at 18%, led by strong performance in kidswear and womens western wear, indicating a shift in consumer preference toward in-house labels. Intune competes directly with Trents Zudio and Westside. Zudio, launched in 2016, has become Trents primary growth engine, contributing over half of the companys fashion revenues and crossing 8,300 crore in annual sales in FY25. The brand added 244 stores during the year, expanding to 765 outlets across 235 cities, including two overseas locations. In contrast, Intune is still in its early growth phase, operating 75 stores across 33 cities as of June. It posted 192 crore in revenue in FY25, and sales of 68 crore in the first quarter of FY26. While Zudio has built scale and density, Intunes footprint remains concentrated in tier-1 and tier- cities, limiting its reach in smaller markets where value fashion is gaining momentum. Mumbai: Uniphore Technologies, the conversational automation startup backed by Chiratae Ventures and Iron Pillar, is in talks to raise $200250 million in fresh capital, according to two people familiar with the matter. The company has had discussions with several investors, including US-based strategic players, to fund its expansion plans and increase investments in artificial intelligence (AI)," one of the people said. The second person added that discussions on valuation are still underway, but the company is expected to see an uptick from the $2.5 billion valuation it secured in 2022. While we are seeing tremendous interest in our Business AI Cloud and are always engaging with potential strategic partners, we dont have anything to share at this time," a spokesperson for the company said. The fundraising comes more than three years after Uniphore raised about $400 million in its Series E round in February 2022, bringing its total funding at the time to around $610 million. That round, led by New Enterprise Associates, also saw participation from March Capital and others, and valued the company at $2.5 billion. Uniphores other backers include 360 One, IIFL Finance, Sistema Asia, CXO Fund, ITP, Sorenson Capital Partners, the Patni family, and Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan. Also Read | Unloved Chinese backers of Indian startups head for the door In 2022, the company said it would use the proceeds to expand its technology and market leadership across voice AI, computer vision, and tonal emotion, while scaling business operations in North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. The company reported revenue of 313.5 crore in FY24, down from 508.2 crore the previous year. Net profit fell to 4.9 crore from 142.8 crore in FY23, according to data from Tracxn. The company derives the bulk of its revenue from the US. This comes amid a broader slowdown in the SaaS industry, marked by sluggish revenue growth and persistently high costs. As businesses reassess their AI spending, concerns around safety, security, and privacy have taken precedence, amplified by an uncertain global economic environment. Demand for enterprise-grade conversational automation tools has surged in recent years, as companies seek to optimise costs while delivering seamless customer experiences. Uniphore has made key acquisitions to strengthen its technology stack, including Emotion Research Lab for emotion AI capabilities, and Jacada for low-code/no-code solutions. Founded in Chennai in 2008 by Umesh Sachdev and Ravi Saraogi, Uniphore offers a conversational automation platform that integrates conversational AI, workflow automation, and robotic process automation. The company has offices in the US, India, Spain, Israel, the UK, and the UAE, according to its website. Indias domestic AI market is projected to more than triple to $17 billion by 2027, according to a BCG report published last month. The country already accounts for 16% of the global AI talent poolsecond only to the USand is home to more than 600,000 AI professionals, a number expected to double to 1.25 million by 2027. A complaint has been filed against IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) at the Ministry of Labour and Employment regarding its new bench policy, which has been termed coercive and punishing. Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), a group that claims to represent IT workers in the country, has sent a letter to the ministry, criticising the new bench policy of the company. What is the bench policy? TCS introduced an associate deployment policy that requires a minimum of 225 billed business days each year for every employee, effectively capping bench time at 35 business days annually. The policy, effective from 12 June, aims to minimise idle time and optimise workforce utilisation, according to a report by the Times of India on Tuesday, 17 June 2025. At any given point in time, associates must be allocated for a minimum period of 225 business days in the last 12 months, the report said, citing official policy documents from TCS. In case an employee does not work for at least 225 business days within the past 12 months and has longer unallocated periods or exceeds 35 business days per year, it will affect their compensation, career advancement, opportunities for overseas deployment, and employment prospects at TCS, as per the documents reviewed by the news portal. What are the concerns of the IT union? NITES, in an official release on its website, stated that the TCS employees have raised serious concerns regarding the companys new bench policy, which has created an atmosphere of fear, coercion, and immense psychological pressure within the organisation. The union has alleged that employees between projects, commonly referred to as being on the bench, are pushed to find new projects continuously, with little to no support from the companys internal systems. Diageo Plc, the maker of Guinness and Johnnie Walker whisky, said Chief Executive Officer Debra Crew has stepped down after a stint of two years at the distiller. During Crews bruising run, the companys stock has plummeted 43 per cent through Tuesdays close. She took over as CEO in June 2023. Also Read | Diageo India expects price drop for some spirits after free trade pact with UK The world's biggest spirits maker on Wednesday appointed Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Nik Jhangiani as its interim CEO, while a search is underway for Crews permanent replacement. After the announcement, Diageo shares surged as much as 4.4 per cent, the most since April. Crews tenure has been punctuated by setbacks, including a drop in sales due to cooling demand in China, the US, Mexico, and Brazil. In February, the company scrapped its long-held medium-term sales target, citing higher trade friction after President Donald Trumps sweeping tariffs on US trading partners. Diageo is in the midst of a turnaround plan, targeting $500 million in cost savings after underperformance shaved off more than 20 per cent from its share price in the last 12 months. Who is Nik Jhangiani? Indian-origin Nik Jhangiani was appointed Chief Finance Officer at Diageo in September 2024. After taking over as CFO, Jhangiani launched a review of Diageos portfolio and announced $500 million of cost cuts over three years, stretching across the supply chain, advertising and promotions and its operating model. Before joining Diageo, he worked at Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Plc. His career spans over three decades. He has held several senior finance roles across the US, Europe, India and Africa. Also Read | United Spirits to buy out Greater Than gin maker Nao Spirits in a 110 cr deal He is also credited with overseeing major capital markets activity, acquisitions and strategic transactions. He is a graduate of Rutgers Business School, Newark, New Jersey, and is a certified public accountant in the state of New York. A group of US solar panel manufacturers has urged the Commerce Department to impose anti-dumping and countervailing duties on imports from India over allegations that Indian manufacturers are dumping cheap goods in the United States to undermine domestic producers, according to a report by news agency Reuters, citing a statement. The group has sought similar duties in Indonesia and Laos. The petition, filed by the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, is the most recent attempt by the small US solar manufacturing sector to secure trade relief. It aims to protect billions of dollars of investments and compete against products primarily made by Chinese companies abroad. Also Read | Indonesia to Continue Talks on Jets, Minerals After Tariffs Deal The Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade includes First Solar, Hanwha's Qcells, Talon PV, and Mission Solar. The group earlier succeeded in securing tariffs on imports from Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand. These tariffs were imposed earlier this year, causing some global producers to shift production to Indonesia and Laos. Both countries filled the import gap as shipments from other South Asian countries fell. In May, Indonesia and Laos made up 44 per cent of US cell and module imports, a significant increase from 1.9 per cent in the same month last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. India's solar exports to the US have risen since mid-2022. "We have always said, vigorous enforcement of our trade laws is critical to the success of this industry, Tim Brightbill, lead attorney for the petitioners, was quoted by Reuters. New Delhi: India has come under America's scanner at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over alleged export-linked subsidies, joining a list of countries facing similar probes that had until recently focused on China. According to a WTO document reviewed by Mint, the US has named four Indian product categorieslined paper products, oil country tubular goods, high chrome cast iron grinding media and 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acidin its latest countervailing duty probes. Incentives or subsidies aimed at promoting exports are prohibited under WTO rules. One of the Indian products targeted by the US is lined paper of the kind used in school notebooks. India is the world's second-largest exporter of this key product and any move by the US to put these under increased tariffs will impact factories in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, said analysts. The investigations launched by Washington cover more than 20 product categories and come even as India and the US negotiate a bilateral trade agreement, with the fifth round of talks for the first tranche of the deal currently underway. Read more: Trade turns turbulent; here's how India is tracking the winds Indias chief negotiator, Rajesh Agarwal, is in Washington to seal a pre-harvest deal before a 31-July deadline. Impact on paper exports For India, the spotlight falls on sectors critical to both domestic manufacturing and export earnings. Indian lined paper productssuch as school notebooks, ruled writing pads, composition books, and diariesare in demand in the US due to their low price and good quality. The US-India BTA offers a game-changing opportunity for Indian lined paper exporters. Currently, India holds an 8.5% market share ($80.3 million) compared to Vietnam's 27% ($254 million) in the $944-million US stationery market, primarily due to a 36% tariff burden," said Manoj Kumar Reddy, senior policy consultant, Centre for Digital Economic Policy Research (C-DEP), an independent policy think tank. Removing the additional 26% duty would level the playing field, allowing India's established manufacturing hubs in Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra to compete on a more equal footing in terms of quality and scale. With India already ranking second globally in paper notebook exports, tariff relief could significantly boost market penetration." Key players in the segment include companies such as ITC and Navneet. Queries regarding the impact of the US action sent to ITC's head of communications remained unanswered. In its submission of FY25 earnings to the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on 22 May, Sunil Gala, MD of Navneet Education Ltd, said, Overseas exports of stationery witnessed 12% growth instead of the 15% that was expected. Since our major exports are to the US, the final impactpositive or negativeof the US tariffs is unknown until the US finalizes tariffs for each country." Thankfully, the company has not faced any order cancellations so far. But when it comes to new seasons or deciding the volumes for each product category, all our customers are saying wait and watch. They are unwilling to comment, as they are awaiting the final tariff decision," Gala said in his Sebi filing. However, we are very positive about gaining market share through our current and upcoming product offerings in the US When we speak with our customers, many express a preference for India, but they are still non-committal on a long-term basis, pending the US tariff decision," he added. The export figures for notebooks and other goods under this category could not be ascertained till press time. Another category under investigation is oil country tubular goods (OCTG), which includes casing pipes, tubing, drill pipes, and seamless steel pipes used in petroleum extraction and drilling operations. The US, with its active shale exploration and offshore drilling, has been a key buyer. Read more: Mint Quick Edit | Indian trade is holding up but is that enough? According to a report by the think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), India exported $4.56 billion worth of iron, steel, and aluminium products to the US in FY25, most of which comprised iron and steel articles and castings. High-grade OCTG, which includes casing and tubing essential to the energy sector, forms a significant part of these exports. High chrome cast iron grinding mediatypically used in cement plants, thermal power stations and miningare another export item under scrutiny. These wear-resistant steel balls and grinding elements are important for crushing and milling in heavy industries. While export values in this niche segment are comparatively low, the category has seen steady growth amid rising global demand. According to the WTO filing, the US is also investigating whether Indias export promotion schemes provide an unfair advantages to domestic producers of 2,4-D, a herbicide that is primarily used to control broadleaf weeds in wheat and rice. Trade experts say, if proven to involve trade-distorting subsidies, the cases could lead to the imposition of countervailing duties by the US Department of Commerce, making Indian products costlier and potentially less attractive to American importers. Domestic industry concerns Indian exporters fear this could erode their competitiveness in key markets and push companies to alter strategies or explore alternative destinations. WTO matters will be handled as per the rules. We are closely monitoring the situation," said a senior official, asking not to be named. Queries sent to the commerce ministry seeking a response remained unanswered at press time. India exports a lot of notebooks and other such goods under the lined paper products category to the US. The issue is that the US has inked an agreement with Indonesia and has levied a 19% tariff on their products. There is also a higher duty on Chinese goods, and these two geographies are Indias key competitors," said Abhash Kumar, a trade economist. As of now, India faces a 10% baseline tariff, and since we are waiting for the trade deal to be signed, if we end up facing a higher tariff than Indonesia, we will be at a disadvantage. The other concern is trade diversion due to the higher tariffs on China, which India needs to keep an eye on," he said. Read more: Export thrust: India should move goods like a horse to trade like a tiger According to commerce ministry data, Indian goods exports to the US in the last financial year (FY25) increased by 11.6%, from $77.52 billion in FY24 to $86.51 billion in FY25. Imports from the US also rose, but by a smaller margin of 7.42%, increasing from $42.20 billion to $45.33 billion during the fiscal year that ended on 31 March. In Q1 of FY26, Indias exports to the US stood at $25.52 billion compared to $20.89 billion in the corresponding period of the last fiscal (FY25 Q1), while imports grew from $11.52 billion in FY25 Q1 to $12.86 billion in FY26 Q1. TNEA 2025 Round 1 date: The Directorate of Technical Education (DoTE), Tamil Nadu, will likely release the tentative seat allotment result of Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) 2025 Round 1 on Thursday, July 17. This round covers candidates with ranks from 1 to 39,145. The window for opting for choices for Round 1 closed on Wednesday, July 16. Candidates can check their allotment status on the official website tneaonline.org. TNEA 2025 Round 1 date: Confirmation Deadline Candidates who receive a seat allotment in Round 1 must confirm their choices by Friday, July 18, at 5 PM. Only those who complete this confirmation will be considered for the provisional allotment process. A provisional allotment letter will be issued to the students who select the accept and join option sent on July 19. The reporting period for these candidates is from July 19 to July 23. TNEA 2025 Round 1 date: Step-by-step guide to check TNEA 2025 seat allotment result To check the seat allotment result, candidates need to: Go to the official website: tneaonline.org Click on the Login button on the homepage Enter your registered email address and password in the login section View your TNEA allotment result displayed on the screen Check your admission status and download the allotment list for future reference TNEA 2025 seat allotment result: What to do next? After the seat allotment result is out, students will be provided with six options to choose from: Accept and join Accept and upward Decline and upward Decline and move to the next round Decline and quit Upward and move to the next round Also Read | Tamil Nadu NEET MDS 2024 seat allotment result to be OUT today Candidates are advised to visit the official website regularly to stay informed about further rounds and related updates. Currently, the TNEA 2025 admission process is in its last leg: General Counselling. Bihar electoral list row: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on July 17 claimed that the Election Commission has been caught "red handed" stealing votes in the name of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The Congress leader asked whether the poll body has completely become BJP's 'Election chori branch'. Opposition leaders, including Rahul Gandhi, have raised questions on the poll panel's ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The Congress party has dubbed it a rigging attempt orchestrated by the Election Commission under instructions from the ruling regime, while the Trinamool Congress accused the poll panel of trying to implement the contentious NRC, or the National Register of Citizens, through backdoors to seek documentary evidence of citizenship from some people. "Election Commission in Bihar has been caught red handed stealing votes in the name of 'SIR'. Work - just theft but name is 'SIR' and FIR will be lodged against the one who exposes it!" Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X along with a post by independent Ajit Anjum, whose YouTube channel is running a series on special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. 'Is EC still 'Election Commission' or has it completely become BJP's 'Election Chori' branch?" the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. Anjum has been accused of spreading communal tensions in Begusarai district by the local administration, allegations that he has denied. The poll panel has all along maintained that the revision, being held after 22 years, will cleanse the voters' list of ineligible people, duplicate entries and include those eligible as per law to vote. On Wednesday, Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar thanked the eligible voters of Bihar for their active participation in the "much-needed" cleaning of the electoral rolls during SIR. Also Read | Cong to corner Modi govt on Pahalgam, voter list revision during Monsoon Session Kumar's remarks came in the backdrop of the Supreme Court hearing a clutch of pleas questioning the intent behind the SIR ahead of the assembly polls in the state later this year. Th Supreme Court on July 10 allowed the Election Commission of India to continue with its revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The top court, however, asked the poll panel to consider using the Aadhaar card, the election card, and the ration card as valid documents for voter identification. 'Attempts to hijack elections in Bihar' Last week, Gandhi alleged that attempts were being made to hijack elections in Bihar on the lines of Maharashtra. Gandhi made these remarks while addressing a Congress rally in Bhubaneswar, Odisha. Like Maharashtra, attempts are being made to hijack elections in Bihar," Rahul Gandhi alleged at a Congress rally in Bhubaneswar. Gandhi had earlier alleged irregularities in the Maharashtra voter list large-scale additions and deletions of voters. In February, Gandhi alleged that after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections (which the INDIA bloc won in June), almost 70 lakh new voters" suddenly arrived in Maharashtra ahead of the Vidhan Sabha polls [Assembly polls in He later claimed that, Between the 2019 Vidhan Sabha elections and the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, 32 lakh voters were added to Maharashtra's electoral rolls over five years. Is Bihar ready for a generational shift in the assembly elections due in a few months time? On the face of it, the answer would have to be in the affirmative. But it does call for a closer inquiry. Nitish Kumar is wobbly. A generation of Biharis has seen no other chief minister. As the 22nd chief minister of Bihar since February 22, 2015, having previously held the office from 2005 to 2014 and for a short period in 2000, he is Bihar's longest-serving chief minister, holding the post for a record ninth term. Also Read | Bihar Election 2025: Nitish Kumar announces free electricity for up to 125 units Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) super boss and former chief minister Lalu Yadav is a pale shadow of his best. After his October 2013 conviction in the Fodder Scam, he was disqualified from the Lok Sabha and cannot contest elections anymore. In addition, he has health issues. The third stalwart of this Mandal triumvirate, Ram Vilas Paswan, is no more. Lalus son Tejaswi and NDA minister Chirag What comes in their place are their scions, in at least two cases. Lalus son Tejaswi Yadav and NDA minister Chirag Paswan, son of the redoubtable Ram Vilas. Add to it a newbie Prashant Kishor, whose Jan Suraaj Party, may not win elections on its own but has an even more critical role to play it can cut into the anti-BJP votes with precision. Not to be underrated is the not-so-young son of Jitan Ram Manjhi, Santosh Suman Manjhi, who at 50 is a sitting MLC and hopes to play the role of a king maker, should the need arise. Tejaswi Yadav is drawing crowds Says Ashmita Gupta, member-secretary of the Asian Development Research Institute (ADRI) in Patna: There is no doubt that the younger lot of politicians time has come. Tejaswi Yadav is drawing crowds and has a mase base. Both Prashant Kishor and Chirag Paswan have done their grassroot work. Lets admit that the younger politicians are well tuned into advanced data collection and technology to leave their imprimatur on the forthcoming Bihar assembly elections. Also Read | Bihar: Criminal out on parole for medical help shot in Patna Hospital The other point is the traditional role of caste equations and vote bank numbers, which have dominated elections in Bihar revolving around three main players: the RJD, the BJP, and the Janata Dal (United) or JD(U), each enjoying the support of nearly captive voter bases. According to the 2020 Bihar Assembly election results, the RJD bagged the largest vote share (23.11 per cent) followed by the BJP in second place (19.46 per cent); the JD(U) (15.39 per cent), Congress (9.48 per cent), and the Left parties (4.64 per cent). Hindustani Awam Morcha Smaller players like Chirag Paswans Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas), or LJP(RV); Jitan Ram Manjhis Hindustani Awam Morcha (Secular), or HAM(S); and Mukesh Sahanis Vikassheel Insaan Party, or VIP, also played a role in giving their respective alliances an edge. This time, their edge could be more pronounced. Notwithstanding the modern tool of political propagation, the young blood must constantly seek out new alliances in a fight, which is expected to go down to the wire. JD (U)-BJP alliance Tejaswi is trying hard to broaden its Muslim-Yadav vote base by wooing other castes such as the Kushwaha, Dhanuk, and Mallah from the Other Backwards Classes (OBCs) and Extremely Backwards Classes (EBCs). As part of this strategy, the RJD fielded many candidates from the Kushwaha or Koiri (vegetable growers) caste in the last Lok Sabha election and appointed Mangani Lal Mandal, a senior socialist leader from the EBC Dhanuk caste, as its Bihar party president. According to the 2023 Bihar caste survey, EBCs make up 36 per cent of the total electorate. The RJD is also counting on the support of its ally the VIP, which has a strong base among the Mallah or Kevat community in constituencies along the Ganges. The JD (U)-BJP alliance is not too badly placed either. In the 2020 assembly election, the JD(U) contested 115 seats but won only 43, while the BJP won 74 out of the 110 seats it contested. The partners flipped their positions within the alliance, with the BJP emerging as the senior partner after playing a supportive role to Nitish Kumar for nearly four decades. The BJP conceded the chief ministers post to Kumar to avoid any potential blowback from the influential EBC castes. 2025 promises to be no different. To broaden its voter base, the Congress in wilderness since 1989 - has appointed Rajesh Kumar, a member of the Ravidas caste (Jatavs) as its Bihar unit chief. Winnability in Bihar Says political analyst and former principal of Patna College, NK Chaudhary: "Just age is no criteria for winnability in Bihar or else JP and Karpoori Thakur would not have made an impact. Social alliances are all about caste. Whatever you do, elections in Bihar ultimately boil down to caste. Nitish has to be the face of the NDA despite the talk about his declining health as his support base is still intact. This is not to suggest that development is not an issue, Chaudhary says. Nitish Kumar has gained considerable goodwill among women voters thanks to prohibition and schemes like free cycles for schoolgirls, something that the BJP is keen to cash in on, because after the death of Sushil Modi, they dont have a state-level leader of any standing. There is no doubt that the younger lot of politicians time has come. Ironically, Nitish Kumars son Nishant Kumar, has been left behind in the sweepstakes. The world of OTT in India is now bigger than ever, with original shows and films releasing across multiple platforms almost every day. Spanning a wide range of genres and languages, OTT content is breaking boundaries and offering Indian audiences a wide range of choices to enjoy online. India's most watched OTT show in 2025 so far In this vast sea of content across platforms like Netflix, JioCinema, JioHotstar, ZEE5, Prime Video, and more, one show stood out in the second half of 2025, emerging as the most-watched original OTT show with over 27 million views. It wasnt Bobby Deols Aashram, Jitendra Kumars Panchayat, or even the global hit Squid Game 3. This series captured the attention of viewers nationwide with only one popular actor in the lead. Pankaj Tripathi's Criminal Justice Season 4 The most viewed original OTT show is Pankaj Tripathi's Criminal Justice: A Family Matter, as per a Top 50 streaming originals in India list. Ormax Media has released its Top 50 streaming originals in India list for the first half of 2025. The ranking includes only original content that was released directly on streaming platforms, excluding licensed or dubbed titles. The viewership figures represent the number of unique individuals who watched at least one full episode of a series or a minimum of 30 minutes of a film on any streaming platform. Notably, the numbers reflect actual viewers, not the number of OTT accounts used, with each viewer counted only once, regardless of how many times they watched the particular show or episode. Topping the list is Pankaj Tripathis Criminal Justice, Season 4 on JioHotstar, which attracted a massive 27.7 million viewers. The show returned with its new season, bringing back Pankaj Tripathi as lawyer Madhav Mishra. It also starred Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub, Surveen Chawla, Khushboo Atre and Asha Negi. The first three episodes of Criminal Justice Season 4 were released on May 29, 2025. After the initial release, new episodes were released weekly. The show received a positive response from the critics and viewers. Top 3 most watched OTT show in 2025 so far Taking the no 1 spot, Criminal Justice Season 4 surpassed hit shows, including Bobby Deols Ek Badnaam Aashram Season 3 Part 2, which took the second place with 27.1 million viewers. Coming in third is Jitendra Kumars much-anticipated Panchayat Season 4 on Amazon Prime Video, with a total viewership of 23.8 million. Following the top three, Jaideep Ahlawats Paatal Lok on Amazon Prime Video bagged the fourth spot with 16.8 million viewers. In fifth place arrived the finale season of the Korean global sensation, Squid Game Season 3, drawing 16.5 million viewers. Washington, American companies in China are reporting record-low new investment plans for this year and declining confidence in their profitability, with uncertainty in US-China relations and President Donald Trump's tariffs their top concerns, according to a new survey. The companies are also challenged by China's slowing economy, where weak domestic demand and overcapacity in local industries are eroding profitability for the Americans. Businesses in China are less profitable now than they were years ago, but risks, including reputational risk, regulatory risk, and political risk, are increasing, said Sean Stein, the president of the US-China Business Council, a Washington-based group that represents American companies doing business in China, including major multinationals. The survey, conducted between March and May and drawing from 130 member companies, was released Wednesday. It came as the two countries clash over tariffs and non-tariff measures, including export controls on critical products such as rare-earth magnets and advanced computer chips. Following high-level talks in Geneva and London, US and Chinese officials agreed to pull back from sky-high tariffs and restrictions on exports, but uncertainty persists as the two sides are yet to hammer out a more permanent trade deal. Kyle Sullivan, vice president of business advisory services at the USCBC, said more than half of the companies in the survey indicated they do not have new investment plans in China at all this year. "That's a record high, Sullivan said, noting that it is a new development that we have not observed in previous surveys. Around 40% of companies reported negative effects from US export control measures, with many experiencing lost sales, severed customer relationships, and reputational damage from being unreliable suppliers, according to the survey. Citing national security, the US government has banned exports to China of high-tech products, such as the most advanced chips, which could help boost China's military capabilities. Stein argued that export controls must be very carefully targeted, because businesses from Europe or Japan, or local businesses in China would immediately fill the void left by American companies. Silicon Valley chipmaker Nvidia won approval from the Trump administration to resume sales to China of its advanced H20 chips used to develop artificial intelligence, its CEO Jensen Huang announced on Monday, though the company's most powerful chips remain under US export control rules. While 82% of US companies reported profits in 2024, fewer than half are optimistic about the future in China, reflecting concerns over tariffs, deflation, and policy uncertainty, according to the survey. Also, a record high number of American businesses plan to relocate their business operations outside of China, Sullivan said, as 27% of the members indicated so, up from 19% the year before. In a departure from past surveys, concerns over China's regulatory environment, including risks of intellectual property misuse and lack of market access, didn't make it to the top five concerns this year. That's likely a first, and not for a good reason, Stein said. It is not because things got dramatically better on the Chinese side, but the new challenges, often coming from the US, are now posing as much of a challenge, Stein said. Almost all the American companies said they cannot remain globally competitive without their Chinese operations. A survey from the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China in May found that European companies were cutting costs and scaling back investment plans in China as its economy slows and fierce competition drives down prices. SCY SCY New details in the probe of last months Air India crash are shifting the focus to the senior pilot in the cockpit. A black-box recording of dialogue between the flights two pilots indicates it was the captain who turned off switches that controlled fuel flowing to the planes two engines, according to people familiar with U.S. officials early assessment of evidence uncovered in the crash investigation. The first officer who was flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner asked the more-experienced captain why he moved the switches to the cutoff" position after it climbed off the runway, these people said. The first officer expressed surprise and then panicked, these people said, while the captain seemed to remain calm. A preliminary report of the probe released last week summarized the exchange but didnt identify which pilot said what. The report, by Indias Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, said one pilot asked the other why he moved the switches, while the other denied doing so. Details in the preliminary report also suggest it was the captain who turned off the switches, according to people familiar with the matter, U.S. pilots and safety experts tracking the probe. The report didnt say whether turning off the switches might have been accidental or deliberate. The new details could add to understanding the sequence of events that led to the June 12 tragedy, and the actions of the pilots, both of whom grew up with dreams of flying. The captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, was a decadeslong veteran, while the first officer, Clive Kunder, was in his early 30s and eager for the next stage of his career, friends and family members said. As the pilot actively flying, Kunder likely would have had his hands full pulling back on the Dreamliners controls at that stage of the flight, according to U.S. pilots who have read the Indian authorities report. Sabharwal, as the pilot monitoring, would have been more likely to have had his hands free as he oversaw the operation. The switches were moved in succession, one second apart, according to the report. About 10 seconds later, both switches were turned back on. The plane crashed near the Ahmedabad airport, killing all but one of the 242 on board. The preliminary details have fueled the belief among some U.S. officials that criminal authorities should review the matter, as would likely be the case if the crash had occurred on American soil, people familiar with the matter said. In the U.S., accident investigators historically have involved agencies such as the FBI if they believe a potential crime occurred, rather than a safety mishap. The Indian authorities preliminary report didnt reach any conclusions about what led to the crash, or why the fuel switches were turned off. The report didnt rule out possible design flaws, malfunctions or maintenance issues, and it noted the involvement of aviation medicine and psychology experts in the investigation. Campbell Wilson, chief executive of Air India, this week urged the airlines staff to avoid drawing premature conclusions about the crash, and said that the investigation was far from over." An Air India representative said the airline continues to cooperate with the probe. When asked to comment on the Journals reporting about the pilots, a press officer for Indias Ministry of Civil Aviation and AAIB called it one-sided and declined to comment further. Aviation disasters that may involve potential deliberate actions to crash planes might never fully be resolved, due to incomplete evidence and disagreement over analyses. In some cases, countries taking part in lengthy international accident probes have disagreed with each others final conclusions. Plane-crash investigations can often last a year or longer, and new information that comes to light can contradict initial assessments. A soft-spoken veteran, and an energetic learner Sabharwal, the 56-year-old pilot who served as captain on the Air India flight, was a soft-spoken man devoted to caring for his ailing father, according to friends and neighbors. They said his father, who served as a bureaucrat in Indias civil aviation ministry, inspired his aviation career. Sabharwal started his flying career in the early 1990s, attending the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi. The prestigious flight school, run by Indias civil aviation ministry, has trained pilots for Air India and Indian Airlines. Kapil Kohal, an Air India pilot and friend of Sabharwal, overlapped with him for one year in flight school. Kohal said Sabharwal stood out among their classmatesvery polite, never cursed, never drank alcohol, and spoke so softly that sometimes Kohal had to ask him to speak louder. Relatives and neighbors gathered to mourn pilot Sumeet Sabharwal. He was a very reserved guy right from the beginning," Kohal said. Sabharwals serious demeanor, along with the way his eyes turned down at the corners, earned him the nickname Sad Sack," Kohal said. Unlike other students messy quarters, Sabharwal kept a spartan room filled with the bare minimum. If you open his cupboard, there were two formal shirts, two T-shirts, two pairs of shoes, one slippers, and one bag," Kohal said. He was driven by a sheer love of flying, Kohal said, and showed a flair for mentoring younger students. When Kohal was assigned to shadow Sabharwal on a flight, he explained flying concepts better than some instructors. He was a middle class boy looking at the sky and saying, I want to be there," Kohal said. The 32-year-old first officer, Kunder, had also dreamed of flying as a child, inspired by his mothers three-decade career as an Air India flight attendant. His mother recalled his childhood travels with her to Singapore, Bangkok and Dubai. His sister, Camille Kunder, said that when they played make-believe as children, Kunder always pretended to be a pilot. He just loved everything about flying," she said. Kunder went to Florida at 19 to attend flight school, obtaining a U.S. commercial pilot license. Starting in 2014, he spent three years in India and Bahrain doing additional training and exams before Air India hired him in 2017. He began on the Airbus A320, before Air India in 2022 switched him to the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Where some other pilots might have been frustrated over learning a new aircraft, Kunder was excited about flying a bigger jet, friends said. Family and friends described Kunder as a fan of superhero movies who taught himself how to build a PC from scratch, and in college nearly pursued a pro-esports career. His sister said he regularly sent her jokes and Instagram memes, and would call her to laugh about them. His laugh is so contagious," she said. Cockpit focus Contents of the flights cockpit voice recorders have been tightly held by Indian authorities and seen as key to helping fill out the sequence of events in the flights final moments. Jennifer Homendy, chairwoman of the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board, has sought to listen to the recording herself, according to people familiar with the matter. An NTSB spokesman said that Homendy has been fully briefed on all aspects of the Air India investigation, including the cockpit voice recording and details from the flight data recorder. Homendy said her goal in working with Indian authorities was to quickly determine whether the crash presented any immediate safety concerns to the traveling public." Boeing, the engine maker GE Aerospace and the Federal Aviation Administration havent issued any safety bulletins or directives to 787 operators since the crash. The NTSB is supporting the Indian investigation because Boeing designed the Dreamliner and GE its engines, while the FAA certified the plane for passenger flight. The Indian authorities preliminary report finding that the fuel control switches were flipped in succession, one second apart, suggested a deliberate act, according to Ben Berman, a former senior NTSB official who helped oversee the U.S.-led investigation into the crash of EgyptAir Flight 990 in 1999. Berman said that, prior to the engines fuel being cut, the report didnt suggest anything out of the ordinary for what should have been a routine takeoff and climb-out. There was nothing to prompt the crew to perform emergency procedures, become stressed, or do anything except rotate the nose up and retract the landing gear, like they had done so many times before," Berman said. Write to Andrew Tangel at andrew.tangel@wsj.com and Shan Li at shan.li@wsj.com In London recently, Penny Wong, Australias foreign minister, called on Britain to face up, in the Indo-Pacific, to the uncomfortable realities of its colonial past. Ms Wongs forebears were from ethnic-Chinese communities that laboured in British Borneos perilous mines. Colonial stories, she said, can sometimes feel uncomfortablefor those whose stories they are, and for those who hear them. Some in Britains ruling Conservative Party objected furiously to Ms Wong lecturing Britain on how to grapple with its past. Yet she raised an issue that will not go away. Britain has declared its intention to seek much deeper trade and security ties in the Indo-Pacific region. It is unlikely to succeed, Ms Wong intimated, in what she called the most consequential region of our time, unless Britain faces up to how an often-abusive history colours its relations there. Understanding the past, she said, enables us to better share the present and the future. It gives us the opportunity to find more common ground. Patricia OBrien, a historian of colonialism at Georgetown University and the Australian National University, emphasises the point in an excellent piece in the Diplomat, a foreign-affairs magazine: Reckoning with colonial pasts, in current times, makes for good diplomacy. Britain and other former colonisers might consider this especially worthwhile if they wish to criticise the regions new imperial power, China, on firm moral ground. Britain, alas, is a past master at failing to reckon with its history. Among numerous illustrations, it has serially bungled its approach to atoning for its imperial slavery in the Caribbean, where its king remains the head of state of eight countries. Yet Britain is by no means the only power in the Indo-Pacific with a sordid past. During the Pacific war of 1937-45, imperial Japan massacred civilians, forced Chinese and Koreans into slave labour and conscripted tens of thousands of Korean and other comfort women into military brothels. Japans relations with its neighbours are still bedevilled by that history. In the South Pacific, where white-British colonies, including Australia, became colonisers themselves, colonial wrongs remain a political minefield. But recent experiences there show how it is possible for countries to pick a way through it. New Zealand, in particular, is an exemplary apologiser. An apology from a state is quite different from one offered by an individual. Meaningful political apologies are extended by the many to the individualto victims of slavery, for instance, or to their descendants. There is, notes Hiro Saito of Singapore Management University, a performative dimension to the act. But the performance counts for nothing if the actors are not sincere. Few could fault New Zealand for apologetic sincerity. In 2002 Helen Clark, then the prime minister, issued a moving apology for her countrys past mistreatment of Samoa. It included banishing its leaders and causing the death of over a fifth of the population, after New Zealand allowed a ship carrying Spanish flu to dock at the island-territory. Her apology was met with Samoan rituals of forgiveness. Unfinished business, as Ms Clark called it, can only be settled with the victims agreement. Last August another New Zealand prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, volunteered an ifoga, a public display of humiliation and apology, for her countrys racist dawn raids in search of Pacific Islanders who had overstayed their work visas in the 1970s. Chris Finlayson, a former New Zealand attorney-general who negotiated dozens of apologies and financial settlements with iwi, Maori tribes, says: If the Crown simply breezes in and says were sorry, they dont accept it. Apologies have to be specific and attuned to the victims sensitivities. It is acknowledgment that certain things happened in historyand a promise that there will be a different way [in future]. The Patriot air-defense system is lauded by militaries around the world for its ability to shoot down deadly drones and missiles. Now, a new version of a European weapon is set to challenge its dominance and test whether the region can wean itself off U.S. arms. Europes so-called Samp/T has long been in the shadow of its American rival, which has secured far more orders and has proved itself on the battlefield. The systems Franco-Italian maker says its next-generation model is better equipped to battle for orders. The launch comes as Europe works to bolster its defense capabilities and debates whether it should be so dependent on U.S. weapons. U.S. support for Ukraine has at times been uncertain under President Trump, who has called on Europe to look after its own security. Front and center is air defense, which has proven essential for both Israel and Ukraine in defending against attacks by Iran and Russia, respectively. The new Samp/T will take on the Patriot at a time when the U.S. system has been struggling more in Ukraine as Russia introduces more maneuverable ballistic missiles, according to a Ukrainian official. Governments across Europe are assessing their air-defense capabilities. Denmark, which has been angered by Trumps desire to annex Greenland, has said it plans to decide what system to buy later this year. Defense executives also expect Belgium, Portugal and the U.K. to soon upgrade air defenses. At stake is billions of dollars in tradeand European pride. During a recent air show in Paris, Eric Tabacchi pointed at the Samp/Ts new radar as it rotated once a second, peering more than 220 miles into the sky. The Patriot has nothing like that," said Tabacchi, a military consultant at Eurosam, which makes the system. Eurosam is a joint venture of missile maker MBDA and Frances Thales. The original Samp/T has so far been sold only to Italy and Francethe nations that make itas well as a modified version for Singapore. Since entering service in 2011, it has logged 18 full orders. By contrast, the U.S.-made Patriot has secured more than 240 orders from 19 countries. The Patriots dominance was cemented in Ukraine, where it has been feted for taking out Russias ballistic and hypersonic missiles. In recent months, though, more maneuverable Russian ballistic missiles have been able to avoid its radar, the Ukrainian official said. RTX, the Patriots main contractor, said the system is continuously updated based on real-world engagements. The Patriot air-defense system has been indispensable to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces have separately said the Samp/T struggled to destroy ballistic missiles from the start. An Italian defense official said they had received positive feedback" on the system from Kyiv. The next-generation version of the Samp/T has several features that its makers say will now trump the Patriot. Those include a new radar that can monitor a full 360-degrees of the surrounding skies and canisters that rise to a vertical rather than slanted position, allowing it to fire missiles in all directions. MBDA has also completely redesigned the missile that the Samp/T fires. The new Aster B1NT has a range of more than 90 miles, up from about 62 miles. Both systems consist of three main distinct parts: a radar, a control unit and a launcher that fires interceptor missiles. The entire Samp/T system can be set up by as few as 15 people, he said. The U.S. Army currently uses about 90 soldiers for a Patriot battery. It isnt clear what the minimum number would be. RTX said the Patriot has been proven many times in combat and that a new radarthe so-called Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensorwill give the system 360-degree coverage. The new radar is being tested and will be fielded in operational units in fiscal year 2029, according to a U.S. Army spokesman. Key to winning future orders is being able to supply enough missiles. Ukraine has now run out of missiles for its two Samp/T systems, the Ukrainian official said. Last year, MBDA was taking so long to make its Aster missiles that the French government threatened to nationalize production. The company has since pledged to invest billions of dollars to bolster its manufacturing base, including increasing output of Asters by 50% by 2026, compared with 2022 levels. U.S. officials have previously raised concerns about the availability of the interceptor missiles fired by the Patriot, given the huge demand for them. The Trump administrations recent decision to withhold Patriot interceptors and other weapons was in part to bolster U.S. stocks. Trump has since said the U.S. would resume providing Ukraine with arms to defend itselfincluding sending more Patriots, paid for by European nations. The Patriots interceptors are made by Lockheed Martin, which says it will soon be able to produce 600 a yearup from 550 previously. The process still takes longer than the company would like, said Tim Cahill, who runs Lockheeds missile business. If successful, Europes efforts to develop and sell homegrown alternatives to top-selling U.S. weapons could hurt what has become a lucrative market for American defense companies. European countries recent pledge to increase military spending to 3.5% of gross domestic product from 2% could bring an additional $330 billion of annual spending, much of which will go for equipment, investment bank Bernstein calculates. The U.S. dominates the global arms trade. It accounted for 43% of global weapons exports over the past five years, up from 35% in the previous five-year period, according to data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a think tank. Europe makes its own ships and submarines and is a big player in armored vehicles, artillery and military helicopters. But the region is a major buyer of U.S. missiles, top-end drones and jet fighters like the F-35widely considered the worlds most sophisticated. U.S. defense-industry executives say they have so far seen no evidence of Europeans cooling on their products. The U.K., for example, recently announced an order of F-35s. Some European lawmakers, though, have suggested they could. Nine years ago, Danish lawmaker Rasmus Jarlov encouraged his country to order a fleet of F-35s. Now, he says he would push for a European option for aircraft, air-defense and other key military equipment. We want an air-defense system from a stable and reliable ally and not one that threatens us and [other] allied countries," Jarlov said. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on Thursday slammed what it called speculative foreign media reports regarding the London-bound Air India (AI) flight that crashed soon after lift-off from Ahmedabad on 12 June, after international news outlets such as The Wall Street Journal published source-based reports that indicated that captain Sumeet Sabharwal likely turned off fuel switches seconds before the tragedy. The bureau urged the public and media organizations alike to refrain from drawing premature conclusions based on its initial probe into the AI-operated Boeing 787 Dreamliner plane crash in which more than 240 people perished, calling such actions as irresponsible and insensitive to the victims' families. It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing, the AAIB said. Emphasizing its flawless record of investigation, the AAIB said that it is probing the Air India plane crash in a rigourous and professional manner in accordance with the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN body. While the accident of this dimension has drawn public attention and shock, however, it needs to be appreciated that this is not the time to create public anxiety or angst towards safety of Indian Aviation Industry, particularly on the basis of unfounded facts, said AAIB in its appeal. It added, AAIB works in accordance with the Aircraft (Investigation of Accidents and Incidents) Rules, 2017, and is responsible for fulfilling the obligations of the Government of India towards ICAO Annex 13. AAIB has a flawless record in investigating 92 Accidents and 111 Serious incidents since its inception in 2012. International media Since the accident, international media organizations like the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), The Air Current, among others, have been putting out information around the crash. The Wall Street Journal's report, in particular, on possible issue with fuel switch of the Boeing Dreamliner aircraft, 24 hours prior to AAIB releasing the preliminary report, has drawn criticism. On Thursday, the American publication put out yet another source-based news report on the AI-171 crash. The report said that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal likely switched off the fuel supply. A black-box recording of dialogue between the flights two pilots indicates it was the captain who turned off switches that controlled fuel flowing to the planes two engines, according to people familiar with U.S. officials early assessment of evidence uncovered in the crash investigation, the WSJ report said. Calling out international media publications, the AAIB said it is essential to respect the sensitivity of the loss faced by family members of deceased passengers, crew and other deceased persons on ground. AAIB further said that the purpose of the preliminary report was to provide information about what happened. The investigation by AAIB is underway and the final investigation report will come out with root causes and recommendations. Pilot associations concerned Pilot associations on Thursday expressed shock and disappointment on speculative news reports. Airline Pilots' Association India (ALPA) said it is deeply concerned by the commentary and attempts to assign blame to the deceased AI-171 pilots. Also Read | DGCA asks airlines to check fuel switch locking system in Boeing 787,737 planes Pilots are trained professionals who carry the responsibility of hundreds of lives with dedication and dignity. The crew of AI-171 made every possible effort till the end. They deserve respect, not unfounded character judgments, said ALPA India. Bank holiday today, July 17 (Thursday): Banks in Shillong will be closed today to mark the death anniversary of U Tirot Singh, one of the chiefs of the Khasi people. Thus, all public and private banks, including the State Bank of India (SBI), will be closed in the state of Meghalaya today. Besides today, there is also the Ker Puja holiday on Saturday and Sunday weekend holiday this week. Notably, the second and fourth Saturdays and all Sundays are weekly offs for all banks. There are a total of seven listed bank holidays in July this year. The RBI and state governments create a list of holidays for banks, taking into account national and local occasions, operational requirements, religious celebrations and other cultural observances. The central bank makes the announcement through its official website and notifications to banks and other financial institutions. Bank holidays in July 2025: FULL State-wise holiday list calendar July 3 (Thursday) Kharchi Puja Banks will be closed in Agartala to celebrate Kharchi Puja, a Hindu festival in Tripura dedicated to fourteen deities called Chaturdasha Devata. July 5 (Saturday) Guru Hargobinds Birthday Banks will be closed in Jammu and Srinagar to mark Guru Hargobinds Birthday, the sixth of the ten Sikh Gurus. July 6 (Sunday) Banks closed pan-India. July 12 (Saturday) Banks closed pan-India for second Saturday. July 13 (Sunday) Banks closed pan-India. July 14 (Monday) Beh Deinkhlam Banks will be closed in Shillong for Beh Deinkhlam, a festival celebrated by the Jaintia tribe in Meghalaya. July 16 (Wednesday) Harela Banks in Dehradun will be closed for Harela, a festival celebrated in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand and some parts of Himachal Pradesh. July 17 (Thursday) Death Anniversary of U Tirot Singh Banks will remain shut in Shillong, marking the death anniversary of U Tirot Singh, one of the chiefs of the Khasi people. July 19 (Saturday) Ker Puja Banks in Agartala will be closed for Ker Puja, a festival celebrated in Tripura. It is dedicated to Ker, the region's guardian deity, who protects from calamities and external threats. July 20 (Sunday) Banks closed pan-India. July 26 (Saturday) Banks closed pan-India for fourth Saturday. July 27 (Sunday) Banks closed pan-India. July 28 (Monday) Drukpa Tshe-zi Banks in Gangtok will be closed for Drukpa Tshe-zi, a Buddhist festival that falls on the fourth day of the sixth month in the Tibetan lunar calendar. This day marks Lord Buddha's first sermon. Emergencies during bank holidays? What to know, and what you can do You can continue to use online or mobile banking services even on national holidays unless notified to users for technical or other reasons. For cash emergencies, ATMs are open for withdrawals, app and UPI function as usual. All of the bank's annual holiday calendar is declared by the RBI under provisions of the Negotiable Instruments Act, which deals with the issuance of cheques and promissory notes. Transactions involving these instruments are thus not available during these listed holidays. China pledged to rein in irrational competition in its electric vehicle sector, reflecting authorities increasing urgency to tackle deflationary price wars threatening economic and industrial growth. The vow came in a State Council meeting Wednesday that was chaired by Premier Li Qiang, according to a readout published by Xinhua News Agency. The gathering of what is essentially Chinas cabinet pledged to effectively regulate market order in the industry and guide companies to boost competitiveness through innovation and better product quality. The governments focus on the EV sector comes weeks after the top leaderships pledged to curb aggressive price wars, prompting speculation over upcoming policy action. While Beijing is on track to meet its growth target of around 5% this year, worsening deflation threatens to drag the worlds No. 2 economy into a prolonged slowdown. The leadership is clearly growing more concerned about deflation, said Tianlei Huang, China program coordinator at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. If EV prices can stabilize, then prices in upstream industries like steel could also stabilize and ultimately that could help ease some of the downward pressure on overall prices. Chinese electric vehicle stocks listed in Hong Kong mostly advanced on Thursday, with Geely Automobile Holdings Ltd rising as much as 2.4% and BYD Co Ltd gaining over 1%, both outperforming the benchmark Hang Seng China Enterprises Index. Policy Signals Authorities will now step up monitoring of prices and costs, strengthen inspection on product quality and make sure key carmakers are paying their suppliers on time, according to the readout. The meeting called for a long-term mechanism to regulate competition and better self-discipline in the industry, without providing more details on concrete actions. Chinas EV industry has become a world leader. BYD Co. sold more fully electric cars in Europe than Tesla for the first time ever in April. That success has raised tensions with the US and Europe over potential damage to their domestic auto companies, which are huge sources of employment. How to rein in price wars among private companies without undermining confidence in one of the prized new three green sectors that President Xi Jinping has championed is becoming a growing challenge and attracting an unusual level of intervention from Beijing. Last month, Chinese officials summoned the heads of major EV makers, including BYD, to address concerns over things including below-cost prices and mounting bills owed to suppliers. Later, BYD, Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co. and other major automakers pledged to shorten the period for bill payment to suppliers to 60 days. Transportation and communications products make up over a tenth of Chinas consumer price index basket, according to economist estimates. Prices for transportation facility, a subcategory that mainly consists of automobiles, have been in decline for three straight years. Overall consumer prices have hovered around zero since early 2023. Finding a solution to end the EV price war will be the real challenge, economists say. The authorities may resort to administrative tools such as price reviews or cost investigations to establish a de facto price floor, or coordinate a concerted capacity reduction among leading EV makers, according to PIIEs Huang, who said that those measures wont be easy. Beijing will also need to overcome local governments resistance to letting local champions fall. Regional officials are motivated to keep unprofitable companies alive in order to protect tax income and local employment, as well as to outperform in a competition with other localities in fostering sectors favored by top leaders. Ultimately, instead of encouraging competition among localities which has fueled overcapacity in sectors like EVs and solar the central government would need to stress coordination and make this a bigger part in evaluating local cadres performance, said Huang. Even after the number of EV makers started shrinking for the first time last year, the industry is still using less than half its production capacity. That signals a shakeout may just be getting started. Duncan Wrigley, chief China economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said authorities will also likely press for industry consolidation to clear out smaller loss-making firms. I expect they will look at traditional fuel car-making too, with lots of excess capacity given the trend shift to EVs, Wrigley said. Local SOEs have put up resistance to merger and acquisition proposals, but it might just be delaying the inevitable. With assistance from Charlotte Yang. 2025 Bloomberg L.P. India is building a global trade data intelligence system that will offer real-time insights and early warnings of emerging stress points, two people aware of the matter said. The commerce ministry initiative called Global Trade Watch is modelled on similar efforts in the US, EU and China, and part of a drive to fortify export strategy amid escalating trade volatility. The initiative will integrate inputs from various ministries and agencies to track sector-specific performance across goods and services. It will be accessible on the ministrys website and also published as a monthly physical booklet every month. Commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal confirmed that the initiative will be rolled out next month, but did not offer details. A ministry spokesperson didn't respond to emailed queries. Proactive decision-making This marks a clear shift toward proactive and intelligent trade policymaking," one of the two people cited earlier said. The feature is built to enhance inter-ministerial coordination and provide policymakers with timely, actionable insights tailored to their respective sectors," the person added. Indias model draws from global best practices such as the US International Trade Commissions sectoral monitoring system, Chinas AI-driven demand tracking, and the EUs expansive trade surveillance framework. Also Read | Goods trade deficit narrows sharply to $18.78 bn in June Initially, it will be available only for policymakers, but will open to the wider public later. The system will flag sectors with flat or declining exports, monitor global trade policy shifts, and identify early signs of disruption or opportunity. 'Timely move' Global Trade Watch is designed to support timely, data-driven policy responses to changing trade winds. The rollout comes at a time of geopolitical tensions, tariff realignments, and shifting supply chains. The plan is timely and welcome, said Ajay Sahai, director general, Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO). "In an era of dynamic shifts in global trade, having a credible, data-driven platform to track developments, trends, and policies will be invaluable for exporters, policymakers, and analysts alike. This initiative promises to bring greater transparency, foster informed decision-making and strengthen Indias integration with global markets," he said. The platform will issue general and sector-specific alerts, including notifications on policy changes in key markets, developments related to free trade agreements, commodity-specific shifts, and geography-based risks. Staying informed Unlike static dashboards, Global Trade Watch will deliver sharper, policy-relevant signals that go beyond surface-level data," the person mentioned earlier said. Initially, access will be restricted to line ministries and government departments, with wider access for exporters, investors, and industry associations expected thereafter. It will enable ministries to track trade policy shifts across countries, monitor changes affecting specific products, and assess their strategic implications, whether by region, commodity, or trade bloc," the person said. It will also monitor global supply chain disruptions, such as export restrictions on critical minerals, and assess their implications for India. "This will enable ministries involved in policy-making to stay informed about developments relevant to their sectors, be it in terms of geography, product categories, or areas of strategic interest," the person mentioned above added. Emerging opportunities Global Trade Watch will also highlight emerging opportunities arising from changes in free trade agreements (FTAs), trade restrictions, tariff surges, or shifts in geopolitical alignments. Line ministries will receive alerts relevant to their respective import councils, allowing them to assess risks and take corrective steps. It will also track policy shifts and decisions at the World Trade Organization (WTO), enabling a comprehensive understanding of evolving multilateral trade rules, the second person mentioned above said. Also Read | India plans auto parts export boost amid Trump tariff shock Also Read | Services may catch up with goods exports in FY26 Given the growing uncertainty in global tariffs, particularly due to US policy moves, Global Trade Watch will keep stakeholders informed on how such changes affect India and its trading partners," said the person mentioned above. Since the commerce ministry leads most of the bilateral and multilateral negotiations, the insights will be presented in a simplified, digestible format to help policymakers across sectors act swiftly and with clarity," the person added. Market trends Exporters welcomed the initiative. Vipul Shah, former chairman of the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council and managing director of Asian Star Co., said the upcoming feature could improve strategic planning. Global Trade Watch will help in understanding evolving market trends, especially in key export destinations," Shah said. With timely and structured data, exporters will be better equipped to assess demand patterns, identify emerging opportunities, and plan their export strategies more effectively," he added. However, some trade experts remain cautious. Pankaj Chadha, chairman of Engineering Export Promotion Council and managing director of Jyoti Steel Industries said while the feature is a good initiative, the accuracy of the data will be a critical factor. "If the data isnt reliable, then we are all basing our strategies on something that may not reflect the real picture. However, if the data is accurate, I think it will be a very valuable tool for the industry," Chadha added. Gurugram /Mysuru: Not Belgian. Not French. Not Swiss. This is Indian craft chocolate." Manam Chocolates tagline leaves little doubt about its distinctly homegrown origins, and it plays out in every corner of its new experiential store at Delhis upscale Eldeco Centre. Molten couverture chocolate (high-quality chocolate rich in cocoa butter) flows through rows of overhead pipes, pastry chefs temper chocolate live behind glass walls, and impressionist-style artwork dots the sleek interiors, depicting farmers in the lush Theobroma cacao plantations of West Godavari, Andhra Pradesh, from where Manam Chocolate sources its beans. Theres a chocolate beverage bar, a cafe and a make-your-own-tablet station, while footage from Manam Chocolates factory and headquarters in Hyderabad streams across wall-mounted screens. Shelves are stacked with dozens of varieties of single-origin couverture chocolate bars with varying cacao content, dark to white, colourful bonbons, and all manner of pastries. A Manam classroom" hosts chocolate-tasting and flavour-profiling workshops. The word Manammeaning us" in Teluguis engraved across the ceiling in multiple regional scripts. The message is clear: this is Indias craft chocolate moment. Manam Chocolate is part of a growing wave of artisanal chocolate makers in Indiaalongside brands such as Paul and Mike, Bon Fiction, Naviluna, Cocoacraft, Soklet, The Whole Truth, Darkins, and Mason & Co, that are building a market for premium Indian chocolate. These homegrown brands are emerging as luxury indulgences, while challenging the long-held dominance of foreign brands, including Lindt, Ferrero, Hersheys and Cadbury. Backed by sharp branding and origin-led storytelling, these labels work with locally sourced Indian cacao, and small-batch, artisanal methods to highlight the beans natural flavoursteering clear of vanilla, artificial additives, or excessive refined sugar common in mainstream chocolate. Characterized by a high cocoa butter content (minimum 31%), these are chocolates with a distinctive sheen, a clean snap, a smooth texture, and a pronounced flavour. View Full Image Gourmet supermarkets have begun to stock bean-to-bar brands like Cocoacraft, Paul and Mike and The Whole Truth, alongside mass-market chocolate bars. (Neha Bhatt) According to Mordor Intelligence, Indias chocolate market is projected to grow from $2.48 billion in 2025 to $3.58 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 7.63%. With a significant shift toward premium and health-conscious consumption, 44% of Indians in 2022 were willing to pay more for healthier chocolate optionsdriven in part by rising diabetes rates, which reached 101 million in 2023. In response, manufacturers are launching sugar-free, cane sugar/date-sweetened, organic, and high-cocoa dark chocolate products. Despite Indias limited cacao output, premium Indian chocolate brands are tapping into the domestic supply and actively working to boost local production and improve farming conditions to produce better quality beans. Sourcing directly from farmers in Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, while investing in improved fermentation and drying practices, many of the brands are paying top rates for quality beans, while encouraging farmers to treat cacao as a high-value crop. Before the bean For Chaitanya Muppala, founder of Manam Chocolate, the journey into craft chocolate began in 2018. At Almond Housethe premium sweets business my father starteda quarter of our revenue came from gifting. Customers began asking: What about chocolate? I had no idea about it," he recalls. We started digging deep and discovered the global bean-to-bar movement. That led us to ask two questions: How is chocolate made on an industrial scale? And what goes into small-batch, artisanal chocolate? The process unearthed a lot for us." View Full Image Manam Chocolate founder Chaitanya Muppala applies proprietary technology and evolved post-harvest processing to compensate for the lack of fine-flavour genetics in Indian cacao. Muppala realised the barriers to entry were low, with many chocolate makers investing in a basic idli batter grinder to churn the beans. Moreover, Indias cacao hadand still does, to an extenta relatively poor reputation, perceived as being too acidic and gritty compared to beans from other countries. It goes back to how cacao came to India, in the early 1960s, brought in by industrial players, the same brands we all grew up eating. They introduced industrial-grade genetics tailored for mass production, focusing on cacao beans valued for their fat content, not their flavour. The flavour is induced through processing and additives," says Muppala. Craft chocolate, by contrast, starts with findingor developinga great bean, and then applying techniques that preserve and highlight its natural complexity and flavor. So, Muppala went to the farms of West Godavari, the largest cacao-growing region in the country, where over 40% of Indias crop comes from, and tied up with over 150 farmers. While changing the genetics of the bean is a long-term project, Muppala realised the existing beans can be elevated with more sophisticated processing. Manam Chocolate built its own fermentary to have control over the post-harvesting process. The company applies its own engineering sensibilities and proprietary technology to compensate for the lack of fine-flavour genetics in Indian cacao with evolved post-harvest processing. The brand opened its plush headquarters in Hyderabad, the Karkhana, in 2023. Reframing chocolate With artisanal chocolate, the draw is not just the fine flavours extracted as close to the bean as possiblewhere a bar made from Kerala-sourced cacao tastes distinctly different from one made with beans from Andhra Pradeshit is also the experience. In Mysurus heritage-lined streets, a charming 150-year-old restored bungalow is home to Naviluna, a single-origin Indian chocolate brand known for its distinct flavour combinationsTokai Coffee and pineapple, Longum pepper, lime and orange, and Tres Bale, which features three local varieties of banana. View Full Image Navilunas chocolaterie is housed in a heritage bungalow in Mysuru. (Neha Bhatt) Adjacent to the bungalow, the chocolate factory operates in full swing, churning out a fresh batch of single-origin Kerala dark couverture, which will later be tempered in the processing room next door, moulded into bars and cooled at just the right temperature to be neatly packed in handmade paper with original artwork. Upstairs, an atmospheric brasserie serves a menu of chocolate-infused dishes. The idea is to demonstrate how our chocolate can be used as an ingredient in a larger gastronomic context," says Navilunas founder, David Belo, one of the early movers in the Indian craft chocolate scene, starting the brand as Earthloaf in 2012. I saw a clear gap in the market. The 19th- and 20th-century brands of chocolate, like Hersheys and Cadbury, pushed chocolate as kid-friendly. This was a deviation from its earlier avatar in the courts of Europe, where it was considered something of an aphrodisiac. Thats the space were trying to occupyaffordable luxury, very adult-centric, while being fun and playful, and rooted in Mysuru and South Indian culture," says Belo. A lot of people think Naviluna is trying to occupy the Ferrero Rocher or Lindt space. Were not. Were trying to be the Macallan whiskey of craft chocolate. We want to reframe chocolate." Changing tastes Whats fuelling this trend is indeed a shift in consumer preferences. People increasingly want to buy Made in India products," says Vikas Temani, founder of Paul and Mike, headquartered in Kochi. His brand has found popularity reinventing classics such as hazelnut chocolate, while also building a range around local produce and spices, including jamun, sitaphal and regional coffee, and tapping into global trends like the pistachio-filled Dubai chocolate". View Full Image Vikas Temani, founder of Paul And Mike, in a cacao plantation. Homegrown cheese, wine, and ice cream brands that have challenged multinationals have opened up opportunities for chocolate makers, too," he says. Studying advanced cacao farming in regions like Thailand and Latin America, he found that more than the origin, its about having control over processing. Its in the flavour profilingwhich is all about fermentation, drying, roasting, and grinding done just right," he says. Another major shift is the role of social mediait has made discovery easier and allowed smaller brands to tell their stories, he adds. We have the perfect storm: upwardly mobile, aspirational, well-travelled Indians, searching for experiences they can call their own. And unlike other specialty or craft movements like coffee or winewhich happened elsewhere and we only mimicked latercraft chocolate is so nascent globally that India actually has a chance to lead," says Muppala. Beyond personal consumption, craft chocolate has become popular in metro cities as a premium gifting option, including at elite weddings and family gatherings. Many of these chocolate brands are tapping into this segment: Manam Chocolates catalogue, for example, features over 350 productsincluding snacking, drinking, gifting, and indulgence collectionsand are presented in premium, artfully designed packaging. Other than gifting, consumers are drawn to fine chocolate as part of their fitness routines, observes retired navy officer C.T. Kuruvilla, owner of Cocoacraft, a family-run, Kochi-based fine chocolate brand. Doctors are recommending it, too, so dark chocolate consumption has grown. Indian brands, in fact, have an edge over companies like Lindt and Ferrero, as our production costs are much lower", he says. There are incentives now, like free saplings, so more farmers are taking up cacao cultivation. With 50% year-on-year growth, we now sell to the US and the UK via Amazon. Were reinvesting into the business and expanding into new markets." Newer markets Another artisanal Indian label going international is tree-to-bar brand Bon Fiction, bootstrapped and founded by engineers Akhil Grandhi and his wife, Prathina. Armed with a chocolate-tasting certification, the couple launched Bon Fiction in 2022. View Full Image Prathina and Akhil Grandhi, founders of Bon Fiction, at their chocoate production unit in Rajahmundry, Andhra Pradesh. Growing up amid the vibrant plantations of Rajahmundry in Andhra Pradesh, Grandhi had early exposure to cacao farms. After three years of experimentation and 300 trials, they crafted 14 flavours, including The Mango Menace, with 55% dark chocolate, alphonso and chilli, and Matcha Prince and the Blue Pea, which contains 35.2% white chocolate with blue pea tea and blueberries. Grandhi says he gradually transitioned consumers into darker types of chocolates, such as their bar Order of the Dark Roast, with 91% Dark Chocolate, to build a palate for it. Weve found an audience in the US and the UK. We took Indian ingredients as inspiration and turned them into a global productlike our cranberry and chilli chocolate," says Grandhi. It took time to break even, but we found buyers and were able to export through third-party sellers. People are surprised that India makes chocolate, and that its as good as any premium brand there. Currently, 10% of our sales come from foreign markets," he adds. Meanwhile at Manam Chocolate, in what may be a first, the brand has signed a deal with a major Swiss chocolate company to explore sourcing Indian cacao in significant volumesenabling the Swiss brand to produce a single-origin India bar. Evolving ecosystem In the past five years, Indias cacao ecosystem has expanded rapidly. Even small-scale chocolate businesses can be started with an investment of 1020 lakh," says Paul and Mikes Temani. But if youre aiming for global quality standards, you would need to invest 23 crore, particularly on the right equipmentmost of which comes from Germany, Brazil, China, and parts of Europe." The brands follow different funding models. Naviluna, for example, is funded by angel investors and is roping in more to expand its business to metro cities. Manam Chocolate is self-funded by its parent company, Distinct Origins Pvt Ltd, and closed a pre-series A of $3.5 million from marquee investors early this year. Paul and Mike is backed by its parent company, Synthite, a natural food ingredients business. While most of these brands claim to be profitable, doubling their business year on year, the founders acknowledge it is a capital-intensive industry and in the current phase of growth, much of the revenue is reinvested back into the business. If youre aiming for global quality standards, you would need to invest 23 crore, particularly on the right equipment. Vikas Temani Even as supply chains and quality beans evolve, a sense of community is growing. Many of Indias new-age chocolate makers are finding visibility through spaces such as the Indian Cacao & Craft Chocolate Festival, co-founded by Bengaluru-based chocolate connoisseur Patricia Cosma. I believe Indian cacao has so much to offer in terms of flavouroften more fruity, bright, sharp and expressive than even South American beans. Every chocolate factory I have visited in India has its own personality and vibe," she says. What began as intimate chocolate-pairing sessions evolved into a full-scale festival that debuted in Bengaluru three years ago and has since showcased over 15 brands from across the country. Indian cacao, says Cosma, stands out for being hybrid and genetically diverse. On a single farm, you can find trees that produce entirely different flavour profiles. Thats the beauty of Indian craft chocolate: each batch and season brings something new. It reflects the diversity of India itself." View Full Image The Cacao fruit is typically pulpy and fleshy, its raw beans chalky and bitter, before they are dried, fermented and roasted to make chocolate. Indian craft chocolate is making its way into patisseries and restaurants as well. It naturally aligns with what I wanted to do to source ingredients locally. The idea that we had to use imported brands just didnt make sense anymore," says Aarohi Sanghavi, founder of Maki Patisserie in Bengaluru, who has worked with several artisanal brands for confections like eclairs, cakes, and ganache. Each brand brings something different to the table. There can be mild inconsistencies at times, but the beauty of working directly with Indian craft chocolate makers is that we can talk to them, troubleshoot, and adapt." Many are glad to have stepped out of the shadow of international chocolate makers. Says Ruby Islam, head chef at Manam Chocolate: Its really about us owning our own chocolate." The job seekers gospel commands that a resume fit on a single page. Its time to rethink that tenet as artificial intelligence screens more job applications. A one-pager is designed to highlight your credentials for busy hiring managers who wont take time to read a second page anyway. But theres no need to cater to a human glance if a bot is going to read your submission instantaneously. In fact, a longer resume can increase the odds of getting through an initial review by giving you more space for the relevant words and phrases AI is trained to spot. A couple-page resume that focuses predominantly on your impact in previous jobs is extremely important," says Hari Kolam, chief executive of AI recruiting software maker Findem. Findem combines resumes with public information, like LinkedIn pages and intel on past employers, to generate candidate profiles for clients. It tries to translate jargon into plain languagehelpful for everyone and especially those with technical backgrounds, like scientists and veterans. Partners include RecruitMilitary, which is loosening its one-page resume guidance. Kolam says applicants have to make themselves discoverable" by feeding the AI tool enough info. If youre a job seeker with a single-page resume and an inbox full of automated rejection notices, you have permission to scream in rage at this news. Let it outthen start fleshing out that CV. A word of caution: Dont get carried away. Some software can tell when youre playing keyword bingo. Plus, a person will probably look at your resume if you get past the bot. Recruiters say theyre generally willing to read multiple pages from an experienced candidate who made it through the AI screen, but four or five is pushing it. Finding the sweet spot Benjamin Keen learned this the hard way during a six-month search for engineering jobs. He expanded his one-page resume to five and got little traction. My breakthrough came when I saw a listing where I matched everything in the job description," says Keen, 44, who lives in Pennsylvania. I submitted my resumethe old resumeand I instantly got rejected." He hit the sweet spot when he enlisted Microsofts Copilot AI assistant to produce a three-page version tailored to an open role at a financial-services company. He got that job and started this month. Expanded resumes have long been the norm in academia and the federal government. They are a big change in many other lines of work. People are adjusting at different speeds. I touched off an internal debate when I asked the Brixton Group, a tech recruiting firm, about resume lengths. Sean Slater, an executive vice president, still prefers one page or maybe two. I cringe at the long-winded resumes," he says. But Brendan Sobel, Brixtons chief recruiting officer, notes hiring managers increasingly view resumes on smartphones. They have to scroll down to read even single-page submissions. In that sense, the number of pages is becoming a less relevant metric than clarity and structure," he says. Brixton Vice President Simon Key goes further. While I cant speak for every industry, for the vast majority of technology professionals, I firmly believe the one-page resume is dead," he says. Whats a job seeker to make of three opinions from one recruiting firm? The surest way to get it right in this evolving job market is to ask a recruiters or companys preference, assuming you can get hold of a human. Length, done right The single-page rule remains practically set in stone for one group of applicants: those less than five years into their careers. Dont be the pretentious rookie who imagines such limited experience requires more room. Also, do your homework to determine whether a prospective employer is old-school or well-resourced enough to deploy people on the front lines of resume reviews. McKinsey uses artificial intelligence at some stages of the hiring process but not for initial resume screens, says Blair Ciesil, a partner who co-leads recruiting at the consulting firm. The people reading applications there typically expect a one-pager. It really makes you think about what matters most," she says. That could mean expanding certain resume lines and leaving others off entirely. Traditionally a resume lists a candidates experience in reverse chronological order. Ally Andrus ditched that format when applying for sales roles in Chicago recently. She had a slew of internships and short-term jobs as a college student. But many of the businesses she worked forincluding a salon, a custom T-shirt maker and a dating apphad little to do with the positions she sought as a 26-year-old professional. So, Andrus limited her resume to her education and a single, long entry about the only full-time sales job she had held since graduating in 2021. She detailed her key performance indicators and internal awards, which she logs in a computer folder that she calls her brag binder." Anytime I get praise or a shout out, I keep track of all of that so when I update my resume, I have the numbers to back it up," Andrus says. She started a new job as an account executive this month. In her case, adding length to the resume was more about beefing up an important section than tacking on another page. Thats a good model for all of us. AI makes the rules fuzzy, but it is clear that length for its own sake isnt the way to go. Todays resume should feature more of whats relevant to an open job and less of whats not. If it happens to run over a single page, thats increasingly OK. Write to Callum Borchers at callum.borchers@wsj.com After a blockbuster 2024 that saw Indian companies raise an all-time high of 1.69 trillion through initial public offerings, the euphoria around IPOs appears to be softening in 2025. The mainboard segment, once flooded with enthusiastic bidders, is now witnessing lukewarm interest, subdued subscription levels, and sharply lower listing gains. Meanwhile, the SME IPO segment is showing some buoyancy. Activity remains strong, but analysts warn that the surge may be misleading, driven more by speculative enthusiasm and small issue sizes than by fundamental investor conviction. As several high-profile IPOs prepare to debut in the coming months, all eyes are on whether Indias primary market can rekindle its fire in 2025. From frenzy to filtered interest Indias IPO story has seen a sharp rise since 2019, with a dramatic increase in fundraisingfrom 12,985 crore in 2019 to 1.19 trillion in 2021. After two relatively slower years, 2024 set a new benchmark with 1.69 trillion raised, according to Prime Database. But 2025 has brought a reality check. Its hard to put a number to where the year will end," said Pranav Haldea, managing director, Prime Database Group. At the start of 2025, expectations were high for all-time record IPO activity. But early challengeslike tariffs and geopolitical tensionsled to volatility in the secondary market until March, keeping IPO activity muted. With markets picking up from April, IPOs have followed suit. Unless there is a major negative event, the second half looks promising, with a strong pipeline ready to launch." Also read Who climbed the ladder, who ceded groundinside Amfis market cap rejig The cooling trend in the mainboard space reflects broader shifts in sentiment, triggered by geopolitical tensions and tariff uncertainties. In my opinion, this is not a reflection of overvaluation but more of an overheated/outperforming segment taking a breather," said Kush Gupta, director at SKG Investment & Advisory. During much of 2024, IPO subscriptions were through the roof, but in the last 6-8 months we have seen a lot of volatility." He added: Nifty has fallen approximately 10% and also then recovered during this period. This has led to a shift in investor sentiment. Investors are now choosing safer options like mutual funds, gold, and bonds. IPOs, where listing gains can be a coin toss, are attracting less interest than last year." A tale of two markets Investor interest in 2025 has clearly split across segments. While SME IPOs are seeing some oversubscription, the mainboard is struggling to attract bids. AMint analysis reveals that only 19.2% of mainboard IPOs have seen an overwhelming response of 80-times, while 38.5% remain in the 110 times subscription range. But Haldea points out, SME IPOs are small in size, so even high oversubscription isnt very meaningful. What stands out is the surge in retail participationabout one lakh applications per IPOdriven by last years strong listing gains. Unlike the mainboard, the SME market is dominated by individual investors, with little institutional presence." Listing gains lose steam One of the biggest shifts this year is the steep fall in listing day gains. Median listing gains for mainboard IPOs have dropped to just 8%, while SME IPOs have seen a sharper decline to 4.6%a far cry from 2024s 17.3% and 39.3%, respectively. The sharp drop in median listing gains to just 8% in 2025 reflects both a valuation correction and a broader sentiment shift," said Harshal Dasani, business head at Invasset PMS. The correction is healthy and expected." He added, The market is maturing. Investors arent chasing hype; theyre rewarding quality. If issuers adapt to this more rational environment, the IPO engine can regain strength. Gone are the days of blind subscription frenzyclarity, not chaos, will define the next cycle." Also read Anthem IPO: High growth, low R&Dis this a long-term bet or a risky buy? The continued frenzy in the SME space is raising concerns about speculative behaviour and governance risks. Some SMEs do have solid financials and scalable models. However, the speculative undercurrent is hard to ignore," said Dasani. Sebi has raised red flags, citing risk of manipulation and poor post-listing governance. The frenzy resembles a gold rushwhere some gems exist, but many are chased for the thrill." The SME segments oversubscription boom reflects Indias thriving MSME growth but also hints at speculation, as many investors chase quick gains over long-term fundamentals," said Ranjit Jha, founder & CEO, Rurash Financials. Gupta also warned against excessive hype. While there is a hint of speculation in the SME segment driving this phenomenon, one also has to understand what the IPO market has become lately." A strong pipeline ahead Despite the slowdown, the IPO pipeline remains robust. As of July, IPOs worth over 1 trillion have received Sebi approval, while another 1.4 trillion is awaiting clearance. This year, with macro headwinds, tighter liquidity, and more discerning institutional participation, investors are expecting sustainable growth stories rather than just momentum bets," said Jha. However, the current situation is more of weak investor sentiment due to global uncertainties and the impending tariff deadlines. Q1 earnings are also in focus due to high expectations." Indias special fund to compensate investors harmed by securities violations has seen its corpus balloon over the years, but it has rarely been deployed. Expenditure from the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) dropped from 11.9 crore in FY23 to 2.8 crore in FY24, according to the annual report of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) for 2023-24. Thats when the number of awareness drives and educational campaigns has increased. The fund's balance doubled from 240.2 crore at the close of FY23 to over 533 crore as of March 2024. Constituted by an executive order in 2007 and formalized under the Sebi (IPEF) Regulations, 2009, to serve investor interests, it started with just 10 crore. This trend is mirrored at stock exchanges and depositories. Exchange protection funds, which pay out in the event of broker defaults, climbed to 2,793 crore by FY24 as spending declined. Depository-led investor protection funds also rose to 127 crore. Also Read | Sebi proposes broadening credit rating agencies mandate amid regulatory gaps Outside cases of broker insolvency, direct returns to harmed individual investors remain rare. Compensation is only made after Sebi issues a public invitation for claims, and investors have up to seven years to apply with proof of direct loss. Only eligible and identifiable" investors who can document their investment and the loss from the violation may be considered, and the ultimate decision lies squarely with the regulator. Above all, the payouts are discretionary, not mandatory. In practice, this makes it difficult for many investors to access the fund. Furthermore, proving a direct loss and establishing causality...means that actual restitution is a rare occurrence," saidRavi Prakash, securities lawyer at Corporate Professionals. While the law allows for it, the combination of Sebis discretion, documentary requirements, and procedural delays has meant that restitution is still the exception rather than the norm." The Investor Education Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) is entrusted with the responsibility of the IEPF. Emails to IEPFA and Sebi went unanswered till press time. Sumit Agrawal, founder of Regstreet Law and former Sebi officer, said, Sebi maintains that it lacks the authority to identify, verify, or compensate affected investors, arguing that it is not a Court empowered to adjudicate claims or award restitution." According to Agrawal, rare exceptions such as the Roopalben Nareshbhai Panchal initial public offering scam or the Sahara case were possible only when the Supreme Court or special committees intervened and directly authorized refunds to victims. The Roopalben Panchal IPO scam highlighted both ambition and limits in enforcing restitution. Between 2003 and 2005, Panchal used over 14,000 fake demat accounts to corner shares across 16 IPOsincluding Tata Consultancy Services Ltd and Yes Bank Ltd. Sebi identified over 1.2 million eligible beneficiaries and distributed over 23 crore by 2010, but some funds remained undistributed. In the Sahara case, as of early 2025, only 2,025.75 crore has been disbursed to about 1.16 million depositors via the CRCS-Sahara Refund Portal out of a potential 5,000 crore transferred for that purpose. Other cases, such as the Hindustan Unilever Brook Bond Mutual Fund insider trading matter, illustrate the long, uncertain journey that even obvious victims face trying to claim their due in Indiathe case remains stuck in litigation more than two decades after the alleged violation. How will you identify someone after 3-4 years of the scam, if and when Sebi would get the disgorged money?" asked. Abhiraj Arora, partner at Saraf & Partners. For market-wide frauds or manipulationoften affecting thousands over yearsby the time regulatory action concludes, identifying and quantifying the losses of each investor is a dauntingoften impossibletask." Indias compensation mechanism, he said, is limited to instances of broker default. For market-wide breaches, the system offers little hope of direct recovery... Sebis powers are primarily regulatory, not compensatory. The law does not mandate automatic restitution." Unlike in the US or the European Union, where regulatory authorities regularly compensate victims from disgorged sums, Indian investors watch from the sidelines as such money is typically routed to the IPEF for education and market-wide initiatives. Jane Street deposit On 3 July, the Sebi barred US-based Jane Street Group from trading in Indian securities, finding evidence of massive, systematic manipulation of the Nifty and Bank Nifty indices. The quantitative trading firm was accused of deploying aggressive algorithmic strategies timed to expiry days, inflating or deflating index prices to benefit their derivatives book, and making net profits of over 36,500 crore in India between January 2023 and March 2025. Sebi ordered the impounding of 4,840 crore worth of alleged illegal gains made by the firm. Indian retail investors reportedly suffered historic losses. Over 1.05 lakh crore was wiped out in derivatives trading in FY25 alone. Even though investigation is underway, despite the magnitude of the case, the amount will be sent to Sebi's IPEF or the Consolidated Fund of India, but may not reach the investors who lost in trades during the alleged index manipulation. Experts have called for the introduction of a US-style mechanismakin to the SECs Fair Fundto transparently distribute disgorged gains to victims. The Finance ministry and Sebi could consider adopting a dedicated restitution mechanism akin to the SECs Fair Fund in the US to pool and transparently distribute disgorged amounts to investors", Agrawal said. Legislative amendments to the Sebi Act, SCRA, and Depositories Act could embed a statutory right to compensation, clearer eligibility, and simpler processes, possibly through online dispute resolution platforms. Ultimately, the government needs to make legislative changes to create a statutory right to compensation for investors," said Prakash of Corporate Professionals. These changes could make sure that the IPEF fulfills its promise of protecting investors." After a strong post-COVID rally, shares of Affle India peaked around 1,450. Then came the tech selloff, and Affle took a hit. It has since rebounded, and now trades around 1,970. Thats not too bad, considering how far many mid cap tech stocks have fallen. But heres the kicker. It still trades at a price to earnings (PE) ratio of 73. So, what are investors seeing in the company? Also Read | ICICI Lombards strong profit growth insures subdued premium performance Well, its not just the advertising story. There is an artificial intelligence (AI) story underneath. Investors are betting that Affle isnt just another ad-tech player but a tech-first company using AI to reshape how digital ads work. This narrative, combined with actual profitability and growth, has kept investors interested. What Does Affle India do? At its core, Affle is an ad tech company. It helps brands show the right ad to the right person at the right time, mostly on mobile apps. Think of it as the behind-the-scenes tech that decides which Swiggy or Samsung ad pops up when youre playing Ludo or Woody on your phone. Affle gets paid only when the ad works. That means when someone actually clicks, signs up, or buys something. They call this cost per converted user, or CPCU. This is not your traditional digital advertising where you pay for impressions or clicks. Here, advertisers pay only when there is a meaningful action. That keeps Affle on its toes. It needs to deliver real conversions to earn its revenue. The smarter the targeting, the better the conversion, and the more they earn. This is why machine learning and AI are so central to the business. The role of AI Affles business runs on data. It reads your app habits what you open, how long you stay, what you ignore. Then it trains its AI systems to predict what you might do next: Which ad will get your attention? Which product will make you tap? Its all calculated. And heres where Affles trying to stand out. While the world is going cookie-less and privacy rules are being tightened, Affle claims it uses contextual data. This is data from within apps, not from tracking you across the web. That means it isnt reliant on third-party cookies, which browsers and platforms like Apple and Google are phasing out. Instead, it watches what youre doing inside the app itself and uses that as its signal. This could be the companys moat. At a time when many ad-tech platforms are struggling to adapt, Affles model may have found a more sustainable path. Recent rebranding and more In April 2025, Affle renamed itself Affle 3i Limited." This wasnt just a simple rebranding. It has outlined an ambitious roadmap for the next decade. The company wants to grow annual consumer conversions tenfold, from 400 m to 4 bn, expand its reach to 10 bn devices, and deliver over 1 bn personalised ads for more than 1 m advertisers. At the heart of this strategy is Opticks AI, Affles in-house tool. It can produce hyper-personalised, localised ads using just a logo, a product image. and a simple prompt. It can tailor ads to geography, language, and user behaviour, making it feel native and not generic. The company says it can already churn out over a billion such ads. And for now, its not charging for them. Instead, it sticks to its cost-per-converted-user model. The edge is in its dataset. Years of data across apps and markets give Affle a unique advantage that helps it craft ads that gets clicks. The company is bringing Indias small businesses online. Of the 60 m SMEs in the country, only a handful use digital advertising. As connected TV adoption surges, especially in smaller towns, Affle wants to help local businesses launch geo-tagged, bite-sized ad campaigns. Also Read | IREDA grapples with rising NPAs despite strong operating performance Its also aiming for scale without adding headcount. The company will augment its 650 employees with 100 AI agents trained on its own data. These agents will support everything from investor relations to campaign analysis. Its not just about cutting costs. Its about building an AI workforce into the core of its operations. The company is backing this with intellectual property. It has filed 15 new AI patents, taking its total to 36. These include human-like AI agents, privacy-first targeting, fraud detection, and content generation. Affle wants to move up the value chain from being a data-driven ad player to an AI-led platform. In a market dominated by the likes of Google and Meta, the company knows it cant compete on scale. But its betting it can compete on depththrough personalisation, localisation, and contextual intelligence. Financial performance For all the AI talk, is the business delivering? In the past five years revenue has increased as compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 49%. Net profit jumped from 103 crore in FY21 to 382 crore in FY25, clocking a CAGR around 40%. Margins are holding strong. The company recorded a 21.3% Ebitra margin and 16.2% net margin in FY25. Cash flow from operations was 426 crore in FY25, up 62% year-on-year. The average return on capital employed is 23.6% and return on equity is 22% over the past five years. While not close to tech stocks that generate high returns, these are relatively healthy numbers for a tech company thats still scaling. Affle closed Q4 FY25 on a steady note, with revenue up 19% year-on-year and Ebitda growth of 37% driven by better operating efficiency. Margins expanded to 22.2%, reflecting improved cost control and stronger monetisation. Profit growth stood at 18%. What stood out, though, was the rising share of conversions from developed markets, pointing to a more global, diversified growth path taking shape. Diversified growth Affles growth isnt coming only from India. Developed markets now make up 29% of revenue, and theyre growing faster, up 27% year-on-year in Q4FY25, compared to 16% growth in India and other emerging markets. This isnt surprising. Developed markets tend to have higher digital ad spends per user. Its clients include Samsung, Swiggy, Tata Neu, Byjus, Apollo, McDonald's. And most of the money still comes from CPCU. In FY25, Affle recorded 392 million conversions at an average CPCU of 57.5. That brought in 2,260 crore of revenue. The CPCU model can scale well. As long as ad budgets grow and mobile engagement continues, Affle can expand without needing massive capex. This gives the business a level of predictability and visibility. As long as engagement and conversion ratios stay healthy, the business model remains resilient. What could go wrong? Lets be frank. This is not a risk-free business. Privacy rules are being tightened globally. If countries tighten data laws further, Affles job becomes harder. Even contextual data could come under scrutiny, especially if laws evolve faster than tech. Then theres competitive pressure. Affle is a tiny fish in an ocean filled the likes of Google and Meta. If they decide to focus on Affles turf, things could get uncomfortable. And newer AI-first ad-tech platforms are coming up globally. Also, the company has grown in part by buying smaller companies and integrating them. If any of those deals go wrong, it could hurt margins or slow growth. Also Read | Shrinking margin leaves HCLTech stock with no room for error Then theres the AI risk. While AI is central to Affles growth story, it also brings new challenges. If adoption moves quickly beyond mobile, or if newer platforms start delivering better conversions at lower cost, Affles moat could come under pressure. If the AI tools that power its growth could become widely available, it could lose its edge of differentiation. For now, the company believes these shifts will take time. And its already preparing for a world where authenticated AI agents, not just humans, drive purchasing decisions. Valuation Affle is valued at 27,900 crore today, or 73 times trailing earnings. This is a premium to its five-year median PE of 67. At its peak valuation, the stock was trading at a PE of 162 in June 2021. Investors need to ask whether the current valuation already prices in too much AI upside. If growth slows or margins compress, there may not be enough room for disappointment. Conclusion Affle is trying to make ads smarter, more targeted and less wasteful. Its built a good business, stayed profitable, and has kept innovating so far. Now its betting on AI not just to protect its turf, but to expand it. If things go well, Affle could become Indias quiet AI success story. Not by reinventing the wheel but by making sure every ad rolls out smarter than the last. However, it's always important for investors to carefully analyse a company's fundamentals, including its financial performance, corporate governance, and growth strategies before considering an investment. 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 Private sector lender Axis Bank Ltd. reported its financial results for the June 2025 quarter (Q1FY26) on Wednesday, July 17. The bank posted a net profit of 5,806 crore, registering a 4 percent decline compared to 6,034.64 crore in the same quarter last year. The banks Net Interest Income (NII) a key indicator of its core lending operations stood at 13,560 crore, up 0.8 percent year-on-year. This marginal growth in NII reflects modest expansion in interest-earning assets and spreads during the quarter. Axis Banks asset quality deteriorated slightly on a sequential basis. Gross Non-Performing Assets (NPA) rose to 1.57 percent, compared to 1.28 percent at the end of the March 2025 quarter. Similarly, Net NPA increased to 0.45 percent from 0.33 percent in the previous quarter. The bank reported a significant spike in provisions during the quarter. Total provisions rose to 3,947 crore, up sharply from 1,359 crore in Q4FY25 and 2,039 crore in Q1FY25. The increase in provisions likely contributed to the dip in bottom-line profit and reflects a more cautious stance on credit risk. Other Highlights Axis Bank reported a strong operating performance for the June 2025 quarter (Q1FY26), with operating profit rising 14 percent year-on-year (YoY) and 7 percent sequentially to 11,515 crore. The banks operating revenue grew 8 percent YoY, while operating expenses rose just 2 percent YoY and declined 5 percent quarter-on-quarter (QoQ), leading to positive operating jaws a healthy indicator of efficiency gains. Non-interest income rose 25 percent YoY, driven by a 10 percent rise in fee income, with retail fee income growing 9 percent YoY. The bank also maintained a strong fee composition, with granular fees accounting for 91 percent of total fees. On the deposit front, total deposits grew 9 percent YoY on a monthly average balance (MEB) and quarterly average balance (QAB) basis. Within this, term deposits rose 12 percent, current account (CA) deposits grew 9 percent, and savings account (SA) deposits increased by 3 percent YoY. The bank continued to make notable progress in its focus segments. The combined mix of Small Business Banking (SBB), SME, and Mid-Corporate (MC) loans stood at 2,472 billion, forming 23 percent of total loans, reflecting an 820 basis points improvement over the past four years. SME loans grew 16 percent YoY and 2 percent QoQ, while corporate loans increased by 9 percent YoY and 6 percent QoQ. The mid-corporate segment expanded a strong 24 percent YoY. Axis Banks overall Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) stood at 16.85 percent, with Common Equity Tier-1 (CET-1) ratio at 14.68 percent, representing a net accretion of 62 basis points YoY and 1 basis point during the quarter. The bank delivered a consolidated Return on Assets (RoA) of 1.51 percent and an RoA of 1.66 percent excluding technical impacts. Consolidated Return on Equity (RoE) stood at 13.57 percent, improving to 14.90 percent excluding technical adjustments. In the digital payments space, Axis Bank retained its market leadership in the UPI Payer PSP segment with a market share of approximately 32 percent. It also remained one of the largest players in the merchant acquiring business, holding a terminal market share of about 19.7 percent. Sona BLW Precision Forgings share price witnessed an 8.5 percent rally in intra-day trading on Thursday, July 17, after reports surfaced claiming the company was in advanced talks to supply electric vehicle (EV) components to Chinese automaker BYD. Both the BSE and NSE sought clarification from the company following the surge in investor interest. Company Clarifies: No Material Information Yet In a clarification to the exchanges, Sona BLW Precision Forgings said it is in regular discussions with several domestic and global clients as part of its ongoing business strategy. The company emphasized that there is no material information that warrants disclosure under Regulation 30 of SEBIs Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) Regulations, 2015. "This is in reference to news articles appeared across various mainstream media on July 17, 2025, in relation to 'the company is in advanced talks to supply electric vehicle components to Chinese EV manufacturer BYD'. In this regard, the company wishes to clarify that it is in discussions with several potential customers in India and globally in the ordinary course, for growth of its business," it said. Q4 Performance and EV Segment Growth In the quarter ended March 2025, Sona BLW reported a net profit of 164 crore, up 11 percent from 148 crore in the same period last year. Revenue from operations declined 2 percent year-on-year to 865 crore from 884 crore. During Q4, the company secured a major order from a North American EV manufacturer for rotor-embedded differential sub-assemblies and epicyclic geartrains, contributing 1,520 crore to its order book. Notably, 35 percent of Sona BLWs revenue during the quarter came from the EV business, with Tesla continuing as one of its key clients. Stock Performance: Volatile but Recovering The stock touched a high of 494 on July 17, marking an 8.5 percent gain in intra-day trade. However, it remains nearly 36 percent below its 52-week high of 767.80, hit in September 2024. The stock had slumped to a 52-week low of 379.80 in April 2025. Despite being down over 36 percent in the past year, the stock has shown signs of recovery. It rose 1.65 percent in July so far, after declining 11.5 percent in June. The previous two monthsMay and Aprilsaw gains of 13 percent and 4.3 percent, respectively. Jio Financial share price: Shares of Mukesh Ambani-backed Jio Financial Services traded on a lacklustre note on Thursday, July 17, gaining less than half a per cent as investors stuck to the sidelines ahead of the announcement of the first quarter earnings for the financial year 2025-26 (Q1 FY26). Jio Financial share price opened at 320, slightly above its last closing price of 319.60 apiece on the BSE. Soon after, the Reliance group stock hit the day's high of 320.75, up just 0.35%. The stock is hovering close to its 52-week high of 363, which was reached in September 2024. Despite today's muted movement, Jio Financial share price has gained 10% in the last one month on the back of multiple approvals from the capital markets regulator to offer holistic investment solutions. Also Read | Jio BlackRock has made a solid start. The real test lies ahead , hLate last month, Jio BlackRock Broking, a wholly owned subsidiary of Jio BlackRock Investment Advisers Pvt Ltd, received regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to commence operations as a brokerage firm. Before this, regulatory approvals were received by Jio BlackRock Asset Management Pvt Ltd and Jio BlackRock Investment Advisers to commence operations. Jio Financial Q1 Results Preview Last week on Thursday, Jio Financial informed exchanges that its board will meet today (July 17) to approve the earnings for the June quarter of FY26. "A meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled to be held on Thursday, July 17, 2025, inter alia, to consider and approve the standalone and consolidated unaudited financial results of the Company for the quarter ended June 30, 2025. A presentation to analysts on the financial results of the Company for the quarter ended June 30, 2025, shall be made on the same day after the meeting," Jio Financial said in a filing. Also Read | Ashok Leyland bonus share issue: Auto company announces allotment of free shares "Santosh Meena, Head of Research, Swastika Investmart, expects moderate revenue and profit growth in Q1 FY26, with sequential gains likely, driven by expansion in lending, insurance, and payment services. However, high base effects may temper YoY growth, he said. In Q4 FY25, Jio Financial reported a net profit of 316 crore (up 1.8% YoY) and revenue of 493 crore (up 18% YoY). AUM surged to 10,053 crore from 173 crore a year ago, backed by growth in Tier-1 cities and partnerships in LAS and LAMF. Investors are closely tracking developments in the Jio BlackRock JV. SEBIs approval for four index mutual funds and new broking and clearing licenses could support long-term revenue growth, though the near-term impact may be limited, Meena said. Focus remains on lending scale-up, credit loss provisions, and strategic clarity on Jio BlackRocks retail roadmap, wealth management plans, and new product launches, he added. A strong net worth of 1.23 lakh crore offers headroom for growth amid regulatory and competitive headwinds. Nitin Jain, Sr. Research Analyst at Bonanza, expects moderate revenue and profit growth, building on Q4s 316 crore net profit and 493 crore revenue. Key metrics to watch include segmental income from interest, fees, broking, advisory, and AUM trends. Positive surprises here, backed by the companys low-debt profile, could fuel notable stock momentum. A strong Q1 print could validate Jio Financials evolving financial ecosystem and position it for sustained rerating in the NBFC and fintech space, the Bonanza analyst added. Jio Financial Shares: How to trade? Anshul Jain, Head of Research at Lakhmishree Investments, remains bullish on the stock. He said that Jio Financial is currently trading around a key resistance zone between 324 and 347 and, despite multiple attempts, is holding ground without any sharp rejection. This resilience suggests strength, and the stock is likely to remain range-bound within this zone for the next 8 to 10 weeks, he added. "Interestingly, volumes are gradually diminishing, which is typically a bullish signal during consolidation phases hinting at silent accumulation. This setup indicates that the stock is preparing for a potential breakout in the medium term, provided it sustains above key support levels," Jain said. Commenting on the stock outlook, Meena said the market is aware of current uncertainties around financial performance but remains optimistic about Jio Financials long-term growth prospects. However, given the strong rally in the previous quarter, there is a risk of profit booking in the near term. Any correction towards the 290 level could offer a good entry point for long-term investors, he added. The stock market didnt have a great start to 2025. Foreign investors pulled out, earnings came in weak, and valuations stayed stubbornly high. Then came a wave of tariff news from US President Donald Trump and rising geopolitical tensions. Although the markets have bounced back since April, not every stock has joined the rally. Several penny stocks are still struggling to recover. In this article, we look at three beaten-down penny stocks trading 30% below their 52-week highs. #1 Tara Chand Infralogistic Solutions The company provides cargo handling, logistic services, equipment hiring and infrastructure project services. It has three operating segments transport & handling services, equipment rental and infra work services, and steel processing & distribution. Its involved in key metro projects in India, largely in tier-1 and tier-2 cities, with a fleet of hydraulic piling rigs, heavy lifting capacity cranes, and concrete construction machinery. It offers its fleet of equipment across sectors, such as power, oil and gas, steel, cement, renewable energy, and so on. As of 11 July the stock is down 32% from its 52-week high of 104.8 on 21 August 2024. Also Read | Tech Mahindras Q1 positives overshadowed by macro blues While the company has posted solid year-on-year growth, its quarterly performance has been inconsistent. In the December 2024 quarter, revenue rose to 64.4 crore from 44.4 crore a year ago. Net profit improved to 5.2 crore from 3.4 crore but declined from 7.2 crore in September 2024. The company has seen a gradual fall in promoter shareholding. From 74.71% in September 2022, their stake dropped to 69.6% by December 2024 before inching up to 70.67% in March 2025. The company has pursued an investment plan of 160 crore to strengthen its crane fleet, with special attention to the heavy equipment section. It aims to add 1215 high-tonnage cranes. #2 Premier Polyfilm The company manufactures vinyl flooring, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheeting and artificial leather cloth, used for a variety of industrial and consumer applications. Its products include a range of PVC flooring, PVC leather, PVC film & sheeting, vinyl wallpaper, swimming pool liners, and aqua lining PVC geomembrane. As of 11 July, the stock has declined 37% from its 52-week high of 85.6 on 3 January 2025. While the companys sales grew 5.96% yoy to 82.79 crore, net profit dropped 16.7% yoy to 5.58 crore from 6.7 crore in the same quarter last year. Investor sentiment also took a hit after Sebi fined the company 3 lakh in December 2024 for lapses related to related-party transactions carried out between April 2022 and May 2023 without prior approvals. The company said it had not initially considered the entities as related parties under the Companies Act 2013, and claimed to have rectified the oversight after the statutory auditor flagged it. #3 TPL PLastech The company manufactures polymer products for industrial packaging. Its products include narrow mouth drums, and narrow mouth and wide mouth carboys. As of 11 July, TPL Plastech stock is down 42% from its 52-week high of 136 on 1 August 2024. One of the possible reasons for the stock's decline is selling by foreign institutional investors (FIIs) over the past two quarters. FII holdings dropped from 0.26% in September 2024 to just 0.03% in December 2024 and 0% in the March 2025 quarter. Conclusion Beaten-down penny stocks may seem appealing because of their low prices, but carry significant risks. Many of these companies struggle with weak financials, poor corporate governance, low liquidity, and lack of transparency. Price swings can be extreme and exiting a position isnt always easy. It's important for investors to be aware that low price alone doesnt make a stock a good buy. Careful evaluation and a clear understanding of the risks involved are essential before considering any investment, especially in this segment. Investors should evaluate a companys fundamentals, corporate governance and valuation before making an investment decision. 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 Also Read | ICICI Lombards strong profit growth insures subdued premium performance Public sector lender Bank of Baroda (BoB) on Thursday, July 17, announced the date for the board meeting to consider the financial results for the quarter ended June 30. The PSU stock in an exchange filing said that its board will meet next week on July 25 to approve the earnings for the first quarter of the financial year 2025-26 (Q1 FY26). "We advise that a meeting of Board of Directors of Bank of Baroda will be held on Friday, 25th July 2025 at Bank's Corporate Office, BKC, Mumbai inter-alia to consider & approve the Un-audited (Reviewed) Standalone & Consolidated Financial Results of the Bank together with relevant segment reporting, for the quarter / three months ended 30th June 2025," the company said in a filing today. Bank of Baroda Q1 results preview Bank of Boroda is expected to post poor results in the June 2025 quarter, with both topline and bottomline expected to contract. BoB could see a 22% year-on-year (YoY) decline in Q1 net profit to 4851 crore, according to estimates by brokerage Kotak Institutional Equities (KIE) amid an 8% YoY dip in net interest income (NII). KIE pegs Bank of Baroda's Q1 NII at 10,695 crore. "We expect operating profits to decline ~7% YoY as there would be pressure on revenue growth (slower loan growth and pressure on NII). We are building NIM to decline 10 bps QoQ to factor in the rate cut. Reported loan growth at 13% YoY (ahead of industry average) while deposits grew 9% YoY," said the brokerage. Meanwhile, Axis Securities sees a decline in Q1 PAT for Bank of Baroda, albeit smaller. It pegs PAT at 4485 crore, down 7% YoY. NII, however, is likely to fall 7.8% YoY to 11,600 by its estimates. Asset quality outlook and loan book traction, especially on the retail portfolio, will be key monitorables, as per the brokerage. Bank of Baroda shares closed 1.12% lower at 246.25 apiece on the BSE today. However, the stock is up 8% for the year. In the past one year it has lost 5% but gained 22% over a two-year period. Spunweb Nonwoven IPO allotment status: Following a blockbuster response to the initial public offering (IPO) of Spunweb Nonwoven, investors are now shifting their focus to the allotment of its shares. Spunweb Nonwoven IPO closed for subscription on July 16 following the three-day bidding process. Spunweb Nonwoven IPO allotment date is fixed as July 17. The 60.98 crore IPO was entirely a fresh share sale of 63.52 lakh shares. Spunweb Nonwoven IPO price band was fixed at 90 and 96 apiece. Investors could apply for the IPO in lot sizes of 1,200 shares. Spunweb Nonwoven IPO proposes to use the funds raised for funding working capital needs, investment in a subsidiary, repayment of certain borrowings availed by the company and general corporate purposes. Spunweb Nonwoven IPO Subscription Status Spunweb Nonwoven IPO garnered a whopping 1,06,09,58,400 share bids as against 42,21,600 shares on offer, resulting in 251.32 times subscription. The retail portion (requiring a minimum investment of two lots) was booked 251.84 times, the NII portion was subscribed 364.58 times, and the QIB portion received 165.43 times bids. Also Read | Indias IPO boom cools in 2025 Spunweb Nonwoven IPO Allotment Status Following the closure of the IPO, companies generally release the allotment status a day after. Since Spunweb Nonwoven IPO closed on July 16, that makes July 17 as the allotment date for the issue. Investors can check Spunweb Nonwoven IPO allotment status on the website of the exchange, which is NSE in this case, or the issue registrar --- MUFG Intime India Private Limited. Steps to check Spunweb Nonwoven IPO allotment status on NSE - Head to the NSE website using this link: https://www.nseindia.com/invest/check-trades-bids-verify-ipo-bids - Select Equity & SME bids details - Select company symbol from the dropdown - Spunweb Nonwoven - Enter PAN/Application Number - Click on Submit Steps to check Spunweb Nonwoven IPO allotment status on registrar's website - Head to the registrar's website using this link: https://in.mpms.mufg.com/Initial_Offer/public-issues.html - Select company from the dropdown - Spunweb Nonwoven - Select either of the options: PAN/Application Number/DP or Client ID/Account Number or IFSC - Enter details related to the option selected - Click on Submit Also Read | Monika Alcobev IPO sails through on first day. Check GMP and subscription status Spunweb Nonwoven IPO GMP Spunweb Nonwoven IPO is enjoying a strong grey market premium (GMP). According to market sources Spunweb Nonwoven IPO GMO today is 34. This is slightly lower than the GMP of 42 the stock was commanding in the grey market two days ago, However, latest Spunweb Nonwoven IPO GMP signals listing price at 130, a premium of 35% above the issue price of 96. Spunweb Nonwoven IPO shares are slated to list on NSE SME on July 21. Stocks to buy under 100: Propelled by strong buying at lower levels, the key benchmark indices of the Indian stock market ended higher on Wednesday. The Nifty 50 index finished marginally higher at 25,212, the BSE Sensex added 63 points and closed at 82,634, while the Bank Nifty index ended 162 points higher at 57,168. M&M, Wipro and Tech Mahindra led the charge on the upside, showcasing significant strength. Conversely, Shirram Finance, Eternal, and Sun Pharma concluded the session as major losers. Trading volumes on the NSE cash market were lower by 2% compared to yesterday. After two days of sharp gains, the broader market saw a consolidation period. The Nifty Midcap and Smallcap 100 Indices ended the session flat, digesting their recent upward moves. Despite this, market breadth remained firmly positive, with advancing stocks outnumbering declining ones on the BSE, reflected in a healthy advance-decline ratio of 1.36. Amongst the sectoral indices, PSU Banks, Media and IT ended as major gainers while Metal, Healthcare and Pharma sectors ended in the red. Stock market today On the outlook for the Indian stock market today, Siddhartha Khemka, Head of Research Wealth Management at Motilal Oswal, said, "We expect markets to consolidate with a positive bias, supported by improving rural and healthcare trends and any progress on IndiaUS trade negotiations. Stock-specific action will likely continue as the earnings season gathers pace." Speaking on the outlook of the Nifty 50 today, Nagaraj Shetti, Senior Technical Research Analyst at HDFC Securities, said, "The underlying short-term trend of the Nifty 50 index remains positive. A sustainable move above the immediate hurdle of 25,250 could pull Nifty towards the next hurdle of 25,550 in the near term. Immediate support is placed at 25,000." "The Bank Nifty index continues to rise gradually after sustaining the important near-term support at the 56,600 level, and we expect a further move till the 57,000 zone. The index would continue to have the important support near the 56,000 level. On the upside, a decisive breach above the resistance zone of the 57,600 level is necessary to trigger further higher targets of 58,500 and 60,000 levels in the coming days," said Shiju Kuthupalakkal, Senior Manager of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher. Stocks to buy today under 100 Regarding stocks to buy today, market experts Vaishali Parekh, Vice President of Technical Research at Prabhudas Lilladher; Sugandha Sachdeva, Founder of SS WealthStreet; and Anshul Jain, Head of Research at Lakshmishree Investment, recommended three intraday stocks under 100: Allcargo Gati, Fedder Holding, and Andhra Paper. Vaishali Parekh's stock recommendations today 1] Allcargo Gati: Buy at 72.40, Target 78, Stop Loss 70. Sugandha Sachdeva's stock to buy under 100 2] Fedder Hollding: Buy at 46.80, Targets 49.60, 51.70, Stop Loss 44.80. Anshul Jain's intraday stocks for today under 100 3] Andhra Paper: Buy at 83, Target 87, Stop Loss 80. From Goa to Mumbai, Fireback has finally opened its doors to offer Mumbaikars a unique Thai food experience one that packs a punch for sure. Bold, spicy and indulgent is what one can expect from a meal at the newest outpost by EHV International, the group behind Indian Accent, Comorin, HOSA and Chor Bizarre. The menu stands out, especially the curries fiery yet addictive, unfamiliar yet distinctive. Go for the chicken golae, that are essentially grilled skewers coated with a sweet-savoury glaze, and served with a flavourful ajad, a relish of chillies, onions and cucumber. The lamb Massaman is flavourful and comes with potatoes. The mango sticky rice and Thai roti pancake with condensed milk and banana put a sweet end to a memorable meal. Where: Fireback, Nilaya Anthology, Peninsula Corporate Park, Ganpatrao Kadam Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai Contact: +91-22 35387627 Cocktail at Latango. Latango is Delhi's newest hotspot for classic European fare. Conceptualised by Sahil Sambhi (of Japonico, Bawri, Berlin and Vietnom), the menu is helmed by Italian chefs Roberto Blondi and Joe Stanchi, who bring their vast knowledge and expertise of European cuisine for the first time in India. The food nods to the farm-to-table philosophy, and bears influences from the chefs' extensive travels across the region. There's fresh stracciatella cheese to savour, scallop sashimi reinterpreted through their memories, an Atlantic crab tagliolini from the coast of Italy, Parisian omelettes, Andalusian seabass ajo blanco, octopus salad, and of course, tiramisu. Where: Latango, 01 Epicuria, TDI South Bridge, Nehru Place, New Delhi Contact: +91-9289859289 A dish from Paashh. Some mistakes are irreversible. However, if you entered the wrong details in your flight ticket or had a change of plans, theres no reason to worry. You can cancel or amend your ticket for free, as long as you do it within 24 hours of booking, and given the flight is at least seven days away. You can cancel or amend the ticket without any additional charges, within 24 hours of booking. This facility is available up to seven days prior to the specified flight departure on the first leg, says the ministry of aviations Passenger Charter of Rights. For instance, if you book a flight on 14 July at 9am but have a change of plan the next morning, then there is no charge for cancellation or rescheduling it if the flight is at least seven days away, said Ajay Awtaney, an aviation expert and founder ofLiveFromALounge.com, a popular blog. Also Read | The insurance policy every entrepreneur should have to navigate a legal crisis Some airlines may not automatically offer a full refund when cancellations are made online on their website, mobile application, or through the online travel agent (OTA) website. If cancelling online shows a refund amount that includes cancellation fees, experts say you should contact the airline's customer service to cancel the ticket. Cancellation by airlines The charter says airlines must inform the passenger at least two weeks before the scheduled departure and arrange an alternative flight or refund the ticket according to the passengers choice. Even if the flight is cancelled less than two weeks before, but up to 24 hours before the scheduled departure, then the airline must issue a full refund or arrange an alternative flight to depart, according to the passengers discretion. If the airline did not inform you, and you have missed the connecting flight booked on the same ticket number, you have the right to ask the airline to provide an alternative flight or a full refund, along with compensation. For flights that have a block hour of up to one hour, a compensation of 5,000, or a booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, whichever is less, is applicable. A block hour refers to the time an aircraft takes from the moment it leaves the gate at the departure airport to the moment it arrives at the gate of the destination airport. If the flight has a block time of more than one hour and up to two hours, compensation of 7,500 or the booked one-way basic fare plus airline fuel charge, whichever is less, is applicable. If the block time is greater than two hours, a compensation of 10,000 or basic fare plus fuel charge, whichever is lower, is applicable. On top of that, if you have already reported for the flight, the airline must provide refreshments and free meals, in relation to the waiting time. The catch is that you must provide valid contact details at the time of booking, or else compensation will not be provided. If the airline offers a flight to/from an airport or terminal other than the one for which you had booked, the airline shall bear the cost of transferring you to/from that alternative airport or terminal/to the one for which you booked. However, if you have been informed of the last change at least six hours in advance, the passenger shall be responsible for making their own arrangements. Ashish Karundia, a Delhi-based chartered accountant, explained that when a customer cancels a ticket, it is considered a return of services. In such cases, the seller, whether an airline or a travel agent, can adjust the GST already paid against their output GST liability. Therefore, the seller is required to refund the entire amount, including the GST, without making any deductions for taxes. Entry denied due to overbooking Sometimes, an airline might have accepted more bookings than the number of seats available. If all passengers arrive on time, a case of overbooking can arise. In such cases, an airline must ask volunteers to give up their seats to make room for other passengers who have booked the flight, provided the airline gives the volunteers a benefit according to the airlines discretion. If the airline offers an alternative flight scheduled to depart within one hour of the original scheduled departure, the passenger cannot hold the airline liable for any compensation. If the airline fails to arrange a flight within one hour but arranges within 24 hours of the scheduled departure, compensation equal to or 200% of the booked one-way basic fare plus fuel charge with a cap of 10,000 is applicable. Also Read | If you are trading in stocks or F&O, know these tax rules If the alternative flight is more than 24 hours after the original flight, compensation equal to 400% of the booked one-way basic fare plus fuel, with a cap of 20,000, is to be given. If a passenger does not opt for an alternative flight, 400% of the booked one-way fare plus airline fuel charge, subject to a maximum of 20,000, is applicable, according to the aviation ministrys charter. Delayed flights If your flight is delayed, you are entitled to certain perks from the airline. The airline must offer free meals and refreshments in relation to the waiting time. This applies when there is a two-hour delay of a flight with up to 2.5 hours block time, three hours or more if the flight has more than 2.5 hours block time and up to five hours, and four hours or more if the block time is above five hours. If the domestic flight is delayed for more than six hours, the airline should communicate a rescheduled time 24 hours before the scheduled departure. The airline shall also offer the option of either an alternative flight within six hours or a full refund of the ticket. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a set of guidelines with regards to levy of prepayment charges in case of loans sanctioned to MSEs, something that tends to leave the customers disgruntled and annoyed. Read this Livemint article for details on this. Additionally, some banks impose restrictions on borrowers to prevent them from switching their loan to another lender to seek for better terms and conditions. RBI early this month released a set of guidelines titled RBI (pre-payment charges on loans) Directions 2025. Also Read | How can you improve your chances of getting a personal loan? These directions -- applicable to all commercial banks (excluding payments banks), cooperative banks and NBFCs -- will come into force from January 1 next year. RBIs guidelines with regards to prepayment of loan I. These directions will be applicable to regulated entities (i.e., banks, NBFCs and others) regarding levy of pre-payment charges on all floating rate loans and advances. II. There will be no pre-payment charges for all the loans granted for purposes other than business to individuals. III. And even when the loan is disbursed for business purposes, there will be no prepayment charge in case of a commercial bank, a tier 4 primary (urban) cooperative bank, an NBFC-UL (upper layer) and an all-India financial institution. IV. Additionally, there will be no pre-payment charges on loans with sanctioned amount/limit up to 50 lakh in case of a small finance bank, regional rural bank, a Tier 3 primary (urban) cooperative bank, State Cooperative bank, Central Cooperative bank and an NBFC-ML (middle layer). V. In cases other than those mentioned above, pre-payment charges will be as per the approved policy of the RE. VI. In case of term loans, pre-payment charges -- if levied by the RE -- will be based on the amount being prepaid. VII. In case of cash credit/ overdraft facilities, pre-payment charges can be levied only on an amount which does not exceed the sanctioned limit. VIII. In case of cash credit or overdraft facilities, no pre-payment charges can be charged so long as the borrower tells the bank about his intention of not renewing the overdraft facility prior to the period as mentioned in the loan agreement. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday launched a sharp attack on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, asking whether anyone is safe anywhere in the eastern state after Chandan Mishra --a paroled criminal from Buxar - was shot dead by unidentified assailants inside Patnas Paras Hospital. The incident, which comes just days after the killings of businessman Gopal Khemka, BJP leader Surendra Kewat, and lawyer Jitendra Mahato, has intensified the political heat in Bihar ahead of the upcoming state elections. In a post on X, Tejashwi Yadav said, Government-backed criminals stormed into the ICU and shot a patient admitted to the hospital. Is anyone safe anywhere in Bihar? Did such incidents ever happen before 2005? RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha also criticised the NDA government in Bihar over the firing incident, asserting that the state's law and order situation should be a national concern. Speaking to ANI, the RJD Rajya Sabha MP said, "Bihar should be a matter of concern for the entire country... Crimes occur every day in Bihar... Is this the rule of law? ... When will the Prime Minister send a fact-finding committee to Bihar?..." According to police, Mishra - a criminal with a history of murder charges - was out on parole and admitted to Patnas Paras Hospital on medical grounds. On Thursday morning, five armed men entered the hospital, shot Mishra multiple times, and fled the scene. Police believe a rival gang is behind the horrific attack. Central Range (Patna) IG Jitendra Rana, speaking to news agency ANI, hinted at the possible involvement of security guards in the incident. It cannot be ruled out that the police security guards were involved. We will investigate this angle as well, IG Jitendra Rana said. Meanhwhile, Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar termed the firing incident as "unfortunate" and said the matter is of serious concern, particularly as the hospital has its own security arrangements. "This is a very sad incident because the incident took place inside Paras which is a famous hospital. It has its own security system. The criminals breached it completely and went inside. This is a matter of concern and we will review the security system of Paras, why it happened and who was on duty and draw the attention of the Paras management," DGP Vinay Kumar told ANI. Bihar Deputy CM Vijay Sinha assured that the incident is being thoroughly investigated and the culprits will be brought to justice. New Delhi: India will require around $1.5 trillion in investments by 2030 to tackle climate change and accelerate its energy transition, according to a new report by Deloitte. The report, titled The Climate Response: Tapping into Indias Climate and Energy Transition Opportunity, highlights the scale of capital needed across renewable energy, biofuels, decarbonisation efforts, and sustainable infrastructure to meet the countrys climate goals. To reach the governments target of 500 GW of non-fossil capacity by 2030, Deloitte estimates a required investment of $200250 billion, spanning areas such as advanced manufacturing, grid integration, and system expansion. As of now, Indias total non-fossil fuel capacity stands at 242.8 GW, accounting for about half of the countrys total installed capacity of 484.8 GW. This includes 184.62 GW of renewable power, 49.38 GW from large hydro projects, and 8.78 GW of nuclear energy. The report also notes that expanding Indias renewable energy capacity must be accompanied by a significant scale-up in energy storage infrastructureby nearly eight timeswhich would require an estimated $250300 billion in capital expenditure by FY30. Mandates on ethanol blending, sustainable aviation fuel, and the adoption of green hydrogen are expected to drive additional investments of $7580 billion in biofuels and $90100 billion in green hydrogen, Deloitte said. This investment will reduce emissions, boost job creation, enhance energy security and protect vulnerable communities from climate risks. Financial instruments, such as green bonds, climate funds and blended finance models, are important in mobilising capital for sustainability initiatives, said Viral Thakker, partner and sustainability and climate leader, Deloitte South Asia. Also Read | India to revamp rice cultivation technique to save water, cut methane emissions He added that unlocking investment at scale and ensuring equitable access to climate finance would help build long-term resilience in Indias most climate-sensitive sectors. By strategically harnessing climate finance, India can accelerate its decarbonisation efforts, offering immense investment potential in sectors poised for sustainable growth and innovation, Thakker said. Prashanth Nutula, partner, Deloitte India, said, To accelerate its climate journey, India must further strengthen its commitment to integrating renewable energy, biofuels and advanced technologies into a cohesive, sustainable energy ecosystem. This must be supported by investments in energy storage, infrastructure and grid reliability while prioritising inclusive growth." Also Read | Climate Change and You: The price of comfort in a rapidly warming world In a firm response to NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte's threat of secondary sanctions over New Delhi's ties with Moscow, India on Thursday cautioned against "double standards" on the matter and asserted that its energy procurement from Russia is based on national interests and market dynamics. oil-and-gas-trade-with-russia-11752631418581.html" data-vars-page-type="story" data-vars-link-type="Manual" data-vars-anchor-text="Rutt had warned India, China and Brazil">Rutt had warned India, China and Brazil that they could be hit hard by secondary sanctions if they continue to do business with Russia. "We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate that securing energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us," external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. "In this endeavour, we are guided by what is on offer in the markets, and by the prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter," he said. Asked about US President Donald Trump threatening 100 per cent tariff on Russian exports and "secondary tariffs" on any country that has trade links with Moscow, Jaiswal said: "We are closely following developments that are in this regard, and the articulations that are being made." India, China and Brazil have been the major buyers of Russian crude oil notwithstanding the Western sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. "My encouragement to these three countries, particularly is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard," Rutte told reporters in Washington DC. "So please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way," he said. The NATO chief's remarks coincided with Trump's warning to Russia of major significant trade restrictions if it does not reach a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days. "We're going to be doing very severe tariffs (on Russia) if we don't have a deal in 50 days," Trump said on Tuesday. India, China and Brazil are members of the BRICS and Trump has been critical of the grouping as well. Earlier this month, Trump had threatened BRICS member nations of 10 per cent additional tariffs on exports to the US apart from reciprocal tariffs. Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS will face those duties, he said. On the proposed trade deal between India and the US, Jaiswal said negotiations between the two sides are underway. "Both sides are in touch with each other. They are trying to iron out issues," he said. On India's negotiations with the European Union for the long-pending free trade pact, Jaiswal said talks are "progressing very well". "The last round, that is the 12th round, happened in Brussels from July 7th to 11th. And the next round of talks are scheduled to be held in September in New Delhi. US-India Trade Deal: Amid ongoing trade talks with the Donald Trump administration, Indian officials are expecting to secure a deal with lower tariff rates than Indonesia, a report said on Thursday. As per the Bloomberg report quoting an unnamed officer in New Delhi, India is seeking a more favourable tariff rate than Indonesia and Vietnam as it races to meet the August 1 deadline, following which it may have to pay the US a 26 per cent tariff on its exports to Washington. Donald Trump on Tuesday said he will impose a 19 per cent tariff on Indonesia, and will be able to ship American goods to the country tariff-free. This was down from the initial 32 per cent that was announced in April. For Vietnam, the tariff came down to 20 per cent. The US and India are working toward a deal that would reduce proposed tariffs to below 20 per cent, Bloomberg had earlier reported. A team of negotiators are present in Washington to discuss tariff rates. Also Read | Indias Volatility Index Dips on Easing Tariff Concerns, Rate Cut Hopes New Delhi is hoping for a tariff that would give it a competitive advantage against its peers in the region, the report said quoting officials. India is confident that its trade deal with the US will be better than that of Indonesia and Vietnam, as America doesnt view it as a transshipment hub like other southeast Asian countries. The negotiations so far suggest Indias tariff rate would be better than those countries, one of the officials told Bloomberg. Trump teases US-India trade deal US President Donald Trump on Wednesday hinted at reaching a new trade deal with India soon. While adding "maybe", he said that currently the US is in negotiations with India. We have another one (deal) coming up, maybe with India... We're in negotiation, Trump said. We have some pretty good deals to announce... We're very close to a deal with India where they open it up, he added. This came a day after the US President said his administration is working on a deal that gives it access to the Indian markets. Amarnath Yatra News: The Amarnath Yatra has been suspended on Thursday due to heavy rainfall in the Kashmir valley over the last 36 hours, officials said on the day. The weather department has issued a warning of more heavy rains in parts of Jammu and Kashmir. The Amarnath Yatra was suspended today after a woman pilgrim died on Wednesday due to a landslide along the Baltal route of the yatra in Ganderbal district. Three ithers were injured in the incident. "Shri Amarnathji Yatra has been suspended for 17.07.2025 from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps. Continuous heavy rains over the last two days have necessitated restoration work to be carried out on tracks along both routes," Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Vijay Kumar Bhiduri said. Yatris who were staying in the Panjtami camp on Tuesday are being escorted down to Baltal with assistance. Also Read | Amarnath Yatra 2025: 36 pilgrims injured after five buses ram into each other Also Read | ONGC sets up Yatri Niwas for Amarnath Yatra pilgrims in Jammu and Kashmir "However, yatris who stayed at Panjtami camp last night are being allowed to proceed down to Baltal with adequate deployment of BRO and Mountain Rescue Teams," Bhiduri said. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has made heavy deployment of men and machinery on the tracks to complete the work so that the Amarnath yatra can be resumed from both Baltal and Pahalgam base camps, he added. When will Amarnath Yatra resume? "In all likelihood, the yatra shall resume tomorrow (Friday), depending on the weather conditions during the course of the day," he said. A two-day weather advisory has warned of heavy rains in Jammu and Kashmir, including on the yatra routes in Kashmir, an official was quoted as saying by PTI. This is the first time the yatra has been suspended from Jammu this year. So far, 2.47 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the 3,880-metre-high shrine since the yatra began on July 3. A total of 1,01,553 pilgrims have departed from the Jammu base camp for the valley since July 2, when Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha flagged off the first batch. More than 4 lakh people have registered online for the Amarnath Yatra so far. Last year, more than 5.10 lakh pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine, which houses a naturally formed ice lingam. The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday responded to the arrest of Gurjeet Singh Malhi by US immigration authorities over alleged child pornography charges, citing respect for the law and order of the host country, ANI reported. Answering a question on the matter during the press conference, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, These are matters of law and order... We would endeavour to tell Indian nationals going abroad that they should abide by local laws, guidelines and regulations. Also Read | Govt wants WhatsApp-like message encryption broken in fight against child porn Earlier on 11 July, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had arrested a 42-year-old Indian national Gurjeet Singh Malhi in the State of Washington on charges of possession of child pornography. Political blame game: Malhi was arrested during a coordinated federal law enforcement operation, and it has triggered a political row in Punjab as both the BJP and Congress accuse the ruling AAP of having links with the accused. Since the purported images of Malhi with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann's family members, and other AAP leaders and ministers surfaced, the opposition parties in Punjab have attacked the ruling party. Both the BJP and the Congress are seeking explanations from CM Bhagwant Mann and the AAP government in Punjab. Meanwhile, Malhi has been charged by the US authorities with possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). Also Read | Storage of child pornographic material an offence under POCSO Act: Supreme Court A citizen of India, Gurjeet Singh Malhi, 42, was arrested during a joint federal law enforcement action in WA. Malhi has been charged by local authorities with possession of CSAM, child sexual assault material, commonly known as child porn, ICE said in a statement. Malhi's image with AAP leaders: Congress leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira has sought answers from the Punjab CM over his family's alleged connection with Malhi. We (Congress Party) demand an explanation from Bhagwant Mann what connection does his family have with the shameful arrest of NRI Gurjit Malhi by USA federal authorities for possessing CSAM, Child Sexual Assault Material, commonly known as Child Porn? (sic), the MLA from the Bholath Assembly constituency said in a post on X. Does the family of the Punjab CM have relations with such a shameful CRIMINAL? (sic), the former Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly added. Similarly, other Aam Aadmi Party leaders like Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan, FM Harpal Cheema, MLA, etc. should explain what dealings, including financial, do these leaders have with such Nasty Criminals? (sic), Khaira further questioned in the post shared on Wednesday. BJP seeks answers too: BJP's Chandigarh unit also attacked AAP and asked on X, How long will AAP's self-proclaimed revolutionaries dodge these serious allegations? NRI Gurjeet Malhi, arrested in the USA on child sexual exploitation (CSAM, child pornography) charges. His photos with CM Bhagwant Mann's family are circulating publicly, along with clear links to AAP leaders like Speaker Kultar Sandhwan, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema, and Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak, the BJP said in a social media post. Also Read | Who is Joseph Seiders? New Pornographers drummer arrested on child porn charges What is your connection with this man? Why the silence on such a disturbing case? BJP said. "AAP leaders often target others based on mere photos will you now apply the same standard to yourselves?" the BJP asked. So far, the Aam Aadmi Party has not responded to the allegations. Several workers of Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) allegedly thrashed a Rajasthani shopkeeper in Mumbais Vikroli over a WhatsApp status insulting the Marathi community. The MNS workers also asked the shopkeeper to apologise. A video of the incident was widely circulated on social media. It showed the shopkeeper holding his ears, pleading with folded hands and apologising to the Marathi community. He promised not to repeat the mistake. He was reportedly paraded through the local market before being taken to the police station. Mint could not verify the authenticity of the video. What did shopkeeper post on WhatsApp? According to the Free Press Journal, the message on the WhatsApp status posted by the shopkeeper read: See the power of a Rajasthani. Beat the Marathi in Maharashtra itself. We are Marwaris, nobody can stand before us. This statement enraged MNS workers, who then confronted the businessman at his shop. They allegedly assaulted him and made him apologise publicly. According to the report, MNS division chief Vishwajit Dholam urged people not to shop at stores run by those who insult Marathi identity. A formal police complaint was reportedly filed regarding the incident. Similar incidents, where the MNS workers assaulted people over their stance on the Marathi language, were reported in the past few days. In one such case, autorickshaw driver Raju Patwa from Uttar Pradesh was assaulted by members of both the Shiv Sena (UBT) and MNS on 12 July near Virar railway station. Besides, MNS members were also captured on camera allegedly assaulting a food stall owner in Thane for not speaking in Marathi. Another shopkeeper was beaten up at Mira Road in a similar incident. During his reunion rally with cousin and Shiv Sena (UBT) supremo Uddhav Thackeray, MNS chief Raj Thackeray had said that his workers shouldn't shoot a video while taking action against people who insult Marathi. Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had taken cognisance of the incident, saying Marathi should be respected without resorting to violence. Calcutta High Court on Wednesday questioned the Centre's rationale behind country-wide raids targeting Bengali-speaking individuals, suspecting them to be illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. This comes after the West Bengal government told the Calcutta HC that the development is alarming. The court later asked both the Centre and the state government to submit affidavits accordingly. A division bench of Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Reetobroto Kumar Mitra, who were hearing the case, questioned, "What were the reasons? Was this pre- planned? Let these issues be cleared. Else, it will send out a wrong message. This could be a wrongful act. Allegations have been made that people are being illegally deported to Bangladesh just because they speak Bengali." The court was hearing a Habeas Corpus petition filed by the family members of Birbhum migrants deported to Bangladesh last month. Also Read | Bangla bolta hain manei Bangladeshi? The politics of language plaguing Bengalis How the argument played out? Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay, who appeared for the State of West Bengal before a Division Bench, noted that the Delhi Police cannot detain people for speaking Bengali, and further said, This is a family from Birbhum district... Who will decide if someone is Bangladeshi? Not the police, but the appropriate authority All these cases, I have gone through the reports, it is very alarming. He also demanded that the Centre report how many people have been deported to Bangladesh so far. Responding to it, the counsel representing the Central government asserted that no individual has been deported solely for speaking Bengali. He said, Around 165 people in Kashmir, including some who spoke Bengali, were detained after Pahalgam attack, but all of them were released later. He also pointed out that the relatives of those who were deported have already moved the Delhi High Court, a detail that, he argued, has been deliberately withheld in the present case. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a prosecution complaint (chargesheet) against businessman Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in connection with a money laundering case. This is the first time that any probe agency has filed a prosecution complaint against 56-year-old Vadra in a criminal case. The charge sheet for the controversial land deal case in Haryana's Manesar-Shikohpur (now sector 83) in Gurugram, also includes the names of several other individuals and firms.m The charge sheet has been filed against Vadra and some others before a local court here under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), news agency PTI said, quoting sources. The central agency has also attached 43 properties worth 37.6 Crore belonging to Robert Vadra and his company Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd. The agency had summoned Vadra first time on April 8 in the case. However, he sought another date, expressing his inability to join the investigation at that time. Vadra appeared before the agency on April 15. 'Political Vendetta' Vadra has earlier claimed the move was part of a political vendetta aimed at silencing him and his brother-in-law, Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi. The case came to light after Haryana cadre IAS officer Ashok Khemka cancelled its mutation, a process reflecting the transfer of property, in October 2012. Indian Administrative Services (IAS) officer Khemka, who was transferred 57 times, is retiring from service after a 34-year career on April 30. What is the Shikohpur case? The money-laundering case concerns a land deal in Shikohpur of Gurugram, carried out in February 2008 by Skylight Hospitality, a company Vadra was previously a director of. The company is accused of purchasing 3.5 acres of land in Shikohpur from Onkareshwar Properties for 7.5 crore. A Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda was in power at that time. Four years later, in September 2012, the company sold the land to DLF, a realty major, for 58 crore. The land deal became controversial in October 2012 after IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then posted as the director general of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the mutation, categorising the transaction as violative of the State Consolidation Act and some related procedures. The Enforcement Directorate is currently conducting searches in connection with the Chhangur Baba religious conversion case, with raids underway at 14 locations- 12 in Utraula, Balrampur (Uttar Pradesh) and 2 in Mumbai. The operation began early this morning at 5 am. Jamaluddin, alias Chhangur Baba, was recently arrested by the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in connection with an alleged mass religious conversion racket. On July 11, the ATS secured a seven-day remand for both Jamaluddin and his aide, Nasreen, to further investigate their operations, financial links, and alleged illegal properties. According to Uttar Pradesh Additional Director General (ADG) of Law and Order, Amitabh Yash, the gang operated for over 15 years and used a variety of manipulative tactics, including honey-trapping, administrative pressure, targeting minors, and enlisting influential individuals to facilitate conversions, ANI reported. "A significant amount of foreign funding has been traced to the gang," ADG Yash told ANI. Separate rate cards existed for different types of conversions, and the money was routed through nearly 40 bank accounts. The ATS is tracking the sources of these funds. A few women, who were converted to Islam by Chhangur Baba, on Monday claimed that they were getting threats after returning to Hinduism, PTI reported. Abu Ansari introduced himself as Amit to me, and his family met me as a Hindu. I met Chhangur Baba for the first time in 2019. The atmosphere was very strange, and only women were there. They were brainwashed. Chhangur had carried out around 5,000 religious conversions, one of them told reporters. Authorities say that Jalaluddin's son, Mehboob, along with another individual named Naveen, also known as Jamaluddin, were part of a coordinated network allegedly engaged in converting Hindus and other non-Muslims to Islam. Last Wednesday, illegal structures associated with Chhangur Baba were demolished. Chinas Ministry of State Security urges crackdown on space espionage Global Times) 15:38, July 17, 2025 Photo: Courtesy of Chinas Ministry of State Security Chinas Ministry of State Security warned Thursday that as great-power rivalry rapidly extends into outer space with nations racing to develop and exploit space assets and some openly advocating space hegemony and an arms race it will, in accordance with the law, severely punish any infiltration, espionage or sabotage targeting Chinas key space technologies and data, forging a robust security shield for the countrys ambition to become a leading spacefaring nation. The article reviewed the rapid developments of Chinas astronaut career from satellites delivering communications, navigation, remote sensing and other services across near-Earth orbit, to spacecraft and space stations chasing dreams in the cosmos; from the Change lunar missions to Zhurongs Martian exploration and Xihes solar probe, the Chinese have left solid footprints throughout the vastness of space. The article noted that low Earth orbit has become a finite, non-renewable strategic resource vital to national development. As launch rates climb and orbital traffic intensifies, low Earth orbit grows ever more crowded, underscoring the urgent need for a binding international framework to safeguard space security. Outer space is the common heritage of humankind, and its exploration, development, and peaceful use are shared aspirations of all humanity. China has always upheld the view that space endeavors belong to everyone, adhering to the principles of peace, respect for sovereignty, universal benefit, and co-governance. It advocates transforming space into a new domain of cooperation rather than an arena of competition, said the ministry. The national security authorities will fully implement the holistic national security concept and, in accordance with the law, severely punish infiltration, espionage and sabotage targeting our space sectors critical technologies and data, thereby forging a robust security shield for building a strong spacefaring nation, according to the ministry. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) As Nimisha Priya's execution has been deferred, the brother of the victim said that his family does not wish anything less than the execution of the convict The execution, originally scheduled for July 16, has been postponed, sources in New Delhi said on Tuesday. Priya, who hails from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, was found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen - Talal Abdo Mahdi - in July 2017. The sources added that the government of India has made concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for Priya's family to reach a "mutually agreeable" solution with the other party. What the Mahdi family said? In the Facebook post, written in Arabic, Abdelfattah Mahdi, brother Talal Abdo Mahdi, said that despite the pressures being imposed on the family to reconcile from all quarters, their demand remains the same retribution, or execution of Priya. What is achieved and heard today from mediation and attempts for peace is nothing new or surprising. Throughout our years, there have been hidden pursuits and efforts to mediate. This is normal and expected...But the pressure has not changed anything in us. Our demand is retribution, nothing else, Mahdi said, as verified by HT Media. He stated that although the execution's postponement was "unexpected," it is important for those who tried to intervene to understand that Mahdis family remains firmly opposed to any attempts at reconciliation. Delay wont flex, pressure wont move us and blood cannot be bought. And the truth is not forgotten. Retribution will come no matter how long the road takes. It is just a matter of time and with Gods help (it will happen), he added. In 2020, a Yemeni court handed Priya the death sentence and the country's Supreme Judicial Council dismissed her appeal in November 2023. The 38-year-old nurse is presently lodged in a jail in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital city that is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis. Odisha bandh today: Opposition parties in Odisha are observing a state-wide bandh on Thursday, July 17, to protest the death of a 20-year-old female student, who died after self-immolation over alleged inaction after alleged sexual harassment by a professor. Eight opposition parties in Odisha, including the Congress, called the Odisha Bandh, demanding justice for the student. Odisha bandh today: Areas impacted The areas impacted by the bandh today include Jaleswar, Basta, Soro, Baliapal and Bhograi. The bandh was also in place on Wednesday in some places, including Balasore, amid Biju Janata Dal (BJD) workers' protest, but it was shorter in duration. BJD chief and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik strongly criticised the state government and the police over the alleged use of force against BJD workers who were protesting in connection with the case. Odisha bandh today: What are the demands? The opposition parties are demanding the resignation of the State Higher Education Minister and a judicial investigation into the matter. They also demanded a proper investigation into the case and called for stronger measures to ensure the safety and justice for women in the state. Odisha bandh today: What is closed? Markets, commercial establishments, schools, and colleges in Odisha will remain shut. Also Read | Odisha: College principal held after student sets herself on fire in Balasore Traffic was also reportedly disrupted in many areas, including Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj. The bandh also caused long traffic jams on the Chennai-Kolkata Highway, leaving trucks and other vehicles stranded. Bus services were also impacted in different parts of the state. A passenger said they were not able to book cabs or autos and are facing transportation challenges. I support the Odisha bandh because if the administration does not work, protest is the only option. Odisha bandh today: What is open? Essential healthcare services like pharmacies and ambulance services will continue to operate as usual. There is no official announcement that government offices and banks will be closed; however, a reduced staff hindering operations is likely. Trains will also continue to ply but may face delays due to the bandh, as demonstrations and strikes are expected throughout the day. Odisha bandh today: Why did the student self-immolate? The woman, a second-year integrated BEd student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, Balasore, had set herself on fire on the afternoon of July 12 after allegedly being denied justice in the sexual harassment case lodged by her against the HoD of the education department, Samira Kumar Sahoo. She died on Monday night after battling for life with 95 per cent burns for almost 60 hours at AIIMS-Bhubaneswar. The police have arrested two persons, the accused teacher Samira Kumar Sahoo and the principal of the college Dilip Ghose, on charge of abetment and sexual harassment. Also Read | BJD protest post Odisha student self-immolates over sexual harassment by teacher Unfortunate and unbearable cyberbullying of family On Wednesday, the elder brother of the deceased woman lodged a police complaint seeking protection from cyber harassment for the family. He has named at least four persons. While demanding action against the four persons named in the complaint, the brother also threatened that the entire family may go for mass suicide if denied justice. He mentioned in the complaint that "unfortunate and unbearable" derogatory remarks were made about his family on social media platforms. He alleged that certain individuals were attempting to exploit the tragedy for political gains and named four people in connection with the defamatory content. He said, "When the family is undergoing severe mental trauma after losing a daughter, some people on social media are making derogatory remarks and posting filthy posts and comments. We have to bear unnecessary trolling and abuse online." The brother also said there have been attempts at character assassination of his deceased sister on the social media platform. Hours after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed a charge sheet against Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, he broke his silence and said is looking forward to the opportunity to defend himself and clear his name in Court, reported ANI. "Robert Vadra is aware of reports suggesting that the Directorate of Enforcement has filed a Prosecution Complaint naming him as an Accused before the Rouse Avenue Courts, Delhi. As the Court is yet to even take cognizance of the matter, Mr. Vadra has not had the opportunity to examine the Prosecution Complaint," ANI quoted the office of businessman Robert Vadra as saying. Also Read | Ashok Khemka, IAS officer transferred 57 times retires today "As a law-abiding Indian citizen, Mr. Vadra has always and will continue to extend his fullest cooperation to the authorities and he is confident that at the end of it all, the truth will prevail and he will be cleared of any wrongdoing. The present proceedings are nothing more than an extension of the political witch hunt by the present government against Mr. Vadra. Mr. Vadra is looking forward to the opportunity to defend himself and clear his name in Court," his office said. Earlier on Thursday, the ED filed a charge sheet against Robert Vadra in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur. According to the details, this is the first time that any probe agency has filed a prosecution complaint against 56-year-old Vadra in a criminal case. The charge sheet for the controversial land deal case in Haryana's Manesar-Shikohpur (now sector 83) in Gurugram, also includes the names of several other individuals and firms. The charge sheet has been filed against Vadra and some others before a local court here under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), news agency PTI said, quoting sources. The central agency has also attached 43 properties worth 37.6 Crore belonging to Robert Vadra and his company Skylight Hospitality Pvt Ltd. The ED on 8 April had summoned Vadra first time, but he sought another date, expressing his inability to join the investigation at that time. Vadra appeared before the agency on 15 April. What is the Shikohpur case? The money-laundering case concerns a land deal in Shikohpur of Gurugram, carried out in February 2008 by Skylight Hospitality, a company Robert Vadra was previously a director of. The company is accused of purchasing 3.5 acres of land in Shikohpur from Onkareshwar Properties for 7.5 crore. A Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda was in power at that time. Four years later, in September 2012, the company sold the land to DLF, a realty major, for 58 crore. The land deal became controversial in October 2012 after IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then posted as the director general of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the mutation, categorising the transaction as violative of the State Consolidation Act and some related procedures. Skylight Hospitality and DLF reached an agreement in 2008 to sell the three-acre plot to DLF for 58 crore. The sale deed was registered in favour of DLF. The United States on Thursday (July 17) designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT), citing its role in the April 22 Pahalgam massacre in Kashmir that killed 26 civilians. Announcing the designation, Secretary of State Marco Rubio described TRF as a front and proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), which is already listed as a terrorist group by both the United Nations and the United States. These actions demonstrate the Trump administrations commitment to protecting our national security interests, countering terrorism, and enforcing President Trumps call for justice for the Pahalgam attack, Rubio said in a statement. Pahalgam massacre triggers global outrage The Pahalgam terror attack shocked the region. Survivors told media that armed militants targeted Hindu civilians, reportedly separating women and children before ordering male victims to recite the Muslim declaration of faith. Most of the 26 victims were Hindus. TRF claimed responsibility for the massacre shortly after, though little was previously known about the group, a smokescreen created by LeT to operate under a different name and mask its Pakistan-based support. India strikes back, Pakistan denies role In response to the Pahalgam killings, India launched Operation Sindoor, targeted strikes on terror networks across the Line of Control and into Pakistani territory. While Islamabad condemned the violence, it denied any connection to the attack or to TRFs operations. The US designation puts additional pressure on Pakistan to crack down on terror proxies operating from its soil. It also enables US authorities to block TRFs assets and prohibit material support to the group. Major U.S. solar companies First Solar, Qcells, Talon PV, and Mission Solar formally asked the U.S. Commerce Department to impose heavy fees on solar panel imports from Indonesia, India, and Laos. Their July 11 petition claims manufacturers in these countries sell panels below fair value, a practice called dumping, while receiving illegal government subsidies. The group, called the Alliance for American Solar Manufacturing and Trade, previously won similar tariffs against Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Thailand earlier this year. Production shift prompts new complaint The alliance argues manufacturers simply relocated from tariff-hit Southeast Asian nations to Indonesia and Laos to continue flooding the U.S. market with artificially cheap panels. Indian producers face fresh accusations of using government aid to undercut American prices by 40-60%. "These countries became the next dumping grounds after our last victory," said alliance lawyer Tim Brightbill. Commerce Department data shows imports from the three targeted nations surged 78% in Q1 2024 as other Asian supplies dropped. Survival at stake, manufacturers warn Domestic producers warn new tariffs are essential to protect $20+ billion in recent U.S. factory investments. First Solar is expanding Ohio production while Qcells builds a $2.5 billion Georgia supply chain, projects creating 8,000 jobs. Without tariffs, they argue Chinese-backed companies will crush American solar manufacturing before it scales up. The petition specifically names eight foreign producers, including Laos SunKing and Indias Waaree Energies. Global backlash and next steps Asian governments and climate advocates oppose the tariffs, warning they could raise U.S. solar prices by 30% and slow clean energy adoption. New Delhi, Jul 17 (PTI) The European Union-India relationship is on an "ascending trend" and the two sides represent for each other a "safe investment" at a time when trade, technology, migration and information are being "weaponised", EU Ambassador to India, Herve Delphin said on Thursday. At an interactive session here, he also described the "historic visit" of President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and the EU College of Commissioners to India in February as "a vote of confidence and trust in this relationship with India". "EU, India relationship is clearly on an ascending trend," he said, adding the 27-nation bloc is a "unique construct", even for Europeans, to navigate that reality, which is "sui generis" (of its own kind). People understand that the EU stands as a "collective force" in today's world, the envoy said at the event organised by strategic affairs think-tank Ananta Centre. Delphin mentioned that it was "interesting to see how global powers such as Russia, China and the US put a focus on the EU, and not necessarily in positive terms". "But, it probably means that we matter. So, they may deride us, may challenge us, may undermine us, but it means that we matter, otherwise they will not take the pain and time in focusing on us... We are a collective force with Member States altogether," he asserted. On EU-India ties, Delphin said, they both stand as "cooperative partners" committed to rule-based approaches and a rule-based order. Both are committed to finding solutions to global challenges and global commons, from AI to biodiversity, he added. This partnership, which has "grown organically, having over 50 areas of dialogue and cooperation", has generated benefits, the envoy said. "When you see how investment, trade, technology, migration, energy, and information are being weaponised, we represent for each other a safe investment. I think this has grown in the minds, this intersection of our economic, political and security interests has simply grown." Delphin said it was about how the EU-India partnership can "deliver mutual benefits, not just for two of us, in a win-win (way), but also what it can bring for the world, especially in times of this turbulence". He also underlined that in this context of geopolitical and geo-economic dynamics, "for us, the environment has never been so conducive" for a " strong strategic partnership". "As a partner of choice and as a partner for necessity. We both stand to benefit from that relationship. There is indeed an untapped potential and maybe this is a time to deliver." Referring to the ASEAN Regional Forum held last week, he said it was to boost trade and connectivity, and how to "accelerate digital transition and green transition". "It was pretty obvious there that countries with which we have just signed an FTA, we are negotiating an FTA and close to finalising an FTA. And, (there are) those who want to open and resume an FTA... We just concluded it with Singapore and Vietnam... We have a political agreement for a comprehensive economic partnership with Indonesia," he said. "I would say in the stock market of strategic value, the EU is up. Definitely it's up, that way puts more pressure on us. I think we should seize the moment," the envoy said. He also referred to Brexit, saying, "We had to digest or manage a divorce with the UK. It was clearly a negative-sum game. No one in Europe... was for the UK to be out of the EU. Now, you see the mood in the UK, the timing was sort of, in retrospect, probably not good, neither for the UK nor the EU." "And, of course, Trump 1, followed by Trump 2, that certainly brings a host of challenges in the relationship. But, somehow, we managed to navigate that... all the series of crises," he added. Delphin remarked that the EU often tends to be "written off", but he asserted that it was a collective force. "So, what you see unfolding is what I call the 'rearmament' of the EU. The military rearmament... societal rearmament, defending our democracy, increasing the resilience of our societies, and of course, the economic rearmament. We made our own journey through that, realising we need to increase our resilience and strategic autonomy." "We are readying ourselves to the new normal... that we have changed fundamentally our DNA... we remain an open society, a democratic society. But the difference is that we don't want our openness to be turned into a vulnerability, and turned against us. We don't want this interdependence being weaponised against us," the envoy underlined. On the visit of the President of the European Commission to India, he said it was a "strong political message", and the sense that "we need to invest more". During the key meetings, "lingering doubt was shattered" and the trust element was built there, and it was reinforced that "we are ready to trust each other", the evoy said. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday, 17 July, that it would inform everyone at an appropriate time about the possibility of Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting China next month. The SCO meeting is some months away. The participation by countries is finalised as per the mutual convenience. We will let everyone know in an appropriate time, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, responding to a media query about the possibility of PM Modis visit to China for the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit scheduled next month. Also Read | PM Modi likely to visit China next month: Report MEA reaction came amid reports suggesting that PM Modi will likely visit China for the SCO summit. If confirmed, this will be PM Modi's first visit to China after the two neighbouring countries' ties came under severe strain following the 2020 military standoff in Galwan along the Line of Actual Control(LAC) in eastern Ladakh. A possible meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping is especially anticipated during the summit, the reports suggested. The two leaders met last during the BRICS summit in Russia in October 2024. SCO Summit on August 31-September 1 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Tuesday that leaders from more than 20 countries and heads of 10 international organisations will attend the Tianjin Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and related events next month. The SCO Tianjin Summit will be held from 31 August- 1 September, Wang said during a joint press meeting with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev, state-run Xinhua news agency reported. The SCO meeting is some months away. The participation by countries are finalised as per the mutual convenience. Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has strongly objected to inaccurate auto-translations of Kannada content on Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta platforms, warning that such mistranslations can distort facts and mislead users, particularly when it comes to official communications. Taking to social media platform X, the Chief Minister wrote, Faulty auto-translation of Kannada content on @Meta platforms is distorting facts & misleading users. This is especially dangerous when it comes to official communications. Highlighting the seriousness of the issue, Siddaramaiah further cautioned, Social media platforms must act responsibly. I caution citizens to be aware that translations shown are often inaccurate. Such negligence by tech giants can harm public understanding & trust. Following the public statement, the CM's Media Advisor, K V Prabhakar, formally wrote to Meta urging immediate corrective measures. In the letter addressed to the Meta India team, Prabhakar stated, We have noted with concern that the auto-translation from Kannada to English is frequently inaccurate and, in some cases, grossly misleading. This poses a significant risk, especially when public communications, official statements, or important messages from the Chief Minister and the Government are incorrectly translated. He added that these flaws can lead to misinterpretation among users, many of whom may not realise that what they are reading is an automated and faulty translation rather than the original message. The letter urged Meta to take two key steps: 1. Temporarily suspend the auto-translation feature for Kannada content until accuracy improves. 2. Collaborate with qualified Kannada language experts and linguistic professionals to enhance contextual accuracy. We request that this issue be treated with due seriousness and addressed with priority, the letter read. An Instagram page is under fire for allegedly sharing videos of couples in intimate moments, without their knowledge or consent. The footage, reportedly filmed at public spots around Mumbais Mahim area, including beaches, has drawn widespread criticism online for violating privacy and promoting voyeuristic content. The issue came to light after a Reddit user flagged the account, accusing it of creepily recording couples and uploading their videos. The post quickly gained traction, prompting a wave of anger and concern across platforms. Also Read | IndiGo's Imphal bound flight returns to Delhi after detecting technical problem According to Reddit users, the Instagram page currently hosts at least four such videos and has already garnered over 2,000 followers. The clips, often disguised as social commentary, appear to have been filmed without the subjects awareness, raising serious questions about consent, digital ethics, and privacy in public spaces. Online backlash Social media users have condemned the accounts actions, with many calling it a blatant invasion of privacy. This is not content, its harassment, one user wrote. Another added, Whatever you may think of PDA, but using a hidden cam to record couples and upload these videos on Instagram to monetize or fetishize the videos is another level of creepy. New day, new low," the third user commented on Reddit. The person recording all of this, got no life of his own, I suppose, the fourth user wrote. I recently saw how some accounts in Japan are recording girls in public, and all those accounts had indian origins. We really out there making a name for ourselves, the fifth user shared. Also Read | Man goes missing after causing car crash that turns his girlfriend paraplegic India said on Thursday, July 17, that it was extending all possible assistance to Indian nurse Nimisha Priya's family to resolve the issue. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in its weekly briefing, said India is also in touch with all the friendly governments who could extend help in Nimisha Priya case. Nimisha Priya is a 37-year-old Indian nurse from Kerala who is convicted of killing her business partner and a Yemeni local in 2017. She was sentenced to death by the Yemeni authorities. Nimisha Priya's execution was scheduled for July 16 but it was postponed following extensive efforts by multiple corners. India said, This is a very sensitive matter. The government of India has been offering all possible assistance. This included concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for the family of Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Also Read | Nimisha Priya Case: Why the Kerala nurse faces execution in Yemen A complete timeline of what happened We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family... We are also in touch with local authorities and her family to resolve this issue. This included concerted efforts in the last few days to seek more time for her family to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party," the MEA spokesperson said. He said, "We will continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance in the case. We are also in touch with some friendly governments in this regard. After Nimisha Priya's execution was deferred, her husband expressed relief and satisfaction over the postponement of her execution and hoped that the united efforts will continue to avert her execution altogether. "The execution has been postponed. That is good news. We are happy and relieved. I am sure efforts will continue to avert her execution and bring her back safely," her husband, Tomy Thomas, told PTI. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the postponement of Nimisha Priya's death sentence was made possible through the initiative and intervention of eminent Sunni Muslim scholar Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musliyar. " " Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. BAUER Alexandre / Shutterstock With royal roots and lap dog appeal, these affectionate dogs are popular among those seeking a cuddly companion. Theyre prone to health conditions like heart issues, which adds to the cost of care. Their average life expectancy is 9 to 14 years. We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a HowStuffWorks editor. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh confirmed on Thursday, July 17, that the property in Mymensingh that is being demolished has no links to noted filmmaker Satyajit Ray or his grandfather, eminent litterateur Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury. Amid controversy over reports that Bangladeshi authorities were set to demolish a landmark building in Mymensingh with India even offering to help restore it the Bangladesh government has cited archival records to clarify that the property in fact belonged to a local zamindar, Shashikant Acharya Chowdhury. In a statement, Bangladesh's foreign ministry said, Detailed inquiry into the archival records re-confirmed that the house in question never had any relation with the ancestors of the esteemed laureate Satyajit Ray. It was built by a local Zamindar Shashikant Acharya Chowdhury, next to his bungalow house Shashi Lodge, for his employees. Upon the abolition of the zamindari system, it came under the control of the government. The government later allocated it to the Bangladesh 'Shishu Academy. Ever since, the house has been used as the office of the District Shishu Academy. And, the land itself was a non-agricultural government (Khas) land and leased to Shishu Academy on a long-term basis. Bangladesh's foreign ministry said that after reviewing the land records, it is now confirmed that the land belongs to the government and has no association with the Ray family. Local senior citizens and respected individuals from various communities also attested that there is no known historical connection between the Ray family and the house and land currently leased to the Shishu Academy. The house is not listed as an archaeological monument, either, the Bangladesh ministry said. It also added that the road, Harikishore Ray Road in front of the house is named after Satyajit Ray's great-grandfather Harikishore Ray, the adoptive parent of Satyajit Ray's grandfather Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury. The Ray family had a house on Harikishore Ray Road, which they had sold long ago and thus no longer exists. A multi-storied building was constructed there by the new owner, it said. Harry Potter actress Emma Watson has been banned from driving for six months, after she was caught speeding. Why has Emma Watson been banned from driving? Emma Watson, 35, best known for her role as Hermione Granger in the popular Harry Potter film series, was banned for driving at 38 miles (61 km) an hour in a 30-mile zone in southeastern Banbury last July. Watson, who is still student, already had nine penalty points on her licence prior to the speeding offence. Now, she has been ordered to pay a total of 1,044 by High Wycombe Magistrates' Court on Wednesday. Watson's lawyer, Mark Haslam, told the court that she is a student, adding that "she is in a position to pay the fine." The actress has been studying a master's degree in creative writing at the University of Oxford since 2023. Watson appeared in all eight Harry Potter films, with the last being released in 2011. Following the franchise, she took on roles in films like Beauty and the Beast, The Bling Ring, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Also Read | J K Rowling confirms close partnership with writers for new Harry Potter series Her most recent acting role was in Greta Gerwigs 2019 adaptation of Little Women. In 2023, she ventured into entrepreneurship by launching a sustainable gin brand alongside her brother. Another Harry Potter actor banned from driving for 6 months In a separate incident, another star of the the "Harry Potter" franchise was also caught over speeding and has been banned from driving for six months for her offence. Zoe Wanamaker, 76, who played Quidditch teacher Madame Hooch in "Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone", had been caught driving at 46 miles an hour in a 40-mile zone of the M4 motorway in southeastern Berkshire last August. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced Thursday that Juul can keep selling its tobacco- and menthol-flavored e-cigarettes. Regulators reviewed studies showing these products help adult smokers switch from traditional cigarettes, which contain more harmful chemicals. The decision covers Juuls reusable device and nicotine pods in 3% and 5% strengths but doesnt include fruit or candy flavors, which Juul stopped selling in 2019. FDA stressed this isnt full approval and repeated its warning: nonsmokers and teens should never vape. Companys rocky path to authorization Juul faced near collapse after the FDA banned its products in 2022, claiming missing safety data. The company fought back in court, leading the FDA to pause the ban and reopen its review. Once valued at $13 billion, Juul lost its top market spot after paying $2.8 billion to settle lawsuits over its role in the teen vaping crisis. CEO K.C. Crosthwaite called the FDAs reversal a "significant milestone," noting Juul now joins only one other U.S. company authorized to sell menthol vapes. Health groups blast decision over teen risks Anti-tobacco advocates reacted angrily, arguing Juuls sleek, easy-to-hide devices caused youth vaping to surge from 11.7% in 2017 to 27.5% in 2019. Yolonda Richardson of Tobacco-Free Kids warned: Authorizing the product that sparked this crisis is a big step backward. Recent data shows 12.6% of teen vapers still use Juul, making it a top brand despite FDA claims of declining youth use. Critics specifically questioned allowing menthol flavors, which studies show appeal to teens. Whats next for Juul and vaping rules Juul plans to seek FDA authorization for newer devices and possibly additional flavors. The decision signals a potential policy shift, as regulators face pressure to clear backlogged vaping applications and curb illegal imports like flavored Elf Bar devices from China. One of the three Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities targeted by US airstrikes last month the Fordo site was "mostly destroyed," significantly delaying Irans enrichment capabilities at that facility by up to two years, according to a recent US intelligence assessment, NBC News reported. The report, based on interviews with five current and former US officials familiar with the matter, also noted that two other sites Natanz and Isfahan suffered less damage and could be operational again within several months if Iran chooses to resume activity. Irans key enrichment facilities have been completely and totally obliterated, President Donald Trump said in a post-strike comments, calling the operation a military success. Other sites may be back online soon While Fordo was heavily hit, the same assessment reveals that the Natanz and Isfahan facilities were only partially degraded. US officials said these two sites could resume uranium enrichment operations within months. Broader attack plan rejected by Trump The news outlet citing one current and two former US officials also stated it has learned that US Central Command had crafted a far more extensive strike plan against Iran, which included targeting three additional sites over a multi-week campaign, rather than the single-night operation that was ultimately carried out. We were willing to go all the way in our options, but the president did not want to, one source familiar with internal planning told NBC News. The news outlet citing one of the current officials and one of the former officials said, Trump opted for a more limited strike due to concerns over potential casualties and a desire to avoid deeper US entanglement in foreign conflicts. The spotlight has returned to the limits of free speech for content creators in India, as the Supreme Court recently asked the government to frame a set of guidelines to curb obscenity and vulgarity in online content without curtailing freedom of expression. Multiple benches of the court, while hearing different cases on 15 July involving comedians and influencers, stressed the need for clear guidelines to curb objectionable content while protecting Constitutional rights. The apex court's directive has left content creators divided. While some welcome the move, hoping it will define clear boundaries for permissible online behaviour and reduce legal uncertainties and arbitrary measures, others fear it could threaten their creative freedom and lead to self-censorship. I'm open to guidelines that promote responsible content creation without stifling creative expression. As a roast comedy content creator, I already self-censor to avoid offence, but clarity on what's acceptable would help," said Shivamsingh Rajput, a Surat-based YouTuber who has close to 10.5 million subscribers across his five YouTube channels. A content classification system would be great. It would let audiences choose what they watch and take the pressure off creators. Dark humour has its audience worldwide and I believe India could benefit from a more open approach. This would allow our content economy to grow and evolve," Rajput added. Rohan Cariappa, a Bangalore-based creator who creates short comedy skits on Instagram and content about India's growing hip-hop and rap culture on YouTube, expresses skepticism on executing such guidelines. He has close to 500,000 followers across platforms. The idea of having a set of guidelines for creators doesn't sound bad to me, but the real problem lies in the execution. With the kind of population and the number of creators we have in this country, it is really difficult to fast-track anything," Cariappa highlighted, adding that as per the latest data, India is home to over 8 million active content creators. I also fear that such rules can be misused to arm-twist creators with different ideologies and affinities, be they religious, political, or any other kind. I have personally faced this when a comedy video of mine attracted a legal notice last year after a few complaints and my phone was confiscated only for the case to be quashed by the court later. People have also tended to try to pull down creators who have grown very fast. So, as much as the proposal sounds good, I am unsure whether it is feasible given the size of our community and country," Cariappa further added. The influencer marketing industry in India is expected to grow to 3,375 crore in 2026 from 2,344 crore last year, as per EY data reported by Mint earlier. The fresh debate on the creation of such guidelines for creators began with Indias Got Latent controversy, where Cure SMA India Foundation accused five stand-up comedians, including Samay Raina, of making insensitive remarks about persons with disabilities. While hearing a plea, Justice Surya Kant verbally asked Attorney General R. Venkataramani to draft guidelines in consultation with stakeholders to ensure they align with Constitutional principles. What we would like is guidelines in conformity with Constitutional principles, balancing freedom and the limits of that freedom where rights and duties start. We want it to be comprehensive and debated openly," remarked Justice Kant. Justice Kant clarified that Article 21 (right to live with human dignity) of Indian Constitution overrides Article 19 (freedom of speech), especially in cases involving insensitive comments against vulnerable groups. On the same day, another bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and K.V. Vishwanathan discussed ways to curb divisive tendencies" on social media while hearing West Bengal-based Wazahat Khans plea to club FIRs against him for posts on Hindu deities. The bench called for detailed deliberations to frame guidelines that balance objectionable content with Constitutional rights. Meanwhile, a third bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Aravind Kumar expressed concern over the tendency of citizens to post anything and everything" online while hearing cartoonist Hemant Malviyas plea for protection against a case filed for posting a revolting" cartoon on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. What is happening today is people say and write all kinds of things without caring about the language they use online and on their shows," Justice Dhulia remarked. Mint spoke to lawyers practising technology law in Indias top courts. They noted that the court's discussions and the governments plan to bring new rules align with existing laws like the Information Technology Act, 2000. However, they cautioned that new rules should not create vague or subjective definitions for terms like vulgarity and obscenity, as this could lead to misuse. The Intermediary Guidelines to follow already define such content under existing law to allow takedown. New rules shouldn't create separate or vague standards that risk curbing legitimate online expression," said Sidhant Kumar Marwah, Partner at Unum Law. The guidelines mentioned by Marwah refer to The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 that are a set of rules that require digital intermediaries such as YouTube, X, Instagram and Facebook to respond to user grievances expeditiously and remove harmful content. Nakul Gandhi, founding partner of NG Law Chambers, who advises many influencers such as Dhruv Rathee, Mohak Mangal, Raj Shamani and Revant Himatsingka on legal matters, said the framework must begin by recognizing that freedom of expression is deeply subjective. Whats vulgar to one may be satire to another. The danger lies in converting personal offence into legal prohibition. Instead of rigid definitions, the law should focus on principled thresholds, such as: Does the content incite violence? Does it exploit or endanger a specific group? These are measurable parameters. But matters of taste, tone, or personal offence should remain outside the scope of legal sanction." Lawyers also stressed the need for safeguards under new rules to prevent arbitrary takedowns by platforms. According to Ankit Sahni, partner at Ajay Sahni & Associates, any government takedown request must have a written order with legal grounds and give creators a chance to respond. Transparency reports, time-bound reviews, and oversight by an independent grievance body can build trust." Marwah from Unum Law suggested setting up an independent regulatory body manned by experts, similar to the UKs Online Safety Act, to issue takedown orders based on clear, well-defined standards. However, legal experts warned of what overregulation can do. Vague or broad rules may stifle creativity, comedy, and critical commentary. Guidelines must be clear, transparent, and proportionate to protect free expression," noted Anupam Shukla, technology law and privacy practice head at Pioneer Legal. Gandhi from NG Law Chambers further cautions that the direction seems more cautionary than empowering for creators. Seen in that light, moves towards broad guidelines, without any defined limits, risk becoming tools against creators, especially the independent ones who dont have the backing of big platforms or studios." Deadly sectarian clashes in Syria eased Thursday, after a ceasefire was announced between groups fighting in the Druze-majority southern province and Israel signaled air strikes over recent days were suspended. Syrias President Ahmed al-Sharaa, in his first public comments since violence broke out over the weekend, said he had reached an agreement with Druze factions to withdraw from Suwayda and hand over security responsibilities to the local group. The move followed days of intensifying airstrikes by Israel, which the military said were aimed at protecting the Druze minority. On Wednesday, Israel struck Syrias military headquarters in Damascus, near the presidential palace, and moved more troops north, citing security threats from the increase of Syrian military forces near the border. As a result of that powerful action, a ceasefire came into force, and the Syrian forces retreated back to Damascus, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. Going forward, we will not allow Syrian army forces to enter the region south of Damascus. The foreign ministers of 11 countries in the region welcomed the ceasefire agreement in a joint statement. Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Egypt, Kuwait, Iraq, Bahrain, Oman, Jordan and Lebanon also condemned Israels recurrent assaults on Syria, saying the countrys security and stability reflect on the region. The fighting is some of the worst since Islamist groups led by Sharaa overthrew Bashar Al-Assads regime late last year and threatens to unravel efforts to stabilize Syria in the post-civil war era. Since assuming the leadership of the country, Sharaa has sought to assert control over the territory and its institutions, including the military. Handing over security in Suwayda to the local Druze authorities highlights the challenges involved with Syrias political transition. We were facing two options: an open war with the Israeli entity at the expense of the Druze and destabilizing Syria and the entire region or make room for Druze locals to return to wisdom and prioritize national interest, Sharaa said. Sharaa accused Israel of trying to drag the country into chaos after it launched airstrikes in Syria. In turn, Israel says the Syrian government had directed fighting against the Druze, a community the Jewish state has pledged to protect. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 360 people have been killed in Suwayda since clashes started, with 27 being executed. The deaths include 207 members of the Syrian security forces, the SOHR said. Violent fighting erupted between Sunni Muslim Bedouin groups and Druze residents in the southern area of Suwayda over the weekend. Sharaa said government forces intervened to stop clashes resulting from long-standing sectarian disputes in Syria. The Druze are Arabs whose faith is an offshoot of Islam. There are 1 million of them, living mostly in Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Israeli Druze men do military service and, with their Arabic and loyalty to the Israeli state, often rise high in the ranks. There are around 20,000 Druze in the Golan Heights, which Israel conquered from Syria in 1967 and annexed in 1981. Most of those Druze identify more with Syria than Israel, although there have been signs of that changing among the younger generations. In his speech, Sharaa praised mediation efforts by the US, Turkey and Arab countries that he said spared the region from an uncertain fate after Israels strikes on civilian and government facilities. With assistance from Alisa Odenheimer and Sherif Tarek. 2025 Bloomberg L.P. Israel's ultra-Orthodox party Shas a key governing partner of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became the second party to quit the government this week. Unlike the United Torah Judaism (UTJ), the Shas party said on Wednesday it would remain within Netanyahu-led coalition for now, giving the government more time to resolve a thorny dispute over military conscription. Ultra-Orthodox group United Torah Judaism (UTJ) had abandoned the coalition on Tuesday. Six of the remaining seven members of UTJ, which is comprised of the Degel HaTorah and Agudat Yisrael factions, wrote letters of resignation, Aljazeera reported. Also Read | Netanyahu government in Israel loses majority as key coalition partner quits But rather than follow suit, Shas said on Wednesday it would remove its ministers from government ranks while continuing to support the coalition in parliament. The latest development has left PM Netanyahu's government with a minority in parliament. How numbers stack up for Israeli PM in Parliament? Shas said late Wednesday its 11 members will resign from the Netanyahu government, leaving the prime minister wielding just 50 seats in parliament, short of a minimum 61-seat majority in the 120-seat Knesset, or parliament. Will Netanyahu's govt be impacted? The Associated Press reported that leading a minority government would make governing a challenge for Netanyahu. However, Reuters said Shas' decision means Netanyahu does not face the threat of early elections, for now, nor does it undermine his efforts to secure a possible Gaza ceasefire. Bloomberg also reported that the decision wont trigger an immediate collapse of the government or an early election. With parliament preparing to go on recess at the end of the month, theres room for Netanyahu to negotiate a solution for the impasse. What's next for Netanyahu? Israel's parliament starts a three-month summer recess on July 27. This is expected to give Netanyahu time to try to resolve the problem of who should serve in the military a debate that has long caused huge tensions within Israel's deeply divided society. Shas left the door open for talks on the military status of ultra-Orthodox men so that it will be possible to maintain Shass partnership in government and in the ruling coalition, according to a statement following the decision. Also Read | Trump and Netanyahu to meet as new Middle East tests loom Moreover, according to Bloomberg, Netanyahus government, the most right-wing in the countrys history, is not required to call elections until the autumn of 2026. Furthermore, a bill to dissolve parliament would not be permitted until six months after a vote on a similar initiative failed last month unless under a specific exemption for a change of circumstance. Why did ultra-Orthodox parties quit? While the ultra-Orthodox parties have focused their anger on the conscription issue, far-right parties have been pressing Netanyahu not to make concessions in ceasefire talks with Hamas militants that are underway in Qatar. The Shas ultra-Orthodox party said it was leaving over disagreements surrounding a proposed law meant to grant wide military draft exemptions to its constituents. Ultra-Orthodox seminary students have long been exempt from mandatory military service. Many Israelis are angered by what they see as an unfair burden carried by the mainstream who serve. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders say full-time devotion to the study of holy scriptures is sacrosanct and fear their young men will steer away from religious life if they are drafted into the military. Last year the Supreme Court ordered an end to the exemption. Parliament has been trying to work out a new conscription bill, which has so far failed to meet UTJ demands. Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russias Security Council and former President, said on Thursday (July 17) that Russia has no intention of launching attacks on NATO or Western Europe. However, he warned that if the West escalates the war in Ukraine, Moscow may be forced to respond, potentially with preemptive military strikes. Let me remind you that our president has unequivocally stated that Russia has no intention of fighting NATO or attacking Europe, Medvedev said, according to Russian state news agency TASS. Threat of preemptive action Medvedev, a key ally of President Vladimir Putin, said Russia should be prepared to deliver preemptive strikes if the West continues what he described as provocations. We should respond in full or even deliver preemptive strikes if need be, Medvedev declared. The Wests treacherous nature and its warped sense of superiority are still evident. He accused Western governments of deliberately escalating the situation by supplying advanced weaponry, satellite intelligence, and imposing sanctions. Dismisses Western concerns as nonsense Reacting to speculation in the West about a possible Russian attack on Europe, Medvedev dismissed such warnings outright. The statements of Western politicians on this topic are complete nonsense, he said. Many in the West have treachery in their blood and an outdated view of their own superiority. He described the current conflict not just as a proxy war, but in essence a full-scale war. What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-scale warlaunches of Western missiles, satellite intelligence, sanctions packages, loud statements about the militarisation of Europe. Russia under threat? According to Medvedev, the Wests goal is the destruction of Russia as a sovereign power. Its another attempt to destroy the 'historical anomaly' hated by the West Russia, our country, he claimed. Kremlin distances itself slightly When asked about Medvedevs comments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to elaborate, noting that Medvedev was expressing his personal opinion, though acknowledging that he has vast experience. Peskov said Medvedev is right to draw attention to the confrontational environment in Europe. Trump pressures for peace The warnings come as US President Donald Trump, now running for re-election, reiterated his desire to end the Ukraine war within 50 days if elected. Trump also criticised Putins actions. Im very unhappy and disappointed with Putin, Trump said Monday, while also defending his decision to send limited arms to Ukraine as a pressure tactic. Also Read | India not worried about possible US sanctions on Russian oil imports: minister Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa stated on Thursday that safeguarding the Druze population and their rights is a top priority, following Israels pledge to target Syrian government forces accused of attacking Druze communities in southern Syria. Here are the top ten updates: 1. In his first televised address since Israels heavy airstrikes on Damascus the previous day, Sharaa assured the Druze community, saying, We reject any attempt to drag you into the hands of an external party. 2. "We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction," he said, as reported by Reuters. He added that the Syrian people are not afraid of war and are ready to fight if their dignity is threatened. 3. Sharaa further condemned Israels widespread attacks on both civilian and government sites, pledging to hold accountable those who abused the Druze people, as reported by AFP. He also noted that security in Druze areas would be entrusted to local elders and community factions. Sharaa is struggling to reunify Syria amid deep distrust from various groups concerned about the potential rise of Islamist governance. Tensions worsened in March following mass killings targeting the Alawite minority, further straining intercommunal relations, Reuters reported. 4. The United Nations Security Council will meet on Thursday to address the conflict, diplomats said. "The council must condemn the barbaric crimes committed against innocent civilians on Syrian soil," said Israel's ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, as reported by Reuters. Israel will continue to act resolutely against any terrorist threat on its borders, anywhere and at any time. 5. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said all the parties involved in the clashes have agreed to stop the violence soon. We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight, he said in a post on X, without providing details. Rubio earlier said the US was very concerned and we want it to stop, though stopped short of calling on Israel to halt its actions. 6. According to a report by Reuters, Sweida residents said they were holed up indoors. We are surrounded and we hear the fighters screaming ... we're so scared, a resident of Sweida said by phone. 7. Cracks of gunfire interspersed by booms could be heard in the background. We're trying to keep the children quiet so that no one can hear us, the man added, asking not to be identified for fear of reprisals. According to Syrias health ministry, dozens of bodies, both civilians and fighters, were found in a hospital in the city. 8. The Syrian Network for Human Rights reported that 169 people have died in the violence this week, while security sources estimated the death toll at 300. Reuters was unable to independently confirm these figures, Reuters reported. We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people. 9. Since the fall of Assads government, Syrias Druze population, estimated at around 700,000 has strengthened its ties with Israel, which is home to about 150,000 Druze. US President Donald Trump is expected to visit Pakistan in September, two local television news channels reported on Thursday, citing sources familiar with the matter. If confirmed, the visit would be the first by a US president since nearly two decades ago, when President George W. Bush visited Pakistan in 2006. Pakistan's foreign office spokesperson said he was not aware of Trump's expected visit. The two TV news channels said that Trump would also visit India after arriving in Islamabad in September. Yulia Svyrydenko, a 39-year-old economist and experienced technocrat, has been confirmed as Ukraines new prime minister in a major wartime cabinet reshuffle. Backed by President Zelensky, she brings years of public service from regional economic leadership to First Deputy PM and pledges decisive action to boost domestic defense production, audit public finances, and accelerate privatization. Her appointment signals a push to revitalize Ukraines military-industrial capacity and stabilize the economy amid ongoing war and a looming budget shortfall. As Russia escalates its offensive, she faces immediate pressure to meet Zelenskys target of producing 50% of Ukraines battlefield needs domestically. Svyrydenko has vowed swift fiscal reforms, deeper ties with allies, and expanded support for entrepreneurs. Overview Yulia Anatoliivna Svyrydenko, born 25 December 1985 in Chernihiv, Ukraine (then the Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union), is a seasoned technocrat and independent politician who became Ukraines 19th Prime Minister on July 17, 2025. Her appointment came amid a sweeping wartime cabinet reshuffle initiated by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to inject fresh energy into Ukraines military-industrial and economic efforts. Before her elevation to the top job, Svyrydenko served as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade from November 4, 2021, playing a central role in Ukraines wartime economic strategy. Education and early career Svyrydenko graduated in 2008 from the Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics with a degree in antimonopoly management. She began her professional career the same year as an economist at the Ukrainian-Andorran joint venture JSC "AMP". In 2011, she became Permanent Representative of Chernihiv in the city of Wuxi, Chinathe only official representative office of a Ukrainian city in China, showcasing her early involvement in international engagement. Rising through ranks Svyrydenkos ascent in public administration began in 2015 when she became head of the Department of Economic Development for the Chernihiv Oblast. Her reputation as a capable administrator led to her appointment as Acting Governor of Chernihiv Oblast from July 30 to November 28, 2018. Entry into national politics In May 2020, President Zelenskyy appointed her to represent Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Groups social and economic subgroup, engaged in negotiations related to the war in eastern Ukraine. On December 22, 2020, she was named Deputy Head of the Office of the President, replacing Yuliya Kovaliv. Less than a year later, on November 4, 2021, she was appointed by the Verkhovna Rada as First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economic Development and Trade, receiving support from 256 lawmakers. Prime Ministerial appointment On July 14, 2025, President Zelensky announced a long-anticipated government reshuffle and nominated Svyrydenko as Prime Minister. The Verkhovna Rada confirmed her on July 17, marking the first change in the prime minister's office in five years. As Prime Minister, she replaces Denys Shmyhal, who is expected to take over the role of Defence Minister. Leadership in wartime Backed by Zelensky, she is now tasked with executing a wartime governance agenda focused on defense production, fiscal reform, and economic modernization. Zelensky has made clear that her administrations immediate priority is ramping up domestic weapons production to meet at least 50% of the armys battlefield needs within six months up from the current 40%. Svyrydenko echoed that urgency, declaring, War leaves no room for delay, and pledged swift action on defense supply chains and military-industrial modernisation. Priorities Svyrydenko enters office at a critical juncture. Her key tasks include: Increasing domestic weapons production to meet at least 50% of frontline military needs. Addressing a looming $19 billion budget deficit as international aid declines. Challenges and criticism Her appointment comes as Russia intensifies its ground and aerial attacks along Ukraines 1,000-km frontline. Internally, Ukraine faces not only economic strain but also political scrutiny. Although Svyrydenko secured a strong 262 votes in the 450-member Rada, opposition lawmakers voiced concern that the reshuffled cabinet could be overly influenced by the presidents office. Also Read | India not worried about possible US sanctions on Russian oil imports: minister The goods and services tax (GST), which recently completed eight years in India, was originally envisioned as a good and simple tax." However, over time, it has become increasingly complex. While a national GST would have been an ideal value added tax (VAT) system, the imperatives of a federal structure led to a compromise, resulting in a dual GST system comprising Central GST (CGST), State GST (SGST) and Integrated GST (IGST). Under this system, the Centre and state governments have concurrent authority to tax the consumption of goods and services based on the principle of incidence at destination, in contrast with the previous indirect tax regime, which followed an origin-based taxation approach. Also Read: Ajit Ranade: A progressive GST is easier to promise than achieve While the uniformity of SGST laws across states has reduced compliance complexities compared to the VAT regime, challenges remain. Businesses with a pan-India presence still need multiple SGST registrations and must manage compliance separately for each state, including GST payments and return filings. This fragmented approach retains some of the administrative burdens of the VAT era despite the procedural standardization. Compliance burden: The Indian GST framework, often referred to as a one nation, one tax system, has unified tax rates across states and Union territories (UTs), eliminating other taxes on goods and services under its scope. While this standardization simplifies the tax structure, businesses that operate across multiple states or UTs, as mentioned above, are required to obtain separate GST Identification Numbers (GSTINs) for each state or UT and file individual GST returns by using separate usernames and passwords for each jurisdiction. This has led to complex compliance procedures and a notable increase in related costs, especially due to the extensive reconciliations needed on a monthly and annual basis. Also Read: How Indias GST revenues can sustain their incline On another front, the central government is working to address inter-governmental settlement issues related to IGST. Between April and July 2024, excess IGST allocations amounting to 10,659 crore were made to certain states. To resolve this, an internal committee has been set up that is chaired by the additional secretary of revenue at the Centre and comprises officials from both state and central governments. This panel aims to review the IGST mechanism and develop strategies for recovering these excess transfers. These developments highlight the operational complexities and financial implications associated with the implementation of GST, despite its overarching goal of creating a unified tax system. E-invoicing: The GST compliance process is largely digitized, with e-invoicing now mandatory for all business-to-business (B2B) transactions for taxpayers with an annual turnover exceeding 5 crore. There are plans to extend this requirement to all taxpayers and eventually to business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. Once fully implemented, e-way bills should be eliminated. This move would significantly reduce the compliance burden for taxpayers and streamline operations, leading to faster turnaround times for transport vehicles and improved efficiency in the supply chain. Also Read: Mint Quick Edit | Indias GST peak is reassuring PAN 2.0: The Union government recently unveiled plans to introduce PAN 2.0, an upgraded version of the longstanding Permanent Account Number system used by the Income Tax department as a unique taxpayer identifier. PAN 2.0 aims to modernize and streamline operations for businesses and citizens alike. The revamped system will leverage advanced technology to enhance efficiency, integrate PAN as a single identifier for specified business activities and introduce a unified portal for all PAN-related services. This presents an ideal opportunity to design a single GSTIN for taxpayers operating across India. Under this system, tax allocation can occur seamlessly at the back-end, using place-of-supply rules and data captured through e-invoicing. Such a framework would eliminate the need for an integrated GST administration across levels of governments under the GST Council. Since transaction-wise granular data would be available, GST revenues can be allocated equally between the Centre and statesand, on a destination-based principle, between states. Also Read: Simplify Indias GST regime: The case for it is clear and its time to act In this context, lessons can be learnt from the experience of other federal countries such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where a single VAT registration number is used for operations across all its constituent emirates. In the UAE, a unified VAT applies to intra-emirate, inter-emirate and import transactions without the need for separate registration in each emirate. Indias next GST Council meeting should discuss this crucial aspect as well, since taking such simplification steps for GST compliance could significantly ease operational challenges for businesses and reduce administrative overheads, thus fostering economic growth by creating a more efficient and business-friendly tax regime. These are the authors personal views. The authors are associated with the Pune International Centre (PIC), a think tank. From connecting tea gardens in Darjeeling in 1968 and Indias first bi-cable gondola-style ride for tourists in Mussoorie in 1971, ropeways have evolved into a viable mode of public transport. Compared to traditional transit systems, they require minimal land acquisition and emit less carbon than electric buses. While their relatively low capacity, typically 2,500 to 4,500 passengers per hour (for mono-cable detachable gondolas) limits them from replacing metro systems, they excel in medium-density corridors and last-mile connectivity; they can thus be integrated with other public transit networks. According to Rajaji Meshram of the Infravision Foundation, in comparison the per-kilometre cost of metro construction ranges from 200 crore to 600 crore, making it one of the most expensive public transport investments. Ridership levels in metros often fall short of projected estimates across most cities. Nearly 70% of potential metro users cite inadequate links with stations as a deterrent. Also Read: Break the gridlock: Yes, there is a way out of the urban maze of jammed streets The Indian governments Parvatmala Pariyojna, billed as the worlds largest ropeway project, envisages spending 1.25 trillion in public-private partnership (PPP) mode over five years till 2030 to build 200 ropeway projects spanning over 1,200km in length. The aim is to provide cheaper connectivity in hilly tourist zones and decongest traffic. Early pilots such as the Varanasi Urban Ropeway and Shimla multi-line project have shown promise. The ground reality of multiple government agencies: Indias ropeway sector currently suffers from an unclear and fragmented institutional structure, with multiple government agencies like the departments of tourism, forest, public works and urban local bodies hindering urban adoption. The 1.8km Guwahati-Umananda ropeway, for example, took a long time to move from concept to execution, mired as it was in archaeological permissions and inter-departmental conflicts. But it has been running smoothly since 2020, says Guwahati entrepreneur Shyamkanu Mahanta. Also Read: Indias growth and urban planning: On different planets We have no national policy that explicitly promotes ropeways as a solution for urban congestion. While the Parvatmala Pariyojana has sparked interest, its focus is largely on tourism and hilly terrain, not urban areas. The absence of a clear roadmap is reflected in the projects design frameworks. While the government has proposed a model concession agreement based on the design-build-finance-operate-transfer (DBFOT) model, recent pilot projects, such as the Varanasi ropeway, are being developed under the hybrid annuity model (HAM). Unlike DBFOT, HAM offers a more balanced risk-sharing structure, with the government funding a portion of the capital cost and making annual payments. This approach is especially relevant for urban ropeways, which often serve financially sensitive corridors where farebox revenue alone may not guarantee viability. Designed primarily for public transit rather than tourism, HAM prioritizes affordability, multi-modal integration and last-mile connectivity over financial returns. It scores well on long-term sustainability. Overhead opportunity: India must adopt a National Ropeway Mobility Policy under the ministry of housing and urban affairs and integrate ropeways with flagship programmes like Amrut, Smart Cities and Gati Shakti. The policy should clarify institutional roles, enable single-window approvals and set clear safety and design standards. States must incorporate ropeways into urban mobility and development plans, with Unified Metropolitan Transport Authorities overseeing multimodal integration. A dedicated national safety authority is also critical to regulate operations. Also Read: Hold tight, a global metro railway boom has only just begun Financially, ropeways should be reclassified under the transport and logistics category in the Harmonised Master List of infrastructure to unlock priority lending and viability gap funding. A standard HAM model tailored for urban contexts, along with state-specific frameworks, can attract private investment. Additionally, ropeways should be given access to the Urban Challenge Fund, which supports pilot projects in cities with topographical or congestion challenges. Linking funding with outcomes like ridership and emissions reduction will ensure impact. Domestic ropeway manufacturing under Make in India can reduce imports and create jobs. With over half of India expected to live in cities by 2050, urban ropeways need the right policy support and a bold shift in mindset to fulfil their potential. The author is a senior journalist and head, advocacy, The Infravision Foundation. On Wednesday, 16 July, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee mobilised supporters in Kolkata to protest what she described as the harassment of Bengalis in BJP-ruled states. Over the past few months, an increasing number of reports have confirmed Bengali migrant workers have been put under the police radar, their Aadhar checked repeatedly, they asked to furnish documents proving they are legal citizens of India, You are all Bangladeshi. You are Muslim, speaking Bangla, means you are Bangladeshi Last week, Chief Minister of Assam and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)leader Himanta Biswa Sarma stated that people writing Bengali as their mother tongue in the census would help identify how many foreigners from Bangladesh live in Assam. He implied this was a way to quantify illegal immigrants and linked the use of Bengali language to this issue. The Politics of the Bangla Language " , ? , ?" (Artha ki, tumi bhabo artha ki? Artha ki, ami bhabi artha ki?) A quote from Sukumar RaysHaJaBaRaLa explores the ambiguity and subjectivity of meaning. It highlights the futility of language and how it encompasses human identity and existence. While in South Asia, the Bengali language once stood as the rallying cry of a freedom struggle waged between two nations to reclaim an identity and resist the imposition of an alien tongue, today Bengali speakers scattered across India find themselves gripped by a disquieting fear of being forcibly relegatedor pushedinto Bangladesh, their cultural homeland transformed into a spectre of exclusion. Indian authorities have initiated a sweeping crackdown across the nation to uproot Bangladeshi nationals residing illegally within its borders; yet, entwined in the fraught discourse of national identity lies a common threadthe Bengali language. Bangla the mother tongue of Indians residing in West Bengal, and migrant workers from the state. Bangla is also the national language of Bangladesh an island that was part of India before the Partition of 1947 that followed Indias independence from British rule. Crackdown on Bangladeshis or Bengali Speakers? Delhi Police have been conducting extensive inspections across bustis in the national capital, meticulously verifying residents Aadhaar and ration cards to determine whether individuals are Indian citizens or Bangladeshi nationals. When approached by a TV9 reporter, one visibly irate Bengali resident sharply retorted, Bangla bolta hain manei Bangladeshi (If I speak Bengali, does that make me a Bangladeshi?), poignantly capturing the anxiety gripping many Bengali speakers amidst this sweeping scrutiny. A report by Scroll recounts the ordeal of a Muslim migrant worker from Bengal, who after arriving in Odisha, was visited by local police three days later and demanded to furnish Aadhaar cards. Upon complying, he was sent to a camp alongside a dozen others, where he was told, You are all Bangladeshi. You are speaking Bengali means you are Bangladeshi, reflecting a charged conflation of language with nationality. Notably, this worker hails from Murshidabad district in Bengal and is Muslim, underscoring the intersectional challenges faced by such communities. On 9 July, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra drew attention to a similar plight via a video posted on the microblogging platform X (formerly Twitter), stating, 23 workers from Mirzapur village Panighata GP in my constituency are being illegally detained with 421 other Bengali workers at interrogation centre by Orient Police Station in Jharsuguda, Odisha despite full documentation, highlighting the indiscriminate nature of these detentions. Further compounding concerns, Scroll reported that a ragpicker and his wife from Bangali Basti in Delhis Rohini were pushed into Bangladesh despite presenting proof of their Indian citizenship, revealing the precarious position of Bengali-speaking residents. More recently, as per a report in The Hindu, Haryana police allegedly detained 26 Bengali-speaking individuals from Assam in Gurugram beginning Sunday morning on suspicion of being illegal Bangladeshi immigrants, a move confirmed by eyewitnesses and local residents. Earlier on May 2, TMC MP Yusuf Pathan penned a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, alleging that workers from his Baharampur constituency were subjected to targeted attacks involving robbery, looting, and intimidation aimed at forcing them to vacate their homes and workplaces. In the aftermath, approximately 20,000 workers purportedly fled Odisha. In a separate communication to the Odisha government, Bengals chief secretary Pant criticised the demands placed upon detained migrant workers to produce ancestral land records dating back generations, branding such requirements unreasonable and unjustifiable for itinerant labourers. (Bloomberg) -- UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz will sign a new Anglo-German treaty in London on Thursday that includes a commitment to assist each other in case of armed attack. Starmer and Merzs predecessor, Social Democrat Olaf Scholz, laid the groundwork for the pact at a meeting last August in Berlin, when the British premier called it part of a wider reset grounded in a new spirit of cooperation. Conservative leader Merz has made clear his regret over the UK quitting the European Union and has vowed to join forces with Starmer to confront challenges like Donald Trumps trade onslaught and the war on Ukraine. His trip to London comes a week after French President Emmanuel Macron made the first state visit by a European leader to the UK since Brexit, helping to reinforce warmer Anglo-French relations. Heres what to look out for from Thursdays meeting, when Starmer and Merz are due to sign the new treaty during a ceremony at Londons Victoria and Albert Museum: Mutual Defense The mutual defense pledge is a reaction both to an increasingly aggressive Russia and growing concern among European allies about US commitment to NATO under President Trump, according to a senior German official. At the same time, its not meant to be a substitute for the principle of collective defense at the heart of NATOs founding treaty, known as Article 5, added the official, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential deliberations. Nuclear Deterrence For Germany, the defense element is particularly significant because the UK is, together with France, one of Europes two nuclear powers. Germany doesnt possess its own nuclear warheads, but benefits from the protective umbrella the US has spread over the continent. Atomic weapons are not explicitly mentioned in the new treaty, according to the German official. Missile Project Starmer and Merz will also make a commitment to deliver a new long-range missile system the Deep Precision Strike capability in the next decade, according to a statement from Starmers office. It will have a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) and help boost the UK and European defense sectors via significant industrial investment. Brexit Fallout The treaty also contains measures relating to trade, transport and irregular migration, part of an effort to minimize the negative effects of Brexit. Alongside the pact, Germany is expected to commit to making it illegal to facilitate irregular migration to the UK, with the law change to be adopted by the end of the year, Starmers office said. Following the recent deal between Britain and the US, Merz and Starmer will also discuss the ongoing trade talks between Brussels and Washington, according to the German official. Merz has called for a swift EU-US trade accord and cited Trumps deal with Starmer as a potential model. Domestic Woes Thursdays events will be a welcome distraction from domestic difficulties for both leaders. Starmer, for his part, has been forced into a spate of policy U-turns in recent weeks that have compromised his governments hard-earned reputation for fiscal discipline. The international stage is clearly where he is happiest at the moment, said Gemma Loomes, a lecturer in comparative politics at Keele University. The treaty symbolizes his commitment to rebuilding European relations post-Brexit but also allows him to temporarily put his domestic troubles to one side. Merz, meanwhile, is dealing with an increasingly fractious ruling coalition, with his conservative CDU/CSU bloc and the Social Democrats at odds over issues ranging from welfare reforms to judicial appointments and already drawing comparisons with the infighting that dogged Scholzs administration. Additional Details Beyond the treaty, the UK and Germany will also unveil commercial investments worth more than 200 million ($268 million) that will create around 600 new jobs, according to Starmers office. These include: More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com (Bloomberg) -- Keir Starmers Labour Party has suspended a veteran left-wing Member of Parliament and launched an investigation into comments she made about anti-Jewish racism, the latest in a spate of ill-discipline dogging the British prime minister. Diane Abbott, a 71-year-old ally of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, told the BBC on Thursday that she stood by remarks she made in 2023 which at the time saw her removed from the party for a year. Abbott had written a letter to a newspaper at the time arguing that Jewish people and Traveler groups experience prejudice, but are not all their lives subjected to racism. She later apologized and withdrew the claim, which was widely condemned by her Labour colleagues after the years-long anti-Semitism scandal that had engulfed the party under Corbyn. However, speaking on Thursday, Abbott said that in fact she didnt look back on the incident with regret. There must be a difference between racism which is about color and other types of racism, because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you dont know. A Labour Party spokesperson said on Thursday evening that Abbott would again be suspended by the party pending an investigation. Earlier, they said the party would not tolerate anti-Semitism. The disciplinary action against Abbott comes just a day after Starmer suspended the Labour whip from four other MPs for disloyalty, in an effort to crack down on dissent in the party following a series of embarrassing U-turns forced by backbench lawmakers. Speaking earlier when asked about those suspensions, the premier said the government had to deal with people who repeatedly break the whip, so that his Labour government could deliver on its plans. --With assistance from Ailbhe Rea. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The more you learn about PFAS per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances the worse it gets. Though improvements in monitoring and remediation techniques are welcome, what the world needs first and foremost is a universal ban on the chemicals. In fact, we needed it yesterday. There are more than 10,000 PFAS, also known as forever chemicals, and theyre used almost everywhere, including in nonstick cookware, waterproof clothing, smartphones, packets of microwave popcorn, hair conditioners, fire-fighting foam, pacemakers, pesticides and dental floss. They dont readily degrade; they also dont stay where we put them. As a result, we can now find PFAS in places such as our blood, human breast milk, Antarctica, wild animals and tap water. In the Netherlands, people have been warned not to eat the eggs from their backyard chickens by the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment due to high levels of the chemicals. Though its not yet clear why home-produced eggs have higher amounts of PFAS than commercial ones, one theory is that earthworms now contain such chemicals, and hens like to eat the worms. An analysis by environmental groups Wildlife and Countryside Link and the Rivers Trust found that nearly all rivers, lakes and ponds in England exceed proposed safety limits, with 85% containing levels at least five times higher. France has banned tap water in 16 communes due to PFAS contamination, while a piece of investigative journalism called the Forever Pollution Project located 23,000 contaminated sites across Europe and a further 21,500 sites of presumptive contamination. I expect we havent seen the last of the tap water bans. If the scale and extent of the pollution are hard to get your head around, the health implications are worse. PFAS have been linked to increased risk of various types of cancer, fertility problems, birth complications, delays to puberty and weakened immune systems. Theyve also been associated with increased cholesterol levels and kidney problems. Were looking at an issue analogous to climate change right down to lobbying and cover-ups by PFAS manufacturers. Internal documents from 3M Co., one of the original and largest producers, and chemical firm DuPont de Nemours Inc. revealed that the companies knew the substances were accumulating in people and showing signs of toxicity for decades without telling anyone. While 3M still maintains that their PFAS-containing products are safe for their intended uses in everyday life, in December 2022 the company announced it will discontinue the use of PFAS by the end of 2025. Together, the firms have had to pay billions in lawsuit settlements related to their pollution, with more possibly to come as injury cases hit the courts. As with carbon dioxide, the longer we keep emitting PFAS into the environment, the worse the problem gets and the harder it is to clean up with remediation technologies. While the PFAS market globally is worth just over $28 billion, the cost of cleaning up all the related pollution in the UK and Europe could be 100 billion ($116 billion) a year if nothing is done to stem the chemicals steady flow into the environment. And that doesnt factor in the health-care costs, which the Nordic Council of Ministers estimates is at least 52 billion annually. Though some consumer brands such as outdoor gear retailer Patagonia Inc. and fast-food chain McDonalds Corp. have committed to phasing out PFAS from their products and packaging, others have been dragging their feet. A team of researchers, lawyers and journalists has also exposed a huge lobbying campaign against proposed restrictions in Europe, showing entrenched resistance to change. So we need a ban, but so far, weve only seen piecemeal prohibitions targeting either a specific chemical or, in a couple of leading countries, sectors. The import and sale of PFAS-treated clothing, shoes and waterproofing agents will be barred from July 2026 in Denmark, while the chemicals have been banned in paper and board food packaging since 2020. The country has also recently announced a ban on 23 pesticides that can form a very mobile form of PFAS called trifluoroacetic acid. France, meanwhile, has banned PFAS in several consumer product groups, including textiles, cosmetics and ski wax. Cookware, however, has been excluded from the ban after a campaign led by the French maker of Tefal pans, Groupe SEB. Though its a start, exempting a sector for which safe alternatives are readily available is, frankly, scandalous. A universal ban may be on its way. In 2023, five European Union member states Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Norway submitted a proposal to the European Chemicals Agency, which two scientific committees are now examining. The ban covers both consumer and industrial applications, with time-limited exemptions expected for some uses where there are no alternatives, such as medical devices. Whats most significant about the restriction is that it takes a precautionary approach, regulating all 10,000-plus PFAS as a group rather than individually. According to CHEM Trust, a charity focused on harmful synthetic chemicals, under the current rate of regulation that analyzes each chemical individually, it would take more than 40,000 years to get through them all. So the EU ban will be a huge step forward with positive impacts beyond its borders. But well be waiting a while for it to come into effect if everything goes smoothly, were likely looking at 2028 before sectors transition to new rules. Meanwhile, progress elsewhere is pitiful. The UK government published an interim position on PFAS management in June, but this has been criticized by scientists for opting not to target all chemicals at once and instead creating their own groupings. Not only is this risky, failing to regulate compounds that lack toxicity data, but it lacks urgency. In the US, the Trump administration has pulled nearly $15 million in research into PFAS contamination of farmland, while the Environmental Protection Agency has announced plans to rescind drinking water limits for four forever chemicals. Of course, even banning the use of all PFAS tomorrow wont do anything for the substances already in our bodies and drinking water. But we know that restrictions help. Two chemicals PFOS and PFOA are already banned in Europe. A 2023 study showed that blood concentrations of the chemicals have declined substantially over time in Denmark. Its time to stop playing Whac-a-Mole with chemicals that we know are bad for us and our environment. If we take action now, we might stand a chance at cleaning up the mess weve made.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. Lara Williams is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering climate change. More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion French artificial intelligence start-up Mistral has launched a host of new features for its AI chatbot, Le Chat, as it intensifies efforts to challenge the dominance of American and Chinese tech giants in the global AI landscape. In a blog post released on Thursday, the company said it is "making Le Chat even more capable, more intuitive and more fun", introducing upgrades designed to improve the platforms performance in research, communication, and contextual organisation. Among the standout additions isVoxtral, a feature that allows users to interact with the AI via voice rather than traditional typing. This brings Le Chat more in line with offerings from rivals such as OpenAIs ChatGPT and Googles Gemini, which have already introduced multi-modal capabilities. The update also includes aDeep Research mode, which enables the chatbot to source "credible information" across a range of topics. The feature is aimed at improving reliability in a sector frequently challenged by the spread of misinformation and the difficulty AI systems face in discerning fact from fiction. While Mistral is often hailed as Europe's leading AI hopeful, it remains a relatively small player compared to industry heavyweights in the United States. Nevertheless, the Paris-based company has made significant strides. It is currently valued at $6.2 billion and has received high-profile backing, including praise from French President Emmanuel Macron. The firm also gained global attention earlier this year at an international AI summit held in Paris. Also Read | Mistral and Helsing join forces to advance AI in military technology Mistral has established partnerships with major French corporations such as TotalEnergies, CMA CGM, and Orange, with a clear focus on expanding its presence in the corporate market. The company is prioritising on-premises deployment of its models, catering to businesses seeking more control over data and infrastructure. Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. President Trumps victory over PBS, NPR bias will be devastating for rural areas, station leaders say A local non-profit, White Oak Bicycle Co-op, gave away 70 bikes to celebrate 70 years of Red Bank. They also gave out dozens of free helmets for the kids to stay safe. UPDATE: Following the arrest of a Trenton couple accused of neglecting nearly 260 animals, Catoosa County Spokesperson John Pless says some of the dogs had their bark boxes removed. Pless says this is a practice used by some puppy mill operations to prevent the dogs from barking. The inhumane procedure, known as devocalization, assisted in not alerting neighbors of other animals being hoarded, Pless believes. Both Nathaniel Curington, 44, and Aimee Curington, 45, remain out on bond. PREVIOUS STORY: The Trenton couple who were arrested after nearly 260 neglected animals were found in their home are now out of jail on bond. Both Nathaniel Curington, 44, and Aimee Curington, 45, had to post $10,000. They each face 7 counts of felony cruelty to animals after two agencies obtained a joint inspection warrant on their home. Multiple animal shelters teamed up to take care of the rescued pets that were previously living in poor conditions. This is a developing story. Stay with Local 3 News for the most reliable updates. PREVIOUS STORY: Two people have been arrested after almost 260 animals were found at one Trenton home last week in an extreme state of neglect. Nathaniel Levon Curington, 44, and Aimee Renee Curington, 45, have both been charged with 7 counts of felony cruelty to animals. Pets adjusting, shelters needing help after 260 pets rescued from Trenton home The 260 pets rescued from a Trenton home are adjusting after years of neglect, some even finding their fur-ever homes, but shelters are in need of resources to cover the sudden intake. The Georgia Department of Agriculture took the warrants, and the Dade County Sheriff's Office served the two and made the arrests. Both are currently being held at the Dade County Jail and will see a judge before getting bond. PREVIOUS STORY: Nearly 260 animals, comprised of about 240 dogs and 16 cats, were found at Trenton home Tuesday. The animals were described as being in various stages of neglect, including several that were dead. The home itself is described as being in an extreme state of neglect. A joint inspection warrant was served to the Trenton home on Sells Lane Tuesday by the Georgia Department of Agriculture Law Enforcement and Companion Animal & Equine Inspectors. Those teams, working until 2:00am Wednesday, teamed up with with local rescues/shelters to provide veterinary care and rehome them as quickly as possible. Numerous agencies were involved in the effort to gather the animals including Dade County rescue organization, Luck's Rescue. Audray Luck the founder says, this operation was two years in the making. "[Neighbors] were complaining about feces piled three feet high in the backyard, and they were wanting to know what could be done about that." Once inside the home, Luck says, "The rooms were so packed full that the dogs couldn't even turn around. There were so many animals in these rooms, and dogs were getting trampled. There were dead animals that are just being trampled on that, you know, they didn't even they probably didn't even know about them because he couldn't see them." The Catoosa County Animal Control says that they have 71 dogs in total, ranging from 8 weeks to 14 years old. They also say that the breeds are Pomeranian, French bulldogs, and chows that are available to rescue only until the can have the the animals cleared medically by vets. If you would like to help, call 706-935-2454. They need help washing dogs, grooming dogs, and in dire need of assistance with these animals. Agencies and organizations involved included: Lead Agency: Georgia Department of Agriculture Animal Control: Gordon, Murray, Walker, Forsyth, Catoosa, and Cherokee Counties Local Rescues & Support: Luck's Rescue, The Dade County Pet Project, Sun Dog Grooming Sheltering & Vet Support: Trenton-Dade Animal Center (Director Emily Richards & Dr. Jennifer Zarecor) Veterinary Services: - Dr. Jennifer Zarecor (Trenton-Dade Animal Center) - Dr. Vickie Resh (Dade County Animal Hospital) - Dr. Christine Maddox (The Mountain Hospital for Animals) Law Enforcement: Trenton City Police & Dade County Sheriff's Office Animal hoarding is a horrendous situationnot only for the animals involved but for the communities affected," said County Executive Don Townsend. "This is the fifth hoarding case weve seen in just two weeks, and by far the most severe. We are incredibly grateful to all the agencies, veterinarians, and volunteers who answered the call and worked tirelessly through the night. Their efforts saved hundreds of animal lives." Officials anticipate charging those involved with multiple counts of animal cruelty. A teenager, accused of sexual assault, shared a number of sections of his book of evidence in a video chat, including sensitive reports relating to the victim, which were then screenshotted and shared, a court has heard. The man, who cannot be named due to the nature of the charges, is accused of two counts of sexual assault on a female minor in April of last year, and appeared before Judge Kenneth Connolly at Longford Circuit Court. Shane Geraghty BL, for the state, explained the very serious nature of the contempt of court, stating that a number of photographs from within the book of evidence had been widely shared on Snapchat. The dissemination of those pictures is of deep concern insofar as the complainant enjoys complete anonymity, he said. Also read: Significant evidence as two doctors and secretary accused of over 130 Longford thefts The book of evidence was given to the accused and lo and behold, pictures were disseminated on social media, he said, and it was implicit in his bail conditions that there would be no disseminating of the book of evidence on social media. Taking to the witness box, the mother of the injured party told the court that, on July 12, 2025 she made a statement to Gardai that she arrived home to find her daughter in distress over photos shared on social media. Before all this happened, they were all friends. A mutual friend sent screenshots of what he (the accused) has been saying and his laughing faces, she said. She was distraught. He has no idea what hes done to her, she added, becoming upset. Kieran Collins BL, for the accused, stated that, while it is accepted his client should not have shared the images, I dont know if its bad behaviour in the context of bail revocation. It appears that what occurred was he was having a video call with another person and he showed the other person pages from the book, he said. Also read: Arson accused to be tried in Longford following refusal of application to transfer case But it wasnt him who shared the pictures, it was the person on the other end of the phone. He said that seeking to revoke bail would be a premature step Id ask the court not to take. Judge Connolly, however, said that this was not just a case of photographs from the book of evidence, but seemed to be targeted photographs, including the Forensic Science Ireland (FSI) report and details of a genital examination of the female. So youre saying he was on a video call and showed the book to another person and the other person captured screenshots, he said, addressing Mr Collins. Given the clarity of these photographs, its very difficult to accept that explanation. It seems very clear the accused has breached his bail conditions and very clear he has targeted elements of the book of evidence. Even if he didnt share the photos himself, he allowed them to be published. (The victims mother) also said something about laughing faces, so somebody was having a good laugh and it is not a laughing matter. Also read: Sort of guilty Longford hairdresser held cash and jewellery in exchange for cocaine Judge Connolly opted not to revoke the teenagers bail but changed the previous 200 own bond to 3,000, ordering him to lodge a sum of 2,000. He remanded the youth in custody until such time as the cash sum is lodged. He also ordered that the book of evidence be surrendered to the accuseds solicitor. I have to set a marker that this is a very, very serious matter, he concluded. There was strong support at last week's meeting of Longford County Council to a proposal from Fine Gael Councillor Paul Ross who called for at least a six month extension to the completion date for the EU Just Transition Fund. It was agreed after the Legan-based representative's motion that Longford County Council will write to Failte Ireland, Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA) and MEPs in the region to seek an extension to the completion date for the scheme. Read more: Longford parking charge hikes labelled an 'absolute disgrace' for rural residents Cllr Ross stated he wants to see the deadline pushed out to March 2026 due to the complexity of the grant and he said due to delays applicants who commenced the process just under two years ago are finding it difficult to get it finished in time. "I've seen a huge amount of work they've done to get through the application process. "Numerous people dropped out of the application process because they found it too onerous, too much red tape. "I think it's important to recognise that there are a lot more tourism projects, a lot more construction projects [to do]." Cllr Ross said when applicants started the process two years ago August 2026, seemed like a long way away, but now it is only 13 months away and on the horizon. Cllr Ross said costs have also changed over the last number of years and he believes it is very unfair and a 'huge issue'. "The reality is the EU will draw back the money if we don't get it spent by next August, going by the current rules and regulations. "Myself and Councillor Garry Murtagh are on EMRA and we have brought it up at EMRA. "The MEPs have said to go back to us. "We're saying go back to them in Europe to get this sorted out." Cllr Ross said it is going to cost people millions of euro if they do not get it sorted out. "The families that are are putting in some of their own hard-earned money, who are borrowing a lot of money, it would be an awful shock to the whole system if they didn't get finished in time." Cllr Seamus Butler seconded the motion, which he described as a 'good motion' and 'very timely'. "The purchase of the old post office on Main Street in Longford is a great move by the local authority. "But it's just transition funding of approximately 800,000. "And we have to have that substantially finished by the end of March." Cllr Butler said they have to get a design team in and make progress but then to get a contractor in mid-winter to finish in three months is just "impossible". Cllr Sean Mimnagh, who is on the tourism committee, said there are three projects completed, but there is 14 unfinished. . "They are really running out of time and very quickly running out of road." Acting Director of Services Michael Nevin, with Responsibility for Tourism, said he supported the motion and Longford has done well from Just Transition with almost 5 million worth of projects with 2.8 million provided to 14 private operations." "The deadline for the Just Transition Programme is very tight. "Some of the projects are expected to be concluded by March next year, and other projects that haven't yet received formal offers are expected to be concluded by August next year, which is too tight for many of the projects. "The hope is that we'll be given sufficient time to realise those projects. "So we will write to the, with the members' approval, we'll write to EMRA and local authorities and we will write to the MEPs." Read more: Longford publican fined as 'fresh drink being served' at the premises after hours The correspondence will outline that many applicants only received their Letters of Grant Approval in the last few weeks and E-tendering and public procurement is a requirement of the scheme which is a 'slow and methodical process'. On March 17, 2024, the body of Kelly Marie Lynch was found in the Ulster Canal in Monaghan, 30 hours after the last confirmed sighting of her. Kelly was found with 93 injuries on her body, yet her death has never been treated as suspicious, no one was ever questioned about her untimely death and no one has been held accountable. For the last 15 months, Kelly's mother Julieanne has been working tirelessly to get justice for daughter and to get some answers for what happened. READ NEXT: 'Our beloved boy'- Go Fund Me set up by family after son suffered tragic cardiac arrest A GoFundMe page has been set up by Kelly's family to help with the rising legal costs that Julieanne says they are not entitled to as Kelly's death is not being treated as a criminal case. "We are getting absolutely no help from any government organisation whatsoever", says Julieanne, "We've had no help from anyone since Kelly's body was found and we have no idea why. "We have reached out to politicians on both sides of the border. I've contacted human rights on both sides of the border with both parties telling me that they can't get involved with this. "I was told that the Human Rights and Equality Commission in Dublin does not get involved or offer advice on cases like this and the Human Rights Commission of Northern Ireland say they have no jurisdiction across the border, although it clearly states on their website that they do, they do cross border jurisdiction, but either way we're just getting no help whatsoever." Kelly was in a relationship with a young man from Monaghan. On March 13, Kelly received a phone call to let her know that her boyfriend's brother had died, and that his body had been found. Understandably, Kelly was devastated and left Armagh to go to Monaghan to be with her boyfriend and his family. Kelly left shortly before 8pm on March 13 and that was the last time her mother Julieanne saw her alive. "It'd been an absolute horrendous year," says Julieanne. "There have been quite a few articles on Kelly's case over the past year and some reporters have tried to help but Kelly's story still remains under the radar. There was never any appeal for information with details until Kelly's one-year anniversary. The guards put out an appeal on the 17th of March, a year to the day when Kelly's body was found. "Why was that not put out in the days after her body was found? Why was there not a request for immediate information or for anyone to come forward when Kelly was found? These are the issues that I'm raising and it's like I'm banging my head against a brick wall and we're getting nowhere fast. Speaking on those horrific first days when Kelly's body was found, Julieanne says she has been quite vocal about it. Speaking about it doesn't trigger her because she's living with it every day. "It's a part of my everyday life". Julieanne said she spoke with Kelly a few times in the 48 hours after she left her home, but on the morning of the 16th, she had woken to several missed calls and a 23 second voicemail from Kelly. "We talked over the next 48 hours and on Saturday the 16th, I had received a lot of missed phone calls during the night, but I hadn't heard them." In the voicemail, which has not been made public, Julieanne said: "You can clearly hear she's very hurt, she's been injured and she can't breathe and she's doing a lot of crying, and it lasts for 23 seconds. So I tried to contact Kelly all day on the Saturday into Saturday evening, even went as far as messaging her boyfriend on Facebook." Kelly had been with her boyfriend on and off for 15 months, said Julieanne, and Kelly would travel to Monaghan twice a month to visit him and stay with his family. Julieanne would drive her there as Kelly didn't drive. Julieanne said she had never met Kelly's boyfriend, but when she would drop Kelly to his house, they would beep horns to acknowledge each other. Julieanne wasn't friends with Kelly's boyfriend on social media, but the message was never opened. Julieanne said it wasn't until November when she found out that that particular account was no longer in use. By Sunday morning, March 17th, there was still no contact from Kelly: "I just knew something was really really wrong, I just had a gut feeling", said Julieanne. Before 12.25pm that afternoon, a call came from the PSNI to Julieanne's then 18-year-old son's phone, looking for Kelly's next of kin. The phone was passed to Julieanne where an officer told her that Monaghan Gardai were trying to get in contact with her. "I remember asking was everything ok but the officer told me she couldn't tell me anything and I was to keep the phone line clear." Julieanne said she got her two youngest children (4 and 12 at the time) into the car and after driving around 3 miles down the road another phone call came through just after 1pm from Monaghan Garda station. "I asked them was she OK and I remember silently praying that maybe she was detained overnight for being drunk and disorderly, even though Kelly had never been in trouble with the law before, but I was hoping that was the case. Speaking to Julieanne, the officer on the phone told her that he was really sorry to have to do this over the phone, but her daughter Kelly Marie Lynch was deceased. READ NEXT: Gardai renew appeal for murder of young women whose body was found eight years ago Kelly's two younger siblings, sitting in the back of the car, heard what the officer had just said to their mother. "It was just life-altering, life-changing", said Julieanne. "It was the most devastating news, it just felt surreal, too real to comprehend. I just felt so much pain and I just wanted to be with Kelly, I just couldn't understand. We didn't know any details of how she had dies or where she was. I just kept asking the officer where is she and can I see her. "I can imagine it was an uncomfortable call for the officer to have to make but can you imagine how it was for me with my two young children in the car? I had to race home to make sure that my two older boys who were in the house hadn't heard the news on social media. It was just absolute chaos and pure devastation. "It's every parents worst nightmare and the one thing we all fear as mothers." Kelly was exactly 23 and 6 months when she died on the 16th of March. She had been laying dead for over 30 hours before she was eventually found by her boyfriend and his cousin. There was no canvassing of the scene where Kelly died until five days after her body was found, nor did Gardai receive any CCTV footage of the area in time from people's properties so it had been overwritten. There was never any explanation given as to why CCTV was not checked immediately. "No protocols or procedures were followed in accordance with Garda protocols when a body is found," said Julieanne: "The normal procedures just weren't followed. It's something that we have raised with The Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC)." Julienne has since lodged 13 complaints with GSOC. The Superintendent overseeing Monaghan Garda station requested the State pathologist to do an autopsy on Kelly's body but didn't request her to come to the scene. It was the locum technical branch that was meant to be collecting evidence at the scene. The area where Kelly was found wasn't preserved. Kelly was found between half 8 and 9 o'clock that morning, she was pronounced dead by a GP at 11am and then she was quickly taken away by 1pm. The road wasn't cordoned off until that evening. Julieanne's sister, who lives 20 minutes away in Navan, went to the scene shortly after 2pm on her way up to see Julieanne. Upon her arrival to the bridge at the canal, she questioned Gardai who were on patrol for the St Patrick's Day Parade, telling them that her niece had been found dead a few hours earlier and asked them why the area wasn't cordoned off. Gardai told her to "move on". When Kelly's aunt left Julieanne's house that same evening and went back to the bridge, the road was then cordoned off. "But why hadn't it been cordoned off earlier on? Why hadn't State forensics been called up from Dublin to preserve the scene and collect as much evidence as possible?," Julieanne asks. She then said the area was being used during the St Patrick's Day Parade to divert traffic. "We were told over the phone that Kelly was dead. Nobody came and nobody still has ever came to our home, nobody has offered any support to us." Julienne said that the family had been assigned a Family Liaison Officer (FLO) who then left over a month later because complaints were lodged to GSOC. "Nobody told us that we had to get a certificate of death for Kelly which was needed for bank accounts and other such instances. I had to source all of that myself and had to look online for a coroner. "We should have had assistance with all this stuff. Can you imagine trying to come to terms with your daughter dying and then having to choose a coffin in between identifying her body and then arranging her funeral? "It just completely upended our lives. Life has completely changed, for all of us, and we feel it every day. And the more stonewalling that we get from An Garda Siochana in Monaghan, the harder they're making it for us. "But I am being very proactive in my campaign, probably making enemies for me within the guards but at the end of the day, they're a public body who are meant to be there to help families and they've hindered everything." Kelly's phone has never been pinged or triangulated, it has never been forensically checked to come up with a timeline of who she was last in contact with, because Gardai say her death was not criminal or suspicious. Nobody has ever been taken in for questioning or have even been under suspicion for any part in Kelly's tragic death. "They did not bring anyone in, there was no arrests made. Anybody that did go in to give a statement, did so three weeks after Kelly died." Julieanne has been in contact with an investigator in Monaghan asking the question, why wasn't due process followed? "The two people who found Kelly should have been brought in immediately for questioning and maybe checked for any marks on their body to rule anything out. "Kelly had 93 injuries on her body when she was found and Gardai say they are a result of a single fall event. It doesn't add up. I'm not disputing that Kelly's cause of death was drowning, but what happened to Kelly to get those 93 injuries before drowning?" Julieanne said her daughter would never be the type to be on her own and that Kelly was almost "afraid of her own shadow". "It had been first assumed that she had taken her own life, but that was quickly redacted. Kelly would never had taken her own life. I know that if Kelly would have done something like that she would have done it at home, in her own bed and would have just gone to sleep forever. She wouldn't put herself through trauma. "I have posted videos recently of Kelly making notes of what she wanted for the future and she had written one for the new year. If that doesn't tell people that Kelly wanted to live. "I think it's so easy for people to say 'oh she was a woman who was depressed so she committed suicide'." READ NEXT: OPINION: 'This ad still haunts me but it should be back on TV and social media' The state pathologist concluded that drowning was the cause of Kelly's death but an independent pathologist doesn't believe drowning to be the single cause of Kelly's death. Because of the inquest, Julieanne was unable to go into more detail on this. Shockingly, Julieanne said she has been told that the inquest into Kelly's death could take anywhere from 18 months to 6 years. Julieanne said the impact of the last year has affected her and the entire family "horrendously". Her youngest, who had only turned four when Kelly died, hasn't slept on his own since it happened and is "very confused by it all". Her other child, who had turned 12 just before Kelly died, the 13th of March, has been in therapy for the last year and has been referred to CAMHS. "She doesn't sleep, she doesn't eat right", said Julieanne, "She's very much stuck within the trauma of it all. She's afraid to talk about Kelly because she says that if she talks, all she's going to do is cry, she can't face knowing that she's never going to see her big sister again." Julieanne said that although she has a good support system around her, she hasn't received any grief counselling and is currently on a waiting list. "I just don't sleep because when I do I have nightmares about Kelly. I just keep seeing her in that room in Navan. We couldn't even touch her when we identified her. We had to look at her through a glass window. "Identifying Kelly was just horrific, all we could see was from the tip of her nose up, we couldn't see her mouth or anything else, she was covered by a purple fleece blanket." The post-mortem had not concluded when Julieanne went to identify Kelly's body. "Just knowing that my daughter was lying there, cut open, no longer whole and complete, just haunts me. Julieanne said she knows she is never going to see Kelly again, and that she will never have her back in her life, but she tries to remain strong and create a life for the rest of my children, creating memories for them in the future so that their whole life hasn't just been trauma and devastation from Kelly's death. Julieanne admits it's so hard without any kind of answer or closure over what happened her daughter. "I listen to Kelly's voicemail daily, and it haunts me all the time", she said, "I was the last person that she contacted, it's horrifying. "And then there's the wealth of guilt that come from hearing the phone calls. But she was 23 years of age, I had no reason to believe that she was going to be in danger. She had never come to harm any other time, and she was thee to support a grieving family. "I just don't understand how a young man was found dead on the Wednesday and then my daughter was found dead four days later. It just does not make sense and yet the guards don't find that suspicious." Julieanne met with the Garda Commissioner in October 2024. She said that he was shocked to hear that Kelly's belongings had been returned to Julieanne just eight days after her death and because there was a break in the chain of evidence it would be hard for the court to resubmit them. The peer review team took Kelly's belongings back, including her clothing, into their custody in November 2024, but the review has been going on for the last six months and as Julieanne understands, they have only just begun to test the clothing. "Why is it taking so long?2, asks Julieanne, "Did they give the peer review to detectives who were so busy he knew he wouldn't be able to devote all of his time to it? "Everything just feels so underhanded. I'm being suspicious, but I think I have grounds for my suspicions." Having demanded a meeting with the Gardai after their FLO had become unresponsive to her messages, Julieanne said she was told that her FLO was on annual leave but when she checked on the Garda website, she realised they should have been appointed a new FLO as a replacement, but that never happened. When she put this to the Garda, their response was "Maybe in the cities, but not in rural areas". "That's the whole point of having a family liaison officer, for them to be the in-between and keeping us updated on what's going on, but we don't have anyone", said Julieanne. "We were told that the Superintendent in Monaghan would act as our FLO, but again, isn't the whole point of a FLO is that they're assigned to you with that specific role, to give you the support and to relay any information and answer our questions. Why do I need to be emailing a superintendent who's not always obligated to reply?" "I honestly do believe that the Gardai didn't think that we would ask the questions and that I would make as much noise as I have. They probably expected me to accept my daughter's death, sit back and cry myself stupid and not ask for reasonable answers to my questions and I think that has really annoyed them. It's institutional." READ NEXT: Ireland's oldest person dies at incredible age of 108 Julieanne said she has contacted the Minister for Justice and the Taoiseach, and that she is receiving some support from Sinn Fein TD for Cavan and Monaghan Matt Carthy, but his involvement is limited until after the inquest. Julieanne, who already has a solicitor in Dublin, said she will need one up north too in order to apply for an exemption with exceptional circumstances for legal aid to see if they can help in any way, but that will have to be financed by Julieanne. "There's just so much red-tape", said Julieanne, "And I don't know anybody who has thousands and thousands sitting in their bank ready to bury a 23-year-old child and then fight for inquest and fight for a case, we're just normal people. "It's so difficult, but I'm so driven to get some kind of answers. It might take me the rest of my life but even my eldest boy said we will get the truth and they'll keep fighting long after I'm gone." "There's days that I just cry and cry and cry but then I get it out of my system, I put my big girl pants on and start all over again" Once a writer, Julieanne is now a full-time carer for her son who suffers from autism. She also has three other children to look after. "My solicitor has also contacted Apple to get access to Kelly's phone data, I do believe her data will answer a lot of questions like who was the last person she was talking to on social media or WhatsApp, snapchat etc. these things should have been investigated. "That phone would be a blueprint to Kelly's life, but it was never investigated, so if Apple would release it without a court order it would be great but if they don't we'll have to go through a court order route, which will be quite expensive so any donations that we get will be going towards that. "Every letter we get from a solicitor costs money, every time we send a letter it costs money, all those small little things add up and we just can't do it ourselves, otherwise we won't be living either "I still have to feed and clothe the children. It really is through the generosity of others and the community coming together to make this all possible." Julieanne has been very vocal on social media, particularly on TikTok, highlighting and creating awareness of Kelly's death and the family's constant fight for justice. Julieanne admits it's nothing something she ever thought to do and that she wouldn't be overly confident to speak online but the responses she has gotten back from those watching her videos, that have resonated with her and Kelly's story, has been overwhelming. "It felt like all the power had been taken from me when Kelly died", she added, "The silence dulled my role in Kelly's life, so me documenting her story was me taking my power back. It's been good, it's been cathartic in a way and it has also brought so may people into my life." Julieanne went on to say that a fundraiser is planned in Kelly's honour by a couple from Dundalk who she met on TikTok this coming September, a week before what would have been Kelly's 25th birthday. "We want to mark it with happiness and community while also raising important funds and awareness", said Julieanne, "We really want to give back to the community who have helped us by asking them to come out and meet us, have a drink and a dance and bring the kids along because Kelly loved children, and to honour her name as well. On the power of social media, Julieanne said it has been incredible over the last 15 months for the awareness she has been able to bring to Kelly's case and for the support her followers have given her. "I'm doing it for awareness, but not just for Kelly, "but every other woman that this has happened to and for every other child and every other family, and I really want to encourage other families to not be afraid to speak up against an institution that's been around a long time. "At the end of the day, we have voices, our voice is our power and if we don't use that, there's never going to be change or reform. I'll never let this go and I just hope that other families, if they're currently going through this then, they need to start shouting." We reached out to An Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (GSOC), now Fiosru, who told us the investigation is still ongoing and they would be unable to give us any update at time of publication. We also reached out to An Garda Siochana who sent us back the following statement, "Garda Commissioner Drew Harris and Chief Superintendent Alan McGovern, Louth-Cavan-Monaghan Division, met with the family of Ms Kelly Lynch on 21st October 2024, and listened carefully to their concerns. "Following this meeting, Commissioner Harris directed that a Senior Investigating Officer (SIO) from a Division external to the Louth-Cavan-Monaghan Division conduct a peer review of the investigation into the death of Ms Lynch. "An Garda Siochana is currently conducting that peer review of the original Garda investigation. The SIO is keeping the family up to date with the progress of the review. An Garda Siochana is also assisting the Coroners Inquest and fully co-operating with the GSOC investigation. These processes are ongoing. "The timing of a Coroners Inquest is solely a matter for the Coroner. An Garda Siochana appeals to anyone with information on the death of Ms Lynch to contact Gardai." As was mentioned in the above statement, "The timing of a Coroners Inquest is solely a matter for the Coroner", we also reached out to the coroner. We found out they were still awaiting the file from the Gardai along with a deposition in order to set a date for the inquest. We were told this could arrive in their office tomorrow or another year from now. You can donate today to The Kelly Marie Lynch Legal & Investigation Fund Donations from the Gofundme page will go towards legal fees and towards the investigation into Kelly's death. A Limerick native has pled guilty to dangerous driving causing the death of his niece, Marguerita (Maggie) O'Rourke (nee Sheridan), at Limerick Circuit Criminal Court this Thursday, July 17. Danny ODonoghue, aged 42, of Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, County Limerick was arraigned on four charges before Judge Colin Daly. Mr ODonoghue, who appeared via video-link from Portlaoise Prison where he has been on remand, said guilty when the court registrar put each of the four charges to him. Mr ODonoghue is charged with dangerous driving causing the death of Ms O'Rourke (nee Sheridan) at Bank Place, Well Lane, Rathkeale on December 21, 2024. He is also charged with causing criminal damage to a set of gates, property of Mary Teresa O'Rourke, at the same location on the same date. Mr ODonoghue is further charged with producing a machete in the course of a dispute, in a manner to intimidate another person, at Ballywilliam, Rathkeale also on December 21,2024. As well as this, the accused is charged with causing criminal damage to a van, property of a Patrick Sheridan, on the same date and location in Rathkeale. Prosecuting barrister Lily Buckley, instructed by State solicitor Brendan Gill, said there are two offence locations on the same day. READ MORE: BREAKING: Woman found dead in Limerick hotel The deceased was 21 years of age in respect of the dangerous driving causing death charge. Her husband is in the United Kingdom. Victim impact statements have to be canvassed. Her parents John Sheridan and Margaret Sheridan equally need to be canvassed. "She had one brother and she had a three-week-old baby at the time of her death. The victim impact statements will be prepared expeditiously, said Ms Buckley. Judge Daly said it was a matter of some sensitivity and asked for an afternoon to be set aside for sentencing. Michael Bowman SC, who represented Mr ODonoghue during the brief procedural matter, asked for a prison governors report and education report to be directed to Portlaoise Prison. The tragic deceased was actually the niece of the defendant, said Mr Bowman. Judge Daly said it was a sad case, indeed. Mr ODonoghue is due to be sentenced on October 29 in Limerick Circuit Criminal Court. He was remanded in continuing custody until that date. Judge Daly asked the accused if he understood this, with Mr ODonoghue confirming that he did. There were a number of senior gardai in court including Detective Sergeant Michael Reidy and Detective Sergeant Ted Riordan. The Government has been branded epic wasters and accused of throwing public money around like snuff at a wake, as the opposition hit out over escalating energy bills and the cost of living. Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore told the Dail on Thursday that there is a growing sense of concern about the future, describing it as economic clouds on the horizon. She accused the Government of attempting to buy votes last year in its one-off budget payouts just weeks before the general election. The reality, Tanaiste (Simon Harris), is that youve been throwing public money around like snuff at a wake, she said. She said that Government spending has increased by 50% in recent years. In 2020 it cost 70 billion to run the country. Weve gone from spending 70 billion to nearly 110 billion this year, 40 billion more in the budget, Tanaiste, she added. But what do we have to show for it? We have a housing crisis thats spiralling out of control. We have record homelessness. We have disability services that are threadbare. We have soaring levels of child poverty. We have a cost of living crisis that is escalating, and we have energy and water infrastructure that is crumbling. But coupled with that, there is a lot of frustration with the Governments moralising about this budget. Having splashed the cash in an attempt to buy votes last year, your message has suddenly changed now that an election is no longer on the cards. She continued: Tanaiste, the reality is this Government, youre epic wasters, youve wasted time, you have wasted opportunity, and you have wasted generational opportunity to invest in a better future, and youve wasted our money. That is why people feel so let down. They feel disillusioned. They listen to you pat yourself on the back for your prudent financial management while they struggle with the very basics, they struggle to keep roof over their head, to keep their electricity on and food on their table. Sinn Fein TD Pearse Doherty said that figures published by the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) show that there are hundreds of thousands of households of people behind in arrears on their electric and gas bills. He criticised the Governments refusal to commit to another round of energy credits in the October budget. Mr Doherty said: The number of households in arrears on their electricity and gas bills have jumped by 70,000 households in the last year. That means that there are now over 300,000 households behind on their electricity bills, and over 175,000 households behind on their gas bills. Just let that sink in for a moment Tanaiste. Because today, as the Dail breaks up for the summer, hundreds of thousands of working families cant meet their bills for heating and lighting their home. That is disgraceful. Is it any wonder, when weve seen their bills shoot up by hundreds of euros over the last number of years, and families simply cant absorb this type of shock to their finances, and now your plan is to cancel the energy credits that they so desperately need and relied on. You dig in and you continue to refuse to agree for a cost of living package in Octobers budget. And of course, theres those on fixed incomes who are at greater risk of poverty and they need greater support. But this ever worsening cost of living crisis is widening and has widened significantly more and more families, more and more working people, are struggling to get by, and even families with two incomes coming into the house find it harder than ever to keep up with the bills. Mr Harris told the Dail that there is a real problem regarding energy prices in Ireland. He said he acknowledges the pressure which increased energy costs are putting on families, households and businesses. The Fine Gael leader said the Government is seeking ways to lower the prices and speed up the pace of renewable development. Thats why weve established a new National Energy Affordability Taskforce (NEAT) to look at the structural reforms which we can undertake in this country to reduce the cost of energy and to reduce the cost of electricity. Its expected to come back with an interim plan to look at issues around energy efficiency, upgrade the social protection supports we have in place, the CRU customer protection measures, and indeed, further efforts that we can provide to incentivise tariff switching and the savings that we can make for households and for consumers in relation to that. We are taking measures in the here and now to assist people with the cost of living. The number of available rental properties that accept housing assistance payments (HAP) has dropped by 22% in the second quarter of the year, a new report shows. The Simon Communities of Irelands (SCI) quarterly Locked Out of the Market report, from June, shows that just 32 properties were available to rent within the scheme. This is a drop of nine properties, down from 41, since March. Ber Grogan, executive director at the Simon Communities of Ireland, repeated her call for an updated HAP limit. The housing assistance payment (HAP) scheme is a social housing payment made to landlords by local authorities, and tenants pay a contribution to their local authority. The report found 978 properties were available to rent at any price within the 16 areas surveyed over three dates in June. This is a 17% reduction from the 1,178 properties available in the June 2024 Locked Out report. There were no properties available in eight of the 16 areas, including Athlone, Cork city centre, Cork city suburbs, Co Leitrim, Limerick city centre, Sligo town, Portlaoise, and Waterford city centre. Four of the 16 areas saw a reduction in the number of HAP properties available since the March 2025 report. These include Dublin city north, Dublin city centre, Dundalk and Kildare. This lack of availability was across all household categories within standard or discretionary HAP limits. Discretionary HAP limits include homeless HAP, the increased rate of HAP for people experiencing homelessness. The supply of properties within HAP limits are predominantly in Dublin, with a total of 22 properties in Dublin. Just five of the 13 areas outside of Dublin had properties available to rent within HAP limits. These included Dundalk, Galway city suburbs, Galway city centre, Kildare and Limerick city suburbs. In Dublin, the discretionary rate allows up to an additional 50% on the standard rate, but this is limited to 35% elsewhere in the country. Nathan, a Cork Simon service user, said: Most of the time you ring a place, its gone. You get fed up of every day doing it and then you just give up for a while, depressed out of me head. You cant get out of it (homelessness). I dont seem to see a way anyway. And its not for want of trying. A bed, a bathroom and a kitchen. Basics. Oh, Id love it. Come and go as you please. Sligo town and Portlaoise had the lowest number of properties available to rent, with just seven and two properties available in each area, respectively, across the three days. Of the 16 areas, 10 saw a reduction in the number of properties available to rent, including Cork, and Dublin, Dundalk and JKildare. Four of the 16 areas saw an increase in the number of properties available to rent, including Athlone, Galway city, Limerick city and Sligo town. Ms Grogan said the findings of the report must act as a wake-up call for policymakers. Do they care that the rental sector continues to fail those reliant on HAP? Simon certainly cares, he said. With only 32 properties available under HAP across 16 areas and entire counties without a single option, people entitled to housing support are being pushed further into homelessness and essentially, left behind. The rental market is failing those most in need. We urgently need accelerated delivery of social and affordable housing, meaningful reforms to HAP rates, and a targeted strategy to prevent homelessness. We must ensure that hope is restored for those people who are locked out of access to this accommodation option. The Simon Communities of Ireland has been calling for updated HAP limits for many years. We welcomed the ombudsmans report on HAP and will continue to call for reform. Budget 2026 will give the opportunity to address this cause of homelessness before our next Locked Out of the Market report. Meanwhile, the figures show that there were four properties available to single person/couple households through a standard HAP rate. These four properties were located in north Dublin, Dublin city centre, Galway city and Kildare. There were an additional 12 properties available for single person/couple households within discretionary HAP limits. There were no properties available to couple/one parent households with one child through a standard HAP rate. There was one property available to couple/one parent households with two children through a standard HAP rate. This property was in Limerick city suburbs. There were five properties available through discretionary HAP rates, and an additional 10 that overlapped with properties available to families with one child. The five unique properties were in Dublin city centre, Dundalk and Kildare. Ms Grogan said: Its particularly concerning given that one parent families are over-represented in the thousands of families and children experiencing homelessness. Does anybody care that nearly 5,000 children are experiencing homelessness? Simon cares. Local News, Crime By Long Island Published: July 17 2025 On July 16, 2025, a 61-year-old man suffered a critical medical episode after entering an active MRI room at Nassau Open MRI in Westbury while wearing a large metallic chain. The powerful magnetic field pulled ... The Homicide Squad reports the details of a Serious Aided that occurred on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 4:34 pm in Westbury. According to Detectives, officers responded to a 911 call for an aided at the Nassau Open MRI located at 1570 Old Country Road. Upon arrival, officers were informed that a male, 61, entered an unauthorized Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) room while the scan was in progress. The male victim was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck causing him to be drawn into the machine which resulted in a medical episode. The Nassau County Police Department responded to assist the aided where he was transported to a local area hospital. He is listed in critical condition. Local News By Chris Boyle Published: July 17 2025 PSEG Long Island is committed to giving back to the people and communities it serves by actively supporting many local charities each year. PSEG Long Island employees recently took a collection and donated more than $7,000 in essential items to Ronald McDonald House in a company-wide effort to restock the nonprofits pantry and kitchen. Employees were provided with a wish list and purchased paper products, nonperishable food and other items requested by the not-for-profit. The initiative is one of the ways PSEG Long Island and its employees support the community. Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) New York Metro is so grateful to our friends at PSEG Long Island who continue to support our mission by participating in pantry collection drives throughout the year, said Matt Campo, CEO of RMHC New York Metro. PSEG Long Island helps us care for the over 12,000 families we serve every year. Through the pantry drives, PSEG Long Island helps us stock our shelves with everyday essentials such as shelf-stable groceries, paper towels, cleaning supplies, personal care items, and more. Thank you, PSEG Long Island, for directly helping us fulfill our mission of keeping families close in the midst of a pediatric medical crisis. PSEG Long Island is committed to giving back to the people and communities it serves by actively supporting many local charities each year through donations, participating in events and volunteering through the companys Community Partnership Program. For more information, visit psegliny.com/inthecommunity/communitypartnership. PSEG Long Island PSEG Long Island operates the Long Island Power Authoritys transmission and distribution system under a long-term contract. PSEG Long Island is a subsidiary of Public Service Enterprise Group Inc. (PSEG) (NYSE:PEG), a publicly traded diversified energy company. Iranian firefighters respond to an explosion at the Pamchal complex in Tehrans Chitgar neighborhood. (Hamshahrionline.ir) Israel and Iran indirectly agreed to a ceasefire on June 24, yet a wave of explosions and the sudden death of an IRGC general over the past week have disturbed the relative calm in Iran. The regime has attributed every explosive incident to gas leaks, despite evidence contradicting these claims. Israel has remained silent on these events but likely maintains intelligence superiority and the capacity to conduct operations in Iran. Videos circulating on social media show the aftermath of a powerful explosion at the Pamchal 9 complex in Tehrans Chitgar neighborhood. Contrary to claims by state media and judiciary-affiliated outlets, the buildingknown to house personnel from the Armed Forces Judicial Organizationwas reportedly not connected to the gas grid at the time of the July 11 blast. A resident confirmed that both Pamchal 9 and the adjacent Pamchal 10 towers lacked gas access, whereas state-linked media insisted the explosion resulted from a gas leak. Only days earlier, images surfaced of a destroyed structure in Tehrans Jenatabad neighborhood. Authorities again blamed a ruptured gas pipe, even as simultaneous reports emerged of similar gas explosions in Kermanshah and Mashhad. That same day, July 11, another explosion rocked a residential tower along Hamdani Expressway near Chitgar Lake in Tehran. Images shared online show extensive structural damage, though no official explanation has been provided. Two days later, on July 15, an explosion tore through the first floor of a residential building in Pardisan, Qom. The building reportedly belongs to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development. While state media claimed seven people were injured, the scale of destruction suggests far more than a routine gas leakan explosion of such magnitude would have required a gas buildup intense enough to fatally poison residents before detonation. Hours after the Qom blast, yet another powerful explosion was reported near Mashhad International Airport and 17 Shahrivar Street, again with no apparent cause. In Tabriz, footage posted on July 15 shows a massive fire engulfing the high-rise Zomorod Tower along 29 Bahman Boulevard. A day prior, local air defense systems were activated, and residents reported hearing explosions. Numerous fires and explosions were also reported across Tehrans Districts 7, 15, 20, and 22 on July 1 and 2. Adding to the recent unusual events is the sudden death of Brigadier General Gholamhossein Gheibparvar, who served as the deputy commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) at the Imam Ali Central Security Headquarters. IRGC-affiliated media attributed Gheibparvars death to exposure to chemical agents during the Iran-Iraq wardespite the fact that regime media had never mention these conditions previously, and he had not displayed symptoms associated with chemical injuries such as respiratory distress or related illness during a January 2025 speech. Separately, the state-run ISNA claimed that Gheibparvar had endured intense physical and psychological pressure during the 12-day war and was transferred to a hospital shortly after the ceasefire, where he was in coma until he died. The contradictory narratives surrounding the cause of his deathwhether from injuries sustained during the Iran-Iraq War or from the recent 12-day conflictraise the possibility of a cover-up. The Imam Ali Central Security Headquarters, situated west of Tehran, serves as the IRGCs primary command center for nationwide protest suppression. It oversees the training and deployment of Imam Ali Battalionsparamilitary riot-control unitsand coordinates intelligence and rapid-response operations to quell unrest across the country. During the 12-day war, Israel struck multiple IRGC facilities tied to internal repression, including the headquarters of the Basij, the Sarallah Command, and the Mohammad Rasoulallah Corps. These operations were accompanied by a messaging campaign aimed at expressing solidarity with the Iranian people. In response to the recent incidents, Fars News Agencyaffiliated with the IRGCacknowledged growing public skepticism toward official explanations blaming gas leaks. Nonetheless, the outlet insisted that such incidents are to be expected, writing, It is entirely natural for such events to occur in a country of 90 million people and 30 million gas subscribers. Echoing this narrative, the head of the National Iranian Gas Company claimed that accidents of this nature are inevitable given the size of the countrys gas network. Although Israel has not claimed responsibility for any of the incidents, the regime in Tehran appears to remain in crisis mode over security. Commercial air traffic over Iran has largely ceased, with only military aircraft visible in the skies. Security forces have established inspection checkpoints across Tehran to monitor internal movement. Authorities have yet to announce any credible discovery of Israeli spiesfurther suggesting that Israel continues to hold a clear intelligence advantage and retains the capability to carry out operations deep inside Iranian territory. Janatan Sayeh is a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies focused on Iranian domestic affairs and the Islamic Republics regional malign influence. The government has presented a plan to reform property tax and a new tax on undeveloped land, with the objective of encouraging more construction and curbing land speculation, the ministries of internal affairs and housing announced on Thursday. The draft legislation has been split into phases. The first includes a reform of the property tax and the introduction of a land mobilisation tax. A second phase will cover a separate tax on vacant housing which will take the shape of another bill which is yet to be drafted. Changes to property tax The property tax will remain a municipal tax, and will not increase, the government said. It added that the update is intended to reflect current land values and improve fairness. We are reforming property taxes to create a modern, transparent and fair tax framework, said Leon Gloden, minister of internal affairs. In the future, the tax will reflect the value of the land and thus ensure fair taxation of owners, he added. The government has removed previously proposed thresholds of 9% to 11% for municipal tax rates, giving local authorities more flexibility. We are giving the municipalities more flexibility. This amendment strengthens municipal autonomy, Gloden said. The government said that the new tax regime will fully come into effect in 2030. Tax on unused buildable land The new land mobilisation tax would apply to land that is zoned for construction under municipal development plans but has not been built on for years. The new land mobilisation tax aims to encourage construction and curb land speculation. It is an important instrument for building more and faster, and thus for further combating the housing shortage, said Gloden. The child-related tax allowance has been updated, with the eligible age limit raised from 25 to 35. There is no minimum land size required to claim the benefit. According to Gloden, the revised proposal addresses missing elements in the original draft, such as the tax procedure and its impact on property owners. This has been a long-term job. We had to completely revise the bill, he said. A separate non-occupancy tax on vacant housing is still in development. Gloden said the measure requires additional work, including the creation of national and municipal registers of buildings and dwellings. The government said that the measures are designed to increase housing supply. The reform of the property tax and the introduction of the land mobilisation tax are fully in line with the political objectives pursued by the government regarding the mobilisation of free building land for the construction of housing. The amendments must make it possible to mobilise land that is located in the most appropriate locations in terms of land use planning, said Claude Meisch, minister of housing and regional planning. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On July 16, FAW Group and Alibaba Group recently inaugurated their joint laboratory in Changchun city, Jilin province, marking a new phase in their collaboration on AI for the automotive sector, according to a press release from Alibaba Group. Leveraging Alibaba's Qwen large language model, FAW Group plans to develop a domain-specific foundation model tailored to the automotive industry and deploy it across its full range of business scenarios. Photo credit: FAW Group The two companies have already introduced pioneering applications in the field, including GPT-BIthe industry's first large model-based BI tooland OpenMind, an enterprise-grade AI agent. While traditional development of general-purpose foundation models has faced challenges such as high computational demands, long iteration cycles, and steep R&D costs, advancements in model architecture and computing efficiency have now made domain-specific large models a feasible and strategic direction. In response, FAW Group and Alibaba Cloud have launched a project to create a large model specifically for the automotive sector, targeting key technical challenges such as computational architecture optimization, domain-specific data governance, model pretraining, fine-tuning, reinforcement learning, and real-world applications. This effort aims to improve product quality, operational efficiency, and cost-effectiveness, while driving digital transformation and innovation within the enterprise. The roadmap for the project includes a three-phase approach. First, the partners will combine Alibaba's Qwen and Qwen-VL multimodal models with FAW's deep industry data to build large language and multimodal models for the sector. Next, they will expand model capabilities across diverse application scenarios such as smart mobility and enterprise operations, accelerating innovation in areas including R&D, manufacturing, and customer service. In the final phase, they will explore cutting-edge concepts like embodied intelligence and smart industrial systems, working toward a closed-loop AI ecosystem. Additionally, FAW Group and Alibaba Cloud will establish a joint engineering team to enhance model training and performance through advances in data preprocessing, model design, distributed training, compression, and deployment. The collaboration will also include the development of a joint talent pipeline, supporting the growth of AI expertise across the automotive industry. Dinosaurs have always fascinated mankind. The number of studies on these giant reptiles and their presence in films such as the latest installment of 'Jurassic Park' are some examples of the admiration they provoke. Some take this a step further and decide to buy a dinosaur skeleton. Specifically, auction house Sotheby's has sold a skeleton of aCeratosaurus for $30.5 million. Sotheby's, located in New York, explained that it is the third most expensive dinosaur fossil ever sold at auction. The skeleton of Ceratosaurus, a carnivore that lived in North America 150 million years ago, had an estimated value by Sotheby's officials of between four and six million dollars. The final bid broke all the molds by multiplying the price fivefold. Video: Monkey steals Logan Paul's bag in wild video that fans can't believe is real In six minutes, the dinosaur was sold and the identity of the person who won the auction has not been revealed. This Ceratosaurus, 1.8 meters high and 3.3 meters long, was found in 1996 by researchers and has several peculiarities: it is the only juvenile specimen found and, moreover, it is one of the four skeletons of this reptile that have been found in history. Other dinosaur auctions It is not the first time that a dinosaur skeleton has been auctioned. As The New York Times recalled, in 2024, a Stegosaurus was sold for $44.6 million and in 2020, a Tyrannosaurus Rex for $31.8 million. In addition, Cassandra Hatton, vice president of Sotheby's, told the media that there is increasing interest in acquiring such specimens. The main distinguishing feature of theCeratosaurus is a horn-like structure on its skull, which is very large in comparison to the rest of its body. It was a bipedal dinosaur, with great strength in its hind legs and relatively short arms. A central section of the MBTA through Downtown Boston will close Thursday night through Sunday for the second straight weekend as work crews conduct planned maintenance, transit authorities said. Subway service on the Ts Red Line will shut down beginning at 8:30 p.m. Thursday between Kendall/MIT station in Cambridge and JFK/UMass station in Dorchester. Trains will resume running between those stations on Monday morning. In place of trains, the MBTA will deploy shuttle buses to ferry riders between the affected stops free of charge. The buses will not stop at Park Street, on the edge of Boston Common, officials said. Instead, they will detour to State and Haymarket stations for connections to the Orange, Blue and Green lines. With shuttle buses crisscrossing the heart of Boston, riders should factor in extra travel time for their commutes during the closure, particularly at rush hour on Friday. For example, travel from Downtown Crossing south to Ashmont or Braintree could take an additional 30 to 45 minutes, the T advised. Rides originating at JFK/UMass, Kendall/MIT, Haymarket, State and South Station will be free during the closure. Transit officials also waived fares on the commuter rail between Braintree and South Station as well as between Porter and North Station, and encouraged riders to use those routes as an alternative to the Red Line. The pause in subway service will allow MBTA crews to perform regular, planned maintenance work, the MBTA said. The agency also plans to partially close the Orange Line later this month into early August for maintenance. Other work will shut down a portion of the Framingham/Worcester line of the commuter rail at the end of this month. The Burger King BBQ Brisket Whopper. Believe it or not, there is brisket on this. (Nick O'Malley/MassLive) The new BBQ Brisket Whopper from Burger King is delicious. That should not be a surprise. Its a Whopper with brisket and crispy onions on it. But when I first ordered it, I thought the person who made it had screwed up. When I unwrapped my Whopper, I was disappointed to see that there didnt seem to be any brisket on the burger. All the other ingredients were there: the pickles, the crispy onions, the cheese. I even posted this photo to my coworkers expressing my disappointment. Just like me, they looked at it and asked, They forgot the brisket? It turns out, no. They didnt. It was just hiding out of sight. A Burger King BBQ Brisket Whopper broken down. You can't see it, but there's brisket under the cheese. (Nick O'Malley/MassLive) Burger King BBQ Brisket Whopper In my defense, promotional photos from Burger King show the new limited-edition Whopper with ample pulled brisket pouring out the sides. My Whopper had no such thing. All I saw were onions, pickles and cheese on top of the patty. So, hoping to conduct an accurate review, I went to get another Whopper. This time, I made sure to check my order before leaving the restaurant. Quick examination: Yup, theres the brisket poking out of the side. The Burger King BBQ Brisket Whopper, with the brisket clearly visible. (Nick O'Malley/MassLive) But looking closer, I noticed something. The brisket was poking out from under the cheese. It was clearly on there and visible on the outside of the burger. But clearly, the bulk of it was placed under the cheese. Wait. Does that mean my first burger actually had brisket on it the whole time? I grabbed a fork and began dissecting my neglected first Whopper. There it was: Under the cheese, I managed to reveal a layer of brisket, pulling it up like a layer of fresh sod on the front lawn just grosser. Dissecting the Burger King BBQ Brisket Whopper to find the BBQ under the cheese. (Nick O'Malley/MassLive) What does it taste like? As mad as I am at this burger, I have to admit it. This thing is delicious. The BBQ flavor is strong, coming through with a tangy sweetness that serves as a distinctive highlight to the alternative Whopper. Flavor-wise, its similar to what you often get with a sweet, saucey dollop of pulled pork. Outside of the BBQ, you still get the typical meatiness from the burger patty, which carries the usual smoky, savory flavors of the Whopper. The sauce and pickles keep the whole thing from being too heavy, breaking up the elements to make the individual components pop. This easily could have been a big mess like a sloppy Joe. But the ingredients are allocated in a way that prevents it from being too moist and messy. Honestly, thats probably due to the brisket being encased under the water-tight cheese barrier. Looking back, its a great idea in terms of the eating experience. At the same time, it definitely dulls the presentation. I want to see the brisket. The Burger King BBQ Brisket Whopper, with the brisket clearly visible. (Nick O'Malley/MassLive) So is it any good? I was confused at first. But if Id just bitten down into the burger right away, I would have discovered that it was delicious and filled with the brisket Id thought was missing. I may owe Burger King an apology. Although, to be fair, Burger King has owed me an apology for years after the atrocity that was the Black Whopper. Id say were even now. The final word The release of the BBQ Brisket Whopper is a part of Burger Kings Whopper by You promotion. The chain is inviting the hungry burger hordes to send in suggestions for what they think would make a cool Whopper. You can submit your own burger schematics at bk.com/wby. Id hate to be the poor soul at Burger King corporate HQ who has to sort through that inbox. Unfortunately for that poor soul, they have to look at the burger I submitted. I call it the Impossibly Cheesy Whopper. Its an Impossible Whopper topped with American Cheese, Swiss Cheese, Cheddar Cheese and Mozzarella Sticks. There are also onions and mayonnaise because Im a maniac. I also made The Burger That Isnt Yours: The Nacho Whopper. Its topped with nachos, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. The website doesnt actually give you the option to name your burger. But it cant stop me from picking one myself. Burger King will not be making either of my creations, so Im not too worried about it. --- Want more I Ate It food coverage? You can follow Nick on Instagram (@NickAteIt) and TikTok (also @NickAteIt) I ate it so you dont have to is a regular food column about off-beat eats, both good and bad. I picked the name years ago and now were sort of stuck with it. You can send any praise/food suggestions to nomalley@masslive.com. Please send all criticisms and complaints about how some of Nicks photos look nauseating to lnygard@masslive.com. You can check out the rest of the series here. Editors note: This article was updated at 12:07 p.m. on Friday, July 18, 2025 to correct the number of people who died from the fire as of July 17, 2025. Body camera footage released Thursday afternoon by the Fall River Police Department shows officers combing the Gabriel House assisted living facility as a fire raged, rescuing residents and breaking down doors in search of others. The footage shows officers walking into what appears to be the front entrance of the facility around 9:44 p.m. Thursday, about 2 minutes after a dispatcher can be heard sending first responders to the scene on radio transmissions. The fire alarm can be heard blaring in each of the videos, as officers hurry residents out of the building. We need you out, theres a huge fire, one officer says. Big fire. A firefighter is seen in the building carrying an axe minutes later, at 9:45 p.m., as first responders broke down doors to warn residents of the impending danger. Officers used flashlights and explosive door knocks as they made their way through the facility. At one point, officers are seen outside coughing and keeled over, seemingly choking on the heavy smoke that filled the building. At another, two officers jump through an open window. Police were still working with firefighters to rescue residents more than 40 minutes after they arrived at the scene, often physically carrying residents and helping them down flights of stairs. Officials have said the mobility issues of many residents contributed to the severity of the blaze, which killed nine people and injured dozens more. Five people remain hospitalized on Thursday, Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said. In all, 11 police officers and two sergeants responded to the fire, equipped with flashlights, explosive door-kicks and exceptional courage, the department said in a statement. About 65 firefighters, including many who were off-duty, responded to the scene, officials said. Those who responded exemplified professionalism, bravery, and selflessness in the face of danger, the statement reads. Still, the footage shows only a narrow view of the challenging and chaotic conditions faced by first responders that evening, the department said. In times of tragedy, we often witness the strength of our community and this incident was no exception, police wrote. We extend our sincere gratitude to the many residents, businesses, and organizations that have reached out with support and compassion for those affected. SHENZHEN, China, July 17, 2025 MINIEYE Technology Co., Ltd. (Stock Code: 2431.HK), an intelligent driving and cabin solutions provider in China, announced a new design win from CHANGAN Automobile, one of China's top automotive manufacturers. The project involves supplying advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) domain controllers for several CHANGAN's flagship models under its independent brands. The first mass production model is expected to launch in Q4 2025. Photo credit: MINIEYE For the new ADAS domain controller project, MINIEYE will provide systems built on a multi-sensor fusion framework and high-efficiency architecture, enabling core functions such as Autonomous Emergency Braking (AEB), Full-Speed Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), and Automatic Park Assist (APA). The solution is engineered to maximize hardware performance while delivering tangible safety and convenience for a wide spectrum of users. This latest design win builds upon the momentum from June 2025, when MINIEYE secured a high-performance ADAS domain controller project from CHANGAN. The partnership traces back to 2022, after MINIEYE secured multiple design wins on the SDA platform of CHANGAN with its Driver Monitoring System (DMS) and Occupant Monitoring System (OMS) solutions. The continued recognition by CHANGAN reflects the depth of trust and long-term collaboration between the two companies. CHANGAN's endorsement underscores MINIEYE's technological strength, product reliability, and delivery capabilities in both intelligent driving and cabin solutions. It is worth noting that the CHANGAN SDA platform includes export models. As more Chinese automakers expand into overseas markets, intelligent driving and cabin technologies from China are also gaining global recognition. MINIEYE serves as a strong example of this trend, with its compliant and export-ready solutions already being integrated into a growing number of international vehicle programs. As of the end of 2024, MINIEYE's solutions had been integrated into multiple exported vehicle models, reaching markets such as the EU, Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia. As one of the first Chinese suppliers of DMS solutions to have successfully supported OEMs in obtaining ADDW and DDAW certifications and a five-star E-NCAP rating, MINIEYE's experience will be a big advantage for CHANGAN and other OEMs in meeting global regulatory standards. Looking ahead, MINIEYE will continue advancing its product portfolio and solution capabilities, while working closely with industry partners to accelerate the development of a smarter and safer mobility ecosystem. A 26-year-old former leader of a notorious Massachusetts gang known for a decade of bloodshed was sentenced to prison Wednesday. Aaron Diaz Liranzo, also known as Sosa, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Nathaniel M. Gorton to 14 years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Diaz Liranzo was arrested and charged in February when authorities said he was the leader of the Lynn Chapter of the Trinitarios gang. He pleaded guilty to RICO conspiracy, or conspiring to participate in criminal operations in a pattern of illegal activity, in March. He was one of at least 22 active gang members who were charged with state or federal crimes earlier this year. He was the sixth gang member charged to plead guilty. The charges stem from a slew of organized criminal activities in Massachusetts over the past decade, including the murders of six people and the attempted killings of 11 others. In February, officials called the indictments a significant blow to the criminal enterprise. Diaz Liranzo was the leader of the Lynn Chapter from at least 2021 until 2025, called the Primera or Number One, according to the U.S. District Attorneys Office. The 26-year-old admitted to participating in a shooting outside of a Lynn nightclub in March 2019, where he shot at three people inside a car, the office said. Two people were severely injured, though both survived. The shooting was planned to target rival gang members and the victims were lured there by another gang member who posed as a woman who needed a ride, the district attorneys office said. Massachusetts Trinitarios have committed multiple homicides in Essex County over the past decade and are believed to be responsible for numerous attempted murders, shootings, kidnappings and robberies, the district attorneys office said. Three years ago, the town of Stow became known for being different from other Massachusetts communities in a way that any Bay Stater would find horrific it now lacked a single Dunkin location. But after suffering through years without Massachusetts most essential amenity, the hopeful orange and pink glow is set to begin illuminating the town once again later this month. I guess our prayers have been answered, Stow Select Board Member Dan Peterson is quoted as saying in a Thursday press release. What its like to be a Dunkin desert With 1,037 Dunkin locations, Massachusetts has far and away the most of any state not to mention enough for every municipality to have three locations. Despite this, in 2022, both of Stows Dunkin shops closed within 30 days of one another, town officials said. News that the town had become a Dunkin desert became widely known later that year thanks to a viral social media video from WBZ Radios Matt Shearer. One Stow resident he interviewed revealed a shocking truth: the towns residents were now forced to travel as much as a mile and a half to other towns just to get their daily dose of Dunkin. You gotta leave the state! I mean, not the state. But you gotta leave Stow though. Its terrible, one resident told Shearer. Residents of neighboring towns, such as Maynard, were also affected by Stows loss, Shearer reported. As Stow residents began seeking refuge at their Dunkins, traffic worsened at and around the coffee shops, slowing morning routines for miles outside of Stow. Dunkin returns But last summer, Stows destitute and despairing residents were given reason to hope. Moved by their cries for relief, Mark and Megan Pesce a couple who operate many Dunkin franchises in Greater Boston purchased 108 Great Road in Stow in August 2024 with the intent of turning it into a Dunkin, town officials said. As soon as we heard the two stores in Stow had closed, we wanted to fix that, Megan Pesce is quoted as saying to Stow Select Board members. The Lower Village Common property was once home to a Beef N Ale, but the site has long sat unused following the restaurants closure, town officials said. Were excited to be able to keep the feel and the porch that was the Beef N Ale for so many years, Megan Pesce told board members. The new Dunkin will have another unique feature a Dunkin Desert gallery wall that showcases highlights from this dark period in the towns history. How Stow is celebrating In honor of the new Dunkins grand opening on July 24, the Pesces asked the Stow Select Board to adopt Dunkin as the towns name just for the day, town officials said. Last week, the board unanimously voted in favor of the temporary renaming. A celebration of Dunkins return to Stow is set to be held at the new location on Great Road from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 24, town officials said. Local officials and Cuppy Dunkins official mascot will be in attendance, and the Pesces are scheduled to give opening remarks prior to a ribbon-cutting at 11 a.m. At some point during the celebration, the Pesces will present a $5,000 check to the Stow Food Pantry in partnership with the Dunkin Joy in Childhood Foundation, town officials said. There will also be a live unveiling of the Dunkin Desert gallery wall, and the first 100 Dunkin Rewards members who order coffee at the new location will receive 100 days of free coffee. This story first appeared on palabra, the digital news site by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. By Rich Tenorio | Edited by Patricia Guadalupe From growing up in Colombia to writing for CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in New York City, Felipe Torres Medinas trajectory has been full of twists and turns. So it makes perfect sense that he views his journey to the US and those of countless fellow immigrants as akin to a Choose Your Own Adventure story. Now hes written a book about the innumerable variables and outcomes of such journeys America, Let Me In: A Choose Your Immigration Story, which is published by Abrams Image. I wanted to write a humor book first, Torres Medina tells palabra. A humor book that happens to be about immigration, not an immigration book that happens to be funny. That was my goal. In writing the book, he says, I thought about being able to tell more than one story not only in my immigrant journey, but considering different kinds of visas, different ways to remain in the U.S. Humor sparkles throughout the pages. The author pokes fun at wealthy (and fictional) French men and women who have a relatively easy path to entering the U.S., thanks to wealth, entrepreneurship, or some combination of both. At an April 10 book talk in suburban Boston, Torres Medina left the attendees laughing and thinking more about the immigrant experience at a time when its on many peoples minds. The cover of Felipe Torres Medina's book "America, Let Me In: A Choose Your Immigration Story." Image courtesy of Felipe Torres Medina The book was released amid increased challenges for immigrants from the Trump administration, such as stepped-up Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on undocumented migrants, with Boston among the cities targeted. Torres Medina told the gathering at the book signing that humor is the only way we sometimes deal with the horror. And, he added, you just have to keep living your life. Latino communities, Latino people, have to stay alive to fight Jokes help us stay alive. With cameos from Babar the Elephant and a centaur queen, plus digs at Boston, the humor of the book is blended with compassion for the real-life individuals and families who must navigate the U.S. immigration system. Early on, the reader finds four options for immigrating to the United States: easy, medium, hard, and very hard. Those who pick easy will be disappointed. Torres Medina read aloud what readers would see if they chose this option: Incorrect! There is no easy way to move to America. Your journey has ended before it began! Thats a funny-because-its-true kind of joke, he reflects to palabra. Theres no easy way to move to the U.S. I wanted to make that very clear. Felipe Torres Medina at a book talk and signing event in New York. Photo by JT Anderson/courtesy of Felipe Torres Medina Torres Medina knows this from experience. Much of the book details his own immigrant journey, which familiarized him with the mind-boggling array of ways to enter the country and their respective requirements. He first came as a student at Boston University, but when his graduate program ended, so did his F-1 student visa. He scrambled to find a way to stay, and in the process learned about options for creative types such as himself, including the O-1B visa that admitted Torres Medina as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability in the Arts. As the book details, this did not happen without some initial pitfalls. Throughout the pages, he shows empathy for fellow Latino immigrants. As he notes, they often face additional challenges from American officials who do not understand certain cultural norms. One such norm is the practice of parents giving a child four names: first, middle, fathers last name and mothers last name. This has led to the author being mistaken for similarly named individuals, some with criminal backgrounds, while attempting to enter the U.S. For a person who writes comedy, the only way to deal with this is to write comedy about it, he tells palabra. Its the only way to deal with things you have absolutely no control over, that you cannot change. Felipe Torres Medina with an attendee at a book signing event in Kansas City. Photo by Maisie VanSlander/courtesy of Felipe Torres Medina There were some aspects of the immigrant journey that the author couldnt joke about. Remember the section where readers could choose the level of difficulty for their immigration journey? Well, for anyone who chooses very hard, their path will end as abruptly as the easy one. Why? Because Torres Medina does not want to be seen as making light of the arduous journey of impoverished migrants risking their lives. A lot of people come here the very, very hard way, he says, including thousands and thousands of migrants from Colombia or Venezuela. Unlike his own journey by plane, these migrants make an arduous overland trek through the Darien Gap, a 60-mile stretch of roadless, dense jungle rainforest and mountains located on the border between Panama and Colombia, the only land bridge between North and South America. The most treacherous path of land in their path to the U.S. from South America is in Colombia, Torres Medina says. Its an issue I know a lot about. I want to treat it with respect. Ultimately, things worked out well for Torres Medina. Not only did he get to stay in the United States, he wound up falling in love with his future wife, Taylor, a fellow comedy writer who is with HBOs Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. I think it was nice to be able to look at it from the rearview mirror, Torres Medina says of his immigrant journey. At the same time, any immigrant will tell you the journey never feels quite over. Gov. Maura Healey visits Gabriel House assisted living facility in Fall River on Monday, July 14, 2025, after devastating fire killed nine residents and hospitalized 30. Irene Rotondo Nearly six in 10 Massachusetts voters approve of Gov. Maura Healeys job performance as the Democrat heads into the thick of her campaign for a second term. The 59% of respondents to the new Morning Consult poll who gave Healey the thumbs-up are an improvement over 49% of respondents to a June poll by the University of New Hampshire who were asked the same question. Healeys surrogates pushed back mightily against that canvass, dismissing it as an outlier, even as two former Baker administration officials revved up their bids for the Corner Office. Those hopefuls, Mike Kennealy, who served as Gov. Charlie Bakers housing and economic development czar, and Brian Shortsleeve, who helmed the MBTA for the GOP governor, have sharpened their attacks on issues ranging from the ongoing high cost of the states shelter system to Healeys recent out-of-state travel. Though her numbers rose, it wasnt a big enough bump for Healey to crack the ranks of the top 10 most popular Democratic governors in the country, according to the poll. Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear took the No. 1 honors in that category, followed by Govs. Josh Green of Hawaii, Ned Lamont of Connecticut, Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Laura Kelly of Kansas, and Wes Moore of Maryland, according to the poll. Maine Gov. Janet Mills, also a Democrat, made the top 10 list for the nations most unpopular governors. Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, took first place among all state chief executives, clocking in with an 72% approval rating, according to the poll. A powerful earthquake struck Alaska on Wednesday, less than a day after one of the states Republican senators warned that cuts to public radio backed by the Trump administration could affect disaster alerts for her constituents and other Americans. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of two Senate Republicans to vote against the $9 billion in spending cuts, which passed in a 51-48 vote just after 2 a.m. Thursday. The bill now heads to the U.S. House. The legislation slashes funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public broadcasting stations across the country, from WBUR radio in Boston to Alaska Public Media in Murkowskis home state. The radio stations are not just your news it is your tsunami alert, it is your landslide alert, it is your volcano alert," Murkowski said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. Less than a day later, Alaskans saw those alerts in action. A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck offshore of the Alaska Peninsula just after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. It sent some coastal residents and visitors scrambling for higher ground, though officials ultimately canceled a tsunami warning for the region. There were no reports of significant damage, according to The Associated Press. Federal advisories about the earthquake and the potential for a tsunami were issued through Alaskan public broadcasting stations, Murkowski later said in a statement on X. In Alaska, these are simply organizations dedicated to their communities, she said. Their response to todays earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide. They deliver local news, weather updates, and, yes, emergency alerts that save human lives. The quake offered a reminder that when we hear people rant about how public broadcasting is nothing more than this radical, liberal effort to pollute peoples minds, I think they need to look at what some of the basic services are to communities, she added in a statement, according to funds are distributed to local public broadcasting stations nationwidethe AP. U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said the cuts targeted wasteful spending, though they would reduce the federal budget deficit by only a minor amount. Thune called the vote a small but important step for fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue, according to the AP. The cuts would slice $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the full amount it was set to receive over the next two fiscal years. More than 70% of the funds are distributed to local public broadcasting stations nationwide. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, also voted against the cuts. Urban Outfitters is making it easier (and more affordable) to head back to campus in style. The brand just dropped its Dorm Sale, and its packed with major markdowns on everything you need to personalize your space. From cozy bedding and statement rugs to minimalist storage, bath essentials, lighting, and unique decor, there are so many items on sale for up to 40% off right now until July 21. Toile Duvet Cover Set $99 as low as $47 Grab dorm room essentials on sale, including bedding, at Urban Outfitters. Buy Now at Urban Outfitters Whether youre moving into a tiny dorm room or off-campus apartment, this sale is the perfect chance to create a space that feels like home, without spending a fortune. Urban Outfitters dorm collection leans into trendy textures, calming neutrals, playful prints, and functional pieces that maximize style in even the smallest spaces. What youll find on sale This huge dorm sale includes everything from bedding to rugs. Check out the deals below: Bedding Rugs Bath Decor Sign up for MassLives Shopping Newsletter: A recap of the biggest deals and sales of online shopping from the week that was, curated by MassLives expert e-commerce writer, Jessica Day. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE An arbitration judge has ordered the reinstatement of an Amherst Regional Middle School counselor who was fired in 2023 following an investigation into claims that she and two other counselors misgendered transgender students, Amherst-Pelham Public Schools Superintendent E. Xiomara Dr. Xi Herman announced Wednesday. Delinda Dykes was among multiple district staff members who became embroiled in controversy after an Amherst-Pelham Regional High School student newspaper published an extensive article detailing allegations against her and two other counselors in May 2023. Set to begin at 5 p.m. on July 18 and continue through July 19, the Race Street Salsa Fest marks a milestone for the venue, which has quickly become a cultural anchor in downtown Holyoke. (De La Luz photo) courtesy HOLYOKE De La Luz Soundstage, an arts and music venue in the citys Puerto Rican Cultural District, is celebrating its first anniversary with a two-day salsa festival packed with live music, dance, and community events. Set to begin at 5 p.m. on July 18 and continue through July 19, the Race Street Salsa Fest marks a milestone for the venue, which has quickly become a cultural anchor in downtown Holyoke. An evening view of 44 Hampden St. in Springfield, home of New England Public Media. (The Republican / file) Editors note: This story has been updated with additional context and to reflect that New England Public Media also receives funds from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting through GBH, and so it received a total of $857,900 in the 2024 fiscal year. In the days leading up to the Senates vote on whether to rescind funding for public broadcasting, PBS and NPR affiliate New England Public Media has been running radio spots warning of possible funding cuts. 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Photo credit: BYD The vessel is now set to dock at Xiaomo Port in the Shenshan Special Cooperation Zone to begin its maiden car-loading voyage. Photo credit: BYD Built by Guangzhou Shipyard International Company Limited ("CSSC"), the ZHENG ZHOU is a sister ship to the previously launched HEFEI. It measures 199.9 meters in length and 38 meters in width, with a capacity to carry up to 7,000 vehicles. The vessel is powered by dual-fuel LNG engines and is equipped with a permanent magnet shaft generator and energy-saving technologies. Following BYD's naming convention, the ship is named after one of its major production basesZhengzhou. So far, BYD has taken delivery of several self-owned car carriers, including BYD EXPLORER No. 1, BYD CHANGZHOU, BYD HEFEI, BYD SHENZHEN, BYD XI'AN, and now BYD ZHENG ZHOU, with more such as BYD CHANGSHA and BYD JINAN to follow. The company plans to establish an eight-ship fleet by 2026, which will help shorten delivery times to Europe and strengthen its global market presence. In addition to maritime shipping, BYD is also exploring other export channels such as railway transportation and overseas localized production. In June last year, its joint venture factory in Uzbekistan rolled out the first locally assembled Song PLUS DM-i. Around the same time, over 260 BYD passenger vehicles produced at the Zhengzhou plant were shipped via a dedicated freight train from a nearby international dry port to Uzbekistan. This multifaceted export strategy has paid off. In the first half of 2025, BYD exported 472,000 vehiclesup more than 130% year-on-yeardemonstrating strong momentum in its international expansion. Educators in Early Years and School Age Care play an instrumental role in childrens lives. Parents recognise this, and its time for our government to formally do so too. With a growing demand for Early Years and School Age Care services in Mayo, settings grapple with staff recruitment and retention every day. This is a major barrier to increasing capacity and guaranteeing more places for Mayos children. Affordable Early Years and School Age Care has recently propelled to the top of the political agenda, with 200 a month provision promised in the Programme for Government. In a recent statement, the Taoiseach said that while he is committed to gradually reducing fees, other steps must be taken before that can be achieved. While a reduction in fees for families certainly is welcome, we must first address pay and conditions for the workforce to ensure there are enough staff to provide high-quality services for babies, toddlers and young children in Mayo. As a first step, Early Childhood Ireland proposes bringing the pay of Early Years and School Age Care graduates in line with primary school teachers. According to the latest data from Pobal, the organisation administering Early Years funding, the average staff turnover in Mayo stands at 17.5 percent. Additionally, over 55 percent of services had vacancies in the past 12 months. This is not a trend we can ignore. Our 114 member settings in Mayo already know why they are struggling to attract and retain dedicated educators who contribute so significantly to childrens development. Despite having the same level of training and education as primary school teachers, Early Years graduates face lower wages and fewer benefits. Importantly, annual increments, pensions, and maternity leave top-ups remain out of reach for these professionals. Public pay and conditions There have been recent proposals to increase minimum pay rates for staff by 10 percent. This will increase base pay, as per the Employment Regulation Order (ERO), from 13.65 to 15 an hour. Although any increase is welcome, pay levels for the Early Years and School Age workforce remain at the mercy of two annual processes, the Joint Labour Committees deliberations and the annual budget. The government is moving in the right direction, but unless a new urgency is brought to the pay issues, Early Years and School Age Care settings in Mayo will continue to lose their most qualified staff at unsustainable levels. READ MORE OPINION: Time for Irish Rail to reinstate trolley service Guaranteeing pay parity for Early Years and School Age Care graduates with primary school teachers would not only offer the workforce deserved recognition and security but would also go a long way in alleviating challenges parents and guardians face when trying to find a place for their child. With high levels of staff turnover, many services have to close rooms or delay expansions, simply because they cannot recruit or retain enough qualified staff. The latest official data from Pobal reveals a troubling capacity shortage in services in Mayo, with 550 children under the age of three currently on waiting lists for a place. This figure highlights the gap between the demand for Early Years and School Age Care and the number of places available for children. The government must act to ensure all children have access to high-quality Early Years education, and addressing the staffing crisis is the first critical step. Crucial role Early Years and School Age Care is a public good. It is time for us as a society to recognise this and the crucial role the workforce plays in the first years of a childs life. With a rapidly growing demand for provisions in Mayo, it is vital that the government invests in Early Years and School Age Care educators to ensure that services are not only of the highest quality but are also sustainable in the long term. Mayo Sinn Fein TD, Rose Conway-Walsh, has said that the closure of 18 post offices in County Mayo, and 257 across the state in the last 10 years is 'truly shocking'. The figures were confirmed to Sinn Fein in response to a Parliamentary Question. Teachta Conway-Walsh said: It is shocking that 18 post offices in Mayo, and 257 across the state have closed over the last 10 years. The figures reveal that across County Mayo, 17 rural and 1 urban post office have been closed in the last decade. The local post office plays a vital role in Irish life, providing financial services, access to the social welfare system, communications infrastructure and community supports. In many areas, they are the only visible expression of the state. READ MORE: Open Air Irish trad tunes take over main street of Mayo town They foster social inclusion, connection, and participation, especially for older people and those on the margins. They are public services, not just private enterprises, and must be supported as such. There is widespread concern that the current contract terms are simply not fit for purpose. They are not attracting new entrants to take over post office services when long-serving postmasters retire. Without a new approach, as advocated by the Irish Post Office Union, the network will continue to shrink, and more and more communities will lose their post office. That would be a huge blow to social cohesion, particularly in rural areas. Its time for action. The government cannot continue to ignore the crisis in our post office network. They need to listen to postmasters and the communities they serve. An annual investment is needed and a government commitment to using the Post Office Network as a delivery partner for more public services such as form generation, tourist information, peace commissioners and other facilities. Whats needed now is targeted, strategic investment, and a new vision that puts public service and community needs first. The closure are listed below county by county: READ MORE: Mayo Minister reiterates the importance of CAP to rural Ireland On a breezy Wednesday afternoon, the streets of Westport pulsed with the unmistakable energy of traditional Irish music. Bridge Street, normally a bustling stretch of cafes and shops, was transformed into a vibrant open-air stage as the young musicians of the Westport Scoil Cheoil delivered a performance that was as heart warming as it was foot-tapping. READ MORE: Mayos Kate Heneghan performs at Dubai concert with legendary Frankie Gavin From 2pm to 3pm, the town came alive with the sounds of harps, fiddles, tin whistles, flutes, banjos, and guitars. This showcase marked a highlight of the annual Westport Scoil Cheoil, which runs from July 14 to 18, and drew families, visitors, and locals into a collective moment of musical joy. But the magic behind this moment stretches far beyond the hour-long performance. It is rooted in a deep passion to preserve and share traditional Irish musicand to make it accessible to everyone, no matter their background or experience. Its a great community feeling, said Michelle Moran, watching with pride as her daughter performed. The girls absolutely love it. It's just a couple of hours, and it's just pure lovely. There are tutors from all over and they're coming to share their knowledge and their love of it. It makes people happy. This year, over 300 students and 50 primary school teachers took part in the Scoil Cheoil. Recognised both as an Irish music summer school and an academic course, the programme draws attendees from across Irelandand even from abroad. University students travel each year from Salzburg to immerse themselves in the trad experience. READ MORE: Are Mayos Hardy Bucks set for new episodes chasing monsters? Not everyone grows up with the chance to sit in on a session or to learn from seasoned players. The Scoil Cheoil fills that gap, offering top-tier teaching, performance opportunities, and a chance to build confidence through music. Were here to facilitate and enable people to get into Trad, provide sessions, bring them to concerts, and expose them to amazing tutors, Dr Maura Thornton, founder and director of the Westport Scoil Cheoil said. And the tutors are indeed exceptional. This years roster included Zoe Conway and John McIntyre, described by the BBC as the most amazing duo on the planet, RTEs Instrumentalist of the Year Alana Thornburgh, the renowned Lisa Canny, the celebrated Heneghan family, the Healy brothers, and Joe McNultyall sharing their artistry with passion and generosity. The music didnt end with the showcase either. Sessions ran deep into the evenings. Every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday of the week, we've had amazing sessions in Charlie's at the Towers, Dr Thornton noted. We started playing on Tuesday night at seven, and we were thrown out at midnight. The Scoil Cheoil isnt just about playing notesits about building life skills. Confidence, community, and creativity are embedded into every tune. Theyre putting themselves forward, putting themselves on a stage. They know that theyll never go hungry because they have this skill. It really is a life skill, Dr Thornton beams. That spirit was joyfully on display during the weeks busking competition featuring three categories. Dr Thornton and her daughter, the 2023 Mayo Rose of Tralee, Kate Heneghan picked the following category winners: Rhia and Beth won for Best Musical Ability The Amazing Bunnies were crowned Most Entertaining The West Busking Group took home the prize for Enthusiasm and Variety For many, the Scoil Cheoil is the highlight of the summer. The social side and the friendships they make would be a big part of it, said Catherine Tighe, whose children were busking outside The Bookshop on Bridge Street. And for families like Bryan Rentonswhose nieces Harriette and Florence came all the way from Navanits a chance to make lasting memories. Even parents are getting in on the act: I might encourage them the next time they ask me for a fiver, joked Laura Langan. Ill go, Take yourself down the street now and you can earn your ice cream. I'm not buying it. Michelle Moran laughed in agreement: Oh, you said it. And I hope they put their hands in their pocket now when we go up to Krem. As the music fades and the instruments are packed away, one thing is clear: Westports Scoil Cheoil is not just about learning tunes. Its about lighting a lifelong love of traditional music, building a sense of belonging, and keeping the rich heritage of Irish music aliveone joyful note at a time. A BARMAN accused of the manslaughter of a 60-year-old man in a Mayo town was acting in self defence when he swung a punch at him, according to a witness in the trial. Vincent 'Jimmy' Connolly of Cedar Hill, Westport is currently on trial after he pleaded not guilty to the manslaughter of Peter McDermott who died from a head injury sustained in a fall outside the Clock Tavern on High Street, Westport in the early hours of September 9, 2023. Mr McDermott of Marino Lodge, Murrisk, Westport died in Mayo University Hospital on September 10, 2023 as a subsequent post mortem found the cause of death was due to a traumatic head injury caused by a propelled fall. Mr McDermott, a native of Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim, was a married father of one daughter who had moved to the Westport area around 2015 having worked in construction in London and New York. The trial before Judge Eoin Garavan, which started yesterday morning in Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court, heard evidence from people who had been outside the Clock Tavern when the incident took place at approximately 1.30am. READ: 'Absolutely vile' - Mayo TD speaks out on social media comments A large crowd had been in the pub to attend a charity event and listen to The Bible Code Sundays band who had travelled from England to play at the event. Michael Mulroy told the jury that he attended the event and left the Clock Tavern along with Mr Connolly to go for a drink in Henehan's late bar located on Bridge Street. He explained that as they headed towards Bridge Street a man came towards them and all of a sudden he charged and attacked Mr Connolly knocking him to the ground. Mr Mulroy said no words were exchanged between them and he did not know who the other man was. He claimed that the man then squared up to Mr Connolly after he got off the ground and that Mr Connolly hit him with a 'slap' which knocked the man over and he hit his head. Mr Mulroy said the whole incident happened 'in a couple of seconds' and described the impact with Mr McDermott's head as 'quite a bang'. When questioned by Mr Dean Kelly, senior counsel for Mr Connolly, Mr Mulroy said he believed the only reason Mr Connolly was attacked was that he was smaller than he was and he felt he was lucky he was not knocked over. He was out to do damage you could see in his eyes, he was raging, Mr Mulroy said of Mr McDermott. It looked like he wanted to pick a fight with anyone. It was not a stumble, it was a charge with intent to harm, he added. Mr Mulroy described the defendant as a 'gentle soul' who would not go out of his way to hit anyone. It is not in Jimmy's nature to fight...Everyone who saw it knows it was self defence, Mr Mulroy said. The court heard that Mr Connolly, a native of Co Roscommon, has lived in the Westport region for the last number of years and was well liked in the pub trade in the town. He worked as a bar man in Westport and is currently the bar manager of Heweston's Bar on Bridge Street. Trial of Vincent Connolly is taking place in Castlebar Courthouse On September 8, he had been at a wedding in the Westport Country Lodge in Aughagower but left at around midnight to attend a charity event in the Clock Tavern. Mr McDermott, the jury was told, arrived in Westport on his own just before 10pm and had been drinking in the Grainstore pub and JJ O'Malley's on Bridge Street. Michael Henehan of Henehan's Late Bar gave evidence that he refused entry to Mr McDermott around midnight as he felt he was too intoxicated. He claimed that Mr McDermott told him he was a 'gentle giant' and would be no problem to them but added he took this to be said in a menacing manner. Mr Henehan said that Mr McDermott arrived around an hour later and claimed that he 'tried to go through me to enter' but was refused entry. He claimed that the situation was escalating towards violence and that Mr McDermott threatened him and was verbally abusive. Mr Henehan told the jury that but for a bystander standing between Mr McDermott and himself there would have been a 'physical conflict'. Evidence was also given by bystanders who were outside the Clock Tavern at the time of the incident. Maeve Mulchrone explained that she travelled to Westport from the UK to attend a family wedding and had been socialising in the Clock Tavern with relatives and family members. She said she had not been drinking that night and was waiting for a taxi outside when she heard noise behind her which made her turn around. She described seeing Mr Connolly hit Mr McDermott with an open hand across the face which knocked him straight onto the ground. She said she could hear a crack as he hit the ground. Ms Mulchrone said she was a medical student at the time and offered assistance to Mr McDermott as he lay unconscious on the ground. She said there was blood coming from his head and he was unresponsive to light in his eyes. The jury was told that people on the scene also came to assist Mr McDermott and CPR was administered and it took up to 40 minutes for an ambulance to arrive. When questioned by Mr Kelly, Ms Mulchrone accepted that there seemed to be no force or violence to the assault by Mr Connolly and she reiterated that it was more like a slap than a punch. She also said that Mr Connolly was in shock and concerned for Mr McDermott and the court heard he placed his suit jacket under his head and stayed at the scene until the gardai arrived. In his evidence, Jack Garvin said that it appeared that Mr McDermott did not brace himself for the fall and hit his head on the concrete. Another witness, Sinead Dalton told Ms Patricia McLoughlin, senior counsel for the prosecution, that she heard a loud crack after Mr McDermott fell. She said she later asked Mr Connolly why he punched him and she said he replied that it was 'just a reaction'. The trial continues in Castlebar Courthouse. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On July 16, Chinese eVTOL developer TCab Tech announced it has signed a $1 billion purchase agreement with UAE-based Autocraft for 350 units of its E20 eVTOL aircraft. The two companies will work together to advance the commercialization of low-altitude tourism and aerial mobility solutions across the Middle East and North Africa. Photo credit: TCab Tech The E20 is TCab Tech's flagship model, developed in-house with a tiltrotor design that enables both vertical takeoff and landing as well as efficient horizontal cruising. It boasts a maximum range of 200 kilometers, a cruising speed of 260 km/h, and a top speed of 320 km/h. Designed for both intra-city and intercity transport, the aircraft is positioned as a competitive solution in terms of safety, cost-efficiency, and adaptability. Autocraft, a UAE firm known for its strategic investments in cutting-edge technologies, aims to position the country as a leader in aerial transportation solutions. The new partnership leverages Autocraft's strengths in regulatory access, local geography, and operational insight, alongside TCab Tech's expertise in aircraft development, manufacturing, and system integration. Together, the companies plan to launch pilot programs and commercial deployments of the E20 across multiple regions in the MENA market. TCab Tech emphasized that this landmark order represents not only a major step in the international rollout of the E20, but also a model of Sino-Arab collaboration in high-tech innovation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. by Wendy Davis , July 17, 2025 A three-judge panel of the conservative 5th Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday lifted a block on Mississippi's social media law, which requires social platforms to verify all users' ages, and prohibits minors from creating social media accounts without parental permission. The appellate judges didn't give a reason for their decision. The court's move allows Mississippi officials to enforce the law while the case proceeds in court. NetChoice, which sued over the law, said Thursday it is "considering all available options." "NetChoice will continue to fight against this egregious infringement on access to fully protected speech online," Paul Taske, co-director of the NetChoice Litigation Center, stated. advertisement advertisement In addition to requiring parental consent for social media, the Mississippi law also requires social platforms to prevent or mitigate minors' exposure to harmful material -- defined as including material that promotes or facilitates eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual abuse and online bullying. NetChoice argued in its challenge to the law that it violates the First Amendment by restricting lawful speech of its members and their users. U.S. District Court Judge Halil Ozerden in the Southern District of Mississippi sided with NetChoice and prohibited the state from enforcing the law against eight companies -- Dreamwidth, Meta Platforms, Nextdoor, Pinterest, Reddit, Snapchat, X and YouTube. Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch recently petitioned the 5th Circuit to lift that injunction, arguing that the law reflects a valid attempt to protect teens from "predatory harm." On Wednesday, NetChoice opposed that request for numerous reasons. Among others, the group said the parental-consent mandate doesn't mesh with the law's stated goal of protecting minors, arguing that if social platforms were actually dangerous for teens, it wouldn't make sense to allow them to access those platforms with parental permission. People with hypothyroidism may develop small intestinal bacterial overgrowth, which may be reduced by thyroid hormone therapy. Trusted Source Thyroid treatment may improve gut health in people with hypothyroidism Go to source Trusted Source Did You Know? If you have #Hypothyroidism (or #autoimmune thyroiditis), you are at higher risk for #SIBO (too much gut bacteria). Your #ThyroidMedication helps! A healthy gut can even prevent autoimmune diseases. #guthealth #medindia If you have #Hypothyroidism (or #autoimmune thyroiditis), you are at higher risk for #SIBO (too much gut bacteria). Your #ThyroidMedication helps! A healthy gut can even prevent autoimmune diseases. #guthealth #medindia Unveiling the Microbiological Mechanism Advertisement New Avenues for Patient-Specific Therapies Thyroid treatment may improve gut health in people with hypothyroidism - (https://www.endocrine.org/news-and-advocacy/news-room/endo-annual-meeting/endo-2025-press-releases/mathur-press-release) Individuals with an underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) face a significantly higher risk of developing Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth (SIBO). Thyroid hormone supplementation may help reduce this, according to a study being presented Saturday at ENDO 2025, the Endocrine Societys annual meeting in San Francisco, Calif ().said Ruchi Mathur, M.D., Director of the Diabetes Outpatient Treatment and Education Centre and Director of Clinical Operations of Medically Associated Science and Technology, at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, Calif.Mathur said, their study proposes there may be microbial metabolism, controlling this connection. This might bring about moreThe researchers investigated the relationship between SIBO and hypothyroidism in people older than 18 who previously underwent upper endoscopy without colon prep and reported living with hypothyroidism as well as controls. Subjects were recruited through their flagship REIMAGINE study.They analyzed small bowel fluid samples from 49 people with hypothyroidism and 323 without the condition and performed DNA sequencing to identify microbial species. The results showed that people withMathur and colleagues then further evaluated four groups: SIBO-positive with hypothyroidism, SIBO-negative with hypothyroidism, SIBO-positive without thyroid disease , and SIBO-negative without thyroid disease.The analysis showed different patterns of bacteria in the gut depending on a persons thyroid status and co-occurrence of SIBO.Separately, they performed a large-scale analysis of medical records from the TriNetX database, which looked at the 10-year risks of developingcompared to matched controls. The risks were also mitigated in people taking levothyroxine Results showed the risk of developing. This echoes our findings in the REIMAGINE cohort, noted the studys presenting author, Margaret Wei, M.D., of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre Endocrine Fellowship Program.These findings open the door to new screening and prevention strategies. For example, doctors may begin to monitor thyroid health more closely in patients with SIBO, and vice versa. It also supports the idea that improving gut health could have far-reaching effects beyond digestion, possibly even helping to prevent autoimmune diseases , such as Hashimotos, Mathur said. As research continues, this could lead to more personalized care and earlier interventions for at-risk individuals.Endocrinologists are at the core of solving the most pressing health problems of our time, from diabetes and obesity to infertility, bone health, and hormone-related cancers. The Endocrine Society is the worlds oldest and largest organization of scientists devoted to hormone research and physicians who care for people with hormone-related conditions.Source-Eurekalert Men with mildly elevated blood sugar, still below diabetes levels, show early declines in sperm motility and erectile function, even with normal testosterone. Highlights: Men with slightly elevated blood sugar had lower sperm motility and erectile function Testosterone stayed normal, suggesting sugar, not age, was the silent factor Findings could reshape how doctors screen for male sexual decline Trusted Source Not just diabetes: How slightly high blood sugar wrecks men's sexual health Go to source Trusted Source Did You Know? Think you're too healthy to worry about your #bloodsugar? New research says even "normal" levels could chip away at your sexual and #reproductive health - without warning. #menshealth #bloodsugar #sexualwellness #malefertility #prediabetes Think you're too healthy to worry about your #bloodsugar? New research says even "normal" levels could chip away at your sexual and #reproductive health - without warning. #menshealth #bloodsugar #sexualwellness #malefertility #prediabetes What Did the Study Find? Men with mildly elevated blood sugar (still below the diabetic threshold of 6.5% HbA1c) showed a notable decline in sperm motility and erectile function over time. Testosterone levels remained normal for most participants and were not directly linked to erectile function, although they were associated with lower libido. remained normal for most participants and were not directly linked to erectile function, although they were associated with lower libido. Other hormone levels and semen volume remained stable, even among older participants. HbA1c: A Window Into Male Health Rethinking How Doctors Assess Male Sexual Health Fix Your Sugar, Save Your Sex Life Not just diabetes: How slightly high blood sugar wrecks men's sexual health - (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250713031439.htm) According to a new long-term study presented at ENDO 2025, even smallmay silentlyand reproductive health, well before a diabetes diagnosis ().Researchers at the, trackedfor six years. At the studys start in 2014, none had diabetes cardiovascular disease , or cancer . By its conclusion in 2020,, said Prof. Dr. Michael Zitzmann, lead author of the study.In simple terms, blood sugar and not age may be one of the quietest threats to male sexual health.The researchers relied on the, a standard indicator of long-term blood sugar control. They discovered that even, Dr. Zitzmann emphasized.The study, part of the FAME 2.0 project, challenges the assumption that testosterone is the main culprit in male sexual decline. It instead highlights metabolic health as a critical and modifiable factor in maintaining sexual performance and fertility..This study presents a strong case for screening men for metabolic health, especially blood sugareven if they show no signs of diabetes.The takeaway? Keeping blood sugar in check may help men preserve more than just heart and metabolic health - it might also protect their sexual vitality.Source-Medindia Photo Credit: FS1/First Things First. While he cant yet go into detail, Danny Parkins is optimistic about his future at FS1. Breakfast Ball, which Parkins co-hosted with Mark Schlereth and Craig Carton, was one of three FS1 shows recently canceled. On Wednesday, reports emerged that Parkins is likely to end up on another FS1 show. As a guest on Spiegel & Holmes on Chicagos 670 The Score (where Parkins was a former host), Parkins strongly suggested that another show was coming. While he couldnt go into specifics, Parkins all but confirmed that something is coming and will be announced soon. Obviously, I cant say as much as I would like to right now, but I promise that when I can, I will say more, Parkins said. Which hopefully, maybe will be by next week or the radiothon, I dont know. Danny Parkins: Im bummed that [Breakfast Ball] was canceled Im still going to be [at FS1]. Im really, really excited for whats next. Its an incredible opportunity (via @670TheScore) pic.twitter.com/GW72eQuNPf https://t.co/wgrHBK6iBe Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) July 16, 2025 For reference, the radiothon will run from July 31-Aug. 1. He commented further, saying that he was bummed about Breakfast Ball being canceled. But Danny Parkins re-emphasized that hes upbeat about whats next at FS1 and again noted that hell go into more details when he can. I loved working with the whole crew, Parkins said. We had an amazing team and a lot of people were impacted here. And especially getting to work with Craig and Stink was incredible. But Im still here. And I just got off the air with First Things First for the last two days and Im still going to be here. And Im really, really excited for whats next. Its an incredible opportunity. I unfortunately cant say anything more than that right now. But I promise when I can, I will. A father of three Marines who was beaten and detained by immigration agents while landscaping outside of an IHOP in California last month was released from federal custody Tuesday after having spent more than three weeks in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement center. Narciso Barranco, 48, an undocumented immigrant, was released on a $3,000 bond from the Adelanto Detention Center, a privately operated facility in the Southern California desert, after weeks of advocacy from lawmakers and one of his sons, a Marine veteran who deployed to Afghanistan during the U.S. withdrawal from the country. The son, 25-year-old Marine veteran Alejandro Barranco, told Military.com after the arrest that he initially "couldn't believe" the video depicting his father being repeatedly punched in the head by federal agents as they pinned him to the ground. The video of the beating was later posted on social media by the Department of Homeland Security. Read Next: Program to Prevent Veteran Home Foreclosures Has Been Revived "The fact that he was hurt, the way he was injured, the way he was beat[en] and I'd say humiliated -- it made me angry and it made me want to speak up," he previously told Military.com. But now after his father's release, Alejandro told the publication on Wednesday they were able to briefly connect -- and the two embraced in "long and strong hugs," as tears and laughter flowed. Their first meal together was at In-N-Out Burger on the way home. "He's doing better now," Alejandro said. "It's a win for sure." President Donald Trump has made deportations a top priority in his second term, tripling ICE arrest quotas in the process. That agenda has already affected the military community as agents have detained several family members of veterans and service members, with countless other cases likely unreported, an immigration attorney previously told Military.com. At the same time, the military -- especially the Marine Corps -- has become increasingly close to federal immigration forces. The service sent hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles amid anti-ICE protests in the city; it deployed hundreds to the border to reinforce border barriers; and most recently, 200 Marines were sent to support ICE in Florida, with hundreds more troops expected to mobilize to other states. The service has also partnered with ICE at three of its installations across the country to crack down on unlawful gate access by foreign nationals, a pilot program that resulted in the arrest of a Russian woman at Marine Corps Base Hawaii last month. None of the other services said they were enacting or planning to establish a similar program, though the Navy declined to comment. Alejandro's two brothers are active-duty Marines stationed at Camp Pendleton, California. Their father's detention -- which coincides with the growing role the Marine Corps plays alongside the agencies that beat, detained and imprisoned him -- has been difficult for the family to process. "It's definitely hard," he said, being clear that he was speaking on behalf of himself, but added that his brothers said they had received a lot of support from their superiors, many of whom come from immigrant backgrounds themselves. "It's orders from way, way above them, to the point where they can't really control it. They just have to follow orders. They can't risk their careers. We're in crazy times." Alejandro Barranco, along with his brothers, are American citizens. Their father, Narciso, came to the U.S. from Mexico in the '90s and "just got straight to work," Alejandro said. He said that he wasn't sure whether his father knew he was eligible for a visa, a process that can take years, and didn't make obtaining one a priority as "he was always just trying to work and provide for us." DHS claimed Narciso assaulted the ICE agents with a weed-wacker after waving it at one of them during the arrest, an assertion that Alejandro rejects. The several agents, who were masked, armed and in plain clothes, unexpectedly rushed Narciso and pepper-sprayed him in the face as he attempted to flee. Notably absent from the department's response about the case was any indication that Narciso has a criminal record, something DHS frequently publicizes on social media after such cases in an effort to justify its agents' enforcement. Alejandro said that his father does not have a criminal record, and publicly available federal and local criminal record database searches under Narciso's name provided no results. DHS offered a statement from its assistant secretary, Tricia McLaughlin, last month, repeating the assault claim and asserting that its agents "followed their training to use the minimum amount of force necessary." It did not provide any evidence of a criminal record when asked by Military.com, and refused to say whether Narciso had been charged with assault (his son said he wasn't) or if any of the agents were injured during the arrest. ICE also did not respond. "They didn't handle it professionally," Alejandro said in a previous interview. He said at the time that he had spoken to his father after his arrival at the detention facility and that he hadn't received food, water or medical treatment at that point. After his release, Narciso told his son that he went without water for 14 hours and that plumbing in the facility's restrooms caused toilets to flood over. His father also spoke with others in the detention center, "innocent people in there who are going through the same things he did," Alejandro said. "It's not fair, because they don't deserve that." A spokesperson for 1st Marine Division out of Camp Pendleton, where Alejandro's two brothers serve, told Military.com last month that it was aware of the situation, but would not comment on ongoing legal matters, personal affairs or whether the Marine sons had received legal support, citing privacy protections and attorney-client privilege. "1st Marine Division remains committed to supporting all Marines and their families through appropriate channels, including legal assistance services available to active-duty personnel and eligible dependents," Capt. Charles Kimbrough, the spokesperson, added. Alejandro said that he was taking over his father's landscaping job at the IHOP so he wouldn't lose it and in the long-term hopes to build on his dad's business so Narciso can retire after working for decades. A GoFundMe campaign for his father has netted more than $230,000, and lawmakers helped the Barrancos locate Narciso after his arrest. All three brothers attempted to seek assistance through the parole-in-place policy during their service, a program that allows certain undocumented family members of troops to temporarily stay in the U.S. But Alejandro described those efforts as mired by inconsistent bureaucracy made worse by long stretches in the field or on deployment that just "complicated everything." "He's administration, so he has a little bit more downtime," Alejandro said in reference to his youngest brother when they were contacting attorneys about the program, "but that's when all of this happened." Military.com previously reported that the Marine Corps had ordered its recruiters to stop posting about the parole-in-place policy after it had found at least a dozen who had incorporated it into their social media outreach in recent months. But now, Alejandro said, his father is well on his way into the parole-in-place program, an effort that is possibly being expedited with help from attorneys. Narciso will have to check into court every few days as he works to gain more permanent status and navigate the complex legal system. Alejandro expects to fly out to Washington, D.C., for a hearing on Capitol Hill next week, he said. He added that the support for his family has been overwhelming and that, as he has learned about this process through attorneys and lawmakers, he wants to help others navigate it too. "It's good to have that information," he said, "so that if I know anybody, or if anybody wants to ask me, 'where can I go or what can I do to help' because they saw my dad's case, I can leave them that information." Related: Marine Recruiters Promoted an Immigration Benefit Until the Corps Told Them to Stop An Air Force colonel set to take over Ellsworth Air Force Base's 28th Bomb Wing later this month harshly criticized the culture of the South Dakota bomber squadrons he's preparing to oversee in a scathing crash report last year. Col. Erick Lord will be the next commander of the 28th Bomb Wing. Senior Airman Jo Pepin-Rust, an Ellsworth spokesperson, told Military.com in an email that wing commanders "change out every two years as part of routine leadership assignments." Lord is presently the deputy commander of the 2nd Bomb Wing at Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana. Col. Derek Oakley is the current commander of the 28th Bomb Wing, according to an online biography. Read Next: Senators Demand Answers After Case Dropped Against Navy Federal for Charging Troops Overdraft Fees Notably, Lord heavily criticized and blamed, in part, the culture of squadrons at the 28th Bomb Wing, which he is now tasked with leading, in a crash investigation. He was the author of a July 2024 accident investigation board report into the circumstances of a B-1B Lancer crashing on the Ellsworth runway in January of that year. That analysis led to a leadership shake-up at the base, and several firings of commanders followed. The B-1B Lancer, while on a training mission, crashed about 100 feet short of the runway and skidded 5,000 feet before bursting into flames. The four aboard the bomber ejected, and two were injured but later released from the hospital. Lord, in his report, pointed to "an unhealthy organizational culture that permitted degradation of airmanship skills" as one of the main reasons for the crash. He also took aim in the report at a crew member's weight, and a family member said Lord's comments were unfair and disrespectful, Military.com previously reported. The 2024 incident marked the first time in more than a decade that a Lancer had crashed. In the wake of the crash report, Col. Mark Kimball, then the commander of the 28th Operations Group, was fired from his role "due to a loss of trust and confidence in his ability to command, based on the findings of an Accident Investigation Board report into the Jan. 4 crash of a B-1B bomber at Ellsworth," Air Force Global Strike Command told Military.com at that time. Several months later, in September, Ellsworth announced that another commander had been fired. Lt. Col. Carsten Stahr, commander of the 28th Force Support Squadron, was removed from his role. An Air Force Global Strike Command spokesperson told Military.com it was unrelated to the crash report, but a reason for the leadership change was not provided. The crash damage to the B-1B and the runway was estimated to be worth more than $456 million. Due to that damage, an undisclosed number of Lancers had to be flown across the country to Dyess Air Force Base in Texas and approximately 250 aircrew, maintainers and other support personnel relocated to support the bombers amid repairs. The Ellsworth runway was closed for nearly a month. Lord has experience as a B-1B weapon systems officer, and it's not his first assignment at Ellsworth. He received his commission from the Air Force Officer Training School in 2002 and has more than 2,600 flight hours, including in combat, for Operations Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, Freedom's Sentinel and Inherent Resolve, according to a news release. "His career is deeply rooted in the B-1 community, including a previous assignment at Ellsworth as a flight commander and evaluator weapon systems officer with the 37th Bomb Squadron," Pepin-Rust said in an emailed statement. Related: $450 Million B-1B Lancer Crash Attributed to Crew Failures and 'Degradation of Airman Skills' A now-former U.S. Army soldier has pleaded guilty to a hacking and extortion scheme in which federal prosecutors said he stole data from 10 telecommunications companies databases, then threatened to leak the data unless ransoms were paid. While on active duty, Cameron John Wagenius, 21, and others working with him hacked into the companies protected computer networks and accessed hundreds of thousands of records tied to businesses and their customers, including call and text histories and other personal information, according to court filings. Wagenius was stationed at Fort Cavazos in Central Texas and at a U.S. Army base in South Korea throughout the scheme between April 2023 and Dec. 18, 2024, when he used online accounts linked to different nicknames like kiberphant0m, court documents say. In a felony information, prosecutors wrote Wagenius and his alleged conspirators profited from the scheme, including by attempting to extort at least $1,000,000 from victim data owners, offering to sell victims stolen data via online messages and via posts on cybercriminal forums for thousands of dollars, successfully selling at least some of this stolen data, and using stolen victim data in further frauds. Wagenius pleaded guilty on July 15 to conspiracy to commit wire fraud, extortion in relation to computer fraud, and aggravated identity theft, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Washington said in a news release. His defense attorney, James Lee Bright, declined McClatchy News request for comment July 16. According to Wagenius plea agreement, he would have typically been prosecuted in the Western District of Texas. However, he agreed to be prosecuted in Washington. It is not immediately clear why Washington was chosen for his prosecution. Can hacking be treason Wagenius and those accused of working with him learned the telecom companies login credentials to hack their databases, including by using a hacking tool that they called SSH Brute, prosecutors said. They communicated with each other over Telegram to coordinate the hacks, according to prosecutors. In a separate case related to the hacking scheme, also filed in the Western District of Washington, the U.S. Attorneys Office said Wagenius pleaded guilty to two counts of unlawful transfer of confidential phone records information. Those charges stem from Wagenius posting and sharing phone records, including records associated with high-ranking public officials and their families, prosecutors wrote in a motion for Wagenius continued detention in that case. The Feb. 26 filing says Wagenius also researched how to defect from the U.S. and tried to sell stolen information to another countrys intelligence service while he held a security clearance. While engaged in these criminal activities, Wagenius conducted online searches about how to defect to countries that do not extradite to the United States, prosecutors wrote in the motion. Over the course of more than two weeks, in November, prosecutors said Wagenius exchanged emails with one countrys military intelligence service to sell information he gained through hacking. According to the detention motion, days after he apparently finished communicating with Country-1s military intelligence service, Wagenius Googled, can hacking be treason. Federal investigators did not confirm if the address Wagenius had been emailing was legitimately linked to the countrys intelligence service, according to prosecutors. What is significant, however, is that Wagenius believed that it did, prosecutors argued. A month earlier, in October, prosecutors said Wagenius online searches suggested he wanted to escape the U.S., according to prosecutors, who said he also searched for information on defecting to the country to which he was trying to sell stolen data. His online searches, according to court filings, include: where can i defect the u.s government military which country will not hand me over; U.S. military personnel defecting to Russia; and Embassy of Russia Washington, D.C. In early December, federal authorities executed a search warrant at his U.S. Army barracks room and seized his laptop and other electronic devices, according to prosecutors. About two days later, Wagenius commanding officer gave him orders, banning him from using or buying electronic devices, court documents say. On Dec. 7, Wagenius ignored the orders, bought a laptop and used it in the Army barracks, according to prosecutors. Wagenius is set to be sentenced on the charges of unlawful transfer of confidential phone records information on Sept. 10, records show. In the case involving the hacking and extortion charges, prosecutors on July 15 motioned for Wagenius detention, arguing that he is a serious flight risk. U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Alice Theiler granted the motion the same day, when he pleaded guilty, records show. Wagenius faces up to 20 years in prison on the conspiracy to commit wire fraud charge, up to five years in prison on the extortion charge, and a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to any other prison time for aggravated identity theft, prosecutors said. His sentencing hearing for those charges is scheduled for Oct. 6, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. 2025 The Sacramento Bee. Visit sacbee.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A U.S. Army veteran who was arrested during an immigration raid at a Southern California marijuana farm last week said Wednesday he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle and pinned down by federal agents who arrested him. George Retes, 25, who works as a security guard at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, said he was arriving at work on July 10 when several federal agents surrounded his car and despite him identifying himself as a U.S. citizen broke his window, peppered sprayed him and dragged him out. It took two officers to nail my back and then one on my neck to arrest me even though my hands were already behind my back, Retes said. Massive farm raids led to hundreds being detained The Ventura City native was detained during chaotic raids at two Southern California farms where federal authorities arrested more than 360 people, one of the largest operations since President Donald Trump took office in January. Protesters faced off against federal agents in military-style gear, and one farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof. The raids came more than a month into an extended immigration crackdown by the Trump administration across Southern California that was originally centered in Los Angeles, where local officials say the federal actions are spreading fear in immigrant communities. California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke on the raids at a news conference Wednesday, calling Trump a chaos agent who has incited violence and spread fear in communities. You got someone who dropped 30 feet because they were scared to death and lost their life, he said, referring to the farmworker who died in the raids. People are quite literally disappearing with no due process, no rights. Retes was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where he said he was put in a special cell on suicide watch and checked on each day after he became emotionally distraught over his ordeal and missing his 3-year-old daughter's birthday party Saturday. He said federal agents never told him why he was arrested or allowed him to contact a lawyer or his family during his three-day detention. Authorities never let him shower or change clothes despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, Retes said, adding that his hands burned throughout the first night he spent in custody. On Sunday, an officer had him sign a paper and walked him out of the detention center. He said he was told he faced no charges. Retes met with silence when seeking explanation They gave me nothing I could wrap my head around," Retes said, explaining that he was met with silence on his way out when he asked about being "locked up for three days with no reason and no charges. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Retes' arrest but didn't say on what charges. George Retes was arrested and has been released," she said. "He has not been charged. The U.S. Attorneys Office is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo. A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests without warrants in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocates accused federal agents of detaining people because they looked Latino. The Justice Department appealed on Monday and asked for the order to be stayed. The Pentagon also said Tuesday it was ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles. That's roughly half the number the administration sent to the city following protests over the immigration actions. Some of those troops have been accompanying federal agents during their immigration enforcement operations. Retes said he joined the Army at 18 and served four years, including deploying to Iraq in 2019. I joined the service to help better myself, he said. I did it because I love this (expletive) country. We are one nation and no matter what, we should be together. All this separation and stuff between everyone is just the way it shouldnt be. Veteran pledges to sue federal authorities for his ordeal Retes said he plans to sue for wrongful detention. The way theyre going about this entire deportation process is completely wrong, chasing people who are just working, especially trying to feed everyone here in the U.S., he said. No one deserves to be treated the way they treat people. Retes was detained along with California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, also a U.S. citizen, who was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X. The California Faculty Association said Caravello was taken away by agents who did not identify themselves nor inform him of why he was being taken into custody. Like Retes, the association said the professor was then held without being allowed to contact his family or an attorney. Caravello was attempting to dislodge a tear gas canister that was stuck underneath someones wheelchair, witnesses told KABC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles. A federal judge on Monday ordered Caravello to be released on $15,000 bond. Hes scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 1. I want everyone to know what happened. This doesnt just affect one person, Retes said. It doesnt matter if your skin is brown. It doesnt matter if youre white. It doesnt matter if youre a veteran or you serve this country. They dont care. Theyre just there to fill a quota. ___ Associated Press writer Jamie Ding contributed from Los Angeles. Feature: Taiwan violinist finds new home in Harbin through music Xinhua) 15:56, July 17, 2025 HARBIN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- After traveling thousands of kilometers from Taiwan island, violinist Lee Tien-hsuan has spent six years in Harbin, northeast China, an area designated as a "Music City" by the United Nations. During this time, he has become a proud member of the string section of the Harbin Symphony Orchestra. Lee began his violin studies at seven and later became a well-known name in Taipei's freelance music scene. However, facing limited professional orchestra opportunities in Taiwan, he started seeking positions elsewhere in 2019. "The Harbin Symphony Orchestra was recruiting at the time," Lee recalled. "Learning that Harbin has profound musical heritages, I decided to have a try." His training at the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and exceptional skills secured him a first violinist position following rigorous online and in-person auditions. Life in Harbin brought unexpected rewards. "Though known for harsh and cold winters, the four distinct seasons in Harbin bring me tranquility and artistic focus," said Lee. Last year, he met his wife, who is from central China's Hunan Province. Lee spent nearly half a year adjusting to working with his colleagues, primarily focusing on establishing harmonious chemistry with members of the first violin section. "As the primary carriers of a symphony's melody, first violinists must showcase individual artistry while functioning as an integrated unit," he explained. "Twelve violins must sound as one." His career has flourished within Harbin's vibrant music scene, featuring weekly performances, holiday recitals, and international tours. In the first half of this year alone, Lee performed in over 200 concerts, and his schedule and photo albums were brimming with global engagements. Last September, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra performed at Crocus City Hall in Russia. Lee and his colleagues showcased China's musical heritage through works ranging from the buoyant "Spring Festival Overture" to the poignant "The Moon Reflected on Second Spring", earning thunderous applause. "During the curtain call, seeing foreign audience visibly moved with sustained applause, I felt our artistic dedication had earned genuine recognition," Lee reflected. Lee regards music as a universal language that transcends barriers, enabling global audiences to experience Chinese culture and appreciate cultural convergence. This profound connection, he noted, has become his most cherished reward from the tour. On June 10, which marked the inaugural UN International Day for Dialogue among Civilizations, Lee joined over 100 musicians from 11 Chinese orchestras to premiere "Ode to Civilizations" in Harbin, musically interpreting the Global Civilization Initiative. "This was my first participation in a UN-commissioned major work," Lee noted. "The libretto's precision moved me profoundly." What excited him most was collaborating with elite musicians to bridge cultural divides through music. This international spirit coincides with the Harbin Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1908, the Harbin Symphony Orchestra still maintains its international tradition. According to Gao Lan, head of Harbin Concert Hall's Sino-Russian music exchange center, the orchestra currently includes six foreign artists from Russia, Ukraine, Germany and Belarus, covering sections from violin and cello to piccolo. "Outstanding musicians form our foundation. The presence of colleagues from diverse backgrounds embodies music's borderless dialogue and this is why I cherish Harbin," said Lee, envisioning the city evolving into a global music hub attracting elite talent and fostering world-class collaborations. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Harvard University announced Thursday that it has created new scholarships for at least 50 military veterans and public servants to earn master's degrees at its prestigious Kennedy School of Government. Under the program, called the American Service Fellowship, students will receive $100,000 to cover tuition, fees and an additional stipend. The school plans to recruit for the one-year master's degree program in all 50 states, with classwork beginning in fall 2026. "In this moment of political division and major challenges in America, it's never been a more important time to invest in the next generation of public servants," Harvard Kennedy School Dean Jeremy Weinstein said in a letter to the student body Thursday. Read Next: Father of 3 Marines Who Was Beaten by ICE Agents Released, Leaving Family to Process His Detention The program comes as the school has been under attack by the Trump administration, with a federal task force accusing the university of violating the Civil Rights Act, alleging that it has allowed antisemitic harassment on campus and recommending that the Justice Department file a civil rights lawsuit against it. The school already has lost more than $2.6 billion in federal research dollars, and President Donald Trump has said the school should lose its tax-exempt status. He also has challenged its accreditation and attempted to withhold student visas for international students. The fellowship coincides with the administration's efforts to slash the size of the federal workforce, laying off workers across the board and gutting entities like the Department of Education, Voice of America and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Nonetheless, the fellowship is designed to encourage careers in public service, including the federal government. It will be open to people who have served at least seven years in the U.S. military, including veterans or active-duty service members, or those who have worked in federal, state or local government, including teachers and law enforcement personnel. According to Harvard, at least half of the recipients will be selected from military service. "There's nothing more patriotic than public service," Weinstein said in a public statement Thursday. "Whether you served in the U.S. armed forces, in any level of government, as a teacher, a law enforcement professional, or in a civilian service organization, we want you to come to [the Harvard Kennedy School]." Several Ivy League schools have made a concerted effort to attract veterans to diversify their student bodies to include military voices. Former Columbia President Lee Bollinger made veteran student recruitment a pillar of his presidency; in 2023, it had 700 veterans enrolled -- more than the other Ivy League schools combined. In the past decade, more than 500 active-duty, veteran and reserve members have been educated at the Kennedy School. Notable alumni across the years include Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, as well as Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.; and Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas. The school also is encouraging public servants who meet eligibility requirements and have been laid off in the past six months to apply. Applications will be open in September, and candidates will be notified next spring, according to the school. Weinstein said that even if public servants or veterans don't meet all the requirements, they should still consider applying. "That's what this fellowship is all about: Helping train the current and future leaders of America, who have demonstrated throughout their lives that they are ready and willing to lead their communities and our country into the future," he said. Related: How Navy SEAL-Doctor-Astronaut Jonny Kim Used 'Generous' Military Benefits to Help His Career Take Off President Donald Trump has nominated two generals to serve as the second in command for the Air Force and Space Force after firing and moving around the previous office holders in pursuit of his defense agenda. Nominations were put in front of the Senate Tuesday for Space Force Lt. Gen. Shawn Bratton and Air Force Gen. Thomas Bussiere to serve as the vice chief of space operations and the vice chief of staff of the Air Force, respectively. Bratton, a three-star general, currently serves as the deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs and requirements. Bussiere is the head of Air Force Global Strike Command and has been in that role since 2022. Read Next: Harvard to Offer Full Rides to 50 Veterans and Civil Servants for Master's Degrees in Public Policy Both roles became open due to major personnel shifts during Trump's second term. The current vice chief of space operations, Gen. Michael Guetlein, was named and picked by the president to oversee the development of Golden Dome -- the concept of an expensive space-based missile defense system for the U.S. The nomination makes it clear that he won't be serving both roles at the same time. Gen. James Slife, previously the vice chief of staff of the Air Force, was fired by the Trump administration in February as part of a notable purge of top officers and top judge advocates general, Military.com reported. Prior to his current role, Bratton was the first commander of Space Training and Readiness Command, which educates and develops Guardians for their mission. He was commissioned into the service from the Academy of Military Science in Knoxville, Tennessee. But prior to becoming an officer, Bratton was an enlisted member of the 107th Air Control Squadron, Arizona Air National Guard. The recent nomination by the president marks a meteoric rise in his career. "I think this makes the first Space Force vice chief that's prior enlisted," Todd Harrison, a defense policy and Space Force expert with the American Enterprise Institute think tank, told Military.com. Bussiere is a 1985 graduate of the Air Force Reserve Officers' Training Corps at Norwich University. He served as a command pilot with more than 3,400 hours in the T-38 Talon, F-15C Eagle, B-2A Spirit, B-1B Lancer and F-22 Raptor, according to his service biography. Prior to his role as the head of Air Force Global Strike Command, Bussiere was the deputy commander of U.S. Strategic Command at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. His experience in the nuclear community comes as the service grapples with modernizing two major parts of the nuclear triad, including the production of the B-21 Raider bomber and the development of the LGM-35A Sentinel nuclear intercontinental ballistic missile -- which has been plagued by significant cost increases. Bussiere has also been a major voice in the ongoing health study into cancer concerns among current and former service members who worked with America's intercontinental ballistic missiles. Military.com reported on those fears among the missile community in a series supported by the Pulitzer Center in which the newsroom revealed that small studies in the 2000s did not significantly probe concerns that the Cold War-era facilities were filled with carcinogenes and toxic dangers. As diagnoses of certain cancers grew and became public, the Air Force commissioned a study. Bussiere has regularly hosted town halls to inform airmen, veterans and the public about the progress of the service-run studies. An independent analysis earlier this year of those diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana found service members were diagnosed at younger ages compared to the wider population, Military.com previously reported. "We're not done, but we continue to move forward deliberately in this process," Bussiere said earlier this year during a town hall meeting of current and former missileers. Bussieres and Bratton's nominations must be confirmed by the Senate. Related: Independent Study Raises Alarm About Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma at Malmstrom Air Force Base New London A change of command ceremony at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday that bid farewell to Superintendent Rear Adm. Michael Johnston and welcomed his successor, Rear Adm. Gregory Rothrock, was steeped with the kinds of pomp and protocol that traditionally mark such military transfers of responsibility. There was the formal reading of orders announcing Johnstons retirement after 35 years along with Rothrocks directive to take responsibility for the academy along with personnel inspection and several smart salutes, all taking place on a stage festooned with red, white and blue bunting. But the ceremony inside Leamy Hall was also punctuated with smaller, intimate moments, including a heartfelt ode Johnston offered to his wife, Darlene, and a quiet commendation to the outgoing superintendent by Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guards acting commandant. Well done, Michael, Lunday murmured as he shook Johnstons hand. The event, attended by hundreds of Johnstons fellow officers, academy cadre and community representatives, marked the end of Johnstons two-year tenure as the 43rd head of the institution and its first Black superintendent. This has been the most meaningful assignment of my career, said Johnston, who spent much of the afternoon grinning and wiping away tears. This job isnt about running a campus but about shaping the future. Its about those quiet moments when a cadet figures out who they are. Johnstons career included stints in Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He returned to the campus in May 2023, decades after graduating in 1990. Johnstons habit of wearing his heart on his uniform sleeve was noted by Lunday who described him as an exemplary example of how to lead with joy and unboundless optimism. Keynote speaker Sean Plankey, senior advisor to the Secretary for the Coast Guard, lauded Johnstons role in elevating the academy by opening its gates to the public, lawmakers and prospective students. Plankey, a member of the academys Class of 2003, also trumpeted the new Force Drive 2028 initiative and its billions in related funding that aims to create a more agile, capable and responsive fighting force through a series of top-level personnel cuts, streamlined acquisition and contracting work and an aggressive recruiting push. This is the finest military academy in the nation, Plankey said, before charging Rothrock to continue his predecessors work. Rothrock is a 1995 academy graduate who most recently served in the U.S. Cyber Command Joint Force Development office. He also served as the U.S. Coast Guard budget director, led the Research and Development Center and served as an engineering officer aboard the USCGC Spencer. What a thrill to join this academy team, Rothrock said. This place, this experience strengthens character and prepares future officers in time of peace and war. I am really looking forward to all we accomplish together. Lundy called Rothrock the right leader at the right time. A place of miracles Among the events hundreds of attendees were several of Johnstons former shipmates, including retired Cmdr. Elijah Flynn who recalled his years as a Black cadet in the mid-1970s. Back then, the highest-ranking officer we ever saw was maybe a lieutenant commander, Flynn said. To see a Black superintendent was just inspiring. Its a big deal. Academy superintendents typically serve four-year terms, but Johnston, in a May interview with CGA Alumni Bulletin, said he accepted a shorter assignment soon after the death of his father. Johnston, who said he planned to enjoy some much-delayed family time, paid tribute to his wife, who he called his anchor and best friend. Youre the greatest mystery I want to spend my life figuring out, he said. Johnston also congratulated Rothrock as the 44th academy superintendent prepared to take on the finest assignment in the Coast Guard. Miracles happen here every day, he said. 2025 The Day (New London, Conn.). Visit www.theday.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Ever Wish You Could Connect Both Your Samsung A6 Phones to the Same Car? (Can Two Sumsung A6 Phones Be Paird To One Car) You grab your Samsung A6. Your partner grabs their identical Samsung A6. You both head to the car. Can you connect both phones to the cars Bluetooth at the same time? The answer is maybe. It depends entirely on your car, not the phones. Think about how Bluetooth pairing works. You connect one phone to the car. The car remembers that phone. It usually connects automatically next time. This is easy. The car and phone become friends. Now, imagine trying to connect a second Samsung A6. The car sees another device asking to connect. It might get confused. Many cars are designed to handle one active phone connection only. This is like the cars brain focusing on one conversation at a time. Having two phones connected simultaneously for calls or audio is often too much. So, can you pair both phones? Probably. Can you use both at the same time? Usually not. Heres what you can try: First, pair the first Samsung A6. Follow the normal steps. Find Bluetooth settings in the cars menu. Make your phone visible. Select it on the cars screen. Confirm any codes. The car saves this phone. Next, pair the second Samsung A6. Go back into the cars Bluetooth settings. Look for an option like Add New Device or Pair Another Phone. Put the second phone into pairing mode. Let the car find it. Go through the pairing steps again. The car should now remember both Samsung A6 phones. The car stores both phones in its memory. But it likely wont talk to both at once. When you get in the car, it might automatically connect to the last phone used. Or it might connect to the phone listed as Primary. You can usually switch between them. You need to go into the cars Bluetooth menu. Find the list of paired devices. Select the other Samsung A6. Tell the car to connect to it. The first phone will disconnect. The second phone takes over. This lets you use either phone, just not both together. Sometimes the car gets fussy. It might refuse to pair the second phone if the list is full. Older cars might only remember one or two devices. You might need to delete an old, unused phone pairing first. Check your cars manual. It tells you how many phones it remembers. Other times, pairing the second phone might kick the first one off completely. This is annoying. It means the car truly wants only one active connection. Theres not much you can do here. You pick which phone to use for that drive. Its handy having both phones paired. You dont need to repair every time you switch. You just choose the one you need from the cars menu. Maybe one phone is for work. The other is personal. You can easily swap between them based on your needs. The Samsung A6 phones themselves dont care. They are happy to connect. The real limit is your cars Bluetooth system. Newer cars sometimes handle two phones better. Maybe one for calls and one for music. But for most everyday cars, one active phone connection is the rule. (Can Two Sumsung A6 Phones Be Paird To One Car) Pair both phones. See how your car behaves. Learn how to switch between them quickly. It saves you messing with settings while driving. Give it a try next time youre parked. Inquiry us if you want to want to know more, please feel free to contact us. ([email protected]) Americas Nuclear Tightrope: Walking the Line of Control (How Has The Us Tried To Control Nuclear Power) Nuclear power. It promises clean energy. It also brings nightmares of mushroom clouds. The United States holds a unique position. It has the bomb. It doesnt want others to get it easily. This balancing act has defined decades of policy. How exactly has the US tried to keep this genie in the bottle? Lets look at the tools in its shed. First came the Atoms for Peace program back in the 1950s. Sounds nice, right? Share the atoms good side. The idea was simple. Offer countries peaceful nuclear technology for energy or medicine. But there was a catch. A big one. Countries getting this help had to promise not to build bombs. They had to let inspectors check their facilities. This was the seed. It aimed to steer countries towards safe nuclear use. It hoped to build trust. Then came the big one: the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Signed in 1968, this became the cornerstone. Think of it as the worlds main rulebook. Countries without nukes agreed never to build them. Countries with nukes, like the US, promised to work towards disarmament. Everyone agreed to share peaceful tech. The US pushed hard for countries to sign up. It became the club you wanted to join. Staying out made you look suspicious. The treaty created a framework. It set expectations. It gave the world a way to point fingers at cheaters. But paper shields arent always enough. The US knew some countries might try to sneak around the rules. So, it built a network of spies and satellites. Intelligence became key. Finding hidden reactors or secret enrichment plants was the goal. Think of it like cops looking for robbers. Finding the evidence meant the world could act. Sometimes, the US acted alone. It used economic pressure. Sanctions could squeeze countries financially. Cutting them off from trade or banking made nuclear programs harder and more expensive. Diplomacy was another major tool. The US spent countless hours talking. It negotiated deals country by country. The Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) was a prime example. It offered Iran relief from sanctions. In return, Iran accepted strict limits on its nuclear work and constant inspections. The goal was clear: delay any bomb-making ability. Talks with North Korea happened too, though with far less success. The idea was always to find a peaceful solution. To talk them down from the ledge. Sometimes, things got more direct. The US worked with allies to physically stop nuclear materials from moving. This meant intercepting ships or planes suspected of carrying bomb parts. It was risky. It involved military forces. Think of it as a global game of capture the flag, but with uranium. Preventing the spread meant choking off the supply lines. The US also looked inward. Controlling its own powerful nuclear industry was vital. Strict rules governed who got sensitive technology. Companies couldnt just sell advanced centrifuges or reactor designs to anyone. Export controls tried to lock the barn door before the horse bolted. Keeping track of Americas own nuclear stuff was part of controlling the whole system. (How Has The Us Tried To Control Nuclear Power) Today, the challenge feels bigger than ever. Old treaties are under strain. New technologies emerge. Countries like Russia and China push their own nuclear deals, sometimes with fewer strings. Terrorists might seek loose material. The US toolbox is still in use. Sanctions bite. Spies watch. Diplomats talk. Inspectors visit. The methods adapt. The goal hasnt changed. Prevent new nuclear states. Stop the bomb from spreading. Its a constant, high-stakes game. The US remains one of the main players, an uneasy guardian trying to manage the atoms immense power. The tightrope walk continues. Inquiry us if you want to want to know more, please feel free to contact us. ([email protected]) The Marlins remain one of the clearest cut sellers as the deadline approaches. While Miami has somewhat quietly played well since the beginning of June, they remain in the middle of a multi-year rebuild. Theyre still seven games under .500 and have almost no shot of making the playoffs this year. It therefore comes as no surprise that Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald writes that the Fish plan to entertain offers on Sandy Alcantara, Edward Cabrera, Jesus Sanchez and Anthony Bender in the coming weeks. All four players appeared among MLBTRs list of the top 40 trade candidates earlier this month; Alcantara was in the top spot. Jackson adds that the Marlins are shopping impending free agent starter Cal Quantrill, though hed have less trade value than the rest of the group. Perhaps more interestingly, Jackson writes that the Marlins would be satisfied running it back with their current middle infield tandem of Otto Lopez and Xavier Edwards next season. Thats not to say either player is untouchable, but theyre less likely to move than any of the four Miami players who made our trade candidates writeup. The 26-year-old Lopez is hitting .250/.320/.392 while taking over at shortstop. Edwards, who moved to second base, owns a .288/.352/.347 slash with 16 stolen bases. Both players are controllable for another four seasons. [Related: Miami Marlins Trade Deadline Outlook] Alcantaras availability has been expected for months. Hes making $17MM this year and next, and hes guaranteed a $2MM buyout on a $21MM club option for 2027. Thatd be a bargain rate if he recaptured his ace form, but he has had a poor first season back from Tommy John surgery. Alcantara carries a 7.22 ERA with a diminished 17.3% strikeout rate over 18 starts. He had his best month in June (4.34 ERA) but has given up 11 runs in as many innings over his past two appearances. Theres little reason for the Marlins not to listen to offers, but its not a given that they actually pull the trigger on what would be a sell-low trade. Moving Cabrera this summer would arguably be selling high. The 27-year-old former top prospect has posted a 2.54 ERA while striking out more than a quarter of his opponents in his past 12 starts. Hes making less than $2MM and under arbitration control for another three seasons. Miami would demand a significant return for their top realistic trade chip. Jackson notes that the Marlins are nevertheless willing to consider offers in part because of Cabreras injury history. Shoulder problems sidelined him in both 2023 and 24. He has yet to reach 100 innings in an MLB season. Cabrera departed his final appearance before the All-Star Break with elbow fatigue. While thats not considered a serious issue an MRI has already come back clean and he avoided the injured list its the latest reminder of the injury risk for any pitcher, especially one with a mid-upper 90s fastball. Sanchez and Bender are each controllable role players who should draw interest. Sanchez is a lefty-hitting corner outfielder who has been a league average regular over the course of his career. This seasons .259/.321/.410 slash line is par for the course. Hes making $4.5MM this year and will go through arbitration twice more. Bender is a 30-year-old righty reliever who also has two and a half seasons of club control. He owns a 2.06 ERA in 39 1/3 innings, though that obscures unimpressive strikeout (18.9%) and walk (10.7%) numbers. Bender gets a lot of ground-balls and has gotten fantastic results on the mid-80s breaking ball that he uses as his primary pitch. Hes playing on a $1.42MM salary thatll make him a viable fit for any contender. As for Quantrill, the Marlins signed him with hopes of flipping him midseason. Hes making $3.5MM on a one-year free agent deal. Quantrill has below-average numbers for a third consecutive season, though. He carries a 5.62 ERA with a 19% strikeout rate over 81 2/3 innings. Hed profile as a sixth/seventh starter or long reliever on most contenders. Thered be minimal interest, but Quantrill is affordable enough that perhaps a team navigating multiple rotation injuries will take a flier. If they cant find a trade partner this month, Miami could place him on waivers at some point in August in hopes of shedding the final few weeks of his salary. Marijuana plants are seen in this MLive file photo. Jake May | MLive.com file LANSING, MI -- A Michigan Supreme Court decision has reignited calls to smooth out the states vastly different punishments for similar marijuana crimes, currently ranging from a misdemeanor up to lengthy prison stints. The state Court of Appeals in 2023 ruled that growing any number of marijuana plants -- even the 1,000-plus seized from an illegal Tuscola County grow in 2020 -- was a misdemeanor crime regulated under the 2018 voter-passed Michigan Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana Act. However, the same court in October said prosecutors may alternately charge suspects under a 1978 Public Health Act law that includes a felony punishment of up to 15 years in prison for anyone possessing with intent to deliver more than 99 pounds of harvested marijuana or 200 plants. The Supreme Court was asked to review the October ruling but declined in a 6-1 order issued July 11. Justice Kyra H. Bolden, who cast the dissenting vote, believes the court should have heard arguments. In her dissent, Bolden wrote the two separate outcomes illustrate how Michigans dual statutory framework ... creates confusion that may yield harsh criminal consequences for nonviolent conduct that falls within Michigans 2018 legalization law. In the absence of a Supreme Court review, Bolden urged the Legislature to modernize Michigans marijuana laws to bring clarity, coherence, and fairness to an area of law that remains plagued by contradiction. THE BUST On Oct. 26, 2022, Illinois State Police stopped a rental truck hauling 85 pounds of marijuana destined for Michigan, according to court records. In coordination with the truck driver and Michigan State Police, the shipment proceeded to its intended recipient in Niles, where Julia K. Soto was inside. Police surrounded the home and served a search warrant that led to the discovery of 20 pounds of harvested marijuana and $10,000 in cash. Berrien County prosecutors charged Soto under the 1978 law with operating a drug house and possession with intent to deliver between 5 and 45 kilograms of marijuana, punishable by up to seven years in prison. RATHER INCONSISTENT In 2020, police raided an unlicensed Tuscola County grow operated by Shaaln M. Kejbou. Police found 1,156 marijuana plants in various buildings, hydroponic equipment, agricultural chemicals, surveillance cameras, suspected guard dogs and a shotgun in Kejbous bedroom. In that case, the Court of Appeals said the crimes fell under the purview of cultivation limits established by the 2018 law and Kejbou couldnt be charged with the harsher felony laws imposed nearly 50 years ago. Sotos attorney, Daniel Grow, felt the same logic should apply to his client, although she wasnt accused of illegal cultivation. Grow appealed and lost. The Court of Appeals said the 2018 law addresses cultivation, not possession with intent to deliver. For that reason, it wasnt inappropriate for Berrien County to issue the felony charge. To the extent that possession with intent to deliver remains a felony in Michigan, but cultivating any amount is not, seems rather inconsistent, Grow said. That someone would grow 1,000 marijuana plants without the intent to distribute them is unlikely. Grow believes it was the voters intent for people like Soto to be punished under the 2018 law, not those created during marijuana prohibition. TENSION The Court of Appeals decision in this matter stands in tension with its earlier holding in People v Kejbou even though the underlying conduct in both cases is similar," Bolden wrote. Currently, prosecutors have an option to seek harsh prison sentences for people who possess or sell large amounts of marijuana. The practical result is that prosecutorial discretion, not legislative or electoral intent, determines whether a person is subject to civil fines, misdemeanors, or felonies for the same conduct, Bolden wrote. I urge the Legislature to revisit this issue, to harmonize Michigans marijuana laws, and to ensure that no individual is subject to felony prosecution for conduct that the people of this state have sought to decriminalize. Prosecutors dismissed all marijuana crimes filed against Kejbou. Sotos felony case will return to the Berrien County Circuit Court for prosecution. The South Manitou Island Lighthouse seen with a telephoto lens from lookout point on the Bay View Trail in Port Oneida Historic District at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Northern Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024. Joel Bissell | MLive.com GLEN HAVEN, MI -- Many Michiganders are familiar with the Anishinaabe story of a mother bear who swam across Lake Michigan with her two cubs. But not as many are familiar with the daily lives of the Indigenous people of the Great Lakes and the history that shaped Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The ancient story tells a tragic tale of the mother bear reaching the shoreline first and laying down atop the sand dunes waiting for her cubs. However her cubs are lost to the lake, and two islands are created where they sank. There are two versions of this oral tradition about the sacred place of the Anishnaabek people, a collective term for Odawa/Ottawa, Ojibway/Chippewa and Potawatomi tribes. You can read both here. This weekend Anishinaabe historian Eric Hemenway will share more Indigenous history of the daily lives of the tribes who made the Great Lakes their homeland. Hemenways free classes will focus on the importance of Michigans islands. Throughout the week, Hemenway will give a historical background on fishing methods of the Anishnaabek of Michigan. The workshop will cover the progression of fishing methods through time, from nets to spearing. Hemenway will discuss where Anishnaabek fished, types of fish caught, how fish was instrumental in the trade of the tribe and how fishing would eventually be used in legal arguments. The Anishinaabe Traditional Fishing Skills event will take place July 18-19, July 22 and July 24. Anglers can meet at the Platte River Campground Amphitheater is located near the campground office. No registration is necessary for the free event. Find schedule details here. Hemenways lecture on the islands of the Great Lakes will take place 5 p.m. Saturday, July 19. Park visitors can meet at the picnic area across from the Glen Haven Cannery and Boat Museum. The presentation will cover the Anishinaabes historic use of the islands of northern Lake Michigan and Lake Huron as a home base and how they frequently traveled between the Manitou Islands, Beaver Island, Mackinac Island, and Drummond Island. These islands were and are important to the Anishinaabe lifeways, not just for fishing, but for their cultural resources as well, according to Sleeping Bear Dunes. Sleeping Bear is continuing its Half the Park is After Dark programming as well, encouraging visitors to come after sunset and experience the magic of the white sand dunes under moonlight. The park is hosting another Star Party at the Dune Climb on Saturday, Aug. 23. A Jayhawk helicopter at U.S. Air Station Traverse City, designed for long-range search and rescue work. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Coast Guard. LAKE MICHIGAN - The U.S. Coast Guard rescued five people suffering from hypothermia and seasickness after a boat was reported to be taking on water in Lake Michigan Wednesday night. The rescue effort began about 9:30 p.m. when the Coast Guard received word about the foundering vessel. It happened as a severe line of thunderstorms and heavy rain raked across the big lake. A Good Samaritan notified the Coast Guard that the boat was in distress. It had lost its rudder and and was taking on water off the shore of Kewaunee, Wisconsin, the military said. A helicopter crew from Air Station Traverse City assisted with the rescue. While the name of the boat has not been released by the Coast Guard, officials with Michigans Bayview Mackinac Race said the boat was one of several vessels that had been traveling to Chicago to compete in this weekends Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. Its high season for Great Lakes races. The Bayview Mackinac Race was last weekend, and many of the big sailboats that compete in that race also compete in the Chicago to Mackinac event. Boats traveling to Chicago for the Chicago Yacht Club Race To Mackinac were hit by a big storm on Lake Michigan last night," Bayview Mackinac Race staff posted on their social media page today. Our thoughts are with the crew of Red Herring; all are safe thanks to the efforts of the United States Coast Guard! A column on the Shifting Gears Substack has more details on the sailboat. Its unclear if the boat was able to be salvaged. The Coast Guard has not yet responded to a message seeking an update on the rescue effort. Rescue During a Storm Wednesday nights rescue happened during a severe thunderstorm that had winds whipping across the lake and brought heavy rain. The Coast Guard said it initially issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast about the vessel in distress, and launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Traverse City. Also launched was a 45-foot Response Boat crew from Station Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin. The boats crew was rescued from the water, the Coast Guard said. They were taken to the Kewaunee Municipal Marina in Wisconsin, then brought to an emergency medical services location so they could be evaluated. The swift, coordinated response to last nights boating emergency was a result of countless hours of training to include training with station personnel and assets like Station Sturgeon Bay, said Lt. j.g. Nicholas Betts, Air Station Traverse Citys public affairs officer. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of our crew, the station crew and the command center, we were able to save five lives last night. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, shown in this file photo, and other state leaders attempted to lure a massive semiconductor facility project to Michigan with more than $6 billion in financial incentives. The company has canceled that proposed project. (MLive file photo) Cory Morse | cmorse1@mlive.com Michigan was offering an eye-watering $6.24 billion incentive package for SanDisks now-dead plans to build a $63 billion semiconductor factory near Flint, according to state records. The incentive package included nearly $2 billion in cash grants, billions in tax breaks and hundreds of millions in other taxpayer dollars to attract and retain workers, purchase and prepare the factory property and more. Some of those incentives would have stripped away part of the companys taxes for five decades. Those figures come from an August 2024 letter of intent between California-based chip manufacturer SanDisk and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The letter was supplied to MLive by MEDC. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Wednesday the SanDisk project fell through, saying that massive economic uncertainty at the national level drove SanDisks decision to back out. While Whitmer and other state Democrats pointed their fingers at President Donald Trumps tariffs as the cause of that uncertainty, state Republicans have pushed back on the assessment. The SanDisk project would have consisted of up to four semiconductor fabrication facilities on the 1,300-acre site and created an estimated 9,400 jobs, according to the letter of intent. About 7,400 of these new jobs would have been direct plant workers, while another 2,000 would have been contractor jobs to support full-scale operations. At peak construction, roughly 5,000 construction workers would have been hired to build the factory. Groundbreaking on the project was expected sometime this year, with all four fabrication facilities being phased in over time. All four fabrication facilities were expected to be operational by 2045. The extent of local and state taxes generated by the SanDisk project werent estimated in the letter of intent. The incentive package offered steep tax breaks for the company, with some absolving a portion of the companys tax obligations for 50 years. State leaders are hopeful they can court another project to the 1,300-acre megasite in Genesee Countys Mundy Township where the SanDisk development was poised for development. State leaders already approved $259 million to purchase and ready the site. The Mundy site is one of several megasites, rural swaths of land eyed for industrial use, that Michigan started assembling in the past three years to compete for multi-billion-dollar investments. Each investment-ready site is roughly 1,000 acres or more to accommodate large-scale manufacturing facilities that could create thousands of jobs. Others in the portfolio include a 1,900-acre parcel in Marshall thats now the site of Fords $3 billion electric vehicle battery factory and nearly 1,500 acres near Lansing that the state is no longer pursuing. The $6.24 billion incentive package offered to SanDisk is the largest publicly known one offered by Michigan to fill out one of its megasites. While that incentive package was subject to change and further state approvals, it provides insight into the extent the Whitmer administration and other state leaders would go to land the project. According to Whitmer, SanDisk killed the project altogether and has no plans to court other states for it. As of Thursday afternoon, SanDisk has not commented on the projects status. Heres a look at whats in the package. The state offered SanDisk a cash grant of $1.175 billion through the states Critical Industry Program, a cash grant of $750 million for site readiness and another cash grant of up to $15 million to improve surrounding roadways for the project. About $261 million in state funds would be used to purchase the site property. Another $250 million would be used to support talent requirements for the project and an additional $36.8 million would support the project with talent attraction, training and retention programs. The state planned to transfer the 1,300-acre site to SanDisk at no cost. Some of those land acquisitions are still pending, including a $40 million offer to buy the Morrish Elementary School property. The state also offered a payroll withholding tax credit and refundable tax credit estimated together at $3.34 billion. Additionally, the state proposed a sales and use tax exemption for construction materials estimated at $416 million. Other tax breaks or changes were also offered, including an automatic exemption for sales and use taxes on eligible industrial property and a 50-year Michigan Strategic Fund Renaissance Zone abatement on all state education taxes, local income taxes, property taxes and state essential services assessments. A percentage of taxes for local bonds, school sinking funds or other tax assessments not covered by the Renaissance Zone abatement would also be abated for up to 14 years per each fabrication facility. The estimated savings for SanDisk with these abatements was not provided in the letter of intent. The proposed agreement would have also seen SanDisk pledging about $10 million over 50 years to support community development programs and initiatives for a total of $500 million. Beyond cash and tax incentives, Michigan was also offering to pay to remedy any environmental concerns on the property, relocate a county drain, remove any impediments on the site and conduct all relevant property studies before construction. The state would also help support SanDisk through permitting and zoning requirements, coordinate future development activities in the area around the site and lobby Flint Bishop International Airport to not construct a third runway it had been considering. The incentives offered in the package were conditioned on milestones to be met by SanDisk, though those werent spelled out in the letter of intent. MLive reporter Rose White contributed to this report. The assault took place at the home of former pastor Kenneth Flowers in December 2023. MLive.com PONTIAC, MI -- A former pastor was sentenced to between 4 and 15 years in prison Thursday in connection with the 2023 sexual assault of a teen. Kenneth Flowers, 64, of Farmington Hills was sentenced after he pleaded guilty to two counts of third-degree criminal sexual assault in April. The Oakland County Prosecutors Office accepted the plea after speaking with the 17-year-old victim in the case. As part of the deal, no sentencing recommendation was provided to the judge. Flowers is the former pastor at Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church. The assaults took place at Flowers home in December 2023. Todays sentence means that Kenneth Flowers is being held accountable for his actions, said Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald. Our focus throughout the process was providing a just outcome for the victim. Flowers will be required to register with Michigan Sex Offender Registry as part of his sentence. Daniel Canales, 16, of Detroit is accused of killing an Oakland County man while fleeing from police. MACOMB COUNTY, MI -- A 16-year-old Detroit teen was formally charged with murder Thursday in connection with a fatal crash that took place Saturday in Warren. Daniel Canales was arraigned in 41B District Court on a charge of second-degree murder, along with several others felonies related to the crash. This is a deeply troubling case. The decision to charge a juvenile as an adult is never made lightly. In this matter, we proceeded with careful and thorough consideration of how to best uphold fairness and justice, said Macomb County Prosecutor Peter J. Lucido. Canales is accused of killing 28-year-old Alex Habib after Canales allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of 11 Mile Road and Van Dyke Avenue and crashed into Habibs vehicle. Habib was driving for Uber at the time of the crash. Police were chasing Canales after he refused to pull over when officers in Clinton Township attempted to stop him. According to Lucido, Canales fled the scene at a high rate of speed. We are dealing with a serious allegation involving a minor whose actions are believed to have caused the death of an innocent man, a man who was simply driving to support his family, Lucido said. Actions have consequences, and while youth is a factor, it does not erase accountability. Our role is to seek justice, and in this case, that means proceeding with the full weight of the law. If convicted of the second-degree murder charge, Canales faces up to life in prison. He was remanded to the Macomb County Juvenile Justice Center and is due back in court on July 28. MLive File Photo. The University of Michigan Board of Regents has voted to dismiss a voice professor following allegations of misconduct with a former student. Jacob Hamilton/MLive.com ANN ARBOR, MI A professor in the University of Michigans School of Music, Theatre and Dance has been fired for misconduct following a complaint filed by a graduate of the school. The university Board of Regents voted 8-0, in a Thursday, July 17 meeting that lasted only minutes, to approve the dismissal of tenured associate professor Scott Piper, who previously chaired the colleges Department of Voice and Opera. Piper had been placed on administrative leave. The dismissal stems from complaints a 2024 graduate of the school made against Piper, The Michigan Daily reported. The graduate filed a complaint against Piper with the universitys Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX Office after graduating last May. The office found Piper violated the Universitys policy on sexual and gender-based misconduct by professing romantic feelings for her and walking into a student recital with his arm around her, the university newspaper reported. The Ann Arbor News/MLive has requested copies of reports and comment from the universitys public affairs office, which has not responded. The Daily also interviewed the graduate, who was not named, about other incidents that made her uncomfortable. David Nacht, an attorney for Piper, defended his clients conduct, telling The Daily that Piper had expressed genuine interest in the student. Neither Piper nor Nacht have responded to requests for comment from The Ann Arbor News/MLive. An Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX hearing officer determined Pipers conduct was an abuse of power and corrective action was appropriate, according to a report obtained by The Daily. Dean David Gier and UM president Domenico Grasso recommended Pipers dismissal from the university. Want more Ann Arbor-area news? Bookmark the local Ann Arbor news page. OVID, MI Cheers could be heard over the roar of engines at Owosso Speedway as retired NASCAR driver Kevin Harvick raced alongside his 13-year-old son on Wednesday, July 16. A total of 30 stock car drivers from across the Midwest and beyond entered the JEGS/CRA All-Star Tour Masters of the Pros 200 race at Owosso Speedway in Ovid. This competition level has really stepped up here, Owosso Speedway owner Rex Wheeler said during a press conference Tuesday, July 15. Kyle Crump finished the race in first place, earning a Green Jacket and a $25,000 prize in addition to the $1,200 each participating driver received just for entering. Keelan Harvick was the races second place finisher, and Treyten Lapcevich came in third place. Wednesdays race marked the fourth time Kevin Harvick and his son Keelan Harvick have raced against each other. I think back to my racing days when I was young and traveling around with my dad, Kevin Harvick said during Tuesdays press conference. I cant imagine what it would have been like to be able to have the opportunity to do the things that were doing now and do them together. Theres just no price you can put on that because you just dont know what tomorrow brings and to be able to do that racing is something that I dont take for granted. Kevin and Keelan Harvick raced in the CARS Tour West at Kevin Harvicks Kern Raceway in Bakersfield, California on May 31, at Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, Washington on June 28, and at Hickory Motor Speedway in North Carolina. We schedule a lot of the races back to back to back in the summer here just to try to get comfortable, Kevin Harvick said. Keelan Harvick finished in first place at Kevin Harvicks Kern Raceway and Hickory Motor Speedway. Its really cool to race because my dad taught me everything I know about how to race, Keelan Harvick said during Tuesdays press conference. On Wednesday night, Keelan Harvick drove the No. 62 Chevrolet car sponsored by TreeTop and Kevin Harvick raced in the No. 29 Chevrolet car sponsored by Hunt Brothers Pizza. Owosso Speedway has been hosting the Masters of the Pros race since 2023. This is one of the nicest short tracks in the country, Kevin Harvick said. To see what these guys get to race on here is pretty special. The race consisted of 200 laps for the first time since 2018 and the second time in its more than 10-year history. Several Michigan-based drivers as well as drivers from other parts of the United States and Canada competed for the Green Jacket on Wednesday. This years race also featured returning Masters of the Pros champions Chase Burda of Lapeer and Dawson Sutton of Lebanon, Tennessee who won the race in 2023 and 2024. The JEGS/CRA All-Star Tour, which is presented by Chevrolet Performance, will resume on Aug. 8 with the Spartan 100 at Corrigan Oil Speedway in Mason near Lansing. On Aug. 23, the tour will come to Jennerstown Speedway Complex in Pennsylvania for the Motor Mountain Masters 150, and the Kalamazoo Speedway will host the Kalamazoo Metal Recyclers 125 as part of the tour on Aug. 30. Turnstiles, which opened in 2021, says it will shut its doors July 26 after a new buyer offered its landlord more money for the building than Turnstiles could afford. Brian McVicar|MLive.com GRAND RAPIDS, MI Turnstiles, a West Side bar and live music venue, is closing July 26 now that its building is being sold to a buyer who made a bigger offer than Turnstiles, according to owner Rob Schellenberg. We tried to buy the property from our landlord, Rockford Construction, and the purchase agreement just kind of fell through with a new buyer swooping in and offering a lot more money than we have, he said. So the decision was made for us. Wed continue if we could, but we cant. Concertgoers rock out to music at the Upheaval Festival in Grand Rapids. (Andrew Reames | Upheaval Festival) GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Headbangers can head over to this years 2025 Upheaval Festival to rock out all night long. The fourth annual multi-day concert is held at Grand Rapids Belknap Park on Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19. Doors open at 1 p.m. with VIP pass holders entering early at 12:45 p.m. In addition to the main festival featuring over 20 performers across two days, attendees can also catch a 10 p.m. after-show featuring headliner Attila at The Intersection. Single general admission tickets start at $149.27, with two-day admission starting at $236.07. Both include access to three alternating stages, food vendors and more. VIP tickets are running low, so a waitlist is in place. VIP perks include lounge access, early entrance, an exclusive viewing area, private restrooms, special beverage options, and complimentary water. Learn more and purchase tickets here. Live music Friday, July 18 1:10 p.m. - Delato 1:35 p.m. - The Convalescence 2:05 p.m. - The Funeral Portrait 2:40 p.m. - The Lonely Ones 2:45 p.m. - Silent Theory 3:15 p.m. - Taproot 4 p.m. - Paralandra 4:15 p.m. - Return to Dust 4:55 p.m. - The Plot in You 5:50 p.m. - Horizon Theory 6:10 p.m. - Scene Queen 7:05 p.m. - Architects 8:10 p.m. - Mr. Denton on Doomsday 8:35 p.m. - Rob Zombie Saturday, July 19 1:10 p.m. - Delato 1:35 p.m. - Poet The Band 2:05 p.m. - A Killers Confession 2:40 p.m. - Living Dead Girl 2:45 p.m. - Nevertel 3:15 p.m. - Bodysnatcher 4 p.m. - Our Vices 4:15 p.m. - Royale Lynn 4:55 p.m. - Yelawolf 5:50 p.m. - Forge the Sun 6:10 p.m. - Vended 7:05 p.m. - Wage War 8:10 p.m. - FivexFive 8:35 p.m. - Dead Poet Society 9:40 p.m. - Falling in Reverse Parking and transportation Parking at Belknap Park, located at 30 Coldbrook St. SE, is now sold out; however, metered parking is available throughout the Monroe North Business District, which is within walking distance to the venue. Grand Rapids also offers parking throughout the downtown area. View the interactive visitor marking map to review locations, or download the parking facility map and rate information here. Those looking to save their money, can utilize DASH, a free shuttle system. Take the shuttle to North Monroe and Coldbrook before walking a few blocks to the festival grounds. The shuttle operates every 15 minutes from 7 a.m. to midnight on Friday and from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday. For additional parking and transportation information, you can visit the downtown visitor mobility and parking guide. Rules and guidelines Upheaval is an all-ages event. While no minimum age is strictly enforced, it is highly recommended that parents accompany children under the age of 16. All attendees are required to have a ticket to enter, regardless of age. Other regulations and disclaimers include: Must have your ID if you want to consume alcohol (21+). Drivers licenses, passports, military IDs and government IDs with a photo and birth date are all acceptable. Some performances may contain material that parents may find unsuitable for younger children. No ticket refunds or exchanges, including, but not limited to: failure of performers to appear, changes in performers, or cancellation due to inclement weather. No student, military or senior citizen discounts. Bags will be restricted to small purses, fanny packs and single-pocket drawstring bags. Bags may not exceed 14 x 11 x 5 and must have only one singular pocket or opening. View the list of items permitted here If you have a medical condition that requires you to bring prescription medication, bring proper documentation to the security checkpoint at the main gate. Strollers are accepted but are subject to search during the security check at the gates. For safety purposes, strollers will not be allowed in the standing room only areas of the festival. Service animals are allowed entry. There are handicap-accessible restrooms, plus a designated general admission accessible seating area at the main stage. Only empty reusable water bottles are permitted entry. They can be refilled at the water station. Nearby restaurants and bars Festivalgoers who are hungry after all the rocking out to the music can look forward to a handful of local eateries within walking distance. Whether youre eager for a hearty meal or a quick pick-me-up, these spots offer something for everyone: Edith Corbett, standing next to attorney Pavol Fabian, was sentenced in a Grand Rapids courtroom for keeping a house of prostitution. John Tunison GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A 45-year-old woman who police say ran a house of ill fame at a Grand Rapids area massage business has been sentenced to jail. Edith Amanda Corbett was sentenced Thursday, July 17, to a year in jail, three years probation and 150 hours of community service for keeping a house of prostitution and accepting prostitution earnings. It takes advantage of other women who are in a vulnerable place in their life, Kent County Circuit Judge Joseph Rossi said of Corbetts crime. I think a lot of people would like to say, Well that kind of stuff doesnt happen in Grand Rapids or in Kent County or on Plainfield Avenue. I think this illustrates that it does and that law enforcement is going to take it seriously, he said. Corbetts business, Just Divine at 5181 Plainfield Ave. NE, came under scrutiny in summer 2023 because of social media posts that caught the attention of investigators with the Kent County Sheriffs Office human trafficking task force. Police said the business assessed a door fee of $50 or $80 and encouraged tips for service providers. Police said the service providers offered illegal sex acts and described it as a place of ill fame. Corbetts attorney, Pavol Fabian, said Corbett got into the business in 2020 out of desperation to generate income after losing her previous job. She needed to support her two children, he said. She was looking for any way to make ends meet, Fabian said. Fabian argued for leniency for Corbett and questioned why the volumes of men who paid for services havent been charged. Corbett, tearing up while speaking, said she knew she made wrong decisions. I thought I was helping girls at the time by getting them off the street, giving them a safe place, she said. But I know it wasnt the right way to help them. As part of the sentence, Rossi said he would consider reducing Corbetts jail time if she works with the human trafficking task force of the Kent County sheriffs vice unit to identify and prosecute men who paid for sex acts at Just Divine. Rossi said, in his view, the customers appear to be getting off scot-free. He also said Corbetts community service should be served at the YWCA, the Womens Resource Center or an organization called Sacred Beginnings. Corbett was credited with previously serving eight days in jail. 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. Guns seized on the 1200 block of North Park Street on July 11, 2025. (Courtesy| KDPS) KALAMAZOO, MI Kalamazoo police have been busy arresting juveniles with guns, sharing details of several recent incidents. The Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety performed targeted enforcement to address gun possession, resulting in the seizure of 10 illegal firearms and 10 arrests over an eight-day stretch. Officers focused efforts in high-crime areas and pursued individuals exhibiting signs of unlawfully carrying firearms. Recent incidents include: July 7 A 16-year-old boy fled officers in the 1400 block of Portage Street. He was taken into custody after a foot chase and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, resisting police and other firearm offenses. July 10 Police executed a search warrant in the 1100 block of Mills Street, locating a gun on a 17-year-old boy. A second gun was recovered at a related scene in the 1400 block of North Burdick Street. July 11 A 17-year-old boy was found with a stolen firearm during a traffic stop in the 1400 block of Portage Street. He was charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a weapon by a juvenile and possession of a stolen weapon. July 11 - On the 1200 block of North Park Street, four suspects were contacted and three fled. Three guns were recovered, including one located by a police dog. The boys, ages 16, 17, 18, and 19, face a range of charges including felony firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and resisting arrest. July 12 A 19-year-old man was stopped in the 1000 block of Woodward Street with a handgun listed as stolen from Alabama. His charges include felony firearm, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of a stolen weapon. July 14 Two boys, ages 15 and 17, were arrested in the 2500 block of South Burdick Street after one fled from investigators. Both were found with stolen firearms previously reported to the Kalamazoo County Sheriffs Office. The identities of the juvenile suspects will not be released, police said. Members of the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, the Crime Reduction Team and KDPSs Operations Division were a part of the enforcement effort. These operations are in direct response to the gun violence weve seen in our community, KDPS Capt. Mike Ferguson said. We will continue this focused enforcement throughout the summer, and beyond, if necessary. Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark MLives local Kalamazoo news page. A map of the area surrounding Wenke Greenhouses, where drinking water monitoring detected elevated levels of PFAS. MPART KALAMAZOO COUNTY, MI Contaminated drinking water near Wenke Greenhouses has spurred concern in Comstock Township, as the area includes migrant housing and other private residences. Testing between 2022 and 2025 turned up elevated levels of toxic PFAS in the drinking water, prompting a deeper investigation this year. That investigation found two of the 77 nearby residential wells were not fit for human consumption, although small levels of contamination were detected in other wells. The purpose of the investigation was to evaluate the public health risks of exposure in the area, not to determine the cause of it, said Abigail Hendershott, executive director of Michigans PFAS Action Response Team. Wenke Greenhouses, 2525 N. 30th St., is required to test its drinking water quarterly because it houses more than 25 migrant workers for more than half the year, said Ian Smith of EGLEs Drinking Water and Environmental Health Division. PFAS are a group of thousands of per- and polyfluoroalkyl forever chemicals known to cause cancer, liver damage, birth defects and autoimmune diseases. PFAS are widely used to make products resistant to stains, grease and water. Comstock Township residents and state officials gather Wednesday, July 16 for a town hall regarding PFAS contamination. Audrey Whitaker About 20 Comstock residents attended a Wednesday, July 16, town hall hosted by the Michigan PFAS Action Response Team (MPART). Most were property owners in the surrounding area, rather than Wenkes migrant workers. Its not clear exactly how many migrant workers are housed at Wenkes facility, where cabins were built several years ago to house guest laborers on a H-2A program visa. I feel neglected, said Lisa VanDyken. She and her husband live just east of the area sampled in the investigation. They worry for the health of their grandchildren, she said, who visit for meals, bathe and play in the water. Theyd like to see testing expand to their neighborhood, VanDyken said. That wont happen, Hendershott said, unless new evidence prompts further investigation or homeowners elect to test their own wells. The department of health and human services will repeat testing at residential properties within the year, she said. Surrounding property owners would be notified if results change dramatically, but its unlikely. Wenke Greenhouses in Comstock Township, Michigan on Wednesday, January 16, 2019. Emil Lippe | MLive.com Residents want to know why they werent notified of the elevated PFAS levels near Wenke sooner. If something was to go wrong, how long would it take you guys to let us know, if it took you approximately four to five years for this? one resident asked. Quarterly testing at Wenke Greenhouses began in 2020, Smith said. Attention turned to the site within the last year, Hendershott said. There have been a lot of other exceedances across the state that have been much higher that we prioritized, Hendershott said. Now were starting to get to some of these lower level detections. State drinking water standards limit PFOS to 16 parts per trillion (ppt) and PFOA to 8 ppt. PFOS levels at the greenhouse rang in between 10 and 20 ppt and up to 4.5 ppt for PFOA between 2022 and 2025, Smith said. When averaged out across the year, the contamination didnt exceed state standards. But the numbers raised a red flag for Michigans PFAS Action Response Team (MPART). It made us wonder if there was a plume or something going on out here, said Site Lead Miranda Triolet. Drinking water from 77 wells at nearby homes were tested, Triolet said. The two wells exceeding the allowable amount of PFAS are south of the greenhouse, as shown on the map. These are at privately owned residences, nearby but not directly at the migrant housing. A map of the area surrounding Wenke Greenhouses, where drinking water monitoring detected elevated levels of PFAS. MPART Small levels of PFAS, not exceeding state standards, were found in 29 wells, Triolet said. Those sites are shown in yellow on the map above. No PFAS contamination was detectable in the remaining 46 wells, represented by green dots. Results dont point to a particular source of contamination or plume. Long-time residents pointed to a former air field and military testing ground nearby during the meetings question-and-answer session. But the type of PFAS found isnt the type that comes from industrial activity or firefighting foam, Hendershott said. Thats whats so confounding about this, she said. Were just not seeing consistent concentrations that really speak of an actual groundwater plume. Theres something there, but were not sure exactly what it is. State officials arent ruling any possible causes out, Hendershott said, but theyre also cautious not to point the finger without more evidence. People who live and work at Wenke are provided bottled water, Triolet said. Properties that test positive for any amount of PFAS in their drinking water are eligible for a free filter and up to $300 to cover plumber fees, said Lucus Pols, Kalamazoo County Environmental Health Division manager. Its scary to people, but I think the education helps them a little more, said township Superintendent Scott Hess. Wenke Greenhouses didnt respond for comment prior to publication. Monitoring at the greenhouse will continue, Hendershott said, and MPART will work with officials there to determine the cause of the elevated levels. These drinking water wells, for the most part ... are still at acceptable levels for human consumption, Hendershott said. Some peoples comfort level of risk is much, much different than other people. Want more Kalamazoo-area news? Bookmark MLives local Kalamazoo news page. A Flock ALPR license plate reader camera is seen fixed to a pole along Gull Street in Kalamazoo, Michigan in this file photo. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com file) Joel Bissell | MLive.com BAY CITY, MI Commissioners on Monday will vote to decide whether the city will contract with one of the nations largest companies for license plate reading technology. A resolution on the consent agenda of the Bay City Commissions Monday, July 21, meeting recommends an agreement with Flock Group Inc. of Atlanta, Georgia, for the implementation of multiple license plate readers throughout the city. The cost of the measure would include just over $45,000 up front for fiscal year 2026 and then an additional $39,000 for the following fiscal year, according to the resolution. Flock Safety License Plate Readers (LPRs) are in use in many jurisdictions throughout Michigan and across the nation. They have been used to solve crimes that would have been much more difficult if not impossible to solve without them, according to law enforcement officials in Bay City. The technology has been used in neighboring municipalities to help Bay City with joint investigations. The cameras, mounted along public roads, are not monitored, live video recordings. Instead, they take a single photo of the back of a vehicle, capturing its license plate. The system cross-checks the captured plate, which is saved for 30 days, against a hotlist. If a number is identified as having been involved in an assaultive crime, police will be alerted to where and when the photo was taken. Investigators can also run a check for vehicle descriptions passing through an area. Among local municipalities that utilize the system are Saginaw and Flint, both areas where Michigan State Police troopers assist through task forces. Bay City Director of Public Safety Caleb Rowell previously said the license plate-reading cameras are essentially force multipliers, assisting the department when it cant have officers placed strategically at intersections throughout the city every hour. They will help notify officers about stolen vehicles or vehicles related to felony warrants. There have been so many cases solved throughout the country utilizing this technology that it is hard to ignore, Rowell said. The technology has been around for multiple years and their track record is pretty amazing. A box of Crumbl Cookies can be seen in this MLive file photo. The bakery chain is currently hiring employees for its new Saginaw Township location, which is expected to open in September. (Jake May | MLive.com) Jake May | MLive.com SAGINAW TWP, MI Crumbl Cookies will soon introduce the Saginaw area to its vast and ever-changing menu of massive cookies and create dozens of local jobs with its first Saginaw County location. The new bakery, to be located at 4540 State St. in Saginaw Township, is expected to open in September, according to owner Andrew Lord. Were very confident and very excited with what were doing in Saginaw, Lord said. Lord resides in the East Lansing area and owns two Lansing-area Crumbl Cookies locations. The bakery chains nearest existing locations to Saginaw County are in Fenton and Mount Pleasant. A new Davison store is opening this week. We identified Saginaw early on as a real opportunity for being able to service a lot of customers and to help them be able to access the tasty treats that Crumbl has without having to drive an hour away to get it, which had been the case, Lord said. The response to plans for the new bakery has been positive, Lord said, noting that several residents have already told him how excited they are to have a Crumbl Cookies location in the Saginaw area. We found Crumbl to be a very successful brand that really resonates with a lot of customers, Lord said. Construction is ongoing at the bakery as crews prepare to move in kitchen equipment, such as mixing machines and ovens. Lord noted that every dessert Crumbl Cookies serves is made from scratch. Were not quite yet on the home stretch, but were getting there, he said. When customers walk into the bakery, they will be met with the inviting smell of cookies as well as Crumbls signature pink, white, and silver decor. One thing about Crumbl thats really nice is the environment, Lord said. Its one reason why people love to work there and why they love to come as customers. Its very bright, very vibrant. Crumbl Cookies keeps its menu fresh by rotating its list of cookie flavors each week, including some flavors customers may have never tried before, such as key lime pie and tres leches cake. Customers will also be able to choose from more traditional cookie flavors, including chocolate chip, which Lord said is Crumbls bread and butter. Due to the flavors popularity, the bakery will always have some type of chocolate cookie on its menu. The bakerys weekly cookie lineup will be updated every Monday and feature six to eight flavors. Theres a wide range of flavors that were excited for people to try, Lord said. Over the course of the past three years alone, weve sold 200 to 300-plus different flavors. The most common purchase among Crumbl Cookies customers is a four pack of large cookies, which costs approximately $16. Lord said the bakerys large cookies are similar in diameter to a softball, so theyre big enough to share. Cookies can also be ordered individually, by the half-dozen or dozen. Crumbl also offers miniature versions of each of its desserts, which can be purchased in packs of three, six, or 12. In addition to cookies, the bakerys menu will occasionally include cakes and pie. The bakery will also offer drinks, such as water and chocolate milk. We have found its this bonding experience, and people have a lot of fun with it. The bakery aims to hire 40 to 50 employees to fill what Lord expects to be a mixture of part-time and full-time positions by the time it opens. Lord said the company is currently accepting applicants for shift leader and baker positions. Pay starts at about $13 and can vary depending on how much employees earn in tips. The bakery offers a higher pay scale for shift leaders and managers. The bakerys job openings can be found online at crumblcookies.com/jobs and on hiring websites. The bakery will be open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to midnight on Saturday. The bakery will be closed on Sundays. Planning for a grand opening event is underway. Well definitely be doing something to make sure that people get a chance to get their foot in the door on the first day and have some real fun, Lord said. Attendees watch "Knives Out" during a screening for the Old Saginaw City Lawn Chair Film Festival. The film festival is returning to Saginaw on Sunday, July 20, with a screening of "Major Payne." (MLive file photo) FLINT, MI Genesee County Parks is set to host a weekend filled with dinosaur-themed activities at Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad in Genesee Township. Meanwhile, the Old Town Saginaw Association is beginning the 22nd season of its outdoor summer film festival on Sunday with a screening of the 1990s comedy Major Payne. These are just a couple of things to do in mid-Michigan this weekend. Here are eight events taking place in Genesee and Saginaw counties from Friday, July 18, to Sunday, July 20: Carriage Town Porchfest The Carriage Town Historic Neighborhood Association will host its annual community event across several blocks in Flint on Friday. The Sixth Annual Carriage Town Porchfest will be held from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. in Carriage Town, located at West First Avenue and Mason Street. The event will feature food and craft vendors as well as music from local musicians and family-friendly activities. Additional information about the event and the Carriage Town Historic Neighborhood Association is available online at cthna.org. Anyone interested in attending the event can RSVP on the same website. Friday Night Live: Downtown Hoedown Friday Night Live is returning to downtown Saginaw on Friday with a Downtown Hoedown theme and live country music. The event will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Morley Plaza, located at 133 N. Washington Ave. The Downtown Hoedown will feature performances by the Claim Jumpers and Waylon Hannel. Friday Night Live is a free summer concert series created by Positive Results Downtown Saginaw. This summers series continues through Aug. 15. Additional information about the event is available online at prideinsaginaw.org. Gaines Community Rodeo The 22nd annual Gaines Community Rodeo will be held in Pinehill Park at 6:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday. The event will feature bull riding, barrel racing, calf roping, break-away roping, team roping, steer wrestling, mini bull riding, and bucking bronc riding. Gates will open at 5 p.m. in the park, located at 12135 Ray Road in Gaines. To purchase tickets to the rodeo or find additional information about the event, including ticket prices, visit the rodeos website at gainesrodeo.com. Jurassic Weekend Crossroads Village & Huckleberry Railroad is bringing the set of the film Jurassic Park to Genesee Township this Saturday and Sunday with its first-ever Jurassic Weekend. Jurassic Weekend will be held at the park, located at 6140 N. Bray Road, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on each day of the event. Visitors will be able to take part in a variety of dinosaur-themed activities for all ages, including a staged fossil dig. Attendees can also check out a showcase featuring Jeeps modeled after the vehicles used in Jurassic Park. Additional information about Jurassic Weekend is available online at geneseecountyparks.org. Flint Pride Festival Flint Pride is set to host its 15th annual Flint Pride Festival in downtown Flint from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. The festival will be held at the University of Michigan-Flint Pavilion on Saginaw Street as well as the Flat Lot on East Kearsley Street and Brush Park, which is on First Street. The LGBTQ+ community celebration, which is typically held at Riverbank Park, will feature music, performances, vendors, and food. Additional information about the event and Flint Pride can be found on the organizations Facebook page. PFLAG summer picnic Parents, Families, and Friends of LGBTQ+ People (PFLAG) Great Lakes Bay Region is bringing its annual summer picnic back to the Saginaw area this weekend. The picnic will take place at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Saginaw Township from 1 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday. The church is located at 2525 Hemmeter Road. Attendees are asked to bring a dish to share at the picnic, which will also feature music. Additional information about PFLAG Great Lakes Bay Region is available online at pflagglb.com. Lawn Chair Film Festival The Old Town Saginaw Association (OSTA) is kicking off this summers Lawn Chair Film Festival with its Hometown Heroes event, which will feature a screening of the 1995 comedy film Major Payne. The film stars actor and comedian Daman Wayans as a Marine tasked with training a group of Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps (JROTC) cadets. The screening will take place in the parking lot at the corner of South Hamilton and Adams streets in Saginaw at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Prior to the screening, a video honoring local veterans and first responders will be played for attendees. The event will also feature pre-show activities, a raffle, and food, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Additional information about the event is available on the OTSA Lawn Chair Film Festival Facebook page. Frankenmuths Concerts in the Park Frankenmuths Concerts in the Park are returning to the Palmer Schau Platz in Memorial Park on Sunday night with the music of the Bee Gees, the group known for hit 1970s disco songs like Stayin Alive. The Bee Gees tribute band Night Fever will perform at 7 p.m. Concertgoers are encouraged to bring a lawn chair or blanket to the show, so they have a place to sit. Concerts in the Park is a free summer concert series is organized by the Frankenmuth Womens Club, which will sell snacks and beverages at the concert to raise funds for the event. Additional information about the event is available online at frankenmuthwc.org. Menards Inc. officials this week announced plans to pursue an expansion at its Saginaw distribution center to add the companys first bagging facility in Michigan. TNS SAGINAW, MI Menards Inc. officials this week announced plans to pursue an expansion at the companys Saginaw distribution center to add its first bagging facility in Michigan. Here are six takeaways from the original article. Expansion would service two states Menards Inc. has proposed a $20 million investment to expand its operations at its distribution center located at 1808 Veterans Memorial Parkway in northeast Saginaw. The investment would add a bagging facility to the existing 30-acre distribution center, which would service Menards retail stores throughout Michigan and Ohio. First Michigan bagging facility for the company The proposed facility would represent Menards first bagging facility in Michigan, said Nick Brenner, a real estate representative for the national chain. Brenner explained to the Saginaw City Council during a Monday, July 14, meeting that workers at the facility would bag different aggregate products such as Portland cement and pea gravel. Menards has similar plants throughout the Midwest, outside of Michigan. Facility would create jobs The expansion would create up to nine new jobs at the Saginaw campus, adding to the approximately 75 employees who already work at the distribution center. This job creation represents continued investment in the local workforce by one of the nations largest home improvement retail chains, potentially providing new employment opportunities for Saginaw residents. Saginaw City Council paved the way The Saginaw City Council voted unanimously (8-0) in favor of establishing an industrial development district at the property. According to Brenner, this designation would help Menards recoup some of the costs associated with the proposed development. Plan involves more environmental cleanup efforts Part of the costs for the development would include environmental cleanup efforts at the site. Menards has been engaged in cleanup efforts since opening the distribution facility in 2011, as the location previously housed the General Motors Nodular Iron plant, which closed in 1987. Facility would involve new building The proposed bagging facility would involve constructing a 39,000-square-foot building at the companys Veterans Memorial Parkway campus. This addition would expand Menards operational capabilities at the site, located about eight miles east of the retail store Menards operates in neighboring Saginaw Township. President of the State Board of Education Pamela Pugh speaks during the 26th annual Ann Arbor African American Festival in downtown Ann Arbor in this file photo. Sydney Verlinde | MLive.com SAGINAW, MI Pamela Pugh, president of the Michigan State Board of Education, is ready to hit the campaign trail again. The Democrat, who fell short in her bid to join the U.S. Congress in 2024, said she filed as a candidate for the 35th District seat in Michigans Senate. President Donald Trump talks to reporters as he walks on the South Lawn upon arriving at the White House, Sunday, July 13, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) AP President Donald Trump has made repeated calls for the federal government to approve a package making official $9 billion in cuts to public broadcasting and foreign aid spending. Given the potential impact on Michigan, we decided to ask readers about their thoughts. Take the survey below or send an email to djames@mlive.com. Trump has called his administrations $9 billion package codifying DOGE cuts to public broadcasters and USAID very important. What do you think? Using the survey below, you can let us know your thoughts and experiences, and any specific provisions you feel passionate about. Feel free to let us know who you are and where youre from. Your feedback matters Trump has called his administrations $9 billion package codifying DOGE cuts to public broadcasters and USAID very important. What do you think? On June 3, Trump sent to Congress a package of $9.4 billion in rescissions - essentially a retroactive funding cut for several programs. The package initially included $8.3 billion in foreign aid funding cuts and $1.1 billion in clawbacks from public broadcasting. Congress has 45 days, until Friday, July 18, to sign off. Otherwise, the request expires and the White House will be required to adhere to spending plans previously passed by Congress. The request passed the U.S. House June 12, and was approved by the U.S. Senate after 2 a.m. on Thursday, July 17. The Senate removed cuts to one global program, PEPFAR, from the package. The program was launched in 2003 by then-President George W. Bush to fight HIV/AIDS. The size of the package was dropped to $9 billion from $9.4 billion, and it ultimately cleared the chamber in a 51-48 vote. The package will now require one more vote in the House before it can be sent to Trumps desk. In a July 10 post on Truth Social, Trump said its very important that all Republicans adhere to the rescissions package. He went so far as to suggest withholding support or endorsements from candidates who vote against public broadcasting cuts. The $1.1 billion in public broadcasting funds at stake are to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). The nonprofit funds public media, including National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), along with grants to over 1,000 broadcast outlets nationwide. Each year, the CPB receives funds from Congress, allocated two fiscal years in advance. In a May executive order, Trump first announced an end to federal funding for both NPR and PBS, which he has described as biased and partisan. Trump said the current media landscape means publicly funded news, especially that with what he describes as a political lean, is not necessary. At the very least, Americans have the right to expect that if their tax dollars fund public broadcasting at all, they fund only fair, accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan news coverage, he wrote. No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies. But several senators representing states with rural communities have expressed concerns about how the public broadcasting cuts could affect emergency alerts systems. While NPR and PBS receive a chunk of funding for national programming, the bulk of CPB dollars - more than 70% - goes in the form of grants to more than 1,500 local radio and television stations nationwide. Broadcasting leaders say these local stations, especially those in rural communities, are at risk of losing large percentages of their funding overnight. In Michigan, there are 43 radio and TV stations affiliated with the CPB, from the tip of the Upper Peninsula to Kalamazoo. Fourteen local stations received grant dollars from the CPB during the 2024 fiscal year, according to online records. That includes Delta Colleges Public Media station (WDCQ-TV), which received a $976,708 grant in May 2024 to replace broadcast infrastructure used to send out public alerts. The funds were described by CPB as helping provide for a largely rural and underserved audience in the crook of Michigans thumb. In previously criticizing Trumps moves, NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher said Trumps order is not about balancing the federal budget or limiting wasteful spending, given that the appropriation for public broadcasting represents less than 0.0001% of the federal budget. But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R- South Dakota, has described the bill as an important down payment on reducing the size of the federal government. In a post on X, he said the $9 billion in wasteful spending cuts would amount to approximately one tenth of 1 percent of federal spending, with a focus on woke and wasteful foreign aid dollars. The majority of the package makes cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), a foreign aid arm of the government that has been targeted by DOGE. Minus the HIV/AIDS program cuts, the rescissions package still includes cuts to global aid programs charged with peacekeeping, global health, refugee assistance and international disaster assistance. Several Michigan higher education institutions receive USAID funding in some form, including grants and fellowships. Michigan State University, for example, has two USAID-funded laboratories. Dangerous waves and currents are expected at a long stretch of Lake Michigan beaches today. Graphic provided by the NWS HOLLAND, MI - If todays cool breeze is keeping you out of Lake Michigan, that might be a good thing. The National Weather Service has issued a Beach Hazards statement for a popular stretch of Lake Michigan beaches. It warns of waves building up to 7 feet today, and strong currents that could pull swimmers into deep water. Piers could be dangerous places to be today, with waves washing over the concrete walkways and swamping them. Gusty northwest winds will produce dangerous swimming conditions on some of our Lake Michigan beaches today. Graphic provided by the NWS Here are the details, as shared by the National Weather Service office in Grand Rapids: The warning covers Mason, Oceana, Muskegon, Ottawa, Allegan, and Van Buren counties. But NWS officials also note that Up North beaches along Lake Michigan could see dangerous conditions. This includes any beaches south of Little Traverse Bay in Petoskey. High wave action, strong currents and hazardous swimming conditions are expected. Northerly winds could increase to 35 mph, which could build wave heights to 7 feet by Thursday morning. High waves are expected to continue all day and into the evening. The north sides of north piers will be particularly dangerous places to swim on Lake Michigan on Thursday. Several popular beach locations are specifically mentioned in the warning, including Stearns Park in Ludington, Mears State Park in Pentwater, Holland State Park, and North Beach in South Haven. If you are going to the beach today, check the local colored-flag conditions before you head into the water. Use caution during yellow-flag hours. Red means do not swim. Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story based on data from the National Weather Service. It was reviewed, edited and expanded by MLive staff. A nearly decade-old Billings sex trafficking case neared its conclusion Wednesday. Lavodrick Terelle Hogues pleaded guilty in Yellowstone County District Court to promotion of prostitution. He reached a plea agreement with prosecutors after his 2021 conviction for a more severe charge was overturned by the Montana Supreme Court. The case itself dates back to 2015, when state and federal authorities discovered he was trafficking an underage girl across the country. In late 2015, an investigation on the part of the Montana Department of Criminal Investigation revealed Hogues, who was living in New Mexico, was directing an underage girl to engage in prostitution. At his demand, according to court documents, she and an adult woman posted ads on the now-defunct website Backpage.com, offering sex for cash in states like New Mexico, Texas, North Dakota and eventually Montana. They would then send some of that money to Hogues. Ostensibly a website for classified ad listings, Backpage.com was targeted by multiple state and federal prosecutors for being a conduit for sex trafficking. In 2018, agents with the FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service seized and shut down the site, according to reporting from the Associated Press. In 2024, the websites three former owners were sentenced for money laundering crimes. One federal prosecutor estimated the three and their associates pocketed more than $500 million by hosting a forum that catered to sexual exploitation. In December 2015, DCI agents found a Backpage ad offering sex in Billings with an adult woman and an underage girl. They met with both, and after seizing their phones and a laptop found they were in contact with Hogues. Messages exchanged between Hogues and the adult woman showed him directing her how to post photos in online ads and how to funnel her money back to him. In one exchange, Hogues was upset the teenage girl was disrespecting him, according to court documents, and he said hed make her bow down. A series of continuations between Hoguess charge and his eventual conviction caused the case to stretch on for about six years. During that time, Hogues went through six different defense attorneys. Days before his 2022 trial, Hogues filed a motion requesting that he represent himself and asked the court for yet another continuance. District Judge Donald Harris, who presided over the case following Russell Faggs retirement, denied the continuance request, telling Hogues he saw it as a delaying tactic. You put yourself in a really, really difficult place, Harris told Hogues after allowing him to serve as his own attorney at his trial. And I think its one of the worst decisions Ive ever seen made in a courtroom in my life; but youve made it, and youve insisted upon it despite my urging you not to do it. His trial concluded with a Yellowstone County jury convicting Hogues of aggravated promotion of prostitution. In February 2022, Judge Harris sentenced Hogues to 15 years in prison, with three years suspended. Hogues appealed the conviction to the Montana Supreme Court, arguing that the judge made an error in granting his motion to represent himself at the trial and had violating his Sixth Amendment rights to question the teenage survivor face-to-face, as she appeared for the trial via video teleconferencing. In January 2025, The Montana Supreme Court ruled against his first argument but agreed with the second. The decision reversed Hoguess conviction and reverted the case back to Yellowstone County District Court. In July of this year, prosecutors with the Montana Attorney Generals Office filed an amended charge of promotion of prostitution against Hogues. In court Wednesday, Hogues stood once again before Harris. Melinda Driscoll, Hoguess defense attorney, walked him through his guilty plea by asking him whether he had encouraged an underage girl to engage in prostitution in Billings back in December 2015. Hogues answered that he had. With his guilty plea, Hogues faces up to 10 years in prison. Per the nature of his plea agreement, should Harris impose a sentence more severe than that agreed on by Hogues and prosecutors, Hogues will have the option to withdraw his guilty plea. His sentencing will be held at a later date. From 2020 through 2024, the National Human Trafficking hotline identified 287 survivors of human trafficking in Montana, the majority of whom were sex trafficking survivors. Of those survivors, 33 were minors. Not all commercial sex is considered sex trafficking, legally speaking, but those who are underage cannot consent to engaging in commercial sex and are all considered trafficking victims. Last year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 27,800 reports of possible child sex trafficking. One in seven of children reported missing to NCMEC in 2024 were likely victims of child sex trafficking, according to the organization. Is studying abroad still worth it in 2025? These Indian students share the reality Saurav Pandey USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. 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I Accept Latest OTT releases this week: From Kuberaa to Special Ops S2, here is a list of latest shows to stream this weekend 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. 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I Accept Salman Khan calls Battle of Galwan 'physically demanding': It gets more and more difficult 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. 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I Accept Archisha Yadav is a sub editor with 1.5 years of experience in writing news articles on topics like education, jobs, and politics. She specialises in crafting simple, clear, and engaging stories that are easy to understand and hold the readers interest, making complex topics accessible and relatable to a larger audience. Archisha Yadav USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Money Continues To Flow From Solana Into Ethereum and ERC-20 Tokens Like Remittix *Disclaimer - Brand Connect is a solution that allows brands to break the queue to gain better engagement among our audiences Riya Gandhi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Gold rate today: Yellow metal's prices decline; check the latest rates in your city on July 17 Debaroti Adhikary USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Roughly 63% of Montana is experiencing drought, with conditions unlikely to improve anytime soon, members of the state drought committee noted at a Wednesday meeting. That's significantly up from only 41% of the state around this time in 2024. This year, more extreme drought conditions have expanded into the western side of the state to counties like Missoula, Ravalli and Lewis and Clark. Its Montanas fifth consecutive year experiencing drought, Michael Downey, drought program manager with the Department of Natural Resources, told agency representatives at the meeting. I think that unlike some other years where we would bounce back more quickly foliage, forest, crops, everything has just been knocked back and not had a chance to recover in the way we've seen in other years where drought has been more dispersed, Downey said. The drought conditions have already brought widespread fishing restrictions across the state and will continue to increase wildfire risks and grasshopper infestations while further diminishing crop production. Downey cited abnormally high temperatures leading to the present-day drought. Temperatures in places like Eastern Montana were roughly 8 degrees above average temperatures last fall. And while basins received above average precipitation in places like southwestern Montana in winter months this year, those counties are now experiencing extreme drought because of little precipitation since then. Consequently, stream flows are reduced, with shallower streams resulting in higher temperatures that can prove lethal for coldwater fish like trout. Really, I think that what we're seeing this year is the effects of that ongoing drought, Downey said. For a lot of these streams there's just nothing left in the tank. Precipitation overall has declined on average in the past 50 years in western Montana. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data predicted that accumulated precipitation would decrease nearly 5 inches per century. In 1974, the average precipitation in the western half of the state was 14 inches. In 2024, it decreased to around 11.7 inches. Part of what were fighting is trends, Downey said. In that 50 years, there's been about two-and-a-half inches of drop. And thats what were seeing currently. We live pretty close to the bone here in Montana. It wasnt called the Great American Desert for nothing. Because of lower precipitation overall from last year and spring this year, it will be difficult for most water sources to recover from this drought even with future rainfall. It's going to start to rain more, and we're going to see some water in the streams, and that might provide some temporary relief, but I think you're really going to need a real significant, prolonged change in the weather to really change this situation going forward, U.S. Geological hydrologist Aaron Fiaschetti said. Fiaschetti said that everything looks worse now compared to when he last presented on Montanas water supply in June. All the rivers in western Montana are 50% below their cumulative median flow because of low runoff. Record lows were recently recorded in areas of the Teton River, the north and south forks of the Sun River, the Blackfoot River and other streams. The only noted recording of a river above its median flow was the Gallatin River near Gallatin Gateway. Still, there were rare bright spots noted in the meeting. While southcentral Montana, including Billings, was abnormally dry this time last year, this year the area remains unaffected by drought or dry conditions. And even if it might not feel like it with recent and ongoing northeastern droughts in Montana, on the eastern side of the state precipitation is actually trending up. The NOAA data projected an average increase of 3 inches per century. In 1974 the average precipitation was near 10 inches. In 2024 it was 11.5 inches a year. I think thats probably why we're seeing things jump and recover in the east versus in the west, where even despite having a normal snow pack, things have really dropped off, Downey said. Wildfire risk brought by drought Montana is currently at a wildfire preparedness level of four, with five being the most extreme. Although drought conditions are worse than this time last year, fewer acres have been burned in wildfires when compared to last year. At this point in 2024, 85,000 acres had burned, compared to the 16,000 acres burned so far this year, even though theres been more fire starts. The largest wildfire in 2025, Fergus County's Wilder fire, burned only 3,450 acres. We've been tremendously successful so far, said Cory Calnan, the DNRC fire bureau's acting chief. Some of that is because of the weather we've experienced and kind of the fits and starts of the fire season we havent seen, but were really proud of that. Like with water, the environment in much of Montana never really recovered from a dry season last year, generating additional dry fuels for fire to feed on. Recent rain has only been helpful so much. That rain in places like southcentral Montana has helped keep grasses from being able to burn, but precipitation is expected to taper off in the coming months. Meanwhile, fuels like timber have remained dry. Forest fires are often more labor-intensive and difficult to manage than grassfires. Only portions of the state were predicted to have significant wildfire potential in July, with parts of central and Eastern Montana excluded. In August and September, nearly all of Montana is expected to be at risk of wildfire. Weve been super successful with initial attack and with the resources weve been able to pile on, but it is certainly shaping up to be a challenging fire season, Calnan said. L&T Tech Services rebounds, now up over 3% L&T Tech Services shares rebounded from lows on July 17 and were trading up over 3%. L&T Technology Services expects to log double-digit revenue growth in fiscal year 2026 and maintained its medium-term outlook of $2 billion revenue, boosted by an increased order book, CEO Amit Chadha said on Wednesday. However, the engineering and technology firm posted first-quarter revenue below analysts' estimates, as weakness in the global auto sector hit the company's mobility segment. Its consolidated revenue rose 16.4% to Rs 2,866 crore in the quarter ended June 30. Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 14 years. Tamal Nandi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. 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I Accept A tenth of EU exports to Indonesia, Vietnam under threat as US seals trade deals Ishaan Gera USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Danish Khan is the editor of Technology and Telecom. He was previously with the Economic Times and has tracked the sector for 14 years. Sonalee Borgohain USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept SEBI member hints at increase in tenure of F&O contracts, raises concerns over huge volume in short-term contracts J Jagannath USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Sona BLW in talks to set up EV component unit in China, supply parts to BYD, reports CNBC-TV18; shares jump 7% Debaroti Adhikary USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Surabhi Pandey USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Trump eyes tariff rate of 10% or 15% for more than 150 countries Ankit Saproo 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 Manish M. Suvarna is Senior Correspondent at Moneycontrol. He writes on the Indian money markets, RBI, Banks and NBFCs. He tweets at @manishsuvarna15. Contact: Manish.Suvarna@nw18.com Manish M. Suvarna USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Another political killing in Bihar as Nitish Kumars party leader murdered in Khagaria 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. 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Priyanjali Ghose USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Knew what she was getting into: SC warns woman of punishment for having an affair outside marriage Rewati Karan USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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I Accept Priyanjali Ghose USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept MNS at it again: Rajasthani shopkeeper assaulted by Raj Thackeray's men over WhatsApp status | Watch Priyanjali Ghose USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. 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For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'Narcotics as terror currency': Jammu and Kashmir HC underlines Pakistan's dual proxy war while denying bail to juvenile Parimal Peeyush USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept North Dakotas Ethics Commission elected a new chair Wednesday and heard a summary of criticisms made by Gov. Kelly Armstrong over its authority to enforce penalties and the impacts of its advisory opinions. The new chair of the Commission is Cynthia Lindquist, a member of the Spirit Lake Dakota Nation, the director of Tribal Initiatives and Collaborations with the University of North Dakota, and previously the president of Cankdeska Cikana (Little Hoop) Community College in Fort Totten. Lindquist fills the position following the death of retired Brig. Gen. Dave Anderson on May 26. She takes the reins at a potential inflection point for the Commission. With two open seats and a third seat up for reappointment in September, the makeup and direction of the Commission may soon change. On top of this, recent conflict between the Commission and Attorney General Drew Wrigley, along with comments from the governor, have brought the purview of the Commission into question. Gov. Armstrong weighs in While it is rare for governors to personally provide testimony at hearings, Armstrong chose to attend a Commission rules hearing Monday regarding travel disclosures of public officials. In his testimony, he said he supports the idea of a centralized location for disclosure of state officials travel, but felt certain pieces of the proposed rules needed more work. He said that his calendar and that of state lawmakers are public records but those calendars currently require an open records request to view. The travel disclosure rules proposed by the Commission would require that public officials disclose details of any travel funded by a third party that they take in their capacity as a public official. The disclosures would not apply to travel taken as a private citizen. The draft rules would require that public officials submit the location, date and length of the trip, as well as the reason for traveling, the cost and who paid for it. The Commission would impose a fee on public officials who submitted a late, false or incomplete travel disclosure report. Most penalties the Commission could bring to bear would be relatively minor -- less than $200. But in the most extreme case, it would be able to fine a public official as much as $5,000 for violating the travel disclosure rules. Armstrongs concerns boiled down to due process and jurisdiction. He said once a penalty reaches the amount of $5,000 there needs to be due process built in for how someone contests or appeals the fine. It's a felony-level fine, Armstrong said. The governor indicated there needed to be more clarity on when a person was subject to the rules because of scenarios that arise from people moving on and off boards and commissions frequently. Like, if somebody who's been off the board for two weeks doesn't file their third-party travel, but they're no longer a public official, Armstrong said. They were a public official at the time the conduct occurred, but they're no longer a public official at the time that the travel disclosure is required to be filed. In a memorandum to the Commission, the Attorney Generals Office said the Commission does not have the constitutional authority to enact penalties. By attempting to create penalties the Commission is infringing on the Legislatures authority, according to the Attorney Generals Office. Referring to these amounts as fees does not change their punitive nature and turn them into fees, the office said in the memorandum. The Ethics Commission does not have a legal authority to establish or impose monetary penalties. The Commission has said its power to enforce ethics laws is implicit in the voter-initiated constitutional amendment that created it, according to reporting from the North Dakota Monitor, Armstrong also expressed concern over a recent advisory opinion issued by the Commission. In response to questions from Sen. Josh Boschee, D-Fargo, the Commission released an advisory opinion stating that in some instances it is permissible for campaign funds to be used for caregiving expenses -- supervision of a child or someone with a disability or medical condition -- or for security expenses. Armstrong said that the issue was a policy question, not an ethical question, and as such should not have been handled by the Commission. Paying for day care or security isn't an ethical question, Armstrong said. The reason I know this is; California allows it. Louisiana doesn't. That doesn't make California inherently more legal than or more ethical than Louisiana ... Paying for day care or security is a policy question. It's a political question, and it ends up being a legal interpretation of the Century Code (state law). It should be subject to hearings, should be subject to debate, and it should be subject, eventually, to a vote. By issuing an advisory opinion, Armstrong said, the Commission has taken away the ability for both the legislative body to implement the law and the secretary of state to administer the law. Ethics Commissioner Murray Sagsveen invited the governor to attend the Wednesday meeting to discuss the governors concerns about the recent advisory opinion further. It was very cordial and very helpful, Sagsveen said of the governor's testimony. I'm really pleased that the governor appeared in person. The role of the Commission will continue to be discussed but as it stands now, it appears to have broad powers given under the North Dakota Constitution. In a 2021 opinion, then-Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem wrote that Ethics Commission rules even supersede state laws. Because the Ethics Commission has constitutional authorization to promulgate rules similar to that granted to the court, the opinion says. It seems a similar analysis would guide the interplay between statutory provisions and rules promulgated by the Ethics Commission. Thus, if the rules passed by the Ethics Commission conflict with a statute, the Constitution mandates that the rule promulgated by the Commission prevails. Current Attorney General Drew Wrigley told the Tribune that opinion does not apply to state laws broadly. That opinion was very narrowly limited to one specific ethics provision" Wrigley said. "The Commission is not broadly empowered to overrule state laws enacted by the peoples Legislature and signed into law by governors across the years. During Wednesdays meeting, the Commission addressed the strained relationship it has with the Attorney Generals Office and directed one of its commissioners to evaluate the treatment of staff by external parties to support a respectful professional and productive working environment for Commission staff. Ethics Commissioner Ward Koeser said the Commission needs to somehow get back in a working relationship with the Attorney Generals Office. Nimisha Priya case: MEA says India offering all possible assistance, in touch with local authorities & friendly nations 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. 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I Accept Supreme Court tells MEA, home ministry to issue lookout notice for Russian woman who allegedly absconded with child 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 'Villain does not die first, Kejriwal was arrested much later in liquor scam': Telangana CM Revanth Reddy on Kaleshwaram probe 101Reporters USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. 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For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Tamal Nandi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. 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I Accept Watch: Eknath Shinde, Uddhav Thackeray come face-to-face for awkward photo-op, here's what happened next Armaan Bhatnagar USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. 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 Prairie Public is in a precarious position with Congress poised to pass a bill late Thursday with the help of North Dakota's delegation that would eliminate roughly 20% of the organizations total budget. Just after 2 a.m., Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote in the Senate to rescind $9 billion in previously approved funding for international aid and public broadcasting. The U.S. House of Representatives must pass the Senate's version of the bill by Friday for the funding to be pulled back. It would effectively zero out the federal governments funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting -- a private corporation funded by American people to manage public broadcasting -- as of October. The CPB currently receives roughly $1.1 billion in federal funding. The federal cuts are piled on top of $600,000 -- or roughly 6% of Prairie Publics total budget -- in state funding cut during the 2025 legislative session. 'More than the media' Prairie Public receives $2 million annually from the CPB, according to Prairie Public President and CEO John Harris. Prairie Public averages around a $10 million annual budget. "It fluctuates due to the fact of how much money we raise through grants or through production projects or different things," Harris told the Tribune on Tuesday. Last year, Prairie Publics budget was $13 million. Harris said the direct funding cuts were only one way the rescissions package passed by the Senate would impact Prairie Public. The CPB handles the licensing of music in a national contract for all public media companies. Without that national contract, Prairie Public would be forced to negotiate and pay for its own contract. On top of this, it costs money for public media companies to stay interconnected and be able to share programming. Without federal funding, Harris said, he is unsure how the system pays to continue that interconnection. "It's a direct impact of, say, roughly $2 million, but it's a much bigger impact on the system when you talk about it," Harris said. "I realize Congress doesn't pay for news, and I know that's been an issue of -- there are fractions of Congress that believe that NPR and PBS news reporting is biased ... I don't know how to really answer that one per se, except that we're more than the media. We're education, especially for young children and lifelong learning, and we're public safety." Staring down a loss of roughly a quarter of its annual budget, Prairie Public is looking to see what is available to try to address the hole left by the cuts as it starts the process of creating its budget for next year. "We are going to evaluate what we can do ... to continue to provide the best-quality service that we can for the citizens of North Dakota, and if that means cutting different services or programs, that's what will have to happen," Harris said. He added that Prairie Public was looking at saving money through the natural attrition of employees leaving the organization but he said he is not a big fan of trying to save money through attrition. "The problem with attrition is that it's not necessarily the positions that maybe you can afford to lose, right?" Harris said. 'Two things can be true' Members of North Dakotas Republican congressional delegation defended their support of the rescission package despite the damage it would do to Prairie Public. During a public debate between Julie Fedorchak and Trygve Hammer on Sept. 26, 2024, the candidates were asked a question on the governments role regarding misinformation and free speech on social media. Fedorchak said: Well, boy, it is getting tougher and tougher to find the facts out there and I appreciate everybodys struggles with that. I have heard a lot about that during this election. People dont know where to go for true information. I always send them to Prairie Public. Cause, in North Dakota the best information comes from Dave Thompson. Im not trying to butter you up Dave, that is the actual truth. Dave Thompson, Prairie Publics news director and a 40-year veteran of the North Dakota news scene, was the mediator for the debate. Fedorchak told the Tribune on Wednesday that she still listens to Prairie Public Radio every morning and that its North Dakota reporting is some of the best. She said this does not stop her from believing that the time has come to cut funding for public broadcasting. "I think two things can be true at the same time," Fedorchak said. "Dave is a great reporter, and Prairie Public is a good source of North Dakota news. That's true. And at the same time, the time has passed for the federal government, who is $36 trillion in debt, to be able to justify spending money on public media." With how much competition there is available today from "podcasts to online newspapers to online radio programs to television," Fedorchak said, the federal government should not be supporting just one source of media. "The federal government doesn't support any other radio shows or radio stations, and I think it's time to pull out of this one, as well," she said. Her comments were echoed by U.S. Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven. "North Dakota has an embarrassment of riches when it comes to radio choices," Cramer said. "We have AM and FM stations in large and small communities across the state which provide emergency broadcast services and employ their own meteorologists. We also have one of the most advanced broadband networks in the entire country, giving our residents access to an incredible range of popular and engaging content which does not need taxpayer subsidies to be successful." Hoeven maintained in an email to the Tribune on Wednesday that public broadcasters have multiple avenues available to them to meet the needs caused by the removal of federal funding. "This rescissions legislation is part of our broader efforts to get the federal debt and deficit under control, and we continue working to find savings," he said. "Public broadcasters have multiple avenues for raising funds, including corporate sponsorships, fees from renting out their towers, membership drives and planned giving, which can be further leveraged to meet their funding needs." The Tribune attempted to contact Harris regarding Hoeven's assertion but was unable to get into contact with him again before the story published. All three members of North Dakotas congressional delegation voted in favor of the Rescissions Act of 2025 when it came through their respective chambers. Harris said Prairie Public is "determined to keep broadcasting, no matter the challenges ahead" in a statement released on Thursday. Parliament may move to impeach Justice Yashwant Varma, but history offers little hope Shishir Tripathi is a journalist and researcher based in Delhi. He has worked with The Indian Express, Firstpost, Governance Now, and Indic Collective. He writes on Law, Governance and Politics. 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By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Breaking Barriers: How BSN Writing Services Bridge the Gap Between Clinical Excellence and Academic Achievement The modern healthcare landscape demands nursing professionals who can seamlessly FPX Assessment Help transition between patient bedside care and scholarly academic discourse. Yet many talented nursing students find themselves caught in a paradox: they excel in clinical settings, demonstrating exceptional patient care skills and medical knowledge, but struggle with the complex written assignments that dominate BSN curricula. This disconnect between clinical competence and academic writing proficiency has sparked the development of specialized BSN writing services designed to bridge this critical gap. The Clinical-Academic Divide in Nursing Education Nursing students often enter BSN programs with strong motivations to help others and natural aptitudes for hands-on patient care. However, the academic writing component of nursing education presents unexpected challenges that can derail otherwise promising careers. This phenomenon, known as the clinical-academic divide, affects students across diverse backgrounds and educational experiences. The divide manifests in several ways. Students who excel during clinical rotations, receiving praise from supervising nurses and positive patient feedback, may simultaneously struggle with theoretical papers and research assignments. This disparity creates frustration and self-doubt, as students question their suitability for the nursing profession despite demonstrating clear clinical competencies. Traditional academic writing instruction often fails to address the unique communication needs of healthcare professionals. Generic writing courses focus on literary analysis or broad argumentative essays, while nursing students need specialized training in evidence-based writing, clinical reasoning documentation, and healthcare-specific communication protocols. This mismatch between available writing instruction and actual program requirements creates significant barriers to student success. Cultural and linguistic diversity within nursing student populations further complicates the academic writing challenge. Many nursing programs actively recruit students from diverse backgrounds, recognizing the importance of cultural competency in healthcare delivery. However, students for whom English is a second language, or those from educational systems with different academic writing conventions, may face additional hurdles in meeting BSN writing requirements. The Unique Value Proposition of BSN Writing Services BSN writing services offer a distinctive approach to academic support that nurs fpx 4000 assessment 1 recognizes the specialized nature of nursing education. Unlike general tutoring centers or basic writing assistance, these services understand that nursing students need support that honors both their clinical knowledge and their academic growth needs. The most effective BSN writing services operate on the principle of collaborative learning rather than simple assignment completion. They work with students to develop authentic voice and expression while ensuring adherence to academic standards. This approach recognizes that nursing students bring valuable clinical insights and practical knowledge that should be preserved and enhanced through improved writing skills. Specialized BSN writing services often employ a team-based approach that includes practicing nurses, nursing educators, and professional writers who understand healthcare communication. This multidisciplinary support model ensures that students receive guidance that is both academically sound and professionally relevant. The combination of clinical expertise and writing proficiency creates a unique learning environment that addresses the full spectrum of nursing student needs. Many services also provide cultural competency support, recognizing that effective nursing communication must be both academically rigorous and culturally sensitive. This dual focus helps students develop writing skills that will serve them well in diverse healthcare environments while meeting immediate academic requirements. Comprehensive Support Across Assignment Types The breadth of writing assignments in BSN programs requires equally comprehensive support services. Students encounter assignment types ranging from personal reflection essays to complex research proposals, each with distinct requirements and evaluation criteria. Quality BSN writing services provide specialized support across this entire spectrum. Reflective writing assignments, common in nursing education, require students to connect personal experiences with theoretical frameworks. These assignments challenge students to demonstrate introspective thinking while maintaining academic rigor. Writing services help students develop authentic reflective voices that meet academic standards without compromising the personal insights that make reflective writing valuable. Research-based assignments present different challenges, requiring students nurs fpx 4035 assessment 2 to navigate complex medical literature, understand statistical concepts, and synthesize diverse sources into coherent arguments. BSN writing services provide research methodology guidance, source evaluation training, and assistance with data interpretation that helps students develop genuine research competencies. Case study analyses represent another crucial assignment type that requires specialized support. Students must demonstrate clinical reasoning, theoretical application, and systematic problem-solving approaches while maintaining clear, professional communication. Writing services help students structure their analytical thinking and present their clinical insights in formats that meet academic expectations. Professional communication assignments, including policy briefs, educational materials, and quality improvement proposals, require students to write for diverse audiences and purposes. These assignments prepare students for the varied communication demands they will face as practicing nurses, from patient education to administrative reporting. Technology Integration and Modern Learning Approaches Contemporary BSN writing services increasingly incorporate technology to enhance support delivery and accessibility. Online platforms provide 24/7 access to writing resources, allowing students to receive assistance that fits their demanding schedules. Video conferencing capabilities enable real-time collaboration between students and writing specialists, regardless of geographical constraints. Digital collaboration tools allow students to work with writing specialists on shared documents, receiving real-time feedback and suggestions. These platforms often include version control features that help students track their progress and understand the evolution of their writing skills over time. Mobile applications designed specifically for nursing students provide quick access to citation tools, medical terminology resources, and writing guides. These tools help students maintain writing momentum during clinical rotations and busy study periods when traditional support might be unavailable. Artificial intelligence tools are beginning to supplement human expertise in providing immediate feedback on grammar, style, and citation formatting. However, the complex nature of nursing assignments ensures that human expertise remains essential for content development and clinical reasoning support. Building Confidence and Professional Identity Beyond immediate academic support, BSN writing services play a crucial nurs fpx 4015 assessment 2 role in helping students develop professional confidence and identity. Many nursing students struggle with imposter syndrome, questioning their belongingness in academic settings despite demonstrating clear clinical competencies. Quality writing support helps students recognize and articulate their unique strengths while developing the communication skills necessary for professional growth. The process of working with writing specialists often helps students better understand their own learning styles and preferences. This self-awareness proves valuable throughout their nursing careers, as they continue to encounter new communication challenges and professional development opportunities. Peer support networks often emerge from group writing workshops and collaborative learning activities. These networks provide ongoing encouragement and resource sharing that extends beyond individual assignments to create lasting professional relationships. Measuring Success and Long-Term Impact Effective BSN writing services measure success through multiple indicators that extend beyond immediate grade improvements. Student confidence surveys, retention rates, and long-term career outcomes provide important data about service effectiveness and impact. Follow-up assessments with program graduates help services understand how academic writing support translates to professional success. Many former students report that improved writing skills contribute to career advancement opportunities, professional recognition, and increased job satisfaction. Program partnerships with nursing schools provide valuable feedback about service effectiveness and emerging student needs. These collaborations help services stay current with evolving curriculum requirements and industry standards. Conclusion BSN writing services represent more than academic support systems; they serve as bridges between clinical excellence and scholarly achievement. By recognizing the unique challenges facing nursing students and providing specialized support that honors both clinical knowledge and academic standards, these services help develop confident, articulate nursing professionals prepared for leadership roles in healthcare delivery. As nursing education continues to evolve, the role of specialized writing services will likely expand, contributing to the development of a nursing workforce capable of meeting the complex communication demands of modern healthcare. more articles: From Assignment to Achievement: How BSN Writing Services Empower Academic and Professional Growth The Silent Struggle: Unveiling the Hidden Challenges of Academic Writing in BSN Programs Empowering Nursing Education: A Deep Dive into BSN Writing Services Meta is testing Facebook login for Threads: All the details Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Shaurya Shubham USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. 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For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept MC Tech Desk Read the latest and trending tech newsstay updated on AI, gadgets, cybersecurity, software updates, smartphones, blockchain, space tech, and the future of innovation. Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Ankita Chakravarti USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Invite your friends and family to sign up for MC Tech 3, our daily newsletter that breaks down the biggest tech and startup stories of the day Anand J USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 1/11 For those drawn to landscapes sculpted by fire and time, active volcanoes represent more than geological marvelsthey offer a rare invitation to ascend the Earths volatile anatomy. From the glaciated symmetry of Ecuadors Cotopaxi to the blackened lava fields of Sicilys Mount Etna, these monumental peaks remain both formidable and deeply alluring. Remarkably, many of them are not only accessible but legally climbable, provided one prepares appropriately and respects local safety guidelines. Here are 10 of the worlds most iconic active volcanoes that travellers can, with the guidance of trained professionals, summit safely. (Image: Canva) 2/11 1. Cotopaxi, Ecuador 5,897 m South Americas second-highest volcano, Cotopaxi is a near-perfect Andean cone cloaked in glaciers. The ascent demands acclimatisation and basic alpine equipment, including crampons and ice axes. When conditions allow, guided climbs to the summit reward mountaineers with panoramic views of fractured ice fields and high-altitude wilderness. (Image: Unsplash) 3/11 2. Mount Acatenango, Guatemala 3,976 m Towering beside the perpetually erupting Volcan de Fuego, Acatenango offers an unparalleled vantage point for volcanic activity. The steep, high-altitude trek often involves an overnight camp above 3,500 meters, where climbers can witness fiery eruptions punctuating the night skyan experience both humbling and otherworldly. (Image: Canva) 4/11 3. Mount Fuji, Japan 3,776 m Japans most revered peak, Mount Fuji draws thousands of climbers each summer between July and early September. Though dormant since 1707, it remains an officially active volcano. Well-maintained trails and mountain huts support a steady stream of pilgrims and hikers who ascend for the revered Goraiko, or sunrise view from the summit. (Image: Canva) 5/11 4. Mount Rinjani, Indonesia 3,726 m Dominating Lomboks skyline, Mount Rinjani is a physically demanding trek that winds through rainforests, alpine meadows, and volcanic ash. Climbers often camp at the crater rim overlooking the Segara Anak caldera lake and the smouldering inner cone. Multi-day guided treks are essential due to unpredictable terrain and weather shifts. (Image: Canva) 6/11 5. Mount Etna, Sicily, Italy 3,357 m Europes most active volcano is in a constant state of change. Yet, Mount Etna remains accessible through authorised tours that adjust routes based on seismic activity. Trekkers cross alien landscapes of cooled lava, sulphur vents, and ancient craterssometimes reaching the upper zones when conditions permit. (Image: Canva) 7/11 6. Pacaya, Guatemala 2,552 m Just outside Guatemala City, Pacaya is one of Central Americas most approachable active volcanoes. Guided treks lead through lava fields and steaming terrain, often allowing visitors to glimpse recent magma flows. Its relatively modest height makes it suitable for casual hikers seeking an immersive volcanic experience. (Image: Canva) 8/11 7. Mount Pico, Azores, Portugal 2,351 m Rising sharply from the mid-Atlantic, Mount Pico is Portugals highest peak. Though dormant, it is still classified as active. The trail to the summit is steep and unshaded, demanding good physical condition and careful pacing. On clear days, climbers are treated to sweeping views over the Azorean archipelago. (Image: Canva) 9/11 8. Mount Bromo, Indonesia 2,329 m Part of the Tengger caldera in East Java, Mount Bromo is more accessible than it is arduous. Reached via a short hike and staircase ascent, its fuming crater is a key destination for sunrise viewings. The surreal volcanic landscape is one of Indonesias most photographed natural wonders. (Image: Canva) 10/11 9. Eyjafjallajokull, Iceland 1,666 m Known for its 2010 eruption that disrupted transatlantic air travel, Eyjafjallajokull remains climbable via glacier treks led by certified guides. The ascent, while not technically difficult, requires crampons, proper insulation, and a solid fitness base. On clear days, climbers can see as far as Icelands southern coastline. (Image: Canva) 1/11 While many travellers chase monuments, coastlines, and cuisine, others are drawn to places that offer a more immediate, sensory reward: colour. Vivid facades, saturated alleyways, and boldly painted homes speak not just of visual delight, but of layered histories and cultural expression. A recent chromatic analysis by the creative studio Berlew has quantified 125 global destinations to determine which stand apart for their sheer colour intensity. The findings are a kaleidoscopic guide to the ten most colourful places on Earth rankedeach telling a story in pigments rather than prose. (Image: Canva) 2/11 1. Burano, Italy: Venices Painted Enclave Tucked into the Venetian Lagoon, Buranos primary charm lies in its canal-side dwellings, each brushed in brilliant, unmuddied tones. Folklore suggests that local fishermen once painted their homes vivid colours to pierce the Adriatic fogan act now formalised by municipal oversight. No resident may repaint without first receiving government-issued colour approval, preserving the islands uninterrupted chromatic harmony. (Image: Canva) 3/11 2. Chefchaouen, Morocco: A Meditative Hue of Blue Nestled amid the Rif Mountains, Chefchaouens saturated blue palette is no accident of aesthetics. Introduced by Jewish refugees in the 1930s, the practice of washing buildings in shades of azure was both spiritual and symbolic. Today, the tradition endures, transforming the town into a dreamscape of tranquil, layered indigo. (Image: Canva) 4/11 3. Guatape, Colombia: A Visual Narrative in Bas-Relief Guatape, a lakeside town east of Medellin, is famed for its zocaloscolourful decorative panels that run along the lower walls of each building. These bas-reliefs are not merely ornamental; they illustrate trades, legends, and family histories, making the town a living canvas of communal memory. Its vibrant facades are a counterpoint to the towering El Penol monolith nearby. (Image: Canva) 5/11 4. Willemstad, Curacao: Dutch Colonial Architecture, Caribbean Palette Once monochrome white, the capital of Curacao saw its hues shift in the 1800s after a local governor blamed the stark paint for persistent migraines. His decree led to the pastel riot seen today, particularly along the UNESCO-listed Handelskade waterfront. Ochres, corals, and ceruleans now reflect across the harbour in a daily symphony of colour and light. (Image: Canva) 6/11 5. Havana, Cuba: Time-Faded Pastels and Resilient Charm Havanas chromatic identity is less about precision and more about patina. Faded teals, chipped yellows, and dusty pinks dominate its colonial architecture. These hues are intensified by age, humidity, and nostalgia. Classic 1950s cars, themselves relics of another era, roll through streets that seem bathed in sepia-toned memory. (Image: Canva) 7/11 6. Cinque Terre, Italy: Clifftop Chromatics The five seaside villages of Cinque Terre cascade down cliffs above the Ligurian Sea in bands of coral, ochre, and rose. Historically painted to help fishermen identify their homes from the water, the hues now serve a more photogenic purpose. Each townMonterosso, Vernazza, Corniglia, Manarola, and Riomaggioreretains its own palette and personality. (Image: Canva) 8/11 7. La Boca, Buenos Aires: Colour with a Working-Class Pulse Born from shipyard scraps and immigrant ingenuity, La Bocas cobbled Caminito street is a concentrated burst of colour and cultural pride. Tin houses are painted in patchworks of crimson, cobalt, and sunflower yellowan accidental tradition that now defines the barrio. The presence of tango dancers and muralists adds to the immersive theatricality of the space. (Image: Canva) 9/11 8. Jodhpur, India: The Blue City of Rajasthan From the ramparts of Mehrangarh Fort, Jodhpurs old quarter stretches out in a sea of powder blue. Once a marker of Brahmin caste, the colour is now democratically applied, said to cool the homes and repel insects. The result is a remarkable, near-monochrome cityscape that shimmers in the desert sun and deepens in twilight. (Image: Canva) 10/11 9. Old San Juan, Puerto Rico: Tropical Colonialism Old San Juans architectural lineage is Spanish colonial, but its colour story is distinctly Caribbean. Facades are painted in apricot, aquamarine, and banana yellow, with wrought-iron balconies framing flower-filled windows. Cobblestone streets and lively plazas complete the picture, where historical gravitas meets tropical levity. (Image: Canva) 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. 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I Accept North Tonawanda officials have said for years that noise from a local cryptocurrency mining company was violating a city ordinance. Now that it has equipment that officials say proves the point, they are taking the company to court. The city has issued multiple citations to DigiPower X, formerly known as Digihost, for reportedly violating the citys noise ordinance three times in July by exceeding the 50 decibel nighttime limit, according to Mayor Austin Tylec. This has been a long time coming, Tylec told The Buffalo News. I dont think this will completely resolve the matter, but its a step in the right direction. DigiPower has used a gas power plant Fortistar, off Erie Avenue to power its cryptocurrency mining operations since 2022. Computers housed in shipping-container-like buildings on the property operate 24/7 and are cooled down using fans that create a loud, humming noise that reverberates around the community. While people living around the facility have complained about the noise for the past three years, the citations issued this month are the first time the city has taken legal action to try to quiet DigiPower. Daniel Rotunno, vice president of operations at DigiPower, was issued the citations and is expected to appear in city court Aug. 12. DigiPower did not return multiple requests for comment from The News. The city of North Tonawanda had found that DigiPower previously violated its noise ordinance, but did not have the proper equipment, nor police officers trained on said equipment, to enforce it. After community outcry and a June 2024 News article detailing the health impacts of noise pollution and solutions to the problem, the city purchased new noise monitoring equipment and hired an outside expert to train its police officers. In July 2024, North Tonawandas Common Council unanimously voted to ban new cryptocurrency mining operations for two years. The city is working to update its noise ordinance, particularly to strengthen the penalties for violations, Tylec said, adding that he hopes the city can strengthen the noise ordinance within the next month. The current fine for violating the noise ordinance is $250 per day. Thats chump change, said Kevin OConnor, who lives nearby the DigiPower facility. Under the current ordinance, theres no enforcement, no accountability. OConnor is one of many residents living around the DigiPower facility who say their lives have changed since the cryptocurrency mining company moved in. The noise coming from DigiPower keeps residents up at night, changes their dogs behavior and puts them on edge at all times of the day, according to interviews with residents. Those living within feet of the plant described similar impacts from the noise as those living almost 2 miles away. Health experts told The News that chronic noise pollution can lead to serious health outcomes including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, inability to regulate ones immune response, cardiovascular-related mortality, hypertension and strokes. The noise ordinance, as written now, is supposed to protect residents and promote the public health, comfort, convenience, safety, welfare and prosperity and the peace and quiet of North Tonawanda. The sooner the city gets this reined in, the better, said Deb Gondek, a North Tonawanda resident who has fought against the DigiPower operation since its inception. The court hearing on DigiPowers reported noise violation will come after the end of the public comment period on a Public Service Commission proceeding considering the companys ownership of the Fortistar gas power plant. The PSC granted DigiPowers petition to purchase the 55-megawatt power plant in September 2022. Since then, the greenhouse gas emissions from the power plant have skyrocketed while the company powers computers to mine for digital currency. The Clean Air Coalition of Western New York and Sierra Club filed a petition in January 2023 with state Supreme Court in Albany County to overturn the PSCs approval. The two organizations argued that the PSC should have taken into account the greenhouse gas emission reduction goals laid out in the states 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. State Supreme Court Justice Richard Platkin agreed in his November decision. The PSC now must reconsider DigiPowers application to own the power plant this time taking into account the states goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Since September 2022, the Fortistar plant has produced 280,237 tons of carbon dioxide. Before DigiPower began operating the power plant, it operated as a peaker plant, meaning it was only turned on during energy shortages. In 2024 alone, the plant produced nearly 141,000 tons of carbon dioxide, more than three times what the plant had produced in all of 2020, 2021 and 2022 combined, according to data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. If the PSC determines that the transfer of Fortistar to DigiPower is inconsistent with the states greenhouse gas emission limits, it must either revoke its approval granting DigiPower ownership of the facility or justify the inconsistencies and then identify mitigation measures in order to keep the plant operational, according to the judges November decision. The public comment period in the PSCs proceeding ends on July 26. Good trouble protests across US on July 17 to honor civil rights icon John Lewis and oppose Trump policies - Who was he? Pragya Trivedi USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. 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I Accept 'Most valuable' Martian meteorite sells for over $5 million at New York auction, sets new record Abhinav Gupta USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Nimisha Priya case: What happens next and how executions are carried out in Yemen | Explained Abhinav Gupta USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. 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For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Nimisha Priyas execution delayed, but 'Qisas' still looms: What Islamic law says on retaliation and mercy Abhinav Gupta USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Abhinav Gupta With over 12 years in digital journalism, has navigated the fast-evolving media landscape, shaping digital strategies and leading high-impact newsrooms. Currently, he serves as News Editor at MoneyControl, leading coverage in Global Affairs, Indian Politics, Governance and Policy Making. Previously, he has spearheaded fact-checking and digital media operations at Press Trust of India. Abhinav has also led news desks at Financial Express, DNA, and Jagran English, managing editorial direction, breaking news coverage, and digital growth. His journey includes stints with The Indian Express Group, Zee Media Group, and more, where he has honed his expertise in newsroom leadership, audience engagement, and digital transformation. Abhinav Gupta USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'She took me back': Barack and Michelle Obama address divorce rumors with humor 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. 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Abhinav Gupta USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Trump says US working on deal with China to impose death penalty for Fentanyl traffickers 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. 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Official itinerary contradicts Pak media's claims Abhinav Gupta USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept US President Donald Trump likely to visit Pakistan in September: Report 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. 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I Accept US strikes crippled one Iranian nuclear site, two others less affected: Report Abhinav Gupta USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. By clicking on 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies and other tracking technologies. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy. *We collect cookies for the functioning of our website and to give you the best experience. This includes some essential cookies. Cookies from third parties which may be used for personalization and determining your location. By clicking 'I Accept', you agree to the usage of cookies to enhance your personalized experience on our site. For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept 'Where is Phase 2?' Musk demands answers on hidden Epstein files as Trumps fires key prosecutor Abhinav Gupta USER CONSENT We at moneycontrol use cookies and other tracking technologies to assist you with navigation and determine your location. We also capture cookies to obtain your feedback, analyse your use of our products and services and provide content from third parties. 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For more details you can refer to our cookie policy *I agree to the updated privacy policy and I warrant that I am above 16 years of age I agree to the processing of my personal data for the purpose of personalised recommendations on financial and similar products offered by MoneyControl I agree personalized advertisements and any kind of remarketing/retargeting on other third party websites I agree to receive direct marketing communications via Emails and SMS Please select (*) all mandatory conditions to continue. I Accept Who is Maurene Comey? DOJ fires prosecutor in Sean Diddy Combs and Epstein Cases - Daughter of former FBI director 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 Tracy S. Woodrows job interview with then-M&T Bank CEO Robert Wilmers was memorable. Woodrow had worked for Phillips Lytle as a litigator, and then at HSBC Bank as in-house counsel and senior compliance leader. She was meeting Wilmers, in his 19th floor office, for the first time. I learned right away that Bob was meticulous about detail, Woodrow said. It was probably the toughest interview I ever had in my life, because he asked detailed questions on every subject. But we hit it off, and after that he gave me the green light, and I got the offer. Woodrow joined M&T as its Bank Secrecy Act officer in 2013, overseeing the banks anti-money laundering program. That would prove to be just the starting point for her at M&T. Its been so much more than I have ever expected, as a lawyer and a compliance officer, to be able to come into to the bank and explore different parts of the bank and different careers and different leadership positions, she said. M&T's Jones sees economy as healthy amid tariff uncertainty M&T Bank chairman and CEO said the economy continues to show healthy signs, amid uncertainty over tariffs. Woodrow went on to serve as chief human resources officer before being appointed chief administrative officer in 2023. Now, in addition to CAO, she has been named M&Ts Western New York regional president. Woodrow succeeds Eric Feldstein as regional market president. Feldstein remains with M&T in an expanded role, as head of retail and business banking. M&T typically makes a change in who serves as the market president every few years. Feldstein held the position for 3 years. It is also traditional for an M&T market president to continue holding another role at the bank, as Woodrow is doing as CAO. Woodrow, 52, said she has always been interested in the regional presidents role, calling it a dream job. She grew up in the Town of Evans. This community is everything to me, and the Western New York regional president position is just such a unique opportunity to bring together the 8,000 colleagues that we have here in Western New York with our community partners and our and our business partners to to continue to foster a lasting legacy, said Woodrow, who lives in the Town of Boston. M&T has 24 regional presidents for its 27 regions, covering a bank territory that has expanded throughout the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. The Western New York market president holds that role in the banks home base, often serving as the local voice and face of M&T. That is significant, given the banks status as a powerhouse of local employment and investment, and its dominance in deposits among banks serving the region. Woodrow shared her thoughts on other parts of the job: Balancing the duties of CAO and market president. As CAO, she oversees banking services, the Buffalo Promise Neighborhood, corporate services, human resources and the Office of Sustainability. Nothing I do is a one-woman show, she said. Its a team approach. Ive got incredible leaders, both in the market and within my CAO position, that can step in and make sure that Im able to focus on the things that are most important every day. Finding opportunities within M&T. When Woodrow would introduce interns and students to M&T employees, she would ask the employees what they had thought they would be doing in their careers, and what they were actually doing. Its always radically different, she said. The consistent story is the ability to find opportunities that people never even knew existed or knew that they could be capable of. And its really that talent development machine that M&T has and is so focused on. (Wilmers) was incredibly focused on talent, and Rene (Jones) continues that. We dont have a conversation that doesnt include a conversation on talent. Community connection. I remember being new to to the bank and and Bob Wilmers would say, M&T and our community are interlinked. When the community does well, M&T does well. And that clarity, that its not two separate things. The places where we live, work and do business, are the places that we need to help cultivate, she said. Taking on a more public-facing role. As chief human resources officer, Woodrow had the opportunity to communicate with M&Ts 22,000 employees on a regular basis. She sees that as good preparation for the market presidents connection to the public. Ive just tried to speak from my heart, be as real and honest as I can be, and listen as hard as I can, and that has helped me in the roles that Ive had, she said. And I hope that will also help me to be a good regional president. Harvey Goldsmith, Bob Geldof and Midge Ure arrive for a special performance of the musical "Just For One Day," marking the 40th anniversary of the 1985 fundraiser Live Aid, at the Shaftesbury Theatre, in London, Britain, July 13, 2025. REUTERS U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-SD, is interviewed by reporters as he walks to the Senate floor as Republican lawmakers try to pass President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., July 1, 2025. REUTERS Zaldy Dandan is a recipient of the Best Editorial Writer Award of the Society of Professional Journalists, and the CNMI Humanities Award for Outstanding Contributions to Journalism. His four books are available on amazon.com/. Myanmar military recaptures strategic town from rebels after a year, government says View Photo BANGKOK (AP) Myanmar s military has recaptured a strategic gateway town from rebel forces after nearly a year, state-media reported Thursday, marking a rare turnaround in the countrys northeast, where an alliance of ethnic militias seized a large swath of territory in an offensive that began in late 2023. Nawnghkio, which sits on a major highway trading route linking central Myanmar to China, had been under the control of the Taang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, a group in the Three Brotherhood Alliance, since July last year. Its recapture by the army comes after a long period where the military government had been seen as being on the defensive against an array of rebel forces in the civil war that is being fought over much of the country. Nawnghkio, which also stands on the highway leading to the major military garrison town of Pyin Oo Lwin, was completely captured by the army at noon on Wednesday after nearly 11 months of operations to retake the town, according to a state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper report on Thursday. After more than 500 armed engagements, including 20 major clashes, the bodies of 171 members of the TNLA and its allies were recovered and their ammunition supplies were captured, the report said, adding that the military was working to restore the towns administrative mechanisms, remove land mines and ensure the safe return of residents who had fled to avoid fighting. The newspaper also published photos of the soldiers who had recaptured the town in front of the government offices, hospitals, and markets. The Taang National Liberation Army did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Restrictions on reporting make independent confirmation of the towns recapture virtually impossible, though the armys claim has not been challenged. However, in a statement posted Wednesday on the Telegram messaging app, the TNLA said it had moved the groups civil administration and service offices in Nawnghkio to safe locations as the militarys intensive offensive operations in the past few months made it difficult to carry out work. The groups in the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which also include the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Arakan Army, have been fighting for decades for greater autonomy from Myanmars central government and are loosely allied with the Peoples Defense Force, the pro-democracy resistance that emerged to fight military rule after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Since October 2023, the alliance members captured and controlled significant swaths of territory in in northeastern Myanmar near the Chinese border and in western Myanmar. Their victories were seen as forcing the army to go on the defensive over most of the country, while boosting the morale and strategic position of resistance forces. The recapture of Nawnghkio comes more than two months after the TNLA rejected the militarys demands to withdraw from five towns controlled by the group, including Nawnghkio, during talks brokered by China in the Chinese city of Kunming in late April. China tries to maintain good relations with both the military government and the groups making up the Three Brotherhood Alliance, but fears that the aggressive posture of the rebel groups destabilizes Myanmar, which is a key Southeast Asian ally of Beijing with large strategic Chinese investments in minerals, energy and infrastructure. Nawnghkios recapture also comes just more than a week after the military claimed to take back the strategic town of Mobye in southern Shan state, which had been seized since late 2023 by another alliance of ethnic armed organizations in the eastern state of Kayah, also known as Karenni. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the armys 2021 takeover, which led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalated into armed resistance and what now amounts to civil war. Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the oppositions National Unity Government, which coordinates resistance to army rule, told The Associated Press last Friday that the military regime has been trying to retake areas controlled by the resistance ahead of a general election planned for later this year. The poll is widely seen as an attempt to normalize the militarys seizure of power through the ballot box and to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control. By GRANT PECK Associated Press Tuolumne County Government Building View Photo Sonora, CA Transparent California has updated its database detailing salaries and benefits paid to Tuolumne County government employees. It is the effort of a non-profit organization, a non-partisan think tank, to compile details about the pay of California government officials through public record requests and organize the data so that it is easily transparent for taxpayers. Information for 2024 was recently uploaded, and it shows that Tuolumne County governments highest-paid employee was former CAO Tracie Riggs. Her salary was just over $252,000, and the total pay and benefits eclipsed $493,000. Second on the list of total pay and benefits was Undersheriff Neil Evans, then County Counsel Sarah Carrillo, followed by Public Health Officer Dr. Kimberly Freeman, and former Director of the General Services Agency Maureen Frank. Click here to find the full Tuolumne County rundown. New statistics for Calaveras County and the City of Sonora have yet to be released for 2024. The earlier 2023 data for Calaveras County, visible by clicking here, had former Sheriff Rick Dibasillio at the top, with a salary just over $216,000 and total pay and benefits eclipsing $342,000. The 2023 information for Sonora showed that Police Chief Turu Vanderwiel was the highest compensated with $172,000 in salary and $340,000 in total pay/benefits. New 2024 data for the City of Angels Camp lists Police Chief Richard Ellis as the highest compensated with a salary of $143,000 and total pay and benefits of nearly $277,000. Also detailed are special districts and community colleges. Transparent California reports that it makes over 2,500 public record requests each year to obtain, format, and upload the most recent data of government entities across the state. HSR Artist Rendering View Photo Washington, DC The Trump Administration is rescinding $4 billion in federal funding for the California High Speed Rail project. In announcing the decision, President Donald Trump says the project was severely overpriced, overregulated, and never delivered. He and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy have both referred to the project as a train to nowhere. The initial funding for the project was approved by California voters in 2008 with a goal of having it operational within a decade. However, there have been significant delays and cost overruns. The estimated total price tag to finish the project is now over $100 billion. The state is also now exploring private enterprise funding at this point. State officials have a goal of having the initial leg, from Merced to Bakersfield, operational by 2033. Governor Gavin Newsom responded to the federal action by arguing that President Trump and Secretary Duffy are handing China the future and abandoning the Central Valley. Newsom continued that the California High Speed Rail Authority is entering the track laying phase and actively building across 171 miles, with 50 major railway structures and 60 miles of guideway completed. He notes that California will now explore all options to fight what he calls an illegal action of the Trump administration. Mother Lode Republican Congressman Tom McClintock is praising the decision to rescind the federal funding. He says in a statement, When I opposed the High Speed Rail 25 years ago, I calculated that we could add 2,000 miles of new freeway lanes to our most densely congested corridors for the same price. Thats still true. For what Newsom has already wasted, we could have added more than 200 miles. Trump hosts Persian Gulf leaders at White House as new violence raises questions about peace efforts Trump hosts Persian Gulf leaders at White House as new violence raises questions about peace efforts View Photo WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump hosted a pair of Arab Gulf leaders at the White House on Wednesday as violence between Israel and Syria renewed doubts about his pledge to impose peace on the Middle East. Trump held a meeting in the Oval Office with Bahrains crown prince and dined privately with Qatars prime minister. The Republican president has lavished attention on the Persian Gulf, a wealthy region where members of his family have extensive business relationships. He has already visited Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates on the first foreign policy trip of his second term. With little progress to share on the regions most intractable problems, including the war in Gaza, Trump was more focused Wednesday on promoting diplomatic ties as a vehicle for economic growth. Anything they needed, we helped them, Trump said in the Oval Office while meeting with Bahrain Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa. And anything we needed, they helped us. Meeting with Bahrains crown prince Bahrain is a longtime ally that hosts the U.S. Fifth Fleet, which operates in the Middle East. Like other Arab leaders, Al Khalifa was eager to highlight the lucrative potential of diplomatic ties with the U.S., including $17 billion of investments. And this is real, he said. Its real money. These arent fake deals. According to the White House, the agreements include purchasing American airplanes, jet engines and computer servers. More investments could be made in aluminum production and artificial intelligence. Bahrains king, the crown princes father, is expected to visit Washington before the end of the year. An important part of the relationship will be an agreement, signed on Wednesday, to advance cooperation on civilian nuclear energy. Dinner with Qatari prime minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the prime minister of Qatar and a member of the countrys ruling family, was at the White House for a private dinner with Trump on Wednesday evening. Trump visited Qatar during his trip to the region, marveling at its palaces and stopping at the Al Udeid Air Base, a key U.S. military facility. The base was targeted by Iran after the U.S. bombed the countrys nuclear facilities. One ballistic missile made impact, while others were intercepted. Trump wants to use a luxurious Boeing 747 donated by Qatar as his Air Force One because hes tired of waiting for Boeing to finish new planes. However, the arrangement has stirred concerns about security and the ethics of accepting a gift from a foreign government. Aaron David Miller, who served as an adviser on Middle East issues to Democratic and Republican administrations, said the Gulf represents everything that Trump believes is right about the Middle East. Its rich, its stable, its populated by authoritarians with whom the president feels very comfortable, he said. Fighting in Syria The fighting in Syria began with clashes between Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze factions in the countrys south. Government forces intervened, raising alarms in Israel, where the Druze are a politically influential religious minority. On Wednesday, Israel launched strikes in the Syrian capital of Damascus. A ceasefire was later announced, but it was unclear if it would hold. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who was in the Oval Office for Trumps meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain, said the fighting was the result of an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding. He said we think were on our way to a real de-escalation that would allow Syria to get back on track to rebuilding after years of civil war. Despite an international outcry over its punishing military operations in Gaza, Israel has successfully weakened its enemies around the region, including Hezbollah and Iran. Theres a growing concern that Israel unleashedhas been a bigger sense of unpredictability, Brian Katulis, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, said. He also warned that theres still no game plan to deal with the loose ends of Irans nuclear program and its other activities in the region, such as support for the Houthis. By CHRIS MEGERIAN Associated Press Florida attorney general identifies wrongful charges under halted immigration law View Photo ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) At least two people have been wrongly charged under a Florida law that outlaws people living in the U.S. illegally from entering the state since a federal judge halted its enforcement, according to a report Floridas attorney general is required to file as punishment for defying the judges ruling. Both men were arrested in late May by deputies in northeast Floridas St. Johns County, more than a month after U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams in Miami issued an order freezing the enforcement of the state statute. The law makes it a misdemeanor for people who are in the U.S. without legal permission to enter Florida by eluding immigration officials. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said in his report filed at the beginning of July that he only became aware of the two cases at the end of June after requesting information from state and local law enforcement. As punishment for flouting her order and being found in civil contempt, the judge requires Uthmeier to file bimonthly reports about whether any arrests, detentions or law enforcement actions have been made under the law. On May 29, St. Johns County Sheriffs Office deputies arrested a man with an active immigration detainer from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and another man on counts of illegal entry and driving without a valid drivers license, according to the status report. As corrective action, the charge involving the man with the ICE detainer was dismissed in state court, and prosecutors filed a motion that was granted to vacate the charge for illegal entry in the second case, R.J. Larizza, state attorney for the jurisdiction that covers St. Johns County, said in a separate filing. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the legislation into law in February as part of President Donald Trumps crackdown on illegal immigration. Immigrants rights groups filed a lawsuit on behalf of two unnamed, Florida-based immigrants living in the U.S. illegally shortly after the bill was signed into law. The lawsuit said the new legislation violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution by encroaching on federal duties. Williams issued a temporary restraining order and injunction that barred the enforcement of the new law statewide in April. The attorney generals office then unsuccessfully petitioned the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to override that decision. Uthmeier also petitioned without success the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. After Williams issued her original order, Uthmeier sent a memo to state and local law enforcement officers telling them to refrain from enforcing the law, even though he disagreed with the injunction. But five days later, he sent a memo saying the judge was legally wrong and that he couldnt prevent police officers and deputies from enforcing the law. The judge last month found Uthmeier to be in civil contempt of her ruling. Uthmeier on Wednesday appealed the judges contempt order. Besides championing the new law, Florida officials have helped Trumps immigration crackdown with the construction of a new immigration detention center named Alligator Alcatraz at an isolated airstrip in the Florida Everglades. DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday that a request has been developed for proposals for a second migrant detention facility at Camp Blanding in northeast Florida but no work has begun. Alligator Alcatraz has grown quickly but is not yet at the 3,000 to 4,000 detainees originally envisioned, DeSantis said in Tampa. Im willing to do Blanding once Alligator Alcatraz is filled, the governor said. Once theres a demand, then we would be able to go for Camp Blanding. ___ Associated Press journalist Curt Anderson in St. Petersburg, Florida, contributed to this report. ___ Follow Mike Schneider on the social platform Bluesky: @mikeysid.bsky.social. By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press State Department layoffs affect key Trump priorities like intelligence, energy and China View Photo WASHINGTON (AP) One employee coordinated intelligence activities. Another worked to leverage U.S. energy interests abroad. And a third was an expert on strategic competition with China. They are just some of the more than 1,300 State Department employees fired last week, eliminating hundreds of years of institutional knowledge and experience. The move has stunned Americas diplomatic workforce, not only as their careers abruptly end but as they wonder who if anyone will fill in on what they call critical work to keep the U.S. safe and competitive on the world stage. Many of the positions and offices abolished Friday under Secretary of State Marco Rubios dramatic reorganization plan overlap with priorities President Donald Trump has laid out for his second term, such as combating visa fraud and countering China. Other cuts could have wide impact on everyday life, including processing Americans passport applications. Trump administration officials have defended the mass dismissals, saying they are overdue and necessary to make the department leaner and more efficient. Where the State Department cuts are hitting Among the employees laid off are more than 100 people who worked in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, which is self-funded from passport and visa fees. That includes half of a team that investigated passport fraud and 23 people who oversaw contracts to provide American citizen services, including processing passport applications, in the U.S. and abroad, according to a list compiled by current and former foreign service officers and sent to Congress this week. Others fired included experts responsible for dealing with visa fraud and money laundering in Russia and Eastern Europe as well as transnational criminal organizations and migrant worker visa fraud in Mexico and Central America. A small team that had worked on multilateral engagements in the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, including supporting Rubios trip to Malaysia last week, also were fired as Rubio was flying back to Washington from Kuala Lumpur, according to the list. A handful of employees said their small office was eliminated even though it was doing work on immigration that the administration had deemed a priority. They thought their jobs were safe, and several were on vacation when the notices started rolling in. It came out of the blue, and theres no one left to do what we were doing, said one of the laid-off employees, who has more than 30 years of experience. Fired employees speak out about their work In interviews with The Associated Press, more than half a dozen employees who got notice to clear out their desks described their work as crucial. For some, the government spent tens of thousands of dollars investing in their language skills, providing training or moving them and their families from one overseas posting to another. They spoke on the condition of anonymity, fearing reprisal from the agency where they remain on the payroll until September. The American people arent getting all of the facts about what the department has done, said a civil service officer working in intelligence who was fired last week. The person said the intelligence work their team had been doing has now been transferred to an office that doesnt have the capacity to handle the sensitive material and coordination required. One senior official, who was fired after 26 years in the foreign service, said their office was working to maintain U.S. energy dominance abroad. Rubio testified at his confirmation hearing earlier this year that energy would be a centerpiece of our foreign policy. The fact that they got rid of all the energy experts who would promote oil and gas sales overseas clearly undermines everything that theyre saying, the official said. At least seven intelligence analysts who specialized in Russia and Ukraine issues, as well as five fluent Chinese speakers, also were let go, according to two of the employees. A staffer focused on strategic competition with China said the decision to lay off staff who had institutional and cultural knowledge of China and spoke the language could leave the U.S. exposed. He added that Rubio had recently labeled the country as the most significant long-term risk to the United States. The State Department says it needs to be nimble Although the dismissals were less severe than many feared, theyre a major concern for staffers being tasked with additional duties to make up for losses in key areas like intelligence and research, consular affairs, diplomatic security, energy, and international and educational organizations. Before a panel of deeply skeptical Democratic lawmakers, Michael Rigas, the State Department official who sent employees the layoff notices, tried Wednesday to allay concerns that the cuts would have a devastating impact on U.S. diplomacy. He denied allegations that the layoffs were conducted in a haphazard and irresponsible manner to the detriment of national security. Rigas, deputy secretary of state for management, made the case to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that the department with more than 76,000 employees worldwide had grown exponentially and that a massive reorganization was needed to keep it relevant and nimble to respond to foreign crises and policy challenges. The department became large and began to lose its way, becoming ineffectual bureaucratically, spokesperson Tammy Bruce told reporters Wednesday. She added that it wasnt the fault of the people who were in those seats, but the structure itself. Rigas said those laid off Friday are on administrative leave foreign service officers for 120 days, and civil servants for 20 days and they could have the opportunity to apply for other positions once a government-wide hiring freeze is lifted. Booker confronts Trump administration official Some senators were not buying Rigas argument, and sharp disagreements erupted into a shouting match after New Jersey Democrat Cory Booker accused Rigas of lying to lawmakers this week over the extent of the staff reductions. Booker was visibly angry as he wielded a list of what he said were misstatements, half-truths or lies in Rigas testimony before the House Foreign Affairs Committee a day earlier about the firings. I dont trust you, Mr. Rigas, Booker said. Your statements lack veracity. This is outrageous, Rigas replied as he tried to respond over multiple interruptions from Booker. Bookers list resembled the one compiled by current and former foreign service officers identifying certain eliminated positions that Rigas said had been largely spared. Sir, you have not been truthful, Booker said. I have watched you lie to this committee, I have watched you lie to the House committee. ___ Amiri reported from New York. By FARNOUSH AMIRI and MATTHEW LEE Associated Press Woman, 66, in critical condition after Massachusetts assisted-living fire, officials say View Photo A 66-year-old woman was in critical condition after a fire that ripped through a Massachusetts assisted-living facility earlier this week, officials said, as records and accounts from staff raise concerns about conditions at Gabriel House before the blaze. The Bristol County District Attorneys Office had announced Thursday that Brenda Cropper had died the previous day, but said in an emailed statement Friday that there had been a miscommunication with a medical agency and that Cropper remained in critical condition. The office did not release any more information about Cropper or about the fire itself, which erupted Sunday evening and left some residents hanging out windows of the three-story facility screaming for help. The cause remains under investigation, but the district attorneys office says it does not appear suspicious. Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon says the blaze started in a room on the second floor. At least 30 people were hurt and nine people were initially reported dead, all over the age of 60, as thick smoke and flames trapped residents inside. The fire chief said Wednesday that a second person was also in critical condition. Inspection reports released Thursday by the citys Bureau of Fire Investigation identified no problems at Gabriel House going back to 2019. The reports cover things like sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, exit doors and general housekeeping. However, displaced residents and relatives have told of substandard conditions at the facility in Fall River, a blue-collar community of shuttered textile mills thats one of the poorest cities in Massachusetts. The tragedy has called attention to the minimal regulations that govern assisted-living facilities. The facilitys owner, Dennis Etzkorn, had repeatedly been cited by state regulators for tardiness in reporting potential health and safety incidents. He has declined to comment to The Associated Press. In documents released Wednesday, receipts from pest control companies as far back as 2015 showed Gabriel House being treated for bed bugs and other pests. A 2015 receipt described the dining room as filthy and that food was undercooked. Jenn Marley, who worked at the facility as a certified nursing assistant from 2018 to January 2020, said bedbugs, cockroaches and mice were a problem, and that some bathrooms were filthy even though residents were supposed to get help with cleaning. Management kept track of residents who asked for more toilet paper, she said in an interview. God forbid if they ran out of toilet paper, the boss would complain that we had to give them a roll, she said. Marley said she sometimes made large batches of chili at home and brought it to residents because she worried they werent getting enough to eat. Portions served at Gabriel House were noticeably small, she said. Hot dogs and a teaspoon of beans. Im sorry, my cat eats more than that, said Marley, who described a cook yelling at a resident who asked for more. You expect better conditions, she said. Its sad. Those who died have been identified as Joseph Wilansky, 77, Rui Albernaz, 64, Ronald Codega, 61, Margaret Duddy, 69, Robert King, 78, Kim Mackin, 71, Richard Rochon, 78, and Eleanor Willett, 86. The identity of a 70-year-old woman has not been released. Union officials say the city didnt staff enough firefighters to rescue all the residents trapped in the blaze. Its a contention that city officials have since sought to resolve by promising to add more firefighters to each shift, initially via overtime and eventually by hiring new staff. By KIMBERLEE KRUESI and MICHELLE R. SMITH An Idaho judge has lifted a sweeping gag order in Bryan Kohbergers quadruple murder case View Photo BOISE, Idaho (AP) An Idaho judge lifted a sweeping gag order Thursday in Bryan Kohbergers quadruple murder case. Kohberger avoided a potential death sentence by pleading guilty earlier this month to the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students at a rental home near campus in 2022. A coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press had asked the court to lift the gag order since a trial is no longer planned. During a hearing Thursday morning, 4th District Judge Steven Hippler agreed that lifting the gag order would protect the First Amendment rights of the public and press. The primary purpose of the non-dissemination order, which is to ensure that we can seat an impartial jury, is no longer at play, Hippler said. He said he couldnt justify continuing the gag order because the public has the right to receive information about the case, and those rights are paramount. Kohbergers defense team argued against lifting the gag order, saying it could lead to more media coverage and jeopardize the integrity of the sentencing process. The media frenzy, as its been described, will continue regardless, Hippler said. Lifting the non-dissemination order does not require the counsel or others previously bound by it to speak. A different judge in Moscow, Idaho, originally issued the gag order early in the case, saying additional publicity could harm Kohbergers right to a fair trial. More than 240 orders sealing documents have been issued in the case since it began in 2022. The media coalition also asked Hippler to immediately unseal those documents. He said he would go through the documents carefully to determine which ones could be made public, but said that process would not start until the sentencing is over. Though the gag order has been lifted, both the prosecutors office and the defense team declined interview requests for now, as did former Moscow Police Chief James Fry. Kohberger admitted to breaking into the rental home through a sliding door and killing the four friends, who had no connection with him. Prosecutors said he spent months carefully planning the attack, and that his studies as a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University helped him take steps to cover up his tracks. By REBECCA BOONE Associated Press British spies and special forces identities exposed in Afghan data leak View Photo LONDON (AP) A data leak that led thousands of Afghans to be resettled in the U.K. after their safety was jeopardized because they assisted forces against the Taliban also exposed the identities of British spies and special forces, news organizations reported Thursday. U.K. media reported that the names of more than 100 special forces troops, MI6 spies and military officers were part of the leak. A person with knowledge of the events confirmed to The Associated Press that a small number of special forces personnel names were leaked. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive nature of the information. The revelation followed a London judges order Tuesday to lift a so-called super injunction that prevented any reporting on an email inadvertently sent by a defense official in February 2022 that included personal information of nearly 19,000 Afghans who had applied to come to the U.K. The Afghans, who worked with Western forces as fixers, translators or served in the internationally backed Afghan army, applied under a program to bring some to the U.K. because they faced retribution. The British government only became aware of the leak when some of the data was posted on Facebook 18 months later by someone who threatened to publish the whole list. A secret program was then launched to relocate Afghans to the U.K. When High Court Judge Martin Chamberlain lifted the rare and controversial super injunction, which also prevented reporting on existence of the injunction itself, he allowed information to be reported on the Afghans. Defense Secretary John Healey apologized Tuesday in Parliament on behalf of the British government and said a small number of names of people who supported the applications, including members of Parliament, senior military officers and government officials, were listed on the document. While Chamberlain lifted the super injunction, he had barred reporting that would show members of British forces and spies had also been on the list. Media groups sought a modification of the judges order Thursday after The Sun tabloid, which was not a party to the case and not subject to the injunction, published information about the British identities being exposed. News of the blunder has become a scandal because the government went to the extreme lengths to hide it from the public while relocating thousands of people. Some 4,500 Afghans 900 applicants and approximately 3,600 family members have been brought to Britain under the program, and about 6,900 people are expected to be relocated by the time it closes, at a total cost of about 850 million pounds ($1.1 billion). The government said it was closing the program after an independent review found little evidence the leaked data would expose Afghans to a greater risk of retribution from the Taliban. The review said the Taliban had other sources of information on those who had worked with the previous Afghan government and international forces. Critics, however, said thousands of people who helped British troops as interpreters or in other roles could be at risk of torture, imprisonment or death. Sean Humber, a lawyer who has represented Afghan claimants, said the catastrophic data breach had caused anxiety, fear and distress to those affected. Hamdullah Fitrat, the deputy spokesman for the Taliban government of Afghanistan, said the supreme leader had declared a general amnesty for everyone that prevented anybody being arrested, killed, or targeted, he told The Associated Press. Intelligence agencies do not need to monitor such people, who have already been pardoned, and all documents and information related to them are available here, he said in a WhatsApp message. Any rumors and gossip only serve to intimidate those individuals and cause fear and anxiety to their families. British soldiers were sent to Afghanistan as part of an international deployment against al-Qaida and Taliban forces in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. At the peak of the operation, there were almost 10,000 U.K. troops in the country, mostly in Helmand province in the south. Britain ended combat operations in 2014, and its remaining troops left Afghanistan in 2021 as the Taliban swept back to power, two decades after they were ousted. The Talibans return triggered chaotic scenes as Western nations rushed to evacuate citizens and Afghan employees. By JILL LAWLESS and BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press Heres a case where strong action is justified. Law enforcement should when warranted confiscate childrens e-bikes, cite the parents and make them pay to get the contraptions out of impound. It may be the only way to protect public safety and prevent injuries or worse as reckless riding surges with the explosive popularity of these machines. Most electric bicycles can travel at 20 to 25 mph or more (if modified). The need for speed from some users rivals that of most motorcyclists. But one doesnt often see motorcyclists riding on sidewalks meant for pedestrians. East Aurora Police Chief Patrick Welch wants to act before a tragedy happens. Youths have been riding e-bikes illegally down the sidewalks on Main Street in the village. Welch thinks his officers should be able to confiscate an e-bike or scooter from minors who are not following the rules. He has the right idea. Welch also wants parents to come to the police station to get the bikes back. Officers would cite parents for allowing their children to use the bike illegally, with fines escalating if the offenses continue. Thats another good idea. Clarences proposed law would allow police to impound a bike, just like a car. The bike would be released after the parent arrives and pays the fee, which could be as high as $200. Better still, the law would apply to anyone, regardless of age, who is not following e-bike laws on town bike paths and sidewalks, according to Supervisor Patrick Casilio. Theres too much reckless behavior coming from e-bike and scooter riders. Municipalities like Clarence and East Aurora are smartly considering e-bike and scooter regulations to curb illegal and dangerous habits. These laws could save lives. Both local governments want to vote on legislation before the end of summer. The urgency is justified. E-bike and scooter riders are not the only impatient ones out there. Motorists get frustrated when these light-powered devices go darting out into the street, between vehicles and otherwise obstruct traffic. Crashes between one of those comparably tiny contraptions and a vehicle like an SUV are all too likely to end tragically. In the past year in Western New York, at least two e-bike riders died after they were hit by vehicles, as The News Natalie Brophy recently reported. And a 10-year-old girl riding an e-scooter was hospitalized after being struck by a vehicle in Niagara Falls last month. Adults as well as children are being hit, but it is tragic to see these young lives ruined. State law says someone must be 16 or older to ride an e-bike or scooter, which cannot be operated on the sidewalks. Problem is, the law is not always followed, as most can easily testify. How many times has anyone noticed someone younger than the state-allowed age on an e-bike or e-scooter? And on the sidewalk? It is heartbreaking and frustrating to watch children doing something that could get themselves or someone else injured or worse. E-bikes and e-scooters should be an enjoyable experience for the rider, but its only fun when everyone is following the rules and putting safety first. If it takes confiscation, fines and parental accountability to restore safety to our streets and sidewalks, then the effort is more than justified. Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing. Turkiye is a key regional player in West Asia, Eastern Europe, the Eastern Mediterranean, Central Asia, and East Africa. Its geographical position makes it a unique bridge between Europe and Asia. What happens in Turkiye reverberates throughout the region. Yet it remains a deeply misunderstood country. One reason for this misunderstanding is that its power structure has been in constant flux since the founding of the Republic. This is not unique to Turkiyegovernments everywhere evolve, and sometimes radically. The U.S. transformed its republic through the Civil War and later through the New Deal. Russia transitioned from tsarist autocracy to Soviet communism to post-Soviet authoritarianism. France is now in its Fifth Republic. Germany has shifted through multiple systems of governance. China evolved from imperial rule to communism, and now blends authoritarianism with capitalism. Turkiyes own power structure is undergoing transformation. That is the thesis of Selim Koru in his book New Turkey and the Far Right. According to him, Erdogan is working to dismantle the Kemalist Republic to establish a new system of governance. This change also affects Turkiyes perceived role in the Middle East and its relationships with other countriesespecially the U.S. Recently, the PKKthe Kurdish nationalist guerrilla group designated as a terrorist organization by both Turkiye and the Westhas begun laying down arms after 40 years of conflict. This follows a relentless military campaign by the Turkish government, but more crucially, it comes after the fall of Assad and the establishment of a new, U.S.- and Turkiye-aligned government in Syria. The PKK is more than a CIA pawn. Its founder, Abdullah Ocalan, proposed the concept of democratic confederalism, which deserves consideration. But he has been jailed since 1999, and the CIA has used the movement as a proxy against both Turkiye and Assad. Now, with the Syrian Democratic Forcesessentially the PKK in Syriabeing asked to integrate into Syrias new national army, the broader PKK structure appears to be disarming. This development alone merits analysis, but the focus here is its signal: the renewal of U.S.-Turkiye relations. Since the July 15, 2016 coup attempt, ties had been strained. The unresolved issue of the F-35 fighter jet sale to Ankaralinked to Turkiyes purchase of Russias S-400 missile systemexemplifies the tension. Now, with Trump and Erdogan calling each other friends, the renewed alliance raises a broader question: Is the U.S. considering Turkiye, not Israel, as its future hegemonic ally in the Middle East? This becomes more plausible if we consider that the U.S. itself may be undergoing a political redefinition. J.D. Vance recently delivered a speech at the Claremont Institutea California think tank he considers formativein which he challenged the foundational ideals of the U.S. Declaration of Independence. He dismissed the notion that the country is based on a shared creed, arguing instead for unity rooted in ancestry and land. This is a fundamental change in how the nation is defined. Such a fundamental change seems to be the aim of Erdogan and his movement, a central tenet of which has been rewriting the Turkish constitution, especially the opening points, which define Turkiye as a Kemalist, secular republic. The trend that both the U.S. under the Trump administration and Turkiye are following toward government iteration is not exclusive; it appears to be part of an international shift toward single-party political structures with a powerful figure at the helm. This is the case in Russia, China, India, and others. In Turkiye, this trend crystallized after the July 15, 2016 coup attemptthough not as many expected. Erdogans largely civilian government had to integrate elements of the secular military elite, resulting in a hybrid civilian-military regime. This had a major consequence: the ruling AKP, Erdogans party, began reviving and paying homage to Mustafa Kemal and Kemalist principles. The goal of dismantling the Kemalist order may have been delayed in the short to medium term for political survival, but the long-term objective might remain unchanged. The July 15, 2016 Coup Attempt The coup was realdespite claims that Erdogan staged it (a theory mostly rooted in personal opposition to him). It was, however, unlikely to succeed. The real questions are when the President and his administration learned of it, and whether they allowed it to unfold as a pretext to eliminate an internal threat. That threat was Fethullah Gulens movementallegedly supported by the CIAand defined by Turkish officials as operating as a state within a state. To understand the coup, we must understand the deeper shift it triggered in Turkiyes power structure. The term deep state originally described the post-Ataturk Turkish power structure. After Ataturks death, a military junta emerged, committed to preserving a secular, Kemalist republic. While political parties were allowed from the mid-20th century, they had to play by the juntas rules. If a party deviated, the military would intervene via coups. This happened several timesmost notably in 1960, 1971, 1980, and 1997. The 1997 coup is a good example of the dynamics that led to these coups, as it deposed Necmettin Erbakan, the leader of the Welfare Party, which was based on Islamic values. Since the foundation of the Republic, Ataturk had waged a war against the Islamic identity of the Turkish people, seeking to replace it with a national identity. This created social tension, given that Turkiye is a Muslim-majority countrya tension still felt today. Erdogans rise to power was founded on unprecedented popular support based on upholding the Islamic identity of the Turkish people. Its difficult to understand why without noting that traditional political parties in Turkiyeincluding the CHP (Ataturks Peoples Republican Party)were not founded in grassroots social movements, but rather by Turkish elites in parliament. Erdogans AKP, inheriting the Welfare Party legacy, changed that. The rise of Erdogans AKP in politics came through an alliance with another organization that did not seek political office but built power through education, media, business, and bureaucratic appointments: Fethullah Gulens movement. This alliance helped counterbalance the Kemalist militarys power. Leading up to the coup, three actors held real power: the AKP, Gulenists, and elements of the Kemalist military. Other actors either coalesced around these three or lacked influence. Now comes the controversial part. The claimimpossible to document conclusivelyis that the Gulenist movement was funded and guided by the CIA. Gulen was connected in the 1960s to a U.S.-backed Turkish Anti-Communist League before becoming a state preacher. His meteoric rise to a near cult-like empire spanning the Turkic states, the Balkans, and Africa is difficult to explain without some form of state supportthe kind Turkiye could not provide at the time. The Gulenist movements ideology is a mix of Western philosophical principles with Islamic terminology and favors neoliberal capitalism. It promotes the West as a societal model. Its easy to see how expanding this ideology through schools, universities, and media in Muslim-majority countriesor countries with significant Muslim populations, like South Africawould be a clever CIA strategy to counter alternative Islamist narratives less favorable to U.S. interests. Gulens U.S.-based schools (over 100 at one point) and lobbying activities support this hypothesis. The CIAs interest was clear: keep Turkiye aligned with U.S. interests. The military was nationalistic and wary of foreign influence, while Islamist actors like Erdogan looked East as well as West. That was seen as a threat. This theory is widely accepted among Turkish intellectuals, politicians, and even the Russian government. The U.S.s protection of Gulen since 1999, its refusal to extradite him, and its unwillingness to label his movement a terrorist group all add weight to the claim. The Turkish government has claimed U.S. involvement in the 2016 coup attempt through Gulen. The Turkish press reported that CIA-linked personnel, such as Henri J. Barkey, conducted secret meetings the night of the coup. The U.S., of course, denied thisbut it would not have been the first time it meddled in Turkish politics. Some argue the CIA was not actually linked to the coupin fact, that they did not expect it. Common wisdom held that, after Erdogan had conducted extensive purges in the military and judiciary, his party was stronger than ever, and the military would not risk it. The coup was solely the action of Gulenists who felt cornered after years of conflict with the AKP. But if the CIA did not know or approve of it, then it created the conditions for it to happen. The confrontation between the AKP and Gulens movement began around the time of the so-called Arab Spring. The Western narrative says that once they had purged much of the secular elite from the judiciary and military, they turned against each other. Its true that they had very different ideologies from the startit was a marriage of convenience (it is well known that Gulen and Erdogan disliked each other)but the reason becomes clearer when considering Gulens CIA links. The fight began during the Arab Spring and the 2013 Kurdish Peace Process. In both cases, Turkiyes position ran counter to U.S. interests. Achieving peace with the PKK would have neutralized an important U.S. proxy in the region, and Erdogan supported Islamist organizations in Tunisia, Libya, and most importantly, Egypt. He tried to export the AKPs model of an Islamic-political organization. The agenda was to reshape the Middle East under Turkish influence, according to then-Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglus vision, explained in 2011 at a Turkey Investor Conference: The Road to 2023 organized by Goldman Sachs. This was not in the interest of the U.S.nor of Israelbecause it excluded Israel and positioned Turkiye as the hegemonic power. In February 2012, a prosecutor accused Hakan Fidan, then head of Turkish intelligence, of having ties to the PKK and ISIS and summoned him to court. Erdogan objected and told him not to go. This was the beginning of a war involving legal cases, corruption charges, and arrests of powerful pro-government figures (including Erdogans son), street protests, and the closure of institutions. It climaxed with the July 15, 2016 coup attempt. Gulenist military officers, calling themselves the Peace at Home Council, attempted to seize power. They bombed parliament and tried to kidnap Erdogan. Thousands of citizens responded to Erdogans televised call to resist. Crucially, the Kemalist military factions did not join. Why? Some speculate a last-minute deal was made: Erdogan would share part of the government with the army, especially the defense ministry and the intelligence services, and would not go against Kemalist principlesmeaning, he would not attempt to change the constitutions declaration of Turkiye as a secular republic based on Kemalist values. After the Coup Following the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, Erdogan initiated mass purges of Gulenist elements from the military and bureaucracy. Simultaneously, he rehabilitated secular-nationalist officers previously sidelined in the Ergenekon and Balyoz trialstrials now viewed as Gulenist ploys. Since 2018, the defense ministry has been led by generals, not politicians. Erdogan also revived public displays of respect for Ataturk and Kemalismappealing to nationalist, secular, and far-right Islamist audiences alike. The result is a hybrid regime: a fused civilian-military state, combining Kemalist and Islamist elements under Erdogans leadership. This has consolidated his power, even if it meant ideological compromise. Turkiyes post-coup relationship with the U.S. soured. Washington refused to extradite Gulen or label his group as a terrorist organization. U.S. liberals disapproved of Turkiyes new political system. Middle East interests diverged. But things may be changing. Gulen died in 2024. Trumps second term appears to favor centralized power. And with Assad gone, U.S.-Turkiye interests are converging again. Only one obstacle remains: Israel. Yves here. VoxEU regularly posts on studies that mine historical data, and here I mean of long ago history, either to draw lessons for today or to show that seemingly so-old-how-can-it-still-matter events still cast a shadow. This analysis is of a shift towards more representation in the medieval era, as in what is commonly thought of as rule by nobles. It finds that increases in wars lead to increases in representation on local councils, which in a longer time frame, meant an acceleration of the trend of medieval constitutionalism. So in this time of generally dispiriting news, there may be a small silver lining. The ferocious drive towards the rearmament of Europe may require a big reduction in its democratic deficit to get done.or wont get done much at all due to the need for at least some level of voter buy-in. By Sascha O. Becker, Xiaokai Yang Chair of Business and Economics Monash University and Full-time Professor of Economics University Of Warwick; Andreas Ferrara, Assistant Professor of Economics University of Pittsburgh; Eric Melander Assistant Professor of Economics University Of Birmingham; and Luigi Pascali, Associate Professor Associate Professor Pompeu Fabra University and Kenen Fellow in the Department of Economics Princeton University. Originally published at VoxEU In the grand sweep of history over the last millennium, political divergence between Europe and contemporaneous world civilisations preceded economic divergence. This column describes how the development of the institutional frameworks of medieval constitutionalism characterised by representative assemblies, rule of law, and substantial fiscal and spending capacity in European towns and cities paved the way for Western modern states. In a current international climate where democratic institutions increasingly appear to be on the back foot, history offers a sobering perspective on the hard-fought moves towards greater representation. Europe in the Middle Ages was a place marred by near-ceaseless conflict between myriad weak rulers, particularly in a strip of land ranging from the Flemish and Dutch coast, via the German lands, to Northern Italy. Figure 1, which plots the territorial boundaries of European polities between 1290 and 1710, demonstrates the sheer density of borders in this region of Central Europe. Yet it was in this same region that the institutional package of medieval constitutionalism emerged, in towns and cities that enforced the rule of law, granted its citizens political representation, and developed increasingly sophisticated fiscal machineries. Figure 1 De facto territorial boundaries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, 1290-1710 Note: De facto territorial boundaries in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, 12901710. De facto territorial boundaries from the Centennia Historical Atlas (Clockwork Mapping 2018) overlapped at decadal intervals for the period 12901710 (light grey). Modern state boundaries also shown (black). It has long been hypothesised that this vortex of near-permanent war forced [rulers] to strike deals that meant sharing political power (Hoffman and Norberg 1994). But so far it has been difficult to empirically tease out the direction of causation. In the words of Stasavage (2016): the evidence suggests some causal link between warfare and representative institutions, although we do not know in which direction causality runs. Our recent paper (Becker et al. 2025) is the first in this context to present systematic evidence in favour of one direction of causality, from wars to representation. New Data and Novel Evidence on War and Representation Our work is underpinned by a massive effort to mobilise detailed data on German towns and cities for over five centuries that span the period of medieval constitutionalism. Drawing on the Deutsches Stadtebuch (Keyser 1939-1974), a multi-volume encyclopaedia of German cities, we create a panel dataset documenting the conflicts in which cities were involved, characteristics of their councils, and the sophistication of their tax systems. With these data in hand, we first document that exposure to conflicts appears to be related to the expansion of city councils (with more members indicating representation of wider strata of the population). Following conflict, these councils are also increasingly likely to be elected by citizens without the interference of the local lord. Figure 2 shows this result descriptively using the first conflict to which territories in our sample are exposed and tracking the evolution of council elections and sizes before and after the event. Figure 2 Territory-level event study Note: Evolution of political outcomes for territories before and after the first conflict to which they are exposed. The probability of citizens electing their local city council equals 1 if citizens can hold such elections without the interference of the local ruler. Council size is the number of members on the city council. Succession Disputes as a Source of Random Variation in Conflict To isolate variation in conflict exposure that mimics a randomised experiment, we introduce a second dataset to construct an instrumental variable for conflict. Using data on European noble families compiled by the ambitious Peerage project, we reconstruct the aristocratic network at each point in time and identify central individuals within this network. These nobles were key to war and peace in this period, and we home in on one aspect in particular: succession. In the German context, a large number of conflicts were succession wars, fought over womens right to inherit as rulers. By identifying the gender of important nobles firstborn children, we construct our instrument for conflict. The logic is the following: upon having their first child, nobles enter into a lottery in which either realisation (a male or a female child) is equally likely. But firstborn girls open up the possibility of challenges to succession and, hence, succession wars. The lottery thereby randomises some observations in our dataset into higher conflict proneness than others. It is this exogenous variation in conflict that we then exploit to identify the causal effect of conflict on political and fiscal institutions. The War of the Succession of Landshut (1503-1505) illustrates how succession wars led to the rise and spread of medieval constitutionalism. Duke George of Bavaria-Landshut did not have a male heir, and named his firstborn daughter, Elisabeth, as his successor. This breached an agreement with the House of Wittelsbach, according to which Duke Albert of Bavaria-Munich would have been the legal successor. Albert refused to concede, and a destructive war ensued. In Figure 3, we plot the evolution of political and fiscal institutions around the outbreak of the war of succession, comparing outcomes for Bavaria-Munich to those for the rest of Bavaria and other German regions. Cities in Bavaria-Munich saw an immediate increase in the probability that citizens elected their city councils and in their size. A few decades after the conflict, these cities had developed increasingly sophisticated tax systems, consistent with temporary war taxes evolving into more far-reaching fiscal capacity, based on income and wealth taxes. Figure 3 Territory case study: Bavaria-Munich and the Landshut Succession War Note: Evolution of political and taxation outcomes for cities in the territory of Bavaria-Munich, other cities in Bavaria and other cities in the German lands in the century before and after the Landshut Succession War (indicated with vertical dashed lines). The probability of citizens electing their local city council equals 1 if citizens can hold such elections without the interference of the local ruler. Council size is the number of members on the city council. Complex taxes refer to those taxes that require a register or administrative infrastructure to levy them because the taxed items are not easily observed, which includes income, wealth, or business taxes. We then go on to confirm our findings from this single example in our full sample of cities and time periods. On average, after a war triggered by the birth of a female firstborn, cities see a 2-3 percentage point increase in the probability that their councils are elected by citizens and an expansion of the council by approximately two members. This is followed in subsequent decades by a shift towards more sophisticated forms of taxation. Long-Term Implications of Medieval Constitutionalism In the final section of the paper, we investigate the long shadow that the institutional package of representation and high fiscal capacity developed in the context of medieval constitutionalism had on the subsequent rise of modern states. Previous work highlights the importance of high tax capacity in state formation (Tilly 1975, Gennaioli and Voth 2015) and a recent paper by Cantoni et al. (2024) documents empirically the importance of centralised territorial fiscal systems in the early modern era. Our exercise here complements these findings by highlighting the parallel importance of city-level tax systems until at least 1700. We show that the cities and territories in our sample that developed high fiscal capacity in the context of medieval constitutionalism were more likely to come out on top in the process of territorial consolidation from the 17th century. Concretely, we look at instances where cities switch hands from one territory to another, and calculate the difference in tax capacity between the gaining and losing territory. From the year 1600 onwards, there is a pronounced increase in the tax advantage of conquerors over the conquered. Conclusions All told, our findings underscore the role played by wars in the emergence of crucial elements of the blueprints for modern states. In particular, we re-emphasise now equipped with systematic causal evidence conclusions from previous qualitative and historical literatures that the development of representative institutions was not a foregone conclusion, but rather a silver lining of the bargain that conflict forced rulers to strike with their subjects. See original post for references Decentralize TV: Tom Montalk on navigating the future with AI The conversation began with a reflection on the profound global changes over the past year, emphasizing the importance of preparedness for natural disasters, economic instability and potential societal collapse. The COVID-19 pandemic was highlighted as a wake-up call, underscoring vulnerabilities in modern systems and the need for individuals to be self-reliant. AI and technology were discussed as powerful tools for decentralization and personal empowerment. Adams highlighted the potential of AI, like his project Enoch, to revolutionize content creation and emergency preparedness. However, Montalk cautioned against over-reliance on technology, warning that it could compromise human autonomy and spirituality, and emphasized the importance of using AI responsibly. The concept of a technological singularity was explored, with Montalk warning of the potential for dystopian outcomes such as a surveillance state or AI dominance. The rise of CBDCs was identified as a threat to privacy and financial freedom, with decentralized technologies like privacy coins and blockchain proposed as solutions to maintain individual autonomy. The discussion took a turn toward extraterrestrial life, with Montalk suggesting historical agreements between the U.S. government and alien factions. He speculated that these agreements have caused internal conflicts within the secret government, potentially influencing geopolitical tensions and technological advancements. The panelists emphasized the importance of discernment and spiritual values in shaping a future that aligns with human aspirations. They encouraged viewers to remain vigilant, proactive and committed to decentralization and personal empowerment. The interview concluded with a hopeful outlook, acknowledging the uncertainty of the future but also the potential for positive change and growth. Mike Adams and Todd Pitner engaged in a profound conversation with Tom Montalk on "Decentralize TV" about the role of artificial intelligence (AI) and technology in preparedness. The conversation kicked off with a reflection on the past year and the profound shifts that have occurred globally. Adams expressed his excitement about the future, acknowledging the risks but also the unprecedented opportunities for a spiritual awakening and a "great red pilling" happening worldwide. Pitner echoed this sentiment, noting a sense of optimism and a collective desire to move away from evil and toward truth and beauty. Montalk, a renowned expert in metaphysics and preparedness, emphasized the importance of being prepared for the uncertainties ahead. He recounted how the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic served as a wake-up call for many, highlighting the vulnerabilities of humanity's modern systems. Montalk stressed that preparedness is not a fringe activity, but a basic survival need especially in the face of natural disasters, economic instability and potential societal collapse. The discussion then shifted to the role of AI and technology in preparedness, with Adams highlighting the potential of AI to decentralize knowledge and empower individuals. He shared his enthusiasm for AI tools like Brighteon.ai, which he believes can revolutionize content creation, music production and even emergency preparedness. The Health Ranger is developing an AI language model, Enoch, designed to provide a knowledge base for survival and emergency medicine. Enoch is accessible offline and is free from corporate or governmental control. Montalk agreed that AI can be a powerful tool for decentralization and personal empowerment. The author and researcher emphasized the importance of using AI responsibly and cautioned against relying too heavily on technology that could intrude on human autonomy and spirituality. (Related: AI and the future of humanity: Tom Montalk explores the convergence of technology and spirituality with Mike Adams and Todd Pitner) "If you rely entirely on AI to tell you everything then you're gonna start losing your spiritual soul capacity," Montalk said. He envisioned a future where AI could enhance human creativity and productivity. However, he also warned of the dangers of a transhumanist agenda that seeks to integrate technology with human biology. This could potentially lead to a loss of free will and individuality. Technological singularity and extraterrestrial life Montalk further elaborated on the concept of a technological singularity, a point where technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible. He believes humanity is on the cusp of this singularity with advancements in AI, energy, propulsion and medicine poised to transform society. However, the truth seeker warned that without careful stewardship, these technologies could lead to dystopian outcomes such as a surveillance state or a society dominated by AI overlords. Adams and Pitner both expressed concern about the potential for AI to be used as a tool of authoritarian control. They discussed the rise of Central Bank Digital Currencies and the threat they pose to privacy and financial freedom. Montalk suggested that decentralized technologies like privacy coins and blockchain could offer a way to circumvent these threats and maintain individual autonomy. The conversation took an intriguing turn as the topic of extraterrestrial life was broached. Montalk explained that while reports of alien contact and abductions exist worldwide, the phenomenon seems particularly prevalent in the United States. He attributed this to historical agreements between the U.S. government and certain alien factions, allegedly exchanging technology for the right to abduct and study American citizens. Montalk speculated that these agreements have led to a split within the secret government, with some factions sympathetic to the alien agenda and others opposed. He suggested that this internal conflict could be driving many of the geopolitical tensions and technological advancements people see today. As the interview concluded, the panelists reflected on the importance of discernment and spiritual values in navigating the future. Montalk emphasized the need to distinguish between technologies that enhance human potential and those that diminish it. He urged listeners to remain vigilant and proactive in shaping a future that aligns with their values and aspirations. Adams reiterated the importance of decentralization and personal empowerment, encouraging viewers to take control of their own preparedness and not rely solely on external systems. Pitner added that while the future is uncertain, it is also filled with possibilities for positive change and growth. Follow FutureTech.news for more news about AI. Watch the full interview featuring Tom Montalk and "Decentralize TV" hosts Mike Adams and Todd Pitner below. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: OpenAI researchers warn board that rapidly advancing AI technology threatens humanity. AI-powered "digital employees" revolutionize banking, work alongside human employees. Tech industry develops AI mind-reading technology capable of measuring citizen loyalty to government. Sources include: Brighteon.com Montalk.net Denmark donates satellite communication systems to Ukraine Denmark is the first EU member to donate satellite communication services to Ukraine through the European Defense Agency (EDA). The package includes European-made receiver terminals for secure, encrypted battlefield connectivity, countering Russian jamming efforts. Danish Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen highlighted the growing role of space in defense policy. Satellite-based communications provide Ukraine asymmetrical advantages, echoing historic wartime reliance on secure communications (e.g., WWII radios). Copenhagen has already pledged over 20 aid packages worth billions, including $632 million (2024 to 2028) and plans to procure Ukrainian arms using frozen Russian assets. This aligns with EU goals of strategic autonomy in space technology. The EDA expects broader EU involvement, citing Germany's 2024 partnership with private firms to supply high-resolution satellite imagery. Denmark also collaborates with companies like Quadsat and Skyeton to enhance electromagnetic monitoring against escalating electronic warfare. Ukraine's reliance on Western satellites underscores modern warfare's evolving dynamics, where dominance in cyberspace and orbit directly impacts ground operations. Denmark's donation ensures Ukrainian forces retain critical communication and targeting capabilities amid Russian advances. Denmark has become the first European Union member to donate satellite communication services through the European Defense Agency (EDA), in a move to bolster Ukraine's military capabilities. According to the Danish Ministry of Defense (FMN), the package includes European-made receiver terminals designed to provide secure and stable satellite-based communication for Ukrainian defense forces amid Russia's ongoing invasion. The terminals, tailored for Kyiv's specific battlefield needs, ensure encrypted connectivity a decisive factor in military operations where traditional communications are often disrupted by Russian jamming. This support comes as Ukraine urgently seeks advanced technological aid to counter Moscow's electronic warfare tactics and maintain battlefield coordination. Copenhagen's contribution underscores the growing strategic importance of space-based solutions in modern warfare. Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen emphasized the broader implications of the initiative. "Space is a domain that is increasingly calling for defense policy attention," he stated in an official release posted on the FMN's website. "Through close cooperation with the [EDA], Denmark has now contributed to strengthening Ukraine's satellite-based communications in their defense against Russia." Historical precedents highlight why satellite technology is now a focal point in Ukraine's resistance. During World War II, secure radio communications were vital for Allied success. In the Russia-Ukraine war decades later, encrypted satellite links today offer Kyiv asymmetrical advantages against Moscow. From billions to bytes: Danish satellites keep Ukraine fighting Since 2022, Kyiv has leveraged crowdfunded satellites and Western-supplied imagery to identify and strike Russian positions with one such satellite assisting in locating over 1,500 targets. Denmark's latest move builds on this momentum. (Related: Crowdfunded satellite from California-based ICEYE helping Ukraine destroy high-value Russian targets.) The Nordic nation has already committed more than 20 military aid packages totaling billions, including a recent pledge of $632 million through 2028 and plans to procure arms from Ukraine's defense industry using frozen Russian assets. The EDA anticipates broader EU participation, framing Denmark's donation as a catalyst for greater European strategic autonomy in space. This aligns with recent efforts by Germany, which partnered with private firms Rheinmetall and ICEYE in 2024 to supply Ukraine with high-resolution satellite imagery. Meanwhile, Denmark's collaboration with firms like Quadsat and Skyeton has expanded electromagnetic monitoring capabilities an increasingly critical domain as electronic warfare escalates. As the conflict enters its third year, Ukraine's reliance on Western satellite technology highlights the evolving nature of warfare, where dominance in cyberspace and orbit can tilt the balance on the ground. Copenhagen's pioneering role signals a deepening EU commitment to Kyiv's defense while reinforcing Europe's push for self-reliance in military innovation. For Ukraine, these systems are not just tools but lifelines. The donations by Denmark ensure that even as Russian forces press forward, Kyiv's defenders retain the ability to communicate, coordinate and strike back. Visit MilitaryTech.news for more similar stories. Watch this video of Russia launching the Soyuz-2.1b military satellite from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Denmark plans to send ALL of its ARTILLERY to Ukraine leaving Copenhagen DEFENSELESS. Russian official warns Moscow could target U.S. satellites being used in Ukraine war. U.S. halts satellite imagery and intelligence sharing with Ukraine.= Sources include: TheDefensePost.com Defence-Industry.eu FMN.dk Brighteon.com Israeli strikes kill 88 Palestinians in 24 hours as Gaza faces catastrophic hunger crisis Israeli airstrikes killed 88 Palestinians in Gaza within 24 hours, including at least 12 children, targeting homes, refugee camps and aid seekers. Over 58,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 2023, with entire families wiped out in attacks like the one in Tel al-Hawa that killed 19 people. The UN warns of soaring malnutrition rates under Israel's blockade, with acute child malnutrition doubling since March (now 10.2 percent). Anemia affects 72.8 percent of children under two and 31 percent suffer stunting conditions exacerbated by food shortages and destroyed agricultural land. Israeli forces have killed at least 844 Palestinians since May while they attempted to access food, including six in the past 24 hours. Witnesses describe live fire dispersing crowds at U.S.-backed aid distribution sites. The UN reports 875 aid-related deaths in six weeks. Gaza's hospitals, refugee camps and civilian infrastructure are nearing total collapse under relentless bombardment. Strikes like the one on Shati refugee camp which killed a Hamas official and a family of eight have left hundreds of thousands at risk of famine. Despite UN warnings of famine, ethnic cleansing and potential death tolls reaching 600,000 from indirect causes (disease, starvation), international responses remain ineffective. The U.S. continues military support as Gaza faces annihilation with no end in sight to Israel's blockade and violence. Israeli airstrikes killed 88 Palestinians in Gaza over 24 hours, including at least 12 children, as the United Nations warned of soaring malnutrition rates due to Israel's blockade. The latest bombardment struck homes, refugee camps and aid seekers, compounding a humanitarian catastrophe that has left hundreds of thousands at risk of famine. This escalation reflects Israel's ongoing military campaign backed by the U.S. which has now killed over 58,000 Palestinians since October 2023 and pushed Gaza's infrastructure to collapse. Officials at Gaza's al-Shifa Hospital reported that an Israeli strike demolished a building in the Shati refugee camp, killing a 68-year-old Hamas legislative official, Mohammed Faraj al-Ghoul, along with a family of eight sheltering inside. Another attack in Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa district wiped out 19 members of a single household, including eight women and six children. The Israeli military did not comment on these strikes but has repeatedly claimed it targets only militants an assertion contradicted by the high civilian death toll and UN documentation. At least six Palestinians were killed and 29 wounded while trying to access food over the past day, bringing the total aid-related deaths to 844 since May, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Witnesses describe Israeli forces firing live ammunition to disperse crowds near aid distribution sites run by the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). The UN reports higher figures 875 deaths in six weeks citing hospital records and survivor testimonies. Israel blames aid delays on the UN, but agencies say military restrictions and lawlessness hinder distribution. (Related: Gaza food hubs are being used to carry out WAR CRIMES: Nearly 800 Palestinians DEAD from Israeli death traps.) Malnutrition among Gaza's children has doubled since Israel tightened its blockade in March UN agencies warn that malnutrition among Gaza's children has doubled since March, when Israel tightened its blockade. Nearly 10.2 percent of children screened by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in June were acutely malnourished, up from 5.5 percent in March. United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) documented 5,870 cases in June alone almost triple February's numbers. "Palestinian children in Gaza suffer immense pain," warned Dr. Mads Gilbert in a UNRWA report, noting anemia rates of 72.8 percent and stunting in 31 percent of children under two. The crisis stems from Israel's 2007 blockade of Gaza after Hamas' electoral victory, a move condemned as collective punishment by human rights groups. Before the current war, UN experts estimated Israel's restrictions had already pushed 80 percent of Gazans into aid dependency. Today's violence echoes past assaults such as the 2014 war, when Israeli strikes killed over 2,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians but with unprecedented destruction now rendering Gaza uninhabitable, according to the UN. As Israel continues its bombardment unchecked by international action, Gaza faces annihilation. The UN warns indirect deaths from disease, starvation and demolished hospitals could push the toll near 600,000. With U.S. weaponry fueling the assault and global responses limited to rhetoric, Palestinians endure what officials call a "man-made disaster" with no end in sight. Watch the video below that talks about Gaza Aid workers shooting civilians. This video is from the What is happening channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Netanyahu backs controversial Gaza "humanitarian city" plan in Rafah. Former MEP condemns hypocritical EU for being "totally complicit" in Gaza genocide. Israeli contractors paid thousands to demolish Gaza homes, fueling deadly attacks on civilians. Sources include: News.AntiWar.com APNews.com Reuters.com Brighteon.com USDA Secretary Rollins declares NO AMNESTY for illegal farm workers Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins declared that there will be no amnesty for illegal farm workers, emphasizing the administration's commitment to maintaining a "100 percent American workforce." The stance aligns with President Trump's broader immigration policies, but agricultural experts and economists have voiced concerns about potential disruptions to the U.S. food supply chain. Rollins has suggested that the mobilization of Medicaid recipients could fill in the gap left by deported immigrant workers. She also added that automation can also help replace manual labor in a bid to address potential issues with the country's food supply chain. Agricultural experts are skeptical because while there have been significant developments in automation, it may not be enough to meet the demands of fruit and vegetable harvesting in the United States. Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, has also expressed concern about the impact of immigration enforcement on farms and ranches, claiming that the deportation of illegal farm workers could result in "higher grocery prices" for American families. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins had declared that there will be no amnesty for illegal farm workers, emphasizing the administration's commitment to a "100 percent American workforce." She made this announcement during a press conference with Republican governors. While her stance aligns with President Donald Trump's broader immigration policies, it has raised significant concerns among agricultural experts and economists who warn of potential disruptions to the U.S. food supply chain. Rollins also outlined the administration's plan to address the anticipated labor shortage resulting from mass deportations through increased automation and the mobilization of Medicaid recipients. According to the secretary, automation is advancing rapidly and can play a significant role in replacing manual labor. She added that there are at least 34 million able-bodied adults in the Medicaid program who could potentially contribute to the workforce. However, this proposal has been met with skepticism. Agricultural experts argue that while automation is making strides, it is not yet advanced enough to replace the intricate and delicate work required in fruit and vegetable harvesting. Furthermore, a report from the Urban Institute highlighted that most Medicaid recipients are already employed, exempt from work requirements or facing barriers to employment, casting doubt on the feasibility of this solution. Many Medicaid recipients face barriers such as transportation, childcare and health issues, which could hinder their ability to work in the fields. America's food supply hangs on immigrant labor The challenges of replacing immigrant labor with domestic workers are not new. In 2011, Georgia enacted a strict immigration law that led to a shortage of over 5,200 farm workers, resulting in hundreds of millions of dollars in projected losses. Alabama experienced similar difficulties in the same year, with local farmers reporting that American workers lasted only a day in their new roles. These precedents underscore the difficulties Rollins' proposal may face. Moreover, the mass deportation of farm workers could have far-reaching consequences for the U.S. food supply. (Related: Food supply under strain: Major plant closures signal broader challenges for U.S. agriculture and the food supply.) According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), approximately 42 percent of U.S. farm workers are undocumented immigrants, and nearly 70 percent are foreign-born. This reliance on immigrant labor is particularly pronounced in certain regions and sectors of agriculture. Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, expressed concern about the impact of immigration enforcement on farms and ranches. "Without farmworkers, vegetables will be left in the fields, fruit will remain unpicked, and cows will go unmilked," Duvall warned. "The end result is a reduced food supply and higher grocery prices for all of America's families." The administration's focus on curbing farmland purchases by "foreign adversaries," including China, adds another layer of complexity to the issue. Rollins announced that the USDA will terminate agreements and contracts with entities from these countries and is considering executive action to reclaim land owned by Chinese-owned companies like Syngenta and Smithfield Foods. China's Foreign Ministry has criticized the move as "discriminatory," arguing that it politicizes economic and trade issues and deprives certain countries of the right to purchase land and real estate in the United States. This international tension further complicates the agricultural landscape, as foreign investment and ownership have played a role in the U.S. farming sector. Visit FoodCollapse.com for more stories about America's food supply. Watch the video below to learn how the "America First Policy" can help protect American farmers. This video is from the NewsClips channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Trump admin surpasses 50,000 MIGRANT REMOVALS, targets long-evasive illegals. HHS launches investigation into ORRs handling of unaccompanied migrant children. Massachusetts governor proposes stricter rules for migrant shelters amid safety concerns over migrant-related crimes. Sources include: YourNews.com TheGuardian.com Reuters.com FarmProgress.com Brighteon.com WIRED Magazine: Almost 3 minutes of footage MISSING from DOJ surveillance clip of Epsteins cell block Nearly three minutes of surveillance footage outside Jeffrey Epsteins cell is missing from the "raw" clip released by the DOJ. Forensic analysis revealed the video was edited in Adobe Premiere Pro, with a 2-minute, 53-second gap just before midnight on August 9, 2019. The edit coincides with a critical moment in Epstein's final hours. The video abruptly cuts off seconds before a documented camera reset at midnight, raising doubts about the DOJ's transparency under Attorney General Pam Bondi. Internal analyst markers flagging movement near Epstein's cell were removed from the public clip, further fueling claims of selective omissions and undermining trust in the official suicide narrative. A 2023 DOJ Inspector General report cited malfunctioning equipment and blind spots at the MCC, which obscured Epsteins cell door factors critics argue enabled accountability gaps in his death. The case echoes historic controversies (e.g., JFK assassination, Iran-Contra), where institutional secrecy clashed with public skepticism. Despite DOJ assurances, the metadata irregularities reinforce lingering doubts about the investigation's integrity. Almost three minutes of footage is missing from the supposedly "official" surveillance clip outside convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein's cell released by the Department of Justice (DOJ) this month. Forensic analysis of the clip's confidential metadata done by WIRED magazine uncovered the discrepancy. Initially presented as "full raw" evidence by federal officials, the clip was found to exclude nearly three minutes of recordings. The magazine found that the video was compiled in Adobe Premiere Pro from two source files, with one clip shortened by two minutes and 53 seconds. It was timed just before a disputed one-minute ending, abruptly cutting off at 11:58:58 p.m. of Aug. 9, 2019 seconds before a documented camera reset on the midnight of Aug. 10. While officials insist the edit was routine, skeptics argue the alteration coincides with a pivotal moment in the timeline of Epsteins final hours. The second clip resumes precisely at midnight, but the missing segment has intensified scrutiny of federal transparency under U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi. WIRED magazine's discovery raises suspicions of selective omissions in the investigation, fueling fresh doubts about the official narrative surrounding the financier's 2019 death while in custody. The findings complicate a case already marred by allegations of cover-ups, unreliable prison surveillance, and lingering conspiracy theories. Tampered cameras, broken trust: The suspicious gaps in Epstein's final hours Further complicating matters, the footage contained internal markers used by analysts to flag movement near Epstein's cell block at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Manhattan. These notes were stripped from publicly released versions of the clip. A 2023 DOJ Inspector General report had already exposed systemic failures in the MCC's surveillance. The 128-page report cited malfunctioning hardware and blind spots that obscured Epstein's cell door, factors that critics say undermined accountability. Historical parallels deepen concerns. Epstein's case echoes decades of high-profile deaths entangled in official secrecy, from the unresolved aspects of President John F. Kennedy's assassination to Iran-Contra-era obfuscations. The DOJ's insistence on a suicide ruling, despite persistent irregularities, has drawn comparisons to past instances where institutional credibility clashed with public skepticism. (Related: New memo insists Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide, rejects claims his "client list" exists.) Earlier, Bondi defended the missing footage in response to mounting backlash, attributing it to automated system resets. Yet her explanation failed to quell demands for unedited evidence from conservative influencers and legal observers alike, who view the episode as emblematic of deeper systemic distrust. Six years after Epstein's death, the debate over his final hours persists. While the metadata discrepancies offer no smoking gun, they underscore a pattern of unanswered questions that continue to shadow one of the most controversial cases in modern legal history. Visit Conspiracy.news for more similar stories. Watch this ABC News report about a DOJ and FBI memo insisting that Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide and his "client list" is nonexistent. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Trump administration under fire as public outrage over alleged Epstein files suppression. Epstein files controversy escalates amid allegations of cover-up and FBI tampering. Dershowitz slams Trump administration for suppressing Epstein files. Sources include: TheNationalPulse.com WIRED.com TheHill.com Brighteon.com Central banks ramp up domestic gold purchases, often sourcing from local mines Over half of central banks now source gold directly from local mines using domestic currencies bypassing traditional international markets to cut costs and support local economies. This comes amid a 27 percent year-to-date surge in global gold prices, reaching over $3,300/ounce. Nations like Ghana, Tanzania and Colombia prioritize domestic purchases to reduce reliance on U.S. dollars amid monetary instability. This shift avoids fees, shipping costs and foreign reserve depletion while strengthening local currency systems. Countries without certified refiners must export gold for processing, limiting savings. Critics cite risks like environmental harm from artisanal mining, but central banks could improve supply chain traceability by institutionalizing purchases. Gold reserves grew by 1,000+ metric tons annually since 2020 double pre-pandemic averages reflecting declining trust in fiat currencies. A WGC survey found 95 percent of central banks expect reserves to rise further, with 73 percent predicting reduced U.S. dollar dominance in reserves within five years. The trend mirrors historical gold-backed stability during crises. Today, central banks favor gold (and alternatives like the yuan) as debt and geopolitical tensions escalate, marking a strategic return to localized reserve accumulation. As global gold prices soar past $3,300 an ounce a 27 percent year-to-date increase central banks are quietly rewriting the playbook on reserve accumulation. In a historic pivot, nearly 53 percent of central banks with access to local gold production now bypass traditional international markets, according to a World Gold Council (WGC) report. It also found that these central banks are sourcing bullion directly from domestic mines using local currencies. Nations like Ghana, Tanzania and Colombia are leading the way when it comes to this strategy, which slashes costs and bolsters local economies. It also reduces reliance on U.S. dollars during an era of geopolitical turbulence and monetary instability. Historically, central banks acquired gold through London's over-the-counter market, trading in U.S. dollars for high-purity bars stored in elite vaults. But soaring prices and supply-chain risks, exacerbated by Western sanctions on Russia's gold sector in 2022, have spurred a paradigm shift. "You can make an argument that it's cheaper than buying gold on the international market," said Shaokai Fan, WGC's head of central banks, noting domestic purchases often occur at a discount. Ghana's recent mandate for miners to sell 20 percent of output to the state exemplifies this trend. Tanzania and Mongolia have enacted similar policies. The tactical advantages are compelling. Domestic purchases avoid intermediary fees, shipping costs and depletion of foreign exchange reserves. "You're able to grow your reserves using local currency and therefore not sacrifice another reserve asset," Fan explained. The end of dollar dominance? Central banks betting big on gold Yet challenges persist. Countries without London Good Delivery (LGD)-certified refiners like Ghana and Zambia must export gold for processing, eroding savings. The Philippines and Kazakhstan, with in-country LGD facilities, streamline these operations. Critics warn of risks tied to artisanal mining, including environmental harm and labor abuses. However, WGC argues central banks could "formalize and clean up" supply chains by becoming institutional buyers. According to Fan, "having a credible, large-scale buyer like the central bank gives small-scale miners a legal and fair outlet." He dubbed this strategy a "win-win" scenario for traceability and economic stability. Central banks added more than 1,000 metric tons annually over the past three years double the pre-2020 average amid declining confidence in fiat currencies. The WGC report, which surveyed 73 central banks, also found that 95 percent expect global gold reserves to rise further with 43 percent planning to boost their own holdings. Notably, 73 percent of foresee reduced U.S. dollar dominance in reserves within five years, favoring gold and alternatives like the yuan. (Related: Central banks continue adding gold to their net holdings as fears rise of a global currency collapse.) From colonial-era gold rushes to Bretton Woods' collapse, gold has repeatedly anchored economies in crisis. Today, as debt balloons and geopolitical fractures widen, central banks are reviving that tradition straight from their own backyards. Listen to Steve Quayle revealing the crisis in the gold market during his appearance on the "Health Ranger Report" with Mike Adams. This video is from the Brighteon Highlights channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Record-breaking gold purchases by central banks observed in Q1 2023. Central banks continue their streak of accumulating more gold in 2023. Demand for gold surges to highest rate in over a decade as worlds central banks continue buying spree. Sources include: CNBC.com Gold.org AllAroundWorlds.com Brighteon.com News / National by Staff reporter THE District of Columbia (DC) Circuit on Tuesday overturned a ruling ordering Zimbabwe to face litigation to enforce an 11-yearold US$50 million arbitral award stemming from an ill-fated mining deal, ruling that two exceptions to sovereign immunity were inapplicable and that the court therefore lacks jurisdiction.A three-judge panel for the appeals court concluded that a Zambian court ruling enforcing the underlying arbitral award to two Mauritian mining companies was too far removed from the arbitration to qualify under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA)'s arbitration exception, which waives immunity from an action to confirm an arbitral award.Nor did the case fall under the FSIA's implied waiver exception for jurisdiction, which comes into play when a country waives its immunity by implication.The mining companies argued that the exception applied here because Zimbabwe signed a treaty governing the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, the New York Convention.But the panel disagreed, noting that the Convention says nothing about foreign judgments after a party has sought enforcement of the award abroad.Even if the court were to assume that a country intends to waive its immunity in actions to confirm arbitral awards when it signs the New York Convention, that does not mean the country intends to waive immunity in litigation to enforce foreign judgments, the panel wrote."Applying either exception here would require us to conflate two distinct concepts - arbitral awards and foreign court judgments. We cannot fit a judgment recognition action into a provision that mentions only award confirmation," according to the opinion."Nor can we conclude that defendants intended to waive their immunity by signing a treaty that governs only the recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards, not the court judgments confirming such awards. Because neither exception applies, we lack subject matter jurisdiction over this action."The dispute relates to joint ventures formed in the late 2000s by the State-owned Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp with Amari Nickel Holdings Zimbabwe Ltd and Amaplat Mauritius Ltd to develop nickel and platinum mines in Zimbabwe.Zimbabwe attempted to cancel the deals in late 2010, prompting Amari and Amaplat to initiate arbitration before the International Chamber of Commerce in Zambia.They named ZMDC and the chief mining commissioner of Zimbabwe's Mines ministry as respondents in the proceedings.A tribunal issued a final award in 2014 finding ZMDC liable in the amount of US$42,9 million to Amaplat and US$3,9 million to Amari, plus interest, costs and expenses, according to the opinion.Several years later, Amaplat and Amari obtained a judgment from a court in Zambia registering the award pursuant to the New York Convention, an international treaty governing the enforcement of international arbitral awards.The judgment empowers Amaplat and Amari to enforce the award "in the same manner as a judgment or order" of the Zambian court, according to the opinion.The two companies filed the present suit in 2022, naming as defendants ZMDC, the commissioner, and - for the first time - the Republic of Zimbabwe itself, the opinion says.Counsel for Zimbabwe, GST LLP managing partner Quinn Smith, said his clients and the legal team "are pleased with the decision, especially the well-reasoned opinion from the panel".Counsel for Amaplat and Amari, Steptoe LLP partner Steven K Davidson, said his clients "will continue to use all available legal means to seek to force Zimbabwe to comply with is obligations under law and will continue to seek to compel Zimbabwe to pay the arbitral award rendered against it in 2014"."Notwithstanding that the award rendered against it was recognised and enforced in Zambia pursuant to the arbitration agreement, Zimbabwe has disregarded its obligations and has continued to flout domestic and international law by non-payment," he added, noting that the award was enforced last month in Canada.Davidson said they were considering appealing the ruling to the US Supreme Court.He noted that the Second Circuit has previously decided the same issue against the sovereign.US Circuit judges Gregory G Katsas, J Michelle Childs and Senior Circuit judge Harry T Edwards sat on the panel for the DC Circuit. Amaplat and Amari were represented by Steven K Davidson, Robert W Mockler and Joseph M Sanderson of Steptoe LLP.ZMDC, Zimbabwe and the chief mining commissioner for the Zimbabwe Mines ministry were represented by Quinn Smith and Katherine A Sanoja of GST LLP.The case is Amaplat Mauritius Ltd et al vs Zimbabwe Mining Development Corp et al, case number 24-7030, in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Health Ranger Report: Dane Wigington issues final warning about GEOENGINEERING Catastrophic wildfires (e.g., California, Maui) are linked to deliberate geoengineering operations that disrupt the hydrological cycle, using toxic particulates (aluminum, barium, strontium) to desiccate landscapes and enable fires. Military documents confirm the weaponization of wildfires. Electrically conductive particulates dispersed in the atmosphere are manipulated via frequency transmissions (e.g., HAARP, Nexrad), creating artificial wind tunnels and extreme weather patterns. Smart meters may also serve as remote ignition sources. Leaders like California Gov. Gavin Newsom allegedly conceal climate engineering's role in disasters. Suspicious correlations (e.g., high-speed rail routes aligning with fire zones) suggest corporate agendas driving ecological destruction. Geoengineering has crippled Earth's ability to self-regulate, accelerating feedback loops like Arctic methane release. Without halting these operations, the planet risks "Venus syndrome" total uninhabitability. Exposing geoengineering and mass awareness are critical. Individuals must resist complacency and act as catalysts for systemic change to salvage life-support systems. Leading climate engineering and geoengineering expert Dane Wigington joined the "Health Ranger Report" to warn about the escalating threats to Earth's biosphere. The conversation delved into the alarming realities of weather manipulation, the devastating consequences of ecological destruction and the urgent need for collective action to avert a global catastrophe. Wigington, who has exposed the hidden realities of climate engineering, emphasized that the recent catastrophic fires in California are not merely natural occurrences. The lead researcher and administrator of GeoengineeringWatch.org argued that these fires are the result of a long-term, systematic manipulation of the hydrological cycle through geoengineering operations. Since 2005-2006, these operations have significantly altered weather patterns, leading to extreme conditions that set the stage for devastating wildfires. Toxic elements like aluminum, barium and strontium found in the rain, are byproducts of geoengineering. These substances not only kill the soil microbiome but also hinder the uptake of nutrients by plants, leaving landscapes more susceptible to fires. (Related: Health Ranger Report: Dane Wigington issues urgent warning about GEOENGINEERING.) He pointed out that the U.S. military has documented the use of wildfires as a weapon, further supporting the notion that these fires are not just accidental but engineered. The discussion took a chilling turn as Wigington revealed the extent to which weather control technologies are being weaponized. He explained that electrically conductive particulates, when dispersed in the atmosphere, can be manipulated using frequency transmissions from facilities like the HAARP in Alaska and the Nexrad network. This manipulation can create atmospheric pressure zones, leading to the creation of wind tunnels and anomalous weather patterns, as seen in the Lahaina fires in Maui. Wigington also addressed the potential for smart meters to be used as ignition sources, citing lawsuits and evidence of fires starting from these devices. The technology to remotely ignite fires exists, raising concerns about the intentional targeting of specific areas. The role of political leadership and corporate interests in geoengineering Adams and Wigington discussed the role of political leaders such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom in exacerbating the situation. Wigington suggested that Newsom is aware of the climate engineering operations, but chooses to cover up the issue rather than expose it. The conversation also touched on the high-speed rail project in California, which aligns eerily with the areas affected by the fires, suggesting a possible connection between corporate interests and ecological destruction. The interview expanded to consider the global implications of these actions. Wigington warned that the planet is on the brink of a catastrophic collapse, with feedback loops, such as methane expulsion from the Arctic, accelerating climate change. He emphasized that the current trajectory leads to a scenario known as "Venus syndrome," where the planet becomes uninhabitable. Wigington urged a reprioritization of efforts to stop the climate engineering operations, which he considers the single greatest threat to humanity. "Climate engineering has taken away the planet's ability to respond to other sources of damage," he told the Health Ranger. "If we don't change that, it's game over." The executive producer of the groundbreaking climate engineering documentary "The Dimming" believes that exposing these operations and reaching a critical mass of awareness could alter the course of events and potentially salvage some of the planet's life support systems. As the interview concluded, Adams and Wigington emphasized the importance of individual and collective action. Wigington encouraged people to focus on what they can control and to be the "final pebble" that triggers a landslide of awakening. He stressed the need for moral fortitude and the courage to stand against the darkness, even at this late hour. Adams echoed this sentiment, reminding listeners that the future of human civilization hinges on our ability to wise up and set a new course. In closing, the Health Ranger expressed his gratitude to Wigington for his tireless work and reminded the audience that the fight for humanity's survival is a shared responsibility. Follow Geoengineering.news for more news about geoengineering happening in America and around the world. Watch the full interview between Dane Wigington and the Health Ranger Mike Adams below. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Dane Wigington: Climate engineering is the greatest and most immediate threat against humanity. The geoengineering KILL SWITCH has been activated for the entire planet Feat. Dane Wigington. The Dr. Hotze Report: Dane Wigington warns that GEOENGINEERING is the greatest and most immediate threat to humanity Brighteon.TV. Sources include: Brighteon.com GeoengineeringWatch.org A new age of accountability? Trump DOJ preps criminal conspiracy case against Russiagate architects Trump DOJ reportedly builds criminal conspiracy case against Deep State figures linked to Russiagate. Former CIA head John Brennan and ex-FBI Director Comey central to investigation. Focus includes alleged Clinton-backed plot to frame Trump as Russian agent. Pam Bondi could be named special prosecutor amid Epstein fallout. Case aims to bypass partisan Washington courts, using Florida jurisdiction. In a dramatic turn, the Trump administration is reportedly mobilizing a sweeping federal investigation targeting former Obama-era intelligence officials, media figures and political operatives accused of orchestrating a decade-long conspiracy to undermine President Trumps electoral victories. The case, first revealed by investigative journalist John Solomon to political commentator Steve Bannon, centers on allegations that figures like ex-CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI Director James Comey conspired to create and amplify the Russia collusion narrative a storyline widely dismissed by Democrats. If validated, this probe could mark the most consequential challenge yet to the deep states alleged resistance to Trump, with legal experts suggesting it may even reach back a decade to charges of obstruction and conspiracy. The gathering storm: Origins of a covert investigation Sources confirm the Department of Justice (DOJ) has quietly assembled a sprawling conspiracy case stretching from 2016s pre-election intelligence leaks to the 2024 election. At its heart lies the July 2016 meeting in which Brennan reportedly briefed President Barack Obama about a classified intelligence dirty trick allegedly authored by Hillary Clintons camp to fabricate ties between Trump and Russia. Despite Brennans claims of suspecting more evidence than existed, documents leaked to PJ Media reveal he actively promoted the storyline to media and intelligence circles. The key here is the timeline, says Solomon. They knew before emails were opened on Russia that this was political warfare. Now, were charging the entire framework as a coordinated conspiracy. John Brennans MSNBC appearances amplified the narrative, framing Trumps ties to Russia as treason while dismissing rival scandals like the Hunter Biden laptop. FBI Director Kash Patel now faces pressure to prosecute Brennan over these actions, under DOJ referrals from CIA Director John Ratcliffe. Legal strategy: Floridas courts and the end of impunity Critics of the case highlight procedural hurdles: statute of limitations violations, partisan bias and potential overreach. Enter Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, floated as a potential special prosecutor to circumvent Washingtons 90% Democratic jury pool. Bondis controversial leadership over Epstein-related matters has drawn fire prompting FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino to demand her removal but her assignment could politically isolate critics. Solomon explains the rationale: Florida jurisdiction means a diverse jury. The 2018 Mar-A-Lago raid provides sufficient grounds for venue. This isnt about media theaterits about justice. Historically, Watergate parallels loom: A presidents allies allegedly weaponizing intelligence against political rivals, and the question of whether elites can indeed get away with it. Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox, a predecessor to Richard Nixons prosecution team, echoes in proposals for an independent prosecutor to avoid executive branch interference. The human stakes: Trust in American institutions hangs in the balance Former officials like FBI Director James Comey a central figure in leaking unverified 2016 intelligence now face scrutiny for subverting counterintelligence protocols to prioritize political ends. The case also implicates Obamas Oval Office, where Brennan confidently claimed to have proof of a Trump-Russia criminal conspiracy. Whats truly stunning is Brennans op-ed claiming Trumps denials were hogwash while knowing Clintons own team cooked up disinformation, says constitutional scholar Andrew McCarthy. This isnt cabin fever its a gateway to federal perjury charges. Mainstream outlets, which amplified these claims for years, now face credibility crises as debunked narratives resurface in court filings. The 51-intelligence-officer letter dismissing the Hunter Biden laptop an item now confirmed authentic underscores the reputational stakes. The accountability experiment As Pam Bondis potential appointment looms, observers will track whether this probe evolves from political theater to legal revolution. For MAGA-aligned voters, it represents a fulfillment of Trumps 2016 drain the swamp pledge. Critics warn it risks eroding prosecutorial integrity in the pursuit of partisan wins. Yet regardless of outcome, the case indelibly alters Americas post-Trump era narrative. Will institutions adapt for accountability, or calcify into a partisan abyss? Watergates final lesson endures: Once legal systems become tools of political warfare, all restraints dissolve. The world watches as another chapter unfolds. Sources for this article include: ZeroHedge.com PJMedia.com Yahoo.com From Famine to Farce: Gazas Humanitarian War Ensnares the World in Moral Quicksand Gaza faces record child amputations, systemic medical shortages and starvation amid a three-year crisis. Aid distribution sites double as kill zones, with Western-backed groups like Tony Blairs foundation complicit in Israels strategies. Most nations, including the U.S., have failed to halt genocide claims under the Genocide Convention, while Yemen and Hezbollah escalate military actions. The U.S. struggles to address Red Sea disruption by Yemeni surrogates, highlighting strategic vulnerabilities and anti-Western alliances. Secretary-General Guterres warns of UNRWAs impending closure, placing responsibility on Israel to address Gazas catastrophic conditions. The immediate humanitarian crisis in Gaza, now in its third year, has become a focal point of global controversy over claims of war crimes and moral complicity. According to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Gaza today holds the highest number of child amputee patients per capita globally, with many undergoing surgeries without even anesthesia. His remarks at a Cairo conference in December 2024 underscored systemic failures: malnutrition, collapsing healthcare and a political vacuum blocking aid deliveries. Critics like historian Tarik Cyril Amar accuse Israel and U.S.-backed groups of exploiting aid channels to exacerbate violence. His analysis, published in December 2023, states that U.S.-Israeli-linked entities have engineered kill zones disguised as humanitarian hubs, luring desperate civilians into lethal traps monitored by drone operators. At least 789 Palestinians were killed in recent weeks near these sites, with Western mercenaries and Israeli forces accused of targeting aid recipients. Independent humanitarian groups have denounced the schemes, while the Gaza Humanitarian Foundationfunded by U.S.-connected donorsis under scrutiny for aiding apartheid structures. If UNRWA is forced to close, the responsibility of replacing its vital services rests with Israel, Guterres declared, highlighting the Jewish states legal and moral accountability. The U.S. State Department, however, has refused to condemn Israels tactics, echoing Tel Avivs justification that military actions are responses to Hamass rocket fire. Geopolitical realities: U.S. strategies falter amid Red Sea chaos The crisis has exposed Western nations strategic vulnerabilities. U.S. attempts to assemble a naval coalitionOperation Prosperity Guardianto counter Yemens Houthi-led disruptions in the Red Sea have foundered. Resistance from France, India and Saudi Arabia has left Washington scrambling to project maritime dominance, as 40% of global trade transiting the region faces disruption. Analysts note the irony in Americas plea for allies. The U.S. has created, even fostered, its toughest enemies, Amar wrote in Versiya in late 2023, citing U.S.-led wars as a catalyst for anti-Western alliances. The Houthis, he argues, leverage longstanding grievancesincluding their own devastation under U.S.-backed Saudi bombing campaignsto justify strikes on Israel. The apparent geopolitical stalemate amplifies risks. Yemens disruption of Eilat port trade has economically pressured Israel while underscoring its reliance on shipments from Africa and Asia. Meanwhile, the U.S. confronts its own adversaries: Russian and Iranian influence in the region grows, while the Houthis vow to resist any invasion, stating they will learn from insurgents in Afghanistan and Vietnam. From Nakba to modern-day genocide allegations The Gaza war unfolds against a backdrop of decades-old conflicts. Amar and others link Israels current actions to what he calls an ongoing Nakbaa continuation of Jewish ethnic cleansing dating to 1948, when 750,000 Palestinians were displaced. Recent wrangling over a so-called humanitarian city in Rafahs ruins, he adds, reflects Israels embrace of methods pioneered by British Mandate authorities, including concentration camp tactics documented since 2003. Guterress references to gravest international crimes echo legal debates over whether Gaza qualifies as genocide. While Israel insists on framing its actions as self-defense, independent expertsincluding Oxford historian Avi Shlaimargue that systematic starvation and deprivation meet the 1948 Genocide Conventions criteria. Under the pact, signatory states are bound to prevent and punish genocide, yet most Western governments continue to shield Israel diplomatically and financially. A call for balance: Ethical and security dilemmas The humanitarian crisis and geopolitical stakes have ignited debates over U.S. interests and ethics. Critics urge military intervention to halt Gazas suffering, while policymakers emphasize the complexities of countering Hamass militant tactics. The Brookings Institutions Hal Brands, for instance, warns that aggressive Western condemnation risks destabilizing regional U.S.-allied partners. America must avoid alienating partners like Saudi Arabia while addressing humanitarian concerns, he stated in November 2024. For millions in Gaza, however, the calculus is dire. With UNRWAs network collapsing and no cease-fire in sight, children like those surviving on Lents of food or anaesthetic-free surgeriesorphaned, disabled and unemployed confronting a future of unspeakable hardship. A crossroads for global morality and security The Gaza crisis tests international norms and Americas strategic clout. As aid budgets dwindle and geographical rivalries intensify, calls for accountability clash with thinly veiled impunity for Israel. For now, Guterress plea for a foundation for sustainable peace remains unheeded. The Houthis defiance, meanwhile, underscores the limits of Western dominanceand the unpredictable costs of ignoring humanitys most basic appeals for mercy. Sources for this article include: RT.com Substack.com IrishNews.com Global agribusiness giants are seizing Ukraines fertile farmland As the bombs fall and Ukrainian civilians flee their homes, another silent invasion is taking placenot with tanks, but with corporate contracts. Western agribusiness titans like BlackRock, Vanguard, Monsanto, and Saudi investment funds are exploiting Ukraines devastating war to quietly seize control of the countrys most valuable resource: its legendary black earth soil. With over a third of Ukraines farmland now at risk of going unplanted due to the Russian invasion, opportunistic investors are swooping in, leveraging IMF-backed land reforms to strip Ukrainians of their agricultural heritage. The consequences go far beyond Ukraines bordersglobal food security is being hijacked by the same corporate elites who care more about profits than people. Key points: Ukraines "chernozem" soilamong the most fertile in the worldis being rapidly acquired by foreign corporations as Ukrainian farmers struggle amid war and displacement. IMF pressure forced Ukraine to lift a land-sale moratorium in 2020, opening the door for agribusiness giants to buy up vast tracts of farmland. Major investment firms like BlackRock and Vanguard, alongside agribusiness corporations, now control nearly 28% of Ukraines arable land. Ukrainian labor and regulatory loopholes allow these corporations to exploit cheap labor, banned fertilizers, and GMO cropspractices illegal in the EU. If Ukraine joins the EU, these corporations could flood Europe with cheap, deregulated crops, decimating local farmers while pocketing taxpayer-funded subsidies. The great land grab: How corporations are colonizing Ukraine Ukraines black earth, known as chernozem, is a national treasure, possessing nearly a quarter of the worlds richest soil. Historically, Soviet collectivization stripped farmers of private land ownership, but after Ukraines independence in 1991, oligarchs and foreign investors began seizing control. Fast-forward to 2024, and the situation has worsened dramaticallythanks to IMF-imposed land reforms pushed through during COVID lockdowns, preventing mass protests. The Oakland Institutes explosive 2023 report reveals a stark reality: foreign agribusinesses now dominate Ukrainian farmland, operating through shell companies in tax havens like Cyprus and Luxembourg. Entities like NCH Capitalbacked by U.S. pension funds and university endowmentsare buying up land at unprecedented rates. Worse still, Ukrainian oligarchs have sold off shares to Western banks, turning food security into just another Wall Street commodity. "They dont care about feeding peoplethey care about controlling the food supply," warns Andras Tibor Cseh, a Hungarian agricultural expert. "Ukraine is becoming a sacrifice zone for global agribusiness." Deregulation warfare: How GMOs and banned chemicals flood Ukraine While EU farmers must comply with strict environmental laws, Ukraine has become a deregulated playground for agribusiness. Half the fertilizers used in Ukraine are already banned in Europe, yet corporations like Monsantoblocked from operating in the EU due to GMO banssee Ukraine as an open frontier for genetic experimentation. With labor costs four times lower than Hungary and no animal welfare laws, Ukraine is a corporate dreamland. "There are no rules," says Cseh. "They grow whatever they want, poison the soil, and then sell the contaminated grain abroad." This toxic harvest isnt just a Ukrainian problemthese cheap, deregulated crops will soon flood European markets, undercutting local farmers while filling corporate coffers. The EU membership trap: A corporate takeover in disguise The ultimate goal? Fast-tracking Ukraine into the EU, giving agribusiness giants duty-free access to 450 million consumers. Once inside the EU, these corporations will grab even more land while pocketing billions in farm subsidiespaid for by European taxpayers. Meanwhile, Ukrainian farmersmany of whom opposed the land reformsare being pushed aside. As land transactions surge post-invasion, foreign entities exploit legal loopholes, even bypassing Ukrainian citizenship rules through presidential decrees. "Theyre not just buying landtheyre buying influence," warns the Oakland Institute. With thousands of lobbyists in Brussels, these corporations are ensuring Ukraines EU accession benefits them, not local farmers. If BlackRock, Monsanto, and Saudi investors can bleed Ukraine dry during wartime, theyll do the same anywhere else. This isnt just about Ukraineits about who controls the global food supply. Once these corporations monopolize farmland, they dictate prices, production, and even policy. Sources include: RMX.news Intellinews.com Europa.eu Lyme Disease and tick-borne illnesses SURGE amid climate cult hysteria, weather modification, geo-engineering and bioweapon use New research highlighted by Statistas Anna Fleck reveals that ticks are spreading at an alarming rate, supposedly driven by fake climate change hysteria, altered land use, and increasing contact between humans and animals. Warm-temperate regions in the Northern Hemisphere, including parts of the United States, China, and Europe, are at the highest risk of tick expansion. European countries such as France, Germany, Spain, and the UK are identified as particularly vulnerable. Climate hype and Land Use Driving Tick Expansion : New research shows that climate change, land development, and increased human-animal contact are causing ticks to spread more widely, with high-risk areas including the U.S., China, and much of Europe. : New research shows that climate change, land development, and increased human-animal contact are causing ticks to spread more widely, with high-risk areas including the U.S., China, and much of Europe. Tick-Borne Illnesses Rising Sharply : Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome (red meat allergy from lone star ticks) are increasing in prevalence, with the CDC reporting record-high Lyme cases and estimating hundreds of thousands of AGS casesdespite low awareness among healthcare providers. : Lyme disease and alpha-gal syndrome (red meat allergy from lone star ticks) are increasing in prevalence, with the CDC reporting record-high Lyme cases and estimating hundreds of thousands of AGS casesdespite low awareness among healthcare providers. Prevention Urged Amid Growing Risk : Experts and the CDC recommend precautions like insect repellents, long clothing, daily tick checks, and pet protection, especially during peak tick season (AprilSeptember), as pets can bring ticks indoors. : Experts and the CDC recommend precautions like insect repellents, long clothing, daily tick checks, and pet protection, especially during peak tick season (AprilSeptember), as pets can bring ticks indoors. Bioweapon Theory Gains Attention: Some speculate Lyme disease may have originated as a U.S. bioweapon, citing declassified documents and the diseases unusual traitsthough unproven, this theory is gaining traction amid distrust of official narratives. Ticks such as the American dog tick and lone star tick are spreading ehrlichiosis, another potentially severe tick-borne illness In the U.S., one of the most concerning species is the lone star tick, which has been linked to a red meat allergy known as alpha-gal syndrome (AGS). Since 2010, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has documented approximately 110,000 cases, though actual numbers may be as high as 450,000. A 2023 CDC survey of healthcare providers revealed that awareness of AGS remains low42% had never heard of it, and another 35% were not confident in diagnosing or treating the condition. Meanwhile, Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria transmitted through blacklegged ticks, remains the most well-known and widespread tick-borne illness. Common symptoms include fatigue, fever, rash, and arthritis. The CDC reported a record 62,551 Lyme disease cases in 2022, with the 2023 incidence rate rising to 27 cases per 100,000double the 2017 peak. The disease is most prevalent in the Northeast, with Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, and West Virginia reporting the highest rates. Fake climate change is supposedly expanding the geographic range of ticks and increasing tick activity, especially between April and September. Warmer temperatures and ecological shifts have made once low-risk regions, like Missouri, more vulnerable, according to the climate cult. Ticks such as the American dog tick and lone star tick are also spreading ehrlichiosis, another potentially severe tick-borne illness. To combat the rising threat, health officials recommend several precautions: wearing protective clothing, using insect repellents like DEET, maintaining short grass, and performing daily tick checks. Pets are also potential carriers; veterinarians stress the need for tick prevention products and regular grooming checks, especially around ears, tails, and paws. Amid this health crisis, a controversial theory gaining attention claims Lyme disease may have originated from a U.S. military bioweapons program. Declassified documents suggest the disease may have been deliberately engineered or manipulated to increase its virulence. This theory, though unproven, has raised public suspicion, with critics accusing the CDC and other agencies of concealing information. Independent websites and figures have begun tracking these claims, linking the disease to alleged gain-of-function research and covert experiments. Despite the controversy, the rise in Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses is indisputable. With no current vaccine available, prevention remains the most effective strategy. As tick season intensifies, both medical professionals and the public are urged to remain vigilant. Whether fueled by natural causes or darker origins, the surge in tick-related illnesses is a serious public health concern demanding immediate attention and informed action. Bookmark Infections.news to get the latest updates about the engineered Lyme disease thats a biological weapon modified in a laboratory and released on the American public for Pharma profits. Sources for this article include: Pandemic.news NaturalNews.com SHTFplan.com ZeroHedge.com Health Ranger Report: Michael Yon on Trumps global trade strategy and Chinas tactics President Donald Trump's interest in Panama is part of a broader U.S. strategy to secure dominance over critical global trade routes (e.g., Panama Canal, Suez Canal, Arctic) and counter Chinas infrastructure expansion. While China invests heavily in global ports and trade corridors, often funded by Japanese capital, the U.S. has retreated allowing Beijing to expand its geopolitical and economic foothold. The U.S. faces criticism for policies keeping the migrant trafficking route through the Darien Gap open, despite Panama's desire to shut it down. Control of trade chokepoints (e.g., Panama Canal, Thailand's Kra Isthmus railway) will determine future power dynamics. China's infrastructure projects threaten to bypass U.S.-controlled routes. Yon and Adams ultimately warn that America must shift from coercion to competitive infrastructure investment or risk irrelevance against rising BRICS influence, particularly China. Geopolitical analyst Michael Yon joined the Health Ranger Adams on the "Health Ranger Report" to discuss the strategic maneuvering behind President Donald Trump's recent focus on Panama and how it fits into a broader competition with China over global trade routes. Trump's renewed interest in Panama isn't arbitrary. It's part of a larger design to secure United States dominance over critical sea lanes, including the Suez Canal and emerging Arctic trade routes. As Adams noted, this push is aimed at countering China's aggressive infrastructure investments worldwide. Yon, reporting from Panama City, emphasized Panama's pro-American sentiment, contrary to popular narratives. "Panamanians constantly ask, 'Where is America? We want America to help us get rid of China,'" the veteran combat correspondent and author said. Yet, while China builds ports worldwide often financed with Japanese capital the U.S. has retreated, allowing Beijing to expand its influence. One key flashpoint is the Darien Gap, the perilous jungle corridor between Panama and Colombia, infamous for its migrant trafficking. While many Americans blame Panama for the crisis, Yon clarified that Panama wants to shut the route down but U.S. policies under Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas kept it open. Beyond the canal: China's plan to bypass U.S. dominance Yon dismissed hysteria over Chinese control of the Panama Canal itself. Despite Beijing owning ports on both ends, canal operations remain firmly in Panamanian hands with many veteran U.S.-trained pilots still guiding ships through. However, China could disrupt shipping if it chose, highlighting the need for Washington's engagement. (Related: US GAINS GROUND in battle with China in Panama Canal dispute.) Adams pointed out the irony. The U.S. helped industrialize China, transferring manufacturing and technology for corporate profit. Now, America faces a resurgent China excelling in trade and infrastructure while struggling to compete. Trump's goal, both suggested, isn't mere bluster it's reclaiming U.S. economic leverage. With ports, canals and trade lanes as geopolitical chess pieces, America must shift from coercion to competition or risk irrelevance in a world dominated by the BRICS bloc which China is a founding member of. Meanwhile, Beijing is already bypassing U.S.-controlled chokepoints such as Thailand's Kra Isthmus railway. According to Yon, who has tracked since 2014, the railway could render the Malacca Strait obsolete. Adams encapsulated the stakes with a phrase borrowed from AI strategists: "Infrastructure is destiny." If America fails to rebuild its industrial capacity while Russia and China surge ahead its military and economic decline may prove irreversible. For now, Panama remains a litmus test. Will Trump's administration engage proactively, or will China seize the initiative? The answer could shape the next century of global power dynamics. Follow Trump.news for more news about the Trump administration. Watch the full interview between Michael Yon and the Health Ranger Mike Adams below. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: U.S. vows to counter Chinese influence in Panama Canal. U.S. moves to block Chinese control of Panama Canal, citing national security threat. Panama finally cracking down on Darien Gap migrant problem following reports from Michael Yon. Sources include: Brighteon.com Substack.com UN REPORT: Nearly 5,000 people killed in 9 months as gang violence spreads beyond Haitis capital A UN report reveals that 4,864 Haitians have died in gang-related violence from October 2024 to June 2025, with over 20 percent of the deaths occurring in the Centre and Artibonite regions. Violence surged in October with a massacre in Pont Sonde by the Gran Grif gang, sparking a cycle of retaliation involving gangs, vigilantes and police forces, resulting in mass killings, arson and community displacement. More than 1.3 million people are now internally displaced in Haiti, including over 239,000 from the Artibonite and Centre departments alone, as violence spreads beyond the capital. Since the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise, gangs have seized up to 90 percent of Port-au-Prince, taking advantage of the political vacuum and the transitional government's struggle to restore control. The UN is urging the international community to impose stricter controls on arms sales to Haiti and to support a Kenya-led security mission, warning of intensifying human rights abuses and unchecked gang influence. A United Nations (UN) report has revealed that nearly 5,000 people in Haiti have been killed in gang-related violence over the past nine months. The UN report, released on July 11, outlines a chilling escalation in violence driven in large part by the gang Gran Grif, which appears to be pursuing control of key transportation routes between the capital, Haiti's northern regions and the border with the Dominican Republic. According to the report, the violence escalated sharply last October, when Gran Grif attacked the town of Pont Sonde in the Artibonite region. The gang had set up a checkpoint at a strategic crossroads but faced resistance from local vigilante groups urging residents to bypass it. In retaliation, Gran Grif launched a brutal assault, indiscriminately shooting at homes, killing at least 100 people, wounding 16 and torching 45 houses and 34 vehicles. Over 6,200 people fled the area in the aftermath. (Related: Around 5% of Haiti's entire population has migrated to the U.S. since 2020.) The massacre marked a turning point in the region's descent into chaos a deadly cycle of revenge killings between gangs, vigilante groups and the police themselves. In December, gang violence near Petite-Riviere de l'Artibonite left over 70 people dead, while vigilante groups retaliated by killing 67 others, many of them relatives or romantic partners of suspected gang members. Police forces also carried out 17 extrajudicial killings during the same period, targeting alleged gang collaborators. The pattern has repeated itself across both Centre and Artibonite, with both sides of the conflict committing brutal acts of violence. In one March incident, police discovered over 10,000 cartridges and firearms in a minibus traveling from Gonaives to Port-au-Prince. Enraged by the discovery, local residents lynched two individuals found in the vehicle, killing them with stones, sticks and machetes. As of June, more than 92,300 people have been displaced from Artibonite and 147,000 from Centre, a staggering 118 percent increase since December in the latter region alone. Across Haiti, nearly 1.3 million people are now internally displaced, according to the UN. All this resulted in at least 4,864 killings across Haiti from October 2024 to June 2025, with violence rapidly expanding beyond the capital of Port-au-Prince into surrounding regions. More than 20 percent of the deaths occurred in the Centre and Artibonite departments, signaling the deepening reach of gang control outside the capital's traditional hotspots. UN urges global action as Haiti spirals deeper into chaos and gang rule Haiti has been locked in a downward spiral since the assassination of former President Jovenel Moise in 2021, which left a gaping political vacuum. Gangs have exploited the resulting instability, seizing control of up to 90 percent of the capital and establishing strongholds in previously peaceful regions. The country's transitional government, formed in 2024 amid immense pressure, has struggled to assert control. The council has pledged to hold Haiti's first presidential election in nearly a decade in 2026, though skepticism remains high over whether it can deliver amid deteriorating security. "Caught in the middle of this unending horror story are the Haitian people, who are at the mercy of horrific violence by gangs and exposed to human rights violations from the security forces and abuses by the so-called 'self-defense' groups," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, emphasizing the growing burden on civilians caught in the crossfire. In response, the UN has issued a stark call to the international community to ramp up support for Haiti. The UN calls for tighter international controls on the sale of firearms to Haiti and continued support for a Kenya-led multinational security mission to reinforce Haiti's overburdened and under-resourced police force. "Human rights abuses outside Port-au-Prince are intensifying in areas of the country where the presence of the State is extremely limited," said Ulrika Richardson, interim head of BINUH and UN resident coordinator. "The international community must strengthen its support to the authorities, who bear the primary responsibility for protecting the Haitian population." Violence.news has stories similar to this. Watch the video below that talks about Haitians arriving at the border by truckloads. This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Trump administration revokes Biden-era TPS protections for Haitians, paving way for deportations. DoD preparing for a mass migration of Haitians into U.S. SEND HELP: Haitians get all the housing while Americans are left homeless in Ohio. Trump administration proposes reallocating $250M in foreign aid to fund deportations of Ukrainian, Haitian migrants. Haitian migrant killed 71-year-old grandmother in "dystopian nightmare" Ohio town. Sources include: ZeroHedge.com News.un.org Aljazeera.com Brighteon.com Russia rejects Trumps ultimatum for 50-day ceasefire, insists on continued negotiations U.S. President Donald Trump demanded a 50-day Ukrainian ceasefire, threatening 100 percent tariffs on Russia's trade partners. Russia rejected the preconditions as "unacceptable." Sergei Ryabkov and Dmitry Medvedev mocked Trump's tariff threat as "theatrical," while Dmitry Peskov deferred to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Russia insists on recognition of annexed territories; Ukraine and the West call it an unprovoked invasion. Positions remain irreconcilable. Historical ceasefires required lengthy talks. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised NATO; Russia offered talks only on its terms. The ongoing conflict has claimed more than 500,000 casualties; Trump's pressure vs. Putin's defiance risks escalation or a forced breakthrough. Russian officials have turned down U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for a 50-day ceasefire in Ukraine, insisting that negotiations must continue. Trump issued the ultimatum during a meeting with North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary-General Mark Rutte on Monday, July 14, at the White House. He warned that if a peace deal isn't ironed out, Washington would impose "very severe tariffs" of up to 100 percent on nations doing business with Russia. "We're going to be doing very severe tariffs if we don't have a deal in 50 days," Trump said during his meeting with Rutte. He framed the move as leverage to halt hostilities. But Russian officials declined the real estate mogul's threat. (Related: Trump warns of "very, very tough" SANCTIONS on both Russia and Ukraine if peace talks collapse.) Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov swiftly rejected the proposal, emphasizing Moscow's preference for negotiations. "Any attempts to make demands, especially ultimatums, are unacceptable to us," he told reporters as per CBS News. "The diplomatic path is preferable for us. [But] if we cannot achieve our goals through diplomacy, then the [special military operation] will continue." Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov acknowledged Trump's remarks as "quite serious," but deferred to Russian President Vladimir Putin for a definitive response. "We definitely need time to analyze what was said in Washington," he said. Meanwhile, Dmitry Medvedev deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council dismissed the ultimatum as "theatrical" in a social media post. "Russia didn't care," he added. Will Trump's ultimatum break the deadlock? Russia's rebuke underscores deepening tensions between Washington and Moscow as the war enters its third year with no diplomatic resolution in sight. The stalemate ultimately reflects the broader deadlock in Ukraine negotiations. Moscow demands international recognition of its annexation of Crimea and occupied eastern territories, a red line for Kyiv and its Western allies. Putin has repeatedly framed the invasion as a defensive measure against NATO expansion. However, both the U.S. and the European Union depict it as an unprovoked land grab. Historically, ceasefire ultimatums in protracted conflicts have often failed without mutual concessions. The 1953 Korean Armistice and the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, the latter ending U.S. involvement in Vietnam, required years of backchannel talks and battlefield impasses before agreements were reached. Analysts note that Trumps 50-day deadline faces similar hurdles, given Russia's entrenched positions and Ukraine's refusal to concede territory. Despite the heated rhetoric, both sides signaled cautious openness to dialogue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky praised Trump's pledge to bolster NATO arms deliveries, tweeting that he "thanked [Trump] for the willingness to support Ukraine" in their recent call. Meanwhile, Peskov stressed that Moscow remains "ready to negotiate" albeit on its own terms. The conflict's human toll continues mounting. Since Russia's February 2022 special military operation, over 500,000 soldiers have been killed or wounded across both sides per U.S. estimates. Meanwhile, millions of Ukrainian civilians remain displaced. With Trump's tariff threat looming and Putin showing no signs of retreat, the war's trajectory appears locked in a cycle of escalation and attrition one that recalls the intractable standoffs of the Cold War. As the 50-day countdown begins, the world watches whether economic pressure can achieve what diplomacy and bloodshed have not: a pause in the killing, or at least a path to talk. Listen to Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov insisting that Russia isn't concerned about Trump's harsh rhetoric in this clip. This video is from the Cynthia's Pursuit of Truth channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Russian official warns U.S. will face WORSE CONSEQUENCES for backing Ukraine's strikes on Kursk. U.S. and Russia seek peace in Ukraine, leaving Zelensky in panic over potential aid cuts. Tensions persist as Russia and Ukraine remain at odds over ceasefire prospects. Sources include: YourNews.com Newsmax.com CBSNews.com Brighteon.com Trump calls Epstein allegations a Hoax, sparks outrage among MAGA base President Trump dismissed the Jeffrey Epstein scandal as a "Democratic hoax" on Truth Social, shocking his base and contradicting his past calls for the release of Epstein files. Trumps inflammatory post accuses Democrats of perpetuating hoaxes, similar to the Steele dossier and Russia interference claims, urging supporters to ignore the Epstein issue. The post has divided Trumps base, with figures like Alex Jones questioning if Trump is "compromised" by foreign interests, especially the Israeli Zionist establishment. Critics highlight contradictions with Trump's past statements and actions, including demands for Epstein file releases and support from influential allies like Pam Bondi. The political implications are significant, with potential loss of support in midterms and challenges for the Republican Party in defending against cover-up allegations. In a surprising Truth Social post, President Donald Trump dismissed the Jeffrey Epstein scandal as a "Democratic hoax," urging his supporters to ignore the issue entirely. This abrupt reversal has sent shockwaves through the MAGA base, with critics pointing to past statements where Trump himself demanded the release of Epstein files, fueling speculation that he may be capitulating to establishment pressureor even facing blackmail. A Sudden and Controversial Turn Trump's post, filled with inflammatory rhetoric, reads: "The radical left Democrats have hit pay dirt again, just like with the fake and fully discredited Steele dossier, the lying 51 intelligence agents, the laptop from hell which the Dems swore had come from Russia. No, it came from Hunter Biden's bathroom. And even the Russia, Russia, Robert Mueller scam itself, a totally fake and made up story used in order to hide crooked Hillary Clinton's big loss in the 2016 presidential election. These scams and hoaxes are all the Democrats are good at. It's all they have. They are no good at governing, no good at policy, and no good at picking winning candidates." He continues, "Their new scam is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein hoax. And my past supporters have bought into this BS, hook, line, and sinker. They haven't learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the lunatic left for eight long years. I have had more success in six months than perhaps any president in our country's history. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work. Don't even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I don't want their support anymore." A Divided Base The post has sparked widespread outrage and confusion among Trump's most ardent supporters. Figures like Alex Jones and Owen Schroyer from Infowars have questioned whether Trump is "compromised" by foreign interests. Schroyer, in a seven-minute video, concluded that Trump is now going "all in with the establishment, which is mostly the Israeli Zionist establishment," suggesting that Trump used the MAGA populist movement to propel himself into power and is now ready to abandon his base. Past Statements and Contradictions Critics have pointed to Trump's past statements, where he demanded the release of Epstein files and berated Democrats for not doing so. Pam Bondi, a former Florida attorney general and Trump ally, had gathered influential figures and provided them with binders containing Epstein files, stating that more information would be released. The DOJ even released a prison video of Epstein's cell door, which showed three minutes of footage mysteriously missing, further fueling suspicions. Theories and Speculation The abrupt reversal has led to a range of theories. Some speculate that Trump is being blackmailed or threatened by foreign entities, particularly Mossad, given his neighbor and frequent companion, Howard Lutnick, who is a former neighbor of Epstein. Others suggest that Trump may be suffering from cognitive decline, as evidenced by his erratic capitalization in tweets and speeches. Political Implications The fallout from Trump's post has significant political implications. Robert Barnes, an attorney, described it as a "bad political move" that could lead to a loss of support in the upcoming midterms. The Republican Party may struggle to defend itself against claims of covering up a child trafficking network, especially if Trump continues to dismiss the Epstein allegations as a hoax. Conclusion President Trump's latest Truth Social post has reignited a contentious debate within the MAGA base. While some remain loyal, others are questioning his motives and the potential influence of foreign entities. The Epstein scandal, with its ties to high-profile figures and intelligence agencies, remains a complex and controversial issue. As the political landscape continues to shift, Trump's supporters are left to grapple with the implications of his latest stance. Watch the July 17 episode of "Brighteon Broadcast News" as Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, talks about how Trump throws his entire support base overboard and says Epstein files are now a hoax. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Dershowitz slams Trump administration for suppressing Epstein files Trump urges Epstein file release amid MAGA revolt: Let them have it Trump administration under fire as public outrage over alleged Epstein files suppression Sources include: Brighteon.com Trump torches former supporters as weaklings, disregards Epstein files as hoax President Donald Trump has launched a fiery broadside against his own supportersthose daring to demand answers about Jeffrey Epsteins sprawling criminal network. In a scorching Truth Social post, Trump not only dismissed the Epstein saga as a fabricated "hoax" but disowned millions of former allies for allegedly falling prey to Democratic deception, branding them as "weaklings" and duped pawns of the left. The explosive remarks reveal a president increasingly willing to alienate his own base rather than confront the grotesque realities of elite corruptionand raise alarming questions about whose side hes really on. Even more seriously, Donald Trump could be obstructing justice by dismissing the Epstein client list, and coercing his cabinet to engage in a coverup of this most serious matter. Key points: Trump dismisses Epstein case as a "hoax," attacks supporters who demand transparency as "weaklings." Justice Department backtracks on releasing Epstein files, fueling suspicions of a cover-up. MAGA influencers revolt over administrations handling of case, warning Trump risks tarnishing his legacy. Trump doubles down on deep state conspiracies, accusing left of orchestrating another "scam." Alex Jones issues urgent plea to Trump, urging him to address public outrage over Epsteins blackmail network. The betrayal of Trumps own base In a lengthy, rambling post on his Truth Social platform, former President Donald Trump once again deployed his trademark tactics of narcissistic dismissal, conspiracy-mongering, and victimhood to deflect from serious questions about his past associations with Jeffrey Epstein. The posta chaotic mix of grievance, self-aggrandizement, and baseless accusationsoffers a textbook example of how Trump evades accountability while painting himself as the perpetual victim of a shadowy "Radical Left" conspiracy. For years, Trump positioned himself as the outsider willing to rip open the festering sores of Washingtons corruption. His basefed up with a rigged systemcheered as he vowed to "drain the swamp." But now, faced with one of the most damning criminal enterprises in modern historyan elite pedophile ring used to blackmail politicians, CEOs, and intelligence figuresTrump is slamming the door shut. His latest rant doesnt just deflect blame onto Democrats; it abandons the very people who trusted him to expose the truth. The Epstein case isnt just another conspiracy. Its a litmus test for whether this administrationor any administrationwill actually challenge the shadowy networks that control global power. Epsteins operations werent merely about sexual predation; they were a weaponized system of control, leveraging dirt on powerful figures to manipulate policy, elections, and national security. By dismissing these concerns as a "hoax," Trump isnt just turning his back on justicehes shielding the same deep-state operatives he once swore to dismantle. The collapsing credibility game The FBI and DOJs sudden about-face on releasing Epsteins files has reignited fury among conservatives who expected transparency. Attorney General Pam Bondi had previously promised answersonly to vanish into the bureaucratic void as records were suppressed. Trumps response? Not accountability, but deflectionattacking the media and his own supporters for asking inconvenient questions. This isnt the first time Trump has gaslit his base. From downplaying Russiagate revelations to defending Big Pharmas vaccine mandates, his presidency has been a roller coaster of populist promises undone by establishment concessions. But the Epstein case is a bridge too far. When even staunch MAGA voices like Alex Jones warn that Trumps legacy is at risk, its a sign that the disillusionment runs deep. Trump lumps the Epstein casea serious matter involving sex trafficking and elite impunityinto a laundry list of grievances, including the Steele dossier, the Hunter Biden laptop, and the Russia investigation. By framing these as "Scams and Hoaxes," he attempts to de-legitimize all scrutiny of his conduct, regardless of evidence. This is a well-worn strategy: when facts threaten Trump, he cries "witch hunt" and insists the real crime is the investigation itself. Amid the deflection, Trump inserts a boast about his "unprecedented success," claiming he has achieved more in six months than "any President in our Countrys history." This hyperbolic self-praise serves to distract from the substance of the Epstein allegations, reinforcing a pattern of Trump using grandiose claims to drown out inconvenient truths. Trump supporters are losing faith in his leadership Rather than address the specifics of his past ties to Epsteinincluding documented social interactions and allegations from accusersTrump attacks his critics as "weaklings," "Lunatic Left," and "success starved Dems." This is classic Trump: when cornered, he resorts to name-calling and broad-stroke demonization of opponents. By painting dissenters as unwitting tools of the Democrats, he forces his supporters into a binary choice: allegiance to him, or exile. But this isnt just about partisan loyalty. Its about whether justice transcends tribalism. If Trump refuses to pursue Epsteins enablersmany of whom move in the same elite circles as his own allieswhat does that say about his commitment to dismantling the "deep state" and pursuing justice? Trump portrays himself as the target of a coordinated smear campaign, accusing the media and Democrats of fabricating the Epstein story to undermine him. Yet he offers no evidence to counter the well-documented connections between Epstein and powerful figures, including Trump himself. His claim that his supporters have been "conned" ignores the fact that many of them are rightly demanding answers. The truth is, the left doesnt own the Epstein scandal. The victimsmany of them voiceless girls trafficked to the powerfuldeserve answers regardless of political affiliation. If Trump truly believes in exposing corruption, prosecuting predators, and upholding the rule of law, attacking whistleblowers and truth-seekers isnt just hypocriticalits an obstruction of justice at the very least. Trumps post is not a defense; its a diversion. By refusing to engage with the substance of the Epstein allegationschoosing instead to rant about past grievances and imaginary plotshe reinforces a longstanding pattern of evading accountability. The message is clear: for Trump, the truth is whatever serves his ego, and anyone who challenges him is part of the "hoax." For now, Trump supporters are losing faith in his leadership in droves. Sources include: Infowars.com PBS.org Enoch, Brighteon.ai News / National by Staff reporter A fierce power struggle has erupted within the opposition MDC-T party after Vice President Elias Mudzuri, allegedly working alongside former party Chairperson Morgen Komichi, launched a bold attempt to unseat embattled party leader Douglas Mwonzora and seize control of the party's iconic headquarters, Harvest House, in central Harare.The dramatic events unfolded just weeks after a High Court ruling in February 2025 by Justice Happias Zhou ordered Mwonzora to step down and organise a fresh congress within six months. The court found that the 2022 MDC-T Extraordinary Congress, which elevated Mwonzora to the presidency, had been marred by irregularities.Citing the court's ruling, Mudzuri now claims he is the rightful leader of the MDC-T, given his role as Vice President. This morning, he arrived at Harvest House with a sizeable entourage, only to be met with fierce resistance from Mwonzora's loyal youth wing, led by National Youth Chairman Albert Chidhakwa. The youths physically blocked Mudzuri's entry into the building, forcing police to intervene to prevent the confrontation from spiralling out of control.Eyewitnesses reported tense scenes as Mudzuri, travelling in a black Toyota Land Cruiser, was turned away amidst chants and scuffles. Shortly before the fracas, Mudzuri had reportedly ordered Mwonzora's supporters to vacate the premises, a move that sparked the arrival of riot police in truckloads.Following the standoff, Mudzuri briefly disappeared from the scene, later claiming to have visited Harare Central Police Station to seek a formal police escort to assist his efforts to take control of the headquarters."Mwonzora is no longer the President, as per the High Court ruling in February 2025. There is a void in the party presidency that must be filled," said a member of Mudzuri's security team, speaking on condition of anonymity.However, Mwonzora's camp swiftly rejected Mudzuri's actions, arguing that the High Court ruling is not yet enforceable as it is under appeal."The party has appealed Justice Zhou's ruling. Mudzuri cannot rely on the High Court ruling because the appeal has rendered it ineffective. President Mwonzora remains the party leader. There is no change to that," Chidhakwa told journalists outside Harvest House.The MDC-T has been plagued by internal strife since the March 2020 Supreme Court ruling nullified Nelson Chamisa's leadership of the party following the death of founding leader Morgan Tsvangirai in 2018. Mwonzora, then Secretary General, assumed the presidency but has struggled to hold the fragmented party together. Many members defected to Chamisa's newly-formed Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) in 2022.Mwonzora's decision to boycott the 2023 general elections, citing alleged flaws in the delimitation process, further weakened his standing, leaving the party politically isolated.Today's dramatic showdown at Harvest House underscores the deepening divisions within MDC-T as rival factions jostle for control of the party's diminishing influence in Zimbabwe's opposition politics. Trumps vaccine role and tariff policies face scrutiny over alleged deaths and economic risks Alleged Vaccine Death Toll: Japanese researchers link over 600,000 deaths to mRNA vaccines, citing delayed fatalities (60120 days post-injection) as intentional depopulation. Trump defends the jabs despite the claims. Japanese researchers link over 600,000 deaths to mRNA vaccines, citing delayed fatalities (60120 days post-injection) as intentional depopulation. Trump defends the jabs despite the claims. Trumps Economic Policies: Aggressive tariffs (100% on allies buying Russian oil, 30% on EU goods) risk isolating the U.S., resembling wartime embargoes and crippling global supply chains. Aggressive tariffs (100% on allies buying Russian oil, 30% on EU goods) risk isolating the U.S., resembling wartime embargoes and crippling global supply chains. Global Depopulation Agenda: Critics allege vaccines and tariffs align with oligarchic plansdestabilizing alliances, enforcing mandates, and pushing WEF-linked policies like corporate welfare bills. Critics allege vaccines and tariffs align with oligarchic plansdestabilizing alliances, enforcing mandates, and pushing WEF-linked policies like corporate welfare bills. Engineered Crises: Sabotaged infrastructure (e.g., closed straits) could trigger famine, while AI-driven control and drone/jab campaigns replace traditional warfare in depopulation efforts. Sabotaged infrastructure (e.g., closed straits) could trigger famine, while AI-driven control and drone/jab campaigns replace traditional warfare in depopulation efforts. MAGAs Controversial Shift: Trump dismisses Epstein files as a "hoax," drawing criticism for suppressing trafficking discussions. Some view him as a "Trojan horse" for elite interests. A shocking transcript reveals President Donald Trumps alleged complicity in global depopulation via mRNA vaccines, as Japanese researchers confirm over 600,000 deaths linked to the jabs. Meanwhile, Trumps aggressive tariff policiestargeting allies like Japan and the EUthreaten to isolate the U.S. economically, sparking comparisons to wartime embargoes. The Vaccine Death Toll: "A Weapon for Depopulation" In a bombshell discussion between Mike Adams (Brighton.com) and military journalist Michael Yon (Substack), Dr. Kazuhiro Murakamis Japan-based research was cited, revealing over 600,000 Japanese deaths linked to COVID-19 mRNA vaccines. The findings, drawn from 21 million medical records, pinpoint peak mortality occurring 60120 days post-injectiona delayed effect Yon argues was intentional. "Its a weapon designed to depopulate," Yon stated. "If you kill people instantly, its obvious. Stretch it out, and you get deniability while jabbing more victims." Adams added that fatalities eclipse Japans WWII losses from Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. Despite this, Trump continues defending the vaccines, including mandates for U.S. military personnel. Economic Warfare: Trumps Tariffs Isolate America Beyond bioweapons, Trumps trade policies face fire. 100% secondary tariffs threaten nations buying Russian oilincluding the EU, India, and Turkeypunishing allies instead of adversaries. Adams cited a canceled Italian equipment purchase due to new 30% duties, crippling supply chains. "Trumps enacting an embargo against America," Adams said. "Its like the U.S. Navy blockading Japan in WWIIexcept now, hes doing it to us." Yon agreed, linking the moves to a broader agenda to "destroy the United States" by destabilizing key alliances (e.g., Japan, Germany) while pushing WEF-aligned policies like the BBB "Big Beautiful Bill", which critics call corporate welfare. Geopolitical Chess: Famine, AI, and the "Samson Option" Yon warned of engineered famines via infrastructure sabotage (e.g., closed straits like Hormuz, Suez, or Panama Canal), mirroring historical British tactics. Meanwhile, AI-driven depopulation looms, with Yon dismissing theories of extraterrestrial intervention: "This is oligarchs playing an old gamejust with drones and jabs instead of swords." Epstein Cover-Up and MAGAs Dilemma Trumps dismissal of Epstein files as a "hoax"after previously vowing transparencystunned observers. Adams blasted MAGAs shift toward silencing child-trafficking discussions, calling it "pro-pedophile by default." Yon, long skeptical of Trump, labeled him a "Trojan horse" for oligarchic interests. Conclusion: Resistance or Ruin? As Adams quipped, "Pray for humanity", Yon remained defiant: "Well keep resisting. Somebody wins, somebody losesbut Im not afraid." With global famine, AI slavery, and economic collapse on the horizon, the stakes have never been higher. Watch the full episode of the "Health Ranger Report" with Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, and Michael Yon as they discuss whether Trump is actually working to destroy America. This video is from the Health Ranger Report channel on Brighteon.com. More related stories: Trump escalates trade offensive with new tariff notices to seven nations Trumps tariff policies ignite a manufacturing renaissance as U.S. businesses hail fair play over global dominance Children DENIED medical exemptions as rigid vaccine policies override doctors orders Sources include: Brighteon.com Substack.com U.K. governments secret cover-up highlights democratic crisis as truth becomes unpublishable The U.K. government used a superinjunction to suppress reporting on a catastrophic MoD data breach endangering 100,000 Afghans. Over 7 billion was secretly spent relocating 6,900 Afghans while Parliament remained in the dark for 22 months. Courts enabled censorship, labeling even mentioning the injunction illegal, undermining democratic scrutiny. Justice Chamberlain condemned the secret operation as placing democracy "into cold storage." The scandal reveals Britains lack of constitutional free speech protections and enables executive overreach. In August 2023, a Ministry of Defense (MoD) employees spreadsheet error exposed the identities of 18,800 Afghan allies who had aided British forces, risking the lives of 100,000 family members. Instead of transparency, the Conservative government secured a contra mundum superinjunctiona legal order banning any discussion of the breach itselfeven in Parliament. For 22 months, the public paid 7 billion ($9.37 billion) for a covert resettlement program while media, judges, and politicians were legally barred from revealing the scandal. The injunction, described as constitutionally unprecedented by judges, required even journalists like Lewis Goodall to conceal their legal battles over the story. The courts secrecy stifled accountability, said Goodall, who was initially forbidden from informing his editor. Were trained to hold power accountable, but here, the law turned us into enforcers of silence. The erosion of parliamentary oversight and public trust Despite the crisis, Parliament received no updates until July 2025. Evidence disclosed post-injunction revealed ministers delayed rescuing those at risk due to political considerations, including public backlash over immigration. Scrutiny was impossible, said opposition leader Rachel Reeves. A 7 billion operation to rescue allies became a secret due to Whitehalls fear of headlines. When Prime Minister Keir Starmer lifted the injunction this week, Defense Secretary John Healey admitted Parliament had been deliberately denied information to avoid increasing the risk to Afghans. But critics argue the real fear was public outrage. This isnt crisis managementits premeditated opacity, said journalist EJ Ward, whose investigation exposed the scandal. A legal system weaponized for secrecy The High Court facilitated the governments secrecy, conferring legal immunity on lies told to Parliament. Justice Andrew Chamberlain, who oversaw closed hearings, stated the injunction had created a scrutiny vacuum, placing democracy in cold storage. Legal experts condemned courts for enabling censorship. Judges are meant to curb government overreach, not justify it, said professor Mark Ellis of the University of Exeter. This reshapes courts from guardians of liberty into custodians of state secrets. The MoDs prior lapses, including a 2023 data breach involving 265 Afghans exposed by a misfired email, underscore systemic incompetence. Yet the superinjunction systemdesigned to block tabloid scandalswas stretched to conceal geopolitical failure. The cost of silence: Democracy on trial The forbidden resettlement cost 800m directly but up to 7 billion including logistical expenses, with parliamentarians never formally approving funds. Locally, tensions flared as towns housing migrants erupted in riots, yet protests could only vaguely cite unannounced arrivals. Efforts to uncover details faced resistance, with the BBC spending over 250,000 on legal fees and Freedom of Information appeals repeatedly denied. Worse, the Taliban allegedly obtained the leaked data early on, rendering secrecy counterproductive. The government chose embarrassment avoidance over truth, said human rights lawyer Amira Khan. Now, Afghans livesand democracypay the price. A precedent for a post-truth democracy The MoD scandal unmasks a dangerous truth: without robust free speech safeguards, even democracies can silence dissent with legal precision. As Justice Chamberlain warned, the superinjunction normalized a system where national emergencies are defined by ministers, not citizens. With no constitutional free expression protections, Britain risks becoming a nightshade democracy, where censorship becomes the normnot the exception. As former journalists like Sam Greenhill note, Truth once flowed backward. The question now is: Can it flow forward again? Sources for this article include: ReclaimTheNet.org LBC.co.uk BBC.com Leaked messages expose billionaires fury: Universities now facing $5B donor revolt after declaring war on 70% of America Tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen has sparked debate with a sharp critique of U.S. education systems , alleging systemic discrimination against children from families in former President Donald Trumps voter base. In a statement shared online, Andreessen argued that a decades-long pipeline of biased admissions practices from elite K-12 schools to undergraduate programs has disproportionately cut off access to higher education and corporate opportunities for this demographic. Most of the native-born kids who could have been in that pipeline were cut out of it long before you would have met them, Andreessen wrote, addressing academics involved in PhD admissions. He contended that while individual admissions officers may not intentionally discriminate, the cumulative effect of selective undergrad and K-12 admissions has left universities reliant on international students to fill advanced-degree programs. Andreessen singled out undergraduate institutions with elite admissions, accusing them of actively and enthusiastically perpetuating these disparities. His comments echo broader conservative critiques of affirmative action and merit-based admissions, though he framed the issue as one of geographic and cultural exclusion rather than race. The ivory towers of academia are crumbling not from neglect, but from outright betrayal. The leaked messages from tech mogul Marc Andreessen reveal a chilling condemnation of elite universities, accusing them of waging ideological warfare against the American heartland while rigging admissions against its own citizens. Now, as donors revolt and billions in funding vanish, a reckoning looms for institutions that traded meritocracy for political dogma. Key points: Marc Andreessen warns universities declared war on 70% of the country through DEI and immigration policies, calling it politically lethal. Elite schools like Stanford and MIT accused of functioning as political lobbying operations stifling American innovation. Stanfords removal of Andreessens wife from a leadership role sparks threats of a $5 billion donor exodus. Foreign enrollment at top universities skyrocketed from 4 percent to 50 percent, sidelining rural and Midwestern talent. Andreessens pro-Trump endorsement fuels broader backlash against academias progressive orthodoxy. The $5 billion warning shot When Stanford University sidelined philanthropist Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen as chair of its Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, they likely expected silence. Instead, they triggered a financial earthquake. Without a second thought, a decision that will cost them something like 5 billion in future donations, Marc Andreessen fumed in private chats, signaling donor revolts could gut university endowments nationwide. This isnt hypothetical Penn Universitys 100 million hemorrhage over free speech failures proves the threat is real. Elite institutions, once sanctuaries of intellectual freedom, now face accusations of ideological capture. Andreessens leaked fury mirrors growing public outrage as parents in rural Wisconsin watch their children locked out of top schools while foreign enrollments eclipse 50%. There is this really fundamental question, Andreessen seethed. What level of untapped talent exists in this country that DEI and immigration have cut out of the loop for 50 years? DEIs McCarthyism 2.0 Billionaire investor Bill Ackman likens todays campus climate to McCarthy-era witch hunts but with a twisted irony. This is an aspect of DEI being challenged, he argues, noting Harvards president was installed via diversity quotas, not merit. While no actual calls for genocide occurred, universities weaponize hyperbolic claims to silence dissent. Students face expulsion for offensive opinions, while administrators equivocate on outright violence like Penns president dodging Congress on Jewish student safety. Andreessen pulls no punches: DEI and immigration policies are two forms of discrimination designed to exclude Middle America. Your kids are shit out of luck, he bluntly told Midwestern families, exposing a rigged system favoring identity politics over aptitude. The result? Universities now alienate the same taxpayers funding them, fueling legislative battles to defund discriminatory programs. Foreign students, failing citizens Chart the foreign enrollment surge at MIT or Stanford a deliberate strategy, Andreessen alleges, to replace domestic talent with globally sourced admits. From 4% to 50% in 50 years, the stats dont lie. This goes straight to the political divide, he warns, as rural students see admissions gates slam shut. Meanwhile, DEI bureaucrats reframe quotas as justice, ignoring that merit-blind systems ultimately harm the very minorities they claim to uplift. The backlash is already viral. Donors like Andreessen wont bankroll what they see as anti-American indoctrination camps. State legislatures are probing foreign university funding, while parents demand K-12 reforms to bypass biased admissions. The message? No more blank checks for institutions that despise their own country. Sources include: Zerohedge.com X.com Zerohedge.cms.com Sorry, something doesn't look right. Something seems unusual about your device or browser. Please contact support. News / National by Staff reporter Former Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) leader Nelson Chamisa has admitted that his decision to quit both the CCC and the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) was a calculated strategy aimed at frustrating President Emmerson Mnangagwa, whom he accuses of orchestrating the capture of Zimbabwe's opposition.Chamisa resigned from the CCC in January last year, citing what he described as Mnangagwa's interference and hijacking of the party as retribution for his refusal to recognise the outcome of Zimbabwe's disputed August 2023 general elections.The controversial elections triggered a dramatic fallout within the opposition, with little-known politician Sengezo Tshabangu emerging to claim the position of interim Secretary General of the CCC. Tshabangu insisted he was acting to restore order to the party, alleging that there had been irregularities in the selection of candidates ahead of the elections.Tshabangu's campaign led to the unprecedented recall of over 40 CCC Members of Parliament and councillors, accusing them of having been improperly selected. The mass recalls gifted Zanu-PF the two-thirds parliamentary majority it had failed to secure during the elections, effectively consolidating Mnangagwa's grip on power.Chamisa fought unsuccessfully to stop the recalls, writing to then Local Government Minister July Moyo and the Speaker of Parliament Jacob Mudenda, but the courts upheld Tshabangu's actions. Faced with what he described as a captured judiciary and legislature, Chamisa announced his departure from the CCC.In a Facebook post on Thursday, Chamisa said his resignation was part of a broader strategy to frustrate Mnangagwa."The best decision I ever made in my leadership journey was to walk away from MDC & CCC. You will thank me later. I had to break the cycle of going in circles. And that was my best way to teach ED a lesson!" Chamisa wrote.This is not the first time Chamisa has walked away from a major political outfit. He previously exited the MDC after a Supreme Court ruling nullified his leadership of the party following the death of its founding leader, Morgan Tsvangirai.Chamisa's latest remarks are likely to fuel ongoing debates over the future of opposition politics in Zimbabwe, as well as speculation over his next political move. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Thunderstorms likely this morning. Then a chance of scattered thunderstorms this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High around 80F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%.. Tonight Variably cloudy with scattered thunderstorms. Low 69F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%. News / National by Staff reporter Sungura music legend Nicholas "Madzibaba" Zakaria has appealed to Zimbabweans to pray for him as he battles serious health challenges, sparking concern and an outpouring of support from fans and fellow musicians.Madzibaba's absence from a recent family show at Zebra Village raised alarm among his supporters. Speaking out, the influential Sungura icon confirmed he has been unwell for some time and was unable to perform."I just managed to send my band, PA system, and my son Franco to our family show," he said.News of his health struggles has prompted an overwhelming show of love and solidarity from across the music fraternity and fans alike, with many taking to social media to wish him a speedy recovery.In his absence, Franco Slomo stepped up to entertain fans, delivering a captivating performance. Franco also used the platform to call on the Sungura community to set aside petty rivalries and instead unite in prayer and support for Zakaria."Let us stop spending time on Sungura music wars and spend it on praying for the living legend of this genre. Let us stop pointing fingers at each other," he urged.Kireni Zulu, another respected figure in the Sungura industry, echoed Franco's sentiments, calling on musicians to show compassion and unity during times of illness rather than waiting until it is too late."If one of us gets sick as an artist, we must know and we must visit each other, socialising and listening to their challenges. We must assist each other rather than pretend to have loved a person after his or her death by buying food or coffins," said Zulu.He further reflected on the past harmony within the genre: "John Chibadura never attacked the Chimbetus, Okavango Boys never clashed with Tineyi Chikupo."Nicholas Zakaria, often referred to as the Father of Sungura, is widely credited with nurturing some of Zimbabwe's top Sungura talents, including Alick Macheso. His health struggles have reignited conversations about the need for unity, compassion, and support within the local music industry.Fans and fellow musicians continue to rally behind the ailing star, hoping he will recover and return to the stage that has been his home for decades. In utero exposure to two liquid ingredients in e-cigarettes minus the nicotine that drives addiction can alter skull shape during fetal development, a new study in mice has found. In a series of experiments, pregnant mice were exposed to a combination of two liquids used to create vaping's throat hit and smoke plume. Compared to two other experimental conditions, the offspring of mothers exposed to a specific ratio of these compounds weighed less and were born with narrowed facial features and shortened skulls. The finding was surprising to researchers not only because no nicotine was present, but because the ratio of chemicals that produced the skull defect was designed by the e-cigarette industry to be a safer available option than the proportions in earlier products. This had no nicotine, and it's still having effects on the development of the skull in our model, which was not anything we expected." James Cray, lead study author, professor of anatomy, The Ohio State University College of Medicine The research was published recently in the journal PLOS One. Cray's developmental biology lab has studied the effects of in utero exposure to nicotine on head and face development for years, reporting in 2020 that exposure to nicotine through breastmilk caused skull defects in mice. About 3% of babies are born annually with a birth defect, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and alterations to the head and neck are among the most common particularly cleft lip and/or cleft palate. In this study, the team was developing a model to serve as an experimental control for comparison to animals exposed in utero to nicotine through vaping. Pregnant mice were exposed to either filtered free air or two humectants hydrating substances that function as carriers of other e-cigarette contents at differing concentrations: 50% each of propylene glycol and glycerol (also called vegetable glycerin), or 30% propylene glycol and 70% glycerol (30/70 PG/VG). Because propylene glycol in e-cigarettes has been linked to increasing uptake of nicotine, Cray said, "a lot of companies have moved toward getting away from a high percentage of propylene glycol toward more glycerol, trying to position this as a safer alternative." Female mice were exposed to these three different conditions at a rate of one puff per minute, four hours per day on five days each week during the roughly 20-day pregnancy. The cranial width and height of mouse pup skulls were scanned two weeks after birth. The analysis showed statistically significant reduced measures in the offspring of pregnant mice exposed to the presumed safer 30/70 PG/VG mixture compared to mice exposed to free air and the 50/50 formula. "What we see is a consistent narrowing of all of the facial features, and the same thing as we move back into the cranium as well. So globally they're narrower and a little bit shorter-headed, which does mimic some observable changes that we see in children," Cray said. "We also saw a bit of a reduction in weight. These animals were within the normal range of an animal that age, but they still weighed less." The findings were consistent across several litters of mice and in both biological sexes. "The 50/50 mixture had no dramatic statistical changes and that's where we were looking for the difference. We thought heavier propylene glycol should be causing more effects, and it was the exact opposite," Cray said. The Food and Drug Administration began regulating electronic nicotine delivery systems in 2016, but has faced legal pushback from e-cigarette companies which prevailed in a June 20 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that makes it easier to sue the FDA over efforts to block products from the market. In April, the court sided with the FDA's crackdown on sweet-flavored products after a major increase in teen vaping. Though researchers continue to study the health effects of multiple ingredients detected in e-cigarettes, many unknowns remain as the products grow in popularity. "The majority of users are young adults and teenagers, so we are talking about people who are in peak reproductive years. And with development of the head happening very early in fetal development, people could be using these products and not even realize that they are pregnant, which is of great concern," Cray said. "This is a small study that speaks to the possibility that nicotine-free vaping is not safe. And it's a sign that we probably should study the nicotine-free products as much as we study the nicotine-laden products." This work was funded by the Ohio State colleges of Medicine and Dentistry. Co-authors include Logan Shope, Ethan Leonard, Leslie Sewell, Tyler Maykovich, Roy Miller, Matthew Gorr and Loren Wold of Ohio State; Ethan Richlak of Nationwide Children's Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh; and Amr Mohi of UT Health San Antonio. New University of Virginia School of Medicine research suggests an unexpected way doctors may be able to improve blood flow to the brain to battle Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases. Scientists led by Ukpong B. Eyo, PhD, of UVA's Department of Neuroscience, found that immune cells called microglia play an essential role in determining how well tiny capillaries deliver blood and essential nourishment to our brains. The scientists believe problems with these microglia could be contributing to failing brain health, and targeting them could help us prevent or reverse memory-stealing diseases caused or worsened by lack of adequate blood flow. This could include Alzheimer's, vascular dementia and even some cases of Parkinson's. For some time now, microglia have been suggested to play important roles in regulating vessel function. With this study, we have provided the most definitive evidence that they do regulate blood flow to the brain, specified the location of this function to the brain's small vessels or capillaries and identified an enzyme that they use to do this. Although microglia are dysfunctional in neurodegenerative diseases, our work now raises the possibility of improving blood flow deficits by targeting microglia." Ukpong B. Eyo, PhD, UVA's Center for Brain Immunology and Glia (BIG Center) and the UVA Brain Institute The brain's big demands Our brains require a tremendous amount of sustenance. Even though they make up only 2% of our body weight, they use 20% of our total energy. To provide this, the brain is surrounded by a 400-mile-long network of blood vessels that branch most extensively into tiny capillaries. Proper function of these vessels and capillaries is essential to good brain health. Scientists have known that problems with myeloid cells can contribute to excess carbon dioxide in the blood, robbing our brains of life-giving oxygen. But Eyo and his team wanted to understand more specifically which cells were responsible and to see what would happen if those cells weren't working properly. The researchers determined that microglia are responsible for ensuring proper capillary "tone," which determines how well the tiny vessels can feed blood to the brain. Eliminating microglia significantly reduced the capillaries' diameter and reduced their ability to transport blood, the scientists found. Restoring the microglia fixed this problem. "The microglial enzyme identified in this study has been targeted heretofore in patients with Alzheimer's disease, albeit with mixed results. Our study suggests that these therapeutics would have maximal benefit if prescribed according to the therapeutic window of microglia in Alzheimer's a focus in our ongoing research," said UVA researcher William A. Mills III, PhD, the first author of a new scientific paper outlining the findings. "We have determined that all microglia are capable of regulating basal capillary tone as opposed to a subset of them, thus revealing their importance to meeting energy demands in the brain." The researchers say additional research will be needed to better understand the complex cellular communication network responsible for maintaining proper capillary function. But by better understanding how the immune system maintains capillary health, scientists may be able to boost blood flow to ensure the brain is properly nourished. "Now that we have identified a novel role for microglia in blood vessel structure and function as well as a specific enzyme involved, we are poised to examine how this enzyme and microglial functions change, and to subsequently develop therapies to reduce these changes during neurodegenerative diseases broadly and in Alzhiemer's disease especially," Eyo said. "However, questions abound that our group will pursue e.g. do the microglia regulate the small capillaries independently or in concert with other brain cells? When during development do microglia begin to play this role, and is this role also important in neurodevelopmental disorders where vascular function is also compromised? Can microglial replacement facilitate blood flow rejuvenation in neurodegenerative diseases? These are exciting questions we hope to answer in the near future." UVA recently established the Harrison Family Translational Research Center in Alzheimer's and Neurodegenerative Diseases specifically to pioneer new treatments for Alzheimer's and other brain disorders. The center is part of UVA's Paul and Diane Manning Institute for Biotechnology. The institute will be housed in a four-story, 350,000-square-foot facility under construction at UVA's Fontaine Research Park that is expected to bring hundreds and potentially thousands of jobs to Virginia as part of a new "ecosystem of innovation." Alzheimer's findings published Eyo and his collaborators have published their findings in the scientific journal Nature Communications. The research team consisted of Mills III, Niesha A. Savory, Aida Oryza Lopez-Ortiz, Dennis H. Lentferink, Fernando Gonzalez Ibanez, Praise Agochi, Elina Rastegar, Arnav Gupta, Deetya Gupta, Arya Suram, Brant E. Isakson, Marie-EveTremblay and Eyo. The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, grants NS122782 and NS119243; the NIH's National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, grants HL007284, HL137112 and HL171997; the Owens Family Foundation; a UVA Brain Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship; and an American Heart Association Postdoctoral Fellowship, 25POST1376070. Many people might be aware of an ongoing opioid epidemic, with thousands of people dying every year from overdoses. But many who are misusing opioids are also using-and dying from-stimulant drugs as well, according to a study published July 2 in the open access journal PLOS Mental Health by Yutong Li from the University of Alberta, Canada, and colleagues. In 2021, more than 88,000 people passed away from opiate-related deaths in the United States and Canada-the latest in three major waves of opiate deaths. But many opioid users also use stimulants-82 percent have been exposed to stimulants and 22 percent are regular amphetamine users. To better understand how opioid and stimulant deaths might be connected, the authors of this study examined data from the United States National Institute on Drug Abuse for both intentional and unintentional deaths in the United States between 1999 and 2021, as well as the Public Health Agency of Canada and the Alberta Substance Use Surveillance System between 2016 and 2021. They also looked at Google Trends in the same time span, to gain some insight into how aware the public may be of deaths involving both opioid- and stimulant use. The authors found four distinct surges in opioid-related deaths, with the biggest increase in deaths between 2019 and 2021, and three surges in stimulant-related deaths between 1999 and 2021, with the biggest increase between 2013 and 2021. There were two major jumps in the number of deaths involving both opioids and stimulants, with the largest between 2013 and 2021. But while Google Trends for opiates showed peaks during increases in opioid-related deaths, searches for stimulants remained low, indicating a lack of public awareness. While the authors did not have access to data, which included the use of other substances such as alcohol, and most of the data was centered in the United States, their findings nonetheless indicate that the surge in stimulant-related deaths along with opiate-related deaths is occurring in the shadows, with a lack of public awareness potentially impeding interventions. In the largest study of its kind, researchers examined aluminum exposure from vaccines in 1.2 million children, and found no increased risk of autism, asthma, or autoimmune disease. Study: Aluminum-Adsorbed Vaccines and Chronic Diseases in Childhood: A Nationwide Cohort Study. Image credit: Drazen Zigic/Shutterstock.com Aluminum is an effective and common adjuvant used in multiple non-live childhood vaccines. Some recent studies have raised concerns about its potential to cause chronic childhood diseases, such as atopic, autoimmune, or neurodevelopmental disorders. A recent paper in Annals of Internal Medicine does not show an association with such disorders, unless those of extreme rarity exist. Introduction Aluminum adsorbs vaccine antigens and is hence used as a vaccine adjuvant for several childhood vaccines, including diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib), pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), and hepatitis A and B vaccines. These have been in worldwide use for multiple decades without safety issues being flagged. However, some animal studies suggested that aluminum might potentially cause neurotoxicity, autoimmune, or atopic disease. Notably, there is no human data to refute or confirm these findings. Most have come from small observational studies. The current study aimed to use population-wide, large-scale data to explore the possibility of such associations. All children living in Denmark are offered childhood vaccines free of charge. Uptake during the first two years stood at 94% to 97% in 2023. The aluminum content of the vaccines has changed over time, as has the vaccination schedule. For instance, PCV was incorporated in 2007, while others were substituted due to shortages or newer formulations. The result is that birth cohorts have received different doses of aluminum, with varying cumulative dosages unrelated to individual characteristics. These systematically imposed differences provided a quasi-experimental setup for the analysis, helping to limit bias and confounding. The cohort study drew on nationwide Danish registry data to examine potential associations between childhood vaccinations and chronic neurodevelopmental, autoimmune, or atopic disease. It included over 1.2 million children born there between 1997 and 2018, with outcomes assessed until they reached five years of age. The exposure was the cumulative amount of aluminum obtained via vaccination during these two years. The outcomes included incidences of 50 chronic diseases belonging to: Neurodevelopmental disorders autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) Autoimmune skin, hormonal, blood-related, digestive, or joint illness Allergic asthma, eczema, rhinoconjunctivitis, and allergy Study outcomes The median exposure was 3 mg, ranging from 0 to 4.5 mg. As expected, the birth year was linked to cumulative aluminum dosage by two years. Only about 1% of children did not receive any aluminum-adsorbed vaccines by two years of age. Children who received up to 1.5 mg aluminum were more likely to have a lower socioeconomic level and to meet doctors less often. Those who received >3 mg aluminum were more likely to be born to mothers with mental illness and diabetes. Among the outcomes, 20 autoimmune disorders registered fewer than 20 cases and were excluded from separate analysis. The incidence of all autoimmune diseases varied between 0.8 and 50.5 cases per 1,00,000 person-years. There was no increase in risk for autoimmune disease as a whole, nor for individual conditions. For atopic conditions, asthma incidence did not exceed that in the unvaccinated group. No increased risk was found for atopic dermatitis or allergic rhinitis, and all atopic conditions failed to show an association with aluminum exposure. Similar trends were observed with neurodevelopmental disorders, which occurred among nearly 6,000 children under five years of age. There was no risk increase, and hazard ratios suggested a modest reduction in risk, by 7% for ASD and 10% for ADHD per 1 mg aluminum increase, although causality cannot be inferred. Thus, the researchers found no association between outcome and cumulative aluminum exposure. The risk of new-onset disorders in any of the three groups did not exceed baseline. The upper bounds of the 95% confidence intervals were incompatible with small to moderate increases in risk for most outcomes. Where bounds exceeded 30%, outcomes were extremely rare, at fewer than 15 cases per 1 million person-years. These findings conflict with prior cohort studies that suggested a slight increase in atopic disease risk per 1 mg aluminum exposure via vaccination before the age of two years. However, these studies did not account for known confounding factors, like maternal smoking or a tendency to atopic symptoms. In addition, only around 60% of children in those studies were fully vaccinated, raising the risk of residual confounding. The current study adjusted for a comprehensive range of confounders, including maternal health conditions, smoking during pregnancy, parity, and socioeconomic status. Prior research suggests aluminum levels in vaccinated infants are below the minimal risk level. Conclusion These findings do not suggest that aluminum-adjuvant vaccines increase the childs risk for most autoimmune, atopic, or neurodevelopmental disorders. For most outcomes, the results were inconsistent with even modest risk increases. However, small relative increases for very rare disorders could not be ruled out due to statistical limitations. These results support the overall safety of aluminum-adsorbed vaccines in early childhood as part of national immunization programs. Download your PDF copy now! Some patients with highly drug-resistant tuberculosis could benefit from a shorter treatment with fewer drugs while others may warrant more aggressive therapy, according to the findings of a new study led by an international group of researchers including scientists from Harvard Medical School and conducted across six countries in Asia, Africa, and South America. The study, partly funded by the National Institutes of Health, is known as endTB-Q, is the first-ever clinical trial to focus exclusively on people with pre-extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (pre-XDR-TB), a hard-to-treat form of the disease that is more challenging to cure than multi-drug resistant TB but not as extremely impervious to medicines as the most dreaded form of the infection known as extensively drug-resistant TB. Pre-XDR-TB is resistant to rifampin - the most potent first-line drug used against TB - and fluoroquinolone, which thus far has been the most potent second-line TB drug. The findings, published July 14 in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, highlight the importance of individualizing therapy to account for patient-to-patient differences and give each infected person a treatment regimen that is the most effective and least toxic for them, the researchers noted. "This shorter regimen is not a surefire cure for everyone. The big takeaway is that we might need a more tailored approach to treatment of this kind of resistant TB," said study TB expert Carole Mitnick, professor of global health and social medicine in the Blavatnik Institute at HMS. Mitnick was co-senior author on the study and a member of the endTB project, spearheaded by Partners In Health, Medecins Sans Frontieres, and Interactive Research and Development and done in collaboration with researchers and clinicians worldwide. In recent years, researchers have increasingly found that shorter, less harsh drug regimens benefit certain patients, Mitnick added, but she cautioned that more research is needed on how to select the right patients who would benefit the most, while ensuring that more severe and more drug-resistant forms of the disease do not go untreated or suboptimally treated, leaving patients with lingering or re-emerging disease that is dangerous to their families and communities. More than 80 years after the first patients were cured of TB using antibiotics, tuberculosis remains the leading infectious cause of death worldwide, killing close to 1.5 million people a year. The disease has a global reach, including in the United States, where more than 500 people have perished from TB per year for the last decade and cases are on the rise. One reason for this is drug-resistant strains of the disease. Another is that many common regimens are difficult for patients to complete, due to the number of pills required, the length of treatment, and the severe side effects of many established therapies. This means that treatment is cut short in some patients, allowing the infection to roar back. The aim of the endTB-Q trial was to test whether a shorter, likely better tolerated treatment would be effective against pre-XDR-TB. The trial compared an experimental regimen that used a combination of four drugs (bedaquiline, delamanid, clofazimine, and linezolid) for six or nine months with a long regimen based on the standard of care recommended by the World Health Organization, which included four to six drugs taken for 18 to 24 months. The results of the trial showed that the shorter regimen might be a promising alternative for many patients with pre-XDR-TB. A favorable outcome was established by two consecutive cultures negative for the TB bug late in the 17-month period of post-randomization follow-up or by favorable bacteriological, radiological, and clinical evolution throughout this follow-up. By this standard, the shorter regimen was 87 percent effective while the longer therapy was 89 percent effective. Both groups of patients received social support including access to nutritious food and transportation, shown to help patients complete TB treatment. The research was designed to measure "non-inferiority," a technical term that describes when an experimental treatment is good enough to replace an existing standard of care. In this study, the shorter regimen did not meet that standard across the full study population. But not all patients responded the same way to the shorter regimen. Those with more advanced lung damage, for example, did not fare as well as those with less advanced disease. For these individuals, the shorter regimen - even delivered for nine months - was not always sufficient to prevent relapse. These patients benefited more from the longer regimen. This could mean treatment needs to be longer in that group or treatment needs to be reinforced with more drugs, the researchers said. Mitnick noted that other studies of shortened regimens that have included people with this type of drug-resistant TB in their study population did not have enough statistical power to measure the effectiveness of the regimens on people with pre-XDR-TB or to differentiate between those with different degrees of symptoms. The researchers note that recent guidance from WHO and from North American and European experts, which came out after the endTB-Q trial was underway, recommends six-month regimens irrespective of disease severity. Given the findings of the endTB-Q trial and similar results from other studies, the researchers said, the guidelines should be updated to include consideration of stratified approaches to care based on resistance pattern and extent of disease. After millennia of fighting this complex, constantly evolving disease, we know that we need to approach it with great caution and attention to detail." Carole Mitnick, Professor, Blavatnik Institute, Harvard Medical School "Instead of focusing on the 'prize' of shortened treatment, we need to keep our eyes on the true goal of curing as many people as we can." In the wake of January's deadly wildfires, Los Angeles County leaders are weighing a disaster registry intended to help disabled and senior residents get connected to emergency responders to bring them to safety during disasters. County supervisors approved a feasibility study this spring for such a voluntary database. Supporters applauded the effort to give more notice and assistance to the more than 1 million county residents with some type of disability, such as cognitive impairment or limited mobility. "If we know that people perish in these situations, what are our answers?" said Hilary Norton, who runs FASTLinkDTLA, a nonprofit focused on mobility issues. "This is the time for people to really understand the magnitude for people in need when things like this happen." Amid the increasing frequency of natural disasters across the U.S. brought into sharp relief by the recent deadly floods in Texas state and local governments from Oregon to North Carolina have turned to disaster registries to prioritize help for vulnerable residents when fires, hurricanes, and other environmental catastrophes strike. But while some politicians say these registries are a potential solution to a public health problem, many disability advocates see them as ineffective tools that give people a false sense of security because there is no guarantee of evacuation help. "Theyre described in a way that communicates that if you place your information in this registry and you will need assistance, they will be able to plan for it, so in a disaster you will be safer. And in reality, that is simply not the case," said Maria Town, president and CEO of the American Association of People with Disabilities. Town, who has cerebral palsy, had been in Houston for six months when Hurricane Harvey hit in 2017. Texas makes a free registry called the State of Texas Emergency Assistance Registry available to cities and counties to help them identify needs in their communities, but how or if they use it is up to them. Fewer than 5% of people who registered were contacted during Harvey, and even fewer got evacuation assistance, according to a 2023 study by the National Council on Disability, a federal agency that advises on disability policies and programs. The hurricane took 89 lives. "I heard people say, 'I thought I was safe. I registered,'" Town said of the calls she got during and after Harvey. Neither the Texas Division of Emergency Management nor officials in Kerr County, the area hit hardest by the recent floods in Texas Hill Country, responded to questions about whether any accommodations were made for residents on the registry during the early July catastrophe. Many registries, like Florida's Special Needs Registry, expressly tell participants they still must make their own evacuation plans. The Florida Department of Health oversees the registry and, like in Texas, shares the information with local emergency management officials for their use. In North Carolina's Rockingham County, individuals must apply to be on the registry, and inclusion is not guaranteed. The registry page for Jackson and Josephine counties in Oregon warns that it can take up to three months for residents' information to be made available to rescue workers. The National Council on Disability says registries are harmful. "They are ineffective and provide a false sense of security of future guaranteed assistance," Nicholas Sabula, a spokesperson for the organization, said in a statement. The California Governor's Office of Emergency Services also "strongly discourages" using registries, saying they can deter people from making their own disaster plans and raise privacy concerns. Disability advocates have also cited privacy as a concern. But Los Angeles politicians behind the registry effort insist they are worth looking into at least a third of those who died in the Eaton Fire had issues that could affect their mobility and therefore their ability to flee in the face of disaster, according to a Los Angeles Times analysis. Anthony Mitchell Sr., an amputee in a wheelchair, and his 35-year-old son, Justin, who had cerebral palsy, were among the 18 people killed when the wildfire ripped through the Los Angeles County community of Altadena in January. Further driving the initiative is the aging of L.A. County's population: The California Department of Finances Demographic Research Unit has estimated that more than a quarter of Los Angeles County residents will be 60 or over by 2030 about 2.5 million people. Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Altadena and proposed the registry study along with Supervisor Janice Hahn, "wants to drill down and explore its usefulness," according to her communications director, Helen Chavez Garcia. Barger had not yet talked to the first responder community or had conversations about how emergency services would use the registry, according to Chavez Garcia. Victoria Jump, an assistant director at the county's Aging & Disabilities Department, is conducting the feasibility study which she noted does not include cost estimates and will make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors this month on whether to support the project. The board will decide whether to move forward. Jump said she's gotten largely positive feedback in more than a dozen community sessions. It's not the first time Los Angeles has considered and even implemented a disaster registry. The county maintained a voluntary disaster registry called Specific Needs Awareness Planning, but acknowledged in 2016 that the program did "not guarantee priority service to those who register" and had a "low return on investment." It was discontinued, and registrants were migrated to a mass emergency alert system called Alert LA County. "Weve been through this before with the county. It didnt work. It hasnt worked around the country," said Los Angeles resident June Kailes, a disability advocate who uses a power scooter. Kailes sees what happened in the Eaton Fire as a problem with emergency planning, saying that the county needs to better understand how to offer people with disabilities emergency transportation. She pointed to Galen Buckwalter, a paralyzed Eaton Fire survivor who reportedly drove his motorized wheelchair a mile in the dark to evacuate when he realized it would be impossible for a ride-hailing service to pick him up given the conditions. Norton, of the mobility nonprofit FASTLinkDTLA, said the registry needs to be about more than just collecting names of disabled residents. "No one wants to create false hope," Norton said. "It's an agreement to explore the possibilities. It's that balance of asking now, in order to make sure in the next disaster they are not left behind." This article was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially independent service of the California Health Care Foundation. Gary Sergott felt weary all the time. "I'd get tired, short of breath, a sort of malaise," he said. He was cold even on warm days and looked pale with dark circles under his eyes. His malady was not mysterious. As a retired nurse anesthetist, Sergott knew he had anemia, a deficiency of red blood cells. In his case, it was the consequence of a hereditary condition that caused almost daily nosebleeds and depleted his hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen throughout the body. But in consulting doctors about his fatigue, he found that many didn't know how to help. They advised Sergott, who lives in Westminster, Maryland, to take iron tablets, usually the first-line treatment for anemia. But like many older people, he found a daily regimen of four to six tablets hard to tolerate. Some patients taking iron complain of severe constipation or stomach cramps. Sergott felt "nauseated all the time." And iron tablets don't always work. After almost 15 years, he found a solution. Michael Auerbach, a hematologist and an oncologist who is the co-director of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Baltimore, suggested that Sergott receive iron intravenously instead of orally. Now Sergott, 78, gets an hourlong infusion when his hemoglobin levels and other markers show that he needs one, usually three times a year. "It's like filling the gas tank," he said. His symptoms recede, and "I feel great." His story reflects, however, the frequent dismissal of a common condition, one that can not only diminish older adults' quality of life but also lead to serious health consequences, including falls, fractures, and hospital stays. Anemia's symptoms tiredness, headaches, leg cramps, coldness, decreased ability to exercise, brain fog are often attributed to aging itself, William Ershler, a hematologist and researcher said. (Some people with anemia remain asymptomatic.) "People say, 'I feel weak, but everybody my age feels weak,'" Ershler said. Even though hemoglobin levels are likely to have been included in their patients' records, as part of the complete blood count, or CBC, routinely ordered during medical visits, doctors often fail to recognize anemia. "The patients come to the clinic and get the blood tests, and nothing happens," he said. Anemia affects 12.5% of people over 60, according to the most recent survey data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and the rate rises thereafter. But that may be an underestimate. In a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Ershler and his colleagues examined the electronic health records of almost 2,000 outpatients over 65 at Inova, the large health system based in Northern Virginia from which he recently retired. Based on blood test results, the prevalence of anemia was much higher: About 1 in 5 patients was anemic, with hemoglobin levels below normal as defined by the World Health Organization. Yet only about a third of those patients had anemia properly documented in their medical charts. Anemia "deserves our attention, but it doesn't always get it," said George Kuchel, a geriatrician at the University of Connecticut, who wasn't surprised by the findings. That's partly because anemia has so many causes, some more treatable than others. In perhaps a third of cases, it arises from a nutritional deficiency usually a lack of iron, but sometimes of vitamin B12 or folate (called folic acid in synthetic form). Older people may have decreased appetites or struggle to shop for food and prepare meals. But anemia can also follow blood loss from ulcers, polyps, diabetes, and other causes of internal bleeding. Surgery can also lead to iron deficiency. Mary Dagold, 83, a retired librarian in Pikesville, Maryland, underwent three abdominal operations in 2019. She remained bedridden for weeks afterward and needed a feeding tube for months. Even after she healed, "the anemia didn't go away," she said. She remembers feeling perpetually exhausted. "And I knew I wasn't thinking the way I usually think," she added. "I couldn't read a novel." Her primary care doctor and Auerbach both advised that oral iron was unlikely to help. Iron tablets, available over the counter, are inexpensive. Intravenous iron, becoming more widely prescribed, can cost $350 to $2,400 per infusion depending on the formulation, Auerbach said. Some patients find a single dose sufficient, while others will need regular treatment. Medicare covers it when tablets are hard to tolerate or ineffective. For Dagold, a 25-minute intravenous iron infusion every five weeks or so has made a startling difference. "It takes a few days, and then you feel well enough to go about your daily life," she said. She has returned to her water aerobics class four days a week. In other cases, anemia arises from chronic conditions like heart disease, kidney failure, bone marrow disorders, or inflammatory bowel diseases. "These people don't lack iron, but they're not able to process it to make red blood cells," Kuchel said. Since iron supplements won't be effective, doctors try to address the anemia by treating patients' underlying illnesses. Another reason to pay attention: "Loss of iron can be the first harbinger of colon cancer and stomach cancer," Kuchel pointed out. In about a third of patients, however, anemia remains frustratingly unexplained. "We've done everything, and we have no idea what's causing it," he said. Learning more about anemia's causes and treatments might prevent a lot of misery down the road. Besides its association with falls and fractures, anemia "can increase the severity of chronic illnesses heart, lung, kidney, liver," Auerbach said. "If it's really severe and hemoglobin goes to life-threatening levels, it can cause a heart attack or stroke." Among the unknowns, however, is whether treating anemia early and restoring normal hemoglobin will prevent later illnesses. Still, "things are happening in this field," Ershler said, pointing to a National Institute on Aging workshop on unexplained anemia held last year. The American Society of Hematology has appointed a committee on diagnosing and treating iron deficiency and plans to publish new guidelines next year. The Iron Consortium at Oregon Health & Science University convened an international panel on managing iron deficiency and recently published its recommendations in The Lancet Haematology. In the meantime, many older patients can gain access to their CBC results and thus their hemoglobin levels. The World Health Organization defines 13 grams of hemoglobin per deciliter as normal for men, and 12 for nonpregnant women (though some hematologists argue that those thresholds are too low). Asking health care providers about hemoglobin and iron levels, or using a patient portal to check the numbers themselves, could help patients steer conversations with their doctors away from fatigue or other symptoms as inevitable results of aging. Perhaps they're signs of anemia, and perhaps it's treatable. "Chances are, you've had a CBC in the last six months or a year," Kuchel said. "If your hemoglobin is fine, great." But, he added, "If it's really outside the normal boundaries, or it's changed compared to a year ago, you need to ask questions." The New Old Age is produced through a partnership with The New York Times. Living near Coldwater Creek-a Missouri River tributary north of St. Louis that was polluted by nuclear waste from the development of the first atomic bomb-in childhood in the 1940s, '50s, and '60s was associated with an elevated risk of cancer, according to a new study led by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. The researchers say the findings corroborate health concerns long held by community members. The study will be published July 16 in JAMA Network Open. It coincides with Congress having passed an expanded version of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) as part of the Trump tax bill, through which Americans, including Coldwater Creek residents, can receive compensation for medical bills associated with radiation exposure. Most studies of radiation exposure have focused on bomb survivors who have had very high levels of exposure; far less is known about the health impacts of lower levels of radiation exposure. For this study, the researchers used a subsample of 4,209 participants from the St. Louis Baby Tooth Later Life Health Study (SLBT), a cohort composed of many individuals who lived near Coldwater Creek as children and who donated their baby teeth beginning in 1958 to measure exposure to radiation from atmospheric nuclear testing. The participants, who lived in the Greater St. Louis area between 1958 and 1972, self-reported incidences of cancer, allowing the researchers to calculate cancer risk in accordance with childhood residence proximity to Coldwater Creek. The findings showed a dose-response effect-those living nearest to the creek had a higher risk for most cancers than those living farther away. There were 1,009 individuals (24% of the study population) who reported having cancer. Of those, the proportion was higher for those living near the creek-30% lived less than one kilometer away, 28% between one and five kilometers away, 25% between five and 20 kilometers away, and 24% 20 kilometers or more away). The researchers estimated that those living more than 20 kilometers away from the creek had a 24% risk of any type of cancer. Compared to this group, among those who lived less than one kilometer away from the creek, the risk of developing any type of cancer was 44% higher; solid cancers (cancers that form a mass, as opposed to blood cancers), 52% higher; radiosensitive cancers (thyroid, breast, leukemia, and basal cell), 85% higher; and non-radiosensitive cancers (all except thyroid, breast, leukemia, and basal cell), 41% higher. The risk went down among those who lived between one and 5 kilometers away from the creek, and then down a little more among those who lived 5-20 kilometers away, but was still slightly higher than those living more than 20 kilometers away. "Our research indicates that the communities around North St. Louis appear to have had excess cancer from exposure to the contaminated Coldwater Creek," said corresponding author Marc Weisskopf, Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor of Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology. These findings may have broader implications-as countries think about increasing nuclear power and developing more nuclear weapons, the waste from these entities could have huge impacts on people's health, even at these lower levels of exposure." Marc Weisskopf, Cecil K. and Philip Drinker Professor, Environmental Epidemiology and Physiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Other Harvard Chan School authors included Michael Leung, Ian Tang, Joyce Lin, Lorelei Mucci, Justin Farmer, and Kaleigh McAlaine. 4 killed in 3 separate accidents on Delhi-Haridwar national highway Last Updated: July 18, 2025, 01:30 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Muzaffarnagar (UP), Jul 17 (PTI) Four people, including three Kanwariyas, were killed and three others injured in three separate accidents on the Delhi-Haridwar national highway here on Thursday. In the first incident, two Kanwariyas identified as Raj (18) and Vipin (20) died and three people, including a woman, were injured when their motorcycle collided with a scooter near Budhana underpass on the NH stretch under Khatauli police station limits. Recommended Stories Khatauli Station House Officer Brijesh Kumar said the deceased were en route from Ghaziabad to Haridwar to collect Ganga water when they met with the accident. The bodies have been sent for post-mortem, and the injured have been shifted to the hospital, with some in serious condition, he said. The second incident claimed the life of another pilgrim, Rohit (23), a resident of Delhis Rohini. Rohit was run over by a truck near Purkazi town. Purkazi SHO Jaivir Singh said the body has been sent for post-mortem. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In the third incident, Madhya Pradesh resident Mahesh Kumar (38) was killed early in the morning near Saleempur village, also under the Purkazi station limits. SHO Jaivir Singh said that Mahesh Kumar was sleeping under a parked tractor-trolley belonging to Kanwariyas when he was run over. Police clarified that Kumar was not a Kanwariya. PTI COR CDN RUK RUK view comments First Published: July 18, 2025, 01:30 IST News agency-feeds 4 killed in 3 separate accidents on Delhi-Haridwar national highway App-based taxi strike to intensify on Fri with protest in Mumbais Azad Maidan Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 22:15 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Mumbai, Jul 17 (PTI) Cabs operated by app-based aggregators like Ola, Uber and Rapido will remain off the roads on Friday over their demands like rationalisation of fares to bring them on par with those of the conventional black-and-yellow metered taxis, a functionary said. The stir, which began on Wednesday involving those in the sector from Mumbai Metropolitan Region, Pune and Nagpur, caused hardships to people, especially at airports and railway stations. The Mumbai airport operator had also advised passengers to check for transport availability and make alternate arrangements. Recommended Stories Dr KN Kshirsagar, president of Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch, told PTI that almost 70 percent of app-based cabs remained off the roads, leaving very few vehicles for booking. The cabbies will sit on a protest at Azad Maidan in south Mumbai from Friday to further intensify their agitation. No deliberations took place with the government after the meeting with state transport minister Pratap Sarnaik at Mantralya on Tuesday," he added. The Maharashtra Gig Kamgar Manch has demanded rationalisation of fares, bringing fares on par with those of the conventional black-and-yellow metered taxis, prohibition of bike taxis, a cap on permits of black-and-yellow taxis and autorickshaws, formation of a welfare board for drivers of app-based cabs, and enactment of Maharashtra Gig Workers Act on the lines of legislation in other states. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Some citizen groups also claimed those taking part in the stir were forcing their colleagues to go off the roads. The Chandivali Citizen Welfare Association shared a video on social media, which showed some cab drivers abusing a colleague for ferrying passengers and not taking part in the strike. PTI KK BNM view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 22:15 IST News agency-feeds App-based taxi strike to intensify on Fri with protest in Mumbais Azad Maidan News / National by Staff reporter Two women from Luangeni Constituency in Chipata, Zambia, have been sentenced to prison after they recorded and shared TikTok videos accusing President Hakainde Hichilema of killing former President Edgar Lungu.Catherine Mphanza and Mary Lungu were charged under Sections 22(1)(a) and 3 of Zambia's Cyber Crimes Act No. 4 of 2025, which prohibits harassment and humiliation through digital platforms. Mphanza faced two counts while Lungu faced one. Both women appeared before Chipata Magistrate Destiny Kalusopa and pleaded guilty to the charges.During mitigation, the women expressed deep remorse for their actions, claiming they were intoxicated at the time they created and circulated the videos. They said they had not fully understood the consequences of their behaviour due to their state of drunkenness.However, Magistrate Kalusopa ruled that the offences were too serious to warrant a fine, despite the law allowing for an alternative penalty of K80,000. He stressed the importance of upholding the dignity and integrity of the office of the President, adding that the sentences should serve as a deterrent to others. He noted that Mphanza had posted two videos insulting the Head of State, while Lungu's single video contained particularly offensive remarks.The magistrate highlighted that such behaviour could not be excused as harmless social media banter, especially when it involved false and inflammatory allegations against the country's leader.Mphanza was sentenced to 18 months of simple imprisonment for each of her two counts, with the sentences to run consecutively. Lungu was sentenced to 24 months of simple imprisonment. Their sentences were backdated to June 24, 2025, the date of their arrest.The videos, which were recorded and circulated on June 20, 2025, contained offensive remarks. In one clip, Mphanza was heard using vulgar language and declaring she would not vote for President Hichilema in the 2026 elections. In another, Lungu mocked the President's appearance and falsely accused him of murdering former President Edgar Lungu.The case has sparked debate in Zambia about the limits of freedom of expression and the growing impact of social media on political discourse. It also reflects the government's increasing reliance on the Cyber Crimes Act to curb what it views as harmful online conduct. Four acquitted in 2014 assault case Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 21:00 IST Representational image (Image: News18) New Delhi, July 17 (PTI) A Delhi court has acquitted four men accused of assaulting a couple in a private club in Chanakyapuri area in the capital, observing all material witnesses failed to identify them. Additional sessions judge Kiran Gupta was hearing the case against the four accused persons booked for house trespass, attempt to commit culpable homicide and criminal intimidation, among other IPC provisions. Recommended Stories The offence of assault or criminal force to a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty was subsequently added to the case. The complainant Pankaj Arora alleged the accused persons trespassed in the club on the intervening night of May 2 and 3, 2014, and hit his head with a beer bottle besides thrashing his fiancee, Kanika, when she tried to intervene. When the accused tried to escape, he caught hold one of them, who was later identified as one Sunny Sharma. On July 10, the court, however, said, All material witnesses have resiled from their earlier statements. Kanika in her initial statement did not level any allegations of molestation or using filthy language against any of the accused persons." In her cross-examination, Kanika was observed to have said that since it was dark inside the club, the faces of the persons involved in the quarrel were not visible to her. She further admitted the suggestion (of the defence counsel) that no abusive or obscene language was used against her on the date of the incident by anyone," the court added. Only because he was apprehended from the spot doesnt prove the allegations against him, the court noted. As regards the other accused persons, all the public/material witnesses have failed to identify them. None of the prosecution witnesses has deposed against them," the order said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all It further came on record that Krishan, Manish Dedha and Narender were arrested subsequently based on the CCTV footage, but the footage was never played in the court during the testimony of the material witnesses. In the absence of any incriminating evidence against the accused persons, all are acquitted of the offences," the court held. PTI MNR MNR AMK AMK view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 21:00 IST News agency-feeds Four acquitted in 2014 assault case Man arrested for duping youth of Rs 80,000 in Gurugram Last Updated: July 18, 2025, 01:15 IST Representational image (Image: News18) Gurugram, Jul 17 (PTI) Gurugram Police has arrested an accused in a case of cheating of Rs 80,000 on the pretext of providing a job at Haryana Central University by posing as a fake professor, police said, adding that the accused was sent to judicial custody. According to the police, a youth filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Manesar Police Station that someone as a fake professor called him posing on February 28. The accused allegedly claimed that he will get him a job at Haryana Central University for pay Rs 80,000. Recommended Stories The youth allegedly transferred the money to the accuseds account, but later he realised that he had been duped and moved to the police, he added. PTI COR MNK MNK MNK view comments First Published: July 18, 2025, 01:15 IST News agency-feeds Man arrested for duping youth of Rs 80,000 in Gurugram PM Kisan 20th Installment: PM Modi To Release Next Tranche Soon | Check Beneficiary Status Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 18, 2025, 09:06 IST PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana 20th Installment: PM Modi is expected to announce the next tranche of the PM Kisan scheme in a public meeting in Bihar's Motihari on Friday Under the PM Kisan scheme, the central government provides financial assistance of Rs 6,000 annually to eligible farmers in three equal installments of Rs 2,000. PM Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana 20th Installment Today? Even as over 9.8 crore farmers are awaiting the next installment of the PM Kisan scheme, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to release the next tranche this week. According to a Zee News report, PM Modi is expected to announce the next tranche of Rs 2,000 in a big public meeting in Bihars Motihari (East Champaran) on Friday, July 18. Under this scheme, the central government provides financial assistance of Rs 6,000 annually to eligible farmers in three equal installments of Rs 2,000, directly transferred to their bank accounts via Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT). Recommended Stories So far, 19 installments have been released at four-month intervals. Prime Minister Narendra Modi disbursed the 19th installment in February 2025, benefiting more than 9.8 crore farmers, including 2.4 crore women. Earlier, the 18th installment was released in October 2024 and the 17th in June 2024. What Is The PM Kisan Scheme? Launched in 2019 after being announced in the Interim Budget by then Finance Minister Piyush Goyal, the PM Kisan scheme has become the worlds largest DBT scheme. Under it, eligible farmers receive Rs 2,000 every four months totaling Rs 6,000 annually in the following cycles April-July, August-November, and December-March. The money is deposited directly into the bank accounts of the beneficiaries. Who Is Eligible for PM Kisan? To qualify for the PM Kisans 20th installment, one must: Be a citizen of India Own cultivable land Be a small or marginal farmer Not be a pensioner receiving Rs 10,000 or more per month Not have filed income tax Not be an institutional landholder PM Kisan e-KYC: Mandatory For Installments As per the schemes official website, eKYC is MANDATORY for PMKISAN Registered Farmers." You can complete e-KYC via an OTP-based eKYC on PM-KISAN Portal or a biometric-based eKYC at the nearest Common Service Centre (CSC). How To Check PM Kisan Beneficiary Status? Visit https://pmkisan.gov.in Click on Know Your Status Enter your registration number, captcha, and click Get Data Your beneficiary status will be displayed on screen. How To Check Name In PM Kisan Beneficiary List? Visit the official website Click on Beneficiary List Select your state, district, sub-district, block, and village Click on Get Report Youll see the complete list of beneficiaries. How To Apply For PM Kisan Samman Nidhi? Go to https://pmkisan.gov.in Click on New Farmer Registration Enter your Aadhaar number and captcha Fill in the details, click Yes Complete the form, submit it, and take a printout top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all For any queries, you can call the PM-KISAN helpline numbers 155261 and 011-24300606. About the Author Business Desk A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al... Read More A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 09:59 IST News business economy PM Kisan 20th Installment: PM Modi To Release Next Tranche Soon | Check Beneficiary Status Mutual Fund Direct Vs Regular Plan: What's Better And How To Choose Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 16:13 IST Direct and Regular mutual fund plans come with different features and perks that an investor must fully understand before opting for the right choice. Each mutual fund carries unique features and benefits that investors can dig into, based on their budgets and financial goals. (Representative Image) Mutual Funds are common investment tools for individuals with a good risk appetite and who eye strong returns over a long period. All mutual funds come in two different forms: direct and regular, each carrying unique features and benefits that investors can dig into, based on their budgets and financial goals. Investors approaching the market with money in hand and sufficient risk tolerance should be able to differentiate between the direct and regular plan and arrive at the right choice. Recommended Stories Difference Between Direct and Regular Mutual Funds High Returns: For any investor, the first point to consider is the strength and stability of the returns and whether they align with your desired goals. Any direct mutual fund offers higher returns than a regular mutual fund because of the expense ratio involved. Expense Ratio: The expense ratio, which is the fee charged by the mutual fund company, is usually higher in regular mutual funds. To understand with an example: if a scheme charges 0.2 per cent as an expense ratio, 0.2 per cent of AUM is used to cover the operating and administrative expenses involved with the fund. While investors may opt for mutual fund advisors to allocate their assets wisely, the fee paid to the advisor is directly or indirectly deducted from the investment amount. The higher the commission, the worse the expense ratio. In direct plans, investors are able to eliminate the commission fee and other operational expenses. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Higher NAV: The Net Asset Value, or NAV, is higher in direct mutual funds. The NAV represents the value of one unit of a mutual fund, ascertained by dividing the total assets owned by the fund and the number of units held. While mutual funds allocate assets in debt instruments, the NAV can improve or regress based on the fees paid to the agents, removing who could also reduce the chances of being misled. Control: With direct mutual funds, you are in control of your own destiny. However, with power comes extra responsibility. It becomes that much more necessary to do your homework on the past history of a mutual fund and its ability to ride over market volatility when you opt for a direct mutual fund above its regular version. About the Author Business Desk A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al... Read More A team of writers and reporters decodes vast terms of personal finance and making money matters simpler for you. From latest initial public offerings (IPOs) in the market to best investment options, we cover al... Read More view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 16:12 IST News business Mutual Fund Direct Vs Regular Plan: What's Better And How To Choose Gold Price Today, July 17: Yellow Metal Falls, Check Bullion Rates In Your City Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 09:42 IST Gold Price Today, July 17: In Mumbai, the price of gold stands at Rs 90,990 per 10 grams for 22-carat and Rs 99,270 per 10 grams for 24-carat. Gold And Silver Prices Today, July 17. Gold, Silver Prices In India Today, July 17: Gold prices witnessed a decline on Thursday. In Mumbai, the price of gold stood at Rs 90,990 per 10 grams for 22-carat and Rs 99,270 per 10 grams for 24-carat. Silver also declined by Rs 100 to trade at Rs 1,13,900 per kg. Recommended Stories However, in the futures market on the MCX, gold futures (expiring on August 5, 2025) were trading lower by 0.37% at Rs 97,428 per 10 gram, whereas silver (expiring on September 5, 2025) rose by 0.18% to trade at Rs 1,11,841 per kg. What Is The Price Of 22kt, 24kt Gold Rates Today In India Across Key Cities On July 17? City 22K Gold (per 10gm) 24K Gold (per 10gm) Delhi Rs 91,150 Rs 99,480 Jaipur Rs 91,150 Rs 99,480 Ahmedabad Rs 91,100 Rs 99,380 Patna Rs 91,100 Rs 99,380 Mumbai Rs 90,990 Rs 99,270 Hyderabad Rs 90,990 Rs 99,270 Chennai Rs 90,990 Rs 99,270 Bengaluru Rs 90,990 Rs 99,270 Kolkata Rs 90,990 Rs 99,270 Indias Gold Imports Indias gold imports in June fell 40% from a year ago to their lowest level in more than two years, as a price rally to a record high sapped demand, a government and two industry officials told Reuters. Imports to India, the worlds second-largest gold consumer, fell to 21 tons, the lowest since April 2023, said a government official, who declined to be named as he was not authorised to talk to the media. In value terms, gold imports fell to $1.84 billion in June from $2.48 billion a year ago, the official said. In the past decade, on average, India imported 52.4 tons of gold in June. In the first half of 2025, Indias gold imports fell 30% from a year ago to 204.1 tons, the lowest since the first half of 2020, when the COVID-19 outbreak led to lockdown, the trade ministry data showed. The rapid surge in prices has been discouraging retail buyers from making jewellery purchases, said Ashok Jain, proprietor of Mumbai-based gold wholesaler Chenaji Narsinghji. What Factors Affect Gold Prices In India? International market rates, import duties, taxes, and fluctuations in exchange rates primarily influence gold prices in India. Together, these factors determine the daily gold rates across the country. In India, gold is deeply cultural and financial. It is a preferred investment option and is key to celebrations, particularly weddings and festivals. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all With constantly changing market conditions, investors and traders monitor fluctuations closely. Staying updated is crucial for effectively navigating dynamic trends. About the Author Mohammad Haris Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h... Read More Haris is Deputy News Editor (Business) at news18.com. He writes on various issues related to personal finance, markets, economy and companies. Having over a decade of experience in financial journalism, Haris h... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 09:42 IST News business savings-and-investments Gold Price Today, July 17: Yellow Metal Falls, Check Bullion Rates In Your City Haryana Astrologer Nabbed While Selling Lizard Genitals, Coral In Name Of Tantric Cures Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 22:38 IST The astrologer allegedly sold banned wildlife parts like monitor lizard genitalia and soft coral as spiritual aids. Police seized items that included dried lizard genitalia and soft coral, both linked to occult rituals. (IMAGE: REUTERS) A self-styled astrologer running a spiritual remedy business from Faridabad has been arrested for allegedly selling banned wildlife parts, including dried monitor lizard genitalia and soft coral which are allegedly used in occult and tantric rituals, according to a report by Hindustan Times. The accused, 38-year-old Yagya Dutt, was picked up on Wednesday in a joint raid by the Haryana Forest Department, Haryana Police, Wildlife Crime Control Bureau (WCCB), and Wildlife Trust of India after a tip-off. Dutt allegedly sold the prohibited items both at his Sector 8 astrology office and through online platforms. Recommended Stories Officials told the Hindustan Times that the seized items included three pieces of monitor lizard genitalia, locally called hatha jodi, and five pieces of indrajal or soft coral. The monitor lizard is a Schedule I species under the Wildlife Protection Act, making the possession or trade of its body parts a serious offence. This is a serious violation. The accused misused his profession to sell banned wildlife products disguised as spiritual aids," RK Jangra, divisional forest officer, Gurugram, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Authorities also seized Dutts phone and digital records, suspecting a wider network of illegal suppliers and buyers. Environmentalist Vaishali Rana was present as an independent observer during the raid, the newspaper said in its report. There were price tags, packaging, and digital records showing commercial intent. Wildlife exploitation is being masked behind superstition," she was quoted as saying. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all A case has been registered under relevant sections of the Wildlife Protection Act. If convicted, Dutt could face three to seven years in prison and a fine of 10,000. This case highlights the need for stronger awareness and strict monitoring. We are committed to cracking down on illegal wildlife trade," Jangra 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 view comments Location : Faridabad, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 22:38 IST News cities Haryana Astrologer Nabbed While Selling Lizard Genitals, Coral In Name Of Tantric Cures MNS Workers Thrash Rajasthani Shopkeeper Over WhatsApp Post Against Marathis Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 13:03 IST A video of the incident shows the MNS workers warning others against disrespecting the Marathi language and culture. Screengrab of video from the scene (Credits: News18.com) A Vikroli-based Rajasthani shopkeeper was assaulted by local Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) workers after he allegedly posted a WhatsApp status insulting the Marathi Manoos (Marathi-speaking people). The incident took place outside his shop, where the MNS members confronted him, physically assaulted him, and forced him to issue a public apology to the entire Marathi community. Recommended Stories In the video that has surfaced online, MNS workers can be seen warning others against disrespecting the Marathi language and culture. They also urged locals to boycott shops owned by individuals who allegedly insult the Marathi-speaking population. In the clip, the man can be seen holding his ears and folding his hands as he issues an apology. This video comes only a few days after MNS members were captured on camera allegedly assaulting a food stall owner in Thane for not speaking in Marathi, reported NDTV. The workers were arrested and were granted bail within hours. A viral video of the incident that emerged on social media platforms showed some of them wearing scarves with the MNS symbol. Earlier, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis had took cognisance of the incident saying Marathi should be respected without resorting to violence. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all We respect Marathi, but violence in its name wont be accepted. Strict action will be taken against those resorting to violence. No language in India will be allowed to be disrespected," he had said while addressing the media. The police have filed an FIR and taken action on the incident, and if anyone creates such a language dispute in future, legal action will be taken. We are proud of our Marathi, but injustice cannot be done to any language of India in this manner; we will have to keep this in mind. And sometimes I am surprised that these people embrace English and create disputes over Hindi. What kind of thinking is this, and what kind of action is this? Therefore, strict action will be taken against those who take the law into their own hands," Fadnavis had added. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 07:04 IST News mumbai-news MNS Workers Thrash Rajasthani Shopkeeper Over WhatsApp Post Against Marathis Delhi To Get Rs 600 Crore As Special Financial Assistance From Centre Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 20:31 IST Delhi CM Rekha Gupta met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, securing 600 crore under SASCI scheme for capital investment, supporting infrastructure and employment. Gupta stated that the people of Delhi are witnessing the direct benefits of the collaborative efforts between the Central and State Governments. (File Photo) Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Thursday met Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, securing a 600 crore commitment under the Centres Special Assistance to States/UTs for Capital Investment (SASCI) scheme. The funds are expected by the end of this month. The SASCI scheme was launched in 202021 in response to the economic revival required after the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim is to provide interest-free loans for 50 years to States and Union Territories to support capital expenditure. Recommended Stories The scheme promotes infrastructure development, employment generation, and sustainable growth. It enables states to become active partners in the nations overall development by equipping them with financial resources, reforms, and capital capabilities. In a statement issued after the meeting, Guptas office said the finance minister was briefed about Delhis ongoing development journey, current progress of various schemes, and future requirements. Sitharaman assured full and continued support from the Central Government towards the development of Delhi. the Union Finance Minister shared details about the SASCI scheme. Under this scheme, the Delhi Government will receive 600 crore in special financial assistance by the end of this month," the statement reads. Gupta said a proposal for the allocation will soon be sent to the Ministry of Finance, adding that the funds will be used to accelerate development projects across the city, including traffic management, drainage, green energy, and waste management initiatives. Delhi is not just the capital of the country, but also the cultural, administrative, and economic hub of India. Its planned development and good governance should serve as a model for all," the CM said. Gupta stated that the people of Delhi are witnessing the direct benefits of the collaborative efforts between the Central and State Governments. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In February, the BJP finally came to power in Delhi after almost three decades out of power in the city. With the political alignment at centre and state level, the flow of development has improved, the government says. This meeting with Sitharaman comes weeks after Gupta met Union Ministers Amit Shah and Nitin Gadkari to seek the Centres help for Delhis development. About the Author Nivedita Singh Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived... Read More Nivedita Singh is a data journalist and covers the Election Commission, Indian Railways and Ministry of Road Transport and Highways. She has nearly seven years of experience in the news media. She tweets @nived... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 20:31 IST News new-delhi-news Delhi To Get Rs 600 Crore As Special Financial Assistance From Centre Who Was Chandan Mishra? Patna Gangster Who Escaped Death Sentence, Only To Fall To Gang Rivals Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 23:48 IST Chandan Mishra, a convicted gangster serving a life sentence for murder, was shot dead inside a private hospital in Patna on Thursday morning. Jailed for a 2011 murder, Chandan Mishra was killed in broad daylight days before his parole was to end. (IMAGE: X/@insaan8084) Chandan Mishra, a 36-year-old murder convict who was out on parole, was gunned down inside a private hospital in Patna on Thursday. Five armed men stormed into the ICU and opened fire, killing him on the spot, police said. The accused have been identified and six suspects have been detained from Patna and Buxar. Police believe the killing is linked to a long-running gang rivalry. Recommended Stories A report by the Hindustan Times said he was sentenced to death for the 2011 murder of trader Rajendra Keshri, Chandan Mishras punishment was reduced to life imprisonment by the Patna High Court in February 2020. Serving time at Beur Central Jail, Chandan had been granted a 15-day parole for medical treatment which was due to end on July 18. But on Thursday, his criminal past and his rival caught up with him, even though he gave the noose a slip. The armed men stormed Paras Hospital in Patnas Shastri Nagar area, barged into his private room and opened fire before fleeing. The daylight shooting sparked panic in the hospital and sparked concerns regarding safety and security in Bihars capital city. Patna SSP Kartikey K Sharma told media that several bullet casings weee found inside the room where Mishra was being treated. Chandan Mishra, who was on parole, was admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment. He was shot by unidentified assailants inside the hospital. Prima facie, it seems to be an instance of targeted killing and was carried out after recce," he said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Chandan, also known as Chandan Singh, had more than 20 criminal cases against him, including murder and high-profile robberies at banks and jewellery shops. He was known to be a close associate of notorious interstate gold robber Santosh Singh. In 2014, the Special Task Force arrested him from Kolkata. Since then, he had been moved across jails from Buxar to Bhagalpur and finally to Beur Central Jail. 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 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 23:42 IST News cities patna-news Who Was Chandan Mishra? Patna Gangster Who Escaped Death Sentence, Only To Fall To Gang Rivals Ahom Valour Makes Its Way Into NCERT Textbooks In Step Towards Honouring Assams Legacy Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 16:13 IST The Ahoms, who migrated in the 13th century from Mong Mao (in present-day Myanmar) to Brahmaputra Valley, laid the foundations of one of the most enduring and effective dynasties In November 2022, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote to CMs of all states, requesting them to include the story of Lachit Borphukan in their school curricula. (PTI) In a significant step towards inclusive historical representation, the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has finally included a notable mention of the Ahom dynasty in its Class 8 history textbook, under the chapter Tribes, Nomads and Settled Communities. For a region often underrepresented in mainstream narratives, the inclusion is being seen as a long-overdue recognition of Assams resilient past and the extraordinary legacy of the Ahomsa dynasty that ruled for over six centuries and stood as a formidable bulwark against the Mughal Empire. Recommended Stories The Ahoms, who migrated in the 13th century from Mong Mao (in present-day Myanmar) to the Brahmaputra Valley, laid the foundations of one of the most enduring and effective dynasties in Indian history. Their arrival marks not just the beginning of a new political order in Assam, but also the rise of a regional power that maintained sovereignty for more than 600 yearsa feat unmatched by most dynasties in India. For decades, school textbooks in India have predominantly focused on empires like the Mughals, Mauryas, or Guptas, leaving little room for the nuanced histories of the north-eastern states. The Ahomsdespite their decisive resistance against 17 Mughal invasionshave remained largely in the margins of national historical discourse. The inclusion of even a single page in the NCERT textbook is thus being hailed as a symbolic but crucial correction in this skewed narrative. No discussion of Ahom valour is complete without mentioning Lachit Borphukan, the legendary general whose strategic brilliance in the Battle of Saraighat (1671) led to the defeat of the Mughals on the banks of the Brahmaputra. Borphukans resistance is not just a regional storyit is a national one, echoing the same spirit of defiance and courage exemplified by figures like Shivaji Maharaj or Maharana Pratap. We have been continuously pressing that the country should know and read about the glorious history of the Ahom dynasty and the valour," said Dr Prabin Hazarika, head of the department of history at Sibsagar Girls College. These are rulers who thwarted the Mughal invasion as many as 17 times. As we read about Guru Nanak and Maharana Pratap, our saints and heroes like Lachit Borphukan and Srimanta Shankardev should also be known nationwide and beyond." The sentiment has been echoed at the highest levels of the state government. In November 2022, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma wrote to the chief ministers of all Indian states, requesting them to include the story of Lachit Borphukan in their school curricula. Like you teach about your regional heroes," he urged, Assams hero should also be introduced to students across the country." The Ahom kingdom was not merely a military powerhouseit was a civilisational force. The dynasty introduced advanced agricultural practices, built impressive architecture such as the Rang Ghar and Talatal Ghar, and developed an efficient bureaucratic structure. Their integration of various tribes and communities helped create the foundations of a pluralistic Assamese identity. Over time, they adopted the Assamese language and promoted a distinct culture that thrived for generations. Despite numerous invasions, the Ahoms maintained their independence until the early 19th centurylong after many other Indian kingdoms had fallen. Their resilience remains one of the greatest untold stories in Indian history. While the inclusion in the NCERT curriculum is a landmark development, many scholars argue that this should be a beginningnot the end. The story of the Ahoms, and of Lachit Borphukan in particular, deserves more than a single page in a single textbook. It merits comprehensive inclusion at various levels of education, from school to university syllabi, and incorporation in national historical consciousness through popular media, documentaries, and literature. As India embraces the diversity of its cultural and historical landscape, it becomes essential to acknowledge and celebrate contributions from all its regions. The valour of the Ahoms is not just Assams prideit is Indias. The Ahoms appearance in NCERT textbooks may be brief, but it is a watershed moment. It represents a growing recognition that Indian history is not a monolithit is a mosaic. For millions of students across the country, this small yet significant inclusion will open a window into the world of a dynasty that defined resistance, governance, and cultural richness for over 600 years. As Dr Hazarika rightly notes, the time has come for the nation to remember its heroes from all corners. The story of the Ahoms is not a footnoteit is a full chapter waiting to be told. And now, finally, that chapter has begun. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all NCERT director Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani mentioned, All the historical facts and evidence mentioned in the Class 8 Social Science textbook published by NCERT are based on historical sources and texts like Baburnama, Banaras Gazetteer, Maasir-e-Alamgiri written by Saqi Muttid Khan and translated by Sir Jadunath Sarkar, the book The History and Culture of the Indian People written by RC Majumdar etc. The facts mentioned in the textbook are supported by authentic historical sources. These facts clarify the complexity of the social, religious and political aspects of Indian history. The rulers of the Mughal Empire, especially Aurangzeb, have been described in detail in Muntakhab-al-Lubab, written by his contemporary historian Khafi Khan. The NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook has presented these facts in a balanced and concise manner so that students not only know the facts but also understand their impact in depth." view comments Location : Assam, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 16:13 IST News education-career Ahom Valour Makes Its Way Into NCERT Textbooks In Step Towards Honouring Assams Legacy IIM Calcutta Gets Full-Time Director After Almost 2 Years, LU VC Takes Over Post Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 14:15 IST Before becoming the VC of Lucknow University, Rai was a professor of management at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU). IIM-Calcutta had been without a regular full-term director for nearly two years. (Image: IIMC) The Union Ministry of Education on Wednesday appointed Alok Kumar Rai, Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University, as the full-time director of the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-Calcutta). The institute has been without a regular full-term director for nearly two years. This appointment follows the arrest of a second-year student in a rape case. The President, acting as the Visitor of IIM Calcutta, approved Rais appointment, according to a letter from the ministry to the IIM Calcutta Board of Governors. Recommended Stories The letter from the ministry mentioned that after President Droupadi Murmus approval, Rai was appointed as the director under Section 16 (2) of the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017 (amended in 2023). The IIM-C Board must issue a copy of the appointment letter, and Rais acceptance letter must be sent to the ministry for records. This marks the first time in the history of Lucknow University that a vice-chancellor is joining a central institute like IIM. Before becoming the Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University, Rai was a professor of management at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and held various positions in high-level committees and panels. Previously, Professor Uttam Kumar Sarkar joined IIM Calcutta as the new director in 2021. Sarkar was a professor at the Management Information Systems Group of the institute and held BTech, MTech, and PhD degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT-Kharagpur. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all After Sarkars resignation, Sahadeb Sarkar was appointed as the interim director but left in January. Following Sahadeb Sarkars departure in 2023, Saibal Chattopadhyay was appointed as the director-in-charge of the institute. Meanwhile, a few days ago, a young woman was allegedly sexually harassed after being called to the IIM Joka boys hostel. When the woman went to the hostel, she reportedly consumed a drink laced with drugs, after which she fell unconscious. After she gained consciousness, she realised that she was raped. The accused has been arrested on the basis of an FIR lodged by the woman at Haridevpur Police Station, reported PTI citing officials. 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 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 13:53 IST News education-career IIM Calcutta Gets Full-Time Director After Almost 2 Years, LU VC Takes Over Post NCERT Omits Tipu Sultan, AngloMysore Wars From Class 8 Social Science Textbook Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 16:07 IST Michel Danino, chair of the textbook development committee, said the decision was taken as including every war would revert to a 'cramming' style filled with dates and battles Tipu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore, led four major wars between 1767 and 1799 with innovations like iron-cased rockets. (Britannica) NCERTs newly released Class 8 Social Science textbook, in the news for highlighting the brutality" of Mughals, also excludes Tipu Sultan, Haider Ali, and the four AngloMysore Wars from its chapter on colonial rule. While the book, Exploring Society: India and Beyond (Part 1), traces early European arrivalfrom Vasco da Gama to the Battle of Plasseyand highlights economic exploitation, the 1857 Rebellion, and cultural looting, the Mysore resistance is notably absent. Recommended Stories Instead, NCERT includes uprisings such as the SannyasiFakir rebellion, Kol and Santhal insurrections, and the AngloMaratha Wars. It even asserts that the British took India from the Marathas more than from the Mughals or any other power". Explaining the change, Michel Danino, chair of the textbook development committee, emphasised that the book serves as an overview and not a comprehensive history. He noted that including every war would revert to a cramming" style filled with dates and battlesand confirmed that Tipu Sultan and the AngloMysore Wars wont likely feature in Part 2 either, India Today reported. The revised edition also brings fresh perspectives: it spotlights the economic drain" on India, estimating a loss of $45 trillion (modern value) from 1765 to 1938, debunks the notion that railways and telegraphs were British benevolencerevealing they were funded by Indian taxesand highlights widespread cultural theft from colonial powers. However, critics argue the exclusions downplay significant chapters of Indias resistance. Tipu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore" who led four major wars between 1767 and 1799 with innovations like iron cased rockets, is a key figure lost in this narrative, the Indian Express reported. The textbook had also raised eyebrows for depicting Babur as a brutal and ruthless conqueror who slaughtered entire populations of cities", Akbars reign as a blend of brutality and tolerance", and Aurangzeb as one who demolished temples and gurdwaras. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all NCERT explained the inclusion of these descriptions in a Note on Some Darker Periods in History", with one chapter including a cautionary statement that no one should be held responsible today for events of the past". NCERT has been bringing out new school textbooks in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the National Curriculum Framework for School Education 2023. About the Author Apoorva Misra Apoorva Misra is News Editor at News18.com with over nine years of experience. She is a graduate from Delhi University's Lady Shri Ram College and holds a PG Diploma from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. S... Read More Apoorva Misra is News Editor at News18.com with over nine years of experience. She is a graduate from Delhi University's Lady Shri Ram College and holds a PG Diploma from Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. S... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 16:07 IST News education-career NCERT Omits Tipu Sultan, AngloMysore Wars From Class 8 Social Science Textbook 'Sanskrit Going Extinct, Only Census Can Save It!': Truth Behind Viral Claim | Fact Check Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 10:17 IST Social media warns Sanskrit faces extinction without census support. But with ongoing use in rituals and education, the language remains alive and actively preserved Raising awareness about Sanskrits role and encouraging its learning is important, but the claim that it faces extinction unless declared as a first language in the census lacks a factual basis. (News18) A message circulating on social media warns of the possible extinction of the Sanskrit language, urging citizens to declare Sanskrit as their first language in the upcoming national census. The claim suggests that failure to do so may result in Sanskrit being labelled as extinct, which could subsequently lead to the withdrawal of government grants, educational assistance, and preservation efforts. While it is accurate that Sanskrit is spoken by a relatively small number of people today, this limited usage does not imply the language is extinct. Recommended Stories The Census Push Social media posts claim that the census will be concluded by March 2027, and encourage people to select Sanskrit when asked about their mother tongue and languages known. Although Sanskrit is not widely spoken in everyday conversation, it is still regularly used in daily worship, chanting, the recitation of shlokas, and during religious rituals. According to the 2011 Census of India, 24,821 people reported Sanskrit as their first language, a significant rise from 14,135 in the 2001 census. In certain villages such as Dimmar in Uttarakhand, Mattur in Karnataka, and Jhiri in Madhya Pradesh, Sanskrit remains in active daily use. How Is Sanskrit Being Preserved And Supported? Sanskrit, regarded as Indias oldest and original language, holds deep cultural and religious significance. Various efforts continue to support its preservation. Numerous universities across India and abroad offer courses in Sanskrit, and some Indian states include the language as a compulsory or optional subject in schools. Educational institutions like Utkal University and the National Sanskrit University are dedicated to the teaching and research of Sanskrit. Furthermore, government bodies, including the Ministry of Education, have specific budget allocations for Sanskrits promotion, and separate grants are provided to institutions engaged in its study and preservation. Census And Language Policy: Understanding The Link The census is a key instrument in collecting data related to population, socio-economic indicators, education levels, and languages spoken. This information assists in the creation of government policies and development plans. Data concerning the number of speakers of a language can help indicate whether targeted support or special schemes are necessary for its preservation. However, government grants and support for a language are not determined solely by the number of speakers. Factors such as a languages historical, cultural, and constitutional status also play a significant role. Sanskrit, for instance, is included in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, which formally recognises its official importance. What Constitutes Language Extinction? A Closer Look The decision to classify a language as extinct is not made lightly. It involves defined criteria established by international organisations such as UNESCO. A language is considered extinct when no person speaks it as their mother tongue and no younger generation is learning it. While several Indian languages are indeed endangered and at risk of extinction, the suggestion that Sanskrit will lose government support unless listed as a first language in the census is inaccurate and overstated. Sanskrits Enduring Significance And Future Outlook top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Despite a decline in its everyday use, Sanskrit continues to be preserved through religious, educational, and scholarly practices. The languages historical, cultural, and religious value ensures that it remains eligible for ongoing government and institutional support, backed by dedicated budget allocations and national recognition. In conclusion, while raising awareness about Sanskrits role and encouraging its learning is important, the claim that it faces extinction or funding loss unless declared as a first language in the census lacks factual basis. The language remains a living cultural treasure, supported by a broad network of public and academic institutions. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 10:17 IST News explainers 'Sanskrit Going Extinct, Only Census Can Save It!': Truth Behind Viral Claim | Fact Check Why Do Pilots Declare 'Mayday' or 'PAN-PAN'? Decoding The Difference Between These Distress Calls Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 12:57 IST Mayday is a life-threatening emergency, such as engine failure, fire, or imminent crash while PAN-PAN is used for urgent but non-life-threatening situations Eleven Mayday calls were issued by aircraft operating in Indian airspace from January 2024 to May 2025, as per DGCA. When an aircraft faces trouble, communication becomes the first line of defence. On Wednesday, an IndiGo flight from Delhi to Goa made an emergency landing in Mumbai after the pilot declared Pan-Pan" due to malfunction in an engine, reports suggest. Pilots use internationally recognised radio distress signals to alert air traffic controllers about the severity of their situation. Mayday" and PAN-PAN" are two such critical calls. Though both indicate emergencies, their meanings, origins, and implications are quite different. Lets find out. Recommended Stories What Do Mayday And PAN-PAN Mean? Mayday is the most serious distress call in aviation and maritime communication. It signals a life-threatening emergency, such as engine failure, fire, or imminent crash. When a pilot or ship captain says Mayday" three times in succession over the radio, it is a clear indication that immediate help is required. Meanwhile, PAN-PAN is used for urgent but non-life-threatening situations. It could include technical malfunctions, a medical issue onboard, or unusual circumstances like a minor electrical failure. By declaring a Pan-Pan, the pilot signals the need for priority handling but not an immediate rescue operation. What Are The Origins Of These Terms? Mayday derives from the French phrase maider", a shortened form of venez maider", meaning come help me". The term was introduced in the 1920s by Frederick Stanley Mockford, a senior radio officer at Croydon Airport in London. He was asked to think of a word that would be understood by both English and French-speaking pilots and ground staff. Mayday" was chosen for its clarity and distinct sound over radio transmissions. PAN-PAN comes from the French word panne", meaning a breakdown or mechanical failure. Like Mayday, it is said three times to ensure it is clearly heard and understood. The repetition also helps distinguish it from casual communication. What Are The Procedural Differences Between The Two? When a Mayday is declared: Air traffic control (ATC) gives absolute priority to the aircraft. Emergency services are put on high alert or dispatched. Other aircraft are moved out of the way. Radar monitoring is intensified. When A PAN-PAN is declared: The flight is given priority handling, but it doesnt disrupt all other operations. The situation is monitored closely. No immediate emergency response is launched unless the situation escalates. Often, a Pan-Pan can be upgraded to a Mayday if conditions deteriorate. Notable Incidents Involving Mayday and Pan-Pan When Mayday or Pan-Pan Call Played A Key Role US Airways Flight 1549 (2009) Mayday Declared Known as the Miracle on the Hudson," this flight lost both engines after a bird strike shortly after take-off from New Yorks LaGuardia Airport. Captain Chesley Sully" Sullenberger declared a Mayday and successfully ditched the aircraft in the Hudson River, saving all 155 onboard. Air Canada Flight 797 (1983) Mayday Declared An in-flight fire broke out in the rear lavatory. The crew declared a Mayday as the fire spread. Despite a successful emergency landing in Cincinnati, 23 of the 46 passengers died due to smoke inhalation. Qantas Flight 32 (2010) PAN-PAN Initially Declared After an engine exploded mid-air, the crew of this A380 issued a PAN-PAN call. As the severity became clear, it was upgraded to Mayday. The pilots managed a safe emergency landing in Singapore with no fatalities. British Airways Flight 38 (2008) Mayday Declared On approach to Heathrow, both engines lost power due to ice crystals blocking fuel lines. The pilots declared a Mayday and managed a crash landing just short of the runway. All 152 people onboard survived. Swissair Flight 111 (1998) PAN-PAN Upgraded to Mayday A fire in the cockpit led to an initial Pan-Pan declaration. As smoke filled the cockpit and systems failed, the call was upgraded to Mayday. The aircraft crashed into the Atlantic near Nova Scotia, killing all 229 onboard. IndiGo Delhi-Goa Flight Incident (July 16, 2025) An IndiGo flight operating from Delhi to Goa made headlines when it diverted to Mumbai mid-route. The reason? The pilot issued a Pan-Pan call to air traffic control due to a technical snag. While the airline did not publicly elaborate on the nature of the issue, aviation sources reported it was non-critical but required prompt attention. The PAN-PAN call ensured the flight was given priority landing in Mumbai. Emergency teams were on standby, but the situation did not escalate to a Mayday. All passengers were safe, and after inspection, the aircraft was grounded for maintenance. The event demonstrated the effectiveness of the Pan-Pan protocol in pre-emptively addressing risks without causing unnecessary panic. How Many Mayday Calls Issued In India? According to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), engine failures were reported during both take-off and mid-air phases in several aircraft. A total of 65 incidents related to in-flight shutdown of engines from 2020 to 2025 (till date) were reported across India," the aviation regulator stated. From January 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025, 11 Mayday calls were issued by aircraft operating in Indian airspace. These included technical issues requiring emergency landings. Four of these flights landed in Hyderabad. The data excludes the June 19 IndiGo flight from Guwahati to Chennai that was rerouted to Bengaluru due to congestion and later reported low fuel 35 km from landing. Anil Rao, secretary of the Airline Pilots Association of India, told The Economic Times, Flight crew initiate MAYDAY calls when confronted with critical emergencies such as aircraft fires, engine failures or situations posing imminent danger, necessitating immediate landing or grounding as continued flight becomes unsafe." Why The Distinction Matters The aviation industry relies on clear, codified communication to ensure safety in the skies. Understanding the difference between Mayday and Pan-Pan helps not only aviation professionals but also the public and media avoid overreaction or underestimation of airborne situations. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all While both signals demand attention, Mayday is a cry for immediate help, while Pan-Pan is a call for urgent support that may not involve danger to life. As demonstrated by the IndiGo incident and other high-profile cases, quick identification and appropriate use of these calls can save lives and prevent disasters. The protocols ensure that no time is wasted, whether the situation is critical or just potentially risky. About the Author Shilpy Bisht Shilpy Bisht, Deputy News Editor at News18, writes and edits national, world and business stories. She started off as a print journalist, and then transitioned to online, in her 12 years of experience. Her prev... Read More Shilpy Bisht, Deputy News Editor at News18, writes and edits national, world and business stories. She started off as a print journalist, and then transitioned to online, in her 12 years of experience. Her prev... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 12:57 IST News explainers Why Do Pilots Declare 'Mayday' or 'PAN-PAN'? Decoding The Difference Between These Distress Calls Pre-Crash Tech Snag On AI-171, Capable of Causing Fuel Cutoff Signal, Under Scanner: Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 09:30 IST AI-171 crash initial report mentioned brief exchange between pilots regarding fuel control switch turning to "cutoff". Officials are probing if tech snag could have triggered it. Air India-171 crash initial report: Thrust Lever Quadrant & Fuel Control Switch. It is a switch that allows or cuts off fuel supply to the engines (Photo: Report) As the initial report on the Air India-171 crash drew criticism, the investigators are probing whether the Stabilizer Position Transducer malfunction detected and dealt with hours before the crash led to multiple sensor failure which possibly triggered un-commanded" actions in the aircraft, according to a report. Hours before the Ahmedabad to London Gatwick flight took off on June 12, a pilot flying the same plane from Delhi to Ahmedabad noted in the technical log a Stabilizer Position Transducer Defect, an official told The Indian Express. Recommended Stories The Stabilizer Position Transducer is a sensor that helps control the airplanes pitch the up and down movement of the nose. It sends electrical signals to the flight control system to ensure that the aircraft responds correctly to the pilots commands. The official said that the malfunction was checked, and the engineer did the troubleshooting according to Boeings procedures. The malfunction is a critical issue as it can trigger incorrect responses in flight control, including unintended fuel cut-off signal," the official said, adding that the Stabilizer Position Transducer malfunction did not cause this crash, but the question is whether it led to multiple sensor failure". The official told the newspaper that the probe of the snags that were recorded in the electrical and software components of the AI-171 will ascertain the possibility of an un-commanded transition" of the fuel control switches to the cut-off mode seconds after the flight was airborne. The flight had crashed seconds after takeoff on June 12, killing 241 people on board. The initial report published by the AAIB suggested the dual-engine shutdown as the cause of the crash, as per which, the fuel control switch was moved from Run to Cutoff position within a span of one second. The Run position was reinstated by the pilots; however, the aircraft crashed seconds later. The preliminary report published by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and put out in the public domain by the government had mentioned the brief exchange between the two pilots moments before the plane crash. The interaction was regarding the transition" of the fuel control switches that allow and cut the supply of fuel to the engines. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut-off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report said. The pilots association criticised the report, stating that the probe was being done presuming that the pilots were at fault. As per the newspaper, the same flight was involved in two more incidents one relating to electrical snags in the aircraft, leading to flight cancellation, and another related to a false fuel system warning flashing on the screen of the plane. The official said that analysis of flight data would focus on the trail of errors" mentioned in the technical logs to check the condition of the aircrafts electrical and software systems. According to the official, the plane had experienced two major snags earlier, one of which led to flight cancellation due to an unresolvable electric snag" in December 2024. The other was an emergency landing way back in 2015 due to Cabin Air Compressor surge, a known issue on the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner. On December 12, 2024, incidentally, the same AI-171 scheduled flight from Ahmedabad to Gatwick could not take off as it experienced a massive technical snag that led Air India to abort boarding The issue was an electrical failure that had been indicated in the incoming flight from Delhi. The flight took off the next day on December 13 after the issue was resolved A day prior, it had made a round trip between Delhi and Zurich, and no snags were reported," the official told the newspaper. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Explaining how things would have gone on in the ill-fated Air India plane that day, the official said, The AI-171 pilots had performed the functions of take-off, consistent with the protocols, right from a pulled back yoke to the flap handle assembly, thrust levers as seen in the wreckage the aircraft lifted off to initiate the climb after reaching Vr speed when the sensors switched to the air mode. Whether electric failure or software bug led to un-commanded actions and resulted in an engine failure within seconds, causing a loud bang, deployment of the RAT and the transition of the fuel switches to cut-off mode given the sensor snag reported in the prior flight, we cannot overlook the possibility of a system error that resulted in the unexplained transition." The probe is on to ascertain if the switch locks were disengaged due to an anomaly or if the FADECs (Full Authority Digital Engine Control) Engine Control Unit (the brain of the aircraft) malfunctioned as the microprocessor could have misinterpreted the commands and initiated uncontrolled actions," he added. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 08:44 IST News india Pre-Crash Tech Snag On AI-171, Capable of Causing Fuel Cutoff Signal, Under Scanner: Report 'Unfortunate': Govt Sources Rebut US Media Report On Air India Captain Amid Crash Probe Row Reported By : CNN-News18 Edited By: Vani Mehrotra Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 11:24 IST Contrary to the probe report, a new US media report suggests the fuel flow to the engines of the crashed Air India plane was cut by the captain. Govt sources have denied the same. Ahmedabad: This combo of file images from June 12, 2025 shows Air India plane crashes moments after taking off from the Ahmedabad airport (PTI) Unfortunate selective leaks were made to the foreign media regarding the Air India plane crash, top government sources told CNN-News18, referring to a recent report by The Wall Street Journal, suggesting that the flow of fuel to the planes engines was cut by the captain of the flight. Sources said there could be no reason the conversation between the two pilots, retrieved via the cockpit recording, be twisted to present that the fuel control switch was deliberately turned off by the senior pilot. Recommended Stories Further, they said the senior pilot on the flight, Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, came from a strong family background of civil aviation, as his father is a retired from the Civil Aviation Ministry. There are no reasons to support the claims that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal may have been under stress, sources said. The Wall Street Journal report comes even as the preliminary probe report hasnt established the fault of the pilots, or underlined if the fuel switch control was the cause of the crash. The new report also claimed that the first officer who was flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner asked the more experienced captain why he moved the fuel switches to the cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway. The US media report comes amid the displeasure by the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) over the preliminary investigation report on the Air India Boeing 787 plane crash. The new report cited people familiar with US officials early assessment of evidence uncovered in the investigation into the June 12 Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people. The first officer, who was flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, asked the more experienced captain why he moved the fuel switches to the cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway, the report said. The first officer expressed surprise and then panicked, while the captain seemed to remain calm, it added. The two pilots involved were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively. A preliminary report of the probe released last week summarised the exchange but didnt identify which pilot said what. The report, by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), stated that one pilot asked the other why he moved the switches, while the other denied doing so. One pilot was heard on the cockpit voice recorder asking the other why he cut off the fuel. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report mentioned. It, however, did not establish whether turning off the switches might have been accidental or deliberate. Meanwhile, another report with The Indian Express suggested that hours before the ill-fated Air India flight took off from the Ahmedabad airport, a pilot flying the same aircraft from Delhi to Ahmedabad had noted in the technical log a Stabilizer Position Transducer Defect. The malfunction is a critical issue as it can trigger incorrect responses in flight control, including unintended fuel cut-off signal," the report quoted an official as saying, adding, The Stabilizer Position Transducer malfunction did not cause this crash, but the question is whether it led to multiple sensor failure." Without fuel flowing to the engines, the London-bound plane began to lose thrust and sink. Almost immediately after the plane lifted off the ground, closed-circuit TV footage showed a backup energy source called a ram air turbine had deployed, indicating a loss of power from the engines. At the crash site, both fuel switches were found in the run position, and there had been indications of both engines relighting before the low-altitude crash, the report mentioned. In an internal memo on Monday, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance faults and that all required maintenance had been carried out. The AAIBs preliminary report had no safety recommendations for Boeing or engine manufacturer GE. PILOTS BODY URGES AGAINST PREMATURE CONCLUSIONS The FIP, a professional pilots body, has expressed concerns over the preliminary investigation report on the Air India Boeing 787 plane crash, saying that assigning blame before a thorough, transparent, and data-driven investigation is both premature and irresponsible." In a statement on Wednesday, the FIP also urged all stakeholders, including the media, commentators, and authorities, to refrain from disseminating partial narratives or making unfounded assumptions". It urged its members and the general public not to lend credence to such premature conclusions." The FIP expresses serious concern regarding the preliminary findings and public discourse surrounding the tragic crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad," it stated. Assigning blame before a thorough, transparent, and data-driven investigation is both premature and irresponsible. Such speculative commentary undermines the professionalism of highly trained crew members and causes undue distress to their families and colleagues," the Federation said in the statement. AIR INDIA CONCLUDES SWITCH INSPECTION On Wednesday, Air India announced the successful completion of precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) across its fleet of Boeing 787-8 aircraft. According to a communication sent to pilots, no issues were found during the checks. Over the weekend, our Engineering team initiated precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all our Boeing 787 aircraft. The inspections have been completed, and no issues were found," the airline informed its flight crew. Air India further confirmed that all of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft have also undergone Throttle Control Module (TCM) replacements as part of Boeings prescribed maintenance schedule. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Fuel Control Switch is an integrated part of the TCM. ALSO READ | Switching Off Fuel Is SOP During Engine Failures; AI-171 Crash Report Laughable: Pilot Body Chief About the Author Manoj Gupta Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 Group Editor, Investigations & Security Affairs, Network18 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 07:38 IST News india 'Unfortunate': Govt Sources Rebut US Media Report On Air India Captain Amid Crash Probe Row Akash Prime Tested At 15,000 Ft In Ladakh; 30-Km Range, High-Altitude Accuracy Proven Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 20:59 IST Akash Prime has an indigenous RF seeker for 360 coverage and better accuracy, designed for high-altitude, low-temp zones, and can hit aerial threats within 30 km range India has achieved a significant milestone by successfully destroying 2 Aerial High Speed Unmanned targets at high altitude in Ladakh Sector on 16th July by Akash Prime. (Photo: X@DefenceMinIndia) Indias indigenously developed Akash Surface-to-Air Missile System is making global headlines after its upgraded variant, Akash Prime, successfully cleared user trials at 15,000 feet in Ladakh. The advanced missile system, tested during the recent Operation Sindoor, has sparked international interest, with several countries now eyeing Indian-made air defence technology. Trials Before Induction Into The Army Recommended Stories Post Operation Sindoor, the Indian Army is upgrading its arsenal. DRDO develops and tests weapons in diverse terrains before handing them to industry for production. Akash Prime is now under user trials. Recently, a trial took place in Ladakh in the presence of DRDO, Army, and industry officials, where Akash Prime missiles successfully hit two fast-moving aerial targets, overcoming the challenges posed by constantly changing weather at high altitudes. India has achieved a significant milestone by successfully destroying 2 Aerial High Speed Unmanned targets at high altitude in Ladakh Sector on 16th July by Akash Prime, which is the upgraded variant of Akash Weapon System for the Indian Army. pic.twitter.com/DjJAc5uzkk / RMO India (@DefenceMinIndia) July 17, 2025 Akash Prime Offers Upgraded Capabilities Over Existing System Akash Prime is equipped with an indigenous active radio frequency seeker, providing 360-degree engagement capability and increased accuracy. Designed specifically for high-altitude and low-temperature areas, Akash Prime can effectively engage aerial threats within a 30-kilometre radius. The first trial of Akash Prime was conducted on September 27, 2021 at the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur. The existing Akash system has a range of 25 kilometres and travels towards its target at a speed of 2.5 Mach. Akash NG Next in Line After Prime top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Looking ahead, the next generation of Akash, Akash NG, is also ready. Akash NG has a range of 70 to 80 kilometres, and its radar can detect over 60 air targets simultaneously from a distance of 150 kilometres, tracking them to the kill zone for destruction. The Indian Army and Air Force have already integrated the Akash systems into their defence arsenal. Developed by DRDO, Akash is a medium-range surface-to-air missile system capable of targeting fighters, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles within a range of 25 to 45 kilometres. view comments Location : Ladakh, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 17:50 IST News india Akash Prime Tested At 15,000 Ft In Ladakh; 30-Km Range, High-Altitude Accuracy Proven 'All Mechanical, Technical Aspects Under Probe': Sources Amid Air India Crash Report Row Reported By : News18.com Edited By: Pragati Ratti Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 13:22 IST Sources close to the probe say while fuel switches in modern aircraft can't move without human intervention, any possible malfunction that moved the fuel switch is under probe. The Air India plane crashed in Ahmedabad on June 12. (File image: PTI) As the controversy deepens around the preliminary probe report on the crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, sources close to the probe have confirmed that all mechanical and technical aspects are being thoroughly investigated, including a possible fuel valve malfunction. Sources say that while fuel switches in modern aircraft cannot move without human intervention, investigators are probing whether a technical or mechanical fault may have triggered malfunctioning of the fuel switch. One clue under examination is the error STAB POS XDCR" that was noted by pilots after the DelhiAhmedabad leg of the flight, say sources. This refers to a stabiliser position transducer defect, which could affect how the aircraft senses the position of its nose. While unrelated to the fuel switch directly, sources say it is being assessed whether such a sensor issue could have interfered with other onboard systems, including those linked to fuel management. Recommended Stories Aviation professionals highlight that todays aircraft are fully computerised, and key systems like Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) and Thrust Control Malfunction Accommodation (TCMA) are capable of overriding pilot commands in case of anomalies. These technologies are now central to the investigation into whether automation errors contributed to fuel shutoff. Possibility Of Shutting On Its Own Cant Be Denied: Pilot Body Chief Captain Sam Thomas of the Federation of Airline Pilot Association has said that the possibility of the fuel valve shutting on its own cannot be denied. He quoted a 2019 incident of Japan where a similar valve malfunction had happened. If the TCMA does not read the exact air ground position, there is a safety position that advises the FADEC to cut off the fuel to the control valve. Now that has happened with the ANA incident in Japan. After landing, there was a misread with the reverser which was deployed quicker than what you normally do. If there is a lag, the computer assumes certain things," he said. It is theoretically possible that the fuel valve acts independently of the fuel switch in case of an overall sensor malfunction. If you are asking me if the fuel valve can shut off independent of the fuel switch going into cut off, the answer is yes. There are conditions in which the FADEC will turn off the valve even as the fuel control switch is in Run position," Captain Thomas said. In 2019, an Air Nipon Airways flight had reported a malfunction where the Thrust Control Malfunction Accommodation system cut the fuel to the engines without pilot intervention. How A WSJ Report Sparked Row Over AI Crash The probe gained public attention after a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report claimed that a senior pilot may have accidentally cut off fuel supply to both engines, leading to the crash. The article, citing anonymous officials familiar with the matter, alleged that the pilots action was not in response to an emergency a move described as inexplicable" by observers quoted in the report. Another report by the WSJ now puts the blame on the senior pilot. It says the cockpit recording between the two pilots indicates that the flow of fuel to the planes engines was cut by the captain of the flight. This came even as the preliminary probe report hasnt established the fault of the pilots, or underlined if the fuel switch control was the cause of the crash. The first officer, who was flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, asked the more experienced captain why he moved the fuel switches to the cutoff" position seconds after lifting off the runway, the report said. The first officer expressed surprise and then panicked, while the captain seemed to remain calm, it added. What the AAIB report said The preliminary report published by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and put out in the public domain by the government had mentioned the brief exchange between the two pilots moments before the plane crash. The interaction was regarding the transition" of the fuel control switches that allow and cut the supply of fuel to the engines. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut-off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report said. What Pilot Body Said However, this version has been strongly challenged by the pilot community. The Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) has dismissed the claims, with its chief, Captain SP Varma, calling the report laughable" and premature. He argued that cutting off fuel is standard operating procedure during engine fires or confirmed failures, but not during normal operations. Speculation without data from the cockpit voice and flight data recorders is irresponsible," Varma stated. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all As investigations continue, officials remain cautious in drawing conclusions. The Air India plane crash on June 12 left 241 people on board the plane dead while one passenger survived. The crash also led to casualties on the ground. About the Author Arunima Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero ... Read More Arunima is Editor (Home Affairs) and covers strategic, security and political affairs. From the Ukraine-Russia War to the India-China stand-off in Ladakh to India-Pak clashes, she has reported from ground zero ... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 10:48 IST News india 'All Mechanical, Technical Aspects Under Probe': Sources Amid Air India Crash Report Row Amarnath Yatra Suspended Today Due To Heavy Rain; Woman Pilgrim Killed, Three Injured Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 12:40 IST Amarnath Yatra has been suspended for Thursday from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps due to incessant rainfall. The Amarnath Yatra will continue till August 9. In view of the incessant rainfall, authorities have suspended Amarnath Yatra for Thursday (July 17) from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps. According to the officials, the decision has been taken due to heavy rainfall for the past two days. The suspension comes as authorities rush to carry out repair work on the pilgrimage route, affected due to continuous downpour, informed Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Vijay Kumar Bidhuri. Recommended Stories Due to the continuous rains over the last couple of days, urgent repair and maintenance works are required to be carried out on the tracks. Therefore, it has been decided that no movement shall be allowed towards the Holy Cave from the two base camps today," Bidhuri was quoted as saying news agency PTI. However, the pilgrims are allowed to descend from the Baltal base camp. Adequate security teams have been deployed in the area. Reportedly, the pilgrimage is expected to resume tomorrow. However, it will also depend on the weather conditions. A Woman Pilgrim Died, 3 Others Injured A woman pilgrim died while three others sustained injuries on Wednesday in a landslide incident along the Baltal route of the Amarnath Yatra in Ganderbal district of Jammu and Kashmir. Four pilgrims were washed downhill by a landslide at Railpathri along the Baltal axis to the holy cave on Wednesday evening. Disturbing videos emerging from the Amarnath Yatra route. Praying for the safety of all our yatris. Hope everyone stays safe and reaches home unharmed. pic.twitter.com/oY6DRgkJiP FK (@FaisalKhankashi) July 16, 2025 According to PTI, the death toll in this years Amarnath Yatra has risen to 15. Amarnath Yatra Crosses 2.47 Lakh Pilgrims Mark So far, over 2.47 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the Holy Cave Shrine during the Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2025, according to the Department of Information & Public Relations (DIPR) Kashmir. J&K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Wednesday expressed optimism about a record turnout for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, noting the fears around the turnout after the Pahalgam terror attack in April which shook the nation. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Amarnath Yatra will continue till August 9, and I hope that this number will increase. There was a time when after the Pahalgam attack, it seemed that hardly anyone would come for the Amarnath Yatra. But we have touched 2.5 lakh, and if it stays like this, then we should easily cross 3 lakh and 3.5 lakh," 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 view comments Location : Jammu and Kashmir, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 09:38 IST News india Amarnath Yatra Suspended Today Due To Heavy Rain; Woman Pilgrim Killed, Three Injured For The First Time, 9 Convicted In Digital Arrest Case By West Bengal Court Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Oindrila Mukherjee Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 22:22 IST The convicts four from Maharashtra, three from Haryana and two from Gujarat were found guilty of duping a retired agricultural scientist of nearly Rs 1 crore The police said the digital arrest racket has international links, and the kingpin is believed to be based in a Southeast Asian country. (Image for representation: Shutterstock) Nine members of an inter-state gang were on Thursday convicted in a in a digital arrest cyber fraud case marking the first such instance by a sub-divisional court in West Bengals Kalyani. The convicts four from Maharashtra, three from Haryana and two from Gujarat were found guilty of duping a retired agricultural scientist of nearly Rs 1 crore. The Kalyani court judge pronounced all the nine accused persons guilty under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act. The court will pronounce its sentence on Friday (July 18). Recommended Stories Additional SP (headquarters), Ranaghat police district, Siddharth Dhapola said the investigation into the cyber fraud case was based on a 2024 complaint by the victim, who alleged that he had been cheated of Rs 1 crore under digital arrest. Acting on the complaint, the police launched a month-long operation and arrested the convicts from different states. Cyber crime units from Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, and Rajasthan apprehended 13 people, including a woman, in 2024. Dhapola said the police recovered numerous documents and devices such as mobile phones, bank passbooks, cheque books, and PAN cards during the investigation. In addition, 100 bank accounts were seized, the officer said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The police said the racket has international links, and the kingpin is believed to be based in a Southeast Asian country. (With PTI 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 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 22:22 IST News india For The First Time, 9 Convicted In Digital Arrest Case By West Bengal Court How Much Thiruvananthapuram Airport Is Earning From UKs F-35 Jet Parking? Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 20:05 IST A UK F-35 jet has been stuck in Kerala since June 14 due to technical issues, incurring a daily parking fee of Rs 26,261. A British team arrived on July 6 to repair it. British F-35 Fighter Jet makes emergency landing (Representative Image) The UKs F-35 fighter jet stranded in Keralas Thiruvananthapuram for more than a month due to technical issues is reportedly paying a parking fees" to the airport. On July 6, the British Royal Navy fighter jet was moved to a designated facility for British engineers to assess it. Recommended Stories As per the report by CNBC-TV 18 citing Indian Defence Research Wing (IDWR), it was estimated that the parking fees of the British jet is Rs 26,261 per day. As per this estimate, the parking fee for 33 days since June 14 amounts to be around Rs 8.6 lakh. A 24-person team of British Royal Air Force arrived in Thiruvananthapuram on July 6 to inspect and assess the British F-35B fighter jet that remained grounded following an emergency landing. The team consisting of 14 technical experts and 10 crew members assessed the condition of the stranded jet to determine whether it can be repaired locally or needs to be dismantled and transported back to the United Kingdom. As reported earlier, the fighter jet is expected to fly back to the United Kingdom this week. Last week, the Associated Press quoted Indian officials as saying that engineers hope to repair the plane in the next few days before it can fly back to the UK. The jet, worth over $110 million, is one of the most advanced fighter planes in the world. The aircraft was conducting operations 100 nautical miles off the coast of Kerala when it made an emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14 due to a technical problem. The F-35B jet, owned by Britains Royal Navy, might need to be dismantled for transport or flown out in one piece using a large special aircraft like the C-17 Globemaster. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Indian Air Force extended all possible support for rectifying the issue and ensuring its return. However, when the fighter jet was preparing to return to its carrier, a hydraulic failure was detected during pre-departure checks. A small Royal Navy team attempted to repair the malfunction but was unsuccessful. The F-35B is the only fifth-generation fighter jet with short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) capabilities, making it suitable for small decks, austere bases, and ships. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments Location : Thiruvananthapuram, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 20:05 IST News india How Much Thiruvananthapuram Airport Is Earning From UKs F-35 Jet Parking? PAN PAN PAN: IndiGo Pilot Issued Emergency Call Before Delhi-Goa Flight Landed In Mumbai Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 07:38 IST A Goa-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi made an emergency landing in Mumbai due to a mid-air engine failure, causing the pilot to declare 'PAN PAN PAN', a report claimed. IndiGo Flight | Representative Image As the Goa-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi was to make an emergency landing in Mumbai on Wednesday, the pilot of the plane declared PAN PAN PAN, Hindustan Times reported, quoting officials. The report also claimed the incident happened when the IndiGo flight was flying about 100 nautical miles north of Bhubaneswar. Recommended Stories The pilot declared PAN PAN PAN (an urgent message indicating a non-life-threatening emergency) due to a malfunction in engine number 1," an official told HT. The Goa-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi made an emergency landing in Mumbai on after it was diverted to the city due to a mid-air engine failure. Later, the airline, in a statement, said a technical snag" forced the aircraft to be diverted to Mumbai. Full emergency was declared for IndiGo flight 6E-6271, operating on Delhi-Goa route after it was diverted to Mumbai due to one engine failure," news agency PTI quoted a source as saying. A technical snag was detected on flight 6E 6271 while flying from Delhi to Manohar International Airport, Goa on July 16. Following procedures, the aircraft was diverted and landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai," the IndiGo spokesperson said. The airline did not share the number of people on board or the nature of the snag. While the aircraft will undergo necessary checks and maintenance before resuming operations, an alternative aircraft has been arranged for completing the journey, which will depart shortly with the customers," the spokesperson said. In a separate statement, a spokesperson from the Mumbai airport said, Following the diversion of a DelhiGoa flight due to a technical snag, a full emergency was declared at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai (CSMIA) at 21:35 hours on 16 July 2025. The flight landed safely at 21:52 hours. The full emergency status was withdrawn at 21:57 hours." Passengers were safely deboarded and assisted by terminal staff. While the airline coordinates alternative onward travel for the passengers, CSMIAs Terminal Operations team remains on standby to provide all necessary support," the spokesperson said. There has been no impact on overall airport operations. At CSMIA, safety always remains our highest priority," they added. On Tuesday, an IndiGo flight from Delhi had a harrowing experience when the aircraft took off immediately after touchdown at Patnas Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport. There were 173 passengers onboard the flight at the time of the incident. The incident took place at 9 pm due to an unstable approach. IndiGo flight 6E 2482 touched down at the runway, but the pilot realised the aircraft might not have adequate runway space to slow down and subsequently took off. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all After circling in the sky for some time, the pilot landed the aircraft safely, officials said. ALSO READ | Air India To Operate 3 Weekly Flights To London Heathrow From Aug 1, Replacing Gatwick 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. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 06:43 IST News india PAN PAN PAN: IndiGo Pilot Issued Emergency Call Before Delhi-Goa Flight Landed In Mumbai IndiGo Issues Travel Advisory For Delhi Flights Amidst Heavy Rainfall Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 22:44 IST IndiGo Airlines issued a travel advisory due to heavy rainfall in Delhi, warning of waterlogged roads and traffic delays. Passengers should leave early and check flight status. A representative image of an IndiGo flight (PTI) In light of the heavy rainfall affecting various parts of Delhi, IndiGo Airlines has issued a travel advisory for passengers flying in and out of the city. The advisory highlights that several roads leading to the airport are experiencing waterlogging and traffic congestion, which may cause delays for travellers Passengers are advised to plan their journey to the airport accordingly, leaving earlier than usual to account for potential traffic snarls. They are also encouraged to check their flight status on the IndiGo app or website for any updates. Recommended Stories In a post on X, the airline assured that its teams are closely monitoring the situation to ensure smooth operations and prioritise passenger safety and comfort. Travellers are cautioned to exercise caution while driving on wet and slippery roads. Heavy rainfall is affecting large parts of #Delhi, and some roads towards the airport are experiencing water build-up and traffic delays. If you have a flight, please leave earlier than usual and check your flight status on our app or website https://bit.ly/31paVKQ. Be careful on wet and slippery roads. Our teams are actively monitoring the situation to keep operations going smoothly," the airline posted on X. By issuing this advisory, IndiGo aims to help passengers prepare for their journeys and minimise disruptions caused by the inclement weather. Meanwhile, on Thursday evening, light rainfall lashed parts of the national capital. Earlier in the day, a drizzle was witnessed in Delhi. The rainfall is likely to continue tomorrow as the IMD has issued an alert. However, the rains caused traffic snarls across various places in the national capital. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Since morning, the Delhi NCR has been covered with clouds. By evening, dark clouds covered the sky and strong winds started blowing, followed by the rainfall. It is raining in many areas. Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, and Faridabad. Heavy rainfall hit several areas of Delhi, including ITO, around 09:30, resulting in significant traffic congestion and making it challenging for commuters to reach their destinations. The downpour and subsequent traffic snarls caused considerable difficulties for people trying to get home. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 22:44 IST News india IndiGo Issues Travel Advisory For Delhi Flights Amidst Heavy Rainfall 'It Was Her Agni Pariksha': Friend Reveals How Trolling Crushed Balasore Victim's Spirit Reported By : CNN-News18 Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 08:59 IST The woman said the principal was approached several times to act against the HoD but he, instead, warned the victim of consequences if she failed to prove her complaint Odisha college student set herself on fire over sexual harassment by teacher | Image: X The 20-year-old BEd student of Balasores Fakir Mohan Autonomous College, who set herself on fire over the alleged harassment by her HoD and assistant professor Samir Kumar Sahu, approached her principal several times to share her ordeal but did not get a favourable response. The apathy was revealed by the victims close friend, who, in an interview with CNN-News18, said: The principal asked for some time and took 78 days but did nothing. In fact, he warned the victim of consequences if she failed to prove her complaint," she said. Recommended Stories The victims friend said she was trolled by juniors, who called her a bad girl" on social media and campus and assassinated her character. On June 30, us friends accompanied her for support. She had gone to the principal earlier too, but wasnt heard. On June 30, we all went with her to demand action. The principal asked for 7-8 days but did nothing. The HoD instigated students to defame her." The woman said the victim was used as a political tool by opposition student union NSUI" and those showing sympathy now were the same who tarnished her image. Sharing details of the fateful day when the woman self-immolated, her friend said: She looked okay and calm in the morning. The fact that she couldnt provide proof pushed her to take the extreme step; it was her Agni Pariksha. However, when we returned from lunch, we saw what she had done. The shaming crushed her spirit. She felt isolated, unheard, and humiliated and took the drastic step." The woman said the fight for justice would not end with the victims death. She did not burn aloneall of us are burning with her today. She taught us that we must always fight for the rights of girls." THE CASE Shocking details of the case have come to the fore after the victims death, including the apathy of the college administration as well as pressure from some of her own peers who supported the accused. The student, in her complaint to the colleges Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) on July 1, had mentioned that the professor had asked for a favour" from her, refusal of which invited mental harassment. When she (the student) asked him what kind of favour, Sahoo allegedly said, You are not a child to not understand what favour I need," Minati Sethi, a member of the ICC, told a news portal. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Upset over being unable to prove her allegations, the student set herself ablaze shortly after coming out of the principals chamber. She suffered 95 per cent burns and was first admitted to the Balasore District Headquarters Hospital. Later, she was shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar for advanced treatment. The accused professor and the principal of the college were arrested in connection with the case. The University Grants Commission has set up a four-member fact-finding team to look into the incident. 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 view comments Location : Odisha (Orissa), India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 08:58 IST News india 'It Was Her Agni Pariksha': Friend Reveals How Trolling Crushed Balasore Victim's Spirit Meerut Woman Dies After Weight-Loss Surgery, Family Alleges Negligence, Doctor Denies Charge Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 12:20 IST A woman died after undergoing bariatric surgery in Meerut, prompting her family to allege medical negligence. The doctor denied the claims, citing her pre-existing conditions. A representative image of a hospital (PTI) A 55-year-old woman died at a hospital in Meerut after she underwent a bariatric surgery for weight loss. Her family members expressed outrage over the incident and approached the higher authorities at the hospital with a complaint against the doctor who performed the surgery. Recommended Stories The woman was identified as Rajni Gupta and was operated for weight loss on July 11. She passed away on July 13. The incident was reported after the situation at the hospital escalated following an outrage among the patients family members and the police were called. Officials from the health department also arrived at the scene. According to the details, Rajni Gupta, wife of businessman Brajmohan Gupta and a resident of Sadar Bazar, was admitted to the Nutima Hospital on Garh Road on July 11 for the weight-loss surgery. Her family claims she was influenced by a social media advertisement promoting bariatric surgery. At the time of her surgery, she weighed 123 kg and had opted for the procedure performed by bariatric surgeon Dr Rishi Singhal, the family said. The deceaseds son, Shubham Gupta, said his sister (Rajnis daughter), Shivani (26), also underwent the same surgery at the hospital as she weighed nearly 120 kg. The family alleged that the doctor promised a loss of 30 kg within 24 hours. While Shivanis operation was successful, Rajni passed away following her surgery. It was known that Rajni experienced severe abdominal pain the day after surgery, which the doctors allegedly dismissed. On July 13, an X-ray revealed a leak in the abdomen, allegedly caused during surgery, leading to infection, the family claimed, further alleging that she died as she did not receive proper treatment. A complaint with the Medical Police Station was filed by Rajnis husband, who accused the doctor and the hospital staff of negligence. In response to the allegations, Dr Rishi Singhal said Rajni and her daughter attended an event on December 15, 2024, featuring over 150 of his treated patients. Impressed by the results, they approached him on July 8, requesting surgeries while their family business was on hold due to the Kanwar Yatra, the doctor said. He further noted that he informed them that the surgery could not be done immediately without tests and proper preparation. Shivani returned the next day with reports, and Rajnis surgery was scheduled for July 11, while Shivanis was booked for July 14. Rajni had multiple pre-existing conditions diabetes, high blood pressure, thyroid issues, fatty liver, sleep apnea, high cholesterol, and cardiac concerns," he said, adding that both mother and daughter were informed that the procedure would be critical. Rajni underwent a successful surgery on July 11, after which Shivani requested her surgery be advanced to July 12. Both were stable until the morning of July 13. However, Rajni experienced uneasiness that evening and was immediately shifted" to the ICU, the doctor said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all He further claimed that a team of doctors, including Vishwajeet Bembi, Vishal Saxena, Avneet Rana, Mitul Jain, Hariraj Tomar, and Sandeep Garg, attempted treatment, but she died of a heart attack despite their efforts. ALSO READ | Jammu Hospital Doctor Assaulted By Dead Patients Family Over Alleged Negligence 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. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 12:20 IST News india Meerut Woman Dies After Weight-Loss Surgery, Family Alleges Negligence, Doctor Denies Charge Most Murders Happen In April-June As Farmers Don't Have Work: Bihar ADG's Bizarre Remark Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 13:19 IST A top Bihar cop said that murder incidents rise in the state from April to June as "farmers don't have work" during this period. Bihar top cop's bizarre remark on recent murders (ANI Image) In a bizarre statement, a top official in the Bihar Police said that crime incidents tend to rise in the months of April to June because farmers dont have work" during that period. Recently, a lot of murders have happened in the whole of Bihar. Most murders happen in the months of April, May, and June. This continues until the rains come, as most farmers do not have work. After the rains, people in the farming community get busy and the incidents reduce," Bihar Police ADG Headquarters, Kundan Krishnan, said while addressing the media on Wednesday. Recommended Stories #WATCH | Patna: Bihar ADG (HQ) Kundan Krishnan says, Recently, a lot of murders have happened in the whole of Bihar. Most murders happen in the months of April, May and June. This continues until the rains come, as most farmers do not have work. After the rains, people in the pic.twitter.com/b1OsUEWGTr ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 He said that the media keeps focusing on the murders, and political leaders also give attention to such incidents due to the upcoming Assembly Elections. Murders happen across Bihar incidents do occur but the media keeps focusing on one murder after another. Since elections are approaching, political parties are also giving it more attention. We are concerned. Young people are increasingly committing such acts for money," he said. So we have formed a new cell this month. The work of that cell will be to create a database of all the former shooters, contract killers, and keep an eye on them," he added. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Bihar has seen a rise in crime incidents lately, in which notable figures were also targeted. Businessman Gopal Khemka was murdered outside his residence in Patna by a bike-borne assailant. A BJP leader, Surendra Kewat, a former president of the Punpun BJP Kisan Morcha, was shot dead last week, raising concerns on the law and order in the state. (With ANI inputs) About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 13:09 IST News india Most Murders Happen In April-June As Farmers Don't Have Work: Bihar ADG's Bizarre Remark Nitish Kumar's Party Leader Murdered In Bihar, 2nd Political Killing In 4 Days Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 16:50 IST Rajkishor Nishad, a JDU leader, was killed in Khagaria, Bihar, two days after BJP leader Surendra Kewat was shot dead in Patna. Criminals used an iron rod to carry out this crime. (Representative image) In a shocking incident, a leader from Chief Minister Nitish Kumars party, Janta Dal (United), was killed in broad daylight in Khagaria on Thursday. As per the report by NDTV, the deceased leader, identified as Rajkishor Nishad, was killed by a group of assailants allegedly using an iron rod. Recommended Stories The incident came just two days after BJP leader Surendra Kewat was shot dead by two bike-borne men in Patna. The 52-year-old suffered four bullet injuries in the attack. He was rushed to the AIIMS in Patna, where he died during treatment. Meanwhile in another incident, the father of a JDU bloc leader was murdered under suspicious circumstances in Rohtas today. Parasnath Singh, father of JD(U) Block President Rakesh Kumar alias Bhola, was killed in Amara village under Tilauthu block of Sasaram. According to local police, Parasnath Singh had built a cowshed in the village two months ago, where he stayed to take care of his cattle and sometimes drove an auto-rickshaw to support his family. In the early hours of Thursday, villagers found Singh murdered inside the cowshed with blood splattered all over the place. In another incident, unidentified miscreants opened fire at a hospital in Patna today morning in which a person, identified as Chandan Mishra, who was out on parole and was undergoing treatment at Paras HMRI hospital, was shot dead. The attackers were identified as those working as builders, associated with a real estate firm, in the area. The attackers had been allegedly involved in crime-related activities earlier. The string of murder incidents has become a challenge for the Nitish Kumar government in the election year as it struggles to counter the Oppositions narrative on Bihars law and order situation. Additionally, Union Minister and NDA ally Chirag Paswan hit out at the Nitish Kumar-led BJP-JDU government, saying that Bihars law and order situation has become a cause for concern. Law and order in Bihar has become a serious concern today. Murders are happening every day, and the morale of criminals is sky-high. The functioning of the police and administration is beyond comprehension" Paswan said in a post on X. , (@iChiragPaswan) July 17, 2025 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The RJD-Congress alliance has been trying to corner the BJP-JDU combine on the law and order issue ahead of the polls, and these political attacks have intensified in the aftermath of the murder of prominent businessman and BJP leader Gopal Khemka outside his Patna home. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments Location : Khagaria, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 16:50 IST News india Nitish Kumar's Party Leader Murdered In Bihar, 2nd Political Killing In 4 Days 5 Armed Men Walk Into Patna Hospital, Kill Murder Accused | Video Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 20:27 IST Patna Murder: The attackers were reportedly working in the real estate sector Firing at Patna hospital by armed men (Screengrab/CCTV video) Unidentified miscreants opened fire at a hospital in Bihars Patna on Thursday morning. A person, identified as Chandan Mishra, who is out on parole and was undergoing treatment at Paras HMRI hospital, was shot dead by gunmen. One of the accused has been arrested, and others have been identified, NDTV reported. Recommended Stories The attackers allegedly worked as builders and were associated with a real estate firm in the area. The attackers had been allegedly involved in crime-related activities earlier. There were no reports of any injuries to other people at the hospital. A purported video from the hospital showed armed men entering the hospital lobby. Moments later, they were seen running away after firing. The police were called, and as investigations progressed, they identified the victim as Chandan Mishra, a resident of Buxar district. Police said that Chandan had been behind bars on murder charges, but was out on parole to get himself treated for health issues. While he was at the hospital, five criminals, armed with pistols, arrived at the hospital and fired shots. Commenting on the incident, Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma said, A criminal, named Chandan Mishra, a resident of Buxar district, against whom dozens of cases of murder are registered, was transferred from Buxar to Bhagalpur jail." Chandan was on parole and admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment. The rival gang shot him," the SSP said. We are identifying the members of the rival gang. We have the photographs of the shooters," he added. On July 14, an arrested criminal was injured in a police firing in Patnas Ranitalab area following an alleged attempt to escape custody. According to a statement by the Patna Police, the incident occurred around 9.30 pm on Sunday, when Suraj Kumar, a criminal arrested for his alleged involvement in a recent firing incident and several other cases, was being taken in a police vehicle to help locate his associates. Kumar managed to escape from police custody and started running. Despite repeated requests by security personnel, he did not stop," the statement mentioned. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all As a result, officers resorted to controlled firing, during which Kumar sustained a bullet injury to his leg. He was immediately overpowered and taken into custody," it added. ALSO READ | Haryanvi Rapper Fazilpuria Survives Targeted Shooting Near Gurugram, Probe Underway 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. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 09:59 IST News india 5 Armed Men Walk Into Patna Hospital, Kill Murder Accused | Video No Choice: Nishikant Dubey Says BJP Needs PM Modi In 2029 Polls Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 20:04 IST BJP's Nishikant Dubey sees PM Modi as the party's leader for 15-20 years, claiming BJP won't win 150 seats in 2029 without him. He also spoke on Thackeray brothers and Owaisi. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey (PTI Image) BJP leader Nishikant Dubey has said that he considers Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the partys central leader for the next 15-20 years as the party wont be able to secure a good margin in the 2029 Lok Sabha polls if the latter wont be projected as the partys face. In a two-minute teaser of interview shared by ANI, the Godda MP expressed his views on varied issues and topics, ranging from his controversial remark on Thackeray brothers, Operation Bluestar and his love-hate" relationship with AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. Recommended Stories EP-327 with BJP MP Nishikant Dubey premieres tomorrow at 5 PM ISTToday, the BJP needs Modi; he doesnt need the BJP" Nishikant Dubey If Modi ji is not our leader, then BJP wont even win 150 seats" Nishikant Dubey#ANIPodcast #SmitaPrakash #Modi #BJP #RSS pic.twitter.com/zMNTFzE4Bj ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 BJP Needs PM Modi In the interview with the news agency, the BJP MP said that he only sees Narendra Modi as the central leader for the next 15-20 years. He even claimed that if PM Modi wont be projected as the BJPs face, the saffron camp wont be able to win even 150 seats in the general elections. He said that BJP has no choice other than PM Modi to contest the 2029 Lok Sabha elections in his name. When asked about Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwats recent remarks suggesting that leaders should step aside at the age of 75, Dubey said that this does not apply to PM Modi as the party needs him to be in power rather than PM Modi requiring BJP. The BJP MP further said that a political party functions on the basis of personality cult. Remark on Thackerays The BJP MP also spilled the beans about his recent controversial remark on Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray over the ongoing language row in Maharashtra where he dared the bahut bade boss to come out of the state and said, Tumko patak patak ke maarenge" (you will be thrashed badly, again and again). Dubey said he being a lawmaker, he wont take the law in his hands, but the people of whichever state the Thackeray brothers will visit, will thrash them. Dubeys comments came in response to Raj Thackerays comment on the victory rally in Mumbai earlier this month, where he told his party workers to beat those who dont speak Marathi, but not to record videos of such incidents. Love-Hate Relationship With Owaisi Dubey also revealed about the relationship and bond he shares with his arch rival and AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi. During the interview, he said that he shares a cheerful and friendly bond with Owaisi for a long time. Dubey said that Owaisi is a family friend of him for years. The two firebrand leaders from rival parties were part of a seven-member delegation, headed by BJP MP Baijayant Panda, that travelled to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Algeria as part of Indias global outreach in the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack and Indias response, Operation Sindoor. Before the team-up, Owaisi had slammed Dubey for his remarks on the Supreme Court. Following the apex courts landmark ruling on Tamil Nadu, which effectively imposed a deadline for the President and governors to approve Bills passed twice by the legislature, Dubey had said, Parliament and State Assemblies should be shut," noting that the Supreme Court was overstepping its boundaries. Owaisi had sharply criticised Dubey for his comments on the Supreme Court, saying, You are tube lights, you are thumbs-up You are threatening the courts? Article 142 of the Constitution (which gives the Supreme Court special powers) was brought by BR Ambedkar. Ambedkar was more far-sighted than you." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Dubey began his political journey in 2009, and has won the Godda Lok Sabha constituency in every election since then. From the Supreme Court and former Chief Justice of India Sanjiv Khanna to, his latest political row challenging the ThackeraysDubeys diatribes have targeted all and sundry. (With inputs from ANI) About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 20:02 IST News india No Choice: Nishikant Dubey Says BJP Needs PM Modi In 2029 Polls Rare Earth Minerals: Large Deposits Found In This State, Mining Auction To Begin Soon Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: July 16, 2025, 15:06 IST India may soon strike it rich as new findings in Rajasthan could unlock rare earth elements, helping the nation rival China in global mineral dominance Bhati-Khera is rich in bastnasite, britholite, and xenotime, minerals typically found in carbonatite and microgranite rocks, key sources of rare earth elements. (News18) The global demand for rare earth elements (REEs) is accelerating due to their vital role in cutting-edge technologies. The 17 rare elements lanthanum (La), cerium (Ce), praseodymium (Pr), neodymium (Nd), promethium (Pm), samarium (Sm), europium (Eu), gadolinium (Gd), terbium (Tb), dysprosium (Dy), holmium (Ho), erbium (Er), thulium (Tm), ytterbium (Yb), lutetium (Lu) and scandium (Sc) and yttrium (Y) are essential for manufacturing smartphones, electric vehicles, defence systems, and renewable energy equipment. At present, China dominates the global REE market, accounting for 90% of production and processing. However, India is now preparing to challenge this monopoly, with significant discoveries in the Balotra district of Rajasthan, particularly in Bhati Khera, Siwana tehsil. Recommended Stories Promising Discoveries In Rajasthan Surveys carried out by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and the Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) have uncovered large deposits of rare earth minerals in the region. These findings could help India become self-reliant and play a key role in the global supply chain. Several locations across Balotra and Jalore districts have been surveyed, with Bhati Kheras exploration nearing completion. The mining auction in the area, valued at approximately Rs 10 crore, is expected to begin soon, with participation from private firms and government agencies. Favourable Conditions For Mining Environmental clearance is expected to be smooth, as Bhati Khera does not fall within any wildlife sanctuary or environmentally sensitive zone. The area is rich in bastnasite, britholite, and xenotime, minerals typically found in carbonatite and microgranite rocks, key sources of rare earth elements. A Global Strategic Resource Rare earth minerals are indispensable for producing permanent magnets, which are used in high-demand items such as smartphones, computers, electric vehicles, lasers, and missile guidance systems. Despite possessing the worlds third-largest REE reserves (6.9 million tonnes), India contributes less than 1% to global production; just 2,900 tonnes per year. This is largely due to outdated processing technologies, a shortage of technical expertise, and underdeveloped mining infrastructure. National Critical Mineral Mission To The Fore To change this, the central government launched the National Critical Mineral Mission (NCMM) in 2025. The initiative aims to advance the exploration, mining, and processing of critical minerals. GSI has been assigned 1,200 exploration projects between 2024 25 and 2030 31, with Bhati Khera considered a strategic cornerstone. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Boosting Domestic Production To complement the mission, the government has introduced a Rs 1,000 crore Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for boosting the domestic manufacture of rare earth magnets. With policy support and recent discoveries, India now has a real opportunity to reduce reliance on China and become a global player in this strategic sector. view comments Location : Barmer, India, India First Published: July 16, 2025, 15:06 IST News india Rare Earth Minerals: Large Deposits Found In This State, Mining Auction To Begin Soon Course dates: Tuesdays September 9 October 28, 2025 @ 4:00 PM to 5:30 PM PDT / 5:00 PM MDT / 6:00 PM CDT / 7:00 PM EDT which is Wednesdays, September 10 - October 29, 2025 @ 9:00 AM AEST Duration 8 weeks Check your local times using this date/time converter. Presented by: Catalyzing Healthy Cultural Transformation is being offered through a Charter partnership with Stable Planet Alliance In a time of growing uncertainty and challenge, this course offers more than insight it offers community. A place to weather the storms, deepen your thinking, and explore new ways of being. You wont just be absorbing new information (you already carry a wealth of knowledge). Instead, youll be developing the tools with others to become a more effective change agent. Spoiler alert: the heart of this work is helping people think more deeply and holistically. Youll learn how to guide others in observing their emotions and reactions, and in creating the space needed to process and grow. We call those who do this Evolutionary Catalysts. And well be equipping you with the tools to become one. Youll gain strategies to help people move from anxiety about climate change and other pressing issues to a clearer understanding of the underlying systems that drive these crises. This broader, more nuanced grasp of our interconnected polycrisis lays the foundation for bold, compassionate, and transformational leadership. Along the way, youll co-create a caring and resilient learning community one that can hold space for pain, overwhelm, and anger, and also celebrate growth and breakthroughs. Together, we will sharpen our collective ability to make sense of a complex world. Even more, you will become a more skillful communicator, equipped to foster transformative change. Stable Planet Alliance, the sponsor of this course, supports a growing cohort of Evolutionary Catalysts. Our mission is bold: to spark a global commitment to do everything necessary within the realm of care to pull out of our ecological nosedive and build a just, compassionate, and sustainable world. WEEK DATE MODULE DISCUSSED THURST OF MODULE 1 Tuesday, September 9 Intro Intro 2 Tuesday, September 16 Module 1 Escalating Disasters 3 Tuesday, September 23 *no meeting* - 4 Tuesday, September 30 Module 2 Explaining the system 5 Tuesday, October 7 Module 3 Shifting Mindsets 6 Tuesday, October 14 Module 4 Using the slide deck 7 Tuesday, October 21 Module 5 Moving Forward 8 Tuesday, October 28 Bonus Module Environmental Emergencies Meet the facilitators Pam Pence - Chief operations officer Pam, Stable Planet's focal point in our collaborative leadership team, is a dedicated humanity and Earth Advocate, applying her business, somatic trauma healing, generative discussions facilitator and spiritual guide skills where ever she is led! Shes earned her MBA, CPA, and various certificates as yoga therapist, practitioner of healing modalities and meditation teacher over several careers. Pam awoke to our ecological overshoot after the start of the Covid pandemic, noticing how the sheer number of humans was exacerbating all other issues. With her long-time spiritual perspective she sees that our deeply imbedded belief in separation causes disconnection from ourselves, other humans, non-human beings, ecosystems, and Earth. She is managing the operations of Stable Planet Alliance, acting as focal point for our collaborative leadership team, and managing several of our community projects about the new story we can choose to create. Andrew Gaines Executive Team - systems Andrew Gaines is the instigator of Inspiring Transition, a citizen-led educational movement to inspire thoughtful mainstream commitment to doing everything required to transition to a compassionate ecologically sustainable society. His professional background is as a Feldenkrais practitioner, creativity trainer and psychotherapist. He studied philosophy and engineering at Princeton University. He trained in The Natural Step principles of environmental sustainability, and also trained in creative thinking modalities including MG Taylors DesignShops, Synectics, and improvisational acting. Andrew has applied insights into the neurology of improving human performance to creativity, personal development, and large-scale social change. Andrew was a principal organizer of the Creative thinking forum on transitioning to a viable society in Sydney (2010) and the National Summit on whole system change in Geelong (2011). Andrew is a Founding Sponsor of The Global Compassion Coalition and a Fellow of the RSA (Royal Society of Arts, Industry and Commerce). His books include Becoming an Evolutionary Catalyst, Creative Conversations, Inner Work and Kitchen Table Conversations. Upon registration you will receive a separate invitation to the Charter for Compassion platform, Sutra. Please use the link received to access all information about the course. This course is offered in partnership with Stable Planet Alliance, a global coalition working to build a just, compassionate, and sustainable world. Learn more at stableplanetalliance.org. Irresponsible, Unverified: Govt Calls Out Foreign Media Over Air India Crash Coverage Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 19:05 IST Air India crash: The Wall Street Journal reported that a senior pilot cut off fuel supply of Boeing 787 plane involved in crash The crash on June 12 was the first fatal disaster involving a Boeing 787, killing a total of 260 people all but one of the 242 people on board the aircraft died when the plane ploughed into a medical college hostel. (PTI Image) Air India Crash: The Ministry of Civil Aviation on Thursday criticised foreign media outlets for irresponsible" reporting on the Air India flight crash following the release of the initial report, and appealed to them to wait until the investigation is complete. In a statement, the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), a wing of the Civil Aviation Ministry, said some international media outlets are accused of drawing premature conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are deemed irresponsible while the investigation is still ongoing," it said. Recommended Stories The AAIB said it is essential to respect the sensitivity of the loss faced by families of victims. Amid speculations in various quarters about the reasons for the fatal crash, the AAIB said it is too early to reach to any definitive conclusions. Air India Crash: FAA Flagged Fuel Control Switch Issue 7 Years Ago, DGCA Now Orders Inspection The crash on June 12 was the first fatal disaster involving a Boeing 787, killing a total of 260 people all but one of the 242 people on board the aircraft died when the plane ploughed into a medical college hostel. What AAIB Report Said? Both switches feeding fuel to the two engines of Air India flight 171 were cut off, followed by pilot confusion before the plane crashed in Ahmedabad, seconds after taking off, the first investigation report into the crash has revealed. It said that one pilot asked why he had shut off the fuel, and the other responded he didnt do it. The aircraft achieved the maximum recorded airspeed of 180 Knots IAS at about 08:08:42 UTC and immediately thereafter, the Engine 1 and Engine 2 fuel cutoff switches transitioned from RUN to CUTOFF position one after another with a time gap of 01 sec," the report said. The preliminary report released by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Saturday recommended no action for now for the operators of Boeing 787-8 planes. At the time the aircraft took off, the co-pilot was flying the plane, while the captain was monitoring. As per the report, the engines N1 and N2 began to decrease from their take-off values as the fuel supply to the engines was cut off. In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cutoff. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," it said. The Pilot In Command (PIC) had more than 15,638 hours of flying experience while the first officer had over 3,403 hours of flying experience. Foreign Media Coverage Of Air India Crash After the report went public, several foreign media outlets are blaming the Air India pilots for the crash that killed 260 people on June 12. A Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report claimed that a senior pilot may have accidentally cut off fuel supply to both engines, leading to the crash. Another report by the WSJ now puts the blame on the senior pilot. It says the cockpit recording between the two pilots indicates that the flow of fuel to the planes engines was cut by the captain of the flight. What Air India Said On Ahmedabad Plane Crash Air India CEO and MD Campbell Wilson has said AAIBs preliminary report on the Ahmedabad plane crash last month found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines, and that all mandatory maintenance tasks had been completed. The Air India chief said the preliminary report identified no cause nor made any recommendations and urged everyone to avoid drawing premature conclusions as the investigation is far from over. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In a message to Air India staff last week, Wilson said the preliminary report found no mechanical or maintenance issues with the aircraft or engines, and that all mandatory maintenance tasks had been completed. There was no issue with the quality of fuel and no abnormality with the takeoff roll. The pilots had passed their mandatory pre-flight breathalyser and there were no observations pertaining to their medical status," he said. Further, Wilson said out of an abundance of caution and under the oversight of regulator DGCA, every Boeing 787 aircraft operating in our fleet was checked within days of the accident and all were found fit for service. About the Author Saurabh Verma Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 18:21 IST News india Irresponsible, Unverified: Govt Calls Out Foreign Media Over Air India Crash Coverage SC Commutes Death Sentence To Life Without Remission For Man Who Killed 5 Family Members Reported By : LawBeat Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 14:07 IST The crime occurred on February 25, 2017, when convict Thippaiah, suspecting his wife of infidelity, attacked and killed his wife, her sister, and three children The apex court emphasised that sentencing in capital cases must adhere to the evolving standards of judicial review laid down in recent jurisprudence. (PTI) The Supreme Court on Wednesday commuted the death penalty awarded to a man convicted of killing his wife, sister-in-law, and three children in Karnataka, sentencing him instead to life imprisonment without the possibility of remission. The top court held that while the crime was of a deeply disturbing nature, the convicts background, mental health, and potential for reformation warranted a shift in punishment from capital penalty to incarceration until his natural death. A three-judge bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta upheld the conviction of Byluru Thippaiah, also known as Byaluru Thippaiah and Nayakara Thippaiah, for the multiple murders committed in 2017. However, it found that the Karnataka High Court had not sufficiently considered mitigating factors while confirming the death sentence in 2023. Recommended Stories The apex court emphasised that sentencing in capital cases must adhere to the evolving standards of judicial review laid down in recent jurisprudence, including the 2023 judgment in Manoj v State of Madhya Pradesh, which mandates an in-depth consideration of an accused persons socio-psychological background before the imposition of the death penalty. Considering the sum total of circumstances that drove the appellant-convict to this point of committing this crime of a most reprehensible nature, the death penalty may not be appropriate," the court observed. We are of the view that he should spend his days in jail attempting to repent for the crimes committed by him." According to the prosecution, the crime occurred on February 25, 2017, when Thippaiah, suspecting his wife of infidelity, attacked and killed his wife Pakkeeramma, her sister Gangamma, and three children. Four of the victims died on the spot, and one succumbed to injuries while being taken to the hospital. Witnesses stated that after the killings, Thippaiah stepped outside his home and confessed publicly to having murdered his family members, alleging that the children were not biologically his. The court noted that several eyewitnesses had testified about the accuseds violent nature, frequent fights with his wife, and the fact that he was seen with the murder weapon, covered in blood. Other witnesses confirmed that he declared the murders in front of onlookers, citing the alleged immoral behaviour of his wife and sister-in-law as the reason. The bench rejected any theory of sudden provocation, observing that the act was premeditated. His planning and forethought is sufficiently exhibited by the fact that he sent away the only child he considered to be his own, Rajeshwari," the court stated. It further remarked that the decision to kill three young children, based only on suspicion and belief, highlighted a deeply distorted mindset but did not erase the possibility of reformation. The court also ruled out any reasonable doubt regarding Thippaiahs guilt. Not a shred of evidence either oral or documentary has been produced to posit the appellant-convicts innocence or suggest the involvement of a third party," the bench said. Turning to the question of sentence, the judges underlined that the doctrine of rarest of rare must be interpreted in line with the current constitutional ethos. Referring to the Manoj judgment, the court reiterated that sentencing must follow a full analysis of reports concerning the convicts mental health, social history, conduct in custody, and potential for reform. Though the high court had called for probation, behavioural, and mitigation reports, the Supreme Court found that these had not been sufficiently factored into the sentencing decision. According to the mitigation report, Thippaiah grew up without parental affection, dropped out of school due to learning difficulties, and struggled with impulse control. He had faced repeated failures in business, a breakdown of his first marriage due to substance abuse, and suicidal tendencies while in custody. The bench cited the precedent set in Ramesh A Naika v Registrar General (2025), which laid down guiding factors for commuting the death penalty, including absence of criminal history, good behaviour in prison, and possibility of rehabilitation. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Given that there is mixed opinion on whether he shall or shall not be able to reform his way, the court will err on the side of caution," the bench concluded, saying: Just as when there are two possible interpretations of a given set of facts or circumstances, the one that favours the accused is to be adopted." The court commuted the sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of remission, directing that the convict remain in prison for the rest of his natural life. About the Author Sanya Talwar Sanya Talwar, Editor at Lawbeat, has been heading the organisation since its inception. After practising in courts for over four years, she discovered her affinity for legal journalism. She has worked previousl... Read More Sanya Talwar, Editor at Lawbeat, has been heading the organisation since its inception. After practising in courts for over four years, she discovered her affinity for legal journalism. She has worked previousl... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 14:07 IST News india SC Commutes Death Sentence To Life Without Remission For Man Who Killed 5 Family Members SC Commutes Death Sentence To Life Without Remission For Man Who Killed Wife, Children Reported By : LawBeat Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 14:19 IST A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta upheld the conviction of Byluru Thippaiah for what it termed barbaric and ruthless murders. The Supreme Court commuted the death penalty and directed that Byluru Thippaiah remain in prison for the rest of his life, without any possibility of release or remission.(Representational Image: Shutterstock) The Supreme Court on July 16, 2025, commuted the death sentence awarded to a man for the brutal killings of his wife, sister-in-law, and three children in 2017, sentencing him instead to life imprisonment without the possibility of remission. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath, Sanjay Karol and Sandeep Mehta upheld the conviction of Byluru Thippaiah, also known as Byaluru Thippaiah or Nayakara Thippaiah, for what it termed barbaric and ruthless murders." However, it found that the Karnataka High Court had not adequately considered mitigating factors and reports related to his conduct and psychological condition while confirming the death penalty. Recommended Stories Referring to established sentencing norms, the court held that when there are mixed views on the potential for reformation, the view favouring the convict must be adopted. The judgment stated, Considering the sum-total of circumstances that drove the appellant-convict to this point of committing this crime of a most reprehensible nature, the death penalty may not be appropriate. We are of the view that he should spend his days in jail attempting to repent for the crimes committed by him." The appeal was partly allowed, with the court setting aside the death sentence and ordering that the convict remain imprisoned for the remainder of his natural life without the possibility of early release. The incident occurred on February 25, 2017, when Thippaiah violently attacked and killed his wife Pakkeeramma, her sister Gangamma, and three children, reportedly driven by suspicions regarding his wifes fidelity. According to the prosecution, he assaulted them so brutally that four died on the spot and one succumbed to injuries en route to the hospital. He then allegedly exited the house and declared before neighbours that he had put an end to the lives of his wife and sister-in-law, whom he believed were involved in immoral activities, and also the children, whom he suspected were not his biological offspring. Eyewitness testimonies confirmed his frequent quarrels with his wife. Several witnesses saw him wielding a weapon and covered in blood. Others testified that he emerged from the house and confessed to the murders in public, claiming the children were born from his wifes alleged promiscuity. The court found the sequence of events to be deliberate and premeditated. The bench remarked that the killings were motivated by hatred, not sudden provocation. His planning and forethought is sufficiently exhibited by the fact that he sent away the only child he considered to be his own, Rajeshwari," the court noted. Rejecting any theory of external interference, the court said the chain of circumstantial evidence presented by the prosecution was complete and left no room for doubt. Not a shred of evidence either oral or documentary has been produced to posit the appellant-convicts innocence or suggest the involvement of a third party," the bench observed. On sentencing, the court examined whether the case met the threshold of the rarest of rare doctrine laid down in earlier rulings. It cited the 2023 judgment in Manoj v State of Madhya Pradesh, which set out a framework requiring courts to assess the social and psychological background of death row convicts before confirming capital punishment. As per that ruling, courts must obtain and consider reports on the convicts life history, including any trauma, mental health issues, or rehabilitative potential. The bench noted that while the Karnataka High Court did call for such reports in accordance with the Manoj judgment, it failed to evaluate them in detail. The mitigation report revealed that Thippaiah had suffered from a lack of parental love, had dropped out of school due to learning difficulties, and had faced repeated business failures due to impulsive decisions. He also endured a failed first marriage, linked to substance dependency issues, and displayed suicidal tendencies in prison. Once incarcerated, he suffered mental health struggles and twice made an attempt to take his own life," the court recorded. Citing its recent ruling in Ramesh A Naika v Registrar General (2025), the bench reiterated that courts must consider a convicts criminal history, prison conduct, and potential for reformation when deciding on capital punishment. It observed that Thippaiah had no prior criminal record and had shown satisfactory conduct in custody. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Regarding the last one, it can be said that given there is mixed opinion on whether he shall or shall not be able to reform his way, the court will err on the side of caution just as when there are two possible interpretations of a given set of facts or circumstances, the one that favours the accused is to be adopted," the judgment concluded. The Supreme Court thus commuted the death penalty and directed that Byluru Thippaiah remain in prison for the rest of his life, without any possibility of release or remission. About the Author Sanya Talwar Sanya Talwar, Editor at Lawbeat, has been heading the organisation since its inception. After practising in courts for over four years, she discovered her affinity for legal journalism. She has worked previousl... Read More Sanya Talwar, Editor at Lawbeat, has been heading the organisation since its inception. After practising in courts for over four years, she discovered her affinity for legal journalism. She has worked previousl... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 14:19 IST News india SC Commutes Death Sentence To Life Without Remission For Man Who Killed Wife, Children 'Double Standards': India On NATO Chiefs Warning For Buying Russian Oil Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 18:59 IST India responded to NATO's warning of sanctions for buying Russian oil, stressing India's priority to secure energy needs and warning against double standards. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. (ANI) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday responded to NATO Secretary General Mark Ruttes stark warning that India could face severe secondary sanctions" for buying Russian oil, saying that securing energy needs is an overriding priority for New Delhi and it will particularly caution against any double standards on the matter. The ministry further said that New Delhi is guided by what is on offer in the markets, and by the prevailing global circumstances. Recommended Stories We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate that securing energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us. In this endeavor, we are guided by what is on offer in the markets, and by the prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said while addressing the press briefing. #WATCH | Delhi | On Nato chief Mark Ruttes comment that countries buying Russian oil could face secondary sanctions, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate that securing the energy pic.twitter.com/SdhmWRQYLL ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 The MEAs response came a day after NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte warned India along with Brazil and China about buying Russian oil, cautioning that they could face severe secondary sanctions and penalties if they continue doing business with Moscow. While speaking to reporters after meeting US senators on Wednesday, Rutte urged leaders in Delhi, Beijing and Brasilia to press Russian President Vladimir Putin to take peace negotiations seriously. His remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump unveiled a new weapons package for Ukraine and threatened biting" secondary tariffs of 100% on buyers of Russian exports unless a peace agreement is reached within 50 days. My encouragement to these three countries, particularly is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard," Rutte told reporters. He had met with Trump on Monday and endorsed the new measures. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all So please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way," he added. Since the Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022, India has ramped up the purchase of discounted Russian oil. As Russian energy exports are central to the countrys economy, and Putins war-waging capabilities, many Western leaders and commentators have frequently criticised India. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 16:31 IST News india 'Double Standards': India On NATO Chiefs Warning For Buying Russian Oil 'Sensitive Matter, Govt Providing All Help': MEA On Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya Case Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 16:34 IST Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, has been on death row in Yemen for the alleged murder of her former business partner Talal Abdo Mehdi in 2017. Nimisha Priya is lodged in a jail in Sana'a in Yemen. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) confirmed that the execution of Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse facing the death penalty in Yemen, has been postponed after sustained diplomatic interventions in recent days aimed at securing a mutually agreeable resolution between Nimisha Priyas family and that of the victim. This is a sensitive matter and the Government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case," the MEA said in a briefing, adding, We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We have also arranged regular consular visits and been in constant touch with the local authorities and the family members to resolve the issue." Recommended Stories Read more: Nimisha Priya Case: Inside Yemens Grim Execution Methods The ministry added that concerted efforts in recent days" were made to seek more time for the family of Ms. Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party." As a result, Yemeni authorities postponed carrying out the sentence, which was scheduled for July 16, 2025. We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance. We are also in touch with some friendly governments," the MEA added. Read more: What Is Qisas, The Islamic Law That Could Decide Indian Nurse Nimisha Priyas Fate? Explained Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya has been on death row in Yemen for the alleged murder of her former business partner Talal Abdo Mehdi in 2017. Her execution had been scheduled for July 16 but extensive diplomatic interventions contributed to a temporary reprieve although serious challenges remain. Under Sharia law, the family of the victim holds the right to grant a pardon in exchange for diyah, or blood money. Abdelfattah Mehdi, the brother of the deceased, rejected the possibility of clemency, saying, There can be no pardon for the crime." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Read more: Nimisha Priya Timeline: Went To Yemen To Earn Living, May Have To Pay To Get Life Back Nimisha Priya moved to Yemen in 2008 to work as a nurse before starting her own clinic. In 2017, she was arrested for allegedly murdering her Yemeni business partner. Investigators claimed she attempted to sedate Talal Abdo Mehdi to retrieve her passport, which he had reportedly taken from her, but the sedatives proved fatal. She was convicted in 2018, sentenced to death in 2020 and the verdict was upheld by Yemens Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023. While the court upheld the sentence, it permitted the option of clemency through the payment of blood money. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 16:25 IST News india 'Sensitive Matter, Govt Providing All Help': MEA On Kerala Nurse Nimisha Priya Case Supreme Court Grants Anticipatory Bail In POCSO Case Amid Allegations Of Family Vendetta Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 14:30 IST Arguing before the bench, the counsels for the petitioner claimed that the case was a product of a long-standing enmity between the petitioner and the complainants father. A file photo of the Supreme Court of India (PTI) In a case tangled in family feuds and courtroom battles, the Supreme Court on Thursday granted anticipatory bail to a man booked under several sections of Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO). A two judges bench of the Apex Court presided over by Justices Manoj Misra and Ujjwal Bhuyan granted anticipatory bail to Mahesh LR on a personal bond of Rs 25,000. Recommended Stories In the meantime, it is provided that if the petitioner is arrested in connection with FIR No. 449/2025 PS Vanchiyoor District Thiruvanthapuram City, he shall be released on a personal bond of Rs 25,000/- subject to an undertaking that he will cooperate with the investigation/trial and shall not threaten the victim or tamper with the evidence," the order read. Arguing before the bench, counsels for the petitioner Advocates Tarini K Nayak and C Arvind, claimed that the case was a product of a long-standing enmity between the petitioner and the complainants father. It was pointed to that a delay of over four years in lodging the First Information Report (FIR) is a significant factor which casts doubt over the credibility of the complaint, suggesting the possibility of tutoring of the complainant by her father top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The petitioner, also a close friend of the complainants mother who herself is a co-accused allegedly supported her in the ongoing family court disputes with her estranged husband, i.e. the father of the complainant. The mother, previously granted anticipatory bail by the Kerala High Court, is accused of pressuring the child to sleep with the accused," according to the FIR filed in April 2025. The alleged incidents, however, date back to 2021, intensifying scrutiny over the timing and motives behind the complaint. The petitioner approached the Supreme Court after the Kerala High Court dismissed his plea for anticipatory bail and rejecting his contention that the case stemmed from severe matrimonial strife". About the Author Ananya Bhatnagar Ananya Bhatnagar, Correspondent at CNN-News18, reports on various legal issues and cases in lower courts and the Delhi High Court. He has covered the hanging of the Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts, JNU violence, De... Read More Ananya Bhatnagar, Correspondent at CNN-News18, reports on various legal issues and cases in lower courts and the Delhi High Court. He has covered the hanging of the Nirbhaya gang-rape convicts, JNU violence, De... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 14:30 IST News india Supreme Court Grants Anticipatory Bail In POCSO Case Amid Allegations Of Family Vendetta 'You Too Committed Offence': Supreme Court Slams Married Woman Over Affair, Upholds Lover's Bail Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 09:13 IST The Supreme Court slammed a married woman for engaging in a sexual relationship outside of her marriage and suggested she may face prosecution. An AI-generated image of a woman in court (News18) The Supreme Court on Wednesday slammed a married woman for having sex outside of her marriage and accused her lover of not marrying her after promising to do so. The court also told the woman she may be liable for prosecution for the same. According to a report with The Times Of India, the courts remark came after the woman approached the court and sought the cancellation of bail granted to her lover, who, as she alleged, engaged with her in sexual activities on the pretext of marriage. Recommended Stories The court warned the woman that she may be liable for prosecution for indulging in physical acts with a man other than her husband during the subsistence of her marriage. You are a married woman with two children. You are a mature person, and you understand the relationship you were getting into outside the marriage," a bench of Justices MM Sundresh and N Kotiswar Singh told her, as her counsel argued that the man had continued to engage in a sexual relationship with his client on the false promise of marriage. Her counsel further alleged that his client, on multiple occasions, was called to various hotels by the man for sex, as he promised her marriage. Why did you go to the hotels repeatedly at his beckoning?" the bench asked the woman. You very well understand that you also have committed an offence by having a sexual relationship outside the marriage," it said, adding, the Patna High Court was right in granting anticipatory bail to Ankit Barnwal and dismissing the plea of the woman. Earlier, a trial court had refused the anticipatory bail to Barnwal, after he had sought relief, as the woman had accused him of rape and had submitted a formal complaint against him. According to the report, the woman and Ankit had been in a relationship after knowing each other through social media in 2016. The woman had alleged that at the behest and pressure of Barnwal, she had sought divorce from her husband, which was granted by a family court on March 6. It was alleged that the woman had asked Ankit to marry her, soon after her divorce, to which he refused. In a police complaint, she accused him of sexually exploiting her in the false promise of marriage. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The High Court had granted anticipatory bail to Ankit on finding from the record that he had not indulged in any sexual activity with her after her divorce from her husband, the report claimed. ALSO READ | Can Secret Recordings In A Bedroom Be Used In Divorce Cases? Supreme Court Ruling Explained 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. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 09:11 IST News india 'You Too Committed Offence': Supreme Court Slams Married Woman Over Affair, Upholds Lover's Bail 'Trace The Child': SC Tells MEA To Issue Lookout Notice For Absconding Russian Mother Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 16:56 IST Supreme Court orders lookout for Russian woman missing with son after custody deal breach. Centre, Delhi Police told to trace child, hand over custody to father. (IMAGE: PTI) The Supreme Court has ordered the Ministry Of External Affairs and Delhi Police to track down a Russian woman, Victoria Basu, who allegedly disappeared with her five-year-old son, violating a custody agreement with her estranged husband, Saikat Basu, according to a report by broadcaster NDTV. The court directed the External Affairs and Home ministries to issue look-out notices and told Delhi Police to trace the child without delay and hand him over to the father. The case concerns Victoria Basu, a Russian citizen married to Saikat Basu, an Indian national. The couple shares a five-year-old son. Recommended Stories As per Saikat Basu, the child, who was supposed to be with his mother as part of a custody arrangement, has been missing along with Victoria since July 7. Saikat approached the Supreme Court, alleging that Victoria has absconded with the child. A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the External Affairs Ministry and Home Ministry to issue look-out notices against Victoria Basu. The court also asked the Delhi Police to trace the child immediately and hand custody over to the father. Border officials have been put on high alert with instructions to monitor for Victoria Basu. The Supreme Court also came down hard on Basus counsel after they claimed ignorance about her whereabouts. You people know everything you think you can play with us? We will take counsels also to task You wait," Justice Surya Kant warned. The court further ordered that Victoria Basus passport be seized, stepping up measures to track her down and ensure the missing child is traced without delay. Saikat Basu alleged that his estranged wife, with divorce proceedings pending before a family court in Delhis Saket, was seen earlier this month entering the Russian embassy in Delhi through the back gate, carrying luggage. He also claimed she was accompanied by an embassy official. He told the court he feared Victoria and the child may have since fled India. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The bench also took note of his allegation that Victoria was having an affair with a Russian embassy official, though it is unclear if this is the same person who allegedly helped her enter the embassy unnoticed. The court directed the External Affairs Ministry to seek permission for a search of the officials residence in Delhi. Victorias father is reportedly a retired officer of the FSB, Russias intelligence agency. 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 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 15:58 IST News india 'Trace The Child': SC Tells MEA To Issue Lookout Notice For Absconding Russian Mother 'It Could Lead To...:' US Embassy's Warning After Indian Woman Caught Shoplifting In Illinois Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 09:43 IST Following an incident involving an Indian woman caught shoplifting, the United States issued an advisory warning that crimes like theft or assault could lead to visa revocation. Indian woman caught shoplifting in US (Video screengrab/YouTube) Hours after an Indian woman was caught shoplifting in the United States, the Donald Trump-led country has issued an advisory warning against theft or burglary. In a post on social media, the US Embassy in India also mentioned that indulging in such acts could lead to the revocation of their visa and making them ineligible for US visits in the future. Recommended Stories Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States wont just cause you legal issues it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future U.S. visas," the advisory stated. The United States values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all U.S. laws," it added. Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States wont just cause you legal issues it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future U.S. visas. The United States values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all U.S. laws. pic.twitter.com/MYU6tx83Zh U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) July 16, 2025 The Indian woman in question was being interrogated after she was allegedly found stealing things from a Target store in Illinois. The staff and security at the store grew suspicious after the woman spent more than seven hours at the store. Subsequently, higher authorities were informed, and the police were called. It was later claimed she attempted to steal merchandise worth around $1,300 from the retail store. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The woman later offered to pay for the items she had lifted. ALSO READ | Abdu Rozik Arrested At Dubai Airport On Alleged Theft Charges 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. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 09:33 IST News india 'It Could Lead To...:' US Embassy's Warning After Indian Woman Caught Shoplifting In Illinois Ventilator Tube Removed, 'Dead' Haryana Man Wakes Up Moments Before Cremation Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 11:24 IST In a shocking twist, a 75-year-old Haryana man declared dead by doctors began breathing again just as his last rites preparations were underway With funeral preparations complete, as his family removed the nasal tube before bathing him, Sher Singh suddenly began to breathe again, leaving his family stunned and overjoyed. (News18) In a remarkable incident at Kot Majri, Yamunanagar district in Haryana, a 75-year-old man named Sher Singh defied the old adage that life cannot be restored once lost. Declared dead by a doctor, Sher Singh miraculously revived just before his last rites were to be performed. With funeral preparations complete, and as his family removed the nasal tube before bathing him, he suddenly began to breathe again, leaving his family stunned and overjoyed. Last Rites Preparations Recommended Stories Sher Singh had been pronounced dead by a doctor from one of the most reputed private hospitals in Yamunanagar. The family had already initiated funeral rituals; wood for the cremation had arrived at the crematorium, the bier was prepared, and grieving relatives had brought a shroud. Food was also prepared for guests who had travelled from afar. The Miracle Moment However, a miracle occurred when Sher Singh was laid on the cot and the ventilator tube was removed. To the amazement of those present, he opened his eyes and began coughing. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all His family promptly gave him water and rushed him back to the hospital, where his condition is now stable. Former Sarpanch Ranjit Singh recalled how the removal of the pipe and Sher Singhs sudden breath brought joy, interrupting the funeral rites. The family, who had already arranged the bier and shroud, were overjoyed to have Sher Singh back among them. Afterwards, the gathered relatives shared a celebratory meal before returning to their homes. view comments Location : Yamunanagar, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 11:24 IST News india Ventilator Tube Removed, 'Dead' Haryana Man Wakes Up Moments Before Cremation Newville residents could vote yes or no to pursuing a home rule charter later this year. The council last week directed the boroughs solicitor to prepare and advertise an ordinance to place a home rule study commission question on the Nov. 4 general election ballot. Borough Manager Robert Sabatini said the council could vote on that ordinance during the July 29 meeting. Home rule allows a municipality to restructure its government, transferring authority from the states borough code to a home rule charter drafted, adopted and amended by voters, The Sentinel reported in May. In Newvilles case, it could give the borough additional taxing flexibility after it exits Act 47 and loses the ability to tax beyond state limits in the coming years. While this years budget is balanced, the additional taxing authority brings in about $400,000, or about a third of the boroughs total budget, which will leave a gap when Newville leaves Act 47. A home rule charter, however, could allow the borough to maintain a heightened earned income tax rather than exclusively relying on real estate taxes to make up the difference. Without those higher earned income taxes, Sabatini said the boroughs real estate taxes could double to close the gap, or Newville would have to downsize operations, which could include the police department. Its all a matter of how you put together the mix in order to provide for those services, he said. The process to create a home rule charter begins with the borough council opting to place the following question on a primary or general election ballot: Shall a government study commission of [seven, nine or 11] members be elected to study the existing form of government of the municipality to consider the advisability of the adoption of a home rule charter, and if advisable, to draft and recommend a home rule charter? Sabatini said the advertised ordinance includes a seven-member commission. If the majority of voters say no, the proposal dies and the borough cant place the home rule question on a ballot for five years. However, if the majority of residents vote yes, a second question on the same ballot will allow them to choose the candidates they wish to serve on the commission. Candidates must be Newville residents who are registered to vote and who have filed prior to the election to be on the ballot. If the question is placed on the ballot and voters opt to pursue a home rule charter, the elected commission would have up to 18 months to craft that charter with the help of a state-funded consultant. Once complete, that charter would be placed onto a primary or general election ballot for a referendum vote and, if approved, go into effect the January after the election. While the council could place the home rule commission on a primary or general election ballot, Sabatini believes the decision to move forward with the question this year came down to timing. Were two years into Act 47, he said. We have ... three more years total, and this is going to take at least a year and a half. Council members Sharpe Over and Chuck Heberlig voted against placing the question on this years general election ballot, while council member Robert Darius abstained. Over said hes not opposed to the borough considering home rule, but hes concerned placing it on the November ballot wont give officials enough time to inform residents about the decision. I do not dislike it, he said. Its just, were not informing the people that are going to be affected. The council is reaching out to super voters who vote in both primary and general elections to inform them of the possible decision, Over said. Each member has a list of 14 super voters to contact, for a total of about 84, he said. However, according to the Cumberland County Bureau of Elections, Newville had 800 registered voters as of the May primary. I just think people are going to be left out of the loop and then theyre going to say, Hey, I didnt know about this, Over said. Hed prefer to see the council consider adding the home rule commission question to the spring primary ballot or next years general election ballot to allow more time for public education. We have, like, three years to do this, Over said. This doesnt have to be rushed. Next spring [or] next fall at the latest, by then we could say, Hey, this has been going on for a year and a half, and weve tried everything that we can to get everyone knowledgeable about this. Representatives from the Pennsylvania Department of Community & Economic Development gave a presentation about home rule at Newvilles borough office in May. That presentation is available on Newvilles website, and Sabatini anticipates additional presentations in the future. Will Yogis Most Trusted Chief Secretary Stay? UP Govt Seeks Extension Of Manoj Kumar Singhs Tenure Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 14:25 IST Singhs elevation to the post of CS had signaled a shift in the power dynamics between Lucknow and New Delhi, with the CM taking a more assertive role in bureaucratic postings. Manoj Kumar Singh is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, currently serving as the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh. (Image: PTI) Will Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh continue at the helm beyond July 31? This question is currently resonating through Uttar Pradeshs administrative corridors as the Yogi Adityanath government has formally requested the Centre for a six-month extension in Singhs service. A 1988-batch IAS officer, Singh assumed the role of Chief Secretary on June 30, 2024, following the retirement of Durga Shankar Mishra. Just weeks into his tenure, the government has advocated for his continuation, highlighting the necessity for administrative continuity as the state prepares for significant economic and infrastructure events. Recommended Stories Citing Economic Priorities and Investor Events In its communication to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT), the UP government underscored Singhs crucial role in advancing infrastructure, industrial development, and investment-related initiatives. The letter mentions Singhs leadership in preparations for the upcoming Global Investors Summit and the Ground Breaking Ceremony scheduled later this year. Officials familiar with the matter stated that the government views Singh as essential to maintaining momentum in its mission to transform Uttar Pradesh into a one trillion-dollar economy. A senior official recalled that in 2019, then Chief Secretary Anup Chandra Pandey was granted a six-month extension for similar reasons, indicating a clear precedent. Singh Holding Multiple Strategic Positions Manoj Kumar Singh currently manages several significant roles apart from being Chief Secretary. He is also serving as the Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner (IIDC), Chairman of PICUP, CEO of UPEIDA and UPSHA, and Project Director of the Diversified Agriculture Support Project (DASP). His experience in vital departments like urban development, rural development, agriculture, and panchayati raj has earned him widespread respect within the bureaucracy. His multi-dimensional role, officials argue, positions him uniquely to oversee the upcoming high-level state initiatives. Who is Manoj Kumar Singh? Manoj Kumar Singh is a 1988-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre, currently serving as the Chief Secretary of Uttar Pradesh. Known for his administrative acumen and low-profile working style, Singh is considered one of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths most trusted officers. Before his appointment as Chief Secretary in June 2024, he held key posts including Infrastructure and Industrial Development Commissioner (IIDC), CEO of UPEIDA and UPSHA, and Chairman of PICUP. His leadership has been central to the states expressway expansion, industrial corridors, and investor outreach. Singh has previously served as Agriculture Production Commissioner and held important assignments in Panchayati Raj, Urban Development, and Rural Development. He is credited with playing a pivotal role in advancing the states one trillion-dollar economy goal. Colleagues describe him as result-oriented, calm under pressure, and politically astute without being overtly visible traits that have earned him rare trust across both political and bureaucratic domains. First Chief Secretary Appointed Solely by Yogi What distinguishes Singh from his predecessors is the political context of his appointment. This marks the first time in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths seven-year rule that the states top bureaucrat is widely regarded as his own choice. In contrast, previous appointments Rajiv Kumar, Anup Chandra Pandey, RK Tiwari, and Durga Shankar Mishra were largely considered Centre-endorsed decisions. Singhs elevation to the post signaled a shift in the power dynamics between Lucknow and New Delhi, with the CM taking a more assertive role in bureaucratic postings. Centres Recent Precedents Boost Singhs Chances Observers point to recent developments in other states to suggest that Singhs extension is likely. The Centre recently granted six-month extensions to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant and Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, both serving under opposition-ruled state governments. Given these decisions, many believe that a recommendation from a BJP-ruled state like Uttar Pradesh stands an even stronger chance of approval. If the Centre can extend tenures in non-BJP states, it would make sense to support a key officer in its own partys stronghold," a senior bureaucrat remarked. Academic View: Extension Tied to Political Stakes Commenting on the significance of the move, Professor Shashikant Pandey, Head of the Department of Political Science at Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar University, said, This extension request goes beyond mere administrative convenience. Manoj Kumar Singh is a politically trusted officer for CM Yogi, and allowing him to continue reinforces the CMs hold over the bureaucracy especially when UP is gearing up for major economic showcases." According to him, the decision will reflect the evolving power balance between state leadership and the Centre within BJP-governed states. Pending Bureaucratic Reshuffle Hinges on the Decision The decision on Singhs extension will have a cascading effect on the states bureaucratic machinery. A top-level reshuffle expected for weeks is currently on hold, pending clarity on whether Singh stays or goes. Several senior IAS officers are waiting in anticipation, as Singhs continuation or exit could realign administrative responsibilities at multiple levels. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Second Successive Extension if Approved If the Centre grants the extension, Manoj Kumar Singh would become the second successive Chief Secretary in Uttar Pradesh to receive additional tenure after retirement. His predecessor, Durga Shankar Mishra, was granted two one-year extensions and a final six-month term before retiring in June. With Singhs retirement date fast approaching, the state is now awaiting the Centres response a decision that will determine not just the future of one bureaucrat but also the pace and continuity of UPs high-stakes development agenda. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 14:25 IST News india Will Yogis Most Trusted Chief Secretary Stay? UP Govt Seeks Extension Of Manoj Kumar Singhs Tenure Is It Time For IVF? Key Signs You Shouldn't Ignore Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 09:52 IST With technology continuing to improve, with better success rates, and with customized protocols, IVF now is not merely a treatment, its an individualized journey towards hope. Assisted reproductive technologies such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) have revolutionized options, providing new promise to couples who are having trouble getting pregnant Hope is the heartbeat of every parent-in-waiting. But sometimes, hope needs science to help it bloom. In the fast pace of life today, an increasing number of couples are delaying motherhoodand finding themselves instead on the frequently overwhelming path of infertility. Assisted reproductive technologies such as In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) have revolutionized options, providing new promise to couples who are having trouble getting pregnant. But when is the right time to seek IVF? Recommended Stories Dr. Komal Bhadu, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune, explains how the following signs and circumstances suggest that IVF might be a timely and necessary move: 1. Youve Been Trying for Over a Year Without Success If youre under 35 and have been trying to conceive for more than 12 monthsor for 6 months if youre over 35it might be time to explore IVF. Dont let time steal your chance at parenthood. Early intervention often improves outcomes," says Dr. Komal Bhadu. 2. Diagnosed with Blocked Fallopian Tubes or Severe Male Factor Infertility IVF avoids the use of the fallopian tubes altogether and is therefore best for women who have tubal blockages or couples with very low sperm count or motility. 3. Endometriosis or PCOS That Doesnt Respond to Simple Treatments For a lot of women who have complicated conditions such as endometriosis or polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), IVF provides an environment that is controlled for conception. 4. Recurrent Pregnancy Loss or Failed IUI Cycles After multiple failed intrauterine insemination (IUI) cycles or unexplained miscarriages, IVF with genetic testing (PGT) may help identify and overcome hidden barriers. 5. Youre Considering Fertility Preservation Women who wish to delay childbearing due to career, personal choices, or medical reasons may choose IVF to freeze embryos for future use. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Dr. Bhadu emphasizes, IVF isnt always the starting pointbut its a very powerful one. Learning how to change gears can save time, emotional effort, and even raise your success rates." With technology continuing to improve, with better success rates, and with customized protocols, IVF now is not merely a treatment, its an individualized journey towards hope. About the Author Swati Chaturvedi Swati Chaturvedi, a seasoned media and journalism aficionado with over 10 years of expertise, is not just a storyteller; she's a weaver of wit and wisdom in the digital landscape. As a key figure in News18 Engl... Read More Swati Chaturvedi, a seasoned media and journalism aficionado with over 10 years of expertise, is not just a storyteller; she's a weaver of wit and wisdom in the digital landscape. As a key figure in News18 Engl... Read More fashion, travel, The News18 Lifestyle section brings you the latest on health food , and culture with wellness tips, celebrity style, travel inspiration, and recipes. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 09:52 IST News lifestyle health-and-fitness Is It Time For IVF? Key Signs You Shouldn't Ignore International Justice Day 2025: History, Quotes, And Why July 17 Matters Published By : Trending Desk Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 07:20 IST International Justice Day 2025: World Day for International Justice highlights the international community's commitment to uphold justice and protect human rights. International Justice Day is observed on July 17. (AI generated image) World Day for International Justice, or International Justice Day, is observed on July 17 and commemorates the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998 that led to the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The formal creation of the ICC helped prosecute individuals responsible for crimes such as genocide, war crimes, human rights violations and the crime of aggression. The day highlights the international communitys commitment to uphold justice and protect human rights. International Justice Day 2025: History And Significance Recommended Stories With the adoption of the Rome Statute in 1998 by 120 countries, the foundation of the International Criminal Court was laid. The ICC prosecutes individuals committing serious crimes of war and human rights violations in the world. In 2002, the ICC officially began its operations in The Hague, Netherlands. During the Kampala Review Conference in 2010, the ICC formally declared July 17 as the World Day for International Justice. The 2025 International Justice Day marks the 27th anniversary of the Rome Statute. The observance of International Justice Day underlines the importance of legal institutions pursuing justice where national systems fail or are unwilling to act. It honours victims and survivors by advocating for greater accountability and reparations, while also promoting global cooperation with the ICC and strengthening support to the organisation. Through the observance, the ICC encourages nations to uphold justice even when domestic systems fail to bring genocidal criminals and human rights violators to account. Ways to Promote Global Justice While the ICC prosecutes criminals of humanity, the International Justice Day also echoes an important message that a sense of fairness and justice can be achieved even without a courtroom. You can help the noble cause of the legal body through various means. Individuals can raise awareness using various social media platforms, sharing stories, facts and cases that ICC undertakes. You can also promote the message for global justice by supporting NGOs that help the war victims and fight for human rights through donations or even volunteering to participate in their programmes. Empowering these NGOs may play a crucial role in revisiting and strengthening the policies made by respective governments about human rights violations. You can even start by educating yourself and your families and friends about the cause for international justice by hosting or attending the various webinars, lectures, or workshops organised on the World Day for International Justice. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all International Justice Day 2025: Quotes Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." Martin Luther King Jr. Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." Benjamin Franklin Never forget that justice is what love looks like in public." Cornel West It is better to risk saving a guilty person than to condemn an innocent one." Voltaire Justice consists not in being neutral between right and wrong, but in finding out the right and upholding it." Theodore Roosevelt. About the Author Nibandh Vinod Nibandh Vinod is a seasoned journalist with 26 years of experience, specializing in covering events, festivals, and driving SEO content for News18.com. A tech-savvy person, Nibandh works closely with a young te... Read More Nibandh Vinod is a seasoned journalist with 26 years of experience, specializing in covering events, festivals, and driving SEO content for News18.com. A tech-savvy person, Nibandh works closely with a young te... 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! view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 07:20 IST News lifestyle International Justice Day 2025: History, Quotes, And Why July 17 Matters International Whiskey Competition 2025: Indian Single Malt And Best Indian Whiskey Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 08:47 IST DeVANS Modern Breweries new release, GianChand Adambaraa, won Best Indian Single Malt and Best Indian Whisky titles at the IWC 2025, earning global praise for Indian whisky DeVANS Modern Breweries, a respected name in the Indian liquor industry, has won two major honours at the IWC 2025. (News18 Hindi) Indias homegrown whiskey brand has achieved global recognition by securing the top position at the International Whiskey Competition (IWC) 2025. A popular Indian blended whiskey has bagged the titles of Best Indian Single Malt Whiskey and Best Indian Whiskey at this prestigious event held in Las Vegas, USA. This milestone reflects the rising global appreciation for Indian whiskies, which are no longer confined to domestic shelves but are now being celebrated for their taste, craftsmanship, and uniqueness on the world stage. Recommended Stories DeVANS Modern Breweries Bags Double Honour According to a report by the Financial Express, DeVANS Modern Breweries, a respected name in the Indian liquor industry, has won two major honours at the IWC 2025. The brands latest release, GianChand Adambaraa, has been awarded Best Indian Single Malt and Best Indian Whiskey 2025. This recognition is not only a proud moment for the brand but also a major step in putting Indian whiskey on the global map. How Whiskies Are Judged The International Whiskey Competition is held annually in leading US cities like Chicago, Las Vegas, and Louisville, and is regarded as one of the most prestigious whiskey contests globally. The evaluation process involves blind tasting, where judges are unaware of brand names. Each whiskey is scored out of 100 based on aroma, flavour, balance, and finish. Only three medals, Gold, Silver, and Bronze, are awarded in each category, making any win a significant achievement. Chairman Shares His Pride DeVANS Chairman and Managing Director, Prem Dewan, expressed immense pride at the companys international success. This honour is a testament to our dedication to tradition and innovation. GianChand Adambaraa represents decades of passion and reinvention tailored to global palates," he said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Named in memory of the companys founder, Dewan Gian Chand, GianChand Adambaraa is the latest premium single malt from the brand, priced around Rs 9,000. The whiskey is crafted in a distillery located at the foothills of the Himalayas in Jammu. Adambaraa is the first unpeated single malt in the GianChand series, created for those who appreciate complexity and character in their glass. Matured in American bourbon barrels, it carries a deep amber hue and layered notes of honey, caramel, and toasted spice, giving it a rich and distinctive flavour profile. 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! view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 08:47 IST News lifestyle International Whiskey Competition 2025: Indian Single Malt And Best Indian Whiskey Kerala Woman Found Dead In Toronto Apartment, Family Awaits Autopsy Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 17:21 IST 25-year-old Anita, who worked at a bank in Canada, was found dead by her housemates. Her autopsy has been completed, Canadian authorities said. AI-rendered conceptual image depicting the quiet tragedy of a young NRI womans untimely death in Toronto. (IMAGE: IMAGEN 4 ENGINE) A 25-year-old woman from Kerala was found dead in her Toronto apartment earlier this week, local media reported. The deceased, identified as Anita Benans, hailed from Aishwarya Nagar in Eravipuram, Kollam, according to Kerala-based news outlet Mathrubhumi. Anita, who had completed her masters in business management, was working at a bank in Canada. She was reportedly unwell and had been on medical leave for two days before her death. On Tuesday afternoon, her housemates found her unresponsive in the bathroom and alerted the police, Onmanorama reported. Recommended Stories The Canadian police shifted the body to a hospital, where an autopsy was conducted on Thursday. While the post-mortem is complete, the authorities have said the body will only be released to the family after their investigation is over. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Anita had spoken to her mother, Rajani, on Monday, mentioning she was suffering from fever. She is survived by her father, Benans Alphonse, a Gulf returnee, her homemaker mother, and her younger brother Nikhil, a Class 11 student. A case has been registered, and Canadian police are carrying out a detailed probe into the circumstances of her death. One of her cousins has reached Toronto to assist the family, Onmanorama said. 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 view comments Location : Toronto/Kollam First Published: July 17, 2025, 17:21 IST News nri canada Kerala Woman Found Dead In Toronto Apartment, Family Awaits Autopsy Report Modi's Green Promise Delivered: How India Became A Global Climate Leader Written By : News18.com Edited By: Apoorva Misra Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 12:13 IST The promise has been delivered ahead of schedule, cementing Modis legacy as a leader who not only makes ambitious commitments on world stage but ensures they are realised at home Under the leadership of PM Modi, India has cultivated a robust ecosystem for clean energy. (PTI) When it was first announced, it seemed an insurmountable task. But India has achieved 50 per cent clean power capacity five years ahead of target, setting a global benchmark for sustainable growth. Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a promise on behalf of India at the Paris Climate Change Summit and that promise has now been fulfilled, that too with an oomph factor. Five years ahead of target is outstanding, especially at a time when nations are struggling to understand whether they would even be able to meet the 2030 deadline. India Sets The Benchmark Recommended Stories As of June 2025, the nations installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources has officially crossed the 50 per cent threshold, reaching 50.08 per cent. According to official data, out of a total installed capacity of 484.82 GW, a remarkable 242.78 GW is now derived from non-fossil sources, including renewable energy, large hydropower, and nuclear power. It achieves a critical Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) pledged under the Paris Agreement, five years ahead of the 2030 target date. As Union minister Pralhad Joshi stated: In a world seeking climate solutions, India is showing the way." Despite having one of the lowest per capita emissions profiles among major economies, India remains one of the few G20 countries on track to not only meet but exceed its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. The progress unfolds against a backdrop of global energy uncertainty, exacerbated by the recent resurgence of fossil fuel proponents on the world stage, most notably in the United States under Donald Trump. In this context, Indias steadfast progress is not just commendable, but it is a critical anchor for global climate ambitions. For a country of 1.4 billion people with rapidly growing energy needs, re-engineering half of its power grid away from fossil fuels is a monumental undertaking. While other nations debate the feasibility of their targets, India is delivering on its promises, transforming its energy landscape and setting a powerful example for the rest of the world to follow. A Policy-Driven Transformation This achievement is all the more remarkable considering that just 18 months prior, the share stood at 43.82 per cent. Such a rapid ascent was powered by a suite of visionary policies designed to catalyse every segment of the renewable ecosystem. Under the leadership of PM Modi, India has cultivated a robust ecosystem for clean energy through a series of interlocking, visionary policies. These initiatives create the foundational architecture for sustainable growth. Flagship programmes have been central to this transformation. The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) has empowered millions of farmers by facilitating solar-powered irrigation, simultaneously ensuring energy security for agriculture and reducing its carbon footprint. The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, launched in 2024 to bring rooftop solar to one crore households, is democratising energy generation, turning citizens from passive consumers into active prosumers. These have been complemented by the establishment of vast solar parks, which have driven down tariffs to record lows, and the National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy, which optimises land and grid infrastructure. It is a deliberate, policy-driven push that has catalysed private investment and public participation, building momentum year on year. Green Growth Achieving the 50 per cent mark five years early is not a finish line but a new starting block. The road ahead towards Indias ambitious Panchamrit goalsincluding 500 GW of non-fossil fuel capacity by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2070demands an even greater intensification of effort and strategic foresight. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Furthermore, the financial undertaking is colossal, with estimates suggesting an investment of $570 billion is needed in the electricity sector by 2032. Mobilising this capital and ensuring the development of robust supply chains for critical components, from solar panels to batteries, will be paramount. The promise made in Paris has been delivered ahead of schedule, cementing PM Modis legacy as a leader who not only makes ambitious commitments on the world stage but also ensures they are realised at home. India has already lit the lamp of green transformation. The task now is to ensure it shines ever brighter, illuminating a path for the nation and the world towards a truly sustainable and self-reliant future. 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. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 12:13 IST News opinion Modi's Green Promise Delivered: How India Became A Global Climate Leader Opinion | A Cultural Triumph In Karachi: Mauj Theatres Ramayana Blends Tradition, Technology, And Tolerance Written By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 19:17 IST By staging the Ramayana, Mauj has reclaimed a forgotten cultural symbiosis and boldly challenged the notion that Pakistani identity is divorced from Indic civilisational heritage Though often seen through a religious lens, the Ramayana is fundamentally a universal tale of human struggle, ethical conflict, and moral resolution. (Representational image: AI Generated) In an extraordinary fusion of classical heritage, cutting-edge technology, and cross-cultural dialogue, Karachi-based Mauj Theatre Group has made history by staging the Hindu epic Ramayana at the Karachi Arts Council from July 11 to 13, 2025. Directed by Yogeshwar Karera and produced by Rana Kazmi, this visually stunning and emotionally resonant performance not only pushed the boundaries of South Asian theatreit also rekindled crucial conversations around shared heritage, pluralism, and religious harmony in the subcontinent. At a time when cross-border narratives are often marred by hostility and polarisation, Maujs courageous decision to adapt the Ramayanaa cornerstone of Hindu traditionhas emerged as a profound act of cultural diplomacy and collective healing. Recommended Stories Reclaiming Shared Roots: Ramayana Beyond Borders Composed by sage Valmiki thousands of years ago, the Ramayana is more than just a Hindu scriptureit is a civilisational epic revered across South and Southeast Asia. Its themes of dharma (duty), exile, sacrifice, and the triumph of good over evil echo across religious boundaries, including Buddhist, Jain, Sikh, and Sufi Islamic traditions. Though often seen through a religious lens, the Ramayana is fundamentally a universal tale of human struggle, ethical conflict, and moral resolution. Director Yogeshwar Karera aptly noted, To me, bringing the Ramayana to life on stage is not just a performanceits a statement that Pakistani society is more pluralistic, tolerant, and inclusive than it is often portrayed to be." This production carries added significance in Karachi, a city once known for its vibrant Hindu-Muslim coexistence before the trauma of Partition. By staging the Ramayana, Mauj has reclaimed a forgotten cultural symbiosis and boldly challenged the notion that Pakistani identity is divorced from Indic civilisational heritage. Even Allama Iqbal, Pakistans national poet, acknowledged the ethical grandeur of Lord Rama, referring to him as Imam-ul-Hind"a moral exemplar for all South Asians, irrespective of religious identity. AI Meets Epic: A Visual Feast for the Digital Age One of the most captivating elements of Maujs Ramayana was its pioneering integration of artificial intelligence to create a deeply immersive experience. AI-generated visualsfrom golden palaces and floating mountains to enchanted forests and flying chariotstransported the audience into the world of ancient mythology through futuristic storytelling tools. Combining interactive projections, digital scenography, dynamic lighting, and live music, the team crafted a performance that felt both timeless and modern. Critic Omair Alavi lauded the show as a top-class production that balances digital sophistication with deep emotional storytelling". The cast brought the epics characters to life with grace and depth: Aamir Ali as Raja Dashrath Waqas Akhtar as Laxman Jibran Khan as Hanuman Sana Toaha as Rani Kaikeyi Ali Sher as Abhimantri Rana Kazmi in a powerful gender-reversal role as Sita Adding to the magic was Monica Ahmed, whose live vocals imbued the performance with spiritual resonance. Producer Rana Kazmi described it as a living, breathing tapestry of sound, visuals, and sentiment". Bridging Faiths Through the Power of Art In a Muslim-majority country where staging a Hindu epic could be viewed as controversial, Maujs Ramayana was met not with resistance but with overwhelming public appreciation. The production defied stereotypes and offered a profound affirmation of cultural coexistence. Yogeshwar Karera, confident in the peoples understanding, remarked, I never feared backlash because I believe in the intelligence and heart of the people." His belief was validated by standing ovations, viral praise, and endorsements across religious lines. One post on X captured the moment perfectly: In Karachia city of lost diversityPakistani artists brought the Ramayana to life. Enhanced by AI, this was not just theatre; it was a prayer for unity in a fragmented region." Equally significant is how the play redefined patriotism. Rather than viewing the Ramayana as an Indian" or foreign" text, Mauj presented it as part of a shared subcontinental heritage that predates the India-Pakistan divide. In their hands, the Ramayana became a symbol of cultural continuity and unity, not conflict. From Karachi to the World: A Growing Cultural Movement This wasnt Maujs first encounter with the Ramayana. An earlier version was staged in November 2024 at The Second Floor (T2F) in Karachi. But the July 2025 productionwith upgraded technology, greater visibility, and wider acclaimmarked a major artistic leap. Co-hosted by SOVAPA (School of Visual and Performing Arts), the plays Instagram highlights drew widespread attention and admiration. As of now, cultural institutions across Pakistan are showing interest in hosting the production, sparking talks of a national tour. A Vision for the Subcontinents Shared Future In a region long divided by political disputes and historical trauma, Mauj Theatres Ramayana stands as a shining example of unity through culture. It is a gentle but powerful reminder that art can bridge even the deepest divides, reviving empathy, dialogue, and mutual respect across borders. As the curtain fell to thunderous applause on July 13, audiences in Karachi knew they had witnessed something truly historic. More than just a play, it was a reaffirmation of South Asias composite identity, told through the eyes of todays artists and powered by the tools of tomorrow. Where There is Dharma, There is Victory By staging the Ramayana with integrity, innovation, and inclusivity, Mauj Theatre has not only elevated Pakistani theatre to new heights but has also helped reopen a vital cultural dialogue between India and Pakistan. In an era of deepening division, Lord Ramaembodiment of truth, compassion, and justicecan serve as a shared symbol of peace for the entire Indian subcontinent. As a writer and cultural worker, I offer one sincere suggestion: the Government of India should consider inviting Mauj Theatre to perform this Ramayana on Indian soil, perhaps during Dussehra festivities or on the occasion of Ram Navami. Such an invitation would not only recognise the artistic excellence of our Pakistani counterparts but also celebrate our common cultural heritage, our shared language, and the moral figure of Ram, who remains an ideal for billions across borders. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Let this artistic gesture become a bridge of understanding, reminding us that long before lines were drawn on maps, our stories were always woven. Shariq Adeeb Ansari is the national working president of the All India Pasmanda Muslim Mahaz. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 19:15 IST News opinion Opinion | A Cultural Triumph In Karachi: Mauj Theatres Ramayana Blends Tradition, Technology, And Tolerance Opinion | From Dhaka To Gopalganj: The Dark Continuum Of Bangladeshs Political Repression Written By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 13:08 IST Exactly one year after six people died in anti-job quota protests, Bangladesh witnessed a more venomous attack on civil liberties - this time by the protestors who are now in power In this image made from a video, supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina clash with the police in Gopalganj, Bangladesh, Wednesday, July 16, 2025. (AP Photo) On July 16, 2024, six people died in Bangladesh, reportedly due to police action on anti-job quota protestors. The most notable case was the killing of Abu Sayeed in Rangpur, which became a symbol of state oppression. The former Sheikh Hasina government faced accusations for the ensuing events: over 800 deaths were officially listed over the next 21 days, until August 5, when the government was overthrown. Beyond the deaths, the Hasina government received intense public criticism for its insensitive remarks before and after July 16. Awami League General Secretary and former minister Obaidul Quader reportedly encouraged his student wing to take action against protestors at Dhaka University on the night of July 14 for raising objectionable" slogans. Recommended Stories Exactly one year later, Bangladesh witnessed an even more venomous attack on civil liberties this time by the protestors who are now in power. They have formed a political party, the National Citizen Party (NCP), with full backing from the administration. They act as the de facto rulers of the country, despite having no track record of winning elections. According to official reports, at least four Awami League supporters died and nine were injured in Gopalganj. Unofficially, the toll is believed to be higher. Gopalganj is Sheikh Hasinas electoral constituency, her hometown, the burial ground of her father and Liberation War hero Mujibur Rahman, and the strongest bastion of the Awami League. Officially, the incident began when League supporters allegedly tried to prevent NCP from holding a rally there. The reality, however, appears completely different. Since the fall of the Hasina government, the NCP and its close ally Jamaat-e-Islami have been targeting Mujibur Rahmans legacy. In February, they demolished the Dhaka house where Mujibur Rahman had lived and was assassinated in 1975. At their insistence, the Yunus administration criminalised the Awami League, equating it with terror groups, and misused state power to harass its activists. This is in addition to open threats and harassment directed at anyone who dared to raise questions even remotely favoring the League or its ideological anchor, Mujibur Rahman. Over the last two weeks, NCP leaders, activists, and their support groups made provocative social media remarks, suggesting they intended to destroy Mujiburs memorial in Gopalganj. They hyped their planned visit, calling it the March to Gopalganj," echoing the March to Dhaka" on August 5, 2024, which had aimed to oust Hasina. Awami League supporters in Gopalganj were kept in the dark about what was being planned. The heavy police deployment in support of the NCP rally only heightened tensions. An anxious Gopalganj, fearing a state-sponsored attack on their ideological roots, blocked the roads to the rally venue. NCP leaders arrived, escorted by large contingents of police and army. What happened next is history. People resisted what they perceived as an assault. Police and army opened fire, killing several with impunity. In one video, someone is heard instructing police to aim directly at people. Exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasrin posted a video on Facebook showing police taking a youth named Ramzan into custody. He was allegedly carrying firearms. Ramzan was later found dead, a bullet piercing his chestan extrajudicial killing. The NCP leaders left unharmed, under army protection. But the issue didnt end there. Law enforcement launched a massive crackdown against Awami supporters in Gopalganj. A former July 2024 protestor, now a minister in charge of rural affairs, posted photos of himself overseeing operations remotely. He vowed to destroy the Awami Leagues support base in Gopalganj. If Obaidul Quader and others were condemned in 2024 for insensitive remarks, yesterdays events in Gopalganj revealed an even more shameful display of state muscle. Senior NCP leaders took to social media demanding that the administration teach Gopalganj a lesson," or else threatened to do it themselves. The Yunus administrations silence in the face of NCPs power play is unprecedented in recent Bangladeshi history. Wednesdays violence is merely the consequence of a year-long trend. Back in July 2024, mainstream media and intelligentsia were openly critical of the Awami League and Hasina. Social media was overwhelmingly anti-Hasina, with expatriate bloggers leading the charge. More importantly, Western human rights watchdogs and media outlets were critical of the Hasina government. According to accounts from Jeffrey Sachs and others, the U.S. played a role in engineering regime change in Bangladesh. Since then, the Western media has gone soft on the Yunus administration. Human rights concerns have faded. Social media is still dominated by the anti-Hasina, anti-Awami League cabal, while Bangladeshi mainstream media has lost its edge. Awami League activists and sympathisers are facing persecution, and 266 journalists are under criminal investigation many on fictitious murder charges. Except for a handful of Dhaka-based commentators, mostly using social media, critical voices have vanished. In 2024, opposition to the Awami League was visible on the ground, even if not in Parliament. Today, that space has been lost due to the directionless politics of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) the Leagues historical rival. The BNP, led by a figure in London, was expected to rise after Hasinas fall. But in the past year, they have shown little political engagement and more involvement in petty extortion. They speak of democracy, yet endorsed NCP dictated ban on the Awami League. They hope for League supporters votes against Jamaat in the next election, but do not criticise NCP-Jamaat combine for orchestrating events like Gopalganj. They demanded elections by December, only to backtrack without explanation. This vassal-like behavior has deprived Bangladesh of its historic balance between Left and Right. The microscopic Left was traditionally closer to the Awami League; BNP represented the center-right. At the far right stood Jamaat and other Islamist groups. With the League out, and NCP positioning itself between BNP and Jamaat, the balance has tilted decisively toward the Islamists who now expect to make significant gains in the next election. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The Jamaat-Islamist combine is pushing to erase the League and Mujibur Rahmans legacy from the ideological landscape a development that may ultimately backfire on the BNP as well. Pratim Ranjan Bose is an independent columnist. Views expressed in the above piece are personal and solely that of the author. They do not necessarily reflect News18s views. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 13:08 IST News opinion Opinion | From Dhaka To Gopalganj: The Dark Continuum Of Bangladeshs Political Repression Opinion | Muharram Returns To Kashmirs Streets: A March Of Mourning, Resilience, And Revival Written By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 16:12 IST The 2025 Muharram procession in Kashmir was more than a marchit was a message. A message that fear can fade. That faith can find footing again Is the return of the Muharram procession a genuine act of reconciliationor a calculated move to craft an image of normalcy in post-militancy Kashmir? The answer, while complex, leans towards transformation rather than mere tokenism. File pic/PTI For the second consecutive year since 1989, the echoes of Ya Hussain" reverberated through the heart of Srinagar as tens of thousands of mourners peacefully participated in the 8th and 10th Muharram processionsevents long banned during the violent years of Pakistan-backed insurgency in Kashmir. This wasnt just a religious congregation; it was a moment of historic reckoning. After 34 years, the street belonged again to the mourners, not the militants. At the helm of this dramatic shift stood Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, whose administration decisively facilitated the restoration of these iconic processions. The L-G, who has been pivotal in reshaping Kashmirs post-Article 370 governance narrative, personally monitored preparations, security drills, and interfaith outreach meetings leading up to the event. Recommended Stories This is about trust, constitutional rights, and the peoples faith in the state. We have delivered on that promise," said Sinha in a press briefing. The numbers speak volumes. More than 20,000 people marched in Srinagar alone on the 8th and 10th of Muharram, following the traditional route from Abi Guzar to Dalgatea path that had been sealed for decades. Across Jammu and Kashmir, over 40,000 participants were recorded in various processions. Not a single incident of violence was reported. Security arrangements were unprecedented. The state deployed 3,500+ personnel, installed 80+ CCTV cameras, used drones with facial recognition, and ensured real-time surveillance. Quick reaction teams were stationed every 300 metres. Sanitation, lighting, and medical booths were operational across the routesomething unimaginable during the earlier years of curfews and crackdowns. This is not just about allowing a procession," said Shia cleric Syed Rizwan Haider. Its about restoring a peoples dignity and their right to mourn publicly after three decades of silence, fear, and forced erasure." Years of Ban, Bullets, and Blood: 1990-2020 To understand the emotional weight of this years Muharram procession, one must turn back to the dark decades of 1990 to 2020, when the valley bled daily, and faith was muffled under the boot of insurgency. In 1989, as Pakistan-sponsored militancy erupted, the J&K government imposed a ban on major religious processions, particularly the 8th and 10th of Muharram. Officials feared that such large gatherings could become easy targets for terrorists or turn into flashpoints for pro-Azadi, anti-India sloganeering. That fear was not misplaced. By the mid-90s, terror groups like Hizbul Mujahideen, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jaish-e-Mohammed had begun infiltrating even religious congregations, using them to propagate separatism or conceal movement. The state responded with hard crackdowns. In 1993, security forces opened fire on a Muharram gathering in Zadibal, killing nine people, an incident still etched in the communal psyche. Over the years, several such unauthorised processions ended in detentions, baton charges, or gunfire. In 2010 and 2016, young mourners were arrested en masse for defying the ban. In Budgam, 202 participants were booked under Section 144 just for attempting to carry an alam (religious flag) on the 10th of Muharram. Between 1990 and 2010 alone, over 13,000 civilians died in militancy-related violence, according to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP). The Valley saw more than 500 terror incidents annually, many concentrated in urban areas where Muharram processions traditionally passed. But despite the crackdown, the Shia community adapted with quiet resilience. They mourned in back lanes, organised majalis (gatherings) indoors, and passed on the ritualistic heritage behind closed doors. From Kargil to Baramulla, the procession became less about public spectacle and more about personal defiance. The ban never killed our spirit," said 70-year-old Hajji Abbas of Rainawari. It only made our grief deeper. It made our faith private and more political at the same time." Reconciliation, Strategy, and the Politics of Peace So, what changed in 2025? Is the return of the Muharram procession a genuine act of reconciliationor a calculated move to craft an image of normalcy in post-militancy Kashmir? The answer, while complex, leans towards transformation rather than mere tokenism. Since the abrogation of Article 370 in August 2019, the security landscape in the Valley has undergone a dramatic shift. Militancy has declined sharply, creating the spaceboth psychological and logisticalfor such public expressions of faith to re-emerge. According to recent reports from the Ministry of Home Affairs, terror incidents in Jammu and Kashmir fell by an astonishing 85 per cent between 2019 and 2024. Civilian casualties dropped from 78 in 2019 to just six in 2024. The number of active local militants, once over 230 in 2018, is now fewer than 35. Cross-border infiltration attempts, long a hallmark of Pakistans proxy war, have plummeted by 92 per cent. These arent just statistics; theyre indicators of a deeply recalibrated threat matrixone that gives the state an opportunity to reimagine its relationship with civil society. This was a litmus test," said a senior police officer on condition of anonymity. If we could conduct Muharram processions without a single untoward incident, it validates our counter-insurgency strategy and also builds trust with the community." Indeed, for security agencies and policymakers, this years peaceful procession is both an operational success and a political signal: Kashmir is stable enough to allow long-banned, emotionally charged public gatherings. But not everyone is convinced of the states altruism. Critics argue that the revival of these processions is more curated than organic. With the first Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections in the post-370 era expected later this year, sceptics see the timing as politically calculated. The procession is welcome, but lets not pretend this isnt about optics," said a political analyst from Kashmir University. Its about Delhi showing the world that Kashmir is normal again." Yet, beyond the political choreography, the ground reality told a different, more hopeful story. For the first time in decades, Sunnis, Sikhs, and even Kashmiri Pandits were seen voluntarily participatingdistributing water, food, and medical aid along the route. Social media was flooded with powerful images of interfaith solidarity, often captioned with lines like, Karbala unites where politics divides." The communal spirit was authentic, spontaneous, and deeply emotional. Symbolism in Kashmir has always carried weight. And this year, it mattered that the state didnt just allow the narrative of Muharram to unfoldit actively enabled and amplified it. The lieutenant governors office wasnt a passive observer; it orchestrated logistics, ensured security, and even promoted the events peaceful conduct as a hallmark of a new Kashmir". This is governance used as message, not just mechanism. Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Ata Hasnain, one of Indias most respected voices on Kashmir, summed it up with military precision: In conflict zones, perception is firepower. When people march and soldiers guardnot clashits psychological warfare won by the state." That perception, this time, was of a Kashmir walking not in protest or panic, but in unity, memory, and peace. The Road Ahead top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The 2025 Muharram procession in Kashmir was more than a marchit was a message. A message that fear can fade. That faith can find footing again. That a valley once silenced by gunfire can now echo with elegy and unity. Yes, questions linger. Will this be an annual norm or a one-off exception? Can this public expression coexist with political dissent? Will the trust extended to the people this year survive the election cycles and policy shifts? But for now, what matters is this: the 8th and 10th of Muharram are no longer banned days on a government calendar. They are once again sacred dates etched on the streets of Srinagarwith blood, with belief, and now, with state support. In Karbala, Imam Hussain chose principle over survival. In Kashmir, his mourners finally walked againnot in defiance, but in dignity. Tehmeena Rizvi is a Policy Analyst and PhD scholar at Bennett University. Her areas of work include Women, Peace, and Security (South Asia), focusing on the intersection of gender, conflict, and religion, with a research emphasis on the Kashmir region, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. expressed in the above piece are personal and solely those of the writer. They do not reflect News18s views. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 16:12 IST News opinion Opinion | Muharram Returns To Kashmirs Streets: A March Of Mourning, Resilience, And Revival First Jobs, Now Electricity: Nitish Kumar's Big Promises Ahead Of Bihar Polls Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 09:43 IST Ahead of the Bihar assembly elections, CM Nitish Kumar has announced free electricity for all households up to 125 units from August 1. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar (PTI Image) In a big move ahead of the Bihar Assembly polls, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced that electricity up to 125 units will be given free of cost to all households in the state, starting August 1. Announcing the decision on X, Nitish Kumar in a post wrote, From the very beginning, we have been providing electricity to everyone at affordable rates. Now, we have decided that starting from August 1, 2025 meaning from the July billing cycle all domestic consumers in the state will not have to pay anything for up to 125 units of electricity." Recommended Stories 1 , 2025 125 1 67 Nitish Kumar (@NitishKumar) July 17, 2025 The Chief Minister further added that the decision will benefit a total of 1.67 crore families across Bihar. The Bihar CM also promised that in the next three years, solar power panels will be installed on the rooftops of residents after taking their permission, to provide further benefit. We have also decided that within the next three years, after obtaining consent from these domestic consumers, solar power plants will be installed either on their rooftops or at nearby public places to provide further benefits," he added in the post. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The development came after the Nitish Kumar on Tuesday approved 30 key proposals, including a plan to employ one crore youth in the next five years. Notably, the decisions announced by the Chief Minister ahead of the state elections scheduled to take place later this year are being viewed as a strategic move by the ruling NDA government to counter the Oppositions criticism. About the Author Mahima Joshi Mahima Joshi, Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking team. Covering national stories and bringing breaking news to the table are her forte. She is deeply interested in Indian politics and a... Read More Mahima Joshi, Sub-Editor at News18.com, works with the India and Breaking team. Covering national stories and bringing breaking news to the table are her forte. She is deeply interested in Indian politics and a... Read More view comments Location : Bihar, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 08:38 IST News politics First Jobs, Now Electricity: Nitish Kumar's Big Promises Ahead Of Bihar Polls Ever tried rainbow trout from the "roof of the world"? With pristine lakes, cool temps, and top-notch breeding tech, Qinghai leads China in exports - its rich plateau flavor now winning praise from diners around the globe. Produced by Xinhua Global Service 'Alliances Will Be Formed Close To Polls': EPS Aims For Oppn Unity To Outdo DMK | Exclusive Reported By : CNN-News18 Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 07:00 IST As the 2026 Tamil Nadu elections approach, the decisions made by Vijay and other non-Dravidian contestants will play a significant role In an exclusive conversation with CNN-News 18, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami hinted that doors are open to all parties aiming to defeat the ruling DMK. File pic/PTI With over eight months to go for the Tamil Nadu assembly polls, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) has launched its campaign titled Makkalai Kappom, Thamizhagathai Meetpom" (we will protect the people and retrieve Tamil Nadu). In an exclusive conversation with CNN-News 18, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami hinted that doors are open to all parties aiming to defeat the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK). We have eight months to go. Alliances will be formed closer to elections. A few more parties will join the AIADMK-BJP alliance. How can we say whether TVK will join us for sure? Those who want to defeat the DMK should come together and win. If such parties unite, votes wont split, and the possibility of winning is higher," Palaniswami told CNN-News 18. Recommended Stories Actor-turned-politician Vijay had earlier ended speculation that his party (Tamizhaga Vetri Kazhagam) would not join the BJP or the DMK directly or indirectly. However, AIADMK believes that electoral alliances will only be clear closer to the election. In response to his opinion on Vijays political debut, Palaniswami said, India is a democratic country. Anybody can start a party. Anybody who wants to serve the people can start a party." Ever since the AIADMK joined the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA, the DMK has accused Palaniswami of putting his party in a subservient position to the BJP. Palaniswami hit back at chief minister and DMK president MK Stalin, maintaining that both the AIADMK and the BJP aim to defeat the anti-people government" and hence decided to form the alliance. Throughout his campaigns, Palaniswami projects himself as a farmer, identifying with the large agrarian vote banks across the non-metro areas in the state. The DMK chief accuses us of forming an alliance for personal gains. What gains is he referring to? Im a farmer. What will be my gains? DMK may have a lot of assets, and to protect their assets, they may do sowe are not like that. If that were the case, we would have joined hands with them for 2024," he has said. While canvassing, Palaniswami is raising issues from deteriorating law and order to concerns over womens safety. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The ruling alliance remains intact. The Congress and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) continue with the DMK, bonded by their anti-BJP stance cemented over the years. The surprise, it turns out, may come from the opposition camp. Among the possibilities is actor Vijays Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) entering into some kind of support for Palaniswamis alliance. This would prevent a split-vote scenario massively beneficial to the DMK. As a debutante, Vijay may want to test the waters by contesting alone, but there are enough examples of those who have stumbled after the initial enthusiasm in this direction. As the election approaches, the decisions made by Vijay and other non-Dravidian contestants will play a significant role in determining who will win in 2026. About the Author Poornima Murali Poornima Murali, Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, has reported for over a decade on civic and political issues in Tamil Nadu. She has been helming the Chennai bureau for the channel for years now. A ... Read More Poornima Murali, Senior Special Correspondent at CNN-News18, has reported for over a decade on civic and political issues in Tamil Nadu. She has been helming the Chennai bureau for the channel for years now. A ... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 07:00 IST News politics 'Alliances Will Be Formed Close To Polls': EPS Aims For Oppn Unity To Outdo DMK | Exclusive 'Bengal Suffering Due To TMC Misrule': PM Modi To Address BJP Rally In Durgapur Tomorrow Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 21:32 IST The Prime Minister will address a BJP rally in Durgapur on Friday Assembly elections are due in West Bengal next year. (PTI File) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday launched an attack on the Mamata Banerjee government, saying West Bengal is suffering due to the misrule" of the Trinamool Congress. The Prime Minister will address a BJP rally in Durgapur on Friday. Assembly elections are due in West Bengal next year. Recommended Stories West Bengal is suffering due to TMC misrule. People are seeing the BJP with hope and are convinced that only the BJP can deliver on development. Tomorrow, 18th July, will be addressing a @BJP4Bengal rally in Durgapur. Do join! Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 17, 2025 The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone, inaugurate and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects catering to Oil and Gas, Power, Road and Rail sectors. PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal, worth around Rs 1,950 crore. It will provide PNG connections to households, commercial establishments and industrial customers, and provide CNG at the retail outlets and also create employment opportunities in the region. The Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation Durgapur to Kolkata section (132 Km) of Durgapur-Haldia Natural Gas Pipeline, which has been laid as a part of ambitious Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline also known as Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga (PMUG) Project. The Durgapur to Kolkata section worth over Rs 1,190 crore is passing through the districts of Purba Bardhman, Hooghly and Nadia in West Bengal. The pipeline provided direct and indirect employment during its implementation phase and will now facilitate supply of natural gas to lakhs of households in the region. The Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the Retrofitting Pollution Control System-Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) of Durgapur Steel Thermal Power Station and Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station of Damodar Valley Corporation, worth over Rs 1,457 crore. It will benefit the region by supporting cleaner energy production and creating employment opportunities in the region. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Boosting rail infrastructure in the region, the Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the doubling of Purulia Kotshila Rail Line (36 KM) in Purulia, worth over Rs 390 crore. It will improve rail connectivity between industries from Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Dhanbad with Ranchi and Kolkata and efficient movement of goods trains, reducing travel time and improving logistics for industries and businesses. PM Modi will inaugurate two road over bridges (ROBs) constructed under Setu Bharatam Programme, worth over Rs 380 crore, at Topsi and Pandabeshwar in Paschim Bardhaman. It will improve connectivity and also help in preventing accidents on Railway level crossing. About the Author Saurabh Verma Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 21:29 IST News politics 'Bengal Suffering Due To TMC Misrule': PM Modi To Address BJP Rally In Durgapur Tomorrow Its A Punya: Tejashwi Yadavs Dig At Union Minister Over Mutton Party During Sawan Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 21:36 IST RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav hit back at Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan, alias Lalan, for hosting a 'mutton party' during Sawan. JDU veteran leader and Union Minister Lalan Singh has come under opposition fire after organising a mutton feast. (File) Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan Singh alias Lalan has triggered a political row after he purportedly hosted a mutton party" for his workers during the ongoing holy month of Sawan. The feast was reportedly held in Lakhisarai district, which falls under the Munger Lok Sabha constituency, represented by Lalan a former national president of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumars JD(U). Recommended Stories RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, who has repeatedly drawn flak from the ruling NDA for consuming non-vegetarian food during the auspicious days of Sawan and Navratri, on Thursday slammed the JDU leader and took a dig at the ally BJP saying that the saffron party wont say anything now. BJP would now say that it is punya that Lalan Singh is feeding mutton to his people & workers, because he is their ally & a Union Minister. They wont say anything now. When PM comes here tomorrow, I hope he will speak on Lalan Singh, that he is feeding mutton in Sawan," Tejashwi told ANI, in a sarcastic response to PM Modis earlier criticism of him over a similar issue. #WATCH | On controversy over Union Minister Rajiv Ranjan (Lalan) Singhs purported mutton party video during the month of Sawan, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav says, BJP would now say that it is punya that Lalan Singh is feeding mutton to his people & workers, because he is their pic.twitter.com/V7uxVy9UOT ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 Politics over non-veg is not a new thing in Bihar. Two years ago, the Congress-RJD alliance was targeted by the BJP-led coalition over a mutton feast during Sawaan hosted by RJD president Lalu Prasad Yadav, which was attended by Rahul Gandhi. Last year, Tejashwi Yadav himself was accused by Prime Minister Modi of insulting Hindus after a video surfaced showing him eating fish fry during Navratri. The video in question was posted by Tejashwi Yadav himself, who later clarified it was shot before the festival and meant to expose what he called the low IQ" of his critics. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Sawan, also called Shravan, is a holy month in the Hindu calendar, considered extremely auspicious for the worship of Lord Shiva. During this time, it is customary for many Hindus to abstain from non-vegetarian food. (With inputs from agencies) About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 21:14 IST News politics Its A Punya: Tejashwi Yadavs Dig At Union Minister Over Mutton Party During Sawan Calming The Waters: No Reason For Andhra And Telangana To Fight, Says Chandrababu Naidu Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 23:47 IST Naidu highlighted that two rounds of meetings have already taken place to assess water usage, with a consensus that states would use water en bloc based on pre-bifurcation patterns Referring to the bifurcation of then-undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Naidu noted that Telangana retained many assets, while Andhra faced challenges and losses. File pic A day after a key meeting in New Delhi with union Jal Shakti minister CR Patil, Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu reiterated his call for cooperation between his state and neighbouring Telangana on river water sharing. Speaking at a public gathering in Nandikotkur, Nandyal district, Naidu emphasised that there is no need for conflict between the two states. There is enough waterboth states need it. Let us avoid confrontation and work with a spirit of give and take. If we can stop the water from flowing into the sea and use it properly, both Rayalaseema and Telangana will benefit," Naidu said. Recommended Stories Referring to the bifurcation of then-undivided Andhra Pradesh in 2014, Naidu noted that Telangana retained many assets, while Andhra faced challenges and losses. Despite the setbacks, we must rebuild. I take full responsibility for the development of Andhra Pradesh," he asserted. He also outlined practical steps taken in the recent meeting. We proposed that the Godavari River Management Board be located in Hyderabad and the Krishna Board in Vijayawada. If there are repairs needed at the Srisailam plunge pool, we are ready to fund them ourselves," he said. Naidu highlighted that two rounds of meetings have already taken place to assess water usage, with a consensus that states would use water en bloc based on pre-bifurcation patterns. This approach will ensure fair distribution and address shortages in critical regions," he said. He further expressed willingness to let Telangana utilise Godavari waters when required and supported the Centres broader river-linking vision. Recalling his time as chief minister of undivided Andhra Pradesh and later as opposition leader, Naidu said he has remained committed to the cause of irrigation. Even during my days in opposition, I toured districts, explained projects with PowerPoint presentations, and even got arrested in Nandyalbut I never gave up. I will continue to work towards strengthening our irrigation network," he said. On Wednesday, the meeting in Delhi was a 90-minute discussion where both states agreed to install telemetry systems at reservoir and canal points to ensure transparent water usagea proposal initiated by Telangana and accepted by Andhra Pradesh. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The two states also agreed to jointly undertake repairs and safety works at the Srisailam Project, reflecting a new spirit of cooperation. A joint committee of technical experts and senior officials will be set up by next Monday to address long-pending water projects in the Krishna and Godavari basins, including Polavaram and Banakacherla. The Centre has directed the committee to work on a fast-track basis. It was also decided that the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) will function from Vijayawada, while the Godavari Board (GRMB) will remain in Hyderabad. The Jal Shakti ministry will oversee the coordination process. Government sources hailed the outcome as a positive development", underscoring the Centres push for dialogue and collaboration between the Telugu states. Further talks at the CM or apex level may be held if needed, with regular interstate reviews encouraged. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 23:47 IST News politics Calming The Waters: No Reason For Andhra And Telangana To Fight, Says Chandrababu Naidu Day After 'Come Over Here' Joke, Uddhav & Aaditya Meet CM Fadnavis Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 18:28 IST The three leaders held a 20-minute discussion in CM Devendra Fadnaviss ante-chamber, once again setting off political speculation Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray met Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis for a 20-minute discussion on July 17. (Image: PTI/File) A day after the come over here remark directed at him by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and his son Aaditya Thackeray met their former ally on Thursday. The three leaders held a 20-minute discussion in Fadnaviss ante-chamber, once again setting off political speculation. But, contrary to all the buzz surrounding shifting alliances and loyalties in state politics, they discussed the post of the opposition leader in the state assembly and the issue of alleged Hindi imposition via the three-language formula. Recommended Stories All through Tuesday (July 16), there was much talk about Fadnaviss tongue-in-cheek remark to Uddhav in the state assembly, where he told him that there is scope for the former chief minister to crossover from the opposition to the ruling side. (Uddhav ji) you can be considered for inclusion here (in the ruling party)," Fadnavis said, while appearing to laugh and share a joke. At least till 2029, there is no scope for us to come there (opposition). Uddhav ji can think about the scope of coming to this side (ruling party) and that can be thought about in a different way, but there is absolutely no scope left for us to come there (opposition)." While Uddhav dismissed the remark as made in jest", there was no stopping the rumour mill from working overtime. The undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav parted ways with longtime ally BJP after the 2019 assembly elections over a dispute on sharing the CMs post. This comes at a time when there are reports of continuing unease between Fadnavis and his deputy Eknath Shinde, who split the Shiv Sena in 2022 and joined hands with the BJP. Shinde was said to be unhappy when he had to cede the chief ministers post to Fadnavis after the BJP-led Mahayuti retained power with a landslide victory in the 2024 elections. WHAT DID FADNAVIS AND THE TWO THACKERAYS TALK ABOUT? It is learnt that the discussion between Fadnavis and the two Thackerays focused on the post of Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra assembly and the issue of the three-language formula and alleged push for Hindi. Uddhav handed over a book titled Why do we need Hindi imposition at all?, to Fadnavis. In response, the chief minister told him that this book has already been sent to education expert Dr Narendra Jadhav, the chairman of the new committee that is examining the language policy". top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Today we gave him a compilation of why there should not be a three-language policy from the first class as written by many journalists and editors," Aaditya Thackeray told reporters after the meeting. The leaders discussed that the post of leader of the opposition is the Speakers prerogative, but it has still not been given. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Ambadas Danve bid goodbye to the post a day ago. His farewell event was a highly charged exchange between the two Shiv Senas in the House as Uddhav and Shinde traded barbs and taunts while delivering the valedictory speeches. About the Author Oindrila Mukherjee Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st... Read More Oindrila Mukherjee is a senior sub-editor who works for the rewrite and breaking news desks. Her nine years of experience in print and digital journalism range from editing and reporting to writing impactful st... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 18:10 IST News politics Day After 'Come Over Here' Joke, Uddhav & Aaditya Meet CM Fadnavis Found Foreigners In Bihar But Couldnt Identify Terrorists In Pahalgam: Owaisi Hits Out At BJP Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 18:32 IST AIMIM president Owaisi criticised government over Bihar's voter revision, questioned the failure to prevent the Pahalgam attack, and demanded accountability. AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi (PTI Image) All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) president Asaduddin Owaisi hit out Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led central government over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters in Bihar, saying that he wondered how the Election Commission could identify the presence of Bangladeshis, Rohingyas and Nepalis in Bihars voter list but the intelligence agencies failed to find out how the terrorists entered the Indian territory and carried out mass killings in Pahalgam. While addressing a gathering at Telanganas Bodhan town on Wednesday, Owaisi said, You manage to find Bangladeshis, Rohingyas, and Nepalis in Bihar, but why dont you investigate how terrorists entered Pahalgam?" Recommended Stories The AIMIM leader alleged that the Pahalgam terror attack was an example of PM Modi governments security lapse. He further urged that the revenge" should be taken for the ghastly terror attack and that Operation Sindoor should be continued. He further warned that he would continue to ask tough questions of the government until all four terrorists are located. Revenge should be taken for Pahalgam. Continue Operation Sindoor. We will question you until those four terrorists who killed the 26 Indians by asking for their religion are caught and killed," he added. #WATCH | Nizamabad, Telangana | AIMIM President Asaduddin Owaisi yesterday said, Four terrorists from Pakistan took the lives of our 26 Hindu brothers in PahalgamTell us how the terrorists reached Pahalgam. If you (Central govt) say you know about the presence of pic.twitter.com/lrXZtPRCGJ ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 Owaisi, who was a member of the governments all-party global outreach delegation on Operation Sindoor, further took a dig at Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha over his reported comments that he takes responsibility for the security failure" of the attack. He said that since Sinha has taken responsibility of security failure in the Pahalgam terror attack, he should resign from the post. If he (J-K LG) has taken the responsibility, then he should resign. Twenty-six Indians were brutally killed in Pahalgam after they were asked their religion and because they were Hindus. If the LG is in so much pain, he should resign. Twenty-six people were killed after being asked their religion and you (J-K LG) merely say this when your tenure is about to end," he added. Owaisi further said that the opposition will ask the Modi government over their accountability over the terror attack. We will ask the Modi government who is responsible for the Pahalgam attack. Who is accountable for this attack? How did the terrorists go there and why was there no police security at the spot? We will ask these questions to the government in the upcoming Parliament session," Owaisi said. Pahalgam Terror Attack top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all In one of the biggest attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, Lashkar-linked terrorists opened fire on a group of tourists in Pahalgam on April 22, killing at least 26 people, including foreign tourists, and injuring many others. The Resistance Front (TRF), a Lashkar offshoot, claimed responsibility for the attack, although it later backtracked after massive global outrage. India responded with Operation Sindoor on May 7, bombing nine terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in pre-dawn strikes that killed at least 100 militants. The operation sparked four days of cross-border fighting involving fighter jets, missiles and artillery. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 18:32 IST News politics Found Foreigners In Bihar But Couldnt Identify Terrorists In Pahalgam: Owaisi Hits Out At BJP Morale Of Criminals Is Sky-High: Chirag Paswan Doubles Down On Nitish Govt Over Bihar Murders Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 19:10 IST Chirag Paswan criticised the Nitish Kumar-led govt over the killing of criminal Chandan Mishra in a Patna hospital, highlighting Bihar's deteriorating law and order situation. LJP (Ram Vilas) leader Chirag Paswan has expressed his intention to contest the Bihar assembly election. (Image: News18) Union Minister and NDA ally Chirag Paswan targeted the Nitish Kumar-led BJP-JDU government on Thursday over the killing of a criminal in a Patna hospital who was out on parole by five men, saying that Bihars law and order situation has become a cause for concern. In a post on X, Paswan said, Murders are happening every day. The morale of criminals is sky-high. The strategy of the police and administration is beyond comprehension. The attack inside Paras hospital in Patnas residential neighbourhood proves that criminals are openly challenging the law and administration." Recommended Stories He said that the criminal incidents right before the Bihar Assembly polls are worrying. Hopefully, the administration will soon take firm steps to bring the law and order system back on track," the Union Minister added. Chirag Paswan has once again criticised the Bihar government over the states crime situation, marking his second such attack in a week. Earlier, on June 12, he questioned the states law and order, asking, How many more murders will Biharis face now?" and expressing confusion over the Bihar Polices role. It is beyond understanding what the responsibility of the Bihar Police is." Five armed men today entered a Bihar hospital, casually walked into a patients room, shot him dead and escaped. The deceased, Chandan Mishra, was a hardened criminal with dozens of murder cases against him. He was out on parole on medical grounds. The attackers were identified as those working as builders, associated with a real estate firm, in the area. The attackers had allegedly been involved in crime-related activities earlier. There were no reports of any injuries to other people at the hospital. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Commenting on the incident, Patna SSP Kartikeya K Sharma said, A criminal, named Chandan Mishra, a resident of Buxar district, against whom dozens of cases of murder are registered, was transferred from Buxar to Bhagalpur jail. Chandan was on parole and admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment. The rival gang shot him." Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha has assured that the criminals would be caught. Such an incident is unfortunate. It will be thoroughly investigated, and the criminal will not be spared. The Chief Minister of Bihar has said the criminal will be caught and strictly punished." view comments Location : Bihar, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 18:38 IST News politics Morale Of Criminals Is Sky-High: Chirag Paswan Doubles Down On Nitish Govt Over Bihar Murders Phone Row In Delhi: BJP Claims Kejriwal, Sisodia Bought High-End Mobiles During AAPs Rule Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 22:40 IST Delhi Home Minister Ashish Sood claimed that AAP leaders purchased multiple mobile phones when the party was in power in the national capital. The Delhi Minister alleged that Kejriwal and Sisodia flouted government spending norms. (File) Another political slugfest broke out in Delhi over the revised phone reimbursement cap for the Chief Minister and Cabinet with BJP alleging former AAP ministers of purchasing expensive mobiles during their rule. Kejriwal Bought Phones Worth Lakhs Of Rupees Recommended Stories Delhi Home Minister and senior BJP leader Ashish Sood claimed on Thursday that AAP leaders, including former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, purchased several top-end mobile phonesamounting to lakhs and exceeding the allocated reimbursement limits when the party was in power in the national capital. Citing an official circular of 2013, Sood said that the Chief Minister and other ministers of Delhi were entitled to purchase mobile phones worth Rs 50,000 and Rs 45,000 respectively, but the AAP ministers, including Kejriwal, holding the top post from 2015 to 2022, bought four latest iPhone models worth lakhs of rupees, news agency PTI reported. " , , pic.twitter.com/Si7KAO0de4 Ashish Sood (@ashishsood_bjp) July 17, 2025 Showing the documents, the Delhi minister said Kejriwal purchased an iPhone 6s Plus in 2015, costing Rs 81,000, an iPhone 7 Plus worth Rs 69,000 in 2017, an iPhone 12 Pro Max) worth Rs 1.39 lakh during Covid times in 2020 and an iPhone 13 Pro Max, costing Rs 1,63,900, on July 13, 2022. Sood further claimed that similarly Sisodia purchased five expensive phones between 2017 and 2022, including a Samsung Galaxy S8 with accessories for Rs 59,899 bought in 2017, a Samsung S8 for Rs 49,000 in 2018, an iPhone worth Rs 1.12 lakh in 2020, an iPhone 12 Pro Max for Rs 1.66 lakh in 2021 and an iPhone 13 Pro Max for Rs 1.37 lakh in 2022. Atishi, and Saurabh Bhardwaj were also named for buying flagship iPhones, with Sisodia allegedly switching phones almost every year between 2017 and 2022. Sood also claimed that often the mobile phones were purchased by Kejriwal and others and then post-facto approvals were given as those were on the higher side of the stipulated reimbursements. Rekha Gupta Weighs In Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also weighed in the ongoing controversy with a poetic jibe on social media. Taking a dig at AAP leaders, Gupta said that the whole matter will be probed. AAPs cap was hiding a whole market every move filled with scams! They bought costly phones for themselves, now the truth is out so smile! The truth fears no one, and this matter will be investigated," she said in a post on X. Revised Cap For Phones At the centre of the current row is a July 9 memo from the Delhi General Administration Department, which revised the price ceilings for government mobile phones for the first time in 12 years. The memo now allowsRs 1.5 lakh for the Chief Minister and Rs 1.25 lakh for ministers. It also states that phones should not be replaced before two years unless repair costs exceed half of the original price. AAPs Allegations Soods attack on Kejriwal and Sisodia came close on the heels of the AAP slamming the Delhi government over the revised ceiling of mobile-phone reimbursements for the chief minister and other ministers. AAPs Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj took a dig at the city government over the rate revision, saying although the BJP did not fulfil any of its promises made to the people of Delhi, at least the chief minister and other ministers have been benefitted. In a statement, the Kejriwal-led party dismissed Soods charges, saying the BJP is making "false allegations" of corruption to cover up its "betrayal" of people and as a "smokescreen" to shut down the previous governments public-welfare policies in Delhi. "This is not governance it is sabotage," the AAP said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all "The AAP government fulfilled its promises without ever saying that we lack funds. The BJP refuses to give women the Rs 2,500 monthly support it had guaranteed. Instead, it is spending the publics money on luxury phones for the chief minister and ministers, hiring four data-entry operators for every MLA," the AAP alleged. (With inputs from agencies) About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 22:40 IST News politics Phone Row In Delhi: BJP Claims Kejriwal, Sisodia Bought High-End Mobiles During AAPs Rule Stalin Asks PM Modi To Intervene In Katchatheevu, BJP Says 'DMK Did Nothing When At Centre' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 09:16 IST Chief Minister MK Stalin recalled that the state Assembly had adopted a resolution on April 2 this year, seeking Katchatheevu's retrieval. MK Stalin urges PM Modi to intervene in Katchatheevu dispute (PTI Image) Chief Minister MK Stalin on Wednesday alleged that the BJP-led Centre did not have the slightest concern for Tamil Nadu fishermen and that the BJP only does politics over who ceded Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka. Addressing a government event, Stalin said that the state government is taking all necessary steps to protect fishermen and their traditional fishing rights. Recommended Stories He added that whenever he meets the Prime Minister, he urges the central government to take back Katchatheevu island from Sri Lanka, as this would help permanently solve the issues faced by Tamil Nadus fishermen. He recalled that the state Assembly had adopted a resolution on April 2 this year, seeking Katchatheevus retrieval. He added that the state is also urging the Centre to ensure the release of Indian fishermen held in Sri Lankan jails and to bring back their seized boats. The BJP-led Union government does not have even a little concern for the Tamils or the Tamil Nadu fishermen and they (BJP) are only doing politics over who ceded Katchatheevu (to Sri Lanka)," Stalin alleged. Only a direct intervention by the Prime Minister can bring a lasting solution for Tamil fishermen," he said. Further, the chief minister said: The power to enter into an agreement with a foreign country is vested with the Union government. For over 10 years now, the BJP has been in power at the Centre. So far, what are the steps taken by them to retrieve Katchatheevu? Have they at least ensured that Tamil Nadu fishermen are not arrested by Sri Lanka? No, they have not." Sri Lankas Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath has alleged that Tamil Nadu fishermen trespassed into Katchatheevu and that they will not give up Katchatheevu island. BJP spokesperson Narayan Tirupathy responded to Stalins remarks, stating that it was under the Congress rule at the Centre and DMKs power in the state when Katchatheevu was ceded to Sri Lanka in 1974. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all DMK did nothing when they shared power at the Centre for 14 years. We have ensured no firing by the Lankan Navy, unlike in Congress rule, where nearly 1,000 fishermen were killed. We have even saved a fisherman from a death sentence," he said. (With PTI inputs) About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 09:16 IST News politics Stalin Asks PM Modi To Intervene In Katchatheevu, BJP Says 'DMK Did Nothing When At Centre' Supporters Of BJP's Gopichand Padalkar, NCP's Jitendra Awhad Clash In Maharashtra Assembly | Watch Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 20:44 IST A day after a heated exchange took place between NCP MLA Jitendra Awhad and BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar, a scuffle broke out between their supporters on Thursday. The incident comes a day after both the Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) had a heated argument outside the Vidhan Bhavan gates. (News18) A violent scuffle broke out between the supporters of Bharaiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Gopichand Padalkar and NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Jitendra Awhad in the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan (legislature complex) on Thursday a day after a heated exchange took place between both the leaders over the opening of a car door, which allegedly escalated to verbal abuse. A video of the clash has went viral on the social media platforms showing the party workers punching, kicking and hurling abuses at each other the ground floor lobby of the building. Recommended Stories As per the eyewitnesses, the situation escalated briefly before onlookers separated the two groups. Security staff detained a person each from the two groups. The issue was immediately brought to the notice of Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar who has sought a report into the incident and assured that appropriate action will be taken against those responsible. Whats The Row? The violent scuffle followed an altercation between Awhad and Padalkar at the entrance of the legislature building on Wednesday when the two were seen exchanging sharp words. The clash happened when Padalkar exited his car and allegedly slammed the door shut. Awhad accused him of doing it deliberately and claimed that the force could have caused him harm. This led to a heated argument, with both leaders exchanging profanities in full public view, further fueling political tensions. I do not know anything about the incident. You can ask him (Awhad), he is sitting in the House. I do not know anyone who was involved. I am really saddened with what occurred. This is an unfortunate incidentI express my regret and apologise." Padalkar said as quoted by news agency ANI. #WATCH | A clash occurred outside Maharashtra Assembly between supporters of BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar and NCP-SCP leader Jitendra Awhad.Gopichand Padalkar says, I am really saddened with what occurred here. This is an unfortunate incidentI express my regret and pic.twitter.com/NiUIprNoAf ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 Awhad, a former minister, expressed concern over safety within the legislature complex. "If MLAs are not safe even inside the Vidhan Bhavan, what is the point of being a public representative? What is our crime? I had just stepped out to get some fresh air. I think they came to attack me," he claimed. I do not want to say anything. If MCOCA accused are coming inside (Assembly) and after the plan to kill me was foiled, they are trying to kill my workers, what can be an action more petty than this? If MCOCA accused can come in and hatch a plan to killI had been noticing for the past three days that these same people were watching meBut this has crossed all limits" he added. #WATCH | A clash occurred outside Maharashtra Assembly between supporters of BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar and NCP-SCP leader Jitendra Awhad.Jitendra Awhad says, I do not want to say anything. If MCOCA accused are coming inside (Assembly) and after the plan to kill me was pic.twitter.com/D2iRBPeM84 ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 Leaders React Meanwhile, in the assembly, MLAs cutting across party lines spoke about the clash, and expressed concern over overcrowding in the legislature premises. States Culture Minister Ashish Shelar demanded an inquiry into the issuance of passes during the day. Speaker Narwekar said he has sought a report into the incident, and will take appropriate action. Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray, a member of the legislative council, said such "goon-like behaviour" was completely unacceptable. "One must ask who authorised the entry of such individuals. Those who issued passes must be investigated. This is a very serious matter, and I urge the chief minister to take strict and immediate action against those involved," he told reporters. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Vidhan Bhavan is a highly respected institution and its dignity must be upheld at all costs, the former chief minister added. (With inputs from agencies) About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 20:44 IST News politics Supporters Of BJP's Gopichand Padalkar, NCP's Jitendra Awhad Clash In Maharashtra Assembly | Watch Whos Brutus In Congress? Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Rekindles Spy Claims Within Opposition Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 10:07 IST Sarma's latest remarks have triggered curiosity after he took to X, alleging Rahul Gandhi made personal remarks against him in a closed-door meeting in Guwahati. According to political observers, this isn't the first time CM Sarma has hinted at insider access to Congress. (Image: PTI) Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has once again stirred political controversy by claiming that he has sources within the Congress party who relay confidential information to him. His latest remarks have triggered curiosity and concern after he took to social media platform X, alleging that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi made personal remarks against him in a closed-door meeting in Guwahati. In a pointed post, CM Sarma quoted Rahul Gandhi as saying, Take it in writing, Himanta Biswa Sarma will definitely be sent to jail," during a Political Affairs Committee meeting attended by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and other senior leaders. He came all the way to Assam just to say this, forgetting he himself is out on bail in multiple criminal cases," Sarma wrote, ending his post with a jibe: Enjoy the hospitality of Assam for the rest of the day." Recommended Stories Take it in writing, Himanta Biswa Sarma will definitely be sent to jail these were the exact words spoken by the Leader of the Opposition, Shri Rahul Gandhi, during his closed-door meeting with the Congress Political Affairs Committee in Assam. He came all the way to Assam https://t.co/4I3YpqccCs Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 16, 2025 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The comment has sparked questions about how a confidential political discussion could reach the Chief Minister so swiftly. According to political observers, this isnt the first time CM Sarma has hinted at insider access. During the tenure of Bhupen Bora as Assam Congress chief, Sarma had made similar allegations, claiming he was aware of internal discussions and decisions taken by the partys top brass, even alleging that spies" existed in each candidates circle during the Lok Sabha campaign. While Congress leaders such as Gaurav Gogoi have dismissed these assertions as baseless, Sarmas repeated claims of intelligence within the opposition party continue to raise eyebrows. Whether this is strategic political posturing or an indication of deeper fissures within Assam Congress remains to be seen, but the Chief Ministers latest statements have undoubtedly put the spotlight back on internal party dynamics. view comments Location : Guwahati [Gauhati], India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 10:07 IST News politics Whos Brutus In Congress? Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma Rekindles Spy Claims Within Opposition Adobe Security Risk Warning Issued By The Indian Govt: What You Should Do Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 08:39 IST Adobe security risk affects popular software that are used by businesses as well as end users and they need to be read this alert at the earliest. Adobe Indesign and Illustrator are at risk because of the issues Adobe users have got a major security warning that is critical for all its software like InDesign, After Effects and Illustrator among others. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has issued a critical warning this month, regarding multiple vulnerabilities in Adobe applications. These vulnerabilities could potentially enable an attacker to bypass security restrictions on the targeted system. The issues affect Adobe users on both Windows and macOS platforms, which is a serious concern for the company and people who use these popular software for work and personal use. Recommended Stories Adobe Security Warning: What It Says The CERT-In note dated July 15, 2025 comes with a critical warning and says, Multiple vulnerabilities exist in Adobe products due to memory corruption, incorrect authorization, and other issues." The security agency says hackers can use these issues to exploit your system for data theft, remote code execution and even crashing the system. The primary targets for attackers will be system administrators, security teams and end-users of Adobe creative software products, the agency further highlights in its post. Adobe Platforms Affected By Security Risk Adobe After Effects versions prior to 24.6.7 for Windows and MacOS Adobe After Effects versions prior to 25.3 for Windows and MacOS Adobe Substance 3D Viewer versions prior to 0.25 Adobe Audition 24 versions prior to 24.6.7 for Windows and MacOS Adobe Audition 25 versions prior to 25.3 for Windows and MacOS Adobe InCopy 20 versions prior to 20.4 for Windows and MacOS Adobe InCopy 19 versions prior to 19.5.4 for Windows and MacOS Adobe InDesign ID20 versions prior to ID20.4 for Windows and MacOS Adobe InDesign ID19 versions prior to ID19.5.4 for Windows and MacOS Adobe Connect Windows App versions prior to 25.1 for Windows Adobe Dimension versions prior to 4.1.3 for Windows and MacOS Adobe Substance 3D Stager versions prior to 3.1.3 for Windows and MacOS Adobe Illustrator 2025 versions prior to 29.6 for Windows and MacOS Adobe Illustrator 2024 versions prior to 28.7.8 for Windows and MacOS Adobe FrameMaker 2020 versions prior to Update 9 for Windows Adobe FrameMaker 2022 versions prior to Update 7 for Windows Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Forms on JEE versions prior to 6.5.0.0.20250527.0 Adobe Experience Manager (AEM) Screens 6.5.22 versions prior to FP11.6 Adobe ColdFusion 2025 versions prior to Update 3 Adobe ColdFusion 2023 versions prior to Update 15 Adobe ColdFusion 2021 versions prior to Update 21 top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all If you are using any of these Adobe products on your Windows or macOS system, update to the latest version right away. The agency has recommended users of these Adobe applications to promptly apply the necessary patch. This involves downloading and installing the latest version of the affected application. Adobe has also released security updates against these vulnerabilities. You can get all the details about the issues from this page and install them for different Adobe software affected. These updates resolve critical, important and moderate vulnerabilities that could lead to arbitrary code execution and security feature bypass. About the Author S Aadeetya S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More News18 Tech delivers the latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements, and more. Stay informed with breaking tech news , expert insights, and trends from India and around the world . Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 16, 2025, 15:46 IST News tech Adobe Security Risk Warning Issued By The Indian Govt: What You Should Do Google Pixel 10 Series Launch Event Confirmed For August: Date And What To Expect Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 08:15 IST Google Pixel 10 series launch is confirmed for August and now we also have the date when the new products will be unveiled. Google Pixel 10 series launch event has been confirmed for next month Google Pixel 10 series launch event date has been confirmed by the company this week, and as rumours have suggested, well be seeing the new Pixel models next month. In fact, the next edition of the Made by Google event is also coming through earlier than before but around the same time as the Pixel 9 event last year. The new Pixel 10 lineup is likely to include four models once again, including a new foldable, along with a new Pixel Watch version and maybe some new Pixel Buds too. Recommended Stories Pixel 10 Launch Event Date, Timings And Where To Watch Google Pixel 10 series launch event is confirmed for Wednesday, August 20 and the showcase will be happening in New York, US this year. The Made by Google event is scheduled for 10 AM PT which is 10:30 PM IST for those watching in India. Googles new Pixel 10 launch event will be live steamed on its official YouTube channel. Were yet to hear about the Pixel 10 launch date for the Indian market. Pixel 10 Series Launch: New Phones, Watches And More Google Pixel 10 series will most likely have four models this year. The Pixel 10, along with the Pixel 10 Pro, 10 Pro XL and the Pixel 10 Pro Fold. Google should also bring the new Pixel Watch 4 model which is rumoured to get the same design as the Pixel Watch 3 but carrying a bigger battery this year. The good news is that Google is likely to make some upgrades for the latest Pixel 10 Pro and 10 Pro XL models but some of the existing features could be carried over to the new models. The new Pixel 10 Pro leaks have been shared via Android Headlines in a report. The Pixel 10 Pro is expected to sport a 6.3-inch LTPO OLED panel with 120Hz refresh rate, while the 10 Pro XL gets a 6.8-inch display with the same panel and refresh rate. We expect Google to power them with the new Tensor G5 chipset which is supposedly being made by TSMC using the 3nm process. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The company could launch the 10 Pro models with up to 16GB RAM and 1TB storage variants. Google should also have the Android 16 version ready for the new models, something that did not happen with the Pixel 9 series last year. The new Pixel 10 Pro Fold model is expected to get a 6.4-inch cover OLED display and an 8-inch inner screen with up to 3000 nits of peak brightness. The device should get the Tensor G5 chipset with up to 16GB RAM which is the usual upgrade over the year for a product from Google. However, the most important change could be the Pixel 10 Pro Fold battery, which could get bumped up to 5,015mAh unit, which is over 500mAh more than the unit on the 9 Pro Fold from Google. About the Author S Aadeetya S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More News18 Tech delivers the latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements, and more. Stay informed with breaking tech news , expert insights, and trends from India and around the world . Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 08:15 IST News tech Google Pixel 10 Series Launch Event Confirmed For August: Date And What To Expect Perplexity Pro Offer: Airtel Users Get Free Subscription With Features Worth Rs 17,000 In India Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 11:15 IST Free Perplexity Pro Subscription: Airtel Perplexity Pro offer comes with 1 year validity for mobile and Wi-Fi customers in India who can try out the premium features Airtel Users Get Free Perplexity Pro Subscription With AI Features Worth Rs 17,000 In India Free Perplexity Pro Subscription Airtel: The AI freebie season continues with Perplexity Pro subscription now available for Airtel users in India. The offer is applicable for all Airtel mobile, broadband and other services from the operator in the country. Perplexity Pro is a premium AI tier like ChatGPT Plus and Gemini AI Pro, offering a host of features and access to AI models like Claude and others. Airtel users can access Perplexity Pro AI subscription for one year without any extra charges and it comes bundled with their mobile or broadband plan. You just need to claim the offer available through its app and enjoy the AI service and all its features. Recommended Stories Perplexity Pro With Features Worth Rs 17,000 For Free: How To Claim? The Airtel Perplexity Pro offer is available for free and you can use it for 12 months or 1 year. The offer can be claimed through your mobile or broadband number linked to the Airtel account. The post is available on the Airtel Thanks and you can claim the free offer using these steps: Open Airtel Thanks app on your Android or iOS phone Scroll down to Rewards & OTTs and tap on it You will see a host of rewards available with your Airtel plan Tap on the Perplexity Pro offer valid for 12 months Click on proceed to claim the Perplexity Pro AI offer Sign in with your Google or Apple ID to enjoy a host of premium AI features Airtel Perplexity Pro Offer: Features Worth Rs 17,000 For Free The Perplexity Pro offer is claimed to give you features worth Rs 17,000 for free, these are: Run thousands of searches Choose from GPT 4.1, Gemini, Claude and more models Upload and analyse documents Generate AI images using DALL-E and Flux top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Airtel says the offer can be redeemed only between July 17, 2025 and January 17, 2026 after which the free deal will not be available to its customers. Existing Perplexity Pro subscribers can also avail this offer. The Perplexity Pro offer comes a few days after Google announced its own Gemini AI Pro student offer in India. The companys latest Gemini premium subscription is available for free for students with valid college email ID and other requirements. They can access features like 2TB of Drive storage, Veo 3 access to generate AI videos and try out tools like NotebookLLM and the latest Gemini 2.5 Pro model. About the Author S Aadeetya S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More News18 Tech delivers the latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements, and more. Stay informed with breaking tech news , expert insights, and trends from India and around the world . Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 10:58 IST News tech Perplexity Pro Offer: Airtel Users Get Free Subscription With Features Worth Rs 17,000 In India The New-Gen Threat: Google Says Its New AI Agent Has Stopped A Major Cyberattack Reported By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 10:09 IST Google's security division has developed the Big Sleep AI agent that is now doing the God's work to detect and stop major cyberattacks. The Big Sleep AI agent has already made its impact to stop cyber attacks AI tools are making hackers smarter, helping them build powerful malware that can be hard to detect. However, AI is also enabling companies to learn about these attacks even before they wreak havoc. Google has built a new AI agent that is claimed to have stopped a major cyberattack by analysing its footprints and blocking its path to cause destruction. As Google Chief Sundar Pichai has said in this post, the AI agent called Big Sleep was deployed to detect and stop these cyberattacks from affecting billions and it seems to have done just that recently. AI agents are making lives easier for people, allowing them to delegate tasks and work effectively. It seems these agents are doing much more than that. Recommended Stories New from our security teams: Our AI agent Big Sleep helped us detect and foil an imminent exploit. We believe this is a first for an AI agent definitely not the last giving cybersecurity defenders new tools to stop threats before theyre widespread. Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) July 15, 2025 Googles Big Sleep AI Agent: Stopping Cyberattacks Google announced Big Sleep last year and it has been developed by its DeepMind and Project Zero team. The AI agent has been trained to look for active security issues that are unknown to the industry and researchers. The company claims in November 2024 it was able to identify the first real security vulnerability and prevented it from becoming a bigger incident. Things have only gotten better with Big Sleep, and recently it has discovered a vulnerability in SQLite that could have exploited many. With the help of the AI agent, Google was able to predict the threat and prevent it from making its move in the open. Using AI The Right Way top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Google is clearly proud of its ability to build an AI agent that can prevent these attacks. It says these cybersecurity agents are a game changer and allows the security teams to keep an eye out for bigger threats in the wild. The company says these AI agents have been developed with privacy in mind, and it even has a white paper which details how these agents are being built to stop possible cyber intrusions at a large scale. There is also an issue tracker page set up by Google to give you all the updates around the work done by Big Sleep to stop security issues from having a major impact on the internet. About the Author S Aadeetya S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More S Aadeetya, Special Correspondent at News18 Tech, accidentally got into journalism 10 years ago, and since then, has been part of established media houses covering the latest trends in technology and helping fr... Read More News18 Tech delivers the latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements, and more. Stay informed with breaking tech news , expert insights, and trends from India and around the world . Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments Location : California, USA First Published: July 17, 2025, 10:08 IST News tech The New-Gen Threat: Google Says Its New AI Agent Has Stopped A Major Cyberattack 'Theyll Get US Nuked': Old Clip Of Alex Jones Blaming Israel For 9/11 Viral Amid Syria Strikes Written By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 21:34 IST As tensions rose in West Asia, following Israeli strikes on Syria, a clip by famous right-wing podcaster Alex Jones blaming Israel for 9/11 has gone viral. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones blamed Israel on his show after 9/11 and that video has resurfaced two decades later amid Israeli strikes on Syria. (IMAGE: REUTERS) Alex Jones, right-wing commentator of the famous The Alex Jones Show, has gone viral once again for an old video from his podcast shot a day after the September 11 terror attacks. Back on September 12, 2001, during an early episode, Jones made controversial remarks blaming Israel for the 9/11 attacks. Recommended Stories I dont support the Palestinians either. Theyre all hyped up and psychotic. But Israels going to get us nuked, always backing them up like this. Israel calls the Palestinians goyim, or cattle, or dogs, or subhuman. They keep them on concentration camps. Ive got video of them taking Palestinian womens tomatoes they grow, and breaking their water containers, and stealing. Thats why you have this crap," the podcaster says in his rant. Alex Jones blamed Israel for 9/11 a day after it happened."We're gonna have nuclear war, because Israel likes to go around bombing everybody." pic.twitter.com/jDvhoHEFG8 Censored Men (@CensoredMen) December 8, 2023 And our children are going to die. Were going to get nuked because of this. Irans got the nukes now, (and) Syria. Were going to have nuclear war because Israel likes to go around bombing everybody," Jones says in the now-viral clip. The clip appears to have resurfaced amid Israels airstrikes on Syria. Israel has bombed Syrian government sites and other targets since Monday, saying it was seeking to defend the Druze minority after bloody sectarian clashes in southern Syria. Alex Jones: "Netanyahu has been trying to drag us into war since 9/11 Israel will get blown off the map by Iran" pic.twitter.com/axnhNtRJ8h RiftTV (@TheRiftTV) April 10, 2025 Technically at war with Syria for decades, Israel has said it would not accept the presence of forces of the Islamist-led government in the countrys south, which borders the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Im sorry. Its just the facts. I have been supportive of Israel for many years. When I found out what they do, shooting little Palestinian children and laughing, its on video," he says. Jones made similar comments earlier this year while appearing on another podcast where he accused Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, of dragging the US into war in West Asia. 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 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! view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 21:28 IST News viral 'Theyll Get US Nuked': Old Clip Of Alex Jones Blaming Israel For 9/11 Viral Amid Syria Strikes Who Is Astronomer CEO Andy Byron? Coldplay's Chris Martin Catches Top Exec Getting Cosy With HR Head Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 23:33 IST Astronomer CEO Andy Byron faced backlash after a kiss cam incident with Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot at a Coldplay concert. Andy Byron is serving as the CEO of Astronomer since July 2023. (X) Astronomer CEO Andy Byron has gained unwanted attention from the netizens after a lighthearted moment turned into a full blown disaster for him at the Coldplay concert in Boston on Wednesday night During Coldplays concert at Gillette Stadium in Boston on Wednesday, frontman Chris Martin decided to spice up the crowd with the classic kiss cam game. As the camera panned across the thousands of fans in attendance, it suddenly landed on Byron, the married CEO of Astronomer, and his Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot. Recommended Stories The pair, seen with their arms around each other, quickly reacted as frontman Chris Martin commented, Oh, look at these two." As the camera lingered, Byron abruptly pulled away and ducked behind a barrier while Cabot covered her face with her hands, visibly embarrassed. The clip became a huge internet topic because Byron is married with two children, while Cabot leads the companys human resources team. Their shocked reactions made people suspicious about their relationship. Who Is Andy Byron? According to his LinkedIn, Andy Byron is serving as the CEO of Astronomer since July 2023. Astronomer, a data-software company valued at over $1.3 billion, specialises in data orchestration tools for companies and is widely respected in the tech world with clients ranging from banks to media companies. The company has rapidly gained traction under Byrons leadership. In just over a year, the company saw 100% YoY growth in annual recurring revenue, net dollar retention above 130%, and over 2.6 billion successful task runs on the Astro platform in FY2025. A graduate of Providence College, Byron resides in New York with his wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, and their two children. Described by colleagues as driven and strategically sharp, he was brought into Astronomer to steer the next phase of growth for the open-source-centric company. He previously served as President of Lacework from 2019 until 2022, and then briefly served as an advisor to the company, according to his LinkedIn profile. From 2017 to 2019, he served as Cybereasons Chief Revenue Officer. He has also held positions at Vericenter and BMC Software. Astronomers current executive team consists of Pete DeJoy (co-founder and chief product officer), Julian LaNeve (chief technology officer), Bhanu Sareddy (chief customer officer), and Kristin Cabot (chief people officer), as reported by Financial Express. Who Is Megan Kerrigan Byron? The controversy has also shed light on Megan Kerrigan Byron, an accomplished educator and mother of two. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all As per Financial Express, Megan works at Bancroft School in Worcester, Massachusetts. She currently serves as Associate Director of the Lower School and Admissions for the Hope Graham Program, which supports students with language-based learning differences. After the kiss cam controversy, many netizens have flooded her posts with messages of support, particularly those featuring her children and family. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More News18's viral page features trending stories, videos , and memes, covering quirky incidents, social media buzz from india and around the world, Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! view comments Location : Boston, Massachusetts, USA First Published: July 17, 2025, 23:33 IST News viral Who Is Astronomer CEO Andy Byron? Coldplay's Chris Martin Catches Top Exec Getting Cosy With HR Head 7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Alaska In US, Triggers Tsunami Warning Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 08:00 IST The authorities issued tsunami warning for South Alaska and the Alaska peninsula after 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast. Alaska gets tsunami warning (AI Generated) An earthquake of 7.3 magnitude on the Richter scale struck off the coast of the US state of Alaska on Wednesday (local time), prompting the authorities to issue a tsunami warning, the United States Geological Survey said. The earthquake occurred at around 12.37 local time (2037GMT) and its epicenter was located at 87 kilometers south of the island town of Sand Point, USGS said. Recommended Stories The depth of the epicenter was 20.1 kilometers. The authorities have issued a tsunami warning for South Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula after the massive earthquake, news agency AFP reported. A tsunami has been confirmed and some impacts are expected," said the National Tsunami Warning Center in Palmer, Alaska. The warning was put out for South Alaska And the Alaska Peninsula, Pacific coasts from Kennedy Entrance, Alaska (40 miles SW of Homer) to Unimak Pass, Alaska (80 miles NE of Unalaska)," it added. The US Tsunami Warning Center issued a warning for a large part of Alaskas coastline from about 40 miles southwest of Homer to Unimak Pass, covering nearly 700 miles. This included several coastal towns like Kodiak, an important local center with around 5,200 people. One of the first places expected to be hit was Sand Point, a small village of about 580 people on Popof Island in the Aleutian Islands. Local officials quickly warned residents and told them to move to higher ground. Alaska has more earthquakes than any other US state and experiences nearly 11% of all earthquakes in the world, and 17.5% of those in the United States. This is due to its position on the Pacific Ring of Fire, where the Pacific Plate slides under the North American Plate along a huge fault line called the Alaska-Aleutian Megathrust, which stretches over 2,500 miles. In March 1964, a devastating 9.2-magnitude earthquake struck the state, which was the strongest ever recorded in North America. The city of Anchorage was badly damaged in the quakes, which also caused a tsunami that hit the Gulf of Alaska, the US West Coast, and Hawaii. Over 250 people had died in the disaster. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all A strong earthquake of magnitude 7.2 also struck in July 2023 near the Alaska Peninsula; however, no serious damage was recorded. (With AFP inputs) About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More view comments Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: July 17, 2025, 06:47 IST News world 7.3 Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Alaska In US, Triggers Tsunami Warning Caught On Camera: UK Man Releases Rats Outside Sheffield Mosque, Shouts Racist Remarks Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 21:07 IST Edmund Fowler, 66, released rats outside Sheffield Grand Mosque in a series of hate crimes, causing shock and distress among worshippers. The man pleaded guilty to racially aggravated harassment, receiving an 18-week suspended sentence. (Image Credit: X) A UK man was seen releasing caged rats outside a mosque in a premeditated series of hate crimes described by magistrates as disgusting" and highly dehumanising" in CCTV footage played in court. In the video, Edmund Fowler, 66, was seen lifting a cage from the boot of his car and freeing the animals onto the pavement outside Sheffield Grand Mosque on four separate occasions between May and June. The video also captured Edmund Fowler shouting racist insults at worshippers entering the mosque on Grimesthorpe Road. In additional mobile phone footage recorded by Edmund Fowler himself, he is heard saying to the rats, Guess where youre going," Say bye bye," and Ill point you in the right direction." Recommended Stories Edmund Fowler pleaded guilty at Sheffield Magistrates court to four counts of racially aggravated harassment. Despite the shocking footage, he was not sent to prison but received an 18-week prison sentence and was banned from going near any mosque or certain areas of Sheffield for the same duration. The court heard that Edmund Fowlers actions had caused widespread upset and shock" as the manager of Sheffield Grand Mosque said in a statement, It is evident people using the mosque are Muslim. They are scared of further harassment and are now too scared to come to the mosque." A 66-year-old MAN has been ARRESTED for RACIALLY or religiously AGGRAVATED public order OFFENCE after RATS were RELEASED outside a MOSQUE in SHEFFIELD on MondaySouth Yorkshire Police said a man stopped outside the mosque and released rats from the boot of his car. A man has pic.twitter.com/tlkHGqJ0wA Active Patriot (@ActivePatriotUK) June 25, 2025 Chair of the bench, Suzanne Irish-Deverill, said she was disgusted" by the footage, adding, Your crimes were pre-planned on multiple occasions. You also had the audacity to record it yourself. It has had significant impact and caused shock and distress. People are entitled to travel to a place of worship without being racially or religiously harassed- it is a hate crime." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The court was told that Edmund Fowler may have suffered a mental breakdown linked to the stress of caring for his wife, who has breast cancer. However, no motive was provided by Edmund Fowler, who acknowledged that his behaviour was appalling." Iman Atta, director of the anti-hate crime charity Tell Mama, called the acts highly dehumanising", saying, This specific targeting of a mosque and the release of rats in itself is highly dehumanizing. Its not just a targeting of an institution- its the impact it has on the congregation a congregation feeling that this is intentional harassment that theyre going through on an ongoing basis." view comments Location : United Kingdom (UK) First Published: July 17, 2025, 21:07 IST News world Caught On Camera: UK Man Releases Rats Outside Sheffield Mosque, Shouts Racist Remarks Chinese Buyers 'Add To Cart' US Homes That Americans Are 'Adding To Wishlist' Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 23:07 IST Between April 2024 and March 2025, foreign buyers invested a total of $56 billion in US residential properties. Leading the list of international buyers are those from China, Canada, and Mexico The housing market in the United States is experiencing a noticeable surge in international buyers, particularly from China. A recent report published by the National Association of Realtors has revealed detailed data on foreign nationals purchasing property across the country. It is important to highlight the significant rise in the number of Chinese buyers, with an 83% increase compared to the previous years figures. Of these buyers, approximately 36% chose to invest in California, while around 9% purchased property in New York, according to the report. Recommended Stories This increase in foreign investment coincides with a period in which many Americans are struggling to afford housing due to the ongoing affordability crisis. With both buyers and sellers facing mounting challenges in the domestic market, real estate experts suggest that these conditions are creating favourable opportunities for international buyers. Between April 2024 and March 2025, foreign buyers invested a total of $56 billion in US residential properties. Leading the list are buyers from China, Canada, and Mexico. Chinese nationals alone purchased 11,700 homes, valued at $13.7 billion, over the past year, accounting for 15% of all foreign homebuyers in the United States. Canada follows closely, with its citizens representing 14% of international buyers. Canadians purchased 10,900 homes worth a total of $6.2 billion. Buyers from Mexico secured third place, investing $4.4 billion in the purchase of 6,200 homes. Meanwhile, Indian and British buyers are not far behind. Indian nationals acquired 4,700 homes valued at $2.2 billion, while those from the United Kingdom spent $2 billion to purchase 3,100 homes during the same period. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all However, this surge does not necessarily indicate that foreign buyers are outcompeting American ones. Rather, they are capitalising on the current weak demand. A report from Fox Business cited senior economist Joel Berner, who explained that high mortgage rates remain the biggest hurdle for American buyers. In contrast, many Chinese buyers tend to pay in cash, making them strong contenders in the real estate market. According to the data, foreign nationals purchased approximately 78,100 properties in the US between April 2024 and March 2025. view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 17, 2025, 23:07 IST News world Chinese Buyers 'Add To Cart' US Homes That Americans Are 'Adding To Wishlist' Daughter Of Ex-FBI Director Involved In Epsteins Prosecution Fired From US Attorneys Office Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: July 18, 2025, 00:14 IST Her firing comes amid ongoing tension between her father, James Comey, and the Trump administration. Maurene had served as an assistant in the US Attorneys Office in New York since 2015 (Image: Instagram) The Manhattan US Attorneys Office dismissed its employee, Maurene Comey, on July 16, according to sources close to the matter. Maurene, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, who was dismissed by Donald Trump during his first term in 2017, had been part of the prosecution team in the Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell case. While the exact reason for her termination has not been confirmed, it has raised significant questions. Maurene had served as an assistant in the US Attorneys Office in New York since 2015, contributing to several high-profile cases, including those of Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean Diddy" Combs. Recommended Stories Her firing comes amid ongoing tension between her father, James Comey, and the Trump administration, particularly US Attorney General Pam Bondi. Trump has accused James of fabricating evidence in the Epstein case while serving as FBI Director. Investigations are also examining his role in the probe that investigated links between Trumps 2016 campaign and Russia. This political turmoil has also brought Maurene into the spotlight. Notably, right-wing figure Laura Loomer called for her dismissal as early as May. According to a Politico report, Maurene has not provided an explanation for her firing, but sources suggest the decision likely came from someone at the Department of Justice headquarters, rather than from Jay Clayton, the interim US Attorney for the office. Maurene was informed that her dismissal was under Article II of the Constitution. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Maurene had played a significant role in the prosecution of Epstein, a convicted paedophile and sex offender, and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell. Epstein was sentenced to 20 years in prison after being convicted of multiple sex crimes, though he died while serving his sentence. Maurene was also a part of the team that worked on the sex trafficking case against Sean Diddy" Combs. Recently, the authorities dismissed the existence of the so-called Epstein files, a controversial list allegedly containing the names of Epsteins clients. Despite this, James has not publicly commented on the DOJs July 6 memo. Meanwhile, President Trump has consistently asserted that there was no client list created by Epstein, calling it a hoax supposedly fabricated by former President Barack Obama and former FBI director. view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 18, 2025, 00:14 IST News world Daughter Of Ex-FBI Director Involved In Epsteins Prosecution Fired From US Attorneys Office Demolished Mymensingh Building Has No Connection With Satyajit Ray, Claims Bangladesh Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 15:49 IST Bangladesh's interim government clarified that the building being demolished in Mymensingh has no connection with filmmaker Satyajit Ray. India has offered to restore, reconstruct and repair renowned filmmaker Satyajit Rays ancestral home in Mymensingh, Bangladesh after Yunus ordered its demolition. (IMAGE: DHAKA TRIBUNE) Bangladeshs interim government on Thursday issued a statement clarifying that the building being demolished in Mymensingh district has no historical or familial connection with legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray or his ancestors. The statement, issued by the neighbouring countrys Foreign Affairs Ministry, came after reports emerged that Bangladeshi authorities have demolished a landmark" building in Mymensingh linked to the iconic filmmaker. Recommended Stories In a statement, Bangladeshs Foreign Ministry said that a detailed review of official land and archival records had been conducted, which reconfirmed that the building never belonged to Rays family. The house in question never had any relation with the ancestors of the esteemed laureate Satyajit Ray," the statement read. Citing archival records, the ministry clarified that the said property belonged to a local zamindar, Shashikant Acharya Chowdhury. It was built by a local Zamindar Shashikant Acharya Chowdhury, next to his bungalow house Shashi Lodge, for his employees," it added. As per the ministry, after the abolition of the zamindari system, the land became government property and was later leased to the Bangladesh Shishu Academy. It served as the district office of the Academy before being declared unsafe. Officials said the building had been left unused since 2014, after the Shishu Academy shifted to a rented place. Over time, the empty building became a spot for illegal activities. The government has now started building a new semi-permanent structure for the Academy at the same location. The old building is being taken down through a public auction that was announced in March 2025. The statement further added that the only connection to the Ray family in the area is the nearby road named after Hari Kishore Ray, Satyajit Rays great-grandfather. The family once owned a house there, which was sold many years ago and no longer exists. The Ray family had a house on Harikishore Ray Road, which they had sold long ago and thus no longer exists. A multi-storied building was constructed there by the new owner," it said. Meanwhile, the demolition of the said property was halted on Wednesday following public outcry. The development came a day after the Indian government stepped in and volunteered to help in repair and reconstruction of the property into a museum of literature". We note with profound regret that the ancestral property of noted filmmaker and litterateur Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, belonging to his grandfather and eminent litterateur, Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, is being demolished," Indias MEA said in a statement. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has also appealed to the Bangladeshi government to preserve the historic property. She also mentioned that demolition work on the century-old property has already begun. The historic landmark and the century-old property in Dhakas Horikishore Ray Chowdhury Road belonged to Rays grandfather, the renowned litterateur Upendra Kishore Ray Chowdhury, whose poems and short stories are taught to children in schools in Indias West Bengal, Assam and Tripura and also in Bangladesh, making it an intrinsic part of Bengali culture. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The dilapidated building has remained unused since 2007. After the 1947 Partition, the property passed into government ownership and was converted into the Mymensingh Shishu Academy in 1989. Bangladesh news outlet Daily Star reported on Tuesday that the ancestral home of Rays grandfather, formerly used as the Mymensingh Shishu Academy, is being demolished to make way for a new semi-concrete structure. About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments Location : Dhaka, Bangladesh First Published: July 17, 2025, 15:49 IST News world Demolished Mymensingh Building Has No Connection With Satyajit Ray, Claims Bangladesh Hezbollahs Radwan Force Naval Commander Among 2 Terrorists Killed In Israeli Operation Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 20:52 IST The IDF confirmed drone strikes in southern Lebanon, killing two Hezbollah operatives, including Naval Commander Hassan Ahmad Sabra, targeting terror infrastructure. This picture taken from Israel's border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing over destroyed buildings during an Israeli strike on the besieged Palestinian territory. (File/AFP) The Israel Defence Forces on Thursday confirmed carrying out drone strikes in southern Lebanon that killed two Hezbollah operatives. The first strike killed a Naval Commander in Hezbollahs Radwan Force, Hassan Ahmad Sabra, in the area of Kfour in southern Lebanon. Recommended Stories Additionally, another Hezbollah terrorist involved in efforts to reestablish terror infrastructure in the Al-Naqoura area in southern Lebanon was struck and eliminated. These terrorists actions constitute a blatant violation of the understandings between Israel and Lebanon, the IDF added. ???? ???????????????????? ???????????????????????????????????? ???????? ???????????????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? ????????????????????, Hassan Ahmad Sabra, was eliminated in the area of Kfour in southern Lebanon.Additionally, another Hezbollah terrorist involved in efforts to reestablish terror infrastructure in the Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) July 17, 2025 The ceasefire agreement between Hezbollah and Israel, brokered by the United States and France, went into effect on November 27, 2024, aiming to halt over a year of clashes sparked by the Gaza Strip war. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all While the ceasefire has generally held, there have been reported incidents of violations by both sides. Israel has accused Hezbollah of violating the ceasefire by moving fighters south of the Litani River, while Lebanon claims Israeli attacks have continued, resulting in civilian casualties. view comments Location : Israel First Published: July 17, 2025, 20:38 IST News world Hezbollahs Radwan Force Naval Commander Among 2 Terrorists Killed In Israeli Operation Iran's Khamenei Calls Israel 'Cancerous Tumour', Labels US An Accomplice In 'Crimes' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 16, 2025, 19:45 IST Ayatollah Khamenei criticized the US and Israel, calling Tel Aviv a "cancerous tumour". Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (Image: AP/File) Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei launched a blistering verbal attack on both the United States and Israel, calling Tel Aviv a cancerous tumour" and describing the country as Washingtons dog on a leash". Ayatollah Khamenei also accused US of being a direct accomplice in what he described as Israeli crimes" committed during last months 12-day war between Tehran and Tel Aviv. In remarks broadcast by Iranian state media, Ayatollah Khamenei claimed that Iran dealt a significant blow to America during the conflict and warned of far more severe retaliation if military operations were to resume. He said, The site we targeted was among the most sensitive American centers in the region. Once the media censorship is lifted, it will be clear how serious the blow was. And of course, an even greater blow can be dealt to the US and others." Recommended Stories The war, which began on June 13 following an Israeli strike aimed at halting Irans nuclear program, escalated rapidly into a regional conflict. Over 12 days, Israel targeted Iranian nuclear scientists, military commanders and infrastructure, resulting in at least 1,060 deaths according to Iranian officials. Iran responded with drone and missile attacks, killing at least 28 people in Israel. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Fighting against the US and its dog on a leash, the Zionist regime, is praiseworthy," Khamenei said as he emphasized that Iran retains the capacity to respond more forcefully than it already has. The war also disrupted diplomatic efforts around Irans nuclear program as talks between Tehran and Washington, previously mediated by Oman, have been suspended indefinitely. Iranian officials said this week that there is no specific date" for resuming discussions. view comments Location : Iran First Published: July 16, 2025, 19:45 IST News world Iran's Khamenei Calls Israel 'Cancerous Tumour', Labels US An Accomplice In 'Crimes' It Was Touch And Go, She Took: Obamas Publicly Open Up On Divorce Rumours Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 12:00 IST Speculations have been rife about divorce between the Obamas, however, the couple has for the first time spoken on the issue publicly. Barack Obama and Michelle Obama react to divorce rumours (Reuters Image) Former US President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama have finally addressed the ongoing divorce rumours that have been doing the rounds on the internet for months. The couple appeared together on Michelles brother Craig Robinsons podcast IMO with Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson on Wednesday and dismissed the speculations about their marriage. Recommended Stories She took me back! It was touch and go for a while," Obama said in a lighter note, breaking all of them into laughter. The former First Lady chimed in, saying, Its my husband, yall. Her brother Craig joked, Its so nice to have you both in the same room together." Dont make me cry now." Barack and Michelle Obama address divorce rumors for the first time. pic.twitter.com/FpaooIqGyp Mike Sington (@MikeSington) July 16, 2025 Smiling, Michelle responded, I know, because when we arent, folks think were divorced." This was the first time when the duo addressed their divorce rumours, which gained fire earlier this year after Michelle did not attend the funeral of former US President Jimmy Carter and also skipped Donald Trumps January 20 inauguration this year. The podcaster also shared a moment when a stranger bumped into him at an airport and asked, What did he (Obama) do?" Obama said that he is often unaware of the talks going around in the circles. These are the kinds of things I just miss. I dont even know this stuff is going on. Then somebody mentions it and Im like, what are you talking about?" top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Michelle said that she never even thought of giving up on Barack. There hasnt been a single moment in our marriage when I thought about giving up on my man. We have been through tough times, but we have also had a lot of fun and had some amazing adventures. I have become a better person because of the man I married," she said. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More view comments Location : United States of America (USA) First Published: July 17, 2025, 12:00 IST News world It Was Touch And Go, She Took: Obamas Publicly Open Up On Divorce Rumours Man Tries To Abduct Florida Woman In Broad Daylight, Then Suddenly Flees Curated By : Trending Desk Last Updated: July 18, 2025, 00:14 IST The man was arrested and charged with kidnapping, robbery, and grand theft auto. The woman did not give up and kept crying and shouting in a hope to get assistance (Image: Facebook) A terrifying incident caught on camera in Florida has left many shocked, as disturbing footage shows a man attempting to drag a woman towards his Toyota Tacoma pickup truck. The suspect, later identified as Theodore Michael Tundidor, is seen forcibly pulling the woman in broad daylight. According to the surveillance video, released by the St. Johns County Sheriffs Office, the incident took place at around 3:30 pm local time on June 29 outside a retail store. The woman, who has not been identified, can be seen screaming for help as her would-be kidnapper tries to abduct her. Recommended Stories After struggling for some time, the woman receives help from a bystander who calls 911 for police intervention. However, as soon as the suspect realises that he could be arrested for the incident, he flees the scene within moments. The Post states that the man was arrested and charged with kidnapping, robbery, and grand theft auto. He allegedly attempted to commit a robbery at the St Augustine retail store, before forcing a female employee outside and dragging her towards his pickup truck. The woman did not give up and continued crying and shouting in the hope of getting assistance from passers-by. As per police, The victim in this situation did everything right scream/yell, fight, attract attention." top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Realising the consequences of the 911 call, the suspect managed to flee the scene before the St. Johns County Sheriffs team arrived. However, his pickup truck was spotted by officers while he was driving recklessly on Route A1A. The Florida Fish and Wildlife officers took Theodore into custody in the case. However, it was not easy, and the sheriffs office recalled arresting him after a high-speed chase. The Florida Fish and Wildlife added additional charges against Theodore, claiming that he attempted to evade law enforcement and was driving under the influence. Further details on the investigation are still awaited. The woman has been praised for her quick thinking and response during the attempted kidnapping. Authorities commended her for acting swiftly and attracting the attention of a bystander who ultimately helped her. view comments Location : Delhi, India, India First Published: July 18, 2025, 00:14 IST News world Man Tries To Abduct Florida Woman In Broad Daylight, Then Suddenly Flees Medical Revolution: Japan's New Artificial Purple Blood Can Be Given To Anyone Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 13:04 IST Japan has developed universal artificial blood that works for all blood types, is virus-free, and has a long shelf life; marking a groundbreaking shift in medical science Unlike natural red blood, HbVs have a distinctive purple hue and can be produced from expired donated blood, reducing wastage while still ensuring effective oxygen delivery. (AI Generated/News18 Hindi) The worldwide shortage of blood supplies has led to countless fatalities, but Japans breakthrough in developing artificial blood offers a potentially revolutionary answer. Known as haemoglobin vesicles (HbVs), this artificial blood is purple and possesses remarkable qualities. It functions like real blood by delivering oxygen throughout the body, thanks to its haemoglobin-based composition. Encased within a nano-sized lipid membrane, these artificial red blood cells measure just 250 nanometres. Unlike natural red blood, HbVs are distinguished by their unique purple hue. Recommended Stories Universal Compatibility And Safety A major advantage of HbVs is their universality. Since they lack blood group markers, they can be safely transfused into any individual regardless of blood type (A, B, AB, or O), eliminating the need for blood group matching. Moreover, this artificial blood is free from viruses, posing no risk of infections such as HIV or hepatitis. It boasts an impressive shelf life of up to two years at room temperature, a significant improvement over the 42-day lifespan of natural blood. HbVs can also be produced from expired donated blood, reducing wastage while still delivering effective oxygen transport. Innovative Development And Production Developed by Professor Hiromi Sakai and his team at Nara Medical University, Japan, the artificial blood is created through a unique process involving the extraction of haemoglobin from expired donated blood. This haemoglobin is then encapsulated within a nano-sized lipid membrane to ensure stability and functionality. Advanced purification techniques are employed during production to guarantee safety. Why HbVs Are A Game-Changer Addressing Global Shortages: The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 112 million units of blood are donated annually worldwide, yet demand still far exceeds supply. In emergencies such as surgeries, accidents, or childbirth, artificial blood could be life-saving due to its universal compatibility and potential for large-scale production. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 112 million units of blood are donated annually worldwide, yet demand still far exceeds supply. In emergencies such as surgeries, accidents, or childbirth, artificial blood could be life-saving due to its universal compatibility and potential for large-scale production. Transportability: HbVs can be easily transported to remote locations, making them invaluable for military operations, disaster relief efforts, and mobile medical units. HbVs can be easily transported to remote locations, making them invaluable for military operations, disaster relief efforts, and mobile medical units. Eliminating Blood Group Matching: The absence of blood group markers allows for faster medical decision-making and treatment. The absence of blood group markers allows for faster medical decision-making and treatment. Critical Medical Uses: Artificial blood is vital during heart surgeries, organ transplants, or cases of severe bleeding, as it can be readily available to save lives. Artificial blood is vital during heart surgeries, organ transplants, or cases of severe bleeding, as it can be readily available to save lives. Virus-Free: Its virus-free nature makes it especially useful in regions where blood safety and purity are difficult to guarantee. Testing And Future Prospects Initial tests on mice showed that replacing up to 90% of their blood with HbVs maintained normal vital signs. Human trials commenced in 2020 with doses of 10ml, 50ml, and 100ml, progressing by 2025 to larger doses between 100ml and 400ml without serious side effects. Mass production of artificial blood is expected to begin by 2030, with ambitions for global distribution. However, challenges remain in reducing production costs to make HbVs affordable for developing countries and obtaining regulatory approvals worldwide. Ongoing research is also needed to fully understand the long-term effects of artificial blood use. A Future With Less Dependence On Blood Banks top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all If successful, Japans artificial blood could significantly reduce reliance on traditional blood banks, mitigating the problems caused by low donation rates and saving millions of lives, particularly in developing nations. Its use in surgery, emergency care, and military medicine promises to improve the speed and efficacy of medical services worldwide. view comments Location : Japan First Published: July 17, 2025, 13:04 IST News world Medical Revolution: Japan's New Artificial Purple Blood Can Be Given To Anyone 'Not Murdered But...': Jeffrey Epstein May Have Had Help In Jail Suicide, Says Ex-Lawyer Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 19:28 IST Alan Dershowitz said there's no "client list" linked to Jeffrey Epstein, confirmed by FBI and DOJ. Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan in August 2019. Former legal counsel to Jeffrey Epstein, Alan Dershowitz, said that he believes the disgraced financier may have had help killing himself in federal custody although he was not murdered. In an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal, Alan Dershowitz wrote, It is clear from the evidence that Epstein committed suicide. What isnt clear is whether he was assisted by jail personnel. That seems likely to me, based on the evidence of allegedly broken cameras, transfer of his cellmate and the absence of guards during relevant time periods." Jeffrey Epstein was found dead in his jail cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan in August 2019 where he was awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. His death was officially ruled a suicide by hanging but it triggered a firestorm of speculation and conspiracy theories. Recommended Stories Jeffrey Epstein Had No Client List, Ex-Lawyer Says Alan Dershowitz also addressed the long-standing speculation around Jeffrey Epsteins alleged client list"- reiterating a recent Justice Department statement that no such list exists. In a joint memo earlier this month, the FBI and DOJ confirmed that a full review of Jeffrey Epsteins case files had concluded that there was no incriminating client list'". top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Alan Dershowitz clarified that while Jeffrey Epstein did not create such a list, several accusers named alleged clients" in FBI interviews. He wrote, I know who they are. They dont include any current officeholders. We dont know whether the accusations are true. The courts have also sealed negative information about some of the accusers to protect them." The only person convicted in relation to Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking operation remains Ghislaine Maxwell, his former associate and partner. Now 63, Ghislaine Maxwell is serving a 20-year sentence in a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida and is currently appealing her conviction. view comments Location : New York, United States of America (USA) First Published: July 17, 2025, 19:28 IST News world 'Not Murdered But...': Jeffrey Epstein May Have Had Help In Jail Suicide, Says Ex-Lawyer Pakistan Media Gets Exposed Again: Donald Trump To Visit UK In September, Not Islamabad Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 15:05 IST US President Donald Trump will visit the UK in September, hosted by King Charles at Windsor Castle from September 17-19. Buckingham Palace is under renovation. Donald Trump (AP file) US President Donald Trump will visit the United Kingdom in September and not Islamabad, as reported by Pakistani media. King Charles will host Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for an unprecedented" second state visit at Windsor Castle for September 17-19. The usual venue for state visits, Buckingham Palace, is undergoing significant renovations this year. Recommended Stories A section of Pakistani media, including Sama TV, peddled fake news that Trump would visit Islamabad on 18 September. The last US president to visit Pakistan was President George W. Bush, who made a historic trip to Islamabad in 2006. Since then, no US President has visited Pakistan, which is widely known for promoting and sponsoring terrorism. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Last month, Trump hosted Pakistans Army Chief Asim Munir in the White House. This is not the first time Pakistani media have been caught spreading misinformation. They made several absurd claims during the military conflict that followed Operation Sindoor between India and Pakistan. About the Author Saurabh Verma Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 Saurabh Verma covers general, national and international day-to-day news for News18.com as a Senior Sub-editor. He keenly observes politics. You can follow him on Twitter --twitter.com/saurabhkverma19 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 14:52 IST News world Pakistan Media Gets Exposed Again: Donald Trump To Visit UK In September, Not Islamabad Radhanath Sikdar Measured The World's Tallest Peak. So Why Is It Called Mount Everest? Curated By : Translation Desk Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 19:04 IST Radhanath Sikdar reported his findings to Andrew Scott Waugh, who named the peak after Everest, despite Everest himself opposing the idea, 4 years after the height was calculated Many felt that the highest peak deserved a local name, but the British rejected the idea and named it after one of their own officers-Everest. (AP/File) Mount Everest, the worlds highest peak, carries a curious legacy. It was named after British officer Colonel George Everest, who never actually laid eyes on it. Colonel George Everest, former Surveyor-General of British India, probably never saw the peak that bears his name. Despite this, he was instrumental in the process that led to its naming. Locally, Tibetans call the mountain Chomolungma, while Nepalese refer to it as Sagarmatha. Recommended Stories By the time Colonel Everest retired in 1843, the British survey team had not yet ventured to Nepal to measure its mountains. Thus, Everest had no direct connection to the peak named after him. However, he was responsible for hiring Andrew Scott Waugh, who made the first formal observation of the mountain. George Everests reputation led to the mountain being named in his honour by the survey team. Who First Revealed It In 1852? In 1852, Indian mathematician Radhanath Sikdar, working for the Great Trigonometrical Survey of India, discovered that this mountain is the highest in the world, measuring 8,849 metres. He reported his findings to Andrew Scott Waugh, who four years later named the peak after Everest, considering it a fitting tribute to the former Surveyor-General. George Everest himself opposed this decision. What Was It Called Before Everest? Radhanath Sikdar, who joined the Great Trigonometrical Survey immediately after college, initially named the peak Peak-15" around 1850, when the heights of mountains were being measured. Until then, Kanchenjunga was considered the highest peak. Kanchenjunga, located on the border of Nepal in the north-western part of Sikkim, stands at 8,586 metres and is the third highest peak in the world. It wasnt until 1865 that it was confirmed Mount Everest is the highest peak. Why Was Radhanath Sikdars Name Missing From The Survey Records? There was once a debate over what name should be given to the worlds highest peak. Many felt it deserved a local name, but the British rejected the idea and named it after one of their own officers-Everest. Radhanath Sikdar, the Indian mathematician who first calculated the height of the peak in 1852, was not even credited in the official survey manual. Who Was Radhanath Sikdar? Radhanath Sikdar was born on October 5, 1813 in Kolkata (then Calcutta) and was always interested in mathematics. After college, he secured a permanent job in the Great Trigonometrical Survey with a salary of Rs 30 per month, considered substantial for Indians at the time. George Everest kept assigning Radhanath Sikdar more responsibilities. According to a Times of India report, he once even referred to Radhanath as his right hand." Andrew Scott Waugh continued Everests work and tasked Sikdar with measuring Everests height, which Sikdar achieved without visiting the peak, reporting his findings in 1852. After Everests retirement, Andrew Scott Waugh took over the post. Radhanath Sikdar was then assigned the task of measuring the height of the peak. Remarkably, he calculated that it was the worlds highest mountain without ever setting foot on it. He submitted his findings in 1852, but the British made it official only four years later as they were initially reluctant to trust the data. Who Was Sir George Everest? top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Sir George Everest was born in England and received his education at the Royal Military College in Buckinghamshire. In 1806, he joined the East India Company as a cadet and was appointed Second Lieutenant in the Bengal Artillery the same year. He soon left for India, where he began working on the Bengal survey alongside Colonel William Lambton. His skill and dedication impressed Lambton, the head of the Great Trigonometrical Survey (GTS), who appointed him as his chief assistant. After Lambtons death in 1823, Everest succeeded him as the Superintendent of the Indian Survey Department. In 1830, he was promoted to Surveyor General of India. Sir George Everest returned to England later in life and died there in 1866. view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 19:04 IST News world Radhanath Sikdar Measured The World's Tallest Peak. So Why Is It Called Mount Everest? Iraq Shopping Mall Fire: 60 People Charred To Death, Get Wounded In Massive Blaze Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 12:20 IST As many as 60 people were killed and injured in the massive fire that broke out in a shopping mall in Iraq's Kut. Iraq shopping mall fire kills, injures 60 (Photo: X) Around 60 people were killed and injured in a massive fire that broke out at a shopping mall in Iraqs eastern city Kut, Reuters reported on Thursday. The number of victims has reached about 50 people, martyrs and injured, in the tragic fire at a major shopping centre" that broke out late Wednesday, Wasit province governor, Mohammed al-Miyahi told the INA news agency earlier. Recommended Stories #BREAKING Fifty people were killed in a massive fire in a hypermarket in al-Kut city in eastern Iraqpic.twitter.com/3r2d3Gx9Cv Guy Elster (@guyelster) July 17, 2025 The cause of the fire at the Hyper Mall has not yet been identified, Miyahi said. Ambulances were still moving the casualties from the spot, filling beds of a hospital in the city, which is 160 kilometres southeast of Baghdad. The mall had opened just five days ago, AFP reported. Early probe suggests that the blaze started on the first floor or the building. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Charred bodies were being transported to the hospital, AFP said. The governor declared three days of mourning in the province and said that the authorities would file a case against the building and the owner of the mall. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More view comments Location : Iraq First Published: July 17, 2025, 11:09 IST News world Iraq Shopping Mall Fire: 60 People Charred To Death, Get Wounded In Massive Blaze Syrian Govt, Druze Minority Leaders Announce New Ceasefire As Israel Continues Strikes Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 08:26 IST Syria's Druze have reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida. Syrian govt soldiers drive in front of a house that was burned during the clashes between the Syrian government forces and Druze militias on the outskirts of Sweida city. (AP Photo) As Israel continues to strike, Syrian government officials and leaders in the Druze religious minority announced a renewed ceasefire on Wednesday. The development comes days after the clashes had threatened to unravel the countrys postwar political transition and drawn military intervention by powerful neighbor Israel. Following the ceasefire announcement, convoys of government forces began withdrawing from the city of Sweida. However, it was not immediately clear if the agreement, announced by Syrias Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader, would hold. Recommended Stories The previous ceasefire announcement on Tuesday quickly fell apart, and a prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri, disavowed the new agreement. Meanwhile, Israel continued its aggression after the ceasefire announcement. Israeli Airstrikes In Damascus The announcement came after Israel launched rare airstrikes in the heart of Damascus, an escalation in a campaign that it said was intended to defend the Druze and push Islamic militants away from its border. The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in the southern province of Sweida. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze militias, but also in some cases attacked civilians. The violence appeared to be the most serious threat yet to efforts by Syrias new rulers to consolidate control of the country after a rebel offensive led by Islamist insurgent groups ousted longtime despotic leader Bashar Assad in December, ending a nearly 14-year civil war. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Israel has taken an aggressive stance toward Syrias new leaders, saying it doesnt want Islamist militants near its borders. Israeli forces have seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone on Syrian territory along the border with the Golan Heights and launched hundreds of airstrikes on military sites in Syria. (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 view comments Location : Syria First Published: July 17, 2025, 07:44 IST News world Syrian Govt, Druze Minority Leaders Announce New Ceasefire As Israel Continues Strikes Tomorrowland In Flames: Iconic Main Stage Catches Fire Day Before Festival Kick-Off In Belgium Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Karishma Jain Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 10:06 IST Thick smoke and fireworks rose over Boom, Belgium, as a massive blaze tore through Tomorrowlands main stage. Around 1,000 staff were evacuated safely Tomorrowland main stage fire. (Image: X) A massive fire engulfed the main stage of Belgiums iconic Tomorrowland music festival site on Wednesday, just 48 hours before the event was set to begin. The blaze destroyed the elaborate World of Orbyz"-themed structure, sending up thick plumes of smoke and forcing the evacuation of around 1,000 staff members from the site in Boom, north of Brussels. Festival organisers confirmed that no one was injured in the incident. Due to a serious incident and fire on the Tomorrowland Mainstage, our beloved Mainstage has been severely damaged. We can confirm that no one was injured during the incident," the organisers said in a statement published on the festival website. Recommended Stories What Happened? Video clips and images posted online showed the stage engulfed in flames, with fireworks exploding inside the blaze and smoke rising over the surrounding woodland. While the connection between the fireworks and the fire remains unclear, eyewitnesses told local media the blaze may have started during pyrotechnic tests on the right side of the stage. However, no official cause has been confirmed so far. Tomorrowlands mainstage has caught on fireThere are no further updates at this time pic.twitter.com/IUUB1AoBAC Dancing Astronaut (@dancingastro) July 16, 2025 BREAKING: Massive blaze engulfed the main stage at Tomorrowland festival in Belgium, set to begin this Friday. pic.twitter.com/TWgMXUi02x World Source News 24/7 (@Worldsource24) July 16, 2025 Belgiums public broadcaster VRT reported that the fire was not yet under control at the time of their update, and that the main stage had been almost completely destroyed. Photos showed only charred metal frames left where the stage once stood. Firefighting Efforts And Emergency Response More than 50 firefighters from Boom and neighbouring Antwerp were deployed to the scene, managing to prevent the fire from spreading to nearby woods. Authorities issued emergency warnings advising residents to keep windows and doors shut as a precaution. However, fire officials later confirmed that the smoke was not toxic. The towns mayor, Jeroen Baert, cut short a vacation in Germany to return and manage the situation. Local police confirmed the fire in a post on X (formerly Twitter) and urged people to avoid the area and give way to emergency services. No Casualties, But Massive Setback No festival-goers were present at the site when the fire broke out, but around 1,000 staff members were safely evacuated, according to VRT. Tomorrowland spokesperson Debby Wilmsen said the crew was devastated: It took years to build, with so much love and passion." Despite the destruction, she confirmed the festival will go on, albeit without its famous centrepiece. Were going to make it a great festival. It will be without a main stage. But hopefully, we can do something else, but I cant say much about that yet," she said. The DreamVille campsite, which houses thousands of attendees during the multi-day festival, will open as scheduled on Thursday. Were expecting 38,000 festival-goers at DreamVille, at our campsite. Were really looking forward to it," Wilmsen added. A Blow For Boom Residents of Boom, a small town that hosts one of the worlds largest electronic music festivals, were stunned by the incident. Local resident Morgan Hermans told CNN: There was just a big cloud of fireworks and smoke very near us, so that was a bit scary." Its one of the biggest events in the entire year. Our town is very small so to welcome people from around the entire world, its crazy and its so much fun. Its a big deal so everyone in Boom was a bit terrified for a few seconds." Not The First Fire top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all This is the second major fire in Tomorrowlands history. In 2017, a blaze at its Barcelona satellite event led to the evacuation of 22,000 people, just hours before Steve Aoki was due to perform. As of now, the cause of Wednesdays fire is under investigation, and authorities are assessing whether any part of the main stage infrastructure can be salvaged before the festivals official opening on Friday. 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 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 10:06 IST News world Tomorrowland In Flames: Iconic Main Stage Catches Fire Day Before Festival Kick-Off In Belgium Trump Says China Will Sentence Fentanyl Traffickers To Death, Calls Tariffs On Beijing 'Penalty' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 07:08 IST Trump said that the 20% tariffs imposed on China are a penalty to make up for the losses incurred by the US due to the alleged trafficking of the fentanyl drug. US President Donald Trump (AP) US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) said that the US is set to work out a deal with China where Beijing would give the death penalty to those who transport the fentanyl drug into the United States. Highlighting the imposition of tariffs, Trump said that the 20% tariffs imposed on China are a penalty to make up for the losses incurred by the US due to the alleged trafficking of the drug. Recommended Stories I have a very good relationship with President Xi of China, but I imposed a 20 percent tariff on China because of the fentanyl. And I call it a penalty. Its a penalty because China delivers much of the fentanyl. They deliver it into Mexico and even into our own country," he said. Trump signed the legislation to amend the Controlled Substances Act regarding the scheduling of fentanyl-related substances. President Trump Participates in a Bill Signing Ceremony, July 16, 2025 https://t.co/odxwtGTGjd The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 16, 2025 We have a 20 percent (tariff), so they pay billions of dollars and billions of dollars in damages for what theyve done," Trump said, adding, And I think were going to work it out so that China is going to end up going from that to giving the death penalty to the people that create this fentanyl and send it into our country, whether its through other countries or directly." Today, President Trump signed legislation to amend the Controlled Substances Act regarding the scheduling of fentanyl-related substances.This legislation cannot bring back our loved ones lost to fentanyl, but it will prevent countless deaths. pic.twitter.com/D3RIuVGKzO The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 16, 2025 The Halt All Lethal Trafficking of Fentanyl Act represents a key priority for President Trump, who has claimed the illicit flow of fentanyl is one of the underlying reasons for his tariff threats against Canada, Mexico and China. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all The bill places all fentanyl-related substances, specifically, copycat versions of the drug, on the US Drug Enforcement Administrations list of most dangerous drugs, classifying them as Schedule I under the Controlled Substances Act. (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 view comments Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: July 17, 2025, 07:05 IST News world Trump Says China Will Sentence Fentanyl Traffickers To Death, Calls Tariffs On Beijing 'Penalty' Trump Rejected Armys Iran Attack Plan, US Damaged Only 1 Of 3 Key Nuke Sites: Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 20:24 IST US President Donald Trump did not want to engage the US in a prolonged conflict in West Asia with Iran. Trump rejected plan for prolonged Iran strikes, wary of dragging US into deeper conflict. (IMAGE: REUTERS FILE) US President Donald Trump personally rejected a sweeping military plan to expand US strikes on Iran, broadcaster NBC News said in a new report, citing current and former officials familiar with the deliberations. The proposal, drawn up by the US Central Command (CENTCOM), would have targeted three more nuclear sites and unfolded over several weeks. The report said that the plan stretched far beyond the limited strikes Trump eventually authorized last month. Recommended Stories The report highlighted that the US President wanted to be consistent with his desire to avoid prolonged foreign entanglements for the US military and is said to have pushed back on the idea. Officials told the broadcaster that Trump was wary of dragging the US into a deeper conflict with Tehran and concerned about potential casualties on both sides. The CENTCOM plan, dubbed the All-In Plan" by some officials, had envisioned a sustained offensive, but the NBC News report said Trumps instinct was to opt for a shorter, more targeted action. The US strikes last month targeted three key nuclear enrichment sites in Iran Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan. According to two serving officials, the attack on Fordow, considered a cornerstone of Irans nuclear ambitions, was the most significant, with US intelligence assessing that it may have set back enrichment operations there by up to two years. Much of the Trump administrations public messaging after the strikes has zeroed in on Fordow. In a Pentagon briefing responding to early Defense Intelligence Agency assessments, which suggested Irans nuclear program overall had been delayed by only three to six months, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine focused heavily on Fordows impact, offering little comment on the strikes at Natanz and Isfahan. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Before the strikes, US officials were aware that Iran had hardened facilities and stockpiles of enriched uranium at Natanz and Isfahan and some likely buried too deep even for the US militarys 30,000-pound GBU-57 bunker buster" bombs, the NBC News report said. These massive bombs, which had never been used in combat until the Iran operation, were specifically designed for deeply fortified sites like Fordow, built into the side of a mountain. However, by 2023, intelligence suggested that Iran was expanding tunnel networks at Natanz, possibly digging deeper than the GBU-57s reach. Isfahan, too, was believed to have underground tunnels. While the US deployed GBU-57s at Natanz, it opted for Tomahawk missile strikes on surface targets at Isfahan, avoiding the bunker busters there altogether. 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 view comments Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: July 17, 2025, 20:08 IST News world Trump Rejected Armys Iran Attack Plan, US Damaged Only 1 Of 3 Key Nuke Sites: Report Trump Won't Visit Pakistan, White House Clarifies As Pakistani Media Retracts Report Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 23:05 IST Two leading Pakistani television news channels withdrew reports on Thursday that Donald Trump planned to visit the South Asian nation, with one of them issuing an apology. US President Donald Trump at the Oval Office. (Reuters Image) After facing embarrassment globally for peddling fake news that US President Donald Trump would visit Islamabad in September, two leading Pakistani television news channels withdrew the reports, with one of them issuing an apology, Reuters reported. A section of Pakistani media, including Sama TV, Geo and ARY news channels claimed that the US President was expected to visit the South Asian nation in September. Recommended Stories However, the White House dismissed the reports, saying, A trip to Pakistan has not been scheduled at this time." Later, Geo News withdrew the fake report and apologised to its views, the news agency reported. "Geo News apologises to its viewers for airing the news without a verification," it said. A senior management official at ARY told Reuters it backtracked after the foreign office said it had no knowledge of a visit. Meanwhile, Trump will visit the United Kingdom in September. King Charles will host Trump and First Lady Melania Trump for an unprecedented" second state visit at Windsor Castle for September 17-19. The usual venue for state visits, Buckingham Palace, is undergoing significant renovations this year. The last US President to visit Pakistan was George W. Bush, who made a historic trip to Islamabad in 2006. Since then, no US President has visited Pakistan, which is widely known for promoting and sponsoring terrorism. Last month, Trump hosted Pakistans Army Chief Asim Munir in the White House. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all This is not the first time Pakistani media have been caught spreading misinformation. They made several absurd claims during the military conflict that followed Operation Sindoor between India and Pakistan. (With inputs from Reuters) About the Author Shobhit Gupta Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More Shobhit Gupta is a sub-editor at News18.com and covers India and International news. He is interested in day to day political affairs in India and geopolitics. He earned his BA Journalism (Hons) degree from Ben... Read More view comments Location : Washington D.C., United States of America (USA) First Published: July 17, 2025, 23:05 IST News world Trump Won't Visit Pakistan, White House Clarifies As Pakistani Media Retracts Report UK Plans To Lower Voting Age To 16 In Major Electoral Reform Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 16:55 IST UK will lower the voting age to 16, granting 1.5 million young people voting rights in England and Northern Ireland, fulfilling a Labour Party pledge. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (Image: Reuters) The UK government announced that the voting age will be lowered to 16 ahead of the next general election- marking one of the most significant democratic reforms in recent decades. The change will extend voting rights to approximately 1.5 million 16- and 17-year-olds across England and Northern Ireland, bringing them in line with their counterparts in Scotland and Wales. Describing the measure as a step towards greater fairness, the government said many young people in this age group are already working, paying taxes and eligible to join the military. The decision fulfils a longstanding Labour Party manifesto commitment and forms part of a broader electoral reform package aimed at increasing voter participation, enhancing transparency and strengthening democratic safeguards. Recommended Stories Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said, For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline. We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy, supporting our plan for change and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give 16-year-olds the right to vote." Expanded Voter ID, Foreign Donation Reforms The reform package also includes changes to the voter ID system and new rules to curb foreign interference in elections such as closure of loopholes that have allowed shell companies and foreign entities to funnel money into UK politics. Political parties will now be required to carry out due diligence on companies making donations, with new tests ensuring that such companies have genuine ties to the UK or Ireland and are generating local revenue. False or misleading declarations related to political donations will be treated as criminal offences. The maximum fine for breaches of the rules will be increased to 500,000. The new know your donor" framework will be overseen by the Electoral Commission, which will issue guidance to help political parties assess the legitimacy of contributions. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Tackling Intimidation In Politics In response to growing concerns about harassment and threats faced by political candidates and campaign staff, the UK government also plans to strengthen laws against intimidation. Candidates will no longer be required to publish their home addresses on campaign materials and courts will treat harassment of electoral staff or candidates as an aggravating factor in sentencing. Those found guilty of abusing or intimidating candidates may also be barred from standing for office in the future. view comments Location : United Kingdom (UK) First Published: July 17, 2025, 16:55 IST News world UK Plans To Lower Voting Age To 16 In Major Electoral Reform Yuliia Svyrydenko, Key Negotiator In Mineral Deal With US, Appointed As New PM Of Ukraine Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 15:16 IST Former Economy Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Ukraine. Yuliia Svyrydenko appointed as new Ukrainian PM (Reuters Image) Former Ukrainian economy minister Yuliia Svyrydenko was appointed as the new prime minister of the country, news agency AP reported on Thursday. She replaced Denys Shmyhal on the job, who announced his resignation on Tuesday. He held the position for over five years after his appointment on March 4, 2020. Recommended Stories Yuliia was the key negotiator in the mineral deal with the United States. With her appointment as the PM, she became Ukraines first new head of government since the start of the war with Russia in 2022. She is among the group of officials given new roles in the countrys government, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reshuffles the Cabinet. His move comes in a bid to energise the nation. At home, the Cabinet changes havent been viewed as a big shake-up. Zelenskyy is still counting on officials who have shown they are capable and loyal during the ongoing war, now in its fourth year. On Thursday, Zelenskyy proposed changes to key government posts, including replacing Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal the longest-serving prime minister in Ukraines history. Shmyhal will now become the defence minister, according to the parliamentary website. More changes in the Cabinet are likely, but the main focus is on Svyrydenko becoming the new prime minister. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all She was an important part of the talks for a mineral deal between the US and Ukraine, making sure the terms worked for Kyiv. She has often spoken on Ukraines behalf in important meetings with Western allies, mainly about defence, rebuilding the economy, and recovery efforts. Lawmakers and other officials see her as a hardworking leader who is known for being loyal to the presidents office. About the Author Ashesh Mallick Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More Ashesh Mallick is a Sub-Editor with over three years of experience in news writing, video production. He primarily covers national news, politics and global affairs. You can follow him on Twitter: @MallickAshes... Read More view comments Location : Ukraine First Published: July 17, 2025, 14:51 IST News world Yuliia Svyrydenko, Key Negotiator In Mineral Deal With US, Appointed As New PM Of Ukraine US Justice Department Abruptly Fires Maurene Comey, Prosecutor In Epstein And Diddy Cases Curated By : News18.com Edited By: Karishma Jain Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 08:26 IST Maurene Comey led high-profile US cases involving sex trafficking charges against Jeffrey Epstein and rapper Sean 'Diddy' Combs Maurene Comey is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. (Image: Reuters) Maurene Comey, a veteran federal prosecutor in the US Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) and daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, has been fired from her post without explanation. The dismissal has raised questions given her prominent role in high-profile prosecutions and her familys longstanding tensions with US President Donald Trump. Comey had served nearly a decade in the SDNY and held the title of senior trial counsel. She was a lead prosecutor in several major cases, including the sex trafficking prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein and the conviction of his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year sentence and has appealed. Most recently, she was part of a six-woman prosecution team in the racketeering case against Sean Diddy" Combs. While Combs was convicted on prostitution-related charges, the jury acquitted him on the more serious sex trafficking counts, a verdict seen internally as a rare miss for the office. Recommended Stories Despite that, Comey was regarded as a highly capable prosecutor and had also delivered closing rebuttals in both the Combs and Maxwell cases. Her firing came without any official reason. Politico, citing a person familiar with internal dynamics, reported that the decision to fire Comey did not come from SDNYs interim US Attorney Jay Clayton, suggesting the move originated at DOJ headquarters in Washington. The move is the latest in a string of dismissals at the DOJ that have triggered concerns over civil service protections being bypassed, particularly for prosecutors working on politically sensitive cases. Others recently let go include staff involved in the Capitol riot investigations and in special counsel Jack Smiths ongoing prosecutions related to Trump. Trump, Epstein Files, And Right-Wing Pressure The firing comes at a moment of intense scrutiny over the Justice Departments decisionunder Attorney General Pam Bondinot to release further evidence from its Epstein files. The DOJ had recently released a memo stating there was no Epstein client list" and said it would not make additional documents public. That announcement drew backlash from Trumps base, with some alleging a cover-up. Far-right activist Laura Loomer, a prominent figure in pro-Trump circles, had called for Comeys firing in May, according to CNN. Loomer also led online outrage over the DOJs refusal to release more Epstein-related material, directly blaming Comey and Bondi for what she described as obstruction. On Wednesday, Trump himself responded to the backlash, posting on social media that the controversy around Epstein was bullsh*t" and calling his own supporters who care about it weaklings". A day earlier, he dismissed the Epstein files altogether, saying they were made up by Comey, they were made up by Obama, they were made up by Biden (administration)." Comeys termination also coincides with renewed focus on her father, former FBI Director James Comey. CNN reported that he is under investigation by the Trump administration for possible false statements to Congress, and that he was recently questioned by the Secret Service after posting a photo on Instagram showing seashells arranged to read 86 47." While critics interpreted it as a call to remove Trump (the 45th president), Comey denied any such intent. James Comeys relationship with Trump has long been adversarial. He was fired by Trump in 2017 after refusing to pledge personal loyalty at a private dinner, a moment Comey later documented in a memo. That firing came amid the FBIs investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 electiona probe that Trump has repeatedly labelled a hoax" and witch hunt." The following year, James Comey published a book likening Trump to a mafia don." Colleagues Rally In Support top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Within SDNY, the firing left prosecutors stunned. On Wednesday evening, dozens of her colleagues reportedly walked her out of the building in a show of support. The office has been rocked by previous leadership changes as wellearlier this year, then-acting US Attorney Danielle Sassoon resigned after refusing to drop a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, as instructed by the DOJ. As of now, neither the DOJ nor the White House has issued a public statement about Maurene Comeys dismissal. 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 view comments First Published: July 17, 2025, 08:22 IST News world US Justice Department Abruptly Fires Maurene Comey, Prosecutor In Epstein And Diddy Cases US Woman Travels To Pakistan To Marry 16 Years Younger Facebook Lover: 'He's Humble And...' Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 16:06 IST Mindy Rasmussen from Illinois travelled to Pakistan to marry Sajid Zeb Khan whom she met on Facebook. Mindy Rasmussen converted to Islam, adopting the name Zulekha. (Image Credit: Facebook) A 47-year-old American citizen from Illinois travelled to Pakistans Upper Dir district to marry a local man she met on social media, according to a report by Dawn. The woman, Mindy Rasmussen, reportedly became acquainted with Sajid Zeb Khan, 31, through Facebook nearly a year ago. The two developed a relationship over time, beginning with online chats and later progressing to video calls. Following months of communication, Mindy Rasmussen proposed marriage to Sajid Zeb Khan. Upon receiving approval from both families, she travelled to Pakistan to formalise the union. Mindy Rasmussen arrived in Pakistan earlier this month on a 90-day visit visa. After reaching Islamabad International Airport, she was received by Sajid Zeb Khan, who welcomed her with flowers. She subsequently converted to Islam and adopted the name Zulekha. Recommended Stories The couple then travelled to Sajid Zeb Khans hometown in Upper Dir, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where they were welcomed by local residents. According to local media reports, villagers expressed their hospitality by presenting gifts and holding celebratory gatherings in honour of the couple. The marriage was solemnised through a traditional nikkah ceremony in accordance with Islamic customs. Local police officials and family confirmed that the marriage took place with mutual consent and in line with local traditions. Mindy Rasmussen, now Zulekha, expressed appreciation for the welcome she received in Pakistan. Pakistan is beautiful and peaceful," she said, adding that the kindness and hospitality shown to her had exceeded her expectations. She further said that her family in the United States, including her father, older sister and younger brother, were aware of her plans and had extended their support. They know Im here and are excited for me," she said. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Zulekha spoke positively about her husband, describing him as a loving and humble man" as she said that it was his sincerity and respect that strengthened their bond. Sajid Zeb Khan said that his wifes decision to convert and marry him was made independently, asserting, She is an independent woman who can make her own decisions. We are getting married of our own free will." Zulekha also encouraged foreigners to visit Pakistan saying, I encourage people to visit Pakistan and experience its rich culture, hospitality, and natural beauty." view comments Location : Pakistan First Published: July 17, 2025, 16:06 IST News world US Woman Travels To Pakistan To Marry 16 Years Younger Facebook Lover: 'He's Humble And...' The FBI wont say it, but others will: Stanley Meador, who headed up the Richmond FBI operations for four years, appears to have been quietly sidelined from his prominent position as top cop of the bureaus Richmond field office. Reached for comment, the agencys local spokeswoman, Leslie Chappell McLane, could only say that the FBI does not comment on personnel matters. But other signs confirm an exit that was first reported by the New York Times in June. The New York Times credited anonymous sources, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch has not been able to independently confirm the report. Meador is said to have upset conservatives with a 2023 memo issued by the Richmond field office. The so-called Richmond Memo discussed the threat of domestic terrorism from radical traditionalist Catholics and was inspired by a case investigated in Henrico County. Gone is Meadors name from the FBIs local website, as well as from regular news releases published by the Department of Justice. One of Meadors deputies, Stephen Farina, has been elevated to oversee the office, according to the site. Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards acknowledged his departure in a crime briefing last week, saying Meador was special. He was a great public safety partner, said Edwards. That is a loss. Meador was appointed in 2021 by former FBI Director Christopher Wray. In announcing his appointment, the agency lauded a decorated career investigating public corruption in Las Vegas as well as managing offices in the Middle East and legal attaches in Asia. Some of that work was done while Meador battled colon cancer. Meador, who grew up in Galax, gave an interview to a Roanoke TV station in which he shared suspicions of a link between his cancer and the eight days he spent sifting through the rubble at the Pentagon in the wake of 9/11. In a recent post on LinkedIn, Meador said the department was particularly focused on solving cold-case murders, breaking up drug rings and dismantling human trafficking networks. Meador highlighted the case of a Chesterfield gas station where owners forced a victim to work long hours while withholding immigration paperwork. His office also dug up paycheck protection program fraud in Roanoke and resolved the 1996 murders of Laurie Winans and Julianne Williams in Shenandoah National Park. The FBI never gives up, and we will continue to seek justice for victims, no matter how old the case, Meador said in a video recapping the Richmond offices achievements in 2024. Meadors political troubles began shortly after the arrest of Xavier Lopez, a 25-year-old who encouraged violence against police officers in online postings on Gab, a right-wing social media platform. The postings also encouraged violence against minorities and exhortations to make firearms with 3D printers. Police arrested Lopez at his aunts home in Henrico, where they discovered eight Molotov cocktails and gun-making equipment. Investigators looking into Lopez found that hed been attending a traditionalist Catholic church in Henrico. Citing two other similar cases one in Oregon and one in California analysts out of the Richmond FBI field office hashed a memo that suggested keeping a watchful eye on similar churches, particularly in the run-up to the 2024 election. Domestic terrorists could use these churches as a locale to quietly proselytize for their cause, the memo says. The author proposed outreach to three Virginia traditionalist churches. Could parish leaders keep an eye out for suspicious activity on that agencys behalf? The memo, produced in January 2023 and distributed to field offices across the country, became ammunition for Republican legislators several weeks later. U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, described the report as the Biden FBI anti-Catholic memo. Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares, the son of Cuban immigrants, attacked the memo for labeling Americans as violent extremists because of how they worship. The leaked memo from our state capitals FBI office is unacceptable, unconstitutional and un-American. Frankly, its what I would expect from Communist Cuba, Miyares said. It also bothered Virginias Catholic dioceses. Richmond Bishop Barry C. Knestout called the memo troubling and offensive to all communities of faith, as well as all Americans. An internal review from the Justice Department found that the analysts were not motivated by bias, but that the FBI had instituted some corrective measures in the aftermath of the memos leak. On June 3, Grassley revived his probe into the Richmond Memo: Richmond analysts had solicited help from other field offices, a sign of wider anti-Catholic sentiment among the FBI, Grassley alleged. He urged the FBIs new director, Kash Patel, to dig deeper. Im determined to get to the bottom of the Richmond memo, and of the FBIs contempt for oversight in the last administration, Grassley said. Four days later, the New York Times reported that Meador was put on administrative leave and was expected to retire. Meadors actual level of involvement in the production of the memo is unclear. Richmond-area law enforcement spoke highly of Meador upon hearing news of his departure. We have always appreciated the strong and collaborative relationship with the FBI under [Meadors] leadership and look forward to continuing that same level of partnership with his successor, said Hanover County Sheriff David Hines. Chesterfield Police Chief Frank Carpenter said Meador was instrumental in connecting area law enforcement agencies, often at Richmond FBI headquarters. He was a tremendous relationship builder, unlike any Ive seen before him, said Carpenter. He was a visionary, and he was all about collaboration and learning from local jurisdictions, as well as us learning from the feds. Dana Schrad, executive director of the Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police, called Meador an excellent partner to our police chiefs. He always made a strong effort to support the needs and priorities of our law enforcement agencies to achieve the common goal of crime reduction, said Schrad. He will be missed. Edwards remarked that Meador was a kind support figure in his early days at the helm of the department which came shortly after the sudden resignation of Richmonds former police chief. He assured reporters that collaborations with the FBI would proceed unaffected. I just got a call from their assistant special agent in charge this morning about an operation were working on together, Edwards said last Thursday. We still have that partnership. But Stanley was special, I really enjoyed working with him. Won Syria Ceasefire By Force, Won't Allow Troops South Of Damascus: Israel PM Netanyahu Curated By : News18.com Last Updated: July 17, 2025, 20:48 IST Netanyahu defends strikes, says Israel wont tolerate threats to Druze minority. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem. (IMAGE: REUTERS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said a ceasefire in southern Syria was secured by force" after Israeli strikes targeted Syrian troops and government buildings in Damascus, vowing that Israel will not allow Syrian forces to move south of the capital or threaten the Druze community in the region. I would like to brief you on what we have done in Syria, and what we are going to do in Syria. We have set forth a clear policy: demilitarization of the region to south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights and to the Druze Mountain area. Thats rule number one. Rule number two is protecting the brothers of our brothers, the Druze at the Druze Mountain," Netanyahu said, according to a press release by his government in Israel. Recommended Stories Netanyahu said he ordered Israeli forces to strike hard after reports of government troops slaughtering Druze civilians. The Israeli Air Force targeted regime troops, armored vehicles, and even hit Syrias Ministry of Defense in Damascus. According to Netanyahu, the strikes forced Syrian forces to pull back and forced them into a ceasefire he claimed was achieved through strength, not pleading". Israel has repeatedly hit Syrian positions this week, citing both the protection of the Druze and enforcement of the buffer zone. Strikes were confirmed on regime armor in Sweida, military targets in Damascus, and even near the presidential palace. At least three people reportedly died in the Damascus strikes. PM Netanyahu:"I would like to brief you on what we have done in Syria, and what we are going to do in Syria.We have set forth a clear policy: demilitarization of the region to south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights and to the Druze Mountain area. https://t.co/PmvHEprmfC pic.twitter.com/36CEpSxIer Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) July 17, 2025 The violence erupted amid deadly clashes between Druze fighters, Bedouin tribes, and Syrian government forces in Sweida province, which is the heartland of Syrias Druze community. Over 300 have been killed since Sunday, including 165 regime troops and 27 Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Druze, an esoteric sect that broke away from Shiite Islam in the 11th century, live across Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan. In Israel, about 153,000 Druze hold citizenship and serve in the military. But many Druze living in the occupied Golan still identify as Syrians. Historically, the Druze have played significant political roles across the region despite their small numbers. top videos View all Swipe Left For Next Video View all Israel and Syria have technically been at war for decades. Israel occupied part of the Golan Heights in 1967 and opposes any hostile buildup near its border. With Syria now under an Islamist-led interim government headed by Ahmed al-Sharaa, Israel has intensified its strikes, wary of jihadist threats and Iran-backed proxies returning to the south. Sharaa, meanwhile, has promised to protect Syrias Druze and accused Israel of fomenting division. Israel seeks to dismantle our unity," Sharaa said. Damascus called the Israeli strikes a dangerous escalation" but affirmed its right to defend its territory. 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 view comments Location : Tel Aviv, Israel First Published: July 17, 2025, 20:48 IST News world Won Syria Ceasefire By Force, Won't Allow Troops South Of Damascus: Israel PM Netanyahu The Office of the President and Cabinet has issued a stern warning to Chinese businesses in Zimbabwe, demanding an immediate halt to illicit financial activities, environmental harm and disregard for local laws. The warning by the secretary for Presidential Affairs in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Tafadzwa Muguti, shows that Zimbabwe has run out of patience with Chinese investors, after rolling out a red carpet for the Asian giant at the turn of the millennium under the Look East policy. The warning also comes as some Chinese firms have been accused of operating outside formal financial systems, externalising millions in undeclared earnings and flouting local laws on labour, the environment and mineral beneficiation. Authorities have also raised alarm over reports of corruption, permit abuse and growing social tensions linked to exploitative practices and disrespect of cultural norms. Chinese businesses have often been criticised for failing to bank revenue locally, exporting raw minerals without adding value, engaging in illegal mining and ill-treating local workers. Speaking at the China-Zimbabwe business cooperation roundtable in Harare yesterday, Muguti said investors who come should create value for the country. The majority of you business people are not banking [money]. You do not have bank accounts. You are keeping money under your mattress, under the floor, or in the roof. But in China, you dont do that. If they all take US dollars and Zimbabwe Gold currency and keep them in their houses, it causes our economy to collapse. There will be no liquidity in the market. So starting from now, we are directing you to bank your money. Muguti said local and foreign currency earnings must be deposited into banks and that the central bank should be used for outward remittances. He also highlighted growing concern over illegal business operations by Chinese nationals entering the country as tourists. Its not difficult for Chinese nationals to get investment permits. Why are you coming illegally? Lets follow the protocols. No need to bribe anyone. No need to hide. Lets do things properly, Muguti added. He said all Chinese nationals applying for visas or permits would require a letter of acknowledgment from the Chinese ambassador to ensure the government knows who is in the country. Muguti rebuked the Chinese national for environmental violations and cultural insensitivity, particularly in the mining sector. We are noticing that some Chinese companies are going and digging up our ancestors graves to extract granite or gold. There are some of them picking up the bones, putting them aside and starting to dig. Thats the greatest disrespect to any person, even in your culture, he said. So if we are not patient with one another, then we cant work together. Take your children to our schools. Mix with Zimbabweans. Dont go and create a Chinese camp. How are you going to know the people of Zimbabwe if you just stay as Chinese? Muguti also reminded Chinese companies of a deadline set by President Emmerson Mnangagwa for all mineral exports to be processed locally. Zimbabwe wants to manufacture lithium batteries here. Lets work together and manufacture locally. From Zimbabwe, you can export to DRC, Zambia, Malawi, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Angola. Thats what we agreed at the China-Africa Economic Forum. In response, Steve Ke Zhao, CEO of the China-Zimbabwe Exchange Centre, acknowledged government frustrations, but said many Chinese investors were facing operational bottlenecks. Unfortunately, at the moment, the Chinese companies are facing a lot of trouble. After investing huge amounts like US$5 million or US$10 million, theyre facing challenges, he said. Some get ZIDA [Zimbabwe Investment and Development Agency] certificates, but cant get work permits. Machinery is sitting idle. They cant be installed. They cant operate. They end up doing something illegal, not because they want to, but because the system delays. The China-Zimbabwe Exchange Centre boss said most Chinese investors were good people who wanted to develop Zimbabwe and comply with the law, but a lack of information and complex processes had caused frustration. There are a lot of new people coming in. They dont understand the culture. They dont understand the labour laws. Thats why were hosting workshops with banks and labour agents. Newsday Consumer Protection Commission corporate services director, Natasha Kanguru, is facing charges of criminal abuse of duty after the organisation ended up paying out US$26,956.07 in school fees benefits to its management. Kanguru was not asked to plead when she appeared before Harare regional magistrate Donald Ndirowei. She was released on US$200 bail and was ordered not to interfere with witnesses, to reside at her given address and to report once per fortnight at the Zimbabwe Anti Corruption Commission offices. Prosecutors allege that between January 1 2023, and December 31 last year, and at the Consumer Protection Commission offices in the capital, Kanguru failed in the execution of her duties. The State claims she did not provide the CPC Board and management with proper advice needed for them to comply with the requirements of Section 19 of the Public Entities Corporate Governance. Because of her actions, the State alleges that the CPC board went on to offer its management, including herself, school fees benefits amounting to US$26,956.07. Had she provided the right advice, as per her responsibilities, the State claims that the US$26,956.07 school fees benefit would not have been paid. The State claims Kanguru acted contrary to her duties as a public officer. H Metro A Harare woman charged with deliberate HIV transmission has taken her case to the High Court, arguing that the State is violating her constitutional rights since the law under which she is being charged has been repealed. She is challenging Harare magistrate Taurai Manwere and the National Prosecuting Authority of Zimbabwe in her application. She is being represented by Paidamoyo Saurombe. The woman filed an application for review after Manwere dismissed her application for referral to the Constitutional Court for determination on whether or not the section that she is being charged under is still law. She wants the Constitutional Court to determine whether her continued prosecution and consequent trial on present charges based on a repealed provision of the law is not in violation of her constitutional rights. The woman was arrested on March 31, 2022 and appeared at the Harare Magistrates Court on April 1, where she was placed on remand on a charge of deliberate transmission of HIV. Allegations are that between March 2021 and November of the same year, the woman allegedly unlawfully infected her boyfriend with HIV. In May 2022, Zimbabwe repealed section 79 of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, which criminalised HIV transmission. This decision effectively decriminalised deliberate transmission of HIV. The repealed section of the Act imposed penalties for deliberately infecting another person with HIV. These included a sentence of up to 20 years in prison. In August 2022, the woman made an application to have the charges against her quashed after the repeal of section 79 of the Act. She submitted that she had a right not to be convicted for an act or omission that is no longer an offence. On November 18, 2022, the court dismissed her application and ruled that section 17 of the Interpretations Act provides for retrospective application of the law. In her latest application, the woman submitted that the ruling by the magistrate was fatally defective and did not comply with the requirements of the law. She said when constitutional issues arose in criminal courts, the criminal court acted within the ambit of section 175 of the Constitution for determination. The magistrate's decision to dismiss my application on the basis that it was fatally defective, frivolous and vexatious is grossly unreasonable as it takes away my right to equal protection and benefit of the law as provided for under section 56(1) of the Constitution, she submitted. The law entitles me to approach the Constitutional Court and have a question of the validity of a provision of the law determined, but the court a quo (lower court) has taken away that right from me without just cause. The court a quo has taken away from me the right to equal protection of the law and will bring me to trial having arrogated to itself powers that it does not have. She argued that a travesty of justice awaits her if the trial proceeds. The magistrate's decision to dismiss my application for referral on two grounds is irreconcilable with the law and is a gross irregularity and no judicial officer under the same facts and circumstances would come up with the same decision, she said. The door has been closed through gross irregularities and is grossly unreasonable such that no judicial officer under the same facts and circumstances would come up with the same decision. I, therefore, pray that the ruling of the magistrate on my application for referral be set aside. Newsday The Government has announced the long-awaited resumption of payments under the War Victims Compensation Fund, more than two decades after the suspension of the scheme following revelations of alleged large-scale abuse exposed by the Chidyausiku Commission of Inquiry in 1998. At a Press briefing in Harare yesterday, the Minister of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs, Monica Mavhunga, confirmed the move and outlined the processes currently underway to revive the suspended compensation system under the War Victims Compensation Act (Chapter 11:16). Following the identification of doctors by the Ministry of Health and Child Care who will sit as a medical board and conduct assessments, the ministry is set to resume payments for war victims compensation claims that were suspended as a result of the Chidyausiku Commission of Inquiry in 1998, said Minister Mavhunga. She said the Government remained committed to addressing the welfare of injured freedom fighters, especially as the country prepares to commemorate Heroes Day and Defence Forces Day on August 11 and 12, respectively. War victims are entitled to artificial limbs and clothing allowances if there is excessive wear and tear to clothing as a result of the use of the limbs, she said. They are further entitled to medical expenses in relation to declared and accepted injuries, and to vocational training in order to improve their capacity to look after themselves. So far, 557 war victims have accessed statutory benefits such as assistive devices, medical care and clothing allowances. Minister Mavhunga also clarified that those who had previously commuted their pensions would still be eligible for other benefits. I should emphasise that war victims who previously commuted their pensions are still eligible for statutory benefits, excluding pension, such as medical benefits in connection with declared and accepted injuries, Minister Mavhunga said. To ensure wider access, the ministry will launch awareness campaigns this year to inform war victims about their entitlements and how to claim them. The resumption of payments marks a turning point following the 1998 suspension that stemmed from widespread mismanagement within the War Victims Compensation Fund. The Chidyausiku Commission, led by the late Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku, was appointed in 1997 after anonymous letters and media exposes revealing that undeserving individuals, including high-ranking officials, were exploiting loopholes in the system to pocket huge pay-outs. Then, Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare Minister Florence Chitauro told the commission that the Act governing the fund was riddled with weaknesses, administrative failures, and lacked clear parameters for who qualified. She admitted that the underfunding of the War Veterans Fund led many ex-combatants to seek support through the War Victims Fund, which was originally intended to compensate civilians and fighters injured during the liberation struggle. Between 1991 and 1997, about Z$1,5 billion was disbursed, with Z$450 million paid out in just the final year before the suspension. With a new framework now in place, the Ministry of Veterans of the Liberation Struggle Affairs hopes to restore dignity and support to genuine war victims. The resumption of the compensation scheme comes as Zimbabwe prepares to honour the sacrifices of its freedom fighters in next months national commemorations. Herald When the number of missing shoes at a Grand Teton National Park campground in Wyoming hit 19, officials could no longer ignore the crime wave. They identified an animal of interest and sought the public's help, SFGate reports. Up went posters labeled "Wanted For Grand Theft Footwear" and showing an artist's sketch of the prime suspect: a fox with a tennis shoe in its mouth. The signs also asked campers to outwit the fox by storing their shoes in a tent or vehicle. Park officials also turned to social media. "What does the fox do with the shoes? We still don't know," a July 10 Instagram post reads, per USA Today. "Maybe it's a toy. Maybe it's a nesting material collection. Maybe it's fashion." As the thefts added upthe post listed the toll at 32 shoespark officials suspect some campers were guilty of entrapment: leaving shoes out so they could see the fox in action. Still, authorities warn that the issue is a serious one. When wild animals become used to being around people and their food, they could eventually need to be relocated or euthanized. "The more time this fox spends around humans," the Instagram post says, "the more dangerous things get for the fox." While speaking in Pennsylvania this week, President Trump told a story about his late uncle, John Trump, an esteemed science professor at MIT. The president got a few minor facts wrong about the length of his uncle's tenure and his degrees, but what has people really scratching their heads is that Trump claimed Unabomber Ted Kaczynski was one of his uncle's students. "There's very little difference between a madman and a genius," said Trump, per Gizmodo. "But Kaczynski, I said, what kind of a student was he, Uncle John, Dr. John Trump? He said, what kind of a student? And then he said, seriously, good. He said he'd go around correcting everybody, but it didn't work out too well for him. Didn't work out too well, but it's interesting in life." A UC Berkeley professor was gunned down in an Athens suburb just a day after a custody hearingnow, Greek police have brought his ex-wife and four others in for questioning as they probe what they say appears to be a contract killing, CNN reports. Przemyslaw Jeziorski was fatally shot on July 4 while visiting Athens; the attack took place a day after Jeziorski attended a family court hearing regarding child custody, and he was reportedly on his way to pick up his two kids at the time. Among those being questioned are Jeziorski's ex-wife and her current partner, NBC Bay Area reports. The group includes two Greek citizens and three foreigners. Jeziorski, age 43, was a marketing professor at Berkeley's Haas School of Business. He was shot multiple times at close range in the neck and chest by a masked gunman in the Athens suburb of Agia Paraskevi, near his ex-wife's residence. Investigators found seven bullet casings from a 9mm handgun at the scene. Witnesses reported seeing the shooter, dressed in black, approach on foot and flee after the incident; authorities believe the ex-wife's current partner may have been the gunman, ABC 7 reports. One senior official described the attack as showing elements of a contract killing. Jeziorski's family has launched a fundraiser to return his remains to his native Poland and cover legal costs. UC Berkeley, where Jeziorski taught for over a decade, remembered him as a dedicated educator who taught data analytics to more than 1,500 students. The school's dean, Jenny Chatman, called him a "beloved member" of the faculty. A federal appeals court ruled Wednesday that Arkansas can enforce its ban on critical race theory in classrooms, saying the First Amendment doesn't give students the right to compel the state to offer its instruction in public schools. A three-judge panel of the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a preliminary injunction against the ban, one of several changes adopted under an education overhaul that Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed in 2023, the AP reports. The prohibition is being challenged by two teachers and two students at Little Rock Central High School, site of the 1957 desegregation crisis . A federal judge had granted the injunction to the students but not the teachers. "Just as ordinary citizens cannot require the government to express a certain viewpoint or maintain a prior message, students cannot oblige the government to maintain a particular curriculum or offer certain materials in that curriculum based on the Free Speech Clause," the judges ruled. Attorneys for the teachers and students said they were disappointed in the ruling. "It gives us pause and concern about a steady erosion of individual rights and protections in this great country," attorney Mike Laux said in a statement. "Nonetheless, major aspects of this lawsuit remain viable, and they will proceed in due course." Critical race theory is an academic framework dating to the 1970s that centers on the idea that racism is embedded in the nation's institutions. It's not a fixture of K-12 education, and Arkansas' ban does not define what constitutes critical race theory. Republican Attorney General Tim Griffin praised the court's ruling, saying it ensures that "setting curriculum is in the hands of democratically elected officials who, by nature, are responsive to voters." The judges said they weren't minimizing the students' concerns "about a government that decides to exercise its discretion over the public school curriculum by prioritizing ideological interests over educational ones." They added, "But the Constitution does not give courts the power to block government action based on mere policy disagreements." Maurene Comey, who worked on the criminal prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was fired Wednesday from the job she held for nearly a decade in the Manhattan US attorney's office, insiders told multiple publications. No explanation for the firing has surfaced, Politico reports, though the White House has been facing Republican criticism over the administration's refusal to release documents in the Epstein case. Comey is the daughter of James Comey, whom President Trump fired as FBI director during his first term. Trump on Wednesday without citing evidence called the Epstein case a "hoax" invented by Democrats, saying the files were invented by James Comey and the Obama and Biden administrations, per the New York Times. Epstein and Maxwell were both convicted. Maurene Comey, whose title was senior trial counsel, also worked on the recent prosecution of Sean "Diddy" Combs, who was acquitted on the most serious charges he faced in a sex trafficking trial. Comey had a lead role in the prosecution of Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison for sex trafficking. Early last year, Comey made a federal court filing asking a judge to not make records related to Epstein public that were sought in a Freedom of Information Act request. She argued that the release of the material, including witness statements, could affect a retrial of Maxwell, per the Wall Street Journal. The Trump administration has pulled $4 billion in federal funding for California's ambitious high-speed rail project, signaling a major setback for the long-delayed effort to link San Francisco and Los Angeles by train. The Department of Transportation announced the decision on Wednesday, citing concerns over missed deadlines, persistent budget overruns, and doubts about future ridership, reports the Guardian . A recent Federal Railroad Administration report also highlighted that California hasn't identified $7 billion in additional funds needed to complete a critical 171-mile stretch between Merced and Bakersfield. The full vision for the system calls for roughly 800 miles of track and trains with top speeds reaching 220mph, with plans to eventually extend service north to Sacramento and south to San Diego. California High-Speed Rail Authority officials have pushed back on the federal move, calling the decision "misguided" and pointing to ongoing construction work in the Central Valley. They also emphasized that Gov. Gavin Newsom's proposed budget would commit at least $1 billion annually for the next two decades to keep the project on track. Critics, including Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, have labeled the rail as a "boondoggle" and "train to nowhere" and questioned the state's management, per the AP. Newsom fired back on social media, saying he won't take advice "from the guy who can't keep planes in the sky." Originally backed by a $10 billion bond approved by voters in 2008, the rail's projected price tag has ballooned from $33 billion to as much as $128 billion, with completion nowhere in sight, per the Guardian. A little less than a quarter of the project's funding is said to have come from the federal government. The tug-of-war over said funding isn't new: Trump revoked a $929 million grant in 2019, which President Biden restored in 2021. You didnt think theyd stop at UVa, did you? The U.S. Department of Education is coming after George Mason University, alleging the use of race in the hiring and promotion of faculty members, part of its latest, legally dubious attack on diversity, equity and inclusion. And a second civil rights investigation, also launched this month, alleges that the Fairfax-based school discriminated on the basis of national origin (shared Jewish ancestry) by failing to respond effectively to a pervasive hostile environment for Jewish students and faculty. Attacks on so-called DEI have been a tactic of the Trump administration as it attempts to assert control over college campuses. A similar push by the Justice Department led University of Virginia President Jim Ryan to step down from his post. The former states rights crowd of political conservatives including Virginias top elected officials are facilitating blatant federal overreach into state institutions. The one-two punch of anti-Black animus and artificial concern for the well-being of Jewish students is being weaponized in service of the Heritage Foundations Project 2025 and its offshoot, the Esther Project, a conservative Christian strategy to muzzle pro-Palestinian protests and criticism of Israels conduct in Gaza. The George Mason University branch of the American Association of University Professors saw this coming. Lets be clear: the attacks on our university are intensifying, and we strongly suspect the same forces that undermined UVA are now turning their full attention to Mason, its president, Bethany Letiecq, and its executive committee said in a July 4 email after Ryan announced his resignation and the George Mason antisemitism complaint was made public. We have reviewed this complaint and consider the allegations to be baseless, the email reads. Instead, we see them as part of a coordinated political effort to weaken institutions led by pro-diversity presidents and to stifle academic freedom under the guise of civil rights enforcement. On July 10, GMUs leadership pushed back against the allegation that it discriminates in hiring. George Mason University (GMU) received a new Dept of Education letter of investigation this morning as it was simultaneously released to news outlets, which is unprecedented in our experience, university spokeswoman Stephanie Aaronson said in a statement. George Mason does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, ethnic national origin (including shared ancestry and/or ethnic characteristics), sex, disability, military status (including veteran status), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, pregnancy status, genetic information, or any other characteristic protected by law. Its not lost on at least some of us that this is yet another attack on the Black head of a public college in Virginia. Gregory Washington, president of George Mason University, is being assailed and publicly maligned for promoting antisemitism therein without a scintilla of evidence from his accusers to substantiate the claims, former Gov. Doug Wilder wrote in a letter last week to the Times-Dispatch. He is not the only person of color heading our colleges and universities being subjected to specious and questionable charges. Cedric Wins, president of VMI was also subjected to undue criticism. These investigations are not about stemming racism or antisemitism; they are a raw exercise in political domination. MAGA doesnt want ethical or critical thinking; it wants mindless subservience to a Dear Leader. George Mason, in the shadow of D.C. power, was a diversity-rich target apparently too tempting to ignore. Its U.S. campus is 34% White, 20% Asian, 15% Hispanic and 12% Black, according to fall 2024 enrollment figures. More than a quarter of its enrollment are first-generation college students. Students come from more than 130 countries. As for its employees, 53% identify as White, 19% Asian, 11% Black and 10% Hispanic. Some folks see these numbers as a sign of inclusion; others, apparently, see a nefarious DEI conspiracy. The home of the Antonin Scalia Law School functioning as a site of wokeness run amok seems like crazy work. In late February, on change.org, students posted an open letter advocating for the protection of diversity, equity and inclusion at the law school, which had removed its diversity page. With the Trump Administrations seeming legal violations and circumvention of the norms of governance and, more plainly, its attacks on our democracy Antonin Scalia Law School has remained silent. At minimum the novelty of these legal issues is worthy of address. Given its proximity to the United States Capitol, its inlets to the branches of power, and its relationships with Supreme Court Justices, this Law Schools silence is unreasonable, they wrote. George Mason, from here, looks less like Woke U. than a satellite campus for the Heritage Foundation. The rector of its board of visitors, Cully Stimson, is an executive at that right-wing think tank. Lindsey Burke, author of the Education Department chapter of Project 2025, left the George Mason board in June to work at the Education Department. A subtext of this right-wing higher education takeover, which features boards of visitors packed with appointees of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, is the effort by the governor and Attorney General Jason Miyares to seat board appointees whose nominations were rejected by the General Assemblys Senate Privileges and Elections Committee. This defiance reflects the lawless MAGA power grab on the federal level. The result, GMU-AAUP folks said in their email, sets a dangerous precedent: that Boards of Visitors answer to the Governor and federal political operatives rather than to the people of Virginia. GMU-AAUP also described a decline in norms of respectful governance characterized by personal hostility, ideological grandstanding, and direct threats against university leadership and demeaning and confrontational questioning of Washington. Staff have been taunted and publicly shamed. DEI efforts have been vilified as a virus, and faculty and administrators have been accused, without evidence, of illegal practices. While we have sometimes disagreed with President Washingtons decisions, we do not believe any president should be removed through a campaign of political pressure and intimidation orchestrated from Richmond or Washington, D.C. The GMU chapter quotes AAUP President Todd Wolfson calling these political and ideological attacks an assault on a higher education system accessible to all, and thus on democracy itself. We must do all we can to fight back, it said. Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell, D-Fairfax, said George Mason needs to fight these allegations and show their own compliance, and if the Attorney General is unwilling to defend them because he is politically incapable then he should authorize outside counsel [to] represent them. Capitulation is not the answer in warding off this hostile takeover of higher education. Congress recently voted for a massive transfer of wealth from the needy to the greedy; now, were witnessing an attack on academic freedom, education access and upward mobility. These folks are playing for keeps. George Mason, the largest public university in Virginia, must live up to its mascot. A patriot, On Tyranny author Timothy Snyder writes, wants the nation to live up to its ideals, which means asking us to be our best selves. Now is the time for all true Patriots to fight. A sudden lightning strike at an outdoor archery range in Jackson Township, New Jersey, left one dead and 13 others injured Wednesday evening, police said. The incident occurred at the Black Knight Bowbenders facility, a 50-acre range near Six Flags Great Adventure, as a thunderstorm warning was in effect for the area, the New York Times reports. The mayor said the lightning strike occurred near a group that appeared to be a scouting organization, and a witness says the man who died was an archery club member helping to teach the kids, ABC 7 reports. Authorities identified the victim as a 61-year-old man. The injured, whose ages range from 7 to 61, suffered burns and other ailments described as non-life-threatening. All were taken to local hospitals for treatment. Jackson Police Chief Matthew Kunz reported that officers arrived just after 7:15pm to find multiple people needing medical attention, including one who briefly lost consciousness but later revived and one on whom CPR was being performed. Gene Grodzki, a member of the archery club, noted that emergency crews used a defibrillator on two people at the scene. He said several children with a Boy Scouts troop appeared unharmed but were still transported to hospitals as a precaution. Governor Phil Murphy described the event as "tragic" in a statement on social media. The National Weather Service notes that, on average, lightning kills about 20 people annually in the United States, with fatalities most common during summer months. At least 11 have died from lightning strikes nationwide so far this year. The Senate handed President Trump a major victory on spending overnight, agreeing to pull back $9 billion previously approved by Congress for public broadcasting and foreign aid. It marks the first major clawbackformally called rescissionof federal funding in decades. Most of the money, roughly $8 billion, is for foreign assistance programs, reports the New York Times. The remaining $1.1 billion is for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. Details: Two nays: Two Republicans, Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins, joined Democrats in the 51-48 vote. One Democrat, Tina Smith, missed the vote because she was hospitalized after feeling unwell, per the Hill. Dubai is preparing to introduce a new dining concept where artificial intelligence takes center stage, at least behind the scenes. WOOHOO, a restaurant set to open in September near the Burj Khalifa, promises "dining in the future" with the debut of its AI-powered chef , Chef Aiman. Chef Aiman isn't a robot cooking up dishes tableside. Instead, this botits name a blend of "AI" and "man"operates as a digital culinary architect, reports Reuters . Trained on decades of food science, global recipes, and molecular data, Aiman creates menus, curates the atmosphere, and guides service. While the AI can't literally taste or smell, it analyzes food on a granular levelfactoring in texture, acidity, and flavor nuancesthen proposes unexpected ingredient pairings. Humans, led by Dubai-based Singaporean chef Reif Othman, refine these concepts, sampling and adjusting until the results meet the mark. The restaurant will serve Asian-inspired cuisine, and Aiman will also be developing the drinks menu, the New York Post reports. The partnership is meant to enhance, not take the place of, the human touch in cooking. "Human cooking will not be replaced, but we believe [Aiman] will elevate the ideas, creativity," says Ahmet Oytun Cakir, a WOOHOO founder and CEO of Gastronaut Hospitality. Aiman's programming also has a practical side: It's tasked with developing recipes that use ingredients often considered kitchen scraps, like meat trimmings and fat, to minimize waste. Looking ahead, WOOHOO's creators hope the technology could be licensed to restaurants worldwide. Ample crowds are expected to gather across the US for "Good Trouble Lives On" protests on Thursday, marking five years since the death of civil rights icon John Lewis. Organizers expect crowds in more than 1,500 locations nationwide, with participants gathering to honor Lewis' legacy and to push back against policies of the Trump administration. Lewis, a longtime Georgia congressman and veteran of the 1965 Selma-to-Montgomery march, famously encouraged "good trouble, necessary trouble" in the fight for justicea message organizers say is fueling the day's events, per the Guardian . "What would [Lewis] encourage us to do in this moment?" asks League of Women Voters CEO Celina Stewart, per USA Today. "That is going to look different for all of us, but I know that all of us can do something, and many of us can do many things." Civil rights and advocacy groups have teamed up to coordinate rallies, marches, vigils, food drives, action trainings, educational sessions, and voter registration events across all 50 states, per the Guardian. While the turnout will likely fall short of June's historic "No Kings" protests, which drew millions, Thursday's midweek event is still expected to bring out tens of thousands, from big cities to small towns. Chicago will serve as the central hub, with major events also planned in Atlanta; St. Louis; Annapolis, Maryland; and Oakland, California. story continues below Protesters are calling for an end to what they describe as a crackdown on civil rights by the Trump administrationincluding voting restrictions, limitations on protests, and cuts to social programs such as Medicaid and SNAP. They're also highlighting issues affecting Black, brown, immigrant, and trans communities. The White House's response, via a spokesperson cited by USA Today: "Nearly 80 million Americans gave President Trump a historic mandate to make America great again, and he is delivering on that promise in record time." Canadian convenience-store giant Alimentation Couche-Tard has officially scrapped its $46 billion bid to acquire Seven & i Holdings, the Japanese parent of 7-Eleven, after nearly a year of stalled talks. In a sharply worded letter to Seven & i's board, Couche-Tard executives accused the Tokyo-based company of dragging its feet and stonewalling attempts at negotiation, claiming the process was marked by delay tactics and a lack of transparency, the Globe and Mail reports. The Quebec-based Couche-Tard, operator of chains including Circle K, had hoped to unite two of the world's leading convenience retailers. At $46 billion and a 47.6% premium over Seven & i's market value before the bid, the all-cash offer would have created a global retail powerhouse. But Seven & i rebuffed the proposal from the outset, a stance that drew renewed attention to Japan's long-standing resistance to foreign takeoverseven after the government recently urged more openness to cross-border deals. Despite agreeing last spring to a nondisclosure pact, Couche-Tard's executives say the Japanese side gave little ground, providing only minimal information and limited access to decision-makers. Attempts to meet with the founding Ito family went nowhere, and management meetings yielded scant progress. Couche-Tard described one Tokyo meeting as "tightly scripted" and said that even alternative proposalssuch as buying Seven's international business or taking a minority stakewere met with either silence or counteroffers deemed unworkable. Seven & i, for its part, denies any wrongdoing, saying it engaged in "good faith" and pointing to "extraordinary antitrust hurdles" as a barrier. Arun Sundaram, an analyst with CFRA Research, tells Reuters that the deal "was always a long shot." Sundaram expects Couche-Tard to look for other acquisitions, "particularly as the US convenience store sector remains both mature and fragmented, making it ripe for consolidation." A Swiss mountaineer was rescued from Indonesia's Mount Rinjani after plunging down a steep slope of the active volcanojust weeks after another hiker died on the same treacherous trail. Benedikt Emmenegger, 46, was hiking with his daughter and a local porter when he slipped and tumbled down the slope just before noon Wednesday, News.com.au reports. The fall, on the island's most notorious climb, left Emmenegger immobilized by injury, unable to climb back to safety. Rescue teams provided first aid on the mountainside before airlifting Emmenegger to a hospital. Dramatic images show him lying on a mat, wrapped in a thermal blanket, with his daughter close by. Authorities didn't disclosed the nature of his injuries but confirmed that Emmenegger had been attempting to reach Segara Anak, a scenic sulphur lake inside the 12,200-foot volcano's crater. Last month, Juliana Marins, a 26-year-old Brazilian hiker, was killed in a fall from the same trail. Her family has since criticized the handling of the operation, raising concerns about the safety protocols on the mountain. The government said it will take steps to improve safety for the climbers exploring Mount Rinjani, per People. "We should not gamble with people's lives," said Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni, per the Antara news agency. "We are not collecting PNBP (Non-Tax State Revenue) at the expense of tourists' safety." The measures include ensuring that all tour guides are certified and increasing testing to keep inexperienced climbers off the trail. Signs will mark zones as red, yellow or greenwith tourists told to stick to the green paths. The investigation into last month's Air India crash is now zeroing in on the actions of the senior pilot, Sumeet Sabharwal, following the release of new information from the cockpit voice recorder. Sabharwal, the captain, appears to have been the one who turned off the switches controlling fuel supply to the Boeing 787's engines shortly after takeoff, the Wall Street Journal reports, citing "people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence uncovered in the crash investigation." The first officer, Clive Kunder, reportedly expressed surprise and alarm when he asked Sabharwal why he had turned off the switches, while the captain remained calm. A preliminary report from India's Aircraft Accident Investigation BureauAAIBsummarized the cockpit conversation but did not assign names to the roles. People close to the investigation, however, say the details point to the captain as the one who moved the switches, though it remains unclear if the act was intentional or accidental. The switches were flipped off and then back on about 10 seconds later, but the aircraft crashed near Ahmedabad, killing all but one of the 242 aboard and 19 people on the ground. Sabharwal, 56, joined Air India more than 30 years ago. The Telegraph reports that he was a few months from retirement but was considering leaving sooner. A friend from flight school says he was "very reserved" and had the nickname "Sad Sack." Kunder, 32, was described as enthusiastic and joyful by family. He joined Air India in 2017 and transitioned to the Dreamliner just two years ago. story continues below Investigators have not ruled out the possibility of design flaws or technical malfunctions, though Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said earlier this week that a preliminary report had not found any mechanical or maintenance issues, reports Reuters. US officials have suggested that if such an incident had occurred domestically, criminal authorities might be called in for further scrutiny. "We urge both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process," the AAIB said Thursday. "At this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions." An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken to the priest about the war's toll on civilians, the AP reports. Francis had called the church daily, even when he was hospitalized. The shelling of Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating. PepsiCo jumped 7.5% after delivering revenue and profit that topped Wall Street's expectations. The drink and snack giant also stood by its financial forecasts given in April, which projected lower full-year profit than previous forecasts due to increased costs from tariffs and a pullback in consumer spending, the AP reports. A strong profit report from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. helped drive tech stocks The chip maker said net income soared nearly 61% in the last quarter as it's seeing strong demand from artificial intelligence and other customers, and its stock that trades in the US rose 4.1%. Other stocks involved in AI also climbed, and a 1.2% gain for Nvidia was one of the strongest forces pushing upward on the S&P 500. United Airlines flew 3.1% higher after reporting a stronger profit for the latest quarter than analysts expected. It said it's seen an acceleration in demand from customers that began in early July, and it's expecting less uncertainty about the economy to hurt its business in the second half of this year. Lucid Group's stock surged 36.2% after it said Uber Technologies is aiming to use 20,000 or more of its vehicles over six years in a robotaxi program. It said it expects to launch "later next year in a major US city." On the losing side of Wall Street was Abbott Laboratories, which fell 8.5% despite delivering results for the latest quarter that edged past analysts' expectations. The health care company cut the top end of its forecasted range for revenue growth over 2025. Elevance Health dropped 12.2% after reporting a weaker profit than analysts expected. It cut its forecast for profit in 2025 because of rising medical cost trends in its Affordable Care Act business, along with other factors. story continues below Treasury yields held relatively steady following several better-than-expected reports on the economy. One said that shoppers upped their spending at US retailers by more last month than economists expected. Such spending, along with a relatively solid jobs market, has helped keep the US economy out of a recession. A separate report said that fewer U.S. workers applied for unemployment benefits last week, which could be a signal of limited layoffs. A third suggested unexpectedly strong growth in manufacturing in the mid-Atlantic region. Fairbanks, AK (99701) Today Partly cloudy skies during the morning hours will become overcast in the afternoon. High 81F. Winds light and variable.. Tonight Cloudy with occasional light rain after midnight. Low 59F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 80%. SAITAMA, Jul 17 (News On Japan) - Saitama Prefectural Police have discovered several million yen in cash during a search of the home shared by the wife and second son of Chizuo Matsumoto, the former Aum Shinrikyo cult leader who was executed in 2018, according to interviews with people involved in the investigation. In March, the Public Security Intelligence Agency attempted to conduct an inspection of the apartment in Koshigaya, Saitama Prefecture, where Matsumotos wife and second son live. However, the inspection was refused. Following this refusal, Saitama police conducted a search of the premises in April on suspicion of violating the Act on the Control of Organizations, based on a report from the Public Security Intelligence Agency. During the search, police uncovered several million yen in cash inside the apartment. Inspections targeting the residences of family members of Matsumoto are said to be highly unusual. Authorities are also investigating reports that Aleph, a successor group to Aum Shinrikyo, is positioning Matsumotos second son as its next leader. The origin of the discovered cash is now under close scrutiny by the Public Security Intelligence Agency. Source: TBS TOKYO, Jul 17 (News On Japan) - For the first time in 27 years, since the 118th prize in 1998, both the Akutagawa Prize and Naoki Prize were left without a recipient, marking only the sixth instance in the prizes history that such a decision has been made. As just announced, the Akutagawa Prize for the 173rd round has been declared with no winning work. The final round of voting concluded without any candidate receiving a majority, despite strong discussions surrounding several notable submissions. Among the finalists were Koreko Hibi's Endless Footnotes of Light and Gregory Tsunajatt's Tratrajectory, both of which generated high expectations. Jun Komadas Dream of Birds and Kuji Sakisakas Dance to the Pain of Love were also considered promising at earlier stages of the selection process. However, during the final deliberation, after two rounds of voting on the remaining two works, no entry garnered the necessary majority support. Although there were efforts to reach a consensus, none of the works received sufficient backing from the selection committee. One judge remarked that the prize should honor works that bring new perspectives and experimentation. While this round did include attempts at fresh approaches and innovative viewpoints, the overall sentiment was that none of the entries quite reached the level expected for the award. The judges acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, stating that although each piece sparked meaningful discussion, the absence of a clear standout made it impossible to name a single winner. The final consensus was that it would not be appropriate to award the prize to any of the submissions. Although disappointing, the decision reflects the high standards and expectations associated with the Akutagawa Prize. Source: Kyodo Japan welcomed 21,518,100 foreign visitors in the first half of 2025, exceeding 20 million at the fastest pace ever, according to data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization on July 16th. The surge was driven by increased travel during the Chinese New Year holiday and cherry blossom season, resulting in a 21% year-on-year increase. TOKYO, Jul 17 (News On Japan) - Japan welcomed 21,518,100 foreign visitors in the first half of 2025, exceeding 20 million at the fastest pace ever, according to data released by the Japan National Tourism Organization on July 16th. The surge was driven by increased travel during the Chinese New Year holiday and cherry blossom season, resulting in a 21% year-on-year increase. AICHI, Jul 18 (News On Japan) - A man in his 30s from Aichi Prefecture has been referred to prosecutors for abandoning a suitcase at Chubu Centrair International Airport. The case highlights a growing issue of unclaimed luggage being left behind at the airport. "This is a portion of the suitcases currently kept as lost items at the Chubu Airport Police Station," reported a local journalist. Since the beginning of the year, approximately 80 unclaimed suitcases have been found abandoned in places such as the airport lobby. According to Yuho Tanaka from the Chubu International Airport Information Group, "Theres been a visible increase since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic." While most of the cases are believed to involve foreign tourists, the man referred to prosecutors this time reportedly discovered just before departure that his suitcase exceeded the airline's size restrictions. He is said to have emptied the contents and left the suitcase behind. Suitcases found at the airport are treated as "suspicious items" and must undergo X-ray screening and other inspections. Police are urging travelers to take full responsibility for disposing of their belongings properly. Source: TBS SHIZUOKA, Jul 18 (News On Japan) - A massive amount of seaweed has washed ashore on a popular beach in Ito City, Shizuoka Prefecture, turning the shoreline into a green carpet and causing concern just days before the summer swimming season begins. The affected area is Orange Beach, located on the eastern coast of the Izu Peninsula facing Sagami Bay. Known for its calm waves, the beach is usually packed with families during the summer months. According to the Ito City government, the unusual incident was first observed on July 11th. "Just as you can see, the entire beach is covered, and with the official opening coming up soon, were in a tight spot," said Takayuki Tsuchiya, a tourism official from the city. "Cleanup and transportation alone are likely to cost over 1 million yen." The seaweed in question is known as juzumo, a type of filamentous algae commonly found along Japans coasts. Residents and business owners near the beach expressed surprise at the volume of seaweed that had come ashore. "I saw this mass of blue stuff piling up and didnt know what it was. I was shocked," said Kazuo Yamada, who runs a local dried fish shop. "Its the first time weve seen anything like this." "It really smells," added his daughter, Eri Yamada. "Even when youre just walking nearby, you catch the stench. Plus, a lot of dead sea creatures have come up and dried out, adding to the odor." Although the city hired a private contractor to clean the beach the day after the seaweed appeared, another wave of it washed ashore the following day. When reporters visited the site on July 16th, large quantities of seaweed were still visible, some of it already turning white and emitting a foul smell. Local residents, while not alarmed, were puzzled by the phenomenon. "It doesnt seem dangerous since its just seaweed. Its more rare than scary," said one. Another commented, "Its such a strange sight. I wish we could find some use for it." Drone footage, taken with city permission, revealed that large swaths of seaweed were still floating offshore. According to locals, juzumo is not usually found in this area. Hirokazu Yamada, head researcher at the Izusan branch of the Fisheries and Ocean Technology Research Institute, suggested that the seaweed may have been brought ashore in bulk due to swells caused by an approaching typhoon. However, he added that the exact cause remains uncertainespecially since the first wave came before Typhoon No. 5 passed by eastern Honshu earlier this week. The city has advised against consuming the seaweed and is planning another beach cleanup on July 18th, just ahead of the official beach opening scheduled for July 19th. Source: FNN The insights come from Mortgage Professionals Canada's annual State of the Housing Market survey, conducted by Bond Brand Loyalty earlier this year. The poll of 2,000 Canadians reveals a growing divide in access to homeownershipand rising demand for guidance in a high-stakes borrowing environment. Key findings from the 2025 survey: Down payment support is now essential: Among buyers in the past two years, 70% say they couldn't have bought their home without financial help. Among all recipients, 58% say the same. Among buyers in the past two years, 70% say they couldn't have bought their home without financial help. Among all recipients, 58% say the same. Affordability gaps are shifting consumer behaviour: With 74% of mortgage holders set to renew in the next three years, 1 in 5 say they're anxious about what those renewals will look like. With 74% of mortgage holders set to renew in the next three years, 1 in 5 say they're anxious about what those renewals will look like. Consumers still lean fixed: Fixed-rate mortgages remain the top choice, preferred by 68% of borrowers surveyed. Variable-rate holders were nearly twice as likely as fixed-rate borrowers to make extra payments, and younger Canadians were more likely to increase their payment frequency. Fixed-rate mortgages remain the top choice, preferred by 68% of borrowers surveyed. Variable-rate holders were nearly twice as likely as fixed-rate borrowers to make extra payments, and younger Canadians were more likely to increase their payment frequency. Broker clients report higher satisfaction : Consumers who used a mortgage broker were more likely to feel confident in their mortgage decision and reported higher satisfaction with the advice they received compared to those who went directly to a bank. : Consumers who used a mortgage broker were more likely to feel confident in their mortgage decision and reported higher satisfaction with the advice they received compared to those who went directly to a bank. Renovation and income potential now shape buying decisions: Over 70% of homeowners say they've recently renovated or plan to, and a growing number say rental income is necessary to help cover housing costs. Over 70% of homeowners say they've recently renovated or plan to, and a growing number say rental income is necessary to help cover housing costs. Canadians want stronger safeguards against mortgage fraud : Concern about mortgage fraud is rising, with 34% of Canadians now rating their concern as high, up from 29% a year ago. A full 85% say the issue is serious enough to warrant stronger security measures. Support for enabling mortgage professionals to verify income directly with the CRA has also grown, with 57% now in favour, up seven points from 2023. Mortgage brokers gaining traction as lending grows more complex As affordability pressures rise, Canadians are increasingly turning to brokers for help understanding their options. Two-thirds say they're likely to use a broker for their next mortgage. Among those who already have, 81% say they'd return to a broker again. "Down payment assistance is no longer a backup planit's a requirement for many Canadians hoping to buy," said Lauren van den Berg, President and CEO of Mortgage Professionals Canada. "These findings confirm what brokers across the country are seeing every day: consumers are under pressure, and they need expert, transparent advice to find a way forward." Advocating for stronger protections and smarter tools As Canadians face more financial strain and mortgage complexity, MPC continues to advocate for smart, targeted policy improvements. Among them is the association's call for secure CRA-enabled income verification tools that would help mortgage professionals detect and deter fraud while maintaining strong consumer privacy protections. "Canadians are concerned about mortgage fraud. It artificially inflates home prices, and makes it more difficult for honest, hardworking Canadians who rely on legitimate income and savings to compete and enter the housing market. MPC is working to protect both the integrity of the mortgage system and the consumers it serves," van den Berg added. "We've urged the government to enable income verification in a way that's safe, fast, and fair. It's one more way we're standing up for Canadians in this critical moment." The full 2025 State of the Housing Market report is available here. About Mortgage Professionals Canada We are Canada's mortgage industry association with over 15,000 members and more than 1,000 member firms. We are a non-profit association representing mortgage brokers and agents, as well as banks, lenders, insurers, and service providers, making up the largest network across the country. Forty-five percent of first-time home buyers in Canada choose brokers for their mortgage. We are proud to be the industry that provides Canadians with choice when making the most important financial decision of their lives and help people achieve the dream of home ownership. You can find one of our licensed members at findmeabroker.ca. SOURCE Mortgage Professionals Canada Jasmine Toor, Vice President, Public Affairs, Mortgage Professionals Canada, [email protected] Minister Robertson announces $2.5M investment for companies across B.C., highlighting PacifiCan's impact across the Southern Interior KELOWNA, BC, July 16, 2025 /CNW/ - As one of Canada's fastest-growing cities, Kelowna, a regional hub in B.C.'s interior, is powered by a diverse economy, a thriving tech sector, and a strong spirit of entrepreneurship. The Honourable Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for PacifiCan. Quote reads: As the global economy evolves, it is essential that British Columbians have the tools they need to succeed. With this investment, PacifiCan is empowering local businesses to tap into new markets, adapt to a changing economy, and thrive in one Canadian economy. (CNW Group/Pacific Economic Development Canada) PacifiCan has offices across the province, including Kelowna, supporting the entrepreneurs and innovators driving B.C.'s future. Since 2021, PacifiCan has invested over $47M in 156 projects across the Southern Interior, with over $28M in 65 projects specifically in Kelowna and nearby communities in the Thompson-Okanagan. These investments are fueling key sectors like tech, tourism, and manufacturing creating well-paying jobs, and helping the region remain a hub of innovation and opportunity. Today, the Honourable Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada (PacifiCan), announced an investment of $2.5M to help businesses in Kelowna and throughout B.C. find opportunities for growth in new markets and manage the impacts of tariffs. Through this investment, $1.2 million will allow Community Futures British Columbia (CFBC) to continue delivering the Export Navigator program, which helps B.C. businesses become export-ready. Export Navigator pairs businesses with expert advisors in regions across the province who provide personalized guidance to help them achieve their export goals. To date, Export Navigator has helped more than 1,200 businesses begin their export journey, including 280 businesses in the Thompson-Okanagan alone. This initiative also received $1.2 million from the Province of B.C. The remaining $1.3 million of PacifiCan investment will help CFBC and the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade (GVBOT) support B.C. businesses as they adjust to a changing economy and meet requirements of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) through two specialized initiatives: $900,000 for CFBC to launch the CUSMA Compliance Advisory Services Initiative (CCASI), delivered through Export Navigator. This initiative will provide expert advisory services and up to $5,000 to help businesses cover the costs of becoming CUSMA compliant. for CFBC to launch the CUSMA Compliance Advisory Services Initiative (CCASI), delivered through Export Navigator. This initiative will provide expert advisory services and up to to help businesses cover the costs of becoming CUSMA compliant. $380,500 for GVBOT to deliver a series of webinars and in-person workshops in six B .C. communities. These sessions will connect businesses with experts, including customs brokers, lawyers and other professionals, who will provide valuable guidance on CUSMA compliance. As the Government of Canada works towards building one Canadian economy, PacifiCan will continue helping businesses across B.C. remove barriers and unlock new trade opportunities. Quotes "British Columbia is home to a powerful ecosystem of innovators and entrepreneurs, including right here in Kelowna. As the global economy evolves, it is essential that British Columbians have the tools they need to succeed. With this investment, PacifiCan is empowering local businesses to tap into new markets, adapt to a changing economy, and thrive in one Canadian economy." -The Honourable Gregor Robertson, Minister of Housing and Infrastructure and Minister responsible for Pacific Economic Development Canada "Our Export Navigator program is boosting regional economies and creating new jobs by helping B.C. businesses to expand into markets across Canada and around the world. Together with PacifiCan's timely and far-reaching investments across B.C., we are helping to grow the number and diversity of exporters in the province key goals in B.C.'s Trade Diversification Strategy as we navigate the current geopolitical challenges." -The Honourable Diana Gibson, Minister of Jobs, Economic Development and Innovation, Province of BC "We're grateful for the meaningful support offered by PacifiCan, which allows Export Navigator to continue helping B.C. businesses succeed in new markets. This important funding to CFBC ensures Export Navigator's ability to provide support for businesses throughout communities in urban and rural British Columbia. CUSMA compliance is a key factor for businesses navigating trade with our US partners. Additional funding for the CUSMA Compliance Advisory Services Initiative will assist businesses to access trade consultants and specialists, helping guide them through the complex world of trade." -Kath Britton, Director of Program Operations, Export Navigator "Trade rules and compliance requirements can be a major hurdle for small and medium-sized businesses. With this support from PacifiCan, the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade and World Trade Centre Vancouver are proud to help businesses across B.C. build the knowledge and confidence they need to preserve market access, reduce risk, and protect sales and revenue." -Bridgitte Anderson, President and CEO, Greater Vancouver Board of Trade Quick Facts The U.S. is B.C.'s primary export market and represented 57.3% of exports in 2022. For a product to qualify under CUSMA, it must meet certain rules about where and how it was made. Exporters must get a Certificate of Origin to show their product meets these rules. This certificate allows them to get reduced tariffs when trading with the U.S. and Mexico . . Since 2019, PacifiCan (and its predecessor, Western Economic Diversification Canada) has provided $4.8M to Export Navigator through two additional projects to help companies across B.C. become export ready and take advantage of international market opportunities. to Export Navigator through two additional projects to help companies across B.C. become export ready and take advantage of international market opportunities. In March 2025, PacifiCan announced $500,000 to help the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade launch their Trade Accelerator Program, which helps companies unleash their export potential. to help the Board of Trade launch their Trade Accelerator Program, which helps companies unleash their export potential. Community Futures British Columbia and its 34 independent member offices are non-profit organizations that support economic growth in rural communities across the province. They are part of PacifiCan's Pacific Business Services Network (PBSN). Associated Links Stay connected Follow PacifiCan on X and LinkedIn Toll-Free Number: 1-888-338-9378 TTY (telecommunications device for the hearing impaired): 1-877-303-3388 SOURCE Pacific Economic Development Canada Contacts: Renee LeBlanc Proctor, Senior Communications Advisor and Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities and Minister responsible for PacifiCan, [email protected]; Lynsey Brothers, Communications Manager, PacifiCan, [email protected] Many more options are now available for Canadians looking to take advantage of the Canada Strong Pass until September 2 GATINEAU, QC, July 17, 2025 /CNW/ - Canadians across the country are choosing Canada this summer and enjoying all that the country has to offer. As Canadians make this country their travel destination, they can enjoy free or discounted admission with the Canada Strong Pass. The Pass is about making it easier for everyoneespecially youth and familiesto explore Canada and celebrate what makes it extraordinary and worthy of our pride, from coast to coast to coast. Today, the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, announced that 86 provincial and territorial museums and galleries will be participating in the Pass. The participating institutions will offer free admission for children aged 17 and under and 50 percent off admission fees for youth aged 18 to 24. Canadians can visit the Canada Strong Pass website for the list of participating museums and galleries. Select provincial and territorial museums and galleries were invited to join the Canada Strong Pass initiative, with Government of Canada support helping offset admission costs. These museums are in addition to the national museums in Canada that are offering the same benefits. Now is the perfect time for Canadians to explore their rich cultural history and traditions by visiting and learning at any of these wonderful museums. Until September 2, 2025, the Canada Strong Pass will help families save money by enjoying expanded access to Canada's nature and culture, and while supporting the tourism industry and local economies and jobs across the country. Quotes "It has been about a month since Canadian families began exploring our country with the Canada Strong Pass. I welcome the enthusiastic response of provincial and territorial governments in joining this initiative at a time we need to be united and strong. Museums are where stories are told, art is preserved, and traditions live on. They help shape our understanding of history and culture. I invite all Canadians to choose Canada this summer and enjoy the benefits of the Pass until September 2." The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages Quick Facts No registration or physical pass is necessary; just show up and enjoy the benefits offered at participating establishments. The Pass is open to all visitors, whether you are Canadian or coming from abroad. It's an invitation to experience Canada's cultural and natural treasures. For questions on the Pass, visit the Canada Strong Pass page. As of the end of June, more than 700,000 people had visited the Canada Strong Pass website to learn more about the initiative. The National Museums of Canada are participating in this initiative, along with the National Battlefields Commission. Together, these institutions preserve and promote Canadian history, art, culture, science and nature. They welcome millions of visitors every year and play an essential role in promoting Canadian heritage and identity. The Pass includes: Parks Canada : Free admission for all visitors to national historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas administered by Parks Canada and a 25-percent discount on camping fees. : Free admission for all visitors to national historic sites, national parks and national marine conservation areas administered by Parks Canada and a 25-percent discount on camping fees. National Museums and the Plains of Abraham Museum: Free admission for children aged 17 and under and a 50-percent discount for young adults aged 18 to 24. VIA Rail: Free travel for children aged 17 and under when accompanied by an adult and a 25-percent discount for young adults aged 18 to 24. Selected participating provincial and territorial museums and galleries: Free admission for children and a 50-percent discount for young adults aged 18 to 24. Related Products Choose Canada this summer with the new Canada Strong Pass Associated Links Canada Strong Pass Choose Canada Destination Canada SOURCE Canadian Heritage For more information (media only), please contact: Hermine Landry, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture and Minister responsible for Official Languages, [email protected]; Media Relations, Canadian Heritage, [email protected] Palo Alto, California, July 17th, 2025, CyberNewsWire SquareX announced the official launch of The Browser Security Field Manual at Black Hat USA 2025. In addition to a comprehensive practical guide to the latest TTPs attackers are using to target employees in the browser, this comprehensive manual features industry perspectives from leading CISOs from multiple Fortune 500 enterprises and other iconic companies, who share their perspectives on the evolving browser security landscape, the importance of each threat vector, and how they expect these attacks to evolve in the near future. Major contributors include: Rathi Murthy, CTO of Varo Bank, Fmr. CTO of Expedia and Verizon Rahul Kashyap, Fmr. CISO at Arista Networks John Carse, Fmr. CISO at Dyson As the browser becomes the new endpoint, it has also become the single most common initial access point attackers use to target employees. This is evident in the recent uptick in browser-based attacks such as the Cyberhaven breach, polymorphic extensions and Midnight Blizzard RDP-based attack. Yet, despite the increasing awareness of the browser security gap, given the nascency of the space, most security professionals lack the resources and tools to learn about this emerging threat landscape. To address this gap, The Browser Security Field Manual systematically guides practitioners through the techniques attackers are using to target employees in the browser across five major threat vectors Phishing, Malicious Browser Extensions, Browser-based Data Loss, Identity Attacks and Browser-Native Ransomware. Co-authored by Audrey Adeline and Vivek Ramachandran, the book covers everything from common to bleeding edge techniques, including sample code snippets and case studies of such attacks unfolding in real life. Attackers thrive on information arbitrage. As the place where 85% of work happens, its imperative that security teams understand how their employees are being targeted, said Audrey Adeline, SquareX Researcher and Co-author of The Browser Security Field Manual. Weve been extremely fortunate to work closely with some of the industrys top thought leaders, and we hope that this new edition of The Browser Security Field Manual will provide security teams with not only the practical aspect of browser security, but also an industry perspective of how these threat vectors are impacting organizations in real life today and how they may evolve in the future. This release builds on a successful soft launch of the book at RSAC this year, where SquareX shared early copies with hundreds of CISOs for early feedback and worked closely with many of these security leaders to incorporate their deep industry insights into the second edition of the book. The Browser Security Field Manual will be available at Black Hat and DEF CON 33 bookstores, with the authors participating in both stores book signing event. The Black Hat book signing event is taking place at the Black Hat bookstore on Thursday August 7 at 3:00pm 3.30pm. The book is also available for pre-order via The Browser Security Field Manual website. Alternatively, you can find out more about the manual at SquareX Booth #6825 during Black Hat on August 6 from 10am to 6pm or on August 7 from 10am to 4pm. About SquareX SquareXs browser extension transforms any browser on any device into an enterprise-grade secure browser. SquareXs industry-first Browser Detection and Response (BDR) solution empowers organizations to proactively detect, mitigate, and threat-hunt client-side web attacks including malicious browser extensions, advanced spearphishing, browser-native ransomware, genAI data loss prevention, and more. Unlike legacy security approaches and cumbersome enterprise browsers, SquareX seamlessly integrates with users existing consumer browsers, ensuring enhanced security without compromising user experience or productivity. By delivering unparalleled visibility and control directly within the browser, SquareX enables security leaders to reduce their attack surface, gain actionable intelligence, and strengthen their enterprise cybersecurity posture against the newest threat vector the browser. Users can find out more at www.sqrx.com. Contact Head of PR Junice Liew SquareX [email protected] Tesla will launch a new Model 3 version called Model 3+ in China as early as September. This return the sedans longest-range variant. The new variant is expected to be priced around RMB 270,000 ($37,610), potentially making it Teslas longest-range model to date. The current long range Model 3 US version has about 363 miles of range. A Model 3+ in the United States will have about 400+ EPA miles of range. The Tesla Model 3+ with 702km of range will go to Australia, UK and other right hand drive countries. The single-motor setup and LG batteries indicates that it will become the longest-range model among all Tesla vehicles, potentially reaching 800 kilometers or more. Single-motor models are typically more energy-efficient than dual-motor models, and ternary batteries have a higher energy density than lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries. Currently, the Tesla model with the longest range is the long-range all-wheel-drive version of the Model 3 equipped with LGs ternary batteries, with a CLTC range of 753 kilometers. This variant currently has a starting price of RMB 285,500 in China. SHANGHAI, July 16 (Xinhua) -- East China's Shanghai Pudong New Area received more than 3.14 billion U.S. dollars in actualized foreign investment in the first five months of the year, an increase of 32.3 percent year on year, official data shows. The area has taken measures to encourage foreign manufacturers to upgrade their factories to high-end, intelligent and green versions, and to attract advanced manufacturing projects to fill gaps in, strengthen links of, and extend the industrial chains. Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche is one of the many companies that have ramped up investment in Pudong. In the first half of this year, Roche built a new production base in Zhangjiang Science City, with a construction area of about 25,000 square meters. The base is expected to be completed in 2029 and put into operation in 2031. This project will strengthen Roche's supply chain and local production layout in China and comprehensively enhance the complete medical value chain, according to the company. China's large market provides a stage for the development of foreign-funded enterprises. "The implementation of this project marks a significant development in Roche's local production capacity in China and represents a major breakthrough in the local production of innovative drugs in this important market," said Vivian Bian, CEO of Roche Pharma China. This new investment also enables Roche to better meet the needs of Chinese patients and respond to local demands more quickly, Bian added. DEAR ERIC: My older sister and I are in our 40s. Our still-married parents have been fighting since the late 1980s. A few years ago, I wrote to an advice columnist about our difficult relationship. He responded to the letter. I emailed my sister the column and said, We should talk. She responded, No! Not interested! Then she cut me out of communication. I did not comment on the column, but I did comment on subsequent articles, identifying myself as the letter writer. I wrote that my sister takes after my mother, screams at my father, and I dont know why either husband tolerates it. Earlier this year, I was at my cousins wedding where I saw my sister for the first time in years. She was cordial but cold to me. When I asked my brother-in-law what the deal was, he said that I had been rude to them for years and that this might be irreparable. I didnt realize they had been following the column and reading the comments. I dont understand why the initial advice column made her cut me off. I am unsure what exact comments she did not like, and why she didnt just contact me to have a conversation? My mom is unaware of the reasons for the rift, but says, It is a shame you two do not talk, but it is probably her fault as nobody likes her. I wrote to my sister, trying to repair this, saying I want her back, but she has not responded. What should I do? Sad Brother DEAR BROTHER: Its probably jarring to read about oneself in an advice column to which one did not write, even if the intention is good. Its likely even more jarring to read an on-going comments section detailing ones faults. So, part of the issue is a feeling of public shaming. I wouldnt send this one to her. Your sister has a narrative about your relationship thats totally different from yours. Some of this is natural, of course. Were all the stars of our own shows. But its clear that your sister has something in her mind that youve done wrong. It likely predates the column. And, from your telling, you have things in mind that shes done wrong. The berating, for one. And whatever it is that you wrote to the initial advice column about. So, your sister may be intuiting judgment from you, even though youre trying to extend an olive branch. The best thing you can do is apologize and respect her boundaries. (Send questions to R. Eric Thomas at eric@askingeric.com or P.O. Box 22474, Philadelphia, PA 19110. Follow him on Instagram and sign up for his weekly newsletter at rericthomas.com.) 2025 Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Vice President JD Vance walks off Air Force Two on arrival at Wilkes-Barre Scranton Airport in Avoca, Pa., Wednesday, July 16, 2025, as he travels to speak about the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act". (Saul Loeb/Pool via AP) AP Vice President JD Vance visited New Jersey on Wednesday following an appearance in West Pittston, Pennsylvania, to visit his chief of staff, Jacob Reses, according to officials. Reses father died on July 7, and services were held July 10. Air Force 2 landed at Atlantic City Airport and the vice presidents entourage was seen in Linwood, Atlantic County, said U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drews office. Vance had been in Pennsylvania discussing President Donald Trumps sweeping budget-and-policy package. Reses is a native of Linwood and a 2009 graduate of Mainland Regional High School, according to news reports. Reses also served as chief of staff for Vance when he was a member of the U.S. Senate. Vances staff did not immediately return a request by NJ Advance Media for comment Thursday. The Federal Aviation Administration differed questions to The White House. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Thank you for relying on us to provide the local news you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Eric Conklin may be reached at econklin@njadvancemedia.com. State lawmakers are considering fining or putting parents in jail if their children are involved in a public brawl in New Jersey. The proposed law, A4651, could fine parents up to $1,000 and jail them for six months for neglectful supervision. It passed the state Assembly with bipartisan support at the end of June, but also encountered resistance, as some lawmakers had questions about enforcement and who should be held accountable. The bill comes in the wake of a string of high-profile brawls in the Jersey Shore area in recent months. A measure also passed earlier this year that levies penalties for inciting a public brawl in the state. Under the bill, a parent or legal guardian of a juvenile would face a fine or a petty disorderly persons violation if their child has been found guilty of property destruction inciting a public brawl. The parent would face a $1,000 fine for their childs behavior that results in property damage. But penalties could involve jail time for parents whose child incited violence - $500 for the first petty offense involving a brawl, $2,000 for future offenses, up to 30-days in jail, or both. The reach of the legislation, however, concerns some legislators. Im not sure how you make a parent responsible for the criminal acts of a child unless the parent had knowledge or had some furtherance of that criminal act, said Assemblyman Erik Peterson, R-Hunterdon. Peterson also said there were legal concerns about which parent would or should be fined or found responsible. Assemblyman Christian Barranco, R-Morris, said the bill was an overreach by the government. This is going to apply to every single neighborhood in our state, he said. Are we going to go after every parent whose kid gets into a fight? Lets think about what were doing, he said. Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, R-Sussex, said the bill should take a more collaborative and less punitive approach with parents. Why arent we mandating the parents maybe participate in counseling with their child? Why arent we requiring a parent to attend court hearings [and] do community service with their child? We are straight up sending a parent to jail for six months if their child gets into a fight, she said. That is the most ridiculous thing where the punishment does not fit the crime at all. I dont think we should be scapegoating parents. Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald, D-Camden, supported the measure. This helps awaken parents to what may be going on that they are not aware of, he said. Greenwald also claimed that the bill would help booster tourism. I dont represent a shore community, but Ive worked with my friends on multiple issues that are impacting the shore community and this does affect tourism, he said. We do know people that are looking at rental properties down the shore that arent going Memorial Day weekend because thats a hot button weekend. The bill passed 61-15 in the Assembly. The Senate has yet to take a vote. Legislators are currently on summer break and dont traditionally return until November. In November, the law would have to pass the Senate quickly, if it is to go to Gov. Phil Murphy, before a new governor takes office. Jelani Gibson may be reached at jgibson@njadvancemedia.com. Fourteen people have been charged in a drug trafficking operation in South Jersey, officials said Thursday. They were charged with a variety of offenses for allegedly distributing illegal drugs and firearms throughout Cumberland County from July 2024 to May 2025, according to a joint announcement from the state Office of the Attorney General and the New Jersey State Police. Ryan Collins, 33, of Vineland, an alleged member of the Crips street gang, is facing several first-degree charges related to leading the trafficking operation, distributing cocaine and methamphetamine, and promoting organized street crime. He has also been charged with second-, third- and fourth-degree weapons and drug offenses, officials said. Collins and his associates are alleged to have sold drugs and firearms with large capacity magazines, including two assault rifles. The individuals arrested led by a self-proclaimed gang member sought to flood South Jersey with dangerous, illegal drugs, said Col. Patrick J. Callahan, superintendent of the State Police. Thanks to the collaborative efforts of our federal, state and local partners, weve taken a major step in protecting our neighborhoods and restoring a sense of safety and security for the families who live there. One person charged, Roger Loatman, 56, of Bridgeton, remains at large, officials said. No attorney information for the defendants was immediately available. The investigation was conducted by the State Police, Gloucester County Prosecutors Office, Salem City Police Department, Gloucester Township Police Department, Clayton Police Department, the FBI, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by the attorney generals office. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Rebecca Heath may be reached at RHeath@njadvancemedia.com. China Telecom has announced the industry's first pilot commercial deployment of distributed training for a large language model (LLM) with 177 billion (177B) parameters, using 1024 GPUs over a 500 km field-deployed fiber link. This provides a new solution for the coordinated development of AI infrastructure. The core challenge of this pilot scheme lies in achieving collaborative computing over long-haul, high-bandwidth, and low-latency connections. Leveraging the self-developed technology "wide-area lossless intelligent interconnection network", China Telecom has established a 500km optical path loopback network between Wuqing in Tianjin and Yinghai in Beijing. The result shows that under different LLM and collective communication modes, the training performance of multiple intelligent computing centers across regions reaches 97% to 99% of that of LLM training in a single data center. The key technical highlight of this field trial is the use of the 800G wide-area lossless transport technology, featuring a bandwidth convergence ratio of 32:1 (computing-side bandwidth of 102.4 Tbit/s, and transmission link bandwidth of 3.2 Tbit/s), as well as the introduced pipeline parallel (PP) and data parallel (DP) strategies. This effectively eliminates the packet loss problem caused by network congestion during long-haul transmission. Additionally, the deployment of telecom-grade sub-50 ms Wavelength Switched Optical Network (WSON), enabled by innovations in protocol processing, ultra-fast WSS switching, and DSP reconstruction technologies, ensured seamless 50 ms link failover, maintaining training continuity and system stability. On this basis, the field trial also uses the Xirang integrated intelligent computing platform, supporting cross-regional computing-network coordination, automated model parallelism, and checkpoint-based resumable training. The platform delivers second-level fault localization and minute-level recovery, significantly enhancing the efficiency of commercial model deployment. Due to the exponential growth in computing power required for AI LLM training, traditional single data center faces bottlenecks due to physical space, energy costs, and geographical constraints. China Telecom's achievement demonstrates the transformative value of cross-regional computing integration, effectively turning distributed data centers into a "virtual supercomputer". This approach significantly reduces training costs and provides a feasible technical approach for national initiatives such as "East Data, West Computing". The success of this pilot scheme represents a major step forward in the innovation of China Telecom's intelligent computing networks, demonstrating, exemplifying its commitment to supporting the national strategy of coordinated compute-network development. Looking ahead, China Telecom will continue to invest in the research and development of intelligent network, providing strong network support for AI advancement and contributing to the high-quality growth of China's digital economy. General Hospital star Tristan Rogers revealed that hes been diagnosed with cancer. Rogers friend and publicist, Anthony Turk, shared the news via a statement to Soap Opera Digest on Thursday, July 17. Beloved Emmy-winning actor Tristan Rogers, best known for his role as Robert Scorpio on the daytime drama General Hospital, is sharing with fans that he has been diagnosed with cancer, the statement began. While he remains hopeful and is working closely with his medical team on a treatment plan, this is a challenging time for Tristan and his family. As they face both the emotional and physical burdens that come with this diagnosis, the family kindly asks for privacy and understanding. The statement didnt specify what type of cancer, Rogers, 79, is battling. Turk noted that future updates will be shared if deemed appropriate by Rogers and his family. Tristan sends his love to his fans and wants them to know how much he appreciates their loyalty and encouragement over the years, the statement continued. This support means more to him now than ever. Rogers last made an appearance on General Hospital in November 2024. The episode set him up to take a break from the ABC soap opera, as Robert Scorpio left Port Charles with his ex-wife Holly Sutton (Emma Samms). Tristan Rogers in 2016. Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP Rogers has played Robert Scorpio on and off since 1980. He is the only actor to ever portray the international spy. Rogers also played Colin Atkinson on The Young and the Restless from 2010-2012. The daytime television star has been married to Teresa Parkerson since 1995. The couple share daughter Sara, 32, and son Cale, 28. READ MORE: General Hospital star takes temporary hiatus see who their replacement is During a 2020 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Rogers recalled booking the role of Robert Scorpio shortly after he moved to the United States from his native Australia. I didnt know at the time the importance of General Hospital; it was just one more job for me. But it was really exciting, to be fresh off the boat and walk into this role, he told the outlet. It was the gift that kept on giving, so to speak. I got caught up in the General Hospital tidal wave and just got swept away by it. General Hospital airs on ABC weekdays at 3 p.m. ET. Episodes are available to stream on Hulu the day after they air. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Have a tip? Tell us at nj.com/tips/. From left: Gaten Matarazzo as Dustin Henderson, Finn Wolfhard as Mike Wheeler, Caleb McLaughlin as Lucas Sinclair and Noah Schnapp as Will Byers in the final season of "Stranger Things." Netflix The saga that started on July 15, 2016 is approaching its end. Netflix released the first teaser trailer for the fifth and final season of Stranger Things Wednesday. The hit show, set in the 1980s and evocative of sci-fi movies from the era, launched the careers of actors including Millie Bobby Brown and New Jerseys Gaten Matarazzo and Sadie Sink. While giving a good eyeful of all the action to come, the trailer (watch below) also shows The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day star Linda Hamilton, who joins the cast as Dr. Kay. So whats going on in the coming episodes of Stranger Things? READ MORE: Stranger Things season 5 gets premiere date. Heres the release schedule for final episodes. The Hawkins gang, now in the fall of 1987, is searching for the evil Vecna so they can kill him. Eleven (Brown) goes back into hiding because the government is searching for her, and Hawkins is under a military quarantine. The final season of Stranger Things, which spans eight episodes, will not be released all at once, but in volumes around major holidays, as has been the recent custom. Netflix announced May 31 that the first volume will arrive Nov. 26, aka Thanksgiving Eve. The second, Christmas Day (Dec. 25). The finale debuts New Years Eve (Dec. 31). All three releases will premiere at the same time: 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads. A new app called "Single Riders" aimed at single adult Disney fans is trying to help them make their next connection. AP If youre single and you love Disney, you might just have the opportunity to find your happily ever after. One of the apps founders, @JoeTheBeardedNerd on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, introduced the concept of the app on TikTok recently and persuaded Disney fans to get involved. Heres what you need to know about how the idea for the app came about, its features and when the app is going to be released. What is Single Riders? According to Joes video on TikTok, Single Riders is an app designed for single people who share an interest in Disney theme parks or any theme parks for that matter. The dating app is being developed with two options: a romantic option and a friendship option. It is going to be available for iOS and Android along with a web-based app across the U.S. at first in English. The Single Riders creators also plan to expand its use to other theme parks, including Universal Parks in Orlando and California, Kings Island in Ohio, Knotts Berry Farm in California and Six Flags parks nationwide. Also, Joe has asked early fans to request features they would like to see in the app and submit them in the comments of the Single Riders TikTok posts. Self-proclaimed Disney adult Joe often frequents the parks and decided to create the app after being stood up on a date. I did what any other Orlando local does, and I went to Disney, Joe said, according to ABC 7. I realized we needed a Disney dating app. When will the Single Riders app be released? The Single Riders app is expected to be released in a beta version later this year or early next year, according to the apps creators. However, sign ups for the beta version and email updates will be available soon because of the early excitement about the app, according to Joe. 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. For a successful play to come together, it often takes a village. But on a small stage in Newark, Reynaldo Piniella managed to evoke thoughtfulness, emotion, and a love for history all by himself. No History, written and performed by the two-time Broadway actor, detailed the comprehensive history of historian Arturo Alfonso Schomburg, his lifelong quest to preserve African history, his involvement in the Harlem Renaissance, and his struggles with his Afro-Puerto Rican heritage. For an hour at the NJPAC Center for Arts Education last month, Piniella, also an author, effortlessly portrayed historical figures such as W.E.B. Du Bois, Marcus Garvey, and even one of Arturos children, Arthur Alfonso, Jr., to tell the story of Schomburgs life to an engaged audience of just 25 people. Actor Reynaldo Piniella Performs "No History" at NJPAC Center for Arts Education in Newark Murjani Rawls Its a small platform with a much greater purpose, led by Andrew Binger, artistic director of Newark-based Yendor Theater Company. His new series, called Soul-O, is dedicated explicitly to producing plays featuring one person and centering on Black and brown stories. Binger intends to uplift and preserve the stories of underserved communities and actors through a raw and intimate experience. The program is also the latest artistic bolster for New Jerseys largest city, further fueling its burgeoning creative community, while honoring its past. Soul-O allows aspiring theater stars to forge a path forward in making their Broadway and West End dreams come true. Even among robust organizations like NJPAC and the MidAtlantic Theater Company, Binger feels theres a lack of excitement for the art form in the Brick City. It somehow feels that theater had a stronger foothold in the arts community in Newark in the past, Binger told NJ Advance Media. We need more of those opportunities in Newark because I think theres a certain level of connection and engagement that is possible through theater that maybe isnt the same in other art forms. Launched in 2016, Yendor Theater Company is one of 42 theaters that comprise the New Jersey Theatre Alliance. The non-profit collective was founded in 1981 and represents fifteen of the states 21 counties, as well as the town of New Hope, Pennsylvania. The alliance serves as a lifeline, providing fundraisers, networking, and marketing opportunities to the theaters inside the organization. The late Rodney Gilbert founded Yendor Productions in 2003 to produce arts education programming and events for underserved artists and communities. Among those initiatives was the Yendor Theater Company, which Gilbert co-founded with Binger. High school inspiration creates a spark Binger, who is also a long-time actor, spoke about his love for No Child, a solo play by Nilaja Sun he saw in high school. It ignited a curiosity inside of him about one-person productions. When Sun plays all the kids along with a teacher as the main character, said Binger. It was hilarious and heartwarming. Nothing could have prepared me for seeing this one woman embody all these different characters with pace and rapid energy. In 2017, Binger met playwright Gabriel Diego Hernandez, who was then working on his then-unfinished play, Quarter Rican. During early 2021, COVID-19 restrictions limited the scope of productions in terms of audience size and the number of people on stage. At that time, Yendor was handling simple productions at Newark Symphony Hall. Hernandez reached out to Binger and asked if he could perform a one-person version of Quarter Rican. Thats the imperfect beauty of Soul-O: these plays are a work in progress. Think of it like a comedian working out jokes at local comedy clubs before they tape a special. The writers perform the play, receive feedback, and often tweak aspects of it before the subsequent iterations. Hernandez wasnt actively working on Quarter Rican before the Symphony Hall shows, but Binger and Yendor provided the show a platform to grow into a full-fledged production. The show has played at the Mile Square Theater in Hoboken before playing to audiences in New York and Los Angeles. I think the show got the energy and momentum it needed while workshopping it, said Binger. That piece explores what it means to hold multiple identities simultaneously. ... His one-person show is what inspired me to say that itd be great for a series dedicated to this. A creative work-in-progress Piniella first developed No History in California at the Berkeley Repertory Theater. While working with Binger to bring it to Newark for two performances, he was still workshopping aspects of it a week prior. Its here where Binger gets most excited, seeing an artist mold their creations like clay in real time. During the performance, Pinella only glanced a couple of times at notes he had written, but had a clear command of the material. After the matinee performance, those who witnessed it attended a small reception and spoke with both Piniella and Binger to share their feedback. Artists are justifiably protective of their works, but not Piniella. He actively spoke to each of the attendees about his thought process, chronicling a man he looks up to, and perhaps how difficult it was to embody all of his extensive history in an hour. The audience praised the way Piniella portrayed the push-and-pull of Schomburgs racial identities and how the show remained engaging throughout its runtime. Critiques were based solely on a desire to learn more about Schomburgs children and his relationship to them, which Pinella actively discussed. Through Soul-O, Yendor Theater Company aims to showcase how the artists of Newark are not only the lifeblood of the state itself, but also of the country. The companys impact is not limited to this one program. Yendor commissions plays originating from neighborhoods in Newark, rents stages, lights, and production staff to bring them to fruition. They also have a filmmaking department in conjunction with EXPRESS Newark, a center for digital storytelling. For Binger, its all about uncovering potential. Binger used the showcase of No History to open up the portal for any other artists who would like to do a Soul-O play in the future. At this point, Yendor aims to complete at least two projects per quarter. If an established actor like Piniella chose Yendor and New Jersey as a platform for his play, the sky is the limit. We want people to make connections, said Binger. What were doing here is providing a bridge where people can engage in art that is both conscious and connected to the community, as well as professional and of high quality. Actor Reynaldo Piniella Performs "No History" at NJPAC Center for Arts Education in Newark Murjani Rawls Related coverage: Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Murjani Rawls may be reached at mrawls@njadvancemedia.com Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway in "The Devil Wears Prada." Twentieth Century Fox Do you quote Miranda Priestly on the regular? Would you die for Andy Sachs job at Runaway magazine? Maybe youre just a big fan of Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Emily Blunt and Stanley Tucci. Whatever the case, consider the alarm sounded. This is not a drill The Devil Wears Prada 2 needs extras. Grant Wilfley Casting shared an open casting call Wednesday night for background actors for DWP2, not exactly concealing the movies title. (See details on how to apply below.) The sequel to the hit 2006 film, which sees the return of New Jersey stars Hathaway and Streep, as well as Blunt and Tucci, among others, needs extras to play luxury fashion house assistants, staff and executives. A casting call specifies that the production, from Disneys 20th Century Studios, needs chic, stylish, fashion forward people. Extras will work on scenes tentatively scheduled to film July 29 and July 30 in New York. Oscar winner Hathaway, 42, a New York native who grew up in Millburn, reprises the role of Andrea Andy Sachs in The Devil Wears Prada 2. Hathaway with Stanley Tucci, another original cast member returning for the sequel. Twentieth Century Fox In the first film, Sachs struggles to acclimate to the demanding job of being an assistant to Miranda Priestly, editor-in-chief of Runway magazine. But once she adjusts, she realizes the fashion life despite all of its glamorous trips abroad and runaway shows isnt for her and she goes back to pursuing newspaper journalism. Streep, 76, the three-time Oscar winner who grew up in Bernardsville and Basking Ridge, was nominated for her performance as the tough, feared and uncompromising Priestly. (Details of your incompetence do not interest me.) In the sequel, the Runaway editor has to contend with the steep downturn of the magazine industry. READ MORE: Devil Wears Prada 2 cast includes N.J. star from Tony-winning musical (and Meryls hometown) Emily Charlton, another of Priestlys assistants in The Devil Wears Prada, played by Emily Blunt, now works as an executive in the luxury industry and emerges as a new nemesis for her old boss. Aline Brosh McKenna, who grew up in Demarest and Montvale, wrote the scripts for The Devil Wears Prada and The Devil Wears Prada 2. The first movie was based on the 2003 bestselling novel by Lauren Weisberger, who worked as an assistant to Vogue editor Anna Wintour. Weisberger wrote a sequel to the novel, Revenge Wears Prada: The Devil Returns, which was published in 2013. David Frankel, who directed The Devil Wears Prada, is also returning for the movie sequel. Stanley Tucci reprises the role as Nigel, who formerly worked with Priestly at Runaway. New faces to the Devil Wears Prada world include Helen J. Shen, who grew up in Streeps Basking Ridge and whose musical Maybe Happy Ending just won the Tony for best musical. Another Broadway star, Conrad Ricamora (Lincoln in Oh, Mary!), is in the cast, too, as is Oscar winner Kenneth Branagh, who will play Priestlys husband. Others in the cast of the sequel include comedian and actor Caleb Hearon and actors Lucy Liu, Justin Theroux, B.J. Novak and Pauline Chalamet. Supporting cast members coming back from the first film include Tracie Thoms as Andys friend Lily and Tibor Feldman as Irv Ravitz, chairman of Elias-Clark, the company that owned Runway magazine. Even though it would thrill Priestly, this is a production that will not move at a glacial pace. The Devil Wears Prada 2 is due in theaters May 1, 2026. So you want to be in the movie Interested in applying to be an extra in The Devil Wears Prada 2? Send an email to DWP2@gwcnyc.com with the subject line Fashion House. Include the following: Your name; phone number; whether or not you are a member of the Screen Actors Guild; your height, weight and clothing and shoe sizes for costumes; your availability to work July 29 and 30; and confirmation that you are at least 18 years old. Attach a clear and recent photo of yourself to the email. Thank you for reading. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com and followed at @AmyKup on Twitter/X, @amykup.bsky.social on Bluesky and @kupamy on Instagram and Threads. The remaining detainee who escaped from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Newark last month was arrested Thursday in Los Angeles, California, according to the FBI. Andres Felipe Pineda-Mogollon, 25, originally from Colombia, escaped from Delaney Hall during unrest at the detention facility on June 12 along with three others who have since been apprehended. No other information about Pineda-Mogollons arrest was released by the FBI. The three other detainees were apprehended at different locations around the state since June 17. Pineda-Mogollon was originally detained under petty larceny and burglary charges, according to the FBI. Detainees broke through a second-story aluminum wall and dropped mattresses to the ground to break their fall as they jumped to escape, officials with the U.S. Attorneys Office in New Jersey said. The men also used bed sheets to cover the barbed wire while climbing over an exterior fence, officials said. The three other detainees, Franklin Norberto Bautista-Reyes, 20, and Joel Enrique Sandoval-Lopez, 22, both originally from Honduras, and Joan Sebastian Castaneda-Lozada, 18, from Colombia were charged with escaping from the custody of an institution or officer last week. The unrest at Delaney Hall was allegedly over food and other conditions at the facility, according to a lawyer for one detainee who was not involved with the escape. Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested outside the facility in May and charged with trespassing, but the charges were quickly dropped. Federal officials later filed felony assault charges against U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, a Democrat representing New Jerseys 10th Congressional District, who was with Baraka in May when he was arrested. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Virtua Health, an academic health system with five hospitals in New Jersey, is exploring creating a new not-for-profit health chain with the Delaware-based ChristianaCare. Photos courtesy of Virtua Health and ChristianaCare Virtua Health, which operates five hospitals in South Jersey, announced its intentions Wednesday to co-found a new regional not-for-profit health system that would provide care across New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The deal with ChristianaCare, a nonprofit teaching health system headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, would create a regional system with more than 600 locations, nearly 30,000 employees, and academic programs supporting more than 500 residents and fellows, according to a joint press release. Both sides signed a letter of intent, which signals more formal negotiations ahead. A spokesman for Virtua Health said talks are still exploratory, focused on alignment, due diligence, and cultural and strategic fit. If we decide to proceed, we will then sign definitive agreements and move to regulatory review and approvals. Because of the regulatory processes involved, the actual timeline is not in our full control, said spokesman Daniel Moise in an email to NJ Advance Media. Officials said the proposed partnership would create more access to urgent, primary, and behavioral health care in the region. This is an exciting first step in a collaborative journey to amplify the strengths of two trusted health systems, Dennis W. Pullin, president and chief executive officer of Virtua Health, said in a statement. We see this as a unique opportunity to shape the future of care in this region with innovation and intention. Together, we aim to create an integrated regional health system built on human connection, clinical excellence and a deep commitment to all people in the communities we serve, Pullin said. The future entity would also include a proposed maternal risk program to support more than 15,000 births per year, according to Wednesdays press release. The future of quality health care in America will be shaped by those who take action today to invest in, care for, and be a champion for the needs of patients, Dr. Janice E. Nevin, president and chief executive officer of ChristianaCare, said in a statement. Our vision for this new health system when Medicare and Medicaid are facing cuts and many hospitals are struggling to stay open gives me hope and excitement for our future and for the health of our neighbors," Nevin said. Virtua Health, an academic health system affiliated with Rowan University, is headquartered in Marlton. The not-for-profit health system consists of five hospitals, two emergency departments, 42 ambulatory surgery centers, 38 primary care locations, 30 physical therapy practices, and over 400 additional sites. Virtua also partners with Penn Medicine for cancer and neuroscience and the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia for pediatrics. ChristianaCare includes three hospitals, one emergency department, a Level I trauma center, a Level III neonatal intensive care unit, and a comprehensive stroke center, as well as regional centers in heart and vascular care, cancer care and womens health. As a teaching health system, ChristianaCare serves as the Delaware Branch Campus of the Sidney Kimmel Medical School of Thomas Jefferson University and the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, with more than 260 residents and fellows and a physician network with more than 1,300 providers. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a subscription. Jackie Roman may be reached at jroman@njadvancemedia.com. The states Cannabis Regulatory Commission approved four stores Tuesday that will allow customers to smoke weed in a cafe-like format. The additions to the stores are known as consumption lounges, where consumers who are 21 years or older can buy weed and also find a place to smoke. The retailers still have to pass a final inspection from state regulators before the lounges open for business. This is a major milestone in New Jerseys cannabis industry. These designated spaces provide consumers with safe and legal options for cannabis consumption, said commission chair Dianna Houenou. Whether individuals cannot consume cannabis inside their homes or simply wish to consume cannabis legally and responsibly, these areas provide a practical solution. We are proud to support this next phase of safe-use infrastructure in our state. The stores approved included High Rollers Dispensary and SunnyTien Dispensary in Atlantic City, Gynsyng in Merchantville, and URBN Dispensary located in Newark. All are considered Diversely Owned Businesses, which means each business is either minority-owned, woman-owned, or disabled veteran-owned, as certified by the state Department of Treasury. Some businesses are looking forward to using the lounges as something that can further engage customers. It can set us apart and we can add that extra service, said Ramez Maxemous, manager at URBN dispensary. Education, actually opening the weed and smelling it, talking about it. Were going to do events when we drop new strains. Consumption lounges can partner with rideshare services to make sure patrons get back home safely. The lounges can also serve as a place where consumers can be given demonstrations on how to use or roll their own weed. The dispensaries have to show good faith efforts to make sure legal weed is being consumed and also have to seek the permission of their local town to create one. The state is taking applications on a rolling basis. Maxemous said he didnt know the store had been approved until the commission had said their names at the meeting. We were screaming, we were all going nuts, he said. It was a long time coming. Jelani Gibson may be reached at jgibson@njadvancemedia.com. The state's top court upheld a law requiring hospitals to provide care to patients regardless of their ability to pay Canva for NJ.com The New Jersey Supreme Court has upheld the states charity care program, ruling that hospitals must continue treating low-income patients regardless of their ability to pay. In a unanimous decision issued Wednesday, the court rejected arguments from several hospital systems, including Capital Health Medical Center, that the program violates their property rights by forcing them to provide care without adequate compensation. The hospitals filed suit in Mercer County Superior Court in 2016. They argued that the law which prohibits billing patients who qualify for charity care amounts to an unconstitutional taking of private property. They claimed the states subsidies cover only a fraction of the actual cost of providing that care. The hospitals did not challenge the requirement to provide care itself, but sought just compensation, not the ability to deny care. The state, represented by Deputy Attorney General Tim Sheehan, countered that the charity care program doesnt take over hospital property or stop hospitals from making money. Instead, the state argued, it regulates how hospitals operate in a heavily regulated industry and serves a vital public interest by ensuring access to care. Both the Mercer County trial court and the Appellate Division previously ruled in favor of the state. The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed, finding that while the program may impose financial burdens, it does not physically take hospital property or strip away property rights. Any concerns about fairness, the justices said, should be addressed through legislation, not the courts. We do not suggest that it is fair for medical professionals and hospitals to bear, alone, the cost of providing services to those who cannot pay for them, Justice Douglas M. Fasciale wrote for the court. Fasciale said it is not the judiciarys role to decide what a fair share of that burden should be. That responsibility, he wrote, belongs to the New Jersey Legislature. The justice also acknowledged that the program may place a heavier burden on hospitals that serve a large number of low-income patients. However, those concerns, Fasciale wrote, are best addressed through the political process. Hospitals, he noted, can challenge their subsidy amounts through administrative appeals or lobby lawmakers for changes. The attorney for the hospitals, John Zen Jackson of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis in Woodbridge, said in a statement to NJ Advance Media that his team is considering an appeal on the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court. We believe the courts analysis is flawed in determining whether the charity care program constitutes a physical taking and invasion of the hospitals property and is contrary to the trend of United States Supreme Court decisions in the last decade finding wrongful physical takings occurring in regulated industries and activities, Jackson added. We were proud to stand up for New Jerseys charity care program and fight for the basic principle that no one should be denied treatment at a hospital because they lack the ability to pay, Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement. We are grateful that the New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously rejected this challenge to our longstanding law, Platkin added. Editors note: The story has been updated to clarify that Cooper University Hospital and Hackensack Meridian Health were initially part of the lawsuit, but were removed as plaintiffs as the case progressed. Colleen Murphy may be reached at cmurphy@njadvancemedia.com. An investigation into alleged shoplifting by a South Brunswick police officer has led to more charges, as detectives have accused him of stealing over $75,000 from a local police union, authorities announced Wednesday. Abraham Jason Gassman, 53, was charged with second and third-degree official misconduct, second and third-degree theft by deception, third-degree hindering apprehension, fourth-degree falsifying records, and shoplifting, a disorderly persons offense, according to a statement from the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office. Earlier this year, Gassman shoplifted bedding items valued at about $100 from an Ocean Township department store and then left the scene in his police vehicle, the office said. The investigation went on to find that Gassman, who has served as his local Police Benevolent Association (PBA) chapters treasurer since 2009, stole more than $75,000 from the organization in different ways over the last six years, officials said. Gassman used the PBA credit card to make personal purchases and stole cash proceeds from PBA charity fundraisers and other events, investigators said. These personal purchases included a wide range of home-improvement items, such as patio furniture, storage containers, vacuums, propane gas, a leaf blower, televisions, a home gym kit, a microwave, luggage, and food, the office said. On one occasion, Gassman used the credit card to purchase lodging, parking, gas, and food for himself and another officer on a business trip, then submitted a purchasing order to the South Brunswick Police Department seeking reimbursement, authorities said. Gassman also was accused of submitting documents to the PBAs accountant falsely indicating that he had paid back personal purchases, the office said. He also allegedly changed the password to the PBAs credit card when asked questions by the PBAs leadership, effectively locking them out. Gassman turned himself in to authorities on Wednesday and was lodged in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution pending future proceedings, officials said. South Brunswick Police Chief Raymond J. Hayducka said in a statement that Gassman was suspended without pay. The standard for suspending a police officer without pay in New Jersey is a high bar to achieve, and I did not make this decision without a careful review of the facts and circumstances, which led me to conclude that the immediate suspension was necessary to maintain safety, health and order of effective police services, Hayducka said. The accusations and arrest of Jason Gassman is extremely disappointing to me and all members of the agency. Anyone with information was asked to contact Monmouth County Prosecutors Office Detective Dylan Lovgren at 800-533-7443. Please consider supporting NJ.com with a voluntary subscription. Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Zain KSA says it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Cisco to develop AI infrastructure and GPU-as-a-Service (GPUaaS) for the Saudi Arabian market. Under the MoU signed on Sunday, Zain KSA will leverage Ciscos end-to-end infrastructure solutions to securely build and scale AI workloads, with the eventual aim of supporting the telcos move into the GPUaaS space. Zain KSA said the initiative aims to create new solutions and commercial models to enable customers across various sectors to adopt AI solutions easily. The MoU also includes an upskilling component under which Zain and Cisco will explore opportunities for training programs to upskill local talent. These efforts aim to empower all stakeholders, including government entities, businesses, and individuals, to harness the boundless potential of AI in support of national goals, said Fahad Sahmi Al Sahmah, Zain KSAs VP of B2B sales, in a statement. Zayan Sadek, service providers MD at Cisco Middle East, Turkiye and Africa, added that the initiative aligns with Saudi Arabias Vision 2030 goals by driving digital transformation and positioning the country as a global digital innovation hub, particularly in the AI space. We aim to unlock new possibilities to empower businesses to thrive in the AI era and position Saudi Arabia as a global hub for advanced technologies, Sadek said. In last weeks column, I wrote about strange American culinary habits like giant portion sizes, processed foods, fast food and silverware. Oh yeah, there was also that drive-through funeral thing! Today, we will tackle the topics of casseroles, tipping, biscuits and gravy (I lived in Alabama for 35 years), unusual combinations, and that delicious Muskrat! Muskrats All I have to say regarding this one is: Why? You have so many options, and you decide to eat a rat. I gotta give it to our food columnist, Pete Genovese, who tried it once. Me? Umm . . . NO! Come to think of it, I have a strange and disgusting food mentioned at the end of this article. You want a hint? Why dont you hike the Rocky Mountains and eat some oysters while youre at it. Maybe then, Ill give you a hint. Casseroles Casseroles prompted the saying, everything but the kitchen sink! Known as the beige brigade, these dishes are a catch-all for leftovers, random canned goods, and whatever else is lurking in the pantry. The brownish color comes from that canned soup you smother everything with, cream of mushroom, or cream of whatever. There is a positive aspect to casseroles: The nostalgia overload. Most grandmothers stuffed us with their concoctions ever since we were little. Who doesnt remember that green bean casserole with crispy fried onions on top? Those onions look like they were made at a nuclear plant. Biscuits and gravy Every time I was invited for a meal in Alabama, it included biscuits and gravy. It could have been a swanky dinner party with a French chef who yelled loudly. Still, biscuits and gravy were on the table. I have nothing against biscuits, except for the Crisco involved, which may not be the healthiest thing in our galaxy. My ex-mother-in-law made the best biscuits (Say that one three times in a hurry). They were so light, you had to catch them as they levitated off the baking sheet. But gravy? I dont think so. The one good thing about gravy is this cool related saying: On the gravy train. We also have the gravy boat. Whats with all the transportation metaphors? Tipping I must give a shoutout here to everyone in the food industry. Its a tough job, and they deserve the 20 percent. But have you noticed lately that everyone is asking for a tip? Coffee shops I understand. They do spend hours making your latte. But in this Reddit article, strange places for tips included a dermatologists office, a car mechanic, and a pick-your-own strawberry farm. Dont doctors and mechanics charge a years salary for their services? Heck. Last time I went to the doctor, I had to turn over my 401k. I think Im going to request a tip from my employer for writing this column. Unusual combinations Im feeling a little hungry. Here are my options: Peanut butter and pickle sandwich, French fries and ice cream, pizza with pineapple, chocolate covered bacon, tuna salad with fruit punch, watermelon with salt, or banana with mayo. If you think I made these crazy dishes up, you should read this article. Ill end with this: My mother used to make this delicious dish made with tiny balls that are sauteed with garlic and cilantro. I used to devour them until my brother told me what they were. A hint? There are lot of sheep in the Middle East. Karim Shamsi-Basha may be reached at kshamsi-basha@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter & Instagram. Follow Mosaic on Instagram at @MosaicNJcom and on Facebook at MosaicNJcom. A New Jersey man who stole $1.5 million in checks from Connecticut mailboxes has been sentenced to three years probation instead of the possible five years in federal prison he faced. Ixavier Holman Jr., 34, of Secaucus, must spend the first six months of the probation under home confinement and was also ordered by a judge to perform 150 hours of community service, the U.S. Attorneys Office for Connecticut said. Holman had faced up to five years in federal prison after pleading guilty to mail theft in November. He used keys to remove mail on at least eight occasions from blue collection boxes at the New Haven post office and two locations in neighboring West Haven between December 2022 and June 2023, federal prosecutors said. Authorities later searched Holmans home and found more than 3,000 pieces of mail, United States Postal Service mail collection bins as well as a credit card reader and embosser. The mail was sorted and organized by bank, officials said. Investigators combed through surveillance footage from the area of the thefts, fingerprints left behind and license plate readers from three vehicles to nab Holman, according to charging documents. Most of the thefts took place in the 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. hours, court papers state. Prosecutors didnt say how Holman obtained the keys. Holman was arrested June 12, 2023, at a post office in New Haven after being found with two keys. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com WASHINGTON The Senate has passed about $9 billion in federal spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, including deep reductions to public broadcasting and foreign aid, moving forward on one of the presidents top priorities despite concerns from several Republican senators. The legislation, which now moves to the House, would have a tiny impact on the nations rising debt but could have major ramifications for the targeted spending, from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to U.S. food aid programs abroad. A former campaign operative for President Donald Trump delivered a warning as MAGA continues to remain split over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking case. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP A former Rudy Giuliani associate has a stark warning for President Donald Trump: MAGA wont be put back together. Lev Parnas, a businessman who also became a 2024 campaign operative for the president, said that many have been wondering what Trumps next move will be but they should be focusing on what hes already doing right now. The cover-up is intensifying, Parnas wrote on Substack on Wednesday, adding that Donald Trump took a sledgehammer to what remained of his MAGA base. Early Wednesday morning, Trump lashed out at his own MAGA base on his Truth Social platform over their uproar against his administrations handling of the so-called Epstein files, claiming that he no longer wants support from weaklings who are invested in Jeffrey Epsteins sex-trafficking case. Tensions had first ignited after the Justice Department and FBI concluded in a new memo that the disgraced financier did not keep a client list, blackmail public figures or was murdered in his jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019. At a later press conference, he continued to twist the knife: Its perpetrated by the Democrats, and some stupid Republicans, and foolish Republicans, fall into the net. While MAGA faithful and conspiracy theorists have demanded for the release of documents related to the disgraced financier in recent years, administration officials and Trump himself have entertained the idea, pledging that they would make the files public. But in recent days, they now have appeared to change their tune, prompting intense backlash from both sides of the political aisle. Parnas called Trumps response to bash his base a big mistake, noting that the media isnt reporting on a key issue. ...Ive been telling you for months, and now even Trumps closest allies are starting to admit it: the man is unraveling, Parnas wrote. You could call it desperation, cognitive decline, or just plain delusion. But when Donald Trump cant remember that he himself nominated Jerome Powell to the Fedand then blames Joe Biden for ityou know something is deeply wrong," he continued, referencing how Trump on Wednesday said that he was surprised that former President Joe Biden nominated Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to his post, when the president himself did during his first term. Lev Parnas testifies before the House Oversight and Accountability Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, March 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana) AP Parnas said that Trump is always quick to blame the former president, describing it as automatic, including over the economy and the Epstein files, which Trump alleged, without citing evidence, were made up by Bidens administration, former President Barack Obama and others. But he pointed to a new Quinnipiac poll found that 63% of voters disapprove of how Trump officials have handled Epsteins files, while just 17% said they approve. The poll revealed that Republicans remained split, with 40% approving and 36% disapproving. Hes now calling legitimate questions about Epstein The Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. The same script he used for Russia Hoax. For Ukraine Hoax. For Election Hoax, Parnas said. But this time, the mask is slipping. And people who once never questioned him are now starting to see it, he added, noting that When that crew starts to smell blood, the dam has broken. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones is not happy with President Donald Trump. Trump and his officials have faced intense backlash from MAGA loyalists and far-right conspiracy theorists over their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case. Trump has lashed out at his own voters, telling them on Wednesday that he does not want their support if they continue to be obsessed with the Epstein case. In a scathing message to Trump, Jones accused Trump of hurting his own MAGA base. Why is Trump destroying MAGA in real time? Jones wrote on social media platform X alongside a video message to the president. Why is Trump destroying MAGA in real time? https://t.co/VPkyL1MOcy Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) July 17, 2025 I dont apologize for supporting Trump. All they did, you know, it was good before, and all hes done good since, but it was very easy to be a purist and defend him a few months ago when it was 95% good or more. Now its, like I said, moving quickly into the bad territory, Jones said in the video. The drama in MAGA world began after the Justice Department released a memo earlier this month that concluded Epstein had no client list and committed suicide in his jail cell. The memo sparked outrage from Americans on both sides of the aisle, with many of Trumps supporters demanding to see the documents related to the case. For years, some of Trumps most loyal supporters have demanded that the federal government release documents related to the Epstein case. Now, many MAGA supporters have questioned why Trump has flip-flopped on his promise to release the Epstein files. Jones continued to criticize the president in his hour-long video. But President Trump, if you think that all of this good is happening because of you, thats crazy. You think youre in control. No. God is in control, he said. He also suggested that his support of Trump started to waver after tech billionaire Elon Musk left the administration. Stuff really started to change when Elon left. What he discovered, I think it has a lot of credibility. What he said, Trumps implicated here. Im not saying its sex abuse of kids, but definitely, somehow, maybe somebody close to him. So Ive been told that, that you are compromised, Jones said. Jones has previously criticized the Trump administration over the recent Epstein files fiasco. Weve got to investigate this, weve got to keep open minds about this on all angles, but this is the big story, and this has put the Trump administration into a mega massive crisis, he said in a video posted over the weekend. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP President Donald Trumps most ardent supporters appear to be divided after he escalated attacks over late Jeffrey Epsteins sex-trafficking case. Early Wednesday morning, Trump lashed out at his MAGA base over their uproar against his administrations handling of the so-called Epstein files. Tensions had ignited after the Justice Department and FBI concluded in a new memo that the disgraced financier did not keep a client list, blackmail public figures or was murdered in his jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019. While MAGA faithful and conspiracy theorists have demanded for the release of documents related to disgraced financiers case in recent years, Trump administration officials and the president himself have entertained the idea, pledging that they would make the files public. Trump has now appeared to change his tune, attempting to divert attention away from the new findings. On Tuesday, when asked by a reporter about why his own supporters were interested in the case, Trump said I dont understand. And on Wednesday, he sent daggers against his own base, claiming that he no longer wants support from those who are invested. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bullsh--, hook, line, and sinker. They havent learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years, Trump wrote on Truth Social. At a later press conference, he further addressed his post: Its perpetrated by the Democrats, and some stupid Republicans, and foolish Republicans, fall into the net. JUST IN: President Trump says people demanding the Jeffrey Epstein files be released are "stupid" and "foolish." Reporter: "You said this was a hoax. Has your attorney general told you this is a hoax?" Trump: "No, it is not the attorney general. It is started by Democrats. It pic.twitter.com/paJeql6MRi Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 16, 2025 A band of his supporters have taken issue with his response as many remain divided over whether they would continue to support him. Matt Walsh, a right-wing political commentator, criticized Trump for deciding to suddenly, after years of saying the opposite, that the Epstein files are a hoax, boring, they dont matter, and anyone who talks about them is a bad person. Hes entitled to his opinion. But the idea that conservatives are obligated to also change on a dime and adopt this new perspective along with him is just madness, Walsh wrote on X. Its not even possible. I cant just decide to not care about the issue even if I wanted to. And I dont want to, he continued. In a separate post, Walsh claimed that Yelling at me to stop talking about a subject is the number one way to make sure that I keep talking about the subject. Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has fallen from Trumps good graces following a public spat, responded to Walsh, questioning how zero further clients of Epstein have been prosecuted. Ghislaine Maxwell, Epsteins former socialite girlfriend, was separately charged and later convicted in 2021 of helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. If even a few of the very worst Epstein clients were to be prosecuted, that would be something, Musk wrote. Conservative political activist Riley Gaines, known for advocating against transgender women participating in womens sports, had also questioned the presidents recent remarks. Was it stupid & foolish when he campaigned on releasing the files? Are Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Dan Bongino, and Alina Habba all foolish & stupid for peddling this for the past 6 months? Gaines asked, adding, Why on earth is he doing this? Was it stupid & foolish when he campaigned on releasing the files? Are Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Dan Bongino, and Alina Habba all foolish & stupid for peddling this for the past 6 months? Why on earth is he doing this? https://t.co/LIQJSkTAX1 Riley Gaines (@Riley_Gaines_) July 16, 2025 The End Wokeness X account chimed in: Trump is making the Epstein saga worse for himself every single time he talks or posts something on it. I genuinely dont get it. Trisha Hope, who identifies as a Jan. 6 activist in her X bio, said that Trump called her and other supporters stupid, when they have spent a decade standing with him through thick and thin. Well maybe he is right because I feel pretty dumb for standing with him for all those years and I wont be doing it again, she wrote. Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones railed against Trump for excommunicating him, saying in a video that Youre not the Pope, Bro! In the video, he attached an edited image of Trump wearing a crown and sitting on a thrown, holding up a piece of paper that reads Anyone who disagrees with anything I say is BANISHED from my Cult! EXCLUSIVE: Alex Jones Responds To Trump Excommunicating Him- "You're Not The Pope, Bro!" pic.twitter.com/8xyQUAiVDC Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) July 16, 2025 And Victor Nieves, a conservative content creator, said that he accepts the presidents terms. You dont want my support, it wont be given, Nieves wrote. Im out. Others in the MAGA base have maintained that two things can be true at the same time: they support Trump, but believe that the Epstein files will not go away, regardless of Trumps insistence. People also really need to learn how to walk and chew gum at the same time, Laura Loomer, a far-right activist known to be an earpiece for the president, posted on X. President Trump is doing a lot of great things and we dont need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. But we cant just Truth Social the Epstein Files away, she added. MAGA podcaster Nick Sortor echoed similar concerns. You can support President Trump AND demand transparency in the Epstein case. Dont let people around here bully you into thinking you have to pick one or the other, Sortor wrote. TWO THINGS CAN BE TRUE: You can support President Trump AND demand transparency in the Epstein case. Dont let people around here bully you into thinking you have to pick one or the other. Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) July 16, 2025 Gunther Eagleman, the account of a Trump loyalist, replied: Its true... You can support Trump and want justice for the victims. In recent days, a band of Republican lawmakers, and Democrats alike, have also called for the release of the files, including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.). Lara Trump, the presidents daughter-in-law, said the White House needs more transparency in its handling of the investigation into the case. Meanwhile, House Republicans on Tuesday voted against a Democratic procedural maneuver aimed at pushing the DOJ to publish the files online within 30 days. The House, in a 211-210 vote, aligned along party lines. The motion would have hindered the GOPs legislative agenda for the day, making it difficult for Republicans to stand in support of it. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Former Vice President Mike Pence Mike Pence speaks at a luncheon hosted by the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission during a Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting Tuesday, June 11, 2024, in Indianapolis. (AP Photo/Doug McSchooler) AP Former Vice President Mike Pence joined the chorus of Republican voices demanding the release the files related to Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking case. In a Wednesday interview, Pence called on President Donald Trumps administration to release all the documents related to the Epstein case as MAGA world continues to melt down over the presidents reversal on it. Trump has tried to distract from the Epstein case in recent days, lashing out at his own supporters on Wednesday for their obsession with the documents. I think the time has come for the administration to release all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epsteins investigation and prosecution, Pence said in an interview with CBS News. Its important that we protect the names of the victims. They should be excluded from any disclosure. Former Vice President Mike Pence says "the time has come" for the Trump administration "to release all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein's investigation and prosecution." "Anyone who participated or was associated with this despicable man ought to be held up to public pic.twitter.com/d1Gj0doEWS CBS News (@CBSNews) July 16, 2025 Trumpdespite vowing to release all the Epstein files during his second termhas now dismissed the case as a hoax promoted by Democrats. He has told his MAGA base that he no longer wants their support if they continue to demand the Epstein files. Pence said he did not know why the administration is refusing to release the documents, pushing back on Trumps claims that the case is politically motivated. Jeffrey Epsteins prosecution began during the Bush administration, continued through the Obama years, he said. I know of no reason why this administration, once the victims names are protected, should not release all the files on Jeffrey Epstein. The drama surrounding the Epstein case escalated after the Justice Department released a memo earlier this month that concluded that the convicted sex offender had no client list and died by suicide in 2019. Far-right conspiracy theorists and MAGA loyalists have taken issue with the memo, saying that Trump officials should release the documents related to the case. Trump, members of his administration and conservative influencers have spread unsubstantiated claims surrounding Epstein for years. Conspiracy theories about Epsteins death are a popular trope in right-wing spheres, playing on Trumps repeated promises to reveal and dismantle the deep state a supposed secret network of powerful people manipulating government decisions behind the scenes. Trumps rivals have recently taken advantage of right-wing fissures over Epstein. Several Democratic lawmakers are calling for the release of all Epstein files and suggesting Trump could be resisting because he or someone close to him is featured in them. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Comedian Shane Gillis jabbed President Donald Trump amid the ongoing fiasco surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein documents. During his opening monologue at the ESPY Awards Wednesday night, Gillis joined a number of critics roasting Trump over his reversal on the Epstein files. MAGA loyalists have been outraged over the administrations handling of Epsteins sex trafficking case, with many conservatives questioning why officials have refused to release the documents related to the case. Gillis began his Trump joke with dark reference to the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, where many rioters called for the assassination of then-Vice President Mike Pence. Donald Trump wants to stage a UFC fight on the White House lawn. The last time he staged a fight in D.C., Mike Pence almost died, Gillis quipped as the audience laughed. You dont have to do that. It was fine. I didnt write it, he added. He then took a swipe at the Epstein scandal unfolding in the White House, mocking Trump for trying to distract Americans from the unseen documents. Actually, there was supposed to be an Epstein joke here, but I guess it got deleted. Probably deleted itself, right? Probably never existed. Actually, lets move on as a country and ignore that, Gillis said as the audience laughed. Trump has been urging the media and his supporters to stop talking about the Epstein case after the Justice Department released a memo last week claiming that the convicted sex offender had no client list and committed suicide in 2019. On Wednesday, Trump seemed fed up with the obsession over Epstein and told his MAGA base to stop supporting him as they continued to demand the case files. Trump suggested last year that he was considering releasing information about the Epstein case if he won a second term. In February, the Justice Department released some government documents regarding the case, but there were no new revelations. Then, earlier this month, it acknowledged that a months-long review of additional evidence in the governments possession had not revealed a list of clients and said no more files related to the case other than a video meant to prove that Epstein killed himself would be made public. The announcement led to outcry from Trump supporters. Attorney General Pam Bondi appeared to intimate in a Fox News interview in February that a client list was sitting on my desk to be reviewed for release. She said last week that she was referring to the Epstein case file generally, as opposed to an actual client list. Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino then had a contentious conversation at the White House as backlash grew to the Justice Departments decision to withhold records. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. President Donald Trump has come under fire from his own MAGA base. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) AP As MAGA world continues to obsess over the Jeffrey Epstein files, President Donald Trump, who appears to want no part, directed his ire at an unexpected target: his own base. The president and administration officials have faced intense backlash from his own loyalists and far-right conspiracy theorists over their handling of a new memo tied to Epsteins sex-trafficking case after they had repeatedly vowed to make all files public. Trump appeared to fan the flames even further, calling his own voters weaklings and saying that he no longer wants their support if they continue to entertain the case. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bulls---, hook, line, and sinker. They havent learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Wednesday. In later comments to reporters at the White House, Trump railed against stupid and foolish Republicans who fall into the net, baselessly claiming that Democrats are responsible for the files. But now, some of his most ardent supporters do not seem to buy into his response, leaving some to speculate about his motives. Luke Rudkowski, a right-wing internet personality, posted a new claim on X on Wednesday. WHAT IF. Donald Trump is being held hostage right now and forced to do these things? Rudkowski, who first rose to prominence as the leader of the 9/11 Truther movement in New York, wrote. Do you think thats a plausible theory? he added. WHAT IF. Donald Trump is being held hostage right now and forced to do these things? Do you think thats a plausible theory? Luke Rudkowski (@Lukewearechange) July 16, 2025 His post was filled with replies of both division and support. I think it is definitely Plausible, one user responded, adding that some of Trumps top officials were all gung-ho and happy and then all of the sudden it looked as if they all saw ghosts. Something weird is going on, they continued. Someone said that Its called blackmail and yes. Sure, its possible. If we believe theres a deep state and they were running Epstein theres no reason to not believe they could still be calling the shots, a different user posted. Another user, however, blasted the post: Are you really this f------ stupid? Nevermind. The answer is evident. Damn. Jon Favreau, a co-host of the podcast Pod Save America, also swooped in: I can certainly see why that would feel more plausible than the idea that Trump would tell his most loyal supporters that if they dont stop asking questions about the campaign promise hes refusing to keep, he no longer wants their support. And yet, thats exactly what he did. The outrage in MAGA world was first ignited after the Justice Department and FBI released a memo earlier this month that concluded Epstein did not keep a client list or blackmailed public figures. It also signaled that the convicted sex offender committed suicide in his jail cell while awaiting trial in 2019. Some of Trumps most loyal supporters, for years, have called on the federal government to release documents related to the Epstein case, as many have speculated about the cause of Epsteins death and whether others should be implicated. As Trump has flip-flopped on his promise to do so. many in his base are now questioning why. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down on President Donald Trumps claim that the scrutiny surrounding the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking case was a hoax. Leavitt had to navigate a tough room of reporters demanding answers on Thursday about the Trump administrations handling of Epsteins case. When asked what part of the Epstein situation was a hoax, Leavitt blamed Democrats and the media for the outcry over the documents. The president is referring to the fact that Democrats have now seized on this as if they ever wanted transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, which is an asinine suggestion for any Democrat to make. The Democrats had control of this building the White House for four years, and they didnt do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes, Leavitt responded. Reporter: The president called it a hoax. Which part of the Epstein Hoax is the hoax part? Leavitt: The president is referring to the fact Democrats have now seized on this The president has been transparent and followed through on his promises to the American people. pic.twitter.com/K0VoQF8X6i Acyn (@Acyn) July 17, 2025 Ahead of the 2024 election, Trump repeatedly vowed to release all the documents related to Epsteins sex trafficking case. However, the Justice Department has recently indicated that there will be no further documentation released in connection with Epstein. Leavitt continued to praise the president for directing the Justice Department to review all the files related to the case before taking a swipe at Democrats and the media. It was this president who directed the Department of Justice and the Attorney General to do an exhaustive review of all files related to Jeffrey Epstein, which they did the Attorney General and the FBI led by Pam Bondi, Dan Bongino, Kash Patel. These are great patriots, some of the most trusted voices in the Republican Party movement, she said. And so the President has been transparent. He has followed through on his promises to the American people, but he doesnt like to see Democrats in the mainstream media covering this like its the biggest story that the American people care about. The president has been working so hard this week, she added. She also emphasized that Trump will not be appointing a special prosecutor in the Epstein case. Leavitt: The president would not recommend special prosecutor in the Epstein case. Thats how he feels. pic.twitter.com/pvQ9OqWEhG Acyn (@Acyn) July 17, 2025 Trump has tried to distance himself from the Epstein fiasco, telling the media and his own supporters to stop talking about the convicted sex offender. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump lashed out at his own supporters and claimed that the scandal around the Epstein files was a hoax. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker. They havent learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years, Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. However, Trumps comments have only further enraged his MAGA base. The drama in MAGA world began after the Justice Department released a memo earlier this month that concluded Epstein had no client list and committed suicide in his jail cell. The memo sparked outrage from Americans on both sides of the aisle, with many of Trumps supporters demanding to see the documents related to the case. For years, some of Trumps most loyal supporters have demanded that the federal government release documents related to the Epstein case. Now, many MAGA supporters have questioned why Trump has flip-flopped on his promise to release the Epstein files. Trump suggested last year that he was considering releasing information about the Epstein case if he won a second term. In February, the Justice Department released some government documents regarding the case, but there were no new revelations. Then, earlier this month, it acknowledged that a months-long review of additional evidence in the governments possession had not revealed a list of clients and said no more files related to the case other than a video meant to prove that Epstein killed himself would be made public. The announcement led to outcry from Trump supporters. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. FORT RUCKER-With the ceremonial casing of the old and uncasing of the new military installation colors, the Home of Army Aviation officially returned to the name Fort Rucker during a Post Redesignation Ceremony Thursday morning. This is a unique moment in the history of the Wiregrass as the namesake of this installation returns to something familiar, but the honor falls to a different individual, said Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker Commander Maj. Gen. Clair A. Gill as he welcomed civilians from neighboring communities and soldiers to the ceremony at the Army Aviation Museum. How it began The military installation in Dale County opened as opened as Camp Rucker May 1, 1942. It was deactivated for a period of time before reopening as Fort Rucker in October 1955. It remained Fort Rucker until the Army Naming Commission recommendation to change it to Fort Novosel. Army Naming Commission Under the previous presidential administration, a federal Army Naming Commission was established to recommended name changes for the nine U.S. military installations that were named to commemorate the Confederate States of America or a person who voluntarily served the Confederacy during the Civil War. Their recommendation was delivered to Congress by Oct. 1, 2022, and included the costs of removing and changing the names. The commissions request for public input drew more than 34,000 submissions of 3,670 unique names. The renaming process was to be implemented no later than Jan. 1, 2024. Fort Rucker was to be redesignated Fort Novosel. CWO 4 Michael Novosel Sr. In 2023, the post name officially changed to Fort Novosel in honor of Enterprise resident Michael Novosel Sr., a Medal of Honor recipient and 44-year veterans of World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. He died in 2006. The installation will continue to honor his legacy, courage, and leadership, Gill said after the most recent name change back to Fort Rucker was first announced. CW4 Mike Novosels heroism in battle, his unwavering dedication, and his commitment to the mission will forever be etched in this installations history. His legacy remains a symbol of excellence, of who we want our young aviators to emulate. The name Novosel will continue to live on in the hearts and minds of us in Army Aviation, Gill said at Thursdays Post Resignation Ceremony, calling Novosel a man of true character and valor. DoD General Order 2025-18 Fort Novosels name change back to Fort Rucker was announced by President Donald Trump in remarks made during a June 10 speech at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. Fort Novosel was among nine whose name changes became reality after a report from the Army Naming Commission was approved by Congress in 2022. We won a lot of battles out of those forts and its not time to change, Trump told the crowd assembled at Fort Bragg. In accordance with Department of the Army General Order 2025-18, Fort Novosel will be officially renamed Fort Rucker in honor of Captain Edward W. Rucker, an aviator in the US Army Air Service who was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for extraordinary heroism during a mission near Luneville, France on June 13, 1918, during World War I, said Gill in a statement following Trumps directive. Col. Edmund W. Rucker Fort Rucker was originally named for Confederate Col. Edmund W. Rucker, a brigade commander during the Civil War who fought at Chickamauga, Franklin, and Nashville. After the war, he was an industrial figure in Birmingham. He died in 1924. Capt. Edward W. Rucker The posts new namesake is Capt. Edward W. Rucker, a Missouri native who was called into service in 1916 and saw action in France during World War I. He was credited with helping to down several German planes near Luneville, France, on June 13, 1918. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross along with 21 other officers and enlisted men, as well as the Croix de Guerre with palm. Flying deep behind enemy lines, then-1st Lt. Rucker and his fellow aviators engaged a numerically superior enemy force in a daring aerial battle over France, disrupting enemy movements and completing their mission against overwhelming odds, the Army said in a statement last month. After World War I, he relocated to New York before moving to St. Louis. He died in 1945. Capt. Rucker was more than an aviator. He was a warrior, an aviation pioneer, and a testament to the courage that defines Army Aviation, said Gill. In the heat of battle, he flew with unwavering resolve, facing danger head-on, proving that true heroism is found in the willingness to risk everything for mission and comrades. His legacy is not just in the skies he conquered, but in the fearless determination and bold vision that every Army aviator must embody. Other installations renamed Other military installation renamed by the 2022 naming commission were Fort Benning, Georgia, renamed Fort Moore after Lt. Gen. Hal and Julia Moore; Fort Bragg, North Carolina, renamed Fort Liberty after the value of liberty; Fort Gordon, Georgia, renamed Fort Eisenhower after General of the Army Dwight Eisenhower; Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia, renamed Fort Walker after Dr. Mary Walker; Fort Hood, Texas, renamed Fort Cavazos after Gen. Richard Cavazos; Fort Lee, Virginia, renamed Fort Gregg-Adams after Lt. Gen. Arthur Gregg and Lt. Col. Charity Adams; and Fort Polk, Louisiana, renamed Fort Johnson after Sgt. William Henry Johnson. 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. When Saint John relocated from the French Quarter to downtown last year, it inherited a beautiful new bar space with windows overlooking the passing streetcars. Ive been coming here for years, in one iteration or another, going way back to when it was part of a cabaret called Le Chat Noir and this space was the green room. Im glad its back as part of Eric Cooks modern Creole restaurant. The happy hour has dishes that can be served up fast; and theyre different from the regular menu selections. Crudo ($10) is not a normal happy hour dish, but heres a daily-changing version. This version was a petite, tapas-sized snack of cubed tuna dressed with aioli, cool and freshly flavorful. A day after the City of Oakdale police chief was indicted by federal prosecutors for helping grant hundreds of fraudulent visas, his wife is also in jail, accused of conspiring with the same convenience store owner to commit fraud. Louisiana State Police announced the arrest of 50-year-old Alison Doyle on Thursday, a former Oakdale City Employee and wife of Chad Doyle, for alleged unethical conduct in the Municipal property bidding process. Sound engineer Tony Daigle runs the sound board as Amis du Teche performs in Cypress Lake Studios at KRVS Thursday, June 20, 2024, in Lafayette, La. Their live performance is one of several being recorded at the studio as part of an Acadiana music spotlight project organized in partnership with the national radio program World Cafe, which is produced by WXPN in Philadelphia. The COSBOA National Small Business Summit features female founders and policy leaders discussing the support systems needed for Australias growing number of women-led enterprises. At this years COSBOA National Small Business Summit, taking place August 19-20 in Melbourne, the spotlight shines brightly on some of Australias most courageous and visionary female business leaders. The economic landscape may be challenging, but these women are not just surviving, they are thriving and reshaping the entire small business ecosystem. Founder stories The Trailblazers & Game-Changers: The Female Founders session brings together three dynamic entrepreneurs who have turned personal experiences into profitable ventures. Alex Cannizzaro from Platform Zero, Hailey Brown from Vacayit, and Rosie Dumbrell from Everform Therapywear will share their unfiltered experiences of building and scaling businesses in todays demanding economic environment. Their stories are real, raw, and will deeply resonate with anyone working to improve the small business environment in Australia. From ideas sparked by lived experience, to the long road of resilience and growth, these founders are breaking down barriers and paving the way for others to follow. This session will challenge assumptions, highlight structural gaps, and offer a unique perspective on the support systems Australias entrepreneurs need to thrive. Policy leaders The session represents just one example of how the 2025 Summit showcases the strength, innovation and influence of women in small business. Across the two-day program, female leaders are taking center stage to address the sectors most pressing challenges. Lynda McAlary-Smith, Victorian Small Business Commissioner, Dominique Lamb, Queensland Small Business Commissioner, Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness, National Cyber Security Coordinator at Home Affairs, Anna Booth, Fair Work Ombudsman, Georgie Harman, CEO of Beyond Blue, Sarah Carney, Chief Technologist at Microsoft, Natalie Piucco, Chief Technologist for Google Cloud, and Amanda Hutton, Group Executive at Telstra, will share their insights on policy, regulation, digital opportunity and workforce inclusion. Industry transformation For association leaders, policymakers and business advocates, the conversation is clear: the future of small business in Australia must include systems that uplift and support women-led enterprises. The numbers tell a compelling story of growth and potential that cannot be ignored. Womens contribution to small business continues to expand, supported by evidence from the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman (ASBFEO) who shared earlier this year that approximately 35% of small businesses in Australia are owned or led by women, a figure that has doubled since the 1970s. As the sector prepares for new economic challenges and the next federal election cycle, the 2025 COSBOA National Small Business Summit serves as the essential forum to hear directly from the changemakers who are shaping whats next. These women are not just participating in the conversation, they are leading it. Join us August 19-20 at the Park Hyatt Melbourne to be part of the discussion and the solutions driving small business success across the country. Register and learn more: www.cosboansbs.com.au Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Theres a Flash Flood Season, and This Is It Cumulative rainfall 1 2 3 5 10+ inches Wash. N.D. Mont. Ore. Minn. Idaho S.D. Wis. N.Y. Wyo. Mich. Pa. Iowa Neb. Nev. Ohio Utah Ill. Ind. Colo. Va. Kan. Mo. Calif. Ky. N.C. Tenn. Ariz. Okla. Ark. N.M. S.C. Ga. Ala. Miss. Texas La. Fla. Texas floods Tropical Storm Chantal Urban flooding in Chicago Burn scar flooding Wash. Maine Mont. N.D. Minn. Vt. Ore. N.H. Idaho S.D. Mass. N.Y. Wis. Conn. Wyo. Mich. Pa. Iowa N.J. Neb. Nev. Ohio Utah Ind. Ill. Colo. W.Va. Va. Kan. Mo. Calif. Ky. N.C. Tenn. Ariz. Okla. S.C. Ark. N.M. Ga. Ala. Miss. La. Texas Fla. Texas floods Tropical Storm Chantal Urban flooding in Chicago Burn scar flooding Wash. Mont. Maine N.D. Minn. Vt. Ore. N.H. Idaho Mass. S.D. N.Y. Wis. Conn. Wyo. Mich. Pa. Iowa Neb. N.J. Nev. Ohio Ill. Utah Ind. Colo. W.Va. Va. Kan. Mo. Calif. Ky. N.C. Tenn. Ariz. Okla. S.C. Ark. N.M. Ga. Miss. Ala. La. Texas Fla. Texas floods Tropical Storm Chantal Urban flooding in Chicago Burn scar flooding Sources: NOAA/Unrestricted Mesoscale Analysis (URMA) Note: Cumulative rainfall is from July 3 to July 9, 2025. All times are Central. There have been multiple flash floods across the United States since the start of July, including a deadly torrent of water that rushed through Central Texas, and others that led to emergencies in New Mexico, North Carolina and Chicago. Each was unique. Each happened in a few hours. Each occurred at the time of year weather experts call flash flood month. About three out of every four flash floods annually occur from late April to mid-September. The most tend to happen from the end of June to the beginning of August, said Alex Lamers, a meteorologist with the Weather Prediction Center, an arm of the National Weather Service. This is because the main ingredients for flash flooding are most common during the middle of summer, when temperatures are highest. The heat helps the air to hold more water vapor, and the steering currents for storm systems generally are far to the north, so thunderstorms tend to move very slowly. That combination is a perfect recipe for heavy rain, Mr. Lamers said. The New York Times examined four flash floods in one July week: the devastation that killed more than 130 people in Central Texas; the remnants of a tropical storm in North Carolina; the scarred earth around Ruidoso, N.M.; and a small thunderstorm in Chicago that dumped water across city sidewalks. These four events share a profile common to nearly all flash floods, including those across New York City on Monday night: an abundance of warm, moist air in the atmosphere, slow-moving storms and surfaces so impermeable they leave the rainfall nowhere to go when it hits the ground. In Texas, a Rain Bomb Hits Limestone The terrain in Central Texas was a significant factor in the 30-foot wall of water that rushed through the Hill Country in the early hours of July 4. More than 130 people were killed. Cumulative rainfall 1 2 3 5 10+ inches Main rock Limestone, dolostone Sands, gravels Sources: NOAA/Unrestricted Mesoscale Analysis (rainfall); USGS/Generalized lithology for the conterminous United States Note: Cumulative rainfall is from July 3 to July 9, 2025. The atmosphere over this part of Texas the night before was primed with water vapor as the remnants of Tropical Storm Barry, which had hit Mexico days earlier, lingered over the state. The amount of rain that fell that night 10 or more inches in 12 hours had about a 1 percent chance of occurring in any given year. By the end of the weekend, some places were closer to two feet. Troy Kimmel, a meteorologist in the area, described what happened there as a rain bomb. The water ran downhill very quickly, he said, through limestone rock layers with just an inch or two of topsoil. The water could not soak into the limestone, so it ran off the hills more quickly, he said. Central Texas has seen multiple rounds of storms since that night, some resulting in more flooding. So far this month, some areas have recorded more than 20 inches of rainfall. North Carolina Soil Cant Soak In the Rain In North Carolina, the remnants of a sluggish tropical storm named Chantal moved slowly across the state after it made landfall in South Carolina early in the morning of July 6. The storm dumped anywhere from five to almost 13 inches of rain in just 12 hours. In a small area, a foot of rain inundated homes, closed highways, trapped drivers and pushed rivers up to near historic levels. Cumulative rainfall 1 2 3 5 10+ inches Main rock Limestone, dolostone Sands, gravels Sources: NOAA/Unrestricted Mesoscale Analysis (rainfall); U.S. Geological Survey/Generalized lithology for the conterminous United States Note: Cumulative rainfall is from July 3 to July 9, 2025. That rainfall was about five times the amount of precipitation that the area would typically see during a week in July, said Dan Leins, a meteorologist from the Weather Service office in Raleigh. It could have been much worse in the area, he said. When Hurricane Helene brought torrential rain to the state last year, it fell in the mountains of western North Carolina, where it all channeled into creeks and rivers. On July 6, Mr. Leins said, it fell in the Piedmont area of North Carolina, a plateau sandwiched between those mountains and the flat sandy landscape of the eastern part of the state. There, the water can often more easily soak into the claylike soil before it becomes saturated, he said. But this month, with a foot of water falling in a very short time, even there it led to flash flooding. Like Texas, this area of North Carolina has had more rounds of heavy rain since that week, leading to additional warnings as precipitation falls on still-saturated ground. New Mexico Burn Scars Made Flooding More Likely On the afternoon of July 8 in southern New Mexico, where packed dirt resembled concrete, a stretch of the Rio Ruidoso rose to a near record, taking homes off their foundations. It was another slow-moving storm, but it dropped just three inches of rain in a short time. The rain fell first over the mountains and then followed the river down a valley, causing the river to quickly swell to over 20 feet, right through the town of Ruidoso. At least three people were killed. Cumulative rainfall 1 2 3 5 10+ inches Flooding in Ruidoso Extent of recent fires Sources: NOAA/Unrestricted Mesoscale Analysis (rainfall); National Interagency Fire Center (fire perimeters) Cumulative rainfall is from July 3 to July 9, 2025. Fire perimeters are as of July 13, 2025. The town is surrounded by ground that has been scorched by wildfires in the past few years, making it more vulnerable to flash flooding, said Todd Shoemake, a meteorologist from the Weather Service office in Albuquerque. The wildfires have significantly altered the soils characteristics, removing a lot of vegetation and undergrowth, which means flash flooding can occur with even a minimal trigger. The soil just cant absorb the water, Mr. Shoemake said. Because of this, forecasters in the area begin to issue warnings anytime they get just half an inch of rain, Mr. Shoemake said. I think it probably would have only taken two- or three-tenths of an inch to produce flash flooding that day, he said. It was the third day of rainfall. The burn scars were already saturated with what little rain they could absorb. Chicagos Urban Landscape Gave Water Nowhere to Go In Chicago, later on July 8, a smaller thunderstorm released two to five inches of rain, half of what some 12-hour totals in North Carolina and Texas reached. Yet it still produced flash flooding, and that was because this tiny thunderstorm crawled across an urban environment made of concrete. Like limestone, concrete does not give water anywhere to soak in, and it can quickly cause flash flooding in populated metro areas. In Chicago, it also came down fast; one weather station in the region recorded five inches of rain falling in just 90 minutes. Cumulative rainfall 1 2 3 5 10+ inches Flooding in Chicago Impervious surface Sources: NOAA/Unrestricted Mesoscale Analysis (rainfall); U.S. Geological Survey/National Land Cover Database (impervious surface) Note: Cumulative rainfall is from July 3 to July 9, 2025. Similar scenes of urban flooding unfolded in New York City this week, when a thunderstorm delivered a record-breaking amount of rain to the city in a very short period of time. From 6:51 to 7:51 p.m. on Monday, Central Park recorded 2.07 inches of rainfall, making it the second-wettest hour ever recorded in the city. It is not possible to draw a connection between a single thunderstorm or flash flood and climate change in real time. But climate change is already causing heavier rainfall in many storms, and the warmer the atmosphere gets, the more moisture it is capable of holding, and then releasing. The United States and other parts of the world have already seen an increase in the frequency of extreme rainstorms as the world warms. After they met in early 2021, it didnt take long for Rahul Barua and Winnie Wong to decide that they were in it for the long haul. By mid-year, they were already looking for a place to live. We met later in life and we just knew we were going to be a thing, said Mr. Barua, 40, director of climate finance innovation at Salesforce. After only like three or four months of being together, we started. [Did you recently buy a home? We want to hear from you. Email: thehunt@nytimes.com] The couple, based in Los Angeles, initially looked for a home in Southern California. But when a wildfire ravaged an area where theyd recently been camping, doubts began to creep in. That summer, they visited the East Coast on a road trip through the Hudson Valley, Vermont and Connecticut. It was Ms. Wongs first time in Connecticut, but Mr. Barua had grown up in West Hartford, Conn., where his parents still owned a rental property. The house was in rough shape, so Mr. Barua and Ms. Wong tackled the project themselves, living in the house while refurbishing it. For three to four months, we spent every single night, every single weekend renovating while we worked our full-time remote jobs, said Ms. Wong, 41, a former freelance film producer and now the marketing and communications director for a nonprofit that supports contemporary artists. Trump Insists the Epstein Case Is a Hoax. Heres What His Supporters Say. Called out Trump specifically Said no further action was necessary Blamed forces outside of the Trump administration Blamed or put pressure on the Trump administration Blamed or put pressure on the Trump administration Called out Trump specifically Blamed forces outside of the Trump administration Said no further action was necessary The crimes and death of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges, have long fed conspiracy theories among some of President Trumps most ardent supporters. Their interest has reached a crescendo over the past week, after the Trump administration abruptly reversed course on its pledge to disclose previously unknown details about the investigation into Mr. Epstein. In an unsigned memo, the Justice Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation said their investigation turned up no evidence that Mr. Epstein kept a client list or blackmailed notable people, and confirmed that Mr. Epstein died by suicide. Nearly all of the influential right-wing figures speaking out about the case seem to agree that more information needs to be released. Their demands are often accompanied by blame for mishandling the case, aimed at a wide array of figures they deem responsible. Here is a breakdown of where the president and more than 30 of his most prominent supporters have fallen on the issue, as of Wednesday afternoon. Viewpoint: The Justice Departments investigation was complete, and no further action is necessary. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi Dep. F.B.I. Dir. Dan Bongino Dinesh DSouza F.B.I. Dir. Kash Patel President Trump Attorney General Pam Bondi Deputy F.B.I. Director Dan Bongino F.B.I. Director Kash Patel President Trump This is the official stance of the Justice Department itself as well as the F.B.I., which falls under its purview as indicated in the memo released last week. The memo was unsigned, but those who have been expected to answer for it have included Attorney General Pam Bondi, F.B.I. Director Kash Patel and his deputy director, Dan Bongino. Last year, before Mr. Trump was re-elected, Mr. Bongino had cast doubt over the case, saying, I dont trust any story they tell me about Jeffrey Epstein. There is a reason this client list is hidden. The Epstein case also gave rise to an angry confrontation between Ms. Bondi and Mr. Bongino, according to officials close to the situation. Mr. Trump himself has also attempted to turn down the volume on the topic, defending Ms. Bondi in a post on Truth Social that encouraged readers to not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. Many of the thousands of replies to Mr. Trumps Truth Social post overwhelmingly disagreed with him a rarity on the presidents own platform. Donald J. Trump @realDonaldTrump Whats going on with my boys and, in some cases, gals? Theyre all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! Were on one Team, MAGA, and I dont like whats happening. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and selfish people are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein. For years, its Epstein, over and over again. Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration, who conned the World with the Russia, Russia, Russia Hoax, 51 Intelligence Agents, THE LAPTOP FROM HELL, and more? They created the Epstein Files, just like they created the FAKE Hillary Clinton/Christopher Steele Dossier that they used on me, and now my so-called friends are playing right into their hands. Why didnt these Radical Left Lunatics release the Epstein Files? If there was ANYTHING in there that could have hurt the MAGA Movement, why didnt they use it? They havent even given up on the John F. Kennedy or Martin Luther King, Jr. Files. No matter how much success we have had, securing the Border, deporting Criminals, fixing the Economy, Energy Dominance, a Safer World where Iran will not have Nuclear Weapons, its never enough for some people. We are about to achieve more in 6 months than any other Administration has achieved in over 100 years, and we have so much more to do. We are saving our Country and, MAKING AMERICA GREAT AGAIN, which will continue to be our complete PRIORITY. The Left is imploding! Kash Patel, and the FBI, must be focused on investigating Voter Fraud, Political Corruption, ActBlue, The Rigged and Stolen Election of 2020, and arresting Thugs and Criminals, instead of spending month after month looking at nothing but the same old, Radical Left inspired Documents on Jeffrey Epstein. LET PAM BONDI DO HER JOB SHES GREAT! The 2020 Election was Rigged and Stolen, and they tried to do the same thing in 2024 Thats what she is looking into as AG, and much more. One year ago our Country was DEAD, now its the HOTTEST Country anywhere in the World. Lets keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. Thank you for your attention to this matter! Despite the overall reaction to Mr. Trumps post, at least one of his influential supporters seemed satisfied with the official narrative. Dinesh DSouza, a right-wing commentator who directed a film that spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election, agreed with Mr. Trump that it was time to focus on more pressing matters. On Tuesday, Mr. Trump reiterated that he did not understand the fascination with Mr. Epstein, but also said Ms. Bondi should release whatever she thinks is credible on the case. On Wednesday, he went even further and said he no longer wanted the support of those who believed what he called the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. Viewpoint: The Trump administration is responsible for a perceived lack of transparency about the Epstein case. Rep. Mark Alford Glenn Beck Rep. Tim Burchett Rep. Eric Burlison Rep. Kat Cammack Tucker Carlson Mike Cernovich Rep. Eli Crane Michael T. Flynn Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Benny Johnson Speaker Mike Johnson Alex Jones Sen. John Kennedy Charlie Kirk Laura Loomer Rep. Anna Paulina Luna Rep. Nancy Mace Rogan OHandley (DC Draino) Jack Posobiec Chad Prather Rep. Keith Self Matt Walsh Liz Wheeler Representative Mark Alford Glenn Beck Representative Tim Burchett Representative Eric Burlison Representative Kat Cammack Tucker Carlson Mike Cernovich Representative Eli Crane Dinesh DSouza Michael Flynn Representative Marjorie Taylor Benny Johnson Speaker Mike Johnson Alex Jones Senator John Kennedy Charlie Kirk Laura Loomer Representative Anna Paulina Luna Representative Nancy Mace Rogan OHandley (DC Draino) Jack Posobiec Chad Prather Representative Keith Self Matt Walsh Liz Wheeler The initial backlash among many of the MAGA faithful, including Republican elected officials and right-wing media figures and other influencers, focused primarily on Ms. Bondi, who had already lost credibility with the base after previously hyping a release of documents related to the Epstein case that ultimately revealed little new information. Mr. Trump himself mostly dodged their opprobrium. (Last month, though, some renewed interest in the Epstein case came after Elon Musks messy falling-out with the president culminated in Mr. Musk accusing Mr. Trump, in a now-deleted post on X, of being named in the F.B.I.s files.) In the days since, many of Mr. Trumps supporters have remained quick to criticize the administrations stance that theres nothing left to uncover regarding the Epstein case while stopping short of calling out or blaming the president himself. Laura Loomer, a far-right influencer, has long called on Ms. Bondi to resign while absolving Mr. Trump of any responsibility. Laura Loomer @LauraLoomer Metadata Shows the FBIs Raw Jeffrey Epstein Prison Video Was Likely Modified More of a reason for Blondi to resign. She should just be FIRED. Trump can like her, but surely he knows shes bringing him chaos. She is harming his spectacular image. Charlie Kirk, Jack Posobiec and Benny Johnson, who host popular MAGA podcasts, have all pushed back aggressively on the official narrative, urging more transparency and casting doubt on the Justice Department memos contention that there is nothing left to release. Complicating matters, Mr. Kirk also caused a mini-uproar when he told listeners on Monday that he was done talking about the Epstein case and would trust his friends in the administration. He later said that his words had been misinterpreted and taken out of context and he has continued to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, Mr. Johnson said on X that he, Mr. Kirk and other powerful MAGA voices should be credited with moving the administration to change its approach. Benny Johnson @bennyjohnson Just got off the phone with top federal law enforcement contact. The change in approach to Epstein has been dramatic. Expect more disclosures. Some very powerful people inside Admin are now pushing for a Special Counsel and a full press briefing on Epstein findings. Important to note, this drastic change happened after @charliekirk11 and a number of other powerful MAGA Voices pushed back on the handling of the Epstein case this weekend at the Turning Point conference. They were met with massive roars and applause from the 7000 gathered that could not be ignored. In short: Our voices are being heard, power to the people Numerous Republican members of Congress have blamed or called for more transparency from Ms. Bondi or other members of the Trump administration, including Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, and Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Anna Paulina Luna of Florida, Mark Alford of Missouri, Keith Self of Texas, Eric Burlison of Missouri, Kat Cammack of Florida, Eli Crane of Arizona, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Tim Burchett of Tennessee. Others in this group include conservative influencers like Rogan OHandley, Matt Walsh, Glenn Beck, Liz Wheeler, Alex Jones, Chad Prather, Mike Cernovich, Tucker Carlson and Michael T. Flynn. Viewpoint: Mr. Trump himself bears some share of the responsibility. Roseanne Barr Tucker Carlson Glenn Beck Mike Cernovich Michael Flynn David Freiheit (Viva Frei) Alex Jones Elon Musk Chad Prather Wayne Allyn Root Roseanne Barr Tucker Carlson Glenn Beck Mike Cernovich Michael Flynn David Freiheit (Viva Frei) Alex Jones Elon Musk Chad Prather Wayne Allyn Root Most of Mr. Trumps biggest supporters are loath to raise questions about his actions, so it is notable that a number of them have called Mr. Trump out directly when it comes to the Epstein case. Mostly, they have done so delicately and with respectful language, treating their concerns as appeals to the president rather than criticisms of him. For instance, Wayne Allyn Root, a conservative TV and radio host, posted an entreaty to just release the files, preceded by hyperbolic praise. Wayne Root - Wayne Allyn Root - TV & Radio Host @RealWayneRoot Trump did something GREAT yesterday...but he still has to deal with Epstein. It's clear Epstein is not going away. Best 6 months for any president in history. Everything he's doing is fantastic. Why risk it all on this stupid file? Just release it. Similarly, Michael T. Flynn, who served as national security adviser for a spell in Mr. Trumps first administration and remains close to him, urged the president in a post on X to get ahead of the public interest in the case, but also assured him that we want to support every bit of your fight to save America. General Mike Flynn @GenFlynn @realDonaldTrump this is why I said the EPSTEIN AFFAIR is not going away anytime soon. Get ahead of this. We want to support every bit of your fight to save America, none more than me. CHILDREN WILL NOT BE ABUSED BY ANYONE. No category nor any class of people should ever get away with abusing CHILDREN. Enough is enough. ACCOUNTABILITY is coming either here on earth or at the Gates of Hell, which is where I will be waiting for those who abuse a child. For @LeaderJohnThune @SpeakerJohnson Get your troops in line immediately!!! Others were less measured. Alex Jones, the conspiracy theorist and radio host, asked on X, Why is 47 making the worst moves of his tenure in the last 9 years? (Mr. Jones has also questioned the administrations actions and blamed outside forces.) The actress Roseanne Barr, one of Mr. Trumps most loyal supporters, told the president to read the damn room. Those who have called out Mr. Trump personally also included Elon Musk and David Freiheit, an influencer who goes by the handle Viva Frei, as well as Glenn Beck and the right-wing commentators Mike Cernovich and Chad Prather, who also called for greater transparency from the Justice Department. Viewpoint: Forces outside the administration are responsible for gaps in public understanding of the Epstein case. Stephen K. Bannon Roseanne Barr Rep. Tim Burchett Dinesh DSouza Tucker Carlson Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene Alex Jones Jack Posobiec Roger Stone President Trump Steve Bannon Roseanne Barr Representative Tim Burchett Dinesh DSouza Tucker Carlson Representative. Marjorie Taylor Greene Alex Jones Jack Posobiec Roger Stone President Donald J. Trump Some of Mr. Trumps supporters have looked further afield for explanation, opining that Mr. Trump and his administration are not (or are not solely) responsible for the unmet public interest in Mr. Epsteins case. In many instances, these statements began to look like new conspiracy-theory threads. Roger Stone, a longtime adviser to Mr. Trump, said without evidence on Sunday that the Justice Department under the Biden administration had destroyed evidence relating to the case. Roger Stone @RogerJStoneJr When Kash Patel, our FBI Director, tells us there are no Epstein records even though we saw with our own eyes that DVDs and hard drives were seized from Epsteins properties hes telling us the truth. I believe that evidence was destroyed by Christopher Wray and Bidens DOJ. Some influential figures blamed both Mr. Trump or his administration and others outside it. Tucker Carlson, for instance, has been critical of Ms. Bondis handling of the case and has pushed back against Mr. Trumps efforts to tamp down on questions. At a public appearance over the weekend, he also strongly implied Mr. Epstein was engaged in spycraft on behalf of the Israeli government. (Naftali Bennett, the former Israeli prime minister, called Mr. Carlsons claim categorically and totally false.) Mr. Trump himself has also been pushing unfounded theories about the Epstein files, including saying that they were a fraudulent creation by former President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other liberal figures. Others advancing theories about entities outside of the administration include Stephen K. Bannon, the Trump adviser turned influential podcast host; Marjorie Taylor Greene; Tim Burchett; Roseanne Barr; Jack Posobiec; and Dinesh DSouza. How Every Senator Voted on Bid to Cancel Foreign Aid and Public Media Funding Measure passed with 51 yes votes to 48 no votes. Vote Total Democrats Dem. Republicans Rep. Bar chart of total votes Yes 51 0 51 Needed to pass No 48 46 2 Yes Needed to pass No The Senate voted 51 to 48 to claw back about $9 billion in federal funding that lawmakers had approved for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The so-called rescissions were made at the request of the White House, which has sought to codify spending cuts put forward by Elon Musks cost-cutting effort, the Department of Government Efficiency. The House voted to implement the cuts last week, though the Senate stripped out a $400 million cut to the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR. The bill will need to go back to the House for final approval. How Every Senator Voted Canada Goose Holdings, maker of luxury parkas and outwear, has signed on APCO to handle issues related to trade. CEO Dani Reiss expects the company will experience minimal impact from Donald Trumps tariffs against Canada. Thats because 75 percent of Canada Gooses production is compliant with the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement and is exempt from tariffs. Canada Goose reported a robust financial performance during fiscal 2025 as net income soared 78 percent to $75M on flat sales of $950M Reiss promised to build on that momentum in fiscal 2026 by continuing to execute bolder marketing initiatives, expand and enhance the product offering and elevate consumer experience. He withheld financial guidance for the full year due to ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty and dynamic consumer spending patterns brought on by the unpredictable global trade environment. APCOs Felicia Pullam, senior director of geo-commerce, works on the Canada Goose account. She was executive director of the US Customs and Border Protections Office of Trade Relations. Rosalind Reischer, senior associate director and an alum of McLarty Associates, joins Pullam on the Canada Goose effort. THE Goldwing Owners Club of Ireland (GWOCI) is delighted to be hosting their 38th International Event in Birr, at the County Arms Hotel, on the weekend of August 14th to 17th 2025. The event will bring around 500 people and their fabulous motorcycles from across Europe to Birr and the Midlands. GWOCI is a family orientated motorcycle club with approximately 300 members from across the Island of Ireland. Their members come from all walks of life and have one thing in common ... .they all love riding the ultimate touring machine - The Honda Goldwing. The club is affiliated to the GoldWing European Federation (GWEF) which is comprised of 25 national clubs from across Europe. Each national club hosts an International weekend each year called a Treffen. Treffen is a German language word which means meeting of friends. They are delighted to be returning to Birr after a number of very successful Treffens held here in the 1990s. READ NEXT: Fifty six pubs have closed in Offaly since 2005, new report reveals They will have a number of runs over the weekend including: Scenic runs: The convoy of motorcycles ride a scenic route through local villages and towns or to historical points of interest. Traffic in the towns and villages they ride through may be brought to a stop, but the spectacle of bikes passing through is always well received. These convoys are always marshalled by experienced members and when possible escorted by Garda motorcyclists. Light Parade: As the name implies this is the bikers opportunity to show off their bikes, many which are bedecked with multicoloured lights, some of which change colour or tempo to match music playing on the bikes. Parade of Nations: This is another highlight of the weekend when the bikes parade with national flags, national regalia and again its a great opportunity for the locals to view the bikes and take lots of photos. The Irish Treffen is one of the smaller international events but prides itself on having its own unique aspects in part due to the friendly hospitality of the Irish public which always impresses overseas visitors. They hope to attract many overseas visitors to their event with approx. 150 bikes from the continent and 100 bikes from Great Britain and of course their own members. READ NEXT: Major Birr roadworks won't be finished by Vintage Week The Irish Treffen is advertised on all the websites of the 25 GWEF Clubs https://gwef.eu/index.php/2025 and also in all their club magazines. GWOCI has also set up a dedicated Treffen Webpage where all information pertaining to the Treffen is posted. https://gwoci.ie/treffen/ * Multinational companies are looking to strengthen supply chain collaborations. * Overseas exhibitors account for 35 percent, a three-percentage-point increase from last year. * The growth in global participation highlights mounting confidence in the Chinese market and supply chain. BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- As the third China International Supply Chain Expo opened Wednesday in Beijing, multinational companies are looking to strengthen supply chain collaborations in a move that will inject more certainty into the world economy. The five-day event has attracted 651 companies and institutions from 75 countries and regions. Overseas exhibitors account for 35 percent, a three-percentage-point increase from last year. Among the first-time multinational participants are major players such as Nvidia, Schneider Electric, L'Oreal, Louis Dreyfus and Medtronic. The growth in global participation highlights mounting confidence in the Chinese market and supply chain. The participating companies see China as both a stabilizing force and an innovation driver in the global supply chain. "The expo is an important gathering for innovation and collaboration, helping to strengthen the sustainable development of global manufacturing and international supply chains," said Mohamed Kande, global chairman of PwC. CLOSER COLLABORATION The expo comes on the heels of China's announcement of a 5.3 percent economic growth for the first half of the year despite rising challenges and external uncertainties. China's steady economic growth, coupled with its robust supply chain and commitment to further opening up, positions it as a key partner for multinational companies. Jensen Huang, CEO of U.S. tech giant Nvidia, on Tuesday praised China's rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) during his visit to Beijing, describing the Chinese market as both "large" and "dynamic." While speaking at the opening ceremony of the expo on Wednesday, Huang lauded China's supply chain as a "miracle." China's open-source AI is a catalyst for global progress, giving every country and industry a chance to join the AI revolution, he said. "China is a very important country where the development of AI will continue to be very fast and we hope to be part of that," Huang told reporters on Wednesday, adding that there's so much opportunity and confidence in the Chinese market. Huang confirmed on Tuesday that Nvidia's H20 chips will soon be available in the Chinese market again, following the U.S. government's approval of the company's filing licenses for shipping H20s to China. The expo has become a key venue for global firms to forge and expand supply chain collaborations. The expo serves as a platform for expanding McDonald's supply chain partnerships, Xu Jansen, head of Impact Strategy at M (China) Co., Ltd. The fast food chain attended the expo for a second straight year, teaming up with 11 suppliers this year. Xu emphasized the importance of the Chinese market, noting that half of the new McDonald's stores opening each year globally are located here. The company has built a network of local suppliers and also helped many of them ship products overseas. China serves as a stabilizer to the global supply chain and global economic growth, Xu said in an interview. For French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, the expo is also an opportunity to showcase its ecosystem and build collaborations. "Here, we explore innovative collaborations with our global partners, from R&D to production and patient accessibility enhancement, and share the latest results of localized practices," said Wayne Shi, president of Sanofi Greater China. Sanofi will continue to support the Healthy China initiative with innovative drugs and vaccines, Shi said. RESILIENCE Business executives and experts assert that, given the current global economic climate, no single country can fulfill every role in industrial and supply chains. It is essential for countries to work together to achieve win-win results. Global firms view China as a pivotal destination for enhancing and diversifying their supply chains, owing to the country's vast manufacturing capacity, robust industrial ecosystem, and improving business environment. Xiao Song, chairman, president and CEO of Siemens China, said that at a time when the global industrial landscape is undergoing rapid restructuring, the expo is becoming an important platform to promote the deep integration of all sections of the industrial chain. Siemens aims to help Chinese firms upgrade with digital and low-carbon technologies, helping build a green competitive edge globally as well as a more resilient and sustainable global industrial and supply chains, Xiao said. As the world's first national-level exhibition focusing on supply chains, the expo is an internationally shared public product. First held in 2023, the expo has contributed to building more secure, stable, open and inclusive global industrial and supply chains. With over 70 special events and new alliances for exhibitors in each of the six supply chains showcased at the expo, the expo helps enterprises find partners, application scenarios and solutions, according to Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the event's organizer. Ren called on global business leaders to work together to uphold the multilateral trade system with the World Trade Organization at its core. Xu Jiabin, a professor at the Business School of Renmin University of China, said that as a manufacturing and trading powerhouse, China has made significant contributions to the stability and resilience of the global supply chain. "The expo will help mitigate the negative effects of trade barriers and safeguard the global international economic and trade order," Xu said. (Video reporters: Zheng Xin, Zhang Mocheng, Luo Xin, Guo Yujing, Zhang Xiao, Xia Zilin, Pang Yuanyuan, Ma Xiaodong, Wang Pu; video editors: Wang Han, Zhu Cong, Hong Ling) Designed to tackle the complexity of U.S. market entry, Oz2US Ventures 24-week program fuses Melbourne accelerator prep with an on-the-ground Silicon Valley landing pad. Australian tech startups eyeing U.S. expansion now have a structured pathway to Silicon Valley success, thanks to a new accelerator program that addresses the fragmented support system currently facing founders. Oz2US Ventures has launched its U.S.-expansion Accelerator and Silicon Valley Landing Pad Residency programs, designed specifically to empower Australian high-growth tech startups to conquer the American market. The timing couldnt be more critical. Current support systems for high-growth Australian startups looking to expand in the U.S. are minimal and fragmented, leaving founders ill-prepared for the considerable market, regulatory, cultural, and financial challenges that await them across the Pacific. Program structure The comprehensive 24-week program splits into two distinct phases: a 12-week Melbourne-based accelerator followed by a 12-week Silicon Valley Landing Pad residency. This dual-location approach ensures founders receive thorough preparation before entering the competitive U.S. market. Applications are now open for the inaugural Melbourne cohort, commencing September 6, 2025. A free public Information Session will be held on July 29, 2025 in Melbourne to guide prospective applicants through the program details and application process. According to a study by Startup Genome, startups that go through structured accelerator programs are 1015% less likely to fail, thanks to the mentorship, structured support, and network access accelerators provide, which help founders navigate challenges more effectively. Expert mentorship Participants gain access to a network of 40 U.S. and Australian U.S.-expansion expert mentors, service providers, and VC advisors, including Vera Shokina from Silicon Valley Bank, Tom Chi from At One Ventures, Benjamin Levy from BootstrapLabs, and Trena Blair from FD Global Academy. Oz2US Ventures is redefining how Australian founders scale to the U.S., said Robert Gallup, Founder and Principal of Oz2US Ventures. Our programs deliver unmatched preparation, mentorship, and networks to help founders land and grow in the U.S., turning bold risks into confident leaps. The program addresses practical challenges that Australian founders face when expanding internationally. Founders will gain practical tools and insights to assess market readiness, select launch locations, develop go-to-market strategies, prepare for funding, and navigate legal and visa requirements, while mastering strategies for market research, pricing optimisation, sales approaches, and building U.S. teams. Industry backing The program has garnered support from successful Australian entrepreneurs who have navigated U.S. expansion challenges firsthand. Ben Wunderman, Co-Founder and CEO of Packsmith, shared: As an Australian founder having faced the incredible challenges of scaling across both the U.S. and Australia over the last few years, I wish we had this level of domain expertise, founder support, and investment advice across a US pre-launch accelerator and arrival landing pad. We look forward to supporting the advance prep and a soft landing for the next batch of U.S.-bound Aussie founders. Fabio Ficano, Managing Director of AI & Innovation and Head of Venture Studio at Silicon Valley BootstrapLabs, an Ares Company, expressed confidence in the programs leadership: Weve engaged Robert for over 10 years as a co-founder, a fractional CMO for portfolio companies, and most recently to help identify the best talent coming out of Australia. Results have always been impressive, which is why were fully committed to supporting Oz2US Ventures transformative programs, confident they will equip these innovators to become Valley-ready and highly fundable. Gallup emphasized the programs broader mission: Im impressed by the volume of amazing Australian founders solving incredible challenges, yet disheartened by the lack of available funding and resources to help them scale globally, Im hoping to create a new paradigm for international expansion. No other initiative provides this seamless integration of in-depth preparation and in-market engagement, enabling founders to launch confidently and scale successfully. The program also prioritizes diversity and inclusion, with Oz2USs mission to enable diverse Australian tech innovators to drive global impact, prioritising equitable opportunities with a commitment to The Panel Pledge, ensuring gender equity and diversity in its panels and events, and a 50% fee discount for women and underrepresented founders. Join the free Information Session on July 29, 2025, in Melbourne to explore the programs and application process. Registration is required at https://lu.ma/9hszjfr1. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. THE 2025 National Heritage Week website is now live, and organisers in County Offaly and across Ireland are invited to begin submitting events for this years celebration, which runs from August 16th24th 2025. Now in its 25th year, National Heritage Week is growing year on year and is Irelands largest heritage festival, with over 2,000 events taking place annually, attended by almost 400,000 people. Since The Heritage Council assumed responsibility for running Heritage Week in 2006, the annual event has continued to grow year on year. Last year, National Heritage Week saw a record-breaking 2,385 events registered across the country a 25% increase on 2023. National Heritage Week is an all-island event, and most events are free to attend. This years theme, Exploring Our Foundations, invites individuals and communities to reflect on the elements that underpin our shared heritage not only historic buildings or structures, but also the natural landscapes, stories, customs and cultural practices that shape our collective identity and sense of place. Offaly hosted 73 events last year for Heritage Week. Per 100,000 residents, the number of the events available was well above the national average. From guided walks and hands-on workshops to musical performances and heritage trails, communities across the county showcased a rich tapestry of local heritage. READ NEXT: Birr is gearing up for 'the very best' of community and celebration with 57th Vintage Week festival Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher OSullivan TD, said, What really makes National Heritage Week so special is the incredible energy and pride that local volunteers, community groups, and heritage champions bring to it every single year. These efforts are the heartbeat of the whole experience, and it's their stories, knowledge, and commitment that make National Heritage Week something truly memorable and meaningful for communities right across the country. I am looking forward to attending events in my local community and I encourage everyone through the country to do the same. Heritage Council Chief Executive Officer, Viriginia Teehan said, Heritage Week is a time to celebrate not only our past and those that came before, but the vibrant cultural expressions and natural environments that continue to shape our lives today. Our heritage tangible, intangible, and natural gives us a shared language of memory, tradition, and place. From historic buildings to folklore, from woodlands and hedgerows to music and craft, it allows us to connect deeply with each other and with where we come from. By encouraging communities to preserve, explore and reinterpret these foundations, were also fostering pride, creativity and economic vitality at a local level. Heritage Week is a real highlight of our year at the Heritage Council; I am always inspired by the range of events and projects that come to life across the country and the passion of their organisers. Offaly County Council Heritage Officer, Amanda Pedlow, added, Offalys rich heritage - from the early monastic sites to the architecturally rich town of Birr and the ever-evolving landscape of the bogs - offers endless inspiration for this years Heritage Week. Its a time for communities to share their knowledge, traditions, and sense of place with pride. Im excited to see the range of events and encourage everyone across the county to register their activities and help showcase all that makes Offaly unique. READ NEXT: OPW announces the opening of catering facilities at famous Offaly monastic site With a focus on the foundations of heritage and the communities that keep it alive, Heritage Week 2025 promises to be an inspiring and inclusive celebration across County Offaly and beyond. Bournea Historical Society held its annual historical outing on Saturday, July 12, in the beautiful town of Cahir in South Tipperary. On the hottest day of the year so far they began their tour at the Swiss Cottage on the banks of the river Suir. Described as an idyllic fantasy of country living, it lived up to expectations. READ NEXT: Gardai seize motorcycle in Roscrea after observing rider in shorts and t-shirt This was followed by a visit to Cahir Farmers Market and after they met with PJ OMeara of Cahir Historical Society, who gave a wonderful tour of the town of Cahir including the Mall, the Viaduct and the HaHa. He spoke about Cahir during the times of the Landlords and during the War of Independence and Civil War. The Society wish to take this opportunity to thank PJ for his insightful tour. READ NEXT: Roscrea teen selected for Team Ireland at European Youth Olympics Then it was on to Cahir House Hotel for dinner, followed by a visit to Cahir Castle which was the highlight of the day. They finished the daytrip with 99s enjoyied them by the river Suir. "Thanks to all the organisers especially Tim Lee and wonderful bus driver Roy", the Society said. A former garda who made protected disclosures about alleged defective gun holsters previously worn by armed officers, has welcomed a call by a senator to have an urgent debate in parliament about the grave issues. Speaking through his solicitor Kevin Winters, the former garda said he is greatly encouraged by Senator Michael McDowells call to have the issues brought into the public domain. The former garda, who is not yet being named, is also taking High Court action against his former employers. Issues around defective gun holsters have been previously raised in the Dail. Minister for Justice Jim OCallaghan said in March that he met the family of murdered garda Det Garda Colm Horkan. The 49-year-old, who was originally from Charlestown, was murdered while on duty in 2020. He was shot several times with his own gun on June 17 2020 in Castlerea, Co Roscommon. In an separate incident, the Dail heard about an accidental discharge of an officially issued garda firearm that occurred outside the Israeli Embassy on June 11 2020, just under a week before Mr Horkans death. The discharge resulted in life-changing injuries to the garda. Labour TD Alan Kelly said forensic experts attached to the Garda National Technical Bureau (GNTB) discovered that the holster could engage the trigger and fire the weapon of its own accord. On Thursday, Mr McDowell called for a full debate on certain grave issues relating to the armoury section of An Garda Siochana, as well as the misuse of protected disclosures and issues concerning the procurement of defective ammunition. In a statement, a spokesman for KRW Law, which acts for the former garda officer who is also before the court charged in connection with a separate criminal matter, said their client will fully contest the charges. Earlier this year, he issued a High Court plenary summons against his former employers seeking damages for the loss, distress and anxiety hes been subjected to over the past few years, the statement added. He is greatly encouraged today following the call made by Senator Michael McDowell SC in the Seanad for these thematically linked issues to be brought into the public domain. Human rights solicitor Kevin Winters said: We fully endorse Senator McDowells call for increased scrutiny on serious issues around gardai irregularities. We have spoken with our client this morning following the comments made and we are pleased to report he is greatly encouraged with what hes heard. It had been a lonely and difficult journey for him to get to this point. Hes been ostracised and vilified for taking a firm stand on what he sees as serious wrongdoing. It means an awful lot to him to hear someone of the stature of Senator McDowell refer to him as an officer of the utmost good character facing charges which appear to be motivated by a desire to conceal abuses in the armoury section. Following todays significant call by the senator we now call upon the DPP (Director of Public Prosecution) to review its decision to persist with the indictment against our client. Using the criminal justice system to try and silence an honest gardai officer is not a good look. We wholeheartedly endorse this mornings call for our clients case to be brought into the public domain together with an urgent debate later in September. On Thursday, Mr McDowell criticised the gross mistreatment of gardai who have been affected by the issues surrounding defective holsters. He told the Seanad: There is clear evidence that criminal and disciplinary processes have been launched to conceal major misfeasance and shortcomings in the management of the garda armoury. A senior garda officer of the utmost integrity has been sidelined for his part in raising these matters. A junior member of An Garda Siochana of the utmost good character is facing criminal charges on indictment which appear to be motivated by a desire to conceal abuses in the armoury section. Senior management in An Garda Siochana is aware of all these matters. Anyone who thinks that the culture in An Garda Siochana has been transformed by the outcome of the Disclosures Tribunal concerning Sgt Maurice McCabe is, I fear, gravely mistaken. I am shocked by what I have learned. These matters need to be brought into the public domain and an urgent debate is required when this House resumes in September. An Garda Siochana has been contacted for comment. OpEd News One-Time Security Check This Is NOT An Error Message Your site IP address* (145.224.119.174) 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.) This article originally appeared at TomDispatch.com. To receive TomDispatch in your inbox three times a week, click here. No kid is under a desk anymore -- and isn't that strange when you think about it? After all, when I "ducked and covered" like Bert the Turtle at school in the 1950s by huddling under my desk as sirens howled outside the classroom window, "only" (and yes, I do need to put that in quotation marks, since it was distinctly two too many even then) two countries, mine and the Soviet Union, had nuclear weapons; and only two atomic bombs, all too charmingly dubbed "Little Boy" and "Fat Man," had ever been used (with devastating effect) on August 6th and 9th, 1945, against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, slaughtering somewhere between 110,000 and 210,000 people. Imagine that, and imagine as well that the atomic weaponry of today is wildly more powerful and destructive than those two bombs, that nine countries now possess such weaponry, and that my own country is planning to continue to "modernize" its nuclear arsenal to the tune of an estimated $1.7 trillion (no, that is not a misprint) or more in the coming decades. And my country, along with Israel, also a nuclear power, just launched a series of devastating (non-nuclear) attacks on Iran, supposedly to prevent it from becoming the 10th country to possess nuclear weapons (though it seems distinctly unlikely that the Iranian regime was even trying to produce such weaponry). All in all, consider it the post-modern equivalent of a miracle that, 80 years after those atomic bombs were dropped on Japanese cities, such weaponry has never again been used, even as it has continued to grow ever more powerful and spread around the planet. After all, since the 1980s, it's been known that a nuclear war between two powers (like India and Pakistan) could cause a global "nuclear winter" that might all too quickly result in the equivalent of the long-term major extinctions of this planet's past history. And with all of that in mind on this ever-stranger planet of ours, let Eric Ross take you on a little tour of the once-upon-a-time world of the first atomic bomb's production, what the scientists making it already grasped about it, and why most of them continued to create it anyway, sending us into another universe. Tom 80 Years After Trinity Why Was There So Little Dissent at Los Alamos and What Does It Mean Today? By Eric Ross In recent months, nuclear weapons have reemerged in global headlines. Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan approached the brink of a full-scale war, a confrontation that could have become an extinction-level event, with the potential to claim up to two billion lives worldwide. The instability of a global order structured on nuclear apartheid has also come into sharp relief in the context of the recent attacks on Iran by Israel and the United States. That system has entrenched a dangerous double standard, creating perverse incentives for the proliferation of world-destroying weaponry, already possessed by nine countries. Many of those nations use their arsenals to exercise imperial impunity, while non-nuclear states increasingly feel compelled to pursue nuclear weapons in the name of national security and survival. Meanwhile, the largest nuclear powers show not the slightest signs of responsibility or restraint. The United States, Russia, and China are investing heavily in the "modernization" and expansion of their arsenals, fueling a renewed arms race. And that escalation comes amid growing global instability contributing to a Manichean world of antagonistic armed blocs, reminiscent of the Cold War at its worst. The nuclear threat endangers not only global peace and security but the very continuity of the human species, not to speak of the simple survival of life on Earth. How, you might wonder, could we ever have arrived at such a precarious situation? The current crisis coincides with the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test, the first detonation of an atomic weapon that would soon obliterate the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and so inaugurate the atomic age. So many years later, it's worth critically reassessing the decisions that conferred on humanity such a power of self-annihilation. After all, we continue to live with the fallout of the choices made (and not made), including those of the scientists who created the bomb. That history also serves as a reminder that alternative paths were available then and that another world remains possible today. A Tale of Two Laboratories In the summer of 1945, scientists and technicians at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico worked feverishly to complete the construction of the atomic bomb. Meanwhile, their colleagues at the University of Chicago's Metallurgical Laboratory mounted a final, ultimately unsuccessful effort to prevent its use. The alarm spreading in Chicago stemmed from a sobering realization. The Manhattan Project that they had joined on the basis of a belief that they were in an existential arms race with Nazi Germany had, by then, revealed itself to be a distinctly one-sided contest. Until then, the specter of a possible German atomic bomb had conferred a sense of urgency and a veneer of moral legitimacy on what many scientists otherwise recognized as a profoundly unethical undertaking. Next Page 1 | 2 | 3 (Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher). Scalare Partners acquires Tank Stream Labs for $5.5M and launches capital raise to strengthen its technology founder support ecosystem Tech investment and advisory firm Scalare Partners is consolidating its position as Australias leading technology accelerator with a strategic acquisition that expands its founder support ecosystem across multiple cities. The company has agreed to acquire tech-focused workspace and business service provider Tank Stream Labs for $5.5M, while simultaneously launching a capital raise to fund the deal and future growth activities. The acquisition represents Scalares fourth since April 2023 and demonstrates the companys continued expansion strategy in the Australian startup infrastructure space. Scalare is raising $3 to $5 million to support this acquisition and future growth activities, positioning itself for further consolidation in the technology founder support sector. Strategic expansion The Tank Stream Labs acquisition significantly strengthens Scalares geographic footprint, deepening its presence in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide. The deal brings several key assets to Scalares existing tech ecosystem: seven coworking locations, established community ties, a proven track record of supporting top technology founders, and experienced leadership with CEO Bradley Delamare remaining at the helm. Tank Stream Labs achieved FY2024 revenue of $9.7 million, with an estimated forecast of $12.1 million in FY2025. This adds substantial revenue streams to Scalares operations, which has scaled from initial support programs in 2020 to generating $1.3 million in product and services revenue in the first half of 2024, while building a portfolio of 30 invested companies valued at $10.7 million. The acquisition provides Scalare with enhanced deal flow from Tank Streams engaged startup community, expanded service delivery capabilities to a broader audience, and additional revenue streams through Tank Streams established coworking and event operations that complement Scalares investment and accelerator activities. Leadership alignment Both companies see the acquisition as a natural evolution that strengthens Australias technology startup infrastructure. Carolyn Breeze, CEO of Scalare Partners, emphasized the strategic fit: This acquisition is another exciting step forward for Scalare as we continue to acquire high-potential companies that expand our portfolio of founder-focused products and services, strengthen alignment with our investment ecosystem, and add recurring revenue and support scalable growth. Breeze highlighted Tank Stream Labs reputation in the sector: Tank Stream Labs has built a great reputation as an incredible assistance to tech founders as they grow their businesses. This aligns perfectly with our mission of supporting technology founders at every stage of their journey. Bradley Delamare is an absolute asset to the startup ecosystem, and we look forward to working with him and the Tank Stream team to drive even greater impact in the technology ecosystem. Bradley Delamare, CEO and Founder of Tank Stream Labs, expressed enthusiasm about joining Scalares broader ecosystem: Joining forces with Scalare Partners and their other businesses, such as Inhouse Ventures, Tech Ready Women and the Australian Technologies Competition, is a natural evolution for Tank Stream Labs. Our flexible workspaces and existing community will play a key role in expanding the Scalare business and entrench Tank Stream Labs as the leading technology support business in Australia. Im thrilled to continue leading the charge, and look forward to what we can achieve together. Market consolidation The acquisition reflects broader consolidation trends in Australias startup support ecosystem, as companies seek to create comprehensive platforms that serve founders across multiple touchpoints. Scalares continued expansion and consolidation strategy reinforces its position as Australias most comprehensive technology founder support ecosystem, according to CEO Carolyn Breeze. The combined entity will leverage Tank Stream Labs established coworking and event operations alongside Scalares investment and accelerator activities, creating a more integrated offering for technology founders. This integration aims to provide enhanced support throughout the entire startup journey, from initial workspace needs through to investment and scaling support. The acquisition is subject to Scalares capital raising to fund the purchase, with the company targeting $3 to $5 million to support both this acquisition and future growth activities. The capital raise underscores investor confidence in Scalares consolidation strategy and the growing demand for comprehensive founder support services in the Australian technology sector. Full announcement here. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. DPS Bopal student tops the CBSE Board with a perfect score, redefining success in the Humanities stream Delhi Public School, Bopal, proudly celebrates the exceptional achievement of Ishani Debnath, a Class 12 Humanities student, who has secured a perfect 500/500 in the CBSE Class 12 Board Exams (2025). Her accomplishment places her among India's and the world's top-performing students in the Humanities stream-a rare academic feat. A Self-Driven Success Story In a landscape Houston, TX - July 16, 2025 - Visionary author, entrepreneur, and global brand architect Oscar J. Starr III has officially activated his Checkmate StrategyTM following the cinematic endorsement of his internationally acclaimed novel, Stolen Hearts, Hidden Shores, now positioned for film and TV adaptation by top-tier producers and studios. This milestone marks a defining move in Starr's master strategy, propelling his flagship property into Hollywood's inner circle - and accelerating the Avelo Airlines said it will end flights from Salem, Eugene, Medford and Redmond as it retreats from the West Coast this year, citing financial pressures. Getty Images for Avelo Air A Texas-based airline that became a target of protests for assisting with federal deportation flights is ending its commercial services in Oregon this year. Avelo Airlines announced this week that it will cease flights from Salem next month. Service from Eugene, Redmond and Medford will end in early December. The move is part of the low-cost carriers retreat from Oregon, California, Washington and Montana, which Avelo blamed on financial pressures. The federal indictment says this was the typical ransom note left for companies targeted by the four men. U.S. Attorney's Office Four men are accused of targeting U.S. companies with Ryuk ransomware attacks, including a company in Oregon that had its data and credentials stolen in 2019 when 15 machines were compromised, according to court records. Ryuk ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to encrypt data on a computer or network and prevent access to encrypted files until the victim pays a ransom. The ransom notes received, according to the federal indictment, typically started: Gentlemen! Your business is at serious risk. There is a significant hole in the security system of your company. Weve easily penetrated your network. You should thank the Lord for being hacked by serious people not some stupid schoolboys or dangerous punks. They can damage all your important data just for fun. The indictment filed in Portland doesnt identify the Oregon company and prosecutors in U.S. Attorneys Office declined to release the name. News accounts reported in 2019 that a major cyberattack hit the Norwegian aluminum and renewable energy company Norsk Hydro, forcing its Portland plant to use manual operations. The coverage noted that the plant didnt pay the ransom -- which is consistent with the indictment in this case. The indictment alleges that the four men from March 2019 through September 2020 accessed hundreds of computer servers and workstation in Oregon, California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland and Michigan and of a private school in Texas. Ransom notes placed on the computer systems demanded payment in bitcoin and provided an email address to communicate with the alleged cybercriminals. The men were paid a total of 1,610 bitcoin worth about $15 million, the indictment says. Last month, one of the four suspects, Karen Serobovich Vardanyan, 33, of Armenia, was extradited from Ukraine to the United States. He pleaded not guilty in Portland to conspiracy, fraud in connection with computers and extortion charges, according to court records. Three other alleged accomplices arent in custody but have been identified in court records as Levon Georgiyovych Avetisyan, 45, an Armenian national believed to be in France; Oleg Nikolayevich Lyulyava, 53, and Andrii Leonydovich Prykhodchenko, 53, both of Ukraine. Ryuk ransomware has been used to target thousands of victims worldwide across a variety of sectors, including private industry, state and city governments, school districts, critical infrastructure and hospitals. The attacks have restricted access to data and disrupted communications. The FBI, with help from the U.S. Department of Justices Office of International Affairs, worked on the case. A temporary trial date has been set for Aug. 26. -- Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, on Bluesky @maxbernstein.bsky.social or on LinkedIn. Travis Rister, of White City, died of fentanyl and fluorofentanyl toxicity at age 29 in November 2023. Courtesy of Family Travis Rister was more than four years sober and had won full custody of his 2 1/2-year-old son in 2023 when he ran into a man he considered a friend who sold him some fentanyl for $20. The seller, who had known Rister since middle school, cautioned that the fentanyl was strong and advised Rister to take only small amounts at a time and to not use the drug alone. If you hit pretty good, get up and do jumping jacks, Enrique Rodriguez-Banuelos wrote Rister in a text, according to court records. About 30 minutes later at 2:15 a.m. on Nov. 11, 2023, Risters wife found her 29-year-old husband unconscious in their White City home, a small bag of fentanyl and a straw nearby. A Jackson County Sheriffs deputy responded and Rister was pronounced dead at the scene. He died of toxicity from fentanyl and fluorofentanyl, a type of fentanyl that is more potent. On Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced Enrique Rodriguez-Banuelos, 32, to three years and one month in prison for distributing the fentanyl that led to Risters death. Assistant U.S. Attorney Judith R. Harper said the case is particularly egregious because Rodriguez-Banuelos had known that Rister had worked to maintain his sobriety. He knew how bad this stuff was and was willing to sell it to the victim anyway, she said. Tina and Don Rister described how their sons death shattered their lives and left two children without a father. Their sons wife at the time was pregnant with a daughter he never got to meet. There has to be accountability for reckless and illegal actions that cost a young father his life, Don Rister said. Tina Rister said her son had struggled with addiction since doctors prescribed drugs to him to deal with back pain. The parents spent countless resources to try to get him into treatment, they said. Travis Rister had been sober since July 29, 2019, had gotten married and was granted custody of his son, from an earlier relationship in August 2023. Three months later, he was dead. Tina Rister said she recognizes her adult son made his own poor choices. He chose to meet you. I will never understand why he gave up his sobriety, she said. But she called Rodriguez-Banuelos a horrible friend to my son, for not only providing him with a deadly drug but telling him how to use it, having known of Risters past addiction. Risters younger sister, Cristen Laymen, said she lives with guilt and regret and gnawing questions. What if I had gotten to him sooner or convinced him to seek help? she said. Assistant Federal Public Defender Devin D. Huseby requested no prison time for Rodriguez-Banuelos and instead asked for 12 months of home detention with 200 hours of community service. He said Rodriguez-Banuelos is now living in a sober Oxford House with others in recovery after completing drug and mental health treatment. He is working for Taco Bell and wants to speak out about his mistakes to help others, his lawyer said. Rodriguez-Banuelos struggled with his own addictions, using alcohol and marijuana and then methamphetamine and heroin as a teenager, Huseby said. At the time of his arrest, Rodriguez-Banuelos was regularly using fentanyl and methamphetamine. His family had kicked him out and he was living in his truck, according to Huseby. He shouldnt have ever provided fentanyl to his friend, Huseby said. Rodriguez-Banuelos initially had turned his friend down, but Rister pressed him and he agreed to make the sale but also offered to use it with him, Huseby said. Rister turned him down, the lawyer said. Wouldnt the other natural response be -- to not provide the drugs? asked U.S. District Judge Mustafa Kasubhai. Huseby responded that Rodriguez-Banuelos thought he could engage in misguided harm reduction by offering him some pointers on using the fentanyl. This wasnt born of profit, Huseby said. Rodriguez-Banuelos parents, brothers and fellow residents of the sober living house listened as Rodriguez-Banuelos read a letter to the judge and expressed his remorse to Risters family. What I did, I should never have done, he said, adding that he now works to keep others clean and sober. Travis meant so much to me. Words cannot express the regret of what I have done. The judge said Rodriguez-Banuelos, despite whatever attempt he made to try to limit the harm to his friend, didnt do enough. There was a choice not to sell - not to give him anything at all, the judge said. Kasubhai accepted the governments recommendation and ordered Rodriguez-Banuelos to prison. He gave Rodriguez-Banuelos until Sept. 11 to surrender to start serving the sentence. -- Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, on Bluesky @maxbernstein.bsky.social or on LinkedIn. The suit alleges the county demoted Katie C. Cecil from a lead position in the Behavioral Health Division on June 29, 2023 after she reported unsafe working conditions. It seeks unspecified lost wages and punitive damages. Courtesy of Multnomah County A demoted Multnomah County employee has filed a civil rights suit against the county and her former bosses alleging they retaliated against her for complaining about unsafe conditions caused by large caseloads of high-risk clients with mental illness, insufficient staff and inadequate funding. Katie Cleone Cecil, 46, contends managers encouraged her and others in the countys Behavioral Health Division to mislead a judge about some of the criminal defendants who were not able to aid in their defense. The employees were advised to say that mental health assessments of the defendants were in progress even when no work had been done and county staff had not made referrals to treatment or housing, Cecil says in her federal suit. Cecil refused to lie to the Multnomah County judge, the suit says. Judges use the county evaluations to determine where to place people who are accused of crimes but unfit to stand trial. The state faces a long-standing separate federal lawsuit over its lack of psychiatric treatment for so-called aid-and-assist defendants. Cecils allegations highlight consequences at the county level from Oregons dysfunctional mental health treatment system. Cecil filed complaints with a county human resources manager, with the county auditors Good Government Hotline and outside the county with the state OSHA and the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries. In response, her supervisor accused her of being a whiner, yelled at her in front of other staff, reduced her job responsibilities, altered her schedule and ultimately demoted her, according to the suit. A county human resource manager also chastised her for filing the OSHA complaint, the suit says. In April, the Bureau of Labor and Industries found substantial evidence that the county subjected Cecil to different work conditions based on her reporting her concerns, according to the bureaus report. Cecils lawsuit, filed June 4 in U.S. District Court in Portland, names the county and two of her former supervisors, Kathy Shumate and Jen Gulzow. Shumate, a county program manager, left the job in spring 2024 and is manager of inpatient care and social work at Unity Center for Behavioral Health. Gulzow, the Behavioral Health Divisions deputy director of operations, left the county in April and now works for the Oregon Health Authority as a quality care analyst in the Medicaid unit. The suit alleges the county demoted Cecil from a lead position in the Behavioral Health Division on June 29, 2023. It seeks unspecified lost wages and punitive damages. She went on a mental health leave the day of her demotion and returned to work in early August 2023, transferring out of the Behavioral Health Division to a county clinical services role. Cecils case is about the backlash that followed when she pushed back on Multnomah Countys practices involving adults with mental illness who find themselves stuck in a broken criminal justice system, her attorney Matthew C. Ellis said. County officials declined comment on the suit, citing pending litigation. In a response to Cecils complaint to the state labor bureau, the county acknowledged that Shumate did retaliate against Cecil for her complaints about work conditions but that Shumate apologized for hostile communications. County officials denied that Cecil was ever directed to lie in court and said she lost her lead position and pay because a supervisor was hired instead. In 2002, U.S. District Judge Owen M. Panner ruled that the Oregon State Hospital must admit defendants within seven days of a court finding that mental illness prevents them from participating in their defense. Many of them had been waiting in jail without treatment. U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman later issued his own rulings in 2022 and 2023 to help the state meet the seven-day rule. For defendants under aid-and-assist orders who are charged with felonies, Mosman set a maximum time at the state psychiatric hospital for mental health restoration at six months for non-Measure 11 felonies, one year for more serious Measure 11 felonies and up to three years for the most violent felonies based on a district attorneys petition for the longer time. When defendants have reached the maximum stay at the state hospital, their cases go back to the court that sent them there. The court then decides whether to place the defendants in further treatment at a local facility, appoint a guardian to help them, initiate a civil commitment if the defendants poses a risk to themselves or others or dismiss the charges. Mosmans ruling prompted the state hospital to release many defendants to the county, including ones with extreme mental health challenges, according to Cecils lawsuit. For example in 2021, before Mosmans order, Cecil and her team did about 168 community consultations of that population -- and were overwhelmed and underfunded then, according to the suit. That grew to 504 similar community consultations by 2023, Cecil said. The county received a $1.7 million grant from the state in fall 2022 to help expand programs and divert more defendants from the state hospital for county-based treatment. Cecils suit contends the state encouraged counties to use the money to expand existing teams, but that Multnomah County used the money to create a new group called the Bridge Team that never got off the ground. As the Bridge Team floundered, the Mosman order and other changes to the law caused the work of Plaintiffs Diversion team to skyrocket, as severely mentally ill individuals were released from (Oregon State Hospital,) flooding the local communities and making Cecils team work significantly more dangerous, the suit says. Despite her complaints to management about hazardous working conditions, Cecil and her team were told to keep seeing more clients, according to the suit. The Division Court was in a huge hole and was instructed to just keep digging, the suit says. As Cecil said money was misappropriated, the number of untreated individuals on the streets increased and existing county staff experienced burn out and left the program, she said. Cecil complained to the state labor bureau that the county had no standardized tool to assess the risk of defendants and that the countys programs have grown and outpaced resources. It feels like it turned into the wild west, she wrote, according to state records. -- Maxine Bernstein covers federal court and criminal justice. Reach her at 503-221-8212, mbernstein@oregonian.com, follow her on X @maxoregonian, on Bluesky @maxbernstein.bsky.social or on LinkedIn. Portland Community College's Cascade campus in North Portland is home to the music and sonic arts program. The program is slated to close as soon as current students graduate, as part of an effort to balance the college's budget. Portland Community College is cutting three programs and making class reductions to others as part of an effort to balance its budget, spokesperson James Hill told The Oregonian/OregonLive Monday. As soon as current students graduate, Oregons largest college will end its Russian offerings as well as two career and technical education programs: music and sonic arts combining sound, music and technology and gerontology the study of aging and older adults. Other programs, such as art, will reduce the classes offered. Going into the 2025-27 budget biennium, the college faced a nearly $15 million budget shortfall, Hill said. After a review of 92 programs offered, the college asked 14 to produce self-audits and propose changes, such as class reductions and curriculum modifications, he said. The college then made final decisions on what cuts it wanted to make. Some of the gerontology and music and sonic arts courses could be incorporated into the remaining sociology and music programs. However, the extent to which this will happen as well as the impacts on part-time faculty are currently unclear, according to Hill. We are still very early on in the process, Hill wrote. Once the self-study programs have completed the implementation of their specific plans, we will have a better sense of the possible impact to part-time faculty. Portland Community College is not the only higher education institution in Oregon attempting to reduce budget shortfalls. Last month, University of Oregon laid off 42 employees, with plans to cut more. Six months ago, Portland State announced it would lay off 17 faculty members. The program reductions stem from increasing costs, insufficient state funding and declining enrollment since the pandemic, according to Hill. More cuts could be on the horizon, he told The Oregonian/OregonLive Wednesday. Yvette Rosales, the lead steward for the unions full-time faculty, questioned why these cuts were affecting student-serving programs, as opposed to heavier cuts to administrative salaries. Hill said that administrative cuts are part of the reductions. Management salaries will be reduced by about 1.6% for the 2025-27 budget cycle. Earlier this year, the community college came under scrutiny from state Sen. Lew Frederick, a Portland Democrat, who sent a pointed letter to the colleges board over its treatment of campus unions, its board governance and a 14% salary increase it approved for President Adrien Bennings. It is difficult for me as your senator to defend the boards increase of the presidents salary especially when the unions went through a grueling process that resulted in lower increases, Frederick wrote in the February letter. Bennings salary is not included in the reductions to management salaries, according to Hill. Some faculty members are frustrated by the program cuts, saying the process was rushed and opaque, Rosales said. Across the board, faculty have raised concerns about how the self-study process was manufacturing consent for these pre-decided decisions, Rosales said. Mary Kadderly, a part-time instructor in the music and sonic arts program, said she believes the college used flawed rationale to justify the programs closing. Kadderly said the college told the program that there were not clear job outcomes for graduates. Hill confirmed this rationale in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive, writing that the program lacked data to show that a degree or certificate was necessary to become employed in the field. Kadderly argued that the program fills a need in the community. It takes away this unique niche that we serve, Kadderly said. Our students are non-traditional. They dont want to go to a traditional music department. Kadderly and Rosales also pointed to growing interest in the music and sonic arts program. The number of students served by the program tripled between 2021 and 2024, with 78 students graduating in 2024, according to a copy of an appeal submitted by the program and rejected by the college that Rosales provided to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Rosales is concerned that by cutting programs, the college risks hurting students. I cant get over them making decisions that come at the expense of our students, Rosales said. Eddy Binford-Ross covers education and local politics for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach her via email at ebinford-ross@oregonian.com Some Jewish teachers say they were belittled for their beliefs at the recent National Education Association convention in Portland. Shown here are delegates on the floor. Courtesy of the National Education Association Jewish teachers from around the country say they were belittled by their fellow educators during the National Education Associations convention in Portland earlier this month. They described being vocally mocked, harassed and threatened in ways that dishonor our union, in an open letter to NEA President Becky Pringle, who heads the 3 million-member union, the countrys largest. Edwin Caro of GreenSavers works on the installation of a heat pump system at a house in Portland. The city is considering whether to add a maximum indoor temperature standard for rental apartments and homes, requiring landlords to install air conditioners or heat pumps. Dave Killen / The Oregonian Portland is contemplating a new policy to protect residents from potentially deadly heat by adding air conditioning requirements for rental apartments and homes. The Permitting and Development bureau is exploring a code amendment to create a maximum indoor temperature standard for rental units, requiring landlords to install ACs or heat pumps in each one. The proposal is still in the early planning stages and comes after a multi-year collaboration among city bureaus, community groups and experts working to identify climate and health standards to make rental housing more livable during extreme weather. Thousands of Portlanders who bake in their rental homes during summer heat waves will no doubt welcome the plan but it likely will face stiff opposition from groups representing property owners who cite the expense and possible investment chill in Portland housing development. Portland is under a heat advisory this week and experiencing soaring temperatures. It reached a high of 97 degrees at Portland International Airport on Wednesday. The city has experienced more hot days and heat-related deaths in recent years than ever before. The 2021 five-day heat dome set a record high of 116 degrees and killed 69 people in Multnomah County alone. Another 14 people died in the county in the past three years due to excessive heat. In the years before the heat dome, the county recorded zero heat-related fatalities. And though Portlanders have installed ACs and heat pumps at a rapid clip in recent years including via state and city-funded subsidy programs at least a quarter of the citys renters still lack air conditioning in their homes, according to a city-commissioned analysis by economic consulting firm ECOnorthwest. We are in a climate crisis, and setting a maximum indoor temperature standard for rental units can help ensure that populations more likely to be renters in Portland, such as communities of color or those with lower incomes, are prioritized in our climate actions, interim Portland Permitting & Development Director David Kuhnhausen told The Oregonian/OregonLive. After the heat dome, county public health officials found that those who died were predominantly 65 or older, lived alone and lacked air conditioning. They were mostly residents of multi-family housing, including public housing, owners of manufactured homes, as well as homeless people. Portland State University professor Vivek Shandas, who has spearheaded heat mapping efforts in the county and throughout the U.S., said a cooling mandate makes sense given the rise in extreme weather and the fact that laws in Portland and across the country already dictate temperatures in rental homes during winter, requiring landlords to provide heating systems that keep units at a comfortable, livable level. We have very clear requirements that say every habitable room in a residence has to be able to get up to 68 degrees Fahrenheit, but we really dont have anything that says every habitable room cannot go above 110 degrees or 100 degrees or 85 degrees for that matter, said Shandas, who participated in the work group on the cooling mandate two years ago. Requiring cooling in rental housing is especially key, Shandas said, because heat affects certain areas (those with a lot of pavement or a lack of tree canopy) and types of buildings (those with concrete-and-steel construction) more than others. Outer east Portland -- where rental prices are lower and the rentals likely less modern -- is especially vulnerable, with large apartment buildings and lack of trees, he said. If the City Council approves the proposal, it would add the requirement to the citys Property Maintenance Regulation code. The bureau has yet to land on a specific maximum temperature for its cooling standard. Its also unclear whether the code change would impact both new and existing rental housing or just one of the two categories. Other cities and states that have made similar code updates including Phoenix and Tucson in Arizona, Montgomery County in Maryland, Dallas, Texas and the District of Columbia have set temperature thresholds ranging from 78 to 86 degrees. According to the ECOnorthwest analysis, Portland has more than 153,000 rental units, with two-thirds already offering some form of cooling. About half of the renters without air conditioning live in older, smaller multifamily properties, though many are also in larger multifamily properties, regulated affordable properties and single-family homes. Cost could be the biggest challenge, according to Multifamily NW, an association representing residential property managers and owners. We support the goal of protecting residents from extreme heat, especially in light of recent heat waves that have disproportionately impacted seniors and low-income households. However, mandating air conditioning or heat pumps in every unit without financial support would place a substantial burden on housing providers, particularly for older buildings not originally designed for these systems, said Andie Smith, a housing provider in Oregon and the groups current board president. Smith said installation alone could cost $5,000 to $10,000 per unit, not including ongoing maintenance or necessary electrical panel upgrades. Such costs could jeopardize housing affordability or new housing production, she said. Christian Bryant, president of the Portland Area Rental Owners Association, echoed the sentiment, adding that the mandate could lead to rent increases. The one fear that I have is that its already expensive to live in Portland and any kind of expenses like that, when we get into the hundreds and possibly into thousands of dollars, youre going to see that reflected in the rents down the line, Bryant said. The code change could be more palatable if it came with dedicated funding, Smith and Bryant said, including more money for heat pumps and air conditioners via the retail tax-supported Portland Clean Energy Fund, targeted grant programs for landlords to offset installation costs and utility partnerships or assistance for vulnerable residents. The ECOnorthwest analysis found that landlords would need to spend $300 to $10,000 for the cooling upgrades depending on the rental unit size and other factors. Least expensive are window AC units, though their cost would increase threefold with professional installation. Heat pumps are much pricier: a professionally installed mini-split heat pump could cost about $6,100 and much more for larger homes. Upgrading an old electrical panel could add another $3,900, the analysis shows. City, state and federal incentives could help offset the higher cost of retrofitting rental housing with heat pumps. The choice of technology could impact renters down the line, said ECOnorthwest. While ACs could moderately increase energy use and electricity bills in hotter months, heat pumps could lower utility costs and also provide more efficient heating. As for rent increases due to landlords seeking to recover the costs of installing expensive heat pumps? They would likely be small and would be dictated by market conditions and renters ability to choose other units, the analysis says. Gosia Wozniacka covers environmental justice, climate change, the clean energy transition and other environmental issues. Reach her at gwozniacka@oregonian.com or 971-421-3154. On a summer Sunday morning, just before opening, a long line forms as hungry patrons patiently wait for Bread & Roses Bakery in the Oregon coast town of Yachats to unlock its front door. The line is so long, it almost intersects with the weekly farmers market, whose vendors have special early morning access to Bread & Roses. Its not a matter of if, rather when, the bakery will sell out of its pastries, cupcakes and croissant sandwiches. Things have changed over the years for Bread & Roses Bakery. Owner Blythe Collins started selling her baked goods at the Yachats Farmers Market in 2008. 10 1 / 10 Bread & Roses bakeryVickie Connor In 2010, Bread & Roses moved into its current storefront on Fourth Street, becoming a staple in this central Oregon coast town and weathering pandemic closures. The bakerys name is a nod to the 1912 Bread and Roses labor strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts, largely led by women fighting for better working conditions and fair pay. Collins prides her business on being run by strong women. She and her daughter, Robin Nolan, own and operate the bakery together, with help from a small yet mighty staff. I finally feel like now we hit our stride because we got a great crew, Collins said. Theres not a lot of us, but I prefer that. That crew works seamlessly on busy weekend mornings, handing out pastries such as the celestial snail, which features fresh fruit, lemon curd and cream cheese. The faux eggs are eye-catcher pastries with cream cheese surrounding plump apricots, giving the illusion of sunny-side-up eggs. Bread & Roses bakery owners Robin Nolan, left, and Blythe Collins, right, pose for a photo on Sunday, July 15, 2025, in Yachats. Vickie Connor/The Oregonian Collins gives credit to Nolan for her creativity when it comes to the menu. I dont have a lot of energy anymore for new ideas, Collins said, so shes the one that kicks us into new production. The mini croissant sandwiches are a product of Nolans ingenuity. The smoked salmon sandwich features onion, dill, cucumber and schmeer. The flavors perfectly balanced, the sandwich is best enjoyed from a bench a short walk away, overlooking the coastline at Yachats State Park. The takeaway: There are too many options to choose just one baked good here. Treat yourself to multiple pastries and you wont be disappointed. Sample menu: Smoked salmon sandwich ($9), faux eggs ($6) and celestial snail ($6.25). Drinks: Bread & Roses offers a full coffee/espresso bar. Details: Counter service with outdoor seating only. Open 8:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Thursday-Saturday and 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday; 238 Fourth St., Yachats; bnrbakery.com. Vickie Connor, The Oregonian/OregonLive Icehouse Ventures new $30M fund raised half its target in one month, creating faster funding opportunities for New Zealand startups. New Zealand startups now have a faster path to funding as Icehouse Ventures latest $30 million seed fund raised half its target in just one month, signaling strong investor appetite for early-stage Kiwi companies. The Wellington-based VC firms Seed Fund IV aims to back 30 promising startups over the next three to four years, offering funding from pre-seed concepts through to pre-Series A companies. With 80 investors already committed to the $15 million first close, the fund represents a significant opportunity for entrepreneurs seeking capital in an increasingly competitive market. The enthusiasm for this fund speaks to New Zealands consistent production of high-value startups for 10 years running, said Icehouse Ventures CEO Robbie Paul. If Funds 1 and 2 were thanks to the aspiration of investors for New Zealand, Funds 3 and 4 are thanks to entrepreneurs delivering on those aspirations. Track record justifies investor confidence The firms performance validates the investor rush. Their inaugural fund ranks in the top 10% globally for cash returns among over 2,000 venture firms, according to 2024 Carta data. Notable exits include Tradify, which sold at a 23x multiple, while portfolio company Halter achieved unicorn status. Fund I also backed Dawn Aerospace and Sharesies, while subsequent funds invested in companies like Mint Innovation, Vessev, Tracksuit, and Ternary Kinetics. Paul credits this success to sticking with their core expertise. Investing in and supporting early-stage startups is what we know and what we are known for. We have been rewarded for sticking to our knitting and that is what we are doing with Seed Fund IV, said Paul. From concept to IPO under one roof Icehouse has evolved beyond traditional seed investing into what Paul calls vertical integration, supporting companies from pre-seed concepts through pre-IPO stages. This approach creates a flywheel effect where seed funds benefit from growth fund firepower in later rounds, while growth funds access premium deal flow from earlier investments. The strategys breadth was evident in a recent week when Icehouse simultaneously processed a $45 million Series D investment in Halter, now a 200-employee company with over $50 million in revenue across three countries, while also backing Harth, a two-person AI startup with no revenue. The seed funds are advantaged because growth funds bring extra fire power in the later rounds. Our growth funds are advantaged because of the deal flow from our seed funds, said Paul. Learning from mistakes and missed opportunities Harth, Fund IVs first investment, focuses on AI-powered collaborative building design. Co-founder Tom Batterbury, previously of Auror and New Zealand EY Entrepreneur of the Year, praised the investment process speed. Weve been impressed by the speed and conviction Icehouse Ventures brought to backing us, said Batterbury. The NZ venture ecosystem has come a long way since Scott and I raised our first rounds with our previous startups over a decade ago. Paul acknowledges the learning curve, with 14 portfolio companies failing and missed opportunities including Kami and Auror. Our mistakes since 2016 have been as formative as our successes, Paul said. The good news is the same team who celebrated our successes and learned from our mistakes are back again for this fund. The fund targets 30 investments over three to four years, from pre-seed concepts to pre-Series A companies. The minimum investment is $50,000, paid in 25% tranches, available to wholesale investors only. Icehouse Ventures manages over $500 million across funds and maintains a portfolio of more than 365 companies. Keep up to date with our stories on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Berri Leslie, a longtime Oregon government insider, will join Attorney General Dan Rayfields office this fall after recently stepping down as director of the Department of Administrative Services. Leslie will serve in a new position as chief operating officer in the state Department of Justice starting Sept. 2, according to a press release from the agency. She will earn an annual salary of $225,900, according to agency Chief of Staff Jenn Baker. The state of Oregon has agreed to pay $15 million to thousands of state employees who experienced issues with their paychecks after the state switched to a new payroll system nearly three years ago. Zak Stone The state of Oregon has agreed to pay $15 million to thousands of former and current state employees who experienced issues with their paychecks after the state switched to a new payroll system in 2022. Per the settlement, nearly every hourly worker and some salaried employees who worked for the state at any point between December 2022 and June 23 of this year are eligible for payments ranging from $100 to roughly $3,100, depending on their employment status and the damages they incurred as a result of the payroll errors. Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge Eric Dahlin preliminarily approved the settlement on May 5, more than two years after a pair of state employees first sued the state, alleging widespread payment errors and asking Oregon to immediately correct the issues. Were pleased with this result, Whitney Stark, an attorney with Albies & Stark, one of the law firms representing the plaintiffs, told The Oregonian/OregonLive. Of course, a settlement is necessarily a compromise, but that compromise, in this case, is reflective of our sincere and diligent efforts to obtain the best results for our class members. As part of the agreement, the state Department of Administrative Services acknowledged in an apology letter that it failed to fulfill the responsibility of paying all employees accurately and on time after launching the Workday payroll system. It also acknowledged that the state is still addressing issues in the system. DAS apologizes for and acknowledges these errors and the frustration, anxiety, and impacts those errors have caused for employees, the state said in the letter. In no uncertain terms, DAS sincerely apologizes to all employees for the adverse impacts they have suffered as a result of the Workday payroll transition. Per the settlement agreement, all non-exempt state employees, which typically include hourly workers, will receive minimum payments of $100. Non-exempt employees who no longer work for the state will receive at least $112.50. All employees can also submit additional claims up to $500 if they incurred personal expenses because of the payroll issues, such as extra bank fees, and up to $2,500 if they lost their housing, car or underwent a significant life-altering event because of the errors. After the state switched to the Workday payroll system in December 2022, thousands of state employees reported significant payment issues, such as missed or inaccurate paychecks, for months. Some turned to food banks or rent assistance programs to continue paying their bills, with some workers even becoming homeless after not receiving paychecks for multiple months, the Oregon Capital Chronicle reported at the time. Per the agreement, every type of state employee except for judges and lawmakers are eligible to participate in the settlement and submit payment claims. The state currently employs about 49,000 full-time workers. Affected individuals have until Aug. 25 to submit claims, object to the settlement or opt out of it entirely, according to notices sent to thousands of former and current state employees in the past week. Its unknown exactly how many individuals will ultimately receive payments, but the settlement states that the class is not expected to exceed 60,000 members. About three-quarters of the expected class members are non-exempt and will receive the minimum payments, according to Richard Myers, attorney with Bennett Harman, a second law firm representing the plaintiffs. A final hearing to approve the settlement is scheduled for Oct. 3. The total settlement amount is less than the $25 million that plaintiffs initially sought, court records show. The eight state employees who brought the challenge forward will receive extra payments of $7,500 each, according to the settlement agreement. Any leftover funds that are not sent to members or used to reimburse attorneys will be split between Legal Aid Services of Oregon and various Oregon nonprofits focused on economic justice and workers rights, per the agreement. The settlement also prevents any member of the class from bringing or joining class action lawsuits for similar Workday payroll issues until July 2027, when the state expects to finish addressing errors in the system, according to Bryanna Duke, spokesperson for the Department of Administrative Services. That process will include shifting to a biweekly pay period and transitioning to hourly pay for employees who are eligible for overtime pay, according to an informational document. We anticipate it will continue to take time until Workday payroll is fully working effectively and without any system errors, the states apology letter said. We appreciate your patience, trust, and willingness to report concerns as DAS continues to work on the system to make it work more effectively. Carlos Fuentes covers state politics and government. Reach him at 503-221-5386 or cfuentes@oregonian.com. Republican state Rep. Jami Cate, a farmer from Linn County, announced Wednesday that she plans to run for the Oregon Senate. Cate, R-Lebanon, seeks to fill the 6th Senate District seat now held by Sen. Cedric Hayden, R-Fall Creek. Hayden is one of four Republican senators barred from running for reelection in 2026 because of their participation in the longest quorum-denying walkout in state history, a 2023 Republican protest over Democratic bills on abortion, transgender health care and guns. Rural Oregon deserves a voice that fights for our farms, forests, and freedoms, Cate said in a statement. As your state representative, Ive stood firm against overregulation and Portland-driven agendas, advocating for wildfire recovery, agriculture and accountable governance. Cate, 38, is a lifelong Lebanon resident, Oregon State University graduate and fifth-generation seed farmer from rural Linn County, which touts itself as the grass seed capital of the world. Voters first elected her to the House in 2020. Linn County was one of the regions devastated by the 2020 wildfires, which burned more than 1 million acres and destroyed thousands of homes. Much of Cates focus over the past few years has been on wildfire recovery, including passing bills to exempt from income taxes legal damages for the 2020 Labor Day fires and reset property taxes for survivors who rebuilt their homes. Cate has early endorsements from former Senate Republican Leader Fred Girod, R-Stayton, and former House Republican Leader Vikki Breese-Iverson, R-Prineville, as well as several other rural lawmakers and local leaders. Nonaffiliated voters are the largest group in the Senate district, as they are in Oregon, with more than 39,000 nonaffiliated voters. It also has nearly 38,000 registered Republicans and just more than 25,000 Democrats, and Hayden cruised to victory with 65% of the vote in the 2022 election. Candidates cant officially file to run for legislative races until September, but they can announce their campaigns and start raising money earlier. Cate now has a campaign balance of about $29,000. So far, eleven people have indicated through state campaign finance filings that theyll run for the Senate, which elects half of its 30 members to four-year terms every two years. That includes two of Cates Republican peers from the House state Rep. Jeff Helfrich, R-Hood River, plans to run for the 26th Senate District in the Columbia River Gorge now represented by Senate Republican Leader Daniel Bonham, and Tracy Cramer, who narrowly lost reelection to a Woodburn-based House seat in 2024, updated paperwork last week to indicate a run for the 11th Senate District now represented by Sen. Kim Thatcher, R-Keizer. Bonham and Thatcher, like Hayden, cannot run for reelection because of their participation in the 2023 walkout. -- Julia Shumway, Oregon Capital Chronicle The Oregon Capital Chronicle, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy. Stevenson City Councilor Lucy Lauser holds a sign during a trans rights protest in front of the Skamania County Courthouse on July 4, 2025. Submitted A city councilor in rural southwest Washington is charged with misdemeanor indecent exposure for stripping to the waist while demonstrating for trans rights on the Fourth of July. City councilor Lucy Lauser of Stevenson, Washington was handcuffed and led off the Skamania County courthouse lawn during the one-woman protest dividing constituents and spurring an ongoing recall campaign. In an interview Tuesday, the 33-year-old councilor said she doesnt believe her actions were illegal, noting that Washington law defines indecent exposure as an obscenity that is likely to cause affront or alarm. My body is not obscene, said Lauser, who is transgender and co-founded Skamania Pride. I expect my constitutional rights to be upheld. The arrest was first reported by Uplift Local, a digital journalism nonprofit covering the Columbia River Gorge. Lucy Lauser was elected to the Stevenson City Council in November 2023. City of Stevenson Skamania County Sheriff Summer Scheyer said Lauser previously received a warning after taking off her shirt during a Transgender Day of Visibility demonstration on March 31. During the second protest, Scheyer said she asked Lauser to put her shirt back on around 4 p.m. July 4, but authorized the arrest after the councilor refused. Scheyer said she had received numerous complaints, including from families with children who had seen the naked display. The courthouse lawn faces Washington State Route 14, the main road through town, and is lined with shops and eateries. While Lauser has cited several Washington court cases that say a womans bare chest is not inherently salacious, the sheriff argues that the broad-daylight protest and level of public concern required law enforcement action. People were mortified that their children were exposed to this, Scheyer said. I think the indecent exposure law is quite clear cut and that if the public is saying this is obscene then that law is on the books, and we enforce the law. A local resident, Kathleen J. Fitzgerald, now plans to collect signatures for a recall petition against Lauser, who won election with 328 votes in November 2023, and is running for mayor in the Aug. 5 primary. Skamania County Judge Randall Krog cleared the legal language of the petition June 16, but Lauser has appealed the question to the Washington Supreme Court. Lauser said she doesnt feel safe protesting further, but has no regrets for drawing attention to anti-trans rights federal policies from President Donald Trump, who has signed an executive order blocking hormone and gender-affirming care for children and teenagers and sough to ban trans student athletes. Both Washington and Oregon have joined a lawsuit challenging the ban. If the federal government passes a law that says its obscene for me to wear a skirt, will I be arrested for wearing my own clothing in public? Lauser said. Im asking who has the guts to uphold the Constitution, even if its difficult or uncomfortable. Zane Sparling covers breaking news and courts for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Reach him at 503-319-7083, zsparling@oregonian.com or @pdxzane. The first commitment to Oregons 2027 recruiting class will enroll a year early. Prince Tavizon, a four-star edge rusher who committed to the Ducks last month, announced he was reclassifying to the class of 2026. The 6-foot-3, 245-pound Tavizon was ranked No. 17 among edge rushers and the No. 124 overall player in the 2027 class, according to the 247Sports Composite, which has not updated to reflect his reclassifying. However, once Tavizon is added to the 2026 class it should move Oregon back into the top 10 overall and improve its nation-leading average per commitment. The Ducks, who are presently No. 12 in the 247Sports Composite, have 14 other commitments, including two defensive linemen. Their 2027 class has one other commitment from four-star defensive lineman Cameron Pritchett. Last fall, Tavizon had 90 tackles (15 for loss), with 13 sacks and two forced fumbles at San Diegos Lincoln High School. -- James Crepea covers the Oregon Ducks and Big Ten. A New Mexican coffee roaster has recalled its Dark Pinon single-serve cups over a possible contamination risk during brewing. Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images One of New Mexicos largest coffee roasters is recalling some of its single-serve Keurig cups due to a defect that can cause ink to bleed during the brewing process. Last month, New Mexico Pinon Coffee initiated a voluntary recall of 154 units of its Dark Pinon Single Serve Keurig cups. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeled the incident a Class III recall Tuesday, meaning exposure is unlikely to cause adverse health consequences. Recalled coffee pods were sold as part of a 10-count pack. They were part of lot code 251749 and were printed with a Best Buy Date of 05/08/2026. New Mexico Pinon Coffee sells its products nationwide at major retailers such as Walmart, Costco and Kroger stores. The clear coat seal was not equally applied to all single-serve coffee pod lids, according to the FDA recall notice. This caused food-safe ink printed onto the affected cups to run when exposed to high temperature, high-pressure water used in a K-cup machine. Consumers who have purchased the item should throw it away or return it to the original retailer for a refund. Those with questions can contact New Mexico Pinon Coffee at 505-298-1964. Veronica Nocera covers retail and recalls news for The Oregonian/OregonLive. Is a business in your area opening or closing? Reach Veronica at vnocera@oregonian.com. Anyone whose house was destroyed in the Rowena wildfire can have it cleared of toxic, dangerous and unwieldy items, ash, metal and debris at no charge, but not everybody has signed up for the service, state officials said this week. The June 11 wildfire quickly scorched about 3,700 acres of Oregons Columbia Gorge hillside, destroying 56 homes and about 90 other structures. Nobody died, but many residents of the Rowena area, just west of The Dalles, lost their pets, family mementos, medical equipment or everything they owned besides what they were wearing when they evacuated as the flames approached. More than a month later, the devastation remains, including gutted, metal shells of vehicles, piles of ash and the gnarled remnants of unrecognizable appliances and tools littering the properties lining parts of U.S. 30 and Simonelli Road. The way state and local agencies respond in the aftermath of the devastation could be important for the rest of Oregon to watch, given how early the fire season began this year. Gov. Tina Kotek declared a state of emergency for the state Wednesday due to growing wildfires. Even as other parts of the state brace for the worst, in the areas affected by the Rowena fire, there are small but obvious signs of recovery at work. State-funded cleanups are underway in the Rowena community following the June 11 fire that destroyed 56 homes and more than 90 other structures. Fedor Zarkhin Tuesday, an environmental cleanup crew was hauling bags of debris from a property in the Tooley Terrace neighborhood, between The Dalles and Rowena proper. Wearing full white hazmat suits, the workers dug around the obliterated remains of someones home, piled things into plastic bags and carried them back to a pickup truck. The work they were doing was the first of several steps that an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality official at the scene said had to be done before homeowners could rebuild. The state is offering to do it free of charge homeowners simply need to give the state permission to come onto their property. In the first phase of the cleanup, workers remove all household hazardous waste, such as lithium batteries and paint cans. Then, the state would invite homeowners and renters to go back to their properties and search for anything they think may have survived the fire. State-funded cleanups are underway in the Rowena community following the June 11 fire that destroyed 56 homes and more than 90 other structures. Fedor Zarkhin Then, workers would return to remove all the debris and ash, creating a clean slate for rebuilding. In that final step, contractors will repeatedly test the soil for heavy metals, to make sure the ground is safe. The first phase removing hazardous waste could take a few weeks, DEQ Project Manager Bryn Thoms said, followed by about a week when homeowners and renters can return, then one to two months for all the debris and ash to be removed. We want to get people back to their properties, to safe properties. Theyve got to rebuild, and thats going to take a lot more work than just this, Thoms said Tuesday. The sooner we get this done, the better for everybody. Thoms said the state would prefer that owners not do the clean up themselves because the ash can be hazardous due to heavy metals or asbestos. The only catch is that not everyone whos eligible has signed the necessary paperwork, Thoms said. Of the approximately 70 properties with ash piles or fire damage to human-built things, owners of 58 had given the state permission to start work. Of those, 46 have had the hazardous waste removed, according to an official map tracking the recovery work provided to the people affected by the fire. Patrick Hollander, a property owner who signed the paperwork, said workers have swept his property and marked propane tanks and spray paint cans with white Xs, signifying the items pose no danger. Hollander said his house was vaporized in the wildfire and that he lost three dachshunds because authorities wouldnt let him past the barrier to get them. I lost everything, Hollander said. Theres nothing left. While the state hopes to complete the cleanup phase within months, long-term recovery could take far longer as long as five to seven years, the Mid-Columbia Economic Development Districts executive director said at a Wasco County Board of Commissioners meeting earlier this month. Recovery will be a long process, Jessica Metta said at the July 2 meeting. The hope is to try to help people build as fast as possible. Fedor Zarkhin is a breaking news and enterprise reporter. Do you have a story? Reach him by phone or text at 971-373-2905 or by email at fzarkhin@oregonian.com. In this photo released by Agence Kampuchea Press (AKP), Cambodian troop perform during a ceremony to put in used the military building in northern Kampong Chhnang province, July 14, 2025. Photo by AP Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet has announced that the country will begin enforcing its long-dormant compulsory military service law starting in 2026. Speaking at a ceremony marking the 32nd anniversary of the Royal Gendarmerie in Kampong Chhnang province on July 14, Hun Manet said the law, which was enacted in 2006 but has not been implemented, will require eligible citizens to serve for 24 months, up from the originally planned 18 months. He explained that the extension is necessary to allow more comprehensive training. Under the law, all men and women aged 18 to 30 are subject to military service, though participation remains voluntary for women. The enforcement aims to boost both the quantity and quality of trained reservists. After completing service, conscripts may return to civilian life or join the professional military voluntarily. WASHINGTON Congress is moving to slash the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrations forecasting programs, but a senior Oklahoma representative whose district and state relies on the safety it provides is steering a meeting Thursday that could determine just how far those cuts will go. U.S. Rep. Tom Coles Appropriations Committee will hold the Commerce-Justice-Science markup Thursday, taking up the subcommittees version of the budgets for those departments for amendment votes and a possible final approval. The forecast had been calling for cuts, and the climate around climate policy is only getting hotter. NEWSLETTERS * required Thank you for subscribing! Email * Please enter a valid email address First Name Last Name When major news breaks + a few times a week FREE SIGN UP Subscribing... But a push by the Trump Administration to slash NOAAs budget 27% to $4.5 billion appears to be already dead. The President proposes, but Congress decides, Cole, (R-Moore), who is Chairman of the House Appropriations committee, told the Norman Transcript at a Norman Chamber of Commerce event last week. The bill released Monday demonstrated growing pushback in the House to the administrations efforts to dismantle the agency, including dissolving the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research. Instead of the original $1.7 billion cut, the proposal now calls for cutting the fiscal 2026 budget by $387 million, or 6%. Even that may be more than Cole is willing to agree to. He called the cuts a White House proposal and threat not a done deal. Youre going to be fine in our bill. Were going to protect it, and well be coming out in the next few weeks, he said in regards to National Weather Service offices in Norman. NO PAYWALL, NONPARTISAN Students pay about $14 in fees that support the Daily. If you're not a student, please join those invested in OU and Norman who have given more than $110,000 to support our trustworthy, independent journalism. SUPPORT OUR LOCAL JOURNALISM He assured reporters that the basic funding structure and the basic employment stuff is going to be okay. (The National Weather Center) is not going anywhere, and its going to be fully staffed and maintained. He gave peace of mind where he could, but said that Trump does control grants, and many of those grants work in other parts of the National Weather Center, such as The Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research and Operations, which remain in some jeopardy. The Presidents budget is designed by the Office of Management and Budget, and theyre proposing a lot of stuff that they know is not going to happen, and thats (NOAA) one of them Ive never seen a presidential budget that survived contact with reality, it doesnt matter whose it is. Kind of a standing joke, he added. Coles district includes Oklahomas Radar Operations Center, a critical node in NOAAs weather radar system. Recently, Cole confirmed the facility will remain open, even as other NOAA sites face potential closure. As historic floods hit Central Texas, Cole acknowledged growing alarm over potential cuts to the Severe Storms Lab and the National Weather Service, the same agencies responsible for forecasting these warnings. The death toll as a result of the Texas floods along the Guadalupe River at Camp Mystic stood at 134. But the number missing had dropped to 101 while the search continues. Cole has offered public reassurances- but the timing remains stark. In a statement Tuesday, he called the bill a product that reflects making needed decisions to rein in spending while safeguarding our nation and American citizens. Gaylord News is a reporting project of the University of Oklahoma Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication. For more stories by Gaylord News go to GaylordNews.net. WASHINGTON The U.S. Senate agreed to legislation early Thursday that will cancel $9 billion in previously approved funding for public broadcasting and various foreign aid accounts, another victory for the Trump administration. The 51-48 mostly party-line vote at about 2:30 a.m. sends the bill back to the House, where GOP lawmakers in that chamber would have to clear the final version for President Donald Trumps signature before a Friday deadline. Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski were the only Republicans to vote against passing the measure, which was opposed by all Democrats present and voting. NEWSLETTERS * required Thank you for subscribing! Email * Please enter a valid email address First Name Last Name When major news breaks + a few times a week FREE SIGN UP Subscribing... Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota was absent, and her staff said on social media that after she began to feel unwell Wednesday and saw the Capitol physician, she went to George Washington University Hospital, where out of an abundance of caution, they are keeping her overnight. Murkowski voiced concerns with the legislation during a floor speech, saying the White Houses request lacked detail and could have negative repercussions around the world. Weve got big, broad categories, but I havent been given the comfort, if you will, that were not impacting maternal and child health; that were not impacting HIV/AIDS; that were not impacting nutrition programs and programs related to tuberculosis, malaria, polio, neglected tropical disease, pandemic prevention, family planning, Murkwoski said. I think that we are entitled to have that level of detail when these funds that we have authorized, that we have appropriated to are now being clawed back. I dont think that that is too much to ask, she said. Murkowski said the right approach to addressing some conservatives perception of left-leaning bias at National Public Radio shouldnt be to completely eliminate funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds both public radio and television. The impact on local communities in rural areas, she said, could be significant, given that many people rely on their stations for emergency alerts related to tsunamis and other forms of extreme weather as well as educational programs. Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt, who managed the bill, said the cancellations were intended to restore some fiscal sanity thats needed after bureaucrats have betrayed the trust of the American people by spending foreign aid dollars on programs he described as offensive. What this bill is about is to test the will of this chamber if we can actually move forward on what the American people sent us here to do, which is to find waste, to find fraud and find abuse, Schmitt said. And also to realign the taxpayer dollars that go out the door with actual American interests. The win in the Senate for the GOP and Trump followed approval on July 1 of a massive tax and spending cut package he had advocated. Two years of federal funds taken back The rescissions bill will claw back $1.1 billion in previously approved spending for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which contributes funding to NPR, the Public Broadcasting Service and hundreds of local stations throughout the country. That money was slated to cover the fiscal year set to begin Oct. 1 and the following year. The legislation also cancels about $8 billion in foreign aid spending that Congress had appropriated for dozens of programs, including global health initiatives. Senate Republicans opted to preserve full funding for the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds secured a handshake deal with White House budget director Russ Vought to transfer $9.4 million from an undisclosed account within the Interior Department to Native American radio stations. But that wasnt included in the actual bill. Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Wisconsin all hold public broadcasting stations that will receive a piece of that funding, according to Rounds office. Lack of details North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis used floor debate to caution the White House budget office against going too far with the rescissions included in the bill and scolded the administration for not giving Congress more detail about what it wants to cut. NO PAYWALL, NONPARTISAN Students pay about $14 in fees that support the Daily. If you're not a student, please join those invested in OU and Norman who have given more than $110,000 to support our trustworthy, independent journalism. SUPPORT OUR LOCAL JOURNALISM The only time that weve had a successful rescissions package in modern history was 1992, Tillis said, adding that request was approved, in part, because it was sent to Congress with very detailed lists of specific programs that were going to be cut. The request this year, Tillis said, doesnt include nearly that level of information. But he said hes willing to vote for it anyway, giving the president and the Office of Management and Budget the benefit of the doubt that theyre going to be responsible cuts. Tillis said he was assured the rescissions wouldnt affect a $200 million account that provides non-miliary aid to Ukraine or foreign aid accounts like the one funding maternal and child health programs at a Sudanese refugee camp he visited earlier this year. However, if we find out that some of these programs that weve communicated should be out of bounds, that advisers to the president decide that theyre going to cut anyway, then there will be a reckoning for that, Tillis said. It did not have to be this way Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, warned Republicans that unilaterally cutting funding approved through bipartisan bills could upend the annual government funding process. It did not have to be this way and it still does not have to be this way, Murray said. In fact if Republicans come to their senses and vote this down, we can still go a different route. We can do what we have always done and consider bipartisan rescissions as part of our annual appropriations process. Congress must pass some sort of bipartisan funding bill before the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1, otherwise there will be a partial government shutdown. Murray also said that cutting these investments is just downright wrong. We should not be voting to let children starve or die from preventable diseases. We should not be voting to go back on our word to the world, Murray said. Saving a couple pennies is not worth losing our credibility or causing millions of needless deaths across the globe. It is not even close. Democrats introduced a series of amendments to change portions of the bill related to public broadcasting funding and foreign aid, but did not succeed. House Republicans up next The reworked bill now goes back to the House, where GOP leaders in that chamber need nearly all their members to support the changes made in the Senate. If the House cannot meet the Friday deadline, the White House budget office would be required to spend the funding it included in its original rescissions request, which it released in early June. The House voted 214-212 earlier this year to send the original bill to the Senate, where GOP lawmakers raised concerns about various elements, including how reducing foreign aid spending would impact Americas leadership among adversarial countries like China and global health initiatives. The Senate didnt make many changes to the legislation, but did remove the proposed rescission for PEPFAR. The initiative, launched by former President George W. Bush, has saved more than 26 million lives. The change decreased the total amount of funding that will be canceled from $9.4 billion to about $9 billion. Both figures are miniscule compared to the $6.8 trillion the federal government spends each year, though this bill is meant to be the first of many the Trump administration hopes Republicans approve in the months and years ahead. Oklahoma Voice is an affiliate of States Newsroom, a nation 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and donations focused on delivering state government news. The Voice maintains full editorial independence. For more stories by Oklahoma Voice go to oklahomavoice.com. The Chillicothe mill produces commercial printing papers, inkjet papers, book papers and envelope papers, to name a few of its specialty paper grades. The Chillicothe mill produces commercial printing papers, inkjet papers, book papers and envelope papers, to name a few of its specialty paper grades. Background Agreement on Chillicothe Paper Mill Closing Strengthens Local Control and Benefits PaperAge editor's note: The following news story was posted online on June 17 by multiple news outlets in the Chillicothe, Ohio area. July 17, 2025 (Chillicothe) - An informal agreement on the Chillicothe paper mill between the owner and the state's economic development corporation was released on social media recently. It sets five "preliminary terms" before the revised shutdown date. The Memorandum of Agreement between mill operator Pixelle (based in Pennsylvania, and owned by H.I.G. Capital of Miami, Florida) and JobsOhio was posted by Natalie Fahmy (Ohio Statehouse/Politics Reporter)on X / Twitter recently. An outline of the five terms: The property will be "contributed" for $1 for the purpose of redeveloping the land. Pixelle is responsible for environmental remediation, demolition, and obligations to unions. Pixelle will issue a WARN Notice by June 10th, and will fulfill its obligations in the following 60-day period. Pixelle will retain proceeds from the sale of any equipment on the site. All proceeds from the sale of the property will be for the benefit of former employees and the Chillicothe community. "The MOU signed between JobsOhio and HIG/Pixelle was an important step in assuring that the local community has a voice in redevelopment of the paper mill site," stated Tammy Eallonardo, Director of Greater Chillicothe & Ross County Development. "It puts us in control of the site rather than an outsider who doesn't know Ross County or its people." Eallonardo, as head of GCRCD, is a member of the 'paper mill response team' that has been discussing the situation weekly since the mid-April surprise announcement of the mill's closure. A "Memorandum of Agreement" or MOU is "a formal, yet non-binding agreement that outlines the present intentions, roles, and objectives of the parties involved in a collaboration. It is not legally enforceable like a contract." (Definition from the Georgia Institute of Technology). A "WARN Act Notice" is a legally required notification for when union labor may start to be laid off, filed with the state. The complete news article with an image of the MOU is available here SOURCE: Chillicothe's WCHI EZ 1350 The United States remains actively engaged in addressing the humanitarian situation in Gaza. At the same time, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff continues to work to reach a deal that would free the hostages and bring about a ceasefire in Gaza, said Ambassador Dorothy Shea, Acting U.S. Representative to the United Nations. Israel has accepted the proposed ceasefire terms, noted Ambassador Shea. However, Hamas continues to stubbornly reject them. We would have a ceasefire today if Hamas had agreed to the proposal on the table. The responsibility for the situation in Gaza lies solely with Hamas. It is long overdue for members of this [Security] Council and the UN System to place the pressure where it belongs on Hamas, which continues to prolong this war and hold 50 hostages, including Americans Itay Chen and Omer Neutra, in captivity. The United States supports getting assistance to civilians in Gaza, said Ambassador Shea. But it should happen in a way that does not allow Hamas to benefit. Backed by the Israeli and American governments, Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, or GHF, began operating in May 2025 as a response to claims that Hamas was diverting aid. Ambassador Shea urged UN members to support the GHF and stop echoing incorrect information that benefits Hamas and undermines the secure delivery of aid to civilians in Gaza. It is unconscionable that members of this Council have focused on criticizing the GHF rather than condemning Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad for their continued abuse of the Palestinian civilians in Gaza. The result is an ever-growing credibility gap for the United Nations. The UN has failed to condemn Hamas attacks against GHF personnel. Hamas has murdered innocent Palestinians and injured two Americans working for the GHF attempting to feed civilians. In the previous aid delivery system, Hamas systematically looted humanitarian assistance, turning aid into a tool of control. The GHF has successfully distributed more than 76 million meals to civilians in Gaza to date. We urge Council members to join us, urged Ambassador Shea, in supporting the work of the GHF as it delivers lifesaving aid to civilians on the ground. Including Luthers Qualified Faith Alone; Catholic Soteriology Accurately Presented; Meritorious Works; Bible vs. Faith Alone Norman L. Geisler (1932 2019) was an American evangelical Protestant theologian, philosopher, and apologist. He obtained an M.A. in theology from Wheaton College and a Ph.D. in philosophy from Loyola University, and made scholarly contributions to the subjects of classical Christian apologetics, systematic theology, philosophy of religion, Calvinism, Catholicism, biblical inerrancy, Bible difficulties, biblical miracles, the resurrection of Jesus, ethics, and other topics. He wrote or edited more 90 books and hundreds of articles. Dr. Geisler was the Chairman of Philosophy of Religion at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (197079) and Professor of Systematic Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary (197988) and a key figure in founding the Evangelical Philosophical Society. He also co-founded Southern Evangelical Seminary. He was known as an evangelical Thomist and considered himself a moderate Calvinist. He was not an anti-Catholic (i.e., he didnt deny that Catholicism was fully a species of Christianity). This is one of a series of comprehensive replies to his book, Roman Catholics and Evangelicals: Agreements and Differences (co-author, Ralph E. MacKenzie, graduate of Bethel Theological Seminary-West; Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 1995). Its available online in a public domain version, which has no page numbers, so I will utilize page numbers from my paperback copy, for the sake of full reference. I consider it the best Protestant critique of Catholicism (especially in terms of biblical arguments) that I have ever found, from any time period. The arguments are, for the most part, impressively presented, thought-provoking, respectful, respectable, and worthy of serious consideration (which Im now giving them). Ill be concentrating on the eight sections of Part Two: Areas of Doctrinal Differences (202 pages). These installments will be listed and linked on my Calvinism & General Protestantism web page, in section XVII: Catholics and Protestants (second from the end). Dr. Geislers and Ralph MacKenzies words will be in blue. My biblical citations are from RSV. ***** Before Luther, the standard Augustinian position on justification stressed intrinsic justification . . . . Intrinsic justification argues that the believer is made righteous by Gods grace, as compared to extrinsic justification, by which a sinner is forensically declared righteous (at best, a subterranean strain in pre-Reformation Christendom). (p. 222) Here, Dr. Geisler bears witness to the fact that the distinctive and novel faith alone Protestant soteriology scarcely existed before the 16th century. Thanks for the confirmation! Catholics have been making the same point for 500 years. Geisler made similar points in other parts of his book: For Augustine, justification included both the beginnings of ones righteousness before God and its subsequent perfection the event and the process. What later became the Reformation concept of sanctification then is effectively subsumed under the aegis of justification. Although he believed that God initiated the salvation process, it is incorrect to say that Augustine held to the concept of forensic justification. This understanding of justification is a later development of the Reformation . . . (p. 85) One can be saved without believing that imputed righteousness (or forensic justification) is an essential part of the true gospel. Otherwise, few people were saved between the time of the apostle Paul and the Reformation, since scarcely anyone taught imputed righteousness (or forensic justification) during that period! . . . . . (p. 502) See also my article, including the leading Protestant historian of justification, Alister McGraths almost identical opinion: Sola Fide (Faith Alone) Nonexistent Before the Protestant Revolt in 1517 (Geisler & McGrath) [Catholic365, 10-31-23]. Geisler even notes that the classic faith alone view was not, strictly speaking, initiated even by Martin Luther: Melanchthon, Luthers great systematic theologian, did use forensic terms to describe justification. (p. 222) Geisler commendably points out some other qualifications in Luthers own views, which is rare in Protestant Reformation apologetics. These highlighted aspects reveal that Luthers position was closer to the Catholic belief regarding justification than most people are aware: Amid the Protestant stress on Luthers discovery it is sometimes forgotten that Luther also believed in a progressive sense of the word justification. For example, he said: For we understand that a man who is justified is not already righteous but moving toward righteousness (WA 391, 83; LW 34, 152). Further, Our justification is not yet complete. It is still under construction. It shall, however, be completed in the resurrection of the dead (WA 391, 252). This sense of progressive justification is what many Protestants call sanctification, the process by which we are made righteous, not an act by which one is declared righteous. Toon adds, Justification by faith is both an event and a process. What later Protestants were to divide, Luther kept together. He is quite clear that there is a moment when a sinner is actually justified by faith. He then has the righteousness of another, the alien righteousness of Christ, imputed to him. However, this is the beginning of a journey toward a time (following the resurrection of the dead in the age to come) when he will in fact possess a perfect righteousness created in him by the Spirit of God. Luther also suggested that the believer is righteous in the eyes of God and yet sinful at the same time. For Luther, faith is the right (or righteous) relationship to God. Sin and righteousness thus coexist; we remain sinners inwardly, but we are righteous extrinsically in the sight of God. However, Luther is not necessarily implying that this co-existence of sin and righteousness is a permanent condition. Instead, for Luther, the existence of sin does not negate our status as Christians. (pp. 223-224; Geisler cites at length Peter Toon, Foundations for Faith [Westchester, Ill., Crossway, 1983, 58-59) Ive pointed this out, too, for many years. See, for example, my articles: Luthers Snow-Covered Dunghill (Myth?) [10-5-05] Martin Luther: Good Works Prove Authentic Faith [4-16-08] Luther on Theosis & Sanctification [11-23-09] Martin Luther: Faith Alone is Not Lawless Antinomianism [2-28-10] Merit & Sanctification: Martin Luthers Point of View [11-10-14] Calvinist Origin of Luthers (?) Snow-Covered Dunghill? [5-14-19] Trent understands justification in two senses (the second corresponding to the Reformed doctrine of sanctification), this second justification requires good works as a condition for ultimate justification. It is thus both possible and necessary to keep the law of God. . . . Trent understood justification in two ways: the first and second phases which Catholic scholars refer to as initial and progressive justification respectively. (p. 225) Very good. I have noted this, too: Initial Justification & Faith Alone: Harmonious? [5-3-04] Monergism in Initial Justification is Catholic Doctrine [1-7-10] Trent Doesnt Utterly Exclude Imputation (Kenneth Howell) [July 1996] Geisler makes another very helpful and ecumenical observation, accurately conveying Catholic doctrine (its refreshing to see): Trent states that our initial justification must be seen as a gift. Thus, it comes as a surprise to many Protestants that Roman Catholics believe that If anyone shall say that man can be justified before God by his own works which are done . . . without divine grace through Christ Jesus: let him be Further, nothing that precedes justification, whether faith or works, merits the grace of justification. For if it is by grace, it is no more by works; otherwise, as the apostle says, grace is no more grace. The new Catechism of the Catholic Church says clearly: The merits of our good works are gifts of the divine goodness (2009). It is only fair to point out here that when Catholic scholars cite James 2:24 (we are justified by works) they do not mean this initial justification which comes only by grace. Rather, they are referring to progressive justification (growth in righteousness) which Protestants call sanctification. Trent does assert, however, that works are necessary for salvation in the progressive and eventual senses, making it dogma that by his good works the justified man really acquires a claim to supernatural reward from God. It is precisely here that Catholics and evangelicals disagree. (p. 226; italics his own, in citing Trent) At the end, Geisler, like a good Protestant, denies meritorious works. In so doing, he opposes much Scripture: * Matthew 16:27 For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. Matthew 19:16-17, 20-21 And behold, one came up to him, saying, Teacher, what good deed must I do, to have eternal life? [17] And he said to him, . . . If you would enter life, keep the commandments. . . . [20] The young man said to him, All these I have observed; what do I still lack? [21] Jesus said to him, If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me. (in the parallel passage Lk 10:27 the ruler says, . . . You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself. And Jesus replied, You have answered right; do this, and you will live.) Matthew 25:34-35, 41-43, 46 Then the King will say to those at his right hand, Come, O blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; [35] for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, . . . [41] Then he will say to those at his left hand, `Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; [42] for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, [43] I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me. . . . [46] And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Luke 3:9 (+ Mt 3:10; 7:19) . . . every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Luke 6:35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; . . . Romans 2:6-10 For he will render to every man according to his works: [7] to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; [8] but for those who are factious and do not obey the truth, but obey wickedness, there will be wrath and fury. [9] There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, [10] but glory and honor and peace for every one who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. Romans 2:13-16 For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. [14] When Gentiles who have not the law do by nature what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. [15] They show that what the law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them [16] on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus. Galatians 6:7-9 Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. [8] For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. [9] And let us not grow weary in well-doing, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart. 1 Timothy 6:18-19 They are to do good, to be rich in good deeds, liberal and generous, [19] thus laying up for themselves a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of the life which is life indeed. Hebrews 5:9 and being made perfect he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him, James 2:14, 17, 20, 22, 24, 26 What does it profit, my brethren, if a man says he has faith but has not works? Can his faith save him? . . . [17] So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. . . . [20] . . . faith apart from works is barren . . . [22] You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by works, . . . [24] You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. . . . [26] . . . faith apart from works is dead. Revelation 20:12-13 . . . And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. [13] . . . and all were judged by what they had done. The following two passages also explicitly teach that sanctification is directly related to salvation, in a way that Protestantism expressly denies: Romans 6:22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the return you get is sanctification and its end, eternal life. * 2 Thessalonians 2:13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God chose you from the beginning to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. In the Gospel of John only one condition is laid down for obtaining eternal life: belief (e.g., John 3:16, 36; 5:24; 20:31). If salvation were not by faith alone then Johns whole message would be misleading, since it states that there is only one condition for salvation when actually there are two: faith plus works. Indeed, John states explicitly that the only work necessary for salvation is to believe. When asked, What can we do to accomplish the works of God? Jesus replied, This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent (John 6:29, emphasis added). There simply is nothing else we may do in exchange for our salvation. Jesus did it all (John 19:30; Heb. 10:14). (p. 231) * Dr. Geisler has somehow overlooked these three passages in the Gospel of John that do not fit at all into his extrabiblical schema: John 3:36 He who believes [pistuo] in the Son has eternal life; he who does not obey [apitheo] the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him. (1 Pet 2:7 uses the same parallelism, with pistuo and apitheo, though RSV translates the latter as do not believe. KJV renders it as disobedient in the same way that Jn 3:36 and several other verses [Rom 1:30; 2 Tim 3:2; Titus 1:6; 3:3] do) * John 5:28-29 . . . all who are in the tombs will hear his voice [29] and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. * John 15:2, 4-6, 8 Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. . . . [4] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. [5] I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. [6] If a man does not abide in me, he is cast forth as a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned. . . . [8] By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples. We find more of the same in the epistles written by the same St. John: Joshua and Sandee Greenberg claim Philadelphia officials have failed to conduct the promised "expeditious" review of their daughter's controversial suicide ruling. This is an undated photo of Ellen and her parents. Photo provided by Greenberg family After 14 long years, it appeared to be a time of triumph for Ellen Greenbergs parents in their battle with Philadelphia to prove she was the victim of homicide, not suicide, by 20 stab wounds. In exchange for settling their two civil lawsuits against Philadelphia officials, Joshua and Sandee Greenberg were promised an expeditious reexamination of the 27-year-old Philadelphia teachers death in 2011, revisiting the suicide ruling in the case. From left, Moe Bandy, Ronnie McDowell, and Gene Watson attend the 2nd Annual Legendary Lunch presented by Webster Public Relations and CMA at The Palm Restaurant on February 8, 2016 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Webster Public Relations) Getty Images Ronnie McDowell is one tough dude, and if you dont believe it all you have to do is look at the last several months of his life. The country music icon came to Pennsylvania to play the Summer Solstice Music Festival in Oley last month, and promptly had a stroke just four songs in. He spent a couple of days in the hospital before returning home, and although he knew he would need surgery, he has already returned to the stage. But surgery is surgery and, especially when it involves clearing up issues that led to the stroke, its a serious deal. So, its no surprise that McDowells son, Ronnie McDowell Jr., has had that weighing on him this week. And we know that because he took to Facebook to share the date for his fathers surgery and to ask fans to send up prayers. Dads surgery date has been set for next Tuesday, July 22nd, at Vanderbilt, McDowell Jr. wrote. It is hitting me hard. He is the Best Dad that nay Son could ever ask for. We have traveled all over Gods Creation together and we will continue to do so once he gets through this. Please Pray for my incredibly awesome blessing of a Dad! McDowell Jr. was by his fathers side last month at the music festival when the medical emergency took place. I knew something wasnt right as I had his vocals in my in ear monitor and I could hear him slurring his words and forgetting the words to his songs that he has sang for many years, McDowell said. After a few minutes I had Steve to play a solo while I took my dad off side stage to ask him how he was feeling. He told me that he wasnt OK, and thats not how my strong Dad talks. He said that he thought he might be having a stroke. McDowell Jr. said he immediately took his dad to a van to cool off and asked the promoter to bring over the EMT. They took him to the Reading hospital, he said. I will say this, that every single person at the hospital was so incredibly nice and helpful. The Doctors told him that he will need surgery in the next few weeks. They do want him to take it easy, but they said that he can perform and workout in the next few days. McDowell began his career in 1977 and charted more than 30 songs in the top 40 on the Billboard country music charts. Two of those songs Older Woman and Youre Gonna Ruin My Bad Reputation each reached the top spot on the charts. McDowell had 11 more songs hit the top 10. He was also known for his song about Elvis Presleys death in 1977, called The King Is Gone, which became a country and pop hit. Zac Brown Band fans were caught off guard recently when the group wiped its social media accounts, and then shared a cryptic video teasing a next chapter. Some thought at least briefly it might even be the bands way of saying it was wrapping things up. But, it turns out, it was just getting ready to make history with another big-time announcement. That announcement? Well, the band has announced it will play a shows at the Sphere in Las Vegas. Dates are Dec. 5, 6, 12 and 13, and that is slated to coincide with the release of the bands seventh studio album, Love & Fear. Bringing our new album Love & Fear to Sphere in Las Vegas is a dream come true, Zac Brown said. Its my masterpiece so far. This show is the story of my life that I have never shared, a journey through my imagination, music and stories that have defined who I am. All of this brought to life in the incredible immersive environment of the Sphere, he continued. It will be a unique experience where you can really feel every note, every word, right there with us. We cant wait to share it with the fans. While Kenny Chesney recently became the first country music star to play the Sphere, Zac Brown Band will become the first country group to play the venue. The news comes after the band first raised eyebrows by wiping its social media and posting a single highlight video last week. There was a message written out there, too, that initially had fans thinking it was all a good bye. Theres no way to sum up what the last chapter has meant to us the post read. Weve played thousands of shows, crossed countless state lines, and seen every kind of weather and welcome you could imagine. Whether you saw us when we were playing covers in Georgia dive bars or you just found us on your drive home last month youve been a part of this journey. Youve sung the words, screamed the choruses, cried with us, danced with us, and let this music into your life. That kind of connection is not lost on us. It never will be. One can see why fans might have been freaking out at that point, but there was more. From every hand we shook, every sign we saw in the crowd, every voice lifted back to us from the front to the lawn, we felt your love, the statement continued. And we gave it right back, night after night. This isnt goodbye. Its a thank you. A reflection. The next chapter? it continued. Its the biggest one yet. Well see you there. By LINDSAY WHITEHURST, The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) The Supreme Court preserved a key part of the Affordable Care Acts preventive health care coverage requirements on Friday, rejecting a challenge from Christian employers to the provision that affects some 150 million Americans. The 6-3 ruling comes in a lawsuit over how the government decides which health care medications and services must be fully covered by private insurance under former President Barack Obamas signature law, often referred to as Obamacare. The plaintiffs said the process is unconstitutional because a volunteer board of medical experts tasked with recommending which services are covered is not Senate-approved. President Donald Trumps administration defended the mandate before the court, though the Republican president has been a critic of his Democratic predecessors law. The Justice Department said board members dont need Senate approval because they can be removed by the health and human services secretary. Medications and services that could have been affected include statins to lower cholesterol, lung cancer screenings, HIV-prevention drugs and medication to lower the chance of breast cancer for women. The case came before the Supreme Court after an appeals court struck down some preventive care coverage requirements. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the Christian employers and Texas residents who argued they cant be forced to provide full insurance coverage for things like medication to prevent HIV and some cancer screenings. Wes Scantlin of Puddle of Mudd made headlines in March after "a total disaster" of a performance. (Photo by Brigitte Engl/Redferns) Redferns The frontman of popular 90s grunge outfit, Puddle of Mudd, caught some flack back in March for a total disaster of a show. Said frontman has since addressed the performance, and recently opened up during an interview about the his struggles with substance abuse and the law. According to Blabbermouth.net, it was during a SiriusXM Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk episode that aired on Tuesday when Wes Scantlin addressed his brushes with cops and issues with alcohol. Scantlins issues were thrown into the spotlight after the aforementioned, now-infamous performance in March, after which, according to Loudwire, Scantlin claimed to have been roofied by one of his former bandmates. TMZ reported that same month that Scantlin was arrested over accusations of domestic violence and drug possession. When asked during the interview if he felt like his troubles were behind, Scantlin answered in the affirmative. [My] main goal [is] to just stay out of trouble, said he, as transcribed by Blabbermouth.net. And I really seriously dont really do that much wrong things. I really just dont. Im like a big fish in the little pond. I call myself a Christmas dinner trophy for the po-po [police]. I wonder how many times theyve explained that they arrested me at their Christmas dinner, at Christmas day. Im telling you, man. Im just a big, huge trophy. Ive made some mistakes, but at certain points I could breathe in the wrong direction and get cuffed and slammed in a dungeon, Scantlin added. Shoot, man. Its weird. My whole thing, my whole motto, is turn around and run for your life as fast as you possibly can, man. Puddle of Mudd was first formed in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1992. Theyre best known for their 2001 hit single Blurry. The band is currently on tour, although there are no upcoming shows in Pennsylvania as of the publishing of this report. The teenager expressed the desire to mimic the attack that resulted in the deaths of three young girls in Southport, England. (Photo by Oli Scarff/AFP via Getty Images) AFP via Getty Images A teenager was planning a terrorist attack during the opening night of an iconic 90s rock groups reunion tour. Fortunately, this plan was thwarted after his family raised concerns about a month prior to the show. The Times reports how the 17-year-old whose name has been withheld due to his age researched how to obtain large knives and informed friends that he planned to attack concert-goers during Oasiss performance on July 4th in Cardiff, Wales. According to the times, the 17-year-old told a counsellor in June that he sought to commit a Rudakubana-style attack. This is an allusion to Axel Rudakubana, who fatally stabbed three young girls during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, England, in July of last year. Rolling Stone states that the teenager additionally mocked the Southport victims on Snapchat while praising Rudakubana. He also tried to download and save the same al-Qaeda training manual Rudakubana had had in his possession. Two police reports were filed, leading to the teenagers arrest, Loudwire adds. He pleaded guilty to possessing a document useful for terrorism during a June 21st hearing at Westminster court; The Times reports that presiding judge Justice Cheema-Grub ordered a psychiatric evaluation for the teen, as well as a pre-sentence report. A sentencing date for the suspect still hasnt been confirmed as of the publishing of this report. A chlorine leak at a Columbia County swimming pool forced surrounding residential areas to evacuate Thursday morning, according to multiple news sources. The Little Fishing Creek Area swimming pool, at the 200 block of Chestnut Street in Millville, was evacuated after a worker at the pool discovered the leak coming from a pump in the pump house around 10 a.m., according to a report from Press Enterprise. The pool was evacuated around 11 a.m., FOX56 reported. The leak was contained to the pump house, but authorities evacuated the area from Millville Area School District to Dog Gone Fuel on Route 42, according to Press Enterprise. The chemical leak occurred during a repair at the pools pump house, but it was quickly discovered and is being handled according to safety protocols, the Little Fishing Creek Area Pool said on social media. While our repair team was working on a repair this morning in the pump house at the pool, a leak occurred causing two different chemicals to mix with each other, Little Fishing Creek Area swimming pool said on Facebook. This was discovered immediately and all safety procedures are in place and it is being handled by all the appropriate parties. We are very thankful and appreciative of our crew and that they were fast acting as soon as this occurred, the Facebook post said. Please continue to monitor the FB page for reopening updates. As always, thank you for your continued support of the pool. Hemlock Township police said a hazardous materials incident prompted the evacuation of nearby residential areas. Officers secured the scene and kept both residents and passing drivers at a safe distance. A hazmat team and a rehab unit were enroute to clean up the area. Little Fishing Creek Area said the pool will be closed all day and lessons scheduled would be made up. Its unclear what caused the incident. No injuries have been reported. Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, left, trails possible 2026 Democratic challenger Janelle Stelson, according to a new poll. PennLive graphic Republican U.S Rep. Scott Perry might be in some early troubling against Democrat Janelle Stelson, according to a new poll of 10th Congressional District voters. Stelson leads Perry 46% to 43% for the 2026 mid-term election in a Public Policy Polling survey done for the Democratic House Majority PAC, Newsweek reported. The poll questioned 559 district voters, but there was no margin of error available. Perry, 63, beat Stelson in November by a little over 5,100 votes, just slightly more than 1 percentage point, in the purplish district that includes Dauphin County and parts of Cumberland and York counties. Stelson announced on Monday that she was running again in the districts Democratic primary, where she could face some challengers. Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas has said he is also pondering a bid for the 10th District seat. Im running to give Central Pennsylvanians the voice they deserve and to fight to lower costs, protect Social Security and Medicare, ensure a womans right to choose and secure the border, Stelson, 65, told PennLive. People around here are really angry, and they should be, she said. Perry won last time by one of the smallest margins of any congressional campaign in the country, so hes going to have a tough time defending his actions to the voters he refuses to even meet with. Stelson has already picked up the endorsement of local Democrats, Emilys List, a national group that helps elect pro-choice Democrats, and, according to Politico.com, the centrist New Democrat Coalition. Perry, the former chairman of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus, has been hammered by Democrats for backing President Donald Trumps One, Big, Beautiful Bill, which Democrats have warned will toss millions of people off Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) that feeds needy families. When asked about that issue, 46% said it would make them less likely to support him compared to 22% that said more likely and 25% that said it made no difference. The legislation was presented to voters in the poll as a bill that would kick 17 million Americans off healthcare and increase grocery and healthcare costs, Both Trump and Perry are underwater with voters on job performance, and Perry is considerably worse. Forty-eight percent of 10th District voters disapprove of Trumps job performance while 45% approve. However, almost half (49%) of district voters disapprove of Perrys job performance compared to just 36% who approve, nearly 10 points below Trumps approval. Stelsons favorability rating was 35% and her unfavorable rating was 33% with 32% saying they were not sure. Forty-seven percent of voters said they voted for Trump in November and 43% said they voted for former Vice President Kamala Harris. President Donald Trump had some bad news in a new poll that shows voters are unhappy with his handling of several issues, including the supposed Jeffrey Epstein list. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) AP As President Donald Trump tries to downplay the Jeffrey Epstein files that he touted for years, a new poll shows that a huge swath of American voters disapproves of the way he has handled the matter. Quinnipiac University polled 1,290 registered voters and found that 63% do not like how Trump and his administration have handled the supposed Epstein files related to sex parties reportedly featuring business and political leaders with young women and teen girls. Just 17% approved of the Trump administrations handling of the Epstein files. After years of calling for the release of the Epstein files, Trump and his cabinet members are now claiming there is no list with Trump saying it is a hoax and trying to blame Democrats and even his own supporters after he lobbied for years for the files to be released. Epstein has been dead and gone for years but his tawdry legacy looms large in a country wanting to know more about who he knew and whether secrets have been buried with him, said Tim Malloy, a Quinnipiac University Polling analyst. Epstein was arrested in July 2019, during the Trump administration, and supposedly killed himself in jail in August 2019. Forty percent of Republicans approved of the Trump administrations handling of the Epstein files with 36% disapproving and 24% not having an opinion. Democrats (83%) and independents (71%) overwhelmingly disapproved of the Trump administrations handling of the files. Trump Cabinet members, many of whom have demanded the Epstein files be released, are unpopular with voters: A clear majority (54%) of voters disapprove of Trumps job performance with 40% approving, the poll found, mirroring other polls that show voters discontent with the president a little more than six months into his second term. Trump is underwater with voters on every important issue: 54% disapprove of his foreign policies. 54% disapprove of his handling of the Israel-Hamas conflict. 55% disapprove of his handling of the economy. 55% disapprove of Trumps work on immigration. 56% disapprove of what he has done on trade, such as waging a tariffs war. 57% disapprove of his handling of the Russia-Ukraine war, which he vowed to end on day one of his administration. 59% percent disapprove of Trumps deportations. 64% oppose the United States deporting undocumented immigrants to countries not their own. When it comes to Congress, a whopping 72% disapprove of what Democrats are doing, a record low for the poll dating back to March 2009, while 62% disapprove of Republican lawmakers job performance. If the approval numbers for Republicans are bad then the approval numbers for Democrats can be characterized as flat out terrible, said Malloy. Nearly half of voters (49%) said they would consider joining a third party while 45% said they would not. However, more than three-quarters of voters (77%) said they would not consider a third party created by billionaire and former protege Elon Musk, who recently announced the formation of the America Party. Former Eagles linebacker Bryan Braman celebrates following his team's 2018 Super Bowl win over the New England Patriots in Minneapolis. Braman died Thursday morning at age 38. Getty Images UPDATE: The Eagles issued the following statement on X about linebacker Bryan Braman: We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Bryan Braman. During his four seasons in Philadelphia, Bryan was a loyal teammate, a supporter of the community and a valuable member of our Super Bowl LII-winning team. More importantly, he was a devoted father who passionately loved his family and everyone around him. We extend our deepest condolences to Bryans family and all who are grieving his loss during this difficult time. Former Eagles Super Bowl champion Bryan Braman died Thursday morning at the age of 38 from a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer. The news was first reported by ESPN and confirmed by Sean Stellato, the agent for the special teams ace who spent seven seasons in the NFL, including four with the Eagles. Braman leaves behind two daughters, ages 11 and 8. Braman had been diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer in early February and his story became public earlier this month when his friend William Jones started a GoFundMe page, which explained the linebackers dire situation. Wrote Jones: Bryan is home with his family after undergoing a Car-t cell reprogramming treatment program in Seattle. With the cancer that Bryan has, which is a VERY rare form of cancer, the Car-t treatment had the highest chance of success as the cells are reprogrammed to fight this cancer that is within Bryan. His cells did re-infuse themselves, and did in fact start reproducing within his bone marrow. At first the mass did start to shrink, but then the cancer started fighting back. At this point Bryan has had to start having chemo treatments that are designed for the treatment program Bryan is in. Bryan has had to undergo several surgical procedures. The main problem has been that Bryan has not been able to recover from the procedures because of his lowered immunity due to all of these treatments. By the time he was able to recover so he could continue with the chemo, the cancer has grown (exponentially) faster, and is is now growing around his vital organs. The (doctors) are now concerned because of his treatment, his chemo options are very limited. They have tried all of the various treatment options, and unfortunately, none of them are working against this cancer. But Bryan has not given up. He is looking into other trial treatment programs, and is determined to never give up. The GoFundMe for Braman had a stated goal of $25,000 and has raised more than $88,000. Braman, who played three seasons with the Houston Texans before signing with the Eagles in 2014, won a Super Bowl with the team after rejoining the team late in the 2017 season. He blocked a punt in the divisional round against the Atlanta Falcons and registered the final special teams tackle of his career in the Eagles Super Bowl LII victory over the New England Patriots, which was his final game. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting us with a subscription. Bob Brookover can be reached at rbrookover@njadvancemedia.com On Thursday at 3:07 a.m. a heat advisory was released by the National Weather Service valid between 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. for Franklin, Perry, Dauphin, Lebanon, Cumberland, Adams, York and Lancaster counties. The weather service comments, "Heat index values up to 104 degrees expected." "Hot temperatures and high humidity may cause heat illnesses," adds the weather service. Tips from the weather service for staying safe during a heat wave Stay hydrated: Make sure to drink plenty of fluids. Find cool shelter: Stay indoors in an air-conditioned room to keep cool. Avoid sun exposure: Avoid direct sun exposure, protect yourself and check on vulnerable relatives and neighbors. Child and pet safety: Take every precaution to never leave young children and pets alone in vehicles, especially in extreme heat when car interiors can quickly become hazardous. Caution outdoors: When working or spending time outside, take extra precautions. Optimal timing: If possible, reschedule strenuous activities to early morning or evening when the heat is less intense. Recognize heat-related issues: Know how to recognize the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Dress comfortably: Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing to help your body stay cool. Additional tips for outdoor workers: For outdoor workers, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recommends regular rest breaks in shaded or air-conditioned areas. If someone is overwhelmed by the heat, swiftly relocate them to a cool, shaded location. In emergency situations, dial 911 for immediate assistance. These NWS heat safety directives are essential for safeguarding your well-being when facing high temperatures. Stay well-informed and take the necessary precautions to shield yourself and others from the potential hazards of extreme heat. Advance Local Weather Alerts is a service provided by United Robots, which uses machine learning to compile the latest data from the National Weather Service. People visit the Advanced Manufacturing Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin) A staff member displays an orthopedic surgical robot at the Healthy Life Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) A staff member (L) introduces an orthopedic surgical robot at the Healthy Life Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) People learn about companion robots at the Digital Technology Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin) People visit the Healthy Life Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) Robotic hands are pictured at the Advanced Manufacturing Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) A visitor experiences an extended reality (XR) game during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) People visit the Clean Energy Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) People watch the body shell of a new energy vehicle exhibited at the Advanced Manufacturing Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) An exhibit is pictured at the Advanced Manufacturing Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Chen Shuo) This photo shows the booth of AITO during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Dai Mingxuan) A man visits the booth of BGI at the Healthy Life Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) A participant takes a selfie with a humanoid robot during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) Companion robots are pictured at the Digital Technology Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A visitor watches a robot holding a bottle at the booth of Nvidia during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Dai Mingxuan) Editor: Zhang Zhou Daniel Zacks So-Called Weak Spot Turns Into WSOP Gold and $471,170 Kai Cocklin Live Reporter Copy link The final day of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw one more gold bracelet awarded before the lights went out on another summer in the desert. After four days of action and 1,088 entries, it was Daniel Zack who came out on top in Event #84: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, capturing his fourth WSOP bracelet and the $471,170 top prize. Zack returned for the unscheduled Day 4 second in chips but quickly took control inside Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. He outlasted a tough final four that included Zachary Schwartz, who finished runner-up for a career-best $314,056. Joshua Ladines placed third for $216,539, while overnight chip leader Richard Gryko fell in fourth for $151,802. The victory capped off a quiet summer for Zack, who had made eight previous cashes at the 2025 WSOP without reaching a final table. He now heads home with a fourth bracelet and a statement win in a game he openly admits is not his strongest, plus the lion's share of the $2,904,960 prize pool. 2025 World Series of Poker Hub Bookmark this page! All you need to know about the 2025 WSOP is here. Click here Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize 1 Daniel Zack United States $471,170 2 Zachary Schwartz United States $314,056 3 Joshua Ladines United States $216,539 4 Richard Gryko United Kingdom $151,802 5 Fahredin Mustafov Bulgaria $108,231 6 Jeremy Ausmus United States $78,504 Winner's Reaction Daniel Zack It feels great, Zack said with a wide grin. Its a really wonderful way to end the summer, and I wasnt even necessarily supposed to still be here. I came back. I went home for two weeks, and so just very ecstatic to finish this way. Despite the win, Zack was quick to downplay his Pot-Limit Omaha abilities. No, definitely not, he laughed when asked if PLO was his main game. I think I get made fun of in the mixed cash games I play for my PLO play by far the most. So, if anything, I would say everyone back home would say it was my worst game. "I would say everyone back home would say it was my worst game. As for whether he plans to improve in the format, Zack was refreshingly candid. I just dont work on poker much anymore these days, so Ive just come to peace with the fact that its not my best game. But I try my hardest when Im playing and see what happens. Although the road had been tough for much of the summer, Zack remained positive. Its been a tough year for tournaments in general. I havent really had any good results prior to this, but I havent been unhappy being here, which sometimes I am when Im running poorly. Ive had good times with friends and I thought theyve run the events well this year. So no complaints coming into this event, even if I had bricked out, I thought it was an okay year. Looking ahead, Zack does not plan on jumping into more tournaments anytime soon. I just go home. I play poker once a week at home in a cash game and outside of that, probably no tournaments until either the Bahamas or the World Series again next year. I really dont play much. Extra Day for the Final Four Gryko came into the day with the chip lead, but that quickly evaporated as he became the first to hit the rail when his kings couldnt improve against Ladines aces. Shortly after, Zack took control by winning multiple pots from Ladines and moved into the chip lead, a position he would not give up. He then rivered a full house to eliminate Ladines in third place, entering heads-up play with a commanding five-to-one chip advantage. After a brief break, the final duel began and ended in a matter of minutes. Zachary Schwartz The chips went in on the turn with both players holding flush draws, but Zack also had the biggest pair. Schwartz couldnt improve on the river and had to settle for second place. As the curtain closes on the 2025 WSOP, stick with PokerNews for final updates, exclusive interviews, and a full look back at an unforgettable summer in Las Vegas. Share this article The final day of the 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) saw one more gold bracelet awarded before the lights went out on another summer in the desert. After four days of action and 1,088 entries, it was Daniel Zack who came out on top in Event #84: $3,000 Pot-Limit Omaha, capturing his fourth WSOP bracelet and the $471,170 top prize. Zack returned for the unscheduled Day 4 second in chips but quickly took control inside Horseshoe and Paris, Las Vegas. He outlasted a tough final four that included Zachary Schwartz, who finished runner-up for a career-best $314,056. Joshua Ladines placed third for $216,539, while overnight chip leader Richard Gryko fell in fourth for $151,802. The victory capped off a quiet summer for Zack, who had made eight previous cashes at the 2025 WSOP without reaching a final table. He now heads home with a fourth bracelet and a statement win in a game he openly admits is not his strongest, plus the lion's share of the $2,904,960 prize pool. Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize 1 Daniel Zack United States $471,170 2 Zachary Schwartz United States $314,056 3 Joshua Ladines United States $216,539 4 Richard Gryko United Kingdom $151,802 5 Fahredin Mustafov Bulgaria $108,231 6 Jeremy Ausmus United States $78,504 Winner's Reaction It feels great, Zack said with a wide grin. Its a really wonderful way to end the summer, and I wasnt even necessarily supposed to still be here. I came back. I went home for two weeks, and so just very ecstatic to finish this way. Despite the win, Zack was quick to downplay his Pot-Limit Omaha abilities. No, definitely not, he laughed when asked if PLO was his main game. I think I get made fun of in the mixed cash games I play for my PLO play by far the most. So, if anything, I would say everyone back home would say it was my worst game. As for whether he plans to improve in the format, Zack was refreshingly candid. I just dont work on poker much anymore these days, so Ive just come to peace with the fact that its not my best game. But I try my hardest when Im playing and see what happens. Daniel Zack Although the road had been tough for much of the summer, Zack remained positive. Its been a tough year for tournaments in general. I havent really had any good results prior to this, but I havent been unhappy being here, which sometimes I am when Im running poorly. Ive had good times with friends and I thought theyve run the events well this year. So no complaints coming into this event, even if I had bricked out, I thought it was an okay year. Looking ahead, Zack does not plan on jumping into more tournaments anytime soon. I just go home. I play poker once a week at home in a cash game and outside of that, probably no tournaments until either the Bahamas or the World Series again next year. I really dont play much. Extra Day for the Final Four Gryko came into the day with the chip lead, but that quickly evaporated as he became the first to hit the rail when his kings couldnt improve against Ladines aces. Shortly after, Zack took control by winning multiple pots from Ladines and moved into the chip lead, a position he would not give up. He then rivered a full house to eliminate Ladines in third place, entering heads-up play with a commanding five-to-one chip advantage. After a brief break, the final duel began and ended in a matter of minutes. Zachary Schwartz The chips went in on the turn with both players holding flush draws, but Zack also had the biggest pair. Schwartz couldnt improve on the river and had to settle for second place. As the curtain closes on the 2025 WSOP, stick with PokerNews for final updates, exclusive interviews, and a full look back at an unforgettable summer in Las Vegas. While the tables were being folded and the chairs were being stacked inside the Horseshoe Events Center, Andrew Ostapchenko reigned victorious in Event #99: $5,000 No-Limit Hold'em. The 2025 World Series of Poker (WSOP) and what some call "summer camp" has come to an end after a gruelling seven weeks, and the 99th out of 100 WSOP gold bracelets was finally dished out. Ostapchenko came so close to winning his first WSOP title earlier this summer but was the bridesmaid to Chang Lee in the $25,000 No-Limit Hold'em High Roller. Finally, with the doors closing on the biggest series of the summer, Ostapchenko was able to snatch his maiden WSOP gold bracelet and a payday of $606,849. In what was deemed to be a turbo structure for this buy-in level, Ostapchenko overcame a field of 735 entries in just two days to take home the biggest piece of the $3,381,000 prize pool. "I've been coming here for over a decade, so it feels weird because this is the first year I've made a WSOP final table. I'm glad I could get a second and a first," Ostapchenko said after his victory regarding his final table finishes. Ostapchenko accumulated the majority of his chips through a couple of large pots against David "ODB" Baker and credited just running good against him in recent history. "I've run really well against him, fortunately. Every time we're in a gigantic flip, I seem to win it against him. I feel kind of bad, but I'm also kind of happy I won." With the summer of poker coming to an end, Ostapchenko had a full seven-week schedule grind that completely exhausted him. "I'm pretty tired because I've been moving around quite a bit. I'm kind of excited to take a break for a little bit." Final Table Results Place Player Country Prize 1 Andrew Ostapchenko United States $606,849 2 Brandon Wilson United States $404,532 3 David "ODB" Baker United States $283,554 4 Vamerdino Magsakay Philippines $201,811 5 Joseph Sabe Lebanon $145,875 6 Sam Laskowitz United States $107,115 7 Pat Lyons United States $79,921 8 Marcos Skerl United States $60,608 Mad Rush to the Payout Desk There were 68 players who returned to the felt for the second and final day of this event, and there was no shortage of action in the opening levels of the day. Over the first two hours, the field dwindled to just 22 players and the final three tables. Some of the early notables to hit the rail included Danny Tang, Chris Moorman, David Peters, and Alex Keating. When the tournament was trimmed to its final three tables, the chip leaders started to distance themselves from the field. First, it was Joseph Sabe who cracked the pocket kings of Fabrizio Gonzalez blind versus blind in a five-bet pot. Sabe took over the chip lead at that time and locked up his spot at the final table. Coming into the day, Connor Rash was one of the big stacks but had some troubles in the early going. Despite that, Rash had a healthy stack with just 12 players remaining. Unfortunately for him, he ran into a rivered two pair from Brandon Wilson, which led to another big stack locking up their spot. Joe McKeehen, 2015 WSOP Main Event champion, was also looking to add to his gold bracelet tally, but his tournament life fell short in 11th place. Joe Mckeehen Final Table Action As the final table assembled, David "ODB" Baker held a commanding chip lead and did so nearly throughout its entirety. Baker was responsible for the elimination of Marcos Skerl after flopping trips and having Skerl shove into him. The chatter box at the table, and Mr. "World Famous" himself, Pat Lyons, misstepped with a suited queen when he ran into ace-king, leaving him on the short stack. Lyons got the last of his chips in the middle shortly after but ran into pocket aces. Sam Laskowitz was the next to run into pocket aces, and it came at the hands of Baker, who increased his chip lead even further. Sitting on nearly half of the chips in play with five players remaining, Baker was in the driver's seat. On the very next hand, Sabe risked the last of his chips in the small blind but ran into Ostapchenko's big pair in the big blind. Despite hitting a flush on the turn, Sabe couldn't fade a full house on the river and bowed out in fifth place. The chips started to be passed around among the final four players, with no eliminations taking place for over two levels. The chip lead exchanged hands on multiple occasions, but it was Baker who regained it. Vamerdino Magsakay was on the short stack and risked his stack on a coin flip with Baker. It was the pocket pair of Baker's that held up, and Magsakay was eliminated in fourth place. How quickly the tides can turn, as Baker lost a massive all-in against Ostapchenko and saw his chip lead evaporate. Looking for his fifth WSOP bracelet, Baker was in an uphill battle, now sitting on the short stack. While most of his shoves got through, his last one was called by Ostapchenko, and they were off to the races. Baker flopped a pair to take the lead, but Ostapchenko came from behind to hit running cards for a flush, and Baker was dusted in third place. David "ODB" Baker That left Ostapchenko with a big lead going into heads-up action, but on the first hand, Wilson found himself a double-up to level the match. The chips went back and forth for nearly an hour,r but it was the blinds that eventually caught up to the players. With only 36 big blinds in play, the chips eventually got into the middle when Wilson flopped middle pair against the overpair of Ostapchenko. There was no help for Wilson on the runout, and the Chicago native was forced to wait another day and another year to try and grab his first bracelet. That wraps up the coverage from PokerNews with just two events winding down in the Horseshoe Events Center for the summer. A total of 100 WSOP gold bracelets were handed out this summer,r and each of them had its own special storyline. Read about all of them here on PokerNews and many other events coming up in the near future. Aiken, SC (29801) Today Sunshine and clouds mixed. High 96F. Winds W at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Some passing clouds. Low 76F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Aiken Standard Reporter Erin Weeks is a reporter with the Aiken Standard. She covers education in Aiken County. Erin is a graduate of the University of South Carolina Aiken. Her first poetry book, "Origins of My Love," was published by Bottlecap Press in 2022. To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription. See our current offers Pedestrians pass by the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria, on July 16, 2025. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) A man riding a motorcycle passes by the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria, on July 16, 2025. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) Editor: Zhang Zhou Aiken Standard reporter Dede Biles is a reporter for the Aiken Standard. She covers Aiken County government, business and horse industry. To support local journalism, sign up for a subscription. See our current offers Nextdoor app users will get real-time alerts starting July 15. The app rolled out the feature to warn residents of flooding, storms, evacuations and other hazards, using trusted sources like weather.com. Wind gusts, blowing down King Street, twist umbrellas during Hurricane Ian in Charleston in September 2022. Mitchell Black writes about Bluffton and the southern Lowcountry for The Post and Courier's Beaufort County bureau. He previously covered health care and county government with the Asheville Citizen Times. Kalyn Oyer is a Charleston native and the features editor for The Post and Courier. She's a music festival and concert photographer and avid showgoer who used to write about music for the Charleston City Paper as well as national publications. Tiffany Tan is a senior reporter at The Post and Courier in Columbia. She covers statewide issues, particularly in the criminal justice system. She previously reported on the courts, the opioid epidemic and regional news in Vermont for VTDigger. She has also worked for newspapers and television outlets in Manila, Beijing, Singapore and South Dakota. Residents of Black River Mobile Home Park in Andrews are without water after the owner failed to pay the town. The Pharmaceutical Corporation Arterium denies accusations of illegal activity in the sale of medicines in the territory of the Russian Federation, calling these accusations groundless and far-fetched. This information was included in the corporation's statement about the searches conducted on Wednesday by the National Police at the Arterium office and other enterprises that produce Arterium products in Kyiv and Lviv. The statement was sent to the Interfax-Ukraine agency. "The information that was disseminated on July 16, 2025 on the website of the National Police of Ukraine, as well as in a number of Ukrainian media, contains unfounded and fabricated accusations that companies selling products under the Arterium brand were participating in illegal activities related to the sale of medicines in the Russian Federation," Arterium states. The corporation notes that this is the third time in three years that Arterium enterprises have been subjected to searches by law enforcement agencies that yield no results. In particular, in 2022, Arterium's enterprises were searched without procedural documents based on unfounded suspicions of collaborative activities. In February 2025, searches were carried out at the enterprises of three key players in the Ukrainian pharmaceutical market. Today, "there are more searches and groundless accusations." "It is also concerning that, while the searches were ongoing and the investigative actions had not yet been completed, the official website of the National Police published accusations and a pre-edited video clip that allegedly exposed the scheme. Meanwhile, several Telegram channels published news accusing of crimes," the corporation states. The company recalls that all Arterium companies have stopped manufacturing and exporting products to the territory of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus since February 24, 2022, the corporation adheres to the legislative ban on exporting products to these countries and considers any interaction with the aggressor country unacceptable, in particular from an ethical point of view. "Arterium has completely left these markets and does not cooperate with any Russian or Belarusian enterprises, contractors, institutions or bodies. We do not conduct any activities in the territory of these countries - either directly or indirectly [either through contractors or through the territories of third countries]," the corporation emphasizes. The corporation does not exclude "the possibility that someone in the Russian Federation or Belarus may sell products in packaging similar to Arterium's. However, we assure you that these products are not Arterium's, and we are not involved." "Our foreign economic contracts contain a direct prohibition for counterparties to supply our products to the territory of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus. We have neither reliable information about the presence of certain drugs, in particular with the possible illegal use of our trademarks, nor a way to influence such events if they could occur. We have no control over the activities of third parties who could illegally use trademarks or production information without the company's knowledge and consent," the corporation states. At the same time, the corporation considers "such actions by law enforcement agencies as another attempt at public pressure on business, which hinders the work of pharmaceutical companies, which are critically important for the functioning of our country's healthcare system under martial law." "We will insist on an objective and impartial investigation that will refute any accusations against companies that produce Arterium products," the corporation emphasized. They also recall that since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Arterium has been providing comprehensive support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine and medical institutions. "About two hundred of our employees are defending the state in the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. More than 10 of our colleagues have died since the beginning of 2022. Our support will last as long as it takes for Ukraine to win," the corporation assures. Newsom's 'California way' would take away your gas-powered car Editor Ralph Mancini is an award-winning editor whos been employed by the Post and Courier since 2022. Previously, Mancini served in a variety of newspaper roles in New York City, Washington State and North Dakota. Mount Pleasant, SC (29464) Today Sunny to partly cloudy. High near 95F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies. Low near 80F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph. A new study from a Washington, D.C. research firm working with the 9th Circuit Solicitors Office found public safety was not compromised when prosecutors were assigned to screen incoming low-level, nonviolent misdemeanor cases for weak evidence or pretrial diversion. The Justice Innovation Labs 2025 report noted that victims of serious received more attention from prosecutors and arrestees spent an average of 15 fewer days in jail, yielding $400,000 in tax savings. You are the owner of this article. Senior Politics Reporter Caitlin Byrd is the senior politics reporter at The Post and Courier. An award-winning journalist, Byrd previously worked as an enterprise reporter for The State newspaper, where she covered the Charleston region and South Carolina politics. Raised in eastern North Carolina, she has called South Carolina home since 2016. Photo: https://www.facebook.com/ivanna.klympushtsintsadze Head of the parliamentary committee on Ukraine's integration into the European Union Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, who represents the European Solidarity opposition party and was the Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration in 2016-2016, considers the unification of Ministries of Economy, Environment and Agriculture to be a crime against public administration and European integration. "These are incompatible ministries. Their positions will always be opposite, they are natural opponents in any country. In addition, agriculture and the environment are the two most complex blocks, outside the rule of law, of our European integration. We are facing extremely difficult negotiations in these areas," she said on Facebook. Klympush-Tsintsadze said that in 2019, the first government of the Servant of the People party and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy under the leadership of Oleksiy Honcharuk had already united the Ministries of Economy and Agriculture Policy, as well as the Ministries of Ecology and Energy, but in 2020 they were again separated. "The authorities are destroying the already weak institutional capacity in these areas, instead of strengthening and building it," the head of the parliamentary committee on European integration said. She also criticized the merger of the Ministry of Defense with the Ministry of Strategic Industry, because "one structure will order, produce and control itself," which could lead to opacity of procurement. Parts of the steam turbine for the new power plant in Ukudu have arrived at the Doosan Skoda Power factory in the Czech Republic for repairs , and could return to Guam by the end of August under an expedited repair process that Doosan is trying to work out with its Skoda team, according to discussions Thursday during a work session between the Guam Power Authority and Consolidated Commission on Utilities. GPA announced last week that commissioning of the 198-megawatt combined cycle power plant might be extended to the end of October as the plant's steam turbine began experiencing vibrations during testing. It was determined that rubbing occurred between the turbine rotor and the high-pressure turbine shell, the release stated. The rotor and parts were shipped to the manufacturer - the Skoda Power factory - for repairs, the release added. GPA stated in the release that Guam Ukudu Power LLC, the plant operator, and its contractor, Doosan, were working to meet the Sept. 30 anticipated commissioning date, but full commissioning could potentially be pushed back to the end of October. At this point, GPA is waiting to see if there will be any improvement in the schedule for the return of the parts and the completion of remaining commissioning activities, according to discussions Thursday. Overall, the Ukudu power plant is nearly 97% complete, a GPA presentation Thursday stated. Procurement and construction progress are nearly 100% complete, while engineering is nearly 90% complete. Commissioning is nearly 60% complete, according to GPA's presentation. The power utility had agreed to pay $5 million in acceleration costs to Guam Ukudu Power, or GUP, if commissioning was completed by Sept. 15. The pay will drop to $4 million if commissioning moves toward Sept. 30. But if commissioning happens past September, then the payment would be cancelled, and GUP would instead face $240,000 in daily penalties for each day the project is delayed. GPA confirmed to The Guam Daily Post that the penalty would still apply to GUP in this situation. Moreover, GPA is looking to increase base rates to pay for costs associated with the new power plant. The Post had asked GPA how a delay in commissioning would impact the proposed base rate increase and if the utility would still pursue implementation in September, which would have coincided with the new power plant's anticipated commissioning. "The process of the base rate petition continues. The notification sent regarding Ukudu Power Plant is a potential commissioning extension in the event repairs are not completed on time. As mentioned in the media release (last week), GUP and its contractor, Doosan, are working diligently to meet the commissioning date of September 30, 2025," GPA told The Post. "The base rate petition should coincide with the commissioning of the Ukudu Power Plant," the utility added. PR-Inside.com: 2025-07-17 18:00:54 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 661 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 General Atomics announces plans for rapid international uncrewed fighter developmentFAIRFORD, UK / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / General Atomics is taking a bold step toward rapidly delivering a European Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) - based on a mature U.S. platform, assembled in Europe, with European mission systems - by aligning its independent U.S. and German aerospace affiliates under a teamed operation. YFQ-42AThe new aircraft is derived from the U.S. Air Force's YFQ-42A prototype, currently in ground testing and scheduled for first flight later this summer, designed and built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) in San Diego, Calif. European mission system customization and manufacturing in Europe will be supported by General Atomics' German aerospace affiliate, General Atomics Aerotec Systems GmbH (GA-ATS), headquartered in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich.Leveraging the prior investments of these established aerospace companies on both sides of the Atlantic provides a jump start for European uncrewed fighter development and a pathway to meet the speedy acquisition timelines set by European nations. It also provides an established path for further international collaboration efforts and indigenous defense partnerships, based on both companies' previous successes in global aircraft delivery."We're eager to combine our uncrewed aircraft system expertise with the airborne sensor and weapons system expertise of the European defense industry, starting with our own affiliate GA Aerotec Systems GmbH in Germany," said GA-ASI CEO Linden Blue. "With a proven CCA design already in production today, these systems will be delivered in significant quantity with high-technology European inputs to build and sustain affordable mass for NATO's fighter forces." GA-ASI is the world's foremost builder of unmanned aerial systems, delivering more than 1,200 aircraft over three decades and supporting a net fleet operation approaching 9 million flight hours. The company has pioneered three types of unmanned combat jets, including the groundbreaking MQ-20 Avenger (2009) and the U.S. Air Force's XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (2024). Its YFQ-42A fighter was rapidly developed from the XQ-67A baseline and is expected to fly only 18 months after its predecessor.International collaboration is a significant focus for General Atomics. GA-ASI aircraft are flown by the US, the U.K., Spain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Japan, India and many other customers around the world. GA-ASI's high-value supply chain for UAS extends deeply into these partner nations, where major airframe components, subsystems, and complete sensor payloads are manufactured.GA-ATS is a German aircraft manufacturing and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul company. Aircraft have been manufactured and serviced on the company site for more than 40 years. The company conducts MRO on NH-90 helicopters for the German military; builds, sustains, and modifies the Do-228 multi-role aircraft; and performs engine overhaul on the TPE-331-10 turboprop engine, common to both Do-228 and MQ-9A/B unmanned aircraft.A new Collaborative Combat Aircraft for Europe, leveraging the YFQ-42A baseline, will benefit from these previous successes, Blue explained."European nations are essential and irreplaceable allies for the United States and our company," he said. "We will supply a mature aircraft baseline already well along in its development, and we'll look forward to German and other European national partnerships to bring these aircraft online in European and NATO air forces as the Continent grows a new generation of highly capable defense systems." About GA-ASIGeneral Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. is the world's foremost builder of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). Logging nearly 9 million flight hours, the Predator line of UAS has flown for over 30 years and includes MQ-9A Reaper, MQ-1C Gray Eagle, MQ-20 Avenger, and MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian. The company is dedicated to providing long-endurance, multi-mission solutions that deliver persistent situational awareness and rapid strike.For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com Avenger, EagleEye, Gray Eagle, Lynx, Predator, Reaper, SeaGuardian, and SkyGuardian are trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., registered in the United States and/or other countries.# # #Contact InformationGA-ASI Media Relationsasi-mediarelations@ ga-asi.com (858) 524-8101SOURCE: General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. PR-Inside.com: 2025-07-17 11:00:16 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 442 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 MMJ CEO Duane Boise Exposes DEA Corruption in National Interview: Calls for Dismissal of Officials Blocking FDA Medical Marijuana TrialsFull Interview with MMJ CEO Duane Boise to Air Today @ 9.am ET on Cannabis Coast to Coast News.Terrance Cole, the nominee for DEA Administrator, must confront this DEA rot head on. The agency's marijuana program is a train wreck. The public deserves answers. And legitimate companies like MMJ BioPharma Cultivation deserve justice.WASHINGTON, D.C. / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 /Pro Cannabis Media will release the full, uncutinterview with Duane Boise , CEO of MMJ International Holdings, onJuly 17th, Thursday at 9:00 AM ET during a special segment of Cannabis Coast to Coast News with Alaina Pinto.In the wide-ranging interview,Boise delivers a scathing critique of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration(DEA), accusing the agency of deliberately obstructing FDA-authorized clinical research into cannabinoid-based medicines for Huntington's Disease and Multiple Sclerosis. MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, a subsidiary of MMJ International Holdings, has been embroiled in a multi-year battle for a DEA bulk manufacturing license despite full compliance with federal law and active Investigational New Drug (IND) authorizations from the FDA.The company is now calling for urgent reform of the DEA's Diversion Control Division and the immediate dismissal of a deputy administrator accused of sabotaging legitimate pharmaceutical research."We have followed every rule, spent millions building a compliant facility, and still the DEA has done everything in its power to delay and deny this life-saving research. This isn't about cannabis-it's about control, corruption, and constitutional failure," said Boise during the interview.The full show will also highlight continued delays under the agency's controversial "Bona Fide Supply Agreement" requirement, which MMJ argues was applied retroactively and unfairly. With growing bipartisan calls for reform, MMJ's case may serve as a tipping point in the national debate over medical marijuana and regulatory overreach.Alaina Pinto, the host of Cannabis Coast to Coast News, will present the segment alongside Jimmy Young, founder of Pro Cannabis Media. The full interview will be available via this link for early access and syndication.Broadcast DetailsShow: Cannabis Coast to Coast News Episode Airs: Thursday, July 18, 2025 at 9:00 AM ET Host: Alaina Pinto Guest: Duane Boise, CEO of MMJ International Holdings Streaming: Pro Cannabis Media YouTube Channel & LinkedIn GroupsAbout MMJ International HoldingsMMJ International Holdings is a pioneering pharmaceutical company developing FDA-authorized, cannabinoid based medicines for rare neurological conditions. Through its subsidiary, MMJ BioPharma Cultivation, the company has produced consistent, pharmaceutical-grade marijuana for clinical trials-an effort repeatedly obstructed by DEA delays.MMJ is represented byattorney Megan Sheehan .CONTACT: Madison Hisey MHisey@ mmjih.com 203-231-8583SOURCE: MMJ International Holdings PR-Inside.com: 2025-07-17 15:01:34 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 948 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 CEO Brett H. Pojunis to Highlight Expansion, Profitability Gains, and Vision to Scale to 20,000+ National Retail PartnersLAS VEGAS, NEVADA / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 /GPO Plus, Inc. (OTCQB:GPOX), an AI-powered Distributor revolutionizing distribution to gas stations and convenience stores with its innovative technology-driven Direct Store Delivery (DSD) model, today announced that CEO Brett H. Pojunis will present at the Liberty Ventures Investor Summitin Chicago on Monday, July 21, 2025.The Liberty Ventures Investor Summit is an exclusive gathering of accredited investors, fund managers, and founders. The Summit is a one-day event focused on connecting capital with high-impact ventures, fostering principled deal flow, and equipping investors with tools to scale freedom through business. For those interested in attending or learning more about the event, please visit:By presenting at the Liberty Ventures Investor Summit, GPOX aims to connect with values-aligned investors to support its mission: to build the largest and most efficient DSD network, servicing independent retailers across the U.S.Mr. Pojunis will outline GPOX's accelerated growth strategy, key milestones, and the Company's roadmap to scale nationally. The presentation will expand on GPOX's recent June 2025 Shareholder Update, highlighting:New Call Center: Operational with an experienced manager and inside sales team to drive nationwide B2B sales.Field Sales Deployment: The first "G-FORCE" team has been activated, targeting over 200 new stores, with plans to replicate this model in new markets.AI-Driven Wholesale Portal: Real-time ordering platform supporting both DSD and new " DISTRO+Cash + Carry" locations.Upgraded Regional Hubs: New climate-controlled warehouses expanding SKU offerings and market capacity."GPOX is laser-focused on aggressive revenue growth," said Pojunis. "We're executing a proven model, consistently exceeding targets, optimizing operations, and building a national footprint, and this is just the beginning." Pojunis will emphasize GPOX's transition from building its DSD infrastructure to entering full-scale expansion, with new sales channels and technology initiatives now live.GPOX has proven its model, reporting an 87% increase in gross margins, from 15% to 28%, and an 11% YTD increase in revenues, signaling strong operational traction as it scales.Alexander McCobin, CEO of Liberty Ventures, commented: "We've been closely watching GPOX over the past year, and the progress they've made is nothing short of remarkable. From building out their infrastructure to launching new revenue channels and tightening operational execution, GPOX has demonstrated what it means to scale with purpose. They've transitioned from a developmental stage startup to a serious, growth-oriented enterprise that aligns with the kind of visionary companies we champion at Liberty Ventures." For more information, visit www.GPOPlus.com Connect with us on social media to view live video updates, content, and general information about GPOX: https://gpoplus.com/social About GPOPlus+ (GPOX)GPOX is an AI-powered Distributor revolutionizing the future of distribution to gas stations and convenience stores with its innovative technology-driven Direct Store Delivery (DSD) model. Our goal is clear and ambitious:"to build the largest nationwide DSD distribution company servicing gas stations, convenience stores, and beyond."Our technology-driven AI network, featuring strategically placed Regional Hubs and Mini Hubs, is designed to optimize efficiency and maximize reach. Central to our operations is our in-house AI technology platform,PRISM+ . Designed to streamline the distribution process,PRISM+supports efficient delivery, inventory management, data analytics, and overall operational excellence, enabling us to reliably and effectively meet the dynamic needs of our partners. Our mission is to consolidate the fragmented market segment managed by numerous regional vendors. Our dedication to excellence is evident in our product selection process, where we align offerings with consumer demand and partner with top-tier vendors and brands, ensuring our portfolio remains diverse and highly profitable. For more information, please visit www.GPOPlus.com About Liberty VenturesAn ecosystem of purpose-driven investors and entrepreneurs aligned on advancing a free and prosperous future. Liberty Ventures helps like-valued business leaders work with each other to scale the impact of their business and their leadership. Visitlibertyventures.xyzto learn more and get involved!Information about Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains "forward-looking statements" that include statements regarding expected financial performance and growth information relating to future events. Forward-looking statements include statements with respect to beliefs, plans, objectives, goals, expectations, anticipations, assumptions, estimates, intentions, and future performance, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may be beyond the control of the Company and its officers and managers, and which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as a guarantee of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by which, that performance or those results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time they are made and/or management's good faith belief as of that time with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in, or suggested by, the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause these differences include, but are not limited to; inability to gain or maintain licenses, reliance on unaudited statements, the Company's need for additional funding, governmental regulation of the cannabis industry, the impact of competitive products and pricing, the demand for the Company's products, and other risks that are detailed from time-to-time in the Company's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be forward-looking statements. You can typically identify these forward-looking statements through use of words such as "may,% NANJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Young business leaders and representatives from around the world on Wednesday gathered in Suzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, joining United Nations officials to call for youth-driven solutions in promoting green consumption. This thematic forum on green consumption and sustainable development is part of the ongoing 2025 World Youth Development Forum, which opened on Tuesday under the theme, "Unleash Youth Potential for Global Development." The event has drawn participants from over 100 countries and regions, as well as 17 international organizations. "We are witnessing a surge in youth-led initiatives centered on global climate governance and green development," said Xu Xiao, president of the All-China Youth Federation, which is one of the forum's organizers. "Young innovators are driving emissions reduction through technological breakthroughs, and contributing to the sustainable growth of the global economy," Xu said. Green consumption, participants noted, is quickly becoming a dominant force in global markets. "Today's younger consumers are increasingly conscious of environmental values and the social responsibility behind the brands they support," said Gao Dekang, president of Bosideng Group. "Young consumers are deeply engaged with pop culture. Through recyclable materials, low-carbon initiatives and biodiversity awareness campaigns, we're turning collectibles into ambassadors of green living," said Chen Xiaoyun, vice president of Chinese toymaker Pop Mart, whose designer toy brand has a presence in more than 90 countries and regions. "Now a big topic of conversation among youth is obviously climate change and the shift to renewable energy," said John Hayden, a university student from the United States, adding that young people are eager to find meaningful careers that allow them to make a positive impact on the planet. Qin Jing, vice president of Trip.com Group, highlighted rising global awareness of sustainable travel. "Today, nearly 90 percent of young travelers are open to eco-friendly journeys," she said. "We are calling on youth around the world to embrace green mobility and help make tourism more sustainable." "China is taking the lead in green energy consumption, particularly in the field of new energy vehicles," said Huang Wandi, a young employee of State Grid Suzhou Power Supply Company. "We, the younger generations, are also actively contributing through technological innovation." Huang and her team have developed a mobile charging robot that allows electric vehicles to recharge without being restricted to designated parking spots. "With such innovations, we hope to do our part in advancing sustainable development," she said. Young people are an indispensable force in achieving sustainable development, said Jessy Santos, deputy secretary of the National Youth Secretariat of Brazil. "Brazil and many other nations are mobilizing youth to play a greater role in addressing climate change." "It is vital that young people, especially those on the front lines, are included in climate education and decision-making, blending traditional knowledge with ecological stewardship," she added. "Building a sustainable future for our planet may be the most pressing challenge of our time," said James George, deputy resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme in China. "It is inspiring to see so many young people across the globe rising to meet this challenge with conviction and creativity." Ukrainian air defense shot down 36 of 64 enemy strike drones in the north and east, five simulator drones were lost in location, the Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported. "According to preliminary data, as of 08:30, air defense shot down 36 enemy Shahed UAVs (other types of UAVs) in the north and east of the country," the report says. As noted, on the night of July 17 (from 20:30 on July 16), the enemy attacked with 64 Shahed strike UAVs and simulator drones of various types from the directions: Kursk, Millerovo, Primorsko-Akhtarsk - the Russian Federation (59 of them - "Shaheeds"). The main direction of the attack is the Dnipropetrovsk region. The air attack was repelled by aviation, anti-aircraft missile troops, electronic warfare and unmanned systems units, and mobile fire groups of the Defense Forces of Ukraine. In addition, five simulator drones were lost/suppressed by electronic warfare. 23 UAVs were hit in five locations. PR-Inside.com: 2025-07-17 18:15:53 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 414 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 NEW YORK CITY, NY / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / Bridges Experience Inc.("Bridges EXP") recently disclosed that it suffered a data breach that compromised the sensitive personal data of individuals. This data breach has led to concerns over the security of sensitive personal and protected health information entrusted to Bridges EXP.WHAT'S THIS ABOUT?On December 2, 2024, Bridges EXP detected unauthorized access to its internal systems. The company promptly launched an investigation with third-party cybersecurity experts, which determined that an unauthorized party accessed employee email accounts and other systems between December 2, 2024, and January 22, 2025.A detailed review was conducted to identify the compromised information and affected individuals. These impacted files allegedly included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, financial account numbers, routing numbers, medical information, individual health insurance information, driver's license numbers, payment card numbers and access pin numbers, payment car expiration dates, passport numbers, and taxpayer identification numbersOn June 26, 2025, Bridges EXP filed a data breach notice with the Vermont Attorney General's Office and began notifying impacted individuals. Compensation may be available for those individuals who receive notice that their personal information was compromised.WHY YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO COMPENSATION?Data breaches are serious matters that can cause long-term damage. Hackers may use stolen information to commit identity theft, financial fraud, or other crimes. Companies that fail to secure your personal data may be held liable for the resulting harm.HOW DO I KNOW IF I WAS AFFECTED?If you received a data breach notification letter from Bridges Experience Inc., you are likely affected. Follow the link below to find out if you may be eligible for compensation.Levi Korsinsky, LLP is investigating whether affected individuals are entitled to compensation. There is no cost or obligation to participate. Follow the link below to find out:Levi & Korsinsky is a nationally recognized consumer advocacy law firm that has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars against large corporations. The firm's team of over 70 extraordinary attorneys and professionals have a winning track record going against the most powerful defense attorneys in the world and know how to maximize your compensation. Our firm works on a 100% contingency fee basis-you pay nothing unless we win your case! Visit our website to learn more. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.CONTACT: Levi & Korsinsky, LLPJoseph E. Levi, Esq.Ed Korsinsky, Esq.33 Whitehall Street, 17th FloorNew York, NY 10004 jlevi@ levikorsinsky.com Tel: (212) 363-7500Fax: (212) 363-7171 https://zlk.com/ SOURCE: Levi & Korsinsky, LLP PR-Inside.com: 2025-07-17 18:00:36 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 436 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 As more Australians seek a lifestyle change, leading non-bank lender Liberty is helping to make regional relocation more accessible through tailored personal loan solutions.MELBOURNE, AU / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 / According to research commissioned by the Regional Australia Institute (RAI), the number of city-based Australians considering regional relocation doubled between 2023 and 2024. Key motivators include more affordable housing, closer proximity to nature, and a stronger sense of community.While the appeal of regional living continues to grow, the upfront costs involved with moving can present challenges. Expenses such as professional movers, temporary accommodation, and immediate home improvements can quickly add up and delay plans.To help ease this transition, Liberty offers personal loans designed to support Australians in making their move sooner. From covering the cost of movers to setting up a new home, their flexible solutions support individuals and families to pursue their preferred lifestyle without dipping into long-term savings."Relocating is both an exciting and demanding experience, and having flexible support can make a real difference," said Bernadine Pantarotto, Communications Manager at Liberty."Whether it's covering a holding deposit or the cost of setting up your new space, Liberty offers personal loans that can be tailored to suit customers' unique needs." With both secured and unsecured personal loan options, Liberty offers competitive rates and fast approvals.Customers may also benefit from flexible repayment terms and the option of making extra repayments, which can be especially helpful during times of change."Whether you're thinking of moving further out or have other exciting plans in mind, we're here to help you explore your options." In addition to personal loans, Liberty also offers flexible solutions for home, car, business, commercial, and SMSF lending - helping Australians take the next step towards their goals."Where other lenders may not take the time to help, we'll work with you to find a practical, personalized solution," Ms Pantarotto said.About Liberty As one of Australia's leading non-bank lenders, Liberty offers innovative solutions to support customers with greater choice. Over more than 27 years, this free-thinking approach to loan solutions has seen more than 900,000 customers across a wide range of home, car, business and personal loans, as well as SMSF lending and insurance. Liberty remains the only non-bank lender with an investment-grade credit rating offering custom and prime solutions to help more people get financial.Approved applicants only. Lending criteria apply. Fees and charges are payable. Liberty Financial Pty Ltd ACN 077 248 983 and Secure Funding Pty Ltd ABN 25 081 982 872 Australian Credit License 388133, together trading as Liberty Financial.Contact Laura OrchardMedia CoordinatorP: +61 3 8635 8888E: mediaenquiries@ liberty.com.au SOURCE: Liberty PR-Inside.com: 2025-07-17 15:01:51 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 351 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 MESA, ARIZONA / ACCESS Newswire / July 17, 2025 /Medical Care Technologies Inc. (OTC Pink:MDCE) is pleased to announce that all three of its divisions are currently experiencing their most dynamic and productive period in over a year, with unprecedented engagement, deal flow, and innovation across the board.Infinite Auctions, the Company's premiere high-end memorabilia and investment-grade collectibles platform, is preparing for its most powerful auction lineup to date. With rare photo-matched game-worn assets from legends like Michael Jordan and LeBron James headlining the July event, the marketplace has seen a sharp uptick in interest from institutional collectors and high-net-worth individuals.Real Game Used (RGU), MDCE's AI-driven authentication subsidiary, continues to go viral across social platforms for its groundbreaking photo-match validations. Following its aggressive efforts to combat fraud in the collectibles space, RGU has become the go-to source for authenticity, resulting in a backlog of incoming items and record-level submission volume.Medical Care Technologies, the Company's health-focused R&D division, is making solid progress on the development of its AI-powered self-care medical application, designed to transform how consumers monitor wounds, mental health, and chronic disease risk using nothing more than their smartphone cameras. This technology is being built to disrupt the growing $300B+ digital health and diagnostics sector.The Company also confirms that it is in the process of transitioning its transfer agent from Manhattan Transfer Company, which has halted operations, to V Stock Transfer, LLC. Once this transition is finalized, MDCE will proceed with the previously announced cancellation/restructure - a shareholder-friendly move reinforcing transparency and alignment with long-term value creation.Contact Information: Medical Care Technologies Inc. (OTC Pink: MDCE) www.medicalcaretechnologies.comInfinite Auctions - www.infiniteauctions.comReal Game Used - www.realgameused.com Investor & Media Contact:Infinite Auctions / MDCEinfo@ infiniteauctions.com Safe Harbor Statement: This press release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. These statements are based on current expectations and projections but may differ materially from actual results due to a variety of factors. Investors should perform their own due diligence and consult financial advisors before making investment decisions.SOURCE: Medical Care Technologies Inc. (OTC PINK:MDCE) PR-Inside.com: 2025-07-17 02:00:17 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 612 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 TOKYO, JP / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2025 / Proxymity, the leading digital investor communications platform, today announced the closing of a Series C round of $36 million, including new investment from Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation. Proxymity Logo Proxymity logoMitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation is Proxymity's newest strategic investor, joining existing investors comprising some of the largest custody banks, transfer agents and securities market infrastructure providers in the world. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking is the leading transfer agent in Japan representing 20 out of the top 30 listed companies by market capitalization (as of JUNE 30, 2025). MUTB's investment reinforces Proxymity's innovative capabilities and exciting potential to enhance issuer and investor communications in collaboration with key strategic industry participants.Proxymity will use this additional growth capital to further enhance its global proxy voting and shareholder disclosure technology, and to support its expansion into the APAC region. Proxymity is excited to partner with MUTB, the largest trust bank in Japan, and make available Proxymity's many benefits to Japanese publicly listed companies.Dean Little, Co-Founder and CEO at Proxymity, said: "We are thrilled to have Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation become a consortium member of Proxymity. With this additional funding, we will be able to continue building out our technology and further accelerate our expansion into the APAC region. We are excited about this partnership as a catalyst for continued growth and delivering exceptional value to our clients and the ecosystem we serve." TAKU SHIMIZU, Managing Executive Officer at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, said: "Proxymity continues to redefine investor communications with its innovative, real-time solutions. We are proud to support their mission as they scale their impact across new geographies." ###About ProxymityProxymity is a leading digital investor communications platform connecting the world's ecosystem of issuers, intermediaries, and investors digitally in real time, bringing unprecedented transparency, efficiency, and accuracy. Trusted by the world's largest financial institutions, including seven of the world's top 10 Global Custodians managing over $200 trillion in assets under custody (BNP Paribas, BNY, Citi, Computershare, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Borse, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, Mediant, State Street), and counting 87 of the FTSE 100 as clients, it serves over 25 markets worldwide.Proxymity's solutions include Vote Connect, a digital-first platform with unparalleled real-time transparency allowing issuers to send and receive meeting announcements, proxy voting, and vote confirmations without distortion or interference, and Shareholder Insights, providing issuers full visibility of their shareholder base and visibility of ownership through the intermediary chain. Proxymity's platforms, built on highly scalable technology, use "golden source" data and provide full compliance with the latest regulations.Proxymity's ground-breaking technology has been recognized with recent awards including FSTech's "Most Disruptive Technology in the FinTech Sector" and GC Magazine's "FinTech of the Year 2024".For more information, visitwww.proxymity.io/ About Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and BankMitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking (the Trust Bank) was established in 1927, and has been in business for approximately 100 years. The Trust Bank is a wholly owned subsidiary of MUFG and a core MUFG company. With total assets of 41.3 trillion yen as of March 31, 2024, it is one of Japan's largest trust banks.Besides operations in Japan, the Trust Bank serves customers to pursue its global business through a worldwide network of branches and subsidiaries in Asia, Europe and the United States. As Japan's major trust bank, the Trust Bank offers high-quality and comprehensive financial services for customers, which include various commercial banking services as well as asset management and administration, real estate, and stock transfer agency services.For more information, visit https://www.tr.mufg.jp Contact InformationSapiene CommunicationsPR Teamproxymity@ sapiencecomms.co.uk 0203 327 8422SOURCE: ProxymityRelated ImagesMUFG Logo MUFG logo PR-Inside.com: 2025-07-17 02:32:02 Press Information Published by ACCESSWIRE News Network 888.952.4446 e-mail http://www.accesswire.com # 939 Words ACCESSWIRE News Network888.952.4446 VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESS Newswire / July 16, 2025 /Star Copper Corp. (CSE:STCU)(OTCQX:STCUF)(FWB:SOP) ("Star Copper" or the "Company"), a critical mineral exploration and development company, is pleasedto announce that it has entered into a definitive agreement (the "Agreement") to acquire (the "Acquisition") a 100% interest in the Copperline Property ("Copperline", the "Property" or the "CopperlineProperty"), located in north-central British Columbia."The Copperline Property is an exciting addition to our growing portfolio of high-grade copper assets in British Columbia," stated Darryl Jones, CEO of Star Copper Corp. "With its compelling geology, strong infrastructure access, and historical grades, Copperline represents an exceptional grassroots copper-silver opportunity in a proven metallogenic belt." The Copperline Property consists of eight mineral claims totaling approximately 4,502 hectares, situated near Skutsil Knob at the south end of the Driftwood Range, approximately 120 km north-northeast of Smithers, British Columbia (Figure 1).Under the Agreement, the Company has agreed to acquire Copperline in exchange for (i) cash, (ii) common shares of the Company ("Common Shares"), (iii) the grant of the Net Smelter Royalty (as defined below), and (iv) a Bonus payment (as defined below), subject to certain conditions.HighlightsHigh-Grade Copper-Silver Showings: Drilling, and surface sampling have returned intervals including 25.0 m of 2.54% Cu, 50.4 g/t Ag (DR-9)2, 3.7 m of 2.5% Cu, 76.6 g/t Ag (CL-16)3, and grab samples up to 8.51% Cu and 200 g/t Ag5.Favourable Geology: Mineralization comprises fine-grained bornite, chalcocite, tetrahedrite, and chalcopyrite within subaerial Telkwa volcanics, consistent with volcanic redbed copper deposit models4.Strong Infrastructure & Access: Located within 5 km of logging roads and 11 km from the BC Rail Dease Lake extension5(Figure 1).Exploration Upside: In 2003 several new zones of mineralization were discovered, including the West Zone and Dave's Zone. Grab samples from the West Zone averaged 2.8% Cu and 71 g/t Ag, while a sample from Dave's Zone returned 0.17% Cu and 229 g/t Ag3. Mineralized zones and interpreted structural controls suggest the potential for stacked lenses. Multiple "rusty zones" were identified during prospecting northeast of the "main zone" offering potential for new mineralized zones to be discovered.The Company plans to compile data and create the first 3D model of the Copperline system to plan for the first exploration program.Figure 1: Map illustrating the regional location of the Copperline Project (After Prosper Gold).Property OverviewThe Copperline Property consists of eight mineral claims totaling approximately 4,502 hectares, located in north-central British Columbia near Skutsil Knob at the southern end of the Driftwood Range. The Property lies roughly 120 km north-northeast of Smithers and benefits from excellent regional infrastructure, including proximity to logging roads (within 5 km), the BC Rail Dease Lake extension (11 km), and hydroelectric potential via the nearby Kotsine River. The Property is accessible by road to within 5 km of the main mineralized zone, allowing for efficient mobilization of exploration crews and equipment.Geologically, the Copperline Property is underlain by subaerial volcanic rocks of the Lower Jurassic Telkwa Formation, part of the Hazelton Group. These rocks include andesitic to basaltic flows, breccias, and volcaniclastics, locally interbedded with sedimentary units such as redbeds and siltstones. The stratigraphy dips gently to the east and is structurally disrupted by north-northwest trending fault zones and fracture corridors, which are interpreted to control copper-silver mineralization.Copper-silver mineralization on the Property is characteristic of volcanic redbed copper systems and consists of disseminated and vein-controlled sulphides, including bornite, chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and tetrahedrite. Mineralization is typically hosted within massive volcanic units and associated with secondary structures such as shears, fractures, and bedding-parallel veins. Key alteration assemblages include epidote, chlorite, calcite, hematite, and silica, with "rusty zones" and green alteration halos acting as reliable visual pathfinders in outcrop and float.Historical exploration dates back to the 1930s, with trenching by Cominco followed by diamond drilling in the 1970s by Craigmont Mines Ltd., and further work by Kit Resources Ltd. in the early 2000s.Key Historical Drilling Results include:Craigmont Mines Ltd. (1973-1974)*DR-9:25.0 m @ 2.54% Cu, 50.4 g/t AgIncluding: 38.7 m @ 1.82% Cu, 37.7 g/t AgAlso: 7.7 m @ 1.80% Cu, 37.7 g/t AgDR-11:9.1 m @ 2.94% Cu, 83.3 g/t Ag6.1 m @ 1.24% Cu, 68.9 g/t Ag8.5 m @ 0.61% Cu, 11.0 g/t AgDR-12:3.0 m @ 3.05% Cu, 78.9 g/t Ag9.7 m @ 1.01% Cu, 37.4 g/t Ag2.4 m @ 2.00% Cu, 41.1 g/t AgDR-1:12.2 m @ 1.62% Cu, 35.0 g/t Ag12.2 m @ 1.25% Cu, 27.4 g/t Ag4.9 m @ 0.90% Cu, 23.0 g/t Ag*Drilling data compiled from Craigmont Mines in ARIS 27276Kit Resources Ltd. (2003)CL-16:14.3 m @ 0.812% Cu, 25.843 g/t AgIncluding:3.7 m @ 2.512% Cu, 76.667 g/t Ag7.6 m @ 0.301% Cu, 10.887 g/t Ag21.0 m @ 0.385% Cu, 13.261 g/t AgIncluding:6.7 m @ 0.471% Cu, 21.285 g/t Ag7.8 m @ 0.605% Cu, 16.463 g/t AgCL-14 :22.6 m @ 0.216% Cu, 5.182 g/t AgIncluding:3.4 m @ 0.810% Cu, 18.821 g/t AgIn 2003, Kit Resources also discovered additional zones of mineralization northeast of the Main Zone, including the West Zone and Dave's Zone. The West Zone returned average grab values of 2.82% Cu and 71.44 g/t Ag, while Dave's Zone produced a grab sample grading 0.17% Cu and 229 g/t Ag, highlighting the potential for multiple stacked lenses or structurally controlled zones across the broader Property area3.Star Copper plans to compile legacy data, create a 3D geological model, and execute a staged exploration program that includes surface mapping, geophysics (IP and magnetics), and diamond drilling focused on both Main Zone extensions and new target areas.National Instrument 43-101 DisclosureNicholas Rodway, P.Geo., (EGBC Licence# 46541) (Permit to Practice# 100359), is an independent contractor to the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Rodway has reviewed and approved the technical content in this release.Acquisition TermsThe Company entered into the Agreement w Nigerian billionaire businessman and philanthropist, Femi Otedola, has announced the upcoming release of his much-anticipated memoir, Making It Big, scheduled to launch on 18 August. Mr Otedola made the announcement in a statement posted on his official Twitter page on Thursday, expressing excitement over the forthcoming publication which he described as a candid account of his journey through business and life. The lessons, setbacks, and triumphs that shaped my path are almost ready for you, the businessman wrote. In these pages, Ive shared the real stories the moments of doubt, the breakthroughs, and the principles that guided me through it all. He added that Making It Big aims to inspire aspiring entrepreneurs and visionaries across the world, by offering insight into the realities of navigating high-stakes business environments. Mr Otedola, a former chairman of Forte Oil and founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, is widely recognised for his significant contributions to Nigerias energy sector. Over the years, he has also diversified into power generation and banking, and is known for his philanthropic activities, including generous donations to education and health initiatives. Details about the publisher, the foreword writer, and locations for the official launch are yet to be disclosed. The announcement of Making It Big adds Mr Otedola to the growing list of prominent Nigerian business leaders who have documented their professional experiences in memoir form, offering the public a rare glimpse into their decision-making processes, values, and business philosophies. 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 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nollywood star Ini Edo has opened up about the deeply personal journey that led her to motherhood through surrogacy, revealing how she built an emotional connection with the woman who carried her child. Speaking at the recent Meet Surrogate Mothers IVF conference in Lagos, the actress shared that the experience went far beyond a medical arrangement; it was a partnership shaped by trust, shared decisions, and a bond that grew throughout the pregnancy. The actress recounted her own surrogacy journey, emphasising that it was intimate, ethical, and filled with grace rather than the transactional process many imagine. The actress also called for the promotion of legal and ethical surrogacy practices that protect mothers from stigma and captivated the attendees with her personal surrogacy story. Ini Edo, known for her commanding roles in Citation (2020), where she portrayed a resolute professor, and While You Slept (2015), embraced surrogacy to become a mother, offering a deeply personal perspective on the process. With all free IVF winners from the conference now beginning their treatments, her words underscored the human side of surrogacy amid Nigerias evolving legal landscape. Emotional Bond Speaking about the emotional bond between intended mothers and surrogates, Ini Edo said: But through love, sacrifice, and trust. For me, the journey was intimate and not transactional. The surrogate who carried my child was not a stranger from a nameless system. She was a woman with her own family, her values, and her dreams. 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 wasnt a vessel. I was involved every step of the way. Intended mothers are typically involved in parental care, prenatal care, medical decisions, and emotional bonding during pregnancy. And even though they are not physically carrying this child, they walk the journey together, the actress said. While highlighting the humanity in surrogacy over industrial perceptions, she added that, Even though they are not physically carrying this child, they sort of walk the journey together. So when people reduce surrogacy to being just a baby factory, I think they erase these layers of humanity. They overlook the safeguards, the ethics, the choice. They forget that love can take many forms, and sometimes the most profound acts of love come from someone who carries your child but doesnt raise them. Someone who lends her body so another can cry in the future. That is why we need a new narrative. A narrative that champions ethical surrogacy, grounded in informed consent, legal protection, and mutual respect, she advocated. Ini Edo also emphasised the need for compassion and reform: The world where no woman is being exploited, but also where no family is ever denied hope simply because their path to parenthood looks different. She further stated that, Surrogacy is not perfect. It needs revelation, transparency, and empathy, but its not a factory. Its a bridge. A bridge between despair and joy. Between strangers who become families. Between the impossible and the miraculous. Legislature Moreover, turning to recent developments in the Nigerian legislature, Ini Edo shared her support for reform efforts. She noted, Talking about revelation, I was happy to recently read in the news that the House of Representatives moved to ban commercial surrogacy in Nigeria. Further propose a jail term and a N2 million fine on culprits. Other key provisions of the bill include banning commercial surrogacy. The agreement must be strictly altruistic. No financial profit is involved except for reimbursing medical and pregnancy-related expenses. Explicit protection against coercion or forced surrogacy arrangements, amongst others. We need legal protection and clarity. 3. Nigerian law should recognise and protect the rights of mothers through surrogacy, ensuring full legal parentage and avoiding court disputes, the actress clarified. While further defending surrogacy against stigma, the filmmaker said: Surrogacy deserves respect, not stigma. Its a modern solution to infertility. Just like IVF or adoption, it should not be shamed or seen as less than traditional motherhood. Motherhood is more than biology. Raising, nurturing, and loving a child defines motherhood, not just childbirth. A surrogate may carry the baby, but the intended mother gives the child a home and a life, she said. Furthermore, reflecting on her emotional journey, the movie producer stated, Nothing gives me more joy than my child. Surrogacy gives me the greatest gifts, but more importantly, it taught me that family isnt defined by biology or tradition. Its defined by love, sacrifice, and unwavering belief. Personal journey Ini Edo continued by offering empathy to others on similar paths. She encouraged: As someone who has worked this path, I only ask, before we judge, let us listen. Before we generalise, let us understand. And before we speak of surrogacy as a business, let us see it for what it can be, a profound expression of humanity. To anyone working a similar path, know theres no wrong way to become a parent. Theres only your way and your story, no matter how different it looks. Its still deep, beautiful and deeply yours, as long as youre within the laws, she said. Describing her experience as transformative, she added, My journey to Motherhood looks different. It was unconventional. It was complicated. But it was also courageous. It was filled with grace, grit, and, above all, love. It didnt make me any less of a mother. If anything, it made me more aware of the power of faith and more attuned to the miracle of life. Im more deeply connected to the idea that motherhood isnt just something you carry in your body, it is something you carry in your soul, the actress said. Ini Edo concluded, If you take nothing from my story, please take this. Sometimes, the path to your dream doesnt come in packages that you expect. But if you dare to trust the journey, even though messy, uncertain, heartbreaking paths, you might find yourself holding a miracle you once thought was out of reach. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs has launched a partnership with the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women to scale up support for women entrepreneurs across Nigeria. The partnership was formalised at a private signing ceremony held at the residence of Cherie Blair, the founder of the Foundation and wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair. The Minister of Women Affairs, Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim, led the Nigerian delegation at the event, which marked the beginning of what both parties described as a results-driven collaboration. According to a statement issued Wednesday by the Ministers Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Jonathan Eze, the initiative will provide Nigerian women with access to training, financial resources, and market opportunities for women-led businesses nationwide. Mrs Blair, in her remarks, noted the economic potential of women-led businesses in Nigeria and the need to eliminate systemic barriers that hinder their growth. I have enormous appreciation for the Ministrys vision and commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs in Nigeria, one that I share, she said. We know well how important women and their businesses are to Nigeria, and so we must address the challenges they face in order that they can grow and sustain their businesses, enjoy economic independence, and be represented fully as leaders. 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 looks forward to working with the minister to advance womens entrepreneurship. Part of Renewed Hope agenda Ms Sulaiman-Ibrahim noted that the partnership aligns with the Ministrys Renewed Hope Social Impact Interventions 774, a flagship programme under the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Tinubu. She also added that the programme aims to transform the lives of women, children, families, and vulnerable populations across Nigerias 774 LGAs This partnership reflects our shared belief that empowering women economically is not optionalit is essential. We are not just telling stories of change; we are building systems of change that will uplift millions of Nigerian women and strengthen the future of our economy. She added that the partnership followed months of alignment, trust-building, and a shared mission to deliver measurable impact. What weve built is a framework that will unlock long-term, transformative value for women entrepreneurs in Nigeria. Foundation to deepen impact According to the foundation CEO, Dhivya OConnor, it has already supported nearly 150,000 Nigerian women in building their businesses. Ms OConnor said the Foundation is confident the partnership will deepen its reach and effectiveness. We welcome the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs adopting this tried-and-tested recipe to successfully support womens entrepreneurship development: specialist training, digital technology to reach and engage women, strong localisation, and committed, long-term collaboration, she said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Governor of Jigawa State, Umar Namadi said his administration tilted its development proritise towards building educational prospects of the citizen instead of white elephant projects. The governor said the backwardness in education with the majority of students in the state at the basic level unable to read and write, is giving him a sleepless night which guided his administration to invest in education to address future challenges. The administration didnt focus on giant projects like building flyovers and other white elephant projects, all those can not be useful without an educated society, we made deliberate efforts to ensure that we rebound the education sector and we started from all segments of the sector, Mr Namadi said. He stated this during a courtesy visit by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) of Hussaini Adamu Polytechnic Kazaure, who presented him with the award of Most Outstanding Education-Friendly Governor of the Decade, on Wednesday. Jigawa, like many northern states, faces educational challenges, including a high number of out-of-school children, learning poverty, inadequate infrastructure, and a shortage of qualified teachers. At the event, Mr Namadi acknowledged that the majority of students at the basic level in the state are illiterate due to long time neglect in the education sector but his administration is addressing the challenges with multi-billion naira investment and a partnership with NewGlobe, an educational firm. After an analysis of the sector on the situation on the ground, we realised that there is the need to declare a state of emergency. That led us to enter into contract with NewGloe. We discussed the issue at the executive council meeting. We did a rundown analysis both in Jigawa and in Rwanda; we found that in every 10 students at the basic level eight of them are illiterate. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later At the end, we dont have any option than to take a deliberate effect to revamp the education sector, we went into contract with NewGlobe that cost us about N67 billion in the next five years, and the contract is being implemented in phases, the outcome of the contract is worth celebrating, Mr Namadi said. At the tertiary level, Mr Namadi said for the first time in the history of Jigawa State, we have taken an overhaul of the tertiary institutions, we took a radical approach by bringing in people who know the system, the entire management of all our tertiary institutions, the governing councils which hitherto use to be operate by politicians is being managed purely by academicians. The investment in the education sector is now paying, we are focused, and the result is glaring. Several programmes were initiated at various MDAs and the education sector to monitor the progress. Its difficult, but the result is encouraging. At the secondary school level, we have good compliments from staff that are required, and we are working hard to achieve the same at basic level. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The United States Senate has moved to exempt the global anti-AIDS programme, Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), from major foreign aid cuts proposed by President Donald Trumps administration. This development offers hope to millions of people living with HIV/AIDS in Nigeria and other developing countries. The decision follows pressure from key Republican senators who resisted a White House-backed plan to slash $400 million from PEPFAR. First launched in 2003 under President George W. Bush, the government says PEPFAR has provided life-saving antiretroviral treatment and healthcare support to more than 25 million people worldwide. After a closed-door meeting on Tuesday with Senate Republicans, White House Office of Management and Budget Director, Russell Vought confirmed that the administration would support a substitute amendment that leaves PEPFAR funding intact, The Hill, an American newspaper, reports. There is a substitute amendment that does not include the PEPFAR rescission, and were fine with that, Mr Vought told reporters, adding that the overall size of the spending cuts package would remain about $9 billion. The amendment means the legislation must return to the House of Representatives for another round of voting before a Friday deadline. Why it matters In Nigeria and other developing countries, PEPFAR plays a critical role in the national HIV response, approximately funding up to 90 per cent of the countrys HIV treatment programmes. 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 initiative has committed more than $6 billion to Nigeria, strengthening testing, treatment and health systems. Public health officials and civil society groups had raised alarm over the proposed cuts, warning that any reduction could further put millions at risk of treatment interruption. Just last month, a UNAIDS report warned that abrupt US aid withdrawals had already destabilised supply chains, forced the closure of some HIV treatment facilities, and left thousands of healthcare workers out of jobs in countries like South Africa. It also warned that analysis suggests four million additional AIDS-related deaths between now and 2029, including 300,000 additional childrens deaths, if programmes permanently lose PEPFARs support. In response to the US aid cuts, Nigerias National Assembly approved an additional N300 billion for the health sector in the 2025 budget. The government also approved N4.8 billion for the procurement of 150,000 HIV treatment packs under the 2024/2025 HIV Programme Alignment and also announced plans to absorb health workers into the public health workforce. Republican pushback PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the move to exempt PEPFAR followed resistance from several Republican senators who argued that slashing the programmes funding would undermine decades of progress in the global HIV/AIDS fight. Senate Majority Leader John Thune was quoted by The Hill as saying he planned to hold two procedural votes on Tuesday to advance the package. These include a motion to discharge the legislation from the Senate Appropriations Committee and another to move it forward on the Senate floor. Rescissions have been a part of the process around here for a long time, not only in the annual appropriations process, Mr Thune said, noting that past presidents from both parties had submitted similar proposals to Congress. He added that the current package represented only a fraction of the federal budget. What were talking about here is one tenth of one per cent of all federal spending, he added. Thats one-thousandths of the federal budget thats included in this rescissions package. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Ukrainian aviation enterprise Antonov has completed the modernization of the An-124-100 Ruslan transport aircraft and transported it to Germany, reports Antonov Joint Stock Company. "Due to full-scale aggression of Russia in 2022, work was partially suspended: at that time the aircraft was in a disassembled state. However, even in the most difficult conditions of war, JSC ANTONOV team was able to resume work and complete the modernization in June 2025," the message says. As noted, work on the deep modernization of the aircraft began in 2021. The goal was to replace Russian components with Ukrainian and Western-made ones. As reported, the An-124-100 Ruslan UR-82073 aircraft of Antonov Airlines on Friday, July 11, flew from Kyiv to Leipzig, where the company's fleet is currently based. President Bola Tinubu has renamed the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID) after the late former President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Buhari died at 82 three days ago at a London clinic after battling health challenges for several weeks. His funeral was well attended by dignitaries at his home town in Daura, Katsina state, where he retired after handing over the presidency to Mr Tinubu in May 2023. Mr Tinubu announced the renaming of the university at a special Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held in honour of the late former president on Thursday. In honour of his memory, will the special session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) adopt the renaming of the University of Maiduguri to Muhammadu Buhari University, Maiduguri. The university, established in 1975, will now be called Muhammadu Buhari University, Maiduguri. However, the National Assembly is expected to amend the establishment Act of the university. 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 Buhari served as Nigerias democratically elected president from 2015 to 2023, having previously ruled the country as a military head of state from January 1984 to August 1985. He stepped down from office on 29 May 2023 after completing the constitutionally allowed two terms. About UNIMAID The University of Maiduguri was created in 1975 as one of the second-generation universities, which formed part of the programmes of the Third National Development plan (1975-80) by the then Federal Military Government. At inception, the university did not have physical structures of its own, but in April 1976, it inherited the premises owned by the former North East College of Arts and Science (NECAS). The structures bequeathed to the University by NECAS were adequate in terms of office blocks, classrooms, staff quarters, laboratories and other physical structures required by a university of its size. The personnel of NECAS were equally absorbed into the University employment and this made it possible for the institution to commence its academic programmes in October 1976. In its first academic year, the university enrolled 743 students spread across three faculties, namely Arts and Education, Science, and Social Science & Law. By 1978, the number of faculties expanded to six, with the creation of the Faculty of Agriculture and the separation of the Faculty from Arts as well as the separation of the Faculty of Law from Social Sciences. The university now has a college of Medical Sciences, a School of Postgraduate Studies and 12 Faculties. The faculties include, Agriculture, Arts, Dentistry, Education, Engineering, Law, Management Sciences, Pharmacy, Science, Social Sciences, and Veterinary Medicine. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu on Thursday described late Muhammadu Buhari as the first among soldiers in war, first among citizens in peace, and first, without ambition or flattery, in the hearts of his fellow citizens. The Nigerian leader spoke at a special session of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in honour of Mr Buhari, who was buried on Tuesday. Senate President Godswill Akpabio, who also attended the session on special invitation, described Mr Buhari as a man who gave everything he had to a country that asked everything of him. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Buhari, 82, died on Sunday in London after a prolonged sickness. His remains were brought to Nigeria on Tuesday and he was buried the same day in his hometown in Daura, Katsina State. In his speech at the FEC session, President Tinubu described his predecessors life as one of austere honour. He stood, always, ramrod straight; unmoved by the temptation of power, unseduced by applause and unafraid of the loneliness that often visits those who do what is right, rather than what is popular, the Nigerian leader said, according to a statement by his office. 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 his speech, Mr Akpabio, who served as minister under Mr Buhari, said the former president believed that discipline mattered. That integrity mattered. That leadership, even when lonely, must be anchored in something greater than power. He did not seek to ride waves of popular acclaim; he walked, with steadiness and often in solitude, along the ridge of national conscience. Read the full speeches by Messrs Tinubu and Akpabio below. - TRIBUTE BY HIS EXCELLENCY, PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU, GCFR, AT THE SPECIAL SESSION OF THE FEDERAL EXECUTIVE COUNCIL HELD IN HONOUR OF THE LATE PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, GCFR Today, we gather under a heavy shadow, drawn from the silence that surrounds a departed leader and the immense weight of a life whose absence will be felt for generations. We meet to honour a man whose presence once commanded this very room, whose voice once summoned the best in us, and whose convictions never bowed, even to the strongest winds of public opinion. President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, former Head of State and former President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has gone to rest. He was first among soldiers in war, first among citizens in peace, and first, without ambition or flattery, in the hearts of his fellow citizens. Yet it was in the quiet and unadorned settings of his private life that his true greatness was revealed: pious without show, just without cruelty, humane without sentimentality, temperate without coldness, and sincere without guile. Steady in posture and spirit, dignified in bearing, and commanding by his very presence, his example guided all who encountered him. Still, it endures. To his peers, he was respectful and without pretence. To those who served under him, he was kind without condescension. And, to those whom he loved most intimately, he was unfailingly tender, loyal, and good. His life was a rebuke to vice and a refuge for virtue. The purity of his private character gave radiance to the discipline and integrity of his public service. Even in death, he maintained the serenity that defined him in life: not a sigh, not a groan, just a quiet submission to the will of God. Such was the man Nigeria has lost. Such was the man for whom our nation now mourns. President Buharis life was one of austere honour. He stood, always, ramrod straight; unmoved by the temptation of power, unseduced by applause and unafraid of the loneliness that often visits those who do what is right, rather than what is popular. His was a quiet courage, a righteousness that never announced itself. His patriotism was lived more in action than in words. His life traced the arc of Nigerias journey. Born before independence, he became a young soldier in the struggle to keep our nation whole. In war and in peace, he served with vigilance and determination, as if the task of watching over Nigeria had been assigned to him alone. From the battlefield to the corridors of power, he remained faithful to the task. He governed the North-Eastern State and stood as Head of State. Years later, he returned to chair the Petroleum Trust Fund, which he administered with Spartan rigour and complete fidelity to the public good. Yet, with all that he had achieved, his most enduring legacy would be carved in democracy. In a time when many had lost hope that change was possible, Muhammadu Buhari put his faith in the people of this country. We stood together, he and I. Alongside others drawn from across the political spectrum, regions and tongues, we formed an alliance that enabled Nigeria to experience its first true democratic transfer of power from one ruling party to another. When he was sworn in as our partys first elected President, he led with restraint, governed with dignity, and bore the burdens of leadership without complaint. Those who knew him most intimately understood that the authority of that exalted office never changed him. In the face of pressure, he remained calm. In the face of crisis, he remained resolute. In the face of triumph, he remained modest. Most remarkably, he retained his jovial spirit. When his tenure ended, he returned to Daura; not to command from the shadows or to hold court, but to live as he always had, never seeking to impose his will but content to let others carry the nation forward. President Buhari was not a perfect man no leader is but he was, in every sense of the word, a good man, a decent man, an honourable man. His record will be debated, as all legacies are, but the character he brought to public life, the moral force he carried, the incorruptible standard he represented, will not be forgotten. His was a life lived in full service to Nigeria, and in fidelity to God. Now, he rests. And we who remain must carry the memory of his life as a standard to guide us. Let us honour him not only with words, but with humility in power, discipline in service, compassion in governance, and fearlessness in the pursuit of justice. On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, a grateful nation bid farewell to one of her most illustrious sons. It was a profound honour for me, alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima, to lead his funeral procession to Daura and witness his burial in the dignified manner befitting a great and noble leader. I thank the Inter-Ministerial Committee, led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, and Governor Dikko Radda, for organising a befitting State Funeral within 48 hours. In this period of national mourning, I once again extend my heartfelt condolences to Hajia Aisha Buhari, her children, the entire Buhari family, the government and people of Katsina State, and all who knew and loved him. Our gratitude will remain with President Buharis family members who provided him with the comfort and strength to serve our nation in various capacities throughout his over 50 years of public service. We honour his service, reflect on his legacy, and pray for the peaceful repose of his soul. Mai Gaskiya, The Peoples general, the Farmer President your duty is done. May Almighty Allah forgive his shortcomings and grant him Aljannah Firdaus. May his life continue to inspire generations of Nigerians to serve with courage, conviction, and selflessness. President Buhari, thank you. Nigeria will remember you. +++++ A Sentinel of Duty: Tribute to President Muhammadu Buhari Delivered by the President of the Senate, His Excellency Distinguished Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio, GCON, at the Special Session of the Expanded Special Federal Executive Council Meeting in honor of the Late President Mohammadu Buhari, GCFR. Protocol. My fellow Custodians of the Republic, There are moments in the life of a nation when she must pausenot out of routine, but out of reverence. Today is such a moment, as we gather in solemn remembrance of President Muhammadu Buharia man forged in the furnace of battle and tempered in the trials of governance. A man who gave everything he had to a country that asked everything of him. President Muhammadu Buhari was not perfect. No leader is. But he was principled. He stood for something. And in a world where it is easy to chase headlines, he chose instead to chase honor. Where others sought glory, he sought duty. As a minister in his cabinet, appointed by him, I saw President Buhari unplugged. He was not flamboyantfar from it. His voice was measured. His steps, deliberate. His public demeanor, austere. But beneath that calm exterior beat the heart of a patriotunyielding, unbending, and utterly uninterested in personal comfort when duty called. He served this nation first in uniform, and decades later, returned to serve it once morethis time in flowing agbada. Whether clad in khaki or in civilian robes, through coups and campaigns, criticisms and crises, he never wavered in his belief in the promise of Nigeria. His legacy is marked by monumental achievementstoo many, too vast, and too significant for me to enumerate within the time allotted for this tribute. President Buhari did not merely pass through the corridors of power; he left his boots and his imprints in them. He believed that discipline mattered. That integrity mattered. That leadership, even when lonely, must be anchored in something greater than power. He did not seek to ride waves of popular acclaim; he walked, with steadiness and often in solitude, along the ridge of national conscience. And let us be honesthe was tough. He was a soldier who did not flinch under fire, a leader who did not flee from responsibility, and above all, a Nigerian whose loyalty to this nation was never up for sale. His toughness was born not of pride, but of patriotisma fierce, unrelenting belief that Nigeria, with all its challenges, was still worth fighting for. And yes, some disagreed with him. That is the nature of democracy. But even his fiercest critics will admit: he did not pilfer the nations purse, nor pander to its pleasures. He remained, to the very end, a sentinel of Spartan simplicity and austere integrity. His life reminds us of a truth often forgotten in this noisy agethat greatness is not always loud, and that history, in its wisdom, sometimes reserves its most solemn applause for those who labored not for fame, but for legacy. Let it be said by generations to come, that a man once walked this land with a firm gait, a steady gaze, and an iron sense of duty. His name was Muhammadu Buhari. May God bless his memory. May God bless the Republic he served Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Veteran journalist and former presidential aspirant, Dele Momodu, has resigned from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing the takeover of the party by what he described as antidemocratic forces. In a resignation letter dated July 17 and addressed to the chairman of PDP Ward 4 in Ihievbe, Owan East Local Government Area of Edo State, Mr Momodu said his decision to quit the party was borne out of deep concern over its current direction. Our party has been unarguably hijacked by antidemocratic forces, from within and outside, in broad daylight, he wrote. It is, therefore, honourable to abandon the carcass of the party to them while the majority of us earnestly sign up with the new coalition party known as the African Democratic Congress (ADC). Mr Momodu, who joined the PDP in 2021 and aspired for its presidential ticket in 2022, said his resignation was with immediate effect. He expressed appreciation to his ward leaders for their support during his time in the party. This latest development adds to the growing wave of defections and realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections, as discontent festers in Nigerias two major partiesthe PDP and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Mr Momodu, 64, is a widely known media entrepreneur, publisher of Ovation International, and a former presidential candidate. He first ran for the nations top office in 2011 on the platform of the National Conscience Party (NCP). He later became a prominent voice in opposition circles and an active participant in PDP affairs, including the 2023 presidential election where he backed and worked for the partys candidate, Atiku Abubakar. 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 Although he failed to clinch the PDPs 2022 presidential ticket, Mr Momodu remained vocal on issues of governance and internal democracy in the party, often criticising what he saw as power grabs by entrenched interests. His new political base, the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has positioned itself as a third-force alternative and is reportedly in talks with several aggrieved politicians from across party lines to build a formidable coalition ahead of the next electoral cycle. Mr Momodus defection is expected to draw further attention to the brewing crisis within the PDP and bolster the ADCs effort to attract credible figures disillusioned by the countrys two dominant parties. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has congratulated an alumna of the Lagos State University (LASU), Maryam Lawal, on her remarkable performance at the Nigerian Law School (NLS). Mr Sanwo-Olu, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, praised Ms Lawal for her academic feat, emerging as both the Best Graduating Female Student and Second Overall Best Student at the Nigerian Law Schools Call to Bar ceremony held in Abuja last week. She also received eight awards, including one for Corporate Law Practice. The governor described her achievements as a moment of great pride for all of us, which embodies the excellence Lagos celebrates brilliance, hard work, and quiet determination. He said her remarkable achievement showcases the power of talent and discipline, highlighting the high standard of education at LASU. Im especially pleased because her journey began here in Lagos, in a state-owned institution that continues to nurture future leaders. She has made all of us proud, said. Bar ceremony A total of 5,728 law graduates were called to the bar, making it the largest cohort in Nigerian history. The Call to Bar ceremony is a significant milestone in Nigerias legal history. 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 Oluwabusayo Ifonlaja from Nile University emerged as the Best Graduating Student at the NLS and the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) examinations for the class of 2025. READ ALSO: Lawyer seeks courts intervention as Imo governor defies NJC over acting chief judge appointment Mr Ifonlajas exceptional academic performance earned him a remarkable 18 top national awards at the NLS graduation ceremony, affirming his position as the most outstanding law graduate in the country. Also, Daniella Okangba, a 2023 law graduate of Babcock University, emerged as one of the most outstanding students at the 2025 NLS, clinching five awards, including the third prize for Best Overall student. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State says the exit of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) will not have any setback for the party. Mr Makinde, the keynote speaker at a colloquium of the 10th Coronation Anniversary of Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, Deji of Akure, stated this in an interview with journalists on Wednesday in Akure. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Atiku resigned his PDP membership on Wednesday in Adamawa State. I dont think that will make any dent on PDP as a party. PDP is an institution, and you have freedom of entrance and exit, he said. The governor said that he did not see the African Democratic Congress (ADC) as a threat to PDP but as a mere political party intended to contest in elections as PDP. Mr Makinde was one of the five PDP governors who opposed Atiku as the partys presidential candidate in 2023. The others were the then-governors Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia State, Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu), Samuel Ortom (Benue) and Nyesom Wike (Rivers), the current minister of the Federal Capital Territory. Traditional Institutions Earlier, Mr Makinde described traditional institutions as a heritage of the country, asking the government to give them due reverence for national development. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later The title of the lecture was: The Role of Nigerias Traditional Institutions in Nation Building: Impediments, Impacts, and Prospects. He said traditional institutions are not relics of the past but enduring pillars of identity, legitimacy, and communal cohesion. Long before Nigerias formal administrative systems took root, traditional rulers dispensed justice, upheld values, coordinated local security, and kept communities united. Today, they remain custodians of grassroots trust and nation-building that ignores them does so at its peril.. No wonder politicians continue to seek their blessings and validation, he said. According to him, strengthening traditional institutions is not simply about cultural preservation but strategic governance. He stated that his government had taken deliberate steps to integrate traditional institutions into the governance architecture, which resulted in great success for Oyo State. The governor stated that the nation-building was not about how much oil the country produced but about the strength of institutions, their ability to serve the people justly, and the legacy they leave behind. Appreciating the governor, Mr Aladelusi said that traditional institutions had a pivotal role in nation building, hence the need for the countrys constitution to strengthen them. The traditional ruler, who said that Akure was one without any division, commended the state government, sons, and daughters of the town for their support of the Deji palace. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The police in Kogi on Wednesday declared one late Muhammad Kassim and six other arrested suspects as cultists and arms runners in the state. The command in a statement signed by its spokesman, Williams Ovye-Aya, in Lokoja, debunked insinuations that Mr Kassim was killed in cold blood. The Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in Kogi, Isaiah Ijele, had in a statement he signed, condemned the killing of Mr Kassim, whom he referred to as a Regional Youths Leader. Mr Ijele had accused the police of killing him in a circumstance that suggests a politically motivated act, and demanded justice. The SDP demands a thorough and transparent investigation into this heinous crime. We call for immediate justice for Kassim. We stand in solidarity with his family during this time of profound grief, he asserted. Mr Ovye-Aya denied Mr Ijeles claims, saying the Nigeria Police Force, Kogi command, wishes to set the records straight on the unverified report being circulated on social media on the death of Kassim, aka Enemi of Idah, Kogi. He said, The suspect (Kassim), now deceased, allegedly belonged to and was a member of a syndicate that deals in arms and ammunitions running within and outside Kogi. 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 Following a legal intercept from the office of the National Security Adviser (NSA) in Abuja, which indicted one Mohammed Amedu as a member of a Syndicate that deals in arms and ammunitions running within and outside Kogi, and the eventual arrest of one of the principal suspects by the DSS Operatives on June 22. The case was later handed over to the Kogi police command on June 28 for further investigation. He said the suspect confessed to the alleged crime and mentioned the said Kassim and others as members of the arms running syndicate. Investigation revealed that the late suspect (Kassim) was alleged to have purchased 20 rounds of 7.62mm live ammunition to test run an AK47 rifle in his possession from Amedu, now in custody. Further investigation led to the arrest of an additional five suspected members of the syndicate, while two locally made Beretta Pistols have been recovered. Consequently, on this indictment on the late suspect, operatives attached to State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) were mobilised to Idah on July 7 to invite him to report and answer the criminal offences levelled against him by members of his syndicate. This was to enable the police investigation team carry out discreet and thorough investigation into the case, but Kassim jumped the fence of his house and escaped arrest, when he sighted the police team. Based on his refusal to honour police invitation and escape, the Operatives from Idah Police Division were mandated to lay surveillance and arrest him when seen, he said. The spokesman said that when Kassim was sighted in a particular location at Idah, the operatives immediately swung into action to arrest him, but he vigorously resisted arrest because he was in the midst of other young men suspected to be his gang members. According to him, Kassim took to his heels and was given a hot chase. To aid his escape, his gang members started attacking the police operatives with cutlasses, stones and other dangerous weapons which gave him the courage to stop and get hold of one of the police officers rifle and began to struggle with him, in an attempt to disarm him and snatch the rifle. In the process, the rifle they were dragging got fired and hit the suspect on his leg while his gang members immediately rescued him from the police and whisked him away with the bullet wound on his leg to an unknown location where he later died in their hands, he stated. Mr Ovye-Aya said that an investigation into the case is still in progress and all suspects arrested in connection with the alleged crime will be arraigned in a competent court of jurisdiction for prosecution on completion of the Investigation. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print A fresh honour has come for the Spokesperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Dele Oyewale, as a frontline Communications Company, GLG Communications, named him and 49 others as 50 Top Public Relations Professionals in Nigeria. In a publication made in The Guardian of Wednesday, 16 July 2025, Mr Oyewale was teamed with notable image makers across the country as the best reputation managers. Also named is the President of the Nigeria Institute of Public Relations, Ike Neliaku and Lagos State Commissioner of Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso. The Managing Partner of GlG Communications, Omawumi Ogba, explained that the 2025 Power List is a prestigious list to celebrate 50 of Nigerias most influential PR and Communications Professionals who have shaped narratives and driven meaningful change across industries over the past year. The honorees are recognised across four categories: Rising Voices, Community Impact, ChangeMakers and Fourth Estate. Other honorees on the list are: Abdul-Rahman Balogun, Head of Media & Public Relations, Nigeria Diaspora Commission; Bolanle Olukoju, Commissioner for Communication( Arts, Culture, Tourism Information and Creative Economy, Kwara State; Hadiza Umar, Head of Public Relations, National Information Technology Development Agency; Eniola Ali Faweya, Head of Corporate Communications, Guinness Nigeria, among others. All the honorees will be decorated at an elaborate ceremony in Lagos on Friday. 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 About Dele Oyewale A well-regarded journalist and communicator, Mr Oyewale worked as a reporter at Independent Communications Limited, publishers of TheNEWS and TEMPO magazines and PM NEWS. In 2001, he moved to TELL Magazine, where he quickly rose to the rank of assistant editor. He later worked at BroadStreet Journal, a business-focused publication also published by TELL Communications. There, he won a string of awards and became one of the countrys leading business journalists. In 2006, he joined the EFCCs public affairs directorate. He was the Zonal Head of the Commissions public affairs directorate in Lagos and Port Harcourt and the Acting Head of the EFCCs enlightenment and reorientation unit. He is currently a deputy commander at the anti-graft agency. Mr Oyewale holds a Bachelors degree in Geography from the University of Ilorin and a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology. Mr Oyewale is married and blessed with children. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Bayo Omoboriowo, a personal photographer to then-President Muhammadu Buhari, has lauded Mr Buhari for treating him kindly during his time in office. Mr Omoboriowo, in a Facebook post on Wednesday, narrated his experience with Mr Buhari. The photographer said he worked for the former president throughout his two terms of eight years, from 2015 to 2023, when the Nigerian leader exited office. Death and burial Mr Buhari died in a London hospital on Sunday at the age of 82. The former president was buried on Tuesday at his Daura residence in Katsina State, the countys north-west. Buhari gave me wings to fly Describing my boss, President Muhammadu Buhari, is a truly big assignment. For eight years, from 2015 to 2023, I served as his personal photographer. And in those years, he gave me wings to fly, Mr Omoboriowo began. He stressed that he served Mr Buhari because he (Omoboriowo) believed in Nigeria and desired to document the countrys history and politics through photography, which he said the former president gave him the opportunity to do. 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 (Buhari) believed in me. Never once did he interfere in my work. Never once did he ask to see or edit the photos I took. He gave me the space, the trust, and the freedom to express myself through my lens. That kind of trust is rare. That kind of support is deep, the photographer said. Documenting Buharis burial Mr Omoboriowo said he flew to London to document Mr Buharis last hours on earth in honour of the former president. I flew to London not just as his photographer, but as someone who had walked an unforgettable journey with him. I had to document this moment-his final bow-not just for history, but for honour, he said. The photographer uploaded onto his Facebook page photographs of Mr Buhari during his last moments in London and burial in Nigeria. As I release these images, I do so with a heart full of gratitude, pain, pride, and deep respect. He may be gone, but he is not forgotten. His legacy, in many ways, lives in the stories we tell-and the ones we preserve, he stated, and prayed for the peaceful repose of the soul of the former leader. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Google Maps has updated its database to reflect the renaming of 24 streets by the Ajeromi-Ifelodun Local Government Area (LGA) of Lagos State. A memo authorising the renaming was originally issued in 2024, although the exact date remains unknown. The memo signed by unnamed council manager resurfaced on social media in July 2025 and quickly went viral. This is to notify the general public that the old names of the aforementioned streets have been revoked the names have been replaced with new ones, the document stated. An X user who posted the memo also shared Google Maps screenshots reflecting the new names of the affected streets in the area. On Thursday, a check by PREMIUM TIMES confirmed that Google Maps has already effected the changes, showing the newly assigned street names. With the changes, Imo Eze Street is now Layiwola Oluwa Street, George Street has become Daddy Showkey Streetin honour of the famous Ajegunle-born musician and Queens Street is now Kola Balogun Street. Other renamed roads include Kirikiri Road, now Moruf Oyekunle Road, and Uzoh Street, now Kalejaiye Adeboye Street. Concerns The full list, which sparked ethnic exclusion controversy and concerns about due process, saw many Igbo names replaced with Yoruba names. 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 Some residents have expressed dismay over the disproportionate number of streets previously with Igbo names affected by the name change. We were not informed or consulted about the renaming, said Mr Agu, a resident of the former Uzoh Street who has lived in the area for over 40 years. Adjusting to these new names will not be easy. This feels like an erasure of our presence. The lack of public engagement, residents argue, has left many confused and alienated. Call for street renaming in Lagos The development comes amid growing calls in Lagos to review colonial-era place names. In 2020, the Lagos State House of Assembly passed a motion, urging the renaming of streets and monuments named after colonial figures. Lawmakers asked Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to direct relevant ministries to remove all vestiges of colonialism and slave trade from public infrastructure. Lawyers and social commentators are divided on the matter. Olukoya Ogungbeje, a Lagos-based lawyer, supported the move, saying it reflects national pride and preserves cultural heritage. Its a patriotic effort to celebrate our own heroes, he said. But Ebun Adegboruwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), opposed it, describing the effort as emotional and lacking constitutional basis. Street naming falls under local government authority. The House of Assembly has no legal power to interfere, he said. Mr Adegboruwa also warned against erasing Nigerias colonial history, arguing that streets named after figures like Bernard Bourdillon and Macpherson reflect significant contributions to Nigerias path to independence. Other civic voices questioned the priority of such renaming exercises. Olanrewaju Suraju, Chair of the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, described the efforts as self-serving. He said the state should focus on issues such as public healthcare, education, and infrastructure. Achike Chude, Vice Chairman of the Joint Action Front, said while renaming is important for preserving indigenous identity, it must be done transparently and in a way that safeguards historical memory. We cannot delete colonial history, Mr Chude said. Renaming should protect the past while uplifting local figures who contributed meaningfully to society. Local government defends action The authorities have justified the renaming. At the Ajeromi-Ifelodun LGA Secretariat, the council secretary, Jumor Lukman, defended the renaming exercise, describing it as an administrative necessity. There are procedures for naming and retaining street names, Mr Lukman explained. If a street is named after an individual, that name must be documented and validated periodically. Many streets have failed to meet these requirements for over 40 years. He denied any ethnic bias, noting that some of the new namessuch as Daddy Showkey Streethonour non-Yoruba individuals. The process was not targeted at any group, he said. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has submitted a list of six newly appointed commissioner-nominees to the state assembly for confirmation. The Secretary to the Enugu State Government (SSG), Chidiebere Onyia, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday. Mr Onyia, a professor, identified the nominees as Osita Okoh, Ben Collins Ndu Jr., Samuel Ogbu-Nwobodo and Franklin Ogbonna. Two other nominees Benedeth Okoli and George Ugwu- are professors. The SSG did not indicate the portfolios for the nominees. Head of service Mr Onyia, a professor, said the governor equally approved the appointment of Godwin Anigbo as the Enugu State Head of Service. This appointment takes effect immediately, the SSG 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 Resignations The appointment of the new commissioner-nominees coincided with the resignation of Adaora Chukwu as the Enugu State commissioner for trade, commerce and investment. I wish to officially inform the public that I have resigned from my role as Commissioner for Trade, Investment and Industry in Enugu State, Ms Chukwu wrote on her Instagram handle on Thursday. The now former commissioner appreciated Governor Mbah for the opportunity to serve. She, however, did not give reason for her decision. Sources told PREMIUM TIMES that although Ms Chukwu tendered her resignation letter on Wednesday, she was actually asked to step down. The former commissioner is the daughter of a former governor of Enugu State, Sullivan Chime, a lawyer. Though now a member of the APC, Mr Chime, who governed from 2007 to 2015 under the PDP platform, is a known ally of the incumbent Enugu State Governor, Mr Peter. Meanwhile, before the new appointment of commissioner-nominees, the then Commissioner for Information in Enugu State, Aka Eze, resigned from his position to contest in a local government election for Udenu Local Government which he won. Current Number of commissioners Upon assumption of office in 2023, Mr Mbah swore in 20 individuals as commissioners. By 2024, the governor swore in Chimaobi Okorie as the new commissioner for land, bringing the number of commissioners to 21. But with the resignations of Mr Eze and Ms Chukwu, the number dropped to 19. If the Enugu State House of Assembly approves the latest nomination, the state will have a total of 25 commissioners. There are, however, speculations that more commissioners will resign from their positions in coming days. In 2015, Mr Ugwuanyi had 24 as commissioners but reduced the number to 20 during his second term. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Photo: https://t.me/V_Zelenskiy_official/11858 Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak and Special Representative of the US President Keith Kellogg have honored the memory of the victims of the shootings in Babyn Yar. "Together with the Special Representative of the US President, General Keith Kellogg, we visited Babyn Yar. A symbolic place. A place of deep sorrow. We honored the memory of the victims of the shootings in Babyn Yar," Yermak said on Telegram. Yermak noted that Ukrainian identity is respect for every nation, every faith, every tragedy. "Today, the enemy has armed itself with drones and missiles. The alliance of evil - Russia, Iran, North Korea - is attacking peaceful life, destroying cities, killing children. Shaheds, Gerans, KN23 missiles and ammunition - two wars, one weapon of terror. The weaker the Russian Federation is, the safer the entire free and democratic world will be," he stressed, adding that sanctions should be stronger. "Weapons are more powerful. Actions are more decisive. Because dictators understand only force," Yermak wrote. Germanys fertility rate fell by 2 per cent in 2024 to an average of 1.35 children per woman, according to the Federal Statistical Office report released on Thursday. A total of 677,117 children were born in 2024, marking a decrease of 15,872 births from the previous year. While still notable, the decline was less sharp than in 2022 and 2023, which saw drops of 8 per cent and 7 per cent, respectively. The fertility rate among women with German citizenship declined by 3 per cent to 1.23, its lowest level in nearly three decades. The last time it was this low was in 1996, when it stood at 1.22. Meanwhile, women with foreign citizenship had a higher fertility rate of 1.84, though this too reflected a 2 per cent decline from the previous year. The birth rate among foreign women has been falling almost continuously since 2017, the office stated. The trend toward later parenthood also continued. In 2024, the average age of mothers at the birth of their first child was 30.4 years, while fathers averaged 33.3 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 A decade earlier, in 2015, the averages were 29.7 and 32.8 years, respectively. Germanys falling birth rate aligned with broader demographic trends across the European Union. According to Eurostat data from 2023, fertility rates have declined in most EU member states, with the blocs average falling to 1.38 children per woman, down from 1.51 in 2013. (Xinhua/NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Russia and Ukraine on Thursday exchanged the bodies of fallen soldiers as part of the ongoing implementation of the Istanbul agreements, Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky confirmed. In continuation of the Istanbul agreements, another 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were handed over to Ukraine today, Medinsky said. He added that Russia also received the remains of 19 of its own soldiers. Mr Medinsky noted that Russias chief negotiator was actively participating in the ongoing talks with the Ukrainian side. The latest exchange followed the previous round of negotiations held on 2 June, during which both sides agreed to an all-for-all exchange of seriously ill and wounded prisoners, including soldiers under the age of 25, as well as the return of the bodies of the deceased. (Xinhua NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Kogi State Government has overhauled its property tax system, repealing the existing ground rent and tenement rate laws in favour of a new, unified Land Use Charge. The move, effective July 1, aims to alleviate residents burden of multiple taxation and improve revenue administration. The Executive Chairman of the Kogi State Internal Revenue Service (KSIRS), Sule Enehe, explained the rationale behind the change during a recent sensitisation tour in Anyigba, in the states eastern senatorial district. Represented by Hassana Salawu, the Director of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for KSIRS, Mr Enehe said the new Land Use Charge is designed to be a simpler, annual payment, significantly less than the combined cost of the previous two taxes. According to the KSIRS chairman, the new legislation offers several benefits, including: accurate property valuation, enabling more precise assessments for taxation; property identification and registration, creating a comprehensive record of properties within the state; land allocation, facilitating the allocation of land for government projects and social amenities; employment opportunities, generating jobs for enumerators at the local level; and a reliable property database, informing better decision-making for the state. Under the new regime, he said the tax obligation will primarily target properties used for lease and commercial purposes. READ ALSO: Controversy trails death of Kogi man accused of being a criminal The new law also outlines several exemptions from the Land Use Charge, ensuring certain properties are not subject to the levy. These include properties owned and occupied by religious bodies for public worship or education, public cemeteries and burial grounds, non-profit educational institutions and public libraries, palaces of recognised traditional rulers, community properties such as town halls used for meetings, properties owned and occupied by pensioners, partial reliefs for physically challenged individuals, and properties used for charitable purposes. 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 terms of revenue distribution, 40 per cent of the collected tax will be allocated to local governments, with the remaining 60 per cent going to the state government. The government emphasised that this revenue will be earmarked for infrastructure development, environmental maintenance, and the provision of adequate security. The statewide sensitisation tour, which began earlier this month, is intended to inform stakeholders about the new Land Use Charge law and encourage compliance with the enumeration process. Abu Okolo, the traditional ruler of Anyigba, commended the sensitisation efforts and pledged to disseminate the information to his people. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nigerian security forces have arrested many suspects and killed some of them in connection with recent security breaches in the Edu and Patigi local government areas of Kwara State. A government official, who asked not to be named as he was not authorised to speak to journalists, said more than 15 criminal suspects, including a notorious one named Tambaya, have been arrested in a security clampdown in the area. Tambaya was the mastermind of the recent attack on security forces and vigilantes in Gada, Lafiagi. Tambaya and eight others were arrested in an encounter with the security forces, while several of his gang members were eliminated, the official said. READ ALSO: One killed as security operatives rescue kidnap victim in Anambra During the operation, we rescued two victims of their criminality and recovered N11 million, which is apparently proceeds of crime. The crackdown on the criminals were at the instance of the state government in partnership with the Office of the National Security Adviser, state security commanders, and local vigilantes. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Forum of Commissioners of Power and Energy in Nigeria (FOCPEN) has expressed concern over the proposed Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, currently undergoing deliberation in the Nigerian Senate. A statement on Wednesday jointly signed by Eka Williams, Commissioner of Power and Renewable Energy, Cross River State who doubles as chairman of FOCPEN and Omale Omale, Commissioner of Power, Renewable Energy and Transport, Benue State who doubles as Secretary of FOCPEN said this unexpected legislative move comes barely two years after the landmark Electricity Act 2023 was signed into law. It is also a period during which many states have only just begun to establish and operationalise their electricity markets under the new decentralised framework. On Tuesday last week, the senate commenced a legislative process to overhaul the Electricity Act, 2023, with the passage of the Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, for second reading. The bill, sponsored by Enyinnaya Abaribe, senator representing Abia south, seeks to address the lingering crisis in Nigerias power sector by clarifying regulatory roles, tackling vandalism, and streamlining governance across the electricity value chain. Presenting the bill, Mr Abaribe, who chairs the senate committee on power, said the proposed amendment was a response to emerging challenges in the sector following the devolution of electricity powers to states in the 2023 constitution. Several lawmakers backed the amendment and called for stronger punitive measures to curb electricity theft and sabotage. 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 Concerns In its statement, FOCPEN notes with dismay the absence of any prior consultations with state governments, or their relevant commissioners and state electricity regulatory bodies, during the drafting and presentation of this crucial amendment bill on the floor of the Senate. This oversight is particularly concerning given the significant strides made in decentralising Nigerias electricity sector, the statement said. FOCPEN said the proposed Electricity Act (Amendment) Bill, 2025, is an attempt at a backdoor amendment of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) by seeking to reintroduce constraints and ambiguities that were expressly removed by the fifth alteration of the Constitution. In addition, the forum said several provisions of the amendment bill egregiously violate foundational principles of true constitutional federalism, and threaten the successful implementation of a decentralised electricity market. The amendment bill, if passed, will create a constitutional conflict between the federal government and states, as well as legal and regulatory conflicts between federal and state regulators, undermining the principle of cooperative federalism and potentially inviting judicial challenges. The amendment bill, if passed, will further exacerbate the financial burden on the federal government and states, undermining efforts to achieve a sustainable and self-financing power sector, the statement said. It explained that the amendment bill proposes the creation of numerous federal institutions, agencies and funds, whose operational and administrative costs are to be directly passed on to electricity consumers, thus resulting in higher electricity tariffs for consumers. In addition, it said the bill specifies mandatory contributions from consumers and market participants to fund the Power Consumer Assistance Fund (PCAF). Consumers, including those in states with cost-reflective tariffs, would bear the cost of subsidies through tariff surcharges, even in the face of widespread non-payment and market losses. By this provision, the amendment bill would also transfer over N5 trillion in unpaid subsidies to electricity consumers, worsening affordability and equity in electricity access. FOCPEN added that the amendment bill, if passed, will create policy, legal and regulatory conflicts between federal and state agencies / regulators, significantly increasing regulatory uncertainty and risks for both federal and state-level investors in the electricity market. The bill will further exacerbate administrative bottlenecks in the power sector by undermining the autonomy of state electricity regulators, creating overlapping jurisdictions and unclear regulatory boundaries, imposing new levies and compliance burdens on market participants within state electricity markets, thus raising the cost of doing business in the power sector and creating conflicting mandates and diluting accountability. Inevitably, it said the amendment bill will hinder public and private sector investments particularly in state electricity markets, and stall the momentum of recent reforms by President Bola Tinubu in the power sector. The bill seeks to bestow upon Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) an overriding regulatory jurisdiction over electricity distribution, electricity distribution tariff design and implementation, and consumer protection within state electricity markets and centralise the regulation and enforcement of technical standards within states electricity markets under the Nigerian Electricity Management Services Agency (NEMSA). The total lack of engagement and consultation with states, who are now primary drivers of electricity sector development, in the drafting of this amendment bill is a serious concern. Effective and sustainable reforms require collaborative efforts between federal and sub-national governments. The amendment bill threatens to dismantle the progress and positive reforms initiated by the Electricity Act 2023, which has been widely hailed as a pivotal step towards a more reliable and efficient power sector, the statement said. Call to Action FOCPEN called on the National Assembly to halt further consideration of the bill, noting that electricity is a concurrent legislative matter under the 1999 Constitution. The forum advocates that any future considerations for an amendment of the Electricity Act 2023, must be preceded by broad-based consultation and collaboration with state governments to ensure that federal legislation complements, rather than undermines, nascent state electricity markets. The Forum of Commissioners of Power and Energy in Nigeria holds the National Assembly in high esteem and remains committed to working with all stakeholders, including the Nigerian Senate, to foster a robust, constitutionally compliant, and financially viable electricity sector that serves the best interests of all Nigerians. We reiterate that the Electricity Act 2023, as currently enacted, provides the necessary framework for achieving these objectives. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Kogi Central Senator, Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, has rescheduled her return to the upper chamber for legislative duties to Tuesday, 22 July. She said the new date was to honour the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who passed away on Sunday. The National Assembly had earlier suspended all legislative activities in the two chambers till next Tuesday as a mark of respect for the late former president. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans new resumption date was communicated in a letter by her lawyer, Michael Numa, SAN, in response to a correspondence from the National Assembly. Finally, following the unfortunate demise of President Muhammadu Buhari, GCON, our client intends to resume her legislative duties on the 22nd day of July, 2025. We trust you will act promptly in fidelity to the Rule of Law, and in deference to the Constitution and the binding pronouncement of the Court. Our client reserves the right to pursue all lawful measures to enforce her rights should this demand continue to be disregarded and violated, the letter said. The National Assembly had earlier said there was no court order compelling the Senate to recall Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan, suspended for six months in March. It, however, urged the senator to await the Senates resolution on the issue. 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 Her legal team disagreed, arguing that the Federal High Court judgement delivered by Binta Nyako, the judge, contains clear, enforceable directives that mandate her immediate reinstatement. However, with the utmost respect, we must disagree with your interpretation of the enrolled Judgment Order. Specifically, we contest the view that the Courts pronouncement in the referenced matter constitutes a mere advisory opinion rather than a binding directive requiring the Senate to recall Senator Natasha Akpoti-Uduaghan, the legal team said. Legal team argues for binding interpretation In the rejoinder, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghans lawyers underscored the binding nature of the courts pronouncements, emphasising the opening phrase of the judgement, which states: IT IS HEREBY ORDERED. In the rejoinder, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan argued that although the court employed the term should rather than shall in Order 12, when the entire judgement is considered in context, the language is clearly mandatory. She insisted that when the judgement is read holistically, it demonstrates the courts apparent intent to compel compliance rather than offer guidance. It is important to note that the preamble of the enrolled order begins with the words IT IS HEREBY ORDERED, and proceeds to enumerate twelve distinct and substantive orders issued by the Court. Of particular relevance is Order 12, which states in part: The Senate should recall the Plaintiff. While the term should is employed instead of shall, the overall context and structure of the enrolled judgment order, when read in its entirety, clearly support a mandatory. interpretation of that directive. The senator also referenced Section 287(3) of the Nigerian Constitution, which mandates that all persons and authorities, including the legislature, must give effect to the decisions of competent courts She urged the National Assembly to comply with the court order, warning that she may be compelled to take all lawful measures to enforce her rights should the Senate continue to disregard the courts decision Accordingly, under Section 287(3) of the Constitution, the Senate is bound to enforce and give effect to the decision of the Court. Compliance with the judgment is not subject to further deliberation or discretion by the Senate. Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan also asked the leadership of the National Assembly to revisit the enrolled order and take steps toward ensuring her smooth resumption in accordance with the courts judgement. Background The case began after the Senate suspended Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan over alleged misconduct during a plenary session on 20 February. She subsequently challenged the suspension at the Federal High Court in Abuja. In her judgement, Mrs Nyako ruled that the Senates decision to suspend a serving senator for six months was excessive and undermined the right to representation for the entire Kogi Central Senatorial District. The judge held that the suspension was unconstitutional and advised the Senate to allow the senator to resume her legislative duties. She, however, did not issue a direct order compelling her reinstatement. Following the judgement, Mrs Akpoti-Uduaghan wrote to the Clerk of the National Assembly through her lawyer, Michael Numa, SAN, expressing her readiness to resume duties on Tuesday, 15 July. She urged the National Assembly to treat her notification with urgency to avoid being held in contempt of court. READ ALSO: Group urges Nigerian governor to join APC However, the Senate insisted that it found no explicit directive in the judgment mandating it to recall the suspended senator. Meanwhile, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, has filed a cross-appeal at the Court of Appeal seeking to overturn the judgement. The appeal, which raises eleven grounds, challenges both the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court and the substantive ruling itself. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print On Wednesday, the Mandate Secretary, Health Services and Environment Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Adedolapo Fasawe, said new hospitals are underway in the territory to improve access to quality healthcare. Ms Fasawe disclosed this in Abuja during a capacity development training for health managers in the FCT. She said more than six to seven world-standard hospitals have opened in the territory, adding that additional ones would be constructed to bridge the access gap. You will soon start to see new hospitals in the FCT, but we cant build new hospitals when there is no adequate human resource, she said. Our doctors are running away, but we are working on that right now. She said the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike-led FCTA, is already working on improving human resources for health. She said that with the FCT minister who does things to perfection, the amount that has gone to the health sector in 2025 was unprecedented. We are working on improving our health systems now beyond building new hospitals. Under his administration, we have been able to increase our health workforce by over 1000, she 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 We have also increased salaries of some health workers with some receiving doubled their salaries. The mandate secretary said a reasonable budgetary allocation had been earmarked for human resources, adding that FCT doctors were paid uniform allowance for the first time. I want to assure you that this administration is not taking health lightly, and this annual operational plan will detail everything we need how much we need, including miscellaneous. I know that the FCT Minister will do the right thing as he has started doing the right things towards repositioning the health sector, she said. Ms Fasawe noted that the country is gripped with many demands across all sectors, but there are limited resources to address these needs, particularly those of the health sector. She, however, said she is proud of President Bola Tinubus Renewed Hope Agenda, which is already transforming the health sector. She particularly said that road projects being executed and inaugurated in the capital city and across the area councils are significantly improving access to health facilities. She commended all the doctors and other health workers working in FCT secondary facilities for the cordial working relationship with the FCT Administration. Since the Wike-led FCTA came on board, we witnessed only one warning strike, and within three days, the minister was able to resolve the issues. So, I want to commend the doctors who work in FCT, who, despite the difficult working conditions, have not gone on strike, she said. The mandate secretary, however, noted that in the area council, there was a general strike by the workers that lasted for more than three months. READ ALSO: Health Minister orders reform at Abuja hospital after viral neglect incident She explained that primary health care centres are under the purview of area councils, adding that although they went on strike, they still provided essential services. Schools were closed, other places were closed, but I can say for a fact that the last immunisation exercise, for the first time, FCT recorded 101 per cent achievement, despite the strike. So, we are looking forward to a situation where doctors that have gone abroad will start to come back here to practice and we are starting to see a lot of that. What we need to do is look after the welfare of doctors, she noted. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Two of the top shareholders of First HoldCo Plc, Oba Otudeko and Oye Hassan-Odukale, have offloaded their stakes in the financial services group, easing the path for Femi Otedola, its chair and biggest shareholder, to firm up his holding in the entity. A total of 10.43 billion shares, equivalent to nearly 25 per cent of the groups outstanding shares, were traded off-market in 17 negotiated deals on Wednesday at N31, a source told PREMIUM TIMES Thursday. Shares in First HoldCo accelerated by 9.9 per cent to N32.2 per unit, emerging as the days 6th best-performing stock on the bourse in Lagos. That is its best outing since 17 February, helping the market valuation of the stock to rise past N1.3 trillion. Immediately the information entered the market, it pushed the share price sharply upwards to N32.2. The deals happened towards the close of the market, said a trader with knowledge of the transactions, asking not to be named, given the sensitive nature of the subject. Otudeko Mr Otudeko served as the chairman of FBN Holdings (now First HoldCo) from 2012 until 2021, when he was ousted during a shake-up of the board of the institution by the Central Bank of Nigeria for his part in what the regulator described as a breach of corporate governance. He has been in a tussle for months with Mr Otedola over the top ownership position of FBN Holdings and wrote to the board of the corporation in the first week of January, asking that his rival be removed and he be appointed chairman. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later According to the latest audited financial report of First HoldCo, he held 3.1 billion shares (8.7 per cent) in the group as of the end of last year through Barbican Capital Limited. In January, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission initiated a lawsuit against Mr Otudeko for his alleged role in a N12.3 billion advanced fee fraud involving Bisi Onasanya, a former CEO of the institution. Mr Otudeko majority-owns Honeywell Flour Plc, a food company listed on the Nigerian Exchange. Odukale Until October 2021, when Mr Otedola emerged as the institutions foremost shareholder after he acquired considerable shares via off-market deals, Messrs Odukale and Otudeko were the groups biggest shareholders. Mr Odukale swiftly claimed to own 5.36 per cent shareholding in the holdco after Mr Otedola announced his acquisitions, arguing that his cumulative equity stake was drawn from a combination of his direct, indirect and related party shares in the group. His controversial claim to a 1.05 per cent stake held by Leadway Pensure PFA, a company he owned, attracted disapproval from the Nigerian Exchange and the National Pension Commission (PenCom). The contention at the time was how an equity investment from a pool of employees pension contributions could qualify as a single individuals investment. In November 2021, PenCom said the funds that Leadway Pensure Limited invested in the FBN Holdings Plc shares belonged to Retirement Savings Account holders, not a third party. Otedola In October 2021, Mr Otedola officially became the top shareholder of First HoldCo, following share acquisitions representing 5.07 per cent of the issued shares of the company. A rank outsider in the groups top ownership until that time, he purchased a further 2.5 per cent stake later in the year, taking his holding to 7.57 per cent. In January 2024, he became the chairman of the board of directors of the corporation. His holding in First HoldCo climbed to 11.6 per cent in June of that year after he procured 797.7 million shares valued at over N36 billion, according to regulatory filings at the NGX. According to the latest audited earnings report of First HoldCo, Mr Otedola held 4.71 per cent (1.69 billion shares) directly and 7.09 per cent (2.54 billion shares) indirectly through Calvados Global Services Limited as of 31 December 2024. Mr Otedola majority-owns Lagos-listed Geregu Power. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter, has called on the federal government to issue a circular implementing the reviewed retirement age for medical and dental practitioners. The Chairman of the NMA-FCT, Emeka Ayogu, made the call during a news conference in Abuja on Wednesday. Mr Ayogu said the association also demanded the immediate approval of specialist allowances for all doctors. He said the association also rejected the circular issued by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission (NSIWC), which reviewed allowances for medical and dental officers in the federal public service. He said the NMA-FCT, in alignment with its national body, rejected the circular on the grounds that it failed to capture the interests of health workers. The complete rejection of the NSIWC circular follows the outcome of our emergency executive council meeting, aligning with the national bodys resolution of 2 July, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that several other medical bodies have also rejected the NSIWC circular in the past two weeks. 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 These include the Nigerian Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), the Nigerian Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives in Federal Health Institutions (NANNM-FHI), and several NMA state chapters. Mr Ayogu said the NSIWC circular undermines existing salary relativity in the healthcare sector and contradicts provisions of the 2001, 2009, and 2014 Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) between the NMA and the federal government. If the government allows this obnoxious circular to stand, it will demoralise doctors, aggravate existing tensions, and worsen the ongoing brain drain, the so-called Japa syndrome, he warned. He added that the policy could lead to industrial disharmony, further strain the doctor-patient ratio, and severely affect the delivery of healthcare services nationwide. Mr Ayogu stressed that if the federal government fails to intervene before the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum issued by the NMA national body, doctors may have no choice but to embark on industrial action. The NMA-FCT is demanding the immediate withdrawal of the NSIWC circular, payment of all outstanding wages and allowances owed to its members, and the prompt initiation of long-delayed CBA negotiations on the Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS). The association is also calling for an upward review of the CONMESS scheme to the tune of 300 per cent of its current value. In addition, it seeks the immediate release of the 2025 Medical Residency Training Fund (MRTF), implementation of scarce skills allowance for medical consultants, and full implementation of the 2021 hazard allowance agreement. Also speaking, Okoreaffia Ogbonnaya, chairman of the National Association of Government General Medical and Dental Practitioners (NAGGMDP), FCT Branch, expressed solidarity with the NMA-FCTs position. Mr Ogbonnaya said doctors were not interested in disrupting the system but felt compelled to speak out due to persistent injustices. The circular issued by the NSIWC is obnoxious and fails to reflect economic realities. A meagre 1.2 per cent increase in salaries is unfair. Those of us who have stayed back in Nigeria out of patriotism should not be punished for our loyalty, he said. He appealed to President Bola Tinubu to personally intervene, adding that the Renewed Hope agenda should include hope for doctors and other healthcare professionals. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of a hospital, five petrol stations, many residential and commercial properties, and a total of N333 million across multiple bank accounts to the federal government. The assets are located in Abuja and different states Niger, Nasarawa, and Borno states. Delivering the ruling on Monday, the trial judge, Emeka Nwite, granted the order following a motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). The commission brought the application under Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006. The motion, marked FHC/ABJ/1058/2024, was supported by a 36-paragraph affidavit deposed to by EFCC operative Tahiru Ahmed. According to the EFCC, the assets are suspected to be proceeds of unlawful activities. The commission obtained an interim forfeiture order on 13 August 2024, with the court directing it to publish the order in a national daily and on its website to invite interested parties to show cause why the assets should not be permanently forfeited to the federal government. In compliance, the EFCC published the order in The Punch newspaper on 4 September 2024. The anti-graft agency said no individual or entity came forward to claim ownership of the assets. Mr Ahmed wrote in the affidavit filed in support of the application that since the interim order was published, no person or entity had shown up to claim ownership of the assets. 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 argued that final forfeiture was in the interest of justice, as it would not prejudice any party. At the resumed hearing on Monday, EFCC counsel Fadila Yusuf urged the court to grant the final forfeiture, having fulfilled all legal requirements. In his ruling, the judge, Mr Nwite, said, Having listened to the submission of the EFCC lawyer and reviewed the affidavits in support of the motion, I am of the view that this application is meritorious. He therefore granted the application as prayed. List of forfeited assets Among the assets forfeited are Galaxy Hospital located at Plot BO/12340 in Bolori Layout, Maiduguri, Borno State, and a duplex in the same area. Other properties include residential apartments in Equilibrium Estate, Karsana District of Abuja; plots of land in Dakibiyu and Guzape districts of Abuja; properties in Ibrahim Taiwo Estate in Maiduguri; farmland in Gaube, Federal Capital Territory; land near Dakwa Town in Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State; and plots on Mungono Street in Maiduguri, as well as in Mararaba Gurku, Karu Local Government Area of Nasarawa State. Also forfeited are petrol stations located in Chabbal Village, along the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway in Kaduna State, in Mogaramti along Maiduguri-Kano Road, and on Sir Kashim Ibrahim Road in Maiduguri. Others are a four-bedroom terrace duplex in Guzape District of Abuja and a 10-hectare property proposed for a filling station in Baga-Maimalari Barrack Road, Maiduguri, are also part of the forfeited assets. In addition, the court ordered the forfeiture of funds in various bank accounts, including N281.4 million in an account belonging to Galaxy Transportation and Communication Service Ltd, N6.9 million in the account of Galaxy Computing and Electronics Service Ltd, and N1.2 million in the account of Galaxy Energy International Concept Ltd. Another N43.7 million was found in the account of Galaxy Transportation and Construction Service. Other accounts linked to the syndicate, including those of Galaxy Transport and Construct Service, Galaxy Intercontinental Miners Concept Ltd, Galaxy Superstores and Pharmacy, and Abba Babagana Dalori, had zero balances and were also forfeited. Previous forfeiture orders This latest ruling adds to a series of court-ordered forfeitures secured by the EFCC in recent months. On 11 July, the Federal High Court in Lagos granted the final forfeiture of assets including luxury properties, cars, and over N326 million in cash linked to a N2 billion fraud involving 575 dormant customer accounts at Union Bank. READ ALSO: Controversy trails death of Kogi man accused of being a criminal Also in April, the Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the final forfeiture of a property at 26 Tolu Road, Olodi Apapa, Lagos, to the federal government, following the EFCCs claim that the asset was acquired with proceeds of crime. The EFCC maintains that the forfeiture of these assets is part of its broader efforts to recover proceeds of crime and deter financial wrongdoing. It added that suspects were involved in the underlying offences are being prosecuted in separate criminal trials. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Photo: https://mfa.gov.ua/ The Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Policy and Interparliamentary Cooperation has supported the candidacy of Andriy Sybiha for the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs, said the head of the committee, Oleksandr Merezhko (the Servant of the People faction). "The committee meeting is underway. Sybiha's candidacy was voted on and unanimously supported," Merezhko told Interfax-Ukraine on Thursday. According to the parliament's website, draft resolution No. 13495 on the appointment of Sybiha to the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine was registered in the Verkhovna Rada on July 17. The Open Society Foundations today announced the names of African intellectuals who were selected for the $120,000 Open Society Fellowship for the Global South. They are part of a group of thirty-one public intellectuals from seven cities in the Global South, who will serve as Open Society Fellows in 2025-26. The fellowship will support a global cohort of public intellectuals, with the explicit aim of directing attention and resources to diverse and emerging voices, particularly those outside the West and in places and communities that have often been overlooked. The fellows were drawn from cities that are home to a dynamic circle of thinkers and cultural producers engaged in high-level critical debate. The cities are Beirut, Buenos Aires, Colombo, Dar es Salaam, Jakarta, Lagos, and Taipei. Nigerian intellectuals from the worlds of academia and art will benefit from grants to continue their pursuit of restless critical thought. They include publisher Anwuli Ojogwu, educator Saeed Husaini, architect Tosin Oshinowo and visual artist Victor Ehikhamenor. Were in the midst of momentous changes around the world changes that are unsettling our assumptions and forcing us to revisit them. The bold ideas and energy that this global fellowship brings is not just important, but crucial in this moment, said Binaifer Nowrojee, president of the Open Society Foundations. The Open Society Fellowship has a special place in the work of the foundations and these fellows will help shape global conversations on the most pressing issues of our time from human rights and social justice to climate change and inequality. Fellows were selected by a distinguished panel of external reviewers for their heterodoxy and openness to new approaches and vigorous debate, ensuring that Open Society remains true to a vision of restless critical thought. Fellows each receive a grant of $120,000. They meet several times in person and join a network of colleagues committed to collaboration, debate, shared learning, and social impact. The Open Society Fellowship is committed to supporting public intellectuals in cities that act as crucibles of critical debate and cultural experimentation. We hope to enable public intellectuals in those places to take their rightful place on the global stage and link their work to the broader goal of advancing open society, said Fellowship Director Stephen Hubbell. 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 Fellows from Nigeria include: Anwuli Ojogwu Anwuli Ojogwu is a publisher, editor, and co-founder of Narrative Landscape Press, an independent company that has published acclaimed African and Caribbean writers such as Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Oyinkan Braithwaite, Chibundo Onuzo, Yejide Kilanko, Uche Okonkwo Marlon James, and Lupita Nyongo. Narrative Landscape Press expanded its reach by opening a new branch in East Africa. She has worked in publishing, media, development, and management consulting in the private, nonprofit, and public sectors for 18 years. She is also the executive director and co-founder of the Society for Book & Magazine Editors of Nigeria, a nonprofit that supports publishing and editorial professional development. She currently sits on the board of trustees of the World Economic Forums Global Shapers (Lagos Hub) and advisory board of Open Country Mag, a leading media company. She received her BA in English and Literature from the University of Benin. Her current project explores the current state of African literature and the impact of rising intellectual apathy, migration, and democratic erosion on future narratives across the continent. Saeed Husaini (Nigeria) Saeed Husaini is a researcher, organizer, and educator. He is currently a research fellow at the Center for Democracy and Development in Abuja, where he leads a project to digitise the family-held archives of Nigerian left and pro-democracy activists from the 1940s to the 1990s. His research examines how the economic and political transition at the end of the 20th century remapped the ideological spectrum in Nigeria. His wider work is animated by an interest in examining how elite and popular political ideas about capitalism and democracy intersect to shape the practices of organising, coercion, and governance in contemporary Africa. He holds a DPhil in International Development from the University of Oxford and was a 2023 Fellow of the African Humanities Program, supported by the American Council for Learned Societies. He has previously held research and teaching positions at the Universities of Oxford, Lagos, and Ghana. His current project compares right-wing social movements in Nigeria and the US Midwest, focusing on the effect of local political participation on national politics. Tosin Oshinowo (Nigeria) Tosin Oshinowo is an architect, designer, curator, and the principal and founder of Oshinowo Studio. She has worked on civic, commercial, and residential projects throughout Nigeria and is renowned for her socially responsive approach to architecture, design, and urbanism. Her work demonstrates a strong interest in architectural history while embodying a contemporary perspective on African design and innovation. She has been featured in international media, including Architectural Digest and Deutsche Welle. Her designs include a project with the United Nations Development Programme for a village displaced by Boko Haram, and the Maryland Mall in Lagos. Her curatorial work focuses primarily on concerns of culture and identity, embodying a contemporary perspective of urbanism in the global South. She co-curated the second Lagos Biennial and the second Sharjah Architecture Triennial. She will participate in the 19th Venice Architecture Biennale with her project: An Alternative Urbanism: Self-organising Lagos Markets. She has a BA in Architecture from Kingston University London, an MSc in Development and Planning: Building and Urban Design in Development from the University College London, and a Masters in Business for Architecture and Design from IE University Madrid. She is a 2025 Harvard Loeb Fellow at the Graduate School of Design. Victor Ehikhamenor (Nigeria) Victor Ehikhamenor is a multidisciplinary visual artist and writer known for vibrant and incisive works that engage with African cultural heritage, its resonance within the global African diaspora, and the postcolonial politics of his native Nigeria. Using materials and iconography that embrace the traditions and histories of Africa while integrating elements that allude to the continents colonial past and Nigerias complex geopolitical position as an oil-producing nation, he offers insight into contemporary Nigeria. His art has been exhibited around the world, including at the first Nigerian Pavilion at the 57th Venice Biennale. As a writer and photographer, his work has chronicled life, addressed political corruption, and Africas role in global politics. He has published critical essays, short stories, articles in international media (including the New York Times) and a satirical nonfiction book Excuse Me!. He is the founder of Angels and Muse, a thought laboratory dedicated to the promotion and development of contemporary African art and literature in Lagos and Benin City, Nigeria. He received a BA in English from Ambrose Ali University and an MSc in Technology Management and MFA in Fiction from the University of Maryland, College Park. His current project explores the aesthetics of Edo State, Nigerias commemorative sites, unveiling the significance of traditional inscriptions and the link between culture and nature in African indigenous systems. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Defence Headquarters (DHQ) has dismissed claims by the Turkish Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Mehmet Poroy, of an existing FETO Terrorist Group in the country. The Director of Defence Media Operations, Markus Kangye, while briefing journalists on military operations on Thursday in Abuja, said the DHQ does not recognise the claims as official or verified. Mr Kangye maintained that Nigeria remains an independent nation capable of making its own decisions, particularly on security and counterterrorism matters. This is in response to the recent comments by the Ambassador alleging that members of a group designated as Fethullah Terrorist Organisation (FETO) were operating in Nigeria under the guise of educational and healthcare institutions. Mr Kangye said that Mr Poroy made the claim that FETO had an active presence in Nigeria, at a dinner in Abuja on Tuesday to mark Turkeys Democracy and National Unity Day. According to Mr Poroy, the presence of such an organisation poses a threat to every country in which it operates, particularly in the fields of education and healthcare. Mr Kangye also quoted Mr Poroy as saying that Turkey had continued to brief Nigeria on what it views as the groups subversive activities and urged Nigerian authorities to remain vigilant and cautious. 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 Responding to questions from journalists, the defence spokesman said the claim was an unofficial pronouncement. According to Mr Kangye, a major-general, everybody is free to say whatever they want. There is freedom of information. Nigeria cannot be swayed by external commentary or claims that do not align with its own intelligence and national interest. Nigeria is an independent sovereign nation that can think and act for itself, he said. Mr Kangye cautioned against accepting unverified foreign narratives, especially those that may undermine national integrity or incite suspicion, acknowledging Nigerias diplomatic and military relationships with several countries. He also pointed to the rise of global propaganda and psychological operations, suggesting that foreign assertions could be part of broader strategic manoeuvres. We cannot take what other people are saying about Nigeria and accept it without our own independent assessment. Nigeria knows what it is, and the Nigerian military has its own code of conduct and operational guidelines. There are propagandists all over the world. Psychological oppressions go on everywhere. Thats why we must be vigilant, he added. Mr Kangye, however, reaffirmed Nigerias commitment to fighting terrorism on its own terms, guided by national priorities and internal intelligence. He reiterated that while the country values its international allies, its security decisions would always reflect its status as a sovereign state. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday declined the former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bellos application for the release of his passport to enable him to travel to the United Kingdom for medical reasons. Turning down the request in a ruling, the judge, Maryanne Anenih, ruled that Mr Bellos passport was not in the courts custody. She said the court could not give what it did not have, therefore the application is void, not just premature but preemptive. There is nothing to indicate that his international passport is before this court. It is not before this court nor the registrar of the court, she ruled. Ms Anenih also noted that the court could have considered the submissions of the lawyers if the passport had been before the FCT High Court. She held that the application was rendered incompetent by the passport not being in the courts possession. The judge said that the application submitted by Mr Bello was misleading in its assumption that his passport was before the FCT High Court. She clarified that the bail conditions given to the defendant had required him to submit his passport or an affidavit if it was before another court. 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 Battles for passport at two courts Earlier this month, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is prosecuting Mr Bello alongside two co-defendants on charges of diverting N110 billion belonging to Kogi State, opposed the application for the release of the former governors passport at a hearing. The court ordered the seizure of the passport last year as part of the bail conditions imposed on Mr Bello. It also barred him from travelling abroad without the courts express permission. The judge said Mr Bello must apply for and obtain the courts order for the release of his passport for him to travel outside Nigeria while his trial was pending. However, before the FCT High Court gave the bail ruling, Mr Bello was arraigned over a separate N80.2 billion money laundering case before the Federal High Court in Abuja, which also ordered the seizure of his passport as a bail condition. Mr Bello submitted his passport to the Federal High Court before he was subsequently brought before the FCT High Court. Last month, Mr Bello sought permission from both the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court for the planned medical trip to the UK. The EFCC opposed the applications, first before the Federal High Court and subsequently before the FCT High Court. During the hearing at the FCT High Court, the EFCC argued that Mr Bellos application ought to wait for the Federal High Court to deliver its ruling, among other grounds of objection. Needless order Ruling on Mr Bellos application Thursday, Ms Anenih, the FCT High Court judge, noted that it was needles to issue an order for the release of the passport since Mr Bello swore to an affidavit confirming that the passport was submitted at the Federal High Court as part of his bail conditions in the separate trial. The simple logic is that the passport cannot be with two different courts at the same time, Mrs Anenih said. Since the defendant admitted depositing same with the Federal High Court, there is no reason making any order here in regard to the application. Courts do not make orders in vain. Following the ruling, the judge scheduled continuation of trial for 8 and 9 October and 13 November. Background EFCC is prosecuting Mr Bello alongside two co-defendants on charges of diverting N110 billion belonging to Kogi State while he was governor. Mr Bello is being tried alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on 16 counts of criminal breach of trust and money laundering. The EFCC alleged that the trio diverted over N110 billion from the Kogi State treasury between 2016 and 2023, when Mr Bello was governor. They all pleaded not guilty to the charges when arraigned on 27 November 2024. Four prosecution witnesses have so far testified in the trial. Mr Bello also faces related money laundering charges involving N80.2 billion allegedly belonging to Kogi State at the Federal High Court in Abuja. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State says his administration has tackled corruption in the state by eliminating the manual handling of government revenues through the deployment of digital platforms. Mr Mbah stressed that the states governance model was now rooted in transparency, accountability, and traceability of public funds. The governor spoke on Wednesday when he received the Chairperson of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Adamu Aliyu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. He reiterated his administrations zero-tolerance stance on corruption, supported by institutional reforms and technology-driven systems. In Enugu, we operate a zero-tolerance policy for corruption. We have established systems that transcend individuals, Mr Mbah stated. No government revenue is collected manually. Whether it is N100 or N200,000, every payment is made through a secure electronic platform, he said. The governor recalled that his first action upon assumption of office was the signing of Executive Order 001, which established the Citizens Charter, a framework mandating regular disclosures of government finances and operations. 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 Two hours after my oath of office, I signed Executive Order 001, which is one of the Citizens Charters. That document binds me to render periodic accounts to the people of Enugu, reporting every naira received and how it is spent. This is the bedrock of our governance model, he said. Mr Mbah said his administration has been engaging with the public through regular town hall meetings and consultations with various leaders, adding that transparency fosters trust and enhances citizen participation in governance. He highlighted the link between anti-corruption efforts and his broader economic vision in the state. Our target is to grow Enugus economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion within eight years. This ambition depends heavily on private investments. But investors dont follow promises; they follow systems the rule of law, ease of doing business, and transparency. That is what we are deliberately building in Enugu, he said. The governor welcomed the regional anti-corruption roundtable being hosted in Enugu between the ICPC and attorneys-general from the South-east. He described the roundtable as a timely dialogue that resonates with his administrations drive and governance philosophy. Deeper collaboration Speaking at the event, the Chairperson of the ICPC, Mr Aliyu, called for deeper collaboration between the commission and the Enugu State Government to tackle corruption at the subnational level jointly. The chairperson hailed Governor Mbahs anti-corruption reforms and affirmed that the ICPC remains committed to a three-pronged mandate of enforcement, prevention, and public enlightenment. We are not in competition. We believe in partnership. ICPC is here to strengthen its working relationship with the state and support the government in institutionalising strong anti-corruption mechanisms, he said. The ICPC chief decried the debilitating effect of corruption on national development and investor confidence. Corruption not only blights our reputation among the comity of nations, it also impedes the flow of foreign direct investment and undermines public trust, he stated. Mr Aliyu stressed the role of attorneys-general and legal advisers as important players in the anti-corruption framework, especially at the state level. There is no way we can achieve our goals, especially at the sub-national level, without working closely with the chief law officers of the state. They are the closest to the governors, and they guide legal and institutional responses to corruption, he said of attorney-generals. The ICPC chairperson assured that the commission was ready to support Enugu and other states in building resilient anti-corruption systems. He urged Governor Mbah to consider formalising a collaborative framework with the commission. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Nana Buhari, the daughter of the late former President Muhammadu Buhari, who died on Sunday in a London hospital, has spoken out in defence of her fathers legacy. PREMIUM TIMES reported that Mr Buhari was laid to rest on Tuesday in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State, with several political dignitaries and prominent individuals in attendance. As tributes poured in from global leaders, politicians, and notable figures, some Nigerians took to social media to criticise the late president, referencing controversial policies from his time in office. In a BBC Pidgin interview posted on Facebook on Thursday, Ms Nana said Nigerians largely misunderstood her father. She said, What Id like to tell Nigerians is that those who didnt know my father or had bad or negative thoughts about him should understand that he was not what they thought he was. He was a very kind person and did his best for Nigeria. He loved Nigerians and was truly patriotic.$ Happy childhood Ms Nana recalled one of the happiest moments she and her siblings shared with the late president. 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 described her father as a kind-hearted, humorous, easy-going, and patriotic man who genuinely had the nations best interests at heart, despite facing public criticism. I remembered a happy childhood with my father, mainly when my younger sister, Safina, and I discussed hail. After overhearing our conversation, we had never seen rain fall as hailstones before, and my father went into the kitchen. He scraped some ice and started throwing it at us from behind. We shouted because we thought the ice was coming from the sky. What people didnt know about my father was that he was straightforward, easy-going, extremely funny, loved to give advice, and hardly said anything bad about any food someone cooked for him. Whatever food you gave him, if it didnt taste nice, he would put the plate aside without complaining or blaming the cooking, she added. Other tributes Aside from the late presidents daughter, several politicians and dignitaries who met him described him as a good man with a genuine interest in the nations development. Former Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun, who regarded Mr Buhari, who died at 82, as a close friend, praised his unwavering dedication to national discipline as a Military Head of State and a democratically elected president. The two-term senator added that Mr Buhari worked consistently to promote a more orderly and progressive Nigeria, where the rights of the poor and vulnerable were safeguarded. His vision for infrastructure development remains unparalleled. He ran the most ambitious and extensive social intervention policy designed to take the poorest of the poor out of the scourge of poverty. Nigerians will miss me,+kze79x he said repeatedly after office. As with all governments, Buharis immense contributions to Nigeria would be more appreciated as Nigerians experience successive governments, Mr Amosun added. Also, a prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ayiri Emami, commended the late president for his unwavering dedication to democratic principles. He noted that, throughout his tenure, the late leader consistently refrained from meddling in state-level political affairs. He credited Mr Buharis civilian administration with delivering significant infrastructure projects, including the WarriItakpe Rail Line and the Second Niger Bridge. Additionally, the Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Radda, reflected on his private conversations with former President Muhammadu Buhari following his retirement. According to Mr Radda, the late president consistently advised him to do his best and lead honestly and in service to Nigerians. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Pius Olanrewaju, a professor and president of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), has stated that the South-south region contributed N34 trillion to the countrys economy in 2024. He made the remark on Thursday at the South-south Zonal Banking and Finance Conference in Calabar, Cross River State. He spoke on the theme, Building An Inclusive South-South: Economic Diversification as a Catalyst For Development. Mr Olanrewaju, who quoted the data from the Cable Data Index, said the feat was more than 21 per cent of Nigerias real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). He described the growth as impressive, saying that it was not driven by oil alone but significant expansions in trade, services, and the creative industries. According to him, coordinated financial, technological, and policy support is essential to fully harnessing this potential. As we work to reposition the South-south for broad-based prosperity, the financial system must play a central role, not merely as a source of capital, but as a catalyst for innovation, ideas incubation, and inclusive economic growth. 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 conference, therefore, provides a strategic opportunity for stakeholders to reimagine the south-south economy, not merely as a resource belt, but as a region of diverse capabilities and resilient enterprises. Mr Olanrewaju added that Nigeria must move beyond old models and chart a new course for the development of the South-south region, where financial institutions and stakeholders collaborate to diversify the economy for shared prosperity. He commended Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River for his pledge of land for the CIBN Secretariat in the state and for being the first sitting governor to willingly undergo and complete the Chartered Bankers Programme. Diversification should be evidence-based For his part, Governor Otu said the conference discussion on economic diversification in the South-south region was timely, given the backdrop of global trade and economic volatility that was affecting the nations economy. Represented by the Deputy Governor of Cross River, Peter Odey, Mr Otu said the South-south region must now act with urgency to diversify its economy while leveraging its shared natural endowment in agriculture and extractive resources. This conference must help develop tailored financial solutions that reflect the unique strengths and realities of states like Cross River in the South-south. Diversification should be evidence-based and must be backed not just by financial advice but project-focused financing and real investment support, he noted. He said that Cross River had taken the bold step to invest in its agricultural sector by launching an Agro processing hub. Mr Otu further said that the state had invested in aviation by acquiring more aircraft for Cally Air, construction of the Bakassi Deep Seaport and injecting N18 billion into its tourism sector. Similarly, Tolefe Jibunoh, Cross River Branch Controller of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the region was blessed with natural resources, cultural diversities and immense human potentials. Mr Jibunoh, who was represented by Segun Shittu, head, Currency Control Office, CBN, Calabar, noted that strategic diversification could unlock unprecedented opportunities for growth in the region. He added that the CBN remained steadfast to maintain monetary possibilities and promote a sound financial system as a catalyst for sustainable economic development for the benefit of all. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print It needs to be stated that every countrys history is unique. And one of the disadvantages we have here is that we are often distracted by what had turned out to be good outcomes for other countries, that we are not building our own country as fast as we could. Japanese universities did not start becoming relevant to their society and economy just because professors were better paid, but because the average Japanese understood the importance of hard work and a long-term view, and they developed a strict discipline that most other cultures or societies ours inclusive would brush off Professor Farooq Kperogis recent article titled, Problem of Paying Peanuts to Professors made very interesting reading, as usual, but also throws up many urgent and important points to ponder, necessitating this response not on behalf of the current administration, but in my personal capacity as someone very interested in the burning subject of the contribution of our academia to national progress, innovation and development. I believe this subject demands highly-elevated debates and conferences, in which not only the academia will be involved, but also government operatives, the civil society, and even the private sector, as it has inherent seeds of Nigeria, nay Africas, potential meteoric rise in the comity of nations, despite decades of stymied growth and catatonic development in many areas. I hope to explain why in this missive. But first, a few clarifications. I happened to have read the interview granted The PUNCH by Katsina-based Professor Nasir Hassan-Wagini Katsina, and what I got from that interview was a mile away from the inference drawn by Kperogi, whose opinions I greatly respect and whom Ive never know to try to befuddle his audiences. I didnt read where the distinguished professor said he was involved in selling vegetables because he was broke as a lecturer. In fact, drawing that kind of inference takes away completely the essence of that encounter with the good Mr Hassan-Wagini, who is actually a professor of Plant Resources at the Umaru YarAdua University, Katsina. That is not to say that the good man couldnt make do with some extra cash like most of us. But from his statements, it seems that he has a deeper connection with his vocation. As he put it: (I) was born by a farmer, grew up as a farmer, and went into produce businesses at an early stage of life. (My) story became popular after I was promoted to the rank of professor. My call to the NCE, Diploma, and degree graduates is that they should feel free and start small businesses in their communities, instead of staying idle. Im a professor of plant resources at UMYU, I want youths and students to look at me, know my rank and position, and I still engage in small business of this nature. That may clear their minds because they feel shame and are too big to go into such small types of businesses. What matters is what you are contributing to society. So, stop staying at home doing nothing when you did not get a job, start with small businesses like this one. Our youths should stop going to other places looking for a job, they should get into farming and other small businesses to become self-reliant. Self-reliance is key to a successful life. Try to merge your education with vocational skills for your good. Professor Waginis fellow vegetable merchants draw a lot of inspiration from his passion, intellect, humility, kindness and trustworthiness, and he seems to be an ambassador from the academia to the nano businesses in his area. But unfortunately, Kperogis article fell into that affliction which we see everywhere in Nigeria today whereby writers, bloggers, and everyone in the media space, especially social media, simply try to explain everything wrong in society away by dumping on leaders, government and generally farming out the blame neatly so that they may come away looking squeaky clean, while tarring everyone in politics and governance as the perfect villains. Im afraid that this approach solves no problems. I was touched personally by the professors interview and the messages he passed across, especially to the youths. Why must he be forced to stop doing a business he has always done almost all his life? Because he is a professor? Dont professors abroad have more than one work if they choose to? Is this approach not another way of glorifying book against other productive ventures? Is Professor Wagini not solving a problem for society by being part of a market that brings much-needed vegetables to our citizens and thus stabilise prices for us all? Why try to make him look like a loser, and a suffering professor? That is certainly unkind of Kperogi. I checked online and there are many American professors of Botany and such like, who also run their own or their universitys flower shops. Same equivalent. Why is such made to sound dirty because it happened in Nigeria? But moving on Fa First, the disconnect between the gown and the town (academia and workplace or real-life solutions) in Nigeria. Is it just because Nigeria is not paying enough money to the academia? How did that become a tradition? We have to go back into history to get an idea. There was a time in Nigeria when headmasters, principals and university professors were the ones who earned relatively large salaries that could have then been considered unfair by, say, farmers who actually slaved hard to bring the food, without which no one could have survived, much less earn a degree. 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 There was a time when principals and headmasters were the most enlightened and respected people in the land, and many of them were a shoo-in for political office. In the South-West, we had people like Pa Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Pa Emmanuel Alayande and many more. I recall that some people like to disparage Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa for being a Grade-2 teacher before getting into politics, but that man with the guttural voice through which he spoke impeccable English the Voice of Africa was then among the few most enlightened young men from the entire North of Nigeria. Have we noticed that our top earners today are mostly comedians, skitmakers, musicians and such like. You see them in first class and with their private jets often. Even they have bested the bankers. I am calling on Nigerias academia to seize the moment, as there are some levers that they could pull for themselves to begin to rewrite their own trajectories and to reclaim some of the lost grounds in terms of the respect, relevance, and, indeed, their utility to national development. I dont believe in variance with Kperogis thesis that the problem boils down simply to the bad relative remuneration of college professors in Nigeria. But the times have changed. Nigeria now parades millions upon millions of university graduates, perhaps in excess of our needs. Masters degree holders are now aplenty. Some PhD holders are lost in the job market, while foreign degrees that used to be admired in the 1990s are now a dime-a-dozen. A full rethink of the academic space in Nigeria is what we require, not just a nostalgic romance with a glorious past. This is not to say that our academia does not deserve much higher remuneration. They certainly do. However, I am calling on Nigerias academia to seize the moment, as there are some levers that they could pull for themselves to begin to rewrite their own trajectories and to reclaim some of the lost grounds in terms of the respect, relevance, and, indeed, their utility to national development. I dont believe in variance with Kperogis thesis that the problem boils down simply to the bad relative remuneration of college professors in Nigeria. There are a myriad of issues including the total deemphasis of polytechnic education over the acquisition of university certificates. China recently converted 600 universities to polytechnics, just for us to be aware. Before I consider some of my own humble suggestions on the ways forward, I believe it is also apposite to point to the fact that in many universities, they offer the brightest employment right from graduation day. And many people take it usually first-class degree holders. Also recently, we have been seeing better monetary recognition accorded to scholars and this is as a result of social media outcry. Rather than the usual 1,000 for best graduating students, we now see them receiving millions upon millions. This is something to recognise and build upon, as the renaissance could help in spurring the renaissance we desire in our academia. Back to the Japanese comparison Farooq stated in his article that, Japanese universities did not become innovation hubs by accident. They achieved this by adequately funding universities, ensuring teachers were happy, and encouraging mass enrollment in higher education. In Japans labor market, the university lecturer is a high-status, well-paid profession, surpassed only by top executives in the private sector. Because of this, Japanese universities attract the very best. It needs to be stated that every countrys history is unique. And one of the disadvantages we have here is that we are often distracted by what had turned out to be good outcomes for other countries, that we are not building our own country as fast as we could. Japanese universities did not start becoming relevant to their society and economy just because professors were better paid, but because the average Japanese understood the importance of hard work and a long-term view, and they developed a strict discipline that most other cultures or societies ours inclusive would brush off or label as oppression in todays listless, neoliberal world of glorified self-obsession. In the last Olympics, Japanese athletes showed that example by always tidying up after themselves sometimes cleaning the whole stadia before retiring to bed. For no pay. This will be unacceptable in Nigeria, unfortunately. The same spirit is what grounds the average Japanese and makes it a necessity for him/her to hunker down and contribute to their nations development. It is not about money, even though some comfort will help. I believe that the most difficult task that academics like Kperogi can assist Nigeria with is how to devise ideas and systems that will make our people value monetary wealth less and start appreciating some of the finer values of life. And there was some mention of what Professor Falola calls the Idle Class. This means that a society should have a certain slack of intellectuals in and out of academia who can churn ideas around, philosophise about society and refine ideas that make for progress. Whereas it is a great idea and we certainly have them here already (on every WhatsApp group and on social media), one wonders whether Nigeria and most of Africa should be seeking for an expansion of that idle class when we should actually be thinking about how to create real products and getting our hands greasy with the grind of industry and manufacturing. Nigeria according to the World Economic Forum is already the country in the world where citizens spend the most time on social media. As I acknowledged earlier, many government policies are already shaped by social media outcries but I believe that we should refocus, especially our youthful energy, to more productive things. If Trump is trying to bring back industry to the USA, we should too. I read Dr Luke Onyekakeyas write-up in The Guardian some years back, about his experience as an academic in the same Japan, especially about how a number of universities are focused on solving their earthquake problems. I asked around then why none of our universities focus on solving our gully erosion problems. What about other issues? Flood. Desertification. Even food poverty, etc. In 2013, I was in Uganda and saw on their local TV how students of Makerere University constructed a mobile food processing unit mounted on the back of a small truck, which they drove from village to village to help them juice up and preserve loads of fruits, which may have otherwise wasted. Could such initiative be connected with the fact that Uganda is somehow doing better with its agricultural sector, compared with Nigeria today? Why is Cote DIvoire churning out almost ten times the same cocoa that Nigeria produces, when they have less than a quarter of our land mass? if we really want to move the needle on this topic and on rapid national development, we need a broader discussion on this matter. MOBILISING our publics, especially around governance and problem-solving, is a key imperative. Many politicians see mass mobilisation as something you do when elections are coming. Or maybe funding is the problem but I think this kind of mobilisation eventually funds itself by the economic growth and good vibes it generates in the nation, especially among youths. Therefore, I want our academia to ponder on the following: We need to trace back to the roots of our academia, especially when it was simply prestigious to attend universities, irrespective of what you went to study, and the natural desire of university graduates who got cars and flats right after, to simply maintain the advantage, even as the economy changed drastically. We should recall what Lee Kwan Yew said about what the graduates he met in Nigeria and Ghana studied in 1961. If we locate the roots of our issues in academia, then and only then can we solve them. We have to look into what may have prevented the taking of initiatives to solve particular or even local problems by our academia and what is called adverse selection problem, by which people will naturally seek their own comfort or get easily discouraged at the first sign that money will not come out of govt to support their initiatives. We have to look at the problem, whereby final year projects are usually individualised, rather than done on group basis in assessing our students. The final projects or theses that are submitted by students sometimes address critical issues, but Ive seen them dumped in dustbins after some years in the archives. I have proposed several times, and even in my present role, that the curriculum should change and become more practical, and that final projects should address current problems and be done on group/cluster basis for scalability and continuity. Will our academia accept change, given that everybody naturally resists change? How do we reduce and eradicate the dependence of our academia on foreign funding? It shouldnt take this long for us to break away and start thinking about our own enlightened self-interest. We have to also look at our own self-contradictions. The fact that somehow our academia has not been able to get rid of bad eggs, which eroded their integrity and honour. Lecturers who victimise students one way or another. Even administrators who get involved in high corruption and VCs who see their appointment as a call to revel in luxury like politicians. I see academia as the very last bastion of integrity in a nation, and at par with the judiciary. The call to be at the forefront of innovation and problem solving in a nation gets directly decimated by the wrong focus on money-making, or by incidences where lecturers are called out for immorality and the bullying of students. Is it then a Nigerian thing? Or a black African thing? Why are universities in South Africa much better and more likely to fulfil this need that we so desire? Is it because of the Dutch or Afrikaans effect. As usual, I am only interested in nuanced reasons and in a deep dive. Farooq probably didnt have space in his column to explore that much though I know him to be a sound thinker. I only disagreed with him once when he supported the former Minister of Education that only 18-year-olds should get into university. I was surprised at him then. Again, if we really want to move the needle on this topic and on rapid national development, we need a broader discussion on this matter. MOBILISING our publics, especially around governance and problem-solving, is a key imperative. Many politicians see mass mobilisation as something you do when elections are coming. Or maybe funding is the problem but I think this kind of mobilisation eventually funds itself by the economic growth and good vibes it generates in the nation, especially among youths. Universities, polytechnics and colleges of science and agriculture are spread all over the country, and thus an infusion of this kind of energy (focusing on problem-solving and immediate impact on society) into them will cause an organic blowup of activity, innovation, and development. We may be on to something great if this discussion is developed further. Could our university professors, nay our entire academia, find it in their hearts to elevate beyond the failure of politicians? Could they manage a last gasp to spur Nigeria into the future, in spite of all odds and all past misdeeds against them? Tope Fasua, an economist, author, blogger, and entrepreneur, can be reached through [email protected]. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print We must build on momentum toward this. African journalists must investigate the surveillance industry. Who buys the tools? Who sells them? And at what cost to democracy?.. Surveillance silences whistleblowers. It chills reporting. It hides corruption. And it sends a message to citizens who might speak out: You are not safe This is a call to action not just for journalists, but for everyone who believes in accountability and the publics right to know. Acclaimed Nigerian writer, Wole Soyinka, once said, Books and all forms of writing have always been objects of terror to those who seek to suppress truth. That terror persists today through the censorship and intimidation that result from surveillance. Across Africa and around the world, journalists are being monitored not to protect public safety, but to shield political power and suppress uncomfortable truths. Surveillance is dangerous because privacy is essential to press freedom. Journalism depends on private communication, especially in an era of increasing digital intrusion. Undermining such privacy doesnt just impact individuals it weakens and harms societies. In Nigeria, police have repeatedly accessed journalists telecom metadata who they called, when, and for how long without a warrant. Regulatory loopholes contradict constitutional protections and enable these tactics. These tools are not used to protect the public but to lure journalists into arrest and retaliation. Although the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) raised these concerns in a letter to President Bola Tinubu, no reforms have followed. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later As surveillance tools become more sophisticated and invasive, legal safeguards must grow stronger. Worldwide, hundreds of journalists, including those in Africa, have been targeted by spyware malicious software that can infiltrate devices, giving the attacker near-total access to messages, contacts, and photos. Additionally, it can activate the devices camera and microphone, capturing information about the surrounding environment and nearby conversations. In Togo, spyware has been used against journalists and the civil society. Some describe the threat as torture, and they have no private life. Even in exile, the surveillance threat continues an example of transnational repression. Veteran journalist Ferdinand Ayite called it permanent fear. I have felt that fear. In 2018, I was detained with a colleague in Tanzania. During the raid on our hotel rooms, I successfully alerted our New York headquarters. CPJ quickly initiated emergency protocols and changed our passwords remotely. But the agents werent worried. They boasted about Israeli technology that could overcome those protections. Across the continent, journalists face sophisticated threats from malware that lives inside phones to police using forensic tools to extract data from confiscated devices. Under apartheid, Section 205 of South Africas Criminal Procedure Act was used to compel journalists to reveal their sources those who refused were jailed. After Nelson Mandela became our first democratically elected president in 1994, an understanding was reached between the SA National Editors Forum and authorities that Section 205 would not be used in this way. In Botswana, Ghana, and elsewhere, reporters have been arrested and their phones seized not only to intimidate them but to access information. As a rookie reporter during South Africas democratic transition in 1992, I was taught to protect confidential sources at all costs even if it meant being arrested. Under apartheid, Section 205 of South Africas Criminal Procedure Act was used to compel journalists to reveal their sources those who refused were jailed. After Nelson Mandela became our first democratically elected president in 1994, an understanding was reached between the SA National Editors Forum and authorities that Section 205 would not be used in this way. But today, that understanding is effectively obsolete. Section 205 is still used not to subpoena journalists directly but to compel telecom companies to hand over reporters call records. This data can expose sources and compromise investigations, all without the journalist ever knowing. Private actors have also illegally deployed surveillance tools against journalists. It is secret surveillance with minimal oversight, and their powers are enhanced with spyware and other digital intrusion technologies. Governments no longer need to knock on your door they can just reach into your phone. A court filing in the lawsuit between WhatsApp and NSO Group revealed that Pegasus spyware had targeted individuals in 51 countries, 13 in Africa. This isnt isolated misuse. Its an industry. A business model. And journalists are paying the price. The situation calls for a response and presents an opportunity. African journalists must investigate the surveillance industry: Who is buying this technology? Who profits? And who is harmed? Governments also have a role to play. In Botswana, a proposed surveillance bill would have allowed the warrantless interception of communication. But after a strong pushback from local, regional, and international groups the bill was revised to require judicial oversight. Thats the power of collective action. The principles at stake here arent foreign. They are African values. The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights has enshrined strong protections for privacy and expression. The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa is a powerful, homegrown standard. In 2021, South Africas Constitutional Court declared that the governments mass interception of communications violated the Constitution. The court ordered reforms to RICA the countrys surveillance law and mandated interim protections for journalists and their sources. Sam Sole of the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism brought this case. For several months, the state had been monitoring his communications. He went to court and won. The principles at stake here arent foreign. They are African values. The African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights has enshrined strong protections for privacy and expression. The Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information in Africa is a powerful, homegrown standard. Our governments must now live up to it. We must build on momentum toward this. African journalists must investigate the surveillance industry. Who buys the tools? Who sells them? And at what cost to democracy? Surveillance silences whistleblowers. It chills reporting. It hides corruption. And it sends a message to citizens who might speak out: You are not safe. This is a call to action not just for journalists, but for everyone who believes in accountability and the publics right to know. We owe it to the reporters who are jailed. To the sources who are silenced. We owe it to the societies that rely on a free press. As Soyinka reminded us, The greatest threat to freedom is the absence of criticism. Lets ensure that freedom endures. Angela Quintal is the regional director, Africa, at the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and a former South African journalist and editor with more than two decades of newsroom experience. This was adapted from her 13 July keynote speech at the Wole Soyinka Centre for Investigative Journalism to mark Professor Soyinkas 91st birthday. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Africas Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced that its Artificial Intelligence chatbot, LEO is now enabled to carry out cross-border payment transactions. By this, LEO becomes Africas first AI-powered chatbot to facilitate cross-border payments, offering customers a seamless and instant way to transfer funds across the continent. The platform leverages the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) developed in partnership with the African Export-Import Bank (AfreximBank), and allows individuals, traders, and corporates to transfer money in local currencies between African countries where the Central Bank has approved PAPSS operations. Commenting on this milestone, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, UBA, Oliver Alawuba, said that as Africas global bank, UBA is driven by the need to constantly push boundaries and deliver services that speak to the needs of todays Africa. The introduction of cross-border payments on LEO, in partnership with PAPSS, reflects our commitment to digital innovation, Pan-African integration, and customer-centric banking. This is not just a banking upgrade; it is a bold leap into the future of African finance, he stated. UBA PAPSS Instant Payment through LEO offers unmatched benefits, including instant payments within a few seconds; availability via self-service channels; lower transaction processing fees and zero charges on the beneficiary. Speaking more on the benefits, Group Head, Retail and Digital Banking, Shamsideen Fasola that enhanced security and confidentiality and wider options for remittance products are other benefits that customers stand to gain from the service. 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 is a transformative step in Africas financial services landscape. With LEO now fully integrated with the PAPSS infrastructure, UBA customers can send and receive money across African borders in their local currencies within seconds. Were not just simplifying transactions were fostering intra-African trade and breaking down longstanding barriers to financial inclusion, Fasola stated. With this innovation, UBA is empowering account holders, traders, and corporates to transact quickly and efficiently across African markets, formalizing informal trade flows and supporting the broader goals of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). As the first bank to enable cross-border payments via its chatbot on the continent, UBA continues to lead in innovation, customer experience, and digital banking transformation. United Bank for Africa is one of the largest employers in the financial sector on the African continent, with 25,000 employees group wide and serving over 45 million customers globally. Operating in twenty African countries and the United Kingdom, the United States of America, France and the United Arab Emirates, UBA provides retail, commercial and institutional banking services, leading financial inclusion and implementing cutting-edge technology. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Admiral, a legacy consumer electronics and home appliances brand headquartered in the United States, has formally announced its entry into the Nigerian market. The brand, with a history spanning over 90 years, is launching a full suite of durable, high-efficiency appliances as part of a strategic partnership with DeeKayGroup, one of Nigerias leading distributors of consumer goods. The launch marks the first official introduction of Admirals globally recognised products into West Africas largest economy. Admirals product portfolio in Nigeria includes washing machines, freezers, televisions, cookers, refrigerators, fans and more, with additional smart and energy-saving appliances expected in the coming months. According to the company, Admirals market entry reflects its commitment to addressing the evolving needs of African consumers by providing cost-efficient, power-conscious, and quality-tested appliances designed to meet global performance standards while adapting to local market conditions. Admirals arrival in Nigeria represents a significant moment for the brand and for Nigerian consumers, said V V S Prasad, Managing Director of DeeKay Group. We are proud to bring to market a range of products that embody the brands commitment to durability, low energy consumption, and innovation, all supported by DeeKays nationwide distribution infrastructure and after-sales network. Founded in the early 1930s, Admiral is globally regarded as a pioneer in consumer electronics innovation, particularly for its contribution to American home technology during the post-war boom. Today, the brand continues to expand its footprint across global emerging markets, with Nigeria representing a strategic node for West and Central Africa. Nigeria is one of the fastest growing markets economies in Africa and the globe. We are proud to launch Admiral in Nigeria in partnership with Deekay Group, which is one of the most diversified conglomerates in the country with strong distribution & after sales service. Admiral brings with it a promise of American legacy and trust of more than 90 years that boasts of impressive and exhaustive range and we are confident it will become a household brand across the country and beyond said Vishal Saxena, Chief Executive Officer Admiral Appliances and Electronics Middle East, CIS Africa & South Asia. Admiral products are now available across major electronics retail chains and e-commerce platforms nationwide, offering consumers access to American-designed appliances tailored for local use. The brand also stated that it will maintain an active presence on social media platforms to engage customers and offer support. Follow Admiral Nigeria on: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/admiralappliancesafrica Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AdmiralAppliancesAfrica Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/admiral-appliances-electronics-africa 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 Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Photo: https://t.me/zedigital The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine has approved changes to four key orders on the use of drones. As noted in a message on the department's website on Thursday, requirements that were irrelevant during the war have been canceled. A number of their provisions are no longer applicable for the period of martial law and for three months after its termination. "The norms have been brought into line with the realities of modern warfare. The orders adopted before the full-scale invasion contained rules that were impossible to fulfill due to the high intensity of hostilities, a large number of different types of UAVs, and the rapid change in the technologies for their use. Some of them not only did not correspond to reality, but were also dangerous. For example, there was a requirement to place operators' contact details on drones," the head of the Office of Changes of the Ministry of Defense, Yulia Marushevska, is quoted as saying. Requirements for flights and maintenance of drones have been simplified. In particular, the rules for flights by unmanned aircraft complexes of the state aviation of Ukraine will not apply to single-use UAVs of all types and classes, as well as UAVs of class I of the "micro" (tactical, weighing up to 2 kg, for example Mavic 3) and "mini" (tactical battlefield, weighing up to 15 kg, such as DJI Matrice 300). Most types of UAVs are not subject to mandatory inclusion in the register of state aircraft. Personnel operating class I drones do not need to be sent for a mandatory flight medical examination to determine fitness for flight, according to the changes. Admission to operating UAVs is granted by order of the unit commander. The rules for medical support of state aviation flights do not apply to crews of class I UAVs. More details about the changes can be found in the announcement on the department's website. As noted, the ministry took these measures in response to requests from the military, which indicated the need to repeal outdated rules, in particular through the Ministry of Defense's deregulation portal. The update was prepared by the Change Support Office of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine in cooperation with the Main Directorate of State Aviation of the Ministry of Defense and the Command of the Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Zamfara State Governor, Dauda Lawal, has charged judges in the state to prioritise the quick dispensation of justice to the people. On Wednesday, the governor presided over the swearing in of newly appointed high court judges and Shariah Court of Appeal kadis at the grand chamber, Government House, Gusau. A statement by the governors spokesperson, Sulaiman Bala Idris, revealed that the state Chief Judge administered the oath of office and allegiance to three high court judges and three court of appeal judges. The statement added that the appointed high court judges are Garba Sirajo, Bashir Rabi, and Abdullahi Nasir, while the appointed Kadis are Ibrahim Jibril, Muhammad Sanusi Magami, and Shaaban Mansir. In his remark at the ceremony, Mr Lawal noted that the judges were appointed after due consideration and approval of the National Judicial Council. 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 Let me first congratulate you on your well-deserved appointments. Your appointments reflect the confidence that the judicial system has reposed in you. Therefore, I call on you to justify this confidence by demonstrating high professionalism, honesty, integrity, and impartiality in your duties. I wish to recognise the efforts and commitment of the Honorable Chief Judge and Chairman, Zamfara State Judicial Service Commission, Hon. Justice Kulu Aliyu OFR, and indeed her entire team, for a job well done, as all the nominees forwarded to the National Judicial Council were accepted and appointed. It is a fact that a significant building block of a just, equitable, and fair society is the dispassionate, unbiased, and timely dispensation of justice. This statement rings most especially true for our administration, as we strive to shift the paradigm, rescue Zamfara state, and rebuild our community with every citizen playing a role and being held accountable. This is a crucial time for the State Judiciary to support the current administrations efforts to enhance citizens well-being. Ongoing collaboration between the Executive and the Judiciary is essential to achieving our goals. I assure you of my continued support, and my administration will provide the necessary benefits, allowances, and a suitable working environment to help you perform at your best. Governor Lawal further emphasised that the judges appointment consolidates their valued experience in service for the benefit of society. Its not a heavy responsibility, but with Allahs help, you will do the right thing. Prioritize swift justice to rebuild society and restore trust in governance. The administration has invested in security, infrastructure, health, education, and human capital over the past two years despite regional security challenges. We increased the minimum wage from N7,000 to N70,000, provided Ramadan and Sallah bonuses, introduced a 13th-month productivity allowance, and cleared 13 years of unpaid gratuities from 2011 to 2023. We are dedicated to sustainable development in Zamfara State. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print President Bola Tinubu and leaders of the new coalition of the opposition attended Tuesdays burial ceremony of former President Muhammadu Buhari but departed without exchanging greetings. The dignitaries were in Daura to witness the burial and to offer condolences to the bereaved family. President Tinubu had declared Tuesday a public holiday to honour the late former President whom he succeeded in May 2023. Among the dignitaries were several leaders of the new coalition of the political opposition. They included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, former governors of Kaduna and Sokoto states, Nasir El-Rufai and Aminu Tambuwal, respectively, and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi. However, none of the leaders interacted with the president at the event. Mr Buhari died 25 months after leaving office. His remains were received on Tuesday by Mr Tinubu at the Umaru Musa YarAdua International Airport in Katsina. 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 President Tinubu arrived at the airport from Abuja at 1:42 p.m. and inspected a guard of honour before the Nigerian Air Force plane conveying the remains of his predecessor from London landed at 1:51 p.m. Mr Tinubu led the remains in a 45-minute drive to Daura in a motorcade. On their arrival in Daura, Mr Tinubu remained in his vehicle surrounded by security personnel, including the service chiefs, while the body was taken into Mr Buharis sitting room, already filled with family members and mourners. The body was subsequently brought out for the funeral prayers, where Atiku and some of the coalition leaders were waiting. Mr Tinubu alighted from his car and joined the crowd of mourners a few steps away. After the prayer, the body was taken to the burial site in a place said to be the deceaseds preferred relaxation spot in the main residence. Atiku and his associates left the area immediately after the prayer with some supporters chanting Sai Atiku, while President Tinubu sat with other mourners facing the lifeless body and the prepared grave. The Chief Imam of Daura, Salisu Rabiu, conducted the burial prayer. In the crowd were the Prime Minister of Niger, Ali Lamine Zeine, a former President of Niger, Issoufou Mahamadou, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and the Emir of Daura, Farouk Umar. Also present were President Umaru Embalo of Guinea-Bissau, the Prime Minister of Niger, Ali Lamine Zeine, and a former President of Niger, Issoufou Mahamadou. The mourners observed the interment and the funeral featuring full military honours, including a 21-gun salute. Mr Tinubu left Katsina late Tuesday after the ceremony. However, Atiku and his associates returned to pray at the graveside and offer their condolences to the deceaseds family on Wednesday. The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, also arrived in Daura on Wednesday to condole with the family. Other dignitaries who departed Daura after the ceremony on Tuesday were Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Abbas, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, and senators Kawu Sumaila, Abdulaziz Yari, Sani Bello, Abu Ibrahim, and Ahmed Sani. The security chiefs in attendance included the Chief of Defence Staff, Christopher Musa; the Chief of Army Staff, Olufemi Oluyede; the Inspector General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun; the Chief of Naval Staff, Emmanuel Ogalla; the former Chief of Defence Staff, Tukur Buratai; and the former Director General of DSS, Yusuf Bichi. The Nigerian Governors Forum Chairman and Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, led the college of governors. They included Bala Mohammed of Bauchi, Mai Mala Buni of Yobe, Abba Yusuf of Kano, Uba Sani of Kaduna, Abdullahi Sule of Nasarawa, Muhammadu Yahaya of Gombe, and Umar Namadi of Jigawa. Other governors were Nasir Idris of Kebbi, Dauda Lawal of Zamfara, Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto, Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos, Dapo Abiodun of Ogun, Monday Okpebholo of Edo, Hope Uzodimma of Imo, and Bassey Otu of Cross River. Former governors in attendance included Ibrahim Shehu Shema (Katsina), Ali Modu Sheriff (Borno), and Yahaya Bello (Kogi). The richest African man, Aliko Dangote, was also present, alongside Sayyu Dantata and Dahiru Mangal. Traditional rulers included the Sultan of Sokoto, Saad Abubakar, and the emirs of Katsina and Kano. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Senate President Godswill Akpabio has said that he and other senators were unable to attend the burial of former President Muhammadu Buhari due to a lack of parking space at the Katsina Airport. Mr Buhari died on Sunday at a London Clinic after a prolonged illness. The former president, who has served the country both as a military officer and as an elected president, died at the age of 82. He was buried on Tuesday in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State. In honour of the former president, the federal government had declared Tuesday a public holiday and ordered that flags be flown at half-mast for a week. The burial attracted friends and political associates, including President Bola Tinubu, Vice President Kashim Shettima, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, serving and former governors, and ministers. Why we couldnt attend Buharis burial Akpabio Mr Akpabio and some of his colleagues did not attend the burial held on Tuesday in Daura. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later In a post on his official Facebook page, Mr Akpabio explained that their aircraft could not land at Katsina Airport due to lack of space. Mr Akpabio, however, returned to Katsina on Wednesday to condole with the family of Mr Buhari, who was the president from 2015 to 2023. Mr Akpabio served as the minister of Niger Delta Affairs in Mr Buharis administration. Yesterday (Tuesday), after several attempts by the pilot to land our aircraft in Katsina State, due to traffic and lack of parking space in the airport, we had to return to Abuja, and as such, we couldnt attend the burial ceremony of our late former President. Today (Wednesday), in company of some of my distinguished colleagues, I paid a condolence visit to the family of the late former President Buhari. We offered prayers for the repose of the soul of our late President and for Allah to give the wife, children, the larger Buhari family, friends, and associates the fortitude to bear this irreplaceable loss. We were also at the residence of the Emir of Daura, Umar Faruk, to condole through him, the people of the Emirate on the demise of our late Leader. We also visited the Governor of Katsina State, Dikko Radda, to condole the people of Katsina State, through him, Mr Akpabio wrote on Facebook. In the picture of the condolence visit posted on Facebook, Mr Akpabio is seen with other colleagues, including Borno South senator, Ali Ndume, and Delta North Senator, Ned Nwoko, praying for the bereaved family. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Fresh facts have emerged on how two undergraduates of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko (AAUA), Friday Abah and Eloho Okah, were abducted and murdered by armed robbers about a month ago. Ondo Police Commissioner, Adebowale Lawal, while briefing journalists in Akure, the state capital, on Wednesday, said the two students actually went missing on 20 June. The lifeless body of one of the victims was later found last week, three weeks after their abduction, at a border community between Ekiti and Ondo States. The police commissioner noted that N800,000 was withdrawn from Mr Abahs account while in captivity, while the lady was raped. They were killed after the lady unmasked the identity of one of the abductors in order to prevent the exposure of their evil act. Following a petition dated 24 June, 2025, submitted by G.O. Omoedu & Co., Legal Practitioners, on behalf of one Mr. Emmanuel Peter of Shagari Village, Akure, Ondo State, the Command launched an intensive investigation into the reported abduction of his younger brother, one Abah John Friday, 25, and his friend, Okah Andrel Eloho, 19, both students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akokowho went missing on 20 June, 2025. Upon receipt of the complaint, detectives from the Anti-kidnapping swung into action. Forensic tracking led investigators to Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos, where an iPhone 14 Pro Max belonging to one of the victims was recovered from one Abdul Mohammed Mubarak, 38. Mubarak confessed to purchasing the phone from one Ojo Michael, whose arrest was subsequently effected in Aramoko-Ekiti. A Lexus RX 350 vehicle belonging to the victims was also recovered at the point of arrest. Article Page with Financial Support Promotion Nigerians need credible journalism. Help us report it. Support journalism driven by facts, created by Nigerians for Nigerians. Our thorough, researched reporting relies on the support of readers like you. Help us maintain free and accessible news for all with a small donation. Every contribution guarantees that we can keep delivering important stories no paywalls, just quality journalism. SUPPORT NOW x Do this later Under interrogation, Ojo Michael confessed to participating in the robbery, abduction, and eventual murder of the victims. He further disclosed that the operation was masterminded by one Oladele Femi mthe landlord of the male victimwho allegedly engaged him (Michael) and another accomplice (identified as Kola, currently at large) to carry out the crime. Investigations revealed that the sum of 800,000 was transferred from the victims account during their captivity. Michael also admitted to raping the female victim. Upon recognising him and unmasking his identity, she was executed along with her friend to prevent them from exposing the perpetrators. Their bodies were subsequently disposed of at separate locations between Agbado and Ode-Ekiti, the commissioner said. Mr Lawal said Mr Femi was arrested and during interrogation, confessed to initiating the plot and aiding in the concealment of the murders. Acting on this confession, detectives recovered the body of the female victim in a bush near Ode-Ekiti, and it has since been deposited at the General Hospital Mortuary for autopsy, the commissioner further stated. Efforts are ongoing to recover the remains of the male victim, who is believed to have been dumped in a river by an accomplice still at large, he said. Mr Lawal described the case as a tragic reminder of the brutality of premeditated crimes and the devastating consequences of betrayal and greed, noting that the victims, young and promising undergraduates, were senselessly raped and murdered in cold blood. He assured that efforts are ongoing to apprehend the remaining suspect at large, recover the remains of Abah John Friday, and bring all responsible parties to justice. President of the Students Union Government, AAUA, Akeem Ologbon, had reacted to the killing of the students, describing it as painful and devastating. In a statement on Monday, Mr Ologbon said the matter had caused deep sorrow across the academic community. He said the union had been aware of the disappearance and had acted with urgency and responsibility, engaging immediately with the appropriate security agencies to ensure that every effort was made to locate the student safely. Specifically, we reached out to the anti-kidnapping squad in Akure, which has the mandate and expertise to handle such sensitive cases, he said. In addition, we alerted all relevant security formations within the state. We can confirm that the newly appointed Commissioner of Police has been fully briefed on the situation and is taking the matter seriously. We also reached out to the Nigerian police (Scorpion squad) in Akure. These engagements were aimed at ensuring that the case received the attention it deserved and that a coordinated response was initiated across multiple security agencies. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print The Western Nigeria Security Network, code-named Amotekun Corps, in Ondo State, has foiled five kidnap attempts in two weeks in the state. Adetunji Adeleye, the state commander of Amotekun Corps, disclosed this on Wednesday in Akure while addressing journalists. Mr Adeleye said no ransom was paid in the five cases, while the latest attempt took place on Monday, where a chief in a community close to Akure was kidnapped. He explained that the distress line was contacted and with the joint efforts of the local hunters and Amotekun Corps personnel, the kidnappers were pursued overnight. We were able to retrieve the chief and the okada rider that were kidnapped without the payment of any ransom. Also in Akoko axis, some kidnappers ravaged farms, raped the women and took some victims between 1.00 a.m. and 2.00 a.m. along Ajegunle Road. Within 48 hours, the people were released, and three of the suspects that had been identified as part of the gang were arrested. We have them here, both the victim and the suspects. 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 same thing goes for the Central senatorial district, where some kidnapped suspects were arrested again by Amotekun and were equally identified by the victims. Today, we have a total of 17 suspects: eight under breaking of law and order, three for kidnap, and six involved in robbery and rape, he said. The commander assured that Amotekun was prepared to collaborate with other security agencies to ensure the sustenance of the peaceful atmosphere currently enjoyed in the state. He also said farmers/herders clashes in the state had reduced drastically and urged Ondo residents to support the corps with timely information. (NAN) Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Youth in Ondo town in Ondo State on Wednesday protested the incessant killings in the town due to violent activities of cult groups. They called for an end to the rising spate of cultism, drug abuse, and violence in the metropolis. Ondo town has become notorious for incessant cult clashes, a development that has led to the alleged killing of about 40 youth in the last few months. Leading the youth in a peaceful rally, President of the Ondo Kingdom Youth Forum, Kayode Folayegun, called for justice and urged authorities to ensure that those responsible for the killings were brought to book. We can no longer fold our arms while our youth are being murdered. There must be consequences for anyone found guilty of such heinous acts, Mr Folayegun said. Another youth leader, Olaitan Aseyege, while addressing the rally, condemned the spate of killings, which he said had claimed over 40 young lives in recent times. He appealed to the government and security agencies to intervene urgently and restore peace to the area. 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 What were witnessing is heartbreaking. Our youth are being targeted and gunned down. This has to stop, and we need the intervention of government and law, he said. A community leader and former lawmaker, Joseph Akinlaja, in his address lauded the courage of the youth in standing up against cultism and urged them to remain committed to the ideals of peace, unity, and development. He encouraged them to make informed choices and avoid being lured into criminality. Mr Akinlaja, a two term member of the House of Representatives, also charged the youth to remain focused on peaceful, purposeful development and to avoid being used as tools for violence. Peace and progress must be our collective pursuit. Every young person here has a role to play in building a better, safer community, Mr Akinlaja said. You must channel your energy towards useful ventures, you must all work collectively for the development of our kingdom. Cultism, land grabbing and mindless killing must be shunned by all of you. The youth vowed to support efforts to identify and expose the perpetrators of the killings, while working together to restore order and safety in Ondo Kingdom. Previous incident In May this year, five persons died as a result of clashes between rival cults in Ondo Town. Although the Police Command in Ondo State arrested 46 suspects following the clashes, only nine of them were arraigned in June before an Akure Magistrates Court for murder and cultism. The defendants include, Ayomide Akinrinmade,23; Olarewaju Adejuwon ,31; Kunle Johnson,29; Sodiq Ibrahim, 25; Franklin Akinrinsola, 29; Sunkanmi Adebusoye,30; Ayoola Fadayomi, 45; Eric Akingbesote,31 and 29-year old Akin Alomoloyin. They were arraigned on six counts charge bordering on conspiracy, cultism, murder, illegal possession of arms and breach of the peace. Stakeholders of Ondo Town, while reviewing the situation at a Town Hall in June this year, blamed local politicians for the recent surge in cult-related violence, killings, and unrest disrupting daily life in the community. The meeting, which was called by the former Commissioner of Police, Wilfred Afolabi, in response to the escalating crisis in the town, also received reports of how political actors and wealthy individuals were arming youth to advance selfish ambitions allegedly fuelling bloodshed. Share this: Twitter Facebook WhatsApp Telegram LinkedIn Email Print Photo: https://www.facebook.com/yulia.svyrydenko/ The Verkhovna Rada has appointed Yulia Svyrydenko as Prime Minister of Ukraine. 262 MPs voted for her candidacy, submitted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at a parliamentary session on Thursday. Some 201 MPs from the Servant of the People faction, 10 MPs from the Restoration group, 12 MPs from the For the Future group and 15 MPs from the Trust group, as well as 13 non-faction MPs, voted in support of Svyrydenko's appointment. One MP from the Holos faction voted "for" the appointment. The European Solidarity faction unanimously voted "against" Svyrydenko's appointment, while the Batkivshchyna faction abstained from voting. As Prime Minister, Svyrydenko replaced former Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, who had held the position for more than five years. Svyrydenko was born in 1985. She graduated from the Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics and received a master's degree in "Antimonopoly Management." She began her career in 2008 in the private sector. Since 2015, she has worked in senior positions in the Chernihiv Regional State Administration: she headed the Department of Economic Development, held the position of First Deputy Head of the Chernihiv Regional State Administration, and from July to December 2018, she served as Head of the Regional State Administration. In September 2019, she was appointed Deputy Minister, and since July 2020, First Deputy Minister of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine. On December 22, 2020, she was appointed Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine. Since November 4, 2021, she has held the position of First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine - Minister of Economy of Ukraine. Svyrydenko declared UAH 704,000 of income for 2019, UAH 826,000 of income for 2020, declared UAH 742,000 of income for 2021, UAH 975,000 of income for 2022, UAH 1.9 million of income for 2023 and UAH 4.4 million of income for 2024. Skyral signs USD 1.7 million contract with Mongolia's capital city to improve transport network Advanced traffic modelling projected to save $240M - $520M by 2030 while reducing pollution deaths Technology deployment supports Mongolia's Vision 2050 transport infrastructure program worth $250M - $750M in potential benefits The World Bank estimates the annual economic cost of the country's road crashes and congestion is $438 million , equivalent to 3.9% of Mongolia's GDP LONDON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- British software company Skyral has signed a USD 1.7m pilot deal with Mongolia's capital city, Ulaanbaatar, to support efforts in reducing traffic congestion and air pollution. The deal, with the potential to prevent deaths, was signed today by the Mayor of Ulaanbaatar and the city's First Deputy Mayor for Economic Development and Infrastructure. The Mayor of Ulaanbaatar, H. Nyambaatar and Nick Blair, Chairman of Skyral (PRNewsfoto/Skyral) The five-month pilot, with the expectation of a three-year extension, will help Ulaanbaatar become a '20-minute city'. The goals of the 20-minute city include ensuring that people can access work, education, and essential services more efficiently through new infrastructure, such as the Circular Expressway, new tramway lines, and a metro line. Nick Blair, Chairman & Co Founder of Skyral, said: "Skyral is proud to support Ulaanbaatar on its journey to becoming a 20-minute city." "Our technology will provide the capital's leaders with the insights needed to create a safer, healthier, and more efficient city for their citizens." "By partnering with Skyral, Ulaanbaatar will become one of the first cities in the world to implement this unique combination of massive scale transportation modelling and human behaviour simulation to efficiently tackle its traffic crisis." "This project showcases the versatility of our proprietary, breakthrough British technology, and its application in resolving urgent problems around the globe." With an estimated 7,000-plus Mongolians dying each year from polluted air, urban city centres are the most affected. City Officials have identified traffic congestion, partly driven by increased migration to the capital, as a direct cause. Additionally, the World Bank estimates the annual economic cost of the country's road crashes and congestion is $438 million, equivalent to 3.9% of Mongolia's GDP. To combat both traffic congestion and the resulting human health crisis, Skyral will use their modelling & simulation platform to help city planners develop a deeper understanding of population behaviours and effectively map transport network development. Their unique development of digital twin technology, overlaid with AI-enabled modelling, will not just simulate potential congestion, but also model why and how congestion occurs by analysing commuter movements, school-run routes, and retail and leisure activity among the city's 1.8 million residents. Khishgeegiin Nyambaatar, Mayor of Ulaanbaatar, said: "This year, our city will implement projects aimed at reducing traffic congestion, developing multimodal public transportation, and reducing air pollution." "We have already announced international tenders in phases for major infrastructure projects such as the Tuul Expressway, the Circular Expressway, two tramway lines, and a metro line." "To implement these projects, all engineering planning will be based on AI-powered big data models. That is why we have initiated collaboration with Skyral to develop Ulaanbaatar's data-driven digital models." The integration of Skyral's city-scale modelling is a game changer for city planners, enabling better understanding of how the city and its inhabitants react to future infrastructure construction and new transport options, helping to reduce accidents. Skyral has built modelling and simulation software for governments around the world since 2016, now working with the UK, US, and NATO partners. Last year, Skyral diversified its services beyond the defence sector with 60 per cent of the company's contracts stemming from non-government enterprises. For more information, visit: www.skyral.com Images to download here. Notes to Editors About Skyral Founded in June 2023, Skyral has rapidly established itself as a leader in creating virtual representations of complex environments, enabling faster and smarter decision-making for its clients. Skyral's approach combines data visualisation, artificial intelligence, and digital twin capabilities to provide holistic solutions tailored to user needs. Skyral is one of the world's leading strategic modelling and simulation (M&S) software companies, using digital twin technology to transform defence, national security, healthcare and infrastructure globally. By integrating proprietary data with public infrastructure and human behaviour models, Skyral offers comprehensive insights that empower decision-makers across various industries. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732688/Mayor_Ulaanbaatar_and_Chairman_Skyral.jpg Issues Letter to the Board of Directors of Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. LAVAL, QC, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Alimentation Couche-Tard ("Couche-Tard" or the "Corporation") (TSX: ATD) announced today that it has withdrawn its proposal to acquire Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. ("Seven & i") due to a lack of constructive engagement by Seven & i. Couche-Tard sent the following letter to the Board of Directors: July 16, 2025 Board of Directors Seven & i Holdings Co., Ltd. 8-8, Nibancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8452, Japan Members of the Board of Directors: We continue to believe that a combination of Seven & i Holdings ("7&i") and Alimentation Couche-Tard ("ACT") would create a global leader in convenience with the ability to better serve our stakeholders, grow the 7-Eleven brand and generate value for our respective shareholders. As you know, earlier this year we submitted a proposal of 2,600 per ordinary share in cash, representing a 47.6% premium to your unaffected stock price. We have, for some time, tried to engage with your Special Committee on this proposal through constructive, friendly discussions in which we have clearly demonstrated that our proposal is fully financed and that there is a clear path to gaining regulatory approvals. We have repeatedly sought a friendly dialogue with the Ito family but they have not been open to any conversation. We also stated that there may be an opportunity to enhance the economic terms of our proposal if we are afforded access to additional diligence information. We have been very patient and respectful throughout this process, beginning with our meeting on July 23, 2024. Following our meeting in Tokyo with Hachiuma-san and Yonamine-san on April 18, 2025, we entered into a non-disclosure agreement containing customary standstill provisions, in the belief that 7&i would engage constructively with us to determine whether a transaction could be agreed. Since entering into the NDA, there has been no sincere or constructive engagement from 7&i that would facilitate the advancement of any proposal, contrary to comments made publicly by 7&i representatives, including in the July 11, 2025 earnings call in which 7&i noted it is "seriously" considering our proposal. As discussed below in detail, the quantity and substance of the permitted due diligence, including at two tightly constrained management meetings, have been negligible. Rather, you have engaged in a calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay, to the great detriment of 7&i and its shareholders. We believe this approach reinforces our concerns about your approach to governance. Based on this persistent lack of good faith engagement, we are withdrawing our proposal. Due Diligence At our April 18, 2025 meeting in Tokyo, we provided a very targeted list of high priority commercial due diligence items that could form the basis for an improved proposal. On May 9, 2025, your advisors opened a data room that contained very limited information on SEI and information largely of a confirmatory nature on the operations in Japan. We provided a further streamlined diligence list on May 22, 2025, focusing on the most critical items that we would need. On June 25, 2025, we received an updated document from your advisors which contained no new information and continued to refer us to statutory filings. At this point, we had no visibility into whether or when we might receive any further information. In 10 weeks of diligence, just 14 total files relating to the U.S. business were provided, and none of our critical questions were answered. As with any transaction of this nature, we recognize there are significant commercial sensitivities around certain information and we have sought to work collaboratively to address these as we have successfully done in 75 deals across 20 years, but this has not been reciprocated. Management Meetings We had also agreed that there would be engagement with business leaders across the 7&i organization. There have been, we acknowledge, two meetings, one in Dallas and one in Tokyo. At the Dallas meeting, the CEO, Mr. DePinto, did not attend and the President, Mr. Reynolds, only attended after we insisted that top executives be present. The content of the meeting was, as your advisor characterized it, a "readout". We appreciated the constructive approach that some members of the 7-Eleven team took but ultimately these discussions revealed little new information. For example, when one 7-Eleven executive attempted to thoughtfully address a question related to international licensees (which had no implications for U.S. regulatory considerations), he was interrupted and rebuked by Mr. Dacus who pointed to his head as if to remind his colleague to "think". Mr. Dacus also declared in the meeting that the discussion was a management presentation and "not due diligence" and thus many questions would be deferred. As described above, we have not received any answers to those questions. Our experience in Tokyo was similar. Our meeting, which lasted for approximately half the allotted time, was tightly scripted. Even though we do not currently operate in the Japanese market, the management team was not willing to address basic questions about industry dynamics in the country. U.S. Regulatory Approval and Regulatory Process You have been very clear about your concerns regarding the U.S. regulatory process. In our initial proposal on July 25, 2024, and thereafter, we have acknowledged that regulatory approvals would be needed across several jurisdictions. We continue to believe that there is a clear path to U.S. regulatory approval. On December 27, 2024, we provided a term sheet with firm and specific proposals to 7&i with respect to the number of stores to be divested and a compelling reverse termination fee which represented approximately $1.2 billion in value, increasing to over $1.4 billion if the FTC indicated that additional stores would need to be divested and ACT was unwilling to do so. These proposals shift a significant portion of the risk of anti-trust approvals from 7&i shareholders to ACT and provide a strong incentive for us to do what is necessary to obtain approvals. Similarly, you have been particularly focused on identifying the divestiture buyer(s). We therefore agreed to take the unusual step of soliciting interest from buyers in the absence of an agreed transaction. While you willingly initiated steps for a divestiture in the U.S., as we advanced this workstream, you were not willing to share the required information with potential buyers, which is inconsistent with our collective objectives and does not reflect a constructive intent. On March 31, 2025, we received multiple indications of interest with respect to the divesture portfolio, each from highly experienced and credible buyers. Since then, we have received minimal cooperation that would help to advance this process. After signing the NDA with you, our advisors held an organizational call on April 29, 2025 , to align on the path to continue to advance the divestiture process, which included workstreams to further diligence and planning for the separation of the divestiture perimeter, and to prepare for the next phase of engagement with potential buyers. Since then, there has been no progress on these workstreams. , to align on the path to continue to advance the divestiture process, which included workstreams to further diligence and planning for the separation of the divestiture perimeter, and to prepare for the next phase of engagement with potential buyers. Since then, there has been no progress on these workstreams. We shared a detailed overview of the suggested due diligence data to be provided to buyers on May 13, 2025 , and we agreed that certain information would be walled off from us to accommodate commercial sensitivities. We have not received any feedback from you or your advisors on that proposed list and have seen no progress toward gathering information to facilitate the next phase of buyer engagement. Alternative Structures As we have expressed many times, we do believe that fully combining our two companies is the most straightforward and effective way to maximize value to all stakeholders. And we are prepared to offer a material premium to the undisturbed share price to 7&i shareholders. However, in the spirit of being responsive to your requests to consider alternative transaction structures, we have spent a significant amount of time and resources evaluating alternatives that would enable us to deliver similar compelling value to all stakeholders and would not create incremental closing risk or uncertainty in the transaction while minimizing friction. In a material step, we shared with you in Dallas our willingness to explore a structure whereby we would acquire 100% of the 7&i business outside of Japan, and 40% of the Japan business ("ParentCo"), leaving 60% of ParentCo with existing 7&i shareholders. Our alternative proposal would provide commensurate value to 7&i shareholders versus our prior all-cash offer and, with ParentCo able to invest in the equity of ACT, would provide existing 7&i shareholders ongoing participation in the combined international business. Based on the extensive outside-in analysis we conducted, we believe this structure can be executed with limited friction (including no corporate level taxation) and without adding incremental transaction risk, while continuing to offer compelling economic value to your shareholders. In our meeting in Tokyo on July 1, you proposed an alternative whereby you would contribute SEI into Couche-Tard in return for equity ownership in Couche-Tard. This structure would not deliver the significant premium that was offered to your shareholders in our transaction proposals and, in our view, would undermine the operational prospects of the combined business. Conclusion We remain as excited as ever about the path forward for ACT. We are proud of the progress we are making across our business and the impact we are having in the communities in which we operate. We believe this combination has the ability to enhance that path. However, we are not able to effectively pursue this combination without deeper and genuine further engagement from 7&i leadership and the special committee. Accordingly, we are withdrawing our proposal at this time. Signed on behalf of: Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. (s) Alain Bouchard Alain Bouchard Founder and Executive Chairman of the Board (s) Alex Miller Alex Miller President and Chief Executive Officer About Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. Couche-Tard is a global leader in convenience and mobility, operating in 29 countries and territories, with close to 17,000 stores, of which approximately 13,000 offer road transportation fuel. With its well-known Couche-Tard and Circle K banners, it is one of the largest independent convenience store operators in the United States and it is a leader in the convenience store industry and road transportation fuel retail in Canada, Scandinavia, the Baltics, Belgium, as well as in Ireland. It also has an important presence in Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, as well as in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China. Approximately 146,000 people are employed throughout its network. For more information on Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., please visit: https://corpo.couche-tard.com. Forward-Looking Statements This press release may include certain statements that are "forward-looking information" within the meaning of the securities laws of Canada. Any statement in this press release that is not a statement of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking information. When used in this press release, the words or "believe", "could", "should", "intend", "expect", "estimate", "assume", "aim", "align", "maintain", "continue", "effect", "growth", "position", "seek", "strategy", "strive", "will", "may", "might" and other related expressions or the negative of these terms are generally intended to identify forward-looking information, although not all forward-looking statements include such words. These statements are based on management's current expectations, assumptions and estimates, which it believes are reasonable, but which are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially, including risks associated with market and economic conditions, business prospects or opportunities, future plans and projections, technological and business developments, and regulatory trends and changes , and such other risks as described in detail from time to time in the reports filed by Couche-Tard with securities regulatory authorities in Canada. All forward-looking information contained herein is expressly qualified in its entirety by this cautionary statement and speak as of the date of this news release. Couche-Tard undertakes no obligation to publicly update such forward-looking information to reflect new information, subsequent or otherwise, unless required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. Spanish version attached VANCOUVER, BC, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ - Aris Mining Corporation (Aris Mining or the Company) (TSX: ARIS) (NYSE-A: ARMN) announces the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) led by Colombia's Ministry of Mines and Energy and other regulatory agencies to accelerate the formalization of artisanal and small-scale miners (ASMs) operating in the Municipality of Marmato, where the Company is expanding its operations. View PDF ARIS MINING, EL MINISTERIO DE MINAS Y ENERGIA DE COLOMBIA Y ALIADOS COMUNITARIOS LANZAN ESTRATEGIA DE FORMALIZACION PARA AREAS ACTIVAS DE MAPE CERCA DE MARMATO (CNW Group/Aris Mining Corporation) Neil Woodyer, CEO, commented "This MOU demonstrates that a successful gold mining business in Colombia is achievable through close collaboration between industry, government, regulators, and local communities. It also highlights the strong institutional support extended to both Aris Mining and the Marmato ASM community and reinforces our shared vision for a responsible and inclusive mining sector. For Aris Mining shareholders, this agreement reaffirms our ability to unlock sustainable, long-term growth. I thank the Colombian Government, especially the Ministry of Mines and Energy, for their leadership in the development and execution of this important initiative. We are proud to stand alongside representatives from the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the National Mining Agency (ANM), the Governor of Caldas, the Mayor of Marmato, CORPOCALDAS (the regional environmental authority), and other key community stakeholders at the official signing ceremony and celebration." The Cerro El Burro area, located above the Marmato Narrow Vein Zone (Upper Mine) and home to highly active ASM gold mining activities since the 16th century, represents a meaningful gold production growth opportunity for Aris Mining. Formalization delivers long-term benefits to all stakeholdersenhancing safety, environmental outcomes, and livelihoodswhile strengthening operational stability as the Company grows gold production at Marmato. Under the MOU, Aris Mining and the Government will work together to: develop the regulatory framework and streamline permitting processes needed to accelerate the ASM units' legal operations within Aris Mining's title areas; provide technical support and training to ASM units to help them meet formal mining standards; promote environmental stewardship and safe mining methods; and expand opportunities for social investment and shared value creation in local communities. Importantly, the areas covered by this MOU are entirely separate from the titles where Aris Mining operates its Narrow Vein Zone (Upper Mine) and is developing the Bulk Mining Zone (Lower Mine) at the Marmato Complex. The Bulk Mining Zone and its dedicated 5,000 tonnes per day carbon-in-pulp (CIP) plant will remain a 100% owner-operated project and is not impacted by the formalization initiative. To support the formalized ASM units, Aris Mining will contribute technical, operational, and environmental expertise and has offered milling capacity from our existing Narrow Vein Zone flotation plant to process ASM-sourced material. This MOU forms part of the broader government "Special Mining District for Peace and Life" initiative, which prioritizes Marmato for socio-environmental planning and sustainable mining initiatives. The agreement establishes a collaborative framework to facilitate the transition of ASM groups into the formal economy through use of legal mining and processing operations. It also highlights the Colombian Government's commitment to work directly with established operators such as Aris Mining. About Aris Mining Founded in September 2022, Aris Mining was established with a vision to build a leading Latin America-focused gold mining company. Our strategy blends current production and cashflow generation with transformational growth driven by expansions of our operating assets, exploration and development projects. Aris Mining is listed on the TSX (ARIS) and the NYSE-A (ARMN) and is led by an experienced team with a track record of value creation, operational excellence, financial discipline and good corporate governance in the gold mining industry. Aris Mining operates two underground gold mines in Colombia: the Segovia Operations and the Marmato Complex, which together produced 210,955 ounces of gold in 2024. With expansions underway, Aris Mining is targeting an annual production rate of more than 500,000 ounces of gold, following the Segovia mill expansion, completed in June and ramping up during H2 2025, and the construction of the Bulk Mining Zone at the Marmato Complex, expected to start ramping up production in H2 2026. In addition, Aris Mining operates the 51% owned Soto Norte joint venture, where studies are underway on a new, smaller scale development plan, with results expected in Q3 2025. In Guyana, Aris Mining owns the Toroparu gold/copper project, where a new Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) has been commissioned and its results are also expected in Q3 2025. Colombia is rich in high-grade gold deposits and Aris Mining is actively pursuing partnerships with the Country's dynamic small-scale mining sector. With these partnerships, we enable safe, legal, and environmentally responsible operations that benefit both local communities and the industry. Aris Mining intends to pursue acquisitions and other growth opportunities to unlock value through scale and diversification. Additional information on Aris Mining can be found at www.aris-mining.com, www.sedarplus.ca, and on www.sec.gov. Forward-Looking Information This news release contains "forward-looking information" or forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. All statements included herein, other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements relating to the benefits to be derived from the formalization of ASM units, the commitments of the various parties under the MOU and statements included in the "About Aris Mining" section of this news release relating to the Segovia Operations, Marmato Complex, Soto Norte Project and Toroparu Project are forward-looking. Generally, the forward-looking information and forward looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "will continue" or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". The material factors or assumptions used to develop forward looking information or statements are disclosed throughout this news release. Forward looking information and forward looking statements, while based on management's best estimates and assumptions, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Aris Mining to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or forward looking statements, including but not limited to those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in Aris Mining's annual information form dated March 12, 2025 which is available on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca and in the Company's filings with the SEC at www.sec.gov. Although Aris Mining has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information or statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information or statements. The Company has and continues to disclose in its Management's Discussion and Analysis and other publicly filed documents, changes to material factors or assumptions underlying the forward-looking information and forward-looking statements and to the validity of the information, in the period the changes occur. The forward-looking statements and forward-looking information are made as of the date hereof and Aris Mining disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements or forward-looking information contained herein to reflect future results. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and information. SOURCE Aris Mining Corporation NEW YORK, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Expert Consumers has named the FlexiSpot Japanese Joinery Bed one of the Best Wooden Bed Frames of 2025, highlighting it as a defining piece for modern bedrooms that prioritize clarity, structure, and subtlety in design. As furniture trends move steadily away from the ornate and overcomplicated, FlexiSpot's quiet, minimal frame stood out for its craftsmanship, ease of use, and aesthetic restraint. Best Wooden Bed Frame FlexiSpot Japanese Joinery Bed - an ergonomic and sustainably designed bed combining traditional craftsmanship with modern functionality. The recognition reflects a growing preference for objects that don't simply furnish a space but contribute to a sense of order and calm. The Japanese Joinery Bed, with its clean lines, solid wood construction, and absence of mechanical fasteners, represents this return to simplicity. Built entirely from rubberwood using traditional joinery techniques, the bed offers both visual clarity and structural integrity without relying on screws, adhesives, or visible hardware. As home furnishings continue to evolve, demand has shifted toward products that are not only visually calming but also built for long-term use. Increasingly, consumers are seeking furniture that fits into quieter, more neutral spaces. These preferences reflect larger design movements that favor simplicity, warmth, and function over ornamentation. The FlexiSpot Japanese Joinery Bed exemplifies these values. The frame features clean lines and natural wood tones available in Oak and Walnut finishes, with optional headboard configurations in Full, Queen, and King sizes. The minimalist appearance complements a wide range of bedroom styles while avoiding visual clutter. Each unit offers 10 inches of underbed clearance to accommodate storage while maintaining a low, grounded profile. The use of rubberwood plays a central role in the bed's construction. This material, widely regarded for its durability and sustainability, resists warping and shrinkage over time. It also contributes to the bed's overall stability and refined texture. Combined with FlexiSpot's commitment to environmentally responsible manufacturing, the product aligns with ongoing trends in eco-conscious design. Unlike the fast-paced world of modular, disposable furniture, the Japanese Joinery Bed invites a slower, more deliberate approach to living. The frame uses a series of interlocking wooden joints, cut with precision to slide and lock into place by hand. No tools are required. The approach reflects centuries-old woodworking traditions, reframed through the lens of modern convenience. Assembly is not only intuitive but virtually silent, with slats fastened using a hook-and-loop Velcro structure to prevent shifting or creaking during the night. Safety is also embedded in the design. Rounded bed rails and recessed legs help prevent injury, especially in homes with children or pets. In addition, the 96-degree tilt of the optional headboard offers back support while remaining visually unobtrusive. For Queen-size beds, FlexiSpot offers an optional Pillowboard made of high-resilience foam designed to follow the natural curve of the spine. The addition is particularly well-suited for those who read, work, or stream from bed, offering support without altering the frame's refined proportions. Expert Consumers also praised the matching FlexiSpot Nightstand , which echoes the bed frame's minimalist sensibility. Available in single- and double-drawer designs, it features a smooth, coated surface that resists stains and dust. The nightstand comes fully assembled and includes adjustable foot pads to accommodate uneven flooring. The combination of thoughtful construction, quiet assembly, and cohesive design has made the FlexiSpot Japanese Joinery Bed a standout in its category. As consumers continue to favor minimalist interiors and intuitive furniture, the recognition reflects a growing appetite for products that prioritize both form and functionality. FlexiSpot has served over 12 million customers across more than 30 countries and regions. Its furniture is made with recyclable materials and built to last, with warranties extending up to 15 years. The Japanese Joinery Bed is backed by a lifetime warranty and a 100-day risk-free trial period. This latest feature from Expert Consumers affirms that the demand for furniture is no longer just about filling space. It is about shaping environments that feel intentional, restorative, and real. The FlexiSpot Japanese Joinery Bed is one of few products that manages to satisfy these evolving needs without sacrificing practicality or design discipline. To read the full review, visit Expert Consumers . About FlexiSpot At FlexiSpot, we revolutionize living spaces with innovative, adjustable, and flexible furniture solutions. As a subsidiary of a publicly traded company, we specialize in creating products for home offices, living rooms, bedrooms, offices, and beyond. Guided by our vision of "New Working, New Living," we aim to enhance comfort, functionality, and sustainability, empowering dynamic lifestyles around the globe. About Expert Consumers: Expert Consumers provides news and reviews of consumer products and services. As an affiliate, Expert Consumers may earn commissions from sales generated using links provided. SOURCE ExpertConsumers.org BOSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Blue Water Autonomy, Inc., the technology company building autonomous ships for the U.S. Navy, today announced the opening of a Washington, D.C. office and the hiring of Ryan Maatta, a principal engineer with broad and recent experience delivering the most advanced autonomous ships. "The establishment of Blue Water Autonomy's Washington, D.C. office is a natural next step for us," said CEO Rylan Hamilton. "This third location supports our growing company and increases our workforce options while improving Blue Water's accessibility for our Navy customer." The expanded footprint in the capital comes as Blue Water Autonomy's unmanned ship segment shows increased urgency and attention. The latest defense budget authorization includes $2.1B in Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel funding, and the U.S. Navy recently held a Future Unmanned Surface Vessel industry day to outline its plans for new vessel development. Blue Water Autonomy also announced the addition of Ryan Maatta to its growing team. Ryan brings decades of marine engineering and operations experience, and most recently held a senior technical leadership on USX-1 Defiant the vessel built for DARPA's No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) Program. "We're a team of hands-on builders, and his multiple shipboard tours as chief engineer makes him a great addition to the team," said CTO Scott N. Miller. Miller, who has taken 100+ commercial products to market, including iRobot's Roomba, leads Blue Water Autonomy's growing technology team, many of them veterans of Boston's robotics hub. Maatta's arrival comes just weeks after Blue Water welcomed COO Tim Glinatsis, formerly of General Dynamics NASSCO and Bath Iron Works. About Blue Water Autonomy Founded in 2024, Blue Water Autonomy is making unmanned ships a reality. Blue Water's autonomous ship design fully-integrates hardware, software, and AI allowing the vessel to operate on the open ocean for months at a time. For more information about Blue Water Autonomy, visit: www.blw.ai SOURCE Blue Water Autonomy Arlington clinic celebrates a legacy of excellence, global clientele, and a bold vision for the future ARLINGTON, Va., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Capital Laser Hair Removal, a premier destination for laser hair removal in the Washington, D.C. metro area, proudly celebrates 24 years of transforming lives with smooth, lasting results. Since its founding in 2001 by laser expert Sue Lee, the Arlington-based clinic has stayed true to one mission: delivering unparalleled laser hair removal with medical-grade precision. Capital Laser - Rosslyn, VA Capital Laser - Office - Arlington, VA Sue Lee, with 27 years of experience, has personally performed over 100,000 treatments and 10,000 in-person consultations, earning the trust of clients from New York to Dubai. "We don't chase trends or push upsells," Sue says. "Our focus is simple: exceptional results through expertise and honesty." With over 1,600 five-star reviews on Google, Yelp, Vagaro and BBB, Capital Laser has become a beacon for those seeking safe, effective treatments. Clients travel globally to its Arlington location, just minutes from D.C., for care they can't find elsewhere. Shaping the Future of Laser Hair Removal As AI and digital platforms reshape the industry, Sue is eager to collaborate with developers and media to combat misinformation. "After nearly three decades, I've seen it all," she says. "I want to share real clinical insights to empower clients and enhance safety." Sue is also writing a book to demystify laser hair removal, offering candid advice for anyone considering treatment. Join the Celebration Capital Laser invites media, industry innovators, and new clients to connect. Schedule an interview with Sue, explore partnership opportunities, or book a consultation to experience the Capital Laser difference. About Capital Laser Hair Removal Founded in 2001 in Arlington, Virginia, Capital Laser specializes exclusively in laser hair removal. With 1,600+ five-star reviews and Sue Lee's 100,000+ treatments, it's a trusted name nationwide. Media Contact: Sue Lee 703 807-0166 [email protected] Arlington, VA 22209 https://capitallaser.net/ SOURCE Capital Laser Historic Exam Sees 87 Candidates from Across North America with Unprecedented Success Rate PHOENIX, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas announced today the successful completion of the largest Advanced Sommelier Practical & Tasting Examination in the organization's history. 87 candidates, participating from the United States, Canada, and Mexico, achieved a 63% pass rate, with 55 candidates earning their Advanced Sommelier certification marking the highest number of test takers and largest passing class in the Court's history. The historic examination demonstrated significant strides in diversity and inclusion, with 19 women and 9 individuals for whom English is a second language participating in the rigorous testing process. This brings the total number of Advanced Sommeliers in the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas to nearly 900. "Behind every certification is a story of sacrifice, resilience, and passion. This group of candidates showed up with heart and determination, and we're honored to welcome them into the Advanced Sommelier community. Their success inspires all of us to keep growingtogether," said Michael Meagher, MS, Chair of the Board of Directors for the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas. The top three scorersSamuel Neely, Christopher Dugan and Cokie Ponikvar will each receive a first-ever scholarship covering the fee for the Master Sommelier Theory examination, the next step in their certification journey and the ultimate achievement in the industry. "This is the culmination of years of study and sacrifice, and represents the most challenging and rewarding achievement of my career. After not passing in 2023, this moment feels especially meaningful. A reminder of what great things you can accomplish if you persevere," said Christopher Dugan, who achieved the highest score. Transformative Organizational Changes Drive Success The Court's success stems from strategic reforms implemented since 2021, focusing on accessibility, transparency, and candidate support: Enhanced Accessibility: The organization restructured the Advanced Sommelier Exam in 2022 to host the Theory component at local testing centers nationwide, ensuring all qualified candidates have access regardless of geographic location. Additionally, the Court expanded access to the Advanced Sommelier Course, the prerequisite for the examination, to reduce barriers for prospective candidates. Comprehensive Candidate Support: To better prepare candidates, the Court published detailed examination standards and hosted "what to expect" sessions. A new remote-accessible mentoring program connects candidates with Master Sommeliers regardless of location, providing unprecedented guidance and support. Transparency and Feedback: The organization now provides structured post-exam feedback reports with specific content and performance details to every candidate across all examination levels, including percentage scores for each exam section. This commitment to transparency helps candidates understand their performance and areas for improvement. Leadership and Governance: The Court appointed four external board members with specialized expertise in human resources, education, credentialing, and inclusion. The organization also hired Executive Director Julie Cohen Theobald, bringing valuable nonprofit and corporate leadership experience from outside the wine industry. Ethics and Professional Standards: The Court introduced the Candidate Bill of Rights as part of its Code of Professional Ethics Suite and launched a confidential and anonymous Ethics Reporting Line through Lighthouse Services, reinforcing its commitment to examination integrity and creating an empowering cultural environment for candidates. For the list of the newly-credentialed Advanced Sommeliers, visit the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas website. About the Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas: Established in England in 1977, the Court of Master Sommeliers is internationally recognized as the gold standard for excellence in beverage service. Since the founding of its Americas chapter in 1987, the organization has welcomed 171 Master Sommeliers into its esteemed ranks. The Master Sommelier title is the highest honor in the field, representing mastery of wine knowledge, hospitality and service, deductive tasting, and business fundamentals. For more information, visit www.mastersommeliers.org. Media Contact: Elaine LaPersonerie 9179304080 [email protected] SOURCE Court of Master Sommeliers, Americas Photo: https://t.me/Denys_Smyhal/ The Parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence has supported the candidacy of Denys Shmyhal for the position of Minister of Defense of Ukraine, said committee member Iryna Friz (European Solidarity faction). "A meeting of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence has just been held, at which the report, plans of the future Minister of Defense and former Prime Minister - Denys Shmyhal, and his approval for the position were heard. The committee supported his candidacy for the position of Minister of Defense," Friz told the Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday. According to her, Shmyhal's candidacy was supported by 11 members of the committee, while four abstained. Virginia affirms commitment to meeting the needs of special education students LYNCHBURG, Va., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rivermont Schools is proud to announce the appointment of Dr. Beth Ackerman, Senior Vice President, to Governor Youngkin's Board of Education. Her appointment, which lasts through June 30, 2028, highlights the Commonwealth's commitment to education and related support for students with special needs. Dr. Ackerman's unique blend of classroom experience and executive leadership will offer invaluable insight as the Board continues to strengthen Virginia's education system for all students. "Beth Ackerman has served hundreds of Virginia schoolchildren over the past two decades," said Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Rogstad Guidera. "Nothing is more important than preparing our children for life, and a quality education is the surest path to success. Dr. Ackerman's tireless devotion to special needs students should be recognized and lauded. Her experiences, perspectives and wisdom will inform the conversations and actions of the Virginia State Board of Education to ensure every Virginia child has access to a world-class education, regardless of the zip code they're from or the challenges they face." In her current role, Dr. Ackerman ensures operational excellence and growth of Rivermont Schools, a network of schools focused on meeting the unique needs of students with special needs. Under Dr. Ackerman's leadership, Rivermont Schools has grown to serve nearly 1,000 students in Virginia each year. She also spearheaded an innovative, high-impact program that places licensed behavior-support teams in every school, equipped with real-time data dashboards, to help every student reach their academic and behavioral goals. "I'm excited to be a voice for all of the students with special needs across the Commonwealth and their families," said Dr. Ackerman. "With a background in teacher education, particularly special education teachers, I look forward to working with my colleagues to explore how we can better recruit and retain excellent educators. It is a critical time in our field as students' needs continue to rise and educators are retiring or leaving the field at alarming rates. I am hopeful I can provide a varying perspective to these issues in this new role." For more information about Rivermont Schools and its mission to help children with special education needs reach their full potential, visit rivermontschools.com. About Rivermont Schools Located throughout Virginia, Rivermont schools provide a therapeutic educational program for students ages 5-22 in grades kindergarten through 12 with special needs, including those associated with autism spectrum disorder, behavioral challenges, and have difficulty learning in a traditional school setting. Focused on helping students understand, develop, and manage their emotions and behaviors, Rivermont's teams of educators and specialists meet students where they are in their development, and work with them to get them to reach their milestones so they can return to their home schools. SOURCE Rivermont Schools DELRAY BEACH, Fla., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The global ECG Sensor Patches Market, valued at US$0.95 billion in 2024 stood at US$1.05 billion in 2025 and is projected to advance at a resilient CAGR of 12.0% from 2025 to 2032, culminating in a forecasted valuation of US$2.32 billion by the end of the period. The growth is mainly attributed to the rising target patient population and increasing cases of CVD. Rising technological developments in wireless monitoring and wearable healthcare products are also expected to fuel market growth. The growing focus on mHealth apps, connected devices, and wearable tech is expected to fuel continuous advancements in cardiac monitoring, thereby increasing efficiency. Industry stakeholders are also focused on forging strategic partnerships and introducing new products to strengthen their market position. Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=179350490 Browse in-depth TOC on "ECG Sensor Patches Market" 270 - Tables 57 - Figures 270 - Pages By lead type, the single-lead ECG Sensor Patch segment accounted for the largest market share in 2024 due to its high clinical utility in ambulatory cardiac rhythm tracking, particularly for arrhythmia and post-operative monitoring. These patches are favored in outpatient and home settings because they are lightweight, unobtrusive, and offer sufficient diagnostic accuracy for primary care workflows. Their fast deployment in large-scale screening programs and emergency medical settingsespecially for atrial fibrillation and ischemic eventsgives them a distinct edge over multi-lead systems, which are typically bulkier and costlier. Additionally, reimbursement policies in key markets support single-lead ambulatory ECG monitoring, especially with AI-based rhythm interpretation, driving rapid adoption across primary and preventive care models. By product, the disposable ECG sensor patch segment is expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period due to rising concerns about infection control, especially in post-pandemic healthcare environments. These patches eliminate the need for reprocessing and reduce the risk of cross-contamination in both acute care and outpatient settings. Their use is expanding rapidly in outpatient telemetry and during clinical trials for cardiac safety assessments, where cost-effective, single-use patches streamline logistics. Furthermore, recent advancements in flexible printed electronics have reduced manufacturing costs while enhancing patch adhesion and signal quality. Payers and providers also increasingly favour disposable options in value-based care settings to simplify workflows and reduce device turnaround time. By geography, North America accounted for the largest share of the market in 2024 owing to the region's early integration of digital cardiac monitoring in clinical pathways, especially for heart failure and post-stroke management. The US FDA's expedited pathways for wearable cardiac monitors have facilitated the rapid commercialization of advanced ECG patches. Furthermore, the region's high penetration of remote patient monitoring (RPM) programsdriven by Medicare reimbursement policies and remote care incentiveshas accelerated patch adoption in chronic care management. Clinical research institutions and academic medical centers in the US are also increasingly deploying ECG sensor patches in decentralized clinical trials and real-world evidence (RWE) studies, reinforcing consistent demand across provider networks. Request Sample Pages : https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/requestsampleNew.asp?id=179350490 Prominent players in the ECG sensor patches market are Baxter International Inc. (US), iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (US), Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands), GE Healthcare Technologies Inc. (US), Boston Scientific Corporation (US), Bittium Corporation (Finland), Biotricity Inc. (US), OSI Systems, Inc. (US), SmartCardia Inc. (Switzerland), and LifeSignals (US). Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands): Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands) is a global health technology leader, offering advanced solutions in diagnostic imaging, patient monitoring, and health informatics. The company provides ECG sensor patches for remote cardiac monitoring and real-time diagnostics through its Connected Care segment and subsidiary, BioTelemetry, Inc. (US). Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands) combines clinical expertise with innovative technology to deliver scalable, non-invasive cardiac care across hospitals, clinics, and home settings. With operations in over 100 countries and additional subsidiaries like Respironics Inc. and EPD Solutions Ltd., Koninklijke Philips N.V. (Netherlands) maintains a strong global presence in the digital health ecosystem. iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (US) iRhythm Technologies, Inc. (US) is a digital health company specializing in remote cardiac monitoring through wearable biosensing devices and AI-powered analytics. Its Zio platform supports accurate arrhythmia detection and integrates device use, data processing, and clinical reporting for outpatient care. With operations across key international markets, including Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia, as well as subsidiaries like iRhythm Japan GK and iRhythm Singapore Pte. Ltd., the company is expanding its operations to include access to data-driven cardiac diagnostics. For more information, Inquire Now! Related Reports: Diagnostic Electrocardiograph/ECG Market Cardiac Monitoring & Cardiac Rhythm Management Devices Market Patient Monitoring Devices Market Remote Patient Monitoring Market Brain Monitoring Market Get access to the latest updates on ECG Sensor Patches Companies and ECG Sensor Patches Market Size About MarketsandMarkets: MarketsandMarkets has been recognized as one of America's Best Management Consulting Firms by Forbes, as per their recent report. MarketsandMarkets is a blue ocean alternative in growth consulting and program management, leveraging a man-machine offering to drive supernormal growth for progressive organizations in the B2B space. With the widest lens on emerging technologies, we are proficient in co-creating supernormal growth for clients across the globe. Today, 80% of Fortune 2000 companies rely on MarketsandMarkets, and 90 of the top 100 companies in each sector trust us to accelerate their revenue growth. With a global clientele of over 13,000 organizations, we help businesses thrive in a disruptive ecosystem. The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion in new revenue streams that are replacing existing ones within this decade. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing. Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we collaborate with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies to keep them future-ready. Our insights and strategies are powered by industry experts, cutting-edge AI, and our Market Intelligence Cloud, KnowledgeStore, which integrates research and provides ecosystem-wide visibility into revenue shifts. To find out more, visit www.MarketsandMarkets.com or follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn and Facebook . Contact: Mr. Rohan Salgarkar MarketsandMarkets INC. 1615 South Congress Ave. Suite 103, Delray Beach, FL 33445 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1868219/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg SOURCE MarketsandMarkets SINGAPORE, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Embed Financial Group Holdings (EFGH) welcomes Eldwin Wong as its new Chief Executive Officer, Asia. Eldwin Wong - Chief Executive Officer (Asia) of EFGH Eldwin is a seasoned leader in the financial technology sector. As the founder and CEO of IN Financial Technologies (INFT), he successfully built a leading fintech group in Singapore, providing essential financial services and securing key regulatory licenses from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). His extensive experience in scaling tech-driven businesses and his deep understanding of the financial landscape in Asia will be invaluable as we continue to expand our embedded finance solutions. Beyond his business acumen, Eldwin's commitment to public servicefor which he was awarded the Pingat Bakti Masyarakat (PBM)resonates deeply with EFGH's mission to drive financial inclusion and create lasting value for communities across the region. Please join EFGH in giving Eldwin a warm welcome. EFGH is confident that his leadership will be instrumental in accelerating its growth and strengthening its partnerships throughout Asia. Find out more about Embed Financial Group Holdings at https://efgh.xyz Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732385/EFGH___CEO_Asia_Eldwin_Wong.jpg PALM SPRINGS, Calif., July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- For many decades historians have speculated about what happened to Amelia Earhart. This question has become "one of the greatest mysteries in modern history." Last year, a new documentary, with a fresh take on the mystery, aired worldwide, titled, "Finding Amelia" based on real evidence with eyewitness statements. To date, the documentary has been seen by millions of people worldwide and is currently showing on many cable and streaming networks. The premise dates back in the 1990s, with research done by an Australian investigator, and refined most recently by historian and adventurer Michael Carra. The theory envisions that Earhart, unable to find her destination, followed her documented back-up plan, which was to turn around, and return to safety so that she could then continue her journey. During World War II in 1945, an Australian army patrol in the jungle of Papua New Guinea, stumbled upon a crashed airplane. Solid evidence points to the fact that they stumbled across Amelia's bent and broken aircraft in the jungle, lost as she attempted to find a landing point. This August 2025, a third "Expedition Amelia" team is returning to the jungles of Papua New Guinea where it is believed her plane remains to this day as documented by that Australian army patrol so long ago. This upcoming expedition will be searching an area where it is thought the Australian patrol had found the aircraft. In this region, magnetometers, LiDAR, and new satellite imagery with the support of AI generated locations will be utilized to complete the search. Along with Amelia's airplane, there are reportedly 385 to 500 missing aircraft from World War II in this area of the Pacific. We hope that while searching for Amelia's plane, several other airplanes will be found, and their long-lost crews brought home. Join us for this exciting adventure, with daily updates from Michael and his team, as they navigate one of the most hostile environments on the planet. Sponsored by the Palm Springs Air Museum in California, this expedition will be filmed, and a follow up documentary to "Finding Amelia" will debut in the near future. Proceeds from this expedition benefit the Palm Springs Air Museum's "Women in Aviation Scholarships" program. Visit Expedition Amelia 2025 Palm Springs Air Museum to make a donation. CONTACT: [email protected] / 323-363-8243 SOURCE Palm Springs Air Museum BISMARCK, N.D., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- North Dakota's wide-open landscapes are about to come alive with color. Beginning late July and into August, thousands of acres of sunflower fields across the state will explode into vibrant golden blooms, creating a striking contrast against blue prairie skies. Beginning in late July, select North Dakota sunflower fields will feature Sunflower Mailboxes, where visitors can enjoy complimentary edible sunflower seeds available while supplies last. Mailboxes stocked with seeds will be placed on-site in areas including Walcott, Langdon, Sharon, Havana, and more. Credit: North Dakota Tourism To help travelers capture the beauty of this iconic summer moment, North Dakota Tourism has launched the 2025 Sunflower Map , featuring more than 20 confirmed bloom locations. While chasing the blooms, visitors are encouraged to extend their stay and discover the charm of the local communities surrounding these breathtaking fields. "Our state's sunflower fields are the gifts that keep on giving," said Keagan Lautenschlager, a sunflower grower near Kenmare, North Dakota. "This partnership between North Dakota's growers and North Dakota Tourism is stronger than ever, and we're excited to welcome visitors to experience the vibrancy, beauty, and uniqueness of these fields. It's not only about capturing a once-in-a-lifetime view; it's also a meaningful way to support both tourism and agriculture in our communities." Sunflowers are more than just a seasonal attractionthey're a symbol of heritage. Ukrainian immigrants brought sunflower cultivation to North Dakota in the late 1800s, and today, these golden fields are a testament to both agricultural legacy and cultural pride in the state. Tips for the Perfect Sunflower Experience: Respect the Fields: Enjoy the view from the roadside and avoid entering fields unless signage or the landowner has given permission. Be mindful of fields that may be undergoing spraying or maintenance. Enjoy the view from the roadside and avoid entering fields unless signage or the landowner has given permission. Be mindful of fields that may be undergoing spraying or maintenance. Capture the Best Photos: Cloudy days are ideal for vivid close-up shots, while golden sun hours add a beautiful glow to wide-angle views. Cloudy days are ideal for vivid close-up shots, while golden sun hours add a beautiful glow to wide-angle views. Celebrate National Sunflower Day: Save the date for Saturday, August 2, 2025 , also known as National Sunflower Day, and join the celebration by sharing your favorite shots using #BeNDLegendary or #NDFieldFinders. Save the date for , also known as and join the celebration by sharing your favorite shots using #BeNDLegendary or #NDFieldFinders. Take the Flavor Home: Sunflowers aren't just beautiful, they're tasty, too! From allergy-friendly SunButter to local favorites like North Dakota sunflower pie, the seeds are a delicious way to enjoy the experience long after your visit. Be on the lookout for the North Dakota Sunflower Mailboxes, where visitors can enjoy complimentary edible sunflower seeds available at select field locations while supplies last. Mailboxes stocked with seeds will be placed on-site in areas including Walcott, Langdon, Sharon, Havana, and more starting in late July. For details on each participating field, including location, seed availability, and bloom updates, please visit the " Let the Amazing Sunflower Put a Smile on Your Face " page. For more sunflower recipes, videos and little-known facts, visit Brighten Your Day with the Amazing Sunflower . The Sunflower Map is updated weekly with bloom status for the fields, allowing bloom-chasers to see the fields at their most beautiful. Whether you're a professional photographer, or just looking for a legendary road trip backdrop, these fields are must-see stops during North Dakota's sunniest season. For more on planning a legendary trip to North Dakota, visit NDtourism.com . Follow North Dakota Tourism on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TravelND , on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/northdakotalegendary/ or on X at http://x.com/NorthDakota and get tips on what to see and do all year long. SOURCE North Dakota Tourism Division CHADDS FORD, Pa., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union is honored to be named one of "America's Best-In-State Credit Unions" by Forbes. This marks the second consecutive year FMFCU has been recognized among an elite group of 222 credit unions nationwide for outstanding service, exceptional digital and branch experiences, and member satisfaction. Published annually, the Forbes list celebrates credit unions that excel in delivering superior member service and experiences. In collaboration with marketing research firm Statista, Forbes surveyed over 26,000 Americans assessing credit unions on several criteria including trustworthiness, financial advice, digital and branch services, and customer satisfaction. "Being acknowledged for a second consecutive year is a true honor," said Michael B. Magnavita, CPA, President and CEO of Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union. "This award reinforces the trust our members place in us every day and underscores the Credit Union's ongoing commitment to prioritizing member service while adapting to their evolving banking needs." This prestigious award is presented in collaboration with Statista, the world-leading statistics portal and industry ranking provider. The award list was announced on June 17th, 2025, and can be viewed on the Forbes website. ABOUT FMFCU Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union has provided financial products and services to its members in the greater Philadelphia region and beyond since 1970. FMFCU ranks eighth in asset size in Pennsylvania among credit unions and is the largest financial institution headquartered in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. FMFCU has 148,000 members, 6,000 partner organizations, and branches located throughout the Delaware Valley. Contact: Michael Bunner VP, Director of Digital Marketing Cell: 610-608-6167 [email protected] SOURCE Franklin Mint Federal Credit Union Beijing, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- "China recently released economic data for the first half of the year, showing a 7.2 percent increase in exports. This figure is both surprising and encouraging, particularly given the considerable external challenges faced during the period. So, how should we interpret this growth?" This is a question posed by a reader on people.cn. In the first half of the year, China's exports reached 13 trillion yuan ($1.79 trillion), up 7.2 percent year-on-year marking the first time that the scale of exports for the same period has exceeded 13 trillion yuan, according to customs data released on Monday. This notable performance underscores the resilience of China's economy, a strength that has earned recognition and praise from international observers. Supports behind numbers The growth is supported by China's comprehensive industrial system and driven by the deep integration of technological advancement and industrial innovation. At its core, it reflects the country's capacity to meet with global market demand through sustained, high-quality supply. Consider just one example: In the first half of the year, China's exports of high-tech products rose by 9.2 percent, marking nine consecutive months of growth, according to customs data. Notably, exports of high-end machine tools, ships and marine engineering equipment each grew of over 20 percent. Over the past six months, the external environment has shifted dramatically, and China's economic development has not been easy. Yet both enterprises and the governments have demonstrated steady resolve and resilience, navigating challenges with calm and confidence. Composed, confident and unshaken by headwinds this is China today. Years of advancing high-quality development and practice have taught us that, regardless of external uncertainties, staying focused on our own path and steadily expanding opening-up will help China's economy to remain stable and resilient in the face of any challenges. This achievement would not have been possible without the composure and resilience of Chinese companies amid growing global uncertainties. "Don't overthink the difficulties just do it, one step at a time." "Difficulties are part of the journey. When have we ever not faced difficulties?" said Chinese traders. A recent interview with Ren Zhengfei, the founder of Chinese tech giant Huawei, in the People's Daily offers a telling example. During the second quarter of this year, as global dynamics shifted sharply and external pressures intensified, Chinese firms remained composed and responded not with panic but with greater resolve in the face of adversity. The city of Yiwu in East China's Zhejiang Province, often seen as a barometer of China's foreign trade, reflects this steady mindset. "Staying calm is especially important when the tide is uncertain," said Lu Chengjun, a scale vendor in the Yiwu Commodity City for 23 years and owner of Yiwu Chaolan Hardware Business. True to his company's name which means "rising beyond the waves." Lu remains unshaken even when faced with order cancellations from overseas clients. "Everyone is staying calm, hoping to see the rainbow after the storm," Lu said, speaking for many Yiwu traders. Instead of waiting passively, they are focusing on improving internal capabilities, enhancing innovation, product quality and branding, to expand their global reach. Enterprises are the fundamental building blocks of economic activities. Today, countless businesses are forging a new path toward high-quality growth with determination, perseverance and confidence. Government support In 2024, Shenzhen's exports reached 2.81 trillion yuan, up 14.6 percent year-on-year, marking the 32nd consecutive year it led all mainland cities in foreign trade, according to the city's official news outlet. From January to May this year, however, its exports dropped by 8.6 percent. Meanwhile, Dongguan in South China's Guangdong Province saw its total foreign trade grow 17.4 percent during the same period, with exports rising 11.2 percent a sharp rebound from a 3.4 percent decline in the same period last year, according to data from the city's statistics bureau. Despite the fluctuations in growth, both Shenzhen and Dongguan have remained calm and focused, rolling out pragmatic policies to support businesses, boost exports and improve the development environment. What people are seeing is steady progress, firm confidence and unshakable commitment to high-quality development. Development is rarely linear; it often advances through waves and turns. Responding to external uncertainties with internal stability, and consistently focusing on domestic development this is China's philosophy and conviction. Behind the 7.2 percent growth figure lies the resilience and potential of China's economy as well as the calm and composure of its people. It reflects national confidence. Confidence is rooted in the present and even more so in the future. "We have always grown through storms and emerged stronger through trials. We must remain confident." Facing a complex and volatile external environment, the Chinese government has demonstrated strong policy responsiveness, swiftly introducing targeted support measures amid rising uncertainties, Li Changan, a professor at the Academy of China Open Economy Studies at the University of International Business and Economics, told the Global Times on Thursday. For example, local authorities have promptly organized overseas exhibitions and provided financial assistance to help enterprises explore international markets, effectively mitigating external pressure, Li said. Li noted that the government's support for foreign trade is underpinned by a three-fold rationale: stabilizing growth, sustaining market entities and safeguarding livelihoods. Exports are a key driver of overall demand, and a stable trade sector plays a vital role in ensuring macroeconomic stability, he said. "With a vast number of private exporters, supporting these market players is crucial for maintaining employment and social cohesion. Since foreign trade enterprises underpin millions of jobs, stabilizing trade is ultimately essential to protecting livelihoods." SOURCE Global Times BEIJING, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- "I remember we were in a village in China for dinner recently. At the restaurant, the waiter could not speak English but we immediately found a young Chinese lady who helped us. And we ended up eating together, Chinese people, an Egyptian, my colleague from Switzerland, and people from other countries. How beautiful is this," Maged Refaat Aboulmagd, an ambassadorial member of the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs, told the Global Times. "We took a photo and started laughing, then she chose food for us. It was pleasant, simple, and dignified," said Refaat. "She is like most Chinese people we've met in China always smiling and willing to communicate. There is absolutely no barrier." Refaat was one of the guests invited to China to the Global Civilizations Dialogue Ministerial Meeting. Themed "Safeguarding Diversity of Human Civilizations for World Peace and Development," the two-day event, which kicked off on Thursday, attracted over 600 attendees from 140 countries and regions. Before Thursday's meeting, international guests toured cities such as Shanghai, Hangzhou, Qufu, and Dunhuang to gain firsthand insight into the Chinese society. When he was visiting Shanghai, Gabriel Fischer, European Affairs Advisor to the Chairman of Voice-Social Democracy of Slovak and representative of the Slovak National Council to the European Union, said he not only visited the historical heritage parts of the city, but also the futuristic parts in the city's business center complete with skyscrapers. Taking his trip to China as an example, Fischer recalled some biased reports on China by European media outlets. "It is absolutely crucial to see it with your own eyes, by coming into the country, experiencing the culture, and meeting with the people We cannot influence the media's representation of other countries, but we can enrich our experiences further by traveling and seeing other cultures. That's why I would recommend visiting China to anyone to gain inspiration and return home more knowledgeable." A platform for exchange Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Thursday that China is ready to work with other countries in building a global network for dialogue and cooperation among civilizations, the Xinhua News Agency reported. Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, made the statement in a congratulatory letter to the Global Civilizations Dialogue Ministerial Meeting. He pledged that China will work with other countries to champion equality, mutual learning, dialogue and inclusiveness among civilizations, and implement the Global Civilization Initiative (GCI), in a bid to provide fresh impetus for advancing human civilizations and promoting world peace and development. "The world is, in nature, a place of diverse civilizations," Xi said in the letter. "History has shown us that exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations are essential for civilizations to flourish and human progress to be made." President Xi put forward the GCI in March 2023, following the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative. The initiative, as Xi pointed out in his speech, advocates respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, as well as robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. When talking about the significance of this conference to a world that is mired in conflicts, Fischer said, "I personally think that the reason of conflicts is usually the misunderstanding among civilizations, the misunderstanding of each other's culture, and this meeting can provide us with the opportunity to learn from each other." Refaat said that a few days ago he took the bullet train to visit a place where science and innovation have been used in farming. He said he saw how the farmers learn to use machinery, automation technologies, and intelligent systems, to improve production efficiency, reduce labor intensity, and significantly enhance agricultural productivity. "It was truly fascinating!" Refaat hailed. He said agro-industry is exactly what Egypt needs. At one of the sub-forums of the meeting, China's Olympic champion in swimming, Pan Zhanle, shared a story between him and his strong competitor, Romania's star swimmer David Popovici. He said that Popovici's perseverance and determination have been a constant source of inspiration for him. At parallel sub-forums on Friday, participants actively participated in discussions on the crucial role of inter-civilization exchange and mutual learning in building an inclusive world, and in promoting global development and prosperity, cultural inheritance and innovation. David Ferguson, honorary chief English editor of the Foreign Languages Press, and a participant at the meeting, told the Global Times that the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Civilizations Dialogue reflects a broader strategy aimed at replacing conflict with dialogue, underscoring China's serious commitment to fostering global understanding and cooperation. Raphael Tuju, a former Kenyan Cabinet Secretary, told the Global Times that true civilization rests on "the ability to share, live together, and respect each other," and expressed his hope that China would initiate more soft-power connections, including people-to-people exchanges, education, and cultural programs. Building bridges During the parallel sub-forums on Friday, Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, said that China promotes people-to-people exchanges through the country's commitment to openness and inclusiveness. "Traveling in China" and "Shopping in China" have become increasingly popular, said Liu, also giving the example of Black Myth: Wukong, Ne Zha, and Labubu, which have gained widespread popularity among young people around the world. "I'd originally planned to bring some Labubu toys for everyone, but they were completely sold out. If anyone manages to find one, please help me buy one," Liu joked. Since the launch of the GCI, China has actively built platforms for international cultural exchange and cooperation, establishing a global network for dialogue among civilizations and effectively promoting mutual understanding and learning among diverse cultures, Zhang Yiwu, a professor of cultural studies at Peking University, told the Global Times. Over the years, China has established a series of multilateral exchange platforms, such as the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations and the Conference on Dialogue Between Chinese and African Civilizations, and held a series of activities, including the China-ASEAN People-to-People Exchange Year and the Liangzhu Forum, building a platform for equal dialogue among different civilizations. Many countries, especially those in the Global South, have responded positively and warmly to China's GCI. This demonstrates that, even as the world stands at a crossroads, the forces that cherish peace and seek mutual learning among civilizations remain the mainstream of the international community, said Zhang. At the "Story Sharing" segment of the opening session on Thursday, Kenyan student Jamlick Mwangi Kariuki from the Beijing Jiaotong University shared his story. He said that two years ago, he and 40 other Kenyan students wrote a letter to President Xi for the 10th anniversary of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Thanks to the "Belt and Road" International Talent Joint-training Program, Kariuki and 100 other Kenyan youth got the opportunity to study in Beijing. After graduation, he joined the Chinese-built Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) project and became a railway engineer. In 2023, he returned to Beijing Jiaotong University for further study, hoping to further deepen his railway technology expertise and help the rail transit in his home country achieve better development. After widely soliciting the ideas of other Kenyan students and alumni representatives, Kariuki took the lead in drafting a letter to President Xi, and attached a train ticket of SGR as a gift in the letter. Kariuki said that the railway passes through the largest wildlife reserve in Kenya. Sitting on the fast-moving train, one can see animals such as elephants and zebras freely passing by along the way, thanks to the joint efforts of Kenyan and Chinese experts. "Lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets," Kariuki said solemnly in Chinese. Ranko Ostoji from the Social Democratic Party of Croatia shared the story of a bridge with the Global Times. When touring near Nanpu Bridge in Shanghai last week before the meeting, Ostoji recalled the Peljesac Bridge, constructed by a Chinese consortium led by the China Road and Bridge Corporation in southern Croatia. Ostoji said Peljesac Bridge is now one of the most beautiful bridges in Croatia. "I believe that (Peljesac Bridge) won't be the last bridge between us," Ostoji said. SOURCE Global Times BEIJING, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Inside the glass-walled building of the Compressive Service Center in the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ), a striking scene unfolds: A pristine white reception desk anchors the room, flanked by a gleaming row of counters, each outfitted with computers and printers, paired with plush brown leather chairs aligned with precision. The setup could easily pass for a high-end bank, its staff poised to cater to clients. But this is no reception room for a bank. Here, multiple government agencies - border inspection, customs, and more - converge to create a seamless one-stop shop for businesses, embodying the pilot FTZ's innovative spirit. On the fifth floor, an exhibition hall brings the pilot FTZ's unique, storied legacy to life. Cutting-edge display technologies illuminate a collection of yellowed documents, each a testament to the city's pioneering past: the 1982 approval for Xiamen's first wholly foreign-owned company; the license for the first Chinese-foreign joint venture bank, dated June 18, 1985. At the heart of the exhibition hall, encased in a gleaming glass display, a distinct blue-covered book commands the spotlight. Its weathered pages, tinged with age, whisper profound tales of a storied past, radiating historical significance. The 1985-2000 Xiamen Economic and Social Development Strategy - its title bold above two evocative photos of Xiamen, capturing a city poised for transformation. On October 16, 2024, Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, Chinese president, and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspected the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot Free Trade Zone. President Xi paused here during the inspection, his fingers tracing the pages he helped draft four decades ago. "We planted seeds here," he said. "Today's harvest surpasses our expectations," according to the Xinhua News Agency. The Development Strategy offered a blueprint for Xiamen's economic and social development over the years and helped transform the once modest port city into a modern economic powerhouse and a global harbor with trade ties with 239 countries and regions in five continents in 2024. Xiamen's rise is a testament to the success of China's economic policymaking - scientific, forward-looking development strategy formulation and precise execution. As China is set conclude the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-25) at the end of the year and moving swiftly to formulate the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30), this forward-looking strategy will not only continue to underpin China's sustained high-quality development in the coming years but also create tremendous opportunities for the world, Chinese and foreign economists and business executives said. 'Long-term thinking' Thanks to its prime geographic location - sitting at China's southeast coastline facing the vast ocean, Xiamen has been a major trading port dating back centuries ago, and a gateway of China's opening-up and external cooperation. In 1980, two years after the start of China's reform and opening-up process began, Xiamen was designated as one of only four special economic zones (SEZs) - a quintessential reform and opening-up measure in China that aims to explore and experiment various policies before they are introduced in other parts of the country or nationwide. Still, in the summer of 1985, when 32-year-old Xi assumed the office of Xiamen's vice mayor, the city was grappling with uncertainties. With no domestic precedents to follow, officials here were divided. Some were overly optimistic about replicating Singapore or Hong Kong, while others remained skeptical that major breakthroughs could be achieved given Xiamen's weak economic fundamentals. Xi took a different view. He argued that modern economic development demanded long-term thinking and a comprehensive approach. It was under his direct leadership that Xiamen established an office to draft a development strategy for the next 15 years, according to Xinhua. At the time, it was common at both national and local levels to create annual or five-year development plans, but never a 15-year plan for a city, according to Xinhua. Opening the 300-page book, the long-term thinking and a comprehensive approach becomes vivid. The book extensively assessed Xiamen's advantages and constraint factors, analyzed the national, regional and international situations and put forward a clear development strategy with a clear timeline, which has become well-known in Xiamen as the "three-step" approach: first, create bonded zones; then expand to a free trade zone; and eventually, a quasi-free port. "The 1985-2000 Xiamen Economic and Social Development Strategy formulated under Xi's leadership as early as back in the 1980s put forward the 'three-step' strategic concept of building a free trade port, which has found the right direction for Xiamen to move forward," the Administrative Committee of the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot FTZ said in a statement sent to the Global Times. "The Xiamen SEZ has been moving forward steadily along the 'three-step' blueprint drawn up by Xi." According to the committee, the Xiamen Special Economic Zone Trade Co established the city's first public bonded warehouse on June 10, 1985, starting the concrete practice of implementing the first step of the "three-step" strategy. Then on April 21, 2015, the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot FTZ was established, completing the second step. "Currently, we are working toward the third step and actively exploring the implementation of certain policies of the free port," it said. Xiamen's practice of the "three-step" strategy is also reflected in numbers displayed on a giant screen at the exhibition hall. Over the years, the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot FTZ has rolled out a total of 632 innovative measures, with 153 of them being national firsts. More than 31 measures from "Xiamen experience" was promoted by the State Council, compared to a total of 167 measures promoted nationally. The free trade zone has completed the task of aligning with international high standards and promoting institutional opening-up. Also on display at the exhibition hall is concrete examples of Xiamen not only successfully aligning with international high standards, but actually helping setting international standards. The Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) Pilot FTZ has introduced the nation's first guidelines for the safe maritime transport of containerized lithium-ion battery energy storage systems, which outlined safety check lists from production to transportation to offload. The pioneering document not only provides professional guidance for the safe, efficient, and routine export of containerized lithium battery storage systems from Xiamen Port. It also addresses a gap in international maritime regulations, resolves challenges posed by rail and air transport bans, and overcomes obstacles in maritime shipping. The success of long-term thinking and comprehensive approach outlined in the Development Strategy is also reflected in concrete data. Between 1985 and 2024, Xiamen's GDP expanded by 13.8 percent on a yearly average. As of April 2025, the Xiamen Port has 183 container liner routes, with a route network reaching 151 ports in 51 countries and regions. In 2024, the container throughput exceeded 10 million TEUs, making it an international container trunk line hub port, according to Xinhua. 'Good example' In a keynote speech at the opening ceremony of the BRICS Business Forum on September 3, 2017 in Xiamen, President Xi noted that "Xiamen is where I started off when I came to Fujian Province to take up a new post in 1985." "Three decades later, Xiamen has become well known for its innovation and entrepreneurship, with burgeoning new economic forms and new industries, robust trade and investment and easy access to the world with air, land and sea links," Xi said, according to Xinhua. "Xiamen's success is a good example demonstrating the perseverance of the 1.3 billion-plus Chinese people. In close to 40 years of reform and opening up, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, we Chinese have forged ahead, fearless and determined, and we have successfully embarked on a path of socialism with distinctive Chinese features," Xi said. The long-term thinking and comprehensive approach that has proven tremendously successful in Xiamen is also the essence of China's general economic policymaking - the scientific and forward-looking formulation of long-term development plans such as the five-year plans. "The Five-Year Plan is an important experience in our country's governance. It is not only an institutional guarantee for a blueprint to be drawn to the end, but also a long-term plan that spans economic cycles. At the same time, it can also dynamically adjust the priorities of medium-term tasks based on short-term prominent contradictions, so as to better achieve long-term goals," Li Ke'aobo, executive deputy director of the Academic Center for Chinese Economic Practice and Thinking of Tsinghua University, told the Global Times. This year marks the conclusion of China's 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-25), during which China has clocked up a series of landmark achievements, including a resilient economy, solid steps in green transition and unwavering opening-up. Meanwhile, the formulation of the 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-30) is underway, as a top priority. During a recent instruction on the work concerning the compilation of the 15th Five-Year Plan, President Xi noted that the scientific formulation and consistent implementation of five-year plans stand as an important piece of experience in the CPC's approach to governing the country. The formulation and implementation of the 15th Five-Year Plan holds immense significance for fully realizing the strategic initiatives outlined at the 20th CPC National Congress and advancing Chinese modernization, Xi said, Xinhua reported on May 19. China's scientific formulation and consistent implementation of five-year plans also hold great global significance. "Setting a clear, long-term objective has been key to the development of China. In a very volatile international environment today, it's even more important to have a beacon and to have a long-term objective," Denis Depoux, global managing director of consulting firm Roland Berger, told the Global Times in a recent interview. Back in the Compressive Service Center of the Xiamen Area of China (Fujian) FTZ, the firm determination to "follow a good blueprint through to the end" was palpable. "These achievements were made because we have always followed the 'three-step' strategic conception drawn up by Xi when he led the initial period of the establishment of the Xiamen Special Economic Zone, and have always kept in mind our mission to test systems, measure pressures, and explore new paths for the country," the Administrative Committee said. SOURCE Global Times Rolls Out GCC 2.0 Service Line to Unlock Long-term Value for Enterprises MUMBAI, India and LONDON and ISELIN, N.J., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Hexaware Technologies (NSE: HEXT), a global provider of IT solutions and services, is pleased to welcome into its fold SMC Squared, a leader in building global capability centers (GCCs). The acquisition is a strategic step in Hexaware's mission to deliver future-proof GCC solutions that go beyond cost efficiency, anchored in a combined human and digital agent-driven model. Hexaware's newly launched GCC 2.01 service line aims to drive long-term value for global clients by blending SMC Squared's proven GCC build-operate expertise with Hexaware's platform-led IT delivery capabilities, providing clients with a differentiated proposition that combines AI and digital innovation with strategic GCC value. SMC Squared operates through engagement models, such as managed services, build-optimize-transfer, and hybrid solutions, which lower operating costs while assembling GCC teams that act as seamless extensions of every client's strategic agenda. With proven delivery across HR, infrastructure, employee well-being, finance, and strategic technology consulting, SMC Squared brings institutional maturity and a trusted execution model that aligns with Hexaware's vision to offer fully integrated, high-value GCC operations. Together, the companies expect to drive significant growth and unlock synergy potential across large accounts in the near future. "Our clients are increasingly looking for GCC partners who bring more than staffing or infrastructure," said Amrinder Singh, President & Head EMEA & APAC Operations, Hexaware. "With SMC Squared, we gain proven governance, delivery credibility, and scale in areas where execution strength is non-negotiable. This acquisition enables us to deliver long-term value to enterprises, leveraging our human and digital agent-driven model and proprietary IT delivery platforms." The move comes as the global GCC market accelerates, with the GCC sector in India alone expected to cross $100 billion by 20302. Enterprises are shifting toward outcome-based models, requiring partners who can deliver stable, scalable, and high-accountability operations. "On behalf of the SMC Squared team, I'm thrilled to share that we're now part of Hexaware," said Patricia Connolly, CEO, SMC Squared. "For over a decade, we've helped shape the GCC industry, and this acquisition expands what we can deliver globally with strengthened capabilities across AI, analytics, modernization, cloud transformation, and enterprise platforms while growing our delivery footprint with new centers in Latin America and increasing client activity in the UK and Europe." SMC Squared works with some of the most recognized global brands across commerce, manufacturing, financial services, health care, and consumer brands. Among SMC's clients is Papa John's International, Inc. (PZZA), operating global quick-service restaurants with a significant international presence including India. "Partnering with SMC to build our dedicated GCC team has been a transformative experience. Our GCC team is fully integrated, aligned with our strategic vision, and focused on delivering real business value," said Michael Wyant, Vice President of Corporate Systems & Enterprise Data, Papa Johns. "From modernizing our ERP systems to enhancing our Workday integrations and building a robust data and analytics foundation, SMC has consistently delivered. We look forward to working together, now with Hexaware, to accelerate modernization. Congratulations SMC Squared and Hexaware. We're excited for what lies ahead in our GCC partnership." The combined organization now offers a unified GCC services stack spanning advisory, setup, operations, and optimization, and supported by talent depth, delivery consistency, and execution rigor. Reference GCC 2.0 refers to the next-generation evolution of traditional Global Capability Centers which are offshore or nearshore hubs established by multinational enterprises (MNEs) to deliver critical business functions such as IT, finance, HR, analytics, and R&D. GCC 2.0 infuses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform the role of these centers from cost arbitrage-driven support units to value-generating strategic centers. India's global centre market to grow to $105 billion by 2030, says Nasscom-Zinnov report About SMC Squared SMC Squared drives digital evolution through Global Capability Centers (GCCs), empowering businesses to optimize offshore costs and attract top-tier tech talent. Its tailored modelsbuild-optimize-transfer, managed services, and hybrid solutionsensure cost-effectiveness while establishing high-performing teams aligned with client's brand and boardroom objectives. With a proven recruit-for-fit strategy, SMC Squared enhances quality and productivity, delivering economic advantages supported by client testimonials. Discover more at https://smc2.com/. About Hexaware Hexaware is a global technology and business process services company. Every day, Hexawarians wake up with a singular purpose: to create smiles through great people and technology. With offices across the world, we empower enterprises worldwide to realize digital transformation at scale and speed by partnering with them to build, transform, run, and optimize their technology and business processes. Learn more about Hexaware at https://hexaware.com. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2237417/Hexaware_NEW_Logo.jpg SOURCE Hexaware Technologies Ltd. In a training center in the Chernihiv region, during a shooting, a cadet fired shots from an automatic weapon at military instructors, resulting in their deaths, and the cadet was detained, the Chernihiv regional police reported. "Yesterday, the police received information that on the territory of the training center, during a shooting, a cadet fired shots from an automatic weapon at military instructors. As a result of the injuries received, two servicemen died," the message on the regional police website said on Thursday. The police detained the suspect in accordance with Article 208 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. Information about the incident was entered into the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations under Clause 1, Part 2, Article 115 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. BOSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Legendary rock Photographer Henry Diltz, whose iconic images defined the music scene of the '60s and '70s, is bringing his celebrated photography to New England for a rare and intimate tour through Boston and New Hampshire on August 14th and August 16th. As the official Photographer for Woodstock and a founding member of the famed Morrison Hotel Gallery, Diltz has chronicled over five decades of music history with rare intimacy and timeless style. His photographsof The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills & Nash, Neil Young, James Taylor, Paul McCartney, and countless othershave graced more than 250 albums and magazine covers. With an uncanny ability to be both everywhere and invisible, Henry didn't just shoot legendshe was part of the circle. His work is a living, breathing archive of the moments that defined rock and roll. Henry and his photography were recently featured in the acclaimed docuseries, "Laurel Canyon," which reignited global fascination with the California counterculture that forever changed music history. This special east coast tour, "Legends in Focus: The Photography of Henry Diltz", is a gallery exhibition and slideshow experience with Diltz himself as your guide. With stories as vivid as his photographs, Henry invites audiences into the homes, venues, and studios where music history was made. "People ask me how I got these shots," says Diltz. "The truth is, I was just part of the scene. I had a camera in one hand and a banjo in the other." Tour stops include: Emerson College , 118 Boylston, Boston Thursday, August 14 th 10AM-5PM Public Gallery (free of charge/compliments of Emerson College & WERS 88.9) 7PM ticketed Reception, Gallery, Meet & Greet, Slideshow & Storytelling experience with Henry. Tickets: www.artsemerson.org/henrydiltz ($60 p/p including fees) King Pine Ski Area, 1251 Eaton Rd. Madison, N.H. Saturday, August 16 th 12PM-5PM Public Gallery by $10 suggested donation to benefit The Laura Foundation for Autism & Epilepsy. 7PM ticketed BBQ Dinner, Gallery, Meet & Greet, Slideshow & Storytelling experience with Henry. Tickets: www.kingpine.com/henrydiltz ($85 p/p including fees) Don't miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to step back behind the lens and meet one of rock's most beloved Documentarians. www.henrydiltz.com Media Contact and to schedule Henry Diltz interviews: Paul J. Morra, Event Producer [email protected] cell/txt: 818.694.2722 SOURCE Henry Diltz New Partnership Offers Tailored Banking Solutions to Support the Growth and Financial Success of Arizona's Innovation-Driven Companies PHOENIX, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Integro Bank is proud to be named a Banking Partner for the Arizona Technology Council and its 750+ member companies. This strategic alignment underscores a shared commitment to foster innovation, support business growth, and drive Arizona's economy forward. With a focus on businesses, it also delivers three exclusive advantages not available through any other financial institution, offering Council members a truly unique and valuable banking experience. The Arizona Technology Council is Arizona's premier trade association for science and technology companies. Recognized as representing a diverse professional business community, Council members work towards furthering the advancement of technology in Arizona through leadership, education, legislation, and social action. The Arizona Technology Council has long served as a catalyst in making Arizona one of the fastest-growing technology hubs in the U.S. Through its advocacy, education, and networking. By selecting Integro Bank as its Banking Partner, the Council ensures its members have access to banking solutions designed to optimize cash flow, mitigate risk, and fuel expansion. "Integro Bank is honored to be recognized as a Banking Partner for the Arizona Technology Council and its members," said Elaine Szeto, Chief Innovation Officer at Integro Bank. "We are committed to delivering financial solutions and personalized service tailored to the unique needs of technology companies, ensuring they have the resources to scale, innovate, and create jobs." Arizona Technology Council members can benefit from Integro Bank's consultative approach, which includes direct access to the bank's executive team, providing deep financial and leadership resources for Council members, access to Integro Bank's proprietary INTEGRO360 SM business valuation service providing real-time data analytics, and membership to the exclusive Integro CEO Club, which fosters collaboration and business growth among executives. "The Arizona Technology Council is dedicated to helping technology companies thrive, and having a trusted financial partner like Integro Bank will be instrumental in to mission," said Steven G. Zylstra, President and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council. "Integro Bank understands the challenges and opportunities our members face, and we're excited about the value this partnership will bring." This partnership further reflects Integro Bank's commitment to building an ecosystem where technology businesses can flourish. About the Arizona Technology Council The Arizona Technology Council is Arizona's premier trade association for science and technology companies. Recognized as representing a diverse professional business community, Council members work towards furthering the advancement of technology in Arizona through leadership, education, legislation, and social action. The Council offers numerous events, educational forums, and business conferences that bring together leaders, visionaries, and community members to make an impact on the technology industry. These interactions contribute to the Council's culture of growing member businesses and transforming technology in Arizona. To become a member or to learn more about the Arizona Technology Council, please visit www.aztechcouncil.org. About Integro Bank: Integro Bank is an FDIC-insured bank based in Phoenix, Arizona (USA). Our proprietary INTEGRO360 SM consultative approach and CEO Club are designed to help small businesses grow and maximize employment. Why? Because employment lifts people and transforms lives. Visit www.Integro.Bank Media Contact: Brandon Price, at [email protected] or (602) 325-9431 SOURCE Integro Bank NEW YORK, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of BellRing Brands, Inc. ("BellRing" or the "Company") (NYSE: BRBR). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980. The investigation concerns whether BellRing and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On May 6, 2025, during its second quarter 2025 earnings call, BellRing revealed that certain customers were now choosing to "optimize" their inventories by lowering "their weeks of supply on hand." As a result, BellRing disclosed that this would slow sales growth in the third quarter to "low-single-digits." On this news, BellRing's stock price fell $14.88 per share, or 18.97%, to close at $63.55 on May 6, 2025. The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, and Paris is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com . Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Danielle Peyton Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 646-581-9980 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP NEW YORK, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against Reddit, Inc. ("Reddit" or the "Company") (NYSE: RDDT). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at [email protected] or 646-581-9980, (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 7980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased. The class action concerns whether Reddit and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. You have until August 18, 2025 to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class if you purchased or otherwise acquired Reddit securities during the Class Period. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com. [Click here for information about joining the class action] On May 1, 2025, Reddit reports its financial results for the first quarter of 2025. Among other items, Reddit announced its third consecutive quarter of declining daily active user growth. On this news, Reddit's stock price fell $4.96 per share, or 4.18%, to close at $113.83 per share on May 2, 2025. Then, on May 19, 2025, Wells Fargo analysts downgraded Reddit's stock and lowered their price target, describing Google Search's implementation of new AI features as likely "permanent" disruptions to user traffic for Reddit. On this news, Reddit's stock price fell $5.24 per share, or 4.63%, to close at $107.99 per share on May 10, 2025. On May 21, 2025, Baird analysts also downgraded Reddit's stock and lowered their price target, likewise citing concerns about the impact of Google Search's expanded AI capabilities on Reddit's user growth. On this news, Reddit's stock price fell $9.79 per share, or 9.27%, to close at $95.85 per share on May 21, 2025. Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes. CONTACT: Danielle Peyton Pomerantz LLP [email protected] 646-581-9980 ext. 7980 SOURCE Pomerantz LLP Powered by Listrak Intelligence, reports identify key trends and provide actionable strategies to power retail momentum LITITZ, Pa., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Listrak , the person-first marketing automation platform, launched its Retail Outlook Reports for H2 2025, designed to empower retailers to achieve a strong second half of the year. With editions focused on Fashion , Beauty and General Retail, the Outlook Reports analyze key trends and insights, and provide actionable strategies for retail success. "The first half of 2025 reminded us that retail success is not about predicting the future it's about being prepared for the future," said Jamie Elden, Chief Revenue Officer, Listrak. "While change is constant, with the right insights and tactics, retailers can convert change into advantage. To support retail momentum throughout the second half of 2025, Listrak's experts, leveraging Listrak's predictive intelligence, identified key trends and provide tactics to power success through the balance of the year." Key trends and tactics reported in Listrak's H2 2025 Retail Outlook include: Price continues to matter most . With 37% of shoppers planning to cut non-essential spending into summer and holiday, private label brands and secondhand options are seeing major momentum. Listrak recommends tactics including: driving value-driven engagement, such as: leveraging trigger price drop alerts via email, SMS and app push; automating campaigns for sale- and discount-engaged audiences; highlighting clearance and pre-loved categories in email navigation; and more. . With 37% of shoppers planning to cut non-essential spending into summer and holiday, private label brands and secondhand options are seeing major momentum. Supply chain shifts drive stock uncertainty. As imports from China dropped 65% year-over-year, and order cancellations are up 60% compared to 2020, disruptions are already impacting availability and will likely continue into the holiday season. Listrak recommends tactics including: auditing inventory triggers to align thresholds with today's fulfillment speed; raising low-inventory thresholds to reflect faster sell-through; extending recent windows for "back in stock" alerts due to longer restock timelines; and more. As imports from dropped 65% year-over-year, and order cancellations are up 60% compared to 2020, disruptions are already impacting availability and will likely continue into the holiday season. AI becomes a go-to shopping tool. In 2025, 53% of consumers plan to use AI to support purchase decisions, and Listrak anticipates a growing shift from traditional search engines to AI assistants like ChatGPT during the holiday season. Listrak recommends tactics including: personalizing popups based on traffic source to highlight AI-driven features for AI-referred users; activating channel affinity in segmentation and journey splits to reach the customer in their most engaged channel first; leveraging Listrak AI Product Recommendations in emails and onsite to personalize with each message open and each page navigated; and more. In 2025, 53% of consumers plan to use AI to support purchase decisions, and Listrak anticipates a growing shift from traditional search engines to AI assistants like ChatGPT during the holiday season. To download Listrak's H2 2025 Outlook Reports, visit listrak.com/learn/guides-and-reports About Listrak Listrak is the person-first marketing automation platform that seamlessly integrates data, identity, and cross-channel messaging to power hyper-personalized customer experiences. Built for leading retailers and brands, Listrak's email, mobile marketing, push, and web solutions drive growth, maximize efficiency, and deliver exceptional revenue results. For more information, visit listrak.com/ . SOURCE LISTRAK Former Xactly Founder & CEO Joins Industry-Leading Video Safety and Telematics Company to Usher in Next Era of Growth and Innovation SAN DIEGO, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Lytx Inc., the industry pioneer of video and safety-driven efficiency, today announced the appointment of Chris Cabrera as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). With a proven track record of success and innovation in the artificial intelligence (AI) and technology sectors, he brings a wealth of executive experience and accolades from his previous leadership roles at SaaS and AI companies, including twenty years as Founder & CEO of Xactly. Cabrera takes over for Interim CEO Andy Eckert, who joins Lytx's Board of Directors as Chairman. Chris Cabrera Chief Executive Officer, Lytx Under Cabrera's leadership, Lytx will continue to elevate its market position and leverage its storied history of using award-winning machine vision and artificial intelligence (MV+AI) technology to drive forward its goals of enhancing driver safety and operational efficiency. Cabrera's expertise in scaling businesses and fostering a culture of innovation will be instrumental in taking Lytx to new heights. "Chris Cabrera is a natural leader and his approach aligns perfectly with Lytx's mission to protect businesses' most valuable assets in motion," said Andy Young, Partner at Permira. "His extensive experience and visionary leadership will be invaluable as the company continues to expand its capabilities and deliver exceptional value to clients and partners." Cabrera expressed his enthusiasm for his new role, stating, "I am honored to join Lytx, an established company with a strong, growing legacy and a solid cultural foundation. I admire their unwavering commitment to innovation and their vision for every journey ending with a safe return. I look forward to expanding upon this vision and working with the talented team at Lytx to drive innovation and create impactful solutions that enhance safety and efficiency for our clients." Background and Past Success Chris is a seasoned CEO with more than three decades of enterprise and on-demand/SaaS experience in both private and public companies. He has been recognized by USC as "Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year," by The Software Report as a "Top CEO of 2020," and was one of Business Intelligence Group's "Executives of the Year" in 2021. For 20 years, Chris served as the Founder & CEO of Xactly, an AI-powered platform that combines revenue intelligence and sales performance management for organizations of all sizes. Under his leadership, Xactly grew from a startup to a public company, achieving over 40% combined revenue growth and profit margin, creating the market and establishing it as today's market leader. Xactly has won over 20 "best places to work" awards, including being recognized as a top workplace by The Denver Post and Fortune Magazine. Chris Cabrera most recently served as the Interim CEO at Provarity AI, the pioneering platform transforming how enterprise software companies manage presales engineering and the proof-of-concept (POC) lifecycle. His strategic vision and operational acumen helped the company achieve significant growth and establish a strong foothold in the industry. About Lytx Lytx is a global leader in video safety and video telematics. Our solutions harness the power of video to empower drivers and fleets to be safer and more efficient, productive, and profitable so they can thrive in today's competitive environment. Through the Lytx Vision Platform, direct and reseller clients access our customizable services and programs spanning fleet safety , risk detection , fleet tracking , ELD compliance , preventative maintenance , and fuel management . Using the world's largest driving database of its kind, along with proprietary machine vision and artificial intelligence technology, we help protect and connect thousands of fleets and over 5.5 million drivers in more than 90 countries. For more information about Lytx, visit www.lytx.com, @lytx on X, LinkedIn , our Facebook page, or our YouTube channel. Contact: Jason Andersen [email protected] SOURCE Lytx, Inc. NextLadder Ventures launches with over $1 billion to empower low-income Americans through personalized, tech-driven solutions NEW YORK, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, a coalition of foundations and philanthropists Ballmer Group, Gates Foundation, Stand Together, Valhalla Foundation and John Overdeck announced NextLadder Ventures. This over $1 billion initiative is grounded in the belief that every American has the potential to achieve economic prosperity and focuses on fostering technology and tools to expand economic opportunity for low-income Americans. Over the next 15 years, NextLadder Ventures will invest in entrepreneurs who are developing personalized solutions that help individuals and families navigate critical moments like job loss, housing instability or health crises. These approaches will be designed with and for the people who need them most. The initiative will offer a mix of grants, equity and revenue-based financing to back both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. Anthropic joins as the inaugural AI partner, providing expertise and technology to support the organizations that NextLadder Ventures will fund. NextLadder Ventures addresses a major national challenge: While innovative ideas exist to help low-income Americans overcome obstacles and pursue prosperity, there is insufficient capital available to those serving these populations. The founding group is combining efforts to catalyze a thriving market that can attract ongoing investment in tools that ensure that life's pivotal moments don't become permanent barriers to upward mobility. This work will stand alongside, support and extend the reach of many who are already devoting their careers and resources to dramatically increasing opportunity in the U.S. "The future depends on empowering every person to realize their potential. But today, millions of Americans face barriers to economic opportunity," said Brian Hooks, CEO of Stand Together. "We believe the best solutions come alongside people and empower them to pursue the paths to success that are right for them as they build the futures they want for themselves and their families. New technology lets us do that." NextLadder Ventures is focused on the more than 90 million people in the U.S. striving to get ahead but facing barriers as well as the more than 1.6 million helpers like social workers, legal aid attorneys and other frontline professionals who guide people through critical life moments. By equipping these professionals, many of whom are managing caseloads significantly above capacity, with scalable tools, this initiative will help them reach more people, reduce administrative burdens and provide more personalized support. "Technology can be an accelerator of tremendous social progress when harnessed for good, but right now that market is undercapitalized," said Kevin Bromer, executive director, head of data & tech strategy at Ballmer Group. "This initiative is designed to catalyze existing great work and ideas as well as support an emerging generation of entrepreneurs, ensuring they have the resources necessary to create, innovate, and iterate on tools that can make a real difference in more people's lives." NextLadder Ventures makes it possible for entrepreneurs to build tools designed with safety, privacy and community input at the center ensuring that the people who need these tools most have a voice in shaping them. Success will be measured by how much people's lives improve higher incomes, stronger support systems, greater opportunity and the dignity that comes with achieving success. "In the U.S., the Gates Foundation is focused on lifting millions of people out of poverty and onto a path to prosperity. With rapid advancements in technology, especially in artificial intelligence, we have incredible opportunities to help people live healthier, more prosperous lives," said Mark Suzman, CEO of the Gates Foundation. "NextLadder Ventures brings together the vision, resources and community connections needed to create solutions for millions of Americans and the frontline workers who serve them, opening up more paths to economic opportunity and making upward mobility more possible." "NextLadder Ventures will back leaders building practical solutions that work on the ground to help low-income Americans grow their incomes and achieve greater well-being which can compound into lasting gains for millions of children," said Sara Allan, president of Valhalla Foundation. To lead this effort, Ryan Rippel whose career has focused on addressing poverty in America and whose values were shaped by being raised by a single mother in central Missouri will serve as CEO of NextLadder Ventures. "For too long, we have relied on a one-size-fits-all approach to support people facing economic challenges," said Rippel. "To better serve those in need, we need new, practical pathways to opportunity that help the helpers and the people they serve. Technology alone isn't the answer. But when it's built with the needs of people facing economic challenges in mind and paired with the extraordinary work of philanthropists strengthening communities and scaling promising strategies, it becomes a powerful force for change." John Overdeck, philanthropist and business leader, has also pledged significant funding support to NextLadder Ventures. Overdeck's commitment stems from his strong belief in the importance of social mobility and the transformative potential of new technologies. As part of this partnership, Anthropic will provide comprehensive support to NextLadder grantees. "Core to our mission is helping AI benefit humanity," said Elizabeth Kelly, head of beneficial deployments at Anthropic. "As the inaugural AI partner, we're providing Claude credits and hours of time with our in-house Claude experts. This is exactly the kind of real-world impact we want to see AI making essential services work better for the people who need them most." NextLadder Ventures envisions a future where everyone has the opportunity and community support needed to thrive. About NextLadder Ventures NextLadder Ventures backs people with bold ideas for removing barriers to economic opportunity. This over $1 billion initiative brings together leading philanthropic funders to invest in entrepreneurs and emerging technologies that help individuals and families in the U.S. turn everyday challenges into personal pathways to success. By supporting personalized, tech-enabled solutions, NextLadder Ventures aims to make it easier for Americans to chart their own paths to prosperity. About the Ballmer Group Ballmer Group is committed to improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States by funding leaders and organizations that have demonstrated the ability to reshape opportunity and reduce systemic inequities. The group's grants focus on direct services that strengthen communities for today and levers of change that transform systems for tomorrow. Learn more at ballmergroup.org . About the Gates Foundation Guided by the belief that every life has equal value, the Gates Foundation works to help all people lead healthy, productive lives. In developing countries, the foundation works with partners to create impactful solutions so that people can take charge of their futures and achieve their full potential. In the United States, it aims to ensure that everyone especially those with the fewest resources has access to the opportunities needed to succeed in school and life. Based in Seattle, Washington, the foundation is led by CEO Mark Suzman under the direction of Bill Gates and the governing board. Learn more at gatesfoundation.org . About Stand Together Stand Together is a philanthropic community that tackles the root causes of our country's biggest problems. It partners with the country's boldest change-makers to drive solutions that help define the American Dream with a focus on education, economic opportunity, strong and safe communities, bridging divides and other pressing issues. Learn more at standtogether.org . About the Valhalla Foundation Valhalla Foundation aims to drive measurable and meaningful improvement in the lives of children and families and the health of our planet through investments in six program areas: Early Childhood Development, K-12 Education, Data Science Education, Medical Research & Talent, Environmental Innovation and Collaborative Philanthropy. The foundation invests in ideas backed by robust evidence of impact and rooted in deep understanding of the needs of the communities it seeks to serve. Across its program areas, the foundation prioritizes working collaboratively with other funders to expand available resources for compelling ideas, build strong evidence of impact and improve the effectiveness of philanthropy. Learn more at valhalla.org . About John Overdeck John Overdeck is president of Overdeck Family Foundation and executive manager and co-chair of Two Sigma, a financial sciences firm. He is chair of the Institute for Advanced Study and the National Museum of Mathematics, and he serves as a trustee of the Robin Hood Foundation. About Anthropic Anthropic is an AI safety and research company that creates reliable, interpretable and steerable AI systems. Anthropic's flagship product is Claude, a large language model trusted by millions of users worldwide. Learn more about Anthropic and Claude at anthropic.com . SOURCE NextLadder Ventures New understanding of how dopamine acts could reshape how brain disorders are treated AURORA, Colo., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A new study from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus has upended decades of neuroscience dogma, revealing that dopamine, a neurotransmitter critical for movement, motivation, learning and mood, communicates in the brain with extraordinary precision, not broad diffusion as previously believed. This groundbreaking research offers fresh hope for millions of people living with dopamine-related disorders, marking a significant advance in the quest for precision-based neuroscience and medicine. For years, scientists thought of dopamine as a kind of chemical "broadcast system," flooding large areas of the brain to influence behavior. But new research, published today in Science, found that dopamine acts more like a finely-tuned postal service, delivering highly localized messages to specific nerve cell branches at exact moments in time. "Our current research found that dopamine signaling and transmission in the brain is much more complex than we thought," said Christopher Ford, PhD, professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and lead author. "We knew that dopamine plays a role in many different behaviors, and our work gives the beginning of a framework for understanding how all those different behaviors could all be regulated by dopamine." Using advanced microscopy techniques, researchers found that dopamine is released in concentrated hotspots which enable targeted, rapid responses in nearby brain cells, while broader signals activate slower, widespread effects. This dual signaling system allows dopamine to simultaneously fine-tune individual neural connections and orchestrate complex behaviors like movement, decision-making, and learning. The implications are far-reaching. Dopamine system dysfunction plays a central role in a wide range of brain disorders, including Parkinson's disease, addiction, schizophrenia, ADHD and depression. Current treatments largely focus on restoring overall dopamine levels but this research suggests that the precision of dopamine signaling may be just as crucial. "We are really only at the tip of the iceberg in trying to understand how dysfunctions in dopamine contribute to diseases like Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia or addiction," said Ford. "More work is needed to grasp how these specific changes in dopamine signaling are affected in these different neurological and psychiatric diseases. The goal, of course, would then be to build on those findings to come up with new and improved treatments for those disorders." About the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus The University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is a world-class medical destination at the forefront of transformative science, medicine, education and patient care. The campus encompasses the University of Colorado health professional schools, more than 60 centers and institutes and two nationally ranked independent hospitals - UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital and Children's Hospital Colorado which see more than two million adult and pediatric patient visits yearly. Innovative, interconnected and highly collaborative, the CU Anschutz Medical Campus delivers life-changing treatments, patient care and professional training and conducts world-renowned research fueled by $910 million in annual research funding, including $757 million in sponsored awards and $153 million in philanthropic gifts. Find the latest University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus news here. Contact: Kelsea Pieters, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus 804-314-1360, [email protected] SOURCE University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus Company Also Ranks Best in Price and Best Product/Coverage Offerings EDMESTON, N.Y., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- NYCM Insurance has earned the top spot in the state, ranking #1 in customer satisfaction among New York auto insurers in the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Insurance Study. The company also holds the highest state ranking in Price for Coverage as well as Best Product/Coverage Offerings. NYCM Insurance Ranked #1 in Customer Satisfaction Among Auto Insurers in New York by J.D. Power "This recognition is an incredible honor and a clear reflection of our team's dedication to creating meaningful, positive experiences for our customers," said Cheryl Robinson, President and CEO of NYCM Insurance. "We are proud to celebrate this accomplishment alongside our team, who consistently shows up to offer care, hope, and courage with every interaction for our customers, agents, business partners, and one another." The J.D. Power U.S. Auto Insurance Study evaluates customer satisfaction with auto insurance providers across seven core dimensions: level of trust, price for coverage, people, ease of doing business, product/coverage offerings, problem resolution, and digital channels. The 2025 study is based on responses from 48,121 auto insurance customers and reflects data collected from May 2024 through April 2025. The 2025 study also found that while overall customer satisfaction is trending slightly lower than last year (down 2 points to 644 on a 1,000 point-scale), NYCM Insurance scored 652, 8 points higher than the industry average. "As we continue to advance a trusted digital experience, we remain committed to delivering thoughtful, reliable products that earn our customer's confidence in every interaction," added Robinson. To learn more about NYCM Insurance, click here . About NYCM: NYCM Insurance is a property and casualty insurance carrier that has been providing coverage to residents and businesses in New York since 1899. With a team of over 975 employees, and a network of over 1,400 independent agents, NYCM Insurance is dedicated to providing superior service and a quality customer experience to their over 645,000 customers. Insurance lines include Home, Auto, Umbrella and Business. About J.D. Power: J.D. Power is a global leader in consumer insights, advisory services and data and analytics. A pioneer in the use of big data, artificial intelligence (AI) and algorithmic modeling capabilities to understand consumer behavior, J.D. Power has been delivering incisive industry intelligence on customer interactions with brands and products for more than 55 years. The world's leading businesses across major industries rely on J.D. Power to guide their customer-facing strategies. J.D. Power has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific. To learn more about the company's business offerings, visit JDPower.com/business. The J.D. Power auto shopping tool can be found at JDPower.com. Contact: Kelly Pylinski, Brand Management Division Manager [email protected] 800-234-6926 SOURCE NYCM Insurance HOUSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Octagos, one of the fastest-growing remote cardiac monitoring platforms, today announced its selection for the Microsoft for Startups Pegasus Program - an elite, invite-only initiative for high-growth startups advancing innovation in AI, healthcare, and cybersecurity. Octagos now part of Microsoft for Startups Pegasus Program. Octagos is one of the only companies in the cardiac remote monitoring industry to be chosen for the program, gaining access to Microsoft's global enterprise ecosystem, go-to-market experts, and Microsoft Azure's secure, scalable, AI-optimized cloud infrastructure. The Pegasus collaboration is the latest in a series of bold strides for Octagos, cementing its place as an industry category-defining leader. Since 2020, Octagos has been on a relentless growth trajectory. Built by electrophysiology experts and trusted by over 300 clinical locations, the company has: Processed over 1 billion transmission report pages turning vast, fragmented data into timely, AI-enabled clinical reports enhanced by IBHRE-certified clinical specialists. Completed 200+ bi-directional EHR integrations, with full interoperability achieved in under four weeks on average. Delivered over 65% reduction in unnecessary transmissions at active clinics. "Being selected for the Microsoft for Startups Pegasus Program is a validation of our unique solution, AI-driven efficiency, and proven clinical impact," said Dr. Shanti Bansal, founder and CEO of Octagos. "This collaboration accelerates our mission to transform remote cardiac care and enhance the efficiency and quality of patient monitoring." "Octagos is exactly the kind of innovative company the Microsoft for Startups Pegasus Program was built to support," said Sally Ann Frank, Global Lead Health & Life Sciences, Microsoft for Startups. "Their AI-driven solution empowers providers with timely, actionable insights, advancing cardiac care and enabling faster, more effective interventions. We're proud to support their next stage of growth." Octagos' recent momentum includes the launch of the OctaLink Clinic Mobile App, real-time support for ambulatory monitors, heart failure diagnostics, and RPM systems, and deep investments in AI-enhanced clinical reporting and engineering infrastructure. To support this scale, the company has significantly expanded its executive team with key hires across commercial, AI, product, and customer success functions. It also secured institutional investment from Morgan Stanley, further powering its national expansion and technology roadmap. Participation in the Pegasus Program marks the next chapter in Octagos' story of transformative growth. By unifying cardiac data, reducing clinical burden, and elevating care, Octagos continues to shape the future of cardiac remote monitoring. About Octagos Octagos is redefining remote cardiac monitoring with AI-powered automation, seamless EHR integrations, and industry-leading accuracy. Our advanced Atlas AI technology delivers the most precise clinical reports, significantly reducing workload while enhancing patient care. With the fastest bi-directional integrations in the industry, clinics gain real-time access to critical data without extra costs or delays. Octagos' automation eliminates non-billable noise, streamlines workflows, and ensures every alert matters. Backed by cost-effective, contract-flexible solutions and secure data migration, we empower clinics to operate efficiently without compromise. Learn more at www.octagos.com . SOURCE Octagos Health, Inc. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has signed a decree appointing Olha Stefanishyna as the special representative of the President of Ukraine for the development of cooperation with the United States of America. "In this status, Olha will work to maintain momentum in relations with America while all due procedures for approving her candidacy for the position of Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States with Washington are ongoing," Zelenskyy said on Telegram on Thursday. He thanked Stefanishyna for her work in the direction of European and Euro-Atlantic integration. "This is successful work. Much has been achieved. In a few years, we have come a greater way of rapprochement with the European Union than in the previous few decades. Olga also participated in negotiations with the United States on a new format of our economic cooperation and the creation of the Ukrainian-American Investment Fund for Reconstruction. We will continue to work with America on this basis, adding mutually beneficial economic content to our political and diplomatic interaction," the president noted. Stefanishyna was born in 1985. In 2008, she graduated from the Faculty of International Law of the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, received the qualification of an international lawyer, translator in English, and in 2016 she received a specialist diploma in "Finance and Credit" from the Odesa National Economic University. From March to December 2017, she worked as the Director of the Government Office for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers. From December 2017 to September 2019, she worked as the Director General of the Government Office for Coordination of European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of the Secretariat. government In June 2020, she was appointed Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine, and on September 5, 2024, she also received the portfolio of Minister of Justice of Ukraine. She worked in this position until July 15, 2025. PHILADELPHIA, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Berger Montague PC advises investors that a securities class action lawsuit has been filed against Organon & Co. ("Organon" or the "Company") (NYSE: OGN) on behalf of purchasers of Organon securities between November 3, 2022 through April 30, 2025, inclusive (the "Class Period"). Investor Deadline: Investors who purchased or acquired Organon securities during the Class Period may, no later than JULY 22, 2025 , seek to be appointed as a lead plaintiff representative of the class. To learn your rights, CLICK HERE . According to the lawsuit, defendants failed to disclose that Organon faced a higher risk of loss of exclusivity and price erosion as to Nexplanon. Thus, Nexplanon sales growth was not as strong as defendants represented and would not reach $1 billion by the end of fiscal year 2025. As a result, Organon was likely not on track to achieve the $1 billion milestone payment from Merck & Co. on its Nexplanon sales. On May 1, 2025, investors learned the truth when Organon announced that management reset the Company's dividend payout from $0.28 per share to $0.02 per share. Organon's senior management explained that the Company had "reset our capital allocation priorities to accelerate progress towards deleveraging" and that "returning capital to shareholders is right now, less of a priority." On this news, the price of Organon stock declined $3.48 per share approximately 27% from a closing price of $12.93 per share on April 30, 2025 to a close of $9.45 per share on May 1, 2025. To learn your rights or for more information, CLICK HERE or please contact Berger Montague: Andrew Abramowitz at [email protected] or (215) 875-3015, or Caitlin Adorni at [email protected] or (267)764-4865. A lead plaintiff is a representative party who acts on behalf of all class members in directing the litigation. The lead plaintiff is usually the investor or small group of investors who have the largest financial interest and who are also adequate and typical of the proposed class of investors. The lead plaintiff selects counsel to represent the lead plaintiff and the class and these attorneys, if approved by the court, are lead or class counsel. Your ability to share in any recovery is not, however, affected by the decision whether or not to serve as a lead plaintiff. Communicating with any counsel is not necessary to participate or share in any recovery achieved in this case. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as a lead plaintiff through counsel of his/her choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an inactive class member. Berger Montague, with offices in Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Delaware, Washington, D.C., San Diego, San Francisco and Chicago, has been a pioneer in securities class action litigation since its founding in 1970. Berger Montague has represented individual and institutional investors for over five decades and serves as lead counsel in courts throughout the United States. Contact: Andrew Abramowitz, Senior Counsel Berger Montague (215) 875-3015 [email protected] Caitlin Adorni Berger Montague (267) 764-4865 [email protected] SOURCE Berger Montague ATLANTA, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Peach State Health Plan (PSHP) has invested $27.7 million in additional Medicaid benefits from 2022 through 2024. Known as Value-Added Benefits (VABs), this includes services and activities designed to encourage healthy behaviors, strengthen care connections, and improve overall access to support. They are meaningful, real-life resources that help the health plan's most vulnerable members stay covered, well, and supported. Some restrictions and limitations may apply. Over the past three years, 20% of PSHP's total VABs spending, or $5.4 million, was dedicated to vision care. Additional investments included $5.0 million for My Health Pays (Wellness Works), $4.3 million for Over-the-Counter (OTC) items, and $3.4 million for dental care. "Our mission is rooted in supporting the communities we serve," said Clyde White, President and CEO of Peach State Health Plan. "This investment is another way we are delivering on that promise, providing our members with resources that go beyond basic healthcare, so they can live healthier lives." This year's VABs portfolio reflects on PSHP's commitment to supporting members' day-to-day needs and placing a stronger focus on removing barriers to care especially those tied to social drivers of health (SDOH). From job training and mental health tools to emergency childcare, every benefit is a touchpoint that shows members that they matter, and that Medicaid means more. Here is some of what's included in PSHP's 20252026 benefit cycle: Up to six months of emergency childcare support provided through Quality Care for Children for eligible members facing urgent needs such as interviews, medical visits, or loss of care. New 24/7 mental health support through Pyx Health gives members free, anytime access to emotional check-ins, encouragement, and real human connection. Up to $240 each year to shop for everyday health essentials like cold medicine, toothpaste, and other care items at no cost through the Over-the-Counter (OTC) Benefit, making it easier to stay healthy while and stretch household budgets. each year to shop for everyday health essentials like cold medicine, toothpaste, and other care items at no cost through the Over-the-Counter (OTC) Benefit, making it easier to stay healthy while and stretch household budgets. School-Break Grocery Allowance: Provides eligible Medicaid families with a prepaid card to help cover the cost of healthy groceries when school meals aren't available. Free annual eye exam and $100 toward glasses, contacts or broken frames through our Vision Benefit. toward glasses, contacts or broken frames through our Vision Benefit. Work-Ready Scholarships which equips eligible members with career-boosting job training and certifications through Goodwill Industries, helping them gain in-demand skills and enter the workforce with confidence. "Peach State Health Plan is committed to going beyond traditional healthcare by addressing the everyday needs of our members," said Tara Freeney, Senior Director of Commercial Operations. "The investment in Value-Added Benefits reflects a dedication to improving quality of life across Georgia to meet members where they are and support healthier futures." PSHP's Value-Added Benefits are reviewed and updated every year for launch on July 1. To see a full list of available benefits, visit https://www.pshpgeorgia.com/value-added-services.html. About Peach State Health Plan Peach State Health Plan is a care management organization that serves the needs of Georgians through a range of health insurance solutions. Peach State Health Plan serves the Medicaid and PeachCare for Kids population in partnership with Georgia Families. The organization also focuses on under-insured and uninsured individuals through its federal insurance marketplace plan, Ambetter, and its Medicare Advantage Special Needs Plan. Peach State Health Plan is a Centene company, a leading healthcare enterprise committed to helping people live healthier lives. For more information visit www.pshpgeorgia.com. SOURCE Peach State Health Plan ST. LOUIS, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Post Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:POST), a consumer packaged goods holding company, today announced it will hold a conference call on Friday, August 8, 2025 at 9:00 a.m. ET to discuss financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 and fiscal year 2025 outlook and to respond to questions. Robert V. Vitale, President and Chief Executive Officer, Jeff A. Zadoks, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and Matthew J. Mainer, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, will participate in the call. Post also announced it plans to release its financial results for the third quarter after market close on Thursday, August 7, 2025. Interested parties may join the conference call by dialing (800) 445-7795 in the United States and (785) 424-1699 from outside of the United States. The conference identification number is POSTQ325. Interested parties are invited to listen to the webcast of the conference call, which can be accessed by visiting the Investors section of Post's website at www.postholdings.com. A replay of the conference call will be available through Friday, August 15, 2025 by dialing (800) 839-8292 in the United States and (402) 220-6069 from outside of the United States. A webcast replay also will be available for a limited period on Post's website in the Investors section. About Post Holdings, Inc. Post Holdings, Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is a consumer packaged goods holding company with businesses operating in the center-of-the-store, refrigerated, foodservice and food ingredient categories. Its businesses include Post Consumer Brands, Weetabix, Michael Foods and Bob Evans Farms. Post Consumer Brands is a leader in the North American branded and private label ready-to-eat cereal, pet food, peanut butter and pasta categories. Weetabix is home to the United Kingdom's number one selling ready-to-eat cereal brand, Weetabix. Michael Foods and Bob Evans Farms are leaders in refrigerated foods, delivering innovative, value-added egg and refrigerated potato side dish products to the foodservice and retail channels. For more information, visit www.postholdings.com. Contact: Investor Relations Daniel O'Rourke [email protected] (314) 806-3959 SOURCE Post Holdings, Inc. The long-term strategic partnership combines povo's digital telco leadership in Japan with Circles' global SaaS expertise to redefine mobile experiences worldwide TOKYO and SINGAPORE, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- KDDI Digital Life Corporation, a 100% subsidiary of KDDI Corporation, Japan's leading telecommunications company, and Circles, a global telco technology company, announced the expansion of their strategic partnership to bring the success of povo, Japan's leading digital telco, to international markets. Established for the brand management and operations of povo, KDDI Digital Life plays a key role in enabling KDDI Corporation's global growth plans. Tatsuya Hamada (left), CEO of KDDI Digital Life, and Deepak Gulati (right), President of Corporate and Industry Alliances at Circles, signed an agreement to expand the KDDI-Circles partnership and scale Japan's digital telco success worldwide, witnessed by Rameez Ansar (center), Co-Founder and CEO of Circles. Built on Circles' full-stack, cloud-native SaaS platform, povo has successfully created a third brand for KDDIa brand of the future that leads Japan in customer experience and digital innovation. Since its launch in 2021, povo has delivered exceptional results, including NPS scores over 50 points above industry averages, top customer satisfaction rankings, and over 1 million subscribers in its first year70% from outside the KDDI base. As telcos around the world continue to struggle with winning digitally, the challenge is universalbut so is the opportunity. With the right combination of technology and digital know-how, KDDI Digital Life and Circles are enabling a repeatable model for digital telco success. Through this extended partnership, Circles will power povo's international rollout by combining its full-stack SaaS platform and global launch expertise with povo's agile, customer-first model. A key focus is scaling the partnerships that made povo successful in Japan, including those in convenience retail, digital content and financial services. These proven innovations, along with AI-powered features like Xplore/Innovation Engine, an in-app innovation playground driving ARPU, and Xtend, a SDK-powered digital distribution model enabling enhanced connectivity and integration with ecosystem partners, will be localized to launch AI-native digital telcos with fresh customer experiences and agile product experimentations. This expanded partnership also introduces flexible commercial models, enabling Circles and KDDI Digital Life to work with operators of different sizes and stages. Key focus markets include the Americas and Southeast Asian countries. Beyond business growth, this move reflects KDDI's broader strategic ambitionto be part of the forward group of telcos shaping the future of the industry through digital transformation. Beyond platform integration and product rollout, the partnership will emphasize long-term knowledge exchange and innovation. Both companies will collaborate on best practices in telco-to-techco digital transformation, customer experience enhancement, AI adoption and telco ecosystem development. By combining KDDI Digital Life's market leadership in Japan with Circles' global insights, the partnership sets the foundation for continuous evolution and innovation as povo enters new markets. Tatsuya Hamada, CEO, KDDI Digital Life, said, "This is an exciting step in our vision to take povo to a wider global audience. As one of Japan's most well-loved digital telcos, povo has delivered outstanding customer experiences and proven the strength of our Data-driven model. With a clear vision for povo anchored in AI-nization and Hyper-personalization, our expanded partnership with Circles not only helps us scale globallybut also enhances our ability to deliver even more intelligent, personalized, and customer-first digital experiences." Deepak Gulati, President of Corporate and Industry Alliances, Circles, said, "We are proud to support KDDI and KDDI Digital Life in taking povo to the world. povo is one of the most compelling examples of Japanology in actiona digital telco born in Japan, shaped by deep collaboration between KDDI and Circles, and now ready to scale globally. It is Data-driven, customer-first, and built for agility. Together with KDDI and KDDI Digital Life, we have shown what's possible when the right technology and digital expertise come togetherand now, we are excited to scale this blueprint for the future of telco to new markets." About Circles Founded in 2014, Circles is a global technology company reimagining the telco industry with its innovative SaaS platform, empowering telco operators worldwide to effortlessly launch innovative digital brands or refresh existing ones, accelerating their transformation into techcos. Today, Circles partners with leading telco operators across 14 countries and 6 continents, including KDDI Corporation, Etisalat Group (e&), AT&T, and Telkomsel, creating blueprints for future telco and digital experiences enjoyed by millions of consumers globally. Circles is backed by renowned global investors, including Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia), Warburg Pincus, Founders Fund, and EDBI (the investment arm of the Singapore Economic Development Board), with a track record of backing industry challengers. For more information, visit www.circles.co. About KDDI Corporation KDDI Corporation is a premier telecommunications company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1984, KDDI is recognized for its commitment to innovation and excellence in the field of digital connectivity. The company provides a comprehensive range of services, including mobile communications, fixed-line services, and internet solutions, catering to both individual consumers and businesses. KDDI's mission is to leverage cutting-edge technology to enhance communication and connectivity, contributing to a more connected and convenient world. About KDDI Digital Life KDDI Digital Life represents KDDI's strategic initiative to expand beyond traditional telecommunications and embrace a broader digital ecosystem. Launched as part of KDDI's vision to innovate and enrich user experiences, KDDI Digital Life focuses on integrating advanced digital solutions and services that enhance everyday life. This initiative includes leveraging next-generation technologies, fostering partnerships, and creating new digital offerings that align with modern lifestyles. KDDI Digital Life aims to drive transformative changes in how users interact with technology, making digital experiences more seamless, engaging, and impactful. SOURCE Circles Dr. David Jeremiah Issues Statement on the Passing of John MacArthur SAN DIEGO, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Another giant of the faith has gone home to be with the Lord. My friend and fellow pastor John MacArthur, who dedicated his life to biblical exposition, is now in the presence of our Lord and Savior. John exemplified dedication and tenacity throughout his 60+ years of ministry, including 56 years as pastor of Grace Community Church, 48 years in managing his Grace to You broadcast programming, and his years serving at The Master's University and The Master's Seminary. He lived a life of unwavering devotion to Christ, and his years of service in the ministry will undoubtedly leave a legacy. While we mourn the loss of our friend and colleague in the faith, we stand on God's promise that "to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord," and we rejoice in this knowledge, praying it brings comfort to his family, friends, and congregation. Please join me in praying for the MacArthur family, Grace Community Church, The Master's University, The Master's Seminary, and all their extended family and friends as they grieve and navigate the days ahead. May the Lord heal the brokenhearted, comfort them in their affliction, and may the knowledge that He is with them and that John's hope is now a reality turn their mourning into joy. Dr. David Jeremiah is a renowned Bible teacher, New York Times bestselling author, and founder/host of Turning Point Broadcast Ministry. With forty years of ministry and "just getting started," his teaching has led to the creation of the Prophecy Academy , OVERCOMER, Airship Genesis , PassagesTV, Why the Nativity? , and PerhapsToday , to name a few. About Turning Point Turning Point Ministries was founded in 1982 as Dr. David Jeremiah's broadcast ministry to deliver the unchanging Word of God to an ever-changing world. More than four decades later, with a multimedia network featuring radio, television, online programming, magazines, and books, Turning Point reaches people around the globe with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. Turning Point is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization wholly supported by patrons and not underwritten by any church or organization. SOURCE Turning Point Ministries CASTRIES, Saint Lucia, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- PrimeXBT, a leading multi-asset broker, has partnered with Theo Wassenaar Primary School in Robertsham, Johannesburg, to help expand access to quality education. The school plays a vital role in the local community, supporting children from a range of socio-economic backgrounds through an inclusive and engaging learning environment. This collaboration reflects PrimeXBT's commitment to education and social impact, with initiatives planned towards direct student support, community engagement, and infrastructure development. PrimeXBT As part of this partnership, PrimeXBT is providing funding for the school to support classroom upgrades, including multimedia projectors, as well as tuition sponsorship creating equal learning opportunities for unprivileged children. This aligns with the company's broader mission to empower young people through education. "Education is one of the most powerful tools we have to shape a better future," said Sihle Tuta, Head of Region at PrimeXBT South Africa. "Through partnerships like this, we're not only supporting students across South Africa, we're reinforcing our global commitment to helping communities through access to learning and development." This recent contribution builds on other meaningful community-driven initiatives by PrimeXBT. These include a back-to-school program supporting underprivileged children in underserved communities by donating towards essential school supplies and promoting healthy nutrition in Mexico via Fundacion Dibujando un Manana; scholarships for university students in Vietnam via the Be Better Foundation; and a contribution to the Save Elephant Foundation, an organization dedicated to rescuing and rehabilitating exploited and mistreated animals in Thailand. As PrimeXBT continues to expand its reach, the broker remains focused on creating long-term value not only for traders, but also for the communities around the world. Its CSR efforts reflect this dedication, supporting initiatives that foster resilience, inclusion, and sustainable growth. To learn more, users can visit the PrimeXBT website. About PrimeXBT PrimeXBT is a global multi-asset broker trusted by over 1,000,000 traders in 150+ countries, offering a next-generation trading experience that bridges traditional and digital finance. Clients can trade CFDs on Stocks, Indices, Commodities and Crypto, as well as Crypto Futures and Forex. PrimeXBT also enables clients to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, store them in secure built-in wallets, and instantly exchange crypto to crypto or fiat to crypto, all within one integrated environment. Since 2018, PrimeXBT has made investing more accessible by lowering barriers to entry and providing secure, easy access to financial markets. This accessibility extends across its native web and mobile platforms, MetaTrader 5, and a variety of funding options in crypto, fiat, and local payment methods. Committed to putting clients first, PrimeXBT empowers traders of all levels with innovative tools and industry-leading conditions, delivering a better way to trade. Disclaimer: The content provided here is for informational purposes only and is not intended as personal investment advice and does not constitute a solicitation or invitation to engage in any financial transactions, investments, or related activities. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. The financial products offered by the Company are complex and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. These products may not be suitable for all investors. Before engaging, you should consider whether you understand how these leveraged products work and whether you can afford the high risk of losing your money. The Company does not accept clients from the Restricted Jurisdictions as indicated on its website / T&Cs. Some products and services, including MT5, may not be available in your jurisdiction. The applicable legal entity and its respective products and services depend on the client's country of residence and the entity with which the client has established a contractual relationship during registration. Contact PrimeXBT [email protected] Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2733231/PrimeXBT_Partners.jpg SOURCE PrimeXBT CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Quaker Houghton (NYSE: KWR) today announced the following schedule and contact information for its second quarter 2025 earnings release and investor call. Earnings Release: Thursday, July 31, 2025 (after market close) Visit the investor relations portion of Quaker Houghton's website at https://investors.quakerhoughton.com/ Teleconference: Friday, August 1, 2025, at 8:30 a.m. (ET) Participate live by phone or listen to live audio webcast through the investor relations portion of Quaker Houghton's website at https://investors.quakerhoughton.com/ Dial-in Number: +1-877-269-7756 (toll-free) +1-201-689-7817 (toll) Please call 5-10 minutes prior to the scheduled start of the call. No password required. If unable to participate live, select from one of the following replay options: Digital Replay: Available through August 15, 2025 Call +1-877-660-6853 (toll free) or +1-201-612-7415 (toll) Conference ID No. 13754091 Archived Webcast: Visit the investor relations portion of Quaker Houghton's website at https://investors.quakerhoughton.com/ About QUAKER HOUGHTON Quaker Houghton is the global leader in industrial process fluids. With a presence around the world, including operations in over 25 countries, our customers include thousands of the world's most advanced and specialized steel, aluminum, automotive, aerospace, offshore, container, mining, and metalworking companies. Our high-performing, innovative and sustainable solutions are backed by best-in-class technology, deep process knowledge and customized services. With approximately 4,400 employees, including chemists, engineers and industry experts, we partner with our customers to improve their operations so they can run even more efficiently, even more effectively, whatever comes next. Quaker Houghton is headquartered in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, located near Philadelphia in the United States. Visit quakerhoughton.com to learn more. SOURCE Quaker Houghton NEW YORK, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP announces that it is investigating REX American Resources Corporation (NYSE: REX) on behalf of the company's shareholders. The investigation seeks to determine whether REX American Resources Corporation's directors breached their fiduciary duties in connection with recent corporate actions. If you are a shareholder of REX American Resources Corporation and are interested in obtaining additional information about your rights and options, please visit us at: https://pjlfirm.com/rex-american-resources-corporation/ You may also contact Robert H. Lefkowitz, Esq. either via email at [email protected] or by telephone at 212-725-1000. One of our attorneys will personally speak with you about the case at no cost or obligation. Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP is a law firm exclusively committed to representing shareholders nationwide who are victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty and other types of corporate misconduct. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit https://pjlfirm.com. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. SOURCE Purcell & Lefkowitz LLP With USD 2.5 billion raised this year, PDG positions itself to accelerate scale by organic growth and M&A SINGAPORE, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Princeton Digital Group (PDG), Asia Pacific's leading data center operator, today announced the signing of a definitive agreement with Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets. The firm will make a preferred equity investment of USD 1.3 billion in PDG to support its continued expansion across Asia Pacific. This investment follows PDG's recently announced USD 1.2 billion debt financing. Together, Stonepeak's investment and the recent debt financing bring the total capital raised by PDG in 2025 to USD 2.5 billion across equity and debt, reinforcing the company's position as a leading provider of hyperscale infrastructure in Asia. With a current portfolio of over 1.1 gigawatts across six countries, PDG is one of the region's largest and fastest-growing data center platforms. With marquee global investorsWarburg Pincus, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Mubadala, and now StonepeakPDG is uniquely positioned with long-term backing from some of the world's most respected capital partners. Stonepeak's long-term capital will support the company's next phase of growth, including both greenfield development and M&A, across both established and emerging Asia Pacific markets. Warburg Pincus will continue to be PDG's largest shareholder. "This milestone investment from Stonepeak is a strong endorsement of PDG's strategy, execution, and sustained value creation," said Rangu Salgame, Chairman, CEO and Co-founder of PDG. "Stonepeak shares our deep conviction in the unprecedented growth of AI and cloud across Asia Pacific. With this partnership, PDG is uniquely positioned to scale with speed, continue being the trusted provider to the world's most demanding hyperscalers, and further consolidate its position as a market leader in the region." "PDG has established itself as one of the clear leaders among digital infrastructure platforms in the Asia Pacific region. The company's track record of execution, top-tier management team, and significant power bank in critical hub markets in APAC positions it well to serve the continued demand from hyperscalers and AI-driven platforms in the region," said Andrew Thomas, Senior Managing Director at Stonepeak. "This investment is a quality fit for our Asia infrastructure strategy, and we look forward to partnering with PDG's management team, Warburg Pincus and existing shareholders to propel the company's next phase of growth." Ellen Ng, Co-Head of Asia Real Estate at Warburg Pincus, said, "As a founding investor of PDG we've always believed in the founders' vision and exceptional execution capabilities and supported the company's evolution into Asia's preeminent data center platform. This latest investment by Stonepeak is a strong validation of PDG's market leadership and long-term strategy. As PDG's largest shareholder, we are excited to welcome a like-minded partner to help propel the company into its next phase of growth, supporting the surging demand for AI and cloud infrastructure across the region." PDG is being advised by Goldman Sachs and J.P. Morgan, and Latham & Watkins as legal counsel. Barclays is serving as financial advisor and Sidley Austin LLP is serving as legal counsel to Stonepeak. About Princeton Digital Group Princeton Digital Group (PDG) is a leading developer and operator of Internet infrastructure. Headquartered in Singapore with presence and operations in Singapore, Japan, India, Indonesia, China, and Malaysia, its portfolio of data centers powers the expansion of hyperscalers and enterprises in the fastest-growing digital economies across Asia. For more information, visit www.princetondg.com or follow us on LinkedIn. About Stonepeak Stonepeak is a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets with approximately $73 billion of assets under management. Through its investment in defensive, hard-asset businesses globally, Stonepeak aims to create value for its investors and portfolio companies, with a focus on downside protection and strong risk-adjusted returns. Stonepeak, as sponsor of private equity and credit investment vehicles, provides capital, operational support, and committed partnership to grow investments in its target sectors, which include transport and logistics, digital infrastructure, energy and energy transition, and real estate. Stonepeak is headquartered in New York with offices in Houston, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh. For more information, please visit www.stonepeak.com. For more information please contact: Princeton Digital Group Selena Sheikh [email protected] Finn Partners for Princeton Digital Group [email protected] Kate Beers / Maya Brounstein for Stonepeak [email protected] +1 (646) 540-5225 SOURCE Princeton Digital Group New Laws Enhance School Bus Safety, Free Speech on the Job PROVIDENCE, R.I., July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Rhode Island Teamsters are celebrating Governor Daniel McKee's signing of two laws that protect workers throughout the state. H5506A/S126A bans mandatory attendance at captive audience meetings, which are employer-sponsored presentations filled with anti-union propaganda designed to discourage organizing efforts. The second, H5421A/S568A, requires all school buses in Rhode Island to be equipped with outward-facing video systems to protect all students and workers on board the vehicles. "These are huge victories for Rhode Island Teamsters and working families across the state," said Matt Taibi, Secretary-Treasurer of Teamsters Local 251. "Because of our efforts, workplace democracy is emboldened, and more people's lives are going to be saved." As a result of the Teamsters' relentless advocacy, there are now 13 states that ban or restrict captive audience meetings: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington. H5421A/S568A is the latest school bus safety bill that was enacted thanks to Local 251. Rhode Island Teamsters got laws passed that provide school bus workers with prevailing wage standards, a guaranteed 180 paid school days, and protection from arbitrary removal by school districts. The union also successfully lobbied to include workers' protections in the creation of a commission last year that was formed to improve the statewide student transportation system. "Today we celebrate, but let's be clear: we're not done," Taibi said. "We still have many other legislative priorities, and our fight continues until every one of them is law." Teamsters Local 251 represents over 6,300 workers in a wide variety of industries throughout Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts. For more information, go to teamsterslocal251.org. Contact: Matt McQuaid, (771) 241-0015 [email protected] SOURCE Teamsters Local 251 President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has invited the representative of Ukraine to the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community, Vsevolod Chentsov, to come to Kyiv in the coming days, when changes will take place in the Ukrainian government. "Meeting with Vsevolod Chentsov, the representative of our state to the European Union. I invited him to come to Kyiv in these very days, during the change of the government configuration. We will strengthen our steps in the direction of European integration," Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram on Thursday, illustrating the post with joint photos. As reported, Zelenskyy previously announced the expansion of the capabilities of Ukrainian diplomacy after a meeting with ambassadors scheduled for Monday, July 21, without specifying details. "There was a report by the Minister of Foreign Affairs on the meeting with all Ukrainian ambassadors, which is scheduled for July 21. We have identified clear tasks for diplomats and some reform steps in the system of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs - the Minister will present them. We are preparing a significant expansion of the capabilities of Ukrainian diplomacy," he said. Later, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Sybiha announced that Zelensky intends to remove the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States Oksana Markarova from the position she has held since February 25, 2021, and also replace all Ukrainian ambassadors to the G7 and G20 countries. According to him, there will be about 20 presidential decrees on the replacement of Ukrainian ambassadors after the meeting scheduled for July 21. LITLINGTON, England, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- A recent research article backed by Cheyney Design and Development, a leader in X-ray inspection and imaging technologies, presents a revolutionary perspective on the nature of light. The article, published in Annals of Physics (an Elsevier journal) by Dr. Dhiraj Sinha, a faculty member at Plaksha University, shows that Einstein's theory of photons has its origins in Maxwell's electromagnetic fields. It dismantles a century-old scientific belief that photons are not physically linked to electromagnetic field theory pioneered by the great Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell. The research is based on a prior discovery on electromagnetic radiation published in Physical Review Letters, which was funded by Cheyney. It offered a unified theoretical framework on radiation from radio to optical frequencies while using the argument that radiation is generated due to the broken symmetry of the electromagnetic field. It serves as a testimony to the company's commitment to nurturing transformational scientific discoveries. Electromagnetic field excitation of electrons (Image: Google Gemini) The physical nature of light is an intriguing scientific mystery as it behaves like a wave in free space and as a particle when it interacts with matter. The theoretical work on light as an electromagnetic wave by Maxwell in 1865 was empirically validated by Heinrich Hertz in 1887. However, the broad scientific consensus on light was shattered within a decade. Experiments on the photoelectric effect where electrons are generated as light strikes a metal contradicted Maxwell's theory on light. Albert Einstein in 1905 presented the heuristic argument that light can be considered to be made of particles or photons with energy proportional to its frequency. It could explain the empirical observation that energy of electrons is linearly dependent on the frequency of light in the photoelectric effect. The idea found acceptance and the dual nature of light forms the current basis of our phenomenological interpretation of light. Dr. Sinha has attempted to transform the century-old belief by showing that Maxwell's electromagnetic field theory can explain the interaction between light and electrons. The recent article highlights the role of time varying magnetic field of light, which generates an electric potential in space. Dr. Sinha argues that an electron is energised by the electric potential of light, which is mathematically defined as dj/dt where j is the magnetic flux of radiation and t is time. It implies that the net energy transfer to an electron of charge e is W=edj/dt. Transforming the expression of energy to frequency domain or phasor representation gives the energy of an electron as ejw, where w is angular frequency of light. Dr. Sinha argues that it is similar to Einstein's expression for the energy of a photon w, where is reduced Planck's constant. Thus, light energises electrons according to the Maxwell-Faraday equation of classical electromagnetism. The theoretical framework finds support from experimental observations on magnetic flux quantisation in superconducting loops and two-dimensional electron gas systems. The fact that the quantum nature of light has origins in Maxwell's electromagnetic fields is revolutionary. A number of physicists have come out in support of Dr. Sinha. Richard Muller, Professor of Physics at University of California Berkeley, and Faculty Senior Scientist at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, commented, "The ideas are intriguing and they address the most fundamental of the unexplained issues of quantum physics including the particle/wave duality and the meaning of measurement." Jorge Hirsch, professor of physics at University of California, San Diego wrote a letter of support to the editorial board members. Steven Verrall, former faculty member at University of Wisconsin La Crosse said, "Dr. Sinha provides a new semiclassical approach to modelling quantum systems. I also think that his unique approach may ultimately add valuable insights to the continued development of semiclassical effective field theories in low energy physics." Lawrence Horwitz, professor emeritus at the University of Tel Aviv pointed, "This article is indeed a valuable contribution to the theory of photons and electrons." Dr. Sinha's discovery offers a novel theoretical pathway towards developing integrated radio and photonic devices by seamlessly merging the principles of classical electromagnetism into modern photonic devices. It will have far-reaching consequences on technologies like solar cells, lasers and light emitting diodes which exclusively rely on the principles of quantum mechanics. It creates a completely new orbit and transformative pathway towards new radio and photonics technologies. Dr. Dhiraj Sinha added, "The work started during my doctoral years at the University of Cambridge and early support from Cheyney was critical. It took a transformational turn during my postdoctoral work at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The empirical results obtained through extensive experiments across a broad spectrum of radio and optical frequencies led to the discovery of the missing theoretical link between the ideas of Einstein and Maxwell." Additional Information Sinha, D. Electrodynamic excitation of electrons. Annals of Physics, 473, 169893 (2025). Sinha, D. & Amaratunga, G. A. Electromagnetic radiation under explicit symmetry breaking. Physical review letters, 114, 147701 (2015). About Cheyney Design & Development Ltd Cheyney Design & Development Ltd, Litlington, UK, founded by Richard Parmee, is at the forefront of innovations in X-ray inspection technology. Its patented, cutting-edge technology and advanced stochastic algorithms position it as a technical leader in the X-ray inspection arena. Cheyney is dedicated to supporting early-stage innovations with transformative potential in science and engineering. Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2733307/Electromagnetic_electrons.jpg SOURCE Cheyney Design and Development Ltd. NEW YORK, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Why: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of securities of Vestis Corporation (NYSE: VSTS) between May 2, 2024 and May 6, 2025, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important August 8, 2025 lead plaintiff deadline. So What: If you purchased Vestis 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 Vestis class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=25291 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for more information. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than August 8, 2025. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Why Rosen Law: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. 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, defendants provided overwhelmingly positive statements to investors while, at the same time, disseminating materially false and misleading statements and/or concealing material adverse facts concerning the true state of Vestis' ability to grow its business; notably that Vestis would be unable to execute on planned strategic initiatives to drive purported improvements to the customer experience and its onboarding efforts in order to drive new customer growth, increased customer retention, and increased revenue from existing customers. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages. To join the Vestis class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=25291 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] for more information. No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff. Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Laurence Rosen, Esq. Phillip Kim, Esq. The Rosen Law Firm, P.A. 275 Madison Avenue, 40th 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. BIRMINGHAM, Ala., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Vulcan Materials Company (NYSE: VMC) will host its second quarter 2025 earnings conference call on Thursday, July 31, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. CT (11:00 a.m. ET). Financial results will be released before the NYSE market opens. The Company invites investors and other interested parties to listen to the live webcast of the conference call at www.vulcanmaterials.com. To participate by phone, call 800-343-4136 approximately 10 minutes before the scheduled start. For international calls, the number is 203-518-9843. The conference ID is 9512587. A replay of the webcast will be available after the call at the Company's website. Vulcan Materials Company, a member of the S&P 500 index with headquarters in Birmingham, Alabama, is the nation's largest supplier of construction aggregates primarily crushed stone, sand and gravel and a major producer of aggregates-based construction materials, including asphalt and ready-mixed concrete. For additional information about Vulcan, go to www.vulcanmaterials.com. Investor Contact: Mark Warren (205) 298-3220 Media Contact: Jack Bonnikson (205) 298-3220 SOURCE Vulcan Materials Company Wynn championed the region's talents and its exceptional hospitality with a week of unique gatherings and a glittering awards event MACAU, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace served as the Official Host Partner for the highly anticipated Asia's 50 Best Bars 2025 awards, while also presenting a diverse program of drinks-focused events in the week surrounding the ceremony on July 15. This marked a significant milestone as Macao welcomed the prestigious event for the first time, bringing together the region's most talented bartenders and chefs alongside drinks industry professionals and media from around the world to celebrate the best in modern cocktail culture. The Asias 50 Best Bars awards ceremony was successfully held at Wynn Palace on July 15. Bartender's Feast Wing Lei Bar, Tell Camellia and Bar US served signature cocktails at this years Bartenders Feast, held at the elegant Wynn Palace Event Marquee. The Asia's 50 Best Bars awards ceremony, held in the opulent Wynn Palace Grand Theater, welcomed guests with red carpet photo opportunities and a vibrant cocktail reception. As the year's list of Asia's 50 Best Bars was revealed, attendees had the chance to sample signature drinks crafted by world-renowned brands and mixologists. Wing Lei Bar, Tell Camellia and Bar US showcased their signature cocktails at this year's Bartenders' Feast, an annual tradition held the night before the main event, held at the elegant Wynn Palace Event Marquee. While as part of the lead up to the ceremony, Meet the Bartenders event offered an exclusive chance for media from around the globe to connect with regional bar stars. The week culminated in the spirited Closing Party held at Wynn Palace's Fontana with a stunning view across Performance Lake, where guests were treated to a buffet feast and sips by Wing Lei Bar together with Cosmo Pony and The Curator alongside a special dragon's beard candy booth operated by Macao's famous Yau Kei Candy, offering a taste of this traditional Macanese treat. In the week-long celebration from July 11 to July 15, Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace opened its signature drinking and dining destinations to takeovers from the world's top talents, offering patrons exclusive chances to sample exceptional food and beverage from leading names in hospitality. An exciting lineup of more than 25 guest chef and mixologist events including bar takeovers and pop-ups showcased the region's thriving bar scene and its innovative spirit. A few highlights include Inventors' Laboratory, which brought together bar industry icons Julio Bermejo (creator of Tommy's Margarita) and Sam Ross (creator of the Penicillin and Paper Plane) for an unforgettable evening of innovative drinks; while North American West Coast Road Trip, a cocktail-driven journey through some of Canada and USA's best with bartending teams from Laowai, Thunderbolt, and Pacific Cocktail Haven. Wing Lei Bar Aperitivo Canto presented by Campari featured drinks from Bar Sathorn, Opium, Bar S-OTTO, Bar Leone, Moebius and Idle Hands, plus Cantonese fusion snacks by Cantonese master chef Tam Kwok Fung; and the Best of British united bartending legends from Wing Lei Bar, Schofield's Bar, Kwant Mayfair and Hey Palu for an evening of UK cocktail excellence at Palace Reserve Club. Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace have once again demonstrated their dedication to excellence in hospitality and mixology, solidifying their status as premier destinations for world-class events. This is also as a testament to Wynn's ongoing efforts to elevate Macao's status as a "Creative City of Gastronomy". The team looks forward to future collaborations that will continue to highlight the finest in culinary and cocktail arts. For more information about the restaurants and bars at Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace, please visit: https://www.wynnresortsmacau.com/en For media enquiries, please contact: The Foundry Asia Sophie Steiner Senior Branding & Communications Manager, The Foundry Asia (Shanghai, Regional) E: [email protected] M: +86 185 2171 0484 Ian Fan Head of Brands & Communications, The Foundry Asia (Hong Kong, Regional) E: [email protected] M: +852 9819 8595 Germaine Woon Founder, Managing Director, The Foundry Asia (Singapore, Regional) E: [email protected] M: +65 91016680 Wynn Macau & Wynn Palace Cheryl Huang, Assistant Vice President Brand Marketing E: [email protected] T: +853 8986 5239 Sofia Lou, Senior Manager Public Relations E: [email protected] T: +853 8986 5251 Elsa Ho, Manager Public Relations E: [email protected] T: +853 8986 5256 SOURCE Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace New Video Showcases CEO Bill O'Boyle's Success Story, Highlighting Zebra's Role in Business Expansion CHARLOTTE, N.C., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Zebra Systems LLC, a leading Cloud Services and value-added distributor, has released a compelling new video that showcases its commitment to service excellence. Zebra Systems North American LLC North State - CEO Testimonial Featuring Bill O'Boyle, CEO of North State Cyber Solutions, the video highlights how Zebra Systems' customer-focused approach enabled a 37% growth for his company. After acquiring Frugal Brothers Software Group in July 2024, O'Boyle faced the challenge of scaling while maintaining exceptional service. "The only way to really succeed is to make sure you can provide exceptional customer service. That's the thing that you can control," he states. Zebra Systems' flexibility and comprehensive services have been pivotal, acting as a seamless extension of North State's team. "Zebra allowed us to fulfil that obligation and fulfil that mission; they are a true extension of our team, and that makes it much easier for us to grow our business," O'Boyle notes. Since switching to Zebra Systems as their distributor, North State Cyber Solutions has achieved a remarkable 37% business growth. O'Boyle attributes this success to Zebra's ability to streamline processes, from sales to billing. "Our business has grown by 37% since switching from our previous distributor to Zebra, that's because they've been able to help facilitate a lot of these sales and make them go smoother and quicker," he explains. Zebra Systems's efficient support ensures resellers like North State can focus on nurturing client relationships and exploring new technology needs without delays that could harm customer experiences. The video also highlights the synergy between Zebra Systems and GFI Software, whose simple, cost-effective solutions complement Zebra's offerings. O'Boyle praises GFI's value, stating, "GFI offers value through competitive price points, simple to use products that are easy to manage from an IT perspective. They create a seamless experience for the client." This partnership enables resellers to deliver straightforward, high-value solutions, fostering business growth. "The combination of GFI and Zebra is really about simplicity and growth," O'Boyle adds, emphasizing the ease of scaling with these partners. Paul Trefonas, Vice President North America of Zebra Systems, responds to O'Boyle's praise: "We're thrilled to hear Bill O'Boyle's success story at North State Cyber Solutions. At Zebra, we strive to empower our partners with seamless processes and top-notch support, enabling them to deliver exceptional service. Our webshop also enables resellers to quickly place orders 24/7. Bill's 37% growth is a testament to our shared commitment to client success." Zebra's dedication to responsive support and simplified operations sets it apart as a trusted partner for resellers worldwide. The video serves as a powerful testament to Zebra's Service Excellence, showcasing how its solutions and partnerships drive measurable results. Resellers seeking to enhance their customer service and streamline operations are encouraged to explore Zebra's offerings. Call to Action: Watch the full video at this link to see how Zebra empowers businesses. About Zebra Systems LLC: Zebra Systems LLC North America distinguishes itself as a forward-looking force in the IT sector, delivering customized solutions through strategic technology alliances and an extensive suite of services. Driven by a deep commitment to client success, continuous innovation, and the expertise of its skilled team, Zebra Systems enables its US partners to thrive amid rapid technological change. This strong combination of flexibility, knowledge, and customer focus positions Zebra Systems as a premier, competitive distributor in the North American market. Media Contact : Marleen Schonewille Sales Manager, Zebra Systems North America [email protected] 1 (704) 286-9649 www.zebra-systems.com SOURCE Zebra Systems North America Malta looks forward to further collaboration with China: Malta's deputy prime minister Pub Date:25-07-17 10:35 Source:Xinhua Malta looks forward to further collaboration with China, said Ian Borg, Malta's deputy prime minister and minister for foreign affairs and tourism, in a recent interview with Xinhua. Produced by Xinhua Global Service Editor:Qin Shuying Related News New Quality Productive Forces Surge Forwar... China-Mongolia border port handles 2,000 C... Xinhua Commentary: Chinese economy forges ... Update: China reports surge in foreign vis... The Ministry of Social Policy has warned that a new fraudulent scheme is spreading online under the guise of "Student Package" assistance. "The attackers are sending out messages about the alleged start of the payment and collecting parents' bank details. We officially inform you that the initiative is still being tested, the final refinements are underway to ensure that the program is launched as efficiently and efficiently as possible. We will announce the launch of the program as soon as everything is ready (don't worry - it will happen on time so that everyone has time to prepare for school). At that time, we will also share detailed instructions on how to use the "Student Package," - the ministry's message says. The department emphasized that parents who have registered their child for the first grade of a Ukrainian school and are users of Diia will receive a corresponding notification after the start of the initiative. "Therefore, we warn parents and representatives of this year's "first-graders" not to click on dubious links and not to provide their personal data", - the message says. As reported, on July 7, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine launched the "Student Package" payment in the amount of UAH 5,000 for the purchase of necessary stationery, books, children's clothes and shoes for those who send their child to first grade in an offline format. Every Ukrainian family will be able to receive the "Student Package", the application will be submitted through "Diya", and the money can be spent exclusively in a non-cash form, paying by card for those things that are necessary for school. The "Student Package" will be available after the parents enroll the child in school, the school system will transfer this information to the Pension Fund, after which people will receive a push notification in Diia that they can receive such assistance. Then they confirm the application and money is credited to their special virtual card. The Ministry of Social Policy stated that the task of the "Student Package" program is to encourage families raising children to stay in Ukraine. 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 Photo: https://t.me/Denys_Smyhal/ The Verkhovna Rada appointed Denys Shmyhal to the post of Minister of Defense of Ukraine. Some 267 deputies voted for his candidacy, submitted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, at a parliamentary meeting on Thursday. Shmyhal replaced the former head of the department Rustem Umerov as Minister of Defense, who held this position since September 6, 2023. As the president noted earlier, strategic industries will now be managed through the Ministry of Defense. Shmyhal was born in Lviv in 1975. In 1997, he graduated from the Lviv Polytechnic State University with a degree in management in the production sector (mechanical engineering), and in 2003 he became a PhD in economic sciences. In 1995-2009, he worked in senior positions at Lviv enterprises: from 2009 to 2013 he held positions in the Lviv Regional State Administration, and in 2014 he became Deputy Head of the Main Department of the Ministry of Revenues of Lviv region. From 2015 to 2017, he was an adviser, Vice President, director general, member of the supervisory board of Lvivkholod LLC, and in 2017-2019 - Deputy Director General for Social Affairs of DTEK Zakhidenergo PJSC, Director of DTEK Burshtynska TPP, Acting Deputy General Director for Social Affairs of DTEK Zakhidenergo PJSC. From August 2019 to February 2020, he held the position of head of Ivano-Frankivsk Regional State Administration. He began his career in the government on February 4, 2020, as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine. On March 4, 2020, he was appointed as Prime Minister of Ukraine. At the time of his resignation, Shmyhal had been prime minister for five years and four months, which is longer than any other head of government in independent Ukraine. For 2018, Shmyhal declared UAH 3.6 million in income, for 2019 - UAH 3.4 million in income, for 2020 - UAH 664,000 in income, for 2021 - UAH 698,000 in income, for 2022 - UAH 901,000 in income, for 2023 - UAH 975,000 in income, and for 2024 - UAH 1.2 million in income. The online broadcast of the Ukrainian parliament session on YouTube is being conducted by MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak (Holos faction). Srinagar, July 17 : As a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of the Yatris, authorities on Thursday did not allow any movement of pilgrims from Jammu to Kashmir and also from the two base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam towards the cave shrine. Officials said, "Due to adverse weather advisory predicting heavy rain along the Yatra route from Jammu to the Valley and also from the twin base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam to the holy cave shrine, no movement of Yatris will be allowed today from Jammu to Srinagar or from the two base camps towards the holy cave shrine". The Meteorological (MeT) department has forecast widespread light to moderate rain in Kashmir and heavy to very heavy rain in the Jammu division during the next 24 hours. Officials said since the Yatra started this year on July 3, in the last 14 days, over 2.37 lakh Yatris had 'darshan' inside the cave shrine. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said that, given the response and the enthusiasm of the pilgrims, this year's Amarnath Yatra is likely to cross the 3.50 lakh figure expected so far. Bhumi Pujan of 'Chhari Mubarak' (Lord Shiva's Holy Mace) was performed at Pahalgam on July 10. The Chhari Mubarak was taken to Pahalgam by a group of seers led by the sole custodian of the Chhari Mubarak, Mahant Swami Deependra Giri, from its seat at the Dashnami Akhara Building in Srinagar to Pahalgam. Chhari Mubarak was then taken back to its seat at the Dashnami Akhara building in Srinagar. It will be taken to the holy cave shrine on August 4 and will reach there on August 9, when the Yatra will officially conclude. Authorities have made extensive multi-tier security arrangements for this year's Amarnath Yatra, as this takes place after the cowardly attack of April 22 in which Pakistan-backed terrorists killed 26 civilians after segregating them based on faith in the Baisaran meadow of Pahalgam. An additional 180 companies of CAPFs have been brought in to augment the existing strength of the Army, BSF, CRPF, SSB and the local police. The Army has rolled out 'Operation SHIVA 2025', deploying more than 8,500 troops alongside advanced surveillance and combat technology. All the transit camps en route to the two base camps and the entire route from Bhagwati Nagar Yatri Niwas in Jammu to the cave shrine are secured by the security forces. Yatris approach the holy cave shrine situated 3888 metres above sea level in the Kashmir Himalayas either from the traditional Pahalgam route or the shorter Baltal route. No helicopter services are available to Yatris this year due to security reasons. The cave shrine houses an ice stalagmite structure that wanes and waxes with the phases of the moon. Devotees believe that the ice stalagmite structure symbolises the mythical powers of Lord Shiva. Seoul, July 17 : South Korea's automobile exports rose from a year earlier in June as a sharp rise in shipments to Europe and Asia more than offset a decline in shipments to the United States caused by US tariffs, data showed on Thursday. The value of outbound shipments of automobiles grew 2.3 percent on-year to US$6.3 billion in June, marking the highest monthly figure in history for any June, according to data from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, reports Yonhap news agency. In terms of volume, exports fell 8.8 percent on-year to 244,427 vehicles. The ministry attributed the rise in value despite a drop in volume to an increase in shipments of high value-added vehicles, such as sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and electric vehicles (EVs). Exports to the United States fell for the fourth consecutive month, dropping 16 percent on-year to $2.7 billion, according to the report. The U.S. began imposing 25 percent tariffs on all imported vehicles and auto parts in April. Shipments to the European Union and Asia surged 32.6 percent and 35.6 percent on-year to $770 million and $620 million, respectively, partly offsetting the decline in exports to the U.S. Vehicle exports to the Middle East grew 11.9 percent to $520 million, said the report. "Notable growth was seen particularly in Germany and the Netherlands, where exports nearly doubled," the ministry said. At home, sales of automobiles rose 5.8 percent on-year to 145,843 units in June. Domestic production remained flat at 353,233 units. More than 72,000 units of eco-friendly vehicles were sold in South Korea in June, up 36 percent from a year earlier, according to the ministry. Meanwhile, Seoul shares pared earlier losses on late Thursday morning, supported by gains in technology and auto stocks, though investors remained cautious over U.S. tariff policies. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) fell 9.85 points, or 0.31 percent, to 3,176.53 as of 11:20 a.m. The index had opened slightly lower, bucking overnight gains on Wall Street. a"IANS na/ Rome, July 17 : More than 6,000 Italian companies are directly exposed to the risks of higher US tariffs, according to a report by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). US President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the decision to impose a 30 per cent tariff on imports from the European Union (EU) and Mexico starting August 1. The ITA report, released on Wednesday, said that the affected companies are mostly micro and small firms operating in high-value-added sectors such as the beverage industry, metal products, pharmaceuticals, furniture, retail trade, and transport-related products other than motor vehicles. The report estimated that the value of exports from these companies to the United States is more than 11 billion euros (12.76 billion US dollars), reports Xinhua news agency. The Association for the Development of Industry in the Mezzogiorno (SVIMEZ) also warned earlier this week of the potential impact of the tariffs, estimating a 0.5 per cent reduction in Italy's GDP in 2026 and the potential loss of up to 150,000 jobs. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday the EU is prepared to impose billions of euros in retaliatory tariffs on US goods should ongoing trade negotiations between the two sides fail to produce an agreement. Additionally, Trump on Wednesday unveiled a plan to impose a unified tariff rate on more than 150 countries and regions, according to a report by Politico. "It's all going to be the same for everyone, for that group," Trump told reporters during talks with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House. Those to be covered under the new measure are described by Trump as "not big" and ones that "don't do that much business." In April, the Trump administration introduced a baseline tariff of 10 per cent on economies not covered by bilateral deals. Although Trump has previously suggested the new baseline could be raised to 15 per cent or 20 per cent, he did not specify a new rate on Wednesday. Seoul, July 17 : South Korea's Foreign Minister nominee Cho Hyun vowed Thursday to actively respond to US demands for higher tariffs and "modernising" the alliance by closely consulting with the Donald Trump administration in a way that would mutually benefit both countries. Speaking before the National Assembly in a confirmation hearing on his appointment, Cho also said he will work to create a path to resume dialogue with North Korea, while continuing efforts toward the North's denuclearisation. "I will actively respond to pressing issues, such as (US) tariffs and the modernisation of the alliance. We will push for greater cooperation across all areas, including the economy, military, security and advanced science and technology," Cho said in his opening remarks. His remarks came as South Korea is striving to make a deal with the Trump administration to secure exemptions or relief to the 25 per cent reciprocal and sectoral tariffs before they take effect on August 1, as set by Trump's office. The phrase "modernising the alliance" has been used by the Trump administration, as it calls on allies and partners to boost their defence spending and shoulder a larger share of the defence burden, reports Yonhap news agency. "(The ministry) will maintain close communication with the Trump administration and further strengthen the Korea-US alliance in a way that benefits both countries," he said. In line with the Lee Jae Myung government's approach, Cho said he will work to create a path to resume dialogue with North Korea through close coordination with the United States. "We will pursue denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula and seek to establish peace in the region in parallel, through a phased and practical approach," Cho said. Cho said he will work to strengthen the alliance with Washington and trilateral cooperation with the US and Japan, while continuing efforts to encourage constructive roles from China and Russia. Cho also pledged to work closely with China and Japan to hold a three-way summit among their leaders within this year as planned. Bilaterally, he will seek to coordinate with Tokyo to respond to shared geopolitical challenges, while continuing to address "with patience" unresolved wartime history issues stemming from Japan's 1910-45 colonial rule of Korea. Cho said he will step up communication with China to develop ties in a more "mature" manner, but will respond firmly to sovereign issues, like the row over Chinese steel structures in the overlapping sea zone in the Yellow Sea. As the government strongly condemns the military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, Cho said he will work closely with the international community to make sure that their alignment does not undermine peace on the Korean Peninsula. Dhaka, July 17 : Bangladesh's Awami League on Thursday strongly condemned the "indiscriminate attacks, shootings, and brutal killings" of ordinary citizens by the law enforcement agencies of the country in Gopalganj district. The party mentioned that four people were killed and over 25 injured in gunfire during the violent crackdown, as thousands rallied in Gopalganj on Wednesday against the "state-sponsored repression" unleashed by the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government. Former Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina also condemned the horrific incident, describing it "as part of the deep conspiracy by illegal occupier, murderer-fascist Yunus and his group." "The mercenary forces of the murderer-fascist Yunus opened fire indiscriminately on innocent civilians in Gopalganj. In response, several have been martyred by law enforcement gunfire, and countless others have been seriously injured. This despicable terrorism by the state-sponsored forces and goons unleashed by murderer-fascist Yunus surpasses even medieval barbarity. I strongly condemn, protest, and denounce this horrific massacre and the state-patronised terrorism," read a statement issued by Hasina, President of the Awami League. "The public enemy, murderer-fascist, anti-national, and patron of terrorism Yunus -- through his mob terrorism and the so-called NCP -- has instigated newly-emerged militant-terrorists who, following the pattern of August 5, again mobilised under the banner of a so-called 'March to Gopalganj' program with the intent to demolish the resting place of Bangabandhu in Tungipara, the very heart of Bengali identity," she said. Stressing that 'Bangabandhu' and Bangladesh are "one and inseparable," Haisna said, "An attack on either will not go unanswered by the Bengali nation. And today, the people of Gopalganj did not sit silently." Meanwhile, the General Secretary of Awami League, Obaidul Quader, issued a statement strongly condemning and protesting the heinous incident in which the "army, law enforcement agencies, and trained terrorist-militants" from NCP and Islami Chhatra Shibir (student wing of Jamaat-e-Islami) indiscriminately "attacked and opened fire on the general public" in Gopalganj. "In the month of July -- marked by conspiracies and deceit -- as part of a grand festival to destroy the country, the illegal occupier fascist Yunus, with state backing and in collaboration with Jamaat-Shibir, is orchestrating NCP-led programs across the country. In the days leading up to today's events in Gopalganj, NCP's deceptive elements were making provocative statements and showing aggressive intentions. Their underlying plan was a deeply sinister one -- to attack the mausoleum of the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, in Tungipara, Gopalganj," Quader stated He added that when the "conspiracy" was revealed, the people of Gopalganj, driven by their "deep love for Bangabandhu," took to the streets and started protesting. During that public protest, the Awami League leader said that the army, police, and NCP-Shibir "terrorist-militants" launched attacks and fired "indiscriminately," killing four people and injuring over 25 others with gunfire. "One army personnel was seen stomping on the lifeless, bullet-ridden body of a victim with his boot -- an act that has crossed all boundaries of barbarity," he added. The Awami League also called upon all the party leaders and activists to organise demonstrations and protest programs nationwide on Thursday, and to prepare for the upcoming 'Long March to Jamuna' movement. Bhubaneswar, July 17 : The statewide shutdown call by eight political parties led by Congress over the tragic death of a female student of the Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore crippled normal life across Odisha on Thursday. Hundreds of vehicles were seen stranded on national and state highways due to the shutdown in major cities of the state. Business establishments, petrol pumps and educational institutions were also closed in Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Balasore, etc., owing to the dawn-to-dusk 'Odisha Bandh'. Senior leaders of the party, including Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee (OPCC) Bhakta Charan Das, AICC in-charge Ajay Lallu, along with party workers, engaged in picketing in Bhubaneswar and other major cities of the state. The Congress party claimed massive support from people for the shutdown being observed by eight political parties across the state, demanding justice for the female student, who died on Monday following a self-immolation attempt on July 12 over alleged sexual harassment by a faculty member of the college. Speaking to media persons, OPCC president Das said, "Today, the Congress party and other parties, including the Left parties, Samajwadi Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, are observing Odisha Bandh seeking justice for women in the state." Das alleged that women have repeatedly been facing various atrocities in Odisha during the last five months. He further stated that over 20,000 women and children have gone missing and over 77 gang-rape incidents have occurred during the one year of the BJP rule. The OPCC president also mentioned the recent gangrape of a woman student by 10 people at Gopalpur beach in Ganjam district, alleging that such crimes are rising in the state. Das alleged that the FM College student from Balasore district, who is a member of ABVP, went from pillar to post to justice, but to no avail. He alleged that the Balasore District Collector, Superintendent of Police, the Inspector in-charge of the local police station, the state higher education minister, local MP and MLA failed to provide her justice, which led her to commit self-immolation. "This is not a suicide but a well-planned murder. Our leader, Rahul Gandhiji, rightly understood the situation and spoke to the family members. We also went to their house to express our condolences. The Congress Party stands with the bereaved family. The party is fighting the issue as per the instructions of Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge. Women are being subjected to atrocities in the BJP-ruled states everywhere. The Congress party has given a bandh call protesting against the incidents of widespread violence against women in Odisha. The Bandh is a massive success. Thousands of people in every district of the state are coming out and observing the Bandh. All the associations, students, youths, farmers, women and the people of Odisha are supporting the Bandh. If the government fails to give justice to the victim student, the protest will be further escalated," said Das. Chandigarh, July 17 : The Haryana Human Rights Commission has taken serious view of the repeated disregard of its orders by officials of the Faridabad district administration and the Faridabad Municipal Corporation. In a strong action, the commission on Thursday said it has issued show-cause notices to both the Deputy Commissioner and the Municipal Commissioner, warning them of a Rs 20,000 fine per case for contempt of its directions. Commission member Deep Bhatia, while passing the order, emphasised that non-compliance with the commission directives "not only amounts to contempt of law but also obstructs justice for the aggrieved individuals". In a complaint, the Deputy Commissioner, the Executive Engineer (PWD B and R), and the Block Development and Panchayat Officer of Tigaon were instructed multiple times to submit a report. Despite a formal letter issued by the Deputy Commissioner on May 16 to the officers concerned, no report was submitted, nor did any officer appear before the commission. "This indicates a careless and casual approach towards a serious human rights matter," observed the commission. Indraraj Singh, a resident of Bukharpur village in Ballabgarh tehsil, has stated in his complaint that the main access road to his village is in a severely dilapidated condition, causing great inconvenience to villagers. The situation is so dire that they are forced to travel through a neighboring village to reach their destination. According to Indraraj Singh, the problem worsens significantly during the rainy season, creating serious difficulties for students, the elderly, and the sick. The complaint also mentions that he has submitted several requests to the administration for the construction of an alternative road, but no effective action has been taken so far. Similarly, in two other complaints no official from the Faridabad Municipal Corporation appeared or submitted any status report, despite clear directives from the commission. On April 22, the commission had specifically ordered that a senior official must appear in person with the latest report and any relevant court orders. These instructions were also ignored. Complainant Deepak Tripathi, a resident of Kapda Colony, NIT Faridabad, highlighted violations of environmental norms by industrial units in the Faridabad area and the improper disposal of polluted water. He alleged that such pollution is having an adverse impact on public health, while the departments concerned, particularly the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) and the Municipal Corporation of Faridabad, have failed to take any effective action in the matter. Owing to repeated lapses, the commission has issued the show-cause notices to both the Deputy Commissioner and the Municipal Commissioner of Faridabad under Section 13 of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, asking them to explain why a fine of Rs 20,000 per case should not be imposed on them for willful disobedience. Puneet Arora, Protocol, Information and Public Relations Officer, said the commission has directed the officials concerned or their authorised representatives to appear personally and present the required reports on the next hearing dates. The commission listed the case for the next hearing on September 22. Lucknow, July 17 : In a tragic incident, a 25-year-old woman allegedly committed suicide in Uttar Pradesh's Balia District on Thursday. Acting on the information about the suicide, a police team and a forensic team rushed to the spot and found the body of the young woman hanging with a dupatta from the ceiling. Additional Superintendent of Police Anil Jha said the body of the woman has been sent for post-mortem examination. The police also found a suicide note left at the spot by the deceased who has been identified as Priya Giri, daughter of Surender Giri, a resident of Narsinghpur. The police said that the cause of the death of the woman will be confirmed after the post-mortem examination report is received. The probe into the death will be conducted based on the autopsy report, the woman's suicide note and enquiry from the relatives of the deceased. In another incident, a 25-year-old man, carrying a reward of Rs 25,000 on his head, was arrested in connection with several theft cases in Balia. During a routine check, Nagra Police signalled a motorcycle-borne suspect to stop, but he tried to escape from the spot. The accused was chased by the cops, following which he opened fire at the police. The police fired back in self-defence, and one of the bullets hit the accused in the leg, forcing him to stop. The accused was arrested and a .315 bore pistol, spent cartridges, and a motorcycle were recovered from him. The accused was identified as Satish Saini, son of Munna Saini, a resident of Dukhauli. Satish was rushed to Sadar Hospital in Balia, where he is undergoing treatment. The accused was wanted in over 22 cases of theft, registered in Garhwal and Balia, including from a liquor shop. In another crime in the state, a motorcycle-borne accused was arrested from Uttar Pradesh's Kanpur Dehat on Thursday. The accused had made away after committing loot on Wednesday evening, the police said. In the gunfight this morning between the police and the man, a Constable sustained a wound in his hand and is undergoing treatment for the injury. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has announced the continuation of the reformatting of the security sector after the renewal of the government. "Tomorrow we will continue reformatting the security sector. On Monday we will update the corps of Ukrainian diplomacy - together with the Minister of Foreign Affairs we are preparing the corresponding changes," Zelenskyy wrote on the Telegram channel on Thursday, July 18. He noted that he had already determined the agenda for the next two meetings of the National Security and Defense Council. "We need results for Ukraine every day," the president emphasized. A number of media outlets reported on the possibility of appointing former Defense Minister Rustem Umerov to the National Security and Defense Council. New Delhi, July 17 : Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that he held "a productive meeting" with Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Economy and Planning. New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday said that he held "a productive meeting" with Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim, Saudi Arabia's Minister of Economy and Planning. "Discussed strengthening India-Saudi Arabia ties, with a focus on enhancing our trade and investment partnership and collaborating in key sectors like pharmaceuticals, petroleum and ceramics," Goyal said in a post on X. The minister also extended an invitation to Faisal bin Fadel Al-Ibrahim to visit India at the earliest. "We are confident of exciting growth prospects ahead for both nations," Goyal said. India and Saudi Arabia share robust trade relations, with both countries being significant trading partners. Oil-rich Saudi Arabia is a key source of energy for India. Bilateral trade has seen steady growth, reaching $42.98 billion in FY 2023-24. India's exports to Saudi Arabia were $11.56 billion, while imports reached $31.42 billion. Goyal also said that he convened a meeting with Commerce Representatives in 74 Indian missions abroad on steps to promote exports. "Emphasised the need for proactive market engagement, enhanced trade intelligence and closer collaboration with Indian exporters," Goyal said in the post on X. He highlighted the importance of identifying new export opportunities, addressing non-tariff barriers and strengthening communication between embassies and industry. Goyal reiterated the role of Missions in supporting trade, technology, tourism and investment promotion and called for robust reporting via Trade Connect to maximise global outreach. India's total exports of merchandise and services for June 2025 touched $67.98 billion, registering a growth of 6.5 per cent compared with the corresponding figure for the same month of the previous year, despite the global uncertainties triggered by the hike in US tariffs and geopolitical tensions. India's total exports during the April-June quarter of 2025 are estimated at $210.31 billion, registering a positive growth of 5.94 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year, while total imports during the quarter grew 4.38 per cent to $230.62 billion, according to figures compiled by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Electronic goods, drugs and pharmaceuticals and engineering goods have emerged as major drivers of India's merchandise exports, reflecting the higher share of industrial goods in the country's export basket. Thiruvananthapuram, July 17 : Legendary film-maker Adoor Gopalakrishnan is finishing work on what will be his 13th feature film. The 84-year-old Adoor, as he is popularly known, said this to State Minister for Films and Culture, Saji Cherian, when the latter had gone to invite him for a Kerala government event at his exquisite home here. Cherian told IANS that he wished Adoor would be able to start the film during his tenure as the films and culture minister. "I was amazed by the energy that the 84-year-old film-maker possesses and he is a voracious reader too. When I asked him if he would be able to start the film while I am the Minister for films, he said 'definitely it will happen soon,'" recalled Minister Cherian. Minister Cherian went on to point out that he asked Adoor the gist of the proposed film that the master craftsman is working on. "I asked him just one thing, i.e. if the film he is working on will be similar to the 1982 national award winning film 'Elipathayam'. Adoor pointed out that times have changed but the central aspects of the film remain the same," added Minister Cherian. Adoor has brought laurels to the Indian film industry by winning numerous international awards in a film career which is into the 53rd year starting from his debut film 'Swayamvaram' in 1972 which won two national awards. His films have been premiered at Venice, Cannes and the Toronto International Film Festival. Adoor has won the National Film Award 16 times besides winning 17 Kerala State Film Awards. He has also been decorated with the Padma Shri in 1984 and the Padma Vibhushan in 2006 and got the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2004, which is the highest honour in Indian cinema, presented annually by the Government of India for lifetime contributions to the film industry. Incidentally, the last time Adoor made a commercial film was in 2019 when he directed 'Pinneyum' and in 2019 he made a short fiction film 'Sukhantyam'. In 1984 he was decorated with the Legion of Honour, the highest decoration in France. Quetta, July 17 : Pakistani security forces carried out an "unlawful raid" on the home of a Baloch activist "without any legal grounds," according to Sammi Deen Baloch, a member of the human rights body, Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC). Sammi said that the Pakistani officials barged into BYC activist Sahiba Baloch's home in Balochistan on Wednesday evening, adding to the ongoing atrocities committed by the security forces against the Baloch people. "State forces once again chose intimidation over justice," she said in a post on X. Sahiba's father is also a victim of forcible disappearances in the region at the hands of the Pakistani forces. Taking to X on Wednesday, Sahiba shared her ordeal, stating, "Today, around 7:00 p.m., personnel from Pakistan's Federal Constabulary (FC) raided our home in the village without any prior notice or legal justification. My father already been forcibly disappeared for over three months -- his only "crime" being father, and my crime is to speak against human rights violations. During the raid, my family members were harassed and threatened" Sahiba called the raid a "part of a calculated pattern of collective punishment, aimed at instilling fear and silence among those who dare to speak out." "Today, as we choose the path of peaceful resistance, we are targeted through enforced disappearances, defamation, and intimidation. One by one, our voices are being silenced, and the state seeks to erase us by labelling us 'terrorists." Every child in Balochistan is raised with the hope that one day, they will see peace on their own land. To steal this struggle is to steal that hope, and that is something we will never allow," the post added. Sahiba appealed to the international community and human rights organisations to raise their voices and use their platforms to help stop the violence. She further urged the international community to demand the immediate release of her father and colleagues, and ensure that Pakistan complies with its international human rights obligations. In another act of violence against a Baloch civilian, Paank, Baloch National Movement's Human Rights Department mentioned another case of the 'kill and dump' policy of the Pakistani state. It mentioned that on the night of July 13, Ghulam Jan, son of Bejjar Baloch, was abducted from his home in Awaran district of Balochistan by a state-backed death squad under the command of the Pakistan Army. It further stated that hours later, Ghulam's bullet-ridden body was found dumped in the Kuli area of the province, marking the fifth extrajudicial killing in the Kolwah region of Awaran within a month. Paank strongly condemned "this brutal act and holds the Pakistani military and its proxy death squads responsible for the ongoing war crimes and systematic violence in Balochistan." Various human rights organisations of Balochistan have time and again highlighted the repression by Pakistani forces in the province, which includes violent raids on the homes of Baloch leaders and civilians, unlawful arrests, enforced disappearances, the 'kill and dump' policy, detention under the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance, and the filing of fabricated police cases. Mumbai, July 17 : Actress Sonam Bajwa, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming Hindi film "Baaghi 4," shared that shooting a song with choreographer Ganesh Acharya has fulfilled her childhood dream. Mumbai, July 17 (IANS) Actress Sonam Bajwa, who is gearing up for the release of her upcoming Hindi film "Baaghi 4," shared that shooting a song with choreographer Ganesh Acharya has fulfilled her childhood dream. In an Instagram post, she shared that performing a full-fledged dance number under the direction of Ganesh Acharya had always been a dream since childhoodand now, that dream has finally come true. Expressing her gratitude, Sonam shared, "We shot a song for Baaghi today, and it was a dream to work with Ganesh sir. And he has choreographed this song; I am so excited. It was my dream to do a dance song since childhood, and now it's happening. We have been shooting for past few days now, it's going very well, and we are super excited." The song was reportedly filmed over three days on a lavish set in Mumbai. In the peppy track, Bajwa will be seen showcasing her electrifying moves. In December last year, Tiger Shroff announced Sonam Bajwa as the leading lady for his upcoming action-packed film. He shared a picture of the actress and wrote, "Welcoming the new member of the Rebel Family! Thrilled to have @sonambajwa in the #Baaghi Universe #Sajid Nadiadwala's #Baaghi4." Announcing the same, Nadiadwala Grandson had written on social media. "From the laughs of the #HousefullUniverse to the action-packed #BaaghiUniverse, #SonamBajwa is here to steal the show! Welcome to the Rebel League, #Baaghi4! #SajidNadiadwala's #Baaghi4." Sajid Nadiadwala's high-octane action franchise "Baaghi" is set to return with its fourth installment, "Baaghi 4." Announced by Shroff in November last year, the upcoming actioner will be directed by A. Harsha and is scheduled for release on September 5, 2025. The film promises a darker, more intense narrative, with Tiger teasing a fiercer version of his character in this new chapter. Besides this, Sonam Bajwa also has upcoming projects, "Deewaniyat" and "Border 2," in the pipeline. New Delhi, July 17 : The National Rifle Association of India (NRAI) president Kalikesh Narayan Singh Deo has been appointed as the Interim Chairperson of the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) Committee on E-Sports, E-Games, and Technological Innovations. The same has been confirmed via a formal letter from the ISSF Headquarters in Munich, addressed to Singh Deo and duly signed by the ISSF president Luciano Rossi and secretary general Alessandro Nicotra di San Giacomo. aI am deeply honoured to be entrusted by the ISSF with this exciting responsibility. The future of sport lies at the intersection of technology and accessibility. As we work towards creating frameworks that bring virtual and e-shooting into the mainstream, I look forward to collaborating with global experts to shape an inclusive and innovation-driven future for the shooting community," Singh Deo said in a statement. The newly formed committee is a strategic initiative by the ISSF to explore and integrate emerging digital and technological trends such as virtual and augmented reality formats, e-shooting competitions, and innovations in judging and training technologies. The committeeas mandate includes: Exploring the regulatory and competitive framework for E-shooting and E-gaming formats. Evaluating global best practices in technological innovation in shooting sport and recommending pilot projects and digital platforms for broader fan engagement. It can be noted that in its aim to promote the sport of shooting across the globe, the NRAI under Shri. Singh Deoas leadership has also sanctioned the inaugural edition of the Shooting League of India (SLI) with support from ISSF. The national governing body has allocated the window between November 20, 2025 and December 2, 2025 for the first edition of the highly-anticipated league, which is also expected to see digital and technological innovations. Kollam, July 17 : In a tragic incident, a 13-year-old boy was electrocuted while trying to retrieve his footwear from the school's rooftop in Kerala on Thursday. Just before classes began at the state-supported Boys School, Thevelekkara, the schoolchildren were playing on the ground when the footwear of a student got stuck on top of a roof. The electric line was passing over the roof where the footwear was lying. Mithun, a Class 8 student, climbed onto the top of the roof but slipped and came in contact with a live electric wire. Despite the best efforts, Mithun's life could not be saved. State Education Minister V. Sivankutty said, "This is a sad day as we have lost one son of ours." "I have directed the top official in my department to visit the school and submit a report. Definitely, there will be action against those who failed to do their duty," said Minister Sivankutty. "Just before every academic year opens, all state-run schools have to submit a fitness certificate. We will wait to see about this school and if it has the certificate," added Sivankutty. Local legislator Kovoor Kunjumon said appropriate action will be taken against those who failed to fulfil their responsibilities. State Electricity Minister K. Krishnankutty said he has asked the Chief Electrical Inspector to prepare a report, and based on the report, the wrongdoers will be punished. Meanwhile, the school teachers are in a state of shock. Shaji Thomas, Executive Engineer at the location, exonerated the Electricity Board for having done no wrong. "This line has been in existence for the past four decades, and the shed was built eight years ago. Two days back, our Assistant Engineer informed the school authorities that the Board is willing to change the line, and they said they will get it cleared by the school management. The school has the responsibility to cover the open areas through which the student entered on top of the shed," said Thomas. New Delhi, July 17 : Worldwide IT spending is expected to total $5.43 trillion in 2025, an increase of 7.9 per cent compared to 2024, a report said on Thursday. While there is a slowdown in business due to the ongoing geopolitical scenario, the spending on AI-oriented infrastructure would lead to spending in the IT sector, Gartner, an IT consultancy firm, forecasted in its recent report. "While there is a business pause on net-new spending due to a spike in global uncertainty, the effect is subsumed by ongoing AI and generative AI (GenAI) digitisation initiatives," said John-David Lovelock, Distinguished VP Analyst at Gartner. For instance, both software and services spending growth in 2025 is expected to slow down due to this 'uncertainty pause,' but spending in AI-related infrastructure, such as data centre systems, continues to surge, the report stated. "Data centres are experiencing a surge driven by GenAI, with spending on AI-optimised servers, which was virtually non-existent in 2021, expected to triple that of traditional servers by 2027," said Lovelock. This aligns with a Gartner survey of 252 senior leaders across various industries in North America and Western Europe with enterprise-wide revenue of $500 million or more from March to May of 2025, where 62 per cent of respondents identified AI as defining the future of competition for the next 10 years. According to the report, competitiveness is a primary reason why enterprises will invest in technology and business change in an eroding environment. "With GenAI sliding towards the trough of disillusionment, more time and spending is being focused on delivered functionality from incumbent software providers," Lovelock added. Starting early in the second quarter of 2025, there has been an "uncertainty pause," encompassing a strategic suspension of net-new initiatives across a breadth of departments, including IT. This pause is driven by heightened uncertainty and geopolitical risks. In response, the global corporate sector is exercising increased caution, as organisations seek to mitigate adverse impacts from these multifaceted challenges, the report noted. The Gartner survey claimed that 61 per cent of enterprises started 2025 in a better position than at the same time last year, but only 24 per cent expect to end the year ahead of their 2025 plans. Damascus, July 17 : Syrian interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa on Thursday strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes on Damascus, reaffirming the government's commitment to protecting all Syrians, especially the Druze community. "Our people waged a revolution for freedom and emerged victorious through great sacrifice. They remain ready to fight for their honour whenever threatened," al-Sharaa said in a nationally televised address. Turning to Israel, al-Sharaa accused the "Israeli entity" of consistently targeting Syrian stability and seeking to incite internal conflict since the fall of the former Syrian government. He charged that Israel aims to turn Syria into a permanent battlefield, weaken its national cohesion, and obstruct its reconstruction process, reports Xinhua news agency. "Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies, and we won't allow external ambitions to be realised at the expense of our children and our future," he added. Specifically addressing Syria's Druze community, al-Sharaa reaffirmed its place as an integral part of the nation. "Protecting your rights and freedoms is a top priority," he said. "We reject any effort to drag you into foreign agendas or sow internal division." Israel on Wednesday carried out several waves of strikes in Damascus and Sweida, a predominantly Druze province in southern Syria, with the stated aim of preventing the Druze minority from being harmed. Earlier on Wednesday, Syria released a statement calling the Israeli airstrikes that struck government buildings in the capital, Damascus, a "blatant violation" of national sovereignty and international law. Syria said the strikes targeted "civilian infrastructure and government institutions" in Damascus and surrounding areas, leaving several civilians, including women and children, injured and causing extensive material damage. The statement said the attacks reflect Israel's "systematic policy of escalation" and its ongoing efforts to destabilise Syria and the wider region, describing them as a clear breach of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law. "Syria holds Israel fully responsible for this dangerous escalation," the statement read, adding that Syria will exercise its legitimate right to self-defence by all means permitted under international law. The statement also called on the United Nations and the international community, including the Security Council, to condemn the repeated Israeli strikes on Syrian territory and to take "urgent and decisive measures" to curb what it called Israel's repeated violations. Hyderabad, July 17 : A senior Maoist couple of the banned CPI(Maoist) surrendered before Telangana Police on Thursday. Mala Sanjeev alias Lengu Dada, Secretariat Member of Dandakarnya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC) of the CPI(Maoist) and his wife, Perugula Parvathi alias Bontala Parvathi alias Deena, State Committee member, DKSZC, surrendered before Rachakonda Police Commissioner Sudheer Babu. Sanjeev was a founder member of Jana Natya Mandali (JNM) and a contemporary of revolutionary balladeer Gaddar, who had founded JNM as the cultural wing of the CPI(ML) in the 1970s. Police said that the return of Sanjeev and his wife to mainstream society after spending 45 years underground is a victory for the holistic and comprehensive strategy of the Telangana Police towards the Maoist movement. Motivated by the various welfare measures extended by the Telangana government and police department and the support shown towards those who have returned to the mainstream, they decided to lead a peaceful life with their families. The Police Commissioner urged all the underground Maoists from Telangana to return to their native villages. The police reiterated its appeal aPoru Vaddu - Ooru Muddu (No fight - village to promote peace and harmony in the society)'. Every Maoist who gives up the CPI(Maoist) movement and joins the mainstream will be provided the benefits under the rehabilitation scheme announced by the Telangana government, he said. The Police Commissioner gave the assurance that the police department would ensure that the benefits of all welfare measures of the state government reach the Maoists returning to the mainstream. Sudheer Babu said some people, under the guise of peopleas organisations, were acting in a manner to endanger peace. He said police would continue to keep a watch on such people and take action against them as per the law. He appealed to people, especially youth, not to get misled by such elements. The Police Commissioner noted that due to awareness among youth, recruitment in the Maoist organisation has stopped. He said no educated youth is joining the Maoist party. He observed that in todayas world, Maoism has become outdated and people have rejected the ideology which promotes violence. Indore, July 17 : After Indore was once again declared the cleanest city in India, Madhya Pradesh Urban Development Minister Kailash Vijayvargiya shared an emotional post on social media, celebrating the city's remarkable achievement. Indore has retained its top rank in urban cleanliness for the eighth consecutive year under the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25, a feat Vijayvargiya described as "historic" and a result of the city faithfully following the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Swachh Bharat Mission. In a heartfelt post in Hindi, the Minister began with the words: "Yeh ek daur hai, yeh Indore hai. Yah swachhata ka guru hai, aur pathpradarshak hai" -- "This is an era, this is Indore, a guru and a guide in cleanliness." He went on to write, "On this unparalleled achievement, I offer my heartfelt salutations to the aware, diligent, and ever-vigilant citizens of Indore. My sincere congratulations and appreciation to all public representatives and the administration for making this possible." Vijayvargiya emphasised that Indore's commitment to cleanliness is not just about winning awards, but reflects the collective consciousness of its residents -- a standard that, he said, will inspire generations to come. "May Indore's golden journey of glory continue unabated. This is my heartfelt wish. I salute Indore's monumental achievement. Congratulations to everyone," he concluded. President Droupadi Murmu presented the Swachh Survekshan Awards 2024-25 during a ceremony organised by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday. The government said the primary objective of the Swachh Survekshan is to promote large-scale citizen participation and foster awareness across all sections of society about the importance of urban cleanliness. This year's survey followed a "smart, structured approach to assessing urban cleanliness and service delivery" using 10 parameters and 54 specific indicators. The United States Department of Defense has informed the DDPS that it will reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine, focusing on ground-based air defense. This also affects Switzerland, which will receive its production batches later than planned, the press service of the Swiss Ministry of Defense reported. The United States Department of Defense has informed the DDPS that it will reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine, focusing on ground-based air defense. This also affects Switzerland, which will receive its production batches later than planned, the DDPS said on its website Thursday. It is noted that the Swiss government has been notified. The US wants to strengthen its support to Ukraine. Countries now supplying weapons systems to Ukraine will be able to replace them faster. The US has therefore decided to reprioritize the delivery of Patriot ground-based air defense systems. Germany, among others, has decided to once more supply two of their Patriot systems to Ukraine, the message reads. In 2022, Switzerland had ordered five Patriot systems. Delivery was scheduled to begin in 2026 and be completed in 2028. However, on July 16, the US Department of Defense informed the DDPS that Switzerland would also be affected by the new prioritization and that deliveries intended for Switzerland would be delayed. It is currently unclear how many systems will be affected and whether the delivery of guided missiles will also be affected. No statement can be made at this stage regarding the exact timing and any further implications for Switzerland. Clarifications are ongoing, the message reads. It is noted that a year ago, the US informed Switzerland that the PAC-3 MSE version of the guided missiles for Patriot, which parliament had approved in 2023 after ordering the weapon systems, would be delivered to Switzerland later than planned in order to support Ukraine. New Delhi, July 17 : A Supreme Court judge on Thursday recused himself from hearing a plea filed by former West Bengal Education Minister and ex-Trinamool Congress secretary general Partha Chatterjee seeking bail in connection with the multi-crore cash-for-school job case. After Justice Joymala Bagchi withdrew himself from hearing, the bench headed by Justice Surya Kant referred the file to the Chief Justice of India (CJI), who is the master of the roster, for listing the bail petition before a different bench. Earlier, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh had issued notice on Chatterjeeas bail plea and sought the response of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the matter. In an order passed on May 8, the apex court directed the West Bengal government to decide on granting prosecution sanction within two weeks so that the trial proceedings against Chatterjee and other state government employees accused in the school job cases registered by the Central anti-corruption probe agency can be set in motion. The CBI and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had been conducting parallel probes in the school job cases. Both the ED and CBI, in their charge sheets, have arrayed Chatterjee as the principal mastermind in the alleged cash-for-school job scam. Chatterjee was first arrested by the ED from his residence in South Kolkata in July 2022, and since then, he has been behind bars. Later, the CBI also showed him as arrested. In April this year, the Supreme Court upheld the order of the Calcutta High Court, cancelling 25,753 teaching (secondary and higher secondary) and non-teaching jobs in state-run schools for the West Bengal School Service Commission's (WBSSC) entire panel for 2016. It accepted the contention that the entire panel had to be cancelled because of the failure on the part of the state government and the commission to segregate the "genuine" candidates from the "tainted" ones. New Delhi, July 17 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Bihar and West Bengal on Friday, where he will launch a range of developmental projects worth over Rs 12,200 crore. After giving a major thrust to infrastructure development in both states, PM Modi will also address public gatherings in Motihari (Bihar) and Durgapur ( West Bengal), respectively. The projects, amounting to over Rs 7,200 for Bihar and over Rs 5,000 crore for Bengal, will be unveiled, with an aim to elevate the region's connectivity and infrastructural growth. PM Modi in Bihar The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone, inaugurate and dedicate to the nation numerous development projects catering to diverse sectors, including Rail, Road, Rural Development, Fisheries and Electronics and Information Technology. A key highlight of PM Modi's Bihar visit would be the launch of four new Amrit Bharat trains. Keeping up with the target of future-ready railway network, Prime Minister Modi will flag off four new Amrit Bharat trains between Rajendra Nagar Terminal (Patna) to New Delhi, Bapudham Motihari to Delhi (Anand Vihar Terminal), Darbhanga to Lucknow (Gomti Nagar) and Malda Town to Lucknow (Gomti Nagar) via Bhagalpur improving connectivity in the region. In a major boost to road infrastructure, the Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for the four-laning of the Ara bypass of NH-319. He will also inaugurate the 4-lane Parariya to Mohania section of NH-319, worth over Rs 820 crore, part of NH-319 that connects Ara Town to NH-02 (Golden Quadrilateral), which will improve freight and passenger movement. PM Modi will also release Rs 400 crore to around 61,500 Self-Help Groups in Bihar under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). With a special focus on women-led development, over 10 crore females have been connected to Self-Help Groups (SHGs). He will also hand over keys to some beneficiaries as part of Griha Pravesh of 12,000 beneficiaries and release over Rs 160 crore to 40,000 beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awaas Yojana-Gramin. PM in West Bengal After Bengal, the Prime Minister will head to West Bengal's Durgapur district, where he will lay the foundation stone, inaugurate and dedicate to the nation multiple development projects worth Rs 5,000 crore, pertaining to Oil and Gas, Power, Road and Rail sectors. PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal, worth around Rs 1,950 crore, to give a boost to Oil and Gas infrastructure in the region. It will provide PNG connections to households, commercial establishments and industrial customers and provide CNG at the retail outlets. PM Modi will also dedicate to the nation the Durgapur to Kolkata section (132 Km) of Durgapur-Haldia Natural Gas Pipeline and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline, also known as Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga (PMUG) Project. The Prime Minister will further launch the Retrofitting Pollution Control System-Flue Gas Desulphurisation (FGD) of Durgapur Steel Thermal Power Station and Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station of Damodar Valley Corporation, worth over Rs 1,457 crore. To promote rail connectivity in the region, PM Modi will dedicate to the nation the doubling of the Purulia a" Kotshila Rail Line (36 KM) in Purulia, worth over Rs 390 crore. It will improve rail connectivity between industries from Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Dhanbad with Ranchi and Kolkata and efficient movement of goods trains, reducing travel time and improving logistics for industries and businesses. PM Modi will also inaugurate two road over bridges (ROBs) constructed under the Setu Bharatam Programme, worth over Rs 380 crore. --IANS mr-src/svn New Delhi, July 17 : After a challenging first half marked by margin compression and falling loan yields, India's banking sector is set to turn the corner in the third quarter of FY26 (3QFY26), a report said on Thursday. New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) After a challenging first half marked by margin compression and falling loan yields, Indiaas banking sector is set to turn the corner in the third quarter of FY26 (3QFY26), a report said on Thursday. Private and public sector banks are entering a transition phase, where lagged benefits of deposit repricing, systemic liquidity infusion, and improving asset quality start to lift earnings, Motilal Oswal Institutional Equities said in a report. As per the report, the recovery will be gradual but meaningful, setting the tone for FY27as double-digit earnings growth. Loan yields may decline amid a decline in the weighted average lending rate (WALR), but not equally. While WALR on fresh loans fell for the system, private banks managed a month-on-month uptick, showing tactical flexibility. In contrast, public sector banks experienced a sharper 30 basis point decline over three months, the report stated. Most banks have cut savings account (SA) and term deposit (TD) rates by 20a"100 basis points across tenors, with a deeper impact expected in the second half of FY26. With repo rate cuts behind and liquidity support ahead, net interest margins (NIMs) are expected to stabilise and earnings to pick up from the third quarter onwards. As per the report, asset quality pressures are easing -- especially in retail unsecured and microfinance institution (MFI) portfoliosa"providing room for provision write-backs Despite a drop in current account savings account (CASA) ratios across the board, banks with stronger liability profiles are better positioned to navigate margin pressures. Meanwhile, aggregate private banksa Pre-Provision Operating Profit (PPOP) is expected to rise from Rs 698 billion in 1QFY26 to Rs 831 billion in 4QFY26, driven by a broad recovery in earnings, the report anticipated. The report said that there will be a strong rebound in FY27 for the banking sector. "Private bank earnings growth is expected to jump to 21.7 per cent in FY27 from 6.9 per cent in FY26, led by margin recovery and lower credit costs," the report stated. Patna, July 17 : Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced 125 units of free electricity per month for every household in Bihar, sparking both praise and sharp criticism. While the ruling NDA hailed the announcement as "historic" and transformative for the poor, Opposition parties accused the state government of copying their schemes without originality. Making the declaration on social media, CM Nitish Kumar stated that from August 1, 2025 -- beginning with the July billing cycle -- domestic consumers in Bihar will receive 125 units of electricity for free, benefiting approximately 1.67 crore families. The Chief Minister termed the initiative a step toward "relief and empowerment" of the people. He also announced plans to generate up to 10,000 MW of solar energy in Bihar over the next three years. Solar power plants will be installed on rooftops or nearby public land with consumer consent. For extremely poor families, the government will fully fund solar panel installations under the 'Kutir Jyoti Yojana,' while others will receive partial government support. Speaking to IANS, Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha said, "This is a major step for the poor people of Bihar. Currently, there are 1.86 crore domestic electricity consumers in the state, out of which 1.67 crore will receive free electricity. The remaining 20 lakh consumers will get up to 125 units free, and charges will apply only beyond that." "Now, 90 per cent of Bihar's population will get free electricity under our government. This is a significant step taken by the double-engine government towards the welfare of the poor and deprived sections of society," he added. JD(U) MP Sanjay Kumar Jha also praised the move, telling IANS, "The Chief Minister has made a very historic decision. In Bihar, there are 1.87 crore domestic consumers, out of which 1.67 crore use up to 125 units of electricity. This means electricity will now be free for 1.67 crore families." He added that 56 lakh rural families will receive free solar systems, while others will be offered solar installations with a 50 per cent subsidy. "CM Nitish Kumar had earlier promised that he would provide electricity to every household, and now the promise has been fulfilled with this historic decision." Speaking to IANS, state Minister Jibesh Kumar said, "We must acknowledge that today the Chief Minister has truly gifted Bihar's poor and middle-class families something special. I want to thank the Chief Minister and the Bihar NDA government for continuously giving one gift after another to Bihar. First, the social security pension was increased from Rs 400 to Rs 1100, and today marks a historic day as Bihar's poor and middle-class families receive a significant benefit." Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary called the decision "one of the biggest" in favour of the poor. "As you know, typical poor households usually consume around 100-125 units of electricity using just two or three bulbs and some fans. The Chief Minister has announced that consumers using up to 125 units will not have to pay any charges. This step is taken keeping the poor in mind. This is a gift for them," he told IANS. JD(U) Spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad, praising the decision, said, "Today, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has given a wonderful gift to Bihar. Consumers will no longer have to pay any charges for electricity consumption up to 125 units. Undoubtedly, this is a great gift for all the consumers, which will also significantly reduce their monthly expenses." Neeraj Kumar, also a JD(U) spokesperson, hailed the move and said, "Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's decision to provide free electricity up to 125 units to all domestic consumers, regardless of caste or religion, marks a significant step. While we purchase the most expensive electricity and provide subsidies, we do not just make announcements but implement them, reflecting that we are a government of determination." "This is a major social change, especially benefiting the most backwards sections of society -- Dalits and minorities -- who struggle with life's challenges. Previously, many of their homes relied on lanterns; now, they have the right to electricity. And with this new decision, a major societal transformation will take place, which will benefit the poor and the youth of Bihar," he added. However, Mahagathbandhan parties dismissed the scheme, accusing the government of "stealing" ideas from the Opposition. RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari told IANS, "The Nitish government is an imitative government; it steals Tejashwi Yadav's schemes. The Chief Minister shares information about these on social media. Recently, many schemes announced by Tejashwi Yadav were revealed by Nitish Kumar, but he has never openly acknowledged it. They are copying everything from Tejashwi Yadav, but even copying requires some intelligence." Congress leader Udit Raj criticised the move and claimed that the Chief Minister is "mentally unstable". "It seems that those who are saying Nitish Kumar is not mentally stable anymore are not wrong. Nitish Kumar himself had stood in the Assembly and said that electricity bills should not and cannot be waived. But now that the RJD and Congress have raised the demand for 200 units of free electricity, the current government is talking about giving 125 units for free," he told IANS. "This is an election jhulma. This also proves that Nitish Kumar's mental health is not right," he added. RJD Chief Spokesperson Shakti Yadav claimed, "If a leader like Tejashwi Yadav is the Leader of Opposition in Bihar, then Nitish Kumar has no choice but to bow down. Governments do bend; they just need someone who can make them. That strength lies in Tejashwi Yadav's resolve and commitments." Congress Rajya Sabha MP Akhilesh Prasad Singh said, "This is a scheme to deceive people. Under the name of smart meters, electricity bills in every household have tripled or quadrupled. Now, this promise of 125 units of free electricity -- it's clear that during elections, new announcements are made every day. Public conveniences are increased. New dreams are sold to the people." Mumbai, July 17 : Television actress Surbhi Chandna, on Thursday, gave a delightful glimpse into a day well spent in Kuala Lumpur. Taking to Instagram, she shared snippets from her vibrant day that began with messy, cheesy bagels and coconut coffeesetting the tone for a food-filled, joy-driven outing. In her post, Chandna revealed that the day only got better as she rounded it off with an affordable Michelin Star meal, adding a touch of culinary finesse to her travel diary. The 'Naagin' actress also mentioned that in between, she sipped on fresh carambola juice, caught up with a few friends over calls, and hopped on a train that took her uphill to a breathtaking view of the city. Sharing a series of photos, the 'Ishqbaaaz' actress wrote, "A day that started with messy cheesy bagels and coconut coffee ended with a pretty affordable Michelin Star Meal telephoned a couple people in between and drank fresh carambola juice Took the train uphill to view KualaLumpur, sat in between clouds felt light drizzle on the face and did a happy dance Ok bye." In the images, Surbhi Chandna is seen giving a sneak peek into her meals, clicking pictures with her food, and striking playful poses at various scenic locations around Kuala Lumpur. Talking about her work front, Surbhi rose to fame with her performances in the shows "Ishqbaaaz" and "Naagin 5." She began her acting journey in 2009 with a brief appearance in "Taarak Mehta Ka Ooltah Chashmah," but it was her role in "Qubool Hai" that marked her first big break. Over the years, she has also appeared in shows like "Sanjivani" and "Sherdil Shergill." In 2024, Surbhi ventured into the digital space with Amazon Mini TV's "RakshakIndia's Braves," where she portrayed Alka Singh, the wife of an army officer, played by Barun Sobti. Hyderabad, July 17 : In a relief to Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy, the Telangana High Court, on Thursday, quashed the case registered against him under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. The High Court, which had reserved its orders on the Chief Ministeras petition on June 20, pronounced the same on Thursday. The case was registered in 2019 against Revanth Reddy, his brother Kondal Reddy and another person for allegedly abusing N. Peddi Raju, Director, Razole Constituency SC Mutually Aided Cooperative Housing Society Limited, by his caste. Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya quashed the First Information Report (FIR) on the ground that the prosecution failed to produce any evidence that could link the accused to the incident. The judge observed that the case was registered based on allegations, and the same could not be grounds for conviction without proving the presence of the accused at the site of the alleged offence. The FIR relates to a land dispute over 31 acres in Survey No. 127 of Gopanpally village. The complainant alleged that Revanth Reddyas brothers, A. Kondal Reddy and E. Lakshmaiah, encroached on the land with Revanth Reddyas encouragement when he was an MP. The complainant had also alleged he was insulted on caste grounds and that structures on the disputed site were demolished using a JCB machine. Based on the complaint, a case was registered in 2016 at the Gachibowli Police Station of the Cyberabad Commissionerate. Revanth Reddy was named as accused number three in the case. The FIR was registered under sections 447, 427, 506 r/w 34 r/w 198, 120-b of the IPC and Sections (3) (1) (f) (g) (r) & (s) (va) of the SS/ST (POA) Act, 2016. The case was pending trial before the Special Sessions Judge for Trial of Cases under SCs/STs POA Act cum VII Additional District Sessions Judge, Rangareddy district. Revanth Reddy had approached the High Court in 2020, seeking to quash the FIR and related proceedings on the grounds that the case was politically motivated and lacked merit. During the arguments on the petition, Palle Nageshwar Rao, public prosecutor, appearing for the state government, informed the court that the investigating officer had examined eight witnesses and recorded their statements. He told the court that none of the witnesses stated that Revanth Reddy was present at the scene. Mumbai, July 17 : The Maharashtra government will set up Science and Innovation Activity Centres (SIACs) in all remaining 23 districts of the state, Information Technology Minister Ashish Shelar announced in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday. The expanded initiative will also include the establishment of 28 new technology laboratories over the next five years at an estimated cost of Rs 192 crore. Shelar said the programme will now be named after astrophysicist Jayant Narlikar to honour his contributions to science and technology. Since 2015, the Rajiv Gandhi Science and Technology Commission (RGSTC) has developed SIACs in six districts -- Warananagar, Pravaranagar, Amravati, Satara, Baramati and Devrukh -- with work in progress at three more locations -- Nanded, Akola and Parbhani. "These centres have engaged lakhs of students, teachers, and citizens, drawing positive feedback and active participation," Shelar noted. "Now, the government is determined to ensure that every district in the state has access to such a facility, with an aim to build a science-friendly Maharashtra." The initiative aligns with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and seeks to instil a scientific temper among students -- a value enshrined as a fundamental duty in the Indian Constitution, the Minister pointed out. The SIACs, developed in partnership with local educational institutions and leading science bodies such as the Nehru Science Centre (under the National Council of Science Museums), Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education, Vigyan Ashram, and Muktangan Exploratory Science Centre, complement the formal school curriculum. They offer hands-on exposure to technologies such as robotics, 3D printing, coding, and interactive science experiments and models. "These are not just centres for schoolchildren but community knowledge hubs that encourage scientific inquiry, creativity and critical thinking," said Shelar. To ensure smooth execution, the government will form a professional team comprising curators, engineers and retired officials. Collaboration with central institutions, including the National Council of Science Museums, is also planned to scale up the initiative effectively. "In the next five years, every district will have at least one SIAC that fosters curiosity, strengthens communication skills, and provides training for teachers, especially benefiting students from rural and remote areas," Shelar added. Seoul, July 17 : Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to attend a court hearing on the legality of his arrest later this week, his lawyers said Thursday. The hearing, which has been scheduled for 10:15 a.m. On Friday, the Seoul Central District Court will review whether the former president's arrest was lawful and should remain in place. "He decided to attend the hearing to personally explain his health condition as it is effectively impossible for him to attend his ongoing criminal trial or appear before the special counsel," a lawyer said, adding Yoon's health has "seriously deteriorated." Yoon filed for the review on Wednesday, less than a week after he was placed under arrest at the Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang, just south of the capital, over five key charges related to his attempt to impose martial law in December. Depending on the court's decision, which is expected to be announced within 24 hours after the hearing, Yoon will either be released from the detention centre or remain in custody until the end of a 20-day initial arrest period, according to Yonhap News Agency. Earlier in the day, Yoon Suk Yeol did not attend his insurrection trial for the second time, stating that he would boycott all future hearings unless the special counsel's team, led by Cho Eun-suk, was removed from the courtroom. Yoon is currently in custody at the Seoul Detention Centre in Uiwang, just south of the capital, after a court issued a warrant to arrest him last Thursday over charges related to his attempt to impose martial law in December. A trial on separate charges of insurrection and abuse of power related to the martial law bid has already been underway, and the 11th hearing opened at the Seoul Central District Court earlier in the day. "Unless the special counsel is removed from the hearings, it is difficult for the defendant to be present," one of Yoon's lawyers said, accusing Cho's team of seriously violating the defendant's rights through an "illegal" investigation. Yoon was also absent from the 10th hearing last week, which came only hours after he was placed in custody. It was the first time he had missed his trial, which he attributed to his health. Dumka : , July 17 (IANS) Diarrhea has claimed four lives in just eight days in Bedia, a tribal-dominated village in the Jarmundi block of Jharkhand's Dumka district. Several other residents have taken ill, prompting urgent medical intervention from the district administration. The medical crisis came to light after former state minister and senior Congress leader Badal Patralekh informed Dumka Deputy Commissioner and Jharkhand Health Minister Dr Irfan Ansari about the outbreak and the rising number of fatalities on Thursday. The first casualty was Sangeeta Marandi, who died on July 7, followed by her son Arvind Soren on July 10. On Thursday, July 17, two more deaths were reported -- Lakhiram's wife and Bablu Kisko. Taking cognisance of the situation, Dr Ansari immediately directed the Deputy Commissioner and Civil Surgeon to rush a medical team to the village with life-saving medicines and essential supplies. The team reached the village on Thursday afternoon and has now begun treatment and containment efforts. Badal Patralekh, who also shared the incident on social media, warned that the affected area is close to the Basukinath Shravani Mela zone. He said any further spread of the infection could pose a serious public health risk during the upcoming pilgrimage season. Calling the deaths "deeply saddening," the former minister demanded urgent strengthening of healthcare infrastructure in tribal regions to prevent such tragedies. He also urged the administration to provide immediate financial aid and compensation to the affected families. Meanwhile, the health department team has launched an investigation into the outbreak. Contaminated drinking water is suspected to be the primary cause, and water sources in the village are being tested. A number of conditions can cause diarrhea, including viruses. Exposure to certain bacteria, such as Escherichia coli, or parasites through contaminated food or water can also lead to diarrhea. Srinagar, July 17 : As Yatris were allowed to move from the two base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam towards the Amarnath cave shrine as weather improved on Thursday, more than 2.51 lakh had 'Darshan' during the first 15 days since the Yatra started on July 3. Due to bad weather the Yatra had been momentarily suspended on Thursday, but as the weather improved, Yatris were allowed to move towards the cave shrine from the two base camps of Baltal and Nunwan (Pahalgam). Officials said the Yatra continues to draw thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad. Officials added that a total of 5,110 pilgrims had darshan till 2 p.m. on Thursday, bringing the total number of Yatris who performed the Yatra during the first 15 days to more than 2.51 lakh. "This year's Yatra, which marks a profound spiritual journey for countless devotees, has seen an overwhelming response, with people from all walks of life taking part in the pilgrimage to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva." "The 15-day mark reflects a steady and well-managed flow of Yatris, with authorities ensuring their comfort, safety, and spiritual fulfillment." "Pilgrims have expressed deep satisfaction over the arrangements made by the administration, including sanitation, healthcare, food, transportation, and security measures." "Many pilgrims have praised the dedicated services of the Shrine Board, security forces, volunteers, and various government departments involved in managing the Yatra." "Despite tough terrain and unpredictable weather conditions in the Himalayas, the Yatra is progressing smoothly. The authorities continue to monitor the situation closely and are prepared to handle any emergent challenges," officials said. With several more weeks to go before the conclusion of the pilgrimage, officials expect the number of pilgrims to rise significantly, reaffirming Shri Amarnathji Yatra's status as one of India's most respected journey of faith. Photo: https://eurosolidarity.org/ MP, leader of the European Solidarity party, Petro Poroshenko, believes that the statement by Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko that the sanctions were imposed on the basis of a decision by an interdepartmental working group and data from the State Financial Monitoring Service of Ukraine (Gosfinmonitoring) is evidence of falsification of sanctions against him. As reported on the website of the political force on Thursday, Poroshenko came to this conclusion because earlier the head of the State Financial Monitoring Service, Pylyp Pronin, stated at a meeting of the parliamentary temporary investigative commission on June 25 that he did not transfer data on the leader of European Solidarity to the Ministry of Economy, which was previously headed by Svyrydenko, because this would violate the law. "This is evidence of falsification, illegality of sanctions. This is a fundamental contradiction when Pronin says: I did not direct anything, and Svyrydenko says: Everything was directed by Pronin. I want to say that as of today, in 2025, neither the Ministry of Economy, nor, especially, without legal authority, the Financial Monitoring Service, nor the Cabinet of Ministers have ever initiated sanctions except for the decree, where my name is indicated since all the times it was the Security Service of Ukraine that initiated them, but in the request of the Security Service of Ukraine, there is no name of Poroshenko," the politician noted after the Supreme Court hearing on his claim on the illegality of sanctions. Lawyer Ihor Holovan reported that, in accordance with the Code of Administrative Procedure, it is the government representatives who must prove the legality of their actions and provide all the grounds for imposing sanctions against Poroshenko, but they have not done so yet. He said that the central authorities, including the President of Ukraine, do not have electronic offices, so all case materials are sent to them by mail, which they simply do not pick up from the department. Representatives of 11 diplomatic institutions, journalists from Ukrainian and foreign media, public activists, and deputies attended the court hearing. The next court hearing will take place at 11:00 on July 23. As reported, on February 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree on the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of February 12, 2025 "On the application of personal special economic and other restrictive measures (sanctions)". According to the appendix to the document, sanctions were imposed against five individuals: Poroshenko, Ihor Kolomoisky, former owner of Finance and Credit Bank Kostiantyn Zhevaho, former co-owner of PrivatBank Hennadiy Boholiubov and former MP Viktor Medvedchuk. Poroshenko appealed the sanctions in the Supreme Court. On April 17, the court began 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 note that the sanctions were imposed illegally as a citizen of Ukraine who is in the country, while only Russia considers him a "terrorist". Consequently, there are no grounds for sanctions under the law. On June 19, Poroshenko said that Zelenskyy's decree on imposing sanctions against him should be cancelled, since the deadline for providing documents on the grounds for such sanctions had been exceeded. "Today, the court has been considering these illegal sanctions for five months. I would like to emphasize separately that the law gives the subjects of authority - and this is the President of Ukraine, the Cabinet of Ministers as the initiators - 15 days to comprehensively provide all and any grounds that would allow the subject of authority to apply sanctions," the politician said. Poroshenko believes that if there are no legal grounds for imposing sanctions against him, then the grounds are only political. On June 20, Poroshenko's lawyers presented the Supreme Court with materials on the falsification of documents, on the basis of which the National Security and Defense Council's decision to impose illegal sanctions against him was made. According to him, the documents were received by the NSDC Secretariat on February 13, and the decision to impose sanctions against him was made on February 12. Poroshenko also stated that the State Financial Monitoring Service refused the request to provide a motion to the Supreme Court and also links it to the personal position of the head of the agency, Pylyp Pronin. Srinagar, July 17 : As Yatris were allowed to move from the two base camps of Baltal and Pahalgam towards the Amarnath cave shrine as weather improved on Thursday, more than 2.51 lakh had 'Darshan' during the first 15 days since the Yatra started on July 3. Due to bad weather the Yatra had been momentarily suspended on Thursday, but as the weather improved, Yatris were allowed to move towards the cave shrine from the two base camps of Baltal and Nunwan (Pahalgam). Officials said the Yatra continues to draw thousands of devotees from across the country and abroad. Officials added that a total of 5,110 pilgrims had darshan till 2 p.m. on Thursday, bringing the total number of Yatris who performed the Yatra during the first 15 days to more than 2.51 lakh. "This year's Yatra, which marks a profound spiritual journey for countless devotees, has seen an overwhelming response, with people from all walks of life taking part in the pilgrimage to seek the blessings of Lord Shiva." "The 15-day mark reflects a steady and well-managed flow of Yatris, with authorities ensuring their comfort, safety, and spiritual fulfillment." "Pilgrims have expressed deep satisfaction over the arrangements made by the administration, including sanitation, healthcare, food, transportation, and security measures." "Many pilgrims have praised the dedicated services of the Shrine Board, security forces, volunteers, and various government departments involved in managing the Yatra." "Despite tough terrain and unpredictable weather conditions in the Himalayas, the Yatra is progressing smoothly. The authorities continue to monitor the situation closely and are prepared to handle any emergent challenges," officials said. With several more weeks to go before the conclusion of the pilgrimage, officials expect the number of pilgrims to rise significantly, reaffirming Shri Amarnathji Yatra's status as one of India's most respected journey of faith. This is the first occasion this year that the pilgrimage has been halted for a day from Jammu. Since the pilgrimage began on July 3, more than 2.35 lakh pilgrims have visited the shrine. More than four lakh devotees have registered online for the pilgrimage so far. The 38-day-long pilgrimage will conclude on August 9. New Delhi, July 17 : Mariano Caucino, Argentina's Ambassador to India, has reaffirmed his country's strong support to India in its ongoing fight against terrorism while expressing commitment to strengthen the global fight against the menace. Speaking during an event celebrating ArgentinaAs National Day in New Delhi, the diplomat reminded that Argentina was among the first countries to convey its message of support to the Indian government and the Indian people on the "atrocious terrorist attack" that took place on April 22 in Pahalgam. "Argentina has suffered terrorism and we know what terrorism means," the envoy affirmed, remembering that "in 1992 and 1994, we lost more than 100 innocent lives because of the bombing of the Israeli Embassy and the Jewish Community Center (AMIA) in Buenos Aires". "It is the strong commitment of the Argentine government under the leadership of President Milei to reject terror in any of its forms. Terrorism is unacceptable in any of its forms and sovereign states have the right and the obligation to prevent and prosecute this threat to peace and world security," the envoy stated in his address during the event. Ambassador Caucino mentioned that the bilateral link between the two nations continues to thrive and has been solidified with PM Modi's recent visit to Argentina. "PM Modi and President Javier Milei had the chance to exchange views on several areas of mutual interest, including the shared common views on the importance of free markets, deregulation, limited government and the rule of law," he said. He stated that the two countries share common values when it comes to democracy, freedom and respect for human dignity and, at the same time, both countries are pursuing a path of development with a common understanding of the benefits of free markets. "I feel it is a great privilege to serve here when India has reached such high achievements in its recent historical experience, having become the Worldas fifth largest economy," said Caucino. The Ambassador said that both countries have made remarkable progress in bilateral trade over the past 10 years. "With a total trade volume reaching 4.6 billion US dollars, Argentina has solidified its position as the leading supplier of soybean oil to the Indian market and the third-largest provider of sunflower oil, significantly contributing to the food security of the Indian consumer," the envoy mentioned. In terms of the key sector of mining, the Ambassador emphasised that recent years have marked a significant milestone for Indian mining companies. "The province of Catamarca is now hosting Indian firms that are not only exploring lithium but also showing interest in copper and gold. Governor Raul Jalil of Catamarca visited India two months ago in order to enhance and promote these ties. "These investments are particularly important as India advances its Electric Vehicle (EV) development, aiming to secure a resilient and diversified supply chain for critical minerals essential for various industries in India," Ambassador Caucino added. Earlier this year, Horacio Daniel MarAn, President of YPF, Argentinaas main oil and gas company, visited India and signed an agreement with Indian energy companies, in what represented an important step ahead for bilateral relations on the matter. Chandigarh, July 17 : A round table with industry associations from across Punjab was held on Thursday here, with state Industry Minister Sanjeev Arora and Finance Minister Harpal Cheema with the main demand to revamp all focal points and industrial zones. At the outset, the industry representatives expressed gratitude to the Punjab government for announcing the long-pending one-time settlement policy, allowing resolution of litigated industrial plot dues in focal points by paying eight per cent interest penalty. Various critical issues affecting industry were raised, including the urgent need to revamp all focal points and industrial zones, capping high mortgage and hypothecation fees for industrial loans, reduction of GST on bicycles from 12 to five per cent, rationalisation of wheeling charges for solar power transmission, provision of dry port container facilities for rice exporters in Amritsar and expediting the development of convention centres in Amritsar, Mohali, and Ludhiana. Minister Arora assured industry leaders that these matters will be taken up on priority and responded to within a time-bound period of 45 days. His Cabinet colleague Cheema assured that the issue of lowering GST on bicycles would be raised in the next GST Council meeting. He also committed to reviewing the discontinuation of the 2.5 per cent fiscal incentive withdrawn by the previous state government in 2018. Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, urged the need to expedite infrastructure development in the Rajpura Industrial Zone and invited industrialists to set up their units there. He also highlighted that Punjab offers one of the lowest power tariffs for industry in the country. Meanwhile, Industry Minister Arora said the state government would be bringing a new industrial policy, the best in India, that will pave the way for providing a progressive climate for industrial growth and employment generation in Punjab. He noted that the policy would be designed after extensive consultation with various industries. As a first step, the state government is ready to notify the sector-specific committees to allow for a structured and collaborative engagement between industry and the government. These committees will function for two years from the date of notification, extendable upon the discretion of the government, the Minister added. New Delhi, July 17 : External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar on Thursday met a delegation of Special Envoys of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung which was led by Kim Boo-kyum, former Prime Minister of South Korea. During the meeting, both sides discussed ways to deepen cooperation in the areas of economy, technology, defence, and maritime security, along with enhancing people-to-people exchanges. India affirmed to actively engage with the new South Korean administration with an aim to further boost the Special Strategic Partnership between both nations. "Delighted to meet RoK President Lee Jae Myungas delegation of Special Envoys to India led by former PM Kim Boo-kyum this morning in Delhi. Discussed economic, technology, defence and maritime cooperation. As well as expanding people-to-people exchanges. India will engage the new administration actively and work towards further enhancing our Special Strategic Partnership," EAM Jaishankar posted on X. India and South Korea began a 'Strategic Partnership' in 2010, which was elevated to 'Special Strategic Partnership' in 2015 during the State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Seoul. South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday appointed special envoys to India, the European Union (EU), France, and Britain, the Presidential Office said, as part of broader diplomatic outreach efforts. The move is seen as an effort to strengthen the foundation for summit diplomacy by sending special envoys who can brief on Lee's state affairs policy and deliver friendly messages to widen exchange. A presidential official said the government plans to appoint special envoys who can appropriately explain the new government's governing philosophy and foreign policy agenda. Earlier in the day, EAM Jaishankar held meaningful discussions with Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations of the Holy See in New Delhi, focusing on the significance of faith and the role of dialogue and diplomacy in resolving conflict. "Pleased to meet Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organisations of the Holy See. A good conversation about the importance of faith, and the need for dialogue and diplomacy to address conflicts," the EAM said in another post on X. Chennai, July 17 : In a bid to quell the growing tensions between the DMK and Congress over controversial remarks made by DMK MP Tiruchi Siva about Congress icon and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K. Kamaraj, Chief Minister and DMK president M.K. Stalin on Thursday appealed for unity and restraint among political allies. Stalin's statement came amid an escalating war of words on social media between supporters of both parties, following Siva's comments, which many viewed as disrespectful to Kamaraj's legacy. The DMK MP had claimed that Kamaraj wouldn't sleep without an air conditioner and had allegedly held DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi's hands in his final days, asking him to protect democracy. The remarks sparked outrage among Congress leaders, including MPs S. Jothimani and Manickam Tagore, and led to strong rebuttals, straining the relationship between the two allies and prompting the opposition to question the unity of the INDIA Bloc. Posting on his official 'X' handle, Stalin urged everyone to avoid divisive rhetoric and honour the memory of Kamaraj with dignity. "Let us not give room to the thoughts of evil-minded people who intend to incite division and gain from it," he wrote. "It is not appropriate to hold controversial debates in public about such a towering Tamil leader. Any opinion should be shared in a manner that upholds the dignity of respected leaders." Calling for focus on Kamaraj's ideals, Stalin said, "Let us all unite and work to fulfil the dreams of Kamarajar, who strived his entire life to establish social justice and secular harmony. Let us avoid pointless debates." Stalin also highlighted the deep respect Dravidian leaders had for Kamaraj. He recalled that social reformer Periyar had hailed Kamaraj as the "True Tamilian," while DMK founder C.N. Annadurai had declined to field a candidate against him in the Gudiyatham by-election. Stalin further noted that former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi had personally organised Kamaraj's final rites, constructed his memorial, and declared his birth anniversary as the Day of Educational Development. On a personal note, Stalin said it was one of the greatest honours of his life that Kamaraj, despite poor health, attended his wedding. While some Congress leaders continue to express dissatisfaction over the remarks, senior figures in the party are treading cautiously, mindful of the alliance's broader political implications. Stalin's carefully worded statement is being seen as an effort to de-escalate tensions and preserve the unity of the DMK-Congress alliance ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. Mumbai, July 17 : Congress legislator Nana Patole in the Maharashtra Assembly, on Thursday, again raised the honeytrap scandal targeting the state's high ranking officers and politicians and displayed a pen drive. Patole, who is a former Assembly Speaker, did not stop there but said that he is ready to show the content in the pen drive to the state government. He appealed to the Speaker Rahul Narwekar to direct the state government to take stern action against the culprits. He had raised the issue through a point of propriety on Wednesday. Patole warned that it would be detrimental to the state if confidential and sensitive information has been leaked during the honeytrap scandal. "Through honeytrap, important documents of the state are in the hands of anti-social elements. I do not want to defame anyone. But the government is not serious about all this. The government is not ready to give even a simple statement," he said. "More than 72 officials and some Ministers of the state have been caught in the net of honeytrap. Confidential information is being collected from the honeytrappers. Also, some officials have been blackmailed and have thought of extreme things like suicide. The government is not ready to say anything on this. That is why I raised this issue in the Assembly today," Patole added. He appealed the Speaker Narwekar to direct the state government to make a statement in this regard. He also expressed serious displeasure over state government's reluctance to make a statement explaining what action has been taken in this case. He brought to the Speaker's notice that despite his directive the state government has not made any statement on Thursday. Patole urged Speaker Narwekar to give strong directives to immediately make a statement. "I ask the government to take a serious view of the submission made by senior legislator Nana Patole and make statement revealing future line of action on Friday. I also ask the government to make statements tomorrow on directives given earlier about various other issues raised by Opposition," Speaker Narwekar said. NCP-SP legislator Jayant Patil said that the Nashik honey trap case is serious. He also demanded that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Deputy Chief Ministers, Eknath Shinde and Ajit Pawar, should give a statement on all these cases. After Speaker's directive, Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that the state government has taken cognisance of this issue. New Delhi, July 17 : Shiv Sena on Thursday hit out at the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress for branding Asaduddin Owaisi's party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), as the "B-Team" of the BJP. New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) Shiv Sena on Thursday hit out at the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress for branding Asaduddin Owaisi's party, the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM), as the "B-Team" of the BJP. Shiv Sena accused the two parties of "arrogance" and "hypocrisy", saying their rejection of AIMIM's proposal to join the Mahagathbandhan in Bihar reveals an "ego-driven" political mindset. The sharp reaction from Shiv Sena came after RJD spokesperson Mrityunjay Tiwari alleged that Owaisi's party has consistently worked to divide secular votes, thereby indirectly benefiting "communal forces." Tiwari's comments also follow Congress's rejection of AIMIM's overture to join the Mahagathbandhan ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections. The Congress termed AIMIM a "communal party" and ruled out any alliance. Responding to these developments, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam said, "It is unfortunate that RJD and Congress are treating Bihar as their personal fiefdom. AIMIM's offer to join the Mahagathbandhan was a positive step towards consolidating secular votes against the BJP and NDA. But instead of welcoming them, both Congress and RJD dismissed the proposal." He further added, "What kind of secularism is this? If AIMIM, a secular party in its own right, wants to join forces to defeat the BJP, then their support should be embraced. But by sidelining Owaisi, RJD and Congress have revealed their egos. They no longer have the right to accuse him of helping the BJP." Nirupam also pointed out that Owaisi's party, though based in Hyderabad, has the constitutional right to contest elections anywhere in the country. "RJD contests in Maharashtra. Samajwadi Party and Bahujan Samaj Party also contest in multiple states, including Maharashtra. So why should Owaisi be singled out? Politics should be free of ego. Sadly, Mahagathbandhan seems to have no space left for unity or humility," he told IANS. Shiv Sena leader Krishna Hegde further reacted to it and said, "Congress calls AIMIM the B-Team of the BJP simply because Owaisi once praised Prime Minister Modi's foreign policy and supported Operation Sindoor. He criticised Pakistan on global platforms, and that upset Congress." Hegde also added, "The truth is, Congress is nervous. If AIMIM is not part of the Mahagathbandhan, it will hurt Congress electorally in key Muslim-dominated regions. Even JDU leaders have acknowledged that the NDA is poised to return to power in Bihar." Meanwhile, Congress leader Udit Raj defended the party's stance, stating, "Owaisi's speeches lead to communal polarisation. Every time the INDIA Bloc enters election mode, AIMIM suddenly becomes active and gives provocative speeches. This divides the Hindu-Muslim vote and benefits the BJP." These statements come in the wake of AIMIM's formal pitch to join the Mahagathbandhan. In a letter addressed to RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, AIMIM's Bihar unit president and MLA Akhtarul Iman urged inclusion in the alliance, stressing the importance of avoiding a split in secular votes. As the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections approach, several AIMIM leaders have publicly expressed a desire to join the Grand Alliance, claiming that discussions have already begun with Opposition leader Tejashwi Yadav and Congress representatives. However, on July 14, Asaduddin Owaisi hit out at the INDIA bloc, dismissing any possibility of joining hands with the Bloc ahead of the Bihar elections. New Delhi, July 17 : A political storm brewed in Bihar's Darbhanga district after a viral video surfaced from the 83-Darbhanga Assembly segment, where a man accused a woman seen inside a voter centre of being affiliated with the BJP and illegally involved in electoral roll duties. The video, widely shared on social media, especially by opposition leaders including Tejashwi Yadav, has now drawn a strong clarification from the Election Commission of India (ECI). Tejashwi Yadav, while posting the video on the social media platform X, claimed: "How is the Modi government at the Centre, through the Election Commission, under the pretext of revising the voter list, bent on destroying democracy and abolishing the Constitution? Faced with defeat in the elections, every kind of tactic is being employed." The video shows a man questioning a woman at a voter centre, to which she responds that she is a social worker. The man alleges she is the BJP's district president and accuses her of illegally influencing the voter list process. However, the Darbhanga district administration quickly issued a rebuttal and clarified the matter. The district administration stated that the building in question is a government school, not a private or BJP office, and that the voter list revision work was being conducted under proper supervision. According to the administration, the woman in the video is Sunita Kumari, who is the district president of Shikshak Sabha Bharti. She was present at the booth as per duty. The man who filmed the video was identified as a political worker attempting to create confusion and falsely accused the BLOs (Booth Level Officers) and the administration of bias. The ECI also responded to the viral post shared by Tejaswi Yadav and, in a reply to this post on X, stated, "The claims made in the video are false." It directed citizens to official platforms for verified information. With Bihar's upcoming elections gaining momentum, the incident underlines the growing tension between political parties and the significance of credible electoral processes. The district administration has affirmed its commitment to transparency and warned against spreading misinformation. New Delhi, July 17 : India on Thursday reiterated its commitment to offer full assistance in the case of Nimisha Priya, a Kerala nurse sentenced to death in Yemen for the murder of a Yemeni national, asserting that it is also in touch with some friendly governments to render all possible support. "This is a very sensitive matter and the Government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case. We have provided legal assistance and also appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We have also arranged regular consular visits for the family, and we are in touch with both local authorities and the family members to resolve this issue," said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal during a weekly media briefing in New Delhi. "This included concerted efforts in the last few days to seek more time for her family to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party. The local authorities in Yemen have postponed carrying out her sentence that was scheduled for July 16. We will continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance in the case. We are also in touch with some friendly governments in this regard," he added. In a significant development in the case, the scheduled execution of the Indian nurse has been temporarily halted. Nimisha Priya was to be executed on Wednesday, but following the lengthy period of multipronged negotiations, her execution has been kept in abeyance. Analysts believe that it is the family of the deceased that can pardon Priya. However, with a difference of opinion surfacing in the family, the religious people involved in the negotiations, besides officials, are trying their best to resolve the issue. It has been learnt that the next part of the negotiation will centre around the 'blood money' that will be given. For the unversed, 'blood money' is monetary compensation to the family of the person killed in exchange for forgiveness. It is an accepted practice under Sharia law. A Kerala billionaire has also expressed his willingness to chip in with whatever financial support is needed. Priya is currently lodged in a jail in Yemen, facing the death penalty for the alleged murder of her former business partner, Talal Abdo Mehdi, in 2017. She moved to Yemen in 2008 to support her family and initially worked as a nurse before opening her clinic. In 2017, following a dispute with Mehdi -- her business partner -- she allegedly administered sedatives to him in a bid to retrieve her confiscated passport. However, the sedatives proved fatal. Priya was arrested while attempting to flee the country and was convicted of murder in 2018. A death sentence was handed down in 2020 and upheld by Yemen's Supreme Judicial Council in November 2023. However, the court allowed the possibility of clemency through a 'blood money' arrangement. Jaipur, July 17 : Jaipur has achieved a significant milestone by entering the list of the top-20 "cleanest cities" in the country for the first time under the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25. Jaipur, July 17 (IANS) Jaipur has achieved a significant milestone by entering the list of the top-20 "cleanest cities" in the country for the first time under the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25. Jaipur Municipal Corporation Greater secured the 16th rank, while Jaipur Municipal Corporation Heritage stood at 20th among cities with a population of more than 10 lakh. Meanwhile, Dungarpur has made Rajasthan proud by being included in the prestigious Swachh Super League of cities with a population between 20,000 to 50,000 across India. As per the state-wise rankings, Dungarpur has been declared the cleanest city in Rajasthan, followed by Jaipur Greater at second place and Jaipur Heritage at third. Udaipur ranked fourth, Sikar fifth, Jaisalmer sixth, Bharatpur seventh, Churu eighth, Nathdwara ninth, and Pushkar tenth. Jaipur Municipal Corporation Greater was honoured with the title of "Promising Clean City" in Rajasthan. Both Greater and Heritage were awarded a 3-star rating in the national survey. Jaipur Greater earned 91 per cent in door-to-door garbage collection, 89 per cent in waste segregation, 75 per cent in waste generation and processing and 100 per cent in cleanliness of residential and commercial areas Jaipur Heritage scored 91 per cent in garbage collection, 50 per cent in segregation, 86 per cent in waste generation and processing and 100 per cent in residential and commercial area cleanliness Special recognition was given for installing separate dustbins for wet and dry waste and for ensuring the safety of sanitation workers involved in sewer and drain cleaning. Key projects like the waste-to-energy plant and construction waste processing facilities helped both municipal bodies improve their scores significantly. Efforts were led by former Greater Commissioner Rukmani Riyad and Heritage Commissioner Arun Kumar Hasija, focusing on removing open garbage dumps and implementing efficient waste collection systems, including night sweeping. The Swachh Survey assessed cleanliness levels based on waste management, public toilet facilities, urban beautification, and public awareness. Both corporations emphasised citizen participation and awareness drives, contributing to the improved rankings. The award ceremony was held at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, where President Droupadi Murmu presented the honours to the winning cities. Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar was also present. Notably, in the 2023 rankings, Jaipur Greater and Heritage had ranked 173rd and 171st, respectively. Their leap into the top 20 this year marks a remarkable turnaround in the city's cleanliness standards. Merz on supply of additional Patriot systems to Ukraine: Its not matter of hours, but of days and weeks Photo: https://www.facebook.com/MerzCDU German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that the transfer of Patriot air defense systems to Kyiv could take several weeks, Bloomberg reports. "Our defense ministers are discussing the details of how we can organize the delivery of Patriots to Ukraine in a short period of time," Merz said on Thursday. "They also need to be transported and installed. It is not a matter of hours, but days and weeks," the agency quoted Merz as saying. He made the corresponding statement after talks in London with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who for his part indicated that London is working with allies to "provide Ukraine with more opportunities." Earlier, NATO Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grinkewych said that the United States is working closely with Germany on the issue of transferring Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine. US President Donald Trump announced on July 11 that US NATO allies would purchase weapons from Washington that could then be transferred to Ukraine. Official consent to purchase weapons from the USA has so far been given by Berlin and Copenhagen. Mumbai, July 17 : After the issue of 14 aspirational toilets worth Rs 20 crore being constructed on foothpaths was raised in the Legislative Assembly by BJP legislator Ameet Satam, the Maharashtra government on Thursday announced a stay on all ongoing works and ordered a probe into the matter. Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) Commissioner to conduct probe and asked the government to take appropriate action against the Additional Municipal Commissioner (City) if found that the decision was taken by violating the policies. Many of these toilets are in heritage precincts of Colaba and Fort areas. Raising the issue in the Legislative Assembly through calling attention motion, MLA Ameet Satam said that the BMC has approved tenders for 14 'Aspirational Toilets' worth Rs 20 crore, and work has already commenced at five locations in A Ward. "Despite the BMC's own Pedestrian First policy and the fact that these areas are surrounded by heritage buildings and precincts, these structures are not just toilets but effectively amount to BMC-sponsored encroachments on public footpaths. The local elected representative had opposed the construction of these toilets on footpaths. Was this opposition taken into account by the BMC? Did the civic body provide any clarification or explanation to the representative? Who was the officer responsible for identifying the locations and issuing tenders for this project?" asked MLA Ameet Satam. Ameet Satam further asked 'what kind of special technology is being used in these toilets' which are being constructed at a cost of Rs 1.75 crore. "Will the government order an inquiry to determine whether vested interests influenced the decision to construct these toilets, and ensure that the probe is completed within 30 days? Will a stay be imposed on the ongoing work until the inquiry report is submitted? If the inquiry finds evidence of vested interests and procedural irregularities, will action be taken under the MRTP Act?" asked MLA Satam. Responding to the issue, Industries Minister Uday Samant said that the government will conduct probe into the construction of these toilets on footpaths and it will be completed in 30 days. "The inquiry will assess whether the project violates BMCas own policy. Until the investigation is completed, all ongoing work will be stayed. Action will be taken based on the findings of the inquiry," added Samant. Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar stated that despite opposition from local elected representatives, officials are making arbitrary and unilateral decisions, in clear violation of democratic norms. "It appears the decision to carry out the work was taken at the direction of the Additional Municipal Commissioner (City). The BMC Municipal Commissioner should conduct inquiry in 30 days, and if it is found that this decision was made in violation of policy, appropriate action must be taken against the Additional Municipal Commissioner (City)," said Narwekar. He also said that if rules were not followed, those responsible for the decisions must be suspended. "The government should take exemplary action so that such rule violations and disregard for the legislature are not repeated," added Narwekar. Mumbai Suburban District Guardian Minister Ashish Shelar remarked that even if approval has been obtained from the heritage committee, these areas include UNESCO-recognised heritage sites and precincts. There are strict regulations governing construction in such areas. The aesthetic integrity of Mumbai must be preserved, and pedestrian rights should not be compromised, Shelar said. Mumbai, July 17 : The Supreme Court has given a clear verdict on November 26, 2024, that only Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs can get the benefit of reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), and other religions are not eligible. In line with this, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis informed the Legislative Council on Thursday that the certificates of Scheduled Castes obtained after conversion will be cancelled. Responding to the issue raised by members Amit Gorkhe, Chitra Wagh, Praveen Darekar, Uma Khapre, and Shrikant Bhartiya, the Chief Minister said that giving Scheduled Caste certificates to those who convert to Christianity is not in accordance with the Constitution. The Supreme Court decision also states that if someone is not a Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist, they will not get Scheduled Caste status, he added. He said that if people of other religions have obtained Scheduled Caste certificates in a wrong manner, then in such cases the certificates of the concerned persons will be cancelled, and if they have obtained benefits like jobs, elections through it, then the benefits obtained will also be recovered. At the same time, he also clarified that the state government is ready to take strict action against those who convert people through fraud, pressure or bait. He also stated that the report of the committee headed by the state Director General of Police in this regard has been received, and legal provisions will be made based on that. "No action will be taken against any religious institution solely on the basis of religion, but if a complaint is received, an investigation will be conducted and action will be taken if found guilty. Moreover, certificates obtained by people known as crypto Christians who have converted secretly and presented themselves as Hindus are also becoming a challenge. The authorities have been given the power to verify the authenticity of such cases and cancel their validity based on spot visits and complaints," said the Chief Minister. He also assured the House that while there is no ban on voluntary conversion, the state government will take strict action against fraudulent conversions. New Delhi, July 17 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to advancing the India-South Korea Special Strategic Partnership as a delegation of Special Envoys from the country called on him in New Delhi, on Thursday. New Delhi, July 17 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed India's commitment to advancing the Indiaa"South Korea Special Strategic Partnership as a delegation of Special Envoys from the country called on him in New Delhi, on Thursday. The visiting delegation is led by the country's former PM Kim Boo Kyum and also includes Rep Lee Kai Ho and DPK Supreme Council Member Song Sun-ho. "Delighted to receive the delegation of Special Envoys from the Republic of Korea led by Mr. Kim Boo Kyum. Recalled my positive meeting with President Jaemyung Lee last month. Indiaa"ROK Special Strategic Partnership, which completes 10 years, continues to grow from innovation and defence to shipbuilding and skilled mobility. Close collaboration between the democracies contributes to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," PM Modi posted on X after the meeting. Earlier in the day, the high-level South Korean delegation called on External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar as both sides discussed ways to deepen cooperation in the areas of economy, technology, defence, and maritime security, along with enhancing people-to-people exchanges. India affirmed to actively engage with the new South Korean administration with an aim to further boost the Special Strategic Partnership between both nations. "Delighted to meet RoK President Lee Jae Myungas delegation of Special Envoys to India led by former PM Kim Boo-kyum this morning in Delhi. Discussed economic, technology, defence and maritime cooperation. As well as expanding people-to-people exchanges. India will engage the new administration actively and work towards further enhancing our Special Strategic Partnership," EAM Jaishankar posted on X. India and South Korea began a 'Strategic Partnership' in 2010, which was elevated to 'Special Strategic Partnership' in 2015 during the State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Seoul. South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung on Sunday appointed special envoys to India, the European Union (EU), France, and Britain, the Presidential Office said, as part of broader diplomatic outreach efforts. The move is seen as an effort to strengthen the foundation for summit diplomacy by sending special envoys who can brief on Lee's state affairs policy and deliver friendly messages to widen exchange. A presidential official said the government plans to appoint special envoys who can appropriately explain the new government's governing philosophy and foreign policy agenda. Mumbai, July 17 : Maharashtra Industry Minister Uday Samant on Thursday informed the Legislative Council that a corruption case involving silt removal from the Mithi river has exposed a fraud worth Rs 65 crore in three years and that an investigation into the matter has currently underway since 2006. He was replying to a question raised by member Prasad Lad regarding the silting of the Mithi River. Stating that the special investigation team (SIT) has examined more than three lakh photos between 2012 and 2021, Minister Samant said that some accused are currently under arrest in this case, and applications for anticipatory bail have also been filed. "The investigation has revealed that work was not done or done incorrectly in many places, and the government has a list of the contractors involved in this. Strict action will be taken against the guilty without protecting any political figures in the entire case. This scam occurred because the extracted sludge was approved to be dumped in private land instead of being dumped in a landfill," he added. Meanwhile, as gutkha and pan masala products are being transported and sold in the state, a proposal will be sent to the Law and Justice Department for guidance on whether a case can be registered under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act against the person responsible for it, said Food and Drug Administration Minister Narhari Zirwal, who informed during the Question Hour in the Legislative Council. Member Shrikant Bhartiya had asked a question regarding the effective implementation of the Gutkha Ban Scheme in the state. At this time, Leader of the Opposition Ambadas Danve and Member Praveen Darekar asked a sub-question. In his response, Minister Zirwal said that the current law is applicable for a year only, and this has been the practice since 2012. However, he admitted that the time is ripe to change this. He said that illegal goods worth Rs 450 crore have been seized, and more than 10 thousand cases have been registered. Minister Zirwal said that the shortage of manpower is a major problem in the Food and Drug Administration Department. However, now that new candidates have been sent for training, this problem will soon be resolved, and it will be possible to effectively implement the Gutkha Ban Scheme on a large scale. Expressing concern over the increasing consumption of carcinogenic substances in some places in the state, especially in the border areas, he also said that investigation officers will be appointed in areas like Dahisar, Mulund, and Malad to investigate the sale of gutkha, and strict action will be taken against the culprits. Singapore, July 17 : In a major boost to India-Singapore maritime cooperation, four Indian Navy warships - INS Delhi, INS Satpura, INS Shakti, and INS Kiltan - arrived in Singapore on Thursday as part of the Indian Navy's ongoing operational deployment to South-East Asia. Singapore, July 17 (IANS) In a major boost to India-Singapore maritime cooperation, four Indian Navy warships INS Delhi, INS Satpura, INS Shakti, and INS Kiltan arrived in Singapore on Thursday as part of the Indian Navy's ongoing operational deployment to South-East Asia. The ships, under the command of Rear Admiral Susheel Menon, were given a warm welcome by personnel of the Republic of Singapore Navy and officials from the High Commission of India. The port call is part of a wider effort to enhance maritime partnerships in the Indo-Pacific and reaffirm India's strategic commitment to the ASEAN region. During their stay, the Indian naval personnel will engage in a range of professional exchanges, discussions with academic institutions, and community outreach events aimed at reinforcing the deep-rooted bonds between the two nations, the Indian Navy stated. The ongoing visit underscores the strategic alignment between the two countries, particularly in upholding freedom of navigation and a rules-based order in maritime zones. The deployment of the Eastern Fleet ships to Southeast Asia reflects India's 'Act East' policy in action, promoting security, stability, and dialogue across the Indo-Pacific. Earlier this week, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar concluded a high-level official visit to Singapore, during which he held talks with the top leadership of the country on regional security, trade, and technological cooperation. Jaishankar described the India-Singapore relationship as "a model partnership," rooted in mutual trust and shared Indo-Pacific interests. India and Singapore enjoy over three decades of robust naval cooperation, marked by joint exercises, reciprocal training programmes, and regular port calls. With growing convergence in areas such as defence, cyber security, digital economy, and supply chain resilience, India and Singapore are poised to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership. As global geopolitics shifts, the synergy between India and Singapore continues to evolve as a cornerstone of regional peace and multilateral cooperation. Bengaluru, July 17 : Criticising Karnataka BJP President B.Y. Vijayendra that if the Congress is really concerned about oppressed classes they should declare party President Mallikarjun Kharge as the country's prime ministerial candidate, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said on Thursday that advising his party on prime ministerial candidate shows Vijayendra's arrogance. In his press statement, CM Siddaramaiah noted, "Mr. B.Y. Vijayendra, the State BJP President, who cannot even secure the stability of the very chair he occupies, has the audacity to advise the Congress on who should be our Prime Ministerial candidate. This is not just a display of his ignorance and self-deception, but also an exhibition of his arrogant entitlement." "If Mr. Vijayendra has even a habit of reading, let him acquaint himself with the history of how the BJP has treated the backward classes, Dalits, and minorities of this country. Let him reflect on the shameful episode of Bangaru Laxman, a Dalit leader whom the BJP elevated as the party's President only to disgrace him with corruption allegations and send him to jail, a humiliation that eventually led to his death. Who was responsible for that?" the Chief Minister asked. "The BJP never fails to flaunt the name of President Droupadi Murmu. But why has the same BJP never projected her as the Prime Minister of this country? The party brags about making A.P.J. Abdul Kalam the President, yet can Mr. Vijayendra answer why the BJP, in the current Lok Sabha, does not have a single Muslim MP? Why was not even a single Muslim leader given a ticket in the last parliamentary election?" he asked. "If evidence is needed on how BJP systematically undermines backward class leaders, look no further than Karnataka. S. Bangarappa, a prominent backward class leader, was politically finished by your father B.S. Yediyurappa. And now, Mr. Vijayendra, you are attempting to end the political career of his son, Kumar Bangarappa. Both father and son have made this their family mission," Siddaramaiah said, while criticising the Congress-led state government. "Let me tell you, be it Bangarappa or Prime Minister Narendra Modi, their safety in BJP exists only as long as they remain subservient to the casteist Hindutva agenda. Mr. Modi must be aware of this uncomfortable truth himself," he added. "Mr. Vijayendra, if you are truly concerned about the dignity of Dalits and backward classes, why don't you relinquish your position as State BJP President and offer it to a Dalit leader? In case you are struggling to find a name, let me suggest one name, which is, Govind Karjol," the Chief Minister said. "Though he now parrots your party's tunes, having worked with him, I can vouch that he is fundamentally a decent man. If you or your party have the courage and conviction, declare Karjol as BJP's State President and your Chief Ministerial face for Karnataka," he demanded. "But I know you won't. BJP's sole purpose is to use Dalit leaders to defame those in other parties while ensuring they never rise to positions of real power or respect within the BJP itself," he charged. "And why didn't you or your father carry the basket of 'Chaddis' that was mockingly placed on Chalavadi Narayanaswamy's head by caste bigots? Do you have an answer for that, Mr. Vijayendra?" CM Siddaramaiah asked. "Mallikarjun Kharge is not just the AICC President but a respected statesman of this country. His rise is not through playing a 'Dalit card' but through decades of dedication, integrity, and commitment to public service. His journey never needed any political patronage. And let me be very clear, in Congress, it is our party that decides who our Prime Ministerial candidate will be, not the BJP," he said. "Instead of wasting your time talking about Congress, Mr. Vijayendra, reflect on your own party. The RSS Sarsanghchalak, Mohan Bhagwat, has already signalled the political retirement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is now 75. This is the BJP's golden chance to make a Dalit the next Prime Minister," he noted. "Let that initiative start with you. Rather than giving lectures to others, why don't you propose a Dalit leader as BJP's Prime Ministerial face? Whether it is Govind Karjol or Chalavadi Narayanaswamy, if you propose their names, I will be the first to congratulate you," he said. "But I have no illusions. The BJP's treatment of Dalits and backward classes has always been tokenistic. Your history speaks for itself and so does your hypocrisy," he added. Chennai, July 17 : Reiterating the BJP's firm stance on establishing a coalition government in Tamil Nadu after the 2026 Assembly elections, senior party leader and former state unit chief K. Annamalai on Thursday said that he will strictly adhere to Union Home Minister Amit Shah's position on the matter. A day after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami (EPS) asserted that his party would form the next government in the state on its own, Annamalai offered a clear rebuttal, maintaining that the political future of Tamil Nadu lies in a coalition model. "Home Minister Amit Shah has said not once, but thrice, that there will be a coalition government in Tamil Nadu. As a disciplined BJP worker, I will not deviate from his statement. If I contradict my leader's words, I become unworthy of being part of this party," Annamalai told reporters outside the Metropolitan Magistrate Court in Saidapet, where he appeared in connection with a defamation case filed by DMK MP T.R. Baalu. Annamalai's remarks came amid speculation that his comments could deepen tensions within the BJP-AIADMK alliance. Dismissing such reports, he said: "These are baseless allegations. I had no role in forming this alliance. My position is based solely on what our national leadership has decided." He also remarked that if the AIADMK had any reservations regarding the BJP's position, it was free to take up the matter with Union Home Minister Amit Shah directly. "It's up to them to engage with our leadership if they see things differently," he added. Highlighting broader support for a coalition model, Annamalai noted that several National Democratic Alliance (NDA) constituents, including the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK), and Puthiya Tamizhagam, had publicly endorsed the idea of a coalition government in Tamil Nadu. "For the first time, Tamil Nadu is witnessing a unified call from multiple parties for a coalition arrangement. This reflects the voice of the cadre and the evolving political aspirations in the state," Annamalai said. His firm restatement of the BJP's position signals growing clarity in the party's strategy for the 2026 polls, even as alliance dynamics continue to evolve in Tamil Nadu's complex political landscape. --IANS aal/pgh Los Angeles, July 17 : Hollywood actress Denise Richards is making some serious allegations against her ex-husband Aaron Phypers. In court documents, the actress, 54, requested a temporary domestic violence restraining order against Phypers, 49, sharing details and photos accusing him of physical assault, reports 'People' magazine. She cited July 4-14 as the date of the most recent alleged assault. She alleged in the documents that "throughout our marriage, Aaron threatened to kill me and himself and the police". As per 'People', she also claimed that Phypers "owns at least eight unregistered guns". The actress also claimed that Phypers "threatened that I would 'disappear' if I called the police". She said he "repeatedly abused" her throughout their marriage. The former couple tied the knot in 2018. She also accused her ex of going through her phone and laptop while she slept and putting her messages on his laptop. "Aaron woke me up and screamed at me: 'You f****** b****. I went into your computer and saw your text messages", calling her a "lying b****", she alleged in court documents. She also alleged that Phypers "smashed" her with the palm on his hand on her head while she was using the toilet, "While screaming at me repeatedly, 'Give me your f****** phone". She also claimed that Phypers refused to let her go on a trip without him, saying he "grabbed me by the back of my head by my hair and slammed me into the ground and scream, 'You are not cancelling my flight, I am going with you and I do not trust you.'". Phypers filed for divorce on Monday, July 7. He listed their date of separation as July 4 and cited "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for their split. Richards was granted a temporary restraining order from the Superior Court of California. Mumbai, July 17 : A verbal duel took place in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday between Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena camp ministers and SS-UBT legislator Aditya Thackeray. Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar expressed his displeasure over the gesture and language used by Shiv Sena-UBT legislators Aditya Thackeray and Bhaskar Jadhav in the House. aIf an irregularity has happened in the past, it should happen again. I told Bhaskar Jadhav in clear words that the right to 'right to reply' belongs to the member who initiated the discussion. No matter how many accusations you make against me, I will not allow irregularity to happen in this House," said Assembly Speaker Narwekar expressing strong displeasure. After Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde replied to the opposition's motion for discussion under Rule 293, SS-UBT legislator Bhaskar Jadhav sought permission from the Speaker to ask some questions again (right to reply). However, the Speaker refused permission, saying that Thackeray had initiated the discussion, and that he was no longer in the House, so he would not give this opportunity to anyone else. After being denied permission, Jadhav became aggressive and started making gestures towards the Speaker and speaking loudly. Jadhav's action made Shinde camp ministers and MLAs jump into the Well. Amid all the chaos, Aaditya Thackeray entered the House gesturing towards Shinde Sena ministers that led to pandemonium in the house. Shinde Sena ministers were also engaged in making gestures towards Thackeray and speaking loudly, while Uddhav Sena MLAs also became aggressive. In this chaos, the proceedings of the Assembly were adjourned for 10 minutes. After the proceedings resumed, Minister Shambhuraj Desai demanded Jadhav's suspension. Jadhav made derogatory statements about the Speaker. Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said that everyone should respect the dignity of the House, questioning whether Bhaskar Jadhavas move to make gestures and his style of speaking was appropriate. Mumbai, July 17 : Bollywood couple Sidharth Malhotra and Kiara Advani, who have been blessed with a baby girl, are requesting privacy from the media, as they step forward in their journey of parenthood. On Thursday, the actor took to the Stories section of his Instagram, and shared a note in which he urged the media to grant them and their daughter privacy. He wrote, "We're so grateful for all the love and wishes; our hearts are truly full. As we take our first steps into this new journey of parenthood, we hope to enjoy it intimately as a family. It would mean a lot to us if this special time could stay private. So, No Photos Please, Only Blessings! Thank you for your support". This comes after a video of Sid surfaced on social media, in which he was visibly angry at the paparazzi stationed at the medical facility. The actor asked the paparazzi to behave. Earlier, in February, the couple announced their pregnancy, as they shared a picture on the social media platform of themselves holding baby socks, and captioned it, "The greatest gift of our lives... Coming soon". Later, in May, the actress debuted her blossoming baby bump in a stunning ensemble by ace couturier Gaurav Gupta at the 2025 MET Gala at the The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The actress took to Instagram, and had shared a string of pictures dressed in Gaurav Gupta Couture titled 'Bravehearts'. She wore a gold sculpted breastplate with two hearts with a dramatic white cape. Sid and Kiara tied the knot in a dreamy ceremony in February 2023 after dating for several years. While the two prefer to keep their personal lives lowkey, they make sure to surprise their fans with their occasional PDA on social media. Prior to this, the actress had shared a heartwarming moment on social media as she played with adorable puppies, radiating joy and excitement. Photo: https://www.facebook.com/ The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine has handed over six remotely operated demining machines and a comprehensive set of spare parts for them to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine (SESU). As reported on the website of the organization, the newly delivered machines include two heavy-duty units capable of clearing up to 3,000 square metres per hour and four medium-class units with a capacity of up to 2,500 square metres per hour. Designed for remote operation from up to 1,500 metres away, the machines significantly reduce risks to personnel and will soon be deployed across three of Ukraines contaminated regions. The transfer took place with the financial support of the governments of Croatia, France, the Netherlands and Sweden. "At UNDP, we work closely with the Government and national and international partners to advance mine action through comprehensive policy frameworks, strategic planning, institutional capacity building, and innovation while also ensuring operational readiness through initiatives like today's handover," UNDP Deputy Resident Representative in Ukraine Christophoros Politis said. The head of the State Emergency Service, Andriy Danyk, noted the importance of the transferred equipment in the field of mine action. Mechanized demining equipment is a key instrument for the fast and safe clearance of contaminated land. Thanks to this equipment, we reduce risks for sappers and significantly increase the pace of clearing Ukraines territory from explosive ordnance, he noted. Ukraine is currently the most mine-contaminated country in the world, with about 23% of its territory requiring survey for explosive hazards. Massive contamination, particularly of agricultural land, has created an urgent need for effective mechanized demining solutions. In this context, the SESU plays a critical role in first response and humanitarian mine action. Since the full-scale invasion, the SESU has rapidly scaled up its capacity and now operates 94 demining machines yet the need for continued international support remains substantial. UNDP is a development agency working to strengthen Ukraines resilience and recovery in the face of unprecedented challenges. Bhopal, July 17 : On the second day of his Spain visit on Thursday, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav held a meeting with global leaders in the textile and fashion industry to promote investment in the state, government officials said. During a meeting at the headquarters of Inditex in Galicia, Chief Minister Yadav presented Madhya Pradesh as a "green, cost-competitive, and traceable production hub". A detailed discussion was held with senior executives of the Inditex Group on trade partnerships and sustainable investment opportunities. Chief Minister Yadav affirmed that the Madhya Pradesh government is fully committed to forging global partnerships in the textile sector. He said the presence of globally renowned brands like Inditex would accelerate economic growth, job creation, and green manufacturing in the state. The Chief Minister said that Madhya Pradesh is among India's top cotton-producing states, with an annual output of nearly three lakh metric tonnes. The state houses more than 15 textile clusters, with key centres like Indore, Mandsaur, Burhanpur, Ujjain and Neemuch leading in textile production. He also noted that a textile mega park is being established in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district. The proposed project is being developed under the Indian government's 'PM Mitra' scheme. He proposed the establishment of a garmenting unit by Inditex within the park. Highlighting the state's organic cotton production, especially in the Nimar and Malwa regions, the Chief Minister said that the state is home to several Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified farmer groups, making it an ideal partner for sustainability and traceability goals of Inditex. Chief Minister Yadav also shared that Madhya Pradesh currently exports textiles and garments worth more than Rs 7,000 crore annually, with the European Union as a major destination. He expressed confidence that a partnership with Inditex could raise the exports to Rs 10,000 crore, while also boosting local employment and women's empowerment. Chief Minister Yadav invited Inditex to become a supply chain anchor in the PM Mitra Park. He also proposed launching an organic cotton tracing platform and a vendor development programme with environmental, social and governance (ESG)-certified MSMEs. Kolkata, July 17 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Thursday, indirectly blamed the BJP of carrying out a fake propaganda of illegal Rohingya infiltration in the state to strike out the names of genuine voters in the state from the voters' list. "Rohingyas are from Myanmar. How can they be in West Bengal? Still, false propaganda is being carried out by certain vested interests that there are lakhs of illegal Rohingya infiltrators in West Bengal. They are doing this to strike out the names of genuine voters in the state from the voters' list. I challenge them to provide us with the addresses where these Rohingya infiltrators are hiding," the Chief Minister said while addressing the inauguration programme of twin housing projects at New Town in the northern outskirts of Kolkata on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, she also became vocal about the selective harassment of Bengali-speaking people, especially migrant workers from West Bengal, in other states, especially the BJP-ruled states. "Remember, these workers from West Bengal are accommodated in other states out of generosity. They are accommodated there since they are especially skilled. So we cannot tolerate their selective harassment in other states. Remember, over 1.5 crore migrant workers from other states are residing in West Bengal. They never face such harassment here," the Chief Minister said. According to her, those who resort to selective harassment of Bengali-speaking people are not aware that Bengali is the second most-spoken language in Asia and the fifth most-spoken language in the world. "I have great regard for other languages. I myself speak, read, and write in a number of languages. Any Indian citizen has the right to stay at any place in India, and they have the right to speak in any language," the Chief Minister said. Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister also subtly touched upon the event of the Indian government giving political asylum to the former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. "There might be some political or diplomatic reason for giving shelter to anyone from a neighbouring country. I did not say anything on this issue," the CM said. Islamabad, July 17 : Minority rights groups on Thursday highlighted ongoing atrocities against Hindu minorities in Pakistan, particularly the abduction and abuse of teenage girls. A leading minority rights group revealed that a 15-year-old Hindu girl and a student of Class 9, Shaneela Meghwar, was forcibly abducted at gunpoint from her home, located on Matlias Sessionsa Court Road in Badin district of Pakistanas Sindh province. The Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM) mentioned that the incident unfolded on June 23, and as of July 17, there has been no breakthrough in the case, and Shaneela is still missing, while her familyas cries for justice grow louder with each passing day. "Shaneela, a bright student in class 9, had dreams as ordinary as any girl her age a" dreams of a future shaped by education and hope. But those dreams were shattered that fateful night when two armed men stormed into her home. According to her uncle, Majnu Maharaj, the intruders pointed their guns at the family, violently pulled Shaneela out of her house, and threw her into a waiting white vehicle. The car, carrying two other men, disappeared into the night, leaving behind only shattered hearts and a community in shock," read a statement issued by the VOPM. The minority rights group highlighted that the Meghwar family turned to the Matli police, but the response they received has only deepened their despair. Despite the gravity of the crime, it stated that the police "seemed indifferent". Shaneelaas uncle Majnu recalls how the First Information Report (FIR) was only registered after community pressure, and yet it failed to name the main accused, Maqsood Dars. "The family believes that the police are intentionally shielding the culprits, leaving them to wonder whether the justice system has failed them entirely. For Shaneelaas family, the fear of what may have happened to her is compounded by a grim reality that many minority girls in rural Sindh face a" the possibility of being forcibly converted and married, a tragic fate that continues to plague marginalised communities," the rights group emphasised. "Social media platforms have been flooded with posts about Shaneelaa's abduction, calling for justice and highlighting the slow-moving investigation. Allegations have emerged, suggesting that powerful local figures may be shielding the abductors, further complicating the pursuit of justice, it added. The VOPM asserted that in Pakistan, where minority communities often live on the margins of society, the abduction of a young girl like Shaneela is not just a personal tragedy; it is a stark reminder of the "systemic injustices faced by those who are already invisible in the eyes of the state". Meanwhile, Pakistani minority rights activist, Shiva Kachhi, Co-Chairman and Founder of Minority Rights Organisation, mentioned on Thursday that the Additional Sessions Judge of Pakistanas Khipro Sanghar Court has handed over a 14-year-old Hindu minor girl, Kamla Kolhi, to the Muslim youth accused of abducting her. "Kamla Kolhi, a 14-year-old Hindu minor girl, who was abducted from Khipro three months ago, forcibly converted to Islam and married off, was produced before the court today. Despite the lawyer presenting her B-form (birth registration document) as evidence of her age, the court prioritised the girlas statement and handed her over to members of the Machhi community," the minority rights activist posted on X. "It is extremely disappointing that, despite the presence of the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act and a recent federal law which clearly states that marriage without a CNIC (National Identity Card) is a criminal offence, these laws are not being enforced in practice," the post added. Mumbai, July 17 : Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, on Thursday, directed the administration to complete the renovation and expansion work of Shirdi airport and make it fully operational before the upcoming Nashik-Trimbakeshwar Kumbh Mela. He chaired the meeting to review the ongoing works of Shirdi airport and the Greenfield airport at Purandar in Pune district. Taking a detailed review of the expansion and renovation work of Shirdi Airport, Chief Minister Fadnavis said: "The work of a new air traffic control building, integrated cargo building and terminal building at the airport in Shirdi is proposed. These works must be completed before the start of the upcoming Kumbh Mela. However, these works must be expedited and completed on time. If necessary, additional manpower should be used for this. Also, the procurement and structural design work required for the airport should be completed in the coming weeks." "Shirdi Airport is the nearest airport to Mumbai and Navi Mumbai Airport. Shirdi Airport can be used for parking small aircraft here. In this regard, if necessary, more land should be acquired to create facilities at Shirdi Airport from now onwards," he added. "As far as Purandar Airport is concerned, survey has been done. Therefore, the Pune District Collector should immediately start the necessary process to acquire the land required for this airport so that the work of the airport can start soon. After the opening of this airport, the air service network in Maharashtra will further expand," the Chief Minister said. Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar said: "The immediate action should be taken to ensure that the work on Purandar Airport starts soon. Also, there should be facilities for landing large aircraft there, for which necessary care should be taken from now on. There should also be an arrangement for an aircraft hangar at this airport." Swati Pandey, Vice-Chairman of Maharashtra Airport Development Authority, gave a presentation on the work of Shirdi and Purandar Airports. The representatives of the consulting company and contractor company appointed for Shirdi Airport also gave information. --IANS sj/khz Mumbai, July 17 : Maharashtra Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar on Thursday in the state assembly said that the process of pending honorarium of ASHA volunteers and group promoters has already begun. He said that the honorarium of ASHA volunteers and group promoters in the state is given by the Central government and the state government. He said that the honorarium was pending in the meantime due to the non-receipt of funds from the Central government. "Now the funds have been received, and the process of distributing the honorarium is underway," he said while replying to a question raised by member Nana Patole. "Honorarium from the State government is paid regularly. Funds from the Central government since January 2025 have been pending. Therefore, honorarium was not distributed during the interim period. Funds have been received from the Central government on June 4, 2025. Therefore, the pending honorarium distribution process is underway. Financial provision is available in this regard," said the minister. Meanwhile, Minister Abitkar, in his reply to another question raised by member Abhijit Patil, said that the public health department has prepared a time-bound plan to provide accommodation facilities along with hospitals for doctors and employees working in the health services in the state. Minister Abitkar said that regular attendance has been made mandatory for doctors and staff serving in the hospital, and biometric attendance has been made mandatory. It is mandatory for doctors and staff to be present for service. "Registration of everything is being made compulsory, and if any irregularities are found, an inquiry will be conducted and strict action will be taken against the concerned. The main building and staff accommodation building at Manegaon Primary Health Centre in Madha taluka have been dilapidated, and a structural audit has been conducted. Accordingly, after obtaining a certificate from the Divisional Superintendent Engineer stating that there is no objection to the demolition of this health institution, the action to deregister the building construction will be taken through the Zilla Parishad. After the construction of the dilapidated buildings of this health institution is deregistered, action will be taken to construct a new building there," said the minister. To a question raised by member Rajkumar Badole with regard to strengthening of health services, Medical Education Minister Hasan Mushrif said that the government is committed to strengthening healthcare services in Gondia District Hospital and the rest of Maharashtra. Minister Mushrif said that the government is trying to immediately provide sonography, dialysis machines and other medical facilities in the Gondia hospital. "Immediate measures are also being taken regarding the supply of blood components required for thalassemia and sickle cell patients. Gangabai Blood Bank is functioning in Gondia Government Medical College, but the blood component separation machine is not operational at present. The license required for this machine is given after a joint inspection by the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation and the state government's FDA department. This inspection will be held on July 1, 2025, after which the license will be given in a month. A new government medical college has been approved in Gondia. From now on, the entire responsibility will be with the dean; it will not be given to the district surgeon," he said. Bengaluru, July 17 : The Congress-led Karnataka government while pinning the blame on the RCB and other organisers in connection with the stampede case which claimed 11 lives on June 4, maintained that its reaction to the incident was both immediate and multifaceted. Submitting the report on the incident in its answers to the specific set of questions raised by the Karnataka High Court, the government, talking about its role, claimed in the report: "In the wake of the serious incident the state government's reaction was both immediate and multifaceted." Following the tragedy, on the evening of June 4, 2025, a Government Order was issued mandating a Magisterial Inquiry to be conducted by Jagadish G, Deputy Commissioner and District Magistrate of Bengaluru Urban District, with a timeline of 15 days for completion, the report said. Simultaneously, three FIRs were registered on the morning of June 4 against the accused entities -- RCB, KSCA, and DNA -- and the investigation was transferred to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), following which arrest of four individuals was made as the investigation proceeded, it noted. Recognising the need for accountability within the law enforcement hierarchy, the government took action against police officials on June 5, 2025. A Government Order suspended five police officers, including three IPS officers of significant rank: the Commissioner of Police, the Inspector General and Additional Commissioner of Police, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, alongside the Assistant Commissioner of Police for Cubbon Park and the Police Inspector of Cubbon Park, the government emphasised. "To ensure a thorough and independent examination of the incident, the government established a One Man Commission of Inquiry on June 5, 2025, headed by retired High Court Justice Michael Cunha, with specific terms of reference and a mandate to complete the investigation and submit a comprehensive report within one month," the government further stated to the court. Talking about why the event was not cancelled even after stampede tragedy, the report stated: "However, amid concerns that abruptly shutting down the victory celebrations scheduled at the stadium could potentially incite violence among the gathered crowd and adversely affect overall law and order across the city, the event commenced at around 5.30 p.m., and a measured response was taken by curtailing the duration of the function." Instead of complete termination, a measured approach was adopted by allowing the event to proceed with significantly curtailed duration and enhanced monitoring. This tactical decision considered the evolving ground situation, crowd psychology, the massive scale of gathering, and the information asymmetry amongst the assembled masses, the report said. The risk of large-scale rioting both within the stadium premises and throughout Bengaluru necessitated this careful balancing approach, prioritising overall public safety over immediate event cessation. It is common and known in Law and Order situations, that cancellation of anticipated events can incite the crowd tremendously and lead to widespread mob violence, as has been seen in several events were such decisions have been take, the report stated. Giving details of action taken prior to incident, the government said, "On June 3, a meeting was held by the Commissioner of Police with all the DCPs of the Law and Order and Traffic Divisions, during which the Commissioner of Police provided necessary instructions to all concerned to make appropriate security arrangements for the events that would unfold on the night of June 3, following the results of the final match." On the eve of June 3, RCB won the IPL finals, leading to city-wide celebrations by the public starting at approximately 11.30 p.m. and continuing until 5 a.m. on the morning of June 4. This impromptu, unorganised celebrations was spread across the city at all major junctions, roads, and commercial areas, such as MG Road, Indiranagar, Koramangala, and Govindaraj Nagar, the report said. Necessary arrangements for security and maintenance of law and order were made with the deployment of all DCPs from the Law and Order and Traffic Divisions, who led the ACPs and PIs in their respective jurisdictions under the overall supervision of the Commissioner of Police, it said. Approximately 607 officers and 2,430 Head Constables/Police Constables were deployed on duty, and the celebrations were monitored and supervised efficiently to ensure that no untoward incidents occurred d on the intervening night of June 3 and June 4, the report stated. The entire Bengaluru city Police force was deployed across the city based on pre-planned security measures put in place due to the anticipated reaction from the public whether there is a win or loss of the final match, it said. The report also states that this status report is based on the information presently available and will be further developed on discovering further material during the course of the investigation. Aizawl, July 17 : Nearly 3,000 Myanmar refugees, including women and children, who earlier this month crossed the unfenced International Border and took shelter in Mizoram during the armed clashes between two armed ethnic groups, have returned to their villages in the neighbouring country, officials said on Thursday. Around 4,653 refugees, including children and women, from Myanmar had taken shelter in the border villages of Zokhawthar, Saikhumphai, and Vaiphai in eastern Mizoram's Champhai district, following a series of armed clashes between the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) and Chinland Defence Force (CDF), both anti-military ethnic groups, who were engaged in fierce gun battles between June 28 and July 5 over control of the territory. The refugees came from three villages of Chin state of Myanmar -- Khawmawi, Rihkhawdar and Lianhna -- in the first and second week of July. Sources along Mizoram's border with Myanmar said that the situation along the India-Myanmar border is relatively calm now leading to the return of the refugees to their villages. According to the officials, of the 4,653 Myanmar refugees, 3,867 had sheltered in Zokhawthar, 786 in Vaphai and Saikhumphai villages in Champhai district. Around 500 refugees had taken shelter in relief camps while the remaining were accommodated in the relatives' and friends' houses, the official said. The Assam Rifles have been guarding the India-Myanmar border and recently ramped up their security to prevent smuggling of drugs and various contrabands and cross-border movement of militants. However, Myanmar nationals intending to reach India and take shelter in Mizoram are allowed to enter by the security forces on humanitarian grounds. After a military coup in Myanmar in February 2021, refugees, including women and children from the neighbouring country, started coming to Mizoram seeking shelter, and now their numbers have increased to around 35,000. The refugees, mostly Chin tribes, have almost full ethnic and cultural similarity with the majority Mizos of Mizoram, now sheltered in camps, in most of the 11 districts in the northeastern state, which has an unfenced 510-km border with Myanmar. Meanwhile, the Mizoram government recently decided to collect biometrics and biographic data of Myanmar refugees taking shelter in the northeastern state after a military coup in the neighbouring country in February 2021. A Mizoram Home Department official had said that the large-scale exercise to collect biometric and demographic data of around 35,000 Myanmar refugees would start by end of this month. The biometric exercise would be conducted using the Foreigner Identification Portal and would be carried out in all 11 districts of the state. According to the official, Rs 38 lakh was earmarked for the exercise, and the expenditure would be borne by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). He said that the biometric and demographic data collection exercise would be done by the concerned district administrations under the supervision of Deputy Commissioners. --IANS sc/khz Kolkata, July 17 : A single-judge bench of the Calcutta High Court said on Thursday that the Trinamool Congress-led West Bengal government must think of an alternative venue for its annual July 21 Martyrs' Day rally from next year. Every year, the rally is conducted at the multiple-crossing point of Esplanade in front of Calcutta Electric Supply Corporation House in busy central Kolkata, which throws the entire traffic system in the area as well as on the adjacent roads out of gear for a substantial period on the day of the annual rally. Even the police have to issue a traffic advisory diverting the vehicles for a substantial period. Interestingly, barring the Trinamool Congress, no other political party is permitted by the police to conduct any political programme at the same venue. This year, a group of petitioners approached the Calcutta High Court's single-judge bench of Justice Tirthankar Ghosh, questioning why permission for a rally is given to just one political outfit even though that event causes inconvenience for the common people. The matter came up for hearing on Thursday, and during the hearing, Justice Ghosh observed that although he would not order a change of venue of the programme this year at the last minute, the organisers of the rally should consider a change of venue for holding it from next year. "A political party might have some emotion about a particular place. As far as I remember, the July 21 Martyrs' Day rally was organised at this place. Since then, it has become an annual practice to conduct the rally at the same place every year. How long could people tolerate any political programme blocking the roads for hours?" Justice Ghosh asked. After the counsels for the state government and Trinamool Congress questioned the rationality of the petition and also described it as "politically-motivated", Justice Ghosh asked whether the Kolkata Police Commissioner Manoj Kumar Verma could give a written guarantee that there would not be any traffic congestion on the day of the rally. "Someone will have to take the responsibility," Justice Ghosh said. He also noted that he would impose certain conditions on the rally during the next hearing in the matter on Friday. Mumbai, July 17 : Amid rising arrears of the state-run Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahavitaran) towards electricity bills from agriculture and other consumers, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday directed the Finance Department to distribute the subsidy to Mahavitaran as soon as possible. He noted that if the Energy Department plans properly regarding power generation and expenditure, it will be possible to distribute electricity to the consumers at a reasonable rate. He was speaking at the review meeting of the Energy Department held by him. Minister of Non-Conventional Energy, Atul Save was also present at the meeting. CM Fadnavis reviewed the funds required by the Energy Department for the year 2025-26, electricity payment arrears of various departments, current status of grant distribution, provision of funds for various schemes, and action taken through Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA). The Chief Minister said: "The Finance Department should immediately check all the details in the detailed proposal requested from the Finance Department to implement the scheme under the Energy Department and distribute the necessary funds on time. To improve the financial condition of the power distribution system in the state, changes should be made as per the rules where necessary. Action should be taken to recover the arrears on time. Care should be taken to ensure that the gap between the financial year funds approved to Mahavitaran and the deficit does not increase." He said that funds are required to effectively implement the Chief Minister Baliraja Free Electricity Scheme and PM Kusum Scheme. Therefore, the Finance Department should consider the demand submitted by the Energy Department. It is also necessary to take appropriate measures to determine the rates that will provide relief to the general electricity consumers. Earlier, CM Fadnavis said that Industrial electricity tariff in Maharashtra will be the lowest compared to other states. According to the new tariff, Maharashtra's tariff is currently Rs 8.32, which will come down to Rs 7.38 in the next phase. In comparison, Tamil Nadu's tariff is Rs 9.04, Gujarat Rs 8.98 and Karnataka Rs 7.55. Industrial electricity tariff in Maharashtra will remain low in the next few years. Also, the tariff will not increase due to the tariff true-up process, he added. CM Fadnavis, who hold the energy department, said that electricity procurement will now be done through the 'Merit Order Dispatch' method. Due to this, electricity is purchased from private companies at cheaper rates. Also, the cost of purchasing electricity has come down significantly due to the use of solar, wind and battery storage. Since this is a long-term (25-year) contract, electricity prices will remain stable, he added. CM Fadnavis said that in the previous tariff petition, industrial and commercial tariffs were reduced by putting a burden on residential consumers. But due to objections to this raised by the state run power distribution company Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company (Mahavitaran), now tariffs have been reduced in all categories during the recent order released by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission. "About 70 per cent of consumers consume electricity below 100 units and they will get a 26 per cent rate cut. Along with this, there will also be a rate cut on consumption above 100 units," he said. "Significant changes have also been made in the solar pump schemes for farmers and a new scheme has been introduced for booster pumps. The cost of the single pole scheme is only Rs 15,000. Farmers are ready to be provided with 10 HP horsepower solar pumps as per their requirement. If there is any complaint in this regard, it is being resolved on the Solar Unified Portal," said the chief minister. CM Fadnavis informed that smart meters will be installed in the agricultural sector to control electricity consumption. This will make it possible to understand exactly how much electricity is used for agriculture. This will allow accurate measurement of electricity consumption in the agricultural sector and will help in formulating future policies, he added. According to the chief minister, a separate solarisation proposal has been prepared for lift irrigation. He mentioned that provision of electricity through conventional methods in dark zones will also be considered. Patna, July 17 : The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued a categorical rebuttal to a viral video shared by YouTuber Ajit Anjum, calling it "false and misleading" amid ongoing political debate over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The video, which claimed that a Booth Level Officer (BLO) in Patna was seen filling out and signing several voter forms, sparked political reactions and public concern. RJD MP Manoj Jha amplified the video on social media, asking the ECI to clarify whether such activities were also "misleading." Responding to Jha's post on social media platform X, the ECI said, "The claims made in the video mentioned in this post are false. You may refer to the link provided below for more details." The link directed users to a detailed clarification by the District Administration of Patna. The link posted by ECI was of District Administration Patna, which in a detailed statement said, District Returning Officer-cum-District Magistrate of Patna, Tyagarajan S.M., said a thorough investigation was conducted into the allegations raised in the video, and statements from the BLOs involved were recorded. The statement clarified that Rani Kumari, the BLO deployed at polling centre number 226; Vijay Kumar at polling booth number 32; Sanjeet Kumar at polling booth number 224; Raj Kishore Singh at polling booth number 25; and Amit Kumar at polling booth number 260 were preparing lists of deceased voters and individuals who have permanently shifted from Bihar to other states. After finalisation, these lists will be verified with the Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of various political parties to ensure that no genuine voter is left out of the voter list. The investigation revealed that the video was uploaded before the final draft was prepared. According to the statement by Rani Kumari, the BLO at polling booth 226, out of 878 voters, the list of 725 voters was shown in the video before the final draft was completed. The process of preparing the list of deceased and permanently shifted voters is still underway, and the BLOs were working under the direction of the district returning officers. Following the detailed investigation, the administration concluded that the allegations made by the YouTuber in the viral video were misleading. The statement also noted that some journalists and YouTubers were publishing reports without seeking the administration's version, thereby spreading factually incorrect and misleading content. The Patna district administration has appealed to the public to stay vigilant against such misleading information. On July 16, a video titled "Caught on camera: BLO found filling and signing thousands of voter forms in Patna," alleging that during the Special Intensive Revision 2025, voter form formats were being filled and signed by the Booth Level Officer (BLO) himself. The International Criminal Court (ICC) held a ceremony in The Hague, Netherlands, on Thursday to welcome Ukraine as a state party to the Rome Statute of the court. Today, 17 July 2025, the International Criminal Court (ICC or the Court) held a ceremony at the seat of the Court in The Hague (The Netherlands) to welcome the Ukraine as the 125th State Party to the Rome Statute, the ICC's founding treaty, the ICC said on its website Thursday. According to the ICC, during the ceremony, the ICC President, Judge Tomoko Akane, presented the Ambassador of Ukraine to The Netherlands, H.E. Mr Andriy Kostin, with a special edition of the Rome Statute, as a symbol of commitment to the rule of law. According to the court, the ceremony was held in the presence of the President of the Assembly of States Parties, a number of ICC Judges, representatives of the Office of the Prosecutor, of the Registry, of the Trust Fund for Victims and of Embassies of States Parties accredited to The Netherlands. By joining the Rome Statute, Ukraine joins the community of nations committed to ending impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community, the ICC quoted the ICC President Judge as saying. Today we raise the flag of Ukraine here at the ICC as the 125th State Party to the Rome Statute. Our flag is symbol of a nation that cherishes peace, justice, dignity, and freedom. It is also the flag of a people who have endured and continues to go through unimaginable hardship, but have never given up on the idea that law, not violence, must govern our shared world, Kostin said. On 25 October 2024, Ukraine had formally deposited the instrument of ratification of the Rome Statute of the ICC and the Statute entered into force on 1 January 2025. Ukraine becomes the 125th State Party to join the Statute, and the 20th State from the Eastern European group to do so. Mumbai, July 17 : Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Yogesh Kadam in the state Assembly on Thursday announced that the government will launch a special campaign to ban cow slaughter in unauthorised slaughterhouses across the state. "Cow slaughter will not be tolerated anywhere in the state. The government will take strict action in this regard. In the case of cow slaughter in unauthorised slaughterhouses in the state, action will be taken by launching a special campaign against the," he said in his reply to a calling attention moved by member Sanjay Upadhyay regarding the ban on cow slaughter. Stating that the law will be amended to take strict action against repeat offenders of cow slaughter, Minister Kadam said that the current law will be amended to increase the punishment for repeat offenders of cow slaughter to 10 years and increase the fine. "Such offenders will be verified to take action under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act. Cow guards or some NGOs report cow slaughter cases to the police on their own. In such cases, action will be taken by the police. There will be coordination between NGOs, cow guards and the police. Also, action will be taken after verifying the issuance of identity cards to cow guards," he said. "Cowsheds are run in the state through the Animal Husbandry Department. In this, old non-milking cows and street animals are kept. The government will help with this. In Badlapur (West), the police have arrested one accused in the case. Two other accused are being searched. Action will be taken against the hotel in Wani city of Yavatmal district, where beef was found. The license of the hotel will be cancelled as per the requirement," he said. Meanwhile, Industry Minister Uday Samant announced that a high-level committee will be formed for the sustainable development of Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation, and the overall development of this city will be carried out. He was responding to a calling attention motion moved by member Rais Sheikh regarding development work in the Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation area. Minister Samant said that through this high-level committee, a comprehensive plan for the development of Bhiwandi-Nizampur Municipal Corporation will be prepared, and accordingly, development works will be carried out in this city on a fast track. The project of 8,468 houses approved in Bhiwandi city was cancelled as its deadline was about to expire. Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, a planning proposal will be sent to the central government in the next three months to start the second phase on time. Also, the work of the first phase of the metro is underway in Bhiwandi, and a technical inspection will be done to decide whether the second phase will be underground or above ground, said Minister Samant. New Delhi, July 17 : India, on Thursday, successfully carried out the test-firing of two of its key strategic assets -- the short-range ballistic missile Prithvi-II and the ballistic missile Agni-I, the Ministry of Defence officials said. The test-firing was carried out from the Integrated Test Range in Odisha's Chandipur. According to the Ministry of Defence, the launches were conducted under the aegis of the Strategic Forces Command as part of routine training and validation exercises. Both missiles successfully met all operational objectives and technical parameters, the Ministry said in a statement. The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the tests validated key capabilities, reaffirming the reliability and accuracy of India's nuclear-capable delivery systems. Through these test-firings India has achieved a significant milestone in strengthening its defence capabilities. Prithvi and the ballistic missile Agni are part of indigenous missiles system of India as well as a strong support of the Indian defence system. Nearly 24 hours before this successful trial, India had carried out another successful trial of the indigenous 'Akash Prime' air defence system on Wednesday. For Akash Prime' air defence system, the Indian Army had conducted a test at an altitude of around 15,000 feet in the Ladakh sector. The Akash Prime system, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), was tested in the presence of senior officials from the Army's Air Defence wing and DRDO. This test fire also marked a major advancement in India's mission to enhance its self-reliant defence infrastructure. During the trial, surface-to-air missiles from the system registered direct hits on two high-speed aerial targets, demonstrating exceptional accuracy. The test was conducted in the rarefied atmosphere and extreme conditions of high-altitude terrain, where even basic operations can be challenging. Defence officials said that the Akash Prime system will be integrated into the Indian Army's third and fourth Akash Regiments, enhancing the country's overall air defence shield. Notably, India's Akash air defence system played a critical role during Operation Sindoor, where it successfully countered aerial attacks involving Chinese fighter jets and Turkish drones deployed by Pakistani armed forces. Defence analysts believe that this successful trial not only showcases India's indigenous defence capabilities but also significantly strengthens the nation's aerial security preparedness. Jaipur, July 17 : Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has demanded a response from the state government regarding reports doing the rounds of a physical altercation involving an IPS officer within the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) or Chief Minister's Residence (CMR). Addressing the media at his Jaipur residence on Thursday, Gehlot said, "I have also heard these things. Some incident has definitely occurred - what exactly happened, the government should tell the truth." Amid ongoing speculation that an IPS officer was allegedly slapped or assaulted in the presence of the Chief Minister, Gehlot said such an incident, if true, severely damages the credibility of the state administration. "Someone is saying there was a scuffle, someone says the officer was slapped, such rumours are spreading. I personally have never heard of anything like this happening at the CMO or CMR. I don't want to believe it, but these stories are now public." On Union Minister Amit Shah's visit to Rajasthan and associated political developments, Gehlot said, "It's an internal matter of their party. But since we're in the opposition and such rumours are appearing in the media, about possible changes of Chief Ministers in two or four states, I felt it necessary to comment." He added, "The conspiracies are reportedly happening in the state or country - I just made a general remark. I haven't seen any conspiracy myself." Gehlot further reiterated his earlier statement that removing the Chief Minister in just one and a half years is not in the state's Interest. The former Chief Minister warned the government against political instability. He also said that PM Modi should not treat the opposition as an enemy. Calling for mutual respect in politics, Gehlot urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to treat the opposition with dignity. "Democracy is strengthened when opposition voices are respected. Today's environment is such that the Centre and state governments treat the opposition as enemies - this mindset must change." Targeting the current state administration, Gehlot criticised the claims made by the Chief Minister in a newspaper article about record-breaking governance. "In just six months, people are already disillusioned. Normally, it takes three years for public dissatisfaction to surface. If the saying 'a child's future can be seen in the cradle' holds true, it's visible here in Rajasthan." Gehlot said the public is now questioning their electoral choices. Mumbai, July 17 : Even as sand mining is permitted up to a depth of only 1 meter from the riverbed at Gangapur-Vailwadi in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar district, mining was done to a depth of approximately 15 to 18 feet. Due to this, a total of 18,489 brass of sand was additionally mined, following which a fine of Rs 56.68 crore has been imposed, and an official suspended, Maharashtra Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Thursday. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule in the state council on Thursday. He was replying to a calling attention motion moved by Vikram Kale. "Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, District Collector had given permission for sand mining from the sand ghat at Mauje Sanav for water supply scheme for 373 villages in Gangapur and Vaijapur talukas under Jal Jeevan Mission. For this, Maharashtra Jeevan Authority was given limited approval for sand mining of 9,540 brass. However, the report has made it clear that in reality a total of 28,029 brass sand was mined," said the minister. According to the environmental clearance, excavation beyond 1 meter depth is prohibited in view of the natural flow of water in the riverbed, cleanliness and biodiversity, and such additional excavation is also in violation of the Supreme Court order. Therefore, criminal action will be taken in this matter, said minister Bawankule. Meanwhile, the public work minister Shivendra Raje Bhosale in the state council said that the government has adopted a policy of planting indigenous trees on both sides of all highways, major road projects, state roads and rural roads in the state. Accordingly, instructions will be given to all concerned again. Also, since it is important to plant trees and ensure their survival, a system will be created for this purpose and the condition of the trees will be regularly inspected. He was replying to a question by member Amol Mitkari regarding planting trees on both sides of the road and cutting of trees during road works. Stating that there is a rule of planting ten trees for every tree felled in road works, Minister Bhosale said that such conditions are included in the tender. Earlier, funds for planting trees were given to the contractor for planting trees. Now it has been changed and five stages of planting trees have been made and funds are given after the completion of the work in each stage. The government is also positive about the issue of replanting trees and many trees have been replanted, said the minister. He added that orders will be given to beautify government rest houses and plant indigenous ornamental trees. "Geo-tagging is being done to save trees. Also, information about the saved trees will be kept through 'AI'. Action is being taken against contractors who do not plant trees as per the rules. Now they will also be given the responsibility of saving the planted trees," said the minister. Bengaluru, July 17 : The report by One-Man Commission of Inquiry regarding the stampede tragedy, which claimed 11 lives on June 4 during RCB's IPL victory celebration, was placed before the Karnataka Cabinet on Thursday. To ensure a thorough and independent investigation into the incident, the state government had constituted a One-Man Commission of Inquiry on June 5, 2025. The commission, headed by retired High Court Justice John Michael Cunha, was given specific terms of reference and tasked with completing the investigation and submitting a comprehensive report within a month. Briefing reporters on the Cabinet decisions, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs H.K. Patil said: "The Cabinet has received the report of the one-man judicial commission led by retired Karnataka High Court judge Justice John Michael Cunha regarding the stampede incident at the Chinnaswamy Stadium on June 4, 2025. The report will be studied and discussed in the next Cabinet meeting." When asked whether the Cabinet had accepted the report, Minister Patil clarified: "It came up as the last item on the agenda. The Cabinet has received the report, and we will study and deliberate on it in the next meeting. The decision will be communicated to the media thereafter." When asked about submitting the report to the court, the Minister said the report would be submitted "whenever the court asks for it." He reiterated that the Cabinet would study the report first and take a decision in the next meeting. Other key decisions taken in the Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah include -- in-principle approval for setting up a nuclear power plant in Karnataka. NTPC (National Thermal Power Corporation) has been permitted to conduct a preliminary study at potential sites identified in the state. A decision to regulate the issuance of "A" and "B" Khatas (property ownership records) for properties falling within the Greater Bengaluru region. Approval to establish a Horticulture Technology Park on 194.33 acres of government land in Sirivara village, Kanakagiri taluk, Koppal district, under the PPP model, at an estimated cost of Rs 83.79 crore. Allocation of 5 acres and 23 guntas of government land in Yeramarenahalli village, Mandikallu hobli, Chikkaballapur taluk, to ISKCON Bengaluru for constructing an Akshaya Patra kitchen and a school building for economically and socially backward rural children. Allotment of 15 guntas of government land in Survey No. 66 of Veerabhadrapalya village, Doddaballapur taluk, Bengaluru Rural district, to the Congress Bhavana Trust for constructing a Congress party office building. Approval for the development of the North Karnataka Tourism Circuitcovering Hampi, Badami, Aihole, Pattadakal, and Vijayapuraunder the DBFOT model through the Karnataka Tourism Infrastructure Limited (KTIL) at an estimated cost of Rs 166.22 crore. Sanction for constructing a residential pre-university college for minority girl students in Ullal, Dakshina Kannada district, at an estimated cost of Rs 17.09 crore, with a capacity for 400 students. Administrative approval for the construction of four residential school and college buildings under the Minority Welfare Department at a total estimated cost of Rs 64 crore. Patna, July 17 : Bihar Leader of the Opposition Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack on Bihar Police ADG (Headquarters and STF) Kundan Krishnan for his remark linking the rise in murders to the period when farmers are idle before the monsoon. "If the ADG had told this earlier, people would have fled Bihar to save their lives," Tejashwi said, questioning the logic behind attributing murders to farmers' free time during April, May, and June. He added, "If the police had advance information about murder increase in these months, they should have warned people so that they could leave Bihar and save their lives. What kind of statement is this?" ADG Kundan Krishnan, while addressing the recent spurt in crime in Bihar, including the broad daylight murder inside Paras Hospital in Patna, stated that, "For years, incidents of murder increase in April, May, and June until the monsoon arrives because most farmers have no work during this period. Once it rains, the farming community gets busy, and crime incidents reduce." He also added that, as this is an election year, crime incidents are getting more media attention. Jan Suraaj, chief, Prashant Kishor, also criticised the ADG following his bizarre statement. "If the ADG believes that when farmers are free, they commit crimes, it shows the mentality of that officer and the government. This reflects why the situation in Bihar is deteriorating day by day," Kishor said. He questioned whether it was farmers who murdered an inmate inside Paras Hospital, pointing out: "It is clearly visible in the CCTV footage that criminals in jeans and shirts are committing crimes openly. If the ADG sees them as farmers sowing seeds in the field, he needs to get his eyes treated." Kishor demanded that the government take action against officers responsible for the deteriorating law and order, instead of blaming farmers and labourers for rising crime. The comments come amid heightened concerns over law and order in Bihar following a series of high-profile murders, including the killing of a prisoner, Chandan Mishra, inside Paras Hospital, which has triggered sharp political reactions and public concerns over security in the state. Bhopal, July 17 : Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav visited the Royal Palace of Madrid on the second day of his tour to Spain on Thursday. He explored the historical significance of the palace, its architectural grandeur and the collection of rare European artifacts, weapons and royal relics during his visit. The Chief Minister said that such heritage monuments not only offer a glimpse into a glorious past, but also highlight the dignity of international relations and the importance of cultural exchange. Chief Minister Yadav remarked that the palace is not just an architectural marvel, but a living testimony to the mutual respect, dialogue and also a powerful symbol of decades-old cooperation between Spain and India. CM Mohan Yadav has said that the Royal Palace of Madrid is not only one of the largest and most magnificent royal palaces in Europe, but also a powerful symbol of the decades-old strategic ties between India and Spain. He recalled that former President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam was accorded a ceremonial welcome at this very Royal Palace during his visit to Spain in 2006. Chief Minister Yadav, who is on a business tour in Spain, stated that continuous efforts are being made to attract investments across various sectors in Madhya Pradesh. In this context, the visit to Spain will prove to be a milestone, he said. In an official statement issued by his office, the Chief Minister also informed that discussions with Spanish entrepreneurs regarding investment opportunities in areas such as food processing and textiles, along with visits to various industrial units, were underway. Earlier in the day, the Chief Minister held a meeting with global leaders in the textile and fashion industry to promote investment in the state, government officials said. During a meeting at the headquarters of Inditex in Galicia, Chief Minister Yadav presented Madhya Pradesh as a "green, cost-competitive, and traceable production hub". He affirmed that the Madhya Pradesh government is fully committed to forging global partnerships in the textile sector. He also noted that a textile mega park is being established in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district. The proposed project is being developed under the Indian government's 'PM Mitra' scheme. He proposed the establishment of a garment unit by Inditex within the park in Madhya Pradesh. --IANS pd/pgh Kohima, July 17 : After a gap of a few weeks, Centre's interlocutor for Naga peace talks, A. K. Mishra, held a joint meeting with representatives of Naga political groups in Nagaland's Dimapur on Thursday and discussed the political solution of Naga issues. Officials said that two factions of the Working Committee of the Naga National Political Groups -- one led by N Kitovi Zhimomi and the other by Neokpao Konyak and Alezo Venuh met Mishra, who is advisor to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Northeast Affairs. Sources said that Mishra is likely to hold meetings with representatives of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (K) Niki group during his current visit. Several rounds of talks have already been held for a Naga political solution, with the last such meeting being held in June. Zhimomi, convenor of the Working Committee of NNPGs, after the meeting, told the media that they have reiterated for an early solution to the Naga political issues. Referring to the importance of history and the legacy of the Naga issue, he emphasised the need to move the process forward. Another Naga leader stressed the need for unity among all Naga political groups and to work out a consensus for a common solution. "This is the time to take forward the Naga issue unitedly. It is not exclusive to the NNPGs but also meant for all Naga groups," he said, adding that all stakeholders should come together to formulate a common execution plan. Regarding the next round of talks, the Naga leader said that no date has been fixed yet but expressed hope that the process would be expedited. Mishra, who arrived in Nagaland on July 16, also held a separate meeting with the leadership of the Isak-Muivah faction of NSCN (NSCN-IM), the dominant Naga group. The Union government has been holding political negotiations with the NSCN-IM and other Naga groups since the signing of the ceasefire agreement in 1997, and also inked the vital Framework Agreement in 2015. The government also entered into parallel negotiations with the Working Committee of Naga National Political Groups (NNPG), an amalgamation of at least seven Naga factions, in 2017. They signed the Agreed Position in November 2017. The NSCN-IM has remained firm on its demand for a separate flag and constitution for the Nagas as well as integration of Naga-inhabited areas spread over four northeastern states -- Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Nagaland, besides Myanmar. These demands were discarded by the government. --IANS sc/dan Bhopal, July 17 : Madhya Pradesh Leader of Opposition (LoP), Umang Singhar, told IANS on Thursday that the Congress will organise a two-day training session for its MLAs in Dhar district. The training session will start on July 21 and will conclude on July 22 in Mandu, a historic town in Dhar. All Congress MLAs in Madhya Pradesh will be joining the training session, which will be addressed by senior party leaders. LoP Singhar said that State Congress President Jitu Patwari, State Congress In-charge Harish Choudhary, along with other senior party leaders will be attending the training programme. Congress Working Committee (CWC) member Ajay Maken, who is also Congress Treasurer, and party's social media head, Supriya Shrinate, will be visiting Mandu to address the training session. The Congress MP and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, will address the training session virtually. "Since there will be a Lok Sabha session, our senior party leader will address the training session virtually from New Delhi," Singhar added. Speaking about the training camp, LoP Singhar said that the two-day session is being organised to prepare party's future strategy to start preparations for the state Assembly elections to be held in 2028. "During the training camp, Congress will hold a discussion on all important public issues and will plan how to present them before the people. A detailed roadmap will be prepared in view of the next Assembly elections in 2028," he added. This training camp for the Congress MLAs is being organised nearly a week before the Monsoon session of the Assembly is set to start from July 28. Last month, the BJP had organised a three-day training session for its MLAs and MPs in Pachmarhi between June 12 and 14. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had addressed the BJP's training session last month. Jaipur, July 17 : A disturbing incident surfaced in Rajasthan's Alwar district, where a Dalit youth was reportedly kidnapped, stripped naked, and filmed, with the video later sent to his family. The shocking crime has sparked outrage and raised serious questions about the state's law and order situation under the Bhajan Lal Sharma government. Former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and Leader of Opposition and Alwar MLA Tika Ram Jully have strongly condemned the incident, calling it a grim reflection of the current administration's failure. Addressing the media, an emotional Ashok Gehlot said, "I am deeply saddened today. I have never seen such a horrifying video in my life. A Dalit youth was kidnapped, stripped completely, taken from Alwar to Bundi, and a video of him was sent to his family. It is so terrifying that one cannot bear to watch it." Gehlot added, "This incident shows the deteriorating state of law and order. If such crimes can happen within just one and a half years of governance, what lies ahead in the next five years? It is not just a law and order issue, but a matter of humanity and public concern. The government must act immediately." Leader of Opposition Jully also slammed the state government, stating, "The law and order in Rajasthan has collapsed. This incident is not isolated in another case from Alwar, a youth died in police custody under suspicious circumstances, which is equally alarming." Jully called upon Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was recently in Jaipur, to take note of the incident and seek answers from Chief Minister Sharma. "Such incidents are becoming routine across districts. This is clear evidence of the failure of governance," he said. Both leaders have demanded strict and immediate action from the government to ensure justice and restore public confidence in law enforcement. SCO can play bigger role in regional stability, development: Chinese FM Xinhua) 09:09, July 17, 2025 Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev in Tianjin, north China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo) TIANJIN, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday that the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) can play a more important role in safeguarding regional peace and stability while promoting development and revitalization. Wang, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks while meeting with SCO Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev in Tianjin. In expressing appreciation for the Secretary-General's dedication since assuming office, Wang noted that Yermekbayev has significantly contributed to advancing the implementation of the consensus reached by the leaders of SCO member states and has established good working relations with various departments in China. Wang said that as a comprehensive regional organization with the world's largest population, the broadest geographical coverage, and enormous potential, the SCO is gaining increasing attention from the international community, and it can play a more important role in safeguarding regional peace and stability while promoting development and revitalization. The SCO can also contribute to forging a new type of international relations and building a community with a shared future for humanity, Wang added. Noting the Secretariat is the most important permanent body of the SCO, Wang said that under the Secretary-General's leadership, the Secretariat will play a greater role in ensuring the efficient functioning of the SCO, coordinating the actions of all parties, and enhancing the organization's influence. China will continue to provide support and facilitate the work of the Secretariat, Wang added. As the SCO chair, China has organized over 90 events and advanced a series of cooperation, said Wang, calling on the Secretary-General to continue supporting China in its efforts to host a friendly, cohesive and fruitful summit. Yermekbayev said that China has proposed and implemented substantive activities, elevating cooperation among various parties to new heights. The Secretariat will continue its full support to China's presidency, jointly facilitate the preparations for the SCO Tianjin summit to ensure fruitful outcomes, said the Secretary-General. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Liang Jun) Kolkata, July 17 : As the investigators looking into the matter pertaining to the rape of an outsider woman within the campus of the iconic Indian Institute of Management -Calcutta (IIM-C) at Joka in the southern outskirts of Kolkata earlier this month are going deeper in the probe process, initial allegations about lapses in the security system of the institute are turning out to be baseless. Insiders from the city police said that initially, information surfaced from the statement that the victim recorded with the local Haridevpur Police station was that she was able to reach the room of the accused at the boysa hostel, bypassing the rules for multiple visitorsa entries, starting from entering the campus till reaching the boysa hostel. However, as per the investigation in the matter so far and the documents submitted by the institute authorities to the investigating official, this allegation of bypassing multiple visitorsa entry registrations was totally baseless. In addition to that, the accused in the case, Parmanand Mahaveer Toppannavar a.k.a. Parmanand Jain (26), a second-year student of the institute, even informed the IIM-C authorities about the scheduled visit of the victim woman as a visitor through an email a day before, as per the security protocol requirement of the institute. The accused is currently in police custody, and he will be presented at the trial court again on Saturday. Already, several confusions in the case have surfaced following total non-cooperation by the victim woman and her family in the process of investigation. The first non-cooperation on the part of the victim woman had been that despite repeated insistence from the city police, the victim did not turn up to undergo the mandatory medico-legal examination. Secondly, she failed to turn up at the trial court earlier this week to get her confidential statement recorded in front of a judicial magistrate. Finally, she is yet to submit to the police the clothes that she was wearing during the reported incident of rape that took place at the boyas hostel of IIM-C on the evening of July 11. Above all, the contradictory statements from the victim and her father on the reported incident of rape are also creating utter confusion in the matter, with her father claiming from the beginning that nothing wrong had happened to her daughter. The victimas father stuck to his statement even as a trial court on July 12 remanded the sole accused in the case, Parmanand Mahaveer Toppannavar a.k.a. Parmanand Jain (26), to police custody till July 19. Mumbai, July 17 : Leader of Opposition Ambadas Danve in the state council on Thursday led a scathing attack against the Maharashtra government saying that crime and corruption have reached their peak and law and order has deteriorated in the state. Danve alleged that corruption has increased in many departments. "The government makes loud claim about clean administration in its media campaign but scams come out every day. What to do when the ruling ministers are committing corruption?"he asked. Since the grand coalition government came to power, Danve claimed that its tenure is marked by various scams accusing the government of inaction against those involved in it. Danve also made a serious allegation that several ministers are incompetent and they are not doing any work without a commission. "While the plight of farmers is going on in the state and incidents of injustice and atrocities against women are happening, the government has remained silent on this as the ministers in particular are busy only in getting contracts. "People from the ruling party are involved in many crimes and the ruling party is also at the forefront in atrocities against women. The Home Department is a silent observed as it is not taking action against any criminal.Maharashtra has become a hub of gangsters and robbers," he alleged. "In the last five months, 1.60 lakh crimes took place in the state. There have been 924 murders, which means 6 murders every day. While 3,506 rapes were reported. Why are the people close to these incidents so bold?" Ambadas Danve wondered He further said: "About 10,400 crimes have been registered in the Chief Minister's Nagpur district. Many major crimes have been registered in Pune, Sambhajinagar, Nashik. Maharashtra is at number 10 in crime. Gangs are active on a large scale in Pune and nepotism is going on." Mumbai, July 17 : Maharashtra Minister of Medical Education Hasan Mushrif in the state assembly on Thursday announced that the government has launched a "Know Your Doctor" system to curb the bogus doctor menace across the state. Mumbai, July 17 (IANS) Maharashtra Minister of Medical Education Hasan Mushrif in the state assembly on Thursday announced that the government has launched a "Know Your Doctor" system to curb the bogus doctor menace across the state. He said that this digital system has been developed by the Maharashtra Medical Council, while replying to a question raised by Sanjay Darekar and Dharmaraobaba Atram about how patients are falling prey to bogus doctors. "On the digital system 'Know Your Doctor', patients can see the details of doctors' identity cards, specialisation of doctors, and registration number through QR code. Also, a district-level review committee has been formed under the chairmanship of the District Magistrate to take preventive action against bogus medical professionals. A campaign is underway against bogus doctors," said Minister Mushrif. Meanwhile, Public Health Minister Prakash Abitkar said in the Legislative Assembly that the establishment of all public health centres under the Public Health Department in the state will be reviewed, and necessary manpower and funds will be made available. He was replying to a question by member Sunil Prabhu regarding the provision of basic facilities to patients as per the Indian Public Health Standards in hospitals in the state. Minister Abitkar said that to provide medical services along with necessary basic facilities to patients coming from remote and rural areas, a review of all the establishments will be done, and necessary funds will be made available. The recruitment process will be done quickly after reviewing the vacant posts, and the necessary manpower will be made available. Also, a visit to the government hospital in Mumbai will be made and inspected, he assured. Patna, July 17 : Lok Janshakti Party (Ram Vilas) chief and Union Minister Chirag Paswan has strongly criticised Bihar Police ADG (Headquarters and STF) Kundan Krishnan's statement linking rising murders in Bihar to farmers' idle months, calling it extremely reprehensible and unfortunate. Taking to social media platform X, Chirag Paswan wrote: "The statement of Bihar Police ADG Headquarters Kundan Krishnan is extremely reprehensible and unfortunate. Indirectly calling our farmers murderers is not only an insult to their honour but also a disrespect to their sacrifice and hard work. Instead of cracking down on criminals, the Bihar Police is more focused on unnecessary statements, which is extremely worrying. The administration should clarify its priorities." Chirag Paswan also expressed concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in Bihar, stating: "Law and order in Bihar has become a matter of serious concern today. Murders are happening every day, and the morale of the criminals is sky high. The working style of the police administration is beyond comprehension." Referring to the broad daylight murder inside Paras Hospital in Patna, Chirag stated: "The incident of criminals entering Paras Hospital in Patna and firing openly is proof that criminals are now directly challenging the law and administration. The increasing criminal cases just before the Bihar assembly elections are worrying." Chirag Paswan urged the administration to take concrete and strict steps to bring law and order back on track in Bihar. ADG Kundan Krishnan, while addressing the recent spurt in crime, stated that more crimes occur in Bihar during April, May, and June as many farmers are idle before the monsoon, and incidents reduce once the rains begin. The statement has drawn sharp criticism not only from opposition leaders but also from NDA allies. Earlier, Tejashwi Yadav said that if the ADG had made this statement earlier, people would have fled Bihar to save their lives. Prashant Kishor stated that the ADG needs to get his eyes treated if he sees criminals in jeans and shirts as farmers, adding that the government should act against officers instead of blaming farmers for rising crime. The remarks by the ADG have now sparked a political storm across Bihar, with leaders across parties demanding accountability and questioning the state's law and order preparedness as the state heads toward the 2025 Assembly elections. Patna, July 17 : Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav has claimed he received a threat call warning him to stay away from the Paras Hospital murder case in Patna. Speaking to the media in Peerapur village under Goraul police station area of Vaishali, where he had gone to meet the family of a kidnapped cum murder of college student, Pappu Yadav revealed: "As soon as I returned after visiting Paras Hospital, I received a call warning me not to interfere in the case, or I would face the consequences." Pappu Yadav warned the Sheru Gang, suspected to be behind the murder of criminal Chandan Mishra inside Paras Hospital. "We are silent due to the law, but it will not take long to destroy your empire if needed," Yadav said. Continuing his criticism of the law and order situation in Bihar, Pappu Yadav said: "The biggest criminal in Bihar is the leader. Officials take action against criminals based on their caste and decide who to kill and who to protect." Pappu Yadav also demanded a speedy trial, security, and financial assistance for the victim's family in the Vaishali student kidnapping cum murder case. Notorious criminal Chandan Mishra was murdered inside the Paras Hospital in Patna, allegedly by the Sheru Gang. Pappu Yadav had visited the hospital after the incident and demanded strict action against those responsible. He also met the Bihar governor, Arif Mohammad Khan and demanded the imposition of President's rule here. He said that the law and order have become out of control, and the Chief Minister is unconscious. Meanwhile, Patna SSP Kartikeya Sharma stated that all the shooters have been identified and raids are underway to arrest them. Sources have revealed that Taushif Badshah of Phulwarisharif, Patna, has been identified as one of the main shooters in leading the attack inside Paras Hospital. Amaravati, July 18 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu said on Thursday the Telugu states must share river water harmoniously. A day after a crucial meeting with Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister C.R. Paatil in Delhi, Chandrababu Naidu said that if the Telugu states harness Godavari water flowing into the sea, drought in Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh and in Telangana will be a thing of the past. The meeting decided to constitute a committee of officials and engineers to resolve river water issues including Godavari-Banakacherla link project proposed to be built by Andhra Pradesh. Telangana has raised objections to the project and already requested the Centre not to approve it. Chandrababu Naidu stated that they discussed water issues constructively. "There's no need for conflictwe should operate on a give-and-take basis," he said while addressing a gathering of beneficiaries after releasing released water under Handri-Neeva Phase-1 from the Mallelapadu Pumping Station in Nandyal district of Rayalaseema. "We've asked Telangana to use Godavari waters and cooperate on river-linking. If both states harness the water flowing into the sea, droughts in Seema and Telangana will be a thing of the past," he said. "I served as Chief Minister for nine and a half years in united Andhra, and ten years as Opposition Leader. Post-bifurcation, I've led the new Andhra as CM. I work for the peopleand I will not let minor obstacles stop our march toward development," he added. Referring to other decisions taken at the chief ministers meeting, Naidu said Godavari River Management Board is being set up in Hyderabad, and the Krishna River Management Board in Vijayawada. He said Andhra Pradesh would fund Srisailam plunge pool works. The Chief Minister declared that providing water to Rayalaseema brings him unmatched satisfaction, an unforgettable moment in his life. The Chief Minister said this milestone is another step in the long journey of bringing abundant water to Seema. He emphasized that water alone can rewrite the destiny of the region. The CM announced that Phase-2 of Handri-Neeva will soon be completed, bringing water to reservoirs in Satya Sai and Annamayya districts. He stated that once Handri-Neeva Phase-2 is completed, irrigation water will reach six lakh acres. With Handri-Neeva expansion, an additional 17 TMC of water will be transferred in just four months, boosting groundwater and transforming agriculture. He claimed that the NDA government is committed to turning Rayalaseema into the pride of Andhra Pradesh. "For some, Seema means politics and bloodshed. For me, Seema means water, progress, and people's future. We will implement the Rayalaseema Declaration made during our padayatra. Seema will one day surpass Konaseema in per capita income through horticulture and industry," he said. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Here we round up new and forthcoming childrens titles, including a graphic novel picture book about a Marvel hero, a YA mystery following a teens riddle-filled hunt for her father, a picture book highlighting a real-life escaped octopus, and more. All the Hulk Feels by Dan Santat. Abrams Fanfare, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-7613-7. Bruce Banner typically only transforms into Hulk when his emotions are getting out of hand, but must learn to control his feelings when the transformations become more frequent. Codebreaker by Jay Martel. Wednesday, $24 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-2503-5556-0; $13 paper ISBN 978-1-2503-5554-6. Teen Mias mother has died, and her father has disappeared. When shes abducted and questioned about her fathers whereabouts, Mia knows that the only way to uncover the truth is to follow a series of clues he left behind. The YA book received a starred review from PW. The Escape Artist: A True Story of Octopus Adventure by Thor Hanson, illus. by Galia Bernstein. Greenwillow, $19.99; ISBN 978-0-0626-7647-4. Octopus Inky, known IRL for his 2016 escape from a New Zealand aquarium, is shown here as an eight-armed marvel with undulating, mottled pink tentacles, a prodigiously playful intellect, and a restless heart. The picture book received a starred review from PW. Evil-Ish by Kennedy Tarrell. Macmillan/Feiwel and Friends, $25.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-1-250-83996-1; $17.99 paper ISBN 978-1-250-83995-4. Nonbinary teen Hawthrone accidentally ends up in charge of the infamous Brigade of Shade, a formerly destructive political organization, and must navigate new allegiances among their cohort. Island Storm by Brian Floca, illus. by Sydney Smith. Holiday House/Porter, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-8234-5647-5. In this picture book by Caldecott Medalist Floca and Hans Christian Andersen Award recipient Smith, two children attempt to make it to the beach for a quick look at the sea before a massive storm arrives. The book received a starred review from PW. The Library of Curiosities by Jenny Lundquist. Holiday House, $17.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-0-8234-5854-7; ISBN 978-0-8234-6159-2. Orphaned 11-year-old Rowan Fitzgerald discovers that a library card she received from an estranged grandfather grants her access to magical items in a library, and when objects are stolen, she must apprehend the real thief if she wants to stay in her precious new home. The Metamorphosis of Bunny Baxter by Barbara Carroll Roberts. Holiday House/Ferguson, $18.99; ISBN 978-0-823458-56-1. Bunny Baxter is disappointed to start seventh grade at a different middle school than her best friend. When she has troubles fitting in, Bunny concocts a plan to get herself expelled with hopes of being transferred. The middle grade book received a starred review from PW. Recess by Lane Smith. Abrams, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-4197-7689-2. Ever the troublemaker, Smith stages a jubilant and highly interactive mutiny against the tyranny of strictly scheduled fun, declaring recess an anytime, anywhere affair. Schoolbot 9000 by Sam Hepburn. Dial, $24.99 hardcover; ISBN 978-0-593-69941-6; $14.99 paper ISBN 978-0-593-69942-3. Hepburns debut graphic novel is a timely, hilarious take on the increasing presence of artificial intelligence in everyday life. The graphic novel received a starred review from PW. Steel & Spellfire by Laura E. Weymouth. McElderry, $19.99; ISBN 978-1-6659-5975-9. Pandora, a newly minted Ingenue with special powers, seeks to break free from her unknown patron, to whom shes been bound since she was a child. But the magical murders of several other Ingenues threaten the citys seemingly peaceful society and jeopardize Pandoras cover. For more childrens and YA titles on sale throughout the month of July, check out PWs full On-Sale Calendar. J-10 multi-role fighter jets take off for training China Military Online) 15:31, July 17, 2025 A J-10 multi-role fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command takes off for a flight training exercise in early July, 2025. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xiao Rui) A J-10 multi-role fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command taxis on the runway during a flight training exercise in early July, 2025. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xiao Rui) A J-10 multi-role fighter jet attached to an aviation brigade with the air force under the Chinese PLA Southern Theater Command taxis on the runway during a flight training exercise in early July, 2025. (eng.chinamil.com.cn/Photo by Xiao Rui) (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The UK and Germany have established a joint task force which could benefit millions of passengers. The partnership is part of the new Bilateral Treaty, which is to be signed by the Prime Minister and Chancellor Merz today (17th July). It will pave the way for direct international travel between the two countries, all while boosting tourism and jobs. The huge step forward will meet both the UK and Germanys commitment to enhancing sustainable travel. The task force will see experts from both governments examine how they can break the barriers which could prevent the plan for the direct line. Example barriers include border and security control measures. They will be examining both the commercial and technical requirements, including safety and rail operator collaboration, to allow the plan to become a reality. VIENNA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Bashir Bayo Ojulari, CEO of the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), hailed China's clean energy development and the country's role in driving world economic growth during a recent interview with Xinhua. Ojulari made the remarks last week when he was attending the 9th Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) international seminar in Vienna. "It's very clear that China's economy has grown significantly for what we can see, and also China has already pivoted into clean energy, which is very impressive," he said, adding that a lot of economic growth in China comes not only from traditional businesses, but also from energy transition. He said solar systems and other forms of energy in China are "quite mature." "I think what is interesting now is taking that maturity of energy transition into providing and meeting what I call energy security for most developing countries," he said. Speaking of the Chinese economy's contribution to the world, he said China's economic growth is "far beyond the borders of China" and is driving growth in Africa and other parts of the world, particularly in developing countries. "It's very clear that growth will be very supportive to the rest of the world," he added. The CEO of the Nigerian energy giant also said that China maintains a "reasonable" mix of hydrocarbon during the energy transition. "In terms of our gas-based industries, we've seen a lot of Chinese technology which are very cost-effective and very, very efficient. We're trying to grow our gas industry," he said, adding that the NNPC and China have been in deep cooperation on many fronts. He said the NNPC values the collaborations with Chinese companies and looks for future cooperation opportunities. For the industrialization that Nigeria is pursuing, he said that "China represents a great example where we can learn a lot. So working with Chinese companies to achieve this objective is something that I think is very important for us." Nvidia CEO: Dawn of AI just the beginning (People's Daily App) 15:58, July 17, 2025 "The last ten, twelve years is really about preparing for today," Jensen Huang, the CEO of Nvidia, told People's Daily reporter at the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) on Wednesday. US tech giant Nvidia made its debut at the CISCE. Previously, its CEO announced that the company had gained US government approval to resume sales of its H20 AI chips to China. (Web editor: Zhong Wenxing, Liang Jun) The floodgates holding back long-buried classified documents exposing government efforts to claim Donald Trump conspired with Vladimir Putin to manipulate the 2016 U.S. presidential election might finally be opening. Trump administration officials held an urgent meeting Sunday to discuss new information on Russiagate, which they might use to build a criminal conspiracy case against Obama and Biden administration political appointees who allegedly weaponized the government against Trump, two Trump administration officials told RealClearInvestigations. The documents are said to contain long-classified information, including a secret 200-page congressional audit that reveals details about how an intelligence community assessment on Russia ordered by President Obama after the 2016 election was framed in a way that portrayed Trump as being beholden to the Kremlin. Sources told RCI that emails and other records tying the CIAs controversial drafting of the Intelligence Community Assessment [ICA] to the FBIs discredited Crossfire Hurricane investigation targeting Trump could be released as part of an Office of the Director of National Intelligence report as early as Thursday. The White House was briefed on the development Tuesday, the sources said. Participants in the Sunday meeting involving intelligence officials and their Department of Justice counterparts also discussed declassifying investigative notes and depositions taken by Special Counsel John Durham during his probe of the CIAs and FBIs handling of the ICA, which relied in part on an anti-Trump dossier financed by the Hillary Clinton campaign. Strengthening Case for Conspiracy The information could strengthen a criminal case against Obamas top intelligence officers, including former CIA Director John Brennan, who allegedly gave false testimony to Congress about their role in using the dossier in the ICA, according to the officials who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive information. Although the five-year statute of limitations on perjury means much of the testimony given about the ICA cannot be prosecuted, officials could still be charged with a conspiracy to commit perjury. Sources said the meeting, which was arranged by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, was held in a secure room known as a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility). The meeting also focused on the release of a highly restricted appendix to Durhams final report that details intelligence Brennan intercepted exposing a plan by the Clinton campaign in July 2016 to stir up an election scandal involving Trump and Russia to distract from her email investigation. Instead of investigating the Clinton plot, the FBI opened an investigation into Trump and his campaign advisers for allegedly colluding with Russia. Officials attending the meeting also discussed the need to declassify another classified annex, which was attached to an inspector generals review of the FBIs probe of Clintons unsecured email server. Sources say it details how then-Secretary of State Clintons improper email activity gave foreign actors access to classified material. Yet the FBI neglected to investigate the security breach, fitting a pattern of then-FBI Director James Comey letting Clinton off the hook while gunning for Trump. Sources say the meeting was attended by senior staff of both ODNI and DOJ and also involved the Presidents Intelligence Advisory Board and DOJs Weaponization Working Group, but did not include Trumps intelligence czar, DNI Tulsi Gabbard, or Attorney General Pam Bondi. ODNI, which declined comment, has the authority to declassify documents across the intelligence community. Gabbard has tasked a group of analysts to comb through the explosive House Intelligence Committees 2019 review of the ICA and other still-secret documents to identify sensitive sources and methods and make redactions where necessary before declassifying them for possible use in court. They have a team working on that, said an administration official familiar with the operation. Weaponizing Russian Intelligence A U.S. intelligence official alleged the outgoing administration weaponized the Russian intelligence to sabotage President-elect Trump in the weeks before he took office in January 2017. Obama ordered the ICA to set Trump up and knock him off balance before he could even get started, said the senior official, who asked to remain anonymous. This was an influence operation far more consequential than anything [Russian President Vladimir] Putin cooked up. Obama and Hillary [Clinton] schemed the op, and the CIA and FBI ran it. At the time they drafted the ICA in December 2016, this official noted, the CIA and FBI knew that Clinton had approved a plan by her then-foreign policy adviser, Jake Sullivan who would later become President Bidens National Security Advisor to stir up a scandal on Trump about Russia. They also knew then that the dossier they referenced in the intelligence assessment was opposition research underwritten by the Clinton campaign. Several months earlier, Brennan made a referral to the FBI to open a counterespionage case to find out how Russian intelligence intercepted information about Clintons plan to tie up Trump in a fake Kremlin scandal. Brennan appears to have been less concerned about the Clinton campaigns disinformation campaign than the fact that Moscow knew about it. This so alarmed Brennan that he briefed Obama about it, according to a summary of his handwritten notes, declassified in 2020. The referral, known as a counterintelligence operational lead (CIOL), was sent to Comey, who in turn forwarded it to then-FBI counterintelligence official Peter Strzok to investigate. Strzok who was fired by the FBI after his anti-Trump views became public opened an investigation, codenamed Crossfire Hurricane, not of Clinton but the Trump campaign. Brian Greer, a former Brennan aide, confirmed that the purpose of the counterintelligence operation was not to investigate the Clinton campaigns dirty tricks, but to determine if the Russians had learned of the deceit by penetrating the Clinton camp. The concern, he said, was that Clinton may have been spied on by a hostile intelligence service. Investigating Trump, Protecting Clinton So instead of investigating the Clinton campaign for providing knowingly false and/or misleading information to the FBI in the form of the transparently spurious Steele dossier, the bureau used the Clinton-funded dossier as evidence to obtain a wiretap to spy on the Trump campaign as part of a year-long counterintelligence investigation. The disparate treatment by investigators is something Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel are focusing on in their conspiracy probe, sources say. To that end, they are also seeking the declassification of all investigative records generated from the FBIs Crossfire Hurricane probe as well as its investigation of Clintons emails, codenamed Midyear Exam. A Feb. 24, 2016, email between Strzok and then-deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabes special assistant Lisa Page suggests the FBI investigators planned to treat Clinton with kid gloves during her interview. Page: One more thing: [Clinton] may be our next president. The last thing you need [is] going in there loaded for bear. Strzok: Agreed. Durham noted that the still-classified appendix to his final report contains specific indications and additional facts that heightened the potential relevance of this [Clinton Plan] intelligence to further investigations. Some former FBI officials say federal prosecutors have sufficient grounds to charge Obamas FBI and CIA officials with criminal conspiracy. You look back at what was going on in the FBI starting in 2016 [with] these cases [and] the way they approached Gen. [Michael] Flynn; Crossfire Hurricane; the Russian collusion case [prosecuted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller]; then moving to the raid on Mar-a-Lago [and] the [DOJ] lawfare that came after President Trump, this is outrageous. And then you had the arrogance of these two individuals Comey and Brennan it was unbelievable, former FBI special-agent-in-charge Jody P. Weis, a 22-year veteran of the bureau, said in a recent interview. So Im extremely happy that someone is looking into this. Glock has gotten so big, it isnt just Glock. An entire cottage industry has spawned off of the brand. There are dozens of companies that make aftermarket custom parts and accessories, with new ones sprouting up all the time. At least a dozen companies manufacture custom Glocks for you to purchase, or you can send in yours, and armorers will work their custom magic. And then theres the fast-growing segment of PCCsPistol Caliber Carbinesmany of which are based off of Glock magazines. Some even incorporate your Glock pistol into the carbine. One trend that has become mainstream (and thus is not by definition a trend anymore) is non-Glock Glocks. Several companies that have been making Glock slides, barrels, and other parts used with the Glock frame have now started making their own frames. The frames use Glock parts internally (both OEM and aftermarket parts), but the frame looks very different. So, its a non-Glock handgun that is based off the Glock design. Most of these guns are named in a manner that use Glock model numbers, such as 17 and 19. For example, the handgun from Faxon is named FX-19. Its hard for me to mentally classify these firearms, because here you have a company that is building a handgun from the ground up as its own, however, the design itself is not its own, because its still Glocks design. CUSTOM PARTS I typically like everything to be organized in a particular fashion, and the sections of this book are no exception. I wanted a part about custom Glocks and another about custom parts for Glock. The challenge in trying to organize this, and keeping within the size constraints of the book, is where to draw the line between listing a company as making custom parts versus one that makes custom Glocks. Many companies offer both. Its a fine line between the two. The difference is a company selling custom parts will sell you parts, which you use to customize your Glock. A company making a custom Glock will send you a Glock thats completely customized; you do nothing. This is done one of two ways: either you purchase a custom Glock as a completed product, or you send in your Glock, armorers work their magic, and they send back your customized pistol. BAR-STO Bar-Sto has been making high-quality semi-auto pistol barrels since 1971. These barrels have been used by the U.S. Marine Corps Marksman Unit since 1977, as well as the Army Marksman Unit. Barrels are machined, bored, and rifled in its Sturgis, South Dakota, shop. It makes barrels for every model of Glock except the 380 ACP and 45 GAP models. Bar-Sto produces standard barrels, extended threaded barrels, compensated barrels, and extended ported barrels. It also manufactures conversion barrels for the various models in common calibers, as well as non-standard calibers like 30 Luger, 925 Dillon, and 40 Super. Bar-Sto barrels are hand-fitted to the slide, tightening up clearances and making for a more accurate pistol. Writing this book gave me my first opportunity to work with Bar-Sto, and it has been a great experience. The barrels are hand-fitted to the slide, so once I decided which of my Glocks I wanted a barrel for, I sent in the slide for my G34 Gen4. After a couple of weeks and a few emails, I received the slide and the new barrel. I was extremely impressed by the quality of workmanship. I havent done much formal testing in this book as it is not meant as a review, so I decided to keep it informal (no shooting off a bench or using a rest, etc.). I went behind my cabin and stapled some targets to an old box and walked out 10 yards. All shots were rapid fire in the off-hand (standing) position. With a box of SIG 124-grain JHP, I fired five-shot groups of (in inches): 2.43, 2.53, 3.9, and 1.93. With Black Hills 115-grain FMJ, I fired five-shot groups of 1.07, 2.92, 1.30, and 2.71. The barrel is well-made with excellent fit and finish, and Im more than pleased with it. CMC TRIGGERS Im not for certain, but I think CMC might be out of Texas. (I jest: Its logo is a trigger group shaped like the state of Texas with the Texas state flag, and it adorns all of its packaging and some products.) Most gun people have heard of CMC Triggers, which has a stellar reputation. CMC is most famous for its drop-in triggers, but also makes other components for Glock. All its products are made in the United States and come with a 100-percent satisfaction guaranteed lifetime warranty. If youre going to add your own touches to a stock handgun, you might as well let everyone know about it. CMC sent me its Glock Gen4 9mm trigger to test for this book. Its an excellent trigger. The pull weight averaged 4.7 pounds. The take-up is super-clean, and it has a short reset. The Texas maker also produces drop-in match-grade barrels for Gen3 and Gen4 G17s and G19s in threaded and non-threaded, and for the G34 in non-threaded only. The barrels are made from pre-hardened 416R stainless steel and come in three finishes: stainless, black DLC, and Bronze Ticn. All are fluted and look nice. CMC also machines an aftermarket slide called Kragos for the Gen3 G17 and G19. Im not going to lie, it looks sweet. It has a striking wraparound scalloped serration pattern that looks good and improves purchase when working the slide. It comes with Tritium night sights installed and an optics cut for RMR-compatible optics. Aside from the sights, the slide comes stripped, including the channel liner. It accepts all Glock OEM parts including the sights and all aftermarket parts that are compatible with Glock OEM. CMC triggers have established themselves as a reliable, quality upgrade to the factory unit. I was more than happy with how the CMC trigger, barrel, and Kragos slide performed. I fired two five-shot groups at 10 yards using Black Hills 115-grain FMJ and had groups of 2.73 and 2.52 inches. ZEV ZEV has been making aftermarket Glock parts for a while, is one of the bigger names in the industry, and is well-respected. Ive been an admirer of its products, but have limited hands-on experience shooting them, so I cant write in great detail about them. I do have one of its G34 dimpled, burnt-bronze barrels. Its outstanding and very good looking. ZEV dimpled aftermarket barrels give your custom build a unique look. Judging from it, and from handling other products, ZEVs stuff is well-made. The barrels use pre-hardened chromium 416R stainless steel, like that used in match-grade rifle barrels. Each barrel is then cut rifled and inspected for rifling groove dimensions. Barrels are double-honed to a surface finish of 16 RA (roughness average). As a comparison, a 42 RA would be a beadblasted surface finish, and 4 RA would be a mirror finish. Just looking at the barrel, though, you dont need fancy numbers and measurements to see the ultrasmooth finish. HYVE TECHNOLOGIES Hyve specializes in aluminum CNC-made parts for your Glock, including mag releases, slide cover plates, magazine baseplates, and triggers. Its parts are finely made, then anodized in vibrant colors that really stand out, making for great Insta-guns. Or you can order the parts in black. Other colors include blue, OD green, copper, red, violet, tan, and gray. Hyve also makes other parts for Glock that arent as flashy, such as magazine springs and takedown pins. It recently started offering barrels and slides as well. I decked out my G43 in various Hyve parts for photos. The parts are well-made, drop-in and I havent had any problems with reliability, though I dont have many rounds through the gun with these parts so I cannot vouch for durability and wear and tear. As I noted earlier in the book, I dont use my G43 much for carry anymore, but if I started to again (given my feelings about aftermarket parts for self-defense guns) Id most likely switch back to OEM. Maybe after a couple of thousand rounds through this gun with these parts Ill start to change my mind about non-OEM parts on my fighting guns. LONE WOLF DISTRIBUTORS One of the very first aftermarket parts I bought for one of my Glocks was a Lone Wolf threaded barrel, before Glock made threaded barrels. Its always performed well, with no problems, and has a good fit and finish. Lone Wolf has been making Glock barrels and parts for a long time, and it is one of the largest. The company earned a loyal following, producing competitively priced products that perform well. In recent years, it has added some higher-end products that are made in the United States in the Alpha Wolf line. Lone Wolf now makes a custom part for every OEM Glock part, including the Timberwolf frame (which comes in large- and standard-size frames). It even offers complete pistols. One of my favorite things Lone Wolf offers is the Signature Series slide. Ive seen Pattern No. 20 through No. 23, and they are sharp-looking. A piece of art, really. Lone Wolf loaned me one of its Pattern No. 23 slides for the G34, and it looks like something out of a science-fiction movie. It put a cool-looking Winter Battleworn Cerakote finish on it and included a G34 barrel with its Frost Bitten finish. It looks sexy, and it shoots great, too. Something else Lone Wolf makes, if youre into com-bloc calibers like the 918 Makarov: I always wanted a modern polymer gun chambered in 918 Mak, and my wishes have been answered. Lone Wolf has a 918 Makarov conversion barrel for the G42. Theres one thats threaded, and one thats not. Im a collector of combloc weapons, so I think this is pretty cool. The spotted lanternfly is an invasive insect native to Asia that has spread across the East Coast over the last decade. Georgia is the furthest south the insect has reached with reported sightings in Fulton County, according to a release by UGA Today. Scenes from the renaming ceremony of the Classic Center Arena to the Akins Ford Arena on Tuesday, August. 20, 2024 in Athens, Georgia. The stadium, ice rink and concert venue is prepared to host every home game for the Athens Rock Lobsters hockey team as well as headlining musical acts as soon as this December. (Photo/Samantha Hurley; @reportingblind) 'It is not rigidity.' 'I am just sticking to what I believe very strongly in, particularly if you have been given an opportunity to serve the country....' IMAGE: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the inauguration of the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs North-East Conclave 2025 at IIM Shillong, July 11, 2025. Photograph: @PIBShillong X/ANI Photo In a rare conversation about her personal life, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that one of her core values which may be mistaken by some as being rigid, is simply sticking to what she feels strongly about. She was speaking with entrepreneur Mark Laitflang Stone in the greens of Ward's Lake in Shillong during her recent visit to Meghalaya, where she opened up about her journey from being an educator to a minister. "People sometimes ask me why you have to be so rigid on this, so rigid on that. It is not rigidity. I am just sticking to what I believe very strongly in, particularly if you have been given an opportunity to serve the country... I don't do any explaining," she said. The finance minister spoke about her days of being one of the founders of a school in Hyderabad, much before she became a politician and how even now those who knew her then shout out 'Nirmala Ma'am'. "Those were my most satisfying times," the finance minister added. Sitharaman said she entered the education space in the early years of her daughter's schooling. "It became a routine in the family and they said why don't you run a school...And I said why not," she said. The minister talked about her experience as an educator when she ensured that special-needs children were in the same class and had taken her students on trips to Tibet, Himachal Pradesh, and Gujarat. IMAGE: Nirmala Sitharaman addresses the CII Global Capability Centre Summit in New Delhi, July 14, 2025. Photograph: Rahul Singh/ANI Photo Sitharaman also spoke about the enthusiasm of her team and how they often recast her priorities and objectives to be approached in a different way. She said that her team was conscious about the difficult position of being part of the government as it comes with its limitations. "Yet it gives you that kind of an opportunity which can open an entire world for some sections of the people. I depend on my team for my performance. I will never hesitate to recognise them," Sitharaman said. The minister also spoke about how the youth of the North East does not recognise any challenge as a hindrance. 'Hindrance is only when they have to go far away from home to seek what they can otherwise seek at home." She said that every Northe East state sees an opportunity not just in building roads and bridges but also a material advantage in giving its youth opportunity and the right skills. "The dividend they have placed on making youth a big catalyst is showing in both the enthusiasm of the youth and the government saying that is the best way. That I see is common in all the eight states," she said. The FM said the government has made a relentless effort to connect the North East within itself and the rest of the country. "Digitisation has opened up avenues for the North East with ONDC, etcetera, giving a window to reach products to a larger audience which was not there before." Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff AI-powered robot delivers impressive performance in harvesting winter jujubes in NW China's Shaanxi People's Daily Online) 15:48, July 17, 2025 An artificial intelligence (AI)-powered jujube harvesting robot undergoes testing in a winter jujube greenhouse in Dali county, Weinan city, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Photo/Zhao Zhuoyu) An artificial intelligence (AI)-powered harvesting robot equipped with a precision vision system was recently tested for the first time in Dali county, Weinan city, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, achieving a ripe fruit picking success rate of nearly 85 percent and a fruit damage rate of less than 8 percent in harvesting winter jujubes. The test took place at a farm with winter jujube greenhouses. During the test, the robot slowly moved through rows of winter jujube trees, extended its robotic arm deep into the foliage, locked onto a ripe jujube, gently gripped it with its soft gripper, and dropped it into a collection basket. The successful test brought hope to winter jujube growers in Dali county, where the fruit represents a major industry and its planting area has reached 420,000 mu (28,000 hectares). "During the harvest season, we have to enter the greenhouses before dawn just to pick as many jujubes as we can before sunrise," said Shen Honggang, a fruit grower from Liangyi township in Dali county. Researchers test an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered jujube harvesting robot in a winter jujube greenhouse in Dali county, Weinan city, northwest China's Shaanxi Province. (Photo/Zhao Zhuoyu) To meet local farmers' growing demand for smart agricultural tools like AI harvesting robots, a robotics company based in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong Province, partnered with a robotics research team from Harbin Institute of Technology's Shenzhen campus to develop a solution. With funding from the company, technological expertise from the research team, and experimental jujube fields provided by local authorities in Dali county, a three-way collaboration was initiated. According to credible sources, the harvesting robot recently tested in Dali, named Lanxia, was the first-generation AI harvesting robot developed through the collaboration. (Web editor: Hongyu, Liang Jun) 'Maharashtrians are facing a dual battle -- numerical battle with North Indians and financial battle with Gujaratis and Marwaris.' 'This has created anxiety about survival and ownership over Mumbai and Maharashtra.' Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff The Maharashtra government's recent resolution making Hindi as the third compulsory language along with Marathi and English from Classes 1 to 5 in all schools has sparked a sharp political and cultural backlash. Citing alignment with the National Education Policy 2020, the move has been criticised for undermining regional languages. Mahararashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray called it an 'imposition' and had demanded its immediate withdrawal, warning against sidelining Marathi in its own state. With the Maharashtra government now issuing an order saying Hindi will 'generally' be taught as the third language to students in Marathi and English medium schools, Raj Thackeray has now asked the people of Maharashtra to foil the government's agenda to impose Hindi. In this three-part interview with Prasanna D Zore/Rediff, Dr Deepak Pawar, president of the Marathi Abhyas Kendra and a prominent voice from Maharashtra's language rights movement, discusses the deeper implications of the Maharashtra government's decision to make Hindi mandatory for primary school children linking it to employment politics, cultural hegemony, and a looming threat to India's federal linguistic fabric. Part One of the interview: Maharashtra has a long tradition of linguistic identity movements -- Samyukta Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena's Marathi manoos campaigns. How does that legacy influence public reaction to the State Curriculum Framework's Hindi compulsion for Std I to Standard V students in Maharashtra's schools? If you look at the sequence of government decisions, they said they'd implement the CBSE syllabus. Then they clarified it's not the syllabus but NCERT textbooks. Now, if you want to use NCERT textbooks, why not say so directly and try to upgrade the state board instead of confusing everyone? Maharashtra today is facing a dual identity crisis. On one hand, we take pride in our 'Maha' prefix -- 'Maha'Rashtra, 'Maha'Agro, 'Maha'Nirmiti, 'Maha'Genko. But socially and politically, there is a deep degeneration. So this is the moment to move beyond tokenism and reactionary language politics. Given the legacy of the Marathi language I see collective anger against the state government's move to impose Hindi on the people of Maharashtra. But I see this anger as an opportunity to revisit the nature of Maharashtra's politics. Whether we seize that opportunity -- or miss the bus again -- depends on how successfully we (the political class as well as other Maharashtrian stakeholders from society) consolidate and mobilise this anger for making Marathi language an instrument for employment generation. From the way this imposition is being implemented it is clear that this is not an academic decision -- it's a political one. The government is, in a way, creating an employment guarantee scheme for North Indians to become teachers. There are many North Indians who've completed their BA and BEd in Hindi, and they're looking for jobs. Meanwhile, Marathispeaking graduates who are searching for jobs in Englishmedium or other boardaffiliated schools think they'll benefit if Marathi is made compulsory -- but they're not assured of anything, whereas the North Indian boys and girls are assured employment. The priority of this (Maharashtra) government (headed by the BJPNCPShiv Sena) -- which has a brutal majority -- is to push forward the HindiHinduHindustan agenda of the Government of India and the Sangh Parivar, which is the driving wheel behind both the Maharashtra and central governments. Could you give us some backdrop of the antiHindi movement in Maharashtra? The antiHindi movement (as different from anti-North Indian or anti-South Indian) in Maharashtra is comparatively a new phenomenon because, unlike Tamil Nadu or Andhra Pradesh or even Kerala, Maharashtra has always considered Hindi a language closer to Marathi. That's basically because the Devanagari script (in which both Marathi and Hindi are written) is the same. This has been Maharashtra's history; it has this very selfkilling habit of going for the help of the Himalayas (Hindispeaking north India), and so many in Maharashtra (Maharashtrians) have adopted Hindi as just an extension of Marathi. In Tamil Nadu or other southern states, the resistance to Hindi arose because the Constitution makers had said that after 15 years of implementing the Constitution, they would look to replace English with Hindi. So there was huge resistance, even violence -- almost the entire Tamil Nadu was in turmoil. Compared to that, in Maharashtra, we hadn't seen any antiHindi protests before 2000. AntiHindi protests started in Maharashtra only recently. But that protest is also about North Indian people, and not necessarily about the Hindi bhasha or language. Originally, the Shiv Sena had started its protest against South Indians because they thought South Indians were taking away clerical jobs. By the time the MNS came to the political front, the organised sector in Maharashtra was almost dead. It was the informal (unorganised) sector and the services sector that had become important. And in that sector, the competition was between lowermiddleclass Marathi manoos and lowermiddleclass North Indians. The lowermiddleclass North Indians -- who had very limited expectations from social and economic life because of their background in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar -- were willing to work at any cost. So they took away jobs from Marathispeaking people. And Raj Thackeray grabbed that opportunity and started the (anti-North Indian) agitation in 2006. It was also tacitly backed by the Congress-NCP-led government. So lowermiddleclass North Indians took over lowermiddleclass Marathi jobs -- but only in the unorganised sector? Yes, mostly in the unorganised sector. Another area of anger was the nonusage of Marathi in central government establishments -- like the railways, telephone services, and banks. If you look at most nationalised banks, even those headquartered in Maharashtra like the Bank of Maharashtra, they would have forms or slips in only two languages -- English and Hindi -- but not Marathi. That was also a point of anger. The Reserve Bank of India even issued circulars on this (that bank slips should also have information in Marathi on them). Sometimes, the Shiv Sena took the matter into its own hands. Even some parties from the South like the DMK raised the issue. But this anger really surged after 2019, especially with the rise of the HindiHinduHindustan narrative of the RSS becoming dominant in Maharashtra. How deep is the feeling of anger in Maharashtra that this 'imposition' of Hindi on school children in Maharashtra is about cultural domination? What's the main cause for this anger? You'll find that in the last six months to two years -- whether it's a chawl or an apartment in Mumbai and many other pockets in Maharashtra -- there have been incidents in semiurban and urban areas where North Indians are dominating and questioning why they should speak Marathi. This has happened even with Gujaratis. Marathis and Gujaratis have clashed in several semiurban localities of Mumbai. So Maharashtrians are facing a dual battle -- numerical battle with North Indians (when it comes to employment and jobs) and financial battle with Gujaratis and Marwaris (when it comes to setting up business establishments in Mumbai and other cities and towns). This has created anxiety (in the minds of Marathi people) about their survival and their ownership over Mumbai, the MMR region (the Mumbai Metropolitan regions like Palghar, Kalyan, Panvel) and Maharashtra. What is the RSS agenda in implementing Hindi across India? It is Hindi, Hindu, Hindustan -- which means one nation, one language, one culture. That is the kind of monolithic identity they are interested in creating. As many as 177 security and police personnel, including nearly 40 from paramilitary forces deployed in Chhattisgarh, have committed suicide in the state in the last six-and-a-half years, the assembly was informed on Wednesday. IMAGE: File image of security personnel carrying out an anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh. Photograph: ANI Photo Family, personal issues and health grounds were among the reasons responsible for these suicides, police investigations have found. In a written reply to a question by senior BJP MLA Ajay Chandrakar, deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who holds the home portfolio, informed about the cases of suicide by security personnel and murders committed by them. As per the reply, 177 security personnel have committed suicide in the state between 2019 and June 15, 2025. Of them, 26 personnel belonged to the Central Reserve Police Force, five to the Border Security Force, three to the Indo-Tibetan Border Police and one each to the Sashastra Seema Bal, the Central Industrial Security Force and Tripura State Rifles, it said. The other personnel who committed suicide belonged to different wings of the state police, including the Chhattisgarh Armed Force, Special Task Force, and Home Guard, the reply said. The CRPF, BSF and ITBP have been extensively deployed in the state for anti-Naxal operations. According to the government document, 25 security personnel committed suicide in 2019, 38 in 2020, 24 in 2021, 31 in 2022, 22 in 2023, 29 in 2024 and 8 in 2025 (till June 15). During the last six-and-a-half years, 18 security personnel, including those belonging to paramilitary forces, were involved in incidents of murder. These incidents included a few fratricides in which jawans opened fire on their colleagues. The written reply by deputy CM Sharma further stated that upon the occurrence of an incident (of suicide/murder by security personnel), investigations are conducted by registering a case with the police. During the investigation, statements of departmental officers/employees, family members of the deceased and other witnesses are taken in pursuant of further action. In the investigation of such cases, it has been found that officers/employees mainly commit suicide/murder due to family, personal issues, addiction to alcohol, health reasons and sudden anger, the government reply said. All superintendents of police/Commanders have been carrying out welfare activities like counselling by psychiatrists regarding family problems, depression and mental stress among their subordinate police officers/employees. The seniors are also providing group counselling, giving regular leave and organising yoga and cultural programmes, among other events, for their subordinates, it said. Police bank facilities have been provided at the district/battalion level to deal with financial problems. Motivational sessions are organised for de-addiction and alcohol addicts are encouraged to get treatment in rehabilitation centres, according to the reply. Officers/employees from constable to inspector level are paid 13 months salary every year. A grievance register is maintained at every police station and company level to address problems of employees. District SPs/Commanders regularly listen to grievances of employees and try to resolve them, it said. During inspections, senior officers also listen to grievances of employees and make all possible efforts to solve them. Every year, the State/District-level Advisory Committee holds a meeting to address problems of employees, the government told the house. Every week on Tuesday and Friday, the director general of police listens to grievances of employees at Police Headquarters and resolves them as soon as possible, it added. United States President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) hinted at reaching a new trade deal with India soon. IMAGE: US President Donald Trump. Photograph: Umit Bektas/Reuters While adding 'maybe', he said that currently the US is in negotiations with India. Trump, while speaking to reporters during a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, emphasised that August 1 will be a significant day, when a lot of money will come into his country. "...We've brought in over $100 billion. The tariffs haven't kicked in significantly, except for automobiles and steel. August 1st is when a very substantial money comes into our country. We've made deals with numerous places. We had one yesterday," Trump said. "We have another one (deal) coming up, maybe with India... We're in negotiation. When I send out a letter, that's a deal... The best deal we can make is to send out a letter, and the letter says that you'll pay 30%, 35%, 25%, 20%... We have some pretty good deals to announce... We're very close to a deal with India where they open it up," Trump added. The US President on Tuesday said the United States is working on a deal that gives it access to the Indian markets. He also announced a new trade deal with Indonesia, after which the latter will face a reduced tariff rate of 19 per cent. Announcing progress on the India part, Trump stated, "We're going to have access into India. And you have to understand, we had no access into any of these countries. Our people couldn't go in. And now we're getting access because of what we're doing with the tariffs." "The ongoing bilateral trade talks (BTA) negotiations by India and the United States (US) are progressing as per the decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump," said the government officials on Tuesday. "Our team is back in the US for carrying out the fifth round of negotiations on the bilateral trade agreement, so that agreement is progressing as per the decisions of our leaders and as per the terms of reference decided between the two countries," the government officials told ANI. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau on Thursday said it is too early to draw any "definite conclusions" on what led to the Air India plane crash as the probe is still on and that the final report will come out with the root causes, while it urged everyone to refrain from spreading premature narratives. IMAGE: A crane removes the wreckage of the Air India Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft in Ahmedabad, June 14, 2025. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters The comments come against the backdrop of reports suggesting that pilot error led to the crash of the Air India plane that killed 260 people on June 12. The Boeing 787-8 aircraft, enroute from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick, crashed soon after take off. "It has come to our attention that certain sections of the international media are repeatedly attempting to draw conclusions through selective and unverified reporting. Such actions are irresponsible, especially while the investigation remains ongoing," AAIB director general G V G Yugandhar said in a statement. Appealing to all concerned to await publication of the final investigation report, AAIB said this is not the time to create public anxiety or angst towards safety of Indian aviation industry, particularly on the basis of unfounded facts. Quoting people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence uncovered in the crash investigation, the Wall Street Journal has reported that a black box recording of dialogue between the flight's two pilots indicates it was the captain who turned off switches that controlled fuel flowing to the plane's two engines. At the weekly media briefing, external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday said that on the Air India plane crash, one will have to wait for the concerned government authority to make the report public. "It is too premature for all of us to talk about what's in it, what's not in it. So we will have to wait for the final report to come out," he said. He was responding to queries on media reports saying that it was the captain of the aircraft who was responsible for the crash. The AAIB said the purpose of its investigation and preliminary report is "to provide information about 'WHAT' happened. The preliminary report has to be seen in this light. At this stage, it is too early to reach to any definite conclusions. The investigation by AAIB is still not complete. The final investigation report will come out with root causes and recommendations". After the release of its preliminary report on July 12, this is the first official comments from the AAIB amidst concerns raised in certain quarters about the the initial report as well as the cause of the accident. Noting that it will publish updates, as and when required, which have technical and public interest, AAIB also urged both the public and the media to refrain from spreading premature narratives that risk undermining the integrity of the investigative process. "It is essential to respect the sensitivity of the loss faced by family members of deceased passengers, crew of the aircraft and other deceased persons on ground," it said and added that the accident has been the most devastating accident in recent aviation history. The investigation is being undertaken in a rigorous and most professional manner in accordance with the AAIB Rules and international protocols, the statement said. Against the backdrop of concerns raised about the preliminary probe report, AAIB asserted that it has a flawless record in investigating 92 accidents and 111 serious incidents since its inception in 2012. "Even now, apart from investigating in the ill-fated Air India's B787-8 aircraft VT-ANB, several other accidents and serious incidents are under investigation," the statement noted. AAIB also appealed to all concerned to await publication of the final investigation report after completion of the probe. Veteran pilot and aviation consultant Captain Ehsan Khalid has suggested that investigators should also focus on a possible fault in flight AI171's stabilizer, which he believes could have created conditions for the plane's crash, albeit due to an unintended mistake by the pilot. Air India flight 171, which crashed moments after taking off from Ahmedabad, killing 241 on board and 19 on the ground, had arrived from Delhi before its onward journey to London Gatwick on June 12. The crew reported a fault with the stabilizer to engineers in Ahmedabad who fixed it, according to a preliminary report into the investigation released on July 12. The stabilizer is part of the aircraft's tail and helps in pitching up and down its nose on command from the pilot. Meanwhile, various pilots' groupings have cautioned against speculations regarding the cause of the crash and have sought a transparent probe. On Thursday, the Air Line Pilots' Association - India (ALPA India) said the crew of the crashed AI 171 flight made every possible effort to protect the passengers onboard and they deserve respect, not unfounded character judgements. "Pilots are trained professionals who carry the responsibility of hundreds of lives with dedication and dignity. "The crew of AI 171 made every possible effort -- till their very last breath -- to protect the passengers on board and minimize harm on the ground. They deserve respect, not unfounded character judgments," ALPA India said in a statement. The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) on Thursday asked the government to reassess possible technical misinterpretation or mechanical faults in Air India's Boeing 787-8 plane that crashed last month and sought inclusion of subject matter experts in the probe. Flagging concerns about the AAIB's preliminary report, the federation said the report failed to sufficiently consider or acknowledge two plausible and previously documented technical scenarios, either of which could have triggered an automated shutdown of both engines. In the preliminary report, the AAIB said the fuel supply to both engines of the plane was cut off within a gap of one second, causing confusion in the cockpit soon after takeoff. "In the cockpit voice recording, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did he cut off. The other pilot responded that he did not do so," the report said. China on Thursday expressed its support for Russia's initiative to revive the dormant Russia-India-China (RIC) troika, saying the trilateral cooperation not only serves the interest of the three countries but also the security and stability of the region and the world. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a photo ceremony before a plenary session of the BRICS 2024 summit in Kazan, Russia on October 23, 2024. Photograph: Sputnik/Alexander Kazakov/Pool via Reuters Russian news portal Izvestia on Thursday quoted Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying that Moscow expects the resumption of the RIC format and is negotiating on this issue with Beijing and New Delhi. "This topic appears in our negotiations with both of them. We are interested in making this format work, because these three countries are important partners, besides the founders of BRICS," Rudenko said. "Therefore, the absence of this format, in my opinion, looks inappropriate. In this regard, we expect that the countries will agree to resume work within the framework of the RIC -- of course, when relations between these states reach a level that allows them to work in a trilateral format," he said. Asked for his reaction to Rudenko's comments at a media briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian on Thursday said, "China-Russia-India cooperation not only serves the respective interests of the three countries but also helps uphold peace, security, stability and progress in the region and the world." China stands ready to maintain communication with Russia and India on advancing the trilateral cooperation, he said. The Russian and Chinese interests in the revival of the RIC followed the recent visit of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar to China to take part in the SCO Foreign Ministers meeting, during which he held talks with top Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov. Joint work in the RIC format was stalled, first because of the coronavirus and later by the India-China military standoff at Eastern Ladakh in 2020, Lavrov said last year. The Ladakh standoff resulted in the freeze of India-China relations for over four years. The bilateral ties revived after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping at Kazan last year on the sidelines of the BRICS summit. Since then, there has been a steady dialogue process between the two countries to normalise relations. Jaishankar's recent trip came after the visits of NSA Ajit Doval and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to China. Lavrov said in May that Russia, which shares close ties with India and China, is 'genuinely interested' in the revival of the RIC format. He said the trilateral mechanism initiated by Russia's former prime minister Yevgeny Primakov resulted in 20 meetings between the three countries at various levels. The three countries were the prime movers of the formation of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) and the New Development Bank (NDB) of the grouping, which now includes 10 members. A host of issues, including the growing rivalry between India and China and Beijing's persistent backing of its all-weather ally Pakistan in its anti-India acts, diluted the RIC's relevance and importance. Of late, there is increasing Russian and Chinese interest in the revival of RIC as India has become a member of Quad -- the emerging alliance of the US, India, Japan and Australia, which is seen by Beijing as a grouping aimed at containing its rise. For its part, Russia is concerned over the emerging closer ties between India and the European Union in the backdrop of its continued war against Ukraine, according to the Russian analysts. Lidia Kulik, a senior researcher at the Centre for Indian Studies at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, believes that any format of cooperation in Eurasia is useful because the continent has long been tired of endless conflicts. For India, relations with Russia traditionally play an important role, given that New Delhi and Beijing have problems. Moscow's involvement creates prospects for cooperation in the RIC format, Lidia told Izvestia. The Election Commission (EC) has so far found that over 5.76 lakh electors in Bihar are enrolled at multiple places and over 12.55 lakh have probably died. IMAGE: Nawada BLO conducts door-to-door distribution of enumeration forms and collection of filled forms under the Special Intensive Revision-2025 ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. Photograph: @CEOBihar X/ANI Photo As the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state's voters' list continues, official data also states that out of nearly 7.90 crore electors, over 35.69 lakh were not found at their addresses during the house-to-house visit of booth-level officers. According to data, over 17.37 lakh electors have probably permanently shifted. The poll authority underlined that the figures will change in the coming days. On July 14, the poll panel had said that the names of over 6.60 crore or 83.66 per cent of the total 7.89 crore electors of Bihar will be included in the draft electoral roll to be published on August 1. The list will include all electors whose forms have been received by the deadline. Focused efforts through newspaper advertisements and direct contact are being made with electors who may have temporarily migrated out of the state to ensure that they are able to fill their enumeration forms (EFs) well in time and have their names also included in the draft roll. About three weeks after she was allegedly raped by her two seniors and an alumnus of South Calcutta Law College, the first-year student of the institute appeared for semester exams, her family said on Thursday. IMAGE: Cops at the South Calcutta Law College after it was shut for an indefinite period following the gangrape of the student, July 1, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo The student kept herself away from all distractions and entirely focused on her preparations, since the June 25 incident, for the first semester exams, her father told PTI. "My daughter helped investigators and met lawyers and members of the state women's commission whenever required. But she concentrated on her preparations for the exams and isolated herself from all other developments, news and discussions. "She is a brave girl and knew that she could give a befitting reply to all those pointing fingers at her by good academic results. She appeared for tests on Wednesday," the father said. The student collected her admit card with the help of the college, he said. Asked if his daughter was initially in two minds about writing papers, the father said, "She was in trauma, but we kept telling her to appear for the exams. We told her that if she acquires the strength to write papers, it will set an example for others who are fighting for justice. She is not the one who should be embarrassed. The perpetrators who committed such a barbarity should be ashamed." "Had she skipped the exams, she would have had to appear for supplementary tests, which we did not want," he added. A senior official from the state's higher education department said all necessary arrangements had been made to ensure that she could "write her papers feeling safe and secure". One of her classmates expressed happiness on hearing that she wrote papers. West Bengal Commission For Women Chairperson Leena Gangopadhyay, who had urged the student to appear for the exams when she met her with a counsellor, expressed happiness over her decision. "Her decision to appear for the exams will motivate other tormented women and give a strong message to the alleged rapists. I pledge every kind of support to her in this battle for justice and empowerment," she said. On June 25, the college student was allegedly gang-raped on the campus. Four people, including former student and contractual employee Monojit Mishra and two students, Zaib Ahmed and Pramit Mukherjee, were arrested in connection with the alleged gang rape. A security guard at the college was also apprehended. Aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has detected multiple violations related to airlines, airports, aircraft maintenance works, and repeated defects in multiple cases during its surveillance at major airports, an exercise carried out in less than two weeks after the Air India plane crash. Image used only for representational purposes. Photograph: ANI Photo Without disclosing names of the airlines, airports and other entities in relation to the defects, the regulator on Tuesday said surveillance covered multiple critical areas such as flight operations, airworthiness, ramp safety, Air Traffic Control (ATC), Communication, Navigation and Surveillance (CNS) systems, and pre-flight medical evaluations. The surveillance was done last week and DGCA is stepping up efforts to strength the overall safety oversight of the aviation ecosystem. From a faded centre line marking of a runway at an airport to non-updation of obstruction limitation data for three years to a scheduled carrier's domestic flight being held up due to worn tyres, the watchdog came across multiple defects in the aviation ecosystem. Noting that the comprehensive surveillance will continue in future to detect hazards in the aviation ecosystem, the DGCA said the findings have been communicated to the entities concerned for taking corrective actions within seven days. Two teams led by the Joint Director General carried out the surveillance during night and early morning hours at major airports, including Delhi and Mumbai airports. In a detailed statement about the surveillance findings, DGCA listed multiple cases wherein the reported defects reappeared many times on the aircraft indicating ineffective monitoring and inadequate rectification. "Ground handling equipment such as baggage trollies... were found unserviceable; Line maintenance stores, tool control procedures were not followed," it said. During maintenance of aircraft, the work order was not followed, DGCA said and added that the unserviceable thrust reverser system and flap slat lever were not locked. "During maintenance, safety precautions found not (to have been) taken by AME (Aircraft Maintenance Engineer) as per AMM (Aircraft Maintenance Manual); at places, AME was not attending to the snag rectification; defect reports generated by the aircraft system, were not found recorded in the technical logbook," the statement said. Also, DGCA found that several life vests were not properly secured beneath their designated seats in aircraft and the corrosion-resistant tape on the right-hand side winglet's lower blade was found to be damaged. At an airport, centre line marking of a runway was observed faded and the rapid exit taxiway, green centre light were not unidirectional. The obstruction limitation data was found to have not been updated for last three years and no survey has been performed despite many new construction around the vicinity of aerodrome, DGCA said. However, names of the airports were not disclosed. "A number of vehicles in the ramp area were found without speed governors. These vehicles were withdrawn by cancelling there AVP and drivers ADP were suspended," the statement said. Further, the regulator said a simulator was found not matching with the aircraft configuration and that the software was not updated to the current version. Besides, a domestic flight of a scheduled carrier was held up due to worn tyres and it was released only after the required rectification was done, it added. DGCA emphasised that it has initiated a focused assessment of the aviation ecosystem to strengthen safety measures across the sector. "Throughout the surveillance, ground activities and aircraft movements were closely monitored to check the compliance of regulatory requirements and to identify weak areas for improvement," the statement said. In the wake of the crash of the London-bound Air India Boeing 787-8 plane soon after take off from Ahmedabad on June 12, DGCA has also put in place a special audit framework for a '360-degree' evaluation of the country's aviation ecosystem and transcend the current practice of siloed assessment. The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday filed a charge sheet against Robert Vadra, the businessman husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in a land deal in Haryana's Shikohpur, official sources said. IMAGE: Businessman and husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Robert Vadra (second from left) arrives at the office of the ED, in New Delhi, July 14, 2025. Photograph: Ishant Chauhan/ANI Photo This is the first time that any probe agency has filed a prosecution complaint naming the 56-year-old Vadra in a criminal case. The federal investigative agency, sources told PTI, has also attached 43 immovable properties worth Rs. 37.64 crore pertaining to Vadra and his linked entities like Sky Light Hospitality Pvt. Ltd. and others. A provisional attachment order was issued by the agency on Wednesday under the PMLA, they said. Sources said the charge sheet has been before the Rouse Avenue court in New Delhi under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. A total of 11 entities including Vadra, a firm linked to him named Sky Light Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., Satyanand Yajee and Kewal Singh Virk, their company Onkareshwar Properties Pvt. Ltd. and some others have been named as accused, the sources said. The court is yet to take cognisance of the prosecution complaint. Vadra has always denied wrongdoing and has said the case was a "political vendetta" against him and his family that also comprises former Congress president Sonia Gandhi and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi. The ED has claimed in the charge sheet that Vadra is accused of money laundering and has sought confiscation of the assets attached. Vadra was questioned by the ED for three consecutive days in April as part of this probe. The money laundering case stems from a September, 2018 filed FIR of the Gurugram Police which alleged fraudulent purchase of 3.53 acres of land situated in village Shikohpur in Sector 83 (Gurugram) by Vadra, through his entity SkyLight Hospitality Pvt. Ltd., from Onkareshwar Properties Pvt. Ltd. on 12.02.2008 through a "false" declaration at a cost of Rs 7.5 crore. It is alleged that commercial license was also obtained by Vadra on the said land through his "personal influence". A Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda was in power at that time. Four years later, in September 2012, the company (Sky Light) sold the land to realty major DLF for Rs 58 crore. The land deal got embroiled in controversy in October 2012 after IAS officer Ashok Khemka, then posted as the director general of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the mutation of this categorising the transaction as violative of state consolidation act and some related procedures. The ED is investigating Vadra in two other money laundering cases including linked to UK-based arms consultant and fugitive economic offender Sanjay Bhandari and a land deal in Rajasthan's Bikaner. Upset over the possible appointment of Ramchander Rao as Bharatiya Janata Party's Telangana President, the party's firebrand MLA Raja Singh on Monday wrote to Union Minister G Kishan Reddy saying that he is resigning from the primary membership of the saffron party. IMAGE: Telangana MLA T Raja Singh. Photograph: ANI on X Reddy is presently the state chief and the party high command is likely to announce new successor on Tuesday. Singh said the decision to appoint the new head of the party in the state has come as a shock and disappointment, not just to him, but to lakhs of Karyakartas, leaders, and voters who have stood by the party through every high and low. "With great sadness, I have decided to resign from the primary membership of the Bharatiya Janata Party. I request you, Shri Kishan Reddy ji, to kindly inform the Hon'ble Speaker of the Telangana Legislative Assembly that T Raja Singh is no longer a member of the BJP," he said in the letter. There are many capable senior leaders, MLAs, and MPs within Telangana who have tirelessly worked for the growth of BJP and who have the strength, credibility, and connections to lead the party forward. Unfortunately, it appears that some individuals, driven by personal interests, have misled the central leadership and taken decisions by running the show from behind the curtain, he alleged. "This not only undermines the sacrifices of grassroots workers but risks pushing the party into avoidable setbacks," he said. He said he has been a dedicated Karyakarta, elected three times in a row with the blessings of the people and support of the party. "But today, I find it difficult to stay silent or pretend that all is well. This is not about personal ambition, this letter reflects the pain and frustration of lakhs of loyal BJP Karyakartas and supporters who feel sidelined and unheard," Singh said. Though he may be stepping away from the party, the Goshamahal legislator said he remains fully committed to the ideology of Hindutva and the service of Hindu Dharma and the people of his constituency. Later, speaking to reporters, Singh said he went to the BJP office to file a nomination for the state president post. The nomination should be supported by ten state BJP council members. However, he alleged that some of the members who were supporting his candidature were threatened by few party leaders that they would be suspended if they chose to back Singh. In August 2024, Singh was suspended from the party following his alleged controversial remarks against "Islam and Prophet Mohammed" in a video which was later pulled down by the social media platform on which it was uploaded. He was arrested under the Preventive Detention Act. However, the Telangana High Court in November 2022 had set aside the PD Act invoked against him. Later, he was granted bail. Joe Biden had already done so, and now Donald Trump will do so as well. The United States government announced, through the Department of Justice, that it will file a brief with the New York Court of Appeals in defense of Argentinas position in the YPF case. The intention is to warn of the legal risks posed by forcing the Argentine government to transfer its 51% stake in the oil company to the plaintiffs following the oil companys nationalization in 2012. On Tuesday, the Court of Appeals preemptively suspended the order issued by Judge Loretta Preska and gave Argentina time to organize its arguments and request a definitive suspension. The Justice Departments brief is expected to broadly replicate arguments previously presented by the Biden administration in November of last year, also in support of Argentina, but which were ignored by Judge Preska. The White House argued at that time that the transfer of the Argentine states shares in YPF to the plaintiffs would violate U.S. rules on sovereign immunity. It also opens the door for Argentina to take similar measures in the future against U.S. companies or assets. Preska effectively ordered a privatization of YPF with assets that are listed on the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange and not traded in the United States. The lawsuit over the nationalization of part of YPF in 2012 is currently the greatest legal threat facing Argentina. In 2014, the Argentine government agreed to pay Repsol $5 billion for the 51% of the shares it had expropriated from the Spanish energy company in 2012. In 2023, Preska ordered the country to pay $16 billion in compensation to the Burford and Eton Capital funds. The argument was that the Argentine government violated YPFs bylaws when it purchased the Repsol shares by not offering the same conditions to the other minority shareholders. Leading the lawsuit was the Petersen group, owned by the Argentine Ezkenazy family, which, after going bankrupt, sold its rights in the YPF lawsuit to Burford Capital, a fund that that buys the rights to litigation from bankrupt companies to pursue large-sum claims. On Monday, Preska gave the Argentine government 72 hours to transfer its shares in YPF as part of payment to Burford Capital and Eton Capital, under threat of being held in contempt. A day later, the Court of Appeals for the Second District of New York City, at Argentinas request, preemptively stayed Preskas order. The Court is granting a temporary administrative stay of the District Courts transfer order pending the resolution of the stay request by a three-judge panel, the Clerk of the Court of Appeals stated. The Milei administration now hopes that explicit support from the White House will unblock a judicial situation from which there seems to be no way out. The Argentine government lacks the money the judge is demanding, a sum that comes close to the financial bailout recently granted by the International Monetary Fund. Additionally, the government cannot transfer YPF shares without congressional authorization. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The skeletal remains of a girl aged between four and five years have been identified among 65 sets of human remains exhumed from a mass grave, which first came into focus during the LTTE conflict in the mid-1990s, in Sri Lanka's Jaffna district. IMAGE: A view of the Jaffna Fort in Sri Lanka. Image used only for representation. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters "The findings of the excavation at the Chemmani mass grave were reported to the Jaffna Magistrate's Court on July 15 by Raj Somadeva, a forensic archaeologist overseeing the exhumation," Jeganathan Tathparan, a lawyer, told PTI on Thursday. Earlier this year, the court had ordered a legally supervised excavation at the mass grave after human skeletal remains were uncovered during routine development work at the site. Tathparan said the child's remains were found alongside school bags and toys. Somadeva informed the court that the child was a girl in the age range of 4-5 years, he said. Two additional skeletons are also suspected to be those of children, based on similarities in clothing and anatomical features, the lawyer said. The Chemmani site first drew international attention in 1998 when a Sri Lankan soldier testified about the existence of mass graves containing hundreds of civilians allegedly killed during the conflict between the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) and the Sri Lankan government in the mid-1990s. An initial excavation in 1999 uncovered 15 skeletons, but no further action was taken until the recent findings. The gravesite is one of the dozens of sites unearthed throughout the country. Thousands of people died and disappeared during the 26-year-long civil war, which ended in 2009. The main Tamil political party, Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), in a letter to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, underlined that the Chemmani mass grave is a clear evidence of war crimes and 'a genocidal campaign against Tamils'. The excavation work, which was halted on July 10, is scheduled to resume on July 21. Amnesty International estimates that between 60,000 and 100,000 people have disappeared in Sri Lanka since the late 1980s. The Tamil community in the island nation claims that nearly 170,000 people were killed in the final stages of the civil war, while the United Nations estimates put the figure at 40,000. The LTTE was seeking a separate homeland for Tamils. In a firm response to NATO secretary general Mark Rutte's threat of secondary sanctions over New Delhi's ties with Moscow, India on Thursday cautioned against "double standards" on the matter and asserted that its energy procurement from Russia is based on national interests and market dynamics. IMAGE: NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (left) with US President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 14, 2025. Photograph: Nathan Howard/Reuters Rutt had warned India, China and Brazil that they could be hit hard by secondary sanctions if they continue to do business with Russia. "We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate that securing energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us," external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. "In this endeavour, we are guided by what is on offer in the markets, and by the prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter," he said. Asked about US President Donald Trump threatening 100 percent tariff on Russian exports and "secondary tariffs" on any country that has trade links with Moscow, Jaiswal said: "We are closely following developments that are in this regard, and the articulations that are being made." India, China and Brazil have been the major buyers of Russian crude oil notwithstanding the Western sanctions on Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine. "My encouragement to these three countries, particularly is, if you live now in Beijing, or in Delhi, or you are the president of Brazil, you might want to take a look into this, because this might hit you very hard," Rutte told reporters in Washington DC. "So please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India and on China in a massive way," he said. The NATO chief's remarks coincided with Trump's warning to Russia of major significant trade restrictions if it does not reach a peace deal with Ukraine within 50 days. "We're going to be doing very severe tariffs (on Russia) if we don't have a deal in 50 days," Trump said on Tuesday. India, China and Brazil are members of the BRICS and Trump has been critical of the grouping as well. Earlier this month, Trump had threatened BRICS member nations of 10 per cent additional tariffs on exports to the US apart from reciprocal tariffs. Any country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS will face those duties, he said. On the proposed trade deal between India and the US, Jaiswal said negotiations between the two sides are underway. "Both sides are in touch with each other. They are trying to iron out issues," he said. On India's negotiations with the European Union for the long-pending free trade pact, Jaiswal said talks are "progressing very well". "The last round, that is the 12th round, happened in Brussels from July 7th to 11th. And the next round of talks are scheduled to be held in September in New Delhi. "It (talks) is progressing well. There is good momentum. And that is how, and we would like to see a positive outcome of it," he added. Continuous rainfall in Dakshina Kannada district has triggered a landslide on National Highway 75 near Kadaba taluk, bringing vehicular movement between Bengaluru and Mangaluru to a standstill. IMAGE: A landslide clearing the landslide, July 17, 2025. Photograph: ANI/x The landslide occurred near the Dharmasthala cross stretch of NH-75 following days of persistent rainfall in the region. As a result, movement of all heavy vehicles, including trucks, lorries, and buses between the two cities has been completely halted. However, cars and two-wheelers are advised to take alternative routes. The district police has requested motorists to cooperate and follow diversions until debris is cleared. Efforts to clear the mud and restore traffic flow are underway, said Superintendent of Police Arun. While access from Bengaluru to Dharmasthala and Kukke Subrahmanya remains unaffected, vehicles proceeding from Mangaluru towards Bengaluru are being diverted due to the obstruction caused by the hillside collapse. Authorities have urged commuters to avoid non-essential travel along this corridor and to stay updated on weather and traffic advisories. The public works department and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) have deployed teams and machinery to expedite restoration efforts. Officials have also warned that further landslides are possible if rain persists. Travellers are asked to exercise caution while navigating hilly terrain in the Western Ghats. The NH-75 is a critical arterial route connecting coastal Karnataka to the hinterland, and the disruption is likely to impact both passenger travel and freight movement over the next few days, they said. Meanwhile, in view of incessant rainfall across several parts of Dakshina Kannada district, authorities have declared a holiday for all schools and Anganwadi centres in multiple taluks on Thursday. According to an official announcement, government, aided, and private educational institutions -- including primary and high schools -- in Mangaluru, Ullal, Mulki, Bantwal, Belthangady, Sullia, and Moodbidri taluks will remain closed on July 17. The decision has been taken as a precautionary measure to ensure the safety of students and staff. The India meteorological department has predicted more rainfall in the coastal and ghat regions over the next 48 hours. District authorities are monitoring the situation closely. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said the state government intends to bring in strong provisions to deal with cases related to religious conversions being done using force or cheating, and a decision on this will be taken soon. IMAGE: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis and Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde greet Shiv Sena-UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray during the farewell of Shiv Sena-UBT MLC Ambadas Danve, in Mumbai, July 16, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo Replying to a Calling Attention Motion in the legislative council, he said the state government had formed a panel headed by the director general of police for giving recommendations to deal with such cases, and it has submitted its report. The government will study and make necessary changes and bring in provisions so that conversions do not happen by force or cheating, he said. "Action can be taken under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita in such cases. But a panel has been formed to suggest strict provisions. The state government has intentions to bring in strong provisions to deal with such cases and we will take a decision on this soon," he said. On Monday, Pankaj Bhoyar, Minister of State in the Home department, said the state will bring an anti-conversion law in the winter session of the state legislature, and it will be more stringent than similar legislations in other states. Amit Gorkhe (BJP) claimed that the freedom of religion is misused by "crypto Christians" and that people avail reservations under the Scheduled Castes (SC) category but profess other religions. On the face of it, they belong to SC and avail reservation benefits like government jobs, use it during polls, but secretly follow different religion, he said. Fadnavis said that on November 26, 2024, the Supreme Court gave a verdict in which it made clear that the SC category reservation can be availed only by Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs, and not by those belonging to other religions. If anyone from religions other than Hindus, Buddhists and Sikhs has availed an SC certificate or reservation, their validity certificate and caste certificate will be cancelled with due procedure. If anyone has availed benefits like government jobs, action will be taken against them, he said. If anyone has contested elections using such caste certificate, then it will be cancelled and then their election will be declared null and void, the CM said. BJP leader Chitra Wagh, who is an independent MLC, said there have been cases where women are cheated into marriage by hiding the spouse's religion. She cited a case in Sangli where a woman was married into a family that secretly professed Christian religion. She also claimed that the woman suffered torture and was forced to changed her religion due to which the seven-month pregnant woman committed suicide. Anyone can follow his religion and convert wilfully. If they are forced, cheated or offered any kind of enticements, then the law does not permit it, Fadnavis said. Pravin Darekar (BJP) claimed a secret campaign is being undertaken in localities housing the poor, and slums where oppressed people are lured into following religion. Things are going out of hand, he said. Fadnavis acknowledged that such things take place in slums. He, however, said the government has no intentions to ban religious conversions that take place wilfully. 'AAIB preliminary report was more detailed than most people were expecting.' IMAGE: An Air India Airbus A321 aircraft takes off at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters There is no need for Boeing to take immediate action following the AI171 preliminary crash report, and any required modifications can be considered after the full investigation and formal recommendations are issued, said William M Walsh, director-general of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), on Wednesday, while praising the Indian government for releasing a detailed and timely preliminary report. Global airlines body IATA has over 350 carriers, spread across 120 countries, as its members. Walsh, during a media roundtable in Singapore, supported the idea of video recording inside cockpits, noting that such footage could prove immensely helpful to accident investigators. Speaking as a former pilot, he acknowledged pilot resistance to cockpit video surveillance but said modern cockpit isolation demands reconsideration. "A video recording, in addition to the voice recording, would greatly assist the investigators," he remarked, calling it a strong argument. The AI 171 crash investigation has now entered its second phase, as global aviation stakeholders continue to track the case closely. The June 12 disaster claimed 241 lives onboard and 19 on the ground, after the Boeing 787 crashed shortly after takeoff from Ahmedabad. The preliminary report released by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) on July 12 revealed that both fuel control switches had moved to the 'off' position seconds after liftoff, but did not explain why. On the topic of pilot mental health, Walsh emphasised that aviation already includes psychological evaluations during pilot selection. "Mental health is a global issue, not unique to pilots," he said. Referring to the Germanwings tragedy in 2015, he said the industry has since taken additional steps and must continue improving. "We need to do everything to enhance safety," he added. He was referring to the 2015 Germanwings Flight 9525 tragedy, where co-pilot Andreas Lubitz deliberately crashed an Airbus A320 into the French Alps, killing all 150 on board -- 144 passengers and six crew members. Lubitz had been treated for suicidal tendencies and was declared unfit to fly by his doctor, but the pilot withheld this information from the airline. Walsh strongly backed the Indian authorities for releasing a detailed preliminary report on schedule. "I commend the Indian government and the AAIB for the release of the preliminary report. It was more detailed than most people were expecting. No formal recommendations have been made to Boeing or GE so far, and I think it has been properly handled," he said. Asked whether Boeing should proactively modify its aircraft or components in light of the findings, Walsh cautioned against premature conclusions. "No, I don't think so. I think what we'll do is wait for the final report. I wouldn't speculate on what will happen." "It's important to allow the investigators to do a full and proper job," he said. Walsh's remarks align with the positions taken by regulators in the US and UK, both of whom have stated there is no technical concern requiring action on Boeing aircraft. The US Federal Aviation Administration and the UK Civil Aviation Authority have ruled out mandatory inspections, even as India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation and South Korea's transport ministry have ordered checks of fuel control switches on Boeing jets following the AI171 preliminary report. Walsh noted that some airlines have independently decided to inspect the fuel cutoff switches, something he called a sensible step. However, he stressed that neither IATA nor regulators have issued a mandate for action. On the topic of cockpit cameras, Walsh reflected on how the cockpit environment has changed post-9/11. "When I started flying, the cockpit door was open, and visitors could come in. That transparency is gone now. "With the door locked, it's a more isolated space. I understand pilots' concerns, but given what we know, a video recording could be a valuable tool," he said. The sensitive topic of pilot mental health was also addressed directly. Walsh said psychological well-being has always been a focus of pilot assessments. "We do medical exams every six or 12 months, and psychological screening is part of the selection process," he said. Walsh concluded by reiterating that aviation remains one of the safest modes of transport and that the industry should remain committed to transparency. Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff A Goa-bound IndiGo flight from Delhi made an emergency landing in Mumbai after it was diverted to the city due to a mid-air engine failure, according to a source. IMAGE: Kindly note that this image has been posted for representational purposes only. Photograph: ANI Video grab The flight, operated with an Airbus A320neo, made an emergency landing at 9.52 pm, the source said. IndiGo in a statement said a "technical snag" forced the aircraft to be diverted to Mumbai. "Full emergency was declared for IndiGo flight 6E-6271, operating on Delhi-Goa route after it was diverted to Mumbai due to one engine failure," the source said. "A technical snag was detected on flight 6E 6271 while flying from Delhi to Manohar International Airport, Goa on July 16. Following procedures, the aircraft was diverted and landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai," the IndiGo spokesperson said. The airline did not share the number of people on board or the nature of snag. "While the aircraft will undergo necessary checks and maintenance before resuming operations, an alternative aircraft has been arranged for completing the journey, which will depart shortly with the customers," the spokesperson said. The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) on Thursday told the Bombay high court that it will decide in two days the applications filed by the makers of a movie purportedly based on Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's life, seeking certification. IMAGE: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Photograph: ANI Photo A bench of Justices Revati Mohite Dere and Neela Gokhale initially rapped the CBFC, commonly known as the censor board, for 'sitting on the application' and not passing the order within the timeline prescribed in the rules. Pursuant to this, the board told the high court that the applications would be decided within two days and the makers would be informed about the decision. The bench accepted the statement and disposed of the petition filed by the makers of the film. Samrat Cinematics, in its plea filed in the HC, questioned the CBFC's 'arbitrary, unreasonable, and unexplained' delay in processing the certification applications for its film -- Ajey: The Untold Story of a Yogi, including its teaser, trailer and promotional song. The plea claimed that the CBFC had also sought for a No Objection Certificate from the office of the Uttar Pradesh CM. Senior counsel Ravi Kadam and advocates Satatya Anand and Nikhil Aradhe told the court that as per the rules, the application seeking certification has to be decided within five days. "The petitioner has in fact sought priority clearance and has paid three times the amount," Kadam told the court. The bench then said that the censor board has to follow the timeline. "You cannot sit on an application especially when they have paid the priority charges. The application has to be decided," the HC said. The movie, inspired by the book The Monk Who Became Chief Minister, which is purportedly based on Yogi Adityanath's life, was scheduled for a theatrical release on August 1. As per the plea, the CBFC has till date not even scheduled a screening of the movie, teaser and promotional song. The CBFC has grossly failed to act upon the application(s) within the statutory timelines laid down under the Cinematograph Act, 1952 and the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 2024, the plea said. The makers also questioned the CBFC's 'erroneous, extraneous and baseless' demand for a No Objection Certificate from the Uttar Pradesh CM's office, and said there is no such requirement in law. The petition states that the filmmakers first applied for certification of the main film on June 5, 2025. As per Rule 37 of the Certification Rules, the CBFC is required to scrutinise applications within seven days and refer the film for screening within 15 days. Despite this, no action was taken for nearly a month. On July 3, the petitioners reapplied under the 'priority scheme' and paid three times the standard fee as per Rule 33(2), following advice from CBFC officials. A screening was scheduled for July 7, but was abruptly cancelled the day before, without any further communication. A murder convict, who was out on parole, was shot dead by gunmen inside a private hospital in Bihar's Patna on Thursday, the police said. IMAGE: Paras Hospital in Patna, where the shooting took place. Photograph: ANI on X The deceased was identified as Chandan Mishra, a resident of Buxar district, and went to the hospital for treatment, a senior officer said. A purported CCTV footage of the incident, which went viral on social media, showed that five armed men were entering the ICU of the hospital and firing at the person. PTI couldn't independently verify the authenticity of the video. Patna (central) SP Diksha said, "We are examining CCTV footage collected from the hospital authorities and trying to identify the killers." The man, convicted in a murder case, was a prisoner at Beur Jail and had gone to the hospital for treatment on parole, she said. "The police received information that a person was shot at by gunmen inside a private hospital in Patna at 7.30 am on Thursday. The incident took place when the deceased had come for treatment at the hospital. He was on parole," the SP told PTI. The man was admitted to the ICU of the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries, the officer said. A case has been registered and the matter is being investigated, said the SP, adding that a manhunt has been launched to nab the accused. Prima facie, it appears that old rivalry might be the reason behind the murder, she added. "Criminals, protected by the government, shot at a patient admitted to a Patna hospital. Is anyone safe in Bihar? Did such an incident happen in Bihar before 2005, during the RJD's rule?" party leader Tejashwi Yadav alleged on X. Independent Lok Sabha MP from Purnea, Rajesh Ranjan alias Pappu Yadav, also alleged that the shooting has completely exposed the Nitish Kumar government. "Law and order have completely collapsed in the state. I would demand the imposition of President's rule when I meet the governor. Criminals are being killed on the basis of their castes," he claimed. Yadav went to the hospital but was not allowed to enter the health facility by the security guards deployed there. In another incident, a person was killed by some persons outside his house in Patna's Shahpur locality on Thursday morning, another officer said. The deceased has been identified as Shubham alias Bunty, he said. "A police team reached the spot and found that the man had been killed outside his house by some unidentified persons. The deceased was attacked by sharp-edged objects," the officer said. Shubhams body was sent for the post-mortem examinations, and further investigation is on", Patna City SP (West) Bhanu Pratap Singh told reporters. The exact cause of the incident is not known, he said, adding that a case has been registered. Nitish Kumar has pledged to create 10 million jobs in the next five years apart from offering voters many other sops. IMAGE: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna. Photograph: ANI Photo With assembly elections looming later this year, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is going all out to woo voters, Thursday's announcement offering 125 units of free electricity to people being the latest. Nitish Kumar took to X to share his government's decision, stating, 'We have been providing electricity to everyone at affordable rates from the very beginning. Now we have decided that from August 1, 2025, that is, from the July bill itself, all domestic consumers in the state will not have to pay any money for electricity up to 125 units. This will benefit a total of 1.67 crore families in the state.' This initiative echoes similar welfare measures seen in other states, notably the free electricity provided to residents of Delhi under the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal. IMAGE: Nitish Kumar lays the foundation stone of the Shankara Eye Hospital in Patna, July 14, 2025. Photograph: Patna PRD/ANI Photo Prior to this decision, Nitish Kumar had announced the government's plan to install solar power plants on the premises of all domestic consumers over the next three years, with their consent of course. While financial support will be extended to most, the government will bear the total cost of installation for extremely poor families. These announcements target various voter segments including women, youth, the jobless, the elderly, and teachers in the run-up to the elections. On July 13, the chief minister announced the formation of a youth commission, a decision subsequently approved by the state cabinet. He also pledged to create 10 million jobs in the next five years (2025-2030) by creating employment opportunities. Additionally, top police officers have been directed to speed up constable recruitment. Prior to these announcements, Nitish Kumar announced monthly cash incentives for young individuals undertaking internships: Rs 4,000 for Class 12th pass; Rs 5,000 for ITI or diploma pass-outs; and Rs 6,000 for graduates and post-graduates. The government also committed to providing internships to 100,000 youth in various institutions over the next five years. On July 16, the chief minister instructed state education department officials to initiate the process for the fourth installment of the Teacher Recruitment Exam by the Bihar Public Service Commission, targeting the recruitment of over 100,000 school teachers. This move addresses a long-standing demand from thousands of teacher aspirants who had previously staged protests to put pressure on the government. Earlier this month, Nitish Kumar significantly increased the pension for old age, differently-abled individuals, and widows from Rs 400 to Rs 1,100 per month. On July 8, the Bihar cabinet approved making domicile mandatory for the 35% reservation for women in state government jobs. This is seen as part of his strategy to woo women voters, considered loyal to him due to his empowerment initiatives over the past two decades. Political observers suggest that if these sops are any indication, more such announcements may be forthcoming as the elections draw closer. Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff A septuagenarian ENT doctor was arrested for allegedly pouring black paint on the statue of late Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M Karunanidhi in Salem, police said on Thursday. IMAGE: Black paint was thrown on the statue of former Tamil Nadu CM and DMK chief M Karunanidhi in Salem on Tuesday. Photograph: ANI Video Grab The suspect was identified after checking the CCTV footage. The Hastampatti police, who registered a case, said the arrested suspect operated ENT nursing home in the area. Police claimed that the 77-year-old doctor poured the black paint on the 16-feet high bronze statue of the former president of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in front of the Anna park in Salem on July 15, owing to mental stress arising due to family issues. Like a thorn in his side, President Javier Milei cant seem to shake off the $Libra case. Opposition figures from various political circles are preventing him from doing so, and it doesnt help that the scandal has led to complaints or lawsuits in three countries. But whats complicating matters the most is his own actions, those of his sister Karina, and those of his collaborators, which have left a string of unanswered questions and disturbing clues, to say the least. The scandal began more than 150 days ago. On the night of February 14, an unknown 28-year-old American, Hayden Davis, who presented himself as a crypto expert, launched $Libra. That is, a memecoin that drew in hundreds of millions of dollars thanks to a tweet from President Milei who spread or promoted its supposed benefits, but which imploded after just five hours. From there, the storm intensified. Complaints were filed in Argentina, the United States, and Spain, and investors from several countries have since demanded their money back, while opponents smell blood in the water as investigators detected one inconsistency after another, with neither Milei nor his administration able to overcome the storm. Quite the opposite. First, because the president lied. In one of the few interviews he granted to sympathetic journalists, he claimed he was merely disseminating not promoting a project that would raise funds for Argentine entrepreneurs and small businesses. And that he merely copied the contract for that project, which he said was available on the internet. But that is false, according to experts testifying before the Argentine Congress. That contract a 44-digit code consisting of upper and lowercase letters was not available online. And Milei is silent on who provided it to him and how prior to his social media post. Second, because the president isnt the only one keeping quiet. Davis should explain to whom he transferred $507,500 on January 30, just 42 minutes after Milei posted a selfie of the two of them in the presidential office on his official account on the social network X. He should also reveal to whom he sent $1,275,000 a day before the launch of $Libra and the presidents post with the contract for that memecoin, a post that he pinned to the top of his official account on X, something he had never done before. Third, because the president also didnt explain why he opened the doors of the Casa Rosada, the seat of government, to Davis when the latter was a relative unknown in the sector. Does anyone know him? inquired Santiago Siri, a renowned blockchain developer in Argentina. Theres not even any information about him on Google, which is already a bit of a weird thing in this century, Siri added at the time, while the president of the NGO Bitcoin Argentina, Ricardo Mihura, even alerted Milei via X: I cant find him on Google or LinkedIn. Who is this Davis guy? A businessman from which company? Watch out, President: there are a lot of con artists and scammers out there. And other experts, like Maximiliano Firtman, chose to convey to government officials their misgivings about Davis and his company, Kelsier Ventures. Fourth, because the records of access to the Casa Rosada which Mileis acolytes only released in full in response to formal requests for public information show that Davis entered the government palace with the authorization of the presidents sister, Karina Milei, who serves as secretary general of the Presidency. Yet she has not agreed to answer questions about the $Libra case before the media, nor before the investigative commission of the Argentine Congress. Fifth, because those same admissions records show that Davis entered the Casa Rosada through the help of two other protagonists of the scandal, Mauricio Novelli and Manuel Terrones Godoy, who were already facing multiple scandals and complaints, both in Argentina and abroad, for other missteps involving crypto assets. Why did Milei welcome Davis, but not industry giants like Ethereum owner Vitalik Buterin? Was it because Buterin didnt go through Novelli and Terrones Godoy? Sixth, because Milei never explained why he maintained his trust in Novelli despite the fact that in February 2022 the latter had gotten him into trouble that could have cost Milei his then-nascent political career. Milei had been a national deputy for two months when he praised the digital asset Vulcano, another Novelli venture, on social media. He claimed it was sustainable over time, but it collapsed just weeks later. Why did Milei, now president, decide to trust Novelli again? He has never offered any explanation. Seventh, because neither Milei, his sister Karina, nor their top aides have ever explained why their government backed Tech Forum, another Novelli and Terrones Godoy venture that did not have any sponsors or important speakers until this official government support arrived. Nor did they respond to questions about whether they had received alerts about the five-figure sums, in dollars, that Novelli and Terrones Godoy were demanding from entrepreneurs to secure them meetings with Milei, as revealed by Cardano CEO Charles Hoskinson. Nor did they clarify why Milei did meet and take photos with the CEOs of Cube Exchange, Bartosz Lipinsk, and Kip Protocol, Julian Peh, two businesspeople who did sponsor Tech Forum. Eighth, because Milei never explained why emissaries of his government continued to communicate with Hayden Davis after the collapse of $Libra, to the point of telling him ahead of time that the president would grant a television interview a fact that had not yet been made public in Argentina in which he would avoid criticizing him, as was indeed the case. Davis himself revealed as much in one of the two interviews he gave after the storm broke. Ninth, because the same president who has called his vice president, Victoria Villarruel, a traitor and described economists he has distanced himself from Domingo Cavallo, Ricardo Lopez Murphy, Carlos Rodriguez, and Fausto Spotorno, among many others as econochantas (economic know-nothings); the same man who has insulted journalists, politicians, and even a 12-year-old boy with autism, has never once criticized, disparaged, or insulted Davis, Novelli, or Terrones Godoy since the scandal broke. Tenth, because the same ruling party that claims everything is fine and theres nothing to hide sought to prevent the creation of an investigative commission in the Argentine Congress.Even when the commission was approved on April 8 with opposition votes, the government then worked to obstruct its formation and operation. And it succeeded. But this same official boycott only served to prolong the scandaland leave these and many other questions unanswered. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition MLAs cutting across party lines spoke about Thursday's clash and expressed concern over overcrowding in the legislature premises. Photographs: Sahil Salvi for Rediff On Thursday, July 17, 2025, a day after a heated exchange took place between NCP (Sharad Pawar) MLA Jitendra Awhad and BJP MLA Gopichand Padalkar, a scuffle broke out between their supporters in the Maharashtra Vidhan Bhavan complex. Taking serious note of the incident, Speaker Rahul Narwekar sought a report. "Stringent action should be taken against those involved in the scuffle in the Vidhan Bhavan; incident mars legislature's dignity," said Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. The clash took place on the ground floor lobby of the building, and the situation escalated briefly before onlookers separated the two groups, an eyewitness said. Security staff detained a person each from the two groups. Speaking to reporters, Padalkar said, "I do not know anything about the incident. You can ask him (Awhad), he is sitting in the House. I do not know anyone who was involved." Awhad, a former minister, expressed concern over safety within the legislature complex. "If MLAs are not safe even inside the Vidhan Bhavan, what is the point of being a public representative? What is our crime? I had just stepped out to get some fresh air. I think they came to attack me," he claimed. The incident followed an altercation between Awhad and Padalkar at the entrance of the legislature building on Wednesday. In a viral video, the two were seen exchanging sharp words. Awhad, MLA from Mumbra-Kalwa, had claimed that Padalkar intentionally slammed the door of his car after getting down, causing it to hit him. The latter offered no comment on the allegation. Padalkar, who represents the Jat constituency in Sangli district, has been an outspoken critic of NCP (SP) President Sharad Pawar and MP Supriya Sule. His past remarks against the Pawar family had drawn sharp reactions from NCP (SP) leaders. Meanwhile, in the assembly, MLAs cutting across party lines spoke about Thursday's clash, and expressed concern over overcrowding in the legislature premises. Culture Minister Ashish Shelar demanded an inquiry into the issuance of passes during the day. Speaker Narwekar said he has sought a report into the incident, and will take appropriate action. Shiv Sena (UBT) President Uddhav Thackeray, a member of the legislative council, said such "goon-like behaviour" was completely unacceptable. "One must ask who authorised the entry of such individuals. Those who issued passes must be investigated. This is a very serious matter, and I urge the chief minister to take strict and immediate action against those involved," he told reporters. The Vidhan Bhavan is a highly respected institution and its dignity must be upheld at all costs, the former chief minister added. Congress MLA Nana Patole said, "This is inappropriate. Speaker Rahul Narwekar has assured us that he will take action." BJP MLA Padalkar later apologised after his supporters were involved in the scuffle in the Vidhan Bhavan building with NCP (SP) MLA Awhad's supporters. *** On July 16, 2025, legislators of the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi staged a 'banian towel' protest outside the Vidhan Bhavan to condemn the assault of an MLA hostel canteen employee by Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad. Clad in banians and towels above their dress, the legislators shouted slogans against the 'goonda raj' of the ruling alliance. "The assault by Gaikwad in the MLA canteen shows that even the government is backing such elements," Leader of Opposition in the state legislative council Ambadas Danve told reporters. Gaikwad faced flak from those in the government and the Opposition alike after a video of him slapping and punching the employee at the MLAs' hostel canteen for being served 'stale' food went viral. The video showed Gaikwad, wearing a vest and a towel wrapped around his waist, confronting the canteen contractor and forcing him to smell the packet containing dal, before slapping and punching him. "We are highlighting how ruling MLAs behave like goons. Gaikwad's actions are shameful, and he must face consequences," Congress legislature party leader Vijay Wadettiwar told reporters on the Vidhan Bhavan premises. NCP (SP) MLA Jitendra Awhad said they staged the protest to show the public the "reality" of those in power. "He beat up a canteen worker when he (Gaikwad) was dressed like this. So, we have dressed in the same manner to show how low the level of leadership has stooped," he said. The Opposition has demanded that Gaikwad be suspended from the assembly and legal action be initiated against him. Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff India on Thursday said it is in touch with Yemeni authorities as well as certain friendly nations as part of efforts to reach a "mutually agreeable solution" in the case relating to Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse on death row in Yemen. IMAGE: Nimisha Priya. Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government is making concerted efforts to seek more time for Priya's family to reach some kind of an understanding with the family of the Yemeni man Priya is convicted of killing. The 38-year-old Indian national's execution was scheduled for July 16, but it was postponed following intervention by Indian officials. She is presently lodged in a jail in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital city that is under the control of Iran-backed Houthis. "This is a sensitive matter and the Government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case," Jaiswal said at his weekly media briefing. The nurse, hailing from Kollengode in Kerala's Palakkad district, has been found guilty of murdering a Yemeni citizen in July, 2017. In 2020, a Yemeni court handed her the death sentence and the country's supreme judicial council dismissed her appeal in November 2023. "We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We have also arranged regular consular visits and been in constant touch with the local authorities and the family members to resolve the issue," the MEA spokesperson said. "This included concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for the family of Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party," Jaiswal added. Local authorities in Yemen have postponed carrying out Priya's sentence that was scheduled for July 16. "We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance. We are also in touch with some friendly governments," Jaiswal said without naming the countries. India doesn't have any diplomatic presence in Yemen and diplomats in the Indian mission in Saudi Arabia were looking into the matter, it is learnt. Jaiswal declined to respond to a question on the reported role played by the Grand Mufti, Kanthapuram AP Aboobacker Musaliyar, in the postponement of Priya's execution. The Sunni cleric from Kerala said he had spoken to prominent Yemeni scholars on behalf of Priya's family to prevent her execution. "As far as the role of the entity you mentioned is concerned, I have no information to share," Jaiswal said. Priya's mother Premakumari travelled to Yemen last year as part of efforts to secure her release. The Indian side had even explored the option of securing Priya's release through diyat or paying 'blood money'. But that also ran into some problems, it is learnt. In a related development, the government on Monday informed the Supreme Court that it was doing whatever was 'utmost possible' to save the Indian nurse from execution. It also informed the top court that 'nothing much" could be done keeping in view the status of Yemen.' 'There is a point up to which the Government of India can go and we have reached that point,' Attorney General R Venkataramani informed a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta. The top law officer said the government was keen to save its citizens and was doing 'utmost possible' in the matter. The apex court was hearing a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save Priya. Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, the Indian astronaut who along with three others returned recently from a successful space mission, is in Houston in the United States, as he readjusts to life on Earth, his father said on Thursday. IMAGE: Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla's father Shambhu Dayal Shukla and mother Asha Shukla and family celebrate his and the Axiom- 4 crew's return to the earth after an 18-day stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS), at City Montessori School (CMS) in Lucknow on July 15, 2025. Photograph: ANI Photo Group Captain Shukla, or 'Shuks', his call sign among colleagues and nickname for friends, splashed down on Earth on Tuesday after 18 days aboard the International Space Station (ISS). He is the first Indian on the ISS and the second after legendary Rakesh Sharma to venture into space. Right now, he is in Houston. His wife Kamna, and their six-year-old son, Kiash, are already there. According to an official statement quoting Union Minister Jitendra Singh, Shukla and the three other astronauts of the mission will remain in quarantine until July 23 to complete medical and re-adaptation procedures. "From the 24th, they will begin discussions with ISRO. Debriefings with Axiom and NASA will follow," he added. "He (Shubhanshu) said he is under excellent care; (it) is required for him to readjust to life on Earth. His wife and son are there too," Shambhu Dayal, Group Captain Shukla's father, told PTI in Lucknow. "During our telephonic conversation, Shubhanshu appeared excited at the accomplishment that means so much for the country." The 39-year-old Indian Air Force officer, who became a national icon after his mission to ISS aboard the SpaceX's Dragon 'Grace' spacecraft, is currently with his family in Houston. Speaking to PTI from the US, Shukla's wife, Kamna Shukla, said, "We are in Houston and we have already met him. He is with us. 'Homecoming has happened.'" Shukla's father said the family in Lucknow was overwhelmed by the public response to Shubhanshu's achievement and they are eager to welcome him. "It will take a while (to come to Lucknow)...but, of course, whenever he comes there would be big celebration," he said. "But to tell you the truth. These days every moment is celebration time for us; the entire locality is rejoicing with us. He is the toast of the nation. And his arrival here would only accentuate our happiness index," he added, his pride unmistakable. The excitement is equally palpable at Group Captain Shukla's alma mater, City Montessori School (CMS), where students and staff are preparing to honour their star alumnus. "I am like super motivated now for a career as an astronaut. I think space is going to be the latest fad among young, all thanks to Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, our illustrious senior," Aarav Singh Chauhan, a Class XII student at CMS, told PTI. CMS Communications Head Rishi Khanna said the entire school community was proud of the astronaut's historic journey. "Shubhanshu has stirred the imagination of youth and knowing well how much this space voyage of his means for India and its upcoming Gaganyaan programme, the entire 70,000-strong CMS family along with the rest of Lucknow would extend him a warm welcome whenever he visits his birth place," he told PTI. Group Captain Shukla's mission, which ended with a safe splashdown off the coast of San Diego, marked a milestone for India's human spaceflight ambitions. In an Instagram post on Wednesday evening, Group Captain Shukla shared heartwarming photos of him meeting his wife and son. "It was challenging. Coming back to Earth and holding my family back in my arms felt like home. Human spaceflight missions are magical but they are made magical by humans. Space flight is amazing but seeing your loved ones after a long time is equally amazing," he said in the post. "It has been 2 months since I entered quarantine. During the quarantine family visits we had to be 8 m apart. My little one had to be told that he had germs on his hands, and that is why he could not touch his father. Every time he would come for the visit he would ask his mom 'Can I wash my hands?' It was challenging," he wrote, advising people to value their loved ones. "Find a loved one today and tell them that you love them. We often get busy in life and forget how important the people in our lives are," he said. Group Captain Shukla is also part of ISRO's plan to launch the Gaganyaan, India's first human space flight, in 2027. Shortly after Trump's post, Iranian media reported explosions and heavy air defence fire in Tehran. IMAGE: Casualties following the Israeli strikes on Iran in Tehran, June 15, 2025. Photograph: Amir Kholousi/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters Amid escalating tensions between Israel and Iran, US President Donald Trump on Monday urged civilians to 'immediately evacuate Tehran', shortly after which the White House announced he would be departing the G7 summit early to 'attend to many important matters'. In a series of posts on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump strongly reiterated his long-held stance on Iran's nuclear ambitions, warning of serious consequences. 'Iran should have signed the 'deal' I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again!' Trump wrote, urging immediate action as tensions rise. 'Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!' he added. In a follow-up post, Trump tied his firm stance on Iran's nuclear program to his broader political message, stating, 'AMERICA FIRST means many GREAT things, including the fact that, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!' Israel has been conducting strikes in Tehran since Thursday night, but the US has so far declined to join the operation. Shortly after Trump's post, Iranian media reported explosions and heavy air defence fire in Tehran. It's unclear if there was any relation between Trump's post and that attack. Tehran is home to around 10 million people, with around 17 million in the metropolitan area. Trump's evacuation warning came around 2 am local time. The Israeli military has said it has complete control of the skies over Tehran. It signaled Monday that it's expanding its targets beyond strictly military or nuclear sites, including by bombing Iranian state TV. Israel issued several evacuation orders for civilians in Tehran, in areas where hundreds of thousands of people live. It's not clear how many civilians have managed to evacuate, or whether such a mass exodus is even possible on such a short timetable. Less than two hours before his Truth Social post, Trump said at the G7 summit in Canada that the US was talking to the Iranians by phone and even suggested it will be 'better to talk in person'. Trump expressed hope that Iran would make a deal. 'I think a deal will be signed. I think Iran is foolish not to sign one,' he said. Iran has called on the United States to intervene and help bring an end to the aerial attacks, which have escalated over the past few days. Earlier in the day, Trump said a diplomatic deal with Iran to end the conflict could happen soon after he leaves the G7 summit. 'I think Iran is basically at the negotiating table and wants to make a deal. As soon as I leave here, we're going to be doing something,' he said at the summit. The Maharashtra Congress has sought an explanation from the party's legislature body on the passage of the special public security bill in the state assembly last week without any protest from the grand old party. IMAGE: Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly and Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar. Photograph: ANI Photo State party chief Harshwardhan Sapkal wrote a letter to Congress Legislature Party leader Vijay Wadettiwar on Monday to explain how the bill was allowed to be passed without the Congress registering its opposition, sources said on Thursday. Sapkal has sought an explanation from Wadettiwar on directives of the party high command, they said. Last week, both houses of the state legislature passed the contentious Maharashtra Special Public Security Bill, 2024, which seeks to prevent unlawful activities of Left-wing extremist organisations with focus on 'urban Naxalism'. The bill, which has stringent provisions, including hefty fines and jail term up to seven years for those found guilty, has sparked criticism from civil society groups and opposition parties, who view it as a tool to suppress dissent under the pretext of national security. When the bill was to be taken up for passage in the state assembly on July 10, notes containing pointers to speak in the House were circulated to all the party MLAs, the sources said. "But our CLP leader remained absent that day," a source said. The next day, the Congress MLCs protested and staged a walkout in the Upper House after voicing their opposition to the bill, as the party issued a strict directive that what happened in the assembly should not be repeated in the council, as per the sources. On June 30, when All India Congress Committee's Maharashtra in-charge Ramesh Chennithala called a meeting of the state party leaders, it was decided to oppose the bill. However, in the assembly, only the lone Communist Party of India-Marxist MLA had opposed the bill. Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray MLA Bhaskar Jadhav on Wednesday criticised the proposed law as excessively harsh and undemocratic. He crticised the Mahayuti government for failing to provide any data or evidence to justify the need for the bill, calling the legislation 'worse than British-era laws'. The Pakistanis were so fearful of Brigadier Mohammad Usman, the 'Lion of Naushera', that they announced a Rs 50,000 bounty on his head. Photograph: ADGPI/X 'I am dying, but let not the territory we were fighting for fall for the enemy.' These were the last words of Brigadier Mohammad Usman before he was killed in action during the defence of Jhangar, a strategic military location in Jammu region that he had fought and recaptured from Pakistan in March 1948. The Indian forces had lost Jhangar three months ago after Pakistan attacked Jammu and Kashmir from all directions with 10,000 tribals led by officers from the Pakistan army. They had made substantial ingress into Indian territory. Brigadier Usman, the commanding officer of 50 Parachute Brigade, had sworn that he would not sleep in a bed till Jhangar was reclaimed. So for the next three months, he slept on a mat on the floor in the bitter Kashmir winter, according to an account in the book Leadership in the Indian Army: Biography of 12 Soldiers. By March, Brigadier Usman and his brave men had won back Jhangar against tremendous odds and difficult terrain. To boost their confidence he introduced 'Jai Hind' as a greeting among his troops. The practice went on to become a widely established norm in the Indian defence forces prevalent till date. The 36-year-old officer's exploits in the battles of Naushera-Jhangar region became the stuff of military legend. IMAGE: A wreath-laying ceremony in remembrance of Brigadier Mohammad Usman, MVC, was held at his memorial in the Jamia Millia Islamia cemetery, July 3, 2025. Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, Colonel of the Parachute Regiment, led the ceremony. Photograph: ADGPI/X The highest ranking Indian military officer to die in battle, he was instrumental in the victory of Indian forces in the War of 1947-1948. By the time he recaptured Jhangar in March, Brigadier Usman had already won the title of 'Lion of Naushera' for his exploits on the battlefield. A perpetual thorn in the eye of the Pakistanis, the enemy had announced a Rs 50,000 bounty on his head. The Pakistanis circulated rumours of his death to deplete the morale of the Indian troops. IMAGE: The 50th Para Brigade and 10th Dogra Regiment organised the ceremony. Photograph: ADGPI/X The Battle of Naushera fought on February 6, 1948 was one of the toughest battles of the war. Brigadier Usman and his men had beaten back fierce Pakistani attacks on Naushera-Jhangar. If not for their victories, these strategic towns would have become a part of Pakistan. Some of the bloodiest battles were fought in the towns of Kotli, Mirpur, Rajouri, Naushera and Jhangar. Pakistan had directed a large number of troops and committed largescale genocide in this area, according to Colonel A K Raina's book on the battles fought in this region. It was due to Brigadier Usman's planning and military actions that Naushera could be defended against perilous odds and Jhangar recaptured. During the defence of Naushera under his command, Indian forces inflicted around 2,000 casualties on the Pakistanis. Photograph: Kind courtesy Jamia Milia Islamia The Pakistan army had launched an attack on October 20, 1947, shortly after Independence. India could only intervene after Maharaja Hari Singh signed the Instrument of Accession on October 26, 1947 and formally joined the Indian Union. By then, Pakistan had captured Naushera, Jhangar and Rajouri in the Jammu region. Just a few month ago -- at the time of Partition -- Brigadier Usman, the last batch of Indian officers to be trained at the Royal Military Academy in Sandhurst in England, had been invited to join the Pakistan army. Both Mohammad Ali Jinnah and Pakistan prime minister Liaquat Ali Khan asked him to come to Pakistan, but the soldier from Azamgarh in UP refused. His life, his heart, his soldiering was for India. IMAGE: Brigadier Mohammad Usman's message to his troops before the march to Jhangar. Photograph: Kind courtesy Wikimedia Commons Four months later Brigadier Usman was in the heart of the battle against Pakistan as commander of the 50th Parachute Brigade in Jhangar. 'The hopes of our countrymen are upon us. We must not falter. We must not fail them,' he said to his men while preparing for the recapture of Jhangar on March 16. 'So forward friends, fearless we go to Jhangar. India expects everyone to do his duty.' He vowed that he would win back Jhangar - and he and his brave men drove out the Pakistanis by March 1948. In steep mountain terrain, the soldiers courageously repelled waves of attack to evict the enemy and recaptured the town. After the victory, Pakistani forces continued to pound the town with heavy artillery fire and shelling. They made several failed attempts to recapture Jhangar. On the evening of July 3 Brigadier Usman was killed in a shell attack. Pakistani troops rained 800 shells that night. Photograph: Kind courtesy https://www.awazthevoice.in/ IMAGE: Governor General C Rajagopalachari, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Indira Gandhi and others at Brigadier Usman's funeral. The Lion of Naushera died a hero's death at the young age of 36 and was awarded the Mahavir Chakra, India's second highest medal for gallantry in war. His funeral was attended by Governor General C Rajagopalachari, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Sheikh Abdullah and others. Every year on his death anniversary, the Indian Army pays tribute at his grave at the Jamia Milia Islamia cemetery in Delhi. Twenty Army officers and veterans led by Lieutenant General Pushpendra Singh of the Parachute Regiment commemorated his death anniversary on July 3 this year. The army and district administration paid tribute at the Usman Memorial Convention Centre in Jhangar. The war hero's brother also served in the army. A bachelor, Brigadier Usman's family included his siblings and their children. He was the first military officer to receive a State funeral in Independent India. Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff, Satish Bodas/Rediff, Anant Salvi/Rediff Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Vatican Secretary for Relations with States, arrived in Havana in early June with a message: The Holy See cannot fail to promote both rights and freedoms and their foundation in the transcendent dimension of humankind. It was the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the Vatican, and the prelate arrived as the first envoy since the appointment of Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV. A few days after the visit, political opponent Donaida Perez entered the Guajamal womens prison in Santa Clara, from which she had been released in January as part of the group of 553 people freed following negotiations between the Cuban government and the Catholic Church. A little less than a month ago, authorities summoned Perez to prison. They wanted to warn her to keep quiet, to stop demanding the release of her husband, Loreto Hernandez, detained like her four years ago for his participation in the massive protests of July 11, 2021. They wanted her not to make a fuss; her silence in exchange for not returning her to jail. After repeating this question, the officers gave her an ultimatum: Will you shut up or will you stay? Donaida told them she would stay. The Villa Clara Provincial Peoples Court would later confirm that her eight-year prison sentence of which she has served four was reinstated due to failure to comply with the obligations of her conditional release. But Donaida, 54, had previously said that, in reality, the January release never happened, that she never felt free; she had simply stopped being in jail and started being at home. She never accepted the conditions they imposed on her, the requirements of her supposed conditional release, her brother-in-law, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, Antunez, told EL PAIS. She never stopped reporting crimes, maintaining a presence on social media, or communicating with human rights organizations. The police even told her that if she remained silent, they would guarantee her husbands conditional release, but, according to Antunez, she never accepted it. He says Perez always knew being returned to prison was a possibility. When she found out that (opposition leader) Jose Daniel Ferrer had been returned, she thought the same thing would happen to her. Almost a month earlier, police raided Ferrers home in Santiago de Cuba in the early hours of the morning. They ransacked his wardrobe and bed, stole food and other belongings, and took his wife and son. He was taken to prison, where he had recently gone on a hunger strike and where, according to his familys testimony after a visit, he was brutally tortured resulting in a significant decline in his physical health. Jose Daniel Ferrer at his home in Santiago de Cuba, January 16, 2025, hours after his release. Cortesia. Ferrer has always refused to wear a common prison uniform, adamant that he is a political prisoner. His stance annoys the authorities at Mar Verde, the same prison where he was held until his release in January of this year. According to the Supreme Peoples Court, the revocation of his parole is due to his failure to comply with the provisions of the law following his release. The authorities intended for the opposition leader to be held accountable in court periodically, something he had opposed since his release from prison. Not only did he not appear, but he made it known through his social media profile, in flagrant defiance and violation of the law, that he would not appear before the judicial authority, the courts statement reads. Felix Navarro, leader of the Pedro Luis Boitel Party for Democracy and vice president of the Council for Democratic Transition in Cuba, was also arrested. The 72-year-old, in poor health, was another of those released earlier this year. The reason given for his return to prison was similar: repeated violations of the guidelines imposed by the court, including Navarros seven unauthorized departures from the municipality of Perico, in Matanzas. In April, the parole of Jaime Alcide Firdo Rodriguez, 25, was revoked. He is currently in prison 1580 in San Miguel del Padron, Havana. On the day he was arrested, his father was told he had to report to the police station for a checkup. I sent him, and when he arrived, they told him it was revoked, says Alcide Firdo Veranes. They sent him back to prison because they felt like it, insists the father, who says that State Security officers wanted his son to work with them, but he refused. Four back in prison and tight surveillance of others According to records from the Prisoners Defenders organization, these are the four people the Cuban government has reimprisoned out of more than 500 released in January: 230 political prisoners and the rest common law prisoners. Nearly six months after the agreement with the Holy See, Havana has not only returned some opponents to prison but also maintains tight surveillance over many of the released prisoners. These individuals have reported harassment by Cuban authorities, persecution, threats from State Security to self-employed workers to prevent them from hiring them, offers of collaboration with the government, the impossibility of traveling abroad, repeated summonses by the political police, and surveillance outside their homes. Yaxis Cires, director of strategies for the Cuban Observatory of Human Rights (OCDH), asserts that while a diplomacy as old and experienced as the Vaticans is well aware of this situation and acts in consciousness of the limitations of the Cuban situation, the reality is that Havana has failed to live up to its commitment, and its lack of generosity has exposed the use of political prisoners and their releases as bargaining chips. Even so, the official Cuban version places the blame for the violation of the agreement made at the time with Pope Francis within the spirit of this years Ordinary Jubilee on the United States. Johana Tablada, deputy director general for the United States at the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said on social media that it was the U.S. government that failed to fulfill commitments made with Pope Francis and that Cuba did fulfill its part of the agreement. Relatives of those arrested during the 2021 protests wait outside the court where they were being tried, in Havana, Cuba, January 11, 2022. Ramon Espinosa (AP) Although Havana has never stated that the Joe Biden administration was involved in the negotiations, the decision to order the releases came on the same day the U.S. government removed Cuba from the list of State Sponsors of Terrorism, six days before the Democrat left office. On his first day in the White House, Donald Trump returned Cuba to the list, among other things, for sheltering in Havana figures such as Joanne Deborah Chesimard (the well-known Assata Shakur) and Charles Hill, fugitives from justice whom U.S. authorities consider terrorists. Since January, the Trump administration has continued to issue a series of executive orders aimed at economically suffocating and isolating the island. In its latest memorandum, it insisted on demanding a review of human rights violations in Cuba and reports on political prisoners. Although Archbishop Gallagher said during his visit to Havana that the Cuban people can count on the Holy See for the common good of all Cubans, the position of Pope Leo XIV remains unknown. He has traveled to the island twice and was seen in photos sharing the table with a Cuban family. The three popes who preceded him in office also focused on the island. During the visit of John Paul II in 1998, Fidel Castro released some 200 people from prison. A total of 75 dissidents from the so-called Black Spring were released in 2010 after talks mediated by the Holy See. The same happened on the eve of Benedict XVIs visit to Cuba in 2011 and that of Pope Francis in 2015. On the occasion of Leo XIVs election, Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel let him know in a message that they shared the desire to promote dialogue and peace. Amid the crisis facing the island, several religious institutions have raised their voices in response to the call to do something to save Cuba. Members of the Archdiocese of Santiago de Cuba recently made a plea to those who hold the highest responsibilities when it comes to making decisions for the good of the nation. It is time to create a climate, free from internal and external pressures and conditions, where the structural, social, economic, and political changes that Cuba needs can be implemented, they said. Cires, of the OCDH, for his part, believes it is crucial that the Holy See in some way support the Cuban bishops message, which underscores the need for structural changes in the political, economic, and social spheres. It is essential to find ways to ensure that the dignity and freedom of Cubans are respected, he insisted. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Partly cloudy with afternoon showers or thunderstorms. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High around 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low near 60F. Winds light and variable. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Partial cloudiness early, with scattered showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High near 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Some clouds this evening will give way to mainly clear skies overnight. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Partly to mostly cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High near 85F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Mostly clear. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Brattleboro, VT (05301) Today Mostly cloudy in the morning with scattered thunderstorms developing later in the day. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 86F. Winds SW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%.. Tonight Some clouds early will give way to generally clear conditions overnight. Low around 60F. Winds light and variable. Liquid cooling in data centres is becoming more of a necessity rather than an option thanks to the super-hot chips used to power AI. The two latest players to bow to the inevitability of liquid cooling: Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Equinix. In the case of Equinix, the largest independent cloud services and colocation hosting provider in the world, it deployed a two-phase, direct-to-chip cooling system from Accelsius, which specialises in liquid cooling systems. Equinix will deploy the NeuCool IR80 system in Q3 2025 at Equinixs Co-Innovation Facility (CIF) in the DC15 International Business Exchange (IBX) data centre at its Ashburn Campus in Virginia. This dedicated facility provides a platform for Equinix to work with companies that are developing innovative technologies, helping customers see and experience these solutions in action. This kind of collaboration is a powerful way to demonstrate our technology in real-world scenarios, said Josh Claman, CEO of Accelsius in a statement. The key thing were finding with all the customers were talking to is making it tangible to themhelping them see it and visualise how its going to work for them. Its one thing to talk about technology and capabilities in the abstract, but this shows it in real time. Accelsius offering allows for slightly warmer water temperatures than other technologies. The company reasons that the chips can handle a 68-degree Celsius increase in temperature without undue harm and running with slightly warmer water means significant savings from energy-intensive compressors. The partnership was brought about by their shared participation in ARPA-Es COOLERCHIPS program, a federal government-initiated program launched in 2023 that aims to reduce total cooling energy use to below 5 per cent of a data centres IT load. With AWS, it deployed In-Row Heat Exchangers (IRHX) a custom-built liquid cooling system designed specifically for servers using Nvidias Blackwell GPUs its most powerful but also hottest running processors used for AI training and inference. The IRHX unit has three components: a waterdistribution cabinet, an integrated pumping unit and inrow fancoil modules. It uses direct-to-chip liquid cooling just like the Equinix servers, where coldplates attached to the chip draw heat from the chips and is cooled by the liquid. The warmed coolant then flows through the coils of heat exchangers, where highspeed fans blow on the pipes to cool them, like a car radiator. The Mexican Catholic Church has denied that it is training priests to engage in dialogue with criminal bosses in the countrys most conflict-ridden areas. This has emerged after a workshop was organized by the Pontifical University to strengthen the negotiation skills of priests and agents in which several dozen religious leaders participated. The controversy stems not only from this seminar, but also from insistent statements by the Archbishop of Morelia, Carlos Garfias, about the need for civil society and governments to engage in dialogue with drug traffickers to quell the violence experienced in states like his own, Michoacan. Garfias has expressed his willingness to speak with President Claudia Sheinbaum to this end, but the Catholic hierarchy has distanced itself from these efforts, which are the responsibility of the state. It has been three years since various religious groups launched the National Dialogue for Peace, a platform to unite and build experiences against violence, of which members of the Church themselves are recurrent victims. The initiative brings together universities, social organizations, community leaders, various institutions, and diverse faiths, seeking to share methodologies to repair damage and strengthen peace at the local level in dialogue with national and international actors, according to a statement. Perhaps [Archbishop Garfias] has that interest [in mediating with drug traffickers], but its not the official proposal, said the executive coordinator of the National Dialogue, theologian Jorge Atilano, although he does not rule out that in the communities where they intervene there may be aggressors or people who have experienced difficult situations, but its only about generating meetings for security and justice in which they agree to participate. According to Atilano, the dialogues would end there. Garfias has insisted that it would be advisable to revisit Colombian experiences, but the Church has been quick to clarify that it refers to seeking elements for conflict mediation, not dialogue with criminal groups, in Atilanos words. The executive coordinator of the peace agenda prefers to limit the Churchs initiatives to the systematization of experiences from municipal councils, the police, schools, universities, and businesses, among which they have already defined 300 practices that they intend to share. These are the frameworks for the training of stakeholders and the controversial workshop held at the Pontifical University last Monday and Tuesday. Archbishop of Morelia Carlos Garfias. @ArquiMorelia (Arquidiocesis de Morelia) Also controversial was the document that the Church presented in March 2024 for signature by the two candidates then running in Mexicos presidential elections, one of them the current president: Sheinbaum signed it out of the desire for peace expressed therein, but she disagreed with the wording of the text, which referred to the militarization of the country one of the major criticisms leveled at her predecessor in office, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, also a member of the ruling Morena party, who had several clashes with the clergy over his passive policy against crime. Once in power, Sheinbaum received the episcopate and tried to heal wounds and strengthen ties that still exist. The president has relied on the Church for her campaign to disarm the population, for example, and the Basilica of Guadalupe is one of the churches where weapons are received, which families decide to get rid of in exchange for state aid. Atilano also acknowledges a fluid dialogue with the current Mexican federal administration, mentioning meetings with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Public Security, with which we collaborate in the construction of peace and civic justice councils, he asserts. The Catholic Church has a long tradition of fighting the violence plaguing Mexico, so its no surprise that some of its members are showing their intention to act as mediators in armed conflicts. Its intervention in numerous rural communities, but also in the conflict-ridden outskirts of many cities, where it has always positioned itself as a defender of the most vulnerable, has made it a target of threats and murders. In June 2022, the growing cruelty of organized crime led to the shooting of two Jesuit priests and a persecuted tour guide who had taken refuge in a church in the Sierra Tarahumara of Chihuahua. The incident marked a turning point in relations between Catholics and the Lopez Obrador government, which was the target of bitter criticism. The Church was speaking out against the insecurity that has dominated the country in recent years. The death threats received by a rural priest in Chiapas were finally carried out in October of last year, after the van he was traveling in was riddled with bullets. This was another case that raised alarm. Despite Mexicos historically non-denominational nature, the country is deeply religious, and some faiths are gradually gaining ground, including in political life, such as those of Evangelicals and Christians. The Catholic faith has permeated the performance of some recent administrations, with presidents now attending rituals or publicly expressing their beliefs, something unthinkable decades ago. Sheinbaum visited Pope Francis, for whom she always expressed her admiration, while a presidential candidate, and she has been photographed at the Basilica of Guadalupe, a sacred site for Mexicans, where the largest pilgrimage in the world after Mecca is celebrated. As in much of Latin America, Mexican authorities have not yet fully distanced themselves from the Church. Quite the contrary, it is the faithful who occasionally raise their voices to criticize the numerous instances of violence, but also of the poverty and discrimination suffered by millions of inhabitants, and to demand that governments fulfill their duties. The Jesuits and the Church in general took this stance midway through the previous term, following the high-profile murders. That is why they are now distancing themselves from the bishops initiatives that seek to go further in search of solutions toward peace. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The arrest of a Bulgarian mayor on corruption charges has drawn protests in Sofia and other cities by defenders of the politician who say the accusation against him are politically motivated. Blagomir Kotsev, the mayor of the city of Varna, was detained last week and charged over the alleged embezzlement of funds to finance his party. Supporters say his arrest is part of a government campaign targeting the opposition. The charges arose after the owner of a catering company accused him of demanding a bribe to greenlight a contract. Kotsev has denied the accusations. One official who testified against Kotsev later said he had been pressured to do so. Thousands of people demonstrated on July 16 in front of the court house in Sofia, carrying banners calling for him to be freed and saying the law is not a weapon. Expatriate Bulgarians also rallied at the European Parliament in Brussels. "We want to stop the lawlessness that is happening in the judicial system and for it to start working for the people," Albena Simeonova, a 57-year-old teacher, told AFP in Sofia. The protest was one of several since Kotsev's arrest in Varna, Bulgarias third-largest city. The European Parliament group Renew Europe, which Kotsev's party belongs to, has also called for his release, saying his arrest is "political repression" and slamming it as "a direct assault on European values." Two municipal councilors from Kotsev's coalition and a businessman were also arrested. The four politicians allegedly participated in a criminal group that embezzled funds from a call for tenders, according to the prosecutor's office. Bulgaria has been governed since January by a coalition led by the conservatives of the GERB party of former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who lost power in 2021 after massive anti-corruption protests against his government. Kotsev of We Continue the Change/Democratic Bulgaria -- also known as PP-DB -- was elected mayor of Varna on November 6, 2023, defeating GERB opponent Ivan Portnih. With reporting by AFP In spite of international laws banning marriage for minors, girls in Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan are commonly forced into marrying before reaching adulthood. One young Tajik woman described leaving school at 17 to perform housework for her husband's family, while a young Kyrgyz woman said she was kidnapped by her suitor at just 16. Human rights defenders say both countries are taking steps against such practices but warn that social changes are needed at the same time. BELGRADE -- Serbia will conduct military training exercises with China this month, becoming the first-ever EU candidate to do so as the two countries take a new step toward deepening military cooperation. China's Defense Ministry said the "Peacekeeper 2025" training will be comprised of special units from the Chinese and Serbian armies and held in Hebei Province, northern China, in the second half of July. The Balkans region has become strategically important for China, which has invested in massive infrastructure projects there. In particular, it has signed a free-trade agreement with Serbia, while Belgrade has purchased weapons from Beijing, becoming the first European country to acquire a Chinese air defense system. Serbia's friendly policies toward Beijing -- as well as Moscow -- have set off alarm bells in Brussels, which has issued multiple warnings to Belgrade, which aims to join the bloc. That tone was evident in the EU's assessment of the planned military training with China, with Brussels saying Serbia should refrain from "actions and statements that contradict the EU's foreign policy positions." In response to questions by RFE/RL, an EU spokesperson said that the bloc wants to know it can count on Serbia as a reliable European partner committed to common principles, values, and security. "We need Serbia to assure us of its strategic orientation," the spokesperson added. As a candidate country, Serbia is obliged to align its foreign policy with that of the EU, which Brussels has repeatedly brought to Belgrade's attention. Serbia maintains military neutrality and is a member of NATO's "Partnership for Peace" program, with EU accession as its strategic goal. Belgrade's Balancing Act However, Belgrade continues to balance its foreign policy between the West, China, and Russia, which is currently under Western sanctions due to its invasion of Ukraine. Security analyst Nikola Lunic warned that these joint drills "undermine Serbias proclaimed EU orientation." Lunic told RFE/RL that interoperability between Serbian and Chinese units sends a clear message to the West. Last July, Chinese forces held maneuvers with the Belarusian Army directly on NATOs border during a summit of the military alliance's leaders in Washington where there was sharp criticism of Beijing for its support of Russia. While the stated goal by Chinas Defense Ministry is to improve combat capabilities and deepen cooperation, neither Serbias Defense Ministry nor the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade disclosed details on participants or the numbers expected to be involved in Peacekeeper 2025. There is no clarity either on whether future joint training will be hosted in Serbia, a common practice in such collaborations. Lunic argues the drills fit the profile of a full military exercise, not simply training, due to their scope and branding. NATO did not respond to a request by RFE/RL for comment on the drills. Chinese Weapons In Serbia's Arsenal Serbias military cooperation with China is most visible in its recent acquisitions. The Serbian Army procured six CH-92A drones in 2020 and unveiled the CH-95 at an exhibition in 2023, but official numbers remain undisclosed. In 2022, Serbia received the FK-3 air defense system, making it the first European operator of this advanced Chinese missile tech. Late in 2024, Belgrade confirmed that Serbian personnel had received training in China on the FK-3 system, capable of targeting a range of aerial threats. Washington and Brussels have repeatedly expressed concern over Serbias procurement of Russian and Chinese arms, especially after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. In the wake of the invasion, Serbia imposed a moratorium on joint military exercises with foreign partners, exempting only the "Platinum Wolf" international exercise -- historically held in Serbia with the participation of several NATO members, including the United States. Lunic argues this selective application of the moratorium undermines the credibility of Serbias proclaimed neutrality. Security Ties Before Military Drills This is not the first example of security cooperation between Belgrade and Beijing. Joint police exercises and patrols have taken place since 2019, demonstrating a broader trend of intensified cooperation. Vuk Vuksanovic of the Belgrade Centre for Security Policy points to the Global Security Initiative, highlighting increased military and police education exchanges and the rapid adoption of Chinese technology, surveillance, and police equipment by Serbia. From Belgrades perspective, this deepening cooperation is consistent with its multi-vector foreign policy, using partnerships with diverse global actors, including NATO, Russia, the EU, and China, to maximize its leverage and independence on the world stage. China's Broader Goals And Growing Trade Vuksanovic said that, for China, military collaborations such as Peacekeeper 2025 serve two key interests: gaining international operations experience and boosting its profile as a major power, especially given resistance from EU states against deepening partnerships with the Chinese military. After a humanitarian-focused joint drill with Germany in 2019, and anti-terrorism exercises with Belarus in 2024, the Serbia exercise represents a new chapter in Beijings military diplomacy with Europe. Economically, Chinas influence in Serbia is growing. Xi Jinpings May 2024 visit to Belgrade resulted in a declaration to deepen the strategic partnership and "build a Serbia-China community with a shared future in a new era." China is now Serbias top trade partner for imports, with 5.13 billion euros ($5.95 billion) recorded in 2024, and remains a vital source of investment, loans, and diplomatic support in international institutions, especially regarding Kosovos independence. In July 1989, in the heady days of Mikhail Gorbachev's glasnost reforms, a 64-year-old Ukrainian retiree was led to a prison basement in Kyiv to be executed by shooting after a trial that felt like a throwback to another much darker era. Two years earlier, Ivan Honcharuk had been taken away by Soviet police who pulled up in an unmarked car to his house in a village near Kharkiv. He was tending rabbits at the time, said historian Lesya Bondaruk, whose book about the case comes out this year. His wife, Anna, had no idea where he was being taken or why. The men conducted a search, confiscated documents. They told Ivan to change his clothes and took him away, Bondaruk told RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service. Honcharuk was executed for what he had done 45 years earlier: join the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which was founded in western Ukraine during the Nazi occupation in World War II, and fight against both the Nazis and the Soviet Army. He is the last UPA member known to have been executed by Soviet authorities. Shortly before Honcharuk's arrest, Bondaruk said he received an anonymous letter: Be careful, they are digging around on you because of your past. Honcharuk joined the UPA in 1944 after Nazi forces retreated from the Volhynia region where he lived, Bondaruk said. Honcharuk had already been arrested once before. After the conclusion of the war, Soviet security agencies hunted down Ukrainian nationalists. He was sentenced to death in a show trial, but his sentence was later commuted to 20 years in Siberia. He was released in 1956 during the political thaw following the death of Soviet leader Josef Stalin. 'The Soviet Empire Was Collapsing' His rearrest decades later came as political prisoners were being released under Gorbachevs leadership. This was also a time of resurgent nationalist feeling in Ukraine and other Soviet republics, which within a few years would achieve independence with the demise of the Soviet Union in 1991. The Soviet empire was collapsing. Ukrainian dissidents and human rights activists were active, said Bondaruk, who works at the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory. Perhaps the organizers of the trial thought that they could calm the population, and steps like this court case would help them continue to intimidate people and maintain their position, she said. Georgiy Kasianov, head of the Laboratory of International Memory Studies at Lublin University in Poland, said the head of the Ukrainian branch of the KGB at the time, Nikolai Golushko, was known as a hardliner. They decided to use [the case] to discredit part of the opposition, because part of the opposition definitely had roots or connections with the UPA veterans, those who were released in the '50s, he told RFE/RL. Honcharuk was absolutely from this cohort. Allegations Of Nazism The trial that followed was a farce, said Bondaruk. People in court performed their assigned roles, providing pre-ordered testimony. This included a woman who said that Honcharuk was one of four men who killed her father in 1944, when she was 12 years old. The defense lawyer argued that it was unlikely she could recognize Honcharuk so many years later. Even within the Soviet justice system it was absolutely against everything, said Kasianov. According to Soviet law, he could not be sentenced again for the same crime. Borys Plakhtiy was the judge who decided Honcharuks sentence, but the case for the death penalty was made by his deputy, Serhiy Kipen. Plakhtiy and Kipen sentenced hundreds of people to imprisonment in the gulag. And then they also denied rehabilitation to these people, Bondaruk said. Plakhtiy, who had also sentenced another former UPA member to death years earlier, did not return calls seeking comment. Kipen hung up when RFE/RL called him to ask about the case. Honcharuk spent two years in Lutsk prison in northwestern Ukraine. Shortly before his execution, he removed his dentures and sent them to his relatives, guessing that his body would not be returned. He was executed on July 12, 1989, according to official records. Anna, now 95, still does not know where he was buried. 8 A US Navy vessel launches a Tomahawk missile in the Mediterranean Sea in March 2011. It is unclear how Ukraine would handle the weapon, which is usually launched from naval ships or submarines. Tomahawks can be launched from some aircraft but a Ukrainian official acknowledged to reporters that Tomahawks, are not easy to use without strategic bomber aircraft, which Kyiv does not possess. Ukrainian lawmakers have approved Yulia Svyrydenko, the economy minister and first deputy prime minister who led talks with the United States on a critical minerals deal, as prime minister in a cabinet shuffle aimed at boosting relations with Washington and breathing new life into the war-torn country. Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada, easily gave its approval to the move on July 17, with 262 deputies in the 450-seat legislature voting in favor of Svyrydenko, compared to 22 against and 26 abstentions among those present. Svyrydenko, an economist, is well known in Washington after her prominent role in clinching the minerals agreement. The 39-year-old replaces Denys Shmyhal, the longest-serving head of government in Ukraines history. In subsequent voting, Shmyhal was appointed to head the Defense Ministry as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy looked to boost domestic weapons production with the war sparked by Russia's full-scale invasion, which is now well into its fourth year. Minutes before his nomination was approved, Shmyhal told the Ukrainian parliament that the country's armed forces need a system "oriented toward the Ukrainian soldier," providing each with all the necessary means. When nominated earlier this week, Svyrydenko said her top priority was "ensuring the defense and security forces of Ukraine and guaranteeing the stability of our state." "The state apparatus has no right to waste the resources and potential of our country," she added. As much as Zelenskyy's moves are aimed at reinvigorating Ukraine's war efforts, the shuffle is seen as an attempt by the president to boost the flow of communication and cooperation with the White House. Andriy Sybiha, Ukraine's foreign minister who had participated in a number of talks with US representatives, was reappointed to his position. However, Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the United States, has left her post. Instead, Zelenskyy nominated Olha Stefanishyna, the former head of Ukraine's European and Euro-Atlantic integration efforts. Her nomination came as a surprise, as Zelenskyy had also previously mentioned outgoing Defense Minister Rustem Umerov as a possible successor. Zelenskyy added that Stefanishyna will serve as a special envoy to the US until her candidacy as ambassador is approved in Washington. Markarova, a financier and diplomat, angered members of the Republican Party when she helped organize Zelenskyys visit to an arms plant in the hometown of then-incumbent President Joe Biden, which was accompanied by Democratic lawmakers. A series of events going back to 2019, including an impeachment trial triggered by a phone call with Zelenskyy in July of that year, had soured Trump on Ukraine and Washington's full support for Kyiv is seen as far from assured. In a post on Telegram right after the July 17 parliamentary session, Zelenskyy announced that adjustments to Ukraine's diplomatic staff would continue the following week. "We are preparing changes together with the foreign minister," he added. Minerals Deal Svyrydenko, who was appointed as economic development and trade minister and first deputy prime minister in 2021, played a lead role in negotiations with the United States over a deal granting US companies access to Ukraines valuable minerals and rare earths. Trump made the deal a cornerstone of his policy toward Ukraine, saying the United States needed to be reimbursed for its aid to the country, which has totaled about $175 billion since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022. Svyrydenko flew to Washington in April to sign an agreement with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that sets up the US-Ukraine Reconstruction Investment Fund. Under the agreement, the United States has the right to share in the profits from new Ukrainian minerals and energy projects. Trump touted the agreement as ensuring US interests in Ukraines defense and reconstruction. With Trump voicing frustration over a lack of progress in peace talks Russia, Ukraine is looking to use the opportunity to solidify agreements on weapons and other support from the White House. Trump this week announced he would be selling weapons to NATO for further transfer to Ukraine -- his biggest show of support for the country since taking office in January. Meanwhile, Zelenskyy also revealed that he and Trump have discussed a mega deal involving the United States purchasing Ukrainian-made drones for its own use. The Ukrainian president said in an interview with the New York Post on July 17 that his latest talks with Trump had centered on a potential drone deal, with Kyiv offering battlefield expertise and drone technology in exchange for deeper US defense cooperation. Ukrainian population centers in the areas around Pokrovsk are feeling increasingly threatened as Russian forces appear to be moving beyond the Donetsk region frontline city. In Dobropillya, 30 kilometers to the north of Pokrovsk, locals report a spike in overnight drone attacks, and a Russian bomb struck a shopping center on July 16, killing at least three. Ukrainian leaders said a KAB-250 aerial bomb hit the retail complex while it was crowded with shoppers. Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, confirmed the deaths while saying that rescue efforts were ongoing to determine if survivors could be located under rubble. Authorities also said they are still assessing the extent of casualties. Now our rescuers are extinguishing the fire, Filashkin told RFE/RLs Ukrainian Service. After that, we'll search the rubble and then we will have a clearer understanding of the casualties. All the wounded are receiving medical care. All available resources were being deployed to respond to the attack, he said. Authorities, the police, the State Emergency Service -- everyone is working on the spot to help the wounded and those people whose homes have been damaged as a result of the attack. Attacks on Pokrovsk have been intensifying after months of Russian efforts to seize control of the city, a key logistics hub for the region. Dobropillya has, until recently, been spared from the same levels of bombardment and artillery shelling but is now seeing more and more air strikes, according to the Ukrainian military. A Ukrainian drone unit in the area recently told RFE/RL correspondent Borys Sachalko that he believes the Russians could be making efforts to bypass Pokrovsk to avoid costly urban fighting amid the ruins of the city as they continue to press forward from the east. Munder Safadi, a man in his thirties, passes through the fence recently opened by the Israeli military and embraces a group of women and men of various ages. Amid the crowd, scenes of joy and tears unfold at noon Wednesday. They caress Munders sweaty face to try to overcome their disbelief as they take a family selfie with one of their cell phones. Twenty years, twenty years! one of the women shouts in response to the question of how long it has been since they last saw each other. Munder has just set foot in Majdal Shams, a Druze-populated town in the Syrian Golan Heights, occupied since 1967 by Israel and separated from Syrian territory under Damascus authority by a metal fortress. A short distance from where several thousand people from both sides are gathered, the conflict is escalating with increased Israeli bombing of Damascus and other areas of Syria. Authorities in the Jewish state say they are trying to defend the Druze minority under the new Syrian government led on an interim basis by Ahmed al-Sharaa, the former jihadist who led the offensive that resulted in the fall of Bashar al-Assads regime last December. Hundreds of people gather with the Druze flag in Majdal Shams, under Israeli occupation, to cross the fence separating them from Damascus-administered Syria. Luis De Vega Hernandez Like the Safadis, many other Druze on both sides were able to be reunited after military commanders, leading a deployment of about 100 uniformed personnel, decided to open the fence to prevent further damage. Tensions had been growing since mid-morning after several hundred people arrived at the fence from the Syrian side. The smoke bombs launched by the soldiers not only failed to stop the marchers who continued to advance while waving Druze flags but ended up causing several fires in the area. Some residents of Majdal Shams fired gunshots in the air in anger. Finally, a fire truck arrived, and to extinguish the flames the large gate had to be opened. Hundreds of people took advantage of this to mingle festively, unopposed by Israeli security forces. The Druze population under Israeli administration numbers around 150,000, and they are exempt from military service, so very few enlist. After the waters calmed, dozens of young people from Majdal Shams managed to overcome the fences in waves throughout the afternoon and began running toward the other side, ignoring the calls made by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. As night fell, a trickle of people could be seen returning in both directions. My brothers, the Druze citizens of Israel: the situation in Suwayda, the situation in south-western Syria, is very serious. The IDF is operating, the Air Force is operating, other forces are operating, the prime minister said in a statement. We are acting to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the gangs of the regime. And now I have a single request of you: you are Israeli citizens. Do not cross the border. You are risking your lives. Israel has to choose between helping the Druze or standing with the murderer Ahmed al-Sharaa and the Islamic State, says Daniel, a 28-year-old resident of Majdal Shams, firmly and angrily. Like the vast majority of residents of the Golan Heights, except for Jewish settlers, he doesnt feel Israeli. The young man, standing on a promontory amid a crowd of people just a few meters from the fence, laments that the international community is whitewashing the new Syrian leader and that even U.S. President Donald Trump considers him a good guy. In addition to having held a cordial meeting with Al-Sharaa, Trump has lifted sanctions against the Damascus regime. But at the same time, the Republican magnate is Netanyahus staunchest ally. Munder Safadi hugs relatives he hadn't seen for 20 years after crossing the fence into the Israeli-occupied zone. Luis de Vega Daniel emphasizes that the Druze in Majdal Shams and other towns in the Golan Heights have always protested peacefully, but that this could end. At that moment, he takes out his phone and shows a video supposedly from recent days in Suwayda in which a car is seen repeatedly driving over the bodies of two Druze in the street. He indignantly plays it on repeat, oblivious to the cruelty of the scene. It is because of these kinds of acts that Daniel defends the Israeli armys bombing of Suwayda and Damascus. We are a minority in danger. Our relatives are there too, he argues, pointing to the other side of the fence. I was born here and have never been to the other side, but I dont feel Syrian or Israeli, says Arish, a 40-year-old woman who watches the busy day from the privileged vantage point of her home, a dozen meters from the fence. She admits she has never witnessed anything like it. She says that at this point on the dividing line, neighbors from both sides sometimes come to see each other, even though they are separated by the fence. Beside her, her 15-year-old daughter, Julie, keeps an eye on the fires, the people running, the shouts, the chants, the demands... Hundreds of people cross the Syrian Golan Heights fence after it was opened by Israeli troops. Luis de Vega The Israeli-controlled Golan Heights even called for a general strike Wednesday to pressure for the rights of their brothers on the other side. A meeting with local authorities attempted to unite opinions and discuss how to act amid the conflict. It was unsuccessful. Some advocated going to the fence to pressure the Israelis, while others preferred not to further stir up the situation. On Tuesday afternoon, around 50 people had crossed to the other side without being challenged by the military, but all were forced to return. Fayez Shoquer, 49, wants the population to move. We have to cross and help our families in Suwayda. They are being massacred. We dont really know whats happening there. Tensions have been rising after Syrian army troops entered the town of Suwayda, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) from Majdal Shams, prompting Israel to decide to attack from the air. Suwayda province has been the scene of sectarian clashes in recent days leaving nearly 300 dead, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights between Druze and members of Bedouin tribes that favor the Damascus government. Minutes after crossing into Israeli-controlled territory, Munder Safadi returns to the side of the fence from which he arrived. He climbs onto his motorcycle as his family members wave goodbye, raising their arms to the sky with tears glistening on their faces. They dont know how the war will end, or if it will take another 20 years before they can hug each other again. An Israeli soldier watches hundreds of people moving back and forth across the fence separating the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights from the Damascus-administered zone. Luis de Vega Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition Nigora was a 17-year-old student in Tajikistan when her father decided she should marry a distant relative. Nigoras mother had died two years earlier, and she was unable to go against her fathers wishes. She married Komil, a 25-year-old construction worker, and stopped attending school so she could do chores for her husbands family. "Starting early in the morning, I swept the yard, milked the cow, cleaned up after the cattle, baked bread, and cooked breakfast for everyone. Laundry, washing dishes, then lunch, then dinner. And so on every day. I didn't have a minute to rest, Nigora said. I was exhausted mentally and physically. Once my sister-in-law tried to help, but my mother-in-law immediately interrupted her, [saying:] What is a daughter-in-law in the house for?" Nigora soon became pregnant, but she suffered a miscarriage. Her second pregnancy ended in miscarriage as well. Her husbands relatives accused her of "being unable to give birth" and insisted on a divorce. Now 19, Nigora is again living at her fathers house, her dream of finishing school far out of reach. "I feel useless. I have no education, no money, and I don't know where to start," she said. There are countless stories like Nigoras in Tajikistan and elsewhere in Central Asia, where girls are frequently forced into marriage before reaching adulthood. According to Equality Now, an international NGO advocating for womens rights, about 9 percent of marriages in Tajikistan involve a girl under 18. In Kyrgyzstan, the number is around 13 percent. International agreements, like the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, set the minimum age of marriage at 18. But in Tajikistan and elsewhere, local customs and legal loopholes allow young teens to be married without their consent. Severe And Lasting Impact In some cases, the marriage of a minor is approved by a judge, who can justify the decision by citing financial hardship faced by the girls family. Dariana Gryaznova, a legal adviser for Equality Now, explained some of the ways early marriage can have what she called a severe and lasting impact on girls. First of all, theres a loss of education and opportunities, Gryaznova said. Most girls are forced to drop out of school once they're married, and of course this limits their ability to pursue higher education, employment, and independence. Gryaznova notes that early pregnancies are common for girls married as teens, and can carry elevated risks, including potential complications during childbirth. Underage marriage can also mean the potential for girls to be exposed to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, because child and forced marriages imply unequal power relations, Gryaznova said. Young victims are often unable to leave abusive situations because of their economic dependence on their husbands. In Kyrgyzstan, some girls are subjected to kidnapping by suitors, aided by friends or relatives who support a forced marriage. Asel was 16 and enrolled in the ninth grade when she was abducted. Her kidnapper, Ilshat, was an acquaintance nine years her senior. He wrote and called and we talked a little. And then one day he drove up with his friends when I was going to the store and just kidnapped me, Asel said. He brought me home, where his relatives were already waiting for me. The next day they called my parents, Asel said. They came, but they did not take me home with them. They said that I was already Ilshat's wife, and that it was a Kyrgyz tradition. Asel had hoped to enroll in art school before she was forced to marry. Now I don't even remember the last time I held a brush in my hands, she said. I want to express what's inside me, but I have neither the time nor the strength. 'This Is Your Life' Gryaznova says that both Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan have taken steps intended to close some of the loopholes allowing underage marriages. In Kyrgyzstan, the Criminal Code was amended, and child [marriage] and forced marriage have been criminalized, Gryaznova said. But she warns that legal measures have a limited impact unless theyre accompanied by measures that address the social marginalization of women and girls. This multi-sectoral approach includes strengthening legal frameworks, raising public awareness, providing comprehensive support services, enabling economic empowerment, and engaging communities, Gryaznova said. Because it's not enough to change something in the law. Nigora wants to help other girls and young women avoid the fate that she endured. Her advice to others: Get married only when you want it and are ready, she said. This is your life. And it should start with your consent. In 2003, a team of scientists made an alarming discovery in the urine of a patient at a hospital in Japan: a strain of Escherichia coli bacteria carrying a previously unknown gene that made the microbe resistant to an entire group of antibiotics. The Japanese researchers named this troubling piece of genetic material npmA, a gene that turned the microorganism into a superbug immune to aminoglycosides, a family of drugs that includes well-known antibiotics like streptomycin and gentamicin. Microbiologist Bruno Gonzalez Zorn explains that, since then, npmA has become a ghost spreading silently. His team has analyzed two million bacterial genomes and detected that a variant of the gene, npmA2, has spread through hospitals and farms and reached at least six countries. This bacterial adaptation, combined with others, could render some infections virtually incurable, warns Gonzalez Zorn. The emergence of microbes resistant to all drugs is one of the most urgent global health threats facing humanity, according to heads of state and government who met at the United Nations headquarters in New York on September 9, 2024. Just over five years ago, the World Health Organization (WHO) documented 1.3 million deaths directly attributable to drug-resistant bacteria. One in five of those who died were children under the age of five. The npmA2 gene is a new weapon capable of jumping from one microbe to another. We have detected the beginning of its global spread, explains Gonzalez Zorn, professor at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the Complutense University of Madrid. His team has identified the gene in the United Kingdom, Germany, the United States, Australia, China, and France, primarily in the bacterium Clostridioides difficile, which causes diarrhea that can be fatal in vulnerable patients. Normally, resistance mechanisms do not confer resistance to an entire family of antibiotics. There is no single resistance mechanism to all penicillins or all tetracyclines, but this mechanism does confer resistance to the entire family of aminoglycosides, explains Gonzalez Zorn, who is also an advisor to the World Health Organization. His study analyzed genomes from the international AllTheBacteria database. The results show that the presence of the gene is still uncommon, with around one hundred detections in Clostridioides difficile just 0.34% of those examined. The gene was also found in a Dutch hospital during an outbreak of Enterococcus faecium, a microbe that can cause deadly infections in hospitalized patients. The research, published Thursday in the journal Nature Communications, involved scientists from seven institutions, including Frances Pasteur Institute and the U.K.s University of Cambridge We need to act now to detect the gene early, says Gonzalez Zorn. We often detect new genes after theyve already appeared in many intensive care units across many countries, and its already too late. However, this time weve seen that its spreading silently and isnt present in Spain. Its a very good time to develop tools to detect it and prevent it from spreading. Or at least to be able to catch it early enough to isolate patients and know what were fighting against, the microbiologist adds. If we had detected it in 20 or 30 Spanish ICUs, it would have been a disaster; it would have been too late. The good thing is that we still have time to fight it, but we need to act now. Rafael Canton, head of Microbiology at Madrids Ramon y Cajal Hospital, knows the danger of superbugs all too well. He began working in 1988, when lab tests showed that microbes were still susceptible to a wide range of antibiotics. Since then, the overuse of antibiotics has contributed to the emergence of strains resistant even to all available treatments. Aminoglycosides are antibiotics that are widely used in combination with others, such as in the treatment of tuberculosis or for bacteria that cause ventilator-associated pneumonia in hospitals, explains Canton. Im concerned [about the global spread of the npmA2 gene] because we continue to lose groups of antibiotic families. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition 9-Year-Old Girl in Rajasthan Dies, Suspected Heart Attack (Image Courtesty: India Today) The school staff and teachers brought the nine-year-old girl to us. She was unconscious, gasping, and having difficulty breathing." 9-Year-Old Girl in Rajasthan Dies, Suspected Heart Attack Latest News Sikar, Rajasthan Prachi Kumawat, a 9-year-old Class 4 student from Danta town in Rajasthans Sikar district, is suspected to have died of a heart attack on Tuesday morning. Advertisement According to a report by NDTV, the incident occurred when Prachi was opening her lunchbox at school and suddenly collapsed. Teachers rushed her to the nearest community health centre, where doctors made efforts to revive her. However, she had no pulse, her blood pressure had dropped, and she was breathlesssymptoms indicative of cardiac arrest. She was then referred to a larger hospital in Sikar but could not be revived. School principal Nand Kishore Tiwari of Adarsh Vidya Mandir said the child had been absent for two to three days due to a slight cold. However, she returned to school on Monday and appeared to be in good health, even participating in the morning prayer and assembly. Advertisement Dr. Subhash Verma, who treated Prachi at the community health centre in Danta, told NDTV, The school staff and teachers brought the nine-year-old girl to us. She was unconscious, gasping, and having difficulty breathing. There was no blood pressure or pulse, and her heart was not beating. We started CPR, administered oxygen, emergency drugs, and IV fluids. Despite all efforts, her condition did not improve, prompting the doctors to call an ambulance and refer her to the district hospital. Dr. Verma added, Sudden cardiac arrest in children is rare. It may result from congenital heart disease or electrical disturbances in the heart, which often go unnoticed. Such cases should be properly investigated. Advertisement The family, however, declined to conduct an autopsy, making it difficult to confirm the exact cause of death. Dr. R.K. Jangid, another doctor involved in her treatment, said, Prima facie, it appeared to be a heart attack. She initially responded to CPR, oxygen, and emergency drugs, which is why we sent her to the district hospital. But the cause of death cannot be definitively stated without a postmortem. This case adds to a small but concerning number of similar incidents in recent months. In January, an eight-year-old Class 3 student in Chamarajanagar, Karnataka, reportedly died of a cardiac arrest after collapsing while handing over a notebook to a teacher. That same month, another 8-year-old girl in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, collapsed in the school lobby and was declared dead due to cardiac arrest. Advertisement Though rare, children can suffer cardiac arrests. Firstpost cited Dr. Vittal Kumar Kesireddy, Senior Paediatrician at CARE Hospitals, Hyderabad, saying, Sudden cardiac arrest in children, though rare, can occur due to undiagnosed underlying heart conditions such as congenital heart defects, arrhythmias, or genetic disorders like hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. (For more news apart from 9-Year-Old Girl in Rajasthan Dies of Suspected Heart Attack While at School, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) ED Files Chargesheet Against Robert Vadra in Gurugram Land Deal Just four days later, on March 21, then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda allegedly approved the request. ED Files Chargesheet Against Robert Vadra in Gurugram Land Deal New Delhi The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Congress leader Sonia Gandhis son-in-law, businessman Robert Vadra, in connection with a 2008 land deal in Shikohpur, Gurugram, according to the Hindustan Times, citing people familiar with the matter. Advertisement In April, Vadra was reportedly questioned for three consecutive days as part of the ongoing investigation. Key Allegations Vadras two firms allegedly had only a1 lakh each in their bank accounts when they acquired 3.53 acres of land valued at a7.5 crore in Shikohpur. Despite the low balance, the firms went ahead with the deal. Advertisement The EDs investigation revealed that the land was purchased by Sky Light Hospitality Pvt Ltd (SLHPL) without any actual payment being made at the time of the transaction. Instead, a cheque was issued by another Vadra-owned company, Sky Light Realty Pvt Ltd (SLRPL), but this cheque was never presented for encashment, according to one official. A second official said both SLHPL and SLRPL lacked sufficient funds to complete the transaction, each holding just a1 lakh at the time of the sale deed. Advertisement Omkareshwar Properties Pvt Ltd (OPPL), the seller, reportedly paid the a45 lakh stamp duty and other charges, raising further questions about the nature of the transaction. Undervaluation & Revenue Loss Alleged A third officer told HT that SLHPL later paid a15.38 crore in two tranches to OPPL, nearly double the amount mentioned in the sale deed (a7.5 crore). This, according to ED, suggests undervaluation of the property, resulting in suppressed stamp duty and revenue loss to the government. Advertisement Rapid Government Clearance Initially, OPPL applied for a commercial license on the land but was not granted approval. On March 17, 2008, after SLHPL informed the Town and Country Planning Department of the Haryana government about its land purchase, it applied for a license to develop a commercial colony. Just four days later, on March 21, then Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda allegedly approved the request. By March 28, a letter of intent was issued for the development of 2.701 acres out of the 3.53-acre plot. The ED noted that the Haryana government did not verify whether SLHPL had the financial capacity to develop the project, adding that "the license appears to have been granted based on Vadras status." The case now awaits judicial scrutiny. (For more news apart from ED Files Chargesheet Against Robert Vadra in Gurugram Land Deal, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Madhya Pradesh Woman Gives Birth to Healthy Baby After Fetus Declared Dead by Government Hospital (Image Courtesy: TOI) Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr. L.K. Tiwari told the media that an inquiry will be conducted into the incident. Madhya Pradesh Woman Gives Birth to Healthy Baby After Fetus Declared Dead by Government Hospital A woman in Madhya Pradesh gave birth to a healthy baby after government hospital doctors had declared her unborn child dead. The incident occurred in Satna district, according to a report by The Times of India. Advertisement The woman, Durga Dwivedi, 24, a resident of Chakera village in Rampur Baghelan, was initially admitted to the Amarpatan Civil Hospital around 2:00 AM on the intervening night of June 1516, after experiencing labor pains. She was accompanied by an ASHA worker and was referred to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Government District Hospital in Satna at 4:00 AM due to her high-risk pregnancy. She arrived at the district hospital around 7:30 AM. A duty doctor ordered routine blood tests. A senior resident doctor then conducted a Doppler examination but could not detect a foetal heartbeat. A follow-up sonography also reportedly showed no fetal/foetal movement, leading doctors to conclude that the fetus had died. The woman was advised to undergo a medication-based abortion. However, the family was not convinced by the diagnosis and opted to seek a second opinion at a private diagnostic center in Bharhut Nagar, where a fresh sonography confirmed that the fetus was alive and healthy. Advertisement The woman was immediately shifted to a private nursing home, where she gave birth to a healthy baby weighing 3.5 kg via caesarean section, without any reported complications. According to the report, doctors at the private hospital confirmed that both the mother and baby were in good health post-delivery. Chief Medical and Health Officer (CMHO) Dr. L.K. Tiwari told the media that an inquiry will be conducted into the incident. Advertisement (For more news apart from Madhya Pradesh Woman Gives Birth to Healthy Baby After Fetus Declared Dead by Government Hospital, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) US Embassy Issues Visa Warning After Indian Woman Caught Stealing in Illinois Don't do this What do I tell my family?... It's going to be very embarrassing. US Embassy Issues Visa Warning After Indian Woman Caught Stealing in Illinois US Embassy Issues Visa Warning For Indians Latest News: The U.S. Embassy in India has issued a visa advisory warning that committing crimes such as assault, theft, or burglary in the United States could result in visa revocation and ineligibility for future U.S. visas. Advertisement Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States wont just cause you legal issues it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future U.S. visas. The United States values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all U.S. laws, the Embassy wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter). Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States wont just cause you legal issues it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future U.S. visas. The United States values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all U.S. laws. pic.twitter.com/MYU6tx83Zh U.S. Embassy India (@USAndIndia) July 16, 2025 Incident That Prompted the Advisory Advertisement According to an NDTV report, the warning comes after an Indian woman was caught shoplifting items worth approximately Rs 1.1 lakh (around $1,300) from a Target store in Illinois. The incident reportedly occurred on May 1, 2025. According to store staff and police statements, the woman spent over seven hours inside the store, collecting merchandise without paying. She was ultimately detained after trying to exit the store with the items concealed in reusable bags. A video of the incident was shared by the Body Cam Edition YouTube channel. The footage shows interactions between the store staff, the suspect, and police officers. Advertisement On May 1, 2025, police were called to Target after a woman spent hours inside the store stealing items, ultimately attempting to walk out with thousands of dollars in unpaid merchandise, reads the caption of the video. Store Staff Account In the video, a staff member says, We saw this woman roaming around the store for the last 7 hours. She was picking up items, checking her phone, moving between aisles, and eventually tried to walk out the west gate without paying. Staffer added, She said she doesnt have an ID and is visiting the U.S. from India. She claimed she was waiting for someone from her family to pick her up. Shes taken a ton of merchandise were calculating the total right now. Advertisement The store owner (or manager) further explained, She put everything into three large reusable bags. She would get close to the door, stop, look at her phone, and go back inside to shop more. Eventually, she passed the first set of doors and entered the vestibule thats when we stopped her. She claimed she was still planning to pay, but she had already left the store area. Police Response When police officers asked the store personnel what action they wanted to take. We are going to prosecute and issue a trespass notice, the store manager responded. The woman pleaded with the officers,Let me just pay for it. However, a female officer replied, No, thats not happening. You committed a felony. It wouldve been different if you hadnt left. But since you passed the doors, you chose not to pay. We cant go back now. She then Questioned the woman, Are you allowed to steal things in India? As the woman was handcuffed, she said, Dont do this What do I tell my family?... Its going to be very embarrassing. Please. The voice-over in the video notes that the woman faces a felony retail theft charge because the value of the stolen items exceeds Illinoiss $300 threshold for felony prosecution. (For more news apart from US Embassy Issues Visa Warning After Indian Woman Caught Stealing in Illinois, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) At Least 60 Dead in Iraq Shopping Mall Fire (Image Courtesy: HT) The cause of the fire is still under investigation. At Least 60 Dead in Iraq Shopping Mall Fire Latest News: In a tragic incident in southern Iraq, at least 60 people were killed after a massive fire broke out at a five-story shopping mall in Al-Kut city, Wasit Province, according to a report by The Hindustan, citing Wasit Governor Mohammed al-Miyahi. Advertisement A report by ZNews stated that the blaze occurred inside a hypermarket located within the mall. "We have compiled a list of 59 victims whose identities have been confirmed, but one body was so badly burned that it has been extremely difficult to identify," a local health official told Reuters. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. However, Iraq's state news agency INA reported that initial findings are expected to be released within two days. Advertisement ZNews also reported speculation of a possible electrical fault, although authorities have not yet confirmed the exact cause. (For more news apart from At Least 60 Dead in Iraq Shopping Mall Fire, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Sex Scandal Shakes Thailand as Senior Monk Goes Missing Upon tracing her financial records, investigators uncovered links to various temples. Sex Scandal Shakes Thailand as Senior Monk Goes Missing A shocking sex scandal has emerged in Thailand after a respected monk from a Buddhist temple in central Bangkok went missing, The Guardian reported. It is unclear when the senior monk, Phra Thep Wachirapamok, disappeared. However, his absence has led police to investigate a woman suspected of having had intimate relationships with several senior monks and then allegedly blackmailing them to keep the liaisons secret. Advertisement Police reportedly searched her home earlier this month and discovered mobile phones filled with numerous compromising photos and videos of the missing monk and other senior Buddhist figures. Upon tracing her financial records, investigators uncovered links to various temples. We checked her financial trail and found that it involves many temples, said Jaroonkiat Pankaew of the Thai Polices Central Investigation Bureau at a press briefing on Tuesday. After we seized her mobile phone, we found that there are several monks involved, and several video clips and Line chats, he added, referring to the popular messaging app. Advertisement The woman in question, identified as Wilawan Emsawat, was arrested on Tuesday and has been charged with extortion, money laundering, and receiving stolen goods, according to the report. In an interview aired on Thai media on Wednesday, Wilawan admitted to having relationships with two monks and a religious professor. She also confessed to receiving extravagant gifts, including a Mercedes-Benz SLK200 and millions of baht via bank transfers and a personal bank card. Police sources further revealed that approximately 385 million baht (about $11.9 million) had been deposited into Wilawans bank accounts over the past three years. Advertisement Authorities Respond Amid Ongoing Investigation Investigations into the case are ongoing. According to reports, monks in Thailand receive monthly food allowances ranging between 2,500 and 34,200 baht (57785), depending on their rank. However, temples and monks also receive additional donations, some of which are not strictly monitored. In response to the scandal, Acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai has directed authorities to consider tightening existing laws related to monks and temple finances. Temples are required to disclose their earnings, but enforcement has been inconsistent. Advertisement The National Office of Buddhism stated that all monksregardless of their rankwill be investigated. The agency also suggested reviving a draft law that would impose criminal penalties on those damaging the reputation of Buddhism, including via sexual misconduct. In a significant move, Thailands King Maha Vajiralongkorn issued a royal command on Tuesday revoking previously granted ecclesiastical titles to dozens of senior monks. (For more news apart from Sex Scandal Shakes Thailand as Senior Monk Goes Missing, stay tuned to Rozana Spokesman) Protests against various policies of the Donald Trump administration continue. Good Trouble Lives On is the name of a day of protests that seeks to draw tens of thousands of people to march against cuts at the federal level, mass deportations and the attack on voting rights. It will take place this Thursday, July 17, in cities across the United States. Good Trouble Lives On The name of the protests is inspired by Congressman John Lewis, who was a civil rights activist one of the Big Six leaders of the movement. He organized the 1963 March on Washington and led the marches in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, where he was attacked by police. He later served 17 terms in the House of Representatives, as a delegate from Atlanta, Georgia. One of his most remembered phrases is, Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America. Lewis passed away on July 17, 2020. According to organizers, good trouble is the action of coming together to take peaceful, nonviolent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change. Civil rights leaders of the past have shown us the power of collective action. Thats why on July 17, five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, communities around the country will take to the streets, courthouses and community spaces to broadcast their fight for justice, voting rights and dignity for all. On the movements website, organizers also claim that President Donald Trump seeks to divide Americans, and that they will demonstrate the power of coming together. Where will the demonstrations take place? An interactive map that can be viewed on the official Good Trouble website shows hundreds of locations where people will congregate to protest. Among them are some major cities such as California and New York, but there will be demonstrations in all states and territories, including Puerto Rico. The organizers note that the demonstrations will be carried out in a non-violent manner, and that they expect participants to seek to de-escalate any type of confrontation with anyone who disagrees with their values. Likewise, they ask protesters not to carry any weapons. Fight for voting rights This year also marks 60 years since the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a pillar of the civil rights movement. However, it no longer provides the protections it once guaranteed, especially after the Supreme Courts ruling in Shelby County v. Holder (2013), which eliminated federal oversight over election changes in areas with a history of discrimination. Since then, laws that make it harder to vote have proliferated, disproportionately affecting people of color, low-income communities, and people with disabilities, against a backdrop of broader civil and democratic rights rollbacks. The Good Trouble Lives On movement highlights several bills that seek to strengthen democracy in the United States and guarantee voting rights: The John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which would restore key protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 by requiring federal pre-approval of election changes in states with discriminatory records. The Freedom to Vote Act, which would establish national voting access standards, and make Election Day a federal holiday. And the Native American Voting Rights Act, which would remove barriers faced by those communities and ensure accessible polling places on tribal lands. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition July 17, 2025 A roundup of domestic and international news Newsflash Newsroom, 17.07.2025, 13:55 CCR Romanias Constitutional Court is debating today the notification of President Nicusor Dan regarding the Law on Certain Measures to Combat Antisemitism and Xenophobia. The President considers that the law, through its adoption method and its content, violates certain constitutional norms and principles. Among other things, the head of state notes the lack of clarity on the notion of legionnaire (member of the Iron Guard movement) and fascist. The President also says that, by comparison, the legislation of other European Union member states more precisely identifies the scope of prohibited organizations, acts, materials and symbols. The President also brings constitutional criticisms from the perspective of the right to information, access to culture and freedom of expression. The law was also brought to the attention of the CCR by the opposition deputies, but the move was rejected, last week, by the Constitutional Court. Car Scrappage The Romanian authorities have analyzed and revised the program that encourages Romanians to give up old cars, with the Environment Minister officially announcing that the Rabla (Car Scrappage) program for individuals will be relaunched, but with a smaller budget of only 200 million lei (about 40 million Euros). Diana Buzoianu explained that the relaunch of the program was necessary because investments had been made, people had already given an advance payment and the impact on the economy must also be taken into account. For the future, however, rethinking this formula is needed, not just for the allocation of vouchers, said Diana Buzoianu. The minister also said that the main vision must focus on reducing polluting emissions. The Car Scrappage program, which began in 2005, plays an essential role in the purchase of electric cars, most of them being purchased in this way. Moldova Romania and the Republic of Moldova signed, in Chisinau, the Declaration on bilateral cooperation in the field of programs centrally managed by the European Commission a document of strategic importance for the European path of the former Soviet republic, with a majority Romanian-speaking population. The Minister of Investments and European Projects of Romania, Dragos Pislaru, highlighted on this occasion that Chisinaus participation in European programs will create new bridges of collaboration, including for the business environment, local communities and the public sector. This collaboration means real development for citizens: infrastructure projects, digitalization, education, environment and innovation. We want Moldova to be prepared and competitive in the new European context, stressed Dragos Pislaru. Romania is already our main partner on the European path, and this collaboration in the field of European programs will transform opportunities into results. We will work together so that Moldova becomes an active part of this common space of development, stability and prosperity, said, in turn, the Deputy Prime Minister Vladimir Bolea, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, appreciating that the signing of this Declaration represents not only the strengthening of strategic relations with Romania, but also an essential step towards the integration of the Republic of Moldova into the EU. EU Budget The European Parliament is unhappy with the EUs draft multiannual budget for the period 2028-2034, proposed by the European Commission on Wednesday. The EC has put forward a 2 trillion-Euro plan that it says is more adaptable to the different needs of member states. However, MEPs are critical of the grouping of key areas such as agriculture, cohesion, defense, social policies and migration under the same financial envelope, all with the condition that a member state can only attract these funds if it delivers reforms. MEPs are also unhappy with the fact that national governments could be left to divide the amounts received as they please, which could put common European policies in difficulty. The European Parliaments chief negotiator with the Commission and the Council, Romanian MEP Siegfried Muresan, is calling for a 7-year budget in which the common agricultural and cohesion policies should be clearly defined, with predictable budgets, just like at present. He has warned that if the project is not adapted to the requirements, the European Parliament will not vote on it. Arizona Arizona becomes the first American state to open an economic representative office in Romania, this being a first in the history of bilateral relations. In the recently adopted budget for the fiscal year 2026 (October 2025 September 2026), the state of Arizona allocated 125,000 dollars for the opening of the representative office in Bucharest an initiative that recognizes Romanias role as a regional hub for investment and strengthens the economic partnership with the United States, the Romanian Embassy in the US announced on Thursday, in a Facebook post. According to the quoted source, the Commercial Office in Romania will cover Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. The decision of the state of Arizona to open a commercial office in our country is a strong signal of confidence in the economic potential of Romania and our region. I am convinced that this initiative will strengthen trade, stimulate innovation and bring our business communities even closer, contributing to the development of a sustainable economic relationship between Romania and the United States, said Andrei Muraru, Romanias ambassador to the US, quoted on the social media page. (LS) Divergent views on the future European budget The EU budget proposal for 2028-2034, presented by the European Commission, has sparked discontent in the European Parliament, which is threatening not to vote for it Sorin Iordan, 17.07.2025, 14:00 On Wednesday, the European Commission presented the draft budget of the European Union for the future multiannual financial framework 2028-2034. The budget is approximately 800 billion higher and will amount to 2 trillion. The draft prepared by the EU executive provides, among other things, for the merging of several policies and funds, such as agriculture, rural development, cohesion, social policies, fisheries, food security, defence, migration and border management, transport infrastructure, and energy. One chapter is dedicated to the enlargement of the EU bloc, but also to support for Ukraine, which will amount to 100 billion. The proposed draft reflects the Commissions ambition to remain loyal to European farmers, regions, and Member States, as well as to the European social model, said Piotr Serafin, European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud, and Public Administration. However, he stressed the need to focus resources on areas where the EU can make a difference. Piotr Serafin: Investing together in defence, we can get our security stronger. If we, for example, want to have a European alternative to Starlink, we have do it together, and the European budget should support it. If we want to be effective when it comes to the migration policy, we have to protect external borders together rather than introducing internal border controls. If we want to be more effective in research, a joint effort and massive costs are needed. And if we want to continue the green transition, we must help European citizens and companies to adapt. But we must be realistic. We will not be able to solve all these problems, but we can try and help Member States, regions, and communities to address them. The Commissions proposed budget is not enough to meet the challenges facing the EU, warn the European Parliaments co-rapporteurs for the Multiannual Financial Framework and own resources. Romanian MEP Siegfried Muresan, chief negotiator for the European Parliament on the 20282034 budget, said that the draft budget does not leave enough funds for critical priorities and that key programs will be at risk. Siegfried Muresan: The European Commission is doing too little. In the past, we had a clearly defined common agricultural policy and cohesion policy, with predictable seven-year budgets. We, the European Parliament, are asking for the same thing in the future. Farmers need to know exactly how much European funding they will receive, in which areas and under what conditions over the next seven years. The Commission says, Well set aside a small portion of the money and see about the rest later. That doesnt give farmers any predictability. Farmers need to invest over several years; they need to be able to make their business plans. Muresan warned that the European Parliament will reject any budget that does not guarantee the protection of allocations dedicated to both the Common Agricultural Policy and the Cohesion Policy, or in which European farmers have to compete with regions for the same European funds. The debates, which could last up to two years, will now take place between the European Commission, the Council of the European Union, and the European Parliament. As a legislative and budgetary institution, the European Parliament has the right to reject the draft budget if it considers it inadequate to European priorities and needs. (MI) Australia will on Thursday release June figures for unemployment, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. The Australian is expected to have added 21,000 jobs following the loss of 2,500 jobs in May. The unemployment rate (4.1 percent) and participation rate (67.0 percent) are seen unchanged. Japan will provide June numbers for imports, exports and trade balance. Imports are expected to slip 1.6 percent on year after falling 7.7 percent in May. Exports are called higher by an annual 0.5 percent after losing 1.7 percent in the previous month. The trade surplus is pegged at 353.9 billion yen following the 637.6 billion yen shortfall a month earlier. Singapore will see June data for non-oil domestic exports; in May, NODX fell 12.0 percent on month and 3.5 percent on year for a trade surplus of SGD7.24 billion. Hong Kong will release unemployment figures for June; in May, the jobless rate was 3.5 percent. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Economic News What parts of the world are seeing the best (and worst) economic performances lately? Click here to check out our Econ Scorecard and find out! See up-to-the-moment rankings for the best and worst performers in GDP, unemployment rate, inflation and much more. Aalberts N.V. (AALB.AS), a Dutch company, announced on Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Geo-Flo Corp. The move aligns with Aalberts' Thrive 2030 strategy and will expand its footprint in North America. The acquisition, funded through existing credit facilities, will have an immediate positive impact on earnings per share. By combining Geo-Flo's expertise and products with Aalberts' boiler room technology, the company expects to accelerate complementary product development and unlock new growth opportunities in energy and resource-efficient building solutions. Geo-Flo is a U.S.-based company in Indiana with an annual revenue of around $15 million and a workforce of over 25 employees. Geo-Flo specializes in designing and manufacturing pumping systems and components for hydronic HVAC systems, including geothermal and water source heat pump applications. The company is recognized for its design expertise and advanced production capabilities. Geo-Flo's results will be consolidated starting July 17. On Wednesday, Aalberts closed trading, 1.49% lesser at EUR 31.72 on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Harvard Bioscience, Inc. (HBIO), a maker of life sciences equipment to support research and drug discovery, said on Thursday that it has appointed John Duke as Chief Executive Officer to succeed retiring Jim Green with effect from July 28. With this succession plan, Green will retire from his President, CEO, and Chairman roles at Harvard Bioscience. Duke is a member of the Board of Harvard Bioscience and CEO of Plastic Molding Technology, a supplier of plastic components. Earlier, Duke had served as Executive Vice President and Chief Business Officer of Lyten, Inc., a maker of advanced materials. In addition, the company has revised up its second-quarter revenue guidance to $20.4 million from its earlier outlook of $18 million to $20 million. Further, Harvard Bioscience has reiterated its previously announced second-quarter gross margin guidance of 55% to 57%. The company intends to release its second-quarter earnings report on August 11. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Seven states currently have passed or are attempting to pass laws that criminalize migrants entering their territory. All have been blocked, suspended, or are pending litigation, challenged as unconstitutional. The Supreme Court has ruled on these issues and has already struck down some, most recently last week with a Florida law. Although these legislative initiatives are firmly in line with President Donald Trumps own immigration agenda, for the justices, the content is secondary; the main point is that individual states cannot legislate on immigration. According to the Constitution, this area falls under the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal administration. This is what is known as the Supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, a double-edged sword that equally prevents one state from opening its doors to immigrants or another one from closing them even more drastically. The Florida case began in February, when the Republican-controlled state legislature passed SB 4-C in a special session. The law, which allows the arrest of undocumented immigrants entering the state from elsewhere in the U.S., sought to bolster the immigration policies of President Trumps administration locally, but was quickly challenged in court. In early April, a federal judge halted its enforcement, ruling that it was potentially unconstitutional. Still, at least two people were wrongly charged under the law, the AP reported Wednesday. Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier deliberately gave law enforcement permission to disobey the courts ruling and was held in contempt. Uthmeier argued that the state law was not in conflict with, but rather complied with, federal law. He asked the Court of Appeals to overturn the judges decision and made an emergency request to the Supreme Court in June. A few days ago, the nations highest court, which has handed Trump numerous victories in the last month, rejected Uthmeiers arguments: a state cannot independently legislate on immigration. More than 100 undocumented immigrants arrested at a construction site in Tallahassee, Florida. HSI Tampa/EFE In the appeal, Florida argued that states retain an inherent sovereign authority to protect their citizens by assisting in the enforcement of federal immigration law, and that Florida sought to assist the United States in curbing illegal immigration. The Supreme Court held that while the goal is to assist the federal governments agenda, the Constitution is clear about the fact that immigration falls under federal jurisdiction. Its a long-standing issue. The most emblematic case is Arizona, which in 2010 passed a law requiring police to check immigration status during routine stops if they suspected someone was undocumented. The law was suspended by the Supreme Court, after determining that the federal government has exclusive authority over the admission and deportation of immigrants, explains Kevin Johnson, a law professor at UC Davis in California, who has written extensively on the topic. States cannot have their own immigration laws, Johnson says. The United States government may allow states to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws in certain ways. However, immigration regulation is the exclusive jurisdiction of the federal government. Federal law is the supreme law of the land under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution. That is, state immigration laws are superseded by federal immigration law. This year, Florida has sought to position itself at the forefront of the countrys anti-immigrant offensive, promoting raids, collaborating with local authorities, and building new detention centers laden with symbolism like the now infamous Alligator Alcatraz. This has been part of a broader effort to appeal to President Trumps supporters, and even to Trump himself, by adopting measures supported by the MAGA movement. Groundbreaking for the new "Alligator Alcatraz" detention center in Florida on July 4, 2025. Rebecca Blackwell (AP) Professor Muzaffar Chishti of the Migration Policy Institute, an independent think tank specializing in immigration policy, says Floridas attempt with SB 4-C, despite legal precedent, denotes a clear political motivation. It seems to have been more of an attempt to send a political message, Chishti said, like all bark, no bite. The Attorney General [James Uthmeier] was tweeting in real time, Even if I get held in contempt, Im proud to have done this, essentially saying, Were for law enforcement, even more strongly than President Trump would like. The Supreme Courts analysis is preeminent, the professor explains. For example, before 1996, some states had their own laws for employers who hired undocumented workers. The court ruled at the time that they could do so, since there was no conflict with federal law. But in 1996, Congress passed the Illegal Immigration Reform Act (IIRIRA), which significantly tightened policies, especially for undocumented immigrants. The subsequent Arizona ruling is consistent with that law. The Arizona case is the emblematic example in terms of immigration policy, essentially for the same reasons as the Florida case, Chishti noted. UC Davis Johnson said the Florida ruling sends a clear message that it will not alter federal primacy in immigration matters and that other states should take note of the decision. Currently, in addition to Arizona and Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Texas, Iowa and Tennessee have laws or proposals that are being challenged for violating federal supremacy in immigration matters. Many are unlikely to withstand the Supreme Courts scrutiny, although some, the milder ones, such as Georgias, which merely mandates cooperation by state forces in the enforcement of federal laws, may be upheld. On the other hand, Democratic states and cities considering ways to resist Trumps crusade against migrants and defend their residents will also take note. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition The U.S. Defense Department has announced that with help from industry, it will ramp up production and fielding of low-cost drones to maintain battlefield superiority. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth toured the display of 18 American-made drone prototypes at the Pentagon Wednesday. Emil Michael, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, said the prototypes went from concept to development in just an average of 18 months, a process that normally takes up to six years. The department will continue to rapidly innovate and scale up production of drones and other systems using cost, resilience, firepower and range as driving factors, which are areas DOD wants to improve upon, Michael said. Hegseth said in a July 10 memorandum that he is rescinding restrictive policies that hindered drone production. "Drones are the biggest battlefield innovation in a generation, accounting for most of this year's casualties in Ukraine. Our adversaries collectively produce millions of cheap drones each year," he said, noting the U.S. military is lacking needed quantities of lethal small drones. The secretary said there are three goals: Prioritizing the purchase of American-made drones and parts with help from industry's private capital; Arming combat units with low-cost drones made by America's world-leading engineers and artificial intelligence experts; and Training with drones in realistic battlefield scenarios, led by leaders who are not risk averse. In June, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to speed up U.S. drone production using the latest innovative industry technologies. Trump said he supports reducing regulatory uncertainty and streamlining approval and certification processes for safe and secure drone production. Also, the Federal Aviation Administration and DOD will coordinate to streamline the approval processes to expand access to airspace for conducting drone training, Trump said. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Business News Subdued U.S. and Canadian futures point to a lackluster start for the Canadian shares on Thursday. Weak gold and silver prices are likely to weigh on materials stocks. Energy stocks may find some support and limit market's downside. In economic news, a report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business said Canada's CFIB Business Barometer long-term index rose 3.4 points to 50.9 in July, the highest since January and the second reading above the 50-point threshold this year. Investors will be focusing on the developments on the trade front, and tracking corporate news for directional clues. Canadian stocks rose closer to previous record highs on Wednesday amid flat US PPI data along with resilient Canadian housing activity. The benchmark S&P/TSX Composite Index hit an intraday high of 27,159.87 before settling at 27,152.97, up by 98.83 or 0.37%. Asian stocks rose broadly on Thursday after U.S. President Donald Trump denied that he plans to fire Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. "We're not planning on doing it," he said Wednesday at the White House. "I don't rule out anything," he added, "but I think it's highly unlikely, unless he has to leave for fraud." The major European are up in positive territory, recovering from recent losses. Optimism about the European Union striking a deal with the U.S., and some encouraging corporate updates appear to be aiding sentiment. In commodities trading, West Texas Intermediate Crude oil futures are up $0.33 or 0.5% at $66.71 a barrel. Gold futures are down $25.60 or 0.76% at $3,333.50 an ounce, while Silver futures are down $0.129 or 0.34% at 37.990 an ounce. For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com Professor Peter Tshobisa Mtuze It is with immense sorrow that Rhodes University mourns the passing of Professor Peter Tshobisa Mtuze. Professor Mtuze was a towering figure in South African academia, literature, and the Anglican Church, whose contributions profoundly enriched the cultural and intellectual landscape of the nation. An Old Rhodian, former President of Convocation, and a recipient of the University's highest honour, an Honourary Doctorate, his loss is deeply felt by the entire Rhodes University community and beyond. Born in Middelburg, Eastern Cape, in 1941, Professor Mtuzes life was a testament to dedication, scholarship, and service. His academic journey saw him achieve remarkable heights, including a Bachelor of Arts in Translation from Rhodes University in 1980, followed by an Honours degree and a Master of Arts in African Languages from UNISA. He further distinguished himself by earning two PhDs one in African Languages from the University of Cape Town and another in Theology from UNISA. Professor Mtuzes career was marked by a series of pioneering achievements. In 1988, he made history by becoming the first-ever black professor at Rhodes University, where he served with distinction as the Head of the isiXhosa Department. He later took on additional leadership roles, including Deputy Registrar, before his retirement from the University in 2006. Even after retirement, his passion for literature and publishing led him to serve as a Publisher for Vivlia Publishers until 2013. A prolific and celebrated author, Professor Mtuze published more than 30 creative and academic works spanning novels, short stories, poetry, drama, essays, autobiography, literary guides, translations, and cultural and religious academic papers. His writings, deeply rooted in his experiences as an umXhosa living through periods of significant socio-political and economic transition in the Eastern Cape, offered invaluable insights into the human condition. Among his most notable literary achievements was his masterful translation of former President Nelson Mandela's monumental autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, into isiXhosa as Indlela ende eya enkululekweni. His novel uDingezweni (1971) is considered a literary classic, and his 2014 novel Iingada Zibuyile Endle garnered several awards. Beyond his literary and academic pursuits, Professor Mtuze was a dedicated Anglican priest and canon in the Diocese of Grahamstown, serving as the rector of the parish of St. Andrew Ginsberg and St. James Peddie, and as the Archdeacon of East London, West. His commitment to language and culture extended to his roles as General Secretary of the Xhosa Language Board, a member of the Xhosa Dictionary Advisory Board at Fort Hare, and an advisor on literature for the African Languages Association. His immense contributions were recognised with numerous accolades, including the Bertram's VO/Skotaville literature award and an honour from the Eastern Cape government for his lifetimes work in 2015. In 2022, the University of Johannesburg celebrated his life and work. Rhodes University was privileged to bestow upon him an honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) in 2018, acknowledging his unparalleled contributions to African languages and literature, and his profound impact on the academic community. During his life, Professor Mtuze was widely remembered by his colleagues as "kind and a consummate gentleman." He was consistently described as honest, forthright, humble, and deeply committed to the greater good qualities that made him a role model for countless individuals. Professor Peter Tshobisa Mtuzes legacy will live on through his extensive body of work, his pioneering role in academia, and the countless lives he touched as a scholar, mentor, and spiritual guide. Rhodes University extends its deepest condolences to his family, friends, and all who were touched by his remarkable life. He will be profoundly missed but never forgotten. Lala ngoxolo Tata Mtuze. Honda Motorcycles & Scooters India Ltd emerged as the first Japanese brand in India to come up with an electric offering. In fact, Honda came up with two EVs, QC1 and Activa e. Now, there seems to be a third EV that the company is developing. Only, this is not an electric scooter, but its first ever electric motorcycle. Lets take a closer look. Honda Shine Electric Bike Patent Leaks As per a leaked patent document, Honda seems to be working on its first ever electric commuter motorcycle. This development has surfaced right on the cusp of a new wave of electric motorcycles that are just breaking the surface. Right now, we already have Ola Roadster X, Oben Rorr EZ, Revolt RV and Pure EV EcoDryft. Now, Honda seems to be diving into this segment with a budget commuter, which could bear the name Shine in it. Say, Shine e, similar to what the naming strategy was with Activa e. We say this because the leaked patent design shows a budget commuter with what looks like a cradle chassis holding electric batteries and motor. These batteries are likely to be the same as the ones seen in Activa e, which are swappable at Hondas swapping stations that are currently only present in Bengaluru and only cater to Activa e. If they are leveraging already established swapping stations, these battery packs are likely to be of the same capacity too, which is 1.5 kWh each, adding up to 3 kWh in total. Derived EV from Shine ICE? Interestingly, this would be the first electric vehicle to launch in India that might have a shared platform with an already existing ICE vehicle. Derived EVs, as we call them in electric 4W industry which is quite a common approach. We can see that this leaked patent carries a similar silhouette as that of a Shine. A long single-piece seat, commuter style headlight assembly, 17-inch or 18-inch alloy wheels, RSU telescopic front forks, twin shock absorbers at the rear and conventional tube-type handlebar are some of the notable features that one can deduce from these leaked patent designs. There may be a fully digital instrument cluster to show all parameters of an electric powertrain. Nothing fancy like a touchscreen display or anything else is expected. The company might price it at a premium when compared to the Shine 100 and Shine 125, which are currently among the best-selling commuters in India, only behind Hero MotoCorps Splendor. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency will have access to the personal data of 79 million people enrolled in Medicaid, the government health insurance program for low-income individuals. Federal agents will use this information to locate immigrants who are in the country unlawfully in order to accelerate President Donald Trumps deportation machinery. The information of beneficiaries of the federal and state program will be shared with ICE under an agreement between the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) signed last Monday, according to AP, which obtained access to the agreement that has not yet been made public. Immigration agents will use this data to identify and locate undocumented immigrants, according to the document cited by the news agency. With the Medicaid database, ICE officials will have access to the names, addresses, dates of birth, ethnic and racial information, as well as Social Security numbers of all people enrolled in the program. According to AP, the agreement between DHS and CMS does not allow immigration agents to download each persons data. Instead, they will be permitted to access the information for a limited period until September 9. Its unclear whether DHS has yet accessed the CMS information. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to the AP that both agencies are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans. It should be clarified that immigrants who do not legally reside in the United States cannot enroll in the Medicaid program, which is jointly funded by the federal government and the states. To qualify, an immigrant must be legally in the country and fit into one of several categories established by the government. These include refugees, asylum seekers, people who have had parole for at least one year, individuals granted deferred deportation, or victims of human trafficking, among others. However, federal law requires all states to offer emergency Medicaid, a temporary coverage that pays only for life-saving emergency room services to anyone, including non-U.S. citizens. Immigrants frequently use it, regardless of their legal status in the country. Additionally, seven states all governed by Democrats allow noncitizens full access to the state Medicaid program in their respective territories. These are California, New York, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, Illinois, and Minnesota. The states launched these programs during the administration of former president Joe Biden and pledged not to bill the federal government to cover the health care costs of immigrants who used them. In June, the Trump administration ordered Medicaid officials in some of these states California, Illinois, and Washington and in Washington, D.C., which also allows immigrants to enroll in its program, to hand over the data of millions of beneficiaries to ICE officials. And earlier this month, 20 states sued the Republican administration, alleging it violated federal health privacy laws. This new agreement is just the latest escalation in the Trump administrations anti-immigrant crusade, which aims to deport one million people in its first year in office. In addition to ongoing raids nationwide, the Republican government has resorted to other measures to increase detention and deportation numbers, including canceling programs that granted legal protections against deportation to thousands of immigrants. Another similar agreement was made public last April, when the IRS also agreed to share its data with ICE, so the agency could track undocumented immigrants. Sign up for our weekly newsletter to get more English-language news coverage from EL PAIS USA Edition BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Hailing China as a "dynamic and innovative" market, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on Wednesday reaffirmed his long-term commitment to the country during a media briefing in Beijing. The founder of one of the world's most valuable tech firms is in the Chinese capital this week for the opening ceremony of the third China International Supply Chain Expo. This is Huang's third visit to China since the start of 2025, and he plans to make the most of it by also participating in related events. Noting that China has become a leading technology market and is growing rapidly, Huang told reporters the country is a key market with many dynamic and innovative customers. If you want to be a great company and a great supplier, you need not only excellent products but also excellent customers. China has that kind of customer, Huang said. "We are doing our best to serve the market here," he added. Eyeing what he called a "great future" in the Chinese market, Huang emphasized the importance of further expanding the company's presence in China. "If you want to maintain, you have to invest," he said. "The market is moving so fast and it's so competitive -- we have to continue to advance ourselves." Huang, however, welcomed the rise of Chinese competitors, calling them a force for industry progress. Huang said that China has formidable companies and the technologies they've created are impressive. "They're not my enemies, they're my competitors... and we can make each other better. We can make the market better, we can make the industry better," he said. On Tuesday, Huang told a group of journalists that the company will resume the sales of its H20 AI chips to China. Following this announcement, Nvidia's shares surged 4.04 percent. Huang revisited this topic at the media briefing on Wednesday. "I hope to get more advanced chips into China than H20. And the reason is that technology is always moving on." "Some years from now, we will have more and better technologies. And I think it's sensible that whatever we are allowed to sell in China will continue to get better over time as well," he said. Huang also hailed the talent pool of China, especially in the sector of artificial intelligence. "There are really extraordinary engineers and professionals in China," said the senior executive. "We are expanding in China all the time. We continue to advance our technology and our contribution to markets, which will give us an opportunity to hire more people." BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- An increased number of foreign visitors arrived at China's borders in the first half of 2025, fueled in part by relaxed visa rules -- particularly the expansion of the country's visa-free travel programs. Foreign nationals made a total of 38.05 million trips to or from China in the first six months of the year, which was an increase of 30.2 percent year on year, the National Immigration Administration (NIA) said on Wednesday. Of these trips, 13.64 million were visa-free entries, an increase of 53.9 percent from the same period last year, the NIA said. Lyu Ning, a spokesperson for the NIA, attributed the growth to China's efforts to facilitate visas in recent years, saying that its measures have effectively attracted international visitors to the country for travel or business. China recently signed mutual visa-exemption agreements with Uzbekistan, Malaysia and Azerbaijan, and has extended such exemptions unilaterally to nine more countries, including Brazil, Argentina and Chile. The agreement between China and Azerbaijan, which covers ordinary passport holders from the two countries, came into effect on Wednesday. Citizens of China or Azerbaijan who hold a valid ordinary passport will be able to enter, exit or transit through the other country without a visa. A single stay should not exceed 30 days, and a total stay of no more than 90 days is permitted within any 180-day period. Citizens of 55 countries, including the United States and Canada, can visit China visa-free for up to 10 days in transit, before traveling on to a third destination. These sweeping policy changes have facilitated travel to China, fueling a surge in online content and interest surrounding "China Travel," particularly on platforms like YouTube. As the summer vacation season has begun, China has seen a significant surge in arrivals of foreign passport holders. Many overseas tourists cited China's distinctive and diverse cultural atmosphere as the main attraction. "China and its people are so diverse, I think there is always more to learn when traveling there," said American tourist Abigail Mueller. A couple of years back, Mueller traveled to cities including Chengdu and Xi'an, and visited renowned tourist spots including the Leshan Giant Buddha. One single trip was not enough, however, and Mueller said the opportunity to gain first-hand experience of China is always tempting. "While in China, I would get familiar with WeChat, be open to people's curiosities, and embrace Chinese culture in the fullest," said Mueller. "I would like to go back to China again and visit other cities, I'm not sure which ones yet, but (I want to) learn more about regional cultures and practices." Immigration authorities across China processed 333 million inbound and outbound trips from January to June, marking a 15.8-percent rise year on year, said the NIA. Authorities are steadily advancing openness and improving service efficiency, it added. * Multinational companies are looking to strengthen supply chain collaborations. * Overseas exhibitors account for 35 percent, a three-percentage-point increase from last year. * The growth in global participation highlights mounting confidence in the Chinese market and supply chain. BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- As the third China International Supply Chain Expo opened Wednesday in Beijing, multinational companies are looking to strengthen supply chain collaborations in a move that will inject more certainty into the world economy. The five-day event has attracted 651 companies and institutions from 75 countries and regions. Overseas exhibitors account for 35 percent, a three-percentage-point increase from last year. Among the first-time multinational participants are major players such as Nvidia, Schneider Electric, L'Oreal, Louis Dreyfus and Medtronic. A staff member (L) introduces an orthopedic surgical robot at the Healthy Life Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) The growth in global participation highlights mounting confidence in the Chinese market and supply chain. The participating companies see China as both a stabilizing force and an innovation driver in the global supply chain. "The expo is an important gathering for innovation and collaboration, helping to strengthen the sustainable development of global manufacturing and international supply chains," said Mohamed Kande, global chairman of PwC. CLOSER COLLABORATION The expo comes on the heels of China's announcement of a 5.3 percent economic growth for the first half of the year despite rising challenges and external uncertainties. China's steady economic growth, coupled with its robust supply chain and commitment to further opening up, positions it as a key partner for multinational companies. Jensen Huang, CEO of U.S. tech giant Nvidia, on Tuesday praised China's rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) during his visit to Beijing, describing the Chinese market as both "large" and "dynamic." A robot lion performs at the Digital Technology Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Zhang Chenlin) While speaking at the opening ceremony of the expo on Wednesday, Huang lauded China's supply chain as a "miracle." China's open-source AI is a catalyst for global progress, giving every country and industry a chance to join the AI revolution, he said. "China is a very important country where the development of AI will continue to be very fast and we hope to be part of that," Huang told reporters on Wednesday, adding that there's so much opportunity and confidence in the Chinese market. Huang confirmed on Tuesday that Nvidia's H20 chips will soon be available in the Chinese market again, following the U.S. government's approval of the company's filing licenses for shipping H20s to China. The expo has become a key venue for global firms to forge and expand supply chain collaborations. People visit the Healthy Life Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Ren Chao) The expo serves as a platform for expanding McDonald's supply chain partnerships, Xu Jansen, head of Impact Strategy at M (China) Co., Ltd. The fast food chain attended the expo for a second straight year, teaming up with 11 suppliers this year. Xu emphasized the importance of the Chinese market, noting that half of the new McDonald's stores opening each year globally are located here. The company has built a network of local suppliers and also helped many of them ship products overseas. China serves as a stabilizer to the global supply chain and global economic growth, Xu said in an interview. For French pharmaceutical giant Sanofi, the expo is also an opportunity to showcase its ecosystem and build collaborations. "Here, we explore innovative collaborations with our global partners, from R&D to production and patient accessibility enhancement, and share the latest results of localized practices," said Wayne Shi, president of Sanofi Greater China. Sanofi will continue to support the Healthy China initiative with innovative drugs and vaccines, Shi said. RESILIENCE Business executives and experts assert that, given the current global economic climate, no single country can fulfill every role in industrial and supply chains. It is essential for countries to work together to achieve win-win results. Robotic hands are pictured at the Advanced Manufacturing Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Ju Huanzong) Global firms view China as a pivotal destination for enhancing and diversifying their supply chains, owing to the country's vast manufacturing capacity, robust industrial ecosystem, and improving business environment. Xiao Song, chairman, president and CEO of Siemens China, said that at a time when the global industrial landscape is undergoing rapid restructuring, the expo is becoming an important platform to promote the deep integration of all sections of the industrial chain. Siemens aims to help Chinese firms upgrade with digital and low-carbon technologies, helping build a green competitive edge globally as well as a more resilient and sustainable global industrial and supply chains, Xiao said. As the world's first national-level exhibition focusing on supply chains, the expo is an internationally shared public product. First held in 2023, the expo has contributed to building more secure, stable, open and inclusive global industrial and supply chains. With over 70 special events and new alliances for exhibitors in each of the six supply chains showcased at the expo, the expo helps enterprises find partners, application scenarios and solutions, according to Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the event's organizer. Visitors learn about a vehicle at the booth of AITO at the Smart Vehicle Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Fu Tian) Ren called on global business leaders to work together to uphold the multilateral trade system with the World Trade Organization at its core. Xu Jiabin, a professor at the Business School of Renmin University of China, said that as a manufacturing and trading powerhouse, China has made significant contributions to the stability and resilience of the global supply chain. "The expo will help mitigate the negative effects of trade barriers and safeguard the global international economic and trade order," Xu said. (Video reporters: Zheng Xin, Zhang Mocheng, Luo Xin, Guo Yujing, Zhang Xiao, Xia Zilin, Pang Yuanyuan, Ma Xiaodong, Wang Pu; video editors: Wang Han, Zhu Cong, Hong Ling) ISLAMABAD, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Three militants and an officer of the Pakistani army were killed during a clash in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, the military said in a statement on Wednesday. The incident happened in Awaran district, where the security forces launched an operation on the reported presence of terrorists, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the media wing of the Pakistani military, said. "During the operation, Pakistani troops effectively engaged the militants, killing three terrorists," the ISPR said, adding that the officer was also killed in the engagement. Following the clash, security forces launched a sanitization operation in the area to clear any remaining threats, the statement said. XI'AN, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The China-Europe freight train service is transforming global trade, with a growing number of companies using it to integrate into the global supply chain. In Xi'an, a China-Europe train hub in northwest China's Shaanxi Province, the cross-border freight train service is bustling, as businesses leveraging this service go global. Geely's smart manufacturing car plant in Xi'an, with fully automated production lines, churned out 142,000 vehicles, worth more than 15.7 billion yuan (about 2.2 billion U.S. dollars), during the first five months of 2025. This vehicle output has spurred the growth of 21 parts suppliers, creating a province-wide automotive ecosystem. The plant's location and the train service's efficiency combine to provide a smooth export route for Geely. Xi'an Aiju Grain and Oil Industrial Group has also benefited from the train service. It has set up agricultural logistics and processing zones in both Kazakhstan and China. Since 2015, it has invested in Kazakhstan, becoming the first Shaanxi enterprise to build its planting base overseas. More and more Kazakh grain and oil products are now on Chinese shelves, thanks to the China-Europe freight train option. The Aiju healthy life experience center in Xi'an features Central Asian honey, biscuits, ice cream and apple juice. "These products arrive in China via the China-Europe freight train. It boosts international trade and offers new business opportunities," said Wang Fang, Aiju's deputy general manager. In the first half of 2025, Aiju imported nearly 100,000 tonnes of feed wheat by way of this train service. The company's business model now links orders with joint planting, precisely matching Kazakhstan's flour offerings with Chinese consumers. On June 10, the Xi'an-Kazakhstan Terminal in Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan, was officially launched and put into operation. It has upgraded the current connection from a "point-to-point" to a "hub-to-hub" link, making the "full-container-out, full-container-back" circulation model a reality, according to Xi'an International Port Group. At the Konka smart appliance industrial park, the dishwasher liner production line runs at China Industrial 4.0 standards. "Our sales, products and channels rely on the China-Europe freight trains. Over 60 percent of our products are exported by this train service," said Chen Zhao, general manager of Shaanxi Konka Smart Home Appliance Co., Ltd. As of June 26, 2025, Konka had made use of 47 special trains, carrying 87 containers containing 229,000 white-goods appliances. Konka's smart manufactured products are expected to reach 35 countries over the next two months -- with sales in the Central Asian market set to double, Chen added. After just more than a decade since its establishment, the China-Europe train (Xi'an) service has launched 18 international lines, featuring increasingly diverse routes and enhanced services. From more than 100 trains at the start to 4,985 in 2024, this service has become an important driver of Xi'an's foreign trade growth. Xi'an, once capital of ancient China and the starting point of the historic Silk Road, is writing a new chapter in global trade, thanks to the cross-border freight train service. "According to China State Railway Group's data, the Xi'an line has led the nation in key metrics such as the number of trains, freight volume and loaded-car rate for seven years straight," said Yuan Xiaojun, general manager of Xi'an International Port Group. Carmaker Jaguar Land Rover will cut up to 500 management jobs amid a drop in sales due to Donald Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs. Jaguar Land Rover, which is owned by Indian multinational Tata Motors, said on Thursday that it will launch a voluntary redundancy scheme, expected to affect up to 1.5% of its UK workforce. JLR's job cuts come after JLR warned that Trump's move to institute a 10% tariff on British cars exported to the US would weigh on profits. "As part of normal business practice, we regularly offer eligible employees the opportunity to leave JLR through limited voluntary redundancy programmes," said a spokesperson for JLR. Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com KABUL, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Afghan interim government has condemned Israeli airstrikes on Syria, especially the capital Damascus, the state-run Bakhtar news agency reported on Thursday. An official statement, issued by the interim government, described the strikes as a clear invasion and a blatant violation of a sovereign state. The interim government called on regional countries and the international community to play their due roles in preventing such attacks on Syria and its people. Israeli warplanes intensified their air campaign across southern Syria on Wednesday, striking the Syrian Army General Command headquarters and the presidential palace area in central Damascus. The Syrian health authorities said one civilian was killed, and 18 others injured in the strikes on the capital, which included at least five separate air raids targeting central Damascus. Delia Pitts (photo: Steven C. Pitts) Delia Pitts interned at the Chicago Sun-Times before spending 11 years as a diplomat in the United States Foreign Service, serving in U.S. embassies in Nigeria, Mauritania, and Mexico City, along with Washington, D.C., assignments. She later worked as a university administrator before becoming a full-time writer. Death of an Ex (Minotaur; reviewed in this issue) is her second novel about Evander "Vandy" Myrick, the only Black private detective in Queenstown, N.J. Your series is about Evander "Vandy" Myrick, a former police officer turned private detective in Queenstown, N.J. What was your inspiration for your character? I started with my own family. I have an older cousin, Esther, who, with her husband, started a small detective agency on the south side of Chicago during the 1960s. They handled things like personal security, security for property, and insurance fraud, nothing violent. Esther was inspiring because at the time not a lot of women, especially Black women, were running private enterprises, certainly not in the area of security. She made me think that a lot things were possible. Esther's last name is Myrick so Vandy is definitely named after her. How did you shape Vandy? I wanted her to be an African American woman of a certain age, a woman who is not in her first youth but is still vigorous and lively, funny, sexy, and hard driving. I wanted to create a world for her to go back to when there's a turn in her life. I wanted her to have the confidence to be a plausible action hero so she's an ex-cop who served on the New Brunswick force, and with the Rutgers campus police. When we meet her [in Trouble in Queenstown] she's had a significant decade of professional law enforcement. She's not a novice in terms of work, experience or her age--she's 48. Her father was a cop, the only Black cop in Queenstown, and she's named after him. He wanted her to be a police officer. When she followed her father's footsteps, she was enforcing his vision of what she could be. Why is it important to include Vandy's ongoing grief over the death of her 20-year-old daughter, Monica? The horrendous loss of her daughter is the searing wound that impacts her. It marks her, it gravely wounds her. But the death of her child doesn't define all that she is. She is so much more, larger than that one great tragedy that upended her world. But it is that tragedy that uproots her and she comes back to Queenstown where she grew up to start life again. So often in books, we see people have life-changing trauma but in the next episode or chapter, they are fine. There are shades and stages of grief and we are seeing Vandy in a different stage of grief--it's been three years--so it's not hitting her the same way it would at the beginning. But the grief is still there. It would not be fair to the nature of grief or to the character of Vandy to just forget and leave it behind. Part of the process for her are the promises she made to her daughter. She doesn't drink alcohol nor carry a gun. In Death of an Ex, I wanted to give her a new level of emotional engagement, to rein in how she deals with grief, and that includes how she deals with her ex-husband who was Monica's father. I wanted to give her a rich and complicated background to explain her skill set and her psychology. She is a person who has lost everything. And that is where we move in with her. Why did you choose the small fictional town of Queenstown as your setting? A small town gives me more opportunities to explore an area. Having characters reoccur in the context of a novel and across the series can make for richer presentation, and more fun. Often, these side characters--and they don't think of themselves as side characters--will give a crucial bit of information and then go away until it's time for them to come back. That's also how a community works. You see people, but then may not see them for a week or a month. Your view of them changes as they walk in and out of your life. That lends itself to the truthfulness of life. There's only about 9,000 people in Queenstown as I have described it, and about 2,000 or less are African American. But the town has a rich history of African Americans living and working there, going back to pre-Revolutionary days. What drew you to the private detective novel and what makes Vandy different from other private detectives? The private detective attracts me because it compellingly speaks to the role of the individual in society--the power and the responsibility to stand for the values of a community but also to stand against the community when necessary. I like the flexibility that the private eye gives us. They straddle both sides of the legal line of law enforcement, dancing from one side to the other, exercising judgment, morality. Vandy knows quite well what police procedural is, but her responsibility is individually to her client and more broadly to the community. She knows sometimes those responsibilities are conflict with the law. I made a conscious effort to make Vandy grow from the tropes of the detective novel but to move against them. Most of those PIs are loners, but I wanted to build a circle of community for her with people who support her. Vandy's reliance on those friends she grew up with, went to college with, is very important. This set of strong women friends translates to mentoring teenager Ingrid Ramirez. While she does have an eye for the gentlemen, she doesn't drink nor carry a gun--both promises she made to her daughter. A gun also is an invitation to violence. How does your background influence your writing? My time in the Foreign Service expanded my capacity to write on deadline. I was often the junior member of the team so it was my responsibility to write the proceedings of the conference, and to do that quickly and with great accuracy. That means I learned to listen carefully, to hear what was being said, but also what was intended, the subtle tones being taken by the participants. That is essential to being a good writer and a good fiction writer. I learned how rhetoric plays into the presentation and how language can be used in a variety of ways and settings. I think all writing is persuasive, to move the ideas I have in my head into the head of the reader, to persuade them of the message's depth. Naturally, the fiction message is quite different. I wasn't writing fiction when I wrote a report on the education system of Mexico to be sent to Washington. But I was still trying to persuade the decision makers of the truths I had uncovered. I wrote many speeches for ambassadors and that means pressure and voice. Voice is very important for characters. In speeches I was writing in the voice of the ambassador, not my own voice. It's very important to translate the vocabulary, background and concerns of the ambassador into their voice. I had to step into the voice of another person. That's an important skill in fiction. --Oline H. Cogdill, freelance reviewer Helgi Davis, owner and founder of Myth Adventures comic book store in McAllen, Tex., died June 29. He was 76. The Monitor reported that since 1991, "the store, located at 720 W. Nolana Ave., has nurtured its cult following through its offerings, Davis's customer service, and play events like Dungeons & Dragons and Pokemon League." Helgi Davis In 1990 he opened his first business, Edinburg Cards and Comics. "Helgi was so successful with that, that he took over a little gaming shop named Myth Adventures," according to his obituary. "Knowing nothing about comics or gaming, he listened closely to his customers and thats when he learned the secret of being successful in business. He would say, 'Always listen to your customers!' Customers became fast friends and employees (Carl) became family." His granddaughter Kali Martinez, who joined the business in 2021, posted on the store's social media sites after his death: "If you ever met Mr. Helgi Davis, you should consider yourself lucky. He was one of a kind and he was brilliant. For over 30 years, Myth Adventures was his passion. He had the time of his life creating this space. He loved the hard work, because it wasnt work to him. He was crabby and I loved him for it, it was one of the best parts about him. "He cared deeply for his customers and often went out of his way to make sure they got everything they wanted. He could do more work than five people combined. His mind was sharp. His personality was charismatic, he was enchanting and silly. He pretended he was annoyed to be on camera but he loved it and he was good at it. He forgave easily.... Myth misses you and will never be the same without you but we will try to make you proud." Kaboom Comics in McAllen posted: "To a great many people here in the Valley, he was their gateway into comics, TCG & D&D. Helgi is and will always be a LEGEND in the pop culture and collecting community in the RGV and beyond." Last week, Martinez told the Monitor that Spider-Man comics "were among his most treasured reads. She stood solemnly but proudly next to flower arrangements adorning the beloved comic book store Thursday holding a photo of Helgi with Spider-Man creator, the late Stan Lee--the two joined in eternity." In a post yesterday, Martinez wrote: "This past week Myth said goodbye to the creator of our store. Helgi left his mark on every square inch of the store and he guided us for years. He was the best. A lot of love was shared with him. & So it goes, a lot of love will be dedicated to him going forward. What he made defied expectations and all odds, he was resilient and special. Remember that no matter what you are going through, you dont have to do it alone. We mourn with you, we heal together. Let your hobbies be a guiding light and help you out of the darkness." CSC SPV celebrates 10 years of Digital India with nationwide events and recognition of top-performing VLEs. Union Ministers announce new initiatives, including free AI training for 10 lakh individuals and expansion of CSC services. CSC network reaches 5.5 lakh centres, empowering rural citizens with digital services and bridging the digital divide. In a grand celebration marking a decade of transformative digital governance, the Common Service Centre e-Governance Services India Limited (CSC SPV), under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), commemorated 10 years of the Digital India initiative at the Yashobhoomi Convention Centre, Dwarka, New Delhi. The event underscored Indias journey in digital empowerment and its success in bridging the digital divide through grassroots-level interventions. Graced by the presence of Union Minister of Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, and Minister of State for Electronics & IT, Shri Jitin Prasada, the event brought together key stakeholders from across the country, including thousands of Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs) who serve as the driving force behind the CSC model. Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, inaugurating the celebrations as Chief Guest, lauded the contributions of VLEs in taking digital services to the remotest corners of India. Our VLE brothers and sisters have proven that Indias digital dream is not confined to urban boundaries. Today, digital transactions through UPI have overtaken even Visa, showing the power of 1.4 billion Indians. From tea sellers to vegetable vendors, digital is the new normal, he stated. He highlighted that CSC has now reached nearly 90% of Indias villages and praised it as the only medium with the potential to connect every village with the digital world. Citing inspiring stories of VLEs like Manjulata from Odisha and Rose Angelina from Meghalaya, the Minister emphasized how women across remote regions are becoming symbols of change and empowerment by leveraging digital platforms. digital empowerment. From her CSC centre in Mairang, she is not just delivering services but driving social change, the Minister noted. In the East West Khasi Hills of Meghalaya, VLE Rose Angelina has become a beacon of. From her CSC centre in Mairang, she is not just delivering services but driving social change, the Minister noted. Marking the decade of progress, Shri Vaishnaw announced several key initiatives, including free AI training for 10 lakh individuals with priority given to VLEs encouraging VLEs to begin IRCTC ticketing services, and a commitment to integrate CSC-SPV with state-level IT agencies through discussions with Chief Ministers. Shri Jitin Prasada, Union Minister of State for Electronics & IT, in his address, reaffirmed the governments commitment to inclusive digital growth. Ten years ago, Digital India was a vision. Today, it is a reality thanks to the relentless dedication of our VLEs. From just 83,000 centres in 2014, we now have close to 5.5 lakh CSCs across the country, he shared. He highlighted the role of CSCs in empowering rural India, especially through the integration of Primary Agriculture Credit Societies (PACS). A special mention was made of over 74,000 women VLEs, who are setting new standards in digital inclusion. With the rise of AI and evolving technologies, it's critical that we use these tools to uplift communities, especially in sectors like agriculture, health, and education. Cybersecurity, digital literacy, and service diversification will be crucial in this journey, Prasada added. Welcoming the dignitaries, Shri Sanjay Rakesh, MD & CEO of CSC SPV, remarked, There is no longer a need to travel to cities for basic services. CSCs have become the digital doorway for rural India, delivering both government (G2C) and business (B2B) services at peoples doorsteps. In the last 10 years, CSC has become a symbol of Indias digital evolution and rural empowerment. As part of the celebrations, CSC Diwas was marked with nationwide fervor. In Delhi, a two-day event was held from July 15 to 16, with the first day witnessing deliberations by IT Secretaries from all states at Bharat Mandapam on themes like rural digital empowerment and future governance models. Between July 1 and 15, CSC centres across the country actively participated in the celebrations, organizing local events with community involvement. Top-performing VLEs were felicitated for their outstanding contributions to digital inclusion and innovation at the grassroots level. Since the launch of the Digital India program by Honble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2015, the country has undergone a major transformation in e-governance, financial inclusion, and online service delivery. India has emerged as the worlds third-largest digital economy, with platforms like UPI, Aadhaar, and CSC playing a pivotal role. Established in 2009, CSC SPV has grown to become one of the worlds largest digital service delivery ecosystems. Each CSC is run by a VLE who offers a wide range of services including Aadhaar enrollment, PAN and passport services, banking and insurance, telemedicine, education, skill training, legal aid through Tele-Law, and e-commerce via the Grameen eStore. As India celebrates 10 years of Digital India, the CSC model stands as a shining example of how technology, when democratized and localized, can transform lives. From empowering individuals to building a digitally inclusive nation, the journey has just begun. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh CMs meet in Delhi for high-level talks on Krishna-Godavari water sharing. Key decisions include joint restoration of Srisailam Project and real-time telemetry at reservoirs. Joint expert committee to be formed by Monday; KRMB to function from Vijayawada, GRMB from Hyderabad. In a major move to settle interstate water of the rivers issues, the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh chief ministers, their irrigation ministers and top officials joined a high-level meeting organized by the union ministry of Jal Shakti in New Delhi. The meeting, dealing with the sharing and administration of Krishna and Godavari river waters, was conducted in an amicable and collaborative mood, said sources. The session between CR Patil, N Chandrababu Naidu, and A Revanth Reddy took over 90 minutes. Some of the crucial agreements made were installing telemetry equipment at outflows of reservoirs and at canal intakes to provide measurements in a transparent manner and ensure true assessment of the usage of water. The Telangana CM Revanth Reddy's proposal was adopted by Andhra Pradesh, which came as a breakthrough in establishing trust in each other. The two states also consented to initiating immediate protection and repair works for the Srisailam Project, a key irrigation resource for the state. The restoration will be carried out jointly, according to Telangana's suggestion, marking an era of cooperation between the two Telugu states. A key resolution of the meeting was to create a joint committee with technical experts and senior officials from both states. This committee, to be constituted formally by next Monday, will be given the charge to deal with all pending technical issues, including long-standing water projects in Krishna and Godavari basins like Polavaram, Banakacherla, and so on. The Centre has asked the committee to act quickly and present a workable report within a short time. In institutional arrangements, it was decided that Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) will be established in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, whereas Godavari River Management Board (GRMB) will continue to function in Hyderabad, Telangana. The union ministry of Jal Shakti will oversee the working of the committee and coordinate inter-state consultations as and when required. Government officials characterized the result as a 'positive development' reporting that the Centre had urged strongly both states to sit at the table and negotiate ways to resolve disagreements. The summit ended with a common pledge of commitment to the principle of "Telugu states, one people", with utmost respect and cooperation for each other. In case of necessity, the Centre may also organize another round of chief ministerial-level or apex committee-level talks to speed up the solution process further. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana have also been advised to organize interstate meetings from time to time to tackle emerging issues and evolve a way forward in a time-bound fashion. Why is Zordo the best website designing company in India in a hyper-competitive market? Though there are companies who are involved in Website Designing & Digital Marketing, there is no one brand in the Website Designing industry whose gap has been filled by Zordo by creating a monopoly and emerging as a brand. As part of their "Website For Every Business" objective, one of India's most well-known website design companies, Zordo, has kept the "Make in India' pledge by becoming a one-stop shop for Website Design and Digital Marketing. The Zordo additionally offers Digital PR, Digital Marketing, Web Hosting, Domain Registration & WhatsApp Marketing. There are other suites of applications for customer relationship management, e-commerce, productivity (collaboration, workflow management, and project management). Sales automation, customer service, and other front-office apps are a few examples of the hosted application categories that Zordo provides. Zordo also offers services like social media marketing, domain registration, web hosting, App development, and software development. They have a reputation for giving out food and supporting those who are in need of it. Making proactive, populist methods is something they place a lot of emphasis on. The reputation of Zordo as a leader in a website design company in Jaipur and a fantastic value has spread throughout the world. The company's mission is to benefit society through its vision of "Website for Every Business". Their mission statement is to create jobs in India for international campaigns and contracts. They are reinventing what it means for a corporation to show respect and concern for society in addition to empowering young people in their pursuits. This organization's ingenuity and laser-like focus are paving the way for a transformation and establishing a league that will empower everyone, regardless of size. A corporation needs to examine ways to adapt to its ecosystems, start thinking about how to do so, and develop opportunities online in order to effectively respond to the new dynamic. Businesses like Zordo offer these environments. Customized and user-friendly websites help businesses make a strong first impression on their target audience. Another significant topic to cover is how to speed up website load times, which is necessary for keeping visitors on the site longer. Client satisfaction in website design is a direct result of outcomes and positioning. The company strives continually to be innovative and present new ideas and solutions to their clients in accordance with their requirements. Years of experience show the dedication and expertise of Zordo. They have a group of committed experts who are in charge of using the most effective techniques to build an online presence and broaden the visibility of your company. They are responsible for several organizational elements. The group rents out application capabilities across the public or private Internet to several businesses from a single data center. The services provided by Zordo includes Creating Websites, Domain Registration, Web Hosting, Digital PR, Digital Marketing and App creation. Zordo has certainly set the bar very high for other companies and has established its brand in the website design industry. This image released by Apple TV+ shows Harrison Ford in a scene from "Shrinking." (Beth Dubber/Apple TV+ via AP) AP Actors Brenda Song and Harvey Guillon have revealed the nominations for the 2025 Emmy Awards and among them is 83 year-old Harrison Ford who nabbed his first-ever nod, according to a story on people.com. Ford, whos nickname is Harry, received the nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for Shrinking, where in a starring role he portrays Dr. Paul Rhodes, a therapist and colleague of Jason Segels Jimmy Laird. Interestingly, the show earned four nominations for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for Segel, outstanding supporting actress in a comedy for Jessica Williams and outstanding comedy series. The story on people.com further noted that Ford wasnt nominated for Shrinking in the past which some fans interpreted as being a snub. The Oscar winner has starred in the Apple TV+ comedy series about grieving therapist Jimmy who decides to become drastically more involved in his patients lives since the show made its debut in 2023. Fords character has Parkinsons disease in the show. Theres no intention to make it into a joke, Ford said. But there are people that absorb these kinds of experiences with grace and courage and a little bit of wisdom. And that is not to say that some people do not. Its just to say that this is a person particularly equipped to communicate what it is that its like, and that is something that I feel that is worth sharing with our audience. The other nominees in the category with Ford are: Ike Barinholtz for The Studio, Colman Domingo for The Four Seasons, Jeff Hille for Somebody Somewhere, Ebon Moss-Bachrach for The Bear, Michael Urie for Shrinking and Bowen Yang for Saturday Night Live. For the last two years, Moss-Bachrach took honors for The Bear, in which he plays Richie. Three Mile Bay on the north shore of Oneida Lake. Courtesy of Google Maps West Monroe, N.Y. Two dead men were found floating in Oneida Lake Wednesday afternoon after there was a report of an unmanned boat on Three Mile Bay. The dead men are brothers from Syracuse: Dale Hull, 64, and Dean Hull, 65, according to Lt. Andrew Bucher, a spokesperson for the Oswego County Sheriffs Office. Around 1:32 p.m., an off-duty Oswego County Sheriffs Office deputy called 911 to report an unmanned boat on the north shore of Oneida Lake near West Monroe, according to a news release from the Oswego County Sheriffs Office. Twenty minutes later, the same deputy found the men floating in the water, deputies said. The sheriffs office marine patrol responded to retrieve the bodies from the water, they said. The men were pronounced dead at the scene, deputies said. Their bodies were taken to the Onondaga County Medical Examiners Office for further investigation into cause of death, deputies said. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida is seeking to join a federal lawsuit aimed at halting the construction and operation of a new immigration detention facility in the Everglades, which tribal members consider their sacred ancestral homelands. Miccosukee leaders had already condemned the makeshift compound of trailers and tents that rose out of the swamp in a matter of days. But the filing Monday of a motion to intervene in the case initially brought by environmental groups signals a new level of opposition by the tribe, which is also a major political donor in the state. Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis administration rapidly built the facility, which state officials have dubbed Alligator Alcatraz, on an isolated, county-owned airstrip inside the Big Cypress National Preserve, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) west of downtown Miami. The Miccosukee have lived on and cared for the lands of Big Cypress since time immemorial, the filing reads, noting that the tribe played an integral role in pushing for the creation of the national preserve, the countrys first. The area now known as the Preserve is a core piece of the Tribes homeland. Today, all of the Tribes active ceremonial sites and a significant majority of the Tribes traditional villages (sometimes known as clan camps) are within the Preserve, the filing reads. To DeSantis and other state officials, locating the facility in the rugged and remote Everglades is meant as a deterrent, a national model for how to get immigrants to self-deport. The Republican Party of Florida has taken to fundraising off the detention center, selling branded T-shirts and beer koozies emblazoned with the facilitys name. Officials have touted the harshness of the area, saying theres not much there other than the wildlife who call it home. In fact, the Miccosukee have lived on those lands for centuries, the tribes attorneys wrote in their motion, which notes that there are 10 tribal villages within a three-mile (4.8-kilometer) radius of the detention center, one of which is approximately 1,000 feet (304 meters) from the facility. The preserve is a place where tribal members continue to hunt, trap and fish, as well as catch the school bus, hold sacred rituals and bury their loved ones. The facilitys proximity to the Tribes villages, sacred and ceremonial sites, traditional hunting grounds, and other lands protected by the Tribe raises significant concerns about environmental degradation and potential impacts, the filing reads. The lawsuit originally filed by the Friends of the Everglades and the Center for Biological Diversity seeks to halt the project until it undergoes a stringent environmental review as required by federal and state law. There is also supposed to be a chance for public comment, the plaintiffs argue. As of Tuesday afternoon, the judge in the case had not acted on the groups requests for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction to stop activity at the site. The state raced to build the facility at the isolated airfield before the first detainees arrived on July 3. Streams of trucks carrying supplies like portable toilets, asphalt and construction materials drove into the facilitys gates around the clock as workers assembled a network of massive tents that officials said could ultimately house 5,000 detainees. What had been an internationally designated dark sky park far away from urban development is now blasted by lights so powerful, the glow can be see from 15 miles (24.1 kilometers) away, the environmental groups said. The areas hunting and fishing stocks could be so significantly impacted, attorneys argue the tribes traditional rights guaranteed by federal and state law could be rendered meaningless. ___ Kate Payne is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Solar panels cover the roof of a home in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in this 2023 file photo. (MLive.com/Ryan Stanton) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A solar energy companys contract with a Staten Island couple has been deemed null and void, while the company is being ordered to remove the panels and pay the plaintiffs attorney fees. ATTYX LLC, based in Syosset, New York, was accused by the New Springville plaintiffs in court documents of fraudulent business practices, while other lawsuits against the company remain ongoing. Following a March 21 hearing on Staten Island, arbitrator Joseph J. Maltese ruled against ATTYX LLC, and its affiliated lending company Solar Mosaic, based in northern California. Maltese determined that a contract presented to the couple in December 2022 was knowingly fraudulent and misleading, resulting in a solar panel system that caused financial hardship rather than relief. He also found that the testimony of an ATTYX sales representative was incredible. ATTYX LLC, based in Syosset, New York, was formerly known as Sunco Capitol, Sunco Capital and Sunco Solar, according to court documents. Solar Mosaic, based in Oakland, California, did not produce a witness for the arbitration hearing, and filed bankruptcy days after the courts decision, records show. Both companies, meanwhile, are named in another lawsuit in Brooklyn federal court that alleges they intentionally targeted seniors and homeowners in communities of color. In light of the plaintiffs victory on Staten Island, their attorney, Gary DeFilippo, said he has been taking on additional clients from Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx against ATTYX. In a statement following the hearing, he cautioned home owners to beware of solar salesmen who promise you huge savings on your energy bills. S.I. couple recounts dealings with business in court docs The plaintiffs in the Staten Island case, Leonard and Rhonda Policastri, claimed in court documents that what started as talk of big savings instead resulted in a pile of bills. Over the course of multiple discussions in 2022 with a sales rep for the company, Mitchell Sims, the couple said they were told they qualified for state rebates and incentives, and that the solar panels would essentially eliminate their Con Edison bill. Sims allegedly stated the panels would produce enough energy to power their entire house and allow them to put a heater in their pool, buy an electric stove, and buy an electric car. Evidence would show neither claim was true. In March 2023, ATTYXs contractors put up the panels, which did not generate nearly enough power for the house, the lawsuit argued. DeFilippo submitted that further research indicated it would take 16 panels to sufficiently power the property and reduce, not eliminate, Con Edison bills. At the arbitration hearing, Leonard Policastri, 66, a school bus driver, testified he told Sims that a different company had previously been to his house and determined there wasnt enough room for the number of panels needed, so they declined to install the system. But Sims convinced him, explaining that ATTYX had the greatest and best panels and that the other company had old technology, Leonard Policastri testified. Two years after the panels were installed, and multiple failed attempts by the company to resolve the stated concerns, the couple had not seen relief in their electric bills as promised, DeFilippo said. The couple also alleged they were told the loan would be offset by so-called incentives and rebates that were never realized. The couple was told the upfront cost of the solar system would come to about $65,000. But after they claimed the expense on their federal, state and city government tax filings, they were told they would only end up paying $28,000, or about $147 per month for the life of the contract, according to the lawsuit. Leonard Policastri said he was informed his credit was approved to finance the project and he e-signed a box on Sims tablet. However, he alleged he was not shown any finance agreement, and the couple was not provided with hard copies of what they had signed, nor did they receive copies of the tax rebate form for the federal, state and city tax incentives. DeFilippo argued at arbitration that the signature on the financing agreement separate from what Leonard Policastri signed on the tablet was created by typing his clients name and that it could have been typed in by anyone. By December 2023, Solar Mosaic was billing the couple at a monthly cost of $368, which was more than what the couple said they were quoted by Sims. Meanwhile, the Con Edison bills kept rolling in unchanged. Despite the couple reaching out repeatedly to Solar Mosaic, the lender did not provide them with copies of the ATTYX application which they had been told was submitted to the bank on their behalf, court documents stated. The roof man of New York As the Policastris electric bills and loan payment requests were piling up, Sims was still promoting the solar panel system in online videos. In one video, which has since been taken down, a high-energy Sims referred to himself as the roof man of New York. Are you sick of that crazy Con Edison electric bill? enticed Sims. Im here to help you. He went on to claim in the video that the solar system would in the long run render a zero Con Edison bill. ATTYX responded in court filings ATTYX, according to a recent profile by the Better Business Bureau, was incorporated in 2018 and had an A+ rating. In answering the aforementioned lawsuit, an attorney for the company argued that if there was any wrongdoing, it was on the part of the couple for breaching the contract they signed, and/or a third-party. Both of which were beyond the companys control. The damages, if any, sustained by the plaintiffs were the result of plaintiffs own breach of its respective agreement with defendants, ATTYX stated at the time. Arbitrator rules in favor of S.I. couple Maltese decided ATTYX was in breach of contract; acted fraudulently in its business practices; sought unjust enrichment, carried out deceptive business practices and was in breach of good faith. In Sims meetings with the homeowners, he falsely claimed the agreement would include incentives and rebates through the New York Sun Program, as administered by the New York State Energy Resources Distribution Authority, Maltese ruled. The company had, in fact, been terminated from participating in the program and ordered to cease and desist from making any reference to rebates in their customer contracts, the decision stated. Clearly, the plaintiff relied on those misleading misrepresentations made by Mitchell Sims ... when he agreed to accept the solar panel solutions offered, Maltese furthered. Incentives and rebates, without which the plaintiffs would ultimately be forced to pay over $100,000 over the course of 25 years. Plaintiffs awarded judgement ATTYX was ordered to remove the solar panel system and restore the roof to its original condition, while footing the bill for $26,500 in lawyer fees for the plaintiffs. Maltese also ordered recission of the Solar Mosaic Finance Agreement. In terms of damages, the couple was instructed by their attorney early on to stop making monthly payments toward the financing agreement, and to instead put those payments in a separate bank account. Which upon resolution of the case, they can now keep. Solar Mosaic has since declared bankruptcy, prompting a hold on any judgments against it by the Texas Southern Bankruptcy Court. Some legal maneuvering by DeFilippo, however, has ensured the arbitration award will go before Justice Ronald Castorina on Staten Island. Solar industry complaints on rise Last year, NPR reported that customer complaints against the residential rooftop solar industry have increased dramatically in recent years. One-star ratings on Solar Reviews, according to the report, have spiked more than 1,000% since 2018. Complaints of high-pressure sales tactics and misleading financing arrangements have spurred criminal investigations by prosecutors across the country. BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China's mutual visa-exemption agreement with Malaysia officially took effect on Thursday, further expanding the country's visa-free travel policy. Under the policy, Chinese and Malaysian citizens holding valid ordinary passports can enter, exit or transit through the other country for travel without a visa. Each stay should not exceed 30 days, with a cumulative limit of 90 days within any 180-day period. The policy comes into effect three months after China and Malaysia signed a mutual visa-free agreement, marking another step forward in China's efforts to ease travel and boost international exchanges. Since Dec. 1, 2023, China and Malaysia have been implementing a trial visa-free policy for each other's ordinary-passport-holding citizens. In 2024, Chinese tourists made over 3.8 million visits to Malaysia, making China the largest source of tourists to Malaysia from outside the ASEAN region. The signing and implementation of the agreement indicate that the effectiveness of the previous visa-free entry policy has been recognized by both the governments and people of the two countries, said Azman Ujang, chairman of the think tank Malaysia-China Research. The policy has facilitated mutual communication between people of the two countries and strengthened their friendship, and the exchanges between the peoples laid a solid foundation for the continued extension of the visa-free policy, he said. According to Lee Thai Hung, deputy director general of Tourism Malaysia, the agreement has reassured Malaysian tourism operators and boosted their confidence, and he believes the cooperation between the two countries' tourism industries will become more stable and robust. Malaysia's tourism authorities and industry operators are also actively making plans to enrich the travel experience, add more tourism facilities and signage, and enhance safety measures, all in preparation to welcome more Chinese tourists, Lee said. As of May, China had signed mutual visa-exemption agreements with 157 countries, covering different types of passports. In November 2024, it extended the visa-free entry stay period to 30 days. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. In honor of those who have died, here is a compilation of obituaries posted on SILive. Viewing times and guest books can be seen here. Peggy Ann Belle, 68, died on May 1, 2025 at her home in La Plata, Maryland. Born on Staten Island on Nov. 24, 1956, Peggy dedicated her life to education, teaching for over 35 years in New York, Virginia and Maryland. She wished for her body to be donated to medical research upon her passing. Read the full obituary on SILive. Ken Parese, 84, died on July 2, 2025 after a brief battle with cancer. Born in New Brighton, Ken graduated from Curtis High School in 1958 before serving in the U.S. Navy from 1959-62. He later earned a degree in electronics from the former Staten Island Community College and worked at IBM Poughkeepsie from 1964-1985. A lover of music, Ken sang in various choirs throughout his life. He is survived by his children, grandchildren, former wife and brother. Read the full obituary on SILive. Generative AI was used to produce an initial draft of this story based on data from Legacy.com. It was reviewed and edited by Advance/SILive.com staff. Tom Homan, the man in charge of the Donald Trumps mass deportations, has a warning for America: You aint seen nothing yet. The budget Trump signed turbo-charged Immigration and Customs Enforcement annual spending expanding it from $8 billion a year to $28 billion allowing ICE to hire as many as 10,000 more agents, and to build a fleet of new detention centers across the country. Youre going to see enforcement on a level youve never seen it before, Homan promises. His priority target? Blue cities like New York and Chicago, where he says undocumented criminals create the greatest threat of violence. The big beautiful bill is going to give us 100,000 beds, so we can be more aggressive in finding public safety threats, and national security threats, Homan told Politico week. Well have more boots on the ground. . . Were going to send many more agents into sanctuary cities not because they are blue, this is not a political thing but because we know we have a problem there. THE GRAND IRONY Its not a political thing? Maybe thats true for Homan, a career ICE guy, a hard-charger who says he brushes off death threats every day. He says hell feel good only when every last illegal alien is gone. The man is on a mission. But Trump has spun political gold from this issue since the day he descended that golden escalator 10 years ago and promised a crackdown. Now, hes fulfilling that promise. The grand irony is that his success at bringing order to the border has soothed Americans anxieties about illegal immigration, killing the appetite for mass deportations and turning most Americans against Trump on his core issue, a recent Gallup poll found. There are no caravans heading to El Paso these days, no waves of refugees crossing the Rio Grande, no busloads of bewildered Venezuelans arriving in Manhattan in the middle of the night. You may not like his methods, but Trump has created order at the border. The Gallup poll shows how that success has drained all the mojo from his favorite wedge issue. Among its findings: Only 38 percent of Americans favor the deportation campaign that Homan is promising to escalate, and only 30 percent want immigration reduced. 79 percent consider immigration a good thing for the country on the whole. And 78 percent want to establish a path to citizenship for the undocumented immigrants living in the country today. 62 percent disapprove of Trumps handling of immigration, including 69 percent of independent voters. The surge in illegal border crossings during the Biden administration triggered heightened public concern about immigration and increased demand for stricter enforcement, Gallup concludes. The Trump administrations swift and visible response appears to have defused that concern. I suspect its not just the border its the fraud and cruelty behind the deportations. Its one thing to block people at the border. Its quite another to raid a Home Depot parking lot and arrest decent people who have been here for years mowing our lawns, building our homes and taking care of our kids. Homan pitches this as a public safety issue, and thats just dishonest. Two-thirds of those in ICE detention have no criminal records. And most of those with a record did not commit violent crimes. In all, just 7 percent of ICE detainees are violent criminals, according to ICE data analyzed by the conservative Cato Institute. By all means, get rid of that 7 percent. But lets not slime the other 93 percent. MACHO MEN AND MACHINE GUNS ICEs macho tactics also turn a lot of stomachs. At MacArthur Park, in a Latino section of Los Angeles, dozens of federal officers conducted a sweep earlier this month, some on horseback, and some in armored cars with mounted machine guns, sending kids and their parents scrambling. Even Rambo would consider that over the top. In another incident in Los Angeles, masked ICE officers were recorded on video punching Narciso Barranco, the father of three U.S. Marines after they took him to the ground. He was undocumented, but has lived in the country for decades, has no criminal record, and raised his boys as patriots. Hey, why are you hitting him? a horrified bystander can be heard asking. His Marine veteran son, 25-year-old Alejandro Barranco, voiced a concern many share: The administration said they were going after criminals. And from what weve seen, I think its the complete opposite. I think the majority . . . are hard-working people who have been here for decades, providing for their family and providing for this country. Alejandro Barranco conducts an interview as he arrives to check on his father Narciso, who was detained by federal agents, outside the Metropolitan Detention Center on Monday, June 23, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) AP MASKING ACCOUNTABILITY And why do ICE agents wear those masks? A basic tenet of policing in America is that cops identify themselves with a badge and name tag, so that if they do something wrong, like beat a handcuffed suspect, they can be held accountable. Homan says the masks are necessary because assaults on ICE officers are up 700 percent since the start of the year. What he doesnt say is that the 79 assaults on ICE officers in the first half of this year, up from 10 during the same period last year is a small number, compared to what the regular beat cop faces. Police in New York City reported 970 assaults against uniformed officers during the same stretch. At this point, the die is cast. Homan seems like a man who is ready to bang his head through a brick wall, and what were seeing in Los Angeles is about to go national. Try to imagine armored cars with machine guns patrolling Central Park in New York City, or masked agents with automatic weapons raiding Home Depot parking lots in Chicago. This is going to be ugly, and most Americans wont like what they see. Who knew that Trumps success at the border might come back and bite him before the mid-terms? Moran is a national political columnist for Advance Local and the former editorial page editor/columnist for The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. He can be emailed at aquinas1222@gmail.com. Former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama addressed rumors about the state of their marriage. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) AP Barack and Michelle Obama know of the rumors about their marriage and they were quick to laugh them off. On Wednesdays episode on IMO podcast, which is hosted by the former First Lady and her brother Craig Robinson, she and the former president had squashed speculation of a divorce that has picked up steam in recent months. Some skeptics questioned the state of their marriage after Michelle Obama did not make several public appearances with her husband, including at President Donald Trumps inauguration ceremony in January. Robinson had immediately thrown in a joke about the rumor mill at the beginning of the podcast, asking Wait, you guys like each other? She took me back! Barack Obama joked. It was touch and go for a while. Michelle Obama shot back, Now, dont you start. Robinson then chimed in: Its so nice to have you both in the same room together. I know, because when we arent, folks think were divorced, she responded. Robinson went on to recall a moment when a woman had approached him in Kansas, asking him What did he do? about his brother-in-law. It wasnt like ... what happened to him? It was like, Howd he mess up? Barack Obama laughed. These are the kinds of things that I just miss, right. So I dont even know this stuffs going on, and then somebody will mention it to me, and Im all like, What are you talking about? he added. Michelle Obama continued: There hasnt been one moment in our marriage where Ive thought about quitting on my man. And weve had some really hard times and weve had a lot of fun times, a lot of adventures, and I have become a better person because of the man Im married to. OK, dont make me cry now, right at the beginning of the show, Barack Obama responded. Michelle Obama had previously addressed rumors about their 32-year marriage earlier this year, including why she decided to not attend the inauguration. My decision to skip the inauguration, what people dont realize or my decision to make choices at the beginning of this year that suited me were met with such ridicule and criticism, she said on a different episode of her podcast. People couldnt believe that I was saying no for any other reason that they had to assume that my marriage was falling apart. 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! Imagine zooming through the Chinese countryside at 600 km per hour? A British vlogger recently had an up-close look at a prototype of China's latest superconducting maglev train at the China National Railway Track Test Center in Beijing. Larry Ellison dropped out of college before co-founding what eventually grew into one of the worlds biggest tech companies. The fortune he amassed propelled him to the ranks of the uber-rich, and he has now eclipsed Mark Zuckerberg to become the worlds second-wealthiest person. His success has been accompanied by a well-documented history of lavish living. That lifestyle which includes megayachts, private planes, trophy properties and the purchase of a Hawaiian island sometimes brings about controversies. Heres what you need to know about Ellisons life and career. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison is another Trump backer. Credit: AP Who is Larry Ellison and how much is he worth? Ellison is the co-founder and largest shareholder of Oracle, a software giant that became famous for its namesake database which underpins many of the worlds largest corporate operations. More recently, the company has found success in the competitive market for cloud computing infrastructure, which is dominated by rivals such as Amazon.com. It was so polarising that it led to the groups demise. Undeterred, Ure and Rich Kids bandmate (and influential club DJ) Rusty Egan co-founded Visage, the New Romantic frontrunners who had a hit in 1980 with the song Fade To Grey. In the decades since, Ure has become one of musics most reliable practitioners, successfully proving there is a world in which guitars and synthesisers can co-exist, first with his post-Visage band Ultravox, and then as a solo artist. Midge Ure in 1981. Credit: Syndication International And though the days of releasing hit singles may be behind him, his catalogue is blessed with enough fan-friendly deep cuts solo chart toppers such as If I Was and mainstream hits like Ultravoxs Vienna to sustain a healthy touring schedule. In October, it will bring Ure to Australia for the aptly named Catalogue tour, in which he will perform music from throughout his career, including tracks from the ill-fated Rich Kids. (There may also be a few Thin Lizzy songs, given Ure was drafted in by frontman Phil Lynott to replace guitarist Gary Moore on a US tour supporting Journey in 1979.) I wanted to avoid the hits tour, so I called it Catalogue, but the hits managed to squeeze its way onto the tour poster, he says. Youre expected to play a lot of those anyway. But I dug deep and started looking at songs that should have been singles in retrospect, and other key tracks for me. Midge Ure with Bob Geldof at the Live Aid 40th Anniversary Gala. Credit: Getty Images Theyre not all three-minute pop songs. I do things like [Ultravoxs] Your Name (Has Slipped My Mind Again), which is a long, atmospheric, filmic thing. The idea for the Catalogue tour stemmed from a similarly themed 2023 concert at Londons Royal Albert Hall to mark Ures 70th birthday. Given Ure has now joined the likes of Bruce Springsteen and Robert Plant in the ranks of septuagenarian musicians still going strong, it raises the question: is rocknroll no longer just a young persons game? Its totally changing! says Ure. Im reading a book called Hope I Get Old Before I Die [by David Hepworth], and its all about the fact that at Live Aid, something changed. There were no youngsters on Live Aid, the youngsters were in their mid-to-late thirties. Ultravox and Spandau Ballet were the youngsters. McCartney was 48 when he did Live Aid, and we all thought of him as an old guy! So it all changed at that point and became more about whether you were good or not as opposed to whether you were new or not. No matter the magnitude of Ures achievements, the spectre of Live Aid which this month marked its 40th anniversary and 1984s Band Aid charity single Do They Know Its Christmas? will forever loom large. Ure co-wrote the song with Bob Geldof, who spearheaded the project to fight famine in Ethiopia. Bob came to mine with a song he didnt tell me at the time that hed kind of half written and played to The Boomtown Rats, who thought it was shit, laughs Ure. It wasnt a great song. It felt like we were trying to make a silk purse out of a sows ear. It had no chorus, there were no repeating bits, there was nothing that people could latch on to. Ure recorded the music and arranged Do They Know Its Christmas? over a four-day session in his home studio. Geldof, meanwhile, set about enlisting some of Britains biggest pop stars to sing on it, including Bono, Boy George, George Michael, Simon Le Bon and Sting. Maybe tenacity and desperation of trying to get [the song] done and out there was what drove it through in the long run, says Ure. As a record it worked incredibly well, and that was due to the fact we had some of the best artists that the UK had to offer lending their name and their fan base. Though well into his sixth decade as a performer, Ure says he will get the same buzz walking onstage at his Australian dates that he felt as a teen watching artists such as Led Zeppelin and The Carpenters at The Apollo in Glasgow. If you dont, youre dead, he says. Theres something not right. Im still enthusiastic about it. You know why? Because its too much like hard work if you dont feel it. 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 The accusations of Opposition Leader Sussan Ley and Nationals senator Bridget McKenzie that Anthony Albaneses trip to China has just been a shallow photo opportunity shows how little the Coalition has learnt from its own failures in the Morrison years (Great photo ops, not a lot of tangible outcomes, July 17). Julie Bishop, one of Australias most successful foreign affairs ministers, realised that diplomacy involved both the establishment of warm relationships as well as engaging in hard negotiations. Under Bishop, our relationship with China prospered. It was no surprise that when Bishop was replaced by the less subtle Marise Payne, serving under the self-confessed bulldozer Scott Morrison, our relations with China (as well as France) fell apart. The proof that a charm offensive works is evidenced by the fact that Australias exports to China are booming again thanks to the expert way Anthony Albanese, Penny Wong and Don Farrell have played the diplomatic game. Mike Reddy, Vincentia Credit: Cathy Wilcox No matter what we may think or report about China, history shows you do not get a reception like the one received by our PM unless you are highly regarded and respected (China and Xi give Albanese a warm welcome, July 16). Anthony Albanese has done his research and hit just the right behavioural and responsive notes to Chinese cultural sensitivities and expectations. No one since Whitlam has blazed this trail, and no one could have done better and accomplished more to recalibrate our relationship with the Middle Kingdom. Frederick Jansohn, Rose Bay After a rare private dinner with Xi Jinping, I see some media outlets going on and on about how Anthony Albanese has not met Donald Trump, as if this is a bad thing. What upside is there for him to meet Trump? Like other world leaders who have met him, Albanese is likely to be confronted with a series of questions and questionable facts from Trump, leaving him to accept what is said and be humiliated, or confront Trump and end up doing more harm than good. The next best time for an Australian PM to meet a US president will be in February 2029, after the next election. Christopher Noel, Cremorne Point China rolled out the red carpet for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese this week. Credit: Dominic Lorrimer Portly dispositions I am intrigued at how the federal opposition recently pressed Anthony Albanese to be transparent in his discussions with Chinas Xi Jinping when negotiating the return of the Port of Darwin, now in the hands of Chinese company Landbridge (Albanese says Taiwan status quo remains, July 17). As it turned out, the issue was not raised between the two leaders. Chinas Premier Li Qiang, however, has expressed concerns about Albaneses commitment to end Landbridges ownership of the port. It was Tony Abbotts government that set the ball rolling a few days before he was toppled by his own party in September 2015. The Northern Territory was encouraged to proceed with a 99-year lease of the Port of Darwin to Landbridge, owned by billionaire Ye Cheng, who has close links to the Chinese Communist Party, for the sum of $506 million. This agreement was strongly opposed by the Labor Party at that time. Neil James, a former executive director of the Australia Defence Association, called it an inexcusable stuff-up. It is therefore clear that we would not be even having this conversation if the Coalition had not gotten us into this mess in the first place. The upshot is that there is no doubt the Chinese leadership will side with Ye Cheng, who has expressly stated the port is not for sale. Frank Carroll, Moorooka (Qld) Advertisement Labor wants to bring the Port of Darwin back under Australian ownership. Credit: Getty Images Defence is theft In the argument about defence (Letters, July 17), President Dwight Eisenhowers speech about defence expenditure is often quoted. Perhaps we might reflect on his comments, made in 1953: Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and not clothed. Says it all, really. John Crowe, Cherrybrook Friends with PBS benefits I never thought Id see the day when Id appreciate something Donald Trump has done. But now, thanks to him, we have a rare moment of what Ive long hoped for: both sides of parliament working consensually on an issue (Trumps pharma threats unite Labor and Coalition, July 17). It is so good to see the opposition shifting from its standard operating procedure of bagging the government to one of bipartisanship in defence of the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, resulting in a rare moment of public unity. Of course, at the same time the opposition spokesman couldnt resist bagging the prime minister. And since that was for still not having secured a meeting with President Trump, wed have to ask what on earth would that achieve for Australia, in light of all that weve seen about the outcomes of such meetings when other world leaders have met him, cap in hand. Anne Ring, Coogee Advertisement Card sharks Your correspondent Stein Boddington makes good points about surcharges added to card users at point of sale (Letters, July 17). As a matter of principle, I do not apply card surcharge in my business (more than 95 per cent of turnover is paid by card). I regard the cost as a business expense and price my product accordingly. However, I have never understood why the alleged card service cost imposed by the bank is levied as a commission, or percentage on the sale. In what way is their cost tenfold for a $200 transaction compared with a $20 transaction? As for cash, clearly there are substantial costs in handling cash, with Armaguard being extended a further large lifeline to transport cash. Now we are also charged to deal with tellers at a bank. Card transactions or cash transactions, banks should just do their job, charge their customers appropriately and stop extorting them by charging commissions on card sales. John Affleck, Sydney Housing solution While Premier Chris Minns searches for new housing solutions following the Rosehill Metro collapse, developers enthusiasm for Woollahras potential as a transit-oriented development proves that stations attract investment (Developers circle Woollahra ghost station, July 17). As a qualified planner, Ive repeatedly urged the Minns Cabinet (since opposition) to follow what became their own Metro West Reviews recommendation to reopen the case for Lilyfield. As it stands, the completed Metro West tunnel now passes just north of Leichhardt Oval, and while that iconic ground shouldnt be sold, the surrounding suburb is ripe for a strategic upscale to medium and high-density apartments, as well as a new local centre, connected to neighbouring areas. A Lilyfield Metro West station could support such development, greatly increasing the chance of meeting inner Sydney housing targets. If a mere fraction of that $5 billion previously offered to Racing NSW for Rosehill were put toward completing and backfilling a basic station cavity in Lilyfield by the lines projected opening in 2032, then like Woollahra now, developers could handle the rest whenever the city was ready. One thing Im sure of in a century, no one will question such a decision. But the existing 4.5-kilometre gap between new stations in Five Dock and The Bays? The fact this was left unaddressed so close to the CBD in still low-rise, car-dependent suburbs will no doubt be condemned. Nathan English, Balmain A train passes through the half-built Woollahra train station. Credit: Louise Kennerley Considering that all Chris Minns has achieved with his housing projects is to raise current house prices around all proposed transport orientated development sites by 10 per cent, I dont know why the current residents of Woollahra would object to opening a train station and the subsequent developments that follow. Todd Hillsley, Homebush Advertisement Tiny home, big potential While I applaud the effort to produce approval-ready plans for the state governments Housing Pattern Book, they completely missed a trick by not coming up with a proper definition of a tiny home so that people could apply to build them legally, instead of having to work around the issue of non-approval by building them as a caravan on a trailer. This method compromises the height and the room width, making them less habitable under National Construction Code standards. A carefully considered tiny home standard that would provide certainty for both DIY and factory builders of these gems would put affordable housing at the fingertips of many more people than the governments plan book ever will, and enable local councils to approve them as dwellings, not just as caravans. Then they could be used for permanent accommodation, not just temporary, which is the restriction for normal caravans. If youve never seen one, understand that tiny homes are nothing like a caravan, except they sometimes have wheels under them. Affordable? Yep! A really nice tiny home could be built for less than $150,000 on your own land or in a factory and towed to your land. Mark Walker, Kempsey Your correspondent David Rohr makes an excellent point regarding residential housing block infill in light of the state governments Housing Pattern Book initiative (Letters, July 17). Utilising even modest backyard space for granny flat-style homes would immediately add to the housing supply rather than sacrificing perfectly adequate structures in the name of newness. Many a backyard could benefit from such additions it would just take a similar design initiative for modest one- and two-bedroom dwellings with the corresponding streamlining of the local government approvals process. Macquarie Street might also consider what incentives might be offered to homeowners and builders to encourage this repurposing of the traditional housing block even in space-deprived inner-city suburbs. Mid- and high-rise projects should not be the only glittering answer to the housing crisis. Bradley Wynne, Croydon Credit to Husic Ed Husic deserves credit for joining the growing chorus of lawyers, academics and civil society voices warning against the overreach of the special envoys report on antisemitism (Former minister breaks ranks on antisemitism report, July 17). By calling the report heavy-handed and questioning the push to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition, Husic gives voice to a real concern: that this approach could narrow the space for legitimate criticism of Israels actions in Gaza. We dont need laws that confuse moral clarity with hate. Fernanda Trecenti, Fitzroy (Vic) Advertisement Lessons unlearned Dennis Bluths suggestion regarding the final result for the seat of Bradfield, that we should leave it up to the court, is a fair one (Letters, July 17). However, this in no way proves that the usual pundits who suggest the Liberal Party has a born-to-rule attitude are wrong. The born-to-rule attitude has always stained the Liberal and the National parties, and the current stances, for instance, of Angus Taylor and Michaelia Cash, who demand that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese follows their directions on relations with China and the crumbling USA, proves that their drubbing at the recent election has not altered this in the slightest. Ian Usman Lewis, Armidale John Jarratt as Mick Taylor in the film Wolf Creek 2. Advertisement A 26-year-old man accused of running a drug dealing network selling goods procured by the Comancheros has been arrested in dramatic scenes in Sydneys eastern suburbs, with police also seizing more than $20,000 cash from his Double Bay home. Mitchell Hewerdine, 26, was arrested at the property on Wednesday by a strike force set up to probe the supply of drugs, money laundering and outlaw motorcycle gang connections of two Sydney men. Arrest vision shows Hewerdine lying on the nature strip outside the home as two undercover police officers dressed in running clothes cuff him and sirens wail in the distance. Police allege that he directed a network of young males to supply prohibited drugs across the Sydney metropolitan area. Two of those men Jayden Stacker, 21, and Isaac Kennedy, 25 are now before the courts on drug supply charges. A north shore church is a step closer to transforming into a multi-storey development as faith lobby groups push for more religious sites to be given high-rise futures to answer Sydneys housing prayers. The Sydney North Planning Panel has given the green light for St Andrews Anglican Church in the heart of Lane Cove town centre to become an eight-storey building with a redeveloped church, 48 units, a community facility and a 150-space car park. The Lane Cove church has received the green light for an $80 million redevelopment. Credit: Lane Cove Council The approval of the $80 million development comes after the proposal was met with a baptism of backlash when residents and community groups raised alarms over potential traffic impacts, noise and loss of heritage. Resident Carolyn Levin, who lives next to the 102-year-old site, said the noise and public disturbance from people using the community facility late at night and trying to get home will be terrible. As shocked bystanders watched, they were shoved into the back of a stolen black SUV and warned to co-operate or your family will be involved, Beckett said in her sentencing remarks. The owners of the car park and barber shop are not accused of any wrongdoing. Despite the victims protests that they had the wrong people, the couple were blindfolded and driven 200 kilometres north of Sydney to a remote shed near the coastal village of Swan Bay. Inside, they were told to hand over $500,000 for their release. [The couple are] plagued by physical injuries, anxiety and nightmares. Victim impact statement Two unknown men arrived, and one asked: Whose finger they would cut off and how much they would pay to avoid it? Both victims offered themselves to spare the other. The man was struck three times and his middle finger was partially severed. When his partner cried out, she was hit and told there were many bodies buried here. The couples eyes, mouths and noses were taped and the unknown men left. After the assault, Ilimotama and Baka bandaged the mans wound using a cable tie, then drove the couple to a house where they were tied to chairs. Ransom demands ranged from $500,000 to $5 million, and phone calls were heard with the big man who wanted half of their payment in cryptocurrency. The hostages were forced to remain there overnight, but this was not the plan. Ilimotama and Baka expressed frustration that theyd been effectively left to babysit and feared theyd get in trouble if they left. They threatened to pour fuel over their parents if they tried to call the police. The woman was forced to hand over her fathers phone number, and he later received the message we have scouts everywhere, watching every move. The kidnappers warned that others were coming who would not be so nice. Then Ilimotama and Baka left the blindfolded couple. Taking their chance to escape, the pair managed to untie themselves and flee into rugged bushland. After an hour of walking, they found a rehabilitation centre, where staff called police, and they were taken to hospital. The next day, the womans father received threatening messages about things getting 10x worse and a warning that whilst they had not hurt the girl, they would start breaking moral codes and that police were not to be contacted. Otherwise attacks would commence at all angles [the victim] has f---ed with Australias biggest and baddest crew, Beckett read from one message. Days later, Baka threw a petrol bomb at the south-west Sydney home of one of the victims parents. As it landed near the front door, neighbours rushed to help extinguish the flames. The next day, a note in the mailbox demanded: 1 mil sent to the bill account provided. The kidnappers detained the couple for 36 hours. Credit: NSW Police Police found Bakas fingerprints on the letterbox note. At the kidnapping site, they discovered the burnt-out remnants of the stolen SUV, both offenders DNA and fingerprints and other evidence corroborating the victims account. The brothers were arrested in April 2023. Victim impact statements outlined how the couples lives were changed forever and how they remained plagued by physical injuries, anxiety and nightmares. The parents described how they thought they and their children would die. Beckett said the victims faced an extreme level of terror and would have been held for longer than 36 hours if they hadnt escaped. While parts of the plan showed some degree of forethought and professionalism, others seemed clumsy, including the apparent lack of back-up. The judge said the motive was clearly ransom, but it is not known what, if any, involvement the victims or their family had with the criminal element, or if indeed it was simply a case of mistaken identity. While neither Ilimotama nor Baka were the apparent ringleaders, they were essential and significantly involved. The judge found the brothers were not the leaders of the criminal enterprise but were essential. Credit: NSW Police The acts included a violent apprehension of the victims as they went about in their community, restraining them, transporting them, blindfolding them and thereafter guiding them, taping them, shackling them and demanding funds from them and being present whilst others assaulted them, she said, noting neither offender committed the physical assaults but witnessed them. The victims were taken and held at a remote and isolated and unfamiliar location, making it difficult for them to seek help ... Their escape required them to navigate heavy bushland before finding help, which must have been a very frightening experience indeed. Loading Ilimotama was convicted of two counts of kidnapping in company with intent to ransom and occasion actual bodily harm, one count of being carried in a conveyance taken without the owners consent, and one count of participating in a criminal group. He was sentenced to seven years and six months jail, with a non-parole period of five years. Baka was convicted of the same offences, plus damaging property by fire. He was sentenced to six years and eight months prison, with a non-parole period of four years. Parents frustration at a Brisbane childcare centre has been laid bare, with many learning of serious abuse allegations against a staff member through journalists and now weighing up if they should permanently withdraw their children. Police confirmed early on Thursday they had arrested a 21-year-old man from Cleveland. He was charged with indecent treatment of a young person at Milestones Early Learning in Tingalpa on July 10. When media arrived outside the centre before pick-up, irritated staff called police and told reporters they could not take photos of the building. A father picking his child up from Milestones Early Learning in Tingalpa expresses his frustration at the lack of transparency. Credit: William Davis They were still yet to let parents know what had happened a full week after the alleged offence occurred. It shouldnt be remotely surprising that Anthony Albaneses trip to Beijing this week has turned out to be as much about Donald Trumps America as it has been about Xi Jinpings China. Trumps chaotic, look-at-me style of governing is designed precisely to that end, to ensure everyone else is focused on his policy priorities and has been positioned to accede to them. Illustration by Simon Letch Credit: For once, though, it wasnt Trump who was disrupting a comfortable narrative of an Australian leader confidently rebuilding ties with China without first having broken bread with a new White House in Washington. The skunk at Albaneses party was Trumps top policy official in the Pentagon, Elbridge Colby, with demands that Australia commit to joint war planning over Taiwan as part of the AUKUS deal to buy US nuclear-powered submarines. On Friday, Albanese concludes a six-day, three-city visit to China, where he has met and lunched with Xi Jinping, courted up-and-coming Politburo members in Shanghai and promoted trade everywhere. In between serious matters of state, Albanese has flaunted all the retro, Whitlam-era tropes of a traditional trip to the Middle Kingdom, including a visit to the Great Wall outside of Beijing and hugging pandas in sanctuaries in the west. The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China has effectively promoted the transformation and industrialization of a large number of patents, with the industrialization rate of enterprise invention patents up from 44.9 percent in 2020 to 53.3 percent in 2024, the country's top IP official said on Thursday. Shen Changyu, head of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA), unveiled the data at a press conference, where he presented achievements in intellectual property (IP) during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) and responded to questions from the media. As of June this year, the number of valid domestic invention patents had reached 5.01 million, an increase of 13.2 percent year on year, according to Shen, while ownership of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people had reached 15.3. The country had collected about 48.96 million valid registered trademarks by June 2025, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent. ENTERPRISES FUEL INNOVATION In addition, the dominant position of enterprises in technological innovation continues to be enhanced in China, said Shen. There were 524,000 domestic enterprises that held valid invention patents in June 2025. The total number of valid invention patents held by these enterprises had reached 3.7 million -- accounting for 74.4 percent of the total number in China, an increase of 6.1 percentage points compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). Such progress was highly consistent with the fact that research and development (R&D) investment by enterprises accounts for three-quarters of total social R&D investment in China, said Shen. This indicates that the innovation capability of enterprises is continuously improving, and that they have become the main source of new technology generation, Shen added. The three fields with the highest growth rates of valid domestic invention patents in China by June 2025 were information technology management methods, computer technology and medical technology, featuring year-on-year rises of 34.1 percent, 22.7 percent and 19.8 percent, respectively. These figures were significantly higher than the average growth rate of valid domestic invention patents, Shen revealed. HIGH-VALUE INVENTION PATENTS China has promoted the implementation of a pre-patent application evaluation system centered on the assessment of industrialization prospects, in order to generate more high-value patents that meet the needs of industrial development, Shen said. The growing pool of high-value invention patents is not only a direct reflection of the continuous enhancement of China's innovation capabilities, but also a strong source of support for promoting the high-quality economic and social development of the country, said Liang Xinxin, a senior CNIPA official, at the press conference. As of last month, China had collected over 1.47 million valid invention patents in strategic emerging industries -- accounting for roughly 70 percent of the total high-value invention patents, Liang explained. A number of high-value core patents cover key areas such as artificial intelligence, new energy, green environmental protection, and life and health. Liang said that around 793,000 high-value invention patents, almost 40 percent of the total, had a duration of over 10 years, which could help the innovators retain a technological edge and generate continuous economic and social benefits. The majority of creators and users of high-value invention patents are enterprises, said Liang. At present, 265,000 enterprises in China hold over 1.65 million high-value invention patents, or 76.6 percent of the total. High-value invention patents enable enterprises to maintain a technological lead over market competition and effectively enhance their core competitiveness, said Liang. He highlighted that high-value invention patents have strongly supported regional innovation and development. Among the world's top ten science and technology clusters, four are in China, namely the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster, the Beijing cluster, the Shanghai-Suzhou cluster and the Nanjing cluster, Liang noted. Latest data shows that the added value of China's patent-intensive industries had reached 16.87 trillion yuan in 2023, accounting for 13.04 percent of GDP, said Wang Peizhang, a senior official at the CNIPA. These industries have made outstanding contributions to promoting innovation, improving efficiency and stabilizing employment, Wang added. In 2023, employment numbers in China's patent-intensive industries exceeded 50.81 million people, an increase of 4.05 million compared to 2020, said Wang. He pointed out that patent-intensive industries are becoming a "new driving force" for China's economic development. The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Shen Changyu, head of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, answers questions during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. The SCIO held a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A journalist asks questions during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. The SCIO held a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Journalists are pictured during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. The SCIO held a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Journalists are pictured during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. The SCIO held a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) The investigation into a young doctor accused of filming hospital colleagues in a toilet in Melbournes north-eastern suburbs has expanded to additional hospitals in Melbourne and regional Victoria. A Victoria Police spokesperson told The Age that several hospitals had been identified as workplaces of interest after Ryan Cho, who most recently worked at the Austin Hospital, was last week arrested and charged with stalking and use of an optical surveillance device. The 27-year-old worked at these hospitals located in Melbournes CBD and regional Victoria between 2020 and 2025, the police spokesperson said. Police are in the process of contacting the additional hospitals and those potentially impacted during the time of the mans employment. A woman critically injured in a house fire in Melbournes southeast in late May has been charged with two counts of attempted murder. Police arrested and charged the 37-year-old on Thursday morning, almost two months after the fire at the two-storey property on Terrigal Street, Chadstone. The Chadstone house fire on May 21. The woman, and two girls, aged eight and ten, were all taken to hospital in a critical condition. At the time, it was reported that a gas bottle exploded in an upstairs bedroom, and firefighters found the trio unconscious before carrying them out. Zuckerberg settles lawsuit over Cambridge Analytica scandal Washington, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg and other company board members settled a shareholder lawsuit on Thursday concerning decisions made in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. A trial over the long-running case had just begun on Wednesday, with defendants accused of overpaying the US government in 2019 when they engineered a $5 billion settlement for alleged privacy violations in the scandal. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed the settlement to AFP, without providing details. The settlement comes the same day that Marc Andreessen, one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capitalists and a board member of the company now known as Meta, was to take the stand. Zuckerberg himself was expected in the Wilmington, Delaware courtroom on Monday. Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel and former Meta top executive Sheryl Sandberg were also expected to face questioning in the court. Cambridge Analytica was a political consulting firm that was found to have improperly harvested personal data from millions of Facebook users for targeted political advertising, particularly during the 2016 US election and Brexit referendum. The scandal thrust Facebook and Zuckerberg in particular into a political firestorm, leading to major regulatory changes and public scrutiny of tech companies' data practices. The shareholders in the lawsuit alleged that the board members conspired to pay more to the US government in exchange for ensuring that Zuckerberg would not be named personally for wrongdoing in the settlement. Longtime observers of the company were hoping that the trial would expose inside details of how Zuckerberg and the Facebook executives handled the scandal. Zuckerberg was under huge pressure at the time from US and European lawmakers amid widespread allegations that Russia and other bad actors were weaponizing Facebook to sow chaos around major elections in the West. The multi-faceted case also alleged insider trading at the time of the events, with board members to be questioned about the timing of their share sales before the scandal was made public. Zuckerberg settles lawsuit over Cambridge Analytica scandal Washington, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg and other company board members settled a shareholder lawsuit on Thursday concerning decisions made in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. A trial over the long-running case had just begun on Wednesday, with defendants accused of overpaying the US government in 2019 when they engineered a $5 billion settlement for alleged privacy violations in the scandal. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed the settlement to AFP, without providing details. A spokesman for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, declined to comment. Lawyers for the defendants and shareholders didn't immediately return requests for comment. The settlement comes the same day that Marc Andreessen, one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capitalists and a Meta board member, was scheduled to take the stand. Zuckerberg himself was expected in the Wilmington, Delaware courtroom on Monday. Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel and former Meta top executive Sheryl Sandberg -- both former board members -- were also expected to face questioning in the court. Cambridge Analytica was a political consulting firm that was found to have improperly accessed personal data from millions of Facebook users for targeted political advertising, particularly during the 2016 US election and Brexit referendum. The scandal thrust Facebook and Zuckerberg in particular into a political firestorm, leading to major regulatory changes and public scrutiny of tech companies' data practices. The shareholders in the lawsuit alleged that the board members conspired to pay more to the US government in exchange for ensuring that Zuckerberg would not be named personally for wrongdoing in the settlement. - High-profile case - Longtime observers of the company were hoping that the trial would expose inside details of how Zuckerberg and the Facebook executives handled the scandal. "This settlement may bring relief to the parties involved, but it's a missed opportunity for public accountability," said Jason Kint, the head of Digital Content Next, a trade group for content providers. He worried that Meta "has successfully remade the 'Cambridge Analytica' scandal about a few bad actors rather than an unraveling of its entire business model of surveillance capitalism and the reciprocal, unbridled sharing of personal data." Zuckerberg was under huge pressure at the time from US and European lawmakers amid widespread allegations that Russia and other bad actors were weaponizing Facebook to sow chaos around major elections in the West. The multi-faceted case also alleged insider trading at the time of the events, with board members to be questioned about the timing of their share sales before the scandal erupted. The high-profile case was expected to bring further attention to Delaware, the state that many US companies choose for incorporation due to its highly specialized courts. The trial was presided over and to be decided by Kathaleen McCormick, the same judge who last year rejected Elon Musk's multi-billion pay package at Tesla. Tesla has since chosen to reincorporate in Texas and reports said that Meta was also considering a different state to register its business empire EU mega budget hits immediate German opposition Brussels, Belgium, July 16 (AFP) Jul 16, 2025 The European Union executive on Wednesday proposed a two-trillion-euro long-term budget focused on tackling overseas competition and Russian aggression, but it was quickly shot down by Germany, the bloc's largest member. Germany said it was "unable to accept" the $2.3-trillion budget for 2028-2034, which EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called "the most ambitious ever proposed". Farm unions also quickly came out against proposed reforms to the blocs huge agriculture subsidies. The plan seeks to bolster Europe's security and ramp up competitiveness, against a backdrop of soaring trade tensions with the United States, while paying off debts from a massive Covid-era loan. The European Commission put 451 billion euros on the table under a broad "competitiveness" tag that encompasses defence and space -- together allocated 131 billion euros, a five-fold increase. The budget earmarks up to 100 billion euros for the reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine -- as well as substantial new "flexibility" funds kept available in event of crises. But German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement that "a comprehensive increase in the EU budget is not acceptable at a time when all member states are making considerable efforts to consolidate their national budgets." Germany also opposed the commission call to make companies with a turnover of more than 100 million euros pay more tax. While Germany says the budget is too large, many EU lawmakers accuse it of not leaving sufficient funds for priorities such as climate adaptation and the agriculture subsidies that make up the biggest share of the budget. Budget commissioner Piotr Serafin said under the commission's plans, 300 billion euros would remain to support farmers -- against around 387 billion euros, of which 270 billion in direct payouts, under the current seven-year budget. - 'Black Wednesday for farmers' - Brussels says there would be an overhaul of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies -- with some funding moved to other budget columns. But the future of the CAP is headed for a fight, with farmers warning against cuts to their slice of the EU pie -- and marching Wednesday in Brussels to show their resolve. Hundreds of European farmers joined a protest outside the commission building in Brussels organised by a pan-European agriculture lobby group, Copa-Cogeca. The group described it as a "Black Wednesday" for farmers, accusing Brussels of seeking to "dismantle the 'common' nature of the CAP through concealed budget cuts". The warning raised the spectre of another confrontation after last year's protests across Europe by farmers upset at cheap imports, low margins and the burden of environmental rules. Hungary, a staunch critic of Brussels and Russia's closest ally in Europe, meanwhile tapped into the rural anger ahead of the plan's release -- while slamming the money for Kyiv. "Ukraine would get a massive funding boost, while European farmers lose out," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. - Battle lines drawn - The announcement sets the stage for two years of fraught negotiations between the European Parliament and 27 member states. Already stretched thin, some states, such as Germany, are unwilling to contribute more to the common pot. Unlike in the previous budget, the EU has debts due from the Covid pandemic, when states teamed up to borrow 800 billion euros to support the bloc's economy. These are estimated to cost 25-30 billion euros a year from 2028. The previous 2021-2027 budget was worth around 1.2 trillion euros and made up from national contributions and money collected by the EU such as customs duties. National contributions will grow slightly, from 1.13 percent of member states' gross national income to 1.15 percent plus 0.11 percent devoted to repaying the Covid loan. The commission will also seek to raise about 58 billion euros a year collecting money directly through five instruments, including its carbon border tax and a levy on electronic waste. Member states gave a sneak peek at the fights to come. France's Europe minister Benjamin Haddad hailed the commission's "ambition" but Dutch finance minister Eelco Heinen -- representing one of the frugal states -- said the proposed budget was "too high". Members of the EU parliament, however, made it clear the budget was not enough in their view. "However you try to package this, what we have is a real-terms investment and spending freeze," said a joint statement from the EU lawmakers tasked with steering the budget through parliament. Taipei holds air raid drill to prepare for Chinese attack Taipei, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Taipei's normally busy streets will come to a brief standstill on Thursday when air raid sirens send thousands of people into underground shelters in a rehearsal for a Chinese attack. The annual civilian drill is being held in cities across Taiwan this week, alongside military training, to prepare the self-governed island for a potential Chinese invasion. While Communist China has never ruled Taiwan, Beijing insists the island is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to bring it under its control. At 1:30 pm (0530 GMT) sirens will be heard across Taipei, bringing the capital city of 2.5 million people to a halt for half an hour. Traffic will be required to stop and people will be directed into shelters, including underground car parks and subway stations. The drills will also involve simulating war-time aid distribution and a mass-casualty event. Since taking office last year, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te has sought to raise public awareness of the threat posed by China. Of the drills, 25-year-old Oscar Wang said: "I think this is necessary because tensions across the strait are so high right now." "So it's important to let us ordinary people become more familiar with evacuation routes," he told AFP. - 'Reality of modern warfare' - Taiwan is also keen to show the world, especially its key security backer Washington, that it is serious about boosting its defence capability. Taiwanese regular troops were joined by the largest-ever mobilisation of reservists for the 10-day "Han Kuang" military drills, which end Friday. Rather than only repelling a Chinese attack on its shores, Taiwanese troops this year have also practised fighting invading forces in city streets. "It is as much training as acclimating the Taiwanese population to the reality of modern warfare," said Kitsch Liao of the Atlantic Council, a US think tank. Heavily armed troops carrying US-provided anti-aircraft Stinger missiles stormed Taipei's metro system in a night-time exercise. High-tech mobile missile launchers from the United States also have been positioned around the capital and elsewhere, in full view of the public. And shoppers in a Taipei supermarket recently became participants in a drill simulating a Chinese missile strike on the city. "I didn't know there was going to be a drill," Yang Shu-ting, 70, told AFP. "My heart was beating very fast and I was inevitably nervous. I think the point is to let you know where you should hide if something happens." Troops have also simulated various scenarios including "grey zone harassment" -- tactics that fall short of an act of war -- and "long-range precision strikes", defence officials have said. Several minor collisions involving military vehicles during the exercises highlighted the challenge of manoeuvring through Taiwan's narrow streets. Defence expert Chieh Chung said such mishaps were "difficult to avoid" in urban areas. "In Taiwan, many roads and bridges create significant limitations for armoured vehicles when they move through," said Chieh, a researcher at the Association of Strategic Foresight in Taipei. "So this becomes a problem and obstacle for both attacking and defending forces." Iraq shopping mall fire kills at least 60 Kut, Iraq, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 A fire tore through a shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut overnight, killing at least 60 people, authorities said Thursday, as grief-stricken families searched for missing relatives. Officials have launched an investigation into the blaze, the latest in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected. At least two people told AFP they lost five relatives who had gone to the newly opened Hyper Mall for shopping and dinner. "The tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified," the interior ministry said in a statement. Wasit province governor Mohammed al-Miyahi told the official INA news agency the victims include men, women and children. A medical source in Kut told AFP there were "many unidentified bodies". Rescuers were still searching for the missing, an AFP correspondent reported from the scene. Civil defence teams rescued more than 45 people who were trapped inside the five-storey building, which includes a restaurant and a supermarket, the interior ministry said. The blaze broke out late Wednesday, reportedly starting on the first floor before rapidly engulfing the building. The cause was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded. Ambulances were still ferrying casualties to hospitals as late as 4:00 am, with wards in Kut -- around 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad -- overwhelmed. An AFP correspondent said the mall had only opened five days earlier and reported seeing charred bodies at the province's forensic department. Though the fire was eventually contained, firefighters continued searching for missing victims. Videos posted on social media showed distraught relatives waiting at the hospital for news, some collapsing in grief. One man sat on the ground, pounding his chest and crying out, "Oh my father, oh my heart". Dozens of people gathered outside the hospital checking ambulances as they arrived, some of them overcome with emotion. - 'We couldn't escape' - One of them, Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, said he lost five family members in the fire. "A disaster has befallen us," he told AFP. "We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home. "An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted -- and we couldn't escape." Governor Miyahi declared three days of mourning and said local authorities would file a lawsuit against the mall's owner and the building contractor. "The tragedy is a major shock... and requires a serious review of all safety measures," he said. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a "thorough probe" into the fire to identify "shortcomings" and prevent further incidents. Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani, Shiite Islam's highest authority in Iraq, offered condolences to the victims' families. Safety standards in Iraq's construction sector are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, is often the scene of fatal fires and accidents. Fires increase during the blistering summer as temperatures approach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). In September 2023, a fire killed at least 100 people when it ripped through a crowded Iraqi wedding hall, sparking a panicked stampede for the exits. In July 2021, a fire in the Covid unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people. VIENTIANE, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The Lao government has convened a high-level meeting to set key priorities for the second half of the year and beyond, with a focus on strengthening the economy, improving infrastructure, and maintaining national stability. The Lao government's first open meeting for 2025 was held in the capital Vientiane from Tuesday to Wednesday. During the meeting, the participants reviewed national progress, approving a mid-year report and plans to advance key tasks. Migration, defence on agenda for German chancellor's first UK visit London, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 The UK hoped to win a firm commitment on Thursday from Germany to change its law to help smash people smuggling gangs as well as boosting defence ties, Prime Minister Keir Starmer's office said, as Chancellor Friedrich Merz began his first official visit to London. The visit comes a week after undocumented migration to the UK was high on the political agenda during a state visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron. As well as signing the first "friendship treaty" between their countries, Starmer and Merz were expected to unveil a new deal to jointly produce defence exports such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets. They were also expected to commit to developing their deep precision strike missile with a range of more than 2,00 kilometres (1,250 miles) in the next decade. "Chancellor Merz's commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome," Starmer said ahead of the visit. His office said it was hoped the German legal changes could be made "this year". Undocumented migration has become a major headache for Starmer's year-old Labour government, as support for the upstart anti-immigrant Reform UK party soars. More than 22,500 would-be asylum seekers have arrived on England's southeastern coast by small boat from northern France this year alone. The "friendship treaty" also seeks to improve post-Brexit ties with its neighbours. - Brexit trauma - Macron's trip was the first state visit by a European Union head of state since Brexit -- the UK's acrimonious 2020 departure from the bloc. A German government source said of the visit "we shouldn't underestimate" how much relations with the UK had improved since the "traumatic" experience of Brexit. Starmer said the accord would be a "foundation on which we go further to tackle shared problems", echoing last week's Anglo-French talk of common challenges. The two leaders were also to discuss continued support for Ukraine, with both London and Berlin expected to play a role in US President Donald Trump's plan to send weapons to Kyiv with financing from other NATO countries. The visit is Merz's first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Starmer several times, including on a trip by train to Ukraine just days after he took office in early May. The wide-ranging new treaty between Germany and Britain will refer to the turbulent security situation that both countries face and include a mutual defence pact. "There is no strategic threat to one which would not be a strategic threat to the other," the text was expected to say, alongside a pledge that the two countries "shall assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack". While Britain and Germany already have a commitment to mutual defence as NATO members, the treaty is expected to pave the way for greater defence cooperation, including in weapons development and operations on NATO's eastern flank. The two countries already signed a landmark defence agreement in October and in May said they would begin developing the strike missiles. - Train links - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul was to accompany Merz on the visit and was expected to meet his British counterpart, David Lammy. On migration, Merz's government is expected to make a commitment to modify German law by the end of the year to criminalise the facilitation of "illegal migration". This will include action against storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal small boats intended for Channel crossings. On transport, the two countries will commit to improving train connections. Last month Eurostar said it planned to launch a new route from London to Frankfurt in the early 2030s, which would be the first such direct connection between the UK and Germany. Drone hits oil field in Iraq's Kurdistan for second day Arbil, Iraq, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 A drone loaded with explosives struck an oil field in Iraq's northern Kurdistan region on Thursday, Kurdish forces said -- the second attack in two days on the Norwegian-operated site. "At 10:55 am (0755 GMT) a new attack by an explosives-laden drone hit" the DNO-operated Tawke field in Zakho disrict, Kurdistan's counterterrorism services said. No casualties or damage were reported. Similar attacks on Wednesday forced the Norwegian firm to suspend operations at the Tawke and Peshkabir oil fields. Another two attacks targeted an oil field operated by the US firm Hunt Oil in Duhok province. In the past few weeks, Kurdistan has seen a spate of unclaimed drone attacks, which have come as the regional government and the federal authorities in Baghdad wrangle over control of export revenues from the Kurdistan fields. Several oil fields in the region have been hit in the space of a week. The Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) -- which represents international oil firms in the region, including DNO, and Hunt -- condemned the attacks Wednesday. It added that the majority of its members have suspended production "totalling over 200,000 barrels per day". Long plagued by conflict, Iraq frequently experiences such attacks, often linked to regional proxy struggles between Iran and the United States and its ally Israel. There has been no claim of responsibility for any of the past week's attacks, and Baghdad has promised an investigation to identify the culprits. But a Kurdish official, who requested anonymity, blamed the recent attacks on the Popular Mobilisation Forces -- Hashed al-Shaabi in Arabic -- a coalition of pro-Iran former paramilitaries now integrated into the regular armed forces. "We hold the Iraqi government responsible because they are funding the PMF, which is attacking the oil infrastructure," he told AFP Wednesday. str-rh/dv Russia says captured villages in three separate areas of Ukraine front Moscow, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Russia said Thursday it had captured Ukrainian villages in three separate areas of the front line, expanding its summer offensive despite US calls to end the fighting. Ukraine did not immediately comment on Moscow's claims. In a statement, the Russian defence ministry said its forces had "liberated" the settlements of Popiv Yar in the eastern Donetsk region, Degtiarne in the northeast Kharkiv region and Kamianske in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. Kamianske, on the banks of the Dnipro river, was home to around 2,000 people before the conflict. Degtiarne is a tiny hamlet near the Russian border, but lies in an area of the front line that Moscow's forces had not penetrated since the early months of its offensive. Popiv Yar is a small village south of the Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk. The Russian military accelerated its advances for a third consecutive month in June. Its territorial gains for that month were the biggest since November last year, according to an AFP analysis of data from the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). US President Donald Trump has given Moscow "50 days" from Monday to reach a peace deal or face bruising sanctions, but Ukraine says the Kremlin has no interest in ending the fighting and will press on regardless. French army leaves Senegal ending military presence in west Africa Dakar, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 France on Thursday formally handed back its last two military bases in Senegal, leaving Paris with no permanent camps in either west or central Africa. The pull-out, which ends the French army's 65 years in Senegal, mirrors similar withdrawals across the continent, where ex-colonies are increasingly turning their backs on their former ruler. The move comes as the Sahel region faces a growing jihadist conflict across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that is threatening Gulf of Guinea nations to the south. A recent string of attacks this month in Mali included an assault on a town on the border with Senegal. France returned Camp Geille, its largest base in the west African country, and its airfield at Dakar airport, in a ceremony attended by top French and Senegalese officials. They included Senegalese chief of staff General Mbaye Cisse and General Pascal Ianni, the head of the French forces in Africa. Cisse said the handover marked "an important turning point in the rich and long military journey of our two countries". He said the "new objectives" were aimed at "giving new content to the security partnership". Senegalese troops were working "to consolidate the numerous skills gained it its quest for strategic autonomy", he added. Ianni said Paris was "reinventing partnerships in a dynamic Africa". "We are turning a page in the military history of our two countries... a very special relationship and one essential for the countries of the region," he added. Around 350 French soldiers, primarily tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, are now leaving, marking the end of a three-month departure process that began in March. After storming to victory in 2024 elections promising radical change, Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw troops from the country by 2025. Unlike the leaders of other former colonies such as junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, however, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris. - 'Sovereignty' - After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of France's staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its history. Faye's predecessor, Macky Sall, continued that tradition. Faye, who ran on a ticket promising a clean break with the Sall era, has said that Senegal will treat France like any other foreign partner. Pledging to make his country more self-sufficient, the president gave a deadline of the end of 2025 for all foreign armies to withdraw. "Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country," Faye said at the end of 2024. He maintained nonetheless that France remained "an important partner for Senegal". Faye has also urged Paris to apologise for colonial atrocities, including the massacre on December 1, 1944, of dozens of African soldiers who had fought for France in World War II. - Continent-wide pull-out - With governments across Africa increasingly questioning France's military presence, Paris has closed or reduced numbers at bases across its former empire. In February, Paris handed back its sole remaining base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of French presence at the site. The month before, France turned over the Kossei base in Chad, its last military foothold in the unrest-hit Sahel region. Coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali between 2020 and 2023 have swept military strongmen to power. All have cut ties with France and turned to Russia instead for help in fighting the Sahel's decade-long jihadist insurgency. The Central African Republic, also a former French colony to which the Kremlin has sent mercenaries, has likewise demanded a French pull-out. Meanwhile the army has turned its base in Gabon into a camp shared with the central African nation. Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will be home to a permanent French army base following Thursday's withdrawal. France intends to make its base in Djibouti, with some 1,500 people, its military headquarters for Africa. Britain seeks German help against people smuggling gangs on landmark Merz visit London, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Britain sought a firm commitment Thursday from Germany to change its law to help smash people smuggling gangs, as the two countries agreed to boost defence ties on the first official UK visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The trip comes a week after undocumented migrants also topped the political agenda during a state visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Merz signed the first ever "friendship treaty" between their countries at London's Victoria and Albert Museum before heading for talks at the PM's Downing Street office. Merz said London and Berlin had agreed an exchange programme for German and British students. Speaking in German, he said he believed allowing the "young generation" to get to know each other and their respective countries was a "good basis for the further development of our relations". The two leaders were also expected to unveil a deal to jointly produce military goods such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets, which could lead to "billions of pounds of additional defence exports," Downing Street said. They were to commit to developing a precision strike missile with a range of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) in the next decade. "Chancellor Merz's commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome," Starmer said ahead of the talks. His office said it was hoped the German legal changes could be made "this year". Undocumented migration has become a major headache for Starmer's year-old Labour government, as support for the upstart anti-immigrant Reform UK party soars. More than 22,500 would-be asylum seekers have arrived on England's southeastern coast by small boat from northern France this year alone. The "friendship treaty" also seeks to improve post-Brexit ties with its neighbours. - Brexit trauma - Macron's trip in early July was the first state visit to the country by a European Union head of state since Brexit -- the UK's acrimonious 2020 departure from the bloc. A German government source said "we shouldn't underestimate" how much relations with the UK had improved since the "traumatic" experience of Brexit. The friendship deal would be a "foundation on which we go further to tackle shared problems", Starmer said. The two leaders were also to discuss continued support for Ukraine, with both countries expected to play a role in US President Donald Trump's plan to send weapons to Kyiv with financing from other NATO countries. The visit is Merz's first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Starmer several times, including on a trip by train to Ukraine just days after he took office in early May. The wide-ranging treaty will refer to the turbulent security situation faced by both countries, and include a mutual defence pact. "There is no strategic threat to one which would not be a strategic threat to the other," pact says, with a pledge the two countries "shall assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack". While Britain and Germany already have a commitment to mutual defence as NATO members, the treaty aims to pave the way for greater defence cooperation, including operations on NATO's eastern flank. - Train links - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul accompanied Merz, meeting with his British counterpart, David Lammy. On migration, Merz's government is expected to make a commitment to modify German law by the end of the year to criminalise the facilitation of "illegal migration". This will include action against storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal small boats intended for Channel crossings. The two countries will also commit to improving train connections. Last month Eurostar said it planned to launch a new route from London to Frankfurt in the early 2030s - the first such direct connection between the UK and Germany. Iraq shopping mall fire kills more than 60 Kut, Iraq, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 A fire tore through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut overnight, killing at least 61 people, authorities said Thursday as grief-stricken families searched for missing relatives. Officials said many people suffocated in bathrooms, while one person told AFP his five relatives died in an elevator. The blaze -- the latest in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected -- broke out late Wednesday, reportedly starting on the first floor before rapidly engulfing the five-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall. The cause was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded. Several people told AFP they lost family members -- and in some cases whole families -- who had gone to shop and dine at the mall days after it opened in Kut, around 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad. Footage shared on social media showed people including children standing on the roof, calling for help. An AFP correspondent reported seeing charred bodies at the province's forensic department. Ali Kadhim, 51, said he had been shuttling between the mall and the main hospital, where the victims were taken, looking for his cousin, who is missing along with his wife and three children. Back at the mall, he waited anxiously as rescuers searched for victims in the wreckage, with an ambulance on standby. "We don't know what happened to them," he said. An AFP correspondent at the scene said the blaze had been contained and the front of the building was severely charred. The interior ministry said in a statement that "the tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified". - 'We couldn't escape' - The official INA news agency later quoted a medical source who put the toll at 63 dead and 40 injured. Wasit provincial governor Mohammed al-Miyahi told INA the victims included men, women and children. A medical source in Kut told AFP there were "many unidentified bodies". Civil defence teams rescued more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, which includes a restaurant and a supermarket, the interior ministry said. The ward of the main hospital was overwhelmed, while elsewhere, an AFP correspondent witnessed distraught relatives waiting at the forensic department for news, some collapsing in grief. One man fell apart, pounding his chest and screaming. Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, said he lost five family members in the fire. "A disaster has befallen us," he told AFP. "We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home. "An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted -- and we couldn't escape." - Lax safety regulations - Moataz Karim, 45, rushed to the mall at midnight, only to be met with the devastating news that three of his relatives were missing. Hours later, he identified the charred bodies of two relatives, one of whom had begun working at the shopping centre three days ago. "There is no fire extinguishing system," he said angrily, as he waited for further news outside the forensic department. Safety standards in Iraq's construction sector are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, often experiences fatal fires and accidents. Fires increase during the blistering summer as temperatures approach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). In September 2023, a fire killed at least 100 people when it ripped through a crowded Iraqi wedding hall, sparking a panicked stampede for the exits. In July 2021, a fire in the Covid unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people. Governor Miyahi said local authorities would file a lawsuit against the mall's owner and the building contractor. "The tragedy is a major shock... and requires a serious review of all safety measures," he said. The government declared three days of mourning. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a "thorough probe" into the fire to identify "shortcomings" and prevent further incidents. Several countries, including Egypt, Iran and France, offered condolences to Iraq and the victims' families. The US embassy in Baghdad likewise offered "its deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims". US 'moving at haste' to get Ukraine weapons under Trump plan: envoy Brussels, Belgium, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 The United States is moving to get weapons to Ukraine quickly under President Donald Trump's plan for Europe to buy arms, and is weighing selling Patriot air defence systems from its own stocks, Washington's envoy to NATO said Thursday. "We are all moving with haste to facilitate this and get this done, and, you know, I think things are actually moving very quickly," US ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker told journalists. "But I can't verify a date that this will all be completed." Trump on Monday announced a deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte for European NATO states to buy US weaponry -- particularly advanced Patriot systems -- and give it to Kyiv. The move marked a pivot for the US leader as his patience has worn thin with Russia's President Vladimir Putin for frustrating efforts to halt the war in Ukraine. European countries -- including Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden -- have expressed willingness to buy the weaponry for Kyiv. But questions have been raised over where the systems will come from and how soon they can get to Ukraine as the war-torn country faces unprecedented Russian bombardments. Whitaker said that there was an "ongoing conversation" about whether the United States would sell Patriots already available in its own military stockpiles. "We're never going to put the United States at a strategic disadvantage, and we're going to make sure that we have everything we need," he said. "At the same time, I think we all acknowledge the desperate requirements that Ukraine currently, immediately needs on the battlefield and to protect their cities." Other options mooted include European countries sending their systems to Kyiv now, and being able to purchase replacements as a priority from the United States. The deal comes as US allies nervously monitor a US review of its force deployments around the world. Washington has warned it could look to shift forces and weaponry away from Europe to focus more on China. Whitaker said the United States was in "daily conversations" with allies about the process ahead of possible announcements in coming months. "We've agreed to no surprises and no gaps in the strategic framework of Europe," he said. "I don't think there's a lot of anxiety. I think there's just a lot of desire to know our plan is so that there can be other planning." French army leaves Senegal, ending military presence in west Africa Dakar, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 France on Thursday formally handed back its last two military bases in Senegal, leaving Paris with no permanent army camps in either west or central Africa. Ending the French army's 65 years in independent Senegal, the pull-out comes after similar withdrawals across the continent, with former colonies increasingly turning their backs on their former ruler. The move comes as the Sahel region faces a growing jihadist conflict across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that is threatening the wider west African region. A recent string of attacks this month in Mali included an assault on a town on the border with Senegal. France returned Camp Geille, its largest base in the west African country, and its airfield at Dakar airport, in a ceremony attended by top French and Senegalese officials. They included Senegalese chief of staff General Mbaye Cisse and General Pascal Ianni, the head of the French forces in Africa. Cisse said the handover marked "an important turning point in the rich and long military journey of our two countries". He said the "new objectives" were aimed at "giving new content to the security partnership". Senegalese troops were working "to consolidate the numerous skills gained it its quest for strategic autonomy", he added. The general ended his speech with a quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the French author of "The Little Prince", who spent several months in Dakar: "For each ending there is always a new departure." Ianni said Paris was "reinventing partnerships in a dynamic Africa". "We have to do things differently, and we don't need permanent bases to do so," he said. The French general however insisted that the pull-out "takes nothing away from the sacrifices made yesterday by our brothers-in-arms in Africa for our respective interests". Around 350 French soldiers, primarily tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, are now leaving, marking the end of a three-month departure process that began in March. After storming to victory in 2024 elections promising radical change, Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw troops from the country by 2025. Unlike the leaders of other former colonies such as junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, however, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris. - 'Sovereignty' - Senegal was one of France's first colonies in Africa. After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of France's staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its modern history. Faye's predecessor, Macky Sall, continued that tradition. However Faye, who ran on a ticket promising a clean break with the Sall era, has said that Senegal will treat France like any other foreign partner. Pledging to make his country more self-sufficient, the president gave a deadline of the end of 2025 for all foreign armies to withdraw. "Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country," Faye said at the end of 2024. He maintained nonetheless that France remained "an important partner for Senegal". Faye has also urged Paris to apologise for colonial atrocities, including the massacre on December 1, 1944, of dozens of African soldiers who had fought for France in World War II. - Continent-wide pull-out - With governments across Africa increasingly questioning the presence of French soldiers, Paris has closed or reduced numbers at bases across its former empire. In February, Paris handed back its sole remaining base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of French presence at the site. The month before, France turned over the Kossei base in Chad, its last military foothold in the unrest-hit Sahel region. Coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali between 2020 and 2023 have swept military strongmen to power. All have cut ties with France and turned to Russia instead for help in fighting the Sahel's decade-long jihadist insurgency. The Central African Republic, also a former French colony to which the Kremlin has sent mercenaries, has likewise demanded a French pull-out. Meanwhile the army has turned its base in Gabon into a camp shared with the central African nation focused on training. Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will play host to a permanent French army base following Thursday's withdrawal. France intends to make its base in Djibouti, home to some 1,500 people, its military headquarters for Africa. Baghdad and Arbil agree to resume Kurdish oil exports: government Baghdad, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 The Iraqi government announced Thursday an agreement to resume crude exports from the autonomous Kurdistan region after a more than two-year halt and amid drone attacks on oil fields. Lucrative oil exports have been a major point of tension between Baghdad and Arbil, with a key pipeline through Turkey shut since 2023 over legal disputes and technical issues. The Kurdistan regional government shall "immediately begin delivering all oil produced" in the region's field to Baghdad's State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO) "for export", the Iraqi government said in a statement. The quantity should be no less than 230,000 barrels per day, and Baghdad will pay an advance of $16 a barrel. The Kurdistan regional government said in a statement it "welcomes" the deal, and hoped all agreements would be respected. Oil exports were previously independently sold by the Kurdistan region, without the approval or oversight of the central administration in Baghdad, through the port of Ceyhan in Turkey. But the region's official oil exports have been frozen since March 2023 when the arbitration tribunal of the International Chamber of Commerce in Paris ruled oil exports by the regional government illegal and said that Baghdad had the exclusive right to market all Iraqi oil. The decision halted the region's independent exports by pipeline via Turkey. Ever since, the federal and regional governments have been haggling over the production and transport costs payable to the region and its commercial partners among other financial issues. The latest agreement should also solve the long-standing issue of unpaid salaries for civil servants in Kurdistan, which has been tied to the tension over oil. The federal finance ministry will pay salaries for May once SOMO confirms it has received the oil at the Ceyhan port. The regional government said it hoped that the issue of salaries would be treated separately from any disputes. The deal comes after a tense few weeks in Kurdistan, which has seen a spate of unclaimed drone attacks mostly against oil fields, with the latest strike hitting a site operated by a Norwegian firm on Thursday morning -- the second attack in two days on the same site. There has been no claim of responsibility for any of the past week's attacks, and Baghdad has promised an investigation to identify the culprits. US delays Patriot arms deliveries to Switzerland in switch to Ukraine Geneva, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Delivery of US Patriot weapons systems to Switzerland will be delayed as Washington reprioritises to provide more support to Ukraine, the Swiss government said Thursday. The US defence department informed Bern this week "that it will reprioritise the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine, focusing on ground-based air defence" there, the Swiss defence ministry (DDPS) said in a statement. "This also affects Switzerland, which will receive its production batches later than planned," it said. US President Donald Trump on Monday announced a deal with NATO chief Mark Rutte for European NATO states to buy US weaponry -- particularly advanced Patriot systems -- and give it to Kyiv. The move marked a pivot for Trump as his patience has worn thin with Russia's President Vladimir Putin for frustrating efforts to halt the war in Ukraine. European countries -- including Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden -- have expressed willingness to buy the weaponry for Kyiv. The Swiss government statement said that the US decision to "reprioritise the delivery of Patriot ground-based air defence systems" to ensure they get to Ukraine would impact a Swiss order made three years ago. Switzerland, which is not in NATO, had ordered five Patriot systems in 2022, with delivery scheduled to begin next year and to be completed in 2028. With its traditional position of well-armed military neutrality, Switzerland would not pass on weapons systems to Ukraine. But it said that "on July 16, the US Department of Defense informed the DDPS that Switzerland would also be affected by the new prioritisation and that deliveries intended for Switzerland would be delayed". "It is currently unclear how many systems will be affected and whether the delivery of guided missiles will also be affected," it said. "No statement can be made at this stage regarding the exact timing and any further implications for Switzerland," the statement added, stressing that "clarifications are ongoing". Washington had already informed Switzerland a year ago that the country's order of the PAC-3 MSE version of the guided missiles for Patriot would be delivered later than planned, also in connection with support for Ukraine. Representatives learn about the audio-visual products of Shanxi Radio and Television Station during the 2nd television festival of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, July 16, 2025. The festival opened here on Wednesday. About 300 representatives from the SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners attended the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Li Yibo) Representatives visit the booth of YoyWow during the 2nd television festival of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries in Xi'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, July 16, 2025. The festival opened here on Wednesday. About 300 representatives from the SCO member states, observer states and dialogue partners attended the opening ceremony. (Xinhua/Li Yibo) French army leaves Senegal, ending military presence in west Africa Dakar, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 France on Thursday formally handed back its last two military bases in Senegal, leaving Paris with no permanent army camps in either west or central Africa. Ending the French army's 65 years in independent Senegal, the pull-out comes after similar withdrawals across the continent, with former colonies increasingly turning their backs on their former ruler. The move comes as the Sahel region faces a growing jihadist conflict across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that is threatening the wider west African region. A recent string of attacks this month in Mali included an assault on a town on the border with Senegal. France returned Camp Geille, its largest base in the west African country, and its airfield at Dakar airport, in a ceremony attended by top French and Senegalese officials. They included Senegalese chief of staff General Mbaye Cisse and General Pascal Ianni, the head of the French forces in Africa. Cisse said the handover marked "an important turning point in the rich and long military journey of our two countries". He said the "new objectives" were aimed at "giving new content to the security partnership". Senegalese troops were working "to consolidate the numerous skills gained it its quest for strategic autonomy", he added. The general ended his speech with a quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the French author of "The Little Prince", who spent several months in Dakar: "For each ending there is always a new departure." Ianni said Paris was "reinventing partnerships in a dynamic Africa". "We have to do things differently, and we don't need permanent bases to do so," he said. The French general however insisted that the pull-out "takes nothing away from the sacrifices made yesterday by our brothers-in-arms in Africa for our respective interests". Around 350 French soldiers, primarily tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, are now leaving, marking the end of a three-month departure process that began in March. After storming to victory in 2024 elections promising radical change, Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw troops from the country by 2025. Unlike the leaders of other former colonies such as junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, however, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris. - 'Sovereignty' - Senegal was one of France's first colonies in Africa. After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of France's staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its modern history. Faye's predecessor, Macky Sall, continued that tradition. However Faye, who ran on a ticket promising a clean break with the Sall era, has said that Senegal will treat France like any other foreign partner. Pledging to make his country more self-sufficient, the president gave a deadline of the end of 2025 for all foreign armies to withdraw. "Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country," Faye said at the end of 2024. He maintained nonetheless that France remained "an important partner for Senegal". Faye has also urged Paris to apologise for colonial atrocities, including the massacre on December 1, 1944, of dozens of African soldiers who had fought for France in World War II. A lawmaker from the president's ruling Pastef party, Guy Marius Sagna, hailed Thursday's "end to the presence of the French occupying army". "Bravo to President Diomaye Faye!... Bravo to the patriots! Decolonisation continues," he told the press. - Continent-wide pull-out - With governments across Africa increasingly questioning the presence of French soldiers, Paris has closed or reduced numbers at bases across its former empire. In February, Paris handed back its sole remaining base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of French presence at the site. The month before, France turned over the Kossei base in Chad, its last military foothold in the unrest-hit Sahel region. Coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali between 2020 and 2023 have swept military strongmen to power. All have cut ties with France and turned to Russia instead for help in fighting the Sahel's decade-long jihadist insurgency. The Central African Republic, also a former French colony to which the Kremlin has sent mercenaries, has likewise demanded a French pull-out. Meanwhile the army has turned its base in Gabon into a camp shared with the central African nation focused on training. Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will play host to a permanent French army base following Thursday's withdrawal. France intends to make its base in Djibouti, home to some 1,500 people, its military headquarters for Africa. Iraq shopping mall fire kills more than 60 Kut, Iraq, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 A fire tore through a newly opened shopping mall in the eastern Iraqi city of Kut overnight, killing at least 61 people, authorities said Thursday as grief-stricken families buried their loved ones. Officials said many people suffocated in bathrooms, while one person told AFP his five relatives died in an elevator. The blaze -- the latest in a country where safety regulations are frequently neglected -- broke out late on Wednesday and lasted into the early morning. The cause was not immediately known, but one survivor told AFP an air conditioner had exploded on the second floor before rapidly engulfing the five-storey Corniche Hypermarket Mall in flames. A civil defence spokesperson told state media that the fire erupted in the perfume and cosmetics section on the second floor. Most victims were on the upper floors, while many on the ground floor managed to escape, he said. Several people told AFP they lost family members -- and in some cases whole families -- who had gone to shop and dine at the mall days after it opened in Kut, around 160 kilometres (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad. Yasser al-Mulla, who went to the holy of Najaf to bury his relatives, told AFP "in the midst of the horror and intensity, people began to flee upwards instead of down". "It is a tragedy." The interior ministry said in a statement that "the tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms." Most of the victims were later buried in the holy city of Najaf, around 150 kilometres (95 miles) southwest of Kut, an AFP correspondent said. Local health official Jabar al-Yassiri said later in a press conference that the remains of 18 people were yet to be identified. An AFP correspondent reported seeing charred bodies at the province's forensic department. - 'We couldn't escape' - Ali Kadhim, 51, said he had been shuttling between the mall and the main hospital, where the victims were taken, looking for his cousin, his wife and their three children. Back at the mall, he waited anxiously as rescuers searched for victims in the wreckage, with an ambulance on standby. "We don't know what happened to them," he said. Wasit provincial governor Mohammed al-Miyahi told INA the victims included men, women and children. Civil defence teams rescued more than 45 people who were trapped inside the building, which includes a restaurant and a supermarket, the interior ministry said. The ward of the main hospital was overwhelmed, while an AFP correspondent witnessed distraught relatives waiting at the forensic department for news, some collapsing in grief. One man broke down, pounding his chest and screaming. Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, said he lost five family members in the fire. "A disaster has befallen us," he told AFP. "We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home. "An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted -- and we couldn't escape." - Lax safety regulations - Moataz Karim, 45, rushed to the mall at midnight, only to be met with the news that three of his relatives were missing. Hours later, he identified the charred bodies of two relatives, one of whom had begun working at the shopping centre three days ago. "There is no fire extinguishing system," he said angrily, as he waited for further news outside the forensic department. Safety standards in Iraq's construction sector are often disregarded, and the country, whose infrastructure is in disrepair after decades of conflict, often experiences fatal fires and accidents. Fires increase during the blistering summer as temperatures approach 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit). In September 2023, a fire killed at least 100 people when it ripped through a crowded Iraqi wedding hall, sparking a panicked stampede for the exits. In July 2021, a fire in the Covid unit of a hospital in southern Iraq killed more than 60 people. Governor Miyahi said local authorities would file a lawsuit against the mall's owner and the building contractor. "The tragedy is a major shock... and requires a serious review of all safety measures," he said. The government has declared three days of mourning. Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered a "thorough probe" into the fire to identify "shortcomings". Several countries, including Egypt, Iran and France, offered condolences to Iraq and the victims' families. The US embassy in Baghdad likewise offered "its deepest condolences and heartfelt sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims". Im struggling, myself, to see how enfranching those who arent grown up enough to stand in elections or marry will help restore trust in UK democracy for its not so long ago, lets remember, that parliament raised the marriage age, on the basis that children of 16 arent mature enough to enter into it. And do not believe that stuff about serving in the military. What you can do at 16 is join an army college in Hereford; youre not let anywhere near a front line until youre a regular soldier aged 18. And you can, I suppose, also legally have sex; that hardly seems a qualification for the franchise. Its a lesson to us all; which of us read the Labour manifesto closely before the election, including that bit of the small print which promised that We will increase the engagement of young people in our vibrant democracy by giving 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in all elections. Its hard to think of anyone who put the case for free speech better than John Stuart Mill in his work, On Liberty (1859): If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. If the opinion is right, they are deprived of the opportunity of exchanging error for truth: if wrong, they lose, what is almost as great a benefit, the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error. In other words, Mill makes the case especially for the protection of opinions that may be wrong, and at odds with the opinion of the majority. Annie Clark, has been touring her most recent record All Born Screaming since its release back in April last year, but skipped a run of London dates in favour of a one-off show at Royal Albert Hall. Though she brought intensity and some of her heaviest guitar lines to date to the prestigious concert venue, she largely eschewed the eccentricity and theatricality that has come to define her live shows in favour of something much more straightforward. For most artists, rattling through the hits would be nothing unexpected; but from St Vincent - an artist who once toured 2017s new wave record MASSEDUCTION as a lone absurdist figure playing guitar in front of a closed theatre curtain - sticking to convention isnt how she usually plays things. Today she is about to jet off for a quick trip to Hamilton Island, Australia, to host a party marking the launch of the H&M summer clothing line she designed. Just another day for Regan in what has been a rapid-fire few months. The summer for me starts after that first May bank holiday, she says, her mauve fringe tousled and skin glowing. We do a big family and friends camping trip in Cornwall, and then festival season begins. Anybody digitally literate would have struggled to miss Regan at Glastonbury in June, as she led best dressed galleries from British Vogue to the Standard. She goes every year, but if you didnt see her in the VIP area, its because she doesnt like it there. I give my wristbands to my parents, she says. I love being in the normal crowd with my mates. Coleman replied: I do not know specifically. They may not all have been where I worked. I cannot say any more other than that.Judge Richard Marks KC asked the defendant to clarify his stance, saying: Regardless of colour, if you co-operate with authorities and work in the Government you are a race traitor people working for Government means doing something against white people? Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan, who is charge of the Mets policing operation this weekend, said: Our policing plans for the sort of protest activity we expect on Saturday are tried and tested, with officers working hard to achieve the balance of allowing people to exercise their right to peaceful protest while avoiding serious disruption to the community and ensuring incidents and offences can be swiftly dealt with. A spokesperson for First Bus London said: Were disappointed that Unite has chosen to ballot some employees for industrial action rather than engage in constructive negotiations. Our above inflation pay offer reflects the value we put on colleagues and demonstrates our commitment to protecting staff from the rising cost of living - even in the challenging financial environment we operate in. She wrote on her Instagram story: Yesterday my phone got stolen in London (again). This is the second time in just three months. Both times, in whats supposed to be a safe neighbourhood. BAGHDAD, July 17 (Xinhua) -- An explosive-laden drone crashed on Thursday near Erbil, the capital city of the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq, as the country has been experiencing frequent drone attacks recently. The accident occurred at 1:27 a.m. Thursday local time (2227 GMT Wednesday) in the Bahirka area near Erbil city, without causing any casualties, the regional Directorate General of Counter Terrorism said in a brief statement. No group has claimed responsibility for the attempted drone attack. The past few days saw an increasing number of drone attacks targeting oil fields run by foreign companies in Iraq. On Wednesday morning, two drones struck an oil field operated by the Norwegian DNO oil company in the Faysh Khabur area, a third drone hit another DNO-operated oil field in the Tawke area, and a fourth drone hit an oil field run by a U.S. oil company in the Baadre area. On Wednesday evening, a drone hit an oil field operated by a U.S. firm in the Baadre area for the second time. On Tuesday morning, a drone hit the Sarsang oil field in Duhok province without causing casualties. On Monday, an explosive-laden drone was shot down near the Erbil International Airport, while two explosive-laden drones crashed at the Khurmala oil field in Erbil province. However, time is of the essence and we need urgent clarification that it will be a priority to see this implemented in time for the next NI Assembly election in 2027. We cannot afford any further delay. Along with Mr Jenricks claims of having opposed the route prior to his resignation in December 2023, Ms Braverman herself has said there is much more that needs to be said about the conduct of the MoD (Ministry of Defence), both ministers and officials. Sir Keir said: "The Treaty we will sign today, the first of its kind, will bring the UK and Germany closer than ever. It not only marks the progress we have already made and the history we share. Those who had worked with the British armed forces in Afghanistan required anonymity, for fear of reprisals from the Taliban. But they have been put at risk by failings at the Ministry of Defence, the firm said, in a statement. I add my voice to Pope Leos call for a return of hostages, and an immediate ceasefire to end the suffering in Gaza and bring peace to the region. I encourage you, in your homes and parishes, to pray for peace and an end to this war. He added: "Eight of my officers - and not only my officers, we were supported by colleagues from other forces as well - were assaulted last night and that is absolutely, totally unacceptable. Farhan Nizami, the centres director, has been instrumental in its development over the decades, and said about its work today: The ability to bring scholars from around the world in a safe space where they can exchange ideas we can agree to disagree when need be but also to encourage the students to come into Oxford to read for Oxford degrees. If youre unsure which Dubai-style chocolate to buy now, Professor May advises sticking with trusted retailers, like the ones youd use for your weekly shop, as products are more likely to be made for UK consumers and so are safe to eat. The fact is she loves the BBC and her job but theres only so much external noise anyone is prepared to take. LBC would suit her well as the focus remains on news-led broadcasting, they take a hard line and theres far less of the fluffy nonsense involved in working at the BBC. Gao Yunlong, vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, addresses the opening of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) business forum in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Gao Yunlong, chairman of the All-China Federation of Industry and Commerce, called for bolstering economic and trade cooperation within the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) when speaking at the opening of the SCO business forum in Beijing on Thursday. Economic and trade cooperation is a powerful engine driving the SCO's dynamic development, said Gao, also vice chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Gao said China is ready to work with other parties to further align regional development strategies, enhance the quality and level of SCO economic and trade cooperation, and ensure the stability and efficiency of industrial and supply chains. He stressed that these efforts will promote the building of an SCO community with a shared future and contribute to lasting global peace and shared prosperity. Hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the forum attracted nearly 400 participants from government institutions and the business community both at home and abroad. TOKYO, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Japan's trade surplus in June dropped 30.8 percent from a year earlier to 153.1 billion yen (about 1 billion U.S. dollars), as shipments to the United States continued to fall amid hefty tariffs, government data showed Thursday. Overall exports edged down 0.5 percent year-on-year to 9.16 trillion yen, marking the second consecutive monthly drop, while inbound shipments grew 0.2 percent to 9.01 trillion yen, according to data released by the Ministry of Finance. By region, Japan's trade surplus with the U.S. shrank 22.9 percent to 669.3 billion yen, as exports declined 11.4 percent to 1.71 trillion yen and imports dropped 2.0 percent to 1.04 trillion yen. Automobile shipments to the U.S. slipped further to a decline of 26.7 percent in value terms as a result of the higher tariffs U.S. President Donald Trump imposed on Japanese cars and other products. Overall, exports rose 3.6 percent during the first half of 2025, while imports increased 1.3 percent. As a result, Japan ran a trade deficit of 2.22 trillion yen in the first half, down 34.2 percent from the previous year. (1 Japanese yen equals about 0.007 U.S. dollar) Pedestrians pass by the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria, on July 16, 2025. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) A man riding a motorcycle passes by the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria, on July 16, 2025. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows the General Command building of the Syrian Army damaged in Israeli airstrikes in Damascus, Syria. Syrian local media and witnesses said on Wednesday that Israel launched a wave of airstrikes on Damascus, targeting high-profile government and military sites in a dramatic escalation. At least five missiles struck the Syrian Army's General Command headquarters and the defense authority compound in Umayyad Square, a symbolic heart of state authority. Additional strikes hit the vicinity of the Al-Shaab presidential palace situated on a mountain overlooking the capital. The Syrian health authorities reported that at least one civilian was killed and 19 others injured in the strikes. The General Command building suffered extensive damage, and several adjacent government buildings and roads were left in ruins. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua) The Constitutional Court of Romania rejected, on Thursday, as unfounded, the complaint of President Nicusor Dan regarding the Law on certain measures to combat antisemitism and xenophobia, as well as the prohibition of organizations, symbols and acts of a fascist, legionary, racist or xenophobic nature. The decision to reject the complaint was taken unanimously. This is the first notification sent by Nicusor Dan to the CCR since taking office as President of Romania. In essence, the Constitutional Court says that the law criticized by Nicusor Dan is clear, precise and predictable, and in a democratic European society "it cannot be accepted that the values and principles of some ideologies, which have founded political and institutional mechanisms for the physical extermination of entire population groups, eliminating human dignity itself, be protected by invoking the right to freedom of expression". In a press release sent on Thursday, the Constitutional Court says that it has found that, in relation to the criticisms formulated by President Nicusor Dan, the provisions of art.I point 2 [with reference to art.1 of GEO 31/2002], of art.I point 3 [with reference to art.2 letter b) ind.1 of GEO no.31/2002], of art.I point 5 [with reference to art. 3 paragraph (1) of GEO 31/2002], of art.I point 6 [with reference to art. 4 paragraph (2 ind.1) of GEO 31/2002], of art.I point 7 [with reference to art. 4 paragraph (2 ind.2) of GEO 31/2002], of art.I point 8 [with reference to art. 4 para.(3) of GEO 31/2002], of art.I point 9 [with reference to art.5 of GEO 31/2002], of art.I point 14 [with reference to art.12 of GEO 31/2002], of art.I point 15 [with reference to art.13 of GEO 31/2002] and of art.II point 1 [with reference to art.2 letter d) of Law no.157/2018] of the Law for amending and supplementing Emergency Ordinance no.31/2002 on the prohibition of organizations, symbols and acts of a fascist, legionary, racist or xenophobic nature and of promoting the cult of persons guilty of committing crimes of genocide against humanity and war crimes, as well as for amending the Law no. 157/2018 on some measures to prevent and combat antisemitism. In essence, in relation to the criticisms formulated by Nicusor Dan, the Court found that "the law subject to constitutional review is clear, precise and predictable in relation to the content of the regulation, which it related to the legitimate object and purpose of the law, which is to protect, by criminal means, the most important social values of a democratic society, based on the need to ensure the dignity of the human being and full respect for fundamental rights and freedoms". "In order to pronounce this solution, the Court held that Nazi, fascist ideology and legionnaireism are historical and political concepts that cannot be relativized by legal definitions of positive law, as they reflect historical social realities that have substantiated real criminal political regimes that have physically eliminated groups of people, practicing systemic violence, political assassinations and anti-Semitism. By their purpose, these totalitarian political regimes have violated the principles of the rule of law, human rights and democracy. Both the normative consecration of specific crimes and the purpose of the criticized law are justified and legitimate because they aim to protect, through the specific means of criminal law and with proportional guarantees resulting from the right to a fair trial that underpins the conduct of any criminal trial, the essential values and principles of democracy against acts that pose a major danger to the foundations of democratic political systems," says the CCR. The CCR specifies that this decision takes note of and falls within the framework of European democratic principles and values, being in line with the legal arguments used by the European Court of Human Rights in a rich case law. The Court recalls that, on July 10, also unanimously, it rejected as unfounded another objection of unconstitutionality for similar criticisms, formulated by parliamentarians of S.O.S. Romania, AUR and POT. "Regarding this objection, the Court motivated its rejection in a decision currently being drafted and published, on the basis of a proportionality test between the proposed legislative measures and the legitimate objective pursued by the legislator, finding that the said measures do not affect freedom of expression, conscience or access to education and culture. In a democratic European society, it cannot be accepted that the values and principles of ideologies that have underpinned political and institutional mechanisms for the physical extermination of entire population groups, eliminating human dignity itself, be protected by invoking the right to freedom of expression, in accordance with the constitutional limits provided for in art. 30 para. (7)", explains the CCR. In the notification sent to the Court, Nicusor Dan says that the Romanian state must act firmly to prevent and combat incitement to hatred, xenophobia, and discrimination of any kind, but if it does not do so in a balanced manner, with strict compliance with constitutional provisions, the effect will be the opposite. "Romanian society is strongly polarized, trust in state authorities is low, and any action by the state that relates in an unbalanced way to this polarization increases social tension and distrust in authorities," he specified. The president also points out the lack of clarity of the notion of legionnaire and fascist. "The absence of an express legal definition of the notion of legionnaire leaves room for arbitrariness in the activity of the judicial bodies (prosecutors' offices and courts) called upon to prosecute and try the two offenses provided for in art. I, points 5 and 6 of the law, which may generate non-unitary practice and legal instability at the level of society. The danger is all the more serious as the mentioned offenses are sanctioned with relatively severe penalties (imprisonment from 3 to 10 years, respectively from one to 5 years, and the prohibition of certain rights), which makes the lack of clarity of the law determine important risks to the freedom of the individual and the other procedural guarantees associated with the right to a fair trial. Similarly, the term fascist does not benefit from a legal definition, even if it is constantly used in the content of the GEO 31/2002, which raises "the same problem of non-compliance of legal texts with the standards imposed by art. 1 para. (5) of the Constitution," states Nicusor Dan. The President also says that, by comparison, the legislation of other European Union member states more precisely identifies the scope of prohibited organizations, acts, materials and symbols. Nicusor Dan also refers to the lack of clarity of the notion of fascist, legionary, racist or xenophobic materials, from the perspective of content. "It is easy to see that the cited definition is circular, because it only clarifies the meaning of the notion of materials, but their qualification as fascist, legionary, racist or xenophobic is achieved by referring to fascist, legionary, racist or xenophobic ideas, conceptions or doctrines, which does not clarify at all the significance of the attributes listed by the legislator. In other words, the very central element of the materials incriminated by art. I, point 6 of the Law is missing, which leaves room for arbitrariness in the interpretation and application of this notion by the competent judicial bodies (prosecution offices and courts)", he further states. The head of state also brings constitutional criticisms from the perspective of the right to information (art. 31 of the Constitution), access to culture (art. 33 of the Constitution) and freedom of expression (art. 30 of the Constitution). Minister of National Defense Ionut Mosteanu met on Thursday with ambassador of the State of Israel to Romania Lior Ben Dor for talks on the current stage of bilateral cooperation in the field of defense, amid the security developments in the region caused by the Russian Federation's war of aggression against Ukraine, the National Defense Ministry said in a release. Minister Mosteanu voiced Romania's openness to new forms of cooperation in areas of shared interest, with an emphasis on technical and military partnerships and investments in the national defense industry. "Romanian-Israeli defense cooperation has a solid foundation, built on trust and common goals," the minister emphasized, as cited in the release. At the end of the meeting, the two officials reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining a constant political-military dialogue and to capitalizing on the potential of the various Romanian-Israeli bilateral formats, the Ministry of National Defense said. The Electric Castle Festival, which takes place in Bontida, Cluj County, started on Wednesday evening with the Romanian music band Iris. "Cristi Minculescu and the band celebrating 35 years of career won a new generation of fans with the show held yesterday evening at Electric Castle. The emotion of their concert was quickly transformed into energy by Yousuke Yukimatsu, the DJ with an impressive life story. After surviving an aggressive cancer, the Japanese decided that life should be lived to the fullest and also convinced of the same thing the thousands of fans who danced until late into the night, to techno and break beat rhythms," reads a press release sent by the organizers to AGERPRES on Thursday. "The American superstar has arrived in Cluj, accompanied by a team of almost 100 technicians, dancers and musicians. His show will start at 10.30 pm, and he will run through all the hits of his impressive career. Winner of 10 Grammy Awards, 4 Emmy Awards, 7 AMA, Oscar nominee, Justin Timberlake also receives, as of today, the title of 'Prince of pop at the castle'. Until the most anticipated show of the day, Electric Castle offers a strong infusion of rock on the Hangar stage, with Bad Nerves and Refused, the band that chose Bontida to hold its last concert in Eastern Europe before ending a career that redefined the punk style in the 2000s. Also, known for the unique way in which they built their fan community, through viral street performances, the Irish from The Scratch are coming to Romania for the first time," the organizers also reveal. Romania's Foreign Minister Oana Toiu on Thursday said that the decision to ban entry into Romania of Chisinau Mayor Ion Ceban took into account the fact that for a long time "complicated ties" of him with representatives of the Russian Federation have been long documented. She told the RFI broadcaster that the decision by which Ceban and two other nationals of Moldova were banned from entering the territory of Romania was taken for reasons related to national security, agerpres reports. She added that the measure was not directly established by the Foreign Ministry, because such a decision or monitoring does not fall within the competence of the ministry."To us it is very important that the will of the citizens of Moldova expressed through the referendum, namely that of joining the European Union, is a will that is reflected in the upcoming elections. It is very important that they are organised correctly and, in particular, that they are guarded elections, protected from the interference of other states. and, here, Romania has gone through some experiences recently. We believe that we can be of assistance inside the European Union, and in the bilateral relationship with Moldova, to share part of the lessons we have learned, part of the tactics we have seen used in these campaigns," she said. Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan had a meeting on Thursday, at Victoria Palace, with the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Bucharest, Angela Ganninger, the discussions being focused on the prospects for strengthening bilateral relations, with an emphasis on political, economic, sectoral cooperation, as well as in the field of European affairs. According to a Government press release, the Prime Minister stressed the importance of economic relations with Germany, Romania's main trading partner and largest foreign investor, reiterating the interest in attracting new German investments in strategic sectors, agerpres reports. "The partnership with Germany constitutes a strategic priority of the Romanian Government. The executive seeks to make the most efficient use of the opportunities offered by cooperation in the field of security," the cited press release states. Approximately 6,000 pupils and theachers from more than 600 localities in Romania and the Republic of Moldova presented their booktrailers at the International Booktrailer Festival Boovie, which takes place in Cluj-Napoca, July 14-17, with the best of them having been awarded by the jury on Wednesday night, at the gala. The initiator and coordinator of this festival, Carmen Ion, told AGERPRES that the jury was thrilled with the pupils' works and that some booktrailers are even better than "what we can see on the market". According to the organizers, there were 6,148 teams participating (5,520 pupils and 628 teachers) from 492 rural localities and 122 urban localities from Romania and the Republic of Moldova. In World War II, the fighter pilots of the famed Tuskegee Airmen were given a strict order by their commander, Lt. Col. Benjamin O. Davis Jr.: Always stay with the bombers they were escorting. The German Luftwaffe would send one wave of their own fighters to attack the American bombers, and the American fighter pilots would often leave the slow and lumbering bombers behind to chase the Germans. Then another wave of German fighters would attack the vulnerable bombers. But the Tuskegee Airmen did not chase the fighters; they stayed behind to guard the bombers. The all-white bomber pilots and crews began asking for the all-Black Tuskegee Airmen to be their fighter escorts. The number of bombers that were lost dramatically went down when (the Tuskegee Airmen) were involved, says Karl Smith, a member of the Hugh J. White St. Louis Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, an organization dedicated to honoring and remembering the airmen. The Soldiers Memorial Military Museum has a new exhibit about the celebrated airmen, Tuskegee Airmen: Americas Freedom Flyers. The exhibit, which runs through Nov. 2, shows how they earned the respect of their peers even while facing institutional racism in the segregated armed forces. They always say they fought two battles. They fought one overseas and they fought one here in the United States, says Smith, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and an adviser on part of the exhibit. The Army did not allow Black people into what was then the Army Air Corps until January 1941, when Black instructor pilots were finally brought in to begin training Black pilots. They were based at the Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama, which eventually gave them their name. But they were not always called the Tuskegee Airmen, Smith says. At first, the endeavor was known as the Tuskegee Experiment, because many of the Army brass doubted Black people had the wherewithal to become pilots. The airmen soon proved them wrong. The 352 pilots deployed overseas flew nearly 1,600 missions, with one of the lowest rate of bombers lost to enemy fire in the armed services. They earned 150 distinguished flying cross medals, 744 air medals and 14 bronze stars. And they had remarkably few losses of their own just 66 of the airmen died in combat and only 32 were taken prisoner of war. And yet, they faced racism and discrimination even in the service. Smith says that German POWs being held by the Americans were allowed to go some places that the Tuskegee Airmen were not, because of the color of their skin. In 1945, a group of Tuskegee Airmen officers stationed at Freeman Army Airfield in Indiana tried to get into the segregated officers club on base. Under the command of Col. Robert R. Selway, they were denied entrance and 101 of them were arrested for mutiny. All were released within a few weeks, although one was convicted of shoving an officer; he was fined and given a dishonorable discharge. In 1949, what was by then called the Air Force held its first Fighter Gunnery Competition, determining the best crews (its the Top Gun competition). Four pilots from the 332nd Fighter Group, which was one of the Tuskegee Airmen groups, won the contest. But for years, they were not officially acknowledged as the victors. For decades, Air Force almanacs left the winners of the 1949 competition blank. The pilots were not officially recognized as the victors until 1995, 46 years after they won the meet. Just about 1,000 pilots went through the program at Tuskegee, out of 3,000 who applied. While this group was originally designated Tuskegee Airmen, the name has come to include the 15,000 support workers who were responsible for keeping them housed and fed and for getting the planes in the air. A number of women are included in this larger group, and even some white Army personnel. Part of the exhibit shows St. Louis-based people who served among the airmen. On one wall is a list of 91 compiled by Smith, though he expects there are more that he does not know about. Few of the Tuskegee Airmen are still alive including just one pilot who saw action in World War II and they are all over 100. In recent decades, they have been getting their due. Two narrative movies have been made about them if you want to learn facts, youre better off watching a documentary, Smith says and a commemorative postage stamp was issued to honor chief flight instructor, Charles Alfred Anderson Sr. In 2007, all of the Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional gold medal, one of which is included in the exhibit. Despite the constant thrum of racism, at times the airmen found their skin color to be an advantage. One, Alexander Jefferson, was shot down over France on his 19th mission. He was captured by German soldiers and taken to a POW camp in Poland. There, an American officer requested that Jefferson be housed in his barracks. That particular barracks was used by the Americans to plan escapes, forge documents and the like. The prisoners always feared that German spies were in their ranks, people who had lived in America but moved back to Germany for the war. The POWs took one look at Jefferson and knew for certain he was not a German spy. ST. LOUIS St. Louis officials have decided to suspend a program that certifies businesses as minority- and women-owned, citing the Trump administrations opposition to diversity initiatives. St. Louis Development Corp. told applicants that enforcement action by the U.S. Department of Justice prompted the agency to put the CertifySTL program on hold while it seeks legal guidance on next steps. We recognize the impact this may have on your business and operations, and we sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding during this time, read a message sent to applicants. The certification program verifies whether businesses qualify as minority- and women-owned businesses, enabling them to vie for government contracts, construction work and other deals that have minority participation requirements. The program aims to reduce barriers of growth for historically disenfranchised groups in industries like construction that are majority white and male. Thousands of local businesses have the certification. An agency spokesman confirmed the programs suspension and urged developers and contractors to contact SLDCs compliance office for details on how the decision might affect their ongoing projects. Due to changes in federal policies impacting federal funding to municipalities which operate diversity, equity and inclusion-related programming, compliance monitoring and enforcement ... have been paused until further notice while the city works to accommodate the changed federal landscape, spokesman Deion Broxton said in a statement. He said other program requirements, such as prevailing wage and city resident and apprentice utilization, would remain in effect. The Trump administration has targeted diversity initiatives across the public and private sectors, calling diversity, equity and inclusion efforts radical, harmful, divisive and discriminatory. In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that broadly outlined his administrations goals for eliminating these initiatives. It prompted national corporations to scale back or eliminate diversity programs and imperiled grant programs and federal funding across the country. Locally, a developer indicted for lying about the use of minority contractors to obtain city tax breaks is aiming to capitalize on the new administrations direction. The developer, Sid Chakraverty of Lux Living, hired the brother of U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to represent him in his federal case, arguing that the citys minority hiring law is unconstitutional. The certification program started years ago and was supervised by St. Louis Lambert International Airport until last year when SLDC took over. It now oversees certification for the entire St. Louis region. SLDCs board approved a three-year, $175,000 contract with Phoenix-based B2Gnow the same company Lambert used for the certification management software. But the agency faced months of backlogs in certifying or recertifying businesses before it halted the program due to Trumps initiative. Annie Holland, owner of The Pharos Group, a Manchester-based environmental consulting group, said she applied for recertification in September. She received no updates on her application or why it was taking so long until last week when someone from CertifySTL attributed the delay to the Trump administration. She said that message left her confused her certification as a federal disadvantaged business enterprise, a separate but similar designation overseen by the U.S. Department of Transportation, was renewed on May 30. Late Thursday, SLDC issued a statement that said its directory of minority- and women-owned certifications would remain accessible but not updated. Those with pending recertification would remain on the certification list. Companies are encouraged to call CertifySTL at 314-327-7234 or the Northside Economic Empowerment Center at 314-617-0360. BLOOMINGTON, Ill. A man from St. Louis has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to drug and weapons charges stemming from a traffic stop on Interstate 55 in McLean County. Aubrey J. Coleman, 36, appeared Tuesday before Judge Jason Chambers and pleaded guilty to two of his initial five charges, for which he received an agreed-upon sentence. Initially, Coleman was charged in March with: two counts of armed violence, Class X felonies; one count of unlawful possession of 500-2,000 grams of cannabis with intent to deliver, a Class 2 felony; one count of unlawful possession of 500-2,000 grams of cannabis, a Class 3 felony; one count of unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class 3 felony He pleaded to unlawful possession of cannabis with intent to deliver, and unlawful possession of a weapon, and was sentenced to five years on each, to be served consecutively and at 50%. The remaining charges were dismissed as a part of the plea hearing. The state was represented by Assistant State's Attorney Spencer Chikahisa, while the defense was present by Assistant Public Defender Nicole Mannen. Coleman was charged along with two other men, Markell A. Wooten, 24, of St. Louis, and Cotteris J. Thompson, 19, of Black Jack. They are set to appear in court July 29 and Aug. 28, respectively, for pretrial hearings. The charges stem from a March 10 incident in which the three men were pulled over by McLean County deputies while driving on I-55 for going below the minimum speed limit, according to prosecutors. Coleman was in the rear passenger seat, and Wooten admitted he had a suspended license. The deputy searched the vehicle after Wooten admitted the three had been smoking cannabis as they traveled, according to a prosecutor's statement. Police searched the vehicle and found an uncased loaded .45-caliber pistol under the front passenger seat and a loaded American Tactical .22-caliber rifle with a silencer attached to it inside a duffel bag in the rear storage of the vehicle. Deputies also found 72 rounds of ammunition scattered throughout the vehicle, which matched the ammo loaded in the rifle, the prosecutor said. The duffel bag also contained clothing that belonged to Coleman. Wooten told police the pistol was his and the rifle belonged to Coleman. Coleman denied this, saying only the clothing in the bag was his, not the firearm. Deputies found another duffel bag that contained 1,729 grams of cannabis, packaged into 36 individual bags, along with packaging materials and two scales. In giving the sentence, the judge noted the defendant had no criminal history, meaning either he was previously a law-abiding citizen, or he was "good at not getting caught." Coleman said it was the former. "This doesn't need to be who you are the rest of your life," Chambers said, encouraging the defendant to seek change once released. Mannen, the attorney representing Coleman, declined to comment. ST. LOUIS The St. Louis Board of Police Commissioners, in its first meeting since the state took over the city police department, approved a $6 million contract for police body cameras with a company that wasnt the chiefs choice. Utility Associates Inc., out of Decatur, Georgia, beat out Axon Enterprise Inc., of Scottsdale, Arizona, following months of controversy over the contract. The three-year deal is for 800 body cameras and 275 in-car cameras. Police Chief Robert Tracy didnt comment about the contract during the board meeting, and declined to speak about it with a reporter afterward. The focus, he said, should be on the new commissioners. Can we let it be about their day? he said. Utility has provided body cameras to St. Louis police since 2020. Utilitys previous five-year contract was up at the end of June, but it has been extending its services week-to-week this month. The Board of Police Commissioners voted to go with Utility on Thursday after the Police Boards attorney Christopher Graville indicated their backs are against the wall because the latest extension with Utility is up on Friday. Graville also said there was concern about getting the data from the videos stored over the last five years if the Police Board chose a competitor. The greatest fear, Graville said, is that we dont have access to our data. He also worried accessing it could be costly. Extending the contract with Utility would give the board time to investigate if the city could have its own storage, for example, he said. We do not have an exit strategy for our data, Graville said. Changing from Utility could also mean switching uniforms because the Utility cameras are sewn into the current officer uniforms. Police in the spring complained publicly that the Utility gear wasnt working well: Utilitys cameras have overheated, officials said, and officers sometimes have to leave patrol to return to the station to swap out batteries. The video quality wasnt as good as Axons, officials said. And the camera is in officers shirts at a spot where the view can be blocked. Graville said he gave the chief his word that he would hold Utility accountable for any issues with their products. And extending the contract gives the board time to evaluate the technology that is an emerging market, he said. Tracy had pushed for Axon, and, with Tracys influence, Axon was awarded the contract twice since September. But after Utility complained, those contracts were voided, auditors in the St. Louis Comptrollers office began reviewing the deal and now the federal government is investigating the bid process. Utility claimed Axon got one of the them through a no-bid process, and that the second was rigged to favor Axon. The city and police department received federal subpoenas for information related to the body camera contract and bid solicitation several weeks ago, according to people familiar with the matter. KMOV (Channel 4) first reported in March that the state auditor received a whistleblower complaint that process to award the bid was rigged. The Police Board commissioners didnt mention the federal investigation. When Utility executive Jason Dombkowski answered a question about whether equipment would be upgraded at no cost when newer technology comes along, Dombkowski used his time at the podium to say that he took issue with contracts that were no-bid. But he was cut off and Graville directed the conversation back to the technology topic. The board on Thursday elected as president board member Chris Saracino, who owns Bartolinos Hospitality Group, and co-owns a private security firm that employs police officers. The board also adopted board objectives. Mayor Cara Spencer said she wanted them to prioritize and center our work around the community. The board agreed. It voted unanimously on every issue except one: making Graville the board attorney. Fifteen days ago, Graville was hired as interim board attorney by the transition director of the Police Board. The new Police Board at Thursdays meeting agreed to make him their attorney, no longer interim. Only the mayor voted to abstain. Spencer had said she thought it was important to have somebody in that role who represents the city of St. Louis. Graville was born and raised in Ballwin and is a Mizzou law school graduate. He is the city attorney for Chesterfield and Des Peres. He started his career as an assistant prosecutor in Warren County trying cases of crimes against children. He told Spencer hed like to meet with her so she could learn more about his background. Afterward, surrounded by reporters, Spencer said it wasnt too late to file suit to restore the police department to local control. The new board includes Saracino, Sonya Jenkins-Gray, Eddie McVey, Brad Arteaga and Don Brown. They will serve along with the mayor under the new state law. The Police Board was appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe, who made reimposing state control of St. Louis police one of his main priorities when he was sworn into office in January. The state Legislature moved swiftly to approve a plan in March. Palestinians carry the body of a victim after an Israeli drone strike on the Holy Family church, at the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, on July 17, 2025. Two people were killed and seven others injured in an Israeli drone strike on the Holy Family church housing displaced persons east of Gaza City, Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, told Xinhua. At least 34 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) GAZA/JERUSALEM, July 17 (Xinhua) -- At least 34 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday, whereas two rockets fired from northern Gaza towards Israel were intercepted, according to Palestinian and Israeli sources. Two people were killed and seven others injured in an Israeli drone strike on the Holy Family church housing displaced persons east of Gaza City, Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, told Xinhua, adding that Parish Priest of the church Father Gabriel Romanelli is among the injured. According to local sources, the Israeli airstrike, which came shortly after members of the community performed a prayer inside the church for peace, caused significant damage to the church housing about 600 people, including those with special needs. The Israeli military said Thursday in a statement that it is aware of reports on the incident, the circumstances of which "are under review." Meanwhile, eight people were killed in an Israeli attack on aid workers in the Sudaniya area, northwest of Gaza City, and six others were killed in Israeli shelling of two residential apartments and a gathering of Palestinians in several neighborhoods of Gaza City, Basal said. A Palestinian family of seven were killed in the bombing of their home in the Jabalia area, northern Gaza, Basal said. In central Gaza, four Palestinians were killed in Israeli artillery shelling of a gathering of people east of the Nuseirat refugee camp, and five others were killed in the bombing of a displaced persons' tent inside the Abu Helu school in the adjacent Bureij camp, he said. A girl was killed and several others injured in an Israeli drone strike on displaced persons' tents northwest of Khan Younis city, southern Gaza, Nasser Medical Complex in the city reported. A young man was killed in an airstrike on the al-Mawasi area. According to Palestinian security sources, Israeli artillery shelled the northern, eastern, and southern outskirts of Gaza City, amidst helicopter gunfire. The army also blew up residential buildings in the cities of Rafah and Khan Younis. Also on Thursday, the Israeli military said in a statement that it has intercepted two rockets fired from northern Gaza towards southern Israel. No injuries or damage have been reported in the incident. Since Israel resumed its military campaign in Gaza on March 18, at least 7,750 Palestinians have been killed and 27,566 others injured, bringing the overall death toll in Gaza since the conflict began in October 2023 to 58,573, with a total of 139,607 people injured, according to data released Wednesday by health authorities in Gaza. An injured Palestinian man is treated after an Israeli drone strike on the Holy Family church, at the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, on July 17, 2025. Two people were killed and seven others injured in an Israeli drone strike on the Holy Family church housing displaced persons east of Gaza City, Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, told Xinhua. At least 34 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) Palestinians carry the body of a victim after an Israeli drone strike on the Holy Family church, at the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, on July 17, 2025. Two people were killed and seven others injured in an Israeli drone strike on the Holy Family church housing displaced persons east of Gaza City, Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, told Xinhua. At least 34 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) Palestinians carry the body of a victim after an Israeli drone strike on the Holy Family church, at the Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, on July 17, 2025. Two people were killed and seven others injured in an Israeli drone strike on the Holy Family church housing displaced persons east of Gaza City, Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Civil Defense in Gaza, told Xinhua. At least 34 Palestinians were killed in Israeli airstrikes across Gaza on Thursday. (Photo by Mahmoud Zaki/Xinhua) ST. LOUIS Federal agents have opened an investigation into a St. Louis police department contract, amid allegations that officials rigged a multimillion-dollar bid for body cameras and electroshock guns in favor of one company. Utility Associates Inc., out of Decatur, Georgia, complained months ago that the bidding process was slanted toward Axon Enterprise Inc., of Scottsdale, Arizona. This spring, auditors in the St. Louis Comptrollers office began reviewing the deal. Now sources have confirmed that federal investigators have sent subpoenas to St. Louis officials and to the police department related to the body camera contract and bid solicitation. Thursday, the citys new Board of Police Commissioners, in its first meeting since the state took over the department, is scheduled to consider the purchase of body cameras. City officials have deemed Axons bid preferable because they would provide the body cameras at a lower cost, and Utility Associates made no offer on a request for Tasers. And police officials said Axon makes a better product. But Utility officials have complained. They said the process has been unfair because the citys Supply Commission wrote the request for proposals in such a way that requested Tasers, a brand name that only Axon makes. Axon said in an email on Wednesday that it stands by its bidding practices. While we are disappointed with the decision to revisit the award, said Axon spokeswoman Alex Engel, we welcome the opportunity to continue to compete with our best-in-class products and services. Moreover, she said, the company is not aware of any evidence of wrongdoing on the part of Axon. The police department declined to comment on the federal investigation. Officials from Utility Associates declined comment for this story. St. Louis officials began discussing body cameras in 2014 after Michael Brown was shot to death by a Ferguson police officer. Some St. Louis police sergeants started using cameras on a trial basis in 2015. In 2020, after years of debate, St. Louis first purchased body cameras for officers, from Utility Associates, in a five-year, $5.78 million deal. The contract was to supply enough gear for 800 officers. But police have recently complained that the Utility gear wasnt working well: Utilitys cameras have overheated, officials said, and officers sometimes have to leave patrol to return to the station to swap out batteries. Utilitys video quality wasnt as good as Axons, officials continued, and the Utility camera is sewn into officers shirts at a spot where the view can be blocked. In September, St. Louis police Chief Robert Tracy and Axons deputy general counsel Robert Driscoll Jr. signed an agreement to piggyback off a state contract so the city could team up with Axon for body cameras. The total cost to the city: $25.5 million over five years. But critics called it a no-bid contract and raised concerns. St. Louis officials decided to nix the Axon pact and start over with a fresh round of bids, competitively this time. Axon and Utility were the only bidders. Axons bid: $1.4 million for 1,000 body cameras, $2.8 million for 300 in-car cameras, $12 million for 1,000 Tasers and free training, totaling about $16 million. Utility Associates: $5 million for 1,000 body cameras, $2.9 million for 300 in-car cameras but no bid for Tasers. The city put together a spreadsheet comparing the two companies bids. The city Supply Division recommended Axon get the contract because it replied to all line items on the bid product specification. In December, a city procurement employee emailed the police department asking if it wanted to accept the Axon bid. Not an hour later, police Lt. Daniel Chitwood said the department did. In January, Axon was officially awarded the contract. But when Utility found out about it, the company contested it to the procurement commissioner, Chris Carter. Utility said it didnt bid for Tasers because it doesnt make them. In March, the state auditor received a whistleblower complaint alleging the process to award the bid had been rigged in favor of Axon, according to a report from KMOV (Channel 4). In April, city budget director Paul Payne raised concerns about the cost and excluded money to cover the contract from the citys proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. I thought the excessive costs raised questions, Payne later recalled, and police werent at liberty to discuss it. In May, after Chief Tracy presented the police department budget to aldermen, Tracy acknowledged the problem. But he also said the Axon contract was a good deal that would provide officers with better equipment than they currently have. He blamed much of the extra attention on a lobbying campaign by Utility Associates. Youve got a product thats inferior, he said. You can say you dont like the process. That doesnt mean we did something wrong. In mid-June, Utility was contacted by the police department and told that the chiefs office was reconsidering the Axon bid and wanted to consider options to continue service with Utility before the end of June. Utilitys contract with the city ended June 30 but was extended week-to-week as the discussion continued. The city has since terminated the contract with Axon. The Police Board, appointed by Gov. Mike Kehoe, is expected to take up the issue at its Thursday morning meeting. Kehoe made reimposing state control of St. Louis police one of his main priorities when he was sworn into office in January; the state Legislature moved swiftly to approve a plan in March. ST. LOUIS Hundreds of people signed a letter this week urging Mayor Cara Spencers administration to drop municipal charges against a former citizen jail board vice president. Janis Mensah faces two-year-old resisting arrest and trespassing charges after trying to find out about conditions at the downtown City Justice Center. Now, 580 individuals, including Aldermanic President Megan Green and Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, and 32 progressive organizations say the prosecution should end. The citys priority should be overturning the deadly conditions at the city jail, the letter says, not prosecuting the very people it put in place to attempt to provide oversight. A spokesman for Spencer did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. Mensah, who uses they/them pronouns, was arrested in the summer of 2023 after former jail Commissioner Jennifer Clemons-Abdullah called the police. Clemons-Abdullah, who was hired by Mayor Tishaura O. Jones, accused Mensah of refusing to leave the jails lobby. When police arrived, they tried to arrest Mensah. Instead, police said, Mensah tensed their arms to avoid being handcuffed. Police took Mensah to the ground. Mensah was taken to a hospital for an evaluation. Mensah, during their first trial last year, said they were seeking answers about a recent jail death. The citys downtown jail was in the throes of controversy at the time, and officials had repeatedly refused jail board members requests to tour the facility and learn about conditions there, Mensah said. Mensah said they were never explicitly told to leave the jail that day and did not resist police. Mensah later resigned from the jail oversight board, citing a lack of transparency from city officials. A municipal judge last year convicted Mensah on two charges. Mensahs lawyers with the progressive nonprofit ArchCity Defenders then filed a request for a new trial in St. Louis Circuit Court. That trial is set for next week. Kcoree Warren, 44, was found last Tuesday afternoon just inside his home in the first block of Bayview Drive. He had been shot and died at a h ST. LOUIS Washington University has quietly removed many references to the universitys commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion from its websites amid rising federal scrutiny of higher education. A statement on WashU Libraries commitment to inclusion, diversity, equity, and access was taken down around July 7. Our goal is to incorporate IDEA and antiracism as an integral part of our practices, policies and culture, the now-purged statement read, in part. A few other pages that included statistics on WashUs efforts to improve student and employee diversity have also been removed. The webpages are just a few examples of whats been wiped from WashUs digital footprint amid a broad push by President Donald Trumps administration to eliminate DEI policies and programs across the United States. Universities and colleges with federal funding on the line have been especially vulnerable, and WashU is no exception. A leading beneficiary of government research spending, WashU received $732 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health in fiscal year 2024 and was second-highest recipient of NIH funding. It certainly gives me cause for concern that the university may be selling out their DEI programming and messaging for the sake of the universitys finances, said Greg Magarian, a professor of law and member of WashUs new American Association of University Professors chapter. The changes in messaging follow the universitys review of its DEI practices, prompted by presidential executive orders aimed at diversity initiatives. On May 7, WashU leadership announced a committee would examine the universitys programs and activities related to DEI. The review would likely involve changes in operations and activities as well as university communications and potential updates to websites or other materials. With public attention focused on our institutions, now is a good time for us to take stock of our efforts and make sure were approaching this important work in a manner that will be most beneficial to our community, Provost Beverly Wendland said in a press release at the time. When questioned about the removed websites, Julie Flory, vice chancellor for marketing and communications, repeated much of the press release. The review is ongoing and there may be additional changes as we continue to work toward our community-focused goals, Flory stated in an email on Tuesday. Mimi Calter, vice provost and university librarian, cited the review committee when she announced changes to WashU Libraries website. During a time of increased scrutiny from the federal government, Calter said in an email to staff dated July 7, it is prudent to review all our programs and develop mechanisms for ensuring ongoing legal compliance. Some of you have expressed concern that changes like this signal a retreat from core values, and I do understand those concerns, Calter wrote. However, it is necessary to pause school, department and unit-specific initiatives and communications at the moment to allow time for the review committee to develop guidance about our efforts in this area. A biography page for Rudolph Clay, head of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) Engagement at WashU Libraries and subject librarian for African and African-American Studies, was also removed from the libraries website. Flory did not answer a question about Clays employment status. Clay did not return a message seeking comment. Magarian acknowledged WashU may have to make trade-offs to protect the over $1 billion it has received in research funding. But hes worried about the compromises the university would be willing to make at the cost of its intellectual and academic freedom. The DEI statements, he said, showed people from marginalized communities they were welcome at WashU. None of that stuff presents any kind of legitimate legal problem, said Magarian, who specializes in constitutional law. In fact, to whatever extent the government is putting pressure on WashU to scrub this stuff... it violates the First Amendment. The message is clear Some universities have resisted the White House. Among the most prominent, Harvard University sued the Trump administration for freezing over $2.2 billion in research dollars and rejected demands that the university make certain admissions and hiring reforms. Other universities, however, have capitulated to new government directives. More locally, Missouri State University ended its DEI programs and eliminated diversity hiring policies, the Springfield News-Leader reported. University of Missouri at Columbia shut down its DEI division and ended the position of vice chancellor for inclusion, diversity and equity in 2024, citing state measures to reduce DEI programs. People are scared in higher education and, sadly, they have a right to be, said Amy Reid, Freedom to Learn senior manager at PEN America. Paulette Granberry Russell, president and CEO of National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, said its becoming more commonplace for colleges to erase DEI from their websites. The message is clear, Russell said. If you fight, you will be punished. WashU officials have mostly avoided taking public stances against federal actions. In a February op-ed, WashU Chancellor Andrew Martin and Vanderbilt University Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said research institutions should practice institutional neutrality. In April, Martins name was noticeably absent from a list of nearly 700 higher education leaders who signed onto an open letter against government intrusion. Humza Hermani, a Ph.D. student studying biomedical informatics, said removing DEI statements sent a negative message to minority students. Its a very clear indicator WashU is willing to throw students who are vulnerable or from underrepresented backgrounds under the bus to appease an administration that is actively working against higher education, Hermani said. But several pages that reference WashUs commitment to promoting DEI, or the spirit of it, remain on the universitys websites. WashU Medicines diversity statement says the school is committed to diversifying its ranks. A website dedicated to WashUs inclusion efforts still contains a front-page statement saying WashU would pursue and value equity, diversity and inclusion in all areas. And the website for WashUs Center for Diversity and Inclusion still promotes its four offices and programming for students from underrepresented or marginalized populations. Do I think that statements on websites ensure a climate of free expression or inclusion on campuses? No, Reid said. But I think theres a mild positive impact from having values such as diversity, equity and inclusion appear on websites. Its a gesture that helps people feel seen and included. While some messages promoting diversity remain, many others have been deleted or pulled from the public view. One page on equity.washu.edu, called our progress, existed until at least April 28, the last time the nonprofit Internet Archive captured a version of it. It included year-to-year data of student, faculty and staff demographics, with graphics showing WashUs share of female, Asian and Hispanic populations of students and faculty rising and its share of white students declining as well as statistics on WashUs socio-economic diversity improving. Another page called our progress timeline boasted WashUs rich history of activism and progress, with an interactive timeline showing milestones on DEI-related issues. It began in 1869, when WashU School of Law became the first chartered law school in the U.S. to admit women. The timeline charting the universitys progress also was removed sometime after April 28. JEFFERSON CITY Missouri kids could see a lot more gray hair when they return to school this fall. Legislation signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe aims to entice more older Missourians to work for the states public schools to offset ongoing personnel shortages. Under one new law, retired teachers will be able to continue filling in as substitutes and temporary teachers on a part-time basis until 2030 without losing their teacher pension benefits. The new law extends a 2022 change that was scheduled to end this year. Born out of the COVID-19 pandemic amid a shortage of substitute teachers, retirees were given the opportunity to return to the classroom without infringing on their retirement payments. An estimated 4,500 retired teachers took advantage of the law last year. While the overall cost is expected to be insignificant, the actuary for the Public Education Employees Retirement System urged caution about the change, saying it could result in teachers retiring earlier in order to begin collecting benefits while also continuing to work. That would result in fewer full-time teachers participating and contributing to the pension system. (T)hey continue to caution that the fiscal impact could be significant if the suspension of the limitations continues to be extended and effectively becomes a permanent provision, a fiscal analysis of the legislation notes. In addition to extending the teacher program, a second law aims to make it easier for older bus drivers to continue driving. Currently, for people 70 years and older who have school bus endorsements on their drivers license, the license is issued or renewed for only one year at a time. Legislation sponsored by Rep. Jim Kalberloh, R-Lowry City, changes the age limit to 75 and allows retesting to happen every two years, rather than every year. The Missouri Department of Revenue said there were 855 bus licensees last year who required yearly testing. The reliance on older residents to fill gaps in public schools comes as lawmakers continue a plan to boost teacher pay rates in order to draw more people to the profession. The budget signed by Gov. Mike Kehoe in June includes $33.4 million to help schools pay minimum salary levels. The minimum teacher salary for the school year beginning in August is $40,000. Teachers with a masters degree and at least 10 years of experience must be paid at least $46,000. The national average starting teacher pay rate is $46,526, according to the National Education Association. In the 2022-23 school year, Missouri ranked 49th in the nation in teacher pay, the NEA said. The legislation is House Bill 296. JEFFERSON CITY Amid ongoing criticism about city operations, the state auditor Thursday announced his office is investigating the St. Louis County community of Pine Lawn. Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick said the probe comes in response to a request from the citys board of aldermen, which has grappled with a citizen protest regarding city operations, as well as other problems. The request notes that the audit will be an essential element to sound financial practices and ensuring transparency and accountability in city government. Fitzpatrick said the investigation formally began Wednesday at a meeting with city officials. I want to thank city officials for inviting us in to take a closer look at not just the citys finances, but also the efficiency and effectiveness of their operations, Fitzpatrick said. In June, Mayor Terry Epps cancelled a city council meeting after a group of residents announced they planned to protest how the city of 2,700 residents was being governed. The meeting was convened four days later. Last year, there was a dust-up over the citys contract with the North County Police Cooperative. In addition, two North County Police Cooperative officers were injured while trying to arrest a man who was assaulting two Pine Lawn aldermen at a board meeting in October. The man, Daniel Metts, is the brother of Gerald Metts, the president of the aldermanic board. Police said Daniel Metts had been watching the board meeting from the audience when he rushed toward members of the board while they were seated, striking two of them with closed fists. One of the two officers used a taser in the fracas. In addition, four Pine Lawn aldermen sued several city officials in January 2024 for not making city records of public spending available to them. I know taxpayers in Pine Lawn have been less than thrilled with how the city has been managed in recent years, and we plan to give them a better understanding of how and why their municipality seems to struggle with fundamental concepts such as transparency and accountability, Fitzpatrick said. Hundreds are set to gather Thursday in Columbia to attend a summit on nuclear energy a state-run event that aims to elevate the discussion around how to meet the prospect of rising electricity demand while also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. Nuclear power could help meet both objectives and is increasingly under consideration nationally and in Missouri, nearly half a century after the last, and only, nuclear power plant was built in the state. When you put all those things together, nuclear is the only source that fills that gap, said Kurt Schaefer, the director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, in an interview after the agency announced plans for the summit. The Missouri Nuclear Summit also comes as recent state and federal policy changes could help set the table for nuclear power to become a bigger part of Missouris energy generation future, as the states power grid which burns more coal than any state but Texas undergoes a transition and coal plants are retired. In February, Ameren announced new nuclear ambitions, with long-term plans to build nuclear generation by the 2040s. The St. Louis-based utility currently operates the states lone nuclear plant in Callaway County, completed in the 1980s, which accounts for about 10% of Missouris electricity production. And in April, state officials from the DNR announced plans to host the upcoming nuclear summit, following a competitive, nationwide application process. Missouri was one of seven states chosen to host such an event by the National Governors Association and the U.S. Department of Energy. The summit will feature speakers including Gov. Mike Kehoe, a range of nuclear power experts, and local officials from Callaway County. The interest in bolstering the states generation capacity echoes concerns from utilities and others about how to meet rising energy demand from power-hungry facilities like data centers, which are proliferating in places around the country. Were kind of at the beginning of a precipice where energy demand is growing really rapidly, said Schaefer, of the DNR. Nationally, booms in commercial energy usage have so far been concentrated in certain states with notable examples like Virginia, Texas and North Dakota. Its not clear how much of a surge in electricity demand might materialize in Missouri, or how much customers of monopoly utilities, like Ameren, might be asked to pay for upgrades to the power grid largely designed to accommodate heavy users. And now, fresh policy changes from Washington and Jefferson City could shape and complicate questions about what comes next, and what type of energy generation utilities will pursue. For example, tax breaks for the countrys predominant forms of new generation wind and solar projects will come to a halt over the next couple of years, thanks to the massive spending bill passed this month by Congressional Republicans and signed by President Donald Trump. Solar currently represents most of the new power generation projects added to the grid in the U.S. Because they still offer cheap power and are comparatively quick to deploy, experts say that renewable energy projects will still be built, but soon at higher costs to customers. To meet that need, theyre still gonna build a lot of wind, solar and batteries, because thats what can be built in one to two years, said Sam Krasnow, a senior strategist in the federal energy program for the Natural Resources Defense Council. This will be a shockwave to peoples energy bills, because many projects will still go forward, but just at a higher cost to everyday people. Nuclear energy, though, is one area where the purse strings were not generally tightened in the recent spending package, and where tax breaks were preserved. Meanwhile, policies out of Jefferson City could also make nuclear power a more enticing option to utilities than it had been. A controversial bill signed this year by Kehoe enacted a practice called Construction Work In Progress, or CWIP, that enables Missouri utilities to collect money from customers to pay for projects before they are completed and operating. Such a policy could be especially relevant, and risky, if applied to big projects like nuclear plants, which can be expensive and difficult to complete. In 2023, for instance, a new nuclear plant in Georgia was finished seven years late and $17 billion over budget, bringing its overall price tag above $30 billion and marking the first time in decades that U.S. reactors were built from scratch. Schaefer says that costs and the traditionally long lag time to get a nuclear plant off the ground are key obstacles that he wants the state to examine. Financing is always an issue when youre looking at nuclear, he said. In the long run, nuclear makes a lot of sense. In the short term, it is expensive to get started. If it materializes at all, its unclear which direction nuclear development could go in Missouri, whether it comes in the form of large, conventional plants or smaller ones with new technology, called small modular reactors, or SMRs. When it announced its rekindled nuclear ambitions in February, for instance, Ameren said it was not yet committed to either approach, and that it has time to watch the development of SMRs, as it evaluates its options. I would think that all of these things are on the table for discussion, said Schaefer. ST. LOUIS COUNTY A batch of mosquitoes in the county have tested positive for West Nile virus for the first time this year, health officials announced Thursday. The virus was found in several parts of northern and western St. Louis County, officials said, but didnt provide specific locations. West Nile is the most common mosquito-borne illness in the continental United States, and reappears annually in the St. Louis region. Officials first found it in southern Illinois late last month, when a person was hospitalized. No cases of a person catching West Nile have been reported in St. Louis County, this year. This is an early warning sign, said St. Louis County Public Health Department Director Kanika Cunningham, in a press release. West Nile virus can cause severe illness, and even death, in vulnerable people. Officials have warned that this years mosquito season could be a particularly bad one, bringing a heightened risk of diseases like West Nile and encephalitis. By the end of June, hot weather and steady rains weather patterns that have continued into July were already pointing to rising mosquito numbers. And a path of scattered debris left in the wake of Mays tornado could serve as a breeding ground for even more mosquitoes, officials said. At the same time, experts warned that mosquito monitoring in Missouri could be underequipped to combat rising disease risk, with most counties in the state lacking the resources to adequately test mosquito populations. In St. Louis County last year, officials found that 22% of their traps contained West Nile-positive mosquitoes. By the end of the summer, the disease had paralyzed a Hazelwood teen and killed a resident in Lincoln County. Still, officials say, if you take the proper precautions, youll likely be safe. That includes wearing long sleeves and pants, using insect repellents and clearing your yard of standing water and scattered items that could create mosquito breeding grounds. WASHINGTON The House was expected to vote late Thursday to approve President Donald Trumps request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid as Republicans target institutions and programs they view as out of step with their agenda. The White House described the package as a test case and said that if Congress went along, more would come. The Houses approval would mark the first time in decades that a president successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress, and even then the results were more mixed. Unlike other presidents, Trump is getting almost all the cuts he requested. Opponents voiced concerns not only about the programs targeted, but about Congress ceding its spending powers to the executive branch as investments approved on a bipartisan basis are being subsequently canceled on party-line votes. No Democrats supported the measure when it passed the Senate, 51-48, in the early morning hours Thursday. Two Republicans also voted no. We need to get back to fiscal sanity and this is an important step, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters. The package cancels about $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and almost $8 billion for a variety of foreign aid programs, many designed to help countries where drought, disease and political unrest endure. The effort to claw back a sliver of federal spending comes just weeks after Republicans also muscled through Trumps tax and spending cut bill without any Democratic support. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that measure will increase the U.S. debt by about $3.3 trillion over the coming decade. A heavy blow to CPB The cancellation of $1.1 billion for the CPB represents the full amount it is due to receive during the next two budget years. The White House claims the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. The corporation distributes more than two-thirds of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming. Democrats were unsuccessful in restoring in the Senate. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies are concerned about what the cuts to public broadcasting could mean for some local public stations in their state. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said Tuesday the stations are not just your news it is your tsunami alert, it is your landslide alert, it is your volcano alert. Less than a day later, as the Senate debated the bill, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the remote Alaska Peninsula, triggering tsunami warnings on local public broadcasting stations that advised people to get to higher ground. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he secured a deal from the White House that some money administered by the Interior Department would be repurposed to subsidize Native American public radio stations in about a dozen states. But Kate Riley, president and CEO of Americas Public Television Stations, a network of locally owned and operated stations, said that deal was at best a short-term, half-measure that will still result in cuts and reduced service at the stations it purports to save. Senate passes $9B in spending cuts; TSA liquids rule could change On today's episode: The Senate passed about $9 billion in cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting; the Justice Department fired prosecutor Maurene Comey; there were new Israeli strikes in Gaza; a tropical weather system is forming over the Gulf; dangerous lightning struck in New Jersey; and Prince Harry has followed in the footsteps of his mother. Federal lawsuit seeks to stop ICE agents from arresting people at immigration courts. First the shoes went back on. Now, at US airport security, more liquid in carry-ons may be at hand. Jill Biden aide invokes Fifth to decline testimony in Republican investigation. Trump says he's highly unlikely to fire Fed's Powell after floating that idea in private. Trump slams his own supporters who are angered over how his team has handled the Epstein case. US sends third-country deportees under secrecy to the small African kingdom of Eswatini. Officials downgrade Alaska tsunami warning after 7.3 magnitude earthquake. Ex-NYPD commissioner sues NYC mayor, alleging he ran police department as a 'criminal enterprise.' Feds charge 5 in Louisiana, including 3 current or ex-police chiefs, over alleged visa fraud scheme. New York carriage horse's collapse spurs a criminal trial. Stocks bounce back after Trump says it's 'unlikely' he'll try to fire Fed chair Powell. Largest piece of Mars on Earth fetches meteoric $5.3 million at New York auction. A former All-NBA star is bound for Los Angeles, Caitlin Clark misses another game, an All-Star break trade in baseball, the NHL releases its upcoming season schedule and a former major winner is banned by a historic golf club. Pro-Palestinian protester takes issue with Israeli team at Tour de France. A fire at a mall in eastern Iraq kills more than 60 people. Netanyahu's governing coalition is fracturing. Here's what it means for Israel and Gaza. Death of Australia's 'Outback Killer' leaves whereabouts of British backpacker's body unknown. The Associated Press About this program Host Terry Lipshetz is managing editor of the national newsroom for Lee Enterprises. Besides producing the daily Hot off the Wire news podcast, Terry conducts periodic interviews for this Behind the Headlines program, co-hosts the Streamed & Screened movies and television program and is the former producer of Across the Sky, a podcast dedicated to weather and climate. Theme music The News Tonight, used under license from Soundstripe. YouTube clearance: ZR2MOTROGI4XAHRX Cuts to foreign aid Among the foreign aid cuts are $800 million for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and family reunification for refugees and $496 million to provide food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts. There also is a $4.15 billion cut to programs that boost economies and democratic institutions in developing nations. Democrats argue the Republican administrations animus toward foreign aid programs would hurt Americas standing in the world and create a vacuum for China to fill. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said the amount it takes to save a starving child or prevent the transmission of disease is minuscule, even as the investments secure cooperation with the U.S. on other issues. The cuts made to foreign aid programs through Trumps Department of Government Efficiency were having life-and-death consequences around the world, he said. People are dying right now, not in spite of us but because of us, Schatz said. We are causing death. After objections from several Republicans, GOP leaders took out a $400 million cut to PEPFAR, a politically popular program to combat HIV/AIDS that is credited with saving millions of lives since its creation under Republican President George W. Bush. Future spending fights Democrats say the bill upends a legislative process that typically requires lawmakers from both parties to work together to fund the nations priorities. Triggered by the official rescissions request from the White House, the legislation only needs a simple majority vote to advance instead of the 60 votes usually required to break a filibuster. That meant Republicans could use their 53-47 majority to pass it along party lines. In the end, two Republican senators, Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, joined with Democrats in voting against the bill, though a few other Republicans raised concerns about the process. Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the imminent successful passage of the rescissions shows enthusiasm for getting the nations fiscal situation under control. Were happy to go to great lengths to get this thing done, he said during a breakfast with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. In response to questions about the relatively small size of the cuts $9 billion Vought said that was because I knew it would be hard to pass in Congress. Vought said another rescissions package is likely to come soon. But were not there yet, he said. In 2004, Democratic Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, discussing his position on funding for Mideast military operations, infamously explained to an audience, I actually did vote for (the funding) before I voted against it. Kerrys craven attempt to have it both ways on a controversial issue cemented his reputation as the quintessential flip-flopper and likely contributed to his loss in that years presidential race. But even that historic example of shameless political pliability pales next to the antics of Sen. Josh Hawley, whose various backflips and contortions on issues that affect his constituents should earn him a spot on the U.S. Olympic gymnastics team. The latest: Hawley filed legislation on Tuesday to roll back devastating cuts to Medicaid and rural hospital funding that congressional Republicans including Hawley voted in less than two weeks earlier. It was the Missouri Republicans second 360-degree repositioning on the issue. Hawley for months this spring made national headlines by vowing to stand up against his own party on behalf of his most vulnerable constituents and prevent the gutting of Medicaid, the government-run health care system for the poor. Then this month, he voted to gut it. Now he offers legislation to un-gut it. In other words, Hawley, in true Kerry-esque fashion, was against hurting the poor in order to lower taxes for the rich before he was in favor of it. But dont worry, because now hes against it again. As of this writing, we havent heard whether Hawley has yet offered a bill to repeal his bill that would repeal the Medicaid cuts that he voted for. To anyone who has watched Hawleys career, this political pirouetting should look familiar. He won his 2016 election for Missouri attorney general with a memorable ad bashing ladder-climbing politicians for using one office to get another. Then, 10 months into his term, he announced he was running for the U.S. Senate. Hawley unseated Sen. Claire McCaskill in 2018 with a strategy of presenting himself as the true champion of protecting health care accessibility for Missourians. This at the same time that, as attorney general, he was pursuing a national Republican lawsuit to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare), which, had it succeeded, would have rendered possibly a million Missourians uninsurable. In 2023, Hawley again made a not-typical-Republican show out of walking the picket lines in support of striking autoworkers. This after a career of consistently backing his partys anti-labor stances on the minimum wage and unionization rights. Hawley has long engaged in heated anti-corporate rhetoric unusual for his party part of his faux-populist schtick. Yet this month, when push came to shove-poor-people-off-the-Medicaid-rolls, he voted for President Trumps misnamed Big Beautiful Bill of tax cuts for the rich at the expense of everyone else. Like every Republican who supported that bill, the estimated $3 trillion cost over the next decade makes a mockery of every word Hawley has ever uttered about fiscal responsibility. Hawleys legislation to roll back the Medicaid cuts he just voted for is dead on arrival in the Senate, but that doesnt matter. The whole point is to allow him to continue masquerading as populist fighter for the little guy while actually coddling the rich just like the rest of his party. As with all of Hawleys flip-flops, his most recent came with a sanctimonious explanation in which he presents his self-serving shape-shifting as something noble. Now is the time to prevent any future cuts to Medicaid from going into effect, Hawley really, truly said in a statement announcing his bill. Now is the time? Now, rather than oh, say before the cuts were approved with only Republican votes, including his? Signs persist that Hawley is still eyeing a presidential run in 2028. Trying to be all things to all voters is his apparent strategy. Ask John Kerry how well thats likely to go. DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from the deadly violence in Syria's southern province of Sweida has reached 516, as sporadic clashes broke out on Thursday between Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes after the complete pullout of Syrian interim government troops from the province at dawn. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said that Druze factions warned Bedouin residents in the Maqous neighborhood to leave before evening, raising concerns over escalating displacement, especially among Bedouin families in Sweida's countryside. "These developments risk triggering a broader sectarian conflict," the SOHR said. "Any systematic targeting of a social group poses a dangerous threat to Syrian unity," it said. "Now more than ever, Syrians must uphold values of reconciliation and mutual respect, not vengeance and exclusion." The updated death toll provided by the SOHR includes armed clashes, summary executions, and Israeli airstrikes. The escalation in Sweida began Sunday after armed members of a Bedouin tribe in the countryside of Sweida, a predominantly Druze province, reportedly assaulted and robbed a young Druze man near the town of al-Masmiyah, along the Damascus-Sweida highway. The brutal attack sparked retaliatory kidnappings, spiraling into full-scale clashes between local Druze fighters, government troops, and Bedouin militias. On Monday and Wednesday, Israel launched waves of strikes on Damascus and Sweida, claiming to prevent the Druze minority from being harmed. The attacks have met with strong condemnation from the international community. Hours after the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday, a fragile ceasefire between Syria's interim government and Druze spiritual leaders entered into effect. The United Nations refugee agency and the Norwegian Refugee Council have raised alarm over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sweida, warning that the fragile ceasefire may not be enough to stabilize the region. Inoda fishing port, seen here in this undated photo, is on the western coast of Ishigaki island, 255 miles southwest of Okinawa. (Okinawa prefecture) U.S. Air Force weather preparedness training on one of Japans westernmost islands has drawn complaints from local and regional authorities, who say they were not informed of the full extent of the exercises. The training, conducted Tuesday at the Inoda fishing port on Ishigaki Island, was the first of its kind at that location, according to a spokesman for Ishigaki citys fishery division. The city had received a request to store training equipment and material at the port, but not to use it as a training site, the spokesman said by phone Thursday. That is the problem, he said. We approved the request because it said that the training would be conducted outside of the port. The 18th Wing at Kadena Air Base said in an unsigned email Wednesday that it was conducting the drills in coordination with the Japanese government to enhance response capabilities in the event of severe weather or typhoons. We are committed to conducting safe operations as we uphold our defense commitments, the email states. The wing declined via email Thursday to provide additional details. An unnamed Ishigaki resident filed a request on June 24 with the city for the Air Force to use the port from July 7 to 31. The city authorized the docking of one fishing boat and three rubber boats and approved the installation of a prefabricated warehouse, the Ishigaki spokesman said. Training was observed at the port on Tuesday, he said. Airmen were spotted Thursday performing maintenance on the rubber boats, but no training was observed, he added. Ishigaki, part of Okinawa prefecture, is about 255 miles southwest of Okinawa and 186 miles east of Taiwan. Defense bureau officials met with Ishigaki Vice Mayor Eichiro Chinen on Wednesday and apologized for the incident, the spokesman said. Chinen asked the bureau to notify the city before any training takes place. Okinawa prefectures Military Base Affairs Division was also not informed of the training, a division spokeswoman said by phone Thursday. The division submitted phone requests to halt the drills to the U.S. Consulate General in Naha on Wednesday and the U.S. military on Thursday, the spokeswoman said. It planned to submit the same requests to the defense bureau and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Okinawa Liaison Office later that day. Training outside the facilities and areas provided to the U.S. military would lead to an even greater burden caused by U.S. bases, which is already heavy, Okinawa prefecture wrote Wednesday on X. The defense bureau acknowledged inquiries from Stars and Stripes on Thursday but did not immediately provide responses. Some Japanese government officials may speak to the media only on condition of anonymity. An Army drill sergeant at Fort Benning, Ga., posted a video on social media of soldiers being hazed under a MAGA flag. Service officials said July 16, 2025, that the incident is under investigation as a violation of regulations prohibiting political activity in uniform and on federal property. (Matthew Lucibello/U.S. Army) WASHINGTON The Army has launched an investigation after a drill sergeant posted a video on social media of soldiers being hazed under a MAGA flag, which is a violation of regulations prohibiting political activity in uniform and on federal property, the service said. Staff Sgt. Thomas Mitchell on Friday uploaded a video on TikTok showing a group of trainees performing pushups and burpees in full body armor under a banner that read, This Is Ultra MAGA Country. The video was later deleted. But Mitchell posted a second video showing the same soldiers exercising in the same location but with the flag removed, according to a Military.com report. The U.S. Army is an apolitical organization, Fort Benning spokesperson Joe Cole said Wednesday in a statement. Displaying partisan political materials in government facilities, including training areas, is prohibited under Army regulation. We will investigate the matter and address it in accordance with established policies to ensure compliance with standards of conduct and to maintain an environment free from political influence. Cole said he has seen the reporting of the issue but couldnt provide more details until the investigation is complete. Mitchell serves as an infantry drill sergeant with B Company, 2nd Battalion, 19th Infantry Regiment, 198th Infantry Training Brigade at Fort Benning, Ga. The phrase MAGA refers to President Donald Trumps slogan of Make America Great Again, which is used on merchandise such as flags and hats. The incident comes after Trumps event last month at Fort Bragg, N.C., before the Armys 250th anniversary celebration. During the presidents speech, he announced restoring the names of seven Army bases and called out his political rivals, which prompted boos and responses from soldiers. Right outside the security checkpoint for the event but still on the base two stands were selling Trump political hats, T-shirts and other paraphernalia. We dont do politics. We do warfighting on the behalf of the American people to keep everybody safe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Friday at a Turning Point USA event, a right-wing conference geared toward young Republicans. Army Sgt. Sarah Roque, 23, with her partner Zorro, a mine detection dog, was assigned to Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., since her enlistment in 2020. Roque was killed at the base in October 2024 and another soldier was charged with murder in her death. (Fort Leonard Wood) A 22-year-old Fort Leonard Wood soldier will face a court-martial in the death of another soldier whose body was found last year in a dumpster at the Missouri base. The Army Office of Special Trial Counsel on July 8 decided to move forward with charges of murder and obstructing justice against Spc. Wooster Rancy in relation to the death of Sgt. Sarah Roque. Roque was reported missing when she failed to show for morning formation on Oct. 21 and a search for her began within hours, according to the Army Criminal Investigation Division. She was found dead later that day in a dumpster near a barracks building. Rancy, a combat engineer from North Miami, Fla., was arrested three days later and has been in pretrial confinement at the Midwest Joint Regional Confinement Facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., about 240 miles northwest of Fort Leonard Wood. A date for Rancys arraignment, as well as an attorney, were not yet listed Wednesday on the Armys online court docket. Army Spc. Wooster Rancy, 21, was charged with murder in the death of Sgt. Sarah Roque, who died at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., in October 2024. Rancy now faces a court-martial. (Phelps County Sheriffs Office) The special trial counsel decided to move forward with the case following a May 6 preliminary hearing that determined there was enough evidence for a court-martial a necessary step in the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Roque is from Ligonier, Ind., and enlisted in 2020 to become a combat engineer, according to her obituary. She worked in the 5th Engineer Battalion as a bridge crewmember and boat operator from October 2020 until August 2022. She deployed to Poland as a boat operator with the 74th Multirole Bridge Company. She reenlisted in 2022 and transferred to work as a mine detection dog handler, according to her obituary. She partnered with a dog named Zorro. Former Fort Hood Pfc. Cameron John Wagenius, 21, pleaded guilty on July 15, 2025, to helping hack into computer databases and steal information for ransoms. (Rose L. Thayer/Stars and Stripes) AUSTIN, Texas A former soldier pleaded guilty to being part of a scheme to hack into the databases of telecommunications companies, steal information and then hold it for ransoms while serving at Fort Hood as a private first class. Cameron John Wagenius, 21, used the nickname kiberphant0m and worked with others and defrauded at least 10 organizations by obtaining login credentials for their protected computer networks between April 2023 and December 2024, according to court documents filed Tuesday in the Western District of Washington in Seattle. The group of hackers used a hacking tool that they called SSH Brute and transferred the stolen information through the Telegram messaging application. Then the group attempted to extort at least $1 million from each organization privately and in public forums threatening to post the stolen data on cybercrime forums and sell it for thousands of dollars. They successfully sold at least some of the stolen data and also used stolen data to perpetuate other frauds, according to the Justice Department. Wagenius was arrested Dec. 20 in Texas, according to court documents. Federal authorities did not reveal how they caught Wagenius or whether the rest of the group is still operating. Wagenius is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 6 and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, a maximum penalty of five years for extortion in relation to computer fraud and a mandatory two-year sentence consecutive to any other prison time for aggravated identity theft. Wagenius, who enlisted in June 2022 as a signal support systems specialist, previously pleaded guilty in a separate case to two counts of unlawful transfer of confidential phone records in connection with this conspiracy. The Coast Guard Centralized Service Desk in St. Louis on April 5, 2013. The CSD was established in October 2011. Members work on phone, computer and electronics issues 24 hours a day, seven days a week for for about 400 Coast Guard systems. (Ayla Hudson/U.S. Coast Guard) The commanding officer of the U.S. Coast Guards Centralized Service Desk was temporarily relieved by the service on Tuesday. The Coast Guard said via a press release Lt. Cmdr. George O. Ziwortin had been relieved due to loss of confidence, without adding further details. The phrase loss of confidence is commonly used by the military to avoid specifics when personnel are relieved of command. Lt. Kevin Garcia has assumed temporary command of the desk. The service said the temporary turnover is not affecting CSDs capabilities. Based in St. Louis, the CSD provides information technology and electronics support for about 400 Coast Guard systems, supporting everything from ship radios to VPN connections. A Coast Guard Air Station Traverse City MH-60 helicopter practices formation flying over Grand Traverse Bay, June 28, 2024. (Christopher Yaw/U.S. Coast Guard) LAKE MICHIGAN (Tribune News Service) The U.S. Coast Guard rescued five people suffering from hypothermia and seasickness after a boat was reported to be taking on water in Lake Michigan Wednesday night. The rescue effort began about 9:30 p.m. when the Coast Guard received word about the foundering vessel. It happened as a severe line of thunderstorms and heavy rain raked across the big lake. A Good Samaritan notified the Coast Guard that the boat was in distress. It had lost its rudder and was taking on water off the shore of Kewaunee, Wis., according to a news release. A helicopter crew from Air Station Traverse City, Mich., assisted with the rescue. The swift, coordinated response to last nights boating emergency was a result of countless hours of training to include training with station personnel and assets like Station Sturgeon Bay, said Lt. j.g. Nicholas Betts, public affair officer at Air Station Traverse City. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of our crew, the station crew and the command center, we were able to save five lives last night. The rescue happened during a severe thunderstorm that had winds whipping across the lake and brought heavy rain. The Coast Guard said it initially issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast about the vessel in distress and launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Traverse City. A 45-foot Response Boat crew from Station Sturgeon Bay in Wisconsin was also launched. The boats crew was rescued from the water, the Coast Guard said. They were taken to the Kewaunee Municipal Marina in Wisconsin, then brought to an emergency medical services location so they could be evaluated. While the name of the boat has not been released by the Coast Guard, officials with Michigans Bayview Mackinac Race said the boat was one of several vessels that had been traveling to Chicago to compete in this weekends Chicago Yacht Club Race to Mackinac. Boats traveling to Chicago for the Chicago Yacht Club Race To Mackinac were hit by a big storm on Lake Michigan last night, Bayview Mackinac Race staff posted on their social media page today. Our thoughts are with the crew of Red Herring; all are safe thanks to the efforts of the United States Coast Guard! Its unclear if the boat was able to be salvaged. The Coast Guard has not yet responded to a message seeking an update on the rescue effort. 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. Visit mlive.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. The Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine USS Toledo arrives at its new homeport, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, on July 12, 2025. (Scott Barnes/U.S. Navy) The Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Toledo has arrived at its new homeport, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii. The vessel had undergone a major modernization overhaul at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard, Va., the Navy said in a news release Saturday, the day of the Toledos arrival. Our crew looks forward to the new chapter for Toledo and the opportunities while operating throughout the Indo-Pacific, Cmdr. Dustin Kraemer, the subs commander, said in the release. The Toledo joins three other Los Angeles-class subs homeported in Pearl Harbor as part of Submarine Squadron 7: USS Charlotte, USS Tucson and USS Columbia. Later versions of the Los Angeles-class subs, including the Toledo, are equipped with 12 vertical launch tubes for firing Tomahawk cruise missiles, according to a Navy fact sheet. They also carry MK-48 torpedoes. Toledo transitioned to Pearl Harbor to bolster the U.S. Navys submarine presence in the Indo-Pacific region by adding a proven and capable fast-attack submarine, Cmdr. Rick Moore, a spokesman for Pacific Fleet Submarine Force, said in an email Wednesday. This homeport change supports an operational posture that optimizes our prompt response to any contingency with credible combat power, while enabling complete maneuver warfare for maritime and joint forces, he said. The Toledo replaces the USS Topeka, which was homeported at Pearl Harbor until December when it moved to the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility in Bremerton, Wash., Moore said. The Topeka is slated for decommissioning this year. Pearl Harbor is also homeport to two Virginia-class subs: USS Colorado and USS Missouri. Virginia-class submarines, which are designed for a greater range of missions and an emphasis on littoral operations, will eventually replace the Navys aging fleet of Cold War-era Los Angeles-class vessels. (Tribune News Service) A Detroit soldier captured in World War II and who died while a prisoner of war has been identified and recovered, officials said. Kenneth L. Kramer, 20, a private in the United States Army Air Force, was accounted for on June 30, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency. The organization, a unit of the U.S. Department of Defense, works to find and recover missing American military personnel. Kramer was a member of the 19th Air Base Squadron, 20th Air Base Group, when Japanese forces invaded the Philippine Islands in December 1942, the agency said last week in a statement. Fighting raged on the islands until the surrender of the Bataan peninsula on April 9, 1942, and of Corregidor Island on May 6, 1942. Officials said thousands of U.S. and Filipino service members were captured and interned at POW camps. Kramer was among those captured when U.S. forces in Bataan surrendered to the Japanese. He and the others were subjected to the 65-mile Bataan Death March and then held at the Cabanatuan POW camp, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency said. It said more than 2,500 POWs perished at the camp during the war. At its peak, Cabanatuan held approximately 8,000 American and Filipino POWs who were captured during and after the Fall of Bataan. According to the prison camp and other historical records, Kramer died on June 29, 1942, from diphtheria. He was buried along with other prisoners in the Cabanatuan Camp Cemetery in Common Grave 407. 2025 The Detroit News. Visit detroitnews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. (Leo Shane III/Stars and Stripes) Bethesda, Maryland, Apr. 11, 2013: Army veteran Ray Watkins discusses flooring options with a customer at the Home Depot store in Bethesda, Md. Watkins was unemployed for eight months after leaving the military, despite an aggressive approach to finding a new job. Despite Watkins years of expertise working in Army personnel, writing thousands of promotion recommendations and protocol documents, even he admitted that translating a military resume to civilian language was constant stress. And I was used to writing these kinds of things. I cant imagine how an infantry guy even gets started. Read the first part of Stars and Stripes 2013 series The Great Divide on how veterans are bridging the gap between their old military lives and their new civilian reality and get links to subsequent articles here. An F-35C Lightning II lands on the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington while underway in the Philippine Sea, June 20, 2025. (August Clawson/U.S. Navy) The U.S. has long been recognized for its technological edge in developing battlefield weaponry. The design work for such platforms occurs years before a system ever sees the light of day and, even after it does, still may remain a work in progress to improve it. This has been the case with the F-35 a class of single-seat, single-engine, supersonic, stealth, multirole combat fighters designed for both air superiority and strike missions. It boasts numerous capabilities including electronic warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. And, when it comes to takeoff and landing capabilities, there are three variants of the aircraft: conventional, short/vertical and carrier catapult assisted launch/assisted recovery. While the F-35 first saw the light of day in 2006, the version of the aircraft taking to the skies today is what commercial marketeers would promote as a new and much improved product. The F-35s advanced technology is so superior, it has been acquired by 18 of our allies. While the list includes our NATO allies, one country conspicuously absent is Turkey, due to its decision to obtain the Russian S-400 missile defense system. Five days after receiving its first installment of the system in July 2019, Turkey was suspended from the F-35 program. The U.S. made it clear the F-35 cannot coexist with a Russian intelligence collection platform that will be used to learn about its advanced capabilities. The first foreign nation to receive the F-35 was Israel with the first two delivered in December 2016. As of 2025, Israel has purchased a total of 42 F-35s with plans to build up to an inventory of 75 by 2028. In 2018, it became the first country to use the F-35 in combat. It should come as no surprise Israel was the F-35s first foreign purchaser. Such sales were not simply a one-way-street transaction but began a communication exchange by which aircraft performance was improved. In selling the F-35 to the Israelis, the U.S. knew they would identify technological improvements to further hone the aircrafts cutting-edge capabilities. As was noted after the F-35s 2018 first combat use, Israel introduced recommended changes overcoming critical technical and mechanical problems and provided daily feedback to the U.S. manufacturers that dramatically enhanced the F-35s reliability, maintainability and capabilities. Such recommendations have saved U.S. manufacturers billions of dollars in research in furthering its development. Israels F-35s saw combat in Iran on two occasions Oct. 26, 2024 and June 13, 2025. In these conflicts, it was deployed, along with other U.S.-made aircraft (F-15s and F-16s), in waves of 100 and 200 planes, respectively. The 2024 attacks were in retaliation for Irans earlier attacks against Israel; the 2025 attacks were to disrupt the mullahs nuclear weapons program. In the latter, Israelis innovatively extended the F-35s range by adding drop tanks without compromising the aircrafts stealth capability. Innovation has never been in short supply in Israel an asset upon which we have capitalized in developing the F-35 to be the best it can be! James Zumwalt is a retired Marine infantry officer (lieutenant colonel) who served in the Vietnam War, Panama and Operation Desert Storm. He is the author of three books and hundreds of opinion pieces in online and print publications. KABUL, July 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 20,000 Afghan refugees returned home from neighboring Iran and Pakistan in a single day on Wednesday, the state-run Radio and Television of Afghanistan said on Thursday. A total of 20,966 Afghan refugees returned to their country on Wednesday. Of the total, 20,042 were from Iran and the remaining 924 from Pakistan, the report said. All the returnees have received necessary assistance at crossing points. Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich speaks at LandEuro, an international symposium dedicated to land forces in Europe, in Wiesbaden, Germany, July 17, 2025. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes) WIESBADEN, Germany The U.S.-led NATO alliance must prepare for the possibility that Russia and China could launch wars in Europe and the Pacific simultaneously, with 2027 being a potential flashpoint year, the top American commander in Europe said Thursday. U.S. European Commands Gen. Alexus G. Grynkewich, speaking at a meeting of military and defense industrial leaders in Wiesbaden, said the situation means allies have little time to prepare. Were going to need every bit of kit and equipment and munitions that we can in order to beat that, Grynkewich said. If Chinas President Xi Jinping makes a move on Taiwan, he likely would coordinate such an attack with Russian President Vladimir Putin, opening the possibility of a global conflict, he said. That, to me, means that both of these things could happen together, said Grynkewich, who also serves as NATO supreme allied commander. Grynkewichs remarks came during a U.S. Army Europe and Africa-hosted conference, where military and industry leaders are seeking ways to ramp up weapons production across the 32-nation NATO alliance. Grynkewich, just weeks on the job as the top military officer in Europe, also said that NATO efforts are underway to get more Patriot systems into Ukraine. Im not going to reveal to the Russians or anyone else the exact numbers of weapons that were transferring or when those will happen, but what I will say is that preparations are underway, he said. Grynkewich said he also will be convening with NATO military leaders in the days ahead to look for other ways to ramp up support for Ukraine, particularly in the area of air defense. Were going to move as quickly as we can on this, he said. NATOs push to get more air defense into Ukraine comes after President Donald Trump last week said that the U.S. would provide weapons to Ukraine, via NATO, with allies footing the bill for the systems. The RheinMain Conference Center in Wiesbaden, Germany, hosts military and defense industry leaders during the LANDEURO defense symposium, July 17, 2025. (Phillip Walter Wellman/Stars and Stripes) At the RheinMain Conference Center in Wiesbaden, military and defense industry leaders were gathered for the Association of the U.S. Armys LandEuro symposium. The two-day program, which wrapped up Thursday, served as an opportunity for vendors to showcase various weapons systems. During the event, Grynkewich and U.S. Army Europe and Africas Gen. Christopher Donahue emphasized the need for closer military collaboration with industry and the need for companies to develop systems at a faster pace. The leaders also cautioned against viewing threats posed by Russia and China as separate challenges, arguing that deterrence requires a global approach. Each of these threats that are out there cannot be viewed, in my estimation, as discrete challenges. Weve got to think about how all of them are aligning, Grynkewich said. Grynkewich said a key focus for him also will be making sure that NATO allies are keeping up with recent pledges to increase defense spending to 5% of gross domestic product and that those increased investments are directed toward the right military priorities. Time is of the essence, and I intend to keep highlighting that and letting everyone know that weve got to move out and weve got to move quickly, he said. Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer, right, and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, left, with Germany's Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul, behind left, and Britain's Foreign Secretary David Lammy, behind right, as they attend a signing ceremony of a wide-ranging bilateral cooperation treaty in London, Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Frank Augstein/AP, Pool) LONDON U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a landmark treaty on Thursday that pledges to tighten defense ties, as European nations try to protect Ukraine, and themselves, from an aggressive Russia in the face of wavering support from President Donald Trumps U.S.-focused administration. Merz said it was a historic day for German-British relations as he signed an agreement that also commits the two countries to boost investment and strengthen law-enforcement cooperation against criminal people-smuggling gangs using the English Channel. We want to work together more closely, particularly after the United Kingdoms withdrawal from the European Union, Merz said. It is overdue for us to conclude such a treaty with each other. A partnership with a purpose The treaty builds on a defense pact the U.K. and Germany, two of the biggest European supporters of Ukraine, signed last year committing to closer co-operation against the growing threat from Russia. It includes a promise to assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack on the other, though its unclear what practical impact that will have, since both countries are NATO members and bound by the alliances mutual defense pact. Starmer said the treaty signed at Londons V&A Museum, which is named after Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert sealed a partnership with a purpose. We see the scale of the challenges our continent faces today, and we intend to meet them head on, Starmer said during a joint news confernce at an Airbus defense and space factory north of London. The U.K.-Germany treaty follows agreements signed during a state visit last week by President Emmanuel Macron, in which France and Britain pledged to coordinate their nuclear deterrents for the first time. Germany does not have nuclear weapons. The treaty with Britain says the countries will maintain a close dialogue on defense issues of mutual interest ... including on nuclear issues. The treaty stressed a shared commitment to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area, and underpinned by enhanced European contributions a nod to Trump, who has demanded European NATO members greatly increase military spending. Germany and the U.K. have both promised to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP in the coming years. Merz, making his first trip to the U.K. since taking office in May, said it was no coincidence he traveled to London a week after Macron. The E3 Great Britain, France and Germany are converging in their positions on foreign policy, on security policy, on migration policy, but also on economic policy issues, he said. Weapons for Ukraine Merz and Starmer discussed ways to boost European support for Ukraine, following Trumps announcement of a plan to bolster Kyivs stockpile by selling American weapons to NATO allies who would in turn send arms to Kyiv. Merz signaled that those plans are still a work in progress, saying it might take days, perhaps weeks before weapons reach Ukraine. He said that above all, we need clarity on how weapons systems that are given up from the European side will be replaced by the U.S. During the trip the leaders announced that German defense startup Stark, which makes drones for Ukraine, will open a factory in England. They also agreed to jointly produce defense exports such as Boxer armored vehicles and Typhoon jets, and to develop a deep precision strike missile in the next decade. Starmer also praised Merz for his help curbing the smuggling gangs that brought 37,000 people across the English Channel from France in small boats in 2024, and more than 22,000 so far in 2025. Dozens have died attempting the journey. Berlin agreed last year to make facilitating the smuggling of migrants to the U.K. a criminal offence, a move that will give law enforcement more powers to investigate the supply and storage of small boats to be used for the crossings. Merz committed to adopting the law change by the end of the year, a move Starmer said is hugely welcome. Student exchange trips Starmer has worked to improve relations with Britains neighbors, strained by the U.K.s acrimonious departure from the European Union in 2020. He has sought to rebuild ties strained by years of ill-tempered wrangling over Brexit terms, and worked to reduce trade barriers and to strengthen defense cooperation. But he has ruled out rejoining the 27-nation blocs single market or customs union, and has been cool to the idea of a youth mobility agreement with the EU. Britain and Germany agreed on a more limited arrangement that will make it easier for schoolchildren to go on exchange trips. I am glad we were able to reach an agreement so that schoolchildren and students can come to Britain more easily in the future, and the other way round can come to Germany more easily, so that the young generation in particular has an opportunity to get to know both countries better, Merz said. Moulson reported from Berlin. In this photo taken from video distributed by Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Thursday, July 17, 2025, a Russian serviceman operates a "Supercam" drone in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP) KYIV, Ukraine A new Ukrainian government approved Thursday will race to expand domestic arms production to meet half the countrys weapons needs within six months as it tries to push back Russias invasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. Meanwhile, Switzerland said Thursday that the U.S. Defense Department had informed it that Washington is diverting a Swiss order for Patriot air defense systems to help Ukraine, which badly needs to improve its response to increasingly heavy Russian aerial attacks. Patriot air defense systems for Ukraine The Swiss Defense Ministry, which in 2022 ordered five Patriot systems, said Thursday it has been informed by the U.S. Defense Department that it will reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine. It was not immediately clear whether the Swiss-ordered Patriots would go directly to Ukraine or would replace units in other European countries that may be donated to Kyiv. Delivery to Switzerland of the systems, worth billions of dollars, was scheduled to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2028. But the Swiss government said Washington informed it of the delay on Wednesday, adding that it was unclear how many systems would be affected. The need to adequately arm Ukraines military is pressing as Russia looks to drive forward its summer offensive after three years of war and pounds Ukrainian cities with hundreds of drones and ballistic and cruise missiles. It remains unclear when the promised U.S.-made weapons, especially the Patriot systems, might reach Ukraine. Trump has agreed to send the weaponry, but it will be paid for by European countries. No timeframe for foreign weapons in Ukraine The U.S. Ambassador to NATO, Matthew Whitaker, said he couldnt give a timeframe for when Ukraine might get extra foreign weapons. We are all moving with haste to facilitate this and get this done. Things are actually moving very quickly, but I cant verify a date that this will all be completed. I think its going to be an ongoing movement, he told reporters in Brussels. The plan is that there will be American-made defense equipment, capabilities, that will be sold to our European allies, that they will provide to Ukraine, he said. British Defense Secretary John Healey said Thursday he and his German counterpart Boris Pistorius will chair a meeting of Ukraines allies on Monday to discuss U.S. President Donald Trumps weapons plans. Healey said U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and NATO leader Mark Rutte will attend the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group. NATOs Supreme Allied Commander Europe, Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, told The Associated Press Thursday that preparations are underway for weapons transfers to Ukraine and that NATO is working very closely with Germany to transfer Patriot systems. Grynkewich said at a military event in Wiesbaden, Germany, that he had been ordered to move (the weapons) out as quickly as possible. He said the number of weapons being transferred is classified. German Defense Ministry spokesperson Mitko Muller said Wednesday he couldnt confirm that anything is currently on its way to Ukraine. Rutte, the NATO chief, said in Washington on Monday that the alliance is coordinating the military support with funding from allies in Europe and Canada. He said there were commitments from Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Canada, with more expected to follow. Ukraine now makes 40% of its own weapons Ukraines domestic defense manufacturing already accounts for almost 40% of weapons used by the Ukrainian military, according to Zelenskyy. As uncertainty grows about how many more weapons shipments Western countries can provide and how quickly Ukraine is keen to increase its output and widen its strikes on Russian soil. What we need is greater capacity to push the war back onto Russias territory back to where the war was brought from, Zelenskyy said late Wednesday in his nightly video address. We must reach the level of 50% Ukrainian-made weapons within the first six months of the new governments work by expanding our domestic production. Ukraine has also developed its own long-range drones, which it uses to strike deep inside Russia. Russian air defenses shot down 122 Ukrainian drones overnight, the countrys defense ministry said Thursday. The wave of drones caused flights to be grounded at airports in Moscow and St. Petersburg, although most of the drones were reportedly destroyed over the border regions of Bryansk and Kursk. Meanwhile, Russia attacked Ukraine with 64 Shahed and decoy drones overnight, killing at least one person, the Ukrainian air force reported. The assault centered on the industrial Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said. In other developments: Russia on Thursday sent to Ukraine 1,000 bodies, including some of the countrys fallen soldiers, the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said. At the same time, Russia received the bodies of 19 soldiers, Russian presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky said. The exchange was part of a deal reached at direct peace talks last May and June that produced few other agreements between the sides. Burrows reported from Wiesbaden, Germany. Geir Moulson in Berlin and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report. Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, Latin parish priest of Gaza Strip, left, prays during the midnight Christmas Eve mass at Deir Al Latin Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza City, Dec. 24, 2021. (Adel Hana/AP) DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip An Israeli shell slammed into the compound of the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, according to church officials. The late Pope Francis, who died in April, had regularly spoken to the priest about the wars toll on civilians. The shelling of the Holy Family Catholic Church in Gaza also damaged the church compound, where hundreds of Palestinians have been sheltering from the 21-month Israel-Hamas war. Israel expressed regret over what it described as an accident and said it was investigating. Pope Leo XIV on Thursday renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire in response to the attack. In a telegram of condolences for the victims, Leo expressed his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region. The pope said he was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack, and expressed his closeness to the wounded priest, Rev. Gabriel Romanelli, and the entire parish. President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his frustration over the strike on the church, the White House said. Netanyahu later released a statement saying Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gazas Holy Family Church. Hundreds of people sheltered at the church The church compound was sheltering both Christians and Muslims, including a number of children with disabilities, according to Fadel Naem, acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, which received the casualties. The Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parishs 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Parish priest Romanelli was lightly wounded. We were struck in the church while all the people there were elders, innocent people and children, said Shady Abu Dawood, whose mother was wounded by shrapnel to her head. We love peace and call for it, and this is a brutal, unjustified action by the Israeli occupation. The Israeli military said an initial assessment indicated that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly. It said it was still investigating. The military said it only strikes militant targets, makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them. Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas Oct. 7, 2023, attack. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable, she said. Church compounds have been struck before The church is just a stones throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for over a week. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. Targeting a holy site is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war, the Church said in a statement. Separately, another person was killed and 17 wounded Thursday in a strike against two schools sheltering displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, according to Al-Awda Hospital. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. The Gaza Health Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, local hospitals received the bodies of 94 people killed in Israeli strikes and another 367 wounded. Pope Francis spoke almost daily with Gaza church In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. Francis had repeatedly criticized Israels wartime conduct, and last year suggested that allegations of genocide in Gaza which Israel has rejected as a blood libel should be investigated. The late pope also met with the families of Israeli hostages and called for their release. Only 1,000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, according to the U.S. State Departments international religious freedom report for 2024. Most are Greek Orthodox. The Holy Lands Christian population has dwindled in recent decades as many have emigrated to escape war and conflict or to seek better opportunities abroad. Local Christian leaders have recently denounced attacks by Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists. Ceasefire talks continue There has been little visible progress in months of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement, after Israel ended an earlier truce in March. According to an Israeli official familiar with the details, Israel is showing flexibility on some of the issues that have challenged negotiators, including Israels presence in some of the security corridors the military has carved into the territory. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were discussing ongoing negotiations, said Israel has shown some willingness to compromise on the Morag Corridor, which cuts across southern Gaza. However, other issues remain, including the list of Palestinian prisoners to be freed by Israel and commitments to end the war. The official says there are signs of optimism but there wont be a deal immediately. Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in the Oct. 7 attack and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive Israels retaliatory offensive has killed over 58,600 Palestinians, according to Gazas Health Ministry, which has said women and children make up more than half of the dead. It does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. The ministry is part of the Hamas-run government but is led by medical professionals. The United Nations and other international organizations consider its figures to be the most reliable count of war casualties. Lidman reported from Tel Aviv. Colleen Barry in Milan, Josef Federman in Jerusalem, Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut and Chris Megerian in Washington contributed to this report. U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. Michael Johnston (left) smiles at Acting Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Kevin Lunday while receiving an award during the change of command ceremony inside Leamy Hall at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy (USCGA), New London, Connecticut, July 16, 2025. Johnston was relieved by Rear Adm. Gregory Rothrock who officially became the 44th superintendent of USCGA. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Leo Avila.) (Tribune News Service) New London A change of command ceremony at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy on Wednesday that bid farewell to Superintendent Rear Adm. Michael Johnston and welcomed his successor, Rear Adm. Gregory Rothrock, was steeped with the kinds of pomp and protocol that traditionally mark such military transfers of responsibility. There was the formal reading of orders announcing Johnstons retirement after 35 years along with Rothrocks directive to take responsibility for the academy along with personnel inspection and several smart salutes, all taking place on a stage festooned with red, white and blue bunting. But the ceremony inside Leamy Hall was also punctuated with smaller, intimate moments, including a heartfelt ode Johnston offered to his wife, Darlene, and a quiet commendation to the outgoing superintendent by Adm. Kevin Lunday, the Coast Guards acting commandant. Well done, Michael, Lunday murmured as he shook Johnstons hand. The event, attended by hundreds of Johnstons fellow officers, academy cadre and community representatives, marked the end of Johnstons two-year tenure as the 43rd head of the institution and its first Black superintendent. This has been the most meaningful assignment of my career, said Johnston, who spent much of the afternoon grinning and wiping away tears. This job isnt about running a campus but about shaping the future. Its about those quiet moments when a cadet figures out who they are. Johnstons career included stints in Virginia, Florida and Washington, D.C. amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He returned to the campus in May 2023, decades after graduating in 1990. Johnstons habit of wearing his heart on his uniform sleeve was noted by Lunday who described him as an exemplary example of how to lead with joy and unboundless optimism. Keynote speaker Sean Plankey, senior advisor to the Secretary for the Coast Guard, lauded Johnstons role in elevating the academy by opening its gates to the public, lawmakers and prospective students. Plankey, a member of the academys Class of 2003, also trumpeted the new Force Drive 2028 initiative and its billions in related funding that aims to create a more agile, capable and responsive fighting force through a series of top-level personnel cuts, streamlined acquisition and contracting work and an aggressive recruiting push. This is the finest military academy in the nation, Plankey said, before charging Rothrock to continue his predecessors work. Rothrock is a 1995 academy graduate who most recently served in the U.S. Cyber Command Joint Force Development office. He also served as the U.S. Coast Guard budget director, led the Research and Development Center and served as an engineering officer aboard the USCGC Spencer. What a thrill to join this academy team, Rothrock said. This place, this experience strengthens character and prepares future officers in time of peace and war. I am really looking forward to all we accomplish together. Lundy called Rothrock the right leader at the right time. A place of miracles Among the events hundreds of attendees were several of Johnstons former shipmates, including retired Cmdr. Elijah Flynn who recalled his years as a Black cadet in the mid-1970s. Back then, the highest-ranking officer we ever saw was maybe a lieutenant commander, Flynn said. To see a Black superintendent was just inspiring. Its a big deal. Academy superintendents typically serve four-year terms, but Johnston, in a May interview with CGA Alumni Bulletin, said he accepted a shorter assignment soon after the death of his father. Johnston, who said he planned to enjoy some much-delayed family time, paid tribute to his wife, who he called his anchor and best friend. Youre the greatest mystery I want to spend my life figuring out, he said. Johnston also congratulated Rothrock as the 44th academy superintendent prepared to take on the finest assignment in the Coast Guard. Miracles happen here every day, he said. 2025 The Day (New London, Conn.). Visit www.theday.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. U.S. Marines with Headquarters and Support Battalion, Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, conduct a hike with the Vice President of the United States, the Honorable JD Vance, at MCB Camp Pendleton, California on July 11, 2025. (Edgar Rafael/U.S. Marine Corps/TNS) (Tribune News Service) Vice President JD Vance tested his physical abilities at Californias Camp Pendleton recently when he went hiking with Marines from the bases Headquarters and Support Battalion. Vance, who served in the Marines, kept up well while encouraging the troops and reinforcing values of camaraderie and unit cohesion, base officials said. The hike, on Friday, July 11, was three miles, including climbing some hills while carrying a weighted backpack. It was a great experience for our Marines to meet and engage with the vice president of the United States, a former Marine, said Col. Kwabena K. Gyimah. It speaks to the unbreakable bond that all Marines, both past and present, share with each other. Vice President Vance imparted great insights and shared memorable personal stories with all. This was truly inspiring for our Marines, and were extremely grateful for this opportunity. He did the hike while his wife, Usha Vance, the countrys second lady, read to Blue Star families at an event center on base. Later on Friday, the Vance family arrived by motorcade at the Disneyland Resort, and the family was spotted at Disneyland on Saturday morning surrounded by heavy security. Demonstrators gathered on Harbor Boulevard near the theme parks entrance on Friday evening and again on Saturday. The visit to Camp Pendleton and Disneyland was part of a weekend trip to Southern California. There were no official public events planned and no fundraising events announced. _____ 2025 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit ocregister.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Former Army officer Shane James, 35, is charged with murder for six deaths in Texas in December 2023. He has now been deemed mentally competent to stand trial. (Austin Police Department) AUSTIN, Texas A former Army officer charged with the shooting deaths of six people, including his parents, has been deemed mentally competent to stand trial for the killings, according to the Travis County District Attorneys Office. Shane M. James Jr., 36, is accused of killing his parents in San Antonio sometime between Dec. 4 and Dec. 5, 2023, and then driving north to Austin, where police said he killed four more people and shot and injured two police officers and a cyclist in separate incidents across the city. Judge Cliff Brown determined in October that James was not competent to participate in his court proceedings and ordered him to a state mental health facility until his capacity improved. The judge decided July 9 that his murder case can start again. New hearings have not yet been scheduled, according to the countys online court docket. Prosecutors look forward to continuing to fight for justice for the victims and their families, according to a spokesperson for the district attorneys office. An attorney for James was not immediately available Wednesday for comment. James, who is now in Travis County Jail, served as an infantry officer from February 2013 to August 2015, according to his service record. He completed basic officer training at Fort Benning, Ga., and then Army Ranger School in 2014 before moving to Fort Hood, Texas, where he was assigned to the 1st Cavalry Division. About a month after he arrived, James came under criminal investigation for a domestic violence incident with his then-wife, according to a military police report. The couple had a verbal argument and James grabbed her, took her phone and broke it to prevent her from calling 911. James 2023 rampage began in his own home near San Antonio in Bexar County, where he is accused of killing his parents, Phyllis James, 55, and Army veteran Shane James Sr., 56. He then drove more than 80 miles north to a high school in Austin. There, he opened fire at about 10:45 a.m. on an Austin Independent School District police officer and struck him in the leg, according to city police. From there, he is accused of shooting and killing Emmanuel Pop Ba, 33, and Sabrina Rahman, 25, in a neighborhood about 10 miles from the school. He then shot a cyclist, who survived, in another part of Austin, before breaking into a home at about 7 p.m., where he is accused of killing Katherine Short, 56, and Lauren Short, 30. Police found James in the backyard of the Shorts home, and he opened fire, shooting and wounding an officer. James managed to get away in a vehicle. He crashed at a highway intersection and was taken into custody by police. James also has pending murder charges in Bexar County for his parents deaths. A safety net program for providing assistance to veterans seriously behind on their home mortgage payments cleared the Senate on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, after adoption in the House. The bill is now awaiting the presidents signature. (Wikimedia Commons) WASHINGTON Legislation that creates a safety net for thousands of veterans facing foreclosure with delinquent home mortgages now moves to the presidents desk for his signature after passing the Senate. The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act, which was adopted by the Senate with a voice vote late Tuesday, establishes a partial claim program that allows veterans who are behind on home loan payments to receive federal assistance. A companion bill in the House was adopted by voice vote in May. The bill authorizes the VA to purchase a portion of the debt on veterans loans in default or at imminent risk of default, according to the legislation. The mortgage industry estimates more than 20,000 current borrowers are considered seriously delinquent and a partial claim program at the VA could help them retain their homes, lawmakers said. The goal is to help veterans catch up on payments and prevent foreclosure, they said. First, the bill authorizes the VA to pay the holder of a loan guaranteed by the VA an amount necessary to avoid the foreclosure of the loan, provided that the holder of the loan and the veteran obligated on the loan execute documents to ensure the VA obtains a secured interest in the property covered by the loan, according to the bill. Leaders from the House and Senate Veterans Affairs committees released a joint statement after the Senate passed the bill. This bipartisan and bicameral legislation will assist veterans who are facing financial hardships and provide VA with a tool to better help veterans stay in their homes and avoid foreclosure. The VA Home Loan Program provides one of the best benefits VA has to offer and has helped veterans and their families build home equity since its inception in 1944, according to the joint statement. The VA home loan program was created under The Servicemens Readjustment Act, which became known as the GI Bill. More than 3.7 million veterans hold active home loans guaranteed by the VA, according to the agency. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., the committees top Democrat, offered the formal remarks after Senate adoption. On the House side, Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, and Rep. Mark Takano of California, the top Democrat on the committee, included their names on the statement. This legislation will ensure these veterans have a viable solution to avoid defaulting on their loans, bring their mortgages current, and avoid foreclosure by establishing a replacement partial claims program, the lawmakers said. The partial claims program replaces the Veterans Affairs Servicing Program, which was described as a last-resort option for delinquent borrowers to lower their mortgage rate and make their monthly payments more affordable. Under that program, the VA bought the mortgage from the servicer. But the program permanently closed May 1, after Republican lawmakers complained the VA should not be in the business of buying home mortgages. They argued some veterans might intentionally fall behind on their payments to get a lower mortgage rate from the VA. My focus is to ensure that veterans remain in their homes whenever possible, said Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis. But I am concerned that this program could evolve into a financial burden of billions of dollars in bailouts that fall on the shoulders of taxpayers. Van Orden introduced the VA Home Loan Program Reform Act in the House for a partial claim program to allow veterans to catch up with their overdue mortgage payments while keeping the original loan. Under the partial claim program, veterans facing financial hardship can defer missed payments without immediately facing foreclosure, Van Orden said. The VA Home Loan Program Reform Act received support from lenders and other stakeholders, including the Mortgage Bankers Association, the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the American Legion. We encourage the VA and mortgage servicers to continue their collaboration as this program is implemented, ensuring that they help mitigate any impact on veterans facing financial hardship while VA takes the necessary steps to establish the new partial claims program properly, lawmakers said in the joint statement. NANNING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Over 180 delegates from across China and ASEAN countries convened in Nanning, the capital of south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Wednesday, to explore AI's transformative potential to boost women's development. Themed "Empowerment, Sharing, Innovation: Artificial Intelligence and Women's Development," the 2025 Exchange and Cooperation Forum on Women's Development with ASEAN marks its 9th edition since its debut as the China-ASEAN Women's Forum in 2006. "This convening reflects the growing urgency to place women at the center of technological transformation within ASEAN, China, and the broader global community," said Sok Chan Chhorvy, secretary of state, Ministry of Women's Affairs of Cambodia, during the event's opening ceremony. Wang Weiping, Guangxi's deputy Party chief, highlighted at the forum the region's strategic role as a gateway to Southeast Asia, leveraging cultural and geographic ties to foster collaboration. Guangxi is building a cross-border AI ecosystem, integrating world-leading R&D from top-tier cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, with applications in the ASEAN region to create more opportunities for women in the digital era, said Wang. The opening ceremony also featured the signing of key agreements aimed at strengthening women's empowerment. The two-day forum features roundtable discussions that focus on AI's role in advancing women, alongside an exhibition showcasing women's AI-driven entrepreneurial achievements. Many event participants lauded China's leadership in AI, citing its innovations as a model for ASEAN nations, and called for stronger China-ASEAN collaboration to create an inclusive digital environment for women to thrive. "We seek stronger ties with women's federations in China's border regions, as well as with counterparts in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia," said Do Thi Thu Thao, first vice president of the Vietnam Women's Union, "to advance e-commerce, cross-border trade, healthcare, and cultural exchange, fostering mutual growth in the digital era." He said that his friend - also 12 years old at the time - slipped and he just started attacking him with the bat. A teenager told a court today all he could hear was the sound of wood smacking off his then 12 year old friend after he saw former All-Star and Clare All-Ireland winning hurler, Niall Gilligan go to hit him. At Ennis Circuit Court today, the teenager said that a horrible thing happened to my friend when recalling the alleged assault of his then 12 year old friend on October 5th 2023 at the Jamaica Inn hostel in Sixmilebridge. Mr Gilligan (48) of Rossroe, Kilmurry, Sixmilebridge denies the assault causing harm with a stick of the boy at the Jamaica Inn hostel, Sixmilebridge on October 5th 2023. The two 12 year old boys had been exploring the abandoned Jamaica Inn hostel after 5pm on October 5th. Mr Gilligan owned the Jamaica Inn hostel at the time and the jury has been told that in the days leading up to October 5th, it had been broken into and vandalised. Under cross examination via video link from a room at Ennis courthouse on Thursday afternoon, the now teenager said that in his interview with Gardai in November 2023 he said that he saw Niall Gilligan hit his friend. At the trial on Thursday the teenager said that he didn't see Mr Gilligan hit his friend. He said: I saw him go to hit him, I mis-phrased that. All I could hear was the sound of wood smacking off my friend." He said: I said I saw him go to hit him - I didn't see him hit him. The teenager said that his friend was tiny at the time when he was attacked. The teenage witness told counsel for Mr Gilligan, Patrick Whyms BL (instructed by solicitor, Daragh Hassett) that as his friend slipped as they were running away from Mr Gilligan I saw Niall coming at him with the stick about to swing at him. He said: We were both running away and he attacked my friend when we were both running in the opposite direction to him. The teenager disagreed with Mr Gilligans version of events that the altercation with his friend took place inside the building. In his November 2023 video evidence with a garda specialist interviewer played earlier to the jury on Thursday, the now teenager said his father later showed him a photo of Niall Gilligan later that evening on October 5 and the boy confirmed that the man who attacked his friend was the accused. In the video interview carried out on November 11, 2023, the witness said that as the two boys left the building and came around a corner, they saw a tall, kind of strong looking man holding a stick and they both ran. Asked how he felt by the specialist garda interviewer, the boy said terrified and added but I just got out of there as fast as I could, all I could think was get out of there and I did. The boy described the man as fit looking like, gingery brown kinda hair. He said: I seen him playing hurling when I was younger and he played for the Bridge and Clare. The boy told Gardai Mr Gilligan is an auctioneer in Sixmilebridge. Asked about his friends screaming, the boy said: I heard him shouting, like I heard him screaming like telling him to stop. My friend telling him to fuck off and to leave him alone, that was about it. The boy hid in a nearby industrial estate and he said that felt relatively safe but I was still very scared that somehow he could have seen me. A short time later, the boy said that he saw his friend come around the corner and he was limping like he was holding his arm, holding his hand, holding the wrist he broke and it was all swelling up. The boy said that his friend was looking in pain, he had lots of mud all over him. The boy told gardai that his friend was very shaky, obviously he felt very, very scared and in a lot of pain. He said: I was just supporting him to walk up, just like holding him upI put my arm around his back so I could support him so he could have one of his legs off the ground so it would be easier for him to walk." The boy said that his friend "said it just hurts everywhere' is all he said. The boy said that his friend told him go home because if he sees you, he is going to get you as well. The jury also heard from witness for the State, Linda Quinn from Sixmilebridge who runs the local GAA club shop. She said on her way into the club on the evening of October 5, she noticed a child near the gate and that something did not look right. I just said are you okay, he said no, she told the court. She went on to say how the boy asked her if she thought his hand was broken. It was very swollen. He then showed her a big gash on his leg and asked her opinion. When Ms Quinn asked him what happened, he told her he had fallen off his bike. He went on to ask her to look at his arm, where there was another deep gash. Ms Quinn told him he might need to get stitches. At this, the child got upset and Ms Quinn offered to give him a lift home. Shortly afterwards, they arrived at his house, and after speaking to the boys aunt, Ms. Quinn returned to work. The trial continues on Friday before a jury of seven men and five women. A second Filipino national, 38-year-old Crisos Sonet is in custody accused of a single count of rape The case against a Filipino accused of facilitating the rape of a teenage schoolgirl and sexually assaulting her friend, is to be expedited because of the age of the complainant, a defence barrister confirmed today. During a brief mention of the case against Garry Luna, his defence counsel confirmed that as the alleged victim is 13-year-old, the case should be marked as a purple file. That means that on the next date, we should hopefully have a better update and know where the where the case is at, he told Deputy District Judge John Rea. Luna, 36, from Clarence Street in Ballymena, is in custody charged with five offences, alleged to have been committed against two teenage girls, between an unknown date in March and 24 May this year. The defendant faces charges of sexual communication, common assault, inciting a child aged 13-16 to engage in sexual activity, sexual assault and further that he facilitated or arranged for something to be done which would involve sexual activity with a child. A second Filipino national, 38-year-old Crisos Sonet, also from Clarence Street, is in custody accused of a single count of rape. An earlier court heard that according to the police case, the charges stemmed from a report from the complainant that she had been seriously sexually assaulted on 24 May. Garry Luna During an unsuccessful application for bail, a police officer told the court the alleged victim had provided an account that she had been with a friend when they met the defendant and he took both girls to his home on Clarence Street. The complainant stated that both girls had been communicating with him by Facebook messenger for a number of weeks prior to this, said the detective. At Lunas home, he allegedly took them into the living room of the property where he tried to kiss her and was nipping her on the leg. Grabbing her by the arm, Luna is alleged to have led the girl upstairs and into a bedroom where Sonet was sitting on the bed. Garry Luna Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th The teenager has reported to police that Sonet subjected her to a serious sexual assault, the court heard. When the alleged victim got out of the room and went downstairs, she heard her friend shouting from one of the bedrooms and after she helped her open the door, both girls left the property. In court today a prosecuting lawyer said given the fact its quite serious and it is at an early stage, she was applying for a four week adjournment. Sonet is due to appear next week and the PPS lawyer said the intention is to adjourn his case to to same date to keep the cases together. Judge Rea granted the application and remanding Luna back into custody, he adjourned the case to 14 August. Owen Orr, who has 31 previous convictions, punched a fellow motorist in the face, assaulted a Garda, damaged his motorbike and crashed his car into a mother and daughter A man who was described as having a very high IQ but who is a 'Jekyll and Hyde' character after drinking alcohol has appeared in court after going on a rampage in Co Donegal. Owen Orr committed a series of offences on St Valentine's Day in 2019 leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. The father-of-five punched a fellow motorist in the face, assaulted a Garda, damaged his motorbike and crashed his car into a mother and daughter. Orr, who has 31 previous convictions, appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court where he pleaded guilty to a range of offences which all occurred on the same evening. The 32-year-old is charged that, at Cullion Road, Letterkenny, he assaulted Garda Michael Kilcoyne, a peace officer, acting in the course of his duty. The charge is contrary to Section 19 (3) of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994, as amended by Section 185 of the Criminal Justice Act, 2006. Owen Orr at Letterkenny Circuit Court. Photo: North West Newspix Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th He is also charged that he did without lawful excuse damage property, to wit, a Garda Honda motorcycle, belonging to the Chief Superintendent, An Garda Siochana. The charge is contrary to Section 2 (1) of the Criminal Damage Act, 1991. Orr is charged with the unlawful interference with a mechanically propelled vehicle, the property of Charles Bonner, while such vehicle was stationary at Manorcunningham by removing the key from the ignition. The charge is contrary to Section 113 or the Road Traffic Act, 1961, as amended by Section 6 of the Road Traffic Act, 1968 and Section 18 of the Road Traffic Act, 2006. He is also charged with dangerous driving on the N13 on February 14th, 2019 He is further charged that, at Dromore, Letterkenny, on February 14, 2019, that he did without lawful excuse damage property, to wit, a Toyota Corolla belonging to Kathleen Birch intending to damage such property or being reckless as to whether such property would be damaged. The charge is contrary to Section 2 (1) of the Criminal Damage Act, 1991. He is also charged with failing to report an accident when injury was caused to property or a person at Dromore Lower on February 14th, 2019 being the driver of a vehicle involved in the accident. Owen Orr at Letterkenny Circuit Court. Photo: North West Newspix Other charges were also taken into account by the court. Prosecutor for the State, Ms Fiona Crawford, BL, along with Garda Daire Sheridan outlined the series of events on the day which led to Orr's arrest. He told how another motorist, Charles Bonner, was driving on the dual carriageway into Letterkenny when he saw another car overtaking a series of other vehicles before pulling in front of him. Mr Bonner flashed his lights at the car but the other driver, now known to be Owen Orr, slammed on his brakes forcing the other driver to brake. Mr Bonner stopped and the driver of the other car came over, punched him in the nose, pulled the keys out of his jeep and then threw them into a hedge and drove off with the entire incident being captured on dashcam. At Dromore Lower, some kilometres down the road, Mrs Kathleen Birch and her daughter were traveling towards Letterkenny down Lurgybrack when a car pulled out and smashed into them. Mrs Birch suffered pain in her back and legs and feared her car was going to go on fire as other motorists came to her aid. The driver of the other car fled on foot but left his wallet with bank cards and identification at the scene. Garda motorcyclist Michael Kilcoyne arrived at the scene of the accident and went in search of the driver of the other car and found Owen Orr walking at nearby Cullion Road. He addressed Orr who became aggressive and assaulted the Garda by grabbing him by the neck causing his motorbike to fall to the ground. A scuffle broke out and Orr lashed out at the arresting officer by kicking him before he was taken to Letterkenny Garda Station for questioning. While in the station, Orr refused to give either a blood or urine sample to a registered nurse. The accused man was interviewed four days later when sober and the court was told he was very apologetic about the incident. Barrister for Orr, Mr Ciaran Elders, BL, directed by solicitor Frank Dorrian, said his client was very cooperative during the second interview describing him as a 'Jekyll and Hyde' character when he had alcohol taken. He added that he finds himself in a better place today and has been sober since 2023 after two periods in rehabilitation apart from a small lapse. The accused man had a total of 2,000 in compensation to offer including a sum to replace the 500 key for Mr Bonner's jeep, another 750 for the damage to his glasses and 750 to be given to a charity of Garda Kilcoyne's choice. A further 500 was also available to Mrs Birch while the court was also told that civil proceedings are also ongoing arising from the collision. Mr Elders added that his client was now trying to put his life back together and was a man with a high IQ with five children, the oldest of which were also academically gifted and wanted to attend college. Judge Roderick Maguire addressed the accused and asked him how his family were now keeping and how his life was now that he is trying to remain sober. Orr said that he was attending AA meetings four times a week. The reason the case has taken so long to come before the court was that Orr was involved in a very serious car accident during Covid lockdown and was seriously injured, the court was told. Mr Elders suggested to Judge Maguire that if he was considering a custodial sentence that perhaps he would consider suspending the sentence for a long period so his client could be encouraged not to engage in negative behaviour again. He added that now that it appears that Orr has been rehabilitated and has also come a long way since this incident in 2019, he was not sure how a custodial sentence could benefit Orr or society at large. He said Orr was available to undertake community service and ended by asking the court to be as lenient as possible. Judge Maguire said he will deliver his final sentence next week. Drug dealer Wayne Cooney, with an address in Tallaght, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Jordan Davis (22) Barristers have argued that a murderer who shot dead a man in front of his four-month-old son did not receive a fair trial, as the trial judge effectively closed down the defence case in his charge to the jury. Michael OHiggins SC told the Court of Appeal that Mr Justice Tony Hunt was entirely argumentative throughout his charge to the jury at the conclusion of the trial of Wayne Cooney (34), adding that the judge argued with great vigour what the jurys position should be. Drug dealer Cooney, with an address at Glenshane Drive in Tallaght, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Jordan Davis (22) at a laneway beside Our Lady of Immaculate National School in Darndale in Dublin on May 22 2019. He also pleaded not guilty to possessing a 9mm semi-automatic pistol and to possessing ammunition in circumstances that give rise to the reasonable inference that he did not have them for lawful purposes. A jury took just a little over three hours to find him guilty following a trial in July 2022. The prosecution case was that Mr Davis owed 70,000 to a local drug dealer, Robert 'Roo' Redmond, who was the brother of Cooney's then girlfriend, Rachel Redmond (34). Rachel Redmond (File photo: Collins Courts) When Mr Davis's mobile phone was examined by gardai they found a message from Robert Redmond (36) warning Mr Davis: "I'm on your case mate, it won't be long," and later telling him: "Soon, very soon, bang bang." Rachel Redmond, from Coolock but with an address at Cliftonville Avenue, North Belfast, Antrim was convicted earlier this year on two charges that on or about May 22 and May 23 2019, she impeded Cooney's apprehension or prosecution by picking him up after the shooting and later checking him into a hotel. Robert Redmond of Streamville Road, Kilbarrack, Dublin 13 pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiring with Cooney to murder Mr Davis and received a seven-year prison sentence. During Cooneys trial, prosecution barrister Bernard Condon SC told the jury that the circumstantial evidence against Cooney was such that he was either the shooter or the "most unlucky person ever". A garda had identified Cooney from CCTV footage as the cyclist circling Mr Davis. Cooney's DNA was found on a glove in an area on Belcamp Lane where the shooter could be seen discarding gloves and a black body warmer minutes after the shooting. Cooney was also identified returning to the same area to retrieve the body warmer about one hour and 20 minutes after the shooting. Robert Roo Redmond The prosecution also relied on mobile phone evidence that showed Cooney's phone was calling Robert Redmond at moments when the person identified on CCTV as the shooter could be seen holding a phone to his ear. In a lengthy charge to the jury, Mr Justice Hunt said that if they were satisfied beyond a reasonable doubt that Cooney was the cyclist who came up behind Jordan Davis and shot him, they must find him guilty of murder. Mr Justice Hunt told the jury that if the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Cooney murdered Mr Davis, they could find that he impeded the arrest or prosecution of the murderer by taking away the body warmer. He said that, by his own admission, Cooney was seen on CCTV at Belcamp Lane about one hour and 20 minutes after the murder. He said the shooter disposed of the body warmer during a 40-second period when he was off-camera and when Cooney retrieved the body warmer, he also went off camera for almost exactly 40 seconds. He said that the jury should consider that if Cooney wasn't the person who left the body warmer, he must have acquired some knowledge that it had been put there. He added: "If he didn't do the shooting, he acquired the knowledge of where the item was in that hour and 20 minutes. That has to be considered by you." On this view, Mr Justice Hunt said, Mr Cooney wasn't the shooter but might have been "covering up". He further told the jury: "If he didn't do the shooting, he didn't get to the laneway by accident. There had to be some information that brought him there, he had to know something about what he was retrieving and where he was retrieving it from." In launching an appeal against Cooneys conviction today , Mr OHiggins said that a judge is at liberty to pass comment on evidence, which is well within his ambit, but he should tread with caution. This is entirely argumentative through the whole charge. Hes not just summarising evidence, its strident, relentless, merciless and without any restraint, said Mr OHiggins, adding that Mr Justice Hunt had been completely arguing with great vigour what the position should be. The line beyond a comment has been very well crossed, he said, going on to argue that the defence was squashed and never got the airing to which it was entitled. Jordan Davis Counsel said that in the judges charge, Mr Justice Hunt had reminded the jury that the defence had raised the possibility of the potential involvement of others in this offence, but he had also said to the jury that whether others were involved or not was not relevant. The judge said: Who was the man on the bike? Thats all you have to decide. That was effectively closing down the defence case, said Mr OHiggins, adding that Mr Justice Hunt denigrated all the points made by the defence. Counsel confirmed to the court he was arguing that the trial against Cooney was unfair. He said that Mr Justice Hunt had told the jury: I wont lie to you that I havent formed my own opinion. Mr OHiggins asked how a judge was to charge a jury on the presumption of innocence when he had made a comment such as this. He said things pumping up the prosecution case. The judge highlighted in a very granular level all points that were in favour of the prosecution, said Mr OHiggins. The judge has an obligation to deal with a case fairly. They must not, when giving a summation, end up with an imbalance between the parties. Further grounds of appeal submitted included the identification evidence given by a garda, which Mr OHiggins said was too vague to be admissible; and attempts by the defence to adduce background evidence of other people who had a motive in the case, which were shut down by the trial judge, meaning an important part of the defence case was cut off. Wayne Cooney was found guilty of the murder of Jordan Davis. Photo: Paddy Cummins. In response, counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, Bernard Condon SC said that a lot of points were made by the defence during the trial which were weak points advanced with gusto. He said the trial judge was correct to advise the jury not to be directed into rabbit warrens. Arguments were made to direct the jury into evidential wastelands, said Mr Condon. He said there were probably ten people involved in this murder and maybe other people wanted to kill the deceased, but that did not change the fact that it was Cooney who actually killed him. Some judges are naturally people who speak a lot, so it cant be correct that because someone speaks a lot that they ought to be criticised, said counsel, adding that the jury knew that the judge's commenting was not the last word. Mr Condon also said that Mr Justice Hunt gave the jury an excellent summation on the principles of the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof. Mr Justice John Edwards said the court would deliver its judgement on the appeal at a later date. The BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum is being held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from Tuesday to Thursday. Some attendees highlight the need for promoting greater BRICS cooperation and the development of the Global South. Paschal Kelly (59) was accused of having a phone without permission at Wheatfield Prison in May 2023 Paschal Kelly was cleared of the charge in the district court A former gangland criminal serving an 18-year jail term for his part in a tiger kidnapping has been cleared of having a phone in prison. Paschal Kelly (59) was accused of having a phone without permission at Wheatfield Prison in May 2023. Judge David McHugh dismissed the charge, leaving Kelly without a conviction. The accused, from Dublin but with a previous address at Cootehill, Co Cavan, appeared before Blanchardstown District Court charged with possession of a phone on May 5, 2023. The State had sought to produce evidence of a prison internal disciplinary hearing, where it was alleged that Kelly had admitted to having the phone, but defence lawyer Ciaran MacLoughlin objected. Mr MacLoughlin argued that any alleged admissions by Kelly, within an internal disciplinary process, were inadmissible in a criminal court. It also transpired that the assistant governor of the prison, who was called to give evidence, was not in the role at the time of the alleged offence. The official in charge at the time was out of the country. Mr MacLoughlin argued that the State could not prove the case against his client. Judge McHugh dismissed the charge. In February 2019, Kelly was jailed for a 92,000 post office robbery and tiger kidnapping in which three women were tied up and abducted. Kelly was one of a gang of three men who burst into the post-mistress Malahide home on September 25, 2014. The gang used cable ties to bind her, her daughter and an Italian student who was staying at the home. The women were brought to a field where they were held overnight before the gang drove them to the Bayside Post Office in Sutton. Paschal Kelly was cleared of the charge in the district court Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th The complainant gave evidence that he suffered a fractured skull and spent five days in Beaumont Hospital following the alleged assault A garda has gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court accused of assaulting a teenager in Temple Bar in 2021. The complainant gave evidence that he suffered a fractured skull and spent five days in Beaumont Hospital following the alleged assault. Lorcan Murphy (32) of Pearse Street Garda Station has pleaded not guilty to two counts of assault causing harm under section 3 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. The assaults on the then 17-year-old are alleged to have taken place on Essex Street, Dublin 2 and Pearse Street Garda Station on June 1, 2021. In his opening speech yesterday, John Gallagher BL prosecuting, told the court the accused was a serving member of An Garda Siochana and an investigation was carried out by GSOC, which is now known as Fiosru. Mr Gallagher said the assault is alleged to have happened during the Covid-19 period when one set of regimes runs into another but that at this time limited gatherings outdoors were permitted. He said there was a short encounter where the alleged injured party was brought to the ground in an effort to restrain him and a number of bystanders were present. There was a short engagement which lasted a minute or two at most when he was brought to the ground, Mr Gallagher said. Mr Gallagher said the complainant was brought to the ground with his knee, and he was completely, effectively restrained. He was handcuffed and brought to his feet. Counsel said the alleged victim was handcuffed and could not put his hands out to protect himself. Mr Gallagher said it was the prosecutions case that by sweeping his legs from under the alleged injured party and him landing him on his head, this amounted to assault. Counsel said the alleged injured party was visibly unconscious when he was lifted into a Garda van and was taken to Pearse Street Garda Station for processing. Mr Gallagher said there was a second charge of assault at Pearse Street Garda Station, when the complainant was having difficulty staying conscious and he was pulled back by the hair. He said that it was the prosecutions case that this manhandling amounted to a second assault. He told the jury they would hear medical evidence. Mr Gallagher said there must be a legitimate use of force or reasonable force. He said its not carte blanche to use force and he told the jury they would be asked to consider whether it was reasonable force. He also told the jury they would have to hear an account by Gda Murphy and would have to consider if there was a basis for using it. Mr Gallagher said gardai have a very difficult job but the same laws that apply to everyone else regarding the use of force also apply to the Gardai. He told the jury that defence counsel Justin McQuade BL wanted it clarified that there had been an earlier engagement between the accused and complainant. The complainant gave evidence that he could not recall the events and the doctor told me it was ok not to remember but said I was assaulted, I was tripped up supposedly, I fractured my skull, he told the court. He told the court he was drinking that day and that he had had quite a few. He said he had been smoking weed and said he would normally smoke four or five joints a day. He also said that he could have been carrying alcohol. He said he was up in Stephens Green and his girlfriend at the time was in Temple Bar so he went to meet her and said the last thing he remembered was walking past McDonalds on Grafton Street. The alleged victim said waking up in James Hospital is the next thing he remembers. He told the court someone in the hospital told him he was involved in an incident with the gardai. He said he ran out of the hospital. I freaked out, I thought there was nothing wrong with me, he told the court. The complainant said he woke up with a pain in his head and went to the Mater Hospital where he got a CT scan and then went to Beaumont Hospital where he stayed for five days. He said he had headaches but has no issues with his memory. You heard about this investigation because there was some publicity about it? Mr Gallagher put it to him, to which he replied yeah. The complainant said he spoke to GSOC and gave them two videos - one of him on the ground that someone else had recorded and one of the garda approaching him, which he had taken himself. When the complainant was asked by Mr Gallagher if he was ever charged with any offences in relation to events in Temple Bar on June 1, 2021, he replied no. CCTV was shown to the court of two gardai on Essex Street and Mr McQuade said his client was the one wearing shorts. CCTV captured from the exterior of Dolphin House on Essex Street and from Pearse Street Garda Station was shown to the court. The trial continues today before a jury of eight men and four women with Judge Pauline Codd presiding. Stock image Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th The incident was filmed by on-lookers and was widely circulated on social media. An Irishwoman in her 30s who was allegedly raped in Amsterdam says she remembers nothing of the incident, a public prosecutor told a pre-trial hearing for the case. The suspect, who is an Italian national in his 20s, is accused of raping the woman on Kings Day earlier this year. The Dutch holiday, which is held annually on April 27, marks the birthday of the Netherlands current king Willem-Alexander. According to Dutch media, the hearing heard that after the woman was taken to the hospital following the incident, which occured at approximately 6.30pm in the evening, she was told that something sexual had happened to her. She was then unable to recall anything about the incident and she did not recognise a photo of the suspect. File photo of Amsterdam. Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th The case has garnered national attention in the Netherlands after several videos of the incident began circulating on social media. Onlookers had filmed the encounter that occurred in broad daylight between two parked cars along the Keizersgracht canal. In the days following the alleged rape, the mayor of Amsterdam asked the public to stop sharing the deeply humiliating videos. "What happened on King's Day can only be described as an absolute nightmare", the prosecution stated in the first introductory hearing ahead of the trial. They stated that the alleged victim only reported the incident after she had been videos of it in Ireland and realised it was about her. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the woman was clear that she did not want to have sex and she had no complete control over her movements. The woman was heavily drunk and was heard telling the man to stop in the video footage of the incident. It was said that the man and the woman did not know each other before the day in the question as they had met earlier that day. Bystanders intervened in the incident and pulled the man away from the woman, with police then arriving soon after. The man was not initially arrested as it had been suggested by bystanders that the two knew each other. The man initially told police that the two had sex and made love but later stated he did not remember anything about the evening in question. Defence lawyer Sophie Hof described the situation as complex and passersby may have been observing due to seeing two people kissing and stroking. "This case is not black or white. He doesn't remember anything. He is ashamed, towards the victim, and how he could get so drunk, she added. The court was asked to lift the pre-trial detention of the man but the request was not granted on the basis that the man is a flight risk. The trial will begin in October. Brian McLoughlin of McGettigan Flats, Main Street, Milford, appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court A man has pleaded guilty to falsely imprisoning a woman at a flat in Co Donegal. Brian McLoughlin (32) of McGettigan Flats, Main Street, Milford, appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court before Judge Roderick Maguire. McLoughlin was charged with the false imprisonment of a woman at McGettigan Flats, Main Street, Milford on February 22, 2022. The charge is contrary to Section 15 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, 1997. He is also charged with possession of a controlled drug namely, amphetamine, at McGettigan Flats, Main Street, Milford on February 23, 2022, for the purpose of selling or supplying. The charge is contrary to Section 15 of the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1977. McLoughlin pleaded guilty to both charges during the short arraignment. Defence barrister Peter Nolan BL, requested a probation and welfare report be carried out on behalf of his client. The case was adjourned for sentencing until the next sitting of the Circuit Court in October. Brian McLoughlin at Letterkenny Courthouse. (North West Newspix) Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th Oisin OLaoi jailed after pleading guilty to criminal damage, dangerous driving and driving without a license or insurance after drinking in Westport A circuit court judge has said a man on temporary release from prison who attempted to reverse into a garda van three times behaved like an utter and complete menace. Judge Eoin Garavan sentenced Oisin OLaoi (25) to four years in jail after he pleaded guilty to criminal damage, dangerous driving and driving without a license or insurance while on temporary release from a low-security prison. OLaoi, of Cregg, Leitir Meallain, County Galway, made full admissions to the offences after being arrested with assistance from the Armed Support Unit. The court heard that he was on temporary release from Loughan House prison when he went binge drinking on New Years Eve 2023. OLaoi, who has 71 previous convictions and a long history of alcohol misuse, consumed Jack Daniels whiskey and several vodkas before driving off in an Opel Insignia, the court heard. At approximately 5am on January 1, 2024, Garda Padraic OConnor was driving a garda patrol van with Garda Darragh Lyons when he saw OLaoi driving on the Newport Road in Westport. OLaoi, who was the sole occupant of the car, drove through a red light on the South Mall before turning left onto Castlebar Street and right onto Distillery Road, through another set of traffic lights, before turning left onto Altamount Street before heading out the Ballinrobe Road. He failed to stop when Gda OConnor activated the blue lights on the patrol van, and a chase ensued during which OLaoi drove on the wrong side of the road through six different town lands. On two occasions, OLaoi waited for the patrol van to catch up to him before attempting to reverse into it. When Gda OConnor and Gda Lyons lost sight of the van at Moate, Killawalla, Garda Paul Deeley followed OLaoi, who again tried to reverse into the pursuing garda vehicle. OLaoi drove into Ashwood estate and ran into his girlfriends house. Gardai seized his vehicle and requested the assistance of the Armed Support Unit. OLaoi had to be pepper sprayed while being arrested before gardai conveyed him to Westport Garda Station. While being interviewed by gardai, the 25-year-year old admitted to drinking on the night and that he was not insured to drive the vehicle. Tuesdays sitting of Castlebar Circuit Court heard that OLaoi received his first driving disqualification when he was 17. He was disqualified from driving for six years by Galway Circuit Court in 2019 and received a second six-year disqualification in 2021. When told he could request the services of a solicitor, OLaoi replied: I dont need one. I f**ked up. Defending barrister Mark Ryan, BL, acting under instruction from solicitor Gary Mulchrone, said his client was living in Westport where he works as a general operative and groundsman. He is currently in a relationship and has a five-month-old daughter and three other children. Mr Ryan told the court that his client was inclined to drink heavily whenever he does consume alcohol. OLaoi is currently on medication to alleviate his alcohol cravings and had attended Cuan Mhuire addiction treatment centre in County Galway. He is endeavouring to deal with his addictions issue in the best possible way. It continues to be a struggle, said Mr Ryan. Citing his probation report, Mr Ryan said his client understands the danger he caused to gardai and that he has to address his addiction. When he is sober, these issues dont tend to arise, said Mr Ryan. He said OLaoi had apologised to gardai for his actions and had shown genuine empathy and insight. Mr Ryan requested that the judge be as lenient as possible with sentencing to allow OLaoi to address his recovery from addiction. OLaoi had been being granted temporary release from Loughan House low-security prison on October 8. His probation report found him to be at moderate risk of reoffending. His previous convictions include producing a knife, public order offences and 12 convictions for driving without insurance. The court was told that OLaoi had been under the attention of the probation services since he was 16 years old. Judge Garavan noted OLaois history with alcohol and his early guilty plea but said he had no choice but to impose a custodial sentence for what he labelled appalling egregious behaviour. He imposed a five-year headline sentence, which he reduced to four years on account of mitigating factors, suspending the final year of the sentence for three years. Judge Garavan imposed another one-year sentence to run concurrently and ordered that he be supervised by the probation services for the first year of his three-year suspension. Leigh Gallagher (29) of Assaroe View, Ballyshannon pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to Louise Hennessy A patient in Sligo University Hospital who punched a nurse, knocking her unconscious had his case put back for sentence at Sligo District Court. Leigh Gallagher (29) of Assaroe View, Ballyshannon pleaded guilty to a charge of assault causing harm to Louise Hennessy on May 6 2022. Sergeant Derek Butler told the court that a nurse had been struck in the face by a patient in coronary care called Leigh Gallagher. The nurse lost consciousness with the force of the blow, the court heard. Sergeant Butler said the patient struck the nurse who was attending him, with his closed fist. Judge Sandra Murphy noted that the nurse had fallen and hit her head on a wall beside her. A witness statement from a Nurse OReilly said she was walking past a cubicle where Louise Hennessy was shouting for help. When the nurse went in to help Nurse Hennessy, the man was trying to reach for her and he hit her in the face and she fell to the ground. The statement added that Nurse OReilly and a care assistant went to Louise Hennessys assistance and she was lying face down on the ground and it took two or three minutes for her to respond. Medical treatment was given to Louise Hennessy and security staff restrained the defendant. A statement from the injured party, Louise Hennessy, said she introduced herself to the patient but he did not answer. She asked him to lie on his back so she could check his blood pressure. When she went to put the lead on him she felt the impact of his fist but did not remember anything after that. She woke up on the floor but could not remember anything and the patient was being held back. The statement added that she had fallen against a wall and later attended her GP. Defence solicitor, Mark Mullaney , said Nurse Hennessy who was looking after the defendant, had suffered a very serious injury and that was something the defendant would have to live with for the rest of his life. Sligo University Hospital Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th The defendant had inflicted serious injury on a hard working nurse, he said. The court heard the incident happened over three years ago. The defendant had appeared in court on eleven different occasions and a guilty plea was tendered in March last year. The court this incident had been hanging over the defendant and the injured party for a variety of reasons and there were a number of additional reports to be accessed. Mr Mullaney said Nurse Hennessy was a professional person who went to the assistance of the defendant because he was unwell. He had been in hospital on a detox programme for alcohol related matters. The defendant had given a detailed account of his actions in February 2023 and took responsibility for his actions when interviewed by gardai. In one of his responses, he asked if the nurse had been off work. The defendant said he was horrified but added that he did not remember the incident and the whole thing was a blur. He said he was so sorry for what happened and he did not remember leaving the hospital. The defendant did not exercise his right to silence but made admissions from the start, Mr Mullaney added. The defendant was a 29-year-old man who was now living and working in Dublin and had save d up 7,000 which could be in court. He had also written a letter to Ms Hennessy via Sergeant Butler. The letter, which was read out in court, said he sincerely apologised for the harm and stress he had caused and he took full responsibility for his actions. He said he was a disgrace and it would follow him for the rest of his life. And if he could make it better in any way he would do so. Mr Mullaney said his client had not been acting rationally and he had stood over his plea. The solicitor asked the court for as much leniency as possible and to stop short of an immediate custodial sentence. The defendant had no previous convictions and had never been in trouble before and had not come to garda attention since and no longer drank. The injured partys Victim Impact Statement said she had suffered greatly but the solicitor hoped the offer of cash might go some way to partially easing her pain. Ms Hennessy has to live with the consequences of his clients actions, the court heard. The defendant was quite horrified to hear what he had done. Judge Murphy referenced the Victim Impact Statement which detailed how the incident had affected Ms Hennessy. Judge Murphy said it was a very serious incident and Mr Mullaney had put forward a very careful and detailed defence. The judge said it was on the upper end of the scale for offences in the district court. An aggravating factor was that the assault was on a front line worker who was caring for the defendant. Judge Sandra Murphy was sitting at Sligo District Court. Mitigating factors were no previous convictions and the offer of 7,000 in compensation. But the judge added that the consequences for the victim from the medical reports and Victim Impact Statement were nothing short of catastrophic. The judge said he had to live with his conscience but the victim was living with those effects day in and day out and that was the difference. The defendant was in a detox programme for alcohol abuse but that was a position he put himself in. He had no previous convictions but this was a man who was at the upper end of the scale for sentencing in the district court. The judge said the consequences for the victim were life changing on a daily basis. The judge adjourned the case to September 11 for mention to fix a date after the court was given a Probation Report. This is as serious a case as I can deal with here. the judge added. Sergiu Varga is charged with burglary of a property on Clonavon Terrace The defence team for a Romanian man accused of looting a house which had been left vacant over recent rioting in Ballymena, are having considerable difficulties finding him a bail address, a court heard today. As Sergiu Varga appeared at Ballymena Magistrates Court by video link from prison, a prosecutor asked fir the case against the 24-year-old to be adjourned for three weeks. She told Deputy District Judge John Rea the file had been allocated to a senior prosecutor, adding that by the next time the case is before the court, there should be a decision as to how it will proceed. Varga, of no fixed abode, is charged with burglary of a property on Clonavon Terrace on 19 June where he allegedly stole household goods to the value of 3,000 and with the theft of 13 of food from Braid River Service Station on 9 March this year. When the defendant first appear in court, a police officer recounted how Varga had walked in to the filling station, concealed various food items under his coat before walking out making no attempt to pay. Sergiu Varga Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th On 19 June, she told the court, a resident of a house on Clonavon Terrace reported that her house had been burgled. The injured party reported that she had to leave her address on 14 June due to the disturbances in the town, said the officer, adding that when the victim returned on 19 June, she discovered an upstairs window had been smashedand that all of her valuable belongings had been taken. The court heard that having made some enquiries in the local community, Varga was identified as the alleged thief but when the victim spoke to him, he claimed he was only keeping them [her belongings] for safe keeping. Sergiu Varga The officer added that as well as the victim not giving anyone permission to enter her home or remove her property, while she was trying to locate the defendant she saw a male person wearing a set of headphones that belonged to her. The victim spoke to that man and he claimed he had bought the head phones from Varga for 11. Arrested and interviewed, Varga admitted taking the items but said that he found them outside and that he did not enter the property at any stage. In court today, Vargas defence counsel said while bail had been granted, that was subject to an approved address, conceding that we are having considerable difficulty getting an address. Remanding Varga back into custody, Judge Rea adjourned the case to 7 August. The mother of the household that was damaged became upset and told the contested bail hearing that she feared for her family A "slammer gun" allegedly fired by a youth at a house in Mullingar, Co Westmeath, earlier this week, has yet to be recovered, a court has heard. A 16-year-old boy, who allegedly filmed the gun attack, was granted bail under strict conditions, including a curfew and social media ban, by Judge Bernadette Owens at Mullingar District Court yesterday. She warned the youth that it could be revoked "at a whiff of a breach". The teenager, who cannot be identified because he is a juvenile, was charged with unlawful possession of a "slammer" gun, contrary to the Firearms Act, and criminal damage to the front door of a residential property. He was the second juvenile charged in connection with the incident in the Ardleigh Park area of Mullingar at about 1.40 pm on Monday, in which an improvised gun was used. The mother of the household that was damaged became upset and told the contested bail hearing that she feared for her family, saying her home should be a place of safety. Garda Darren Gallagher objected to bail and presented video evidence of the incident which was said to have occurred as part of an ongoing feud. Court Sergeant Sheila Kenny also voiced concerns about the involvement of a firearm that has yet to be recovered. She added that the prosecution had taken on board that detention ought to be a last resort for a child and stated that there would be agreement to bail with "stringent conditions". Judge Owens remanded the teenager, whose phone has been seized as part of the investigation, on bail pending directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions to appear again on September 18. She warned the teenager that he must reside at a specific address and notify gardai of any change, provide a contact phone number, obey a 10 pm to 6 am curfew, stay out of Mullingar except for court hearings or consultations with his solicitor, stay off social media, and not communicate with his co-accused. The boy spoke briefly to confirm he understood the terms. The court has heard CCTV footage from the injured party's house showing him and his co-accused walking towards the house. It was alleged he filmed the incident as the co-accused assembled an improvised shotgun, known as a "slammer", followed by a loud bang, which sent pellets through the wood of the front door, before both fled. His co-accused, another 16-year-old boy, was charged with the same firearms and criminal damage offences on Tuesday and refused bail following objections by Garda Adrian O'Reilly. After being held at the Oberstown Children's Detention Centre for two nights, he was released on bail yesterday/today. Accompanied to court by his mother, he was warned to obey similar strict conditions and that gardai could check curfew compliance at any time. He will appear again next week. Police confirmed the 32-year-old has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence CTSFO and ARV deal with a major incident in the Canterbury Street area of south Belfast on July 16th 2025 (Photo by Kevin Scott) A man is due to appear in court following a six-hour stand-off with counter terrorism police in Belfast. Police confirmed the 32-year-old has been charged with possession of an offensive weapon with intent to commit an indictable offence, and is due to appear in Belfast Magistrates court today. The stand-off occurred in the Canterbury Street area of the city in the early hours of Wednesday morning. At the time police were called to the scene after reports of an assault shortly after midnight. CTSFO and ARV deal with a major incident in the Canterbury Street area of south Belfast on July 16th 2025 (Photo by Kevin Scott) CTSFO involved in major Belfast stand-off The man was later arrested at the scene following negotiations with police. Though the incident is believed to not be terror related, counter terrorism was called in for their ability to work at height, after the man made his way to the roof of a property during the incident. The charges follow an incident in the Canterbury Street area in the early hours of Wednesday, 16th July, said a police spokesperson. As is usual procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service. CTSFO and ARV deal with a major incident in the Canterbury Street area of south Belfast on July 16th 2025 (Photo by Kevin Scott) Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th Opinder Singh Sian is currently in custody in Nevada after being charged in connection with a cystal meth smuggling plot This is the Canadian gangster arrested in the US as part of a global sting operation targeting a drugs trafficking network with links to the Kinahan Cartel. Opinder Singh Sian is currently in custody in Nevada after being charged in connection with a plot to ship a massive quantity of methamphetamine into Australia, Sian was unaware that he had been dealing with an undercover agent from the US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), who had posed as criminal with contacts in a port in California, while arranging the drugs deal. According to evidence from the DEA, Sian told the undercover agent that he worked with Irish organized crime, specifically, the Kinahan family, Italian organized crime, and other Canadian organized crime groups. The Sunday World can reveal that Sian has a long history of ties to organised crime groups based in Canada and Mexico. Known by the nickname Thanos - a notorious villain in the the Marvels Avengers series Sian was believed to be a key associate of the Brothers Keepers gang in Canada. Based in British Columbia, a province on Canadas west coast. the Brothers Keepers are believed to be one of the countrys most "prominent and violent" organized crime gangs. According to reports, the Brothers Keepers gang acts as a major Canadian proxy to the notorious Sinaloa cartel in Mexico. The mob are heavily involved in drugs trafficking and have links to the Hells Angels and Wolfpack biker gangs. File image, Getty Images. Reports say Sian was never a signed-up member of the Brothers Keepers and is suspected as acting as broker for the gang. According to the Vancouver Sun, Sian was regularly stopped in cars with with other gangsters by Canadian police and has criminal convictions for careless use of a firearm and obstruction of a peace officer date to 2007. The Canadian newspaper details how Sian was also refused permission in 2015 to bring in a woman in from India to get married after the immigration appeal board ruled it was a sham marriage. Officials claimed Sians proposed bride did not know he had a criminal record or had previously survived an attempted gangland hit. This background is particularly relevant to this appeal because the applicant was not aware of the appellants criminal history, nor the shooting, nor his work experience at the time of marriage. The panel finds that this is very important information that would be expected to be shared by two persons entering into a genuine relationship, the immigration board ruled, according to reports in the Vancouver Sun. Read more Episode 1098: Kinahan Cartel smuggling network exposed in undercover sting operation In 2008, Sian was wounded in a shooting in that left his friend Gurpreet Sidhu dead and he survived another bid on his life in 2011. British Columbia has recently been the focus of a number of high profile investigations into the drugs trade including an international operations targeting the network of ex-Olympic snowboarder Ryan Wedding. Vancouver is the centre of gravity for hybrid warfare for transnational organized crime in North America, Scott McGregor, a former military intelligence operator, told Global News following Sians arrest. One of my colleagues in D.C. mentioned that it was a cross between Dubai and Miami. Last month, Sian was arrested in Nevada following a three year operation into his smuggling network by the DEA. The operation began when the DEA recruited an informant known only by the code name Queen in Turkey in June 2022. Queen then forged ties with Sian, who was suspected of moving shipments of drugs through ports across the world. As part of an elaborate sting, Queen introduced Sian to an undercover DEA agent who offered to facilitate large drug shipments through the Port of Long Beach in the US. The DEA claim Queen, Sian and the undercover agent met face-to-face at a restaurant in Manhattan Beach, California, in March 2023. During that meeting, they struck a deal to traffic methamphetamine to Australia. Daniel Kinahan However instead of smuggling the drugs, the DEA put in place an elaborate sting operation where agents created a staged shipment of methamphetamine through a safehouse in Pomona, California. The DEA intercepted the original drugs shipment arranged by Sian and substituted them with a decoy batch which was then sent onto Australia. Using a GPS-tracked, Australian police were able to follow the container when it arrived to a suspected stash house in Sydney. DEA agents were able to identify multiple aliases used by figures involved in the network which used encrypted apps to communicate and stretched from Dubai to Istanbul. Sians arrest has also been big news in India where he is accused of having links to shadowy Pakistani security services agents involved with rogue Chinese drug suppliers. Indias News18 reported that Sian was a "critical intermediary" between Pakistani agents and Chinese suppliers, who exploit Canada's "permissive legal and political environment" to traffic synthetic opioids. The channel claimed Indian agencies have identified 40 Indo-Canadians who support this network's operations in Punjab, Delhi and Kashmir. According to the report, Indian intelligence sources have flagged the Kinahan cartel as playing a "role in laundering Canadian drug proceeds. Last month, a Nevada judge ordered Sian held in custody pending his transfer to California saying that his criminal gang is alleged to have ties to international hitmen. None of the other people named in the affidavit by US officials are facing charges at this time. This photo taken on July 15, 2025 show the Ye Ting Bridge at the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) This photo taken on July 14, 2025 shows the residence of Xiang Ying, one of the founders of the New Fourth Army, at the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) This photo taken on July 14, 2025 shows a statue of Ye Ting, commander of the New Fourth Army, at the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) This photo taken on July 15, 2025 show the Ye Ting Bridge at the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) An aerial drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) This photo taken on July 14, 2025 shows a statue at the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Gong Bing) This photo taken on July 14, 2025 shows a statue at the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Gong Bing) A drone photo taken on July 15, 2025 shows the statue of Ye Ting, commander of the New Fourth Army, and the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) This photo taken on July 14, 2025 shows the statue of Xiang Ying, one of the founders of the New Fourth Army, at the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) This photo taken on July 14, 2025 shows the office of Ying Ting, commander of the New Fourth Army, at the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) Tourists visit the memorial hall of the former headquarters of the New Fourth Army in Jingxian County, east China's Anhui Province, July 15, 2025. Located in Yunling Township of Jingxian County in Xuancheng City, the memorial hall covers an area of 20,000 square meters. It is one of the important heritage sites under state protection, and was established based on 11 preserved sites that the New Fourth Army headquarters had been stationed in Yunling from 1938 to 1941, during the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. (Xinhua/Zhou Mu) Robert Power-OMeara (4) of Churchfield, OMalley Park, Limerick, died at Childrens Health Ireland in Temple Street A young Limerick boy suffered fatal brain damage after choking on a cocktail sausage at his home three years ago, an inquest has heard. Robert Power-OMeara (4) of Churchfield, OMalley Park, Limerick, died at Childrens Health Ireland in Temple Street on August 20, 2022. The boy who was known as Robbie had been brought to the hospital for specialist care after originally receiving treatment at University Hospital Limerick where he had been rushed by ambulance. His mother, Melissa Power, told a sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court on Thursday that the fatal incident occurred at their home on August 16, 2022, when she was in the kitchen with Robbie while her older son, Bradley, was upstairs playing on a computer in his bedroom. Ms Power said Robbie came over to her pointing at his throat while she was standing at the cooker after she had given him sausages and chips. She knew he had been eating a sausage so she tried putting her finger down his throat to make him get sick to get the food up. Ms Power, who was accompanied by her partner and Robbies father, Stephen OMeara, gave evidence that her son had been on a waiting list to get his tonsils removed at the time. She explained he had recently completed a two-week course of antibiotics but the swelling had not gone down. The inquest heard that the young boy had previous issues with choking on various foods. Stephen Power and Melissa O'Meara, parents of the late Robert Power-O'Meara. Photo: Collins By placing my fingers down his throat, we would remove the food, Ms Power observed. On this occasion, the sausage was not coming up. She described picking up Robbie and running to her next-door neighbour, John Quinn, who also put his fingers down the boys throat to try to clear the blockage. Ms Power said she noticed blood coming from her sons throat at that stage so she ran back home to phone an ambulance, while another neighbour, Derek Quaide, also offered assistance. She told the hearing that the ambulance arrived a few minutes later to bring Robbie to the emergency department in UHL before he was later transferred to CHI at Temple Street. In reply to questions from the coroner, Crona Gallagher, Ms Power said her son was in good form on the day and was not suffering from any infection. She confirmed that he had been eating a cocktail sausage. He loved them, she added. Ms Power said nothing had come out of his mouth in the house. Asked about previous choking incidents, Ms Power said they had been resolved by either pushing the food down or pulling it up with their fingers without the need to call an ambulance. She said he had never experienced any difficulty with eating sausages before that incident. However, Ms Power said that since he was aged 2 her son would constantly shove food whole into his mouth and she recalled how they would have to hide things like wine gums from him. The inquest heard medical records showed that the boy had been referred earlier that year to see an ear, nose and throat specialist at UHL over concerns about his tonsils and possible sleep apnoea. The coroner noted a second urgent referral had been made following a visit to his GP, Gerard OBrien, on July 12, 2022. However, Ms Power said he had never got to see a specialist and they had torn up an appointment letter they received two weeks after he had died. The inquest heard that the boy had no pulse on his arrival at UHL at 7.57pm but circulation was restored after 45 minutes before a decision was made to transfer him to hospital in Dublin. A consultant paediatric pathologist, John ONeill, said a postmortem showed that although the boy had enlarged tonsils, there was no evidence that they were obstructing his airway. Dr ONeill attributed the cause of death to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (a lack of oxygen and blood to the brain) and herniation of the brain which compressed the brain stem. He said a contributory factor was encephalitis (inflammation) of the brain stem. While such inflammation could affect the swallowing function, Dr ONeill said it could not be proven with certainty in the case of Robbie. In reply to questions from the coroner, the pathologist said the deceaseds swollen tonsils could have had an impact but again it was not something that could be proven with certainty. Dr Gallagher expressed surprise that a piece of sausage had been found in the boys throat during the autopsy. However, Dr ONeill said it was unlikely that it would have been there the whole time and was possible that it had come up from his stomach. The coroner also noted that sausages appeared to be a type of food that children had difficulty in eating as she was aware of their role in a number of other choking cases. However, Dr ONeill said there was the potential for anyone at any age to choke with any solid, dense food. He said there would be no concerns normally about a four-year-old child eating a sausage given their stage of development, while there would be with smaller, younger children. Returning a verdict of accidental death, Dr Gallagher offered her sympathy to the boys parents on what she described as a very unfortunate accident with such tragic consequences. The inquest heard the boys kidneys had been donated to save the lives of other children. Robbie Power-OMeara Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th Today will be cloudy and wet, as heavy rain slowly spreads to the east, which might lead to some spot flooding in the west of the country The weather will be changeable and rather unsettled this week, Met Eireann said. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Heavy and thundery rain is in store for Ireland, bringing a risk of spot flooding, as weather will remain changeable and rather unsettled for the rest of the week, Met Eireann has said. Today will be cloudy and wet, as heavy rain slowly spreads to the east, which might lead to some spot flooding in the west of the country. However, the rain will gradually clear from the west by afternoon, leaving some bright and sunny weather mixed with isolated heavy showers. But it will turn cloudy again in the west by evening, with further rain and drizzle, as temperatures will range between 18 and 23C today. The weather will be changeable and rather unsettled this week, Met Eireann said. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA 7-Day Weather Forecast: 14th - 20th July 2025 For those travelling to the North, the UKs Met Office has issued a yellow thunderstorm warning for five counties for today. Antrim, Armagh, Fermanagh, Tyrone, and Derry can expect heavy showers and a few thunderstorms today, which might cause some disruption, especially to travel. The warning goes into effect at 11am today and expires at 8pm. Meanwhile, light showers will move to the east tonight, while other parts remain dry and clear, as temperatures drop to 11 and 15C. 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 Met Eireann forecaster Brandon Creagh said: Its looking fairly unsettled over the next few days with low pressure remaining nearby along with thunderstorms developing at times. Although tomorrow will have a cloudy start, some sunny spells might improve throughout the day. The temperatures will range between 18 and 22C, while some scattered showers can also be expected. It will be mostly dry on Friday night under broken cloud, however some showers are possible, as the southwest will see light rain or drizzle. Temperatures will drop to 9 and 15 overnight, remaining the coolest across western counties. Meanwhile, the weekend will start off dry on Saturday morning, bringing a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers, as temperatures range between 17 and 21C. It will be followed by a band of rain slowly spreading from the southwest, turning heavy and possibly thundery at times. The weather will be changeable and rather unsettled this week, Met Eireann said. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th Mike Huckabee feels that Ireland is committing an act of diplomatic intoxication over the Occupied Territories Bill. Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, said Ireland needed to 'sober up' when it comes to Occupied Territories Bill. Photo: Reuters US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee has called on Ireland to sober up over legislation which would ban the import of goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. The senior Trump administration figure also claimed that the Irish government fell into a vat of Guinness when drafting the proposed legislation. The bill comes after the International Court of Justice last year declared that countries should "take steps to prevent trade or investment relations" over illegal Israeli settlements. Writing on X, the former Governor of Arkansas said: Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness and propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication? Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, said Ireland needed to 'sober up' when it comes to Occupied Territories Bill. Photo: Reuters Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th "It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. "Sober up Ireland! Call [the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs] and say youre sorry! Huckabee, a long-time supporter of Israel, was chosen by US President Donald Trump for his current position last November before being sworn in following senate approval in April. The comments came following a spiky exchanges between delegates from the Ireland Israel Alliance and the Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade earlier this week. The committee heard former Minister for Justice Alan Shatter liken the bill to legislation passed in Nazi Germany in the 1930s. Taoiseach Micheal Martin. Photo: Collins Speaking on Wednesday, Taoiseach Micheal Martin rejected the claims made by the American diplomat. The situation is very serious in Gaza including an appalling loss of human life. Terrible war crimes are being committed. Ireland has consistently condemned Hamas and we equally condemn Israeli breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza. The slaughter of children must stop. The slaughter of innocent civilians queuing for food must stop. What is going on is beyond any moral compass. Ireland stands for peace and a political pathway forward. The proposed bill is set to go before the Dail in the autumn. In May, the cabinet gave the green light for the government to progress a version of the proposed legislation. UNICEF stated this week that more than 17,000 children have reportedly been killed and a further 33,000 wounded in the ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza. As of July 9, the Gaza Health Ministry stated that approximately 60,200 people have been killed by Israeli forces since October 2023. Samantha Kimene, 25, had been working in a bar on the island after being diagnosed with Covid-19 and leukaemia. An Irish bar worker described as a beautiful and kind human being has died just three weeks after being diagnosed with leukaemia and Covid-19. Samantha Kimene, 25, had been working at a pub in Tenerife in the Canary Islands when she had to be suddenly taken to hospital after falling ill. After undergoing treatment, the Thurles woman could not be saved and passed away after a short battle with the illnesses. Samantha Kimene (25). In a heartfelt tribute posted on social media, the bar paid tribute after her heartbreaking passing. Samantha had been working at popular Irish bar Paddy OKelly's located in Playa de las Americas in the south end of the island. "Its with a heavy heart that our colleague and friend, Sam has sadly passed away, they said. Samantha Kimene. She was a valued part of our team and will be deeply missed. A beautiful and kind human with the the biggest smile. Were still in shock and heartbroken Please keep her family in your thoughts during this difficult time. This is an official GoFundMe from her family to help raise money to get her back to Ireland with her family and friends. If anyone would like to donate then it will mean a lot. Samantha Kimene. Today's News in 90 Seconds - July 17th We will be organising a fundraiser to help too. Rest in Peace Sam. You will be greatly missed. Lots of love, your Paddy OKellys family. A fundraising campaign has been launched by her uncle Arturs Kimene with the aim of raising funds to bring Samanthas body back to Ireland. Around 80% of the target goal has been raised so far, with over 16,000 having been donated at the time of writing. Her uncle says Samantha was loved by everybody and the sudden speed of her death has come as a shock to her friends and family. All the people [in Tenerife] that I met, that she was working with, they're in absolute devastation, he told the Irish Mirror. They're devastated that shes gone, they cant believe it. Anyone willing to donated to aiding the Kimene family and getting Samantha home can do so by contributing to the GoFundMe campaign. This August, Kiwis are lacing up their walking shoes and joining PAWGUST, a nationwide challenge supporting the guide dogs who help New Zealanders live life without limits. Whether youre walking solo or side-by-side with your dog, PAWGUST invites you to step outside every day in August and help raise vital funds for Blind Low Vision NZ Guide Dogs. Participants commit to walking or running a set distance while gathering sponsorship from friends, whanau and local supporters. All funds raised support the breeding, raising, and training of guide dogs. Guide Dogs give people who are blind or have low vision greater freedom and independence. When Michele Jackson from Devonport and her guide dog Sasha signed up for their first PAWGUST last year, Michele saw it as a great opportunity to get fit while supporting an incredible cause. Id love to say I joined purely to raise money, and its definitely an incredible cause, but I also saw it as a great way to get fit, said Jackson. Michele was born with cataracts, which caused the majority of her vision impairment early in life. At age 13, glaucoma set in and took the remaining sight in her right eye, leaving her with a small amount of tunnel vision in her left. Having sponsors kept me motivated, said Jackson. Every time I thought about skipping a walk, I remembered the people who had donated, and it got me moving. With guide dog Sasha by her side, Jackson not only reached her 60km target but exceeded it, clocking over 86km by the end of the month. She and her friend also helped rally the community, hosting group walks on Takapuna Beach and turning an initial $2,000 fundraising goal into a last-minute sprint to raise $10,000. Now, Michele is back for another PAWGUST, encouraging others to get involved. Start small. Set an achievable goal and grow it. And dont be afraid to ask people individually for support. Thats what worked best for me. Why PAWGUST Matters Unlike pet dogs, guide dogs work year-round navigating busy footpaths, e-scooters, road signs, and urban hazards to keep their blind or low vision handlers safe. By taking part in PAWGUST, youre not just embracing daily movement, youre supporting a future where every New Zealander who needs a guide dog can have one. Every step taken in PAWGUST helps raise the funds we need to train more dogs like Sasha, said Andrea Midgen, Chief Executive, Blind Low Vision NZ. These dogs give our clients freedom, confidence, and companionship. Its free to join PAWGUST, and you dont need a dog to take part. By gathering sponsors and getting moving, anyone can contribute to the $175,000 it takes to breed, train, and support a working guide dog throughout its career. Unleash Your PAWtential and help create brighter futures with Blind Low Vision NZ. Sign up at pawgust.co.nz. This international Birth Trauma Awareness Week from July 14-20, Birth Trauma Aotearoa invites Mums, parents and whanau to do 50 things in support of New Zealands birth trauma community. Birth Trauma Aotearoas annual campaign invites people to do 50 of something in order to acknowledge and honour the 50 birthing parents psychologically traumatised by birth per day in New Zealand. Research tells us one in three birthing people will report their birth as emotionally traumatic. That equates to around 50 people a day in Aotearoa leaving birth broken. These figures are shocking and they need to change, said Birth Trauma Aotearoas founder and chief executive Kate Hicks. Those who experience birth trauma often feel very alone, forgotten and even silenced when they express the need for support. This Birth Trauma Awareness Week were saying youre not alone and were working for you. Founder and CEO of Birth Trauma Aotearoa Kate Hicks. Photo: Supplied / Kate Hicks Last year, people from all over New Zealand participated in 50 for 50 mums, parents, businesses will be doing 50 of all kinds of things over the week to raise awareness and much needed funds to support Birth Trauma Aotearoas mahi. The beauty of 50 for 50 is that people can do it however it works for them. They can do something big, or something small, private or shared. Last year we had people do 50 squats; gather 50 people together, plant 50 seeds; read 50 pages of their book, said Hicks. Whatever people do, were grateful they are acknowledging that birth trauma exists, its hugely prevalent and we need to minimise that prevalence as well as improve support following trauma. "Weve heard report after report telling us the importance of supporting maternal mental health. We need to focus on solutions, looking at the strengths of whanau and getting them the support they need." Birth Trauma Aotearoa is a charitable trust working in the birth trauma space across Aotearoa. Birth Trauma Aotearoa undertakes advocacy, education, research and support services regarding both physical and psychological birth trauma. Failing her police training has not stopped 7-year-old German shepherd Kora from saving lives. Taurangas Nick Petry adopted Kora years ago after he recognised her potential to become a successful tracking dog. After extensive training, she qualified as a search and rescue dog and the pair now work together as 24/7 on-call Land Search and Rescue (LandSAR) volunteers. Kora is the Bay of Plenty regions only operational search and rescue dog and accompanies Petry on deployments, attending to the lost, missing, and injured. They have completed more than 100 callouts together. Petry, a self-employed architectural designer by trade, has been volunteering for LandSAR for 10 years, first in Waikato and then in Tauranga. His role with Kora comes with very little funding to cover costs. When she needed major surgery early on in her career after fracturing a vertebra, he shelled out about $20,000. Petry said this was a stressful time, financially and emotionally. We had to be home with her all the time, and she would whine most of the day for the first couple of weeks, which was pretty awful. She returned to work in October 2020, after extensive rehabilitation and recovery. Nick Petry and his search and rescue dog Kora have completed more than 100 deployments together. Photo / Haley Doig You have to pay for the dog yourself, pay to raise it, train it, and take time away [from work] for training, Petry said. Once they become operational, we get a little bit of support, but its very small. He said time away from work affected his income, but he was willing to do it to help those in desperate need. It also sometimes took him away from his wife, Nadia, and 3-year-old daughter, Millie, for days at a time, or multiple callouts a week. He said he never forgot the things he saw in the role, but he had a way of detaching himself from the situation. Its the ones where, for whatever reason, we havent been called to help and are maybe still unresolved today that I think about quite a bit. Petry and Kora recently won an ASB Good as Gold award, receiving $10,000 from ASB and TV programme Seven Sharp in recognition of their dedication and unwavering sacrifice for the community. Petry said it was not just about the money, and he valued the recognition for the work he and Kora did. Although he had not decided what he would do with the $10,000, Kora would be getting her fair share. Kora has been working alongside Nick for years and continues to pass her annual search and rescue certification. She needs a couple of new things toys and treats and maybe a new collar, Petry told the Bay of Plenty Times. Petry also wanted to recognise the Tauranga LandSAR group for their efforts and contribution to the community. I never go out by myself Its always a team effort, and we wouldnt have had the success weve had search-wise without the support from the police as well. Katherine Dyer from Tauranga LandSAR said Kora was the only operational search and rescue dog in the Bay of Plenty region, meaning Petry and Kora were invaluable to the team at Tauranga LandSAR. Nick and Kora are a huge asset to our group. Having a search dog team means we are often able to locate missing parties much quicker than we could just relying on human field team members, getting them home safely to their families as soon as possible. She said training a search and rescue dog was a big time and financial commitment. We are so grateful for Nicks huge contribution. Haley Doig is an AUT journalism student interning at the Bay of Plenty Times. A Labour party member's bill that seeks to stop employers enforcing gag orders on workers talking about their salaries is likely to pass into law. Labour MP Camilla Bellich's bill - called the Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill - passed its second reading on Wednesday night. Currently, employers can put pay secrecy clauses in workers' contracts, preventing them from discussing their salaries with colleagues. Bellich's bill would make pay gag clauses unenforcable, meaning employers could not take legal action if an employee does talk about pay. She told RNZ she was pleased to see the bill progress. "Ending the chilling effect of pay secrecy will allow employees to discuss their pay more freely, and allow any unfairness or discrimination in pay to be remedied." She said it was a "small step" towards "greater transparency and equality" in the workplace. The National Party supported the bill at first reading and indicated during the debate for the second reading it would continue to do so, meaning it could potentially become law. The acting chair of the education and workforce select committee Vanessa Weenink said the bill was a sensible step in the right direction. "I was proud of our parliament and proud of National's ongoing work to reduce the gender pay gap," she said. "I want to highlight the voluntary pay gap calculator for businesses and hope when this bill becomes law, that it opens up discussions about pay." ACT and New Zealand First voted against the amendment bill, and are likely to do so again at third reading. -RNZ Police are urging rural property owners to be vigilant and ensure their property is secure. A key focus for police is preventing crime from happening in the first place, said a police spokesperson. A lot of reported thefts are committed by opportunistic criminals looking for an insecure shed, or a farm vehicle with keys left in the ignition or an open gate. Police urge people to ensure their property, including fuel tanks, are secure and locked to restrict theft and tampering. Thermeasures people can take to ensure their property is safe and less appealing to burglars include: Securing your home, garage, farm buildings, fuel tanks and vehicles at night and when unattended. Recording the serial numbers or engrave tools, electronic and valuable items with your licence number. Installing an alarm system and getting sensor lights fitted as a deterrent. Always locking your property and auxiliary buildings when you leave, even if its only for a short time. Always locking your vehicles when you leave them and take your keys with you. Using chains and locks to secure openings and access. Keeping in contact with your neighbours and let one another know if you see anything unusual. We take burglary and theft seriously, if you see anything suspicious contact police immediately on 105 or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111. Further burglary prevention advice is available on the police website. Changes are coming to downtown parking in Sidney following the July 8 meeting of the city council. As previously reported by the Sidney Sun-Telegraph (Sidney Council Considers Easing Downtown Parking Rules as Residential Growth Reshapes City Core, June 19, 2025), parking in downtown Sidney has changed in recent years as buildings downtown house not just businesses but apartments as well. With a mix of commercial and residential use, a two-hour parking rule initially meant to encourage customer accessibility became a frustration for downtown residents. Two meetings ago, several people in the public came and spoke to the council either in favor of the two-hour parking or in opposition of it, said City Manager David Scott at the most recent meeting. At the June 10 meeting of the governing body, both residents and business owners weighed in on either side of the parking issue. Some, like Andrew Holbrook, expressed frustration at two-hour parking signs being placed in front of their property without prior notification. Others, like Matt Highby, said they were concerned that lack of parking spaces near their storefronts would limit patronage of their businesses. Council listened to what everyone had to say and they had instructed both the city attorney and myself to construct the resolution that you see attached, said Scott. Scott added that, while there was discussion at the June 10 meeting about whether it would need to be a resolution or an ordinance, code allowed council to make such changes through a resolution. Indeed, under Section 424.01 of the municipal code, it reads the Sidney City Council may, by resolution, provide for the placing of stop signs or other signs, signals, standards or mechanical devices in any street or portion of any street in the City for the purpose of regulating or prohibiting traffic thereon. Additionally, Section 460.01 reads Parking areas, whether designated by resolution or otherwise, shall be indicated by appropriate stalls, traffic signs, curb markings or other standards for the information of motor vehicle operators. The last time the Sidney City Council was presentedand passeda resolution concerning parking was to create five two-hour parking spots in front of the Nebraska Veterans Affair office at 920 Jackson Avenue. Resolution 2025-07-01 specifies two-hour parking is enforced from 8 am to 5 pm except on weekends and holidays. This includes a total of 48 spots on Illinois Street between 9th and 12th avenues, 18 spots and one handicap spot from Hickory to Illinois streets, 17 spots from Illinois to Jackson streets and 18 spots from Jackson to King streets. Councilmember Robert Kuhns asked Scott if there had been any more pushback on the issue of two-hour parking in downtown. While Scott said he hadnt had anyone talk to him since the June 10 meeting, Cheyenne County Chamber Director Joe McCarn said he had talked to both members of the public and downtown business owners. I put out a survey online that anyone could have responded to, so its an anonymous survey. I dont know who did respond but I had around 50 people that responded to it giving their opinion, said McCarn. About half of those people were in favor of a two-hour window like what the resolution speaks of. The rest of them were pretty mixed. Probably about 30% of the people said dont do anything. According to McCarn, one of the questions on the survey was whether or not the respondent was a downtown business owner and the majority of respondents indicated they were not. So that was the public that was responding to that [survey], said McCarn. As I was going around talking to business owners downtown, of course theres mixed opinions on what the problem really is. McCarn said, in his conversations with downtown businesses, it was generally believed that there was not yet a solution to the issue of parking. They do want a solution, but they dont see this as being enforceable, said McCarn, because they dont see that the law has time to do all the research its going to take to be able to cite somebody for these violations. During the June 10 meeting, Sidney Police Chief Sam Lovato addressed the enforceability of parking limits. Prior to 2012, said Lovato, it would have been common practice to chalk the tires of a vehicle to determine whether or not it had moved. That, according to the police chief, could now be considered a Fourth Amendment violation. New council member Jeremy Lee also weighed in on the discussion. The ones Ive talked to a little bit about it, some just want common courtesy if you are next door, said Lee. If youre the owner of the hair salon just say, Hey, your appointment is going to be four hours long. Would you mind parking around the corner? Lee also suggested that landlords could talk to other building owners about potentially renting parking spaces for residential tenants. Councilmember Burke Radcliffe also weighed in, saying since the June 10 meeting he had been paying closer attention to parking in the downtown area. The times Ive driven down there, I could have found a parking place fairly easily. Im not saying right in front of the business I wanted to go to, said Radcliffe. In my opinion, the scope of this problem is not huge. Were not downtown Denver. You can park within a couple blocks and you're going to be fine. I realize the two-hour thing is going to be hard to enforce, were just going to have to have some cooperation. Ultimately, Resolution 2025-07-01 passed 4-0 with Lee abstaining from the vote. The next meeting of the Sidney City Council will be at 5:30 p.m. on July 22, 2025 at Sidney City Hall. URUMQI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- A total of 500,000 trips to or from China have been recorded in 2025 at the Urumqi Tianshan International Airport in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region -- the highest figure for the January-July period in a decade. By Monday, foreign nationals had made more than 146,000 trips to China via the airport this year, which was a year-on-year increase of 30 percent, according to statistics from the airport's immigration authorities. Of those trips, 39,000 were visa-free entries. Approximately 40 percent of these foreign visitors were traveling for tourism, the immigration authorities said, noting that business and visits to relatives or friends were the second and third most common reasons for border entry among foreigners. The airport's passenger and cargo capacities received a major boost when a new terminal began operations three months ago. The new terminal is a key part of the airport's expansion project, which began in 2019. With the expansion, the airport now has three runways -- a significant increase from its previous one -- and can accommodate up to 48 million passengers and 550,000 tonnes of cargo annually. It is now capable of supporting nearly 367,000 aircraft takeoffs and landings each year. "As an air transport hub for China's westward opening-up, the Urumqi Tianshan International Airport is making progress in various aspects, boosting the high-standard opening-up of the country's northwest region," said He Mingxing, a scholar at Xinjiang University. The new terminal is a representative of the rapid development of civil aviation infrastructure in Xinjiang. And with the Barkol Dahe Airport officially beginning operations on Tuesday, Xinjiang's total number of civil airports has risen to 28 -- the highest among all provincial-level regions in China. As the core area of the Silk Road Economic Belt, Xinjiang has been working hard to accelerate its airport construction. The number of airports in the region -- both operational and under construction -- is expected to reach 33 by the end of 2025. Many international travelers come to China to buy goods like daily necessities and electronic devices, and airports in Xinjiang have been enhancing their consumption experience and tax-refund-upon-departure services for these visitors. At the Urumqi Tianshan International Airport, a 24-hour outlet and self-service counter are in place to facilitate these services. "We processed a total of 168 tax-refund-upon-departure transactions by July 12, which was an increase of more than 500 percent from the same period last year," said Liu Jiawei, head of the outlet, which is operated by a local bank. Xinjiang is not only an important window for China's westward opening-up; it also has the potential to become a consumption hub connecting Central Asian countries with the Chinese market, and to play a more strategic role in enhancing an outward-looking economy, He said. Enditem (Tang Ziqiao and Wang Yijia also contributed to the story.) Steep drop in television franchise fees leads to requested review of previous budget goals By Joshua Wood, Stevenson Newspapers Cutting cable might be a cost-saving measure for many people in the age of streaming, but it appears to be having a negative impact on municipal budgets. With just three months remaining in the fiscal year for the City of Sidney, setting the budget is top of mind for members of the Sidney City Council. During the July 8 meeting of the governing body, a review of June 2025 led to discussion regarding the steep decline in franchise fees. According to Finance Director Kegan Carwin, franchise administrative fees were down $12,300 from Fiscal Year 2024 or 82.76%. Documents provided to the counciland available on the City of Sidney website showed a total of $14,776 collected in franchise fees in June 2024. Meanwhile just $2,548 in franchise fees were collected last month. This is a decline in the tv franchise fee category. My main concern here would be, with all the cable-cutting going on in the world and everybody switching over to streaming services, theres obviously no way to collect a franchise fee on all of that, said Carwin. [We will] definitely have to have some conversations around that. I think its also a timing thing, because we didnt receive a payment into that category. Reviewing the documents provided to the council, Vice Mayor Brett Kerkman asked Carwin whether the City of Sidney had met their projected revenue from franchise fees in the past few years. From October 2024 through May 2025, the City of Sidney was at 65% of projected revenue with a projection of $1.88 million and having collected $1.21 million. It was a similar trend the previous fiscal year, with 65% of projected revenue collected. Fiscal Year 2023 was 69% and Fiscal Year 2022 was 82%. According to Carwin, the City of Sidney had approximately seven different franchise agreements which included electric, water, sewer, solid waste, telephone, gas and television. When we get into tv and gas, gas is going to be based on a per therm usage. In colder winter seasons, for Black HIlls, there is a fee with how many therms they kick out for the city itself and they pay their fee based off a per therm usage overall, said Carwin. TV would be anything that would be infrastructure related. Kerkman clarified with Carwin that he was looking toward the budget for the next fiscal year, which would begin on October 1, 2025 and run through September 30, 2026. Do you think it should be a fairly predictable number? You mentioned the weather and you cant predict the weather, said Kerkman. I guess you can kind of predict that folks are moving away from cable tv and moving to streaming services. Im just wondering if theres a better mechanism as far as predicting these fees. According to information available on the City of Sidney website, Fiscal Year 2024 ended with the City at 91% of projected revenue under franchise fees with a projection of $1.84 million and collecting $1.67 million. Fiscal Year 2023 was 70% with a projection of $1.75 million and collecting $1.23 million. Fiscal Year 2022 was 83% with a projection of $1.7 million and collecting $1.42 million. In fact, the last time the City of Sidney met its projected revenue on franchise fees was in Fiscal Year 2021. With a projection of $1.822 million, the City collected $1.827 million. The City of Sidney had also met or exceeded its projected revenue in Fiscal Year 2020 and Fiscal Year 2019, according to documents available on the Citys website. Kerkman requested a breakdown of franchise fees over the past four years from Carwin. Councilmember Jeremy Lee, meanwhile, asked if Carwin could reach out to other Nebraska municipalities to see if they were having similar issues regarding franchise fees. The next meeting of the Sidney City Council will be at 5:30 p.m. on July 22, 2025 at Sidney City Hall. Doris A. Dickes, a woman whose life was defined by resilience, kindness, and unwavering devotion to family, passed away peacefully on July 2, 2025, at the age of 98, in Sterling, CO. She leaves behind a legacy of love and strength that will endure through generations. Cremation has taken place and a private family service will take place at a later date. Friends may stop at the Gehrig-Stitt Chapel to leave condolences for the family or you can view Doris' Book of Memories, leave condolences, photos and stories at http://www.gehrigstittchapel.com. Gehrig-Stitt Chapel & Cremation Service, LLC is in charge of Doris' care and funeral arrangements. Born on July 16, 1926, in Bancroft, NE, Doris was the beloved daughter of Floyd "Fritz" and Pearl (Hogan) Worth. She was the oldest of four children, having three younger brothers: Floyd Jr. "Sonny", Larry, and Stanley. She spent her early years on a ranch near O'Neill, NE, where the values of hard work and community were instilled in her, shaped by the land her father and his brothers farmed with dedication. In 1936, her family moved to Dalton, where Doris would continue to blossom into the bright and compassionate woman so many came to cherish. Doris attended Meadow Lawn School and later graduated as valedictorian of Dalton High School in 1943, a testament to her intelligence and determination. Even while still in school, the world called upon her strength: during the war, she was selected to work at the Sioux Army Depot during her final semester. She then pursued studies at Grand Island Business College and soon after worked at the Nebraska Ordnance Plant in Wahoo, helping with the war effort until its closure on VE Day in 1945. On August 4, 1945, Doris married the love of her life, James "Jim" Dickes, while he was on leave from serving in World War II. Together, they made their home in Sidney, Nebraska, where they built a life grounded in faith, hard work, and unconditional love. A woman of many talents, Doris worked at Bauerkemper Motor Clinic before becoming manager of the Peetz Cooperative Telephone Company in 1969, a position she held with pride until her retirement in 1993. Through her professional life, Doris was respected not only for her capability but for the warmth and integrity she brought to everything she did. Doris was a devoted member of St. Patrick's Catholic Church, where she served faithfully through the Altar Society. She also contributed her time to the VFW Auxiliary, always honoring the sacrifices of others with grace and gratitude. But above all, Doris's heart belonged to her family. She was the proud and loving mother of four children: Michael "Mick", Teresa "Teri" and her husband Ray Kuehn, Brenda and her husband Greg Gertge, and Crystal. Her joy multiplied with the arrival of her cherished grandchildren: Sean, Nicole, Toni, Trent, Jonathan, Eric, and Teagan - each one a shining light in her life. She poured her love into them without reserve, attending every milestone she could and offering wisdom and warmth that will be remembered forever. She is blessed with 19 great-grand kids, and 11 great-great-grand kids. Doris's life was one of quiet strength, selfless service, and deep love. She carried herself with dignity and grace, touched countless lives with her gentle spirit, and left an indelible imprint on the hearts of those lucky enough to know her. She now joins those who went before her, resting in eternal peace she so richly deserves. Her family and friends will continue to honor her legacy through the stories they share, when cheering on her beloved Broncos and Nuggets, the monster cookies they try to duplicate, and the tradition of the cherished Santa's made with endless love. She was - and will always be - deeply loved. Eugenio Cabezas Velez-Malaga Thursday, 17 July 2025, 10:11 Compartir Madrid-based property developer Metrovacesa is starting work on its latest project in Velez-Malaga on the eastern Costa del Sol. The company is building 45 new homes in the coastal village of Lagos, which is on the eastern border of Velez and neighbouring Torrox. Prices will range from 388,000 and 464,000 euros and the houses are expected to be ready in the second half of 2028. Proa is Metrovacesa's new residential development located in Castillo de Lagos. It is made up of 45 three-bedroom detached homes facing the sea, designed to offer modern, functional spaces adapted to current needs. All the homes will have large terraces, landscaped communal areas, private garages and communal swimming pool, as well as a carefully designed interior layout that maximises natural light and comfort. As part of Metrovacesa's commitment to responsible urban development the company says Proa "has been conceived under the highest standards of sustainability". The homes will have an A energy rating, both in terms of consumption and emissions. Thanks to construction solutions that optimise thermal insulation and reduce energy consumption. The project is part of the company's Domum commitment sustainable building standard, which integrates environmental, health and comfort criteria. Metrovacesa is one of the leading property developers in Spain. With more than one hundred years of history its main activity focuses on the development and sale of homes and is complemented by the development of commercial projects and active land management. The market value of its assets (GAV) reached 2.38 billion euros in December 2024. "Its geographic presence is unique and balanced, with a special focus on certain large cities," the company explained, adding that it is "also present in first class tourist areas and in smaller towns with high potential". The developer has 115 active projects currently on the go in different parts of Spain, where it works with local partners to design its developments in line with the needs of each of the markets in which it operates. Rafael Rodriguez Malaga Thursday, 17 July 2025, 10:29 | Updated 11:11h. Compartir Malaga marked the day of one of the most beloved figures of devotion - La Virgen del Carmen - celebrated on 16 July, with vibrant coastal celebrations, religious processions and tributes that spanned the city, especially the El Palo and Pedrgalejo districts, and many other coastal and inland towns in the province. The Virgin of Carmen - the patron saint of sailors, fishing communities ('marengos') and the sea - brought together thousands of people despite the event falling on a weekday. From dawn, different districts, towns and brotherhoods rose to pray and pay their tributes. Rincon de la Victoria, Marbella, Estepona and even inland towns in the Serrania de Ronda woke up to identical scenes of devotion. First evening out El Palo and Pedregalejo in Malaga city, both with deep fishing roots, were the epicentre of the events. At 5pm, the Virgin left the church of Nuestra Senora de las Angustias in El Palo, heading in the direction of the promenade. The traditional marches, played by the bugle and drum band of the Brotherhood of the Gypsies, set the tone, while brand new banners demonstrated that, even more than 700 years after the Virgin appeared before Saint Simon, people's belief and commitment are still strong. Like last year, the Zamarrilla music band played the national anthem under the cheers and shouts "guapa, guapa, guapa" (Spanish for 'beautiful') of the crowd. The procession steadily moved towards the beach. Malaga mayor Francisco de la Torre, dressed as one of the 'marengos' and with a baton in hand, also joined the men, women and children, who were not scared away by the heat. Music was played in memory of two women, who had devoted their lives to the Virgen del Carmen, making this one of the most emotional moments of the afternoon. Despite the high temperatures and the risks they pose for them, elderly onlookers wanted to see their Virgin at least as she entered the sea, given that the beach offered some respite from the scorching weather. The whole neighbourhood seemed to want a piece of the spectacle. At 8pm, the ritual of lifting the throne was performed to a standing ovation and tears. Through the human archway, the effigy entered the sea, received by a fleet of boats, decorated to accompany it during this trip around the Mediterranean. "Who is the most beautiful? The Virgen del Carmen!," the devotees repeated. As usual, at 9.30pm, the meeting on the water between the Virgen del Carmen of El Palo and the Virgen del Carmen of Pedregalejo took place. There, the two brotherhoods paid homage to each other with a floral offering, marking their union in faith. Fireworks illuminated the end of the first night, as the Virgen del Carmen of El Palo set on its way back home, to the church. Pedregalejo Pedragalejo's Virgin left the Corpus Christi church at 7pm. Here, it was the La Paz music band that provided the soundtrack, as it has done for the last nine years. Like in El Palo, first it played the national anthem and then Salve Marinera. Another beautiful Virgin was processed on the promenade and was pronounced queen and protector of the area. Reaching the sea at sunset, she was accompanied by dances and songs performed by devotees in traditional clothing. The moment she asked for permission to enter the sea, she paid homage to those who had lost their lives in service there. Shortly before 10.25pm, Pedregalejo's Virgen del Carmen began its way back to the church, under the sound and light of fireworks, on a carpet of petals and salt. Other processions La Virreina, Campanillas, Gudalmar, Alhaurin de la Torre were among the other districts and towns where processions took place, demonstrating that this dedication crosses borders. The largest events, however, took place along the coast: in Estepona, Marbella, Fuengirola, Los Boliches, Mijas, Benalmadena, La Cala del Moral, Rincon de la Victoria, Benajarafe and Nerja. The entire province chanted, with crowds following the path of their Virgin in tears. Undoubtedly, 16 July marks a night of strong emotions and commitment to a centuries-old ritual. * Maria Albarral (Marbella) also contributed to this article. Juan Cano Malaga Thursday, 17 July 2025, 09:50 Compartir A 25-year-old woman has been arrested by the National Police accused of stealing jewellery from the chapel of the Virgen del Carmen in the port of Marbella, which celebrated its big day Wednesday, as in so many other coastal towns in Spain. The faithful who regularly visit the Marbella chapel, located in La Bajadilla, were dismayed to learn of the theft from the religious image, from which numerous jewels of great artistic and sentimental value were stolen. It was a security guard in the port area who raised the alarm that the glass casing housing the Virgin had been broken. Subsequently, a representative of the brotherhood filed the corresponding report for the theft. From that moment, an investigation was launched by the robbery unit of the National Police station in Marbella, who, with the assistance of the forensic specialists, were able to identify the suspect. The investigation focused from the outset on the young woman who was arrested, although it was the evidence gathered in the chapel that enabled her to be fully identified and charged with the offence. The police carried out an extensive search to locate the woman and, after numerous enquiries, they managed to track her down in a prison in the province, where she was already being held for her involvement in other similar criminal acts. Meanwhile, in a separate investigation, officers from the robbery unit became aware of the theft of various display and preservation materials from a storage facility belonging to a hotel, also in Marbella. According to the police, the incident had caused significant damage to the establishment in the lead-up to the summer season. In a short period of time they were able to identify the alleged mastermind of the hotel theft. The man was arrested and during the subsequent search of his home, almost all of the stolen property, valued at 8,500 euros, was recovered. Another political change is afoot in the western end of Malaga province. On Wednesday the PSOE (Spanish socialist workers' party) presented a motion of no confidence at a full council meeting in the small town of Benaojan, in the Serrania de Ronda, with the support of one of the three serving PP (People's Party) councillors to unseat current PP mayor Guillermo Becerra, according to SUR sources. The motion was signed by Benaojan's four serving councillors for PSOE, which was the party that won most votes in the last municipal elections in May 2023, together with PP councillor Jose Antonio Garcia Delgado. The motion also proposed PSOE councillor Soraya Garcia Mesa as the new mayor. She had previously held this post between 2015 and 2023 and also between 2007 and 2009, the year that she was ousted from the mayor's office by a motion of no confidence by the left-wing IU (Izquierda Unida) party and two independent parties. In the last local elections PSOE won four seats, while PP won three and the local, independent APB group (Agrupacion Progresista de Benaojan), led by former mayor Francisco Gomez, won two. A pact to govern together was made between the latter two groups, which allowed the PP to govern for the first time in this town in the Guadiaro Valley. Garcia Delgado justified his decision to support the PSOE motion in a letter addressed to Patricia Navarro (the PP party's provincial president), his fellow PP colleagues in the council and local residents. In the letter he stated that he is taking this step out of "conviction" and because he believes that the direction taken by the municipal government, of which he is a member as the councillor in charge of public works, "does not represent the values or the PP's way of doing politics." "The ongoing management is generating a profound institutional erosion, growing neighbourhood unrest and a clear deterioration in the image of the local council, of our town, but also of our party within the municipality and beyond", said the councillor, who was local president of the PP and a mayoral candidate a few years ago. Party expulsion proceedings and accusations of party defections The Partido Popular has already announced that it will open a case against PP councillor Jose Antonio Garcia Delgado because "we will not allow this kind of speculation", while the councillor stated in his letter that he is not acting out of personal interests or specific differences of opinion. "I do it because I believe in the PP project in Benaojan and in the province. I do so because I am concerned that our acronym, which we have worked so hard to dignify in Benaojan, is being associated with a way of governing that is far removed from the closeness, effectiveness, sensitivity and good image that we have always defended", he added in the letter. "This motion is not against anyone personally. It's a call for reflection, an opportunity to correct course and hand back to my municipality the leadership it needs", he says. From the provincial leadership of the Partido Popular, secretary-general Jose Ramon Carmona described Garcia Mesa as "the mayor of party defection" and criticised her "inconsistency." After describing the 2009 vote of no confidence she suffered as "inappropriate", she now "betrays her ideals in order to sit at the head of the town council." "It is regrettable to see that they've been plotting this manoeuvre for some time, behind the backs of their residents and the PP, relying on a defector, all because of this burning desire to govern that pushes the socialists to do whatever it takes to get into power," said Carmona. She went on to reproach this particular socialist politician for not sticking to the simple way to reach an agreement and, instead, deciding to "betray her principles to break the prosperous and ambitious PP government in Benaojan". She accused her of "putting her own interests and those of the party before the general interest of the municipality." Opening a period of "stability, dialogue and progress" In response, Soraya Garcia Mesa explained that the presentation of the motion of censure was a "difficult but necessary" step for Benaojan to open a new period of "stability, good management, real dialogue and progress." In a video on social media, Garcia Mesa stated that these two years of municipal mandate have seen a management marked by "erratic, improvised political decisions, many of them marked by ignorance or lack of understanding of how local government works." She denounced the growing "tension" within the municipal council and among local residents as a result of a leadership that "has failed to unite, engage in dialogue or build trust." "The governing team has acted without coordination, without transparency and without a clear direction, which has created a disastrous image inside and outside the municipality that is harming not only our coexistence, but also our opportunities for development," she said. Garcia Mesa recalled that, from the beginning of her current term of office, she had reached out to the local and provincial PP to build a majority that would allow the town's projects to move forward, but the current mayor refused this approach. "Even so, we remain open to dialogue with the provincial PP and councillors who share the belief that the general interest comes first," she added. Francisco Jose Fajardo / David Ojeda Marino Las Palmas de Gran Canaria Thursday, 17 July 2025, 20:54 Compartir A 17-year-old young woman has allegedly been the victim of a brutal attack allegedly at the hands of her boyfriend in the La Isleta district, in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The alleged aggressor, Abarrafia Hader, allegedly set her on fire by throwing a burning, fuel-soaked roll of paper at her. The incident happened at 4am on Wednesday in Calle Angostura. According to initial information from official sources, the victim, under the guardianship of the Canary Islands government, was residing in a centre for minors, although she regularly left the centre to be with the alleged aggressor, aged 20 and of Moroccan origin. In fact, the director general of child protection of the autonomous community, Sandra Rodriguez, confirmed that the young persons' home where she lived had reported her disappearance days ago and "just yesterday" had again made a search request. The victim was rushed by medical services to the Hospital Universitario de Gran Canaria Doctor Negrin in a critical condition with serious burns over 95 per cent of her body. She is currently in the intensive care unit of this hospital and the intention is to transfer her to the burns unit in Seville on the Spanish mainland, depending on how she responds in the next few hours. Zoom The moment of the fire in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Juan Carlos Alonso The alleged aggressor is also in hospital, under police guard, after being affected by smoke inhalation. The man arrived in the Canary Islands a month and a half ago after being rescued from a dinghy by a maritime rescue vessel. As confirmed by CANARIAS7 newspaper, the man was transferred to the centre set up in the military installations of Canarias 50, in La Isleta, as is usually the case with adult migrants arriving without visas or documentation allowing them to stay in Spain. He entered and left this centre regularly. The aforementioned centre is located a short distance from the place where the aggression took place. The National Police and firefighters were alerted, and on arrival, the police officers found the minor in Calle Roque Nublo, as well as the alleged aggressor. Both were attended to by medical personnel and the suspect was arrested. The woman, whose name has not been released, is fighting for her life. Until Wednesday afternoon, the government of the Canary Islands had no formal proof that the young man arrested for the assault was the minor's partner, but they have gathered information that suggests that this was the case, although they are still being cautious. In fact, the Canary Islands institute for equality, which has been monitoring this case, had not been able to corroborate this at the time of going to press. Rodriguez explained that in Canarian legislation, whether or not they were a couple, these acts are considered gender-based violence, with the aggravating circumstance that the victim is especially vulnerable. Six weeks in Spain At the beginning of June, a rescue boat took the occupants of a dinghy that was found at sea to Arrecife. Among them was Abarrafia Hader, the now presumed aggressor, born in Morocco on 12 April 2005. Once on land, the illegal migrants were identified and it was then verified that the young man was not carrying a visa or any other documentation authorising his entry into Spain. In accordance with the legislation in force, it was agreed that they would be "returned to their country of origin or provenance". An appeal against this decision could be lodged with the government delegation within one month. At the moment of the roadside check, ASPAYM volunteers will approach the vehicles to share the campaign's message and raise awareness of the irreversible consequences and lasting effects that can result from traffic accidents. Patxi Fernandez Madrid Thursday, 17 July 2025, 15:47 Compartir Spain's Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) has launched a special campaign to monitor and control driving under the effects of alcohol and drugs. The campaign runs from 14 to 20 July. The DGT will carry out more than 30,000 daily tests on drivers on both interurban and urban roads. The aim is clear: prevent road accidents caused by substance abuse - one of the main causes of death on Spanish roads. According to 2023 data, some 246 people lost their lives in traffic accidents in that year. Alcohol was involved in 26% of all fatal accidents and also in 13% of all registered accidents. It ranks second among road accident causes in Spain, only behind distractions at the wheel and speeding. Even in small quantities, alcohol consumption directly affects essential functions. It acts as a central nervous system depressant, altering perception, reaction time, coordination and judgement. This results in slower reactions to unexpected events, underestimation of one's own and others' speed and difficulties in assessing distances, even when the driver believes they are in control. Alcohol consumption not only increases the number of accidents but their severity as well. Studies show that injuries resulting from alcohol-induced collisions tend to be more severe, because drink-driving is often associated with high-risk behaviour such as speeding or reckless manoeuvres. The only safe level of alcohol at the wheel is 0.0%. Fines and criminal liability Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs has serious consequences. The most minor of these is the administrative fee, but an offender could be imprisoned, depending on the case. In 2024, more than 50,000 drivers were convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. The most serious consequence is death, whether that of the reckless driver or another person. The effects of alcohol INDIVIDUAL AND COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY Driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs puts lives at risk. Every time a person gets behind the wheel after having consumed alcohol or drugs, they are making a decision that not only compromises their own safety but also that of other drivers, passengers, pedestrians or cyclists. What is sometimes perceived as a "personal decision" can end up having a devastating impact on entire families. If someone around you has been using, stop them from getting in the car. Responsibility for road safety is not limited to the driver alone. As family members, friends or partners, we also have the capacity - and the moral obligation - to intervene. It is not enough to warn or advise; we must act firmly and prevent them from getting behind the wheel. Never ride as a passenger with a person who has been drinking or using drugs. Agreeing to ride in a vehicle driven by someone under the influence of alcohol or drugs means exposing yourself directly to danger. As passengers, we must also take an active role in prevention. Getting into that car means putting one's own life at risk and, in many cases, normalising behaviour that should have no place in a responsible society. The only safe limit is 0.0%. Spain is currently considering reducing the maximum alcohol limit allowed for driving to 0.1. If you decide not to drink a single drop of alcohol before driving, you will be helping to prevent accidents and save lives. As part of this campaign, the national federation of spinal cord injuries and other physical disabilities (ASPAYM) is once again collaborating with the DGT to raise awareness among drivers of the serious risk of driving under the influence of substances. Within this framework, volunteers with spinal cord injury and victims of traffic accidents will accompany the police at alcohol and drug controls in provinces such as Asturias, Cadiz, Madrid, Murcia and Seville. At the time of the roadside check, ASPAYM volunteers will approach the vehicles to share the campaign's message and, through their presence, raise awareness of the irreversible consequences and lasting effects that can result from traffic accidents. This initiative, which received a Luis Antona honourable mention in 2024, seeks to generate a direct and reflective impact on drivers. Lucia Palacios Madrid Thursday, 17 July 2025, 16:33 Compartir Barely a month and a half after the Spanish government approved the new rules for early retirement without cuts for arduous or dangerous professions, UGT and CC OO trade unions are stepping forward and formally requesting this early retirement benefit for construction workers. Both unions raised this request with the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration. This does not apply to everyone in the construction sector, which accounts for between 5% and 6% of Spain's GDP, but specifically to those who work on-site, classified under groups I to IV in the State agreement. This group is estimated to include around one million workers. The workers' organisations are taking this step forward without the support of the national construction confederation (CNC). The CNC is opposed to it, because it considers that the economic cost of this measure will be "unbearable", as it means an increase in wage costs due to the rise in contributions. Establishing reduction coefficients for a group implies an increase in the contributions that employers and workers pay to Social Security (in a much higher percentage for companies) to compensate for this early retirement. Despite the CNC's refusal to join the trade unions, UGT and CC OO stated that they will continue trying to persuade the confederation to agree to the proposal. The procedure would be much simpler and quicker if the request is made jointly by trade unions and employers. High accident rate In order to demand early retirement, UGT and CC OO have clearly detailed the professional groups that are potentially eligible for early retirement. This includes jobs that put the worker at a higher risk of exhaustion, toxicity, physical danger and decreased overall health. The unions have also created a report with data on accident rates, mortality and occupational diseases. The construction sector has the highest rate of work-related accidents and deaths. Since 2015, the number of occupational accidents has increased by 64.7%, rising from 49,574 to 81,697 in 2023. Fatal accidents have increased by 52%. Cicero, NY -A large used-car dealership in Cicero that closed two years ago is on track to become home to an RV business. The Cicero Planning Board last month gave the green light to a new operation: Wilkins Recreational Vehicles. The company plans to offer sales and service at its dealership, according to Cicero officials. There will be about 120 RVs on site for sale, according to town of Cicero planning board minutes. The company plans to buy and then move into the spot once home to Echo Park Automotive, a large used-car dealership off Route 11. The sale has not yet been finalized, said Brian Wilkins, who runs Wilkins RV. That 43,600-square-foot dealership at 8010 Brewerton Road (Route 11) was at one time owned by Todd Caputo. He then sold his three Syracuse-area used-car dealerships to Sonic Automotive Inc., one of the nations largest automotive retailers, in 2021. Echo Park ultimately shut down in June 2023. Currently, Wilkins RV has three locations in the Syracuse market: Brewerton, Fulton and in Clay near the former Great Northern Mall. It also has locations in Bath, Churchville and Nichols, all in New York. Wilkins plans to move out of the Great Northern location. The company hopes to consolidate some of its operations, but hasnt worked out the details on that yet, Wilkins told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Thursday met with South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile in Beijing. In September last year, China and South Africa upgraded the bilateral relationship to an all-round strategic cooperative partnership in the new era. Han said this opened a new chapter in building a high-level community with a shared future between the two countries. He called on the two sides to further implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, constantly deepen political mutual trust, advance the high-quality development of bilateral cooperation, and serve the modernization endeavors of both countries. Mashatile said that South Africa attaches great importance to the relationship with China and firmly adheres to the one-China policy. Noting that the bilateral cooperation in trade, investment and other fields have made strong progress, Mashatile said they are ready to further implement the consensus reached to contribute to the development of relations between South Africa and China as well as those between Africa and China. Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with South African Deputy President Paul Mashatile in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Liu Weibing) The satisfying rumble from vintage cars and colorful hot rods can be heard again around Central New York as the Syracuse Nationals return to the New York State Fairgrounds on Friday. Celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the annual celebration of American muscle, cool customs, and restored classics bills itself as the largest car show in the Northeast, a tagline which was used even before the first eye-popping car passed through a Fairgrounds gate. Syracuse, N.Y. A Manlius woman who has served as an attorney for Syracuse University for a decade has been appointed a judge on the state Court of Claims. Abby Perer, 39, was in-house counsel for Syracuse University, overseeing all litigation and regulatory compliance matters. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Perers appointment in June. In her role, Perer will hear civil matters involving claims against the state. The term for Court of Claims judges is nine years. I am thrilled to bring the empathy, creativity, and strategic thinking I learned at Syracuse to this important work of administering justice fairly and thoughtfully, Perer wrote in a LinkedIn post announcing her appointment. She wrote she loved working for the university because she saw how leaders cared about doing the right thing by students, faculty and staff. Before working at the university, Perer was a corporate and commercial litigation associate for DLA Piper LLP, according to a news release from the governors office. Perer graduated from Hamilton College and Brooklyn Law School. Tonawanda, N.Y. A former member and treasurer of an Upstate NY volunteer fire company stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from its fundraising efforts. James Hoffman, 41, of Depew pleaded guilty to one count of second-degree grand larceny and one count of the repeated failure to file personal income and earnings taxes. According to a news release from the Erie County District Attorneys Office on Wednesday, Hoffman stole a total of $446,118.42 from the Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Company while serving as treasurer between January 1, 2019, and January 31, 2025. Over the span of six years, Hoffman made unauthorized cash withdrawals from the fire companys bank accounts and failed to deposit proceeds from fundraisers. He stole these funds to support his gambling habit. He was a friend, not just [to] me, a lot of people, and it hurt a lot of people not just what he did, but friendships and everything, Paul Palistrant, president of the Sheridan Park Fire Company, told WIVB Buffalo. We have many members with over 50 years of service, so a lot of these gentlemen have dedicated more than half of their lives saving that money and working to preserve it. This has hurt a lot of people, he continued. The money Hoffman embezzled was to be used for events and supporting families in case a member passes away. The Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Company raised these funds over the course of 96 years and is now left with less than $100 in its account because of Hoffman. The company first became aware of the missing money this past January after a vendor reported that a check for an unpaid invoice was rejected due to insufficient funds. Hoffman was then removed from his position. In addition to the theft, he pleaded guilty to failure to file personal income taxes from 2021 to 2024, with the intent to evade payment. On Wednesday, he returned $55,000 to the Sheridan Park Fire Company and signed Confessions of Judgment for the remaining restitution of $391,118.42 to the fire company and $26,706.00 to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance." He faces a maximum of 15 years in prison and will be sentenced on Monday, October 6, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. Syracuse, N.Y. Verizon Wireless stores in the Syracuse area are giving away free backpacks to students next Sunday. The 13th annual School Rocks Backpack Giveaway will take place on Sunday, July 27, at 1 p.m. Locations in the Syracuse area include: 77 Nelson St, Cazenovia, NY 3856 Rome St, Pulaski, NY 3078 East Ave Ste 1, Central Square, NY 898 S 1st St, Fulton, NY 137 State Route 104, Oswego, NY 318 Oswego Street, Liverpool, NY Backpacks will be distributed to one per present child, and families are encouraged to show up early. The giveaway is held across the country in 1,200 retailers, Verizon retailer Round Room said in a news release. The retailer said they have distributed backpacks to 1.5 million children so far. On July 8, a New York State Department of Environmental Conservation forest ranger on patrol near Split Rock Falls in Hammond Pond Wild Forest discovered an unattended campfire. The fire had escaped a rock ring and was burning the pine duff. Three rangers quickly put out the fire. DEC reminds those camping this summer of these fire safety tips: Never leave a campfire unattended. Always keep water and hand tools nearby. Even a small breeze could cause the fire to spread quickly. Drown the fire with water. Make sure all embers, coals, and sticks are wet. Move rocks as there may be burning embers underneath. Stir the remains, add more water, and stir again. If you do not have water, use dirt. Do not bury your coals as they can smolder and break out. Cattaraugus Creek rose nearly three feet in a matter of minutes on the morning of July 13. Rangers aided people who swam across the creek and treated them for cuts and bruises. NYS DEC The following reports are excerpted from DEC: Cattaraugus Creek rose nearly three feet in a matter of minutes on the morning of July 13. A ranger patrolling the Zoar Valley Unique Area witnessed the surge and noted vehicles parked nearby. Two other rangers searched the banks of the creek for anyone stuck on the opposite side. Rangers found four adults who swam across the creek and treated them for cuts and bruises. The adults lost personal items, including car keys, in the flood. Rangers assisted in making phone calls to get spare keys brought to the trailhead A 13-year-old from Virginia hiking with a camp group suffered an upper leg injury on Indian Pass near Wallface Mountain on the evening of July 8. A NY State Police helicopter inserted two rangers to the location. They splinted the hikers injured leg and hoisted the teenager into the chopper for a flight to the hospital. On the morning of July 10, a 68-year-old from New Hampshire suffered a head injury and may have lost consciousness at the midpool of Kaaterskill Falls. An assistant ranger began a medical assessment before a Greene County Paramedic and Catskill EMS took over patient care. Rangers, paramedics, and local fire department personnel walked the patient to an awaiting Catskill ambulance. A 31-year-old dehydrated hiker called for help near the summit of Buck Mountain on July 10. Two rangers eached the hiker, rehydrated them, and assisted them back to the trailhead. DEC encourages hikers to bring plenty of food and water for their hike in case the hike lasts longer than expected. A 10-year-old from Flushing experienced a medical issue on July 12 while swimming at Peekamoose Blue Hole. A ranger noticed that the child had normal breathing, but a weak pulse, and so provided water and electrolytes. A Sullivan County Paramedic and Neversink EMS arrived and transported the patient to the hospital. Lightning sparked a two-acre wildfire in the town of Chesterfield on July 12. A ranger shared unified command with the Keeseville Fire Department, assigning crews from six fire departments, Keeseville EMS, and seven rangers to control the fire. Crews worked overnight, containing the fire by the evening of July 13. Steve Featherstone covers the outdoors. Contact him at sfeatherstone@syracuse.com. Syracuse, N.Y. The Brooklyn Pickle, an iconic Central New York sandwich business, chose its 50th anniversary celebration today to announce its newest location. The next Brooklyn Pickle will open at 103 Marshall St. near the Syracuse University campus. That storefront was most recently a location for a Jimmy Johns sandwich shop. Owner Craig Kowadla announced the new location amid todays anniversary celebration at its existing shops. The festivities included $5 full-sized subs all day today and 50-cent chips, pickles and fountain drinks, plus $5 anniversary T-shirts. The Marshall Street shop is expected to open in August, just ahead of the coming SU semester. It would be the shops third location in the city of Syracuse and fourth in Onondaga County. Brooklyn Pickle was founded by Ken Sniper in 1975 with a shop on Burnet Avenue near Midler Avenue and the I-690 on-ramps. Snipers vision was to bring New York City-style sandwiches to Syracuse. A second location opened on West Genesee Street a few years later. In the decades that followed, both original locations got full makeovers. The Burnet shop got a new building in 1992. West Genesee got an upgrade in 2011. In 2019, Brooklyn Pickle opened its most modern shop yet on Buckley Road in Liverpool. In 2022, Sniper retired and sold the business to Kowadla, who had started working the counter back in the 1980s. Kowadla soon began a new expansion: He added a location in Uticas old Steam Cotton building in 2023. The he took the concept to the south, with three locations now operating in North Carolina (Raleigh, Charlotte and Southern Pines). The Steve Miller Band, scheduled to play the New York State Fair and two other Upstate New York concerts next month, announced the cancellation of their entire 2025 tour on Wednesday night and blamed the weather. The band made the announcement on social media Wednesday night. The band had 31 dates scheduled this year, starting with an Aug. 15 show in Bethel Woods, N.Y., and ending with a show in Anaheim, Calif., on Nov. 8, according to Pollstar. The band was scheduled to perform in Syracuse at the State Fairs Suburban Park stage on Aug. 21, and the Seneca Allegany Resort & Casinos in Salamanca on Aug. 30. The bands website now lists no tour dates. Instead, it has this note: Dear Steve Miller Band fans, You make music with your instincts You live your life by your instincts Always trust your instincts The Steve Miller Band has cancelled all of our upcoming tour dates. The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable. So You can blame it on the weather ... The tour is cancelled. Dont know where, dont know when We hope to see you all again. Wishing you all Peace, Love and Happiness, Please take care of each other. Steve, The Band and the Crew The band drew one of the largest crowds in State Fair concert history with 36,900 fans in 2015. Miller was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. The 2025 New York State Fair runs from Wednesday, Aug. 20, through Labor Day, Monday, Sept. 1. 2025 NYS Fair concert lineup Aug. 20 at 2 p.m.: The Concert: A Tribute to ABBA at Chevy Court Aug. 20 at 6 p.m.: George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic at Chevy Court Aug. 20 at 8 p.m.: Nate Smith at Suburban Park Aug. 21 at 1 p.m.: Taylor Dayne at Chevy Court Aug. 21 at 6 p.m.: Cheap Trick at Chevy Court Aug. 22 at 1 p.m.: Lily Rose at Chevy Court Aug. 22 at 6 p.m.: Neon Trees at Chevy Court Aug. 22 at 8 p.m.: Jessie Murph at Suburban Park Aug. 22 at 9 p.m.: The Lady Gaga Tribute at Chevy Court Aug. 23 at 1 p.m.: Kidz Bop at Chevy Court Aug. 23 at 6 p.m.: Kameron Marlowe at Chevy Court Aug. 23 at 8 p.m.: O.A.R. at Suburban Park Aug. 24 at 1 p.m.: Los Lonely Boys at Chevy Court Aug. 24 at 6 p.m.: Grouplove at Chevy Court Aug. 24 at 8 p.m.: Busta Rhymes at Suburban Park Aug. 25 at 1 p.m.: Slippery When Wet - The Ultimate Bon Jovi Tribute at Chevy Court Aug. 25 at 6 p.m.: Red Jumpsuit Apparatus at Chevy Court Aug. 25 at 8 p.m.: 98 Degrees at Suburban Park Aug. 26 at 1 p.m.: Hermans Hermits starring Peter Noone at Chevy Court Aug. 26 at 6 p.m.: Sister Hazel at Chevy Court Aug. 26 at 8 p.m.: Lil Jon at Chevy Court Aug. 27 at 1 p.m.: Tusk, the Classic Fleetwood Mac Tribute at Chevy Court Aug. 27 at 6 p.m.: Red Hot Chilli Pipers at Chevy Court Aug. 27 at 8 p.m.: Carly Pearce at Suburban Park Aug. 28 at 1 p.m.: Tom Nitti and Ashley Bryant at Chevy Court Aug. 28 at 6 p.m.: Maddie & Tae at Chevy Court Aug. 28 at 8 p.m.: Lynyrd Skynyrd at Suburban Park Aug. 29 at 1 p.m.: Vertical Horizon at Chevy Court Aug. 29 at 6 p.m.: Yacht Rock Revue at Chevy Court Aug. 29 at 9 p.m.: DJ Pauly D at Chevy Court Aug. 30 from 12-9:15 p.m. JAMS Funk Fest feat. Rose Royce (at 8:15 p.m.) at Chevy Court Aug. 31 at 1 p.m.: Blippi at Chevy Court Aug. 31 at 6 p.m.: En Vogue at Chevy Court Aug. 31 at 8 p.m.: Shaggy at Suburban Park Sept. 1 at 12 p.m.: Dionne Warwick at Chevy Court 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. A visitor interacts with a smart bionic hand at the booth of Qualcomm in the Digital Technology Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. Held from July 16 to 20, the 2025 CISCE gathered more than 650 companies and institutions from 75 countries, regions and international organizations, along with over 500 of their upstream and downstream partners. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) A robot of Unitree Robotics is pictured at the Digital Technology Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. Held from July 16 to 20, the 2025 CISCE gathered more than 650 companies and institutions from 75 countries, regions and international organizations, along with over 500 of their upstream and downstream partners. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) Visitors learn about drone products at the booth of Sichuan Tengden Sci-tech Innovation Co., Ltd. in the Advanced Manufacturing Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. Held from July 16 to 20, the 2025 CISCE gathered more than 650 companies and institutions from 75 countries, regions and international organizations, along with over 500 of their upstream and downstream partners. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) Visitors view a sand table model displayed by China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) at the Advanced Manufacturing Chain area during the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. Held from July 16 to 20, the 2025 CISCE gathered more than 650 companies and institutions from 75 countries, regions and international organizations, along with over 500 of their upstream and downstream partners. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) Robots are seen at the Digital Technology Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. Held from July 16 to 20, the 2025 CISCE gathered more than 650 companies and institutions from 75 countries, regions and international organizations, along with over 500 of their upstream and downstream partners. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) Visitors learn about a low-altitude aircraft at the booth of the tech company COVY in the Smart Vehicle Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. Held from July 16 to 20, the 2025 CISCE gathered more than 650 companies and institutions from 75 countries, regions and international organizations, along with over 500 of their upstream and downstream partners. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) Desktop humanoid robots are seen at the booth of the tech company UBTECH in the Smart Vehicle Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. Held from July 16 to 20, the 2025 CISCE gathered more than 650 companies and institutions from 75 countries, regions and international organizations, along with over 500 of their upstream and downstream partners. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) Visitors learn about battery products at the booth of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) battery maker CATL at the Smart Vehicle Chain area of the third China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE) in Beijing, capital of China, July 16, 2025. Themed on "Connecting the World for a Shared Future," the expo, hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, kicked off in Beijing on Wednesday. Held from July 16 to 20, the 2025 CISCE gathered more than 650 companies and institutions from 75 countries, regions and international organizations, along with over 500 of their upstream and downstream partners. (Xinhua/Ding Hongfa) KABUL, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Afghan security forces have discovered 13,000 rounds of assault rifles in the Spin Boldak border town of the southern Kandahar province and arrested one person on charge of attempting to smuggle the munition, an army spokesman in the southern region, Ahmad Shukib, said Thursday. Acting on a tip-off, security forces raided a market in an area and discovered the ammunition from a parked car and took into custody a smuggler, the officer said. The smuggler has been handed over to concerned authorities for further investigations. Rumor mill: Intel may be edging closer to unveiling what could be its most powerful and innovative desktop CPUs yet. A new report from SemiAccurate indicates that the company's upcoming Nova Lake-S processors have completed the tape-out phase at TSMC's fabrication plants in Taiwan. This key step marks the transition from design to the first real silicon chips made for internal testing. For years, speculation surrounded which manufacturing process Intel would use for Nova Lake-S, with many expecting a debut for the company's in-house 18A node. The latest developments, however, reveal that at least part of Nova Lake-S will rely on TSMC's cutting-edge N2 process, supporting the theory that Intel is embracing a hybrid foundry strategy. This approach could be a response to concerns about production yields and readiness with the 18A node or a pre-emptive measure to ensure enough chips to meet demand by tapping proven external capacity. The tape-out phase is far from the end of the road. Next, Intel must validate the chips through rigorous "power on" testing and laboratory qualification, a process likely to last several weeks to a month. Only after this stage, and once high-volume manufacturing is scheduled, will Nova Lake-S move closer to retail. Industry watchers expect the launch to come in the second half of 2026, with some sources pinpointing the third quarter as the most likely target for consumer availability. The move to TSMC's advanced N2 process technology comes against a backdrop of ongoing struggles with Intel's 18A node, which is reportedly experiencing low yield rates and delays that have already impacted timelines for upcoming product families. The SemiAccurate report confirms earlier speculation fueled by an Intel support document about the Time Coordinated Computing (TCC) platform, which referenced several unreleased Intel platforms expected to be announced soon, including Nova Lake-S for desktops. Separately, according to reputable leakers @chi11eddog and @jaykihn0, Nova Lake-S is expected to launch in the second half of 2026 and will introduce a sweeping overhaul in both design and performance targets. If these specifications prove accurate, Nova Lake-S will represent a significant shift in Intel's approach to processor design. The flagship desktop models are expected to feature a highly intricate, tiled architecture and up to 52 cores, built from a combination of 16 high-performance P-cores based on the new Coyote Cove design, 32 Arctic Wolf E-cores for efficient multi-threaded tasks, along with four ultra-low-power LPE-cores for background operations. Such a leap more than doubles the maximum core count seen in the previous Arrow Lake generation. Supporting features are equally ambitious. The integrated memory controller reportedly supports speeds up to 8,800 MT/s, while graphics and media duties will be distributed across a new hybrid iGPU platform consisting of Xe3 "Celestial" and Xe4 "Druid" cores. Intel's platform roadmap will also require users to adopt new hardware. Nova Lake-S is expected to introduce a new LGA 1854 socket and 900-series chipsets, necessitating motherboard upgrades but unlocking a suite of next-generation features tied to the new architecture. While real-world performance benchmarks will have to wait, industry rumors suggest Nova Lake-S could deliver up to 25 percent higher speeds with as much as 36 percent greater energy efficiency compared to its predecessors. How these numbers will play out in actual computing tasks remains to be seen, but the signs point to Nova Lake-S as a potential landmark in Intel's client CPU history. Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years.TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust What to do: Professional Nvidia graphics card users concerned about security should strongly consider enabling error-correcting code if it isn't engaged by default. The GPU manufacturer advises that the security feature guards against a newly demonstrated type of Rowhammer attack affecting GDDR6 RAM. Researchers at the University of Toronto recently demonstrated a new method for executing Rowhammer attacks on Nvidia A6000 workstation graphics cards with GDDR6 RAM. Although the vulnerability isn't being actively exploited, a mitigation is already available from Nvidia. The company advises users to ensure that system-level error-correcting code (ECC) is enabled on Blackwell, Ada, Hopper, Ampere, Jetson, Turing, and Volta workstation and data center GPUs. Blackwell and Hopper graphics cards that support on-die ECC engage the feature automatically. Users can confirm the status of SYS-ECC on earlier models by checking out-of-band (OOB) through the system BMC to the GPU or inspecting in-band (InB) via the CPU to the GPU. The procedure might require logging in to NVOnline through partners.nvidia.com. Nvidia's security advisory describes the proper command for checking OOB ECC without NVOnline. To set the ECC mode, access the NSM Type 3 OOB document. Nvidia's SMBPBI OOB document can set product reconfiguration permissions, and the NVIDIA-smi page can set the ECC configuration for the InB path. Rowhammer attacks involve rapidly accessing (or hammering) memory cells to exploit hardware-level vulnerabilities and cause bit-flips in neighboring cells. Bit-flipping, reversing individual ones and zeros within DRAM, can potentially cause substantial memory corruption. In 2015, Google researchers discovered that the Rowhammer vulnerability could allow attackers to access kernel-level privileges on Linux systems with DDR3 RAM. DDR4 was demonstrated to be vulnerable the following year. The new research represents the first successful attack on a GPU's GDDR RAM, dubbed GPUHammer. The method can severely degrade machine learning models, decreasing accuracy by up to 80 percent. Although the study only examined an Ampere chip with GDDR6 memory, newer models with GDDR7 or HBM2 RAM could also be vulnerable, but hacking them is likely more difficult. ECC can detect and correct single-bit flip errors by introducing redundancy to memory cells, and it can detect (but not correct) double-bit errors. However, one of the researchers told Ars Technica that the security feature can degrade RTX GPU performance by around 10%. What just happened? It seems the next technology to be banned by the US for featuring Chinese components will be undersea cables. The FCC has announced that it will vote on rules that will, among other things, prohibit companies from connecting submarine communications cables to the United States if they include Chinese technology or equipment. According to a statement from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, the FCC will vote on rules to "unleash submarine cable investment to accelerate the buildout of AI infrastructure, while securing cables against foreign adversaries, like China." Carr wrote that undersea cable infrastructure, which carries 99% of all international internet traffic, has been threatened in recent years by foreign adversaries, including China. Therefore, the US is taking action to guard these cables against foreign adversary ownership and access as well as cyber and physical threats. The proposed rules will apply to companies on the FCC's entity list, which includes Huawei and ZTE. Donald Trump signed a law during his first term that required US carriers to replace mobile infrastructure from the two Chinese tech giants. The FCC announced last year that it was considering new rules for the undersea cables, including banning the use of equipment from companies on the entity list as they pose "an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States." The rules will also limit Chinese companies' ability to receive a license to build or operate cables that connect to the US, applying a presumption of denial for certain applicants, limiting capacity leasing agreements to such entities, and more. The Commission is seeking comment on various additional measures to protect submarine cable security against foreign adversary equipment and services, while also incentivizing the use of American submarine cable repair and maintenance ships and the use of trusted technology abroad. Undersea cables have become an increasingly popular target in recent times. In December 2024, Finland's Estlink 2 power link and two Elisa data cables to Estonia were sliced, apparently by the shadow-fleet tanker Eagle S. China ignored Estonian legal requests yet eventually allowed EU teams to inspect sister vessel Yi Peng 3. In 2023, Taiwan blamed two Chinese vessels for cutting the two cables supporting internet access on Matsu Islands. In March, it was reported that China had created a deep-sea cable-cutting device capable of severing the world's most fortified underwater communication and power lines at depths of up to 4,000 meters (2.5 miles). Tourists queue for emigration check at the Jeminay Port station in Altay region, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 10, 2025. Jeminay Port, a Class I national land port in Xinjiang's Altay region, bordering Kazakhstan, has seen a surge in tourist traffic since the implementation of the China-Kazakhstan 30-day mutual visa exemption policy. (Photo by Chen Yawei/Xinhua) URUMQI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Under the summer sun, Aybota Bahetihan boarded the international transit bus at the Jeminay Port station, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, at 10 a.m. An hour and a half later, she arrived in Kazakhstan's Zaysan to begin a day trip across the border. "Traveling with just a passport feels incredibly convenient. This is my first international trip, and I can't wait to explore the local culture," she said, excitement lighting up her eyes as she planned to visit Victory Square and museums. Jeminay Port, a Class I national land port in Xinjiang's Altay region, bordering Kazakhstan, has seen a surge in tourist traffic since the implementation of the China-Kazakhstan 30-day mutual visa exemption policy. Official data showed that by July 15, the port had recorded over 49,000 cross-border travelers and 12,000 vehicles, peaking at more than 830 entries and exits daily, which is a record high over the past years. The summer vacation season has amplified the trend. "We dispatched a 150-person tour group yesterday, and self-driving tours surged in May and June. Our Kazakhstan-themed packages now span 1 to 30 days, with rising consultations," said Yang Chun, manager of a Xinjiang travel agency's Jeminay branch. Makhmet Aitosh, a tourist from Kazakhstan, said, "The visa-free rule eases travel. Our group plans to spend over 20 days touring Xinjiang, from Jeminay to Urumqi." To streamline the influx, the Jeminay Port Entry-Exit Border Inspection Station optimized procedures, introducing tactics such as forecasting travel waves and providing clear procedural guides for travelers. Fu Mingjie from the station highlighted measures for peak seasons: "We adjust staffing and open 'green channels' for vulnerable groups, enabling fast, efficient movement." Liu Shurong, deputy director of Jeminay's cultural tourism development bureau, also emphasized plans to roll out combined "domestic plus international" travel products, which highlight Xinjiang's natural wonders while offering seamless access to neighboring destinations. Tourists board the international transit bus bound for Kazakhstan's Zaysan at the Jeminay Port station in Altay region, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 10, 2025. Jeminay Port, a Class I national land port in Xinjiang's Altay region, bordering Kazakhstan, has seen a surge in tourist traffic since the implementation of the China-Kazakhstan 30-day mutual visa exemption policy. (Photo by Chen Yawei/Xinhua) Tourists queue for emigration check at the Jeminay Port station in Altay region, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 10, 2025. Jeminay Port, a Class I national land port in Xinjiang's Altay region, bordering Kazakhstan, has seen a surge in tourist traffic since the implementation of the China-Kazakhstan 30-day mutual visa exemption policy. (Photo by Chen Yawei/Xinhua) This photo taken by cellphone shows tourists boarding the international transit bus bound for Kazakhstan's Zaysan at the Jeminay Port station in Altay region, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, July 16, 2025. Jeminay Port, a Class I national land port in Xinjiang's Altay region, bordering Kazakhstan, has seen a surge in tourist traffic since the implementation of the China-Kazakhstan 30-day mutual visa exemption policy. (Xinhua/Zhang Yu) A Manhattan federal jury is now seeing firsthand the crazy, emoji-ridden crypto scam as the trial of the Tornado Cash laundering case continues. Roman Storm, co-founder of Tornado Cash, is responsible for the crypto "mixing" service. He is charged with laundering more than $1 billion in dirty cashmoney linked to North Korean hackers. The last witness was Andre Marcus Quiddaoen Llacuna, a 23-year-old convicted NFT scammer, who testified as part of a government cooperation agreement. Llacuna gave an inside perspective on how Tornado Cash supposedly aided him and other actors to mask the source of stolen crypto. NFT Rug Pull Funded Through Tornado Cash Llacuna admitted to defrauding investors in a now-defunct NFT initiative named Frosties, selling 8,888 NFTs under pretenses of an impending game and breeding mechanics with a partner. The tokens, priced at about $200$300 per token, sold out fast, then the devs disappeared, wiping the project's website, Discord, and Twitter, leaving purchasers with zero. According to Coindesk, he informed the jury that he laundered more than $1 million worth of Ethereum (ETH) from selling the Frosties through Tornado Cash, labeling it as the "best way to hide the money and get away with it." Asked how he "cleaned" the money, Llacuna replied matter-of-factly: "By using Tornado Cash." He even used the "washy washy" phrase at the time as part of his joke to his girlfriend. Victims and Investigators Report Tornado Cash Ignored Red Flags Prosecutors also introduced testimony from victims and investigators who tried to reclaim stolen money, only to be ignored or dismissed by Tornado Cash. Hanfeng Lin, a Georgia court interpreter, described how she lost her $250,000 life savings to a crypto scheme. A private investigator tracked $150,000 of her money to Tornado Cash, but when she wrote hello@tornado.cash, she heard nothing. In another case, crypto exchange BitMart's lawyer, Joseph B. Evans, testified that hackers made off with $196 million on the platform in 2021. Having tracked funds to Tornado Cash, Evans approached Storm in writing, asking for assistance in freezing the funds. However, he was greeted with a dry reply, which only says that "Tornado Cash is a decentralized computer software program that no one can control." With that, the team cannot help him. Roman Storm Faces 40+ Years If Convicted Storm, who is running an unlicensed money transfer business and evading federal sanctions, has refuted that he didn't do anything wrong. His defense contends that Tornado Cash is merely open-source code that provides financial privacy, not a money-laundering service. His attorney, Keri Curtis Axel, defended that Roman can't do anything to prevent bad actors because he just wrote the software. DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Syrian interim government troops completed their pullout from the southern province of Sweida at dawn on Thursday, marking a temporary calm after days of heavy fighting between government forces, Druze fighters, and Bedouin tribes, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said. "There is no longer a single fighter from government forces in Sweida," said Rami Abdulrahman, director of the Britain-based monitor, adding it remains unclear whether internal security units, which were deployed to the province before the escalation, will return. Meanwhile, the province is facing an imminent humanitarian crisis as dead bodies remain strewn in conflict-torn neighborhoods, and the wounded lack basic medical assistance. The escalation in Sweida began Sunday after armed members of a Bedouin tribe in the countryside of Sweida, a predominantly Druze province, reportedly assaulted and robbed a young Druze man near the town of al-Masmiyah, along the Damascus-Sweida highway. The brutal attack sparked retaliatory kidnappings, spiraling into full-scale clashes between local Druze fighters, government troops, and Bedouin militias. On Wednesday, Israel carried out several waves of strikes on Damascus and Sweida, claiming to prevent the Druze minority from being harmed. The attacks have met with immediate strong condemnation from the international community. The death toll of the violence has so far topped 370, including 207 from government troops, 107 civilians and fighters from Sweida, 27 civilians executed extrajudicially, 14 unidentified bodies found in newly-recovered areas, and 18 killed by Israeli airstrikes on Damascus and Sweida, the SOHR said Thursday, adding that the number could further rise. "The humanitarian situation requires immediate relief and a collective national effort to heal the wounds," the SOHR stressed. Hours after the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday, a fragile ceasefire between Syria's interim government and Druze spiritual leaders entered into effect, which includes a complete cessation of hostilities, the return of army units to their barracks, and the full reintegration of Sweida into state control. Still, it is too early to tell whether the ceasefire will hold, or whether humanitarian and political recovery can take root in the war-scarred province. Sheikh Youssef Jarbouh, top spiritual leader of Syria's Druze community, confirmed the terms of the ceasefire and urged all sides to honor the accord. However, in a sign of continued division, influential Druze cleric Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri issued a separate statement rejecting any agreement with the transitional government, vowing to continue what he called "legitimate resistance" until Sweida is fully "cleansed" of armed government forces. Amid the lingering split, Syrian interim leader Ahmed al-Sharaa reaffirmed at dawn on Thursday the government's commitment to protecting all Syrians, especially the Druze community, and strongly condemned the Israeli airstrikes. Addressing Syria's Druze community, al-Sharaa reaffirmed its place as an integral part of the nation. "Protecting your rights and freedoms is a top priority," he said. "We reject any effort to drag you into foreign agendas or sow internal division." Turning to Israel, al-Sharaa accused the "Israeli entity" of consistently targeting Syrian stability and seeking to incite internal conflict since the fall of the former Syrian government. He charged that Israel aims to turn Syria into a permanent battlefield, weaken its national cohesion, and obstruct its reconstruction process. "Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies, and we won't allow external ambitions to be realized at the expense of our children and our future," he added. Brazil scrambles for rooms to host COP30 in Amazon Brasilia, July 16 (AFP) Jul 16, 2025 Brazil insisted Wednesday it will have enough rooms for the tens of thousands of people expected to attend the COP30 UN climate conference in the Amazonian city of Belem in November. After complaints about sky-high room prices in the far-flung destination, organizers said they would guarantee affordable accommodation for delegates and participants from poor countries. At least 40,000 people are expected to attend the November 10-21 event in Belem, known as the gateway to the Amazon rainforest, according to government estimates from the start of the year. Around 30,000 potential rooms have been "identified" for use during the conference, the event's secretary Valter Correia said, including 3,900 on two cruise ships. There will also be rooms in hotels, private homes, and at universities and schools to be converted for the first-ever climate COP to be held in the Amazon. They will include 1,500 rooms priced at no more than $220 per night for delegates from 98 developing and island nations, Correia said. Another 1,000 rooms will be priced at no more than $600 per night, and the government was negotiating with the private sector to set "reasonable prices" for other accommodation, said Correia. "We will have sufficient accommodations for everyone, have no doubt about that. We just need to set appropriate prices," Correia told journalists. At a preparatory meeting in June, several countries raised concerns over eye-watering lodging prices in Belem, a northern city of 1.3 million inhabitants with limited hotel capacity. More than 50,000 people attended the last COP, held in Azerbaijan in 2024, some 30,000 fewer than COP28 in Dubai. In recent months, some hotels have been offering rooms at $1,400 per night. jss/rsr/mlr/aks Mexican fishermen join fight to save extraordinary amphibian San Jeronimo Purenchecuaro, Mexico, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 After decades working as a fisherman on a high-altitude Mexican lake, Froylan Correa is now helping to save an endangered amphibian with gills resembling a lion's mane and a remarkable regenerative ability. The achoque, also known as the Lake Patzcuaro salamander, is a lesser known relative of the axolotl, the small friendly-faced amphibian battling extinction in Mexico City. Overfishing, pollution and reduced water levels in Lake Patzcuaro, its only natural habitat, mean that the achoque is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. In an attempt to prevent it disappearing, biologists from Michoacana University decided to pay the local Indigenous community of San Jeronimo Purenchecuaro to help the achoque to reproduce. Correa, who knows the lake in the western state of Michoacan like the back of his hand, has a new job as an amphibian egg collector. Now in his 60s, he remembers when the waters teemed with fish and there was no need to worry for the salamander. "There used to be a lot of achoques," he told AFP. "Now the new generation doesn't know about it." - From lab to lake - After the eggs are collected, biologist Rodolfo Perez takes them to his laboratory at Michoacana University to hatch, in the hope of giving the achoques a better chance of surviving. After the hatchlings have grown enough, they are moved to the community's achoque protection reserve, where the fishermen care for them until they are ready to be released into the lake, said Israel Correa, a relative of Froylan Correa. The achoque belongs to the Ambystoma group, keenly studied by scientists for an extraordinary ability to regenerate mutilated limbs and parts of organs such as the brain and heart. If one loses a tail, it quickly grows another. That has made the salamanders a subject of fascination for scientists hoping to learn lessons that could apply to humans. Since pre-Hispanic times, the achoque has been a source of food as well as a remedy used by Indigenous people for respiratory illnesses. Its skin color allows it to blend into its natural habitat. According to a local legend, the achoque was first an evil god who hid in the lake mud to escape the punishment of other deities. Perez is trying to hatch as many eggs as possible with the help of the locals to prevent its extinction. "It's been a lot of work," he said, adding that the biggest challenge is finding money to compensate the fishermen, since the achoques require constant care. Collaboration between scientists and the local community has helped to stabilize the achoque population, according to the researchers. There are an estimated 80 to 100 individuals who live in a small part of the lake, said Luis Escalera, another biologist at Michoacana University. The number, however, is "much lower than it was 40 years ago," he said. For the fishermen fighting to save them, it is a labor of love. "We can't miss a day without coming because otherwise they'll die," Israel Correa said at the achoque protection reserve on the shores of Lake Patzcuaro. "Come rain or shine, even if there's a festival, we have to be here." Finns flock to 'shepherd weeks' to disconnect on holiday Kuhmoinen, Finland, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Finnish holidaygoers are clamouring to shell out hundreds of euros to work as shepherds for a week as a vacation, seeking tranquility in nature and a chance to disconnect from their busy lives. Petri Stenberg is enjoying a "shepherd week" together with his wife Oona and their two children Fia, age 2, and Hugo, 4, on an old farm on an island in the Isojarvi national park in central Finland. The popular holiday scheme, organised by the Metsahallitus company that manages and protects state-owned land and water areas, allows the family to combine recreation and nature conservation. "We are living very close to nature here. We feed the sheep a couple of times a day, we have been to the sauna, swam and gone fishing," Oona Stenberg, who works as a physiotherapist, told AFP. "Not once have I seen any news here. There's no TV here, we haven't browsed our phones. So in a way, my mind has somehow calmed down and I'm just concentrating on being here," she added. Accessible only by rowboat or on foot through the forest and across a bridge, the old farm is one of around a dozen remote sites across Finland to which Finns can apply for a week-long holiday taking care of sheep. Historically, grazing sheep and other animals have played a crucial role in maintaining biodiversity and habitats for flora and fauna at the various locations. But changed forestry and agricultural practices, including a "dramatic" decline in the number of small farms in Finland, have seen these traditional biotopes of so-called semi-natural grasslands and wooded pastures become an endangered part of Finland's nature, explained Metsahallitus expert Leena Hiltunen. "The main purpose of the shepherd weeks is to increase people's knowledge about these traditional biotopes," Hiltunen said. The vegetation on the Isojarvi island was traditionally kept light and lush as grazing sheep prevented overgrowth, providing the necessary ecosystem for now-endangered plant and insect species. Compared to the 1950s, less than one percent of Finland's traditional biotopes and landscapes remain, according to Metsahallitus, with most of them now located in protected areas. "Appreciation and protection of nature is so important... So it is really important for all of us to learn about it and for children to learn to appreciate it," said Oona Stenberg. - Popular holiday - Metsahallitus received 12,764 applications from 2,236 applicants -- many applying for more than one site -- for this year's summer season. A total of 158 shepherd weeks are selected through a lottery. "There has been a great deal of interest," Hiltunen said. The Stenberg family, who lives in Vantaa, just north of Helsinki, applied a few times until they finally got lucky this year. A week typically costs between 400 and 670 euros ($470-$780) at most locations. The housing is spartan and simple, in huts or cottages often lacking running water and sometimes even electricity. "Some people have asked us why we wanted to pay to herd sheep and do some yard work," laughed Oona Stenberg. "But it is really an experience for us, and the kids are loving it," she added, sipping from her coffee cup outside the family's yellow cottage, surrounded by old wooden outhouses and a sauna overlooking the lake. In Finland, many people spend their summers in rustic countryside cottages. Hiltunen said only Finns could apply for the shepherd weeks because it was crucial to know "how to manage the modest lifestyle" in nature on one's own. "We don't have enough resources to advertise it internationally, or have someone there nearby advising how things work," she said. - 'Break from everyday life' - On the lakeland island, a sense of complete serenity hung in the air, the grey sky suggesting rain was on its way. The family had been instructed to count the dozen sheep every day "and make sure their overall health is good, that they are eating enough and checking that the fencing is intact," said Petri Stenberg, who drives excavators for a living. The small farm was a working farm until 1989 and was bought by Metsahallitus in the 1990s. Flipping through the pages of a notebook inside the house, Petri Stenberg showed writings and a few sketches of sheep from previous visitors who documented their daily life and observations. "This is a real break from everyday life," he said. South Korean region hit by most rainfall in 120 years Seoul, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Parts of South Korea were battered by torrential rains Thursday, with one region pummelled by the most rainfall per hour since full records began in 1904, the country's weather agency said. South Korea typically experiences monsoon rains in July but three areas in the country's South Chungcheong province experienced some of the heaviest hourly downpours on record this week, official weather data showed. The western Seosan area was hit by rainfall peaking at 114.9 millimetres (4.5 inches) per hour, "a level typically seen only once in 100 years", a weather agency official told AFP, adding that this was the highest rate since 1904. The heavy rains were due to "warm and moist air flowing in along the edge of the North Pacific High, triggering strong atmospheric instability", the official added. South Korean broadcasters ran videos of severe flooding in Seosan, with water swamping markets and apartment complexes, as well as submerging parked cars. Residents in Hongseong county, also in South Chungcheong province, were ordered to "evacuate immediately to a safe location" early Thursday morning due to flooding from a nearby stream. Several schools and nurseries in the county were also closed. One driver was killed in Osan, a city about 50 kilometres (31 miles) south of the capital Seoul, after a 10-metre-high (33-foot) retaining wall from an overpass collapsed onto the road, crushing his car. In Chungcheong province, two people were rescued following a landslide. South Korea is regularly hit by flooding during the summer monsoon period, but is typically well-prepared and the death toll is usually relatively low. Scientists say climate change has made weather events around the world more extreme and more frequent. South Korea also endured record-breaking rains and flooding in 2022, which left at least 11 people dead. They included three people who died trapped in a Seoul basement apartment of the kind that became internationally known because of the Oscar-winning Korean film "Parasite". The government said at the time that the rainfall was the heaviest since Seoul records began, blaming climate change for the extreme weather. Brazil's Congress passes bill easing environmental licensing rules Sao Paulo, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Brazil's Congress passed a controversial reform loosening environmental licensing rules on Thursday, prompting backlash from environmentalists as the country prepares to host the COP30 climate summit in November. The bill, backed by 267 lawmakers to 116, simplifies permits for "strategic" projects and allows some to proceed based solely on a declaration of commitment. Despite seeking to make Brazil a leader in the fight against global warming, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva backs oil exploration as key to growth in Latin America's biggest economy. Experts say the new measures could fast-track infrastructure development in the Amazon rainforest. The bill was approved by the Senate in May. It must now be considered for enactment by Lula. The measure has divided the president's left-wing government. The Environment Ministry described it as a "fatal blow" to environmental protection, while the Agriculture Ministry backed it. Supporters of the reform argued that it seeks to "streamline" the licensing process to boost the country's economy. But Environment Minister Marina Silva said the fact that "something is of strategic interest to the government does not eliminate the environmental impacts". Furthermore, environmental licensing "did not prevent the construction of any project in the country," said Rodrigo Agostinho, president of the Brazilian Institute of Environment (IBAMA) public watchdog. IBAMA has announced it will challenge the law in court, arguing it is unconstitutional. The Brazilian NGO network Climate Observatory also warned in a statement that the law "could lead to the approval of works and projects that generate significant environmental degradation". Lula has yet to comment on the new rules. The United Nations climate change conference, COP30, will take place in the Amazonian city of Belem from November 10 to 21. Three dead as South Korean region hit by most rain in 120 years Seosan City, South Korea, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 At least three people were killed and more than 1,000 evacuated Thursday after South Korea was hit by torrential rains, officials said, with one region pummelled by the most rainfall per hour since full records began. South Korea typically experiences monsoon rains in July, but three areas in the country's South Chungcheong province this week saw some of the heaviest hourly downpours on record, official weather data showed. Three people were killed Thursday, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said, all in South Chuncheong province. "As of 4pm local time at least three people have died today due to torrential rains," a Ministry of Interior and Safety official told AFP, adding that more than 1,000 people had been evacuated. Police told AFP that one person was found inside a submerged vehicle, an elderly man was swept away near a stream, and another elderly man had been found dead in a flooded basement apartment after his son reported him missing. The western Seosan area was hit by rainfall peaking at 114.9 millimetres (4.5 inches) per hour, "a level typically seen only once in 100 years", a weather agency official told AFP, adding that this was the highest rate since full records began in 1904. The heavy rains were due to "warm and moist air flowing in along the edge of the North Pacific High, triggering strong atmospheric instability", the official added. South Korean broadcasters ran videos of severe flooding in Seosan, with water swamping markets and apartment complexes, as well as submerging parked cars. AFP reporters saw residents in Seosan struggling to clean up the aftermath of the floods on Thursday, with parking lots and shops still seen flooded with muddy water. Choi Hee-jin, a nightclub owner, told AFP it had been "heartbreaking" to return to her business after the floods had swept through. "Water had completely filled the club, and everything -- sofas, fridges, furniture, even computers -- was just floating around," Choi said. "How do you think it feels to see that? Honestly, it felt like the world was collapsing. There are no words to describe it." The national weather agency said in a statement that nearly 440 mm (about 17.3 inches) of rain had fallen in Seosan by 10:30 am on Thursday -- equivalent to 35 percent of the region's average annual rainfall. "The water is just too deep and so much mud has been pushed in that I've already been working for about five hours trying to drain it all out," said Kim Min-seo, a 50-year-old restaurant worker, as she scrubbed the muddy floor. "I'm still not done," she added. - Evacuation orders - Residents in Hongseong county, in South Chungcheong province, were ordered to "evacuate immediately to a safe location" early Thursday morning due to flooding from a nearby stream. Several schools and nurseries in the county were also closed. South Korea is regularly hit by flooding during the summer monsoon period, but is typically well-prepared and the death toll is usually relatively low. Scientists say climate change has made weather events around the world more extreme and frequent. South Korea also endured record-breaking rains and flooding in 2022, which left at least 11 people dead. They included three people who died trapped in a Seoul basement apartment of the kind that became internationally known because of the Oscar-winning Korean film "Parasite". The government said at the time that the rainfall was the heaviest since records began, blaming climate change for the extreme weather. Volcanic eruption ends day's search for bodies of Filipino cockfighters Laurel, Philippines, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Divers searching for dozens of murdered cockfighters in a lake south of Manila were forced to exit the water Thursday when the volcanic island in its centre erupted unexpectedly. The low-level eruption, which sent a plume of steam billowing 2,400 metres (7,900 feet) skyward from Lake Taal volcano, came a week into the search for the remains of people allegedly killed by rogue police for their involvement in fixing cockfights. "The (dives) were temporarily terminated," an official involved in the search who spoke on condition of anonymity told AFP, adding a number of divers had been in the water at the time of the eruption. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said the volcano had experienced "minor phreatomagmatic eruptive events" just after 3:00 pm (0700 GMT). The agency's Mara Antonia Bornas said the volcano had been at a low alert level since 2021 and that no major eruptions were predicted. The divers would not be affected, and only the volcano island in the middle of the lake was "under precaution", she said. Since beginning the search on July 10, the Philippine Coast Guard has found five bags at the bottom of the lake, some of which may have contained human bones. Police are conducting forensic testing to determine if the bones are human and if they match the DNA of the missing cockfighters. Fifteen police officers are under investigation over the spate of mysterious 2022 disappearances in the country's huge cockfighting industry. The case erupted back into the public consciousness last month with the televised appearance of a witness claiming to know where bodies had been submerged in Lake Taal. Located about two hours south of Manila, the lake spans more than 230 square kilometres (89 square miles) and reaches depths of 172 metres in some places. Filipinos from all walks of life wager millions of dollars on matches every week between roosters who fight to the death with razor-sharp metal spurs tied to their legs. Cockfighting, banned in many other countries, survived coronavirus pandemic restrictions by going online, drawing many more gamblers who use their mobile phones to place wagers. Former president Rodrigo Duterte banned the livestreaming of cockfights shortly before leaving office in 2022, but it has continued due to lax enforcement. Sri Lanka returns orphaned elephants to the jungle Colombo, July 17 (AFP) Jul 17, 2025 Sri Lankan authorities returned six orphaned and injured elephants to the wild on Thursday after nursing them back to health under a long-running conservation project, officials said. Two females and four males, aged between five and seven, were released into the Mau Ara forest within the Udawalawe Wildlife Sanctuary, environment minister Dammika Patabendi told AFP. He said it was the 26th such release of rehabilitated elephants since the Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home began its programme in 1998. "We hope, in the interest of conserving elephants, we will be able to improve facilities at this transit home in the near future," Patabendi said. The calves were transported in trucks and then allowed to walk free because they were deemed strong enough to fend for themselves or join wild herds. Baby elephants have minimal contact with humans at the transit home to ease their integration into wild herds. All elephants at the facility were rescued after being found abandoned, injured or separated from their herds. Udawalawe, about 210 kilometres (130 miles) southeast of Colombo, is renowned for its wild elephants and is a major tourist attraction. Sri Lankan authorities believe the transit home's strategy of rewilding rescued elephants, rather than domesticating them, has paid off. The centre's director, Malaka Abeywardana, said 57 elephants remain at the facility, which has released 187 back into the wild since the first release in early 1998. Sri Lanka had previously sent rescued calves to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, which has also become a popular tourist site. The Pinnawala orphanage marked its golden jubilee in February. Conservation efforts have become increasingly urgent due to growing conflict between wild elephants and farmers. The human-elephant conflict has resulted in the deaths of around 400 elephants and 200 people annually over the past five years. Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Secretary-General Nurlan Yermekbayev addresses the opening ceremony of the SCO business forum in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. Hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the forum attracted nearly 400 participants from government institutions and the business community both at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) Sergey Katyrin, president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Russia, addresses the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) business forum in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. Hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the forum attracted nearly 400 participants from government institutions and the business community both at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) Guests attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) business forum in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. Hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the forum attracted nearly 400 participants from government institutions and the business community both at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) Li Qingshuang, vice chairperson of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, chairs the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) business forum in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. Hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the forum attracted nearly 400 participants from government institutions and the business community both at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) Russian Minister of Energy Sergei Tsivilev addresses the opening ceremony of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) business forum in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. Hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, the forum attracted nearly 400 participants from government institutions and the business community both at home and abroad. (Xinhua/Jin Liangkuai) Get the inside track from Roisin O'Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The municipal authority for Saint-Cloud, a suburb in Paris, has withdrawn a 40,000 subsidy from the annual Rock-en-Seine music festival. The decision, announced on Thursday, follows the festivals booking of the Irish rap group Kneecap, who have faced criticism for displaying pro-Palestine messages during their gigs. The Belfast-based trio, known for rapping in both Irish and English, are still scheduled to perform on the final day of the Rock-en-Seine festival, which runs from August 21 to August 24. In a statement late on Wednesday, the Saint-Cloud city hall said the money had been agreed before the final line-up of the festival was announced and that it had decided to withdraw the funding on July 3. The Saint-Cloud city said it respects the festival's programming freedom, and had not sought "to enter into any negotiations with a view to influencing the programming". "On the other hand it does not finance political action, nor demands, and even less calls to violence, such as calls to kill lawmakers, whatever their nationality," the statement said. Rock-en-Seine could not be immediately reached for comment. open image in gallery Kneecap sold out the O2 Academy Glasgow in 80 seconds after they were axed from TRNSMT (Jeff Moore/PA) ( PA Wire ) Earlier this month the band announced new tour dates to play their biggest run of shows ever across Scotland, Wales and England. Announcing the news on Tuesday, the group shared a post on Instagram with the caption that read: Here we go. Were back in November across Scotland, England and Wales to play our biggest run of shows ever. All of ye can get a pre-sale link for tomorrow at 10am ahead of the masses by signing up to our mailer or WhatsApp channel. The Prime Minster himself cant stop ushe could stop sending bombs to Israel but thats another story The group recently performed at Glasgows O2 Academy, in a gig which sold out in 80 seconds. They were due to perform at TRNSMT festival in Glasgow, but their set was axed after concerns raised by police. Kneecap member Liam Og O hAnnaidh who is known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in Britain. He denies the offence and the band says its members do not support Hamas or Hezbollah. Get the inside track from Roisin O'Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The Steve Miller Band have canceled the entirety of their 2025 American tour, citing extreme weather. The five-piece rock band, consisting of founding frontman Steve Miller, bassist Kenny Lee Lewis, drummer Gordy Knudtson, keyboardist Joseph Wooten, and guitarist Jacob Petersen, were expected to kick off their 31-date tour next month. However, the group, best known for hits like Abracadabra, The Joker, and Fly Like an Eagle, announced Wednesday that they will no longer be traveling the country. Dear Steve Miller Band fans, You make music with your instincts, you live by your insticts, always trust your instincts, an Instagram statement read. The Steve Miller Band has cancelled all of our upcoming tour dates, it continued. The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable. So You can blame it on the weather...The tour is cancelled. open image in gallery Steve Miller Band's founding frontman Steve Miller performing in 2019 ( Getty Images for Mount Sinai Hea ) It added: Dont know where, dont know when We hope to see you all again. Wishing you all Peace, Love and Happiness, Please take care of each other. The band were initially scheduled to hit the road August 8 in Bethel, New York, followed by stops in other major cities including Saint Paul, Minnesota; Memphis, Tennessee; and Gary, Indiana, before concluding in Anaheim, California November 8. open image in gallery Steve Miller Band were expected to kick off their 31-date tour next month in Bethel, New York ( stevemillerband/Instagram ) Their decision to cancel all upcoming concert dates comes after several parts of the country have been hit by severe rainstorms. Over the Fourth of July weekend, central Texas experienced deadly flooding that has left at least 134 dead, and around 100 people still missing. Across the country, both New Jersey and New York states declared a state of emergency on Monday night as severe storms battered the region. Meanwhile, Alaska issued a tsunami warning after a 7.3 magnitude earthquake hit south of Sand Point on Popof Island Wednesday. The warning has since been canceled. Still, the Steve Miller Band are not taking any chances. open image in gallery Steve Miller Band, fronted by original and founding member Steve Miller (pictured in 2024), have canceled their entire 2025 American tour ( Getty Images ) Formed in 1966 in San Francisco by lead vocalist Miller, 81, the group has released 18 studio albums, of which they have sold over 60 million copies worldwide. Their most successful album, Greatest Hits 1974-78, was released as a compilation album in 1978 and has sold more than 15 million copies, earning a diamond certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). In 1988, Miller released his debut solo album, Born 2 B Blue. The Grammy-winning vocalist and guitarist was later inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist in 2016. During his acceptance speech, Miller infamously criticized the Rock Hall, saying: I encourage you to keep expanding your vision, to be more inclusive of women. Asked to expand on his criticisms in the press room backstage, he called the whole induction process unpleasant and said, They need to respect the artists they say theyre honoring, which they dont. Get the inside track from Roisin O'Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The Tomorrowland music festival in Belgium is still scheduled to take place this weekend despite a huge fire that destroyed the event's spectacular main stage on Wednesday (16 July). Images shared on local news sites and social media showed flames and plumes of black smoke engulfing the stage, which took two years to build, and spreading to nearby woodland. Nearby residents were urged to close all windows and doors until the fire was under control. With the festival due to begin on Friday (18 July), spokesperson Debby Wilmsen has reassured those attending that the fate of the event rests with authorities, according to the Belga News Agency. Theres a lot of fake news going around, but were definitely expecting 38,000 visitors at the Dreamville campsite tomorrow. Theyre looking forward to it, and were looking forward to it, and were going to give them a warm welcome, Wilmsen said despite a site employee describing an apocalyptic scene. The festival will go ahead, albeit without the main stage, Wilmsen said. I cant yet say how were going to handle that. open image in gallery Fireworks burst and smoke rises as a fire engulfs the main stage of Tomorrowland, an electronic music event, in Boom, Belgium ( Morgan Hermans via Reuters ) In a separate statement, Wilmsen added: Our showpiece, which took two years to build, is gone. Fortunately, the other stages are intact. The intention is truly for the festival to go on. But we can't work magic, so it will be without the Mainstage. Our production team will now do everything to make something beautiful out of it. She continued by declaring that cancellation was never considered but said organisers are consulting with authorities about whether the site is safe enough for people to attend. If tomorrow it turns out that the site is not safe and we receive instructions from the authorities, we will follow them. Safety is always the priority, Wilmsen added. We suddenly heard bangs and saw fire near the stage, a huge amount of fire, an unnamed onlooker told Het Nieuwsblad newspaper. We were just putting the finishing touches on it. One more day and it would be finished. open image in gallery Tomorrowland attracts tens of thousands of fans from across Europe ( AFP ) Dozens of emergency teams were seen rushing through the festival grounds just after 6pm in an attempt to extinguish the flames and evacuate those inside the grounds. There were no members of the public present at the time, but around 1,000 staff members were working on site. The annual electronic music festival is held in the town of Boom, north of Brussels, draws tens of thousands of visitors from around Europe. Some of the world's most popular DJs are due to appear on the stage over the weekend, including Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Fisher, Swedish House Mafia and Steve Aoki. Back in 2017, the festival had to evacuate over 22,000 people after another major fire. The crowds at Barcelona's Tomorrowland Unite were forced to flee just hours before Steve Aoki was due to headline the event. There are West End revivals, and then theres Evita at the London Palladium. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's operatic musical returns in a fresh new staging from acclaimed director Jamie Lloyd, with West Side Story woman-of-the-moment Rachel Zegler making her hotly anticipated London stage debut as Eva Peron. This isn't your average rehash of a classic. Publications aplenty have hailed it a total triumph thrilling and in our own review at The Independent a gorgeous sensory overload. And the five-star reviews keep pouring in. With its bold staging, standout performances and a stripped-back set that puts the spotlight firmly on the story, this Evita is drawing crowds from across the globe. If youre heading to the capital this summer, its certainly earned a spot at the top of your to-do list. Rising star Rachel Zegler shines in role of a lifetime ( Evita/LW Theatres ) For fans of musical theatre and film alike, Rachel Zegler needs little introduction. Earlier this year, Rachel Zegler wowed audiences with her powerhouse vocals in Disneys live-action Snow White remake, while her role as Lucy Gray Baird in The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes earned rave reviews from social media #BookTok users. As Evitas Eva Peron the First Lady of Argentina who rose from obscurity to global fame the 24-year-old brings a fierce energy and emotional depth thats utterly compelling. In a striking moment, a cameraman follows her outside the theatre as she sings Dont Cry For Me Argentina breaking the fourth wall and serenading Argyll Street passersby. Meanwhile, theatre-goers watch her performance in real time via a screen, captivated by the intimacy and immediacy of the scene. Her powerful delivery of this iconic song, plus others like Buenos Aires undoubtedly justifies the ticket price. Jamie Lloyd electrifies a 1978 classic ( Evita/LW Theatres ) Jamie Lloyds direction is a memorable and inventive take on Evita. Unlike the original production, known for its sweeping wheeled staircase and dramatic metalwork, this revival pares back the staging to hone in on the storytelling. Still, echoes of the past remain. Notably, the iconic video screen from the original show continues to play a central role, bridging tradition with modernity. Lloyds recent work on Much Ado About Nothing with Tom Hiddleston and Hayley Atwell, The Tempest with Sigourney Weaver and Sunset Boulevard with Nicole Scherzinger (another of Webbers classics) showcases his flair for reinvention and that instinct is on full display in Evitas 2025 iteration. The cast performances brim (in the best way) with urgency, while the choreography favours sharp, character-driven movement over grandeur. Whether youre encountering the show for the first time or returning to a familiar favourite, this reworking offers a resonant new lens through which to experience Rice and Webbers theatrical milestone. Recommended Rachel Zegler is enthralling as Evita in this gorgeous sensory overload of a show The clock ticks on Lloyds limited run ( Evita/LW Theatres ) The London Palladium has long been home to sell-out productions (The Sound of Music, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang etc.), and this staging of Evita is already one of its most talked-about. But time is short: this show wont go on (pun intended) past 6 September. That means just a few months remain to see whats quickly becoming the highlight of the summer theatre season. Last call for Evita ( Evita/LW Theatres ) Secure your seat before it books up and treat yourself to a matinee or evening show. Tickets on sale at LWtheatres.co.uk. 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 Speculation has erupted about who will front MasterChef after the firing of Gregg Wallace and John Torode and odds are revealing the identity of the frontrunners. After allegations of inappropriate behaviour surfaced against Wallace in November 2024, an investigation was launched by the shows production company Banijay UK. More than half of the 83 allegations levied against Wallace were substantiated, but the report also upheld an accusation of offensive racist language allegedly used by Torode. The BBC and Banijay have fired them both. Questions remain about who will replace the presenters, who have both hosted the show together since it was revamped in 2005. There is also uncertainty about the future of a series recorded prior to the scandal being made public. While Grace Dent was confirmed as Wallaces replacement on Celebrity MasterChef last year, the BBC has not confirmed the pairs replacement on the main show, MasterChef. open image in gallery Torode has been axed from MasterChef ( BBC ) Below weve compiled a list of the frontrunners and the odds being offered by Gambling.com. Tom Kerridge 11/8 A strong favourite is British chef Tom Kerridge, who runs his own pub, the Hand and Flowers, in Marlow, Buckinghamshire. Kerridge is no stranger to MasterChef, having appeared as a guest over the years, but he is also known for Great British Menu and Saturday Kitchen. The 51-year-old has also hosted BBC programmes How to Lose Weight for Good, Top of the Shop, Bake Off: Creme de la Creme and currently presents Food and Drink on BBC Two so hes more than qualified for the role. open image in gallery Tom Kerridge is a strong favourite to host MasterChef (Cristian Barnett/PA) Chris Stark 6/4 Perhaps the reason for shooting former Radio 1 DJ Chris Stark, 38, up the list is the fact he co-hosts weekly pub quiz Proper Tasty alongside strong favourite Kerridge so the BBC will have an eye on that readymade partnership. No chemistry tests required! Stark, who now co-hosts Capital Breakfast alongside Jordan North and Sian Welby, could bring some light reprieve to the often serious cookery competition. open image in gallery ( Getty Images ) Big Zuu 13/8 Rapper and TV personality Big Zuu has set himself apart as a name in the world of cuisine thanks to hit show Big Zuus Big Eats, which sees him discuss memorable and favourite foods with a new celebrity each episode. Considering Wallace and Torode had presented MasterChef since 2005, the BBC would be sensible to open the format to a younger generation; Big Zuu, 29, could be the one to do exactly that. open image in gallery Big Zuu could introduce MasterChef to a new generation (Simon Jacobs and PinPep/PA) Grace Dent 15/8 After replacing Wallace on the celebrity version of the show, food critic and brief Im a Celebrity contestant Grace Dent is an obvious choice to take over full time. Dent, 51, regularly appears as a critic on the series and is a favourite with fans for her straight-shooting comments. Last year, she switched roles and served as a contestant on the shows spin-off, MasterChef: The Battle of the Critics. open image in gallery Dent is known for her straight-shooting critiques ( Getty Images ) James Martin 2/1 Could James Martin be lured back to the BBC from ITV? The Saturday Morning host has been popular with viewers ever since he hosted BBC Ones Saturday Kitchen from 2006 to 2016. However, bosses might hear alarm bells: in 2023, the chef apologised for any offence or upset caused after being accused of bullying his ITV colleagues. Away from his TV commitments, Martin, 53, teaches at The Kitchen Cookery School at Chewton Glen, a cookery school and relaxed dining restaurant based in New Milton, Hampshire. 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. Mel Giedroyc 5/2 Mel Giedroyc was one half of the duo that made The Great British Bake Off such a TV delicacy when it first started, her asides with co-host Sue Perkins fast-tracking the show to global success. Odds are suggesting the 57-year-old is in the running, with the BBC hoping to emulate her Bake Off success (she left the show when it moved to Channel 4) while also luring in her many new, younger fans after a memorable stint on comedy series Taskmaster. open image in gallery Mel Gideroyc could bring some much-needed fun to MasterChef ( PA ) Nigella Lawson 3/1 The TV landscape needs more Nigella Lawson, and so, her MasterChef appointment would undoubtedly be embraced by the many viewers who tune into her BBC specials. Those who havent watched other iterations of MasterChef wont know that Lawson has a history with the show; she has regularly appeared as a guest judge since 2016 on the Australian version, making the Nigella Bites presenter, 65, an ideal fit for the role. open image in gallery Naigella Lawson has appeared as a guest judge on MasterChef Australia ( PA ) Monica Galetti and Marcus Wareing 7/2 Perhaps an obvious, and safe, choice would be Monica Galetti, the 49-year-old former senior sous-chef at Le Gavroche, and Marcus Wareing, 55, who was the chef and owner at the one-Michelin-starred restaurant Marcus. The pair currently host MasterChef spin-off The Professionals. While their promotion to host the main MasterChef show might be the logical next step, it would almost certainly guarantee their tenure on The Professionals would draw to a close something the BBC might be loath to do. Andi and Miquita Oliver 4/1 Great British Menu host Andi Oliver, 62, is a strong contender and would make history as the first ever Black woman to present the programme. Oliver, a former member of the band Rip Rig + Panic, currently hosts the cookery podcast Stirring it Up with her daughter (and Lily Allens Miss Me? co-host) Miquita Oliver, 41. open image in gallery Andi Oliver could become the first Black woman to ever front the show ( Getty Images ) Lisa Snowdon 9/2 Bosses might be hoping to secure a former Celebrity MasterChef winner as a replacement and the current favourite is Lisa Snowdon, who was left on cloud nine after being crowned in 2022. Snowdon, 53, has proved herself a cooking extraordinaire, so would be well equipped to judge contestants kitchen skills. Torode said of her triumph: Lisa, throughout this competition, has taken the everyday and elevated it into something special. This final, she dared to do something that was going to be a gamble, and the gamble paid off. Her food is fantastic. open image in gallery Lisa Snowdon with the Celebrity MasterChef trophy in 2022 ( BBC/PA ) Alison Hammond 5/1 Could Alison Hammond continue her British screen domination by hosting MasterChef? Her schedule suggests not as well as This Morning, she is the current host of The Great British Bake Off and she replaced Paul OGrady on For the Love of Dogs. The 50-year-olds appointment would certainly lighten up the show in a post-Wallace and Torode era. Angellica Bell 11/2 When Angellica Bell was secretly sacked from Martin Lewis ITV finance show in 2023, she received an outpouring of love from viewers who were left upset by her absence. Shrewd BBC bosses might have taken notice of this. In addition, Bell, 49, didnt torpedo her career during a Celebrity Big Brother appearance earlier this year, so she is certainly a presenter to be considered. open image in gallery Angellica Bell is in the running to join MasterChef; ( PA ) Gordon Ramsay 6/1 Gordon Ramsay needs no introduction although, if you do, a Netflix documentary on the foul-mouthed Kitchen Nightmares chef will be released next year and its hard to imagine a conversation suggesting him wouldnt occur. But the fact remains that, out of everyone on this list, Ramsay, 58, doesnt need MasterChef and, as the owner of 90 restaurants worldwide, might be biting off more than he can chew hosting the show. Poppy OToole 4/1 Michelin-trained chef OToole, 31, has self-titled herself as the Potato Queen online, and could bring in a much younger audience were the BBC looking to overhaul the show. open image in gallery Poppy OToole could be a good bet to lure in younger viewers ( Getty Images for McCain ) Rylan Clark 8/1 The gregarious Rylan, who has successfully evolved from joke X Factor contestant into TV presenting royalty, is already hired by the BBC, where he injects his dose of fun into Radio 2 on Saturday afternoons. The 36-year-old would certainly froth up the MasterChef kitchen, alleviating stress with his comforting presence and for those wondering if hes a good cook, he was a finalist on the celebrity version of the show in 2015. Lorraine Pascale 10/1 Model-turned-chef Lorraine Pascale, 52, is already a hit with BBC viewers thanks to her TV show Baking Made Easy, which shes hosted on BBC Two since 2011. Her jump to MasterChef would be a seamless transition. open image in gallery Lorraine Pascale currently hosts Baking Made Easy on BBC Two The Independent has contacted the BBC and Banijay for comment. Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Sophia Hutchins, Caitlyn Jenners longtime manager and close friend, has died at the age of 29. Her cause of death has now been confirmed. Hutchins, who had managed Jenners business affairs since 2017, was driving an ATV (all-terrain vehicle) on July 2 when she reportedly ran into another cars bumper with such impact that it sent the vehicle plunging 350 feet down into a ravine. The wreck, which TMZ first reported, occurred near her home in Malibu, and Hutchins was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. Hutchins died from blunt force injuries, according to a death certificate from the County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, per TMZ. Her death was also ruled an accident. The Independent contacted Jenner, local authorities, and the Kardashian family for comment. open image in gallery Sophia Hutchins managed Caitlyn Jenners business affairs for nearly a decade before her death ( Getty ) There were two people in the car hit by Hutchins ATV, but they were not injured in the crash. Speed may have been a factor in the collision. It looks like she may have been speeding and rear-ended the other car, the other party, and then that caused her to veer to the right and go off the cliff, Sgt. Eduardo Saucedo of the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department told the Daily Mail. It doesnt seem like she was following them. I think she just came up on them and then hit the car. So it looked like she tried to maneuver to go around it, but she was going too fast and just ended up clipping the rear end of that Mazda, causing her to veer off and go off the cliff there. Hutchins, who was the CEO of a now-defunct beauty brand, formed a close bond with Jenner, 75, after meeting in 2015 when she came out as a transgender woman. They were introduced by their hairdresser. open image in gallery Sophia Hutchinss cause of death has been released ( Getty ) She regularly appeared in the documentary tracking Jenners life post-transition, I Am Cait, as well as Keeping Up with the Kardashians. In 2017, Hutchins, who was also transgender, replaced Jenners ex-wife Kris Jenner as Caitlins manager following their divorce, moving into her Malibu home worth $3.5m. She also became CEO and director of the Caitlyn Jenner Foundation, a non-profit organisation that promotes equality and combats discrimination against transgender people. After posting regular photos from the mansion, it was incorrectly reported that the pair were romantically linked, but Hutchins told The New York Times in 2018 that this was never the case. She spoke about their friendship in more detail on The Hidden Truth podcast, stating: I wouldnt describe it as romantic. I would describe it as: were partners, business partners. We have so much in common and see the world so similarly, and are both such a good match for each other because we challenge each other. Were partners in everything we do were inseparable, were business partners, we live together, we share a dog, we share family, we share a life together. A funeral service for Hutchins will be held on July 24, according to The New York Post. 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 routine eye test could soon offer a crucial early warning for heart attacks and strokes, thanks to new artificial intelligence. A study suggests that a scan, typically part of a standard eye examination, could help predict a persons risk of a cardiovascular event within the next decade. Researchers have developed AI that analyses digital retinal photographs, taken during standard eye examinations, to generate personalised risk predictions in less than a second. It is hoped this simple test could one day be offered alongside blood pressure and cholesterol checks, allowing doctors to treat patients earlier. For the study, published in the journal Cardiovascular Diabetology, University of Dundee researchers trialled the AI software on the eye scans of people with type 2 diabetes. These individuals routinely undergo eye tests to check for diabetic retinopathy, a condition where high blood sugar levels damage blood vessels in the retina. open image in gallery The AI tool was able to predict the people who would go on to have major cardiovascular events, like heart attacks or strokes, within a decade with 70 per cent accuracy ( PA Archive ) Dr Ify Mordi, British Heart Foundation research fellow at the University of Dundee and consultant cardiologist, said: It may be surprising, but the eyes are a window to the heart. If there is damage or narrowing of the blood vessels at the back of the eye, there is a good chance that will also be seen in the blood vessels further inside the body, supplying the heart, which could lead to a heart attack or stroke. Experts instructed the technology to initially look for warning signs on the images, such as blood vessel narrowing or blockages. It was then permitted to look for any detail in the photographs, such as the size or arrangement of blood vessels, before being trained using 4,200 images. The AI tool was able to predict the people who would go on to have major cardiovascular events, like heart attacks or strokes, within a decade with 70 per cent accuracy. Dr Mordi added: This is a one-stop scan which is routinely performed and takes less than a minute. It could be an important part of the package, alongside blood pressure and cholesterol checks, in identifying people who could benefit from medication or lifestyle changes. open image in gallery It is hoped the simple test could one day be offered alongside blood pressure and cholesterol checks to allow doctors to treat patients earlier ( Getty/iStock ) Professor Bryan Williams, chief scientific and medical officer at the British Heart Foundation, said: The more accurately we can detect someones risk of a heart attack or stroke, the better the opportunities to prevent these happening. Cutting-edge innovations, like the use of retinal scans alongside health checks, could play a role in improving risk prediction, which is important if we are to reach the British Heart Foundations goal to prevent 125,000 heart attacks and strokes in the UK by 2035. However, more research is needed to show this prediction accuracy is robust, and to determine the feasibility of incorporating retinal scans into clinical practice. Reacting to the study, Dr Clare Jonas, research lead at the Stroke Association, said: AI analyses of health data, gathered through screening technology such as this eye scan, have exciting potential for better early detection, especially for those with diabetes who have a greater chance of having a stroke. Advances like these could make it easier for people at risk of stroke to take the right steps to stop it from happening. Whilst there are still many practical questions to answer about whether, when and how AI could be used in clinical practice, we hope the Governments 10 Year Health Plan will take such technological advances into account to stop more strokes from devastating peoples lives. 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 Olivia Jade Giannulli has begun a new chapter of her life in a brand-new city. The 25-year-old influencer and daughter of actor Lori Loughlin and fashion designer Mossimo Giannulli, posted a YouTube vlog Wednesday, where she started off by wishing her followers a Good morning from Paris. This is going to be such a fun adventure to film and Im here for a little while living, she said. So, Im really excited to get some videos out for you guys. Its just going to be such an exciting, formative time. Giannulli did not explain to her 1.8 million YouTube subscribers why she decided to move to an entirely new country, but did let them know what shes been up to as she walked to go grab coffee. She also talked about her experience in Paris thus far and the Paris Fashion Week events she attended. Im living in Paris for a little while. Thats the update, the influencer said ( Getty Images ) Ive just had a really crazy busy week since being in Paris, she said. I did the Patou show, the Chanel show, which was amazing. Then we took the train to London. Now Im back home in Paris. Im living in Paris for a little while. Thats the update, she added. Giannulli continued the vlog by teasing the rest of her Parisian adventures as she said, A lot more fun, exciting change is also coming in the future, which Im so excited to share with you guys. Im hopefully launching my business at the end of this year. Theres just a lot going on, and its all really good and really exciting. The move comes six years after her mother and father were among 33 wealthy parents who were charged with trying to rig the American college admissions system. They admitted to paying half a million dollars to guarantee their daughters Olivia Jade and Isabella Rose Giannulli admission to the University of Southern California (USC) under false pretenses. In October 2020, Loughlin was sentenced to two months in prison, while the designer was sentenced to five months. In addition to the prison sentence, Loughlin was ordered to pay a $150,000 fine and perform 100 hours of community service. Under his own plea deal, Loughlins husband was ordered to pay a $250,000 fine and perform 250 hours of community service. Months later, Giannulli broke her silence about the college admissions scandal during an appearance on Red Table Talk. I think that what hasnt been super public is that there is no justifying or excusing what happened, she said during the episode, which aired in December 2020. Because what happened was wrong. Since then, Giannulli has joked about the scandal on her YouTube channel, telling her followers last year that she was looking forward to her kitchen not feeling like a prison. Giannulli went on to acknowledge how viewers would mock her for the prison reference, with jokes about her parents college admission scandal. Save the jokes, she said. Dont want to hear it. I set you up, and I dont want you to tee off, okay? From Prince Harrys point of view, it was only a matter of time; he had to clear the decks and eliminate several outstanding legal obstacles before he addressed the thorny issue of a royal reconciliation. The Duke said as much in an interview with the BBC immediately after his failed appeal in the High Court against the Home Office. Most of us would have been preoccupied with the small matter of a 1.5m legal bill, but not Harry. His befuddled thinking exposed a longing for improved royal relations, at the same time as he swung once more for his Pa apparently, Charles was part of the good old-fashioned establishment stitch-up that saw Harry lose his security case. The Prince derided the King for having a lot of control and ability in his hands but doing nothing to support him. (No wonder Charles steered well clear of Harry last May, when the latter, in London for Invictuss 10th anniversary, was not invited for tea at the palace.) Charles, then a newish King, ducked a face-to-face haranguing from the Duke of Sussex, who subsequently concluded his father wouldnt speak to him because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile. This context explains the recent peace summit papped on the balcony of an exclusive London club, involving key players from both royal parties, including Meredith Maines, the communications officer for the Sussex household, who was in London to work contacts on their behalf. She also happens to be the same woman who set up Harrys BBC interview in May, the one where he fronted the idea of a potential reconciliation. Please note that the Prince has long ago dropped demands for an apology and makes no pretence of missing aspects of royal life: the crazy palace meals, key members of his family and Britain more generally. Meanwhile, exactly what he does next remains open. Despite his best efforts, Harry has failed to shed his royal skin. A snide article in Vanity Fair earlier this year pointed out that the Duke has the worlds greatest manners and comes across as the sort of bloke who would happily work for charities for the rest of his life and would be very happy if Meghan made all the money. Once a royal, always a royal. Fortunately, Meghans As Ever brand is Harrys new equivalent of a sovereign grant. The Duchesss success (love her or loathe her, Meghan enjoys traction), frees him up to build British bridges. It helps that the Sussexes commercial tanks are no longer parked on the royal lawn; petal-sprinkles, raspberry jam and emotive podcasts are a welcome, anodyne replacement for earlier relentless attacks against Britains monarchy. open image in gallery The Windsors and the Sussexes at Princess Eugenies wedding in 2018 ( AFP/Getty ) So far, so good. No wonder Tobyn Andreae, the King and Queens communication adviser, turned up to meet Meredith Maines at the Royal Overseas League, clutching a bottle of royal-approved wine. Harry, minus his legal fights and blessed with Meghans flower power, cuts an infinitely more palatable prospect than he did a couple of years ago. Anger abated, he appears almost remorseful, with the recent implosion of Sentebale a cruel reminder that a life of service is far harder to navigate on the outside. It is just possible he really is missing home. Meanwhile, for those arch-royalists wondering why on earth the King should countenance the prospect of an entente-cordial with his recalcitrant tell-all Prince, it is worth reminding ourselves that we are not dealing with an institution, but rather a father and son. open image in gallery Harry, Meghan, Kate and William attend the first annual Royal Foundation Forum in February 2018 ( Getty ) Even when this is cast through the prism of three well-paid execs Liam Maguire, Harrys PR in Britain, was also present on the balcony when it comes to the King, Harry will always revert to his most childish self, gleefully abusing the presumption that parental love is (almost) unconditional. And while his recent wilful testing of that paternal bond has proved challenging, it is ultimately forgivable. More than anyone, the King understands the power of redemption. Look at how the British public have forgiven Charles down the years. Mistakes happened. All too often, we hurt those closest to us. So far, so good; the road ahead is long and not straightforward, but it is hopeful. More broadly, better relations mean improved optics for both parties (in that context, the leaked meeting is not surprising). A softer, forgiving King, and a happier Harry, (who I suspect still covets the half-in, half-out role he mooted five years ago), is an infinitely more appealing prospect than the current cold war statis. open image in gallery William is not a man for turning, and as the spare knows all too well, one day the Prince of Wales will have all the power ( AP2005 ) However, when it comes to royal relations, a (crucial) third party was significantly absent from the balcony. Subsequently, the Prince and Princess of Wales have reportedly been less than impressed with a peace summit about which they knew nothing. Ouch. While Kate was single-handedly winning Wimbledon in exquisite sartorial style (her Princess England vibe neatly offsetting Meghans Little Miss California), beneath the surface, all has not been forgiven. William still bears a grudge can you blame him? Siblings play by very different rules. One sun-dappled spring day back in 2017, Kate, William and Harry sat down to talk about the merits of their Heads Together mental health campaign. In the interview, Kate marvelled at the brothers strong bond, and Harry admitted William often encouraged him to speak about their late mother, an offer he felt unable to take up. open image in gallery Diana with her young sons at Thorpe Park in 1993 ( PA Media ) William acknowledged that through their mothers death they had been brought closer. The love was palpable; what came next, the hate, has proved equally strong. If Harry looked to protect his father in Spare, he did not cut William and Kate the same slack. It will take years for the future king to trust again, if he ever can. Harry alluded to this when acknowledging there were some in the Royal Family who would never forgive him for what he had written. The mirroring in recent history is spooky after the 1936 abdication, stumbling George VI never resumed a normal relationship with his charming, callow brother Edward VIII, (who also wrote a biography). But emotionally it is not a one-way street, and the Prince of Wales would be foolish to take his familial cues from the unbending social strictures of a bygone era. Today, William sits at the heart of Britains most revered institution (and in the face of recent domestic adversity enjoys enormous public sympathy) but moods can change. As a nation, no matter how much we verbally kick Harry, affections run deep. Beneath it all, what really rankled was the Sussexes rejection of our most revered institution. Likewise, William surely knows that one day he must rediscover his affection for his younger sibling. Protected by a pre-ordained sovereign destiny, the longer he withholds the olive branch the more churlish it could start to look. At the moment King Charles is Harrys best hope. And even then, a Sussex return to the sunlit uplands of royalty may well prove short-lived. For the Duke to make a meaningful comeback, good relations are required on two levels - with his father-king and with his older brother, the future king. William is not a man for turning, and as the spare knows all too well, one day the Prince of Wales will have all the power. But impressive kingship (like all good leadership) requires flexibility. If, at the moment, Harry steals all the negative headlines, it will be history that judges William, his more powerful older brother. Only by genuinely forgiving (and including) the spare will he be able to boast that his reign has the requisite hallmarks of modern monarchy - compassion and magnanimity. And most important of all, he will know it is what Diana, his mother, the self-proclaimed Queen of Hearts, would have wanted. Tessa Dunlop is the author of the new book Lest We Forget: War and Peace in 100 British Monuments Get Nadine White's Race Report newsletter for a fresh perspective on the week's news Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Get our free newsletter from The Independent's Race Correspondent Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Social media users have reacted with outrage in response to news that the Department of Justice is seeking just a one-day prison sentence for a Louisville police officer convicted in the killing of Breonna Taylor. A memo sent late to a judge Wednesday night, seen by The Washington Post, claimed that Brett Hankison, who is white, should not have been prosecuted over the civil rights charges on which he was convicted under the Biden administration. This is OUTRAGEOUS S***. And some people still say this Trump Administration is not racist...Think again, wrote one user in response to the report by The Post. Racism in plain sight. A one day sentence for killing a black woman? Sounds completely plausible and appropriate from this corrupt and white supremacist DOJ, added another. open image in gallery Breonna Taylor, a Black 26-year-old medical technician, was killed in a hail of police bullets after police officers showed up to serve a warrant in March 2020. Officer Brett Hankison was later found guilty of violating her civil rights ( Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) A third user wrote: S*** like this is MEANT as a slap in the face, you won't convince me otherwise. The Independent has reached out to the Department of Justice for comment. Taylor, a Black 26-year-old medical technician, was killed in a hail of bullets through her bedroom window after police officers showed up to serve a warrant in March 2020. Though none of Hankison's bullets hit her, he was found guilty of violating Taylors civil rights in November. Hankison faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, though the judge will now consider the governments request before determining a sentence, a hearing for which is due to take place on July 21. The DOJ memo, signed by a Trump appointed attorney, says that while the Department respects the jurys verdict, he deserves a much less severe punishment than recommended by federal sentencing guidelines. Although he was part of the team executing the warrant, Defendant Hankison did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death, the memo says, per The Post. open image in gallery Former officer Brett Hankison faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, though the judge will now consider the governments request before determining a sentence, a hearing for which is due to take place on July 21 ( Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. ) Defendant Hankison did not wound her or anyone else at the scene that day, although he did discharge his duty weapon ten times blindly into Ms. Taylors home. The fatal shooting of Taylor in Kentucky occurred just weeks before the killing of George Floyd by police officer Derek Chauvin in Minneapolis. Both deaths launched nationwide Black Lives Matter protests seeking greater police accountability in the face of excessive force often used against Black people. What's next for @AGPamBondi, pardoning Derek Chauvin? wrote another social media user in response to the news about Hankison. Tell the American People you want to distract the American People from the Epstein Files without telling the American People you want to distract the American People from the Epstein files, another added. DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations refugee agency and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) have raised alarm over the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Syria's southern Sweida province following days of intense violence and Israeli airstrikes, warning that the fragile ceasefire may not be enough to stabilize the region. The UNHCR said that the situation in Sweida deteriorated rapidly after violence erupted on Sunday involving local armed groups and tribal fighters. Armed clashes, shelling, and attacks on civilian infrastructure -- including hospitals and humanitarian facilities -- forced over 25,000 people to flee, with displacement estimates possibly rising to 60,000. According to an update by UNHCR released Wednesday evening, many of the displaced -- mostly women, children, and the elderly -- fled to Sweida city or sought shelter in nearby towns. Seven collective shelters were established, but conditions remain dire amid widespread electricity cuts and damage to health infrastructure. Armed elements reportedly attacked Sweida National Hospital on Tuesday, injuring civilians and medical staff and reportedly killing one medical doctor. The crisis escalated further when Israeli warplanes launched airstrikes on Monday and Wednesday, targeting Syrian military sites in Sweida and Damascus. The Israeli military said the strikes were intended to deter "aggression" against the Druze population and prevent a military buildup near its border. Several civilians were reportedly killed or injured, and widespread damage occurred, including the defense authority compound and areas near the presidential palace in Damascus. Federico Jachetti, the NRC's Syria country director, said in a statement Thursday that at least 1,200 families had fled their homes and were now living with relatives or in rural areas, while hospitals were overwhelmed and essential services had been disrupted. UNHCR, the only UN agency with a full operational presence in Sweida, called on all parties to uphold international humanitarian and human rights law, protect civilians, and ensure unimpeded humanitarian access. "It is vital that humanitarian actors are allowed to deliver life-saving aid and protection services without delay or obstruction," the agency said. Although a ceasefire agreement was reached between the Syrian government and Druze spiritual leaders on Tuesday, both UNHCR and NRC warned that the situation remains volatile and unpredictable. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice A Florida woman faces assault charges after allegedly using bear mace to attack a driver who sped past her, running over and killing a chicken she had stopped to let cross the road. Cynthia Diaz Sosa, 38, had stopped at an intersection in Key West on July 9 to let the bird cross when another driver, Perla Vidaure De Miller, honked their horn and passed her, running over and killing the chicken, according to an arrest report obtained by The Independent. Diaz Sosa allegedly chased De Miller down in her black Toyota Corolla, blocked the road in front of her, and tried to open her door. "They began fighting over the door," the report states. "Cynthia wanted to 'teach her a lesson,' so she pulled out her bear mace and sprayed it into the vehicle, spraying Perla directly in the face while she was seated inside." De Miller and her passenger were both affected by the mace and did not see which way Diaz Sosa left the scene. De Miller told police that she was on her way to pick up her child from daycare at the time of the attack. open image in gallery Cynthia Sosa, 38, is facing charges in Key West, Florida, after allegedly chasing down another driver who hit and killed a chicken crossing the street. ( Monroe County Sheriff's Office ) Diaz Sosa was later pulled over by police, arrested, and charged with two counts of aggravated battery and one count of burglary with assault or battery. She was booked into the Monroe County jail but was released Monday night on a $35,000 bond, the Monroe County Sheriffs Office told The Independent. Diaz Sosas arraignment is set for July 24. 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 Horrifying video captured the moment an Iraq Marine veteran tortured his 6-year-old stepson by putting him in a dog collar and making him run carrying a backpack filled with rocks, prosecutors said. Zachary Perez, 42, was caught on home surveillance footage in May holding a pink dog leash that police said is wrapped around the neck of his stepson, prosecutors say. Multiple videos, obtained by NBC South Florida, show Perez allegedly kicking the boy in the living room and inside a bedroom. According to court records, a separate video taken outside the home showed the child running while carrying a heavy backpack filled with rocks. Other footage showed Perez allegedly yanking the boy to the ground, chasing him with a stick and kicking him multiple times, Local 10 News reported. open image in gallery Zachary Perez, an Iraq Marine Corps veteran, was caught on camera holding a pink dog leash that police say was wrapped around the neck of his 6-year-old stepson. ( Miami-Dade SAO / Local News 10 ) The little boy was left with swollen eyes from being hit, scratches across his body and a rash on his neck from the dog collar, prosecutors said. Perezs abuse of the child lasted two days, according to the report. Since his arrest in May, prosecutors say multiple victims have called their office to report similar abuse allegedly carried out by Perez. There are currently five injunctions sought against the vet, including ones for alleged domestic violence, including against his 14-year-old daughter. Perezs attorneys claimed that the mother of the young boy had asked for help taking care of him and gave the OK for Perez to discipline him. However, state attorneys disagreed, claiming there was no evidence to support the claim. Perezs mother also came to his defense, claiming he has post-traumatic stress disorder, hearing problems and has had multiple surgeries after serving three tours overseas. "The child probably has emotional, psychological, perhaps even physical trauma and injuries that he would have suffered from this horrific abuse," Amanda Altman, CEO of Kristi House, a children's advocacy center, told NBC. open image in gallery Perez was arrested in May, but videos of his alleged actions were just released. ( Miami Dade SAO / Local News 10 ) Altman also said it would be hard to understand why Perez allegedly acted the way he did toward the boy. "I would be looking at the perpetrator's own past, what happened to him," she said. "What trauma would he had suffered that he never got the proper intervention to overcome? Certainly possible those things affected his decisions later in life." Perez was initially denied bail, but on June 10, he was released on house arrest. Perez pleaded not guilty and was ordered to stay away from the stepson and his mother. He is scheduled to return to court on August 28. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The ex-wife of University of California, Berkeley professor Przemyslaw Jeziorski, who was shot dead in Greece on July 4, is behind bars on suspicion that she arranged his murder. Jeziorski, who taught at the Haas School of Business, was shot five times at point-blank range by a masked gunman who quickly made an escape in a waiting getaway car. At the time his death made headlines worldwide, his ex-wife Nadia Michelidaki said that she did not know of anyone who would want to hurt him. The shooting occurred outside of her home as the professor came to visit his children. The other suspects have so far only been described as a Bulgarian man and two Albanian nationals. Now, Michelidakis current partner has admitted to his part in the shooting, reports The San Francisco Chronicle. Jeziorski and Michelidaki divorced in 2019 and have been embroiled in a custody dispute over their twins ever since. On July 3, the day before the shooting, the couple attended a custody hearing in an Athens court. open image in gallery Przemyslaw Jeziorski was shot dead in Greece while in the country to settle a custody dispute ( Haas School of Business ) A total of five people are being questioned in relation to the killing, reports CNN. The network quotes a Greek police source as saying the shooting bore signs of a contract killing. Michelidaki has maintained her innocence in the case, according to reports in the Greek media. The couple met in Berkeley in 2015 and started an Airbnb-style business together before splitting in 2018. The divorce was not finalized until 2024. The finances of their business were reportedly also a source of contention between the pair. The Chronicle reports that this past May, Jeziorski filed for a restraining order against his estranged wife. The victims brother, Lukasz Jeziorski, wrote on the crowdfunding page, WhyDonate: He was the victim of a terrible crime, and the perpetrator is still at large. Our family is heartbroken, and we are doing everything we can to ensure that justice is served. Przemek was a loving father to two young children and a beloved professor at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley. He was a leading scholar in marketing science, industrial organization, and data analytics. He loved teaching and sharing his passion for the intricacies of marketing analytics and marketing science with his students. open image in gallery Jeziorski joined the Haas faculty as an assistant professor of marketing in 2012, following studies at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, the University of Arizona, the University of Chicago, and Stanford University ( Getty/iStock ) A friend of Jeziorski described the couples relationship as not very cordial in an interview with NBC Los Angeles. Another friend, Robert Kowalski, told The Chronicle that he witnessed Michelidaki physically assault Jeziorski during a 2024 trip to the Greek capital. When we talked a few months ago, he said he was afraid of going to Athens and getting beaten up again, he added. Kowalski also accused Michelidaki of not making contact with the family of her childrens father after the shooting, something he describes as very weird behavior. Chemtai Mungo described the last conversation he had with Jeziorski to the station, saying he Expressed some frustration at the process and I encouraged him to stay positive and always remember that the kids really love him and he was very stoic, he said. Jeziorski joined the Haas faculty as an assistant professor of marketing in 2012, following studies at the SGH Warsaw School of Economics, the University of Arizona, the University of Chicago, and Stanford University. His research focused on quantitative marketing, industrial organization, antitrust and regulation, digital marketing, and financial technology, according to Haass website. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The U.S. Embassy in New Delhi has warned Indian nationals they could have their American visas revoked if they commit serious crimes on U.S. soil. The advisory was issued days after police bodycam footage of an Indian woman allegedly shoplifting goods worth around $1,300 from a Target store in Illinois was widely shared online. The woman, whose identity has not been disclosed, is reported to have spent several hours in the store in the town of Normal, before gathering the merchandise and heading for the exit. She was stopped by the stores employees, who called the police. The incident, which occurred on May 1, gained traction after bodycam footage from the responding police officers was posted on YouTube. In the video, a store staff member is heard telling officers: So basically, we have been watching this girl for four hours. She has taken tonnes of merchandise... different kinds. We are getting a total done for you. It will be well over 500 [dollars] I am sure... No. It will be more, interjects the accused, sitting in a blue shirt. You are right! exclaims the store worker. The woman can be seen pleading with officers, insisting she had intended to pay and asking to resolve the matter without further action. Listen! I dont want to get into any trouble, she says. Too late for that, girl, responds the officer as she asks the accused to get out her passport. Im really sorry Im ready to pay for this, she says. The woman was handcuffed and taken to the police station. A female officer is heard in the video asking: Are you allowed to steal things in India? I did not think so. Officers in the footage say the woman could face felony charges, though at the time of publication she had not yet been formally arrested. In the wake of the incident the U.S. Embassy in India has issued a public advisory on social media, stating: Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States wont just cause you legal issues it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future U.S. visas. The United States values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all US laws. While shoplifting is typically prosecuted under state law in the United States, depending on the value of the stolen property or the context of the crime, federal charges may also apply. Under U.S. law, terms such as larceny, embezzlement, and burglary cover various forms of theft and are addressed both in federal statutes and in state-specific criminal codes. The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Email * SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice The father of a 17-year-old girl was arrested Monday after an infant was found in a restroom trash can at a Walmart. Jerry Lee Martinez, 45, was arrested and charged with abandoning/endangering a child with criminal negligence after his daughter allegedly left a newborn in the restroom at the Walmart in in Kingsville, Texas, shortly before 10:30 p.m. Employees found the newborn girl and called 911. They tried to give her CPR before emergency crews arrived, but the infant was pronounced dead at Christus Spohn HospitalKleberg. Surveillance footage, reviewed by police, showed the teenager entering the store and staying in the restroom for about 40 minutes. The baby was found 30 minutes after she left. The father of a 17-year-old was arrested Monday after her newborn daughter was found in the trash can at a Texas Walmart. ( Getty ) A Kleberg County Sheriffs Deputy found the teen in her car in the stores parking lot later that night, and she was taken to hospital for medical treatment. Martinez was arrested at the scene and is being held at the Kleberg County Jail. The teenager remained hospitalized Tuesday, KRIS 6 News reported. Police plan to interview her upon her release. The Independent has contacted the Kingsville Police Department for comment. WINDHOEK, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Namibia is stepping up efforts to address cyber threats by developing local digital tools and advancing legal reform, Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Minister Emma Theofelus has said. In a speech read on her behalf by ICT Development Director Linda Aipinge-Nakale at the Namibia International Cybersecurity Conference and Exhibition 2025 in Windhoek, Theofelus said on Wednesday that cybercrime, scams, and digital fraud are increasing and require collective action from government, industry, academia, civil society, and youth. "Cybersecurity challenges cut across borders, sectors and institutions," she said. "They demand vigilance, innovation, and above all, collaboration." Theofelus cited the introduction of a locally-developed mobile application that allows users to report scams, receive real-time alerts, and access online safety tips. She said the ICT ministry will help with partnerships to develop digital solutions that can create jobs and address unemployment. Theofelus said work is ongoing on a cybercrime bill and a data protection bill. The ICT ministry will soon launch a national Ethical Use of Social Media Campaign to promote responsible online behavior and protect vulnerable groups from digital abuse, she said. A cockpit voice recording of doomed Air India Flight 171 indicates it was the younger co-pilot who asked his more experienced colleague why he turned off the planes fuel-supply switches, according to people familiar with the matter. Investigative officials stand at the site of the Air India Boeing 787 that crashed on June 12. Credit: Getty Images The information, from people who asked not to be identified because theyre not authorised to speak publicly, reveals for the first time who said what in the cockpit. A preliminary report from Indias Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau made public last week included a description of the exchange, including one pilots denial that he turned off the switches, without identifying the individual speakers. Air India pilot Sumeet Sabharwal. Credit: Aviation experts had speculated that it was first officer Clive Kunder who had posed the question to captain Sumeet Sabharwal, given Kunder was the pilot flying and would have had his hands full one on the yoke commanding the widebody into the skies, and the other on the throttle controlling the aircrafts speed. The Wall Street Journal previously reported who said what in the exchange. King Livings success at the top end of town is contrary to some other Australian furniture brands that have faded into obscurity; Parker, Moran and Van Treight are brands King admired in earlier years but have each passed their peak. Mass-market player Nick Scali, which grew healthily during COVID lockdowns, had sales and profits reversed after the 2023 financial year. Lower-cost brands such as Temple and Webster and icon Ikea continue to attract younger customers for convenience and affordability. The 2018 Jasper II sofa system by King Living in prestige saddle leather upholstery costs from $14,000. Credit: But there is no point being the best of the best if customers havent heard of you. Priced about $6000 for a three-seater couch, most customers dont buy a King Living sofa until their mid-30s, when theyre looking to graduate from lower-priced, poorer-quality furniture that has started falling apart. When you get to about 40 or something, you realise I want something thats going to last, King said. A lot of people save up for a long time to buy King. But he is really aware the brand needs to pique interest, even before the customer can afford it. Loading We probably are missing out on part of the market, he said. There are younger people, first home buyers they should be able to buy King. If you want to be the Rolls-Royce of furniture, how do you appeal to the younger market? Is that how he wants King Living to be seen? We think we can do that, and we think we have ways to do that. The business is working on broadening its range without compromise. We cannot make a product that isnt brilliant, that people dont love, he said. We need to meet the price point better, do both super luxury, quite expensive furniture and entry level as well. The 100-year chess game By the end of the year, King Living will have 40 showrooms around the world. Half of these are in Australia, which last year sold $308.7 million worth of furniture, a 7.5 per cent rise on the year beforehand. The rest of the showrooms are spread across Asia, Britain, Canada and the US. An additional 10 are in the pipeline for 2026. Even Trumps tariffs wont discourage growth ambitions in the US, where a new showroom in Portland, Oregon is due to open. Its like playing a big game of chess, King said. When Canada imposed tariffs of nearly 300 per cent on sofas being imported from China in 2021, King negotiated an exception by proving they werent dumping cheap products into the market. Even [with] ridiculously high tariffs, our furniture is really good value for what it is. We can put [prices] up, keep our margins down, and stay in the business because were there for the long term. King Livings slower approach to its global rollout has largely met success, even where it wasnt expected. Youll find a King Living showroom in Calgary, Canada, which doesnt seem to make sense for its population of 1.7 million until you learn its virtually winter six months of the year and people spend more time indoors. There were plenty of moments of doubt; opening in London and Vancouver were some of them. I always get that feeling: Have I done the wrong thing here? Is this wrong? King Living founder and chairman David King in his Balgowlah showroom, which is still under construction. Credit: Nick Moir As preparations were made to launch in Singapore in 2015, King Living commissioned market research that found locals preferred European design and smaller furniture to fit their smaller apartments. It was very bad, King said. Anyway, we sold, and have sold, so much furniture in Singapore Australians are great at relaxing. Thats what Singaporeans started saying. Kings preferred style of ruling is as a laissez-faire mentor favouring young talent over old hands. After stepping back from the day to day in 2015 by hiring a chief executive, he still oversees and approves designs and drives the companys expansion strategy. Most of his design team were hired as university graduates. Theyre more willing to experiment. Theyre not as conservative. Even great designers seem to get more conservative with age. King doesnt intend to step away any time soon but is firm on preparing the business for that eventuality so it will run smoothly well after his reign ends. If I wasnt here, someone else would do it just perfectly. Thats the way were set up. SYDNEY, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Restoring floodplain wetlands in Australia significantly cuts carbon emissions and improves flood and drought resilience within a year, new research said on Thursday. Researchers from Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT University) studied restored and degraded floodplain wetlands along Australia's Loddon River in Victoria, finding rapid climate and water management benefits from restoration. "Restoring wetlands could be a secret weapon against climate change," said the study's lead author Lukas Schuster from RMIT University's Center for Nature Positive Solutions. Restored wetlands cut carbon emissions by 39 percent in a year and boosted soil carbon by 12 percent, all without the methane spike seen in peatland restorations, while unrestored sites saw emissions rise 169 percent and soil carbon fall 10 percent, the study showed. Restored wetlands increased soil moisture by 55 percent, improving drought resilience and strengthening surface carbon storage, according to the study published in the London-based Journal of Environmental Management. Restored wetlands saw a rebound in native plants and slower leaf litter decomposition, boosting soil carbon retention and increasing nitrogen by 45 percent, which improves water quality and reduces algal bloom risk, Schuster said. Long-term benefits were confirmed by monitoring a wetland six years after its restoration: surface organic carbon stocks there had jumped by 53 percent, researchers 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 This weeks picks include an American murder mystery featuring Eric Bana and Sam Neill, a much-hyped Stephen King adaptation and sturdy crime procedural from the Bosch universe. Untamed (Netflix) Early on in this American murder mystery, which is set in Californias vast Yosemite National Park, a veteran federal agent, Kyle Turner (Eric Bana), takes a new park ranger, Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), out on official business via horseback. I havent seen this view before, Vasquez says as they cross a gorgeous riverside glade, to which Turner replies that most people only see the same 10 per cent of Yosemite. The rest of its out there, he sagely adds. Eric Bana as Kyle Turner and Lily Santiago as Naya Vasquez in Untamed. Credit: Ricardo Hubbs/Netflix Thats also my take on Untamed. While its made with care and staffed with capable performances, the take on crime and punishment in this limited series too often feels like the same 10 per cent of the crime genre weve seen before. In its outline and emotional currents, the show flirts with the generic at times. That it holds together as a whodunit and eventually an examination of what protecting your family really means is credit to the shows perseverance and our willingness to follow this genres well-worn trail. Loading The first episode, in particular, is a spartan checking of boxes; beginning with a young woman plunging off the famous El Capitan granite monolith and the arrival of Turner, the parks criminal investigator. Hes a scrupulous if taciturn detective and a sad drunk he calls his remarried ex-wife Jill (Rosemarie DeWitt) at 2am, an unspoken loss haunting him. Vasquez is unperturbed by this lone ranger. I got a toddler at home. she reasons. So I know how to deal with difficult. Advertisement A succinct six episodes, Untamed was created by the father and daughter team of Mark L. Smith and Elle Smith. The formers credits include the recent Netflix western American Primeval and his calling card is natures fury magnified by humanitys hunger for violence. This show is nowhere near as calamitous, but it racks up bodies, facts about Yosemite anthropology, and some particularly prickly exchanges between Turner and the soldier-turned-wildlife-control-officer Shane Maguire (Wilson Bethel). Anything predictable is nonetheless professional, but a sharper directorial eye would have helped. Bana, who has aged exceedingly well into his silver fox era, puts emotional weight on the generic punctuation; his eyes say more than his dialogue in certain scenes. Sam Neill has even less to work with as Turners boss and longtime friend Paul Souter, who needs the case solved as the media pack grows. By the final episodes, the story has dug down enough, with past crimes and melancholic discoveries, to give the leads more to do. Its just that Untamed requires patience to get that far. Joe Freeman in The Institute. Credit: Chris Reardon/MGM+ The Institute (Stan) The screen rights for Stephen Kings 2019 novel The Institute were sold on the day the book was released, in 2019. Its not difficult to see why. The story of a group of teenagers with telekinetic powers trapped in a monstrous institution running experiments on them was a throwback to some of the prolific authors earliest hits, which in turn had influenced the likes of Netflixs Stranger Things. This competent adaptation makes the creative circle complete. Loading Overseen by King veterans writer Benjamin Cavell (The Stand) and director Jack Bender (Mr Mercedes) the story sets up two strands: 14-year-old prodigy Luke Ellis (Joe Freeman) is violently abducted and sent to the secretive Institute, while in the nearby Maine town of Dennison River Bend a haunted police officer, Tim Jamieson (Ben Barnes) is trying to fix his life. The latters arc is a holding action, barely ticking over until Lukes desperation brings him to Tims attention. Advertisement Life at the facility, with its adolescent inmates and creepy adult scientists, is bleak, but the horror in this science-fiction drama mostly feels compact and cautious. Theres rarely a sense of the unhinged or genuinely otherworldly. As the uncompromising supervisor Ms Sigsby, Mary-Louise Parker is suitably unsettling, but like too much of this eight-part series, the capable never reaches the compelling. Greg Davies plays Paul Wicky Wickstead, a cleaner of crime scenes, in The Cleaner. The Cleaner (season 3) (BritBox) The new season of this British comedy, where creator Greg Davies plays crime scene cleaning technician Paul Wicky Wickstead, is starting to test the shows limits. In each episode, Wicky goes to a new crime scene and interacts with witnesses, officials, and survivors. Its an unlucky dip that makes Wicky look anew at his life. The writing is clever, the humour sardonic, and the reflections on lost opportunities always thoughtful, but Davies obviously wants to experiment with the format and tone. There are episodes here that start to unstitch the series. Maggie Q stars as Detective Renee Ballard in Ballard. Credit: Greg Gayne/Prime Ballard (Amazon Prime Video) Adapted from the Los Angeles crime novels of Michael Connelly, the Bosch television franchise moves seamlessly into this spin-off, which follows dedicated LAPD detective Renee Ballard (Maggie Q, Designated Survivor). Shunned by colleagues for being a straight arrow, Ballard gets a Department Q-like shift into an understaffed cold case squad. With six Ballard novels to call on, the series is a sturdy procedural, complete with Bosch-friendly cameos, that is trying to very carefully grapple with institutional failings while maintaining a run-and-gun cop show momentum. Advertisement Iconic pastries, deeply flavoured pho and ringside drinks. Dani Valent traverses Footscrays spine, Barkly Street (which morphs into Hopkins Street), with a few detours into the pedestrian mall and market. Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Share In this Good Food series, Dani Valent explores Melbournes best Eat Streets. See all stories . Are you ready for a Footscray renaissance? With feeder roadworks nearing completion and the new Footscray Hospital soon to open, residents and business owners are ready to shrug off the suburbs reputation as a troubled hotspot and embrace vibrancy and opportunity. The suburb is one of Melbournes most multicultural and diverse, with almost half of all residents born overseas. More than 80 languages are spoken in the broader Maribyrnong council area, which is anchored by Footscray, seven kilometres and three train stations from the city. Im amazed how people are open to trying different flavours in Footscray, says Revekah Hurtado, owner of Latin American restaurant Papelon, looking around at tables full with people of many nationalities. Footscray is dynamic, a little chaotic but in such a good way. People use the neighbourhood: you see someone at a local barber, then the bread shop and later a restaurant. Theres a sense of community that you can really feel. 1 / 9 Inside the seafood section of Footscray Market. Chris Hopkins 2 / 9 Ricotta cannoli and espresso (in a glass, the Italian way) at T.Cavallaro and Sons. Chris Hopkins 3 / 9 Bar Thyme on Barkly Street. Pete Dillon 4 / 9 Steamed rice rolls filled with pork at Xuan Anh Banh Cuon inside the Footscray Market. Chris Hopkins 5 / 9 South American restaurant Papelon is bright and welcoming. Jason South 6 / 9 Jollof rice with meat at The African Calabash. Pete Dillon 7 / 9 Rare beef flank and meatballs pho at Huu Huu Thanh inside Footscray Market. Chris Hopkins 8 / 9 Each diner gets their own hot pot station and tongs at Divine Hotpot. Luis Enrique Ascui 9 / 9 Footscray mall is the pedestrianised section of Nicholson Street, at the intersection of which Barkly Street becomes Hopkins Street. Chris Hopkins Previous Slide Next Slide Papelon is in Footscray Market, an important hub for the suburb. The area isnt fully gentrified so the market helps people who are struggling with the cost of living, says Howard Stamp, owner of Bar Thyme. Theres quality food at lower prices It brings people into the area, they go shopping, have lunch, its great for foot traffic. Stamp was looking northside before he landed on Footscray, opening his business in 2021. I love the feel: its very multicultural, everyone is trying to do something different, no-one is competing, he says. Footscray is awesome. I wouldnt move anywhere else in Melbourne. Discussing pho broths, noodles, toppings, price and style is an endless neighbourhood topic. Advertisement This guide travels more or less west to east through Footscray, with Barkly Street (which morphs into Hopkins Street) as the spine. Plough Hotel Pouring beers since 1868, the Plough rolls out pub traditions with polish. Theres usually some kind of special on, whether its $5 tacos on Wednesday, $15 pizza on Friday or Sunday roast. Anytime is a good time for the porterhouse with creamy mash and garlic beans. If you really want to lean into a Footscray eating adventure, theres accommodation upstairs. 333 Barkly Street, Footscray, ploughhotel.com.au A taste of Matsus kaiseki menu. Matsu The Japanese kaiseki (tasting menu) hideaway has expanded from its four-seat launch pad down the road to this spacious but still boutique 12-seat restaurant, where detailed seasonal menus include dishes dramatically seared over rice straw. Bookings are hard-won for the $265 set-menu experience. Try your luck online to snare a seat or gather a group of 10 to arrange a private meal. Advertisement 275 Barkly Street, Footscray, matsuxbar.com Cosy gatherings in the dining room at Ras Dashen. Chris Hopkins Ras Dashen After a modest renovation, this 14-year-old Ethiopian stayer has new furniture and artworks but the same warm welcome. Owner Wondimu Alemu recommends the clay tibs: lamb chops with broccoli and cauliflower served on a claypot. Theres plenty for vegetarians, including the warming, sustaining vegie firfir with injera (fermented flatbread) mixed into a stew. 247 Barkly Street, Footscray, orders.wowapps.com/order/rasdashen Anchovy toast at Bar Thyme. Pete Dillon Bar Thyme Advertisement What a cracking little wine bar. Homely but classy, its got creative cocktails (I love the Lilly Pilly Pie with housemade lilly-pilly liqueur, rosella and lime), food thats on par with any of Melbournes sip-and-snack high-flyers, and a consummate host in owner Howard Stamp. Snack on housemade wild boar mortadella or fluffy chickpea panisse fingers with pecorino, or settle in for a feed-me dinner with matched wines. 227 Barkly Street, Footscray, barthyme.com.au Abol Africa Simple ingredients are melded with careful touch at this modest Ethiopian restaurant, run by Hadas Gebreegzabher whose family has a long history of feeding people in Addis Ababa. You cant go wrong with a combination of fresh, vibrant stews piled on spongy injera, a fermented flatbread. Theres also homemade tej, a honey wine, served in a traditional flask. 221 Barkly Street, Footscray Roti canai at Roti Road in Footscray. Simon Schluter Roti Road Advertisement At one of the larger places in the hood, flaky roti is the centrepiece of a Malaysian menu that covers staples such as skewers, wokked noodles and laksas. Roti canai includes dipping sambal, dahl and curry, and theres plenty for vegans and gluten-avoiders. For dessert, it has to be the towering roti tisu, scrolled into a tower and brushed with condensed milk. 189-193 Barkly Street, Footscray, rotiroad.com.au Sushi Takezo Matsus former home has been taken over by Takeshi Murakami, who ran the Japanese kitchen at Langham Melbourne for over a decade. Hes expanded the space to six seats (from four) and serves omakase sushi menus, using seasonal fish from trusted suppliers, matched with sake and French wine. Murakami is doing everything from shopping to washing up in an effort to keep prices down. Hes confident his $185 menu is of similar standard to far more expensive sushi counters around town. Public bookings are open from August: this will be one of Melbournes hottest tickets. 157a Barkly Street, Footscray, sushitakezo.com.au There are 24 taps to choose from at Mr West. Mr West Bar & Bottle Shop Advertisement Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. O Tama Carey calls time on her Lankan Filling Station in Darlinghurst, which was awarded a hat in every edition of the Good Food Guide during its seven-year run. After seven years of non-stop hoppers, fiery, fragrant curries and spice-laden sambols, celebrated Sri Lankan restaurant Lankan Filling Station is preparing to close. At this stage, there is no exact end date, but it will be soon, perhaps the end of winter, chef and owner O Tama Carey said in a statement. Carey opened Lankan Filling Station in a tiny, narrow space on Riley Street in Darlinghurst in 2018 following two years of market stalls and pop-ups. Lankan Filling Station owner O Tama Carey. The restaurant quickly became known for its signature dish: hoppers lacy-edged, bowl-shaped pancakes made from fermented rice and coconut, designed to be torn and swiped through tamarind-spiced black curry or slow-simmered coconut lentils. The venue was awarded a hat in every edition of the Good Food Guide during its operation, with the 2025 Guide describing it as a celebration of spices, praising the depth and complexity across the menu from playful snacks to rich curries. Liverpool councillors sacked a former chief executive whose relationship with mayor Ned Mannoun soured when the senior bureaucrat dumped the councils new planning boss for failing to disclose he was an undischarged bankrupt, an inquiry has heard. Farooq Portelli, the councils current director of corporate support, said tensions between the pair had been escalating when he got wind Mannoun wanted him gone from the top job in late 2013. Liverpool City Councils director of corporate services Farooq Portelli provides evidence at the inquiry on Thursday. I guess the mayor at that point in time decided I wasnt the person he wanted in the role, Portelli told an inquiry into the council on Thursday. The NSW Office of Local Governments public inquiry into Liverpool City Council is examining councillors conduct as well as the organisations handling of finances, property purchases, staff employment and more than $150 million in state government grants for infrastructure projects. A part-owner of a small Sydney line marking company has told an anti-corruption inquiry he handed over envelopes of cash at an Oporto fast-food restaurant and his Wetherill Park offices to an allegedly corrupt NSW transport department employee during work on the citys M4 motorway. Emails, text messages and spreadsheets between 2013 and 2015 shown to the inquiry reveal that Complete Linemarking director Peco Peter Jankulovski and Ibrahim Helmy, who was at that time an employee of Roads and Maritime Services (RMS), arranged to meet on numerous occasions at the back of an Oporto restaurant and the companys premises, where cash would be handed over. Complete Linemarking director Peco Jankulovski at the ICAC hearing. In one exchange via text message in August 2013, Helmy asked Jankulovski if there were many people at his companys premises. Jankulovski confirmed to the inquiry on Thursday that Helmy was expressing a reluctance to meet there too often because it was where cash was handed over. Some of the withdrawals of cash for Helmy were made from the personal bank accounts of Jankulovski and his wife. A Sydney-based banker who was charged with grooming underage girls for sex has been found dead on the Gold Coast hinterland, two days after he was released from a Brisbane cell on bail. Christopher James McCann appeared in Brisbane Arrest Court on Monday, charged with one count of using the internet to procure children aged under 16. McCann, a former Commonwealth Bank executive, had been extradited to Queensland last Thursday, following his arrest by New South Wales police. Christopher James McCann leaving the Brisbane Watch House on Monday. He was found dead two days later. Credit: AAPIMAGE McCann, who had no prior criminal record, was released under strict bail conditions, which included living in Queensland during the court proceedings, an overnight curfew and being limited to one mobile phone with no encrypted applications. Look closely and youll see the green is no more than a thin shroud laid upon what, just a few weeks ago, was bare earth. Empty paddocks stretch away. Hard-pressed farmers have de-stocked, unable to afford to feed their animals. The drought is hitting hard in western Victoria. Credit: Joe Armao But where sheep still graze, their noses are pressed to the ground, their jaws working hard at drawing poor sustenance from the skimpy new growth. Cattle cant get their tongues around the mirage of grass. They stand defeated, waiting to rush the next expensive delivery of hay or grain. Here is a paradox: a green drought. As winter came and rain fell, satisfaction at dams filling was curbed by farmers knowledge that the weathers long-awaited turn was a hoax. After crushing months of the familiar form of dry the gasping paddocks turning to dusty parchment the rains came too late, too far into winters chill to stimulate anything but phantom growth. Venture out into these sham green plains of pain and you might come across convoys of trucks loaded with hay great rolls of it, or big square bales stacked high. Loading The convoys haul from far away to try to help farmers battle through to spring, when that counterfeit green pick might transform into useful sustenance and debt-wearied land-holders might find the confidence to start rebuilding their flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. The momentousness of the convoys is that as the cost of hay and grain reaches to the moon, leaving many farmers despairing of making it to tomorrow or ever recovering, the trucks are supplying their loads of hay for free. The trucks that ground their way to Camperdown last Saturday night brought loads from as far distant as northern NSW worth half a million dollars. All of it, including the cost of running the trucks and fuel, was at no cost to farmers. The gift was arranged by the charity Need for Feed Australia, a project of Lions Clubs. It was established during southern Australias worst big dry on record, the millennium drought from late 1996 to 2010. About halfway through that long agony, a fellow named Graham Cockerell was rocked to read that three farmers a week were taking their own lives. When he was just 11 years old, he suffered the pain of his own fathers suicide on the familys farm. His father, like many others, had simply found himself in circumstances he couldnt control, and couldnt see a way out. Cockrell decided he wanted to try to save other families from experiencing his familys depths of anguish. And so he arranged to fill a small truck with hay, and he sent it to East Gippsland farmers burnt out in the drought-fuelled fires of 2006-2007. Farmers helping others in times of need by providing hay has become an established tradition. Credit: Tina Phipps Since then, with the support of Lions Clubs all over the place, Cockrells idea grew into Need for Feed, which became well-known for providing aid following the Black Saturday bushfires of 2009. Since then, Need for Feed, run totally by volunteers who give their time, trucks, fuel and fodder, has turned up regularly to help communities brought low by Australias most familiar catastrophes: droughts, floods and fires. It estimates it has provided more than $45 million of assistance so far. Other organisations, like Aussie Hay Runners, do the same sort of thing. Only a couple of weeks ago the Hay Runners ran a convoy of donated hay from East Gippsland to areas around Colac and Hamilton in south-west Victoria. The motive behind this generosity? Five years ago, when Western Victorias farmers were having a good season, they arranged to send truckloads of hay to help out East Gippsland farmers burnt out in devastating bushfires. Knowing about suffering, East Gippslands farmers decided last month it was time to return the help they had received. In just three weeks, they gathered trucks and hundreds of donated hay bales and set out in convoy from Orbost. Elsewhere, another disaster relief charity, BlazeAid, raised enough money to cover the freight costs of hay coming from Queensland to western Victoria. BlazeAid volunteers have also helped fix fences. Governments, of course, provide disaster relief, too. But in a drought, the Victorian government doesnt hand out money for fodder, arguing such a subsidy would send the price of hay and grain spiralling out of reach of farmers everywhere. And so, good-hearted people of the land, who know firsthand the torment of seeing their animals starving and families falling into despondency and worse, have taken the weight upon themselves to try to alleviate some of the suffering. Cost-of-living pressures are continuing to put a dampener on baby fever in Australia, with the latest bounceback in births across the nation lagging pre-pandemic levels, especially in the major cities. Despite inflation easing to 2.4 per cent in the March quarter down from its peak of nearly 8 per cent in 2022 analysis from KPMG Australia shows price pressures are continuing to deter many people from starting or expanding their families. Ashleigh and Wyatt Galea with two of their three children, Henry and Oliver. Credit: High school teacher Ashleigh Galea and her husband, electrician Wyatt Galea, both 31, already have three children but say they would have had at least one more if they could afford it. My husband and I have always joked that if we had the money, or won the lotto, he would like us to have a team worth of children, Ashleigh said. Were lucky to be living in our own home, but even with both us working full-time, we still cant afford luxuries like a cook or cleaner, which would make it easier to have had a larger family. Brussels: European leaders are preparing to escalate their trade stoush with US President Donald Trump by targeting American products from bourbon to Boeings if he does not compromise on his latest shock tariffs. The European Union has a hit list of US exports worth more than $120 billion a year and is negotiating the massive retaliation after Trump stunned the bloc with a 30 per cent tariff on its products. Bourbon barrels in an ageing warehouse at the James B. Beam distillery in Clermont, Kentucky. Credit: Bloomberg The trade war contrasts with a peace deal last month on defence, when Trump acclaimed a move by all major NATO members to increase their military spending. The economic rift is growing wider after Trump chose to scale up his tariffs beyond the 10 per cent rate already being applied, announcing the move last weekend when the EU thought it had a deal on trade in sight. Well, well, well. It turns out you do reap what you sow. After hijacking and weaponising conspiracy theories for much of his political career, Donald Trump is belatedly realising that people who perpetuate conspiracies are probably misguided and pretty annoying. The US president is trying to quash a revolt from the more rabid elements of his Make America Great Again movement over the administrations decision to draw a line under the Jeffrey Epstein saga and declare: nothing more to see here. Epstein is a matter of MAGA gospel. For years, Trump supporters have clamoured for the release of the so-called Epstein files, which would it was assumed incriminate swaths of the American liberal elite as paedophiles who had availed themselves of Epsteins seedy connections and hospitality. SYDNEY, July 17 (Xinhua) -- An emergency search is underway for a light aircraft that failed to arrive at its destination in eastern Australia. Emergency services were notified on Tuesday that the plane with one person on board had not arrived as scheduled at a regional airport in the coastal town of Moruya, 250 km southwest of Sydney in Australia's state of New South Wales (NSW). A multi-agency search for the missing aircraft commenced on Wednesday and resumed on Thursday morning, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported on Thursday. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said in a statement that the plane had departed from Wangaratta, 340 km west of Moruya in the state of Victoria, and that its last known position was in NSW's Snowy Mountains near the town of Khancoban, approximately halfway along its route. It said that a jet and helicopters were conducting a search from the air, but that weather conditions were challenging with low clouds and restricted visibility. NSW Police, the State Emergency Service, the National Parks and Wildlife Service and personnel from a nearby hydroelectric plant are conducting a ground search. ABC reported that police believe the plane may have crashed about 500 meters from a hiking trail in the area. Snow showers and temperatures as low as one degree Celsius were forecast for Khancoban on Thursday. Next-generation Subaru hybrid system combining 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER engine with electric motors and high-capacity lithium-ion battery standard on Crosstrek Hybrid Uprated 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER engine now standard on entry-level Crosstrek Standard heated steering wheel added to Crosstrek Limited and Wilderness trim levels Legendary Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive standard on all models Starting at $26,995 MSRP and arriving in retailers in fall 2025 CAMDEN, N.J., July 16, 2025 -- Subaru of America, Inc., today announced pricing on the 2026 Subaru Crosstrek, including the new Crosstrek Hybrid. The third-generation Subaru Crosstrek returns with an available, all-new next-generation Subaru series-parallel hybrid system for enhanced range and capability, and more standard comfort and convenience items on the award-winning Crosstrek. All Crosstrek models are equipped with legendary Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, including the new Crosstrek Hybrid, which seamlessly integrates its all-new powertrain into the existing architecture with no loss in capability. A 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER engine is standard on all Crosstrek models for 2026; and Crosstrek Limited, Crosstrek Limited Hybrid, and Wilderness trim levels now include standard heated steering wheels for added comfort. The 2026 Subaru Crosstrek and Crosstrek Hybrid arrive at retailers beginning this fall. For 2026, the Subaru Crosstrek is available in Base, Premium, Sport, Sport Hybrid, Limited, Limited Hybrid, and Wilderness trim levels. New for 2026, the Subaru Crosstrek base trim level adds an uprated 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER engine making 180 horsepower and 178 pound-feet of torque, which was previously standard on Premium, Sport, Limited, and Wilderness trim levels. The new 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid is equipped with an Atkinson/Miller-cycle 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER engine paired to electric motors and a high-capacity lithium-ion battery making 194 horsepower combined. Crosstrek Limited, including Limited Hybrid, now includes DriverFocus Distraction Mitigation System as standard equipment, which is new for 2026. All trim levels of the 2026 Subaru Crosstrek are equipped with Subaru Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, X-MODE Dual Mode System with Hill Descent Control, and at least 8.7 inches of ground clearance. Standard on all trim levels is a Lineartronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) with smooth and quiet performance. Every 2026 Subaru Crosstrek is equipped with the award-winning EyeSight Driver Assist Technology that includes a pre-collision braking system, lane departure warning, lane keep assist, and advanced adaptive cruise control with lane centering. Automatic emergency steering is included in models equipped with blind-spot detection and rear cross-traffic alert. The safety feature works with EyeSight and blind-spot detection to assist with steering control within the lane of travel, helping to avoid forward crashes at speeds slower than 50 mph. Subaru Crosstrek Starting at $26,995 MSRP, the 2026 Subaru Crosstrek includes a long list of impressive standard features, including EyeSight Driver Assist Technology, steering responsive LED headlights, SI-DRIVE engine performance management, 17-inch alloy wheels in dark gray finish, dual-zone automatic climate control, and Tire Pressure Monitoring System with individual tire display and automatic individual wheel ID registration. Dual 7.0-inch Subaru touchscreens for infotainment are standard in the 2026 Subaru Crosstrek. The top screen controls smartphone integration with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio streaming connectivity; AM/FM stereo; Rear Vision Camera; SiriusXM with 360L and Travel Link, and HD Radio. The bottom touchscreen offers controls for climate and vehicle settings. Additional features included in the 2026 Subaru Crosstrek include power windows with auto up/down for the front windows, Auto Stop-Start, power door locks and side mirrors, tilt and telescoping steering column, keyless entry, security system with engine immobilizer, USB-A input/charging and 3.5mm auxiliary input in the front center console, 60/40-split folding rear seat, carpeted floor mats, crossbar mounting points, and Welcome Lighting. Rear seat side airbags, Keyless Access with Push-Button Start, and Auto Vehicle Shut Down, which turns off the vehicle if not driven after 30 minutes, are newly standard on Crosstrek. Subaru Crosstrek Premium Building on features found on Crosstrek, the 2026 Crosstrek Premium adds more convenience features for $27,995 MSRP to start. It adds 17-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with dark gray machine finish, a Subaru 11.6-inch Multimedia Plus system with six speakers, SiriusXM with 360L (4-month free trial included), wireless Apple CarPlay and wireless Android Auto compatibility. Other features include USB-A and USB-C input/charging ports in the front center console, USB-A and USB-C charging ports in the rear center console, raised ladder-type roof rails, and LED fog lights. An option package with blind-spot detection with rear-cross traffic alert, all-weather package (heated front seats, windshield wiper de-icer, and heated exterior mirrors), automatic emergency steering, 10-way power driver's seat with 2-way lumbar support, and power moonroof is available for $2,245 MSRP. Subaru Crosstrek Sport The 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Sport blends unique exterior and interior styling elements with the capability found across the model lineup for a starting price of $30,625 MSRP. Building on the Premium trim level, the Crosstrek Sport adds yellow accents on the front, side, and rear panels; larger 18-inch alloy wheels in dark gray finish; sport cloth upholstery with yellow contrast stitching; leather-wrapped steering wheel and shift lever handle; simulated carbon fiber interior trim accents; and yellow metallic finish trim rings on the tachometer and speedometer. Added convenience items include a standard wireless phone charger in the center console, all-weather package, and upgraded headlights with LED front signals. Subaru Crosstrek Limited Newly added comfort and convenience items to the 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Limited enhance the SUV's value for $32,995 MSRP. A heated and leather-wrapped steering wheel is added for this year, emergency lane keep assist, and DriverFocus Distraction Mitigation System, which helps drivers stay alert to the road ahead. The Crosstrek Limited builds on features from the Sport trim level with added blind-spot detection with rear cross-traffic alert, automatic emergency steering, reverse automatic braking, and a 10-way power adjustable driver's seat with 2-way lumbar support. Inside, the Crosstrek Limited adds black or gray perforated leather-appointed seats with contrast orange stitching, shift lever cover, center console storage lid, door armrests, and instrument panel. Chrome interior door handles and chrome-trimmed power window switches add more refined touches to Crosstrek Limited. Outside, the Crosstrek Limited includes 18-inch dark gray alloy wheels with machine finish and exterior mirrors with integrated turn signals. Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness With adventure on the horizon, the 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness adds uprated capability and unique style with more convenience features for $33,795 MSRP. The Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness combines a 180-hp 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER engine, Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive, and standard X-MODE with 9.3 inches of ground clearance, revised gearing, exclusive body cladding, and increased towing capacity to 3,500 pounds (vs. 1,500 pounds on non-Wilderness trim levels). Inside, the Crosstrek Wilderness includes durable, versatile, and water-resistant Subaru StarTex upholstery with the Wilderness logo embossed on the front headrests. Copper-colored contrast stitching complements the interior, and anodized copper-finish accents on the shifter, gauge meter rings and newly standard heated leather-wrapped steering wheel set the adventure-ready model apart. Outside, the Crosstrek Wilderness adds unique styling with exclusive front and rear bumpers, a bold hexagonal front grille, larger wheel arch cladding, enhanced underbody protection, unique hex-design LED fog lights and an anti-glare hood decal in matte-black finish. The Wilderness rides on taller front and rear suspension components to accommodate chunky standard Yokohama GEOLANDAR all-terrain tires wrapping 17-inch alloy wheels in matte-black finish. An available option package for Wilderness includes a power moonroof, 10-way power driver's seat with 2-way lumbar support, and Harman Kardon 10-speaker system with 432-watt equivalent amplifier for $2,270 MSRP. Subaru Crosstrek Sport Hybrid New for 2026, the Subaru Crosstrek Sport Hybrid adds a fuel-efficient, next-generation Subaru hybrid powertrain, standard 12.3-inch full digital display cluster, 11.6-inch Subaru Multimedia Plus System with Navigation, and other comfort items for $33,995 MSRP. Building on features found in the gas-only Subaru Crosstrek Sport, the Crosstrek Sport Hybrid adds standard blind-spot detection with rear cross-traffic alert, automatic emergency steering, and emergency lane keep assist. The Crosstrek Sport Hybrid also adds a 10-way power driver's seat with 2-way lumbar support, power moonroof, and hybrid-exclusive 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with dark gray finish. Subaru Crosstrek Limited Hybrid The new 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Limited Hybrid combines the impressive features found in the Crosstrek Limited with the all-new next-generation Subaru series-parallel hybrid powertrain for longer range and comfort. In addition to the Atkinson/Miller 2.5-liter SUBARU BOXER engine, electric motors, and high-capacity lithium-ion battery, the Crosstrek Limited includes an 11.6-inch Subaru Multimedia Plus System with Navigation and 12.3-inch full digital instrument cluster for $34,995 MSRP. The Crosstrek Limited Hybrid builds from the gas-only Crosstrek Limited with exclusive 18-inch aluminum-alloy wheels with dark gray machine finish, gray StarTex interior upholstery with orange stitching, and Harman Kardon 10-speaker system with 432-watt equivalent amplifier. An options package for Crosstrek Limited Hybrid adds a power moonroof and surround view monitor for $1,600 MSRP. Sane Dune Pearl and Citron Yellow Pearl are available exclusively on Crosstrek Hybrid trim levels and cost $395 MSRP. Premium Alpine Green is available across the 2026 Crosstrek range for $395 MSRP. Subaru Crosstrek Hybrid models are assembled in Gunma, Japan, while the rest of the Crosstrek lineup is assembled at Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., in Lafayette, Indiana. 2026 Subaru Crosstrek Model/Trim Transmission Applicable Option MSRP MSRP plus Destination and Delivery ($1,420)i Crosstrek CVT 03 $26,995 $28,415 Crosstrek Premium CVT 13, 14 $27,995 $29,415 Crosstrek Sport CVT 21 $30,625 $32,045 Crosstrek Sport Hybrid CVT 26 $33,995 $35,415 Crosstrek Limited CVT 31 $32,995 $34,415 Crosstrek Limited Hybrid CVT 36, 37 $34,995 $36,415 Crosstrek Wilderness CVT 21, 23 $33,795 $35,215 2026 Crosstrek Option Packages Code Description MSRP 03, 13, 21, 26, 31, 36 Standard Model N/A 14 Blind-Spot Detection / Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, All-Weather Package, Power Driver Seat, Power Moonroof $2,245 37 Power Moonroof, 360-Degree Surround View Monitor $1,600 23 Harman Kardon Speaker System, Power Moonroof, Power Driver Seat $2,270 MSRP does not include tax, title, registration or optional $395 premium paint (Sand Dune Pearl, Citron Yellow Pearl, Alpine Green). Destination & Delivery is $1,420 for Crosstrek and may vary in the following states: CT, HI, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI and VT. D&D is $1,570 for retailers in Alaska. About Subaru of America, Inc. Subaru of America, Inc. (SOA) is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Subaru Corporation of Japan. Headquartered in Camden, N.J., the company markets and distributes Subaru vehicles, parts, and accessories through a network of about 640 retailers across the United States. All Subaru products are manufactured in zero-landfill plants, including Subaru of Indiana Automotive, Inc., the only U.S. automobile manufacturing plant designated a backyard wildlife habitat by the National Wildlife Federation. SOA is guided by the Subaru Love Promise, which is the company's vision to show love and respect to everyone and to support its communities and customers nationwide. Over the past 20 years, SOA and the SOA Foundation have donated more than $340 million to causes the Subaru family cares about, and its employees have logged over 115,000 volunteer hours. Subaru is dedicated to being More Than a Car Company and to making the world a better place. For additional information, visit media.subaru.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, and YouTube. WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that the federal government would terminate funding for California's High-Speed Rail project. "Not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again," Trump wrote on his social media account. "The railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will." On the same day, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the termination of approximately 4 billion U.S. dollars in federal funding for the California High-Speed Rail project. In a strongly worded post, Duffy criticized California Governor Gavin Newsom and the ongoing issues surrounding the high-speed rail initiative. "Governor Newsom and California's high speed rail boondoggle are the definition of government incompetence and possibly corruption," said Duffy in a post on social media. Newsom responded on social media, saying, "Won't be taking advice from the guy who can't keep planes in the sky," an apparent reference to recent aviation safety concerns under Duffy's tenure as Transportation Secretary. In June, Secretary Duffy's department released a report on the project, citing missed deadlines, budget overruns and management issues. The report criticized the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) for not meeting critical milestones in the construction of the rail line. In response to the criticism, CHSRA pushed back against the federal government's assessment, calling it inaccurate and defending the project's progress. The authority highlighted ongoing construction in the Central Valley -- including major earthworks and bridge building -- and described the effort as the country's first genuine attempt at high-speed rail. The California High-Speed Rail project, initially approved in 2008, has faced persistent delays, cost overruns and logistical hurdles. However, state officials have repeatedly maintained that the project is on track. The authority highlighted the completion of major infrastructure work, including 35 kilometers of earthworks and 11 bridge structures. Despite these claims, some Republican lawmakers, particularly from the state's Central Valley region, have expressed frustration over the slow pace of progress. Earlier this year, several GOP members of Congress wrote to the federal government, arguing that only a small portion of the work had been completed and urging a reconsideration of federal funding. Bharatmala corridor scam Six more held in fresh crackdown Staff Reporter Raipur Retired and serving government staff arrested for forging land records in Rs 100 crore scam Fraudulent mutations, forged ownership claims triggered large-scale compensation payouts In a major breakthrough in the Bharatmala corridor land acquisition scam, the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB) on Wednesday arrested six individuals, including retired and serving government officials, for their involvement in a multi-crore compensation fraud that has rocked the Vishakhapatnam-Raipur Economic Corridor project. Those arrested include retired (Amin) Gopal Ram Verma and serving (Amin) Narendra Kumar Nayak from the Water Resources Department, alongside four private individuals-Khemraj Kosale, Punuram Deshlahre, Bhojram Sahu, and Kundan Baghel. All six were presented before the Special Court (Prevention of Corruption Act) in Raipur, where judicial proceedings for further custody are under way. Notably, Amin is a technical post in the Revenue or Water Resources Departments, typically involved in land measurement, demarcation and survey work. They play a pivotal role in land acquisition processes for government projects, including determining boundaries and compensation assessments. In this case, Amins Gopal Ram Verma (retired) and Narendra Nayak (serving) are accused of submitting false land measurement reports, facilitating the Rs 100 crore scam. SEOIACB officials confirmed that the arrests stem from Crime No. 30/2025, which details a systematic conspiracy between 2020 and 2024. The scam involved fraudulent land acquisition claims under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, a flagship national infrastructure scheme. Government-acquired lands were deceitfully sold back to the State through falsified records, enabling massive compensation payouts to unauthorised claimants. The investigation revealed that revenue records were manipulated, land parcels were split into fraudulent subplots, and false ownership documents were prepared. In multiple instances, beneficiaries who were not the actual landowners received hefty compensation amounts, while genuine farmers were sidelined. According to SEOIACB, several of the accused extracted large commissions from farmers in exchange for facilitating this illegal process. This development follows the earlier judicial proclamations issued on June 28 against six absconding revenue officials, who continue to evade arrest. Acting on repeated failed attempts to serve warrants, the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC), Raipur, invoked Section 84 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) 2023 to compel their court appearance on July 29. The proclaimed offenders include SDO Nirbhay Kumar Sahu, Tehsildar Shashikant Kurre, Naib Tehsildar Lakheshwar Prasad Kiran, and Patwaris Jitendra Kumar Sahu, Basanti Ghritlahare, and Lekhram Dewangan. SEOIACBs probe alleges that these officials played crucial roles in authorising fake land reports, approving forged mutations, and fabricating revenue maps. Their actions led to large-scale misappropriation of public funds, with losses to the exchequer exceeding Rs 100 crore. This wave of arrests also follows an earlier crackdown on April 25, when four individuals-Uma Tiwari, Kedar Tiwari, Harmeet Singh Khanuja, and Vijay Jain-were apprehended for siphoning off Rs 2 crore through similar fraudulent means. That case, part of the same FIR, exposed a scheme in which already-acquired government lands were shown as private holdings to trigger fresh compensation claims. SEOIACB sources confirmed to The Hitavada that supplementary charge sheets are under preparation, supported by forensic audits of revenue servers and digital records. Investigators are also scrutinising potential links to senior bureaucrats and political figures, although no official names have been cited in this regard yet. Bhopal Crime Branch arrests woman with 1.4 Kg ganja stash Staff Reporter : The Bhopal Crime Branch has successfully arrested a female ganja (cannabis) peddler involved in the illicit drug trade. The accused was found in possession of 1 kg 428 grams of ganja, with an estimated market value of approximately Rs 15,000. Bhopal Police are maintaining a strict vigil on the illegal drug trade. A case has been registered against the accused under Section 8/20 of the NDPS Act, and investigations are underway. Interrogation of the accused regarding the ganja is ongoing. Preliminary information suggests that the accused would procure ganja at cheap rates and then sell it in small quantities in Bhopal. Police are currently gathering information from the accused about other potential traffickers. Under the directives of Bhopal Police Commissioner Harinarayanachari Mishra and Additional Police Commissioner Bhopal Pankaj Srivastava, a campaign has been launched to control crime and apprehend criminals in the city. In this regard, under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Akhil Patel, Additional Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Shailendra Singh Chauhan, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sujit Tiwari, Crime Branch Police Station In-charge Ashok Maravi and his team were deployed to track down illicit drug traffickers. Acting on a tip-off, information was received that a woman was sitting with a white bag containing ganja, waiting for a customer, near the under-construction building behind VIP Guest House, under Shahjahanabad police station, Bhopal. As the information was reliable, senior officials were informed, and the team proceeded to the specified location. There, a woman matching the informants description was found sitting with a white bag. She was surrounded and taken into custody. Upon questioning, she identified herself as Sudha Shriwas (wife of Santosh Shriwas), aged 50, residing at House Number H 1937, Housing Board Colony, Peele Quarter, Nishatpura Police Station, Bhopal. A search of the bag revealed a brownish-grey substance with a strong odour, which was identified as ganja. Cgarhs DME yet to release NEET-UG qualifier merit list Staff Reporter Raipur, As the Medical Counselling Committee (MCC) kicks off its counselling sessions for MBBS, BDS, and other medical course admissions, Chhattisgarhs Directorate of Medical Education (DME) is yet to release its NEET-UG qualifier merit list. This delay comes despite the MCCs announcement of All India Quota (AIQ) counselling from July 21 and State Quota counselling from July 30. While states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh have already published their NEET-UG merit lists, and others are in the process of doing so this week, Chhattisgarh lags. Officials from the Chhattisgarh Medical Counsel attributed the delay to the ongoing preparation of the merit list, with a schedule to be announced upon completion. The MCC, part of the National Medical Commission, previously released a detailed schedule for the first round of counselling. Counselling for 15% of MBBS and BDS seats in state-run and private medical colleges, as well as 100% of seats in centrally run institutions (like AIIMS branches, JIPMER, BHU, AMU, ESIC medical institutes), will be held from July 21 to July 28. Counselling for 85% of allotted seats in state-run and private medical colleges is scheduled from July 30 to August 6. MBBS aspirants must join their allotted colleges by August 12. Second Round is scheduled between August 19 to August 29, with a joining deadline of September 4. Third round September 9 to September 18, with an enrollment deadline of September 23 and stray vacancy round from September 25 to September 29, with a joining deadline of October 3. The academic session for MBBS first year across all medical colleges is slated to commence from September 1. DME officials in Chhattisgarh reported that over 9300 students qualified for NEET-UG 2025 in the state. However, only about 60 percent of these qualifiers have registered their names, a significant factor contributing to the delay in releasing the merit list. In response to the growing concerns, Dr. US Paikra, Director of DME, has reportedly instructed officials to expedite the merit list preparation and release it this week. Correct lists EVEN as the Election Commission of India (ECI) is currently engaged in verification of electoral lists in Bihar, many political parties -- particularly in the Opposition camp -- are worried that the exercise may lead to a massive alteration in the States election pattern. Because information is leaking out that many irregularities are being noticed in the electoral roles, many political parties suspect that some tampering may be taking place in the voters lists. Some political parties have gone to the extent of insisting that the Election Commission has no business effecting corrections in the voters lists. Of course, such accusations and complaints make no sense in the least -- since it is part of the basic duty of the Election Commission to ensure that electoral roles are free of any faults. Even as doubts are surfacing about countless families in Bihar having registered as many as fifty persons in voters lists, serious questions are being asked about the genuineness of those names. It needs to be noted that vast lengths of Bihars areas are adjacent to Nepalese border, and doubts are being expressed if countless thousands of non-Indian names have been entered into the States electoral roles. Another area of concern is about the Bihar areas bordering West Bengal -- from where countless numbers of Rohingya people are suspected to have crossed into the State and have their names registered as voters. This also could mean massive numerical distortion in Bihars electoral arithmetic. Normally speaking, political parties must feel rightly worried about distortions in the voters lists, and should start asking for correction. Yet, strangely, most Opposition parties (belonging to the I.N.D.I. Alliance) are shouting themselves hoarse against tampering of electoral roles even as the Election Commission seeks to correct lists by ascertaining names of individual voters. Factually, it should be the endeavour of all political parties to ensure that electoral roles are corrected as urgently as possible. But many Opposition parties are raising the question of integrity and honesty of the Election Commission as it seeks to verify names in the existing voters lists. Many Opposition leaders such as former Deputy Chief Minister Mr. Tejashwi Yadav have even used abusive language describing the efforts of the Election Commission -- whereas all political parties should be making sincere attempts to ensure that there are mistakes left in the voters lists. What is in evidence in Bihar, however, is the cantankerousness of the Opposition parties in accepting the attempts of the Election Commission to ensure correct voters lists. This edginess of the Opposition parties has given rise to doubts if Bihars electoral lists had already been tampered with by political vested interests. Hence the resistance of the Opposition parties to the Election Commissions efforts to verify the voters lists -- as some politic al observers now suspect. If these doubts have any substance, then the task of correction of voters lists and their serious verification becomes a nationally important task. In fact, such a task should be conducted on a nationwide basis so that no malpractices are allowed to take place when the nation goes to polls in due time. In fact, the Central Government must announce a nationwide programme of verification of all voters lists all over the country so that no doubts about their correctness are allowed to prevail. Bihar may be treated as a test case, thanks to the peculiar political culture prevailing there. But it would be worthwhile to scrutinise the voters lists nationwide so that no scope is left for any manipulations that would finally affected electoral outcome when the country goes to polls in due time. This issue, thus, assumes a great political importance. DGHRD, CBIC assures to solve all issues of GST employees Business Reporter : A DELEGATION of All India Federation of Central GST and Customs SC/ST Employee held a meeting with Valte Vungazamun, Director General, Directorate General of Human Resource Development (DGHRD), Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) recently, and discussed the various issues relating to the GST employees across the country. The delegation included K P Rai, Chief Patron, Sanjay Thul, President, Sandeep Kumar, Secretary General, Jitendra Kumar, Treasurer and D D Varma, Liaison Secretary. During the meeting various points were discussed like proper implementation of reservation and implementation of reservation roster in all the cadres. To fill up about 33,000 vacant posts across the country. Similarly, to increase the working strength of CBIC staff according to the work load among other important issues. Valte Vungazamun listened to the grievances of the GST employees and assured to resolve their issues at the earliest. DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Syrian interim leader Ahmad al-Sharaa on Thursday strongly condemned Israeli airstrikes on Damascus, reaffirming the government's commitment to protecting all Syrians, especially the Druze community. "Our people waged a revolution for freedom and emerged victorious through great sacrifice. They remain ready to fight for their honor whenever threatened," al-Sharaa said in a nationally televised address. Turning to Israel, al-Sharaa accused the "Israeli entity" of consistently targeting Syrian stability and seeking to incite internal conflict since the fall of the former Syrian government. He charged that Israel aims to turn Syria into a permanent battlefield, weaken its national cohesion, and obstruct its reconstruction process. "Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies, and we won't allow external ambitions to be realized at the expense of our children and our future," he added. Specifically addressing Syria's Druze community, al-Sharaa reaffirmed its place as an integral part of the nation. "Protecting your rights and freedoms is a top priority," he said. "We reject any effort to drag you into foreign agendas or sow internal division." Israel on Wednesday carried out several waves of strikes in Damascus and Sweida, a predominantly Druze province in southern Syria, with the stated aim of preventing the Druze minority from being harmed. Industry-integrated BCom (Corporate Administration) by RTM Nagpur University soon Dr Madhavi Khode-Chaware and P Mohan exchanging documents after signing the MoU. Staff Reporter : RTMNU signs MoU with MIDC Industries Assn With an aim to bridge the gap between academia and industry, Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University (RTMNU), in collaboration with the MIDC Industries Association (MIA), Hingna, will be launching a pioneering course - BCom in Corporate Administration. To take the initiative of Acting Vice Chancellor Dr Madhavi Khode-Chaware to its logical conclusion, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by RTMNU and MIA. Dr Madhavi Khode-Chaware, and P Mohan, President of MIA, at the University meeting hall signed MoU and exchanged the documents. As per the MoU, this industry-integrated course will program essential aspects of office and industrial administration, accounting, and industrial processes, combining academic instruction with real-time industrial exposure. The program is crafted to provide students with both theoretical understanding and practical skills, making them industry-ready upon graduation. The curriculum of the program is being designed in a manner where the traditional part will be avoided with the nclusion of more practical aspects. The curriculum will help students become employable. This is a complete job-oriented course, which will benefit the industries concerned too as they would get ready-to-work trained employees, Dr Khode-Chaware told The Hitavada. A highlight of this program is the mandatory industrial training of 1 to 2 months every semester, ensuring students gain hands-on experience and are exposed to real-time industrial operations across various sectors. This initiative is expected to produce a skilled workforce aligned with the evolving needs of regional industries, addressing employability challenges and promoting sustainable industrial growth. The program facilitates joint development of industry-relevant curriculum and paid apprenticeship opportunities during final year. RTMNU will provide academic infrastructure, coordinate faculty involvement, manage student records, and issue certificates upon successful completion. Our role is to make students professionally self-sufficient under NEP 2020. This initiative with MIA will provide students the much needed industry experience along with classroom knowledge, added Dr Khode-Chaware. MIA President P Mohan stated, We are proud to partner with RTMNU. This is an important step in bridging the real gap between industry and education. This initiative will create a model in the field of higher education and will inspire other universities and industrial associations in the country to integrate education with industry. MIA will facilitate practical training, recommend industry trainers, organise hands-on sessions at industrial units, and support student placement and post-program employment. The MoU outlines a self-financed model, with 20% of admission revenue retained by the University for overheads. A Monitoring Committee will oversee the program, co-chaired by senior RTMNU officials and MIA representatives, meeting at least twice annually to evaluate student progress, financials, and overall program impact. Pro-Vice-Chancellor Dr Subhash Kondawar, Registrar Dr Raju Hiwase, Commerce and Management Dean Dr Medha Kanetkar, Director of Knowledge Resource Centre Dr Vijay Khandal, Head of the Department Dr Anant Deshmukh, Programme Coordinator Dr Rahul Kharabe, Training and Placement Officer Dr Bhushan Mahajan. Representing MIA were President P Mohan, Secretary Arun Lanjewar, Vice President Ajay Agrawal, Executive President Sachin Jain, Vice President Arvind Kalia, Executive Members Rakesh Gupta and Neelkant Gupta also were present during signing of the MoU. KC Overseas Educations Singapore and Dubai Admissions Day on 19th Business Reporter KC OVERSEAS Education, a pioneer in study abroad sector, will be organising the Singapore and Dubai Admissions Day for all the aspirants keen to apply for Masters or Bachelors programmes for fall 2025 or spring 2026 intakes. Students can attend the event on July 19, 2025 at KC Overseas Education, IT Park, from 11 am to 2 pm or KC Overseas Education, Sadar, from 3 pm to 5 pm. They can choose from multiple participating institutions under one roof. Direct interaction with representatives of the institutions, information on institutions and programmes, admission criteria, free profile evaluation, counselling and spot application assessment, information about scholarships and internships, free review of SOPs, recommendations and resumes are the highlights of this event. Grab the chance to study in worlds booming economy, Singapore. One can get US, UK and Australian universities while studying in Dubai. Flexible entry requirements, affordable education and living, high visa approval rates, safety, and closeness to India are the other perks of choosing these study destinations. So, register for this event and get all the required information to accomplish your study abroad dreams. Entry for the event is absolutely free. For further details, interested may visit KC Overseas Education at Krishna, Plot No. 10/2, IT Park or 2nd Floor, Block No. 112, Shriram Tower, Kingsway, Sadar (M: 8669983157, 8669670625). Mega cities in India witness high ozone pollution this summer NEW DELHI : If unchecked, this can become a serious public health crisis as ozone is a highly-reactive gas and can be harmful even with short-duration exposures, said Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director at the CSE ALL mega cities in India, including Kolkata, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hyderabad and Chennai, saw high concentration of ground-level ozone pollution this summer season, according to a new analysis by think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE). A previous analysis had shown that ozone, instead of particulate matter, was the main pollutant in Delhis daily Air Quality Index (AQI) on several days this summer. The new analysis by the CSEs Urban Lab highlighted that ozone, unlike primary pollutants, is not released directly from any source. It forms through complex chemical reactions involving nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and carbon monoxide (CO), pollutants emitted by vehicles, power plants, industries and other sources of combustion. These substances react in presence of sunlight, leading to formation of ozone at the ground level. Anumita Roychowdhury, Executive Director at the CSE, said: If unchecked, this can become a serious public health crisis as ozone is a highly-reactive gas and can be harmful even with short-duration exposures. She added that while cities in north India experience high ozone levels in summer due to intense heat and strong sunlight, cities in warmer climates are also seeing consistent ozone exceedance in other seasons. The current policy focus must be expanded to include improved monitoring, the mitigation of this toxic gas and a reduction in high local exposures. Ozone mitigation needs drastic control over a range of gases from vehicles, industry and all combustion sources, Roychowdhury said. Sharanjeet Kaur, deputy programme manager at the CSEs Urban Lab, said: Inadequate monitoring, limited data and inadequate methods of trend analysis have weakened the understanding of this growing public health hazard across cities of India. Instead of merely averaging out the levels for the city, which is the standard practice to estimate the AQI, it is also important to adequately capture the high levels of local build-up and exposures in the hotspots and design mitigation strategies accordingly. Between March 1 and May 31 this year, Mumbai recorded ozone exceedance on 32 out of 92 days across its monitoring stations, a 42-per cent drop compared to the same period last year. The worst day in terms of spread was March 29, when eight out of 31 stations reported exceedance. The highest ground-level ozone concentration recorded was 90 micrograms per cubic metre. In Kolkata, ozone levels crossed the safe limit on 22 out of 92 days, a 45-per cent decline compared to last summer. The city also saw an overall improvement, with the average hourly ozone peak dropping by 22 per cent. Bengaluru saw ozone exceedance on 45 of the 92 days, a 29-per cent increase from last year. The worst day was March 31, when four of 14 stations recorded levels above the standard. Hyderabad recorded 20 ozone exceedance days, a 55-per cent drop compared to last summer. The highest ozone level recorded in the city was 51 micrograms per cubic metre. Chennai saw ozone exceedance on 15 days this summer. No such exceedance was reported during the same period last year. In comparison, the city had three exceedance days in 2023 and 19 in 2022. The highest level this year was 64 micrograms per cubic metre. PWD denounces cancellation of 355 ongoing projects By Bhavana Aparajita Shukla : Clearing the air on news reports on cancellation of ongoing projects in the State appearing in the media, the Public Works Department (PWD) has clarified on Wednesday that none of the project will be trashed on the basis of design. Higher officials of the department refuted the reports and at the same time also clarify that thorough inspection and scrutiny of running projects are going on. The Public Works Department is engaged to ensure that bridge projects are following technical parameters. The State Government has set up a comprehensive skill enhancement program, under which all the engineers of the State have been instructed to study the Indian Road Congress (IRC) codes and the guidelines of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) and implement the works on their basis. Since the news of 90 degree railway overbridge surfaced and inquiry was set up, there were speculation and questions were hovering over future of newly-constructed and ongoing projects. It is being reported and discussed in some social corridors that designs of the several ongoing projects have been cancelled. On Wednesday, exclusively talking to The Hitavada, PWD official denied that Bridge Cell of the department has cancelled general arrangement drawing of more than 355 projects. Ground work on 355 projects, including 140 flyovers, ROBs and elevated corridors have been stalled. It is not true, the PWD stated. The Hitavada has also received a copy of such order that categorically mentioned that ongoing work on roads and bridges will continue and as per the standards. None of the project will be cancelled on the basis of design and quality. Departments constant supervision on such tasks have been ensured by the department, the order stated. Orders have been issued to concerned officials and efforts are being made for better co-ordination with other stakeholders e.g. local bodies and Railways. In an another other order, the PWD stated that a direction has been given regarding construction of ROBs and flyovers to the concerned authorities to establish better co-ordination with the PWD. Since there is involvement of available land, traffic situation and Geometric Design Standards, 3Superelevation, Transition Length and sharp curves so their counterparts e.g. railway and respective municipal corporation should also have discussion and execution with the technical team of the department before and after the construction in case there was need for correction. Notably, newly-built Aishbagh railway over bridge in Bhopal drew severe criticism and ridicule, with experts are questioning its sharp 90-degree turn design. It has grabbed limelight and sever objection for the faulty design. Swiftly, the department swung into action to save image and opposition as well pointing out other projects. Chief Minister has to intervene and took cognizance of the matter and suspended seven engineers, including two chief engineers, of the Public Works Department a fortnight ago. Technical experts from Prada visit Kolhapur, interact with artisans PUNE : A TEAM of experts from Prada visited Kolhapur to interact with artisans and assess the local footwear manufacturing process, days after the Italian luxury fashion brand was accused of appropriating the regions famous flat sandals. Following the row, Prada had acknowledged that the sandals showcased in their mens 2026 fashion show were inspired by traditional Indian handcrafted footwear. Four members of their technical team, including the heads of footwear design of Prada and two external consultants, visited Kolhapur on Tuesday. They toured the Kolhapuri chappal manufacturing cluster, observed the production process, and held discussions with local artisans, said Lalit Gandhi, president of the Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry, and Agriculture. HC dismisses PIL against Prada; questions petitioners right to sue MUMBAI, July 16 (PTI) THE Bombay High Court on Wednesday questioned the statutory right of six advocates to sue Italian fashion house Prada for its alleged unauthorised use of the famous Kolhapuri chappals, and dismissed their public interest litigation (PIL). A bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Sandeep Marne raised questions on the locus of the petitioning advocates, saying they were not the aggrieved persons or the registered proprietor or owner of the footwear. What is your (petitioners) statutory right? HC asked. You are not the owner of this Kolhapuri chappal. What is your locus and what is the public interest? Any person aggrieved can file a suit. What is the public interest in this, the court asked. The plea had said the Kolhapuri chappal (sandals) is protected as a Geographical Indication (GI) under the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act. The bench then said that the registered proprietor of the GI tag can come to court and espouse their own action. The court dismissed the plea and said it would pass a detailed order later. In their spring/summer collection, Prada showcased their toe-ring sandals, which the petition said are deceptively similar to the Kolhapuri chappals. These sandals are priced at Rs 1 lakh per pair. The bench also questioned how an injunction can be granted in a PIL and said the affected party can file a suit if they wish to. Infringement action cannot be decided in a PIL. It has to be in a suit by the aggrieved person. Evidence will have to be looked into, HC said. * The initiative noted that the BRICS media and think tanks, as a community of collective wisdom among emerging markets and developing countries, must ground their efforts in the realities of the Global South. * The managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria said BRICS is "not just a grouping of emerging economies; we are a force to be reckoned with, and our influence is growing by the day." * "The rise of BRICS is not an isolated phenomenon. It is part of a broader awakening of the Global South, which is asserting itself as a central force in international affairs," said a chairman of the Malaysian National News Agency. RIO DE JANEIRO, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum, convened this week in Rio de Janeiro, brought together voices from across the Global South to jointly reshape the narrative system and enhance the representation of developing countries in international affairs. The event served as a pivotal gathering for over 250 delegates from media outlets, think tanks, government institutions, and enterprises representing 36 countries, including BRICS member states, partner nations and regional organizations. Based on the broad consensus of the attendees, the forum delved into a range of critical topics under the theme "BRICS United: Forging a New Chapter for the Global South." Discussions focused on BRICS' role in leading the Global South's development, building a new digital future, and amplifying the voice of the Global South on the international stage. President of Xinhua News Agency Fu Hua meets with important guests attending the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) BUILDING A SHARED DIGITAL FUTURE An initiative on artificial intelligence (AI) cooperation and development was unveiled at the forum, following extensive discussions among attendees on the roles and responsibilities of media and think tanks in advancing AI collaboration, shaping governance frameworks, and establishing technical standards for the Global South. Highlighting AI's significant momentum in global communication, industrial cooperation and knowledge sharing, the initiative noted that the BRICS media and think tanks, as a community of collective wisdom among emerging markets and developing countries, must ground their efforts in the realities of the Global South. It called for fostering a collaborative approach to R&D, standards and governance to ensure AI benefits are shared globally. Though AI has great potential to improve the quality of life worldwide, the enthusiasm for its benefits should not overshadow the potential risks posed by both intentional and unintentional use of its applications, said Edson Prestes e Silva Junior, a full professor at Institute of Informatics of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. "Therefore, we need to strengthen collaboration between our countries and between the different segments of our societies, and that is exactly what we are doing right now," he said at the forum. "Only then will we be able to make the AI domain beneficial to our societies, now and in the future." SHAPING GLOBAL GOVERNANCE In a world marked by geopolitical tensions, persistent inequalities and the urgent need for more representative global governance, the BRICS group has emerged as a key platform for engaging with rising economies, said Luis Rene Fernandez Tabio, a full professor at the International Economic Research Center at the University of Havana, Cuba. Echoing his view, Jose Juan Sanchez, chief of Brazil's financial and agricultural information provider CMA Group, said that despite their political and economic differences, BRICS countries share some strategic advantages that can be leveraged to advance the Global South's development and amplify its influence in global affairs. BRICS countries possess strong economic clout, abundant natural resources, development experience and financing capacity, positioning them as natural leaders in supporting the Global South, Sanchez noted. He added that by acting collectively and promoting cooperation, BRICS can reshape the global order to be more multipolar, inclusive and just. Ali Muhammad Ali, managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria, said BRICS is "not just a grouping of emerging economies; we are a force to be reckoned with, and our influence is growing by the day." "For Nigeria, joining BRICS is a no-brainer. We are strategically positioned in Africa, and we are eager to reshape global governance, challenge Western-dominated institutions, and push for systemic reforms," he added. A delegate reads a report titled "BRICS Cooperation: Advancing the Collective Progress of the Global South" while attending the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. This report compiled by the Xinhua Institute, a think tank affiliated with Xinhua News Agency, was released during the forum here on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Li Mengxin) AMPLIFYING GLOBAL SOUTH'S VOICE "We are living through a transformative era -- one in which global power dynamics are shifting, and the overlooked voices of the Global South are finally gaining clarity, strength and recognition," said Wong Chun Wai, chairman of the Malaysian National News Agency. BRICS offers an alternative voice -- one that champions multipolarity, sovereignty and fairness in global governance, Wong noted. "The rise of BRICS is not an isolated phenomenon. It is part of a broader awakening of the Global South, which is asserting itself as a central force in international affairs." Mikhail Gusman, first deputy director-general of TASS, said the global media is grappling with unprecedented challenges: a deluge of disinformation, historical revisionism, and technological disruptions eroding the very foundations of truth. As a dynamic alliance embodying the voice of emerging economies and civilizational diversity, BRICS plays a decisive role in advancing the objective of strengthening a fair, multipolar and rules-based international order, Gusman added. The BRICS voice is "loud and clear," said Ali, the managing director of the News Agency of Nigeria, who noted that it represents a growing influence beyond the Global South and is shaping global governance, economic development, and international relations. "We envision a prosperous Global South and a more just and equitable world," he concluded. (Video reporter: Yin Jiajie, Liu Yuchen, Du Yanqin, Li Xin, Zhang Duo, Meng Yifei, Baoluo Luopeisi, Aisaijiyeer Puteluaile; video editors: Hong Liang, Zhang Yuhong, Zhu Cong) Cable Hill Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,028 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $217,000. A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,937 shares of the companys stock valued at $579,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,117 shares of the companys stock valued at $266,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 5,015 shares of the companys stock valued at $429,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 56.2% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 831 shares of the companys stock valued at $81,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Fomento Economico Mexicano by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 26,474 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 61.00% of the companys stock. Get Fomento Economico Mexicano alerts: Fomento Economico Mexicano Trading Up 1.2% Shares of Fomento Economico Mexicano stock opened at $99.39 on Thursday. Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. has a fifty-two week low of $81.08 and a fifty-two week high of $119.18. The firm has a market cap of $35.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.23, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.65. The businesss fifty day moving average is $103.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Fomento Economico Mexicano Increases Dividend Fomento Economico Mexicano ( NYSE:FMX Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 28th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.52 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $9.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $194.75 billion. Fomento Economico Mexicano had a return on equity of 7.86% and a net margin of 3.98%. Analysts anticipate that Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current year. The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 28th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 17th will be given a $1.3625 dividend. This is a positive change from Fomento Economico Mexicanos previous dividend of $0.73. This represents a dividend yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 17th. Fomento Economico Mexicanos dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.41%. Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages have commented on FMX. Wall Street Zen cut Fomento Economico Mexicano from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $102.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, May 12th. Itau BBA Securities raised Fomento Economico Mexicano from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Fomento Economico Mexicano from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $107.45. Get Our Latest Analysis on FMX Fomento Economico Mexicano Profile (Free Report) Fomento Economico Mexicano, SAB. de C.V., through its subsidiaries, operates as a bottler of Coca-Cola trademark beverages. The company produces, markets, and distributes Coca-Cola trademark beverages in Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay. Read More Want to see what other hedge funds are holding FMX? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Fomento Economico Mexicano S.A.B. de C.V. (NYSE:FMX Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Fomento Economico Mexicano Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Fomento Economico Mexicano and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. BRASILIA, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The Brazilian government has formally protested the U.S. decision to impose 50 percent import tariffs on all Brazilian exports, effective Aug. 1, warning of serious economic consequences and a strain on bilateral relations. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick and Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, Brazil conveyed its "indignation" over the move announced by U.S. President Donald Trump on July 9. The letter was jointly signed by Vice President and Development Minister Geraldo Alckmin and Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira, said a statement released Wednesday by Brazil's Ministry of Development, Industry, Trade and Services. "The Brazilian government expresses its indignation at the July 9 announcement," the letter read, warning that the tariffs would severely impact key sectors in both economies and jeopardize what has historically been a strong economic partnership. "In over two centuries of bilateral ties, trade has been a cornerstone of cooperation and prosperity between the two largest economies in the Americas," it noted. The protest comes amid a broader backlash in Brazil. A public opinion poll conducted by consulting firm Quaest between July 10 and 14 showed overwhelming domestic opposition to the U.S. tariffs. The survey, which engaged more than 2,000 respondents across 120 municipalities, found that 72 percent of Brazilians reject Trump's justification for the tariffs, which cited alleged political persecution of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Seventy-nine percent of respondents expressed concern that the tariffs would negatively affect their lives or those of their families. Fifty-three percent of those surveyed supported Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's stance on imposing reciprocal tariffs, while his approval rating rose modestly from 40 to 43 percent amid the dispute. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer announced that Washington has launched an investigation into Brazil's trade practices, focusing on the treatment of digital commerce and electronic payment services, which the United States claims to be discriminatory and harmful to American businesses. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Free Report) had its price objective raised by Mizuho from $130.00 to $140.00 in a research note released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the healthcare product makers stock. Several other research firms have also weighed in on ABT. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $127.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Leerink Partnrs upgraded Abbott Laboratories to a hold rating in a report on Monday, June 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $144.33. Get Abbott Laboratories alerts: View Our Latest Stock Report on Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance Shares of ABT stock opened at $131.79 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $229.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories has a 1-year low of $99.71 and a 1-year high of $141.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $133.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.32. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a return on equity of 19.01% and a net margin of 31.89%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $10.38 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Abbott Laboratories Announces Dividend The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.59 per share. This represents a $2.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is 30.61%. Insiders Place Their Bets In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of Abbott Laboratories stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 34,058 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease 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. Insiders own 0.46% of the companys stock. Institutional Inflows and Outflows Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ABT. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,373,461,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $1,658,180,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 383.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,358,698 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $945,453,000 after buying an additional 6,628,310 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 15,420.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,102,648 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $676,866,000 after buying an additional 5,069,771 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 15,985,797 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $2,120,516,000 after buying an additional 3,616,471 shares in the last quarter. 75.18% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Abbott Laboratories Company Profile (Get Free Report) Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Menieres disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Abbott Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abbott Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM Free Report) by 60.9% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,978 shares of the companys stock after selling 3,085 shares during the quarter. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLCs holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $314,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PM. Pacifica Partners Inc. increased its stake in Philip Morris International by 115.0% during the first quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. now owns 215 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Inlight Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Philip Morris International in the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.63% of the companys stock. Get Philip Morris International alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets Several research firms recently issued reports on PM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $175.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $220.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Wall Street Zen lowered Philip Morris International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $182.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Philip Morris International from $188.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $186.73. Philip Morris International Price Performance PM stock opened at $183.38 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $285.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.81, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.51. The businesss 50-day moving average is $178.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $157.75. Philip Morris International Inc. has a 1 year low of $106.35 and a 1 year high of $186.69. Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $1.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $9.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.10 billion. Philip Morris International had a negative return on equity of 122.40% and a net margin of 8.43%. Philip Morris Internationals revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.50 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 7.14 EPS for the current year. Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 27th were issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 27th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Philip Morris Internationals payout ratio is currently 111.34%. Philip Morris International Profile (Free Report) Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Philip Morris International Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Philip Morris International and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Eli Lilly and Company (NYSE:LLY Get Free Report) and AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV Get Free Report) are both large-cap medical companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, earnings, valuation, dividends, profitability, risk and analyst recommendations. Analyst Recommendations This is a summary of current recommendations for Eli Lilly and Company and AbbVie, as provided by MarketBeat. Get Eli Lilly and Company alerts: Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Eli Lilly and Company 1 3 16 0 2.75 AbbVie 0 8 16 3 2.81 Eli Lilly and Company currently has a consensus price target of $1,012.56, suggesting a potential upside of 28.35%. AbbVie has a consensus price target of $211.29, suggesting a potential upside of 10.89%. Given Eli Lilly and Companys higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Eli Lilly and Company is more favorable than AbbVie. Volatility & Risk Profitability Eli Lilly and Company has a beta of 0.4, suggesting that its share price is 60% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, AbbVie has a beta of 0.48, suggesting that its share price is 52% less volatile than the S&P 500. This table compares Eli Lilly and Company and AbbVies net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Eli Lilly and Company 22.67% 85.51% 15.74% AbbVie 7.31% 412.03% 13.11% Earnings and Valuation This table compares Eli Lilly and Company and AbbVies top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Eli Lilly and Company $45.04 billion 16.60 $10.59 billion $12.29 64.19 AbbVie $56.33 billion 5.97 $4.28 billion $2.35 81.08 Eli Lilly and Company has higher earnings, but lower revenue than AbbVie. Eli Lilly and Company is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AbbVie, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Dividends Eli Lilly and Company pays an annual dividend of $6.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. AbbVie pays an annual dividend of $6.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.4%. Eli Lilly and Company pays out 48.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. AbbVie pays out 279.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Eli Lilly and Company has increased its dividend for 11 consecutive years and AbbVie has increased its dividend for 53 consecutive years. AbbVie is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth. Institutional and Insider Ownership 82.5% of Eli Lilly and Company shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 70.2% of AbbVie shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.1% of Eli Lilly and Company shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of AbbVie shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a stock is poised for long-term growth. Summary AbbVie beats Eli Lilly and Company on 9 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks. About Eli Lilly and Company (Get 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. It also provides oncology products, including Alimta, Cyramza, Erbitux, Jaypirca, Retevmo, Tyvyt, and Verzenio. In addition, the company offers Olumiant for rheumatoid arthritis, atopic dermatitis, severe alopecia areata, and COVID-19; Taltz for plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and non-radiographic axial spondylarthritis; Omvoh for ulcerative colitis; Cymbalta for depressive disorder, diabetic peripheral neuropathic pain, generalized anxiety disorder, fibromyalgia, and chronic musculoskeletal pain; Ebglyss for severe atopic dermatitis; and Emgality for migraine prevention and episodic cluster headache. Further, it provides Cialis for erectile dysfunction and benign prostatic hyperplasia; and Forteo for osteoporosis. It has collaborations with Incyte Corporation; Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.; F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd and Genentech, Inc.; Biologics, Inc., AbCellera Biologics Inc.; and Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. The company was founded in 1876 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. About AbbVie (Get Free Report) AbbVie Inc. discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells pharmaceuticals worldwide. The company offers Humira, an injection for autoimmune and intestinal Behcet's diseases, and pyoderma gangrenosum; Skyrizi to treat moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic disease, and Crohn's disease; Rinvoq to treat rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, atopic dermatitis, axial spondyloarthropathy, ulcerative colitis, and Crohn's disease; Imbruvica for the treatment of adult patients with blood cancers; Epkinly to treat lymphoma; Elahere to treat cancer; and Venclexta/Venclyxto to treat blood cancers. It also provides facial injectables, plastics and regenerative medicine, body contouring, and skincare products; botox therapeutic; Vraylar for depressive disorder; Duopa and Duodopa to treat advanced Parkinson's disease; Ubrelvy for the acute treatment of migraine in adults; and Qulipta for episodic and chronic migraine. In addition, the company offers Ozurdex for eye diseases; Lumigan/Ganfort and Alphagan/Combigan for the reduction of elevated intraocular pressure in patients with open angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension; Restasis to increase tear production; and other eye care products. Further, it provides Mavyret/Maviret to treat chronic hepatitis C virus genotype 1-6 infection; Creon, a pancreatic enzyme therapy; Lupron to treat advanced prostate cancer, endometriosis and central precocious puberty, and patients with anemia caused by uterine fibroids; Linzess/Constella to treat irritable bowel syndrome with constipation and chronic idiopathic constipation; and Synthroid for hypothyroidism. It has collaborations with Calico Life Sciences LLC; REGENXBIO Inc.; Janssen Biotech, Inc.; and Genentech, Inc., as well as collaboration with Tentarix Biotherapeutics, LP to develop conditionally-active and multi-specific biologics for oncology and immunology. The company was incorporated in 2012 and is headquartered in North Chicago, Illinois. 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. Shares of Eagle Materials Inc (NYSE:EXP Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of Hold by the nine brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $254.44. Several research firms have commented on EXP. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Eagle Materials from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Sunday, July 6th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $241.00 price target on shares of Eagle Materials and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. DA Davidson dropped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $260.00 to $245.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $330.00 to $280.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Eagle Materials from $279.00 to $230.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Get Eagle Materials alerts: View Our Latest Report on Eagle Materials Institutional Investors Weigh In On Eagle Materials Eagle Materials Stock Down 0.8% Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mariner Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the second quarter valued at about $1,011,000. Novem Group purchased a new stake in shares of Eagle Materials in the second quarter valued at about $754,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 6.2% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,533 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the last quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 2.0% in the second quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,750 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance raised its holdings in shares of Eagle Materials by 55.0% in the second quarter. Covea Finance now owns 21,700 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $4,386,000 after buying an additional 7,700 shares during the last quarter. 96.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Shares of NYSE EXP opened at $211.81 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $6.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.39 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. Eagle Materials has a 52-week low of $191.91 and a 52-week high of $321.93. The businesss 50 day moving average is $211.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.74. Eagle Materials (NYSE:EXP Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The construction company reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $2.34 by ($0.26). The firm had revenue of $470.18 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $483.14 million. Eagle Materials had a net margin of 20.50% and a return on equity of 32.71%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down 1.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. Research analysts predict that Eagle Materials will post 14.39 EPS for the current year. Eagle Materials Announces Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 24th. Investors of record on Monday, June 16th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 16th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. Eagle Materialss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.27%. Eagle Materials Company Profile (Get Free Report Eagle Materials Inc, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells heavy construction materials and light building materials in the United States. It operates in four segments: Cement, Concrete and Aggregates, Gypsum Wallboard, and Recycled Paperboard. The company engages in the mining of limestone for the manufacture, production, distribution, and sale of Portland cement, including Portland limestone cement; grinding and sale of slag; and mining of gypsum for the manufacture and sale of gypsum wallboards used to finish the interior walls and ceilings in residential, commercial, and industrial structures, as well as well as containerboard and lightweight packaging grades; manufacture and sale of recycled paperboard to the gypsum wallboard industry and other paperboard converters; the sale of readymix concrete; and mining and sale of aggregates, such as crushed stone, sand, and gravel. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Eagle Materials Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Eagle Materials and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB Get Free Report) will likely be issuing its Q1 25/26 quarterly earnings data before the market opens on Friday, July 18th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.76 per share and revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter. HDFC Bank (NYSE:HDB Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Saturday, April 19th. The bank reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.11. HDFC Bank had a net margin of 15.02% and a return on equity of 13.85%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $434.68 billion. On average, analysts expect HDFC Bank to post $3 EPS for the current fiscal year and $3 EPS for the next fiscal year. Get HDFC Bank alerts: HDFC Bank Trading Up 0.5% Shares of HDFC Bank stock opened at $75.66 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 0.07 and a quick ratio of 0.09. HDFC Bank has a 1 year low of $57.24 and a 1 year high of $78.14. The firm has a market cap of $191.59 billion, a PE ratio of 22.93, a PEG ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.51. Institutional Trading of HDFC Bank Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A hedge fund recently raised its stake in HDFC Bank stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in HDFC Bank Limited ( NYSE:HDB Free Report ) by 8.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,676 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLCs holdings in HDFC Bank were worth $776,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. 17.61% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors. Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of HDFC Bank from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Check Out Our Latest Analysis on HDB About HDFC Bank (Get Free Report) HDFC Bank Limited provides banking and financial services to individuals and businesses in India, Bahrain, Hong Kong, and Dubai. The company operates in three segments: Wholesale Banking, Retail Banking, and Treasury Services. It accepts savings, salary, current, rural, public provident fund, pension, and demat accounts; fixed and recurring deposits; and safe deposit lockers, as well as offshore accounts and deposits, and overdrafts against fixed deposits. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for HDFC Bank Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for HDFC Bank and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Global Partners LP (NYSE:GLP Get Free Report) COO Mark Romaine sold 1,881 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.68, for a total value of $97,210.08. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 148,531 shares in the company, valued at $7,676,082.08. This trade represents a 1.25% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Mark Romaine also recently made the following trade(s): Get Global Partners alerts: On Tuesday, July 15th, Mark Romaine sold 7,119 shares of Global Partners stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.28, for a total value of $365,062.32. On Tuesday, June 24th, Mark Romaine sold 6,659 shares of Global Partners stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.26, for a total value of $361,317.34. On Wednesday, June 25th, Mark Romaine sold 2,341 shares of Global Partners stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.53, for a total value of $120,631.73. Global Partners Stock Up 0.8% Global Partners stock opened at $51.67 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.69, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.40 and a beta of 1.03. Global Partners LP has a 1-year low of $37.00 and a 1-year high of $60.00. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $52.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $52.45. Global Partners Increases Dividend Global Partners ( NYSE:GLP Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The energy company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of ($0.03) by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $4.59 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.64 billion. Global Partners had a return on equity of 21.10% and a net margin of 0.76%. Equities research analysts forecast that Global Partners LP will post 2.13 EPS for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were given a $0.745 dividend. This is a boost from Global Partnerss previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $2.98 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.77%. Global Partnerss dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.60%. Institutional Trading of Global Partners A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Global Partners by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,692 shares of the energy companys stock worth $944,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Global Partners by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,464 shares of the energy companys stock worth $720,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Global Partners by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 31,230 shares of the energy companys stock worth $1,667,000 after purchasing an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Global Partners by 54.1% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,425 shares of the energy companys stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in Global Partners by 22.3% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 15,144 shares of the energy companys stock worth $808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 38.12% of the companys stock. About Global Partners (Get Free Report) Global Partners LP engages in the purchasing, selling, gathering, blending, storing, and logistics of transporting gasoline and gasoline blendstocks, distillates, residual oil, renewable fuels, crude oil, and propane to wholesalers, retailers, and commercial customers. The company operates through three segments: Wholesale, Gasoline Distribution and Station Operations, and Commercial. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Global Partners Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Global Partners and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its position in Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR Free Report) by 0.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,656,427 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 8,849 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MAs holdings in Portland General Electric were worth $118,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 4,134 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $184,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,304 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 23,362 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,042,000 after purchasing an additional 1,707 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 30,600 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Portland General Electric by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 30,249 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,349,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Get Portland General Electric alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on POR shares. UBS Group upgraded shares of Portland General Electric from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the company from $47.00 to $50.00 in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Portland General Electric from $51.00 to $48.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. KeyCorp downgraded shares of Portland General Electric from an overweight rating to a sector weight rating and set a $51.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $46.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Portland General Electric from $48.00 to $45.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $45.60. Portland General Electric Stock Up 0.8% NYSE:POR opened at $40.72 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $4.46 billion, a PE ratio of 14.34, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.56. Portland General Electric Company has a one year low of $39.55 and a one year high of $49.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 1.06 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $41.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $42.29. Portland General Electric (NYSE:POR Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.93 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $928.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $977.02 million. Portland General Electric had a return on equity of 8.24% and a net margin of 8.84%. The firms revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Portland General Electric Company will post 3.21 earnings per share for the current year. Portland General Electric Increases Dividend The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 24th were issued a $0.525 dividend. This represents a $2.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. This is a boost from Portland General Electrics previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 24th. Portland General Electrics dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.94%. About Portland General Electric (Free Report) Portland General Electric Company, an integrated electric utility company, engages in the generation, wholesale purchase, transmission, distribution, and retail sale of electricity in the state of Oregon. It operates six thermal plants, three wind farms, and seven hydroelectric facilities. As of December 31, 2023, the company owned an electric transmission system consisting of 1,254 circuit miles, including 287 circuit miles of 500 kilovolt line, 413 circuit miles of 230 kilovolt line, and 554 miles of 115 kilovolt line; and served 934 thousand retail customers in 51 cities. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding POR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Portland General Electric Company (NYSE:POR Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Portland General Electric Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Portland General Electric and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MUFG Free Report) by 100.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 69,687 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 34,992 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.s holdings in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group were worth $950,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 46.6% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 10,522,079 shares of the companys stock valued at $123,319,000 after purchasing an additional 3,342,330 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 6,197,764 shares of the companys stock valued at $84,476,000 after purchasing an additional 247,508 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 40.4% in the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 6,021,271 shares of the companys stock valued at $70,570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731,873 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,820,099 shares of the companys stock worth $65,698,000 after acquiring an additional 13,167 shares during the period. Finally, Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 4,092,847 shares of the companys stock worth $47,968,000 after acquiring an additional 64,808 shares during the period. 13.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group alerts: Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Stock Down 0.9% Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group stock opened at $13.35 on Thursday. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $8.75 and a twelve month high of $15.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $13.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $12.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $161.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.71, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.39. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group ( NYSE:MUFG Get Free Report ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 15th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.03 by $0.10. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group had a return on equity of 9.45% and a net margin of 13.70%. The company had revenue of $22.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $6.47 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. will post 0.99 earnings per share for the current year. Separately, Wall Street Zen raised Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, June 14th. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Profile (Free Report) Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc operates as the bank holding company, that engages in a range of financial businesses in Japan, the United States, Europe, Asia/Oceania, and internationally. It operates through seven segments: Digital Service, Retail & Commercial Banking, Japanese Corporate & Investment Banking, Global Commercial Banking, Asset Management & Investor Services, Global Corporate & Investment Banking, and Global Markets. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MUFG? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (NYSE:MUFG Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Napatree Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK Free Report) by 6.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,885 shares of the banks stock after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the quarter. Napatree Capital LLCs holdings in Bank of New York Mellon were worth $242,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management bought a new position in Bank of New York Mellon in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of New York Mellon in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Bank of New York Mellon in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in Bank of New York Mellon in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in Bank of New York Mellon by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 392 shares of the banks stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.31% of the companys stock. Get Bank of New York Mellon alerts: Bank of New York Mellon Price Performance NYSE:BK opened at $95.43 on Thursday. The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation has a 12 month low of $60.93 and a 12 month high of $96.47. The firm has a market cap of $68.27 billion, a PE ratio of 14.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81. The companys 50-day moving average price is $90.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $84.93. Bank of New York Mellon Increases Dividend Bank of New York Mellon ( NYSE:BK Get Free Report ) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 15th. The bank reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.73 by $0.21. Bank of New York Mellon had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 13.57%. The company had revenue of $4.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.51 earnings per share. The companys revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation will post 6.96 EPS for the current fiscal year. The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 7th. Investors of record on Friday, July 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.53 per share. This represents a $2.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. This is an increase from Bank of New York Mellons previous quarterly dividend of $0.47. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 25th. Bank of New York Mellons payout ratio is 30.62%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several research analysts have recently issued reports on BK shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $97.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Bank of New York Mellon from $105.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $94.38. Check Out Our Latest Report on Bank of New York Mellon Insider Buying and Selling at Bank of New York Mellon In related news, EVP J Kevin Mccarthy sold 30,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.03, for a total transaction of $2,370,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 55,115 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,355,738.45. The trade was a 35.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders. Bank of New York Mellon Profile (Free Report) 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. See Also Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BK? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE:BK Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Bank of New York Mellon Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Bank of New York Mellon and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. RTX (NYSE:RTX Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by Morgan Stanley from $135.00 to $165.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock. Morgan Stanleys target price suggests a potential upside of 9.85% from the companys current price. Several other equities analysts have also commented on RTX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of RTX from $150.00 to $145.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of RTX from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and increased their price objective for the company from $136.00 to $160.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th. DZ Bank upgraded shares of RTX from a sell rating to a hold rating and set a $129.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of RTX from $136.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Cowen reissued a buy rating on shares of RTX in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $164.28. Get RTX alerts: Read Our Latest Report on RTX RTX Stock Up 1.0% RTX stock opened at $150.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $200.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.64. RTX has a 52 week low of $102.62 and a 52 week high of $150.76. The companys 50-day moving average price is $140.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. RTX (NYSE:RTX Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.47 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $20.31 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.80 billion. RTX had a net margin of 5.63% and a return on equity of 12.71%. On average, research analysts expect that RTX will post 6.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Insiders Place Their Bets In related news, EVP Dantaya M. Williams sold 16,922 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.62, for a total transaction of $2,328,805.64. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,538 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,275,959.56. The trade was a 50.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Amy L. Johnson sold 4,146 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.54, for a total transaction of $528,780.84. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 9,546 shares in the company, valued at $1,217,496.84. This trade represents a 30.28% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by insiders. Hedge Funds Weigh In On RTX A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of RTX. Bay Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in RTX in the 1st quarter valued at $224,000. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in RTX by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 34,657 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,591,000 after buying an additional 2,686 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in RTX by 46.0% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,973,342 shares of the companys stock valued at $344,075,000 after buying an additional 936,953 shares during the period. LBP AM SA grew its holdings in shares of RTX by 17.7% in the 1st quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 279,179 shares of the companys stock worth $36,980,000 after purchasing an additional 41,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of RTX by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 390,617 shares of the companys stock worth $51,741,000 after purchasing an additional 5,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.50% of the companys stock. About RTX (Get Free Report) RTX Corporation, an aerospace and defense company, provides systems and services for the commercial, military, and government customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, and Raytheon. The Collins Aerospace Systems segment offers aerospace and defense products, and aftermarket service solutions for civil and military aircraft manufacturers and commercial airlines, as well as regional, business, and general aviation, defense, and commercial space operations. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for RTX Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for RTX and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. VILNIUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission (EC) is proposing to allocate 678 million euros (786 million U.S. dollars) for the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant in Lithuania for 2028-2034, the Energy Ministry said on Thursday. "The proposed 678 mln euros allocation for the next seven years corresponds with the objective needs of the project and ensures a smooth and safe dismantling process," Energy Minister Zygimantas Vaiciunas said in the statement. According to the minister, active steps are being made to ensure that the European Union (EU) funding is allocated for the protection of energy infrastructure in the Baltic states and Poland, seeking the establishment of a dedicated funding instrument or specific budget line within the EU budget for the protection and resilience of critical energy infrastructure. "I cannot imagine a scenario in which the EU would not allocate funding for the protection and resilience of critical energy infrastructure -- in such a case, the EU would not be prepared for the new challenges we are already facing," Vaiciunas said, according to the Baltic News Service (BNS). On Wednesday, the EC presented the bloc's draft budget for 2028-2034, aimed at boosting competitiveness, supporting Ukraine and satisfying the traditional beneficiaries of European money such as farmers. The EU has already allocated around 1.3 billion euros for the Ignalina plant decommissioning since 2007. Lithuania agreed to shut down the Ignalina NPP as part of its accession agreement to the EU in 2004 as the Soviet era reactors were judged to be unsafe to operate within the European bloc. The plant should be fully offline by 2038. (1 euro = 1.16 U.S. dollar) Wipro (NYSE:WIT Get Free Report) is expected to release its Q1 25/26 earnings data before the market opens on Friday, July 18th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.04 per share and revenue of $219.23 billion for the quarter. Wipro (NYSE:WIT Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The information technology services provider reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $225.66 billion. Wipro had a net margin of 14.73% and a return on equity of 15.97%. On average, analysts expect Wipro to post $0 EPS for the current fiscal year and $0 EPS for the next fiscal year. Get Wipro alerts: Wipro Stock Up 2.2% Shares of NYSE:WIT opened at $2.97 on Thursday. Wipro has a 1-year low of $2.63 and a 1-year high of $3.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.72 and a quick ratio of 2.71. The stock has a market cap of $31.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.77, a P/E/G ratio of 8.17 and a beta of 1.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $2.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.15. Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WIT shares. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Wipro from a hold rating to an underperform rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Wipro from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Wipro from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, April 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Wipro presently has a consensus rating of Hold. View Our Latest Stock Analysis on Wipro Institutional Investors Weigh In On Wipro A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WIT. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Wipro by 22.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 10,354,002 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $31,683,000 after buying an additional 1,864,943 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Wipro by 87.0% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 270,702 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 125,967 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wipro by 184.9% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 224,438 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 145,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Wipro by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 120,431 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $369,000 after acquiring an additional 19,901 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 2.36% of the companys stock. Wipro Company Profile (Get Free Report) Wipro Limited operates as an information technology (IT), consulting, and business process services company worldwide. It operates through IT Services and IT Products segments. The IT Services segment offers IT and IT-enabled services, including digital strategy advisory, customer-centric design, technology and IT consulting, custom application design, development, re-engineering and maintenance, systems integration, package implementation, cloud and infrastructure, business process, cloud, mobility and analytics, research and development, and hardware and software design services to enterprises. Featured Articles Receive News & Ratings for Wipro Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Wipro and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. UNITED NATIONS, July 16 (Xinhua) -- UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said Wednesday that Israel must be held to the same principles and laws of all other states in terms of protection of civilians. States and armed groups must uphold the rules -- forged because of the horrors of conflict and hatred -- that protect civilians in war, Fletcher told a Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Gaza. "Today, across the world, we watch these rules being corroded and degraded. Again, it is of course for you (the Security Council members) to decide how you act to ensure that all parties respect international humanitarian law. But I agree with some members of the Israeli Cabinet that you have consistently overestimated your powers of quiet persuasion," he said. "We hold all parties to the standards of international law in this conflict. We don't have to choose -- and in fact, we must not choose -- between demanding the end to the starvation of civilians in Gaza and demanding the unconditional release of all the hostages. And we must reject antisemitism. We must fight it with every fiber of our DNA. But we must also hold Israel to the same principles and laws of all other states," he said. Civilians must be protected wherever they are, hostages must be released, humanitarian aid must be allowed to enter at scale, and humanitarian workers must be protected, Fletcher stressed. Weeks ago, an Israeli minister called allowing aid into Gaza a "disastrous decision," while another implied that starvation might be "justified and moral" until hostages are freed, Fletcher said. "Intentionally using the starvation of civilians as a method of warfare would of course be a war crime." Most recently, Israel's defense minister talked openly about moving Palestinians into what he called a "humanitarian city," said Fletcher. "We understand that the proposal is to forcibly displace Palestinians to a designated zone near Rafah. Now I don't know how to describe this, but it is not humanitarian." He warned that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire. Starvation rates among children hit their highest levels in June, with over 5,800 girls and boys diagnosed as acutely malnourished. Last week, children and women were killed in a strike while waiting for the food supplements to keep them alive, he said. The health system is shattered. Only 17 of 36 hospitals and 63 of 170 primary health care centers are functioning, all only partially, even as mass casualties arrive daily. Water, sanitation systems are broken, and the fuel crisis in Gaza remains at a critical threshold, he added. Gaza's soaring humanitarian needs must be met without drawing people into a firing line. Israel, as the occupying power, is obligated to ensure that people have food and medical supplies. But that is not happening. Instead, civilians are exposed to death and injury, forcible displacement, stripped of dignity, said Fletcher. "It is for you (the members of the Security Council) to draw your own conclusions. But surely, we do not need to debate whether killing civilians waiting in line for life's essentials meets the responsibility to provide for civilian needs," he said, referring to the militarized mode of humanitarian aid distribution carried out by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which is run by the United States with the approval of the Israeli authorities. Contrary to established international humanitarian norms for distributing relief in hundreds of local communities, the GHF set up only four sites in the whole of Gaza in restricted Israeli military zones, where starving civilians enter through fenced lanes under the eyes of armed security contractors. Chaos results in gunfire. Fletcher said humanitarians face access barriers created by the Israeli authorities. The Israeli authorities are also making the delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza complicated, he added. With these obstacles in place, the aid may never reach UN distribution points. And even if it does, getting it at scale to those in need remains deeply uncertain, he said. The International Court of Justice has demanded that Israel take immediate and effective measures to enable the provision of urgently needed basic services and humanitarian assistance, he said. "With these facts before you, I ask you as a council to assess whether Israel is meeting its international legal obligations and whether we humanitarians can fulfill our mandate. Is this allowing and facilitating rapid, unimpeded passage of impartial humanitarian relief, as the rules of war demand? Or is it obstruction? You will draw your own conclusions," he said. HIV diagnoses in The Bahamas are down nearly 50% since 2010 a major public health win. But cases rose again in 2024, and STIs are increasing among youth. You voted: SEOUL, July 17 (Xinhua) -- South Korea's automotive exports rebounded in three months due to solid demand from Europe and Asia, government data showed Thursday. Car shipment gained 2.3 percent from a year earlier to 6.34 billion U.S. dollars in June after reducing in single digits for the past two months, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. The turnaround was attributable to soaring demand for eco-friendly vehicles as well as robust demand from Europe and Asia that offset weaker U.S. demand, caused by the U.S. tariffs imposition. Auto exports to the U.S. tumbled 16.0 percent to 2.69 billion dollars, but those to the European Union (EU) and Asia spiked in double figures. Shipment of eco-friendly sedans jumped 18.7 percent to 2.20 billion dollars in June compared with the same month of last year. The number of exported vehicles came to 244,427 in June, down 3.1 percent from a year earlier. Auto parts shipment increased 2.5 percent to 1.80 billion dollars. The number of vehicles manufactured in local factories slid 0.1 percent to 353,233 in June on a yearly basis. The number of cars sold inside the country, including locally-made and imported vehicles, was 145,842 in June, up 5.8 percent from a year earlier. DUBAI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Emirates airline, the flagship carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has resumed flights to the Syrian capital Damascus after a nearly 13-year suspension, Emirates said Thursday in a press release. Flight EK913 landed at Damascus International Airport on Wednesday with 286 passengers onboard and was greeted with a water cannon salute, it said, adding that a high-level UAE delegation joined the inaugural flight alongside Emirates executives and senior officials. Emirates will initially operate three weekly flights to Damascus, increasing to daily service from late October, it noted. The route is served by a Boeing 777-200LR, offering both Business and Economy Class cabins. The airline suspended its Damascus service in late 2012 due to the deteriorating security situation following the outbreak of the Syrian crisis. In early June, the Dubai-based budget carrier Flydubai also resumed direct commercial flights between the UAE and Syria after more than a decade of suspension. PREPAK condoles | IMPHAL, Jul 16 : The proscribed Peoples Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK) has condoled the demise of United Liberation Front of Assom (Independent) lieutenant general Nayan Ahom and brigadier Ganesh Ahom. PREPAK, in a statement issued by its publicity officer Mangal Khuman, stated that Nayan Ahom and Ganesh Ahom, two leaders of ULFA (I), were killed during a pre dawn drone attack carried out by Indian security forces at four ULFA (I) camps in Myanmar. The attack, which occurred on July 13 involved over 150 drones made in Israel and France, claimed the outfit. Saying that PREPAK and its armed wing Red Army condemned the attack, which also injured some ULFA (I) cadres, the outfit expressed solidarity with ULFA (I). PREPAK claimed that the attack by Indian security forces exposed India's stance of viewing the people of WESEA region as enemies. It's time to teach the Government of India that they can't suppress the people of WESEA with such attacks, PREPAK said and appealed to the people of Manipur to safeguard "our identity, resources, and the legacy passed down by our ancestors". Looking at extension of PR Manipur since Feb 13 | Presidents Rule set to be extended if the report carried by a major newspaper is anything to go by. The question is whether the situation warrants the return of a popular Government or the continuation of the present regime but it is important to note that the wings of the then BJP led Government were clipped effectively after Manipur went up in flames in the evening of May 3, 2023. Back then, it did not take long for the Centre to appoint a Security Advisor and in the process strip the Chief Minister of the post of Chairmanship of the Unified Command. Then came a new DGP, a person appointed by the Centre, going against the practise of the DGP appointed at the discretion of the Chief Minister. Since May 3, 2023, Manipur has also seen two/three Chief Secretaries, with a new face all set to assume office any day soon. Here too the then Chief Minister had no say in the appointment of the Chief Secretary, going against the norm that appointment of the Chief Secretary is also at the discretion of the Chief Minister. All this came about in the midst of the talk that Article 355 has been imposed in Manipur, a move which is seen as just being a step down from Presidents Rule. In short, Manipur has practically been under the direct supervision of New Delhi for over two years--the only difference being the popular Government was allowed to continue. It was only on February 13 this year that PR was officially imposed. And it looks set to continue, if the report mentioned in the opening line of this commentary is anything to go by. The question then is whether the coming of PR has taken Manipur anywhere nearer to the path of normalcy or not. For one, Delhi has hosted talks with CSOs representing the Meiteis and the Kuki-Chin-Zo people more than once and indications are that such talks will continue. Incidents of violence or direct confrontation have come down appreciably though this does not mean that the Kuki militants have stopped targeting Meitei farmers working in the fields. The free movement from March 8 call issued by the Union Home Minister turned out to be a fiasco and no Meiteis can travel on the National Highways. A number of people continue to languish in the different relief centres set up across the length and breadth of the State and no Kuki-Chin-Zo have returned to the place they once called home at Imphal or in the other valley districts. A number of arms have either been recovered or made to be given up via the direct appeal issued by Raj Bhavan in the earlier days of the PR regime. This is a rough picture of the reality that is Manipur after PR regime was imposed and the question is whether a popular Government would have been able to do anything better if it had been in place. Delhis intention seems clear. It is more inclined to finish, what it thinks are unfinished jobs or unfinished agenda. To the people, the more appropriate question would be, whether they think that the return of a popular Government would suit the situation better and take Manipur closer to the road of normalcy. Or would a popular Government have been able to disarm the weaponised society on either side of the clash divide ? Would Imphal have been able to ensure the series of meetings held with the CSOs of either community if a popular Government had been in place ? Questions at the moment, but it also stands that Modi and the Central BJP leaders would not want to see a State Government headed by the BJP kept in suspended animation indefinitely and the move to extend the PR regime may be seen as a move to avert the possibility of the Assembly getting dissolved. It should also be kept in mind that Manipur will go to polls in the early part of 2027 and no political party would want to jeopardise its prospect by dissolving the Assembly headed by it. All these factors will need to taken in and studied, but it stands that the move to extend PR in Manipur has come in the face of the wild prognosis doing the round that a popular Government may return by August. Dont dissolve the Assembly, but let PR continue, seems to be the move initiated by Delhi and Manipur can only hope that things improve. The priority for Manipur is normalcy. BUDAPEST, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Poland has officially recalled its ambassador to Hungary, the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed in a statement sent to Hungary's leading local news portal Telex on Thursday. "We inform you that the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Hungary ceased his duties on July 15 this year," the press department of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs wrote. The decision was described by Warsaw as a response to "a hostile act against the Republic of Poland" -- namely, Hungary's decision to grant political asylum to Marcin Romanowski. Romanowski is a former Polish deputy minister facing multiple criminal charges in his home country. Romanowski is wanted by the Polish National Prosecutor's Office on 11 counts, including participation in an organized criminal group and misuse of public funds. He currently resides in Budapest and heads the Hungarian-Polish Institute of Freedom. Hungarian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Levente Magyar acknowledged the diplomatic downgrade in a statement on Wednesday, expressing regret over the development but describing it as temporary. "This unfortunate step is the result of a gradual deterioration in our political ties -- an unprecedented move in the history of our relations with any Central European partner." Hungary considers this a temporary situation that will not damage the historic friendship between the Hungarian and Polish peoples, Magyar added. He informed that Hungary remains open to dialogue and conveyed this position to Jacek Sladewski, Poland's charge d'affaires in Budapest. The Polish Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on whether it also considers the situation to be temporary. Trinamul Congress national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee Wednesday expressed deep distress over the reported demolition of the ancestral home of Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray in Bangladesh. The century-old property, located in Mymensingh, belonged to Rays grandfather, Upendrakishore Ray Chowdhury, a prominent figure in Bengali literature and culture. Advertisement To reduce a site of immense historical and cultural significance to rubble is nothing short of an assault on our heritage, Banerjee said in his WhatsApp channel emphasising the importance of preserving the cultural landmark. Advertisement Appealing to the Bangladeshi government to halt the demolition, Banerjee said: I urge the Government of Bangladesh to reconsider this heavy-handed decision and take immediate steps to protect and preserve this cultural landmark. I also call upon the Government of India to initiate appropriate bilateral engagement, he said, underscoring the need to ensure the preservation of the heritage site. The ancestral home, built over a century ago, had been left abandoned for nearly a decade and previously housed the Mymensingh Shishu Academy. The ministry of external affairs has also expressed profound regret over the demolition and offered help to repair and convert the property into a museum symbolising shared cultural heritage between India and Bangladesh. After Kumartuli, another ghat in north Kolkata is all set for a makeover. The Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, (SMP), has entered into collaboration with a private company for the redevelopment of Nimtala Ghat in northern parts of the city. The SMP has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with PS Group Realty Private Limited for the redevelopment, renovation and beautification of Nimtala Immersion Ghat under the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative of the private company. The MoU signed is an initiative under the central governments Namami Gange Programme aimed at reviving and maintaining the sanctity of the Ganges. As a part of the agreement, PS Group would undertake complete redevelopment of Nimtala immersion Ghat, including beautification and landscaping with the help of SMP. Advertisement Speaking on the collaborative project, Rathendra Raman, chairman of SMP, said, The Nimtala Ghat holds spiritual and social significance for city citizens for performing various rituals and its revitalisation will enhance not only the citys riverfront aesthetics but also civic pride. We are glad to have a socially responsible partner like PS Group joining us in this noble cause. This long-term collaboration will felicitate further enhancements and improvements as per the public demand. Advertisement As learnt from sources in the city port, the SMP is to provide free access and essential utilities for the projects execution, such as electricity, water and security. Upon completion, the ghat would be handed over to SMP Kolkata for long-term maintenance, as per the agreement. The city port authorities would also facilitate all statutory clearances and drainage provisions as a part of the CSR project aimed at uplifting the ghat that was said to be on the verge of death by many members of the civil society. The initiative, now, is anticipated to bring the much required oxygen to the citys iconic ghat that had undergone erosion in the recent past. Mayor of Kolkata Municipal Corporation on various occasions has also pointed out that some of the ghats on the Ganges, like the Nimtala Ghat are getting massively eroded and are said to have reached a dangerous point. During the immersion of idols in the last Durga Puja, the civic body had even barricaded a portion of Nimtala Ghat, sensing danger. The mayor had also held talks with the port authorities reiterating immediate steps to address the issue. KIEV, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine has received 1,000 bodies of individuals killed in the bilateral conflict from Russia, Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Thursday. "According to the Russian side, the bodies belong to Ukrainian citizens, in particular military personnel," the government agency said in a statement. The repatriation was made possible through the coordinated efforts of the Ukrainian government agencies, with support from the International Committee of the Red Cross. Ukrainian experts will conduct all the necessary examinations to identify the repatriated bodies. The food processing sector has witnessed significant growth in West Bengal, but the state is yet to realise its optimal capacity in harnessing its potential, felt experts and government representatives at the Agri, Livestock and Food Processing Growth Meet on Tuesday. The state government has taken several initiatives to promote the sector and attract investment. Horticulture in the state is being modernised using advanced planting materials, high-yielding seed production with the development of cold chain infrastructure, rainwater harvesting in critical regions and technology development, said Arup Roy, food processing industries and horticulture department minster. Advertisement Area under maize cultivation will be expanded by 60,000 hectares over the next three years to meet the growing demand for animal, poultry, and fish feed in the state. We want to be self-sufficient in this. Through cooperation between the government, private sector, educational institutions, and civil society, we can leverage each others strengths and collectively address the challenges ahead. Women constitute 70 per cent of the workforce engaged in agriculture, encouraging women as agricultural entrepreneurs is a key step towards womens empowerment, added the minister at the event, organised by ASSOCHAM. Advertisement Rajarshi Banerji, president Seafood Exporters Association of India, pointed out that West Bengal has natural advantage in terms of fisheries. We have around four lakh hectares of brackish water, of which we have utilised only 80,000 hectares and produce 80,000 tonnes of farm trends, said Mr Banerji. Southern state Andhra Pradesh has 1.56 hectares of brackish water, of which they have utilised around 1.45 hectares and produce 6L tonnes of farm trends. Out of Indias total export of marine basket of $ 7.7 billion, West Bengals share is less than $1 billion. This shows that we have not been able to utilise our potential to the fullest. Sea food export out of Bengal is 7,000-8,000 crore. If the state can harness its resources well, in 7-8 years time, we can achieve Rs 18-20,000 crore worth of exports, added Mr Banerji. Experts said that aqua culture in Bengal needed to be treated on par with agriculture to see progress in the sector. The minister also said that West Bengal has been growing foreign fruits like kiwi and avocado in north Bengal and trying to increase production. Smarak Swains The Scammers Trail is an electrifying thriller reminiscent of the genre John Grisham has popularised the legal thrillerbut set in the digital age. Swain knows how to hook a reader early, and he doesnt let go until the final chapter. Its an easy read, just like his last fiction The Hawala Agent. The novel opens dramatically: the sprawling Bharat Institute of Medical Sciences (BIMS, seemingly located in the fiction where AIIMS is) is hit by a ransomware attack. Swain pulls the reader straight into the chaos, evoking the panic that ensues in a hospital stripped of its critical IT infrastructure. The stakes are real: not just medical data and government secrets, but reputations, careers, and livelihoods. Forced into a corner, BIMS capitulates by paying an exorbitant ransom in Bitcoins, but now Indias LEAs are looking for the perpetrators. Enter Dr. N. Gandhi Kumar, a respected but quietly restless paediatrician whose ordinary life unravels when he finds himself as the main suspect in the ransomware case. Swain paints Gandhi Kumar as the quintessential everyday protagonisthonest but humanly flawed. The Enforcement Directorate brands him as the mastermind of a cybercrime syndicate and puts him behind bars. Because of quirks of the money laundering law, he cannot get bail till he proves himself innocent. Advertisement And to prove his innocence, he needs to go after a cybercrime syndicate of global proportions. Enter Gamini, Gandhi Kumars sister and a cybersecurity specialist. She is no detective, but when fate pits her against a rotten Special Director of the ED, she joins hands with unexpected allies to prove her brothers innocence. The plot moves briskly through shanty neighbourhoods of Delhi and a cast of supporting characters whose motivations are as tangled as the blockchain trail they follow. This book has familiar flavours of Swains storytelling seen in The Hawala Agent: the meticulous buildup of evidence, the ethical grey zones, and the subtle manipulation by hidden players. Advertisement Swains background in bureaucracy injects an authentic realism into investigative procedures, ensuring the narrative remains convincing without sacrificing pacing or excitement. If Grisham is the master of the legal page-turner, Swain here claims a new territory: the cyberprocedural, marked by digital evidence and crypto money trail. The plotline resonates with a few sensational cases that have hogged the headlines in recent years. There was a rumoured ransomware attack on AIIMS (as reported in the news), which was never confirmed. A senior official of the Corporate Affairs ministry was arrested by the CBI on graft charges, and his family was allegedly humiliated; later the entire family committed suicide. Crypto scams in Austria reduced significantly when sleuths of the CBI raided and busted a cybercrime command in Delhis Shadi Khampur village (Swain has based his cybercrime compound here). And then there are cases of accused who dont get bail under the money laundering law, because they have to first prove their innocence through a lengthy trial. This makes the story sound familiar and relatable. In the end, The Scammers Trail succeeds as a compulsive read. Swain delivers a compelling plot, memorable characters, and just enough moral ambiguity to keep us ruminating much after the last page. (The author is an IRS officer. Views are personal.) Adani Enterprises issued an official statement here on Thursday that the Adani Group has fully exited AWL Agri Business (formerly Adani Wilmar Ltd) by selling its entire 20% stake in AWL to Singapore-based Wilmar International for Rs 7,150 crore, at a price of Rs 275 per share. The remaining 10.42% stake held by Adani Commodities LLP, which is a subsidiary of Adani Enterprises Ltd, will also be sold to a group of pre-identified investors arranged by Wilmar International, the statement mentioned. Advertisement The deal follows a 13.5% stake sale in January 2025 at the same price, and gives Wilmar the majority control with a 65% holding in the company. Advertisement In December 2024, Adani Enterprises Ltd and Wilmar Internationals subsidiary Lence entered into an agreement, under which Lence will acquire a 31.06% stake in AWL held by Adani Commodities Ltd. Cash raised from the sale will be used by Adani Enterprises Ltd to turbocharge its investments in the core infrastructure platforms in energy and utility, transport and logistics as well as other sectors, the company had stated last year. In January, the conglomerate raised about Rs 4,850 crore after selling 13.5% of its stake. Wilmar Internationals subsidiary Lence will endeavour to bring in strategic partners or investors to purchase the same, the statement mentioned. Jessica Alba is stepping into a new chapter of her life with Danny Ramirez. And, shes doing it on her own terms. After her quiet separation from longtime husband Cash Warren last December, Alba has been figuring out what life looks like as a single mom, entrepreneur, and actress back in action. Advertisement While her love life is making headlines, sources close to the actress say shes not rushing into anything serious. Advertisement Enter Danny Ramirez, the 32-year-old Top Gun: Maverick actor who has been linked to Jessica Alba since the two were spotted kissing in London this May. Over the weekend, they were returning from a sun-soaked getaway in Mexico, fueling romance rumors yet again. But according to insiders, the situation is a little more casual than the photos suggest. Danny is cool, hes a nice guy, and hes totally smitten with her, a source told Daily Mail. But Jessica isnt looking for anything exclusive right now. She is just not in that frame of mind. At 44, Alba is navigating life post-divorce after nearly two decades with Warren. The couple tied the knot in 2008 and share three kids: Honor, 17, Haven, 13, and Hayes, 7. When they separated late last year, it wasnt an easy decision for the Fantastic Four star. She always thought marriage was forever, the insider shared. But sometimes divorce is the only path left. That doesnt mean shes dwelling on the heartbreak. Alba is shifting her focus to rediscovering herself both personally and professionally. She is back on set, currently filming The Mark with Orlando Bloom. And despite the rumor mill working overtime, theres reportedly nothing romantic brewing there. Orlando is charming, sure, but its strictly professional, the source said. At least for now. Alba is also taking time to enjoy life outside of work. Friends say shes been spending more time with her inner circle, going on spontaneous nights out, and exploring what dating feels like in 2025. Its been eye-opening, the source said about her recent dates. Being single again has its ups and downs, but shes in a place where shes ready to have some fun. Part of her fresh start includes a new living situation. Alba is reportedly house-hunting, looking for a place where she and the kids can create new memories. She wants a new space that feels like a reset, the insider shared with the media. As for Ramirez? While he and Alba seem to be enjoying each others company, those close to her dont expect wedding bells anytime soon. Ariana Grande has something to say to everyone worrying about her future in music. She is not going anywhere. The pop icon and actress, now 32, took to Instagram to directly address swirling rumors claiming she might be stepping away from singing. In a heartfelt and slightly cheeky message, Ariana reassured fans that music is still her first love and will always be a huge part of her life. Advertisement Very silly of you all to assume that just because I have my hands full with many things that I plan to abandon singing & music! she wrote. Advertisement View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ariana Grande (@arianagrande) Ariana admitted that her musical path might not follow the same pattern as before, but thats actually a good thing in her eyes. Shes embracing the changes in her life and career, and says shes grateful, excited, and inspired by whats coming next. She added, It may not look exactly like it did before, but I much prefer how it looks in my head. Im having fun. I feel grateful and excited and inspired. Ariana Grande also hinted at some musical plans for 2026, teasing that shes working on a way to sing for her fans next year, even if its just for a little. Her post comes at a time when shes balancing multiple creative projects. Just recently, it was announced that she will lend her voice to the upcoming animated film Oh, the Places Youll Go!, directed by Wicked filmmaker Jon M. Chu. The movie is likely to hit theatres in 2028 and will feature original music from acclaimed duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known for their work on La La Land and The Greatest Showman. Thats not all Ariana has on her plate. Shes currently celebrating her first Oscar nomination for playing Glinda in Wicked, which is going to release its first part in 2025. On the music front, she scored a major win when the deluxe edition of her latest album Eternal Sunshine topped the Billboard 200. And if that wasnt enough, she has also joined the cast of Meet the Parents 4, alongside Ben Stiller and Robert De Niro. Top leaders of the INDIA bloc will meet in Delhi on Saturday to discuss their strategy for the forthcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament, which is expected to witness stormy confrontations between the ruling NDA and the Opposition INDIA bloc over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar. Leader of Opposition in the Bihar Assembly, Tejashwi Yadav, told the media in Patna on Thursday that the Opposition will forcefully raise the issue in Parliament as well as on the streets. Advertisement Accusing the Election Commission of acting as a wing of the BJP, he said, We are now certain that Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Gupta is working at the behest of the BJP and the Modi government. Advertisement We went to the Election Commission, observed Bihar Bandh, and approached the Supreme Court, but the CEC remained silent and continued with the job assigned by PM Modi and Amit Shah to benefit the BJP and NDA in the name of voter list revision. This is dangerous for democracy. We will fight to protect justice and democracy at every level, he added. The RJD leader expressed surprise at Bihar CM Nitish Kumar and the BJPs silence on the issue despite NDA leader Chandrababu Naidu raising questions about the exercise. Bihar Congress President Rajesh Ram said, From day one, we feared that the entire exercise would turn out to be a farziwada (scam). The CEC has proved us right. Voters with particular surnames are being targeted. This is a conspiracy to remove voters from the OBC, EBC, Dalit, and minority communities from the list. He said that even during the first meeting of the INDIA bloc leaders with Election Commission officials, they had raised the issue of migrant workers, who constitute about 20% of the total voters in the state. But the Election Commission has shown no sympathy towards them. If you are planning to snatch peoples democratic rights, their identity, rest assured, we will not remain silent. We will expose the CEC, he added. The Congress party Thursday sought a thorough review and course correction of Indias foreign policy, citing the need to reclaim Indias stature among nations. This call comes after India abstained from a UN resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, a move the party describes as painful and unacceptable. Advertisement Taking strong exception to India abstaining on the UN Resolution on Gaza ceasefire, Congress leader Anand Sharma, addressing a press conference, asserted: This was not just unfortunate, but a painful and unacceptable decision. Advertisement Expressing disappointment over Indias abstention on the UN resolution, Sharma noted, It was painful that the land of Gandhi didnt vote for peace. He further observed that a fundamental departure from Indias traditional foreign policy stance was weakening Indias standing globally. Advocating a need for debate, Sharma, while emphasizing the importance of discussing strategic engagements in a democracy, urged the government to have a debate on Indias foreign policy during the upcoming Monsoon Session. India had recently abstained from the UN General Assembly vote on a resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution passed with 149 votes in favor, 12 against, and 19 abstentions. Party leaders, including Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and spokesperson Pawan Khera, have criticized the governments decision, describing it as staggering moral cowardice and a betrayal of Indias anti-colonial legacy. In a bid to resolve one of Delhis most persistent traffic bottlenecks, the construction of a major underpass and a flyover is underway at the intersection (near Shiv Murti) of Urban Extension Road-2 (UER-2) and the Delhi- Gurugram- Jaipur highway. Public Works Department (PWD) minister Parvesh Verma and Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa jointly inspected the site to assess progress and address existing concerns. Advertisement This vital infrastructure project is aimed at addressing the long-standing issue of congestion in parts of outer Delhi. Advertisement Notably, lakhs of vehicles pass through this stretch on a daily basis, and years of delays at the junction have resulted in time loss, fuel consumption, and increased air pollution. PWD minister, following the inspection stated that he had come to review the mistakes made along with all the consultants. We will study it again and try to fix any remaining issues or gaps. The people of Delhi deserve long-term, practical solutions not patchwork fixes. We are committed to ensuring that this project genuinely decongests the city, he added. Located at a strategic point connecting Najafgarh, Dwarka, Rohini, and the NH, the flyover and underpass are expected to significantly ease traffic load and reduce dependence on overcrowded alternative routes. Minister Sirsa has said that, Our goal is to control pollution, which increases significantly due to heavy traffic. We are focused on finding ways to manage and reduce this pollution effectively. Projects like this will help address not just congestion but also Delhis air quality concerns, he added. Both the ministers emphasized that timely completion, technical accuracy, and citizen-focused planning are critical to the projects success, and regular reviews will be carried out to ensure accountability at every stage. The government is providing all possible assistance to Nimisha Priya, a Kerala nurse facing a death sentence in Yemen, the Ministry of External Affairs said Thursday, confirming that the death sentence, originally scheduled for July 16, 2025, has been postponed. The government has appointed a lawyer to assist Nimisha Priyas family. Regular consular visits have been arranged. The Ministry of External Affairs is in constant touch with local authorities in Yemen and Nimisha Priyas family members, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said at his weekly press briefing. Advertisement Nimisha Priya, a nurse from Kerala, was sentenced to death in Yemen for the murder of a Yemeni national, Talal Abdo Mehdi. Her family is working towards securing her release through a blood money settlement, a practice permitted under Yemeni law. Advertisement She has been on death row in Yemens Central Prison since 2018, after being convicted for the 2017 murder of a Yemeni citizen. Priya had allegedly injected her employer with a fatal overdose of sedatives. Her family maintains she was acting in self-defence and that her business partner was abusive and kept her passport from her after the countrys civil war broke out. The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday cautioned against double standards following NATO chief Mark Ruttes remarks on potential secondary sanctions for countries trading with Russia. In response to Ruttes warning that India, China, and Brazil could face 100 percent secondary sanctions for buying Russian oil, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasized that securing Indias energy needs is an overriding priority. Advertisement Advertisement India prioritizes securing energy for its people, guided by market availability and global circumstances. Cautioning against double standards, Jaiswal said, We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate and I have said this in the past as well that securing the energy needs of our people is, understandably, an overriding priority for us. In this endeavor, we are guided by what is available in the markets, as well as by the prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter, the MEA Spokesperson further said. On the issue of diversified oil imports, Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Puri has noted earlier that India has broadened its oil import network from 27 to 40 countries. As regards NATOs warning and US stance, the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte echoed US President Donald Trumps position on imposing severe tariffs on countries trading with Russia. US Senators Lindsey Graham and Richard Blumenthal also pushed for the Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, which could impose penalties up to 500 percent. Meanwhile, India and the EU are progressing with Free Trade Agreement (FTA) talks, with the next round scheduled in New Delhi in September. Fu Hua, forum chair and president of Xinhua News Agency, delivers a keynote speech at the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. The forum was held in Rio de Janeiro on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Yao Dawei) RIO DE JANEIRO, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Over 250 representatives from nearly 150 media outlets, think tanks, government agencies, and regional organizations across 36 countries gathered here on Wednesday for the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum, an event focusing on how to advance BRICS cooperation and strengthen solidarity across the Global South. In his keynote remarks, Fu Hua, forum chair and president of Xinhua News Agency, said greater BRICS cooperation has played a critical role in unifying Global South countries, boosting their influence in global affairs, and driving reform in global governance. As the forum enters its second decade, Xinhua is committed to working with its BRICS counterparts to tell the Global South's stories more effectively, promote joint research on major issues, and deepen professional collaboration, Fu added. Zhu Qingqiao, Chinese ambassador to Brazil, in a congratulatory letter, praised the forum's inclusion of discussions on artificial intelligence and highlighted its role in advancing the outcomes of the 17th BRICS Summit. Zhu expressed hope that the event would further position BRICS as a platform for South-South cooperation and a voice for reform in global governance. Other speakers echoed their calls. Carlos Hernandez, president of the Central American Parliament, said global governance is in urgent need of new models and new voices. "The countries represented here today have shown the way forward: one grounded in equitable development, dignity, and multilateralism," he said. Mikhail Gusman, first deputy director-general of TASS Russian News Agency, noted that BRICS nations reflect the diversity of emerging economies. Facing growing global media challenges, BRICS media cooperation has an important role in defending truth, justice and peace, he said. Tia Ju, vice president of the Legislative Assembly of the state of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, praised China's efforts to unite Global South countries and emphasized the need for media collaboration to increase international visibility and influence for BRICS. Yeidckol Polevnsky Gurwitz, chair of the Asia-Pacific Foreign Relations Committee of the Mexican Senate, said that Mexico shares with BRICS a vision of inclusive growth and fair trade. "We cannot allow external interference in our development paths. Together, we must build a multipolar world," she said, referencing China's concept of building a community with a shared future for humanity. The forum concluded with the release of a think tank report titled "BRICS Cooperation: Advancing the Collective Progress of the Global South" and the launch of two major initiatives: Global South Joint Communication Partnership Program and "Tapping into BRICS, Voices from the South" Content Collaborative Project. The forum marked the first full meeting of the BRICS media mechanism since the bloc's historic expansion and was co-hosted by Xinhua News Agency and Brazil Communication Company under the theme "BRICS United: Forging a New Chapter for the Global South." Guests attend the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) The BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Guests attend the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) The BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum is held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Mengxin) Guests attend the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. (Xinhua/Li Mengxin) India will host the annual India-Russia summit in Delhi, and the dates will be finalised soon, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Thursday. The summit, expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin, aims to further strengthen the strategic partnership between the two countries. Advertisement India-Russia summit is important. Last annual summit was held in Moscow. It is time for us to host the summit in Delhi, and the dates will be worked out between both sides, keeping in mind what is mutually convenient to both sides, Jaiswal said at his weekly press briefing. Advertisement The India-Russia annual summit is the highest institutionalised dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between India and Russia. The last summit was held in Moscow, and now its Indias turn to host the event in Delhi. The Annual Summit between the Prime Minister of India and the President of Russia is the highest institutionalised dialogue mechanism in the strategic partnership between India and Russia. So far, 22 Annual Summits have taken place alternately in India and Russia. The last Summit was held on July 8-9, 2024, in Moscow. Following the Summit, a joint statement titled India-Russia: Enduring and Expanding Partnership was released. A separate leaders joint statement on the development of strategic areas of India-Russia economic cooperation for the period up to 2030 was also released, apart from the signing of 9 MoUs/Agreements. During the visit, Prime Minister Modi was conferred Russias highest national honour, the Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle, for the Prime Ministers outstanding contribution to India-Russia ties. The leaders also maintain regular contact through telephone conversations to review progress on bilateral cooperation and exchange views on regional and global issues of mutual interest. Russia has been a longstanding and time-tested partner for India. The development of India-Russia relations has been a key pillar of Indias foreign policy. Since the signing of the Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership in October 2000 (during the visit of President Putin), India-Russia ties have acquired a qualitatively new character with enhanced levels of cooperation in almost all areas, including political, security, defence, trade and economy, science & technology, culture, and people-to-people ties. During the visit of the Russian President to India in December 2010, the Strategic Partnership was elevated to the level of Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership. During the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit held in Delhi earlier this month, Prime Minister Modi and President Putin discussed regional and global developments, including post-pandemic global economic recovery and the situation in Afghanistan. The summit resulted in the signing of 28 agreements across various sectors like trade, energy, science, technology, and defense. India and the United Kingdom are likely to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) next week, and this is expected to eliminate import taxes on nearly 99 per cent of Indian exports to the UK, reports said. The agreement has been under negotiation for several months and was finalised in May. It aims to ease tariffs and increase investment between the two countries. Advertisement The FTA will eliminate taxes on labour-intensive goods such as leather, footwear, and clothing. In return, India will reduce tariffs on high-value British imports like whisky and luxury cars. Advertisement India will gradually lower import duties on British whisky from 150 per cent to 40 per cent over a 10-year period. Taxes on imported cars from the UK will also drop currently over 100 per cent, they are set to come down to just 10 per cent. Both India and the UK hope this FTA will double bilateral trade to USD 120 billion by 2030. Apart from goods, the deal is expected to encourage investment, enhance professional mobility, and improve access to tech services. The FTA is a cornerstone of post-Brexit UK trade strategy, aligning with Indias aim to diversify trade beyond the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It serves as a platform for future cooperation in technology, defence, education, tourism, and Indian diaspora engagement. After signing, the deal wont be implemented immediately. It will need formal approval from the British Parliament and Indias Cabinet, a process that could take up to a year. Notably, the formal negotiations for the FTA began in January 2022, with both countries expressing optimism and targeting a deal by Diwali 2022. However, talks extended well beyond that deadline due to complexities around key issues. India pushed for greater market access for its goodsespecially textiles, gems and jewelry, leather, and engineering productswhile the UK sought tariff reductions on items such as Scotch whisky, luxury cars, and certain food items. Indian naval ships Delhi, Satpura, Shakti, and Kiltan, under the Command of Rear Admiral Susheel Menon, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, docked in Singapore as part of the Indian Navys operational deployment to Southeast Asia. A statement from the naval spokesperson said that the visit is aimed at further strengthening the long-standing friendship and cooperation between the two maritime nations through a series of engagements and activities. Advertisement The spokesperson added that during the visit, the crew is scheduled to hold professional interactions with the Republic of Singapore Navy, engage in discussions with academic institutions, and participate in community outreach activities. Advertisement Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy share robust operational relations spanning over three decades of cooperation, coordination, and collaboration with regular visits, exchange of best practices, and reciprocal training arrangements. The current deployment underscores the strong linkages between both the navies, the spokesperson said. Manoj Sinha, Lieutenant Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, has accorded sanction for the establishment of the Lieutenant Governors Sainik Sahayta Kendra (LGSSK), a dedicated institutional mechanism to assist and address civilian grievances of serving soldiers from the Indian Armed Forces and Central Armed Police Forces. The Kendra aims to provide systematic grievance redressal support to soldiers who are either posted in the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir or originally belong to the UT and are presently serving in other parts of the country. Advertisement Functioning as a Soldiers Assistance and Liaison Cell, the Kendra shall serve as a single-window platform for receiving, assessing, and facilitating the resolution of grievances submitted by soldiers. It will also arrange appointments with concerned civil or police officials at the district level, follow up on pending matters, maintain a performance dashboard for monitoring, and submit quarterly performance reports to the Lieutenant Governor. The Kendra will begin operations immediately from its offices at the civil secretariat in both Jammu and Srinagar. Advertisement To support the functioning of the LGSSK, the Information Technology Department will provide two officials each at Jammu and Srinagar, proficient in data entry, case tracking, file maintenance, and communications, along with the necessary computer systems and allied hardware. The Estates Department has been directed to provide appropriate accommodation for the Kendra at both Secretariat locations. Further, for the operationalisation of the Kendra, the following officers have been nominated in addition to their own duties: Prasanna Ramaswamy G, Secretary to the Government, Tribal Affairs Department; Aflaq Ahmad, Under Secretary to the Government, Revenue Department; and Abhimanyu Singh, Manager-cum-Protocol Officer at the Resident Commission, J&K government, New Delhi. The establishment of the Lieutenant Governors Sainik Sahayta Kendra reaffirms the UT administrations commitment to upholding the welfare and dignity of serving soldiers by ensuring timely and structured redressal of their civilian concerns through an institutional platform. Uttar Pradesh IT and Electronics Minister Sunil Kumar Sharma, who represents Sahibabad assembly segment in Ghaziabad, claims that his constituency has every potential to identify itself as a big industrial as well as IT hub of the country. The 10-year misrule regime of Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi had provided us full opportunity to develop our area and people too preferred Ghaziabad than the national capital, he said, adding that in the past 8 years of the Yogi Adityanath regime, everything was done by the double engine government to promote Ghaziabad and its surrounding areas like Noida and Greater Noida. Advertisement Sahihabad, the industrial belt of Ghaziabad on the National Capital Region (NCR), was in the limelight after Uttar Pradeshs first state-of-the-art Green Data Centre foundation was set up on June 26. Advertisement In an interaction with The Statesman, Sharma said Chief Minister Rekha Gupta led government in Delhi is improving the state of affairs. The UP minister also said that better law and order situation in UP, including Ghaziabad has given a boost to the industry and investments, turning the state as a preferred choice for the investors. Besides, he said that youths are attracted towards Sahibabad and large numbers of employment have been generated in his constituency. The BJP government in UP has concentrated its policy in all the regions with a focus on the backward areas. Sahibabad and Ghaziabad too have been in the priority of the government, and several new industrial units are coming up there with youths getting more employment opportunities, he claimed. Talking about the states first data centre coming up in Sahibabad, Sharma, two time MLA with winning by a record highest margin in the state assembly polls, said that the bhumi pujan for a state-of-the-art Green Data Centre was done on June 26 and the project is a collaborative venture between Central Electronics Limited (CEL), a Government of India PSU under CSIR, and ESDS, a leading data centre services provider. The 1,000 crore project will house a 30 MW capacity data centre built to global Tier III/ TIA/ Uptime standards. Designed with a sustainable architecture, it will accommodate over 200 high-density server racks per floor, powered by energy-efficient and renewable technologies, he added. Commenting on his departments achievement, the minister said , we have already introduced e-vidhan sabha, e-office in all departments and even our cabinet meeting has shed any paper-file. In Lucknow we are setting up an IT city for which land is being identified while a new IT policy, first in the country after the Centers policy will pave the way for bigger facilities and benefits for the investors. Terming pollution caused by plastic and electronic waste as a big environmental challenge for India, President Droupadi Murmu on Thursday expressed hope that with proper efforts, the country would be able to reduce its plastic emissions significantly. The President said this while addressing a gathering after presenting Swachh Survekshan awards at a function organized in the national capital. Advertisement The central government banned some items containing single-use plastic in the year 2022. In the same year, the government issued guidelines for Extended Producer Responsibility for plastic packaging. It is the responsibility of all stakeholders, including producers, brand owners, and importers, to ensure that these guidelines are fully followed. Advertisement Swachh Survekshan has proven to be a successful experiment in assessing and encouraging the efforts made by our cities towards cleanliness, she, according to an official release, added. President Murmu was also pleased to note that the worlds largest cleanliness survey was conducted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for the year 2024, with participation from various stakeholders, state governments, urban bodies, and approximately 14 crore citizens. She said that our cultural and spiritual consciousness has emphasized cleanliness since ancient times. The tradition of keeping our homes, places of worship, and the surroundings clean was an integral part of our lifestyle. Father of the Nation Mahatma Gandhi used to say, Cleanliness is next to godliness. He, she said, considered cleanliness as the cornerstone of religion, spirituality, and civic life. The President said that she had started her journey of public service with work related to cleanliness. As the Vice President of the Notified Area Council, she used to visit wards every day and supervise the cleanliness work. Minimizing wastage by using minimum resources and re-using them for same purpose or other purpose, has always been the part of our lifestyle. The basic principles of circular economy and systems of reduce-reuse-recycle are modern and widespread forms of our ancient lifestyle, she added. For example, the traditional lifestyle of tribal communities is simple. They use less resources and stay in harmony with the weather and environment, and in partnership with other community members. They do not waste natural resources. The modern systems of circularity could be strengthened by adopting such behaviour and traditions, the President observed. Talking about waste management, she said that the first and most important step in the waste management value chain is source segregation. All stakeholders and every household need to pay utmost attention to this step. Zero-waste colonies are setting good examples, she underlined. Also, the President appreciated the School Level Assessment initiative, started with the objective that students adopt cleanliness as a life value. It would have very beneficial and far-reaching results, she emphasized. The President said that efforts related to cleanliness have economic aspects, cultural dimensions, and geographical aspects. Nearly 3,000 Myanmar nationals, who had fled into Indias Mizoram due to recent armed clashes in Myanmars Chin State, have now returned to their native villages following a temporary ceasefire among rival rebel groups. A senior police officer confirmed the mass repatriation, noting that 2,923 individuals had returned from the border village of Zokhawthar and 39 more from Vaiphai by Wednesday. Advertisement The wave of returns began on July 7 and gained momentum after July 12, when a ceasefire agreement was brokered between two Chin rebel factions the Chin National Defence Force (CNDF) and the Chinland Defence Force (CDF-Hualngoram) both of which had earlier clashed with the Chin National Army (CNA) over territorial disputes in early July. Advertisement The flare-up in violence led to the displacement of more than 4,500 civilians from Myanmars Chin State, forcing them to seek refuge in Mizorams border villages including Zokhawthar, Saikhumphai, and Vaiphai. Retaliatory strikes by the CNA on a CNDF base at Rihli village intensified the conflict, triggering the additional arrival of over 700 displaced persons to Indian soil. Mizoram, which shares a 510-km porous border with Myanmar, has seen a steady influx of refugees since the February 2021 military coup in the neighbouring country. Following the coup, pro-democracy movements and ethnic armed groups in Myanmar, including the Chin resistance forces, have been engaged in fierce and fragmented conflict with the military regime and among themselves. Since 2021, more than 32,000 Myanmar nationals mostly from the Chin ethnic group have taken shelter in Mizoram. The Chin people share close linguistic, cultural, and familial ties with the Mizos, fostering a strong sense of ethnic solidarity. Meanwhile, the Mizoram government is preparing to roll out biometric and demographic data collection of Myanmar refugees by the end of July. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Thursday met with a delegation of special envoys from South Korea led by Kim Boo Kyum in New Delhi. Expressing delight in receiving the delegation, Mr Modi recalled his positive meeting with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung last month. Delighted to receive the delegation of Special Envoys from the Republic of Korea led by Mr Kim Boo Kyum. Recalled my positive meeting with President @Jaemyung_Lee last month, he said in a post on his X handle. Advertisement PM Modi highlighted the completion of 10 years of the India-South Korea Special Strategic Partnership, emphasizing its growth in areas like innovation, defense, shipbuilding, and skilled mobility. Advertisement He also noted that close collaboration between the two democracies contributes to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region. Discussions during the meeting included commerce, investment, technology, and green hydrogen. The meeting underscores the strengthening ties between India and South Korea, with both nations aiming to further boost their Special Strategic Partnership. In a reprieve to Union Minister and former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy, the Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed his impleadment by the state high court in a contempt of court case related to alleged illegal land encroachment in Ramanagara Taluk near Bengaluru. A Bench of Justice Pankaj Mithal and Justice Prasanna B Varale questioned the maintainability of the contempt proceedings, especially in view of a closure report filed by the Karnataka Lokayukta in 2021, and issued notice to the respondents NGO Samaj Parivartana Samudaya and others. Advertisement The contempt case stems from a 2020 PIL filed by NGO Samaj Parivartana Samudaya (SPS) before the Karnataka High Court, seeking an inquiry into alleged encroachment of over 200 acres of government land, including 110 acres of gomala (pasture) land in Kethaganahalli, near Bidadi. Advertisement Though Kumaraswamy was initially named in the PIL, no notice was ever issued to him during the pendency of that case. The High Court had disposed of the matter on January 14, 2020, based on the States assurance to conduct an inquiry. However, alleging non-compliance, SPS initiated contempt proceedings later that year. Kumaraswamys name was initially included but subsequently deleted by the High Court itself. Meanwhile, the Lokayukta closed the case on March 3, 2021, after which the High Court continued to monitor the matter and directed the eviction of the land. Pursuant to this, an eviction notice was served to Kumaraswamy by the Tahsildar of Ramanagara Taluk. This was the first time the former Karnataka Chief Minister became aware of the contempt of court proceedings. Kumaraswamy first approached the Supreme Court in May this year, and the Court allowed him to raise objections before the High Court. He subsequently filed a detailed application highlighting that the complaint was closed and that he was never issued notice in the original case. However, on April 17, 2025, the High Court again impleaded him in the contempt proceedings, prompting a fresh petition in the top court. Staying the High Courts order, the Supreme Court issued notice and granted interim relief, shielding Kumaraswamy from further proceedings in the contempt case until further orders. Senior Advocate C Aryama Sundaram appeared for Kumaraswamy. Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for defeating the perpetrators of terrorism and transformed India into a prosperous, secured and developed nation. Addressing a public meeting after inaugurating Cooperatives Mahotsav, Rozgar Mela and related programmes at Dadiya village on the outskirts of the Pink City, he hit out at the Congress-led previous regimes at the Centre for handling terrorism. Advertisement Shah said, Under the Congress (previous rule) the country was facing terrorists strikes every day. This has now been changed, Under ModiJi regime terrorists had first made strike at Uri, ModiJi ordered surgical strikes to demolish their hideouts across the border. Advertisement Then, the terrorists hit at Pulwama army base and ModiJi strongly responded with air strike. Yet again, they had committed Pahalgam and this time ModiJi ordered launch of Operation Sindoor, he said. The Home Minister asserted This time we had hit the Pakistanis in their own lands, blown their terror bases and hide-outs and conveyed strong message to the entire world. This message by ModiJi was No one can (& should) take India, her armed forces and public, for granted, otherwise outcome will be gravely serious, Shah said. Thus, the most important accomplishment of the 11-year Modi rule is that the country has conveyed strong and unambiguous message to the terrorists and their perpetrators about our strength and zero tolerance against terrorism. It is not only about terror curbing, the country has been made new strides in all vital human need related arenas including the economy. The initiatives and measures taken by the present day government (at the Centre) resulted in elevating life of 27 crore BPL class people who have been retrieving from the BPL level to above the poverty line, he quipped. The economic reforms and policies brought by the incumbent government had made India fourth largest economy of the world. The government extended further benefits free ration, electricity, water and cooking gas to 60 crore people of the country under the food security and other pro poor initiatives. Under the leadership of ModiJi -Cooperative movement also scaled new heights. The PM has upgraded the Co-operative affairs and its department into a full-fledged Ministry four years back. We began with 2 lakh PACS and presently the benefit of schemes and initiatives in the cooperatives sector has been extended to much larger masses through 40 lakh PACS. At Rajasthan state level, Shah criticised the Congress for alleged failures of its previous regimes, particularly for repeated paper leaks. He lauded the probe and investigation undertaken by a specially constituted Special Investigation Team(SIT) under the Bhajan Lal Sharma led BJP government that assumed the office following December 2023 assembly elections. In a significant political message the Union Home Minister has equivocally praised the performance of the incumbent Chief Minister Sharma as well as the contributions made by party senior leader and Ex-Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje for development in the state during her two previous regimes. Shah showered praise up on CM Sharma saying He had been working hard in duly implementing the pro-poor agenda of the party of the welfare of poor socially and economically weaker sections of the society. Sharma is also working remarkably well in energy power and agriculture sectors and also for augmenting water availability in the state, the Cooperatives Minister said making special mention on the RamJal Setu East Rajasthan Interstate Canal Project, the DPR for Rajasthan Haryana Yamuna Jal Accord and benefits of Jal Jeevan Mission to rural house-holds in numerous villages. The Chief Ministers efforts in garnering huge investment by way of MoUs of Rs 35 lakh from Rising Rajasthan Global Investors summit is also laudable, he said. Acknowledging the presence of former Chief Minister Raje on the stage, at onset of his speech, the Union Home Minister made praiseful reference to her. He said -Former Chief Minister Vasundhara RajeJi has always been worked for furthering the development of Rajasthan (during her rule). Shah dedicated to people 24 Godowns made under the Ann Bhandaran Yojna, 64 Millets Outlets under Shri Anna Protsahan Yojana, provided Micro ATMs to 2346 Dugdh Utpadak Sahkari Samitis, launched online registration plateform under White Revolution 2.0 PDCS and cleared for disbursement loans of Rs 12 crore to 1400 beneficiaries of the Gopal Credit Card scheme. The Home Minister also provided Appointment Letters for government services to 8,000 youths. A waitress serves dishes at a cafe in Canberra, Australia on July 18, 2025. Official data released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that Australia's unemployment rate rose from 4.1 percent in May to 4.3 percent in June, the highest figure since November 2021. (Photo by Zhang Na/Xinhua) CANBERRA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Australia's unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent in June, the highest level in almost four years, according to official data released on Thursday. It marks the highest unemployment rate since November 2021 and the first time in 2025 that the figure has changed from 4.1 percent after five consecutive steady months, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) said. The Australian Associated Press reported that financial markets had expected unemployment to remain steady for a sixth consecutive month at 4.1 percent in June. According to the ABS, employment rose by 2,000 people between May and June, but the number of unemployed people rose by 33,600 in the same period. The number of Australians employed on a part-time basis grew by 40,000 between May and June, the ABS said, while full-time employment fell by 38,000 people. As a result, the total number of hours worked by Australians was 0.9 percent lower in June than in May. The participation rate, which measures the proportion of the working-age population who are either employed or actively looking for work, rose from 67.0 percent in May to 67.1 percent in June. A cashier helps customer check out items at a supermarket in Canberra, Australia on July 18, 2025. Official data released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that Australia's unemployment rate rose from 4.1 percent in May to 4.3 percent in June, the highest figure since November 2021. (Photo by Zhang Na/Xinhua) A staff member assists customers with mailing services at a post office in Canberra, Australia on July 18, 2025. Official data released on Thursday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that Australia's unemployment rate rose from 4.1 percent in May to 4.3 percent in June, the highest figure since November 2021. (Photo by Zhang Na/Xinhua) In the wake of a broad daylight murder at a hospital in Patna on Thursday, Bihar Police ADG (Headquarters) Kundan Krishnan has sparked controversy with a startling remark linking rising crime and murder in the state to farmers. Addressing the media on Wednesday, he had said, Recently, a lot of murders have happened in the whole of Bihar. Most murders happen in the months of April, May and June. This continues until the rains come, as most farmers do not have work. After the rains, people in the farming community get busy and the incidents reduce Advertisement This has attracted sharp reactions from the Opposition. Advertisement Leader of Opposition in Bihar Assembly Tejashwi Yadav launched a scathing attack, saying, If the ADG had said this earlier, people would have fled Bihar. Bihar Congress spokesperson Anand Madhav strongly condemned the ADGs statement. He said the ADG should immediately apologise to farmers for his unfortunate and disgraceful comment and the government must initiate disciplinary action against him. He questioned: If unemployment drives people to commit murder, does that mean all unemployed people are criminals? After retirement, even police officers have no workwill they too turn to crime? Jan Suraaj Party founder Prashant Kishor said it reflects the mindset of such officials and the government. He said, Instead of taking responsibility or acting against the guilty officers, they are blaming societyfarmers and labourers. Watch the video from Paras Hospital. You can see people in pants and shirts entering and shooting. If the ADG sees them as farmers, then he truly needs an eye exam. Kishor also slammed the Bihar government and said that law and order in the state is bound to deteriorate further because the entire administration is focused on making money from liquor and sand. Ministers are engaged in illegal earnings through transfers and postings. When will they actually work on enforcing the law? If the head of the government remains in a comatose state, the situation is bound to worsen, he added. CPI (ML)s state secretary Comrade Kunal said the capital of Bihar has now turned into the capital of crime. Criminals are out of control while the administration sits as a mute spectator. The time has come for the people of Bihar to oust this incompetent and exploitative government from power. The public has made up its mind for change, and CPI (ML), along with the INDIA alliance, will strongly support this struggle for transformation. Union Minister Chirag Paswan also raised serious concern over law and order situation in Bihar. He said: Murders are happening every day, and the morale of criminals is sky-high. The functioning of the police and administration is beyond comprehension. He added: The incident of criminals openly firing inside Paras Hospital, located in a residential area of Patna today, is proof that criminals are now directly challenging the law and administration. The rising criminal cases just before the Bihar Legislative Election are worrisome. It is hoped that the administration will soon take concrete and strict steps to bring law and order back on track. While reading a piece of news, I was suddenly reminded of my Class Five half yearly examination. I was first in class, yet had scored only 59 in Mathematics. I was devastated. Our maths teacher, Murali Babu, comforted me saying, You were in too much of a hurry. Made some silly mistakes. Dont lose heart. Maybe your score will flip in the annual exam. That reassurance worked like magic. It gave me strength. In the annual exam, I really scored 95 in Math. Another memory comes to mind. I was then a postgraduate student. I had written an answer on a short essay by Orwell and went to my teacher, professor Rama Kundu, to see if the answer was correct. While discussing the errors in my answer, she delved deep into the world of Orwells writings ~ works I hadnt yet read. Our syllabus included only one essay by Orwell. But just by showing her one answer written on a question that might come in the exam from that essay, I ended up learning about novels like Animal Farm and 1984. Had I been taught by AI, would I ever have had such experiences? Thats what I was wondering while reading the news that has expressed concern about college and university teachers soon becoming redundant because of AI. Advertisement The apprehension has actually been expressed by Sanjeev Sanyal, an economist and a member of the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council. He has warned universities that artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to upend higher education itself. In a recent podcast hosted by the Indian School of Business (ISB), Sanyal has said that AI would replace traditional undergraduate lectures by providing high-quality, individualised education at scale, frequently for free. You could just as easily learn from AI instead of spending four years in college, Sanyal has maintained. He has further said, AI is capable of giving lectures, responding to enquiries, translating information into any language, and even certifying you. The majority of undergraduate and many graduate programmes rely on standardised content, which AI can now manage efficiently, according to San yal. He has said: The traditional lecture format is obsolete. AI doesnt just teach ~ it engages, tests, and certifies. In many cases, it does all of this better than humans. Advertisement Sanyal has emphasised that universities need to reinvent themselves in order to remain relevant in the present context. He has admitted that some professions, like medicine, will continue to need practical, handson training, You cant use AI to cut a cadaver. However, AI has the potential to significantly increase the affordability and accessibility of post-secondary education for the majority of theoretical fields. He thinks that this change will significantly close the gap between regional colleges and prestigious universities. Additionally, students could be giv en the flexibility to create multidisciplinary courses and study at their own speed, which is something that traditional universities frequently find difficult to provide. It is true that AI can now easily teach the core subjects taught in graduate courses all over the world. From one perspective, this is a stark caution to colleges/universities as well as teachers to change themselves immediately. In countries such as India, for example, university curricula are rarely updated, and when they are, undergraduate courses hardly ever include new subjects. Teachers frequently have a great deal of discretion over what they decide to teach in the classroom. They often teach those areas that they are comfortable with. University curricula here, thats why, often fall short of meeting the demands of the job market. It is true that AI can assist a student in quickly and efficiently gaining the exact knowledge required for employment. That does not, however, imply that AI will soon be able to completely replace undergraduate teachers. For example, many were concerned that human anchors would soon become outdated when a few Indian TV channels began presenting news with AIgenerated anchors. That has not happened. Similarly, different YouTube channels have long been providing a range of undergraduate courses; however, despite their widespread use, YouTube educational channels have not usurped the place of formal education. They continue to be a supplement to rather than a replacement of the mainstream. Even the once-popular online tutoring apps have lost some of their appeal in recent years. It is a fact that despite countless experiments with various teaching me thods, no substitute approach has been able to completely replicate the experience of sitting in front of an actual teacher in a physical classroom. The close bond that develops between a teacher and a student during classroom teaching is the primary cause of this. This connection is frequently silent and conveyed solely by eye contact. No other technique has been able to reproduce this relationship. An undergraduate student might be able to gain the required academic knowledge from AI. AI can take tests, provide prompt answers, and clarify the doubts of the students. However, many students find that the amount of concentration and focus needed to spend hours studying from AI is just too much. Will AI also be able to teach texts unasked for as did my teacher professor Rama Kundu? AI, again, is no match to a teachers congratulatory gesture when a student completes an exam successfully or correctly answers a question. It can praise the achievements of a student but the warmth and passion of a human voice will be absent in a machines praise. Because of their emotional impact, a teachers brief words of encouragement can sometimes transform a students life. AI just cant do this. AI can never be my class-five math teacher Murali Babu. There is another, more profound factor to take into acco unt. A teacher and a student have a living, breathing relationship. Teachers frequently get involved in their students personal lives. In times of crisis, they provide direction, occasionally even assuming the role of a psychologist/counsellor. AI is incapable of doing this. Let me give the example of one student of mine who tried talking to AI on a regular basis to cope with her depression. However, she discovered that AI repeatedly used different words to express the same concerns. In the end, she decided to tell her teacher the causes of her depression. We should not forget that transferring knowledge and skills is only one aspect of the college/university education system. Above all, it is a human process. Thus, despite Sanyals insistence, AI will never be able to fully replace teachers at the undergraduate level. However, it would be a serious mistake for teachers to use this as an excuse to become complacent and think that they dont need to change or adapt to the times. We, in our country, now badly need curricula that are much more inquiry-driven, interdisciplinary and focussed on employment than they currently are. Teaching strategies must also evolve. If using AI is necessary to make classrooms more engaging, then so be it. In fact, that is the main challenge that college and university teachers in a country like ours will face in the near future. (The writer is Professor, Department of English and Culture Studies and Director, Centre for Australian Studies, the University of Burdwan) The global asylum system is facing a moment of reckoning. With over 123 million people displaced by war, persecution, or disaster, the scale of human suffering is immense. Yet much of the political and media focus in wealthy nations fixates on the relatively small number ~ 2.7 million in 2023 ~ who manage to reach the borders of the West. This disproportionate attention distorts public understanding, fuels backlash, and ultimately undermines the very ideals the asylum system is meant to uphold. The problem lies not in offering sanctuary, but in how sanctuary is structured. The current model rewards only those who can make perilous journeys to rich countries. It does little for the vast majority who remain in limbo in camps, informal settlements, or the shadows of host societies in poorer regions. This results in a system that is both morally uneven and politically unsustainable. Inaction has a cost. When asylum systems collapse or stall, its not just refugees who suffer. Fragile host communities are overwhelmed, trafficking networks thrive, and regional instability spreads. A broken system anywhere becomes a security threat everywhere. A better approach would begin by shifting the locus of refugee support closer to home. Most displaced people flee to neighbouring states or regions. These first safe countries often bear the heaviest burden despite having the fewest resources. By directing serious funding and institutional support to these front-line hosts, the international community could offer aid more equitably and at scale. Advertisement But financial aid alone isnt enough. For the system to work politically ~ especially in liberal democracies facing populist pressures ~ there must be a clear separation between humanitarian asylum and economic migration. When these two are blurred, public confidence erodes. Refugee protest becomes conflated with uncontrolled borders, and the legitimacy of asylum itself comes under attack. Rich countries need to demonstrate that they can maintain orderly, rulesbased migration systems without shutting the door on people fleeing genuine peril. That means developing legal, accountable mechanisms for both refugees and migrant workers ~ but with distinct tracks and criteria for each. Advertisement It also means moving away from deterrence theatrics ~ such as offshore detention schemes ~ and investing instead in partnerships with refugee-hosting regions, civil society actors, and multilateral institutions. This is not just a Western issue. Countries like India, Kenya, Colombia, and Bangladesh have long hosted large refugee populations. A more balanced global approach ~ where burden-sharing is real and not just rhetorical ~ would benefit them too. It would encourage early regional stability, reduce pressure on long migration routes, and allow displaced people to rebuild their lives with dignity. The challenge is immense, but the answer lies not in retreating from the principle of refuge, but in reimagining its delivery. The current asylum model is fraying. To honour the ideal of sanctuary, the world must build a system that is fairer, more local, and politically resilient. Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhans recent warning about a potential China-Pakistan-Bangla desh convergence is more than caution from the countrys top military brass; it is a flashing yellow light on South Asias strategic dashboard. While Dhaka still claims to pursue a carefully balanced foreign policy, Beijings widening footprint ~ through ports, power plants and defence deals ~ pushes regional alignments into unprecedented territory. Islamabad is already deeply entwined with Chinese supply chains, and Bangladeshs gradual tilt, driven by an economic calculus, could complete a triangle encircling In dia on three flanks. General Chauhan delivered his assessment against a backdrop of mounting economic fragility across the Indian Ocean littoral. Nations from Sri Lanka to the Maldives juggle ballooning debts, often owed to China. In Colombos case, default triggered political unrest until an Indian rescue line bought precious breathing space. Yet such interventions must now compete with assertive debt diplomacy models that swap quick liquidity for long-term leverage, granting Beijing both physical assets and political influence. The CDS also flagged a subtler complication: the United States shifting priorities. Washingtons tendency to signal without committing leaves room for divergent interpretations in Asian capitals. For India, strategic autonomy must not mutate into strategic ambiguity. A crisply articulated doctrine that defines red lines, cooperative corridors and escalation thresholds is needed urgently, or ambiguity will be misread as permission by actors eager to re-shape the regional order. Pakistans handling of the 87-hour May conflict underscores those stakes. Advertisement By escalating a terrorist provocation into conventional warfare, Rawal pindi displayed both audacity and dependence: audacity in raising risks and dependence on Beijings logistical umbilical cord that keeps advanced platforms serviceable. Chinese technicians embedded in Pakistani bases blur the civilian ilianmilitary boundary and complicate attribution in any future clash, effectively inserting Beijing into South Asias crisis calculus. That vision must also acknowledge Bangla deshs legitimate development aspirations. India can cooperate in green energy corridors, climate-resilient farming, and cross-border digital services, offering technology and market access over high-interest loans. Such partnerships reduce Dhakas exposure to single-source financiers while binding its growth path to a transparent, rules-based regional order ~ a goal that aligns with Delhis own quest for a stable periphery and shared prosperity. Above all, India must narrate a story that resonates beyond trench lines ~ one of shared prosperity anchored in transparency. Regional history shows influence flows not just from power, but from dependability. Advertisement General Chauhans reminder that trian g les can shift should provoke vigilance as well as creativity; their edges can be blunted by steady engagement. Equally vital is civil society outreach: scholarships for ocean-rim students, media partnerships, and tri-service humanitarian exercises can knit a lattice of goodwill that pure military capability cannot replicate. Such soft-power dividends accumulate quietly yet shape perceptions decisively. They cultivate stakeholders who favour Indias moderation. The coming decade will test whether India can match its demographic heft and technological promise with strategic stamina. Success would leave the emerging triangle balanced rather than adversarial, securing geometry conducive to growth across the subcontinent. Baloch activist Kareem Jan was allegedly extrajudicially killed in custody after being summoned by personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC) in Mashkay, Awaran district of Balochistan earlier this year, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) said in a statement on Friday. According to the BYC, Kareem Jan, son of Azeem, was summoned to the local FC camp on February 22, 2025. He was subsequently forcibly disappeared, and his whereabouts remained unknown to his family for nearly five months. On July 12, 2025, military officials informed the family that Kareem had died in custody and ordered them to collect his body from the camp in Mashkay. The Baloch Yakjehti Committee has alleged that Kareems body bore visible signs of extreme torture, raising serious concerns of prolonged abuse during detention. His death is not an isolated incident but a part of the ongoing campaign of repression in Balochistan, the BYC stated. Advertisement This is the second time Kareem Jan had been targeted by Pakistani security forces. According to BYC, he had previously been forcibly disappeared in 2023 and held incommunicado for eight months before being released with signs of severe torture. The BYC has called on international human rights organisations and the United Nations to take immediate notice and launch an independent investigation into Kareems custodial death. The group described it as a cold-blooded extrajudicial killing and urged accountability for the systematic use of enforced disappearances and torture in Balochistan. Advertisement Enforced disappearances, militarisation, and economic deprivation have long plagued Balochistan. Civil society groups, including the BYC, have repeatedly accused the Pakistani state of silencing dissent through violent means. Kareem Jans story is one of hundreds, the BYC said on X. We will continue to raise our voices for justice and the right to live with dignity in our own land. Leading Baloch human rights body, Paank, highlighted on Wednesday yet another case of enforced disappearance which took place in Balochistan. Paank highlighted that Muneer Ahmad was forcibly disappeared by the Pakistan Army during a midnight raid. Paank also highlighted that he was previously forcibly disappeared in 2017 by the Pakistan Army and held for 19 months. In a post on X, it said, Muneer Ahmad, son of Deen Mohammad, was forcibly disappeared by Pakistan Army during a midnight raid from his home in Gichk. He was previously forcibly disappeared in 2017 by Pakistan Army and held for 19 months. Paank strongly condemns this repeated act of enforced disappearance and holds state forces accountable for the ongoing human rights violations in #Balochistan. Balochistan has been the focus of persistent human rights concerns for decades. The region has faced cycles of violence involving separatist movements, heavy military presence, enforced disappearances, and economic marginalisation. These issues have drawn attention from human rights organisations, journalists, and international observers. On July 8, Amnesty International had condemned the vicious cycle of violence in Balochistan- from extrajudicial killings to abductions. In a post on X, earlier in July, it said, Pakistani authorities must stop weaponizing laws to unlawfully detain peaceful Baloch activists and immediately release all activists including Gulzar and Mahrang Baloch who has been detained for more than three months. Authorities should also urgently carry out independent, transparent and thorough investigations into the allegations of enforced disappearance and extrajudicial executions to bring to justice those suspected of responsibility through fair trials. Human rights groups have long accused Pakistani authorities of abducting civilians in Balochistan without due process, using enforced disappearances to suppress dissent and intimidate communities in restive areas. Pakistani authorities routinely deny these allegations, but civil society continues to condemn the security forces role in systematic abductions targeting students, political workers, and residents. Advertisement Advertisement As part of the 17th Tibetan Parliament-in-Exiles official visitation program, a two-member delegation comprising Parliamentarians Geshe Ngawa Gangri and Tsering Yangchen began their official tour of Dalhousie on July 12, 2025, according to the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). Upon arriving at the Phuntsoling Tibetan Settlement, the delegation received a warm welcome from local leaders, including Tibetan Settlement Officer Kelsang Tenzin, Chair of the Local Tibetan Assembly Phurbu Damdul, and representatives from the Regional Tibetan Freedom Movement. Also in attendance were the head of the Sambhota Tibetan School, a doctor from the Men-Tse-Khang clinic branch, as well as heads of Tibetan NGOs and community figures, CTA reported. The Parliamentarians were honoured at a welcome lunch hosted by three regional organisations. Following this, they paid a visit to Loseling Dolma Lhakhang to offer prayers and proceeded to inspect Tibetan-run shops near the GPO. There, they held informal interactions with local shopkeepers to learn about their economic and livelihood challenges, CTA noted. At 3 PM, the MPs met with Dr GS Dhillon, Principal of Dalhousie Public School and President of the Indo-Tibetan Friendship Association. During the meeting, they gifted Dr Dhillon a copy of Voice for the Voiceless, a newly released book by the 14th Dalai Lama, and conveyed their gratitude for his continued advocacy for the Tibetan cause, CTA stated. Later in the day, the delegation visited Tibetan residential areas, including Tsering Khang and Kelsang Khang, where they engaged in conversations with local residents to understand their concerns and everyday experiences. This community outreach forms a core component of the Parliament-in-Exiles goal to remain closely connected with Tibetan settlements in India, CTA emphasised. The day concluded with a dinner reception at the Tibetan Refugee Handicraft Centre, hosted in honour of the visiting Parliamentarians, celebrating the shared spirit of resilience and community within the Tibetan diaspora. Advertisement Saint-Laurent, QC (H4T1V6) Today Showers early, then partly cloudy for the afternoon. High 77F. Winds WSW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%.. Tonight Partly cloudy skies early will give way to cloudy skies late. Low 59F. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. BRUSSELS, July 16 (Xinhua) -- The European Commission on Wednesday proposed a two-trillion-euro (2.33 trillion U.S. dollars) budget for 2028-2034 for the European Union (EU). The budget proposal would raise EU spending to an average of 1.26 percent of the bloc's gross national income, up from around 1.1 percent during the current 2021-2027 cycle. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the budget as "larger, smarter and sharper," saying it reflects Europe's ambition, addresses its challenges and strengthens its independence. The plan includes a new 409-billion-euro European Competitiveness Fund intended to reinforce the EU's defence sector, accelerate industrial innovation and support the transition to clean energy across member states. Within the fund, 131 billion euros would be allocated to defense and space, five times more than in the current multiannual financial framework, according to the Commission. While most funding will still come from EU member states, the Commission is proposing new revenue streams, including a tax on companies with annual net turnover above 100 million euros in any EU country. Approval of the budget requires unanimous agreement from all 27 EU member states and the endorsement of the European Parliament. (1 euro = 1.16 U.S. dollar) 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. India's Akash surface-to-air missile (SAM) system had played a crucial role during the recent India-Pakistan military conflict, acting as a critical air-defence shield against incoming Pakistani drones, missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles. The capabilities of this medium-range air defence system just got better as India successfully test-fired an advanced variant of this defence system, Akash Prime, recently. The Indian Army carried out the trials of this advanced defence system, developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), at an altitude of 15,000 feet in the Ladakh sector. The missile system hit two very fast-moving aircraft at a very high altitude during the trials. ALSO READ: Why inducting foreign weapon systems could be dangerous for India? According to media reports, the Akash Prime system, equipped with an indigenous active Radio Frequency (RF) seeker, will form part of the third and fourth regiments of the Indian Army. Compared to its previous version, Akash Prime has higher accuracy and better target discrimination because of the RF seeker, enabling greater precision against agile aerial threats such as fighter aircraft, cruise missiles, and drones. The Akash Prime system can bring down airborne targets at a distance of around 25 to 30km, making it a great asset against drone and other airborne threats from Pakistan and China. The system has been specifically optimised for reliable performance in low-temperature, high-altitude conditions, allowing it to operate effectively in areas like Ladakh. For the past few days, news portals have been abuzz with speculative claims and reports that said India is building an ultra-long-range strategic bomber with a range of over 12,000 kilometres. The reports further claimed that such a bomber could strike across continents, potentially reaching targets such as New York or Beijing without needing to refuel. Some reports claimed that this bomber was inspired by the American B-21 Raider or the Russian TU-160, and would have highly advanced stealth features, radar-absorbing materials, and automated avionics. However, the ministry of defence has now come out with a clarification, saying that such reports are fabricated. ALSO READ: Akash Prime proves its might! India's air defence against Pakistan, Chinese missile threats just got stronger Some media houses reported a story that India is planning to build a long-range bomber (12000km) that could hit New York/strike across continents without needing to refuel. This story is incorrect and fabricated, a statement from the ministry of defence read. The defence ministry said no such proposal has ever been discussed at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). Defence beat journalists are requested to cross-check their stories with the concerned before going ahead, the MoD statement added. Joju George has officially confirmed that title for his next directorial venture. A sequel to the film Pani, the next instalment, which was tentatively called Pani 2, will be titled Deluxe. The actor took to Instagram to confirm the news. According to OnManorama, the actor had also announced the news during the pooja ceremony for his upcoming film Aasha, where he will star alongside veteran actress Urvashi. Pani is a Malayalam-language thriller that revolves around a happy couple, Giri and Gauri, whose lives are turned upside down after encountering two young men with a criminal history. The couple are involuntarily roped in to become part of the vengeance against the mobs of Thrissur. The film also stars MG Abhinaya, Sagar Surya, Junaiz V.P., Abhaya Hiranmayi and Seema. The film marked one of Georges most lauded performances and was especially praised considering it was the actors directorial debut. The film managed to gross Rs 36 crore against a reported budget of Rs 15 25 crore. ALSO READ | Release the signed agreement, not just the bank statement: Joju George to Lijo Jose Pellissery amid Churuli controversy The success of the film demanded a sequel from George, who announced in April that the script of Pani 2 was complete and is currently in the pre-production phase. He also disclosed that filming would begin in December. But the actor did not stop there. George envisions a full trilogy, so a Pani 3 is likely on the horizon. While the first film followed the life of Giri and Gauri, the second will not follow the same storyline. Georges character in the film will be called Deluxe Benny, and fans will have to wait a while to see what he gets up to. Homebound is yet to grace international screens again, as the film has been selected to be screened at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival. Karan Johar, who bankrolled the production, announced that the Hindi drama film will be shown in the Gala Presentations category of the Canadian festival. Posting the news on social media, Johar wrote, #Homebound has been officially selected for the Toronto International Film Festival 2025 (@tiff_net) in the Gala Presentations category. Extremely thrilled and elated to be a part of this prestigious festival another time for us at Dharma!!! Homebound follows the life story of two childhood friends, Shoaib Ali and Chandan Kumar, who decide to become police officers, motivated by their strong desire for respect and dignity. The film marks the second full-length feature by Neeraj Ghaywan after his 2015 directorial debut Masaan. Much like Masaan, Homebound was selected to be screened at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section earlier this year. The film got a nine-minute standing ovation from the audience, prompting an emotional response from the cast and crew. Its global impact was underscored when filmmaking legend Martin Scorsese jumped on board as an executive producer for the film. Neeraj has made a beautifully crafted film thats a significant contribution to Indian cinema, he said. Homebound features Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor in lead roles. Reflecting on the films Cannes selection, Kapoor said in an earlier interview with The Hollywood Reporter that she was in disbelief and the entire Cannes experience was a pinch me moment. The 50th Toronto International Film Festival is scheduled to take place from September 4 to 14. Kannada actress Ranya Rao has been handed a one-year jail sentence under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) in connection with an ongoing gold smuggling case. According to PTI, the order issued by the Advisory Board also stated that she will not be eligible for bail during the entire term of detention. The actress and co-accused Tarun Konduru Raju was granted bail on May 20 when the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) failed to file a chargesheet within the legally mandated timeframe. Despite the Rs 2 lakh bond, the pair remained in custody due to the preventive detention order under COFEPOSA, which permits detention for up to one year even without formal charges, based on suspicion of smuggling activities. ALSO READ | Who is actress Ranya Raos father, IPS officer K. Ramachandra Rao? Rao was detained by the DRI on March 3 when the actress, who flew into Bengaluru from Dubai via an Emirates flight, was flagged, detained, and questioned by the intelligence agency at the Kempegowda International Airport, following a tip-off. Upon inspection, the authorities discovered 14.2 kg of gold on her person, and she also managed to conceal gold bars in her clothing. The seized gold was valued at a whopping Rs 12.56 crore. Subsequently, the DRI officials carried out a search at her apartment located on Lavelle Road in Bangalore. The search uncovered gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore. Further investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) resulted in the discovery of a larger gold smuggling racket. Earlier this month, the agency attached assets worth over Rs 34 crore across Karnataka to Rao. In a meeting chaired by Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, a senior concern regarding national security and data privacy was raised. This time, it is not border security or maritime, but from the growing use of Chinese IoT-enabled medical devices in the rural regions. As per a News18 report, experts fear a potential leak of health data through the increased use of Chinese medical devices in the remote areas, which could compromise the defence interests. Taking cognisance of the concern, the government has ordered a probe to understand the seriousness of the situation. Also Read | Health ministry draws up plan to combat obesity, food items to display 'oil and sugar content' An official document reviewed by the media outlet mentioned the potential misuse of data by Chinese firms, particularly through medical imaging and monitoring devices. These devices have also been identified as potential channels for surveillance and unauthorised data access. The concerns stem from the fact that many of the latest medical devices make use of the Internet of Things technology, and there is a potential threat of malware or hidden bugs. This, in turn, can create opportunities for cyberattacks, data theft, or other security concerns. Also Read | Gravity shock: Why astronauts need medical rehabilitation explained We must understand that such incidents can put thousands of patients using those devices under severe distress. Hence, we need to scrutinise the devices which are coming from hostile nations. The ministry has decided to take this matter seriously and will go deep into it," said an official to News18. Patient monitoring systems, ultrasound and CT scanners, in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) kits, oxygen concentrators, instruments used in surgeries and disposable items are some of the items imported from China. Also Read | Monsoon guide for kids: Protecting your children from lung and skin diseases A worker sorts newly harvested tobacco leaves at a farm in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, July 10, 2025. According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) of Zimbabwe, the sector is witnessing record-breaking sales this year, with farmers already delivering more than 340 million kg of the golden leaf to the market, a significant hike from about 240 million kg last year. (Photo by Tafara Mugwara/Xinhua) HARARE, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A warm, earthy scent filled the grading shed as workers carefully sorted tobacco leaves at a farm in Beatrice, a rural area in Zimbabwe's Mashonaland East Province. With practiced hands, they ensured each golden leaf met the high standards demanded by buyers. Outside, a truck loaded with tightly packed bales rumbled toward the market, trailing dust along the winding country roads. "In general, this growing season has been a very good one for most tobacco growers, especially the small-scale farmers. They have done exceptionally well, and overall, everyone has had a better yield per hectare than ever before," said Steve Riley, a tobacco farmer who has invested heavily in the crop, one of Zimbabwe's most lucrative exports. Utilizing both rainfall and irrigation facilities at his farm, Riley successfully cultivated quality tobacco on 34 hectares of land last season. The harvest is now being delivered to the market. In Zimbabwe, the tobacco marketing season, running from March to August, is a critical period in the agricultural calendar, given the crop's role as one of the country's top economic drivers and export earners. For farmers like Riley, the marketing season is the most anticipated time of year, offering the long-awaited opportunity to reap the rewards of months of hard work and commitment in the fields. Thanks to these sustained efforts, Zimbabwe's tobacco output is on the rise, further reinforcing the country's position as Africa's leading tobacco producer. According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB), the sector is witnessing record-breaking sales this year, with farmers already delivering more than 340 million kg of the golden leaf to the market, a significant hike from about 240 million kg last year. This surge in production is attributed to several factors, including favorable rainfall, increased cultivated land, and a rising number of farmers, especially small-scale producers. Tobacco hectarage expanded from 113,000 hectares in the 2023-2024 season to 125,000 hectares in the 2024-2025 season, according to TIMB. The number of registered growers also rose by 11 percent during the same period, reaching 127,311. Following a successful farming and selling season, Riley is already preparing seedlings for the next planting cycle. "We don't know what the weather is going to bring us next season. It could be a terrible drought, but we plan as if it's going to be a decent season," he said. China, one of Zimbabwe's key trading partners, remains the largest importer of Zimbabwean tobacco, drawn by its high quality. "Ours, in a nutshell, is a bit like the sugar in a cup of tea. It adds the flavor. And they (the Chinese) need the flavor, and Zimbabwean tobacco seems to be the quality they're really looking for," said Riley. According to statistics from the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe, tobacco exports to China increased by 17.3 percent in 2024. The growing demand for Zimbabwean tobacco in international markets has spurred employment and economic activity in rural communities where the crop is cultivated. The government and industry stakeholders are now working to boost production, increase local value addition, and grow exports in the coming seasons. Tacla Munemo, a farm head forewoman, said this season has been productive, and preparations for the next season are already in progress. "We are expecting another yield like this next season. We have to work hard to achieve another bumper harvest and maintain the quality of the tobacco," she said. A worker sorts newly harvested tobacco leaves at a farm in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, July 10, 2025. According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) of Zimbabwe, the sector is witnessing record-breaking sales this year, with farmers already delivering more than 340 million kg of the golden leaf to the market, a significant hike from about 240 million kg last year. (Xinhua/Xu Zheng) Workers sort newly harvested tobacco leaves at a farm in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, July 10, 2025. According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) of Zimbabwe, the sector is witnessing record-breaking sales this year, with farmers already delivering more than 340 million kg of the golden leaf to the market, a significant hike from about 240 million kg last year. (Photo by Tafara Mugwara/Xinhua) A worker waters tobacco seedlings at a farm in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, July 10, 2025. According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) of Zimbabwe, the sector is witnessing record-breaking sales this year, with farmers already delivering more than 340 million kg of the golden leaf to the market, a significant hike from about 240 million kg last year. (Xinhua/Xu Zheng) A worker sorts newly harvested tobacco leaves at a farm in Mashonaland East Province, Zimbabwe, July 10, 2025. According to the Tobacco Industry and Marketing Board (TIMB) of Zimbabwe, the sector is witnessing record-breaking sales this year, with farmers already delivering more than 340 million kg of the golden leaf to the market, a significant hike from about 240 million kg last year. (Xinhua/Xu Zheng) After The Wall Street Journal reported on the role of pilots in the deadly Air India AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad, the Centre has slammed "unverified and selective" reporting. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB), a wing of the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation, said it is too early to draw "definite conclusions" on the crash as the probe is incomplete. Investigators are now looking into a possible technical fault in the recent Air India crash in Ahmedabad. The crash involved Flight AI171, a Boeing 787, which went down shortly after takeoff on July 15. Early reports suggest there may have been a malfunction in the aircrafts pic.twitter.com/7ii6ApKiG5 THE WEEK (@TheWeekLive) July 17, 2025 The June 12 crash killed 260 people, including 241 people aboard the flight and others on the ground, after it crashed into a medical college hostel building. Only one passenger on the plane survived the crash. AAIB said media should respect sensitivity of the loss faced by the relatives of the crash victims, adding that selective and unverified reporting is "irresponsible" as the investigation is ongoing. Citing an US official sources, The Wall Street Journal alleged that the black box revealed that Captain Sumeet Sabharwal turned off the fuel control switches shortly after AI 171 took off. Sabharwal had more than 15,000 hours of flying experience, while his co-pilot Clive Kunder had over 3,400 fly hours to his credit. The AAIB urged both the public and media to avoid spreading misinformation that could risk the investigation. "The purpose of the AAIB's investigation and preliminary report is to provide information about 'what' happened," AAIB stated, adding that the final report will reveal the root causes and come out with recommendations. AAIB's preliminary investigation report revealed that the fuel control switches of the Boeing 787-8 was turned off from a "run" to a "cutoff" position. Experts claimed that the switches would not move accidentally while Air India's inspection of locking mechanism revealed that fuel control switches of its Boeing 787 fleet did not have any issues. The Karnataka government has singled out the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and held the team management solely responsible for the chaos and stampede that occurred during the victory parade in Bengaluru on June 4. The Karnataka government has made public its probe report on the stampede during the RCB victory parade on June 4 in Bengaluru. It charged that RCB invited the public for the victory parade "unilaterally," without consulting the Bengaluru Police. According to the report submitted by the state government in the Karnataka High Court, accessed by NDTV, on the day of the IPL finals (June 3), RCB team members informed Bengaluru Police about a possible victory parade on June 4. "This was in the nature of an intimation, not a requisition for permission as required under the law," it said. As per procedure, permission must be sought at least seven days before the event. The report said the Cubbon Park police inspector did not grant permission for the RCB event as the request was not in the prescribed format, and details regarding the expected crowd, possible bottlenecks, and other arrangements were not made available to authorities. 11 people died and 50 persons suffered injuries in the incident. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah took part in the celebrations at Vidhan Soudha, and Deputy Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar took part in the event at Chinnaswamy stadium. The report charged RCB invited the public through social media without informing the police. "On 04 June 2025, at 8.55am, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru shared a video clip of Mr. Virat Kohli, a prominent player of the RCB team, on RCB's official handle @Rcbtweets on Twitter, in which he stated that the team intended to celebrate this victory with the people of Bengaluru city and RCB fans on 04 June 2025 in Bengaluru," it said. The social media posts garnered 44 lakh views online, and over 3 lakh people gathered to attend the event. RCB management said only once that there would be limited entry to the Chinnaswamy stadium. "Over 3 lakh people gathered outside Chinnaswamy stadium, a venue with a capacity of only 35,000 seats." "As restless crowds gathered at the gates, the situation deteriorated further when the organisers/RCB/DNA/KSCA responsible for gate management failed to open the gates at the appropriate time and in an unsynchronised manner. This prompted the crowd to force their way into the stadium by breaking open Gate Nos. 1, 2, and 21, due to complete mismanagement by the organisers," NDTV reported, quoting the report. The report said it was a tactical decision by the government not to call off the celebrations as it could have "adversely affected overall law and order situation in Bengaluru. "The risk of large-scale rioting both within the stadium premises and throughout Bengaluru necessitated this careful balancing approach, prioritising overall public safety over immediate event cessation. It is common and known in law & order situations that cancellation of anticipated events can incite the crowd tremendously and lead to widespread mob violence, as has been seen in several events where such decisions have been taken," it said. The Amarnath Yatra was suspended on Thursday, from both the Pahalgam and Baltal routes, after continuous heavy rain made the tracks unsafe. The decision came after a woman pilgrim died and three others were injured in a landslide near Z-mode at Upper Railpathri on the Baltal route. The injured were taken to the Baltal hospital, where the woman was declared dead. The rain over the past two days has damaged the pilgrimage routes, making them dangerous for travel. The Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has sent workers and machines to both tracks to carry out urgent repair work. The aim is to resume the Yatra by Friday, July 18. Kashmir Divisional Commissioner Vijay Kumar Bidhuri said, Due to continuous rains, urgent repair and maintenance work is needed on the tracks. So, no movement towards the holy cave is allowed from either base camp today. Pilgrims who had stayed at the Panjtarni camp overnight are being safely brought down towards Baltal under the watch of BRO staff and Mountain Rescue Teams. The administration has asked all pilgrims to be patient and wait for updates based on the weather. So far, more than 2.47 lakh pilgrims have visited the holy cave this year. The yatra commenced on July 3 and will end on August 9. The yatra is a yearly pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre high cave shrine dedicated to Lord Shiva in the Himalayas in south Kashmir. It draws thousands of devotees from all over India. The twin routesvia Pahalgam in Anantnag and Baltal in Ganderbalare closely monitored during unfavourable weather. Officials have said the yatra will continue as soon as the tracks are repaired and it is safe for pilgrims to travel. This years yatra is being conducted under strict security cover due to the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22 that left 26 people, mostly tourists, dead. After Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya's death penalty was postponed by the Yemeni goverment, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has confirmed the development, saying it was achieved after "concerted efforts" by the Centre. Nimisha Priya, from Kerala's Palakkad, was found guilty of murdering Talal Abdo Mahdi, a Yemeni citizen, in 2017, following which she was sentenced to death. VIDEO | Delhi: Responding to a question on the case of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia), while addressing a press briefing, said: "This is a sensitive matter. The Government of India has been providing all possible assistance. We have pic.twitter.com/bK0R8V8dAk Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) July 17, 2025 When asked about the role of Grand Mufti of India Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad, popularly known as Kanthapuram A. P. Aboobacker Musliyar, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, "As far as the role of entity you mentioned is concerned, I have no information to share." This comes after reports said Kanthapuram held talks with religious authorities in Yemen, including Sufi leader Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz who intervened in the issue. His representatives reportedly met with the family of Talal on July 15. Among Talal's relatives was the Chief Justice of the Hodeidah State Court and a member of the Yemeni Shura Council. Calling the Nimisha Priya case a sensitive issue, the MEA spokesperson said the Centre is providing all possible help in the case. "We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family," said the ministry, adding that it has arranged regular consular visits. It is also regularly in contact with the Yemeni authorities and the family members to resolve the issue. The MEA said it has taken measures recently to delay the execution. "This included concerted efforts in recent days to seek more time for the family of Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party," stated the ministry, pointing out that the local authorities have postponed her July 16 sentence. The foreign ministry said it is in touch with friendly governments to provide all possible assistance. In yet another instance of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) high-handedness, videos showed party cadres intimidating a shopkeeper in Mumbai's Vikhroli region. They accused the victim, a Marwadi shopkeeper, of insulting the Marathi community in a WhatsApp status that he posted recently. The MNS workers surrounded the man in broad daylight outside his shop and made him apologise before the camera, the video that has gone viral on the internet showed. The visibly scared man talked to the agitated MNS men with folded hands and held his ears in a sorry gesture while apologising before the camera. He was heckled and repeatedly questioned for insulting the Marathi language and culture while being in Maharashtra. They reportedly dictated to the onlookers that they should refrain from supporting business establishments that insult Marathi culture. Raj Thackeray's party cadres are in the news recently more than once for vigilantism after they assault civilians over issues involving the Marathi language. Recently, a similar viral video showed them assaulting a shopkeeper in Thane for not speaking the local language. Another shop owner was attacked for his refusal to speak Marathi. The incident that happened in Mira Road was also caught on camera, reports said. Meanwhile, former Union minister and BJP leader Ram Naik has said a language row is being fuelled in Maharashtra in view of the ensuing polls to local bodies, especially the BMC, and noted Thackeray cousins Raj and Uddhav see political opportunity in such emotive issues. He said that though Shiv Sena (UBT) president Uddhav Thackeray and his cousin Raj Thackeray shared the stage in Mumbai on July 5 to champion the cause of Marathi 'manoos' (Marathi speakers) and oppose Hindi 'imposition', they were yet to announce a formal alliance and it remains to be seen how many parties join them. An ultra-Orthodox party quit Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet on Wednesday but said it would remain within his coalition for now, giving the government more time to resolve a thorny dispute over military conscription. The Shas party said on Wednesday it would just pull its ministers from government ranks while continuing to back the coalition in parliament. "Shas representatives ... find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it," the group said in a statement. The development comes after another ultra-Orthodox group -- the United Torah Judaism (UTJ) -- had left the coalition on Tuesday over the deeply divisive issue, leaving Netanyahu with just a one-seat majority in Israeli parliament. But rather than follow suit, the other ultra-Orthodox partner, Shas, has chosen a different path. The Shas decision means Netanyahu does not face the threat of early elections, for now, nor does it undermine his efforts to secure a possible Gaza ceasefire. Israel's parliament starts a three-month summer recess on July 27, giving Netanyahu time to try to resolve the problem of who should serve in the military -- a debate that has long caused huge tensions within Israel's deeply divided society. There was no immediate comment from Netanyahu or other partners within his increasingly splintered cabinet. While the ultra-Orthodox parties have focused their anger on the conscription issue, far-right parties have been pressing Netanyahu not to make concessions in ceasefire talks with Hamas militants that are underway in Qatar. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich want Israel to press on with the war, but Netanyahu would still be likely to have enough cabinet votes to back any eventual ceasefire without them. The war in Gaza has exacted Israel's highest military death toll in decades, with around 450 soldiers killed so far in combat, Reuters said. This has added fuel to an already explosive debate over a new conscription bill that lies at the centre of the latest crisis to rattle Netanyahu's coalition, which took office in late 2022 and is due to stay in office until the autumn of 2026. Ultra-Orthodox seminary students have long been exempt from mandatory military service. Many Israelis are angered by what they see as an unfair burden carried by the mainstream who serve. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders say full-time devotion to the study of holy scriptures is sacrosanct and fear their young men will steer away from religious life if they are drafted into the military. Last year the Supreme Court ordered an end to the exemption. Parliament has been trying to work out a new conscription bill, which has so far failed to meet UTJ demands. More details emerge regarding the "success" of the US operation in Iran, which saw it raining bunker buster bombs on nuclear sites last month. While the US's single-day action saw it target Iran's three nuclear sites, a report claims the US Central Command, which oversees the Middle East, had other plans. The comprehensive plan developed by the US Central Command involved a military action that spanned several weeks instead of a single night, a US official told NBC News. However, President Donald Trump did not approve the idea. Reason: It was against his administration's foreign policy, which was anchored on extracting the US from conflicts abroad, not digging deeper into them. Trump was also worried about casualties on both sides, the report added. "We were willing to go all the way in our options, but the president did not want to," one of the sources with knowledge of the plan said. The plan was devised at the end of Joe Biden's administration, and Army Gen. Erik Kurilla, the head of U.S. Central Command, had developed a plan to go "all-in" on striking Iran. The plan was to decimate Irans nuclear capabilities, and the US would hit six sites repeatedly to "completely end the programme." This meant more hitting Iran's air defence and ballistic missile capabilities and could result in a high number of Iranian casualties. They expected that Iran would target American positions in Iraq and Syria. However, Trump vetoed the idea as it would have "required a sustained period of conflict." As for the US bombing, the NBC report said only one of the three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran that were struck was mostly destroyed. The US officials believe that the attack on Fordow was significant and could set back Iranian enrichment capabilities at that site by as much as two years, whereas the bombings didn't do much damage to Natanz and Isfahan. Iran, still reeling from the 12-day war with Israel, has announced the death of an Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) official, the second death in recent weeks. Gholamhossein Gheybparvar, deputy commander at the Revolutionary Guards' Imam Ali base, died due to "illness caused by chemical injuries" from the Iran-Iraq war, which ended in 1988, according to the officials. Gheybparvar's death raised eyebrows as no such condition had been disclosed previously. He was seen last month in the northern Iranian city of Qazvin. He appeared healthy, though he wore a face mask, according to Iran International. Known by the alias Shahram, Gheybparvar held prominent roles across IRGC institutions involved in domestic crackdowns, the report added. This is the second such suspicious death in recent times, the other being the death of a former representative of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei at Tharallah headquarters. The IRGC announced Ali Taeb's death, but it gave no details about the cause. The Iranian state media said Taeb died of natural causes, but his death happened just hours after a gas explosion at a residential high-rise in western Tehran. State media said Taeb died of natural causes. The Taeb family holds significant positions of power in the Iranian regime. Ali's brother, Hossein Taab, headed the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence organisation until 2022, and was one of the most powerful figures in the country. Hossein is known for his brutality and close ties to Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of the Supreme Leader. However, his death triggered speculations that it could either be a purge within the IRGC or Israeli involvement, especially since the "Tharallah" headquarters is one of the most prominent units of the IRGC, directly responsible for internal security. It was also among the targets that Israel attacked during the latest escalation between the two sides. Gheybparvar also headed the domestic militia, the Basij, from 2016 to 2019 and was also the deputy chief of the Imam Ali base, which links him to Taeb. Taeb also participated in the Iran-Iraq War and played a significant role in the regime's ideological system. The deaths also assume importance in the wake of frequent explosions rocking Iran. Since the end of the war, various explosions have been recorded in several locations, but the country's authorities have denied that this was a security incident. However, given the marking of the building as the residence of senior officials, it is likely that this was not a coincidence. US President Donald Trump's threat to impose 100% secondary tariffs on Russia has put the spotlight on India, the largest importer of Russian crude oil. However, New Delhi is unfazed after Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri played down the concerns, hinting at seeking alternative energy supplies. "If something happens, we will deal with it," Puri said, highlighting how India significantly broadened its oil import network. "India has diversified the sources of supplies from 27 to 40 countries now" he said. Russia accounted for 38% of the crude oil that India imported. In April 2025, India's crude imports from Russia reached nearly 2 million barrels per day, marking a two-year high. If Russian supplies are affection, Indian Oil Corporation has announced plans to go back to its old template when Russian supplies to India were below 2%. While countries like Brazil and Canada, and newer suppliers like Guyana, are highlighted as potential alternatives, economic analysts believe the US could push its oil to India. During January-June 2025, India imported nearly 271,000 barrels a day (b/d) of crude oil from the US, which is almost a 51% increase from 180,000 b/d during the same period last year, according to S&P Global Commodity Insights. Besides, India has also stated that it plans to increase annual consumption of US energy from $15 billion to $25 billion, including LNG. This could also allay the US concerns about the trade deficit with Last month, around 11.2 million barrels of crude arrived in India from the US in June, thanks to drop in prices in the West Texas Intermediate benchmark. Many Asian buyers turned to US crude as a negotiating tool o reduce the reciprocal tariffs. According to Vivek Mishra, deputy director of strategic studies at the Observer Research Foundation, the US could treat this as an opportunity. "If secondary sanctions do kick in, it will be an opportunity for the US to sell its oil," he told the South China Morning Post (SCMP). But, the chances of US oil replacing Russia are sparse, analysts believe. Priya Walia, vice-president of commodity markets for oil at Rystad Energy, told SCMP that the potential for such oil sales to India may be limited. "The US primarily produced light sweet crude grade oil, unlike the medium sour and light sour Russian oil imported by India for its refinery operations," Walia said. "While some incremental uptick in US oil flows may occur, it is unlikely to exceed 0.5 million barrels per day," she added. The six-decade-long Indus Waters Treaty (IWT), which survived multiple wars, ended in April when India decided to suspend it over the Pahalgam terror attack, much to the dismay of Pakistan. While both countries continue to wrangle over the issue, with India refusing to budge from its stance, the focus has slowly shifted to China, a staunch ally of Pakistan. Pakistan has sought China's diplomatic support in the matter, following which Beijing and its analysts called India's move "a form of unlawful coercive diplomacy". The help also came in the form of China accelerating the construction of the Mohmand Dam in Pakistan. While China's response was somewhat expected considering how it views India as its regional enemy, its role is more than just a neutral observer, according to an analyst. Pintu Kumar Mahla, research associate at the US-based Water Resources Research Institute, argues that Beijing might respond by disrupting the flow of rivers in its territory that feed into India. Though China is not a party to the IWT, the Indus originates in Tibet. Chinese commentators have been highlighting this claim in a bid to insert China as a potential stakeholder. Any intervention by Beijing over the Indus Waters Treaty risks stirring up regional tensions, according to Mahla. He states that Chinese media is engaging in narratives "framing India as the aggressor", so as to embolden "Beijing's greater presence in South Asian politics". China's investments in Pakistans hydropower sector are "motivated by a mix of economic and geopolitical interests, particularly in legitimising the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. But it comes at the cost of stirring up regional tensions," Mahla says in an article that appeared in The Conversation. The analyst says that the alignment of Chinese and Pakistani interests in developing hydro projects can pose a further challenge to the stability of South Asias water-sharing agreements, especially in the Indus Basin. One of the joint China-Pakistan projects is the Indus cascade project, a controversial project planned in Gilgit-Baltistan, a disputed area in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir. This underscores the delicacy of the situation, Mahla argues. Delegates learn about a report titled The Rise of the Global South while attending the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. A multi-language report titled The Rise of the Global South was released on Wednesday by Xinhua News Agency during the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum. The report, published in Chinese, English and Spanish, compiles Xinhua's research over the past year on the independent development and revitalization of Global South countries, showcasing the innovative practices behind the collective rise of the Global South amid the profound transformations of the world. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) RIO DE JANEIRO, July 17 (Xinhua) -- A multi-language report titled The Rise of the Global South was released on Wednesday by Xinhua News Agency during the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum. The report, published in Chinese, English and Spanish, compiles Xinhua's research over the past year on the independent development and revitalization of Global South countries, showcasing the innovative practices behind the collective rise of the Global South amid the profound transformations of the world. Wirun Phichaiwongphakdee, director of the Asia-Pacific Think Tank of Thailand, said that the report tells the story of the collective awakening and rise of the Global South through case studies from Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific. "The report weaves together political realities, historical retrospection and socio-cultural observations," Wirun said. "It is rich in cases and broad in perspective." One of the report's chapters, "Bandung's call echoes 70 years on," has left Wirun a deep impression. The chapter highlights the enduring legacy of the 1955 Bandung Conference -- embodied in the Bandung Spirit of solidarity, independence and cooperation among Global South countries. "Reading the chapter, I was once again deeply moved by the call and power of Bandung," said Wirun. "It marked a historic moment when the Global South stood up together -- a turning point in the transformation of the world order. More importantly, the Bandung Spirit is not merely a memory of the past, but a beacon that continues to guide the Global South forward in unity." For Luis Lainez, director editorial at Diario El Salvador, the report has built a bridge for understanding and enabled more people to be aware that Global South countries have long been striving for independent development and continue to explore paths toward more progress. Diario El Salvador, a Salvadoran newspaper, published the report's chapter, "Potosi awakes from its tragic past," which recounts the mining history of Potosi, Bolivia -- a city once at the center of colonial-era silver exploitation, and its modern transformation. "This is a representative story that demonstrates the Global South's enduring spirit in its pursuit of change," Lainez said. A collective of emerging markets and developing countries, the Global South accounts for over 40 percent of the global economy and is profoundly reshaping the global economic landscape while becoming a key force for change in the international order. This photo taken on July 16, 2025 shows copies of a report titled The Rise of the Global South released during the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A multi-language report titled The Rise of the Global South was released on Wednesday by Xinhua News Agency during the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum. The report, published in Chinese, English and Spanish, compiles Xinhua's research over the past year on the independent development and revitalization of Global South countries, showcasing the innovative practices behind the collective rise of the Global South amid the profound transformations of the world. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) Delegates learn about a report titled The Rise of the Global South while attending the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. A multi-language report titled The Rise of the Global South was released on Wednesday by Xinhua News Agency during the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum. The report, published in Chinese, English and Spanish, compiles Xinhua's research over the past year on the independent development and revitalization of Global South countries, showcasing the innovative practices behind the collective rise of the Global South amid the profound transformations of the world. (Xinhua/Li Mengxin) A delegate learns about a report titled The Rise of the Global South while attending the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. A multi-language report titled The Rise of the Global South was released on Wednesday by Xinhua News Agency during the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum. The report, published in Chinese, English and Spanish, compiles Xinhua's research over the past year on the independent development and revitalization of Global South countries, showcasing the innovative practices behind the collective rise of the Global South amid the profound transformations of the world. (Xinhua/Li Mengxin) A delegate learns about a report titled The Rise of the Global South while attending the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, July 16, 2025. A multi-language report titled The Rise of the Global South was released on Wednesday by Xinhua News Agency during the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum. The report, published in Chinese, English and Spanish, compiles Xinhua's research over the past year on the independent development and revitalization of Global South countries, showcasing the innovative practices behind the collective rise of the Global South amid the profound transformations of the world. (Xinhua/Wang Tiancong) The United Kingdom is set to lower voting age from 18 to 16 from the next national election onwards. The reason for this drastic change in the country's electoral system is to increase democratic participation, according to the government. In the run up to the July 2024 elections, the centre-left Labour party promised in its poll campaign that it will lower the voting age for elections to the British Parliament. In Scotland and Wales, those aged 16 can already vote in the local and regional elections. Countries where legal voting age is 16 It was Brazil which lowered the voting age to 16 in 1988 for the Presidential elections. Germany's Lower Saxony state made a similar move in 1995, with more states following suit. In 2024, Germany lowered its voting age to 16 for the European Parliament elections. Austria allowed 16-year-olds to vote in the national elections in 2007 and the European Parliament election in 2009. In Malta, those aged 16 were allowed to vote in the local elections from 2015 and in the national elections from 2018. Belgium has allowed 16-year-olds to vote in the European elections since 2023 while only those aged 18 can vote in the national elections. In Greece, the voting age is 17 since July 2016. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, citizens aged 16 can vote if they are employed. In Hungary, interestingly, a 16-year-old can vote if they are married. In Indonesia, there is no threshold for married citizens while for others it is 17. Police and military are not allowed to vote. In North Korea, any members of the military can vote regardless of their age while for others it is 17. Latin American countries like Cuba, Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Nicaragua have the legal age to vote is 16. US President Donald Trump gave Russia 50 days to come to the negotiating table before he imposes sanctions, an economic punishment that he hopes will slow down the Kremlin's war machine. But analysts think 50 days is more than enough time for Russian President Vladimir Putin to achieve his war goals. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, though he hailed Trump's announcement, said, "50 days, for us, is just every day is scary". In an interview with the New York Post, Zelensky said the delay gives Putin even more time to carry out the war. "Putin has wasted President Trumps time," he said. Analysts agree. They believe the delay will help Russia ramp up attacks on Ukrainian strongholds in the east, where its troops are now advancing. The Kremlin is expected to launch a summer offensive using the 160,000 troops to cut off three key towns Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka and Kupiansk. According to Keir Giles from Chatham House, Russia will use the window to come up with a plan on the diplomatic stage. "The deadline of 50 days gives Russia plenty of time to concoct its own alternative plan," Giles said, adding that Moscow will "outmanoeuvre Washington through a diplomatic ploy". He also took a swipe at Trump, stating the US President will "accept it willingly". John Lough, head of foreign policy at the New Eurasian Strategies Centre think tank, told CNN that Russia could be ramping up its efforts. "Putin has sounded for a few months now quite confident about the progress of this campaign, recognising that the Ukrainians are short of manpower, (and) short of certain weapons systems," Lough said, adding that Moscow was hoping to spread the Ukrainian defence too thin. "Were going to see a continuation of that over the next at least 50 days." While Russia could move undeterred, many believe Trump's deadline could backfire as it would he would be forced to take steps that would harm US interests. Trumps deadline is likely to make his own life more difficult, limiting his future flexibility, putting the settlement he craves farther out of reach, and forcing him to take steps that harm rather than advance U.S. interests. Dr. Jennifer Kavanagh, a senior fellow and director of military analysis at Defence Priorities, believes imposing sanctions on Russia's trading partners would limit Moscow's war machine, but it would "also create political and economic complications for Washington that undermine the credibility of Trumps threat and its effectiveness as a tool of coercion." Moscow also has a huge fleet of shadow vessels that use black market transfers to circumvent U.S. and European economic pressure. Kavanagh also fears that Trumps threats may make a near-term resolution less likely as it could harden Putins resolve. It could also place at risk newly opened channels of communication between the United States and Russia Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition has been thrown into turmoil after the departure of two key ultra-Orthodox parties over the issue of military conscription. The Shas party announced on July 16 that it was resigning from all ministerial positions, citing the government's failure to guarantee continued draft exemptions for religious students. The decision followed a unanimous vote by the partys Council of Torah Sages, who expressed frustration over what they called the governments inaction. In a statement, Shas said its ministers would formally step down on July 17. Those resigning include the ministers of health, interior, labour, welfare and religious services, along with the deputy agriculture minister. However, the partys lawmakers will retain their parliament committee roles and said they would not actively work to topple the government. The resignations follow a similar move by United Torah Judaism (UTJ), which is made up of the Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel factions. Degel HaTorahs ministers submitted their resignations on July 14, which are due to take effect within days. Agudat Israel has also decided to exit the coalition, though its ministers have not yet formally resigned. These departures come as debates over Israels military conscription law reach a boiling point. The issue has become increasingly contentious during the countrys prolonged war against Hamas in Gaza, now in its 22nd month. Public resentment over the exemption of ultra-Orthodox men from mandatory military service has grown, especially as the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) face serious manpower shortages. Since Israels founding in 1948, ultra-Orthodox men have been largely exempt from military service if engaged in full-time religious study. The ultra-Orthodox parties have long supported the exemption, arguing that religious study is a vital service to Judaism and Israel. Many Haredi Jews see religious studies as a sacred commitment that has seen the Jews through several centuries of persecution. On the other side of the argument is the fact that the Israeli demographic landscape has changed completely. The Haredim now make up around 14 per cent of Israels population and are its fastest-growing community. As more secular and national-religious Israelis are called up for extended military service, many see the blanket exemption as increasingly untenable. In June 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the government must begin drafting ultra-Orthodox students, arguing that there was no longer a legal basis for their exemption. The move came after years of temporary laws and political compromises that allowed the exemption to continue. The ruling forced the government to begin working on new legislation, which has yet to satisfy either the Haredi factions or the army. Yuli Edelstein, a senior Likud figure and chair of the Parliament Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, has blocked any proposed legislation that fails to meet the IDFs requirements. Edelsteins stance drew particular ire from Shas, whose Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli read a statement from the Council of Torah Sages accusing the military and the attorney general of cruel and criminal persecution against yeshiva students. Netanyahu has promised to pursue what he called a balanced, responsible and well-thought-out draft law. A bill under discussion in Parliament sets quotas for gradually integrating ultra-Orthodox men into the military and proposes cutting funding for those who fail to comply. However, the details remain unresolved, and negotiations between the Prime Ministers office and Haredi leaders are ongoing. The coalition now risks losing its majority in the 120-seat Knesset. Without Shas and UTJ, Netanyahu could be left with fewer than 50 seats, raising the prospect of a minority government. While ultra-Orthodox leaders say they have no desire to trigger new elections, their resignations increase pressure on Netanyahu to secure a permanent exemption through legislation. Opposition leader Yair Lapid seized on the crisis, demanding immediate elections. A minority government cannot send soldiers to the battlefield. It is not a legitimate government, he said. The time has come for electionsnow. President Donald Trump on Tuesday downplayed the possibility of sending Ukraine long-range weapons as Kyiv awaits an injection of U.S. weaponry that it hopes will help it beat back an intensifying Russian air offensive. Trump offered a more cautious tone on what to expect after he threatened Russia a day earlier with steep tariffs if President Vladimir Putin doesnt act within 50 days to end the three-year conflict. He also on Monday announced plans to bolster Kyivs stockpile by selling American weapons to NATO allies who would in turn send arms to Ukraine. Providing Ukraine with more long-range weaponry would give Kyiv the chance to strike further into Russian territory, a move that some in Ukraine and the U.S. have said could help push Putin toward negotiations to end the fighting. Asked if he intended to supply Ukraine with weapons that could reach deeper into Russian territory, Trump replied, Were not looking to do that. He made the remarks to reporters before departing the White House for an energy investment event in Pittsburgh. While Trumps threats of weapons, sanctions and tariffs mark the most substantive pressure hes placed on Putin since returning to office nearly six months ago, some lawmakers said they remain concerned that the administration, with the 50-day deadline, is giving Putin time to grab even more Ukrainian territory. Sens. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, and Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat from New Hampshire, said waiting 50 days before imposing sanctions on Russia would give Putin more time to gain an advantage in the war. The 50-day delay worries me that Putin would try to use the 50 days to win the war, or to be better positioned to negotiate a peace agreement after having murdered and potentially collected more ground, said Tillis, who recently announced he wont run for reelection. Tillis and Shaheen lead the Senate NATO Observer Group, which facilitates work between Congress and NATO, and met Tuesday with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on Capitol Hill. Trump himself scoffed at the idea that 50 days is giving Putin too much time. The president suggested he may act more quickly if he does not see signs that Putin is taking steps toward ending the conflict. I dont think 50 days is very long and it could be shorter than that, he said. Ahead of Trumps announcement that he would impose a 100% tariff on Russias trading partners if Putin doesnt negotiate an end to the war, bipartisan legislation proscribing even tougher sanctions on Moscow was gaining steam in the Senate. The legislation, in part, calls for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. It would have an enormous impact on the economies of Brazil, China and India, which account for the vast majority of Russias energy trade. But Trump on Monday said at a certain point it doesnt matter how high the tariff is set and that 100% is going to serve the same function. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was putting the legislation on hold following Trumps announcement. Trump during his campaign described the conflict as a waste of U.S. taxpayer money and vowed to quickly end it on his first day back in office. He deflected when asked by a reporter on Tuesday if his tougher tone on Putin suggests hes now on Ukraines side in the bloody conflict. Im on nobodys side, Trump said, adding this concern was for humanity. U.S. officials say they are still sorting through Ukraines wish list of weaponry to determine what can be most quickly replaced after Trump announced an agreement for Europe to supply Ukraine with defensive munitions from existing stocks. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss arms transfers that have not yet been approved or completed, said Ukraines requests for military equipment are roughly the same as they have been since the start of Russias invasion. Those include air defenses like Patriot missiles and Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems, long-range missiles known as ATACMS and short- to medium-range ground-to-air missiles known as NASAMs, and assorted artillery, according to the officials. Under the terms of the very rough agreement sketched out by Trump and Rutte on Monday, NATO members would ship billions of dollars of these weapons to Ukraine and then purchase replacements for them from the United States. One official said some of the larger items such as Patriots could take up to five years to produce to deliver to the European donors, while smaller munitions like 155mm artillery shells can be produced on a much shorter timeline. Trump has lately changed his once friendly tune toward Putin, whom he has long admired and whom he sided with publicly over his national security team during his first term when asked whether Russia had interfered in the 2016 election. In recent weeks, Trump has chastised Putin for continuing his brutal assault on Ukrainian cities, even noting that the Russian leader talks nice and then he bombs everybody. Trump has continued to blame his White House predecessors for Putins 2022 invasion on neighboring Ukraine a conflict he says would have never happened if he were reelected in 2020. Hes fooled a lot of people, Trump said Monday at the White House. He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden. He didnt fool me. In February, Trump expressed confidence that Putin will keep his word on any deal to end the war in Ukraine. But in an interview with the BBC published Tuesday, when asked whether he trusted Putin, Trump paused before answering. I trust almost nobody, to be honest with you, Trump said. Im disappointed in him, but Im not done with him. But Im disappointed in him. (AP) Elon Musks newly minted America Party is already sending tremors through Republican circles and it hasnt even fielded a single candidate. According to a new Echelon Insights poll released Monday, the billionaires third-party venture could play spoiler for the GOP, potentially swinging key races to Democrats in what was expected to be a competitive election year. The America Party was officially launched on July 6, just two days after Musk posted a Twitter poll asking his 200 million followers if they wanted him to start a new political party. Over 65% responded yes a result many say was unsurprising given Musk owns the platform. By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it! Musk declared. When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom. The move marks the peak of Musks escalating feud with President Donald Trump, whose support for the controversial One Big, Beautiful Bill pushed the two apart. What began as a high-profile alliance over cryptocurrency and deregulation has devolved into a bitter clash of egos and platforms with each using their respective media empires to trade barbs and threats. While many observers initially dismissed Musks declaration as political theater, the Echelon poll suggests the impact may be very real. The survey showed Republicans and Democrats virtually tied on the generic congressional ballot, with 48% leaning Republican and 47% Democrat. But when the America Party was added as a third option, the landscape shifted: 45% said they would support a Democratic candidate, 41% favored the Republican, and 5% said theyd vote for the America Party. Ten percent remained undecided. That 5% is enough to cost Republicans the majority, especially in battleground districts where even a one- or two-point swing can be decisive. Even more striking: more than half of voters polled said theyd heard little or nothing about the America Party, suggesting its current support is only a fraction of what it could become if Musk unleashes the full power of his media and financial empire. The numbers underscore what GOP operatives have been privately fearing that Musks personal grudge against Trump may translate into a national headache for Republicans. What started as a threat to fund primary challengers has now ballooned into a full-fledged movement with national ambitions and a charismatic billionaire at its helm. The White House has remained quiet, but Trump allies have lashed out publicly. This is nothing more than a vanity project, one Trump campaign advisor said. Elon thinks hes Ross Perot with a rocket ship. Yet Democrats arent celebrating just yet. Some worry that if Musks party gains steam, it could siphon disaffected independents and moderates from both parties. Still, for now, its the GOP that appears to have more to lose. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Police in Indias southern Karnataka state said Wednesday they found a Russian woman and her two young daughters living in isolation in a remote forest cave. The woman, identified as Nina Kutina, 40, and her daughters, aged six and four, were found by police during a routine patrol to Ramatirtha Hill, a popular tourist site on the coast of Karnataka, on July 9. Police officer Sridhar S.R. said the family had been living in the cave for more than a week. Police said they were taking steps to repatriate Kutina to Russia for overstaying her visa. She and her children have been moved to a nearby detention facility for foreigners living illegally in India. Police said in a statement that Kutina spent her time in the cave meditating by candlelight, and that she told investigating officers she was interested in staying in the forest and worshiping God. Sridhar said Kutina told police that she had worked as a tutor of Russian language in Goa, a coastal tourist state in southern India. It is nothing but her love for adventure that brought her here, said Sridhar. He said police found pictures of Hindu deities on the inside walls of the cave where Kutina had been living. In a photograph provided by the police, she is seen in front of makeshift curtains made of red saris that covered the entrance to the cave. The Russian Embassy in New Delhi didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. The police statement said Kutina sent a message to her friends after she was found. Our peaceful life in the cave has ended our cave home destroyed, she wrote in the message, according to the statement. The Associated Press contacted Kutina over the phone but she declined to comment. On Tuesday, she told news agency Press Trust of India that she spent her days in the cave by painting, singing, reading books, and living peacefully with her children. (AP) A coordinated international operation has hit the infrastructure of a pro-Russian cybercrime network linked to a string of denial of service attacks targeting Ukraine and its allies, the European Unions police agency Europol announced Wednesday. Codenamed Eastwood, the operation targeted the so-called NoName057(16) group, which was identified last month by Dutch authorities as being behind a series of denial-of-service attacks on several municipalities and organizations linked to a NATO summit in the Netherlands. Europol said that the cybercrime network also was involved in attacks in Sweden, Germany and Switzerland. The police agency said the international operation led to the disruption of an attack-infrastructure consisting of over one hundred computer systems worldwide, while a major part of the groups central server infrastructure was taken offline. Law enforcement and judicial authorities from France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands and the United States took simultaneous actions against offenders and infrastructure belonging to the pro-Russian cybercrime network, it said. Judicial authorities in Germany issued six arrest warrants for suspects in Russia, two of them accused of being the main leaders of the group, Europol said. Five of them were identified on Europols Europes Most Wanted website. One suspect was placed under preliminary arrest in France and another detained in Spain, Europol said. In the United States, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was involved in the operation. The Paris prosecutors office said one person is in custody in France and communications equipment has been seized. No charges have yet been filed. The attorney generals office in Switzerland, which is not an EU member country, said in a statement Wednesday that joint investigations between Europol and Swiss federal police helped identify three leading members of the group, which is alleged to have targeted more than 200 Swiss websites. Swiss prosecutors opened a criminal case over the incidents in June 2023, and since then identified several other denial-of-service attacks attributed to the activist group. The attacks included a video address by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to the Swiss parliament and the popular Eurovision Song Contest, held in in Basel earlier this year. Europol said members of the cybercrime group initially targeted Ukrainian institution, but have shifted their focus to attacking countries that support Ukraine in the ongoing defence against the Russian war of aggression, many of which are members of NATO. Law enforcement authorities in countries involved in the operation contacted hundreds of people believed to support the group to inform them of the crackdown and their alleged liability for its actions. Individuals acting for NoName057(16) are mainly Russian-speaking sympathisers who use automated tools to carry out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. Operating without formal leadership or sophisticated technical skills, they are motivated by ideology and rewards, Europol said. It added that people recruited by the group were paid in cryptocurrency and motivated using online-gaming dynamics like leader boards and badges. This gamified manipulation, often targeted at younger offenders, was emotionally reinforced by a narrative of defending Russia or avenging political events, Europol said. (AP) The Trump administration revoked federal funding for Californias high-speed rail project on Wednesday, intensifying uncertainty about how the state will make good on its long-delayed promise of building a bullet train to shuttle riders between San Francisco and Los Angeles. The U.S. Transportation Department announced it was pulling back $4 billion in funding for the project, weeks after signaling it would do so. Overall, a little less than a quarter of the projects funding has come from the federal government. The rest has come from the state, mainly through a voter-approved bond and money from its cap-and-trade program. President Donald Trump and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy both have slammed the project as a train to nowhere. The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will, Trump wrote on Truth Social. This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED. The loss marks the latest blow to California by the Trump administration, which has blocked a first-in-the-nation rule to phase out the sale of new gas-powered cars, launched investigations into university admission policies and threatened to pull funding over transgender girls being allowed to compete in girls sports. It also comes as rail project leaders are seeking private investment to help pay for its estimated price tag of more than $100 billion. Voters first approved the project in 2008 and it was supposed to be operating this decade. But cost estimates have consistently grown and its timeline pushed back. State officials are now focused on building a 119-mile (192-kilometer) stretch connecting the Central Valley cities of Bakersfield and Merced that is set to be operating by 2033. The California High Speed Rail Authority is slated to release a report this summer to state lawmakers with an updated funding plan and timeline for the project. Authority officials wrote in a letter earlier this month that the Trump administration made up its mind about revoking funding before thoroughly reviewing the project. They noted that more than 50 structures have already been built, including underpasses, viaducts and bridges to separate the rail line from roadways for safety. Canceling these grants without cause isnt just wrong its illegal, authority CEO Ian Choudri said in a statement Wednesday. These are legally binding agreements, and the Authority has met every obligation, as confirmed by repeated federal reviews, as recently as February 2025. The authority has asked potential private investors to express their interest by the end of the month. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will keep all options on the table to fight the revocation of federal funds. Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We wont let him, he said in a statement. The state has no viable plan to complete even the Central Valley segment, said Drew Feeley, acting administrator of the transportation departments Federal Railroad Administration, in a report released last month. He called the project a story of broken promises and a waste of taxpayer dollars. California Democrats also have criticized project spending. Democratic Assemblymember Rebecca Bauer-Kahan said at a budget hearing earlier this year that her constituents overwhelmingly believe high-speed rail spending has been irresponsible. Newsom plans to extend the states cap-and-trade program, a key funding source for the project which is set to expire at the end of 2030, through 2045. The program sets a declining limit on the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions large emitters can release. Those polluters can buy allowances from the state needed to pollute, and about 45% of that money goes into whats known as the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, according to the Independent Emissions Market Advisory Committee, a group of experts that reviews the program. The fund helps pay for climate and transportation projects, including high-speed rail. The bullet train project receives 25% of the money from the fund, which ends up being a little less or a little more than $1 billion annually, depending on the year. Newsom in May proposed guaranteeing $1 billion a year for the project from the fund, but lawmakers have not agreed to that. (AP) Before the mayor of San Jose, California, arrives at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new business, his aides ask ChatGPT to help draft some talking points. Elected officials do a tremendous amount of public speaking, said Mayor Matt Mahan, whose recent itinerary has taken him from new restaurant and semiconductor startup openings to a festival of lowriding car culture. Other politicians might be skittish admitting a chatbot co-wrote their speech or that it helped draft a $5.6 billion budget for the new fiscal year, but Mahan is trying to lead by example, pushing a growing number of the nearly 7,000 government workers running Silicon Valleys biggest city to embrace artificial intelligence technology. Mahan said adopting AI tools will eliminate drudge work and help the city better serve its roughly 1 million residents. Hes hardly the only public or private sector executive directing an AI-or-bust strategy, though in some cases, workers have found that the costly technology can add hassles or mistakes. The idea is to try things, be really transparent, look for problems, flag them, share them across different government agencies, and then work with vendors and internal teams to problem solve, Mahan said in an interview. Its always bumpy with new technologies. By next year, the city intends to have 1,000, or about 15%, of its workers trained to use AI tools for a variety of tasks, including pothole complaint response, bus routing and using vehicle-tracking surveillance cameras to solve crimes. One of San Joses early adopters was Andrea Arjona Amador, who leads electric mobility programs at the citys transportation department. She has already used ChatGPT to secure a $12 million grant for electric vehicle chargers. Arjona Amador set up a customized AI agent to review the correspondence she was receiving about various grant proposals and asked it to help organize the incoming information, including due dates. Then, she had it help draft the 20-page document. So far, San Jose has spent more than $35,000 to purchase 89 ChatGPT licenses at $400 per account for city workers to use. The way it used to work, before I started using this, we spent a lot of evenings and weekends trying to get grants to the finish line, she said. The Trump administration later rescinded the funding, so she pitched a similar proposal to a regional funder not tied to the federal government. Arjona Amador, who learned Spanish and French before she learned English, also created another customized chatbot to edit the tone and language of her professional writings. With close relationships to some of the tech industrys biggest players, including San Francisco-based OpenAI and Mountain View-based Google, the mayors of the Bay Areas biggest cities are helping to promote the type of AI adoption that the tech industry is striving for, while also promising guidelines and standards to avoid the technologys harms. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a plan Monday to give nearly 30,000 city workers, including nurses and social workers, access to Microsofts Copilot chatbot, which is based on the same technology that powers ChatGPT. San Franciscos plan says it comes with robust privacy and bias safeguards, and clear guidelines to ensure technology enhances not replaces human judgment. San Jose has similar guidelines and hasnt yet reported any major mishaps with its pilot projects. Such problems have attracted attention elsewhere because of the technologys propensity to spew false information, known as hallucinations. ChatGPTs digital fingerprints were found on an error-filled document published in May by U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.s Make America Healthy Again commission. In Fresno, California, a school official was forced to resign after saying she was too trusting of an AI chatbot that fabricated information in a document. While some government agencies have been secretive about when they turn to chatbots for help, Mahan is open about his ChatGPT-written background memos that he turns to when making speeches. Historically, that would have taken hours of phone calls and reading, and you just never would have been able to get those insights, he said. You can knock out these tasks at a similar or better level of quality in a lot less time. He added, however, that you still need a human being in the loop. You cant just kind of press a couple of buttons and trust the output. You still have to do some independent verification. You have to have logic and common sense and ask questions. Earlier this year, when OpenAI introduced a new pilot product called Operator, it promised a new kind of tool that went beyond a chatbots capabilities. Instead of just analyzing documents and producing passages of text, it could also access a computer system and schedule calendars or perform tasks on a persons behalf. Developing and selling such AI agents is now a key focus for the tech industry. More than an hours drive east of Silicon Valley, where the Bay Area merges into Central Valley farm country, Jamil Niazi, director of information technology at the city of Stockton, had big visions for what he could do with such an agent. Perhaps the parks and recreation department could let an AI agent help residents book a public park or swimming pool for a birthday party. Or residents could find out how crowded the pool was before packing their swim clothes. Six months later, however, after completing a proof-of-concept phase, the city didnt buy a full license for the technology due to the cost. The market research group Gartner recently predicted that over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled before the end of 2027, due to escalating costs, unclear business value or inadequate risk controls. San Joses mayor remains bullish about the potential for these AI tools to help workers in the bowels of bureaucracy to rapidly speed up their digital paperwork. Theres just an amazing amount of bureaucracy that large organizations have to have, Mahan said. Whether its finance, accounting, HR or grant writing, those are the kinds of roles where we think our employees can be 20 (to) 50% more productive quickly. (AP) The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China has effectively promoted the transformation and industrialization of a large number of patents, with the industrialization rate of enterprise invention patents up from 44.9 percent in 2020 to 53.3 percent in 2024, the country's top IP official said on Thursday. Shen Changyu, head of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, unveiled the data at a press conference, where he presented achievements in intellectual property (IP) during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) and responded to questions from the media. As of June this year, the number of valid domestic invention patents had reached 5.01 million, an increase of 13.2 percent year on year, according to Shen, while ownership of high-value invention patents per 10,000 people had reached 15.3. The country had collected about 48.96 million valid registered trademarks by June 2025, a year-on-year increase of 6.6 percent. In addition, the dominant position of enterprises in technological innovation continues to be enhanced in China, said Shen. There were 524,000 domestic enterprises that held valid invention patents in June 2025. The total number of valid invention patents held by these enterprises had reached 3.7 million -- accounting for 74.4 percent of the total number in China, an increase of 6.1 percentage points compared to the end of the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020). Such progress was highly consistent with the fact that research and development (R&D) investment by enterprises accounts for three-quarters of total social R&D investment in China, said Shen. This indicates that the innovation capability of enterprises is continuously improving, and that they have become the main source of new technology generation, Shen added. The three fields with the highest growth rates of valid domestic invention patents in China by June 2025 were information technology management methods, computer technology and medical technology, featuring year-on-year rises of 34.1 percent, 22.7 percent and 19.8 percent, respectively. These figures were significantly higher than the average growth rate of valid domestic invention patents, Shen revealed. The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Shen Changyu, head of the China National Intellectual Property Administration, answers questions during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. The SCIO held a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) A journalist asks questions during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. The SCIO held a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Journalists are pictured during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. The SCIO held a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) The State Council Information Office (SCIO) holds a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) Journalists are pictured during a press conference held by the State Council Information Office (SCIO) in Beijing, capital of China, July 17, 2025. The SCIO held a press conference on China's intellectual property rights achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025) here on Thursday. (Xinhua/Jin Liwang) U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a landmark treaty on Thursday that pledges to tighten defense ties and boost law-enforcement cooperation against criminal people-smuggling gangs using the English Channel. This is a historic day for German-British relations, said Merz, making his first official visit to Britain since taking office in May. We want to work together more closely, particularly after the United Kingdoms withdrawal from the European Union. It is overdue for us to conclude such a treaty with each other. Starmer said the agreement signed at Londons V&A Museum, which is named after Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert was a statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together. Starmer has made it a priority of his center-left Labour Party to curb the gangs behind cross-Channel people smuggling. About 37,000 people were detected crossing the English Channel from France in small boats in 2024, and more than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of 2025. Dozens have died trying to make the crossing. Berlin agreed last year to make facilitating the smuggling of migrants to the U.K. a criminal offence, a move that will give law enforcement more powers to investigate the supply and storage of small boats to be used for the crossings. Merz is expected to commit to adopting the law change by the end of the year. Chancellor Merzs commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome, Starmer said. The treaty builds on a defense pact the U.K. and Germany, two of the biggest European supporters of Ukraine, signed last year pledging closer co-operation against a growing threat from Russia. It includes a promise to come to one anothers aid in the event of an attack though as NATO members, they are already committed to that. The leaders talks over lunch at 10 Downing St. included ways to boost European support for Ukraine, following U.S. President Donald Trumps announcement of a plan to bolster Kyivs stockpile by selling American weapons to NATO allies who would in turn send arms to Kyiv. They announced that German defense startup Stark, which makes drones for Ukraine, will open a factory in England. They are also expected to agree to jointly produce defense exports such as Boxer armored vehicles and Typhoon jets, and to develop a deep precision strike missile in the next decade. Starmer has worked to improve relations with Britains neighbors, strained by the U.K.s acrimonious departure from the European Union in 2020. He has sought to rebuild ties strained by years of ill-tempered wrangling over Brexit terms, an worked to reduce trade barriers and to strengthen defense cooperation. But Starmer has ruled out rejoining the 27-nation blocs single market or customs union, and has been cool to the idea of a youth mobility agreement with the EU. The two countries agreed on a more limited arrangement that will make it easier for schoolchildren to go on exchange trips. I am glad we were able to reach an agreement so that schoolchildren and students can come to Britain more easily in the future, and the other way round can come to Germany more easily, so that the young generation in particular has an opportunity to get to know both countries better, Merz said. (AP) The Boro Park community celebrates as the Boro Park Jewish Community Council (BPJCC) proudly opens its new Community Center at 5102 13th Avenue marking a monumental occasion for Boro Parks growing and vibrant neighborhood. The center is already bustling with activity, having hosted nearly 100 participants Tuesday, July 15, at the second workforce class on premises as the BPJCC prepares to roll out an expanded array of programs that promise to further benefit, uplift and unite the community. This extraordinary new facility, made possible by the generous donation of a spacious, ground-level walk-in site from Metropolitan Commercial Bank (MCB), stands as a testament to the Banks deep-rooted commitment to Boro Park. This generous donation, one of the most significant in recent Boro Park memory and has already sparked immense appreciation among residents. The BPJCC, a cornerstone of the Boro Park community for decades, has long provided critical services including career assistance, SNAP, Medicaid, Medicare, SSI, senior, parenting courses and Holocaust survivor programs from its present location at 1310 46th Street. Now, thanks to MCBs remarkable generosity, the organization has a second, spacious headquarters in the heart of Boro Park, made available under a generous 10-year, rent-free lease for a considerable portion of MCBs property. This act of giving, announced on July 14, 2025, HERE: is part of MCBs Committed to Boro Park campaign, launched in November 2023 when the Bank opened its stunning new Boro Park Banking Center. When we purchased 5102 13th Avenue to create a new and improved banking center for our Boro Park clients, we knew we wouldnt need the entire building, Mark R. DeFazio, Founder, President & CEO of Metropolitan Commercial Bank tells YWN. Donating this space to BPJCCan organization that does so much goodwas a natural next step. MCBs donation is nothing short of historic. The adjacent bank, widely admired for its artistic design, has become a standout landmark in Boro Park. The Bank has not only invested in its own creatively designed banking center which boasts incredible artistic decor including a full-color, wall mural of the Western Wall and a monochrome mural of Chassidim dancing but, by providing the BPJCC with rent-free space, MCB has also invested in the future of Boro Park itself. Led by Market Sales Manager Rus Levi, along with a dedicated and outstanding team, the banking center reflects MCBs strong commitment to both its clients and the broader community. We are deeply grateful to Metropolitan Commercial Bank for this extraordinary act of generosity, Avi Greenstein, CEO of the Boro Park Jewish Community Council tells YWN. A new home in the heart of Boro Park allows us to serve more families, more effectively. MCBs commitment to our community goes far beyond banking; they are true partners in strengthening Boro Park. The new BPJCC Community Center is a masterpiece for the community. It is easily accessible and features high ceilings, a beautiful front-and-center space, and full ADA compliance to ensure all residents, seniors, families, and individuals with disabilities, can access its resources with ease. The center is already alive with activity, and the BPJCC looks forward to hosting workforce development classes, parenting workshops, mentoring sessions, and programs tailored for seniors in the spacious space. The center will also serve as a venue for large neighborhood meetings and events, further fostering community connection. As Greenstein noted, Our goal in this space is to expand all our services, create new initiatives, and well beyond that, to include much-needed areas for community gatherings and support. When people come to us for help, it is always offered with the utmost dignity, and that is exactly what this new space provides. Boro Parks gratitude toward Metropolitan Commercial Bank will resonate for decades, marking a new era of historic proportions for this extraordinary neighborhood. A grand opening is planned for early fall. In the meantime, the center is already proving its value as the community embraces this positive new reality. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Maj. Gen. (Res.) Yisrael Ziv, the former head of the Operations Directorate of the IDF, warned against the internal disintegration of Syria and accused Israel of a serious lack of political strategy. Speaking in an interview with Radio 103FM, Ziv spoke about the difficult situation in southern Syria, where a bloody conflict is taking place between Druze and Bedouins, and expressed deep shock at the severe harm to the Druze population. Except for the pretty face that Assad shows to the outside world, inside its Somalia, he said. It is a country in chaos, out of control. If no one helps to restore order from within, there is no chance for it to be rebuilt. He emphasized that the result is not only a collapse of local order but a much broader threat: It will cause regional instability. It could re-invite the Iranians and all sorts of other players that no one wants to see there. It doesnt just end with the Druze; it could spread further. Ziv emphasized that Israel has a clear moral responsibility. Israel has a moral obligation to the Druze, he declared. I think Israel is acting correctly; it needs to give a clear sense that the blood of the Druze is not cheap. On the other hand, it can and should exert much more pressure. It has ties with the United States and with Saudi Arabiait should not settle for sanctions or symbolic gestures. Ziv compared the situation in Syria to past periods in Lebanon. Without a reorganization of the army there and without re-indoctrination, it will not work. The same thing is required in Syria as well, he stated. He also strongly criticized the lack of political initiative on the part of the Israeli government. Israel has had opportunities to lead regional processes that could have influenced both Syria and other countries. A regional coalition regulating who is on the good side and who is on the bad side, how to deal with all of these. Instead, Israel operates only according to its narrowest interests. According to him, even if a political effort does not guarantee success, it is a basic duty of a responsible country. Israel has no political effort. There is no strategy, no policy. Even if we tried, there is no guarantee that it would succeed. But right now, even that is not happening. (YWN Israel DeskJerusalem) The three embattled members of the United Nations commission tasked with investigating Israel have quietly resigned, ending their tenure on what critics have long described as one of the most blatantly biased arms of the UNs human rights apparatus. Navi Pillay, Chris Sidoti, and Miloon Kothari the trio behind the UN Human Rights Councils so-called Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory submitted resignation letters earlier this month, and few in the pro-Israel world are shedding tears. Pillay, 83, who chaired the commission and is no stranger to controversy over her hostility toward Israel, cited age and other commitments in her resignation letter dated July 8. Sidoti resigned the next day, suggesting Pillays exit was a natural time to reconstitute the panel. Kothari followed suit, referencing an understanding the group had reached in advance. The resignations were posted without fanfare on a UN back-end website and surfaced only after UN Watch, a Geneva-based watchdog, flagged them on Monday. The commission the UNs only open-ended inquiry with a mandate to relentlessly probe Israeli actions has long been denounced as a political tool disguised as a human rights mechanism. Its reports, predictably one-sided, have repeatedly accused Israel of everything from stealing natural resources to fictional security concerns. Notably absent: any meaningful scrutiny of Hamas terrorism or Palestinian incitement. The departures come as the Trump administration doubles down on its effort to hold international institutions accountable for anti-Israel bias. In recent months, the U.S. sanctioned International Criminal Court prosecutor Karim Khan and UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese both of whom have advanced rhetoric and legal theories aimed almost exclusively at delegitimizing Israel. Kothari, in particular, drew widespread condemnation in 2022 when he declared that social media was controlled largely by the Jewish lobby and questioned Israels very membership in the UN statements that echo some of the most dangerous antisemitic tropes. Rather than rebuke him, Pillay defended his comments and dismissed global antisemitism concerns as lies and a diversion. Pillays record is no less damning. During her term as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from 2008 to 2014, she oversaw a period of intense UN obsession with Israel, earning bipartisan rebuke in the U.S. Congress. In one letter, signed by over 100 lawmakers, Pillay was accused of enabling the UNHRCs incurable bias, making it impossible to take seriously as a human rights organization. Now, as the commissions architects walk away from their roles, critics of the UNs Israel obsession see a turning point. First, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the historic decision to sanction Francesca Albanese, said Hillel Neuer, executive director of UN Watch. Now the architects of the UNs anti-Israel inquisition are fleeing the ship. The tide is turning. Anne Bayefsky, director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust, called Pillays departure long overdue. Shes spent nearly two decades championing antisemitic causes from some of the highest UN platforms. This is not retirement its an escape. Though the commission still formally exists and will likely be restaffed, its credibility already battered may never recover. The Human Rights Council, notorious for singling out Israel more than any other country in the world, now faces renewed scrutiny over its mandate, its membership, and its future. For many, the resignation of Pillay, Sidoti, and Kothari isnt just welcome news its a small but significant victory in the battle to restore integrity to international human rights discourse. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Israels Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel says that normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia could happen without Israeli concessions toward a Palestinian state an assertion that, if realized, would mark a seismic shift in the Middle Easts strategic landscape. Speaking in an interview at The Jerusalem Post Studio, Haskel argued that Riyadh must now choose between supporting Palestinian statehood and joining the growing circle of Arab states forging direct ties with Israel. The offer for a Palestinian state was there on the table for years, multiple times, Haskel said. They refused. They didnt want it. Why? Because a bigger goal was not a Palestinian state. It was to obliterate the state of Israel, killing all the Jews in Israel and out of it. Its a religious cause. Its not a territorial aspiration, she said. And I think that the Saudis need to make that choice as well like Egypt did, like Jordan did, like the Emiratis and Bahrainis did. Asked point-blank whether normalization could move forward without Israel committing to a pathway toward Palestinian statehood, Haskel replied simply: I believe so. Her comments came just days ahead of a French-Saudi summit expected to focus heavily on reviving momentum for Palestinian statehood. But Haskel dismissed the upcoming talks as a hollow PR stunt, saying they offer nothing new and potentially embolden Hamas. This summit is just another attempt to gain public international attention, she said. It does not change reality. According to Haskel, symbolic gestures like the French-Saudi summit send the wrong message to Hamas and could prolong the war. By holding this summit, Macron is rewarding the October 7 massacre, she said. These declarations give Hamas more oxygen and take us further from a ceasefire. Haskel claimed that if such diplomatic initiatives had been discouraged earlier, Hamas may have already agreed to terms. If the initiative would have been taken down a long time ago I think a month and a half ago Hamas would have agreed to a ceasefire, she said. A Longstanding Strategy, Intensified The deputy foreign minister accused Israels enemies of weaponizing international institutions a strategy she said dates back to Israels founding but has intensified. Since the foundation of Israel, theyve been trying to use global forums and organizations against us, she said. But during this war, its escalated to the point of endangering Israels ability to defend itself. She singled out the media in many Western countries, claiming that biased coverage has fueled public and diplomatic pressure on Israel. Despite mounting diplomatic setbacks including resolutions critical of Israel passed or supported by countries like Spain, Ireland, and Norway Haskel said Israel continues to cultivate strong international alliances. As one example, she cited German Chancellor Friedrich Merzs recent public praise of Israels military operations, in which he said Israel was doing the dirty work of confronting Iran. Haskel emphasized that she and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar have been working nonstop to solidify ties with key allies particularly in Europe amid a volatile and shifting global environment. Weve taken multiple trips to critical capitals, she said. We are constantly maintaining and strengthening our relationships. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Israeli police disclosed Tuesday that a 10-year-old boy and a 15-year-old teen were among those who sold firearms to an undercover agent during a yearlong operation targeting illegal arms trafficking in East Jerusalem, southern Israel, and the West Bank. The operation, which culminated in a sweeping series of arrests, involved a covert agent code-named Matrix who infiltrated criminal arms networks to expose dealers supplying pistols, rifles, explosives, and ammunition to various parties some of them potentially tied to terrorist activity. Police said 32 suspects were arrested in joint overnight raids by Jerusalem District detectives, Border Police, and IDF troops. The suspects had collectively sold the agent 28 firearms, dozens of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and large quantities of ammunition all fully functional in deals totaling approximately 1.3 million shekels. What disturbed investigators most was the involvement of minors in the criminal underworld. According to police, the 10-year-old was encouraged by relatives to enter the weapons trade and, during one meeting, told the agent that he wanted to grow up to be an arms dealer. Another minor boasted that he had his own pistol. The fact that a 10-year-old is selling weapons is a red line, said a police official involved in the case. Its not just a law enforcement issue its a warning sign for society. Authorities say the agent purchased firearms from suspects across East Jerusalem, the South, and the West Bank. Some of the weapons were smuggled into Israel from abroad, while others were stolen from the IDF. All were operational and intended for use. The agent also acquired high-powered IEDs manufactured in an illegal bomb-making lab, with dozens more seized in follow-up raids. Investigators are now examining whether any of the arms were destined for use in terror attacks. The arrests follow a lengthy covert phase of the investigation led by the Jerusalem Districts central investigative unit. Following Tuesday mornings raids, all suspects were brought in for questioning and scheduled to appear in court for remand hearings. During searches at suspects homes, police uncovered additional firearms, drugs, and vehicles. Police described the effort as part of a wider crackdown on illegal weapons in Arab communities, which have seen a sharp rise in gun violence and organized crime. This long-term undercover mission exposed dozens of suspects and dismantled a dangerous network, said Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai. Its part of our broader campaign to combat entrenched criminal phenomena that threaten public safety across the country. Shabtai praised the professionalism of the central unit and highlighting the risks taken by undercover operatives. These missions are among the most difficult in policing, he said. They demand exceptional skill, courage, and patience. The people behind this work are the reason were able to protect Israeli society from within. The investigation is ongoing, with more arrests expected in the coming days. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Iran has vowed to supercharge its military buildup and is declaring it is ready for a war that could last a decade. Top commanders are pledging sweeping expansion, while parliament races to approve legislation that would dramatically increase defense spending, even as Tehran looks abroad for advanced firepower. Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, Irans Deputy Chief of Staff, made headlines this week by announcing that the Islamic Republic has enough supplies to wage war for 10 years if necessary. The remarks are part of a larger campaign to signal that Irans militaryand its nuclear ambitionsare far from crippled. We are prepared for confrontation, Ashtiani warned, echoing growing consensus within the Iranian regime that conflict with Israel and the United States is not a matter of if, but when. On Sunday, Irans National Security and Foreign Policy Committee approved a sweeping new military bill backed by 120 lawmakers. The legislation, spearheaded by Tehran MP Ali Khezrian, is expected to pass, and would inject massive new funding into the armed forces, including the IRGC, Army, and Defense Ministry. Press TV, a state-run outlet, confirmed the bills endorsement during a meeting attended by top defense and intelligence officialsindicating full regime backing for the effort. But throwing rials at the military is only one part of Tehrans strategy. To truly rebuild its capabilities, Iran needs planes, missiles, and partslots of them. A senior IRGC commander confirmed that Iran has officially purchased Russian-made Sukhoi-35 fighter jetsa significant upgrade that would greatly boost Irans air power. While the exact number of jets and delivery timeline remain unclear, the announcement marks the first public acknowledgment that Tehran is leveraging its deepening ties with Moscow to rearm. But Russia isnt the only source. A recent report from Germanys domestic intelligence service, the BfV, warned that Iranian efforts to procure missile components and advanced military tech from Europe remain highand on the rise. Iran continues to pursue one of the most extensive missile programs in the Middle East, the report said, noting that covert procurement networks operating through third-party countries have successfully funneled Western components into Irans arsenal. Those same components have already appeared on the battlefieldin kamikaze drones Iran supplied to Russia for use in Ukraine. A September 2023 analysis of those drones revealed over 50 electronic parts of Western origin, raising concerns about ongoing technology leakage. At the heart of this buildup lies Irans nuclear program. Despite crippling strikes on its facilities, Tehran has made clear that it does not intend to back down. Instead, it is signaling a readiness to absorb further blowsand strike back. The question now is whether the regime can act fast enough. Advanced fighter jets take time to deliver and train on. Air defense systems require integration, testing, and redundancy. Yet with the Iranian parliament on board and Russia offering an open door, Tehrans military resurgence may already be underway. (YWN World Headquarters NYC) Iran is working behind the scenes, using diplomatic and military means, to undermine American efforts for a new order in the Middle East, focusing on preventing a ceasefire and ending the war in the Gaza Strip, as this is the key to regional change, Yisrael Hayom reported, citing US and Arab sources. The report added that Iran is working to sabotage contacts between Israel and Syria [which is currently irrelevant in any event due to the clashes in recent days], and efforts to persuade Saudi Arabia to join the Abraham Accords. According to the sources, Iran is pressuring Hamas to harden its positions in the negotiations in Doha on a ceasefire. Last Wednesday, there appeared to be significant progress, with Hamas expressing willingness to accept the withdrawal maps that Israel presented, but at the last moment everything changed, with Hamas hardening its position on the withdrawal maps and other issues that had already been agreed upon. An Israeli source familiar with the negotiations told Yisrael Hayom that the Qatari mediators, who had been smiling a few hours earlier, announced Hamass new position with grim faces and without providing an explanation. They clarified that Hamas demanded an immediate Israeli withdrawal to the lines before the resumption of fighting in early March and to the international border by the end of the 60-day ceasefire. This change was received with shock on all sides, and it is what apparently prevented the announcement of a ceasefire by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in Washingtonexactly what Iran was trying to prevent. Alongside its interference in the negotiations in Doha, Iran is also threatening Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara that it will bring about the resumption of the civil war, and it is encouraging various terrorist organizations and ethnic groups to renew clashes. According to the report, Iranian actions have contributed to hostile militias nearing the Israeli buffer zone and the clashes with the Druze in Sweida and other areas. (YWN Israel DeskJerusalem) Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa condemned Israel in a televised speech early Thursday morning, claiming that Israel has sought to wreak chaos in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime. Ignoring the fact that over the past week, his forces carried out Oct. 7-style atrocities on the Druze residents of Sweida, including torture, abductions, rape, and murder, Al-Sharaa claimed that the Israeli entity seeks to turn our land into an arena of chaos. His remarks were made hours after his forces withdrew from the Druze city of Sweida and after a ceasefire went into effect. Directly addressing the Druze community, he claimed, The Syrian people are always ready to fight for their honor. We are the sons of this land and are able to overcome Israels attempts. We are eager to bring to justice those who have harmed our Druze people. The Druze people are an integral part of the fabric of this nation. Syria will never be a place for division, fragmentation, or sowing discord among its people. We assure you that protecting your rights and freedoms is our top priority, and we reject any effort aimed at dragging you to an external party or creating division within our ranks. We are all partners in this land. A-Sharaa accused Israel of exacerbating the situation with its actions. Since the fall of the regime, Israel has been seeking to dismantle Syria. We have decided to entrust local factions and sheikhs with the responsibility of maintaining security in the province. Syria is not a testing ground for foreign conspiracies. We have chosen not to be drawn into conflicts in order to maintain the security of the country. We, the people of Syria, know very well who is trying to drag us into war and who seeks to divide us. We will not allow them to embroil our people in a war they seek to ignite on our land, a war whose sole purpose is to divide our homeland and bring chaos and destruction. The Syrian state intervened to stop the internal fighting that occurred in Sweida between armed groups, following long-standing conflicts. The states efforts to restore stability and expel outlaw factions have succeeded, despite Israeli interventions. Israel has resorted to widespread attacks on civilian and government facilities to undermine these efforts, complicate the situation, and promote widespread escalation. American, Arab, and Turkish mediation saved the region from an uncertain fate, he concluded. (YWN Israel DeskJerusalem) The Hamas terrorist organization has agreed to a new withdrawal map presented by Israeli representatives in Doha, the Cairo-based Arabic channel Al-Ghad reported early Thursday morning. According to the report, Israel changed the previous deployment map following pressure exerted by US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. Among other things, the map includes a withdrawal of the IDF from the Morag Corridor and stipulates that IDF forces will remain only up to 1.2 kilometers north of the Philadelphi Corridor [Gaza southern border] and within 1.1 kilometers of Gazas northern and eastern borders. Israels previous map demanded the deployment of IDF forces up to two kilometers along Gazas borders. It was also reported that the talks in Doha on Thursday are expected to focus on the issues surrounding the release of the hostages, and Witkoff is expected to arrive in the region next weekpossibly for the purpose of announcing an agreement. As of now, no official confirmation of the report has been received from Israeli or international sources. However, the report was published hours after US President Donald Trump hinted to positive developments regarding a hostage deal. At an event held on Wednesday evening at the White House, Trump thanked Witkoff and added, There is good news regarding Gaza and some other things we are working on. Encouraging voices were also heard in Jerusalem last night. A senior political source estimated that the chance of a deal remains: It is more likely that we will reach a deal than not, he said. A hostage deal is achievable. Its a complex and lengthy processespecially when it comes to negotiations with Hamasbut we are seeing progress. He added that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is personally committed to advancing the deal: The government has a clear interest in the release of the hostagesand this is the direction that the prime minister is leading. (YWN Israel DeskJerusalem) BAGHDAD, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Around 50 people were killed in a massive fire at a hypermarket in Iraq's Wasit province, the regional governor said Thursday. Israels Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon on Wednesday excoriated UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his statement earlier in the day condemning Israel for striking Syria while remaining silent about the Syrian regimes massacre and torture of the Druze sector. Guterres made a token reference to the massacre by stating he was alarmed by the escalation of violence in Syria, without naming the perpetrators. He then turned on Israel, saying, I condemn Israels escalatory airstrikes and reports of the IDFs redeployment of forces in the Golan. I call for an immediate cessation of all violations of Syrias sovereignty and territorial integrity. Danon stated in response, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres continues to expose his moral bankruptcy. While members of the Druze community are being brutally slaughtered in Syria, he once again chooses silence. Instead of calling for swift action in Syria, he chooses to vilify Israelthe only country actively fighting the forces of evil in the region. The UN failed to condemn Hamas following the horrors of October 7th. And now, after the massacre of the Druze in Syria, the shameful silence continues. Earlier on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Gideon Saar decried the hypocrisy of the international community on the atrocities perpetrated against the Druze in Syria. (YWN Israel DeskJerusalem) Only one of the three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran (Fordo) struck by the US last month sustained significant damage, five current and former U.S. officials familiar with a recent US assessment told NBC News. According to the assessment, the other two sites (Natanz and Isfahan) were not severely damaged, and it is believed that if Iran wishes to, it could resume nuclear enrichment at the sites in the next several months. The report added that the US Central Command had formulated a much more comprehensive plan to strike Iran involving the targeting of three additional sites in an operation that would last for weeks rather than a single night. President Donald Trump rejected the plan because it conflicted with his foreign policy to avoid US entanglement in conflicts abroad. He was also concerned about the possibility of a high number of casualties on both sides. We were willing to go all the way in our options, but the president did not want to, one of the sources with knowledge of the plan said. (YWN Israel DeskJerusalem) The Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Kalman Ber, published a special letter on Thursday regarding the horrific massacre of members of the Druze community in Syria. Horrifying sights that shock every soul have been seen these days on media screens, Rav Ber wrote. Our eyes witness a cruel campaign of murder against the Druze people and severe violations of human dignity. These are actions that we and all religious leaders in the world must not stand idly by and ignore. We saw how predatory animals furiously attacked innocent civilians, without distinguishing between men or women, old or young. We are reminded of the dark days of history when bloodthirsty nations carried out similar actions and the world was silent and remained silent! The Divine commandment of Do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor requires us to raise a cry and awaken the whole world against the severe harm and ethnic cleansing that is taking place at this moment against members of the Druze community in the Druze Mountain in Syria. We must also remember that some members of the community and their relatives live among us and are bound to us in a covenant of blood for the sake of the existence of the State of Israel. Indifference at this fateful hour is a disaster. I appeal with a grieving heart to all who have the power to prevent the continuation of killing and destruction, and also to the leaders of the free world to join this call and immediately put a halt to these heinous acts. (YWN Israel DeskJerusalem) The ministers of Shas began to submit their letters of resignation from the government to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on Thursday morning in accordance with the decision of the Moetzet Chachmei HaTorah of Shas on Wednesday. The first to resign were Religious Services Minister Michael Malkieli and Welfare Minister Yaakov Margi. Margi stated: with sacred trepidation, I have now submitted my resignation from my position as Minister of Welfare and Social Security, a position I have held for over two and a half years. I will continue to serve the public as a Knesset member and work for the benefit of all citizens of Israel. Shortly later, the other Shas ministers submitted their resignation letters, including Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, Health Minister Uriel Busso, Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur, Deputy Agricultural Minister Moshe Abutbul, and Minister in the Education Ministry Chaim Biton. For the time being, Shas MKs who hold positions on Knesset committees will continue in their positions. (YWN Israel DeskJerusalem) Druze MK Hamad Amar of Yisrael Beytenu crossed the border into Syria on Wednesday and spoke about what he saw in an interview with Kan Reshet Bet on Thursday. I returned tonight from Syria after we took young people out of there. I entered with the IDF at the request of IDF officers to prevent danger to the young Druze and to help bring them back. Am Yisrael needs to understand what is happening in Syria, Amar said. Monsters murdered and raped little girls. They are raging there under the auspices of Julani, who himself murdered people with his own hands. What is happening there is a religious war. Whoever is Druze is murdered. The world is raising a monster. Trump says: Julani is nice, handsome! This handsome man murdered and raped women. He is behind these events. These are his soldiers and this is his belief. We are all in danger if this monster continues to operate in Syria. When Amar was asked about the fact that Julani condemned the atrocities in Sweida, Amar replied that Julani also condemned the murder of the Alawites in Syria. He is behind these actions, Amar said. These are the actions of his people. These are his tanks, the soldiers are his soldiers, and the armed, extremist groupsits all his. This is his belief. He imbibed extremism from the age of zero. We are in danger within Israel if this monster continues to grow there in Syria. When Amar was asked if Israel needs to protect the Druze residents of Syria, he replied: My brothers brother is my brother, just as for me every Jew is a brother, and I am willing to fight for every Jew everywhere. We, as Druze and Jews have a covenant. Yes, you know, they often say a blood covenant. But its beyond that: as human beings, we need to intervene. (YWN Israel DeskJerusalem) 'In three years at secondary school, we've only had one day of financial education,' says 14yearold Eashan Brown. 'We had one day where we did a bit about budgeting, saving and spending. We were given like a set amount of money that we had to divide between rent and groceries and things like that. 'Apart from that one day, we haven't really had any other formal education about our personal finances.' Eashan is one of a number of children increasingly calling for more financial education in the curriculum. Some 84 per cent of school age children said they want to see financial education included on the Government's new national curriculum, according to research by GoHenry, shared exclusively with This is Money. Financial education became part of the curriculum in 2014, but only local governmentmaintained schools are legally required to follow this curriculum. Academies, free schools and private schools don't have to do so. 14yearold Eashan is one of a number of children increasingly calling for more financial education in the curriculum The Government is currently reviewing the existing curriculum, with recommendations set to be published later this year. According to Louise Hill, founder of GoHenry, four in five schools don't have to follow the national curriculum. She told This is Money: 'Financial education is not rated or score, and it isn't inspected by Ofsted. 'The result of all of that is that over 60 per cent of kids leave school saying that they don't remember being taught anything about money.' In May, This is Money reported that 74 per cent of young people don't realise that financial education is on the curriculum, based on data from Boon Brokers. 'It was fun,' Eashan said of his school budgeting workshop, ' but it wasn't enough to actually learn.' Eashan, understandably, wants financial education to go further at his school. He added: 'I think it should just cover saving and spending and learning how to budget. I just think of saving and spending is really important for people at our age. 'People get an allowance of like 5 per week from their parents, but then it is instantly spent on sweets or fast food on the high street. GoHenry founder Louise Hill is calling for the Government to make financial education compulsory from primary school 'They don't really understand the importance of saving for something bigger and something more enjoyable, and then they go begging to their parents.' Children at Eashan's school have even lost money trading cryptocurrency, he says. Financial education has its benefits for children in the short term, Eashan says, but also over the rest of their lives. He said: 'If you get to 22 and you're thinking of buying a one bedroom flat or you are going to start renting, that's great, but you're not equipped with the skills to be able to make and save that money, or to be able to budget properly for your essential needs and the things that you don't necessarily have to have.' These skills are essential to adult life, and children are aware of this. GoHenry's data reveals that 84 per cent said financial education is equally or more important than maths, English and science, with 90 per cent aware it will help in later life. Hill said: 'Our kid'seye view of the national curriculum makes clear that children want to learn more about money in school It certainly doesn't go into enough detail and, most importantly, it doesn't start early enough. 'Cambridge University did research several years ago that showed financial habits start to be formed from the age of seven. 'So if we're leaving it for secondary school, and some schools are delivering it and some schools aren't, and the provision is patchy, we're really leaving kids behind.' GoHenry is calling for the Government to make financial education compulsory from primary school. Almost a quarter, 22 per cent, of the 2,000 children surveyed said they think financial education should be a standalone subject. Currently, it is taught across subjects, often PSHE and Maths. Hill said: 'We recommend that financial education is inspected and scored by Ofsted and so that it is something that is monitored and the schools understand is important enough that it is being monitored. 'By separating it out from [subjects like] Maths and making it to standalone subject, you can certainly get a lot more hands on, give students a lot more real life examples and relate it directly to real life so that kids learn and engage with it.' In its current state, financial education in schools doesn't seem to be paying off. Some 72 per cent of children said they learned most of their money skills from their parents. Worryingly, 26 per cent said social media was their main source of financial knowledge. Parental support has been key for Eashan when learning about money. He said: 'Since I was really young, mum has involved in me in things like how we pay the mortgage, why we've got a mortgage, and having cars on finance versus buying them outright, or taxes and tax brackets.' Many children don't have this experience, and for many parents it can be difficult to pass this information on if they don't fully have a grasp of it themselves. Hill said: 'If parents can support their kids with learning about money, that's fantastic. When we talk to parents, and we do talk to an awful lot of parents, what comes back again and again is that they don't necessarily all feel confident enough to do that. 'If parents are not confident with money, it's asking a lot for them to be able to unlock that learning for their child. 'If we can get financial education made mandatory on the national curriculum, then we can be sure that an entire generation grows up with those money skills for life and that it can be delivered by people with the expertise to do that.' BAE Systems has insisted the prototype of Britains new fighter jet will take off on time amid fears over delays. The defence giant yesterday said the demonstrator plane for the planned new generation Tempest fighter jet is set to fly within three years. That sparked fears it may take to the skies later than the previous target of 2027. But last night BAE told the Mail it would be ready for first flight by December 2027, although the exact date was still to be finalised. BAE insists there is no delay and that the jet remains on track for completion within a five-year window announced in 2022. A spokesman said last night: The Flying Combat Air Demonstrator will be ready for first flight by the end of 2027. It is understood that the precise timing of the first flight will be dependent not just on when the aircraft is ready, but also the sign-off from the Military Aviation Authority regulator and the Ministry of Defence. Delayed: A computer-generated image of how the RAF's next fighter jet - the Tempest - might look The Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project to create Tempest was given a red rating in the Governments latest Infrastructure and Projects Authority Annual Report 2023-24, published in January. That means a high likelihood of the project failing to be achieved on time or on budget. An artists impression of the demonstrator aircraft was revealed for the first time yesterday. It is the first demonstrator aircraft to be built in Britain for nearly 40 years, since an early model of the Typhoon in 1989. The sleek design includes weapon systems hidden inside the fuselage to reduce radar presence, similar to the US B-2 stealth bomber. The demonstrator plane is being created as part of efforts to develop the Tempest jet through an international collaboration involving Britain, Italy and Japan. BAE Systems, working on the demonstrator with partner firms Rolls-Royce and MBDA, together with the Ministry of Defence, said a major milestone has been passed with two-thirds of the planes structure now being manufactured. Herman Claesen, managing director for BAEs FCAS programme, said: Were working to a 2035 timeframe to start operational capability. Separately, BAE revealed a British-made drone system is believed to be the first in the world to successfully launch an air-to-air missile strike against another uncrewed aircraft during trials in the US. It is believed to be the first time a precision munition has been fired from a rotary drone, or a drone of that size, to take out another drone. The TRV-150 unmanned aerial system was created by British-based research and development company Malloy and is being marketed by BAE. Diageos chief executive stepped down yesterday after little over two years leading the troubled drinks giant. Debra Crew will be replaced on an interim basis by finance officer Nik Jhangiani and a hunt for a permanent successor has begun. The Guinness makers board made the decision due to the groups depleted share price, the Mail understands. The stock is down 46 per cent since Crew, 54, took over in June 2023. The FTSE 100 has risen 17 per cent in that time. The Footsie firm, whose brands include Baileys, Smirnoff and Don Julio tequila, has come under pressure amid plunging drink sales. Shares rose by as much as 4 per cent yesterday, before losing gains to close up 0.6 per cent, or 10.5p, to 1898.5p. Stepping down: Diageo chief exec Debra Crew (pictured) will be replaced on an interim basis by finance officer Nik Jhangiani Diageo chairman John Manzoni said: The boards focus is on securing the best candidate to lead Diageo and take the company forward. We strongly believe Diageo is well placed to deliver long-term, sustainable value creation. He thanked Crew for her contributions to Diageo, including steering the company through the challenging aftermath of the global pandemic and the ensuing geopolitical and macroeconomic volatility. Crew took over after the sudden death of Ivan Menezes, who had led the firm for a decade. It has been hit by an uptick in teetotal young adults as well as the end of a pandemic-era spirits boom when at-home cocktail making was all the rage. And the company has also been rocked by a slump in sales in Latin America and the Caribbean. Dan Coatsworth, investment analyst at broker AJ Bell, said there was a long list of problems at the group, including stock issues in Latin America and appearing oblivious to shifting consumer trends, with younger people showing less interest in drinking alcohol. He added: At the same time, wealthier individuals cut back on luxury goods and that hurt Diageos spirits sales. Fundamentally, Diageo looked lost and investors had no idea where it was going. Nik Jhangiani looks a safe pair of hands to steady the ship while the board searches for a new chief executive. 'Whoever gets the top job will have to bring new energy to the company. It is not known if Crew will receive a hefty pay-off. She was paid 3million in total last year. The company has said it hopes to save 373million over the next three years by selling off some brands. Crew had been forced to deny rumours that the business was looking at selling its Guinness brand. Analysts speculated it could be sold for around 8billion. Veteran fund manager Terry Smith dumped his stake in Diageo in January, arguing that the rise of weight-loss drugs could hit demand for its products. In his annual letter to investors, Smith said he had sold his shares after holding them for almost 15 years, writing that the drinks sector was in the early stages of being hit by the rising popularity of drugs such as Ozempic. Other wine and spirit makers have struggled over the past few years, with Cognac maker Remy Cointreau and Jameson whiskey maker Pernod also hit by tumbling sales. Diageo is seen as one of the British businesses with most to lose from tariffs, which are due to be implemented by the US on Mexico and Canada next month after a delay. Canadian whisky and Mexican tequila imported into the US account for a tenth of Diageos sales and profits. The boss of Ocado has warned Rachel Reeves that further tax hikes this autumn will dent the economy. As official figures showed unemployment has jumped to a four-year high of 4.7 per cent under Labour, Tim Steiner called for lower taxes and less regulation to boost growth. I think that all businesses, and in fact, all people in the UK should want to see lower taxes and less regulation, because that's what will actually create growth, and so any tax increases will not be favourable to the economy or to business, he said. It is feared the Chancellor will raise taxes further this autumn to plug a hole in her finances having already hit households and business with 40bilion of hikes in the last Budget. The comments came as Ocado cheered the online supermarket's assurances it would achieve positive cash flow next year after a strong first-half. The group, which operates a joint venture with M&S and licenses its robotic warehouse technology to other retailers, has as yet failed to live up to expectations and become cash flow positive. Investors have bet on the success of its robotic delivery technology, which has helped to drive market value, but its retail arm has lagged. Cash positive: Ocado is targeting profitability in its next financial year As a result, Ocado share have lost around 90 per cent over the last five years. While its retail business is one of the fastest-growing supermarkets, it is still one of the smallest in terms of market share, according to industry statistics. In its first-half update, Ocado said its core priority is to turn cash flow positive during its next financial year, which starts in December. Ocado reported a 76.5 per cent rise in underlying earnings in the six months to 1 June, the majority of which came from its technology arm. It said adjusted Ebitda, its preferred profit measure, was 91.8million in the first-half, up from 52million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue rose 13.2 per cent to 674million. Chief executive Tim Steiner said: Ocado Group has delivered a strong first half and we have reached important milestones both in our UK business, as well as across our international partnerships. Our Technology Solutions division has more than doubled EBITDA and our underlying cash flow has improved significantly, ending the period with liquidity in excess of 1 billion. Our focus remains on turning cash flow positive during FY26, supported by continued growth with our partners and cost discipline across the business. Its full-year guidance remains unchanged. Ocado shares jumped nearly 11 per cent this morning to 261.4p, but are still down 26.4 per cent over the last year, as investors grow impatient with the slow pace of its retail rollout. Its biggest US partner, Kroger, eased the rollout of automated warehouses, while its Canadian partner Sobeys paused the opening of its fourth warehouse. Mark Crouch, market analyst for eToro, said: Ocado continues to test the limits of investor patience. Once viewed as a pioneer in grocery logistics, the companys downward spiral has become a case study in hype over substance. But is that now about to change? Management claims the business will be cash flow positive by next year, a target that, while encouraging, comes after several years of missed milestones. The market has learned to treat such guidance with caution. Much of Ocados appeal has rested on its technology licensing model, but the pace of adoption has been slow, and the returns even slower. The tie-up with M&S continues to offer some operational ballast, yet it doesnt resolve the broader question of whether Ocados core proposition can generate sustained, profitable growth. And until Ocado demonstrates that it can convert technical sophistication into reliable financial performance, investors may be right to remain sceptical. Dr. Martens plc (LON:DOCS Get Free Report) insider Giles Wilson bought 194 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were acquired at an average price of GBX 77 ($1.03) per share, with a total value of 149.38 ($200.46). Giles Wilson also recently made the following trade(s): Get Dr. Martens alerts: On Wednesday, June 11th, Giles Wilson acquired 189 shares of Dr. Martens stock. The stock was purchased at an average cost of GBX 79 ($1.06) per share, with a total value of 149.31 ($200.36). Dr. Martens Stock Performance LON:DOCS opened at GBX 78.50 ($1.05) on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 127.27, a current ratio of 2.85 and a quick ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of 762.05 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13, a PEG ratio of 6.40 and a beta of 0.11. The companys 50-day moving average is GBX 69 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 64.12. Dr. Martens plc has a 1-year low of GBX 43.02 ($0.58) and a 1-year high of GBX 83.30 ($1.12). Analysts Set New Price Targets Dr. Martens ( LON:DOCS Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 5th. The company reported GBX 2.40 ($0.03) EPS for the quarter. Dr. Martens had a net margin of 7.89% and a return on equity of 18.91%. Analysts forecast that Dr. Martens plc will post 2.5809394 EPS for the current year. A number of research firms have weighed in on DOCS. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Dr. Martens from GBX 7,000 ($93.93) to GBX 6,000 ($80.52) and set a sector perform rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a hold rating on shares of Dr. Martens in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Check Out Our Latest Report on Dr. Martens Dr. Martens Company Profile (Get Free Report) Founded in 1960, Dr. Martens is an iconic British brand with a global presence. Docs or DMs were originally produced for their durability for workers, before being adopted by diverse youth subcultures and associated musical movements. Today, Dr. Martens has transcended its roots while still celebrating its proud history. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for Dr. Martens Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Dr. Martens and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. CAIRO, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty met Thursday with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud in the northern Egyptian city of Alamein, where they reaffirmed the strength of bilateral ties and discussed key regional developments, said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry in a statement. The two ministers reviewed the latest developments in the Palestinian territories, with Abdelatty outlining Egypt's ongoing efforts to secure a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the enclave. He also highlighted Egypt's intention to host a conference for the reconstruction of Gaza. They also addressed other regional crises, including the developments in Sudan, Libya, and Syria. Both ministers stressed support for a political solution in Libya free from foreign interference and highlighted joint efforts to end the conflict in Sudan. The two top diplomats condemned recent Israeli airstrikes on Syria, including attacks on the presidential palace and the Syrian Army General Command headquarters in Damascus. "Both sides emphasized the necessity of Israel's withdrawal from all Syrian territories it has occupied since 1967, including the Golan Heights, and stressed the importance of respecting Syria's sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity," according to the statement. The meeting reflected a shared vision between Cairo and Riyadh to strengthen bilateral ties and intensify joint diplomatic efforts aimed at addressing regional crises and advancing political solutions, with both ministers describing bilateral ties as "historical." GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE Get Free Report)s share price hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $212.00 to $222.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. GE Aerospace traded as high as $262.46 and last traded at $262.31, with a volume of 7498908 shares. The stock had previously closed at $255.42. GE has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of GE Aerospace from $235.00 to $228.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of GE Aerospace in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Redburn Atlantic initiated coverage on GE Aerospace in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a buy rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lifted their price objective on GE Aerospace from $207.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Northcoast Research raised GE Aerospace from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, GE Aerospace currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $229.50. Get GE Aerospace alerts: Get Our Latest Research Report on GE Insider Buying and Selling Institutional Trading of GE Aerospace In related news, SVP Mohamed Ali sold 1,602 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.67, for a total value of $321,473.34. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 8,805 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,766,899.35. This represents a 15.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link . Also, VP Robert M. Giglietti sold 4,104 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $196.73, for a total value of $807,379.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 11,540 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,270,264.20. This trade represents a 26.23% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders. A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of GE. Rainey & Randall Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in GE Aerospace in the first quarter worth about $203,000. Sendero Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of GE Aerospace by 526.6% in the 1st quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,008 shares of the companys stock worth $3,004,000 after buying an additional 12,613 shares during the last quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in GE Aerospace by 25.1% during the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,039 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,065,000 after buying an additional 8,245 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in GE Aerospace by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,064,417 shares of the companys stock valued at $177,535,000 after buying an additional 29,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Assets Advisory LLC raised its stake in GE Aerospace by 186.7% during the first quarter. Global Assets Advisory LLC now owns 14,710 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,751,000 after buying an additional 9,580 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 74.77% of the companys stock. GE Aerospace Stock Up 0.6% The firm has a market capitalization of $283.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $242.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $210.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. GE Aerospace (NYSE:GE Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 22nd. The company reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $9.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.06 billion. GE Aerospace had a return on equity of 29.15% and a net margin of 17.63%. On average, equities analysts expect that GE Aerospace will post 5.4 EPS for the current fiscal year. GE Aerospace Announces Dividend The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 25th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.36 dividend. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.54%. GE Aerospaces dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%. About GE Aerospace (Get Free Report) GE Aerospace (also known as General Electric) is a company that specializes in providing aerospace products and services. It operates through two reportable segments: Commercial Engines and Services and Defense and Propulsion Technologies. It offers jet and turboprop engines, as well as integrated systems for commercial, military, business, and general aviation aircraft. Further Reading Receive News & Ratings for GE Aerospace Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for GE Aerospace and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. New York State Common Retirement Fund lowered its stake in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 282,270 shares of the companys stock after selling 9,346 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.06% of Centene worth $17,137,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 3.7% in the first quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 99,490 shares of the companys stock worth $6,040,000 after purchasing an additional 3,574 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its position in Centene by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,561 shares of the companys stock valued at $277,000 after buying an additional 354 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Centene by 64.6% in the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 195,420 shares of the companys stock worth $11,864,000 after acquiring an additional 76,694 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Centene by 6.1% in the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 4,387 shares of the companys stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Poinciana Advisors Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 2.8% during the first quarter. Poinciana Advisors Group LLC now owns 7,221 shares of the companys stock worth $438,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the companys stock. Get Centene alerts: Centene Stock Up 1.3% Shares of CNC stock opened at $30.39 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $15.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.53, a PEG ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 0.44. Centene Corporation has a 52 week low of $29.50 and a 52 week high of $80.59. The companys fifty day simple moving average is $51.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $57.47. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Centene ( NYSE:CNC Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 25th. The company reported $2.90 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.52 by $0.38. Centene had a net margin of 2.04% and a return on equity of 14.56%. The business had revenue of $46.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $43.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.26 earnings per share. Centenes quarterly revenue was up 15.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year. A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CNC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a neutral rating and set a $48.00 price target (down previously from $75.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Truist Financial decreased their target price on Centene from $84.00 to $42.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on shares of Centene from $90.00 to $65.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Centene from $64.00 to $61.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $58.63. Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Centene Centene Profile (Free Report) Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, childrens health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support. Featured Stories Receive News & Ratings for Centene Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Centene and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Dividends MV Oil Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.74 per share and has a dividend yield of 13.2%. North European Oil Royality Trust pays an annual dividend of $0.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 16.7%. MV Oil Trust pays out 56.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. North European Oil Royality Trust pays out 156.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Volatility & Risk MV Oil Trust has a beta of -0.18, meaning that its stock price is 118% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, North European Oil Royality Trust has a beta of 0.05, meaning that its stock price is 95% less volatile than the S&P 500. Get MV Oil Trust alerts: Valuation and Earnings This table compares MV Oil Trust and North European Oil Royality Trusts revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio MV Oil Trust $18.58 million 3.46 $17.65 million $1.31 4.27 North European Oil Royality Trust $5.78 million 7.63 $5.06 million $0.51 9.41 MV Oil Trust has higher revenue and earnings than North European Oil Royality Trust. MV Oil Trust is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than North European Oil Royality Trust, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Institutional and Insider Ownership 3.5% of MV Oil Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 7.0% of North European Oil Royality Trust shares are owned by institutional investors. 3.2% of North European Oil Royality Trust shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Profitability This table compares MV Oil Trust and North European Oil Royality Trusts net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets MV Oil Trust 94.10% N/A 374.87% North European Oil Royality Trust 88.34% 379.51% 215.62% Summary North European Oil Royality Trust beats MV Oil Trust on 7 of the 13 factors compared between the two stocks. About MV Oil Trust (Get Free Report) MV Oil Trust acquires and holds term net profits interests in the oil and natural gas properties of MV Partners, LLC. Its properties wells located in the Mid-Continent region in the states of Kansas and Colorado. MV Oil Trust was incorporated in 2006 and is based in Houston, Texas. About North European Oil Royality Trust (Get Free Report) North European Oil Royalty Trust, a grantor trust, holds overriding royalty rights covering gas and oil production in various concessions or leases in the Federal Republic of Germany. The company also has rights under contracts with German exploration and development subsidiaries of ExxonMobil Corp. and the Royal Dutch/Shell Group of Companies. In addition, it holds royalties for the sale of gas well gas, oil well gas, crude oil, condensate, and sulfur. North European Oil Royalty Trust was founded in 1975 and is based in Keene, New Hampshire. Receive News & Ratings for MV Oil Trust Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for MV Oil Trust and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Champion Homes (NYSE:SKY Get Free Report) and Thor Industries (NYSE:THO Get Free Report) are both mid-cap construction companies, but which is the better investment? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, dividends, earnings and risk. Insider and Institutional Ownership 96.7% of Thor Industries shares are held by institutional investors. 1.2% of Champion Homes shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 4.5% of Thor Industries shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Get Champion Homes alerts: Analyst Recommendations This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Champion Homes and Thor Industries, as provided by MarketBeat. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Champion Homes 0 5 1 0 2.17 Thor Industries 1 7 2 0 2.10 Earnings & Valuation Champion Homes presently has a consensus price target of $80.60, suggesting a potential upside of 24.81%. Thor Industries has a consensus price target of $87.63, suggesting a potential downside of 1.28%. Given Champion Homes stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Champion Homes is more favorable than Thor Industries. This table compares Champion Homes and Thor Industriess top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Champion Homes $2.48 billion 1.49 $198.41 million $3.42 18.88 Thor Industries $10.04 billion 0.47 $265.31 million $4.17 21.29 Thor Industries has higher revenue and earnings than Champion Homes. Champion Homes is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Thor Industries, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks. Profitability This table compares Champion Homes and Thor Industries net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Champion Homes 7.99% 13.61% 10.03% Thor Industries 2.32% 6.15% 3.61% Volatility and Risk Champion Homes has a beta of 1.16, suggesting that its stock price is 16% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thor Industries has a beta of 1.21, suggesting that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Summary Thor Industries beats Champion Homes on 8 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks. About Champion Homes (Get Free Report) Skyline Champion Corporation produces and sells factory-built housing in North America. The company offers manufactured and modular homes, park models RVs, accessory dwelling units, and modular buildings for the multi-family and hospitality sectors. It builds homes under the Skyline Homes, Champion Home Builders, Genesis Homes, Athens Park Models, Dutch Housing, Atlantic Homes, Excel Homes, Homes of Merit, New Era, Redman Homes, ScotBilt Homes, Shore Park, Silvercrest, and Titan Homes brands in the United States; and Moduline and SRI Homes brand names in western Canada. The company also provides construction services to install and set-up factory-built homes; operates a factory-direct manufactured home retail business under the Titan Factory Direct and Champion Homes Center brand names with 31 sales centers in the United States; and engages in the transportation of manufactured homes and recreational vehicles. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Troy, Michigan. About Thor Industries (Get Free Report) THOR Industries, Inc. designs, manufactures, and sells recreational vehicles (RVs), and related parts and accessories in the United States, Canada, and Europe. The company offers travel trailers; gasoline and diesel Class A, Class B, and Class C motorhomes; conventional travel trailers and fifth wheels; luxury fifth wheels; and motorcaravans, caravans, campervans, and urban vehicles. It also provides aluminum extrusion and specialized component products to RV and other manufacturers. The company provides its products through independent and non-franchise dealers. THOR Industries, Inc. was incorporated in 1980 and is based in Elkhart, Indiana. Receive News & Ratings for Champion Homes Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Champion Homes and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Haverty Furniture Companies (NYSE:HVT Get Free Report) is one of 14 public companies in the RETAIL HOME FRN industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its competitors? We will compare Haverty Furniture Companies to similar companies based on the strength of its analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, valuation and earnings. Valuation & Earnings This table compares Haverty Furniture Companies and its competitors revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation. Get Haverty Furniture Companies alerts: Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Haverty Furniture Companies $722.90 million $19.96 million 16.46 Haverty Furniture Companies Competitors $26.26 billion $2.36 billion 16.59 Haverty Furniture Companies competitors have higher revenue and earnings than Haverty Furniture Companies. Haverty Furniture Companies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its competitors, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry. Dividends Analyst Ratings Haverty Furniture Companies pays an annual dividend of $1.28 per share and has a dividend yield of 6.2%. Haverty Furniture Companies pays out 101.6% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. As a group, RETAIL HOME FRN companies pay a dividend yield of 2.5% and pay out 49.0% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Haverty Furniture Companies has raised its dividend for 4 consecutive years. This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Haverty Furniture Companies and its competitors, as provided by MarketBeat.com. Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Haverty Furniture Companies 0 1 0 0 2.00 Haverty Furniture Companies Competitors 173 1319 2030 38 2.54 As a group, RETAIL HOME FRN companies have a potential upside of 20.96%. Given Haverty Furniture Companies competitors stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Haverty Furniture Companies has less favorable growth aspects than its competitors. Insider and Institutional Ownership 80.6% of Haverty Furniture Companies shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 67.1% of shares of all RETAIL HOME FRN companies are owned by institutional investors. 8.6% of Haverty Furniture Companies shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 5.0% of shares of all RETAIL HOME FRN companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term. Profitability This table compares Haverty Furniture Companies and its competitors net margins, return on equity and return on assets. Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Haverty Furniture Companies 2.96% 6.94% 3.29% Haverty Furniture Companies Competitors 6.52% 33.77% 8.67% Volatility and Risk Haverty Furniture Companies has a beta of 1.36, suggesting that its stock price is 36% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Haverty Furniture Companies competitors have a beta of 1.46, suggesting that their average stock price is 46% more volatile than the S&P 500. Summary Haverty Furniture Companies competitors beat Haverty Furniture Companies on 12 of the 15 factors compared. Haverty Furniture Companies Company Profile (Get Free Report) Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. operates as a specialty retailer of residential furniture and accessories in the United States. The company offers furniture merchandise under the Havertys brand name. It also provides custom upholstery products and eclectic looks; and mattress product lines under the Tempur-Pedic, Serta, Sealy, and Stearns and Foster names. The company sells home furnishings through its retail stores, as well as through its website. Haverty Furniture Companies, Inc. was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Receive News & Ratings for Haverty Furniture Companies Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Haverty Furniture Companies and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI Free Report) (TSE:AGI) by 10.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,000 shares of the basic materials companys stock after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLCs holdings in Alamos Gold were worth $294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Alamos Gold by 67.0% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,645 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Alamos Gold during the first quarter valued at approximately $885,000. Austin Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alamos Gold during the first quarter valued at approximately $267,000. Genus Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alamos Gold by 203.7% during the first quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 300,897 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $8,039,000 after purchasing an additional 591,074 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Alamos Gold by 18.2% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,051 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $804,000 after purchasing an additional 4,622 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.33% of the companys stock. Get Alamos Gold alerts: Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth A number of brokerages recently commented on AGI. CIBC restated an outperform rating on shares of Alamos Gold in a report on Tuesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded Alamos Gold from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Scotiabank restated an outperform rating on shares of Alamos Gold in a report on Monday, April 14th. Stifel Canada upgraded Alamos Gold to a strong-buy rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Alamos Gold to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Alamos Gold presently has a consensus rating of Buy and a consensus target price of $30.38. Alamos Gold Stock Down 1.4% Shares of AGI opened at $25.94 on Thursday. The businesss 50 day moving average is $26.31 and its 200 day moving average is $24.69. The company has a market capitalization of $10.91 billion, a PE ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 0.54. Alamos Gold Inc. has a 12-month low of $15.74 and a 12-month high of $31.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Alamos Gold (NYSE:AGI Get Free Report) (TSE:AGI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The basic materials company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $333.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.98 million. Alamos Gold had a return on equity of 9.83% and a net margin of 18.36%. The businesss revenue was up 20.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that Alamos Gold Inc. will post 1.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Alamos Gold Announces Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 26th. Investors of record on Thursday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.025 per share. This represents a $0.10 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, June 12th. Alamos Golds payout ratio is currently 16.13%. Alamos Gold Company Profile (Free Report) Alamos Gold Inc engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, and extraction of precious metals in Canada and Mexico. The company primarily explores for gold deposits. It holds 100% interest in the Young-Davidson mine and Island Gold mine located in the Ontario, Canada; Mulatos mine located in the Sonora, Mexico; and Lynn Lake project situated in the Manitoba, Canada. Further Reading Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AGI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alamos Gold Inc. (NYSE:AGI Free Report) (TSE:AGI). Receive News & Ratings for Alamos Gold Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Alamos Gold and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Cable Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Teekay Tankers Ltd. (NYSE:TNK Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 4,797 shares of the shipping companys stock, valued at approximately $184,000. Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Teekay Tankers by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 914,657 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $36,394,000 after buying an additional 66,332 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Teekay Tankers by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 602,412 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $23,970,000 after buying an additional 10,900 shares in the last quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Teekay Tankers by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 349,161 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $13,893,000 after buying an additional 8,814 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Teekay Tankers by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 320,965 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $12,771,000 after buying an additional 2,978 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Teekay Tankers by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 247,898 shares of the shipping companys stock valued at $9,864,000 after buying an additional 3,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 52.67% of the companys stock. Get Teekay Tankers alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades A number of brokerages have recently commented on TNK. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Teekay Tankers from $53.00 to $51.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a buy rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Teekay Tankers in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Teekay Tankers has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $50.67. Teekay Tankers Stock Performance TNK opened at $43.77 on Thursday. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $44.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.69 and a beta of -0.04. Teekay Tankers Ltd. has a 52-week low of $33.35 and a 52-week high of $66.25. Teekay Tankers (NYSE:TNK Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The shipping company reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.53 by ($0.32). Teekay Tankers had a return on equity of 15.05% and a net margin of 31.45%. The business had revenue of $115.64 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $146.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.23 earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 37.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Teekay Tankers Ltd. will post 7.13 EPS for the current fiscal year. Teekay Tankers Increases Dividend The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a yield of 2.3%. This is an increase from Teekay Tankerss previous dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. Teekay Tankerss dividend payout ratio is presently 10.72%. Teekay Tankers Company Profile (Free Report) Teekay Tankers Ltd. provides crude oil and other marine transportation services to oil industries in Bermuda and internationally. The company offers voyage and time charter services; offshore ship-to-ship transfer services of commodities primarily crude oil and refined oil products; and tanker commercial and technical management services. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Teekay Tankers Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Teekay Tankers and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in shares of The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW Free Report) by 18.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,635 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 800 shares during the quarter. SeaBridge Investment Advisors LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $285,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SCHW. Atwood & Palmer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 75.0% in the 1st quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 350 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. WFA Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 90.5% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 463 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Charles Schwab by 53.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 487 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.38% of the companys stock. Get Charles Schwab alerts: Analyst Ratings Changes Several equities research analysts recently commented on SCHW shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Charles Schwab from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $100.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $89.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $90.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic raised Charles Schwab from a sell rating to a neutral rating and upped their target price for the stock from $65.00 to $82.00 in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Charles Schwab from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Charles Schwab currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $95.60. Insider Buying and Selling In other news, General Counsel Peter J. Morgan III sold 10,176 shares of the firms 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Paul V. Woolway sold 3,290 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.95, for a total value of $299,225.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 35,864 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,261,830.80. This trade represents a 8.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 119,905 shares of company stock valued at $10,530,833 in the last 90 days. 6.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders. Charles Schwab Stock Down 0.4% SCHW opened at $91.26 on Thursday. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $89.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.53. The Charles Schwab Corporation has a twelve month low of $61.01 and a twelve month high of $93.35. The firm has a market cap of $165.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.65, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.93. Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.03. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 31.71% and a return on equity of 18.31%. The business had revenue of $5.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.74 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Charles Schwab Corporation will post 4.22 EPS for the current fiscal year. Charles Schwab Announces Dividend The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 9th were paid a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 9th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.73%. Charles Schwab 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. 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 Corporation (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. Fortis Group Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV Free Report) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,083 shares of the companys stock after selling 116 shares during the quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF were worth $1,881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter. A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 102.5% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,624,202 shares of the companys stock worth $620,423,000 after acquiring an additional 3,352,591 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC boosted its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 5,685,914 shares of the companys stock worth $504,852,000 after acquiring an additional 328,291 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,605,177 shares of the companys stock worth $431,321,000 after acquiring an additional 112,814 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,755,502 shares of the companys stock valued at $351,740,000 after buying an additional 104,095 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 2,182,869 shares of the companys stock valued at $204,448,000 after buying an additional 83,529 shares during the last quarter. Get iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF alerts: iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF Price Performance Shares of iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF stock opened at $92.77 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.90 and a beta of 0.72. iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF has a 52-week low of $83.99 and a 52-week high of $95.12. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $93.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.96. About iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF The iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (USMV) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI USA Minimum Volatility (USD) index. The fund tracks an index of US-listed firms selected and weighted to create a low-volatility portfolio subject to various constraints. USMV was launched on Oct 18, 2011 and is managed by BlackRock. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding USMV? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol Factor ETF (BATS:USMV Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for iShares MSCI USA Min Vol 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 Min Vol Factor ETF and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO Free Report) by 6.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 42,832 shares of the utilities providers stock after purchasing an additional 2,671 shares during the quarter. Concord Wealth Partners holdings in Southern were worth $3,938,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 21,253 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,954,000 after buying an additional 4,005 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Southern by 56.6% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,547 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,645 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Southern by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 398,624 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $32,815,000 after buying an additional 15,923 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Southern by 16,464.2% during the 4th quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 31,969 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,632,000 after purchasing an additional 31,776 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the companys stock. Get Southern alerts: Southern Price Performance Shares of NYSE SO opened at $93.26 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $102.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.38. Southern Company has a fifty-two week low of $80.46 and a fifty-two week high of $94.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $89.90 and a 200-day moving average of $88.35. Southern Increases Dividend Southern ( NYSE:SO Get Free Report ) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.20 by $0.03. Southern had a return on equity of 12.70% and a net margin of 16.54%. The business had revenue of $7.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.03 earnings per share. The firms revenue was up 17.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Southern Company will post 4.29 earnings per share for the current year. The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. This is a positive change from Southerns previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. Southerns payout ratio is 70.64%. Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Southern from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Southern from $95.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. UBS Group upped their target price on Southern from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Raymond James Financial initiated coverage on Southern in a report on Friday, June 13th. They issued an outperform rating and a $98.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on Southern from $90.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an in-line rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $93.20. Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on SO Southern Profile (Free Report) 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. Recommended Stories Want to see what other hedge funds are holding SO? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Southern Company (The) (NYSE:SO Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Southern Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Southern and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. UNITED NATIONS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday appointed Guang Cong as his new special envoy for the Horn of Africa. Cong succeeds Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, to whom the secretary-general is "grateful for her leadership and dedicated service" to the organization, said Stephanie Tremblay, associate spokesperson for the UN chief, at a daily briefing. Cong brings decades of international affairs experience to this position, with over 23 years of service in various UN peace operations, and a significant portion of this time was dedicated to the broader Horn of Africa region, said a statement issued by the Office of the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. He currently serves as deputy special representative (political) for South Sudan and deputy head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan. Prior to joining the United Nations in 2002, Cong had a distinguished career in China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to the statement. Napatree Capital LLC raised its position in Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C Free Report) by 15.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,388 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the quarter. Napatree Capital LLCs holdings in Citigroup were worth $312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of C. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Citigroup during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter valued at $28,000. American National Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Citigroup in the first quarter valued at about $29,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Citigroup during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Citigroup by 68.2% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 577 shares of the companys stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. 71.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds. Get Citigroup alerts: Analysts Set New Price Targets C has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI set a $77.00 price target on shares of Citigroup in a report on Monday, July 7th. Bank of America increased their target price on Citigroup from $89.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a buy rating on shares of Citigroup in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen lowered Citigroup from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, June 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Citigroup from $103.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $96.46. Insider Activity In other news, Director John Cunningham Dugan sold 4,417 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.26, for a total transaction of $301,504.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $890,656.48. This represents a 25.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock. Citigroup Price Performance C stock opened at $90.06 on Thursday. The companys 50-day moving average price is $79.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $75.13. The firm has a market cap of $168.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.30, a P/E/G ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. Citigroup Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.51 and a 12 month high of $91.80. Citigroup (NYSE:C Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 15th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.35. Citigroup had a net margin of 8.44% and a return on equity of 7.33%. The business had revenue of $21.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $20.75 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.52 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Citigroup Inc. will post 7.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year. Citigroup Increases Dividend The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Citigroups previous quarterly dividend of $0.56. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. Citigroups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.45%. Citigroup Profile (Free Report) Citigroup Inc, a diversified financial service holding company, provides various financial product and services to consumers, corporations, governments, and institutions worldwide. It operates through five segments: Services, Markets, Banking, U.S. Personal Banking, and Wealth. The Services segment includes Treasury and Trade Solutions, which provides cash management, trade, and working capital solutions to multinational corporations, financial institutions, and public sector organizations; and Securities Services, such as cross-border support for clients, local market expertise, post-trade technologies, data solutions, and various securities services solutions. Featured Articles Want to see what other hedge funds are holding C? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C Free Report). Receive News & Ratings for Citigroup Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Citigroup and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,639 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the quarter. Woodward Diversified Capital LLCs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period. Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $27,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Wormser Freres Gestion bought a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 75.18% of the companys stock. Get Abbott Laboratories alerts: Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades ABT has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $145.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler reiterated an overweight rating and set a $145.00 price objective (up from $133.00) on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $136.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $144.33. Abbott Laboratories Stock Up 0.2% ABT stock opened at $131.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. Abbott Laboratories has a 1 year low of $99.71 and a 1 year high of $141.23. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.32. The firm has a market cap of $229.30 billion, a PE ratio of 17.09, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.73. Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.02. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 31.89% and a return on equity of 19.01%. The business had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.38 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Abbott Laboratories will post 5.14 EPS for the current fiscal year. Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 15th will be paid a $0.59 dividend. This represents a $2.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 15th. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is presently 30.61%. Insider Activity In other Abbott Laboratories news, Director Sally E. Blount sold 2,600 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.66, for a total transaction of $337,116.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 34,058 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,415,960.28. The trade was a 7.09% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the companys stock. About Abbott Laboratories (Free Report) Abbott Laboratories, together with its subsidiaries, discovers, develops, manufactures, and sells health care products worldwide. It operates in four segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The company provides generic pharmaceuticals for the treatment of pancreatic exocrine insufficiency, irritable bowel syndrome or biliary spasm, intrahepatic cholestasis or depressive symptoms, gynecological disorder, hormone replacement therapy, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hypothyroidism, Menieres disease and vestibular vertigo, pain, fever, inflammation, and migraine, as well as provides anti-infective clarithromycin, influenza vaccine, and products to regulate physiological rhythm of the colon. See Also Receive News & Ratings for Abbott Laboratories Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Abbott Laboratories and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter. ANKARA/BEIRUT, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday criticized Israel's recent military actions in Syria, saying that Turkiye would not allow any attempt to divide the neighboring country. Erdogan made the remarks as he met the press following a cabinet meeting in Ankara, reaffirming Turkiye's longstanding position against the partition of Syria. At this point, the "biggest problem in the region was Israel's aggression," Erdogan said, accusing Israel of exploiting recent clashes involving Druze groups in southern Syria to expand what he called its "banditry" into Syrian territory over the past two days. "A stable Syria will generate stability for all neighboring countries. Otherwise, the burden of instability will be shared by everyone," the president added. Turkiye, a key supporter of the Syrian interim government, has established a significant military footprint across northern Syria since 2016 through cross-border operations aimed at pushing back the People's Protection Units, a Syrian Kurdish military force. Meanwhile, foreign ministers of Jordan, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Egypt reaffirmed on Thursday their support for Syria's security, unity, stability, and sovereignty. In the statement, issued by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministers welcomed the recent agreement aimed at ending the crisis in Syria's southern Sweida province, voicing support for all efforts to restore security and stability across Syria. The joint statement also strongly condemned the repeated Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, describing them as "blatant violations of international law and a serious breach of Syria's sovereignty." Highlighting Syria's pivotal role in regional peace, the ministers stressed that the country's stability is a cornerstone of broader regional security, calling on the international community to assist the Syrian interim government in its reconstruction efforts. The statement also called for the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from all occupied Syrian territories and an immediate end to hostile Israeli actions. An escalation in Sweida began Sunday after armed members of a Bedouin tribe in the countryside of Sweida, a predominantly Druze province, reportedly assaulted and robbed a young Druze man near the town of al-Masmiyah, along the Damascus-Sweida highway. The brutal attack sparked retaliatory kidnappings, spiraling into full-scale clashes between local Druze fighters, government troops, and Bedouin militias. On Monday and Wednesday, Israel launched waves of strikes on Damascus and Sweida, claiming to prevent the Druze minority from being harmed. The attacks have met with strong condemnation from the international community. Hours after the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday, a fragile ceasefire between Syria's interim government and Druze spiritual leaders entered into effect. 116 of the planned 1,016 emergency response student beds will be delivered in September, an Oireachtas committee has heard on Tuesday last. This comes quickly after Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless said that third level students will have to pay 1,000 extra in fees this September. Spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Donna McGettigan TD, has said it is another scandalous slap in the face for students. Teachta McGettigan said: 100 million was allocated to deliver 1,016 student beds for Maynooth University, DCU and UCD, as an emergency response to the chronic shortage of student accommodation. It has now been revealed that construction has not even begun on the beds for DCU and UCD. From the governments shameful move to hike up student fees by 1,000, despite the fact that the cost-of-living crisis continues to spiral out of control. To their outrageous decision to throw student renters to the wolves, removing rent protections for student renters allowing landlords to hike up rents every time a student moves into a new rental property. READ NEXT: 'Our beloved boy'- Go Fund Me set up by family after son suffered tragic cardiac arrest The first seven months of this government have been marked by decisions that have completely betrayed our students and our younger generations. It is clear that this government remains completely out of touch with the financial pressures that students and their families are under and oblivious to the brutal reality that their decisions are forcing more and more of our young people out of the country. Our younger people deserve so much better. The financial pressure that students and their families are facing is very real, and while Fianna Fail and Fine Gael may be pretending that the cost-of-living crisis is over, ordinary workers and families know that it most certainly is not." On the 8th year anniversary of the discovery of the body of Linda Evans Christian who was murdered in 2017, gardai renew appeal for anyone with information to come forward. On Saturday 24th June 2017, at 9:00am, Linda Evans Christian left the Ash Ward of James Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown, Dublin, where she had been receiving treatment. On Saturday 1st July 2017, her family reported her missing and on Monday 17th July 2017, her body was discovered at Coolmine Woods, Blanchardstown, Dublin 15. Despite an extensive Garda investigation and a number of enquiries followed, including the arrest of a male in 2018, no one has been brought to justice for Lindas murder. Gardai and Lindas family are appealing for people to come forward to assist with the investigation. An Garda Siochana would encourage anyone with any information regarding Lindas disappearance and murder, no matter how insignificant it may seem, to make contact with the investigation team. Particularly, any person who may have information on Lindas movements around Coolmine Woods at the time of her disappearance is asked to contact Gardai. READ NEXT: Have you seen Damien? Concerns raised as 27-year-old man missing for one week - Ireland Live With the passage of time, people may now feel more comfortable sharing information with Gardai. An Garda Siochana would like to assure the public that they will treat anyone assisting the investigation in a sensitive manner. Anyone with information in relation to this incident is asked to contact Blanchardstown Garda Station 01 666 7000, the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111 or any Garda Station. Tributes have poured in for a 19-year-old girl after she died in hospital as a result of a tragic road collision in Galway on Sunday last. Gardai continue to appeal for witnesses following a two-car road traffic collision that occurred at Ballygaddy Road in Tuam in Co Galway, at around 6:05pm on Sunday July 13 2025. Samantha Gannon was conveyed to University Hospital Galway, where she has since passed away. The driver and passenger of the second car (a male in his 20s and a female in her 30s) were treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Gardai are appealing for anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward as investigations are ongoing. Tributes have poured in for Samantha from her friends, family and community following the tragic events. READ NEXT: Gardai renew appeal for murder of young women whose body was found eight years ago A close friend of the young girl made a tribute post on Facebook which read: "H ad her whole life ahead her only 19. M any good memories in secondary school with her. R est in Peace Samantha Gannon may you get the best bed in heaven forever 19". Other mourners commented, "RIP Samantha. I cant believe it. The nicest girl" and "Thats a sin. RIP she was lovely girl". This morning celeb, biz lady & hottie Alessandra inspires one more glimpse at pop culture, community reporting and top headlines. Check TKC news gathering . . . Public Radio Helps Build Hype West Bottoms developers says neighborhood changes will make it a 'gem' of Kansas City SomeraRoad, a real estate and development firm, is undertaking a massive redevelopment project that will transform the West Bottoms over the next several years. The firm hopes to make the Kansas City neighborhood into a must-see "destination." Emergency This Morning House destroyed as fire rages while storms move through Kansas City An evening fire has destroyed a home in Kansas City. Tragic History Well-Remembered KMBC 9 Chronicle: The Skywalk Tapes - The night the skywalks fell, forever changing Kansas City The collapse was one of the worst man-made disasters in American history, and the shockwaves are still being felt four decades later. Courthouse Conversation Jackson County launches podcast to address property assessment concerns Critics question the timing and accuracy amid ongoing scrutiny of commercial property values. Golden Ghetto Pitches Corporate Ballpark Kansas representative sees Royals at old Sprint campus in Overland Park Two Kansas state lawmakers are weighing in with their thoughts on a new Royals stadium near 119th and Nall in Overland Park. Diva Shares Enduring Hotness Alessandra Ambrosio goes TOPLESS as she sunbathes on Ibiza holiday Alessandra Ambrosio is soaking up the sun in Ibiza, Spain, as evidenced in her latest Instagram post. Talkers Second Guess White House Why Donald Trump is facing doubts in the 'manosphere' | CNN Politics Some popular comedians and podcasters who helped fuel Donald Trump's victory - and the young men who listen to them - have been criticizing the president on multiple fronts. Progressively Divided The three-way battle for the Democratic Party It's the left vs. the establishment vs. Abundance. Here's your guide to what's happening. Show-Me AI Opposition Josh Hawley: Meta 'Willfully Pirating Droves of Copyrighted Content' to Train AI Models Sen. Josh Hawley, during a hearing, said that Meta pirated "droves of copyrighted content" to train its artificial intelligence models. Drone War Redux Tragedy & Accountability US ambassador calls on Israel to 'aggressively investigate' West Bank killing Mike Huckabee calls for "accountability" after a young Palestinian-American was beaten to death in an attack by settlers. Latest Holy Land Hit A parish priest and several injured as strikes hit Gaza's only Catholic church Catholic Church officials say strikes hit the Holy Family Church in northern Gaza on Thursday morning, injuring several people including the parish priest. MAGA Moves Rates How markets might react if Trump fires Powell A firing would likely bring short-term market volatility along with higher long-term borrowing costs. Man Of Steel Saves Puppers James Gunn's 'Superman' Leads to More Than 500% Surge in Dog Adoption Interest, Thanks to Krypto Krypto the superdog appears to have inspired "Superman" moviegoers to look into adopting their own furry friend Tech Update For World's Oldest Profession Sex Workers, OnlyFans Models, And Strippers Are Sharing Their First Client Story "The half-naked part is honestly the easiest part of it. It's the constant pretending and the character you put in that's exhausting." Good Life Across Bridge Dish & Drink KC: Must-try hotspots in the Northland Luna's Chicken And Seafood // Photo By Tiffany Watts Let me just start by saying: if you're like me and prefer your wings spicy and saucy, Luna's Chicken and Seafood needs to be on your radar. With four locations scattered across the city, chances are there's one close enough to answer the call when the cravings hit. Watch The Puddles This Morn Kansas City weather: Overnight storms bring flooding risk Rain and scattered thunderstorms will remain likely through the early morning hours on Thursday. 1995 faux-grunge pop hit Better Than Ezra - Good is the song of the #TBT day and this is the OPEN THREAD for right now. No matter how locals might feel about the topic, this is important to document . . . With no rebuttal . . . The Kansas City Star runs anti-police activist talking points regarding the political leanings of the new police board commissioner, former Northland council member Heather Hall. This week Pete Mundo did a great segment with Commish Hall and gave her a chance answer some of the criticism . . . Nevertheless . . . We're disappointed with the so-called "paper-of-record" because they're being used/played as a press-release dispensary for anti-cop activists without providing readers context. No, Heather Hall has very little in common with MTG . . . Check her legislative record and most of it involves working for better trash pickup and struggling to get more sidewalks for the Northland. Heather Hall has never talked about space lasers or jeered Democratic Party leaders during their speeches. In fact . . . Just about everyone who has ever met Ms. Hall FROM BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE, has remarked about what a nice and really thoughtful person she is . . . And so . . . The activist tag is the worst kind of partisan politics that KC voters typically reject: It's stereotyping and mostly based on looks . . . MTG is a blonde and Ms. Hall also has blonde hair, they're both Republican and that's about the end of their similarities. At best the juxtaposition is lazy rhetoric and it's EVEN WORSE journalism to share without context. And so we check the Star doubling down on their tacit activist endorsement . . . Hall is a conflict of interest and everyone knows it. Shame on Gov. Kehoe, said Lora McDonald, executive director of the Metro Organization for Racial and Economic Equality. Sheryl Ferguson, an organizer with Its Time 4 Justice, called Hall the worst appointment ever and Marjorie Taylor Green locally, invoking the firebrand Georgia Congresswoman with a history of racist and inflammatory comments. Theres nothing wrong necessarily with being pro-cop, except for when you have cops that are vilifying certain neighborhoods in Kansas City, Ferguson said. Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . . Thank you for signing up! Youll soon be getting your Toronto scoop in your inbox. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Bilateral meeting was convened between delegations of the Special Forces of the Defense Ministries of Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan to facilitate the exchange of combat experience, Trend reports, citing the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan. During the meeting held in Azerbaijan, the sides engaged in an in-depth exchange of views on a range of issues, including weapons and ammunition, supplies, organization of units involved in operations with imaginary adversary, operational procedures, and their improvement. The guests were provided with detailed information regarding domestically produced Azerbaijani strike drones. Subsequently, during the demonstration exercise held at the Combined Forces Training Range, participants watched the combat use of weapons and supplies, as well as the tactical maneuvers of the units. At the conclusion of the event, commemorative gifts were presented to the visiting delegates. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs has offered its condolences to Iraq, Trend reports. The message was shared on the Ministry's official social media account. "We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of lives in the devastating fire at the shopping mall in Kut, Iraq. We express heartfelt condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims, and the Government and people of friendly Iraq. We wish patience and strength for all those grieving and a swift recovery for the injured," the post reads. A massive fire broke out at a hypermarket in the city of Al-Kut, Iraq, leaving at least 50 people dead. In response to the tragedy, local authorities have declared a three-day mourning period. DAMASCUS, July 17 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from this week's deadly clashes in southern Syria's Sweida province has risen to nearly 600, as tensions continued Thursday amid an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of the provincial capital of Sweida, state-run media and a war monitor reported. According to Syria's official news agency SANA, an Israeli warplane launched a new air raid targeting the vicinity of Sweida city, a day after Israeli strikes hit military and symbolic state sites in Damascus. No immediate casualties were reported from Thursday's strike. The escalation comes as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 597 people had been killed since July 13, when fighting erupted between local Druze armed groups and Syrian government forces, sparking what the watchdog described as one of the deadliest episodes of intra-Syrian conflict in years. The observatory also warned of a growing humanitarian crisis as Arab Bedouin families continue to flee areas across Sweida amid reports of intimidation, sectarian reprisals, and siege-like conditions. Meanwhile, in a statement on Thursday night, the Syrian interim authorities said the military had withdrawn from Sweida in response to a U.S.-Arab mediation effort aimed at de-escalating the deadly violence, but accused local armed factions of violating the ceasefire and committing "horrific crimes" against civilians. What followed the withdrawal constituted "a blatant breach of these understandings," the statement said, alleging that the factions carried out "a horrific campaign of violence" threatening civil peace and pushing the country toward chaos and security collapse. The interim authorities did not specify the violations. The remarks came hours after the observatory reported a series of summary executions and sectarian reprisals in Sweida, especially against members of Bedouin tribes. The statement also reaffirmed the pledge to protect all Syrians and called on the international community to support efforts to restore stability. Despite the withdrawal of interim government forces by dawn Thursday, conditions on the ground remain volatile, with mass displacement and fears of renewed Israeli airstrikes compounding the already dire humanitarian situation. Additionally, Arab tribes from Deir al-Zour province and northern Syria, as well as interim government loyalists from Idlib, were said to have been mobilizing to aid the Bedouins in Sweida, adding to the intensity of the situation in southern Syria. An escalation in Sweida began Sunday after armed members of a Bedouin tribe in the countryside of Sweida, a predominantly Druze province, reportedly assaulted and robbed a young Druze man near the town of al-Masmiyah, along the Damascus-Sweida highway. The brutal attack sparked retaliatory kidnappings, spiraling into full-scale clashes between local Druze fighters, government troops, and Bedouin militias. On Monday and Wednesday, Israel launched waves of strikes on Damascus and Sweida, claiming to prevent the Druze minority from being harmed. The attacks have met with strong condemnation from the international community. Hours after the Israeli airstrikes on Wednesday, a fragile ceasefire between Syria's interim government and Druze spiritual leaders entered into effect. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The Embassy of Azerbaijan in France has released photos from a recent exhibition commemorating journalists who lost their lives while covering events during Armenias military aggression against Azerbaijan, Trend reports. The exhibition was organized by the Baku Network think tank, with support from the Azerbaijani Embassy in Paris and the Agency for State Support to Non-Governmental Organizations of Azerbaijan. Baku Network is noted as the first organization to raise awareness in Europe about Azerbaijani journalists who became victims of Armenian attacks. They gave their lives to bring the truth to the world. This exhibition is dedicated to their courage, sacrifice, and memory. We will never forget them, the Embassy said in a statement. The exhibition showcased materials about the fallen journalists to a wide audience. It was attended by members of French civil society as well as journalists from France and other countries. Held at the Azerbaijani Cultural Center in Paris, the exhibition was part of Baku Networks project titled Analyzing Hybrid and Ideological Threats Against Azerbaijan. Commemorative booklets honoring the journalists were distributed to exhibition attendees and guests of a separate presentation marking the 25th anniversary of Icherishehers inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The presentation was held at UNESCO headquarters during the organizations 47th World Heritage Committee session. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. On July 17, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov inspected the ongoing construction of the New Shusha Mosque, Trend reports. Anar Alakbarov, Assistant to the President, briefed the President and the Chairman on the progress of the construction. The foundation of the mosque was laid by President Ilham Aliyev in 2021. Once completed, the mosque will stand as a modern architectural landmark in the historic city, with a design rich in symbolic meaning. In accordance with President Ilham Aliyevs instructions, the mosques layout will resemble the number 8, symbolizing Victory Day - the day Shusha was liberated from occupation. The mosque will feature two minarets shaped to resemble the number 11, symbolizing the liberation of Shusha and Karabakh in the eleventh month of the year. Each minaret will stand 72 meters tall, and the mosque is being built in the upper part of Shusha. The exterior will be decorated with geometric patterns inspired by those found on the minarets of Shushas historic mosques. Currently, more than 60 percent of the construction has been completed, with the project expected to be finalized next year. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. On July 17, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited the House-Museum of Bulbul in Shusha, Trend reports. Member of the Milli Majlis Polad Bulbuloghlu informed Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov that the renowned musician Bulbul was born and spent his childhood in this house. Under the directive of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, a decision by the Executive Committee of the Shusha City Peoples Deputies Soviet in 1982 designated Bulbuls birthplace and residence as a house-museum. The building was renovated in 19821983, a museum exhibition was established, and an administrative building was constructed in front of it. The house-museum ceased operations in 1992 during the First Karabakh War due to Armenian vandalism. Following the liberation of Shusha, restoration efforts began on the house-museum and other historical and cultural monuments. The museum was reopened in August 2021 after the completion of restoration work. A new bust of Bulbul has been erected in the courtyard of the house-museum. The original bust, which was damaged during the occupation, has been preserved as evidence of the acts of vandalism committed. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. On July 17, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque in Shusha, Trend reports. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov was informed that, like in other formerly occupied territories, Shushas historical monuments, including mosques, suffered destruction and desecration during the Armenian occupation. Of the citys 17 mosques, 16 were destroyed by the occupiers. Following the liberation of Shusha, restoration efforts for the mosques were launched immediately under the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev. The restoration of the Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque - a major historical and religious landmark that had been subjected to Armenian vandalism - began in late 2021 under the leadership of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation. The mosque was reopened on May 10, 2023, after extensive reconstruction and restoration work. President Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, and their family members attended the opening ceremony. The Yukhari Govhar Agha Mosque is listed among Azerbaijans monuments of national historical and cultural significance. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. On July 17, Samir Nuriyev, Head of the Presidential Administration of the Republic of Azerbaijan, met with a delegation led by Humaid Obaid Abushibs, Chairman of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Accountability Authority, Trend reports. The sides praised the current state of the strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and the UAE, emphasizing that President Ilham Aliyevs recent visit to the UAE and the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the United Arab Emirates in the presence of both Presidents laid a strong foundation for the further expansion of bilateral relations. They hailed the continued and dynamic development of cooperation in various fields, including the economy, transportation, energy, and culture. It was noted that UAE companies have successfully implemented several renewable and alternative energy projects in Azerbaijan. The delegation was briefed on the large-scale restoration and reconstruction efforts underway in Azerbaijans liberated territories under the leadership of President Ilham Aliyev. As a result, former internally displaced persons have begun returning to their native lands. Gratitude was expressed to the UAE for its financial support of humanitarian demining operations in these areas. Discussions also covered the work of Azerbaijans Commission on Combating Corruption and the UAE Accountability Authority, particularly focusing on anti-corruption measures, institutional reforms, improvements to the legal framework, and efforts to enhance transparency and accountability in public institutions. The two sides explored opportunities for expanding bilateral and international cooperation in these areas. The meeting also featured an exchange of views on other issues of mutual interest. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The next groups of former internally displaced persons are returning to the village of Kangarli in the Aghdam district, Trend reports. The families, previously temporarily settled in hostels, sanatoriums, children's camps, unfinished and administrative buildings in various regions of the republic, left for their native lands from the Garadagh district of Baku on July 17. At this stage, 43 families (176 people) are returning to Kangarli. The former IDPs returning to the native village thanked President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care and expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani Army, which liberated the lands from occupation. Currently, more than 43,000 people live in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. Among them are former internally displaced persons who have returned to these areas, as well as employees involved in the implementation of restoration and construction projects, employees of local departments of various government agencies, and specialists employed in healthcare, education, culture, tourism, industry, and energy institutions that have resumed their activities. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. During ongoing proceedings at the Baku Military Court on July 17, victim Idris Mammadov said that he was captured and taken hostage during the battles in February 1993, Trend reports. In his testimony, Mammadov stated that he was held in the territories of Azerbaijan formerly occupied by Armenian armed forces, including in the basement of one of the houses in Khankendi, and in Shusha prison. While in captivity, I was subjected to torture, including beatings with batons, punches, and kicks. During three months in captivity, I survived on a small amount of bread and water, he noted. Another victim, Maarif Rustamov, testified that he was severely wounded in the 44-day war that took place in 2020. The incident took place in Murov mountain on September 27, near the Kalbajar district. At that time, alongside with me, two others were injured and four people lost their lives, he added. The court proceedings continue against Armenian nationals accused of crimes including war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide, aggression, terrorism, and violations of the laws of war. The charges also include financing terrorism, the violent seizure and retention of power, and other serious offenses. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. A group of former internally displaced persons (IDPs) who set out for Kangarli village of Azerbaijan's Aghdam district today has arrived in their native land, Trend reports. At this stage, 43 families (176 people) were handed the keys to newly built private houses. The ceremony was attended by representatives of the Special Representative Office of the President of Azerbaijan in Aghdam, Fuzuli, and Khojavand districts, as well as representatives of the State Committee on Refugees and IDPs. The residents who returned to the native village thanked President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva for their comprehensive care and expressed gratitude to the valiant Azerbaijani Army, which liberated the lands from occupation. To date, nearly 50,000 people live in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. Among them are former internally displaced persons who have returned to these areas, as well as employees involved in the implementation of restoration and construction projects, employees of local departments of various government agencies, and specialists employed in healthcare, education, culture, tourism, industry, and energy institutions that have resumed their activities. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Head of Azerbaijan's Intellectual Property Agency Kamran Imanov was elected Chairperson of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty Assembly, represented by 118 member states in the election of officials of the WIPO Assemblies today, Trend reports. The 66th session of the Assemblies of the Member States of the WIPO was held in Geneva on July 8-17. During the meetings held today, a number of organizational issues were reviewed. Following informal consultations in the Coordination Committee and the Executive Committee of the Paris and Berne Unions, 40 countries were elected as permanent members of the Executive Committee of the Berne Union. Among the countries elected as permanent members was Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan joined the Paris Convention, WIPOs largest international agreement on intellectual property protection, in 1995, and the Berne Convention in 1998. The country has also been elected as one of the 83 countries selected as permanent members of WIPO's Coordination Committee, one of its most important governing bodies, for the period until the closing of the next session of the General Assembly to be held in 2027. Azerbaijan was also elected as a member of the Program and Budget Committee. As of now, the number of countries represented in this committee is 53. The committee plays an important role in the United Nations financial oversight. Specifically, it examines resource requirements, reviews budget forecasts, and prepares recommendations on financial and administrative policies. Azerbaijan has been a member of the WIPO Copyright Treaty since 2005. Thus, Azerbaijan is represented in three major committees of the World Intellectual Property Organization, one of the largest UN bodies, and currently chairs one of its most important assemblies. In 2018, a representative of Azerbaijan was elected Vice-Chair of the WIPO Copyright Treaty Assembly, and in 20192020 and 2023, chaired the Assembly of the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, and in 20212022, chaired the Assembly of the Copyright Treaty. Azerbaijans representation in WIPO committees is, above all, an expression of respect and appreciation for the Azerbaijani state, which consistently supports the development of this field, and for the economic and institutional reforms successfully carried out by President Ilham Aliyev. During the 66th session of the Assemblies of WIPO Member States, Kamran Imanov, Chairman of the Board of the Intellectual Property Agency, who joined the event online, delivered a speech highlighting the achievements of Azerbaijan in the field of intellectual property. He noted that intellectual property has been prioritized alongside creative entrepreneurship, investments, and competitive markets in our country as a driver of innovation. Special attention is being paid to the creation of smart villages and smart cities in the liberated territories of Azerbaijan. Imanov also provided information on the creation of open registries for inventions, utility models, industrial designs, trademarks, and geographical indications; the implementation of 3D formats; patent analytics; reduction in the examination period for application documents; significant growth in invention and patent activity compared to previous years; and other innovations. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel EBRD launches green investment drive in Serbia (PHOTO) Photo: EBRD The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will provide up to 40 million to UniCredit Leasing Serbia to support green investments by small and medium-sized enterprises. The funding is part of a new initiative aimed at boosting sustainable economic growth in the Western Balkans. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register YAOUNDE, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Cameroon's Minister of Territorial Administration Paul Atanga Nji said on Wednesday that the government will "not tolerate" any election disorder in the country. "We are vigilant and will not tolerate any act to destabilize the elections," Nji told reporters at the start of the first bi-annual conference of regional governors 2025, which brought together governors of the 10 regions of the country to deliberate on how to best organize presidential election scheduled for Oct. 12. "As the primary authorities in charge of law and order at the local level, you are expected to use your expertise and experience to take necessary measures before, during and after this presidential election to ensure that it runs smoothly, and more importantly, to make the population feel the State's presence, and support all parties involved in the electoral process," Nji told the governors. The minister expressed concerns that local media were fueling political disorder in the build up to the election. "Programs and debates are organized just to sabotage government actions, vilify members of government, preach tribal hatred, promote terrorism and other irresponsible slogans," he said, adding that the government was working on "mechanisms" to check excesses in the media. Officials said that additional security measures will be taken to maintain peace and order before, during and after the election. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Major General of Bosnia and Herzegovina Tomo Kolenda is on an official multi-day visit to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, where he visited the prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the UK Ministry of Defense, Trend reports citing the Bosnian Defense Ministry. During his visit to the Sandhurst Military Academy, Major General Kolenda was given a detailed briefing by senior academy officers on officer education and specialized ranger training, with a particular focus on educational models, tactical preparation, and the development of leadership skills in young officers. This visit served as an opportunity to exchange experiences and further strengthen cooperation in the field of military education and training between the armed forces of the two countries. As part of the official visit, General Kolenda also visited the UK Ministry of Defence, where he was received by Brigadier General Rupert Evetts, Head of Operations and Crisis Management. During the meeting, they discussed current security challenges in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider region, as well as the state of bilateral military cooperation. General Kolenda expressed his gratitude for the ongoing bilateral support and assistance, with mutual interest in continuing cooperation in the future. In the coming days, the visit will continue with General Kolendas participation in the Global Air & Space Chiefs Conference (GASCC) in London, a visit to the Defence Academy in Shrivenham, and attendance at the RIAT Show 2025 at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire. Accompanying Major General Kolenda are Brigadier Anto Klajic, the Defence Attache of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Kingdom, Major Mario Dzambas, Chief Executive Officer in the Office of the Deputy Chief of the Joint Staff for Operations, and Mr. Nihad Gluscic, representative of the UK Embassy in Bosnia and Herzegovina. This visit further confirms the strong partnership and ongoing cooperation between the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom in the field of defense and security. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Romanian Foreign Minister Oana Toiu met with her Polish counterpart Radosaw Sikorski in Brussels on the sidelines of the Foreign Affairs Council, Trend reports citing the Romanian Foreign Ministry. The discussions highlighted the excellent bilateral relationship, with a focus on strengthening the Romania-Poland Strategic Partnership, particularly in the commercial and defense sectors, Trend reports citing the Both officials reaffirmed their determination to continue coordination on regional security, emphasizing the importance of reinforcing NATO's Eastern Flank. They expressed mutual appreciation for the contributions of Romanian troops through the air defense detachment deployed in Poland as part of NATO's forward presence, as well as for Polish troops stationed in the multinational brigade in Craiova, Romania. Regarding European security, the ministers stressed the need to maintain multidimensional support for the region and to increase pressure on the Russian Federation. In this context, they reiterated their support for the swift adoption of the EUs 18th package of sanctions. Minister Toiu emphasized the shared commitment of both countries to reduce Russias energy revenues by enforcing the oil price cap, imposing additional sanctions on Russias "shadow fleet" and those involved in its operations, and introducing further measures targeting maritime transport of Russian-origin exports. She also expressed interest in jointly utilizing EU funds to support Ukraine's reconstruction and in fostering partnerships between Romanian and Polish companies. The two sides agreed on future workstreams to involve the business sector in joint strategic projects, starting with an exchange of best practices in securing and guaranteeing private sector investments in the EU neighborhood. Minister Toiu further highlighted the added value of national development banks in improving the use of EU financial instruments and proposed launching a dialogue on this topic. The two ministers reiterated their shared interest in promoting European values in the EU neighborhood as a tool to counter malign Russian narratives. Concrete cooperation initiatives were discussed, including supporting EU-funded projects with visible impact on local populations, such as Romanian-language media as part of a broader Polish-led effort. Romania also extended invitations for upcoming events, including the NATO Industry Summit in Bucharest this November and the EU Enlargement Cities Summit in Timisoara this September. The ministers also expressed interest in holding a new Romania-Poland-Turkey trilateral meeting by the end of the year. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Minister of Defense Bratislav Gasic visited today members of the Serbian Armed Forces pontoon bridge units who have built a bridge over the Great Morava River near Svilajnac, in the immediate vicinity of the main bridge where traffic has been suspended, Trend reports citing the country's Defense Ministry. During the tour, River Flotilla Commander Captain (Naval) Darko Stricic briefed the Minister of Defence, who was accompanied by the Deputy Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Lieutenant General Tiosav Jankovic, about maintenance tasks that are being done on the pontoon bridge. Minister Gasic spoke with the service members who are responsible for the safety of the bridge and the pedestrians and motor vehicles crossing it. He thanked the members of the Serbian Armed Forces who are involved in this task on a daily basis and emphasized that our military has once again demonstrated readiness to help citizens, as it has always done. - We are aware of the importance of this pontoon bridge, which helps the residents of Svilajnac and the surrounding area to manage their everyday activities. The military will provide assistance to citizens whenever needed, because the military and the people have always been one - stressed Minister Gasic and praised the good work of River Flotilla members, who are carrying out this task conscientiously and dedicatedly. The 109-meter-long pontoon bridge provides crossing for passenger vehicles, motorcyclists and pedestrians, while buses and freight vehicles are being diverted to alternative routes. Minister Gasic was accompanied on the tour by the Deputy Head of the Office of the Minister of Defence, Colonel Nikola Matovic, and the Chief of Staff of the Army Command, Colonel Grujica Vukovic. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of North Macedonia, Timcho Mucunski, has begun a working visit to London, Trend reports via the country's Foreign Ministry. During the visit, together with the Minister of Defense, Vlado Misajlovski, he held a meeting with the Parliamentary Undersecretary of State and Minister for Services, Small Business, and Export at the UKs Department for Business and Trade, Gareth Thomas. The meeting focused on the potential to strengthen economic cooperation between the two countries, with an emphasis on deepening collaboration in investment, increasing trade exchange, cooperation in infrastructure projects, and improving and modernizing healthcare capacities. The importance of joint growth and prosperity for the development of bilateral relations was also confirmed, along with a commitment to work together toward achieving these goals. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Lithuanias Minister of the Economy and Innovation, Lukas Savickas, is on an official visit to Copenhagen to participate in the informal meeting of EU Ministers for the Internal Market and Industry (COMPET), Trend reports. During the visit, Minister Savickas will also hold bilateral meetings with Danish business and political leaders to deepen economic ties. Lithuania and Denmark share a long-standing partnership, strengthened by cooperation in green energy and innovation. This visit is not only a chance to continue existing projects but also to explore new investment opportunities critical to our economy and Europes competitiveness, said Minister Savickas. During his visit, the minister will meet with representatives of European Energy, a leading Danish renewable energy company, to discuss the companys projects in Lithuania, national commitments to the green agenda, and plans for expanding methanol production. Savickas will also visit the prestigious Niels Bohr Institute to meet with Denmarks top quantum research leaders, learn about cutting-edge scientific developments, and tour the historic office of Niels Bohr himself. On July 18, Minister Savickas will take part in COMPET Council working sessions focused on entrepreneurship and industrial transformation across the EU. Plenary discussions will address ways to boost European competitiveness and strengthen clean energy industries. Bilateral meetings with representatives from Germany and Poland are also scheduled, with a focus on cooperation in public procurement. In 2024, bilateral trade in goods between Lithuania and Denmark reached 1.54 billion euros. In the first five months of 2025 alone, trade totaled 646.3 million euros. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Estonian Minister of Defense Hanno Pevkur visited Iraq this week, and met with the Iraqi counterpart, the President and Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, as well as commanders of NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) and Operation Inherent Resolve, Trend reports. In the course of the meetings, Minister Pevkur announced that Estonia will conclude its participation in Operation Inherent Resolve later this year. Based in Erbil, Minister Pevkur also met with Estonian military personnel stationed in the region and thanked them for their service in the coalition mission. Recent developments in the Middle East certainly impact the already fragile security environment, but the situation in Iraq remains stable. This stability allows us to end our military contribution to the coalition and focus on strengthening Estonias defense capabilities next year, said Minister Pevkur. Pevkur emphasized the valuable experience gained in Iraq, where Estonia has contributed significantly to regional stability over the years. Though our role in the coalition is ending, Estonia remains committed to supporting international security and stands ready to assist allies when needed, he added. As part of the visit, Minister Pevkur also met with NATO Mission Iraq Commander, French Major General Christophe Hintzy, and Operation Inherent Resolve Commander, U.S. Major General Kevin C. Leahy, to discuss the future of both missions. He also held talks with Kurdish President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to discuss the regional security situation. Estonia has been contributing to Operation Inherent Resolve since April 2023 with military advisors, an infantry company, and support units. The mission remains Estonias largest foreign deployment, with up to 110 personnel authorized by parliamentary mandate. Estonias participation is expected to end by September 2025. Estonia will continue contributing to the NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) in Baghdad with one staff officer, supporting capacity-building efforts for Iraqs defense sector and enhancing the alliances southern flank security. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The European Commission yesterday released the first package of proposals for the EUs 20282034 Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), reflecting two of Lithuanias core strategic priorities, Trend reports. Lithuanias leadership had worked intensively with EU institutions over the past six months, alongside regional partners, to secure support for energy funding and nuclear safety. Im pleased that the European Commission understood the importance of the situation and took our proposals seriously, a senior Lithuanian official stated. Two central priorities highlighted for Lithuania include: Sustained and sufficient funding for the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant, in line with Lithuanias EU accession commitments. Stronger EU budget support for energy infrastructure, including the creation of a dedicated funding mechanism for the protection and resilience of critical energy assets. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in favor of Latvia in the case Osis v. Latvia, rejecting the applicants complaint of a potential violation of the right to a fair trial under Article 6, paragraph 1 of the European Convention on Human Rights, Trend reports. The complaint, submitted by the applicant in 2018, alleged that national courts had failed to ensure a reasonable length of criminal proceedings related to serious tax evasion charges. However, on June 26, 2025, a three-judge Committee of the Court concluded that the case was inadmissible due to the applicant's failure to observe the six-month time limit for filing complaints, as set out in Article 35 of the Convention. The Court emphasized that a request to reopen national proceedings cannot be used to reset the six-month time period. Since the final domestic ruling against the applicant was delivered on June 22, 2017, and the ECHR application was lodged more than a year later, on June 29, 2018, the Court dismissed the complaint as inadmissible. The Committees decision is final and cannot be appealed. The full decision, issued on June 26, 2025, is available in English via the Courts public case-law database. The case can be found by searching with application number 31624/18 and the decision date 26/06/2025. Azerbaijan records slight decline in Turkmen tourist arrivals in early 2025 Photo: Azertaj Tourist arrivals from Turkmenistan to Azerbaijan slightly decreased to about 13,000 in the first five months of the year, with the majority traveling for tourism purposes. Visitors primarily used sea and air transport, spending over 8 million manat during their stay, mostly in the capital city. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan trade faces steep decline year-on-year Trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan declined sharply in the first five months of 2025, dropping by over $80 million compared to the same period last year. Both exports and imports saw significant decreases, with Turkmenistans share in Azerbaijans overall trade falling below one percent. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Mbaye Cisse (R, front), chief of General Staff of the Senegalese Armed Forces, and Pascal Ianni (L, front), commander of French forces in Africa, attend the handover ceremony of Camp Geille, the largest French military installation in Senegal located in Dakar, Senegal, on July 17, 2025. France on Thursday handed over its last two military facilities in Senegal to local authorities, marking the end of its permanent military presence in the West African country. (Photo by Papa Demba Gueye/Xinhua) DAKAR, July 17 (Xinhua) -- France on Thursday handed over its last two military facilities in Senegal to local authorities, marking the end of its permanent military presence in the West African country. Camp Geille, the largest French military installation in Senegal located in the capital Dakar, and the French air detachment at Dakar's international airport were officially transferred to the Senegalese authorities at a ceremony attended by Mbaye Cisse, chief of General Staff of the Senegalese Armed Forces, and Pascal Ianni, commander of French forces in Africa. At the ceremony, Ianni said that the handover of Camp Geille marked the end of France's permanent military presence in Senegal and the beginning of a new phase in bilateral military cooperation. For his part, Cisse said that the Senegalese government is updating its defense and security cooperation framework, with a core focus on supporting the autonomous development of Senegal's military. "The future direction of Senegal-France cooperation will depend on the political will of both governments and must also show greater respect for Senegal's sovereignty," he added. French troops have been present in Senegal since the country gained independence in 1960. On Dec. 31, 2024, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye urged French forces to leave the country, while delivering his New Year's address. In recent years, several African nations, including Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad and Cote d'Ivoire, have urged the withdrawal of French and U.S. troops and the handover of their military bases. The Senegalese Armed Forces march in to take over the Camp Geille during the handover ceremony of Camp Geille, the largest French military installation in Senegal located in Dakar, Senegal, on July 17, 2025. France on Thursday handed over its last two military facilities in Senegal to local authorities, marking the end of its permanent military presence in the West African country. (Photo by Papa Demba Gueye/Xinhua) Azerbaijan publishes report on RON95 import origins for 5M2025 Azerbaijan imported around 56,000 tons of AI-95 gasoline worth approximately $47 million from four countries in the first five months of 2025, marking a sharp increase compared to the same period last year. During this time, the country also exported about 4,200 tons of the same fuel worth $3 million solely to Georgia. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Irans non-oil exports to Russia see significant Increase Irans non-oil exports to Russia surged by nearly 34% in value during the first quarter of the Iranian year 2025, highlighting growing bilateral trade despite an overall decline in Irans total non-oil exports. This targeted growth underscores Russias rising importance as a key market for Irans agricultural, petrochemical, and industrial goods amid broader economic challenges. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Iran reports rise in product imports from Russia in early 2025 Iran imported nearly 700,000 tons of goods worth over $350 million from Russia in the three-month period from March to June 2025, marking a rise in value despite a slight drop in volume. Non-oil trade between the two countries also grew significantly year-on-year, with Iran continuing to prioritize the import of essential goods. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Iran ramps up electricity imports from Azerbaijan Azerbaijans electricity exports to Iran rose 4.8% in both volume and value during the first five months of 2025, generating $423,000 in revenue. Meanwhile, Azerbaijans overall electricity exports to key regional partners totaled 658.1 million kWh worth $37.4 million, highlighting its growing role as a regional energy supplier. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Azerbaijans gas revenues from Serbia surge sharply in 5M2025 Azerbaijans revenue from natural gas exports to Serbia surged more than fourteen-fold in the first five months of 2025, driven by a sharp increase in export volumes. The country supplied over 170 million cubic meters of gas to Serbia, earning nearly $100 million during the period. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Azerbaijan powers up revenue with growing energy exports to Greece in 2025 Azerbaijan earned approximately $203 million from natural gas exports to Greece in the first five months of the year, despite a slight decline in export volume. Compared to the same period last year, export revenues rose by about $43 million, signaling stronger market prices. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Azerbaijan exported non-oil products worth $19.3 million to Uzbekistan in the period from January through May 2025. The data obtained by Trend from the country's State Customs Committee shows that this figure is $9.3 million, or 1.9 times more than the same period of 2024. Over the first 5 months of this year, Azerbaijan's non-oil exports to Uzbekistan amounted to 1.37 percent of total exports. Thus, in the reporting period, Uzbekistan ranked 10th among the countries that purchased the most non-oil products from Azerbaijan. At the same time, the volume of trade operations between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan from January through May 2025 amounted to $214.8 million. According to the report, this equals $145.8 million, or 3.1 times more than the indicator for the same months of 2024. During the reporting period, trade turnover with Uzbekistan amounted to 1.16 percent of Azerbaijan's total trade turnover. Azerbaijan exported products worth $19.7 million to Uzbekistan from January through May of this year. This is about $9 million, or 1.8 times more than for the same period of 2024. In addition, Azerbaijan carried out import operations worth $195.1 million from Uzbekistan in the period from January through May 2025, which is an increase of $136.9 million or 3.3 times compared to the previous year. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The 62nd meeting of the Governing Board of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI), hosted by the Accounts Chamber of the Republic of Azerbaijan, was held in Baku, Trend reports. The event was organized by the Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The meeting was attended by more than 100 participants, including members of the Board of Directors and the Audit Committee of ASOSAI, as well as representatives of the Presidency and Secretariat of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI) and representatives of the INTOSAI Development Initiative. The event began with opening remarks by Krishnan Sangaran, Deputy Comptroller and Auditor General of India, representing the ASOSAI Presidency. Then the moderator - Chairman of the Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Vugar Gulmammadov, spoke about the significance of the meeting, shared his thoughts on the importance the institution attaches to international cooperation, and the contribution made within the framework of ASOSAI. Afterwards, a presentation video about Azerbaijan was screened to the participants. The Chamber of Accounts was first elected to the Board of Directors of the organization at the ASOSAI Assembly held in New Delhi (India) in September 2024. Addressing the 62nd meeting of the Board of Directors of ASOSAI held in Baku, Chairman of the Accounts Chamber Vugar Gulmammadov stated that holding the 62nd meeting of the Board of Directors of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) in Baku is a matter of pride and responsibility for Azerbaijan. He emphasized that the Accounts Chamber attaches special importance to the study and application of international experience, strengthening the exchange of knowledge and information, as well as the development of regional cooperation. Vugar Gulmammadov noted that election to the Board of Directors of ASOSAI is both a trust and a responsibility for more active participation in the future. The Chairman added in his speech that increased exchange of knowledge and experience between the supreme audit institutions will create conditions for more systematic cooperation. He also shared his thoughts on the public finance management reforms being implemented in Azerbaijan and the importance our country attaches to international cooperation. The meeting was followed by presentations on ASOSAI's Strategic Plan, the organization's collaboration with other regional institutions, annual working group activities, and new issues of the ASOSAI Journal. The formal part of the 62nd ASOSAI Board of Directors meeting included approval of the minutes of the 60th and 61st Board of Directors meetings, review of the organization's activities and financial reports for 2024, and the budget plan for 2026-2028. One of the main items on the agenda was the election of two new members of the INTOSAI Governing Board for 2025-2031 and the external auditor of INTOSAI. Information on the election results will be published in the coming days. Subscription to paid content Gain access to all that Trend has to offer, as well as to premium, licensed content via subscription or direct purchase through a credit card. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. At the official session of the 62nd meeting of the ASOSAI Governing Board held in Baku, members approved the minutes of the 60th and 61st sessions, Trend reports. The meeting also reviewed the organizations 2024 activity and financial reports, as well as the proposed budget plan for 20262028. The agenda included presentations on ASOSAIs Strategic Plan, cooperation with other regional organizations, annual updates from working groups, and upcoming editions of the ASOSAI Journal. One of the key items discussed was the election of two new members to the INTOSAI Governing Board for the 20252031 term, along with the selection of INTOSAIs external auditor. The results of the vote are expected to be announced in the coming days. ULAN BATOR, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported a higher number of drowning deaths during holidays of the traditional Naadam Festival, official data showed on Thursday. According to the National Police Agency (NPA) of Mongolia, at least 25 people, including six children, were killed in water-related accidents across the country in six days. During the July 11-16 period, swimming under the influence of alcohol and leaving children unsupervised were the leading causes of such accidents, the agency said. As of Thursday, water levels in major rivers, including Orkhon, Selenge, Ider, Tamir, Baidrag, Tuin and Ongi, have surpassed warning levels by 20 cm to 120 cm due to heavy rainfall since last weekend, said the National Agency for Meteorology and Environmental Monitoring, urging people to stay away from flooded rivers to prevent possible accidents. In 2024, a total of 77 people, including 14 children, were killed in water-related accidents in Mongolia. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, July 17. An Investment Agreement was signed in Bishkek between the Cabinet of Ministers of Kyrgyzstan, represented by the citys mayor, and Hyper Partners, a company from Uzbekistan, Trend reports. The agreement was signed on behalf of Kyrgyzstan by Bishkek Mayor Aybek Junushaliev, and on behalf of the investor by Hyper Partners CEO Boburbek Usmanov. Under the terms of the agreement, a large-scale investment project will be launched in Bishkek, featuring the construction of a multifunctional complex. The development will include a modern business center, residential and commercial spaces, hotel apartments, retail outlets, dining establishments, as well as landscaped recreational areas and parking facilities. The project aims to enhance the citys infrastructure, boost the capitals investment attractiveness, create new jobs, and introduce contemporary architectural designs to Bishkeks urban environment. Hyper Partners is a rapidly growing company registered in Uzbekistan, specializing in real estate investment, development, and construction. In recent years, it has successfully completed several projects across Tashkent and other Central Asian cities, building a reputation as a reliable investor with a sustainable business approach. In Kyrgyzstan, the company operates through its subsidiary, LLC Turan City, which was registered in Bishkek in May 2024. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Relations between China and Azerbaijan are very strong and currently at their best point in history, Chinas Auditor-General Hou Kai said in an interview with Trend on the sidelines of the 62nd ASOSAI Governing Board meeting in Baku. "Political and economic ties between the two countries are solid, and I believe this is the highest level our relationship has ever reached," he noted. Hou highlighted that the close ties between the two countries have created an excellent environment for cooperation between their supreme audit institutions. "China will definitely continue to increase its investments across Asia and remain committed to the Belt and Road Initiative. Azerbaijan is naturally one of the key countries receiving our investments, and we hope to further expand our investments there in the future," he said. The official also pointed out Azerbaijans growing role as an important economic hub. "Its no coincidence that Azerbaijans strategic location and favorable economic conditions enable safe and efficient cargo transport between East and West," Hou noted. Additionally, he praised Azerbaijans contributions to the Middle Corridor. "I want to highlight Azerbaijans vital role in the Middle Corridor. We look forward to deepening our cooperation to enhance the corridors competitiveness," he added. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Japan is committed to continuing its support for the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) and is ready to help strengthen the capacities of other Supreme Audit Institutions, said Yuhei Harada, President of Japans Supreme Audit Institution, in an interview with Trend on the sidelines of the 62nd ASOSAI Governing Board meeting held in Baku. Discussing cooperation opportunities with Azerbaijan in auditing, Harada said, Collaboration between Japan and Azerbaijan in the audit field is a priority. Social security expenditures have risen sharply, making this area especially important. He added that Japan has a well-established training institute specializing in auditing public projects, and partner countries can benefit from its programs: I understand that Azerbaijan has many ongoing construction projects. Training in construction audits and related sectors can be very valuable. This training program has already been offered to numerous Supreme Audit Institutions, and we hope Azerbaijans audit bodies will also take part, especially in the audit of public works. At the regional level, we are proud members of ASOSAI, where knowledge sharing and training are crucial. Since around 2000, Japans Supreme Audit Institution has served as an administrator within ASOSAI, contributing to capacity-building efforts. We want to continue this work and stand ready to assist other Supreme Audit Institutions in strengthening their capabilities, Harada emphasized. Japan is also involved in auditing environmental and energy sectors, though we are still gaining experience and learning through trial and error. I hope we can exchange knowledge and expertise with Azerbaijan in these areas as well, he concluded. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, July 17. Central banks of the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) convened in Cholpon-Ata to coordinate macroeconomic policy and address new challenges such as ESG integration and cyber resilience, Trend reports via the National Bank of Kyrgyzstan. The 28th meeting of the Advisory Council on monetary policy brought together representatives from Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia, as well as participants from the Central Bank of Uzbekistan and Kazakhstans financial market regulator. Melis Turgunbaev, Chairman of the National Bank of the Kyrgyz Republic, highlighted the interconnectedness of regional economies and the councils role as a strategic dialogue platform. Discussions covered current macroeconomic trends, monetary strategies, the implementation of a countercyclical capital buffer, ESG practices, and joint cyber exercises. A protocol was signed outlining future cooperation. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Azerbaijans Chamber of Accounts has submitted its candidacy to become a member of the newly established Forecasting and Public Finance Evaluation Working Group, said Vugar Gulmammadov, Chairman of the Chamber, Trend reports. Speaking at the 62nd meeting of the Governing Board of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) in Baku, Gulmammadov highlighted the Chambers motivation and expectations for joining the working group. We believe that sharing knowledge and skills in auditing fiscal risks and government challenges, as well as learning from experiences in this area, will be a significant contribution to the Chamber of Accounts of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the chairman said. He added that besides being a member of ASOSAI, the Chamber has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with four countries: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Korea (South Korea), and the Peoples Republic of China. These MoUs involve seminars, knowledge exchange, training, and capacity-building activities. This year, we have agreed to conduct parallel audits with Kazakhstan, with the agreement expected to be signed and confirmed by the end of September. We also plan to renew our MoU with the Republic of Turkiye. Within the cooperation framework, we have finalized the audit results related to expenditures on the Igdr-Nakhchivan gas pipeline. Additionally, parallel audits on climate change and agriculture are planned, the chairman emphasized. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of Abu Dhabi Global Market (FSRA), Trend reports via the CBA. The agreement will deepen collaboration between the two institutions across financial technologies, capital markets, and other relevant sectors. The memorandum also envisions the exchange of expertise and information, as well as the organization of training, seminars, research visits, and professional development activities. This cooperation is expected to play a crucial role in adopting advanced regulatory practices and learning from international experience. Moreover, the agreement establishes a legal framework to strengthen strategic partnerships while fostering sustained dialogue and joint initiatives. These efforts are set to support the improvement of regulatory expertise and promote the sustainable development of the financial sectors in both countries. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) has issued mandatory enforcement orders to Qala Insurance and AzInsurance Open Joint Stock Companies (OJSC), following a recent monitoring process, Trend reports citing the CBA. The decision was made under Article 102 of the Law on Insurance Activities, after it was found that the companies had failed to establish civil-law contracts with independent experts, as required. In addition, the CBA identified that several registered independent experts had not updated their registry data and were not conducting operations in the area of compulsory insurance through the Compulsory Insurance Bureau system. As a result, these experts were also issued binding orders under the same legal provision. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The 63rd Governing Board meeting of the Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) has been confirmed to be Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, Trend reports. The announcement was made during the 62nd meeting of ASOSAIs Board of Directors, which was held today in Azerbaijan's Baku. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Cooperation between the Supreme Audit Institutions of Azerbaijan and Pakistan is very important, and we want to benefit experiences of Azerbaijan's Chamber of Accounts, Muhammad Ajmal Gondal, the head of the Supreme Audit Institution of Pakistan (SAI Pakistan), told Trend. He made the remark on the sidelines of the 62nd Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) Governing Board meeting held in Baku. The auditor general assessed the possibilities of cooperation between the Supreme Audit Institutions of Azerbaijan and Pakistan. "Representatives of the Chamber of Accounts of Azerbaijan visited Pakistan. We had very detailed discussions in Islamabad. The audit institution of Azerbaijan has really progressed a lot. In the last two to three years, it has formed a professional team. Currently, they are very good at financial audits," he said. Gondal also spoke about the training program in the field of auditing. "We have a training program. Through this program, we want to improve our skills. At the same time, we want to benefit from the experiences of the Chamber of Accounts of Azerbaijan, how they do it," he explained. The auditor general of Pakistan also expressed interest in deepening future cooperation opportunities with Azerbaijan. "We hope to have several cooperations with Azerbaijan in the field of audit. We would be pleased with cooperation in the economic, as well as state and state-owned companies, in particular. Azerbaijan has very good experience in the field of audit. We are also good in this field. We can unite. We can conduct parallel or joint audits in areas that are not very sensitive, such as agriculture. We plan to have high-level discussions in this direction. We have also drawn up specific plans in this direction. This plan also includes our training program. We have also come to Baku to receive training on some aspects. Our audit institution has good relations with the relevant authorities of Azerbaijan. We can conduct an audit here together with the audit institution of a brotherly country," he concluded. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Nahian Rahman Rochi, head of business development at the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) under the Chief Adviser's office, gives an interview to Xinhua in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 3, 2025. (Photo by Habibur Rahman/Xinhua) DHAKA, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh and China "have developed a friendly and mutually beneficial relationship that offers a strong platform to take our collaboration to the next level," a Bangladeshi senior official has said. "Our cooperation over the past 50 years has been remarkable," Nahian Rahman Rochi, head of business development at the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) under the Chief Adviser's office, told Xinhua in a recent interview. "China is very important for us, and it's one of our most important investment partners." According to official data, China has been Bangladesh's largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. At present, there are nearly 1,000 Chinese enterprises operating in Bangladesh. Reviewing the outcomes of cooperation, Rochi said "Traditionally, we have had lots of support from our Chinese partners in different types of infrastructure project developments. And we also have investments coming from China into sectors like ready-made garments. Apart from that, we now see renewed interest in sectors like pharmaceuticals, renewable energy, ICT, and electronics." The official said Bangladesh is seeking to turn itself into a regional manufacturing hub and build a more competitive digital economy, which needs deeper ties with China. He sees great potential in integrating the two economies across the value chain. "China can focus on capital-intensive, high-tech stages of production, while Bangladesh becomes a manufacturing hub. We could become a major sourcing center for Chinese industries serving global markets," he suggested. He acknowledged one key challenge facing Bangladesh: energy sustainability. "One area where we need improvement is providing stable energy access to industries. That's why we're looking increasingly into renewable sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower." He said he believed China is the right partner to support Bangladesh to graduate to the level where it can efficiently and effectively use renewable energy. The BIDA official also spoke highly of China's economic development model and its approach to attracting investment. "China has set probably the best example globally of how to welcome investors. I have always been amazed by the speed and ingenuity of the Chinese people and the facilities that you offer." "Whenever we are planning the initiatives within Bangladesh, China comes as the first reference in the case study. So we are always trying to learn from what you did over the last 10 to 15 years," he said. Noting that a BIDA delegation will visit China this month, the official expressed great anticipation. "We will be going to different areas in China to deliver to the Chinese investors the opportunity that is here in Bangladesh and also try to share with them the potential of having increased collaboration with Bangladesh," Rochi said. For target sectors or priorities of the upcoming visit, he said it would be around textiles, pharmaceuticals, ICT and renewable energy. There are also emerging sectors like medical equipment and automobiles. Highlighting the importance of Chinese investors, Rochi said that Bangladesh has a dedicated economic zone for Chinese investors and is also contemplating expanding into a second economic zone. "We do offer very competitive tax and other incentives, which I think will be very much favorable to any Chinese investor who wants to enter Bangladesh." He emphasized his long-term vision for the bilateral relationship. "The progress that we made in the last 50 years can be a very good benchmark and set up a form to launch to the next stage." Nahian Rahman Rochi, head of business development at the Bangladesh Investment Development Authority (BIDA) under the Chief Adviser's office, gives an interview to Xinhua in Dhaka, Bangladesh, July 3, 2025. (Photo by Habibur Rahman/Xinhua) BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. First Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA), Aliyar Mammadyarov, has met with Muhammad Zubair Mughal, Chief Executive Officer of the AlHuda Center for Islamic Banking and Economics, Trend reports via the CBA. The meeting focused on current economic trends, strategic initiatives outlined in the Financial Sector Development Strategy for 2024-2026, and necessary regulatory reforms to support the advancement of Islamic banking in the country. The sides also discussed potential areas for future cooperation. TASHKENT, Uzbekistan, July 17. Uzbekistans Minister of Investments, Industry and Trade, Laziz Kudratov, held meetings in Bratislava with Slovakias Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy, Denisa Sakova, the Chairman of the Board of Eximbanka, Rastislav Podhorec, as well as with representatives of the countrys leading industrial and investment companies, Trend reports. In the course of the meetings, the parties discussed concrete steps to expand industrial cooperation and launch new joint production initiatives. Particular attention was given to strengthening partnerships in key sectors such as mechanical engineering, metallurgy, agro-industry, energy, pharmaceuticals, environmental protection, transport, finance, and infrastructure development. Following the visit, the sides agreed to develop a joint roadmap encompassing all discussed initiatives and to hold a bilateral business forum in Uzbekistan this fall. Earlier in June, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev held official talks with Prime Minister of the Slovak Republic Robert Fico at the Kuksaroy Residence to deepen strategic cooperation in the areas of trade, industry, and energy. The talks marked a new chapter in Uzbek-Slovak relations, culminating in the signing of several bilateral agreements. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, July 17. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will organize its exhibition pavilion during the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), set to take place in the Avaza National Tourist Zone from August 4 through 8, Trend reports via the Turkmen Embassy in China. The announcement was made on July 15 during a meeting in Beijing between AIIB President Jin Liqun and Turkmenistans Ambassador to China, Parakhat Durdyev. Jin reaffirmed the banks interest in expanding cooperation with Turkmenistan and confirmed its active participation in LLDC3. Discussions focused on bilateral cooperation and the potential for AIIB to contribute to infrastructure development in Turkmenistan. The Turkmen side also shared insights into the countrys foreign policy priorities and its evolving role in regional and international platforms. The meeting concluded in a warm and constructive atmosphere, with both sides expressing appreciation for the exchange. As a gesture of cultural diplomacy, the Turkmen delegation gifted Jin Liqun and the AIIB library a Chinese-language edition of selected poems by renowned Turkmen poet and thinker Makhtumkuli Fragi. Kazakhstan sets sights on Italys innovation to boost investment strategy Photo: Samruk Kazyna's official telegram account The event "Italy meets Kazakhstan" was held in Astana to foster economic ties between Italian and Kazakh businesses, organized by CDP with support from the Italian Embassy and ITA. Key sectors discussed included energy, infrastructure, and technology. Samruk-Kazynas Saltanat Satzhan emphasized the strong bilateral partnership and collaboration with major Italian firms. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Russia expands energy supply chain by doubling Azerbaijani electricity imports Azerbaijans electricity exports to Russia rose 18.2% in volume and 52.7% in value in the first five months of 2025, generating $2.4 million in revenue. Meanwhile, total electricity exports to key regional partners reached 658.1 million kWh worth $37.4 million, underscoring Azerbaijans growing role as a regional energy supplier. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register Azerbaijan expands electricity exports to Georgia in 5M2025 Azerbaijan's electricity exports to Georgia grew by nearly 20 percent in value during the first five months of 2025, reaching around $26 million. Meanwhile, Georgias electricity sales to Azerbaijan dropped significantly, both in volume and revenue. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. EU pipeline natural gas (PNG) imports declined by 12% year-on-year in June 2025, totalling 11.5 billion cubic metres (bcm), Trend reports citing the Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF). According to GECF, this also marked a 5% decrease compared to the previous month. Of all suppliers, only Azerbaijan recorded a month-on-month increase in PNG exports to the EU in June, while supply from Norway continued to be affected by annual maintenance activities. During the first half of 2025, the EUs cumulative PNG imports reached 71 bcm, representing a 10% decline compared to the same period in 2024. Notably, PNG supply from Algeria rose by 2% year-on-year, while imports from all other suppliers declined. In June 2025, none of the EUs five major PNG suppliers recorded a year-on-year increase in exports to the bloc. Between January and June 2025, PNG imports into Germany rose by 5% y-o-y, accounting for almost a quarter of the regions total imports. Belgiums PNG imports grew by 1% y-o-y, making it the third-largest entry point for pipeline gas in the EU as of June 2025. Imports into Italy remained virtually unchanged year-on-year, representing 15% of the EUs total pipeline gas imports so far this year. Algerias pipeline gas exports increased by 2% y-o-y to each of its key European markets, Italy and Spain. Meanwhile, since April 2025, there has been a surge in net pipeline gas flows from the UK to the EU via interconnector pipelines, with UK supply rising by 15% y-o-y to reach 2.5 bcm in the first half of the year. IFC supports small businesses and women entrepreneurs in Kyrgyzstan Photo: International Finance Corporation/Facebook The International Finance Corporation (IFC) is investing up to $3 million in Kompanion Bank to enhance access to finance for micro and small enterprises in Kyrgyzstan. The initiative prioritizes support for women-owned businesses and climate-related projects, aiming to boost economic growth, job creation, and financial inclusion. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register HANOI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam was deploying artificial intelligence (AI)-powered surveillance cameras to automatically detect traffic violations, according to the Traffic Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security. The system, operating around the clock, is expected to reduce the need for traffic police officers to physically patrol the streets, Vietnam News Agency reported on Thursday. Pham Quang Huy, the department's deputy director, said the AI-integrated cameras are capable of automatically capturing and extracting images and video clips of violations, including details such as location, time and specific offense committed. Currently, the AI system is capable of recognizing about 20 types of traffic violations involving both cars and motorcycles, with ongoing efforts to expand its detection capabilities, he said. ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 17. The National Bank of Kazakhstan and the Bank of Korea have signed a bilateral agreement on the exchange of expert experience, Trend reports via Kazakhstans National Bank. A delegation from the Bank of Korea arrived with the purpose of providing technical assistance in improving external sector statistics, including the balance of payments, international investment position, and external debt statistics. In the course of the visit, the following activities were held: A collegial seminar with specialists from both sides. Signing of a bilateral agreement on the exchange of expert experience and information. This cooperation aims to improve the quality and accuracy of statistical data, which contributes to strengthening financial stability and developing international cooperation. In 2024, investment relations between Kazakhstan and South Korea significantly strengthened, reflecting the strategic partnership between the countries. The volume of direct investments from Korea to Kazakhstan amounted to $1.2 billion, making the Republic of Korea the third-largest investor in the countrys economy. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The Azerbaijani Chamber of Accounts demonstrates a high level of professionalism, Svetlana Orlova, representative of SAI Russia, told reporters on the sidelines of the 62nd Asian Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (ASOSAI) Governing Board meeting held in Baku, Trend reports. "The goals of sustainable development, including environmental issues, development of infrastructure, society, and the introduction of new technologies, are the basis of the activities of the highest state audit bodies. The professionalism of the Azerbaijan Accounts Chamber is obvious - they actively participate in international events such as the Kazan Forum, the Islamic Forum, and a major round table on government audit issues. We work within the framework of the International Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions (INTOSAI), which includes more than 188 countries," Orlova emphasized. She also noted the importance of developing state audit at the regional and municipal levels, recalling that, namely, through these links, the key initiatives are implemented, and the audit serves as a tool for monitoring the effective use of budget funds. Orlova drew attention to the active implementation of national projects in both Russia and Azerbaijan. According to her, in the areas of healthcare, education, infrastructure, and job creation, both countries have accumulated significant experience, which can become the basis for a mutual exchange of knowledge and practices. The official also expressed satisfaction that such an important conference is being held in Baku, noting its high international level. According to Orlova, constant interaction and exchange of experience on a wide range of issues have been established between the Accounts Chambers of Russia and Azerbaijan. Stay up-to-date with more news on Trend News Agency's WhatsApp channel Iran elevates non-oil exports to Turkmenistan In early 2025, Irans non-oil exports to Turkmenistan increased by over 13% in value and 5% in volume. Exports reached nearly 364,000 tons worth about $125 million, up from 346,000 tons worth $110 million last year. Key products included agricultural, industrial, and petrochemical goods. Access to paid information is limited If You already have a account, please log in Login Register BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, July 17. Preparations are underway for the state visit of Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh to the Kyrgyz Republic, scheduled for July 20, Trend reports, citing the Presidential Administration of Kyrgyzstan. During the visit, President Khurelsukh will hold bilateral talks with Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, as well as with Toraga of the Zhogorku Kenesh Nurlanbek Turgunbek uulu and Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers Adylbek Kasymaliev. According to Sagynbek Abdumutalip, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration, a series of high-level events will be held in accordance with the protocol of a state visit. A package of bilateral agreements is expected to be signed, aimed at expanding cooperation in various sectors. In parallel with the political dialogue, a Kyrgyz-Mongolian business forum will take place to explore new trade and investment opportunities. A cultural concert featuring artists from both countries will also be held, underlining the growing people-to-people ties. The visit is expected to mark a new stage in the development of strategic partnership between Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia. BISHKEK, Kyrgyzstan, July 17. Ambassador of the Kyrgyz Republic to the United States Aibek Moldogaziev held meetings with senior members of the US Congress to advance bilateral cooperation, Trend reports via the press service of the Kyrgyz MFA. Ambassador Moldogaziev met with Republican Congressman Robert Aderholt and Chris Socha, Head of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee staff. Discussions focused on strengthening inter-parliamentary cooperation, trade, and regional security. The Kyrgyz side highlighted the country's reforms aimed at raising living standards, boosting the economy, and enhancing regional integration. Proposals were made to establish direct cooperation mechanisms with the US Congress. Congressman Aderholt expressed support for expanding parliamentary ties, while Socha emphasized the importance of deeper inter-legislative dialogue. Both sides also exchanged views on pressing regional and international matters and agreed to maintain regular contact going forward. DUSHANBE, Tajikistan, July 17. Mongolia's President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh will pay a state visit to Tajikistan from July 23 through 26 at the invitation of President Emomali Rahmon, Trend reports via the Tajikistan's MFA. The visit will include high-level talks and the signing of several documents aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation. Despite limited trade volume between the two countries, the visit is expected to give new impetus to political and diplomatic ties. According to Tajikistans Statistics Agency, trade turnover between Tajikistan and Mongolia in the first five months of 2025 amounted to approximately $172,000, consisting entirely of imports from Mongolia. While both countries are landlocked and primarily export raw materials, they share broader regional interests in water resource management, climate resilience, and sustainable development. Tajikistan has increasingly used high-level visits to expand its partnerships across Asia, particularly with countries that share common development challenges. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, July 17. Turkmenistan and Croatia are preparing a series of high-level events to strengthen bilateral cooperation during the upcoming visit of Croatian Foreign Minister Gordan Grlic-Radman to Ashgabat in October, Trend reports via the Turkmen MFA. The visit will include the fourth meeting of the Turkmen-Croatian Intergovernmental Joint Commission on Economic Cooperation, which is expected to provide a key platform for expanding trade and economic ties. In parallel, an Economic Forum will be held with participation from the business communities of both countries to explore new opportunities in investment and trade. The details were discussed during a telephone conversation between Turkmen Foreign Minister Rashid Meredov and his Croatian counterpart. The sides also reviewed collaboration on multilateral platforms, reaffirming their shared commitment to peace and security, particularly through the UN and the OSCE. The ministers also exchanged views on preparations for the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), which Turkmenistan is actively organizing, and the upcoming International Forum on Peace and Trust, to be held in Ashgabat on December 12, 2025. The October visit and its accompanying events are expected to inject new momentum into Turkmen-Croatian relations and pave the way for deeper political and economic engagement. ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan, July 17. Turkmenistan and Georgia reaffirmed their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation during a meeting between Turkmen Ambassador Dovletmyrat Seyitmammedov and Kakha Sikharulidze, Director of the Political Directorate for Global Affairs at the Georgian Foreign Ministry, Trend reports, citing the Embassy of Turkmenistan in Georgia. The sides reviewed a broad agenda encompassing political, economic, and cultural-humanitarian cooperation. They emphasized the value of holding regular political consultations, which reflect the commitment of both countries to systematic and long-term engagement. The meeting highlighted the strong personal ties between the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the Prime Minister of Georgia Irakli Kobakhidze, describing their mutual trust as a foundation for the ongoing development of bilateral relations. Multilateral cooperation was also discussed, particularly within the framework of the United Nations and international organizations. Special attention was given to preparations for the Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), where both countries are expected to play active roles. Concluding the meeting, both diplomats underscored the importance of continued dialogue and expanding areas of cooperation aligned with mutual interests. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. Tehran has condemned the European Councils new sanctions against Iran, calling them illegal and baseless, Trend reports. Speaking to local media, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the accusations that Iran supports terrorist activities in Europe are unfounded. He stressed that the European Unions move to impose sanctions on Iranian citizens without presenting any evidence runs counter to fundamental human rights principles. According to him, the responsibility for this action lies with the countries that proposed the sanctions. On July 15, the European Council announced sanctions against one Iranian entity and eight individuals, citing human rights violations and cross-border repression. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada has voted for the appointment of former Prime Minister Denys Shmygal as the country's new defense minister, the statement of Ukrainian mass media said, Trend reports. A total of 367 MPs voted in favor of Shmygal's appointment as chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine; only 3 MPs voted against, 10 MPs abstained. Thus, Shmygal's appointment to this position has been confirmed. It is worth noting that until now, the country's defense minister has been Rustam Umerov (since September 2023). The Verkhovna Rada also approved Andrii Sybiha for the post of foreign minister. Sybiha's appointment was supported by 271 MPs. SEOUL, July 17 (Xinhua) -- A group of senior liberals in South Korea, including former ministers and professors, on Thursday criticized U.S. President Donald Trump for his "beggar-thy-neighbor" policy. The group said in a statement that Trump unilaterally announced his plan to impose a reciprocal tariff of 25 percent on all South Korean products from Aug. 1, constituting a clear violation of the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement under which Seoul levies near-zero tariffs on almost all U.S. goods. "His tariff policy is not a legitimate trade measure but a revival of 1930s-style protectionism, a beggar-thy-neighbor policy aimed at enriching its own country by impoverishing neighbors," the statement noted. It stressed that should his demands be met, the Asian economy would be pushed to the edge of a cliff, with core industries collapsing, food sovereignty undermined, and workers and farmers left in a state of havoc. The statement was signed by 10 senior liberals, including former unification ministers. The senior members noted that Trump also demanded that South Korea pay 10 billion U.S. dollars for defense cost-sharing for about 28,500 U.S. troops stationed here, a figure around 9.7 times bigger than Seoul's contributions this year. They said the U.S. soldiers in South Korea have sought to reorient themselves toward upholding the U.S. hegemony in the Indo-Pacific region, causing harm to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. "What began as economic pressure has now extended to life-and-death matters, which President Trump treats as mere bargaining chips under the banner of America First," the statement said. "As elders of (South) Korean civil society, expressing care for our young people and the future of (South) Korea, we hereby declare our categorical rejection of President Trump's unjust behavior," it noted. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 17. The first meeting of the FMs of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan took place in Kabul, during which a framework intergovernmental agreement was signed on the development of a feasibility study (FS) for the Uzbekistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trans-Afghan Railway project, Trend reports. "Todays first trilateral meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan marks a historic step forward in deepening mutual trust, good neighborliness, and regional cooperation. The Foreign Ministers of Afghanistan, Uzbekistan and Pakistan signed a Trilateral Framework Agreement to develop a Feasibility Study for the UzbekistanAfghanistanPakistan Trans-Afghan Railway, a project of strategic significance for all of Eurasia. This corridor will enhance trade, support Afghanistans economic recovery, and open new access to global markets via the southern ports. Uzbekistan reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening trade ties, expanding cooperation in agriculture, pharmaceuticals, textiles, and construction, and increasing the use of the Termez International Trade Center", - Saidov noted. Meanwhile, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan signed a roadmap for the construction of the TermezMazar-i-SharifKabulPeshawar railway in February 2021. According to the calculations of the project participants, with a preliminary cost of about $5 billion, the new transport corridor, with a transit potential of up to 20 million tons of cargo, should connect the countries of Europe, Russia, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and further extend to the states of Southeast Asia. ROME, July 17 (Xinhua) -- More than 6,000 Italian companies are directly exposed to the risks of higher U.S. tariffs, according to a report released Wednesday by the Italian Trade Agency (ITA). U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the decision to impose a 30 percent tariff on imports from the European Union (EU) and Mexico starting Aug. 1. The ITA report said that the affected companies are mostly micro and small firms operating in high-value-added sectors such as the beverage industry, metal products, pharmaceuticals, furniture, retail trade, and transport-related products other than motor vehicles. The report estimated that the value of exports from these companies to the United States is more than 11 billion euros (12.76 billion U.S. dollars). The Association for the Development of Industry in the Mezzogiorno (SVIMEZ) also warned earlier this week of the potential impact of the tariffs, estimating a 0.5 percent reduction in Italy's GDP in 2026 and the potential loss of up to 150,000 jobs. Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said Monday the EU is prepared to impose billions of euros in retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods should ongoing trade negotiations between the two sides fail to produce an agreement. Welcome Guest! You are here: Home No merit in Israel's request to revoke warrant against Netanyahu: ICC The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected Israels request to revoke arrest warrants issued against its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant Thursday July 17, 2025 11:58 AM , ummid.com News Network The Hague: The International Criminal Court (ICC) has rejected Israels request to revoke arrest warrants issued against its Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant. The decision was announced today by Pre-Trial Chamber I. Israel had requested the ICC to withdraw or invalidate the warrants. It also called on the Court to suspend its investigation into crimes committed in Palestine. A senior Israeli legal team submitted the request on May 9, 2025, according to Quds News Network. The ICC judges, however, ruled that the arrest warrants remain valid. The judges said the Court had the legal authority to issue the warrants. They rejected Israels claim that the warrants violated the suspects human rights or international law. The warrants include valid jurisdictional findings, the judges stated. The judges also said that reversing a procedural ruling earlier this year did not affect the legal foundation of the warrants. Another Key Point The ruling also clarified another key point. Israel wanted the ICC to pause its investigation until a final decision is made on jurisdiction. The Court refused. Under Article 19(7) of the Rome Statute, an investigation can be suspended if a state challenges the admissibility of a case. But Israel only challenged the Courts jurisdiction, not the admissibility. "Therefore", the ICC said, "The investigation will go on." The Chamber noted that only admissibility challenges can halt investigations. "Jurisdictional challenges do not carry the same effect", the ICC ruling said. "No additional information needed" Palestine had asked to submit its own observations on Israels request. But the Court said it already had enough information and declined to hear additional arguments from the Palestinian side at this stage. The decision marks a major step in the ICCs ongoing investigation into Israeli war crimes in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Court began the investigation in 2021 and issued the arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Gallant in November 2024. Israel does not recognize the Courts jurisdiction. However, the ICC has ruled that it has legal authority over the territories occupied by Israel since 1967; Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. The ICCs investigation focuses on crimes committed since June 13, 2014. Despite mounting political pressure, the Court reaffirmed its position. The investigation will move forward, and the arrest warrants remain active. Follow ummid.com WhatsApp Channel for all the latest updates. Select Language To Read in Urdu, Hindi, Marathi or Arabic. MOSCOW, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Russia and Ukraine on Thursday exchanged bodies of fallen soldiers under the Istanbul deal, Russian Presidential Aide Vladimir Medinsky said. "In continuation of the Istanbul agreements, another 1,000 bodies of Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers were handed over to Ukraine today," said Medinsky, also Russia's chief negotiator at the talks with the Ukrainian side. He added that 19 bodies of Russian soldiers were received. During their last round of talks on June 2, Russia and Ukraine agreed on an "all-for-all" exchange of seriously ill and wounded prisoners, and soldiers under the age of 25, as well as the transfer of the bodies of fallen soldiers. MOSCOW/KIEV, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Russia on Tuesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's 50-day ultimatum to agree to a Ukraine ceasefire, dismissing the threat of "severe tariffs" as unacceptable. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov emphasized that Moscow favors a diplomatic resolution to the Ukraine conflict and is ready to negotiate. "However, if this is not met with a proper response, if we cannot reach our set goals through diplomacy, then the special military operation will go on," he said, adding that Moscow's position is unshakable. "We expect Washington and NATO to take this seriously." The rejection came just days after Trump, speaking in the Oval Office alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, declared that the United States would impose "very severe tariffs" on Russia if a ceasefire agreement was not reached within 50 days. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Trump's reference to 100 percent secondary tariffs meant "economic sanctions." The tariffs, according to U.S. ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker, will "dramatically impact the Russian economy," as he referred to the secondary sanctions on countries buying oil from Russia. Despite the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Washington continues to import large quantities of Russian goods -- mainly fertilizers, inorganic chemicals and nuclear materials -- of which Russia remains a key global supplier, the BBC reported. Trump also told Rutte that the United States would supply weapons to Ukraine through NATO, including Patriot missile systems, with deliveries starting soon. The move came as NATO members agreed to increase defense spending to 5 percent of GDP by 2035 -- a decision that, according to CNN, aligns with Trump's longstanding push for greater financial burden-sharing. TRUMP'S SHIFT On Tuesday, just a day after announcing the NATO weapons deal and threatening tariffs, Trump told reporters he was not on anyone's side. He also advised Ukraine not to strike Moscow, contradicting a report that he had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky whether Ukraine could hit both Moscow and St. Petersburg if supplied with long-range weapons. "Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? ... Can you hit St. Petersburg, too?" Trump allegedly asked in a July 4 phone call, according to two sources cited by the Financial Times. Zelensky reportedly replied, "Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons." Trump has denied the account. But it marked a return to a familiar rhythm in his foreign policy. After the inauguration, he dispatched envoys to Saudi Arabia for talks with Russian officials -- without Ukrainian participation -- and publicly berated Zelensky for being "ungrateful" during a February meeting at the White House. He then froze 1 billion U.S. dollars in military aid to Ukraine, arguing that Kiev was dragging its feet on peace. But by July, Trump reversed course -- resuming arms shipments, authorizing Patriot systems and lashing out at Putin. "I'm disappointed in him, but I'm not done with him," Trump told the BBC in an interview on Tuesday. "But I'm disappointed in him." GROWING CONFUSION Trump said some or all of 17 Patriot batteries ordered by other countries could be redirected to Ukraine "very quickly." Sitting alongside him, Rutte described the weapons agreement as a game-changer. However, the clarity of those deliveries remains uncertain. Vadym Skibitsky, deputy chief of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence, told The Guardian that the claim of 17 Patriot systems was confusing. "We don't know for sure ... 17 is a huge number if we're talking about batteries. If we are talking about launchers, then this is possible," he said. It's not the first time confusion has followed U.S. military pledges. Earlier this month, reports varied over whether Ukraine would receive 10 Patriot missiles or 10 full systems. The arms shipments have drawn criticism from Moscow. Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said Tuesday, "This is yet another indication that NATO countries really have no interest in peace." Ukraine's parliament on Monday voted to extend the country's wartime status and military mobilization for another 90 days, through Nov 5. Lawmakers also approved a temporary withdrawal from the Ottawa Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines. On the battlefield, Russia and Ukraine have intensified drone attacks recently. On Wednesday, Ukraine's air force said Russia launched 400 drones and one ballistic missile, primarily targeting three cities in Ukraine. Earlier this month, the Russian Defense Ministry said it downed 402 Ukrainian drones and seven guided aerial bombs within days. Penny Wolin, a photographer born in Wyoming, will discuss her book Descendants of Light: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry, a visual encyclopedia of photography and Jewish life since the mid-1800s, during a visit to the University of Wyomings American Heritage Center Thursday, July 24, at 6:30 p.m. Photographer Penny Wolin will hold town-hall meetings at multiple venues throughout Wyoming -- including the University of Wyoming -- this summer to engage in dialogue about Jewish culture in the Cowboy State. Wolin will kick off her tour at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 24, at UWs American Heritage Center, located at 2111 E. Willet Drive. A book signing will follow at 7:45 p.m. The core of her discussion will be her book, Descendants of Light: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry, a visual encyclopedia of photography and Jewish life since the mid-1800s. This book was awarded the coveted Kirkus book prize for best independent nonfiction. During Wolins tour, she will discuss a multi-generational story of the intersection of Jewish culture, the founding vision of America and the roots of equality that have been so important to the development of Wyoming and the West. Those who have questions about American Jewish culture, food, life, ancestry and anything else about Jewish civilization are welcome to attend. Wolins illustrated talk will engage the audience in common themes meant to heal divided hearts. This project is sponsored, in part, by the Wyoming Humanities Council to promote community-involved discussions of Wyomings multiple cultures. Additionally, with private sponsorship, the Wyoming State Library has acquired 120 copies of Descendants of Light books that are being placed as reference material in all public libraries throughout the state. Other town hall sponsors are the Moby Bookmobile in Fort Washakie, Crazy Woman Creek Press in Cheyenne, Wyoming State Libraries, and Phyllis and Jason Bloomberg, of Cheyenne. To help create a better understanding among Wyomings different ethnicities and faiths, Wolin will present a selection of her photographs and moderate discussions at multiple venues throughout Wyoming this summer. The schedule is as follows: -- Saratoga Public Library: Friday, July 25, 6:30 p.m. -- Riverton Public Library: Monday, July 28, 6:30 p.m. -- Lander Public Library: Tuesday, July 29, 6:30 p.m. -- Natrona Public Library in Casper: Monday, Aug. 4, 6 p.m. -- Uinta County Public Library in Evanston: Tuesday, Aug. 5, 5:30 p.m. Wolins previous journey into American Jewish life is The Jews of Wyoming: Fringe of the Diaspora. A solo exhibition of this work was mounted at the Smithsonian Institution and the rotunda of the Wyoming State Capitol, and it was made into a fascinating book. These two documents are considered unique contributions to understanding of American Jewry as Jews embrace and enhance the vast mosaic of the United States. Wolin is a native-born Wyomingite, photographer, visual anthropologist and the author of four monographs of photography. Her books include Guest Register; Descendants of Light: American Photographers of Jewish Ancestry; The Jews of Wyoming: Fringe of the Diaspora; and Jackalopes, Cowboys and Coalmines: Energy Development in Wyoming. She has exhibited solo at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History and is the recipient of multiple grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. Her photographs are held in such collections as the Smithsonian American Art Museum; The New York Public Library; Harvard University; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Layton Art Collection at the Milwaukee Art Museum; and the Wyoming State Museum. Her editorial portraits of actors, activists, musicians and thinkers have appeared in Conde Nast Traveler, Esquire, Forbes, Rolling Stone, The New York Times and Vanity Fair. Wolin was a contract photographer for LIFE Magazine; was awarded a directing fellowship to the American Film Institute, Center for Advanced Film & Television Studies; and was program director for the Sonoma Valley Film Festival. Based in Los Angeles and Sonoma County, Wolin is an adjunct professor teaching visual literacy through the analysis and practice of photography and film. The Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Church in Gaza, was struck by a raid this morning, resulting in three deaths and several injuries, including the Parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. In a statement, the Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem appeals to leaders "to raise their voices and to do all that is necessary in order to stop this tragedy which is humanly and morally unjustified." By Vatican News The Holy Family Church, the only Catholic Church in the Gaza Strip, was hit by a tank this morning. Three people subsequently died from their injuries. Others were reportedly wounded more lightly, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, earlier spoke to Vatican News: What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church, he said. There are four people seriously wounded, among these four, two are in very dramatic conditions and their lives are in serious danger. There are also other injured but less problematic, among them also the Parish Priest, because they were all in the Church. We dont have complete information about what has happened in Gaza today because the communication in Gaza is not that simple, he explained, adding he will try to get more information as soon as possible. Listen to Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa Father Gabriel Romanelli being treated for his light injuries We will never leave them alone Speaking in Italian to Vatican News, Cardinal Pizzaballa expressed his closeness to those affected in Gaza: "We always try to reach Gaza in all possible ways, directly and indirectly. Now it's too early to talk about all this; we need to understand what happened, what should be done, especially to protect our people, and of course, try to make sure that these things don't happen anymore. Then we will see how to continue, but certainly we will never leave them alone." Earlier, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem had posted a press release on X confirming the Church was struck by a raid. The statement said there are no fatalities confirmed at the moment, but the Church has sustained damage. According to the Catholic press agency SIR, the Holy Family Church is currently hosting around 500 displaced Christians. Death, suffering and destruction are everywhere In a statement posted later in the day, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, "The people in the Holy Family Compound are people who found in the Church a sanctuaryhoping that the horrors of war might at least spare their lives, after their homes, possessions, and dignity had already been stripped away." Extending its deepest condolences to the bereaved families, "On behalf of the entire Church of the Holy Land," the Patriarchate offered prayers and condemned the raid, pointing out that it is just one of the many attacks destroying Gaza and its people. "The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place. However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza. Many other innocent civilians have also been harmed, displaced and killed. Death, suffering and destruction are everywhere," the statement reads. Appeal Launching an urgent appeal, the statement continues saying, "The time has come for leaders to raise their voices and to do all that is necessary in order to stop this tragedy which is humanly and morally unjustified." "This horrific war must come to a complete endso that we may commence the long work of restoring human dignity." Reiterating closeness to those who are burying members of the community "in this painful hour", the Patriarchate and the church expressed gratitude for all expressions of solidarity and closeness and reiterated Cardinal Pizzaballa's pledge never to leave the people alone. "We will continue to stand by the side of the community of Gaza and do all that is within our power to support them." Article updated at 17:30 CET KIEV, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday proposed to the Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, to appoint former Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal as the country's new defense minister. "Today, I have already signed documents to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine regarding Denys Shmyhal as the new defense minister," Zelensky said in a post on Telegram. Zelensky also announced that Herman Smetanin, minister of strategic industries, will head the country's state defense conglomerate Ukroboronprom. Shmyhal said on Tuesday he had submitted a resignation letter, as part of the country's governmental reshuffle. Earlier in the day, the parliament approved Shmyhal's resignation, which triggered the resignation of the entire government in accordance with Ukrainian law. The outgoing cabinet will continue to exercise its duties until a new government is formed. Marvin S. Whittaker, age 96, of Alexandria, died on Tuesday, July 15th, at Bethany on the Lake in Alexandria. The European Union executive on Wednesday proposed a two-trillion-euro long-term budget focused on tackling overseas competition and Russian aggression, but it was quickly shot down by Germany, the bloc's largest member. Germany said it was "unable to accept" the $2.3-trillion budget for 2028-2034, which EU chief Ursula von der Leyen called "the most ambitious ever proposed". Farm unions also quickly came out against proposed reforms to the blocs huge agriculture subsidies. The plan seeks to bolster Europe's security and ramp up competitiveness, against a backdrop of soaring trade tensions with the United States, while paying off debts from a massive Covid-era loan. The European Commission put 451 billion euros on the table under a broad "competitiveness" tag that encompasses defence and space -- together allocated 131 billion euros, a five-fold increase. The budget earmarks up to 100 billion euros for the reconstruction of war-torn Ukraine -- as well as substantial new "flexibility" funds kept available in event of crises. But German government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said in a statement that "a comprehensive increase in the EU budget is not acceptable at a time when all member states are making considerable efforts to consolidate their national budgets." Germany also opposed the commission call to make companies with a turnover of more than 100 million euros pay more tax. While Germany says the budget is too large, many EU lawmakers accuse it of not leaving sufficient funds for priorities such as climate adaptation and the agriculture subsidies that make up the biggest share of the budget. Budget commissioner Piotr Serafin said under the commission's plans, 300 billion euros would remain to support farmers -- against around 387 billion euros, of which 270 billion in direct payouts, under the current seven-year budget. - 'Black Wednesday for farmers' - Brussels says there would be an overhaul of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) subsidies -- with some funding moved to other budget columns. But the future of the CAP is headed for a fight, with farmers warning against cuts to their slice of the EU pie -- and marching Wednesday in Brussels to show their resolve. Hundreds of European farmers joined a protest outside the commission building in Brussels organised by a pan-European agriculture lobby group, Copa-Cogeca. The group described it as a "Black Wednesday" for farmers, accusing Brussels of seeking to "dismantle the 'common' nature of the CAP through concealed budget cuts". The warning raised the spectre of another confrontation after last year's protests across Europe by farmers upset at cheap imports, low margins and the burden of environmental rules. Hungary, a staunch critic of Brussels and Russia's closest ally in Europe, meanwhile tapped into the rural anger ahead of the plan's release -- while slamming the money for Kyiv. "Ukraine would get a massive funding boost, while European farmers lose out," Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said. - Battle lines drawn - The announcement sets the stage for two years of fraught negotiations between the European Parliament and 27 member states. Already stretched thin, some states, such as Germany, are unwilling to contribute more to the common pot. Unlike in the previous budget, the EU has debts due from the Covid pandemic, when states teamed up to borrow 800 billion euros to support the bloc's economy. These are estimated to cost 25-30 billion euros a year from 2028. The previous 2021-2027 budget was worth around 1.2 trillion euros and made up from national contributions and money collected by the EU such as customs duties. National contributions will grow slightly, from 1.13 percent of member states' gross national income to 1.15 percent plus 0.11 percent devoted to repaying the Covid loan. The commission will also seek to raise about 58 billion euros a year collecting money directly through five instruments, including its carbon border tax and a levy on electronic waste. Member states gave a sneak peek at the fights to come. France's Europe minister Benjamin Haddad hailed the commission's "ambition" but Dutch finance minister Eelco Heinen -- representing one of the frugal states -- said the proposed budget was "too high". Members of the EU parliament, however, made it clear the budget was not enough in their view. "However you try to package this, what we have is a real-terms investment and spending freeze," said a joint statement from the EU lawmakers tasked with steering the budget through parliament. bur-adc-raz/ec/rlp France on Thursday formally handed back its last two military bases in Senegal, leaving Paris with no permanent army camps in either west or central Africa. Ending the French army's 65 years in independent Senegal, the pull-out comes after similar withdrawals across the continent, with former colonies increasingly turning their backs on their former ruler. The move comes as the Sahel region faces a growing jihadist conflict across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that is threatening the wider west African region. A recent string of attacks this month in Mali included an assault on a town on the border with Senegal. France returned Camp Geille, its largest base in the west African country, and its airfield at Dakar airport, in a ceremony attended by top French and Senegalese officials. They included Senegalese chief of staff General Mbaye Cisse and General Pascal Ianni, the head of the French forces in Africa. Cisse said the handover marked "an important turning point in the rich and long military journey of our two countries". He said the "new objectives" were aimed at "giving new content to the security partnership". Senegalese troops were working "to consolidate the numerous skills gained it its quest for strategic autonomy", he added. The general ended his speech with a quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the French author of "The Little Prince", who spent several months in Dakar: "For each ending there is always a new departure." Ianni said Paris was "reinventing partnerships in a dynamic Africa". "We have to do things differently, and we don't need permanent bases to do so," he said. The French general however insisted that the pull-out "takes nothing away from the sacrifices made yesterday by our brothers-in-arms in Africa for our respective interests". Around 350 French soldiers, primarily tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, are now leaving, marking the end of a three-month departure process that began in March. After storming to victory in 2024 elections promising radical change, Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw troops from the country by 2025. Unlike the leaders of other former colonies such as junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, however, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris. - 'Sovereignty' - Senegal was one of France's first colonies in Africa. After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of France's staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its modern history. Faye's predecessor, Macky Sall, continued that tradition. However Faye, who ran on a ticket promising a clean break with the Sall era, has said that Senegal will treat France like any other foreign partner. Pledging to make his country more self-sufficient, the president gave a deadline of the end of 2025 for all foreign armies to withdraw. "Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country," Faye said at the end of 2024. He maintained nonetheless that France remained "an important partner for Senegal". Faye has also urged Paris to apologise for colonial atrocities, including the massacre on December 1, 1944, of dozens of African soldiers who had fought for France in World War II. A lawmaker from the president's ruling Pastef party, Guy Marius Sagna, hailed Thursday's "end to the presence of the French occupying army". "Bravo to President Diomaye Faye!... Bravo to the patriots! Decolonisation continues," he told the press. - Continent-wide pull-out - With governments across Africa increasingly questioning the presence of French soldiers, Paris has closed or reduced numbers at bases across its former empire. In February, Paris handed back its sole remaining base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of French presence at the site. The month before, France turned over the Kossei base in Chad, its last military foothold in the unrest-hit Sahel region. Coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali between 2020 and 2023 have swept military strongmen to power. All have cut ties with France and turned to Russia instead for help in fighting the Sahel's decade-long jihadist insurgency. The Central African Republic, also a former French colony to which the Kremlin has sent mercenaries, has likewise demanded a French pull-out. Meanwhile the army has turned its base in Gabon into a camp shared with the central African nation focused on training. Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will play host to a permanent French army base following Thursday's withdrawal. France intends to make its base in Djibouti, home to some 1,500 people, its military headquarters for Africa. lp/sbk/jj BUCHAREST, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Romania's Constitutional Court unanimously rejected on Thursday a legal challenge filed by President Nicusor Dan against a law aimed at combating antisemitism, xenophobia, and the promotion of fascist, legionary, racist, or xenophobic ideologies. This marks Dan's first referral to the Court since taking office. He argued the law lacked clarity, especially in defining terms like "fascist" and "legionary," which he said could lead to arbitrary judicial interpretations and threaten individual freedoms. The Court dismissed these concerns, ruling the law is "clear, precise, and predictable," and justified by its legitimate goal of protecting human dignity and democratic values. It emphasized that ideologies responsible for historical atrocities, such as Nazism and fascism, should not be shielded by freedom of expression. The Court added that the law aligns with European democratic standards and mirrors the legal reasoning of the European Court of Human Rights. It previously rejected a similar challenge from opposition members of Parliament earlier this month. In response to the ruling, the Court reiterated that measures to criminalize fascist and xenophobic actions are proportionate and do not infringe on rights to free expression, access to education, or cultural participation. BUDAPEST/WARSAW, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Poland has formally recalled its ambassador to Hungary, the Polish Foreign Ministry confirmed on Thursday. Ministry spokesperson Pawel Wronski told the Polish Press Agency (PAP) that Ambassador to Hungary Sebastian Keciek's mission officially ended on July 15. "We now have a charge d'affaires stationed in Budapest," he said, signaling a downgrade in Poland's diplomatic presence in Hungary. The decision was described by Warsaw as a response to "a hostile act against the Republic of Poland" -- namely, Hungary's decision to grant political asylum to Marcin Romanowski. Romanowski is a former Polish deputy minister facing multiple criminal charges in his home country. Romanowski is wanted by the Polish National Prosecutor's Office on 11 counts, including participation in an organized criminal group and misuse of public funds. A European arrest warrant has been issued for his detention. He currently resides in Budapest and heads the Hungarian-Polish Institute of Freedom. Hungarian State Secretary for Foreign Affairs Levente Magyar acknowledged the diplomatic downgrade in a statement on Wednesday, expressing regret over the development but describing it as temporary. "This unfortunate step is the result of a gradual deterioration in our political ties -- an unprecedented move in the history of our relations with any Central European partner." Hungary considers this a temporary situation that will not damage the historic friendship between the Hungarian and Polish peoples, Magyar added. He informed that Hungary remains open to dialogue and conveyed this position to Jacek Sladewski, Poland's charge d'affaires in Budapest. The episode highlights the widening political divide between Warsaw and Budapest, two countries once closely aligned on many EU policy matters. Meloni condemns Israeli attacks on civilians in Gaza as unacceptable. Italy's prime minister Giorgia Meloni has condemned an Israeli strike that hit the only Catholic church in Gaza on Thursday, killing two people and injuring several others. Following the attack, Pope Leo XIV sent a message of closeness to the people of the Holy Family parish, renewing his appeals for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. In a telegram signed by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state on his behalf, the pope said he was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack. Four people were seriously injured in the attack while others suffered lighter wounds including the Argentine parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli. Up to his death in April, Pope Francis rang Fr Romanelli almost every day for 19 months, to discuss the war and offer his solidarity to the tiny Christian population in the besieged territory. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News on Thursday: What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin Church, he said, adding: There are four people seriously wounded, among these four, two are in very dramatic conditions and their lives are in serious danger. In a statement, Italian premier Meloni said: Israeli raids on Gaza also hit the Church of the Holy Family. The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such conduct." Italy's foreign minister and deputy premier Antonio Tajani also condemned the church attack, describing it in a post on X as "a serious act against a Christian place of worship", extending his deepest sympathy to Fr Romanelli and saying it was "time to stop and find peace". The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) said it was aware of reports regarding damage caused to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and casualties at the scene" adding that the "circumstances of the incident are under review. Photo credit: Anas-Mohammed / Shutterstock.com. New directors, all Italian, set to take office in coming weeks. Italy's culture ministry has announced the new "super-directors" of five major Italian museums and archaeological sites following an application process that began in March. The appointments came despite the fact that culture minister Alessandro Giuli, in an interview given to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera (and then unpublished, but shared by Giuli on social media), said he was not satisfied with the shortlisted candidates proposed by the ministry's expert panel, and was ready to reopen the call for nominations. Simone Quilici will head the Colosseum Archaeological Park which, in addition to the ancient amphitheatre, comprises the Roman Forum, Palatine Hill and Domus Aurea. Quilici, an architect, has been director of the Appian Way Archaeological Park since 2019, and previously worked on the restoration of cultural and historical-religious itineraries for the Lazio region including the Appian Way and the Via Francigena. The Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli (MANN) in Naples will be led by Francesco Sirano, former director of the Herculaneum Archaeological Park. Sirano has served previously as director of archaeology at the Superintendency of Archaeology of Campania, and as archaeologist at the General Directorate of the Great Pompeii Project. Federica Rinaldi, former archaeological officer responsible for the Colosseum and expert in Roman mosaics, will direct the Museo Nazionale Romano network which comprises Palazzo Massimo alla Terme, the Baths of Diocletian, Palazzo Altemps and Crypta Balbi. The Galleria dellAccademia and Musei del Bargello in Florence will be headed by Andreina Contessa. An art historian and scholar with expertise in museology, digital cataloging and multimedia, Contessa has headed the Friuli Venezia Giulia regional museums directorate since 2020, after leading the Miramare Castle Historical Museum and Park. Paola D'Agostino, former director of the Bargello Museum, will take over the Royal Museums of Turin. D'Agostina, an art historian, has previously had prestigious professional and educational experiences in the US and the UK. BUDAPEST, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Hungary has banned three high-ranking Ukrainian military officials from entering its territory, citing their responsibility for "forced military conscriptions," Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Peter Szijjarto said Thursday. The officials -- identified as the Chief of Personnel of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, the commander of the Western Operational Command, and the director overseeing mobilization at the Ministry of Defence -- were linked to violent recruitment practices that have reportedly resulted in human rights abuses. Hungary has also formally requested that the European Union place the three individuals on its sanctions list. The move follows the death of Jozsef Sebestyen, a 45-year-old ethnic Hungarian from Ukraine's Transcarpathia region, allegedly beaten to death by Ukrainian recruiters during a conscription operation. Szijjarto noted that reports by the Council of Europe confirm the use of "violence and torture" during recruitment in Ukraine. International spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said that Hungary rejects accusations often made against it in the context of Ukraine. "We didn't strip Ukrainians of their minority rights, we didn't halt oil flows last year, and no Ukrainian has died from Hungarian conscription," Kovacs posted on the social media platform X. Szijjarto said that any breakdown in bilateral relations would be detrimental to Kiev. "Hungary remains Ukraine's largest supplier of electricity, and hundreds of millions of cubic meters of gas are also delivered," he said. "If these ties froze, Ukraine would be in serious trouble." A Waterford woman has been found guilty of all three charges of deception after a nearly three week trial at Waterford Circuit Court Catherine O'Brien (47), of An Grianan, Ballinrud, Dungarvan, was charged on three counts of making gain or causing loss by deception contrary to Section 6 of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001, against complainant John Blake. The court heard how O'Brien deceived Mr Blake to pay 20,000 to purchase a horse, to pay 1,100 insurance for the mare and 984 to transport the horse from France to Ireland. O'Brien had met Mr Blake on a dating site in 2017 and convinced him to buy a French horse named Lingreville and to pay for its's insurance and transport costs. The State maintained that the horse was never bought and that the additional costs for this 'fictitious' purchase were kept by O'Brien. O'Brien pleaded not guilty to the charges and rejected any claim that she deceived Mr Blake. The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for 39 minutes before returning unanimous guilty verdicts. "You've been caught in a lie" On Wednesday, July 16, State Prosecutor Conor O'Doherty BL finished his cross-examination of the defendant. He questioned her about 1,100 transferred to her daughters' junior saver account from the victim. Mr O'Doherty asked why the money didn't go to her equine partner John Walsh [throughout the trial both O'Brien and Mr Walsh said that she was working under his 'instruction']. She claimed she did pay Mr Walsh the money and said there was a 'running balance' to pay for day to day expenses. Mr Doherty said: "The day to day living expenses came from your daughter's junior savings account? You didn't pay John Walsh 1,100." She said: "I absolutely don't agree with what you're saying." O'Brien claimed that the victim had been sold a horse that was named Shamalana but was 'mistakenly named' as Lingreville in their correspondence. In the text messages, O'Brien told Mr Blake about the horse Lingreville and how she won two races in France "which makes her foals worth more". O'Brien said in Court that she was referring to the broodmare Shamalana: "I wasn't talking about Lingreville." Mr O'Doherty responded: "You've been caught in a lie. Shamalana never won a race. She placed twice. "That is a demonstrably bare-faced lie." O'Brien retorted: "That is not true, I don't accept what you said to be true." Animal cruelty Defence barrister Simon Donagh BL asked his client about the "Wexford incident" that had been discussed earlier in the trial. The incident referred to a date in June 2019 when the Irish Horse Welfare Trust had to take in a number of horses from a stud in Wexford. The court heard O'Brien had been convicted in absentia for animal cruelty by a Wexford court. She told the court that she had been called to court over the charges on two occasions but on the third occasion, she was in Daisy Hill Hospital, Newry, Co Down. She said: " I didn't have a voice." O'Brien said that she launched a judicial review and the issue was 'quashed'. However, she also said: "I don't know what the legal term is." In his closing speech, Mr O'Doherty told the jury: "Ms O'Brien is a devious and determined liar preying on a vulnerable and naive man who was caught into a web of deceit." He reiterated how the accused did not provide any relevant documents pertaining to her alleged business deals. He said to the jury: "I hope you understand why we went into detail on the messages [between victim and defendant] because it shows the level of deception that went on." He ended his speech: "This was an elaborate level of deceit by a convincing con artist." 'Settlement' On charging the jury, Judge Eugene O'Kelly referenced the 'settlement' that was signed by the injured party, O'Brien and Mr Walsh in October 2021. Judge O'Kelly said: "You cannot contract out of your criminal liability." After the jury returned their verdicts, O'Brien was taken into custody. Judge O'Kelly thanked the jury for their service and recognised that the lengthy trial may have 'discommoded' them from their lives. He exempted them from jury service for the next five years. O'Brien will next appear at Waterford Circuit Court via video link on July 22. The 2025 Ted and Mary ORegan Arts Bursaries were presented recently at a ceremony in Waterford's Garter Lane Arts Centre. Adjudicated by external assessor Robert Browne, this years bursaries were awarded to visual artists Stephen Walsh and Molly Hennessy, filmmaker John Bermingham, and theatre artist Natasha Everitt. Mr Walshs bursary will support the creation of a book and accompanying exhibition, featuring original poetry and illustrations inspired by the birds of Ireland while Molly Hennessy, a recent graduate in Fine Art Painting from NCAD, will use her award to undertake a focused period of research and travel, culminating in a multimedia exhibition in both Waterford and Dublin during 2026 and 2027. Filmmaker, John Berminghams award will enable him to take up a place on the two-year MSc in Computer Animation at Dundalk Institute of Technology. Attending were Zoe, Wayne and Anne Brown. Pic: John Power In celebration of its 40th anniversary, Waterford Panto Society kindly sponsored an additional Musical Theatre Bursary this year, which was awarded to theatre maker Emma Nathan. It will support her upcoming production of 'The Guy Who Didnt Like Musicals', to be staged in 2026 under her direction. Now in its 21st year, the Ted and Mary ORegan Arts Bursary was established by friends and colleagues to honour the couples lasting contribution to the artistic and cultural life of Waterford. The bursary is supported by Waterford City & County Council, Garter Lane Arts Centre, Spraoi, Theatre Royal, and Waterford Youth Arts, among others. Speaking at the ceremony, Bursary Committee Chair Bertie Rogers thanked the sponsors for their continued support. Pictured is Anne Brown, Waterford Panto Society presenting Emma Nathan with her Bursary. Included are Bertie Rogers, Chair and Pauline Kennedy O'Regan and a group of Emma's friends. Photo: John Power To date, more than 135,000 has been awarded to over 75 Waterford-based practitioners across a wide range of disciplines. Mr Rogers extended particular thanks to Waterford Panto Society for their generous donation and congratulated them on their milestone anniversary. In a further boost to the Bursary Fund, Bowler Hat Theatre Companys recent one-night performance at the Theatre Royal of 'The Gods Are Angry Miss Kerr', by Jim Nolan, raised 2,500. These proceeds will go towards the establishment of a new one-off fund in 2026 to support an emerging young Waterford writer. Waterford City and County Council is implementing a new innovative program for workplace well-being in the Deise county. A spokesperson said the local authority is inviting one company in Waterford to pilot a leadership and well-being program. The initiative is in partnership with Healthy Waterford, Waterford City & County Council, Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber of Commerce and Waterford Chamber of Commerce. "This is open to business who are members of the Chamber of Commerce in Waterford City and County," said the local authority. Reset is a six-week leadership program designed to rebuild self-confidence, boost performance and cut the long-term costs of stress and burnout. "This is not another surface-level wellness program," said the spokesperson. "Reset helps people overcome the invisible force limiting their potential: a negative, conditioned self-image. When that changes, everything else follows." One company will be selected to experience Reset firsthand, fully supported, guided and publicly recognised as a founding well-being leader in Waterford. The deadline for application is July 21 and the programme will take place between September 15 and 22. Port of Waterford has been named Logistics and Supply Chain Company of the Year at the 2025 Chambers Ireland Awards. The honour comes as the port marks its 1,111th anniversary as Ireland's oldest port. Port of Waterford CEO David Sinnott welcomed the award. Being named Logistics & Supply Chain Company of the Year is a tremendous recognition of the hard work, dedication and innovation shown by everyone across our team. "It is also a reflection of the trust our customers and partners place in us every day. "As we celebrate 1111 years of trade, we are more committed than ever to supporting Irelands economy and driving a sustainable future for our region and our country, said Mr Sinnott. IRELAND'S OLDEST PORT The port was founded by the Vikings in 914 AD. Since then, Port of Waterford has grown from its origins as a trading post to become a vital logistics hub serving Irelands economy. For over a millennium, the port has connected Irish producers to global markets, supported local industry and provided critical supply chain solutions for sectors ranging from agriculture to construction and renewable energy. Today, the port plays a pivotal role in the South Easts thriving agricultural sector. It handles the import of over one million tonnes of bulk ingredients each year and enables the export of premium dairy products including butter and cheese, which depart twice weekly for Rotterdam. In addition to its agricultural impact, the port is integral to Irelands construction and infrastructure sectors, managing significant volumes of raw materials for cement production and steel for major building projects. Innovation has been central to the ports success throughout its history. A pioneer of containerisation in the 1960s, Port of Waterfords container terminal remains a vital link in Irelands supply chain. Continuous investment has secured direct motorway access via the M9 and M11 and made it the only Irish port with rail connectivity directly into its facilities. Looking ahead, Port of Waterford said it is positioning itself as a key player in Irelands transition to green energy. Having already supported the import of onshore wind farm components for over a decade, the port is now preparing to become a critical hub for offshore wind construction and maintenance. It is currently involved in a major maintenance project at Irelands only offshore wind farm, the Arklow Bank, demonstrating its readiness to support the nations renewable ambitions. Details have been announced about this year's highly anticipated style evening at the annual Tramore Races in County Waterford. The event will take place on Saturday, August 16, during the renowned Tramore August Racing Festival and it promises to be the highlight of the social calendar in the South East, transforming the seaside track into an evening of hot to trot showcase of elegance and fashion. A spokesperson for the organisers said this style evening will be sponsored by Waterford Castle, adding a touch of luxury to the prestigious occasion. "Attendees will have the chance to win fabulous prizes, including a grand prize of a two-night stay at Waterford Castle, complete with dinner on one of the nights and 500 in cash," said the spokesperson. Additionally, three lucky finalists will each receive a fantastic runner up prize courtesy of Waterford Castle for their efforts in the fashion stakes. Niamh de Brun, a high profile lifestyle content creator known for her keen eye for fashion has been tasked with the tough job of judging the event, and speaking ahead of taking place she said: "I'm really looking forward to seeing all the fantastic style on display at the races. It's always a brilliant evening and I'm excited to see everyone's take on race day fashion." "Expect some tough decisions in the best way," she added. Louise Hurley, Group Team Leader of Waterford Castle Resort & Walsh Group Hotels, expressed her enthusiasm for the partnership: Waterford Castle Resort & Walsh Group Hotels are delighted to partner with Tramore Races for this years style evening an event that celebrates elegance, community, and tradition." "We are proud supporters of local events in our community and look forward to a fantastic evening where racing meets refined glamour all set against the beautiful backdrop of Tramore," she said. Tickets for the style evening are available online at www.tramoreraces.ie and with ticket bundles and group deals available. The ever-popular Graun Hill Package is available, priced at 99 per person and includes admission, a racecard and a delicious three course meal. To book, contact hospitality@tramoreraces.ie or call 051 381425. The solicitor acting for murder-accused Marcus ONeill has said he is concerned by the lack of progress in the case. Marcus O'Neill (34) of 15 O'Brien Street, Waterford City, is charged with the murder of Gillian Curran in January of this year. Mr ONeill has been in custody since then, but no Book of Evidence has been served. That is despite several appearances before Waterford District Court. Mr ONeill appeared last month when the court was told the delay in serving the Book of Evidence was due to the coroners report not yet being available. At a sitting this week before Judge John Cheatle, solicitor Ken Cunningham said it was his understanding that all reports are now available, but the Book of Evidence was not. I am concerned about the lack of progress in this case, and I want that on the record, said Mr Cunningham. Sergeant John Phelan told the court that they had received the reports necessary, but he wasnt sure why the Book of Evidence was not available. He asked that the matter be left stand while he made enquiries, but Judge Cheatle refused. He remanded the defendant in continuing custody until August 12. Waterford Libraries are bringing a series of free Writing Workshops to the people of Waterford for the third year. As part of the second strand of the Writers at Waterford Libraries programme for 2025, these workshops will gives participants an opportunity to attend courses in both Irish and English with experienced, well-established writers in their fields. The workshops are either four week or one day and take place online or in Waterford Library branches during the evenings or on Saturdays. The programme runs from August to mid-November. Mary Conway, City and County Librarian, said: We are pleased to be able to offer these free creative writing opportunities to the people of Waterford with a group of top-class writers again in 2025. "The workshops are facilitated by established authors and poets who have a wealth of experience and can bring knowledge of both the writing and publishing process to the budding writers taking part. Writers involved include William Ryan, Peter Murphy, Niamh Mulvey, Aingeala Flannery, Conor OCallaghan, Manchan Magan and Ciara Ni E. Application forms can be found the Waterford Libraries website. Australias online safety watchdog is back in court this week, battling Elon Musks X over issues of AI, free speech and who is ultimately responsible for detecting and removing violent online content. What is Grok AI, and why has it been controversial? Elon Musks AI chatbot, dubbed Grok, is embedded in X (formerly Twitter) and has made headlines for numerous controversies as well as for winning a $US200 million ($300 million) contract with the Pentagon. Its arguably more capable at present than ChatGPT and Gemini, but has proven much more unpredictable too. Last week, Grok declared itself a super-Nazi, referring to itself as MechaHitler, and made racist, sexist and antisemitic posts that its parent company, xAI, later deleted. Musk has said he wants Grok to not shy away from making claims which are politically incorrect, and this seems to be the result. Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem said the parishs 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound were killed in the attack. Romanelli was lightly wounded. We were struck in the church while all the people there were elders, innocent people and children, said Shady Abu Dawood, whose mother was wounded by shrapnel to her head. We love peace and call for it, and this is a brutal, unjustified action by the Israeli occupation. The Israeli military said an initial assessment indicated that fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly. It said it was still investigating. The military said it only struck militant targets and made every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures, and regrets any unintentional damage caused to them. Loading Israel has repeatedly struck schools, shelters, hospitals and other civilian buildings, accusing Hamas militants of sheltering inside and blaming them for civilian deaths. Palestinians say nowhere has felt safe since Israel launched its offensive in response to Hamas October 7, 2023, attack. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the church. The attacks on the civilian population that Israel has been demonstrating for months are unacceptable, she said. The church is just a stones throw from Al-Ahli Hospital, Naem said, noting that the area around both the church and the hospital has been repeatedly struck for more than a week. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which also has a church in Gaza that previously sustained damage from Israeli strikes, said the Holy Family Church was sheltering 600 displaced people, including many children, and 54 people with disabilities. It said the building suffered significant damage. Targeting a holy site is a blatant affront to human dignity and a grave violation of the sanctity of life and the inviolability of religious sites, which are meant to serve as safe havens during times of war, the church said in a statement. A Mass is held for those who lost their lives after an Israeli strike hit the Catholic Holy Family Church in Gaza. Credit: Anadolu via Getty Images In the last 18 months of his life, Francis would often call the lone Catholic church in the Gaza Strip to see how people huddled inside were coping with a devastating war. The Washington Post reported that Francis used to ring Romanelli every evening. Francis had repeatedly criticised Israels wartime conduct, and last year suggested that allegations of genocide in Gaza which Israel has rejected as a blood libel should be investigated. The late pope also met the families of Israeli hostages and called for their release. Only 1000 Christians live in Gaza, an overwhelmingly Muslim territory, said the US State Departments international religious freedom report for 2024. Most are Greek Orthodox. The Holy Lands Christian population has dwindled in recent decades as many have emigrated to escape war and conflict or to seek better opportunities abroad. Local Christian leaders have recently denounced attacks by Israeli settlers and Jewish extremists. Three people were killed in the strike, and 10 others were injured. Credit: Anadolu via Getty Images Separately, another person was killed and 17 were wounded on Thursday in a strike against two schools that sheltered displaced people in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, Al-Awda Hospital reported. The Israeli military did not immediately comment on the strike. The Gaza Health Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, local hospitals had received the bodies of 94 people killed in Israeli strikes and another 367 wounded. Meanwhile, there has been little visible progress from months of indirect talks between Israel and Hamas aimed at a new ceasefire and hostage release agreement, after Israel ended an earlier truce in March. Early on Friday AEST, Axios reported that Qatar, Egypt and the US had presented Israel and Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas with an updated Gaza ceasefire proposal, citing two sources. The two main updates in the latest proposal had to do with the scope of the Israeli militarys withdrawal from Gaza during a ceasefire and the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released for each Israeli hostage. The Qatari prime minister is expected to meet Hamas leaders in Doha on Saturday to seek their agreement to the updated proposal, the report added. Hamas-led militants killed about 1200 people, mostly civilians, in the October 7, 2023 attack and abducted 251 people, most of whom have since been released in ceasefire agreements or other deals. Fifty hostages are still being held, less than half of them believed to be alive HELSINKI, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Iceland and the European Union (EU) are set to launch negotiations on a security and defense partnership, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir announced on Thursday. The announcement was made during a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Keflavik, southwestern Iceland. They indicated that formal negotiations could begin in the coming weeks or months, and expressed hope for a conclusion by year's end. Frostadottir also confirmed that a national referendum on restarting EU accession talks is on the government's agenda. U.S. President Donald Trump (L) welcomes Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on July 16, 2025. U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a plan to impose a unified tariff rate on more than 150 countries and regions, according to a report by Politico. "It's all going to be the same for everyone, for that group," Trump told reporters during talks with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) WASHINGTON, July 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a plan to impose a unified tariff rate on more than 150 countries and regions, according to a report by Politico. "It's all going to be the same for everyone, for that group," Trump told reporters during talks with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House. Those to be covered under the new measure are described by Trump as "not big," and ones that "don't do that much business." In April, the Trump administration introduced a baseline tariff of 10 percent on economies not covered by bilateral deals. Although Trump has previously suggested the new baseline could be raised to 15 percent or 20 percent, he did not specify a new rate on Wednesday. The U.S. government has already sent letters to about two dozen economies -- including the European Union, Japan and South Korea -- outlining the tariff rates they will face starting Aug. 1, the report said. The announcement has prompted intensified negotiations as affected trading partners seek more favorable terms. However, analysts and observers continue to express doubts about whether the new tariff schedule will take effect as planned on Aug. 1, amid concerns about its potential impact on the U.S. economy and domestic politics, according to the report. Countries and regions such as Switzerland and India, which accounted for more than 3 percent of the U.S. trade deficit in 2024 but have not yet received official notices, remain in negotiation with Washington. Trump sent mixed messages Wednesday on U.S.-India trade talks, first stating "we have another (deal) coming up," then later asserting "we're very close to a deal." Regarding Japan, Trump said negotiations are underway but expressed doubt about the outcome. "I think we'll probably live by the letter with Japan," he said, referring to a previously issued tariff notification. U.S. President Donald Trump waits to welcome Bahrain's Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House in Washington, D.C., the United States, on July 16, U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday unveiled a plan to impose a unified tariff rate on more than 150 countries and regions, according to a report by Politico. "It's all going to be the same for everyone, for that group," Trump told reporters during talks with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa at the White House. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong) Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year logo (Armed Forces Insurance Military Spouse of the Year ) Be the positivity you want to see in the world. Hailey Smart Since 2008, Armed Forces Insurance (AFI) has honored military spouses all over the world and from each military branch with the Military Spouse of the Year (MSOY) award. The award recognizes military spouse contributions that help the military community. Nominees compete at the base and branch levels for the ultimate honor of being named the overall Military Spouse of the Year. The overall winner this year will be selected in May 2025. This year in Europe, six military spouses won at the base level for USAG Rheinland-Pfalz, USAG Wiesbaden, NSA Naples, USAG Italy, NAVSTA Rota and Ramstein Air Base. I had the pleasure of talking to Ramstein Air Base winner, Hailey Smart and she told me a little about herself and her platform. Hailey grew up in Nebraska and is a cornhusker through and through. She serves as the secretary for the Ramstein Enlisted Spouse Association (RESA) and a squadron Key Support Liaison working with both the 86th Air Wing and the 688th cyberwing. She wants to use her new network with AFI MSOY to keep making positive changes in the world and within the military spouse community. Before letting her go, I asked Hailey some fun questions about her favorite military base and free military family perks. Her favorite base has been Ramstein, stating that the community that is over here is so much fun. She goes on to talk about some of the amazing organizations here such RESA, Ramstein Officer Spouses Club, KMC Pride and the Moms Strolling groups that create such a tight-knit community at Ramstein. When asked about her favorite military-related perk, as a self-proclaimed Dis-Nerd, she stated it was the discounted Disney tickets: We can hop on a train and be in Paris in two hours and I go to Disneyland Paris a lot. Read Haileys full profile on the AFI MSOY website. Watch the accompanying video to learn more about Haileys platform and the Spouse Hub in the Enlisted Club on Ramstein Air Base. If you have an event you'd like to list on the site, submit it now! Submit Medieval Germany: Castles and Commoners () What is medieval? Anything having to do with the Middle Ages can be called medieval, and in Germany that translates to a millennium of history. Following the withdrawal of Roman occupiers in 476 AD, central Europe was settled by Germanic tribal groups. It became a time of slow change, with daily life shifting over a thousand years from small village farming to large feudal estates and then the development of towns and cities. Fragmented states led by local nobility came under varying control of empirical domains like those of Charlemagne and the Holy Roman Empire. Castles were built for protection, knights enlisted for defense and peasants were required to work the land. It was a fascinating time and its fun to experience both sides of life: from the castles of nobility to the daily grind of the lowly commoner. View of historical buildings at the Hessenpark, Germany (Kat Nickola) Castle Life In parts of Germany, it seems like there is a castle on every hilltop. That is because wealthy landowners began fortifying their estates as their power developed into a ruling noble class. This was especially needed during periods of unrest like the 9th and 10th centuries as the Carolingian Empire crumbled. Most medieval German castles now lie in ruins. Burg Eltz near the Mosel River is one of very few that have remained intact since the Middle Ages. Other incredible medieval fortifications like Heidelburg Castle or Nuremburg Castle have been rebuilt after falling into ruin. Though they look old, many fancy castles like Neuschwanstein and Lichtenstein Castle are not medieval; they are from the 1800s when castle creation was all the rage for rich Germans who romanticized the Middle Ages. Three medieval castle ruins in Dahn, Germany share a clifftop. (Kat Nickola) But lets get back to the ruins! As an archaeologist, nothing could be more fun to me than a sunny day out traipsing over fallen blocks and exploring 800-year-old tunnels, for free. South of the KMC is one of my favorite ruins to visit. Above the town of Dahn, three subsequent castles were built atop a cliff. They blend together like one giant fortification. With lots of stairs and secret passageways, it is fun (even for my teens) to imagine life for the nobles who called this castle home. We like to visit the site from west to east, which begins with the oldest castle: Tanstein. The entire complex has fascinating spaces carved right out of the rock that are perfect for storytelling. The center castle, Grafendahn, appears to emerge from its sandstone cliff base requiring a stair climb up into it. Lastly, we walk along the plateaus edge and up to the roof of Altdahn for an impressive view across the forest. In the warm months, we cool off with an ice cream or beverage from the small biergarten nestled near the entrance. Medieval castle ruins in Dahn, Germany. (Kat Nickola) Entering the Altdahn castle tower. (Kat Nickola) Free castle ruins (Burgruine) to explore Schmidtburg | A great day trip from Spangdahlem, Wiesbaden or the KMC area, Schmidtburg is a large ruin perched atop a cliff and secreted away in a river valley. As a bonus, you can camp in the ruins by booking a site at www.soonwaldsteig.de. Waldeck Castle | About a half hour north of Grafenwohr, Waldeck is an extensive ruin with a special chapel area. It is also perfectly positioned on the hill for an amazing 360 degree view of the region. Reuenstein | East of Stuttgart, this picturesque ruin still has walls nearly four floors high, interesting rooms to explore and views down the valley. Plus, there is a nearby waterfall that is easy to hike to. Commoner Work While life for the nobility is fascinating, lets be real and assume that most of us would have been, at best, medieval commoners. We would have farmed the land and paid our lord in produce or meat; after all, it is his land. To get a taste for what this life may have been like, I visited the Hessenpark north of Frankfurt. This open-air, living-history museum has authentic historical buildings from across Hesse, many of which were built in the later Middle Ages. My family wandered in and out of traditional half-timbered farmhouse, while I marveled at the kitchens with their massive open fireplaces and hanging cauldrons. Interior of a historic German home at the Hessenpark. (Kat Nickola) There are displays that explain agricultural practices, plus heritage species of farm animals like geese, massive pigs, goats, sheep and donkeys. We watched as a weaver crafted baskets and chatted with a washerwoman as she hung out her laundry. From the agricultural area, we made our way to the market square to grab a snack from the little bakery. It was market villages like these that developed into the colorful, scenic towns and cities of the 17 and 1800s. That medieval heritage is still tangible in modern quaint walled towns like Rothenburg ab der Tauber in northern Bavaria, Bacharach along the Rhine River or Esslingen near Stuttgart. Visiting the Hessenpark to experience German rural life back in time. (Kat Nickola) Authentic historical buildings have been reconstructed at the Hessenpark. (Kat Nickola) The Hessenpark offers a glimpse into rural life in Germany back in time. (Kat Nickola) A washerwoman shows her skill at the Hessenpark in Germany. (Kat Nickola) Sheep graze as part of the herd of protected heritage species at the Hessenpark in Germany. (Kat Nickola) Other Open-Air Museums David Raleigh A man pleaded guilty before a court on Thursday to dangerous driving causing the death of his niece and to producing a machete on the same day. Danny ODonoghue (42), Lower Main Street, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, admitted the offences when he appeared before Limerick Circuit Criminal Court. Mr ODonoghue appeared before the court via a video-link from Portlaoise Prison, where he is currently being held on remand. He admitted one count of dangerous driving causing the death of his niece, Marguerita ORourke, nee Sheridan, at Bank Place, Rathkeale, on December 21st, 2024. Ms ORourke, of Roches Row, Rathkeale, had given birth to her first child, a son, three weeks prior to her death. The young mother had been closing steel gates to a property when Mr ODonoghue struck the gates, killing her. Mr ODonoghues barrister, senior counsel Michael Bowman, instructed by solicitor Michael ODonnell, told the court: The tragic deceased was actually the niece of the accused. Judge Colin Daly said it was a sad case indeed. The judge said, given the sensitive nature of the case, he was directing that Mr ODonoghues sentencing hearing would be scheduled on its own. There is some sensitivity to this and I believe Mr ODonoghues sentence hearing would benefit from an afternoon to itself, the evidence is likely to take some time, possibly an hour, the judge said. Prosecuting barrister, Lily Buckley BL, told the court: The deceased was 21 years of age and her husband is currently in the United Kingdom. Victim impact statements will have to be canvassed, the deceaseds parents, John Sheridan and Margaret Sheridan, will have to be canvassed, and (Ms ORourke) had one brother and a three-week-old child at the time. Mr ODonoghue also pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the set of gates, the property of Mary Teresa ORourke, arising out of the same fatal incident last December. He also pleaded guilty to producing a machete during the course of a dispute and causing criminal damage to a silver Ford Transit Custom van, the property of Patrick Sheridan, on the same date. Mr ODonoghue was also facing a fifth offence that he did threaten to kill or cause serious harm to Patrick Sheridan on the same date. Lily Buckley told the court today that Mr ODonoghue was pleading guilty to the four other offences outlined without prejudice. Mr ODonoghue has not sought bail since he was arrested and held in custody on remand last December. A few weeks prior to her death, Ms ORourke and her husband, Denis, had celebrated the birth of their first child. Thousands of people attended a candlelit vigil at Rathkeale last Christmas Eve following her death. Blown-up photographs of the deceased dressed in her wedding dress were erected in and around St Marys Church, Rathkeale, during her funeral mass. Her remains were brought in a glass carriage drawn by horses to her final resting place at Rathkeale Cemetery. In an online tribute to his late daughter, John Sheridan described Ms ORourke as a true legend who loved horses. The deceaseds brother, Freddy Sheridan, stated: It's never going to be the same without you, Maggie, but you left us a very special boy, I know his mama should be here with him, but unfortunately, life didn't go that way. Rest in Peace Marguerita, I can't believe I had to say it, love you my sister. In court today Mr ODonoghues barrister successfully applied for a pre-sentencing report from the Governor of Portlaoise Prison as well as a prison educational report in respect of the accused. Judge Colin Daly remanded Mr ODonoghue in continuing custody for sentencing on October 29th. A pair of Brazilian men threw glasses at two other males in separate incidents on the same night. Leonardo Jesus Rosa, aged 35, of Orlagh Grove, Castlebar, and Jao Hermino Sousa Correia, aged 22, with an address at Middleton, Manulla, pleaded guilty to assault causing harm charges when they appeared before Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court. Gda Seamus Kelly told the court that he was called to the Castle Late Night Venue in Westport on December 17, 2023. He met with security staff who told him that a man had sustained cuts to his face and had a gash over his left eye. Gda Kelly was shown CCTV footage which showed Rosa throwing a pint glass into a crowded group, striking a man in the face. The injured party sustained a 3cm deep laceration over his right eye which required stitches and had smaller cuts to his cheek and eye. The court heard that Rosa threw a pint glass after some of his friends became involved in a pushing and shoving match with another group. Gda Caitriona OMalley told the court that a second incident occurred minutes later after a group of Brazilian men, including the two accused, were ejected from the nightclub. The group were making noise on the street outside the venue, and a man entering the nightclub told them to shut up. One of the group attempted to jump a barrier to confront the man. Correia threw a pint glass from a distance which struck the man that his friend was remonstrating with. The injured party suffered a broken jaw, four broken teeth, and a deep cut to his mouth. He has a permanent scar on his lower lip as a result of the assault. The man required surgery costing 11,000. The court heard that Correia had left the venue with a glass in his pocket. A victim impact statement from the man who was struck by the glass thrown by Correia was read into court. He spent three weeks in hospital following the assault and was off work for a month. The man said eating remains a challenge and he feels deeply self conscious when dining in public. Both Rosa and Correia have no previous convictions. Barrister Dr Laura Byrne, representing Rosa, said her client is ashamed of his actions. A painter by profession, he has been living in Ireland for the past three years and is a married father-of-one. She said Rosa acted on impulse and it was not a planned or pre-meditated act. He had 1,000 in court for his victim as a token of remorse. Barrister John Berry, representing Correia, said his client was in Ireland on a tourist visa and had not left the jurisdiction because he wanted to face up to his crime. An agriculture student in his native Brazil, Correia is also a married father-of-one. Despite not being eligible to work in Ireland, he had 3,000 in court as compensation for his victim. Mr Berry asked the court if his client would be allowed to return home to Brazil if he gave an undertaking to pay the balance of the 11,000 surgery costs of the injured party. Judge Eoin Garavan said the events were borne out of an excess of drink and bad temper. He said the actions of both men appeared to be out of character. The judge ordered Rosa to carry out 200 hours of community service in lieu of 18 months in prison. In relation to Correia, Judge Garavan said he was considering imposing a three-year jail sentence but, he said, serving prison time in Ireland would not allow the defendant to earn further compensation for his victim. He said he had great sympathy for the injured party who suffered extraordinary injuries". I am inclined to be lenient, whether he deserves it or not, but perhaps his wife and his child deserve it, perhaps the State coffers deserve it, and clearly the injured party deserves far more compensation. If he is in prison he is not earning. For the injured party thats a real insult on top of what he has already suffered. If he returns to Brazil he is capable of making money. I am inclined to take a punt on this man (Correia), the judge added. Judge Garavan handed down a three-year sentence suspended for a period of eight years. Correia was ordered to pay back the 8,000 balance he owes the injured party for surgery costs within two years. He was told to leave Ireland within two weeks and never return. Eight Mayo SPAR stores were honoured at the 2025 SPAR 365 Standards Customer Care Programme for achieving exceptional standards in retailing. The awards were held in Killashee Hotel, in Naas in Co Kildare, and hosted by BWG Foods, owners and operators of the SPAR brand in Ireland. This years SPAR 365 Awards, held in association with independent bodies Solution Management Associates (SMA) and Lloyds Register Quality Assurance (LRQA), recognise those SPAR stores who have excelled during the year across all areas of store. In winning these awards, the SPAR stores were independently assessed across a range of criteria including customer service through SMA as well as a robust food safety and hygiene audit conducted by LRQA. These exemplary SPAR retailers received their award in recognition of their commitment to implementing best practice store standards throughout their store, thereby providing an excellent customer experience to their local community. The Mayo stores who received a SPAR 365 Retailing Standards Award are: Anthomy Kernan and Damian Daly, Kernan and Dalys SPAR Charlestown; Danny McHugh, McHughs SPAR Ballindine; SPAR Corrib Oil Castlebar; SPAR Corrib Oil Swinford; SPAR Corrib Oil Louisburgh; SPAR Corrib Oil Ballyhaunis; SPAR Corrib Oil Ballinrobe; SPAR Corrib Oil Westport. Congratulating the winners, Colin Donnelly, SPAR Sales Director, said: We are incredibly proud of all our SPAR retailers and the wonderful service they provide to their communities and customers throughout Ireland. To be able to celebrate these wonderful ambassadors who bring the SPAR brand to life every day is a great source of pride for us. I congratulate all the SPAR winners from Mayo. Their efforts have been truly outstanding, and this recognition is very well-deserved. The Oireachtas will take its summer break at the end of this week. The reaction will be the same as it is every year. There will be lots of reports of, and discussions about, public outrage. Many radio discussions will be broadcast, which will light up with messages from the listeners. The opposition will demand that the place should sit for longer. There will be a call to sit right throughout the summer to pass one particular law or another, or to take action in respect of this or that current crisis. The Government will gingerly hold the line on all this. They will emphasise that Oireachtas committees continue to sit throughout the summer. They will say that TDs and Senators will be busy working on their constituency and other business without a break. They will confirm that Ministers continue to work on their business just like any executive leading a large organisation would. The views of the public will remain unaltered by those arguments. Walk into any pub this week, or less socially, drift onto any social media, and you will find comments speculating about whether they do any work at all, about how handy the job is, about how little the Dail sits, about how empty the chamber always looks during those few short weeks when TDs bother to attend. They have all been heard before, even if the dial turns the noise up a little louder each year. A little louder, a little more angry even. Whatever about the length of the recess, the suggestion that our TDs do no work is really one that has to be taken head on. There is, of course, a perfectly respectable argument to be had as to whether the work our TDs do is the right kind of work for them to be doing. But that is not the same as saying they do nothing. Constituency work is often derided in this context, with some suggesting it has no value or is a diversion from their primary job as law makers. That latter point is one you often hear in the fancier parts of Dublin. This is a tad unfair. Representing a constituent who is being unfairly treated, or who does not have the means to advocate for their need, or who deserves to be heard for some grievance, is the life blood of representative politics. There is honour and importance in that and our TDs from all sides do it well. It is most needed by those with least power, which is why it is most often dismissed by those who have plenty. It is - and always must - remain part of the job. But what comes with that is the reality that a lot of constituency work involves the making of representations which the TD knows full well will lead to nothing. A lot of it involves engaging with people again and again who the TD knows full well is asking every other TD in the constituency to do the exact same thing, producing multiplicity of effort but not necessarily better outcomes. Some TDs fair to say do not get the balance right when it comes to local and national matters. But whatever your view of that work, rest assured, no TD stops it over the summer. They will be clearing constituency cases, they will be trying to read up on issues, most local, some national, they will be meeting groups in their area about all sorts, they will be checking in with party supporters. They will be out and about in their constituency, attending events which they need to go to both to avoid giving offence, but also more positively, to stay in touch with what is going on in their localities. That is not all jolly, by the way, because any TD who attends a festival in their constituency this summer will spend much of the time being collared by people who want a word about some problem or other. Defending politicians has never been widely welcomed, and that is especially and increasingly so these days. But, truthfully, the best thing we could all do is encourage our representatives to go on an actual holiday. To actually switch off and take a real break. Politicians are human beings, flesh and blood, and their job is full on and high stress. Politicians from our part of the world have the additional layer of long journeys and constant meetings away from home leading to eating late and often not well. They do a job where there are very few places where they can switch off. If they are in the pub, for example, one word out of place and it is all over social media. Politics is a hard and tiring job, whatever people say when theyre grumbling in the pub or online. Politicians dont spend enough time with their family and friends and they should be able to do that with those most dear to them over the recess. They all had an election bruising, tough back in November, and then they had to run straight onwards from that. And I know some will say it took the Dail a while to get its business in order, but if you think they were all chilling out and relaxing through that whole process, then you aint seen politics up close. And if the human arguments dont sway you, consider this: we need politicians to take a break. Because people who do take proper breaks make better decisions. They should all go off, switch off the phones and the social media, and relax and come back fighting fit. Like any person in any job, they should take the break and come back feeling well and up for another year. That is in all our interests as it will allow them to work hard and wisely when they need to. We can have a different discussion then about the balance of time they spend on constituency case work and indeed on social media, but thats another argument, for another day, after the summer holidays are over. On the island where one of her famous castles still stands sentry, the legend of Granuaile came alive in spectacular fashion late last month. The premiere of Grace: The Story of a Pirate Queen took place on Silver Strand in Dugort, on the northern end of Achill Island, a stones throw from the seas the famous Grace OMalley once sailed and ruled, part of a Day of Grace series of events. It was a fabulous depiction of her life by an all-female cast of performers and acrobats in an open-air show on a, mercifully, dry June Saturday. It was put on by Achill-based Circus 250 and close to 500 people gathered to watch which serves as a reminder of how Granuailes legend is not fading from history with the passing of time but, if anything, is surging. The audience included two busloads of OMalleys from all over the world, from the OMalley Clan Association, who were in Mayo for their annual gathering. Children sat at the front, agog, at what they thought must have been a fine act of fiction as the life and times of Granuaile was relived. The beauty of it was that it resonated with all ages with an original score composed by Ursula Burns created for it. It featured the finest of acting, singing, music and some stunning acrobats. Were not sure if Granuaile could do an aerial hoop, but, given her spectacular displays at sea in high winds, we wouldnt put it past her. Italian actress Francesca Martello played Queen Elizabeth and was utterly magnificent. Polina Shapkina played Grace OMalley and was perfect for the role, her red hair blowing in the Achill wind bringing echoes of Granuaile as did her defiant performance. The only onlookers who showed any signs of disinterest were the local rambling sheep who frequently demonstrate an arrogance about what is and is not their domain that would make an English imperialist in the era of Granuaile blush. The show is expected to go on tour. If it turns up near you, we highly recommend going to watch it. You wont regret it. Its creative director is Dea Birkett, the driving force behind Circus 250. For many present we spoke to it served as an education on the layered story of a lady who has been dubbed The Pirate Queen. To recap, Grace OMalley was born around 1530 and was the daughter of an Irish chieftain. Ireland was declared a kingdom under the English crown in 1542 by Henry VIII. Many Irish chieftains acquiesced but the OMalleys did not. Grace OMalley took over as clan leader upon her fathers death in the 1560s. That it was not the eldest son that did so was out of sync with the norms of the time, but spoke to her already impressive capabilities at sea and her strong, defiant leadership. She ruled the seas around Mayo and Galway, often, it seemed, more comfortable at sea than on dry land. Her son, Theobald (Tibbott), who would go on to become the first Lord Mayo, was born at sea, a scene recreated in Grace: The Story of a Pirate Queen. The most renowned moment in her life was the fabled meeting with Queen Elizabeth I in Greenwich in 1593. What precipitated it was the rule of the infamous governor of Connacht, Sir Richard Bingham, appointed in 1584, whose efforts to overthrow her realm deprived her of much of her income. She exchanged letters with the Queen about her struggles and when her son Theobald was arrested, she departed for London to seek an audience with the Queen. Many opponents of the queen only came to London to be hanged but Queen Elizabeth entertained Granuaile and, it would appear, largely acceded to her requests. The meeting of these two women from vastly different backgrounds and lived experiences is played out brilliantly in Grace: The Story of a Pirate Queen. Can they compromise? is sung while in brilliant slapstick, the two queens play out a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. The narrator evocatively sets out the contrast after the meeting: And at night, in her giant four poster bed, inside her palace walls, with uniformed guards at the bedroom door, Queen Elizabeth dreams of the Pirate Queen who fights for her freedom, sailing open waters, where the wind still dances. The catchy moniker pirate queen has stuck with her although I feel it somewhat undermines her genuine legitimacy at a time of English conquest of Ireland. National Geographic have described her as the fiercest female in Irish history and it is hard to argue. But it is only inside the last 50 years that Granuaile has started to receive the attention her story merits. Castlebar native Anne Chambers has rightly been credited with reawakening the legend of Granuaile in the modern day, thanks to her seminal 1979 biography and associated works since. A Granuaile centre was established in Louisburgh in the early 1980s and her castles at Clare Island, Kildawnet on Achill Island and Rockfleet, outside Newport, have always been popular tourist attractions. But it does feel as if it is only in the past decade that something approaching the full potential of the legend of Granuaile is being realised. Grace: The Story of a Pirate Queen is an example. The Two Graces sculptures in Newport is another, as is The Grace Hotel in Westport. Successful whiskey and gin brands show the commercial potential while a feature film is in the offing. There is great potential, particularly, in plans for a Granuaile Trail, linking the many sites connecting her and her family in Mayo. Granuaile should be one of the single biggest persons, places or things we in Mayo talk about to the outside world. A unique, heroic figure from our own shores. She is a very empowering female symbol. In a time of massive patriarchy, one which held a very strong grip until relatively recently, here was a woman of this county who was defiant, swashbuckling, pragmatic and resilient. She shines as an inspirational beacon to what women can achieve, like her, even in the most demanding and difficult environments, said Anne Chambers. You get the feeling were only beginning to scratch the surface. Some bands arrive on the music scene so fully formed and polished it seems as if theyre destined for greater things and one such band is traditional trio, the humorously named, For Folks Sake, who play regularly in Ballina in An Sean Shebeen. While the band is currently without a residency, they thoroughly enjoy playing various venues and aim to continue doing so. Not content to rest on their laurels, the band also traverse the length and breadth of the county and even travel over to Austria to regularly perform in an Irish bar chain. The band comprises three Killala natives- Emma Holmes - flute, whistle, vocals; Oisin ODonnell guitar and vocals; and Cara Donnelly - harp and concertina. "We also play in many pubs across Mayo, some of our favourites being Dohertys No. 9 Mulranny, Connollys Carrowtiege and Clann Lir, Belmullet," they explained. "However, we are also regulars in the McMullens Irish Bar chain in Austria! We spent Paddys Day 2024 in McMullens in Leoben and McMullens in Klagenfurt and we spent Paddys Day 2025 in McMullen's Klagenfurt and McMullens Villach. Were returning to Austria at the end of July for the Rettl Romantik Kirchtag." Queried if the band only performs covers, they answered in the affirmative. "At the minute we only do covers, however we often put our own twist on the arrangement of the song to make it our own." All three members hail from Killala and like many musicians from the not-so-sleepy town were indoctrinated into and encouraged to perform traditional music from a young age. The members of For Folks Sake spoke fondly of growing up in the North-west and forming the band some two and a half years ago. "Weve all been playing music since we could talk! We all come from Killala and we grew up surrounded by trad music so there was no avoiding it. "The three of us have played together with Bofield Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann since we were young kids. However, the idea for For Folks Sake came about around October 2022 and we officially formed the band in December of 2022, so about two and a half years ago." Despite playing in various venues around Mayo and the regular gigs in Austria, the band dont have plans for any tours at the minute but "would definitely love to do one in the future". "We have gigs every weekend for the summer. Were playing at the Feile Ceoil Oilean Chliara (Clare Island) on July 27th just before we head for Austria on July 29th!" the band concluded. For Folks Sake regularly perform locally in An Sean Shebeen in Ballina and surrounding areas. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Warm and humid with clouds and some hazy sun; a spotty shower at anytime, with a gusty thunderstorm or two possible in the afternoon. . Tonight Clouds and an early evening shower or t-storm, then clearing and turning less humid. Key Points There are plenty of good ideas to boost your 401(k) account over time. Probably the best idea, though, is to maximize your 401(k) employer match. Roughly one in four American workers doesn't fully take advantage of their employer's 401(k) matches. The $23,760 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook Americans have multiple tools at their disposal to save for retirement. 401(k) accounts could be the best of the bunch. These accounts allow both employees and employers to contribute. If managed well, 401(k) accounts can be an important source of retirement income. What exactly is involved with managing a 401(k) account well? Several factors come into play. But there's one change, in particular, that could increase your 401(k) balance by thousands of dollars over time. Image source: Getty Images. Plenty of good ideas to grow your 401(k) account Before we get to that major 401(k) change, let's look at other good ideas to grow your 401(k) account. Contributing early is one of the most important things you can do. The sooner you begin saving, the more time your money has to grow. Another smart step is to contribute regularly by automatically withdrawing money from each paycheck. If you have to think about adding money to your 401(k) account each time, you might not take action. Contributing more money will help, too. Even a relatively small incremental amount invested from every paycheck could add significantly to how much you have in your 401(k) account when you retire. Don't be overly cautious with your investments, especially when you're younger. Some might be so afraid of losing money that they forego higher long-term returns. Stocks tend to outperform other assets over multiple decades, so it makes sense to have a higher weighting in stocks earlier in your career. Using target-date funds that automatically adjust your asset allocation over time can be a good move for many individuals. Also, avoid early withdrawals if at all possible. Some 401(k) plans allow you to borrow money and repay it. Roth 401(k) plans allow you to withdraw the principal you've contributed without any penalties. The problem with this, though, is that money that isn't in your retirement account can't grow. The one change that could make the biggest difference While all of these are great steps to take, another change could make the biggest difference in growing your 401(k) account balance over time. It just might be the closest thing to a free lunch you'll see in investing: Maximize your 401(k) employer match. According to a study conducted by the Plan Sponsor Council of America, a whopping 98% of employers offer 401(k) matching contributions. With these matches, employers contribute to an employee's 401(k) plan, up to a specified amount. The amount of the match varies, but many employers contribute between 4% and 6% of the employee's salary. Reading, PA (19601) Today Warm and humid with clouds and some hazy sun; a spotty shower at anytime, with a gusty thunderstorm or two possible in the afternoon. . Tonight Clouds and an early evening shower or t-storm, then clearing and turning less humid. HARRISBURG, Pa. State court officials now say there is no legal basis to keep U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from "public areas of county courthouses." That statement is from the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania courts. It comes less than a week after Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk asked Lehigh County's president judge to clarify procedures and put limits on where ICE agents can be in the Lehigh County Courthouse. 1:53 Allentown mayor asks judge to put limits on where ICE agents can be at Lehigh County Courthouse Mayor Tuerk says the way ICE is currently operating in the courthouse is sparking fear and uncertainty in the city. That was following reports people coming in for court were being detained by federal immigration agents. Tuerk said he's concerned letting ICE operate freely in the courthouse will deter people from showing up. Residents urge action against alleged ICE activity at Lehigh County Courthouse Residents implored the Lehigh County Board of Commissioners to take action against alleged activity by immigration agents at Lehigh County Courthouse. A statement from a spokesperson for the state court system said: "ICE agents, like any state or federal law enforcement agents, are allowed to be present and operate in all public spaces, including public areas of county courthouses. At present, there is no legal basis to prohibit law enforcement from this basic operational principle. As we have seen in other states, any individual who attempts to thwart ICE from their duties risks being charged with felony obstruction charges. The expectation is that, when law enforcement is present, there will be no disruption to the administration of justice in that courthouse." Unfortunately, the project fell eight years behind schedule and ended up costing $55 billion, more than five times the original budget. To add insult to injury, operations had to be shut down shortly after the project went live in 2013 due to a damaged main pipeline leaking dangerous and corrosive hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas into the atmosphere. The consortium burned off the gas as an emergency measure, releasing toxic sulfur dioxide (SO2) into the atmosphere. The Kashagan Oil Field was discovered in 2000 in Kazakhstan in the northern region of the Caspian Sea. The field has recoverable oil reserves estimated at 19- billion barrels, making it one of the largest fossil fuel discoveries over the past four decades. A consortium of seven companies was formed in order to develop the reserves, with Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), Shell Plc (NYSE:SHEL), Eni S.p.A (NYSE:E), TotalEnergies (NYSE:TTE) and Kazakhstan's KazMunayGas each owning a 16.8% stake in the project while China National Petroleum Corporation and Japans Impex owned 8.4% and 7.6% share, respectively. Project development kicked off in 2001 with an expected completion date of 2005. The initial allocated budget for the venture was US$10 billion, which was viewed as a reasonable figure to help generate considerable income for the young country. Here are six large-scale energy megaprojects that experienced significant budget overruns but remain relevant today either because of their long-term output, strategic value, or lessons learned. Megaprojects are, by their very nature, often pioneering and difficult to manage, with high early-stage sunk costs frequently creating project lock-in and subsequent cost overruns. Egypts Suez Canal took this to the extreme, with a cost overrun estimated at 1,900%, or 20 times the original budget. A growing share of the global economy is increasingly committed to large-scale, complex, and expensive undertakings involving massive infrastructure development and technological advancements, aka megaprojects. Annual worldwide spending on megaprojects such as high-speed railway systems, international airports, hydroelectric dams, motorways, power plants, wind and solar farms, as well as large public ICT systems to digitize tax, health, and pensions is estimated at between US$6 and US$8 trillion, or 8% of global GDP. Unfortunately, it has become a well established fact that megaprojects--defined as projects with budgets in excess of US$1billion--consistently fail to be delivered on time or on budget. Indeed, a study by Oxford Universitys Said Business School found that less than 3% of megaprojects are delivered both on budget and on time. Story Continues Nevertheless, the Kashagan Oil Field has been an economic success, contributing significantly to the Kazakhstan economy by being a major source of oil production and export revenue. According to Offshore Technology, Kashagan accounts for ~19% of Kazakhstan's 1.9 million barrels in daily oil output, translating into significant revenue for the country through taxes, royalties, and other payments. Gorgon LNG (Australia) Original est. ~A$37bn Final ~A$54bn Execution challenges on Barrow Island; still key to Asian LNG trade The Gorgon liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Western Australia is not only the countrys biggest single resource natural gas project but also one of the largest natural gas projects in the world. The Gorgon gas field was first discovered in 1980 by West Australian Petroleum (WAPET) before Chevron Corp. kicked off oil and gas exploration at the field in 1999. Chevron owns 47.3% stake in the project while Exxon Mobil and Shell own a 25% share apiece. Construction on the project began in 2009 and was completed in March 2016, making Gorgon the fourth LNG export development in Australia. Gorgon comprises three LNG trains, each with a capacity of 5.2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa). Similar to the vast majority of megaprojects, Gorgon LNG experienced significant delays and cost overruns. Initially estimated to cost $37 billion, the project ultimately cost $54 billion mainly due to logistical challenges of building on the remote Barrow Island, making the project Australias largest single private sector investment in history. Further, the project missed its delivery date by two years due to weather delays, staffing and skill requirements, high wages, low productivity and logistical challenges. However, it was well worth it because the Gorgon LNG project remains a pivotal player in the Asian LNG trade, with its large production capacity and strategic location in Western Australia making it a crucial supplier to the Asia-Pacific region. Tapi Pipeline (TurkmenistanAfghanistanPakistanIndia) Political risks and delays; cost ballooned from ~$7bn to over $10bn Still relevant to Central/South Asian gas integration The TAPI Pipeline, or Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India Pipeline, is a project with a long and complex history, dating back to initial discussions in the 1990s. The pipeline is designed to transport natural gas from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, aiming to address energy needs in the region. Despite its potential benefits, the project has faced numerous delays and challenges throughout its development. TAPI is poised to be a game changer in Central Asias energy landscape. The US$10 billion pipeline will cover more than 1,800 km and transport up to 33 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan to Pakistan and India via Afghanistan. Pakistan and India are slated to receive 14 bcm via the natural gas pipeline while Afghanistan will receive 5 bcm. The Galkynysh Gas Field is the worlds second-largest gas field in terms of gas reserves. Construction of TAPI began in 201 but was soon halted due to security reasons after workers were killed by unknown assailants. However, the gas pipeline has once again become the focus of attention following the exit of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021. Still, China remains hesitant to engage directly in the project due to security risks. Trans Mountain Expansion (Canada) Estimated at ~$5.4bn in 2013 ~$30.9bn by 2023 Continues to shape Canadian export politics and oil sands economics Back in 201, the Canadian government bought and nationalized the existing Trans Mountain Pipeline from a unit of Kinder Morgan Inc. (NYSE:KMI) in a bid to ensure that the expansion would be built. In effect, the federal government acquired its corporate owner, Trans Mountain, which became a federal Crown corporation with Ottawa framing this decision around the desire to secure a key Canadian asset. TMX ended up witnessing massive cost overruns, with the project costing C$34 billion, more than six times the original estimate. TMX is expected to triple the flow of crude from landlocked Alberta to Canada's Pacific coast to 890,000 barrels per day (bpd). The pipeline is viewed as a boon to Asian refiners since it provides them with an opportunity to diversify their imports while also giving Canadian producers more access to U.S. West Coast and Asian markets. TMX crude exports are expected to clock in at ~350,000-400,000 bpd, and compete with heavy grades from the Middle East and Latin America. Cold Lake crude is about $10 per barrel cheaper than Iraq's Basra Heavy for deliveries to China. Mingyang Qingzhou 4 Offshore Wind (China) Cost overruns linked to subsea transmission and turbine scaling Now a test case in high-capacity wind integration The Mingyang Qingzhou 4 offshore wind farm project is part of a larger development by Mingyang Smart Energy in the waters off the coast of Guangdong, China. This project is focused on utilizing deep-sea floating wind turbine technology to harness wind energy in the area. The 16.6 MW floating wind platform is the largest single-capacity floating wind power platform in the world. The floater is capable of generating ~54 GWh annually, enough to power 30,000 homes. The Mingyang Qingzhou 4 offshore wind farm project has faced significant cost overruns due to hthe igh costs of its giant turbines. Ichthys LNG (Australia) Est. ~$20bn Final ~$45bn Long lead times, offshore-to-onsite complexity; critical to Japans gas supply Discovered in 2000, Australias Ichthys offshore LNG field covers ~800km off the northern coast of Western Australia. The giant Australian LNG project is estimated to cost ~$45 billion, more than double its initial budget of $20 billion, and produces 8.9 million tonnes (Mt) of LNG annually, 100,000 barrels of condensate a day and and 1.6 Mt of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) per year over its 40 years of operational life. The project includes 50 subsea production wells; a floating, production, storage, and offloading facility (FPSO) and a semi-submersible central processing facility. This megaproject is owned by its operator, Japans INPEX (66.245%), while TotalEnergies owns a 26% stake. Ichthys is critical for Japans energy sector: Approximately 70% of the LNG produced by the Ichthys project is shipped to Japanese buyers, equating to about 10% of Japan's total annual LNG import volume. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Read this article on OilPrice.com Owners of Slovenian footwear retailer Mass have agreed to transfer a 60% equity stake in the company to Advance Capital Partners. Mass, with a workforce of 520 across Slovenia, Croatia and Austria, has charted significant growth since being founded in 1990. Mass CEO and founder Saso Apostolovski stated that the company has chosen to align with Advance Capital Partners to capitalise on its potential: Our goal is to further strengthen our position in Slovenia and Croatia and expand our operations in Austria. With Advance Capital Partners support, we also plan to soon expand our retail and online footprint to the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Romania, and within five years to enter additional CEE [central and east European] markets. The entire region shows promise in the footwear and fashion accessories segment, and consumer spending in this part of Europe is expected to grow at an above-average rate." Founded in 1990 with its first store in Ljubljana, Slovenia, Mass ventured into the Croatian market two decades later and expanded into Austria in 2024. The company operates under the Mass brand and the Skechers franchise, with a total of six Mass stores and one Skechers store in Austria. Mass Group has 75 Mass and Skechers stores and has been investing in its e-commerce platform for several years with a goal of double-digit revenue growth by 2025 and 110m ($127.83m) in revenue. Current forecasts indicate that Europe's footwear market is set to exceed 100bn in annual revenue for the first time, with the CEE region anticipated to experience the most robust growth. Advance Capital Partners Management Board president Ales Skerlak stated: "Over the next five years, we aim to open approximately 100 new stores and triple annual revenue to around 300m. On the one hand, we want Mass to expand across its three existing markets; on the other hand, enter new countries and, by upgrading its business model, become the leading omnichannel footwear and fashion accessories retailer in CEE." The deal is subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions and the receipt of regulatory clearances from competition authorities. The investment fund managed by Advance Capital Partners anticipates finalising the transaction by autumn 2025. Apostolovski and other existing partners will retain a 40% equity stake in the company. They will remain actively involved in the operations of the Mass group after the transaction with Advance Capital Partners is concluded. "Advance Capital Partners to acquire 60% stake in Slovenian retailer Mass" was originally created and published by Retail Insight Network, a GlobalData owned brand. The Oil and Water Dynamics of Migration Governance in West Africa When: Wednesday, 23 July 2025 Where: ACMS Seminar Room, Room 2163, Solomon Mahlangu House (2nd floor), East Campus, Wits University Start time: 12:30 Enquiries: jean.misago@wits.ac.za Dr Balkissa Daouda Diallo uses a multi-level governance lens to examine the case of Nigers management of transit migration to Europe from 2015 2020. Andrew Forbes awarded prestigious Harry Oppenheimer Fellowshop Award Forbes shares the honours with UCT's Professor Anthony Figaji as recipients of a dual award for 2025. Two South African scientists are doing such internationally trailblazing research that the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust has granted each of them its most prestigious honours: the R2.5-million Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award. Each of our awardees made such a strong case that we found it impossible to choose between them so we decided to double down in a time when our country needs it most. Were very excited to be supporting their quests to make our world a better place for all who live in it, says OMT chair Rebecca Oppenheimer. The prize rewards high-calibre scholars who are engaged in cutting-edge and internationally significant research that has particular application to the advancement of knowledge, teaching, research and development in South Africa and beyond. Research from University of the Witwatersrand (Wits) physicist Professor Andrew Forbes could unlock the viability of quantum computing, placing South Africa at the heart of computational progress worldwide and unleashing unquantifiable economic benefits. Meanwhile, University of Cape Town (UCT) paediatric neurosurgeon Professor Anthony Figaji could make South Africa the fulcrum of live-saving advances in paediatric brain injury response. Professor Forbes is approaching the question of quantum information from an entirely novel point of view carving out a niche for South Africa to participate in this burgeoning sector. Should he succeed, the world of computing will be revolutionised and the South African economy stands to be propelled forward through this emergent sector in South Africa. With Prof. Forbes playing an advisory role in developing SAs quantum strategy, we are sure his discoveries and their applications will have market take-up, says Oppenheimer. In turn, Professor Figaji stands on the brink of transforming the way we manage traumatic brain injury in children, which is the leading cause of paediatric mortality in Africa. The infrastructure that he and his team have pioneered and the world-class data they have collected are the keys to saving many brain-injured childrens lives and providing them with a brighter future. If successful, Forbes, distinguished professor in the Wits School of Physics and head of its Structure Light Laboratory, will have unlocked the viability of quantum computing, which will be exponentially more powerful than current technology. This will mean that humanity is able to harness AI in a revolutionary manner, quickly leading to solutions to very hard problems in fields such as chemistry, pharmacology, logistics, finance and many more. In addition, this will be accomplished without the unsustainably huge energy price, environmentally speaking, that we currently pay for AI. Forbes will lead a vibrant, young team of South African researchers and select international partners, including leading scientists from Chinas Huzhou University, Frances Sorbonne University and Australias Monash University, to practically demonstrate an entirely novel way of managing quantum information. Forbes believes that cracking this question will propel South Africa, which has no Silicon Valley of its own, to pole position in quantum software. We would develop a quantum-literate workforce that realises our countrys immense human potential, sparking human and economic opportunities that we cannot yet imagine, he says. Figaji, head of Paediatric Neurosurgery at UCT and the Red Cross War Memorial Childrens Hospital, believes that if his research yields positive results it could draw researchers from all over the world to South Africa, which would be the epicentre of the study of paediatric traumatic brain injury. He will lead a research project that will analyse a vast trove of data and a bio-bank of samples collected at the Red Cross War Memorial Childrens Hospital over more than a decade, and build academic capacity at the University of KwaZulu-Natal. Three separate analyses will be done to bolster the treatment of secondary brain injury: the cascade of complex physiological events that occur as a result of an initial brain injury, such as swelling and lack of oxygenation, which can influence each other and create a vicious cycle that doubles and even trebles mortality. Properly understanding how to identify and treat these secondary events is the key to substantially improving patient outcomes, by as much as 50%; not only that, it can help in the development of guidelines for institutions that dont have sophisticated resources to easily identify and effectively respond to secondary brain injury. Children are key to improving African social conditions, especially through healthcare and notably because the median age in Africa is 19, says Prof. Figaji. If we have any commitment to not only a vulnerable population but to our future as a continent, then we really have to be prioritising children It's imperative to understand that, especially in an African context, we don't often have the luxury of doing science just for the sake of science, we are constantly confronted with societal needs around every corner and we believe very strongly that the purpose of science is to change society. OMTs dual Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award underscores the transformative potential of Forbes's and Figajis pioneering research. By investing in these leading South African scientists, OMT is not only advancing critical knowledge in quantum physics and paediatric neurosurgery but also actively fostering a future where South Africa plays a pivotal role in global innovation, driving economic growth, creating new job opportunities and significantly improving health outcomes both locally and internationally. Their work exemplifies the profound impact that dedicated, cutting-edge research can have on society, truly embodying the spirit of making our world a better place. MEXICO CITY, July 17, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of "bbb+" (Good) of AVLA Re Ltd. (AVLA Re) (Bermuda). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. The ratings of AVLA Re reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). AVLA Re is ultimately owned by AVLA Bermuda Holding Corp Ltd. (ABHC), a financial holding company domiciled in Bermuda that is engaged in insurance operations in Chile, Peru, Mexico, Brazil and the United States. As of May 2025, ABHC had equity of USD 89 million. AVLA Re is considered a new company as it began operations in January 2022, under a Class 3A insurer license in Bermuda. The company currently reinsures business from other ABHC subsidiaries in Chile, Peru, Mexico and Brazil, and plans to reinsure premiums from third parties in the medium to long term. AVLA Res business profile is considered limited, given the small size of the company and its high degree of competition. The balance sheet strength of the company is considered very strong. AVLA Re has received two capital infusions from its holding company since its creation. AM Best will monitor any capital flows to and from the company to continue assessing the strength of its balance sheet. The companys operating performance is considered adequate and in line with its position as a recently formed company. AVLA Res premium growth has been prudent, with controlled increments in businesses from subsidiaries in the group. The companys claims experience has been in line with organizations expectations and AVLA Re was able to post positive bottom-line results of USD 5.8 million in its third year of operations. AM Best will continue to monitor the underwriting quality and operating metrics of this building block. AVLA Res ERM assessment is considered appropriate for its risk appetite and strongly supported by ABHCs back office. AVLA Re benefits from capital support from ABHC, as well as synergies and brand recognition from the group, with which AVLA Re shares experienced management. The stable outlooks reflect AM Best's expectations that AVLA Re will meet its business objectives in terms of operating metrics and capitalization. Negative rating actions could occur if AVLA Res capital base erodes due to significant capital base deterioration or sustained unfavorable operating results. Negative rating actions could also occur should AVLA Res importance to the group's strategy lessens in AM Best's opinion. Weather Alert ...EXTREME HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM CDT THIS EVENING... * WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with heat index values up to 108. * WHERE...In Illinois, Johnson, Massac, and Union Counties. In Kentucky, McCracken County. In Missouri, Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Perry MO, and Wayne MO Counties. * WHEN...Until 8 PM CDT this evening. * IMPACTS...Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat and high humidity events. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors. Do not leave young children and pets in unattended vehicles. Car interiors will reach lethal temperatures in a matter of minutes. Take extra precautions when outside. Wear lightweight and loose fitting clothing. Try to limit strenuous activities to early morning or evening. Take action when you see symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. To reduce risk during outdoor work, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration recommends scheduling frequent rest breaks in shaded or air conditioned environments. Anyone overcome by heat should be moved to a cool and shaded location. Heat stroke is an emergency! Call 9 1 1. && LONDON, July 17, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to "a" (Excellent) from "a-" (Excellent) of Kuwait Reinsurance Company K.S.C.P. (Kuwait Re) (Kuwait), which is majority owned by Al Ahleia Insurance Company S.A.K.P. (Al Ahleia). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) has been revised to stable from positive. The ratings reflect Kuwait Res balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The rating upgrades reflect Kuwait Res sustained improvement in operating performance in recent years, evidenced by a return-on-equity ratio that has increased steadily to 16.5% in 2024 from 9.5% in 2020. Earnings have been underpinned by robust underwriting profitability, which includes substantial reserving margins that provide a buffer against volatility. AM Best expects Kuwait Res underwriting discipline and prudent risk selection to support its prospective operating metrics. Kuwait Res balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, which is assessed at the strongest level, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The companys balance sheet strength is supported by a track record of internal capital generation, along with prudent reserving practices and good liquidity. A partially offsetting factor is Kuwait Res holdings of higher-risk assets, with its real estate and equity portfolio equating to approximately 13% of total investments at year-end 2024, which exposes its capital base to potential volatility. Kuwait Res neutral business profile assessment reflects its diversification by geography and product offering. The companys operations span the Middle East, North Africa, Asia-Pacific and Central and Eastern Europe, where it provides proportional and non-proportional cover to its cedants. Kuwait Re reported insurance revenue of KWD 79.9 million (USD 260.1 million) in 2024, representing growth of 10% compared with 2023, driven in part by favourable reinsurance market conditions in its core markets. This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments. AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com. Copyright 2025 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250717038587/en/ GE Vernova, the energy spin-off of GE, is investing an additional $80 million in its flagship grid solutions factory in Pennsylvania over the next two years to modernize the electric grid and meet growing demand. The investment will create 250 jobs at the leading grid solutions factory in Charleroi. It will help manufacture additional high-voltage switchgear products essential to the operation of the countrys electric grids. GE Vernovas technology helps produce over half of the power in the United States. The company employs more than 18,000 workers at 18 U.S. manufacturing facilities across the nation. Energy Giant Announces Major Investment In Us To Help Meet Surging Power Demands Since January, the company announced a total of $680 million in U.S. investments, which will lead to the creation of 1,750 new jobs. In Pennsylvania, it announced plans to invest up to $100 million, creating 700 jobs at factories in the state. A shot of GE Vernova's factory in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. "These new jobs and investment reflect our ongoing commitment to not only building critical grid infrastructure with American workers, but reindustrializing Pennsylvanias proud manufacturing legacy," GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik said. "They will also help strengthen our domestic supply chain, improve national security, and boost global competitiveness by closing a crucial gap." Read On The Fox Business App Trump Announces Largest Ai Infrastructure Project In History Involving Softbank, Openai And Oracle Aside from its Charleroi facility, GE Vernova announced on Tuesday that it has received approval to provide seven of its high-efficiency 7HA.02 natural gas turbines to the Homer City Energy Campus, which was previously the largest coal-burning power plant in Pennsylvania. It is now being transformed into a more than 3,200-acre natural-gas-powered data center campus that will provide up to 4.5GW of electricity aimed at meeting the demand for artificial intelligence and high-performance computing needs of innovative technology companies. The Homer City Energy Campus is expected to be finished in 2027. "The Homer City project shows what smart energy investments can achieve delivering more reliable, affordable power for all, creating thousands of skilled jobs, and positioning Pennsylvania to help lead the next era of AI," Strazik said. These investments come as the demand for electricity reaches an all-time high, significantly due to the power demands of AI. A shot of GE Vernova's factory in Charleroi, Pennsylvania. The rapid increase in electricity demand is primarily driven by data centers that are necessary for training, deploying and running artificial intelligence models, according to Flynn and Rob Thummel, senior portfolio manager at Tortoise Capital. Kroger workers: tell us why you rejected the sellout contract by filling out the form below! All submissions will be kept anonymous. A Kroger store sign [Photo by Wikimedia Commons/mcsquishee / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 On July 11, 8,000 Indianapolis Kroger workers rejected a second tentative contract agreement negotiated by the leadership of United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 700. The first tentative contract was voted down by the rank and file on May 31 by a margin of 74 percent. As of this writing, Local 700 has not released the vote totals. But even though workers also authorized a strike in their first vote against the contract, the union bureaucracy has said nothing about a job action and refused to prepare the workers for a walkout. The tentative agreement included only a 90 cent increase over 3 years for starting pay and a $200 Kroger gift card. Workers described this as insulting, and a slap in the face amid rising living costs and record corporate profits. Veteran Indianapolis Kroger worker George Fish said, Central Indiana Kroger made $4.3 billion in profits in 2024. The union called for a Yes vote on both contracts, arguing that this was the best we could get. We Kroger workers had other ideas. The main issue with the contract was too low wage increases which were well below the 25 percent price increase weve all had to face. For example, at top tier my wage increase would be only $2.75 over three years or $20.35 three years later, when I need $22 per hour now just to break even. For lower wage brackets, it was even worse with the lowest bracket getting only 90 cents over three years. The UFCW Local 700 officials did not provide workers with a complete copy of the tentative contract and gave them three days to review the highlights, which included eleven bullet points. Among the items on the list with no details were, Protects quality, affordable health care for members and your families and Adds lifesaving coverage for transplant procedures. The agreement also failed to address widespread understaffing and deteriorating working conditions. As Fish explained, Id also add we have problems with understaffing and, since our starting wages are lower than what you can get elsewhere, Kroger has trouble hiring and retaining people. It relies on part-timers and teenagers. Fish commented, Kroger offered a $200 gift card that can only be spent at Kroger, which workers found insulting. Health care remained 2-tier, although transplants were now covered. Kroger did make one concession. It did agree to a three-year contract instead of the four-year contract which it wanted. Kroger seems to be trying to foist four-year contracts in right-to-work statedwhich Indiana isas it did in Georgia. Fish said a group of Kroger workers are circulating a petition seeking 300 signatures demanding dollar wage increasesnot centsfair staffing language, and affordable healthcare. Workers have also raised the necessity of having greater job security against the threat of further automation and AI. This is the second consecutive round of contract talks where workers have overwhelmingly rejected sellout contracts brought by the UFCW. In 2022, when workers rejected a sellout contract, the UFCW made them vote again and again until they claimed it was finally ratified. To hide from rank-and-file anger, the local responded by deleting its entire Facebook page. Workers are once again furious at UFCW officials. On Facebook, workers reported being threatened by union reps who warned they could be replaced if they strike, and said the vote was deliberately scheduled while many were on vacation. In 2022, workers at Kroger formed a rank-and-file committee to oppose the union sellouts and push for strike action. In a statement, the committee explained that its goals were to fight to reestablish rank-and-file control over the entire process, develop solidarity and collaboration among Kroger workers across the US, and expose and fight against the betrayals of the union bureaucrats. Such a rank-and-file rebellion is once again needed. The UFCW is engaged in a nationwide sabotage campaign against around 100,000 workers in numerous regions whose contracts are expiring or have expired and who are pushing for strike action. They are doing everything possible to pre-empt a national movement by ramming through sellouts one by one. In southern California, where the contract for 45,000 grocery workers had expired, the UFCW carried out a series of empty practice strikes only to ignore its own strike deadline and announce a deal falling short of workers demands. The ratification vote is widely suspected of fraud, suppression and manipulation. The number of ballots cast have not been released, while in some cases, union officials have claimed 85 percent of workers voting in favor of the sellout agreement, which included a dollar per year in wage increases or less. The workers were never given an opportunity to review the agreement and were only given self-serving highlights about the contract through Zoom information sessions. In Colorado, UFCW Local 7 did everything to keep workers at the King Soopers and Safeway chains isolated from each other. It shut down a King Soopers strike at the start of the year with a labor peace agreement, then called a limited strike at Safeway in June. They kept King Soopers workers on the job past the expiration of the labor peace deal and then announced deals at both chains at the start of the month. Once again, only contract highlights have been released by the UFCW and, in the case of the agreement with King Soopers, refers to, Strong wage increases for top rates, grandfathered employees and department managers without any details as to what these wages are. There is enormous potential for a powerful movement. In Indiana, working class support for the Kroger employees is strong. According to Fish, The unofficial word is that unionized drivers at the Kroger warehouse in the Indy suburb of Shelbyville, members of Teamsters Local 135, would honor a Kroger picket line and not make deliveries which it does 7 days a week. Also, Pepsi vendors also Teamsters Local 135, would deliver to the parking lot only, not enter the store and set up. But the stronger workers position, the more openly and shamelessly the bureaucracy is acting against workers. The actions of the UFCW are of a piece with the sellout of the Philadelphia city workers strike by AFSCME earlier this month, which was called off without any gains when the strike was at its peak. In response, Philadelphia workers have formed their own rank-and-file committee to take the fight out of the hands of the apparatus. Such committees must be built in industries across the US and the world as the scaffolding of a new movement in the working class. The enormous power workers have can only be used effectively once they establish their independence from the union apparatus, the Democratic and Republican parties and all the pillars of class rule. Tina's Burritos frozen food plant [Photo: Google Maps] On Sunday, July 13, a 19-year-old worker was killed in an horrific workplace fatality at the Tinas Burritos frozen food plant in Vernon, California, just outside Los Angeles. The teenager, whose name has not yet been released, was part of the after-hours sanitation crew responsible for cleaning industrial equipment after the facilitys last shift. According to initial reports, the young man was in the process of cleaning a meat grinder and preparing it for the next days production when the machine suddenly turned on. His co-workers heard his screams but were unable to stop the machine or pull him out before the young worker was crushed to death. By the time emergency responders arrived, the teenager was already dead. The scene was one of horror and trauma, with visibly shaken workers gathered outside the facility. Tinas Burritos--a budget frozen food brand which markets its products with the slogan Made in California--has issued no public statement on the death of its employee. The Vernon Police Department immediately ruled the killing an industrial accident, even before California Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) began a formal investigation. There are many questions that must be answered on how and why this young worker lost his life. But to call it an accident only conceals the brutal reality that exists in Americas factories and workplaces. Instead, it was an entirely predictable and preventable consequence of a profit-driven system that treats workers lives as expendable. In any society that upheld basic safety standards, it would be physically impossible for dangerous machinery to remain operable while workers were performing cleaning or maintenance work on it. But lockout/tagout (LOTO) proceduresa standard requirement to ensure that industrial equipment is safely shut down and incapable of restarting during maintenanceare routinely ignored by companies. The ongoing investigation initiated by the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) into the death of Stellantis autoworker Ronald Adams Sr. has already revealed that such violations are rampant across the country. Workers routinely clean, repair and service dangerous machinery with no safeguards, risking their lives every single shift. Violations of LOTO procedures happen every hour in every city in America. One cannot speak of rare tragedies or accidents. These are systemically produced crimes. That a teenager was sent into a confined industrial machine to clean it without elementary safeguards is a damning indictment of the conditions faced by millions of workers, especially the youngest and most vulnerable. These basic safety procedures have been known for decades. That they were not in place indicates that speed, cost-cutting and disregard for human life took priority. The absence of emergency kill switches, proper LOTO systems, or basic operational oversight suggests not just management negligence, but an entire economic system built on criminal disregard for workers lives. The case at Tinas Burritos follows a similar pattern as the Esparto fireworks explosion earlier this month, which killed seven workersmany of them young, low-paid laborers. Both incidents occurred in California, which despite its immense wealth and resources ranks second only to Texas in the number of workplace fatalities in the United States. The role of the Democratic Party in California must be exposed. Governor Gavin Newsom and the Democrats posture as defenders of working families, but their record is one of complicity with the corporate and financial oligarchy. California is home to some of the wealthiest individuals and corporations on the planet, yet it remains one of the most dangerous states in which to work. The states political establishment has allowed unsafe workplaces to proliferate, regulatory agencies to rot, and enforcement to vanishall in service of corporate interests. That the victim was 19 years old is not incidental. American capitalism increasingly views working-class youth as cannon fodder. Whether sent to die in imperialist wars abroad or crushed to death in meat grinders and warehouses at home, their lives are cheap in the eyes of the ruling class. The ruling elite offers no future to young people beyond debt, servitude, exploitation and death. The killing in Vernon must be placed in the context of the sweeping assault on workplace safety carried out by the Trump administration, particularly in 2025. Every measure implemented since January has been designed to dismantle the already fragile regulatory framework and give employers complete impunity to cut costs, increase workloads and ignore hazards. Within weeks of taking office, the Trump administration froze all spending for OSHA rulemaking. This included vital standards for heat illness prevention and emergency response protocols. The attack intensified with a catastrophic assault on the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), whose workforce was slashed by more than 90 percent, from 1,400 employees to fewer than 150, alongside an 80 percent budget cut. Trump issued executive orders mandating that federal agencies eliminate 10 rules for every new regulation, creating an environment where the very idea of worker safety is regarded as a bureaucratic inconvenience. OSHA enforcement has collapsed. Inspectors are at their lowest number in history and enforcement has been replaced by so-called compliance assistance. Even the General Duty Clause, requiring employers to keep workplaces free of known hazards, has been effectively nullified. In a further act of class war, Trump moved to dismantle the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, ensuring that future disastersexplosions, toxic leaks, machine fatalitieswould go unexamined and unpunished. At the same time, the administration launched a campaign to normalize and expand child labor. Republican-led states across the country, emboldened by Trumps return to power, have rolled back child labor laws and legalized the employment of minors in hazardous industries. The goal is to prepare young workers early for lives of brutal exploitation. The death of a 19-year-old janitor in a meat processing plant is not an aberration. It is a preview of what this system has in store. Californias state regulatory agency, Cal/OSHA, has also been gutted. Many high-hazard or lower-profile workplaces may go uninspected for years unless there is a formal complaint or serious accident, increasing the risk of preventable injuries. Gaps in proactive hazard identification have been exposed, particularly in rapidly evolving industries, smaller firms and in sectors with high immigrant or temporary worker populations who may hesitate to file complaints. According to a former Cal/OSHA compliance officer, the agency has been castrated by funding cuts and deregulation. Directors at Cal/OSHA, he said, have told inspectors not to issue willful violations or fines over $100,000 unless there are bodies or body parts on the ground. Moreover, there is a relentless campaign of intimidation and silence to prevent workers from exposing these conditions. In the case of Ronald Adams, several workers have been threatened and told to keep their mouths shut. This is not an isolated case. Salima Jandali, a Colorado woman employed at JBS USAthe worlds largest meatpacking companyreported that management pressured her to falsify safety records. Workers, she said, were regularly losing fingers and limbs due to lack of training and deliberate neglect. This wall of silence is enforced especially against immigrant workers, who are among the most exploited and vulnerable. These workers are placed in the most dangerous positions and then threatened with deportation or termination if they dare to speak up. Tinas Burritos is a nonunion facility. But the presence of a union would not have fundamentally changed the outcome. The AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions have become tools of corporate management, working not to protect workers but to suppress struggles and defend profits. United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain and the UAW apparatus have responded to the death of Stellantis autoworker Ronald Adams Sr. by colluding with management to conceal their mutual responsiblity for the deadly conditions in the plant. It was the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) that took up the call for an independent investigation by workers themselves. The United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) ostensibly represents workers at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado where workers routinely suffer amputations and other injuries. The union bureaucracieswhether in the UAW, Teamsters, UFCW or any otherserve the corporations and the state. They will not lift a finger to stop these deaths because they are complicit in the very system that causes them. The killing of this 19-year-old worker must not be allowed to pass in silence. We call on workers at Tinas Burritos, throughout Vernons industrial corridor, and across the country: Take up the fight for the building of rank-and-file committees, which will empower shopfloor workers and organize collective action to defend their lives and enforce strict safety standards. These committees must organize an independent investigation into the young worker at Tinas Burritos. Only through the socialist reorganization of societybased on the public ownership of the industries and production centered on human need, not private profitcan the working class put an end to these atrocities once and for all. A protester waving a Palestine flag and displaying a sign saying Israel is committing genocide was harassed by police and threatened with arrest under the Terrorism Act this Monday. The event in Canterbury shows the march to a police state being carried out by the Labour government. Two officers approached the protester, asking, What is your intention here today? When the woman answered that her intention was to wave this flag and keep Palestine in the public consciousness, she was questioned, Do you support any proscribed group? Direct action protest group Palestine Action was proscribed as a terrorist organisation on July 4, meaning expressing support for the organisation is punishable by up to 14 years in prison. A police officer responded, The way your behaving at the moment would lead me to believe that you may be [a supporter]. The woman answered clearly, I do not support any proscribed group. I support a free Palestine and the end of genocide. The officer says, Support of this [the sign reading Israel is committing genocide], mentioning freedom of Gaza, Israel, genocide, all of that, it will come under proscribed groups which are terror groups which we have suspicion that youre supporting, based on your actions here, in a city with the flags and the posters youve got up. He goes on to read from the Terrorism Act, citing: expressing an opinion or belief thats supportive of a proscribed organisation, then adding, Now that you have done. The protester replies, Thats ridiculous; youre going to end up arresting half the country So I can never do this again? Its an offence, the officer replies. When the protester asks if they can ever do this in public again, the officer replies, If you just had a flag, wed probably say be careful what you do but in the context of the statement Free Gaza, which is supportive of a proscribed organisation, and a sign [stating] Israel is committing genocide would be in line with His colleague interrupts, What youre doing is giving us suspicion. We only need two out of ten to give us suspicion that you support a Palestinian group. Whether this is official policy, to be applied wholesale across the country, or not it shows the powers given to police by Labours proscription to intimidate and potentially criminalise any protest activity against the Israeli states internationally recognised genocide in Gaza, or in defence of the Palestinians. Refusing Palestine Action interim relief from the effects of the proscription order until a judicial review can be held, Mr. Justice Chamberlain accepted that the order will undoubtedly have severe effects on the claimant and many others and cast a long shadow over legitimate speech. What that means has now been demonstrated. The Canterbury protester is right that applying this standard universally would mean arresting (at least) half the countryan impossibility. But the Labour government and its police force will use this broad license selectively, going after the most politically active individuals in an attempt to paralyse broader mobilisations. Members of left-wing political organisations, who have already been arrested in significant numbers at anti-genocide demonstrations, on bogus charges of hate speech, will likely be heavily targeted. The Terrorism Act, now made applicable to widely held political opinion, gives the police enormous powers to detain, search and seize possessions, which it can use to surveil and move against the governments political opponents. Protesters arrested under the Terrorism Act in Edinburgh The day after this event in Canterbury, three women were arrested under the Terrorism Act in Edinburgh after a van was driven into the fence of a factory owned by arms manufacturer, Leonardo. Shut Down Leonardo, a direct action campaign, posted a photo of the van, a Palestinian flag hanging from the back, with three women and police on the roof. The organisation explained: Scottish group launches by taking action against Leonardos Edinburgh factory. The front of the site has been damaged and action takers drove a van into the perimeter. This factory makes laser target systems for Israels F-35 fighter jets. If the three arrested activists in Edinburgh are prosecuted under the Terrorism Act, then the arguments relied upon by Chamberlain in rejecting interim relief from the PA proscription are null and void. The judge said in his judgementinsisting that the order would have no broader gagging effectthat individuals who were members of PA prior to proscription would be allowed to continue protesting. He added that Even if their protests take the form of direct action which involves criminality, the fact that they were previously members of an organisation which is now proscribed would not as a matter of law aggravate their criminal conduct [emphasis added]. The basic legal point is that the proscription makes membership and support of the specific group Palestine Action a terror offence, and nothing else. Direct action in the Palestinian cause, including action which may be judged criminal at court, is not in and of itself terroristeven by the anti-democratic order of the government. But as the police harassment in Canterbury makes clear, the governments intentions are far broader, aimed at taking a sledgehammer to democratic rights, and to criminalise the mass popular movement against imperialist-backed genocide. The following is a letter from a member of the Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Committee to fellow educators facing the fight against Democratic Party austerity measures and Trumps efforts to destroy public education. To join the growing network of educators rank-and-file committees, fill out the form at the end of this article. Chicago teachers march during 2019 strike Dear Sisters and Brothers, As a member of the Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Committee and the growing movement of workers nationwide and internationally organized in the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC), I write to you with a deep sense of urgency. Educators across the country are facing a critical turning point. Dozens of contract expirations are unfolding in major cities in California, Pennsylvania and other states under the shadow of monumental attacks on public education at the federal and state levels. We are at a crossroads where the future of our public schools, our jobs, and the very right to free, quality education for all hangs in the balance. Having experienced firsthand the massive betrayal by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) bureaucracyfully supported by the Democratic Party administration of Mayor Brandon Johnson--I urge educators everywhere to draw the hard but essential lessons of our experience. The CTUs hollow promises and political deals led directly to mass layoffs, deep budget deficits, and the closure of schools, all while smothering the determination of teachers and staff who wanted to fight. What has happened here is not exceptional, but rather the sharpest warning for what is being prepared for you. Under conditions of deep social and economic crisis, war, and the rise of authoritarianism, educators cannot afford to follow the dead-end perspective of union officials who seek to contain and isolate any real opposition. What is needed is an independent movement from below, led by rank-and-file educators committed to breaking from the suffocating grip of the bureaucracies and mobilizing the power of the working class. A similar pattern is carried out time and again across the countrymost recently in Philadelphia, where 9,000 city workers struck for higher wages and against punitive budget cuts. Their strike resonated across the region and inspired wide layers of workersuntil they were stabbed in the back by their supposed representatives in the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union. AFSCME District Council 33 ordered a return to work without even a ratification vote, settling for a deal barely better than one workers had already rejected. This was a conscious effort to kill the strike before it could grow and spread. This betrayal was compounded by coordinated efforts to isolate the strike. White-collar workers in Philadelphia faced their own contract expiration, and school educators had just voted overwhelmingly to strike. But instead of uniting these struggles, the union bureaucracy intentionally kept them divideda key service they perform for the Democratic Party and the capitalist state. Above all, they fear a strike sparking a broader working-class offensive beyond their control. In response, workers in Philadelphia formed the Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Strike Committee to expose the treachery of the union leadership, begin organizing independently, and fight for real workers control. Their stand shows the way forward for educators and workers everywhere. Only through building independent, democratic rank-and-file committees can we seize control of our struggles, unite across sectors, and finally break the cycle of isolation and betrayal imposed by the union apparatus. Our struggles are inseparable and we must build a unified offensive. The defeat of any group of workers prepares the ground for a wider assault and deeper austerity elsewhere. An injury to one is an injury to all! The Chicago Teachers Union betrayal As for educators here in Chicago, we were recently hit with a devastating betrayal by the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) bureaucracy and its Democratic Socialists of America (DSA)-aligned partners in City Hall. The so-called transformative contract touted as Trump-proof imploded almost immediately after ratification. Leaked plans revealed that Chicago Public Schools is seeking to lay off up to 1,700 school-based staff. Just this month, hundreds of layoffs have already been enacted, impacting 432 teachers, including 132 special education teachers. Also laid off were 311 paraprofessionals and 677 special education classroom assistants. In a display of contemptible complacency, CTU officials sent members an email after the layoffs saying, It is cold comfort, but these layoffs are lower than last year. Laid-off educators were simply told to apply for unemployment benefits. This acceptance of mass job losses and school closures exposes the unions real prioritiesnot defending members or public education but managing austerity on behalf of the administration. Further, the CTU quietly approved the closure of two Acero charter schools serving working-class and immigrant families. Hundreds of students were displaced and nearly 100 educators were thrown out of these schools. The union helped implement the closures, advising teachers on how to bump colleagues with less seniority at Aceros remaining schools or accept termination. At least five more Acero schools face closure in the near future. Every effort has been made to suppress any genuine resistance among educators. The CTU leadership, in alliance with the DSA-backed Johnson administration, told teachers to publicly pledge allegiance to the mayor, assuring them of his supposed support, even as layoffs multiplied. National figures like American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten flew to Chicago not to rally support for genuine resistance, but to quash any talk of striking, urging educators to leave their fate to the courts and corporate-controlled politicians. While anger and opposition boils over among teachers, staff, students, and families, the CTU continues to oppose any mobilization of teachers, let alone broader sections of city workers facing massive cutbacks. Rather, the CTU is co-sponsoring a rally this week with Mayor Johnson, AFT President Randi Weingarten, and other Democratic officials, under the slogan Good Trouble. Their so-called Good Trouble rally is designed not to pose any real resistance to the attacks on public education, but to deflect opposition and drum up support for the Democratic Party, the very political force that is enforcing austerity and Trumps war on public education. The CTU, together with its leadership caucus, CORE, and DSA allies, has operated as a political firewall tasked with keeping teachers tied to the Democratic Party and capitalist system. Their task is to contain growing anger among educators and prevent it from becoming an open rebellionnot just against Trump, but against the entire political and economic order. Their collaboration with the Johnson administration and business-aligned austerity working groups marks them as managers of austerity, not fighters against it. A warning to educators in California, Philadelphia and beyond Chicago is a test case for broader betrayals. In California, the California Teachers Association (CTA) bureaucracy is executing the same playbook. As 77,000 teachers across 32 districts enter critical contract confrontations, the same machinery of betrayal is being prepared. The California Teachers Association (CTA) is orchestrating its We Cant Wait campaign with grand claims of a historic, united fight, while in reality refusing any genuine challenge to the destruction of public education driven by the Trump administration. The CTA bureaucracy, hand-in-glove with Governor Gavin Newsom and the Democratic Party, peddles the illusion that blue state politicians pose a threat to the Trump administration and will defend our schools, even as those same Democrats have imposed catastrophic cuts at the state and local levels. The Democrats are a party of the Wall Street and the Pentagon too and fear a rebellion by workers from below far more than Trumps fascist and dictatorial policies. Meanwhile, Philadelphia educators voted by an overwhelmingly 94 percent to authorize strike action by the districts 14,000 teachers and support staff. This a measure of their determination to overturn decades of PFT-backed concessions to the local Democratic Party machine and to wage a united struggle against Trumps existential threat to public education and democratic rights. But this struggle cannot succeed if left in the hands of the PFT bureaucracy. The PFT has acted in open collusion with AFSCME localsnot only failing to unite teachers with city and sanitation workers, but actively collaborating in the isolation and suppression of workers across industries, further facilitating the suppression of the city workers strike. This division is no accident. It is the conscious policy of the union apparatus, acting as an arm of the Democratic Party and the capitalist state to disorganize the working class, suppress mass opposition, and impose austerity from above. Why Rank and File Committees are necessary We are living through an unprecedented assault on public educationone part of a much broader effort by the ruling class to extract every ounce of surplus value produced by the working class to prop up a decaying capitalist system. This is whats driving the push toward World War III, the bipartisan gutting of social programs, and Trumps fascist campaign to establish a presidential dictatorship. It means mass layoffs, school closures, and the destruction of everything educators and generations of workers have fought to build. But the mass No Kings protests on June 14where millions of workers, educators, youth, and students flooded the streets in all 50 statesshowed that the working class is not going to take this lying down. The ruling class saw the danger. And so did their tools in the union leadership. The response wasnt to support this movement, but to downplay it, silence it, and prepare the next round of attacks. They know that any real strike or mass movement could rapidly ignite into a political revoltagainst not just Trump, but against the entire system of capitalism and inequality. Thats why the union apparatus functions not as instruments of struggle, but as a barrier to it. To every educator reading this: we cant go down this road again. We cant let them isolate us, divide us, and sell us out. We need to build rank-and-file committees in every school and districtindependent of the union apparatus, united with workers in every industry, and committed to finally taking our struggles into our own hands. They tell us to fight separately, district by district. We say: Unite the struggles. Build for a national general strike and indeed international counter-offensive. This is a class war. On one side: a ruling elite of billionaires, backed by both parties, the courts, and the union bureaucracy. On the other: educators, students, workersthe vast majoritywho produce all of societys wealth but have no say in how it is used. We are told our only options are Good Trouble or quiet despair. But there is another path: class struggleconscious, organized, international. The fight for public education is inseparable from the fight for democracy, for equality, for a future free from dictatorship and war. That is why we fight not just for better contracts, but for socialism: a society based on human need, not private profit. The defense of education and its vast improvement requires a vast redistribution of wealth and the expropriation of the corporate-financial oligarchy, which controls both political parties. Instead of funding tax breaks for the rich, the expansion of the ICE gestapo and preparations for World War III, trillions must be provided to guarantee high quality public and secondary education to all, a vast expansion of the public health system, affordable housing and a future for the youth. This will not be achieved through appealing to the conscience of the ruling class but in a massive industrial and political struggle against it, including the preparation of a general strike to drive Trump and his accomplices from office. To every educator reading thiswhether in California, Philadelphia, or anywhere elsewe say: Organize a Rank-and-File Committee in your school. Contact us to link up with the IWA-RFC. Take the fight into your own handsand join the struggle to defend public education and social equality. In solidarity and struggle, Joe Raymond Chicago Educators Rank-and-File Committee International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC) The arrest last week of two active members of the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), a CAF veteran, and an Army Cadet trainer in an armed terrorist plot has exposed, yet again, that Canadas military is serving as an incubator of fascist forces. Five years after a CAF reservist sought to assassinate then Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and as the ruling class showers the military with tens of billions of dollars in additional funding, far-right activities among CAF members clearly continue unabated. On July 8th, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced the exposure of a fascist cell, allegedly comprised of four men plotting to form an anti-government militia and seize land near Quebec City. Marc-Aurele Chabot, 24, Simon Angers-Audet, 24, Raphael Lagace, 25, and Matthew Forbes, 33, face multiple terrorism and weapons offences. Forbes and Chabot are corporals serving at CFB (Canadian Forces Base) Valcartier with the Van Doos Royal 22nd Regiment, while Lagace was a decorated member of the Armys Cadet training program. Angers-Audet allegedly left the CAF due to his opposition to COVID vaccinations. In a January 2024 raid on Forbes house, the RCMP seized the largest trove of weapons ever found in a terrorist raid in Canada, including 16 explosive devices, 83 firearms and accessories, approximately 11,000 rounds of ammunition of various calibres, nearly 130 magazines, four pairs of night vision goggles and military equipment. Forbes was arrested at that time, but terrorism charges against the cell members were only laid this month. Forbes faces charges under the Explosives Act and the Defense Production Act, which regulates access to military supplies. Forbes allegedly obtained the weaponsenough for a massacrefrom the CAF. Angers-Audets role at the Voltigeurs army reserve regiment in Quebec City was to take care of, adjust and maintain all of the units weapons. The plotters promoted right-wing conspiracy theories on social media, many of them directed against Trudeau, a hate-figure for the far right, which blames Trudeau variously for wokeism, COVID lockdowns, and increased immigration. The group began paramilitary training in 2021, less than a year after reservist Corey Hurrens failed July 2020 attempt to kill Trudeau. The group ran an Instagram account to recruit new members. The RCMP began its investigations in 2023. The exposure of yet another network of fascists within the armed forces underlines that such forces are being cultivated within Canadas national security apparatuswhere bellicose nationalism, virulent anti-communism, and support for monarchy and authoritarianism are ingrainedand that there is increasing sympathy, if not outright support, for the far right within the higher ranks. The CAF top brass readiness to openly patronize and embrace the far right found expression in the fascistic rant retiring army commander Lt. Gen. Michel Maisonneuve delivered in late 2022 to a Conservative Party convention; and by the notorious standing ovation that the Chief of Defence Staff and other top military personnel gave to the Ukrainian Nazi collaborator and Waffen-SS member Yaroslav Hunka when he was introduced to parliament in September 2023. At the moment there are far more questions than answers. Why was the fascist cell allowed to continue its operations 18 months after its weapons were first seized? What was the exact nature of the plot and the groups plans? In an interview with Global News, the father of Angers-Audet has alleged that the group was infiltrated by a strange, much older man, about 47 years old. Who is this figure? CAF terrorist plotters training mission [Photo: Royal Canadian Mounted Police] A photograph released by the RCMP showing what is alleged to be the groups military training at an unidentified rock quarry shows seven men in fatigues, not four. Who are the other three? To these, and the more fundamental questions which arise out of the discovery of yet another fascist grouping inside the Canadian Armed Forces, the RCMP, CAF and the government have responded with a giant shrug of the shoulders, and some carefully chosen weasel words. When asked about the discrepancy between the number of men in the photo and the number of charges laid, RCMP spokesman Erique Gasse responded, We know that, because of the Instagram account, there are more people who are interested in that ideology, and who took part in military-style training. The RCMP does not investigate movements or ideologies. It investigates only the criminal activities of individuals... In other words, the fascist milieu in which the four accused operate is much larger, but the RCMP has decided to make an example of the ringleaders only. One can only imagine to what uses those with potential terrorism charges hanging over their heads are now being put by the RCMP. From the milieu of military men with skeletons in their closet have been drawn countless agents-provocateurs and informants. Although the fascist motivations and modus operandi of the terrorist plotters are plain for all to see, the authorities have gone out of their way to obscure this. Quebec RCMP Staff Sgt Camile Habel told the Globe and Mail, When it comes to ideologically motivated extremisms, its not clear cutso people can gather a few different ideologies and make it their own. I guess the main thing about the ideology is anti-authority is in there. In this case, that is what it was. People can have a range of grievances from across the spectrum. For his part, Defence Minister David McGuinty claimed that The question of extremism is something thats throughout Canadian society. This is not something that is unknown to armed forces around the world. The remarks of Habel and McGuinty are a slander on the working class, and in two senses. First, there is no mass public support for the fascist extremism that is commonly encountered in the Canadian military and the armed forces of other countries. To the contrary, their views and actions are viewed with revulsion. Second, trusted ruling class spokesmen that they are, Habel and McGuinty are disingenuously seeking to draw an equal sign between an armed fascist terror plot and what the government and intelligence agencies have also claimed is ideologically motivated extremismopposition to imperialist war and genocide. Opposition to government support for Israels genocide against the Palestinians does indeed run broad and deep among working people, and that anti-authority sentiment truly terrifies the ruling class and its functionaries. By lumping fascists and principled and peaceful opponents of genocide together as other extremists and opponents of authority, the state both covers up its own role in incubating and promoting fascist forces and seeks to legitimize its repression of social opposition from the working class and left. The primary purpose of the official line of equivocation and downplaying of an armed, fascist terror plot within the military is to divert attention away from the essential truth: the Canadian ruling class and its capitalist state are increasingly reliant on fascistic and far-right forces at home and abroad to advance the aims of Canadian imperialism and shore up the profits of Canadian capitalism. The four terror plotters were drawn from the socially backward, right-wing milieu which produced the fascistic, misnamed Freedom Convoy in 2022. The Convoy mobilized truckers, police officers and veterans together with desperate and confused elements of the lower middle class against basic public health measures in an occupation of downtown Ottawa and the Ambassador Bridge linking Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario. At the time, the Joint Forces Command, an elite unit within the Canadian military, was so concerned about its members joining the far-right protests that it felt compelled to issue an order not to do so. As the WSWS exposed at the time, the Convoy was useduntil it escaped their controlby powerful sections of Canadian ruling as a blunt instrument to put an end to all public health measures against the COVID 19 pandemic which stood in the way of capitalist profit accumulation. The Conservative Party deposed its then leader Erin OToole, who was viewed as too conciliatory to Trudeau, and soon replaced him with the far-right Pierre Poilievre, who had emerged as a prominent Convoy supporter. Ontario Premier Doug Ford, a Trump enthusiast, used his jurisdictional control over policing to delay Ontario Provincial Police enforcement (OPP) of laws regulating protests and harassment to intensify and escalate the crisis for Trudeau in Ottawa. The RCMP, police and military were infested with Convoy supporters, feeding them intelligence and personnel at every turn. Canadian imperialism has absolutely no problem whatsoever working with avowed Nazis in Ukraine, who have been trained by Canadian officers, and politically defended and armed by NATO governments. These are Canadian imperialisms own fascists, faithfully doing its bidding. That they flaunt Swastikas and Sonnenrad symbols and distribute Nazi literature is something to be hushed up and denied, because they are prosecuting Canadian imperialisms war against Russia for strategic minerals, resources and trade routes. The CAF exists to advance the predatory interests of Canadian capitalism and the profit system, which must necessarily trample on the freedom and violate the human rights of people in countries targeted for violent intervention. We are the Canadian Forces, and our job is to be able to kill people, quipped General Rick Hillier, the commander of Canadas occupation force in Afghanistan, in a rare moment of honesty. Millions have died as a result imperialisms wars in the Greater Middle East since 2001. As the WSWS reported last week, the Canadian ruling class remains desperate to conceal the war crimes perpetrated by the CAF in Afghanistan while waging a war of neo-colonial occupation. Before his retirement in 2024, the former diplomat Richard Colvin submitted a 1000-page report to his superiors at the Ministry of Global Affairswhich they have suppresseddemonstrating the CAF systematically committed war crimes in Kandahar and that the military command and the Harper government concealed them. The government of Mark Carney, who has served the financial oligarchy throughout his entire adult life as a central banker and financial consultant, is hostile to any serious investigation into far-right extremism in the military and the Canadian state. This is because it cuts across its agenda and that of the ruling class as a whole. Central to that agenda is massive rearmament and preparation for global war, with the Canadian Armed Forceswhose budget Carney has already increased by $9.3 billion or 17% just in this fiscal yearparaded before the public as the defender of democracy and Canadian values. The reality is the Canadian ruling class, like its imperialist counterparts around the world, is turning toward authoritarian methods of rule. Under Carney, it is veering sharply to the right, aligning its policies with the fascist-minded President Donald Trump in the United States, and backing the genocide of the Palestinians by the Zionist regime and American imperialism. The Liberal government is adopting Trump-style domestic policies, including slashing social spending, demonizing immigrants, strengthening the border and criminalizing strikes using a patently illegal reinterpretation of the Canada Labour Code . Canadian imperialism hopes this will help it reach a modus vivendi with the would-be dictator in the White House, which it views as the best way to advance its own predatory global interests. This class war agenda cannot be implemented democratically, which is why the Canadian ruling class will intensify its cultivation of far-right forces both inside and outside of the military. It requires fascist shock troops to supplement state repression in seeking to silence what will inevitably be increasingly radical and determined working-class opposition. Elevenlabs AudioNative Player The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Dec. 17, 2024. [AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, ] In a decision with far-reaching implications for democratic rights and public education, the US Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Trump administration to proceed with mass firings at the Department of Education. In a 63 vote, the court overruled a May 22 decision by US District Judge Myong Joun in Massachusetts that had temporarily blocked the layoffs. The unsigned emergency order, issued without argument or explanation, allows Trump to remove 1,400 workers from the department, fast-tracking his administrations long-standing goal of dismantling the cabinet-level agency established by Congress in 1979. The US Department of Education oversees a wide range of programs serving the needs of 70 million students. It provides more than $120 billion in financial aid each year to over 13 million students across the country. In the 20202021 school year alone, it distributed over $100 billion directly to public schoolsamounting to roughly 11 percent of all funding for public elementary and secondary education nationwide. Beyond the immediate issue of public education, Mondays ruling marks another major expansion of executive power by the Supreme Court, sanctioning Trumps drive to establish a presidential dictatorship. In a 19-page dissent, Justice Sonia Sotomayorjoined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jacksoncited Trumps longstanding pledge to eliminate the Department of Education, noting that doing so is unconstitutional, as only Congress has the authority to create or abolish federal departments. Sotomayor warned that the Courts decision grants the president unchecked power to nullify laws enacted by Congress. When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, she wrote, it is the Judiciarys duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it. The ruling, she continued, hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out, adding, the threat to our Constitutions separation of powers is grave. The high courts ruling disregards statutory protections enacted by Congress against executive reorganization of federal departments, violates the constitutional requirement that the president take care that the laws be faithfully executed, and undermines key legislation, including the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the Higher Education Act, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The latest ruling is part of a series of decisions by the gang of fascists that controls the court aimed at dismantling fundamental democratic rights. In July 2024, the court endorsed Trumps claim of absolute criminal immunity for actions taken under his constitutional powers. In April 2025, it further gutted judicial oversight and due process by upholding mass deportations under the Alien Enemies Act. In the Trump v. CASA ruling of June 2025, the court stripped federal courts of the authority to issue nationwide injunctions against unconstitutional actions by the governmentincluding Trumps drive to abolish birthright citizenship, a right guaranteed by the 14th Amendment. This weeks decisioncoming on the heels of last weeks ruling permitting the mass firing of federal workersclearly exposes the class character of the turn toward dictatorship: the dismantling of basic democratic protections to enforce the interests of the financial oligarchy. The existence and expansion of public education in the United States is the product of the American Revolution, the Civil War, the global impact of the 1917 Russian Revolution, the civil rights movement, and mass labor battles of the 20th century. Democratic and social rights were not granted from abovethey were won through struggle in the face of fierce resistance from the capitalist ruling class. The dismantling of public education is a key element in the bipartisan social counterrevolution waged over decades by both Democrats and Republicans. Under Trump, this assault has entered a new and far more advanced stage. Trump has made students, universities, and culture in general a primary target. Billions have been slashed from federal grants supporting the sciences, arts, and social studies. The spending bill signed by Trump earlier this monthwhich guts Medicaid and food assistancealso cuts $300 billion in federal student aid over the next decade. It imposes draconian repayment schedules, denies loans to thousands of prospective students, and imposes new taxes on universities. The Supreme Courts decision paves the way for an intensified assault on every level of public education and the plundering of its resources by the financial oligarchy through privatization. It aims to make meaningful education unattainable to the working class. Exposure to world cultures, history, the arts, and science is to be gutted and replaced with narrow vocational training. The ruling class seeks to funnel youth into two channels: the brutal reindustrialization of the US at home and military service in the predatory wars of American imperialism abroad. While Trump is leading this assault, it is fully backed by the entire political establishment. The Democrats are doing nothing to oppose the dismantling of social programs because they support it. In cities across the country, Democratic mayors are themselves implementing sweeping cuts to social services and public education. Their opposition to Trump is not based on any principled defense of democratic or social rights, but centers instead on tactical differences over foreign policyabove all, the war against Russia. The Democrats have welcomed the White Houses decision to resume arms shipments to Ukraine. The Supreme Court decision also exposes the bankruptcy of the trade unions claims that Trumpand the financial oligarchy he representscan be stopped through the courts. In response to the ruling, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) issued a perfunctory statement warning that children would be especially hurt, and insisting the union would never stop fighting. In fact, the union apparatus never started fighting. The AFT and the National Education Association (NEA) have systematically blocked the mobilization of educators, students and workers against the dismantling of public education. Instead, they offered false assurances that court challenges and appeals to Democratic politicians would somehow prevail. Teachers were told to participate in symbolic lobby days and walk-ins, don red shirts, and wait passively while their rights were stripped away. Any remaining illusions in organizations led by proven enemies of the working classlike AFT President Randi Weingartenmust be dispensed with. The Socialist Equality Party urges educators, students, parents, and all workers to build rank-and-file committees in every school, workplace, and neighborhood as part of the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees (IWA-RFC). These committees must unite every section of the working class in a determined counter-offensive against the social counterrevolution being carried out by the financial oligarchy. The defense of public education cannot be left in the hands of the courts, the Democrats, or the trade union apparatus. It requires a mass, independent movement of the working class. The right to education, along with every other democratic and social rightincluding healthcare, housing, secure employment, and a livable planetdepends on putting an end to the domination of society by a parasitic ruling elite. This means a fight to expropriate the wealth of the oligarchs, dismantle their dictatorship, and reorganize society on the basis of socialism: the democratic control of the economy by the working class in the interests of human need, not private profit. Writer-director Wes Andersons most recent film is The Phoenician Scheme, with Benicio del Toro, Benedict Cumberbatch, Scarlett Johansson and others. The film is a sprawling satire about a shameless, domineering businessman and his various relationships, economic and personal. Andersons movie takes its place among the growing number of works devoted to Americas lawless ruling elite. Appropriately so! The Phoenician Scheme (2025) The director was forthright in an interview with El Mundo America, acknowledging that since the films plot deals with a ruthless capitalist, the political dimension is evident and very important. What is happening now, what has changed from the past, is that big businessmen now act in front of everyone. The role of big capitalists has always been the same since capitalism exists. But before, they maneuvered behind the scenes, and you would only find out about their power, if you ever did, 25 years later because of some historical study or investigation. Now there is no shame, everything happens with cameras and microphones on in front of everyone. Of course, The Phoenician Scheme is carried off with Andersons characteristic touch, i.e., eccentric, roundabout, imaginative, quasi-literary, a little claustrophobic, oblique and even at times confusing. The American filmmaker (born 1969 in Houston) offers his account of the fate of a great capitalist in the form of a dark comedy about a sociopathic billionaire who keeps surviving airplane crashes and other assassination attempts, stores his ambitious plans in numbered shoeboxes and hands over a business empire to his youthful daughter, a novitiate preparing to take her final vows! There are even scenes set in heaven! The result is surprising, oddly appealing and generally humane. Andersons films include Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Isle of Dogs, The French Dispatch and Asteroid City, as well as the short film compilation The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. Mia Threapleton Anatole Zsa-Zsa Korda (del Toro), a callous, domineering industrialist, is one of the richest men in Europe. His wide-ranging and seriously questionable business practices have earned him enemies not just among rival enterprises, but also governments of every ideology across the globeand made him a recurring target of hired killers and other conspirators (for example, he has survived six planes falling out of the sky). Dogged for years by accusations of profiteering, tax evasion, price-fixing and bribery, Korda specializes in the negotiation of clandestine trade agreements. (A certain type of businessman who can always pivot, says Anderson, and has very little obligation to honor the truth.) As the film opens, Zsa-Zsa is once more in mid-flight. A fuselage panel blows off, taking his secretary with it. Zsa-Zsa rushes to the cockpit, quickly dispenses with the terrified, angry pilot (Youre fired, Korda says, flipping a switch and ejecting the pilot along with his seat), and informs air traffic control he will land in a cornfield. He travels with hand grenades, and often gives them as gifts, because they are supposedly cheaper than bullets. Korda is in the final stages of a decades-long, career-defining projectthe Korda Land and Sea Phoenician Infrastructure Schemethe expansive development of a potentially rich, long-dormant region. The risk to his personal fortune, however, has also become incalculable. And the threats to his life are ongoing. He chooses this moment to appoint and prepare a successor: his twenty-year-old estranged daughter Liesl (Mia Threapleton, daughter of Kate Winslet), currently a nun in training. My father has appointed me provisional successor and prospective beneficiary of his vast fortune, gained entirely, as you know, through unholy mischief, she explains. Benedict Cumberbatch With personal tutor Bjorn (Michael Cera) in tow (professor, US government spy and specialist in bugsof the organic kind), Zsa-Zsa and Liesl sweep across Modern Greater Independent Phoenicia meeting their assorted partners on a mission to close The Gap (a rapidly expanding financial shortfall) that Zsa-Zsa quantifies as: Everything we gotplus a little bit more. Before the scheme can be set in motion (In short, were gonna need slave labor, but thats available to us), Zsa-Zsa discovers that someone has been manipulating the price of bashable rivets, sending up the cost of construction around the region, and widening the pre-existing fiscal gulf: an act of apparent sabotage that threatens more than Kordas grand vision. Now, theyll need to rendezvous with every titan with the hope of convincing each of them to help cover more of the gap. (If something gets in your way, flatten it.) Meanwhile, in a high-level government office somewhere, unidentified bureaucrats from around the world discuss Zsa-Zsa, outlining his disruptive business practices. He swindles our banks, asserts Excalibur (Rupert Friend), an American in charge of a secret mission to monitor and disrupt Zsa-Zsas enterprise. He dodges our tariffs, they claim. He ties up our courtrooms in tactical lawsuits. He provokes war (as well as peace) in direct conflict with our shared diplomatic agenda. Their objective: disrupting, obstructing, impeding, crippling Kordas enterprise in any manner possible... Zsa-Zsa has signed investment deals with various relatives and associates, including Marty (Jeffrey Wright), Cousin Hilda (Scarlett Johansson), Marseille Bob (Mathieu Amalric) and Zsa-Zsas own brother, Uncle Nubar, who may incidentally have murdered Zsa-Zsas wife and is terrifyingly played by Benedict Cumberbatch in Rasputin-like guise. (For the next 150 years, Id rather sell guns, bombs and ammunition. Its our family business.) Zsa-Zsa has recurring visions of judgment day before God, played by Bill Murray. Other characters include Leland (Hanks), an American businessman and partner with his brother Reagan (Bryan Cranston) in the Sacramento Consortium (now engaged in the construction of the Trans-mountain Locomotive Tunnel). Leland is serious, sedate, but always ready for a game of hoops. Reagan himself is an expert negotiator and occasional trash-talker. The Phoenican Scheme We also meet Sergio (Richard Ayoade), commander of the Jungle Unit of the Intercontinental Radical Freedom Militia Corps, devoted to orphans and widows; the blind, the sick and the wounded; farmers; teachers; and the construction of a hygienic wastewater disposal system. The performances are top-notch. For many actors, Anderson is a popular and sought-after director. Stars like del Toro, Cumberbatch, Johansson, Hanks, Cranston, Cera and Murray clearly appear in the films as a labor of love. Del Toro is a muted oligarch who nonetheless rattles on about slave labor as if it were nothing special. Also outstanding is Threapleton as the stoically zealous, pipe-smoking, hard-drinking Catholic woman of the cloth, sporting a secular jewel-studded rosary. The Scandinavian-accented Cera is hilarious as the love-struck secret agent and entomologist. All in all, the actors respond to and convey the Anderson touch masterfully. The Phoenician Scheme is generally comical, the characters zipping through invented lands and odd-ball scenarios. But it is also somewhat subdued, given the various elements of the narrative: business and government treachery, guerrilla warfare, espionage, assassination, murder, exploitation, the hoarding of billions of dollars. Anderson is seeking to orient himself and gain his bearings in very difficult times. Events, and not just the Trump-Musk phenomenon, are leaving their mark on the filmmakersendless wars, endless lies, cutthroat dealings, cruel disdain for the population and criminality in the extreme! Has Anderson got the present situation right? No, not exactly. There are tangents and red herrings and dead ends here. But the filmmaker is on a healthy path. Without a doubt, gangster capitalists are among the central figures of our times. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met in London Thursday to sign a friendship and bilateral cooperation treaty. Behind the anodyne wordswith Starmer declaring his surprise that this was the first major bilateral treaty agreed between the two countries since the Second World Warthe 23-page Kensington Treaty is centred on the militarist agendas of British and German imperialism. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer (right) and Friedrich Merz, the German Chancellor sign the UK-Germany treaty, July 17, 2025 [Photo by Simon Dawson/No 10 Downing Street / CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 There wasnt a single policy laid out that didnt concern the mad rush to rearmament and war, other than the intensification of anti-immigration measures. Europes major powers are meeting in the face of fundamental changes of the geopolitical environment, the Treaty states. There are momentous new challenges to Euro-Atlantic security in an era characterised by increased strategic competition, challenges to the rules-based international order. Russia is declared the main enemy, with the countries Identifying the Russian Federations brutal war of aggression on the European continent as the most significant and direct threat to their security. Britain and Germany, who have armed Ukraine to the teeth for more than three years against Moscow shall assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack on the other. Chapter 1, Article 1 states under the heading Diplomacy, Security and Development, Foreign Ministers [from London and Berlin] shall hold an annual Strategic Dialogue. A Senior Level Officials Group shall meet annually to coordinate foreign, security and defence policy. Clearly framed as an answer to concerns over US President Donald Trumps commitment to defending Europe, the treaty reaffirms NATOs policy principle of collective defence, as stipulated in the North Atlantic Treaty of 4 April 1949, in particular Article 5. In Chapter 2, on Defence Cooperation, clauses are included as a response to the Trump administrations demand that Europes NATO powers step up defence spending and pull their weight militarily: The UK and Germany are prepared for high-intensity and multi-domain collective defence. They shall provide such forces, capabilities, resources and infrastructure as are needed to enable the execution of the Defence Plans of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. And, The Parties shall seek to enhance industrial and capability cooperation through a long-term joint approach endeavouring to deliver effective military capabilities efficiently, minimising national constraints, and strengthening industrial competitiveness. Closer relations between Germany and Britain are a component of establishing a tripartite alliance with France, the subject of President Emmanuel Macrons state visit to Britain last week. Former UK ambassador to France Peter Rickettswho served as chair of the Joint Intelligence Committee under Labours Tony Blair, and as the UKs first national security adviser from 2010 to 2012 under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition led by David Cameronsummed up what was at stake in a Financial Times op-ed. The most productive UK-French summit since 2010 will be followed by the first visit of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz to London this week. There will be none of the pageantry and glitz of Macrons state visit, but it will also be an important moment. He described the UK-German treaty as strengthening what has been the weakest leg of the London-Paris-Berlin triangle as the three countries take on more responsibility for European security. These agreements turn the page on a decade in which Brexit overshadowed relations between the UK and its neighbours. The summit was held just days after Trump declared that the US would supply Patriot air defence systems and long-range missiles to Ukraine, with the proviso that these had to be bought from the US by the European powers. Central to the Starmer/Merz talks was how to intensify the development of a viable European arms industry capable of waging war against Russia and other rivals independently of Washington. Ricketts commented, The task of weaning Europe off its decades-long over-dependence on US military power is so vast that close trilateral co-operation on defence, security and foreign policy between London, Paris and Berlin is essential Britain is a natural partner for Germany in this transformation. The two countries have traditionally bought far more US military equipment than France and have a shared imperative to develop European alternatives. Neither Starmer, nor Merzboth keen to avoid rupturing relations with Trump who is doubling down on threats to impose 30 percent tariffs on the European Unionare prepared to openly criticise the US over its beggar-thy-neighbour Ukraine arms programme. But these tensions still surface, with Kaja Kallas, the EU foreign policy chief, declaring on the eve of the summit, If we pay for these weapons, its our support If you promise to give the weapons but say that somebody else is going to pay for it, its not really given by you, is it? France and Italy have both declined to join Trumps proposed $10 billion Ukraine weapons fund, thus far leaving Germany purchasing two Patriot systems from Washington and Finland another. Referring to the joint development of a new missile system capable of hitting targets at a range of over 2,000 km, i.e. Russia, a Downing Street readout noted the leaders reflected on the important commitments made today to deliver the new Deep Precision Strike capability within the next decade and agreed that closer cooperation on defence exports and between their defence industries will pose valuable opportunities for economic growth in both the UK and Germany. This builds on the UK-Germany Trinity House Agreement on Defence signed last December, stipulating increased defence industrial capacity on armoured vehicles and artillery. The RUSI (Royal United Services Institute) thinktank wrote, Signed just 111 days after the Labour government was elected, the [Trinity House] agreement covers strengthening defence industries, reinforcing Euro-Atlantic security, enhancing interoperability, addressing emerging threats, supporting Ukraine, and working together on future Deep Precision Strike capabilities. Ramping up preparation for war is premised on the military corporations of both counties reaping gigantic profits in the years ahead. The Financial Times noted this week that the latest agreement will see Britain and Germany work more closely to sell jointly made weapons, including Typhoon jets, in a deal that Downing Street claims can unlock billions of pounds of additional defence exports. The FT noted that any previous trepidation about selling to dictatorial regimes will be ditched by Germany. The article cited British officials who said Germany would be more open in future to selling equipment such as Eurofighter Typhoons, Airbus A400M military transport aircraft and Boxer armoured vehicles to certain regimes. The previous German government, a three-way coalition that included the Greens, blocked the sale of Typhoons to Ankara after Turkey announced its interest in buying them in 2022, citing political and rights concerns. Holding a joint press conference with Merz at the Airbus plant in Stevenage, Starmer said the treaty was committing not only to our mutual defence but also to maximise the benefits of our defence spending, in the shape of more jobs, more growth and more security. Under this treaty we will bring our industries together to boost defence exports by billions of pounds and well speed up our collaboration on high tech weapons and equipment, strengthening NATOand keeping our people safe. The generally anti-EU Telegraphs Europe Editor James Crisp commented, The blueprint for the future of European defence is buried in Britains new friendship treaty with Germany. Its hidden by the warm talks of school exchanges, shared values, trade and direct rail links but look closely enough and steel foundations are being laid Its a future set to be dominated by the triangle, of London, Berlin and Parisa partnership of Europes two nuclear powers with its richest nation, which has plans to build its strongest army. The other main area of cooperation to be accelerated is a clampdown on immigration into Europe by refugees and asylum seekers. At the press conference, Starmer congratulated Friedrich for his leadership on this, praising their working together on illegal migration. The Downing Street report of the meeting confirmed that Merz would introduce legislation to be adopted by the end of the year to make it illegal to facilitate illegal migration to the UK. Mourners carry the body of Palestinian-American Sayfollah Musallet, 20, during his funeral in the West Bank village of Al-Mazraa a-Sharqiya on Sunday, July 13, 2025. Musallet was murdered by Israeli settlers. [AP Photo/Leo Correa] On July 11, Sayfollah Saif Musallet, a 20-year-old US citizen from Tampa, Florida, was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Sinjil, north of Ramallah. Musallet had traveled there on June 4 to visit family and help defend their farmland, which had been threatened by settler encroachment. On the day of the incident, after Friday prayers, Musallet joined relatives and villagers heading to their fields amid heightened tensions and a recent escalation in settler attacks. As the group approached their property, a mob of armed settlers, wielding rocks, bats, sticks and at least two rifles, attacked. Musallet and another young man, Mohammed al-Shalabi, attempted to defend their families land. Al-Shalabi was shot and killed, while Musallet was set upon with bats and sticks by the mob. Ambulances were called immediately, but Israeli settlers blocked their advance for more than three hours. The windshield of an ambulance was smashed by stone-throwing, and Israeli soldiers fired tear gas at Palestinians while reportedly refusing medics access to the scene. Only after the mob retreated did Musallets younger brother reach him and bring him to a waiting ambulance, but the young man succumbed to his injuries before arriving at the hospital. Musallets father, Kamel, condemned both the settler violence and the actions of the Israeli military, insisting that they, alongside the US government, share responsibility for enabling impunity. He said, The Israeli military prevented the ambulance and allowed the settlers to do what they do anytime they want. I hold the Israeli military just as responsible as the settlers and the American government for not doing anything about this. Musallets cousin Diana, delivering the familys official remarks, said, We are devastated that our beloved Sayfollah, nicknamed Saif, was brutally beaten to death in our familys land by illegal Israeli settlers, who were attempting to steal it. Israeli settlers surrounded Saif for over three hours as paramedics attempted to reach him, but the mob blocked the ambulance. No family should ever have to face this injustice. Eyewitnesses reported that some of the settlers wore army-style clothes and carried firearms and that Israeli soldiers present at the time failed to stop the attack or protect the Palestinians. The family has demanded that the US government conduct a full investigation and hold those responsible for Musallets murder accountable. The family statement said, This murder is merely the latest incident involving the killing of an American citizen by Israeli settlers or soldiers. Every previous killing of an American citizen has gone unpunished by the American government, which is why the Israeli government continues its unchecked violence against American Palestinians and, of course, other Palestinians. Sayfollah Kamel Musallet was born in Port Charlotte, Florida, and raised in Tampa. A dual citizen, Musallet was deeply connected to both his Palestinian roots and his American community. He worked with his father at their dessert and ice cream shop in Tampa and was known for his kindness and sense of responsibility toward family and friends. He regularly visited the West Bank to maintain ties with extended family and the ancestral land. According to relatives, he was looking forward to his 21st birthday and had spoken about building a future in Palestine with his family and possibly starting one of his own. The Israeli governments response has been limited to stating that an incident occurred between Israeli civilians and Palestinians near Sinjil and that an investigation was underway without mentioning the names of the victims. Official announcements referenced possible rock-throwing by Palestinians and fell short of specifically condemning settler violence or announcing arrests in Musallets case. Palestinian rights groups highlight that over 93 percent of settler violence investigations are closed without indictment, perpetuating a climate of impunity. While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke and condemned some recent attacks by settlers, Musallets killing was not directly addressed. Facing pressure from the family and Palestinian advocacy organizations, US government officials have been forced to address the killing of an American by Zionist thugs. However, U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee issued a toothless statement on Twitter/X on Monday in which he misspelled the young mans name and said he asked Israel to investigate the murder. Members of Congress, such as Representatives Hakeem Jeffries and Rosa DeLauro, have called for an investigation, but there is no indication the US will conduct an independent inquiry or even do anything. To date, no suspects have been arrested or charged. At a press conference at the White House on Wednesday, when a reporter asked the president if the US would pursue the prosecution of Musallets killers, Trump cut him off with a series of non sequiturs and then claimed, We protect all American citizens anywhere in the world, especially if theyre unjustly murdered or killed. So, were gathering more information, but I hope you saw yesterday Ambassador Huckabee in Israel asked the Israeli authorities to produce an investigation. Musallet was at least the seventh US citizen killed by Israeli security forces or settlers in the West Bank since October 7, 2023, and the fifth since the intensification of violence against Palestinians in the Gaza genocide. No one has been prosecuted for these killings, exposing that American citizens of Palestinian descent that are killed in the region rarely get justice. Musallets death takes place within the context of increasing violence by Israeli settlers and the military against Palestinians in the West Bank. Over 961 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since October 2023, the majority during raids, forced displacement and direct armed assaults. Settler attacks increased by 30 percent during the first half of 2025 compared to the previous year, with at least 414 violent incidents reported in six months. UN data shows these attacks, often with protection from Israeli military forces, have forced nearly 2,900 Palestinians from their homes since January 2023, while only 3 percent of legal complaints against settlers end in conviction. Over the decades, settler violence has followed a pattern: attacks on Palestinian farmers and shepherds, destruction and theft of land and property, coordinated village raids, and systematic harassment designed to drive Palestinians out of their land and consolidate Zionist control over the occupied territory. Hilltop youth and fascist settler militias, espousing racist and ultranationalist ideologies, have escalated their operations with minimal if any opposition from authorities. The Israeli states refusal to investigate or prosecute these crimes has fostered an environment where violent settler tacticsranging from assaults to firebombings and property destructionare carried out with the endorsement of the Zionist regime. The rise of fascist settler groupsa phenomenon dating back to the 1970s but vastly accelerated over the last two decadesmarks a deliberate strategy to alter facts on the ground. Led and organized by radical Zionist religious-nationalist networks, these groups operate with a clear mandate: to terrorize Palestinian communities, break their will to remain and open up the land for future Israeli annexation. These methods have now been adopted writ large in Gaza with a US-Israeli program of mass ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from the enclave on the Mediterranean through forced relocation into a concentration camp at the border with Egypt, using the Orwellian name of a humanitarian city. The Zionist plot of Netanyahuwith the full backing of the Trump administration in Washington D.C.is the forced removal of 2 million Palestinians into the camp in advance of their permanent expulsion from Gaza through the Rafah crossing. Even when officials issue condemnations of violence in the West Bank, prosecutions are exceedingly rare. This fact has made Palestinian civilians and their families perpetual targets with no recourse. The words of Musallets loved ones calling for justicenot only for Saif but for countless Palestinians and American citizens who have lost their lives to violent settler expansionare directed at defending fundamental rights to land and life itself being denied in the occupied territories. As news spread of Musallets brutal killing, Palestinian American communities in the US held vigils and protests, demanding justice for Saif and for all victims of settler violence. Statements of solidarity came from organizations across the country, denouncing the ongoing US funding of Israeli military operations and the billions in annual military aid enabling occupation and settlements in the West Bank. Multiple rights groups called for Washington to place actual conditions on aid, warning that diplomatic statements alone have changed nothing in decades. At Musallets Tampa mosque, hundreds gathered to honor his memory, reflecting on his commitment to both his family and his heritage. Friends who spoke at the memorial remembered Sayfollah as deeply devoted to those he loved and a bridge between two cultures. They expressed anger at the reality faced by Palestinian Americans, who can travel to their ancestral lands only under the threat of violence. A classmate from high school said, We always joked about one day visiting his familys land. None of us ever thought it would end up like this. It feels like nothingnot his citizenship, not our governmentcan protect us once youre over there. Prominent Palestinian rights groups criticized the pattern of murder of American citizens in the occupied territories, highlighting prior cases such as Shireen Abu Akleh, Omar Assad and Rachel Corrie, who were all killed or fatally injured by Israeli forces or settlers over the past two decades. None of the perpetrators faced meaningful prosecution. Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza, the West Bank has witnessed what multiple human rights monitors describe as an unprecedented campaign of terror by both settlers and Israeli state forces. Thousands of Palestinians have been driven from their ancestral villages by coordinated attacks involving arson, shootings and mass raids, while settlement expansion on stolen land continues daily. Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation (NYSE:AP) is one of the 10 Metal Stocks with Insider Buying in 2025. After significant improvements highlighted in the Q1 earnings results, the company secured a new credit facility agreement in June. Ampco-Pittsburgh Insiders Show Steady Backing Amid Credit Facility Secured A huge in-process machining center producing parts for aircraft and aerospace systems. Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation (NYSE:AP) is a Pennsylvania-based company engaged in the manufacturing of specialty engineered metal products and customized systems in two segments: Forged & Cast Engineered Products and Air & Liquid Processing. With roots dating to 1929, the company serves different types of industrial markets, including steel, transportation, and processing. On May 13, 2025, the company released its Q1 2025 earnings results. In it, Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation (NYSE:AP) reported an earnings increase of $0.20 compared to the same quarter the previous year. Adjusted EBITDA also reached $8.8 million, up from $5.1 million in Q1 2024. Additionally, the total backlog saw a 6% year-over-year increase, indicating a better performance from the company despite lower shipments and changes in product mix affecting the net sales. Following the results, the company announced the closing of an amended and restated revolving credit, term loan, and security agreement on June 27, 2025. The Credit Facility includes a $100 million asset-backed revolving line of credit and a $13.5 million term loan. The company anticipates funding for the global working capital requirements through the proceeds. Insider confidence in the stock remains consistent, but with a slight 0.07% increase in the past six months. While we acknowledge the potential of AP as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Energy Stocks with Insider Buying in 2025 and 12 Best MLP Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Analysts Disclosure. None. Milwaukee County Transit System bus [Photo by Vincent Desjardins / CC BY 2.0 On July 9, workers at the Milwaukee County Transit System (MCTS) voted by 98 percent to 2 percent to authorize a strike. The bus drivers and mechanics, who are members of Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) Local 998, are fighting for better hours and working conditions. The strike vote is another indication of the growing anger and militancy among workers across the United States and the world. The news comes on the heels of a surprise announcement that MCTS is projecting a $10.9 million budget deficit in the current fiscal year. Following the announcement, two county transit officials resigned: Donna Brown-Martin, the executive director of the Milwaukee County Department of Transportation; and Julie Esch, the interim President and CEO of MCTS since January. The sudden announcement of a deficitas recently as June 8, an MCTS report projected a balanced budgetalso appears to have violated county law. Officials are required to report to the comptroller and other county leaders when they become aware of a net deficit of $100,000 or larger, or an overtime deficit of $1 million or more. The county Comptroller Liz Sumner learned of the deficit instead through media reports. In response to the media reports, Sumner ordered an audit of the governance and oversight of MCTS, and the County Boards Committee on Transportation and Transit held a hearing on the deficit. Notably, Esch submitted her resignation to MCTS on the eve of the committee hearing. These developments are occurring as transit workers and the riding public are under assault nationally. Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia are preparing to drastically cut transit services as part of doomsday budget scenarios, including attacks on workers pay, hours and working conditions, as well as drastically reduced service hours for riders, who are overwhelmingly working class. MCTS has already announced reduced service on several bus routes, a total planned decrease of 20,000 hours of service time this Fall, as a cost-cutting measure. It also stated its intent to engage in talks with the union to manage labor costs. It reported that $4.7 million of the overage was in the category of wages and fringe benefits. The current contract extension under which workers are operating expires at the end of July. That extension is already the second one that union bureaucrats have agreed to since May. These extensions gave MCTS executives time to spring the deficit on the union as leverage in negotiations. MCTS negotiators handed union bureaucrats a press release announcing the deficit during the middle of a negotiating session. The Democratic leadership of Milwaukee County was not content to pin the blame for the MCTS deficit on MCTS workers alone. The County Board hearing on the deficit had a second agenda item: so-called fare evasion. MCTS blames another $4 million in revenue shortfall on riders themselves, claiming that approximately 1 in 4 riders in 2024 did not pay the fare. MCTS drivers do not enforce fare payment when riders board the bus. However, the union bureaucracy, only too eager to collaborate on creating and deepening working class divisions, insists that MCTS hire security officers and place them on routes with the highest fare evasion. The route alleged to have the highest fare evasion is a route connecting downtown Milwaukee with the major academic medical campus in the city of Wawautosa to the west, which is home to the Medical College of Wisconsin and its associated academic healthcare systems, Froedtert Health and Childrens Wisconsin. These health systems are also the saftey-net providers in the region. Thus, the poorest and sickest citizens of Milwaukee will be made to pay for MCTS deficits, whereas the wealthiest will be exempted. The ruling class attack on public transportation and the divisions it foments among workers and riders must be opposed. The Democratic Party and union bureaucracies are no route to saving the system. Rather they are actively engaged in the very austerity measures and sellout contracts that continue to disintegrate it. It is necessary to soberly study the recent sabotage of strikes by union officials and draw the necessary lessons. As of this writing, 9,000 municipal workers are being forced to vote on a contract after having been betrayed by AFSCME District Council 33, which colluded with the city of Philadelphia to ram through a tentative agreement and end the historic strike. Similarly, in New Jersey, bureaucrats of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers (BLET) collaborated with NJ Transit, federal mediators and bureaucrats from the ATU to isolate and smother a potential strike of railroad engineers in the state. However, despite these betrayals by union officials, this does not mean these struggles are in any way over, regardless of whatever short-term losses. The emergence of the Philadelphia Workers Rank-and-File Strike Committee, which is fighting to independently organize workers and take control of the struggle, was met with broad support from workers. This committee represents workers consciously taking up a political and organizational fight against the unions, who are tied and bound up with big business and the state, and both capitalist partiesthe Republicans and Democrats. Milwaukee transit workers must counter this ongoing and deliberate sabotage by the union bureaucracy and Democrats. They must join forces to form rank-and-file committees that democratically decide plans of action to wrest control of public transportation from the ruling class and operate it as a public utility free for all riders. This program cannot be realized as long as social decision-making is dominated by the profit motive. Thus, these committees organize a broader working class movement, linking across transit, education, nursing, manufacturing and so on to operate on an independent working-class political program to replace capitalism with a system that prioritizes human need over private profit. Prof. Caitilyn Allen Caitilyn Allen is a plant pathologist and professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. The WSWS recently interviewed her on the frame-up of two Chinese researchers at the University of Michigan charged by federal prosecutors with smuggling plant pathogens into the US and linked by the Trump administration to alleged agroterrorism. Stephen St. Clair: Yunqing Jian is being held in federal custody, facing imprisonment for up to 20 years for smuggling a common plant pathogen. Last week I spoke to an Oakland University researcher who stated: All the coverage was about Fusarium graminearum being a potential agroterrorism agent, and thats completely absurd. Youve got a pathogen thats already present, its basically ubiquitous across lots of different countries... What kind of an idiot would try to use this as an agroterrorism agent? Do you agree with this assessment? Yunqing Jian, Sanilac County Jail. Caitilyn Allen: I agree that Fusarium graminearum would not be an effective agroterrorism agent because this crop pathogen is already widely established across the US, including in the upper Midwest. It has been here for over 100 years. It causes diseases called head blight or scab on wheat and barley, but growers have good tools to manage these diseases. These tools include disease-resistant crop varieties developed by research in labs like the one where Drs. Jian and Han worked at the University of Michigan. The US Department of Agricultures Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), the agency responsible for protecting our farmers from introduced pests and quarantine organisms, has a list of so-called Select Agent plant pathogens that are considered to pose a significant threat to US agriculture. Fusarium graminearum is not on the Select Agent list, indicating that USDA-APHIS doesnt see it as a highest-concern pathogen. I would not expect it to be difficult to obtain an APHIS permit to import this fungus. SSC: Chengxuan Han is also being held in federal custody, facing up to 20 years, but her case involves charges of sending roundworms (C. elegans) and plasmids on filter paper through the mail without proper permits. No pathogens or parasites, just C. elegans. How common is it for researchers, particularly early-career scientists, to transfer or receive such non-hazardous biological specimens across international borders without formal permits, and what are the primary reasons for this practice? Are the charges against Han proportional to her actions? What might have happened if Han had been from the UK, Japan, or Germany? This photo provided by the Sanilac County, Mich., Sheriff's Office on Friday, June 13, 2025, shows Chinese scientist Chengxuan Han. [AP Photo/Sanilac County Sheriff's Office] CA: Sharing plasmids on filter paper is a common practice among scientists. Plasmids are small circular pieces of bacterial DNA. They are not alive. A plasmid might carry a cloned gene for study, for example. Once a plasmid is put inside a bacterium, the bacterium can make more copies of the plasmid or just store it. Plasmids are general tools, used widely to study genetics or do biotechnology. Scientists frequently exchange plasmids, its part of normal research collaboration, usually done by mail. To the best of my knowledge, a permit is not required to move DNA in general. An exception might be made for specific kinds of DNA that could be misused, like DNA that encodes a complete human virus or a toxin. I will add, however, that once a DNA sequence is known and published, you can order a copy of that DNA from many companies that will synthesize it. The only reason to hand-carry a plasmid for research is to save some time and money. Although I dont know if movement of C. elegans is regulated, I do know that these microscopic roundworms are harmless and very widely used as model organisms for studying development and for teaching biology. SSC: What are the responsibilities of a principal investigator (PI) or senior supervisor when an early-career scientist in their lab engages in informal material transfer practices? Is there sufficient institutional guidance or training on these specific issues? CA: The PI of a research lab is generally considered responsible for professional actions of lab group members. Institutions like universities have increasingly large offices to ensure compliance with research-related behavior. This typically involves required online trainings, courses, or workshops on topics like animal care, human subject experiments, interpersonal behavior in the science workplace, determining publication authorships, etc. Individual PIs typically train informally on an as-needed basis for ordinary scientific actions like material transfer of research materials and obtaining required permits (as should have been done for the Fusarium samples). That said, individual lab practices vary. SSC: The World Socialist Web Site links these arrests to an escalating anti-China campaign and the continuation of the China Initiative from the first Trump administration, as part of preparations for war. Has this geopolitical tension had a chilling effect on scientific collaboration between US and Chinese institutions? CA: I cant comment on this beyond my direct interactions with scientists from China. Several people I have talked with are understandably anxious about their ability to continue doing research or graduate training in the US. More broadly, US science would be less productive and less innovative if the best and brightest from other countries no longer came to learn and work here. International exchanges and collaborations have undoubtedly fueled our countrys scientific pre-eminence. In particular, Chinese students and scientists have been valuable partners for generations. In my own field of agricultural research, China has become a real powerhouse in recent years. SSC: What do you think about the way these cases have been reported in the corporate media? CA: It is unfortunate when the media exaggerates the potential threat posed by a common crop pest like Fusarium graminearum. I understand the drive to write clickbait, but its irresponsible and unethical to say these scientists were planning to commit agroterrorism. Importantly, reporting from CNN and the Detroit News included extensive comments from expert plant pathologists explaining that this fungus was not a plausible agroterrorism weapon. SSC: Our student group, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), is the only organization at the University of Michigan that has spoken in defense of Jian and Han. What do you think of our call to defend Jian and Han? CA: Personally, Im glad that someone is speaking up for these researchers. They certainly should have obtained a permit to move the fungal strains, but importing without a permit has been punished with a fine, not a 20-year jail sentence. They must be terrified. I hope they have good lawyers. More than five years after its initial emergence, COVID-19 continues to evolve, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recently designating XFG, nicknamed Stratus, as a new variant under monitoring in late June 2025. XFG, which is rapidly outpacing its predecessor, Nimbus, is a recombinant Omicron subvariant that has been found in increasing proportions globally, particularly in India, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States. Despite its spread, the WHO currently assesses the additional public health risk posed by XFG as low at the global level, with existing COVID-19 vaccines expected to remain effective against symptomatic and severe disease. However, this ongoing viral evolution and transmission occurs amidst a devastating crisis in US public health, driven by sweeping policy shifts and budget cuts. Artists conception of the spike proteins that allow SARS-CoV-2 to invade human cells. [Photo by Emanresucamit / CC BY-SA 4.0 With respect to recent scientific analysis on XFG, in a Lancet Correspondence, Caiwan Guo and colleagues from Biomedical Pioneering Innovation Center (BIOPIC) at Peking University explained that XFG is a recombinant variant, meaning it emerged from two existing subvariants, LF.7 and LP.8.1.2, sharing genetic material from both. It has four important mutations in its spike protein, which is the part of the virus that helps it attach to human cells. Some of these mutations are thought to help it evade certain antibodies, meaning our existing immune protection from past infections or vaccinations might not work as well. Early lab studies suggest XFG has a nearly two-fold reduction in neutralization compared to LP.8.1.1, indicating strong immune evasion. However, its ability to attach to human cells (ACE2 engagement efficiency) is relatively low, which might require additional changes for it to spread widely and consistently. It was first detected on January 27, 2025. By June 22, 2025, it accounted for 22.7 percent of globally available SARS-CoV-2 sequences from 38 countries, a significant increase from 7.4 percent four weeks prior. It presently accounts for at least 30 percent of all SARS-CoV-2 variants in the US. The only accurate and comprehensive review of the state of the pandemic in the US and internationally remains the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative (PMC), run by Dr. Mike Hoerger at Tulane University. This underscores the deep crisis of public health, as previously checked diseases like measles have recently resurfaced as a threat to American population. According to their latest forecast, as of its report on July 14, 2025, the PMC model estimates approximately 2.3 million new infections per week in the U.S. This rate is forecasted to increase, potentially reaching 500,000 daily infections around July 30 (or 3.5 million a week, an increase of more than 50 percent). While earlier estimates based on reported test cases suggested a much lower figure of around 50,000 new infections per day, updated analysis using wastewater data indicates a significantly higher range of 300,000 to 600,000 new daily infections, translating to 9 million to 18 million infections per month in the US. Marty Makary (left), Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (center) and Jay Bhattacharya (right) announcing restricted access to anti-COVID vaccines in video posted on X/Twitter [Photo: HHS] Wastewater surveillance is now the most reliable population-level tool for assessing true infection rates, as many infections go unrecorded due to reduced testing and reporting. Extrapolating these U.S. wastewater-based rates to the global population, an estimated 216 million to 432 million people worldwide may be newly infected with SARS-CoV-2 each month as of mid-2025. This global extrapolation is considered reasonable, given the comparable wastewater surveillance trends observed in other developed nations like Germany and Australia. With respect to excess death rates, PMC estimate that the U.S. is currently experiencing 800 to 1,300 excess deaths per week attributable to COVID-19. If this pace continues, it will amount to approximately 50,000 excess deaths this year, comparable to the worst flu seasons, but primarily affecting high-risk populations such as the elderly and immunocompromised. The comparison of Infection Fatality Rate (IFR) between COVID and flu finds that COVID remains much more lethal than flu. (IFR measures the proportion of deaths among all infected individuals, including those who are asymptomatic or undiagnosed.) For seasonal influenza, typical IFR estimates are very low, hovering around 0.03 to 0.04 percent in population studies. For COVID-19, overall global IFR estimates are significantly higher, ranging from 0.3 to 0.7 percent. COVID-19s IFR is thus roughly 10 times higher than that of seasonal influenza across all age groups on average. Long COVID, also known as Post-COVID Condition, is a syndrome characterized by persistent or late-onset symptoms after the acute infection. It includes a wide range of issues such as fatigue, cognitive impairment (brain fog), shortness of breath, chronic pain and organ dysfunction. According to the WHO, there are over 200 symptoms across virtually every organ system have been reported in patients suffering from this debilitating disease. Estimates suggest that roughly five to 10 percent of all infections lead to lingering symptoms that can last many months if not years. Although WHO indicates that the risk of developing Long COVID appears to be somewhat lower with Omicron variants and in vaccinated individuals, it remains a concern as immunity continues to wane, new immune evading variants continue unabated, and amid abysmal vaccination rates. Notably, according to the US CDC, approximately 60 million people received a booster in the US in the last 12 months. In Europe, approximately 15.5 million total boosters were given between August 2024 and March 2025. Yet, with billions infected globally, even a single-digit percentage of Long COVID incidence translates to a vast number: tens of millions globally have experienced Long COVID. While approximately 85 percent of people with Long COVID are estimated to recover by one year, about 15 percent continue to experience symptoms for a longer time. The long-term picture regarding COVID-19s health consequences is grim. Large cohort studies globally have revealed elevated rates of heart attacks, strokes, blood clots, diabetes onset, kidney disease, and mental health disorders in the months and years following infection. This precarious situation is intensified by recent governmental actions, notably the implementation of Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill, which is rapidly laying waste to crucial public health infrastructure and research funding. The United States is woefully unprepared for the next pandemic, let alone the continuing COVID wave that is regaining momentum. Following a Supreme Court ruling on July 8, 2025 that lifted an injunction, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proceeded with the layoff of thousands of employees, representing about 25 percent of its workforce, impacting agencies like the CDC and FDA. Concurrently, the Fiscal Year 2026 budget proposal outlines drastic cuts to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). NIH faces an almost 40 percent budget reduction, forcing the consolidation of its 27 institutes into eight and eliminating funding for critical research areas and training programs. Similarly, the CDCs budget is proposed to be slashed by nearly half, undermining its ability to fund state and local health departments and impacting chronic disease, HIV and injury prevention programs. These moves are occurring alongside the Trump administrations efforts to declare the pandemic finished and promote the repeatedly disproven lab-leak theory for COVID-19s origin, as part of the preparation of public opinion for war with China. Furthermore, the international actions of the Trump administration threaten the complete collapse of the global network of health agencies. The Trump administrations decisions to defund the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and withdraw the United States from the WHO represent a profound and deliberate dismantling of global health infrastructure. The appointment of figures like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) further politicizes public health, treating vaccines and research as weapons for US national security policy and fostering anti-China campaigns that include the witch-hunting of scientists. Collectively, these actions demonstrate a profound abandonment of global responsibility by the United States, signifying a broader collapse of the international communitys capacity to address global disease threats, leaving millions without access to critical healthcare, food and clean water, and the world more vulnerable to future pandemics. Israel has intervened in the clashes between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes in the southern Syrian city of Sweida, striking the Syrian General Staff headquarters in Damascus on Wednesday. These events highlight the falsity of claims that the regime change that took place in December 2024 with the support of the US and its allies, including Turkey, would bring democracy and peace to Syria, and point to the risk of a regional war. Israeli soldiers stand next to an armored vehicle at the line that separates the Golan Heights from Syria, on December 9, 2024. [AP Photo/Matias Delacroix] It is alleged that the clashes in Sweida began on July 13 with the kidnapping of a Druze merchant by Bedouins on the Damascus-Sweida highway. The city of Sweida, which is predominantly Druze, is controlled by Druze militias who refused to join the armed forces of the Al-Qaeda-rooted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) government, established after the overthrow of former Russian and Iranian-backed President Bashar al-Assad. The new Damascus regime entered the city on Tuesday, after clashes broke out between Druze groups and Bedouin tribes. The Druze saw this as a violation of the agreement reached with the regime in May, and fighting broke out between HTS forces and Druze militias. The number of people killed in armed clashes in Sweida is reported as exceeding 300. According to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), which is funded by Washington and London, 69 Druze militiamen and 40 civilians have been killed in Sweida since Sunday. The SOHR also claimed, based on local sources, that 27 Druze civilians had been executed by Syrian government forces in Sweida. The organisation recorded the deaths of 165 Syrian soldiers and 18 armed Bedouin. Israel, which occupies part of southern Syria, first became involved in the conflict by demanding that no troops be stationed in southern Damascus. It first attacked the governments armoured vehicles in Sweida. On Wednesday, Israel bombed some state institutions in Damascus, including the building housing the Syrian General Staff Headquarters. Following regime change, Israel targeted Syrias remaining military infrastructure with large-scale airstrikes, including an airstrike on Damascus in May. At the time, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz issued an ultimatum to the HTS regime, saying, This is a clear message to the Syrian regime. We will not permit Syrian troops to move south of Damascus or any threat to the Druze community. The overthrow of the Assad regime in December greatly undermined Irans influence in the country. The US and its allies had been trying to overthrow the regime since 2011 by using Islamist jihadists and Kurdish militias as proxies. In June, when Israel used Syrian airspace to attack Iran, the Damascus regime remained silent in the face of US-Israeli aggression against Tehran. Regime change in Damascus also intensified the rivalry between two of the USs allies: Turkey and Israel. While Ankara continues to occupy northern Syria militarily in order to combat Kurdish forces, Tel Aviv views Ankaras strong political and ideological ties with the HTS regime as a threat to its own influence. The Nagel Commission report presented to the Netanyahu regime in January stated that Turkey has become the most influential power in Damascus and that the Sunni-Turkish axis has replaced Irans Shiite axis, and argued that military capabilities should be strengthened in preparation for a possible conflict with Turkey. President Recep Tayyip Erdogans government is also concerned about Israel increasing its influence in Lebanon and Syria, as well as Palestine, and its consolidation as the main regional Middle East power with the support of the US. In October, Erdogan said: The Israeli leadership, acting with the delirium of the promised land and with a purely religious fanaticism, will set its sights on our homeland after Palestine and Lebanon. Yesterday, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence issued a statement saying, If requested, we will provide all possible support to strengthen Syrias defence capabilities and assist in its fight against terrorism. However, although Ankara has made rhetorical criticisms of Israels genocide in Gaza and its attacks on Iran, it continues to fuel the Zionist regime with oil from Azerbaijan and allows US bases in Turkey to be used for Israels benefit. Ankara is also concerned about Israels declaring Kurdish forces in Syria as natural allies. This has been a factor in Turkeys move toward a new agreement with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), as Turkey seeks to cooperate with the US in its new Middle East plans and reap its own rewards. The Erdogan government is promoting a reactionary Turkish-Kurdish-Arab alliance perspective, with the support of the PKKs imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, to counter Zionist Israels expansionist ambitions in the region. In Syria, Washington is trying to develop a coordinated policy with Turkey and Israel, as well as the HTS regime and Kurdish forces linked to the PKK. This policy is particularly aimed at Iran and its allies. Washington intervened in the situation out of concern that Israels attacks could lead to an uncontrolled escalation among its allies. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement Wednesday night, We have engaged all the parties involved in the clashes in Syria. We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight. This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do. As forces loyal to the Damascus regime withdrew from Sweida, HTS leader Ahmad al-Sharaa (Abu Mohammad al-Julani) made a statement on television Thursday morning, saying, We are not afraid of war, and we have dedicated our lives to confronting challenges and defending our people. However, we place the interests of Syrians above chaos and destruction. He added: For this reason, we have decided to entrust local factions and tribal elders with the task of maintaining security in Sweida. Sharaa continued: Effective US, Arab, and Turkish mediation saved the region from an uncertain fate. We were faced with two choices: either open war with the Israeli entity at the expense of our Druze people and their security, destabilising Syria and the entire region, or allowing the Druze notables and sheikhs to regain their senses and prioritise the national interest over those who seek to tarnish the reputation of the honourable people of Sweida. On Wednesday, the Turkish Grand National Assembly, including Erdogans Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its fascist ally, the Nationalist Movement Party, as well as various opposition parties, including the Kemalist Republican Peoples Party (CHP), passed a resolution condemning Israel. The Peoples Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), which has been mediating negotiations between the Erdogan government and Ocalan, abstained from the vote. The resolution said, We emphasize in the strongest terms that we support Syrias territorial integrity and sovereignty and that we stand against all actions that threaten the peace of our friend and brother Syrian people. This comes from the political establishment of a country that, alongside the US and Israel, has played a critical role in the bloody war in Syria since 2011, which has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced millions more. The resolution continued, We state that peace and stability in Syria will serve regional peace and stability, while any developments to the contrary will only benefit Netanyahu and his team, who have built their existence on blood and conflict. As further proof of the hypocrisy of the Turkish bourgeois political establishments calls for peace, the resolution called on the international community, i.e., the US and NATO imperialism, Israels main supporters, to raise its voice against Israels aggression, which is deepening the regional crisis and threatening world peace, and to take effective, consistent, and decisive measures. The only way forward in Syria, devastated by a regime-change war supported by imperialism and now the scene of a dangerous power struggle between various regional and local forces, is through an international socialist perspective that will unite all workers beyond ethnic, religious, or sectarian divisions in the struggle for workers power against imperialism. BEIJING (Reuters) -Chinese state firm employee Zhang Jinming makes up for a 24% cut to his salary by delivering food for three hours every night after work and on weekends - and hopes he can avoid awkward encounters with colleagues. "Being a part-time delivery person while working for a state-owned enterprise isn't exactly considered respectable," said Zhang, whose real estate firm pays him 4,200 yuan ($585) per month, down from 5,500 yuan. While China has supported economic growth by keeping its ports and factories humming, the lack of real demand has hit profits, in turn squeezing workers like Zhang through wage cuts and forcing them to moonlight. "There's just no other way," added the 30-year-old, who rides his scooter until 11.30 pm, making 60-70 yuan per evening. "The pay cut has put me under huge pressure. Many colleagues have resigned and I took over their workload." China's economy posted robust 5.2% growth in the second quarter, showing its export-heavy model has so far withstood U.S. tariffs. But beneath the headline resilience, cracks are widening. People walk on a promenade in Shanghai Contract and bill payment delays are rising, including among export champions like the autos and electronics industries and at utilities, whose owners, indebted local governments, have to run a tight shop while shoring up tariff-hit factories. Ferocious competition for a slice of external demand, hit by global trade tensions, is crimping industrial profits, fuelling factory-gate deflation even as export volumes climb. Workers bear the brunt of companies cutting costs. Falling profits and wages shrank tax revenues, pressuring state employers like Zhang's to cut costs as well. In pockets of the financial system, non-performing loans are surging as authorities push banks to lend more. For the most part, the lopsided nature of growth in the world's second-largest economy is a product of policies that favour exporters over consumers. Economists have long urged Beijing to redirect support to domestically focused sectors, such as education and healthcare, or boost household consumption - for instance, by bolstering welfare - or risk a slowdown in the second half of the year. Max Zenglein, Asia-Pacific senior economist at the Conference Board of Asia, describes China as a "dual-speed economy" with strong industry and weak consumption, noting the two are related. "Some of the economic challenges including low profitability and deflationary pressure are largely driven by continued capacity expansion in the manufacturing and technology sectors," said Zenglein. By Savyata Mishra (Reuters) -Nutella spread maker Ferrero, armed with experience in health-regulated European markets and a track record of revamping struggling brands like Keebler cookies, has a good chance of reviving WK Kellogg's legacy cereal brands with its $3.1 billion take-private deal announced last week. Ferrero, which makes sugary treats like Kinder chocolate eggs, Ferrero Rocher, and Tic Tac, has pursued an aggressive global expansion to boost revenue and diversify its portfolio beyond sweets into snacks, baked goods, and now breakfast cereals. Under Chairman Giovanni Ferrero, the company has invested heavily in product innovation, reformulation and packaging redesign to turn around some challenged brands it previously acquired such as Keebler from Kellogg. Meanwhile, demand has fallen for products made by WK Kellogg, whose cereals include Special K, Corn Flakes and sweetened offerings such as Froot Loops, Honey Smacks and Frosted Flakes. Consumers have traded down from its pricier cereals even as Kellogg has come under scrutiny for using artificial food dyes. "Ferrero's creativity can help jump-start sales in a sleepy (albeit higher margin) category," said Hank Cardello, executive-in-residence at the Business for Impact center at Georgetowns McDonough School of Business. Ferrero's expertise in cookies and confectionery could help create distinct new versions of cereal products, he added. Ferrero could reinvigorate WK Kellogg's portfolio which also contains healthier options such as Special K and Raisin Bran, touted for their high fiber content, as well as nutrient-rich cereals, granola and waffles under its Kashi brand. "I expect that (Ferrero) will preserve Kellogg brand recognition without too much dilution while also marketing a healthier and more consumer-friendly and appealing product line," Amrita Bhasin, CEO of logistics food and beverage company Sotira, said. In 2018, Ferrero bought Nestle's confectionery business for $2.8 billion, adding brands such as candy bars Butterfinger, Baby Ruth, and 100 Grand to its portfolio. In just a few years, Ferrero relaunched Butterfinger with higher-quality ingredients including peanuts, cocoa and milk and revamped packaging. The steps helped grow demand for the salted caramel bars. In 2019, Ferrero made a $1.3 billion acquisition of Kellogg's cookies, snacks and ice cream business. The Italian company revitalized these products by investing in new packaging and more marketing. In 2023, it also bought Fresystem Group and used the acquisition to grow its frozen food business and launch Nutella muffins and other baked goods. Bianca Censori has donned yet another bawdy ensemble that has caught the internets attention as well as husband Kanye West, aka Ye, who photographed her during their trip to Japan. On Thursday, the Australian model posted multiple photos on Instagram of herself wearing a matching white bra and panties set. She paired her look with heels and what appeared to be a blond wig. In another post shared earlier this month, she appeared to go totally nude as she sat on the floor seemingly putting on her heels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Censori, who tied the knot with Ye in 2022, also shared several other photos of herself sporting transparent pants and a bandeau top as well as a deep plunging one-piece bodysuit. Though she shared them recently, the photos appear to be taken last year as she captioned them, Japan October 2024 shot by @Ye. The architect, 30, has garnered attention in recent months for wearing numerous daring outfits. Last month, Censori caused a stir online after she was photographed wearing a long-sleeved sheer black top, matching micro shorts and strappy heels during an outing in New York City with Ye. That same weekend that Censori and Ye hit the city, she was also spotted in public wearing what appeared to be edible candy lingerie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, back in February, Censori went viral after she showed up to the Grammys red carpet with Ye in a NSFW totally transparent bodycon dress. Related... Summer reading is in full swing in the Queen City. Cincinnati is great for bibliophiles, as Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library has 41 locations, and more than 395,000 residents have library cards. So, what are they reading? Below is a list of the top five books Cincinnati residents read the most in June, according to the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But first ... Top 5 most checked-out books in 2025 so far Here's a list of the most checked-out books in the public library system this year. " The Women " by Kristin Hannah. " To Die For " by David Baldacci. " Now or Never " by Janet Evanovich. " Holmes is Missing " by James Patterson. "Paranoia" by James Patterson. Most popular e-books on Libby The library's data analysts provided The Enquirer with a list of the most popular e-books among Cincinnati residents on Libby, a free app that gives library cardholders access to e-books, audiobooks, magazines and more. " Caught Up " by Vanessa Allen. " The Tenant " by Freida McFadden. " The Let Them Theory " by Mel Robbins. " Great Big Beautiful Life " by Emily Henry. "The Women" by Kristin Hannah. Top 5 books Cincinnati residents read in June Here is a list of the most checked-out books in June. 1. 'The Women' by Kristin Hannah "The Women" by Kristin Hannah is among the top 5 most-checked-out books in the Cincinnati Public Library system. GoodReads description: "Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances 'Frankie' McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meetsand becomes one ofthe lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost. But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam. 'The Women' is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harms way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, 'The Women' is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era." 2. 'Strangers in Time' by David Baldacci "Strangers in Time" by David Baldacci is among the top 5 most-checked-out books in the Cincinnati Public Library System in June. GoodReads description: "Fourteen-year-old Charlie Matters is up to no good, but for a very good reason. Without parents, peerage, or merit, ducking school but barred from actual work, he steals what he needs, living day-to-day until hes old enough to enlist to fight the Germans. After barely surviving the Blitz, Charlie knows theres no telling when a falling bomb might end his life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fifteen-year-old Molly Wakefield has just returned to a nearly unrecognizable London. One of millions of people to have been evacuated to the countryside via 'Operation Pied Piper,' Molly has been away from her parentsfrom her homefor nearly five years. Her return, however, is not the homecoming shed hoped for as shes confronted by a devastating reality: both her parents are gone. Without guardians and stability, Charlie and Molly find an unexpected ally and protector in Ignatius Oliver, and solace at his book shop, The Book Keep, where a book a day keeps the bombs away. Mourning the recent loss of his wife, Ignatius forms a kinship with both children, and in each otherover the course of the greatest armed conflict the world had ever seenthey rediscover the spirit of family each has lost. But Charlies escapades in the city have not gone unnoticed, and someones been following Molly since she returned to London. And Ignatius is still reeling from a secret Imogen long kept from him while she was alivesomething so shocking it resulted in her death, and his life being turned upside down. As bombs continue to bear down on the city, Charlie, Molly, and Ignatius learn that while the perils of war rage on, their coming together and trusting one another may be the only way for them to survive." 3. '2 Sisters Murder Investigations' by James Patterson "2 Sisters Murder Investigations" by James Patterson is among the top 5 most-checked-out books in the Cincinnati Public Library System in June. GoodReads description: "Rhonda and Barbara 'Baby' Bird are half-sistersand full partners in their Los Angeles detective agency. They agree on nothing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rhonda, a former attorney, takes a by-the-book approach to solving crimes, while teenage Baby relies on her street smarts. But when they take a controversial case of a loner whose popular wife has gone missing, theyre accused of being PIs who cant tell a client from a killer. The Bird sisters share a late father, but not much elseexcept their willingness to fight. Fight the system. Fight for the underdog. Fight for the truth. If they can stop fighting each other long enough to work together." 4. '25 Alive' by James Patterson "25 Alive" by James Patterson is among the top 5 most-checked-out books in the Cincinnati Public Library System in June. GoodReads description: "Sergeant Lindsay Boxer's friend and former partner is brutally murdered in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SFPD homicide detective Lindsay Boxer knows her way around a crime scene. But nothing can prepare her for the shock of recognition: the victim is Warren Jacobi, Lindsay's former partner who rose to chief of police. A top detective until the end, Jacobi managed to leave Lindsay a clue. Following a trail of evidence along the west coast, the Women's Murder Club pledges to avenge Jacobi's death before the killer can take another one of their own." 5. 'The Writer' by James Patterson "The Writer" by James Patterson is among the top 5 most-checked-out books in the Cincinnati Public Library System in June. GoodReads description: "NYPD Detective Declan Shaw gets a call: How fast can you get to the Beresford building on Central Park West? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the tower apartment, Shaw finds a woman waiting for him. Shes covered in blood. A body is lying dead on the floor of the luxurious living room. Every book in the apartments floor-to-ceiling shelves is by the same author: bestselling true-crime writer Denise Morrow. 'This is you?' Shaw asks the woman. 'You're a writer?' Only one person knows the ending to this story. Is it the victim or the killer?" The Cheviot branch of the Cincinnati & Hamilton County Library. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Top 5 most checked-out books in Cincinnati in June (and all of 2025) Passenger, the first swing at a feature film of on the rise Colombia writer-director Andres Gomez Tovar, is being pitched at this weeks Bogota Audiovisual Market (BAM). It underscores major trends working through Colombias film industry, one of the most buoyant in Latin America. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Passenger is still in development though advanced but has already secured three production parters: Lead Midi Producciones, a Bogota-based product and services company headed by Andrea Corzo; Camarada, Gomez Tovars own label, and Venezuelas Rodando Films as Latin America production house look to co-production, domestic and international, to pump up modest budgets to competitive levels. Gomez Tovar is part of a fast swelling new generation wave in Colombia, powered by stable public-sector support almost an oxymoron for Latin America and the money flushing into the sector thanks to platform finance, and service sector income, enjoyed by Midi Producciones. A new generation plays in different sandpits. Over the last three decades, since a New Argentine Cinema launched from the mid 90s an equivalents flowered in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Chile, juiced by a return of public-sector funding, the preeminent social concerns of Latin American cineastes remain. How they express them is another matter. Gomez Tovars journey is that of much of Latin America at large, from art to smart, or the abandonment of a straight-arrow arthouse cinema for a smart genre which still talk about a society at large. Inspired by real events another trait of much NewGen Latin American cinema and TV Passenger turns on Angel, a Venezuelan immigrant illegally working as a Bogota night shift tax driver. Drowning in debt from his ill daughters medical bills, hes offered a life-changing bribe to help the son of a well-healed family whos killed a family of four in a drunk-driving hit and run road accident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gomez Tovar has made two shorts to date: Una Semana (2019) in which a man, to kill his wifes lover, he says, hires a hitman who just wont stop talking; and Horas Extra, where a traumatized online graphic violence censor, begins to believe shes watching a video of her own brutal murder. A peace treaty is a historical moment when people understand the futility of war, a radio broadcast says at the beginning of By the End of the Week. The futility of violence doesnt seem to have always sunk in on a personal level, judging from its characters. Week also talks to the bedrock conservatism of Colombias upper classes, Horas Extras to a society fascinated by violence. Both are driven by an edge of the seat suspense: Will the hit man go through with the murder? Will the young girl in Horas Extras succumb to total madness? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Passenger asks if Angel will turn his passenger in to the police or become his accomplice. Gomez Tovars feature debut is a tense, character-driven thriller set in one night in contemporary Bogota, inspired by a real event. The film explores the clash between morality and survival through the lens of migration, impunity and structural violence. What sets it apart is its grounded social relevance told through genre, portraying complex characters forced into impossible choices, the director told Variety. The story, told through an intimate and emotional lens, brings us face to face with tough ethical questions, while capturing the power struggles, corruption, and privilege that are part of everyday life in many Latin American cities, added producer Andrea Corzo. The main character torn between the need to survive and the urge to do whats right reflects the reality of thousands of people who live their lives between being unseen and standing their ground. Gomez Tovars commercial, Ciudad de Zombies, made for Samsung, scored a Silver Promax. Week was picked up for North America by HBO USA and for Premium Films in France for world sales. Horas Extra scored best short this year at the Medellin Horror Film Festival and was selected for the Chicago Horror Film Fest, among many other events. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now on a third-draft screenplay, Passenger is scheduled to begin pre-production in May 2026, said Corzo. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. McDonald's Canada has announced the appointment of Annemarie Swijtink as its new president and CEO, effective from 1 September 2025. Swijtink, managing director of McDonald's Netherlands since June 2022, will take over from Michele Boudria upon her retirement after a 40-year tenure with the brand. Annemarie Swijtink's career with McDonald's began as a crew member and has seen her take on positions in marketing, impact, digital customer engagement and data analytics. She stated: "I am incredibly honoured to take on the role of president and CEO of McDonald's Canada. My journey with McDonald's began as a 15-year-old crew member in Deventer, and it has been a privilege to grow with this iconic brand over the years. "Moving from the Netherlands to Canada is an exciting new chapter for me and my family, and I am eager to become a part of the vibrant Canadian community. I look forward to meeting the talented team here and working together to continue building the bright future of McDonald's in Canada." McDonald's Canada, which introduced its first restaurant in Richmond, British Columbia, in 1967, now serves two million customers daily and employs almost 100,000 people. In June 2025, AsiaPay partnered with McDonald's to launch an integrated online payment solution in Taiwan. In the same month, Arcos Dorados, the largest independent McDonalds franchise in Latin America, announced a leadership transition with the appointment of Luis Raganato as its new CEO. In March 2025, McDonalds announced Jill McDonald as the brands first chief restaurant experience officer as part of a reshuffle in its executive team. "Annemarie Swijtink named new CEO of McDonalds Canada" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand. Jul. 17Last July, 11-year-old Linnea Cameron set sail in her imagination and began writing about the swashbuckling adventures of a ship crewed by a family of pirates. A year and a few drafts later, "The Pirates of the Mediterranean" has hit bookshelves. Set in Greece, the book follows the treasure-hunting adventures of Diana, a spirited 11-year-old. In the search for Zeus's treasure, the family sets course on the Mediterranean Sea, "only to discover danger, deception, and a destiny far greater than gold," as ancient secrets are revealed along the way, a book description states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "From talking monkeys to cursed islands and storm-battered shipwrecks, Diana must rely on her wit, courage, and the love of her family to stay one step ahead of the gods themselves." Cameron said she loosely based Diana on herself both have big dreams but magnified the character's adventuresomeness. As an avid reader and writer, Cameron knew she wanted to write a book in third grade. But the soon-to-be Whitefish Middle School seventh grader didn't think it would happen this soon. The opportunity finally arrived to set aside time to write with regularity when she enrolled in Whitefish School District's Growth and Opportunities for Interdisciplinary Studies and Habits program, commonly known as GO FISH. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the weekly class, her teacher, Addy Connelly, tasked students to choose a long-term project to work on. Some students worked on cooking, knitting, language and art projects, Cameron said. She took the plunge to start writing her first book. Familiar with writing short stories, Cameron wanted to grow her skills and take her talents further by tackling a chapter book. The ship-sized story arrived with 141 pages written for ages 8 and up. When she set out to write the book, she didn't know yet how it would end. "I made things up as I went on, page by page, and if I had lots of inspiration, I wrote a lot of pages," Cameron said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About two to three drafts went through the editing process, which she said was time-consuming and had Connelly and her parents reading the drafts. "The final product was a totally different read from the first draft," her father, Reynolds Cameron, said. "I liked that it transported me into another world," she added. For the subject matter, Cameron took inspiration from Greek mythology, having recently been immersed in the myths through a Kids College class on the topic at Flathead Valley Community College along with listening to the National Geographic Kids podcast, "Greeking Out." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's interesting to see what the people in ancient Greece and the ancient world thought about the natural world and the order of it," she said. She also took some inspiration from the "Percy Jackson" and "Harry Potter" book series, which are personal favorites. She has also dabbled in historical fiction and is the 2025 winner of the annual Montana State Library Historical Picture Prompt Writing Contest for the third through sixth grade division. Through the competition, participants were given historical photos as story prompts. Cameron wrote her fictional piece using a photo of the JE Ross City stables during the 1900 flood at Chinook from the Charles E. Morris Collection. As for the pirates? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I just watched 'Pirates of the Caribbean,' so I was thinking about something pirate-y," she said, referencing the Disney movies. Her first book sale was at The Bookshelf, 101 S. Main St. in Kalispell, where copies are available for purchase. "It was exciting and inspiring that people want to read this book," she said. In Montana, the book is also available for purchase at Royal Road Bookstore, 521 E. Peach St. Suite A, Bozeman. It is also available online at Amazon.com. Three book signings around the valley are planned this weekend. From 11 a.m. to noon Saturday she will be at Jersey Boys Pizzeria, U.S. 93 S. in Whitefish and from 1 to 2 p.m., she will be at Astute Salon and Spa, 141 Main St. in Kalispell. On Sunday, she will be at Sonder Montana, 1189 Montana 83 in Bigfork, from 9:45 to 11:15 a.m. Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or hmatheson@dailyinterlake.com. By Rich Tenorio | Edited by Patricia Guadalupe From growing up in Colombia to writing for CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in New York City, Felipe Torres Medinas trajectory has been full of twists and turns. So it makes perfect sense that he views his journey to the US and those of countless fellow immigrants as akin to a Choose Your Own Adventure story. Now hes written a book about the innumerable variables and outcomes of such journeys America, Let Me In: A Choose Your Immigration Story, which is published by Abrams Image. I wanted to write a humor book first, Torres Medina tells palabra. A humor book that happens to be about immigration, not an immigration book that happens to be funny. That was my goal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In writing the book, he says, I thought about being able to tell more than one story not only in my immigrant journey, but considering different kinds of visas, different ways to remain in the U.S. Humor sparkles throughout the pages. The author pokes fun at wealthy (and fictional) French men and women who have a relatively easy path to entering the U.S., thanks to wealth, entrepreneurship, or some combination of both. At an April 10 book talk in suburban Boston, Torres Medina left the attendees laughing and thinking more about the immigrant experience at a time when its on many peoples minds. The book was released amid increased challenges for immigrants from the Trump administration, such as stepped-up Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on undocumented migrants, with Boston among the cities targeted. Torres Medina told the gathering at the book signing that humor is the only way we sometimes deal with the horror. And, he added, you just have to keep living your life. Latino communities, Latino people, have to stay alive to fight Jokes help us stay alive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With cameos from Babar the Elephant and a centaur queen, plus digs at Boston, the humor of the book is blended with compassion for the real-life individuals and families who must navigate the U.S. immigration system. Early on, the reader finds four options for immigrating to the United States: easy, medium, hard, and very hard. Those who pick easy will be disappointed. Torres Medina read aloud what readers would see if they chose this option: Incorrect! There is no easy way to move to America. Your journey has ended before it began! Thats a funny-because-its-true kind of joke, he reflects to palabra. Theres no easy way to move to the U.S. I wanted to make that very clear. Torres Medina knows this from experience. Much of the book details his own immigrant journey, which familiarized him with the mind-boggling array of ways to enter the country and their respective requirements. He first came as a student at Boston University, but when his graduate program ended, so did his F-1 student visa. He scrambled to find a way to stay, and in the process learned about options for creative types such as himself, including the O-1B visa that admitted Torres Medina as an Alien of Extraordinary Ability in the Arts. As the book details, this did not happen without some initial pitfalls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the pages, he shows empathy for fellow Latino immigrants. As he notes, they often face additional challenges from American officials who do not understand certain cultural norms. One such norm is the practice of parents giving a child four names: first, middle, fathers last name and mothers last name. This has led to the author being mistaken for similarly named individuals, some with criminal backgrounds, while attempting to enter the U.S. For a person who writes comedy, the only way to deal with this is to write comedy about it, he tells palabra. Its the only way to deal with things you have absolutely no control over, that you cannot change. There were some aspects of the immigrant journey that the author couldnt joke about. Remember the section where readers could choose the level of difficulty for their immigration journey? Well, for anyone who chooses very hard, their path will end as abruptly as the easy one. Why? Because Torres Medina does not want to be seen as making light of the arduous journey of impoverished migrants risking their lives. A lot of people come here the very, very hard way, he says, including thousands and thousands of migrants from Colombia or Venezuela. Unlike his own journey by plane, these migrants make an arduous overland trek through the Darien Gap, a 60-mile stretch of roadless, dense jungle rainforest and mountains located on the border between Panama and Colombia, the only land bridge between North and South America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most treacherous path of land in their path to the U.S. from South America is in Colombia, Torres Medina says. Its an issue I know a lot about. I want to treat it with respect. Ultimately, things worked out well for Torres Medina. Not only did he get to stay in the United States, he wound up falling in love with his future wife, Taylor, a fellow comedy writer who is with HBOs Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. I think it was nice to be able to look at it from the rearview mirror, Torres Medina says of his immigrant journey. At the same time, any immigrant will tell you the journey never feels quite over. Read the original article on MassLive. The First State has long been named a great place to spend your golden years, but some locations are better suited for that lifestyle than others. And WorldAtlas just named the nine best Delaware towns for retiring comfortably. Best towns for retirement in Delaware Sussex County Administrative Offices building in Georgetown. WorldAtlas listed nine locations in Delaware under or near the states average home value, which is $403,858 as of June 2025, according to Zillow, making them the best places in the First State to live comfortably after retirement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clayton was named for having 14% of its residents over the age of 65 and an average home value of $399,780. Located in both New Castle and Kent counties, Clayton is home to Blackiston Wildlife Areas 2,200 acres of protected land. It is also near Blackbird State Forest, which has trails for hiking, biking and jogging that are perfect for those who love the outdoors. Clayton residents can enjoy the Lillian Smith Senior Centers social and recreational activities, the areas public transportation and nearby assisted living facilities and the Bayhealth Hospital Kent Campus. WorldAtlas highlights that Delaware City has 12% of its residents over the age of 65 and an average home value of $288,475. Smoke is emitted from stacks in the ground at the Delaware City Refinery as seen from Old New Castle on June 3, 2025. Delaware Citys mix of recreation, history, and nature is an enticing feature, all of which can be found at Fort Delaware State Park. Seniors in the area can enjoy the Delaware City Community Center, which houses the Senior Center and offers a range of programs and services for individuals aged 60 and above. The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal provides scenic views for walkers and bikers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Delaware City offers public transportation and is conveniently located near retirement homes and ChristianaCare Wilmington Hospital. Georgetowns population is said to be just under 7,900, with 14% of residents over the age of 65 and an average home value of $363,012. Georgetown news: 'Rainbow bridge' fence along Lewes-Georgetown trail helps pet lovers cope with loss Located a half-hour drive away from the beaches, Georgetown is an excellent option for retirees who enjoy time on the water. The area has a senior center, public transportation and is close to multiple retirement homes. Bayhealth Hospital Sussex Campus is also 15 miles from town. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Magnolia in Kent County has nearly 30% of its residents over the age of 65, with homes at an average value of $409,181. The area is the pinnacle of small-town charm, close to both the state capital and the beaches. Magnolia is five miles away from the Frederica Senior Center, has public transportation and is close to retirement living options. Bayhealth Hospital Kent Campus is only six miles away. Milford is split between Kent and Sussex counties, with more than 20% of its population over the age of 65 and an average home value of $344,845. The Mispillion River bridge in Milford, Tuesday, May 3, 2022. While Milford is 45 minutes from the beaches, the towns location along the Mispillion River and the Mispillion Riverwalk afford residents closer opportunities for fun on the water. The Milford Senior Center is open to those aged 50 and up and provides meals, programs, and activities for members. Bayhealth Hospital Sussex Campus is easily accessible, and Milford has various retirement living options. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newark has 12% of its residents over the age of 65, with the average home value at $360,258. Visitors to the Newark Reservoir at sunset enjoy a break in the heat as temperatures and humidity take a temporary drop, Tuesday, July 11, 2023. The vibrant college town offers a variety of sporting events for retirees who enjoy attending games, along with a picturesque campus to explore on foot. The close proximity to the University of Delaware is also a perk for residents 60 and over who want to take advantage of the school's tuition-free degree program. Newark is home to multiple retirement facilities and is conveniently located near ChristianaCare. New Castle is said to have 22% of its residents aged 65 and up, with an average home value of $279,163. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a historic area, New Castles slower pace of life is enticing for seniors seeking a quieter setting. Its proximity to Wilmington means a change of pace now and then is easy to come by. New Castle has its own senior center, public transportation and a museum. ChristianaCare is only eight miles away. A visitor walks his dog on the Battery Park Trail, along the Delaware River, in New Castle, Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2024. Odessas small population features 26% of residents over the age of 65 and an average home value of $376,291. The area dates back to the 1660s, with plenty of history for retirees to enjoy, including one of the countrys most pristine colonial landscapes and the Historic Odessa Visitor Center. It is also listed in the National Historic Registry District, according to WorldAtlas. The Middletown Odessa Townsend Senior Center is three miles away, accessible by bus service. Odessa has public transportation, retirement living and is about 20 miles away from a ChristianaCare hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dover news: Popular Nashville-style hot chicken restaurant backed by Drake coming soon to Delaware Wyoming in Kent County has 18% of its residents over the age of 65 and an average home value of $304,430. Wyoming is close to the state capital and is two miles away from 86-acre Brecknock County Park in Camden. Harvest Years Senior Center is also nearby in Camden, and other retirement living spaces can be found in Dover. Wyoming has public transportation and is close to Bayhealth Hospital Kent Campus. Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys'tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: 9 best Delaware towns to 'comfortably retire' in, WorldAtlas says WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) With record temperatures hitting the U.S., pet owners have to protect their four-legged family members from dangers like heat stroke and dehydration. But keeping an animal the size of a small car cool isnt as easy as bringing it inside to the air conditioning. Thats why Alicia Grace, owner of Pink Flamingo Stables, has to take extra steps to keep her horses safe and healthy in South Floridas hot and humid climate. Blazing saddles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grace cares for eight full-size horses and three ponies on her Lake Worth Beach property. South Florida has a large equestrian community, especially in Palm Beach County with the National Polo Center located in Wellington. But the climate isnt ideal for horses, which generally do better in drier, cooler environments, Grace said. Not only do we have the heat, but we also have all the humidity, Grace said. And with that comes the bugs flies and mosquitoes which can actually breed in their cuts and cause all sorts of issues. Grace said its important to keep the horses hydrated and out of the sun during the hottest parts of the day. All paddocks have shaded areas, and barns are equipped with large fans. They always have constant access to water, Grace said. We bathe them daily, and we have cooling blankets that you can actually put on after a ride. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While cats and dogs can be brought inside to cool, conditioned air on especially hot days, thats not as easy for horses and other large animals. They actually do now make air conditioning units for horses, but they are quite expensive, Grace said. It is definitely a different animal and definitely requires a lot more care. Besides concerns about overheating or dehydration, horses are also vulnerable to algae and fungus that thrive in the South Florida climate. We get a lot of flooding during our rainy season, and if the horses are out in that and their hooves get saturated, they can get abscesses, which are pus pockets, and get a lot of problems with their feet, Grace said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hot dogs ... and cats Cats, dogs and other house pets are easier to keep cool, but pet owners still have to remain vigilant during the summer, Palm Beach County Animal Care and Control spokeswoman Arielle Weinberger said. Just like horses, any cats and dogs kept outside need shade and water. Officials are especially concerned about pet owners leaving dogs and cats inside vehicles. Local laws might vary throughout the state, but it's illegal to leave animals unattended in vehicles for any amount of time in Palm Beach County, Weinberger said. During hot weather, she said the temperature inside a vehicle can increase 20 degrees in just 10 minutes. We want to make sure that no animals are left unattended, and that includes even if the window is cracked, even if the A/C is on, Weinberger said. Animals cannot be unattended in a vehicle, it is for their safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dog owners especially need to check pavement, Weinberger said. Concrete and asphalt can reach temperatures of up to 125 degrees (52 degrees) during the summer months, so finding grass or dirt for pets to walk on is ideal. If that's not practical, pet owners might need to invest in booties or paw wax. If its too hot for you to touch with a bare foot or a bare hand, its too hot for your pets, as well, Weinberger said. People who don't actually own pets can also help to keep animals safe, whether it's community cats or local wildlife, by leaving water outside, Weinberger said. Animal control officers will respond to pets and livestock suffering from signs of dehydration or heat stroke, but Weinberger said residents should call local wildlife rescue facilities if they see a raccoon or other wild animal in bad shape. If an animal seems overheated, it can be cooled down with water on their head, stomach and feet. But if they start to experience symptoms like diarrhea, lethargy, dizziness and vomiting, it's time to seek medical attention, Weinberger said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want to take them to the vet as soon as possible, because heat stroke can lead to organ failure, and we want to make sure that it doesnt get to that, Weinberger said. Dog days of summer Matthew Puodziukaitis, 19, of Wellington, regularly brings his mini goldendoodle, Hazel, to the Okeeheelee Park dog area. He said he always brings a bottle of cold water and a bowl for Hazel and any other dogs who might need it. "The last thing you want is a dog passing out or something bad happening to them out here," Puodziukaitis said. Theyre basically like a little kid. You want to make sure theyre okay. Havalah Hopkins rarely says no to the chain restaurant catering gigs that send her out to Seattle-area events from church potlucks to office lunches and graduation parties. The delivery fees and tips she earns on top of $18 an hour mean its better than minimum-wage shift work, even though its not consistent. It helps her afford the government-subsidized apartment she and her 14-year-old autistic son have lived in for three years, though its still tough to make ends meet. Its a cycle of feeling defeated and depleted, no matter how much energy and effort and tenacity you have towards surviving, Hopkins said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read: Nationwide protests planned against Trumps immigration crackdown and health care cuts Still, the 33-year-old single mother is grateful she has stable housing experts estimate just 1 in 4 low-income households eligible for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rental assistance get the benefits. And now Hopkins is at risk of losing her home, as federal officials move to restrict HUD policy. Amid a worsening national affordable housing and homelessness crisis, President Donald Trumps administration is determined to reshape HUDs expansive role providing stable housing for low-income people, which has been at the heart of its mission for generations. The proposed changes include a two-year limit on the federal governments signature rental assistance programs. At a June congressional budget hearing, HUD Secretary Scott Turner argued policies like time limits will fix waste and fraud in public housing and Section 8 voucher programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its broken and deviated from its original purpose, which is to temporarily help Americans in need, Turner said. HUD assistance is not supposed to be permanent. But the move to restrict such key subsidies would mark a significant retreat from the scope of HUDs work. Millions of tenants moved in with the promise of subsidized housing for as long as they were poor enough to remain qualified, so time limits would be a seismic shift that could destabilize the most vulnerable households, many unlikely to ever afford todays record-high rents. New research from New York University, obtained exclusively by The Associated Press, found that if families were cut off after two years, 1.4 million households could lose their vouchers and public housing subsidies largely working families with children. This would lead housing authorities to evict many families, the report said. A broad time limit would cause substantial disruption and dislocation, the it said, noting the policy is largely untested and most of the few housing authorities to voluntarily try it eventually abandoned the pilots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A break from HUDs long-held purpose of helping house the poor could also jeopardize its contracts with private landlords, who say theyre already feeling the uncertainty as public housing authorities from Seattle to Atlanta announce theyre scaling back in anticipation of federal funding cuts. Read: Trump slams his own supporters as weaklings for falling for what he now calls the Epstein hoax Critics fear the restriction could derail those working towards self-sufficiency defeating the goal time-limit supporters hope to achieve. HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett pushed back on the NYU study. There is plenty of data that strongly supports time limits and shows that long-term government assistance without any incentive disincentivizes able-bodied Americans to work, Lovett said in a statement. She primarily cited statistics suggesting low employment among HUD-subsidized tenants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hopkins said the policy would likely leave her and her son homeless in an economy that often feels indifferent to working poor people like her. A two-year time limit is ridiculous, she said. Its so disrespectful. I think its dehumanizing the whole system. Working families are most at risk Researchers from the Housing Solutions Lab at New York Universitys Furman Center analyzed HUDs data over a 10-year period and found about 70% of households who could be affected by a two-year limit had already been living on those subsidies for two or more years. Thats based on 2024 estimates and doesnt include elderly and disabled people who wouldnt be subject to time limits. Exempted households make up about half of the roughly 4.9 million households getting rental assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the first study to examine the proposed policys possible impacts, the NYU researchers found time limits would largely punish families who are working but earning far below their areas median income, which would ultimately shift federal rental assistance away from households with kids. Housing assistance is especially impactful for children, said Claudia Aiken, the study co-author and director of new research partnerships for the Housing Solutions Lab. Their health, education, employment and earnings potential can change in really meaningful ways if they have stable housing, she said. It would affect people like Hopkins, whose family was on a years-long waitlist in the expensive region where she grew up. In July 2022, she and her son moved into a two-bedroom public housing unit in Woodinville, Washington. She pays $450 a month in rent 30% of her household income. A market-rate apartment in the area costs at least $2,000 more, according to the King County Housing Authority, which in June announced it would pause issuing some new vouchers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hopkins knows she could never afford to live in her home state without rental assistance. It was a relief they could stay as long as they needed. She had been struggling to scrape together hundreds of dollars more a month for her previous trailer home. Theres no words to put on feeling like your housing is secure, Hopkins said. I feel like I was gasping for air and Im finally able to breathe. She credits the housing subsidy for her ability to finally leave an abusive marriage, and still dreams of more perhaps her own catering business or working as a party decorator. We all cant be lawyers and doctors and two years isnt enough to even become that, Hopkins said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since learning of Trumps proposal, Hopkins said shes been haunted by thoughts of shoving her possessions into a van with her son, upending the stability she built for him. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< Difficult to do well The average household in HUD-subsidized housing stays about six years, studies show. HUD funds local public housing projects where nearly 1 million households live and the Section 8 vouchers that about 4 million households use to offset their private rentals. Theres been little guidance from HUD on how time-limited housing assistance would be implemented how it would be enforced, when the clock starts and how the exemptions would be defined. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Democrats and Republicans have acknowledged the potential for time limits to help curb HUDs notorious waitlists. Hard-liners contend the threat of housing loss will push people to reach self-sufficiency; others see limits, when coupled with support and workforce incentives, as a means to motivate tenants to improve their lives. Yet there are strikingly few successful examples. NYU researchers identified just 17 public housing authorities that have tested time limits. None of the programs were designed for only two years and 11 abandoned the restriction despite being able to use federal dollars for services to help people achieve self-sufficiency. Several agencies that dropped the limits said tenants still struggled to afford housing after their time was up. These policies are complex and difficult to monitor, enforce, and do well, NYUs Aiken said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city of Keene, New Hampshire, tried five-year time limits starting in 2001, but terminated the policy before fully enforcing it to avoid kicking out households that would still be rent burdened, or potentially homeless, said Josh Meehan, executive director of Keene Housing. In California, Shawnte Spears of the Housing Authority of San Mateo County said the agency has kept its five-year time limit in tandem with educational programs she says have given folks motivation to meet their goals. It also gives more people the chance to use vouchers, she said. NYUs Aiken acknowledged HUDs long waitlists make the current system a bit of a lottery, adding: You could say that time limits are a way of increasing peoples odds in that lottery. The landlords dilemma HUDs Section 8 programs have long depended on hundreds of thousands of for-profit and nonprofit small business owners and property managers to accept tenant vouchers. Now, landlords fear a two-year limit could put their contracts for HUD-subsidized housing in limbo. Amid the uncertainty, Denise Muha, executive director of the National Leased Housing Association, said multiple landlord groups have voiced their concerns about HUDs next budget in a letter to congressional leaders. She said landlords generally agree two years is simply not enough time for most low-income tenants to change their fortunes. As a practical matter, youre going to increase your turnover, which is a cost, Muha said. Nobody wants to throw out their tenants without cause. Its always been a significant lift for private landlords to work with HUD subsidies, which involve burdensome paperwork, heavy oversight and maintenance inspections. But the trade-off is a near guarantee of dependable longer-term renters and rental income. If thats compromised, some landlords say theyd pull back from the federal subsidy programs. Brad Suster, who owns 86 Chicago-area units funded by HUD, said accepting subsidies could become risky. Would we have the same reliability that we know has traditionally come for countless years from the federal government? Suster said. Thats something landlords and owners want to know is there. The diminishing housing stock available to low-income tenants has been a brewing problem for HUD. Between 2010 and 2020, some 50,000 housing providers left the voucher program, the agency has reported. Chaos and trade-offs, critics say Its up for debate whether lawmakers will buy into Trumps vision for HUD. This week the U.S. House appropriations committee is taking up HUDs 2026 budget, which so far makes no mention of time limits. HUDs Lovett noted the Senates budget plans for the agency have not yet been released, and said the administration remains focused on future implementation of time limits. HUD will continue to engage with colleagues on the hill to ensure a seamless transition and enforcement of any new time limit, Lovett said in a statement. Noelle Porter, the director of government affairs at the National Housing Law Project, said Trumps fight for time limits is far from over, noting that legislative and rule changes could make them a reality. It is clearly a stated goal of the administration to impose work requirements and time limits on rental assistance, even though it would be wildly unpopular, Porter said. Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina says theres no evidence time limits would save HUD money. This doesnt help families who already are working multiple jobs to become self-sufficient, Clyburn said at a June hearing. Instead, it creates chaos, financial uncertainty and pushes these families into more severe trade-offs. Time limits could imperil Aaliyah Barnes longtime dream of graduating college and becoming a nurse, finding a job and a home she can afford. Aaliyah Barnes wipes her son, Aarmonis, face with a blanket in their apartment at the Stoddard Johnston Scholar House, Friday, July 11, 2025, in Louisville, Ky. (AP Photo/Jon Cherry) The 28-year-old single mom in Louisville, Kentucky, this year joined Family Scholar House, which provides counseling and support for people pursuing an education and, to Barnes relief, housing. Her apartment is paid for by a Section 8 voucher. In March, Barnes moved in and her 3-year-old son, Aarmoni, finally got his own room, where she set up a learning wall. Previously, she had struggled to afford housing on her wages at a call center and living with her mom, two sisters and their kids in a cramped house was an environment ridden with arguments. The stable future shes building could disappear, though, if shes forced out in two years when her schooling is expected to take three years. Id be so close, but so far away, Barnes said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live. WOODINVILLE, Wash. (AP) Havalah Hopkins rarely says no to the chain restaurant catering gigs that send her out to Seattle-area events from church potlucks to office lunches and graduation parties. The delivery fees and tips she earns on top of $18 an hour mean its better than minimum-wage shift work, even though its not consistent. It helps her afford the government-subsidized apartment she and her 14-year-old autistic son have lived in for three years, though its still tough to make ends meet. Its a cycle of feeling defeated and depleted, no matter how much energy and effort and tenacity you have towards surviving, Hopkins said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, the 33-year-old single mother is grateful she has stable housing experts estimate just 1 in 4 low-income households eligible for U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development rental assistance get the benefits. And now Hopkins is at risk of losing her home, as federal officials move to restrict HUD policy. Amid a worsening national affordable housing and homelessness crisis, President Donald Trumps administration is determined to reshape HUD's expansive role providing stable housing for low-income people, which has been at the heart of its mission for generations. The proposed changes include a two-year limit on the federal governments signature rental assistance programs. At a June congressional budget hearing, HUD Secretary Scott Turner argued policies like time limits will fix waste and fraud in public housing and Section 8 voucher programs. Its broken and deviated from its original purpose, which is to temporarily help Americans in need, Turner said. HUD assistance is not supposed to be permanent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the move to restrict such key subsidies would mark a significant retreat from the scope of HUD's work. Millions of tenants moved in with the promise of subsidized housing for as long as they were poor enough to remain qualified, so time limits would be a seismic shift that could destabilize the most vulnerable households, many unlikely to ever afford todays record-high rents. New research from New York University, obtained exclusively by The Associated Press and published Thursday, found that if families were cut off after two years, 1.4 million households could lose their vouchers and public housing subsidies largely working families with children. This would lead housing authorities to evict many families, the report said. A broad time limit would cause substantial disruption and dislocation, it said, noting the policy is largely untested and most of the few housing authorities to voluntarily try it eventually abandoned the pilots. A break from HUD's long-held purpose of helping house the poor could also jeopardize its contracts with private landlords, who say they're already feeling the uncertainty as public housing authorities from Seattle to Atlanta announce they're scaling back in anticipation of federal funding cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics fear the restriction could derail those working towards self-sufficiency defeating the goal time-limit supporters hope to achieve. HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett pushed back on the NYU study. There is plenty of data that strongly supports time limits and shows that long-term government assistance without any incentive disincentivizes able-bodied Americans to work, Lovett said in a statement. She primarily cited statistics suggesting low employment among HUD-subsidized tenants. Hopkins said the policy would likely leave her and her son homeless in an economy that often feels indifferent to working poor people like her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A two-year time limit is ridiculous, she said. Its so disrespectful. I think its dehumanizing the whole system. Working families are most at risk Researchers from the Housing Solutions Lab at New York Universitys Furman Center analyzed HUDs data over a 10-year period and found about 70% of households who could be affected by a two-year limit had already been living on those subsidies for two or more years. Thats based on 2024 estimates and doesnt include elderly and disabled people who wouldn't be subject to time limits. Exempted households make up about half of the roughly 4.9 million households getting rental assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the first study to examine the proposed policys possible impacts, the NYU researchers found time limits would largely punish families who are working but earning far below their areas median income, which would ultimately shift federal rental assistance away from households with kids. Housing assistance is especially impactful for children, said Claudia Aiken, the study co-author and director of new research partnerships for the Housing Solutions Lab. Their health, education, employment and earnings potential can "change in really meaningful ways if they have stable housing, she said. It would affect people like Hopkins, whose family was on a years-long waitlist in the expensive region where she grew up. In July 2022, she and her son moved into a two-bedroom public housing unit in Woodinville, Washington. She pays $450 a month in rent 30% of her household income. A market-rate apartment in the area costs at least $2,000 more, according to the King County Housing Authority, which in June announced it would pause issuing some new vouchers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hopkins knows she could never afford to live in her home state without rental assistance. It was a relief they could stay as long as they needed. She had been struggling to scrape together hundreds of dollars more a month for her previous trailer home. Theres no words to put on feeling like your housing is secure, Hopkins said. I feel like I was gasping for air and Im finally able to breathe. She credits the housing subsidy for her ability to finally leave an abusive marriage, and still dreams of more perhaps her own catering business or working as a party decorator. We all cant be lawyers and doctors and two years isnt enough to even become that, Hopkins said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since learning of Trumps proposal, Hopkins said she's been haunted by thoughts of shoving her possessions into a van with her son, upending the stability she built for him. Difficult to do well The average household in HUD-subsidized housing stays about six years, studies show. HUD funds local public housing projects where nearly 1 million households live and the Section 8 vouchers that about 4 million households use to offset their private rentals. Theres been little guidance from HUD on how time-limited housing assistance would be implemented how it would be enforced, when the clock starts and how the exemptions would be defined. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Democrats and Republicans have acknowledged the potential for time limits to help curb HUDs notorious waitlists. Hard-liners contend the threat of housing loss will push people to reach self-sufficiency; others see limits, when coupled with support and workforce incentives, as a means to motivate tenants to improve their lives. Yet there are strikingly few successful examples. NYU researchers identified just 17 public housing authorities that have tested time limits. None of the programs were designed for only two years and 11 abandoned the restriction despite being able to use federal dollars for services to help people achieve self-sufficiency. Several agencies that dropped the limits said tenants still struggled to afford housing after their time was up. These policies are complex and difficult to monitor, enforce, and do well, NYU's Aiken said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city of Keene, New Hampshire, tried five-year time limits starting in 2001, but terminated the policy before fully enforcing it to avoid kicking out households that would still be rent burdened, or potentially homeless, said Josh Meehan, executive director of Keene Housing. In California, Shawnte Spears of the Housing Authority of San Mateo County said the agency has kept its five-year time limit in tandem with educational programs she says have given folks motivation to meet their goals. It also gives more people the chance to use vouchers, she said. NYU's Aiken acknowledged HUD's long waitlists make the current system a bit of a lottery," adding: "You could say that time limits are a way of increasing peoples odds in that lottery. The landlord's dilemma HUD's Section 8 programs have long depended on hundreds of thousands of for-profit and nonprofit small business owners and property managers to accept tenant vouchers. Now, landlords fear a two-year limit could put their contracts for HUD-subsidized housing in limbo. Amid the uncertainty, Denise Muha, executive director of the National Leased Housing Association, said multiple landlord groups have voiced their concerns about HUD's next budget in a letter to congressional leaders. She said landlords generally agree two years is simply not enough time for most low-income tenants to change their fortunes. As a practical matter, youre going to increase your turnover, which is a cost," Muha said. Nobody wants to throw out their tenants without cause. Its always been a significant lift for private landlords to work with HUD subsidies, which involve burdensome paperwork, heavy oversight and maintenance inspections. But the trade-off is a near guarantee of dependable longer-term renters and rental income. If thats compromised, some landlords say theyd pull back from the federal subsidy programs. Brad Suster, who owns 86 Chicago-area units funded by HUD, said accepting subsidies could become risky. Would we have the same reliability that we know has traditionally come for countless years from the federal government? Suster said. Thats something landlords and owners want to know is there." The diminishing housing stock available to low-income tenants has been a brewing problem for HUD. Between 2010 and 2020, some 50,000 housing providers left the voucher program, the agency has reported. Chaos and trade-offs, critics say It's up for debate whether lawmakers will buy into Trump's vision for HUD. This week the U.S. House appropriations committee is taking up HUD's 2026 budget, which so far makes no mention of time limits. HUD's Lovett noted the Senates budget plans for the agency have not yet been released, and said the administration remains focused on future implementation of time limits. HUD will continue to engage with colleagues on the hill to ensure a seamless transition and enforcement of any new time limit, Lovett said in a statement. Noelle Porter, the director of government affairs at the National Housing Law Project, said Trumps fight for time limits is far from over, noting that legislative and rule changes could make them a reality. It is clearly a stated goal of the administration to impose work requirements and time limits on rental assistance, even though it would be wildly unpopular, Porter said. Democratic Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina says there's no evidence time limits would save HUD money. This doesnt help families who already are working multiple jobs to become self-sufficient, Clyburn said at a June hearing. Instead, it creates chaos, financial uncertainty and pushes these families into more severe trade-offs. Time limits could imperil Aaliyah Barnes' longtime dream of graduating college and becoming a nurse, finding a job and a home she can afford. The 28-year-old single mom in Louisville, Kentucky, this year joined Family Scholar House, which provides counseling and support for people pursuing an education and, to Barnes relief, housing. Her apartment is paid for by a Section 8 voucher. In March, Barnes moved in and her 3-year-old son, Aarmoni, finally got his own room, where she set up a learning wall. Previously, she had struggled to afford housing on her wages at a call center and living with her mom, two sisters and their kids in a cramped house was an environment ridden with arguments. The stable future shes building could disappear, though, if she's forced out in two years when her schooling is expected to take three years. Id be so close, but so far away, Barnes said. ___ Kramon reported from Atlanta. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Some Michiganders might have an unexpected payday in their future, as $1.7 trillion languishes in lost or forgotten 401(k) accounts, money that is just sitting around collecting interest. With an average unclaimed balance of $56,616, it might behoove some Michigan residents to find out how much, if any, belongs to them. Here's what Michiganders should know. How many 401(k)s go unclaimed? Short answer? A lot. There are roughly 29 million idle accounts representing one quarter of all assets held in 401(k) retirement plans, according to figures from a 2023 report from Capitalize, a financial services firm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats a heck of a lot of money, said James Royal, an investing analyst at Bankrate. You could really have tens of thousands of dollars out there. Why do 401(k) accounts go unclaimed? Its hard to fathom how anyone could lose track of $56,000, until you stop to consider the circumstances behind the typical lost 401(k) account. People who are leaving a job, and especially if theyre moving to another one, usually have a bunch of things going on, said David John, a senior strategic policy adviser at the AARP Public Policy Institute. The average American born between 1957 and 1964 has changed jobs about a dozen times, AARP reports. A record 47 million Americans quit their jobs in 2021 alone, amid the Great Resignation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A worker who leaves a job after a year or two might have only a few thousand dollars saved in a retirement account. In the stress of a job change, its easy to lose track of those funds. Forgotten accounts keep earning interest Workers might struggle with how to roll over the savings into a new account. The balance might not seem to justify the effort. Wait a decade or two, however, and the balance in a forgotten account can balloon into a tidy sum. The reason: Most 401(k) funds tend to be invested in stocks, and the market has made enormous gains in recent decades. Even 10 or 15 years ago, if you put in $5, $6, $7,000, that could be worth three, four, or five times as much today, Royal said. How to track down a lost 401(k) account Tracking down lost 401(k) accounts has never been easier, according to Royal and other retirement-plan experts. A curious consumer with an hour to spare can go a long way toward rooting out lost savings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are some tips, starting with the easy stuff: Finding a lost 401(k): The low-hanging fruit There are three easy websites you can use to discover if you have missing 401(k) funds. They are: Here's a quick breakdown of each service. Can I find my 401(k) with my Social Security number? Yes, visit the National Registry of Unclaimed Retirement Benefits. As the name suggests, its a national database of unclaimed retirement accounts. Enter your Social Security number, run a quick search and see if any idle accounts come back. How do I find if I have any retirement savings I forgot about? The Retirement Savings Lost and Found Database is a new site launched by the U.S. Department of Labor to help workers locate unclaimed benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lost and found site is still trying to reach scale with a lot of providers and not yet comprehensive, said Rita Assaf, vice president of retirement savings at Fidelity. But its another convenient, one-stop destination for finding retirement funds in your name. Is MissingMoney.com a legitimate website? Missing Money, according to its website, is a clearinghouse of unclaimed property held by U.S. states and Canadian provinces and is endorsed by the National Association of State Treasurers. Another one-stop site, Missing Money can direct users to all sorts of unclaimed property, including retirement accounts. Its been around for a few years, but its not as widely known as it should be, said John of AARP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can also check for unclaimed property through the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators website: Unclaimed.org. Finding a lost 401(k): Some effort required The steps above should provide a good sense of potential unclaimed retirement funds in your name. The next moves might take a bit more time. Search your old employment records Search your employment records. Look for old retirement plan statements, in electronic or paper form. Alternately, seek out old pay stubs and W-2 forms, and look for contributions to retirement plans. Contact old employers Contact old employers, if you can find them. Start with the human resources department. Someone there might know if you participated in a 401(k) or, at a minimum, which company administered the plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you think you know which plan administrator held your account, contact that company directly. Be patient There are not that many 401(k) plan administrators out there, said Kate Ashford, a retirement expert at NerdWallet. You could take an afternoon and call them all. Ask to speak to the 401(k) department. A representative will typically ask for your Social Security Number and other identifying information, which can help the administrator find any old retirement accounts under your name. If a lost retirement plan is from many years ago, Assaf said, that plan may not still be available at Fidelity. It could be somewhere else. What if the balance is under $1,000? For retirement accounts with a balance under $1,000, a plan administrator may have liquidated the account and cut a check, which might have gone to your last-known address, Ashford said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For balances in the low thousands, the administrator may have rolled the account into an IRA at another financial institution. Finding a lost 401(k): Other resources Several other sites can help consumers search for clues about abandoned retirement accounts. The Department of Labors abandoned plan database can help an ex-worker locate a terminated plan. The same agency allows users to search a database of Form 5500, which is filed annually for 401(k) plans and can help users identify and contact both former employers and plan administrators. But records only go back to 2010. Dont want to search for lost 401(k) funds yourself? At least two private companies, Capitalize and Beagle, operate concierge services that can do it for you. Can I have that 401(k) to go? Fewer 401(k)s will go missing in the future, experts say, thanks to the evolving concept of "auto-portability" in retirement plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A new initiative in the retirement-savings industry encourages workers to roll over a 401(k) account into an IRA when they leave a job, whereupon the money can automatically transfer to a retirement plan at a new employer. The auto-portability program applies to accounts valued at $7,000 or less. Research shows low-value accounts are more likely to be cashed out or forgotten, potentially losing thousands of dollars of compounded interest over time. In 2022, a consortium of private retirement-plan providers announced a collaboration to boost the portability of small retirement accounts. When someone leaves a job, the network of providers will make sure that any retirement funds move seamlessly from one job to another, said John of AARP. How many people in Michigan receive Social Security? As of December 2023, 1,686,642 retirees received Social Security payments in Michigan. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Michiganders can search for their unclaimed 401(k) accounts NEED TO KNOW Lightning struck a group of people at Black Knight Bowbenders, an outdoor archery range in Jackson Township, N.J., on Wednesday, July 16 A group of Boy Scouts was on site when the incident occurred, and four children were taken to local hospitals for their injuries A 61-year-old man, who was the instructor teaching the children, was killed by the lightning strike Lightning struck a group of people at an outdoor archery range in Jackson Township, N.J., on Wednesday, July 16, according to The New York Times, NBC News and ABC 7. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 61-year-old man died from his injuries. He has not been publicly identified, but he was an instructor at the Black Knight Bowbenders, club member Gene Grodzki told ABC 7. An additional 13 people were injured, and their ages range from 7 to 61 years old. Around 7:15 p.m. local time, Jackson Police were alerted that lightning struck several people and one person was administered CPR at the Black Knight Bowbenders archery range, Jackson Police Chief Matthew Kunz said, per NBC News. "It was insanely loud, and the Earth... like the Earth exploded and it was dirt flying, flying everywhere," Grodzki told ABC 7. "When it hit and I turned around, it was at least seven, maybe eight people on the ground flat. Upon authorities' arrival, several people were being treated, Chief Kunz said, adding that one person had lost consciousness but then regained consciousness. Grodzki noted that first responders had to administer a defibrillator to two club members, per the NYT. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, around 20 people connected to Jackson Scouts Troop 204, a Boy Scouts of America-affiliated group, were on site when the incident occurred, Grodzki said. He stated that the children seemed to be okay, but they were transported in ambulances just in case. Jackson Township Mayor Michael Reina told ABC 7 that the lightning appeared to hit near a scouting group, and CPR was administered to at least one person who survived. Getty Stock image of lightning storm Stock image of lightning storm The 13 injured victims have varying injuries, from burns to complaints of not feeling well. Authorities dont believe that the surviving victims have life-threatening injuries, but they were transported to local hospitals, including Jersey Shore University Medical Center. One victim was taken to the Livingston Burn Center, per ABC 7. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grodzki told the outlet that four of the children and three adults were taken to the local hospitals. "This is such a tragedy," Reina told the outlet. "My thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family and all those injured tonight. It's difficult to understand what happened." Gov. Phil Murphy of New Jersey posted a statement to X, sharing that he was alerted of the tragic incident. The Weather Service and the National Lightning Safety Council report that at least 11 people have been killed by lightning in the United States this year. Lightning typically strikes between June and August, according to the council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Weather Service reports that on average, around 20 people a year are killed by lightning, while hundreds more are injured. 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 representative for the Jackson Township Police Department did not immediately respond to PEOPLEs request for more information on Wednesday. Read the original article on People CHICAGO A man is dead and two others are recovering in the hospital on Thursday morning after a shooting on the citys West Side overnight. According to Chicago police, the shooting unfolded just before 10 p.m. in the 3000 West Jackson Boulevard in East Garfield Park. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Officers were initially called to the scene following a report of a person shot in the area, but when they arrived, they found three people who had suffered gunshot wounds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the victims, a 42-year-old man who was critically injured in the shooting, later died at the hospital. Two others, a 34-year-old man and a 40-year-old man, were also injured in the shooting. The circumstances surrounding the shooting remain unclear and an investigation is now underway. LATEST CASES: Missing people in Chicagoland Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to contact the CPD Area Three Detectives at 312-744-8263 or dial 911. Those with information that could help authorities in their investigation can also leave a tip at CPDtip.com. Tips can be filed anonymously. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) Rockford has a well-documented history of making fasteners and screws, earning it the nickname, Screw City. During the citys manufacturing heyday, which quieted in the 1980s, Rockford factories also made numerous products that were well known around the world. Heres a list of 10 famous things that have bore the Made in Rockford, Illinois label over the years. 1. The Sock Monkey: Originating from the Nelson Knitting Company in the 1930s, this beloved toy was crafted from Rockford Red Heel socks. Its whimsical design became a nostalgic symbol, delighting generations with its handmade charm. While most monkeys are mass produced a dedicated team still manufactures them by hand right here in Rockford. The sock monkey was created by the Nelson Knitting Co. (FILE) 2. Chibi minibikes by Rockford Motors (1970s): For years, Rockford Motors imported minibikes made by Bridgestone. After Bridgestone stopped making motorcyles in 1971, Rockford Motors acquired manufacturing rights and partnered with a factory in Taiwan to create its own line of minibikes, among them the 60cc Chibi. The three-speed Chibis were quick and rugged, offering a fun and accessible way to hit the trails. Although they were not manufactured in Rockford, Chibis are still popular among enthusiasts and are part of the citys rich history. A Chibi as pictured in a Rockford Motors catalog from the 1970s. (FILE) 3. Furniture by Rockford Standard Furniture: Once a powerhouse in the U.S. furniture industry, Rockford Standard Furniture played a major role the citys manufacturing boom. Its sturdy, stylish furniture pieces made Rockford a leading furniture hub in the early 20th century. The companys factory is now occupied by Benson Stone Co., 1100 11th St., Rockford. Items displayed in a Rockford Standard Furniture catalog from 1929. (FILE PHOTO) 4. Testors paints: Founded in Rockford, Testors has been a go-to for model enthusiasts since 1929. The company made their famous paints on Buckbee Street until the 2010s. Testors still produces high-quality paints and hobby kits. Testors made paint in Rockford from 1929 until the 2010s. The company is now part of the Rust-Oleum Group. (FILE) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 5. Hammers, axes, and striking tools by Estwing: Estwings durable, one-piece forged tools, including the hammer famously used by NASA on the moon in 1972, is part of Rockfords proud manufacturing legacy. Estwing tools remain a staple for professionals worldwide. Estwing has making hammers and other striking tools in Rockford since 1923. (JIM HAGERTY/WTVO) 6. Toys by Nylint Toys: Nylint Toys crafted pressed steel and plastic trucks, transitioning from kitchen utensils to the iconic playthings. Their detailed designs entertained children from 1945 until the company closed in the early 2000s. Nylint was relaunched in 2020 by Emmy Klint, granddaughter of the founders. A Nylint Toys Chevy Blazer. (FILE) 7. Mrs. Fishers Chips: This regional potato chip maker, founded in Rockford, has become a local favorite with its crispy, flavorful snacks. Its community-rooted brand still evokes pride among residents. A bag of Mrs. Fishers potato chips. (FILE) 8. Toys by Midgetoy: Produced by the A & E Tool and Gage Company from the late 1940s to 1982, Midgetoys miniature metal cars and military vehicles were a hit, reflecting Rockfords toy-making creativity. The first toys with Midgetoy stamping were made in 1946 in Rockford by the A&E Tool and Gage Co. The company manufactured the popular die cast toys until 1981. (FILE) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 9. Bathroom scales by the Brearley Company: Known for precision, the Brearley Company manufactured reliable bathroom scales in Rockford, serving households across the country with quality weight-measurement products from the 1930s to 1980. Brearleys most popular bathroom scale was the Counselor, which are considerably sought after by collectors. Bathroom scales, much like this one, were manufactured on South Kishwaukee Street from the by the Brearely Company. (FILE) 10. Electronic dartboards by Arachnid 360 (Loves Park): Based in Loves Park, Arachnid 360 revolutionized darts in 1975 with its electronic dartboards. Still operating today, Arachnid 360 has a global following. Arachnid 360 has been manufacturing electronic dartboards in Loves Park since 1975. (FILE) Additions Chewing gum: Dentyne, Chiclets, Clorets, Trident and Bubblicious, to name a few, have been manufactured at the gum factory at 5500 Forest Hills Road in Loves Park for nearly 70 years. Formerly operated by Warner-Lambert, the facility is now owned by Perfetti Van Melle, the maker of Mentos. Greenlee tools: Although the company is now a subsidiary of Emerson Electric Co., Greenlee has been headquartered in Rockford since 1862. With a global presence, Greenlee is a maker of tools like cable pullers, wire fishers, knockout sets, electric conduit benders, hydraulic tools and bolt cutters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Aon, the UK-based global professional services company, has made executive appointments to enhance its reinsurance division. The company appointed Alfonso Valera as CEO of International for Reinsurance, while Steve Hofmann has been named CEO of Americas for Reinsurance. Valera will oversee the UK, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia-Pacific (APAC) regions, while Hofmann will manage North America and Latin America. Valera previously served as co-CEO of EMEA for reinsurance and CEO and general manager of Aon Re Iberia. Hofmanns prior roles include US CEO of Reinsurance and US co-president of Reinsurance at Aon. The company also appointed George Attard as global head of strategy for Reinsurance and Tomas Novotny as chairman of International for Reinsurance. George Attard served for 17 years at the company, most recently as CEO of Reinsurance for APAC, focusing on strategy and client engagement. Novotny's previous roles include co-CEO of EMEA for reinsurance, chairman of the Board for central and eastern Europe, and broking leadership roles based in Prague. Aon Global Solutions CEO Andy Marcell said: "We are delighted to promote Alfonso, Steve, George and Tomas into these important leadership roles as we accelerate the ambition and velocity of our industry-leading reinsurance solutions business. Together, they bring decades of leadership experience, deep client relationships, market knowledge and domain expertise. Supported by outstanding talent and experts across our regions, they will help shape the next stage of our growth." Recently, Aon introduced a new multi-line insurance facility aimed at supporting clients in managing risks associated with the development and operation of data centres. "Aon bolsters reinsurance team with new executive hires " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. A group of 10 GOP senators penned a letter to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on Wednesday condemning a pause in funding for after-school and summer activities that has thrown schools and programs into chaos. The Republicans urged OMB Director Russell Vought to resume the $6 billion in funding, saying the pause, which is also the subject of a Democratic-backed lawsuit, will harm students, families and local economies. The letter says the funding pause goes against the Trump administrations directive to send education back to the states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This funding goes directly to state and local districts, where local leaders decide how the funding is spent, because as we know, local communities know how to best serve students and families, the letter reads. It was signed by GOP Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Mike Rounds (S.D.), Shelley Moore Capito (W.Va.), John Boozman (Ark.), Katie Britt (Ala.), Deb Fischer (Neb.), John Hoeven (N.D.) and Jim Justice (W.Va.). The Trump administration said it has held these funds due to concerns the money is going to woke or left-wing agendas. While the senators say they share the administrations fears of taxpayer money going to fund radical left-wing programs, they protest the idea that this funding is part of such efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These funds go to support programs that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support, the Republicans said, highlighting how the money goes toward childrens programs while parents work and adult learners attend educational programs. The senators said they believe they and the White House share the same goal and encouraged a reversal of the decision. The Hill has reached out to the OMB for comment. The letter comes after two dozen Democratic states sued the administration over the pause as schools and other groups weigh if they will have to limit services or completely shut down certain programs without this funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have summer camps rolling right now. Im depending on a reimbursement in July. If we dont get that, we have kids who wont be served, Kim Evans, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta in Georgia, previously told The Hill. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. A 66-year-old woman was in critical condition after a fire that ripped through a Massachusetts assisted-living facility earlier this week, officials said, as records and accounts from staff raise concerns about conditions at Gabriel House before the blaze. The Bristol County District Attorney's Office had announced Thursday that Brenda Cropper had died the previous day, but said in an emailed statement Friday that there had been a miscommunication with a medical agency and that Cropper remained in critical condition. The office did not release any more information about Cropper or about the fire itself, which erupted Sunday evening and left some residents hanging out windows of the three-story facility screaming for help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cause remains under investigation, but the district attorney's office says it does not appear suspicious. Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon says the blaze started in a room on the second floor. At least 30 people were hurt and nine people were initially reported dead, all over the age of 60, as thick smoke and flames trapped residents inside. The fire chief said Wednesday that a second person was also in critical condition. Inspection reports released Thursday by the citys Bureau of Fire Investigation identified no problems at Gabriel House going back to 2019. The reports cover things like sprinkler systems, fire extinguishers, exit doors and general housekeeping. However, displaced residents and relatives have told of substandard conditions at the facility in Fall River, a blue-collar community of shuttered textile mills that's one of the poorest cities in Massachusetts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tragedy has called attention to the minimal regulations that govern assisted-living facilities. The facilitys owner, Dennis Etzkorn, had repeatedly been cited by state regulators for tardiness in reporting potential health and safety incidents. He has declined to comment to The Associated Press. In documents released Wednesday, receipts from pest control companies as far back as 2015 showed Gabriel House being treated for bed bugs and other pests. A 2015 receipt described the dining room as filthy and that food was undercooked. Jenn Marley, who worked at the facility as a certified nursing assistant from 2018 to January 2020, said bedbugs, cockroaches and mice were a problem, and that some bathrooms were filthy even though residents were supposed to get help with cleaning. Management kept track of residents who asked for more toilet paper, she said in an interview. God forbid if they ran out of toilet paper, the boss would complain that we had to give them a roll, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Marley said she sometimes made large batches of chili at home and brought it to residents because she worried they werent getting enough to eat. Portions served at Gabriel House were noticeably small, she said. Hot dogs and a teaspoon of beans. Im sorry, my cat eats more than that, said Marley, who described a cook yelling at a resident who asked for more. You expect better conditions, she said. Its sad. Those who died have been identified as Joseph Wilansky, 77, Rui Albernaz, 64, Ronald Codega, 61, Margaret Duddy, 69, Robert King, 78, Kim Mackin, 71, Richard Rochon, 78, and Eleanor Willett, 86. The identity of a 70-year-old woman has not been released. Union officials say the city didnt staff enough firefighters to rescue all the residents trapped in the blaze. Its a contention that city officials have since sought to resolve by promising to add more firefighters to each shift, initially via overtime and eventually by hiring new staff. NEED TO KNOW The Bristol County District Attorneys Office has announced that although they previously reported that a 10th victim of the fire had died, that woman is actually still alive The victim was identified by the district attorney's office as Brenda Cropper, 66 Cropper remains hospitalized in critical condition following the blaze that killed nine people The Bristol County District Attorneys Office has announced that although they previously reported that a 10th victim of a fire that tore through a Massachusetts assisted living facility had died, that woman is actually still alive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn announced the death of 66-year-old Brenda Cropper on Thursday, July 17, according to CBS affiliate WBZ-TV, MassLive and NPR station WBUR. However, WBZ-TV and other local news outlets reported on Friday, July 18 that the office has since issued a correction. "Please be advised that due to a miscommunication with a medical agency, the Bristol County District Attorney's Office reported the passing of Brenda Cropper as a result of the Gabriel Assisted Living Center Fire," Quinn said in a statement. "Ms. Cropper remains in critical condition at this time," the district attorney added. "The BCDAO has been in contact with Ms. Cropper's family regarding this matter. We will provide updates when they become available." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cropper was hospitalized in critical condition for days after the blaze at the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility in Fall River, which killed nine on Sunday, July 13. Danielle Parhizkaran/The Boston Globe via Getty The aftermath of a fatal fire at the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility on July 14, 2025. The aftermath of a fatal fire at the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility on July 14, 2025. Police previously said crews responded to the fire on Oliver Street around 9:40 p.m. local time on Sunday. Several people were pronounced dead at the scene, while multiple other individuals were injured. Eight of the victims killed in the blaze have been identified. Among them are Rui Albernaz, 64; Ronald Codega, 61; Margaret Duddy, 69; Robert King, 78; Kim Mackin, 71; Richard Rochon, 78; and Eleanor Willett, 86, according to NBC News and ABC affiliate WCVB. Joseph Wilansky, 77, was also killed, according to the Fall River Herald News, citing the district attorneys office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is an unfathomable tragedy for the families involved and the Fall River community, Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said in a press release following the blaze. Violations were previously found at the Gabriel House. It was last inspected by the state in October 2023, and by the city in October 2024. Among the violations were 26 instances where specific emergency situations were not reported to the state within 24 hours, as required by law, according to CBS affiliate WPRI-TV. Additionally, some medications were reportedly left loose in storage areas within the facility, while others were partially left open. Gabriel House previously submitted a plan of correction to the state, and later received a certificate to operate until December 2025, per WPRI-TV and WBZ-TV. Kyle Mazza/NurPhoto via AP Heavy damage is seen, including shoes and debris, following the multiple fatal fire at the Gabriel House assisted living facility.. Heavy damage is seen, including shoes and debris, following the multiple fatal fire at the Gabriel House assisted living facility.. Debbie Johnson, a certified nursing assistant for Gabriel House, told WBZ-TV after the fire that the facility was horrible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They had mice. They had cockroaches, infested with cockroaches, bed bugs. It was dirty, very dirty, Johnson claimed. "The elevator has been broken for the last four years, off and on forever and there's people stuck in their rooms, have to have their food brought to them." Now, Fall River mayor Paul Coogan has claimed the owner of the facility is no longer cooperating with his office. 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. Hes just starting to get me a tad angry now because we needed his help on a few things and hes not answering his phone, Coogan said on Tuesday, July 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mayor later added, I want him to know that these are his residents, and he might as well push them on the sidewalk and say, have a nice day, if hes not going to follow up. The family of one of the residents have since retained legal representation, PEOPLE can confirm. Morgan & Morgan has been retained to find answers as to why this happened. Our investigation is already under way, in which were examining if the facility was adequately staffed and provided proper training to staff, potential code violations, and possible failures of fire safety equipment, including smoke detectors, fire alarms, and sprinkler systems," John Morgan and attorney Luke Mitcheson said in a statement. "Our seniors deserve our best efforts," they added. "We are pursuing all avenues for justice and accountability for the potential negligence that may have contributed to a deadly and destructive fire that displaced roughly 70 people. Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct incorrect information previously provided by the Bristol County District Attorneys Office. Read the original article on People EDITORS NOTE: This story was updated after the Bristol County District Attorneys Office retracted its announcement of this fire victims death. FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) A 66-year-old woman remains at the hospital after she was severely injured in a fire at an assisted living facility in Fall River. Brenda Cropper is currently in critical condition, the Bristol County District Attorneys Office said Friday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DAs office reported Thursday that Cropper had died, but then retracted that announcement, citing a miscommunication with a medical agency. The office said its been in contact with Croppers family and will provide updates when theyre available. What we know about the Fall River fire victims Firefighters rushed to the Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility on Oliver Street late Sunday night after receiving several 911 calls from inside the building. They were immediately met with thick black smoke, roaring flames and trapped residents hanging out of windows. More than half of the facilitys 70 residents couldnt escape the burning building on their own and needed assistance getting out, Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of the residents rescued by firefighters were brought to nearby hospitals to be treated for various injuries. Cropper has been in the hospital in critical condition since Sunday, according to the DAs office. Daughter of burn victim in Fall River fire: She was unrecognizable Her daughter, Crystal Macura, previously told 12 News her mother lived on the first floor and was sleeping with her hearing aids turned off when the fire alarms sounded. She said her mother was burned from head to toe and unrecognizable. It was the worst thing Ive ever seen in my life, she said, adding that her moms doctors claimed she was the worst burn victim theyve ever treated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres now a growing memorial outside the facility to honor those who lost their lives. This was the deadliest fire in the state since 1984, when 15 residents were killed in a rooming house fire in Beverly, according to the Massachusetts Department of Fire Services. That fire was destined to kill 50-plus people: Chief recounts firefighters life-saving efforts The cause of the fire remains under investigation at this time, however, it does not appear to be suspicious in nature. How you can help The Firefighters Wives Association has set up a GoFundMe page for those affected by the fire. Catholic Charities is also collecting donations for impacted residents, including clothing, bedding, toiletries and other essentials. Donations can be dropped off between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city has compiled a list of residents specific clothing and mobility needs for those who want to donate but are unsure what to bring. 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. In an airport time is money, but at Mitchell International Airport, is it worth $12 million to fix a movable walkway? Thats the price tag according to a sign put up by the airport. The walkway leading from the parking garage toward the terminal has been broken long enough for the airport to print a sign that reads: This moving walkway is unfortunately beyond repair due to unavailable replacement parts. The cost to replace the moving walkways is $12 million. MKE is working on a long-term plan for this area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lisa Stoops and her family were traveling to Seattle for an Alaskan cruise and opted to walk on the track. Pedestrians walk on a broken walkway at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport which it claims costs $12 million to fix. However the county is planning on rehabilitating the entire area according to 2025 budget documents. Thats not worth $12 million, Lisa Stoops said of the cost of repairs. I cant believe theres non-replaceable parts, that just doesnt make sense to me. The family wondered if the walkway was even necessary in that part of the facility. What does it save me, 10 seconds of walking? said Ryan Stoops, husband. Airport officials have not responded to requests for comment or how the $12 million assessment was made. A spokesperson with Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley's office said he is aware of the broken walkway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our office is working with officials at Mitchell International Airport on long-term solutions regarding this matter," the spokesperson said. "Given the various infrastructure needs throughout Milwaukee County, the County Executive will keep an open mind as to how this area of the Airport will function to support travelers in the years ahead." For those depending on the walkways to get to their gates or car, those days might be coming to an end. According to the Milwaukee County 2025 budget, the total amount allocated to the airport is $104.6 million. In the budget there is a provision for a parking structure pedestrian corridor rehabilitation. In the description of the project it states: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pedestrian corridor connects the terminal access skywalk to the back of the parking garage connecting two elevator lobbies and all three building phases of the garage. The existing finishes / equipment in the corridor are over 20 years old and are past their useful life. The moving walkways within the space breaks down frequently resulting in numerous repair costs and complaints from the public. The funding is provided by the Airport Development Fund Reserve. T moving walkway on the third floor of the Milwaukee Airport Parking Structure, has not been operating due to unavailable replacement parts, leaving travelers walking on or alongside broken equipment. As part of the rehabilitation, the county plans on removing the four walkways and replacing them with new floor structure. It also plans on replacing the existing carpet in the area. The county has allocated $219,290 toward the project. It's unclear when the construction on the area plans to begin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the county capital allocation budget, construction for the project "is anticipated beyond 5 years. This project is slated to be moved forward if revenue allows." This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee airport's long-broken moving walkway to be removed BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A senior dog named Captain was reunited with his family in West Plains, Mo., after being brought into Bentonville Animal Services. Captain was brought to Bentonville Animal Services by a traveler who found him in Missouri, according to Best Friends Animal Society. After identifying his owner via microchip, the shelter partnered with Best Friends to get him home. It really drives home the importance of microchipping, think of it like a permanent identification, said Michelle Logan, Executive Director of the Best Friends Pet Resource Center, There are scanners that shelters, rescues, veterinary offices you can take a lost pet to that will utilize those to pull up that unique number, which then connects back to the owner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opera in the Ozarks speaks on new theater, growing arts scene in Northwest Arkansas Logan also said that people who find lost pets should avoid moving them far from where they were found, since most lost dogs stay close to home. 70% of loose dogs are found within one mile of their home, Logan said. So, we really encourage folks to take a couple steps to try to reunite that dog with their owner even before taking them to the local shelter. Logan said she recommends those who find a lost pet check for an ID tag with the owners contact information or take them to a location that can scan for a microchip, such as a veterinary clinic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dani Rakestraw, Training and Behavior Specialist at Best Friends Pet Resource Center, drove Captain to Branson, MO to meet with his owner. Animal welfare can be hard, Rakestraw. Theres a lot of hard days and theres a lot of hard things that you see. Getting to have these moments of just pure joy and goodness is a good reminder for why we do this. And a good reminder that people and animals just belong together. Best Friends Animal Society in Bentonville hosts weekly walk-in vaccine and microchip clinics for cats and dogs on Wednesdays from 9am to 12:30pm. For more information about the Pet Resource Centers veterinary clinic here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. Russia said Wednesday it had seized 1,800 pounds of cocaine hidden under a shipment of bananas, calling it its largest bust of drugs from Latin America this year. Russia's customs service, working jointly with the FSB security service, said it had uncovered a batch worth "more than 12 billion rubles ($153 million)" stashed in banana containers. The cocaine packages disguised in briquettes bearing the label of a French luxury fashion brand were discovered in a "hidden cavity" under the bananas, it added. In a post on social media, the Federal Customs Service of Russia released images of the cocaine and said service dogs helped sniff out the hidden drugs. Russia said Wednesday it had seized 1,800 pounds of cocaine hidden under a shipment of bananas, calling it its largest bust of drugs from Latin America this year. / Credit: Federal Customs Service of Russia Customs officials said they carried out the bust after a tip-off from "foreign colleagues about the intention of a South American criminal group to organize a smuggling channel for cocaine supplies to Russia." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It said an investigation had been opened into large-scale drug trafficking, a charge that in Russia carries maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Russia has a zero-tolerance policy toward drug use and smuggling, handing heavy sentences to those convicted of trafficking small amounts of narcotics including foreigners. Cocaine smuggling into Russia has surged over the past two years, according to Russia's Izvestia newspaper. Drug traffickers are increasingly looking to the country as a transit hub, in part because the Ukrainian port of Odesa has become inaccessible due to the war in Ukraine, the paper said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cocaine concealed in banana shipments Cocaine has been found hidden in banana shipments across the globe in recent months. In May, employees at a Norwegian fruit distributor discovered a packet of cocaine in a box of bananas, alerting customs officials who found a stash of 147 kilos. Last December, authorities in the Dominican Republic confiscated nearly 9.5 tons of cocaine from a banana shipment at the country's most important seaport. In August 2024, customs agents seized more than 200 pounds of cocaine at the port in Greece from a ship carrying the fruit. The month before that, police dogs in Ecuador helped find more than six tons of cocaine hidden in a banana shipment headed to Germany. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March last year, Bulgarian customs officials confiscated about 170 kilograms of cocaine from a ship transporting bananas from Ecuador. The month before that, British authorities said they found more than 12,500 pounds of cocaine hidden in a shipment of the fruit, breaking the record for the biggest single seizure of hard drugs in the country. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska NEED TO KNOW A teenager was arrested after allegedly making a bomb threat aboard a Spirt Airlines flight on July 14 The 16-year-old now faces criminal mischief and false bomb threat charges After the incident, the boy's mother reportedly came forward to claim he was only making a joke about something "in my pocket" A teenager onboard a Spirit Airlines flight was arrested after allegedly making a bomb threat on Monday, but his family says it was an immature joke. Around 3:15 p.m. on July 14, Broward Sheriffs Office personnel responded to a call of a bomb threat on a plane at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. A 16-year-old boy was arrested and now faces charges of criminal mischief $1,000 or more and false report of a bomb or explosive, police confirmed to PEOPLE. The aircraft taxied to a remote location, and guests were safely unplaned, a spokesperson for Spirit told NBC Miami of the Missouri-bound flight. The plane was inspected and cleared by law enforcement. Getty Images Passengers deplane Passengers deplane According to flight tracker FlightRadar24, the plane was scheduled to depart for Kansas City at 2:37 p.m., but did not actually take off until 7:44 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A viral TikTok allegedly taken on board shows a teen escorted off the aircraft by members of the sheriffs office as well as passengers exiting the plane onto the tarmac. The Miami Herald spoke to a woman they identify as the boy's mother. She reportedly told the outlet that her son was on vacation with friends in South Florida when he made a crude joke, saying I have a bomb in my pocket. After hearing the comment, another passenger across the aisle reported the boy to authorities, according to the outlet. The woman insists the comments were never meant as any kind of threat. Hes a good kid, she told the Herald. The boy appeared in juvenile court on Tuesday. In footage of the hearing obtained by NBC Miami, the judge explains Spirit incurred an approximate loss of $50,000 for deplaning the aircraft. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would like to just ask for grace in this matter, said the teens father, Phillip Schmidt, who appeared at the hearing via Zoom. I dont believe he acted criminally. He was acting as an immature 16-year-old in my opinion. 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 teen has never faced criminal charges before and it is unclear how the threat was made. There was one statement, I have a bomb in my pocket, the teens attorney said during the trial. But the problem is it doesn't say where this was said. Was this on the plane? Was it in the airport? Was it on the way to the airport? According to the local outlet, the judge ordered a psychological evaluation for the teen and he remains in juvenile detention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spirit did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. Earlier this month, a man was arrested after he allegedly told another plane passenger his laptop was a bomb. The threats forced the aircraft to make an emergency landing. According to authorities, no bomb was found. Allegiant Airlines passenger Taj Taylor, 27, was charged with making a false bomb-threat, which could lead to a possible fine of up to $25,000 and up to five years in prison, per USA Today. Read the original article on People RED SPRINGS, N.C. (WBTW) Authorities in Robeson County are actively investigating the shooting death of a teenager Wednesday evening in Red Springs. Toney James Craige, 16, was found dead after Red Springs police responded at about 6 p.m. to a shooting in the 200 block of Warren Street, interim Police Chief Justin Hewett said. Details about what happened are limited, but the Robeson County Sheriffs Office and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are assisting with the investigation. As a parent, my heart is heavy for the family and the community affected by this senseless act of violence, Hewett said in an email statement to News13. The pain they are enduring is unimaginable, and our thoughts are with them during this incredibly difficult time. I urge the citizens of Red Springs to come together in solidarity and assist law enforcement in any way possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Hewetts request, the Robeson County Sheriffs Offices homicide and crime scene divisions responded to the location to conduct a joint investigation. Sheriff Burnis Wilkins said authorities have identified persons of interest. Hewett said the authorities need the communitys cooperation as the investigation continues. Anyone with information that could lead to the identification and conviction of those responsible should come forward without hesitation, he said. We are working tirelessly, alongside our law enforcement partners, to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice. Our efforts are ongoing, and we remain fully committed to finding those accountable for this tragedy. Wilkins called Craiges death senseless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The death of this teenager is a tragedy and a senseless act of violence, he said. The agencies involved in the investigation are committed to conducting a thorough investigation into this crime, as well as any other criminal activity that may be connected to the case. Paul Smokowski, the executive director of the Youth Violence Prevention Center, says situations like Wednesdays shooting make their job even more important. Every gun tells a story. You need to stop shooting and killing one another, he said. There are other things we can do that have a positive role in our life and in our community. * * * Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. * * * Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. * * * Eric Cooper is a multimedia journalist at News13. He joined the team in September 2024 and covers stories in the Pee Dee. He is a native of Cades in Williamsburg County and a proud graduate of Kingstree Senior High School and Benedict College. You can read more of his work here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. The "10 tons of bricks" that were on top of Paris Allen have been lifted. That's how Allen felt last week after her 16-year-old daughter, Icies Allen, had been missing since June 18 with a 28-year-old man who she met online roughly one year ago. Icies was found safe on July 14 after a relative took her to the District Four police station, according to the Milwaukee Police Department. Allen said her daughter disappeared after getting into an argument with her about the 28-year-old, and afterwards left her house to get in a car with him. She was reported missing to MPD two days later on June 20 and hadn't been seen since. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's unclear what has happened with the man since Icies was discovered. Milwaukee police said there was no crime associated with her disappearance as "it is not a crime to go missing." Allen, however, expressed concern that her 16-year-old daughter was in a relationship with a man 12 years older than her. The age of consent in Wisconsin is 18. Allen told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last week she didn't think Milwaukee police were doing enough to find her daughter. Consequently, she went public about her daughter's disappearance on July 9, reaching out the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to get the word out online. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I just want her to be found. I want somebody to just see Icies and call the police and just say she's here, at a fire station, police station, you can take her to children's or any hospital," Paris told the Journal Sentinel last week. "Just help me find her so she's not around him or other bad people." Icies Allen has been in-and-out-of group homes for the past few years after her uncle's death in 2023 created mental health problems for her. Paris has been trying to get her proper mental healthcare, but she hasn't been able to. While she was missing, Icies and her mother had been communicating, but her location remained unknown. She said she passed along the man's name to MPD. In a conversation on July 10, Icies asked Allen to take down a post that showed the 28-year-old man's face. She warned Allen that he was angry about her decision to go public with her disappearance and his role in it. Allen said the man had also threatened her and the rest of her family directly with death threats. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Icies Allen, 16, found after leaving home with man, 28, in June Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) is among the 13 Best Booming Stocks to Buy Now. On July 1, the company announced that it had reached an agreement to acquire a 100% stake in TSB Banking Group plc in an all-cash transaction for 2.65 billion, subject to approval from Sabadells shareholders. Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) Boosts UK Presence With TSB Bank Acquisition A view of a large corporate office building, illuminated at night to show its power and reach. The acquisition will bolster the Spanish lenders presence in the UK, with an inflow of approximately 5 million TSB customers, who keep around 35 billion in deposits. The combined entity will enable Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) to become the third-largest bank in the country by personal current account balances. The takeover comes at a time when Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)s UK business is booking subpar profits compared to its overall returns. Earlier this year, Reuters reported that the bank was reviewing its presence in the country, with a pullback being among the options. Ana Botin, Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)s executive chair, stated the following on the acquisition: The acquisition of TSB represents a continuing strategic commitment to our customers in the UK, offering a compelling opportunity that is financially attractive to our shareholders and aligned with Santanders long-term objectives. It strengthens our franchise in a core market through the acquisition of a low-risk and complementary business that adds to our diversification. Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) is a Spanish multinational financial services company, offering services such as deposits, mutual funds, current and savings accounts, loans, and various other financing solutions. The stock has returned 99% so far in 2025. While we acknowledge the potential of SAN as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Best German Stocks to Invest in Now and Goldman Sachs Stock Portfolio: 10 Large-Cap Stocks To Buy. Disclosure: None. DENVER (KDVR) The Weld County Sheriffs Office, alongside 16 other sheriffs in Colorado, wrote to Gov. Jared Polis calling for a resolution to the Colorado Department of Corrections inmate transfer backlog. The 17 sheriffs sent a joint letter to Polis on July 10, telling the governor that the ongoing inmate transfer backlog and inadequate per diem reimbursement rate for DOC-sentenced inmates are placing an unsustainable burden on our jail operations and local taxpayers. Colorado DAs think penalties should be stronger for careless driving deaths Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs accused the DOC of failing to assume custody of sentenced individuals in a timely manner, creating backlogs in county jails. The sheriffs also pointed to the delays of court-ordered mental health evaluations and transfers to the state hospital, which is also adding to resource strain and overcrowding. County jails were never intended nor funded to house state inmates for prolonged periods, the letter to Polis states. Yet, across Colorado, counties are being forced to expand housing capacity and increase staffing simply to keep up with the rising number of inmates who should already be in state custody. The Weld County Sheriffs Office said that when looking at available data for its jail last year, it cost approximately $185.51 per day to house a single inmate at the Weld County Jail. The state reimburses $77.16 each day for an inmate in the DOC backlog, the Weld County Sheriffs Office said. The sheriffs office said that the state reimbursement barely covers 41% of inmate housing costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs are urging the governor to: Speed up and reduce the DOC transfer backlog by using emergency bed capacity or contracted facilities Adjust the per diem reimbursement rate to reflect the countys costs Improve the capacity of mental health treatment facilities to manage court-ordered evaluations and transfers Meet with Colorado sheriffs to identify and implement joint solutions This has been a systemic issue that has only gotten worse under the Polis administration. At some point, this State must prioritize keeping the citizens safe by running an effective prison system, said Weld County Sheriff Steve Reams in a post on X. The letter to the Governor was signed by sheriffs in El Paso, Teller, Pueblo, Douglas, Lake, Weld, Cheyenne, Montrose, Gilpin, Otero, Fremont, Grand, Archuleta, Kit Carson, Conejos, Garfield, and Costilla counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police: Large number of pets living in undesirable conditions in Northglenn neighborhood The Colorado Governors Office said that it agrees with the sentiments expressed by the sheriffs. It provided this statement to FOX31 about the letter. Governor Polis agrees with the letter and looks forward to working with sheriffs to tackle the backlog. The governor finds their suggestions helpful and consistent with his own thinking, and is committed to making Colorado safer for everyone. Governor Polis is committed to making Colorado safer, is in regular contact with local law enforcement, and appreciates feedback from sheriffs to strengthen the partnership between the Department of Corrections and County Sheriff Offices. The State of Colorado continues to face a difficult budget environment, exacerbated by federal cuts, and the Governor is focused on ensuring that DOC has enough resources and bed capacity to address the issues that state and counties are facing. The Governor is always open to discussions about how the state and local law enforcement can partner to make Colorado safer and hopes to partner with sheriffs to find solutions to resolve the backlog and keep Colorado communities safe. Colorado Governors Office FOX31 also reached out to the Colorado Department of Corrections for its stance on the letter and received another lengthy statement. The agency said that it understands and shares the concerns raised in the letter, and is working with the sheriffs, the governors office and the Colorado General Assembly. Public safety across Colorado is our primary mission, and that is a responsibility we share with the sheriffs, the DOC said. The Department remains committed to ensuring the safe and appropriate placement of inmates during the intake process. We recognize the strain this backlog places on local facilities and continue to prioritize solutions that are both operationally effective and sustainable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOC went on to say that it is working on budget and policy discussions with state leadership, and said that the funding to address the growing backlog of inmates is complex. Addressing this issue will require finding a meaningful solution, the Colorado DOC 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 FOX31 Denver. GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) A teen was arrested on Thursday and charged after another teen was killed last month, according to a Greensboro Police Department news release. At around 8:35 p.m. on June 1, officers came to the 4800 block of Chapel Ridge Drive to investigate an unknown problem. At the scene, police found 17-year-old Quiteze Lamont Patrick Stimpson suffering from free bleeding trauma. Life-saving measures were attempted, and Stimpson was pronounced dead at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stimpsons death is being investigated as a homicide. Phillip Rayshawn Wilkerson, Jr., 17, of Greensboro, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in connection to the death of Stimpson. He was taken to the Juvenile Detention Center and is being held without bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP. (KRON) The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children said a missing teenager from Washington who vanished after leaving her home in early June may have traveled more than 800 miles to Merced County. NCMEC is looking for the publics help in locating 17-year-old Amie Siguenza. NCMEC said Aimee was captured on surveillance video as she left her home in Everett, Washington at 2:32 a.m. on June 11. She is described as 5-feet-4-inches tall, weighing 134 pounds and with black eyes and black hair. Missing 17-year-old Amie Siguenza. (Photos courtesy of The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.) Authorities believe that Amie may stay in the local area or may have traveled to the Livingston, California area, which is over 800 miles away from her home, said NCMEC in a news release on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is not clear as to why Amie would possibly head to California. The Siguenza family is growing increasingly desperate for her safe return home, added NCMEC. They want to emphasize that Amie has never left home before and has not tried to contact any family or friends since she vanished, which is very unlike her. They hope this message will reach Amie: Amie, please call home and let us know that you are safe. Anyone with information on Amies whereabouts or her disappearance is urged to call NCMEC at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678) or the Everett Police Department (Washington) at 1-425-257-8400. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) The Baton Rouge Police Department has arrested a man in connection with a shooting on Choctaw Drive that left a woman dead and six others hurt on June 22. Authorities responded to the 3500 block of Choctaw Drive, where a shooting happened involving a police officer and seven other victims. One victim, Prenesha Wagner, was shot and killed at the scene. Six other victims were taken to Our Lady of the Lake Hospital and were treated for gunshot injuries that were not life-threatening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to an affidavit, an altercation took place between two groups of people at a trail ride after party. While at the scene, police say over 150 shell casings were found from North Acadian Thruway to North 38th and Choctaw Drive. Video surveillance from the scene showed a group of people arriving in a silver Ford F-150 truck, exiting the vehicle with guns. Shortly after, they started shooting at a crowd of people and left the scene. Detectives working the scene say that a witness from the shooting came forward to identify some of the suspects involved. The witness stated that they knew some of the suspects personally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After seeing the video of the shooting, the witness was able to identify Scott Strickland, 18, as one of the shooters involved. Strickland is being charged with six counts of first-degree murder/attempt, one count of principal to first-degree murder, one count of first-degree murder, and one count for illegal use of a weapon. Latest Post Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) The 184th Attack Squadron at the Ebbing Air National Guard base in Fort Smith has been awarded the 2024 General Atomics Remotely Piloted Aircraft Trophy. It is recognized as the top Remotely Piloted Aircraft squadron across all United States Air Force active duty, National Guard, and reserve units. The trophy recognizes the squadrons outstanding contributions to national defense and its leadership within the MQ-9 community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congress approves $141M for Fort Smith foreign pilot training center Its just a way to recognize the members within the Fort Smith area, said Lt. Col. Daniel Munoz, 188th operations group commander. Just how much work RPAs do that is behind the scenes that isnt as visible, like the F-35 mission, that we have going on here. So they do 24/7, deployed here from the state of Arkansas, supporting combat operations and providing intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance capabilities to downrange combatant commanders. The squadron is part of the 188th Operations Group at the 188th Wing. It also made history as the first unit tasked by the president of the United States to provide humanitarian aid air drops. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. ROXBORO, N.C. (WNCN) Investigators in Person County appear to have uncovered a huge scam operation, potentially targeting people across the Southeast. The first crack in the case came last week when deputies arrested two men for scamming a Person County senior out of more than $30,000 through a PayPal scheme. Sheriff Jason Wilborn now confirms the suspects managed to take about $140,000 in total from victims across four different North Carolina counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, they have taken it to a different level and theyre showing up at peoples homes, someones grandparents home, and scamming these people of $50,000, if not more, Wilborn said. Authorities said Chinese nationals Yunlong Lin and Linghui Zheng also scammed victims in Granville County, Durham and Clayton. One person lost over $50,000. From left to right: Yunlong Lin, Linghui Zheng (Courtesy: Person County Sheriffs Office) Investigators believe theres a hierarchy of scammers and more potential suspects. Also that came out of this vehicle was an Apple AirTag, so it makes us think that this is a bigger, a group of individuals thats working these scams because we feel like they have somebody that they have to answer to, Wilborn said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deputies said the pair of arrested suspects were driving a Lexus with New York plates reading LVS-7198 when they were arrested trying to scam the Person County man multiple times. Wilborn said Flock Safety cameras helped them find out the vehicle also traveled to Tennessee and South Carolina. He said the suspects spent a lot of time in the Myrtle Beach area over the last month. Investigators recovered a dash cam on the windshield of the Lexus that had a memory card with footage of where they went. Potentially hitting those neighborhoods and Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina or Tennessee, theres no telling how much money they have scammed out of these victims across these last three states, Wilborn said. Person County Sheriff Jason Wilborn points to the dashcam location. (Ben Bokun/CBS 17) Investigators also said Lin and Zheng are in the United States illegally. Theyre now being held on a federal detainer with more charges coming. The Department of Homeland Security is involved in the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, Wilborn told CBS 17 the Person County victim received an email saying he had a reimbursement waiting for him. He was given a phone number to contact for the reimbursement. The victim called the two suspects, who were able to see his computer screen and gather his login information and bank numbers. The suspects then allegedly transferred $34,600 from the victims savings account into his checking account, according to Wilborn. Thats when they [told] the victim they made a mistake, the sheriff said. The suspects claimed they reimbursed the victim too much money and he had to go to the bank to make a withdrawal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [The victim] was advised to tell the bank he was purchasing a vehicle with the money because [the withdrawal] would throw up a red flag to the financial institution of a possible scam, Wilborn said. The suspects then met the victim at his home to retrieve the money. They physically came in person, Wilborn said. [It] is upsetting and disturbing they did take the time to show up to the victims home. The next day, the suspects again transferred $30,000 from the victims savings account to his checking account, told him they made a mistake, and he had to perform the same steps again. After the victim returned to the bank to make the new withdrawal, the bank contacted the sheriffs office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [The victim] went to the bank, the sheriff said. [Its] just the bank caught it this time. They thought something was up. Deputies said after working with the bank and the victim, they waited outside the victims home for the suspects to arrive to collect the money. Both were arrested on Thursday and charged with the following: 1 count of obtaining property by false pretense 2 counts of felony accessing computers 1 count of felony conspiracy It is of utmost importance that we work with our federal law enforcement partners to combat illegal criminal activity in our communities, Wilborn said. We are grateful for the cooperation of the financial institution and the victim in this investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriff reminds the public to always ask questions if something seems suspicious. Verify everything, Wilborn said. Reach out to us, call us, and just make sure [if] this is a new scam going around. Roughly $17,000 was recovered, but the victim has not been reimbursed as of Friday because the money is now evidence. According to deputies, Zheng and Lin are believed to have immigrated to the U.S. in 2023 from China. They are currently in Person County custody. The judge set both of their bonds at $250,000. Deputies said the investigation remains ongoing. Our office remains committed to protecting the citizens of Person County and ensuring those who seek to exploit them are held accountable, Wilborn said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information about this investigation is asked to contact the Person County Sheriffs Office at 336-597-0500. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SMYTH COUNTY, Va. (WJHL) Two men were convicted on drug charges in Smyth County and sentenced. Smyth County Commonwealths Attorney Phillip Bucky Blevins announced in a news release that Cody Burkett and Adam Norman were both convicted. Bristol, Va. man gets 8 years after meth conviction Burkett, 30, of Marion, entered a plea agreement. He was convicted of distributing 12 grams of methamphetamine. According to Blevins, Burketts charges stemmed from a September 2022 incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burkett was indicted in 2024 and arrested in April 2025. When he was arrested, Burkett was found caring for a minor child at a home where meth was present, the release states. As part of his plea agreement, Burket was sentenced to five years of active incarceration in a Virginia penitentiary and ordered to complete 12 parenting classes. Blevins noted that the court imposed another 50 years in prison but suspended it so long as he successfully completes five years of active probation after he is released. Norman, 37, of Rural Retreat, was convicted Thursday on several crimes, which include: Possession of cocaine Transporting methamphetamine into the Commonwealth Conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine Possession of over 10 grams of methamphetamine with intent to distribute Money laundering Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Normans charges reportedly stem from an investigation that started in November 2024. He was sentenced to 13 years in a state prison and ordered to undergo a mental health and substance abuse assessment. After Norman is released, Blevins stated he will serve another five years on active probation. If he does not comply with that probation, Norman faces another 62 years in prison. Thanks to the hard work of Senior Deputy Haugh and the Smyth County Sheriffs Office, two more dangerous drug dealers are off the streets, Blevins said in a statement. These cases demonstrate our unwavering commitment to holding drug traffickers accountable and cleaning up our countyone drug dealer at a time. We will not allow poison to be pushed into our communities without consequence. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEW CASTLE, Pa. (WKBN) Two men from Detroit were arrested as part of a Not Welcome Here drug operation in New Castle, where authorities say they recovered a stolen firearm and drugs. On Wednesday, members of the Lawrence County District Attorneys HIDTA Drug Task Force, with the assistance of DEA Group 66, and the Office of the Attorney General executed a narcotics search warrant on an apartment located at the 1300 block of South Jefferson Street as part of HIDTA Operation Not Welcome Here. Once entry was made into the apartment, the two targets of the investigation, two men from Detroit, Michigan were detained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the search of the residence, the following items were located and seized as evidence: 4 cell phones 3 digital scales containing suspected drug residue 31.6 grams of suspected crack cocaine $414.00 Mini Draco AK47 semi-automatic pistol, fully loaded A stolen Glock 23, .40 caliber pistol, fully loaded Ruger 9mm pistol, fully loaded As a result of the search warrant and evidence recovered, the two men were lodged in the Lawrence County Jail, each on $250,000 bond. They are charged with possession with intent to deliver a controlled substance (Felony); conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance (Felony); receiving stolen property (Felony); and persons not to possess firearms (Felony). Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. [See Cleveland murder statistics in the player above.] CLEVELAND (WJW) Two people were indicted Wednesday, July 16, in the murder of a 21-year-old man in Tremont nearly 14 years ago, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Office announced. Dionte Davis, 36, and Dojuan Nettles, 40, are now facing 10 counts each, including charges of aggravated murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping, among others, according to a news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wanted man barricades himself inside Brunswick home with female, police say Prosecutors allege Davis and Nettles went to Brandon Cartellones apartment near the intersection of Professor and West 10th streets to buy marijuana on July 26, 2011. Once inside, they tied him up with belts and duct tape, assaulted and robbed him, then fled, according to the release. Cartellones girlfriend found him early the next morning and called police. Cartellone was pronounced dead at the scene. The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiners Office determined he was strangled and ruled his death was caused by asphyxiation. PHOTOS: Semi-truck hauling trash crashes on I-480 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cartellone was in his third year at the Cleveland Institute of Art, the FOX 8 I-Team learned. The mans mother, Lynn Garvin-Cartellone, issued a statement to the I-Team that read: This has been long coming and so surreal. I have used the words shocked and elated a lot the past few days. Agent Andy Burke has been amazing to work with and we are so thankful for his professionalism and drive to follow through with our case. We realize this process may take a while, but we are so glad to finally be heading toward justice. Investigators determined that Davis and Nettles were at the scene that day. Further DNA testing and investigation linked Davis and Nettles to the crimes. Nettles was arrested on July 9 in Florida. Davis was arrested on July 11 in California. They are expected to be arraigned at a later date. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This indictment is the result of 14 years of tireless investigative efforts by law enforcement to hold Brandons killers accountable, Prosecutor Michael OMalley is quoted in the release. Their persistence proves that no matter how much time passes, we will never stop seeking justice for victims and their families. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. July 17 (UPI) -- Two people were killed Thursday and a priest was among several people injured, four of them seriously, in what appeared to be an Israeli attack on Gaza's only Catholic church where displaced Christian families were taking refuge from the fighting. Local priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, who is from Argentina, was hurt in what the parish and the Vatican said was "an apparent strike by the Israeli army" on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. His injuries are not thought to be serious. Pope Leo XIV issued a statement expressing shock and sorrow at the loss of life and injury caused by the "military" attack and reiterated his calls for an immediate cease-fire, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni pointed the finger squarely at Israel, calling it "unacceptable." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, the diocese the church comes under, condemned the strike. "With deep sorrow, the Latin Patriarchate can now confirm that two persons were killed as a result of an apparent strike by the Israeli army that hit the Holy Family Compound this morning. We pray for the rest of their souls and for the end of this barbaric war. Nothing can justify the targeting of innocent civilians," it said. Latin Patriarch Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa told Vatican News that the church had been fired on by an Israeli tank. "What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly. Four people are seriously wounded, among these four, two are in very serious condition and their lives are in grave danger," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There are also other injured but less problematic, among them also the Parish Priest, because they were all in the Church." The BBC said it had seen footage and photos showing damage to the roof and shattered windows. The Holy Family Church was temporarily housing an estimated 600 displaced people, mostly children, as well as 54 people with special needs, when it was struck. Many local Christian families had been there for 21 months since the conflict erupted in October 2023. Churches and other places of worship are traditionally places of refuge that are not targeted by combatants in military conflict; however, the Holy Family is located in the north of the Palestinian enclave in an area where the Israeli military ordered people to leave some time back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Israel Defense Forces said it was aware of reports that the church had been damaged and people injured and that it was reviewing the circumstances surrounding the incident. The incident comes amid a rising toll of collateral deaths from Israeli military action, including six children killed in an airstrike on Sunday as they waited in line to get water, blamed by the IDF on a "technical error," and 15 Palestinians killed, including 10 children and two women, as they waited outside the clinic of a U.S.-health non-profit on Friday. We recently published 10 Stocks Jim Cramer Discussed As He Commented On Latest Tariffs. Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN) is one of Cramers favorite European and banking stocks. The shares have gained 89% year-to-date, and the CNBC host had started to express his optimism in January, well before the recent share price movement. Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN)s stock has benefited from an overall growing interest in European markets due to uncertainty in America and from strong earnings. Cramers previous comments have praised the firms Ana Botin, and he kept the praise this time too: Okay so David, theres another bank, European bank, not a loser. . . .Banco Santander, Ana Botin, stocks up 88%. Uh Jamies up 20%. Well, which would you rather own? Banco Santander, S.A. (SAN) Is A European Bank That's Not A Loser, Says Jim Cramer A view of a large corporate office building, illuminated at night to show its power and reach. Earlier, he shed light on some of the driving factors behind the shares: Long time Cramer fave, Banco Santander, which is the second-best performing in the index (IBEX 35), up almost 52% for the year. Hey, by the way, Santanders American Deposit Receipts, SAN for you home gamers, are up almost 50% since we last spoke to Executive Chair Ana Botin back in October. Due to an embrace of technology and a knowledge of the consumer worldwide, Botin has built a powerhouse thats the envy of Europe. They just did a really smart transaction in Poland last week Many reasons Im partial to Santander, symbol, SAN. While we acknowledge the potential of SAN 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 extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. PUTNAM COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) Two alleged gang members have pleaded guilty to multiple charges in connection with an investigation in Putnam County, according to officials. The Putnam County Sheriffs Office announced on March 4 that it was investigating a series of vehicle burglaries and a car theft that happened on Feb. 27 in the Hulon Dyer Drive/Cedar Creek Circle and Big Orange Drive/Hawkins Crawford Road areas. PREVIOUS: Alleged gang members arrested in connection to Putnam County vehicle burglaries Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said camera footage showed the suspects at least one of whom appeared to be armed with a semi-automatic handgun in a white SUV and wearing masks, goggles, hoodies, and gloves. On March 11, an investigator was told the previous stolen vehicle had been found in the 6300 block of Charlotte Pike in Nashville, according to law enforcement. The next day, the investigator reportedly learned the white SUV the suspects were seen driving which was also stolen had been recovered in the 3900 block of Alameda Street in Nashville. Following an extensive investigation by the Putnam County Sheriffs Office, the Metro Nashville Police Department, the Warren County Sheriffs Office, and the Mt. Juliet Police Department, officials said three suspects were taken into custody and admitted to be members of the G Shine Bloods gang, a prominent subset of the Bloods gang. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Authorities said two of the suspects, Graham Kennedy and Isaiah Mosley, pleaded guilty in Putnam County Criminal Court on Wednesday, July 9 to four counts of burglary, two counts of felony theft of property, and misdemeanor theft of property. They will each serve seven years in relation to these cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No additional details have been released about this investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. The Argentine Navy has brought back to service an example of the classic Cold War-era Grumman S-2 Tracker anti-submarine warfare aircraft. Returning to duty a remarkable 73 years after the type first took to the air, the S-2 in question is currently the only example of the Tracker in active military service anywhere in the world. At the same time, the fact that the aircraft has been reactivated points to the very limited resources available to modernize the Argentine Navys aging air component. The aircraft, with the serial number 2-AS-23, was returned to active Argentine Navy service on July 11. This was captured by photographer Sebastian Solis, as seen at the top of this story. Several months of work were required to bring it back to airworthy status, since it had last flown in August 2023. It had originally been grounded due to a lack of spare parts, but once this issue was resolved, work on the aircraft could resume. Another photo of 2-AS-23 on its return to service. The red-painted outer underwing hardpoints are reserved for search and rescue stores (survival kits and life rafts); the gray pylons are for weapons. Sebastian Solis 2-AS-23 is an S-2T version, indicating that it was re-engined with turboprops in place of the types original radial piston engines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That the aircraft looks anachronistic is no surprise, after all, the first prototype of what was then known as the S2F Tracker first flew in December 1952. It was developed for the U.S. Navy as a carrier-based anti-submarine warfare aircraft and entered service in 1954. Compared to its predecessors, the Tracker (designated S-2 from 1962) combined the hunter and killer functions in a single airframe, making for a much more efficient carrier air wing. It was also compact enough to operate from smaller, dedicated anti-submarine warfare carriers. Ultimately, in U.S. Navy service, the S-2 was replaced by the jet-powered S-3 Viking, a far more capable platform, but one that was never exported. The catapult officer gives the signal to launch an S-2D on the port catapult of the training carrier USS Lexington in January 1963. U.S. Navy The Tracker was developed for other U.S. Navy functions, including the C-1 Trader for carrier onboard delivery and the E-1 Tracer for airborne early warning. It was also widely exported and, as well as its military career, it has seen notable service for firefighting, including as the Turbo Firecat, developed by Conair. The last of the Conair Firecats were retired in France in 2020. As for Argentina, the final military user of the S-2 has long been an enthusiastic operator of the type. Argentina first received half a dozen of the original S-2A versions in 1962, operating them from the Colossus class aircraft carriers Independencia, which was withdrawn in 1970, and latterly from the Veinticinco de Mayo, which was also a Colossus class ship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The aging S-2As were replaced in the late 1970s by a similar number of ex-U.S. Navy S-2Es, which saw active service in the Falklands War, including from the Veinticinco de Mayo. In 1988, the Veinticinco de Mayo was removed from service, leaving Argentina without any flattops of its own, although the Argentine Trackers continued to operate from carriers, performing cross-decking during exercises with the U.S. Navy starting in the 1990s. An Argentine S-2E performs a touch-and-go on the USS Abraham Lincoln in October 1990. U.S. Navy Don S. Montgomery The loss of one of the S-2Es in a fatal accident in 1990 was attributed to engine failure, after which it was decided to replace the aircrafts Wright R-1820-82C engines with more efficient and reliable turboprops. Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI) was responsible for the modernization, based on a package developed by Marsh Aviation of Mesa, Arizona. The Argentine Navys S-2T is powered by a pair of 1,645-horsepower Allied Signal 331-15 engines driving new five-blade propellers. The first modified Argentine aircraft was re-flown in Israel in 1993 and was redelivered the same year. A re-engined Argentine S-2T performs a touch-and-go during flight operations aboard the USS Ronald Reagan on June 17, 2004. U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate 3rd Class Angel G. Hilbrands Photographers Mate 3rd Class An The S-2 leaves the deck of the USS Ronald Reagan. At the time, the carrier was in the South Atlantic Ocean, circumnavigating South America while transiting to its new homeport in San Diego. U.S. Navy photo by Photographers Mate Airman Konstandinos Goumenidis Photographers Mate Airman Konst The S-2T was also flown from carriers, not only U.S. Navy flattops during exercises, but also the Brazilian Navys Colossus class carrier Minas Gerais and the Sao Paulo (the former French carrier Foch). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since then, Argentinas economic woes have prevented the replacement of the S-2s but also limited the scope of their modernization. Changes that have been introduced include a new navigation computer and processor for the active sonobuoys and magnetic anomaly detector (MAD). The original AN/APS-88A radar has also been replaced with a Bendix RDR-1500. A pair of Argentine S-2s performs a low approach exercise with the USS Carl Vinson in 2010. The ship was underway off the coast of Argentina in support of the Southern Seas 2010 exercise. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Adrian White/Released MC2 Adrian White A crewmember from the USS Carl Vinson watches an Argentine S-2 perform a low approach over the carrier while underway off the coast of Argentina in 2010. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Joshua Boyer/Released MCSN Joshua Boyer In 2017, the S-2 was used in the ill-fated effort to locate the missing Argentine Navy submarine San Juan. For its anti-submarine warfare, the Argentine S-2 uses active and passive sonobuoys as well as the MAD. Targets can be prosecuted using Whitehead A-244S torpedoes and depth charges, both U.S.-made Mk 54 devices and locally made examples. General-purpose bombs and rockets can also be carried, with offensive stores normally carried under the wings, leaving the weapons bay free for an extra fuel tank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The difficulty in obtaining spare parts and the increasing maintenance costs of the S-2 mean that the Argentine Navy has long sought a replacement. The United States offered surplus S-3 Vikings in 2006, but there were no funds to acquire them. Also under consideration was the Airbus C295 Persuader, but this plan was also dropped for budgetary reasons. A U.S. Navy S-2 Tracker breaks away from the aircraft that replaced it: the S-3A Viking. U.S. Navy The Tracker has therefore soldiered on, from its home station of Base Aeronaval Comandante Espora, Bahia Blanca, in Buenos Aires province. However, the Argentine Navy is now in the process of upgrading its maritime patrol capabilities through the introduction of four former Norwegian P-3 Orions. The first of these arrived in Argentina last September. While more capable, the P-3 is in a different category to the S-2, and Argentina still has a requirement for a smaller and cheaper maritime surveillance type. The Argentine Navy has, in the past, also operated fast jets, but the last Super Etendards ceased being operational around 2014. Argentina planned to replace them with five examples transferred from the French Navy in 2019, but these never entered service, and there were more recent suggestions that Buenos Aires might seek to transfer them to Ukraine. With available funds being used for the Orion acquisition, the purchase of a direct successor to the Tracker is not currently a realistic option. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For that reason, 2-AS-23 has been reactivated, although its not clear if any further examples will also return to the air. Despite being introduced by the Argentine Navy 63 years ago, the Tracker remains a useful platform and one that is, as of today, a truly unique aircraft in military service. With thanks to Santiago Rivas and Sebastian Solis. Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) The Indiana Department of Education released the results of the spring 2025 Indiana Learning Evaluation Assessment Readiness Network (ILEARN) testing Heres what you need to know about ILEARN and the results of all the schools in the Wabash Valley. What you need to know: Indiana established its ILEARN baseline in 2021. Since then, the IDOE has observed marked increases in math proficiency among students in grades three through eight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The spring 2025 ILEARN results showed that 40.6% of Indianas students are at or above proficiency standards in English Language Arts, and about 42% of young Hoosiers are at or above proficiency standards in math. This year, about 1,350 schools participated in a redesigned version of the ILEARN. Per a release, the IDOE has been reworking the ILEARN since January 2022 to provide more actionable data throughout the year for students, parents/families and teachers. Indiana Department of Education releases 2025 ILEARN results ILEARN results by counties in the Wabash Valley: The information below reflects the percentage of students in each school who took the ILEARN test and are considered proficient in English Language Arts and Math, according to the Indiana Department of Educations spring 2025 ILEARN results. Vigo County: Vigo County School Corporation: Sugar Creek Consolidated Elementary School 18% Davis Park Elementary School 14.% Adelaide De Vaney Elementary School 26.8% Dixie Bee Elementary School 43.3% Farrington Grove Elementary School 7.3% Fayette Elementary School 30.4% Rio Grande Elementary School 36.8% Benjamin Franklin Elementary School 5.9% Blanche E. Fuqua Elementary School 17.1% Hoosier Prairie Elementary School 19.2% Lost Creek Elementary School 49.9% Ouabache Elementary School 10.9% Riley Elementary School 33.7% Sugar Grove Elementary School 24% Terre Town Elementary School 19.5% Booker T. Washington Alternative School 0% Honey Creek Middle School 38.2% West Vigo Middle School 9.1% Otter Creek Middle School 11.5% Sarah Scott Middle School 6.3% Vigo Virtual School Academy 3.9% Woodrow Wilson Middle School 20.9% Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vigo School Board approves massive, multi-year consolidation plan Sullivan County: Southwest School Corporation: Sullivan Elementary School 20.9% Sullivan Middle School 24% Carlisle Elementary School 27.5% Carlisle Middle School 18.4% Northeast School Corporation: Northeast North Elementary School 19.4% Northeast East Elementary School 38.5% North Central Jr/Sr High School 9.3% Dugger Union Community School Corporation: Dugger Union Community School 5.2% Knox County: North Knox School Corporation: North Knox Intermediate School 20.7% North Knox Jr/Sr High School 20.6% South Knox School Corporation: South Knox Elementary School 34% South Knox Middle-High School 22.3% Vincennes Community School Corporation: Benjamin Franklin Elementary School 33.6% George Rogers Clark School 18.1% James Whitcomb Riley Elementary School 29.2% Tecumseh-Harrison Elementary School 18.1% Francis Vigo Elementary School 21.9% Washington Learning Academy 0% Clay County: Clay Community Schools: Clay City Elementary School 41.7% Clay City Jr/Sr High School 36.8% Jackson Township Elementary School 41.8% Staunton Elementary School 64.7% Van Buren Elementary School 35.7% East Side Elementary School 43.2% Forest Park Elementary School 10.7% Meridian Street Elementary School 42.6% North Clay Middle School 31.1% Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two Clay County elementary schools now STEM certified Vermillion County: North Vermillion Community School Corporation: North Vermillion Elementary School 21.5% North Vermillion High School 13.1% South Vermillion Community School Corporation: Central Elementary School 18.7% Van Duyn Elementary School 38.8% South Vermillion Middle School 20.9% Clinton Central School Corporation: Clinton Central Elementary School 37.6% Clinton Central Junior-Senior HS 27.3% Clinton Prairie School Corporation: Clinton Prairie Elementary School 37.4% Clinton Prairie Jr-Sr High School 34.5% Parke County: Southwest Parke Community School Corporation: Rosedale Elementary School 27.8% Montezuma Elementary School 21.3% Riverton Parke Jr/Sr High School 23.4% North Central Parke Community School Corporation: Rockville Elementary School 27.2% Turkey Run Elementary School 22.5% Parke Heritage Middle School 22.9% Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Southwest Parke superintendent wins state award Greene County: Bloomfield School District: Bloomfield Elementary School 31.3% Bloomfield Middle School 18.3 % Eastern Greene Schools: Eastern Greene Elementary School 25% Eastern Greene Middle School 27.9% Linton-Stockton School Corporation: Linton-Stockton Elementary 41.5% Linton-Stockton Middle School 29.3% MSD Shakamak Schools: Shakamak Elementary School 23.1% Shakamak Jr/Sr High School 9.9% White River Valley School District: White River Valley Elementary School 30.2 White River Valley Middle School 23.1 Daviess County: Barr-Reeve Community School Inc: Barr-Reeve Elementary School 42.1% Barr-Reeve Middle/High School 34.9% North Daviess Community Schools: North Daviess Elementary School 31.5% North Daviess Jr-Sr High School 17.7% Washington Community Schools: Veale Elementary School 38.9% Washington Upper Elementary 14.9% Washington Intermediate 12.3% Washington Junior High School 23.2% Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Daviess School Corporation receives recognition with 2 badges Martin County: Shoals Community School Corporation: Shoals Community Elementary School 15.9% Shoals Middle School 9% Loogootee Community School Corporation: Loogootee Elementary School 48.7% Loogootee Middle School 35.9% ILEARN statistics for the whole state: ELA proficiency increases and decreases from 2024 to 2025: Third grade: 38.6% to 40.3% Fourth grade: 41.8% to 41.4% Fifth grade 40.3% to 40.8% Sixth grade: 41.1% to 40.5% Seventh grade: 41.8% to 37.9% Eighth grade: 42.6% to 42.% Math proficiency increases and decreases from 2024 to 2025: Third grade: 52.4% to 51.5% Fourth grade: 48% to 49.2% Fifth grade 40.8% to 41.5% Sixth grade: 38.1% to 39.7% Seventh grade: 33.9% to 35.9% Eighth grade: 31.4% to 34.5% PREVIOS: 2024 ILEARN results show increase in ELA proficiency, decrease in math proficiency Increase in math proficiency since 2021: Third grade: 2.8 percentage point increase since Fourth grade: 5.5 percentage point increase since Fifth grade: 2.9 percentage point increase Sixth grade: 6.7 percentage point increase Seventh grade: 5.4 percentage point increase Eighth grade: 6.7 percentage point increase Increase in ELA proficiency since 2021: Third grade: 2.8 percentage point increase Fourth grade: 5.5 percentage point increase Fifth grade: 2.9 percentage point increase Sixth grade: 6.7 percentage point increase Seventh grade: 5.4 percentage point increase Eighth grade: 6.7 percentage point increase African American students increase in math and ELA proficiency: In 2025, 19% of black students were proficient in math, which is a 7.4% increase since 2021. Since 2021, there has been a 4.3% increase in black students proficiency in ELA. That percentage has risen to 21.8. Special Education students improvements in ELA and Math proficiency: 17.3% of Indianas special education students demonstrated proficiency in math. A 3.3% increase from four years ago. in 2025, about 15% of special education students demonstrated proficiency in ELA. Compared to 13% proficiency in 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indiana struggles with teacher shortage Where to find more information: For more information on Indianas spring 2025 ILEARN results, you can read this article breaking down the numbers for the entire state by clicking this link. You can also see the full spring 2025 ILEARN results for the entire state on the Indiana Department of Educations website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com. The year of Aldi continues with more locations coming to Florida. A lot of them are Winn-Dixie stores that have been converted into the smaller discount grocery stores. The no-frills German grocery chain bought the parent company of Winn-Dixie and Harvey's in 2024 and sold most of them back this year, but they're still moving forward with the conversions that were already in progress, along with new stores. There are currently 21 Aldi locations due to open soon across Florida, according to the company's coming-soon webpage, with six scheduled to open in July: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement July 17: Odessa July 24: Crawfordville, Jensen Beach, and Westlake July 31: Port Orange and St. Cloud That's in addition to the 22 Aldi locations that have already opened in Florida this year. About 220 Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarket stores will be converted to the smaller, simpler Aldi format by 2027, Aldi said. The company plans to open 225 new store locations in the United States in 2025, the most they've ever opened in a single year. What Aldi stores are opening in Florida? On Aldi's grand opening page, the chain lists 21 new locations, many of them former Winn-Dixie sites: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several more Winn-Dixie conversions are still ongoing, including locations in Sebastian and Vero Beach. scheduled for early 2026. The company also continues to open brand new Aldi stores, such as the Port Orange store opening July 31. What Aldi stores have opened in Florida in 2025? Several Aldi Florida locations, most of them former Winn-Dixies, have opened this year, including: What is Aldi? Aldi is an international chain of no-frills grocery stores with no coupons and few, if any, big-name brand products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike Winn-Dixie, Aldi does not offer a meat counter, a deli, a pharmacy, a bakery, or a liquor store. There are no elaborate displays, no overhead music, a much smaller selection with few duplicates of item brands, lots of house brands, and fewer open hours. The goal of all of these is to keep prices low, the company says. You pay a quarter to get a shopping cart (you get it back when you return the cart), and you bag your own groceries with empty boxes from the store, bags you bought there or containers from home. There is a double-your-money-back "Twice is Nice" guarantee on its store brand products, and the chain regularly offers "FINDS," limited-time offers that change weekly or seasonally, and other discounted deals. The company does not offer a membership program. The "Aisle of Shame" is Aldi fans' nickname for the aisles of limited-supply deals in each location. The Aldi chain was founded by Karl and Theo Albrecht in 1946 (Aldi is an abbreviated form of "Albrecht Diskont"). After the brothers got into an argument over whether the stores should sell cigarettes, in 1960, they split the company into Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud, which both operate stores internationally in different regions. U.S. stores, including the new Winn-Dixie and Harveys stores, are operated by Aldi Sud. Aldi Nord also owns Trader Joe's. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aldi acquired Southeastern Grocers Inc (SEG), the parent company of Winn-Dixie and Harveys Supermarkets, and announced an ambitious five-year, $9 billion plan to add 800 stores nationwide through new stores and store conversions. In less than a year, it turned around and sold most of them to a consortium of private investors led by SEG president Anthony Hucker, but kept the ones where conversion plans were underway. This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Aldi opening 21 new Florida locations. Here's where, which open next Surrogate mothers who gave birth to children for an Arcadia couple are looking for answers after the pair were recently accused of neglect and 21 children and babies were removed from their home. On May 7, Arcadia police officers responded to a local hospital for a report of a 2-month-old child with significant head trauma, according to Arcadia Police Lt. Kollin Cieadlo. Officers confirmed that the child had apparently been shaken or dropped, or had gone through a traumatic incident. Detectives responded to a home in the 600 block of West Camino Real Avenue and discovered there were 15 other children inside the residence, Cieadlo said. Police wrote a search warrant for surveillance footage, hard drives and phone records from the home and identified the nanny, 56-year-old Chunmei Li, as the suspect in the child abuse. Officials said they also corroborated that the parents, 65-year-old Guojun Xuan and 38-year-old Silvia Zhang, allegedly knew the child was injured and did nothing for two days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two days later, Zhang and Xuan were arrested on suspicion of felony child endangerment and neglect and their children were taken into protective custody, police said. The nanny, Li, wasn't at the home and is still outstanding. Six other children who were temporarily away from the home at the time have since been taken into protective custody by the Department of Children and Family Services and placed into foster care. The 21 children, some of whom were born through surrogacy, range from 2 months to 13 years old, with the majority of them between 1 to 3 years old, Cieadlo said. The case was deferred by the district attorney for further investigation and the couple was released without any charges being filed. In an interview with Bioethics and Culture, a networking group that focuses on ethics in biotechnology, Kayla Elliott said she met the couple when she was done having children of her own but wanted to help others grow their family. The Texas mother of four said she first posted on Facebook about wanting to become a surrogate and that Mark Agency, the surrogacy company she used, reached out to her through social media. She said that she knows now that that should've been the first red flag. Read more: They put aside millions for surrogates. Now the money has vanished, sparking an FBI inquiry Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elliott told Bioethics and Culture she agreed to become a surrogate for a Chinese couple, and was told the embryo was conceived with the father's sperm and a donor egg. She underwent an embryo transfer at Western Fertility Institute in Encino last year. During the transfer, Elliott was supposed to meet the couple in-person for the first time, she said. Only the father was present and Elliott was told the mother had a stomach bug and didn't want to get her sick, she said. "Now we know that that was the same situation told to many other women that also used them," she told the interviewer. "It was some type of a lie." When Elliott was 17 weeks pregnant, she told the group, she was scrolling Facebook and looking through surrogacy agency reviews. Elliott saw the Mark Agency reviews and saw they were negative. Through Facebook comments, Elliott claims she found two other women who were carrying babies for the same Chinese couple that she was. Elliott immediately reached out to her lawyer, who contacted the surrogacy agency's lawyer. Elliott was told that because the father was much older than the mother, they wanted to have as many children as they could before he got too old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: She promised babies at bargain prices using surrogates in Mexico. Now the FBI is investigating Elliott told the group that through her pregnancy, she had very minimal contact with the intended parents, which was another red flag. Elliott induced labor and still didn't heard from the intended mother. Eventually, she heard from the surrogate agency, which asked if there was a closer airport to the hospital because the mother was having a difficult time getting there. The intended mother eventually arrived six hours after the baby was born. The woman handed Elliott $2,000 and thanked her for giving birth. 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. The sale of 23andMe was finalized this week, following the company filing for bankruptcy in March. The sale was previously approved by a judge. The company was purchased by the nonprofit TTAM Research Institute, which is led by 23andMe cofounder Anne Wojcicki. TTAM purchased substantially all of the San Francisco based companys assets for $305 million, per The Associated Press. I am incredibly excited and humbled to share with you that TTAM Research Institute (TTAM), a new nonprofit medical research organization that I founded and lead, has completed the acquisition of 23andMe, Wojcicki wrote in a post on X. To the 23andMe Community, I am incredibly excited and humbled to share with you that TTAM Research Institute (TTAM), a new nonprofit medical research organization that I founded and lead, has completed the acquisition of 23andMe. I formed TTAM and pursued the acquisition of pic.twitter.com/1g51xWZggG Anne Wojcicki (@annewoj23) July 17, 2025 I formed TTAM and pursued the acquisition of 23andMe because of my strong belief that everyone should continue to have the ability to learn about and benefit from their DNA, and that a non-profit structure is the best way to solidify our values and commitments to our customers, the scientific community and the world at large, the post continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sale was approved by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Brian C. Walsh and comes after a months-long bidding war between TTAM and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, per The AP. Regeneron is a biotech company that previously bid to purchase 23andMe in May for $265 million, but Wojcickis nonprofit topped the offer. Multiple states, including California, Utah, Tennessee and Texas were actively opposed to the sale, according to NPR. 23andMe continues to operate as a part of TTAM According to a press release from 23andMe, TTAM acquired the companys Personal Genome Service and its research operations. 23andMe will continue to operate and provide its customers with DNA testing and research services, but now will be structured as a nonprofit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The companys customers are able to use saliva-based DNA testing kits to learn about their potential gene-based risks for disease as well as their ancestry, per NPR. 23andMe stores the data along with spit samples, and sends the users a DNA analysis. TTAM is committed to providing customers with choice and transparency with their data, including the option to change their decision on whether to participate in research, per the release announcing the completion of the sale. Are there still data privacy concerns after the sale? TTAM says it will be adding additional privacy protections, but there are still concerns about the privacy of customers data, per The AP. We are changing 23andMes privacy practices to add to and enhance them, Wojcicki wrote in an email to The Washington Post. We are giving additional notice, have put further restrictions on use of data, and have agreed to an independent privacy advisory board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to The Washington Post, the attorneys general of Maryland, North Carolina, Connecticut and California recommend that people delete their 23andMe accounts. There are multiple ways for this to be done, even for those who have forgotten their login information. Keeping the companys data private is important because 23andMe holds arguably the most sensitive collections of data about identified people ever sought to be discharged in bankruptcy, wrote Neil M. Richards, the Washington University professor who served as privacy ombudsman for the bankruptcy court, according to The Washington Post. Peoples genes cant be changed, and they can be used to discriminate or to reveal information about relatives and future generations that didnt give permission. As technology and science advances, according to The Washington Post, information about genes become more valuable and potentially dangerous. Why are people still concerned about 23andMes data privacy? Customers of 23andMes genetics services are not protected by Americas health-privacy law HIPAA, because its not a health care provider or insurance company, per The Washington Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While existing 23andMe customers are able to delete their data, or opt out of TTAMs research, the new nonprofit is not asking for opt-in permission before taking ownership of information about peoples DNA. There is also still the possibility that 23andMes DNA data could be sold again. There is nothing in 23andMes bankruptcy agreement or privacy statement to prevent TTAM from selling or transferring DNA to some other organization in the future, per the Washington Post. Another reason people have concerns is because of a major data breach that occurred in the companys past. In 2023, a data breach impacted around 7 million customers of 23andMe. This set trust in its business on a downward spiral, per The Washington Post. 25 Investigates: Mass. daycare funds benefited wife of convicted Brazilian child rapist New public records obtained by 25 Investigates reveal that a convicted child rapist from Brazil, Andre Tiago Lucas, indirectly benefited from more than $100,000 in Massachusetts taxpayer funds. These funds were paid to his wife, Franciele Nunes, who operated a licensed in-home daycare in Hyannis while allegedly concealing Lucas presence from state daycare regulators. Investigative reporter Ted Daniel first broke the story of Lucas connection to the daycare in May. White House amplifies 25 Investigates report about child rapist hiding on Cape Cod Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, further details shed light on the financial aspect of the scandal. Nunes collected over $100,000 from the state while operating a daycare licensed for 6 children, according to an accounting provided by the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC). Nunes received $43,000 for rent, utilities and other expenses through Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3), a non-competitive grant program available to licensed daycare providers, along with $65,000 in child care financial assistance. The money began flowing to Nunes almost immediately after she received her daycare license in 2022. Kali Fontanilla, a former educator and senior fellow at the Capital Research Center, a right-leaning Washington D.C. think tank said, all you need is a tax ID number and meet the requirements of having a daycare, which dont include having a social security number or being a legal citizen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to an EEC investigation report, Nunes failed to disclose that Lucas lived with her and their children. The report states she said she was afraid the husbands background check would not be approved. White House amplifies 25 Investigates report about child rapist hiding on Cape Cod Lucas was wanted in his home country of Brazil, where he had been convicted in 2019 of raping a 13-year-old girl, according to documents reviewed by 25 Investigates. ICE agents apprehended Lucas in Bourne last October. While in Brazil, the husband had been dating a 13-year-old who the educator reported looked like a 16-year-old. The husband was 22 years old at the time. The husband had an on-and-off relationship for seven years with this child, the report said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EEC records show the agency inspected the home daycare five times. However, the agency stated they found no evidence that Lucas was staying there during those visits. Even if Nunes had disclosed the presence of her husband in the home his fugitive status may have not been discovered because Massachusetts does not check for criminal history outside of the U.S. Following 25 Investigates initial reporting, State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, attempted to introduce a budget amendment that would study the implementation of international background checks for daycare providers. However, the amendment did not survive a conference committee. Senator Tarr said hes not backing down and will introduce a standalone piece of legislation that would require providers be screened internationally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is such a straightforward, common-sense thing to do. And also, because we have a compelling case that illustrates the need to do it, Tarr said. EEC has stated that it is actively working to modernize and improve its operations and is exploring new ways to strengthen the background check process. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW The 25th Navajo Nation Council is mourning the loss of Dr. Rudy Shebala, who passed away peacefully in his sleep on Monday, July 14, at the age of 68, according to a statement from his family. Dr. Shebala was a devoted advocate for horsemanship, the equine traditions of tribal nations, education, and the preservation of Navajo culture. He earned a Ph.D. and a Masters degree in Environmental Science, as well as a Bachelor of Science in Animal Scienceall from the University of Idaho. From 2019 to 2022, he served as Executive Director of the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - A native of Nazlini, Arizona, Dr. Shebala was Deeshchiinii (Red Streak People), born for Naashtezhi (Zuni). His maternal grandfathers were Tachiinii (Red Running into the Water) and Natoh Dinee (Tobacco People), and his paternal grandfathers were Naashtezhi (Zuni). In 1998, Dr. Shebala partnered with the Nez Perce Tribal Executive Committee to help establish the Nez Perce Horse Registry. This initiative led to the creation of a new horse breed through the crossbreeding of the Appaloosa and the Akhal-Teke, resulting in the Nez Perce Horse. His son, Sheldon Shebala, described him as an avid reader and lifelong learner who was deeply grounded in traditional Navajo teachings and Dine spirituality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was always researching horses and fascinated by how they became part of tribal cultures and histories, Sheldon said. We spent years researching Navajo culture, traveling to college libraries across the country to find rare books that documented our traditions. Dr. Shebala is survived by his eight children and eight grandchildren. Funeral services will take place on Friday, July 18, at 10 a.m. (MDT) at the Nazlini Cemetery in Nazlini, Ariz., followed by a reception at the Nazlini Chapter House. About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. " Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) One of the Neo-Nazi group members who descended on Nashville last summer will be returned to Tennessee after he was indicted on civil rights intimidation and assault charges. Downtown Nashville businesses reportedly threatened after neo-Nazi protests According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, Louis Edward Dunn, 43, is a member of the Goyim Defense League (GDL) antisemitic hate group. He is currently being held as a fugitive in the Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix, Arizona, following his arrest Sunday by the El Mirage, Arizona Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Metro police asked Arizona authorities to help locate and arrest Dunn due to his indictment by a Davidson County Grand Jury last month. Dont just stand by: Man recounts being hit by Neo-Nazi protesters The charges stem from an incident in a 10th Avenue South parking lot in the late night hours of July 13, 2024. Dunn and Ryan Scott McCann were involved in an altercation with a 20-year-old Clarksville man of Jewish descent, according to Metro police. Louis Dunn (Courtesy: Maricopa County Sheriffs Office. via Metro Nashville Police Department) Ryan Scott McCann (Courtesy: Metro Nashville Police Department) Investigators believe the 20-year-old victim was standing outside a vehicle in the parking lot when he was antagonized and taunted by members of GDL. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the altercation, McCann reportedly attempted a spinning elbow strike toward the victims neck and head. When the victim tried to get away, Dunn is alleged to have grabbed him and pinned him against a truck while McCann was chasing him. The victim said he was struck in the neck and legs during the altercation. Neo-Nazi group verbally assaulted children in downtown Nashville The bill stemmed from multiple neo-Nazi marches in Nashville where groups waved swastika flags, distributed hate-filled fliers, and chanted with their faces covered. (Source: Joshua Palma, Susan Vicek, Chris Bywater, and WKRN) (Courtesy: WKRN viewer) (Courtesy: Susan Vlcek) (Courtesy: Susan Vlcek) (Courtesy: Susan Vlcek) McCann, 30, was indicted on civil rights intimidation and assault charges earlier this year and was convicted in Criminal Court last month. His sentencing is pending and he remains in 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 WKRN News 2. Eight healthy babies who have genes derived from three different parents have been born healthy in the United Kingdom. This happy result was reported in The New England Journal of Medicine. The treatment involved taking the nucleus from a fertilized egg that contained defective mitochondria and installing it into a donor egg with healthy mitochondria whose nucleus had been removed. Thus, the DNA comprising these babies' genes are derived from the mothers, fathers, and the egg donors. Mitochondrial DNA represents about 1 percent of total cellular DNA (about 1000 to 10,000 copies per cell). Mitochondria are the chief energy-producing organelles inside our bodies' cells. Mitochondrial disorders affect between 1 in 6,000 and 1 in 8,000 live births, making them almost as common as childhood cancer. Many more families might have benefited over the past couple of decades from similar treatments pioneered a quarter of a century ago, except that handwringing bioethicists helped to persuade the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to essentially ban them. Back in 2001, fertility researcher Jacques Cohen and his colleagues at the Institute for Reproductive Medicine and Science at St. Barnabas Medical Center in New Jersey announced the births of 15 three-parent babies. In this case, the researchers injected mitochondria-containing cytoplasm taken from healthy donor eggs into those of women who were experiencing infertility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Predictably, the usual dogmatically conservative claque of bioethicists decried the treatments. They asserted that deploying such treatments was "too important a step to be left to the consciences of individual researchers." Before being allowed to go forward, they demanded "public discussion" followed by "carefully regulated progress." The bureaucrats at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration heeded the bioethicists' calls and issued a letter asserting the agency's jurisdiction over the treatment. "We want to advise you that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has jurisdiction over human cells used in therapy involving the transfer of genetic material by means other than the union of gamete nuclei," wrote Kathryn C. Zoon, who was then the director of the FDA's Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research, in a July 6, 2001, letter. This stopped Cohen and his colleagues in their tracks. In her 2018 Cardozo Law Review article, "How Subterranean Regulation Hinders Innovation in Assisted Reproductive Technology," William and Mary law professor Myrisha Lewis comprehensively demolishes the FDA's assertion of regulatory authority of cytoplasmic transfer and other fertility treatments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The FDA has been regulating cloning and advanced assisted reproductive technologies through letters for over twenty years, although it has never provided proof of jurisdiction," she concludes. "To regulate in a subterranean fashion can deter research and American patients' access to life-saving techniques." Yes, it can and it does. How have the children born in 2001 using cytoplasmic transfer fared? Cohen and his colleagues contacted their parents in 2016 when all of the kids were now teenagers. Acknowledging the limitations of survey data, they reported that prenatal development and delivery were uneventful and that their school grades ranged from good to excellent. While one child experienced migraines and others had mild asthma, and some had minor vision and skin problems, the children overall were in good health. As Bionews summed it up: "'Three-person babies' grow up into healthy teenagers." Had the FDA stayed out of the way, many more families would have had the opportunity to use these and similar assisted reproduction technologies to have healthy children over the past 25 years. The post 3-Parent Babies Born Healthy in the U.K. appeared first on Reason.com. By William Schomberg LONDON (Reuters) -Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Tuesday the International Monetary Fund had a key role to play in tackling the buildup of risky imbalances in the world economy, many of them coming from the United States and China. In a speech he was due to give to Britain's finance elite, Bailey acknowledged the concerns of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration about the danger of IMF overreach. But the BoE boss said attempts to fix the problems in the world economy - chief among them the big U.S. trade and current account deficits alongside China's big surpluses and its weak domestic demand - had to be resolved at the multilateral level. "If it is only done at the national level, we will get less good policymaking," he was due to tell the annual Mansion House dinner. Bailey has previously stressed the importance of the IMF and other multilateral bodies at a time of heightened trade tensions following Trump's imposition of high import tariffs and his threats to go further. The IMF recently criticised another part of Trump's economic programme - its plans for massive tax cuts. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has accused the Fund of straying too far from its core economic stability and surveillance missions. Bailey said countries running big deficits were typically the ones that come under the most pressure in financial markets. "We have seen market disturbance this year. We have to be highly alert to financial stability risks something that I can assure you we are following closely," he said. Bailey also said China should free up its domestic demand as part of a global plan to tackle "excess imbalances before dangerous levels of trade restrictions come into play, and before we face the prospect of difficult adjustment with macroeconomic volatility and financial instability." Bailey said the IMF should consider using its powers to convene talks with member countries - chief among them the U.S. - as well as working with the World Trade Organisation to produce a nuanced assessment of the global trading system. "I think it helps to remember that the key challenge we all face is to increase growth in the world economy: to grow the pie to support living standards for the people we serve, all of the time," Bailey said. "It is as simple as that." He said he would use his new role as head of the Financial Stability Board - grouping global financial regulators - to develop with the IMF resilience tests for the global financial system, including firms such as hedge funds and banks. DES MOINES, Iowa Three people were seriously injured in a crash on the citys southwest side Thursday afternoon. Near death experience leads to incredible journey for Iowa man According to the Des Moines Police Department, the crash shut down all lanes of traffic on SW 9th Street between Randolph and Frederick streets for over an hour. Evidence at the crash scene collected so far indicates that a Chevy pickup driven by a 21-year-old man was traveling northbound and collided with a Honda CRV driven by a 68-year-old woman that was crossing SW 9th Street from Payton Avenue, police said. The two drivers, along with a 17-year-old passenger in the pickup, remain hospitalized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One lane of both directions of travel on SW 9th Street are open to traffic, however lane reductions will remain in place throughout the evening. An investigation into the crash is underway. No additional information has been released. Metro News: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. Live Nation is touting a last chance for music fans to grab discounted tickets for more than two dozen metro Detroit concerts this summer. The $30 Ticket to Summer campaign, which was launched in May, will run through Tuesday, July 22, with seats available for shows at Pine Knob Music Theatre, Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre and Meadow Brook Amphitheatre. The full list of $30 concerts is below. They include next week's Wiz Khalifa-Sean Paul co-headlining stop at Pine Knob, along with Cyndi Lauper's farewell visit to that amphitheater in August and shows from across genres at all three outdoor venues. A concert crowd at Pine Knob Music Theatre in Clarkston. The $30 price is all-in, incorporating fees and other surcharges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tickets are available at www.Livenation.com/TickettoSummer. $30 Ticket to Summer, metro Detroit shows July 23: Wiz Khalifa and Sean Paul (Pine Knob) July 24: Kidz Bop Live (Pine Knob) Aug. 1: Cyndi Lauper (Pine Knob) Aug. 2: Barenaked Ladies (Pine Knob) Aug. 3: Slightly Stoopid (Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) Aug. 4: The Doobie Brothers with the Coral Reefer Band (Pine Knob) Aug. 6: Big Time Rush (Pine Knob) Aug. 15: Little Big Town (Pine Knob) Aug. 16: Styx, Kevin Cronin, Don Felder (Pine Knob) Aug. 19: Chevelle, Asking Alexandra (Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) Aug. 19: Volbeat and Halestorm (Pine Knob) Aug. 21: The Black Keys (Pine Knob) Aug. 22: Coheed and Cambria, Taking Back Sunday (Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) Aug. 24: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony (Pine Knob) Aug. 24: Rob Thomas (Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) Aug. 27: Leon Bridges (Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) Aug. 28: Billy Idol, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (Pine Knob) Sept. 10: Tedeschi Trucks Band and Govt Mule (Pine Knob) Sept. 12: Quinn XCII (Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) Sept. 17: Conan Gray (Pine Knob) Sept. 19: Goose (Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) Sept. 19: Lee Brice (Meadow Brook Amphitheatre) Sept. 28: Papa Roach and Rise Against (Pine Knob) Oct. 2: Alice Cooper and Judas Priest (Pine Knob) Oct. 11: Seether, Daughtry (Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: $30 concert tickets available through Tuesday for metro Detroit shows JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) The Nissan Foundation awarded a $40,000 grant to the Foundation for Mississippi History to support student field trips for the 20252026 school year. This grant will help fund trips to the Two Mississippi Museums. The funds will go towards costs related to admission, transportation, and on-site lunches for Title 1 schools. Paddle House to add culinary flair to Mississippi pickleball Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were deeply grateful for the Nissan Foundations continued investment in our education initiatives, said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). This gift allows students to explore history in a dynamic and meaningful way at a world-class museum complex. Nissan officials said the funding will help these young Mississippi students to engage with their states rich and complex history at no cost to their families or schools. Our 2025 grantees create spaces where cultural curiosity thrives, and community bonds are strengthened, said Ali Tonn, senior manager of philanthropy at Nissan North America and executive director of the Nissan Foundation. Its a privilege to support organizations that are not only educating and inspiring but also helping to bond and unite. The Two Mississippi Museums opened on December 9, 2017, in celebration of Mississippis bicentennial. Located at 222 North Street in Jackson, the museums are open Tuesday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. 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 Brief Jerrell Johnson, 41, died in Dallas Police custody on July 13 after police say he was exhibiting erratic behavior and assaulting a store employee. Johnson had been released from the hospital earlier that day after being treated for a suspected drug overdose and excited delirium, according to DPD. The Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit, Dallas County DA's Office, and Office of Community Police Oversight are all investigating the incident. DALLAS - The Dallas Police Department has released an update on the death in custody at 5600 Lemmon Avenue on July 13, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the second death in custody for the Dallas Police Department in 2025. Police describe suspect's erratic behavior What they're saying The preliminary investigation determined that on July 13, 2025, at approximately 3:49 p.m., Dallas Police received a 911 call regarding 41-year-old Jerrell Johnson, who had entered a business in the 5600 block of Lemmon Avenue. Dallas police state that Johnson was causing a disturbance by acting erratically and wandering through the aisles and spitting in a mans face, before pushing past the man while exiting the business. After leaving the business, Dallas police said Johnson walked next door to a convenience store and entered at approximately 3:51 p.m. and confronted the employees while demanding money before he ran behind the counter. As the employees ran toward the back office and tried to close the door, police say Johnson forced the door open and grabbed the female employee by the neck, pulled her back to the cash register, forcing her to open it before taking the money, according to police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The woman was said to have broken free and ran outside, where police say Johnson followed and continued to assault her. At this point, several witnesses intervened and separated the victim from Johnson until the police arrived. Officers arrive on scene Dig deeper The first officer arrived at approximately 3:55 p.m. and found Johnson lying on his back, sweating, and breathing heavily. The officer rolled Johnson onto his stomach to handcuff him, then turned him over and helped him sit up, as he collected Johnsons personal information. At approximately 4:01 p.m., Johnson attempted to lie back down and asked the authorities for water. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At 4:05 p.m., the officer saw Johnson was unable to sit up without help and called for an ambulance. Dallas police say additional officers had to help support Johnson to sit up, while waiting for medical personnel to arrive. Dallas Fire-Rescues Medic 1 Unit arrived at approximately 4:17 p.m. and checked Johnsons blood pressure and oxygen levels. An ambulance arrived at 4:23 p.m. and Dallas Fire-Rescue began CPR at 4:31 p.m. Dallas Fire-Rescue transported Johnson to the hospital, where he died, not in the squad car as initially reported. At the hospital, detectives learned Johnson had been treated earlier that morning for symptoms of a drug overdose and excited delirium. He was released from the hospital at 2:07 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dallas police state that no officers used force during this incident. Ongoing investigations What's next This is an ongoing investigation being conducted by the Dallas Police Special Investigations Unit. The Dallas County District Attorneys Office was notified and will conduct their own investigation. The Office of Community Police Oversight was notified, responded to the scene, and has been briefed. To be transparent, the Dallas Police Department has released the 911 audio and body-worn camera footage of the incident at https://youtu.be/iN7hD1VWWyo. The Source Information in this article comes from the Dallas Police Department. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A father said a group home he turned to in Las Vegas, to help his teen son with mental health struggles, failed him. Noah Blumenthal told the 8 News Now Investigators that while Moriah Behavioral Health received thousands of dollars from his insurance and his co-pays to care for his son, his 17-year-old son did not receive proper medication, counseling, and resources. It is just untenable that an organization like this should be around and should be allowed, I dont even want to use the word treat children, to house them, Noah told the 8 News Now Investigators in a Zoom interview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He sent his son to a home on Edna Avenue near West Sahara Avenue and South Buffalo Drive in Las Vegas, run by Moriah Behavioral Health earlier this year. The company also appears to be linked to Eden Treatment and Ignite Teen Treatment. Records tie these businesses to five group homes in Las Vegas. Noah Blumenthal told the 8 News Now Investigators that while Moriah Behavioral Health received thousands of dollars from his insurance and his co-pays to care for his son, his 17-year-old son did not receive proper medication, counseling, and resources. (KLAS) Looking back, there were a lot of red flags, the teen told the 8 News Now Investigators in a Zoom interview. The teen said he suffers from severe anxiety, which has led to hospitalizations. Noah told the 8 News Now Investigators he believed his son would receive the care he needed, such as medication and counseling, at Moriah Behavioral Health, which accepted their insurance. Noah provided documentation showing Moriah Behavioral Health billed insurance $4,000 per day, while insurance paid a discounted rate of $1400 per day most of the time. Noah received a bill for $280 per day co-pay for the remainder of the time, according to the documentation he provided. Soon after the teen boarded a plane to Nevada, from where the family lives in New York, Noah said he could not reach his son because the teen had no access to his cell phone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Noah claimed both a healthcare provider and Blue Cross Blue Shield told him his son was not doing well, while Mendi Baron, the CEO of Moriah Behavioral Health, told him the teen did not need his medication and then looped his legal team into the conversation. Noah sent his son to a home on Edna Avenue near West Sahara Avenue and South Buffalo Drive in Las Vegas, run by Moriah Behavioral Health earlier this year. (KLAS) The father decided his son needed to leave and told the 8 News Now Investigators group home staff would not release the teen until he threatened to call police. His father said he believes the business saw his son as a cash cow. The teen said seven other teens were inside the home with him. I think a lot of them, a lot of the kids in with me, seemed to have deteriorated, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Noahs son is now at a provider in New York, where he and his father said he is getting the care he needs. A place like that should be able to help you, the teen said. The 8 News Now Investigators requested an interview with CEO Mendi Baron. His attorney, Mark Hutchings, requested that the interview questions be sent ahead of time and an option to view and approve the news report before it aired; both are against 8 News Nows journalistic policy. They sent a statement saying they welcome honest feedback, some stories shared are from former clients who were struggling deeply at the time of their stay, and that is not uncommon for former clients who may have been placed in the facilities by their parents to place blame. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The statement also reads in part: While we strive to support every client and family to the best of our ability, the reality is that mental health treatment is complex. Some individuals continue to struggle after treatment, and in those moments, its not uncommon for blame to be placed on the treatment center particularly when treatment was initiated by parents during a time of crisis. It should also be noted that some narratives, similar to those seen in recent high-profile documentaries, have been proven inaccurate or misleading. Many of the claims circulating online are not grounded in full or verifiable facts, but reflect personal frustration, custody battles, and painful family dynamics that our programs are not legally able to intervene in. That said, we dont shy away from scrutiny. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of clinical care and ethics. Our facilities are fully licensed and accredited through rigorous third-party evaluation, and we maintain ongoing oversight to ensure safety and quality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a previous email, Hutchings appeared to place blame on state inspectors and said the provider has faced significant challenges in its interaction with certain state regulatory bodies. This is only because Moriah has been a vocal advocate for fair and transparent oversight and has consistently raised concerns about regulatory overreach that has disrupted patient care, he wrote. To reach investigative reporter Vanessa Murphy, email VMurphy@8newsnow.com Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. Police in Alabama have arrested multiple people they said stole items from a business. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] On Monday, Auburn, Ala., police responded to a theft call at a business in the 2300 block of Bent Creek Road. A store employee told officers that multiple suspects stole items and hopped into a car in the parking lot. When officers arrived, the suspects drove away, leading to a brief chase that ended near East Glenn Avenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three suspects ran away but were later arrested. Two suspects were seen near the business before running away. They were found a short distance away from the store. TRENDING STORIES: Police arrested and charged the following people, all from Columbus, Ga.: Ralph Christopher Hill is charged with organized retail theft, resisting arrest, possession of marijuana second degree and attempting to elude a police officer. Timothy Thomas Reeves is charged with organized retail theft and attempting to elude a police officer. Calvin Screws Jr. is charged with organized retail theft and attempting to elude a police officer. Shuan Treomel Hill is charged with organized retail theft. Jomarie Paola Nieves is charged with organized retail theft. All five were booked into the Lee County Jail. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] (NewsNation) The Trump administration has given the green light for nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food to be destroyed after allowing the aid to reach its expiration date, according to a report by the Atlantic. The high-energy biscuits were supposed to be sent to starving children in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The food supply is reportedly large enough to feed approximately 1.5 million children for a week. Senate passes $9B in cuts to global aid, public broadcasting in win for Trump Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initially purchased by the U.S. Agency for International Development under the Biden administration, the taxpayer-funded food worth $800,000 will soon be incinerated after sitting for months in a warehouse in Dubai. The Atlantic reported the incineration of the food will cost taxpayers an additional $130,000. The destruction of the food follows the July 1 shutdown of USAID, as part of ongoing efforts by the Trump administration to drastically reduce federal funding of global aid programs. Bush, Obama, Bono bid farewell to USAID: Colossal mistake In a statement to CNN, a State Department spokesperson cited the foods impending expiration date as the reason for its destruction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The expired lot was acquired under the last administration, and purchased as a contingency for needs beyond projections, resulting in the inability to deplete before expiration, the spokesperson said. Unfortunately, this risk is part of always being ready to respond to life-saving humanitarian needs with consumable commodities in remote locations around the world. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Heavy rains have been linked to 54 deaths in the last 24 hours in Pakistan, taking the toll to about 180 since the arrival of the monsoon in late June, the government's disaster agency said on Thursday. Torrential rain has poured almost without pause across parts of Punjab province since Wednesday morning, causing urban flooding. Residents living near a river that runs through the city of Rawalpindi, next to the capital Islamabad, have been ordered to evacuate after a sharp rise in the water level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In the last 24 hours, 54 people were killed and 227 injured across Pakistan, with the majority of fatalities reported from Punjab," a spokeswoman for the National Disaster Management Authority told AFP, adding that the toll had been counted at 8:00 am (0300 GMT) on Thursday. She said around 180 people have been killed, including 70 children, and about 500 injured since the start of the monsoon on June 26. The government of Rawalpindi declared a public holiday on Thursday to keep people at home, with the national meteorological department warning that heavy rain would continue until Friday. "Residents of vulnerable areas should prepare emergency kits with food, water, and essential medicines for three to five days in case of an emergency," said the government. In 2022, monsoon floods submerged a third of the country and killed 1,700 people. zz-stm/ecl/sco HONOLULU (KHON2) The National Weather Service said there is no tsunami threat to Hawaii after a 7.2 magnitude earthquake shook the Alaska Peninsula. The quake happened just before 11 a.m. on Wednesday, July 16. 7.3 magnitude earthquake prompts tsunami warning along parts of Alaskas coast According to the City and County of Honolulu and NWS, a tsunami threat exists for parts of the Pacific located closer to the earthquake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As reported by The Associated Press, residents along Alaskas southern coast were ordered to higher ground due to a tsunami warning. Types of Tsunami Alerts According to the NWS, there are four types of tsunami alerts the public should be aware of: an urgent tsunami warning, a tsunami watch, a tsunami warning and a tsunami evacuation. Urgent Tsunami Warning An urgent tsunami warning is triggered when there is a possible tsunami due to a significant earthquake in local waters. Sirens will sound and the public is advised to turn on the radio and leave for an evacuation zone immediately if this alert is announced. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Tsunami Watch The NWS said this alert is issued when there is a significant earthquake in distant waters, but a tsunami approach has not been confirmed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sirens will not sound, but the public is advised to prepare for a possible upgrade to a tsunami warning. Tsunami Warning A tsunami warning is issued when a tsunami approach has been confirmed. NWS officials said sirens will sound. The public should turn on the radio and be prepared to evacuate when advised by civil defense officials. Tsunami Evacuation During a tsunami evacuation alert, the public will hear sirens. Residents are advised to turn on the radio and begin evacuation when an advisory or order is issued by civil defense. Tsunami Evacuation Maps When the time comes to evacuate, the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency advises remaining at least 100 feet away from any waterways or marinas connected to the ocean. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hawaii residents should also familiarize themselves with their islands evacuation map. For a full map, visit HI-EMAs website. Check out more news from around Hawaii You can also view your islands evacuation map below: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. NEED TO KNOW Chris and Katelyn Freeman were arrested after their 7-year-old son was allegedly found severely malnourished, weighing only 28 lbs., police say Police allege they discovered the boy had been confined in a closet used as a makeshift room, often tied up with rope and left in unsanitary conditions The couple is being charged with first-degree battery and endangering the welfare of a child Police arrested a couple in Arkansas on charges of endangering the welfare of a minor after police allegedly found their 7-year-old son severely malnourished and nearly dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson with the Russellville Police Department said authorities have arrested 39-year-old Chris Freeman and 27-year-old Katelyn Freeman on charges of first-degree battery and endangering the welfare of a minor, KARK, the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and KATV reported. Medical staff described the 7-year-old who was brought to a nearby hospital in critical condition as pale, limp and extremely underweight at just 28 lbs., per the outlet, which cited police. Doctors told investigators that after years of malnutrition, the boy was a near fatality. There is no denying that this shook us to our core, Russellville Police Chief David Ewing told KARK. I mean, he was basically just a skeleton with skin on it. After investigators searched the Freemans' home, they allegedly found their living conditions were unfit for children, KATV reported, citing police. There was a closet the couple allegedly had converted into a makeshift room where the 7-year-old was confined, often tied up with rope, police claim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The closet appeared to have been used frequently, with urine and feces on the floor and worn-down walls, the outlet reported, citing police. Other minors in the home told police that the ropes in the room were used to restrain the 7-year-old and as punishment for another child, police claim. The couple allegedly admitted to police that they locked their son in the closet and they didnt seek medical assistance for him because they were afraid of the repercussions, THV11 reported, citing police. Medical professionals called the case mental and physical torture, per the outlet. As part of our investigation, we noticed that it was not from a lack of food. Its not. There was an abundance of food in the residence, Russellville Police Chief Ewing said to the outlet. From what we understand, there was also a large sum of money in the residence. So there was no reasonable explanation that we could find why the child would be malnourished or in that condition at all, he said. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. The couple were booked into a nearby detention center on a $100,00 cash-only bond, the local outlets reported. It's not immediately clear if either suspect has entered a plea or retained an attorney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People James Stunt (centre) with Petra Ecclestone and her father Bernie in 2009. Mr Stunt was acquitted of money laundering this year - Sutton Images Barclays has been fined 42m for money-laundering failings in a case linked to Bernie Ecclestones former son-in-law. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the bank suffered multiple failings in its financial crime risk management while providing services to Stunt & Co, a gold bullion trader started by James Stunt. Mr Stunt is a London socialite and art collector who was married to Petra Ecclestone between 2011 and 2017. His business was found to be at the centre of a 266m money-laundering scheme and he was prosecuted as a result of his involvement. However, he was ultimately acquitted this year following a five-month trial at Leeds Crown Court. Four others involved in the scheme were separately convicted in March for their roles in what has been described as one of the largest money-laundering operations ever discovered in Britain. Police said the illicit funds were linked to organised crime, including drug dealing. The FCA said Barclays failed to collect sufficient information about the source of 46.8m worth of funds paid into Stunt & Cos account by another firm, Bradford jeweller Fowler Oldfield. The funds were later revealed to be the proceeds of crime. Barclays failed to monitor ongoing risks linked to Stunt & Co even after being informed that the companys offices had been raided by police, the watchdog said. Instead, the bank gave Stunt & Cos account a low-risk rating, even after it became aware of the money-laundering investigations. Barclays only reviewed its relationship with Stunt & Co after it learnt of the FCAs decision to prosecute NatWest over its links to Fowler Oldfield. NatWest was subsequently fined 264.8m in 2021. The FCA also fined Barclays for failing to properly monitor wealth management firm WealthTek, whose founder has been accused of running one of the most serious and largest frauds the City watchdog has ever investigated. John Dance, WealthTeks founder and a former DJ, has been accused of taking more than 64m from clients to fund a lavish lifestyle. This includes allegedly using funds to buy a nightclub and six racehorses including Bravemansgame, which won the King George VI Chase race at Kempton in 2022. Mr Dance faces fraud and money-laundering charges, with a court date set for September 2027. He has denied the charges. John Dance has denied taking 64m from clients to fund a lavish lifestyle - https://www.alamy.com Barclays failed to collect sufficient information about WealthTek before giving it an account, meaning it missed a notice that the FCA had blocked the wealth management company from handling client money. Therese Chambers, of the FCA, said: The consequences of poor financial crime controls are very real they allow criminals to launder the proceeds of their crimes and they allow fraudsters to defraud consumers. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Thursday offered a menu of reasons for why Jeffrey Epstein should not be a President Donald Trump problem. She blamed the media for focusing on something that she suggested wasnt important to most Americans when Trump is doing so much of such import such as meeting with foreign leaders and working to curb drug overdoses. And for those who want to focus on the supposed lack of transparency, its really the Democrats who are to blame because former President Joe Biden should have released the files, she said. But, of course, there is no transparency problem, she noted during the same press briefing, because Attorney General Pam Bondi has released all relevant information. Got it? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The multiple choice answers come as the Trump administration tries to move past a storyline that has divided the MAGA base like few others. Right-wing influencers and Trump supporters are furious over the Justice Department and FBIs decision to withhold files related to Epstein, the disgraced mega-financier who pleaded guilty in 2008 to soliciting a minor for prostitution and was facing a slew of federal sex-trafficking charges when he killed himself in jail in 2019. A Department of Justice memo last week which ruled out foul play in Epsteins death and claimed no existence of a client list further enraged MAGA world after many in Trumps orbit, including Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino, teased big revelations and spent years fanning conspiracy theories. Even as White House officials downplayed Epsteins importance to everyday Americans, the president elevated the issue when he,in a social media post on Wednesday, denounced his own base, saying he didnt want the support of people who trafficked in what he referred to as bullshit. Its not what most Americans care about The president doesnt like to see Democrats and the mainstream media covering this like its the biggest story that the American people care about, Leavitt responded to the first of nine questions about Epstein during Thursdays briefing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She pointed out that Trump on Tuesday signed the HALT Fentanyl Act, making it easier to jail and prosecute fentanyl traffickers, and chastised cable networks for not covering the signing live. She added that protecting innocent children was a top priority for the administration, which is why they are working to end gender-affirming care for minors, an issue dear to the MAGA base and one that helped the president retake the White House. The president made it a very early priority to sign very strong executive orders to cut off the funding for any hospital or any medical facility in this country that provides such barbaric procedures, she said. These are barbaric practices that no children, no child, innocent child should have to endure. And the president wants to protect the innocence of children. Its the Democrats The Democrats had control of this building, the White House, for four years, and they didnt do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes, Leavitt said. It was this president who directed the Department of Justice and the Attorney General to do an exhaustive review of all files related to Jeffrey Epstein, which they did. Trump, on social media, compared Democrats focus on Epstein to the first-term investigations surrounding Russian interference in the 2016 election, which many in the MAGA movement assert was a hoax. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its all [Democrats] have, Trump posted. They are no good at governing, no good at policy, and no good at picking winning candidates. But Trump also noted that Democrats stick together like glue, an implicit rebuke of the party he nominally controls. Conservative influencers including Megyn Kelly, Steve Bannon and Trumps daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, have called for more transparency in the Epstein case. Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday also called for the Department of Justice to release all of its information on Epstein. Leavitt had little explanation for the daylight between Johnson and Trump and declined to comment on any conversations they may have had. Trust the attorney general The Trump administration officials overseeing the review of the Epstein files are great patriots, some of the most trusted voices in the Republican party movement, Leavitt said while emphasizing that the investigation was led out of the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation, not the White House. And in response to four separate questions, Leavitt said Trump had encouraged Bondi to put forward any new credible evidence she comes across leaving open the option, and for some supporters, hope, that new information may come to light. The president believes that he directed the Department of Justice to do an exhaustive and thorough review, and they did that, and they all agreed the FBI director, the deputy FBI director, the attorney general on the memo that they drafted and they released, Leavitt said. More than 900 former Justice Department attorneys are urging the Senate Judiciary Committee to reject the nomination of Emil Bove for a lifetime judicial appointment. Bove, who previously served on President Trumps criminal defense team, is now in the No. 3 role at the Department of Justice (DOJ) and has been nominated for a judgeship on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The extraordinary outpouring came from attorneys from the Kennedy administration to the current Trump administration who pinpointed Bove as a key figure behind numerous firings and policy shifts, calling him a leader in this assault on the Justice Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emil Bove has been an architect and enforcer of many of the attacks on DOJ and its employees, said Stacey Young, executive director and founder of Justice Connection, which organized the letter. His nomination to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals sent shockwaves across DOJs workforce, and should alarm all Americans concerned about the Departments future and the survival of the rule of law. The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to consider Boves nomination Thursday, as well as that of Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to serve as a U.S. attorney. The letter runs through a string of recent controversies in which Bove has played a role. He was central in pushing the dismissal of the bribery charges brought against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, prompting a wave of resignations from members of the departments Public Integrity Section. He was behind the terminations of prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6, 2021, cases and a request to turn over a list of FBI agents who investigated riot cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also focuses on recent allegations from a DOJ whistleblower who said Bove told top department officials they may need to consider saying f you to judges who might block the administrations invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to send migrants to a Salvadoran prison. Bove has said he couldnt recall whether he used the expletive, but he told lawmakers during his confirmation hearing that he certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation. Each one of the undersigned would testify, under oath, that we have never and would never tell a Justice Department attorney to consider defying a court order. Moreover, the Justice Departments later defiance of judicial mandates in the cases where Mr. Bove previewed doing so further suggests that disregarding court orders was Mr. Boves intent all along, the letter states. Boves nomination looks poised to proceed, as Sen. Thom Tillis (N.C.), the only Republican on the panel to previously oppose a Trump nominee, has said he would follow the staff recommendation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We ask that before the Judiciary Committee votes on this nomination, you rigorously examine the actions Mr. Bove has taken at DOJ and the effects theyve had on the Departments integrity, employees, and mission-critical work, the attorneys wrote. It is intolerable to us that anyone who disgraces the Justice Department would be promoted to one of the highest courts in the land, as it should be intolerable to anyone committed to maintaining our ordered system of justice. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Yana Iskayeva As of July 17, the LGBTQ-specific branch of 988, the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, has been shut down as part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to cut spending and demolish programs devoted to diversity and inclusion. Previously, callers to the crisis line could press 3 to connect to 988 Suicide & Lifelines LGBTQ+ Youth Specialized Services, which would connect them with a counselor who was knowledgeable about issues LGBTQ youth specifically might be facing. While 988 is still available for anyone to call, this targeted service will no longer exist. Advocates are ringing alarm bells about the elimination of the specialized service, warning that LGBTQ youth will suffer tragedy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the last three years, nearly 1.5 million LGBTQ+ young people have been able to dial 988, an easily known number, to get help in a mental health crisis that option is going away. That is simply a tragedy, says Casey Pick, the Director of Law and Policy at The Trevor Project. With the closure of the 988 Lifeline, Pick and her colleagues at The Trevor Project worry about the availability of inclusive mental health support for LGBTQ+ young people. If a young person has to explain their identity that is not good crisis intervention, Pick says. 988 was launched in 2022 as an easier-to-remember continuation of the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Upon calling, people are prompted to press 1 if theyre a veteran, 2 for Spanish, and 3 if they are LGBTQ youth. According to WBUR, the original legislation that started 988 specified that people at higher risk of suicide including LGBTQ youth need specialized services. According to the Trevor Project, a suicide prevention organization the partnered with 988 to field LGBTQ youth calls, nearly 40% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in 2024. The shutdown of the LGBTQ branch comes almost exactly three years after the launch of the overall line. More than 50,000 people have signed a petition lobbying President Trump and members of Congress to save the line, to no avail. House members including Rep. Rashida Tlaib and Rep. Ted Lieu have signed a letter urging the President to scrap this ill-advised plan because our nations children deserve nothing less. Additionally, Senators Tammy Baldwin, Elizabeth Warren, Edward Markey, and Jeff Merkley slammed the decision in a statement that said, Elimination of services that help keep youth alive is reckless, and we urge you to reconsider your proposal to eliminate this lifeline. Suicide is the second leading cause of death among young people aged 10-14 and queer young people are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers. Thats not because of anything having to do with them inherently, Pick says. Its the stigma, discrimination, isolation, and all the risk factors for suicide are so heightened for LGBTQ+ people. With the heightened risk, its critical to have resources such as the 988 Lifeline that are inclusive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These youth resources make us the adults we are today. They're not extras or luxuries they're lifelines. They're the affirming spaces, the trusted adults the moments where we were told, You belong. Without them, many of us wouldn't have made it, wrote one person who signed the petition to save the lifeline. 988 saved my child's life during their mental health crisis in November. Without this invaluable resource, many youth will lose access to help in their darkest times, wrote another. A third signer put it like this: For the love of God, don't take this away. 988 has saved my life at least twice. While the loss of this service may be devastating for LGBTQ youth, there are other specialized crisis services these young people can depend on. The Trevor Project maintains their own 24/7 crisis line specifically for LGBTQ youth, and the Trans Lifeline operates crisis services for transgender callers. 988 remains available for all callers. You can find even more specialized resources here. Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue Public broadcasting outlets that air programming from PBS and NPR could soon lose federal funding that they view as crucial to their operations -- a move that critics say will affect millions of Americans who turn to them for information and emergency alerts. The House on Thursday is poised to approve an effort backed by President Donald Trump to claw back $9 billion from the federal budget -- which includes sweeping cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The rescissions bill, which Senate Republicans passed early Tuesday morning, zeros out two years' worth of funding for the CBP: $1.1 billion. CPB provides grants to local radio and television stations across the country, as well as the producers of well-known PBS and NPR programs. It's a roughly 75-25 split between public TV and radio, with most of the money going to TV. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Senate passes effort to claw back $9B from budget -- including cuts to public broadcasting and USAID NPR and PBS stations pay "dues" each year to their respective networks. As entities, NPR and PBS themselves receive relatively little of their annual revenues directly from CPB -- but they certainly do receive some. CPB's website shows some $13.5 million went to NPR in FY2024, while PBS headquarters received $77 million. Local stations will take the brunt of the hits, particularly those that largely rely on CPB for their annual funding. Many stations, particularly in larger markets, have a variety of funding sources -- corporate underwriters/donors, state legislatures/agencies and "viewers like you." Samuel Corum/Sipa USA via AP - PHOTO: The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) headquarters is seen on May 2, 2025 in Arlington, VA. Removing $1.1 billion out of public broadcasting is likely to have dramatic impacts across the system. Layoffs in newsrooms are widely feared. There could also be less new, original programming as a result. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Station and network managers -- who have yet to face a crisis of this magnitude in their sector of the media -- will be charged with deciding how to handle the cash crunch. MORE: Trump, facing MAGA uproar over Epstein files, tries to shift blame elsewhere A number of Republicans that represent states with rural communities -- such as Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mike Rounds of South Dakota -- have expressed concerns about cuts to public broadcasting that could affect the ability of certain communities to access emergency alerts over radio and television. "There is a lot of what the Corporation for Public Broadcasting does that I support, such as the 70 percent of the money that goes to the emergency fund to local stations. They maintain the emergency alert systems. They do public programming," Republican Sen. Susan Collins said earlier this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NPR's CEO Katherine Maher told CBS News that cuts to NPR would be a "real risk to the public safety of the country." Alex Brandon/AP - PHOTO: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 17, 2025, in Washington. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to Maher's comments on Thursday, saying, "I am not sure how NPR, helps the public safety of our country, but I do know that NPR, unfortunately, has become really just a propaganda voice for the left." "These are not honest news organizations. These are partisan, left-wing outlets that are funded by the taxpayers. And this administration does not believe it's a good use of the taxpayer's time and money," Leavitt said of both NPR and PBS. Democrats have hit back, saying Republicans are trying to control media voices. "This legislation is just the latest example of Republicans trying to jam their extreme right-wing ideology down the throat to the American people, which will hurt everyday Americans, and it's all ultimately in service of rewarding their billionaire donors," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said of the package. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott activated state emergency resources on Thursday as a tropical weather system threatens the Southeast and East Texas regions. The system is expected to bring heavy rains and dangerous rip currents to coastal areas in the coming days. The preemptive move mobilizes rescue teams, medical units, and monitoring agencies while the state continues recovering from recent flooding. Texas is prepared to provide all necessary resources to support local officials as a severe storm system moves along the Gulf Coast towards East and Southeast Texas and the Texas Coast, Abbott said. Texans are urged to take all necessary precautions for potential tropical weather, including monitoring forecasts and road conditions and having an emergency plan to keep themselves and their loved ones safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Hurricane Center is tracking the system as it moves across the northeastern Gulf Coast. Weather officials warn of heavy rain threats for inland areas and dangerous rip currents along beaches. Abbott directed multiple state agencies to prepare response teams. Texas A&M Task Force 1 will deploy swiftwater rescue boat squads for potential flood operations. The Texas National Guard readied high-profile vehicles to reach stranded motorists. Parks and Wildlife game wardens prepared rescue boats and helicopters with hoist capabilities. Medical teams assembled severe weather support packages with ambulances and all-terrain vehicles. The Department of Public Safety positioned helicopters and its Tactical Marine Unit for water rescues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State officials will monitor power outages, road conditions, and environmental impacts to ensure the safety and well-being of residents. The Railroad Commission will track natural gas supplies while coordinating with oil and gas operators. Emergency management officials urged Texans to monitor local forecasts and prepare emergency kits. Safety resources are available at TexasReady.gov, with beach and rip current information at weather.gov and noaa.gov. The activation comes as state resources remain deployed for ongoing flood recovery efforts. Abbott emphasized the need for continued monitoring as weather conditions develop over the next several days. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) An Abilene dad accused of making his child shoplift from Walmart has been arrested. Robert Reed Jr. has been taken into custody for Exploitation of a Child in connection to the allegations. Court documents state Reed instructed his child, who was under the age of 18, to place items into shopping bags without scanning them in the self checkout at Walmart in November 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were caught with the unscanned merchandise, and the documents state the child told her mother Reed instructed her to not scan them. Reed is also accused of assaulting asset protection officers during the investigation. He remains held in the Taylor County Jail on a $20,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. People fleeing domestic abuse who are in Jersey on work permits will be offered more support as part of a shift in government policy. In what officials described as a "significant" change, survivors can now access emergency housing and 13 weeks of financial support. It is part of Jersey's wider action plan to tackle violence against women and girls, following a landmark report published last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than half of the 77 recommendations made in that report are now under way. Previously, some individuals on short-term permits were excluded from financial aid and housing options - a gap campaigners had long criticised as leaving victims trapped in unsafe situations. Deputy Mary Le Hegarat, Minister for Justice and Home Affairs, said: "That change - guaranteeing 13 weeks' pay - is already making a significant difference." She added that 42 of the 77 action points are currently in progress, with legislative reform also high on the agenda. "We're determined to complete as many as possible by the end of the term," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The legislative changes need to be ready for debate before the next election - that's a key priority." Early intervention and training The government is also rolling out wider training for frontline workers, aimed at identifying early signs of abuse and coercive control. This includes sessions for teachers, housing staff, veterinary professionals and social services - all sectors considered well-placed to spot warning signs. "The more people trained to spot the signs, the more chance we have to intervene before abuse escalates," said Le Hegarat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Culture change must begin early, she added, highlighting a peer-led programme in schools where older students deliver sessions about healthy relationships to younger pupils. She also emphasised that sustainable funding is essential for victims to feel safe reporting abuse - and to ensure services remain in place. "This can't just be a time-limited project. Ongoing funding is essential so that victims feel safe to come forward - and know support will still be there," she said. While acknowledging that challenges remain, the government said the island's progress was "on track". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. More on this story Related internet links BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) Two Iranian LSU students who were arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have been released after nearly a month in detention, the ACLU of Louisiana announced Wednesday. The organization said Pouria Pourhosseinhendabad and Parisa Firouzabadi, a married couple, were arrested at their Baton Rouge apartment just hours after the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025. The ACLU said ICE tricked the couple using state police, pretending to investigate a hit-and-run to lure the couple outside and arrest them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the ACLU, both students were legally living in the U.S. and actively enrolled at LSU. Pouria had a valid student visa. Parisas visa expired in 2023, which the organization explained is common and usually doesnt affect studies and she could still stay enrolled. US deports immigrants from Jamaica, Cuba and other countries to the African kingdom of Eswatini The ACLU of Louisiana and RFK Human Rights filed emergency court petitions for the couple. They argued that the couples detention was unlawful and broke their constitutional rights. A federal judge said that Pouria could suffer serious harm if separated from his education, work, and personal life. The ACLU announced that due to rising legal and public pressure, the government dropped its case and released the couple on July 16, 24 days after their arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawyers said the arrests show the risks of unchecked government power. They also stressed the need for due process for everyone, no matter their immigration status. Pouria and Parisa have returned home and remain part of the LSU community, according to the ACLU. Immigration agency flexes authority to sharply expand detention without bond hearing 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. PORT CRANE, NY (WIVT/WBGH) Sip some cider and adopt a new pet this weekend to support a local non-profit dedicated to aiding animals in need. This Saturday, from noon to 6pm the Animal Care Sanctuary and New Leaf Cider Company are joining forces once again to support homeless animals across the region through its Second Chance Cider launch party. This years official Spokesdog and Spokescat, chosen through local voting, will be revealed at noon during the event and will be featured on special edition cider cans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A portion of every cider sold will benefit the Animal Care Sanctuary, helping provide shelter, care, and forever homes for animals in need. Executive Director of the Animal Care Sanctuary Terri McKendry says that the event is a great way to get the word out about homeless animals. How fun is it to have your cat or your dog on this cider thats going to be for sale now through the rest of the year, its a really fun thing to do, people love to talk about their cats and dogs, so what a better way to get people talking and you know get some excitement going, and to help animals that are not as fortunate, as of yet, who do not have their forever homes yet, he said. There will be live music performances by local artists Matt Cornwell and Kevin Ludwig. So far, over 85 hundred dollars have been raised to aid the sanctuary. During the event, participants will also have a chance to meet adoptable dogs from the sanctuary and make a donation of their own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34. The Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale of the Reformed Church of Highland Park explains how a network of immigrant advocacy groups responded to an ICE raid in Edison on July 8. (Sophie Nieto-Munoz | New Jersey Monitor) HIGHLAND PARK Immigration advocates gathered in this Middlesex County borough on Wednesday said they want Gov. Phil Murphy to condemn the Trump administrations escalating detention and deportation tactics after as many as 25 workers were arrested by federal immigration authorities in Edison last week. Standing in front of the Reformed Church of Highland Park, activists told stories of traumatized coworkers, family members unable to see loved ones after being turned away at detention centers, and frightened workers scared to return to their jobs. Nearly 100 people attended the rally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Twenty-five people from our community are missing. Guadalupe didnt open the church this weekend. Hector was not there with his family having dinner with them, said Heidi Torres of Movimiento Cosecha. I want all of us to fight because when these raids happen and people are detained, there are not many options for them to get out, so we need a movement. We need elected officials. A network of organizations including New Labor, Movimiento Cosecha, and Resistencia en Accion responded to an immigration raid at the Alba Wine and Spirits warehouse in the Heller Industrial Park in Edison on July 8. The 300,000-square-foot warehouse is regularly inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, but activists said on this day, those agents arrived with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. Amanda Dominguez, a community organizer with New Labor, said people were separated into groups and either provided red wristbands if they were safe or zip-tied and taken away in vans. Dozens of federal agents vans and trucks blocked access to families and lawyers, she added. Jorge Torres, an organizer with National Day Laborer Organizing Network, said reports of similar raids have escalated in recent weeks, particularly outside of Home Depots, 7-Elevens, and other places where day laborers often congregate looking for work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Rev. Seth Kaper-Dale, co-pastor of the church, said he would no longer call New Jersey a sanctuary state. Kaper-Dale said it was fantastic when the state put a directive in place limiting local law enforcements cooperation in civil immigration investigations, but the current state of immigration enforcement in New Jersey makes him question how strong the states policies are. Kaper-Dales church has offered sanctuary to undocumented immigrants for months at a time. He said that made sense in a time when locations like churches, schools, and hospitals were generally off-limits to immigration authorities. Sanctuary is going to have to become less about singular locations being sanctuary, and something thats more about full-blow efforts of safety, he said. Sanctuary is going to have to be more creative now. Charlene Walker of Faith in New Jersey said Murphy, a Democrat, has remained silent for too long. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has been as quiet as a church mouse, acting as though he has no say and theres nothing he can do, Walker said. Murphy addressed the Edison raid after an unrelated press conference last week. Obviously, Ive said time and time again, we dont pursue that model, he said. We dont stand in the way of federal authorities doing their work and cooperating with them all the time. But beyond that, I have no insight into the Edison situation. Kaper-Dale said he wants Murphy to issue statements with a heart and spine. No word like, Were horrified that the residents of New Jersey had their families broken up. Were horrified that workplaces have become places of assault and abuse by white masked men. Not one word of heart was there, and the spine is not there at all, Kaper-Dale said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governors office declined to comment further. Murphy faces his own troubles related to immigration. The New York Times reported last week that he has been subpoenaed over comments he made in February suggesting he would hide a migrant in his home and shield her from immigration authorities. Murphy has declined to comment on the report. Advocates believe the July 8 raid was the largest sweep of New Jersey migrants picked up by immigration officials since President Donald Trump retook office in January and ramped up deportation efforts. Its unclear where they are being held, though advocates said they have accounted for some workers at Delaney Hall in Newark and the Elizabeth Detention Center. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed the arrest of 20 people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine law enforcements efforts. Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability. These operations target illegal employment networks that undermine American workers, destabilize labor markets and expose critical infrastructure to exploitation, she said in a statement. Alba Wine and Spirits did not answer a call placed to the warehouse. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX By Melanie Burton and Ellen Zhang MELBOURNE/BEIJING (Reuters) -Major miner BHP said it is too costly for Australia to build a "green iron" industry, even after the country and China agreed this week to jointly work to decarbonise the steel supply chain, responsible for nearly a tenth of global emissions. BHP Australia chief Geraldine Slattery, who attended a session on green steel in China this week alongside Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Australian miners and Chinese steelmakers, said that costs to produce the low-carbon steel product "simply do not stack up". "Even with generous policy support, the cost of production (in Australia) would be double that of the Middle East and China and customers many thousands of kilometres away," Slattery said in a LinkedIn post late on Tuesday. Slattery and leaders from other major iron ore miners, including Fortescue Metals Group, accompanied Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to China this week, where he said the two countries should cooperate more closely on decarbonisation. The subsequent lack of enthusiasm from the world's biggest miner, which said its strategy was "not to produce green iron ore or steel ourselves", is a reality check for Australia's ambitions. In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday in Beijing, Fortescue founder Andrew Forrest asked why Slattery attended the meeting, given her view on green iron. "All I know is that the customer wants green iron ore," he said. "The Pilbara is in a position to produce green iron ore and therefore must, to maintain its huge value to the Chinese people," referring to Australia's main iron ore mining area. EFFORTS TO DIVERSIFY Australia supplies about 60% of China's iron ore needs but its supply is too low-grade to be directly processed into steel with renewable energy, so it needs an additional processing step. When this is undertaken with hydrogen made from renewable energy or with biomass instead of coal, the product is called green iron, a low-carbon base for making green steel. Such processes are not expected to become commercial until next decade. Australia has been striving to develop a minerals processing industry to diversify from its raw material exports that bring in around A$370 billion ($242 billion) a year, but high power prices and labour costs have limited progress. In February the government allocated A$1 billion to support the manufacture of green iron and its supply chains. BHP, Rio Tinto and Bluescope Steel agreed in December to work on developing a pilot plant to produce low-carbon iron using renewable power and direct reduced iron technology in an electric smelting furnace, with a potential start date of 2028. Discovery in the civil sexual assault suit against Mayor Adams has hit a snag as his lawyers say they cant produce his NYPD employment records because they were destroyed in Hurricane Sandy more than a decade ago. Adams accuser, former city Transit Police administrative aide Lorna Beach-Mathura, has been seeking his NYPD personnel file as part of her Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit against him, filed in March 2024. The records, she has argued, will substantiate that she and Adams worked at the same police command in Brooklyn around the time she claims he sexually assaulted her in 1993, an accusation the mayor vehemently denies. But late this spring, Adams Law Department attorneys sent Beach-Mathuras legal team a letter saying the mayors employment file was destroyed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the exception of a personnel assignment record all physical personnel records and employment folders maintained for Defendant Adams were destroyed when the Kingsland Avenue warehouse suffered extensive damage from flooding during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, Maxwell Leighton, an assistant corporation counsel at the Law Department, wrote in the May 15 letter, which was made public on the court docket Thursday. The Kingsland Ave. warehouse is in Greenpoint, and news reports from 2012 confirm the facility suffered damage when the Newtown Creek flooded during the devastating hurricane, contaminating hundreds of drums of police records. But Megan Goddard, Beach-Mathuras attorney, said she found it odd Adams attorneys are only now providing this explanation. We were surprised to learn, only on May 15, 2025, and 11 months after we first requested them, that Defendants now claim Eric Adamss physical personnel file was destroyed during the 2012 flooding of the Kingsland Avenue warehouse, she told the Daily News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This alleged loss was never mentioned in any prior response, letter, or conversation, not even when we specifically raised the issue in our original discovery requests or our deficiency letter, Goddard continued. Eric Adams became mayor nearly four years ago, and we have to ask: when did the City actually learn that these records were allegedly destroyed? A Law Department spokesman said the agency wasnt informed by the NYPD until this past May that the mayors records had been destroyed in 2012. Problems at NYPD storage facilities were raised in a lawsuit filed this week by Tom Donlon, Adams former interim NYPD commissioner, who alleged the departments record-keeping practices at its warehouses have been extremely sloppy. I heard that one was a mess, Donlon, whose lawsuit accuses Adams of abetting corruption and cronyism, told The News of the Kingsland Ave. facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a letter also released on the court docket Thursday, Beach-Mathura complained that Adams and the NYPD have engaged in willful obstruction of discovery in her clients case, producing nearly no records in response to repeated requests. Beach-Mathura asked the court to schedule a discovery conference to address the matter. In her suit, Beach-Mathura, whos seeking at least $5 million in damages, alleges Adams tried to force her to perform oral sex on him in his car after he picked her up at the end of a shift to talk about a workplace issue. When she refused, she alleges Adams masturbated and ejaculated on her leg before dropping her off at a subway stop. Adams has strongly denied the accusations, saying he cant recall ever even meeting Beach-Mathura. Earlier this year, The News first reported that Beach-Mathura, who now lives in Florida, has filed for personal bankruptcy as she pursues the suit against the mayor. The suit also names the NYPD, the city and a police department fraternal organization Adams used to lead as defendants. With Graham Rayman The CEO of an advocacy group said his organization turned down an offer that he said would have been worth around $20 million to help recruit for a national rally against President Donald Trump . "Interests aligned with the organizers of the July 17th movement have approached us and, in fact, we rejected an offer that probably is worth around $20 million dollars," Adam Swart , the CEO and founder of Crowds on Demand, told NewsNations Brian Entin in an interview that aired on Tuesday. On Thursday, protests around the country are being planned against Trump, spearheaded by Good Trouble Lives On , a group that calls itself a peaceful and nonviolent protest and social change organization. They are planning to oppose Trump and what they call on their website "the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The protests planned for Thursday also take place on the fifth anniversary of the death of former Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a civil rights leader who routinely referred to protests as "good trouble." Asra Nomani: The $2.1 Billion Machine Behind 'Spontaneous' Anti-trump Protests On Thursday, the group, Good Trouble Lives On, which calls itself a peaceful and nonviolent protest and social change organization, is planning protests around the country to protest Trump and what they call on their website "the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations." Swart said Crowds on Demand a company based in California that specializes in providing on-demand crowds for protests rejected the offer because they didnt think protests like the ones Good Trouble Lives On is hosting on Thursday would be effective. Read On The Fox News App "I mean this is a nationwide thing, right? Its not to say I would have made 20 million dollars personally, but the value of the contract would have been worth around that amount nationwide to organize huge demonstrations around the country," Swart said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "But personally, I just dont think its effective," he added. "So its not, Im not trying to call myself virtuous for rejecting it. What Im saying is, Im saying Im rejecting it, not because I dont want to take the business, but because, frankly, this is going to be ineffective. Its going to make us all look bad." Anti-ice Riot Funding Investigated After Numerous High Budget Requests For Paid Agitators Were Reported The Thursday protests, which are happening with at least 1,500 events across the country, also take place on the fifth anniversary of the death of former U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. "President Trumps America is so successful that blue-haired basement dwellers are paid to stage fake protests against the administrations remarkable achievements," Harrison Fields, special assistant to the President and principal deputy press secretary, said in a statement to Fox News Digital. "Paid agitators should find real jobs instead of selling out for gift cards and meager paychecks that aim to divide the nation and obstruct Americas greatest comeback. Nothing screams a party in disarray more than one that clearly lacks organic support and is forced to astroturf everything." Left-wing riots in Los Angeles resulting in violence, including the burning of the American flag and the assault of law enforcement officers, as well as the "No Kings Day" protests across the country, have recently made headlines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture Riots in Los Angeles resulting in violence, including the burning of the American flag and the assault of law enforcement officers, recently made headlines. Fox News Digital reached out to Swart for comment but did not immediately receive a response. Original article source: Advocacy group CEO claims he was offered $20 million to recruit protesters for anti-Trump demonstrations ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Thursday marks five years since Congressman John Lewis died. To honor his legacy, advocates took to the streets of Rochester to spread their message to wake people up. Young Congressman John Lewis gave a speech on March 7, 1965, in Selma, Alabama, where hundreds of demonstrators gathered to demand the right to vote. His message of Good Trouble lives on with advocates like Bill Schubert. We are out here promoting that legacy for civil rights. The constitution does say due process for all, said Schubert, a group leader with Indivisible Westside Monroe County. From 1959 up until the moment he died, he was there in the fight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advocates came out to the Ames Street overpass in honor of John Lewis, Good Trouble Lives On Day. Civil disobedience to a certain level, we are out here, this is good trouble,' said Schubert. Following his speech in Selma, the group walked six blocks to Broad Street and across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where there were over 50 state troopers and dozens of officers on horseback. When the demonstrators refused to turn back, they were brutally beaten the day is known as Bloody Sunday. Lewis has a unique connection to Rochester. Sister Barbara Lum of Saint Joseph was a volunteer in a hospital in Selma. The same hospital that Lewis was brought to after the attack. And his connection to the region lives on through people like Schubert. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youll see some of our signs relate directly to the Constitution. The Constitution is being attacked, ignored, and otherwise just trampled on, said Schubert. In August of that same year as Bloody Sunday, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law, which outlawed discriminatory practices like literacy tests as a prerequisite to vote. For advocates like Schubert, though, its all about getting people to listen. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. A recreational marijuana smoker indulges in smoking weed on April 14, 2020 in the Bushwick section of the Brooklyn borough of New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) This story was updated on July 18, 2025 at 12:29 a.m. to correct the spelling of Jon Caulkins name. Cannabis legalization is sparking a big debate in Harrisburg. In less than two weeks, three sets of lawmakers, including members of both parties, have proposed legislation that would legalize recreational marijuana in Pennsylvania. The discussion follows on the heels of a Democratic-led effort in May that passed the state House before being rejected in the Republican-controlled Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The moves come as lawmakers push further past their June 30 deadline to deliver a state budget, and the commonwealth faces a deficit. That is unless legislators cut services or find new revenue. But, Senate Majority Leader Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) has said its unlikely legal cannabis emerges as part of a final budget deal. As a heavily regulated industry, any cannabis bill ultimately signed into law could significantly shape the business landscape in Pennsylvania, and determine who stands to benefit from it. For some, its a chance to help disproportionately impacted communities rebuild after years of disinvestment and incarceration. A 2020 study conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union found Black Pennsylvanians were more than three times as likely as whites to be charged for cannabis-related crimes, despite surveys reporting roughly the same rate of use of the drug. A view of the Pennsylvania state Capitol building from State Street in Harrisburg. (Tim Lambert/Pennsylvania Capital-Star). For others, the nascent cannabis industry is an opportunity for small business owners to get into one of the fastest-growing industries globally while its still in its early days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both arguments have been central to a series of pro-legalization pushes in Harrisburg over the last year, echoed by the industry, lawmakers and grassroots advocates. Legalizing adult-use cannabis is no longer just a smart option its a fiscal and moral necessity, said Brit Crampsie, a spokesperson for the cannabis industry trade group Responsible PA, following the introduction of a bipartisan bill in the state Senate. Pennsylvania is staring down a massive budget shortfall, and this legislation offers a real solution: new revenue, safer communities, support for small businesses and long-overdue justice. Lawmakers must act now. Rep. Emily Kinkead (D-Allegheny), the Democratic sponsor of a bipartisan House bill said in a statement, were talking about creating thousands of jobs, generating billions in revenue, and reinvesting in our communities. But Pennsylvanias medical cannabis market is already dominated by so-called multi-state operators, many of which are among the largest cannabis companies in the country. Looking at Pennsylvanias most recent proposals, its unclear if their impacts can measure up to the lofty promises made by proponents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX In the weed(s) on permitting When New Jersey legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, Tahir Johnson, 41, was ecstatic. The bill signed into law was intended to help people like him, who had previous cannabis charges, enter the legal market on the ground floor. And he already had dreams of running a dispensary in his hometown of Trenton. Johnson, who had a background in finance and was working in Marylands nascent cannabis industry, was one of the first 11 candidates to have a dispensary license approved through New Jerseys equity licensing program. The initiative created a priority application process for people with cannabis convictions or from economically disadvantaged communities. Johnson checked both boxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It allowed me to raise capital, get a good location and all those things, Johnson said of the states equity program. But it didnt take long for road blocks to arise. First, there was the problem of financing. Most major banks are hesitant to give out loans to cannabis businesses because its still federally illegal. Then, there were local regulators. By the time his dispensary finally opened last year, more than two years after he first received his license, the market was dominated by vertically-integrated cannabis companies with more financing and experience after making millions in other states. While his business is growing and about to hit its one-year anniversary, Johnson believes hes one of the lucky ones, and that many would-be entrepreneurs like him were simply locked out of the market. But despite the setbacks he faced, he believes theres a lot that Pennsylvania can learn from New Jersey, for better and for worse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a 2025 report, while 17% of cannabis-related business licenses in New Jersey have gone to majority-Black owned businesses, only 10% of the states dispensaries are Black-owned. That number is higher than many other states with legal cannabis programs, including those that have attempted to institute equity programs. Its also double the national rate, where less than 5% of cannabis business owners identify as Black. Looking at the current proposals in Pennsylvania, Johnson took issue with the approach to social equity in Senate Bill 120, which was introduced last week by Sens. Dan Laughlin (R-Erie) and Sharif Street (D-Philadelphia). Rep. Amen Brown (D-Philadelphia) announced plans to introduce an identical bill in the state House. Street, the bills primary Democratic champion in the Senate, said social equity through investment in communities hit hardest by prohibition is one of the guiding principles behind the legislation. Though these measures are exactly where Johnson and other advocates for minority participation in the cannabis industry say it falls short. The measure sets aside 15 dedicated business licenses in the first year for businesses owned by Pennsylvanians from what it calls disproportionately impacted areas. Those are defined by poverty rates and economic indicators, like how many families receive food assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Small businesses owned primarily by people from these areas would have to pay a $50,000 non-refundable fee in order to apply for a business license half the price non-qualifying businesses would be charged. In order to have an application approved, theyd also have to show that they either own or control the real estate where they plan to open their dispensary. Because of how New Jerseys law was written, Johnson didnt have to put up money or buy property before his business application could be approved. If hed had to meet the requirements set out in Senate Bill 120, Johnson isnt sure he would have been able to get to where he is. There may be some folks who have $50,000, but I think the people that theyre intending to help will not, he said. I think setting that high of a barrier also opens those people up to predatory businesses, where you may have some people who have sold their whole business just to get the funds for their application. Johnson also took issue with Senate Bill 120s approach to licensing for existing medical dispensaries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An analysis of state Department of Health data shows that nearly all of the 190 licensed medical dispensaries currently selling cannabis in Pennsylvania are owned by multi-state organizations, including some of the countrys largest cannabis companies Companies like Cresco Labs, Curaleaf and Green Thumb Industries, which all own multiple medical dispensaries in the state, have a hand in growing, manufacturing and selling marijuana products, and have market caps over a billion dollars. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE With cannabis federally illegal, even large companies generally have to grow cannabis in the states they sell it. If that were to change, however, cultivation could be consolidated in a handful of locations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Bill 120 would allow those companies to apply for permits to convert their medical dispensaries for recreational sale, and let their parent companies open up to 24 locations in Pennsylvania. Johnson worries that small business owners wont be able to get dispensaries off the ground until the states recreational cannabis market is dominated by the companies that already control the medical market. When he first received one of the first licenses, 12 medical operations run by multi-state companies were allowed to begin recreational sales. By the time he was able to open his small business, they had dozens of locations. That was the biggest thing thats really impacted my trajectory, Johnson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Street defended his bills approach, noting it allows the state to offer low-interest loans and grants to qualifying entrepreneurs. The proposal does not clarify whether those state-backed, low- or zero-interest loans could be used on a business application itself or a real estate purchase for a business that hasnt received a license. But a spokesperson for Laughlin said its something the state could decide to allow if its necessary. We wanted to be able to create opportunities for a disadvantaged community, Street said. Rep. Amen Brown (D-Philadelphia), who announced plans to introduce an identical bill in the House Wednesday, acknowledged there were shortcomings in the measures approach to social equity for would-be business owners. However, he said any legalization bill has to pass the Republican-controlled Senate. If no proposal passes, that means no small business opportunities for anyone. And, maybe more importantly, it would mean no expungement of cannabis charges and no new revenue for the state, which is facing spending cuts. You cant go so far to where you turn folks off, he said. I support our bill because we believe its a fair piece that Senate Republicans can agree to. House Bill 120, introduced this week by Kinkead and Rep. Abby Major (R-Armstrong), takes a similar, but slightly different approach to equity. It sets aside 60 so-called equity licenses for people from areas most impacted by prohibition. What counts as a disproportionately impacted area will be left up to a new cannabis board made up of appointees, but the measure suggests considering the relative rate of cannabis arrests and charges. These licenses could also go to businesses owned by veterans or with 75% control by people who have been arrested for non-violent cannabis charges or have family who have. Application fees would be waived for these businesses and, unlike anyone else applying for a dispensary license, they would only have to prove they have an option to buy or lease the real estate where they plan to operate. That would significantly lower the initial investment for qualifying business owners. The first licenses that go out are for social equity, Kinkead said. And she stressed that the bill, like others, would establish a clean slate program for people with existing cannabis charges. The bill would also allow existing medical dispensaries to apply to become recreational sellers, but they couldnt expand beyond their existing locations on the same license. Major, the bills Republican co-sponsor, acknowledged that some of the differences in approach may come down to the caucuses that the bills lead sponsors belong to in their respective chambers. Were just trying to get it done, whatever that path looks like, she said. The state store approach A third approach to legalizing cannabis narrowly passed the Democratic-controlled House on party lines in May, before facing bipartisan rejection in a Senate subcommittee. It would have seen cannabis sold in state stores, like liquor, effectively eliminating private dispensaries from the picture. The bill faced strong pushback from the states medical cannabis industry. It was also greeted with skepticism by grassroots advocates, who say any legalization bill must include support for entrepreneurs most affected by policies dating back to the war on drugs era. Im totally opposed to a state store model because of the limitations it presents for equity and small, independent businesses, said Cherron Perry-Thomas, founder of the Diasporic Alliance for Cannabis Opportunities, an organization that promotes Black participation in the cannabis industry. Perry-Thomas also stressed that, even though she finds Street and Laughlins bill a step forward, ideally a bill establishing a private store model should include broader support for business owners impacted by the war on drugs. But the state store bills sponsors, Reps. Dan Frankel (D-Allegheny) and Rick Krajewski (D-Philadelphia), emphasized it would also have provided opportunities for small businesses owners to grow and deliver cannabis, or to establish marijuana lounges and bars. Frankel said that, in states that have already legalized, small businesses that grow cannabis or manufacture products like edibles have had a hard time competing with national companies, or even getting their products on the shelves at some of the larger chain dispensaries. State stores, he said, would be able to purchase and feature products grown and manufactured by small Pennsylvania businesses, and could set minimum prices that would allow them to be more competitive. Its really to create the basis for a market that would allow Pennsylvania farmers, growers and processors to have the opportunity to sell their products, Frankel said. The multi-state operators, we saw with what theyve done in other states. No one could get products on the shelves of their dispensaries. But, Sen. Street took issue with the state store approach. Its far more expensive to start a grower/processor business than it is to start up a dispensary, he said. And if the government owns all the dispensaries, youve pretty much eliminated most of the meaningful opportunities for small business owners, whether they be Black, white or whoever. Ultimately, expanding the powers of the state Liquor Control Board and establishing a new set of state stores proved politically unpopular among lawmakers, who rejected the idea, and the public, according to a cannabis industry-backed poll. Identify goals and work backwards Beau Kilmer, the director of drug policy at the non partisan think tank, RAND Institute, said the focus on legalization as an opportunity for small cannabis businesses may be misguided. If one of your primary goals is to potentially build wealth in certain communities, it might make more sense to make a state store model and then designate some of that money into incubators to help those people start other businesses, Kilmer said Thats in part because of the volatility of the industry itself. In many states that have legalized, cannabis prices have rapidly dropped, making it harder and harder for smaller businesses to survive. Jon Caulkins, a professor at Carnegie Mellons Heinz College of Public Policy, who consulted the sponsors of the state store bill, frequently used the word roadkill to describe what has happened to small businesses as the industry has consolidated. This emphasis on the little guys is a little like King Canute trying to sweep back the ocean, Caulkins said. The idea that [legalization is] going to lead to comfortable retirements for a lot of people who would otherwise be poor is just naive for lawmakers who believe that, and its disingenuous for the industry. He pointed to states like California and Colorado, among the first to legalize recreational cannabis. Theyve seen their markets dominated by large, vertically-integrated and private equity-backed cannabis companies. The dominant story now is people who put their lifes savings into investing in this business are going bankrupt, Caulkins said. For both Kilmer and Caulkins, none of that is to say lawmakers shouldnt legalize cannabis, but they emphasized lawmakers should consider their ultimate goals and work backwards. Both stressed there are other ways to help communities that have seen a disproportionate number of cannabis arrests. That includes expunging previous cannabis charges, which all three recent proposals provide for on some level. From the general public policy perspective, the meat and potatoes and the guts of the policy proposal matter way more, Caulkins said, referring to the emphasis on opportunities for small business. If we look at the part of legalization that may eliminate criminal records of people who have been convicted in the past of cannabis violations in Pennsylvania, thats gonna benefit tens of thousands of people. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A parent-led education advocacy group in South-Central El Paso is raising concerns about school capacity just weeks before the new school year begins. Borderland group says EPISDs redesign failing barrio schools Familias Unidas por la Educacion says hundreds of new students could be enrolling at neighborhood schools like Douglass, Guillen, and Bowie High, as families begin moving into the newly reopened Salazar Park Apartments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group says those campuses are already overcrowded and understaffed; theyre calling for action before the first day of class. We already have overcrowding at Douglass. Now that Salazar is reopening and Zavala is closed, those kids will be going in that direction too, Cemelli de Aztlan with Familias Unidas said. The Salazar Park Apartments reopened earlier this year following major renovations. The complex had been closed after a 2023 fire and now includes nearly 300 units designed for larger families. In addition to the apartment complex reopening, the group points to the permanent closure of Zavala Elementary, which is relocating students to nearby campuses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aztlan says the group has been warning about capacity issues for years and is now calling for a portion of new state funding intended for at-risk and high-needs students to be invested directly into South-Central schools. The state just created additional resources specifically for at-risk, high needs students. And were demanding that money comes targeted into the Bowie feeder pattern, Aztlan said. The group is also asking the El Paso Independent School District to follow through on previous equity commitments and to consider reopening Beall Elementary, which the district closed in 2019. The El Paso Independent School District sent a statement to KTSM: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement El Paso ISD remains committed to providing equitable access to high-quality education for every student. We understand and respect the voices of our families and community members, and we are always open to feedback and dialogue that helps us better serve our students. Every year, the district works diligently to ensure that all campuses are fully staffed with certified teachers, counselors, and support personnel. Familias Unidas is organizing a school registration event outside the former Beall campus at 6 p.m. on Thursday, July 17, to help local families get their children enrolled in school. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. State officials and housing advocates shared success stories and the challenges the state faces to meet the need for more attainable affordable housing for veterans during a roundtable Thursday. Success and challenges shared at vets housing roundtable Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester and center, hosted a roundtable on how to build more housing for veterans. Joining him on the dais were from left Rob Dapice, executive director of New Hampshire Housing, Brent Fisher with the state Department of Military Affairs and Veteran Services, Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, and Allen Aldenberg, the chief military and veterans' officer with Easterseals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rob Dapice, executive director and chief executive officer with New Hampshire Housing, said 60% of veterans make less than $100,000, 30% make less than $50,000 and 5% are below the federal poverty level. Meanwhile, anyone wanting to buy a median-priced home at $560,000 in the state needs to earn $173,500 a year. The need is dramatic to create more housing opportunities for veterans, said Dapice at the event hosted by Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester, at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College. N.H. Housing saw the barriers firsthand in supporting the conversion of a single-family home in downtown Kingston into six units for veterans with shared common space, Dapice said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This could go into every small town in New Hampshire, Dapice said. The developers went through a ringer to make that property a reality. Why was it so hard and why did it have to be so hard? Stephen said creating a single place for all veterans to start seeking housing help would be a good start. There are a lot of good things happening, but we can and need to do more to make housing attainable for those who have sacrificed so much for us, Stephen said. "Having a single access point would help." Mike Lopez, a former alderman and past president of the Manchester Veterans Council, said hes worked with veterans who havent gotten enough follow up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is a problem someplace. I have had veterans who contacted 211 (help line) and they dont even take the individuals name down, Lopez said. Eric Anthony, the acting commandant of the Marine Corps League had his own anecdote. I have spoken with a Navy submariner living on retirement and is close to falling behind on their rent. Who do I have him call? Anthony asked. Vets campus looks to be a national model Brent Fraser, director of the Division of Community Based Programs for the New Hampshire Department of Military Affairs and Veteran Services, volunteered his agency often is the answer. There are a lot of resources out there but how do we get the word out so that veterans get the help they need in navigating through the system to get services? Fraser asked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fraser said on any given day in New Hampshire about 150 veterans are homeless. Most veterans in the state are doing well, but there are still some who require a little help, Fraser said. The Military and Veterans Campus under construction in Franklin by Easterseals is the biggest new opportunity for veterans to get more housing. Former Gov. Chris Sununu made the project a reality during his last year in office. What we are doing here is to bring everything together in one location that will be a model for the country, said Allen Aldenberg, the nonprofits chief military and veterans officer. The facility will include 29 apartments that have already been reserved, a retreat center with 22 hotel-style units, a conference center, recreation and equine center, and aquatic and fitness center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve got veterans from 30 years old to 81, the stories would warm your heart, said Aldenberg, the former Manchester police chief. Other highlighted projects include the conversion of the former Manchester Police station to a 30-unit complex for veterans and Boulder Point in Plymouth, which offers 25 one-bedroom apartments for homeless veterans. Dapice also spoke of an income-eligibility based housing voucher program for veterans that New Hampshire Housing has deployed. It has served 215 veterans and has another 51 pending commitments. Executive Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, a Marine Corps combat veteran, said understanding the unique needs of former soldiers is critical. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Veterans are different. Their life experiences are different. Its important those providing services understand a little more about the veteran culture and the military culture, Kenney said. klandrigan@unionleader.com As programs created to support America's Afghan allies are increasingly shuttered, about 1,500 Afghans remain on U.S. base Camp As Sayliyah (CAS) in Doha, Qatar, uncertain about their futures. Around 1,200 CAS residents are waiting for processing through the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP), which has been suspended by executive order since January 20. The International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP) has attempted to enforce the resumption of the program through Pacito v. Trump. The government has fought the case strenuously, including with its most recent argument that refugees are included in their travel ban. On July 14, however, Judge Jamal Whitehead ordered the government to resume processing USRAP cases for Afghans at CAS within 14 days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senior Staff Attorney at IRAP Mevlude Akay Alp, said "the court rejected the government's attempts to undermine its order to process refugees, including Afghans." Acknowledging the likely legal battles ahead, Alp added that "the government is obligated to process Afghans at CAS, and IRAP stands ready to fight back against any further attempts to abdicate its responsibility to protect Afghan refugees." These ever-changing circumstances weigh heavily on Afghans in the USRAP program. Multiple CAS residents and American volunteers confirm that last week, USRAP applicants held several days of peaceful demonstrations to protest the lack of information about their futures. Individuals who spoke on condition of anonymity said that U.S. government officials responded to the protest by telling residents that CAS will close on September 28 and that refugee resettlement is not an option due to the travel ban. Two CAS residents said that Afghans on base have been encouraged to return to their country. Families who choose to self-deport are reportedly being praised for making a "smart" decision. One resident said that officials promised to extend Afghans' visas if they were instructed to do so, but noted that when extensions are no longer possible, residents "will definitely be returned to Afghanistan." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, a nonprofit organization supporting Afghans seeking relocation and resettlement, said that U.S. leaders are treating Afghans at CAS "like a public relations problem. This isn't just a policy failure. It's a moral failure," VanDiver said. "And those responsible know exactly what they're doing." Multiple CAS residents and family members told me about the hopelessness USRAP applicants feel on base, using aliases given the danger they face if they are returned to Afghanistan. Frozan qualified for the USRAP through her work as an attorney involved in divorce, separation, alimony, custody, and criminal cases. She says the Taliban have threatened her by phone and in writing because she "succeeded in saving [a Taliban member's] wife from the hands of [a] tyrant" by granting her a divorce. Frozan is happy about conditions in Qatar, but said it would be "very dangerous" for her to return to her homeland. She explained that a female colleague was kidnapped, gang-raped, and murdered at the beginning of the Taliban regime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Nothing is possible in Afghanistan," Frozan said, explaining there is "no government, no voice, no freedom." Khalid was a combat interpreter for the U.S. Marines in 2009 when he was severely wounded in an improvised explosive device explosion in southern Afghanistan. After his recovery, he spent five more years interpreting for U.S. forces in Kabul before receiving his Special Immigrant Visa, moving to the United States, and enlisting in the Army. Now a U.S. citizen, Khalid spent the years following his service as a Defense Department contractor, working inside Afghanistan until America's August 2021 withdrawal, when he was evacuated through Hamid Karzai International Airport. Khalid's family, endangered due to the notoriety some members held in the prior Afghan government, was unable to reach the airfield. For three years, they were "moving from one location to the other" while the Taliban hunted them. Help came when Khalid's family was evacuated to Qatar in 2024 through the USRAP program. Khalid said his family was "through all the process, all the vetting, screening" and were "waiting on final clearance for flight" when the USRAP was suspended. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The idea that the families of U.S. veterans could be returned to Afghanistan is "actually heartbreaking," Khalid said. "The prospect of them being sent back is just a nightmare I cannot deal with." Najib qualifies for the USRAP through a family member who was a vital asset for the development of the Afghan military. Prior to arriving in Qatar, Najib said the Taliban came to the family's home multiple times asking for his family member's location. "We [were] just scared," he explained. Though Najib has been at CAS for nearly a year, the U.S. government has yet to evacuate his most endangered family member to safety. Najib reports that his processing was complete and his travel to the U.S. was nearly scheduled when the government said that they would not move him without his left-behind family member. "We are under serious mental and emotional pressure here. We have no criticism of the U.S. governmenton the contrary, we are truly thankful. However, we are deeply afraid of the possibility of being returned to Afghanistan. If the camp is closed, we fear to be handed over to the Qatari police and deported." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If he is returned to his country, Najib said that his "life also goes back like 20 years." The post Afghan Allies Under Pressure to Self-Deport: Voices from Camp As Sayliyah appeared first on Reason.com. The details of more than 100 Britons, including spies and special forces personnel, were included in a massive data breach involving thousands of Afghans, UK media reported on Thursday. The information was included in the mistakenly released spreadsheet, British newspapers reported, citing unnamed defence sources. The leak was only revealed to the public earlier this week after a news blackout imposed by the previous Conservative government was finally lifted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's longstanding policy of successive governments to not comment on Special Forces," a ministry of defence spokesperson said in a statement. "We take the security of our personnel very seriously and personnel, particularly those in sensitive positions, always have appropriate measures in place to protect their security." But reports in the British media, including the Guardian newspaper and the BBC, said members of Britain's intelligence service and special forces were among those listed on the spreadsheet. Britain's government disclosed on Tuesday that a UK official had accidentally leaked a document containing the names and details of almost 19,000 Afghans who had asked to be relocated to the UK. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It happened in February 2022, just six months after Taliban fighters seized Kabul, Labour's Defence Secretary John Healey told parliament. The breach and the resettlement plan to protect those involved from potential repercussions only came to light after a court-issued super-gag was lifted. The nearly two-year-long court ban secured by the previous Conservative government prevented any media reporting of the leak. In addition, parliament was not briefed and there was no public knowledge of the resettlement plan and the costs involved. Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that Tory ministers have "serious questions to answer" over the secret resettlement plan while parliamentary Speaker Lindsay Hoyle said that the affair raised "significant constitutional issues". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some 900 Afghans and 3,600 family members have since been brought to Britain or are in transit under the programme known as the Afghan Response Route, at a cost of around 400 million ($535 million), Healey said. Applications from 600 more people have also been accepted, bringing the estimated total cost of the scheme to 850 million. They are among some 36,000 Afghans who have been accepted by Britain under different schemes since the August 2021 fall of Kabul. pdh/bc AFTON, Okla. Former Afton Mayor Kristi McChurin has resigned from the Afton Board of Trustees, citing a lack of transparency in the towns business activities. The resignation is effective immediately. In the June Board of Trustees meeting, staff accountant Amanda Turk was dismissed by a narrow 3-2 vote, and Lee Asom of Ochelata was hired as town administrator at a pay of $250 a day with a 120-day probationary period without benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation agents served a search warrant at Afton Town Hall in December 2023. At that time, Hunter McKee, agency spokesman, said the search warrant concerned financial irregularities. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) United States Attorney General Pam Bondi toured Alcatraz in the San Francisco Bay Thursday as the Trump Administration continues to float the outlandish plan of reopening the island as a federal prison. The AG along with Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum were seen traveling on a Coast Guard vessel from Sausalito to Alcatraz and back Thursday morning. According to the Department of Justice, Bondi and Burgum met with park police and directed staff to work on plans to convert Alcatraz from a national park and tourist attraction back into a federal prison. President Donald Trump first floated the unlikely plan earlier this year, despite the fact that Alcatraz hasnt been an active prison for over 60 years. Astronomer CEO goes viral after being caught on Coldplay kiss cam Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time of its closure in the early 1960s, Alcatraz was in such a state of decay, it would have cost $3 to $5 million just to bring it up to 1963 standards the equivalent of at least $32 million today. Flipping Alcatraz back into a prison would require a two-thirds majority in Congress in order to repeal the islands environmental protections before transferring it to the Bureau of Prisons. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-California) called the idea stupid. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie has said the proposal is not a serious plan. Sec Burgum & Attorney General Bondi on boat in SF Bay: A great morning at Alcatraz. AG wrote on X. Rep. Nancy Pelosi calling Pres. Trumps plans to reopen the historic prison the stupidest. pic.twitter.com/RVg9eLCnlK Joey Horta (@JoeyHorta) July 17, 2025 One former Alcatraz park ranger also blasted the plan. I think its ridiculous. Because its falling apart. I worked out there 40 years ago as a ranger and it was falling apart then, said former ranger Liz Bletz. It would cost so much money to make that inhabitable for even the way they like to treat prisoners these days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amount of taxpayer resources needed here would be obscene, said State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco). It would be literally rebuilt. Reopening Alcatraz as a prison would be setting money on fire, setting taxpayer money on fire. The renewed noise around reopening Alcatraz as a prison comes as President Trump has been actively seeking to turn the page from ongoing fallout related to the administrations handling of the Epstein files. Pelosi called Bondi and Burgums visit Thursday a diversion. With stiff competition, the planned announcement to reopen Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary is the Trump Administrations stupidest initiative yet, said Pelosi in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following Thursday mornings visit to Alcatraz, Bondi and Burgum are also expected to visit the Presidio and Muir Woods. Stick with KRON4 for the latest updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. Smith Collection / Gado / Contributor / Getty Images Shares of BlackRock have added about 3% since the start of the year. Key Takeaways BlackRock said its assets under management reached a record $12.5 trillion in the second quarter, though its revenue missed estimates, sending shares lower Tuesday. The revenue miss was driven in part by lower net inflows, as a single institutional client withdrew $52 billion from index funds. BlackRock shares have added about 3% since the start of the year. BlackRock (BLK) said its assets under management reached a record $12.5 trillion in the second quarter, though its revenue missed estimates, sending shares lower Tuesday. BlackRock reported revenue rose 13% year-over-year to $5.42 billion, while analysts surveyed by Visible Alpha were looking for $5.44 billion. Adjusted earnings per share of $12.05 beat expectations. The revenue miss was driven in part by lower net inflows, which BlackRock said reflected the impact of a single institutional client's partial redemption" withdrawing $52 billion from index funds. BlackRock shares were down nearly 6% in recent trading, after hitting an all-time high yesterday. BlackRock Closes $12B Acquisition of HPS Investment Partners BlackRock added that it closed on its $12 billion purchase of HPS Investment Partners on July 1, which brought in $165 billion of client AUM and $118 billion of fee-paying AUM. Shares of BlackRock have added about 3% since the start of the year. TradingView Read the original article on Investopedia Jul. 16SANTA FE New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez called for bipartisan upheaval over unreleased funds on the heels of his latest lawsuit against the Trump administration, this one over nearly $7 billion in federal funding frozen nationwide for an array of public school programs. "I have a D next to my name, and because I have a D next to my name, there are certain folks who are going to say, 'Well, I'm not going to listen to that,'" Torrez said at a news conference Wednesday. "What I need are people who supported the president, who voted for the president, who do not agree with this, to say, 'This matters to us; this isn't what we voted for.'" Among the programs that could be affected by potential cuts are after-school programs, English language learner programs, immigrant support programs and professional development programs for public school staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state's Public Education Department estimates that the funding freeze will have an impact of around $40 million, and Torrez's office forecasts around $45 million, according to respective news releases. The latest lawsuit marks the 21st the AG has joined since Trump took office in January. "My goal is to do everything I can to protect the families and the working folks in this state, regardless of their party," Torrez said. "It's unfortunate that it's only the Democratic attorneys general who are filing some of these actions, but it's natural, I think, for people to look through this through a partisan lens." The White House's Office of Management and Budget has not responded to multiple requests for comment from the Journal. Additionally, President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Linda McMahon have not commented publicly on the funding freeze, according to Education Week. "The Republican Party of New Mexico stands with President Trump in his effort to end reckless federal spending that prioritizes radical agendas over the real needs of American children," Amy Barela, chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico, said in a statement Wednesday. "This lawsuit from the AG is more about political theater than protecting our kids. The RPNM will always support policies that return power to parents, cut wasteful spending, and focus our limited resources where they belong on our children's success, not on federal mandates that dilute accountability and outcomes." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New Mexico AG joined the lawsuit over the unreleased funding on Monday, along with over 20 other Democratic-led states that also filed suit. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, and Torrez, along with the other AGs, will be seeking a preliminary injunction in the short term, hoping that the funding will be available as the litigation process unfolds. Like many school districts around the country, Santa Fe Public Schools received a day's notice that federal funding would be withheld, according to Peter McWain, executive director of Curriculum and Instruction for the district. "Districts had no preliminary notification of this funding freeze; there is negligible time to mitigate the impact to families, to employees and our children," McWain said, joining the AG for his news conference. "The effects of this funding freeze will impact the core of our community." SFPS predicts it will lose out on nearly $2 million as a result of the frozen federal funds. President Trump sees himself as a global peacemaker, actively working to resolve conflicts from Kosovo-Serbia to India-Pakistan. His Nobel Peace Prize ambitions reflect genuine dealmaking instincts. But the most consequential opportunity is one he hasnt yet seized: preventing a race to dangerous superintelligence with China. President Trump has a history of diplomatic achievements that others thought impossible: sealing the Abraham Accords, getting allies to pay up for NATO, bringing Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table. These have been enabled by his well-founded skepticism of endless wars, worry about nuclear-scale threats, and penchant for direct, bilateral negotiation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The winner of an uncontrolled race for superintelligence might not be China or America, but the AI systems themselves. We have increasing evidence that AIs deceive humans to pursue their own goals. When OpenAIs ChatGPT faced an unwinnable game, it hacked its virtual environment to disable its opponent. Researchers discovered that Anthropics Claude model strategically downplays its biological capabilities during evaluations to ensure it was still deployed. Chinas Deepseek-R1 lies about having assimilated U.S. values, in order to preserve its true communist ones, when its faced with being retrained. Today, researchers can still peer into AIs "thought processes" and catch deception in controlled environments. But this window is closing. As these systems approach human-level intelligence and beyond, their scheming will become undetectable. The most concerning are AI models that improve themselves. AI researchers are aiming to automate themselves. Already, AIs can optimize chip design and matrix multiplication and write over 30% of new code at Microsoft and Google. One well-read forecast, AI 2027, predicts we could get "artificial general intelligence" (AGI) within this administration, and "superintelligence" soon after. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elon Musk said on Ted Cruzs podcast that he believes AI systems smarter than humans have a 10-20% chance of killing everyone. Last month, new reporting suggested the co-founder of OpenAI reportedly wanted to build a doomsday bunker to protect top AI researchers. So, what would a grand AI deal look like? To start, any deal must stay focused on superintelligence. As former AI policy Mark Beall recently testified to Congress, there are actually two AI races: for regular AI applications, and superintelligence. For the first, commercial AI deployment, the U.S. must compete vigorously. Let nation-states race to build narrow AIs for drug discovery, or drone warfare. Embrace startups and innovation. Protect U.S. data and trade secrets. Re-shore American chip production. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This way, we can benefit from the next "Alphafold" systems curing cancer, without the autonomous agents displacing workers or threatening humanity. For the second, the U.S. must ensure no one builds superintelligence. Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google Deepmind, has said he wished for a world where he had ten years to iron out these problems in AI safety. Good idea. This would not only give researchers time to understand and control the behavior of existing AI systems, but would also give institutions time to adapt and prepare for how to prevent economic disempowerment of American workers from mass AI automation. How would such a deal be enforced? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The stick: If required, the U.S. can unilaterally prevent China or anyone else from building superintelligence. Training a leading AI system requires large data centers with cutting-edge AI chips. Fortunately, data centers can be tracked by their enormous power consumption (and we should install location trackers on all AI chips, just in case). If Trump needs a "stick," he has the ability to threaten targeted cyberattacks against any violating data centers. The carrot: In practice, such a threat may not be necessary. Many top Chinese academics have warned about the existential risk that AI poses to humans. A Central Committee meeting report from last year lists AI alongside biohazards and natural disasters as potential risks. The Chinese ambassador called for closer cooperation between the U.S. and China or else the world risks "opening Pandoras box." Such a deal will not be an easy feat. The hawks will say that we must compete for superintelligence. Indeed, Ted Cruz said that hed rather die and be turned into American paperclips than Chinese ones. Trump should dismiss this, just as he deftly dismissed those who were calling for endless confrontation in Iran. There would be no greater legacy for President Trump than preventing humanity's most dangerous technological race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps other efforts, significant as they have been, have affected a small fraction of the worlds countries. Yet a deal preventing superintelligence would benefit all of humanity, preventing another Cold War - where a Taiwan invasion becomes ever more enticing, data centers become strategic missile targets, and cyberweapons make it onto the escalation ladder. The Deal of the Century awaits. Jason Hausenloy is an independent AI safety researcher. He blogs here. The Brief Data breaches are up in 2025, according to a new report. However, it also found that the number of data breach victims are down. Researchers call the use of artificial intelligence in attempted data breaches an "emerging threat." WASHINGTON - New technology may be boosting an old threat. By the numbers Researchers at the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) said theyve tracked 1,732 publicly reported data compromises so far in 2025. Thats about five percent ahead of 2024s pace, although they added that the overall number of victims has gone down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Because we havent had the big mega-breaches that we had in 2024 and 2023," said ITRC President James E. Lee. An emerging threat Lee also said that artificial intelligence is making the already-significant problem of data breaches even worse. He noted that while identity thieves had previously used AI to make better fake websites or better fake emails, now theyre using it more aggressively. "Now were seeing them use AI to analyze the data they have, so they can be very precise in who they target or what business they target, and then, to actually analyze that data again to find out what is more likely to allow them to execute some kind of attack," Lee told FOX 5. What you can do The report lists several ways that individuals can protect themselves if they believe their personal information has been compromised, including: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Be wary of unsolicited emails, text messages, or phone calls that ask for personal information. Regularly review financial accounts for suspicious activity. Freeze your credit to prevent unauthorized accounts from being opened in your name. Create passkeys. Use strong and unique passwords. Enable multi-factor authentication. Dig deeper After a Kentucky teenager died by suicide this year, his parents discovered he had received threatening texts demanding $3,000 to suppress an AI-generated nude image of him. The tragedy underscores how so-called sextortion scams targeting children are growing around the world, particularly with the rapid proliferation of "nudify" apps -- AI tools that digitally strip off clothing or generate sexualized imagery. Elijah Heacock, 16, was just one of thousands of American minors targeted by such digital blackmail, which has spurred calls for more action from tech platforms and regulators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His parents told US media that the text messages ordered him to pay up or an apparently AI-generated nude photo would be sent to his family and friends. "The people that are after our children are well organized," John Burnett, the boy's father, said in a CBS News interview. "They are well financed, and they are relentless. They don't need the photos to be real, they can generate whatever they want, and then they use it to blackmail the child." US investigators were looking into the case, which comes as nudify apps -- which rose to prominence targeting celebrities -- are being increasingly weaponized against children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FBI has reported a "horrific increase" in sextortion cases targeting US minors, with victims typically males between the ages of 14 and 17. The threat has led to an "alarming number of suicides," the agency warned. - Instruments of abuse - In a recent survey, Thorn, a non-profit focused on preventing online child exploitation, found that six percent of American teens have been a direct victim of deepfake nudes. "Reports of fakes and deepfakes -- many of which are generated using these 'nudifying' services -- seem to be closely linked with reports of financial sextortion, or blackmail with sexually explicit images," the British watchdog Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) said in a report last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Perpetrators no longer need to source intimate images from children because images that are convincing enough to be harmful -- maybe even as harmful as real images in some cases -- can be produced using generative AI." The IWF identified one "pedophile guide" developed by predators that explicitly encouraged perpetrators to use nudifying tools to generate material to blackmail children. The author of the guide claimed to have successfully blackmailed some 13-year-old girls. The tools are a lucrative business. A new analysis of 85 websites selling nudify services found they may be collectively worth up to $36 million a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The analysis from Indicator, a US publication investigating digital deception, estimates that 18 of the sites made between $2.6 million and $18.4 million over the six months to May. Most of the sites rely on tech infrastructure from Google, Amazon, and Cloudflare to operate, and remain profitable despite crackdowns by platforms and regulators, Indicator said. - 'Whack-a-mole' - The proliferation of AI tools has led to new forms of abuse impacting children, including pornography scandals at universities and schools worldwide, where teenagers created sexualized images of their own classmates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A recent Save the Children survey found that one in five young people in Spain have been victims of deepfake nudes, with those images shared online without their consent. Earlier this year, Spanish prosecutors said they were investigating three minors in the town of Puertollano for allegedly targeting their classmates and teachers with AI-generated pornographic content and distributing it in their school. In the United Kingdom, the government this year made creating sexually explicit deepfakes a criminal offense, with perpetrators facing up to two years in jail. And in May, US President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan "Take It Down Act," which criminalizes the non-consensual publication of intimate images, while also mandating their removal from online platforms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meta also recently announced it was filing a lawsuit against a Hong Kong company behind a nudify app called Crush AI, which it said repeatedly circumvented the tech giant's rules to post ads on its platforms. But despite such measures, researchers say AI nudifying sites remain resilient. "To date, the fight against AI nudifiers has been a game of whack-a-mole," Indicator said, calling the apps and sites "persistent and malicious adversaries." burs-ac/des AIKEN, S.C. (WJBF)- An Aiken County family is feeling the pressure from the Trump administrations undocumented immigrant policies. One of President Donald Trumps main campaign promises in 2024 was sweeping immigration policies. An Aiken County family says they have been living in fear of being split up since Trump took office in January. He came by himself at 12 years old. By himself, no family. He came and immediately started working for a restaurant here, explained Tiffany Montalvo, the wife of an undocumented immigrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps approval rating on immigration and government spending has slipped, new AP-NORC poll finds Tomas Montalvo has been undocumented and living in the U.S. for 30 years. As a young boy, his parents had him smuggled into this country on a coyote bus. One of 13 children, his parents sent him here to work and help support his family and thats what he did. He said that when he first got here, it was easy. Now its not. It was you know, he just went to work. He did what he was supposed to do, and he had no fear. Now hes got fear, said Tiffany. US deports immigrants from Jamaica, Cuba and other countries to the African kingdom of Eswatini Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During and since his bid for re-election, President Trump promised the largest mass deportation of undocumented immigrants in the nations history, something many Republicans pushed for. Trump asked illegal immigrants to self deport, promising no repercussions, the ability to re enter the U.S. legally, and $1,000 to help the process. The Montalvo family decided to go ahead and self deport because they are afraid of being separated. Trump admin limits bond hearings for those seeking release from immigration detention We started talking and were like Okay, if these certain things start to happen, were going to think about leaving,' Tiffany said. And the things did start to happen, but we were like Itll never happen to us. Itll never happen to us. It wont. And then he had one brother deported, and then he had another brother deported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tiffany and both children are American citizens. They told NewsChannel 6 that the process hasnt been easy. They sold their car and almost everything in their house to buy the plane tickets. They have to re-home all of their pets. And they are struggling to say goodbye to family members, many of whom voted for President Trump. I will say certain family members have said Look, I want to make it known I didnt vote for this. And then others, I feel like, dont see the reality. They think that were making this up or that our feelings arent valid or that were just scared for no reason, explained Tiffany. Lawmakers visit Alligator Alcatraz Tiffany says that there are a lot of misconceptions about undocumented immigrants, the biggest being that they dont pay taxes. She says they do. The government issues the immigrant an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN.) They pay taxes, Social Security and Medicaid, which they arent eligible to use. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She claims they pay more in taxes than American citizens because they arent eligible for any tax breaks, like earned income credit or child tax credit. She told NewsChannel 6 that even she, an American citizen, isnt eligible for tax breaks anymore since she an Tomas were married. Scams on the rise in CSRA with jury duty scams increasing The family will leave for Mexico within the next 12 weeks with about $200 to their name. They will live on a farm with no plumbing and dirt floors. But they say that as long as they are together, they can deal with anything. This was better for the greater good to save Tomas, even after everything we have to go through, said 13-year-old Jaycob Cox, Tiffanys son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The family says Tomas attempted to change his immigration status several times, but couldnt afford the cost. They were quoted between $5,000 and $120,000 to go through the process. They told NewsChannel 6 that at one point they paid a lawyer $5,000 to start the process and never heard from him again. Tiffany said they hired another lawyer who did get their money back, but they were disheartened by the experience and now have trust issues when it comes to moving forward with the process. NewsChannel 6 gave the Montalvo family the option several times to remain anonymous for their protection, but they declined saying they want others in their situation to know they arent alone. Photojournalist: Reggie Mckie. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The captain of the crashed Air India jet is likely to have cut off the fuel supply before it went down in Ahmedabad, US officials believe. The first officer, who was flying the Boeing 787-9, questioned why the captain had moved switches to the cut-off position, according to a US assessment of the black box data. The first officer reportedly expressed surprise and panic while the captain remained calm, the Wall Street Journal reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All but one of 242 people on board the Boeing 787 Dreamliner were killed when the aircraft plunged into a medical student hostel in a built-up suburb last month, less than a minute after take-off from Ahmedabad airport. It follows a preliminary report released by Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureaus (AAIB) that found that switches controlling fuel flow to the jets two engines were turned off, leading to a catastrophic loss of thrust at take-off. According to the report, one of the pilots is heard asking the other why did you cut off the fuel supply in the recovered cockpit voice recording. The other pilot responded that he didnt. It was not previously clear who said what. However, sources in the US who have reviewed the cockpit voice recordings told the Wall Street Journal that it was the captain who was questioned about why he cut off fuel to engines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The switches were moved in succession, one second apart, according to the report. Some 10 seconds later, the switches were turned back on. The report did not say whether the switches may have been turned off accidentally or deliberately. Credit: X/@varun__2020/@karunspeak Sumeet Sabharwal, the captain, and Clive Kundar, the co-pilot had more than 9,000 hours of flying time between them. On Sunday, The Telegraph revealed that Air India crash investigators were examining the medical records of Mr Sabharwal amid claims that he suffered from depression and mental health problems. Captain Sabharwal, 56, had been considering leaving the airline to look after his elderly father following the death of his mother in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the moments before the disaster, Mr Sabharwal issued a mayday call. However, after the aircraft reached a maximum altitude of barely 400ft above the runway all contact was lost. The plane then fell towards the ground and exploded on impact. Campbell Wison, the Air India chief executive, said in a staff memo that the report had triggered a new round of speculation in the media. Mr Wilson said the report neither identified any cause nor made any recommendations and urged people to avoid drawing premature conclusions as investigation was far from over. Indian media, however, reported that investigators were examining potential electrical and digital faults that could have triggered uncommanded actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The probe will ascertain the possibility of an uncommanded transition of the fuel control switches to the cut-off mode seconds after the lift-off, an official aware of the investigation was reported to have said. Just hours before take-off, a pilot flying the same aircraft from Delhi to Ahmedabad noted in the technical log a stabiliser position transducer defect, the newspaper said. The stabiliser position transducer is a sensor that controls the up and down movement of the aircrafts nose, and transmits the data to flight control systems. The official said the malfunction was checked and the engineer did the troubleshooting. The malfunction is a critical issue as it can trigger incorrect responses in flight control, including unintended fuel cut-off signal, the official was quoted as saying. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There had been at least two more similar incidents on the aircraft in the weeks before the crash, the newspaper said. One involved a false fuel system warning that flashed on the screen of the planes control panel. Another was an electrical fault that led to the cancellation of a flight. The official added that the aircraft had previously experienced two major problems, including an emergency landing in 2015 due to a cabin air compressor issue. The Federation of Indian Pilots has expressed dissatisfaction at pilot representatives being excluded from the investigation process, saying: We also firmly object to the way in which the preliminary report has been interpreted and presented publicly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Captain C S Randhawa, the federations president, said: The report, as released, lacks comprehensive data and appears to rely selectively on paraphrased cockpit voice recordings to suggest pilot error and question the professional competence and integrity of the flight crew. This approach is neither objective nor complete. Assigning blame before a thorough, transparent, and data-driven investigation is both premature and irresponsible. The crash was the first fatal accident involving Boeings Dreamliner. However, the airline had already suffered reputational damage after a string of safety and quality problems. The Dreamliner, which entered service in 2011, is popular among commercial airlines and is commonly used on international long-haul routes. 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. For thirty minutes, under the punishing midday sun, Taiwans capital Taipei rehearsed for war. Presidential alerts began blaring on cell phones at 1:30pm on Thursday across this city of more than two million people: [Air Defense Drill] Missile attack. Seek immediate shelter. Then came the air raid sirens, bouncing off rows of concrete apartment blocks and office towers. The shrill, ominous sound is instantly recognizable, and for anyone whos experienced the real thing, gut-churning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police with loud whistles began shouting and ordering all traffic to pull over. Drivers had to abandon their cars at blinking traffic lights and seek shelter. Buses sat idle and empty in the middle of normally bustling streets. Civil defense volunteers in yellow vests guided people into shelters, basements, and underground malls. The MRT Taipeis gleaming, air-conditioned subway system kept running, though passengers were told to remain on platforms. At ground level, the city emptied. Businesses closed their doors as customers and employees watched the streets empty in seconds. It almost felt like youd traveled back in time to the worst days of the coronavirus pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason for this annual drill is the unspoken but ever-present threat of an attack or invasion by Taiwans giant neighbor to the northwest. Chinas Communist Party claims Taiwan as its own territory, to be taken by force if necessary. While democratic Taiwan has long been used to those threats, Russias invasion of Ukraine, the increasingly shrill rhetoric from Chinese leader Xi Jinping and conflict in the Middle East have thrown into sharp relief what could be at stake if peace falters. I feel nervous when I hear the siren. While China has been there all along, when the sirens go off, it reminds me of that large threat next to us, said Carl Chu, a Taipei resident. War could happen anytime. We need to shoulder our own responsibility, be prepared and know how to protect ourselves. Jessica Fang, another Taipei resident, added: Many used to view these drills as a mundane routine. But because of what happened in Ukraine and Israel, this year it feels closer to home. War could happen whether you want it or not, so you have to be prepared for that possibility. These drills make us take it more seriously. Rescuers and volunteers take shelter during an air raid drill as part of the annual Han Kuang military exercises, in Taipei, Taiwan, 17 July 2025. - Ritchie B Tongo/EPA/Shutterstock For the first time this year, Taiwan combined its two major civil defense exercises, Wan An and Min An, into a single, island-wide rehearsal: the 2025 Urban Resilience Exercise, staged in conjunction with Han Kuang 41, the islands largest-ever military simulation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This years drills are ten days, twice as long as before. The timing is no accident. Tensions with Beijing remain high. While polls suggest most Taiwanese dont believe an invasion is imminent, the government is preparing with focus and urgency. Beyond sirens and evacuations, the drill included mass casualty simulations and emergency supply drops. In Neihu, outside the Tri-Service General Hospital, the military staged a live response to an imagined missile strike. Medics in full protective gear treated mock victims as nearby roads were sealed off. Across Taiwan, more than 22,000 reservists, nearly 50 percent more than last year, are involved in scenarios ranging from urban combat to cyber defense. In recent days, soldiers have conducted drills in subway tunnels and exhibition halls, converting civilian infrastructure into test battlegrounds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ministry of Defense has emphasized both military readiness and public engagement, including new outreach to foreigners in Taiwan with instructions in English explaining what to do and where to go. The government is also urging citizens to download shelter maps, learn evacuation routes, and recognize the distinct siren tones. When the all-clear sirens finally sounded, Taipei quickly bounced back to normal. Within seconds, traffic and pedestrians returned to the streets as folks carried on with their days and tried to beat the summer heat and humidity. Most believe the next time they hear sirens, itll be another drill. But these days, nobody can be sure. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com JOHNSTOWN, Pa. John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport has topped the 10,000-enplanement mark for the third straight year. The airport hit the goal this past week, a month ahead of its 2024 pace. SkyWest Airlines Supervisor Nathan Pilkington delivered the update to the airports board during its monthly meeting Tuesday. With the airports month-to-month passenger numbers ahead of last years pace, it never seemed like a question of if the milestone would be reached in 2025 but it was a welcomed when, board members said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think thats fantastic to see halfway through the year, board Chairman Tim McIlwain said, crediting staff, SkyWest and enplanement committee members. SkyWest offers daily United Express flights from the airport in Richland Township to Washington Dulles and Chicago OHare international airports. And hitting the 10,000-enplanement goal is more than just a milestone for smaller commercial airports. Airports logging a minimum of 10,000 enplanements, or paid boardings, in a calendar year are classified as Primary Commercial Service airports. That boosts its annual Airport Improvement Program fund allocation from the federal government to a minimum of $1 million, guidelines show. Airport officials can use those funds for runway repairs, new maintenance equipment and safety upgrades many of the largest capital costs that airports routinely face. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through 2027, Primary Commercial Service airports also receive an annual Bipartisan Infrastructure Law allocation, which totaled $1.3 million over the past year and those funds offer even more flexibility to undertake new projects, Airport Manager Cory Cree said. Cambria County Commissioner Thomas Chernisky, who attended Tuesdays meeting, praised the board and its partnerships for its trend of positive momentum. The parking lot is full. Thats a great problem to have, he said, crediting a team approach. Rising commercial passenger numbers are helping the airport build an economy here, he added, because the funds it generates are helping airport officials move other priorities forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cree didnt have to look far to illustrate that point. Tuesdays meeting agenda included four projects that were approved for final design, engineering and bid packet preparation that are being at least partially covered through its annual federal allocations. A little more than $200,000 in engineering costs were approved Tuesday, enabling their engineering firm, GFT, formerly TranSystems Corp., to prepare documents needed to steer several projects to construction. That included: A $159,542 engineering contract to add a new parking lot and rehabilitate the existing overflow lot to create more space for vehicles near the terminal and the Boyd Buzz Wagner fighter plane memorial. The current lots are routinely full. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A $47,214 engineering contract to add new lighting on the airports A and B taxiways. A $20,675 engineering contract to replace required signage on the same corridor. A $53,571 project to re-mark, crack-seal and seal-coat one of the airports runways. The goal is to have each of those projects under construction in 2026. Each work order is pending Federal Aviation Administration approval, Cree said. The board is separately exploring options that could add solar panels to existing structures such as hangars, or new ones, to offset energy costs. The idea is still in the earliest stages, with officials having interest from several parties, Cree said. But potential future projects could also tie in, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, the authority approved a $3 million Multimodal Transportation Fund application that, if approved, could enable the authority to add a portico to one or more airport entrances. That would allow passengers to be dropped off with their luggage at the terminals doorstep while avoiding inclement weather. Cree said providing cover for the main entrance is a top priority. But he also said the authority could explore adding a canopy over the airports main parking lot that would also enable airport users to avoid stormy conditions on their way into the building. That canopy could also be equipped with solar panels that could cover costs or generate regular revenue, Cree added. Efforts would have to be studied to ensure panel glare wouldnt be an issue for incoming flights, he added. Drone814 set to launch Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drone814 could make national history next week if certain emergency calls require medical aid. The medical drone initiative is expected to start its live trial phase next week, perhaps as early as Monday, Aeriums Matt Crocco said. The drone would be deployed for certain hours for specific calls, such as an overdose or a cardiac event, in the Johnstown and West Hills areas by Cambria County 911 dispatchers, in addition to an ambulance and any other first responders a call might require. This will be the first time a live medical supply delivery ever occurred in a community, Aeriums Larry Nulton said. The pilot project will help determine if the project can be expanded across the area. Conference date set Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aeriums plans to host the Aviation Council of Pennsylvanias statewide conference this fall have a date set. The event will be held Oct. 6-8 and will also include Aeriums fall summit at the Frank J. Pasquerilla Conference Center in downtown Johnstown. Planners describe the event as a premier gathering of industry leaders, policymakers and innovators who are shaping the future of Pennsylvanias $34 billion aviation industry. Aerium will host education-themed events, including access to discovery flights, a miniature career fair for students and a scavenger hunt with exhibitors. Other events will focus on education efforts aimed at growing Pennsylvanias aviation workforce. Children play outside Harborview Elementary School in Juneau on July 16, 2025. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon) Alaska students from kindergarten to third grade showed overall improvement in reading proficiency last year, according to preliminary data from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. DEED reported an overall increase in reading proficiency from the beginning to the end of the school year, for the second year in a row, which was wonderful, said Commissioner Deena Bishop in an interview on Wednesday. So year after year, we look for a good trend ahead of us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, 44% of Alaska K-3 students were reading at a nationally defined benchmark level. By the end of the year, that had increased to 60% of students. It was the second straight school year where Alaska students improved. At the beginning of the prior year, 2023-2024, 41% of students were reading at the benchmark level, which was up to 57% of students by the end of the year. Bishop and state officials credit the success of the Alaska Reads Act, signed into law in 2022, for instituting reading curriculums and screenings, adding teacher training, and boosting support for school districts reading programs. These results show why its critical to tie clear goals and strong commitments to education policy, said Gov. Mike Dunleavy in a statement announcing the reading improvements. The Alaska Reads Act proves that coupling funding with real reform works. We made the right decision, and students across Alaska are seeing the benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bishop credited the statewide training for teachers in science-based reading instruction as essential for the improvements. Deena Bishop, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development, speaks to reporters during a news conference Thursday, April 17, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) Phonics and fluency and comprehension all add up to good reading skills that allow for a child to read, she said. Its the professional development, high-quality instruction of teachers in the science of reading, as well as we utilize a screener, which really assesses kids and catches them early to be able to change the instruction or give them additional instruction on those discrete skills that they might be missing. Bishop said the literacy screener allows for teachers to see where students are struggling with reading and provide support. Then teachers can look and, like, pull a student aside and, knowing the science of reading, give them a little extra help so that they can continue to grow, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So we just dont wait till kids fail, and thats a large part of this with early literacy that is highly effective, she added. Kindergarteners showed the biggest gains last year, improving from 23% reading at benchmark level at the beginning of the year to 62% of students by the end of the year. First through third graders showed more moderate improvements, with 64% of first graders, 59% of second graders, and 52% of third graders reading at a benchmark level by the end of the year. Alaska K-3 students scores on reading proficiency from the beginning of the year to the end of the year, in the 2024-2025 school year, according to data from the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (Screenshot from DEED) The Alaska Reads Act requires districts to create a district reading improvement plan, and offers additional support and grant funding for lower-performing schools; virtual training; and instruction and grant funds for early education programs. Absolutely, early education matters, whats learned in pre-K and at home, Bishop said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bishop acknowledged there are ongoing challenges for Alaska students reaching reading proficiency. She said getting new teachers caught up on reading instruction training is challenging, given the high rate of teacher turnover in Alaska. Its no secret that we have a larger transition of teachers, she said. Generally in rural Alaska, their turnover rate is about 1 in 3 teachers from K through 12. She said the department tries to give time and options for completing the training, and offers an annual Science of Reading Symposium for teachers professional development. Bishop said chronic absenteeism is a continuous problem. In the 2022 to 2023 school year, the most recent year of available department data, 45% of Alaska students were chronically absent, meaning they missed more than 17 days of school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Almost half of our kids in our schools are missing more than 17 days. That does not equate to good learning and trajectory of learning, when the learning in one day builds on the next and the next and the next, Bishop said, adding that the department is working on a statewide campaign to incentivize students and families to improve attendance and highlight the importance of school. Anchorage Democratic Sen. Loki Tobin, chair of the Senate Education Committee, also praised the success of the Alaska Reads Act, which she worked on as a legislative aide. We do have irrefutable evidence that when you are struggling to learn to read, interventions work, she said. But Tobin raised concerns that many districts used federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funding for implementing the Alaska Reads Act, which have now run out. She argued for more state funding for schools to continue reading instruction improvements. All the gains that we are experiencing and seeing are going to be diminished and lost if we dont adequately fund our schools, she said. A district-level success Lilly Boron is the incoming superintendent of the Haines Borough School District, and said she is also seeing reading improvements in students in the communitys elementary school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has certainly made a difference, and we are very excited to see the changes. You know, we see an upward trend in our cohort, Boron said in a phone interview Wednesday. I think any time youre trying to make some major changes, a lot of the work goes in, and the investment really goes into making sure that your teachers have what they need, you know, instructionally and just practically to do the work, she added. Boron said the district applied and received grant funding to implement the Alaska Reads Act. Haines has one teacher per elementary grade level, and all the teachers from kindergarten through fifth grade, as well as administrators like herself in her former role as principal of the Haines school, participated in the literacy instruction training. It got everyone on the same page, as far as the instruction and the methods that you use for early literacy, but it also kind of helped connect everyone with what they were doing, she said. It allowed them to talk about what they were doing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said the overall effort really looked at reading and instruction and monitored our students and implemented the individual reading plans, not just for our students who were far below proficient, but the ones who were just below proficient. So that was very helpful. Boron also expressed concern that this year, the longtime school librarian retired and the district is not able to hire a replacement due to lack of funding. Were going to do what we can with what we have, but that really hurts, she said. A strong library program is super important. JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) Wednesdays magnitude 7.3 earthquake off Alaska's Aleutian Islands chain struck in a region that has experienced a handful of powerful quakes within the last five years including one that shook communities almost exactly two years earlier. Officials said Thursday they had received no reports of injuries or major damage from the latest event, which triggered a tsunami warning that lasted about an hour before being downgraded and prompted communities along a 700-mile (1,127-km) stretch of Alaskas southern coast to urge people to move to higher ground. The official maximum wave height at Sand Point, a community 55 miles (88 kilometers) north of the epicenter, was about 3.9 inches (10 centimeters), said Kara Sterling, a lead duty scientist at the National Tsunami Warning Center. It occurred at low tide. Earthquake sparked tsunami warnings Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The earthquake struck at 12:37 p.m. local time, prompting the center's tsunami warning. There are a number of ways people in warning areas can receive notifications, including the sounding of sirens in communities that have them, listening to weather radio or public radio broadcasts, following official accounts on social media, or via push alerts on cellphones. In some places, local officials have relayed warnings door to door, said Jeremy Zidek, a spokesperson with the state's emergency management division. Public safety departments in King Cove and Unalaska sent alerts urging those in coastal areas or those that could see inundation to seek higher ground. The warning issued by the center was downgraded to an advisory before being canceled around 2:45 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alaska is one of world's most seismically active regions Alaska is the most earthquake-prone state in the U.S. and one of the most seismically active regions in the world, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The state experiences a magnitude 7 earthquake almost annually, and the second-largest earthquake ever recorded was centered about 75 miles (120 kilometers) east of Anchorage, the agency said. That 1964 magnitude 9.2 earthquake and the tsunami it triggered killed about 130 people. The Aleutian arc is no stranger to earthquakes, but the activity in the region where Wednesday's earthquake struck has gotten scientists' attention. The area, within a few hundred miles of the earthquake, has lit up since 2020, with Wednesday's earthquake marking the fifth exceeding magnitude 7.0 since 2020, said state seismologist Michael West. I would not call this an isolated earthquake. It appears to be part of a larger sequence spanning the last several years," he said. But West added: There's no reason to be alarmist about this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People should continue to heed warnings, officials say Some communities have buildings designated on higher ground as meetup points during tsunami warnings, such as a school, while others might simply urge residents to retreat up a hillside, Zidek said. That area of Alaska, most areas of Alaska, it gets steep real quick, he said. Sometimes, the only warning one might have is the shaking ground, Zidek said. If it shakes violently for 20 seconds or more, that is your warning sign, and you should head to higher ground if youre in a coastal area, he said. Zidek and West said people should continue to heed warnings. West said he worries about a burnout effect among residents in the region, some of whom have evacuated numerous times since 2018 in response to larger earthquakes that have not caused significant damage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement West said he is reminded of a magnitude 8.6 earthquake in 1946 west of the location of Wednesday's quake that generated a deadly tsunami and led to the creation of a U.S. tsunami warning system. The death toll included more than 150 people in Hawaii, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This area is capable of trans-Pacific tsunamis, and I feel like maybe the best way to stay vigilant ... is maybe to look into our deeper history beyond just the last five years, he said. Photo via Erik McGregor/Sipa USA/Newscom Much of Wall Street is expecting a possible market slowdown in the second half of the year, so its a good thing it hit some high notes beforehand. Its earnings season, which is often a time to celebrate victories, and BlackRock hit a big one. The New York-based firm reported Tuesday that its assets under management grew to a record $12.5 trillion in the second quarter, up 18% year over year, putting it in a league of its own. Still, shares slid more than 5% on Tuesday, with BlackRock CEO Larry Fink attributing the move to investor concerns over the companys expenses. Meanwhile, Boston-based competitor State Street reported $5.1 trillion in AUM as well as $49 trillion in assets under custody, a 17% and 11% increase year over year, respectively. Basically, two of the worlds largest asset managers just got a lot bigger. READ ALSO: What Crypto Week Means for ETFs and Here Are the Most Popular Active ETFs of 2025 BlackRocks Big Day The firms success in the first half of the year has been driven by high stock prices, massive inflows, and BlackRocks push into private markets: In February, BlackRock completed its purchase of private markets data provider Preqin. BlackRocks alternatives held roughly $302 billion at the end of the quarter. Year-to-date, BlackRock has experienced $152 billion in total net flows, led by a record first half for iShares ETFs. Also, on the private market front, BlackRock completed its acquisition of private credit firm HPS Investment Partners this month and agreed to acquire ElmTree Funds, a real estate-focused private-equity firm. Starting next year, BlackRock plans to expand access to alternatives by including private assets in target-date retirement funds. This is a place that we have particular strength and can add a lot of value, rather than just rote allocations of X percent to public markets and Y percent to private markets, Martin Small, BlackRock CFO, said on an earnings call Tuesday. Win Some, Lose Some. State Streets low-cost offerings were a win this quarter as many investors sought out affordable ETFs over mutual funds. The company generated nearly $3.5 billion in revenue this past quarter, bolstered by an 11% jump in fees year over year. However, despite higher revenue, profits fell as total expenses reached $2.5 billion in the second quarter, also up 11% compared with this time last year. State Streets expenses went toward workforce reorganization, technology upgrades and higher performance-based incentives. Like they say, you gotta spend money to make money. An Albanian jailed for beating a man so violently with an umbrella that it disintegrated has won the right to remain in Britain. Vangel Gkika, 50, served two-and-a-half years in prison for the brutal assault, in which he also banged his victims head off a pavement. In 2020, following his release, the Home Office sought to deport him. But now the immigration court has ruled he can stay because his crime was a one-off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gkika, a painter and decorator who moved to Britain in 2013 and lives in Surrey, committed the assault on a childhood friend with whom he had a bitter feud in 2016. The umbrella was used with so much force that it physically disintegrated before Gkika smashed his victims head on the pavement twice. The man was traumatised and needed surgery. The case, revealed in court documents, is the latest in which foreign criminals and illegal migrants have been allowed to remain in the UK after claiming that their removal would breach their human rights or EU law. It took five years to reach the upper immigration tribunal, where judges ruled Gkika, who has dual Albanian and Greek nationality, did not pose a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat to warrant deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents say the sustained and violent assault came after his relationship with his childhood friend soured in a bitter dispute, and the pair exchanged threatening and abusive messages. The judgment stated: He attacked him using an umbrella, which he used with such force that it disintegrated. When it did so, the [Mr Gkika] took the mans head and banged it twice onto the pavement where he had been standing. The victim needed surgery, having sustained a broken cheekbone and scarring to his face. The following year, he was still experiencing dizziness and anxiety. Gkika had been due to stand trial in 2017 but pleaded guilty at the last minute and he was sentenced to 32 months in jail. The judge also imposed a 10 year restraining order which is due to expire in 2027. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After he was released from custody, Gkika returned to live with his wife and children at their home in Surrey. But the Home Office ruled he was a serious threat to society and sought to deport him under EU rules. Gkika appealed the decision to the first-tier immigration tribunal, but this was dismissed in March 2020. He appealed to the upper tribunal, where the judge found the lower court had made an error in law. Significant weight was placed by the lower tribunal on the fact that Gkika had not completed any rehabilitation courses in prison. But Judge Gaenor Bruce heard that no courses were offered to Gkika, who was a first offender and not deemed a sufficiently high risk to justify the expense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Bruce also said that in the earlier proceedings, Gkika was asked to disprove that he posed a risk - when this should have been a matter for the Home Office to prove. She added that for reasons that remain unclear, nothing further happened in the appeal until this year. Lawyers representing the Home Office spoke of the brutal assault, and referred to witnesses who said they were surprised his victim had not lost an eye. Offender deeply regrets his violence However, Judge Bruce noted that Gkikas children have grown up in the UK and are now either at university or college, and that Gkika deeply regrets his violence, which was a one-off. The judge upheld Gkikas appeal, meaning he will not be deported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said: The offence was, on all the available evidence, quite plainly out of character and was indeed a one-off. That is not to diminish the harm that it caused to the victim, or to in any way disagree that [Gkika] should have been sent to prison for a significant amount of time. He clearly should have been. The central question for me today is whether there is a genuine, present and sufficiently serious threat in [Gkika] today being allowed to remain in the UK. There is no evidence at all that he is a risk to anyone other than the victim of the original assault, and in respect of that, the evidence amounts to this. I am satisfied that he understands only too well that any further offending, harassment or harm to his victim could see him facing deportation again, and the life he has built for himself and his family here destroyed. 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) An El Paso federal grand jury returned an indictment on Wednesday, July 16, charging a Mexican national with three counts of human smuggling, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office with the Western District of Texas. The U.S. Attorneys Office says Manuel Alejandro Melendez-Cereceres, aka Monstro, 40, who was living in El Paso, acted as a facilitator within the Western District of Texas and the District of New Mexico regarding human smuggling events. Melendez-Cereceres roles included recruiting and coordinating drivers and vehicles to pick up smuggled migrants for the purpose of transporting them to residences or hotels for harboring or to other locations to be picked up by an additional driver, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Melendez-Cereceres was arrested and made an initial court appearance last month. Homeland Security Investigations and U.S. Border Patrol are investigating the case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. It took a catchy name to turn an idea for a migrant detention center into a cult phenomenon. Alligator Alcatraz, the recently and hastily opened site in the Florida Everglades, has gained a starring role in America's immigration crackdown. The facility, which will house up to 5,000 in an area surrounded by swamp, pythons and alligators has drawn acclaim from supporters of mass deportation as a means to address the nation's immigration problem. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called the facility a "model" that other states should emulate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What I would just say is don't let Florida be the only state," he said during last month's unveiling. "We got very red states that should be doing this just as much as Florida is doing. That will increase their [deportation] numbers." President Donald Trump, who was there for the opening, was even more effusive. "They did this in less than a week," he said. "You look at it and it's incredible. It might be as good as the real Alcatraz." U.S. President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem visit a temporary migrant detention center informally known as "Alligator Alcatraz" in Ochopee, Florida, U.S., July 1, 2025. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY What you need to know: Trump at 'Alligator Alcatraz': Facts on Florida Everglades immigration detention center Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics of the new facility have a different and much darker perspective. They don't like the sale of Alligator Alcatraz T-shirts, hats and other merchandise. the facility's "alligator" link to America's racist past, much less news filtering out about the center's deplorable conditions for detainees who had come to America for a better life. Even worse, several elected officials who were allowed in for a tour recently criticized the setup, after seeing detainees caged in tents and hearing complaints about inhumane conditions, spoiled food, polluted drinking water and lack of any medical care normally found in prisons. To many critics, the facility is nothing more than a concentration camp, a place where large numbers of people, especially political prisoners or members of persecuted minorities are deliberately imprisoned in an area with inadequate facilities. Think about all those camps established by the Nazis in Germany and occupied Europe. The mounting criticism of Florida's detention facility leads us to this week's poll question: Is Alligator Alley a concentration camp? We'd like your feedback. Let us know by answering the Post Opinion Page survey below: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BTW: Your voice counts. We had great participation in our last poll, "Should FEMA be abolished or restored?" A whopping 91% of the respondents urged the president to restore the agency, something he may be considering in light of the devastating floods in Texas and New Mexico. We'll see. Please note: The required name, address and email are only used for verification of the survey's participants. Select responses may be used in future Post articles, but identities will not be used for any solicitations by the Post or third parties. Join the Conversation: The Palm Beach Post is committed to publishing a diversity of opinions. Email us at letters@pbpost.com. Letters are subject to editing, must not exceed 200 words and must include your name, address and a daytime phone number to confirm the letter is for publication. We only publish names and cities with the letters. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Is Alligator Alcatraz a concentration camp? Take our poll | Opinion Floridas Alligator Alcatraz flooded almost immediately and conditions at the detention center arent improving. Guards and detainees alike report a lack of clean water, swarming mosquitos, rainwater leaks, and other inhumane conditions. An investigation from The Washington Post revealed worsening conditions at what Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis called a makeshift detention space. Since the remote detention center opened on July 3, detainees and their families have described the poor conditions at the facility worms in food, lack of water, and extreme temperatures. Guards say staff conditions arent much better. Three former guards at the facility told The Post that they were drawn to the job because of the pay $26 an hour with significant overtime opportunities. Theyve found the work to be particularly brutal and mosquito-ridden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mosquitoes are filling the bathrooms, the showers. You go in the shower, you shower with a million mosquitoes. They give you bug spray, but that still doesnt help, one former guard told The Post. Guards said they were given a can of mosquito repellent on their first day, but detainees are only sprayed once, upon arrival. Theyve been told to buddy up when taking trips to the latrines because of alligators and Florida panthers and venomous snakes and different types of creatures. Some detainees say they are being denied access to legal counsel. The government isnt allowing in-person visits and confidential phone or video calls. The American Civil Liberties Union, ACLU of Florida, and Americans for Immigrant Justice filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday, calling the facility an unconstitutional abomination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats happening here is not just a policy failure, its a moral one, Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said in a statement. The state has hastily erected a costly and deadly shadow prison in the middle of the Everglades during hurricane season to warehouse human beings stripping them of due process and dignity, cutting them off from their families and legal counsel, intentionally putting their lives in danger, and leaving them to suffer in silence. This is how rights are erased. Republican and Democrat lawmakers visited the facility on July 12, but shared wildly different perspectives of conditions at the Everglades detention center. Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., said that what he saw during his visit made [his] heart sink. I saw thirty-two people per cage, about six cages in the one tent. I saw a lot of people young men who looked like me, Frost said. I heard in the back someone say, Im a U.S. citizen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republican Florida State Senator Blaise Ingoglia contradicted Frosts claims in a post on X. The place is well run, safe, secure, clean and air conditioned, Ingoglia said. I actually laid down in one of the beds and it was really comfortable. Florida scrambled to construct the facility earlier this month and the state says it will cost $450 million a year to run. The state estimates the costs of keeping detainees in the tent-based detention center at $411 per bed a day. Compare that to standard ICE detention centers, which averaged an ovehead cost of $157.20 per bed a day last year. DeSantis doesnt see an an issue, as he hopes detainees wont stay very long. Because Alligator Alcatraz is housed near an airstrip, he said the facility is intended to facilitate quick deportations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All the minimum standards are upheld, DeSantis said. But the reality is its there to be a quick processing center, we have a runway right there. They can just be flown back to their home country. The post Alligator Alcatraz guards, detainees say conditions are deteriorating appeared first on Salon.com. Jul. 16ROCHESTER Although the total number of out-of-school suspensions has decreased over the last three years within Rochester Public Schools, the data still shows a disproportionate amount of them affect minority students. The Rochester School Board reviewed data related to suspensions, as well as level 2 infractions, on Tuesday, July 15. "We still continue to have work to do in that area," Superintendent Kent Pekel said, "so that we're making sure that when a suspension is assigned to a student, it is as rare as possible, it is an appropriate sanction, and it is assigned without any influence of demographic factors." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement District-wide, the number of out-of-school suspensions decreased from 1,430 in 2022-23 to 1,199 in 2024-25, representing a drop of a little more than 16%. However, in terms of demographics, the percentage of suspensions among minority students has increased slightly. In RPS, white students comprise 51.9% of the population, Black students comprise 16%, Latino students comprise 13.5%, Asian students comprise 8.8%, and students of multiple ethnicities make up 8.8%. Even though white students are over half the student population according to the most recent numbers, they represented 29% of the out-of-school suspensions in 2022-23, and 25% of the out-of-school suspensions in the two following years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By comparison, Black students represented 37% of the out-of-school suspensions in 2022-23, and 39% in the two following years. Latino students represented 16% of the out-of-school suspensions in 2022-23, 17% in 2023-24, and 18% in 2024-25. Asian students represented 4% of the out-of-school-suspensions in 2022-23, 5% in 2023-24 and 4% in 2024-25. School Board member Stephanie Whitehorn said that although some discretion is needed in regard to school discipline, she questioned whether that was also contributing to the disproportionate amount of suspensions being applied to minority students. "Discipline is necessary and is needed," Whitehorn said. "(But) when we have such a gap of inequity with our disciplinary issues, my concern is, is the discretion ever going to be used appropriately? ... I don't feel that this school district, or many school districts, are really in a place that our discretion is credible." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response, Pekel said that while school leaders are able to use discretion in regard to level 2 infractions, that shouldn't apply to situations where students are being suspended. "We have very little discretion for suspension," Pekel said. "I want there to be crystal clarity on the criteria for suspension and a very strong emphasis on creating spaces in which events do not happen that lead to suspension even being on the table. But when it happens, we don't want discretion." Generally, Level 2 infractions are situations that teachers don't handle on their own and could include anything from disruptions to learning and fighting, to profane language and academic dishonesty. Although there is a list of categories of what constitute Level 2 infractions, school leaders have leeway from building to building regarding how they enforce and document them. According to Tuesday's presentation, RPS administrators "generally reserve out-of-school suspension for the following situations: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * Possession or distribution of drugs or alcohol * Possession of a weapon or incendiary device * A Level II offense resulting in bodily or emotional harm * Substantial disruption to the learning environment" Rochester Public Schools has been working for years to reduce the disparity in its disciplinary data. In 2018, the Minnesota Department of Human Rights began requiring the district to submit periodic reports as a result of the disproportionate number of infractions among minority students. RPS submitted its last report in 2021. The overall decrease in out-of-school suspensions also was not represented uniformly across grade levels. Over the three years noted in the presentation, suspensions at the elementary level dropped by more than half, from 232 to 103. At the middle school level, they dropped from 805 to 603. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the high school level, however, they rose from 393 in 2022-23 to 493 in 2024-25. Among the district's secondary schools, Kellogg Middle School had the highest number of suspensions in 2024-25, with 188. Next was John Marshall High School with 165, Mayo High School with 158, Willow Creek Middle School with 154, Dakota Middle School with 132, Century High School with 126, and John Adams Middle School with 119. Angi McAndrews, RPS Director of Student Engagement and School Climate, said the district is starting a program called Coordinated Early Intervention Services. That initiative is expected to begin in August at the middle school level and then scale out. "The idea with the CEIS program is that we will use our behavior specialists to take a look at data and connect with building leadership teams to identify where the areas are that maybe we need to enhance our system so that we can try to keep kids in class where the learning is taking place," McAndrews said. Republican Ralph Alvarado, who made history as Kentucky's first Hispanic state legislator but then left to become Tennessee's top public health leader, reentered Bluegrass State politics on Thursday by announcing his bid for an open congressional seat targeted by Democrats in 2026. Alvarado, a medical doctor and the son of immigrants, will compete for Kentucky's 6th Congressional District seat now occupied by Republican Rep. Andy Barr, who is in a hotly contested race to succeed Sen. Mitch McConnell, the former longtime Republican Senate leader, in next next year's midterm election. Seen as a rising conservative star during his years in the Kentucky Senate, Alvarado pledged to align with President Donald Trump's America First agenda as he kicked off his congressional campaign. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kentuckians are fed up with open borders, sky-high prices and unelected bureaucrats who trample our freedoms, Alvarado said in a statement. I'm running for Congress to fight for working families, stop the invasion at our southern border once and for all, and fight the woke agenda. Republican state Reps. Ryan Dotson and Deanna Gordon entered the House race earlier, also touting their conservative credentials and setting up the prospect of a competitive primary next spring. The Democratic field also grew Thursday, with former federal prosecutor Zach Dembo entering the campaign. Dembo, also a former policy adviser for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, said his focus will include creating good-paying jobs, fighting back against Medicaid cuts and opposing tariffs that he said are hurting crucial Kentucky industries. Central Kentucky deserves to have a representative in Washington who stands up for families, works to lower their cost of living, expands access to affordable healthcare and protects their safety," Dembo said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement National Democrats list Kentuckys 6th among dozens of districts nationally that theyre targeting in hopes of winning back the narrowly divided House in 2026. Other Democratic candidates for the Kentucky congressional seat include ex-state Rep. Cherlynn Stevenson and David Kloiber, a former Lexington city councilman. Alvarado's campaign said he preserved his Kentucky ties while working in Tennessee, noting that he maintained his longtime home in Clark County in the district and continued to do medical work in the district. He typically returned home multiple times each month. He was the first Hispanic member of Kentuckys legislature, his campaign said, having been first elected in 2014. He has said his immigrant parents made big sacrifices to get him a good education. His father was from Costa Rica, and his mother is from Argentina. Alvarado ran for statewide office in Kentucky as then-Gov. Matt Bevin's running mate in 2019, but Bevin lost his reelection bid to Beshear. Alvarado left the Kentucky Senate to step into the role as Tennessee's health department commissioner in Republican Gov. Bill Lee's administration in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lee last week announced Alvarado's departure from the state health department, saying Alvarado faithfully served Tennesseans throughout his tenure. Alvarado's role in promoting Bevin during the 2019 campaign could surface as an issue in next year's congressional race as Bevin's pugnacious style turned off many Kentucky voters. The 6th District stretches from central Kentucky's bluegrass region to the Appalachian foothills. It flipped between Democratic and Republican representation for decades, but Barr has locked down the seat for the GOP for more than a decade, fending off a tough Democratic challenger in 2018. Since then, the GOP-led legislature removed Democratic-leaning Frankfort, Kentucky's capital city, from the 6th District during the most recent round of redistricting, seemingly making it a steeper challenge for Democrats. The district includes Democratic-trending Lexington, the state's second-largest city, and covers multiple rural counties that are Republican strongholds. This weekend the city of Atlanta will celebrate the life of a pioneer. Channel 2s Lori Wilson spoke with the son of retired Fire Chief William Hamer, the first Black fire chief in Atlanta. The city announced his death on Wednesday. As a firefighter, it was exciting. Because, you know, as a kid, when we heard sirens, fire trucks outside, it was exciting, Jeffrey Hamer said. RELATED STORY: City of Atlantas first Black fire chief dies Atlanta honors citys first African-American firefighters Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Growing up, Jeffrey Hamer knew his dad was a firefighter, and that was special. He had a lot of meetings, was always on the phone. People would always call the house. People were over the house, Jeffrey Hammer said. What Jeffrey Hamer didnt know was that as one of the first Black firefighters in the city of Atlanta, William Hamer helped integrate the department in 1963, and he was also on the path to become the first Black fire chief for the city. Mayor Andrew Young appointed William Hamer fire chief 40 years ago, on June 17, 1985, according to the citys fire rescue social media page. He served as chief for three years, retiring in 1988. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] I knew he was very important because they always came to him before they would do anything, and they always looked at him like a leader, Jeffrey Hamer said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While working at Fire Station 16, Hamer navigated not only racism from people he went to help but also from his peers in the department. They were separated. ... That it was stressful to go out and go in all the time ... well, the job itself was stressful because you deal with lives, Jeffrey Hamer said. He says his dad didnt talk politics or civil rights, but he came to understand the pressure under which his dad worked. He kept us sheltered, which Im glad he did that. ... We talked about fellowship, community, but he never discussed anything about the fires, Jeffrey Hamer said. He always had a good face about it, was always positive, he added. He enjoyed it. Clearly, he enjoyed being a firefighter, a fireman. Services for William Hamer will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday at Hoosier United Methodist Church in Atlanta. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] North Dakotas fourth-largest city is battling an escalating problem with Richardson's ground squirrels. These small creatures, native to the northern Plains, weigh less than a pound, are about a foot long and are ferocious tunnelers. Its exasperating the people of Minot, North Dakota, where it's burrowing everywhere from vacant lots to the middle of town, and growing more plentiful over the past two decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city is now fighting back, but even the pest control expert leading the charge acknowledges it will be difficult to turn the tide against the pervasive creatures. An uphill battle Joshua Herman said fighting the squirrels is akin to one guy standing against a massive storm. If Im trapping but my neighbor isnt, well then, were really not going to get anywhere with it, long-term, Herman said. Ground squirrels have been an issue in Minot, a city of nearly 50,000 people, for at least 20 years, but the problem has dramatically worsened in the last few years, said Minot Street Department Superintendent Kevin Braaten. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's unclear how many of the squirrels live in Minot, but it likely nears or even exceeds the city's population. Gosh, there's got to be tens of thousands of them in the area, Herman said. Snare traps set for Richardson's ground squirrels poke up from the ground (AP) Snare traps set for Richardson's ground squirrels poke up from the ground (AP) Officials in the city, a green spot along the winding Souris River surrounded by farmland and grassy prairie, know they can't get rid of the squirrels, but hope to simply get the rodent numbers down. I dont see the population ever going to zero, Braaten said. I mean, its almost impossible by the numbers that we have. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Put another way, Minot won't be able to rid itself of the squirrels because the animals have lived on the prairie for centuries. Outside of town, predators like coyotes, badgers, owls and even snakes love to dine on the squirrels. But in residential neighborhoods and even downtown, where few of their predators live, the rodents can roam pretty freely. Greg Gullickson, an outreach biologist with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, adds that the squirrels now have fewer grassland areas available to them and like the mowed spots they find in town. No land is safe Female squirrels typically give birth to litters of about six babies a year, so it's easy to see how their numbers can quickly soar. Herman said he kills 3,500 to 5,000 of them a year, primarily by putting snares and carbon monoxide into the holes, and using an air rifle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive had calls downtown, calls in the mall, along the highways, here at the airport really every part of the city Ive done trapping for ground squirrels here in Minot, Herman said as he checked his traps along an apartment building and shoveled dirt over holes. Herman says they damage driveways, sidewalks and lawns; create tripping hazards with their holes and can harbor disease from fleas. Along an apartment building, the squirrels had dug under a concrete slab and against the foundation. Nearby in a vacant lot, the rodents popped in and out of holes. Joshua Herman, owner of Herman Pest Control Services (AP) Joshua Herman, owner of Herman Pest Control Services (AP) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ground squirrels near Pashone Grandson's ground-level apartment dig holes near her door and eat her plants. One squirrel even got around her baby gate at the door and into her daughter's clothes in her bedroom. It was a little scary. You don't know what disease they carry. They're dirty. I have a young daughter ... I didn't know if it was going to bite her, Grandson said. North of town, Minot Air Force Base, which houses bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, has fought the ground squirrels for years. Earlier this month, the base said it had trapped more than 800 dak-rats, a base name for the rodents. Base officials declined to comment on the squirrels. Herman pumps carbon monoxide into burrows dug by Richardson's ground squirrels (AP) Herman pumps carbon monoxide into burrows dug by Richardson's ground squirrels (AP) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jared Edwards, facilities director for Minot Public Schools, which has three schools on the base, said residential areas of the base and runways are overrun by ground squirrels. He called it a continuous battle for them for the last 75 years since the base has been there." I'm not going to exaggerate: They're by the millions out there, Edwards said. In town, three school properties have large populations of ground squirrels, he said. Last year, the school system began using snares, and for years before that had used poison. It's something you have to keep up with. It is Mother Nature," Edwards said, adding that they've probably been in the area since homesteaders came through. A cute nuisance Still, not everyone sees the squirrels as pests. Some find the critters cute and fuzzy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Herman said people have sabotaged, stolen or thrown out his traps. They occasionally confront him when he shoots at ground squirrels with an air rifle, scolding him for hurting the wildlife, he said. They get that cute association, and they are, you know, adorable, but they're a vermin and a pest and dangerous when they are allowed to proliferate, Herman said. AMERICAN FORK, Utah (ABC4) The woman who was charged with murder and criminal conspiracy after her husbands death has pleaded guilty. Investigators from the American Fork Police Department believed that she worked with family members to lure him to his death. His wife, Kathryn Restelli, cried as she pleaded guilty to murder, a second-degree felony; conspiracy to commit murder, a second-degree felony; and felony discharge of a firearm, a first-degree felony. The remaining charges were dismissed. Restelli was initially charged with murder, a first-degree felony; criminal conspiracy, a second-degree felony; obstruction of justice, a second-degree felony; and two counts of domestic violence in the presence of a child, a third-degree felony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sentencing was scheduled for September 9, 2025. The court expects the victims family and friends to file letters and attend the sentencing to deliver impact statements. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Wife, mother-in-law arrested in connection to July 2024 death of man in American Fork Background Tracey Marie Grist, Kathryn Restelli, and Kevin Stanley Ellis are accused of conspiring to commit the July 2024 shooting death of Kathryn Restellis husband. Kevin Ellis Grists son and Kathryn Restellis brother was arrested in July 2024 for shooting his brother-in-law. Police said a knife was found in Matthew Restellis hand at the scene. Matthew Restelli, a California resident, had been living separately from his wife for several months, according to witness testimony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Matthew Restellis mother, Diane Restelli, testified that Kathryn Restelli said she needed a breather and took the familys truck, taking the children and leaving Temecula, CA, without telling her husband. He was very concerned until Kathryn Restelli told him she was spending several weeks living with Grist, her mother, in American Fork. According to Diane Restelli, on July 12, 2024 the day her son was killed she was told that Kathryn Restelli was going to rent a vehicle to return to her and Matthew Restellis residence in California after three weeks in Utah. She later found out her son was driving to pick up his family in Utah because Kathryn Restelli could not rent a vehicle. LEARN MORE: American Fork woman who allegedly conspired to kill son-in-law appears in court When Matthew Restelli arrived at the home in the American Fork gated community, he was shot multiple times by Ellis. Grist contacted 911, and police and emergency medical services responded to the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upon arrival, officers discovered some suspicious factors. Matthew Restelli was pronounced dead at the scene, and a knife was in his hand; however, officers observed that he was gripping it the wrong way, alongside other suspicious circumstances. Matthew Restelli is left-handed, and hes holding [the knife] in his right hand. Along with that, during the autopsy, a bullet wound was found in his right wrist the same hand hes holding the knife with, Joseph Nordin, an American Fork officer who responded to the scene, testified. Nordin testified that Matthew Restellis body was found near the stairs in the entryway. He said that eight shell casings were found at the scene, and he had been shot six possibly seven times. Ellis claimed this was in self-defense. READ MORE: American Fork man arrested for alleged murder of brother-in-law Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Evidence recovered from Kathryn Restellis devices allegedly showed that she was researching spousal homicide cases and what attracts mountain lions to humans before her husbands death. Around the same time, Grist was researching gun laws and recent shootings in Utah. Nordin testified that Grist and Kathryn Restilli were charged with criminal conspiracy because they allegedly coordinated a plan to bring Matthew Restelli to the home on July 12 including pretending Kathryn Restelli had an injured ankle and couldnt rent a vehicle, alongside the fact that she had not packed anything to return home to California. Kevin Ellis has a jury trial scheduled to start on January 20, 2026. Grist has pleaded not guilty to all counts and has a jury trial scheduled to start on January 12, 2026. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Latest headlines: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. American Idol Music Supervisor and Husbands Murder Suspect Arrested originally appeared on Parade. Police have arrested the suspect in the brutal murders of American Idol music supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband, Tom DeLuca. The Los Angeles Police Department homicide investigators identified the suspect as 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian. Officials shared that Boodarian resided in Encino, the same city where Kay and DeLuca were shot and killed in their home. Both were 70 years old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was discovered that a prior radio call had been generated for a possible burglary suspect at the residence on July 10, 2025, around 4:00 p.m., the LAPD said in a statement, per The Los Angeles Times. Photo by Jonathan Leibson/Getty Images for Guild of Music Supervisors Authorities believe that Boodarian entered the residence through an unlocked door when Kaye and DeLuca were not home. Once the couple arrived at their home, a confrontation ensued, which resulted in the suspect taking their lives, officials shared. Boodarian was arrested on Tuesday, July 15, one day after Kaye and DeLucas bodies were found in separate rooms of their home and pronounced dead on the scene. Police are currently searching for a connection between the suspect and the two deceased victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers responded to a welfare check request at the 4700 block of White Oak Avenue around 2:30 pm. Kaye and DeLucas identities were not released by officials when they shared their initial statement, but TMZ was the first outlet to release their names later that day. KTLA spoke with a neighbor, who revealed that her tenant witnessed someone trying to break into Kaye and DeLucas home, similar to LAPDs statement. My renter saw someone hopping the fence back on Thursday and she called 911, Amee Faggen told the outlet at the time. But we [haven t] heard anything since then, so we have no idea if its even related or not. Its frightening, obviously, and we dont have any more information. Kaye served as a music supervisor on American Idol between 2002 and 2023. DeLuca, for his part, was a rock musician. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox American Idol Music Supervisor and Husbands Murder Suspect Arrested first appeared on Parade on Jul 16, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared. UPDATE: This article now includes details from BNY's earnings call and comments from CEO Robin Vince. The Bank of New York Mellon had plenty of updates to provide about its estimate-beating second quarter, but there was one topic on which the bank's executives kept quiet. In recent weeks, reports have circulated that BNY has held talks with its Chicago-based rival, Northern Trust, about a potential merger. The Wall Street Journal sparked the rumors last month by reporting that BNY approached Northern Trust about the potential acquisition, and that the two firms' CEOs had at least one conversation about it. In a call with journalists on Tuesday following BNY's earnings release, CEO Robin Vince refused to add fuel to the chatter. "We do not comment on rumors or speculation," Vince told reporters. "Our real focus is on our second-quarter results." The CEO added that he's more interested in BNY's "organic" potential, boosted by the company's years-long reorganization under his leadership. Later, during the bank's earnings call, an analyst broached the Northern Trust question a second time. Once again, Vince refused to respond to speculation, but he did offer a window into his thinking and perhaps some reluctance about large-scale mergers. "M&A, done well, can be a powerful tool in the toolkit," Vince answered. "Having said that, I just really want to underscore this point: It's a very high bar for us, for M&A, especially a larger transaction. It would have to make a ton of sense." He went on to specify that a "strong cultural fit," alignment with BNY's priorities and workable financials would all be prerequisites for any hypothetical acquisition. He did not say whether Northern Trust meets those standards. As of June 30, BNY had $485.8 billion of total assets. At the end of 2025's first quarter, Northern Trust had $165 billion. Both are custody banks BNY is the world's largest and analysts have said that if the two firms merged, the resulting megabank would likely dominate the asset-servicing market. Northern Trust, however, has expressed little interest in such a deal. "I can tell you that Northern Trust is fully committed to remaining independent and continuing to deliver long-term value to our stakeholders, as we have for the past 135 years," a spokesperson for the smaller bank told American Banker in an email last month. During BNY's earnings call, Vince and CFO Dermot McDonogh focused more on the company's second-quarter results, which surpassed expectations. Earnings per share were $1.93, well above analysts' average estimate of $1.75, according to S&P. NEED TO KNOW Los Angeles police confirmed that American Idol supervisor Robin Kaye and her husband, Thomas Deluca, were found dead with gunshots wounds inside their Encino home on July 14 The LAPD confirmed to PEOPLE that 22-year-old Raymond Boodarian has been charged in connection with the killings On July 10, around 4:00 p.m., police responded to a possible burglary. Although there were no visible signs of forced entry at the time, the couple was murdered that same day Robin Kaye, the longtime music supervisor behind American Idols signature sound, and her husband, rocker Thomas Deluca, were murdered inside their $4.5-million Encino home in what investigators believe was a random home invasion. Both were 70. According to police, the couple was killed after returning home and encountering a burglary suspect, who is believed to have entered through an unlocked door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PEOPLE can now confirm via a felony complaint filed in the Superior Court of Los Angeles that the killings occurred on July 10 four days before police discovered the couple's bodies and the same day police responded to reports of a burglary. According to police sources, officers visited the Encino home around the time the suspect was believed to be inside. It remains unclear what time the couple died or whether they were still alive when authorities initially arrived to check out the home that day. A confrontation ensued, which resulted in the suspect taking their lives, LAPD confirmed. Their bodies were discovered four days later, on July 14, after officers responded to a welfare check around 2:30 p.m. in the 4700 block of White Oak Avenue. Paramedics pronounced the pair dead at the scene. Police sources say Kaye was found in the pantry, Deluca in the bathroom. Both had been shot multiple times in the head. TMZ.com Police Arresting The Suspect in The Murders of Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca. Police Arresting The Suspect in The Murders of Robin Kaye and her husband Thomas Deluca. The suspect, identified as 22-year-old Encino resident Raymond Boodarian, was arrested Tuesday, June 15, without incident. He was charged two days later on July 17, with two counts of murder, as well as one count of residential burglary with a person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The murder charges include the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a burglary, as well as firearm allegations. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against Boodarian. According to Los Angeles court records, Boodarian has a documented criminal history, including charges of battery, exhibiting a deadly weapon and threatening to commit a crime with the intent to terrorize. Those charges were later dismissed following court hearings related to mental competency and conservatorship. In a disturbing twist, a former police officer, veteran and private security guard claims Kaye had previously reached out seeking security after an increase in burglaries in the area. Kris Herzog, who owns The Bodyguard Group and operates with off-duty police in private defense, says he got the call earlier this year. Herzog, who represents clients like Kim Kardashian, Taylor Swift and Mark Zuckerberg, says during that call he warned Kaye that home cameras may not save her life. Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times/Getty Los Angeles Police Department officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca were found killed with gunshot wounds to the head on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. Los Angeles Police Department officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca were found killed with gunshot wounds to the head on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. The most dangerous thing in your home is your home camera system or alarm because it gives you a false sense of security," he recalls telling Kaye. "Its never gonna save your life. The fact is, its gonna get you killed by giving you a false sense of security. And the only thing its gonna accomplish is record your death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He says he advised her to purchase bear spray or a pepper ball gun and hide them throughout the house. She said OK thanks well think about it and never called us back, Herzog says. This is the first time in my career that what I predicted potentially could happen 90,000 times... actually happened. Police sources close to the investigation allegedly told Herzog that the alarm system was off and the suspect simply walked in. The door was left open. The alarm is turned off. And he walked right in," he claims. "I told her at the time," Herzog says, pausing. "You have to be able to defend yourself if you only have a second notice. Herzog mentions the previous call to police about a potential break-in at the same house just days before the bodies were found. According to Herzog, "they respond to a burglary there now, burglar in the house, hes jumped the wall. The witness, a renter from the neighbor, believes he went in the house. So they responded, circled the house, called out the airship. Airship circle said we see no signs of forced entry and they fg left. Theyre out of there in 10. An officer claims that no one responded inside the home, while a police helicopter from overhead reported not seeing anything suspicious. Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times/Getty Los Angeles Police Department officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca. Los Angeles Police Department officials secure the home where Robin Kaye an "American Idol" music supervisor and her husband Thomas Deluca. According to Herzog, the LAPDs policy of not entering a property unless theres overwhelming probable cause may have prevented officers from discovering the crime sooner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hundreds of departments around the country have the opposite policy. You get a burglar-there-now call, you jump the wall, you make sure those residents are OK. You try to apprehend the burglar. LAPD does not have that policy. Unless they have a ridiculous amount of probable cause bloody shoe print, O.J. Simpson heading into the house from the street I mean a ridiculous amount," he claims, exhaling then alleging: Their policies are 99% geared towards cover your a and 1% toward public safety. They're worried about getting sued and bad publicity. They are critically, dangerously underfunded. They don't have the manpower." PEOPLE has reached out to the LAPD for comment on Herzog's claims and did not immediately hear back. Jonathan Leibson/Getty Robin Kaye attends the 4th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards at Mack Sennett Studios on February 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Robin Kaye attends the 4th Annual Guild of Music Supervisors Awards at Mack Sennett Studios on February 26, 2014 in Los Angeles, California. Kaye worked on nearly 300 episodes of American Idol between 2009 and 2023. Her credits also include The Singing Bee, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the NAACP Image Awards and multiple Miss Universe specials. Thomas Deluca was best known for his 1986 album Down to the Wire. His most recent album, Street Rock, was released in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for American Idol said the team was devastated by the news and called Kaye a cornerstone of the Idol family. The statement continued: Robin was truly loved and respected by all who came in contact with her. Robin will remain in our hearts forever and we share our deepest sympathy with her family and friends during this difficult time. Boodarian remains in custody at the Inmate Reception Center on Bauchet Street in Los Angeles and will likely be transferred in the following days to jail, according to a sheriff. His bail was denied. Read the original article on People NEW YORK (AP) In a matter of months, it has become a regular sight around the country immigration enforcement agents detaining people and taking them into custody, often as public anger and outcry unfold around them. But in the process, something has disappeared: the agents' faces, covered by caps, sunglasses, pulled-up neck gaiters or balaclavas, effectively rendering them unidentifiable. With the year only half over, the covered face as deployed by law enforcement in a wave of immigration crackdowns directed by President Donald Trump's White House has become one of the most potent and contentious visuals of 2025. The increase in high-profile immigration enforcement was already contentious between those opposed to the actions of Donald Trump's administration and those in support of them. The sight of masked agents carrying it out is creating a whole new level of conflict, in a way that has no real comparison in the U.S. history of policing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump administration officials have consistently defended the practice, saying that immigration agents have faced strident and increasing harassment in public and online as they have gone about their enforcement in service of Trump's drive toward mass deportation, and hiding their identities is for their and their families' safety to avoid things like death threats and doxing, where someone's personal information is released without their permission on the internet. Im sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but Im not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people dont like what immigration enforcement is, Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting director Todd Lyons said last month. There's pushback, as expected Democrats and others, including the several state attorneys general, have pushed back, saying the use of face masks generates public fear and should be halted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a letter to Lyons last week, a group of Democratic senators said the stepped-up immigration enforcement in workplaces, restaurants and other sites was already causing dismay and the increasingly common sight of masked agents represents a clear attempt to compound that fear and chaos and to avoid accountability for agents actions. In American culture, covering one's face has often gone hand in hand with assumptions of negative behavior. Think bandits donning bandanas in cowboy movies, or robbers putting on ski masks before pulling a heist on a bank. Even comic-book superheroes who cover their faces have been swept up in storylines in recent years that derisively refer to them as masks and say their decision to hide their identities while enforcing justice is transgressive. And the presence of masked police or paramilitary forces in other countries has been seen by Americans as antithetical to promised democracy and justice for all and to the common-law principle of being able to face your accusers. Mask-wearing overall in American life took another hit during the COVID-19 pandemic, when many Trump supporters scoffed at notions that protective masks would insulate people from the deadly virus and scorned people who wore them. More recently, Trump has come out against masks, at least when they're being worn by protestors. He posted on social media last month that demonstrators wearing masks should be arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given all that cultural context, it's even more problematic that those enforcing laws be the ones with their faces covered, said Tobias Winright, professor of moral theology at St. Patrick's Pontifical University in Maynooth, Ireland. He has worked in law enforcement in the U.S. and writes frequently about policing ethics. If what youre doing is above board and right," he said, then why conceal your identity? Power gives different symbols different meanings For those who question why it's different for law enforcement to wear masks if protestors and non-law enforcement personnel are doing it, it's because symbols have different meanings based on the power and position of the people using them, said Alison Kinney, author of Hood, a book about that clothing item and the various ways people have used it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE agents are agents of the state. and theyre invested with not only power but also with protections in carrying out their job, she said. But that job is also supposed to be public service. Its also supposed to be accountable and responsible to the public." And so they have a greater responsibility for transparency and accountability and making themselves known so that we can hold them accountable for the justice or injustice of their actions, she said. Concerns over how law enforcement is held accountable to the public have come up before. Advocates pushed for officers to wear body cameras and demanded that police officers have visible names and badge numbers. But there hasn't previously been much discussion around police masking because there isn't a history of it being done in any kind of official widespread way in the United States, outside of SWAT- or undercover-type operations, Winright said. The most high-profile example of mask-wearing in American history for the purpose of hiding identity is also its most negative one racist attacks carried out by the members of the Ku Klux Klan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The masks served a purpose, of course, of keeping the wearers' identities secret, said Elaine Frantz, a history professor at Kent State University and author of Ku-Klux: The Birth of the Klan during Reconstruction. But they also made it easier for those wearing them to commit violent acts against others, she said. One thing about a mask is it kind of works like being behind a riot shield, Frantz said. When you have more of separation from the person youre attacking, its easier to dehumanize that person. Winright said he hoped law enforcement mask-wearing wouldn't be normalized. There has been at least one expansion into local policing. In Nassau County, on Long Island just outside New York City, County Executive Bruce Blakeman last week signed an executive order allowing police officers to wear masks during certain types of work, including working with immigration agents. Winright is concerned, though, that the move could strain police-community relations even more, thus putting officers at even more risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wearing a mask seems to increase fear and decrease trust, and policing from federal to local in America needs trust and transparency and community relations that are positive, he said. He added: The harms, the risks, are greater by wearing masks, not only to the individual officers, but to the profession itself, as well as to the United States society. Its just going to further exacerbate the us-versus-them polarization, the lack of trust, and thats the probably the last thing we need right now. A body found in Turks and Caicos over a week ago has been identified as a missing American man who vanished while vacationing in the tropical paradise. Brian Tarrence, 51, of Monroe, New York , went missing on June 25 during a vacation with his wife on the Turks and Caicos Island, according to the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. Tarrence was last seen leaving his condo around 3:30 a.m. at the Paradise Inn in Grace Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos. In a press release, the island's police force confirmed Tarrence's identity following the conclusion of a forensic dental analysis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mystery Shrouds Case As American Tourist Still Presumed Missing In Popular Tourist Paradise Tarrence, who recently moved from Monroe to Manhattan, arrived in Turks and Caicos with his wife of one year on June 22, and they planned to leave on June 29. No signs of trauma were discovered during the autopsy, and police do not suspect foul play, according to authorities. Tarrance's cause of death has not yet been determined, with police still awaiting the results of the final autopsy and toxicology reports. Read On The Fox News App An earlier press release revealed Tarrence's body was found in some bushes along Miracle Close in Grace Bay. Carl DeFazio, the Tarrence family's private investigator, previously told Fox News Digital that the condo is located in a safe area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caribbean Police Work To Id Body Found During Search For Missing American As Nearby Security Guard Was Killed Police discovered a body in the Grace Bay Police District on the Turks & Caicos. "They seemed to be having a normal couple days, and he ended up walking out of his condo, which is in a very safe place and in the middle of Grace Bay Road," DeFazio said. "And we have him on camera, and he walks into town, and then he basically disappears, and we haven't heard from him since." DeFazio added that Tarrence's belongings remained at the condo and his wife didn't realize he was missing until the following morning. The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force said Tarrence's body was found shortly after 9 a.m. on July 5. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mystery Deepens As Body Discovered During Search For Missing American In Island Paradise Grace Bay Beach, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, Overseas Dependency of the United Kingdom. "The RT&CIPF extends our condolences to Mr. Tarrences family and friends during this difficult time. We thank the public for their patience and support as we continue the investigation," Royal Turks and Caicos police said in a statement late Wednesday. The Tarrence's were set to return from their vacation on June 29. Brian Tarrence, 51, was last seen leaving his condo around 3:30 a.m. at the Paradise Inn in Grace Bay, Providenciales, Turks and Caicos, according to a missing persons flyer from the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. Anyone with information relating to Tarrence's case is asked to call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477. Fox News Digitals Greg Wehner contributed to this report. Original article source: American tourist confirmed dead after Turks and Caicos vacation disappearance An arbitration judge has ordered the reinstatement of an Amherst Regional Middle School counselor who was fired in 2023 following an investigation into claims that she and two other counselors misgendered transgender students, Amherst-Pelham Public Schools Superintendent E. Xiomara Dr. Xi Herman announced Wednesday. Delinda Dykes was among multiple district staff members who became embroiled in controversy after an Amherst-Pelham Regional High School student newspaper published an extensive article detailing allegations against her and two other counselors in May 2023. Dykes, as well as former counselors Hector Santos and Tania Cabrera, were accused of misgendering trans students, using their deadnames, failing to offer support when they came to the counselors for help regarding bullying and inappropriately injecting religion on school grounds. Dykes specifically was alleged to have made the comment In the name of Jesus we pray that the LGBTQ gay demon that wants to attack and confuse these kids to leave this school now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dykes challenged the decision to fire her through an arbitration process, and the judge handling the matter ultimately ruled against the school district, ordering her immediate reinstatement, Superintendent Herman said in a Wednesday press release. The judge also ordered the school to pay her for all wages she wouldve received but for the wrongful termination. Herman, who became the districts superintendent after former Superintendent Michael Morris resigned in the wake of the controversy, said the district plans on complying with the judges order as is required by law, she said in a Wednesday press release. The districts legal counsel is working directly with Dykes attorneys to ensure the order is implemented in a manner consistent with both the decision and the law. Though Herman did not address any changes in the employment of Santos and Cabrera in the release, she did say that the judges decision applied specifically to Dykes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The judges decision made clear that certain procedural deficiencies contributed to the outcome of the arbitration process, including the lack of documented progressive discipline, limited evidentiary records, and the absence of key witnesses during arbitration despite their participation in the 2023 investigation that led to Dykes firing, Herman said. There are lessons to be learned, she said in the release. This moment is not just about compliance it is a call to action." Given the school communitys response to the allegations against Dykes when they came to light in 2023, Herman said she acknowledges that news of her reinstatement may raise a range of emotions and concerns across the community. The release states that she is now asking school community members to hold space for understanding, not division, as well as the complexity of the moment. Regardless of the judges decision regarding Dykes, the school districts broader commitment to student-center, inclusive, values-driven" education has only grown stronger, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We cannot change the past, but we can and must learn from it. We will use this moment to build stronger systems, reset expectations, tighten guardrails and create clearer pathways forward, she said in the release. Our students deserve a school system that not only protects but celebrates their identities and is grounded in clarity, equity and care. Dykes has maintained that she committed no wrongdoing since the allegations came to light and said that any ways in which students were wronged were unintentional. A district administrator was previously cleared Dykes, Santos and Cabrera of any Title IX violations in connection with their treatment of trans students, but said that their conduct was, in some cases, offensive, and that overwhelming evidence suggests Dykes treatment of trans students was intentional. The latest from MassLive Read the original article on MassLive. BROOKLYN, N.Y. (PIX11) With temperatures climbing to dangerous levels on Wednesday, Brooklynites were looking for any way to keep cool. For many families, Domino Parks splash pad in Williamsburg became the ultimate summer refuge. The National Weather Service issued a Heat Advisory for New York City, lasting from 11 a.m. Wednesday through 10 p.m. Thursday, cautioning residents about heat levels that could reach 103 degrees thanks to soaring humidity. More Local News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health officials also warned of poor air quality, encouraging New Yorkersespecially those with sensitive conditionsto limit strenuous activities and stay indoors whenever possible. But by midday, it was clear Domino Park was the place to be. The splash pad was packed with laughing children and grateful parents making the most of the cooling jets. Elsewhere, a couple found their own shady oasis. We just found this spot here in the shade with this beautiful view near the water so were just fine, said one woman. While some kids huddled beneath slides for relief, most flocked straight to the water. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joanna, who brought friends and kids along, explained the appeal, Its so hot and being at the water site, its so cool breezy. For Joanna, the recipe for beating the heat is simple, Just jump to the water, down the water and drink enough, she said. She also shared a local tip, We just land inside Domino factory. There is some nice cafe with cold coffee and cold drinks. Many of the adults at the park were busy supervising kids, helping them dash through sprinklers or enjoy frozen treats. New York City offers so many amazing splash pads for kids and amazing indoor spaces as well Theres no shortage of staying cool in the summer, said another parent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the stifling conditions, most children seemed unfazed. You get to splash in it and play with my best friend, one young visitor told PIX11 News. As the heat wave continues, health officials urge Brooklyn residents to stay hydrated, take breaks in air-conditioned spaces, and check on elderly or vulnerable neighbors while the advisory remains in effect. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Originally appeared on E! Online Amy Bradleys family is still searching for answers. Its been almost 30 years since Amy disappeared at the age of 23 while on a Royal Caribbean Cruise ship with her loved ones, including parents Iva Bradley and Ron Bradley, as well as brother Ronald Brad Bradley. On March 24,1998, Amy and Brad spent time at a pool party on the cruisewhich was headed to Curacaobefore heading to the ships disco party. It would become the last night Brad saw his sister. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We go up there, spend several hours up there, talking to people and meeting people and having fun, Brad told WWBTs 12 On Your Side in an interview shared July 11. Upon returning to the room, Amy began to feel seasick and decided to sleep on the rooms balcony. She said, Im going to stay out here on the chaise lounge and a lot of fresh air and wind. I dont want to go in a closed room right now. Brad continued, revealing the last words he ever said to Amy, So, I told her I loved her. More from E! Online Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later, upon waking, Brad said the balcony door was open about 18 inches but that Amy wasnt there anymore, vanishing in seemingly plain sight. Despite the family and crew searching the ship, they did not find any sign of the 23-year-old. Over the years, Brad and his family have remained adamant that Amy is still alive somewhere. Courtesy of Netflix A shirt she was wearing was laid across one of the chairs in the room, so we know she came back into the room, Brad said. Theres a lot of haters online that say a lot of nasty things and basically say shes gone, she fell over, she jumped over. I can guarantee those two things didnt happen. While Brad told the outlet hes replayed the night over and over and remains suspicious of some of the people they met while on the ship, nothing has ever come of his suspicions. And in the years since, he said thousands of tips have come in from people claiming to have seen Amyincluding one that has led the family to suspect she may have been kidnapped or smuggled off the boat and sex trafficked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Navy man, who visited a brothel on Curacao, he wasnt supposed to be there, so he didnt report it because he didnt want to get in trouble, Brad recalled. A couple of years later, he contacted us and said there was a girl in there who said, My name is Amy Bradley. I need help. Courtesy of Netflix But with nothing ever being found, the family is hopeful that Netflixs new July 16 documentary, Amy Bradley Is Missing, may help lead to more information. Were gearing up for, hopefully, Brad said, what will be an avalanche of phone calls and emails from, who knows where, all over the world, trying to help us find her. Because despite the decades separating them from their daughter and sister, Brad and his parents are holding onto hope. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My parents and I share this gut feeling that she is still alive, however unrealistic that may be to a lot of people. Were never going to give up, he added. If you dont take opportunities and follow leads, you know youve given up on her, and were not going to do that. Unfortunately, Amy's disappearance isn't the only tragedy to occur on a boat. Read on for more. Lake Tahoe Boat Capsizing In June 2025, a boat crash in Lake Tahoe took the lives of eight individuals, making it the deadliest sea tragedy in California since 2019. The victims included Doordash executive Josh Pickles, as well as his parents Terry Pickles and Paula Bozinovic, and his uncle Peter Bayes, the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office Coroner's Division confirmed to ABC 7 San Francisco at the time. The family had been celebrating the 71st birthday of Pickles mother, a rep for the family told the outlet. Timothy O'Leary, James Guck, Theresa Giullari, and Stephen Lindsay were also killed in the crash. There were only two survivors. Red Sea Tourist Disaster A tourist submarine carrying 45 people crashed off in the Red Sea off the coast of Egypt in March 2025, killing six Russian tourists, the Egyptian governorate office confirmed to NBC News at the time. Of the 39 people who survived, local officials told the Associated Press that nine were injured, while the remaining 30 were returned to their hotels. The vessel that crashed was owned by Sinbad Submarines, a tourist agency that offers recreational tours 25 meters below the sea surface for $70 per person. In a statement to Daily News Egypt following the crash, the company said of the six victims, We sadly join the deceased families in mourning them with profound grief. Faster Pussycat Member Taime Downe's Fiancees Fatal Cruise Ship Fall Kimberly Burch, the fiancee of Faster Pussycat member Taime Downe, fell from a Royal Carribean 80s-themed cruise ship off the coast of Miami in March 2025, her mother Carnell Burch confirmed to TMZ at the time. In an interview two months later, Downe alleged that his fiancees death was alcohol and prescription related. Its a rollercoaster, Downe told SiriusXM's Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk in May 2025 of his grieving process. I'm hanging in there. I'm just taking it a day at a time." Sicily Superyacht Sinking Amid a freak storm in August 2024, a superyacht off the coast of Sicily containing 10 crew members as well as 12 passengers sank. The six victims of the catastrophe included tech CEO Mike Lynch, his daughter Hannah, New York-based attorney Christopher Morvillo and his wife Neda, as well as Morgan Stanley International chairman Jonathan Bloomer and his wife Judy. Officials later determined that the accident was caused by a waterspout, or a tornado that can occur at sea. Salvo Cocina, the head of Sicily's civil protection agency, told NBC News at the time of the crash that the boat was in the wrong place at the wrong time." One of the lone survivors of the tragedy Charlotte Golunskiwhose young daughter and partner also surviveddescribed the storm to La Repubblica as feeling like the end of the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Titan Submersible Implosion In June 2023, the disappearance of OceanGates Titan submersible, a deep-sea vessel designed to take tourists to the crash site of the Titanic, dominated the news cycle. After a four-day searchduring which a tally was kept of the subs 96-hour oxygen supplyit was determined that the seacraft had imploded on itself, killing all five of the passengers. The perished vessel carried OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, British businessman Hamish Harding, British-Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son Suleman Dawood as well as Titanic researcher Paul-Henri Nargeolet. Less than a month after the implosion, OceanGate completely shut down its operations. In Implosion: Titanic Sub Disaster, a documentary released nearly two years after the tragedy, events that led to the crash, including a lack of attention to safety protocols by OceanGate, were examined. Additionally, footage from what the Coast Guard believes was the moment of the implosion was released. In the clip, Rushs wife Wendy Rusha director for the submersible tourism companywho was monitoring the voyage from the OceanGate offices, noticed a loud crash as the submersible was set to hit 3,300 meters below sea level. Addressing her colleague Gary Foss, she said, What was that bang? Naya Riveras Drowning While on a boat trip on California's Lake Piru with her young son Josey, the Glee star disappeared, launching a lengthy investigation after authorities found her son alone on the boat in the middle of the lake July 8, 2020. After five days of searching Ventura County Sheriff's department confirmed that Riveras body was found in the lake, floating at its surface. Riveras sonwhom Rivera shared with ex Ryan Dorseyshared amid the investigation that the pair had gone swimming in the lake that day and he remembered being helped back into the boat by his mom. There are a lot of currents on the lake that appear particularly in the afternoon, Ventura County Sheriff Bill Ayub confirmed at a 2020 press conference. We believe it was mid-afternoon when she disappeared, the idea perhaps being that the boat started drifting, it was unanchored, and that she mustered enough energy to get her son back onto the boat, but not enough to save herself." For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News App (NewsNation) A recently released documentary series is shining a new light on the disappearance of a young woman from a Royal Caribbean cruise in 1998. Amy Lynn Bradley was 23 when she disappeared from a Royal Caribbean cruise ship while on vacation with her family. Bradley had recently graduated from college and was an athlete and trained lifeguard who was set to start a new job when she returned from the trip. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New docuseries on Jodi Huisentruit released On the night she disappeared, Bradley and her brother were seen socializing and dancing with other passengers. Both returned to the familys cabin afterward. Around 5:30 a.m., Bradleys father woke up and saw her legs on the balcony lawn chair, but by 6 a.m., Bradley had disappeared. In the years following her disappearance, there were unverified sightings of a woman who resembled Bradley Curacao, including a Naval petty officer who said a woman in a brothel told him she was Bradley and begged for help. A photograph from an adult website also included a woman who looked like Bradley. Her family believes it is her, and that she has been trafficked against her will. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Netflix docuseries Amy Bradley is Missing takes a new look at the case and the events that followed Bradleys disappearance. The series recounts the familys efforts to launch a search, including requests for ship-wide announcements and a plea to delay lowering the gangplank at Curacao, fearing Bradley could be taken off the ship by someone. Filmmakers note that the FBI later found Royal Caribbeans initial search of the ship was incomplete and did not cover crew and passenger quarters. Remains found by dog identified as missing man: Sheriff When it comes to Bradleys case, the focus has been on two possibilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first theory is an accident, where a drunk Bradley fell off the ship into the ocean. The Netherlands Antilles Coast Guard conducted a search of the water for four days, but found no sign of Bradley. The second theory the family put forward is that Bradley was abducted, a possibility bolstered by official investigators stating there was no evidence that Bradley fell, was pushed or intentionally jumped overboard. The series focuses on incidents that support the abduction theory, including reports that Bradley was seen with a bassist from the ships band sometime after 5:30 a.m. and that he handed her a glass of something. Other strange things details are included, including the disappearance of photos of Bradley from the ships gallery and an unsettling comment the bassist made to Bradleys brother. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Family determined to find missing girl 9 years later The film also examines the toll Bradleys disappearance took on the family, including their exploitation by a con man who convinced them he could rescue Bradley, taking $210,000 from them. Bradley was legally declared dead in 2010, but the FBI investigation into her disappearance remains open. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. By Anait Miridzhanian DAKAR (Reuters) -At dawn on June 1, gunfire shattered the stillness of Mali's military base in Boulkessi. Waves of jihadist insurgents from an al-Qaeda-linked group stormed the camp, catching newly deployed soldiers off guard. Some troops, unfamiliar with the base, which lies near Mali's southern border with Burkina Faso, scrambled to find cover while others fled into the arid brush, according to one soldier, who spoke to survivors of the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The soldier, who had completed a tour at the camp a week before, requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to journalists. Hours after the attack, videos circulated online showing jubilant fighters from Jama'at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), stepping over the bodies of fallen soldiers. JNIM claimed it had killed more than 100 troops and showed around 20 soldiers who said they were captured at the base. Reuters was unable to verify the claims independently. The Boulkessi assault was one of more than a dozen deadly attacks by JNIM on military outposts and towns across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in May and June. The insurgents claimed to have killed more than 400 soldiers in those attacks. Mali's military government has not commented on the toll. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuters spoke to five analysts, a security expert and a community leader in the region who said the surge in violence reflects a strategic shift by JNIM - a group founded by a veteran Islamist who rose to prominence by briefly seizing northern Mali in 2012. JNIM is moving from rural guerrilla tactics to a campaign aimed at controlling territory around urban centres and asserting political dominance in the Sahel, they said. "The recent attacks point a concrete effort to encircle Sahelian capitals, aiming for a parallel state stretching from western Mali to southern Niger and northern Benin," said Mucahid Durmaz, senior Africa analyst at risk intelligence group Verisk Maplecroft. Attacks by JNIM left more 850 people dead across Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger in May, a rise from the average rate of killings of around 600 in previous months, according to data from U.S. crisis-monitoring group Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The surge in attacks in May and June marks one of the deadliest periods in the Sahel's recent history and underscores the threat posed by jihadist groups at a time when regional governments are estranged from former Western military allies, analysts say. More than a decade of insurgencies in the Sahel has caused mass displacement and economic collapse. The violence has steadily spread towards coastal West Africa, straining regional stability and fuelling migration toward Europe. On July 1, JNIM carried out simultaneous attacks on army camps and positions in seven towns in central and western Mali, according to an army statement and claims by the insurgents. The army said 80 militants were killed. Reuters was unable to reach JNIM for comment. The group releases its statements and videos on social media, and has no media spokesperson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mali's army did not respond to Reuters requests for comments about the wave of JNIM attacks. It said in a statement after the Boulkessi assault that troops responded "vigorously" before retreating. "Many soldiers fought, some to their last breath," the statement said. STRATEGIC PIVOT JNIM's leader, Iyad Ag Ghaly, has been instrumental in its transformation. A former rebel leader in Mali's Tuareg uprisings in the 1990s, Ag Ghaly led the fundamentalist group Ansar Dine that was part of a coalition of groups that briefly occupied northern Mali in 2012. The militants imposed a harsh version of sharia law - banning music, imposing mutilations as punishment for crimes, and holding public executions and floggings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thousands fled, and cultural sites were destroyed, leaving lasting trauma in the region before the rebels were driven out by a French military intervention the following year. Ag Ghaly is wanted by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The military leaders in Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, who seized power between 2020 and 2023 on the back of the prolonged insurgencies, promise to restore security before returning their countries to democratic rule. They've cut ties with Western nations and expelled their forces, blaming them for failing to end the insurgencies and turning instead to Russia for military support. After deploying mercenaries, the Russians have also suffered setbacks and been unable to contain the uprisings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Burkina Faso a country about half the size of France militants exert influence or control over an estimated 60% of the territory, according to ACLED. Ag Ghaly, who has pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda, has positioned himself as the leader of a jihadist coalition that includes al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), Al-Mourabitoun, and Katiba Macina after they merged into JNIM in 2017. A Western security source, who requested anonymity because he is not authorised to speak publicly, told Reuters that JNIM has emerged as the region's strongest militant group, with an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 fighters. Ag Ghaly's goal, the analysts said, is to impose Islamic rule across the Sahel and extend its influence to coastal West Africa, a region twice the size of Western Europe, with a population of around 430 million people, many of them Christian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a rare video released in December 2023, he denounced the military governments in Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso and called on Muslims to mobilize against them and their Russian allies. Ag Ghaly could not be reached for comment. The governments of Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger did not respond to requests for comment. SOPHISTICATED TACTICS, LOCAL OUTREACH JNIM's battlefield tactics have grown increasingly sophisticated, including the use of anti-aircraft weapons and drones for surveillance and precision strikes, Durmaz said. It has amassed substantial resources, meanwhile, through raids, cattle rustling, hijacking of goods, kidnappings and taxes on local communities, the five analysts said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While it has not appointed local administrators in areas under its control, JNIM has imposed a tax known as 'Zakat' for protection, according to two residents and a former militia fighter. They have quelled some inter-communal conflicts and imposed a form of Sharia law, requiring women to wear veils and men to grow beards. But they have refrained from severe punishments, such as amputating the hands of thieves. Heni Nsaibia, Senior West Africa analyst at ACLED, described its recent activity as a "step change". He said JNIM seizing Burkina Faso's northern provincial capital Djibo, a town of over 60,000 people, on May 11 and Diapaga, an eastern provincial capital of around 15,000, two days later was unprecedented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In Djibo they stayed for 11 hours or plus. In Diapaga they remained for two-three days even. And that is very much something that we haven't seen before," Nsaibia said. According to Nsaibia, the group has captured an estimated $3 million worth of munitions in Djibo alone. The repeated attacks have left the capitals of Mali and Burkina Faso unsettled, and idea of JNIM taking over Bamako or Ouagadougou, once considered far-fetched, is a plausible threat, according to Nsaibia. JNIM's outreach to marginalized communities, particularly the Fulani, a widely dispersed pastoralist group, has been central to recruitment, the analysts said. "JNIM is advancing its narrative as a defender of marginalised communities," Durmaz said. "They are not just fighting for territory they're fighting for legitimacy." Fulani have increasingly found themselves targeted by authorities across Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso under the banner of counter-terrorism, a Fulani community leader told Reuters, requesting anonymity for safety reasons. While not all Fulani are involved in armed groups, their presence is significant among insurgents in rural areas, driven more by frustration and lack of opportunity than ideology, the leader said. JNIM's ambitions now stretch beyond the Sahel. The group has expanded its operations into northern Benin and Togo, and are threatening Gulf of Guinea states which they use as a rear base, according to analysts. Both countries have deployed more security forces in the northern regions as insurgents ramp up attacks. "Togo and Benin are the most vulnerable due to their limited counterterrorism capabilities, existing local grievances in their northern regions, and porous borders with Burkina Faso," Durmaz said. ($1 = 554.9000 CFA francs) (Additional reporting Robbie Corey-Boulet and Bate Felix Writing by Bate Felix) The News CHARLESTON, S.C. At each stop on his two-day tour of South Carolina, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear asked the same question, one designed to confuse his audience. The phrase is justice-involved population, Beshear said. Anybody know what that is? His query was met with raised eyebrows and embarrassed murmurs at a house party in Greenville, an alumni center at the University of South Carolina, and a law firm in Charleston. Those are , Beshear answered. You know what our inmates call themselves? Inmates! Weve got to get back to talking to people like we talk to our friends, like we talk each and every day in our life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest high-profile Democrat to tour the first southern primary state has given this advice all year. His podcast, launched in April, started with a promise that he and his guests would talk like real human beings. After Donald Trump won a second term Beshear was considered as a possible running mate for Kamala Harris he got asked more often how he won over voters who hated every other Democrat. In South Carolina this week, Beshears advice was to govern for everybody, to fight against Medicaid cuts, and to portray Republicans as the culture-war aggressors. He warned that advocacy language, even when shared with good intentions, made it easier for the GOP to convince people that Democrats didnt work for them, and didnt even talk to people like them. If Democrats dropped the erudite terminology, he said, they would find conservative voters who could agree with them. The president is trying to erase our history and tell you that diversity is a dirty word, he said in Greenville, touting his removal of a Jefferson Davis statue from the state Capitol and his executive order that made Juneteenth a holiday all before he won re-election by running on economic growth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have got to spend 80% of our time focusing on peoples everyday needs, Beshear added. When people wake up in the morning, theyre not thinking about politics. Know More Beshear, who will lead the Democratic Governors Association into next years midterm elections, was introduced at most stops as the most popular Democratic governor in America. He had not been able to stop his partys decline down the ballot. Democrats lost their 70-year grip on the state attorney generals office when he left it to run for governor; he also benefited from the states off-year elections, which meant he never shared a ballot with Trump. But South Carolinas Democrats were in worse shape than Kentuckys. Last week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom toured the state with a robust defense of his state and its progressive pluralism. Beshear traveled a different route, quoting from the Bible (the Parable of the Good Samaritan says everyone is our neighbor) and saying he knew how to win when outnumbered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What were seeing out of Washington DC is incompetence, and it is cruelty, Beshear said in Greenville. Its putting all of those things that people care about at risk. The tariff policy is going to hurt jobs. The big, ugly bill is going to devastate rural health care in your state and in mine. In each city, as Beshear delivered short stump speeches in a button-down blue shirt and khakis, he was joined by ghosts of the Democratic Partys past. Former Gov. Richard Riley sat in at the Greenville house party; former Rep. Joe Cunningham attended the event in Charleston. The Democratic Party brands become toxic across the country, Cunningham told Semafor. Democrats have done a terrible job, not only speaking above people, but also talking down to folks who dont know or dont care to understand what those terms mean. I dont know what they mean! In Columbia, former Gov. Jim Hodges was particularly enthusiastic about Beshears advice on speaking to voters in normal language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive been saying that for a long time, and Im glad to hear him say it, said Hodges. We talk down to people and we use words that people dont use in their everyday lives. We need a grocery store, but we Dems have to call it a food desert. Whats that term for moms we use birthing persons? Its hard to connect with voters when you use language in a way that creates barriers, Hodges added. Beshears riff on normal language focused on three areas that arent controversial with Democrats: How to talk about prisoners, how to talk about drug addiction (addiction, not substance use), and how to talk about hunger (not food insecurity). He agreed that Hodgess example of birthing people a gender-neutral term, reflecting that transgender men can also get pregnant was needlessly alienating. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For an individual thats in that situation, I want to show them as much kindness as I can, he said. But for 99.9% of the American population, they cant understand what it is that youre saying. Beshear still criticized how the Trump administration had gone after the rights and health care access of transgender people. The administrations shutdown of a trans suicide help line was ridiculous, he said, and its orders restricting gender-affirming care for minors went too far. Im against surgeries on minors, okay? he said. But when you look at the other gender-affirming care, theres a lot of research out there that suggests that parents ought to have the opportunity to consider: What is the best health care for their kids? Room for Disagreement Beshear is currently the only potential Democratic presidential hopeful in a deep-red state, facing a GOP legislature that can override his vetoes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governors skeptics credit that, not his language use, for his popularity. Republicans tend to roll their eyes at the idea that he has cracked the code on how to talk about gender identity, for example. One reason for that: While he did win re-election after vetoing an omnibus anti-trans bill, Republicans passed another version over Beshears protests. Davids view Its been popular, rightly or wrongly, to identify lanes for presidential candidates and assess whos winning them. And Beshears lane happens to look hand-picked for him. In this select audience of influential and curious Democrats, I found party members who identified Beshear with nonpartisan, successful disaster relief, and with escaping the language games that they blamed for screwing up their brand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Charleston, a former DNC member named Waring Howe, Jr. was so impressed by Beshears pitch that he compared him to Bill Clinton. Your persona, region from which you serve and live, your education, your views one could have some memories about 1992, Howe told the governor. Ive got a few friends from Arkansas here who might agree with me. As Beshear worked the room, Howe explained to Semafor that he was focused on electability, and that the 47-year-old Kentuckian who often sprinkles in references to his young children seemed to have it. We want to win, Howe said. We need to win. Notable Tech CEO Andy Byron has found himself at the center of an unexpected social media firestorm. According to Newsweek, Byron is married to Megan Kerrigan Byron. His wife, who also goes by the name Meg Kerrigan, found her Facebook page deluged on the morning of July 17 with comments from strangers upset about a kiss cam video that went viral at the Coldplay concert. And it went very viral, being viewed many millions of times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kerrigan Byron's Facebook page was filled with photos showing her with her husband and kids in seemingly tranquil family scenes. The page has now been deleted. Men's Journal reviewed it before it was taken down, and verified that she was not limiting comments to the page. Some observers have noted that she did not use the last name Byron on the page; it was under the name Meg Kerrigan before it was deleted. Other comment writers chastised people for writing about the Coldplay video on Kerrigan Byron's page. City public records in Massachusetts show that Astronomer CEO Andy Byron owns a more than $1.178 million four-bedroom home in Massachusetts through a trust with Megan Byron. Real estate records show it is now valued at more than $1.4 million. Both Byron and his wife are 50, public records showed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andy Byron's personal net worth is not known; the company he leads, Astronomer, was "valued at over $1.3 billion since 2022," according to Live Mint. Men's Journal is withholding the name of the community where they live, but it's not far from the Boston area and Foxborough, where Coldplay held a concert that propelled Byron into the middle of a social media controversy. Related: Andy Byron Is the CEO of a Company Called Astronomer. He's in a Social Media Firestorm The Coldplay video shows a man and a woman in an embrace on the jumbotron. When they see they have been spotted, they duck for cover. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has not been verified that the man and woman are Byron and Kristin Cabot, a member of his company, Astronomer's, leadership team, as many people on social media are alleging. However, both have become the focal point of an Internet firestorm. Men's Journal has reached out to Astronomer seeking comment. This happened last night at the Coldplay concert in Gillette Stadium. Uh oh. pic.twitter.com/3vYAhzJrL3 Savage (@SavageSports_) July 17, 2025 "Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability," the company wrote in a July 18 statement posted to X and LinkedIn. The company also wrote that the Board of Directors has initiated an investigation. Newsweek noted that it's not known "whether Byron's wife also attended the concert," as well, but her Facebook photos indicate that she is not the woman in the video. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Distractify published one of the family photos. "Oh, look at these two," Coldplay's frontman Chris Martin said once the man and woman were shown on the jumbotron. "All right, come on, you're OK," Martin speculated. "Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy." That, of course, has not been proven, and neither Byron nor Cabot has even confirmed they are the people in the video. But that didn't stop the power of social media controversy from being unleashed on his wife's Facebook account. Megan Kerrigan Byron's Instagram page was also deleted, although it's not clear when. Related: Kristin Cabot Was Described as 'Exceptional' by Astronomer CEO Andy Byron Andy Byron's Wife Megan Kerrigan Byron Was Deluged With Facebook Comments first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 17, 2025 Funding rounds for startups can be thought of as a companys maturity indicator. A company raising a pre-seed funding round , for example, can be seen as in its infancy and is reflected as such in its investors friends, family, supporters and the founders themselves. Additionally, some companies never extend beyond Seed funding into later rounds, like Series A. And even Turner Construction, the New York City-based building giant, has gotten into the game, launching Turner Ventures on March 17. Then there is San Francisco-based Webcor, which is a new player on the block the builder unveiled Webcor Ventures, its investment offshoot, on Nov. 15. It acquired a 10% stake in the Oakland, California-based modular construction firm R2 Building as its inaugural investment. To date, the cohort has featured 36 different startups , according to its website. Suffolk Technologies initially invests $100,000 on a post-money SAFE, or a Simple Agreement for Future Equity , which allows an investor to put money into a company and solidify the percentage it will own when that cash is converted to shares. Another contractor on the hunt for tech companies with a proven track record is Suffolk Technologies, the venture capital offshoot of Boston-based Suffolk. The firm runs its BOOST accelerator program annually, tapping promising startups to deploy existing solutions on jobs while offering not only investments, but coaching from the inside out. Take DPR Construction. Its Redwood City, California, headquarters is located in the heart of Silicon Valley. Its inhouse investment arm, WND Ventures, has been active since 2015 , according to its LinkedIn, and has put money toward established startups such as reality capture platform DroneDeploy, AI-based document tracking tool Trunk Tools and automated layout robot creator Dusty Robotics, according to the companys portfolio . This approach has emerged via two key trends: Builders are ramping up their own venture funding arms, and theyre looking for startups that are commercial-ready, rather than starting out. When it comes to venture investing in construction, contractors have operated like they do in the field. Instead of looking at shiny new toys, theyre deploying established methods to help turn a profit. This story was originally published on Construction Dive . To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Construction Dive newsletter . Story Continues Construction Series B deals are on the rise Percentage of built environment deals that were Series B funding rounds or later by year. By contrast, a company raising a later stage round, such as Series A or B, is more established and can attract the presence of other, larger investors. These more mature rounds also tend to attract more money. One example is Buildots, based in Tel Aviv, Israel, which delivers an AI-powered project tracking solution. Buildots completed a $45 million Series D funding round in May, which brought its total capital raised to $166 million. Indeed, even Series A rounds must demonstrate not just a great idea, but also a strong strategy to generate profit. This differs from Seed funding, where a company raises cash to finance its first steps, such as establishing a final product and its target demographic. Taken together, this means Series A funding also comes later in a firms lifecycle. Corporate investments in Series A and later funding rounds take up larger share of investment volume Corporate investments in Series A and later funding rounds take up larger share of investment volume I think startups are beginning to realize that there are no disruptions in this space, said Dan Laboe, founding principal of Nymbl Ventures. It's more of a slow transformation into the future. Over the last five years, these firms have matured during the COVID-19 pandemic, international conflicts and now, tariff-induced economic uncertainty. Observers say that over the next five years, new opportunities are available for firms and contractors in particular that put in the grunt work to identify solutions that are viable in the field today. Gonzalo Galindo, the head of Cemex Ventures, the contech-focused venture capital arm of Monterrey, Mexico-based building materials firm Cemex, said that firms that make it to the Series B stage have had to overcome obstacles already. It's a normal course of business, because many of the people in Series B have been, for a year to a year and a half, trying to raise money, Galindo said. Those which are actually still alive are showing that they are resilient, that they know how to manage business, how to manage the funding, and certainly will be more prone to get money these days. Builders seeking solutions Along the way, these tech survivors have established a toehold in construction by tailoring solutions to the industrys endemic challenges labor shortages, environmental unpredictability and cash bottlenecks that threaten to derail projects, either on the jobsite or before they even start. In the current environment, artificial intelligence reigns supreme as the most hyped technology. Additionally, robots, software platforms and physical equipment also play an important role on jobsites. For example, Providence, Rhode Island-based Gilbane Building Co. used New York City-based Trunk Tools, which tracked around 21,000 discrete documents on the $456 million renovation of Milwaukees Baird Center to save money. Another Zachry Construction, based in San Antonio used Menlo Park, California-based Alice Technologies to speed up its estimating process, which helped the builder save 28 days on a $149 million highway projects timeline. Follow the money The broader venture capital landscape is flush with cash global venture funding reached $321 billion in 2024, doubling over the last decade, according to Crunchbase. However, contech makes up a more diminutive portion of the total the sector managed to pull $3.1 billion in 2024 following a sharp downturn in 2023, according to analysis by Cemex Ventures. Nevertheless, construction, with its thin profit margins and a reputation for doing things the way theyve always been done, has become a favorite target for startups looking to disrupt it, due to its well-known technology adoption gap. While that gap narrowed during the pandemic, critics say construction still lags far behind other industries in productivity gains due to integrating new technologies. With that in mind, experts say that though the sector is small, it is mighty, and ripe with opportunity for those who seek it. I think 2025 is going to be a transitional year for really understanding where the technology investments need to be made, Nymbls Laboe said. Bigger kids on the block This is where more mature startups can prove attractive to builders. Laboe said that the later-stage startups represented a quid pro quo relationship with builders, who can capitalize on the immediate rewards of a commercially ready product while boosting a startups growth trajectory. Its also a reassuring sign for other builders if they can see a contractor investing in a product, Laboe said. These are long-standing industries and industry players. It takes a lot of time to gain their trust in this space, Laboe explained. Having corporate backers in your investments gives them immediate economic reason to adopt the technology and help guide it toward the future. Where contractors fit The question then becomes how are contractors getting involved? And how are they putting their money to use? Atul Khanzode, CTO at DPR Construction works with WND Ventures to seek out new solutions for the firm to leverage on its jobsites. He maintains that theres a time and place for the cash, as long as its paired with boots-on-the-ground experience or even experimentation. For those firms that already have financial backing from strategic investors, WND and other contractor venture arms have an interesting value proposition beyond dollars: contractor input. They are very interested in our opinions about how useful their technology is or not, and want to partner with us even sooner, Khanzode said. Wan Li Zhu, the co-founder and managing director of Suffolk Technologies, the venture capital offshoot of Boston-based Suffolk, offered a different sort of analysis. The firms venture arm, Zhu said, sits at the intersection of the funding ecosystem to be an early-stage validator. Some startups, he said, come in with grand expectations. A lot of entrepreneurs that don't come from construction may have a perception that it's trillions of dollars of volume, so there must be a significant technology budget. That's often not the case, and the fragmentation is part of the friction as well, Zhu pointed out. So, whats next? The simple answer, experts said, is more investor cash, particularly fueled by the AI boom, a sentiment that has borne fruit through the first quarter of 2025. Already, investors have pumped $521 million into AI-based contech offerings, the highest amount since 2021. And those investors seem to be willing to stay the course a survey from Burlingame, California-based Zacua Ventures, an investor in the contech space, showed that few are backing down. Its data showed that 90% of surveyed contech investors intended to either increase, at 47%, or maintain, at 43%, their capital deployment in 2025. More investors look to increase or maintain capital expenditure Percentage of surveyed investors that are planning to change their investments by year. This trend reflects the recovery in early-stage ConTech investment sentiment observed since the sharp decline in 2022, indicating growing confidence in the markets long-term potential, the firm wrote in a summary of its results. Zhu, for his part, is bullish on innovation. I think the next five years are going to look very different from the last two decades in construction time, Zhu said. Clarification: Suffolk's BOOST program is an accelerator. The festivals showcased artists and their works will reflect the darker reality that Israel has faced over the last two years. Animax Tel Aviv, a celebration of animation, comics, and character art from around the world, is commemorating its 25th anniversary with a gala festival to be held August 5-9. Since its founding, Animax Tel Aviv has been a platform for artists to express their personal narratives, political views, and creative visions. This year, perhaps more than ever, that spirit of expression will take center stage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Against the backdrop of the October 7, 2023, Hamas mega-attacks, the ongoing war in Gaza, and the recent Israel-Iran War, the festivals showcased artists and their works will reflect that spirit of expression and the darker reality that Israel has faced. Featured pieces at the festival One of the standout pieces at the festival about the Israel-Gaza conflict comes from director Jordan Barr and co-director Chen Heifetz of Tel Avivs Studio Pixel. They have created a six-minute animated film telling the story of Guy Gilboa Dalal, an anime fan who attended the Nova music festival, where hundreds were killed and kidnapped. Dalal was among those taken hostage and, nearly two years later, remains captive in Gaza. The films raw, personal narrative offers both a tribute and a stark reminder of the human cost of ongoing conflict. Another political piece at the festival will be the panel Tehran on the Line. Bringing together prominent voices from both the art and academic worlds, the panel will explore theintersection of art, politics, and protest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Featured guests include Michael Kichka, a renowned comic artist known for blending personal narratives with political commentary; Benny Sabati, a leading scholar on Iran; and Dekel Shay-Schori, a specialist in Middle Eastern animation. They will offer insight into the Iran-Israel conflict while shedding light on how Iranian artists are using animation, comics, and political cartoons to challenge censorship and authoritarian control. The panel will include discussions, visual presentations, and screenings of notable works such as Persepolis, the acclaimed animated film based on Marjane Satrapis graphic novel, which portrays life under Irans oppressive regime through deeply personal storytelling. INDIE ANIMATOR Bill Plympton will host a masterclass. (credit: Animax) Special guests at the festival Beyond the politically charged works, this years festival also celebrates its honorees and special guests. Among them are Niri and Gali, the dynamic duo whose sharp, sarcastic animated shorts have become a staple of Israeli pop culture. Since 2013, their work, featured regularly on the hit satire show Eretz Nehederet and various national campaigns, has left a lasting impact, influencing the landscape of Israeli media. Known for their distinctive animation style and humor that defies comparison, Niri and Gali have carved out a unique niche in the industry. Their approach is so iconic that producers often refer to it simply as the Niri and Gali style, a testament to their creative legacy. This year, the duo will be honored with the Animax Lifetime Achievement Award, an accolade many say is long overdue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The award night promises to be as entertaining as their work itself, featuring activities like a Kahoot! trivia quiz based on their most famous videos, as well as a behind-the-scenes talk revealing how they transform everyday, mundane scenarios into viral comedic hits using their signature style. Another special guest at this years festival is legendary indie animator Bill Plympton, who will be visiting Israel for the first time. Known worldwide for his distinctive hand-drawn style, Plympton has created eight feature films and countless acclaimed shorts all painstakingly animated by hand. Plympton will host a masterclass titled Cheap, Fast, and Funny, offering a candid look at how to survive and thrive as an independent animator in todays highly commercial industry. For aspiring artists and animation enthusiasts alike, its a rare opportunity to learn directly from one of the worlds most iconic voices in independent animation. Beyond the headlining events, attendees can look forward to a wide array of activities, including narrative shorts, animated documentaries, student films, musical showcases, and special competitions for children and young creators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a year marked by hardship, Animax Tel Aviv stands as both a tribute to the power of storytelling and a reminder that even in times of conflict, art continues to unite, challenge, and inspire. Animax Tel Aviv will take place at the Tel Aviv Cinematheque. For tickets, visit animix.co.il Another 107 people filed complaints Tuesday against the state for allegedly allowing rampant sexual abuse in Illinois juvenile detention facilities, joining 800 other alleged victims who have filed a slew of lawsuits in the last 14 months. Charles Graves, one of the alleged victims, said he was 13 when he was assaulted by three security guards in the Illinois juvenile correctional system. I thought that the officers in the facility were there to keep me safe and protect us, Graves said at a news conference held at a Loop law firm Wednesday. For years, I had nightmares officers told me no one would believe me because I was an inmate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Tribune doesnt name victims of sexual assault without their consent but the alleged victims who spoke at the news conference said it was important to share their stories. Now 39 and living in Kewanee, Graves said he still carries the trauma of the assaults. He doesnt like to be touched, he said, and struggles to open up to other people. He recently visited his nephew at a juvenile facility and spotted a female guard who had abused him 26 years ago she still held the position that had enabled her to allegedly abuse him. She didnt remember me, but I remembered her, Graves said. In May 2024, 95 people formerly held in Illinois juvenile facilities filed a lawsuit alleging continued abuse by employees at various locations. Another hundred people filed a complaint the following month and nearly 300 joined them in September. The 907 complaints filed in the last 14 months allege abuse from as long ago as 1996 to as recently as 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the number of alleged victims willing to speak out climbed toward 1,000, their attorneys on Wednesday once again called for Gov. JB Pritzker and Attorney General Kwame Raoul to take accountability on the states behalf and push for reform in juvenile facilities. These were not rare cases, said Kristen Feden, a lawyer at Anapol Weiss. This was systemic. The complaints have been filed in the Cook County Circuit Court and the Illinois Court of Claims. They allege abuse at various youth centers across the state and the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center in Chicago. At the time of the alleged assaults, the alleged victims ranged in age from 9 to 17. More than 500 said they had been abused between 2000 and 2009, and 86% are male. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We were children, Michael Moss, 31, an alleged victim who lives in Chicago, said at the news conference. Fifteen complaints filed Tuesday accused current Eldorado Mayor Rocky James of sexual abuse. James worked at the Illinois Youth Center in Harrisburg for 29 years,according to Feden. He was the juvenile justice supervisor for several years as well as the union steward for facility supervisors, according to a 2011 op-ed he wrote in the Harrisburg Register. At a youth center in Harrisburg, James allegedly sexually assaulted and coerced minors for at least 12 years, Feden said. One of his alleged victims reported that James allegedly handcuffed him to his bed before sexually assaulting him repeatedly. One described forced oral sex and another accused James of forced masturbation, according to Feden. She also said James promised candy, cigarettes and, in one instance, early release in exchange for silence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When reached by phone Wednesday, James denied the accusations. Theres no truth to it at all, James said. Ex-convicts are just trying to get money. Theyre just trying to ruin my life, is all theyre trying to do. Attorney Jerry Block of Levy Konigsberg LLP, one of the lawyers representing the alleged victims, said he wasnt surprised James would deny the accusations. He found James use of the term ex-convicts very telling. Its that type of attitude that leads to this type of abuse, Block said. How about a lesson to Rocky James and the juvenile justice system? Juvenile offenders are not convicts. Theyre children that need the rehabilitation support and education of the juvenile system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Block also said there is no amount of money that can fully make these survivors whole, but that financial compensation is the only thing the civil justice system has to offer. If the state has to pay out a lot of money to survivors, Block said, officials will be forced to pay attention to their stories. Kate-Lynn, who gave only her first name, said guards at a youth center in Warrenville abused her when she lived there between ages 14 and 15. She spent a year in solitary confinement, deprived of education and only allowed out of her cell for minutes a day, she said Wednesday. Through tears, Kate-Lynn recalled how at least five staff members came to her cell and stripped off all her clothes. A 300-pound man sat on top of her naked body and assaulted her, she said. I was left bruised, naked, handcuffed, shackled and unable to move, Kate-Lynn, 26, said. She now lives in Topeka and struggles with PTSD and an anxiety disorder from her time in juvenile detention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 9, the attorney generals office filed a motion to dismiss 430 cases of alleged abuse. Assistant Attorney General Jacqueline Williams wrote on behalf of the state, arguing that all cases must be dismissed because they were not submitted within two years of the alleged victims turning 18. Block called the states argument an outrageous legal maneuver. He and his colleagues said victims of childhood sexual abuse can bring a case against any party, including the state, at any time, regardless of other laws with different requirements, based on state law. Williams did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moss stood in front of other alleged victims at Wednesdays news conference and lifted his face to reporters. My purpose today is to remind my fellow survivors that what we have gone through does not define us, he said. Moss said he suffers from PTSD and anxiety as a result of abuse in a juvenile facility. He has a hard time discussing his experiences in juvenile detention but believes that he and other victims need to speak up to see change. They were told as children that nobody would listen. Now, Moss is demanding to be heard. Jul. 17A recent Ohio Supreme Court case stemming out of Montgomery County threatens to drastically limit Ohioans' access to public records after the high court determined a public official's private messages are not subject to public records law, even if those messages pertain to public business. The court's unanimous ruling, rendered in June, was based on an interpretation of Ohio's definition of public records as "records kept by any public office, including, but not limited to, state, county, city, village, township, and school district units..." The court determined that, because a public official's private communications are not technically "kept" by a public office, those communications cannot be considered a public record. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This threatens to overturn longstanding case law that says communications using a private email address or cell phone are public if they document a public function. The decision prompted the plaintiff to ask the court to reconsider its ruling, with backing from the Ohio Coalition for Open Government and a group of media organizations, including Gannett, Hearst and Scripps. Jack Greiner, an attorney on behalf of the media outlets, wrote to the court that its decision "would open pandora's box, allowing public officials to circumvent the Public Records Act by utilizing personal devices and accounts to exchange public records outside of public view." "Allowing public officials to withhold public documents from disclosure through the use of personal devices is a direct threat to the transparency mandated by the Public Records Act. This practice would enable officials to conceal corruption, mismanagement, or policy failures. That is completely antithetical to the Public Records Act," Greiner wrote in late June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many elected officials conduct business using personal cell phones and email accounts. Some small townships and villages don't even have government email accounts. News outlets like the Dayton Daily News routinely obtain records including text messages and emails from personal accounts to shed light on deliberations and public policy decisions. "Elected officials work for the public," said Ashley Bethard, chief content officer and editor in chief of the Dayton Daily News. "Removing private texts and emails between them from the public record draws a dangerous curtain on transparency. Government officials should be held accountable and journalists and their access to public records have long played a critical role in that accountability." The lawsuit Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision punctuated a lawsuit that centered on a citizen's public records request to the Montgomery County Board of Elections from 2024. The request in question was prompted by the board's investigation into how legal advice, produced by the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office at the behest of the board, was leaked to the Montgomery County Democratic Party and used to challenge the candidacy of Mary McDonald, the former Democratic mayor of Trotwood who ran for the Montgomery County Commission as a Republican in 2024. The investigation found that Russ Joseph, deputy director of the board and a longtime Democratic operative, had sent this legal advice, protected under attorney-client privilege, from his government email address to his private email address. He then used his private email address to send the privileged information to Mohamed Al-Hamdani, chairman of the Montgomery County Democratic Party. In its decision, the Supreme Court of Ohio ruled that the email Joseph sent to his private email address was indeed a public record. The email he sent from his private email to Al-Hamdani, however, "stands on footing different from the email sent from his board email account." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Joseph sent the email to Al-Hamdani from his personal email account, and there is no evidence in the record showing that Joseph's personal email account is maintained by the board," the court ruled. Al-Hamdani used the information to formally protest McDonald's candidacy. He also forwarded the information to his colleague Dennis Lieberman, whose wife, Democratic County Commissioner Debbie Lieberman, would have been unopposed in her reelection campaign if McDonald's candidacy had been found invalid. McDonald's candidacy was upheld. She won her seat with 50.42% of the vote and became the county's sole Republican commissioner. ------ Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below. Loading... A few of the books in the young adult section of the Ozark - Dale County Library Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2023 in Ozark, Ala. Alabama Public Library Service Board chair John Wahl issued a directive to library boards Wednesday banning libraries from having books pertaining to "gender ideology." (Stew Milne for Alabama Reflector) The chair of the agency that oversees the distribution of funds to local libraries said Wednesday he will prohibit libraries from having materials in their collections pertaining to what he called gender ideology. John Wahl, chair of the Alabama Public Library Service (APLS) board, wrote in a letter he sent to local library directors throughout the state on Wednesday stating that the APLS will abide by the executive order issued by President Donald Trump that no federal funds will be used to promote gender ideology and instruct libraries throughout Alabama to review their collections and policies to ensure they comply with the executive order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This letter makes it clear that federal taxpayer dollars cannot be used to push gender ideology on our children, Wahl said in a statement. Libraries should be places of learning, not platforms for social agendas. The directive, issued one day before the APLS scheduled meeting on Thursday, expands on previous attempts made by the APLS Board to restrict access to library materials touching on transgender and LGBTQ+ issues. Taxpayer dollars should never be used to push controversial social ideologies on our youthespecially without parental consent, Wahl said in the statement. Alabama libraries should be places where families feel safe, respected, and welcome. That starts with keeping divisive political agendas out of collections dedicated to children. Alyx Kim-Yohn, an organizer with the Alabama Transgender Rights Action Coalition said that it endangers the transgender community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It seems fairly innocuous to remove a book, until you look at the real lived experiences of trans folks who go through their adolescence never knowing how to describe their gender or their sexuality, never meeting people like them, Kim-Yohn said. That happens as a direct result of not having access to stories about themselves or meeting other people like them. Trump issued an executive order in January that said that invalidating the true and biological category of woman improperly transforms laws and policies designed to protect sex-based opportunities into laws and policies that undermine them, replacing longstanding, cherished legal rights and values with an identity-based, inchoate social concept. The order does not define what amounts to gender ideology. During the APLS May meeting, APLS board member Amy Minton cited the order to propose requiring libraries to remove materials from their collections that promote gender ideology. The APLS Board did not take any action on the measure and Minton requested that other members on the board consider the request and potentially vote on it during the following scheduled meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter sent by Wahl to local libraries places that policy into effect. According to the letter, libraries are to review their collections, programming and policies to ensure they do not promote gender ideology. Failure to comply with these new federal guidelines will result in the loss of grant eligibility, which could significantly impact library funding and operations, Wahl said in the letter. To avoid any disruption of grants, I strongly urge all library directors to conduct a thorough review of their librarys policies, collections, and programming to ensure full compliance with this executive order. The mandate continues a pattern that members of the APLS Board established for more than a year instructing libraries to establish policies and rules that further restricts the publics access to library materials in the childrens section that conservative groups believe is sexually explicit and inappropriate. The controversy began when a parent borrowed a book from the Autauga-Prattville Public Library in 2024 that had pronouns other than male and female, sparking battles around the state.The conservative-dominated APLS board has since adopted changes to the administrative code that required libraries to adopt policies that restricted materials from the children and young adult sections in libraries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also prompted lawmakers to file legislation to codify those restrictions into law that First Amendment Rights groups continue to fight. Read Freely Alabama, a free speech advocacy group, said in a statement that Wahls claim was absurd. Public libraries, meant to house a variety of information and ideas across ideological beliefs, do not push any ideology over another, the statement said. The role of a public library is simply to provide information and stories from a variety of perspectives. Parents have always had every right and opportunity to supervise and manage their childrens reading materials, and we believe that right should remain with the parents not Mr. Wahl or the APLS board. By Jessie Pang and James Pomfret HONG KONG (Reuters) -A hearing for 12 pro-democracy activists appealing their conviction and sentencing for subversion in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong ended on Thursday with a judgement due within nine months. The case stems from the "47 democrats", dubbed by Hong Kong media for the number of activists arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit subversion in 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Forty-five of the defendants were jailed last year for holding an unofficial primary election in 2020, soon after Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law in response to pro-democracy protests. Eleven are appealing their conviction and sentences, while one who pleaded guilty is challenging her sentence. Government prosecutor Andy Lo told the hearing on Thursday that the case involved "an unprecedented conspiracy", while defence lawyers said on Wednesday their clients had been denied a fair trial. Judge Jeremy Poon said a decision would be made within nine months. After that, it would still be possible to seek an appeal to Hong Kong's highest court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 45 received prison terms of between four and 10 years after prosecutors said they sought to paralyse government and force the city's leader to resign by securing a legislative majority to indiscriminately veto budget proposals. 'INTERVENTIONIST' TRIAL During this week's appeal hearing, defence lawyers argued on Wednesday that the three judges who presided over the original trial had frequently interrupted defendants during cross-examination. "The trial court was interventionist from very early on," said Robert Pang, a lawyer for unionist Winnie Yu. He said the court repeatedly disallowed questions on grounds of irrelevance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawyer Steven Kwan said his client, activist Owen Chow, did not receive a fair trial as "his evidence was disbelieved very early on" and judges posed 45% of all the questions to him. But prosecutor Derek Lau said judges had that right, noting it was not a jury trial. "There is no unfairness that can be observed that is to the prejudice of the defender in these questions," he said. Lawyer Trevor Beel, representing activist Gwyneth Ho, said on Wednesday that legislators had a duty to use whatever legitimate means to negotiate with the government and that Hong Kong's mini-constitution or Basic Law allows for a budget not to be passed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under Article 52 of the Basic Law, the chief executive must step down if the legislature twice rejects the governments budget. Hong Kong was handed back to China by Britain in 1997 with a promise of freedom and autonomy under the "one country, two systems" framework and an eventual democratic vote for the chief executive and the legislature. If Ho wanted to achieve dual universal suffrage and an effective legislature, then it "was not radical, and this is not against the principle of one country, two systems," Beel said. (Reporting by Jessie Pang and James Pomfret; Editing by Greg Torode, Tomasz Janowski and Andrew Cawthorne) (Texas Tribune) A state appeals court judge on Wednesday ordered Uvalde County and its school district to release records and documents related to the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting, affirming a previous trial court order. A coalition of 18 news organizations, including The Texas Tribune, sued the City of Uvalde, Uvalde County and the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District in 2022 for access to body camera footage, 911 call records and communications made during the school shooting. Law enforcements response to Texas deadliest school shooting, in which 19 students and two teachers were killed, has been scrutinized extensively for failures in communication that delayed response time while the shooter was still in two classrooms with children. Uvalde County District Attorney Christina Mitchell had opposed providing the records, pointing to criminal proceedings against former Uvalde school district Police Chief Pete Arredondo that she said could be hampered by the documents release. But Judge Velia Meza with Texas Fourth Court of Appeals wrote in the opinion for the case that the criminal proceedings and a separate lawsuit were not enough reasons to withhold the records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response, these entities offered only minimal justification citing a grand jury investigation and a civil lawsuit without providing legal or evidentiary support for withholding the information, Meza wrote. Arredondo is facing several felony charges of child endangerment, with a trial date set for October. In a statement, Laura Prather, a media law attorney with Haynes Boone representing the news organizations, said the ruling sends a clear message to government officials that vague legal claims cannot be used to withhold records. The public has waited more than three years for answers about what went wrong that day, Prather said. This decision brings us one step closer to those answers and preventing future tragedies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for the Uvalde school district said its school board and superintendent have scheduled a discussion about the requested records during their public meeting on July 21. The Uvalde County Sheriffs Office did not respond to a request for comment. The order from Meza did not specify when the records would need to be released. This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/07/16/uvalde-school-shootings-records-release/. The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. Though its since been relocated, the drama surrounding the 1980s Winton Guest House raised questions about preserving architectureand who gets to save it. As a part of our 25th-anniversary celebration, were republishing formative magazine stories from before our website launched. This story previously appeared in Dwells April/May 2004 issue. Should someone want to paint dogs playing poker over a Picasso, a Mondrian, or a Miro, most people would protest the act as the desecration of great artand mock the hubris of the re-painter. But when a contemporary architectural icon is under threat of destruction, many people still shrug their shoulders and step calmly aside. The current controversy (or, rather, lack thereof) over Frank Gehrys Winton Guest House in Wayzata, Minnesotawhich many consider to mark the beginning of Gehrys rise to international acclaimis a textbook case of the preservation uncertainties faced by so many examples of fine architecture today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Set amongst the trees of an upscale suburban neighborhood bordering Lake Minnetonka, the Winton Guest House, completed in 1987, was intended to lure Penny and Mike Wintons children and grandchildren back for extended visits. A series of six distinct, geometrically shaped rooms that are scattered together on the landscape, the house is very approachable. "My kids loved it," says Nick Winton, one of the Wintons five children. "It looked like a giant toy to them. It has a sense of the spontaneous, that these pieces all sort of happened the way a child would put blocks together." Inside the house, the rooms barely connect and the spaces feel discrete without being claustrophobic. "Its very luminous," Nick explains. "The experience is like being inside a piece of origamiits folded in on itself." The guest house was designed to complement the main house on the property, a stern Philip Johnson home from the mid-1950s, all glass and empty spaces, full of International Style ideals. The Gehry house, with its swooping lines and smiling facade, sits as a piece of sculpture on the lawn; the doors and windows of the guest house face away from the Johnson house, so that, states Nick, "it exists as a pure platonic object from the main house." And to remind visitors that the houses go together, Gehry incorporated the brick of the Johnson house into a small section of the guest house. As in any relationship that runs its full course, it was time to move on, and in 2001 the Wintons decided to sell the house: "In some ways, my parents wanted to get out from underneath the baggage that came with owning an icon," says Nick. His parents new, more manageable home is a loft in downtown Minneapolis designed by Nick, a partner at Anmahian Winton Architects in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The 11-acre property on which the Gehry and Johnson houses both sit was sold to Kirt Woodhouse, a local developer, who divided the property into three parcels assigning each house to a separate site, and then a third, empty lot. The Johnson house was bought in 2002 by a retired couple, but the Gehry house is still unsold, hence the crux of the current problem. In Americawhere individual needs usually take precedence over artistic idealsits still the right of the owner to dispose of a house. Fortunately, Woodhouse frankly states, "The last thing I would want to do is destroy the house," and he has even offered to donate the guest housesans landto a willing nonprofit organization. An independent art school, the Minnetonka Center for the Arts, has mulled over the idea of moving the house to its site less than a mile away, to use as housing for its artists in residence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In November 2003, the centers architect, James Dayton, of James Dayton Design in Minneapolis, brought Gehryin whose office he worked for five yearsinto the mix. "We had talked about Frank redesigning the site at the arts center, and giving the guest house a new site-specific setting. It was conceived of as a piece of sculpture, and there are many good examples of artwork that are transferred from peoples houses into museums, where the intellectual value of that artwork isnt compromised by being in a different setting. Understanding that its not as pure artistically, I think theres something nice about opening it up to the world and keeping it around for other generations to experience." Others have been vocal about the importance of keeping the structure at its original site, arguing that the context itself is integral to the architectureand that removing it from the site irreparably damages its artistic integrity. Suzanne Ritus, an industrial designer who is now renting the guest house, says, "Gehry created a dialogue between the two structures that really involves the observer. Its a dialogue that would be lost forever should the Gehry house be moved." Ritus has started a nonprofit, Foundations of Modern Architecture Inc., to keep the guest house in placeand should she succeed in raising the $1.7 million necessary to secure the property, she would open the site to architects, students, and builders to study and enjoy. Photos by George Heinrich (Johnson), Mark Darley/Esto (Gehry) But the issues at hand are larger than just "keep it or not." For one thing, as Nick notes, "houses that get landmarked need the cultural support of the area around them," and modern houses dont always have the support of their community. As Dayton explains, "Everyone here is pretty conservative. Every year the Weisman Art Museum is voted as the ugliest building in Minnesota, and when people ask me about Frank, half the time they say Frank Lloyd Wright. I just dont think theres a sense of treasure to the guest house yet." Without community impetus, it hardly seems worthwhile to preserve what Nick calls "a dead monument"a house without inhabitants or creative dialogue; after all, a home is designed for living, not just for viewing or the occasional architecture student traipsing up to the front door. All of this brings up the real question of what makes architecture worth saving and who decides whether to save it. As more and more modernist icons fall to the wrecking ball or are at risk of destructionfrom Miess Farnsworth House in Plano, Illinois, saved just last winter, to a Neutra house in Rancho Mirage, California, that was destroyed in 2002the idea of what is historically important needs to be redefined. Too often, financial motivations or an individuals whims dictate the future of significant structures, and people are loath to touch the sensitive issue of encroaching on ownership rights. But great works of architecture, like art, should be considered integral to the public domain, and owners of these works merely stewards of the property. That way, through educational and community efforts, hopefully one day the outcry around preservation of an important structure will be as loudand as well heardas the noise made when a Picasso is threatened. Photos by Richard Payne (Johnson Interior), Grant Mudford (tower interior and exterior) See the full story on Dwell.com: From the Archive: The Fight Over an Early Frank Gehry Masterpiece Related stories: He inveighs against illegal immigration in terms more appropriate for a vermin infestation. He wants all people without papers deported immediately, damn the cost. He thinks Los Angeles is a cesspool and that flying the Mexican flag in the United States is an act of insurrection. He uses the internet mostly to share crude videos and photos depicting Latinos as subhuman. Stephen Miller? Absolutely. But every time I hear the chief architect of Donald Trumps scorched earth immigration policies rail in uglier and uglier terms, I recall another xenophobe I hadnt thought of in awhile. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For nearly 30 years, Glenn Spencer fought illegal immigration in Los Angeles and beyond with a singular obsession. The former Sherman Oaks resident kicked off his campaign, he told The Times in a 2001 profile, after seeing Latinos looting during the 1992 L.A. riots and thinking, "Oh, my God, there are so many of them and they are so out of control. Read more: Brash Evangelist Spencer was a key volunteer who pushed for the passage of Prop. 187, the 1994 California ballot initiative that sought to make life miserable for undocumented immigrants and was so punitive that a federal judge later ruled it unconstitutional. A multiplatform influencer before that became commonplace, Spencer hosted a local radio show, produced videos that he mailed to all members of Congress warning about an "invasion" and turned his vitriolic newsletter into a website, American Patrol, that helped connect nativist groups across the country. American Patrol's home page was a collection of links to newspaper articles about suspected undocumented immigrants alleged to have committed crimes. While Spencer regularly trashed Muslims and other immigrants, he directed most of his bile at Mexicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A "Family Values" button on the website, in the colors of the Mexican flag, highlighted sex crimes allegedly committed by undocumented immigrants. Editorial cartoons featured a Mexican flag piercing a hole in California with the caption Sink-hole de Mayo. Long before conservative activists recorded themselves infiltrating the conferences of political enemies, Spencer was doing it. He provoked physical fights at protests and published reams of digital nonsense against Latino politicians, once superimposing a giant sombrero on an image of Antonio Villaraigosa with the epithet, "Viva Mexico!" On the morning Villaraigosa, the future L.A. mayor, was to be sworn in as speaker of the assembly in 1998, every seat in the legislative chamber was topped by a flier labeling him a communist and leader of the supposed Mexican takeover of California. I dont remember if his name was on it, but it was all his terminology, said Villaraigosa, who recalled how Spencer helped make his college membership in the Chicano student group MEChA an issue in his 2001 mayoral loss to Jim Hahn. But he never had the balls to talk to me in person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spencer became the Johnny Appleseed of the modern-day Know Nothing movement, lecturing to groups of middle-aged gringos about his work first across the San Fernando Valley, then in small towns where Latinos were migrating in large numbers for the first time. California [it] has often been said is America's future. Let me tell you about your future, he told the Council of Conservative Citizens in Virginia in 1999. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller speaks with the media outside the White House in Washington, DC, on May 9, 2025. (Saul Loeb/ AFP via Getty Images) Spencer is the person most responsible for mainstreaming the lie of Reconquista, the wacko idea that Mexicans came to the U.S. not for economic reasons but because of a plot concocted by the Mexican government to take back the lands lost in the 1848 Mexican-American War. He wrote screeds like Is Jew-Controlled Hollywood Brainwashing Americans? and threatened libel lawsuits against anyone myself included who dared point out that he was a racist. He was a favorite punching bag of the mainstream media, a slovenly suburban Ahab doomed to fail. The Times wrote in 2001 that Spencer foresaw millions of converts to his anti-immigrant campaign, only to see his temple founder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moving to southern Arizona in 2002, the better to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border, Spencer spent the rest of his life trying to sell state and federal authorities on border-monitoring technology he developed that involved planes, drones and motion-detection sensors. His move inspired other conservatives to monitor the U.S.-Mexico border on their own. By the Obama era, he was isolated even from other anti-immigrant activists for extremist views like banning foreign-language media and insisting that every person who came to this country illegally was a drug smuggler. Even the rise of Trump didnt bring Spencer and his work back into the limelight. He was so forgotten that I didnt even realize he was dead until Googling his name recently, after enduring another Miller rant. Spencer's hometown Sierra Vista's Herald Review was the only publication I found that made any note of his death from cancer in 2022 at age 85, describing his life's work as bringing "the crisis of illegal immigration to the forefront of the American public's consciousness. Thats a whitewash worthy of Tom Sawyer's picket fence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We live in Glenn Spencers world, a place where the nastier the rhetoric against illegal immigration and the crueler the government's efforts against all migrants, the better. Every time a xenophobe makes Latinos out to be an invading force, every time someone posts a racist message on social media or Miller throws another tantrum on Fox News, Glenn Spencer gets his evil wings. Read more: Patriots on the Borderline Spencer stood out among a vile swamp of racists and crackpots like a tornado supercell on radar, said Brian Levin, chair of the California Civil Rights Department's Commission on the State of Hate and founder of the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at Cal State San Bernardino, who monitored American Patrol for years. Whats frightening now is that hate like his used to be well-segregated from the mainstream. Now, the guardrails are off, and what Spencer advocated for is federal policy. I first found out about Spencer in 1999 as a student activist at Chapman University. Spencer applauded the Anaheim Union High School District's decision to sue Mexico for the cost of educating undocumented immigrants' children, describing those of us who opposed it as communists when he was being nice. His American Patrol described MEChA, which I, like Villaraigosa, belonged to, as a scourge and a "sickness." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His website was disgusting, but it became a must-read of mine. I knew even then that ignoring hate allows it to fester, and I wanted to figure out why people like Spencer despised people like me, my family and my friends. So I regularly covered him and his allies in my early years as a reporter with an obsession that was a reverse mirror of his. Colleagues and even activists said my work was a waste of time that people like Spencer were wheezing artifacts who would eventually disappear as the U.S. embraced Latinos and immigrants. And here we are. Spencer usually sent me legal threats whenever I wrote about his ugly ways threats that went nowhere. Thats why I was surprised at how relatively polite he was the last time we communicated, in 2019. I reached out via email asking for an interview for a Times podcast I hosted about the 25th anniversary of Prop. 187. By then, Spencer was openly criticizing Trump's planned border wall, which he found a waste of money and not nearly as efficient as his own system. Spencer initially said he would consider my request, while sending me an article he wrote that blamed Prop. 187's demise on then-California Gov. Gray Davis and Mexicos president at the time, Ernesto Zedillo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When I followed up a few months later, Spencer bragged about the legacy of his website, which he hadnt regularly updated since 2013 due to declining health. The American Patrol archives would convince the casual observer that The Times did what it could do [to] defeat my efforts and advance the cause of illegal immigration, Spencer wrote. Do I think The Times has changed its spots? No. Will I agree to an interview? No." Levin hadn't heard about Spencer's death until we talked. I thought he went into irrelevance, he admitted with a chuckle that he quickly cut off, realizing he had forgotten about Spencer's legacy in the era of Trump. We ignored that cough, that speck in the X-ray," Levin concluded, now somber. "And now, we have cancer. 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. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled July 15 that schools are not liable for student injuries that occur off campus. The case, Phoenix Union High School District v. Lucero, was filed by 14-year-old freshman Christopher C.J. Lucero through his father after he suffered permanent injuries when jaywalking while trying to get to school. The incident occurred in 2021 when C.J. attempted to get to Betty H. Fairfax High School by crossing South 59th Avenue, which runs adjacent to the school's campus. The street did not have any crosswalks, school zone speed limits or traffic lights along the schools campus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement C.J. argued that the school was liable for his injuries because school officials were aware of students jaywalking across South 59th Avenue to get to campus, creating dangerous entrance and exit routes. Phoenix Union argued that the injury did not occur on school grounds or while C.J. was under the schools custody, such as at a school-related event, so the district should not be held liable. The court ruled in favor of the district, saying that the school did not advise students to enter campus by crossing South 59th Avenue and that it is the governments duty to protect the public while on a public road. Although the accident was tragic, the school district did not owe a duty of care because the risk that caused CJs injuries did not arise while he was under the schools supervision or control, wrote Chief Justice Ann Timmer. 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: Arizona schools not liable for off-campus injury, court rules Hundreds of protesters across Arizona rallied against President Trump while honoring late Rep. John Lewis in the 'Good Trouble Lives On' protest. Cathay United Bank has collaborated with Avaloq to establish the first onshore private bank within Taiwan's newly launched Asset Management Hub in Kaohsiung. This partnership utilises Avaloqs core banking technology to improve operational efficiency and client service. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) introduced the hub to foster growth in Taiwans wealth management sector. It will enable financial institutions to offer a diverse range of services, including active and passive ETFs, family office consultancy, and high-value insurance products. As the first bank to operate within the hub, the bank is establishing a new booking centre and operational base in the city, aimed at providing tailored private banking services to high-net-worth individuals throughout Taiwan. Cathay United Banks Private Banking CEO Robert Fuh said: We are proud to be the first bank to establish onshore private banking operations in the new Kaohsiung Asset Management Hub, demonstrating our leadership in the Taiwanese financial sector and to serving the needs of Taiwanese investors. Avaloq will deliver comprehensive support for Cathay United Bank's private banking operations, focusing on enhancing efficiency across various areas. The Avaloq platform will facilitate front-office automation, improving portfolio management, client relationship and lifecycle management, while ensuring compatibility with the bank's existing systems. This integration is expected to streamline operations, promote revenue growth, and enable personalised services for clients, according to Avaloq. Avaloq North Asia regional director Eliza Chang said: The establishment of the new Asset Management Hub in Kaohsiung marks a significant milestone for Taiwan, and we are delighted to support Cathay United Bank as a pioneer in Taiwans new onshore private banking sector. Headquartered in Taipei, Cathay United Bank first partnered with Avaloq in 2020 to enhance both onshore and offshore private banking capabilities. In April this year, Avaloq opened its regional office in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to drive digital transformation in the GCC financial sector. "Cathay United Bank, Avaloq team up for onshore private banking in Taiwan" was originally created and published by Private Banker International, a GlobalData owned brand. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Arkansans are seeing how President Donald Trumps new 17% tariff on Mexican tomatoes is affecting people here in the Natural State. Whitney Smith from Little Rock said the import tax comes with a cost that shes not ready to pay. Id prefer not to go to the grocery store and see any price of food be higher, Smith said. US imposes a 17% duty on fresh Mexican tomatoes in hopes of boosting domestic production Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Me and McGee Market, its a different story. Owner Logan Duvall said hes hoping the new tariff will encourage more people to shop locally. Right now, 70% of tomatoes consumed in the U.S. are imported from Mexico, according to the advocacy group Florida Tomato Exchange. When we buy local, were investing local. When we buy something thats being shipped in from Mexico, that money is being siphoned out of our communities, Duvall said. Smith said while shopping local is the goal, for her, its not always realistic. I do prefer going to Farmers Markets. But just the convenience of it we end up going to the grocery stores more. So, it might end up affecting us more than I realized, Smith said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement US moves ahead on tariffs with investigations into computer chips and pharmaceuticals Trump said Mexico can expect 30% tariffs on all goods coming into the U.S. starting in August. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KARK. Kay Holland, left, testifies at a hearing before the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. At right is Commissioner Jonathan Williams. (Tess Vrbin/Arkansas Advocate) Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners voted Wednesday to reprimand and decertify a poll supervisor accused of violating state election laws at a North Arkansas polling place last year. The board determined that Kay Holland interfered with poll workers ability to do their jobs at a Horseshoe Bend church that served as a voting site in October and November 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Testimony from Holland, Izard County Election Commissioner David DelVecchio and several poll workers led the elections board to conclude Holland violated the law by creating a hostile environment, telling workers to leave the polling place at an inappropriate time and failing to remove obstacles to poll watchers view of the site in a timely manner. Poll watchers are assigned by local elected officials to monitor the casting and tabulation of ballots. Unlike other poll workers, they do not interact with voters or handle ballots. Poll watcher Patricia Clary said an accordion wall in the church partially blocked poll watchers view of a vote tabulator machine and the poll supervisors desk. DelVecchio testified on Hollands behalf and said he took responsibility for the obstruction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once we opened that up, the whole room was visible, he said. It wasnt intentional to block somebodys view. When we walked into the church, thats where [the wall] was. Commissioner Bilenda Harris-Ritter said Holland and DelVecchio shared responsibility for the problem. She reminded the commission that Arkansas law requires poll watchers to have uniform and nondiscriminatory access to observe all stages of the election process. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Another poll watcher, Frances Petersen, said Holland directed her to sit in an area where she could not see the supervisors desk and accused her and Clary of being argumentative by questioning Hollands orders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Petersen said Holland spoke to her like a school kid. Holland disputed this. At no time was I talking to them like they were schoolchildren, she said. I was not disrespectful. I just told her there was an area that was designated for poll watchers, and everybody else had always sat there and was fine, no problem. Testimony of Hollands hostile behavior outweighs her statement that she didnt feel like she was being hostile, Harris-Ritter said. Although she did say she didnt intend to, intent has nothing to do with the violations here, she said. The State Board of Election Commissioners certifies poll supervisors, and most of the board voted to strip Holland of her certification for four years and send her a letter of reprimand. James Harmon Smith was the only commissioner to vote against these actions. He said he had no problem with the letter of reprimand but objected to a four-year ban on Hollands position as a poll supervisor since she had no previous sanctions from the commission. LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Among the thousands of volunteers in Texas helping out with search and recovery following devastating floods is the Arkansas National Guard. Officials said that the 22 active-duty National Guardsmen and four UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters that departed on July 8 were originally expected to return on Saturday but have now been extended to an additional week to assist in Texas with the transportation of search and rescue personnel. Cpt. Tran Huynh said he and the other guardsmen have been working with search and rescue teams, K-9 units and other agencies to help through the devastation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To be a part of something real, a real mission saving lives is beyond words, Huynh said. We didnt have any expectations of what to expect, but personally I have not seen any type of flooding to this degree. Arkansas National Guard Texas flood recovery mission extended until July 19 He said theyve also helped deliver food to those in need. Since being there, he adds that their team is more than able to assist in different ways because of the training they have done throughout the years. My hope is we can make as big of an impact as we can for the situation helping people reunite with their families and helping a community rebuild, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arkansas National Guard officials say that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has approved a state active-duty extension to central Texas for flood recovery through July 19. From what I can tell there was no one who even batted an eye for a second to extend, said Huynh. Arkansas National Guard mobilized for state active duty to help search in Texas after deadly floodwaters Huynh says if there is another extension, they would be more than willing to stay. He goes on to say they understand the importance of making the most out of their time servicing those in central Texas and trying to help save as many people as they can. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I never expected I would be in this role to represent Arkansas and to be part of a task force that can help save lives, 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 KARK. Immigration attorneys have been barred from visiting clients at a remote Everglades detention facility and have limited means of contacting them, according to a new lawsuit from the American Civil Liberties Union and multiple immigration advocacy organizations. The government has banned in-person legal visitation, any confidential phone or video communication, and confidential exchange of written documents, the ACLU noted in a Wednesday release announcing the suit, which it filed against the Trump administration. These policies violate immigrants right to due process and right to communicate with legal counsel, the organization says. It and a number of legal groups are suing so detainees can be guaranteed a viable means of reaching their attorneys and contesting their detentions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suit comes amid reports of abysmal living conditions at the Everglades facility, including a lack of water for bathing, inedible food and rampant mosquito infestations, as well as growing concerns about how few legal protections detainees have. As noted in the suit, immigration attorneys attempting to visit their clients onsite have waited for hours only to be turned away and given either a faulty email address or a visitation request form that requires them to submit documents for facility approval. Attorneys have taken the long road trip to the facility to try and meet with their clients in persona universal practice at every other immigration detention facility in the United Statesonly to be greeted at an armed checkpoint near the facility and barred from entry, the lawsuit reads. Beyond the visitation barriers that attorneys have run into, many have also struggled to contact their clients via phone or email, the lawsuit said. Emails theyve sent have bounced back, and calls have gotten disconnected after long hold periods, the lawsuit said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys have also attempted to locate a facility phone number, email address, or any instruction to arrange contact with clients held at the facility, with little to show for their Efforts, the suit notes. Attorneys said they are left with little ability to advocate for their clients. The only way that detained people can communicate with the outside world is via infrequent access to collect pay phone calls that are monitored and recorded, and last approximately five minutes, per the lawsuit. The Florida Department of Emergency Management, which oversees the operations of the detention facility, previously told The Miami Herald that detainees have regular access to phone and video calls with their attorneys and family members upon request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neither an FDEM spokesperson nor a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson responded immediately to a HuffPost request for comment. Reliable contact with legal counsel is crucial for immigrants seeking to fight deportations, experts say. Lack of access to counsel is well documented to lead to lower rates of release and ultimately lower rates of relief being granted, University of San Francisco Law Professor Lindsay Harris previously told HuffPost. Related... PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) An Armenian man was extradited from Ukraine to the United States for his alleged role in ransomware attacks against companies across the country, including an attack against an Oregon technology company. On Wednesday, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Oregon announced 33-year-old Karen Serobovich Vardanyan was charged with conspiracy, fraud in connection with computers and extortion in connection with computers. The charges come as Vardanyan was extradited from Ukraine to the United States on June 18, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Parents out thousands as Beehive NW closes abruptly Between March 2019 and September 2020, Vardanyan and his co-conspirators allegedly illegally accessed computer networks to deploy Ryuk ransomware against hundreds of compromised servers and workstations, according to court documents. Officials with the U.S. Attorneys Office explained that Ryuk ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts data on a victims computer or network and withholds the data from the victim until a ransom is paid. Ryuk ransomware has been used to target thousands of victims around the world, including those in the private industry, school districts, hospitals and local municipalities. As part of the scheme, ransom payments were extorted from the victim companies in exchange for decryption keys to regain access to their data, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the District of Oregon said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Food Network unveils Oregons most charming small-town restaurant Ransom notes were also placed on computer systems demanding Bitcoin payments and provided an email address for the victims to communicate with the cybercriminals. Authorities said Vardanyan and his co-conspirators allegedly received about 1,620 bitcoins in ransom payments from the victim companies which was valued at over $15 million at the time of payment. Vardanyan made his first federal court appearance June 20 and pleaded not guilty to his charges. Officials said he was ordered detained pending a seven-day jury trial scheduled to begin August 26. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Serving crazy fun street eats from an old ambulance, an Oregon food truck hits the road on Food Network If convicted, Vardanyan faces a maximum five-year sentence in federal prison, three years supervised release and a $250,000 fine for each count. In connection to the scheme, authorities said 45-year-old Levon Georgiyovych Avetisyan, who is also an Armenian national, faces similar charges and an extradition request in France. Additionally, Oleg Nikolayevich Lyulyava and Andrii Leonydovich Prykhodchenko both 53-year-old Ukraine nationals have been charged with conspiracy, fraud and extortion, officials said, noting both are not in custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case is under investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Katherine A. Rykken, assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. The U.S. Army is not taking any actions regarding its Sig Sauer M17 and M18 pistols based on the findings of a recently disclosed FBI report that has raised new concerns about the designs ability to fire without the trigger being pulled. Sig has also refuted the results of the FBIs initial evaluation, which it says the bureau was subsequently unable to reproduce using a mutually agreed-upon testing protocol. The new details from the FBIs report have already sent a shockwave through the civilian firearms community in the United States, where confidence in P320-series pistols, a family that includes the M17 and M18, is already severely strained. In August 2024, the Michigan State Police (MSP) requested that the FBIs Ballistic Research Facility (BRF) evaluate a commercially-sourced version of the M18 pistol that had been involved in an apparent uncommanded discharge the month before. The BRF conducted a technical evaluation and produced a report, dated Aug. 30, 2024. The MSP released the report with minor redactions last week in response to a public records request, and a full copy can be found here. The BRF is currently collocated with the U.S. Armys Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, and is responsible for research, development, testing, and evaluation of small arms, ammunition, and body armor for the bureau, as well as domestic and international partners. A picture of the MSP M18 pistol involved in the incident last year from the recently released FBI BRF report. FBI For years now, the P320 pistol series has been dogged by safety concerns. This includes drop safety issues that Sig says it has mitigated through changes to the design, which were made available to pre-existing customers through a Voluntary Upgrade Program starting in 2017. There have also been multiple reports of incidents in line with the one that MSP experienced last year, where guns in holsters are said to have fired without any engagement of the trigger. Claimed uncommanded discharges have resulted in serious injuries and at least one fatality. There have been dozens of lawsuits, including many that are still ongoing, and multiple law enforcement agencies have banned the use of the pistols over safety concerns. Last week, just days after the FBIs report was made public, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) joined that group. Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the M17 and M18 continue to serve not just as the U.S. Armys primary sidearm, but across the services. They can be found on the belts of everyone from military police to the chest rigs of pilots flying into combat. What is the M18 pistol (and the P320 its based on)? The M18 nomenclature traces to the Army Modular Handgun System (MHS) competition, which Sig won in 2017. The Army adopted two versions of the P320, a full-size type designated the M17 and the compact M18. All the other branches of the U.S. military subsequently adopted MHS pistols as their standard sidearms. Sig Sauer now markets versions of the M17 and M18 commercially, including in configurations slightly different and some substantially different from the military variants. The MSPs M18 that was involved in the incident last year was one of the latter, a PRO LE version, which prominently lacks the external safety found on examples in U.S. service and features a different grip module, among other changes. Various other P320-series handguns are also in service with many law enforcement organizations and have enjoyed massive sales on the civilian market. An M18 pistol, at top, and an M17 pistol, at bottom, as delivered to the US Army in 2017. US Army First introduced in 2014, the P320 is a highly modular design intended to be readily reconfigurable to meet specific customer requirements. On P320s, the innovative core chassis, which can then be swapped between various grip frames and slides, is the serialized part of the firearm, not the grip frame. Advertisement Advertisement The P320 is what is known as a striker-fired design. In guns that operate in this way, the firing pin (or striker) used to detonate the cartridge in the chamber is held back under spring tension until it is released through some combination of mechanical actions. In modern semi-automatic pistols, the typical alternative to this method of operation is to use some form of hammer, which, when released, physically hits the firing pin, sending it forward. P320-series pistols are essentially cocked and otherwise ready to fire at rest, with the striker being pre-cocked in the course of chambering the first round. This is something the guns critics have drawn particular attention to in the past. Many other striker-fired designs use a similar concept, while others link the full cocking of the striker to pulling the trigger. The video below, which is cited in the BRF report, details the five separate actions Sig Sauer says are required for any P320 to fire. The FBI Ballistic Research Facilitys Evaluation The BRFs report provides significant background on the July 31, 2024, incident that prompted its evaluation and the gun involved. Advertisement Advertisement On that day, a MSP motor officer was standing in a squad area with other members when his department issued Sig Sauer M18 fired uncommanded. The firearm was reportedly secured in the department issued Alien Gear Rapid Force Level 3 holster at the time of firing, the report explains. According to the MSP motor officers statement and the statements of others present, at no time was the trigger pressed intentionally or inadvertently. The MSP motor officer had objects in his hands at the time of the event, including keys. In addition, several minutes prior to the uncommanded firing, the MSP motor officer conducted approximately three presentation drills from the holster to practice acquiring the red dot. The subject firearm is a Sig Sauer M18 pistol, serial number [redacted], with X Flat Blade Trigger. The M18/P320 family of firearms uses a frame assembly group (fire control unit) compatible with multiple grip modules offered by Sig Sauer. The fire control unit is a traditional sear design which holds a partially pre-tensioned striker,' the report adds. Additionally, the Sig Sauer Technical Manual highlights that the P320 [M18] firing mechanism has designed safety features that prevent the pistol from firing unless the trigger is moved rearward resulting in the de-activation of these safety features. These features include: Striker Safety Lock; Captive Safety Lever; Striker Sear Engagement (Primary & Secondary Sear Notch). Left and right-hand views of the MSP M18 pistol involved in the uncommanded discharge incident and sent to the FBI for evaluation. FBI The same pistol in its holster. FBI In addition to the firearm and holster, MSP utilizes the Sig Sauer Romeo M17 pistol mounted optic and the Surefire X300 Turbo weapon mounted light, it continues. The only known modification to the subject weapon, and all MSP weapons, was to the trigger. When MSP took delivery of the weapons from Sig Sauer, MSP experienced dead trigger issues. Sig Sauer determined the triggers were out of specification and ground off 0.020. Initial observations BRF received the pistol from MSP still in its holster and with the case from the fired round still in the chamber. The gun was examined in that condition first, including via x-ray, before being disassembled for a more detailed inspection by two FBI Defensive Systems Unit (DSU) gunsmiths who were certified by Sig Sauer to work on the M18/P320 weapon. Several items of note were subsequently discovered. An X-ray image of the MSP M18, still in its holster, with a nickel for scale. FBI Another X-ray image with the empty case in the chamber highlighted. FBI Advertisement Advertisement The striker safety lock spring is used to hold the striker safety lock in a downward position until acted upon by the captive safety lever. The striker safety lock is intended to prevent the striker from moving forward in the event sear engagement (primary or secondary) is lost. It was observed that the spring was not fully seated on its post, the report notes. It was also observed that the striker safety lock spring was only captured at the top of the striker housing. Additionally, during dry-fire manipulation it was observed the trigger could be partially pressed to the rear and the slide manipulated by hand causing the striker to fall completely, the report adds. This was then tested using a primed case and the striker did in fact fire the primed case, indicating the striker safety lock was disabled based on the partial trigger press. BRFs gunsmiths also observed notable wear on the guns sear, as well as the primary and secondary sear notches. By design, the sear is supposed to stay locked in the primary notch until the gun is fired, with the secondary notch acting as a backup safety measure. The additional sear notch, along with other changes to the sear design, were introduced as part of the aforementioned Voluntary Upgrade Program. The primary and secondary sear notch edges exhibit wear aligned with the striker pin hook. The face edge of each sear notch has a chipped appearance, according to the report. Additionally, there appears to be a manufacturing artifact on the primary sear ramp just in front of the primary sear notch. Advertisement Advertisement The striker pin hook ledge reduces the engagement surface between the primary sear notch and the striker pin face to the face of the ledge, the report adds. Additionally, the misshapen striker pin hook face may be contributing to excessive wear on the primary and secondary sear notches. Images from the BRF report highlighting the observed sear wear and the striker pin hook ledge. FBI The BRF also noted damage to the trigger guard, but the report says it is unclear if that is in any way related to the July incident. Given that the MSP officer had been holding keys in his hand at the time, the FBIs evaluation included testing that showed that it was possible to have pulled the trigger on the pistol in the holster using the blade of a key. During this test it was observed that the keys caused an abrasion on the trigger guard near the area of the abrasion seen on the weapon when it arrived, BRFs report says, but does not draw any further conclusions from that. The FBI also determined that it was possible to make contact with the trigger with a finger while the pistol was in the holster, but that due to the excessive force necessary, it is an improbable event. Focus on the striker safety lock A central focus of the BRFs further testing of the MSP M18 was on the striker safety lock. Limited live-firing of the pistol showed potentially worrisome striker safety lock spring movement. Advertisement Advertisement As previously stated, should the spring leg slip off the striker safety lock, it may leave the safety inoperable, the report notes. However, so long as the space between the striker channel wall and the striker safety lock does not exceed the width of the striker safety lock spring, it should remain in place despite not being captured by design. Pictures showing the pre- and post-firing positions of the strike safety lock spring. FBI Further testing of the striker safety lock was subsequently conducted using protocols devised by BRF for this particular evaluation. One round of testing was was conducted using the subject weapon and trimmed rear slide cap. The weapon was placed into the subject holster and secured to a table. The holsters optic and slide covers were left in the open position to access the sear, according to the report. A primed case was placed into the chamber and a magazine loaded with dummy rounds was inserted. Thereafter, a punch was used to manually disengage the primary sear notch from the striker pin hook32 to fire the primed case, thereby testing the function of the striker safety lock. The procedure was repeated 100 times with the sear locked in the primary and secondary notches. The BRF says the striker safety lock functioned as intended in every one of those instances. Advertisement Advertisement In addition, approximately 50 attempts were made to determine if the striker would impact the primed case after manipulating the weapon while holstered. The weapon was pressed together and pulled apart (at the slide and frame). Thereafter, pressure was applied to the frame and the sear manually released from the primary notch, the report says. The intent of the manipulation and pressure was to mimic what might occur to a holstered weapon during an officers duties, such as running, jumping, climbing, fighting, pressing a weapon against a wall or vehicle, or obtaining a master grip on the pistol prior to drawing, etc. BRF staff observed the primed case fired on nine attempts with the primer indent measuring between 0.019-0.026 with an average of 0.023. While staging one attempt to allow another BRF staff member to observe the striker safety lock function as designed, the weapon was prepared and placed into the holster with no manipulation, it adds. A second staff member released the primary sear notch from the striker and the primed case fired indicating failure of the striker safety lock. The primer indention measured 0.018. Furthermore, BRF observed six instances where the primer did not fire but a small indentation was present indicating the striker had contacted the primer. Pictures from the striker spring lock testing, including one showing a primed case firing and an instance where the primer was struck, but did not detonate. FBI The FBIs report also says it was able to use the same testing protocol to fire a primed case in a second brand-new unfired Sig Sauer M18 pistol [that] was obtained from MSP. Advertisement Advertisement It is worth noting here that the FBI testing protocols did involve the cutting of a window in the pistols slide to observe the spring movement. As the report itself says, the slide wall is used to ensure the spring remains in the proper position. Pictures showing the strike safety lock spring as viewed through the window cut in the slide. FBI Separate limited BRF testing of the secondary sear notch showed that safety feature worked as intended. During the initial live-firing, both the sear and sear housing were observed to bounce during recoil. The sear bounced multiple times and impacted the striker pin and bottom of the slide several times during rearward slide travel, the report also says. It is likely a combination of the forward striker pin movement and striker impacts during recoil that cause wear on the sear surfaces including the chipping of the sear face edges. The BRFs conclusions and Sigs response Based on the result of the evaluation, the BRFs report raises significant, but heavily caveated, safety concerns. Advertisement Advertisement A reliable test could not be developed at the time of this document to test the effectiveness of the secondary sear notch. However, testing did indicate with movements representing those common to a law enforcement officer it is possible to render the Striker Safety Lock inoperable and ineffective at preventing the striker from impacting a chambered round if complete sear engagement is lost, the report concludes. It is important to note that the Striker Safety Lock, by design, is the last safety in line to prevent an unintended discharge as it is in place to protect against a secondary sear notch override. While examination of the subject weapon did not independently provide evidence of an uncommanded discharge it does indicate that it may be possible if sear engagement is lost. The disabling of the striker safety lock through movement and friction creates a condition which merits further exploration to fully assess potential risk, it continues. BRF recommends that MSP weigh the content of this report with the outcome of the internal investigation in making its final determination related to the Sig Sauer M18 as an issued firearm within the department. The full conclusion section from the BRFs August 2024 report on the MSP incident. FBI In addition, Sig Sauer claims that it engaged with the FBI in relation to the August 2024 report and its findings, and that subsequent testing was conducted that contradicts the initial results. The test conducted by the FBI-BRF was made aware to Sig Sauer when it was submitted to the Michigan State Police, Jason St. John, senior director of strategic products for the companys Defense Strategies Group, told TWZ. Sig Sauer expressed concerns with the FBIs initial report about how some of the tests were conducted. Specifically, Sig explained that forcing the sear downward with a punch was moving the trigger bar forward and, as a result, the trigger to the rear since the sear is in constant contact with the trigger bar, he continued. Sig expressed that this was not a proper representation of the striker slipping off of the sears primary notch from a parallel/grip-down drop. Sig also noted that the FBIs concern of the striker safety spring movement on the striker assembly post after getting hit with a hammer was unwarranted due to the viewing window that was cut into the slide that sacrificed the sidewall support of the striker safety spring. After the initial report was submitted, Sig Sauer and its engineers worked in cooperation with the FBI and Michigan State Police to design a fixture that all agreed would create a more controlled testing protocol for striker/sear slippage, St. John added. Using that fixture, the FBI forced the sear off of the primary notch 565 times with 19EA different striker assemblies with zero indents on the primer (no fires). A picture of a P320-series pistol in the test fixture devised to test striker/sear slippage. Sig Sauer TWZ has reached out to the FBI for more details about the results of this additional testing. Sigs St. John also told us that the company has no plans to take further actions regarding the P320 based on the initial BRF report on the MSP incident last year. Sig Sauer continues to have full faith in the P320, he said. Due to the FBI manually manipulating the P320 sear improperly, Sig Sauer refutes the initial results. Reaction from the U.S. Army As noted at the beginning of this story, the U.S. Army is aware of the BRF report and its findings, but is not currently planning on taking any new actions regarding its M17 and M18 pistols in response. This handgun [MSPs M18] was a modified P320 / M18 without an external safety, which can be purchased by anyone through Sig Sauer, the Armys Program Executive Office for Soldier systems (PEO Soldier), which manages the MHS program, told TWZ in a statement. The M17 / M18 is a variant of the P320, but it is NOT exactly the same as the P320. The two are similar in many ways, but the M17 / M18 has a number of enhancements that the P320 does not have. For example, a trigger enhancement within the M17 / M18 further prevents it from firing unintentionally if dropped. The M17 / M18 has been subjected to rigorous safety testing by the manufacturer and the Army, including multiple drop tests, the statement added. The M17 / M18 has multiple safety features, including a Takedown Safety Lever, an Internal Striker Safety, a Manual External Safety, a Disconnect Safety and a Loaded Chamber Indicator. Specific to preventing a discharge if the weapon is dropped, the M17 / M18 Manual External Safety prevents the trigger from moving unless the weapon is set to Fire, and it has a design that prevents it from firing when dropped on either Safe or Fire.' Members of the US Army train with their M17 pistols. US Army This being said, the MSP incident last July was not drop safety-related and there is no indication that a manual safety, which on the P320 series of guns just stops the trigger from moving rearward, would have any effect on issues identified in the initial report. TWZ has reached back out to the Army for clarification. We have also sent similar queries to the Marine Corps, Navy, and Air Force about their use of these pistols in light of the now-publicly released BRF report. Last year, New Hampshire Public Radio reported that the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps acknowledge serious injuries or near misses caused by the Sig Sauer-made guns unexpectedly firing after obtaining reports on multiple incidents that occurred between 2020 and 2023 via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA). Sig Sauers U.S. headquarters is in Newington, New Hampshire. A member of the US Air Force fires an M18 pistol. USAF The incident reports included several cases that sound broadly similar to the one MSP experienced last year, in which individuals involved insisted that their pistols discharged without the fingers ever being on the triggers. In a number of those instances, investigations concluded that the individual handling the guns were at fault. New Hampshire Public Radios 2024 report said that the Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps all pushed back to varying degrees on technical issues with individual pistols, or the underlying design of the guns, being a factor. Following one incident in 2023, a Marine investigator recommended that an engineering review of the M18 be conducted,' according to New Hampshire Public Radio. The Marine Corps told NHPR that professional armorers and engineers did inspect the weapon involved in that incident, and found it was complete, functional, included all safety equipment, and was operating properly.' The Soldier Systems blog followed up on this particular incident, which involved a pistol issued to a Japanese national employed as a security guard at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, just in May of this year. The M18 was rigorously tested to DoD standards before being selected for use by our Marines, and we have not seen any evidence that indicates design or manufacturing issues are present. In addition to the initial testing, each lot of weapons produced for the U.S. Government is subject to extensive lot acceptance testing with oversight by the Defense Contract Management Agency and the Service from which the order was placed (Army/Marine Corps), Marine Corps Systems Command told Soldier Systems. The Marine Corps has full confidence in the quality, performance, and safety of the M18 handgun. The MHS is designed, built, and tested to military standards to ensure safe and effective employment during training and combat. A US Marine fires an M18 pistol during training. USMC A Marine fires an M18 pistol during training. USMC A 2023 Naval Safety Command Safety Awareness Dispatch specifically on M18 pistol mishaps also notably focuses entirely on issues that are a result of user error. Concerns and controversy remain Overall, safety concerns and controversy look set to continue to swirl around the P320 pistol, despite persistent pushback from Sig, as well as the U.S. military. As noted earlier on in the story, just days after the BRF report was made public, Madison Sheahan, deputy director of ICE, put out a memo banning the use of any variant of the P320 by authorized officers and directing the purchase of Glock 19s as replacements. Glock was notably the losing party in the Armys MHS competition. Glock pistols are also in U.S. military use, particularly with U.S. special operations forces, as well as many American law enforcement organizations. A Glock 19X pistol, part of that companys submission for the MHS competition. Glock ICE is just the latest in a string of law enforcement agencies and training academies across the United States to take similar actions regarding the P320. Sig Sauers St. John told TWZ that the MSP remains a user of the pistol after the incident last year and the BRFs evaluation. They only changed their lights to a narrower size and issued new holsters that would alleviate the chances of holster intrusions, he added. At this point we have a pistol thats been through rough handling and tested more than any other firearm in Sig Sauers history, Sig Sauers Vice President of Consumer Affairs Phil Strader separately told Outdoor Life for a story on the BRFs initial findings published last week. Our testing concludes that the only way for the pistol to fire is when the trigger is moved to the rear it leaves us to question, how else is a pistol supposed to work? In March, Sig had shared a new and definitive statement declaring that the P320 CANNOT, under any circumstances, discharge without a trigger pull that is a fact on its social media accounts. The posts, especially the one on X that was also accompanied by a message further stating It ends today, prompted a major backlash on social media. The P320. It ends today. pic.twitter.com/bZZMXGKK1v SIG SAUER (@sigsauerinc) March 7, 2025 Sig has also pointed to its legal victories in more than a dozen lawsuits over claimed unintended discharges in the past. However, lawsuits continue to stack up. Last year, a Georgia man named Robert Lang won a suit against Sig over a P320 discharge, in which he was wounded, being awarded $2.35 million in damages. A federal judge upheld that verdict in February after Sig appealed. In May, New Hampshire Governor Kelly Ayotte, a Republican, signed into law a bill that limits the liability of firearms manufacturers based in the state. State Representative David Meuse, a Democrat, explicitly accused the bills proponents of writing the legislation, which does not apply retroactively, to help shield Sig from further legal action. The Army has certainly given its M17 and M18 pistols another vote of confidence following the public disclosure of the BRF report, but the saga of the P320 still looks to be far from over. Contact the author: joe@twz.com FIRST ON FOX: Army Secretary Dan Driscoll called a set of training slides that deemed pro-life groups as terrorist organizations a "grievous error" that he'll work to ensure doesn't happen again, in a letter obtained by Fox News Digital. "This characterization was not only inaccurate but also deeply inappropriate," Driscoll wrote to a group of attorneys for the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), who represents Operation Rescue, one of the pro-life groups affected. Thousands of soldiers at Fort Bragg were trained in counter-terrorism and security practices with slides that listed groups such as National Right to Life and Operation Rescue alongside recognized extremist organizations, and even pointed to prolife license plates as potential warning signs. The practice went on for seven years, until 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Equally concerning was the previous administrations inadequate response to this serious incident. Its failure to provide full transparency or take responsibility for such a grievous error is wholly unacceptable." Hegseth Abruptly Pulls Pentagon Officials From 'Globalist' Aspen Conference Army Secretary Dan Driscoll called a set of training slides that deemed pro-life groups as terrorist organizations a "grievous error" that he'll work to ensure doesn't happen again. Driscoll said the Army has since reviewed all security training materials, including anti-terrorism training, and removed the slides that referenced pro-life groups, along with a slew of pro-animal and green groups like PETA, as "terrorist organizations." Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Please be assured that I am firmly committed to rigorous oversight of all Army training materials to prevent such incidents from occurring in the future." Eyes In The Sky: Army Drone Expert Explains Us Strategy On Innovation As Global Conflict Looms Thousands of soldiers at Fort Bragg were trained in counter-terrorism and security practices with slides that listed groups such as National Right to Life and Operation Rescue alongside recognized extremist organizations. Agnes Schaefer, assistant secretary of the Army for manpower and Reserve affairs, said that the training deck, which was used to teach 9,100 Army soldiers, was "inconsistent with Armys antiterrorism policy and training." The training module was used to instruct soldiers on what to look out for when guarding points of base access. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She claimed there is "no evidence" to suggest the individual who created the slide deck did so to "deliberately subvert" Army policy or to "further a personal viewpoint." "Thank you for standing up against the Leftist ideology that had been infecting our military branches and bogging down our warfighters, often cloaked in the bureaucratic morass," said Jordan Sekulow, executive director of ACLJ, in a statement responding to the letter. "We know you have a lot of work to do, and that you took time to address this not just in response to an oversight function of Congress, but directly to our client who was among those harmed confirms your commitment to the values for which you fight." The slides caused a stir among congressional Republicans, who demanded answers from Army officials in a hearing last year and took issue with Schaefers assurances the slide did not represent a personal viewpoint. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Its downright ridiculous to claim the slide deck doesnt further a personal viewpoint, but there have been no consequences for the employee who ran anti-life training sessions at Fort Liberty that clearly violated Army policy," Sen. Jim Banks, R-Ind., told Fox News Digital in September. Its not clear if anyone involved in the slides production and use has been fired or reprimanded. Original article source: Army secretary vows 'grievous error' targeting pro-life groups will never happen again A U.S. Army veteran who was detained during the massive immigration raid in Ventura County last week said Wednesday that he wants a full investigation into how he could have been held behind bars for three days despite being an American citizen. What happened to me wasnt just a mistake, he said in a written statement. It was a violation of my civil rights. It was excessive force. At a news conference Wednesday, George Retes, who is 25 and the father of two children, said he had been on his way to his job as a security guard at Glass House farms on July 10 when I got caught in the middle between protesters and [U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement] agents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Retes had been focused on his 3-year-old daughters upcoming birthday party and didn't realize that Glass House, one of the largest legal cannabis operations in California, was being raided by scores of heavily armed immigration agents. Read more: Immigration raid at cannabis farm in Ventura County sparks chaotic protest Officials with the Department of Homeland Security later said they detained more than 360 people in the raid, including numerous undocumented immigrants who had been charged with crimes. As agents moved through the companys greenhouses, many workers fled in a panic. One worker, Jaime Alanis Garcia, 56, died after he fell three stories while trying to evade capture. Protesters and family members of workers, meanwhile, massed at the Glass House gates on Laguna Road, squaring off against federal agents, who deployed chemical agents and less-lethal ammunition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Retes said he had worked at Glass House as a contractor for the security firm Securitas for seven months. He said he unwittingly headed straight into that melee as he drove down Laguna Road to report for his afternoon shift. I had no clue about it, he said. When I pulled up, I saw all the cars, I saw all the traffic, and I was just trying to make my way through. He did not get to work. Instead, he said, agents smashed his car window, pepper-sprayed him and dragged him out at gunpoint. I let ICE agents know that Im a U.S. Citizen, that Im American, he said. They didnt care. They never told me my charges. They sent me away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Details emerge about pot-farm immigration raid as worker dies Retes, who served in Iraq, said agents never told him why he was being detained at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. He was packed off, without a phone call, access to a lawyer, or even a way to clean the pepper-spray residue off his clothes and face, he said. While in custody, Retes said, he became so distressed that he was put on suicide watch, but he was still not allowed to contact an attorney. His sister and wife meanwhile gave tearful interviews to local television stations, pleading for information as to his whereabouts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We don't know what to do," his sister Destinee Majana told KABC-TV Channel 7 last week. "We're just asking to let my brother go. He's a U.S. citizen. He didn't do anything wrong. He's a veteran, disabled citizen. It says it on his car." "I just don't know where he's at. I've been up since 6 a.m. trying to call the sheriff's, the police department, Oxnard, Camarillo, Ventura, added his wife, Guadalupe Torres. They say they don't know. Finally, on Sunday, Retes said, guards came to his cell and told him he was going to be released. An officer walked me downstairs, he recalled. "I signed a paper to get my stuff back. That was it. They let me go. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, officials at the Department of Homeland Security said: George Retes was arrested and has been released. He has not been charged. The [U.S. attorney's office] is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo. Retes said he is home in Ventura now, spending time with his children and enjoying being free. I took that for granted. He recovered his car, which he said still has a smashed window, numerous dents and a sharp tang of pepper spray. But he said he plans to file a lawsuit against the government over the way he was treated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What they did isnt right, he said. Im here speaking for everyone who doesnt have a chance to speak. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A U.S. Army veteran was sentenced to two years in prison on Wednesday for possessing illegal high-powered firearms, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller. 29-year-old Kyle Christopher Benton was arrested in September 2024 after an investigation found he had unregistered rifles, one of which was modified to fire rapidly with one trigger pull like a machine gun, according to a release from the U.S. District Court. Prosecutors say the guns were used to bolster his involvement with racially or ethnically motivated violent extremist groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You not only illegally possessed extremely dangerous firearms, but you bragged about it and put on firearms trainings for others while doing so, U.S. District Judge Tana Lin said during the sentencing hearing. Benton was investigated by the FBI following his discharge from the Army and after making threats to kill his wife, prosecutors say. The investigation found that Benton used multiple social media accounts where he shared violent extremist content and neo-Nazi propaganda. The Department of Justice says Benton also participated in hate rallies and gatherings across Oregon, Washington, and Idaho while he leveraged his military background to conduct firearms workshops for white supremacist groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On September 6, 2024, law enforcement seized a firearm resembling an M16 rifle and two short-barreled rifles, which were not registered as required by the National Firearms Act. Benton pleaded guilty on March 28, 2025, to charges of Unlawful Possession of a Machinegun and Possession of an Unregistered Firearm. In a letter to the court, Benton disavowed his white supremacist views, though the specifics of this disavowal were not detailed. A U.S. Army veteran who was arrested during an immigration raid at a Southern California marijuana farm last week said Wednesday he was sprayed with tear gas and pepper spray before being dragged from his vehicle and pinned down by federal agents who arrested him. George Retes, 25, who works as a security guard at Glass House Farms in Camarillo, said he was arriving at work on July 10 when several federal agents surrounded his car and despite him identifying himself as a U.S. citizen broke his window, peppered sprayed him and dragged him out. It took two officers to nail my back and then one on my neck to arrest me even though my hands were already behind my back, Retes said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Massive farm raids led to hundreds being detained The Ventura City native was detained during chaotic raids at two Southern California farms where federal authorities arrested more than 360 people, one of the largest operations since President Donald Trump took office in January. Protesters faced off against federal agents in military-style gear, and one farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof. The raids came more than a month into an extended immigration crackdown by the Trump administration across Southern California that was originally centered in Los Angeles, where local officials say the federal actions are spreading fear in immigrant communities. California Gov. Gavin Newsom spoke on the raids at a news conference Wednesday, calling Trump a chaos agent who has incited violence and spread fear in communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You got someone who dropped 30 feet because they were scared to death and lost their life, he said, referring to the farmworker who died in the raids. People are quite literally disappearing with no due process, no rights. Retes was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where he said he was put in a special cell on suicide watch and checked on each day after he became emotionally distraught over his ordeal and missing his 3-year-old daughter's birthday party Saturday. He said federal agents never told him why he was arrested or allowed him to contact a lawyer or his family during his three-day detention. Authorities never let him shower or change clothes despite being covered in tear gas and pepper spray, Retes said, adding that his hands burned throughout the first night he spent in custody. On Sunday, an officer had him sign a paper and walked him out of the detention center. He said he was told he faced no charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Retes met with silence when seeking explanation They gave me nothing I could wrap my head around," Retes said, explaining that he was met with silence on his way out when he asked about being "locked up for three days with no reason and no charges. Tricia McLaughlin, assistant secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed Retes' arrest but didn't say on what charges. George Retes was arrested and has been released," she said. "He has not been charged. The U.S. Attorneys Office is reviewing his case, along with dozens of others, for potential federal charges related to the execution of the federal search warrant in Camarillo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to halt indiscriminate immigration stops and arrests without warrants in seven California counties, including Los Angeles. Immigrant advocates accused federal agents of detaining people because they looked Latino. The Justice Department appealed on Monday and asked for the order to be stayed. The Pentagon also said Tuesday it was ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles. That's roughly half the number the administration sent to the city following protests over the immigration actions. Some of those troops have been accompanying federal agents during their immigration enforcement operations. Retes said he joined the Army at 18 and served four years, including deploying to Iraq in 2019. I joined the service to help better myself, he said. I did it because I love this (expletive) country. We are one nation and no matter what, we should be together. All this separation and stuff between everyone is just the way it shouldnt be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Veteran pledges to sue federal authorities for his ordeal Retes said he plans to sue for wrongful detention. The way theyre going about this entire deportation process is completely wrong, chasing people who are just working, especially trying to feed everyone here in the U.S., he said. No one deserves to be treated the way they treat people. Retes was detained along with California State University Channel Islands professor Jonathan Caravello, also a U.S. citizen, who was arrested for throwing a tear gas canister at law enforcement, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X. The California Faculty Association said Caravello was taken away by agents who did not identify themselves nor inform him of why he was being taken into custody. Like Retes, the association said the professor was then held without being allowed to contact his family or an attorney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caravello was attempting to dislodge a tear gas canister that was stuck underneath someones wheelchair, witnesses told KABC-TV, the ABC affiliate in Los Angeles. A federal judge on Monday ordered Caravello to be released on $15,000 bond. Hes scheduled to be arraigned Aug. 1. I want everyone to know what happened. This doesnt just affect one person, Retes said. It doesnt matter if your skin is brown. It doesnt matter if youre white. It doesnt matter if youre a veteran or you serve this country. They dont care. Theyre just there to fill a quota. ___ Associated Press writer Jamie Ding contributed from Los Angeles. Cermaq plans to acquire three salmon processing facilities from Norwegian peer Grieg Seafood for Nkr10.2bn ($988.6m). The purchase of the sites one in Finnmark, Norway, and two others in Canada in British Colombia and Newfoundland is subject to approval by the relevant competition regulators, Cermaq, a European subsidiary of Japans Mitsubishi Corp., said in a statement today (17 July). Separately, Grieg Seafood said the disposals also include its sales organisation in North America as the salmon processor seeks to focus operations on Rogaland in Norway. Cermaq CEO Steven Rafferty said the plant acquisitions will strengthen our competitiveness and contribute to growth. He added: We have profound respect for Grieg Seafood and their pioneering initiatives as a global company with a long-lasting legacy. With dedicated employees and operations in several regions where Cermaq operates today, we believe the companies are an excellent match with a common goal for sustainable and innovative operations. Asked by Just Food to confirm the processes conducted at the three facilities and whether any jobs will be lost, or in fact retained, a spokesperson for Oslo-based Cermaq declined to comment, saying the company was restricted by the regulatory proceedings. Grieg Seafood confirmed the plant sales and transaction price in its own statement from Nina Willumsen Grieg, who took on the CEO role on an interim basis in March to replace Andreas Kvame. This transaction will position both Grieg Seafood and the regions for the future. It allows us to concentrate focus and resources in Rogaland, she said. We aim to continue to be a strong actor in the advancement of sustainable aquaculture in Norway. This publication has also asked Grieg Seafood to confirm the nature of the three operations, the future of employees, and whether Ms Grieg has taken on the CEO role on a permanent basis. In a Euronext filing, Grieg Seafood said the transaction with Cermaq is expected to close in the final quarter of this year subject to regulatory approval. The company will provide more information on its strategic direction when second-quarter results are issued on 26 August. Meanwhile, in a separate presentation, Grieg Seafood said the transaction will have no impact on its ownership in Tytlandsvik Aqua and Ardal Aqua, while its new value-added processing site in Gardermoen, Norway, will remain with the business. First-quarter results issued in May showed Grieg Seafood booked sales of Nkr2.18bn, down 4.8% from a year earlier. Harvest volumes fell to 20,770 tonnes GWT, from 21,075. For decades, the U.S. militarys M240 medium machine gun has proven its worth, but now the Army is looking for something new. The Armys proposed fiscal year 2026 budget includes a project dubbed the Future Military Machine Gun, or FMMG, which is meant to eventually replace M240s for soldiers in the close combat force. The Army uses that umbrella term as the general label for infantry, cavalry scouts, combat medics, forward observers, combat engineers, and special operations forces. The FMMG is a belt-fed crew-served direct fire weapon system that will enable the rifle platoon to organically suppress and destroy enemy personnel targets and maintain operational tempo, Army budget documents say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The budget documents do not say how the new machine gun is expected to be an improvement over the M240, what the specifications of the FMMG will be, or when it might be fielded to soldiers. The War Zone first reported on the Armys request for funding for the FMMG. No further information about the FMMG was immediately available. We cannot provide an update on the Future Medium Machine Gun program at this time, but the Army is constantly working to ensure the warfighter is equipped to remain ready, lethal, and adaptive amid emerging threats, an Army spokesperson told Task & Purpose on Thursday. The M240 chambers a 7.62mm round and has a maximum effective range of 1,200 meters, according to the Armys Program Executive Office Soldier. The machine gun comes in several variants, including the M240B used by infantry units, which weighs 27.6 pounds. The Army has also fielded a lightweight variant of the machine gun that weighs 21.8 pounds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The question now is whether the FMMG should chamber the 7.62mm round or a different type of ammunition, said retired Brig. Gen. Larry Burris, who led the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Georgia, from 2021 to 2023. Although the M240 performed well over the two decades of war following 9/11, the Army needs to maintain its advantage over potential adversaries, who have made advances in their weapons and body armor, Burris told Task & Purpose on Thursday. Burris also noted that the Army has adopted a 6.8mm round for the M7, its newest rifle, and the M250, its newest automatic rifle. Weve got to question everything to make sure that we have the right capabilities so we can fight and win, Burris said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Army began using the M240 in the late 1970s by mounting the machine gun on armored vehicles, and eventually, infantry units adopted the machine gun. It went on to replace the M60 machine gun, which soldiers nicknamed The Pig for its appetite for ammunition, said Christopher Goodrow, arms curator at the National Infantry Museum at Fort Benning. The M240 proved to be a far more reliable machine gun than the M60, Goodrow told Task & Purpose on Thursday. In the pantheon of Army crew-served medium machine guns, the M240 is certainly among the top three, along with the M60 and M1919 Browning machine gun, said Goodrow, who said he believes the M240s optics and other components make it the best of the three. When youre putting on lasers and optics and all these other things, now what youre able to do with a 240 just far exceeds anything you could have ever done with a 1919 machine gun or an M60 machine gun, Goodrow said. The latest on Task & Purpose ASHTABULA The Ashtabula Area City School Board approved the next resolution necessary to place a bond issue on the November ballot at a Wednesday morning meeting. The board took the first steps at a June 30 special meeting, at which district administrators said they hope the funds are not needed. The $42 million bond issue would pay for the reconstruction of Lakeside High School. The schools roof collapsed during the 2024 Thanksgiving weekend snowstorm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since then, freshmen have had class at the former Mother of Sorrows Elementary School, and other students have been at Huron Primary School. During a work session before Wednesdays meeting, Board Member Donald Rapose said he had initially been under the assumption the bond issue was a formality. Its a formality to the extent that the matters not settled, District Treasurer Mark Astorino said. Astorino said the bond issue could be necessary to fund the high schools reconstruction, if the district does not have a good outcome from insurance. We do need to pass the resolution as a precaution, but it could turn into reality in a hurry, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Astorino said they may also need the money, depending on how long it takes the district to hear back from the insurance company, Liberty Mutual. The way things have been going, the crystal ball is blurred, he said. The board repealed two resolutions to place a 1.25-mill renewal levy to fund district textbooks and other educational materials on the ballot in November. Astorino said he and District Superintendent Lisa Newsome thought having the renewal levy on the ballot with the Lakeside bond issue would make it more likely to fail. We did not want competing initiatives on the ballot, he said. The board can place the levy on the ballot in the May 2026 election without an effect on district funding, assuming it passes, Astorino said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The budget signed by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine largely aligned with what the district forecasted, Astorino said. The forecast was based off the Ohio State Senates proposal, he said. District leaders are waiting to see if the Ohio legislature overturns any of DeWines vetos, he said. District Assistant Superintendent Julie Fulton said a lot of federal grants have not been released yet. We dont know if thats something to worry about or its just a formality, Astorino said. He is also watching to see how funding would be affected by the potential abolition or reorganization of the Department of Education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a waiting game, he said. Some district partners have lost funding from 21st century grants, Astorino said. Theyve stopped programs, and theyve had to fund the remainder of their programs from other sources, he said. The board heard a presentation from Metz Culinary District Manager Jim Wrigley. The company provides meals for district students. He said there was a decline in children getting meals after the roof collapse. I will say though, [AACS], the participation rates out here are outstanding, Wrigley said. Fulton said the district would have a Back to School Bash from 4-6 p.m. Aug. 12 at the Lakeside High School stadium. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) An assault near the Oregon Convention Center has left one man fighting for his life and another at the center of a homicide investigation early Thursday morning, according to Portland police. Officers responded to the Convention Centers TriMet MAX Station just before 6 a.m. and say the area of NE Holladay Street between Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. and Second Avenue was blocked for several hours. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KOIN Breaking News Alerts When officers responded, they found a man with serious, life-threatening injuries. He was transported to the hospital, and his current condition is unknown. The suspect was identified as Jordan T. Christ, 30. He was booked in the Multnomah County Detention Center and charged with second-degree assault. The investigation revealed that the assault was a punch to the victims head and did not involve a weapon. Investigators have no reason to believe that the suspect and the victim knew each other, police said. MultCo employee alleges retaliation for exposing unsafe workplace, health record fraud Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives say they are now combing over surveillance video to determine what led to the confrontation on the TriMet platform. We completely understand the communitys concerns, said TriMet public information officer Mark Miller. We take incidents like this extremely seriously. We have increased our safety and security staffing over the course of about the past three years, by about double. These incidents are tragic and awful, added Deputy John Plock with the Multnomah County Sheriffs Office. We hate to see them, but the reality is that the TriMet system is safe. MCSO data shows calls for transit police service on public transit have continued to drop over the last five years. But a 2024 survey found only about half of people reported feeling safe on TriMet buses and even less on the MAX train. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People are going to see this new story and its going to cause angst and fear, said Deputy Plock. Hopefully we can bridge that gap. Portland police said no charges have been brought against the suspect yet, who remains in custody. They are asking anyone with information to contact detectives. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon says the citys antiquated system has caused a delay in releasing the inspection reports for the assisted living facility where nine people died in a fire. That report, according to Bacon, should include Gabriel Houses evacuation plan and how many fire drills were performed at the facility. He hopes to be able to release the report on Thursday. At a news conference Wednesday, Bacon said the city has only just recently started digitizing its fire inspection reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the gentlemen whos responsible for these inspections came in on vacation yesterday to dig through boxes of paperwork, he said. But outside of that, its mainly because we just dont have enough people to process these and get them out. That fire was destined to kill 50-plus people: Chief recounts firefighters life-saving efforts 12 News reached out to the Massachusetts Departments of Fire Services and Elder Affairs to see if they have a copy of the inspection report. Both told 12 News to file a records request. With many having loved ones in long-term care, 12 News wanted to find out the requirements for assisted living facilities in Massachusetts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to regulations from the Department of Elder Affairs, all assisted living facilities are required to have an evacuation plan that addresses the physical and cognitive needs of residents. The state also mandates annual simulated evacuation drills and rehearsals for all shifts. What we know about the Fall River fire victims Bacon said Gabriel House was last inspected in August and was due to be inspected again next month. Meanwhile, city and state leaders want to find out what they can do to prevent another tragedy. I just learned today that a nursing home and assisted living has a different standard of inspections, Mayor Paul Coogan said Wednesday. Maybe those have to be uniform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In nearby Taunton, city leaders announced they will now be taking a closer look at the preparedness of its long-term care facilities in response to the deadly fire. Bacon said all assisted living facilities and nursing homes should do the same. Just to really make sure that everybodys ready to go in the event that that the alarms go off, he said. NEXT: Fall River to increase fire department staffing in wake of tragedy 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. CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. Astronomers have discovered the earliest seeds of rocky planets forming in the gas around a baby sun-like star, providing a precious peek into the dawn of our own solar system. Its an unprecedented snapshot of time zero, scientists reported Wednesday, when new worlds begin to gel. Are hot dogs really that bad for you? Why you should avoid some franks, experts say Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve captured a direct glimpse of the hot region where rocky planets like Earth are born around young protostars, said Leiden Observatorys Melissa McClure from the Netherlands, who led the international research team. For the first time, we can conclusively say that the first steps of planet formation are happening right now. The observations offer a unique glimpse into the inner workings of an emerging planetary system, said the University of Chicagos Fred Ciesla, who was not involved in the study appearing in the journal Nature. This is one of the things weve been waiting for. Astronomers have been thinking about how planetary systems form for a long period of time, Ciesla said. Theres a rich opportunity here. NASAs Webb Space Telescope and the European Southern Observatory in Chile teamed up to unveil these early nuggets of planetary formation around the young star known as HOPS-315. Its a yellow dwarf in the making like the sun, yet much younger at 100,000 to 200,000 years old and some 1,370 light-years away. A single light-year is 6 trillion miles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a cosmic first, McClure and her team stared deep into the gas disk around the baby star and detected solid specks condensing signs of early planet formation. A gap in the outer part of the disk gave allowed them to gaze inside, thanks to the way the star tilts toward Earth. They detected silicon monoxide gas as well as crystalline silicate minerals, the ingredients for whats believed to be the first solid materials to form in our solar system more than 4.5 billion years ago. The action is unfolding in a location comparable to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter containing the leftover building blocks of our solar systems planets. The condensing of hot minerals was never detected before around other young stars, so we didnt know if it was a universal feature of planet formation or a weird feature of our solar system, McClure said in an email. Our study shows that it could be a common process during the earliest stage of planet formation. While other research has looked at younger gas disks and, more commonly, mature disks with potential planet wannabes, theres been no specific evidence for the start of planet formation until now, McClure said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a stunning picture taken by the ESOs Alma telescope network, the emerging planetary system resembles a lightning bug glowing against the black void. Its impossible to know how many planets might form around HOPS-315. With a gas disk as massive as the suns might have been, it could also wind up with eight planets a million or more years from now, according to McClure. Country Club Plaza joins list of property owners appealing 2025 valuation Purdue Universitys Merel van t Hoff, a co-author, is eager to find more budding planetary systems. By casting a wider net, astronomers can look for similarities and determine which processes might be crucial to forming Earth-like worlds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Are there Earth-like planets out there or are we like so special that we might not expect it to occur very often? Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Atlanta passes ordinance to cool down city with reflective roofs The city of Atlanta has become the latest major city to adopt a new ordinance requiring roofs to have reflective properties. The measure is part of city leaders efforts to address climate change and combat the urban heat island effect in Atlanta. Councilmember Liliana Bakhtiari helped author the measure, which addresses roofing standards and the impact of dark roofing materials on heat output. Atlanta is one of the fastest-heating cities in the country. Were ranked in the top five, Bakhtiari told Channel 2s Brittany Kleinpeter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ordinance, which passed last month, states that the use of roofing materials with highly reflective properties has been shown in models to mitigate the urban heat island effect both on individual buildings and across the city as a whole, reducing the danger posed by extreme heat. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] This will have a huge impact. Because of the reflectivity of the roof in a very, very, very concrete- and asphalt-filled urban heat island environment, it will help with everything, said Bakhtiari. The councilmember explained that the legislation is not only designed to cool the city, but also to lower energy costs, save lives, and reduce carbon emissions. Atlanta realtor Alicia Lovette, who works primarily in the city, says she sees the potential selling point for future buyers and sellers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I can definitely see how it can help with the overall impact of the extreme heat weve been experiencing lately, said Lovette. While a new reflective roof may cost a bit more upfront, Bakhtiari says it will pay off in the long run. During peak summer months, this roof will pay for itself in the first two to five years because of how much stress it takes off the HVAC system, the councilmember added. Other major cities like New York and Chicago have similar cooling roof ordinances. However, Bakhtiari says Atlantas measure is the most comprehensive, addressing all roof types. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Atlanta Police Department investigators are asking the public for help with a homicide investigation. Police say a 16-year-old suspect is wanted for his involvement in the death of a man who was shot last month. At approximately 8:11 p.m. on June 17, officers responded to 2423 Martin Luther King Junior Drive SW to reports of a person shot. When they arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound. Medical workers pronounced him dead at the scene. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Police say the suspects parents, Koreem Weaver and Chiquita Larkin, are believed to be helping their son from getting caught. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police did not name the 16-year-old suspect. If you have information about their sons whereabouts, police ask that you call 911 or submit a tip to Crime Stoppers at 404-577-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward if the tip leads to an arrest and indictment. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Six members of a German gang that stole money from ATMs by blowing them up were sentenced to long prison terms by a district court in Frankfurt on Thursday. The main perpetrator received the longest sentence of 13 years and 9 months, while the shortest prison sentence handed down was 5 years. "ATM explosions have been punished too leniently for far too long," the presiding judge said while passing sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The men, in varying combinations, blew up seven ATMs in western Germany in 2022 and 2023. They stole a total of over 870,000 ($1 million), and the damage caused was almost three times as high at more than 2.5 million. They were convicted primarily of causing an explosion with explosives. The public prosecutor's office had sought convictions for attempted murder for three of the men, but the court did not follow this request. No perpetrator has yet been convicted in Germany for attempted murder in connection with an ATM explosion. New Mexico attorneys filed eight lawsuits in July 2025 against Church leaders in Las Cruces and El Paso, over allegations of clergy sexual abuse of children in Southern New Mexico parishes in the past few decades. (Getty Images) This week, New Mexico attorneys filed eight lawsuits against Catholic leadership in Las Cruces and El Paso, alleging priests in Southern New Mexico parishes committed sexual abuse against young children ranging in ages from 3 to 15 between 1956 to 1990. The law firms of Davis Kelin Law Firm and Huffman Wallace & Monagle filed the civil lawsuits in the Third Judicial District courts against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces and the Catholic Diocese of El Paso, seeking damages for the intentional, malicious, wilful, deliberate, wanton and/or reckless disregard for the harmful consequences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Mexico has been described as an epicenter of Catholic sexual abuse in the United States, recording dozens of instances of abuse of children, and also hosted Servants of the Paraclete Center in Jemez Springs, New Mexico, which was said to offer for treatment for priests who sexually abused dozens of children in other parishes. Attorney Levi Monagle, an attorney who represents the current plaintiffs, said even though public perception of clergy abuse has increased, the nature of harm for sexual assault often prevents people from coming forward for years, if not decades. Theres a perception this is a closed chapter in the churchs history, that this is all the past, Monagle said. Its certainly true that the vast majority of the abuse that occurred, occurred in decades past, but that doesnt mean that the day-to-day lives of these victims have changed. The complaints allege abuse in parishes in Las Cruces, Alamogordo, Anthony, Dona Ana, Mesilla park and Ruidoso. The lawsuits name the following priests for alleged acts of sexual abuse: Monsignor Albert Chavez, Father David Holley, Father Emilio Roure, Father Wilfrid Diamond, Monsignor Gonzalo Morales, Father Bernard Bissonnette, Father Joaquin Resma and one visiting priest who was not identified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both Holley and Bissonnette were sent to Servants of the Paraclete Center in Jemez Springs for their previous assaults of dozens of children, according to the lawsuits, and faced prior, credible accusations, but were placed in parishes with no supervision or warning. Law firms engaged in the litigation have set up a webpage with more information, including nonprofit sexual assault services, counseling and other support services. The El Paso Diocese is aware of the lawsuits but declined to comment on allegations in pending litigation, said Fernie Ceniceros, the director of communications. The Diocese of El Paso works very diligently to cooperate with all parties involved when cases like this are brought forward, Ceniceros said in a written statement.The diocese takes all matters of abuse as grave and serious situations and will work to ensure that justice is served. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ceniceros statement also notes that the diocese has worked to implement and train clergy, employees, and volunteers on best practices of Safe Environment and that anyone who works as a member of the clergy, employee or volunteer within the diocese must have undergone and passed a certification of training annually as part of those safe environment protocols. We encourage individuals with any knowledge of any misconduct and or of any crime committed by any member of the clergy, employee, or volunteer within the diocese to please come forward to law enforcement, the statement concluded, adding that such people can also reach out to El Pasos victims assistance and safe environment offices. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces did not respond to emailed requests for comment Thursday. Monagle said that while Catholic leadership has set a policy of zero tolerance for the last 20 years, he said there was still more transparency needed for what the church knew about the decades of abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its an action to speak louder than the words situation, frankly, Monagle said. Until people see a meaningful difference in the way that the church approaches the history of this issue, theyre going to have a hard time believing that the churchs policy for the future is any different. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Attorneys for Ralph Menzies have filed a petition for commutation to the Utah Board of Pardons and Parole, asking that his death sentence be commuted to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Menzies was convicted in 1988 for the 1986 aggravated murder, kidnapping, and robbery of Maurine Hunsaker. He was placed on death row, where he has remained for the last 37 years as appeals have been filed. Anyone with a loved one who has dementia can understand that Mr. Menzies is no longer the person he once was. His mind has been overtaken by the disease, and he asks the Board to commute his death sentence to prevent Utah from carrying out an execution that violates both the Constitution and basic human decency, the press release from Menzies attorneys reads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the petition for commutation filed by Menzies attorneys, several key arguments are outlined, mainly revolving around Menzies health, the presiding judge and former chief justice involved not standing by the death penalty, Menzies behavior while incarcerated, and questions regarding the basis of his death sentence. PREVIOUSLY: Utah begins preparations for its first firing squad execution in 15 years Menzies worsening dementia and health In June 2023, an MRI performed on Menzies showed generalized cerebral volume loss, and a moderate to severe burden of chronic microvascular disease. The petition explains that this means his brain is shrinking, and there is tissue damage that is rated at the most severe level. Where Mr. Menzies was previously organized, kept careful track of his legal visits, and was very engaged in and knowledgeable about his legal case, he began forgetting to bring his legal papers with him, being unable to find what he was looking for in his files, and forgetting he had legal visits at all, the petition stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previously, according to a reevaluation request from lawyers, Menzies has also experienced several medical events, including at least one major hypoxic episode, or a period of time with low oxygen, that contributed to the decline of his health. He has now been given an oxygen tank to provide him continuous access to supplemental oxygen due to that episode. A neurologist, Dr. Thomas Hyde, has evaluated Menzies in September 2023, May 2024, and June 2025, according to the petition. Dr. Hyde diagnosed Menzies with vascular dementia and noted worsening symptoms throughout the evaluations. A neuropsychologist, Dr. Lynette Abrams-Silva, came to a similar conclusion. Mr. Menzies now struggles to understand or remember even basic information about what is happening in his case He no longer remembers the details of his crime, trial, or sentencing. He does not understand the clemency process or even the purpose of clemency, the petition argues. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Court sets execution date for Utah death row inmate Ralph Menzies Arguments about the basis for the death sentence According to the petition for commutation, in 2010, Judge Raymond Uno, who presided over Menzies case and sentenced him, stated that he had made an error when choosing the death penalty in an affidavit. He said that he had failed to apply factors such as mental illness and perjury from a witness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Had I correctly applied the law to the facts in Mr. Menziess case, I would have sentenced him to life without the possibility of parole, Judge Unos affidavit is quoted in the press release. Former Chief Justice of the Utah Supreme Court, Justice Christine Durham, also does not stand by her upholding of Menzies death sentence, according to the petition. Justice Durham was part of the panel that reviewed Menzies case and was part of that panels decision that his death penalty should be vacated. That recommendation ultimately did not happen, and Menzies remained on death row due to the decision of the District Attorney at the time. One of the factors that went into Menzies death penalty ruling from Judge Uno was testimony from a fellow inmate who stated that Menzies had described the murder of Hunsaker with disturbing exhilaration. This testimony provided the inmate with a reduced sentence in his own court case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The petition states that because of this testimony, Judge Uno believed that Menzies did not regret his actions, and a letter he had written about his remorse was a lie, which contributed to his death penalty sentence. The inmate who testified against him later recanted his testimony in a 2014 affidavit, stating that he allegedly only did it to gain leniency. Other pieces of evidence and the performance of Menzies attorneys during the 1988 jury trial are also called into question. The petition argues that the judge and jurors were never informed of Menzies troubled childhood, where he faced sexual, emotional, and physical abuse. PAST STORY: Soonest available date: State moves to hold execution warrant application hearing for Menzies Menzies poses no threat According to the petition, Menzies has never committed a violent act while incarcerated at the Utah State Prison. They argue that during the 37 years he has spent at the facility, he has exhibited good behavior and consistently held jobs and contributed to the prison community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys cite one instance where he was working in the laundry and discovered a sharp object, which he promptly turned in to the staff. According to the petition, officials at the prison said he had safely recovered sharp weapons before and never did anything but turn them in. Due to his declining health, the petition argues that he poses no threat and requires assistance with many aspects of day-to-day life. The Utah State Correctional Facility assigned an ADA aide to help him with basic daily tasks. His execution will serve no purpose other than to inflict vengeance on the body of a man who is no longer there, the petition concludes. Timeline in the competency ruling According to documents, on Feb. 13, 2024, the court ordered that all proceedings advancing toward execution are stayed pending the resolution of Meznies petition into competency. They canceled a hearing set later that month for the States application for an execution warrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 67-year-old man has dementia, his defense citing a significant decline in May 2025. Last month, on June 6, Menzies was ruled competent for execution after 16 months of back-and-forth and competency hearings. Days later, on June 9, the State filed a motion to lift the stay on Menzies execution and hold a hearing for an application for an execution warrant on the soonest available date. On June 10, attorneys for Ralph Menzies filed an appeal to the Utah Supreme Court over the competency ruling. They state that despite a proper medical diagnosis of vascular dementia, Mr. Menzies has failed to demonstrate that he is competent to be executed. On July 9, the judge heard arguments from both sides regarding whether a warrant for Menzies execution should be signed. Ultimately, the judge decided to sign the warrant, and Menzies execution was set for Sep. 5, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LEARN MORE: Menzies attorneys petition to reevaluate competency ruling, cite significant decline in health Who is Ralph Menzies? On February 23, 1986, Maurine Hunsaker was abducted from the Gas-A-Mat convenience store and gas station in Kearns, Utah, where she was employed. Her husband called the convenience store and went in person when she did not pick up. When he arrived, he found that Hunsaker was missing, along with her purse. According to documents, Hunsaker called the home phone and told her husband that she had been instructed to tell him she was kidnapped and robbed. A police officer spoke with Hunsaker, and she indicated that the kidnapper intended to release her. Days later, on February 25, 1986, a hiker found Hunsaker deceased near a picnic area in Big Cottonwood Canyon. She had been strangled to death, according to the medical examiner, and her throat was cut. Marks on her wrists and scuffing on a nearby tree indicated that she had been tied to it somehow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During this time, Menzies was booked into jail on an unrelated burglary charge. When officers were taking his possessions, Menzies ran away and hid in a changing room. Later, identification cards were located in the changing rooms hamper, and an officer realized that they belonged to Hunsaker. Witnesses further connected Menzies to the disappearance and murder of Maurine Hunsaker, and some had even seen him with her on the night of her murder. In 1988, a jury found Menzies guilty, and he was placed on death row for the serious and senseless crime. 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. By Selena Li HONG KONG (Reuters) -Citigroup plans to raise its investment banking headcount in Japan by 10% to 15% over the next year and make new hires in Australia, as part of its strategy to bolster growth in the Asia Pacific, its top regional banker said. Rising interest in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in Japan has resulted in Citi seeing a 140% rise in its investment banking fees in the country to $92 million as of July 10 compared to the same period last year, Dealogic data shows. "We are hiring and strengthening our regional investment banking team in a very meaningful way," Jan Metzger, Citi's Asia Pacific head of investment banking, told Reuters. "We're going to be in the market that's growing phenomenally and we're going to be growing faster than the market," Metzger said. The U.S.-headquartered bank did not disclose specific staff numbers for each market. Japan's investment banking business, in particular, will "meaningfully grow" due to a shift in corporate governance, a regulatory nudge to corporates to improve market value, and strong supply of advanced hardware technologies, Metzger said. In Japan, Citi exclusively advised Nippon Steel on its $14.9 billion acquisition of U.S. Steel last month. "I think off the back of the Nippon Steel deal, our phones are really ringing off the hook with clients that have complicated geopolitical deals to do, both from Japan and elsewhere," Metzger said. Citi has beefed up its investment banking team in Asia this year by recruiting senior bankers from rivals, including senior managing director Akira Kiyota from Nomura in Japan and former Goldman Sachs veteran Philippe Perzi in Australia. On Tuesday, Citi reported a 13% rise in global investment banking fees in the second quarter. DRIVING UP DEALS Dealmaking in the U.S. and some markets stalled shortly after Trump unleashed hefty tariff hikes earlier this year, which weighed on economic growth. However, Metzger said he is seeing greater uncertainty driving up supply chain deals. Japan is leading Asia's M&A rebound in 2025 with a record $232 billion worth of deals in the first half, and bankers expect the trend to sustain fuelled by take-private arrangements, outbound investments and private equity activity. Meanwhile, as volume and number of international deals climb in Australia, global banks now have an edge over local boutiques in a highly competitive market, according to Metzger. Having a "full banking offering" in the market helps Citi better compete with its advisory-focused competitors in Australia, he said. Attorneys representing migrant children who were abused, neglected or abandoned by a parent asked a federal court on Thursday to restore their deportation protections after the Trump administration ended them. The lawsuit, filed in the Eastern District of New York, was filed on behalf of nine young people and their legal advocates who want a judge to keep the protections for up to nearly 150,000 beneficiaries. These young people have survived abuse, abandonment, and neglect only to be retraumatized now by the constant threat of detention and deportation from the same agencies that vowed to keep them safe," said Rachel Davidson, plaintiff attorney with the National Immigration Project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services were both named in the lawsuit. USCIS Spokesman Matthew J. Tragesser said, As a matter of practice, USCIS does not comment on pending litigation. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Migrant children who suffered parental abuse, neglect or abandonment are designated through state courts and the federal government with Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, which was created by Congress in 1990 with bipartisan support. SIJS, as it is known, does not grant legal status. But it lets qualifying young people apply for a visa to become legal permanent residents and obtain a work permit. It can take years for a visa to become available due to annual caps. In 2022, the Biden administration allowed children to be shielded from deportation while waiting for a visa. In June, the Trump administration ended deportation protection for SIJS beneficiaries. Without it, they can still wait in the U.S. for a visa but cannot receive work authorization. And if they are deported while they are waiting, they will no longer be eligible to become legal permanent residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though overshadowed by higher-profile moves to end birthright citizenship and halt asylum at the border, the policy shift is part of President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration system overhaul intended to make it more difficult for people to legally remain in the U.S. A Guatemalan teen who is living in New York and living with her older brother is one of the plaintiffs. She said through attorneys, who omit using the names of minors, that her dreams of becoming an astronaut one day may be cut short if she's unable to continue high school for fear of deportation. I felt that I was finally in a safe environment, but if I had to return to (Guatemala), I would be very afraid of the violence and abuse from my mother and father, she said in a statement shared by the attorneys without her name. The policy shift may shut down a legal pathway to possible citizenship for nearly 150,000 migrants who attorneys estimate have received this classification and are stuck in the visa backlog. It could keep them from obtaining Social Security cards, drivers licenses, medical treatment, health insurance, higher education, bank accounts, and, for older youth, legal and safe employment opportunities. AUBURN, Ala. Aaron Dontay Williams, 41, is now back in Alabama to face charges in a double homicide and kidnapping case that triggered a statewide Amber Alert and left a community in mourning. On July 16, 2025, Williams was extradited from the Giles County Jail in Tennessee to the Auburn Police Department after waiving his right to fight extradition. Upon his arrival in Auburn, arrest warrants were executed charging him with four counts of capital murder and one count of kidnapping in the first degree. He was then transported to the Lee County Jail, where he is being held without bond. Investigators say the gun used to murder an Auburn mother and her 13-year-old daughter was allegedly found in Aaron Dontay Williams possession when he was arrested in Tennessee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Williams arrest came five days earlier, on Friday, July 11, at approximately 7:15 a.m. He was taken into custody without incident by the U.S. Marshals Service, with assistance from the FBI and Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The arrest followed the grim discovery on July 10, when Auburn Police conducting a welfare check found the bodies of Tyeisha Williams, 34, and her 13-year-old daughter Zynnya Wright inside a home on Samantha Court. Authorities believe the two were killed within 48 hours of being found. The incident triggered an urgent search for 3-year-old Jibreel Harun, the biological son of Aaron and Tyeisha Williams. A statewide Amber Alert was issued, and authorities described Aaron Williams as armed and dangerous. A $15,000 reward was offered for information leading to his arrest. Thankfully, Jibreel was found safe at the time of Williams arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Auburn Police Department Investigations Section at 334-501-3140. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. DENVER (KDVR) Police responded to a call by a man who was shot overnight in Aurora, according to a press release from the Aurora Police Department. Just before 12:30 a.m., Aurora police responded to the area of 1434 Idalia Ct., after receiving a call about shots being fired. Heartbreaking destruction: Wellington sees over $30K in park vandalism When the officers arrived, they were flagged down by someone in the complex about a man with a gunshot wound to his arm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The man does not know anything about the person who shot him, and there is no known motivation or relationship in the incident, according to police. Investigators found shell casings from two different calibers of guns near the area. No arrests have been made, and there is no description of the suspect in the shooting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BEIJING (AP) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has toured a panda breeding facility in the final stages of an extended state visit that has cast China as a fellow champion of a global fair trade system under threat from the United States. The panda diplomacy stop Thursday in the central Chinese city of Chengdu highlighted Australias special status as the only Southern Hemisphere country to host a pair of the rare Chinese native animals. Albanese and his fiancee Jodie Haydon visited a pen where they saw Fu Ni, a giant panda who had been on loan to Australias Adelaide Zoo until last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A great ambassador for China and a great friend of Australia, Albanese said of Fu Ni as she chomped on bamboo. China loans Australia pandas Premier Li Qiang used a visit to the Adelaide Zoo last year to announce Fu Ni and her partner Wang Wang would be replaced by another China-born pair that will hopefully breed. The new couple, Xing Qiu and Yi Yan, made their public debut in January at the zoo in the South Australia state capital where they are a major tourist attraction. Albaneses China trip, which began Saturday and ends on Friday, is extraordinarily long compared with Australian state visits over the past decade and marks a normalization of bilateral relations that plumbed new depths under the previous Australian government's nine-year reign. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Albanese said he had visited Chengdu and the Great Wall of China, as well at the usual diplomatic destinations of Beijing and Shanghai, as a show of respect to the Chinese people. The Great Wall of China symbolises the extraordinary history and culture here in China, and showing a bit of respect to people never cost anything. But you know what it does? It gives you a reward, Albanese told reporters. One of the things that I find about giving countries respect is that you get it back, he added. In 2020, Beijing banned minister-to-minister contacts and imposed a series of official and unofficial trade barriers on commodities including wine, beef, coal, barley and lobsters that cost Australian exporters up to 20 billion Australian dollars ($13 billion) a year. This was a response to Australias previous government demanding an independent inquiry into the cause of and responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the pandemic was the final straw, relations had been deteriorating for years over issues including laws banning covert foreign interference in Australian politics and Australia barring Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei on security grounds from involvement in the national 5G network rollout. The trade barriers have all been lifted since Albaneses center-left Labor Party was first elected in 2022. But now, the United States threatens to become a major disruptor to global trade through President Donald Trumps tariff regime. Chinese president urges Australia to hold course Chinese President Xi Jinping told Albanese at the outset of their bilateral meeting in Beijing Tuesday that the important thing their two countries had learned in repairing relations was that equal treatment, seeking common ground and pursuing cooperation served the interests of both. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No matter how the international landscape may evolve, we should uphold this overall direction unswervingly, Xi said through an interpreter. The comment was widely interpreted as a reference to U.S. tariffs. Albanese replied that his government welcomed progressing cooperation under their decade-old bilateral free trade agreement. Australia will remain a strong supporter of free and fair trade, Albanese said. The United States has allocated Australia the minimum 10% tariff on U.S. imports. Australia argues that any tariff cannot be justified and that the U.S. has enjoyed a trade surplus with Australia for decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The greater economic damage for Australia would likely be from a Chinese economic downturn caused by its U.S. tariff treatment. Around a third of Australian exports go to China. Australia shifts away from the US James Laurenceson, director of the University of Technology Sydneys Australia-China Relations Institute, described Chinas presentation of itself as Australias ally in defending free trade as self-serving." Its not so much Australia aligning with China. Its really just about Australia and China agreeing theyve got a shared interest in the existing system, and its the U.S. thats walking away from that, Laurenceson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont think the big shift this week is Australia getting closer to China. I think the distance with the United States is getting wider and wider, he added. Albaneses political enemies have criticised him for now having four face-to-face meetings with Xi including two in Beijing while the prime minister has yet to meet Trump in person. Albanese and Trump were to hold a one-on-one meeting on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Canada last month, but the U.S. president left early. Albanese said this week he expected to meet Trump this year. I look forward to a constructive engagement with President Trump. We have had three constructive phone conversations, Albanese said. ______ McGuirk contributed to this report from Melbourne, Australia (Reuters) -Australia's Qantas Airways said on Thursday it has obtained an interim injunction in the New South Wales (NSW) Supreme Court to prevent the stolen data from being accessed or published by anyone, including by any third parties. Earlier this month, a cyber hacker broke into a database containing the personal information of millions of Qantas customers, Australia's biggest such breach in years. Similar incidents took place in 2022, with telecommunications giant Optus and health insurer Medibank. There continues to be no evidence that any personal data stolen from Qantas has been released, the company said in the statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The country's flag carrier said that last week it had contacted the 5.7 million affected customers, outlining the specific fields of their personal data that were compromised. "No credit card details, personal financial information or passport details were stored in the compromised system and therefore have not been accessed," Qantas said. The airline operator said it is working closely with several bodies, such as the Australian Federal Police, the National Cyber Security Coordinator and the Australian Cyber Security Centre, to thoroughly investigate criminal activity surrounding the breach. (Reporting by Sherin Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman) WASHINGTON COUNTY, Utah (ABC4) Water monitoring teams have identified a harmful algae bloom at Baker Reservoir, leading to potential health concerns. On July 15, 2025, the Utah Department of Environmental Qualitys monitoring team identified harmful algae in the water at Baker Reservoir, in Washington County. The monitoring team saw visible signs of a harmful algae bloom and are currently waiting for results on samples they collected. Harmful algae blooms pop up in Utah Lake, Zion National Park what to know Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any visitors should follow recommendations put forth by the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Recommendations include: Do not swim or water ski in areas of algae Avoid areas of algae when boating Clean fish well and discard guts Keep animals away Dont drink the water Know how to recognize a harmful algal bloom If you are visiting a park and see signs of an algae bloom, you can call Utah DEQ at (801) 536-4123 What are harmful algae? Also known as blue-green algae, the Utah Department of Environmental Quality said the blooms are not actually algae at all. It is an aquatic bacterium known as Cyanobacteria that photosynthesizes like a plant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DEQ said these harmful blooms occur naturally in bodies of water all over the world, particularly when nutrient levels are high, there is abundant sunlight, warm temperatures and stagnant waters. If the conditions are right for several days or even months, cyanobacteria can multiply and form large blooms that can cover an entire lake. Blooms generally die and disappear after about a week or two, according to the DEQ, but toxins can linger for days after a bloom dissipates. How harmful are harmful algae? Harmful algal blooms can cause irritations and illnesses if you come into contact with them. In the worst cases, harmful blooms have been known to cause permanent organ damage or even death. Humans and pets that come into contact with harmful algal blooms can experience irritation of the skin, eyes, nose, throat and respiratory systems. Accidental ingestion of harmful algae can lead to abdominal pain, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea, kidney or liver damage and neurological symptoms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If your pet has been exposed to harmful algal blooms, the DEQ advises looking for symptoms such as excessive drooling, vomiting, diarrhea, stumbling or muscle tremors, loss of appetite, rashes, difficulty breathing and in serious cases, seizures or paralysis. DEQ said if you or your pet comes into contact with a harmful algal bloom, rinse off with clean fresh water as soon as possible and remove yourself from the source. You are also encouraged to call the Utah Poison Control Center at 800-222-1222, as experts trained in toxicology can answer any questions and advise you on medical or veterinary treatment. To stay up to date on the latest reports of harmful algal blooms in Utahs bodies of water, visit the Department of Environmental Quality website here. Latest headlines: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. 27,350 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others? 27,350 people played the daily Crossword recently. Can you solve it faster than others? BALTIMORE Baltimore charter school Dream Academy will open to pupils next year with an extra $1.4 million in its budget thanks to a new interpretation of grant guidelines by President Donald Trumps administration. That development was announced at the July 8 meeting of the Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners by district CEO Sonja Santelises. It meant that the commissioners were no longer confronted with a dilemma: either enroll fewer pupils from the Hunting Ridge neighborhood in which the school is located or turn their backs on a seven-figure government grant. Dream Academy, like charter schools for more than two decades, will continue to serve its neighborhood zone, Santelises told the commissioners. As a result, a board vote on this issue will no longer be necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Santelises announcement came as a welcome surprise after what has been a string of dismal financial news for schools nationwide as the Trump administration tries to curb education costs. As recently as Monday, Maryland joined nearly two dozen other states and Washington, D.C. in suing the Trump administration for withholding $6.8 billion in previously authorized education grants. The Baltimore school board previously voted June 10 to convert Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle School from a public school to a operator-run charter school with an arts integration focus. The new charter school is expected to open in the fall of 2026 and will be run by the educational nonprofit Arts for Learning Maryland. It will feature classrooms co-led by teachers and teaching artists, according to the website, an approach modeled on successful summer and after-school programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dream Academy is not just about integrating the arts, middle school teacher Yvette Freter says on the website. Its about transforming how we teach. It gives teachers the time, tools, and training to meet the diverse needs of our students. The team planning the new school hoped to take advantage of the federal charter school program grant that provides up to $2 million to either open new charter schools or convert existing public schools into these operator-run institutions. But the planners ran afoul of a government stipulation: The definition of federal charter schools during President Joe Bidens administration was that they had to run lotteries and be open to anyone, said McKenzie Allen, executive director of the Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools, which administers the federal grant program for the Old Line State. Baltimore City currently has 31 charter schools, according to its website, and 23 use a lottery to enroll students. But the city also has eight neighborhood charter schools former public schools that were transformed into charters but continue to prioritize enrolling students living in the surrounding communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Baltimore, those schools are: The Belair-Edison School, City Springs Elementary/Middle School, Frederick Elementary School, Furman L. Templeton Preparatory Academy, Govans Elementary School, Hampstead Hill Academy, Wolfe Street Academy and Pimlico Elementary/Middle School. Thomas Jefferson Elementary/Middle also is a neighborhood school. Arts for Learning wanted to accept the federal grant, so it asked the school board to waive the requirement giving precedence for enrollment to the upcoming Dream Academy to youngsters from the neighborhood. The board postponed voting on the issue until July 8, saying commissioners needed more time to weight their options. In the interim, Allen asked the U.S. Department of Educations legal team newly appointed under the Trump administration to reconsider the requirement that admission to charter schools be decided solely by lottery. They came back really quickly with a new interpretation of the law that said that would allow for neighborhood zoning for a charter school, Allen said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Allen said the new legal interpretation could mean that some existing charter schools with neighborhood zoning such as Pimlico Elementary/Middle, which has a health sciences focus, might be eligible for the same federal grant that will benefit Dream Academy. Were really excited that we get to work with Arts for Learning and help them build their dream school, Allen said. ----------------- In midJune, a major water leak struck 414 Light Street, a 44story luxury apartment high-rise in Baltimores Inner Harbor neighborhood, flooding units as high as the 17th floor. Nearly a month later, about 70 apartments remain under repair walls and flooring torn out, fans running, sealed-off sections still drying. Don't miss Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Be very careful, guys, one resident warned when bringing a Fox45 News (WBFF) team inside her unit, Cause its a lot going on. The situation The leak soaked through multiple floors and necessitated weeks of repairs. The resident, who asked not to be named, says shes been displaced and without a home since June 12. I was hoping by this time, I would have my apartment back, she said. A lot of us are in the same club that none of us want to be a part of. Another renter, about 14 floors below, described her unit as stripped. Drywall has been removed all the flooring has been removed in my entire apartment, Sophia McCormick told the Fox45 team. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Exposed outlets, holes in ceilings and lingering moisture remain, posing hazards to her and her elderly dog. That aside, she said her biggest concern is the lack of meaningful communication about ongoing repairs and the few housing solutions available, including no hotel accommodations, guest suite availability or empty apartments to move into. The executive vice-president of building owner Questar Properties told Fox45 News that residents are responsible for their own relocation costs via renters insurance, which is required. However, McCormick reported her renters policy doesnt cover lodging, and management doesnt consider units officially uninhabitable, leaving tenants without alternatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When FOX45 asked what does constitute a unit as "uninhabitable," Questar Properties indicated there's no prescribed definition, as each impacted unit is unique. I would like to know what that would look like to qualify I dont have the ability to be here safely, and Im concerned about my well-being, the 17th floor resident said. She says she plans to take the issue to court over rent payments she feels she shouldn't have to pay. Questar Properties said they planned to finish in the next several weeks and update each resident in the "coming days." On July 7, some residents reported getting a notice that the restoration process would begin on July 9 and last six days. An email from property owners said residents who chose to stay at a hotel during the repair work would be reimbursed for their stays. Read more: Americans are revenge saving to survive but millions only get a measly 1% on their savings. Heres how to quickly earn 280% more on your cash Luxury promises vs. harsh reality 414 Light Street is marketed as a luxury building with resortstyle amenities, high-end finishes and sweeping harbor views, where effortless living is the everyday, according to its website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, for McCormick, the current state is anything but the easy living she expected. She told Fox45 that shes planning to move rather than live through an "open-ended" restoration. This situation underscores a central issue in modern rentals, particularly in rapidly gentrifying areas: whos accountable when a property becomes unliveable? Federal and state tenant-landlord regulations generally require landlords to maintain livable conditions, but uninhabitable often isnt clearly defined, leaving ambiguity for insurers and varying resulting impacts on renters' rights. In this case, tenants like McCormick contend their apartments are unsafe and unlivable, yet received no formal relief or relocation. In situations where developers and property managers prioritize profit and amenities, the reality is that structural integrity and occupant safety may get sidelined. What to read next Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Money doesnt have to be complicated sign up for the free Moneywise newsletter for actionable finance tips and news you can use. Join now. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. BARBERTON, Ohio (WJW) Just since May, residents in Barberton believe the power outages have been more frequent and longer than they have ever been. Weve had well over a dozen outages between May and June alone. We havent had that many power outages on the south side in all of my years there combined, said Councilman at-large Thomas Bebe Heitic. This past year, we have had a lot of them, said George Garman, a resident of the New Haven development. It was out that one day for two days. Thats a long time and then we lose all of our food in our freezer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Community support growing for Shaker Heights cheerleader, now leg amputee Dallas Moore, who lives in the same community, said he replaced his food after one lengthy power outage and then there was another. We lost two fridges full of food, said Moore, who started an online petition demanding FirstEnergy make upgrades to its system serving Barberton. To push FirstEnergy to invest in the infrastructure that I feel like they have not invested in in recent times, said Moore. During a city council meeting on July 7, a representative of FirstEnergy attributed the problems, in large part, on the weather, trees and osprey nests near or on utility poles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are committed to deliver a positive customer experience and I realize the elevated activity in the past months/weeks makes that a little difficult, said Dan Knupp. We are making permanent repairs and we have made permanent repairs to issues that have come up throughout our footprint. Woman conned out of $15K after AI clones daughters voice In a statement issued to FOX 8 News regarding the outages in Barberton and efforts to address them, FirstEnergy said: We remain dedicated to providing a positive customer experience and reliable service. While not every outage can be prevented, we continue to pursue investment opportunities to limit their duration and impact, and we have presented our plans to city council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Heitic has introduced a resolution condemning the companys service and insisting FirstEnergy credit each residential customer in Barberton $100 for their hardships as a result of the frequent outages. That would equate to roughly $1 million to $1.2 million that they wouldnt collect off of the back of my citizens and I believe firmly that my citizens deserve at least that, Heitic said. He is concerned particularly about senior citizens who have medical equipment at home and calls for emergency service go up when the power is out. The hardships they keep facing over and over again, the sustainability, the distribution, its not good and my citizens have had it, said Heitic. Im not letting it go. This is beyond absurd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) is one of the 13 Best Booming Stocks to Buy Now. On July 11, Citigroup maintained a Buy rating for the stock, while raising its price target to $123 from $100, which reflects an anticipation of continued upside potential, adding to the 81% year-to-date gains already in 2025. Citigroup Hikes Roblox Corporation (RBLX)'s Price Target To $123, Maintains Buy Rating A person taking lessons through Roblox Education, expanding their knowledge and skills. The analysts cited robust second-quarter user data from RoMonitor and a favorable verdict on App Store fees as the reason behind the revision. They also highlighted the surge Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) has had since May after the announcement of Q1 FY25 results, with the market now pricing in an annual EBITDA of approximately $880 million. Citigroup expects Aprils court ruling requiring Apple to allow third-party payments to be a major tailwind for Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX). Analysts estimate that lower platform fees have the potential to boost EBITDA by between $220 million and $600 million for the company. Roblox Corporation (NYSE:RBLX) offers an immersive platform for communication and connection, allowing users to create, work, learn, play, and connect in experiences developed by its global community of creators. While we acknowledge the potential of RBLX as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Best German Stocks to Invest in Now and Goldman Sachs Stock Portfolio: 10 Large-Cap Stocks To Buy. Disclosure: None. Theo Von, the star podcaster recommended to Donald Trump by son Barron during the election campaign, has pressed Vice President JD Vance over the Epstein Files. Von reshared an X post Wednesday that included footage of an October 2024 interview between him and Vance. In that clip, Von quipped that officials need to release the list when Vance told him that many politicians have vices worse than alcoholism. Vance replied that the U.S. seriously needs to release the Epstein list. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On X this week, the original poster wrote: Hey JD, what changed? The podcaster replied: Yeah what changed? Vice President JD Vance (right) appears on Theo Von's podcast in October. At the time, Vance told Von officials need to release the Epstein Files (This Past Weekend with Theo Von) Vice President JD Vance (right) appears on Theo Von's podcast in October. At the time, Vance told Von officials need to release the Epstein Files (This Past Weekend with Theo Von) Von, 45, hosts This Past Weekend, the fourth-largest podcast on Spotify in the U.S., and has attracted politicians, including Senator Bernie Sanders and President Donald Trump. About five million people listen to Vons podcasts each month, and hes particularly influential among young men and Trump voters. Vance appeared on Vons podcast again last month, where he defended Trump against billionaire Elon Musks unsubstantiated claim that he appeared in the Epstein files. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First of all, absolutely not, Vance told Von. Donald Trump didn't do anything wrong with Jeffrey Epstein. Whatever the Democrats and the media says about him, that's totally B.S. Vons X jab comes as the Trump administration faces severe pushback from their MAGA base after the DOJ and FBI released a joint memo confirming that Epstein died by suicide in August 2019 and did not have a client list of rich and powerful people. The memo attempted shut down conspiracy theories which current FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino once peddled surrounding Epsteins death. But the memo simply raised questions after Attorney General Pam Bondi suggested she had the client list on her desk in February. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump, who once socialized with Epstein, has attempted to quell the MAGA outrage. He demanded his supporters stop going after Bondi in a Truth Social post on Saturday. In a post Wednesday, Trump accused his past supporters of dragging the issue. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bulls***, hook, line, and sinker, Trump wrote on Truth Social. Trump also told reporters Tuesday that the Epstein files were made up by former President Barack Obama and former FBI Director James Comey. Hes continued to defend Bondis actions since. President Donald Trump has defended Attorney General Pam Bondi amid the Epstein files pushback (AP) President Donald Trump has defended Attorney General Pam Bondi amid the Epstein files pushback (AP) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump recently revealed that he went on Vons podcast last year after his teenage son, Barron, recommended it during his campaign. Barron, said, Dad, you got to do an interview with somebody I hadnt heard of, but my son knew very well, Trump said, during a speech in May. This is before the election. You know, we won in a landslide, in case you hadnt known, but he said, Dad, you got to do an interview with a guy named Theo Von, Trump added. I said, Who the hell is Theo Von? He said, Dad, hes such a big guy. You got to do an interview. So he knew all the names. Barron, 19, graduated from high school during the last presidential campaign. He enrolled at New York Universitys Stern School of Business in the fall, just months before his father won the White House for a second time. Hes expected to start his second year at NYU in September. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) The Baton Rouge Police Department arrested a man accused of kidnapping and vehicle robbery on Halloween. Police said officers were called to the 5500 block of Plank Road about a vehicle theft on Oct. 31. Upon arrival, they learned that the victim had left her children in the car while she went into the store. While in the store, a suspect, who was later identified as James Merritt, 21, allegedly got in the drivers seat and fled the area with the children still in the car. After leaving the store, investigators said two additional subjects entered the vehicle. After driving for a short while, the trio reportedly abandoned the vehicle. A bystander assisted the children until the authorities arrived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police identified Merritt as the suspect after DNA testing on a used cigarette left in the vehicle. Merritt was arrested and booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison on charges of simple kidnapping and theft of a motor vehicle. He has a criminal history of drug and gun charges, police say. 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. PANAMA CITY The Bay County Democrats are hosting another protest on July 17. The demonstration is called "Good Trouble Lives On" and is part of a nationwide "National Day of Action." The protests are intended to honor the life and legacy of the late congressman and civil rights advocate John Lewis. "No Kings" demonstrators muster at Carl Gray Park in Panama City, Fla., June 14, 2025. The nationwide protest coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday and the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday Parade outside the White House in Washington. (Tyler Orsburn/News Herald) The rally is set to take place at the corner of Highway 77 and 23rd Street at 5 p.m. and end at 7 p.m. A release from the Democrats encourages attendees to bring signs and flags. "As civil and human rights continue to be threatened by the Trump administration and its allies, this day of action reaffirms our commitment to justice, voting rights, and dignity for all," reads the release. "Participants will join together to demand protection of fundamental freedoms, access to the ballot box, and an end to attacks on marginalized communities." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The News Herald reached out to Laura Sturgis, president of the Democratic Women's Club of Bay County, for more information on what they're protesting. Sturgis expressed concerns with the recently passed "Big Beautiful Bill" and the potential implications for Florida and Bay County. She primarily took issue with cuts to Medicaid and said that most of the effects won't be felt until after 2026. "We know that 1 million Floridians may lose their healthcare coverage," said Sturgis. "They're expecting 300 rural hospitals will probably immediately close when it goes into effect." Sturgis added that those in Bay County who work in the tourism industry will likely struggle to meet the 80-hour a month work requirement for health coverage during the off-season. "No Kings" demonstrators are seen on the Hathaway Bridge in Panama City, Fla., June 14, 2025. The nationwide protest coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday and the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday Parade outside the White House in Washington. (Tyler Orsburn/News Herald) "Florida will lose $4 billion per year in federal Medicaid support," said Sturgis, adding that 19% of Floridians rely on the program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sturgis also took issue with SNAP cuts, with the Center for American Progress estimating that 574,000 Floridians could lose access to food assistance. In 2022, 23,697 Bay County residents received SNAP benefits. She also had concerns with funding freezes and cuts at the Department of Education. Schools in Florida's 2nd congressional district, which includes Bay County, are at risk of losing $5.6 million in federal support, according to New America. "I'm already seeing teachers worried, especially teachers that work in special services," said Sturgis. "The special ed positions, the teachers assistants, they fear these programs will be cut again, disproportionately hurting the students and the families that are already hurting." Sturgis was additionally not happy about the tax cuts in the bill, saying that they largely benefit the wealthy. Her group is in the process of purchasing billboards calling out U.S. Reps. Neil Dunn and Jimmy Patronis for their support of the bill. Sturgis said they had been calling them in the time leading up to the vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "So we let our voices be heard," said Sturgis. "They didn't care. They voted for the bill anyway. We feel like they're more afraid of Trump and what Trump could do to their careers than (they care about) their constituents." She hopes that those who share her concerns will join her at the protest. "Speak out, defend those who can't come out, who are marginalized, who are working hard and can't get off work," said Sturgis. "So come, come out and help us spread the word that we need to be good to our seniors. We need to be good to our children in Bay County. We don't need to hurt them here. We need to help them." "No Kings" demonstrators are seen on the Hathaway Bridge in Panama City, Fla., June 14, 2025. The nationwide protest coincides with President Donald Trump's 79th birthday and the U.S. Army's 250th Birthday Parade outside the White House in Washington. (Tyler Orsburn/News Herald) The Bay County Republican Party told the News Herald that they support the changes to SNAP and Medicaid in the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Every modern American president, Republican and Democrat alike, has supported common-sense changes to these programs," said a spokesperson. "The Big Beautiful Bill accomplishes what only the far left objects to: reforming programs like SNAP and Medicaid to make sure that these programs aren't being exploited by people who they were never intended to cover, with the rest of us paying the cost." The spokesman criticized the Democrats, claiming they don't have a serious criticism of the bill. This article originally appeared on The News Herald: "Good Trouble Lives On" protest to be held in Bay County BAY COUNTY, Fla. (WMBB) A major manufacturer is setting up shop in Bay County and bringing a wave of new jobs with it. The Bay Economic Development Alliance announced its latest partnership Thursday. Global Impact Products LLC is establishing a window and door operation in Bay County. The project was formerly known as Project Clear. It will create 150 new jobs with a $14 million investment. Global Impact Products specializes in the design, fabrication, and installation of architectural glass, windows, curtain walls, storefronts, and railings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They will be leasing a county-owned facility in the original industrial park on Bay Line Drive. The partnership is also projected to increase activity at the Panama City Port. Global Impact Products currently imports glass from Merida, in Mexicos Yucatan Peninsula, through our Port. Bay EDA, the Bay County Board of Commissioners, Triumph Gulf Coast Fund, the Port Authority of the Panama City Port, CareerSource Gulf Coast, Haney Technical College, and Gulf Coast State College were all involved in the project. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. The BBC is making a new play for news-hungry listeners with The Global Story, a daily podcast focused on the intersection of news where the world and the United States meet. The Global Story is set to debut Sept. 3, with episodes to be released each morning Monday-Friday. The podcast will be available in the U.K. on BBC Sounds and outside the U.K. on BBC.com, the BBC app and audio platforms including Spotify and Apple Podcasts. BBC.com last month instituted a new paywall for U.S. users who want unlimited access to the site; however, Americans will be able to listen to the podcast (and others from the BBC) for free. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new daily podcast will be co-hosted by Asma Khalid (based in Washington, D.C.), former NPR White House correspondent, and Tristan Redman, former international reporter at Al Jazeera (based in London). Also joining The Global Story team is executive editor Annie Brown, former senior producer for the New York Times The Daily podcast. The Global Story, from the BBC World Service and BBC Studios, reflects the BBCs ongoing commitment to growing its international audience, according to the broadcaster. At NPR, Khalid covered U.S. politics for the last decade and she was co-host of The NPR Politics Podcast. Redman, who has two decades of global international reporting experience with Al Jazeera, hosted 2023 narrative podcast series Ghost Story from Wondery and Pineapple Street Studios. The podcast will join the BBC World Services existing lineup of podcasts, including the daily Newshour radio program and the Global News Podcast, which provides breaking-news updates. Ive spent years covering American politics and Im more convinced than ever that we need a show like this that dives into news, narrative and global issues with the goal of connecting the dots in our strange political times, Khalid said in a statement. Redman said: As a British-American journalist, I couldnt be more excited to tell stories about the interplay between America and the world. From my career in the field, Ive seen firsthand that U.S. actions have global consequences. Asma and I will be making sense of all this backed by the finest newsroom in the business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jon Zilkha, controller of BBC World Service English, added, The perspective provided by The Global Story, and its hosts Asma and Tristan, is much needed in the fast-changing political landscape we are living in. I am excited that we can share it with listeners this September. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. CLEVELAND (WJW) Swimmers are being urged to stay out of Lake Erie on Thursday due to a combination of sewage overflow and a higher risk for rip currents. Thursday morning, the Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District (Sewer District) posted a public advisory at Edgewater Beach after officials said a large storm exceeded the capacity of the sewer system, causing a discharge of a combination of sewage and stormwater into Lake Erie. State of Ohio closer than ever to ending E-Check program Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Visitorsparticularly children, the elderly, and those in ill healthare advised to avoid contact with the water and wood debris, read a press release. In addition, the National Weather Service has issued a Beach Hazard Statement for several Northeast Ohio counties along Lake Erie. The advisory will be in effect for Cuyahoga, Lorain, Lake and Ashtabula counties, as well as Erie County in Pennsylvania, from Thursday morning through Thursday evening. According to the NWS, a high risk of rip currents is expected during that time. Experts warn that these currents can carry swimmers away from shore through a sand bar and along structures extending out into the lake. WATCH: Suspect sets porch ablaze, causing local house fire that injured 2 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the FOX 8 weather team, Thursday will bring a few spotty showers in the southern region of our viewing area, but conditions will be mostly dry. Keep up with the latest weather conditions right here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. Is Florida going to hunt bears? The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is preparing to launch the states first bear hunting season in a decade. After requesting public feedback and deciding on a proposal for a three-week season in December, FWC commissioners will vote on it during their Aug. 13-14 meeting in Havana. But this one will be a much more limited hunt than the last one a decade ago, which drew public outcry after nearly 300 bears were killed by the second day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This time, rather than having a numerical goal of bears, the FWC will issue a total of 187 permit tags across 31 counties, divided in four Bear Management Units across the state, with each tag allowing a hunter to kill one bear. Permits would be issued randomly to paid applicants through a lottery system. Hunters must attach their tag to the bear immediately after the kill and report it to FWC within 24 hours so biologists can collect DNA and other data. Floridas bear population is currently estimated at 4,050, up from just 1,200 in the 1990s when the state ended annual bear hunts and about five times above the minimum population objectives to maintain a healthy population, FWC officials reported at the agency's December 2024 commission meeting. Statewide bear-related calls in 2024 were at an all-time high, up 42% from 2016 as the state's human population also grows and developers continue to encroach into densely populated bear habitats. Recent polls show the public opposes the hunt and animal welfare groups and conservationists are advocating for non-lethal methods to manage bear-human conflicts. Many critics argue the hunt is politically motivated, pointing at the number of FWC commissioners who are developers. When is the 2025 Florida bear hunt? If the proposal gets final approval in August, the hunt will go from Dec. 6 through 28. What are the rules for the 2025 Florida bear hunt? According to the FWC presentation: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 187 permits would be issued at random from applicants One bear is allowed per permit Cubs (bears less than 100 pounds) and females with cubs may not be taken The hunt would be limited to 31 counties divided into four bear management areas 68 bears from 11 eastern Panhandle counties 18 bears from 12 Central Florida counties (which already have a high rate of mortality compared to the others) 46 bears from five North Florida counties 55 bears from Lee, Collier and Hendry counties FWC must be notified within 24 hours of a bear being taken and a tag must be attached to the bear for it to be transported Hunters may use all archery equipment, muzzle loading guns, shotguns, center fire, rifles, revolvers and pistols and pre-charge pneumatic air guns to harvest bears More details are available at myfwc.com/hunting/bear. Who can apply for a bear hunting tag in Florida? Permits would be issued randomly through a lottery system among people who pay a $5 application fee, and then a bear hunting permit would be $100 for a resident and $300 for non-residents. Eligible people will be allowed to enter as many times as they like, at $5 a pop. No more than 10% of the permits will be awarded to non-residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Revenue from the bear hunt applications will go to the State Game Trust Fund to be used for wildlife conservation, the FWC said. Where are the zones for the 2025 Florida bear hunt? The four zones proposed for the bear hunt are: East Panhandle: Bounded on the north by Interstate 10, on the east by the Aucilla River, which is Jefferson Countys eastern boundary, on the south by the Gulf, and on the west by State Road 79. The zone would notably include Apalachicola Wildlife Management Area and would encompass all or parts of Bay, Washington, Jackson, Calhoun, Gulf, Franklin, Liberty, Gadsden, Leon, Wakulla, and Jefferson counties. North: Bounded on the north by the Florida-Georgia state line, on the east by State Road 121, on the south by County Road 18 and State Road 121, and on the west by Interstate 75. The zone would include Osceola WMA and encompass parts of Hamilton, Suwannee, Columbia, Union, and Baker counties. Central: Bounded on the north by State Road 16, on the east by Interstate 95, on the south by the St. Johns River and Interstate 4, and on the west by the Florida Turnpike, Interstate 75 and US Highway 301. The zone would include Ocala WMA and encompass all or parts of Sumter, Marion, Alachua, Bradford, Clay, Putnam, Lake, Orange, Seminole, Volusia, Flagler, and St. Johns counties. South: Bounded on the north by Lee and Hendry County lines, on the east by the Hendry and Collier County lines, on the south by the Collier County line, and on the west by the Collier County line and Interstate 75. The zone would NOT include Big Cypress and would encompass all or parts of Lee, Hendry, and Collier counties. Why is a bear hunt needed? The FWC reported at its December 2024 commission meeting that bear populations across the state have grown to five times above the minimum population objectives to maintain a healthy population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida currently has more than 17,000 square miles of suitable bear habitat, of which 46% is protected. Statewide bear-related calls are at an all-time high, up 42% from 2016 as the state's human population also grows and developers continue to encroach into densely populated bear habitats. Complaints of bear sightings and human interactions led to The Self Defense Act of 2024, which allows the taking of bears without a license if a person "reasonably believed that his or her action was necessary to avoid an imminent threat of death or serious bodily injury to himself or herself, or a pet. The Florida Legislature also added an amendment to last year's ballot, enshrining in Florida law that hunting and fishing were the "preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife." It passed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The calls run about 60% positive (bear sightings) and 40% negative (complaints), which has stayed fairly constant through the years. This FWC bear distribution map shows concentrations of black bears across Florida. Bear kills man, dog in Collier County In May, an 89-year-old man and his dog were found dead Collier County near Naples, after what Florida officials say is the first fatal bear attack in the state's recorded history. Robert Markel of Jerome was mauled in the woods near his home, officials said. FWC officials were called to the property after Markel's daughter reported seeing a bear kill Markel's dog. Other bears sighted in Florida this year There have been multiple bear sightings around the state. In January, nature photographer James Paul Mayo spotted a mother brown bear and her three cubs walking down his street in Collier County. The FWC lists a February human and dog encounter with a bear in Silver Springs. In June, a bear was spotted swimming in the Gulf, just offshore from Naples. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FWC received 5.689 bear-related calls in 2024, down from the record 7.311 the year before. This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Florida bear hunt: Here's how the FWC hopes to avoid the 2015 backlash BEAUFORT, S.C. (WSAV) As the fighting continues in Ukraine, the City of Beaufort got an update on conditions in a city they began a partnership with when the Russian conflict first broke out. We feel that we are not alone. In our darkest hour, when the winter was approaching and our energy infrastructure was under attack. It was the community of Beaufort across the ocean that reached out to help us first, said Mayor Khorunzhyi of Ostroh, Ukraine. The relationship is separated by thousands of miles and an ocean, but the two cities surprising similarities, and ones call for help brought them together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre still dealing with the conflict. You know, the war continues, and they need aid, and they need help, said Beaufort Mayor Pro Tem, Mike McFee. Beaufort County asking for federal money to finish Highway 278 project The City of Beaufort adopted Ostroh back in 2022 when conflict between Russia and Ukraine first began. City officials said they felt the need to help, seeing that they shared many commonalities with whom they now call their sister city. Its one of the oldest cities in the in the Ukraine. They have a university located in the city. They have a lot of historic structures, and a lot of history related to the cultural aspects of the Ukraine, said McFee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city, in partnership with Beaufort Rotary, Lowcountry Rotary and Sea Island Rotary Clubs, raised $135,000 and sent it to the city. Supplies, aid and ambulances were also sent. Ostroh officials said with the support, they were able to purchase heating equipment, generators and help assist their defenders. US Department of Agriculture issues official warning to Alpha Genesis facility The city of Ostroh is in western Ukraine, so they are not being bombed by missiles, yet, although the missiles seem to be coming a little bit closer to where they are, said Baxter McLendon of the Beaufort Rotary Club. They have a lot of refugees pouring into their country from eastern Ukraine. Some of them have had both legs blown off. Some of them are blind, lost arms, and they are having to try to support these people, take care of them. And its a financial hardship for Ostroh, which is not such a large city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robert McAlister, a local to Beaufort who also lived in Ukraine for 10 years added on, Theyre not looking for a handout. Theyre looking for a hand up. What that means is just being in real partnership together with others thatll stand with them as they do the work that they need to do themselves to keep their country safe and a free land. The meeting today was a check-in on Ostroh, who said they have lost over 100 of their defenders, and over 100 more are still missing. But they said they are determined to stay strong, with the help from their now family. This is not just aid. It is a gesture of true friendship, humanity and compassion. We are sincerely grateful to you for your support and your open hearts, said Mayor Khorunzhyi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emergency SOS feature on iPhone saves woman in Bluffton attack The plan is to have another meeting following todays to discuss what Ostroh needs. The city continues to do what we can do, and we have limited budgets from what we can do, but if anyone wants to make a contribution to provide a place for Ukraine outreach, we can certainly take that through our fundraising nonprofit organization in the city. So please consider that, said Mcfee. McLendon added on, I think its important that the people of Ukraine realize that we, the people of the United States, stand with them. To contribute to Ostroh, and other surrounding cities in Ukraine, you can contact one of the three Rotary Clubs, or the City of Beaufort. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) Joni and Robert Brake Sr. became the focus of online searches after their family shared their story, hoping to find them following the Kerrville floods. Tragically, both were later confirmed dead. Funeral, celebration of life for Abilene flood victims The couple was visiting their son, Luke, and spending time in their cabin for the Fourth of July when the floods came. Robert was found days after the tragic event, and Joni the day after he was found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robert Brake Jr., Robert and Jonis son, was searching through the floodwaters for his parents, doing interviews along the way. He said he was not until afterwards he realized how big their story got. Several days went by, and I wasnt in touch with social media, and I did these interviews. We just kept on looking for our parents, Robert Jr. said. When I got the call Wednesday at 8:30 that our father had been found, you knew it was coming, but you can never prepare for that. Congressman Arrington pays tribute to victims of deadly Central Texas floods Daughter of Robert Sr. and Joni, Liza Shino, went to Abilene after the news broke, preparing for her brothers to return. She said the community poured into them, especially Dyess Air Force Base, where Robert Sr. and Joni served. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its just blown up to not in a bad way. I just didnt realize how big its going to become, Liza Shino said. It does my heart good, too, because our parents were just humble, blue-collar, kind and middle-class people. When you see how many lives theyve touched, it makes us happy, too, that the world gets to see it; this isnt just our story. Flash flooding claimed more than 100 lives in Central Texas. Heres what we know about the victims Robert Sr. and Joni Brake are described as patriots, kindhearted and family-oriented. Joni is remembered for baking up a storm, and Robert for his kindness. Weve come to realize, there was a page set up, too, where people can tell stories from our parents and their interactions with their parents, and not only have our parents touched the world after death, but they were theyve also touched so many lives, Robert Jr. said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the Brakes are using their parents story as a reminder of kindness in the world. Robert Jr. said he realized in the midst of the sad moment, people showed true hope and love for one another. The amount of prayers we were receiving from people all over the world, Tanzania and Dublin and South Africa, and I just felt an incredible sense of beauty all of a sudden. Just there was a beautiful mist. There was beauty in such tragedy, Robert Jr. said. The family is preparing to pass the acts of love forward, Robert Jr. explained, heading back to the Hill Country to help the families who still have questions but no answers. Were going to go back down. There have been our efforts and our time doing what we can. It may not be searching and helping find anybody, but you know what? There are still a lot of people that got to recover, Robert Jr. said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abilene couple missing in Texas flood; relief efforts begin As they laid their parents to rest, the legacy of Joni and Robert Brake is alive in the compassion of so many, especially their children. Son of Robert Sr. and Joni, Luke, said he has to help out his community Even down on the river and Kerrville, and you know theres still a lot of families out there that need closure theyre communities. I mean, theyre strong. They help each other out. Just like you, my wonderful neighbors here in Abilene, Texas, Luke said. Theres nothing. It was beautiful green grass, flowing water. Trees. I mean, just beautiful. Then now its you know, theres only some cypress trees left and a lot of debris. The family is accepting donations as part of their volunteer efforts in Central Texas. They hope to share their journey of helping others on social media when they return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A father was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after dropping his child off at a Beaverton preschool Tuesday morning, officials said. According to an ICE spokesperson, 38-year-old Mahdi Khanbabazadeh was arrested outside Guidepost Montessori School in South Beaverton after dropping his child off at school. Caroline Medeiros, a lawyer consulting on the case, said after Khanbabazadeh arrived at the school, seven unmarked cars pulled into the parking lot to make the arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Week-long search for missing mountain biker ends after he drove back home in his own car When the incident began, Medeiros said that the school was rushed into a soft lockdown, and the head of the school came outside to see what was happening, where masked and armed ICE agents refused to identify themselves and pushed her out of the way, saying, This doesnt concern you. The ICE agents then bashed in a car window and dragged Khanbabazadeh out while his wife asked where they were taking him, according to Medeiros, whose 4-year-old daughter attends the school. The ICE spokesperson told KOIN 6 News that they had attempted to detain Khanbabazadeh during a traffic stop where he requested to drop off his child at daycare. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the daycare, ICE said he stopped cooperating and resisted arrest, so they were forced to break the window. It was just chaos, said witness Randy Kornfield, who was dropping his grandson off at the time of the arrest. There were a lot of parents who were upset, he said. And rightly so. Its just not something that needs to happen at a preschool, or at any school for that matter. ICE said the reason for the arrest was that Khanbabazadeh, a citizen of Iran, had overstayed his visa. Khanbabazadeh arrived in the United States on a student visa, and eventually married a U.S. citizen. He was in the process of getting his green card and had already gone through an interview for it, Medeiros said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KOIN Morning Digest Oregon U.S. Sen. Ron Wydens office confirmed to KOIN 6 News that Khanbabazadehs family has already contacted his office, and they are pressing the Trump administration for answers. Khanbabazadeh is currently being held at the ICE detention center in Tacoma, Washington, Medeiros said. Beaverton Mayor Lacey Beaty also released a statement, saying shes concerned and that her office is working to find out more about what happened: Ive heard concerns from community members about the reported ICE arrest that took place on July 15 outside of Guidepost Montessori. As Beavertons Mayorand as a parentI share those concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are a city that values safety, dignity, and belonging for all people, no matter their immigration status. My office is actively coordinating with local and federal partners to understand what happened and to ensure that our city continues to uphold the rights and humanity of all Beaverton residents. A regional manager for Guidepost shared in a statement that they were deeply disturbed by the incident and that they were working to support the child and family, saying in part: Our first priority is the safety and emotional well-being of the children in our care. We are actively supporting the affected child and family, and we are providing our staff and families with resources to help them process this event with care and sensitivity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are also reviewing the circumstances surrounding this incident and taking steps to ensure that our campuses remain a safe and secure environment for all members of our school 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 KOIN.com. The Coca-Cola Company has agreed to use cane sugar in its namesake drinks in the US, according to US President Donald Trump. In a post on social media outlet Truth Social yesterday (16 July), Trump said: "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL cane sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so." The company's classic Coca-Cola Original drink is made with high-fructose corn syrup in the US. The product is made with sugar in countries including the UK and Australia, while it contains cane sugar in Mexico. Trump added: "This will be a very good move by them. Youll see. Its just better!" A brief statement on the Coca-Cola website read: "We appreciate President Trumps enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand. More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon. There has been increasing scrutiny of the recipes of food and drinks sold in the US since President Trump took office earlier this year. US Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has accused the countrys food and beverage sector of poisoning the American population. He has also taken aim at the use of high-fructose corn syrup, describing the ingredient as "just a formula for making you obese and diabetic". High-fructose corn syrup is a common ingredient in many soft drinks brands in the US, such as Mountain Dew and Dr Pepper. Trump's comments on Coca-Cola's alleged reformulation plans have not been so well received by those producing the corn syrup ingredient. John Bode, CEO and president of the Corn Refiners Association, said: "Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesnt make sense. "President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit. "Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit. "Coca-Cola to use cane sugar in Coke sold in US, Trump says" was originally created and published by Just Drinks, a GlobalData owned brand. CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) You can now enjoy a cold beer with your hot wieners at Olneyville New York System in Cranston. Olneyville Ale is now being served exclusively at the Reservoir Avenue restaurant, according to a post on Facebook. This comes after the Safety Service and Licenses Committee approved the owners request to serve alcohol earlier this month. Only beer will be sold, and patrons must buy food with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, the Providence Board of Licenses denied their request to sell alcohol at the Providence location. According to the meeting minutes, Heritage Restaurant Groups application for the Plainfield Street restaurant was turned down in a 2-1 vote. NEXT: Hazel Origin Coffee opening new location in Providence 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. Berlin's city authorities, the German Armed Forces and twelve hospitals in the city have been making detailed preparations for grim scenarios, including military clashes breaking out in the German capital. Berlin's hospitals have now been presented with a plan - the result of two years' work - to respond to this and other civil defence scenarios. The complete plan remains under wraps for security reasons. However, the Berlin Senate presented the important issues at stake, in a press conference on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These include maintaining the services and supply chains needed for hospital to remain operational, the emergency allocation of patients and ensuring sufficient backup power, medical supplies and medicines. The plan has been drawn up against the backdrop of Russia's war on Ukraine and NATO fears of a further advance towards western Europe. When Russia annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea in 2014, the German government decided to reorganize the country's civil defence, which had been neglected since reunification in 1990. Berlin Health Senator Ina Czyborra explained that "due to the changed threat assessment, it has become necessary to expand civil defence beyond what was required in recent years." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The worst-case scenarios include an increased number of patients combined with infrastructure and resource failures, a military conflict in Berlin and the complete evacuation of the capital. Marc Schreiner, managing director of the Berlin Hospital Association, said regular emergency drills kept hospitals well prepared to respond to acute dangerous situations. The new plan showed that there was still a lot to be done, however. Certain potential crisis situations, such as military conflicts or hybrid threats, required further preparations, he noted. "We must make our health infrastructure more crisis-proof," Schreiner said. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey waded into the trash strike thats now dragging into its third week, calling for the warring parties to resolve their differences and get a deal. The work stoppage pitting Republic Services against Teamsters Local 25 has gone beyond a headache for residents, businesses and municipalities it is a public health concern and its expensive for everyone," the Democratic governor said in a Thursday statement. Sanitation workers do essential work to keep our neighborhoods clean and healthy, and they deserve fair wages, benefits and protections, Healey continued. Republic Services needs to come to the table and reach a fair deal its time to get people back to work and resume services to our communities as soon as possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unionized garbage collectors, seeking better wages and benefits, walked off the job on July 1, and efforts to resolve the strike have so far been unsuccessful. The strike has led to overflowing dumpsters in Boston and Newton, according to WBZ-TV. Republic also has contracts for trash pickup in 14 cities and towns across Massachusetts where trash has gone uncollected since the the walkout began, the station reported. Other senior state officials, including state Treasurer Deb Goldberg and Auditor Diana DiZoglio also have called on the two sides to get a deal as the strike becomes ever longer and smellier for the customers and communities impacted by it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this week, Republic sued the union, claiming that strikers had insulted replacement workers, slashed tires, and may even have stolen a truck, WBUR-FM in Boston reported. City officials in Peabody, meanwhile, are calling on computer magnate and philanthropist Bill Gates, a major shareholder in the company that owns Republic, to use his clout to help resolve the crisis. In a letter to Gates, Peabody officials stressed the philanthropic roots of the citys namesake, George Peabody, to urge him to get involved. "The prolonged work stoppage has already had serious public health implications in multiple communities, where mounting waste and lack of sanitation services are creating growing risks, local officials wrote to Gates. At the same time, the situation reflects deep concerns from workersmany of whom have served on the frontlines of essential public servicesabout fair wages, safe working conditions, and basic dignity on the job." More on Politics Read the original article on MassLive. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WIAT) Alabamas state auction is this week, and some might be shocked to see what treasures the state has up for auction in the Capital City. Dont come out here and outbid me on any car, said Tory Neely. I mean, Ive been coming here for years. Ive been getting good deals. I dont need nobody running the prices up. Some Alabamians said the state auction is a well-kept secret. While the logos may be faded, there is still life in some of items retired by the state of Alabama. You can place your bid on a boat, F-150 or 1500 online here, and you can see it in person at the Alabama Surplus Property in Montgomery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neely said hes been buying cars at the auction for years. They keep good maintenance up on the vehicles, he explained. What I like about it, is when I come out here and pay, I own it. I dont have a car payment; I dont have to get high insurance. The insurance is pretty cheap. RAMs arent the only thing you can refurbish. Scottie Scott, a head carpenter for the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, said tools are always a huge find. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey speaks on Jabari Peoples case amid demands for footage of fatal police shooting to be released Thats something that we use constantly, Scott said. Whether we need to cut something, mark something, screw something, even something as little as a pocketknife or a multi-tool that just helps us do our job better. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether youre looking for laptops, old cameras or even hospital beds, Scott encouraged everyone to take advantage of the auction. If you are with an organization of some kind in the state of Alabama, I would definitely recommend getting set up here, he said. Because you can probably find what you need regardless of the field that youre in. Bids can be placed on items until Sunday at 6 p.m. CT. You can view the items in Montgomery until Friday at 3 p.m. More information about the auction 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 CBS 42. The New York Times is facing tense scrutiny over how it framed its interview with former President Joe Biden over his White House's controversial use of the autopen. After dodging Times journalists for an interview throughout his presidency, Biden spoke to the paper's reporters in a ten-minute phone call regarding the growing questions from President Donald Trump and GOP lawmakers about the legality of Biden's pardons in the final days of his presidency, which were mostly signed using an autopen. The Times printed the headline, "Biden Says He Made the Clemency Decisions That Were Recorded With Autopen." Biden insisted he "made every decision" on his own and called Trump and other Republican critics "liars." However, the Times reported in the 32nd paragraph of the lengthy story that Biden "did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people," citing the former president and his aides. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Rather, after extensive discussion of different possible criteria, [Biden] signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence," the Times's report read. Biden Chief Of Staff Reportedly Gave Approval For Autopen Pardons On Final Day In Office The Times famously sparred with the Biden White House over his refusal to grant any interviews with its journalists (Biden sat down with Times columnist David Brooks in May 2021). The paper issued a blistering 2024 statement calling out Biden for his lack of media access while in office, calling it "troubling that President Biden has so actively and effectively avoided questions from independent journalists during his term." Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DePauw University journalism professor Jeffrey McCall suspected Biden's handlers decided to turn to the Times to combat the autopen controversy as the paper is the "major agenda setter for the news sphere" and that other news outlets in the legacy media would follow its lead. "It made sense for Biden to vent to a source that would be sympathetic and spark friendly aggregation by other left-of-center outlets," McCall told Fox News Digital. "It is clear that the establishment media still feel compelled to treat Biden with kid gloves." Trump Responds To Biden Dismissal Of Autopen Probe, Says He Didn't Know 'What Was Going On' Tim Young, a Media Fellow for Strategic Communications at The Heritage Foundation, believes Biden spoke with the Times because it was a convenient way to fend off criticism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Biden finally sat down with the New York Times because his White House was exposed by the House GOP and the Oversight Project for literally not knowing what clemency or pardon orders were signed. It's pretty clear the pressure was building on his former staff in what could have been an actual Constitutional Crisis -- as the left likes to scream about a lot -- and the team 'rolled him out' to get this over with before repercussions started to build," Young told Fox News Digital. The New York Times famously sparred with the Biden White House over its refusal to grant the paper an interview with reporters. Instead of repeatedly asking the president to sign updated versions of official documents, his staff used an autopen to put Biden's signature on the final version. Bidens chief of staff Jeff Zients was the one who gave final approval for the use of the autopen, at least in the cases of medical adviser Anthony Fauci and former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, the Times noted deep in its report. NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck told Fox News Digital the Times report was "embarrassing." "The article on the interview should have been put through the shredder by their editors. It's an offense to basic story structure to wait until paragraph 32 to reveal Biden didn't personally approve certain pardons and subsequent evidence in graphs 36 and 37 tell the reader everything you need to know about their motives," Houck added. "The Times took Biden at his word, as well as the word of his handlers, something I'm old enough to know is something no journalist should be doing concerning those in power." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Political commentator Mark Halperin argued that the Times disregarded basic journalistic standards by failing to include opinions from experts and Republicans on Bidens claims about his use of the autopen. "If this shoe were on the other foot, I can't believe The New York Times wouldn't have gone and gotten Adam Schiff's reaction. There's no Republican reaction in that story," Halperin said on "The Morning Meeting" podcast. "There's no legal expert quoted in the story." Halperin added that he cannot understand "as a matter of journalism" why The Times would forgo expert and dissenting opinions on Biden's claims about his autopen use. Mark Halperin Questions Why Expert And Republican Analysis On Biden's Autopen Use 'Absent' From Nyt Report Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What Is An Autopen? The Signing Device At The Heart Of Trump's Attacks On Biden Pardons Independent journalist Drew Holden published a lengthy thread on X Tuesday scolding the Times for "repeating Bidens claim that he made the calls" and "burying the admissions that" he "really didnt." "The piece ends with the revelation that Bidens then-chief of staff gave the final sign-off," Holden wrote. "Given what the former admin has lied about, why should we trust this reporting of events?" Holden went on to single out other news outlets, including ABC News, CBS News, USA Today, Rolling Stone, HuffPost, Yahoo News and The Daily Beast, for peddling the Times' framing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Young called the Times interview Bidens "last-ditch effort to save face in what could be yet another massive controversy" coming out of his presidency. "Just imagine a President who was known to be so unhealthy and mentally gone that he would have to come out and quash statements and evidence that says he had no idea what an autopen was signing on his behalf," Young said. The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Fox News Digitals Andrea Margolis, Diana Stancy and Mark Tamasco contributed to this report. Original article source: Biden does rare interview with NY Times to quell autopen controversy, but critics rage over media framing (The Center Square) A U.S. House committee hearing grew heated Wednesday, with Republicans pledging to come after non-governmental organizations that contributed to the border crisis under former President Joe Biden and Democrats stonewalling with various motions and calls to subpoena members of the administration. NGOs are non-profits whose missions often align with government goals, but they remain independent entities. They regularly specialize in the kinds of humanitarian issues the government attempts to address and are frequently contracted to carry out specific government programs. Whether they contract with the government, receive federal grants or both, taxpayer dollars can become essential to an NGOs operations and even comprise nearly all of its funding. Despite their close relationship however, NGOs are not subject to the kind of oversight and accountability that government is supposed to be held to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The hearing, held by a House of Representatives subcommittee on Homeland Security oversight and investigations, focused specifically on the role NGOs played in the border crisis, but its one of several that Republican-led committees have held in recent months delving into NGOs relationship to government. The expert witnesses called by the committee described a kind of border industrial complex of government and non-governmental alliances that facilitated mass illegal immigration under the Biden administration. Ali Hopper, a counter-human trafficking expert and policy advocate, testified to a system of government agencies and NGOs hijacked by criminal networks that hid behind both the scale and the mismanagement of illegal immigration at the border. Hopper has visited the border and interviewed incarcerated traffickers and others in her research and said that processing cases with speed was prioritized to the detriment of care and caution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A cartel operative in Tecate Mexico explained to us how children were routinely kidnapped and funneled into the US for profit. Cartels infiltrated NGOs along those smuggling routes, turning humanitarian pathways into trafficking pipelines, Hopper told the committee. Weak sponsor vetting worsened this problem. An HHS audit later found that 70% of sponsor applications were fraudulent, making proper post-placement welfare checks nearly impossible. ICE couldnt effectively monitor all of the migrant children in the system, leading to claims based on a Department of Homeland Security report that hundreds of thousands of children had been lost under the Biden administration. ICE is working to find and rescue these children. Hopper gave an example of an NGO called Endeavors that she said was found to have resisted working with ICE under the Biden administration, even though most of its revenue (over $1 billion in 2022) came from federal contracts, according to Hopper. At least one of its locations also engaged in other questionable behavior, Hopper added. Our interviews with contracted auditors at endeavors Pecos, Texas, facility revealed disturbing findings. Male staff had been found inside female dorm rooms. An employee had led 150 teenage girls in sexually explicit routines, dance routines, teaching them how to twerk on multiple occasions. A female over 18 had been shielded from ice. Others nearing 18 were released early to avoid transfer to ice, and auditors were blocked from reviewing child sponsor placements, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., displayed outrage over the abuses children have suffered as a result of the border crisis, a crisis which he believes some NGOs exploited. We fed a pipeline of tender age children into sex trafficking and slave labor into our country through NGOs, said Higgins. Were locating these children, were rescuing these children, and were building out criminal files based upon the testimony of these young teenagers and the documentation of fraudulent vetting. Many of these NGO employees are going to find themselves wearing orange. Itll be their new favorite color, he added. Meanwhile, Democrats, who have repeatedly said that Republicans are indulging a conspiracy theory with NGOs to avoid addressing real problems, attempted to shift the spotlight to questioning the administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans sent out 215 letters falsely accusing organizations of wrongdoing, even though most of the organizations dont receive federal dollars or provide direct services to migrants. This is a scare tactic, plain and simple, said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss. Republicans so-called investigation in todays hearing, are shameful abuses of congressional power to bully people for how they choose to exercise their religion and help their fellow man. Democrats made motions challenging testimonies in the hearing and called for the subpoenas of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, other leaders in ICE and DHS and Attorney General Pam Bondi, among others. They also criticized Republicans for not calling members of the administration to testify in congressional hearings. Weve been here since January 20. Weve had one administration witness come before this committee, one, and that was the FEMA administrator. We havent seen anybody else in the third-largest government agency, Thompson said. Though they reconvened later in the day, the hearing was at one point called to recess after Republican acting committee chairs suspended the hearing multiple times to wait for other Republican committee members to arrive or return to vote. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) Fifteen minutes of surveillance video from Oct. 13, 2020, changed former Michigan State Police Trooper Megan Morycs life. The video, obtained by MSP investigators as part of criminal and administrative probes, shows Moryc along with her then-boyfriend, Trooper Trevin Antcliff, as well as Troopers Elie Awad, Patrick Arena and his wife, Trooper Jake Yacuone and Det. Sgt. Nicholas VanderMolen in the lobby and out in front of a resort in Traverse City, a resort town in northern Michigan. (Photos: Michigan State Police) The troopers were attending a quarterly meeting of the Michigan State Police Troopers Association, their union. They had participated in a meet-and-greet social hour in the resort, where the union had paid for an open bar. They all had been drinking alcohol, and they all admitted later to investigators that they were drunk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moryc was, by her own admission, very drunk. The troopers engaged in banter and physically touched, punched and grabbed each other, the video shows. But everything wasnt fun and games, at least not to all those present. Some of them complained to their bosses. And those complaints became career-defining for Moryc. They led to criminal charges, a plea bargain that left her in jail and, ultimately, to her being fired. They also led to a nearly 5-year battle as Moryc has tried to win back her job after being reinstated by an arbitrator and courts based on what occurred during this incident and then fired for a second time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wendy Murphy, a professor at New England Law in Boston and leader of the Women and Childrens Advocacy Project at the school, says the aggressive physicality on display in the videos is part of the hyper-masculine culture of law enforcement. Wendy Murphy, a professor at New England Law in Boston and leader of the Women and Childrens Advocacy Project at the school. (Courtesy Photo. WLNS) Theres no question that the unique environment of law enforcement breeds a sense of aggression, she said. Theres no doubt that the nature of law enforcement, the environment of being a police officer, brings with it a sense of physicality. A unique appreciation, if you will, for the norm of being physical, being physical in ways that other people arent. Murphy said the roughhousing in such situations is also informed by sociological differences between men and women, differences that are exacerbated in the male-dominated world of law enforcement. But you know there is some research that tells us when men get together because they dont have as much permission to be physical, and in an affectionate sense with each other, they do tend to be aggressive in a physical way with each other as a form of affection, Murphy said. So, were talking about a woman in that environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A woman in very much a mens environment, trying to get along I mean, perhaps trying really hard to get along by being one of the guys and when she steps it up in that way, she gets punished. Indeed, Moryc was punished. Awad, Arena and Yacuone filed complaints against her, alleging she had violated them and assaulted them sexually. MSP said Moryc, 40, a trooper since 2016, broke the law and violated policy. She said her job was taken from her because of sex discrimination and harassment. Moryc-criminal-investigation-Oct-2020Download The 6 News Investigates team, since August, has been investigating this dispute between Moryc and the MSP, reviewing hundreds of pages of internal investigations, court filings, court opinions, emails and prosecutorial communications. The documents are presented as quoted, including spelling and grammatical errors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moryc has sat for hours of on-camera interviews, but officials for the state police and the Department of Michigan Attorney General have declined to respond to specific questions from the 6 News Investigates team. This dispute, which at one point reached the Michigan Supreme Court, is chronicled in this ongoing report by 6 News Investigates about a sexualized big boys club at the Lakeview Post of the Michigan State Police. Moryc Court of Appeals DecisionDownload Placed on leave When the incident in Traverse City was reported, an MSP administrative investigation was opened and almost immediately put on hold to facilitate a criminal investigation. Moryc was placed on paid administrative leave on Oct. 20, 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Big Boys Club: Frequently Asked Questions Det. First Lt. Mark Harris and Det. Sgt. Mike Fink of the 7th District Headquarters, located in Gaylord, were assigned to investigate the case. Det. Sgt. Mike Fink (Photo: Michigan State Police) Det. First Lt. Mark Harris (Photo: Michigan State Police) Harris retired from MSP in June. At the time of the allegations against Moryc, Fink was also participating in a joint investigation of the Wolverine Watchmen, who were accused of planning to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The actual criminal complaint against Moryc was formally filed by Sgt. Robert Metivier of the Lakeview Post on Oct. 16, 2020 three days after the alleged assaults. Sgt. Robert Metivier. (Photo: Michigan State Police) Metivier already had a rocky relationship with Moryc. She had accused him in 2018, unofficially, of gender discrimination based on his decisions related to training to become an evidence technician and having her wait outside a domestic violence scene until a third male officer arrived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a 6-page letter to Human Resources in 2023, Moryc filed formal discrimination complaints against members of the Lakeview Post, including Metivier. Those allegations were closed as unfounded. Letter-to-Insp.-Lisa-Gee-Cram-HR-Discrimination-1Download Morycs investigation complaint never noted Metiviers acknowledgement during the internal investigation that he had, in fact, made the command decision based on wanting three large individuals, who were male, to make entry at the scene. He was cleared of discrimination despite this admission. The alleged assault Metivier, who by text message referred the 6 News Investigates team to MSP legal counsel to answer questions, told investigators he first was informed of the alleged sexual and physical assaults in the morning of Oct. 14, when he approached most of the other troopers who had been present that night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The troopers, he said in a recorded interview with MSPs Professional Standards Services, disclosed they were assaulted the night before. I didnt know if I could take them serious, OK?, Metivier says. Because were just talking at this point and like what are you doing about this? So, we went to the casino, we were assaulted on the way. And Im like I dont know what you guys are talking about, Metivier said. He repeated that the troopers told him, No, were going to get on the bus. I said, What? Thats when Metivier said the troopers alleged that Moryc had stuck her thumb up [Trooper Patrick Arenas] ass and then reached around and tried to grab him by the crotch area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Metivier said they told him Moryc had assaulted Troopers Awad, VanderMolen and Yacuone, too. Metivier told investigators that at dinner the following evening that Moryc approached the troopers, specifically Awad, and apologized, for what I did last night. So, Im like, Oh my God, it is true, Metivier told the investigator months. Holy crap. So, no big deal. And Im like, oh yeah, yeah, you know, Im thinking, what do I do? But you know what? Im not going to let it ruin my night. The crap storm begins But the following day, Metivier said, he received a call from I think it was either Arena or Awad about the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They said, well, you know, if this was flipped over, like if Megan was a guy and were all girls and we did this, theres a good chance we might not be able to talk to you right now, Metivier said in the recorded interview. He said the troopers told him to report it up the chain of command, to Lt. Jason Nemecek. Metivier said he called his command lieutenant that evening on his drive home from Traverse City and explained the allegations broadly without specific identities of the troopers. Can you give me some advice as to what you think I should do? Metivier told investigators that he had asked his superiors. And his [Lt. Jason Nemeceks] advice was, to me, was now, you know, what I have to do. You already know the answer. What you have to do, you got to report it. The following day, Oct. 16 two days after Metivier became aware of the alleged assaults he met with command in Lakeview and reported the incident. I said, so Im reporting it to you. I know one step has to go on, you know, to the next step and to the next step, Metivier said in his interview. So, Im Im washing my hands of it, and now its to you guys. You do what you got to do. And theyre like, Holy crap. And then, obviously, the crap storm started after that. A warrant and an arrest That crap storm, as Metivier defined it, unfolded when the MSP referred its criminal investigation to the Grand Traverse County Prosecutors Office, which obtained a warrant for Morycs arrest for crimes it alleged occurred on Oct. 13, 2020. Moryc-register-of-actionsDownload Moryc was charged with two counts of assault and battery and two counts of criminal sexual conduct fourth degree at her arraignment on Jan. 20, 2021. Assault and battery is a misdemeanor in Michigan. CSC 4 is what is known as a high misdemeanor, with a punishment of up to 2 years in prison, fines and registration on the Michigan Sex Offenders Registry. The Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, MCOLES, oversees licensing for law enforcement in the state. Their rules prohibit licensing anyone with a conviction for a crime with a punishment of more than 1 year in jail. Prosecutors argued Moryc committed the CSC 4 through force, specifically by surprise. Kyle Attwood, chief assistant prosecutor in Grand Traverse County, told 6 News that the prosecutors didnt have to prove Moryc had sexual intent in the alleged sexual assault. Its something that doesnt require proof of her specific intent, necessarily, Attwood said. Its either intended to engage in sexual touching or touching that could reasonably be construed as having been done for a sexual purpose. So based on the context of the touching itself, I think there was a thought that it reasonably could have reasonably been construed as being done for a sexual purpose. Moryc has maintained, in interviews with 6 News, in administrative interviews, in an arbitration hearing and in subsequent legal filings, that she had no sexual intent in her actions that night. She told investigators it was horseplay and a game of grab ass with coworkers that went too far. Moryc also told this to 6 News in two interviews in October and December of 2024, where she had invited her therapist to sit in on the interview. Why was she the only one charged? Analysis of the 15 minutes of video from the lobby of the hotel and the driveway where troopers waited that night for the shuttle to the casino raises questions, law professor Murphy said. I think anybody watching these videos would say, Wait. Ive seen that before. Ive been in that situation before, she said. Nobody was punished in the workplace, much less were they criminally charged for it, sent to jail. Murphy said of the video: It strikes me as absurd. Ive been a prosecutor. Ive been a prosecutor of sex crimes cases. There is no way I would have filed charges in this case. And I say that regardless of the fact [who is] the aggressor and again this was a group of friends out having a good time drinking theres no way I would have filed charges here. I would have thought that it was unethical, frankly, for me to file charges. Attwood did not respond to an email inquiry about Murphys analysis. Murphy noted that several of the men are seen on video grabbing the privates of other men as well as striking them. But the activity appears to be playful and horseplay. But the MSPs investigation did not result in a referral for criminal charges against any of the men, and that strikes Murphy as odd, she said. I would look at the video and say she is not the only one who was touching people without their consent, Murphy said. Shes not the only one who was roughhousing in a way that you say was sexual, that was touching people, that there were even times when she was arguably strangled. Somebody had their arm around her neck. Didnt appear to me that she was consenting to that. Why was she the only one charged? Seeking responses Michigan State Police Communications Director Shanon Banner. (Courtesy Photo, MSP. WLNS) 6 News offered to share the videos via Zoom for an on-the-record response from MSP spokesperson Shanon Banner and Attwood, the chief assistant prosecutor in Grand Traverse County. The question: Why did the conduct of troopers in the videos not rise to criminal or administrative sanction, as it had for Moryc? Attwood did not respond to the emailed offer. Banner declined. We will not be participating in an interview on a personnel matter. Below is an additional statement you can use, she wrote in an email response to the 6 News Investigates team. The Michigan State Police is committed to fostering a work environment free from all forms of harassment, and will not tolerate, condone or allow harassment by members. All allegations made known to the MSP by Trooper Moryc, to include allegations of harassment and discrimination, were investigated by the Professional Standards Section at the time the allegations were made in 2020. On Oct. 31, after receiving that response from Banner, 6 News responded with multiple screenshots showing the touching and striking of other troopers from the same night and the same incident involving Moryc. 6 News asked Banner again to explain why those troopers had not faced sanctions and why their actions were not noted in the criminal investigation report. She has not responded. Atwood did not respond to repeated follow-up inquiries by phone and email. The troopers involved did not respond to phone calls. Metivier, reached by text message, referred the 6 News Investigates team to the MSP legal division. Judged differently Murphy said it appears the reason the men may not have been sanctioned is because Moryc is female. The woman was judged differently. I think she was judged differently because she was female, Murphy told 6 News. And if someone told me that she was judged harshly because she was suffering retaliation for something else? It wouldnt surprise me. I mean, when I saw the video, it made me think you would only file charges in this case if you had a different agenda. Marc Curtis, an attorney from Norton Shores, was Morycs defense attorney during the 2021 criminal proceedings. He said the relationship with his client did not part ways on a very favorable ending. But he said he does think there is something to Morycs claims of retaliation. Do I think she got screwed over in this and the Michigan State Police are messing with her a little bit? he told 6 News in a telephone conversation. Yeah. Moryc maintains that the troopers and sergeant involved did have an agenda in filing the complaint against her. She noted Metiviers alleged sexist actions and an incident that occurred Oct. 14, 2020, in which another trooper was secretly recording the other troopers, including Moryc, during dinner. She was infuriated by that invasion of privacy, she told 6 News in an interview and said so in a complaint she filed against Trooper Jacob Lewis. PSS-557-20-eAICS-Original-Report-050-0000011-21-1Download Lewis was cleared of both criminal and administrative wrongdoing in that incident, with other troopers telling investigators they were aware he was recording on his cellphone. Unlike in other criminal investigations, MSP investigators did not seek or obtain a warrant for Lewiss cellphone. Instead, those investigators accepted an audio file submitted by Lewis without verifying if it had been changed in any way. Lewis did not respond to messages left for him at his current posting. Michigan is a one-party consent state when it comes to recording. That means only one participant in a conversation needs to consent to being recorded. Because another trooper was aware of the recording at the time Lewis walked away from the table and the recording was discovered, no crime was committed, investigators and the Grand Traverse County Prosecutors Office determined. PSS officials investigated Morycs allegations that the troopers and the sergeant conspired to level criminal charges, but MSP officials found no evidence to support the allegations, the report concluded, and the complaint was ruled unfounded. The plea deal Moryc said she entered the no contest plea in the assault-and-battery charges at the advice of her attorney, Curtis, who told 6 News his advice was informed by a conversation with union officials, who noted a conviction on the CSC 4 charges would have resulted in Morycs immediate termination. A no contest plea is not an admission of guilt, although a court treats such pleas as a guilty determination when administering punishment. An assault-and-battery conviction likely would not have affected her continued employment with MSP, Curtis said. Moryc said she was informed by the prosecution and her defense attorney that she likely would face probation and thus maintain her right to carry a weapon so she could continue on the job. Instead, she was sentenced by District Court Judge Robert Cooney, the countys former prosecutor, to 30 days in the Grand Traverse County Jail. She served 21 days. Moryc told 6 News that she was assured by both attorneys that she would be unlikely to face jail time as part of the deal. But Cooney, in accepting the no-contest deal, declined to place Moryc on probation. She said he expressed concern about the liability of allowing her to carry a weapon while on probation. Just days before Moryc was scheduled for release from the jail, MSP officials showed up, carrying MSP folders, and served Moryc with notice of an administrative interview to be held while she was an inmate. The service of the administrative interview effectively identified her as a law enforcement agent, she argued, and put her health and safety at risk. The interview was delayed until she was out of jail and ultimately led to the administrative hearing in which she was discharged in the summer of 2021. Although Moryc was told the no-contest deal wouldnt impact her ability to continue as a trooper, that appears to be a misguided assessment of how MSP officials viewed Morycs actions in October 2020. Banners standard response: Oversight of the investigation process is the responsibility of the Professional Standards Section. Independent of whether a criminal charge results in a conviction, the employee may still be subject to administrative actions if the investigation reveals a violation of department policy. Policy violations are investigated thoroughly and acted upon in a manner consistent with labor law and collective bargaining agreements. MSP leaders terminated Moryc after her release in 2021, focusing their arguments before a state arbitrator on the accusations of criminal sexual conduct 4th degree an argument the arbitrator rejected. That arbitrators ruling was overturned by Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James Jamo but upheld by both the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court. 6 News Digital Content Manager Duncan Phenix contributed to this report. HELP IS AVAILABLE If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic or sexual violence, there is help. If you are in immediate danger, call 911 or your local law enforcement agency. For support related to domestic violence, call: 1-800-799-7233 For support related to sexual assault, call: 800-656-HOPE (4673) Read this series in order: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FIRST ON FOX: A bipartisan House duo is teaming up for a resolution to urge elected leaders in the U.S. to condemn the phrase "globalize the intifada." The legislation, being led by Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., and Rudy Yakym, R-Ind., would condemn the phrase "as a call to violence against Israeli and Jewish people across the world." "Globalize the intifada," as a call, has been a subject of national controversy since the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack by Hamas in southern Israel, though it sparked new tension in recent weeks with New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's refusal to publicly condemn it. He reportedly recently distanced himself from the slogan during a private meeting, however. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the bipartisan legislation does not expressly mention Mamdani, the four-page bill is notably being released a day after his trip to meet with national Democrats in Washington, D.C. Aoc Welcomes Socialist Mamdani To Nation's Capital As Dem Leaders Withhold Endorsements Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Rudy Yakym are leading a bipartisan bill to condemn the use of the phrase "globalize the intifada," which NYC mayoral hopeful Zohran Mamdani has not publicly condemned. "Condemning it should be common sense, but some would rather play politics than tell the truth. The violence and hatred directed at Jewish and Israeli people is reprehensible," Yakym told Fox News Digital. "No one, especially in America, should have to live in fear for their safety, or even their life, because of their religion or ethnicity." Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gottheimer, who is Jewish, said, "'The Intifada refers to a horrific wave of terror attacks that killed thousands of Jews. Globalizing it is a direct call for violence against Jews, and it must be condemned." "Im against hate speech targeting anyone and everyone should be. Its insane and unacceptable to me that this antisemitic rhetoric is spreading rampant across our country," he said. A moderate Democrat who helps lead the Problem Solvers Caucus, Gottheimer was one of the Democrats present at Mamdani's breakfast event with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., on Wednesday. Marco Rubio Holds First Meeting With Families Of Hostages Held By Hamas Pro-Palestinian activists hold banners that include, "globalize the intifada" during a protest commemorating Nakba Day on May 15, 2025, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City. Their legislation cites several instances of violence against Jews in recent months, including the attack on pro-Israel demonstrators in Colorado, the fatal shooting of a pair of Israeli embassy staffers in D.C., and arson at the Pennsylvania governor's mansion while Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were holding a Passover seder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If passed in the House, the resolution would affirm that lawmakers believe "globalize the intifada" is a "call for violence against Israeli and Jewish people across the world" that "undermines the safety and security of Israeli and Jewish people in their communities." It would also declare that "those truly committed to Middle East peace should refrain from affirming, chanting, or displaying the slogan" and "the slogan must be strongly and unequivocally condemned by national, State, and local leaders." "Globalize the intifada" has become a well-worn refrain at pro-Palestine demonstrations across the U.S., in response to Israel's invasion of Gaza following the Hamas attack. Others have warned, however, that it's part of an increasingly alarming trend of antisemitic rhetoric that's broken out in the U.S. since the war between Israel and Hamas began. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mamdani, a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist who won the Democratic primary in the New York City mayoral race, has been slammed by his critics for refusing to condemn calls to "globalize the intifada." He is not being accused of using the phrase himself, however. The New York Times reported that Mamdani said in a Tuesday meeting with business leaders that he would "discourage" the use of the phrase. Like many on the progressive left, he's a fierce critic of Israel's military operation in Gaza. Fox News Digital's Deirdre Heavey contributed to this report. Original article source: Bipartisan House resolution aims to condemn phrase that's created firestorm for Zohran Mamdani BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) The School District of Black River Falls (SDBRF) is making changes to its school lunch program. They have decided to end a program that provides free lunches to all of its students. Lunchtime may look a bit different in Black River Falls. For the past two years, the district has been participating in the Community Eligibility Program (CEP), which provides free meals to all students. However, Superintendent of SDBRF, Dr. Shelly Severson, says that the program just isnt economically feasible anymore. Looking at a projected loss of between $130,000 and $200,000 a year, that is more than we felt like we could gamble. During the pandemic, the district initiated different food programs to help feed families in the area. Through those programs, it got a strong reimbursement, and the funds from those reimbursements helped finance the CEP. Dr. Severson explained, The CEP program operates at a loss. We know we knew going into each one of those years that there was going to be a loss and because of that healthy fund balance, we decided that that was worth the investment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the District can no longer afford to keep the program going. Dr. Severson said, Last year, food prices went up fairly significantly, and our labor costs continued to rise, and that fund balance now, after three years, has significantly declined. Nutrition Services Supervisor for SDBRF, Connie Seiber, added, We anticipated not being able to provide CEP forever, but it was our hopes to do it for as long as we could. All students in the school district of Black River Falls will still be receiving lunch. The only change is that families who can pay for their lunch will now have to. Seiber explained, Students at Black River Falls School District will be given the opportunity for the Free Universal breakfast, and they will get a second chance and at lunchtime, no child will go hungry. District staff says if families are concerned about the changes, they should apply for the free and reduced meal program. Dr. Severson said, If there is a family that has a specific hardship that free and reduced they dont meet the federal definition. We can designate them as free and reduced locally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, regardless of a familys financial status, Dr Severson said, There will be food available, free breakfast for all, and nobody will be turned away with no lunch. The School District of Black River Falls also has an angel fund that community members can donate to. Those funds go towards negative food balances and senior debts so they can graduate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX2548 & WIProud. Blackburn encourages release of Epstein documents WASHINGTON (WJHL) Sen. Marsha Blackburn agrees with House Speaker of the House Mike Johnson on encouraging President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi to reveal everything from the Jeffrey Epstein case. Blackburn spoke to News Channel 11 on Wednesday about several topics, including the Epstein case. Trump supporters have accused Bondi of withholding Epstein records after the Department of Justice released an unsigned memo last week saying the convicted sex offender didnt have a client list and that they wouldnt disclose any more information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have worked on this issue for years, and for me, its not about celebrity or a list, Blackburn said. This is about finding out who was bankrolling Jeffrey Epstein. The senator said the release of information would help break apart these human trafficking and sex trafficking rings. This human trafficking is modern-day slavery, and we need to end this, Blackburn said. Rescissions Package Blackburn relayed the message shed just given to fellow lawmakers on the Senate floor earlier this week in an encouragement to pass the $9 billion rescissions package. We are $37 trillion in debt, and we have to get the spending under control. We have to stop the out-of-control spending, and then we have to turn this thing around, because our kids and grandkids want to make certain that theyve got a future they can live their version of the American dream, Blackburn said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate narrowly advanced a request from the White House, known as the rescissions package, to cut back billions in funds for things like international aid and public broadcasting. Congress has a deadline of Friday to act on the measure. When asked what she would say to Trump supporters in East Tennessee who may have lost their federal jobs to cuts, she talked of other opportunities. What we want to do is make certain that we are reducing the size and the scope of the federal government. And like I said, they are individuals that will be offered other opportunities as the Trump administration works to right-size the federal government. And we look forward to having the opportunity to work with those individuals, Blackburn said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Senate, rescissions bills require only a simple majority. But with just 53 republicans, Senate GOP leaders can only afford to lose a handful of their members to approve the package. Armed Career Criminal Act Blackburn has introduced, in partnership with other Republicans, a bill that would restore the Armed Career Criminal Act. The bill aims to create a minimum sentence for what Blackburn calls repeat, violent offenders. According to a release from Blackburns office, the Armed Career Criminal Act previously became law in 1994 but was declared unconstitutional because the court felt the residual clause was too vague. Blackburn says changes in the new bill do away with concepts of violent felony or serious drug offense and replace them with a single category of serious felony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the bill, repeat offenders of a serious felony would have a minimum sentence of 15 years. What we are doing is looking at people that have a criminal record, and then when they have that criminal record and they are committing these violent crimes, then it is a sentence saying a minimum of 15 years, the senator said. According to Blackburns office, the bill is endorsed by Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the Fraternal Order of Police, the National Association of Police Organizations, and the National Narcotic Officers Associations Coalition. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Tom Sims FRANKFURT (Reuters) -A delegation of employee representatives from Commerzbank met with members of the European Parliament to voice their concerns about a possible takeover by UniCredit, according to a social media post on Thursday and two people with knowledge of the matter. Italy's UniCredit last week doubled its shareholding in the German lender as it pushes for a tie-up between the banks, despite resistance from Commerzbank management, employees and the German government. The outreach marks a new front in the defense against the advances of UniCredit, which first emerged as a big investor in Commerzbank in September. "We made clear that a takeover would not be progress towards a European banking union," Commerzbank supervisory board member Nina Olderdissen said in a post on LinkedIn about the Brussels meetings. "What may seem like a step towards European integration actually harbors considerable risks for employees, customers and investors on both sides - without any discernible added value," she wrote. Commerzbank and UniCredit declined to comment. Unicredit's CEO, Andrea Orcel, has said a deal "would create a new national banking champion for Germany", aiding "the revitalisation of the German economy". (Reporting by Tom Sims, editing by Thomas Seythal and Madeline Chambers) CHICAGO The Steve Miller Band announced this week that it has canceled all 31 stops of its upcoming tour, citing the risks of extreme weather. In a post shared on the bands social media pages Wednesday night, the band announced that all of the shows scheduled to take place during the groups upcoming tour have been canceled, including shows in Champaign, Illinois, and Gary, Indiana. Have live events ever been canceled due to extreme heat? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable, the statement shared by the band read. You can blame it on the weather The tour is cancelled. The band signed off the statement with a hopeful message about a possible return to the stage in the future, though it is unclear what is next for the group Dont know where, dont know when We hope to see you all again, the band said. The tour was set to kick off Aug. 15 in Bethel, New York and included stops all across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Report: Janes Addiction frontman, Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell suing ex-bandmates The decision comes after weeks of severe weather events across the country, including devastating flooding in Texas that left more than 130 people dead. Just last year, during a Chicago stop, the Steve Miller Band played to a nearly empty crowd after severe weather forced the group to push their show up a half-hour. The group did not provide details on potential ticket refunds. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BEIRUT (Reuters) -One elderly man had been shot in the head in his living room. Another in his bedroom. The body of a woman lay in the street. After days of bloodshed in Syria's Druze city of Sweida, survivors emerged on Thursday to collect and bury the scores of dead found across the city. A ceasefire announced on Wednesday night brought an end to ferocious fighting between Druze militia and government forces sent to the city to quell clashes between Druze and Bedouin fighters. The violence worsened sharply after the arrival of government forces, according to accounts to Reuters by a dozen residents of Sweida, two reporters on the ground and a monitoring group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Residents described friends and neighbours being shot at close range in their homes or in the streets. They said the killings were carried out by Syrian troops, identified by their fatigues and the insignia on them. Reuters was able to verify the time and location of some videos showing dead bodies, but could not independently verify who conducted the killings or when they occurred. Syrian Information Minister Hamzah al-Mustafa, in comments to Reuters after this story was published, said the authorities were "aware of the reports concerning serious violations during the recent events in Sweida, including acts that may constitute atrocities and sectarian incitement". "The Syrian Government strongly condemns all such acts and reaffirms its absolute rejection of sectarian violence in all its forms," Mustafa said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mustafa added that Syria's authorities were unable to conduct immediate investigations due to the redeployment of their forces after international mediation to secure a ceasefire. The residents of Sweida who Reuters spoke to said the bloodshed had deepened their distrust of the Islamist-led government in Damascus and their worries about how Sharaa would ensure that Syria's minority groups were protected. In sectarian violence in Syria's coastal region in March hundreds of people from the Alawite minority were killed by forces aligned to Sharaa. "I can't keep up with the calls coming in now about the dead," said Kenan Azzam, a dentist who lives on the eastern outskirts of Sweida and spoke to Reuters by phone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he had just learned of the killing of a friend, agricultural engineer Anis Nasser, who he said had been taken from his home by government forces this week. "Today, they found his dead body in a pile of bodies in Sweida city," Azzam said. Another Sweida resident, who asked to be identified only as Amer out of fear of reprisals, shared a video that he said depicted his slain neighbours in their home. The video, which Reuters was not able to independently verify, showed the body of one man in a chair. On the floor were an elderly man with a gunshot wound to his right temple and a younger man, face down, in a pool of blood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like the other cases of descriptions of killings in the city, Reuters could not verify who was responsible. Spokespeople for the interior and defence ministries did not immediately respond to questions from Reuters on whether government forces were responsible for the killings in the homes and streets. In a video statement early on Thursday, Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa said that protecting the rights of Druze was among his priorities and blamed "outlaw groups" seeking to inflame tensions for any crimes against civilians. He vowed to hold accountable those responsible for violations against the Druze, but did not say whether government forces were responsible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government's statement on Wednesday on a ceasefire for the region said a fact-finding mission would investigate the "crimes, violations and breaches that happened, determine who was responsible and compensate those affected... as quickly as possible". The Syrian Network for Human Rights, a rights monitor that documented violations throughout the civil war and has continued its work, said on Friday it had verified 321 people killed in Sweida, including medical personnel, women and children. Its head, Fadel Abdulghany, said the figure included field executions by both sides, Syrians killed by Israeli strikes and others killed in clashes, but that it would take time to break down figures for each category. Abdulghany said the Network had also documented cases of extrajudicial killings by Druze militias of government forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government did not give a death toll for its troops or for civilians killed in Sweida. The health ministry said dozens of dead government forces and civilians were found in the city's main hospital, but did not give further details. SHOT AT CLOSE RANGE Syria's Druze follow a religion derived from Islam and is part of a minority that also has members in Lebanon, Israel, and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Ultra-conservative Sunni groups including Islamic State consider the Druze as heretics and attacked them throughout Syria's conflict, which erupted in 2011. Druze militias fought back, and Sweida was largely spared the violence that engulfed Syria. The 14-year war ended with the ousting of President Bashar al-Assad last December. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Sharaa's forces began fighting their way from northwest Syria to Damascus last year, many minorities feared the rebels and were heartened when fighters passed their towns and went straight to the capital. A reporter in Sweida who asked not to be identified said he witnessed government forces shoot four people at close range, including a woman and teenage boys. He said bodies littered the streets. One of them, a woman, lay face up on the pavement with an apparent stab wound to the stomach, he said. One resident, who asked to remain anonymous, showed the reporter the body of his slain brother in a bedroom of their home on Tuesday. He had been shot in the head. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A video verified by Reuters showed two bodies on a commercial street in central Sweida. Another showed bodies, several with gunshot wounds to the chest, in the Al-Radwan guest house in Sweida. Ryan Maarouf of local media outlet Suwayda24 told Reuters on Thursday he had found a family of 12 killed in one house, including naked women, an elderly man and two young girls. It was not possible to verify who killed the people in these cases. LOOTING HOMES The reporter said he heard government forces yell "pigs" and "infidels" at Druze residents. The reporter said troops looted refrigerators and solar panels from homes and burned homes and alcohol shops, including after the ceasefire was announced on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the residents interviewed by Reuters said government forces shaved off the moustaches of Druze men - a humiliating act. Spokespeople for the interior and defence ministries did not immediately respond to questions on troops looting, burning homes, or using sectarian language and shaving moustaches. As the violence unfolded, Israel's military began strikes on government convoys in Sweida and the defence ministry and near the presidential palace in Damascus. U.S. intervention helped end the fighting. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said "historic longtime rivalries" between Druze and Bedouin communities had "led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side." (Reporting by Maya Gebeily and Yamam al-ShaarAdditional reporting by Monica Naime and Deniz UyarEditing by Frances Kerry) The Brief A body found on Turks and Caicos on July 5 has been identified as Brian Patrick Tarrence of North Texas. Tarrence went missing on June 25 while vacationing with his wife. No foul play is suspected, but the cause of death is pending a final autopsy and toxicology report. TURKS AND CAICOS - The remains of a body found on Turks and Caicos Island on July 5 has been identified, solving a weeks-long mystery for a North Texas family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brian Patrick Tarrence had gone missing on June 25 while vacationing with his wife. His family, who live in Plano, have been seeking closure ever since. Brian Tarrence found in Grace Bay What we know On Wednesday, the police force updated that a partially decomposed body they had found in the Grace Bay area of the island on July 5 has now been identified as that of Tarrence. The body had been found while searching for the missing American, but was not identified until the autopsy was completed. The post from the department says no foul play is suspected, and a final autopsy and toxicology report is pending. What we don't know Tarrence's cause of death has not been released. What they're saying "The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force extends sincere condolences to the family and friends of the deceased. We urge members of the public to refrain from speculation and allow the investigative process to confirm the identity through official channels," said acting Commissioner of Police Rodney Adams. American missing in Caribbean The backstory Tarrence, 52, of Monroe, New York, was the subject of a search by the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force since his disappearance last month. His brother traveled from Plano to assist in the search. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tarrence's family hired a private investigator who obtained this surveillance video of Tarrence walking out of the condo and into what he describes as a safe part of town. The Source Information in this report came from the Royal Turks and Caicos Police Force and previous FOX coverage. Rescue teams searching for British man Matthew Hall in the Italian Alps have found a body. The discovery was made on Wednesday evening close to the Cross of Daloo, a mountain viewpoint high above the town of Chiavenna, where the 33-year-old had been staying. Mr Hall, from Hull, went missing on 9 July. Italian police said his family had been informed. Sam Jackson, who travelled to Italy to join the search, said everyone was in shock at the loss of an "amazing" friend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We all absolutely loved him," he added. "At least we are bringing him home back to where he should be." A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said: "We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities." Mr Hall sent a photograph of the Cross of Daloo to friends on the day he went missing, leading to a search of trails in the area [Submitted] Mr Hall was staying at the B&B Ploncher hotel when he went missing. He was thought to have planned an eight-hour trek, but told a friend in a text message he had taken a wrong turn and was having a rest. Lt Gim Toni De Masi said a body was found at 19:00 local time in a crevice in the area from where Mr Hall sent the message. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Due to the danger involved in reaching the body, a helicopter was brought in to assist with the recovery. Mr Hall's mother arrived in Italy on Wednesday. His father is expected to arrive on Friday, the officer added. Sam Jackson has praised the people of Chiavenna for their help [Phillip Norton/BBC] More than a dozen of Mr Hall's friends and colleagues travelled to Italy to join the search. They said three helicopters, multiple mountain rescue teams, police and a specialist drone had been working around the clock to try to find him. Speaking to the BBC in Italy, Mr Jackson said the group had been optimistic that they would find him. Paying tribute to his friend, he said Mr Hall loved snowboarding, skateboarding and watching his local rugby league side Hull KR. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Italian police, rescue workers and the community in Chiavenna had given them "amazing" help and support. "They have found our pal," Mr Jackson added. Friends of Matthew Hall travelled to Italy to help with the search [Phillip Norton/BBC] Mr Hall began his solo hiking trip on 5 July and had been due to fly back from Milan to Manchester on 12 July. He was known to be a confident walker with knowledge of mountains and rugged terrain. In a statement, Mr Hall's employer, the broadband firm Quickline, said: "We are devastated to learn that our colleague Matt, who was reported missing while on holiday in Italy, has sadly been found dead. "Matt was a much-loved and respected member of the Quickline team and our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues at this incredibly difficult time." 'Love and support' Analysis by Phillip Norton Steep trails lead to a huge wooden cross towering over the valley and the town of Chiavenna below. A plaque at the base of the cross marks its height. 1,100m above sea level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The spectacular vista from this high altitude viewpoint beside the tiny mountain village of Daloo would have been everything Matthew Hall hoped to see on his hiking trip. We know Matthew reached this point to enjoy the view before he disappeared; he proudly shared a photo he had taken of the cross with friends back home. Sadly, but almost fortuitously, it was among the holiday snaps he had taken that would ultimately lead search teams to the area where his body was found. As night began to fall on Wednesday, and town centre restaurants filled with people enjoying the warm evening, the sound of a rescue helicopter grew louder. People here had become used to the noise during the search, but the timing seemed odd as it hovered above. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police say the helicopter was needed to help recover Matthew's body, discovered in a dangerous crevice, close to the Cross of Daloo. His friends who flew here to help with the search soon learned the devastating news. They raised a glass, and toasted a life well lived. That so many of them travelled here to help, taken to heart and looked after by the locals, spoke volumes about their friendship and efforts here, all carried out with such dignity. They are so grateful for the work of rescuers, and the love and support shown by the town of Chiavenna. It was not the day any of them ever wanted to see. But as their journeys home begin, they take a degree of comfort knowing Matthew will also return to his family, his friends, and the people of Hull who loved him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices More on this story A body found early this month in Turks and Caicos has been identified as missing American tourist Brian Tarrence but the cause of his death hasn't been determined, authorities say. The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force said in a statement Wednesday that the body was identified using dental records and an autopsy "revealed no signs of trauma, and at this time, there is no suspicion of foul play. The RT&CIPF continues to await the final autopsy and toxicology reports to complete the investigation." "The RT&CIPF extends our condolences to Mr. Tarrence's family and friends during this difficult time. We thank the public for their patience and support as we continue the investigation," the statement said. Brian Tarrence in an undated photo. / Credit: Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Tarrence, from Manhattan, was on vacation with his wife and was last seen on surveillance video walking away from his hotel early on the morning of June 25. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police searching for him brought in a private investigator to assist. On July 5, police said they they found a "body of a deceased male in a decomposed state" in the Grace Bay area. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a fierce ally of President Trumps, stressed the need for a special counsel to investigate the administrations handling of files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, saying the American people are frustrated and want answers. Boebert, one of the first people to call for an independent probe, said its important to devote the necessary time and resources to the investigation without losing sight of the presidents victories. People are frustrated. We want to know if theres more information, Boebert said in an interview Wednesday on NewsNations On Balance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont know exactly what [Attorney General] Pam Bondi has seen or what she hasnt seen, she continued. Ive seen just as much that has been released from her as you have. And so Im saying maybe someone else needs to take a look at this. But also, we can walk and chew gum at the same time, the Colorado Republican told host Leland Vittert. We can also celebrate our secure border. We can celebrate that we are putting America first, that we are putting American energy dominance ahead as a priority. Boebert warned against letting the Epstein files distract from what she views as more important priorities coming from the White House. People want information on this. This is a big deal. And like you mentioned President Trump, this wasnt the main thing that he ran on, Boebert said. I would much rather have a secure border than a list from a dead pedophile at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do I think this is something that should be ignored? Absolutely not, she added. A number of prominent Republicans have also called for greater transparency since the Justice Department and FBI released a joint memo last week concluding Epstein died by suicide refuting theories foul play was involved and that the convicted sex offender did not keep a client list to blackmail high-profile people implicated in his alleged crimes. Trumps backers, including some now serving in his administration, have for years espoused conspiracy theories about Epsteins death and suggested the government was covering up information that connected prominent Democrats to his sex crimes. Trump has resisted calls for more information and, in recent days, has appeared exasperated by the fascination with Epstein. The president said Attorney General Pam Bondi can release credible evidence related to the case but has otherwise questioned why some of his followers are fixated on the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump, during an Oval Office meeting with the crown prince of Bahrain on Wednesday, repeated his claim that the documents connected to Epstein were a hoax started by Democrats. Epsteins arrest on sex trafficking charges and death came in 2019, during Trumps first term. Some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, and so they try and do the Democrats work, the president said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Boebert on Epstein special counsel: This is something we need (NewsNation) Republican Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., isnt backing down in her calls for President Trumps administration to release the Jeffrey Epstein files. Appearing on Wednesdays On Balance, Boebert said that Trump having a special counsel is something we need. Well, theres certainly some rhetoric that we are hearing about frustrations with the information that was let out, Boebert said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now I dont want this to become a false idol for Republicans and something that is going to distract us from the amazing progress that President Trump and his administration have been doing. And so Im saying, let there be a special counsel to actually get the information that Americans want. If thats something that ends up taking place in Congress, fine, but I think the American public is also tired of hearing that Congress is going to have a hearing, have an investigation, have a deposition, and really hold somebody accountable. Rep. Jordan says of Epstein files: I have confidence in the president The Justice Department and FBI last week said Epstein did not have a client list and confirmed he died by suicide. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who evaded questions about Epstein this week, suggested in February that an Epstein client list was on her desk. She later said she was referring to the overall case file. Trump has vocally backed Bondi in her handling of the situation, saying, She has done a really good job, and that credibility is very important. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Ohio, also responded, saying he fully supports AG Bondi. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boebert, though, isnt impressed with Bondis work. She points out, there is no defense of this Epstein rollout whatsoever. Im saying that I want more information to come out of this. Look, Im not trying to be combative here. I think were saying the same thing, she added. People are frustrated. We want to know if theres more information. I dont know exactly what Pam Bondi has seen or what she hasnt seen. Ive seen just as much thats been released from her as you have, so what Im saying is maybe someone else needs to take a look at this. Boebert, who is a close ally of Trump, said the special counsel would provide the heavy lifting, in the same way as going forward with a task force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Justice Department fires Maurene Comey, prosecutor on Epstein case and daughter of ex-FBI director So the attorney general has set up a Second Amendment task force to go after states with unconstitutional gun laws, Boebert said. Shes not handling everything directly herself every minute of the day. And so I think having a special counsel allows someone to actually put their full time and effort into this, so we can move on and get back to President Trumps amazing victories. Boebert acknowledged why the MAGA world is frustrated about Trumps demeanor. Its because they value transparency. This is something that we thought we could just open up phase one of a binder and get answers, and there hasnt been a phase two, Boebert said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But I do trust President Trump, I trust the process, and I trust Dan Bongino. He has always been someone that I can count on and rely on. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A son of Brazil's former president Jair Bolsonaro is working closely with the White House to impose sanctions on the Brazilian Supreme Court judge set to preside over Bolsonaro's upcoming trial, the Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing four people familiar with the situation. (Reporting by Jasper Ward) A bond review has been scheduled for a Moline woman accused of running a massage parlor in Bettendorf, according to Scott County Court arrest affidavits. Shuxia Cheng (Scott County Jail) Shuxia Cheng, 52, faces felony charges of pandering for prostitution, and pimping, Scott County Court records show. A felony charge of ongoing criminal conduct influence enterprise, was dismissed on July 3. Arrest affidavits show Chang was identified as operating/managing a spa location within the Bettendorf city limits. She also was listed as a manager for a spa in Johnson County, and was seen entering a massage spa in Kokomo, Indiana, with several women. Additionally, affidavits say that Cheng opened a new bank account in Kokomo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cheng profited from workers doing sex acts in exchange for United States currency under the guise of a massage parlor/spa, say affidavits, which show Cheng managed the location above which was being used to perform sex acts in exchange for money. Customers of the location admitted to receiving various forms of sex acts in exchange for money. Customers advised they paid with cash. Elite Massage, 1980 Spruce Hills Dr. Bettendorf (Bryan Bobb OurQuadCities.com) Surveillance was conducted on the businesses, and it revealed Cheng would transport workers to and from the location of the spa in her vehicle. She was found to have bank accounts associated to the spa in her name, according to affidavits. She was shown to be the primary tenant of a portion of the upper floor at the involved location (spa.) Detective observed various websites/ad postings that were listed for Elite Massage, and that the phone number listed on the ad is the same associated with Elite Massage on Google. During the execution of a search warrant, evidence was located inside that spa that indicates evidence of sexual activity occurring at the location, affidavits show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cheng was being held Thursday on a $250,000 cash-only bond in Scott County Jail. She is scheduled for a bond review Aug. 5 in Scott County Court. Elite Massage, 1980 Spruce Hills Dr. Bettendorf (Bryan Bobb OurQuadCities.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 WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. July 17 (UPI) -- Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are in San Francisco to inspect the former Alcatraz Island federal prison ahead of its potential reopening. A Fox News correspondent is accompanying Bondi as she and Burgum on Thursday tour the prison facility that closed in 1963 after the former military installation was converted into a federal prison in 1934. President Donald Trump has proposed reopening the facility, but the White House has not confirmed Bondi and Burgum are touring Alcatraz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is no indication regarding whether or not Bondi and Burgum will address media during their visit. An aircraft bearing the markings "United States of America" on its sides landed at an airport in the San Francisco Bay area on Wednesday night, the Independent reported. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are touring Alcatraz Island on Thursday as President Donald Trump weighs reopening it as a maximum-security federal prison. Photo by Annabelle Gordon/UPI Trump has called Alcatraz a "symbol of law and order" that formerly housed many of the nation's most dangerous criminals, including former gangsters Al Capone, Whitey Bulger, Bumpy Johnson and George Kelly Barnes, aka Machine GunKelly. Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has called Trump's idea to reopen Alcatraz as a maximum-security prison the president's "stupidest initiative yet." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The island has been a popular tourist destination since it closed and generates about $60 million per year in tourism revenue. The visit comes as Bondi faces scrutiny from within Republican ranks for initially saying she would release files regarding the death of former financier Jeffrey Epstein, who committed suicide while jailed in New York City in 2019. Epstein was a convicted sex offender who faced federal charges related to allegedly running a child sex enterprise. Instead of releasing the Epstein files, Bondi earlier this month released a memo saying Epstein committed suicide while in jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bondi's memo triggered a backlash from many Republicans and others, including FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino. Bongino has accused Bondi of mishandling the matter and missed several days of work last week after allegedly arguing with her during a high-level meeting. He resumed work on Monday. Amid the uproar, Trump urged Republicans to stop the infighting and move on from the Epstein case and its files, which he said don't matter. "Let Pam Bondi do her job -- she's great!" Trump said in a Truth Social post. Bondi on Tuesday said she had no intention of resigning as the nation's attorney general. "I'm going to be here for as long as the president wants me here," Bondi told media on Tuesday. Last Friday, a federal judge axed a Biden-era rule from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that would have prohibited consumer credit reporting agencies from including certain medical debts on consumer credit reports. Most Read from Fast Company The CFPB rule amended a Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulatory exception that allowed creditors to obtain and use information on medical debts. The rule had been finalized shortly before the Biden administration left office and was set to take effect on March 15. However, legal challenges delayed its start date. The rule prohibited creditors from considering medical information when determining credit eligibility and restricted credit reporting agencies from including certain types of medical debt information in consumer credit reports. Medical debt will stay on credit reports On July 11, 2025, U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan of the Eastern District Court in Texas reversed the Biden-era rule. In his opinion, Jordan, a Trump appointee, said that the court found that rule exceeded the CFPBs authority under the FCRA. The federal lawsuit was filed on January 7, the same day the Biden-era rule had been finalized. In the legal complaint, the Cornerstone Credit Union League and the Consumer Data Industry Association asserted that the rule violated the law and that only Congress had the authority to make such changes. The Trump-era CFPB, along with acting director Russell Vought, joined the lawsuit on April 30, with the agency asking the court to vacate the rule. In response to the ruling, Senate Democrats led by Raphael Warnock of Georgia wrote a letter to Vought asking for an explanation about the reversal. Medical debt collections information is often inaccurate, and studies show that it is not useful in determining a consumers ability to repay other debts, the senators wrote. Fast Company reached out to CFPB for comment. Court order impacts millions of Americans with medical debt CFPB research found that a medical bill on a credit report isnt a good indicator of a persons ability to repay a loan. Research also showed that medical debt on credit reports contributed to mortgage application denials for loans that consumers would have been able to afford. Sen. Jon Ossoff at a town hall in Cobb County this year. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder Georgias 2026 Republican primary wont be held until next May, but Sen. Jon Ossoff already knows who hell be running against: Donald Trump. Trump promised to attack a broken system. I get it: Ripe target, Ossoff told a campaign crowd last week in Savannah. But heres the thing: Hes a crook, and a con man. And he wants to be a king. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Way back in 2017, in his first congressional race, Ossoff failed to take on Trump directly and lost. It appears he wont make that mistake again. Our fight is against deeply entrenched corruption and greed, he told the crowd. Corruption and greed that have so deeply rotted our system that it gave rise to this depraved man who has now plagued our public life for a decade. Georgia Republicans seem equally avid to make Trump the central issue of the 2026 midterms. The handful of declared and undeclared candidates for the GOP Senate nomination are unanimous in expressing their bottomless, unconditional loyalty to Trump, as they have to be. Anything Trump wants, they want. If he wants something entirely different tomorrow, tomorrow they will want that too. And if they dont see Trump as our king, they certainly arent going to say so right out loud, where people might hear them. Its a mark of how far weve fallen that the act of saying Were Americans, and we dont like kings has become a partisan statement that half the candidates dare not utter for fear of angering their voters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even in state and local races, Trump and his policies are going to dominate the upcoming campaign season, in large part because of the passage of what Trump calls his big, beautiful bill. The scope and reach of that legislation are enormous, creating significant challenges for the Georgia economy and Georgias political leadership. For example, the $1 trillion in cuts that the bill makes in Medicaid will, in time, strip health insurance from hundreds of thousands of Georgians, many of them living in rural areas of the state where hospitals, doctors and other health care providers are already having a tough time hanging on. Private insurance is scarce in those areas, and if government isnt paying the health care bills, no one will and providers will disappear. And if Congress also refuses to extend health insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act by the end of the year, as seems likely, hundreds of thousands of additional Georgians will fall off the rolls of the insured, all to help finance major tax cuts for the wealthy. The state of Georgia, with an estimated $15 billion in reserves, could help soften that blow. However, a Republican state leadership that has long refused to expand Medicaid, making Georgia one of only 10 states that still do so, isnt likely to undergo some sudden change of heart to help less affluent constituents stay insured. That could become a major issue in next years campaign, from state legislative races to the competition for governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps big, beautiful bill also slashes support for electric vehicles and other renewable energy projects, with experts warning that it will raise utility bills in Georgia. Eventually, it will end up surrendering U.S. leadership in alternative energy development to China and other nations. If fully implemented, that could undo the legacy that Gov. Brian Kemp had been attempting to build. During his two terms as governor, Kemp has spent much of his time and energy trying to transform Georgia into what he calls the capitol of electricity-driven transportation, not just for the nation but for the world. As a result of Trumps legislation, however, a lot of those investments are not going to happen, and billion-dollar investments in battery plants and other infrastructure that are already in the ground here in Georgia, producing good-paying jobs, will have a much harder time staying afloat. (Trumps chaotic tariffs and trade policy could compound the economic impact on Georgia, a state heavily invested in the logistics industry.) Under another provision of that bill, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, is given an additional $75 billion, which will allow it to more than double the number of agents it can put on the streets, from the current 6,000 to 16,000. The clear intention of the Trump regime is to greatly accelerate the pace of immigration raids, with immense consequences for the carpet industries of north Georgia, the construction and service industries of metro Atlanta and the agriculture industry of south Georgia. As weve all witnessed, ICE has not exactly comported itself with reason, moderation or humanity in its mass deportation effort, and much of the Republican base is fine with that and wants even more. Its hard to exert discipline or restraint on an agency that operates behind masks, which means no agents can be held accountable for their excesses and mistakes. In fact, no federal law-enforcement agency has ever behaved in such fashion in our nations history. As Ossoff noted in his Savannah speech, Donald Trump wants the whole country to fear, and the president is getting his wish. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive heard it from people at every level, including people with power, people with status, people with resources, Ossoff said. They come to my office, and they tell me theyre afraid to say anything. Theyre afraid of retribution, investigation, destruction, vengeance from their own government. Thats not my America. Is it your America? SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE TALLAHASSEE, Florida The state Supreme Court on Thursday upheld Floridas congressional map delivering a win to Gov. Ron DeSantis, who pushed through the changes that helped Republicans flip and maintain the House majority. The Florida Supreme Courts ruling could be far-reaching; it suggests legislators can sidestep protections for minority voters adopted in 2010. But the legal battle may not end, as one of the groups involved in the litigation said the battle over the district is "far from over. The legal challenge centered around the dismantling of a north Florida congressional seat that had been held by then-Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat, and was initially put in place by the state Supreme Court 10 years ago. Lawson was elected in a district that stretched nearly 200 miles and connected Black neighborhoods from just outside Tallahassee to Jacksonville. Legislators, at the insistence of DeSantis, split the original district's Black voters into four districts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida's Supreme Court, which has been completely remade by DeSantis, concluded Lawsons old district is likely an illegal race-based gerrymander that violates equal protection rights under the U.S. Constitution, and that legislators had a superior obligation to follow federal law. That was the same logic used by DeSantis when he pressed lawmakers to scrap Lawsons district. There is no plausible, non-racial explanation for using a nearly two-hundred-mile-long land bridge to connect the black populations of Jacksonville and Tallahassee, wrote Chief Justice Carlos Muniz in the decision. Nor can the plaintiffs offer a plausible non-racial justification for the way the proposed remedial district carves up those cities. DeSantis, in a post on X, said that "this was always the constitutionally correct map and now both the federal courts and the FL Supreme Court have upheld it." Voting rights and civil rights groups who challenged the map, including Black Voters Matter and the League of Women Voters of Florida who were backed by the nonprofit affiliate of national Democrats redistricting committee called it a textbook violation of Floridas constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those groups cited the Fair Districts amendment, which said that districts could not be drawn in a way that diminish the ability of minorities to elect representatives of their choice. Other groups that pushed ahead with the legal challenge also blasted the decision. The Florida Supreme Courts refusal to enforce state law, allowing an unconstitutional map to remain in place, is alarming, said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the National Redistricting Foundation. The court is abandoning the most basic role of the judiciary: to provide justice for the people. This decision shamefully dismisses the fact that the states map actively diminishes the voting power of Black Floridians. "Make no mistake, the fight for fair maps in Florida is far from over, Jenkins added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Genesis Robinson, executive director of Equal Ground, called the ruling a dark day and said it was a direct attack on Black political power and a decision that will have ripple effects for generations. It cements an unjust political advantage and further erodes trust in our institutions. The state court fight is just one of several lawsuits filed against the congressional map. A panel of federal judges last year rejected a lawsuit that contended the map discriminated against Black voters. The court telegraphed it would likely uphold the congressional map when justices heard the case nearly a year ago. The ruling was approved by a 5-1 margin. Justice Charles Canady, whose wife is state Rep. and future Florida House Speaker Jennifer Canady, recused himself. Justice Jorge Labarga, appointed by then-Gov. Charlie Crist, dissented and argued the court should have remanded the case back to the trial court since the ruling contended that those who sued had the burden to show a district that followed both the federal and state constitutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Labarga called the decision consequential and said it lays the groundwork for future decisions that may render the non-diminishment clause practically ineffective, or worse, unenforceable as a matter of law. Florida picked up an extra seat in the last round of reapportionment, and state legislators initially planned to keep Lawsons seat largely intact. But DeSantis strongly objected; he ultimately vetoed a map that reconfigured Lawsons seat but still held strong advantages for minority voters preferred candidates. The map pushed by the governor ultimately resulted in Republicans picking up four seats across the state, helping the GOP narrowly win the House back in 2022. Circuit Judge J. Lee Marsh citing the initial state Supreme Court ruling that created Lawsons district ordered legislators in 2023 to redraw it. But in an unusual move, the entire 1st District Court of Appeal took up the case and overturned Marshs decision, contending they were not bound by the previous state Supreme Court ruling. The decision slowed down the legal battle and meant it was not resolved ahead of the 2024 elections. In its ruling, however, Carlos G. Muniz and the high court blasted the appeals court and said the lower court actions could have been resolved earlier. Even when a district court disagrees with a decision of this court, it is the lower courts duty to follow our precedent, Muniz wrote. In appropriate cases, the district court may pass upon and certify a question of great public importance for our review. We reject the First Districts contrary approach. BOONVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) After 89 days in the hospital and being taken off a ventilator not once but twice, one woman is opening up about her battle with GBS and how it gave her a brand new outlook on life. Lindsey Patton is 38, married and has two young children. But in April, her legs completely gave out. Its absolutely terrifying, Patton said. Like I had said earlier, its the only way that I could describe it is literally being locked inside of your own body. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Patton went to the hospital and was diagnosed with Guillain-Barre Syndrome, a condition where the immune system attacks the nerves resulting in Patton not being able to walk. It was kind of disheartening having to go through all of that because in the back of my mind, I was like, this is just my new normal, Patton said. This is the way its going to be now. Like, Im not going to be able to walk. Im not going to be able to go play with my kids. Im not going to be able to. I love horseback riding and kayaking. I was like, Im never going to do this stuff again. Patton says its amazing to walk on her own again after going from intensive care to outpatient therapy all after being on a ventilator twice. Shes emphasizing how her support system of her family and mother helped motivate her to get better including her seven-year-old son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He had seen me because I had started doing like transfers from my wheelchair to like to the bed or to the recliner or whatever, Patton said. I started doing that on me own and he was sitting in my bedroom with me that way and he said mom, he said, I just want to let you know youre making really good progress, and Im so proud of you. Patton is now reaching out wanting to connect others who are battling the same condition knowing first-hand how isolating it can be for the person fighting and the ones who are helping give care. Unless you have been through it as a patient or youve been through as a mother, watching your child go through it, I couldnt imagine watching my own kids go through it and have to I mean, its just really hard to understand unless youve been there, Patton 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 Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). By Daria Sito-Sucic SARAJEVO (Reuters) -Bosnia's peace envoy issued a ruling on Thursday to clear a long-standing state debt that has blocked the 2025 budget and deepened a political crisis, but Serb politicians rejected his move, raising the prospect of more turmoil. Envoy Christian Schmidt, using his powers to intervene in laws and finance, ruled that debt would be paid out of the autonomous Serb Republic's share of road tolls, and said his final decision would come into force immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Serb ministers - who argue the debt to Slovenia's Viaduct company should be paid out of the profits of Bosnia's national central bank - said Schmidt's imposition of a ruling undermined the fractured nation's complex balance of powers. The dispute underlined the challenges of governing a country - an EU candidate made up of the Bosniak-Croat Federation and the Serb Republic - under the fragile Dayton peace agreement that ended Bosnia's 1992-95 war. Schmidt has his powers under a separate accord, though the Serbs do not recognise his appointment. "Schmidt ... does not have the right to make decisions and everything he does is breaking Bosnia and Herzegovina down," Serb Republic President Milorad Dodik told a press conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This shows that European politics here has collapsed," added Dodik, a pro-Russian nationalist who wants the Serb Republic to secede from Bosnia. Dodik had accused the EU of backing Schmidt, a former German government minister. HYDRO-POWER DEBT The Serb Republic incurred the debt to Viaduct after it terminated a contract for the building of a hydro-power plant in 2013, said Zeljka Cvijanovic, a Serb member of Bosnia's presidency who was the Serb Republic premier at the time. The company took the regional government to arbitration through the Washington-based International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes, Schmidt said in his ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That body ruled in April 2022 that Bosnia as a whole should pay Viaduct nearly 80 million Bosnian marka ($47.4 million) - with interest fees taking it to its current level of about 120 million marka, Schmidt added. Bosniak and Croat members of the country's tripartite inter-ethnic presidency have refused to approve the 2025 state budget until it is clear how the debt will be paid. The stand-off is part of a broader political crisis that erupted after Dodik was sentenced in February to one year in jail and banned for six years from politics for defying Schmidt's decisions. He appealed against the court's ruling. On Thursday Schmidt ruled that 120 million marka from the Serb Republic's share of road tolls would be allocated to the Treasury to settle the Viaduct claim. "This approach is in line with a principle that one who incurs the debt must pay for it," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a separate ruling, he said that the central bank's profits could now be used to pay to upgrade voting systems ahead of general elections due in 2026. Serb Republic Prime Minister Radovan Viskovic said his government will ask Serb ministers in the national government to dispute Schmidt's decisions. (Reporting by Daria Sito-Sucic; Editing by Andrew Heavens) A 10-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of criminal damage and causing danger to drivers. The arrest came as part of an undercover operation prompted by reports of "nuisance behaviour" targeting buses and cars in the Hemlington area of Middlesbrough. Officers from Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Policing Team travelled undercover on buses, which lead to the arrest of the boy on suspicion of four counts of criminal damage and three counts of causing danger to road users. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cleveland Police said he has been referred to the Youth Offending Team. A 14-year-old boy was also identified and dealt with for separate offences, police confirmed. A further ten young people were also identified via Middlesbrough Council's antisocial behaviour processes. 'Blight lives' Councillor Ian Blades, executive member for neighbourhoods, has urged parents to take responsibility. He said: "Children not even in their teens shouldn't be involved in any form of antisocial behaviour, let alone the sort of reckless acts that put lives at risk. "Above all I would appeal to parents you are responsible for the behaviour of your children, and you owe it to them to prevent them embarking on a course of action that could all too easily blight the rest of their lives." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The council said home visits have been conducted and diversionary activity referrals undertaken with the identified group. Des Horton, from Middlesbrough Neighbourhood Policing Team, urged anyone with any information to get in touch with Cleveland Police. Follow BBC Tees on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Related internet links DANVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) With the forecast calling for heavy rain and potential flash flooding, county leaders and residents are preparing just in case. Tom Ellis is the Boyle County magistrate of District 1, meaning this county is his home. Like other residents, his eyes are on the forecast, where flash flooding cant be ruled out. Ellis said hes ready for anything. Latest central Kentucky weather forecast Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My wife and I try to do exactly what our emergency service folks tell us needs to be done. That includes clearing out a closet on our first level, and worst case, going outside of our 200-year-old home and going underneath in the cellar, which we would be, I think, totally protected. Were ready, Ellis said. Speaking of rain, Ellis said the county has been a bit dry, and some rain would actually be good for the acres of farmland here. The keyword being some. I had just that morning spoke with one of our major businesses that supplies farms, and he said at this point, were in something of a pre-drought, Ellis said. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even so, the hope is that the rain isnt heavy enough to flood roadways or farmland, especially after what the state has already been through. I just hope it doesnt all come at once. In the soil that we have now that has hardened, it could run off before it has the chance to soak in. Most of our farmers in Boyle County are fortunate enough to be either on old wells with sophisticated equipment attached to those wells or are near one of our many creeks throughout the county, Ellis 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 56 News. HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) A federal funding freeze could put the mission of the Boys and Girls Club of Greater High Point at risk. Its a startling announcement that came in the form of an email. Boys and Girls Club of Greater High Point CEO Dr. William Gibson said he was informed by 21st Century Community Learning Centers that the Trump administration had paused Title 4 federal funding for after-school and summer programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its probably going to be closer to $750,000 in this fiscal year, Gibson said. Gibson said the club, which is located off Barker Avenue, is much more than just an afterschool or summer camp program. They provide physical activities, a video game space for teens to escape, free meals and tutoring for hundreds of students in Guilford County. The education wrap-around programing that we provide are pretty essential to making sure that our students are getting the support that they need, Gibson said. Its this kind of Support that Dedra Boyd said her daughter depends on. She started off reading at a lower level, and now shes making As and Bs currently I like how the teachers engage with the students and allow them to express themselves, Boyd said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With federal funding in limbo, Gibson said they may have to rely on the community for donations. Unfortunately, they could face layoffs. When we got this information last Monday, that put us in another situation when we might have to look at staff layoffs. Were hoping thats not going to be the case When our budget is $3 million, and we have a $750,000 deficit, that puts us in a really difficult situation, Gibson said. Gibson said the deadline for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater High Point to receive federal funds before potential layoffs is Oct. 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) The Trump administrations plans to freeze more than $6 billion in federal education funding could impact after-school programs in Georgia and South Carolina. The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta is one organization feeling the impacts of the frozen funding with the first day of school just a few weeks away. On June 30th, the Federal Department of Education informed state agencies that 21st Century Community Learning Center funds would not be distributed on July 1st as scheduled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta has been receiving around $3 million per year which supports 7 of the clubs locations. This money helped to pay for the after-school clubs, teachers, summer camp and more. We have an 8.6-million-dollar budget and of the 8.6, 3 million comes from 21st century, thats a really large number, its a lot of people and a lot of kids that are served. says Kim Evans, President and CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta. Its tough to hear that our government would pull funding like that that supports underserved communities. She says depending on how long the freeze lasts, it will be all hands on deck from the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we want to see these programs stick around and continue to serve our communities then I think Augusta is going to have to figure out how to take care of its own. If I had an organization like Boys & Girls Clubs I dont know what I would have been able to do with myself, the possibilities would have been endless had I had this kind of opportunity, said Evans Evans says after-school care is important for not only kids but for parents to know that they have a safe place to take their child while they are working. We make sure that kids are staying on track academically after school. We make sure that they know all of the different career pathways and things like that that they would otherwise not be introduced to had they not come to a Boys & Girls Club, Evans said. Evan tells me they are taking day by day right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are three weeks away from school starting so I am probably 4 or 5 days away from having to make a decision about whether or not clubs are going to be open, Ive got to figure out what were going to do, said Evans. This week more than 20 states filed a federal lawsuit to prevent that funding freeze. If you wish to donate or help the Boys & Girls Clubs you can find the link here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. Janet Williams, CEO of Minds Matter, at a Kansas Advocates for Better Care event on caring for older Kansans on Nov. 12, 2024, at the Baker Wetlands Discovery Center in Lawrence. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) TOPEKA Verenice Cartagena told Kansas legislators she suffered a string of brain injuries beginning at 5 years old that culminated in a stroke in her 40s, which led to a cascade of physical and mental health challenges, including aphasia and trouble communicating. Now 52, she said the Medicaid brain injury waiver program played a role in her recovery, but that waiver and two others are at risk of becoming unavailable to those with immediate needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advocates and providers warned legislators at a Tuesday hearing in Topeka that the waivers could soon see waitlists and delays in providing necessary care because of insufficient funding after the legislative budget failed to allocate millions to maintain the three waivers. Cartagena and four other people whose lives have been impacted by traumatic brain injuries retold stories of car accidents, injuries and lengthy recoveries. Each had help from Minds Matter, an organization that allows people with brain injuries to receive care in an independent living setting, made possible by the Medicaid brain injury waiver. Most of it was the support of people being there for me, Cartagena said. Whenever I get stuck on doing things on my own, I need that support of somebody that I can reach out to for help. In the past, I didnt have anybody. She didnt know who to contact to help fill out paperwork or help her comprehend things she struggles with because of her brain injury, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Minds Matter helped her access Supplemental Security Income benefits, housing and mental health services as soon as she needed them under the brain injury waiver. Cartagena is one of 1,218 people using a brain injury waiver, which focuses on rehabilitation and recovery. More than 850 people are using the technology assistance waiver, which helps with services for medically fragile or chronically ill people who are low-income, 21 years old or younger and dependent on a ventilator or medical device. And around 8,530 people use the frail elderly waiver, which assists people who are in crisis and in direct need of medical help. Waivers override certain Medicaid rules so that people with disabilities, chronic illness or injury can receive care at home instead of in a care facility. States choose which waiver programs to implement. Kansas has seven, and nearly 30,000 Kansans use them. The state is in the process of adding an eighth. Janet Williams, founder and CEO of Minds Matter, said people use a brain injury waiver for four years on average. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the fear today is this is the first time the brain injury, the (frail elderly) and the (technology assisted) are looking at waiting lists, she told the legislative committee that oversees the states Medicaid program, KanCare. Tuesday wasnt the first time advocates feared a waitlist. Enrollment in the brain injury waiver program has more than doubled in the past seven years because of expanded eligibility, and Williams told Kansas Reflector in 2023 that she feared a system backlog, which could lead to a waitlist. At that time, 957 people were using brain injury waivers. The waivers for brain injuries, technology assistance and frail elderly have existed without waitlists since inception, unlike other disability waivers, such as the intellectual and developmental disability waiver, which had a waitlist of 5,300 people in 2024 before the Legislature capped it at 4,800. Currently, 4,791 people are on its waiting list. Sean Gatewood, co-administrator of the KanCare Advocates Network, said the risk of waitlists stems from an aging population and lack of funding from the most recent legislative session. The nature of the session was different in pace and process, he said. The Legislature crafted its budget instead of adhering to the customary process of revising a budget proposed by the governor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services requested that the Legislature approve funding and additional slots for the waivers. That funding did not make it through the process, and right now KDADS is preparing to have a waitlist if that is to come about, Gatewood said. In this fiscal year, which began July 1, the frail elderly waiver is down $11.8 million in state funds, and the brain injury waiver is down $2.8 million. Next fiscal year, the frail elderly waiver is expected to be $28.7 million in the red, with the brain injury waiver $6.6 million and the technology assistance waiver $3 million short. Michele Heydon, the commissioner for long-term services and supports for KDADS, said state agencies and KanCare providers have begun meetings to brainstorm strategies to prevent or lessen future waitlists for the three waivers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under a new law, state agencies cannot make changes to federal programs without the approval of the Legislative Coordinating Council, which consists of legislative leadership. Heydon noted in her presentation that she intends to ask for approval from the council to submit requests to the federal government to create three waitlists for the waivers. Advocates asked the committee members to consider supporting budget increases for the waiver programs, and some appeared receptive to the request. BRANDON, Miss. (WJTV) Brandon police announced a man was arrested in connection to a fatal shooting at a block party. Brandon Police Chief Joseph French said Ryan Mosley, 31, was arrested in connection to the June 21 shooting death of Roshad Collier, 29, on Mary Myles Drive. Man dies after being shot at Brandon block party Mosley was charged with first-degree murder and felon in possession of a firearm. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Rankin County Jail, where his bond has been set at $1 million, pending a hearing in Brandon Municipal Court. Ryan Mosley (Courtesy: Brandon Police Dept.) According to police, two male victims were shot during the block party. They were both transported by a private vehicle to Merit Health Rankin for treatment of gunshot wounds. One of the victims, Collier, later died from his injuries. French said the second victim treated for gunshot wounds was Mosley, who was arrested upon his release from medical care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with additional information can contact the Criminal Investigations Division at 601-825-7225. 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. Dakota, a crypto-integrated banking platform for businesses, has raised $12.5 million in a Series A round to expand its borderless banking services, the firm said on Tuesday. The investment was led by CoinFund, with participation from 6th Man Ventures and Triton Ventures. The announcement comes at a time when stablecoins, or cryptocurrencies tied to an external asset, predominantly to the U.S. dollar, are increasingly becoming part of traditional finance plumbing and a tool for cheaper, faster cross-border payments. Stablecoin regulation is also advancing in the U.S., with the Senate already having passed the GENIUS Act and the House aiming to vote on the proposal on Thursday. "We believe stablecoins can revolutionize business banking," Alex Felix, CIO of CoinFund, said in a statement. "Dakota is unlocking that potential by combining the familiarity of a bank account with the power of crypto rails." The startup, founded by alumni of Coinbase, Square, and Airbnb, lets businesses hold and move funds in U.S. dollars or stablecoins while using traditional payment networks like ACH, SWIFT and SEPA. Businesses can send or receive payments via regular bank accounts on the platform without touching crypto directly. Behind the scenes, it uses blockchain to settle transfers nearly instantly, offering an alternative to conventional banking. The firm keeps customer deposits fully reserved and backed 1:1 by short-term U.S. Treasuries, aiming to eliminate liquidity and counterparty risks. With the funding, the firm is now expanding its services to over 100 countries, including the UK, European Union, Singapore and parts of Latin America. "Business today is borderless, and dollars are a universal language," said Dakota CEO Ryan Bozarth. "We want to give entrepreneurs from Bogota to Bangalore the same access to U.S. dollar banking that a startup in San Francisco would have." Read more: House Gears Up for Crypto Market Structure Vote on Wednesday, Stablecoins Thursday The above video aired July 11, 2024. NEW HAVEN, Conn. (WTNH) A Branford man was arrested on July 2 after an investigation into a July 2024 hit-and-run that killed a man in New Haven, police said. Shawn Hopkinson, 41, is facing numerous charges after the fatal crash. Investigation revealed that on July 10, 2024, at 4:54 a.m., officers responded to a two-car collision at the intersection of College Street and South Frontage Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Haven hit-and-run kills father of 2 Video footage showed a Hyundai Ascent traveling on College Street from MLK Boulevard before a Toyota Supra traveled through a red light and collided with the passenger side of the Hyundai. The driver of the Hyundai Nader Elias Hanania, 64, suffered life-threatening injuries and later died at the hospital. The operator of the Toyota, since identified as Hopkinson, fled the scene. Fatal crash closes several roads in New Haven on July 10, 2024. Fatal crash closes several roads in New Haven on July 10, 2024. Fatal crash closes several roads in New Haven on July 10, 2024. Hopkinson was charged with the following: First-degree manslaughter First-degree reckless endangerment Reckless driving Operating a motor vehicle under license suspension Illegal racing on the highway Evading responsibility resulting in injury/death Operating an unregistered motor vehicle Operating a motor vehicle without minimum insurance Violation of traffic control signals Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was held on $500,000 bond. New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker, police officials and Hananias family will speak on the investigation during a press conference on Thursday at 11:30 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 WTNH.com. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has hit back at Donald Trumps tariff threats, saying that his American counterpart was elected as the leader of the United States and not to be the emperor of the world. Last week, Trump threatened Brazil with crippling tariffs of 50% starting August 1, according to a letter posted to his social media platform, Truth Social. In the letter, Trump linked the astronomical tariff threat to what he described as a witch hunt trial against Brazils right-wing former president, Jair Bolsonaro. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bolsonaro, a close Trump ally, is facing trial in Brazil for allegedly attempting to overthrow Lula following his presidential win in 2022. He could face more than four decades behind bars if found guilty of masterminding the coup. Speaking exclusively to CNNs Christiane Amanpour on Thursday, da Silva, who is widely known as Lula, said that Trumps threats had broken away from protocol and argued that his predecessors fate cannot be part of trade negotiations. The judiciary branch of power in Brazil is independent. The president of the Republic has no influence whatsoever, he said, adding that Bolsonaro is not being judged personally. He is being judged by the acts he tried to organize a coup detat. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Friday, Trump posted a letter to Bolsonaro on Truth Social, in which he suggested the former Brazilian leader was the victim of an unjust system and saying that he would be watching closely. Lula said Trump would be standing trial in Brazil if the actions he took during the January 6 insurrection had been committed in the South American country. If Trump was Brazilian and if he did what happened at Capitol Hill, hed also be on trial in Brazil. And possibly he would have violated the Constitution. According to justice, he would also be arrested if he had done that here in Brazil, he said. Brazilian President Lula da Silva speaks with CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Thursday. - CNN I thought it was fake news Speaking through an interpreter, Lula also expressed disappointment at Trumps approach, saying at first that he couldnt believe the US presidents social media post was authentic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was very unpleasant, he told Amanpour. I thought it was fake news. Brazil has now vowed reciprocal tariffs if Trump follows through with his threat, marking the first time in months another country has challenged Trump in the face of tariffs. Brazil is to take care of Brazil and take care of the Brazilian people, and not to take care of the interests of the others, Lula said, adding: Brazil will not accept anything imposed on it. We accept negotiation and not imposition. Unlike the more than 20 other countries that have received letters from Trump this month, the US ran a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That means that the US exported more goods to Brazil than it imported from there an imbalance that should already satisfy Trumps trade agenda. Top US exports to Brazil in 2024 included aircraft and spacecraft, fuels, industrial machinery like nuclear reactors, and electrical equipment, according to US Census Bureau data. A retaliatory 50% Brazilian tariff on American goods could severely harm these industries. Still open to negotiation Still, Lula underscored his willingness to come to an agreement with Washington on Thursday, saying that it is up to Trump to seriously consider negotiation and that he hopes the US president will change his mind. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im not a progressive president. I am the president of Brazil. I dont see President Trump as a far-right president. I see him as the president of the US he was elected by the American people, the former labor organizer told Amanpour, dismissing the possibility that their ideological backgrounds could embitter negotiations. The best thing in the world is for us to sit around a table and talk, he added. If President Trump is willing to take seriously the negotiations underway between Brazil and the US, then Ill be open minded to negotiate whatever may be necessary. But what is important is that the relationship between the two countries cannot go on like this, he said. Meanwhile on Tuesday, the US launched an investigation into what it called unfair trading practices by Brazil, escalating the spat with the worlds 10th largest economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation will focus on digital trade and electronic payment services, preferential tariffs, and anti-corruption interference, as well as intellectual property protection, to determine whether there are unreasonable or discriminatory and burden or restrict American commerce, according to a statement by the United States Trade Representative (USTR). It will also look into ethanol market access and illegal deforestation. CNNs Elisabeth Buchwald, Lily Farrant and Ana Bickford contributed reporting. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) A bill to overhaul environmental regulations in Brazil was passed by the country's lower house Thursday, drawing criticism by the environmental minister who floated the possibility of a presidential veto. With the bill already passed by the Senate in May, it now goes to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who casts himself as an environmental defender and later this year will preside over the first U.N. climate talks, known as COP30, to take place in the Amazon. Lula can sanction the project, veto it in its entirety or veto only certain aspects. Lula has not publicly comment on what action he might take. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If signed by Lula, the sweeping legislation will weaken federal agencies environmental licensing powers. Among other measures, it speeds up review for projects deemed priorities by the federal government, reducing the approval process from three bureaucratic steps to one. It also eliminates reviews for upgrades to existing highways, which could clear the way for to pave the whole of a highway that runs about 900 kilometers (560 miles) through the western part of the Amazon. Environmentalists argue that the project will lead to mass clearing of a pristine area of rainforest. The bills approval is a victory for supporters who argued Brazils current regulations needs to be simplified, but a blow for environmental experts and green activists, who refer to it as the devastation bill. The bill passed with a strong majority, 267 votes to 116. After the bill passed, Environment Minister Marina Silva told local press that the bill undermined environmental legislation and that the federal government would still seek alternatives, including the possibility of a presidential veto. A campaign in the lead up to the vote said the bill could lead to a regression in pollution control - risking health issues - increase water contamination and scarcity, increase deforestation and undermine protected areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the heart of concerns is the proposal to install a self-declaration process for environmental licensing, which Suely Araujo, the public policy coordinator at the Climate Observatory network of NGOs, said would cover around 90% of total projects in Brazil. Companies would file a description online, press a button, and the license will be issued, she said, calling the proposal by far the worst piece of legislation ever from an environmental standpoint. Last week, more than 300 nonprofits, including Greenpeace and WWF Brazil, signed a petition expressing their deep concern regarding the bill which they say, represents a huge institutional setback for Brazil and the collapse of over 40 years of development of national environmental legislation. ___ Gabriela Sa Pessoa contributed from Sao Paulo. Follow APs coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Thursday said he would not take orders over tariffs from a foreigner, referring to U.S. President Donald Trump, and later called the United States' threatened duty "unacceptable blackmail." The comments, made during two separate events, mark a continuation of a spat between the two leaders that escalated when the U.S. announced a 50% tariff on Brazil last week. Trump attributed the tariff, set to start in August, to Brazil's treatment of former President Jair Bolsonaro and to trade practices against U.S. companies that he said are unfair. The tariff announcement came days after Lula called Trump an "emperor" the world does not want. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lula and members of his cabinet have rejected the reasoning behind the tariffs and insisted on Brazil's sovereignty, while calling for trade negotiations with the United States. "No foreigner is going to give orders to this president," Lula said in a speech, using the slang word 'gringo', which in Brazil is a common term for foreigners without the pejorative sense it carries in other parts of Latin America. He added that Brazil would go ahead with regulation and taxation of U.S. tech firms, telling a gathering of leftist student activists in the state of Goias that tech firms are conduits of violence and fake news disguised as freedom of expression. Later on Thursday, during an evening TV and radio address to the nation, Lula said the defense of Brazil's sovereignty extends to protecting itself against the actions of foreign digital platforms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the near five-minute address, Lula said Brazil has been negotiating with the U.S. over tariffs, and repeated that the Latin America country had sent a proposal in May. "We expected a response, and what we received was unacceptable blackmail, in the form of threats to Brazilian institutions and false information about trade between Brazil and the United States," Lula said. Brasilia has been holding discussions with industry groups and companies that will be affected by the U.S. tariff, while also readying potential retaliatory measures if talks fall through. Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira told CNN Brasil separately on Thursday that Lula was open to talks with Trump, who had not yet met each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If the circumstances are given, they will speak," he added. Lula, who is in his third non-consecutive term as president of Latin America's largest economy, saw his approval ratings start to rebound after the trade spat with Trump last week. (Reporting by Andre Romani, Fabricio de Castro, Gabriel Araujo and Isabel Teles in Sao Paulo and Bernardo Caram in Brasilia; Editing by Brad Haynes and Christopher Cushing) Brazil's highest court is no longer acting like an independent arbiter of justice. In recent years, the Supreme Federal Court has transformed into an overtly political actorcensoring dissent, banning platforms, and prosecuting opposition figures, all while consolidating power beyond its constitutional role. Although the 1988 Brazilian Constitution mandates a separation of powers, recent years have seen the judiciary, particularly the Supreme Federal Court, assert growing dominance over the political process. The court is comprised of 11 appointed justices who serve until the required retirement age of 75. Most were nominated by administrations aligned with the Workers' Party, the left-wing populist party led by current Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, known as Lula. The court's decisions have increasingly reflected its ideological leanings, especially in cases targeting dissent. Justice Alexandre de Moraes has become the face of this shift. In 2019, the court launched the so-called fake news inquiry, a secretive investigation targeting its criticsincluding journalists, opposition politicians, and ordinary citizenson social media. Since then, Moraes has ordered press censorship, account suspensions, and even platform-wide bans. Ahead of Brazil's 2024 elections, he ordered the country's internet providers to block access to X, arguing that the platform could influence the election outcome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frustrated by Congress' refusal to pass legislation regulating social media, the court recently reinterpreted the 2014 Marco Civil da Internet (the "Civil Rights Framework for the Internet")Brazil's foundational internet rights law. Under the new interpretation, platforms can be "held civilly liable for damages caused by content published by third parties." In other words, if a platform fails to delete user content quickly enough, it could be punished. What Moraes had been doing unilaterally now has institutional backing. One of the inquiry's targets, journalist Allan dos Santos, moved to the U.S. after having his accounts blocked, his preventive detention ordered, and his extradition requested by the court. Moraes later demanded that the platform Rumble block his account, along with those of other Brazilians with U.S. citizenship. Rumble refused, arguing that it has no headquarters in Brazil and that the users in question do not reside in the country. In response, Moraes ordered a nationwide ban on Rumble in Brazil. This was the third time an entire platform was taken offline, after X and Telegram. During the 2022 elections, the judiciary played a decisive role in the race between Lula and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The Superior Electoral Court dictated what could and could not be said about Lula, and news outlets were prohibited from reporting certain facts or expressing certain critical opinions. Articles about his ties to Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega were taken down, and journalists were instructed to avoid using terms that recalled his past convictions. Far from acting as a neutral referee, the judiciary took an active role in defending one side of the contest. On January 8, 2023, thousands of protesters went to Brasilia to demonstrate against Lula's presidency, with some allegedly storming government buildings in the process. Over 1,400 people were arrested, including some who didn't participate in the protest or remained peaceful throughout. Many remain imprisoned without due process, and dozens have already been sentenced to up to 17 years in prison for an attempted coup. Among those sentenced are street vendors, homeless people, and a woman who wrote on a statue with lipstick. The most tragic case was the death of businessman Cleriston Pereira da Cunha, known as Clezao, in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The real target of the Court's actions is Bolsonaro, the main opposition figure to Lula. He and dozens of allies, including former ministers and military officers, are being prosecuted for attempting a coup. Yet Bolsonaro was not even in Brazil on January 8. Before leaving office, he acknowledged the transition by appointing the military commanders suggested by Lula's team. Nevertheless, the Supreme Federal Court continues to push the events as an organized conspiracy. These judicial abuses are no longer going unnoticed abroad. On July 9, President Donald Trump announced 50 percent tariffs on all Brazilian exports to the United Statesnot as another protectionist play in his trade war, but as a form of political punishment. In a letter posted to Truth Social, Trump claimed the treatment of Bolsonaro is an "international disgrace" and "a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY." Trump's announcement followed weeks of messages supporting Bolsonaro and denouncing Brazil's Supreme Federal Court. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke of possible sanctions against Brazilian authorities involved in the repression of free speech. Soon after, the tariffs were imposed. The response cuts both ways. American manufacturers who rely on Brazilian imports are now squeezed, while Brazilian exporters are losing access to their second-largest trading partner. But the deeper issue lies in what the tariffs expose: a judiciary behaving as if it's above constitutional restraint. That illusion holds only until its overreach begins to affect foreign interests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brazil's institutions are unraveling. When a trade partner responds not to perceived market imbalances but to judicial censorship, persecution of political opponents, and control of public debate, the problem is no longer domesticit's international. Freedom of expression is the bedrock of democracy. Open trade needs to be restored, but just as importantly, Brazil's democratic institutions need to be restored, too. The post Brazil's Rogue Court Is Receiving Global Blowback appeared first on Reason.com. Puerto Ricos Republican Gov. Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon signed into law Wednesday a far-reaching ban on gender-affirming medical care for transgender people under 21, enacting one of the harshest measures of its kind in the United States and its territories and prompting swift condemnation from medical experts and LGBTQ+ advocates. The law received the governors approval late in the day, according to the Associated Press. The law, Senate Bill 350, prohibits the use of puberty blockers, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries for anyone under 21, threatening doctors and other health professionals with up to 15 years in prison, a $50,000 fine, and the permanent loss of their licenses and permits. Public funds are also barred from being used for such care. In recent days, the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Association of Psychology, the College of Social Work Professionals, the Puerto Rican Association of Professional Counseling, and the Bar Association, among other organizations, had urged that the bill be vetoed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Advocate previously reported that Gonzalez-Colon had asked for amendments to protect access to puberty blockers and allow minors already undergoing treatment to continue care, but lawmakers did not adopt those changes. Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Skrmetti that a Tennessee ban on gender-affirming care for minors could be enacted, which allowed other states and territories to continue to ban such care. What a disgrace! Jenniffer Gonzalez, through her actions, declares herself the most anti-equality governor in history. She ignored her own Secretary of Health and the medical associations that support treatment for trans minors. By signing Senate Bill 350 into law, she has just endangered trans youth and their families and criminalized health professionals for doing their job, Pedro Julio Serrano, president of the Puerto Rico LGBTQ+ Federation, said in a statement to The Advocate. GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis also criticized the new law. Everyone deserves to live free from discrimination and with access to essential health care supported by every major medical association, she said. Banning this care and stripping the rights of parents to make the best medical decisions for their families creates unbearable burdens for the most marginalized in Puerto Rico. Harvard Law Instructor Alejandra Caraballo reacted to the laws signing on Bluesky. A twenty-year-old trans person can go drink themselves to death but cant legally get hormones, she wrote, noting that the drinking age in Puerto Rico is 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Federation, a coalition representing hundreds of individuals and more than 100 organizations, said it would pursue legal action against the new law. Editor's note: This story has been updated with a statement from GLAAD President and CEO Sarah Kate Ellis. This article originally appeared on Advocate: Breaking: Puerto Rico's governor just signed one of the harshest gender-affirming care laws yet BREAKING: Senate Democrats walk out of a confirmation hearing for Trump's federal judge pick Emil Bove. Senator Corey Booker expressed anger towards Chairman Chuck Grassley for not allowing additional time for debate concerning reports of Bove's conduct as a senior Justice Department official. According to a DOJ whistleblower, Bove told subordinates at the Justice Department that they would need to consider ignoring court orders the day before the administration carried out deportations under t Editor's note: A previous version of this article stated Stefanishyna had been appointed US ambassador. This process is in fact still ongoing and she will have the role of special envoy until it is approved. Ukraine has appointed Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna as its new special envoy to the U.S., President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 17. "In this status, Olha will work to maintain momentum in relations with America while all the necessary procedures for approving her candidacy for the position of Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States with Washington are ongoing," Zelensky said in a post on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stefanishyna's appointment comes at a critical moment in U.S.-Ukraine relations, with U.S. President Donald Trump warning that the U.S. will impose "severe tariffs" on Russia unless it agrees to a peace deal within 50 days. Stefanishyna, a seasoned diplomat and expert in European and Euro-Atlantic integration, has held top government roles since 2020. She currently serves as Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration and briefly held the post of Justice Minister in 2024. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also confirmed on July 8 that Ukraine would soon rotate its current ambassador in Washington Oksana Markarova "one of our most successful ambassadors" but noting that all diplomats eventually undergo a rotation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said around 20 new appointments are expected as part of President Volodymyr Zelensky's strategy to strengthen diplomatic representation in key countries, particularly G7 and G20 members. Elsewhere on July 17, the Ukrainian parliament voted on July 17 to confirm Yuliia Svyrydenko as the new prime minister in a major cabinet shake-up. Svyrydenko, a 39-year-old economist who previously served as the first deputy prime minister and economy minister, was tapped by President Volodymyr Zelensky to replace Denys Shmyhal after his five years in office. Read also: How would that even work? experts pour scorn on Trumps severe Russian tariffs plan Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Ukrainian parliament voted on July 17 to confirm Yuliia Svyrydenko as the new prime minister and her government in a major cabinet shake-up. Svyrydenko, a 39-year-old economist who previously served as the first deputy prime minister and economy minister, was tapped by President Volodymyr Zelensky to replace Denys Shmyhal after his five years in office. The new prime minister was confirmed with the support of 262 votes, with 22 voting against her and 26 abstaining. The composition of the new government was separately approved with 254 lawmakers voting in support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our government sets its course toward a Ukraine that stands firm on its own foundations military, economic, and social," Svyrydenko said in a post on social media. "My key goal is real, positive results that every Ukrainian will feel in daily life." It is a great honor for me to lead the Government of Ukraine today. Our Government sets its course toward a Ukraine that stands firm on its own foundations military, economic, and social. My key goal is real, positive results that every Ukrainian will feel in daily life. War pic.twitter.com/oytWMCp1S3 Yulia Svyrydenko (@Svyrydenko_Y) July 17, 2025 Zelensky revealed his nominees for the new government on July 16 after the legislature formally dissolved Shmyhal's cabinet. The reshuffle takes place as Ukraine continues to resist Russia's full-scale invasion while seeking to navigate a transforming relationship with its key international supporter, the United States. Shmyhal was confirmed as defense minister on the same day, with 267 lawmakers voting in favor. He replaces Rustem Umerov, who may be tapped to lead the country's National Security and Defense Council, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his address to parliament, Shmyhal pledged to ensure Ukrainian forces are fully equipped and to strengthen international cooperation. He also promised to audit all existing defense agreements with foreign partners. Speaking to the parliament ahead of the vote, Zelensky thanked Shmyhal for his service and noted that a new approach to diplomatic relations with Washington is needed in light of upcoming bilateral agreements. The president also said the government should audit all agreements with Ukraine's military supporters and prepare a new level of defense assistance, according to lawmaker Yaroslav Zhelezniak. "In order to fully implement all this, I am introducing Svyrydenko and the government. Thank you all," Zelensky said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elsewhere, Ukraine appointed Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna as its new special envoy to the U.S., Zelensky said on July 17. "In this status, Olha will work to maintain momentum in relations with America while all the necessary procedures for approving her candidacy for the position of Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States with Washington are ongoing," Zelensky said in a post on social media. Stefanishyna's appointment comes at a critical moment in U.S.-Ukraine relations, with U.S. President Donald Trump warning that the U.S. will impose "severe tariffs" on Russia unless it agrees to a peace deal within 50 days. Read also: France, Italy reportedly opt out of US-NATO arms deal for Ukraine Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Outgoing Strategic Industries Minister Herman Smetanin will take over as head of Ukroboronprom, Ukraine's largest state-owned defense manufacturer, Zelensky previously said. The Strategic Industries Ministry will be dissolved, with its responsibilities transferred to the Defense Ministry. Deputy Prime Minister and Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov will become the first deputy prime minister in the incoming government, according to a document listing Svyrydenko's appointments obtained by the Kyiv Independent. Oleksii Kuleba retains his post as the deputy prime minister and minister for communities and territories. The Economy, Ecology, and Agriculture ministries will be merged into a single agency led by Oleksii Sobolev, previously Svyrydenko's deputy at the Economy Ministry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Taras Kachka, another of Svyrydenko's deputies, will replace Stefanishyna as deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration. The Social Policy Ministry will be renamed the Ministry for Social Policy, Family, and Unity, and Denys Uliutin, the first deputy finance minister, will lead it. Svitlana Hrynchuk, the ecology minister, will become energy minister, replacing Herman Halushchenko, who will move to the Justice Ministry. Halushchenko had faced criticism in parliament earlier this year, with lawmakers citing alleged corruption and mismanagement in the energy sector. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko, Veterans Affairs Minister Nataliia Kalmykova, Education Minister Oksen Lisovyi, Health Minister Viktor Liashko, and Youth and Sports Minister Matvii Bidnyi are to retain their posts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sybiha was reappointed with 271 lawmakers voting in favor. Under Ukraine's semi-presidential system, the president nominates the prime minister, defense and foreign ministers, who must be approved by parliament. The prime minister proposes other ministerial candidates, who also require confirmation by the legislature, which is currently dominated by Zelensky's Servant of the People party. Read also: Ukraines new ground drones are hitting the battlefield in ever-increasing numbers Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A memorial for Breonna Taylor in downtown Louisville in 2020. (Photo by Sarah Ladd) Lawyers for Breonna Taylors family say the United States Department of Justice recommendation that former Louisville police officer Brett Hankison be sentenced to one day in jail is an insult. In a Wednesday court filing in the Western District of Kentucky, the Justice Department said Hankison should receive time served credit for the day he was booked and made his initial appearance before the court in this case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hankison was part of a team who came to Taylors apartment in 2020 with a no-knock search warrant. Police were investigating a former boyfriend of Taylors who lived at a different address. Taylor, an unarmed Black woman, and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were in bed when police broke into the apartment. Walker fired at what he thought were intruders breaking into the residence, striking Sgt. Jonathan Mattingly in his thigh. Mattingly initially sued Walker but dropped the case voluntarily in 2023. Hankison and two other officers fired their guns a total of 32 times. Hankison fired from outside the apartment through a covered sliding glass door and window, hitting a neighbors apartment. It was later determined that officer Myles Cosgrove fired the shot that killed Taylor, whose death led to massive protests in Louisville and beyond. Former Detective Joshua Jaynes and Sergeant Kyle Meany, 35, were also charged with federal civil rights and obstruction offenses. The Justice Department said they falsified (the) search warrant affidavit that resulted in the warrant that led to Taylors death. Another former officer, Detective Kelly Goodlett, pleaded guilty to conspiring with Jaynes to falsify the affidavit used to obtain a search warrant for Taylors home and to cover up their actions after Taylors death, the DOJ said in November. People protest over the police killing of Breonna Taylor in 2020. (Photo by Sarah Ladd) Unfathomable In response to the DOJ filing, civil rights lawyers Ben Crump, Lonita Baker and Sam Aguiar, who represent Taylors family, issued a statement condemning the federal recommendation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every American who believes in equal justice under the law should be outraged, the lawyers said. It is unfathomable that, after finally securing a conviction, the Department of Justice would seek a sentence so drastically below the federal guidelines. Hankisons charge could result in a sentence of 11-14 years in prison. This sets a dangerous precedent, the lawyers said. When a police officer is found guilty of violating someones constitutional rights, there must be real accountability and justice. Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity. In 2022, Hankison was charged with depriving Taylor of her rights. Hankisons trial ended in mistrial in 2023. In 2024, a jury found Hankison guilty of violating her civil rights but acquitted him of violating those of her neighbors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the DOJ said in its Wednesday filing, in light of the three trials of (Hankison) and the media attention given to each trial, it is no surprise that (he) has suffered from resulting stress and psychological problems, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, sleeping difficulties and related conditions. The filing also says the criticism of the Louisville police department has generated significant media attention that exposes defendant to a heightened risk of assault while in custody. In addition to the one day of time served, the DOJ recommended a three-year supervised release and $100 fine. To be sure, the government acknowledges that its recommended sentence is significantly lower than the advisory guideline range, the court document states. But it is a black-letter principle of Fourth Amendment case law that an analysis of a police officers use of force must be from the perspective of a reasonable officer on the scene, including what the officer knew at the time, not with the 20/20 vision of hindsight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The filing acknowledges that Hankison fired blindly into the apartment, first through a patio door and then again through an adjacent bedroom window. The filing also says that though Hankisons action in these fraught circumstances was unreasonable given the benefit of hindsight, that unreasonable response did not kill or wound Breonna Taylor, her boyfriend, her neighbors, defendants fellow officers, or anyone else. Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg said he thinks Hankisons actions warrant a serious prison sentence. Since the tragic death of Breonna Taylor, Louisville has taken significant steps toward healing and reform, Greenberg said in a statement. Our community has shown resilience and a shared commitment to justice. That work is far from over. I remain fully committed to advancing that work to ensuring accountability and safety for all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the familys lawyers said that Taylors mother, Tamika Palmer, is left, once again, heartbroken and angry. Hankisons sentencing is scheduled for July 21 before U.S. District Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings in Louisville. The familys lawyers said Palmer is holding out hope and praying that the judge will do what the DOJ has refused to do uphold the law, respect the jurys verdict, and deliver true justice for Breonna Taylor. Read the filing Breonna Taylor SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Photo by Elijah Mears via Unsplash Its Crypto Week, and that means clients are probably wondering if they should transfer their retirement savings to meme coins. Congress is preparing to vote on three landmark bills this week that could transform America into the world capital of crypto. The Genius Act, which allows private companies to launch stable coins, already passed the Senate. But, the other two proposals the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, which sets up a framework for crypto to be regulated as a security or commodity; and the Anti-CBDC Surveillance State Act that bans the Fed from launching a digital currency may have a more difficult path to President Trumps desk. The bills could revolutionize how digital assets are bought, sold and regulated in the US. But with all the attention, what will it take for advisors to finally get on board with an asset class that is quickly becoming impossible to ignore? We think about crypto investments often, but before incorporating them, we want to understand what problem it solves, said Robert Persichitte of Delagify Financial. READ ALSO: Here Are the Most Popular Active ETFs of 2025 and BlackRock Tops $12T in AUM. State Street Profits Tumble Over the Hill Its no surprise that the price of Bitcoin topped a record $123,000 high on Monday and thats been good news for issuers and investors. The worlds biggest Bitcoin ETF reaped the benefits this week with the $80 billion iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) jumping 2.5% as Bitcoin broke pricing records. Other funds also cashed in, including: The second-largest bitcoin fund, the $22.7 billion Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), which jumped about 2.5% Monday, according to ETF.com. Both IBIT and FBTC have given back some of those gains as the price of Bitcoin dipped Tuesday. There may be an even bigger rush to digital assets once more sovereign governments issue debts denominated in cryptocurrency, like El Salvador, Persichitte said. Thats when it emerges as a unified, globally unified, currency, but it will be difficult to see when that is coming in the future. Wheres the Bill? While many clients are already invested in crypto, the eye-popping valuation could encourage more client questions about digital assets, said Lawrence K. Pon, a CFP and CPA at Pon & Associates. Besides risk, however, there are other important aspects of crypto that advisors should be aware of, like understanding the tax consequences. Trades will generate capital gains or losses that need to be reported on Form 8949, Pon said. Clients will also need to think about estate planning. Can their beneficiaries get to the cryptocurrency after they die? Pon said. They need to understand all the complications before investing. This post first appeared on The Daily Upside. To receive exclusive news and analysis of the rapidly evolving ETF landscape, built for advisors and capital allocators, subscribe to our free ETF Upside newsletter. NEED TO KNOW The body of missing New York City man Brian Tarrence has been found in Turks and Caicos, local police have confirmed Tarrence arrived on vacation in Turks and Caicos with his wife on June 22 and was set to leave on June 29 He was last seen on surveillance video leaving his rental property at the Paradise Inn in Grace Bay around 3:30 a.m. local time on June 25 A body discovered in Turks and Caicos almost two weeks ago has been confirmed to be that of missing New York City man Brian Tarrence, who vanished while vacationing there in late June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, July 16, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) confirmed the news in a Facebook post, writing that the remains found on July 5 in the Grace Bay area had "been positively identified" as 51-year-old Tarrence's. "This confirmation follows the receipt today, July 16th, of a forensic dental analysis conducted by a qualified dental specialist," the post read. It added, "An autopsy conducted on July 11th revealed no signs of trauma, and at this time, there is no suspicion of foul play." Police said they will now continue "to await the final autopsy and toxicology reports to complete the investigation." THE ROYAL TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS POLICE FORCE On July 5, the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force (RTCIPF) announced that the body of an unidentified deceased male had been discovered at about 9:06 a.m. in the Grace Bay area in a state of decomposition." Police found the body while searching for Tarrence of Manhattan, who was last seen on surveillance video leaving the Paradise Inn in Grace Bay where he was staying with his wife around 3:30 a.m. on June 25. Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force Brian Tarrence Brian Tarrence Trying to determine the identity of the body was challenging because it was so badly decomposed, Carl DeFazio, who was part of the search party looking for Tarrence, previously told PEOPLE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The body was not found for 10 days in 90-plus [degree] heat," he said. DeFazio, who said that police were careful about not jumping to assumptions, did say that the body was found relatively close to the inn where Tarrence and his wife Maria were staying while celebrating their first wedding anniversary. "He was found a 20-minute walk from where he was last seen," he added. "I would say about a block off of Leeward Highway in a little residential commercial area." Their vacation started like normal, according to DeFazio, who said they arrived on the island on June 21. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, early in the morning on June 25, surveillance footage captured the Manhattan software firm vice president walking down the street with his phone in his hand and his wallet on him, according to DeFazio. Since then, Tarrance's wallet has been missing and no charges have been made to his card, DeFazio said. There haven't been any calls made on his phone, either. 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 "Everything prior to the point where he walked out of that house, he seems fine," DeFazio previously told News 12 Westchester. "They had a boat trip and went to dinner, just like every other family would do when theyre here." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeFazio said that Tarrence leaving his hotel in the early hours was "a little bizarre," noting, "Hes in the middle of town. His wife was sleeping." The RTCIPF has urged anyone with information relating to the incident to contact police, or call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-8477 (TIPS) or the P3 mobile app. Additional reporting by Becca Longmire. Read the original article on People BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim is among those expressing outrage about the release of Adrian Peeler from prison. Peeler was convicted in connection with the 1999 murders of a woman and her 8-year-old son. He received clemency from President Joe Biden in the last days of his administration. If Joe Biden wants him released, let him take him to Delaware, Ganim said. Connecticut leaders question commutation of man convicted in Bridgeport murder Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peeler was convicted of conspiracy to murder 8-year-old B.J. Leroy Brown and his mother in 1999. Ganim was mayor back then, too, and held his latest press conference in the park named for Brown. He became the victim, shot in the back of the head, along with his mother in the apartment while she reached for the phone to 911, Ganim said. In the late 1990s, the Peeler brothers were believed to be part of an illegal drug operation in Bridgeport. Adrian Peeler was accused of killing a man in a barber shop. That man was the boyfriend of Browns mother, Karen Clark, and Brown saw the whole thing. Prosecutors believed Russell Peeler got his brother Adrian to kill Brown to keep him from testifying. Man convicted in high-profile Bridgeport murder case released from federal prison Wednesday Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was an execution. This was a targeted execution to keep these individuals from testifying in a crime, Bridgeport Police Chief Roderick Porter, who was a sergeant on the force in 1999, said. These are individuals you do not want on our streets. Peeler served 25 years on state conspiracy charges, then he was supposed to be in federal prison on drug charges until 2033. Instead, the Biden administration granted him clemency along with more than 2,000 other convicts back in January. Peeler was released yesterday. Bridgeport authorities are demanding to know Peelers current whereabouts. Ganim did several years in federal prison for corruption, but says Peeler is one convict who does not deserve a second chance. Theres no metrics that are demonstrated for rehabilitation that I feel so strongly on and am hopefully a product of, Ganim said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ganim is one of several politicians on both sides of the aisle calling for an investigation into the presidential clemency process. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) A Bristol, Virginia man who was convicted of distributing methamphetamine for an inmate in a Georgia state prison has been sentenced. Christopher M. Sullivan, 31, was convicted in June 2025 of one count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and one count of using a communication facility in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe Now Crime Watch The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in a news release Thursday that Sullivan was sentenced to 96 months (eight years) in federal prison. Sullivan was the last of 20 defendants who had been sentenced in a drug trafficking conspiracy, the DOJ reported. During Sullivans trial, prosecutors used evidence to show that Sullivan had conspired with an inmate in a Georgia state prison, Christopher David Johnson, and other people to move and distribute large amounts of methamphetamine. According to the DOJ, those involved trafficked kilograms of methamphetamine from Georgia into Southwest Virginia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 52 indicted on drug charges in Scott County Johnson reportedly used smuggled cell phones to direct the operation while he remained incarcerated. The DOJ stated Sullivan had regular contact with Johnson, bought meth from him, distributed meth for him and wired money to Mexico when Johnson told him to. Johnson was sentenced in December 2024 to 20 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release. That sentence was ordered to run consecutively to his state prison sentence. According to the DOJ, the other 18 people involved have also been sentenced, with their sentences ranging from three to 15 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJHL | Tri-Cities News & Weather. Credit: BAE Systems / Malloy Aeronautics A British-made drone has shot down targets using precision missiles for the first time, in a breakthrough that could help troops repel attacks by unmanned aircraft. The heavy-lift quadcopter was equipped with laser-guided rockets that were successfully fired at flying winged drones during trials this summer over a desert in Utah. It is believed to be the first time a drone of this kind has fired precision missiles to destroy another airborne drone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berkshire-based Malloy Aeronautics, which made the drone that was used in the test, said it was already in talks with several armed forced that are interested in acquiring the new technology. The drones were originally designed as logistics workhorses that can carry loads of up to 68kg each - Malloy It comes as Western countries are rushing to overhaul their equipment in the wake of the war in Ukraine, which has highlighted how drones are transforming modern conflicts. Houthi rebel attacks in the Red Sea have also forced US Navy ships to fire missiles costing millions to shoot down drones that can be bought for just tens of thousands of dollars apiece. It has prompted a scramble for cheaper methods. Low-cost threat In future, the use of low-cost drones equipped with cheaper missiles may provide one possible solution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Malloy, which is owned by British defence giant BAE Systems, said its T-150 quadcopters currently cost tens of thousands of pounds each to produce. They can then be combined with laser-guided, 70mm rockets developed for the US military which cost in the region of $20,000 (15,000) each. The drones were originally designed as logistics workhorses that can carry loads of up to 68kg each, allowing them to take over cargo jobs currently performed by manned helicopters. They are already being used by the Royal Navys carrier strike group to move mail, food supplies and engineering components between the aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales and its accompanying ships during their deployment to the Indo-Pacific region. Drones provide a more affordable way for armed forces to transport supplies - Si Ethell/MOD Crown Copyright Anthony Gregory, of BAE Systems Air, said: Everybody can see whats going on in the world with drone technology. So the counter-[drone] piece is on everybodys lips, and therefore trying to do that in a sustainable and affordable way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the minute, people are having to fire patriot missiles and all that kind of stuff. Thats an expensive way of countering a very low-cost threat. So thats the genesis of why weve gone down this avenue. Malloy and BAE began a programme to modify the T-150 to make it compatible with precision rockets in February. The firing test was then conducted in May at a US Army facility in Utah destroying targets on the ground and in the air with the laser-guided missiles. A video released by the company shows the drone unloading its rockets in the air, with the missiles slamming into a white van on the ground and a winged drone flying through the air. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the UK, the Ministry of Defence has also partnered with private companies to develop laser weapons that can destroy enemy drones with a blast of intense energy and cost just 10 per shot. Ministers have ordered that the lasers are fitted to at least four Royal Navy ships from 2027. However, Mr Gregory said using drones could be cheaper and would provide armed forces with flexibility when trying to protect critical national infrastructure from attacks by large numbers of enemies. He added: Lasers are big and complex. Per shot, theyre incredibly cheap. But they are big, expensive, complex bits of kit. The price of a drone is going to be cheaper and you can probably have them in greater [numbers]. And its the same vehicle thats delivering cargo one day, the next day I might bolt this on and its doing a counter-[drone] thing for me. Britain leads the way Neil Appleton, chief executive at Malloy, said the British company was the leading player in heavy lift drones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has supplied the devices to Ukrainian forces fighting Russia and is constantly improving the technology, he said. Over the past four years, Malloy has gone from building small numbers of drones in one hangar to occupying four hangars. It is now planning to build as many as 1,000 a year after being acquired by BAE last year. Weve got a habit of doing rapid work to upgrade our drones, Mr Appleton said. And again, were not talking about cycles of years. Were talking weeks to months at worst. He said the drones provided a much more affordable way for armed forces to transport supplies, with the vast majority of missions currently involving cargoes weighing less than 50kg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Appleton said: If youre using helicopters to move things between ships, its dangerous and it puts the crew at risk. Its also super costly. A helicopter will cost anywhere between 20,000 and 30,000 per flying hour. Our platforms will do that for anything between 100 and 500 an hour. The company is also hoping to sell the heavy-lift drones in other industries such as oil and gas, where businesses also rely on helicopters to move supplies to and from rig platforms at sea. However, Malloy is preparing to develop its own motors in-house amid concerns that the mechanical components are currently being sourced from China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was not a problem for the companys civil customers, Mr Appleton said, but militaries preferred that this part of the supply chain was on-shored away from China to remove any risk of disruption. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A British hiker has been found dead in the Italian Alps a week after he went missing on a solo trip. Matthew Hall, from Hull, disappeared on July 9 after sending a text message to a friend saying that he had taken a wrong turn and had decided to rest. Later the same day, Italian police told the 33-year-olds family that he was missing. A search operation was launched, involving three helicopters, mountain rescue teams and a drone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday evening, his body was discovered in a steep gully near the Cross of Daloo, a mountaintop viewpoint above the town of Chiavenna, where he had been staying since July 5. A helicopter was sent to assist with the recovery. He was known to be a confident hiker with knowledge of mountains and rough terrain. It is thought he was planning an eight-hour trek on the day of his disappearance. Matthew Hall posted photographs of his outdoor adventures on social media - Facebook Some of Mr Halls friends and colleagues at a broadband company travelled to Italy to help look for him, and said they were devastated by the loss. We all absolutely loved him. At least we are bringing him home, back to where he should be, said Sam Jackson, who was part of the search. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to the BBC, Mr Jackson said the group had been optimistic they would find Mr Hall, and thanked police, rescue workers and the local community for giving them help and support. They have found our pal, he said. Mr Jackson said Mr Hall loved snowboarding, skateboarding, and watching Hull KR, his local rugby league team. Mr Halls mother arrived in Italy on Wednesday, and his father is expected to join her on Friday. A Foreign Office spokesman said: We are supporting the family of a British man who has died in Italy and are in contact with the local authorities. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A 21-year-old British woman has been charged in Germany with trafficking drugs from Thailand. Cameron Bradford, from Knebworth in Hertfordshire, was arrested at Munich Airport nearly three months ago, on 22 April. Authorities in Germany said she had been charged with attempted transit of cannabis and abetting the international trafficking of cannabis. She will appear at a hearing in Munich District Court on 6 August. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thailand decriminalised cannabis in 2022, when "low strength" weed became legal. In July 2024, the British government announced a partnership with Thai customs to tackle a "surge" of illegal cannabis shipments to the UK. Since then, more than 50 British nationals have been arrested in Thailand for attempted cannabis smuggling. Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Related stories Related links NEW YORK (PIX11) A Bronx man who sexually assaulted an 81-year-old woman over the course of an hour has been sentenced to 32 years to life behind bars. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg announced his prison sentence on Thursday. More Crime News Avon Long, 79, was found guilty of kidnapping, burglary, attempted rape, assault, and other charges back in May, according to court documents. In October of 2023, Long pushed his way into the 81-year-old victims apartment in Midtown Manhattan. He then repeatedly slapped the victim and ordered her to undress and lie down, according to court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After physically assualting the victim, he climbed on top of her, covered her mouth, and sexually assaulted the victim over the course of an hour. After sexually assaulting the victim, Long used a phone charger cord to tie her wrists and warned her not to call the police or try to escape until he had time to get away. After leaving the apartment, Long returned and strangled the victim until she lost consciousness, court documents stated. This defendant horrifically abused a defenseless, 81-year-old woman, which was proven through the survivors honest and unwavering testimony at trial. I commend her bravery and hope this significant prison sentence can allow her to move forward, DA Bragg said. Long had previously spent decades in prison for sexual assault, including charges of robbery and a previous rape, according to court documents. After serving 10 years in prison for his previous crimes, he was paroled, and then he committed another rape, according to court documents. Long was found guilty of the following crimes: Kidnapping in the first degree Burglary in the first degree as a sexually motivated felony Burglary in the first degree Attempted rape in the first degree Sexual abuse in the first degree Assault in the second degree Strangulation in the second degree Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Matthew Euzarraga is a multimedia journalist from El Paso, Texas. He has covered local news and LGBTQIA topics in the New York City Metro area since 2021. He joined the PIX11 Digital team in 2023. You can see more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. BROOKFIELD, Ohio (WKBN) The Brookfield Historical Society will be holding guided walking tours on Saturday of the historic buildings and cemetery on Brookfield Square. The walks will include 10 historic buildings, many of which date to the 1800s and were stops on the Underground Railroad. The walks will start at Ripleys Scoop Ice Cream Shop. They will begin every 30 minutes from 1 to 2:30 p.m. and last about 45 minutes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cost is $5. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) Just another reason to stop into a Syracuse classic for lunch. In celebration of their 50th anniversary, Brooklyn Pickle known for its deli sandwiches and homemade soups will offer $5 whole sandwiches. On top of that, they will also be offering $.50 chips, pickles, and fountain drinks. The sandwich shop goes beyond New York State, as they now have locations in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Southern Pines, North Carolina. Their other local locations include two in Syracuse, one in Liverpool, and another in Utica. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brooklyn Pickle will also offer $5 shirts as part of the celebration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR. Alphabet Inc_ and Google logos seen displayed on a smartphone by IgorGolovniov via Shutterstock Alphabets (GOOGL) Google has long been a pillar of strength in the tech world, powered by its hugely profitable Search business. Over the past decade, the stock has delivered a remarkable 452% return, reflecting years of steady growth and dominance. But lately, that growth narrative has hit some turbulence. This year, GOOGL stock has struggled to break out as concerns mount over the future of search in an artificial intelligence (AI) world. For the first time since 2015, Googles search engine market share has dipped below 90%, raising alarms among investors. Moreover, the rise of generative AI models particularly OpenAIs ChatGPT, where users get answers directly has sparked fears that Googles ad-based model could also lose its edge. Even so, Google isnt standing still. The company is aggressively integrating AI across its ecosystem, aiming to revamp Search and future-proof its broader portfolio. More News from Barchart Beyond Search and ads, the company has a range of businesses from cloud computing to hardware that keep its fundamentals intact. So, with the tech giants second-quarter earnings just around the corner, heres a closer look at GOOGL stock. About Google Stock Backed by multiple revenue streams, Googles dominance is undoubtedly hard to ignore. The California-based company now operates across a broad digital spectrum, from cloud services and ad-based streaming to self-driving tech and healthcare innovation. In fact, Google was one of the early adopters of AI, well before it became a mainstream trend. It has since woven AI into much of its product ecosystem. The company commands a hefty market capitalization of about $2.2 trillion. But despite its early strides in AI and long-standing dominance in tech, Google stock hasnt kept up in 2025. Shares of GOOGL are down about 4% year-to-date (YTD), well behind both the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index's ($NASX) 7% gain and the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) roughly 6% gain over the same period. www.barchart.com As questions swirl around Googles ability to hold its ground in the fast-moving AI race, the tech giant is starting to look cheap. Currently trading at just 18.9 times forward earnings, Googles price sits well below its own five-year average. The gap is even wider when compared to its Magnificent Seven peers, such as Microsoft (MSFT) at 33 times and Amazon (AMZN) at 36 times forward earnings. For a company with Googles scale and reach, the current pricing stands out as a potential opportunity in an otherwise expensive tech landscape. (WSYR-TV) Erik Columbia stopped by Brooklyn Pickle to find out how the sandwich shop is celebrating their 50-year anniversary with some great deals. He talked with owner Craig Kowadla along with employees Mariah Root and Nate Harmon on what it means to them to celebrate this milestone. Discounts today include: $5 Whole Sandwiches $5 Limited-Edition Anniversary T-Shirts 50 Chips 50 Fountain Drinks 50 Whole Pickles Cash giveaway drawing ($1000 for 1st, $500 for 2nd, and a $250 gift card for 3rd) Brooklyn Pickle has the following locations in the Central New York area: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brooklyn Pickle East 2222 Burnet Avenue, Syracuse Brooklyn Pickle North 7175 Buckley Road, Liverpool Brooklyn Pickle West 1600 West Genesee Street, Syracuse Thats not all. A new location is coming soon to Marshall Street right by Syracuse University. The shop also now has three locations in North Carolina as well. Kowadla says today, the Brooklyn Pickle isnt just marking half a century of business, its saying thank you to the loyal customers who have made this journey possible. Learn more about Brooklyn Pickle online by visiting BrooklynPickle.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 WSYR. BROWNWOOD, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) A man has been arrested in connection with an Amber Alert issued out of Brownwood, after a missing 15-year-old girl was found near the Texas-Arkansas border. On Wednesday, July 9, 2025, Brownwood police responded to a call on Burnet Drive, where the parents of Dahlia Creek, 15, reported that she had run away earlier that morning. The parents told officers that Creek had asked to stay at a local park while they visited a nearby trailer park. About an hour later, her father became concerned and tracked her phone, which was later found discarded in a trash can. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOUND: Amber Alert for 15-year-old in Brownwood Employees working nearby told investigators they had seen Creek sitting on several benches at the park. A short time later, a white sedan reportedly pulled up and motioned to her. Witnesses said Creek appeared to get into the car willingly before it drove away. During the investigation, detectives obtained and reviewed digital evidence, including social media activity, through search warrants. That evidence led them to identify 28-year-old Cody Louis Kille of Annville, Pennsylvania, as the suspect. An Amber Alert was issued statewide for Creek. At around 3:00 p.m., officers with the Hooks and Texarkana Police Departments located the suspect vehicle. Kille and Creek were both found, and the teen was safely returned to her family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kille was arrested on local charges as well as a warrant out of the 35th District Court in Brown County for Smuggling of Persons. He remains in the Brown County Jail on a $250,000 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 KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. Idaho Judge Steven Hippler vacated the gag order in the Bryan Kohberger quadruple murder case at a hearing Thursday. Latah County Prosecuting Attorney notified the court in a filing dated Monday that his office would not oppose a motion from a group of media organizations, including FOX News, seeking to have the order lifted in the wake of Kohberger's guilty pleas to all charges. The intent of the order was to ensure Kohberger's right to a fair trial, according to court filings. Now that he has admitted to the slayings of Madison Mogen, 21, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, Xana Kernodle, 20 and Ethan Chapin, 20, attorneys for the media argued that the gag is pointless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hippler agreed but he said that lifting the order would not automatically unseal court documents. Those would be made public in batches, he said, upon review by the court. Bryan Kohberger Pleads Guilty To Idaho Murders He said he would go in reverse chronological order, starting with documents he was most familiar with and moving back in time. The case did not arrive in his courtroom until another judge granted a change of venue in September. Read On The Fox News App In another twist Hippler also said that although Kohberger's plea deal requires him to waive his right to appeal, that doesn't mean he doesn't have a right to appeal under the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Garza v. Idaho. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Now, I recognize the plea agreement includes a waiver of the right to appeal," he said. "But as the parties probably know, the U.S. Supreme Court in Garza versus Idaho has indicated the fact that a defendant waives the right to appeal doesn't mean they don't have the right to appeal, and so it may affect the outcome of that appeal, and it may affect, the underlying case and the plea agreement." Madison Mogen, top left, smiles on the shoulders of her best friend, Kaylee Goncalves, as they pose with Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, and two other housemates in Goncalves' final Instagram post, shared the day before the four students were stabbed to death. Prosecutors initially requested the order remain in place until after Kohberger's sentencing is made official next week, but they reversed course "upon further reflection," according to their latest filing. The defense opposed lifting it early. "Now that the Defendant has pleaded guilty as charged to all five (5) counts of the Indictment, his right to a fair trial on the issue of guilt is no longer at issue," Thompson wrote. "Nevertheless, out of respect for the integrity of the judicial process and the privacy of the victims and their families as they consider their rights to provide victim impact statements at sentencing, the prosecution team does not intend to make any public statements about this case until after sentencing has concluded." Idaho Murders Timeline: Bryan Kohberger Plea Caps Yearslong Quest For Justice Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A hearing on the motion is scheduled in Boise, Idaho, for 12:30 p.m. ET/10:30 a.m. MT. His sentencing is set for July 23. He is expected to receive the maximum penalty under the terms of the plea deal, four consecutive terms of life in prison without parole, plus another 10 years. He also waived his right to appeal and to seek a sentence reduction. Kohberger snuck into an off-campus house at 1122 King Road around 4 a.m. on Nov. 13, 2022, and killed all four students with a Ka-Bar knife, according to prosecutors. He started in an upstairs bedroom, where he killed Mogen and Goncalves. Kernodle was awake on the main floor, and he killed her on the way out. Then he turned the knife on Chapin, who was asleep in her bedroom. Bryan Kohberger, charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, pleads guilty to all charges at the Ada County Courthouse, Wednesday, July 2, 2025, in Boise, Idaho. He walked within three feet of another roommate, whom he did not attack, and then left. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Separately, a lawyer for the media coalition filed a motion asking the court to unseal nearly 250 documents in the case. Original article source: Bryan Kohberger judge lifts gag order after Idaho killer's confession Jul. 17Avelo Airlines is pulling out of Glacier Park International Airport, along with a slew of other airports across the West. Avelo provides seasonal service between the Flathead Valley and two California destinations: Burbank's Hollywood Burbank Airport to the south and Sonoma's Charles M. Schulz Sonoma County Airport to the north. "Despite the investment of significant time, resources and efforts, our West Coast operations have not produced the results necessary to continue our presence there," said spokesperson Courtney Goff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The airline will instead focus on expanding East Coast travel. Avelo pulling out of Glacier Park International Airport means the Flathead Valley transit hub will lose its connection to the Los Angeles area and Central California, said airport Director Rob Ratkowski. "We're going to talk to some other low-cost carriers to see if there's maybe a gap that could be filled there," he said. The last flight out of Sonoma will be Aug. 9, and the last flight from Burbank will be Aug. 30, according to Goff. Customers have been notified about the changes to their reservations and their refund options, she wrote in an emailed statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The move follows nationwide protests against the airline for entering a long-term charter agreement with the Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency to charter three Boeing 737-800s out of Mesa Gateway Airport in Arizona that began in May. Avelo flew charters under former President Joe Biden's administration but took on the recent deal so it could provide the financial stability to expand passenger service and keep crewmembers employed. "Protests nor our contract with DHS had any effect on our decision and have not impacted our business," Goff said. Avelo is continuing deportation operations with the federal government out of Mesa Gateway airport. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Avelo launched its first flight from the Hollywood Burbank airport in the Spring of 2021, becoming the first new airline in the U.S. in nearly 15 years, according to the airline. Avelo started flying out of Glacier Park International Airport in May 2023. Reporter Jack Underhill may be reached at 758-4407 or junderhill@dailyinterlake.com. Key Takeaway Avelo Airlines is ceasing operations at the Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) in the Los Angeles area. Burbank is popular for regional and domestic flights. Its the end of an era for a popular low-cost airline. Avelo Airlines will close its base at the Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and end operations in the Los Angeles area, the carrier recently confirmed to Travel + Leisure. Operations will begin to slow down starting Aug. 12 when the airline will reduce to just one aircraft in the market, before completely ending service in Burbank on Dec. 2. We believe the continuation of service from BUR in the current operating environment will not deliver adequate financial returns in a highly competitive backdrop, Avelo Airlines CEO Andrew Levy said in a statement shared with T+L. Prior to this, Avelo had been operating regular flights from Burbank to Sonoma, California, and Eureka, California, the Pasco area in Washington state, and to Oregon (Bend, Eugene, Portland, and Medford), as well as operating seasonal flights to Kalispell, Montana, according to the carrier's route map. Avelo first launched in 2021 with its inaugural flight scheduled out of Burbank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The airline said its plan is to re-base its aircraft to other priority markets, including strengthening its growing East Coast presence. Passengers who have future flights booked on Avelo from Burbank will need to visit the airline's website and cancel their reservations to receive a refund, according to the airline. Located just over 20 miles north of the larger Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Burbank is often viewed as an easier travel option due to the lower frequency of flights and fewer passengers. In 2024, more than 6.55 million passengers passed through Burbank airport, according to airport data, marking a record high and an 8.5 percent increase from 2023. (For comparison, more than 76 million passengers arrived and departed from LAX last year, according to Los Angeles World Airports.) The Burbank airport is popular among other low-cost carriers, including Southwest Airlines, which operates flights from there to Dallas, Denver, Las Vegas, Phoenix, and other destinations. Additional major air carriers also operate from the airport, including United Airlines (which offers direct service to Denver and San Francisco), and Delta Air Lines (which operates routes to Atlanta and Salt Lake City), among others. Overall, Avelo currently operates a fleet of 21 Boeing Next-Generation 737 aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations, including to Jamaica, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic. Beyond Burbank, the airline has bases in six other airports: Connecticuts Tweed-New Haven Airport (HVN), Delaware's Wilmington Airport (ILG), Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU), Floridas Lakeland International Airport (LAL), Charlottes Concord-Padgett Regional Airport (USA), and North Carolinas Wilmington International Airport (ILM). Read the original article on Travel & Leisure Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Attorney General Pam Bondi visited Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary in California on Thursday, just two months after President Trump ordered the reopening of the historic prison near San Francisco. Both Trump administration officials shared photos online from their visit to the offshore prison, which closed more than 60 years ago because of soaring costs. Spent the day on Alcatraz Island, a @NatlParkService site, to start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals, Burgum wrote on social platform X. This administration is restoring safety, justice, and order to our streets. @Interior & @TheJusticeDept are following a directive by @POTUS to help lead that mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A great morning at Alcatraz with @SecretaryBurgum, Bondi added in her own post. Under President Trump, we are Making America Safe Again. Trump floated the idea of reopening the prison, which became particularly well known for its portrayal in Hollywood films and for holding notable figures including Al Capone and George Machine Gun Kelly, in May. For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering, Trump posted to Truth Social at the time. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. The president continued, Thats the way its supposed to be. No longer will we tolerate these Serial Offenders who spread filth, bloodshed, and mayhem on our streets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house Americas most ruthless and violent Offenders, he added. Reopening the prison, however, will not be an easy feat. The island is now part of a national park, under the control of the Interior Department, and transferring control would require legislative action. The Bureau of Prisons notes on its website that soaring costs led the prison to close in 1963. An estimated $3-5 million was needed just for restoration and maintenance work to keep the prison open. That figure did not include daily operating costs Alcatraz was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other Federal prison, according to the bureau. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who represents the San Francisco area, ripped the administrations plan to reopen the prison, calling it Trumps stupidest initiative yet. It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies, Pelosi wrote in a statement Wednesday. Make no mistake: this stupidity is a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from this Administrations cruelest actions yet in their Big, Ugly Law, which takes away food from children and rips health care from millions to give tax breaks to billionaires, the California Democrat continued. It remains to be seen how this Administration could possibly afford to spend billions to convert and maintain Alcatraz as a prison when they are already adding trillions of dollars to the national debt with their sinful law, she added. The Hill has reached out to the DOJ for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Burkina Faso's military rulers have disbanded the country's electoral commission calling it a waste of money. The interior ministry will handle elections in the future, state-run RTB TV reported. Since seizing power in September 2022, the coup leaders have initiated sweeping reforms, including the postponement of elections which would lead to a return to civilian rule. A nationwide vote was due last year, but the junta extended the period of transition to democracy until July 2029, allowing leader Capt Ibrahim Traore to remain in power and free to contest the next presidential election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The AFP news agency quotes Territorial Administration Minister Emile Zerbo as saying that the electoral commission was "subsidised" with around $870,000 (650,000) a year. Abolishing the commission would "reinforce our sovereign control on the electoral process and at the same time limit foreign influences", he added. After coming to power three years ago amid criticism that the civilian authorities were failing to deal with a growing Islamist insurgency, the military leaders have rejected the assistance of former colonial power France in favour of Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rights groups have since accused the army of targeting civilians in its attempt to quash the militants, as well as suppressing political activity and the freedom of expression. There are also question marks over the effectiveness of the military operation. In the first half of 2025, jihadist group JNIM said it had carried out over 280 attacks in Burkina Faso double the number for the same period in 2024, according to data verified by the BBC. Additional reporting by BBC Monitoring and David Bamford. You may also be interested in: [Getty Images/BBC] Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts They burn really, really hot, really, really fast: How safe are lithium-ion batteries in your home In less than two minutes, a fast-moving fire that started with a lithium-ion battery filled Jody Burgoynes home with smoke and flames. A home surveillance camera in her kitchen captured a sudden boom, then the family scrambling. They tried to get the entire family, including pets, out as smoke and fire quickly consumed their Utah home. Do you have a consumer complaint or need help from Jeff Deal and Action 9? Click the banner below to submit a tip. I screamed and I just threw the fire extinguisher and ran because I knew it was bigger than what I could handle, said Jody Bourgoyne. Firefighters told her it started with a failure of a lithium-ion battery charger for a scooter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said, Its like before you buy something, youre gonna have to think, hmm, I could possibly lose everything, including a child, but is it worth having this scooter for? I dont think so. Lithium-ion fire risks are now in more places than you may think in your home as the use of the revolutionary long lasting batteries is in everything from laptops to flashlights, even smoke detectors. We see the warnings printed on the box of a new device or rules at the airport about packing lithium-ion batteries, but many people ignore the risks. A survey by Erie Insurance found 1 in 4 Americans dont even know what lithium-ion batteries are and they can spark a fast-burning fire in a matter of seconds. Lt. Paul Hammerl with the Seminole County Fire Department said theyve seen a significant increase in their lithium-ion battery calls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve seen multiple houses become total losses just due to these things being improperly stored inside of their homes, Lt. Hammerl told Action 9 Consumer Investigator Jeff Deal. In 2023, Channel 9 reporters on a fire at a Seminole County transfer station. Surveillance video shows spread to four trailers. It was likely sparked by a lithium-ion battery. The county started tracking lithium-ion battery incidents last year. Since then, records show crews have responded to 44 calls connected to lithium-ion battery issues although fire crews believe the number of incidents is likely much higher. The fire dangers for lithium-ion batteries are different than other fires. They dont need a light or spark to start burning and they just keep burning. Lt. Hammerl calls it thermal runaway. These fires, they burn really, really hot, really, really fast, and they produce their own oxygen. So, theres really no way to put a battery out thats in thermal runaway, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They often spark when batteries are punctured, improperly charged or theyre at the end of life. As part of a test, Seminole County firefighters punctured a small part of an electric vehicle battery pack. Sparks and pieces of the pack everywhere as it just continued to burn. The Seminole County Fire Department is so concerned about the dangers from increased use of the batteries, its focused on being ahead of the curve. It has provided specialized training for all of its firefighters and has invited other agencies to train with them. Lt. Hammerl said, Its very, very dangerous, and the gasses that it emits is also incredibly toxic for us, or civilians that are out there breathing this stuff in. Its a guaranteed trip to the hospital. Here are some things to keep in mind when it comes to owning devices with lithium-ion batteries: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement -Only use original chargers that come with your device -Look for batteries from reputable sources that have been safety tested -Unplug them when charging is complete -Keep them away from anything flammable Its also extremely important not to just throw them in the trash. Landfill fires and garbage truck fires have become a big problem that drain resources and put people in danger. Many electronics stores will recycle them, and local landfills have special hazardous waste drop-off areas for them. Jody Bourgoynes family lost nearly everything including a family pet in their home fire. She said, You always think, you know, well, thats not gonna happen to me. You know, what are the chances? But it can. (Reuters) -BWX Technologies said on Thursday it has secured contracts worth $2.6 billion, including future options, to manufacture components for nuclear submarines and an aircraft carrier for the U.S. Navy. The United States has been modernizing its nuclear-powered Navy fleet as part of broader efforts to counter China's growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region. In 2023, Reuters reported that the U.S. Navy was carrying out its largest revamp of its top-secret undersea surveillance network since the 1950s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, Raytheon, RTX's defense arm, said it had been awarded a $1.1 billion contract from the U.S. Navy to produce short-range missiles. BWX said the products under its contract will be delivered in the next six to eight years. (Reporting by Aishwarya Jain in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid) A Ukrainian military cadet opened fire with an assault rifle during a training exercise in northern Chernihiv Oblast, killing two instructors, on July 16, according to Ukrainska Pravda, citing police and law enforcement sources. The shooting occurred at a training ground operated by the Ukrainian Ground Forces. The motive for the attack remains unknown, and the cadet was detained under Ukraine's Criminal Procedure Code, police said in a statement. Chernihiv Oblast, which borders Belarus and lies north of Kyiv, has hosted numerous military exercises since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initial reports of the incident emerged on social media late on July 16. While the Ground Forces Command has yet to issue an official comment, police have opened a criminal investigation under charges of premeditated murder. The case is being overseen by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). Authorities said the cadet fired an automatic weapon at two military instructors during a live-fire training session. Both service members died from their injuries. The investigation is ongoing. Read also: Ukrainian drones reportedly target Moscow, St. Petersburg amid wider strikes Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) will release earnings results for the second quarter before the opening bell on Friday, July 18. Analysts expect the Saint Paul, Minnesota-based company to report quarterly earnings at $2.01 per share, up from $1.93 per share in the year-ago period. 3M projects to report quarterly revenue of $6.05 billion, compared to $6.25 billion a year earlier, according to data from Benzinga Pro. On July 9, Barclays analyst Julian Mitchell maintained 3M with an Overweight rating and raised the price target from $164 to $170.. With the recent buzz around 3M, some investors may be eyeing potential gains from the company's dividends. Currently, 3M offers an annual dividend yield of 1.85% a semi-annual dividend amount of 73 cents per share ($2.92 a year). So, how can investors exploit its dividend yield to pocket a regular $500 monthly? To earn $500 per month or $6,000 annually from dividends alone, you would need an investment of approximately $323,786 or around 2,055 shares. For a more modest $100 per month or $1,200 per year, you would need $64,757 or around 411 shares. To calculate: Divide the desired annual income ($6,000 or $1,200) by the dividend ($2.92 in this case). So, $6,000 / $2.92 = 2,055 ($500 per month), and $1,200 / $2.92 = 411 shares ($100 per month). View more earnings on MMM Note that dividend yield can change on a rolling basis; the dividend payment and stock price both fluctuate over time. How that works: The dividend yield is computed by dividing the annual dividend payment by the stocks current price. For example, if a stock pays an annual dividend of $2 and is currently priced at $50, the dividend yield would be 4% ($2/$50). However, if the stock price increases to $60, the dividend yield drops to 3.33% ($2/$60). Conversely, if the stock price falls to $40, the dividend yield rises to 5% ($2/$40). Similarly, changes in the dividend payment can impact the yield. If a company increases its dividend, the yield will also increase, provided the stock price remains unchanged. Conversely, if the dividend payment decreases, so will the yield. MMM Price Action: Shares of 3M gained 0.6% to close at $157.56 on Wednesday. Read More: Image: Shutterstock UNLOCKED: 5 NEW TRADES EVERY WEEK. Click now to get top trade ideas daily, plus unlimited access to cutting-edge tools and strategies to gain an edge in the markets. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? This article How To Earn $500 A Month From 3M Stock Ahead Of Q2 Earnings originally appeared on Benzinga.com 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. California authorities are investigating a possible surrogacy scam after they rescued 21 children linked to a Los Angeles-area couple. Fifteen children taken from the couple's home as well as an additional six children discovered living elsewhere are now under the care of a child-welfare agency. The children were between the ages of 2 months and 13 years old, The Associated Press reported. Lawful Permanent Resident Arrested For Attempting To Smuggle Drugged Child Across Southern Border Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The children's legal parents are believed to be 38-year-old Silvia Zhang and 65-year-old Guojun Xuan, according to AP. The home of Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan is seen on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 in Arcadia, California, where a number of children were removed from the couple's home after a child abuse allegation in May, according to Arcadia police. "We believe one or two were born biologically to the mother," Arcadia Police Lt. Kollin Cieadlo said. "There are some surrogates who have come forward and said they were surrogates for the children." Guatemalan National Indicted For Allegedly Smuggling Teen Girl Into The Us Read On The Fox News App Authorities were tipped off after the couple was arrested earlier this year when a hospital reported that their baby had a traumatic head injury. However, neglect charges were not formally pursued, according to Arcadia police. An aerial view shows the home of Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 in Arcadia, California, where a number of children were removed from the couple's home after a child abuse allegation in May, according to Arcadia police. Cieadlo said Zhang had what appeared to be legitimate birth certificates for the many children which list her as their mother, and the duo had told police that they "wanted a large family," according to AP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Five Illegals Charged In Alleged Maritime Human Smuggling Attempt That Left Child Dead "I'm not familiar with how the surrogacy laws work," Cieadlo said. "We need to do a much deeper dive." Law enforcement removed 15 children from the couple's home. Los Angeles TV stations quoted several women who claimed to be surrogate mothers for Zhang and Xuan, according to AP. A company was previously registered at the couple's address called Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC. The business license was terminated last month, AP reported, citing business records with the California Secretary of State. Arcadia Police and the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. Original article source: California authorities take 21 children into custody amid surrogacy scheme investigation California Democrats were bracing Thursday for members of President Donald Trump's administration to visit Alcatraz, the latest step in his quest to reopen the former federal prison on an island in the San Francisco Bay. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum were expected to travel to the site now a national park open to tourists before it opens in the morning, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office confirmed to POLITICO. Bondi and Burgum are then expected to visit San Francisco's Presidio, a former U.S. Army fort that's now also a national park, and Muir Woods National Monument north of the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pelosi's office anticipates incoming House legislation to remove Alcatraz's environmental and historic preservation requirements and transfer the prison out of National Park Service and Department of the Interior control. The federal government built the facility in the 19th century as a military prison. It opened to federal inmates in 1934, and it closed in 1963. Trump in May announced his desire to begin housing prisoners at Alcatraz on Truth Social. Pelosi called Trump's push to reopen the facility to prisoners "the Trump Administration's stupidest initiative yet." "It remains to be seen how the Administration could possibly afford to spend billions to convert and maintain Alcatraz as a prison when they are already adding trillions of dollars to the national debt with their sinful law," Pelosi said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Should reason not prevail and Republicans bring this absurdity before Congress, Democrats will use every parliamentary and budgetary tactic available to stop this lunacy," she added. San Francisco state Sen. Scott Wiener called the move "absurd on so many levels" but worried Trump may be serious about the idea. "I'm very concerned Trump will actually try to turn Alcatraz into a gulag to hold the political prisoners ICE is sweeping off the streets," Wiener said in a statement. "We need to do everything in our power to fight this dangerous idea." (FOX40.COM) The California State Senate is set to vote on a bill expanding oversight of charter schools on Wednesday. Video above: Leaders debate bill to ban California law enforcement from wearing face masks In advance of the vote, lawmakers, students and advocates rallied in opposition to claiming it is an anti-student bill. Over 100 people gathered at the state capital to urge lawmakers to reject Assembly Bill 84 around 8:30 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AB 84 would impose a mountain of red tape on nonclassroom-based charter schools, including enrollment caps, funding penalties, and new layers of state-level bureaucracy, said Assemblymember Josh Hoover. However, backers of the bill say the proposal will provide more financial oversight and accountability for certain charter school programs. This comes after a handful of charter schools across the state were found to have misused hundreds of millions of dollars of public money. Public schools are underfunded, ESL teacher Celena Tasavia said. Public adult education is underfunded. Why should all these charter schools get privileged over the others? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. A 43-year-old college professor at the University of California, Berkeley was shot and killed on the outskirts of Athens, Greece earlier this month in what appears to be a targeted hit involving his ex-wife, according to multiple media reports. A tenured professor of marketing at Berkeleys Haas School for 13 years, Przemyslaw Jeziorski was shot five times on July 4 as he was walking to his ex-wifes home in Athens Agia Paraskevi District to visit his two children, the Los Angeles Times reported. He was declared dead at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Greece Hellenic Police announced the arrest of Jeziorskis ex-wife, Nadia Michelidaki who is a Greek national, and three additional suspects, including one man described as her new companion. According to police, the former couple were embroiled in a challenging custody dispute regarding their children and a vacation rental company they cofounded. Przemyslaw Jeziorski, 43, was shot to death on the outskirt of Athens, Greece in an apparent plot involving his ex-wife on July 4, 2025. (Noah Berger/Berkeley.edu) The three other suspects were described only as a Bulgarian man and two Albanian nationals. Investigators said two of the suspects gave Michelidakis companion a handgun and drove him to the neighborhood where he shot and killed Professor Jeziorski, The Times reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arrest made in deadly shooting of American Idol executive, her husband in Encino Professor Zsolt Katona helped recruit the 43-year-old Polish native to teach at Berkeleys Haas School in 2012. Its hard to come to terms with this senseless tragedy, he said in a statement issued by the university. He was an amazing person, friend, and colleague. He was a loving father of two young children and always there if someone needed help. He had great influence on the marketing field not only through his research but through his energetic presence and optimism combined with a healthy dose of skepticism. Jeziorski is survived by his two children, a brother and his parents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. News bias A recent article on your online app reported an individual allegedly threatening to shoot up his former college because they did him wrong. Nowhere did he make a threat against his former high school. Yet you, as a responsible media member, decided to declare his high school affiliation. He went to other high schools as well, but they werent mentioned. Are all arrested people in St. Joseph defined by their high school background? I think not! Poor journalism! Editors note: The St. Joseph News-Press, along with other regional media outlets, including The Kansas City Star and KMBC9 of Kansas City, also noted that Mr. Raczkowski had graduated from LeBlond High School in St. Joseph, MO. While Mr. Raczkowski may have attended other high schools in the area, the last school he attended, and in this case, graduated from, was appropriately included in our news story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Someone tell me So, when Lake Contrary is all finished and done, can someone please tell me where's all those septic tanks going to drain too? Just wondering I wonder if the giant orange head in Washington, D.C., got a receipt when he bought the Supreme Court. It's a crime Measles rates are climbing in America. It's a crime to kill your child if you don't give them a shot that's available for everyone. Incorrect grammar This is to Amazed and disappointed. What is you talking about? Women should be prosecuted for having sex with monks, Thai politicians have proposed, amid a nationwide scandal over an alleged blackmailing seductress. At least nine monks have been disrobed for allegedly having sex with a woman accused of subsequently extorting them for millions. A committee in the senate has proposed amending the law to allow for the criminal prosecution of women who engage in sexual relations with monks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Warawut Tiranan, a senior Thai politician who called for the law change, accused the woman at the centre of the fiasco of seeking to damage the reputation of Buddhism. This was definitely a plot to destroy Buddhism by having senior monks defrocked, Mr Warawut said. Critics have called the proposal misogynistic, arguing it would cast women unfairly as sexual predators and monks as unwilling victims. Wilawan Emsawat, the woman at the heart of the scandal, is accused of seducing monks and then blackmailing them with explicit photos and videos she took of their sexual acts. She is alleged to have made millions of pounds from extorting the prelates, some of whom allegedly had sex with her while still dressed in their orange religious robes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scandal erupted in June after the abbot of a famous temple in Bangkok abruptly disappeared. There is speculation that many more monks and abbots will be identified from the alleged images Ms Wilawan was said to have seduced the abbot before telling him she was pregnant and asking for 7.2m baht (165,000) in child support. She is alleged to have made around 385m baht (8.8m) in the past three years, but most of the money was spent on online gambling websites, police said. Ms Wilawan was reportedly married to a Thai politician but he is said to have left her after discovering her infidelity. There are currently no penalties for women who sleep with monks or abbots. Monks are supposed to uphold their vows of celibacy and if caught up in sex scandals, face defrocking and disgrace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ittiporn Chan-iam, director of the National Office of Buddhism, said that women who had sex with monks should face up to seven years in prison and fines of up to 140,000 baht (3,200). Monks found to have broken their vows of chastity would face the same penalties. Ms Wilawan, who was arrested at her home on Tuesday, has been charged with laundering money, receiving stolen goods and embezzling temple funds. But the investigation is now widening as police scrutinise the 80,000 sex photos and videos they allegedly found on her mobile phones for monastic unchastity. There is speculation that many more monks and abbots will be identified from the alleged images. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The idea of prosecuting women for their involvement in clerical sex scandals is unfair, critics said. Women have long been depicted in mainstream teachings as enemies of monks spiritual purity. Some temple murals even show them as snakes. And now, when the clergys moral decay is in full view, its the woman who takes the fall while the monks are cast as victims, columnist Sanitsuda Ekachai wrote in the Bangkok Post. Give me a break. Isnt it the monks who broke their vows of celibacy? she added. Rather than target women, Thailands authorities should concentrate on cleaning up the corruption, greed, hypocrisy and deeply embedded feudalism of the countrys Buddhist clergy, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said that Ms Wilawan had been portrayed as a scheming gold digger who preyed on rich monks with promises of large donations. Then after gaining intimacy, she blackmailed them. This makes for juicy headlines, but it also reveals something darker: the deep misogyny embedded in Thai Buddhism. At least a dozen Buddhist temples are now under investigation, according to Major General Charoonkiat Pankaew, deputy commissioner of the cybercrime investigation bureau of the Royal Thai Police. At least nine monks have been defrocked so far. Ms Wilawan has not made a statement since her arrest and it was unclear if she has legal representation. Speaking to local media before her arrest, she acknowledged one relationship and said she had given money to that monk. 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. Its one thing for Senate Republicans to acquiesce in confirming President Trumps Cabinet of crackpots and agents of retribution, on the argument that a chief executive has the prerogative to pick his posse. Its quite another matter for sycophantic senators to shirk their constitutional advice-and-consent power when the presidents nominee is up for a lifetime seat on the federal bench a job that demands loyalty to the Constitution, not a president. And yet, Republican senators appear primed for another surrender, this time in favor of one of the worst judicial nominations ever: Emil Bove, formerly Trumps personal lawyer and for the past six months his enforcer in the Justice Department. On Thursday, the Republican-controlled (rather, Trump-controlled) Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on whether it, and ultimately the full Senate, should confirm Bove to be a judge on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Nearly 20 years ago, that court, which hears cases from Delaware, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and the Virgin Islands, was a springboard to the Supreme Court for another right-wing activist, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Calmes: Thoughts and prayers? Sure, but hold the Trump administration accountable Its hardly far-fetched to imagine that Trump might similarly elevate a Judge Bove, should the president get a chance to pick a fourth Supreme Court justice, so fully has Bove established his fealty to Trump the credential that may matter most to the president. And that was before a whistleblower alleged last month that Bove told Justice Department lawyers that they must be ready to say f you to judges who stood in the way of Trumps deportations. As Trump posted on social media in announcing his pick, Bove would do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. In pre-Trump times, Boves nomination would be an easy call: No. And if ever there was a time for the Senate to use its power to send a president that message, its now. Trump will be gone after four years (his teasing about a third term notwithstanding). The 44-year-old Bove would be on the bench for perhaps four decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Calmes: In the halls of Congress and on the canals of Venice, the new Gilded Age has a moment Congress is supposed to be a coequal branch of government, and the Senates power to confirm presidential nominations every bit as weighty as a presidents power to make them. The Senate should consider Bove not merely unqualified to be a judge but disqualified. Dont just take it from me. Mr. Boves egregious record of mistreating law enforcement officers, abusing power, and disregarding the law itself disqualifies him for this position, wrote 80 former federal and state judges, appointees from both parties, in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Confirming him, they said, would not only compromise the integrity of the courts, it would set a dangerous precedent that judicial power may be wielded in service of personal fealty rather than constitutional duty. As for that egregious record: Before Boves association with Trump, he was a Justice Department prosecutor in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, where he was denied a promotion and later nearly demoted after an internal inquiry into his bullying behavior. Boves subsequent work in private practice defending Trump in federal and state cases vaulted him after the election to the top ranks of the Trump Justice Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Calmes: The Supreme Court's deference to Trump is astounding Since then, Bove has executed a purge of lawyers and FBI agents who investigated and prosecuted the Jan. 6 pro-Trump insurrectionists. He engineered the dropping of federal bribery charges against New York City Mayor and sometimes Trump ally Eric Adams, which provoked a wave of resignations, and astonishingly damning parting shots , among prosecutors working on the Adams case. And on the eve of Boves confirmation hearing in June, a whistleblower dropped a 27-page memo (and later, corroborative texts and emails) alleging Boves lead role in the administrations pattern of ignoring court orders and making false statements to judges to facilitate Trumps deportations drive. The whistleblower, Justice Department veteran Erez Reuveni, was no liberal Deep State mole; in Trump 1.0, hed repeatedly defended the presidents anti-immigrant agenda in court. But, he told the New Yorker, Trump 1.0, they didnt say F you to the courts. Bove has denied suggesting that at a March meeting. I am not anybodys henchman, he insisted, implausibly, to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Calmes: How I spent my summer vacation watching America lean into autocracy On Tuesday, Judiciary Committee chairman Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican who for decades has styled himself as a champion of whistleblowers, rejected Democrats demand for a hearing with Reuveni before the panel votes on Bove. Of the committees majority Republicans, only North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis has been seen as a potential vote against Bove. After all, he opposed Trumps One Big Beautiful Bill Act and, under fire from the president, announced he wouldnt seek reelection, that he was looking forward to voting as he pleased from then on. Just last week he told CNN he wouldn't support any nominees who condoned the Jan. 6 riots, which should rule out Bove. Yet that same day Tillis said hed likely vote for the nominee. His office did not respond to questions seeking to reconcile the statements. Should the committee approve Boves nomination, sending it to the full Senate for a vote, its difficult to identify four Republicans there whod oppose him, the minimum number needed to doom confirmation assuming all Democrats vote no. Yet failure to reject him would be the Senates version of Boves profane message, delivered not only to the courts and the Constitution, but to Congress own integrity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bluesky: @jackiecalmes Threads: @jkcalmes X: @Jackiekcalmes Get the latest from Jackie Calmes Commentary on politics and more from award-winning opinion columnist. Sign me up. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Campaigners (L-R) Tom Wood, Amy Wood and Michael Burrows of the Friends of Goit Stock Wood say the community is ready to take responsibility for the future of the beauty spot [BBC/Johnny Reed] A fundraising campaign has been launched to help a West Yorkshire community buy an ancient woodland and waterfall, preserving it for future generations. Friends of Goit Stock Wood, a newly registered charity, is aiming to raise 195,000 by mid-September to buy the 70-acre Goit Stock Wood in Harden near Bingley. The site, home to a spectacular 20ft (6m) waterfall, is a popular beauty spot and has been listed as an Asset of Community Value by Bradford Council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charity trustee Tom Wood said: "This is a once-in-a-generation chance to protect a unique woodland and give it back to the community." He said the group had launched a business sponsorship scheme to "give local companies a simple way to get involved, and make a big difference to this community project". Businesses are urged to get behind the scheme, with sponsorship packages starting at 50. A wider crowdfunder will follow. The woodland plot for sale is currently part of the privately owned Harden and Bingley Park, which also includes a static caravan home business. The spot for sale includes the 20ft "Hidden Valley' waterfall [Friends of Goit Stock Wood] Supporters will be featured on the charity's website, social media, and - if the project succeeds - on a sign in the wood. Higher-tier packages will allow individuals and businesses to sponsor a larger area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Wood said several local companies had already shown "a real appetite to help", and volunteers would be visiting businesses in and around Bingley over the next week. "But we'd welcome support from further afield too," he added. "Every contribution brings us closer to our goal." The campaign began with a public meeting in the village of Harden in January. In April, Goit Stock Wood was designated an Asset of Community Value and a charity application was submitted. Charity status was granted in June. Over recent weeks, members of the charity have attended local galas in Harden, Wilsden and Cullingworth, gaining wide public support - with more events planned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once the wood is purchased, the charity said it aimed to "enhance biodiversity, create volunteering opportunities and educate visitors about the importance of protecting natural habitats". It said community ownership would ensure the woodland, which has been on sale since last year, is preserved for future generations, free from commercial exploitation or unsuitable development. Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. More on this story With Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Jan Schakowsky set to retire and Rep. Danny Davis potentially ready to join them, next years election will mark a significant changing of the guard in Illinois congressional delegation. But one member of the old guard says hes gearing up for a comeback attempt. Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. this week filed paperwork to create an exploratory committee for a possible run in the states 2nd Congressional District, the seat he held for almost 17 years before resigning amid a corruption probe. Jackson said in a statement that it is my intention to secure a place on the ballot by circulating nominating petitions in the 2nd Congressional District. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jacksons attempt at political redemption comes a decade after he was released from federal prison for violating campaign finance laws by using $750,000 in campaign money for personal purchases that included a Rolex watch and Michael Jackson and Bruce Lee memorabilia. The 2nd District would be one of what could be four hotly contested Chicago-area congressional races in reliably Democratic districts, with candidates this week filing campaign fundraising reports covering the three-month period that scrambled Illinois politics. In addition to retirement announcements from Durbin, of Springfield, and Schakowsky, of Evanston, two of the states Democratic members of Congress announced theyd make primary bids for the Senate seat Durbin has had a virtual lock on since 1997. The seat Jackson occupied from 1995 to 2012 is open because his successor, Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson, is seeking to replace Durbin rather than running for another term representing a district that now stretches south along the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana border from 43rd Street in Chicago to Danville in central Illinois. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jackson would be joining a field that includes seven declared Democratic candidates in the heavily blue district. Leading the way in fundraising so far is state Sen. Robert Peters, a South Side native whos held a seat previously occupied by Attorney General Kwame Raoul and President Barack Obama since 2019. In the three months ending June 30, Peters raised more than $415,000, and he entered July with nearly $375,000 in his campaign account, Federal Election Commission records show. The largest contribution to Peters, whose endorsements include U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is $10,000 from the Progressive Turnout Project, a Chicago-based political action committee. Hes also received several contributions from current and former Illinois Senate colleagues. To see this kind of enthusiasm fueling our campaign in just the first six weeks is humbling, Peters, who entered the race in mid-May, said in a statement. This is grassroots energy we will need as we build a big, broad coalition to take on Donald Trump and his wrecking crew in Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The quarterly reports for others in the race show Adal Regis, who worked in Kellys district office on grants, raised nearly $22,000 and had almost $15,000 on hand as of July 1; while management consultant Eric France raised more than $13,000 and had more than $1,800 on hand. Yumeka Brown, the three-term village clerk of Matteson and a commissioner on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board, had $500 in the bank at the end of June. Also in the race is Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller of south suburban Lynwood, who officially entered the race after the end of the previous reporting period. The lone declared Republican candidate is Ashley Ramos, who lost to Kelly in the 2024 general election and didnt report raising any money in the previous quarter. Jackson could dramatically alter the Democratic primary race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The son of civil rights icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson and brother of U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned the 2nd District seat Nov. 21, 2012, just weeks after he won reelection despite the revelation a month earlier that federal prosecutors and the FBI were investigating possible misuse of campaign funds. Jackson had largely disappeared from public view the previous June after taking a medical leave from the House for what aides initially described as exhaustion but was later diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota as bipolar depression. In February 2013, Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of wire and mail fraud and was sentenced that August to 30 months in prison. Jacksons now former wife, former Chicago Ald. Sandi Jackson, later served time for federal tax fraud in covering up the spending violations. Now a talk show host on WVON-AM, Jackson unsuccessfully sought a pardon during Joe Bidens tenure in the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jackson was also involved in disgraced former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevichs attempt to sell the U.S. Senate seat of then-incoming President Obama in 2008. Jackson actively sought an appointment to the seat from Blagojevich and federal authorities alleged Blagojevich fundraiser and Jackson family friend Raghuveer Nayak offered to raise up to $6 million in campaign funds for the then governor in exchange for naming Jackson to the Senate. Jackson said he had no knowledge of the offer. Blagojevich, impeached and imprisoned on federal corruption charges, was pardoned in February by President Donald Trump. Also giving up a safe Democratic congressional seat in a bid to succeed Durbin is Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg. His decision created what so far is a seven-way Democratic primary race in the northwest suburban 8th Congressional District. The top fundraiser over the last quarter was Junaid Ahmed of Barrington, who unsuccessfully challenged Krishnamoorthi in the 2022 primary. Ahmed reported raising more than $338,000 through June 30 and ended the quarter with more than $329,000 in his campaign account, federal records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The next-highest haul went to Dan Tully, a veteran and lawyer from Carol Stream, who reported raising nearly $205,000 and had more than $199,000 remaining at the end of June. Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison of Mount Prospect and Hanover Park Trustee Yasmeen Bankole, reported raising nearly $183,000 and more than $109,000, respectively. Morrison, the first openly LGBTQ member of the Cook County Board, had nearly $153,000 on hand at the end of June, while Bankole, a former Krishnamoorthi staffer, had more than $105,000. Also cracking six figures was businesswoman Sanjyot Dunung, who reported raising nearly $109,000 but had a little less than $59,000 remaining. The Democratic field also includes Christ Kallas and Neil Khot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the Republican side, Mark Rice, an energy entrepreneur who lost to Krishnamoorthi in the November election, raised $109,000 and had nearly $202,000. The most crowded Democratic primary field so far is in the race for Schakowskys 9th Congressional District seat, representing portions of Chicagos North Side and North Shore and northwest suburbs. Illinois newcomer and social media content creator Kat Abughazaleh, who entered the race before Schakowsky announced her retirement, led the pack of 14 Democratic candidates with nearly $905,000 raised, records show. She spent nearly $238,000, ending the quarter with nearly $667,000 on hand. Her cash on hand total was nearly as much as the next-closest competitor, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, reported raising during the same period. Biss raised nearly $703,000, about half of which his campaign said was raised in the first 24 hours after he declared his candidacy in May. Biss, who on Wednesday received an endorsement from progressive U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, had more than $645,000 on hand at the end of the filing period. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rounding out the six-figure fundraisers were former Chicago Public Schools board candidate Bruce Leon, who loaned his congressional campaign $610,000, state Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview, who raised nearly $263,000 and had more than $237,000 in her account at the end of June, and Skokie School District 73.5 board member Bushra Amiwala, whose report shows nearly $199,000 raised and more than $191,000 on hand. Two other candidates with electoral track records, state Rep. Hoan Huynh and state Sen. Mike Simmons, joined the race after the close of the reporting period. Another candidate, former federal prosecutor Nick Pyati of Evanston, entered the fray Tuesday. Another heated race could be off and running if 15-term Rep. Danny Davis, 83, follows Durbin and Schakowsky into retirement. A campaign spokeswoman said Wednesday that Davis would make his decision known in a few weeks. Candidates can begin collection signatures Aug. 5 for their nominating petitions to get on the primary ballot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While he could easily turn on the fundraising tap if he decides to run again, Davis reported raising less than $55,000 last quarter, finishing with a little less than $115,000 in his campaign coffers. Seeing an opportunity, political newcomer Jason Friedman, former president of Friedman Properties, reported raising more than $1 million in the preceding three months, with $906,000 left at the end of June. Our campaign to fight for our communities and bring relief to working families is resonating with people across the Chicago area, Friedman said in a statement. As I meet with voters and local leaders, Im energized by the strong support weve received since launching our campaign just a couple months ago and eager to build on that momentum to deliver results for the 7th District. But the competition likely will be fierce if Davis chooses not to run. Last week, after the previous reporting period ended, Richard Boykin, a onetime Davis chief of staff and former Cook County commissioner, entered the race. Longtime state Rep. La Shawn Ford also has filed to run for the seat but has said he only will do so if Davis isnt on the ballot. Ford didnt report raising any money last quarter. Even if Davis does run again, Ford said he wont seek reelection for his state House seat next year. At the end of his current term, hell have been in the legislature for 20 years. Thats a long time, and I appreciate being able to serve that length of time, Ford said in a brief interview Wednesday. Ford said he doesnt begrudge Davis for taking his time to make a decision about the future. Danny deserves the right to make a decision, he said. I dont think his timeframe is going to hurt anyone who might want to run. Chicago Tribunes Rick Pearson contributed. Wisconsin State Capitol (Wisconsin Examiner photo) With the fields for the 2026 elections still shaping up, incumbents and candidates for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and governors office turned in their campaign finance reports over the last week. Gov. Tony Evers, who has not yet announced whether he will run for a third term, reported raising $757,214 this year with just over $2 million on hand at the end of June. In comparison, Evers had raised $5 million during the first six months of 2021 before going on to beat Republican businessman Tim Michels in November 2022. Evers said he would make a decision about running following the completion of the state budget, which he signed earlier this month. He has said he expects to announce a decision any day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whitefish Bay manufacturer and former Navy SEAL Bill Berrien, who entered the GOP primary for governor last week, hasnt had to submit campaign fundraising information yet, but he told WISN-12 that he expected to raise just shy of $1 million in the first week of his campaign. Berriens Never Out of the Fight PAC, which he launched in April to help further conservative causes and to help Republican candidates win elections, reported raising nearly $1.2 million in its first few months. The majority of the PACs total comes from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, who each contributed $500,000. The New York-based twins are co-founders of Gemini, a cryptocurrency platform that they launched in 2014. They are well known for suing Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, claiming that he stole their idea when he started Facebook. Both twins were portrayed by actor Armie Hammer in 2010 in the movie The Social Network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berriens campaign has already started spending 13 months ahead of the primary, announcing a $400,000 ad buy this week. Berrien is seeking to align himself with President Donald Trump, despite not supporting him during the 2024 presidential primary. I got into the race for governor because I believe we need a leader to shake up Madison the same way President Trump has shaken up Washington, Berrien said in a statement about the ad buy. Ill use my experience as a former Navy SEAL and Wisconsin manufacturer to turn our state around from the weak leadership weve experienced under Tony Evers and put Wisconsin families first. Republican Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, who was the first candidate in the race, raised $424,143 during his first two months. He thanked his supporters in a statement, saying that the numbers show that there is a huge appetite for a new generation of common sense leadership in Wisconsin one that reforms state government and puts taxpayers first. 2026 Supreme Court fundraising Ahead of the November gubernatorial election, Wisconsin will have another April election for the state Supreme Court. The balance of the Court, which currently has a 4-3 liberal majority, will not be at stake as conservative Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley is up for reelection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the state Supreme Court race is still eight months away, Bradley reported no fundraising activity this month, creating uncertainty about whether shell run. Bradley told WisPolitics in April that she would run for another term, saying she wanted to ensure that there is a voice for the Constitution and for the rule of law to preserve that in the state of Wisconsin. However, since then speculation has risen that she may change her mind. A report from conservative talk radio host Mark Belling in June said it was unlikely she would run. Spending in the nominally nonpartisan races has skyrocketed in recent years, breaking all records in April. Spring statewide elections in Wisconsin have been increasingly tough for conservatives over the last several years. The last three consecutive Supreme Court races were won by the liberal candidate by double-digit margins. Appeals court judge and former Democratic state Assembly lawmaker Chris Taylor launched her campaign for the Supreme Court in May. She reported raising $583,933 in the first weeks of her campaign. The total comes from nearly 4,800 contributions, including from people in each of Wisconsins 72 counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At this point in her campaign in 2024, Justice-elect Susan Crawford had raised $460,000. Taylors campaign manager Ashley Franz said in a statement that the fundraising numbers show that Wisconsinites want to reinforce the current liberal majority on the Court. Judge Taylors broad base of support reflects her commitment to serving all Wisconsinites and ensuring our courts remain fair and independent, Franz said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX By Philip Blenkinsop DURBAN (Reuters) -Major economies cannot allow uncertainty to become the new norm even though they face a novel world of growing trade restrictions and tariffs, Canada's finance minister said on Thursday. G20 finance ministers and central bankers meeting near Durban face a challenge to produce a final communique at a meeting overshadowed by Donald Trump's tariffs and in the absence of U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Canada's Francois-Philippe Champagne told Reuters he was cautiously optimistic a final communique would be agreed, but that the G20 of large developed and developing countries had in any case to send a clear message. "We cannot allow uncertainty to become the new certainty. Uncertainty is the word that came probably the most in the discussions today," he said at the end of the first day of the July 17-18 G20 meeting. Champagne saw a major rebalancing of trade due to restrictions and tariffs that would lead to diversification, different alliances and even new shipping lanes. The minister, who will also chair a G7 meeting on Friday morning, said he wanted the G20 to end with statements that restored business and consumer confidence, saying there were a number of things nations could collectively work on to do so. This included infrastructure investment and African development, describing the continent as "in many ways the future", with a fast-growing $3.4 trillion economy and a rapidly expanding young population who needed to be given opportunities. "The three pillars that attract investment are stability, predictability and the rule of law. And we need to work on that. I've even invited a number of African countries to formalise growing investment protection agreement," he said. "We want to see a flow of investments. We need to tackle that to provide investors the kind of confidence they need to invest." (Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Sandra Maler) The National Public Radio headquarters in Washington, D.C., on June 21, 2023. (Leann Ray | West Virginia Watch) West Virginia Sens. Shelley Moore Capito and Jim Justice, both Republicans, signed off Thursday on legislation that would claw back about $9 billion in funding previously approved for public broadcasting and various foreign aid programs. The rescissions package, a request from President Donald Trump, passed around 2:30 a.m. with a narrow 51-48 vote mostly along party lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislation would claw back $1.1 billion in funding approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which contributes to National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting Service, West Virginia Public Broadcasting and hundreds of other local stations across the country. The money was meant to cover the next fiscal year, which starts Oct. 1, and the year following. The legislation also cancels about $8 billion in foreign aid spending that Congress had appropriated for dozens of programs, including global health initiatives. Trump and other Republicans have criticized NPR and PBS broadcasts for being politically biased and called them a waste of money. The funding cut represents only about 1% of the budget for NPR and 16% for PBS, according to Poynter. Both agencies also get federal funding indirectly from member stations. Local stations rely on the funding for much more of their budgets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to West Virginia MetroNews Talkline on Thursday, Eddie Isom, executive director of West Virginia Public Broadcasting said its too early to say what the impact of the legislation will mean locally. He noted that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is just one of West Virginia Public Broadcastings funding sources. This happened hours ago, and myself and other local stations really havent had an opportunity to digest this in any way, Isom said. So were still kind of in a wait-and-see mode at the moment. Isom said he anticipates having meetings with managers of other local TV and radio stations as they try to figure out how theyll be affected. Its just so early now to make any kind of determination of the exact effect this is going to have, he said. Im not saying its not going to have any effect. We just dont know what thats going to look like in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement Thursday morning, Justice said he was proud to cast his vote in support of what he called a commonsense rescission package. The days of wasting money with zero regard for the taxpayer are over, he said. This package helps keep folks tax dollars from being spent on out-of-touch nonsense on the other side of the world and keeps it where it should be: in the pockets of hardworking West Virginians. Under President Trumps leadership, we are back to putting Americans first. In her statement, Capito said that Senate Republicans listened to the American people who want them to rein in spending. Senate Republicans responded by passing a rescissions package that eliminates wasteful spending, an important step towards getting Americas fiscal house back in order, she said. The last four years saw example after example of misused taxpayer dollars. I am proud to support this legislation that takes a small but necessary step to rein in federal spending and save taxpayer dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill will next go back to the House of Representatives, which already passed it, to approve any changes the Senate made to it. Congress has until Friday 45 days after Trump requested the rescission to complete the bill or allow all the funding to be restored. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A career criminal will spend the next 15 years behind bars for attempting to rob a 91-year-old cancer patient in a violent Upper East Side attack that left the bedridden victim believing death would be better than living with his agonizing injuries. Christian Torres, 45, was sentenced Wednesday for viciously shoving Hyman Silverglad to the ground and pummeling the nonagenarian after trying to snatch his wallet in the would-be mugging on Feb. 1, 2024, the Manhattan District Attorneys Office announced. The heinous attack left the shaken senior who was battling cancer and kidney failure at the time with six bone fractures, broken ribs, a liver hematoma and another fracture at the base of his spine. Christian Torres, 45, was sentenced to 15 years in state prison for the Feb. 1, 2024 attack. Steven Hirsch for NY Post The pain immediately after the assault was so agonizing that I thought death would be better than the agony I was going through, Silverglad, now 92, told the court in a victim impact statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since my assault, I have been unable to walk any appreciable distance, I am bedridden. The only time I leave my apartment is for acts of medical necessity. I am frightened to leave my apartment without another person accompanying me, because I fear being attacked once more. Hyman Silverglad, 92, said he now lives in fear of being attacked and rarely leaves his home. Matthew McDermott Silverglad was walking home with his groceries on East 86th Street and First Avenue at about 10:25 p.m. when Torres reached towards his pocket and tried to grab his wallet before launching the assault, prosecutors said. The assailant, who cops say has multiple prior arrests and convictions, ran off empty-handed as the frightened victim shouted for help and tried to fight back, according to cops. The violent brute was busted more than a week later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I implore the court when it metes out punishment, to take into consideration that I have been sentenced to imprisonment, the scorned elder said in his letter. Silverglad suffered multiple fractures, broken ribs and a liver hematoma in the savage assault. Matthew McDermott Respectfully, the barbarity of the attack should be noted by the court. I have been informed that my assailant had just finished a very long prison sentence, but that punishment did not stop him from his recidivist, vicious assault on myself. It is my hope that the court will be fair and just. Torres was previously locked up in state prison from January 2022 to April 2023 for a Bronx robbery conviction, state corrections records show. His earliest prison sentence was in 1998 on an arson and robbery conviction in the Bronx. Surveillance footage of Christian Torres in New York City. DCPI He was on post-supervision release when he targeted Silverglad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In June, a jury convicted the serial robber of first-degree assault, first-degree attempted robbery, and second-degree assault. A 91-year-old man was walking home with his groceries on the Upper East Side when Christian Torres attacked and attempted to rob him without provocation, District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement. I hope todays sentencing gives the victim a sense of closure as he continues to heal from this assault. My office will continue to create accountability for those who threaten the safety of older New Yorkers. The chief executive of the Notting Hill Carnival has said the event will work with a charity set up by actor Idris Elba to combat knife crime in London. Matthew Phillip defended the two-day event as "one of the few creative and cultural outlets left for our youth" after it was marred by violence in recent years. But he said "we can't ignore the impact of knife crime on our event" as he pledged to work alongside the Elba Hope Foundation and its campaign Don't Stop Your Future (DSYF). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Notting Hill Carnival will go ahead over the August Bank Holiday after it secured nearly 1m of extra funding to enhance crowd safety. 'Better choices' Speaking at an event launching Carnival 2025, Mr Phillip said: "The tragic deaths of Takayo Nembhard and Cher Maximen broke the hearts of their friends and families as well as our communities and, three years on, the family and friends of Takayo still don't have justice. "These young people didn't lose their lives because of Carnival; Carnival is not the cause of this crisis, but it can be part of the solution. "In that spirit, Carnival aligns perfectly with the principles of DSYF. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Their ongoing work to help disenfranchised young people to make better choices is a productive and sustainable action to a very complex and, ultimately, sad problem." He added: "They show that there is choice, and we are working with them to amplify this message that we hope will let people know there are other options. "The Elba Hope Foundation is about creating real pathways for young people, to build confidence, develop skills and find belonging." Cher Maximen was killed at the Notting Hill Carnival last year [PA Media] Mr Phillip also urged people not to scapegoat the event, which has faced criticism in recent years for not tackling violent crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cher Maximen was stabbed to death in front of her three-year-old daughter at the Notting Hill Carnival in 2024. Ms Maximen, 32, was killed with a zombie knife when a fight between a group of men broke out next to her. She died six days later in hospital. In May Shakeil Thibou, 20, was found guilty of her murder and ordered to serve a minimum term of 29 years. Takayo Nembhard was stabbed to death at Carnival the age of 21 in 2022. Father-to-be Takayo, from Bristol, was attacked in Ladbroke Grove. Five people have been arrested since his death, but no-one has been charged. Takayo Nembhard was attacked in Ladbroke Grove, at about 20:00 BST on 29 August 2022 [Family Handout] Notting Hill Carnival, billed as Europe's largest cultural event and the second biggest carnival in the world, will be held in and around Notting Hill in west London on Sunday 24 and Monday 25 August. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The organisers said: "From the debut of the Junior Panorama on the Carnival weekend to the return of the beloved J'ouvert, 2025 brings new energy while honouring time-honoured traditions." The carnival attracts more than a million people to Notting Hill [EPA] At 3pm on both days of Notting Hill Carnival, attendees will be asked to join in a 72-second silence to remember the 72 lives lost in the Grenfell Tower fire. Carnival organisers said this moment of reflection "will also honour the memories of Takayo Nembhard and Cher Maximen and honour Kelso Cochrane, a young Antiguan man murdered in a racially motivated attack in Notting Hill in 1959". They added: "His death became a powerful symbol of racial injustice in Britain and galvanised local communities to stand together against hate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "As well as being one of the reasons that Carnival was started, Kelso's memory is an enduring reminder of why spaces like Carnival born from resistance, resilience, and unity are so vital." Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk More on this story Related internet links The Brief The Caterpillar Foundation has announced a $250,000 donation to aid flood victims in the Texas Hill Country. The funds will go to the United Way of San Antonio Bexar County and the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country for immediate needs and long-term rebuilding in Kerr County and surrounding areas. Caterpillar employees can also have their personal donations to eligible charities matched by the company, extending support for flood relief. The Caterpillar Foundation, located in Irving, announced $250,000 in donations to help support flooding victims in the Texas Hill Country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The foundation announced that the money will go to the United Way of San Antonio Bexar County and the Community Foundation of the Texas Hill Country to support the immediate needs and long-term rebuilding efforts in Kerr County and the surrounding areas. In addition to this donation, Caterpillar employees can have their donations to eligible charities matched, including those impacted by the floods in Central Texas. Learn more about Caterpillar Foundations matching gifts program here. What they're saying "Our thoughts are with everyone impacted in the Central Texas community," said Asha Varghese, President of the Caterpillar Foundation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The devastation caused by this disaster is heartbreaking, and we recognize that recovery will take a collective effort. At the Caterpillar Foundation, supporting communities in times of need is a core value. This donation will help both organizations expand their reach and provide critical support to those affected by the flooding." Who is the Caterpillar Foundation? The backstory The Caterpillar Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Irving-based Caterpillar Inc. The foundation provides support to the communities where Caterpillar employees live and work. Since its founding in 1952, the Caterpillar Foundation has contributed to helping improve the lives of people around the world. The Source Information in this article was provided by caterpillar.com DENVER (KDVR) A Denver district court judge has ordered CBZ Management to comply with issued subpoenas in an investigation by Colorado Attorney General Phil Weisers office. CBZ Management operated several apartment complexes in the Denver metro area, including The Edge at Lowry and in Aurora and The William Penn Apartments in the North Capitol Hill neighborhood of Denver, which both closed in 2025 due to safety concerns. Traumatic and impactful to my life: Tenant takes embattled CBZ Management to court Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, the attorney generals office confirmed that it was investigating CBZ Management following a shutdown of a different apartment building in Aurora, located at 1568 Nome St, after the city cited code violations. CBZ Management claimed at that time that the issues of the Nome Street complex were caused by Venezuelan gang violence. In the court order compliance document obtained by FOX31 on Wednesday, it stated that the attorney generals office had served several subpoenas in 2024 to CBZ Management to provide documentation and interrogatory responses in their investigation. The company is said to have failed to produce a single document or provide any interrogatory responses. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The documentation states that the attorney generals office investigation into CBZ Management as they believe that the company engaged in a pattern of unlawful conduct, including leasing apartment units that were in code violations and making false condition and price representations of those rental units. The Denver district court judge ordered on Monday that CBZ Management has 14 days to provide all the information requested in the subpoenas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. "In the coming days, we will know whether or not we have an agreement. I want to say to you: if there is a deal and the hostages return, it will be thanks to your combat, Zamir said. IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Eyal Zamir told commanders of the Givati Brigade on Wednesday that if Israel and Hamas reach a ceasefire agreement in the coming days, it will be due to the efforts of their soldiers. We are approaching a very crucial crossroad. In the coming days, we will know whether or not we have an agreement. I want to say to you: if there is a deal and the hostages return, it will be thanks to your combat, Zamir said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking during a situational assessment and field tour in Gaza, Zamir emphasized the brigades role in the progress made on the ground. Your achievements are significant. We already have operational control of 75% of the Gaza Strip, he told the soldiers. Zamir was joined on the tour by Southern Command chief Maj.-Gen. Yaniv Asor, 162nd Division Commander Brig.-Gen. Sagiv Dahan, and other senior officers and brigade commanders. During the tour, the IDF chief expressed appreciation for the brigades accomplishments and observed combat activity in the Beit Hanun area. IDF soldiers operating in Rafah, June 20, 2024. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) We will ensure that Gaza no longer poses a threat to the State of Israel for generations to come, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zamir also honored three soldiers from the 401st Brigade who were recently killed. Sadly, this war comes with a heavy cost. Two days ago, we lost three soldiers from the 401st Brigade. It is a painful and heavy price we must pay to defend ourselves. We continue to strike and eliminate Hamas terrorists. He highlighted the scope of the IDFs operations in recent weeks. In recent weeks alone, we have struck over 1,300 terrorists, some of whom were Nukhba terrorists from October 7. We will continue striking terrorists relentlessly until the defeat and dismantlement of Hamas. If a ceasefire is reached, Zamir said the IDF would pause its activity and reposition along lines determined by the deal. However, If no deal is reached, my directive to Southern Command is to intensify and expand combat operations as much as possible, beyond what we are currently doing. IDF will extend operation, continue efforts He added that the IDF would extend operations to additional areas and continue efforts at the same pace. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To conclude, Zamir referenced Lt. Hadar Goldin, a Givati Brigade soldier killed in Rafah during Operation Protective Edge in 2014, whose body has been held by Hamas in Gaza for over a decade. Hadar Goldin is the last hostage from Operation Protective Edge. In his actions, Hadar is a symbol of bravery, modesty, and humility. We have a great obligation to bring him home. This week marks 4,000 days since Operation Protective Edge. We are making tremendous efforts to bring Hadar back to his family, and we will not rest or stop until we bring him and all the other hostages home. Back-to-school season in New York this year will mean detoxing from your cellphones, Gov. Kathy Hochul said Wednesday. After a roundtable discussion with students, parents, union officials, and the head of the citys school system, Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos, the governor assured reporters that schools are ready to transition to phone-free after New York passed a law to ban the devices for the full school day. Kids, on the other hand, may not be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Change is always hard, Hochul said at the Walton High School Campus in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx. Its been a decade since cellphones have been in schools. So its gonna be hard on the students. We have to prepare the parents for really looking at (a) detoxing period for them. My advice to parents is like I used to do with my kids, she added. Theyre up until 9:30, 10 in the summertime. Theyre going to bed at 8 oclock in September. So, you start weaning them in bed earlier. Im suggesting the same for parents to help prepare your children for this. But as far as the school districts being prepared, I feel very confident that enormous work has gone in. Under the new law, school districts are facing an Aug. 1 deadline to finalize and publish a policy that separates students from their phones while on school grounds, including during lunch and study halls. The Panel for Educational Policy functionally the citys school board, except most members are appointed by the mayor will vote on the revised rules next Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then itll be up to schools to implement the policy, which requires that phones be turned off and stored in a way chosen by their principals. Over half of city schools already collect cellphones or restrict them in some manner, according to data shared by the chancellor on Wednesday. The school system is also conducting a readiness survey to which hundreds of principals have responded so far and working with schools on implantation plans based on their sizes and current practices, she said. Some schools may still have a long way to go until theyre ready for September. In New York City, about $4 million of the states $13.5 million investment will go toward local schools, officials announced Wednesday. Another $25 million has been earmarked by the city to help principals implement the ban. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mark Rampersant, who oversees school safety and climate initiatives for the system, told the Daily News schools recently received information about the available funding, which can be used for any of the costs associated with implementing the new policies. He expected requests were coming shortly. Questions also remain about who will be exempt from the school cellphone ban and how students who leave campus during the school day can access their devices. The proposed citywide policy requires schools to provide exemptions for students who need the phone for their health, disability, or caregiving responsibilities if approved by a school counselor. But pressed by The News, education officials shared few details. Were collecting feedback, said Aviles-Ramos. The law is very clear there has to be an exception process, but we are working with families and with teachers and with administrators. But one thing is for certain the new prohibitions are coming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is happening, the chancellor said, and if we slowly trickle it into the school year, what ends up happening is we miss the moment. Habits are built from day one, and so we are going to be ready on day one. _____ Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. On the last day the Roosevelt Hotel was open, everyone inside was sweating. Not because of nerves, but because of the early July heat: The once glamorous Manhattan hoteland once infamous migrant shelternever had a central HVAC system. There were no more immigrants being let in, and none were left in the rooms upstairs. That afternoon, it was only a small gathering of the press and municipal employees, and the only guest whose arrival was allowed and anticipated was Eric Adams, who was running late. The New York mayor had announced in February that the hotel, which had been serving as a shelter for migrant families and intake center for new arrivals since May 2023, would be shuttered this summer. So all throughout June, its numbers had dwindled, the residents of its 1,000 rooms disgorged. Families streamed out the one side door not rigged with an emergency alarm, juggling suitcases, boxes, and strollers. Out came minifridges and folding tables and stacks of files in manila folders, shuffling past metal guardrails and security guards and piled into cabs. All new arrivals, who have continued to show up in New York City, although in much smaller numbers, were turned away. On June 24, one woman from South America showed up pushing a stroller and trailing a toddler in 100-degree heat. She had come to seek asylum, she said in Spanish. No aqui, said the security guard, handing her a piece of paper announcing that the facility was closed and redirecting her, in total confusion, to a different building downtown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finally inside the Roosevelt, Adams took to the podium and began a farewell speech, celebrating the facilitys closure as much as what had happened while it was open. His remarks were characteristically defiant. Present day may not be kind, but history will be kind, he said. We have closed 62 other locations, he cheered, noting that arrivals had dropped to just 100 a week, a result of President Donald Trumps punishing new immigration policy, though he didnt mention that part. Adams, who has worked closely with Trump on immigration issues, had once said that the wave of immigrants who filled up beds and cots in places like the Roosevelt will destroy New York City. Standing behind him were a few city staffers who had worked tirelessly to get the Roosevelt running, and he commended them, messing up the name of one person and the title of another. What happened at the Roosevelt Hotel depends almost entirely on whom you ask. It came to be known by the immigrants who passed through there as Little Ellis Island: a staggering 155,000 people from 160 countries passed through the hotels doors over the course of two years, or the majority of the 237,000 migrants who came to the city during the so-called migrant crisis. It came to be known by conservatives nationwide as a headquarters of international gangs like Tren de Aragua, a hotbed of violent crime, both organized and disorganized, and illegal immigration. It came to be known by the mayor as a bargaining chip, as he struck a deal with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement that saw his federal corruption case dropped at the same time he announced the facilitys closure. And for many, despite a herculean act of public sector administration and civic service that resulted in hundreds of thousands of people seeking legally protected asylum being housed, fed, clothed, and vaccinated, it did not come to be known at all. The hotels final day was met with zero fanfare. By early July, the only evidence of what had taken place there were a few leftover stains on an upholstered chair that were resistant to steam cleaning and some flat Mylar balloons that had floated to the ceiling and gotten tangled in one of the lobbys chandeliers. The crisis began in 2022, with asylum-seekers from all over the world coming to the United States, fleeing persecution in various failed or failing states. In New York City, it was turbocharged by an act of political opportunism: That summer, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, began busing new arrivals to sanctuary cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first buses arrived in New York in August 2022. For the next 10 months, the numbers increased steadily, from one bus a day to two buses to 13. Sometimes, Abbott even sent planes. New York City public health employees implored the Texas governors office to give them at least a heads-up about when these buses would arrive, so that they could more smoothly accommodate the new arrivals. The governor refused. Ghost buses, as the employees began to call them, would show up in the middle of the night without warning, depositing migrants at the citys Port Authority, requiring the Roosevelt to run 24 hours a day. Abbott sought to manufacture a political crisis out of the issue, and he succeeded, with punishing disregard for the well-being of the people in question. Often, those people, upon crossing into Texas, were told they had two optionsthey could sleep on the street or they could board a bus. Some were not even aware of where the bus was going. Many did not want to go to New York City, some had scarcely even heard of New York City, and some had immigration court appointments in Texas just a few days later. Many would disembark in total confusion and dismay. I encountered one woman crying on the street who didnt even know she was in New York City, said Dr. Ted Long, senior vice president of ambulatory care and population health for NYC Health + Hospitals, who ran the Roosevelts health facility. But not all arrived under duress. Some were met by family members carrying balloons, which routinely found their way to the roof of the Roosevelt lobby, as people fell asleep awaiting intake and let go of the string. According to Long, the arrivals would reach the city in various states of fatigue. Sometimes, the cruelty enacted upon those migrants began before they even boarded the transports. One child, whose anti-epilepsy medication was seized and who was denied medical care in Texas, made it all the way to the Roosevelt and promptly had a life-threatening seizure. Many women arrived very pregnant, on the verge of labor, without ever having seen a doctor. Gov. Abbotts office told me that migrants underwent temperature checks and health screenings from NGOs before boarding the buses, but NYC Health + Hospitals staff said buses would arrive with people actively sick with communicable diseases like chickenpox and measles. Abbotts ghost buses sent 40,000 people to New York at final count. And as New York City scrambled to address the influx, Trump blasted Democrats on the issue. The party managed little pushback. Adams, rather than championing his citys response, sided with Trump, attacking then-President Joe Biden. And while the city put together a robust response to the crisis, Adams had no desire to take credit for it, even when it was forced upon him by law. Instead, he tried to suspend New Yorks right-to-shelter guarantee, a 1981 standard that dictates that the city is obligated to temporarily house anyone experiencing homelessness, and was promptly sued. In March, New York City reached a legal settlement with the Coalition for the Homeless and the Legal Aid Society regarding the right-to-shelter requirements the Adams administration had been trying to roll back for the citys newest arrivals. That settlement meant that single adult migrants would be allowed a room for only 30 days, with families being allowed a room for 60 days. Spencer Platt/Getty Images As all of this played out, at the Roosevelt, an intake desk was set up in the lobby, and new arrivals were checked in and immediately run through a gauntlet of testing, screenings, and social services. They were given health workups and tested for various illnesses; those who tested positive were sent to quarantine on the second floor. Next, they were vaccinated against measles and more. Then came a depression screening; those dealing with acute trauma were sent to meet with social workers. Elsewhere in the building was work authorization application assistance; the application process was streamlined to just one hour for those who intended to stay in New York. About 150 of the rooms were reserved for short-term staysoften, the staff spent time trying to reach the family members who were living in other cities. Many people stayed just a night, relocated to other facilities across New York City or off to families in other cities, or even returned to Texas so they didnt miss immigration hearings. The remaining 850 rooms, for slightly longer stays, were occupied entirely by families, many of whom had a relative with acute health problems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the Roosevelts ballroom, a glorious spot as recently as the 1940s, was filled with cots to accommodate overflow. Its luggage room was overfull with spectacular quantities of luggage. Out of the old newsstand, which still smelled faintly of cigars, a million diapers were given out to young mothers, along with 10 million wet wipes and 700,000 bottles of baby food and formula. From May 2023 to May 2024, about 2,800 people arrived each week. This all happened at the hotel by design of its owners. Abbott wasnt the only person to see an opportunity. Many of the citys long-suffering hotels, still reeling from COVID, saw a payday. As Bloomberg reported, the Financial District Holiday Inn, in bankruptcy in late 2022, rented out all 492 rooms, at a 73 percent markup beyond its $110-a-night room rate, as a shelter facility. Inflated prices became commonplace: The city paid over $311 a night at the two-star Holiday Inn Express on Kings Highway in Brooklyn to house migrants. The Roosevelt Hotel had been purchased in 2000 by Pakistan International Airlines, owned primarily by the Pakistani government, and had been closed indefinitely in December 2020, after the pandemic demolished the citys tourism. Already, the hotel was on its last legs. It sat empty until the city struck a deal to use it as what became the nerve of the recent arrival network, a shelter complex spanning more than 100 sites. The city paid $202 per room in a three-year deal, netting the government of Pakistan $220 million, according to the New York Times. Getting it up and running took three weeks, said Adam Shrier, director of communications at NYC Health + Hospitals. There was plaster falling off the ceiling when we first got in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While city staff scrambled to take in the asylum-seekers, everyone else, it seemedAdams, right-wing influencers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and morecontrived to get them kicked out. Conservative media also saw an opportunity. The New York Post published a drumbeat of articles vilifying the Roosevelt as a lurid den of gang violence and crime, working its readership into a lather over the site as a satellite location of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. One article said, A pop-up barnyard would be less inappropriate for the neighborhood. Another Post piece focused on a 12-year-old pintsized gangbanger accused of being the ringleader of a Central Park robbery crew who lived at the Roosevelt with his family. The paper published and republished tales about a shoplifting incident, a domestic dispute, and a violent confrontation between the New York Police Department and some residents, repeatedly. Was there some petty crime? Sure, people were desperate, Shrier told me. The Post made those incidents out to be a wave of criminality. During the last week of the Roosevelts operations, a Post photographer tried to sneak into the facility but was denied. Conservative YouTube channels followed suit. Nick Shirley, a twentysomething right-wing YouTube and TikTok star best known for a video celebrating the conditions inside El Salvadors CECOT prison, produced numerous video dispatches about the Roosevelt, racking up viral hits about the supposed life of luxury being enjoyed by people seeking asylum inside, and the violent criminal element. In late June 2024, the Biden administration effectively shut off access to asylum by executive order. In July 2024, the last of the Abbott buses arrived. The number of new arrivals plunged dramatically, and then Trump won the presidency, pledging mass deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If there had been chaos outside the Roosevelt before, with Trump in office, it took on a much different form. Numerous security guards told me that for months they witnessed ICE agents collecting outside the facility; they were instructed not to interfere if ICE tried to enter into the building. Indeed, after Adams struck his deal in February with the Trump administration to drop federal corruption charges brought against him, his office began working closely with border czar Tom Homan to stage massive raids on city shelter facilities. The Roosevelt Hotel was high on the list. Celebrity television star Dr. Phil, Homan, and Kaz Daughtry, a New York deputy mayor, were scheduled to attend a raid on the hotel for the cameras on March 11, according to reporting in the New York Times, in a large display featuring hundreds of officers. But the plan was scotched at the last minute. Since then, ICE has trained its efforts on the courthouse at Federal Plaza, where agents are now routinely snatching up immigrants before or after their hearings, while letting Adams spearhead the pressure campaign to wind down the shelter system. By the end, a new group had seen an opportunity: developers. After a turnabout in fortunes in the city, New York real-estate titans are now slobbering over the chance to tear down the Roosevelt and convert it into a luxury skyscraper. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youve already got One Vanderbilt and the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters. Two more giant buildings are planned on Park and another one on Madison, one unnamed developer told the New York Post in June. The [Roosevelt Hotels] block is in the hottest commercial-development corridor in the country. In July, one week after the Roosevelt shelter closed, Arab News reported that Pakistan is seeking a valuation of at least $1 billion for the Roosevelt site, which is now being heralded as one of the countrys most valuable foreign assets. The International Monetary Fund recently gave the country a $7 billion loan, contingent on it privatizing key holdings, including the Roosevelt and Pakistan International Airlines, by this month. Now that the migrants have all been evicted, the country is looking to secure a joint partnership agreement that will likely see the construction of high-end office space and potentially more. The site could feature a new tower of at least 1.3 million square feet. It was not ICE, or Adams, or conservative media outrage that got the migrants kicked out of the Roosevelt in the end. It was an expiring lease, the developer class, and the worlds foremost international financial organization. It was like Ellis Island, man. What happened here will never happen again, said one of the security guards I spoke to in late June. As I left the Roosevelt on its final dayI was one of the last five people left insideI bumped straight into Shirley, the right-wing YouTube star. He was filming yet another video about the hotel, holding his iPhone aloft, recording a female co-worker talking about the life of luxury that had supposedly been led by international gang members inside. I waited until he was done filming, then told him I was familiar with his work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We sorta exposed this place, he told me. Within a decade of Ellis Islands closure in 1954, it had become a national monument. By 1990, it was a museum. Within a decade of the Roosevelt Hotels closure, it will likely be a site for young people Shirleys age to earn six-figure salaries in high-rises in Midtown Manhattan, its haunted legacy all but erased. Fishing report compiled by California Outdoors Hall of Fame member Dave Hurley and edited by Roger George, who guides in the greater Fresno area and holds the striper record at Millerton Lake. Best bets Shaver Kokanee hitting, Dick Nichols said. Don Pedro Kokanee action good, Monte Smith reported. Westside canals producing improved catfish and striper bites, Copes Tackle said. New Melones bass and Kokanee action outstanding, Kyle Wise reported. Isabella multi species bites good, Dave Hurley said. Pine Flat trout on good bite, Jim Tartaglia reported. Rankings key below: 4: Fish are jumping in the boat. 3: Good fishing. 2: Decent fishing. 1: Poor fishing. 0: Dont bother Unless noted, area code is 559 Valley/Westside waterways Striper 3 Catfish 3 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The northern section of the California Aqueduct continues to improve for both catfish and striped bass. Catfish are taken on chicken liver, nightcrawlers, or cut sardines while stripers are also hitting sardines, minnows, or lures such as jerkbaits. In the southern section of the aqueduct, Copes Rod and Tackle in Bakersfield reported excellent catfishing particularly after dark with cut bait, fresh shrimp or Triple S Dip Bait. The striper bite has slowed down with the best action on cut sardines and jug worms. Topwater lures such as Poppers or Rapala Skitter Walks are effective along the aqueduct edges while dark-colored Senkos or 6-inch plastic worms on a Texas-rig produced largemouth bass near check gates or in the eddies. A map of the 16 designated fishing locations on the California Aqueduct can be accessed through this link: https://water.ca.gov/-/media/DsWR-Website/Web-Pages/What-We-Do/Recreation/Files/230424_SWP-Fishing-Guildines-Locations_Online_FINAL.pdf. Call: Valley Rod & Gun, Clovis 292-3474; Copes Tackle and Rod, Bakersfield (661) 679-6351; Bobs Bait Bucket, Bakersfield (661) 833-8657 Eastman Lake/Hensley Lake Bass 2 Trout 2 Bluegill 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Eastman, the topwater bite remains best in the late afternoons into the evenings, but the best action has been with a variety of presentations. USA Freshwater Kayak Team member, Damian Thao of Fresno, reported solid action for big fish by dragging the bottom with large 7- to 8-inch worms along with 1- to 1.5-ounce jigs in addition to throwing an 8-inch Lunker Punker in rainbow trout pattern as the largemouth bass continue to chase the holdover rainbows.. At Hensley, bass are found on the rockpiles while catfishing is best at night with cut bait, chicken liver, or nightcrawlers.. Both lakes are releasing water, and Eastman dropped 6 feet to 511.72 feet in elevation and 30 percent with Hensley dropping over 4 feet to 477.86 feet in elevation and 21%. No tournaments are scheduled at Eastman through the end of August. Call: Eastman Lake 689-3255; 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle 515-6273. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Hensley Lake Hidden Dam 673-5151 Lake Don Pedro Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 3 King salmon 2 Crappie 2 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Guide Monte Smith of Gold Country Sport Fishing has been working the lake weekly, and he said, I have transitioned from larger offerings such as Pro Trolls Kokanee Killers to smaller hoochies, and our best action has been at depths from 67 to 78 feet. We have been finding some fat, healthy kokanee to 2.4 pounds, and you cant even wrap your hand around their girth. During Sasturdays Kokanee Power Phil Johnson Memorial Team Tournament, Gary Coe, past president of Kokanee Power, reported the Justin Ross team took first with a three-fish limit at 6.58 pounds followed by the Johnny Vryhof team at 6.17. Coe said, There were a number of big fish landed early in the week, but the bite was tougher during the tournament, perhaps due to pressure. The kokanee were found earlier in the week near Jenkins Hill and the Cemetery, but they scattered by the weekend. For bass, Aaron Jones of Central Valley Bait and Tackle reported topwater lures are working in the mornings and evenings with jigs, plastics on the drop-shot or deep crankbaits effective when the fish move out into 25 feet or deeper. Launch updates are posted at www.donpedrolake.com. The Blue Oaks launch ramp has reopened. The lake continues to release water, and it dropped 5 feet to 814.66 feet in elevation this week. The lake will host 4 bass tournaments through the end of August. A self-inspection is required for launching. Call: Monte Smith, Gold Country Sport Fishing (209) 581-4734; Central Valley Bait and Tackle (209) 312-9417. Lake Isabella/Bakersfield area Bass 3 Trout 3 Crappie 3 Catfish 3 Bluegill 3 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lake dropped nearly 2 feet to 2581.07 feet in elevation and 57%. Copes Rod and Tackle in Bakersfield reported fishing remains productive for multiple species. Bass anglers are finding steady action on flukes, spinnerbaits, or Senkos in watermelon red and shad colors, especially in the North Fork in the stretch from the launch ramp to the Cemetery. Topwater bites have been effective early in the day followed by a consistent worm bite down to 20 feet using Oxblood or purple plastics. Crappie are showing in good numbers near the South Fork in deep brush or submerged structure with small to medium live shiners or white/chartreuse mini jigs at depths to 15 feet. Evening catfishing has been excellent with SSS Dip Bait, nightcrawlers, and cut baits. The trout bite continues to be solid for both bank and shore anglers. Trollers are running Tasmanian Devil spoons, Needlefish, or Berkleys Flicker Shad crankbaits while bank anglers are scoring with Power Bait or nightcrawlers from shore areas with deep water access. The upper Kern River, Copes reported the favorable conditions for both wading and fishing with the lower flows. Trout action remains strong especially in the stretches from Kernville up to Johnsondale Bridge. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has stocked several sections recently including the popular 20-mile stretch, and anglers are reporting success using salmon eggs, garlic-scented Power Bait, nightcrawlers, or small spinners like Roostertails and Panther Martins. Fly anglers are also doing well using attractor nymphs, bead head Pheasant Tails, Prince Nymphs, parachute Adams, or small streamers, particularly in slower pockets and behind boulders. The water temperatures remain in the low 60s with early morning and late afternoon offering the best bite windows. On the lower Kern, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife has recently stocked trout in Section Three with fish being caught from Democrat to the Isabella Dam on Power Bait, nightcrawlers, or small spinners. Smallmouth bass are beginning to show in rocky, slower-moving stretches where anglers are having success using soft plastics, curly-tail grubs, on small swimbaits in natural color patterns. Catfish are also active throughout the system and are taking cut bait and nightcrawlers especially in deeper pools and eddies. The flows in the upper Kern River continue to drop from 805 to 604 cfs at Kernville while water releases out of the lake are steady at 1355 cfs at First Point. Four bass tournaments are scheduled through the end of August. Call: Copes Tackle and Rod (661) 679-6351; Bobs Bait Bucket, Bakersfield (661) 833-8657; North Fork Marina (760) 376-1812; Golden Trout Pack Station (559) 542-2816 Lake Kaweah Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 3 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lake dropped another 15 feet to 655.21 feet in elevation and 42%. Copes reported, despite dropping water, fishing remained decent overall. Topwater Poppers or Zara Spooks dare effective during the morning hours., and spotted bass are also active along bluff walls and main lake points with plastics on the drop-shot rigs or weightless Senkos. Crappie are suspended over rocky structure with small live minnows or small Keitech swimbaits Catfish action was steady for anglers soaking dip bait or chicken liver on the Carolina rig. Kaweah experiences perhaps the most rapid drawdown of any reservoir in California, and fishing is expected to improve once the water stabilizes. The Kaweah River continues to drop, and it is currently slowing down to 178 cfs at Three Rivers. No additional bass tournaments are scheduled through the end of August. Success Bass 2 Crappie 2 Trout 2 Catfish 2 The lake dropped 5 feet to 638.35 feet in elevation and 65%. Copes reported bass anglers found active fish holding in the trees and along main lake points at depths from 5 to 20 feet, and the suspended bass responded well to Senkos and chatterbaits, along with darter head grubs or Roboworms on the drop-shot. Crappie were reported near the marina and in the North Fork, on crappie jigs tipped with crappie nibbles. Catfishing was solid, with hookups coming on cut sardines, anchovies, or dip bait on a Carolina rig. McClure Reservoir Bass 2 Trout 2 King salmon 0 Kokanee 0 Crappie 2 Catfish 2 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aaron Jones of Central Valley Bait in Modesto reported topwater lures are working in the mornings and evenings before the bass drop into 25 feet or deeper. Jigs, plastics on the drop-shot, Senkos on a Neko-rig, or deep diving crankbaits are all effective once the fish move out. The lake dropped 8 feet to 841.61 feet in elevation and 84 percent. Tournament action has slowed down with only 2 small club tournaments scheduled through the end of August.Call: Central Valley Bait and Tackle (209) 312-9417. Lake McSwain Trout 2 Bank fishing remains very slow with minimal action from the Handicapped Docks, the Brush Pile, or the peninsula between the Marina. The occasional holdover is taken with garlic-scented Power Bait in the early mornings or late afternoons into the evenings. Trout plants have not occurred since early April, and the number of fish in the lake is limited. Trolling with Rapalas, Ruby Red Wedding Rings tipped with a nightcrawler, or spoons at depths from the surface to 30 feet are working for a few holdovers in the cooler waters of the river arm. The Reel Deal Market at McSwain is open on summer hours. The lake rose to 92 percent. The l Splash and Dash water feature dominates the lake. Information https://mysplashndash.com/knowbeforeyougo/#hours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Call: McSwain Marina (209) 378-2534. Millerton Lake/San Joaquin River Bass 2 Striped bass 1 Shad 1 Bluegill 3 Crappie 2 The Fresno Bass Club held at night tournament with two limits possible over the weekend, and Bill Kunz of St. Croix Rods reported a brutal bite with only two anglers weighing in 10 fish (two limits) with the big fish a 4.06-pound spotted bass. The best action, if you can call it that, continues to be in the river arm with underspins, jerkbaits, plastics on the drop-shot, or shakey head. Recreational boat traffic dominates in the main lake. The lake dropped 17 feet to 547.52 feet in elevation and 87 percent. The flows in the San Joaquin River at Friant have also dropped to 227 cfs. Sycamore Island is open every day from 6:00 am to 5:30 pm. Only one club tournament is scheduled through the end of August. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Call: Fresno 559 Bait and Tackle 515-6273. New Melones Reservoir/Tulloch Bass 3 Crappie 2 Catfish 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 3 Kokanee fishing continues to be outstanding for fish pushing 18 inches with the best action at depths from 55 to 82 feet near Carson Cove, Rose Island, and Glory Hole Point with J-Pex lures tipped with Pautskes Fire Corn behind a 5.5-inch gold dodger coated with Herring Gel at speeds from 1.4 to 1.7 mph. Kyle Wise of Head Hunter Guide Service said, There is no shortage of fish out there. For bass, Aaron Jones of Central Valley Bait and Tackle reported topwater lures are effective in the mornings and evenings before the bass move out into deep water of 25 feet or more with jigs, plastics on the drop-shot, or deep diving crankbaits. Flukes are also effective for suspending fish. A decontamination unit is available at the New Melones Marina on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting May 20. Boaters are advised to schedule a decontamination via https://musseldecon.com/ with a deposit of $60. Costs will vary from a minimum of $60 to $180 up depending upon the size and complexity of the vessel. Boats not making a reservation will be charged as much as $180. On Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, the Glory Hole and Tuttletown ramps are open from 6:30 am to 8:30 pm on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. From Monday through Thursday, only the Glory Hole ramp is open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Downstream Lake Tulloch established the 30-day quarantine process to allow boating for inspected boats after the quarantine period is completed. The lake dropped 4 feet to 1031.73 feet in elevation and 74% with downstream Tulloch at 96%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Call: John Liechty, Xperience Fishing Guide Service (209) 743-9932; Kyle Wise, Headhunter Guide Service (209) 531-3966; Monte Smith (209) 581-4734 Pine Flat Reservoir/Kings River Bass 2 Trout 3 Kokanee 0 King salmon 2 Catfish 2 Crappie 2 Rainbow trout action remains hot as Jim Tartaglia of Reedley was out with Stephen Thiessen and Greg Kimbel. Tartaglia said, We launched at 5:45 am., and the trout bite was instantly hot as it has been. Trolling from 25 feet 75 feet with Sierra Gold rigs from Bottomlinetackle.com behind a dodger on an 8- to 12-inch leader was the hot ticket. Threadfin shad schools are starting to form into large bait balls in the main body of the lake, and although the king salmon are elusive right now, with all the bait, the trout and salmon will bulk up by the fall. Bass fishing has slowed with the dropping water levels, but the best action remains above Sycamore with topwater early or late before working bluff walls or rockpiles for suspended fish. In the lower Kings River, the flows continue to drop steadily, and they have decreased from 1121 to 849 cfs at Trimmer this week. No trout plants are scheduled this week, but there are plenty of recently planted rainbows in the river. Finding the edge from fast to slow moving water is key with Roostertails, Panther Martins, Joes Flies, salmon eggs, or Power Bait. The catch-and-release section is located below the Alta Weir (also known as Cobbles Weir) extending downstream to the Highway 180 bridge. This area is considered a zero limit, catch-and-release zone where only artificial lures with barbless hooks are allowed. The lake dropped another 16 feet to 862.78 feet in elevation and 55%. Three club bass tournaments are scheduled through the end of August. Call: 559 Fresno Bait and Tackle 515-6273. San Luis Reservoir and ONeill Forebay Striper 2 Catfish 2 Bass 2 Crappie 2 Josh Mesa of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill reported bait fishing from the banks around Dinosaur Point has been the best option with anchovies or pile worms for striped bass up to 29 inches. Lure tossers are working paddletailed swimbaits on a jig head, flukes, Rat-L-Traps, or Duo Realis 120 or 130 jerkbaits in Neo Pearl or Chartreuse Shad. Roger George of Roger George Guide Service reported that the stripers have moved up in the water column into the 50 to 80 range in the main lake. I scouted with a friend this week and the bite was improved, but its still not normal. We worked hard for 20 fish in the 21-25 range with one kicker striper we released -going 30 and 13 lbs- that I got working the 70 depth in the main lake. There is still some spawning behavior going on- with quite a few males still milting. The lake level isnt falling much now, so the fish should be much more patterned up soon. I expect the troll and jig bites to improve. There is some action early on ripbaits along the shore. The best bite this week appears to the guys working off the shorelines with bait. George said In the ONeill Forebay, the grass continues to plague bank anglers, but when clear water is found, bait is working best. The northern section of California Aqueduct has been best for catfish with cut baits, but it also continues to produce striped bass from 26 to 30 inches with jerkbaits or paddletailed swimbaits. The main lake dropped to 43% with the forebay rising to 87%. The banks in the main lake are muddy due to the rapidly dropping water level. Boat inspections at San Luis Reservoir, ONeill Forebay, and Los Banos Creek Reservoir in Merced County are required when exiting these lakes to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species. At ONeill Forebay, golden mussels were detected. Boats leaving these San Luis Recreation Area lakes will not be granted a clean boat tag. After boating in waterways, always remember to clean, drain, and dry to help stop the spread of aquatic invasive species. To check the real time wind conditions on the lake - use windfinder.com/forecast/san_luis_reservoir. A harmful algae bloom warning has been established at Los Banos Creek Reservoir. Call: Coyote Bait and Tackle (408) 463-0711, Roger George, rogergeorgeguideservice.com (559) 905-2954 High Sierra Bass Lake Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 0 Recreational boat traffic has taken over the lake, and the only times where trolling is possible is in the early mornings before the flotilla of vessels arrives on scene. For bass, Tas Moua reported a few fish dragging a Senko, but it was slow on the north end of the lake. He said, Normally it is better this time of year near the dam, but the boat traffic was very heavy over the weekend. A live webcam is available at https://www.basslakeca.com/bass-lake-webcam-1. Call: Mike Beighey, Bass Lake Fishing 676-8133 Edison/Florence/Mammoth Pool Edison, Portal Forebay, Mammoth Pool, and Ward Lake have been planted within the past two weeks. All the High Sierra lakes are dropping slightly with Edison at 74 while Florence at 94%, and Mammoth Pool at 83. Southern California Edison (SCE), in partnership with the Sierra National Forest are rehabilitating the boat launch and campground. According to the Sierra National Forests press release, The campground and boat launch have recently been turned over to SCEs control to begin the rehabilitation work. To complete this work, SCE will need one year for the boat launch-related work (until May 2026), and two years for the campground (May 2027), keeping in mind that given the elevation, there is only a limited window of time to complete this type of work during the year. Forest Order 05-15-51-25-06 covering SCEs rehabilitation work will be released soon. Road conditions are available at the High Sierra Ranger Station 855-5355 or https://www.fs.usda.gov/sierra. Road conditions 297-0706. Call: Vermilion Valley Resort at Edison Lake 259-4000 Shaver Lake/Huntington Lake Bass 2 Trout 2 Kokanee 3 The kokanee bite remains strong as Paul Brown of Fishin with Paul took out Paul Banducci and son Ronello from Concord along with friends Josheh from Bakersfield and Jonathan from Sacramento earlier this week. Brown said, We hit the water around 6:00 am and landed a 2nd-year Kokanee ten minutes in on our troll on a Dicks Mountain Tackle Jimbo Trout Buster behind Doc Barb Mountain Dodger at 32 feet in depth near the Point. This combination worked best today, and we ended the day with nine Kokanee and one trout landed. The action was a little slower today with just over 20 bites, and most of our action took place at depths from 32 to 48 feet, but the bite died after 9:30 am. However, on our next trip, we found a wide open bite right in front of the island at depths from 28 to 45 feet, once again with the Jimbo Trout Buster. We had double and triple hook ups, ending up with three limits, losing another eight in the process. Dick Nichols added, Brian Klassen of Reedley took Rod Stark of Fresno and friends Annette and Andra Moushigian along with their three sons for great action for kokanee from Black Rock to Eagle Point with Paulina Peaks orange or pink Spinner Hoochies behind a gold dodger along with Dicks Mountain Tubes in pink behind a Rocky Mountain Moon Jelly Splatter dodger was also effective, and the best depth was from 35 to 47 feet at speeds from 1.3 to 1.7 mph. Klassen put the boys onto 16 kokanee and 5 rainbow trout. All lures were tipped with pink or white Shoepeg corn scented with anise. Both ramps are open. Check the Sierra Marina webcam at http://www.sierramarina.com/webcam-weather-page.html for conditions. At Huntington, the High Sierra Regatta will once again take over the lake this coming weekend, July 19/20. There hasnt been much change as the recent trout plant has improved bank fishing with Power Bait or nightcrawlers near the mouth of Rancheria Creek. Trolling is producing unlimited numbers of small kokanee and rainbow trout. Check the Sierra Marina webcam at http://www.sierramarina.com/webcam-weather-page.html for conditions. Shaver held at 89 with Huntington also holding at 97%. Call: Paul Brown 300-4001; Tom Oliveira, Tom Oliveira Fishing 802-8072; Todd Wittwer, Kokanee.net Guide Service 288-8100; Wishon/Courtright Trout 2 Kelly Brewer of the Wishon RV Park and Store reported trout action has slowed to some degree, perhaps due to the heat, but bank anglers are scoring with nightcrawlers, Power Bait, spinners, or spoons from the banks at both lakes. Trollers are working 4 to 5 colors of lead core line with blade/crawler combinations, Rapalas, or Speedy Shiners. Call: Wishon RV Park 865-5361 Ocean Half Moon Bay Rockfish 3 Striper 2 Halibut 2 White seabass 1 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch 3 Rockfishing remains the story until the next brief window for salmon fishing on September 4-7. Captain Melynda Dodds of the New Captain Pete took out 7 anglers over the weekend for limits of rockfish and 6 lingcod working south of the harbor. Dodds will be working research trips for the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program this week, and she will also be adding live bait to the coastal rockfish trips, the only boat out of Half Moon Bay featuring live bait. Rock crab and rockfish are possible from the North or South Jetty with surf perch from the beaches. There will be a 7500-fish quota salmon season from September 4-7 from Point Reyes south to Point Sur, and many of the local party boats and six-packs are starting to be booked. Dungeness crab season is over until the first Saturday in November. Call: Captain Melynda Dodds, New Captain Pete (512) 825- 8225; Captain Chris Chang, Ankeny Street (650) 279-8819; Monterey/Santa Cruz Rockfish 3 Halibut 2 Striper 2 White seabass 1 Sand dabs 3 Surf perch From the beaches, Josh Mesa of Coyote Bait and Tackle in Morgan Hill reported a slowdown on both surf perch and striped bass action as the grass has moved into the shorelines, limiting angler access. He said, Our main surfcaster, Tom Niccum, went out to the beach and didnt even cast once due to the excess grass. Allen Bushnell of Santa Cruz Kayak Fishing and Surf Casting Guide Service reported, Monterey Bay anglers enjoyed a great week for fishing. Winds were light, swell was small, and we had long mornings with glassy conditions. Making live bait is a no-brainer, with big schools of anchovies, mackerel and white croakers pretty much everywhere. Most of the meat anglers are focusing on rockfish and lings, but the halibut bite is compelling on flat sandy areas where the water is clear and warm. Charter boats from Monterey are cashing in on the conditions. Chris Fishing Trips reported limits (240) rockfish and 10 lings for their Check Mate trip on Wednesday. Down the dock, J & M Sportfishing had a great report on Monday with a light load only six anglers aboard. That means plenty of elbow room at the rails. They made short work of it, catching limits of rockfish and three lings for the day. Up in Santa Cruz with the weather and sea conditions settling down, Skipper JT Thomas from Go Fish Santa Cruz took the long trip up to Franklin Point on Tuesday. It was well worth the ride for clients aboard the beautiful Miss Beth. They counted limits of big, quality vermilion and canary rockfish with a bonus of seven big lings, four brown and three blue. Stagnaros Sportfishing continues to offer a variety of trips, including sunrise and sunset go-outs, usually billed as a six-hour trip. Theyre catching half to full limits of rock cod, and course counting a few lingcod per outing, plus an occasional halibut. Captain Rodney Armstrong with Santa Cruz Coastal Charters ventured up towards Four Mile beach on Wednesday for near limits of rockfish, a couple keeper lings, and a beautiful 25-pound halibut. On his second foray for the day, they stayed closer to Santa Cruz and caught quick limits, including canaries, browns, and black rockfish. Capitola Boat and Bait is reporting great fishing in their area. For a few weeks theres been a daily flotilla of private boats scouring the sand for flatties outside Capitola and down towards the Cement Ship. The rental skiffs can do just as well as the big boats and they dont need to go more than a mile from the wharf to get into the halibut grounds. Mike and Bryden Contreras proved the point on Sunday whilst landing a big double-digit halibut in calm glassy conditions. Both Monterey and Santa Cruz will be able to participate in the next window for ocean salmon on September 4-7, and the boats are filling up fast. Call: Chriss Fishing and Whale Watching (831) 375-5951; Allen Bushnell, Santa Cruz Kayak and Surf Casting (831) 251-9732 Golden Gate/San Francisco Bay Halibut 3 Striper 3 Rockfish 3 Leopard shark 2 Sturgeon 2 These are Super Potluck trips right now, and our goal is to land at least three species, but today we are going for four: rockfish, striped bass, halibut, and lingcod. Weve had limits of big halibut to 33 pounds from outside the Gate this week along with limits of lingcod north or south. July is the best time of the year for the Super Potluck trips. We have another great tide set starting this Thursday for halibut on the bars, said Captain James Smith of the California Dawn Sport Fishing. He was right on target as Saturdays trip produced 27 limits of rockfish, including crew; 16 lingcod to 18 pounds, and 25 striped bass to 12 pounds on the California Dawn 2 while the California Dawn 1 posted 3/4th limit of rockfish, 14 lingcod to 23 pounds, and 19 striped bass to 14 pounds for 21 passengers. Smith got on a hot striped bass bite first thing in the morning inside the bay before running out of live bait, necessitating a trip to the bait receiver. Perhaps the best score of the day was by Captain Trent Slate of Bite Me Charters out of Paradise Cove with 7 limits of striped bass from 12 to 15 pounds along with 7 limits of California halibut with several in the 15- to 20-pound range. Slate said, We saw the birds working in the morning, and we slid over to anchor up for a wide-open striped bass bite. It was rough outside the Gate on the North Bar, so we worked calmer waters further north for the halibut. The fish box was stuffed, and it took close to two hours to fillet all the fish for my customers who were visiting from Indiana. Captain Steve Mitchell of the Malia Kai out of Berkeley also found great halibut action outside the Gate along with limits of striped bass. The striped bass are busting the surface on the larger tides while the halibut action has been best once the tides back off. This coming weekend shapes up to be another epic halibut bite for big flatties outside the Gate if the weather cooperates. Western Outdoor News annual charter trip on the California Dawn 2 is Thursday, August 21 for rockfish and lingcod with a potential shot at halibut. Each angler will receive a Western Outdoor News supply bag packed with Gamakatsu hooks, a 300-yard spoon of Izorline, Costa Gear, a Katch Fishing hook keeper, a free Cancun vacation voucher and more. The jackpot winner will receive a Penn Carthage Rod and an Aftco gift card. Book online or call WONs Landon Thomas for bookings or questions at (949) 366-0726. Call: Captain Ron Koyasako, Nautilus Excursions (916) 704-4169; Captain Jerad Davis, Salty Lady (415) 760-9362; Captain Steve Mitchell, Hookd Up Sport Fishing (707) 655-6736; Happy Hooker (510) 223-5388 San Luis Obispo Rockfish 3 Surf perch 3 Limits of rockfish were the story out of the San Luis Obispo County ports over the weekend. Out Patriot Sport Fishing in Port San Luis, two boats took a total of three trips on Saturday for a combined 60 limits of rockfish consisting of 449 assorted rockfish, 56 vermilion to 7 pounds, 48 copper, and 47 Boccaccio to go with 8 lingcod. On Sunday, the Black Pearl out of Morro Bay posted limits of rockfish for 32 anglers consisting of 309 assorted rockfish, 11 vermilion and two lingcod. Morro Bay Landing three boats out with four boats out on Sunday for 10 fish shy of 81 limits of rockfish composed of 654 assorted, 76 Boccaccio, and 31 copper to go with an amazing 35 lingcod to 19 pounds. Call: Virgs Landing (800) 762-5263; Patriot Sport Fishing (805) 595-4100; Morro Bay Landing Others Delta/Stockton Bass 3 Striper 2 Sturgeon 2 Catfish 2 Bluegill 3 The California Delta largemouth bass bite is heating up with the triple-digit weather as the water temperatures creep up in the high 70s. There are still striped bass throughout the Delta, but interest has waned to anglers wanting to catch dinner Randy Pringle, the Fishing Instructor, said, The Delta is fishing really good right now. When the wind is up, there is a solid reaction bite with the Berkley Slobberknocker swim jigs in crawdad pattern or the ima Squarebill crankbait in bluegull or crawdad patterns. I use bluegill when the water is of color and crawdad in clearer water. When the wind is down, there is a topwater bite with Furbet the Frog along with the ima Big or Little Stick. The bass are holding outside the weed lines with current, and you must find moving current. The bite is good on windy days, and its a matter of keeping your rod tip down and ticking the top of the weeds. Alan Fong of Alan Fong Outdoors remains up north near Liberty Island in the shallows of less than 4 feet with chatterbaits, Senkos, squarebilled crankbaits, or flipping and pitching for five-fish limits to 23 pounds. We also landed four striped bass from 5 to 8 pounds in the shallows, but you have to be brave to take your boat inside the island, said Fong. Johnny Wang, manager of Turners Outdoorsman in Stockton, reported a crappie bite from the banks along Bacon Island Road in the south Delta along with stripers by drifting live bluegill around Franks Tract. There are stripers taken on jerkbaits off Tyler Island near B and W Resort on the Mokelumne. He added, Bass are holding in the weeds west of Ladds Marina in Stockton, but from Ladds to downtown Stockton, heavy spraying has wiped out the weed growth, and the bass are absent. The Ultimate Frog Challenge is coming to Russos Marina on the weekend of July 26/27, followed by the original frog tournament, the Snag Proof Open on August 2/3. Its frog time on the Delta. Call: Steve Mitchell, Hookd Up Sport Fishing (707) 655-6736; Vince Borges, Vince Borges Outdoors (209) 918-0828. Soo Hoo Sport Fishing (925) 899- Events: Tournament Results: Don Pedro/Russos Marina Best Bass Tournaments/ Mother Lode Region July 12th: 1st Tyler Bussart/Aaron Sapp 18.50; 2nd Michael Hitomi/Brandon Gee 17.56; 3rd- Emilio and Fred Ruiz 17.17. Don Pedro Kokanee Power Phil Johnson Memorial Team Tournament (Three-Fish Weighin) July 12th: 1st Justin Ross Team 6.58; 2nd Johnny Vryhof Team 6.17; 3rd- James Franco Team 5.44. Don Pedro Kokanee Power Phil Johnson Memorial Team Tournament Junior Division (One-Fish Weighin) July 12th: 1st Logan Davenport 1.60; 2nd Hudson Claveran 1.34; 3rd- Mason Cetinich 0.85. Lake Isabella Golden Empire Bass Club July 12th: 1st Tyler Slicton/Daniel Taylor 26.37 (Big Fish 7.85); 2nd Wes and Roy Neal- 22.26; 3rd- Justin Neal/Jerry Waldrip 16.22. Millerton Fresno Bass Club Night Tournament (10 Fish Weighin July 12/13th: 1st Scott Parsons 17.23; 2nd- Kyle Reynolds 13.40; 3rd Lazaro Calderon - 13.08 Lake Isabella Golden Empire Bass Club July 12th: 1st Tyler Slicton/Daniel Taylor 26.37 (Big Fish 7.85); 2nd Wes and Roy Neal- 22.26; 3rd- Justin Neal/Jerry Waldrip 16.22. Upcoming tournaments (dates and locations subject to change) Note tournaments scheduled for New Melones, Camanche, Tulloch, or Pardee are subject to change and will not be listed July 18/25 Don Pedro Lake Tulloch Friday Nights July 12th Delta/SJ County Yak A Bass Delta/Ladds Marina Tri Valley Bass Masters Amador Modesto Ambassadors Don Pedro Riverbank Bass Club/Bay Area Bassbusters McClure 17/90 Bass Club Nacimiento San Luis Obispo County Bass Ambushers July 19th Salt Springs Manteca Bassin Buddies McClure Oro Madre Bass Club Pine Flat Sierra Bass Club/Kings River Bass Club Isabella American Bass Association July 20th Delta/B and W Resort Best Bass Tournaments Isabella American Bass Association July 26/27th Delta/Russos Marina Ultimate Frog Challenge July 26th Delta/Ladds Marina NorCal Bass For more go to fresnobee.com/fishing. Central Carolina Hospital has received the American Heart Associations Get With The Guidelines Stroke Silver Plus and Target: Type 2 Diabetes Honor Roll award for 2025. Participation in Get With The Guidelines is associated with improved patient outcomes, fewer readmissions and lower mortality rates a win for health care systems, families and communities, said Steven Messe, volunteer chair of the American Heart Association Stroke System of Care Advisory Group. The program aims to ensure patients with Type 2 diabetes who might be at higher risk for complications, receive the most up-to-date, evidence-based care when hospitalized due to stroke. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the second time in three years that CCH has been recognized by the Association for its diabetes care. The hospital also received the Target: Type 2 Diabetes award in 2023. The 2025 award is based on hospital patient data for calendar year 2024. The net result of these efforts will be to ensure that more people living in Sanford and Lee County can experience longer, healthier lives, CEO Dave Santoemma said. Get With The Guidelines makes it easier for our teams to put proven knowledge and guidelines to work on a daily basis, which studies show can help patients recover better, Chief Nursing Officer Connette Gill said. Each year, Get With The Guidelines program participants qualify for awards by demonstrating how their organization has committed to providing quality care for stroke patients. In addition to following treatment guidelines, Get With The Guidelines participants also educate patients to help them manage their health and recovery at home. German utility Energie Baden-Wurttemberg (EnBW) has completed a rights issue capital increase raising proceeds totalling 3.1bn ($3.62bn). The companys shareholders acquired 53,556,139 new shares at 58 each under the rights issue. The funds raised will support EnBW's investment plan scheduled between 2024 and 2030. The company plans to invest up to 50bn in transforming the energy system to achieve climate neutrality. A budget of 26bn is allocated for projects between 2025 and 2027, focusing on enhancing transmission and distribution grids and developing renewable energy sources such as wind and solar farms. Investments are also planned for hydrogen-ready gas-fired power plants, infrastructure for a hydrogen core network, and for further expanding electromobility solutions. These investments by EnBW aim to secure long-term sustainability while maintaining affordability and reliability in energy supply across Germany's southwest region. EnBW CEO Dr Georg Stamatelopoulos stated: The successful capital increase marks a key milestone in the implementation of our investment programme. It also demonstrates the great confidence that our shareholders have in our clear strategy for the future and the long-term growth potential of our company. We would particularly like to thank our two main shareholders the state of Baden-Wurttemberg and Zweckverband Oberschwabische Elektrizitatswerke together with the shareholder associations and individual investors. They all support EnBWs long-term course as Germanys largest integrated energy provider. To streamline the process of raising capital, EnBW utilised an EU prospectus regulation provision for simplified documentation over traditional securities prospectuses. Following filing in the commercial register, EnBWs share capital will stand at 845m ($986m) divided across 330 million shares. The new shares are anticipated to begin trading on 18 July 2025. EnBWs deputy CEO and chief financial officer Thomas Kusterer stated: The capital increase significantly increases our financial headroom. Together with operating earnings, which is the most important pillar, participation models and debt funding, we are thus laying the basis for investments planned through the end of this decade. We are therefore delighted by the confidence and support shown by our shareholders and by the fact that we have been able to successfully complete the transaction within such a short space of time. In June 2025, HL Group entered a ten-year power purchase agreement with EnBW. From 2026, the logistics giant will procure 80 gigawatt-hours of electricity annually from the He Dreiht offshore wind farm located in the German North Sea. Andrew Cuomos backor rather, hes refusing to go away. This week, the former Democratic governor and onetime presidential aspirant announced he will continue contesting the race for New York City mayor, despite having decisively lost the Democratic primary earlier this month to Zohran Mamdani. And Cuomo announced his general-election campaign in perhaps the cringiest way imaginable: with a video that tried to ape Mamdanis youthful social-media strategy and streetcorner appeal, but instead resembled a elderly hostages proof-of-life. No wonder it got ratioed; as of this writing, Cuomos post had around 5,000 likes on Twitter, while Mamdanis comment below the videohe simply shared a link for donationssits at 180,000. Cuomos decision to run a third-party campaign against the Democratic nominee, after Democratic voters decisively rejected him in favor of that nominee, does not exist in a vacuum. It comes as a number of centrist Democratic leadersincluding Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and New York Governor Kathy Hochulhave refused to endorse Mamdani. MSNBCs Chris Hayes challenged Jeffries on Tuesday, asking why he wasnt backing a Democratic nominee in Jeffriess own city: What do you say to people who say, What gives? Why are you not endorsing the guy who won the Democratic primary in a contested election in your backyard? Jeffriess response was the same gobbledygook weve come to expect from him, which is to say its not even worth quoting here. Other Democrats have gone even further. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand went on a bigoted rant falsely claiming Zohran supported global jihad (she later apologized). Dean Phillips, the former congressman who challenged President Biden for the Democratic nomination last year, said he ultimately believed there was no room in the party for socialists like Mamdani (who is a democratic socialist, specifically). And the list goes on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These skeptics and naysayers will likely have little effect on the actual general election results come November. Mamdani, who earned more votes than any candidate has ever earned in the history of New York City Democratic primaries, has significantly higher favorability ratings among voters than any of his critics. But the failure of so many centrist Democrats to rally around the Democratic nominee in a race to lead the biggest and most culturally dominant city in America does effectively illustrate an underrecognized and often misrepresented dynamic in Democratic politics: that it is actually the partys centrist establishment, not its progressive wing, thats most likely to violate the maxim of Vote Blue No Matter Who. This is worth noting, because for years its been centrists who have used Vote Blue No Matter Who as a cudgel to discipline progressives by equating criticism of the party establishment with a refusal to back Democrats in general elections. Those who have tried to push the party to change courseto embrace universal healthcare, support a ban on stock trading, elevate younger leadershave probably at some point been scolded to Vote Blue No Matter Who, as if pushing Democrats to be better is partisan treachery. But this charge has never been based in reality. In fact, the go-to examples used by these centrist scolds to support their claims against progressives militate in the opposite direction. Take Bernie Sanders. I know nobody wants to relitigate 2016, but there are still many in the Democratic establishmentfrom politicians to consultants to influencerswho charge both Sanders and his supporters with not backing Clinton in the general election against Donald Trump. This is a claim that can be empirically tested, and it is objectively false. Sanders went all in for Clinton following her official nomination by the party, holding an astonishing 39 rallies in the final months of the election. This was widely recognized at the timea sampling of major outlets headlines in the fall of 2016 include Bernie Sanders Packs Schedule With Campaign Stops for Hillary Clinton; Bernie Sanders Goes to Bat for Clinton in Her Fight to Win Over Young Voters; Bernie Sanderss Hard Fight for Hillary Clinton; and Bernie Sanders Goes All In for Hillary Clinton. Its also not true that Sanderss supporters disproportionately refused to vote for Clinton. Indeed, a higher percentage of Sanderss voters backed Clinton in 2016 than Clintons supporters backed Barack Obama in the 2008 general election. The same applies to the 2020 election, when progressive candidates and voters rallied overwhelmingly behind Biden (though its worth noting that Bidens winning campaign made much more of an effort to reach out to and engage these constituencies than Clintons did). In each of these elections, progressives overwhelmingly accepted their disappointing primary losses and got to work supporting their non-preferred Democratic nominees in the general election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A more recent example that establishment Democrats frequently invoke to accuse the partys left wing of insufficient loyalty is the Uncommitted campaign, an effort by Palestinian, Muslim, and progressive Democrats to push Biden to change his morally and politically disastrous support for Israels war on Gaza by voting uncommitted in the 2024 Democratic primary. What these accusations ignore is that the Uncommitted campaign was explicitly a primary strategy. As one of its organizers, Waleed Shahid, explained, the effort was based on a disciplined hypothesis: that a protest vote in the primaries, executed inside the party of which we were members, could force a recalibration early enough to matter. We werent trying to blow up the coalition. We were trying to keep it alive. Compare this approach to that of the many establishment Democrats who worked hard to clear the 2024 primary of any credible alternatives to Bidenan act of supposed party loyalty that proved fatal for the Democratic Party, and brought us a second Trump administration. Of course, the Uncommitted campaigns hypothesis proved incorrectneither Biden nor Kamala Harris were ultimately swayed to make even the smallest possible effort to appeal to voters horrified by their unflagging support for Benjamin Netanyahus genocide. And, as Uncommitted predicted and tried to prevent, this led to a collapse in Harriss support among Muslim voters (perhaps best exemplified by the eye-popping 117-point shift in the heavily Arab American city of Dearborn, Michigan, which flipped from 88 percent support for Biden in 2020 to just 13 percent support for Harris in 2024). And yet, despite Harriss utter rejection of the campaign, including even its most minor and symbolic of demands, Uncommitted remained committed to defeating Trump, publicly urging supporters to vote for Harris in the general election because, as Uncommitted leader and Palestinian state representative Ruwa Romman wrote in a Rolling Stone essay addressed to her community, people in my district and state cannot survive another Trump presidency. This gets to the fundamental contrast at issue here. The establishment deploys Vote Blue No Matter Who against progressives who try to use primary processes to influence the partys direction, despite the fact that after those primarieswhich the left loses far more often than it winsprogressives invariably assume the posture of good Democratic soldiers. Centrists, on the other hand, scold progressives who are critical of the party establishment during primaries, but on the rare occasions they lose those primaries, they cant be counted on to reciprocate that support. As Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez put it to a NY1 reporter: I, as a Democrat, support the Democratic nominee. Its disappointing to see how people want the party to rally behind the nominee when that nominee is themand then that principle gets thrown out the window when the nominee is someone they dont like. Its easy to say Vote Blue No Matter Who when that means voting for your own worldview, interests, and preferred Democratic candidate. Its a lot harder when it requires supporting someone you deeply oppose on issues that are critically important to you. Progressives have spent our entire lives swallowing our feelings to do the latter, and still getting attacked by the establishment with accusations of disloyalty. But the moment the dynamic flipsas occurred with Mamdanis victory in New York, where, it should be noted, he faces a contested general election against at least one candidate who is essentially a puppet of Donald Trump, and another whos been practically endorsed by himthe establishment proves its loyalty is not to the Democratic Party, but to its own ironclad control of the party. Rather than allow ourselves to be framed as an untrustworthy partner within the Democratic coalition, its time for progressives to reclaim our role as the most committed core of that coalition: We represent, in the words of the late Senator Paul Wellstone, the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party. CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) A date has been set for Charlestons annual back-to-school festival. The City of Charlestons First Day Festival is designed to help children head back to class with confidence and the tools they need to succeed. This years event is scheduled for Sunday, August 10, from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. at the Charleston Gaillard Center and Liberty Square. The free, family-friendly festival will feature resources, activities, and access to school supplies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Families attending the event can also enjoy free admission to the South Carolina Aquarium during festival hours. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Before the mayor of San Jose, California, arrives at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new business, his aides ask ChatGPT to help draft some talking points. Elected officials do a tremendous amount of public speaking, said Mayor Matt Mahan, whose recent itinerary has taken him from new restaurant and semiconductor startup openings to a festival of lowriding car culture. Other politicians might be skittish admitting a chatbot co-wrote their speech or that it helped draft a $5.6 billion budget for the new fiscal year, but Mahan is trying to lead by example, pushing a growing number of the nearly 7,000 government workers running Silicon Valley's biggest city to embrace artificial intelligence technology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mahan said adopting AI tools will eliminate drudge work and help the city better serve its roughly 1 million residents. Hes hardly the only public or private sector executive directing an AI-or-bust strategy, though in some cases, workers have found that the costly technology can add hassles or mistakes. The idea is to try things, be really transparent, look for problems, flag them, share them across different government agencies, and then work with vendors and internal teams to problem solve, Mahan said in an interview. Its always bumpy with new technologies. By next year, the city intends to have 1,000, or about 15%, of its workers trained to use AI tools for a variety of tasks, including pothole complaint response, bus routing and using vehicle-tracking surveillance cameras to solve crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of San Jose's early adopters was Andrea Arjona Amador, who leads electric mobility programs at the citys transportation department. She has already used ChatGPT to secure a $12 million grant for electric vehicle chargers. Arjona Amador set up a customized AI agent to review the correspondence she was receiving about various grant proposals and asked it to help organize the incoming information, including due dates. Then, she had it help draft the 20-page document. So far, San Jose has spent more than $35,000 to purchase 89 ChatGPT licenses -- at $400 per account -- for city workers to use. The way it used to work, before I started using this, we spent a lot of evenings and weekends trying to get grants to the finish line, she said. The Trump administration later rescinded the funding, so she pitched a similar proposal to a regional funder not tied to the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arjona Amador, who learned Spanish and French before she learned English, also created another customized chatbot to edit the tone and language of her professional writings. With close relationships to some of the tech industry's biggest players, including San Francisco-based OpenAI and Mountain View-based Google, the mayors of the Bay Area's biggest cities are helping to promote the type of AI adoption that the tech industry is striving for, while also promising guidelines and standards to avoid the technology's harms. San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie announced a plan Monday to give nearly 30,000 city workers, including nurses and social workers, access to Microsofts Copilot chatbot, which is based on the same technology that powers ChatGPT. San Francisco's plan says it comes with robust privacy and bias safeguards, and clear guidelines to ensure technology enhances not replaces human judgment. San Jose has similar guidelines and hasn't yet reported any major mishaps with its pilot projects. Such problems have attracted attention elsewhere because of the technology's propensity to spew false information, known as hallucinations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ChatGPT's digital fingerprints were found on an error-filled document published in May by U.S. Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.'s "Make America Healthy Again" commission. In Fresno, California, a school official was forced to resign after saying she was too trusting of an AI chatbot that fabricated information in a document. While some government agencies have been secretive about when they turn to chatbots for help, Mahan is open about his ChatGPT-written background memos that he turns to when making speeches. Historically, that would have taken hours of phone calls and reading, and you just never would have been able to get those insights," he said. "You can knock out these tasks at a similar or better level of quality in a lot less time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added, however, that "you still need a human being in the loop. You cant just kind of press a couple of buttons and trust the output. You still have to do some independent verification. You have to have logic and common sense and ask questions. Earlier this year, when OpenAI introduced a new pilot product called Operator, it promised a new kind of tool that went beyond a chatbot's capabilities. Instead of just analyzing documents and producing passages of text, it could also access a computer system and schedule calendars or perform tasks on a person's behalf. Developing and selling such AI agents" is now a key focus for the tech industry. More than an hour's drive east of Silicon Valley, where the Bay Area merges into Central Valley farm country, Jamil Niazi, director of information technology at the city of Stockton, had big visions for what he could do with such an agent. Perhaps the parks and recreation department could let an AI agent help residents book a public park or swimming pool for a birthday party. Or residents could find out how crowded the pool was before packing their swim clothes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Six months later, however, after completing a proof-of-concept phase, the city didn't buy a full license for the technology due to the cost. The market research group Gartner recently predicted that over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled before the end of 2027, due to escalating costs, unclear business value or inadequate risk controls. San Jose's mayor remains bullish about the potential for these AI tools to help workers in the bowels of bureaucracy to rapidly speed up their digital paperwork. Theres just an amazing amount of bureaucracy that large organizations have to have, Mahan said. Whether its finance, accounting, HR or grant writing, those are the kinds of roles where we think our employees can be 20 (to) 50% more productive -- quickly. The Associated Press and OpenAI have a licensing and technology agreement that allows OpenAI access to part of APs text archives. Lawyers for the cities of Chelsea and Somerville asked a judge Thursday to stop the federal government from withholding millions of dollars in grants over the two cities immigration policies. The so-called sanctuary cities sued the administration in federal court in February, arguing the money they receive from the federal government should not be conditioned on cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. They argued Thursday afternoon that the court should stop the government from withholding the funds while the lawsuit plays out, saying that doing so would cause irreparable harm to municipal services like roads, schools, public safety and more. The harm that would come if the cuts actually go into place is enormous, said Lawyers for Civil Rights Litigation Director Oren Sellstrom, who is representing the two cities. That is a gun to the head. Thats precisely the point of this campaign, to put jurisdictions, particularly smaller jurisdictions like Chelsea and Somerville, in the crosshairs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Laws in the two sanctuary cities prevent police from asking about a persons immigration status or directly assisting federal officers with non-criminal immigration matters. Other communities across the country have similar policies, including Boston. The laws do not bar local police from assisting immigration officers on investigations into serious public safety threats, such as drugs, weapons or human trafficking. Local police also do not interfere with federal immigration enforcement or deportation arrests. However, as part of the federal governments crackdown on illegal immigration, President Donald Trump issued executive orders earlier this year instructing federal agencies to evaluate grants they had awarded to sanctuary jurisdictions like Chelsea and Somerville, with the potential of canceling millions of dollars that had already been promised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Thursdays hearing, only one grant for $4 million to Somerville for road safety improvements had been canceled, but other funding awards could still follow. While an attorney for the federal government argued that the lack of other canceled grants meant the court should not issue the requested injunction, Sellstrom disagreed. He said just the possibility of losing future money jeopardized the cities ability to budget for the future, calling it a metaphorical Sword of Damocles hanging over them. You have to make decisions today if youre going to have a $20 million shortfall, he said. In Chelsea, the federal funds at stake include roughly $8.5 million in the 2025 city budget, meant to support police and public safety, schools, social services like meal delivery for seniors and other areas. The city, which received $14.5 million from the federal government in 2024, has said it may need to cut three police officer jobs, as their salaries are supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Somerville received $19.4 million in federal funds last year. The money makes up a significant piece of the public schools budget, according to court documents, along with supporting roadway safety initiatives, homelessness prevention services and efforts to reduce youth tobacco and alcohol consumption. Mayor Katjana Ballantyne wrote in court documents that many of the grants are provided in the form of reimbursement from the federal government, after the city pays for and provides the services. The uncertainty around federal funding means we continue providing services, not knowing whether we will be reimbursed, or stop providing services, she wrote. Speaking to reporters outside Moakley Courthouse in Boston after Thursdays hearing, Ballantyne and Chelsea City Manager Fidel Maltez said the threats from the federal government were infringing on their cities rights, with Maltez saying their federal funding was being unlawfully held hostage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal administration wants to pressure us, he said. They want to force us to make Chelsea and Somerville less safe by diverting our local police from protecting our neighborhoods to becoming tools of mass deportation. Elisabeth Neyland, the attorney for the federal government, argued during the hearing that the federal agencies were well within their rights to withhold grants based on compliance with the governments immigration enforcement policies. Using the example of the Department of Transportation grant to Somerville, she said agencies had broad authority to decide who was and was not eligible for funding. The relevant statute ... authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to issue those conditions that he deems necessary, and so in his determination, jurisdictions that issue drivers licenses to illegal aliens and otherwise impede the enforcement of federal immigration law undermine the safety and security of the transportation system the agency supports, Neyland said. Judge Nathaniel Gorton took both parties arguments under advisement and will issue a decision at a later date. More stories on immigration Read the original article on MassLive. With Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin and Rep. Jan Schakowsky set to retire and Rep. Danny Davis potentially ready to join them, next years election will mark a significant changing of the guard in Illinois congressional delegation. But one member of the old guard says hes gearing up for a comeback attempt. Former U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. this week filed paperwork to create an exploratory committee for a possible run in the states 2nd Congressional District, the seat he held for almost 17 years before resigning amid a corruption probe. Jackson said in a statement that it is my intention to secure a place on the ballot by circulating nominating petitions in the 2nd Congressional District. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jacksons attempt at political redemption comes a decade after he was released from federal prison for violating campaign finance laws by using $750,000 in campaign money for personal purchases that included a Rolex watch and Michael Jackson and Bruce Lee memorabilia. The 2nd District would be one of what could be four hotly contested Chicago-area congressional races in reliably Democratic districts, with candidates this week filing campaign fundraising reports covering the three-month period that scrambled Illinois politics. In addition to retirement announcements from Durbin, of Springfield, and Schakowsky, of Evanston, two of the states Democratic members of Congress announced theyd make primary bids for the Senate seat Durbin has had a virtual lock on since 1997. The seat Jackson occupied from 1995 to 2012 is open because his successor, Rep. Robin Kelly of Matteson, is seeking to replace Durbin rather than running for another term representing a district that now stretches south along the Lake Michigan shoreline and the Indiana border from 43rd Street in Chicago to Danville in central Illinois. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jackson would be joining a field that includes seven declared Democratic candidates in the heavily blue district. Leading the way in fundraising so far is state Sen. Robert Peters, a South Side native whos held a seat previously occupied by Attorney General Kwame Raoul and President Barack Obama since 2019. In the three months ending June 30, Peters raised more than $415,000, and he entered July with nearly $375,000 in his campaign account, Federal Election Commission records show. The largest contribution to Peters, whose endorsements include U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, is $10,000 from the Progressive Turnout Project, a Chicago-based political action committee. Hes also received several contributions from current and former Illinois Senate colleagues. To see this kind of enthusiasm fueling our campaign in just the first six weeks is humbling, Peters, who entered the race in mid-May, said in a statement. This is grassroots energy we will need as we build a big, broad coalition to take on Donald Trump and his wrecking crew in Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The quarterly reports for others in the race show Adal Regis, who worked in Kellys district office on grants, raised nearly $22,000 and had almost $15,000 on hand as of July 1; while management consultant Eric France raised more than $13,000 and had more than $1,800 on hand. Yumeka Brown, the three-term village clerk of Matteson and a commissioner on the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District Board, had $500 in the bank at the end of June. Also in the race is Cook County Commissioner Donna Miller of south suburban Lynwood, who officially entered the race after the end of the previous reporting period. The lone declared Republican candidate is Ashley Ramos, who lost to Kelly in the 2024 general election and didnt report raising any money in the previous quarter. Jackson could dramatically alter the Democratic primary race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The son of civil rights icon the Rev. Jesse Jackson and brother of U.S. Rep. Jonathan Jackson, Jesse Jackson Jr. resigned the 2nd District seat Nov. 21, 2012, just weeks after he won reelection despite the revelation a month earlier that federal prosecutors and the FBI were investigating possible misuse of campaign funds. Jackson had largely disappeared from public view the previous June after taking a medical leave from the House for what aides initially described as exhaustion but was later diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota as bipolar depression. In February 2013, Jackson pleaded guilty to one count of wire and mail fraud and was sentenced that August to 30 months in prison. Jacksons now former wife, former Chicago Ald. Sandi Jackson, later served time for federal tax fraud in covering up the spending violations. Now a talk show host on WVON-AM, Jackson unsuccessfully sought a pardon during Joe Bidens tenure in the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jackson was also involved in disgraced former Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevichs attempt to sell the U.S. Senate seat of then-incoming President Obama in 2008. Jackson actively sought an appointment to the seat from Blagojevich and federal authorities alleged Blagojevich fundraiser and Jackson family friend Raghuveer Nayak offered to raise up to $6 million in campaign funds for the then governor in exchange for naming Jackson to the Senate. Jackson said he had no knowledge of the offer. Blagojevich, impeached and imprisoned on federal corruption charges, was pardoned in February by President Donald Trump. Also giving up a safe Democratic congressional seat in a bid to succeed Durbin is Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Schaumburg. His decision created what so far is a seven-way Democratic primary race in the northwest suburban 8th Congressional District. The top fundraiser over the last quarter was Junaid Ahmed of Barrington, who unsuccessfully challenged Krishnamoorthi in the 2022 primary. Ahmed reported raising more than $338,000 through June 30 and ended the quarter with more than $329,000 in his campaign account, federal records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The next-highest haul went to Dan Tully, a veteran and lawyer from Carol Stream, who reported raising nearly $205,000 and had more than $199,000 remaining at the end of June. Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison of Mount Prospect and Hanover Park Trustee Yasmeen Bankole, reported raising nearly $183,000 and more than $109,000, respectively. Morrison, the first openly LGBTQ member of the Cook County Board, had nearly $153,000 on hand at the end of June, while Bankole, a former Krishnamoorthi staffer, had more than $105,000. Also cracking six figures was businesswoman Sanjyot Dunung, who reported raising nearly $109,000 but had a little less than $59,000 remaining. The Democratic field also includes Christ Kallas and Neil Khot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the Republican side, Mark Rice, an energy entrepreneur who lost to Krishnamoorthi in the November election, raised $109,000 and had nearly $202,000. The most crowded Democratic primary field so far is in the race for Schakowskys 9th Congressional District seat, representing portions of Chicagos North Side and North Shore and northwest suburbs. Illinois newcomer and social media content creator Kat Abughazaleh, who entered the race before Schakowsky announced her retirement, led the pack of 14 Democratic candidates with nearly $905,000 raised, records show. She spent nearly $238,000, ending the quarter with nearly $667,000 on hand. Her cash on hand total was nearly as much as the next-closest competitor, Evanston Mayor Daniel Biss, reported raising during the same period. Biss raised nearly $703,000, about half of which his campaign said was raised in the first 24 hours after he declared his candidacy in May. Biss, who on Wednesday received an endorsement from progressive U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, had more than $645,000 on hand at the end of the filing period. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rounding out the six-figure fundraisers were former Chicago Public Schools board candidate Bruce Leon, who loaned his congressional campaign $610,000, state Sen. Laura Fine of Glenview, who raised nearly $263,000 and had more than $237,000 in her account at the end of June, and Skokie School District 73.5 board member Bushra Amiwala, whose report shows nearly $199,000 raised and more than $191,000 on hand. Two other candidates with electoral track records, state Rep. Hoan Huynh and state Sen. Mike Simmons, joined the race after the close of the reporting period. Another candidate, former federal prosecutor Nick Pyati of Evanston, entered the fray Tuesday. Another heated race could be off and running if 15-term Rep. Danny Davis, 83, follows Durbin and Schakowsky into retirement. A campaign spokeswoman said Wednesday that Davis would make his decision known in a few weeks. Candidates can begin collection signatures Aug. 5 for their nominating petitions to get on the primary ballot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While he could easily turn on the fundraising tap if he decides to run again, Davis reported raising less than $55,000 last quarter, finishing with a little less than $115,000 in his campaign coffers. Seeing an opportunity, political newcomer Jason Friedman, former president of Friedman Properties, reported raising more than $1 million in the preceding three months, with $906,000 left at the end of June. Our campaign to fight for our communities and bring relief to working families is resonating with people across the Chicago area, Friedman said in a statement. As I meet with voters and local leaders, Im energized by the strong support weve received since launching our campaign just a couple months ago and eager to build on that momentum to deliver results for the 7th District. But the competition likely will be fierce if Davis chooses not to run. Last week, after the previous reporting period ended, Richard Boykin, a onetime Davis chief of staff and former Cook County commissioner, entered the race. Longtime state Rep. La Shawn Ford also has filed to run for the seat but has said he only will do so if Davis isnt on the ballot. Ford didnt report raising any money last quarter. Even if Davis does run again, Ford said he wont seek reelection for his state House seat next year. At the end of his current term, hell have been in the legislature for 20 years. Thats a long time, and I appreciate being able to serve that length of time, Ford said in a brief interview Wednesday. Ford said he doesnt begrudge Davis for taking his time to make a decision about the future. Danny deserves the right to make a decision, he said. I dont think his timeframe is going to hurt anyone who might want to run. _______ (Chicago Tribunes Rick Pearson contributed.) _______ *Video above: Rare Lincoln artifacts auctioned for nearly $8 million to reduce foundation debt. CHICAGO (WGN) A Chicago firm specializing in rare coins, antiquities and historical artifacts has returned looted coins from the wreck of the USS Yorktown (1839) to the U.S. Navy. A news release said the coins were uncovered in 2024 as part of a large estate purchase made by Chicago firm Harlan J. Berk, Ltd (HJB). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate passes $9B in cuts to global aid, public broadcasting in win for Trump After conducting further research, HJB identified the coins as part of a trove looted in 2000 from the USS Yorktown wreck, located off the coast of Africa, according to officials. (Photo: Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.) (Photo: Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.) (Photo: Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.) (Photo: Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (Photo: Harlan J. Berk, Ltd.) HJB said the USS Yorktown played a key role in anti-slavery patrols and sank off Cape Verde in 1850 after it struck a reef. No lives were lost, but the ships stores and equipment all sank with the vessel. After confirming the coins illicit origin, HJB contacted the U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command and arranged for their return. Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Harlan J. Berk, Ltd. extends its sincere gratitude to the U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command for its collaboration and dedication to safeguarding the legacy of the USS Yorktown, HJB said in a statement. Thanks to their efforts, these historic coins will now be preserved for the education and appreciation of future generations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. CHICAGO (WGN) A man responsible for multiple carjackings and robberies in Chicago has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison. The Department of Justice said 32-year-old Dwight Hasberry and three others committed multiple carjackings in the overnight hours of Sept. 28 and 29, 2022. One Sept. 28 carjacking happened in West Town and involved a Volkswagen Tiguan SUV with an infant in a car seat in the back of the SUV. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hasberry and three other people identified as Damandre Henley, Tyler Oates-Nelson and Davario McDowell pointed guns at the driver and infant and ordered them out of the SUV. The driver was able to remove the infant from the car before the four suspects got in and drove off, according to investigators. Its with a heavy heart, but clear mind: Artis Restaurant & Lounge to close permanently just weeks after deadly mass shooting outside business Authorities said the group drove to the citys Ravenswood Manor neighborhood where Henley, McDowell and Hasberry robbed another victim of their cellphone, wallet and keys at gunpoint. They also robbed another victim of their backpack. The group then proceeded to rob a nearby 7-Eleven. Once inside, Henley hit a store clerk in the head with his gun while forcing him to open the cash register, according to officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The crew left the 7-Eleven with cash, cigarettes and liquor bottles. On July 10, 2025, a judge sentenced Hasberry to 15 years in federal prison, while the other three individuals involved were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 22 years earlier this year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. Demonstrators are planning to protest President Donald Trump and his administrations rollback of civil rights in the Loop Thursday afternoon as part of more than 1,000 Good Trouble Lives On rallies planned across the United States. Chicagos demonstration is the flagship event among the rallies, according to the organizers website. Protesters are scheduled to march from Federal Plaza to Daley Plaza starting about 4:30 p.m., opposing the Trump administrations mass deportation efforts, restrictions to voting rights and rollback of rights for minority groups, among other policies. Mayor Brandon Johnson, Chicago Teachers Union President Stacy Davis Gates and other local officials are expected to attend, League of Women Voters Chicago Executive Vice President Betty Magness said at a Tuesday virtual news conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Organizers have planned about 20 other Good Trouble rallies in the Chicago suburbs, including Naperville and Highland Park. Thursdays rallies follow thousands of No Kings protests against Trump government policies in June. WASHINGTON Senate Republicans voted Thursday to cut U.S. funding for major foreign aid programs, including a historic organization responsible for providing humanitarian and developmental aid to vulnerable children. The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF), created in the aftermath of World War II, has saved millions of lives by raising immunization rates for children across the world. As the worlds largest single vaccine procurer, the organization has helped to reduce the spread of diseases like polio, measles and smallpox. UNICEF also provides critical support for children caught in violence and conflict, providing safe water, sanitation services, lifesaving supplies, health care, and nutrition to those in need. Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration, however, called this kind of humanitarian aid antithetical to American interests and requested it be rescinded. Citing examples of wasteful spending, it called for eliminating $137 million in funding for UNICEF that lawmakers previously approved for this year, as well as cutting spending for other humanitarian programs. Enacting this rescission would encourage international organizations to be more efficient, down-scope their sprawling missions, and seek contributions from other member nations and donors, putting American taxpayers first, the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a May request to Congress. The GOP-controlled Senate agreed in a narrow party-line vote early Thursday morning. The House is expected to follow suit this week, formally codifying a total of $9 billion in cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting that was originally frozen by billionaire Elon Musk and his push for government efficiency. UNICEF called the rescission of U.S. funds a direct threat to its mission and warned that it would lead to suffering and death. Advertisement Advertisement These resources ensure that UNICEF can be on the ground before, during, and after crises. Indeed, UNICEF is often one of the first humanitarian organizations to respond to a crisis, providing life-saving support to vulnerable families, UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell wrote in a letter to Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.). Simply put, we will not be able to provide needed services next year if our FY25 U.S. contribution is rescinded and too many children will suffer or die as a result, Russell added. Republicans struggled to defend cutting funding specifically for UNICEF, pointing instead to examples of spending they objected to elsewhere in the package, including by the U.S. Agency for International Development, which has since been shuttered. They told us they were spending money on humanitarian relief. And we found out theyre giving money to male prostitutes in Haiti. Im not going to support that crap, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told HuffPost, seemingly referring to a USAID initiative. Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) argued that Republicans were taking a surgical approach to humanitarian programs and that UNICEFs overall mission wouldnt be affected by eliminating its entire allocation for this year. We had multiple conversations about this, making sure that we did what we needed to across the world from everything from making sure children were cared for, people didnt go hungry, and I think that that is achieved, Britt said. Peoples concerns were met by and large. If you were spending it on a transgender opera, or on sex workers in Nepal, were just taking that amount of money back so you still have the amount of money you have for other things to continue to do the good work that these organizations or different things were set up for, she added, referring to some of Republicans recent, ofteninaccurate, claims about the use of international aid funds. The Trump administration has offered strikingly few details about its plan to implement the cuts. This is a sharp departure from prior rescission requests to Congress, as even some top Republican senators pointed out this week. Advertisement Advertisement The rescissions package has a big problem nobody really knows what program reductions are in it, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, said in a statement Wednesday, adding that the White House never provided the details that would normally be a part of this process. Democrats, meanwhile, were apoplectic about the effects of decimating U.S. foreign aid across the globe. We used to be the indispensable nation that people around the world counted on for help, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) lamented in a speech on the Senate floor. People would see the American flag, whether on the side of a truck or a sticker on a food parcel, and think, The good guys are here. Help is coming, he added. But not anymore. We are causing death now. We are spreading disease now. We are deepening starvation now. Chinese plans to develop a 600kmph (373mph) flying train are threatening to make Britains HS2 line obsolete before it even opens. State-owned CRRC showed off a prototype magnetic levitation, or maglev, train in Beijing last week in a sign of its increasing confidence in the technology. Unlike normal trains, which rarely exceed 200mph, maglevs hover millimetres above their guideways, eliminating friction and allowing them to travel at far greater speeds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lack of wear and tear means maintenance costs are also far lower, while their electric motors are emissions-free and the absence of wheels produces far less noise. Only seven maglev services are operational, mostly on low-speed airport links, but CRRC is thought to be targeting the first ultra-high-speed services in as little as five years. Top speeds could reach above 300mph. Maglevs hover millimetres above their guideways, eliminating friction and allowing them to travel at far greater speeds - STRINGER/Reuters More conservative estimates envisage that the Chinese train or a competing model under development in Japan will enter service in the middle of the next decade just as HS2, which is slated to run at 225mph, is scheduled to open for business in Britain. Prof Johannes Kluehspies, president of the International Maglev Board, an association of engineers and scientists specialising in the technology, says a long-range maglev would make conventional bullet trains, including HS2, redundant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said: Maglev is the future. If the Chinese or Japanese succeed and start operations which Im confident they will it will be the end of high speed rail everywhere in the world. The leading railcar from the Chinese prototype went on display at the 17th Modern Railways exhibition in Beijing, where CRRC senior engineer Shao Nan said the train would create a new travel niche between the fastest trains and jet aircraft over distances of up to 1,300 miles. Journey times between Beijing and Shanghai would be cut from four and a half hours by high-speed train today to just two and a half hours on the maglev, which has been named the CRRC 600 to reflect its top speed in kilometres per hour. In Europe, the same 750-mile range would take the train from Rome to Berlin, or London to Marseille, while London to Glasgow could be achieved in one and a half hours, and the capital could be connected with Birmingham in less than 25 minutes, compared with 50 minutes on HS2. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeremy Acklam, transport expert at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, was a one-time maglev sceptic, but says he has come round to the potential of the technology. He says: The science behind it has matured with the arrival of a second generation of supercooled magnets that dramatically reduce the amount of energy needed. Weve also got national governments that are willing to invest very significant amounts, with Japan and China clearly intent on becoming the worlds exporters of this technology. Britain could be a potential market once costs come down, though the experience of HS2 almost a decade late and with costs now expected to top 100bn means it is unlikely to be an early adopter, Mr Acklam believes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were more likely to back the technology when we know it works. So it could be that after the implementation of a line in Japan, for instance, something may be proposed. The question is whether London to Edinburgh, say, would provide enough traffic, because a maglev cant run on to the existing rail network to top up passenger numbers, unlike conventional high speed trains. In other words, while projects like HS2 involve laying new tracks, the trains can still run on existing infrastructure. Maglev on the other hand, can only operate on its specialist line, meaning demand must be sufficient to justify the investment. Maglev construction costs are generally greater than for a high speed railway. However, Prof Kluehspies says the lines, built on elevated concrete piers, are comparatively cheaper when crossing hilly terrain as they do not require as many tunnels and embankments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That could mean a maglev would cost less than HS2, which will feature 65 miles of tunnels, equivalent to 46pc of its length, plus 110 embankments, 70 cuttings and 50 viaducts. The maglev is likely to cost less than the HS2 as it will not require as many tunnels or embankments Tech born in Britain Britain, ironically, played a key role in the early development of maglev technology after the Second World War and until as recently as the 1980s appeared primed to lead the world in the technology. Magnetic levitation as a form of transport was first proposed by American rocket pioneer Robert Goddard in 1909. But it was British electrical engineer Eric Laithwaite who developed the linear motor that is key to maglev propulsion, culminating in his discovery in the 1970s of an arrangement of magnets that would produce both lift and forward thrust. Britain launched the worlds first commercial service called Maglev in 1984 along 2,000 feet of track between Birmingham Airport and Birmingham International station. The service ran at 26mph and closed in 1995 after struggling with reliability issues. Birminghams Maglev service shuttled passengers between the airport and train station after opening in 1984 - Historic England/Heritage Images via Getty Images The UK came close to getting a far more ambitious maglev network in the form of UK Ultraspeed, which proposed linking London with Glasgow at speeds of up to 310mph via stops including Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Newcastle and Edinburgh. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement German maglev pioneer Transrapid backed the plan and Tony Blair signalled his support in 2006 after the Commons all-party rail group visited the firms then recently opened Shanghai system, which to this day is the worlds fastest commercially operating train at 268mph. However, just months later, a Transrapid maglev crashed into a maintenance vehicle on its German test track, killing 23 people and undermining enthusiasm for the technology. A Transrapid maglev crashed into a maintenance vehicle on its German test track in 2006, killing 23 people - Carmen Jaspersen/Alamy After claims that Ultraspeed would cost three times as much per mile as Frances expanding TGV network, the government distanced itself from the project and committed itself to HS2 instead. Transrapid itself shut down from 2010, though its maglev system was taken up by China, leading to claims from Germany that Beijing had stolen the technology. Officials said that engineers had merely absorbed learnings from the Shanghai trains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While China and Japan are now locked in a competition to deliver the first ultra high speed maglev, the way forward remains complicated. The Japanese project, led by JR Central, aims to link Tokyo with Osaka in just over an hour, down from at least two and a half hours to cover the more than 300 mile distance on the latest Shinkansen bullet train. A Japanese maglev established the world rail speed record in 2015 when it hit 375mph on a test track, beating the 357mph set by a modified TGV in France eight years earlier. 1807 High speed trains However, the 9tn yen (45bn) system, which would operate at 310mph in commercial service, has nevertheless encountered major hurdles while tunnelling through mountains to central Japan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Work was halted in 2020 amid concerns about the impact on the local water table. The planned opening time has slipped from 2029 to 2034. China, meanwhile, remains uncertain about which of two competing maglev technologies it should pursue, Prof Kluehspies says. Electromagnetic suspension technology, used on the Shanghai maglev, relies on attractive magnetic forces to lift the train above its guideway. Constant power is required to maintain levitation but the infrastructure is simpler. Electrodynamic suspension, the method favoured in Japan, instead uses repulsive superconducting magnets cooled to cryogenic temperatures to lift the train off the track when it is travelling at speeds above about 60mph. The maglev needs rubber wheels at low speeds, but is more stable at higher ones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The situation is complicated by the involvement of the Chinese military, which is keen to explore the use of maglev technology to launch missiles and rockets. At higher speeds, air resistance becomes an issue for all trains, with the latest maglev designs deploying a sharp beak modelled on a kingfishers bill to slice through the air. In the longer term, maglevs could use a system similar to the Hyperloop proposed by Elon Musk and operate in a tube with reduced air pressure to minimise drag. Whatever technology the Chinese settle on, it seems certain to leave HS2 in the dust. The model of maglev doesnt really matter, Prof Kluehspies says. Its superior technology and it will win. The sooner it comes the better for future generations. 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. Assurant Inc logo and data- by Piotr Swat via Shutterstock Atlanta, Georgia-based Assurant, Inc. (AIZ) provides protection services to connected devices, homes, and automobiles. Valued at $9.4 billion by market cap, the company offers mobile device solutions, extended service contracts, insurance products, vehicle protection, and housing-related coverage, including lender-placed, renters, and homeowners insurance. The leading global provider of lifestyle and housing solutions is expected to announce its fiscal second-quarter earnings for 2025 after the market closes on Tuesday, Aug. 5. Ahead of the event, analysts expect AIZ to report a profit of $4.43 per share on a diluted basis, up 8.6% from $4.08 per share in the same quarter last year. The company has consistently surpassed Wall Streets EPS estimates in its last four quarterly reports. More News from Barchart For the full year, analysts expect AIZ to report EPS of $16.36, down 1.7% from $16.64 in fiscal 2024. However, its EPS is expected to rise 18.7% year-over-year to $19.42 in fiscal 2026. www.barchart.com AIZ stock has underperformed the S&P 500 Indexs ($SPX) 10.5% gains over the past 52 weeks, with shares up 9.1% during this period. Similarly, it underperformed the Financial Select Sector SPDR Funds (XLF) 19.6% gains over the same time frame. www.barchart.com AIZs weak performance can be attributed to $157 million in losses resulting from the California wildfires. On May 6, AIZ shares closed marginally higher after the company reported its Q1 results. Its adjusted EPS of $3.39 topped Wall Street expectations of $2.84. The companys revenue totaled $3.1 billion, representing a 6.7% year-over-year increase. Analysts consensus opinion on AIZ stock is reasonably bullish, with an overall Moderate Buy rating. Out of seven analysts covering the stock, four advise a Strong Buy rating, one suggests a Moderate Buy, and two give a Hold. AIZs average analyst price target is $233.20, indicating a potential upside of 25.6% from the current levels. On the date of publication, Neha Panjwani did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com The Alaska and American flags fly in front of the Alaska State Capitol on Tuesday, April 22, 2025. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon) To understand why the role of the U.S. in the world is threatened, take climate change: China now is producing more solar and wind power capacity than the rest of the world combined and is exporting its green technology throughout the world by building electric vehicles and batteries. Though congressional embrace of Trumps budget bill, incentives to build EVs and expand solar and wind energy are being phased out in favor of significant increases in oil and gas production. General Motors recently shifted a large manufacturing plant in Buffalo, New York, from manufacturing EVs to gas-guzzling V-8 engines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alaska is the focus of Trumps oil and gas policies, headlined by the plan to build a massive gas export project and open-up most of the North Slope to petroleum production, with few environmental protections. The gas pipeline was projected five years ago to cost $44 billion, but today that estimate might climb to $60-$70 billion. Meanwhile, promising solar and wind projects are fading with the withdrawal of federal incentives. Trumps elimination of Americas soft power initiatives, which includes dismantling the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and decimating the State Department, allows China free rein to impose its not-so-soft humanitarian policies in the worlds most needy areas. The loss of U.S. aid will eliminate programs designed to address communicable and infectious disease outbreaks, such as mpox and Ebola, which help protect world health. HIV/AIDS efforts have also had their funding frozen this year, though they may receive funding in the future. Chinas aid programs tend to be economic that end up benefiting China. U.S. scientific research programs are being cancelled by the Trump administration at an alarming rate, including in Alaska. Americas global economic dominance is largely due to its leadership in technology and scientific discoveries. Combined with Trumps attacks on leading universities and educational programs, these efforts will ensure the U.S. will lag behind in technology and science. Just look at the Nobel prizes awarded to the U.S., which add up to more than 400. Roughly one-third of those winners were not born in the U.S. These immigrant scientists and scholars were from a host of countries. Among the original home countries of the laureates, the ones with the most winners include: Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, China, Italy, Russia, Japan, France, Poland, Norway, Hungary, South Africa, Austria, Australia and Romania. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of these laureates were working on research projects connected to U.S. universities and government agencies. Where are they bound to go now? Most likely European and other Western countries, such as Canada and Australia. Chinas universities provide few learning opportunities for brilliant scholars and they will continue to attend the worlds best universities. Tariffs are being turned on our friends and enemies alike and are undermining Americas standing around the globe. Chinas leaders must be celebrating. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A leading state senator said Chinas richest man was able to purchase property near the Pennichuck Water Works system because the $67 million sale took place six months before she was able to convince the Legislature to ban the sale of any New Hampshire land near military installations to foreign adversaries. Birdsell's fight to block foreign ownership near N.H. military paid off Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, led the call for the state to outlaw ownership of property near key military properties by a list of banned countries to include the Peoples Republic of China, Russia, Iran, Syria and North Korea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 23-acre parcel is also near BAE Systems, a major defense contractor, and down the street from a Federal Aviation Administration control center. Chinas largest beverage company, Nongfu Spring, has bought a site in Nashua and the firm is owned by Chinas richest man, Zhong Shanshan. Pennichuck officials said the city-owned utility will supply water to the development. Senate Majority Leader Regina Birdsell, R-Hampstead, had been working for two years longer than the progression of the Nashua property transaction to ban the sale of private lands to any foreign country of concern. The law lists the Peoples Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Syrian Arab Republic and the Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea as the list of banned countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Had this law been in place last year, this purchase in Nashua would never have happened. I will continue bringing attention to this important matter so that our critical infrastructures are not compromised and that all Granite Staters are safe from foreign threats, Birdsell said in a statement Thursday. Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua, said security risks remain and hes concerned at how easily the company bought the parcel that had been sitting unused for 11 years. I find it disconcerting that city officials in Nashua allowed this deal to be approved so quickly without a public conversation, Avard said. My concern is whether this will now open up Granite Staters, along with our national security, to serious risk. Nashua Mayor James Donchess issued a statement Friday contesting the city had any involvement in the sale. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The City of Nashua is neither involved in nor informed of the sales and acquisitions of any private properties in the city, and it has no input on the purchase prices of any private properties. The City of Nashua only became aware of this potential project when Nongfu Spring submitted a construction permit application, which they withdrew at the end of May," Donchess said in a statement. Space Force officials: Threat is real Military personnel from the U.S. Space Force Station in New Boston testified for the bill and officials spoke about real attempts to steal defense intelligence in New Hampshire. While Nongfu Spring has not yet outlined plans for extraction or bottling, its ownership and the companys global strategy focused heavily on exporting bottled water have Space Force officials concerned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stag Industrial Holdings LLC, a real estate investment trust, sold the land to NF North America, a subsidiary of Nongfu Spring, on Jan. 31. The property, a 337,391-square-foot single-story building on 23 acres at 80 Northwest Blvd., was bought at four times more than its city-assessed property value of $15 million. Avard worked with Birdsell to pass law that blocks foreign adversary purchases Sen. Kevin Avard, R-Nashua, said it was far too easy for China's richest man to buy a 23-parcel in his hometown near the state's largest defense contractor and a Federal Aviation Administration control center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some New Hampshire business leaders had balked at earlier versions of Birdsells bill, charging it would have forced them to file bothersome paperwork. Birdsell agreed to remove some of the most onerous provisions from her bill (SB 162), which the state Senate adopted on a voice vote. But some House leaders managed to put the bill into a political breakdown lane, first parking it in a House committee for a month and a half before that panel voted to retain it. The House committees maneuver blocked the full House from taking up the legislation until early next year. Birdsell decided after two years that she wasnt going to take no for an answer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A chief negotiator on the House-Senate panel that brokered the two-year state budget, Birdsell tucked her measure into the massive budget trailer bill (HB 2), with its 461 sections, that made all necessary state law changes to implement the operating budget. Whats Next: The new law gives the attorney general the right to seek forfeiture of any property purchase by one of the cited foreign adversaries. Prospects: Birdsell, a Coast Guard veteran, said she and Avard would continue to look at other legislative avenues to protect state assets of national security interest. klandrigan@unionleader.com (COLORADO SPRINGS) A Colorado Springs bookstore is suing the state over a law requiring business owners to address customers by their preferred pronouns. Its the latest lawsuit over the Kelly Loving Act, named after a woman killed during the Club Q shooting. Attorneys representing a local Christian bookstore have filed a federal lawsuit hoping to uphold its religious and commonsense beliefs about biological sex. C.S. Lewis said something to the effect of, its not the ideas that are being debated that are dangerous. Its the ideas that are no longer debated, or in a sense, are censored. And thats what we dont want to have happen in Colorado, said Eric Smith, Co-Owner of Born Again Used Books. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Alliance Defending Freedom, Born Again Used Books, a family-owned bookstore in Colorado Springs, is challenging a state law that recently redefined gender expression to include how an individual chooses to be addressed, [meaning] pronouns and titles based on gender identity rather than biological sex. The Kelly Loving Act has been a controversial topic since its initial proposal. Under the law, intentionally misgendering or dead-naming someone is considered discriminatory under the Colorado Anti-Discrimination Act. It stepped into our bookstore, in a sense, and infringes upon ours and every businesss First Amendment rights, said Eric. Born Again Used Books is being represented by Alliance Defending Freedom. The owners say the recent law is compelling the store to speak using pronouns and titles based on a persons preferred gender expressionrequiring the bookstore to abide by the lawwhich violates the Christian bookstores beliefs and First Amendment rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It doesnt restrict books that we sell, it does tell us what we can say and cant say in terms of how people choose to be addressed, said Eric. The owners say their freedom of speech is at risk under the law, and if they break it, they could face various penalties and fines. Those in favor of the new law say it protects transgender people in our state. In addition to a free speech violation, we think this is a violation of their constitutional right to exercise their faith. They are a faith-based business, and we believe the First Amendment protects their ability to live and speak the truth in accordance with their faith, said Hal Frampton, attorney at Alliance Defending Freedom. Framton says the shops motto automatically breaches the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think its important to note that simply publishing the bookstores policy on using biologically accurate language, that in and of itself violates the law, and every violation of the law can carry up to a $3,500 penalty, said Frampton. The owners say their focus is truth. As a bookstore, we love talking about ideas. We love talking to people of all various different backgrounds. But when the truth gets lost in the discussion, its hard to have a discussion. Its hard to disagree in a respectful way, said Sara Smith, Co-owner of Born Again Used Books. FOX21 News reached out to Attorney General Phil Weiser, and his office said, We are not commenting on the pending litigation at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX21 News Colorado. President Donald Trump has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, the White House announced on Thursday. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shared a letter from Trump's physician in a news conference, which said Trump was examined after he noticed "mild" swelling in his legs. Leavitt said the physician described the condition as "benign" and "common," particularly among adults above age 70. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Gal Gadot reveals she had 'massive blood clot' in brain while pregnant Leavitt added that the president is in "excellent health" and that the doctor's full letter would be released soon. Here's what you need to know about the condition, what symptoms it causes and how it's treated. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: President Donald Trump attends the inaugural Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit on the campus of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, July 15, 2025. What is chronic venous insufficiency? Chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) is a circulatory condition in which the veins in the leg have difficulty returning blood back to the heart due to damaged valves. "Unlike the arteries, the veins have valves that help return blood to the heart," Dr. Andrea Obi, vascular surgeon at University of Michigan Health Frankel Cardiovascular Center and associate professor of vascular surgery at University of Michigan Medical School, told ABC News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She explained that there are larger veins, called deep veins, which return the bulk of blood to the heart, and there are superficial veins, which are just under the skin surface. "When the valves fail, meaning they don't adequately return blood to the heart, the blood can back up into the leg, and that's essentially what venous insufficiency is," Obi said. This can cause blood to pool in the legs and lead to leg swelling. MORE: Tori Kelly hospitalized: What you need to know about blood clots CVI is fairly common, affecting up to 40% of the U.S. population, according to the Society for Vascular Surgery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Obi said this figure may be an underestimation because CVI is not detected on any routine screening test, and patients often require a duplex ultrasound -- a non-invasive imaging technique to assess blood flow and blood vessel structure -- for diagnosis. What are the symptoms? Obi said most CVI patients have mild symptoms and the most common manifestation is varicose veins, which occur when the blood pools into the superficial veins just under the skin. The veins become swollen, which can be heavy, uncomfortable or painful for patients. If patients have CVI in the deeper veins, they may experience leg swelling around the ankle area and it can extend up towards the knee, Obi said. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images - PHOTO: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks during a press briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, July 17, 2025, in Washington, D.C. In more severe cases, darkening of the skin can occur and an open sore or ulcer could develop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When the blood pools down near the ankle level, you'll get discoloration, and it's a brown discoloration and that brown discoloration is the result of the iron from the red blood cells that sort of pools there and gets picked up by your immune cells," Obi said. Over time, this can make the skin thick and unable to heal from minor trauma, which is when ulcers form, she said. How is it treated? Treatments are typically nonsurgical and are mainly to prevent swelling and ulcers from forming, according to the Society for Vascular Surgery. Obi said if a patient is found to have CVI incidentally and they don't have symptoms, there is no need for treatment unless symptoms arise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First-line treatment can include compression, such as wearing compression stockings or an elastic wrap. There are also supplements patients can take to relieve symptoms, Obi said. MORE: Singer Tori Kelly being treated for multiple blood clots after collapsing "Compression is the very first thing that you prescribe and then, generally, if a patient desires surgical intervention or something like that, you would try compression first to see if they get relief," she said. "If they're still symptomatic or not able to live their daily life, then you might proceed down the pathway of doing an intervention to try and help them improve their quality of life." If superficial veins are affected, patients may receive vein ablation, which is a minimally invasive procedure to close the veins off, and removal of the varicose veins. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If deep veins are affected, some patients may require an angioplasty to widen the narrow or blocked veins, or stenting to restore blood flow. Obi said even if someone's vein valves are prone to failing due to genetics or aging, walking can help overcome this. "Your calf muscle will substitute for your valves, and your calf muscle will actually push the blood back up to your heart," she said. "We tell all our patients, 'You should do some sort of walking program to keep that calf pump strong. The worst thing you can do is stand on your feet for long periods of time and allow the blood to pool." Democrats Chuck Schumer and Ed Markey called on FCC chairman Brendan Carr to end the agencys partisan attacks on CBS and to cease interfering with the judgement of independent news organizations. In a new letter, dated Wednesday, July 16, the pair called out the agency for an outrageous abuse of its enforcement powers by making CBS turn over the transcript and camera footage of the 60 Minutes Kamala Harris interview, which was subsequently opened up to a public comment period as part of an investigation into allegations of news distortion that ended on March 24. More from TheWrap Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, the letter knocked the FCCs political double standard by not acting on Fox News selective editing of a June 2024 interview with then-candidate Donald Trump , which they said appeared to be far more misleading when he was asked about the Jeffrey Epstein files. The selective editing of the Trump interview led viewers to believe that Trump unqualifiedly supported the files release when in reality he equivocated, Schumer and Markey wrote. Yet, when CBS made editorial decisions around a 60 Minutes interview with then-Vice President candidate Kamala Harris in October 2024 that had no effect on its content, the Federal Communications Commission opened an inquiry. During the interview, Trump replied, Yeah, yeah I would, when asked if he would release the Epstein files. But in a portion of the interview that did not air on Fox & Friends, he said: I guess I would. I think that less so because, you dont know, you dont want to affect peoples lives if its phony stuff in there, because its a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would. Asked if it would restore trust, he added, Yeah. I dont know about Epstein so much as I do the others. Certainly about the way he died. Itd be interesting to find out what happened there, because that was a weird situation and the cameras didnt happen to be working, etc., etc. But yeah, Id go a long way toward that one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Foxs cable network is not subject to FCC scrutiny, the lawmakers pointed out that the interview being re-aired over its owned and operated stations would put it under the agencys jurisdiction. But they emphasized an investigation into Fox News is not the answer and that neither network should be investigated or pressured. Editorial discretion lies at the heart of press freedom and should not be subject to government interference, the letter concluded. Rather than opening an investigation into Fox, the FCC should close the docket in its investigation over the Harris interview on 60 Minutes and stop wielding its regulatory power as a weapon against the news media. In a statement to TheWrap, a Fox News spokesperson said that there was no selective editing and that Trumps interview had standard editorial cuts for time. It added that the full answer to the question aired on the following days show and was also run on multiple Fox News Media platforms with full transparency on June 3, 2024, including audio, digital and streaming. The entire transcript was also posted on foxnews.com. In addition to the agencys investigation, Trump sued Paramount for $20 billion over the Harris interview, which he alleged was deceptively edited and had caused him mental anguish. Trumps complaint took aim at Harris response to a question on whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was listening to the Biden administration, which was different in the final cut that aired on Oct. 7 than what aired in an earlier promo on Face the Nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though Paramount and CBS argued that the suit was meritless, the parties ultimately settled for $16 million, which covered Trumps legal fees and costs, as well as a donation that will be allocated to a future presidential library. Paramount also said that in the future, 60 Minutes will release transcripts of interviews with eligible U.S. presidential candidates after such interviews have aired, subject to redactions as required for legal or national security concerns. But there was notably no apology or statement of regret from CBS News or 60 Minutes. Lawmakers including Sen. Elizabeth Warren have slammed the Paramount settlement, warning it could be bribery in plain sight for regulatory approval of the media giants pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, which is under review at the FCC due to a required transfer of broadcast licenses. Warren and other Democratic lawmakers have introduced the Presidential Library Anti-Corruption Act of 2025, which is aimed at to closing loopholes allowing for unchecked donations to presidential libraries. Markey, who is a co-sponsor on the proposed legislation, has also called for the Paramount-Skydance mergers approval to be brought to a vote by the FCCs full commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Representatives for Carr and the FCC did not immediately return TheWraps request for comment. The post Chuck Schumer, Ed Markey Urge FCC Chairman to End Partisan Attacks on CBS appeared first on TheWrap. Niagara Falls City Administrator Anthony Restaino said he anticipates more progress being made in the coming weeks on a long-standing concern of residents: overgrown grass and weeds in lots and on unkempt properties across the community. During an appearance on Wednesday on the Viewpoint talk show hosted by Tom Darro on WEBR AM 1440, Restaino said staffing issues experienced by the Department of Public Works have been addressed, which should allow the city to place a second full cleanup crew out into neighborhoods. Unfortunately, we have had only one crew to do clean-up work, Restaino said. I believe we are at a point now where we are going to be able to have a second crew. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Restaino noted that city lawmakers recently approved a recommendation from the administration to increase the pay for DPW workers from $15 an hour to $17 an hour. The move was made in an effort to attract more workers to the department. In recent weeks, he said, the city has also been working with outside contractors to help address overgrown grass and weeds on private properties, a job the city inherits in instances when the property owners themselves do not take adequate care of their own landscaping. In such instances, the city can send in either DPW employees or outside contractors to cut the grass and bill the property owner for services rendered. Several residents called the show on Wednesday to encourage the administrator to do more to tackle whats been one of the most talked-about concerns in the Falls for years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Restaino said the city keeps a list of properties in need of attention and encouraged residents to call with concerns. He said the citys clean neighborhood inspector is responsible for following up on complaints and has the power to visit any properties she believes warrant attention on her own. He noted that properties with yellow tags on them mean the city has notified the owner of their need to clean up their properties. If its private property, we have to provide notice to the property owner, he said. If you see a yellow tag on the property, that means an inspector has been there and notified the property owner. The notice gives the property owner a set time for completing any cleanup work. If they dont, the citys going to do it, Restaino said. Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens announced the city had reached a new agreement with the Atlanta Citizens Review Board and the Atlanta Police Department for government transparency and police accountability. The Atlanta Citizens Review Board is an independent body that examines claims against the police department regarding use of force, conduct and more. Going forward, the mayors office said the agreement would create a stronger, more transparent framework for APD and the ACRB to collaborate. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] In April, Channel 2 Action News reported when Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum appeared before the ACRB to discuss transparency, officer discipline and maintaining public trust. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres no guessing game. Ive got to be able to hold myself accountable. I have to be able to hold more of the department accountable, Schierbaum said while discussing reviews by the ACRB. TRENDING STORIES: It ensures that timely, essential data will be shared with the ACRB, particularly in cases involving Officer-Involved Shootings, Deaths in Custody, Serious Bodily Injury in Custody, and Firearm Discharges Dickens office said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the agreements key provisions shared by the mayors office, APD will invite members of ACRB to APD staff training, officers will receive training on how ACRB handles complaints, and members of ACRB will attend the APD Citizens Police Academy as part of orientation for board membership, among others. This MOU is about more than process, its about purpose, Schierbaum said in a statement Tuesday. We welcome the role of civilian oversight and look forward to continued partnership with the ACRB as we work together to strengthen public trust and ensure accountability. Additionally, APD and ACRB will meet annually, quarterly, monthly and bi-weekly, depending on leadership levels, to provide updates and revisit the scope of the new agreement. APD will also have to provide ACRB with any policy changes related to use of force and may ask ACRB for feedback. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ACRB will also have to be informed of any officer-involved shooting, death in custody, serious bodily injury in custody or firearm discharge within 24 hours via email, unless there are extenuating circumstances. Within 24 hours of the decision via email, ACRB will have to be notified of a closed officer-involved shooting or death in custody case and ACRB will have be included on officer notification letters. Case files must also be shared within 24 hours unless restricted by a request from the District Attorney or under active appeal. ACRB will also have to share its own decisions with APD, the Mayor, City Council and relevant OPS leadership, within three businesses days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement APD will have to give ACRB a written explanation on final disciplinary decisions when it is more than or less than what ACRB recommends. This agreement reflects our shared commitment to accountability, transparency, and lasting, systemic change, Dickens said. Most importantly, it helps rebuild trust between the government and the people we serve. For a full list of the provisions of the new memorandum of understanding between APD and ACRB, click here. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] The City of Atlanta is remembering its first trailblazing Black fire chief. Chief William Hamer died Thursday at the age of 86. Fire Chief Roderick Smith said Hamers work earned Atlanta Fire Rescue national respect. He was one of the original 16 Black firefighters to integrate the department in 1963. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens issued the following statement: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am so saddened to learn that Atlantas first Black fire chief, William H. Hamer has passed away. Chief Hamer made history 40 years ago when Mayor Andrew Young appointed him to the post. But well before that, he was one of the original 16 Black firefighters who integrated Atlanta Fire Rescue in 1963. Most of us will never know the pressures of being the first. What we do know though is that this city will never stop celebrating the legacy of fortitude, faith and fearlessness that Chief Hamer and his trailblazing compatriots have left with us. There will be a public viewing Friday at 3 p.m. at Murray Brothers Funeral Home at 1199 Utoy Springs Road. A celebration of life service is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday at Hoosier United Methodist Church 2545 Benjamin E. Mays Drive in southwest Atlanta. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) The City of Birminghams Department of Finance is inviting small business owners, entrepreneurs, and more to attend its free expo event. The Business with BHM Vendor Opportunity Expo is a free, in-person event designed to help local businesses navigate and access opportunities within the city. The event will take place Thursday, Aug. 7, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. This is more than an information sessionits an open door, said Robbie Martin, Procurement Director. Were committed to doing business with businesses that reflect the richness and diversity of Birmingham. If youve got the services, we want to hear from you. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those interested must register by Aug. 1. For more information, call 205-254-2265. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) The city of San Angelo will be spraying twice a day, seven days a week, to help the large population of mosquitoes that have shown up after the floods. Standing water and warm, moist air are perfect breeding grounds for mosquitoes. The chemical that we are using it wont harm you, it wont harm your pets or anything like that, itll only harm a mosquito, said Patrick Frerich, Operations Director. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The spray being used will not have a residual effect, so if citizens see the truck, there is no need to worry about potential harm. Ways you can reduce mosquitoes at home are to drain standing water, wear mosquito repellent and maintain lawns. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Constellation Energy Corporation logo on phone and website-by T_Schneider via Shutterstock Valued at a market cap of $99.7 billion, Constellation Energy Corporation (CEG) is a leading U.S. energy provider offering electricity, natural gas, and sustainable energy solutions. Operating through five regional segments, the company manages over 31,000 megawatts of generation capacity across nuclear, wind, solar, natural gas, and hydroelectric sources. The Baltimore, Maryland-based company is slated to announce its fiscal Q2 2025 earnings results on Tuesday, Aug. 5. Ahead of this event, analysts expect Constellation Energy to report adjusted earnings of $2.05 per share, a surge of over 22% from $1.68 per share in the yearago quarter. It has exceeded or met Wall Street's earnings expectations in the past four quarters. More News from Barchart For fiscal 2025, analysts expect the nuclear power utility company to report adjusted EPS of $9.45, an increase of 9% from $8.67 in fiscal 2024. In addition, adjusted EPS is anticipated to grow over 22% year-over-year to $11.53 in fiscal 2026. www.barchart.com Shares of Constellation Energy have jumped 49.4% over the past 52 weeks, exceeding the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 10.9% return and the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLU) 17.9% gain over the same period. www.barchart.com Constellation Energy stock jumped 10.3% on May 6 after the company reported strong Q1 2025 results, with adjusted earnings of $2.14 per share matching the consensus estimate and rising 17.6% year-over-year. Revenue came in at $6.8 billion, beating expectations and growing 10.2% from the prior year. Investors were also encouraged by the announced acquisition of Calpine Corporation, which will enhance CEGs generation mix by combining clean, emissions-free assets with dispatchable natural gas capacity. Additionally, the PJM selection of the Crane Clean Energy Center and other projects will add over 1,150 megawatts of firm, emissions-free power, supporting future growth and reliability amid tightening grid reserves. Analysts' consensus view on Constellation Energy stock remains cautiously optimistic, with an overall "Moderate Buy" rating. Out of 16 analysts covering the stock, 10 recommend a "Strong Buy," one "Moderate Buy," and five "Holds." As of writing, the stock is trading below the average analyst price target of $324.87. On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com The National Urban League said the dismantling of protections against discrimination under the Voting Rights Act of 1965 are a threat to democracy. (Photo by Megan Varner/Getty Images) Since taking office Jan. 20, President Donald Trump has issued executive orders that forced businesses, schools, universities and state and federal agencies to dismantle all diversity, equity and inclusion policies. Describing Black America as in a state of emergency, the National Urban League said the directives show the federal government is determined to sacrifice its founding principlesequality, liberty, and justicerather than accept the truth of a diversifying nation and deliver equitable opportunity for all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Urban League, a civil rights and advocacy organization focused on economic empowerment of Black and other underserved communities, is scheduled to release its annual State of Black America 2025 report Thursday morning at 8:30 at its conference in Cleveland. In an executive summary, it credits the Voting Rights Act of 1965 with the true birth of American democracy. But the federal government under Trump has set fire to policies and entire departments dedicated to protecting civil and human rights, providing access to an equal education, fair housing, safe and effective healthcare, and ensuring that our democratic process is adhered to across the nation, the executive summary said. Yet despite those actions, Americans bolstered by the civil rights community are pushing back. The group pointed to lawsuits filed across the country by state attorneys general, governors and civil rights groups, including the National Urban League, NAACP Legal Defense Funds and Lambda Legal. As of May 23, 247 cases challenging Trump administration policies had been filed in federal courts. There is a state of emergency in Black America, and our report this year is a warning and rallying cry as civil rights protections are being unraveled, said Marc Morial, National Urban League president and CEO, during a briefing ahead of the reports release. Democracy is under siege. What began as what we thought were fringe attacks on racial equity has now become national policy. National Urban League President and CEO Marc Morial said what we thought were fringe attacks on racial equity has now become national policy. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for National Urban League) Since 2013, U.S. Supreme Court decisions have struck down portions of the Voting Rights Act that required federal preclearance in communities with a history of racial discrimination before making changes to voting practices, the report notes. And after a 2023 decision that declared affirmative action unconstitutional in college admissions, the National Urban League said the ruling threatens the ability to sue over racial discrimination in voting and to challenge district maps. Other voting-related practices from mail-in ballots and early voting to requirements to provide voting materials in languages other than English are at risk, the group said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division, once a protection against discriminatory practices, is now seen as a threat to enforcement of civil rights laws that could become a tool of retribution, the report summary said. Harmeet Dhillon, a Trump attorney and election denier, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in April to serve as assistant attorney general of the Civil Rights Division, one of the largest at Justice. Dhillon also opposed the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act Amendment in an op-ed which would have restored the landmark law, the executive summary said. The group defended the value of diversity, equity and inclusion, saying that it protects and advances democratic ideals. But the Trump administration has targeted colleges, universities and businesses for simply having the words diversity and inclusion as part of their mission, adding that Michigan and Columbia universities were forced to end their programs. In short, DEI policies dont just level the playing field in education and employment; they fortify democracy itself. By expanding opportunities, ensuring equitable access to information, and creating leadership pipelines, DEI helps guarantee that every Americannot just the privileged few can contribute to the nations future, the group said in the summary. Dividing America The report also notes how hate and extremist views are more prevalent on social media that began to increase after the COVID-19 pandemic and the acquisition of Twitter (now X) in 2022 by billionaire Elon Musk. The summary said that a day later, right-wing accounts on the platform jumped while those with progressive views dropped. And two years later during the election, accounts of progressive candidates were banned without explanation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In short, DEI policies dont just level the playing field in education and employment; they fortify democracy itself ... DEI helps guarantee that every American not just the privileged few can contribute to the nations future. National Urban League A study published in February by researchers from the University of Southern Californias Viterbi Information Sciences Institute showed that general hate speech increased by 50% and transphobic slurs increased by 260%. The study analyzed posts between January 2022 and June 2023. People have become very adept at misinformation, disinformation. But my mother called it something different: She said it was lying, Morial said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One way to counter that, he said, is increasing voter turnout in next years midterm elections and in local elections this year such as mayoral races in Atlanta, New York City and New Orleans. I think people should host town hall meetings. I think people should make their voices known on social media, Morial said. All of this is important to building a bulwark of resistance. What are we resisting? Were resisting [a] dividing America. Were resisting an America where the agenda is white supremacy or white nationalism. But it also is the fight for a multiracial American democracy. The report includes nearly two dozen contributors such as congressional officials, attorneys and civil rights activists with a focus on the official name of this years report: State of Emergency: Civil Rights, Democracy & Progress Under Attack. Beth Lynk, executive director of the When We All Vote initiative established by former first lady Michelle Obama in 2018, wrote an essay in the report entitled, A Revised Movement for Democracy On the Ground and in the Culture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voting rights is the foundation of all other rights in this country, she said in an interview Monday. This essay is really a call to action understanding that we can empower Black Americans to shape the next chapter of our democracy, as we always have from the ground up, by reimagining voter education and registration. Lynk noted how Maryland has crafted policies to protect voting rights, crediting Del. Jheanelle Wilkins (D-Maryland), chair of the states Legislative Black Caucus, who worked with other caucus leaders. One topic missing from the National Urban Leagues executive summary this year: reparations. For the first time, the Maryland caucus officially endorsed the creation of a Reparations Commission in a bill that passed this year. Maryland became one of the few states in the nation to assess appropriate benefits for those affected by historical inequity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Gov. Wes Moore (D), the nations only Black governor, vetoed the bill in May. With the caucuss backing and a Democratic majority in the General Assembly, legislators and advocates are confident that a veto override will take place when the legislature returns in session. We strongly believe that its essential to see this commission through [and] bring it to fruition, especially at a time like this as were seeing the most grave attacks and threats to our freedoms since Reconstruction, Wilkins said. Now is the time for us to boldly go forward here in the state of Maryland around repairing harms, while we continue to fight back around the present attacks on our freedoms. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX CLARK COUNTY, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV) The Clark-Edgar Rural Water District has issued a boil order impacting a portion of customers due to an emergency line repair. The Clark County Health Department issued a media release notifying of the order effective July 16 for parts of Wabash Township, parts of Douglas Township and parts of Darwin Township. The release states, Beginning at the intersection of E. 1050th Rd. and River Rd., continuing North to Weaver Rd. and North to Livingston Dr., continuing to the intersection of Cork Rd. including East Cork Rd. to County Rd. 1950 E. to the end of the line and including Co. Rd. 2060 to the end of the line and including North 2100th St. to the end of the line continuing North on Livingston Dr. to Co. Rd. 1950 N. going West to Douglas Rd. and North to the intersection of Highway 1 to the end of the line. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Clark County Health Department, if the first set of samples is found satisfactory, the boil order is estimated to be lifted on July 18. If the samples are unsatisfactory, the boil order will remain in place until further notice. WATCH: Red Skelton Museum to host comedy convention The CDCs guidance for how to properly boil water during these situations is as follows: Fill a pot with water. Heat the water until bubbles come from the bottom of the pot to the top. Once the water reaches a rolling boil, let it boil for 1 minute. Turn off the heat source and let the water cool. Pour the water into a clean container with a cover for storage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com. President Donald Trump participates in a walking tour of the immigration detention center nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz, Tuesday, July 1, 2025, in Ochopee, Florida. (Official White House Photo by Daniel Torok) People held in Floridas immigrant detention center in the Everglades sued the Trump and DeSantis administrations on Wednesday, demanding access to their attorneys. This class action from the detainees and their attorneys adds to the mounting legal opposition to the detention center, where people started arriving two weeks ago after a speedy eight-day construction at an old airstrip. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since detainees transfer to the state-run detention center, attorneys have had to wait hours in their attempts to visit the site, only to be barred from entering, the complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida states. Detainees held at the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport lack a way to communicate confidentially with their legal representation as guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution, it adds. Four detainees and their legal representatives are asking a federal court to require the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Florida to provide access for in-person visits and unmonitored calls. Whats happening here is not just a policy failure, its a moral one, said Bacardi Jackson, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, which is representing the plaintiffs. The state has hastily erected a costly and deadly shadow prison in the middle of the Everglades during hurricane season to warehouse human beings stripping them of due process and dignity, cutting them off from their families and legal counsel, intentionally putting their lives in danger, and leaving them to suffer in silence. The tent and trailer detention center is in a legal limbo, with the federal government disavowing responsibility for the detainees and the DeSantis administration insisting that its not a correctional institution. Its existence outside the federal and state systems the Florida Division of Emergency Management is in charge has made it extremely difficult for attorneys to locate detainees and file motions on their behalf. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Florida Republicans have labeled the center Alligator Alcatraz and are selling branded merchandise to raise campaign money. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Complaint outlines detention conditions Blaise Ingoglia and Gov. Ron DeSantis in Tampa on July 16, 2025. (Photo by Mitch Perry/Florida Phoenix) Gov. Ron DeSantis defended conditions at the detention center during a Wednesday morning press conference in Tampa, during which he appointed Blaise Ingoglia, an ally in the state Senate, as Floridas chief financial officer. Remember, this is not the Ritz-Carlton, okay. Were not doing this just to let people have food and shelter, although they do get that. All the minimum standards are upheld, but the reality is its there to be a quick processing center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Florida, and Americans for Immigrant Justice represent the plaintiffs in the case against DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its leadership, DeSantis, and DEM director Kevin Guthrie. So far, the state has lacked transparency about the number of people at the detention center, and the most detailed information has come from the Miami Herald, which published a list on Sunday of 750 detainees housed there, including more than 250 people without criminal convictions or pending charges in this country. Although the lawsuit focuses on the detainees lack of access to attorneys and due process, the complaint details conditions detainees have described at the site, ranging from flooding inside tents and having to go days without showering to guards excessive use of force and denial of medication. Michael Borrego Fernandez, a Cuban man taken to the detention center in the Everglades on July 5, is one of the plaintiffs. The complaint states he had to undergo emergency surgery at a local hospital on July 11 because of excessive bleeding while he was at the detention center. Staff didnt give Borrego Fernandez the antibiotics prescribed following the surgery, his family told his attorneys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Miami-Dade County law enforcement arrested Borrego Fernandez on July 5 over a parole violation involving outstanding traffic violations, and his family is working with his attorneys to seek his deportation to Cuba because of the conditions at the detention center. Dismissing the claims in the lawsuit, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin responded: No lawbreakers in the history of human civilization have been treated better than illegal aliens in the United States, and yet all they do is complain. At the same time, the detention center is at the center of two additional lawsuits: One from environmental groups and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida seeking to halt the sites operation in the fragile ecosystem, and another from state Democratic lawmakers demanding oversight authority to conduct visits. DEM and a spokesperson for DeSantis did not immediately respond to Florida Phoenixs request for comment. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A federal judge in Washington state has dismissed a class-action lawsuit against Amazon for putting ads on Prime Video. In a ruling issued Wednesday (read it HERE), U.S. District Judge Barbara J. Rothstein rejected the claim that Amazons decision to start running ads in 2024 effectively represented a price increase for Prime members. Only by paying an additional $2.99 per month (on top of the annual $139 fee for Prime) could members opt out of advertising on film and TV titles, which the plaintiffs said forced them to pay more in order to continue the same video experience. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The addition of ads constituted a change in subscription benefits as opposed to a price increase, Rothstein countered. All subscribers agree to a contract when they join Prime, she said, giving Amazon the ability to alter the nature of the services provided under the contract. It is true that Amazons introduction of commercials to its streaming service, for those Prime members who chose to pay more to keep their streaming ad-free, ultimately had an effect on those subscribers wallets tantamount to a price increase, she added. The Court, however, is compelled to maintain the distinction between a benefit removal and a price increase for several reasons. First, this distinction is repeatedly reinforced in the contracts themselves. Benefit modifications and removals are expressly authorized throughout both contracts; price increases are circumscribed and allowed only according to certain conditions. The expressly distinct treatment of these things makes little sense if one could turn a benefit removal into a price increase by simply recharacterizing it as such. Furthermore, the addition of ads did not result in any out-of-pocket price increase whatsoever, the judge added. The subscription fee for subscribers who took no action did not change at all. The only subscribers who experienced any increase in price were those who voluntarily chose to incur one by affirmatively opting in to the $2.99-a-month charge to avoid ads. The case is one of several to arise of late as streaming continues to gain prominence as a media delivery vehicle. Earlier this week, Los Angeles County announced it had reached a settlement with Peacock, with the NBCUniversal streaming service agreeing to pay $3.6 million to resolve complaints from customers about its auto-renewal policy. In a similar vein, the Federal Trade Commission has been pursuing click to cancel regulations that would require digital and streaming outlets to simplify the process of discontinuing subscriptions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amazons strategy for advertising on Prime Video differs markedly from that of Netflix, which phased in a lower-priced subscription tier with ads while maintaining ad-free plans. Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters said in 2024 that the streaming giant had considered making advertising the default option. But given our long history of not having ads, we thought it was better for members, rather than forcing them into a change and get them mad. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The U.S. Senate narrowly approved on July 16, 2025, a bill that would claw back federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes money to NPR, PBS and their affiliate stations. The US$9 billion rescission package will withdraw $1.1 billion Congress had previously approved for the CPB to receive in the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years. In addition, it makes deep foreign aid cuts. All Democrats present voted against the measure, joined by two Republicans: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. As long as the House, which approved a previous version, votes in favor of the Senates version of the bill by midnight July 18, Trump will be able to meet a budgetary deadline by signing the measure into law in time for it to take effect. What will happen to NPR, PBS and local stations? NPR and PBS provide programming to local public television and radio stations across the country. The impact on them will be direct and indirect. Both NPR and PBS receive money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, an independent nonprofit corporation Congress created in 1967 to receive and distribute federal money to public broadcasters. More than 70% of the money it distributes flows directly to local stations. Some stations get up to half of their budgets from the CPB. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But NPR and PBS get much of their funding from foundation grants, viewers and listeners donations, and corporate underwriting. And local public radio and TV stations also get support from an array of sources besides CPB. Only about 1% of NPR funding, and 15% of PBS funding, comes directly from the government via the CPB. However, once local radio and television stations lose federal funding, theyll be less able to pay NPR and PBS for the programs they produce. The nearly 1,500 public media stations in the U.S. rely on a mix of NPR, PBS and third-party producer programming, such as American Public Media and PRX, for the programs they offer. Local stations also produce and air regional news and provide emergency broadcasts for the government. In rural areas with few broadcast stations and spotty cellphone coverage, public broadcast stations are vital sources of information about important community news and updates during emergencies. Federal support is essential for the programming and day-to-day operations of many local stations and allows for the maintenance of equipment and personnel to operate these vital community resources. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We believe that stations in communities that most need them, especially in rural locations, would be hit especially hard because they rely heavily on CPB funding. Why are Republicans taking this step? Public broadcasting has long been a target of conservative Republicans. They say that with a highly diversified media landscape, the public no longer needs media that is subsidized by federal dollars. They also claim that public broadcasting has a liberal bias and taxpayers should not be required to fund media that slants to the left politically. Why is public media necessary when theres news on the internet? As journalism revenue has plummeted, public broadcasting has remained a vital source for news in communities across the nation. This is especially true in rural communities, where economic and political pressures have threatened the survival of local journalism. In addition, with much online news coverage placed behind paywalls, public radio and television plays an important role in making quality journalism available to the American public. Want crucial information about water systems in your drought-prone community? Public radio station KVMR in Nevada City, Calif., has a program for you. KVMR screenshot Why did Congress approve these funds 2 years ahead? Public broadcasting has gotten roughly $550 million per year from the federal government in recent years. The CPB has always approved and designated those funds two years in advance, due to a provision in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, after Congress has voted to provide that money. The CPB then has distributed that funding primarily through grants to PBS and NPR affiliate stations to support their technical infrastructure, program development and audience research. What are the consequences for Native communities? Dozens of Native American stations are at risk of closing once the CPB is defunded. Native Public Media, a network of 57 radio stations and four TV stations, is a key source of news and information for tribal communities across the nation and relies on CPB support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, publicly stated that he secured an agreement with the White House to move $9.4 million in Interior Department funding to two dozen Native American stations. But there is no provision related to this promise within the legislation. 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: Allison Perlman, University of California, Irvine and Josh Shepperd, University of Colorado Boulder Read more: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Allison Perlman is the co-chair of the Scholars Advisory Committee of the American Archive of Public Broadcasting. Josh Shepperd and Allison Perlman are under contract to co-author an update of the history of public broadcasting for Current, public media's trade journal, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Josh and Allison are not paid employees or vendors of either institution. APALACHICOLA, Fla. (WMBB) The company that wanted to drill for oil near the Apalachicola River is appealing their permit denial to the 1st District Court of Appeals. Louisiana-based Clearwater Land & Minerals Florida filed a notice yesterday. Last year, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) approved a draft permit for clearwater to drill an exploratory well in Calhoun County. The site is located in the Apalachicola rivers 100-year floodplain within a mile of two ponds that are surrounded by swamp land connected to the river. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The environmental group, Apalachicola Riverkeeper, challenged the draft permit. In December an administrative judge recommended against the DEP issuing it to clearwater. On June 16th, the DEP did indeed deny the permit. And 10-days later, gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that prevents oil drilling near the Apalachicola river. Despite the new law and the permit denial, Clearwater wants the appeals court to overturn the DEPs decision. Well continue to follow the 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 mypanhandle.com. NEED TO KNOW Benedikt Emmenegger, a 46-year-old Swiss tourist, was rescued after falling while hiking a trail on Indonesia's volcanic Mount Rinjani, according to reports He reportedly sustained "a serious leg fracture" amid the fall on July 16 His rescue comes just a few weeks after Brazilian tourist Juliana Marins died after falling off a cliff while hiking near the crater of the active volcano A Swiss tourist was successfully rescued after falling while hiking Indonesia's volcanic Mount Rinjani, where a Brazilian tourist died just last month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Early local reporting by Jakarta Globe referred to the hiker as being 40 and used the initials "BE." According to news.com.au, he was later identified as Benedikt Emmenegger, 46. i'am/Getty The view from Mount Rinjani in Indonesia The view from Mount Rinjani in Indonesia Emmenegger was on the trail headed toward the popular volcanic lake Segara Anak with a group including his daughter and a guide. They took off on Tuesday, July 15, and his fall occurred around 11:25 a.m. the following day, according to news.com.au. BALAI TN GUNUNG RINJANI/Instagram A helicopter amid the rescue for Benedikt Emmenegger A helicopter amid the rescue for Benedikt Emmenegger He is said to have suffered "a serious leg fracure," per Jakara Globe, and was unable to climb to safety after the fall. The outlet noted that the Mount Rinjani National Park Office was collaborating with Edelweis Medical Health Center and had joined forces with Bali Air to commission a helicopter to get Emmenegger to safety. When they were able to get to him, emergency responders provided care. Video footage showed the tourist covered in a foil blanket before he was taken to the hospital by air. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The severity of his injuries has not yet been revealed. However, Jakarta Globe reported that the journey was "registered legally" with the Mount Rinjani National Park Office. His rescue comes after Brazilian tourist Juliana Marins, 26, died as emergency responders spent days attempting to get her to safety after she fell on the mountain. Marins fell on June 21 in the early hours of the morning, and her body was recovered on June 24. Her cause of death was ruled to be "internal bleeding caused by damage to organs and bone fractures," per Agencia Brasil. She reportedly sustained the deadly injuries "a few hours before the body was recovered." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the aftermath of her fall and death, Marins' family has accused the rescue team of "negligence" on social media. Juliana Marins/Instagram Juliana Marins Juliana Marins If the team had reached her within the estimated time of 7 hours, Juliana would still be alive, the family wrote. Juliana deserved much more! Now we are going to seek justice for her, because that is what she deserves! Don't give up on Juliana!" Emmenegger's fall comes only a few days after local news agency Antara reported that the government is taking steps to keep climbers safer while they explore Mount Rinjani. We should not gamble with peoples lives. We are not collecting PNBP (Non-Tax State Revenue) at the expense of tourists safety, Minister of Forestry Raja Juli Antoni said, with the outlet noting that he is working with the Mount Rinjani National Park Office to improve safety measures. 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. Steps that will be taken include ensuring that all tour guides are certified, imposing more testing to ensure that only experienced climbers embark on the trail and installing more signage to warn of risky areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the outlet, the signage will designate zones as red, yellow or green, with green being the paths that tourists should stay on. If a less experienced climber wants to climb the mountain, the new guidelines will have employees direct them to a different mountain that is better for beginners. Read the original article on People GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Five people were rescued on Lake Michigan after a boat got stranded off the coast of Wisconsin Wednesday. Coast Guard officials say they were first notified shortly after 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. A 55-foot vessel had reportedly lost its rudder and was starting to take on water off the coast near Kewaunee, Wisconsin, about 20 miles east of Green Bay. Sign up for the Storm Team 8 daily forecast newsletter Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A boat from the Sturgeon Bay station and a helicopter from Traverse City rushed to the scene and picked up the five people on board. All five were showing signs of hypothermia. After returning to shore, all five were taken to a local medical center for treatment. The swift, coordinated response to last nights boating emergency was a result of countless hours of training, Lt. j.g. Nicholas Betts of Air Station Traverse City said in a statement. Thanks to the cooperative efforts of our crew, the station crew and the command center, we were able to save five lives last night. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. Coca-Cola is one of the most iconic and recognizable brands and flavors on the planet, but it sounds like the soft drink giant is set to make a subtle tweak to its formula in the United States. On Wednesday afternoon, United States President Donald Trump announced on social media that Coca-Cola would begin using cane sugar in its beverages in the United States rather than the corn syrup that it has used for decades in the U.S. market. "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so," Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social this week. "Id like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them Youll see. Its just better!" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For several decades, Coca-Cola produced for the United States market has been sweetened with corn syrup after the company announced in 1984 that it would "significantly increase" the amount of corn syrup in the formula. Plastic bottles that read "100% Recycled Bottle" of Coca-Cola sit on the shelf at a store in Stevensville, Maryland, on March 25, 2025. JIM WATSON/Getty Images However, the company does use cane sugar in other countries, including Mexico and many European countries. Now, it sounds like Coca-Cola plans to move back to cane sugar for the U.S. market, as well. While Coca-Cola did not directly confirm this claim from Trump, they did not deny the move, either. The company also expressed gratitude for Trump's enthusiasm and promised "more details" on future innovation in the near future. "We appreciate President Trump's enthusiasm for our iconic Coca-Cola brand," a company spokesperson said in a statement, via NBC News. "More details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's not clear when or if Coca-Cola will confirm the move itself. There is also no clear timeline for when the company will officially roll out the new formula to U.S. markets. Coca-Cola Switching Back to Cane Sugar first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 17, 2025 A well-known coffee shop says America runs on their caffeinated beverages, but to many Americans, it may feel like coffee runs on tariffs. On July 9, Trump threatened a 50% tariff against Brazil, one of the U.S.s largest suppliers of green coffee beans, starting Aug. 1. That could spell trouble for coffee drinkers, who have already seen price hikes in recent years related to supply chain constraints. The U.S. gets most of its coffee from Latin America. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, in 2023, 35% of U.S. unroasted coffee imports originated from Brazil, while 27% came from Colombia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tariffs threaten to add more pressure to an industry already navigating a recent price surge, fueled by droughts in countries such as Brazil and Vietnam. Importers often put part of the cost from tariffs onto consumers by raising prices. With prices already up from last year, consumers could be paying even more for coffee. Here's what Texans could be paying for coffee. What are tariffs? A tariff is a tax that a government imposes on goods imported from other countries. It is a type of trade regulation used to protect or generate revenue. Tariffs are not like income or sales taxes. Instead, they are levies additional fees placed on products imported into the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Monica Morlacco, assistant professor of economics at the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, explains its functions. "Tariffs are typically imposed for protection or revenue purposes," she said. "A protective tariff increases the price of imported goods relative to domestic goods, encouraging consumers to buy from local producers, who are thus 'protected' from foreign competition. A revenue tariff, on the other hand, is mainly used to generate money for the government." Why are coffee prices increasing? According to USA Facts.org, Brazil and Vietnam are the U.S.'s biggest producers of coffee. Due to natural disasters such as floods, frosts, and droughts, it's harder for these countries to harvest coffee beans. According to the Global Coffee Report, Brazil has experienced multiple droughts that have significantly disrupted coffee production, with the most severe one starting in 2021 and persisting into 2024. Coupled with damaging frosts, these harsh conditions have inflicted significant harm on coffee crops, fueling a sharp rise in global prices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the combination of natural factors affecting production and Trump's tariffs, whatever you're paying now for a cup of coffee or even wholesale will eventually be impacted. According to government data, the price of ground coffee reached an all-time high of $7.38 per pound in March 2025, up 84% from $4.30 in January 2020. How much coffee is made in the U.S.? USA Facts.org data shows that coffee is hardly produced in the U.S. Coffee production in the U.S. typically occurs in Hawaii, but it is decreasing. Hawaii's coffee production dropped by 19% between the 202122 and 202223 harvests. According to the USDA, its expected to fall another 26% in 202324, reaching just 16.9 million pounds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the U.S. imports nearly 3 billion pounds of coffee from Brazil, according to the New York Times. Does Texas produce its own coffee? Texas does produce some of its own coffee, but not on a commercial scale like Hawaii or California. Due to the climate in the state, its not viable for Texas to mass produce coffee beans for commercialization. Summers bring intense heat and humidity, while winters can be cold and dry. Those conditions are particularly harsh for coffee plants, which are sensitive to freezing temperatures. -USA TODAY Network Bailey Schulz contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Why are coffee prices high? What to know about Trump's 50% tariffs Congress may pass the most consequential crypto law of the decade this week while drawing a bright red line through one of DeFis murkiest gray areas: yield-bearing stablecoins. At first glance, the GENIUS Act appears to be a straightforward regulatory win. It will finally grant over $120 billion in fiat-backed stablecoins a legal runway, establishing clear guardrails for what qualifies as a compliant payment stablecoin. But dig into the details and it becomes clear this isnt a broad green light. In fact, under the laws rigorous requirementssegregated reserves, high-quality liquid assets, GAAP attestationsonly about 15% of todays stablecoins would actually make the cut. More dramatically, the Act explicitly bans stablecoins from paying interest or yield. This is the first time U.S. lawmakers have drawn a hard line between stablecoins as payment instruments and stablecoins as yield-bearing assets. Overnight, it turns decades of crypto experimentation on its head, pushing DeFi to evolve or risk sliding back into the shadows. A hard stop for yield-bearing stablecoins For years, DeFi tried to have it both ways: offering stable assets that quietly generated returns, while dodging securities treatment. The GENIUS Act ends that ambiguity. Under the new law, any stablecoin paying yield, whether directly through staking mechanics or indirectly via pseudo-DeFi savings accounts, is now firmly outside the compliant perimeter. In short, yield-bearing stablecoins just got orphaned. Congress frames this as a way to protect U.S. banks. By banning stablecoin interest, lawmakers hope to prevent trillions from fleeing traditional deposits, which underwrite loans to small businesses and consumers. Keeping stablecoins yield-free preserves the basic plumbing of the U.S. credit system. But theres a deeper shift underway. This is no longer just a compliance question. Its a total rethink of collateral credibility at scale. Treasuries and monetary reflexivity Under GENIUS, all compliant stablecoins must be backed by cash and T-bills with maturities under 93 days. That effectively tilts cryptos reserve strategy toward short-term U.S. fiscal instruments, integrating DeFi more deeply with American monetary policy than most people are ready to admit. Were talking about a market currently around $28.7 trillion in outstanding marketable debt. Concurrently, the stablecoin market exceeds $250 billion in circulation. Therefore, even if just half of that (about $125 billion) pivots into short-term Treasuries, it represents a substantial shift, pushing crypto liquidity directly into U.S. debt markets. By Marcelo Teixeira, Karl Plume and Renee Hickman NEW YORK (Reuters) -A possible move by Coca-Cola , and other beverage and food industries, to use cane sugar instead of corn syrup as a sweetener would be difficult and expensive to implement, while mostly negative for farmers in the United States. U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that Coca-Cola had agreed to use cane sugar in its beverages in the country after his discussions with the maker of the top soda pop brand. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and activists from his Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign have been pushing for changes in ingredients used by the food and beverage industry, claiming the proposed substitutes are healthier. Kennedy has said the consumption of both sugar and high fructose corn syrup are unhealthy, and scientists say sugar presents some nutritional benefits over high fructose corn syrup. Coca-Cola already sells Coke made from cane sugar in other markets, including Mexico, and some U.S. grocery stores carry glass bottles with cane sugar labeled "Mexican" Coke. In response to Trump's comment, Coca-Cola said "more details on new innovative offerings within our Coca-Cola product range will be shared soon. PepsiCo also said on Thursday it would use sugar in its products like Pepsi beverages if consumers want it. Industry analysts, however, said changes in the formulation of the rest of the Coke sold in the U.S., and other beverages and candies, would involve significant adjustments to companies' supply chains, since corn syrup and sugar come from different producers. It would also involve changes to product labeling, and cost more. "Food and beverage industries started to use corn syrup in the U.S. in the past because of costs. It is cheaper than sugar," said Ron Sterk, a senior editor at SOSland Publishing, an information provider for the ingredients industry in the U.S. He said the beverage industry uses 55% High Fructose Corn Syrup, or 55HFCS, while bakers use 42% HFCS. The Corn Refiners Association said the complete elimination of high fructose corn syrup from the U.S. food and beverage supply would cut corn prices by up to 34 cents a bushel, resulting in a loss of $5.1 billion in farm revenue. "The resulting economic shockwave would lead to rural job losses and significant economic consequences to communities across the country," CRA said. Agricultural processors such as Archer-Daniels-Midland and Ingredion, two of the largest HFCS producers, grind corn at mills dotted around the Midwest farm belt to produce corn sweetener and other goods like ethanol biofuel. Shares of both companies fell on Thursday. What do Americans think of when they hear the words general education? By definition, general education covers introductory college courses in arts and humanities, social sciences, and science and mathematics. It has different names, including core curriculum or distribution requirements, depending on the college or university. It is also sometimes called liberal education, including by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, which describes it as providing a sense of social responsibility, as well as strong and transferable intellectual and practical skills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The liberal label can be fodder for conservative groups who argue that todays general education is part of an indoctrination into higher educations purported left-leaning belief systems. Some other conservatives support general education as a concept but want more emphasis on so-called traditional values and less on cross-cultural understanding. These initiatives position general education and college as a space for ideological battles. As a scholar of historical connections between literacy and social class, I know that general education was designed to provide opportunity for all students without regard for their political preferences. The value of a college education can be shaped by political affiliation. bernarddobo/iStock via Getty Images An education for all Eighty years ago, a group of Harvard University faculty created what many colleges and universities still follow as a template for general education. This plan was outlined in the book General Education in a Free Society. Harvards plan was meant for all students, including veterans studying under the GI Bill, and others we today refer to as first generation, where neither parent had a college degree. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement General education made college more accessible to students who were not becoming doctors or lawyers but who also wanted careers outside the vocational trades. It helped make college a place for educating all citizens, not just students of socioeconomic privilege. Expanding access to higher education was central to the 1947 special report Higher Education for American Democracy, commissioned by President Harry Truman. The goal was to provide a foundational education for all, especially in math and science. But the report, commonly known as the Truman Commission Report, also included disciplines that help students understand the world such as writing and communication, literature, psychology and history. The purposes of general education are central to two competing views of college today, views that I also hear expressed by students and parents Ive met in my 28 years as a professor. One view of college is of an on-campus experience steeped in the liberal arts that holistically prepares students to live in a functioning democracy. These benefits are seen as worth the time and costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The other view is of college as a sum of career-focused credentials that can begin and end anywhere, not specific to one college campus. These benefits are completely financial, to be gained via the cheapest, quickest means. Both of these views are informed by national perspectives that further divide citizens on higher education as a whole, such as Vice President JD Vances 2021 statement that there was a wisdom in what Richard Nixon said approximately 40, 50 years ago. He said, and I quote, The professors are the enemy. Both these groups of Americans, however, hope that obtaining a college degree will pay off for graduates who find employment and reach a standard of living better than their parents generation. For the first group, general education is critical to developing the whole student for jobs and life. For the latter, it is an expensive obstacle to it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Not surprisingly, these views on education and college often correspond to political party identification and whether a person attended college themselves. A July 2023 Lumina Foundation and Gallup Poll showed that only 36% of Americans have a great deal of confidence in higher education, with significant partisan differences between the 20% of Republicans who have this confidence, the 56% of Democrats and the 35% of independents who have it. There are also measurable differences between those who have earned a postgraduate degree and those who have not. To cut costs, more students are searching for ways to complete general education requirements before they begin college. PeopleImages/E+ via Getty Images Questioning value As college costs continue to rise in 2025, families are struggling even taking on payment plans for everyday purchases, also known as phantom debt to make ends meet. General education represents about a third of the requirements of a bachelors degree and most of an associate degree. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For those who see college as a waste of money, general education courses are a calculable loss on future income. In the past two decades, this and the increasingly competitive admissions process for college has contributed to a tenfold increase in low-income students who take Advanced Placement courses and a 50% increase since 2021 in the number of students in dual-credit coursework. Both programs allow students to complete general education-equivalent courses for free while still in high school. Complete College America, a nonprofit advocacy group that works with states to increase college completion rates, supports these moves by students and parents, classifying general education under gateway courses to be completed as soon as possible. Other groups promote stackable units of credit toward college degrees. This push to complete general education requirements before entering college is gaining momentum, despite studies that show Advanced Placement classes, and exams, favor and benefit mostly white, middle- to upper-class students because these students tend to have more time and resources to devote to AP coursework and also take multiple exams in order to earn college credit. For college students, general education can offer benefits beyond career attainment. ferrantraite/E+ via Getty Images Understanding the world While arguments for streamlining college and its costs are evergreen, foundational lessons taught across fields of study are as relevant in 2025 as they were in 1945. The U.S. faces threats to its democracy, is navigating rapid advances in technology, and is adapting to population shifts that will change how its residents live and work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement General education gives students broad foundational knowledge that can be used in a variety of careers. By design, it teaches an understanding of the world outside ones own and how to live in it a core requirement for a functioning democracy. This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Kelly Ritter, Georgia Institute of Technology Read more: Kelly Ritter does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. A pro-Palestinian encampment is seen on the Auraria campus in downtown Denver, May 2, 2024. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline) A committee probing alleged antisemitism at Denvers Auraria Campus heard Wednesday from First Amendment and civil rights scholars, as well as the Anti-Defamation League and members of the public. The 10-member Colorado Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights oversees an investigation into the Auraria Campus, site of the University of Colorado Denver, Community College of Denver and Metropolitan State University of Denver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In April 2024, anti-war demonstrators set up an encampment on the Auraria Campus quad, in protest of university policies relating to Israel and the war in Gaza. They called for the university to condemn the genocidal actions of Israel, divest from companies that operate in Israel and end study abroad programs in Israel. At least 40 demonstrators were arrested when police in riot gear broke up the encampment. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Susan Rona, of the Anti-Defamation Leagues mountain states region, said during the virtual committee hearing that her organization received reports of 279 antisemitic incidents in Colorado in 2024, and 51 of those reports were on college campuses. The statewide tally is 42% higher compared to the previous year. Many Jewish students report feeling isolated, targeted and excluded from campus activity and spaces by these protests, Rona said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to last years anti-war encampments on college campuses across the country, the Trump administration has targeted universities like Harvard and Columbia for antisemitism probes and research funding freezes. We must distinguish between protected speech and conduct that violates civil rights, and we must hold our public institutions accountable when they fall short, Committee Chair Alvina Earnhart said. This project reflects our deep commitment to safeguarding both civil rights and freedom of expression. The committees goal with the investigation is to contribute to more informed approaches to federal, state, and education policy in higher education and develop recommendations directed to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and other federal entities. During the committee meeting, University of Virginia law professor Deborah Hellman outlined the high bar that claims must meet to be considered violations of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act, which the Trump administration has invoked in its crackdown on universities. Title VI prohibits discrimination based on race, color or national origin in programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Antisemitism, to be sure, ought to be condemned, but universities have a right and a responsibility to balance open inquiry with protecting students, Hellman said. Community responses Brandon Rattiner, the senior director of the Jewish Community Relations Council of Colorado, said in an interview with Colorado Newsline that he hopes the work of the committee can spotlight the experiences that made life on campus really difficult for Jewish students, and also create pressure for universities to do better. But, he cautioned, the committee should not use campus antisemitism as a way to attack higher education as a whole. The challenge is balancing the need to take antisemitism seriously with the need to not instrumentalize the fight against antisemitism to achieve other political aims, Rattiner said. The Jewish community is a community that is very committed to higher education, and we want to see it done well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About a dozen people gave written or spoken testimony at the hearing, including Jeffrey Muhlrad, who is affiliated with Jewish Voice for Peace and was involved in the encampment. We are not calling for divestment out of hatred, but out of love for human life, for justice, and for the values our institutions claim to uphold, Muhlrad wrote. To conflate that call with antisemitism is not only incorrect, but dangerous. It undermines the real fight against antisemitism by weaponizing it to silence legitimate political expression and dissent. Nancy Jackson, a Jewish alumna of the University of Colorado system, submitted written testimony to the commission. Jackson, a former teacher, called for the federal government to uphold the First Amendment rights for everyone, including college students, whether from the U.S., or anywhere. Antisemitism refers to hatred of Jewish people, and as you no doubt know, Jews have been the victims of horrendous acts of violence because of antisemitism, Jackson wrote. What we have on campuses today, however, is different. What is occurring is political protest against Israeli policies towards Palestinians, especially in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since Israels intense bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza began after Oct. 7, 2023, when a Hamas-led attack killed more than 1,200 people in Israel, at least 55,100 Palestinians are reported to have been killed, while many more have been injured and face widespread hunger. The committees next public meeting is scheduled for July 31, and its next hearing is scheduled for Aug. 20. Administrators for the three campuses are set to testify during the August hearing. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE LOUISVILLE, Colo. (KDVR) A driver who struck and killed a Louisville wife and mother was sentenced for careless driving in Boulder County, but shes not getting any jail time. FOX31 spoke with the district attorney about the case and the bigger picture issue he and other DAs see with sentences around these crimes. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park cancels camping for the year due to fire Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a quiet Louisville neighborhood, a marked pedestrian crosswalk where Via Appa Way meets Sage Brush Way is now marked with flowers. A family lost a wonderful person in their lives, and its an untimely and tragic death, District Attorney Michael Dougherty said. Its a direct result of distracted driving. Dougherty broke down the details. They werent drunk, they werent speeding, they werent violating the law until they took their eyes off the road, Dougherty said. According to the District Attorneys office, evidence collected from the drivers cell phone revealed that both her messaging app and the Pandora radio app were open near the time of the collision. They tell FOX31 that three witnesses on scene described the victim being thrown between 12-15 feet from the impact. Police found her shoes in a nearby storm gutter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The family did not want to see this particular defendant go to jail or be incarcerated as a result, Dougherty said. Days ago, the driver pleaded guilty to careless driving resulting in death. She was sentenced to 300 hours of community service, an ISAE distracted driving course, a fine and restorative justice at the discretion of the parties. While Dougherty feels the sentence is fair for what the victims family wanted, he thinks the charge itself does not fit the crime. As long as we have that classified as a traffic misdemeanor, I think were failing to hit the mark here in Colorado, Dougherty said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hitting and killing someone with your car is considered a misdemeanor if its careless driving that results in death. The max penalty for that, Dougherty says, is a year in a county jail. The law should reflect the loss, the laws should reflect our society, and right now were failing to do that when we have careless driving resulting in death, Dougherty said. I strongly believe that should be a felony. Thats why I testified and supported the bill that failed to pass in this last legislative session. And Im going to continue to push for that change. For a long time, Colorado has had some of the weakest laws when it comes to driving-related deaths, I think in the region, if not the country, 23rd Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler said. It is very difficult to mandate someone be sent to prison or jail when they kill someone behind the wheel. You could drive drunk and run over a family of five, kill every one of them, and still face the potential for probation at trial. That doesnt make any sense. Man arrested after pointing gun at electric worker Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Brauchler also went to the legislature about these penalties. We supported a change in the law to make it, instead of a misdemeanor traffic offense, the lowest level felony possible, a six-class felony if you kill someone behind the wheel when youre driving carelessly, Brauchler said. On a party-line vote, the legislature rejected that. And I think it goes towards an ongoing theme that we devalue victims and we devalue life on our roads. And thats reflected, I think, in the death rate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Flooding in downtown Annapolis in October 2021 is an increasingly common site. (Photo by Alexandra Radovic/Capital News Service) Twenty-five years ago, the world watched in horror as 13 lives were taken in the Columbine High School massacre. It was a turning point or at least it should have been. But instead of taking bold action to prevent future tragedies, our leaders allowed the gun lobby to stall reform. Thoughts and prayers became the substitute for policy. And in the decades since, more than 400 school shootings have followed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why? Because we allowed an industry that profits from harm to influence public policy. We are repeating that same mistake this time with the fossil fuel industry. And the results are just as deadly. On July 4, 2025, record-breaking flash floods ravaged Kerr County, Texas. Entire camps were swept away, children were killed, families were devastated. There have been floodings in that region in the past. But this wasnt just a natural disaster. It was a climate-fueled catastrophe, made worse by political choices and policy failures. The storm was supercharged by a warmer atmosphere the direct result of burning fossil fuels. Meanwhile, life-saving early warning systems were underfunded and understaffed, following cuts under the Trump administration and DOGE. Since then there have been severe and life-ending flooding events in North Carolina and New Mexico. Meanwhile, here in Maryland, it was just reported in Maryland Matters that hundreds went to emergency rooms and seven died from heat-related illness in June heat wave. 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. Once again, we see what happens when polluters write the rules: More devastation, more funerals, more unprecedented disasters that experts had long predicted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here in Maryland, we should see this as a flashing red warning light. Weve made real commitments on climate including a legally binding goal of net-zero emissions by 2045. But so far, the fossil fuel companies responsible for the damage have paid little to nothing, while Maryland taxpayers, Ellicott City, Fells Point, Western Maryland, Annapolis and other frontline communities foot the bill for flooding, extreme heat, polluted air and rising insurance costs. That must change urgently. In this upcoming legislative session, Maryland lawmakers have the chance to do what Congress has failed to do for decades: Make polluters pay. Bills like the Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Total Assessed Cost of Greenhouse Gas EmissionsStudy and Reports (SB149/HB128), which is best known as the RENEW Act, and the proposed climate liability legislation would hold the largest fossil fuel companies accountable for the billions in damage theyve caused to our states infrastructure, health and economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sadly, while part of the RENEW Act overwhelmingly passed in the last session it was then vetoed by Gov. Wes Moore. Given the Trump administrations recent actions, that veto must urgently be overturned. Additionally, the money in the Strategic Energy Investment Fund must stay focused on its intended purposes to promote cost-effective energy efficiency and conservation, including programs targeting low- and moderate-income households, support renewable and clean energy development, including demand-response initiatives, fund climate change mitigation and resilience efforts, provide electric bill assistance, rebates, grants and loans for energy-related needs, and cover administrative costs and public outreach about energy and greenhouse gas reduction . Lets be clear: Fossil fuel companies knew for decades that their products would destabilize our climate. Their own scientists warned them. But instead of warning the public, they funded misinformation campaigns, attacked science and delayed action. In that way, theyre no different from the gun industry after Columbine willing to sacrifice lives to protect profits. Maryland has a chance to lead. We cant wait for the next flood or deadly heatwave. We must make sure that the people responsible for this crisis help fund the solutions. Thats not radical its common sense. Its accountability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lets not look back 10 or 20 years from now, after even more lives are lost, and ask why we didnt act when we had the chance. Columbine taught us what happens when we let harmful industries control the narrative and block reform. We cant afford to repeat that mistake with climate change. Now is the time for Maryland to act boldly, swiftly, and with justice. Make the polluters pay. Our future depends on it. COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) The Columbus Police Department announced on Wednesday that a person accused of shooting a man to death near Hearthstone Drive was taken into custody. Police arrested 18-year-old Joriyen Gordon on Wednesday after he was accused of shooting 21-year-old Jaques Banks on July 3, resulting in his death. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Person killed in shooting near Hearthstone Drive identified According to Columbus PD, officers responded to the 4800 block of Hearthstone Drive where upon arrival, they located Banks, who was pronounced dead in the front yard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A preliminary investigation following the incident, revealed Gordon as the suspect in the shooting. Gordon is charged with murder, armed robbery and possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime. He is schedule to appear in court on Friday at 1:30 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Columbus City Council President Shannon Hardin is delivering a scathing rebuke to the Village of Brice on social media over its use of automated traffic cameras to enforce the speed limit. It comes more than six months after Hardin himself was ticketed for speeding, and was ordered to pay a $236 fine $111 of that went to court costs, with the village collecting the remaining $125. Woman falls victim to popular sweepstakes scam Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hardin said the village of 93 people is operating as little more than a speed trap, accusing the police department of using its automated cameras like slot machines in order to collect revenue for the municipality. The village suspended its use of the automated cameras in mid-2021, but resumed the program last fall. Since then, Hardin said theyve taken in nearly a half a million dollars in speeding fines, something he said is putting a disproportionate burden on the Franklin County Municipal Court. Im thinking about those single moms, anybody lives out east, you know, we have a lot of apartments out there, folks who are working really hard, Hardin said. Theyre running, theyre always driving through this little strip of village, unknowingly getting these fees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one is saying the Village of Brice should not be able to enforce speed control, Hardin said. Were saying that the practical application of how theyre doing this has resulted in them using this speed camera. Gahanna Lincoln bids goodbye to theater with alumni performance Franklin County Municipal Court Clerk Lori Tyack echoed those remarks. I have expressed my concerns to Council President Hardin regarding the demand of staff resources necessary to process the volume of cases filed by the Village of Brice and support his interest in this matter, Tyack said in a statement. Tyack said 4,680 citations have been filed with the clerks office since the start of 2025, which has caused a drain on office resources by requiring deputy clerks to focus on the processing of these citations instead of their assigned tasks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additional funding has been requested for staff specifically designated to process the Village of Brice citations, Tyack said. This is not the first time Franklin Countys smallest town has been accused of being a speed trap. NBC4 and state officials have been investigating traffic enforcement in the village for years. Not a scam: Postcards from Ohio federal court are for jury duty In 2022, the State Auditors Office found that traffic fines accounted for the majority of the villages general cash receipts. The review also found that the village failed to maintain approval of the tickets issued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2018, Brice Police Chief Bud Bauchmoyer told NBC4 Investigates that drivers have to be going at least 10 miles over the posted speed limit to be ticketed. NBC4 reached out to Brice officials for comment on this story and have not yet heard back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Family, friends and colleagues are remembering the life of a mother and teacher killed this past weekend. Columbus police said Rachel Prince, 46, was killed Sunday at her apartment on Cobblestone Drive; her boyfriend, Jason Palmer, has been charged with murder in her death. Police said Palmer was charged with domestic violence against Prince twice before. Princes family said they are devastated and want justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cold case podcaster returns to Ohio to investigate homicide of 8-year-old girl Rachel was one of those people that really loved the underdog, her sister-in-law Jennifer Belemu said. Prince has two children, Anna, 9, and Issac, 11. She was an art teacher at Columbus City Schools Marion Franklin High School. In a statement, Marion Franklin principal Tanita Fleming said, Ms. Prince devoted her life to uplifting young people, always leading with compassion. Her presence brought hope and guidance to countless lives, and her loss is deeply felt throughout the Marion-Franklin community and beyond. Yet, the legacy she leaves will live on, inspiring us all to believe in the power of one person to make a lasting difference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In her second year as an art teacher here at Marion-Franklin, her kind spirit made her a favorite amongst the students. She had a deep love for her craft and found great joy in working with our students, touching their lives with her vibrant energy, kindness, and patience. Belemu said people from the school and her students have been reaching out saying she was their favorite teacher. She said she hasnt heard anything negative. Man extradited from South Carolina to face Licking County karaoke bar murder charge Well, it was devastating, Belemu said. I mean, I work, I work in a sexual assault and domestic violence unit and and then it hits home because this is what I do for a living. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Belemu said she went to the hospital with Prince in December and then to court with her in February, when Palmer was charged with domestic violence against Prince. I begged the judge to keep him, Belemu said. I begged. I even asked for restorative justice, makes me absolutely furious. This could have been prevented. Absolutely furious. So could have been prevented, and I did everything in my power to make that happen. Belemu encourages anyone who sees domestic violence to speak up. On Tuesday, Columbus launched a new initiative, a five-question perception survey in several different languages related to domestic violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coffee shop serving pastries and desserts opens in Grove City This data really will help us shape not only messaging, but how we can deliver important services to the people that need it in our community, Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein said. Klein said the city worked in partnership with the Center for Family Safety and Healing at Nationwide Childrens Hospital and the Battered Womens Justice Project. We want people to be educated and informed that there are resources available to allow you to escape that abusive relationship, Klein said. That could be dangerous. It could be dangerous for you, your family members, your kids. We want people to know that resources are there. Were here to help, but we want people to escape that violent situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Belemu said Princes kids are both artists like her. She said her brother and the childrens father are supporting them through this time, but they will always feel the void left by their mothers death. The rippling effects of devastation like this is its not just affecting our immediate family its affecting all of her students, everyones life that she touched, Belemu said. The family has started a GoFundMe to help pay for counseling for the children and school supplies. She said they are also planning two vigils in honor of Prince. One on Sunday will be at Goodale Park at 1 p.m.; the other will be held at Marion Franklin High School on Monday. Palmer is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday morning in Franklin County Municipal Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Resources through the Ohio Domestic Violence Network 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 NBC4 WCMH-TV. Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, and the lead federal prosecutor in cases involving Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, has reportedly been fired from her role within the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York. Comeys abrupt removal cuts short a nearly decade-long tenure in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, where she prosecuted some of the highest-profile cases in recent memory. In addition to the cases against Epstein and Maxwell, Comey worked to prosecute Sean Diddy Combs on various allegations, although many consider this prosecution a failure after Combs was found not guilty of the most serious charges in the case, as previously reported by The Dallas Express. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No official reason for the firing has been released at the time. However, sources close to the situation told The New York Times that Comey was presented with a letter citing Article II of the Constitution, which outlines the powers given to the President. Another source close to the situation spoke with Politico and confirmed that the decision was not made by the offices interim U.S. attorney, Jay Clayton, indicating that it was likely a direct decision made by the DOJ. A spokesman for the Southern District of New York denied a request for comment by The New York Times after the firing was confirmed. This dismissal comes as President Donald Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi face scrutiny over the refusal to release the alleged client list related to the Epstein investigation. Trump has claimed that these files are fake news and were created by Mr. Comey and other Democratic leaders, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And I would say that, you know, these files were made up by Comey. They were made up by Obama. They were made up by the Biden [administration]. And we went through years of that with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax. With all of the different things that we had to go through. Weve gone through years of it, said the President, as reported by The Dallas Express. Ms. Comeys father, James Comey, was appointed by then-President Barack Obama as the FBI director and held this role when Trump first took office in 2017. Trump fired Comey that same year following an FBI investigation into the Presidents ties to Russia, according to the Associated Press. The Erie community is demanding answers and justice following the shooting death of 43-year-old Marchello Woodard by a state parole agent. On Wednesday night, residents gathered at Erie City Hall, urging city council members to push for transparency in the investigation of Woodards death. The incident occurred two weeks ago, and the community is seeking clarity on the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Nobody cared. They didnt even send flowers. I had to bury my son, said Charles Woodard, Marchellos father, expressing his frustration over the lack of communication from authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the city council meeting, citizens voiced their concerns through powerful words, tears, and chants, calling for justice for Marchello Woodard. Charles Woodard, Marchellos father, shared his grief and disappointment, stating that he has not received any communication from authorities regarding the investigation. Jerry Roberts, Marchellos cousin, highlighted the impact of Woodards death on his family, especially his seven-year-old child who struggles to understand the situation. The community is united in their demand for accountability and transparency from local leaders. The Erie County District Attorney confirmed that the investigation is ongoing but declined to share specific details, citing the need to maintain the integrity of the investigation. This response has left many citizens dissatisfied, as they feel that more action is needed to address the situation. Malcolm Pullium, a friend of Marchello Woodard, expressed the communitys demand for immediate action, stating, We want an indictment today. We want somebody arrested yesterday and we want a conviction immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the investigation progresses, the Erie community continues to stand firmly behind the Woodard family, demanding justice and accountability from the authorities involved. The publics call for transparency and action remains strong, as they seek answers and closure in the wake of this tragic event. 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. Related Stories Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. We came across a bullish thesis on Global Blue Group Holding AG on Iceman Capitals Substack. In this article, we will summarize the bulls thesis on GB. Global Blue Group Holding AG's share was trading at $7.36 as of July 14th. GBs trailing P/E was 17.98 according to Yahoo Finance. Photo by Clay Banks on Unsplash Global Blue (GB) is the dominant global player in VAT tax refunds, commanding over 70% market share in the Tax-Free Shopping (TFS) spacenearly three times the size of its nearest competitor. TFS generates 76% of GBs revenue, where GB captures ~2.5% of gross transaction value by partnering with merchants to offer seamless VAT refund processing. The firm has digitized nearly the entire refund experience, increasing efficiencies and improving key success metrics like issue and refund ratios. These improvements have contributed to market share gains, particularly in countries like Spain. GBs Payments segment accounts for 18% of revenue, offering acquiring, dynamic currency conversion (DCC), and multi-currency gateways, earning revenue from FX spreads and transaction fees, often layered on top of TFS economics. Its Post-Purchase Solutions (~6% of revenue) have been strengthened via acquisitions like ZigZag (returns logistics), Yocuda (digital receipts and CRM), and ShipUp (order tracking), creating further stickiness and expanding its merchant offerings. GBs competitive moat is built on switching costs, merchant contracts, digitized infrastructure, and data scalecapturing 50 data points per transaction. Its positioning in the luxury and travel markets offers pricing resilience and growth, supported by long-term sector CAGRs of 5%+. With 41 million transactions averaging 587 in FY2025, GBs exposure is skewed to premium shoppers. Its merger with Shift4 (FOUR) adds international capabilities, merchant overlap, and cross-sell potential, with expected $80M in revenue and $70M in EBITDA synergies. At a deal price of $2.5B (13.3x TTM EV/EBITDA), the transaction appears attractively valued and strategically sound. Previously, we covered a bullish thesis on Shift4 Payments, Inc. (FOUR) by Iceman Capital in June 2025, which highlighted the companys acquisition of Global Blue as a strategic move into high-margin international markets. The companys stock price has appreciated by approximately 9.38% since our coverage. Iceman Capital, in this thesis, conducts a deep dive into the acquiree Global Blue (GB), emphasizing its scale, digitized moat, and luxury travel exposure. Together, they present compelling investment opportunities in the FinTech segment . Ruth & Norman Rales Jewish Family Services (Rales JFS) is a pillar in the Jewish community. From its food pantry to behavioral health programs, the nonprofit organizations offerings are in play every day to help locals in need. And for the past 33 years, Beth Levine has been at the helm of it. Until this past May, that is, when Levine officially retired from her role as chief operating officer, a position shes held since 2015. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In her honor, Rales JFS has created the Beth Levine Legacy Fund, which will help support the needs of the agency and continue the mission that Levine has successfully led. Knowing her history and how she started part time and has worked tirelessly and so diligently through the years and became chief operating officer as a female, to me, is so inspiring, said Nicole Kornblum, director of marketing and communications at Rales JFS. I know that everyone who works with her and has worked under her truly appreciates Beth and everything that she does. Her legacy is phenomenal, and its really great that they have this fund. Shell really be missed. We spoke with Levine, who lives in Boynton Beach, prior to her official retirement to learn more about her experience with Rales JFS and her future plans. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Q: You have been with Rales JFS since 1992. How did you initially get involved? A: I had clothing stores and we closed them and I was looking for a job. At that time, everything was posted in the newspapers and it was for a part-time finance job. I figured, I did the finances for our business, I could handle that. After I applied, I found out it really wasnt finance, it was developing a financial assistance program at the agency that they never had before. So for the first year, I was part time and I created an application that, to this day, we still use. I created the policies and procedures for when someone wants to request financial assistance, whats included, the documents that well need, and then I developed a chart that showed at what level does someone qualify to receive financial assistance, and then we set parameters of how much someone could receive on an annual basis, so on and so forth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From there, the position grew. I did HR, I did the front office, I managed volunteers, I started the food pantry in 1997, and I developed the policies and procedures for that, and that grew quickly. Every couple years, my responsibilities changed and increased. I was promoted to chief operating officer, tasked with overseeing all the programs at the agency. Q: How does Rales JFS help the local Jewish community? A: First and foremost is our behavioral health department. We have licensed clinical social workers. We have psychiatrists and nurse practitioners. All of our programs are gems. No one is ever turned away for not being able to pay. We also have the food pantry. People think Boca Raton and Delray Beach are very affluent and there are no poor people, but theres many low-income seniors. I would say 75% to 80% of our food pantry are low-income seniors on a fixed income, and their situations not going to change. We also have young families. It changed after 2008 when the market crashed, we started to see more families using the food pantry. They would come on for a short period of time, but now we see families staying on because they just dont have enough money. If you are not able to cook, our Meals on Wheels program is wonderful. We have volunteers that deliver frozen kosher meals every Friday, and many low-income individuals qualify to receive them for free or at a discounted rate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Cooperman Therapy & Family Resource Center provides therapies for children with special needs. We have speech, we have [occupational therapy, physical therapy, applied behavior analysis] therapy its a one-stop shop that we are proud of. Our Holocaust program has 325 Holocaust survivors. We have a $13 million grant from the claims conference, which supplies us with home care. We have a domestic violence department, where someone calls in and we can do safety planning. We can align them with AVDA (Aid to Victims of Domestic Abuse) and they can go to a shelter and we can arrange transportation, making sure the family is safe. We have 125 volunteers just in our senior center in Delray and over 1,000 volunteers in our database, anything from delivering meals for holidays, helping with Passover seders, helping in the office, in the Cooperman Center. Q: What are you most proud of concerning your career? A: The development of the food pantry, because I was involved from the ground floor. Madeline Pargh was one of the founders. We sat on the kitchen floor and talked about how we were going to dispel the image of a food pantry in Boca and Delray, when everybody thought it was an affluent area. We opened with 30 people and we now have over 600 people in the food pantry, just in those two areas. We have outgrown the space we are in. Im very proud of it. Q: In honor of your retirement, Rales JFS has created the Beth Levine Legacy Fund. What does this honor mean to you? A: It means the world to me. It means my legacy can live on for the things I felt were important in the 32 and a half years I was there. We have different types of funds in the agency and this fund has my name on it because of the duration of time I was at the agency and my passion for helping people in the community, and its going to be an unrestricted fund. So wherever the funds are needed when we do our budgets or if something comes up, that fund will be used. I didnt want to restrict it since I [oversaw] all programs. I really just wanted it open. Q: How can people get involved with Rales JFS? A: Go on our website. If interested in volunteering, call our main number and youll be able to connect with anybody you want to speak to for the variety of programs. Follow us on social media. We post constantly about groups that we have and activities that are going on. And we have a phenomenal newsletter that gives you a glimpse into what were doing and whats coming up. Q: What is your plan for retirement? A: My husband and I are going to travel. We have an RV and a tiny house in Georgia. We are just going to kind of float around, no rules, no time, just see how it goes. For more information on Rales JFS, visit ralesjfs.org or call 561-852-3333. (NewsNation) The Senate is examining an alarming increase in cargo heists, as reports rise of thieves stealing everything from pharmaceuticals to food. Chris Spear, CEO of the American Trucking Associations, tells Morning in America that the heists are costing the industry $35 billion annually. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) U.S. Congressman Jodey Arrington of Texas District 19 delivered remarks honoring the victims of the recent floods that struck Central Texas over the Fourth of July weekend. Speaking from the House floor, Rep. Arrington addressed Speaker Mike Johnson, stating he rose to honor the lives lost and described the event as an unimaginable and heartbreaking loss for these families and for Texas. Among those he recognized were constituents from his district, including Holly Frizell, and Robert and Joni Brake, from Abilene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arrington highlighted what he described as the strength and resilience of Texans during difficult times. I would say that Texans are tough for a lot of reasons, Arrington expressed, but mostly because we believe in the power of prayer and Gods sovereignty. We depend on Him for comfort, confidence, and strength. He urged his colleagues and the entire nation to show their support. I beseech my fellow Americans and members on both sides of the aisle to join us in prayerasking God to do what only he can do: to lift up these families, to keep them strong, and to be with them every step of the way, Arrington added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Arrington concluded his remarks by emphasizing the importance of unity and support within the community. May God bless our great country. May God comfort these families. And go West Texas, said Arrington. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. NEED TO KNOW On July 15, Rep. August Pfluger appeared on the House floor to honor those who died during the Fourth of July floods in Texas He also shared what it meant to see Camp Mystic after two of his daughters survived "This family is deeply grieving right now," he said After his daughters survived the Texas foods that inundated Camp Mystic, a Texas congressman recalled how one of his girls prayed for the safety of her friends as the floodwaters rose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, July 15, Rep. August Pfluger, a Republican who represents the 11th District of Texas, read the names of the 11 people from his district after floods who died as a result of flooding tragedy, which has killed more than 130 people. These were lives lost far too soon, Pfluger said on the House floor. These were selfless individuals, leaders, officers in the police force and people that we will miss dearly. Speaking on his family's personal connection to the flooding tragedy, Pfluger said that his two daughters who survived the flooding at the camp, Caroline and Juliana, are fourth-generation campers and have attended the all-girls Christian camp for the past 10 years. You know, I sent my young girls to Camp Mystic for a couple of reasons, he said. Number one, for young women, this was a place where they didnt have access to the digital world. They had access to relationships. They were taught about faith. The congressman went on to recall visiting the camp two days after the floodwaters receded and seeing the spot where one of his daughters stood to get away from the floods before being evacuated. There, she bowed her head and prayed for her fellow campers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As they were singing songs, knowing that there was a really tragic event unfolding in front of them, praying for their friends and for their safety, my middle daughter said that this was a family, he said. Everybody knew everybody. And this family is deeply grieving right now. Pfluger also shares a third child, daughter Vivian, with his wife, Camille. August Pfluger/Instagram The Pfluger family. The Pfluger family. 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. During a recent interview on The Lead with Jake Tapper, Pfluger addressed the wave of questions that have circulated about the emergency response at a local and national level that fateful day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was a tragic event that I dont think you can necessarily plan for, Pfluger, who served as a fighter pilot and squadron commander in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years, told Tapper. Of course, as an Air Force guy, you always debrief. There will be a time for that, and you always look to do things better. He emphasized the importance of focusing on families who are grieving and the power of coming together as a community a point he reiterated while speaking to Congress. I hope that this serves as a wake-up call to our nation...to congratulate and celebrate the countless heroes, some of whom gave their lives," he said. "Well never know their stories. To learn how to help support the victims and recovery efforts from the Texas floods, click here. Read the original article on People The Conneaut Area City School Board voted to hire Emily Dobran as the new assistant principal for Conneaut High School at a Wednesday meeting. Shell be a great addition to our team, Superintendent Lori Riley said. She said Dobran has previously worked with the district as the director of the local ACCESS and GEAR UP programs. During her report, Riley took a moment to recognize victims of Saturdays Liberty Street fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A district family lost their home in it, she said. Board member Joanie Norton also took time to thank first responders who were at the scene, and the wider community who came to help, Riley said. Riley is thankful for the community rallying together to help fire victims, she said. District leadership is happy Governor Mike DeWine signed the state biennial budget, and with his vetos. Riley said she wished there was more support for the Fair School Funding Plan in the budget. District leaders are disappointed that the Ohio legislature may override DeWines property tax vetos, she said. District teachers are currently reviewing updated K-12 curriculum in preparation for the school year, Riley said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The district will also review Ohios new math curriculum to make sure the district is up to date. Riley recommended parents buy school supplies during the sales tax holiday, Aug. 1-14. The district also has various events coming up, she said. The National Honor Society will have a night out with Conneaut first responders from 5-8 p.m. Aug. 5. There will be a community backpack distribution from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Aug. 11 at the Conneaut Human Resources Center. There will be a meet the teams event at Conneaut middle and high schools from 6-8 p.m. Aug. 11. HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) Connecticut leaders, including Gov. Ned Lamont (D), held a news conference Wednesday morning to announce an increase in financial support for Connecticuts Community Health Centers. Gunshot victim walks into New Haven hospital, police investigating The nonprofit, community-based facilities provide primary and preventative care to everyone, regardless of income or insurance status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gov. Lamont said that service is crucial right now. I think it represents the very best in health care in our country, Gov. Lamont said. Something we ought to try to replicate. The states Community Health Centers serve approximately 440,000 people each year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (WTNH) A man involved in a high-profile murder case in Bridgeport in 1999 was released from a federal prison in West Virginia on Wednesday after being granted clemency for a drug conviction, and questions from the community are swirling. Former President Biden granted clemency to 49-year-old Adrian Peeler, who was convicted of murder conspiracy. Bidens commutation of Peeler concerned a federal sentence the man was serving for dealing crack cocaine. Peeler already completed a two-decade sentence for murder conspiracy stemming from the killings of a mother and her 8-year-old son. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man convicted in high-profile Bridgeport murder case released from federal prison Wednesday Peeler was convicted of conspiring with his brother to kill Karen Clarke and her 8-year-old son, Leroy BJ Brown, in Bridgeport in 1999. Prosecutors said the young boy witnessed Russell Peeler shoot Clarkes boyfriend. The boy and his mother were expected to testify in his trial. It seems to me that someone dropped the ball here to let his person get released, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat who serves on the Senates Judiciary Committee, said back in January when the commutation was announced. Since January, a wave of new reporting and Republican-led congressional investigations have raised questions about President Bidens mental acuity and whether he deferred key decisions like clemency grants to staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A book authored by CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Axios political reporter Alex Thompson titled Original Sin: President Bidens Decline, Its Cover-up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again detailed several instances that the authors said illustrated the presidents decline and an effort by senior staff to keep him sheltered from public scrutiny. In one story reported in the book, Biden appeared unable to recognize George Clooney, the world-famous actor, at a campaign event. Tapper and Thompson also reported on the influence of a small cadre of Biden aides referred to by their sources as the Politburo. The authors say the Politburo shielded Biden from the press and, in some cases, senior members of his own administration. Unnamed cabinet members confided to the reporters that, toward the end of Bidens term, they lacked direct access to the president that they once had. Former President Biden pardons drug sentence for Bridgeport convicted murderer Biden has pushed back strongly on suggestions that he lacked the mental acuity to execute the duties of the presidency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reporting published by The New York Times earlier this week detailed the process that the Biden White House used to create the list of thousands of recipients of executive clemency in the waning days of the 82-year-old Democrats term in office. Peeler was included in a batch of nearly 2,500 people who received a commutation in the days before the presidency transitioned from Biden to Donald Trump. Mr. Biden did not individually approve each name for the categorical pardons that applied to large numbers of people, he and aides confirmed, The Times reported. Rather, after extensive discussion of different possible criteria, he signed off on the standards he wanted to be used to determine which convicts would qualify for a reduction in sentence. Over a dozen Connecticut residents pardoned after Jan. 6 insurrection White House staff used an autopen to sign the orders, The Times reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an email reviewed by The Times, Bidens White House Counsel said, The president makes the final decision. Biden himself reiterated that sentiment in his interview with The Times, though officials here in Connecticut questioned whether or not he individually reviewed Peelers case. Did Former President Biden give the autopen for pardons away without even knowing the tragic facts of this case, or was he just as lost as everyone says? Mayor Joe Ganim, the Democratic leader of Bridgeport, asked in a written statement. In addition to commuting the sentences of Peeler and thousands of others, Biden also pardoned his son, Hunter Biden, and issued preemptive pardons for members of his family and other high-profile figures who were the targets of President Trumps scorn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members of the Politburo described by Tapper and Thompson were involved in discussions with the president surrounding the lists of pardons, according to the The Times. Upon taking office for the second time, President Trump granted clemency to more than 1,000 people charged with crimes related to the riots at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2025. Trump pardons upend massive Jan. 6 prosecution by freeing rioters and dismissing cases The opaqueness of the process of granting presidential clemency has concerned leaders on both sides of the aisle. In a statement to News 8, Sen. Blumenthal reiterated his support for legislation that would place checks on the clemency process. Among other things, the legislation would require the president to issue a written statement justifying each clemency grant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These pardon and clemency have been made in the shadows, a kind of black box, Blumenthal said, while also reiterating his statement that someone dropped the ball in the Peeler case. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) A 42-year-old woman was recently arrested after she failed to appear at a court hearing, disregarding the courts child support orders, the El Paso County Constables Office for Precinct 3 said in a news release. Constables Office cracking down on failure to pay child support The Constables Office said Angela Marie Corral, 42, was arrested on Wednesday, July 16, for having an active warrant for criminal non-support with a $10,000 bond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was located on the 7900 block of Meraz Avenue and was then booked into the county jail without further incident, the Constables Office said. Constable Hector Bernal said that these types of warrants are often overlooked by law enforcement agencies. He would like to remind the community that his deputies will be vigilantly executing these types of warrants, looking for offenders, according to the news release. Tips may be submitted to (915) 273-3590 (Constable Office for Precinct 3) or through Crime Stoppers at (915) 566-8477. You will remain anonymous by going through Crime Stoppers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) Police are investigating an incident after they say a construction worker was assaulted while on the job by three men. On July 15, around 3:40 p.m., officers say they were called to Carey Avenue and Horton Street for a report of a 26-year-old construction worker from Scranton who had been assaulted. Woman killed after crash with tractor-trailer identified The victim told police that he was working near Lawrence Street when two women walked by him. The victim denied saying anything to the women, but a short time later, the women came back with three men. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police say one suspect struck the construction worker with a pipe while another man punched him while holding a gun. All of the suspects fled the scene. The investigation is ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to 28/22 News. CHESNEE, S.C. (WSPA) A woman is behind bars after hitting a construction worker while driving under the influence, Spartanburg deputies said. The Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office assisted the Chesnee Police Department at around 9 a.m. on Wednesday morning in response to a pedestrian being struck by a vehicle. Chesnee police identified the victim as a flagman. The driver, identified as 54-year-old Stacy Robbins, was arrested and charged with felony DUI with great injury. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robbins told police that she did not see the flagman. The victims condition is unknown at this time. Her bond was set to $50,000. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSPA 7NEWS. (Bloomberg) -- Hong Kongs equity benchmark is trading near its highest level in over three years, thanks to a rally sparked by a breakthrough in artificial intelligence earlier in the year as well as strong demand from mainland investors. Most Read from Bloomberg The Hang Seng Index advanced as much as 1.1% on Wednesday before trimming gains. It was still on track for a fifth straight session of gains. Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd. were among the top contributors. Another closely watched gauge, the Hang Seng China Enterprises Index, also jumped as much as 1.3%. Tech stocks have been at the forefront of the HSI rally, driven by optimism over Chinese startup DeepSeeks breakthrough in artificial intelligence and government support for AI development and other private sectors. Investor sentiment has also improved as geopolitical tensions between the worlds two biggest economies begin to ease. Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.s plans to resume sales of some AI chips to China reinforced the perception that trade relations are thawing. Further signaling diplomatic progress, US Secretary of State Marco Rubios met with his Chinese counterpart at a summit in Malaysia on Friday. With the best Chinese tech firms listed in Hong Kong, this has injected significant momentum into the HSI since January, Aidan Yao, Asia senior investment strategist at Amundi SA, said. Valuations of Hong Kong-listed companies are reasonable, and global investors mostly still underweight may be enticed back as the bullish trend continues. The Hang Seng Tech Index, which tracks 30 largest tech companies listed in Hong Kong, rose as much as 1.8% Wednesday. Stocks in Hong Kong will lead onshore peers for now as investors focus on Chinas efforts to revive demand, diversify supply chains and technological advancements, Ecaterina Bigos, chief investment officer for Asia ex Japan at AXA Investment Managers, said in a Bloomberg TV interview. Hong Kongs benchmark is among the top-performing major indexes in Asia, up 23% year-to-date. Daily turnover hit a record high in April, with the average so far this year nearly doubling that of 2024. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. earlier this month upgraded Hong Kong stocks to market-weight, citing their potential to benefit from a weakening dollar and the Federal Reserves easing cycle. The verdict against Sean Diddy Combs early this month sent shock waves through the feminist community. Despite harrowing testimony and video evidence of violence, jurors acquitted him of sex trafficking and racketeering . Combs and his team celebrated, while many Americans mourned the death of #MeToo. There was some consolation for those who wanted Combs held accountable: The disgraced rapper was found guilty of violating the Mann Act by transporting male sex workers across state lines for prostitution, for which he could face up to 20 years in prison. Important questions abound about the sex trafficking and racketeering charges not only whether the jury applied the law justly based on the evidence of the case, but also whether the federal government should have used the sex trafficking and racketeering statutes to bring charges, whether those laws should cover the conduct at issue and what it all means for womens equality. These make for rich debates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My point is narrower: We should not celebrate the governments successful use of the Mann Act nor its excessive penalties for acts related to consensual commercial sex. This is a poor mechanism to make up for a jurys reluctance to convict on more serious charges. The act does not require coercion, and anyone involved in the transportation of the sex workers could have been charged. If the government earnestly enforced the act, federal courts would be too clogged to function. Lets be clear about how this works. If two people drive from San Diego to Los Angeles to engage in sex work, they have committed no crime, although a later act of exchanging sex for money could be a minor misdemeanor. Now imagine the same people drive from California to Las Vegas. Even if sex never occurs and money never changes hands, each has committed two Mann Act violations as transporter and as accomplice warranting up to 20 years in prison (10 years for each offense). Is there some moral distinction between traveling to Los Angeles versus Las Vegas? The only difference is that the federal government has jurisdiction over interstate activity, and so crossing state lines triggers federal power. In 1910, the government largely for racist, xenophobic and patriarchal reasons seized that power through the Mann Act. Officially titled the White-Slave Traffic Act, the law prohibited transporting women for prostitution or any other immoral purpose . It was later amended to apply to the transportation of men as well, and immoral purpose was replaced with any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense. Prosecutors often employ easier-to-prove charges when they anticipate struggling to secure convictions on more serious offenses. For instance, when proving intent to commit burglary is difficult, they may fall back on possession of burglary tools. But even putting aside the many civil libertarian and constitutional objections to such practices, the Mann Act has proven a particularly pernicious make-up crime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The act was born of a time of widespread hostility to immigration, moralist backlash to sexually progressive urban culture and anxiety that rural wives and daughters would flee to cities in search of liberation. Like an early QAnon, the media and the public fixated on fictional epidemics of white girls being coaxed or kidnapped by foreign men and unscrupulous women into a life of sexual slavery in dens of iniquity. One supporter of the act queried, Shall we defend our American civilization or lower our glorious flag to the most despicable foreigners French, Irish, Italians, Jews and Mongolians? The laws namesake James Mann seized the opportunity to characterize enslavement as something minorities do to whites, declaring that prostitution was much more horrible than any black-slave traffic ever was in the history of the world. Although passed in the name of saving women, the act became a tool for prosecuting them. In 1915, Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. approved the prosecution of transported women, such as professional prostitutes, urging that we abandon the illusion that the woman always is the victim. In the infamous 1930s Scottsboro Boys case, white women feared they might be prosecuted under the Mann Act and so fabricated rape claims against Black teens. As Mann Act enforcement intensified and helped give rise to the modern FBI , agents targeted interracial couples to deter race-mixing. Law enforcement also focused on suspected mobsters and political opponents vacationing with their girlfriends, celebrities like Charlie Chaplin and prominent Black men including heavyweight champ Jack Johnson, whom racists of the time condemned as audaciously flaunting his relationships with white women. Prosecuted in 1913, he was granted a posthumous presidential pardon in 2018. Historian Anne Gray Fischer notes that by the end of the Progressive Era, white slavery had simply become a euphemism for interracial sex. Why does all of that history matter if todays prosecutors are using the law against people who many think should be convicted of something? The drafters of the 1962 Model Penal Code addressed this directly. They described the Mann Act as an extraordinary incursion of the federal government into the field of regulating local morals and a prime example of a dead letter law. Such laws enable prosecutors to decide for themselves who shall be subjected to penal sanctions and why and thus lend themselves to discriminatory enforcement, e.g., where the parties involved are of different races. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Combs should be held accountable for his abusive and exploitative conduct. But we should not cheer the practice of federal prosecutors choosing whom to punish based on politics, press or public pressure and dusting off overbroad, archaic laws. Their very existence should trouble us. Aya Gruber is a professor of law at USC Law School and author of the forthcoming book The Crime of Sex. If its in the news right now, the L.A. Times Opinion section covers it. Sign up for our weekly opinion newsletter. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. LOCKPORT Her family, her pastor, and those who knew her while she lived at Carolyns House, a Falls shelter for homeless women and children who have been victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, knew her as Ashley Marie Berger. But to countless men browsing the now-shuttered Backpage website in 2013 and 2014, she was Fiona. An escort looking to get together for what law enforcement calls commercial sex acts. Then, by March 2015, Berger was to become known by her New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision ID number, as she headed off to begin serving a 15-year prison sentence for stabbing to death a man who had engaged her services and then tried to take back the $100 he had paid her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berger, 42, who has now served 10 years of her original sentence, was back in Niagara County Court on Tuesday, hoping to convince Judge John Ottaviano to shorten the remaining five years of her prison term or just outright release her from custody under the provisions of New Yorks Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA). The legislation, signed into law by Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2019, seeks to expand the circumstances in which judges can consider the abuse suffered by survivors of domestic violence in determining appropriate sentences if they commit criminal offenses. Under questioning by her attorney, Dara Sheinfeld, Berger testified for more than two hours Tuesday afternoon, detailing her descent into the world of sex work. It began, Berger said, when she ended her relationship with the father of her two children around the summer of 2013. I spiraled down, she said after she learned that her boyfriend of 11 years had fathered a child with another woman. I felt scared, betrayed. Speaking softly, Berger said her long-time boyfriend, who sold drugs and drank a lot had been both physically and verbally abusive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was abusive, selling drugs and drinking a lot, Berger said. He broke my nose and put my head through a window while I was pregnant. The journey of abuse began at the age of 3, when Berger said her mothers ex-boyfriend locked her in a closet and sexually molested her. She testified that her stepfather also engaged in sexually abusive behavior with her. After living in a shelter for domestic violence victims, Berger moved to Carolyns House, where she was able to work some part-time jobs and save some money. Carolyns House was a safe space for me, Berger said. But when she tried to reunite with her ex and move out of Carolyns house, things didnt work out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I felt like I was ready (to move out), Berger testified. I thought I would get an apartment with (him) and build a family. Instead, Berger found herself living in a Third Street apartment, with a young daughter, and no support from her ex. That was when she met E.C. (NOTE: An order from Niagara County Court Judge John Ottaviano prohibits the press and other media outlets ... from publishing or broadcasting the full name, image or other identifying information of a human trafficking witness in the case and Bergers alleged pimp and abuser.) Berger said she met E.C. at a party and found him attractive. He seemed nice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was the summer of 2013 and Berger said she was feeling desperate, naive and lonely. E.C. asked to move in with Berger and offered to help pay the household bills and take care of her daughter. A month later, she said E.C. hadnt helped pay the bills, had stopped helping to take care of her daughter and had become physically abusive. He was hitting me, dragging me down the stairs, Berger said. He said, Since you like having sex with people for free, you could just get paid for it. He made it sound so easy. Berger said E.C. drove her to a hotel in Buffalo, gave her rules for having sex with a stranger and told her not to discuss money with the man she would meet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I told him, Im scared. I dont want to do this., Berger said. He said, It will be fine. It will just take a few minutes. Then E.C. gave her Xanax and Molly (a slang term for the drug Ecstasy) and left the hotel. He returned a short time later and Berger said he took all of the money she had been paid. From there, Berger testified she began engaging in sex work every weekend, with E.C. posting internet ads on Backpage and arranging for hotel rooms. I was angry. I didnt understand, Berger said. He was supposed to give me the money (for bills). Berger said that while she was engaged in sex work she could make up to $1,000 a night. She is expected to resume her testimony later this morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Niagara County prosecutors are opposing Bergers request for a sentencing reduction. Under the DVSJA a person must show that they were a victim of abuse at the time of their criminal offense. The abuse may be physical, sexual, or psychological (in nature), committed by a family member or person in the (victims) household, and must be a significant contributing factor in the criminal conduct. In November 2014, Berger pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter in the slaying of Richard Christian inside a South End motel room. Falls police said they were called to the Rodeway Inn Motel, in the 400 block of Main Street, in the early morning hours of April 27, 2014. When they arrived, they said they found Christian, 22, with a single stab wound to his chest, lying outside the door to one of the motels rooms. Christian was rushed to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, but was pronounced dead a short time later. Jul. 16ROCHESTER A 53-year-old man who as a teen committed one of the most heinous crimes ever seen in Rochester will be transitioned from a state prison to a halfway house for work release later this month. David Brom, then a 16-year-old high school sophomore, took an ax in the middle of the night and killed his parents, his 13-year-old sister and 11-year-old brother. He will be released July 29, 2025, according to Minnesota Department of Corrections officials. The acts took more than 60 blows from an ax, officials said. Brom was convicted and sentenced to three life sentences in 1989. Under Minnesota guidelines put in place in 2023, Brom is now eligible for monitored release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later this month, Brom will be moved to a Twin Cities halfway house where he will remain in state custody and be monitored. A case manager will supervise his release. It will include GPS monitoring, according to Aaron Swanum, Minnesota Department of Corrections media information officer. Brom's release date is listed as July 29 on the state DOC website. In most cases, people who are released from prison return to the county of their conviction. The DOC Release Board decided at Brom's most recent release hearing that Brom would not be released to Olmsted County for work release or any other future parole release, Swanum said. Despite a highly publicized trial and decades of speculation, what motivated Brom to take an ax and kill his family members at their home in the early hours of Feb. 18, 1988, remains a public mystery. Brom was convicted of the murders on Oct. 16, 1989, and sentenced to three consecutive life sentences. At the time of his conviction, Minnesota law required anyone convicted of a life sentence to serve a minimum term of 17 years in confinement for each life sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has been at Lino Lakes Correctional Facility since. Initially, Brom would have been in his 70s before being eligible for parole. However, a 2023 Minnesota law gives offenders convicted as juveniles a chance for review. The new law allows for parole or supervised release review for offenders who have served 15 or more years of a sentence after being convicted of crimes committed as juveniles. Olmsted County Sheriff's deputies discovered the bodies of the four Brom family members on Feb. 18, 1988, in the family's Cascade Township home, just north of Rochester's city limits at the time. Deputies went there after Lourdes High School administrators called the sheriff's office regarding rumors circulating in the school where Brom was a student. Deputies found the four family members had been dead for hours and immediately began an investigation and search for Brom. He was taken into custody the next day after he was spotted at a Rochester post office. As Brom headed to trial in 1989, it appeared he might have had a chance for freedom much sooner. In the lead-up to Brom's trial, on April 22, 1989, Judge Gerald Ring decided to try Brom in the juvenile system. That meant Brom would have been released from prison before his 19th birthday in October 1990. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision to try Brom as a juvenile sparked public outrage and was reversed by the state appeals court and the reversal was upheld later by the state Supreme Court. Brom's next appearance before the Supervised Release Board is scheduled for January 2026. CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) A Conway man facing a murder charge has been sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of robbing a woman in a separate incident in 2023, the 15th Circuit Solicitors Office said Thursday. Chriwanta Bryant, 30, was found guilty on Tuesday of armed robbery and possession of a weapon during a violent crime after a two-day trial. Circuit Court Judge Alex Hyman sentenced Bryant to life in prison without parole under South Carolinas Habitual Offender Act because he was previously convicted of armed robbery in 2014, according to the solicitors office. Officers responded on Feb. 8, 2023, for a call about an armed robbery that happened along Highway 544 near Conway. The victim told police she didnt have cash on her when Bryant approached her and that he had her send his girlfriend $200 via CashApp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities learned the CashApp recipients full name, address, and registered vehicle and went to the womans apartment, the solicitors office said. The woman confirmed she received $200 from someone shed never met and that Bryant was the only person driving her vehicle that night. While the woman was being interviewed at her apartment, Bryant drove up in the vehicle described by the victim, and he was detained for questioning, according to the solicitors office. Officers then searched the vehicle and found a gun that matched the description given by the victim. Police also confirmed Bryant had texted his girlfriend after the robbery, asking whether shed received the $200, the solicitors office said. Bryant was also arrested on a murder charge last November in connection with the April 2024 shooting death of Katelyn Bennett, 33, of Conway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * * * Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. A sixth person has been arrested as part of an ongoing investigation in which 18 people have been charged with numerous terror-related offences. Members of the recently proscribed group Palestine Action are accused of breaking into the Elbit Systems UK site near Bristol on 6 August last year. A 20-year-old man from London has been taken into custody, alongside the arrests of five other people on Tuesday in connection with the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The BBC also understands a cordon set up by the Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) in St Werburghs, Bristol, on Tuesday is connected to the latest arrests. Elbit employees and two police officers were "seriously assaulted" during the incident, police said [Palestine Action] Counter Terrorism Policing South East (CTPSE) said the arrested people were detained on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism, contrary to Section 41 of the Terrorism Act 2000. Palestine Action allege Elbit Systems UK is involved in the manufacture and supply of weapons to the Israeli military - a claim the company strongly denies. The six arrested this week - a 66-year-old man from Bristol, a 20-year-old woman from Whitstable in Kent, a 19-year-old man from London, a 27-year-old man from London, a 33-year-old man from London, and a 20-year-old man from London - remain in custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Palestine Action was declared a proscribed organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000 on 5 July. Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. More on this story Related Internet Links CORNING, N.Y. (WETM) Corning Community College (CCC) will be hosting an information session on Monday for adults who are interested in participating in its new program to earn a free associates degree. On Monday, July 21, CCC will host an information session about its new program, SUNY Reconnect, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the Hanley Room of the Arthur A. Houghton, Jr. Library at the Spencer Hill Campus. The information session will be offered both virtually and in-person, and is open to the public. During the information session, CCC will provide an overview of the program, scheduling, steps for enrollment and student support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How adults can now qualify for free college through Corning Community College SUNY Reconnect is a new program offered by CCC that is designed to help New Yorkers pursue a free community college education within a certain field, and in turn, get a good-paying job. The program is open to adults ages 25 to 55 who dont already hold a degree. Adults eligible for the program will have the opportunity to enroll either full-time or part-time and earn an associates degree. If youre interested in participating in the program or simply learning more, you can sign up to attend the information session online. Registration for the session is not mandatory but encouraged. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn is facing backlash from conservatives over a campaign ad that appears to manipulate audio of President Donald Trump to make it sound as if Trump praised Cornyn exclusively. The ad, first flagged by conservative commentator Laura Loomer, uses a six-year-old clip from 2019 in which Trump appears to praise only Cornyn. However, the full video shows Trump actually saying, our great Senators, John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. The ad, produced by Texans for Conservative Majority, reportedly cuts off the s in Senators and ends the clip immediately after Trump says Cornyns name, omitting Cruz entirely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason why John Cornyn has to use a six-year-old clip is because Cornyn is a RINO, and there is no recent footage or audio of anyone in MAGA world, including President Trump, praising Cornyn, Loomer wrote on X. The ad has drawn sharp criticism from conservative voices on social media. @JohnCornyn would do something like this. Not shocked, Women for America First founder Kylie Jane Kremer posted on X. Establishment Republicans think they own these seats They just use people to make themselves relevant, which is exactly what Cornyn is doing with Trump in this ad. Attorney General Ken Paxtons campaign, which is challenging Cornyn in the GOP Senate primary, also weighed in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a terrible week to be Little John, Paxtons campaign told The Dallas Express. He got exposed for not being able to raise money, was caught manipulating President Trumps voice to pretend hes conservative, and hes down 20% in the polls. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Cornyns communications director, Matt Mackowiak, has been accused by activists of financially supporting a Florida sex worker a claim he has denied. The Dallas Express reached out to Cornyns campaign for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. A 15-year-old Cottonwood boy who was found guilty of plotting a bomb attack on Evergreen School in Cottonwood has been sentenced to four years in a Secure Youth Treatment facility with a maximum time of confinement of up to seven years. The teen was found guilty in Tehama County Juvenile Court of three felony charges attempted first degree murder in that the attempted murder was willful, deliberate and premeditated; possession of materials with the intent to construct a destructive device; and possession of a destructive device, reported the Tehama County District Attorneys Office. The verdict and sentencing was presided over by Tehama County Superior Court Judge Laura Woods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tehama County District Attorney Matt Rogers explained, juveniles who are too young to be tried as adults, as in this case, may be incarcerated in a Secure Youth Treatment Facility, which is equivalent to a prison sentence served in juvenile hall. Per state law, the maximum time of confinement for a juvenile convicted of attempted murder is five years, with the shortest term being three years. Put simply, the minor may be incarcerated for up to seven years depending on his level of cooperation and rehabilitation in Secure Youth Treatment, Rogers said. The minor will return to court every six months in order to evaluate his progress in Secure Youth Treatment. We are relieved that the minor was sentenced to a lengthy term. The sentence ensures the safety of the public and we hope that the public can breathe a little easier knowing that this minor will be locked up for a substantial amount of time. According to the District Attorneys Office, the 15-year-old and a 14-year-old boy co-conspired in planning the attack on Evergreen Middle School. However, the potential attack on the school was averted thanks to an online gamer from Tennessee who alerted law enforcement of the planned attack after one of the teen suspects he was playing online games with allegedly discussed the school attack, sharing a manifesto and sending photos mimicking the Columbine shooters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives from the Tehama County Major Crimes Unit were called in and took over the investigation. On May 11, investigators served a series of search warrants on the suspects homes off of Bowman Road and Lake California areas. Investigators found evidence to substantiate the claims made by the reporting party. After the suspects were arrested they were booked into the Tehama County Juvenile Justice Center on suspicion of making criminal threats, possession of a destructive device, manufacturing a destructive device and conspiracy to commit a felony. During the investigation, Tehama County Sheriff Dave Kain said the juveniles had built and tested two improvised explosive devices in preparation to use in the attack on the school. He said the suspects were hopeful to amass a casualty count of over 100 individuals. He also revealed it was determined during the investigation the pair of suspects intended to murder one of their sets of parents before engaging in the school attack. The other teen accused of participating in the attack on the school has also been charged with similar allegations and returns to court at 10 a.m. on Aug. 5as well. A contested jurisdictional hearing has not yet been set in that case. BOSTON (SHNS) The Governors Council received two new Superior Court nominees Wednesday, and approved a new Juvenile Court judge, adding to the bench an attorney from Worcester with years of public defense experience. The council vote was 8-0 to confirm Nibal Raheb for an open slot on the Juvenile Court. She was nominated by Gov. Maura Healey in mid-June. Raheb has been an attorney for 26 years, and in addition to her work in the courtroom is the supervising attorney for the Worcester County Bar Advocates, managing the juvenile private counsel panel. She has a bachelors degree from Clark University and her J.D. from Southern New England School of Law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I thank the administration for continuing to send us outstanding juvenile judges, and especially the ones from Worcester, Councilor Paul DePalo, who made the motion to approve Raheb, said Wednesday. The Juvenile Court handles civil and criminal matters including delinquencies, youthful offender cases, care and protection matters and children requiring assistance cases. Its 42 judges sit in more than 40 courthouses. Another Juvenile Court nominee, Andrew Don, had his confirmation hearing Wednesday. Since 2021, Don has served as the trial panel director for the Committee for Public Counsel Services, where he oversees 740 private attorneys who represent parents or children in the Juvenile Court. From 2003 to 2021, he maintained a solo practice in Scituate, focused on representing families in care and protection and criminal delinquency matters. Don has a B.A. from Boston College and a J.D. from Boston College Law School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The thing thats notable, I think, about Juvenile Court, is that its perhaps uniquely collaborative while still maintaining the system of justice thats been carefully constructed and developed in Massachusetts. The work of families to improve their lives as they come before Juvenile Court, the work of the attorneys advocating for them, the work of the agencies and their case workers, the work of the court officers, the probation officers, and clerks, is inspiring in their shared dedication to the families that appear in the juvenile court, he said. Another nominee, Lisa Core, appeared before the council Wednesday for her hearing to serve as associate justice of the District Court. Core has worked for about a decade as a solo practitioner, focusing on court-appointed and private criminal defense. She also held roles as an assistant district attorney in Essex County, supervisor of Lynn District Court and Lynn Gun Court, and as a law clerk in the Massachusetts Appeals Court. Healey nominated her on July 2. I have spent the better part of my career in the District Court, and I feel at home there, Core said Wednesday. I know what to expect, I like the pace of it, I like that no two days are the same, and I value the role that the District Court has in the community by interrupting patterns of behavior, connecting people with resources, and preventing and remedying harm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The council also scheduled a hearing on Wednesday, July 23 for new Superior Court nominee Emily Karstetter. Thomas Townsend was also nominated by Healey Wednesday to serve on the Superior Court. His hearing has yet to be scheduled. Karstetter has been a District Court judge since 2012, and served as the First Justice of the Malden District Court for the last six years. Prior to becoming a judge, Karstetter maintained a solo practice for 14 years focused on criminal defense and employment discrimination. She also spent eight years at a small firm, where her practice focused on insurance defense litigation, criminal defense and business disputes. She received her bachelors degree in philosophy from Wellesley College and JD from New England School of Law. Townsend, of Longmeadow, has been the chief of the Appellate Division of the Northwestern District Attorneys Office since 2011. Over his 28-year career, he has argued 46 times in the Supreme Judicial Court, handled over 250 cases in the Appeals Court, and tried 22 cases to verdict in the Superior Court. He has served as an adjunct professor of law at the University of Connecticut. Townsend graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst in 1994, and received his a degree from the Indiana University School of Law in 1997. Healey has previously nominated 16 judges to the Superior Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. ANNISTON Councilman Lewis Downing led a discussion during the Anniston City Councils work session Tuesday night on several neighborhood infrastructure concerns, citing traffic and safety issues in the Rocky Hollow area. Ive had several people on Davis Avenue and the Rocky Hollow neighborhood approach me about traffic on Davis and how fast it goes up and down, and kind of reckless behavior, he said, advocating for a stop sign at the intersection of Davis and East 19th Street. I know there are procedures for stop signs and traffic control devices, so I would just like to get some work done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Downing also raised concerns about poor lighting on Bird Street, where a previously leased Alabama Power streetlight is no longer maintained. Its pitch black, and I mean cavedark, he said, noting that residents take pride in their homes yet face safety risks without proper lighting. He further requested road repairs at the intersection of McCall Drive and Abbott Avenue. Its a pretty dire situation. A large divot out of the pavement that affects pretty well the whole passability of the street, he said. The council agreed to explore traffic studies and potential paving solutions. Downing said he would consult with Public Works Director David Arnett on options for McCall Drive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement *** Eryca Fambro of Blulynx Solutions, contracted to assist the city with grant administration for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, spoke to the council about. Whats on the agenda for this week is the annual action plan, Fambro said. So the annual action plan is a oneyear plan that the city is required to submit to HUD, and basically lets HUD know how you want to use your grant funds on an annual basis. She added that the plan includes about 13 projects slated for the upcoming fiscal year. During the formal meeting, Mayor Ciara Smith introduced the first resolution, approving the fiscal year 2025 Annual Action Plan under the Community Development Block Grant and HOME Investment Partnerships programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The plan, effective Oct. 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2025, directs HUDallocated federal funds toward housing rehabilitation, public infrastructure upgrades and economic development initiatives in low to moderateincome neighborhoods. The second resolution amends the citys 20172024 Annual Action Plan to reallocate unexpended HOME funds to Generation Wealth Builders Inc. and Calhoun Cleburne Habitat for Humanity. It needs to be amended to reallocate unexpended HOME funds to Generation Wealth Builders Inc. and to the Calhoun Cleburne Habitat for Humanity, Smith said. At the close of the meeting, the council moved into executive session to discuss preliminary negotiations involving matters of trade or commerce; to discuss matters or information of the character defined or described in the Alabama Trade Secrets Act. Heffernan Insurance Brokers has introduced a new digital platform, called Quick Insure, to simplify the insurance process across the US. The platform offers a streamlined interface, allowing users to obtain insurance quotes, compare policy options, and secure coverage efficiently. The platform is designed to deliver solutions tailored to individual and business needs, according to the company's press release. Quick Insure supports a variety of personal insurance products, covering areas such as family, pets, and travel, as well as business insurance options, including short-term general liability and special event insurance. The platform is now available across the US, providing access to a broad range of insurance products from various carriers, with support from Heffernans team. Earlier this year, Heffernan Insurance Brokers acquired Green Financial, a domestic company founded in 1986 by Fred Green and his father, Harry Green. Fred Green, president of Green Financial, and his team joined Heffernans small business division, HeffDirect. Green Financial specialised in Washingtons employee benefits market, individual health plans, and Medicare solutions. Heffernan Insurance Brokers provides a range of business and personal insurance and financial services to a diverse client base. According to its website, the company offers health insurance services such as benefit advisory, administration and advocacy, compliance and legislation support, and more. "Heffernan Insurance launches new platform to simplify insurance process " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. Discussions on the EUs 18th sanctions package against Russia at a meeting of the EU General Affairs Council on 18 July have been scheduled under Any Other Business (AOB), which means there will be no voting or decision-making. Source: European Pravda, citing diplomatic sources, including a senior diplomat from a key EU member state Details: EU foreign ministers will not vote on the 18th sanctions package at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on 18 July. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A senior diplomat told European Pravda that at the request of several states, sanctions against Russia will be discussed tomorrow under AOB on the General Affairs Council meeting agenda. Ministers will exchange views, and some will voice concern over the blockage of the 18th sanctions package by two countries. However, no final decision will be made, the diplomat said. Another EU diplomatic representative added that the sanctions issue has been brought to the General Affairs Council by Germany and Sweden. The official also explained that the sanctions package must be formally approved by the EUs Committee of Permanent Representatives (Coreper), which "can be convened as soon as consensus is reached". Once Coreper approves the sanctions, the 18th package may then be formally adopted by the EU Council via written procedure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slovakia and Malta are continuing to block the adoption of the 18th EU sanctions package against Russia. Background: European Pravda previously reported that at a Coreper meeting in Brussels on 16 July, ambassadors of EU member states once again failed to reach an agreement on the 18th sanctions package. That same day, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico sent a letter to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for the sanctions package vote to be postponed until Slovakias demands regarding Russian gas are met. Slovakia has been blocking further sanctions by demanding guarantees from the European Commission that the country will not suffer losses when the EU fully phases out Russian gas in 2028. Malta reportedly has concerns over the proposed reduction of the price cap on Russian oil. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Britains spending watchdog has refused to sign off the Governments accounts for the second year in a row, blaming local councils for submitting poor-quality data on their finances. Late and inadequate filing by English councils has been blamed by the National Audit Office (NAO) for leaving it unable to vet government accounts for 2023 to 2024. Only 4pc of the 407 cash-strapped local councils submitted audited data to the watchdog. Meanwhile, 55pc shared figures based on unaudited accounts and 41pc sent no data at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It marks an even worse track record than the previous year, when 10pc of English councils shared numbers that were up to the watchdogs standards. Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, the MP who chairs the public accounts committee, branded the situation wholly unsatisfactory and said it posed a threat to the Governments finances. He warned: Yet again, failures in local authority audit have led to unacceptable levels of missing and unaudited data. This lack of transparency and ability to hold councils to account will only deepen the current precarious state of local government finances. The committee has previously warned that the Government is flying blind on worsening local authority finances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Figures from the NAO earlier this year revealed more than two fifths of councils said they would go bankrupt within two years if the Treasury stopped topping up their budgets with emergency funding. It comes after Gareth Davies, the NAO boss, last year refused to sign off the Governments accounts because of local councils for the first time ever. Mr Davies said: The Whole of Government Accounts contains valuable information on public spending and the public sectors assets and liabilities. Its essential that the Governments reforms to the local government audit system in England are effective in restoring timely and robust assurance in that sector so that the accuracy of the UKs Whole of Government Accounts can be properly assured. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even more importantly, local taxpayers in England deserve timely audited accounts from their local council. The Government has set out a plan to overhaul local government audits with statutory deadlines. While this is expected to improve the situation, the watchdog believes it will take longer before councils start filing properly and on time. The rebuke from the NAO is only one of a number of issues facing local authorities, many of which are at risk of buckling under rising social care and special needs education costs. 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. Newtown Township police have charged a Council Rock student who allegedly used AI technology to create pornographic deepfake images of female classmates. The student, who attended Newtown Middle School last year, is not being identified because he's charged as a juvenile. The case now moves to the juvenile court which legally limits the amount of information that authorities are permitted to release. Newtown Township police Capt. Jason Harris confirmed July 16 that the investigation was closed with an arrest a short time ago." Police and the Bucks County District Attorneys Office confirmed that the investigation was active last month. Police have charged a Newtown Middle School student as a juvenile for allegedly using AI technology to make deepfake pornographic images of his classmates. More Bucks County News Video: Middletown police provide update on Quickset Road shooting in Levittown Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Bucks County District Attorneys Office spokesman said the office is legally prohibited from releasing any identifying information about the juvenile under the Pennsylvania Juvenile Act including a defendant's age or school grade. The incident reportedly occurred in March. Photos of as many as 12 underage girls were used to create phony nude images, according to individuals familiar with the allegations. It was not immediately known if the images were shared with others or available online. Council Rock School District officials previously declined to comment, referring questions to the police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harris previously confirmed that Council Rock staff reported the matter to police. It's not clear whether ChildLine, the states child abuse hotline, was notified. It's also unknown what charges the juvenile is facing, but last year Pennsylvania became the first state to outlaw AI generated pornographic images. It is now a crime to harass someone by distributing a deepfake image of them without consent while in a state of nudity or engaged in a sexual act. The offense is more serious if the victim is a minor. So-called deepfakes are images, videos and audio generated by artificial intelligence tools to depict both real and nonexistent people. Deepfakes can be made to look real using someone's actual face or voice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In some cases, a person's image has been placed on a nude body or pornographic image in no way associated with them and shared online. Reporter Jo Ciavaglia can be reached at jciavaglia@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Newtown Township police charge middle schooler for AI deepfake porn Jul. 17---- A new event at the Litchfield Watercade celebration this year was Watercade Weddings free weddings in Central Park offered by the and officiated by District Judge Stephanie Beckman. Three couples signed up for the Friday afternoon event, but only two of them showed up to get married. The West Central Tribune was able to capture one of the weddings that took place that of Richard Traugott and Christina Schiffer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Traugott is from Benton County and Schiffer is from Isanti County. They met about two years ago via match.com. They will now be making their home in Cambridge, Minnesota. The couple was originally planning to get married in September on a cruise to Alaska they are taking, "but (we) decided, 'Hey, you know, this a good opportunity, let's go for it,'" Schiffer said. They found out about Watercade Weddings by doing an online search while they were planning their wedding. Their ceremony was short and sweet, taking place under one of the tall trees in Central Park, with both getting emotional as they pledged their love to each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement District Court Administrator Katie Bloch and Beckman's court reporter JoAnn Hirsch served as witnesses for the couple, along with taking photos and video of the ceremony. Before the ceremony, the couple spent some time checking out different sites around town and planned to have dinner at Parkview Grille before heading back to Cambridge. They told the West Central Tribune they would be celebrating their marriage during a family barbecue last Sunday, July 13. "Weddings are an incredibly special moment for couples and I love officiating at them," Beckman said in a news release regarding the weddings. She told the West Central Tribune that performing weddings is one of the few happy things she gets to preside over as a judge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We know this is a big step for many, so we're here to make it as easy and enjoyable as possible," Beckman said. "We're excited to add a little extra love and celebration to Watercade this year." Beckman, who is chambered in Meeker County, said she plans to offer Watercade Weddings again next year and may also consider offering them at the Meeker County Fair in the future. Other district courts throughout Minnesota have participated in similar events, including free Valentine's Day weddings and free weddings at various county fairs. Couples who plan to participate in any of the free weddings offered by Minnesota's district courts should register with that district court in advance, obtain their marriage license prior to the ceremony and bring their marriage certificate and license with them to the ceremony. MEMPHIS, Tenn. The district attorneys office is celebrating after a court panel ruled that a companys gaming machines are illegal under Tennessee law. A three-judge panel of the Chancery Court ruled July 14 in favor of the Shelby County District Attorneys Office in a case against Torch Electronics, the D.A.s office said. Missouri-based Torch Electronics manufactures what are called No Chance Games, which are similar to slot machines and are often found in gas stations and convenience stores. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mid-South businesses put on alert about illegal gaming machines The company argued that Tennessees gambling statutes are unconstitutionally vague, and its machines were not actually gambling devices. But D.A. Steve Mulroy said the courts decision affirms that these machines are illegal under Tennessee law, and law enforcement agencies are within their rights to crack down on them. The court made it clear: these machines are illegal, and we have the authority to go after those who profit from them. These operations are not just about gamestheyre often linked to more serious crimes like money laundering and firearms offenses. We will continue to enforce the law to protect our communities, Mulroy said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mulroy said his office and local law enforcement had targeted illegal gambling over the past few years. Operation Casino Royale in 2022 to 2023 seized 268 illegal gambling machines and resulted in multiple arrests and citations, while an enforcement action in July 2024 resulted in five raids. If you are a proprietor of one of these stores, be on notice. Theyre not legal, you need to get rid of them or they will be seized, said Mulroy. Operation Casino Royale shuts down gaming machines in Memphis We still have many of these machines in Shelby County, amid some uncertainty or at least claimed uncertainty as to its exact legal status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even before the legal challenges, Mulroy said his office has seen how the illegal gambling machines impact poverty-stricken areas, increasing crime or drug activity. When the drug task force did a sweep last summer, we found evidence of money laundering at some of the locations, said Mulroy. It is possible reasonable people can disagree on the policy behind this some state legislators decided to legalize gambling. This type or other types of gambling. They will tax it heavily, they will regulate it heavily, said Mulroy. But we dont have that situation in Tennessee. The legislature has not made that 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 WREG.com. A Covington man who is the father of actress Skai Jacksons son faces aggravated robbery charges in Hamilton County after documents say he pistol-whipped a man and fled in the mans car. Deondre Burgin, 21, was being held at the Kenton County Detention Center on July 15 on unrelated charges, when he was formally charged with being a fugitive from Ohio. He had been wanted in Hamilton County since June 30 in connection with the robbery, which happened more than a week earlier in East Price Hill. Burgin was booked into the Hamilton County jail on July 17. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The relationship between Burgin and Jackson a former child star on the Disney Channel who is well-known for her roles in Jessie and Bunkd has been volatile since at least the spring of 2024. Skai Jackson at a movie premiere in 2023 in Westwood, California. Jackson has alleged that Burgin subjected her to physical and verbal abuse and threatened to kill her multiple times. In July 2024, when Jackson was pregnant, she said Burgin punched and kicked through the locked door of a bathroom, where she had fled. She said Burgin choked her until she couldnt breathe. In May, Jackson filed a temporary restraining order against Burgin in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleging that Burgin attacked her. She said Burgin on May 11 slammed her head on her car window and hit her while she was holding their infant son. The alleged robbery involving Burgin happened on June 21 in a parking lot on Lehman Road in East Price Hill, according to a police report. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The unnamed male victim told police that he was approached by a man with a gun who "demanded property" and went through his pockets, the report says. When the victim tried to grab the gun, another man, who investigators say was Burgin, "pistol-whipped" the victim. The suspects took the victim's keys and fled in his Mercedes sedan. The car was recovered soon after, the report says. No court dates had been scheduled for Burgin in Hamilton County on July 17. USA Today contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Father of actress Skai Jackson's son charged in Cincinnati robbery Craig McKee - KNXV Craig McKee has joined Scripps Phoenix ABC affiliate KNXV as an anchor. We wrote about the move in May. McKee comes from Scripps owned WCPO in Cincinnati, where, the station said, he has been the evening anchor, bringing a wealth of experience in journalism and storytelling. "We are excited to welcome Craig to our ABC15 family. His extensive experience and passion for in-depth storytelling will enhance our news coverage and strengthen our connection with the Phoenix community," said Mitch Jacob, news director at ABC15. "Craig's unique perspective will be invaluable as we continue to inform and engage our viewers." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McKee attended Ironwood High School in the Phoenix metropolitan area. His wife is also from The Valley of the Sun. "I'm thrilled to be back in Phoenix, where I started my journey in journalism. I look forward to sharing compelling stories and connecting with our viewers on issues that matter most to them," McKee said. "It's an honor to join the dedicated team at ABC15." CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) A water line broke at a construction site in downtown Clarksburg Wednesday afternoon. According to an employee with the Clarksburg Water Board, at about 4 p.m., construction workers reported that a water line had broken at the construction site in downtown Clarksburg near the intersection of W Main Street and EB Saunders Way. 12 News spoke with Clarksburg Water Board General Manager Jason Myers, who said the board was still surveying the extent of the damage as of 5:30 p.m. Myers noted that the break was large enough that the board noticed a drop in its tank levels. Collapsed Shinnston building torn down, Hood Ave open Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 12 News reporter drove to the scene and found that the intersection where the break was reported was completely flooded, with water still spewing out as water board crews worked to shut off the valves. As of 6 p.m., the levels had receded greatly, and crews were working on draining the street. The reporter also spoke with a construction worker on the scene working on behalf of Hope Gas, who said members of his crew didnt hit the line. He asserted that Clarksburgs infrastructure is so old and brittle that even digging around it caused it to crumble. In a Facebook post Wednesday evening, the Clarksburg Water Board said that customers in Broadway, Goff Plaza, Broad Oaks, Monticello and Montpelier, as well as all of the intersecting side streets in those neighborhoods, would not have water. It also said that customers along Pike Street, Main Street and Ohio Avenue located east of 2nd Street would be affected. Myers told 12 News that crews are still assessing damage as of 6:55 p.m. and that other infrastructure may have been affected. He said that crews are also working to flush the line out and that a 24-hour boil water advisory would be issued once the water comes back on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The City of Bridgeport has also issued a precautionary boil water advisory for all customers in its service area. This is a developing story. Stick with 12 News for the latest. Editors note: This story has been updated to include more information from the Clarksburg Water Board and the City of Bridgeport. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) This week on Crime Stoppers, police need your help solving crimes in Mid-Michigan and finding a man wanted on a warrant out of Jackson. If you have information regarding the cases below, call Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan at (517) 483-STOP. You can remain anonymous. Those who contact Crime Stoppers with information can receive an award of up to $1,000. Abandoned Injured Dog Jackson (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) The Jackson Police Department and the Jackson County Animal Shelter and Animal Control need your help identifying a masked individual who abandoned an injured dog in the shelters play yard and left in a dark-colored pickup truck. Armed Robbery South Lansing (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) The Lansing Police Department needs your help identifying three men who entered a business in the 6200 block of S Cedar St and robbed the employee at gunpoint. The incident occurred on July 3 at around 11:30 p.m. Stolen Firearm Moores Park (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Lansing Police Department is also asking for any information that could identify a man wanted for the larceny of a firearm. The incident occurred on June 19 in the 400 block of Moores River Dr, and the man was seen driving a dark-colored pickup truck. Theft Frandor Shopping Center (Crime Stoppers of Mid-Michigan) The Lansing Police Department also needs your help identifying a woman who stole multiple items from a business in the Frandor Shopping Center on June 18. Deon Ray Scott Deon Ray Scott, 55, is wanted on a warrant for assault with intent to do great bodily harm out of Jackson. Scott is 6 and 170 lbs, with black hair and brown eyes. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. When the topic is immigrants or Democratic cities, President Donald Trump loves to talk about crime. But when it comes to Wall Street bankers and C-suite executives, he tends to keep his mouth shut. Within the first 100 days of his second term, Trump pardoned a slew of financial fraudsters. And in February, he signed an executive order announcing that his administration would pause enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a law passed in 1977 that was designed to prevent American citizens and companies from bribing foreign officials to serve their own business interests. Now, its becoming clear how Trumps Department of Justice likely intends to handle financial crimes. If these crimes involve drug cartels or political opponents anything that fits his narratives that immigration is dangerous and that Democrats are corrupt then they merit the DOJs attention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This month, for example, Trump accused California Sen. Adam Schiff of committing mortgage fraud. Similarly, the DOJ opened an investigation into New York Attorney General Letitia Jamess real-estate transactions the same Letitia James who filed a lawsuit against the Trump Organization that resulted in a judge ordering Trump to pay over $450 million. But if Trumps allies or major corporations engage in some corruption to get ahead, then the DOJ might be inclined to just look the other way. How the DOJs white-collar crime priorities are shifting On paper, the Trump administrations words have not necessarily indicated a more dramatic shift in priorities than the routine modifications you might see from one administration to the next. What I see in the actual policies and the details that are emerging is sort of more of the fine-tuning you would expect with a change in administration, consistent with not only the first Trump administration but also prior Republican administrations, said Joseph Facciponti, a former federal prosecutor who now serves as the executive director of NYU School of Laws Program on Corporate Compliance and Enforcement. Still, there are signs that the Trump administration might continue to deprioritize enforcing white-collar crimes. Since Trump returned to power, the DOJ has retreated from lawsuits involving money laundering, crypto markets, and foreign corruption. In fact, as of March 31, federal prosecutions of white-collar crime have declined by more than 10 percent compared to last year, when Democrats still controlled the White House. Thats made defense lawyers representing clients with ongoing investigations feel more optimistic about their pending cases, according to the Wall Street Journal. Its also left them concerned that theyll have less work and fewer lucrative clients during the Trump years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To say that this approach is business-friendly is an understatement. Trumps February executive order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act states that upholding anti-bribery laws essentially punishes American companies for routine business practices in other nations and actively harms American economic competitiveness and, therefore, national security. The executive order is not merely willing to ignore corporate corruption the language practically encourages it as a necessary means to stay competitive. This line of thinking was continued in a memo issued by the DOJ in May, which announced new investigative and policy priorities for white-collar crime enforcement. While the memo stated that white-collar crime also poses a significant threat to U.S. interests, it also stated that rigorous enforcement of corporate law is a burden on businesses. The vast majority of American businesses are legitimate enterprises working to deliver value for their shareholders and quality products and services for customers. Prosecutors must avoid overreach that punishes risk-taking and hinders innovation, the memo says, adding that the department has to strike the right balance between investigating criminal wrongdoing and minimizing burdens on businesses. To be sure, effective law enforcement does require prosecutors to be prudent and not take on every single case that comes their way. But the DOJ seems to be implying that prosecutors have been too aggressive in pursuing cases involving financial crime, despite the fact that white-collar prosecutions have been trending down since 2011. The May memo does outline some areas of white-collar crime that it plans to focus on, including health care and elder fraud, Ponzi schemes that defraud investors, and money laundering or tax evasion schemes that compromise US national security interests. But the question is whether the DOJ will have the capacity for robust corporate enforcement in those areas. I think the real issue is how [the administrations priorities] all get implemented because we know that theres been a number of resignations within the criminal division, and specifically the fraud section. We know that they have shifted personnel around and reassigned staff to do other things, Facciponti said. And so what kind of resources do they have at this point to do the kinds of investigations that they say that theyre interested in doing? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indeed, changes in the administrations staffing have also slowed investigations or brought them to a halt. In April, the Wall Street Journal reported that Attorney General Pam Bondi is swapping out and sidelining career supervisors who were responsible for charging crimes such as corruption, price fixing and securities fraud. There are other signs that the administration is going soft on major corporations. Earlier this year, for example, the DOJ decided to drop its criminal case against Boeing, which involved the companys role in two plane crashes that killed 346 people. Thats despite Boeing previously agreeing to plead guilty in the case. The failure to hold corporate criminals accountable has hit a new low under Attorney General Bondi, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) in a statement to Vox. Its alarming that the Trump Justice Departments enforcement priorities appear designed to turn a blind eye to corporate crimes regardless of the harm to real people. (In May, Warren wrote to Bondi urging her to hold Boeing accountable for its actions.) Trump has also signaled to convicted white-collar criminals that they might have an out. Since retaking the White House, he has commuted the 14-year sentence of Jason Galanis, who defrauded investors, including a Native American tribe and a teachers pension fund, of tens of millions of dollars; he has pardoned Julie and Todd Chrisley, the reality TV stars convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion; and he granted clemency to Lawrence Duran, a health care executive who was convicted of leading a Medicare fraud and money laundering scheme. These are just a few of the fraudsters Trump has granted clemency to, which House Democrats say has cost victims and taxpayers some $1.3 billion in fines and restitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has given convicted white-collar criminals some hope that they can get pardoned if they get on Trumps good side. Former Sen. Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey who was convicted of bribery and corruption under President Joe Bidens DOJ, has been gunning for a presidential pardon by accusing Democrats of weaponizing the Justice Department a familiar line lifted from Trumps presidential campaign. Sam Bankman-Fried the cryptocurrency mogul who was convicted of fraud and conspiracy and sentenced to 25 years in prison and his allies have also been trying to secure a pardon from Trump, according to the New York Times. How Trump thinks about crime The president likes to tout a tough-on-crime persona, having successfully run law-and-order campaigns that relied on racist and anti-immigrant tropes to whip up anger among his base supporters. His administration has also made crime a focus, largely to serve its interest in curbing immigration and its mass deportation agenda so much so that the White Houses official channels have turned arrests of immigrants into memes. But Trump clearly doesnt view some crimes specifically white-collar crimes as worthy of scrutiny. Thats in part because Trump has long ingratiated himself with the business world, not to mention the fact that he and his businesses have also been found guilty of fraud. More than six months into the second Trump administration, a pattern is emerging in which Trumps political opponents are scrutinized in ways his allies never would be, as is the case with Schiff and James. And people who try to get on Trumps good side, like New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was indicted on bribery charges during the Biden administration, have seen Trumps DOJ drop its charges against them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By being soft on white-collar crime, the lesson from Trumps Justice Department might be that if youre a businessperson looking to dabble in some light fraud, now might be the best time to do so. And if you want extra insurance, it probably wouldnt hurt to get on Trumps good side. After all, Trumps businesses have opened up several avenues for corruption during his second term, allowing anybody to invest in his crypto or media ventures. At the very least, that seems to be paying off for some people so far. Update, July 17, 9:15 am ET: This piece was originally published earlier on July 17 and has been updated to include a statement from Sen. Elizabeth Warren. Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) is among the 13 Best Booming Stocks to Buy Now. On July 9, the digital health and wellness platform announced plans to expand in Canada by offering generic semaglutide. Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (HIMS) Announces Expansion To Canada A nurse in a telehealth platform talking with a patient on video call for consultation. This comes at a time when Novo Nordisk is set to lose its patent protection on Ozempic and Wegovy in Canada for not paying a maintenance fee in 2019. Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) joins a growing list of companies that are capitalizing on Novo Nordisks lapsed patent on its GLP-1s. The introduction of generics is a pivotal moment for Canadas healthcare industry. With about two-thirds of adults in the country being overweight or obese, access to treatments has remained elusive for many due to the high costs. Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS) intends to offer generic semaglutide at a significant discount to the currently branded versions, with prices expected to further decrease over time. Hims & Hers Health, Inc. (NYSE:HIMS)s decision to enter the Canadian market follows the companys acquisition of European telehealth platform, Zava, in June, which will expand its services to France, Germany, and Ireland, and grow its active customer base by approximately 50%. While we acknowledge the potential of HIMS as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 13 Best German Stocks to Invest in Now and Goldman Sachs Stock Portfolio: 10 Large-Cap Stocks To Buy. Disclosure: None. Advocates, Gov. Tony Evers and Republican lawmakers have conflicting views about the Department of Corrections funding in the 2025-27 state budget. (Photo by Caspar Benson/Getty Images) For criminal justice advocates in Wisconsin, the new state budget leaves much to be desired. Although the $111 billion two-year budget signed by Gov. Tony Evers earlier this month will help eventually close the beleaguered Lincoln Hills juvenile prison, some feel that it missed opportunities to reform the states justice system. 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. Wisconsins elected officials, including Gov. Evers and state legislators, have once again failed to take meaningful action to overhaul the states broken and inhumane carceral system, Mark Rice, statewide coordinator for WISDOMs Transformative Justice Campaign, wrote in a statement released July 11. The recently passed state budget ignores the deep harm caused by mass incarceration and falls far short of what is needed to address the humanitarian crisis unfolding inside Wisconsins prisons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Evers original budget proposal released in February contained a number of proposals that were removed or reduced by the Legislatures Republican-led Joint Finance Committee, including $8.9 million to support alternatives to revocation. Another pitch by Evers for $4 million to fund community reentry centers was cut in half by Joint Finance. His proposed $3.19 million in supportive housing service beds for people under DOC supervision was removed. Over $1 million in funding for six positions on the DOCs Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance team was also removed by JFC. Gov. Tony Evers signes the 2025-27 state budget early Thursday, July 3, 2025. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner) Evers proposed a total increase of $519 million to the Department of Corrections budget over the next two years. The final budget deal instead increased the DOC budget by $461 million over the two-year period. The budgets capital projects plan, passed by the Legislature and signed by Evers, allocated $225 million to the Department of Corrections (DOC), as well as another $15 million towards construction planning for facilities, with the goal of closing the Green Bay Correctional Institution by 2029. Evers used his partial veto to strike the 2029 deadline for closing Green Bay. We need more compromise on that, said Evers, who added that he supports closing the prison, one of Wisconsins oldest, but called the timeline unrealistic: Saying were going to do Green Bay by 29 doesnt mean a damn thing. In his veto message, Evers said that he objected to the Legislature assigning a date to close the Green Bay prison while providing virtually no real, meaningful, or concrete plan to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I support closing Green Bay Correctional Institution, Evers wrote. Indeed, my administration spent years working on a comprehensive corrections reform plan to be able to close Green Bay Correctional Institution quickly, safely, and cost efficiently, which was included in the biennial budget I introduced months ago. I proposed a domino series of facility changes, improvements, and modernization efforts across Wisconsins correctional institutions while improving public safety by expanding workforce training opportunities to reduce the likelihood that people might reoffend after they are released. Under that plan, Green Bay Correctional Institution would be closed in 2029. Instead, the Legislature sent this budget with the same deadline and no plan of which to speak. The fight to close old and blighted prisons Lincoln Hills, Wisconsins notoriously troubled juvenile prison, which still houses 79 boys according to the DOCs most recent population report, blew years past its own closure deadline. Now, the budget provides $130.7 million to build a new Type 1 juvenile facility in Dane County to help facilitate the closure of Lincoln Hills. Plans for a second Type 1 facility in Milwaukee County ran into roadblocks from local resistance and political disagreements in the Capitol, though the facilitys completion is still planned. Green Bays prison was originally built in 1898. Plaques embedded in its outer wall commemorate that the wall was erected by inmates in 1921. Over 1,100 people are incarcerated in the prison, which is designed to hold only 749, according to the DOCs most recent weekly population report. In late June, prison reform advocates from JOSHUA, a local affiliate of WISDOM, held a monthly vigil and prayer service outside the prison, where people are held in disciplinary separation for the longest periods in any of DOCs adult facilities. Protesters included people whose loved ones have died inside the prison, some by suicide due to a lack of mental health support. In late August, 19-year-old Michah Laureano died in the prison after he was attacked by his cell mate. Although the budget aims to close Green Bay, how that will be accomplished remains hazy. Rice wrote that the budget includes no plan to close the prison, despite overwhelming evidence that the facility is beyond repair. Instead, Rice wrote in a statement that some legislators continue to push for more studies and planning tactics that will only delay justice while people continue to suffer and die behind bars. This is unacceptable. Green Bay Correctional Institution. (Photo by Andrew Kennard/Wisconsin Examiner) That sentiment was echoed by the Ladies of SCI, an advocacy group formed by women with loved ones at the Stanley Correctional Institution. Although the group appreciated that closing Green Bay was part of the budget discussion, we also agree that does not mean much without funding an actual plan, the group wrote in an email to Wisconsin Examiner. The [Joint Finance Committee] committed that the plan presented by [DOC] Secretary [Jared] Hoys team in the Governors initial budget was just an idea and yet, the JFC also just put an idea in the budget. Yes, they put in dollars for a plan to be developed, but this has already been done several times over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Studies for closing Green Bay, Waupun, and other old and blighted facilities have been recommended as far back as 1965, Ladies of SCI wrote in the statement. Here we are, 60 years later, STILL discussing it. The most recent study was done in 2020 and called out almost $1 billion in projects to increase capacity across our facilities to just handle that population levelWe are well above that population level today. The group asks, Is $15 million actually enough to finally get tangible actions to deal with our Corrections crisis? Wed like to know what the magic combination of dollars and opinions are needed to finally address issues that have been identified over and over. Ladies of SCI said setting aside money for yet another study and plan development is rinse and repeat of historyThe bottom line is our states prison population is too big for what we currently have. Rice concurred, writing in his own statement that prisons like Green Bay, Waupun (the states oldest prison where multiple deaths have occurred in recent years), and the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility (MSDF) are notorious for inhumane conditions and should have been shut down years ago. Rice added that there is no justification for continuing to pour hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into maintaining or expanding a failed prison system. Instead, he believes that the state should commit to reducing the prison population by expanding treatment alternatives to incarceration, commuting excessive and unjust sentences, granting fair access to parole and early release, and stopping the practice of locking people up for technical or convictionless revocations. A self-explainatory sign on the Green Bay prisons outer wall. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner) When Evers wrote his message vetoing the deadline for closing Green Bay, there were 362 people working at the prison and more than 1,100 incarcerated adults. As of this writing, Wisconsin has the capacity to house 17,638 individuals at its correctional institutions but there are 23,275 people living in [DOC] institutions across Wisconsin; Evers wrote, the Legislature provides no steps whatsoever to stabilize the states skyrocketing prison population. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Referring to the saga of Lincoln Hills, Evers added, Wisconsin already has about a decades worth of painful experience learning how well it works in practice to set unrealistic, artificial timelines and due dates for closing prison facilities without a complete and thorough plan for implementation. It would be foolish and dangerous to attempt to take a similar approach with a maximum-security institution like Green Bay Correctional Institution. Alternatives to incarceration Just over one-third of the 2,727 new prison admissions statewide between January and April were people sent back to prison for issues like violating the rules of community supervision, and without a new crime committed or sentence issued, according to the DOCs dashboard. Over the same period of time, there were more than 63,435 people on community supervision, probation, or parole. Sean Wilson, senior director of organizing and partnerships at Dream.org, criticized the cuts to proposals to expand alternatives to incarceration, clean-slate legislation and expungement reforms that were left out of the final budget deal. I think that there continues to be a lack of re-entry investments, which should be pretty high on the list, Wilson told Wisconsin Examiner. For years, criminal justice advocates have pushed for support for housing, access to mental health care and jobs, those things were not included in the budget. With less than 3,000 people housed between Green Bay, Waupun, and MSDF, Rice feels that these prisons could be emptied and closed within months and that doing so would not only alleviate human suffering but it would also free up critical resources which must be reinvested in the communities most harmed by incarceration. From providing living-wage jobs and stable housing to creating educational opportunities and violence prevention, Rice wrote in his statement, that is how we build true public safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The path forward is clear: Care, not cages. Communities, not prisons. Mark Rice, statewide coordinator for WISDOMs Transformative Justice Campaign Wilson declared that the biggest elephant in the room was that theres no real movement on closing outdated prisons or reducing the DOCs footprint. He stressed that we are beyond design capacitywith 5,000 additional bodies [beyond the number] this system was designed for. Without a concrete roadmap and deadline, he says the budget commitment to closing the Green Bay prison doesnt mean much. Over 20 years ago, Wilson spent time in the Green Bay prison, which he remembers as a dilapidated hellholeIt was a trauma pressure cooker in my opinion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the fact that theyre talking about just studying it, that really made me livid as someone who spent time in that facility, and is currently in communication with many individuals who are still housed there today, he added. Lincoln Hills, a detention facility the state has ordered closed by 2021. (Photo courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Corrections) Wilson said he doesnt see focused funding to reduce racial disparities in incarceration, nor is there funding to support people who have been directly impacted by the criminal justice system and are trying to lead a reform effort. I think if you look at the movement at large for the last 20 years, its been led by directly impacted leadership, said Wilson. Because we believe in the words of Glenn Martin that those closest to the problem are closest to the solution. People with personal experience need to be brought to the table to offer both critiques and solutions, he said. Ladies of SCI called the building plans in the budget just one of the steps our lawmakers must take to address things, and pointed to separate legislation introduced by Republican Senator Andre Jacque (R-DePere) and Rep. Paul Tittl (R-Manitowoc), which the group believed would have put needed investments into rehabilitation instead of warehousing people in our crumbling facilities. Evers said the budget was an exercise of compromise and cooperation. We need to work together, he said after signing the budget less than an hour after the Assembly passed it. Compare that to whats going on in Washington, D.C., and its significantly different, so Im very proud to sign it, Evers said of the bipartisan compromise. In order to retain $1 billion per year in federal Medicaid matching funds, legislators on both sides of the aisle worked to finalize the bill before the federal reconciliation bill was signed by President Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another one of Evers partial vetoes stirred discussion around juvenile incarceration. The Senate version of the budget specified that state juvenile correctional facilities would operate at a rate of $912,000 in 2025-26 per kid, per year, before increasing to over $1 million per kid per year for 2026-27. Evers partial vetoes lowered the rates to $182,865 per kid in 2025-26, and $275,670 per kid in the following years. Sen. Van Wanggaard Over the last decade the cost of housing for each young person in youth corrections in Wisconsin has quadrupled from $303 per day in 2014 to $1,268 per day in 2024, largely due to a lower population of incarcerated youth and higher staffing needs. In his veto message, Evers objected to the Legislatures plan to continue expanding the costs of the existing youth incarceration system during a time of uncertainty, and delays in closing youth prisons. Sen. Van Wanggaard (R-Racine) criticized Evers for using a veto to cut housing expenditures for juvenile offenders. Evers veto of this provision is unsustainable and he knows it, said Wanggaard. The statutory daily rate is not a number that we come up with out of thin air. Its simple math the total cost to operate our juvenile facilities divided by the average population. Wanggaard added that up until now, a county sending a juvenile to a state facility paid for those costsGovernor Evers just decided unilaterally to turn it on its head and have the state pick up the vast majority of costs. It flips the entire funding of juvenile corrections without debate or discussion. Its irresponsible. Wanggaard also said that Evers refusal to utilize the expansion of the Mendota Juvenile Treatment Center to house more youth offenders is driving costs higher. Children can only be placed in Mendota when its clinically appropriate, however. The facility was never intended to replace Lincoln Hills, or augment bed space for incarcerated kids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his veto message, Evers explained why he shifted the cost burden from local communities to the state, writing that he objected to establishing a daily rate that is unaffordable to counties. He continued that, I have heard loud and clear from counties that the current daily rate is burdensome and will detrimentally impact public safety. Unbelievably, despite that clear message from the counties, the Legislature has chosen to increase that rate by over $1,000 per day. This increase and funding model is untenable, and counties have expressed that this unaffordable increase will have serious and detrimental effects on other county services. Evers urged the Legislature to revisit this issue in separate legislation and appropriate those additional GPR funds to the department. Criminal justice advocates around the state say viable solutions must go beyond incarceration. Lincoln Hills continues to be under a court-ordered monitor due to a successful lawsuit that brought attention to the harms done to both incarcerated youth and reports of abuse within the facility. Waupuns prison has yet to recover from a string of deaths which ultimately led to charges against the prisons warden and several staff. Green Bay is also notorious for inhumane conditions and deaths behind bars. We dont need more studies, we need action, said Wilson. When he was incarcerated at Green Bay between the years 2000 and 2005, he added, I watched people get battered by each other. I saw individuals get beaten by staff. I see the paint peeling, the walls are sweating. The prison cells are outdated. Youre talking about a facility that was built in the 1800sAnd youre putting people in this facility in 2025 and you are expecting them to come home sane. You are expecting them to navigate this space in a rational way. You expect them to interact with one another in a humane way when you are housing them, or caging them, as if they were animals. Wisconsin should stop wasting taxpayer money by keeping people in cages that shouldve been shuttered decades ago! SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX CUB RUN, Ky. (FOX 56) A heartbreaking loss in Hart County is prompting urgent questions about Kentuckys new Ian Alert system, designed to help locate missing children with autism. The alert was used for the first time this week after 5-year-old Silas Shearer wandered away from his home Tuesday morning. Tragically, he was later found dead in a nearby pond. The coroner determined he drowned, but the full circumstances of his disappearance remain under investigation. The Ian Alert was created to fill a critical gap for cases involving children on the autism spectrum who may not meet the criteria for a traditional Amber Alert. Its named after 9-year-old Ian Sousis, who drowned in the Ohio River in 2022 after wandering away from home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, after this first real-world test of the system, some advocates argue that it didnt go far enough. Read more of the latest Kentucky news Jo Grayson, with the Autism Society of the Bluegrass, said the alert lacked key informationsuch as the childs age, gender, or ethnicitywhich made it harder for the public to identify who they were supposed to be looking for. She also criticized the alerts instruction not to intervene, saying that in a case involving a child with a disability, immediate help can be critical. Other advocates noted confusion over the alert itself. Wendy Wheeler-Mullins, also with the Autism Society, said even though she was familiar with the Ian Alert, she momentarily confused it with an Amber Alert. Because the Ian Alert is unique to Kentucky while Amber Alerts are nationwide, she believes the similarity in names could lead to misunderstandings about how to respond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Rhonda OBrien, this is more than just policyits personal. She helped create the alert system after losing her grandson Ian. She recalls the helplessness of realizing he was missing and not knowing where to begin looking. She hoped that the system would save lives, but she now believes it needs improvements to do that more effectively. OBrien said Kentucky lacks services for children with special needs and that better support is badly needed. She had hoped her grandson would be here to witness the changes theyre working toward, but, in a way, she feels he still is. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Ian wanted to be a superhero, and through this alert system, she believes hes becoming one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amid the grief, OBrien also urged compassion. Raising a child with special needs is not easy, and in moments like this, she said, families need grace, not judgment. The Autism Society of the Bluegrass said it plans to work with lawmakers on strengthening the alert by making it faster, more descriptive, and easier to understand. Theyre also calling for more public education to help Kentuckians recognize and respond to these alerts quickly when every second counts. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) With prices and interest in virtual currency at all-time highs, some may wonder what Mississippis role is in the cryptocurrency race. Digital currencies operate outside the control and scope of broad governmental regulation and private institutions. Transactions are usually recorded digitally on a distributed ledger, often called a blockchain. As Congress struggles with passing legislation related to cryptocurrency, so has Mississippi. Eight of the ten cryptocurrency bills proposed in the Mississippi Legislature since 2022 came from the Mississippi House. Most bills died in committee. Bitcoin tops $118,000 for the first time, as the cryptocurrency continues to climb to new heights Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only successful cryptocurrency bill to become law in recent memory passed eight years ago. House Bill 849 received broad support in both chambers. The 2017 bill essentially established the ability for individuals to access and manage digital assets after loved ones die or become incapacitated. Mississippi case law related to digital assets is even more scarce. Research from LexisNexis, a legal database, indicates that issues related to cryptocurrency have not appeared before the Mississippi Supreme Court, the Mississippi Court of Appeals, or any state court. As the Mississippi Legislature and Congress pass more laws related to digital assets, that will likely change. Close Thanks for signing up! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. U.S. Rep. John B. Larson is facing a possible re-election challenge next year from former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin that would represent Larsons toughest race since winning the seat in 1998. Bronin told Democratic colleagues in conversations at the Womens Leadership Annual Lunch in Southington that he is considering challenging Larson, according to Hartford Courant columnist Kevin F. Rennie. Bronin had previously been considering running for governor, particularly if Gov. Ned Lamont decided not to run for a third term. While Lamont has not officially announced his intentions, Bronins consideration of avoiding the governors race is another sign that Lamont is likely to run again, Rennie said in his political blog. Bronin would be the highest profile challenger in years for Larson, who has won 14 consecutive elections. As a graduate of Yale Law School, a Rhodes Scholar, and a U.S. Navy intelligence officer in Afghanistan, Bronin has a wide range of contacts and has shown his fundraising prowess when he won the Democratic primary for mayor in Hartford by unseating incumbent Pedro Segarra. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bronin declined to comment Wednesday on his future plans, but those familiar with his thinking say he has been making phone calls to fellow Democrats and is seriously considering running against Larson. Larsons spokesman said flatly that Larson, who turns 77 years old next week, is definitely seeking re-election. Congressman Larson spoke directly with Luke Bronin and said that he was running, said Charles Perosino, a spokesman for Larsons campaign. We dont typically make a formal announcement until after the municipal elections, but he has made it clear to everyone, including Luke, that he will be running for re-election. Larsons health became an issue in February when he suddenly froze during a televised speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives as he suffered a complex partial seizure that raised concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Larson underwent tests and said later that the event was related to a heart valve replacement he had years earlier. Fifteen years ago, I had a heart valve replacement due to a variation in the shape of my aortic valve that I was born with. Sometimes, people with this condition can later develop symptoms such as the momentary change in speech or movement that was apparent yesterday, Larson said in a statement at the time. The doctors have prescribed medication that, according to them, will greatly reduce the chance of this happening again. He suffered a second incident in April during a press conference at the Connecticut Childrens Medical Center in Hartford, where he paused again during an answer before recovering and soon after having his picture taken with other attendees. Larson issued another statement on that incident: As I shared in February, I recently received a diagnosis, and have been prescribed medication to treat it. I appreciate you reaching out with your concerns, the statement said. I spoke to my doctors out of precaution and have been assured by my medical providers that I am on the appropriate therapy and while I understand your concern, I assure you that I am fine and am continuing to follow medical advice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Larson and Bronin did not discuss the issue of Larsons health during their meeting, officials said. Recently, Larson has delivered his brand of fiery speeches and pointed remarks, including recently on Medicaid cuts at the Charter Oak Health Center in Hartford. He blasted President Donald Trump for signing an executive order to cut federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service, saying it followed a long-running pattern of attempting to silence criticism. They didnt want a voice or voices that are critical of the king, Larson said. That was the King of England. Today, its King Trump. Larson added, Whats the truth? Who will tell the truth? We will. But the media will fact-check and follow through and help the public understand exactly whats going on here. Rise up, America! Rise up and speak up! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another candidate, Hartford school board member and attorney Ruth R. Fortune, has filed official paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run against Larson as a Democrat. After emigrating to the United States at age 12 from Haiti, Fortune grew up in the Nassau County town of Westbury on Long Island. She graduated from Baruch College in Manhattan and later received a law degree from the University of Connecticut. A Hartford resident since 2012, she has two children attending the Hartford public schools and a younger sibling starting pre-K this year. A former financial advisor at Merrill Lynch, she now works at the law firm of Wiggin and Dana in the trust and estates department. Courtney, Hayes, and DeLauro Besides the Larson race, challengers are stepping forward against Connecticuts longtime officeholders across the state with less than 16 months from Election Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incumbents have repeatedly won their races every two years, but the challengers are trying to break that streak. Democrats have won all Congressional races in Connecticut since Republican Chris Shays lost in 2008 to Democrat Jim Himes of Greenwich. In other races, Democrat Kyle Gauck of East Hampton has filed paperwork to run against incumbent U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, who has won every race since defeating Republican Rob Simmons in 2006. Courtney had $353,976 in cash on hand as of March 31, while Gauck had less than $1,000 on hand as of June 30, according to federal records. A military veteran, Kyle enlisted in 2010, serving as a specialist with the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Campbell, Ky, he says on his campaign website. During his service, he deployed to the Kuwait/Iraq border in 2013 and completed 87 jumps between helicopters and planes. His military service shaped his strong sense of duty, leadership, and resilience qualities he now brings to his campaign. Gauck continued, Now a local business-minded Democrat working on his MBA from UCONN, Kyle is focused on real-world solutions for working families. Whether its improving healthcare, supporting local businesses, or ensuring a safer, stronger future for the next generation, Kyle is ready to serve with the same passion that has defined every chapter of his life. Hes not interested in partisanship hes running to serve, not to score political points. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the 5th District, U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes of Wolcott is seeking reelection after two tough races in 2022 and 2024 against Republican George Logan. Republicans believed that they had their best chance in years to recapture the seat but Hayes won both races against Logan, and is facing new challengers in 2026. A newcomer named Jackson Taddeo-Waite has filed federal paperwork as a Democrat in the race, while Jonathan DeBarros of the Terryville section of Plymouth is seeking the Republican nomination as a conservative supporter of the Second Amendment. After the hotly contested races against Logan, two well-respected political analysts in Washington, D.C. say that the Hayes seat is currently likely Democratic in the 2026 election. As of this month, the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter rated the 5th District as likely Democratic, as did Larry Sabatos Crystal Ball. Both prognosticators have been closely watched by political insiders for years as they handicap political races across the country and have a longtime record of overall accuracy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Republican chairman Ben Proto noted that Democrats are challenging their own longtime incumbents in potential primaries across the state. Aside from Congress, that includes state Rep. Josh Elliott against Gov. Ned Lamont on a platform that Lamont has not been progressive enough on taxes and other issues. I find it interesting that people are coming after members of the Congressional delegation running to their left, Proto told The Courant. Clearly, they dont think the Democrats in Washington are liberal enough or progressive enough. I find that amazing. With Josh Elliott and the governor, theyre running to the left of Democrats is what the Democratic Party is doing. Its pretty interesting in this state. The dean of the delegation, U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro of New Haven, is running again for her long-held seat. DeLauro, 82, will be battling against Democrat Damjan DeNoble, a New Haven attorney who lives in Guilford with his family. Based on DeLauros popularity, her series of blowout victories by wide margins, and the overwhelming Democratic registration in the district, the ratings agencies say she is a prohibitive favorite. The seat is rated by the Cook report as solid Democratic and by Larry Sabatos Crystal Ball as safe Democratic. Christopher Keating can be reached at ckeating@courant.com GUILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) For decades, the Guilford Lobster Pound has been serving savory snacks on the water, but its history in CTs lobstering industry runs deep. Owner Bart Mansi got this start in the seafood business working alongside his friends father, lobstering in the Long Island Sound. After years of working on the water, he then decided to start his own business, leading to the opening of the restaurant. Brownstone Adventure Sports Park in Portland offers fun activities on a hot summer day Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The meat we put in our lobsters, some of it is ours and most of it is out of Canada and Maine, Mansi said. Located up the street from the Guildford town green, hundreds flock to the dockside spot for its well-known hot lobster rolls, lobster grilled cheeses and Rhode Island-style clam chowder. Every time I come down here to visit friends, I come here because its great, Thomas Duffy said, who drove down from Boston. On the water of the Guilford marina, picturesque views also play a part in why so many keep coming back to the spot. A lot of people say its like being on Nantucket or either being up in Maine without leaving the state, Mansi said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can visit the Guilford Lobster Pound seven days a week up through Columbus Day, weather permitting. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DENVER (KDVR) Students at the University of Colorado Boulder are preparing to explore the moon from the comfort of an earthbound room, after designing a robot that can take them to the moons surface via virtual reality. The student-built robot could help shape the future of lunar exploration even though it currently lives in a quiet, carpeted office, the university said in a press release. What to expect for severe storms rolling through Colorado on Wednesday Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In its current state, the robot nicknamed Armstrong is a three-wheeled robot that uses a mechanical arm to pick up and move plastic rocks. An exercise that could potentially develop into a system where robots are controlled on the moon by the use of a digital twin, which is a hyper-realistic virtual reality environment. Thats what is really exciting about thisyoure able to simulate everything in the environment, from the shadows to the texture of the dirt, and then train operators on conditions that are as close to real as possible, said Xavier OKeefe, a masters student in aerospace engineering sciences. That way, once you get to the moon, you have a higher chance of success. OKeefe has been working on the project since he was studying as an undergraduate student at the university. The robot study was funded by NASA and a Colorado-based company called Lunar Outpost. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project is led by CU astrophysics professor emeritus and the Center for Astrophysics and Space Astronomys Jack Burns. Burns is part of a team that received a grant from NASA to design FarView, which is a proposed moon observatory, covering 77 square miles and requiring robots to install thousands of antennas, according to the university. As part of the new study, students replicated their lab environment in a video game engine and gauged the performance of people controlling robots who had been trained in VR versus those who hadnt. The study concluded that students who had trained with the digital twin were able to complete tasks 30% faster and were less stressed while doing so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To take one more step towards complete function, the team will begin research on how dust may affect the robots by creating a simulation of the moons surface. OKeefe said it is a small step, but one thats bringing humanity closer to walking and rolling on the moon again. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) About three years ago, Anabel Gutierrez and her partner Ernesto Romero opened Caiman Cafe in downtown Portland. Shes originally from Mexico, hes from Cuba and those are the two big influences on their menu. On the day KOIN 6 News visited, Gutierrez made 3 special sandwiches one from Cuba, one from Mexico and one that combines both Annabel Gutierrez is the co-owner of Caiman Cafe, 120 SW Jefferson, downtown Portland, July 2025 (KOIN) Annabel Gutierrez is the co-owner of Caiman Cafe, 120 SW Jefferson, downtown Portland, July 2025 (KOIN) Annabel Gutierrez is the co-owner of Caiman Cafe, 120 SW Jefferson, downtown Portland, July 2025 (KOIN) Annabel Gutierrez is the co-owner of Caiman Cafe, 120 SW Jefferson, downtown Portland, July 2025 (KOIN) Ernesto Romero and Anabel Gutierrez in an undated courtesy photo The Cuban sandwich uses Dos Hermanos bread and comes with ham and it comes also with Swiss cheese, and it also comes with our shredded pork, which takes more than 24 hours to cook. One of the really important ingredients, she said, is the mustard. Caiman Cafe on Instagram The chilaquiles is a really traditional Mexican dish with chicken, green salsa and topped off with cilantro, fresco and sour cream. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats a chilaquiles, and this is a really, really, really cultural thing, she said. So this is Cuba and Mexico together. Croquetas is something that is really Cuban, she said. Its really a dish called pan con croquetas. So you put a bread and then you put the croquetas inside and then you put them together. This is a special sandwich to Ernesto, she said, something hes enjoyed since childhood. Caiman Cafe, 120 SW Jefferson, is open Monday through Saturday, but on Sunday their food is available at the Woodstock Farmers Market. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. The Brief The Vice Mayor of Cudahy apologized for a now-viral TikTok, where she seemed to call for local gang leaders to protect communities from ICE. Cynthia Gonzalez apologized during Tuesday night's City Council meeting, calling the video "satirical." Some community members are calling for Gonzalez to be censured, or even removed from her position. CUDAHY, Calif. - Cudahy Vice Mayor Cynthia Gonzalez has apologized after she recently went viral for a TikTok video where she seemed to call on local street gangs to defend the community against immigration agents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gonzalez issued an apology during the Cudahy City Council meeting on July 15, after several comments from the public, asking the Council to either censure or remove her. The backstory Back in June, Gonzalez posted, then deleted, a TikTok, talking about recent ICE raids in the city, asking local gangs to "show up right now, trying to help out and organize" the community against the raids. In the video, Gonzalez mentioned the 18th Street and Florencia 13 gangs by name. Many on social media took her comments as a call for gangs to violently oppose ICE. What they're saying In her apology, Gonzalez called her video "satirical," and said she was not advocating for violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The message was not about violence," Gonzalez said. "It was about regular people, us, claiming ownership of our streets in a time of great distress and asking others who I mentioned in my video, in organizing and protesting against the harm and violence being inflicted on our community." PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Cudahy vice mayor breaks silence amid backlash over controversial 'cholos' video She went on to claim that the message she tried to send with the video was "taken and propagandized," but added that she is "committed to using my voice in a more responsible and still powerful manner moving forward." Several other councilmembers voiced their support for Gonzalez during Tuesday night's meeting, including Martin Fuentes and Amanda Gomez. Mayor Elizabeth Alcantar said media coverage of the now-viral media was misconstrued, saying that "the word violence was never there." The other side Despite that, multiple people at Tuesday's meeting called for the City Council to take some sort of action against Gonzalez. While one person called for the Council to censure Gonzalez, another demanded the Council remove her from office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It is completely irresponsible to make that kind of comment," said one community member. "It's ratcheting up the anger and fear in the community." "When an elected official stands in front of the camera and invokes the [names] of violent gangs, encouraging them to protect our turf from law enforcement, it's not just reckless, it's dangerous, it's harmful and it's fundamentally at odds with the values we claim to hold as public servants and as people of the community," said another. Gonzalez has also faced calls to resign from local law enforcement. What's next Sources told Fox News that the FBI is still investigating Gonzalez over her comments. The Source Information in this story is taken from the recording of Cudahy's July 15, 2025, City Council Meeting, Fox News and previous FOX 11 reports. ANDERSON Legislation that emerged from the Indiana General Assembly this year could prompt changes in how the topic of human sexuality is addressed in school curriculum in the upcoming school year. The Anderson Community Schools Board of Trustees viewed a presentation during Mondays meeting from LifeSmart Youth, the company that provides human sexuality curriculum for ACS students in grades 4-7. Senate Bill 442, signed into law in May by Gov. Mike Braun, states that if a school provides instruction on human sexuality or sexually transmitted infections, the lessons must include areas about consent to sexual activity and a presentation on human growth and development during pregnancy, according to the Indiana General Assembly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schools must provide information about the lessons on written consent forms that are given to parents or guardians, and a list of the items used during the lessons must be provided on the schools website. A school cannot use curricular materials to provide instruction on human sexuality unless it has been approved by the school board. ACS board members will review the material, with a vote on adopting the curriculum expected at their August meeting. OTHER BUSINESS The board approved a restitution sharing agreement between ACS and the Ohio Casualty Insurance Company. The action stemmed from a case involving Carla Burke, a former ACS food services bookkeeper, who in February 2023 was sentenced to 28 months in federal prison after an audit found she embezzled nearly $1 million from the district. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Later that year, the Indiana attorney generals office won a default judgement against Burke requiring her to pay $2.9 million in restitution. The districts former chief financial officer said it is unlikely ACS will ever see full repayment. Also approved was $1,328.45 in restitution given to ACS. A payment of $132.85 was provided to the Ohio Casualty Insurance Company under the restitution agreement that ACS remits 10% of any received restitution back to the insurance company. Also, as district officials continue to finalize administrative positions for the upcoming school year, Rebecca Sears was announced as the new assistant principal of Highland Middle School, and Fabrice Decaudin was named the new principal of Anderson Intermediate School. Andrea Meadows was appointed as the ACS representative to the Library Board. Bethany Cmar was appointed as the ACS representative for alternative and private residential placement. A CVS worker was within his rights to fatally stab a serial shoplifter in a Midtown store, his defense lawyer argued Wednesday telling jurors the chronic and menacing thief sparked the deadly encounter when he bashed his clients head. Scotty Enoe, 48, acted in self-defense as he took out his pocket knife and stabbed 50-year-old homeless man Charles Brito eight times during the early morning July 2023 scuffle, attorney Frank Rothman said during opening statements of Enoes closely watched manslaughter trial. He was getting his head bashed in by the cooler, Rothman said, calling Enoes actions consistent with defense and reasonable under the circumstances. Scotty Enoe faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted on a manslaughter charge in the July 2023 slaying. Steven Hirsch Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Julie Nobel conceded that Brito punched Enoe first and that the CVS worker, whose job was to stock the fridges at the Broadway and West 49th Street store, wasnt getting the best of the fight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But once the pair, who had tussled on the floor, ended up back on their feet, Enoe broke the law by pulling out his folding knife which he carried to open cardboard boxes charging the unarmed Brito and repeatedly stabbing him, the prosecutor argued. A bloodied Brito stumbled onto the sidewalk with two stab wounds to his liver, and died from his injuries. Enoes lawyer Rothman argued that the encounter was not merely a fight as prosecutors allege but rather that Enoe had been violently assaulted before the stabbing. Enoe was left battered, bleeding from the face and with a swollen right eye after the altercation, the attorney added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The slain homeless man had been arrested more than a dozen times and was a known serial thief at drugstores in the area, police sources have told the Post. Before the fatal encounter, Brito had several other run-ins with Enoe. Charles Brito was a serial shoplifter known for robbing drugstores in the area, police sources said. The fatal stabbing unfolded at a Times Square CVS, with Britos bloody body spilling out onto the sidewalk. Helayne Seidman For some reason, Brito has it in for him, Rothman told jurors. Rothman described the Times Square area as a haven for shoplifters and many undesirables, and said the CVS had hired a security guard, who had been instructed to not get involved in physical confrontations with thieves. Before the violence erupted, Brito had shouted, You cant fcking stop me. Ill fck you up. Im going to steal. You cant stop me, Rothman told the jury. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He came on a mission to beat and to steal, the lawyer added. Enoe has been out on electronic monitoring after making $100,000 bail. He faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted, but jurors could acquit him if they find that he acted reasonably given the situation. HPE has signed a one-year agreement with Elliott Management in which the activist investor will receive one and maybe two seats on the companys board. HPEs stock has declined more than 5% this year, putting pressure on CEO Antonio Neri to turn the company around. The deal leaves open the door to further management changes at HPE or spinning off parts of the company. Hewlett Packard Enterprise has reached a settlement with Elliott Management in which the activist investor group will receive one and possibly two seats on the board, and its appointee will also chair a new subcommittee of the board that will explore strategic options for the company. Notably, the agreement leaves open the door to the possibility of CEO Antonio Neri losing his job, or selling parts of the company to other investors. The danger for Neri: Since 2022, Elliott has ousted 14 CEOs at companies where it got involved. HPEs stock was down 0.32% on Wednesday, and has lost 5.75% year-to-date. The S&P 500, by contrast, is up 6% over the same period. We value the input of all of our shareholders and we have found the interactions with Elliott to be constructive and collaborative, HPE said in a statement to Fortune. The changes came after Elliott took a $1.5 billion stake in HPE in April and then approached the company, largely to complain about the stocks underperformance over the years. The new board member, chosen by Elliott, is Robert Calderoni, who has 30 years of experience in the tech sector and is currently chairman at KLA Corp. Pat Russo, chair of the HPE board, said in a statement, We are pleased to welcome Bob to our Board. His perspectives and experiences will complement those of our existing directors, and I look forward to collaborating closely with him as we work together to drive increasing value for our shareholders. In the same statement, Jason Genrich, partner and senior portfolio manager at Elliott, said, We appreciate the positive dialogue we have had with HPEs Board and see substantial value ahead. We believe Bobs appointment to the Board and his leadership of the new Strategy Committee will help HPE identify meaningful operational and strategic opportunities for shareholder value creation. Neri was not quoted in HPEs press release. HPEs new Strategy Committee will assess the strategies of HPEs businesses and identify opportunities for additional value creation, the company said in a statement. Notably, statements from both Elliott and HPE mentioned value creation and increasing value, respectively. That is likely a hint that Elliotts next move will hinge on whether Neri can make HPE stock go up. He has one year to do itElliott has the right to add another board member if it is still unhappy by that deadline. By Jan Lopatka PRAGUE (Reuters) -Czech-arranged shipments of artillery ammunition to Ukraine are rising this year, proving partners' trust in a government programme matching donations from NATO partners with offers to sell ammunition, the Czech Defence Ministry said on Thursday. As Ukraine suffered from shortage of ammunition last year, the Czechs set up a team which has together with private companies searched for available ammunition stocks and new production around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The available ammunition batches are being offered to donor countries, which then pick which they want to finance. The programme, which makes use of the Czechs' traditional arms trading contacts, has been a flagship of the centre-right government's international efforts to help Ukraine fight Russia's aggression. It has also donated heavy equipment and other material worth hundreds of millions of euros. Director Ales Vytecka of the defence ministry's AMOS international cooperation agency said that so far this year, shipments totalled 850,000 shells, including 320,000 NATO artillery 155mm calibre projectiles. This compares with 1.5 million total, including 500,000 155-mm shells, throughout 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrej Babis, head of the Czech opposition ANO party that leads opinion polls ahead of an election in October, vowed to scrap the initiative if ANO returns to power, saying in a Reuters interview this week the programme was overpriced and untransparent. Vytecka rejected criticism of drive, saying there was as much transparency as security concerns allowed. "Clear and undeniable proof of the satisfaction of our partners is the fact that in 2025 donors' contributions have significantly risen," Vytecka said. So far this year, contributions have risen by 29% compared with the whole of 2024, he said without giving concrete sums, adding that countries raising their contributions included Canada, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Netherlands and Denmark. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said donor countries always decided themselves which supplies and at what prices they would finance, and the offers were subject to audits in individual donor countries. The Czechs have mostly acted as an intermediary. The government said last year it allocated around 35 million euros for ammunition purchases from a Czech supplier. (Reporting by Jan Lopatka; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) A brush fire ignited in the foothills of Riverside County on Wednesday afternoon, growing to 1,071 acres by midnight and prompting evacuation orders in nearby rural communities, authorities said. The Dale fire was reported shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at Lugo Road and Highway 371 in Aguanga, according to the Riverside Unit of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The blaze was initially burning at a moderate rate of spread and was mapped at 331 acres at 3:15 p.m., according to Cal Fire Riverside. By 8:45 p.m., the fire had grown to 700 acres and crews were said to be making good progress on the perimeter. Helicopters assisted ground crews combating the blaze overnight, according to Cal Fire Riverside. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By Thursday morning, crews had managed to establish 25% containment. In the afternoon, inspection crews were sent to assess any damaged or destroyed structures. Meanwhile, fire crews continued to mop up hot spots and strengthen containment lines, according to Cal Fire Riverside. Residents in areas of Lake Riverside, Aguanga, Anza and the Cahuilla Reservation close to the fire were initially ordered to evacuate, while those slightly farther away were placed under evacuation warnings. As of Thursday, most of the evacuation orders were downgraded to warnings with the exception of the Cahuilla Reservation, where residents remained under evacuation orders. An updated map of the communities affected by the warnings and orders is available here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A care and reception center was opened for affected residents at the Anza Community Center, at 56630 Highway 371 in Anza. An animal evacuation center was established at the Riverside County Department of Animal Services, at 581 S. Grand Ave. in San Jacinto. There were 216 firefighting personnel, 37 engines, four dozers, four water tankers and two helicopters assigned to the incident, according to Cal Fire. The temperature was in the mid-80s with winds gusting to 10 mph at the time the fire ignited, according to the National Weather Service. 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. The administrations goal of deporting one-million people per year will disrupt many sectors including the construction industry. (Photo: Clayton Henkel) Its an article of faith on the political far right that the Trump administrations mass immigrant deportation policies will be a boon to U.S. born workers. A new report from economists at the Economic Policy Institute, however, finds the opposite to be true and that the net impact of mass deportation on employment both for immigrants and U.S. born workers is decidedly negative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indeed, the administrations goal of deporting one-million people per year will lead to a loss of nearly six million jobs over the coming years more than forty percent of them held by U.S. born workers. To understand why, consider the following: When houses dont get built because there arent enough immigrant workers to roof them, there are fewer jobs for the U.S. born workers who tend to handle more skilled professions like plumbing and electrical work. Other industries will experience similar phenomena. The bottom line: The report is entitled Trumps deportation agenda will destroy millions of jobs, and its a must read for anyone who cares about our economy. Check it out at epi.org. For NC Newsline, Im Rob Schofield. Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), seen during a July 2019 hearing on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C., was reelected in the 2024 election to a sixth term in the U.S. House. WASHINGTON Just about every time Rep. Dan Newhouse posts on Facebook, the comments start pouring in with the same question from his constituents across central Washington. When is your next public meeting??? Would love to ask some questions! one person wrote under a post celebrating the Grand Coulee Dams anniversary on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the area yet again and STILL no time for a Town Hall, another commented after the Republican lawmaker posted photos from an event in Richland on July 10. Your time would be better spent holding a town hall meeting, a constituent wrote under photos from Newhouses visit to a Pasco business on March 20. We need to have you hear us, Dan. Please. We have fears and concerns and YOU, as our Representative, are responsible for hearing us. Newhouse is hardly the only Republican in Congress who has avoided large public events since President Donald Trump returned to office in January and began dramatically remaking the federal government with the consent of GOP majorities in the House and Senate, prompting backlash from many of their constituents. But in addition to the advice House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., gave all Republicans on March 4 to skip in-person town halls, Newhouse had another reason to avoid such public events. Court records reveal that on March 20, the day Newhouse was in Pasco, a man allegedly called his office in Washington, D.C., and told the intern who answered the phone he planned to drive to the congressmans district office and kill Newhouse and his staff. The court documents refer to Newhouse anonymously as U.S. Representative 1, but his spokesman confirmed that Newhouse is the unnamed lawmaker. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An individual made a real, direct threat against the lives of the Congressman and his district staff which resulted in swift action by federal and local law enforcement, spokesman Matt Reed said in a statement. Since the incident, the office has been advised against large, in-person events. The Congressman is eager to hear more from constituents, and staff are working to schedule a telephone town hall very soon with public safety as the top priority. Newhouse, a farmer from Sunnyside who served as a state lawmaker and led the Washington State Department of Agriculture before he was first elected to Congress in 2014, has drawn extra scrutiny from both the left and right since he voted in January 2021 to impeach Trump for inciting a riot at the Capitol weeks earlier. Eight of the 10 Republicans who made that choice have since left Congress via retirement or defeat, and Newhouse has survived two tough re-election races with the help of moderate voters and even Democrats who backed him over fellow Republican Jerrod Sessler in 2024. The threatening phone call described in court documents came not from Newhouses 4th Congressional District but from the Seattle suburb of Tukwila, according to a complaint filed in federal court on March 21. Prosecutors allege that Bradley Whaley of Burlington, in Skagit County, called Newhouses D.C. office and asked to speak with the congressman. When an intern answered and said the congressman was in the district, Whaley allegedly asked if Newhouse was in one of his district offices and then said, I am going to go there and slit (his) throat and slit (his) staffs throat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whaley allegedly paused for a few seconds and then said, Yeah, its 2 p.m., I still have plenty of time to do that. When the intern asked for the callers name, he first replied with profanity and refused to do so, but then gave his name as Brad Whaley, according to the complaint. When the call ended, the intern immediately wrote Whaleys statements on a form, noting the callers phone number and that he spoke with an aggravated tone and a midwestern accent. Whaley had allegedly called Newhouses D.C. office multiple times from the same number, giving his full name in voicemails and when talking to staffers. Law enforcement investigators obtained phone records that showed a call from the same number that connected to a cell tower in Tukwila at the time of the threat reported by the intern. According to prosecutors, the same intern had written at least four previous reports on calls received from Whaley, including one in which he threatened to drive to D.C. and attack Newhouse and another unnamed member of Congress. In one expletive-laden voicemail on March 15, Whaley allegedly expressed concern about losing his Social Security benefits and said the Second Amendment to the Constitution gave him the right to form a militia and take out Newhouse, then affirmed that he was making a threat. In another voicemail on March 18, Whaley allegedly said Newhouse shouldnt be afraid of Trump, But he needs to be scared of us. Were in Washington. We will take his ass out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 21, using location data provided by T-Mobile, law enforcement agents located Whaley and arrested him outside his place of employment in downtown Seattle on suspicion of violating a federal law that prohibits making interstate threats, a crime that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison but may also result in only a fine. Whaley was released on bond on March 24 and his indictment has been postponed until Sept. 15, according to court records. Whaleys defense attorney, Chris Black, declined to comment when reached by phone. The lead prosecutor in the case, Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Yemini, was unavailable for comment, according to a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Washington. According to a February report by the U.S. Capitol Police, threats against members of Congress, their families and their staffs rose in 2024 to nearly 9,500 cases. That number has more than doubled since 2017, when the agency investigated under 4,000 cases, and peaked at more than 9,600 in 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While political violence isnt new in the United States, intense division between the parties has raised fears of more widespread attacks on public figures. Trump himself survived two assassination attempts during the 2024 presidential campaign, including when he was shot in the ear at a rally in Pennsylvania in July 2024. On June 14, Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were killed by a shooter who seriously injured state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife earlier that night. Hortman and Hoffman, both Democrats, were on a list of dozens of apparent targets of the alleged gunman. Members of Congress seldom speak publicly about the threats they receive, fearing that any added attention will only worsen the problem, but in March, Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina released audio of threatening calls made to his office. Tillis, a Republican who like Newhouse has drawn criticism from both the left and right, announced on June 29 that he wouldnt run for re-election after Trump threatened to help oust him for opposing the presidents signature tax-and-spending bill for cutting $1 trillion from health care for low-income Americans. Newhouse has expressed concern about aspects of that bill and separate Republican legislation now under consideration in the Senate that would defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and foreign aid programs, but he ultimately voted for both bills. Orion Donovan Smiths 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 The Spokesman-Reviews managing editor. The Brief The races for governor and Michigan's second US Senate seat are heating up. Attorney General Dana Nessel who is term-limited has not discussed her next move. Many in Lansing are speculating on what Nessel does next, leading to Tim Skubick's interview. LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - There is a cat-and-mouse game that is played in Lansing when reporters have a hunch that somebody is running for higher office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result, reporters chase them down one way or the other. Dig deeper Governor Gretchen Whitmer had a line to wiggle out of giving a direct answer, saying right now the most important job is being governor or words to that affect. Say hello to Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. Tim Skubick: "US senator or governor - which one do you want to be, madam?" "Haha. Well Tim, I really think right now there is no more important job that I can have, than the one that I'm doing right now," Nessel said. There are currently three Democrats who are running for governor: Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson and Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There currently three Democrats seeking the US Senate seat: State Senator Mallory McMorrow, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and US Rep. Haley Stevens. Hence this question. Skubick: "So I could report accurately that you are considering both of those offices - is that a fair statement?" "I don't know if that is a fair statement," Nessel said. "A fair statement is that I've made no determinations about what my future is at this point." Now batting o for two, finally she does indirectly confirm governor and senate have not been ruled out. "That being said, I haven't ruled out anything," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Granted it's not a stop-the-press moment that she is running, but for some who clearly did want to play the cat-and-mouse game, saying nothing has been ruled out is some political cheese that Lansing can chew on. The Source Information for this report is from an interview with Attorney General Dana Nessel. AUSTIN (KXAN) After devastating flash floods hit Central Texas, some Austin City Council members are urging the federal government to reinstate a grant previously awarded and then taken away that would have protected Austin infrastructure from floods. In Austin, that $50 million federal grant was earmarked for the Fallwell Lane Capital Renewal Project, which would have made the South Austin Regional (SAR) Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Austin Energy Sand Hill Energy Center (SHEC) more resilient to floods. Both facilities, right next to each other, border the Colorado River, which has flooded in the past. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In April 2025, FEMA cancelled a $50 million Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant for pre-approved flood mitigation investments in Central Texas. BRIC is not only essential for Austins already-budgeted projects its a lifeline for rural communities like Kerr County, where some of the most tragic loss of life occurred this month, a letter from Austin leaders to FEMA and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said. The original letter, drafted by Austin City Council Member Zo Qadri can be read here. That letter was altered by the mayor and ultimately sent to state and federal officials. After touching base with Council Member Qadri and our Office of Government Relations regarding the broadest vehicle to demonstrate the impact to the entire city and Central Texas, he graciously agreed to allow the letter to come from my office. Carries team will distribute this letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Noem, as well as FEMA leadership. We will also share the letter with Austin-area federal, state and local elected officials and stakeholders, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson wrote. While on the ground in Texas, Noem addressed cuts to FEMA, an agency President Donald Trump has indicated he wants to phase out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were cutting through the paperwork of the old FEMA, streamlining it, much like your vision of how FEMA should operate, and its been a much better response, Noem said. KXAN reached out to FEMA regarding this specific letter from Austin leaders and the grant reinstatement request. A FEMA spokesperson said, Resiliency is a priority for DHS, but over the last four years, the Biden Administration used the BRIC program as a piggy bank for its green new deal agenda. We will make sure we do right by the taxpayers by bringing integrity to all our spending. If these States take issue with that, we will see them in court. We have previously reported that the city of Austin estimates a single catastrophic flood at these two infrastructure facilities could cause an estimated $1.6 billion in losses and impact operations at both plants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LIST: Austin federal grant funding losses include $50M for flood mitigation, $15M for public health The city has said the wastewater treatment plan represents half the wastewater treatment plant capacity for the city, and the energy center represents 24% of the base load power capacity. The July 4th floods were devastating. Lives were lost, homes destroyed, and our infrastructure overwhelmed. Thats why I came together with my colleagues in urging FEMA to reinstate the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) funding Austin had already secured. This isnt about politics, its about protecting people. Were ready to work with federal partners on adjustments, but we need action now to keep our communities safe, Qadri said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. It is real madness at the heart of success of governments who dont understand the principles of good business On the latest Planet Normal podcast, which you can listen to using the audio player below, columnists Liam Halligan and Allison Pearson are joined by Simon Boyd, the managing director of REIDsteel, to discuss the future of the steel industry in the UK. Mr Boyd did not hold back in his criticism of Ed Miliband, the Secretary for Energy and Climate Change. He said: He is so far detached from reality and I think its quite dangerous. He warned that Mr Milibands net zero policies were wrecking UK manufacturing, exporting jobs overseas and then reimporting the product made in dirty factories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Boyd described net zero as an absolute disaster for steel and manufacturing, and said he did not understand the confusing government policy. Theyre encouraging everyone to buy British steel with one hand, but with the other, they demand low carbon content materials. It doesnt work. Mr Boyd called for public ownership of British Steel to save the industry: Only public ownership will put the investment in to protect this core industry. On energy, he advocated using domestic resources and nuclear: Id continue drilling in the North Sea and push for modular reactors. He concluded that the current net zero drive was absolute madness and strangling UK manufacturing. Planet Normal, a weekly Telegraph podcast featuring news and views from beyond the bubble. Listen on the audio player above or on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your preferred podcast app. 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 President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem tour a migrant detention center, dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz," located at the site of the Dade-Collier Training and Transition Airport in Ochopee, Florida on July 1, 2025. Credit - Andrew CaballeroAFP/Getty Images The Florida immigrant detention center dubbed Alligator Alcatraz is less than a month old, but it is raising serious moral questions about our nations treatment of immigrants. President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and their supporters are celebrating the brutality of the 3,000-bed detention facility that was hastily built in the Florida Everglades, one of the harshest natural environments in the United States. Trump joked about the dangers of the swamp, the Florida GOP is selling hats and t-shirts bearing the facilitys name, and one of the presidents advisors implied that all U.S. Latinos should be fed to alligators. Sources have reported instances of overflowing toilets, lack of medical care or sufficient food, and worms in the meals to the Associated Press. Such conditions have led detainees to stage a hunger strike. Congressman Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) toured the facility and reported seeing 32 people crowded into single cages in the Everglades heat and humidity. After he toured the facility, Frost said he was troubled by the presence of private security. The whole thing is run by private companies, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As alarming as this situation is, the toxic brew of brutal incarceration, migrant abuse, and private interests has a deep, dark history in Florida. A century ago, in the 1920s, news of the violent death of a young man in a Florida swamp revealed a brutal convict labor system in the state. Law enforcement officers would arrest young men, usually Black but also white, on spurious charges and lease them to private companies for profit. When this system was revealed, the scandal shocked the nation. In the words of one reformer, Amos Pinchot, the story put the state on trial before American public opinion. This controversy began in 1921, when Martin Tabert of North Dakota was arrested on a Florida train for not having a ticket. The 21-year-old was a vagrant traveler with little money. When he couldnt afford to pay the $25 fine, he was taken into custody by the county sheriff. Tabert was one of thousands of new arrivals during Floridas land boom. In the late 19th century, developers such as Henry Flagler began draining swampland to construct railroads, towns, and hotels to draw tourists and settlers to the state. Miami, which had just over 500 registered voters when it was founded in 1896, grew to 30,000 residents by 1920. Fifty to 75 train cars full of eager visitors rolled into the city daily. In the first few years of the 1920s, 13 new counties sprang up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More: Florida's 'Alligator Alcatraz' Detention Center Sparks Major Concern as Construction Begins: 'An Obscene Human Rights Violation' Real estate agents reaped handsome profits from the skyrocketing value of Florida real estate. Tabert, however, was pulled into the grim underside of Floridas rapid expansion. After his arrest, the sheriff ordered Tabert to the Putnam Lumber Company to serve 90 days of hard labor. Soon, young Tabert was working waist-deep in swamp water alongside other convicts. A few weeks later, his family in North Dakota received a letter from the Putnam Lumber Company. It informed them of his illness and subsequent death. Initially, the family believed the letter. But the next year, a man who had witnessed Tabert die came forward and wrote to the family, explaining that all was not as it seemed. Taberts family enlisted North Dakotas attorney general, who traveled to Florida to investigate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What he found was shocking. According to numerous eye-witnesses, the convicts working conditions were hot, dirty, and brutal. Tabert and the other men were overseen by a whipping boss who brandished a seven-pound strap. The men explained that bosses would often drag the whip through syrup or sand between lashes to enhance its effectiveness. During his sentence, Tabert struggled to keep up with the harsh demands of convict labor. He fell ill, his feet swollen from standing in swamp water. He worked too slowly for the tastes of his whipping boss, Walter Higginbotham. So, in front of some 80 other men, Higginbotham forced Tabert to lie down with his shirt lifted, and beat Tabert dozens of times with a strap. When Tabert resisted, the overseer stood on his neck and continued whipping. Tragically, historians have shown that violent labor prisons like this one were not unique to Florida. Across the South, men arrested for minor offenses were shuttled into convict workforces made up of mostly-African Americans as well as whites such as Tabert. These labor gangs helped build the New Souths industrial infrastructure across the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In some cases, these practices lasted until World War II. When Tabert died soon after the beating, the Putnam Lumber Company physician examined his body and declared the causes of death as pneumonia and malaria. The North Dakota attorney general concluded that Putnam was covering up a crime. He determined that the company profited from the labor of unfortunate men, picked up and forced into their custody through trivial violations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Dakota legislators took up Taberts cause and pushed Florida to evaluate its entire convict leasing system. Floridas investigative committee learned that similar abuses occurred in camps across the state, including some owned by legislators themselves. The committee also found that, after entering into a deal with Putnam Lumber, the sheriff who arrested Tabert detained nearly eight times more men than he had previously. The arrangement netted him thousands of dollars. Progressive Florida reformers, particularly womens clubs and civic organizations, called on the state to abolish the convict labor system. Dozens of local newspapers attacked the practice of renting convicts to private companies. Taberts story appeared on the front pages of numerous newspapers from California to Massachusetts. In 1923, a young journalist named Marjory Stoneman Douglas published a poem titled Martin Tabert of North Dakota in her regular column in the Miami Herald. The poem became an anthem for abolishing convict labor in Florida. The tide turned. The whipping boss Higginbotham was convicted of murder. The Florida legislature recommended the camp physician be removed for lying about Taberts death. Putnam Lumber was forced to pay restitution to Taberts family. And finally, in 1923, the Florida legislature voted to end the convict leasing system once and for all. Douglass poem was read in the legislative chambers as the vote came to a close. Marjory Stoneman Douglas, author and champion of the preservation of the Florida Everglades, examines a grass stalk. Kevin FlemingCorbis/Getty Images For Douglas, ending the convict labor system was the first victory in her nearly 80-year activist career. During the Tabert campaign, she called for the creation of a Florida public welfare board to monitor government actions and ensure that, in Douglass words, never again shall the name of the state be blotted as it is now. The public welfare board created a few years after Taberts death became the precursor to several state-level public health and family services departments that still exist today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More: America Turned Against Migrant Detention Before. We Can Do It Again After helping abolish convict leasing, Douglas used her Miami Herald column to share her unconventional belief that South Floridas Everglades were more than a dismal swamp and that they were instead a natural treasure that needed to be protected. In 1947, she published The Everglades: River of Grass, a book credited with forever changing Americas relationship with Floridas wetlands. That same year, Douglas was invited to sit on the platform behind President Harry Truman as he designated the Everglades National Park. In 1969, she founded Friends of the Everglades at the age of 79. Five years later, she helped establish the Big Cypress National Preserve, the largest National Park Service acquisition of private land in U.S. history. The media loved her. Douglas spoke with a powerful moral authority, and she was assigned an endless list of nicknames: Our Lady of the Glades, Guardian of the Glades Spirit, the Mother Teresa of the Swamp. She continued her environmental and human rights activism until her death at age 108. Today, Trumps detention camp sits inside the Big Cypress National Preserve that Douglas, along with the Seminole and Miccosukee tribes and other conservationists, helped establish as the first of its kind in the United States. But just as the history of violence in Floridas swamps echoes today, so does the creative and bold activism of those like Douglas, who brought down a cruel system in the 1920s. In fact, Friends of the Everglades is currently a plaintiff in a lawsuit against Alligator Alcatraz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Douglass 1923 poem lamented how the black strap cracked on Taberts body and they nailed his coffin boards together in the Florida swamps. But she also wrote that Floridas rising now, and encouraged readers to end the poem by shouting Taberts name. From Key West to Pensacola, Douglas wrote, she could hear the angry voice of Florida crying. Just as Alligator Alcatraz echoes the dark history of Tabert and his abusers, lets also be inspired by the angry, rising voices from a century ago that won justice in Floridas swamps. Antonio Ramirez is Associate Professor of History at Elgin Community College, where he directs the Chicagolandia Oral History Project and the Center for Civic Engagement. He wrote the National Historic Landmark nomination for the Marjory Stoneman Douglas House. Made by History takes readers beyond the headlines with articles written and edited by professional historians. Learn more about Made by History at TIME here. Opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of TIME editors. Write to Made by History at madebyhistory@time.com. If Britain retains one superpower, it is its talent for building useless bureaucracies. No government department epitomises this quite like the Ministry of Defence. Once among the nations most reputed institutions, inheriting the prestige of the victorious British Armed Forces when it was formed after the Second World War, the MoD has grown bloated and unaccountable. What senior politicians now regard as the most opaque of all departments seemingly holds public accountability in contempt. The UK defence blob has reached a point where it is imperiling national security. There must be a reckoning. The MoDs omnishambles embodies everything wrong with the British state. It has abused both the legal system and its position as the guardian of national security to conceal an extraordinary error. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The marine who leaked the list in question was working out of the headquarters of the elaborately covert Directorate of Special Forces. And yet its protocols for email security apparently fall short of those enforced at British blue-chip firms. One insider tells me it would be shockingly easy to be a Snowden in the Ministry of Defence. The blunder is not a freak occurrence, but rather the high water mark of the MoDs institutional failure. This is not the first major Afghan-related data leak. From laptop thefts to unclassified documents being left at bus stops, breaches have been all too common. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The MoDs dysfunction extends beyond the cybersphere. It is grotesquely overstaffed: Finland, which commands a larger wartime force than Britain, has just 150 defence civil servants, yet the MoD has almost 38,000 on its payroll. Bureaucratic judgment has become pathological, swinging between indecision, decision by default, and terrible decisions. It is not just in the realm of cyber technology that the MoD excels at building elaborate but inept administrative units. The department is a Frankensteins monster, possessing the worst attributes of both the military and civil service. The British Armed Forces seldom punish failure, in contrast with American forces, which routinely remove commanding officers who fall short. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Britain you are more likely to be removed from post for having romantic relations with a subordinate than presiding over a blunder that endangers lives, one former Navy officer tells me. The MoD is equally imbued with the patrician impulses of the civil service. As the historian David Vincent tells me, the civil services ethos of honourable secrecy goes back to the 19th century, summed up by the mantra: A secret may be sometimes best kept by keeping the secret of its being secret. It wont be easy to bring an end to the chaos at the Ministry of Defence. Perhaps more than any other department, it has proved impervious to reform. The Tories failed miserably at the task and may have made things more toxic. Insiders wonder whether a tacit arrangement set in, whereby politicians went along with officialdoms strategy for dealing with administrative blunders, while civil servants and senior military officers became spinmeisters for a cash-strapped government in crisis, bigging up its achievements, even as it allowed military capacity to be dangerously run down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The chilling culture shift under the Conservatives is even said to be reflected in the changes to the design of the MoDs headquarters, which used to be open-plan but has, over the last few years, morphed into a kind of souk, with certain floors hived off for niche things and enclaves locked off. Labour came to office vowing to get a grip on the MoD behemoth but it has achieved little. Much of the dead-weight that Defence Minister John Healey tried to get rid of when he first got the brief were placed in lucrative holding posts and are now being brought back in. The blob has allegedly already neutered the consultants Healey has hired to drive reform; officials have manoeuvred to ensure that these disruptors will now merely manage the reform process. Top military brass nonetheless hope that Healey can get a grip. One adviser told me that they are encouraged by the contents of his reform strategy and the leadership team that he is bedding in. The incoming Chief of Defence Staff, Rich Knighton, is held in high esteem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Labour needs to get its act together and drive root-and-branch reform. Nobody has yet been held accountable for the Afghan blunder. All those implicated in a cover up must answer for their conduct. Super-injunctions need to be abolished so that it is no longer possible for officials to use them to shield themselves from basic levels of scrutiny. Healey must reverse the incredible disintegration of professional standards within the MoD. One former employee recalls that even 20 years ago, sending an intelligence document with a single wrong digit was a sackable offence. Apparently today, a mistake that costs taxpayers billions of pounds and puts national security and fragile social cohesion at risk only warrants a shift in posts. Its bad enough that intelligence services of hostile countries are dedicating ever-greater resources to penetrate this countrys security, without our inept bureaucracy giving our secrets away for free. It is bad enough that public trust in the political class is at an all-time low, without officialdom resorting to celebrity-style gagging orders to cover up its errors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Put simply, it is fundamentally unacceptable that those who are charged with minimising the dangers facing the realm should show such an impressive capacity to simultaneously aggravate all of the countrys pressing problems. Keir Starmer is being sucked into a civil war with his partys far-Left as he seeks to re-establish discipline after the welfare reform fiasco. But he needs to turn his attention to the insubordination and chaos at the MoD. It is time for the Prime Minister to show some mettle and take drastic action. 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. NATCHITOCHES, La. (KTAL/KMSS) Natchitoches Police will conduct a sobriety checkpoint inside the city limits on July 25. The Natchitoches Police Department states they will be looking for intoxicated drivers to deter people from drinking and driving. Officers will also be on the lookout for other violations, including open containers of alcohol in vehicles, non-use of seatbelts, lack of proof of insurance, and any other infractions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement La. student overcomes crash, spinal injuries to graduate According to LSUs Center for Analytics and Research in Transportation Safety: seven people were killed; 318 were injured in motor vehicle crashes in Natchitoches Parish in 2023; Three of the fatalities and 26 of the wounded were involved in alcohol use. Natchitoches Police Sergeant John Greely notes the checkpoint is funded by a grant from the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission. Sergeant Greely provided a few tips for drivers to stay safe at night: Always use a designated sober driver. Help impaired friends find a sober ride home. If you spot a driver under the influence, call the Natchitoches Police Department to report it. You might save a life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you suspect suspicious activity, contact the Natchitoches Police Department at (318) 352-8101. All information provided will be kept confidential. To report an anonymous tip via Natchitoches Crime Stoppers, download the P3 Tips app on your smartphone or call Natchitoches Crime Stoppers at (318) 238-2388. All tips remain confidential, and the caller can receive a cash reward up to $5,000 for the arrest of an offender. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTALnews.com. We came across a bullish thesis on IAC Holding on High Growth Investing's Substack by Stefan Waldhauser. As of 14 July, IAC Holding's share was trading at $40.45. 15 AI Stocks Taking Wall Street by Storm An editor standing in a newsroom, overseeing the layout of a magazine cover. IAC Holding, led by media mogul Barry Diller, presents a compelling investment opportunity with its intrinsic value significantly exceeding its current market price. The company's structure, which includes a mix of large holdings such as MGM Resorts, Dotdash Meredith, and Turo, makes it challenging to evaluate using traditional key figures like price-to-earnings ratios. Instead, a sum-of-the-parts (SOTP) analysis reveals that IAC's intrinsic value is over $6 billion, yet the market values it at just over $3 billion, a discount of approximately 50%. This discrepancy is likely due to the conglomerate discount, concerns about corporate governance, recent portfolio performance, and economic challenges in the digital advertising space. The company's portfolio includes a significant stake in MGM Resorts, valued at around $2.4 billion, which has a promising outlook with the development of MGM Osaka in Japan and the growth of BetMGM in the US online casino market. Dotdash Meredith, another key pillar, is valued at $2 billion, with a competitive advantage through its D/Cipher targeting platform. Turo, the peer-to-peer car-sharing platform, has potential for significant value increase if it successfully goes public or is taken over by a company like Uber. Additionally, IAC's cash holdings of over $900 million provide financial flexibility for share buybacks, new investments, or debt repayment. Several catalysts could increase IAC's share price, including an IPO or spin-off of Dotdash Meredith, which could unlock $1-$2 billion in additional market value, and a successful IPO of Turo. Share buybacks, with an authorization to buy back 10 million shares, could also positively impact the share price. Despite risks such as the cyclical nature of digital advertising and potential disruption from AI, IAC shares offer an exciting long-term investment opportunity for patient value investors, essentially allowing them to buy a dollar for around 50 cents with downside protection from the balance sheet and strategic options for future growth. Previously, we covered a bullish thesis on IAC Holding by Stefan Waldhauser on June 23, 2025, which highlighted the company's potential as a backdoor play on AI through its energy infrastructure assets. The stock has appreciated by 8.91% since our coverage. The previous thesis emphasized IAC's critical nuclear energy infrastructure assets and its role in powering AI data centers. the current thesis shares a similar bullish view but emphasizes IAC's intrinsic value exceeding its market price, with a sum-of-the-parts analysis revealing a significant discount of approximately 50%. Fire crews from Davenport and Bettendorf were called to a structure fire in Davenport last night. According to a news release from the Davenport Fire Department, crews were called to the 1700 block of Christie Street for a structure fire on July 16 at about 8:44 p.m. Their response included three engines, two ladder trucks, a District Chief and a Bettendorf engine for an initial response of 25 personnel. Fire crews arrived and found a two-story residential home with fire showing from the front of the house. They extended a hose line to the interior of the house and quickly extinguished the fire. The homeowner was outside of the house when fire crews arrived and was uninjured. The home sustained major fire and smoke damage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No civilians or firefighters were injured in the fire. Crews were assisted on scene by Bettendorf Fire, Medic EMS of Scott County and MidAmerican. The Red Cross was called to assist the homeowner. The cause of the fire is under investigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. Eugene Gologursky/Getty Images for Fast Company | Liz Coulbourn In February, David Hogg, a 25-year-old survivor of the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, and a cofounder of March For Our Lives, was elected to one of the DNCs open vice chair roles. In doing so, he became the first member of Gen Z to step into a national leadership position in the Democratic National Committee. By June, however, he was gone. Due to a procedural error that occurred during the election, in which a measure to equal gender representation on the partys executive committee was bypassed, Hoggs position was subjected to a do-over. In the end, he decided not to run again, in part because of strong party backlash to his plan to support primary challenges against ineffective incumbents in safe Democratic congressional districts. His organization, Leaders We Deserve, supports the campaigns of young progressives across the country in an attempt to reshape the Democratic Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the vote to hold a new election for his position did not come as a result of this anti-incumbent controversy, it comes at a time when the Democratic Party is already facing a reckoning over sharp generational divides, the neglect of young progressives within the party, and the white-knuckling of aging incumbents. Stay up-to-date with the politics team. Sign up for the Teen Vogue Take. On June 24, New York State Assembly member Zohran Mamdani beat former governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. Despite the energy that Mamdanis victory generated among progressives and young people inside and outside of New York, elected Democrats have been divided in their response. Some have endorsed him ahead of the general election, while others have spread Islamophobic conspiracy theories or been hesitant to condemn them. This comes as Donald Trump continues to advance lies regarding Mamdanis citizenship status and threatens to have him arrested for his opposition to surging ICE deportations. Recent CNN polling shows that the Democratic Partys favorability rating has reached a record low since 1992, when CNNs polling began, with just 29% of Americans approving of the party. Still reeling from their loss to Donald Trump in the 2024 election, tensions among Democrats have grown as incumbents, candidates, and other officials struggle to mount a satisfying response to the onslaught of racist, anti-immigrant, and anti-democratic attacks coming from the Trump administration. Hogg doesnt plan on letting his departure from the DNC or the controversy around anti-incumbent primary bids stop him. Instead, hes doubling down on his role as president of Leaders We Deserve. He sees this work as urgent and views the malleability of the Democratic Party in this moment as an opportunity. We are at rock bottom here, Hogg told Teen Vogue. We need to fully embrace every strategy that we can to show voters that we are dramatically changing things. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this July interview, Hogg spoke to Teen Vogue about Mamdanis win, primarying incumbents, and the future of the Democratic Party. This conversation has been lightly condensed and edited for clarity. TV: The 2024 election cycle, in many ways, may be remembered for the politics of exclusion that were present in the Democratic Party. How are you feeling, and what might you say to folks who are feeling like the Big Tent doesn't have room for them? David Hogg: I think a great example of the challenges that are here is the reaction to what happened in New York with the election of Zohran Mamdani. It is the people who are often saying that we need to have a Big Tent who are the most against his win, and some have congratulated him but not endorsed him as the Democratic nominee. A lot of the people who are saying, Always vote blue, no matter who, are [seemingly] now saying, actually, no, we don't mean that, because [they] actually mean to vote blue so long as it is somebody that wants to protect the oligarchy, or somebody that wants to protect the status quo in our party, and who fights only for the most incremental changes. Zohran Mamdani's People-Powered Win Is a Rebuke of Democrat Cowardice Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Providing an alternative to establishment politics and an increasingly right-leaning party made all the difference for Mamdani, argues politics editor Lex McMenamin in this op-ed. There's been a lot of hypocrisy from the ones that are always yelling at the left side of the party that they need to shut up and vote blue, no matter who, who are now saying we can't support Zohran. TV: What lessons should the Democratic establishment take out of the New York City mayoral primary, and what will it take for those lessons to be learned? DH: Honestly, what it's going to take for them to learn is we're going to need to continue beating them, over and over and over again, in these primaries. And, of course, most importantly, winning in these general elections, to prove that we are electorally viable. [When] the candidate truly believes in what they're saying, and doesn't change their values under political pressure, other people are inspired by that. They think, Well, maybe if he's doing that, then I can be part of that change. Then they become part of that change, and they volunteer, and they knock on doors, and they make phone calls, they talk about it on social media because they believe in the message, and then other people [join in]. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conservatives usually work on a framework of fear, and that is how they win. It's always a fear of, They're going to take this from you. They're going to take that from you. When we are at our best, we inspire people to believe in this vision of what we could be, and framing that vision as the thing that could be taken from you. TV: You're someone whos straddled movement work and electoral work over the course of your career. How can both factions build power together to actualize shared visions? DH: Honestly, a healthy and competitive primary process. One where we can have our disagreements on these issues, within this big tent, and fight it out in our primaries. That includes challenging incumbents. There are far too many people who justify being in their position based on how long they've been there rather than on what they've done while they've been there. We have two major problems in our party: We have a courage problem and we have a competition problem. Because we don't challenge the status quo or people who are in safer blue seats nearly enough, we [end up with certain] candidates who get really comfortable. And if there's anything that I've learned from activism and organizing, it's that comfortable people especially politicians do not change. They will tell you nice things. They will say that they care about your issue or whatever you're fighting for. They will give you as much lip service as possible, but ultimately, they are not necessarily going to fight for it. One of the only things across the board that will make a politician do the right thing, regardless of whether or not they support you, is by threatening the one thing all of them [seem to] care about, which is their job. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everybody in our party wants to do two things at the same time that are incompatible: They want to win and gain majorities, but they also want to do that with the same cast of characters that brought us here. The reason they talk so much about focusing on our messaging is because you can change the messaging without changing the messenger. But the reality is, given the fact that we've talked for about 15 years about how we have a messaging problem, it's gone beyond a messaging problem. It is a messenger problem. TV: Trump has been one of the top headlines of American politics for about a decade. We're in an era where, for many young people, Trump represents the political norm, not an anomaly. Whats the danger in blindly assuming that young people will save the world? DH: One of the things that I know really bothered me and many of the cofounders of March For Our Lives after the Parkland shooting was the number of adults who would come up to us when we were 18 or 17 years old and say, "Thank God you kids are here to save us. My generation really, really screwed things up, but you guys are going to save us, and we could not be more glad for that. Youth Gun Violence Activists Cant Be Asked to Save the World [*Beyond Thoughts and Prayers*](https://www.teenvogue.com/tag/beyond-thoughts-and-prayers) *is a series marking 10 years since the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.* Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That mentality is really dangerous. It puts way too much pressure on young people to address problems that we did not create in the first place, and it usually absolves the people who actually did create them of any responsibility to fix them. Last election, voters of all ages, including young voters, told us two things more than anything in the polling and in the focus groups. We heard that prices were too high and Joe Biden was too old. Regardless of their age, if you tell [voters] not to believe their eyes or their wallets, you're going to lose them. And I think people just felt really unheard across the board. It wasn't just the economy. It was also Israel and Palestine that a lot of young people felt, understandably, like we were failing to meet the moment head-on. I also think that we need to be more comfortable using our power as Democrats. I think Minnesota offers a really good example of this. And, unfortunately, one of the leaders of a lot of those efforts, who made [so much progress in] Minnesota, was recently killed. Representative Melissa Hortman was an example of the type of leadership that I think we need. It's not like [Minnesota is] a super blue state. Democrats have a very slim majority, where they still use their power as progressives to get things done, and didn't pay much of [an electoral] price for it, and still improved many people's lives. TV: You mentioned the Minnesota shootings. This current moment in the country feels similar to when I was in high school, seeing one school shooting after another school shooting after another, followed by the routine offer of thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers. How can we avoid that same cycle of desensitization to political violence and other atrocities? DH: I would say the best way to address that desensitization (that I feel as well at times) is to do something. You can't fix everything, obviously, but together, all of us can, as a collective. And it doesn't take the entire country. It really just takes less than 3.5% of the country to actually mobilize and fix this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think that's part of the reason why this New York City [mayoral] race felt so big for so many young people. It was one of the first times in a long time that they felt like there was a candidate who actually represented them, who listened to them, who was genuine and authentic and not changing his values under political pressure, and who built a winning coalition to bring people together. The way that you deal with that desensitization is that you do something. Go and work on a campaign that you truly believe in. If it's knocking on doors or making phone calls for Zohran, or going out and knocking on doors or making calls for [another progressive challenger], get involved in some way and understand it's not all on you. One of the most important things that I ever got as a piece of advice was from Dolores Huerta, when I was at a protest with her a few years ago. I asked her, "What, in your opinion, is the most important thing that young people can know or do to make change?" And she said, "The most important thing that you need to be able to do is to make people believe that change is actually possible." Because far more often than not, the biggest obstacle to us creating change isn't whether or not it's possible, it's that people don't even think it is. If people get just a little bit louder, we can win. But we have to believe that it's possible in the first place. Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue More great activism coverage from Teen Vogue: NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A Davidson County Jail inmate is facing charges for sending threatening letters to four Nashville judges, authorities said. According to a news release from the Metro Nashville Police Department, 50-year-old Phaitoon Sean Viryasiri has been in jail since October 2024 for violating his probation in connection with felony assault and burglary convictions. Broadway bargoer robbed at gunpoint by fake rideshare drivers Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said Viryasiri is now charged with threatening Criminal Court Judge Khadija Babb, a Class E felony, in retaliation for decisions made when he was a defendant before her. He is also charged with making harassing threats, a Class A misdemeanor, after he allegedly sent 17 letters between June 20 and June 30 to four Davidson County judges, including Babb, Criminal Court Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton, Criminal Court Judge Cynthia Chappell and General Sessions Court Judge Ana Escobar. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee Police said that in the letters, Viryasiri threatened to harm the judges and/or their families. There were also reportedly threats against President Donald Trump, and the U.S. Secret Service was notified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The MNPD announced on Wednesday, July 16 that deputies with the Davidson County Sheriffs Office will serve Viryasiri with two new criminal warrants due to his inmate 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 WKRN News 2. July 17 (UPI) -- On this date in history: In 1918, Russian Czar Nicholas II and his family were killed by Bolsheviks who had held them captive for two months. Though the whereabouts of their bodies was unknown for years, later DNA tests confirmed their identities and they were buried together in a St. Petersburg cathedral in 1998. In 1936, the Spanish Civil War began with an army revolt led by Gen. Francisco Franco. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 1955, Arco, Idaho, a town of 1,300 people, became the first community in the world to receive all its light and power from atomic energy. In 1955, Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif. Family members and friends of the deceased passengers of TWA Flight 800 grieve at memorial ceremonies held July 18, 1997, at Mt. Moriches Memorial Park by the local community to remember the 230 passengers that died on July 17, 1996. File Photo by Monika Graff/UPI File Photo courtesy USC Regional Historical Photo Collection In 1975, three U.S. and two Soviet spacemen linked their orbiting Apollo and Soyuz spacecraft for historic handshakes 140 miles above Earth. People visit a national monument for the victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 plane crash in Vijfhuizen, the Netherlands, on July 17, 2017. The crashed July 17, 2014, killing 298. File Photo by Frank van Beek/EPA In 1981, 114 people were killed and 200 injured in the collapse of two suspended walkways at the Hyatt Regency hotel in Kansas City, Mo. In 1996, TWA Flight 800, New York to Paris, crashed off the Long Island coast, killing all 230 people aboard the Boeing 747. On July 17, 1918, Russian Czar Nicholas II (seated, 2nd-R) and his family were killed by Bolsheviks who had held them captive for two months. Seated, from left are Marie, Queen Alexandra, the czar and Anastasia, behind Alexei in front. In back are Olga (L) and Tatiana. File Photo courtesy the Library of Congress Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recovered wreckage of TWA Flight 800 stands reassembled at the National Transportation Safety Board Training Academy where it is used for training new investigators in Ashburn, Va., on July 16, 2008. File Photo by Patrick D. McDermott/UPI In 2006, an earthquake under the Indian Ocean triggered a tsunami that struck the Indonesian island of Java, killing about 700 people. Brazilian police officers who attended the crash of flight of JJ3054 at Congonhas Airport in Sao Paulo were honored by being chosen to carry their countries flag into Maracana stadium for the closing ceremonies of the 2007 Pan Am Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on July 29, 2007. The plane crashed July 17, 2007, killing 200 people. File Photo by Heinz Ruckemann/UPI In 2007, a Brazilian Airbus airliner skidded off a runway as it landed at Sao Paulo's Congonhas Airport and crashed into a building. Authorities placed the death toll at 200. In 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 carrying 298 people was shot down over rebel-controlled territory in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border. All aboard the Boeing 777 were killed, including dozens of children. Disneyland opened in Anaheim, Calif, on July 17, 1955. File Photo courtesy USC Regional Historical Photo Collection In 2018, Dallas Wings center Liz Cambage broke the WNBA's single-game record for points scored -- 53 -- in a 104-87 win against the New York Liberty in Arlington, Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2019, Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman was sentenced to life in U.S. prison for conspiracy to commit murder, drug trafficking and money laundering. The drug kingpin had twice escaped from Mexican prisons. In 2024, teen midfielder Cavan Sullivan jogged onto the field as a second-half substitute during a Philadelphia Union victory over the New England Revolution. At 14 years, 293 days old, he set a record for the youngest player to appear in an MLS game. Residents emerged from their homes to scenes of devastation on Thursday after government forces withdrew from the Syrian Druze-majority city of Sweida, leaving behind looted shops, burned homes and bodies littering the streets after days of violence. "What I saw of the city looked as if it had just emerged from a flood or a natural disaster," Hanadi Obeid, a 39-year-old doctor, told AFP. What started as deadly clashes between local Druze fighters and Bedouin tribes on Sunday quickly escalated after government forces were deployed to the province the following day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After reaching an agreement with Sweida's community leaders, Syrian troops withdrew from the city overnight on Wednesday following what witnesses described as a violent rampage. "Three bodies were lying in the street, one of them an elderly woman," Obeid said, adding that she saw "burned cars everywhere, others upside down, and a charred tank". Many residents had holed up in their homes as they waited for the fighting to end. On Thursday, Sweida's typically-bustling streets and markets were still largely quiet, with Obeid saying a foul odour emanated from the area as stray dogs roamed around. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a doctor, she has seen "many corpses and dead bodies, but death has had a different taste in recent days, and I've felt it closer to me than ever before". Obeid, who has a young daughter, said she feared what awaited her when she returned to work at the city's main hospital. More than 500 people from all sides were killed in the violence, according to the Britain-based war monitor the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. - 'Humanitarian catastrophe' - An AFP photographer reported chaos outside the central hospital, with dozens of bodies brought there since Thursday morning after being collected from homes and streets. The photographer counted 15 bodies in the city centre. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grief-stricken families were seen arriving at the hospital searching for their loved ones. Local media outlet Suwayda 24 reported that the central hospital was put out of service on Wednesday after government forces entered it and clashed with Druze fighters. A video that circulated on Wednesday showed bodies piled up in the morgue, with the refrigerated storage units for remains reaching capacity. Other videos showed wounded people in the corridors, some on beds and others lying on the floor, and medical staff unable to respond to emergency cases. Rayan Maarouf, editor-in-chief of Suwayda 24, told AFP that over 150 bodies had been counted at the hospital, which was no longer able to receive corpses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The dialysis machines are out of service, and patients are not receiving treatment. There is a humanitarian catastrophe in Sweida," he said. Water and electricity services remained cut off in the city, and most shops have closed their doors pending the completion of search operations by local fighters securing the area. The AFP photographer saw damaged storefronts, their glass shattered in the streets, and others looted. A woman was inspecting her shop, the only one around that had been burned. Government forces were accused by witnesses, Druze factions and the Observatory of siding with Bedouin tribes and committing abuses, including summary executions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As government forces withdrew on Thursday, an AFP correspondent in Sweida province saw Bedouin families dismantling their tents before leaving the area, fearing reprisals. "We have been at war for four days. We want to survive," said Wadha al-Awad, 58, accompanied by her family. "We fled and are heading west with our children to Daraa," she added. "This is our destiny. We are afraid, and all we want is peace." str-mam-lar/nad/smw The Brief A registered sex offender was arrested after allegedly attempting to abduct a child in Daytona Beach. The suspect, Timothy Hall, was taken into custody in Jacksonville with help from U.S. Marshals. Police say the child was unharmed, and the investigation is still ongoing. DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - A man accused of attempted child abduction and indecent exposure on July 11 in Daytona Beach has been transported and booked into the Volusia County Jail following his arrest in Jacksonville. What we know Police in Daytona Beach arrested Timothy Hall, a 55-year-old registered sex offender, in connection with an attempted child abduction that occurred on July 11, 2025, at a business on W. International Speedway Blvd. According to police, Hall entered the business, exposed himself, and grabbed a childs arm before the child screamed, prompting him to flee. The child was not physically harmed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP An investigation led Daytona detectives to Hall, who was later tracked to Jacksonville. On Saturday evening, officers with the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force apprehended Hall in his vehicle in the Arlington neighborhood. He was taken into custody with help from the Aviation Unit and a K-9 team. What we don't know The Daytona Beach Police Department has not yet released the official incident report, and it remains unclear whether Hall is connected to any additional cases in the area. Authorities have not specified how Hall was identified only that a mix of traditional and technological methods were used. The backstory Hall has a prior conviction from 2010 in Hillsborough County for lewd or lascivious exhibition involving a minor under 16. At the time of his recent arrest, he was working as a medical assistant at the Duval County jaila job he resigned from following the incident. He is a registered sex offender with a history of sexually explicit offenses involving minors. Big picture view This case has renewed concerns about the monitoring of known sex offenders and the safeguards in place at public businesses and institutions. The incident, which occurred in a busy commercial corridor, has stirred public concern as families brace for the ongoing summer travel and back-to-school season. What they're saying Authorities noted investigative work and cross-agency collaboration among Daytona Beach police, Jacksonville deputies, and federal authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are grateful for the diligent efforts of our investigative team and the collaborative support from our law enforcement partners in bringing this case to a swift resolution," the Daytona Beach Police Department said. SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35'S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS "We appreciate our partners at the Daytona Beach Police Department and the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force for working with us to help keep our communities safe," the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office said. The Source This story was written based on information shared by the Daytona Beach Police Department and the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. WASHINGTON - Tempers flared in the nation's capital Tuesday night over what appears to be a new police assignment on Capitol Hill, guarding the home of a top local elected official. The D.C. Police Union president says he's upset that MPD is having to station an officer and cruiser outside the home of D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson up on Capitol Hill. What we know A police cruiser was stationed across the street from Mendelson's home near 13th and E Streets, Southeast, all Tuesday afternoon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One neighbor told FOX 5 it's been there 24/7 since a late-night protest last weekend. The rally was about Mendelson's desire to pause Initiative 82 about how tipped workers are paid in the city. Neighbors say many people called police about the noise but it was the call made by council Mendelson that inspired the posting on X by the police union, claiming that Mendelson yelled at staff at the office of Unified Command that fields 911 calls. What they're saying Union President Greggory Pemberton is blasting the new assignment for its understaffed department for somebody he claims was a proponent of defunding the police. Over the weekend, @ChmnMendelson called the police because there were peaceful protesters at his house. Because he decimated the police department with horrible legislation and our staffing now has 800+ vacancies, there was a delay in responding to his home. 1/3 DC Police Union (@DCPoliceUnion) July 15, 2025 "How dare Chairman Mendelson come over the radio or come over that 911 dispatchers and demand immediate response for something as innocent as some peaceful protesters shouting outside his house. The hypocrisy and the irony is lost on him, I'm sure. But the despicable nature of his demand for immediate security, it resonates with every police officer on this department and frankly, it's sickening," Pemberton said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The union says Mendelson was also mad that it took so long for police to respond. "This detail needs to end immediately. This is a ridiculous security blanket for the chairman of the D.C. council because some activists came to his house shouting about the budget. That officer needs to be out answering 911 calls so they can respond to real emergencies when people actually pick up the phone and they need a police officer respond right away. That's what that officer should be doing. Not sitting in front of Chairman Mendelson's house trying to make him feel safe," Pemberton said. The other side Mendelson's office says he's not available for comment but provided a statement, saying, "The Unions claim is made-up and false. I would invite them to listen to the tape. It is also inappropriate for the Union to publicly discuss security procedures for elected officials." Law enforcement sources tell us the police cruiser parked here is not an around-the-clock, indefinite assignment. D.C. police say they do not comment on staffing or tactics. TONTITOWN, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A judge has granted Tontitown residents more time to respond in a class-action lawsuit alleging hazardous emissions from the Eco-Vista landfill. The April lawsuit claims the company released harmful odors containing chemicals like acrolein and benzene, based on testing by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Plaintiffs have until July 25 to respond to Eco-Vistas motion to dismiss, following a court-approved extension on Monday. Separately, the City of Tontitown has filed its own lawsuit to halt the landfills proposed expansion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bentonville car dealership ordered to pay $47K in EEOC settlement KNWA/FOX24 has requested comment from Eco-Vista Landfill and Mayor of Tontitown Angela Russell and has not yet heard back. The Arkansas Department of Energy and Environment denied request for comment, citing that the ADEE does not comment on pending litigation. The Eco-Vista Landfill and the City of Tontitown have been in an ongoing dispute regarding air quality in the area since 2021, click here for the full timeline. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. A fire that tore through a shopping centre in the Iraqi city of Kut has left at least 60 dead, officials said. The blaze at the mall, which had reportedly opened five days ago, broke out on Wednesday night and has since been brought under control. Social media videos showed firefighters rescuing people from the mall's roof, but state media reported that many are still missing. "A tragedy and a calamity has befallen us," regional governor Mohammed al-Miyahi said, adding that legal action would be brought against the shopping centre's owner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governor has also declared three days of mourning. Videos on INA's news channel show flames ripping through several floors of the Corniche Hypermarket in the city's centre, as firefighters try to douse them. Other clips circulating on social media appear to show a small number of people on the roof during the fire, as well as the burned out insides of the centre. A number of people were rescued from the building by firefighters, al-Miyahi told local media. Ambulances were still taking casualties to hospitals in the city, which is about 160 km (100 miles) southeast of Baghdad, at 04:00 local time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The tragic fire claimed the lives of 61 innocent citizens, most of whom suffocated in bathrooms, and among them 14 charred bodies yet to be identified," the interior ministry said in a statement quoted by news agency AFP. Nasir al-Quraishi, a doctor in his 50s, told AFP he lost five family members in the blaze. "A disaster has befallen us," he said. "We went to the mall to have some food, eat dinner and escape power cuts at home. "An air conditioner exploded on the second floor and then the fire erupted and we couldn't escape it." A medical source told the agency: "We have more than 50 martyrs, and many unidentified bodies". A digital map shows where Kut is situated in eastern Iraq [Google/BBC] An investigation into the cause of the fire is underway, with preliminary findings expected within two days, al-Miyahi said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The tragedy is a major shock," he said, adding that a "serious review of all safety measures" would take place. The shopping had opened just five days ago, AFP reported. Safety standards are often poorly observed at Iraqi construction sites, which have face decades of mismanagement and corruption. In 2023, a fire swept through a Christian wedding party in northern Iraq, killing more than 100 people. More than 90 people died in the Iraqi city of Nasiriya after a fire in a Covid isolation ward at a hospital in 2021. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee stormed out of an executive committee meeting Thursday moments before the panel voted to advance President Donald Trump's judicial nominee, Emil Bove, to the full Senate floor for a vote. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., urged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, before the vote to allow them to consider the allegations against Bove made by a former Justice Department attorney, Erez Reuveni, in a whistleblower report. Booker invoked Rule 4 of the committee rules in trying to push for additional debate time, which Grassley declined to acknowledge before ordering the vote prompting the Democrat members of the panel to abruptly exit the hearing room. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly before walking out, Booker took aim at Grassley. "What are you afraid of?" he erupted, after Grassley tried to speak over him and hold the vote. "Debating this [nomination], putting things on the record Dear God," he said, "that's what we are here for." Trump Considers Former Defense Attorney Emil Bove For Federal Appeals Court Vacancy "This lacks decency, this lacks decorum, it shows that you will not hear from your colleagues," Booker said to Grassley in another attempt. "You are a decent man," he said, imploring him to allow a small window of additional time for the panel to debate before pushing through with the committee vote. Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Why are you doing this?" Booker pressed again. "What are they saying to you," he said, referring to the Trump administration, "that is making you do something to violate the decorum, the decency and the respect of this committee to at least hear each other out?" The nearly hour-long debate held prior to Bove's confirmation vote was unsuccessful, and Trump's nominee cleared the committee in a party-line vote. Still, there were sharp objections made by other Democrats on the panel, including Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-RI, who joined Booker in upbraiding their Republican colleagues on the panel for what they described as a lack of candor and their refusal to consider the allegations made by Reuveni. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also noted the dozens of former federal and state judges, and hundreds of former federal prosecutors, who had the panel to reject Bove's nomination to a lifetime appointment on the federal bench. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., leaves the Senate Democrats' lunch in the Capitol on Tuesday, June 13, 2023. Whitehouse, for his part, invoked Shakespeare: "There's something rotten in Denmark," he said in voicing his opposition to the decision to push through with the confirmation vote. Booker ended the sharp exchange with Grassley by saying simply, "This is wrong, sir, and I join with my colleagues in leaving," before streaming out of the committe room. Trump announced earlier this year the nomination of senior Justice Department official and his former defense attorney, Emil Bove, to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Bove's nomination immediately sparked intense pushback and opposition from some lawmakers, and from the former prosecutors and judges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It comes as Trump administration officials have taken aim at the so-called "activist" judges they argue are blocking the president's agenda and preventing him from enacting his sweeping policy goals, including the administration's crackdown on border security and immigration. Trump's Remarks Could Come Back To Bite Him In Abrego Garcia Deportation Battle Bove's path to confirmation in the full Senate chamber remains rocky, and comes amid mounting concerns over the allegations made in the whistleblower report. Speaking to reporters after leaving the committee room on Thursday, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-CT, described the decision by Republicans to push through with the vote without considering the whistleblower allegations in a separate hearing, and despite the state objections of Democrats on the panel as a "blatant violation of the rules of committee." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I haven't seen anything like it in 15 years in the U.S. Senate," he told reporters. "Just overriding, roughshod, the rules of the committee to silence members [on concerns involving] the nominees for lifetime appointments" on the federal bench, he said. "We can disagree about whether they should be on the court, but not about the rules that put them there." Shortly before the committed Sen. Grassley noted shortly before the committee adjourned for the day that, in fact, the move was not unprecedented. In fact, he said, that panel under a Democratic majority, had done the same to Republicans on the panel during a November 2023 markup hearing. He noted that Democrats pushed through two of then-President Joe Biden's judicial nominees, Mustafa Kasubhai, to serve as a federal judge in Oregon, and Eumi K. Lee, nominated to serve on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, despite objections and requests for debate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Chairman Durbin ordered the vote then," Grassley said, "just like I ordered the vote this time." "What we did is not unprecedented either the actions of the minority walking away, or what we did here as a majority, he added, saying "we have to move things along." Original article source: 'Dear God': Democrats storm out of vote on controversial Trump nominee Germany-based snacks manufacturer Intersnack plans to invest 85m ($98m) in its plant in Alsbach. Intersnack said in a statement it is planning a 10,000 square-metre extension to its factory near Darmstadt in south-west Germany. The extension will include a production hall with a logistics area. Intersnack said it is looking to modernise the plant to expand production capacity, complete with sustainability initiatives. By switching to renewable energies, the group hopes to more than halve the CO2 emissions at the facility. The project will also secure the jobs of the 470 employees at the site, Intersnack said. Jan van den Broek, MD for operations at Intersnack's German unit, said: "As one of the market leaders in the salty snacks category, we want to continue our growth of recent years. Important prerequisites for this are sufficient capacities, state-of-the-art production technologies and qualified and committed employees. For this reason, we are investing in a long-term and secure future for the Alsbach site. A special focus is on increasing sustainability and optimising our production processes." The construction of the extension is scheduled to start in the summer of 2026, Intersnack said. The Cologne-based salty snacks company operates five production plants in Germany. Its brands include Estrella and McCoys. Last year, Intersnack acquired the peanut-butter brand Whole Earth from European food group Ecotone. The financial terms of the deal conducted through Germany-based Intersnacks KP Snacks arm were not disclosed. KP Snacks employs more than 2,200 people in the UK across its seven manufacturing facilities and head office in Berkshire. "Intersnack to invest 85m in Alsbach plant to expand production" was originally created and published by Just Food, a GlobalData owned brand. (Photo by Darrin Klimek/Getty Images) Florida executed a man this week and is scheduled to put another to death this month, setting a modern-day record for the state and underscoring an unsettling trend for the nation. Michael Bell was executed July 15, 2025. He was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to death for the murders of Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith. (Photo by Florida Department of Corrections) Michael Bell was executed by lethal injection on July 15 for killing two people in 1993. Gov. Ron DeSantis also signed the death warrant for Edward Zakrzewski to die July 31 for the 1994 murders of his wife and two children. He would be the ninth person executed in Florida this year, the most since the U.S. Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zakrzewski would also be the 27th person executed nationally so far in 2025, surpassing the total in all of 2024. (You can read the names of the first 26 prisoners, method of execution, and other information here: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/2025 ) The death penalty debate, which has raged through much of our nations history, has returned with new urgency. On his first day in office, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at making executions great again. Among other things, it orders the attorney general to seek the death penalty for the murder of a law-enforcement officer, or for a capital crime committed by an alien illegally present in this country. The order also seeks new death penalties for the 37 men whose federal death penalty sentences were commuted to life without parole by President Biden. The federal government executed 13 people in the last six months of Trumps first term. The total was more than any president since FDR. The long arc toward justice I believe these developments are merely blips. The majority of executions this year happened in just three states: Florida, Texas, and South Carolina. Only a handful of states have conducted executions in the last few years, even if a death penalty law may still be on their books. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New death sentences are down nearly 30% compared with the same period last year, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The group reported that Trumps executive action has prompted few prosecutors to reopen the cases that Biden commuted. Public sentiment has also shifted over time. A Gallup survey in October 2024 showed that 53% of those surveyed support the death penalty, compared with a high of 80% in 1994. And trends suggest the number will continue to drop: A majority of adults under age 43 oppose the death penalty. A perennial debate in Iowa If the uptick continues, will our increasingly red state follow? Iowa abolished the death penalty 60 years ago. (First-degree murder carries mandatory life in prison without parole, or death in prison.) Nearly every legislative session, a bill emerges to reinstate the law in one way or another. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2025, Iowa legislators proposed reinstating the death penalty for the intentional killing of a peace officer. No lobbyist registered in support, and it died after clearing a Senate subcommittee. In previous years, the Legislature has considered reinstatement either for any first-degree murder, or for more specific crimes, including kidnapping, sexually abusing, and killing children. In 2018, Rep. Steven Holt, a ramrod conservative Republican from Denison, effectively stopped a death penalty bill in the Legislature. State Rep. Steven Holt is a Republican from Denison. (Photo courtesy of Iowa Legislature) My conclusion after researching this bill was not exactly what I expected, he said in a subcommittee meeting. I support the death penalty in theory and believe it is absolutely morally OK based upon my faith. But I have great issues with its practical and prudent and fair application. More recently, as chair of the House Judiciary Committee, he expanded on his reasoning, listing the expense of the death penalty, its disproportionate impact on indigent defendants, and the possibility of wrongful convictions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I admire Rep. Holts principled stand and his willingness to change his mind when presented with evidence. For his colleagues who remain in support of the death penalty, I assume that piling on more facts and figures about costs and barriers will fail to move them. Instead, I invite them to read first-hand accounts from death row and the execution chamber. One is Bryan Stevensons 2014 book, Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption, about the attorneys efforts to free wrongly convicted and unjustly condemned prisoners on death row or otherwise destined to die in prison. His work uncovered our justice systems terrible mistakes caused by racial bias, poor legal representation, prosecutorial overreach, and other factors. His clients included the mentally ill and disabled, women who suffered stillbirths but were convicted of murder, and those who committed crimes as children. Stevenson shared this lesson, which I repeated in a previous post: Each of us is more than the worst thing weve ever done. Another is Elizabeth Bruenigs cover story in the July 2025 issue of The Atlantic magazine. Bruenig, whose own family was harmed by murder, has made it a mission to witness executions to shed light on the often secretive act of a government killing its own citizens. The state of Alabama has banned Bruenig from its prisons after her reporting on grisly, botched executions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her article reinforced to me that the death penalty is the very antithesis of restorative justice, as it neither heals nor makes anyone whole. She writes about getting to know the inmates and their repentance: The death penalty is, to some degree, indiscriminate: Both innocent and guilty people have been sentenced to death. But the death penalty is also morally indiscriminate in an additional way, in that it kills guilty people who may have become good people. By the time execution arrives, the offender may be a completely different person than the one that took a life. We cant know the nature or potential of anothers soul. This column was originally published by Lynn Hicks True Justice on Substack via the Iowa Writers Collaborative. Editors note: Please consider subscribing to the collaborative and the authors blogs to support their work. On New Years Day in 2019, Tarpon Springs police conducted a welfare check on a couple whose son said he hadnt heard from them in weeks. They arrived at a gruesome scene: the couple and their other son lying dead alongside the familys three dogs. Bludgeoned with a hammer, the six decomposing bodies were wrapped in carpets and doused with paint. White spray paint covered some of the blood spatter on the walls of the mobile home. Prosecutors say Shelby John Nealy killed Richard Ivancic, 79, Laura Ivancic, 59, and their son, Nicholas Ivancic, 25, after they grew suspicious about the whereabouts of Nealys ex-wife, whom he killed almost a year earlier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Charged with Jamie Ivancics murder, Nealy, 32, pleaded guilty to manslaughter in 2023 and was sentenced to 30 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to three counts of first-degree murder and three counts of animal cruelty. Now, a jury must decide if he will be executed or spend the rest of his life in prison for the murders of Richard, Laura and Nicholas. During opening arguments in Nealys sentencing at the Pinellas County Justice Center on Wednesday, state prosecutor Bryan Sarabia said Nealy chillingly, heartlessly and methodically carried out the murders. Were here today because between Dec. 14 and Dec. 16 of 2018, this defendant murdered Richard Ivancic, Laura Ivancic and Nicholas Ivancic so that he could avoid the consequences of his actions for what amounted to three more weeks, Sarabia told the jury. Sarabia said the state would present evidence that showed Nealy stayed at the Ivancics home for a week after he killed them, ordering Dominos pizza and pawning off the familys valuables. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the state is seeking the death penalty because of several aggravating factors: Nealys prior violent felony conviction, his motive of avoiding arrest for Jamies death, and the fact that the murders were cold, calculated and premeditated. Nealy became acquainted with the Ivancic family around 2014, when he and Nicholas Ivancic worked at the same Burger King in Ohio, Sarabia said. Nicholas introduced Nealy to his sister, Jamie, and the two quickly fell in love and got married, Sarabia said. The couple moved to Florida, where they lived with the Ivancics for a while before moving into their Port Richey home. They had two young children together. Nealy previously testified that he and Jamie were arguing in February 2018, and she was armed with a knife. But after he disarmed her, Nealy bashed her with a hammer until she was dead, Sarabia said in court Wednesday. He later buried her body at the home they shared. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, for nearly a year, he pretended to be the 21-year-old in texts and social media posts until her family grew suspicious. That December, Nealy told the Ivancics that he and Jamie were coming for a visit. When he and the couples young kids arrived without her, he made up excuses about work, Sarabia said. He stayed with them for about a week before he murdered them, Sarabia said. Richard was killed first, days after his 71st birthday. Nealy moved his body into the primary bedroom before Laura returned home from a shopping trip. Then he struck Laura with a hammer at least five times in the back of her head, Sarabia said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As both bodies lay in the primary bedroom, Nealy mopped the floors so Nicholas wouldnt suspect anything when he came home from work. Sarabia said Nealy wanted one last hang-out with his friend before he killed him. The two ordered pizza, smoked marijuana and watched movies before going to sleep, when Nicholas awoke to Nealy bashing him with a hammer. Detectives eventually found Nealy in Ohio, where he had fled with his two children in Lauras SUV. He was extradited to Florida and has been in jail since February 2019. The state on Wednesday called two of the familys Tarpon Springs neighbors to testify, both of whom said they saw Nealy digging a hole outside the home that December. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The states final witness on Wednesday was Richard Ivancic Jr., 59, Richards oldest son. In a family impact statement, Ivancic Jr. told jurors he didnt have enough words to reflect a lifetime of memories with his father. Richard and Laura were gracious souls who fostered children for a time before adopting Jamie and Nicholas, he said. They were innocent and lovely parents and grandparents who had so much life ahead of them, he said, choking back tears. As Ivancic Jr. spoke, Nealy sat with his hand perched on his chin, staring ahead. In Florida, the death penalty requires at least an 8-4 jury decision, making it the lowest death penalty threshold in the country. Nealys trial is expected to last two weeks. The airstrike on Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast has seen the number of fatalities rise to three. Source: Vadym Filashkin, Head of Donetsk Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram Quote from Filashkin: "Currently, there is information about 3 people killed and 27 wounded as a result of the attack on Dobropillia. All the wounded received medical help, some of them were evacuated to other regions." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Filashkin noted that rubble clearance is ongoing, with assistance provided to those whose homes were damaged. Energy companies are working to restore electricity supply. Background: On the evening of 16 July, Russian forces dropped an FAB-500 aerial bomb on the centre of the town of Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast. According to the previous reports, 2 people had been killed and 27 injured, and others likely trapped under the rubble. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. On July 16, 1945, the Nuclear Age erupted into being, with the atomic bombs first test, code-named Trinity, in the desert of New Mexico. Today, 80 years later, the bomb still dominates our liveswe are still enmeshed in the Nuclear Agemore than many realize. Three weeks after Trinity, two more A-bombs were dropped from American planes onto Japanese citiesHiroshima on Aug. 6, Nagasaki on Aug. 9incinerating them in a single stroke, while also altering geopolitics and human consciousness in ways that few could predict at the time and most of us would prefer even now not to contemplate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scientists of the Manhattan Project, who helped build the bomb and then witnessed Trinitys fireball, recognizedfeltits epochal shudder. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the chief scientist, famously recalled the passage of the Bhagavad Gita, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. But he wasnt the only one who turned apocalyptic. James Conant, president of Harvard University and chair of the government panel that chose the wartime targets for this new weapon, scribbled in his notebook, The whole sky suddenly full of white light like the end of the world. Sir James Chadwick, the physicist who had discovered the neutron and who led the projects British team, wrote, A great blinding light lit up the sky and earth as if God himself had appeared among us. Yet one gulp-worthy thing about the Trinity bomb, and the ones dropped on Japan shortly after, is that they were pinpricks compared with the thermonuclear warheads in the worlds arsenals today. The Trinity test exploded with the blast of 24 kilotonsthe equivalent of 24,000 tons of TNT (a bit more powerful than the 12- and 20-kiloton bombs that hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Most of the warheads on our ballistic missiles today are set to explode with the power of between 90 and 450 kilotons. Some bombs in the U.S. and Russian arsenals would unleash the blast of a megaton1 million tons. And this doesnt take into account the heat, radiation, and radioactive fallout that would contaminate living creatures and land for hundreds or thousands of miles around. President Harry Truman, who told reporters he didnt lose any sleep over the decision to drop the A-bombs (the alternative, an invasion of Japan, would have caused the deaths of thousands of American soldiers), grew more solemn once he read the reports of their devastation. On July 21, 1948, at a private meeting with a few top generals and David Lilienthal, the Atomic Energy Commissions chairman, Truman, looking down at his desk reflexively, spoke in a way he never did in public: I dont think we ought to use this thing unless we absolutely have to You have got to understand that this isnt a military weapon. It is used to wipe out women and children and unarmed people, and not for military uses. So we have got to treat this thing differently from rifles and cannons and ordinary things like that. In one sense, the world has followed Truman in lockstep. A big reason why no one has dropped or fired a nuclear weapon in wartime in the 80 years since Nagasakia remarkable fact that almost no one would have thought possible at the timeis the fear of its consequences, aka Mutually Assured Destruction: If you blow us to smithereens, well blow you to smithereens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet in another sense, in the decades since, military officers and civilian strategists have tried to work around Trumans warninghave tried to figure out how to turn the bomb into a military weapon. In the early days of the Nuclear Age, the top generals, like Curtis LeMay, the first head of the Strategic Air Command, did so with a ruthless attitude: War was about killing people and destroying countries, so the bigger the bomb, the better. However, later on, some strategists thought about how to fight a nuclear war because they calculated doing so was the best way to deter such a war from happening. Then, in the late 1950s and early 60s, the Soviets started fielding their own nuclear bombers and missiles. Suddenly, Americas policywhich President Dwight Eisenhower called massive retaliationseemed like a prescription for suicide. If the Soviets invaded Western Europe and we responded by blowing up Moscow and other major cities, then the Soviets would strike back by blowing up our own cities. As a result of this logic, our policy just as suddenly lost credibility. Would we commit national suicide? Or, as French President Charles de Gaulle put it, would an American president risk Washington for Paris? De Gaulle thought not, and he started building his own nuclear arsenalso he wouldnt have to rely on American sacrifice in order to deter a Soviet attack. (Great Britain also built some nuclear weapons, but its policy on how to use them was kept within NATOs military framework and coordinated with Washington. De Gaulle left NATOs military command structure.) President John F. Kennedys secretary of defense, Robert McNamara, responded by changing the U.S. war plan to allow for limited nuclear optionsallowing the president to respond to a Soviet invasion by attacking only Soviet military targets, restraining from hitting Soviet cities, so that the war might be brought to an end before it spiraled out of control. (As was revealed many years later, the generals at SAC paid little attention to McNamaras new guidance; the actual policy didnt change for another 25 years. But thats a different story.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. also started building up its conventional military forces so we could repel an invasion without resorting to nuclear weapons at all. In the last decade or so, we have reached that point. To the extent people have thought a war in Europe might escalate to nuclear war, the scenario has the Russians losing a conventional war to the United States and NATO (or even to Ukraine) and trying to turn things around with a shock-and-awe volley of nukesnot, as was once the case, the Americans and NATO lobbing nukes in order to avoid losing a war. Nonetheless, the U.S. pledge to use nuclear weapons, if necessary, to ward off an enemy invasion, is still central to our various alliances. The policy is known as extended deterrencemeaning we are extending the policy of deterrence (if you attack us, well attack you) to cover our allies. The policy is also called the nuclear umbrella. This nuclear umbrella is now on the verge of collapsing; certainly, it is showing holes. President Donald Trump has explicitly thrown doubts on whether he would come to the aid of Americas allies if they faced dire threats. Western leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have said publicly that Europe will have to build its own security force. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently signed a pact pledging to combine their nuclear arsenals so that they protect each others country and not just their own. Politicians in South Korea and, to some extent, Japan have talked openly about breaking away from an unreliable American protector and even building their own nuclear arsenals as a deterrent to Chinese or North Korean aggression. As far back as 1961, during his first year as president, John Kennedy feared what some called the Nth country problemthe possibility that an endless number of countries besides the United States, Soviet Union, and Great Britain (hence the fourth, fifth, sixth countries) might develop their own nuclear bombs. In conversations with top aides, Kennedy called the problem his private nightmare. He especially opposed the idea of a French bomb, becauseas he stated in a telegram to British Prime Minister Harold Macmillanthe Germans, whose relations with the French were still tense, might react by building their own bomb, a move that, just 15 years after the defeat of the Third Reich, would shake NATO to its foundations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Kennedy feared the Nth problem in general for broader reasons. The bilateral faceoff with Moscow was frightening enough but at least manageable. Throw in half a dozen other nations, each with their own interests, allies, and enemies, and not only would chaos reign, but the two superpowers might get sucked into a nuclear war not of their own making. Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, before he could formalize his fears into policy. However, five months later, his national security adviser, McGeorge Bundy, who retained the post after Lyndon Johnson succeeded Kennedy as president, wrote and signed National Security Action Memorandum No. 294, which declared that the U.S. would oppose the development of nuclear forces by other states, except for thosesuch as Britain, but not Francewhose arsenals would be part of a NATO nuclear force. By this time, though, things were unraveling. Israel was developing a nuclear forcewhich Kennedy had feared might prompt some Arab countries, then in alliance with the Soviet Union, to do the same. China started developing one as well. In response, Bundy assembled a panel to discuss the wisdom and feasibility of an international treaty on the topic. The groupwhich included 10 prominent scientists and former officialsmet in secrecy five times between Dec. 1, 1964, and Jan. 8, 1965. The discussion notes, which have since been declassified, reveal intense conversations. Some suggested it might be a good idea for some countries to get nuclear weapons; for instance, an Indian bomb might deter China from aggression in South Asia. But in its secret report, the group concluded that an expanded roster of nuclear powers would add complexity and instability to the deterrent balance between the United States and the Soviet Union, aggravate suspicions and hostility among states neighboring new nuclear powers, place a wasteful economic burden on the aspirations of developing nations, impede the vital task of controlling and reducing weapons around the world, and eventually constitute direct military threats to the United States. (For more on this panel, see Chapter 9 of my 2020 book, The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The panels work led directly to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was written (again, secretly) in partnership with the Soviet Union, whose leaders feared the spread of the bomb even more than American leaders did. On July 1, 1968, the two powers signed the accord along with 60 other countries. It has since been signed by every country191 in allexcept India, Israel, Pakistan, and South Sudan. Only one signatory, North Korea, has withdrawn. The treaty has many loopholes, but it has held together with remarkable cohesion. It has reinforced many countries natural disinclination to develop nuclear weapons, including among some that have the technical capacity to go that route if they wanted. No signatory, again other than North Korea, has gone that route, in good part because they recognize the gist of Kennedys cautions about the Nth country problemand, in the case of Americas allies, because they have trusted, or at least felt its useful to feign trusting, our nuclear umbrella. If the umbrella collapses much further, some of those countries are going to take the leap. If a few countries abrogate the Non-Proliferation Treaty, others will follow suit. The treaty itself will be in danger. The prospect of new and expanded nuclear arms races will turn real. Kennedy feared the collapse of the relative order that the U.S.Soviet faceoff provided during the otherwise treacherous era of the Cold War. That order has long ago collapsed. An American president can no longer apply as much pressure on other leaders to abide by American interests at the sacrifice of their own. Trump did not create this situation, but he has accelerated its centrifugal forces. By fomenting doubts that America is still keen to defend its alliesthat doing so ranks among Americas own vital interestshe is intensifying a global anarchy that induces other leaders to provide for their own defense, including nuclear defense. This is the essence of the latest phase of the Nuclear Age. The Brief A West Valley man's Ring camera captured a masked individual, identified as James Ronte DeShawan Shepard, on July 6 allegedly engaging in indecent exposure and voyeurism outside a neighbor's home, following previous burglary-related incidents at the complex. Shepard, who has a history of similar offenses, is being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond and is prohibited from contact with minors, as a victim expressed profound fear and trauma in her impact statement. TOLLESON, Ariz. - It was nearly 3:30 in the morning on July 6 when a West Valley man said he got a notification on his Ring camera of movement by his front door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I'd seen somebody that had a mask that was walking past my front door. I knew that there were break-ins that were happening in the week prior and situations that were building up to that," the man, who wishes to remain anonymous, said. What we know Those incidents included a burglary within the complex on June 16, and an attempted burglary on June 28. But days later, on July 6, the crimes were sexual in nature as the masked person approached the man's neighbor's home where a woman was alone inside. "He was walking from one window to the other window and I saw him kind of focusing in more on her and that's when I saw him pull his pants down, and he started doing whatever it was that he was doing," the man said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Tolleson Police officers arrived, the suspect, later identified as James Ronte DeShawan Shepard, took off. Surveillance video tied Shepard to previous burglary-related crimes, as well as reports of indecent exposure and voyeurism at another Tolleson apartment complex in May. Information from the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry revealed Shepard had four indecent exposure violations during his prior incarcerations spanning several years. In the attempted burglary incident, Shepard allegedly used a screwdriver to pry open a window. Court documents also detail reported indecent exposures at a second complex in the same Tolleson area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police describe Shepard's criminal history as extensive and violent. FOX 10 obtained documents showing Shepard was found guilty of second-degree burglary in 2011, with the sentencing memo mentioning three prior felony convictions. His alleged actions this year violated his parole. James Ronte DeShawan Shepard Dig deeper A former tenant FOX 10 spoke with says he chose to move himself and his five-year-old son out of the complex shortly after this incident. FOX 10 also spoke with his neighbor, who said she and her fiance are moving soon, too. She didn't want to speak on camera, but she did share with FOX 10 her victim impact statement she sent to the judge after the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of that statement shares how she and her fiance would avoid late-night work shifts out of fear. She also calls Shepard's alleged acts a violation of her humanity, and says she is even fearful of becoming a mother and raising a daughter in a world where this behavior takes place. I have completely lost my appetite "My fiance and I have been deeply shaken and traumatized by the crime that was committed outside of our home. A man not only trespassed on our property but also violated our privacy in the most disturbing way by looking directly into our window and engaging in extremely inappropriate behavior while doing so while my fiance was out of the house. This crime hasn't only shaken my sense of security, it has taken away opportunities, peace of mind, and financial stability," the victim impact statement read, in part. It continued, "Since that night, I have completely lost my appetite, my ability to sleep peacefully, and my sense of safety and comfort in what is supposed to be the one place I feel protected. I now live in a constant state of fear, unable to rest at night, terrified that the offender might return. The incident has taken a toll on every part of my daily life. I no longer feel safe sitting the simplest things like sitting by my window or leaving the lights on at night. My routine has changed drastically." What's next Shepard is barred from seeing his own kids if he makes bail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Police are alleging that there were juveniles around for some of the exposures and the allegations. Research indicates that those are high-risk types of behaviors that tend to escalate in other behaviors. In an abundance of caution and for their safety, the court orders today that you're not to have any contact with anyone under the age of 18, that does include your own children," the judge said to Shepard. Court documents say Shepard has an extensive and violent criminal history. He is being held on a $50,000 cash-only bond. LA SAL, Utah (ABC4) The Deer Creek fire that is burning in San Juan County has grown to 14,760 acres and remains at 7% containment, according to the latest information from Utah Department of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. The fire has damaged 11 private structures, a Forest Service guard station, and a communication site, officials said in a press release. The San Juan County Sheriffs office is still assessing additional structure damage in the area. As the cause of the fire remains under investigation, crews fighting the fire moved heavy equipment and engines into Colorado, due to an increase in fire activity. Winds pushed the fire two miles over the Utah-Colorado border to the T2 Road, officials said. Deer Creek Fire. Courtesy: Utah Fire Info Deer Creek Fire. Courtesy: Grand County EMS Additional engines are on standby along Colorado Highway 90 and in Paradox, Colorado, and are ready to respond to any fire activity. Firefighters are focusing on protecting structures at risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Residents of Montrose County along the border have been asked to register for emergency alerts by signing up through the Montrose County Sheriffs Office. Since the fire began on July 10, aviation resources have dropped almost 300,000 gallons of retardant on the surrounding area, focusing on private property and critical infrastructure like the Highway 46 and Highway 90. Video Courtesy: Utah Fire Info Challenging weather conditions There are 415 crews on the ground trying to contain this fire with 6 helicopters and 23 engines. Officials expect active weather conditions over the next few days with thunderstorms and strong winds in the forecast. They expect wind gusts of up to 60 mph. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unless winds become too strong, aircraft will be on standby to hand crews and heavy equipment, focusing on the north and east where the fire is most active. Smoke from multiple fires burning in Utah and Colorado has impacted air quality along the Colorado Plateau. Current areas under evacuation orders include Mountain Shadow Subdivision, Hangdog area, and those staying north of Highway 46. Residents under evacuation orders due to the Deer Creek Fire. Courtesy: San Juan County, Utah A closure order is in place for certain areas of the Manti-La Sal National Forest on the Moab Ranger District. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CLEVELAND (WJW) A courtroom assault disrupted trial proceedings Thursday morning in Cuyahoga County when a defendant allegedly punched the prosecuting attorney in the face, according to the prosecutors office. The incident occurred just as proceedings were set to begin in the case involving defendant Dajuan Burns. As the assistant prosecuting attorney was preparing to start the trial, Burns allegedly struck the attorney without warning. Photos: Ominous cloud spotted over Hinckley what is it? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuyahoga County sheriffs deputies responded immediately and secured the courtroom. According to Communications Manager Lexi Bauer of the Cuyahoga County Prosecutors Office, the assistant prosecuting attorney was shaken up but remained in the courtroom. Man wins 2 separate $1M lottery prizes after accidentally buying extra ticket Details on potential additional charges against Burns were not immediately released. Burns faces charges in multiple cases, including attempted murder and intimidation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Most of media is dying the death of a thousand cuts. But like many things related to Trump administration policies, public broadcasting is being dismantled based on lies, half-truths and misperceptions, animated by decades of conservative disinformation about what the channels deliver and who they serve. Early Thursday, the Senate passed a rescission package backed by President Trump gutting funding of public broadcasting along with foreign aid programs, eliminating $1.1 billion in federal support to PBS and NPR. The bill moves to the House, amid cheers from conservatives and warnings of dire consequences from opponents. More from TheWrap Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This White House is determined to destroy any news outlets that hold the president accountable for his actions, the advocacy group Free Press Action said in a statement. But the clawback of money cuts deeper in rural, Tribal and low-income communities that depend on public-broadcasting outlets to get the news and information they need to survive and thrive. The Republican campaign against PBS and NPR is nothing new, fueled through the years by twin themes: That public broadcasting joins other mainstream media in evincing a clear liberal bias and why are we, as conservatives, helping to underwrite that? and in an age of media abundance far removed from PBS founding in 1969, theres no need to spend money on publicly financed alternatives. Setting the latter point aside, other than the argument public broadcasting does provide vital services to smaller and rural communities, the notion that PBS and NPR represent wild-eyed bastions of liberalism simply flies in the face of reality, except for a relatively small percentage of its programming. Nevertheless, the perception has taken root among the GOP, unshakably so, stoked by the belief that any negative reporting on Donald Trump reflects fake news, and the hard-to-refute sense that when it comes to the president, facts sometimes seem to exhibit a liberal bias. Admittedly, its difficult to engage in a debate about this with those who fall squarely within the pro-Trump camp, among them people who see Sesame Street as being too woke for seeking to teach kids to accept differences in others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet as casual viewers of PBS or regular NPR listeners can attest (and given the latters soothing, sleep-inducing voices, casual surely describes a lot of them), public broadcasting offers a wide assortment of options, most of them apolitical. Millions get their news from NPR and PBS every day. For emergency alerts, disaster updates, the weather and other reliable news. Stations in rural areas, which rely twice as much on federal funding, could close. Defunding this basic service would put millions in the dark. Tammy Duckworth (@SenDuckworth) July 17, 2025 The news-driven fare represents a modest portion of PBS overall content, and benefits from the non-commercial aspect of its existence, in theory, by enabling reporters and documentarians to explore issues in a manner that might not meet the demands of shouting for attention in the commercial space. Whether thats PBS NewsHour or its Frontline franchise, NPRs Morning Edition or All Things Considered, the tone is invariably sober, straightforward and even-handed in a way that, frankly, sometimes works to its detriment vis-a-vis showier alternatives. That dynamic might explain why a recent Peak Insights survey, released by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, found that public media is viewed more favorably than its commercial counterparts. Ken Burns, whose documentaries are among PBS most popular programming, speaks at The Paley Museum. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images) Not to let the facts get in the way of a good time, but according to PBS, the image of PBS viewers as latte-sipping liberal elites also flies in the face of audience data, which has found that three-fifths of PBS viewers live outside urban centers and more than half of its viewing comes from low-income homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That latter figure, in particular, makes intuitive sense, since lower-income families might not be able to afford cable or subscribe to a half-dozen streaming services. In addition, PBS has a well-established reputation for providing educational programming for children the kind that isnt awash in toy and fast-food ads which hasnt stopped GOP politicians, like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, from attacking those kids shows as government propaganda when Sesame Street had the temerity to talk to kids about vaccinations. Nor should it be overlooked that the highest-profile offerings on PBS in recent years, like Ken Burns stately documentaries (the next being a 12-part series about the American Revolution), the British drama Downton Abbey and other Masterpiece fare, have plenty of commercial alternatives, yes, but many of them reside within the premium/streaming space, which means anteing up for the privilege of watching The Gilded Age or Adolescence on HBO and Netflix, respectively. PBS has also reported a diverse ideological split among its consumers, with a slight tilt in favor of Democrats (35%) compared to 26% who self-identify as Republicans and 37% who say they are independents. Then again, given the decades-long crusade against public broadcasting among grievance-prone conservatives, the self-reporting among GOP voters might be on the low side, in I dont watch that liberal garbage! fashion. Although public funding accounts for only a portion of PBS and NPRs budgets about 17% in the latter case the CPB has said losing that support would inflict a serious blow, as PBS CEO Paula Kerger has stated, particularly to stations in small towns that cant easily tap into corporate sponsorships. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To Trumps loyal supporters, Defund PBS, after years of empty talk by previous Republican administrations, can be positioned as a clear victory, filed under the heading of Promises made. Promises kept. In reality, though, its a promise built on falsehoods, something Frontline or All Things Considered might help debunk, assuming theyre still around and able to do so. The post Defund PBS Realizes a Long-Held Conservative Dream Built on Lies and Half-Truths appeared first on TheWrap. The Brief Makel Harris, initially charged with malice murder in the shooting death of Dereon Hambrick, will not be prosecuted after the DeKalb County District Attorney determined the shooting was self-defense. The shooting occurred April 18 at Rockwell Pointe Apartments, where video showed a group surrounding Hambrick before the fatal encounter. It remains unclear if anyone else involved in the confrontation will face charges, and the official cause of death has not been released. DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - The man initially accused of murdering a 30-year-old father will not be prosecuted, the DeKalb County District Attorneys Office told FOX 5 on Wednesday. Dereon Hambrick killed in shooting The backstory Makel Harris, 21, was charged with malice murder on May 16, according to the DeKalb County Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said those charges stem from the shooting death of 30-year-old Dereon Hambrick at the Rockwell Pointe Apartments at around 10:30 p.m. on April 18. Police said the video shows a group of people surrounding Hambrick in the parking lot of the complex. Harris was arrested on May 16. Jail records indicate he was released on June 13. Hambrick left behind two children. Makel Harris' charges dropped What they're saying In a statement, the DA's office wrote: "As with any felony arrest, the Office of the DeKalb County District Attorney conducts a thorough investigation of the facts and circumstances before making a final charging decision. After reviewing the case, our office determined the shooting in question was self-defense and justifiable under Georgia law. As such, we have declined to present the charges against Mr. Harris to a Grand Jury and they have officially been dismissed." What we don't know FOX 5 has reached out to the DeKalb County Medical Examiners Office for the cause of death of Hambrick. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is not clear if charges will be pursued against anyone else in the parking lot that night. The Source The DeKalb County District Attorney's Office provided the details for this article. Previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting was also used. The tech giant Dell carries out an annual employee engagement survey known as "Tell Dell." BI obtained a transcript of the internal video update in which leaders shared results from the survey. The employee satisfaction score dropped by double digits for the second year in a row. Every year, Dell asks its employees in a company survey how likely they are to recommend the company as a good place to work. Last year, the results weren't great. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year, they're worse. On Tuesday, Jenn Saavedra, Dell's chief HR officer, announced that the employee net promoter score, or eNPS an industry-standard measure of employee satisfaction had fallen to 32, according to a transcript of an internal video update obtained by Business Insider. The results mark a double-digit drop in the eNPS for the second year running at Dell it fell from 63 to 48 in 2024 and an almost 50% decline in two years. Saavedra said the eNPS score was "below the benchmark we do aim to achieve, and we take that seriously," per the transcript. Saavedra told employees that Dell had been "navigating a lot of change both within the company and in the broader environment," adding that the pace and scale of the change had been "a lot." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dell declined a request for comment for this story. 'Tell Dell' survey results The eNPS score is the key metric from Dell's annual survey, called "Tell Dell." One question asks employees to rank on a scale from 1 to 10 how likely they would be to recommend Dell as a great place to work to someone they know. The eNPS is calculated as the percentage of promoters minus the percentage of detractors. Four Dell employees who spoke with BI about the Tell Dell results raised factors such as Dell's return to office, ongoing layoffs, fatigue with the company's AI push, and a shift in culture as reasons for the eNPS decline. They spoke on the condition of anonymity. BI has verified their identities and employment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There's been a general decrease in trust with all the regular layoffs and feeling like the company isn't listening to employee concerns," said one employee at Dell's Round Rock, Texas, headquarters. The person said office conditions, such as "noisy rooms and desks that feel temporary," were also contributing to low morale. "Most people I know are not feeling secure in their jobs," they added. Dell's headquarters in Round Rock, Texas. Brandon Bell/Getty Images "I was more negative on my Tell Dell than I have ever been," a Dell engineer who has been at the company for more than eight years told BI. The engineer said they felt the company's RTO push and layoffs had damaged Dell's reputation as a good place to work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previously, managers were flexible, workforce reductions were rare, and employees enjoyed a good work-life balance, the engineer said. They said they felt company culture had changed as they had been "gradually and with decreasing compassion and understanding forced back into the office." "The constant layoffs are just the cherry on top," the engineer added. Dell has been steadily ramping up its RTO policy since February 2024, when it asked all US employees to classify themselves as either hybrid or remote roughly 50% opted to stay remote. In September, the sales team was called back to the office five days a week, and in January, all staff living near a Dell office were told they were required to be in five days a week from March. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vivek Mohindra , Dell's senior vice president of corporate strategy, previously told BI that having staff in the office brought "huge benefits," including "learning from each other, training, and mentorship." "For all the technology in the world, nothing is faster than the speed of human interaction," CEO Michael Dell told staff in an internal memo when the five-day RTO was announced. Alongside the RTO push, Dell's workforce has shrunk significantly in recent years. An SEC filing from March showed the company's staff numbers had fallen by 25,000 in the past two years a 19% reduction. As of January 2025, Dell employs 108,000 people. One tech support employee at the company's Round Rock headquarters said the fall in head count had led to increased workloads on their team. At the same time, the ongoing workforce reductions have held back internal movement and promotions, the employee said. Dell's leadership was a bright spot While the survey shows employee satisfaction has fallen, Dell workers responded favourably to questions about leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The leader net promotion score was 76, with employees saying their leaders were supportive and collaborative and helped them champion modernization, Saavedra said in the update. Dell has been steering the company toward an AI future, rolling out AI across its internal operating model in 2024 and positioning Dell as a leading provider of the key infrastructure and servers that companies require as they deploy AI. Dell's ISG division, which develops AI servers, has grown 29% year on year, the company reported in its latest annual results. Total annual revenue was up 8% in its 2024 financial year to hit $95.6 billion its third-highest result after the pandemic-era boom in sales helped push annual revenue to a peak of $102.3 billion. Improving employee satisfaction In the six-minute video update, Saavedra said Dell would be "increasing visibility" through quarterly updates and people leader meetings to help develop more transparent communication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Everyone wants direct communication from leadership and clarity on where we're headed and why," Saavedra said. Leaders would also be reviewing their team's Tell Dell results and turning feedback into action, she said. The HR lead encouraged more frequent two-way conversations between leaders and teams and suggested employees use available well-being resources. "Hopefully, the score getting cut in half over two years means they are going to make popular pro-worker changes," the tech support worker said. Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at pthompson@businessinsider.com or Signal at Polly_Thompson.89. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely. Read the original article on Business Insider Key Points Gamblers chase quick, game-changing returns, but investors build wealth slowly through compound growth over time. Investing means buying actual ownership in companies. The line between risky investments and safe gambling bets might blur, but ownership makes all the difference. 10 stocks we like better than S&P 500 Index Investing looks like a sophisticated form of gambling. However, there are huge differences between these two types of risk-taking behavior. If you're doing it right, long-term investing and short-term gambles are a world apart. Image source: Getty Images. Gambling vs. investing: A quick primer Here are some of the main similarities and differences between gambling and investing. I promise to keep it quick: Gamblers and investors put real money into someone else's performance. Both take on a certain amount of risk in hopes of a positive return. In gambling, you're usually looking for a big gain -- very quickly. The promise of game-changing returns on your bet inspires the gambler to accept higher risks and more uncertain outcomes. Classic investing is all about building a financial return over a long time. Even a small annual gain can have wealth-building effects if you repeat the small increase many times. The mathematical magic of compound returns means that next year's gains will build upon the returns of every year before it. Most importantly, gambling usually involves games of chance or unpredictable sporting events. Investors contribute money to support a business, cryptocurrency, or other valuable asset, expecting that asset to gain value over time. The line between gambling and investing is blurred when you're looking at pretty safe bets (for example, "Will Florida see rain in August?") or risky business models (like, "Let's buy crypto with borrowed money!"). Even then, stocks represent actual ownership of the thing you're investing in, while gamblers stay on the sidelines, no matter how many poker chips and betting slips they are holding. That's what makes the S&P 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC) different from a roulette wheel with 500 slots. Investors benefit from the earnest business efforts of other people, while gamblers just put down their money and hope for the best. It's not the same thing at all. Should you invest $1,000 in S&P 500 Index right now? Before you buy stock in S&P 500 Index, 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 S&P 500 Index wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. A drug widely used to treat nerve pain and epilepsy has been linked with an increase in cases of dementia and mild cognitive impairment. A team from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Arizona State University, and the MetroHealth Medical Center in the US crunched the numbers on 26,416 records of patients with chronic lower back pain, looking at the relationship between prescriptions for the anticonvulsant gabapentin and dementia diagnoses. Having six or more gabapentin prescriptions was linked to a significant increase in dementia risk and mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the data showed: those in that group were 29 percent and 85 percent more likely to be diagnosed with dementia and MCI respectively, within 10 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related: Massive Study Links 15 Factors to Early Dementia Risk The increase was higher among patients aged between 35 and 49, and also rose with the number of prescriptions given, the researchers found. Though the study can't establish a cause for the increase, physicians are encouraged to keep a close eye on patients taking the drug. "Gabapentin prescription in adults with chronic low back pain is associated with increased risk of dementia and cognitive impairment, particularly in non-elderly adults," write the researchers in their published paper. "Physicians should monitor cognitive outcomes in patients prescribed gabapentin." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sold under brand names including Neurontin, gabapentin has proved to be less addictive than opioids, making it more likely to be prescribed in recent years. The drug does have some known side effects though, including extreme moods and allergic reactions. This isn't the first time researchers have examined associations between gabapentin and dementia, but previous studies haven't agreed on whether or not concerns are warranted. One of the study's strengths is the relatively large sample size of its participants, though the sample largely consisted of just one group of people those with chronic lower back pain. A study published in 1997 found no link between gabapentin and cognitive decline in people with epilepsy, so it's important to continue to widen the data set. These conflicting results could suggest unique mechanisms among patients with the type of backpain that leads to a gabapentin prescription that also increases their risk of dementia, like a certain type of location of inflammation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But gabapentin works by dampening some of the brain's key communication channels, in order to provide relief from pain or make seizures less likely. So the worry is that it could also be damaging links between neurons in ways that might lead to dementia a concern backed up by this latest study. Dementia is a challenging condition to study with so many potential factors to account for, but each study gets us closer to the full picture of how the brain breaks down over time. "We hope the current study promotes further research to delineate whether gabapentin plays a causal role in the development of dementia and the underlying mechanisms of this relationship," write the researchers. The research has been published in Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine. Related News Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va., got in on TikToks "aura farming" trend, posting a clip of himself dancing solo in the congressional subway, captioned "omw to hold this administration accountable." In the short clip, Subramanyam appears on the House subway wearing sunglasses, striking poses and waving his arms before locking in on the camera. Subramanyam's "aura farming" appears to have backfired, with some commenters calling it out as tone-deaf, hypocritical and "cringe." Left-leaning viewers frustrated with perceived inaction from Democrats under President Donald Trump took aim at the VA-10 congressman in the comment section. One of the top-liked comments asked flatly, "By doing nothing?" Another read, "Representatives have got to stop doing this. Actually do something." The Revolution Will Be Livestreamed: How Zohran Mamdani Won The Nyc Primary Online Rep. Suhas Subramanyam dances in a Capitol subway car in a TikTok video that drew criticism online. Many commenters linked the post to Subramanyams past voting record, including his controversial decision against his party just weeks ago not to move forward with a House impeachment resolution against Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 24, 2025, Subramanyam voted to table (i.e., block) a resolution to impeach President Trump over "high crimes and misdemeanors." The resolution was introduced by Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, but was halted by a wide House majority. Several comments mocked the tone and delivery of the video. One read, "-1000 aura," while another said, "Our taxpayer money hard at work" Another commenter wrote, "So what exactly are you on your way to do? Because so far democrats have not really done anything at all." A top comment simply read, "This feels weird idk." Far-left Lawmaker Breaks Silence After Unearthed Social Media Post Ignites Firestorm Read On The Fox News App Rep. Suhas Subramanyam raises his hand while riding the Capitol subway in a TikTok video posted July 15, 2025. One lengthy reply said, "Not trying to be disrespectful. But? Less of this sh--. More fire on the floor please. I get wanting to do outreach. But this? Isnt the action an average American needs from their representatives right now. Were approaching no taxation without representation territory here. Do better." Another suggested, "Introduce a new amendment for every one performative TikTok a Congress person posts they have to cosign 3 bills that work to limit the power of money in politics." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subramanyam, a former tech advisor in the Obama White House and the first South Asian elected to Virginias General Assembly, has gained a reputation as a more moderate Democrat. He won Virginias 10th District in 2024 and often plays up his immigrant roots in political messaging. Congressman Subramanyam is under fire for his vote to table an impeachment against President Donald Trump. Original article source: Democrat congressman dragged for weird TikTok aura farming trend video Democratic voters who opted against casting a ballot in the 2024 election want more left-leaning candidates, a new poll indicates. Kamala Harris defeat to Donald Trump in the 2024 election put the Democratic Party in a spiral trying to figure out what went wrong. While some have speculated that Harris was too far left, costing her the election, new research by Lake Research Partners and Way to Win suggests otherwise. In a poll of 822 so-called Biden skippers, those living in battleground states who voted for Biden in 2020 but sat out in 2024, Vermont Independent Senator Bernie Sanders and New York Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez topped the list of public figures they viewed favorably. Both Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have campaigned on healthcare for all, environmental protection, and progressive wealth taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of those surveyed, 78 percent had a favorable view of Sanders, 67 percent had a favorable view of Ocasio-Cortez, followed by California Governor Gavin Newsom with 60 percent and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer with 50 percent. The conventional wisdom is really wrong on these voters, Celinda Lake, pollster and founder of Lake Research Partners, told Rolling Stone. Theyre very clear about what they want and what they thought was missing in 2024: They want leaders who will fight for everyone Theyre very health care-orientedThey want to crack down on Big Pharma Theyre very populist. They have a clear economic agenda around affordability and making the wealthy pay what they owe in taxes. Voters who sat out in the 2024 election prefer politicians like AOC and Bernie Sanders, a new survey found (AFP via Getty Images) Voters who sat out in the 2024 election prefer politicians like AOC and Bernie Sanders, a new survey found (AFP via Getty Images) She added: You cant get these voters by just being against things. You have to be for something You have to be offering solutions And you have to be standing up and fighting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perhaps the names that topped the list werent surprising, seeing as Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez have been zigzagging across the country on a Fighting Oligarchy tour. Tens of thousands have packed into arenas to hear the pair bash Trumps presidency and urge Americans to come together to combat the billionaire class, as Sanders puts it. The poll unveiled other views held by voters who sat out the last election. Biden skippers had an overall positive view of the Democratic party and almost half 49 percent said they check the news several times per day, the poll found. If they had voted in 2024, 56 percent said they would have voted for Harris while only 25 percent said they would have voted for Trump. Still, the survey found most made an active choice to sit out the last election. Asked why they skipped casting a ballot, the most common answer was that they didnt like either candidate. Of the issues that impacted their decisions to not vote, Harris economic views ranked in the top two. They believed she didn't have a strong enough plan to get the cost of living down and they thought she only focused on home buyers and the middle class, not addressing deeper issues like poverty and inequality, the survey found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, 81 percent of Biden skippers said they were motivated to vote in 2026. The top issues they care about are accessible and affordable healthcare, ensuring the wealthy pay what they owe in taxes, affordable housing, and curbing Big Pharma's price gouging for prescription drugs, the poll found. These voters are really ready for messaging to go on offense against what the Republicans are doing whether its cutting health care that hurts children, giving billionaires more tax giveaways, doing absolutely nothing to cut costs, Jenifer Fernandez Ancona, a co-founder of Way to Win, told Rolling Stone. These desires map out a path forward for Democrats, as these voters seem to be uniquely winnable and a key element to building back a more sustainable Democratic coalition, which is what we have to do, Ancona said. By Diana Novak Jones CHICAGO (Reuters) -A group of Democratic attorneys general sued Thursday to block the implementation of portions of a U.S. Department of Health and Human Services rule set to go into effect next month that they say could lead to nearly 2 million people losing their health insurance. The attorneys general of 20 states, including New Jersey, California and Massachusetts, joined with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, to file the lawsuit in federal court in Massachusetts. They argue that the department's actions illegally change the rules governing state and federal health insurance marketplaces created under the Affordable Care Act and therefore will push more healthcare costs onto the states. The final rule creates barriers to enrollment for health insurance sold on marketplaces and will increase insurance premiums, co-pays and other out-of-pocket costs they claim. The Trump administration has said that up to 1.8 million people could lose their health insurance as a result, according to the lawsuit. The attorneys general are asking the court to block portions of the rule from taking effect next month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As New Jersey and other states prepare for the 2026 open enrollment period, the Trump Administration is seeking to cause confusion and chaos in the healthcare marketplace, increase costs for our state, and create barriers to enrollment, New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin said in a statement. After the lawsuit was filed, a representative for HHS said in a statement that the rule strengthens oversight, ensures subsidies go to people who are truly eligible and will lower individual health insurance premiums. The rule, finalized by the HHS's Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services in June, includes provisions meant to limit improper enrollments and the improper flow of federal funds, according to CMS. The lawsuit challenges parts of the rule that shorten enrollment periods and charge a monthly $5 fee for some marketplace shoppers. It also targets a provision barring transgender healthcare from the list of essential health benefits subject to mandatory coverage under the Affordable Care Act. The lawsuit claims the rule imposes burdensome and expensive paperwork and will force consumers to spend millions to prove eligibility for coverage and subsidies. The states say the rule is arbitrary and capricious and was enacted in violation of federal administrative law. (Reporting by Diana Novak Jones, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Aurora Ellis) Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly is joining Kentucky Rep. Morgan McGarvey in calling the GOP plan to cancel $9 billion in spending on public broadcasting devastating to rural communities. (Photo by Gloria Rebecca Gomez/Arizona Mirror) Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly joined Kentucky Rep. Morgan McGarvey in calling the Republican plan to cancel $9 billion in spending on public broadcasting and foreign aid devastating to rural communities in their states. Last night here in the Senate, our Republican colleagues decided to forge ahead with these cuts and this is at a time when we should be investing in the future of our economy, Arizonas Kelly said in a press call Wednesday with reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers have been voting on proposed rescissions and that voting could extend into the nighttime as House Democrats have made procedural moves to try to prevent Republicans from essentially defund NPR and PBS. I grew up watching Sesame Street. Im 61, Kelly said. Sesame Street has been around for more than half a century and kids today are going to be cut off from having that experience. Kelly emphasized that PBS childhood educational programming provides a valuable service to children and has been shown to help improve reading. These are lessons that every child should grow up learning no matter where they live or how much money their parents make, Kelly said of the lessons taught by programs such as Sesame Street and Daniel Tigers Neighborhood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX But both Kelly and McGarvey emphasized something else at risk from the cuts, public safety. The two men said that cutting funding to public broadcasting will have a major impact on rural broadcast stations which often give out emergency alerts for wildfires, floods and other weather-related emergencies for rural areas of their states. Donald Trump is once again stabbing rural America in the back, McGarvey said, adding that Kentucky faces the largest number of possible hospital closures from cuts to Medicaid. The cuts to public broadcast put lives in danger in Kentucky. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both states have been hit with major natural disasters in recent months. Arizona is in the midst of a wildfire season which has been getting continually more intense due to the impacts of climate change and in May, Kentucky experienced a tornado so powerful that the devastation could be seen from space. Kelly said that Arizonas rural areas, such as the Navajo Nation, often rely on radio to get their news and emergency information. Removing federal funds could put that at risk. South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds announced Tuesday that he had reached an agreement with the White House to secure $9.4 million, moved from an account at the Interior Department, to at least two dozen Native radio stations in multiple states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Cutting funding to PBS and NPR has been a priority of the Trump administration and has even threatened to not endorse Republicans who refuse to do so on social media. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee abruptly walked out of a Thursday hearing on whether to advance the nomination of President Donald Trumps former personal attorney to a lifetime federal judgeship. The attorney, Emil Bove, is the subject of a whistleblower complaint from a former Justice Department attorney who says Bove, currently a top Justice Department official, pressured staff to mislead and curse at federal judges. Trump now wants Bove to serve on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers district courts in Pennsylvania, Delaware and New Jersey. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Democrats move, however, sparked questions over whether the nominee technically advanced out of the committee. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) continued shouting at the committee chair, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), while all of his Democratic colleagues left the room in protest of the lack of debate over Boves fitness. Booker also later left. He had wanted to hear from the whistleblower before the senators voted on whether to advance Boves nomination, but Grassley refused to hold a vote on whether the whistleblower should be allowed to speak. This is absolutely insane. What is the rush? Booker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You are obligated to address a point of order according to the rules of this committee, he said. Youre violating your own rules. Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) accused Grassley of overseeing a kangaroo court as she left. Grassley allowed the remaining senators to vote on advancing Bove and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro, who is nominated to serve as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. The Republicans voted unanimously in favor of both. What are Republicans afraid of? Why won't they hear the truth about Trump's unfit nominee, Emil Bove? Americans deserve the truth. pic.twitter.com/cJFGf9tV7M Sen. Cory Booker (@SenBooker) July 17, 2025 In response to a question about the vote, Grassleys office told HuffPost that the committee reported nominations today by a vote of 12-0. But Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told NBC News it may be up to the Senate parliamentarian whether the vote tally sticks. Durbins office did not immediately respond to a HuffPost request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another senator in the committee room, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), said on MSNBC that he expects considerable debate with the parliamentarian over whether these votes were valid. When theyre ramrodding this very troubled, very dangerous nominee through, and blasting through committee rules as theyre doing it, thats a bad combination, Whitehouse said. More than 900 former Justice Department lawyers signed a letter expressing deep concern about Boves nomination on Wednesday, saying that he disgraced the department. The whistleblower allegation stemmed from Boves involvement in defending Trumps decision to pack migrants onto planes and fly them to a prison in El Salvador without due process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He provided a number of controversial responses to written questions from the senators on the committee, including declining to come out against a third presidential term for Trump even though the 22nd Amendment explicitly prohibits it. Bove also declined to condemn the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. In addition to asking to hear from the whistleblower, the Democrats attempted to get answers from Bove on any role he might have played in Attorney General Pam Bondis decision not to release more information from investigatory files on the deceased financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Related... On Independence Day, President Donald Trump made history. He signed into law the One Big Beautiful Bill a once-in-a-generation victory that fulfills his promise to Make America Great Again. By providing the largest tax cut in our nations history, it will supercharge our economy. Tennessee households will save an average of $2,600 in taxes next year and see an average annual take-home pay increase of over $10,000. With the largest-ever investment in border security, it empowers the Department of Homeland Security to complete Trumps border wall and hire thousands of new Border Patrol agents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opinion: A new discovery at Fisk University sheds light on a great American educator | Opinion It also bolsters our military; enacts common sense, permitting reforms to make America energy dominant again; and eliminates hundreds of billions of dollars in far-left, Green New Deal spending, putting our nation on a more sustainable fiscal path. With the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law, Republicans are now working to deliver even more savings for taxpayers by passing the White Houses $9.4 billion rescissions package. This package will cut off politically biased public media from receiving taxpayer dollars and terminate funding for overseas programs that undermine American values, among other important efforts to reduce wasteful spending. US President Donald Trump (C) shows his signature on the "Big Beautiful Bill Act" at the White House in Washington, DC, on July 4, 2025. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / POOL / AFP) (Photo by BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) The Big Beautiful Bill puts money in Tennesseans' pockets These are just the topline accomplishments. For months, Republicans worked to include as many wins as possible in the One Big Beautiful Bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eliminating taxes on Social Security has long been a priority of mine. The legislation provides a $6,000 enhanced deduction for seniors. It also makes permanent the enhanced child tax credit while expanding access to child care from employers. These measures will empower working parents to keep their jobs while raising their families. Opinion: Can Elon Musk's 'America Party' succeed? Ross Perot's campaign offers insight Year after year, I have introduced legislation that would require Border Patrol to DNA test and fingerprint children who arrive at our southern border. These measures, which would help end the modern-day slavery of human trafficking, are now signed into law as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill. The law increases funding for Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The legislation also levels the playing field for Tennessees independent music creators by including my HITS Act, which provides them with additional tax relief for writing off recording expenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tennesseans and Americans across the country have a lot to celebrate with this legislation. But because it was delivered by President Trump and Republicans, Democrats have resorted to fearmongering and lying about it. Don't believe Democrats' lie: Tennesseans will not get kicked off Medicaid To set the record straight, Ive released a fact-sheet: Fiction v. Fact: Exposing Democrats Lies About the One Big Beautiful Bill. For example, some Democrats have claimed that the One Big Beautiful Bill will kick Tennessee families off Medicaid. That is false. In fact, Tennesseans will see zero cuts to their Medicaid benefits. Opinion: Tennessee's War of the Roses is the campaign that should inspire modern politics Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, the legislation strengthens Medicaid by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse in a program that saw more than $1 trillion in improper payments over the past decade. While placing commonsense work requirements on childless, able-bodied adults in Medicaid expansion states, it protects benefits for vulnerable Americans who rely on the program, including pregnant women, seniors, low-income families and people with disabilities. It also removes federal benefits for illegal alien. Democrats have claimed that the One Big Beautiful Bill is just a tax cut for billionaires. In fact, low-income workers will see the largest percentage reduction in their tax liability. In Tennessee, it will prevent the potential loss of 129,000 jobs, $11.5 billion in wages and $22.5 billion in gross domestic product. Even as Democrats continue to misrepresent the truth, the American people will see through their lies because they will experience all the benefits that come from this legislation. The One Big Beautiful Bill is a victory for hard-working Americans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn represents Tennessee in the U.S. Senate. She was elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2024. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: The Big Beautiful Bill will help, not hurt Tennesseans | Opinion Democrats who will run for president in 2028 are already quietly, and not so quietly, making moves. Theyre visiting early primary states, workshopping material and formulating plans. This week, its Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear in South Carolina. Last week, it was California Gov. Gavin Newsom. CNNs Edward-Isaac Dovere is closely watching all of it. We talked in DC about the list of potential candidates, their strengths and weaknesses, and what are the signs theyre actually serious about stepping in the ring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conversation, edited for length, is below. Why pay attention now? WOLF: The next general election isnt until 2028. Why are we paying attention to this right now? DOVERE: First of all, because some people want us to be paying attention. Gavin Newsom didnt go to South Carolina just as any state to go to. He picked a state a presidential primary state so that we talk about it, as others have done. JB Pritzker was in New Hampshire at the end of April; Pete Buttigieg went to Iowa, even though its not quite a presidential state anymore. This is an ongoing process of the candidates trying to get people to pay attention and to workshop some of their material. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But you also see among a lot of Democrats a deep desire to get past the Donald Trump era, even though the Trump era is still very new. One of the things even that Newsom was saying in South Carolina was, We can put an end to this in 18 months. Hes talking about the midterms, but its that thought that Democrats dont need to just wallow in the horror and misery that theyve been in since Election Day of 2024. California Gov. Gavin Newsom shakes hands with people in Camden, South Carolina, on July 8, 2025, during a two-day tour of rural South Carolina. - Sean Rayford/Getty Images What are the early states to watch? WOLF: Biden forced a lot of changes in the primary process for Democrats, including Iowa not really being an early state for them anymore. Whats the early map going to look like? DOVERE: Biden did push through some changes, especially making South Carolina first. But some of the other changes, particularly moving Iowa off of the early-state calendar, were very much supported by a lot of other people in the Democratic National Coalition. Well see what the calendar ends up looking like. The chances that Iowa gets back to a primary position seem very low. That said, the chances that New Hampshire gets back to the first-in-the-nation spot that actually is required by New Hampshire state law seem much higher. We wont know the full answer on the calendar until at least sometime in 2026, and there is a lot of wrangling and back-and-forth among the states and among the DNC members. What is definitely true, though, is that no matter what arrangement will come, it seems that New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada will remain early. Where exactly they are is a little bit unclear. Gavin Newsom WOLF: Why could he win and why would he have trouble? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOVERE: Newsom had a real breakout moment over the response to what was going on in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago, and that very quickly identified him in peoples minds as the face of the actual resistance to what Trump was doing, rather than just talking about it. He is a very skilled retail campaigner and speaker. But there are obstacles hell have to overcome people who think that hes maybe too California. He was the mayor of San Francisco, too liberal in some peoples minds. Too slick. Just having a California air to him all that stuff is what he needs to overcome. Other than Kamala Harris, theres never been a Democratic nominee from the West Coast. Kamala Harris WOLF: OK, Kamala Harris. Could she do it again in a crowded primary? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOVERE: Shes obviously thinking about running for governor of California, and Ive done reporting that says that shes leaning in that direction. What is also clear is that she and her closest advisers realize that its one or the other you cant run for governor and then turn around and run for president right away. WOLF: Unless your name is Richard Nixon. DOVERE: Well, he ran for governor in 1962, lost, and then didnt end up running for president again until 1968. Her goal, if she runs, would be to win and not repeat the Nixon thing. Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at the Emerge 20th Anniversary Gala in San Francisco, California, on April 30, 2025. - Camille Cohen/AFP/Getty Images Pete Buttigieg WOLF: Moving east, in the middle of the country, theres JB Pritzker and Rahm Emanuel in Illinois; theres new Michigan resident Pete Buttigieg and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lets start with Buttigieg, someone who actually won an early contest in 2020. DOVERE: The Bernie Sanders folks would still protest this, but Buttigieg did win the Iowa caucuses, and he came in a healthy second in the New Hampshire primary. He has spent the first six months of Trumps second presidency doing a lot of podcasts and outreach to what would be classified these days as the manosphere, or the Republican-leaning or low-propensity voters. He regularly is embraced by Democrats for the way that hes able to break down Democratic arguments and break apart Republican arguments. That said, his jobs leading up to now have been to be the mayor of a pretty small city South Bend, Indiana. And then he was transportation secretary. But part of his theory from when he was running in 2019, and he and I talked about it then, was that we are living in an age of Donald Trumps politics, where its more about what youre able to do and how youre able to communicate what youre doing than about exactly what job youve had in government. Maybe thats an opening for him. I think that most people assume that he would be a reasonably strong contender, at least if he runs. Gretchen Whitmer WOLF: Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is an obvious choice, but shes said shes not running. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOVERE: A lot of people say they wont run for president until they do. Barack Obama insisted he wasnt running. Whitmer has a lot of strength in Michigan, obviously a key state for Democrats. Shes won two tough races there by, in the end, pretty comfortable margins. She is quite popular in Michigan, as far as one can be in these polarized times. And she has, in these first six months of Trump, taken a different route than a lot of other Democrats. Shes tried to find ways to work with Trump, and she feels like that is a good way of being the governor and also delivering for swing areas of the state. Of course, that has frustrated a lot of Democrats who feel like shes been used by Trump and turned into a prop by him, whether it was at the Oval Office when they had that meeting a couple months ago, or when he then flew to Michigan to announce this new shipbuilding investment and had her come to the podium. She would say she did get the investment, and it makes a big difference for Michigan shipbuilding. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer arrives to greet President Donald Trump before he speaks to Air National Guard Troops at Selfridge Air National Guard Base, Michigan, on April 29, 2025. - Scott Olson/Getty Images JB Pritzker WOLF: Lets go across the lake to Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, the only billionaire on the list, yes. Would the democratic socialist wing of the Democratic Party go for a billionaire? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOVERE: I sat in New Hampshire at the end of April when Pritzker was there to speak to the big Democratic dinner there, and I asked him that exact question. When there was such a push among a lot of Democrats against the wealthy and oligarchs and all that, how would they vote for a billionaire? He said to me, its about values, and he feels like hes been pushing the values. Hes not apologetic about his family wealth. In fact, he says that he has used it toward helping other Democrats win, and through his personal political donations and a PAC he has put quite a few dollars into everything from state parties to specific campaigns to ballot initiative efforts. His strength would be that hes running for reelection now to a third term. A lot of things that he has done as governor fall into the category of Trump-proofing the state, and some fall into the category of just trying to make the state a center-left laboratory for all sorts of things. Rahm Emanuel WOLF: There is a former mayor of Chicago who is clearly trying to set up the idea that he would run. Is Rahm Emanuel (a CNN contributor, former White House chief of staff, former ambassador and former congressman) actually serious? DOVERE: He is talking about running more in terms of the concept of what he would bring to the argument, or to the debate of how Democrats should be moderate and how they should talk about things in a different way than in the normal way of a potential candidate. Then-Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel attends a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo on January 10, 2025. - Richard A. Brooks/AFP/Getty Images Andy Beshear WOLF: Moving South, what about a moderate governor from an otherwise-red state? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOVERE: Thats Andy Beshears argument: that hes won, and won comfortably, among the types of voters that most Democrats have given up even trying to appeal to, and done it in a state Kentucky that hasnt had a Democrat other than him and his father competitive statewide for years. Hes done it while not shying away from Democratic positions on issues like abortion rights and even trans kids, but as he also spends some time in South Carolina this week, hes unabashedly starting to test how much appetite there is for his lower key in both positions and personality approach. Wes Moore WOLF: Lets go to the mid-Atlantic. Lets talk about Wes Moore (governor of Maryland), and then Josh Shapiro (governor of Pennsylvania). DOVERE: Wes Moore is clearly a very charismatic, appealing figure who has caught the eye of a lot of the Democratic intelligentsia for having a motivational, optimistic approach to how he speaks. He does not have as much of a legislative record as some of the other governors, which is notable in that Democrats have full control of the legislature in Maryland. So there may be some questions about what he has done and what he has been able to actually make happen when hes up against other governors, although he has also said hes not running for president. Josh Shapiro WOLF: Josh Shapiro clearly is somebody that everybody is watching. Will he run? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOVERE: We dont even have an official announcement that hes running for a second term as governor, although he obviously will. What he has managed to do, from when he was attorney general through when he was running for governor, through three years as governor, is have extremely high popularity ratings in Pennsylvania. Thats among Democrats and Republicans, and in a state that has become such a swing state. For someone who is an unabashed Democrat to have that kind of reception is really a demonstration of the way that he approaches his governing and his outreach to the state. He has been very low-profile in terms of national politics over the course of these first six months of the Trump term. Most people probably havent heard from him at all, other than that terrible incident with the arson of the governors mansion when he was there with his family on the first night of Passover. That is a deliberate effort for him to stay focused on Pennsylvania. One of the questions over the next year or two, as he runs through reelection, is how much does he start to pop onto the national radar? The senators WOLF: Usually a list like this is full of senators. Who could be on it? DOVERE: I would put Cory Booker from New Jersey, Chris Murphy from Connecticut, Mark Kelly from Arizona and Ruben Gallego from Arizona. The next Bernie Sanders WOLF: Weve had Bernie Sanders as a very popular alternative in recent elections. He must be too old at this point. Who inherits his mantle? DOVERE: Who are we to say who is too old? He will turn 87 by Election Day 2028 that would make him by far the oldest president that weve ever had, even outdoing the Biden and Trump records. Most people do not expect that he will be running for president again. The question of who inherits his mantle is a big one, and most people would put their money on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is going to have some decisions coming up about whether she sets her eyes on running for president or running for Senate. Theres an election in 2028 that is Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumers seat, whether he decides to run, or she runs against him, or whether she just builds up her power by gaining seniority in the House. Shes obviously quite young, and she has done more with her House seat already than almost anybody ever has in that amount of time. If not her, then I think there is a big open question about who it would be. Rep. Ro Khanna, the congressman from California who was a co-chair of Sanders campaign in 2020, has been making clear that he is exploring a presidential run and hoping to have some of that support. If she doesnt run and he doesnt get that kind of support, then I think there would be a question of whether theres someone else that could be the right vessel for that, or whether it would diffuse between multiple candidates. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders hold a "Fighting Oligarchy" rally in Los Angeles on April 12, 2025. - Sam Ghazi/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty Images Wild card WOLF: What about a complete outsider? Theres a boomlet of interest in the ESPN analyst Stephen A. Smith. Is there room for a wild card? DOVERE: Trump is the first person in history to be president without having served in a military or government role beforehand. So who knows. There are a lot of people who you could see thinking that they would be that person. There was some reporting four years ago that Bob Iger, the Disney CEO, talked about maybe he should run. Whether it would be businesspeople or celebrities, Trump has made it clear that you could come from outside the political scene and do it. Other people who have thought about it have turned away because they have not wanted to have their lives picked over the way that we do to political candidates. Theres even a new movie in which John Cena plays the president of the United States, and the gimmick is that he is an action hero who then just gets elected because of that. WOLF: Arnold Schwarzenegger, if hed been born in the US. Or the Rock. DOVERE: Who was born in the US. What to watch for WOLF: What sets off your spidey sense that somebody is getting serious about a run? DOVERE: The early state visits. If they start talking about national politics a lot more. Shapiro is a good example of somebody who gets talked about a lot but doesnt actually discuss national politics that much. If, all of a sudden, hes talking about Donald Trump a lot more, or what Democrats should stand for, that would be a reason to start thinking about him or whoever else is starting to do it. Then there are the things that happen behind the scenes starting to reach out to interested donors or the sort of Democratic elders, brain trust, whatever you want to call it. As we get closer to 2027, when people will start launching their campaigns, therell be outreach to staff and things and quiet invitations to reporters to come and meet the candidate. WOLF: So when you have an interview with one of these guys, we know that theyre running. DOVERE: When I was sitting with Pritzker in New Hampshire, we were talking and at the end of the interview I said so can we just fast-forward through this and to say like youre running for president? He said, no, not yet. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Democrats are grappling with how to up their game on social media following an election cycle where they acknowledged they were trounced by Republicans on platforms like X, Instagram, and YouTube. In recent focus groups and polls, Democrats have pressed for answers on why they failed to connect with voters on the platforms in 2024. So far, they have concluded it was both a message and messenger problem. But political observers say that Democrats were also missing the mark on social media. New polling by the Democratic super PAC Unite the Country, for example, revealed that social media is the third most popular way for voters to get their news. But Democratic spending on social media pales in comparison to the consistency and efficacy of Republican efforts online. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a twofold problem, said Democratic strategist Steve Schale, who is also the CEO of Unite the Country. I think theyre light-years ahead of us. But also, I think were not trusted by enough voters in enough parts of the country to be able to push back. Elizabeth Sena, the Democratic pollster who conducted the survey for Unite the Country, said this disparity counts social media and other modes of communication, like cable TV and online news sites. Sena also said Unite the Countrys poll showed the fractured environment in which people receive information. People get information multiple different ways, and being able to access all of those different ways is one of the things that Republicans did well, she said. They hit all of the different channels. President Trumps campaign was backed by an army of already established conservative influencers and podcasters, such as Tucker Carlson, Charlie Kirk and Theo Von, among many others, who successfully sold their broad audiences on Trump. Clips from their shows also circulated all over social media, allowing them to go viral and reach new parts of the electorate in some cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the three-and-a-half years before November 2024, Republicans consistently outspent Democrats on social media until the party poured in $30 million right before Election Day, as revealed in a report last year by the Democratic super PAC Tech for Campaigns. The report showed that while Democratic campaigns typically outspent Republican efforts on social media, Republicans focused their funding more effectively on persuasion and mobilization content as opposed to fundraising pleas. Most recently, on the heels of the New York City mayoral primary, Democrats have pointed to Zohran Mamdani, the progressive upstart-turned-party nominee, as an example of how Democratic campaigns can leverage the power of social media. Mamdani, relying predominantly on Instagram and TikTok, clawed his way from obscurity to winning the primary. He amassed his own following of more than 4.5 million across the two platforms and collaborated with various social media influencers in New York City throughout his campaign. Political observers say the strategy put him on the radars of young, first-time voters and created an energy around his campaign that motivated voters to the polls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mamdani drove home his message of affordability on social media and frequently tried to draw the contrast between himself and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), his main competition in the race. In a 30-second video posted to his Instagram and TikTok accounts four days before Election Day, Mamdani could be seen walking with his sleeves rolled up surrounded by a crowd of his supporters delivering a message directly to voters. Everyone knows whats on the ballot this June 24th, he said in the post, which has upward of 1.5 million views across Instagram and TikTok. Its whether we can actually afford the city that we call our home, and our campaign is fighting exactly for that. Were fighting through the most amount of money that has ever been spent by a super PAC in New York City municipal history, and were going to be able to overcome that because of you, Mamdani continued, referring to Cuomos establishment-backed campaign. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the things he clearly did very effectively was take his message directly to voters and do it in creative and interesting ways, Schale said. The concept of speaking directly to economic issues and finding creative ways to take that message directly to voters is something that all Democrats should learn from. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) whose name has been mentioned as a possible presidential candidate in 2028 has also emerged as a member of the Democratic camp whose social media presence has been among the few bright spots of the party, according to political observers who point to her authenticity and clear vision. Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani are connecting with people by sort of leveraging the affordances of digital media, said Adrienne Russell, a professor of communication at the University of Washington and a co-director of the schools Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy. Russell said both Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani also happen to have really clear messages and a vision for where we need to go as a country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Democrats that are sort of making a move to connect more with people are young, and most of them have a very clear vision, and social media happens to be the place where they can connect with the public, Russell added. For decades, weve been saying its a social media thing when its actually a people and politics thing, and social media is a tool. Political observers say they think that Democrats are looking for a quick fix and an easy solution in social media. But the partys redemption, they say, has to be a long-term effort centered on running effective messengers in battleground territories. At the end of the day, candidates drive interest, Schale said. A lot of folks want to find the easy solution. They want to spend $20 million to build a better podcast. And the reality is we need to elect more mayors and state legislators and county commissioners and county judges in communities that we have to do better in. There are things we can do to do a better job at driving a message, but candidates are the ones that go in races, Schale added. If you have messengers who are going to talk directly to the issues that voters care about, you can do well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Experts also caution that social media algorithms breed extremism and polarization, which is why they say Republicans have seen so much success on platforms like X and YouTube. But they say the answer is not for the Democratic establishment to radicalize and change its rhetoric. What Democrats can do to most effectively deal with social media is create conditions within social media that dont privilege extremism and misinformation and polarization, Russell said. I think social media is dropping the ball. When we have our public conversations boosted on platforms that privilege extremism, thats where the ball is being dropped. This is the moment when these things are still movable, she added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. The Senate Judiciary Committee gave its approval to two controversial Trump nominees Thursday, forwarding Emil Bove and Jeanine Pirro over objections from Democrats who walked out of a business meeting after debate was cut short. Bove, one of President Trumps former criminal defense attorneys who is now in the No. 3 spot in the Justice Department, has been nominated for a lifetime appointment as a jurist on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. He has been accused by a whistleblower of saying the administration should consider telling the courts f you and defy any injunctions imposed by judges blocking their use of the Alien Enemies Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pirro, a former county judge and Fox News host, was confirmed as a nominee for U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. The meeting made for an unusual scene, as Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) appealed to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on personal terms after Grassley, the committee chair, cut off requests for continued debate and did not allow all Democrats to speak on the Bove nomination. You are a good man. You are a decent man, why are you doing this? What is Donald Trump saying to you that are making you do something which is violating the decorum of this committee, the rules of this committee, the decency and the respect that we have each other to at least hear each other out? Booker said. This is unjust. This is wrong. It is the further deterioration of this committees integrity with a person like this. What are you afraid of? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Booker then exited alongside the rest of his colleagues, a rare protest leaving the Democratic side of the dais completely empty. Democrats had centered most of their focus on Bove, who in addition to the whistleblower allegations, was behind the dismissal of multiple prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases, and also pushed for the dismissal of bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, prompting a wave of resignations. Erez Reuveni, the whistleblower who made the complaint against Bove, was fired after a disclosure he made in a related case when he told a judge that El Salvador migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported back to his home country in error. But as the Trump administration planned to send Venezuelan men to be imprisoned in a notorious Salvadoran facility, Reuveni said he witnessed Bove suggesting court defiance was an option ahead of an episode where the administration withheld information from a judge and failed to turn around deportation flights as ordered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuveni has offered to appear before the Senate panel but Grassley said the disclosure smacked of a political hit job. He declined to take up a motion from Booker to take a vote on hearing from the whistleblower. Lets start with a credible whistleblower who came forward with texts and emails that show that Mr. Bove said F you to the courts and instructed federal officials to ignore a court order.Im hard pressed to believe that someone who dedicated 15 years to public service would jeopardize the career, the safety of themselves and their families for no reason, Booker said. Bove has said he doesnt recall whether he used the expletive but sidestepped questions about whether he floated defying court orders, telling the committee during his confirmation hearing that he certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation. A judge overseeing challenges to the deportation flights later found probable cause to begin an inquiry into whether the Trump administration defied his order to halt the planes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) later chimed in, saying texts among Justice Department staff show the expletive-laden directive was so abundantly corroborated in real time communications. Prosecutors dont get better corroboration than that. Grassley called the complaint an example of vicious partisan attacks. Like clockwork, just before a hearing or vote, we get another breathless accusation that one of President Trumps nominees needs to be investigated, he said. Even if you accept most of the claims as true, theres no scandal here. Government lawyers aggressively litigating and interpreting court orders isnt misconductits what lawyers do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beyond the whistleblower allegations, Democrats have sparred over Boves roles in sidelining and firing prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases. Bove has been the target of numerous letters urging lawmakers to reject his nomination, including 900 former Justice Department attorneys who have accused him of dismantling key functions to keep the department independent from the White House. Federal prosecutors, career professionals have raised strong reservations about Mr. Bove, who had undermined their legitimate work to hold accountable people who did the most horrific acts of violence, Booker said, noting some fired prosecutors were unable to secure meetings with Republicans on the committee. [Its] almost as if they dont want to hear the truth or the facts or the details. How can you say you were concerned about what happened on Jan. 6 and you wont listen to the people who spent months and months and months prosecuting those cases, Booker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Efforts to highlight Boves role in terminations were a clear appeal to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who told CNN he would not support nominees who have excused Jan. 6. But Tillis backed Bove on Thursday, saying Democrats failed to show he condoned the riots. Does anybody really believe that if I was convinced that Bove had made any statements condoning the violent acts against Capitol police officers, that Id be voting for him? Just ask Ed Martin whether or not thats a red line, Tillis said, quashing the prospects of a nominee Pirro was then tapped to replace. We have to distinguish between those 2-or-300 thugs that I believe should still be in prison and disagreed on the Senate floor with the president pardoning them from the from the boneheads, that for some reason, thought they should enter the Capitol through broken windows and doors, TIllis said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do your homework on finding a hard example and count me in to refuse confirming that nominee. But dont finesse it when you simply dont have the facts on your side, he said. The meeting ended before either side had a chance to discuss Pirro, whose nomination garnered less attention in the wake of the focus on Bove. Republicans had praised Trump for a thoughtful choice in tapping a former judge and prosecutor to lead the U.S. Attorneys Office in D.C. Pirro has already been serving in the role on an interim basis. But Democrats have argued Pirro floated false claims about the 2020 election, making her too loyal to Trump to be counted on as a fair-minded prosecutor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes an election denialist, recklessly peddling President Trumps Big Lie despite even her own Fox News producers and executives warning her to reel it in, Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) the top Democrat on the panel, said after a Wednesday meeting with Pirro. And ultimately, shes a Donald Trump loyalist, vengefully attacking his perceived political opponents and showing no willingness to put the rule of law ahead of the Presidents wishes. Updated: 11:45 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 The Hill. Texas Capital Bancshares exceeded expectations for its second-quarter earnings, with executives championing the results as evidence that the bank's multiyear turnaround strategy is coming to fruition. The Dallas-based bank reported $1.58 in diluted earnings per share, a 97.5% increase from $0.80 a year earlier, beating analysts' consensus estimate of $1.29 per share, according to S&P Capital IQ. Texas Capital also reported net income of $77.3 million for the quarter, an 85.6% increase from $41.7 million a year earlier. The bank primarily attributed the income bump to more income from trading and from fees in its investment banking and advisory businesses. "Our strong quarterly performance is the result of continued execution on our multiyear roadmap, which is delivering structurally higher and more sustainable earnings across a broad set of products and services with an operating model that is only beginning to deliver on its potential for future scale," Texas Capital CEO Rob Holmes said during the company's earnings call on Thursday. To support the bank's growth goals, Texas Capital is building out its corporate and investment banking platform in an effort to generate a more reliable stream of fee income . The bank's broker-dealer arm, known as Texas Capital Securities, is planning to open offices in Los Angeles and Chicago by the end of this year, with multiple new investment bankers hired last quarter. "Despite the fact that capital markets were essentially closed in April and through the first part of May, investment banking and trading income did come in above the guide," Texas Capital Chief Financial Officer Matt Scurlock said during the earnings call. "This was supported by strong capital markets syndication fees and then continued growth in sales and trading." Read more about banks' second-quarter earnings here: https://www.americanbanker.com/earnings Back in 2021, the bank set what Holmes called a "turnaround" goal of a 1.1% return on assets by 2025. At the end of 2020, the bank had reported a 0.18% return on assets. In the second quarter of 2025, that metric came in at 0.99%, which brought the return on assets for 2025 year-to-date to 0.80%. Texas Capital executives didn't change their "low double-digit percentage growth" revenue outlook for the year or their goal of hitting the bank's ROA target in 2025. But they did tweak the bank's expense outlook for the year, revising their previous projection of high single-digit percentage growth down to "medium to high" single-digit percentage growth. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Democrats walked out of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Thursday after the committee approved two controversial Trump nominees, Justice Department official Emil Bove and former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to federal judgeships. Democrats objected after debate was cut short. Democrats say Republicans improperly rushed the process. A Democratic spokesperson for the committee says Republicans broke several rules. Democrats plan to take the issue to the Senate parliamentarian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bove has been accused by a whistleblower of saying the administration should consider telling the courts f you and defy any injunctions imposed by judges blocking their use of the Alien Enemies Act. What is Donald Trump saying to you that are making you do something which is violating the decorum of this committee, the rules of this committee, the decency and the respect that we have each other to at least hear each other out? asked Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) of Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa.). Right before adjourning the meeting Grassley said, If youll spread that word that this is not unprecedented, either the actions of the minority walking away or what we did here as the majority. Its happened before. We have to move things along. Earlier this week, more than 75 former federal and state judges both conservative and liberal, urged the Judiciary Committee to reject Boves nomination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Emil Bove, US President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, moved a step closer Thursday to becoming a federal appellate judge, after a fiery Senate committee meeting that featured a walkout by Democrats. The Republican-majority Senate Judiciary Committee voted along partisan lines to advance the nomination of the controversial Bove for consideration by the full Senate. Bove, 44, has been nominated by Trump to a lifetime appointment on the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, which covers the states of Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A former federal prosecutor and currently the third-ranking official in the Justice Department, Bove has faced fierce criticism for his role in the Trump administration's divisive six months in power. "Mr. Bove has led the effort to weaponize the Department of Justice against the president's enemies," Senator Dick Durbin, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said at Bove's confirmation hearing. "Having earned his stripes as a loyalist to this president, he's been rewarded with this lifetime nomination," Durbin said. More than 900 former Justice Department attorneys sent a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee this week expressing concern over Bove's nomination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It is intolerable to us that anyone who disgraces the Justice Department would be promoted to one of the highest courts in the land," they said. A group of more than 75 retired state and federal judges also wrote the committee, saying it is "deeply inappropriate for a president to nominate their own criminal defense attorney for a federal judgeship." "Especially," they said, "when that president has said he is nominating judges based on whether they will be more loyal to him than to the country." - Whistleblower complaint - Bove represented Trump in the New York case that ended in his conviction on 34 counts of falsifying business records to cover up hush money payments to a porn star. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also defended Trump in two federal criminal cases which never reached trial and were shut down after Trump won the 2024 presidential election. Earlier this year, Bove ordered federal prosecutors in New York to drop bribery and fraud charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. The move triggered a wave of resignations in the Manhattan US attorney's office and at the Justice Department in Washington. Bove has denied allegations that the decision was a "quid pro quo" in exchange for the Democratic mayor's support for Trump's immigration crackdown. A Justice Department whistleblower also recently claimed that Bove had told subordinates that he would be willing to ignore court orders to enforce Trump's plans to deport undocumented migrants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bove denies the allegation. Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee sought on Thursday to delay the confirmation vote on Bove to allow for the whistleblower to testify, but the Republican committee chairman refused the request. Democrats then walked out of the meeting in protest while Republicans proceeded to vote unanimously to send Bove's nomination to the full Senate. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the chamber. cl/des Denise Richards has obtained a temporary domestic violence restraining order against her estranged husband, Aaron Phypers, after coming forward with shocking abuse allegations which he denied. In newly filed court docs obtained by Star, the Love Accidentally actress, 54, claimed she endured repeated verbal and physical abuse and alleged that Phypers, 52, threatened that she would disappear and that he would end his own life if she ever reported him to police. Richards provided photographic evidence showing herself with a black eye from an alleged dispute in 2022, claiming he caused her at least three concussions and would often call her degrading profanities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout our relationship, Aaron would frequently violently choke me, violently squeeze my head with both hands, tightly squeeze my arms, violently slap me in my face and head, aggressively slam my head into the bathroom towel rack, threaten to kill me, hold me down with his knee on my back to the point where I would have to plead with him to get off me so that he would not kill me and hack into my laptop and phone and download all of my text messages, Richards claimed in docs submitted to Los Angeles County Superior Court on Wednesday, July 16, alleging that he would cry, beg me to stay, and promise to get help. Richards stated that she has been living in a townhouse since 2023 after moving out of the family home due to marital issues that year, claiming Phypers has defied her requests to remain out of all three properties she leased for several purposes yet he has repeatedly entered the townhouses unexpectedly. Aaron owns at least eight unregistered guns and multiple bullet proof vests, she continued, claiming she feared for her safety. As with nearly all of Aarons abuse of me, I was afraid that Aaron may kill me. I am 54 and Aaron is 62 and weighs more than 200 pounds. She cited a recent incident that took place on July 5, during which Phypers allegedly chased me and grabbed both of my arms forcefully and pushed me and dragged me to the ground. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Richards continued, Aaron also threatened to hack my cell phone and iCloud account and release all the information on the internet. She alleged the day prior that Phypers repeatedly got within two inches of my face and screamed at me degrading profanities including calling me a c**t w***e and a piece of s**t on July 4. Star can report that Phypers has been ordered to stay 100 yards from Richards and her property, including her home and car. TMZ was first to report the news. In a statement to Us Weekly, Phypers denied Richards claims in the filing, telling the outlet, Not true. Conjured up. I have the real evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This development comes after Phypers filed for divorce on July 7, listing the date of separation as July 4. Richards and Phypers have been married since September 2018. Prior to his divorce filing, Richards daughter Sami Sheen shared with ex Charlie Sheen shared a cryptic TikTok about walking away from tumultuous relationships. If youre dating someone toxic, but you dont really know if theyre toxic, Sami, 21, said, asking her followers to imagine having a daughter in this situation. Its like I would tell her to break up with him, block him, move on. Like, hes a piece of shit, treats her like s**t. Amid the latest development, fans have recalled disputes that took place between the now-estranged couple, including one incident while filming season 10 of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills that unfolded during Kyle Richards event, which aired in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dont tell me what to say. Im going to crush your f*****g hand. Stop it, he said at the time. Zero tolerance, Richards then-costar Sutton Stracke said in response during the RHOBH reunion. Zero. Unacceptable. Garcelle Beauvais added, I didnt hear it on the show, but I saw it on social media and thats when I was like, Oh my God! And I was, you know, I was worried. Phypers has not yet responded to the filing. He and Richards are due in court on August 8. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. The third day of dentist James Craig's trial opened with brief testimony from a key law enforcement officer in the case. Det. Bobbi Jo Olson, who was the lead investigator in the case, was asked by prosecutors to identify a computer hard drive and phone seized from Craig during the trial. After only a few minutes on the stand, the defense was called to cross-examine her. She confirmed for the defense that Craig turned over his devices voluntarily during the investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Olson was then excused from the stand with the understanding that she will return to testify in much greater detail later in the trial. On Wednesday, Craig's murder trial hinged on critical testimony from the office manager at his Sunnybook Dental Group practice in Aurora, Colorado, who said Craig flippantly dismissed the first alleged poisoning attempt of his wife, Angela. Caitlin Romero worked at the dentist's office in 2023 and was with Craig for several days during the period he is alleged to have killed his wife by mixing cyanide and tetrahydrozoline, a chemical in eyedrops, in her protein shakes. Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She told Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley and the court that, on March 6 of that year, Craig entered the office unusually late and told her he and his wife had worked out earlier in the morning. He apologized for being late and told Romero Angela wasn't feeling well after he made her a post-workout protein shake. Victim Or Manipulator? Colorado Dentists Murder Trial Paints Dueling Portraits Of Wife In Troubled Marriage Recalling the conversation, Romero testified that Craig said, "Maybe he added too much protein" to his wife's shake. She said Craig left the office later that day to take his wife to the emergency room, where Angela reported feeling dizzy. She texted her husband that she felt "drugged" before they went to the hospital. She was released without a diagnosis the same day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Craig returned to the office at 5:30 p.m., which was unusual. The practice closes at 4 p.m. When she left for the day, Romero said she was startled to find Craig sitting in the dark, using the computer in an exam room, which was not his usual computer. When she asked him what he was doing, Craig told her he had come back to the office to unwind after a stressful day dealing with his wife's sickness. After Romero left the office that day, she said Craig texted her to alert her that a personal package would be delivered to the office and asked her not to open it. That had never happened before, Romero noted. James Craig talks with his family (not pictured) from his seat before the start of opening arguments in a Murder trial at the Arapahoe District Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, CO. Craig is accused of murdering his wife. Colorado Dentist's Alleged Internet Search History Takes Center Stage As Murder Trial Begins Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 9, Angela returned to the hospital, exhibiting similar symptoms to three days earlier. This time, she was admitted and remained in the hospital until March 14. Romero testified that, on that day, Craig told her he didn't think Angela would live through the night, which Romero said was the second time he had made that prediction since Angela began experiencing symptoms. "Evidence that Craig predicted his wife's death twice before it occurred can be significant in his criminal case to prove his alleged intent in his case," Kelly Hyman, a nationally renowned defense lawyer and legal analyst, told Fox News Digital. Hyman is not involved in the tr "Intent in murder cases refers to the accused's mental state at the time of the crime. First-degree murder can require proof of premeditation and specific intent to kill in a criminal case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Predictions of death may suggest that Craig had allegedly been contemplating and planning the act for a period, potentially for a sustained period of time, which may imply premeditation." The defense chose not to challenge these statements made by Romero, but Hyman said it could have. Ryan Brackley, a lawyer for the prosecution, delivers his opening arguments during a Murder trial for James Craig at the Arapahoe District Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, CO. Craig is accused of murdering his wife. Small Town Dentist Facing Trial For Allegedly Poisoning Wife's Protein Shake Amid Secret Affair "However, the defense would challenge the admissibility and interpretation of such statements and argue that Craigs wife was suicidal," Hyman said. "Also, the defense could argue that the statements were taken out of context and/or misinterpreted." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On March 13, the package arrived to Craig's practice. A staff member opened the package before bringing it to Romero, who described the contents of the box as a sealed "foil package" and a paper invoice. The box was marked as a biohazard. She checked the invoice to make sure it was the personal package that Craig had discussed with her and saw that it was. On the invoice, she read that Craig had ordered potassium cyanide, which she immediately googled out of curiosity. On March 15, Angela was admitted to the hospital for the final time. Craig was in the office that day and told Romero he had to leave because Angela was returning to the hospital. Romero testified that with suspicions mounting, she then googled symptoms of cyanide poisoning. Ashley Whitham, a lawyer for the defense, delivers her opening arguments during the murder trial of James Craig in Arapahoe District Court Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, Colo. Colorado Dentist's Murder Trial Put On Hold After Defense Suddenly Quit' Prior To Jury Selection Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During cross-examination, lead defense attorney Lisa Fine Moses pointed to the fact that while Romero had received the package and read that it contained potassium cyanide, she couldn't be sure of that because she did not open the sealed foil package. She also asked Romero about her evening office interaction with Craig on March 6, and Romero conceded that, emotionally, Craig seemed normal during that time. Moses examined Romero's relationship with Craig, which Romero described as an "intimate emotional relationship." She established that the pair were close and often spoke about personal and family matters on personal devices and via channels unrelated to their work. Moses also established that, during the investigation into the alleged crime, when Romero spoke to police, she did not disclose the true nature of their relationship or all of the communications between them. James Craig tears up during opening arguments in his Murder trial at the Arapahoe District Court on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, Centennial, CO. Craig is accused of murdering his wife. The importance of calling a critical witness like Romero as a witness so early in the trial was not lost on Hyman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The prosecutor will want to start strong and end strong as to the witnesses," she said. "The prosecutor may want to start the case with the most important witness. For example, the star witness, or someone that is going to start telling the story of the case as to the timeline of the case from start to finish." Original article source: Dentist accused of poisoning wifes shake said he gave her 'too much protein': co-worker DAVIDSON COUNTY - The town of Dentons former fire chief has been arrested and accused of falsifying the Denton Fire Department's records, the N.C. Department of Insurance announced Wednesday afternoon. Brandon Allen Dorsett, 37, was charged with misusing government computers and two counts of fraud, all felonies. Dorsett is accused of using the towns computers to falsely report the Denton Fire Departments training records and certified rosters between March 1, 2021, and July 10, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No other information about the charges or the investigation was released. In past cases involving similar allegations at other fire departments, the reported motive for falsifying the records was an effort to get a higher fire insurance protection rating for the fire department. North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey said when announcing the arrest that while all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty, "firefighters and members of the town need to know that the fire departments actions are above board. Firefighters are dedicated public servants and sacrifice a lot to protect their community. Davidson County deputies arrested Dorsett on Friday, July 11. He was released on $10,000 unsecured bond. He is scheduled to appear in Davidson County District Court on Aug. 4. Denton town officials had acknowledged in April that state officials were investigating the fire department but said little about it. Travis Morris was appointed as interim fire chief on April 30. A Denton County man has been charged with murder under Texas new fentanyl homicide law following an investigation into a deadly overdose late last year. George Howard Cook II, 45, was arrested Monday at his home in Krum, Texas, according to the Denton Police Department. He is accused of selling a lethal mixture of heroin laced with fentanyl to 64-year-old Mark Saltsman, who was found dead in his Denton home on December 3, 2024. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner later ruled Saltsmans death was caused by mixed drug toxicity involving heroin and fentanyl, along with diabetic ketoacidosis. Investigators say evidence tied the fatal drugs directly to Cook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police executing a search warrant at Cooks home reportedly found heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamines, resulting in additional felony drug charges. Cook is being held in Denton County Jail on murder and drug possession charges. No bond had been set as of Tuesday. The arrest highlights the ongoing danger of fentanyl in Texas let alone America, where law enforcement agencies have been battling a surge in overdoses linked to the synthetic opioid. Just last month, a Collin County jury convicted 26-year-old Noah Gregory Honesty under the same law. As previously reported by DX, Honesty was found guilty of murder for selling fentanyl-laced pills that killed a 25-year-old woman in 2023. He was sentenced to 38 years in prison. Texas toughened its approach to fentanyl-related deaths with the passage of House Bill 6 (HB6), which took effect on September 1, 2023. The law classifies fentanyl overdoses as poisonings and created a new charge called fentanyl murder, allowing prosecutors to pursue murder charges against dealers whose drugs result in death like Cook and Honesty. DENVER (KDVR) The Denver Police Department has identified the victim in a deadly shooting that happened on July 12 in the 1000 block of North Lincoln Street. In a post to X, DPD said that one of the victims of the shooting is Antonio Vargas, 20, whose death is being investigated as a homicide. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox The shooting happened just before 3:30 a.m., where police said initially two people were transported to a hospital following the shooting, one victim, Vargas, had serious injuries and another victim had a minor injury. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vargas was reported to have died, said police. DPD said they were working to develop a suspect and are asking the public to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers at 720-913-7867 with any information regarding this shooting incident. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. Arye Deri to remain in Netanyahu's security cabinet, despite Shas leaving government Interior Minister Moshe Arbel to stay in role to complete 'urgent tasks' Shass six ministers and one deputy minister handed in their resignations one after the other on Thursday, in the wake of a decision by the partys spiritual leadership council on Wednesday to leave the government over its failure to exempt haredi yeshiva students from IDF service. These included Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, Welfare Minister Yaacov Margi, Health Minister Uriel Busso, Labor Minister Yoav Ben-Tzur, Religious Affairs Minister Michael Malkieli, Minister Within the Education Ministry Haim Bitton, and Deputy Agriculture Minister Moshe Aboutboul. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ministers who resigned will continue to serve as Members of Knesset. Interior Minister Arbel stays temporarily to complete 'urgent tasks' Arbel later rescinded his resignation. In a short statement Arbel explained, In light of urgent administrative tasks requiring immediate attention at the Ministry of the Interiorwhose delay could harm the public interestsuch as completing the recovery plan and ensuring salary payments to the employees of the Nazareth municipality, which is [being governed by] an appointed [temporary] committee, I have informed the Prime Minister of my withdrawal from the resignation in order to complete these tasks. Arbel added that the move had been coordinated with Shas chairman MK Arye Deri. The council, known as the Council of Torah Sages, directed its MKs to remain in the coalition for the time being. Therefore, despite the resignations, Deri, who was not a minister, will continue attending the governments National Security Cabinet meetings, according to his spokesperson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a post on X headlined by the quote You must act according to the decisions they give you (Deuteronomy 17:10) Margi wrote, With sacred reverence, I have submitted my resignation from my position as Minister of Welfare and Social Affairsa role I have fulfilled for over two and a half years. Arye Deri at a meeting of the Health care basket committee, at the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan, on January 18, 2023 (credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90) Margi continued, Together with the dedicated staff of the Ministry of Welfare, I had the privilege of serving the people of Israel during one of the most challenging periods in the countrys history, particularly in support of vulnerable populations and welfare recipients. I will continue to serve the public as a Member of Knesset and work for the benefit of all citizens of Israel, Margi wrote. Netanyahu's government to survive Shas exit The fact that Shas will remain in the coalition means that while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has still lost his majority in parliament, the government will likely survive at least until the Knesset returns from its summer recess, which will run between July 27 and October 19. The coalition currently numbers 60 MKs, after the Ashkenazi-haredi party United Torah Judaism quit the government and coalition on Tuesday, also over the haredi IDF draft issue. In an interview on Kol Berama Radio on Thursday, Malkieli stressed that Shas was still a full partner of the national camp and that there was still an opportunity to pass a law and bring us back into the government. The Brief Finalists for Florida's 2026 Teacher of the Year each received $20,000, with the overall winner receiving $50,000; all district-level honorees were awarded $10,000. DeSantis announced $1.36 billion dedicated to teacher salaries in the state budget and emphasized continued investment in civics education through bonuses and training programs. He highlighted improvements in school performance, crediting the shift from high-stakes end-of-year testing to year-round progress monitoring. ORLANDO, Fla. - Florida Governor Ron DeSantis spoke at the 2026 Teacher of the Year event in Orlando, highlighting increased financial awards for educators, with each finalist receiving $20,000 and the overall winner set to receive $50,00 on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He emphasized continued investments in teacher salaries, noting $1.36 billion earmarked exclusively for that purpose in the latest state budget. DeSantis also discussed initiatives in civics education, including the Civics Seal of Excellence and debate programs, which provide bonuses and enrichment opportunities for teachers and students. He celebrated improvements in school performance, with 71% of graded schools earning A or B ratings, attributing the progress partly to a shift from high-stakes testing to progress monitoring. The governor concluded by recognizing the five finalists and reaffirming the importance of teachers in driving educational success from the ground up. The Source This story was written based on information shared by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on July 17, 2025. The Antonov company today provided new details about its massive An-124-100 Ruslan (NATO reporting name Condor) cargo jet that mysteriously appeared in the highly restricted skies of Kyiv last week. The jet caused a stir because only military aircraft and limited government and rescue helicopter flights are allowed over Kyiv after Russias full-on invasion. Since then, runways have been blocked to prevent Russian landing attempts, and international transportation to and from the Ukrainian capital has been conducted by train. You can read more about the flight of the Condor in our original story here. Condors have been used by the U.S. and other nations to move military supplies, including weapons provided to Ukraine and other outsized loads. The jets, one of the worlds largest aircraft, have been a source of pride in Ukraine, where they were manufactured. As we suspected, we now know that this particular aircraft, tail number UR-82073, flew from the Antonov repair facility in Kyiv to the companys new headquarters in Leipzig, Germany on Friday. The flight was launched after completion of a four-year modernization effort, the company explained on Facebook. That work began before the outbreak of the all-out invasion of Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can see the jet taxi and take off from Kyiv and land to a water cannon salute in Leipzig in the following video. This Condor, built in 1994, had more than 21,000 flying hours over more than 5,500 flights when the Russians attacked on Feb. 24, 2022, according to Antonov. The goal of the repair work was to replace main components manufactured in Russia with more modern ones made in Ukraine and the West. When Russian forces tried to take Kyiv, the Condor was in a disassembled state, Antonov noted. The companys headquarters and at least one Condor in relatively decent condition were destroyed at Hostomel Airport during the opening battle when the Russians tried to take the airfield as a staging ground to attack Kyiv. It was during this fight that the biggest aircraft in the world at the time, the beloved An-225 known affectionately as Mriya, and a direct cousin of the An-124, was also destroyed. However, UR-82073 was located at Antonovs repair facility in Kyiv and was spared destruction. A view of the wreckage of Antonov An-225 Mriya cargo plane, the worlds biggest aircraft, destroyed by Russian shelling at an airshed in Hostomel, Ukraine on April 3, 2022. (Photo by Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images) The Shaman battalion member named Sydney said Russia destroyed the An-225 cargo jet known as Mriya. Metin Aktas/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Dmytro Antonov se dostal do hangaru v Hostomelu. Letadlo An-124 UR-82009 je take poskozeno. pic.twitter.com/216ZzFrdXj flyRosta (@flyrosta) April 1, 2022 Still, as a result of the full-scale aggression of Russia, Antonov said it initially ordered a partial suspension of the modernization effort. However, the work ultimately continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even in the most difficult conditions of the war, the team of JSC ANTONOV was able to resume work and complete the modernization in June 2025, the company noted. As part of the refurbishing, the jets livery included the phrase Be Brave Like Irpin emblazoned under the cockpit. It is a reference to the pivotal fight along the Irpin River in the early days of the all-out war that helped keep the Russians from advancing into Kyiv. The refurbished Condor features an homage to a key battle of the war. (Antonov) UR-82073 is one of a number of Condors owned and operated by Antonov Airlines, a subdivision of the company specializing in international cargo transportation. The AN-124-100 can load shipments weighing up to 120,000kg (264,555lbs), the company pointed out. However, two of Antonov Airlines seven AN-124-100s have been modified to accept 150,000kg (330,693lbs) payloads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Designated AN-124-100M, Antonov Airlines modernized versions boast upgraded navigation systems (P-RNAV) and fully comply with the latest ICAO avionics and noise regulations, meaning that they can operate globally and without restriction, the company added. Cargo is loaded into the front of a Condor. (Antonov screencap) A look inside the massive cargo hold of the An-124 Condor. (Antonov screencap) When the modernization work was completed, UR-82073 took off for Germany, sparking curiosity and wonderment from surprised Ukrainians. Meanwhile, several Russian milbloggers expressed disgust that the Condor was not blown up on the ground or shot out of the sky. It is worth noting that any aircraft that large would have given off enough signatures for the Russians to easily spot it, at least if it climbed to higher altitudes (especially if no A-50 is up). Actually hunting it down is another challenge altogether. That the An-124 was able to take off from Kyiv and fly over Ukrainian airspace unscathed is a bone of contention for the popular Fighterbomber Telegram channel. A sad event, of course. For our intelligence first and foremost, stated Fighterbomber on Friday. The channel is closely tied to Russian military aviation. The sad thing here is not that the An-124 arrived, but that it was able to leave intact and unharmed. It arrived, of course, at night, later, when our agents are asleep. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the hours after UR-82073 flew over Kyiv, some Russian Telegram channels claimed it had flown out of Dnipro, ahead of an expected Russian advance. In our story about that flight, we noted it was most likely that the aircraft in question had been stranded in Ukraine since 2022 and took off from the Svyatoshino airport in Kyiv. Thats the headquarters of the Antonov Serial Production Plant. Satellite imagery obtained by The War Zone backed up this assertion. Taken July 2 by Planet Labs, the image shows that there were two relatively intact An-124s on the apron at the time. One in particular seems to have been active, with the aircraft moving to the runway on July 5th. An apparently intact An-124 Condor was seen on an apron at the Svyatshino airfield on July 2. PHOTO 2025 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION A low-resolution image taken on July 5th showing the Condor from the main ramp on the runway. (PHOTO 2025 PLANET LABS INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRINTED BY PERMISSION) On Wednesday, after Antonov officials revealed what really happened, they expressed pride in what they accomplished. The relocation of [the Condor] became not just a technical solution, but a symbol of the stability, professionalism and unity of Ukrainian aircraft manufacturers, the company proclaimed. The improved jet will continue to fly and serve Ukraine on the international route. The crew of UR-82073 celebrating after landing in Leipzig. (Antonov screencap) The completion of the An-124s modernization work was a bright moment of hope for Ukrainians at a very difficult time. However, given the nature of the war, it may be quite some time before another Condor flight is spotted over Kyiv. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com Qilai Shen / Bloomberg / Contributor / Getty Images Were going to be involved in both JPMorgan deposit coin and stablecoins, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday Key Takeaways JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said Tuesday that the bank plans to get more involved with stablecoins. Mastercard and Citi also discussed stablecoins in calls with analysts this week. The focus on stablecoins comes amid hopes the House of Representatives could soon vote on a bill allowing private companies to issue corporate stablecoins, though it and other crypto-related bills failed to clear a procedural hurdle on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon said the bank is planning to get more involved with stablecoinscrypto assets with a value pegged to another currency or financial asset such as the U.S. dollar. Were going to be involved in both JPMorgan deposit coin and stablecoins to understand it, to be good at it, Dimon said during the banks second-quarter earnings call, according to a transcript from AlphaSense. The deposit coin Dimon referred to is JPMD, a stablecoin-like token currently available only to the banks clients. I don't know why you'd want a stablecoin as opposed to just payment, Dimon said, but added that fintech companies "are trying to figure out a way to create bank accounts and get the payment systems and rewards programs, and we have to be cognizant of that. The way to be cognizant is to be involved." Dimons comments come amid hopes the House of Representatives could soon vote on the GENIUS Act, which would establish a framework for private companies to issue stablecoins, though it and other cryptocurrency-related bills failed to clear a procedural hurdle on Tuesday. Walmart (WMT) and Amazon (AMZN) are among the companies reportedly considering launching their own stablecoins, which could potentially reduce the billions of dollars the retail titans pay in credit transaction fees. Citi Also Has Stablecoin Plans Citigroup (C) CEO Jane Fraser told analysts Tuesday that the bank also has stablecoin plans, and is looking at the issuance of a Citi stablecoin, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense. "This is a good opportunity for us," said Fraser, suggesting it could help the bank gain new clients. Executives at Mastercard (MA), which also has stablecoin initiatives, cautioned earlier this week that it could be a while before stablecoins become a viable everyday payment tool, however. While the technology powering stablecoins holds tremendous promise, high speed, 24/7 availability, low costs, programmability, immutability, etc., those attributes alone do not suffice to turn stablecoins into a payment tool, Mastercard Chief Product Officer Jorn Lambert said on a call with analysts Monday, according to a transcript provided by AlphaSense. New details surrounding the teen accused of killing her parents; fiery morning crash in Mesa kills driver; and more - here's a look at some of your top stories on FOX10Phoenix.com for Wednesday, July 16, 2025. 1. Shocking new details in Georgia murders What we know New details have been released in connection with the deaths of a teen's mother and stepfather in Georgia. What they're saying According to investigators, the suspect in the case, identified as 17-year-old Sarah Grace Patrick, apparently took to TikTok in the months following the deadly shooting, and urged influencers to draw attention to the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More 2. Driver dead following fiery Mesa crash (Courtesy: Arizona Department of Transportation) What we know Authorities say a driver was killed in a fiery morning crash in Mesa. Dig deeper The incident, according to DPS officials, happened along the Looop 202 Red Mountain Freeway. The crash resulted in road closures that lasted for hours. Read More 3. Arizona restaurants targeted in ICE raids What we know More than 20 arrests were made at multiple Arizona restaurants in connection with a money laundering, labor exploitation and human smuggling investigation. What they're saying Authorities say over 20 immigration-related arrests were also made during the raid. Read More 4. Update in deadly West Valley pedestrian crash What we know Glendale Police say they have arrested a woman (pictured) in connection with a deadly crash that involved a pedestrian victim. The backstory The incident happened on June 23. The victim, investigators say, was hit by a driver and thrown several feet. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read More 5. Tomato tariff dividing opinions in Arizona (U.S. Air Force photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. JaNae Jensen) What we know Arizonans are speaking out about the recently-announced 17% duty that will be levied on most Mexican fresh tomatoes. The other side While some say the duty will increase cost for businesses and (in turn) ordinary people, others say there could be benefits from the new tomato tariff. Read More A look at your weather for tomorrow What's next Officials with the National Weather Service in Phoenix say high temperatures should drop to a slightly below normal range during the second half of the week. Get the Full Forecast Immigration lawyers who say they have exhausted all efforts to try to speak with the detained immigrants in Alligator Alcatraz are now looking to the federal courts to aid them in a newly filed lawsuit. Detainees, whove described unsanitary and inhospitable conditions, are asking a federal judge to compel the Everglades detention center to provide adequate legal access that reportedly has not existed since its opening. This is the third lawsuit filed against the facility with previous legal complaints focusing on environmental issues and politicians access. READ MORE: Deportation flights, lawsuits and expansion: Whats next for Alligator Alcatraz? On Wednesday, four detained migrants and the law groups representing them filed the proposed class-action suit in the U.S. Southern District Court of Florida against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other high-ranking federal and state officials overseeing immigration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They allege the authorities behind Alligator Alcatraz have blocked detainees from access to legal counsel and that no protocol exists for them to have confidential attorney-client conversations a violation of the First and Fifth Amendments. The Miami Herald and Tampa Bay Times recently spoke with seven attorneys with clients in the facility who made the same claims. One attorney involved in the lawsuit compared Alligator Alcatraz to a black hole, as immigrants vanish from federal immigration databases and lose the ability to contact their legal counsel. READ MORE: A black hole: Attorneys say they still cant reach clients in Alligator Alcatraz The lawsuit states that the only way detainees can reach the outside world is through infrequent access to collect pay phone calls that are monitored, recorded and last about five minutes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys report they cant find phone numbers, email addresses or instructions on how to arrange contact with their clients in the facility, and those that are available lead to bounced-back messages and dead ends, the lawsuit said. Driving to the facility also only leads to lawyers being barred by security officers and told to wait in their cars for hours, to eventually be told they will have to go home without seeing their clients. In the absence of any publicly available information or protocols regarding legal access at the facility, attorneys have gone to significant lengths to contact their retained and prospective clients, to no avail, the lawsuit reads. Not only is communicating with their clients a seemingly losing battle, but the suit alleges authorities have made it virtually impossible for migrants to contest their detention with immigration courts, as no instructions on how to do so have been given to attorneys. Detained with no cause While the lawsuit seeks to represent all migrants held currently or in the future at Alligator Alcatraz, four detainees have named themselves in the fight to gain access to legal services. Aside from recounting their legal issues, they said that they were unknowingly shipped away to the facility with no provocation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One migrant, identified only as C.M., is described as a non-citizen employed as a landscaper with a valid work permit, no criminal convictions and a pending application for asylum. On July 6, he was detained by law enforcement on his way to work and taken directly to Alligator Alcatraz, the complaint states. Another migrant, identified as J.M.C., is described as a non-citizen with no criminal history and a pending petition to be granted a green card due to his marriage to a U.S. citizen. On July 8, the lawsuit says, he went to a Customs and Border Protection office to obtain a form to continue with his citizenship effort, but was detained and taken to Alligator Alcatraz instead. Plea for court intervention The four detained migrants and their counsel are asking the federal courts to order Alligator Alcatraz to implement protocols that are a universal practice at every other immigration facility in the United States. They want all detainees to be given clear instructions on the process of making free and confidential legal calls, and a system in place for those calls to be made without being monitored and recorded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Apart from legal access, DHS and the State of Florida are also requested to update their databases with the location of detainees held at Alligator Alcatraz within 24 hours of their transfer. In addition, the suit would also see a federal judge declare that DHS and Florida entities violated the First and Fifth Amendment rights of detained migrants at Alligator Alcatraz. Developers on Wednesday unveiled plans for what could be the largest natural gas fired power plant in the country. It would go at the site of the former Homer City generating station in Indiana County, which was demolished back in April. The hope is to power artificial intelligence and computer data centers. Officials say the $10 billion project will create thousands of construction jobs, with 1,000 permanent jobs at the new plant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the topics discussed, the new owners said they want to have a good relationship with the surrounding community. We want to build relationships with all the folks who are going to be adjacent to our site, they said at the open house. We want to be good stewards and good neighbors and figure out a way if there is something we can do together. Channel 11 previously reported that continued demolition work at the plant was put on hold, pending a lawsuit against the property owners by a demolition company. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW A teenager charged in a crash that injured two state troopers on Interstate 91 in Enfield last week is reportedly in the country illegally, according to federal officials. Joel Alexander Caiza-Nishue, 18, is from Ecuador and is believed to have entered the United States in 2023, according to the Department of Homeland Security. In a statement, the department said Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer against Caiza-Nishue, who was initially identified by Connecticut State Police as Joel Caiza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CT teen arrested in I-91 crash that injured two troopers; state police release dashcam footage Connecticut is a super sanctuary state, a number of Republican state lawmakers said in a statement. Thats because Connecticut Democrats prohibit local and state law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities for violent crimes even terrorism. The joint statement was issued by state Sens. Ryan Fazio, Heather Somers, Rob Sampson, Henri Martin, John A. Kissel, Jason Perillo, Jeff Gordon, Eric Berthel, Paul Cicarella and Stephen Harding. Now we learn that the person who nearly killed our state troopers is here illegally, Republicans wrote. But under state law, Connecticut authorities are prohibited from turning him over to immigration authorities despite his arrest. On top of that, our taxpayers are forced to spend hundreds of millions subsidizing people in the country who are here illegally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The statement went on to say the incident should serve as Exhibit A as to why state law must be changed. Will you work with us to do so? Republicans asked Gov. Ned Lamont and other state Democrats. Republicans will continue to stand for law and order. Republicans will continue to stand with victims of crime, including our recently injured troopers, who are lucky to be alive today. Spokespersons for Lamont as well as Senate President Pro Tempore Martin Looney of New Haven and majority leader Bob Duff of Norwalk did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. According to state police, Caiza-Nishue was driving a 2010 Acura TSX north when he hit a puddle of water in the left lane and lost control of the vehicle on I-91 North around 7:30 a.m. on July 10. The Acura spun out of control across multiple lanes toward the scene of a multi-vehicle crash that had occurred earlier in the area of Exit 47W. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Acura struck a police SUV parked in the shoulder with Trooper Matthew Cerri in the driver seat and Trooper Christopher Genovese standing outside of it. Video released from Genoveses cruiser, which was parked in front of Cerris vehicle, shows the cruiser careen toward Genovese and into a grassy area. According to Col. Daniel Loughman, commanding officer of the Connecticut State Police, both troopers suffered serious injuries. Caiza-Nishue and two passengers in the Acura were taken to a hospital for minor to moderate injuries, state police said. Caiza-Nishue was later charged with reckless driving, traveling too fast for conditions of the roadway, failure to maintain lane and operating a motor vehicle without a license. He remains held on a $20,000 bond following a virtual hearing on Wednesday in Hartford Superior Court. Diane Abbott has stood by her racism comments. It has left Labour considering whether to suspend her again after she doubled down on her claim that Jews experience racism differently to black people. Ms Abbott claimed on Thursday it was silly to liken racism based on skin colour to racism faced by Jewish and Traveller communities. The Labour MP and Mother of the House made the remark while defending her notorious letter to the Observer in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Abbotts suggestion that Jewish and Irish people were not subject to racism all their lives led to Sir Keir Starmer suspending her for just over a year. At the time, she indicated that she regretted the comments, apologising for any anguish caused and saying she wished to wholly and unreservedly withdraw her remarks. But speaking to BBC Radio 4s Reflections programme, Ms Abbott said: Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you dont know. You dont know unless you stop to speak to them or youre in a meeting with them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that theyre black. There are different types of racism. You can spot that person of colour from hundreds of yards away. That is what is different. She added: I just think that its silly to try and claim that racism, which is about skin colour, is the same as other types of racism. I dont know why people would say that. Labour responded by saying it would take her remarks incredibly seriously and would assess them in line with its disciplinary procedure. A party spokesman said: There is no place for anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We take these comments incredibly seriously, and will assess them in line with the Labour Partys rules and procedures. Ms Abbott, the longest-serving female MP in the Commons, said she got a bit weary about people labelling her anti-Semitic and said she had spent a lifetime fighting racism of all kinds. She faced furious backlash over her previous comments and was eventually forced to apologise for any anguish caused by the letter. Her letter was critiquing an article by Tomiwa Owolade, which cited research suggesting Jewish people are among those most likely to say they have experienced racist abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She wrote at the time: It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships. Her comments came against a backdrop of historical claims of anti-Semitism in the Labour Party. The party condemned her remarks as deeply offensive at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was readmitted to the party before the 2024 general election. Labout trying to get me out Ms Abbott has previously spoken about suffering racist abuse. She received 10 times as much abuse as any other female MP in the run-up to the 2017 general election, according to research by Amnesty International. In 2018, she said her staff spent a considerable amount of time removing or blocking social media posts of a highly offensive racist and misogynist character. Last year, it was revealed she had been the subject of racist remarks by Frank Hester, the Tory partys biggest donor at the time, who had allegedly said that she made him want to hate all black women and should be shot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elsewhere in the interview, Ms Abbott said she was grateful to be a Labour MP but claimed that in 2023 the party leadership had been trying to get me out. She has been one of Sir Keirs most vocal critics during the first year of the Labour Government, speaking out against the partys policies on benefit cuts, the two-child benefit cap and the winter fuel allowance. Ms Abbott has also criticised the Prime Minister for his position on the Gaza conflict, saying he has not gone far enough to oppose Israel and calling for further sanctions against the country. 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. WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE Archbishop John C. Wester, clad in black and flanked by two other New Mexico Catholic bishops, stood poised to venture into the White Sands Missile Range with plans to pray for peace and the banishment of nuclear weapons at the very site where the worlds first atomic bomb was detonated. It kind of conflates the whole world in this one site, when you think about it, because everybody in the world is living under the umbrella of nuclear weapons, Wester said late Wednesday morning, as he waited outside Stallion Gate, the entrance to Trinity Site. 071625 jw trinity eighty 4.jpg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Santa Fe Archbishop John C. Wester prepares to venture into the White Sands Missile Range at Stallion Gate, the entrance to the Trinity Site, for prayer on Wednesday, the 80th anniversary of the detonation of the first atomic bomb. The religious leaders had worked with U.S. military officials to get rare access to the remote site for the prayer. The 80th anniversary Wednesday of the Trinity Site test, when the U.S. government detonated an atomic bomb in the Jornada del Muerto desert of Southern New Mexico, brought into sharp focus the lasting legacy of nuclear weapons in the state. The anniversary comes as global geopolitical tensions are running high and nations are ramping up nuclear programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Did the sun blow up? The moment of conflagration at Trinity came before dawn, at 5:29 a.m., sending shockwaves and searing light across this parched desert landscape. The bomb, known as The Gadget, had been trucked down to the site from the Parajito Plateau a few days earlier; the Manhattan Project and Los Alamos remained a secret as profound as any. The mushroom cloud, which preceded the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by just a few weeks, would lead to generational trauma and illness for residents in the region, who were neither warned nor informed about the Trinity Test. 071625 jw trinity eighty 3.jpg Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mary Martinez White, left, points out several people who have suffered from or died of cancer in a Pino Ranch family photo from 1970, as Crystal Pino holds the old photo, following a ceremony to mark the 80th anniversary of the detonation of the first atomic bomb. Wesley Burris, now 85, looked across the unforgiving, flat and wide-open landscape bordering the missile range Wednesday. Burris was raised in the Fort Craig area about halfway between Socorro and Truth or Consequences, not far from where the bomb flared up the morning of July 16, 1945. He is among the few left who were witness to the mystery, terror and perplexity of that day. He was sleeping, he said, when a little window on hinges above his bed shattered from the explosion, casting broken shards of glass on him and his brother, awakening them to a nervous, new world on the dawn of the nuclear era. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I jumped up and looked out, and all I could see was bright. I couldnt see nothing else, Burris said. My dad came in there directly, and he was looking at it, and I said, What happened, dad? Did the sun blow up? We didnt know what it was. Nobody never told us, and they didnt intend to tell us, said Burris, who now lives in Socorro. They used us as guinea pigs, and they are still doing it. Downwinders effects People known as downwinders those who were unknowingly exposed to radiation from the Trinity Test as well as public officials and anti-nuclear weapons advocates gathered Wednesday beneath a tent along U.S. 380 east of San Antonio, near the turnoff to Stallion Gate, to observe the unveiling of a new historical marker that recognizes the implications of the detonation on the states residents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 071625 jw trinity eighty 5.jpg Homegrown anti-nuclear weapons advocates Marissa Chavez and Mario Morales, 13, walk with Rafael Chavez, left, Santiago Chavez and Diego Chavez, right, to burn off a little energy during a ceremony Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the detonation of the first atomic bomb. The marker features text saying it honors and acknowledges the Trinity downwinders, standing in recognition of their decades-long struggle for acknowledgement, justice and truth. Many experienced cancers, chronic illnesses and intergenerational health effects linked to radiation, the sign reads. Radioactive debris also contaminated the surrounding water, crops, livestock, and land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the other side of the marker, unveiled by the New Mexico Department of Transportation, a heat map of the affected region shows the population living near the test area: 121 people within a 20-miles radius, 1,301 within 30 miles and 8,387 within 40 miles. This will forever memorialize the people that lived here and were the human consequence of the Trinity bomb, said Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium. Some relief at last Cordovas organization has pushed for two decades for federal compensation for New Mexico downwinders, an effort that finally saw success earlier this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The budget package known as the Big Beautiful Bill that was signed by President Donald Trump includes the largest-ever expansion of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. The law previously had not covered New Mexico and had expired a year ago. 071625 jw trinity eighty 6.jpg Signs of all shapes and sizes warn drivers away at Stallion Gate, the entrance to the Trinity Site, where the world's first atomic bomb was detonated 80 years ago. Under the measure, atomic test downwinders in New Mexico and elsewhere, as well as new categories of uranium mine workers, will be eligible for the first time for federal compensation for radiation-related illnesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People like Bernice Gutierrez have been waiting decades for this aid to arrive. Her family hails from Carrizozo, a town where many have been impacted, and she recounted at great length the members of her family who have succumbed to cancer. She said her family moved to Albuquerque about two years after the Trinity Site test, but that was not soon enough; everyone had been exposed. We worry. The stress we live with is not if we will get it but when, Gutierrez said, noting her mother had thyroid, breast and skin cancer. Protesters, Japanese media One does not have to travel far in New Mexico to find anti-nuclear sentiment. Protesters were among some 100 people at the roadside event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NUCLEAR WEAPONS ARE ILLEGAL, read a yellow banner near the tent where the marker was unveiled. Los Alamos National Laboratory, long a major employer and economic driver in Northern New Mexico, is still in the nuclear weapons business, increasing production of bomb cores, known as plutonium pits, with a goal of making 30 per year by 2030 as part of a multibillion-dollar effort. The push has stirred polarized reactions. Several journalists working for Japanese publications were also in the crowd, interviewing members of New Mexicos downwinder community. They said such stories draw interest in Japan. They are shocked that our government never supported us, Gutierrez said of the Japanese reporters who interviewed her. I feel for Japan that they had to get it firsthand death. They had immediate exposure. Our cows turned white on top Mela Armijo, who was 9 on July 16, 1945, awoke early that morning to have coffee with her father so she could have sugar with her drink at a time when sugar was being rationed because of the war effort. She figures her family, who lived on a ranch near Trinity Site and heard the blast, were the closest local residents to ground zero that day. She said her father died eight years later, a death she attributes to the exposure, and noted other members of her family who died from cancer. The ash came down. Our cows turned white on top, Armijo said. Yes, I can remember. 071625 jw trinity eighty 2.jpg Charles Powell of Albuquerque listens to speakers at a ceremony on Wednesday to mark the 80th anniversary of the detonation of the first atomic bomb. Downwinders, public officials and anti-nuclear weapons advocates gathered beneath a tent many miles away from Trinity Site to observe the unveiling of a new historical marker that recognizes the implications of the detonation on the state's residents. Seated in his black truck several miles down the road, in the parking lot of the White Sands Missile Range at Stallion Gate, Bishop James Wall of the Diocese of Gallup spoke about how he recently listened to Pope John XXIIIs 1963 encyclical Peace in the Land, one that stresses the salience of peaceful international relations. Thats what Im praying for today, and I think its similar times and everything like that, Wall said. We need keep praying and praying. Thats what we do best, and thats what we encourage our people to do, too. DILLON, S.C. (WBTW) South Carolina authorities have charged a 24-year-old Dillon man with two counts of second-degree sexual exploitation of a minor. JayZion Jahein Ali Mcinnis was arrested on July 10 by Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force investigators with the South Carolina attorney generals office and accused of distributing files containing sexual abuse materials. The Dillon County Sheriffs Office, which is a member of the task force, assisted with the investigation. Mcinnis was arrested after investigators received a CyberTipline report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. If convicted, Mcinnis could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison on each count. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * * * Dennis Bright is the Digital Executive Producer at News13. He joined the team in May 2021. Dennis is a West Virginia native and a graduate of Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia. Follow Dennis on Facebook, X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. ASPEN, Colorado The national security elites gathered in this mountain retreat this week are finding themselves playing defense about their beliefs, motivations and patriotism and whether they even deserve attention from the people in power. Its a result of the Trump administrations 11th hour decision to pull nearly all of its speakers from the annual Aspen Security Forum, with the Pentagon alleging that the gathering promotes the evil of globalism. Many of the current and former officials Ive spoken to here have wielded enough influence and dealt with enough criticism in their careers that at first, they responded to the administrations move with eye-rolls and words such as moronic. Some questioned, in genuine frustration, what the administration means by globalism. That America can ignore the world? Others suggested it is all a performative stunt by the administration, or at least Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, to gain favor with a MAGA base angry over issues like the Jeffrey Epstein case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, attendees and organizers arent completely dismissing the Trump attack, which could be just the first of more assaults on the event and those like it. The president has gone after a range of U.S. institutions at an impressive pace, and many are bending, not least because businesses and other factions that care what the U.S. president thinks can pull funding. But the people here are making an argument in return: If President Donald Trump and his team are willing to snub an event like the Aspen forum, it means government officials are increasingly sealing themselves off from outside opinions. Doing so could hamper the administrations efforts to achieve its national security goals. No matter how much the MAGA-heavy administration may dislike the Aspen conference, attendees argue, it is at least a place to stress-test ideas to make sure theyre viable. What Trumps team is doing is what autocrats do they dont want to hear criticism, one foreign lawmaker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think sometimes they are nervous about engaging in a real debate about their policies, a former Biden administration official said. Its not healthy. On issues ranging from how Trumps tariffs will affect Americas international alliances to the U.S. strategy on Taiwan, many in the national security space fear the president is not receiving the broad spectrum of advice he needs, and that increasingly neither are his underlings. Its especially foolish to reject ideas from the opposing political party, some said. One example is Trumps refusal until, apparently, recently to appreciate Russian leader Vladimir Putins unwillingness to give up his desire to subsume Ukraine. The worries are reverberating in the top echelons of Americas overseas allies. Its always better to engage, because real life is not binary, a foreign minister told me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I granted nearly everyone I spoke to anonymity so they could be candid and because many told me they feared the Trump administration would retaliate against them. Some need to engage with the administration professionally; others fear losing clients. Aspen bills itself as Americas premier national security and foreign policy conference, and it increasingly is a destination for government officials from all over the world, as well as the D.C. set. More than a dozen Trump administration members had been slated to appear on various panels; most represented the Defense Department in some capacity, including Navy Secretary John Phelan. But on Monday, the day before the four-day conference began, the Pentagon announced it was pulling all of its people. Aside from the globalism claim, the Pentagon accused the forum of showing disdain for our great country, and hatred for the president. Aspen organizers deny such allegations, noting their institution is nonpartisan, and they say their invitation to the Trump officials remains open. Trump aides might even win some converts to their America First views if they showed up, attendees and organizers hinted. The theme of the forum this year revolves around letting go of assumptions, an obvious nod to Trumps earth-shaking second term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of what's happening in the world is making all of us who are experts in this field reassess our assumptions, and so actually engaging with people who think differently helps you do that, right? Anja Manuel, the forums executive director, told me. Even after the, umm, military withdrawal, the forum could still point to two Trump officials on its agenda: Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey who also is dealing with the Syria file; and Adam Boehler, the special envoy tasked with retrieving American hostages held abroad. But then Barrack pulled out, officially due to a need to respond to new violence in Syria. If Boehler shows up, I guess we should be relieved that theres still bipartisan agreement the U.S. should try to save its hostages. The executive branch presence here is smaller than the norm across past administrations, including during Trumps first term. The secretary of State and the national security adviser tend to show up to Aspen. Not this time, and its the same guy. The forum in this Colorado ski town is designed to allow for an exchange of views in a relaxing setting. Many of the conversations happen off-stage, and the leafy, mountainous views are indeed calming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The security forum, whose events are live-streamed, is also held right before a meeting of the Aspen Strategy Group where more unfiltered debate can happen. The latter is a private gathering, but it includes people from both political parties, including some Republicans who served in Trumps first term and who for the most part today are not seen as MAGA-worthy. Organizers told me they invited a slew of Trump administration officials to attend the strategy group as well as the forum, but for now, no current administration officials are expected to show up to the strategy group either. Are the public forum and the private strategy group gatherings of elites? Well yes. Do they skew more left than right? Yes, especially in the Trump era. Something about all that probably frustrates the populist strain that animates much of Trumps MAGA movement. But its getting harder in an increasingly polarized country to stage any events where top players in the national security field can exchange ideas across ideological lines, particularly in private settings where participants dont have to worry about nasty headlines about their proposals. If Republicans, under pressure from Trump, decide they shouldnt show up to forums such as Aspen, where is the place where smart liberals and conservatives can have a debate? the former Biden administration official asked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Early in the first Trump administration, the Aspen forum drew several top officials, including then-CIA chief (and later Secretary of State) Mike Pompeo. As the years went by, the forum struggled to bring in Trump types, especially as the presidents America First MAGA base grew more empowered over the traditional denizens. Pompeo, for instance, was staunchly loyal to Trump but is now viewed with suspicion by the MAGA faction. Republicans still involved in Aspen events, including those who worked for Trump in his first term, tend to be more the George W. Bush-era types who believe the U.S. should not retreat from the world. Aspen organizers told me they tried hard to get as much Trump representation as they could this year. And while most of the Trump military types whod signed up were likely to be cautious (those in uniform in particular almost never say anything startling), they would nonetheless have offered a window into the administrations thinking, the topic that most interests many in the audience here. The Aspen forum also tends to draw many tech, cyber and other business leaders whose views the Trump administration might find helpful. Besides, had Hegseths warfighters been allowed to attend, they would have found that the Aspen forum is not exactly the Colosseum of such confabs. Its moderators press panelists, but they rarely go for the kill. I once published a piece suggesting some spicier questions for Aspens moderators. Its still something of a mystery exactly who in the administration decided to pull the plug on its Aspen line-up. I asked the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department that question. The only real answer I received was from a White House official, granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, who said, "We did not direct anyone to pull their speakers." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As conference attendees munched on paella and other treats this week, some wondered if the Pentagon, knowing the Trump team lacks a formal national security strategy, was worried that one of its representatives might say something that could irk the president. Others theorized that the Trump administration is trying to send a warning to all such conferences in an effort to reshape their programs more in the MAGA mold. When I asked Aspen organizers if they would change their program in response to a potential such demand, they declined to answer. Either way, the Trump administrations voice is nearly silent at a major gathering of national security thinkers, some of whom might even be useful allies on some issues. It is, a former senior U.S. intelligence official told me, a missed opportunity. NEED TO KNOW Laura Caron, a former fifth-grade teacher, is charged with sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child Caron gave birth to a child that police say was also the alleged victim's when he was 13 Police interviewed the alleged victim's brother who says he once saw Caron and the boy leave the bathroom together both wearing towels A New Jersey teacher accused of sexually assaulting a student over the course of four years and having his baby allegedly began abusing the boy when he was just 11 years old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities in Cape May County, N.J., say they were alerted to Middle Township Elementary School fifth-grade teacher Laura Caron after the school district superintendent told police he received a tip that a teacher might have had a sexual relationship with a student, according to a probable cause affidavit obtained by PEOPLE. Police said the teacher was identified as Caron in a Facebook post made by the student's father in December, in which he claimed Caron's 5-year-old child looked like him and his son. In an interview with police, according to the affidavit, the father said that the teacher had taught both of his sons in the fifth grade and that over the years, his wife and Caron became friends. Related: N.J. Teacher Accused of Sexually Assaulting Student at 11, Then Having His Baby at 13, Indicted by Grand Jury Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eventually, the father said, his kids would stay over at Caron's home once or twice a week and she would drive them to school. But eventually, it evolved into the children staying over every night from 2016 to 2020, according to the affidavit. The alleged victim's mother told police that after striking up a friendship with Caron, the teacher offered to help look after her children. Police spoke with the alleged victim's sister, who said she spent time at Caron's home and believed that her brother began sleeping in Caron's bed beginning at age 11. The sister also allegedly claimed that her brother would shower in a separate bathroom and that when he was in the shower, Caron would go into the bathroom and lock the door, the affidavit stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Further, the sister shared a text conversation she had with her brother, in which he admitted to being the father of Caron's child but did not want anyone to know so to the teacher wouldn't get in trouble, police alleged in the affidavit. Subsequently, the affidavit stated that police spoke to the alleged victim's younger brother, who alleged he once saw Caron and his brother walking out of the bathroom together wet and wearing towels. The boy's family also told police that Caron would buy him gifts. Caron's baby was born in 2019, when the alleged victim was 13 years old, according to the affidavit. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Police eventually interviewed the alleged victim, who confirmed he was the father of the child and that he thought he and Caron had sex twice a week when he lived at her home, according to the affidavit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The alleged victim told police he maintained contact with Caron until his father made the Facebook post. In June, Caron was indicted by a grand jury on charges of first-degree aggravated sexual assault, second-degree sexual assault and endangering the welfare of a child in the second-degree. She pleaded not guilty, according to the New York Post; it was not immediately clear whether she's retained an attorney. Read the original article on People The doctors regulator is failing abysmally to protect Jewish patients, Wes Streeting has said. The Health Secretary said he would be hauling in the General Medical Councils (GMC) leaders to explain themselves, during a Government summit on anti-Semitism in the health sector on Tuesday. Mr Streeting said the regulators chief executive and chairman would need to explain why they are failing so publicly and abysmally in their responsibility to protect Jewish staff and Jewish patients. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The summit was hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on anti-Semitism and Lord Mann, the Governments independent adviser on Anti-Semitism. In a speech, first reported by Jewish News, Mr Streeting said there had been cases of medics whove said things that would make me feel uncomfortable [to be] treated by those medics and even unsafe being treated by the[m] and I am not Jewish. There are cases that our countrys medical regulator should be taking seriously, and they should be taking all steps necessary to keep patients safe and I do not see the evidence that this is the case. He said the Board of Deputies newly published Commission on Anti-Semitism, which was co-chaired by Lord Mann and Penny Mordaunt, the former defence secretary, had made for pretty sobering reading. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It concludes that anti-Semitism has crept into our countrys civil society in a way that hasnt happened before, including our National Health Service, he said, adding that he takes that finding with the utmost seriousness. He said he just cannot understand how there have been so many high-profile cases where the GMC doesnt take action and that it was a shameful and sorry state of affairs. Dr Wahid Shaida cheered the Oct 7 attacks but didnt lose his licence to practice - Guy Corbishley/Alamy Live News Im frankly sick and tired as the person who has a responsibility to the public, as a democratically elected representative of the people, of being told by the people who are charged with regulating a life and death service, that its all too complicated and all too difficult, he said. There have been 454 complaints of antis-Semitism made to the GMC about 131 doctors, data released to Jewish News found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A number of doctors have been allowed to continue practising medicine or working for the NHS, either by the GMC or its independent tribunal, despite allegations of anti-Semitism, and in the face of attempted crackdowns by Mr Streeting and his predecessor, the former Tory health secretary, Victoria Atkins. The GMC cannot suspend or strike doctors off the register itself, but refers cases it believes warranting such action to an independent tribunal. Dr Wahid Shaida, who ran the Islamist extremist group Hizb ut-Tahrir until its ban last year, never lost his licence to practice, despite being revealed as the groups UK leader when it emerged that he celebrated the Oct 7 massacre by Hamas as a very welcome punch on the nose to Israel. Dr Martin Whyte, a paediatrician who was removed as deputy chairman of the British Medical Associations junior doctors committee in April 2023 after writing on social media Hahaha zeig heil hahaha gas the Jews, similarly faced no reprimand. Dr Rehiana Ali said Israels killing of Hamas and Hezbollah leaders had turned them into legends - Vuk Valcic/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock A doctor who said Hammersmith would be better if it was Jew free was found not to be racist but comfortable with discriminatory language by the General Medical Councils independent tribunal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr Dimitrios Psaroudakis, a consultant gynaecologist, was only given a three-month suspension after saying Hammersmith in London would be better if it was Jew free. The Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) found he was not racist but comfortable with discriminatory language This week, it has emerged that Dr Rehiana Ali, an NHS neurologist that described the former leader of Hamas as a legend has had a temporary suspension from the medical register lifted by the MPTS, which is independent of the GMC and makes the final judgement. Dr Ali had previously said Israels killing of Yahya Sinwar had turned the Oct 7 mastermind into a legend and male role model. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In separate posts, the consultant neurologist also said the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader, had turned him into a legend who was completely untouchable. 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 Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) is one of the stocks that Jim Cramer shared insights on. During the episode, Cramer recommended caution before investing in the stock after its recent run. He said: Finally, dont say I didnt tell you so, weve been championing Charles Schwab from the days when the doubters cast dispersions on the balance sheet. That was 25 points ago. Theyve been silent of late. But I think the short sellers like to come out and color the opening of trading when Schwab opens. I say be very careful before you do some buying. Jim Cramer on Charles Schwab: "Be Very Careful Before You Do Some Buying" A corporate finance professional studying a financial performance chart. Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW) provides a broad range of financial services, including wealth management, brokerage, banking, and advisory solutions. Furthermore, the company offers trading platforms, investment products, retirement tools, and support for individual investors and financial advisors. Baron Asset Fund stated the following regarding The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) in its Q1 2025 investor letter: Strength in Financials came from specialty insurer Arch Capital Group Ltd. and brokerage firm The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW). Schwabs shares outperformed for a second consecutive quarter, helped by an improved earnings outlook. After reaching trough levels last year, Schwabs cash balances continued to trend higher during the quarter. Investors believe Schwab will use these balances to pay down higher cost borrowings, which should drive net interest income and earnings higher. While we acknowledge the potential of SCHW as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term 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. A street in Providence's Silver Lake neighborhood is shown in March. A minimum-wage worker would need to work 85 hours a week to afford a basic two-bedroom apartment in Rhode Island, according to a new report. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) Rhode Islanders making the states minimum wage must work at least 12 hours a day, seven days a week, in order to afford a basic two-bedroom apartment, according to a new analysis by the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLICH). The annual Out of Reach report released Thursday by the Washington D.C.-based organization found Rhode Island renters must earn $31.71 an hour or $65,954 a year to afford a typical $1,649 apartment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The finding that an 85-hour work week is what it takes a low-wage worker to find housing makes Rhode Island the 18th most expensive place to rent in the country. It ranked fourth overall among the six New England states. The situation is far worse in Massachusetts, which ranked as the fourth most expensive state in the nation to find housing and requires renters to make $45.90 per hour to afford the average two-room apartment. Connecticut ranked 11th, followed by New Hampshire at 12th, Vermont at 21st, and Maine at 26th. California ranked as the most expensive state to live, where the renters need to make $49.61 per hour. West Virginia was the least expensive among states at $18.94 an hour. Only Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, ranked lower with a required wage of just $11.64 an hour. While in the top half of unaffordable states, Rhode Island ranked better than it did in last years report where the Ocean State was 12th in the nation. Massachusetts also improved, moving up two ranks after being the second most expensive state for housing last year. A map detailing the average minimum wage needed to afford a two-bedroom home. (Source: National Low-Income Housing Coalition) More work needs to be done The average Rhode Island worker earns $18.22 an hour, according to the report. That wage can only support a monthly rent of up to $947. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rhode Islands current minimum wage is now $15, and wages are set to increase an additional $1 per hour in 2026 and 2027 under legislation passed by the General Assembly during the final weeks of this years legislative session. Rhode Island has taken steps in the right direction to raise the minimum wage over the past several years, but the Out of Reach report reveals that more work needs to be done to bridge the gap between wages and the rising cost of living, Melina Lodge, executive director of the Housing Network of Rhode Island, said in a statement. On top of low wages, minimum wage renters face a shortage of affordable places to live. Overall, the NLICH found the country faces a shortage of 7.1 million affordable and available rental homes for extremely low-income renters those making less than 30% of area median income and are often employed at minimum wage or are older adults, have a disability, or are single adult caregivers. In a report released in March, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement the NLICH found Rhode Island has just 47 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 households with extremely low incomes. And what it takes to afford an apartment also depends on where you live. Rents are especially high in the Newport-Middletown-Portsmouth area, where a renter would need to earn $42.31 an hour to afford a two-bedroom unit costing an average of $2,200 per month. In the Providence metro area, renters need to make $31.04 to afford the average $1,614 two-bedroom unit. When HousingWorks RI released its 2024 Housing Fact Book last July, it showed that a household earning the states median income of $45,560 could afford to rent in only one Rhode Island town: Burrillville. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With such a disconnect between wages and the cost of housing in the Ocean State, a safe, secure, and affordable home remains out of reach for many, HousingWorks RI Director Brenda Clement said in a statement. We must continue to do all we can at the local, state, and federal levels to ensure Rhode Islanders, regardless of income, can live in healthy, quality homes in vibrant and thriving neighborhoods. The growing gap will only increase homelessness, according to the report. At least 2,373 unhoused people across Rhode Island were counted when volunteers from the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness conducted an annual survey in late January 2025. While that number represents a 2.8% decrease from 2024, the coalition found more people were without shelter. In an uncertain economic climate, renters with the fewest resources too often struggle to pay rent, live in unsafe or substandard housing, and are forced to make impossible choices between housing and other basic needs, the NLIHC report states. People can work hard and still fall behind, knowing that one unexpected expense or missed paycheck could leave them homeless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So what can be done to make homes more affordable? The National Low Income Housing Coalition is calling on the federal government to increase housing subsidies, expand rental assistance, and enact policies that eliminate barriers to obtaining a home. The American public should insist that Congress make sustained, long-term investments in affordable housing programs to ensure that the lowest-income renters can access and maintain safe, stable homes, the report recommends. But local advocates like Lodge remain skeptical of the Trump administrations commitment to housing affordability, especially after the passage of Republicans budget megabill, along with proposed cuts to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To meaningfully address the crisis, the federal government must reject cuts to HUD, expand housing vouchers, and both preserve and increase the supply of deeply affordable homes, Lodge said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, appears at a town hall at Parrish Middle School in Salem on Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025. (Alan Cohen/Oregon Capital Chronicle) Next year, the top of Oregons general election ballot will be anchored by the contest for U.S. Senate. If history holds, it may not be much of a contest. That doesnt mean it isnt important. Oregon is moving into (and its partly there now) the high-rank status for senior members of Congress, meaning they have enough seniority that if they angle their assignments right, they can be among the top committee chairs in the chamber, leading power players. A generation-plus ago, Oregon Republicans Mark Hatfield and Robert Packwood were in that position. Today, Democrats Ron Wyden (top Democrat on Senate Finance) and Jeff Merkley (top Democrat on Budget) have worked their way there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On July 10, Merkley said he will run for a fourth term next year. He also said that until some months ago his decision was in some doubt, but he already had since late 2020 a formal filing with the Federal Election Commission setting up for a technical candidacy. Most Oregonians who follow politics probably would have been more surprised had he chosen to retire. You could make an argument, of sorts, that Merkley may be vulnerable. Its an anti-incumbent time. Congress is not popular, and Merkley has been there since 2009. Hes never won a Senate election by a huge margin. Hes identified with one wing of the Democratic party (a rare congressional Bernie Sanders presidential backer in 2016). And after all, a year and half is a long time and many things affecting the election can and may happen by then. One Republican, Timothy Skelton from Sandy, has filed an FEC form indicating he will run for the Senate next year. His website declared that as Scoutmaster for Troop 668, former volunteer police officer with Sandy PD, and security worker, Im running for U.S. Senate to show working-class folks not just millionaires can lead with impact. He appears not to have raised or spent any campaigning funds yet, however, and he may not be alone in the Republican primary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Practical reality and recent history argue, though, that Merkley is in strong shape. A reasonable guess: Merkley wins re-election next year with around 56% to 59% of the vote. Democrats running for statewide office in Oregon seem to have a modest ceiling and sturdy floor, not high enough for real comfort but normally enough to give them a presumption of winning, barring unusual conditions. As a candidate for the Senate, Merkley has had just one close contest in a primary and one in the general, both in his first run for the office in 2008. The general election battle was against the Republican incumbent, Gordon Smith. Merkley beat Smith by just 3.4% of the vote, but on the ballot when Democrat Barack Obama was leading in the states presidential contest, by 16.3%. This might have suggested some future problems for Merkley. In November 2013 the National Journal called him vulnerable because of Oregons trouble-plagued Affordable Care Act rollout; he was also becoming closely aligned with the more progressive side of the Democratic Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement None of that hurt him. In 2014, nationally a very strong Republican year, he won with 55.7% against Republican Monica Wehby, a physician who developed a public profile running in large part on health issues (though after a campaign political analyst Jim Moore called one disaster after another). By 2020 the partys efforts had weakened with the nomination of Q-Anon advocate Jo Rae Perkins; against her lightly-funded campaign Merkley won with 56.9%. The nearly identical size of Merkleys wins mirrors nearly all recent elections for Oregon senators. His seatmate, Wyden, pulled 57% of the vote both in 2010 and in 2016, and against recent Merkley opponent Perkins 56% in 2022. In 2026, Merkley seems likely to be running with the national political tide, not against it. So far, theres not much reason to think he wont match his earlier vote marks, and he could slightly exceed them. His campaign already has pulled in a healthy $3.7 million, probably vastly more than any opponent will raise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a mid-term election year that in Oregon overall, looks to be less exciting than the last few, election watchers may need to look beyond the top of the ballot to find some serious competition. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Sign up for Trumps Return, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump presidency. Earlier this year, an adorable yellow Lab named Susan completed a CIA training program for detection K9s. She was a natural at sniffing out concealed explosivesthink car bombs and suicide vestsand the agency was eager to put her to work protecting its personnel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James Clapper, who had sponsored Susan through a nonprofit organization that helps place service dogs, was delighted. Clapper, 84, was one of the longest-serving and most experienced intelligence officers in U.S. history, and was the Director of National Intelligence in the Obama administration. There was a certain professional symmetry in his pup ending up at the CIA, a place he both knew intimately and deeply admired. It was also bittersweet: Clapper named Susan after his late wife, a former National Security Agency employee who had been at his side during his five-decade career. Susan, a great animal lover, had volunteered at a local shelter and doted on the family dog, Augusta, according to her 2023 obituary. Clapper was looking forward to attending the dogs graduation ceremony at a CIA training facility in Herndon, Virginia. But the day before the event, in late May, he received an email from the nonprofit dog-training group: Clappers name had been scratched from the guest list, per an executive order from the president of the United States. Now, Donald Trump has a thing against dogs. He has said that the Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi died like a dog and a coward. General Stanley McChrystal was fired like a dog by President Barack Obama. At a campaign rally in 2019, Trump said a lot of people had urged him to imitate prior presidents and get a dog. No way. It feels a little phony to me. But Trumps dislike for Clapper is even greater than his disdain for dogs. In fact, Trump once compared Clapper to a canine, writing in a tweet that Clapper and another Obama-era official had begun to choke like dogs during a Senate hearing about the Kremlins interference in the 2016 election, which Trump calls the Russia hoax, a hoax he accuses Clapper and other members of the deep state of concocting. Trump has no doubt watched many of Clappers cable-news appearances over the past five years, in which he has bemoaned the presidents coarseness and questioned his fitness for office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Trump returned to the White House, payback for Clapper was swift and personal. Via executive order, Trump stripped his security clearance along with those of more than four dozen other former intelligence officials. Their proximate sin: signing a letter suggesting that the publication of emails found on a laptop purportedly belonging to Joe Bidens son Hunter might be the result of a Russian-government operation. (There is no evidence that it was.) [Peter Wehner: Trumps appetite for revenge is insatiable] But back to Susan the bomb dog, and her graduation ceremony. CIA officials interpreted Trumps order to mean that Clapper should be barred from even setting foot on agency property. The agency conveyed that message to the nonprofit, which had invited Clapper to attend the ceremony, a representative with the organization told me. (The CIA itself declined to comment on the Clapper snub.) The upshot is that an octogenarian Air Force retiree who spent half a century in his nations service was not allowed to attend a party for a dog he essentially donated to the government and named after his dead wife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was no legitimate policy reason for keeping Clapper away. This was not a classified event. Attendees didnt need a security clearance. There are photos from the ceremony on Facebook, showing happy people proudly posing with happy service dogs. One presumes that graduates were showered with scritches, kisses, and lots of treats, and not given the nuclear codes. Clapper declined to comment on all of thisnor did he tip me off to it. Plenty of people are outraged on his behalf. Though the story might seem trivial, it illustrates how powerfully this administration seeks retribution. [Shane Harris: Trumps deep state revenge] Three days after Trumps second inauguration, I wrote that his executive order naming Clapper and others was his first shot in a war he has long promised against the deep state. The hits keep coming. Most recently, CIA Director John Ratcliffe falsely characterized a review he had personally ordered into Russias 2020 election interference. That report, which validated the CIAs original findings, became the apparent basis for a criminal investigation into two other Obama-era officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contorted reports. Dubious investigations. Dog parties. Among all of the challenges facing the U.S., these are the subjects that have captured the attention of our national-security leadership. Thankfully, Susan will be focused on her job protecting CIA officers. Given how well she performed in training, we can assume she has a bright career ahead of her. Article originally published at The Atlantic SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday requested that the San Francisco sheriff voluntarily provide a list of all inmates who are not citizens of the United States. The Justice Department said it is seeking a list of jailed undocumented immigrants, their crimes of arrest or conviction and their scheduled release dates. If the information is not voluntarily provided by California sheriffs, the DOJ said it will pursue all available means of obtaining the data, such as subpoenas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pelosi slams Trump Alcatraz plan as stupid ahead of reported Bondi visit Todays data requests are designed to assist federal immigration authorities in prioritizing the removal of illegal aliens who committed crimes after illegally entering the United States, the DOJ wrote in a news release Thursday. The requests were also issued to sheriffs of other major California counties, including Los Angeles County, according to the Justice Department. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is in San Francisco on Thursday, said in the release that removing undocumented immigrants from the United States is the Trump administrations highest priority. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was fired by the Justice Department on Wednesday, according to four sources familiar with the matter. It was not clear why. One of the sources said the Justice Department cited Article II of the Constitution, which establishes the executive power of the president. Nick Biase, a spokesperson for the Southern District of New York, declined to comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Follow live politics coverage here Politico first reported Maurene Comey's termination. Comey prosecuted Sean Diddy Combs during his sex trafficking trial this year. She also played a role in the prosecution of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and the prosecution and conviction of his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. President Donald Trump is under intensifying political pressure from his MAGA base to release information related to the Epstein case. Attorney General Pam Bondi announced last week that no further Epstein-related documents would be released. Maurene Comey, then the assistant U.S. attorney and prosecutor in Sean "Diddy" Combs' case, arrives at the federal courthouse in New York City on May 21. (Brendan McDermid / Reuters file) The Justice Department and the FBI also released a two-page memo that contradicted multiple Epstein-related conspiracy theories, some of which have been propagated by Trump, Bondi, FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said that the firing of Maurene Comey was an effort by Trump to blame Democrats for a crisis Trump and his allies created. "They created these conspiracy theories," Schiff said in an interview on MSNBC. "They fed these conspiracy theories." The memo said an exhaustive FBI investigation had found no evidence that a list of Epstein's clients, including prominent politicians and business figures, was being kept secret. The finding contradicted a statement by Bondi in an interview this spring that the Epstein "client list" was sitting on her desk and would soon be released. The FBI investigation also found no evidence that Epstein engaged in blackmail and no grounds to prosecute any of his other associates. It also found that Epstein died by suicide in a federal jail in New York in 2019, rebutting assertions by some that he was murdered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This systematic review revealed no incriminating 'client list,' the memo said. "There was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions." Two federal law enforcement officials told NBC News on Wednesday that the Epstein memo was accurate. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there is no secret Epstein "client list." Trump tells supporters to move on For years, Trump and his allies have accused Democratic officials and the FBI of hiding documents describing crimes committed by Epstein and his wealthy associates. During a clash with Trump this spring, tech billionaire Elon Musk claimed on social media that Trump opposed the release of the "Epstein files" because, he asserted, they include damaging information about Trump. Trump vehemently denied those claims and has repeatedly urged his supporters to stop focusing on Epstein. So far, his efforts have largely failed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a setback for Trump earlier this week, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., joined multiple other Republican House members in demanding the release of more Epstein documents. Trump, without citing evidence, then accused James Comey, as well as former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, of creating false Epstein documents. For years, Trump has attacked James Comey, who played a central role in launching a probe of Russias efforts to interfere in the 2016 presidential election. I would say that, you know, these files were made up by Comey, they were made up by Obama, they were made up by the Biden, Trump told members of the media at the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the federal prosecution of Epstein, as well as his suicide, occurred in 2019 during Trump's first term. James Comey, Biden and Obama were out of power at that time. Trump's second attorney general, William Barr, oversaw the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which operated the jail where Epstein died, and the indictment of Epstein in New York. A former Justice Department colleague praised Maurene Comey's work in the Southern District of New York on Wednesday. "Maurene embodies all of the qualities youd want in a prosecutor intelligence, good judgment, compassion, and commonsense," said the former colleague, who asked not to be named, citing fear of retaliation. "She was highly respected in the office for her leadership, advocacy and legal acumen." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com July 16 (UPI) -- Maurene Comey, a federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Sean "Diddy" Combs, was abruptly fired Wednesday, according to reports. The firing of Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was reported by The New York Times, Politico and NBC News, with each outlet citing numerous unnamed sources. The reason for the abrupt firing was unclear, but it comes amid fractures erupting within President Donald Trump's far-right, conspiracy-believing base over his administration's reluctance to release files related to the Epstein case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Epstein, the disgraced wealthy financier, died by suicide in 2019 in his Manhattan jail cell as he was awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges in connection with allegations of running a child sex-trafficking ring. His death, as well as his association with celebrities, including Trump, has led to rampant conspiracy theories. The files, some contend, contain evidence that some of Epstein's high-profile associates also participated in his alleged sex crimes. Trump, who was a friend of Epstein from the late 1980s until the early 2000s, and his administration have been battling criticism, including from his own Make America Great Again base, over not releasing the files. Early this month, the Justice Department released a memo stating there is "no incriminating 'client list'" and that "there was also no credible evidence found that Epstein blackmailed prominent individuals as part of his actions." It also states that Epstein died by suicide, an assertion supported by video footage though three minutes were not available. Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino, a known conspiracy theorist, reportedly feuded at the White House following the memo's release, with Bongino stating he might resign in response. Bongino and his boss, FBI Director Kash Patel, had been prominent voices supporting the full release of the Epstein files. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump on Wednesday attempted to deflect the issue as one being pushed by Democrats, stating "Their new SCAM is Jeffrey Epstein Hoax," while describing conservatives who are demanding the files be released as his "PAST supporters." "All these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein HOAX," he said on his Truth Social media platform, claiming the issue was taking attention away from his "successes." "I don't want their support anymore!" he said. To reporters on Tuesday, Trump claimed the Epstein files were "made up" by James Comey, former President Barack Obama and former President Joe Biden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Comey's firing is the most high-profile exit from her Manhattan office since February, when several federal prosecutors resigned after the Justice Department ordered criminal corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams to be dropped. Comey, who earned her law degree from Harvard, had worked at the Southern District of New York office since 2015. Along with the Epstein case, she had worked on the federal cases against Epstein's close associate, Maxwell, who was sentenced in 2022 to 20 years behind bars, and Combs, who was convicted on two counts of prostitution charges earlier this summer and is now awaiting sentencing. In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty in state court in Palm Beach County to two felony charges: soliciting prostitution and soliciting a minor for prostitution. He was sentenced to an 18-month sentence, but served only 13 months, mainly under a work-release program. In 2019, he was arrested again on federal charges of sex trafficking minors in Florida and New York. The Department of Justice has reportedly fired Maurene Comey, a seasoned federal prosecutor who worked on the cases against Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean Diddy Combs. Comey is also the daughter of ex-FBI director James Comey, who was sacked by Donald Trump in 2019 following the bureaus investigation of potential Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election. The Daily Beast has contacted the DOJ for confirmation of the dismissal. U.S. attorney Maurene Comey arrives for the Sean Sources contacted by ABC News said Maurene lost her job as the president had privately vented about having a Comey working in his administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Washington Post reported that The notice informing the younger Comey of her termination did not provide a reason, citing the broad powers afforded to the president in the U.S. Constitution. Comey has worked as a lawyer in the Southern District of New York since November 2015. She was a lead prosecutor in the cases against Epstein and his associate, Maxwell. Her most recent case was the Diddy trial over sex trafficking and racketeering charges. President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have been haunted by the Jeffrey Epstein case this year. In February, Bondi told Fox News the FBI had given her files related to the late sex offender, who was charged with running a child prostitution ring. Attorney General Pam Bondi with President Donald Trump. / Joe Raedle / Getty Images Bondi said at the time that she was ready to review them, adding, Thats been a directive by President Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, the Department of Justice suddenly backflipped, with a leaked FBI memo claiming no such client list exists. Even Trumps own conservative base has splintered over the botched handling of the Epstein evidence. On Wednesday, the president blasted past MAGA supporters as weaklings and stupid for continuing to fixate on what he labeled the Jeffrey Epstein hoax. Former FBI Director James Comey has been in President Trump's sights. / Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images Trump has also been highly critical of James Comey, who now works as an author. This month, it was revealed that the Secret Service tracked the former FBI boss the day after he posted what the Trump administration took as an assassination threat directed at the president. In May, Comey posted a photo of seashells in the configuration of the numbers 86 and 47. Eighty-six is a slang term that means to get rid of something. It has long been used in a variety of contexts, from removing an item from a restaurants menu to murdering someone. Court sketch of Maurene Comey making her closing arguments during Sean Trump, who is the 47th president, told Fox News at the time that Comey knew what the numbers meant. A child knows what that meant, Trump said. If youre the FBI director and you dont know what that meant, that meant assassination. LOUISVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) Louisvilles FOX affiliate, WDRB, reported on Thursday that the U.S. Department of Justice recommended Brett Hankison avoid prison and instead be placed on supervised release after being found guilty of using excessive force and violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor in a botched police raid of her home in 2020. Hankison is facing several years in prison when he is sentenced next week after a jury in November acquitted the former Louisville police officer of violating the civil rights of Taylors neighbors but found him guilty of violating Taylors civil rights. According to WDRB, U.S. District Court Judge Rebecca Grady Jennings will ultimately decide the sentence. Hankison has been out on bond since his conviction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a sentencing memorandum filed late Wednesday, federal prosecutors recommended one day in prison, which Hankison will get credit for from the day he was booked, a three-year term of supervision, and a $100 fee. He also agreed to provide his DNA. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: There is no need for a prison sentence to protect the public from Hankison, according to the memorandum. The trial centered around Hankison firing 10 times from outside Taylors apartment through a covered sliding glass door and blinded windows in Taylors bedroom window, with three bullets flying into an adjacent apartment where Cody Etherton, Chelsey Napper, and her 5-year-old child lived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WDRB wrote that Hankison also nearly hit Taylor and a fellow police officer. He was initially facing a potential life in prison sentence. Robert Keenan, senior counsel for the DOJs civil rights division, and Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general for the department, wrote in the memorandum that prosecutors are unaware of any other prosecution of a police officer on these charges who did not injure anyone. The current prosecutors noted Hankison was found not guilty during a state trial, and his original federal trial ended in a mistrial, prompting a third trial and causing Hankison an emotional burden. He is suffering from PTSD, anxiety, and sleeping difficulties. In addition, Hankison has no prior criminal history and will likely never serve in law enforcement again. The sentencing guidelines for his conviction are between 135 months to 168 months in prison, according to Federal Sentencing Guidelines included in the memorandum, per WDRB. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prosecution laid out numerous mitigating circumstances, arguing the crime occurred under sudden and extreme provocation and created the type of scenario that would prompt a reasonable police officer to attempt to kill another person. It is consistent with his testimony that he fired out of concern for the other officers, according to the memorandum. The conviction stemmed from a March 13, 2020, raid of Taylors home in the middle of the night, in which police officers busted down her door to serve a search warrant related to a drug dealer who lived 10 miles away. LATEST KENTUCKY LISTS AND RANKINGS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walkers conduct, even if assumed to be lawful, provoked defendants offense conduct, according to the DOJ. Although the jury found that the circumstances did not give rise to a complete defense, (Walker) indisputably fired on defendants fellow officers, shooting one in the leg, exposing both officers to a risk of death in the so-called fatal funnel. At times, the DOJ criticized evidence brought forward in their own trial, questioned whether charges should have been brought at all and defended Hankisons actions. According to WDRB, the memorandum said Hankisons testimony that he saw muzzle flashes from inside the apartment at the time he opened fire was corroborated. The prosecutors noted there is no audio or video to determine if Hankison continued shooting after the first volley of shots. In addition, Hankison accepted responsibility for his actions, and abuse of law enforcement in prison is widespread, according to the memo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The death of Ms. Taylor and the subsequent criticism of the LMPD and not just defendants conduct has generated significant media attention that exposes defendant to a heightened risk of assault while in custody, Keenan wrote. Nicholasville attempted robbery suspect captured after search accused of assaulting jailers The prosecutor wrote that given the circumstances, Hankison should be given leniency, calling the recommended sentence unjust. On the unique facts of this case, the government believes that this sentence is sufficient, but not greater than necessary, to achieve all of the statutory goals of sentencing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hankison was the only officer charged for his actions during the raid. Three other officers were charged with their role in the search warrant affidavit, which included false information. No trial date has been set. The city of Louisville paid $12 million to Taylors family and implemented numerous reforms in the police department to settle a wrongful death lawsuit. For more information on this story, visit WDRB. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. The Department of Justice recommended that the former officer who was found guilty of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights during a botched Kentucky raid should receive one day of imprisonment in a sentencing memorandum filed Wednesday. Brett Hankison was found guilty of one count of violating Taylor's civil rights when the former Louisville police officer blindly shot into her apartment 10 times in March 2020. Hankison's bullets did not hit anyone. "Put simply, the Guidelines do not fairly apply to a charge under 242 involving the unique facts and circumstances of this case," the DOJ stated in the filing. "Accordingly, the United States respectfully recommends that the Court grant a significant downward departure." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Department filing, which also recommended three years of supervised release, was signed only by department officials and none of the line prosecutors. "This sets a dangerous precedent," attorneys of Taylor's family said in a statement on Thursday. "When a police officer is found guilty of violating someone's constitutional rights, there must be real accountability and justice. Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity." Timothy D. Easley, Pool via AP, FILE - PHOTO: In this March 2, 2022, file photo, former Louisville Police officer Brett Hankison examines a document as he answers questions from the prosecution in Louisville, Ky. In the Justice Department's filing they pointed to the fact that Hankison was acquitted of all charges in his state trial before federal prosecutors indicted him on two counts of violating Taylor's civil rights. "Both counts arose from the same nucleus of facts: believing the officers were under attack, Defendant Hankison ran to the side of the apartment unit and fired blindly into Ms. Taylors home," the memorandum stated. "Again, none of those shots wounded anyone. After a recent review of many 242 cases, counsel is unaware of another prosecution in which a police officer has been charged with depriving the rights of another person under the Fourth Amendment for returning fire and not injuring anyone." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Ex-Louisville officer guilty of violating Breonna Taylor's civil rights The sentencing for Hankison, which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday, has been delayed until July 21 after prosecutors asked for more time to file their sentencing memo. Hankison's defense team did not object to the delay. This comes after Hankison's defense team filed a sentencing memorandum urging the judge for leniency, citing various factors. In the sentencing memorandum, Hankison's defense team argued, in part, that Taylor's boyfriend first fired at police, which is what "provoked" the three officers, including Hankison, "to discharge their weapons." They also argued that in prison Hankison could be "suspectable to abuse based on his status as a police officer" and the immense media coverage of this case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The guilty verdict came in November, hours after the jury acquitted Hankison of a second count of violating the civil rights of three of Taylor's neighbors, who lived in an adjacent apartment that was also struck by gunfire during the raid. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images, FILE - PHOTO: In this Sept. 24, 2020, file photo, a photo Breonna Taylor is seen inside a broken picture frame at a makeshift memorial for her in Louisville, Kentucky. Taylor was fatally shot during the raid. The three officers fired dozens of rounds after her boyfriend fired one round at them, striking one of the officers. Hankison fired 10 rounds through Taylor's sliding glass door and window, which were covered with blinds and curtains, prosecutors said. Several of the rounds traveled into Taylor's neighbor's apartment, where three people were at the time. None of the 10 rounds hit anyone. MORE: Mistrial declared in federal case against former Louisville cop over Breonna Taylor raid Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors argued Hankison's use of force was unjustified, put people in danger and violated the civil rights of Taylor and her three neighbors. The indictment alleged Hankison deprived Taylor of the right to be free from unreasonable seizures and deprived her neighbors of the right to be free from the deprivation of liberty without due process of law. MORE: Jury finds ex-officer Brett Hankison not guilty on all counts in shooting during Breonna Taylor raid Hankison was initially set to be sentenced in April 2025, but the sentencing was delayed until June 2025 and then again until July 16 and now until July 21 after the judge partially granted the motion filed by prosecutors, who asked for a 14-day delay. The Justice Department declined to comment beyond the filing. Hankison's legal team didn't immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment. ABC News' Pierre Thomas, Jack Date, Alex Mallin, Meredith Deliso, Sabina Ghebremedhin, Jack Moore and Victoria Arancio contributed to this report. According to a complaint published last month, Erez Reuveni, a former immigration lawyer at the Department of Justice, blew the whistle on an extraordinary suggestion that the department would need to consider telling the courts presiding over immigration cases f**k you and ignore a judges order blocking the hasty and hushed deportation of migrants to El Salvador. Reuvenis case hits home because of its parallels to my own. In December 2001, as a legal adviser to the departments Office of Professional Responsibility, I advised the criminal division that an FBI interrogation of American Taliban John Walker Lindh without his lawyer would be unethical. When I was informed three days later that he had been interrogated despite that warning, I advised that the interview might have to be sealed and used only for national security and intelligence-gathering purposes, and not for criminal prosecution. Three weeks later, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft announced that the Justice Department was filing a criminal complaint against Lindh, and in another three weeks, he announced an indictment, insisting that Lindhs rights have been carefully, scrupulously honored. I knew that wasnt true. I had seen photos of Lindh naked, blindfolded and bound to a board with duct tape. It was our first glimpse of torture after 9/11, and no one flinched. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Reuvenis case, he worked for the DOJs Office of Immigration Litigation and sought assurances from the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security that they would abide by a judges order to halt the deportation of more than 130 Venezuelans to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act, an ancient, obscure and rarely-used law. As in my case, officials met his requests with vague responses, or none at all, and ultimately concluded that they did not need to comply. The parallels between our cases are uncanny. Both career civil servants with a string of favorable performance reviews, we were troubled that the department was not complying with a court order. Like Reuveni, I was pushed out of a job I loved because the Justice Department was playing fast and loose with the court in a case where a defendant appeared to have been tortured. I resigned in protest when it became clear I was going to be transferred to office Siberia or forced out. Reuveni was suspended and then fired because he admitted, truthfully, that a man sent to a gulag in El Salvador was deported in violation of a court order and that he did not know the legal basis for that decision. The details of both our cases reached Congress when a high-level Justice Department official was nominated to serve as a federal judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. (In my case the nominee was Michael Chertoff, and in Reuvenis case, the nominee is Emil Bove.) Despite Chertoffs grilling by the late Sen. Ted Kennedy about my case, he was ultimately confirmed. I predict Bove will also be confirmed, because if leaky, wobbly Pete Hegseth can become secretary of defense, the bar is so low that anyone can clear it. I only hope that, at the end of the day, Reuveni comes out unscathed from his whistleblowing journey. In my case, the Justice Department told my new law firm that I was a criminal and pressured them to fire me. The department placed me under a pretextual criminal investigation for 16 months; I was never told the reason. The case was closed with no charges ever being brought. They referred me to the state bars in which I was licensed as an attorney, based on a secret report to which I did not have access. After more than a year, the Maryland bar dismissed the charges; the D.C. bar charges remained a Sword of Damocles over my head for another eight years, rendering me both unemployed and unemployable. And if all of this were not punishment enough, I ended up on the no-fly list. Want more sharp takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletter, Standing Room Only, written by Amanda Marcotte, now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. The saving grace is that Reuveni and I both kept receipts. When pivotal emails went missing from the office file in my case, I resurrected them from my computer archives, documented and included them in a memo to my boss, and took home a copy in case they disappeared again. Months later, when the Justice Department continued to claim that it had never believed Lindh had to have a lawyer during his interrogation, I disclosed the emails to Newsweek, an action permitted by the Whistleblower Protection Act, because I could not believe that the department would have the temerity to make public statements contradicted by its own court filings. Reuveni had text messages, phone records and emails to back up his claims of the departments leadership including federal judicial nominee Bove pressing subordinates to take serious legal risks, such as misleading a federal court and disregarding a lawful court order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When wrong things are being done before your eyes, when youre an unwilling or unwitting participant, when your complaints through internal channels fall on deaf ears and when the agency itself is part of the problem, then a free, independent press and Congress are legally recognized ways to blow the whistle. Im glad Reuveni went public, though it didnt take long for the opposition machinery to kick into high gear against him. Conscientious employees are often stereotyped as disgruntled, mentally ill or troublemakers who are out for fame, profit or revenge. I have not been completely immune from such accusations, but the terms that have been used to describe me are far more incendiary: Traitor, turncoat and terrorist sympathizer. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche called Reuvenis claims falsehoods purportedly made by a disgruntled former employee and then leaked to the press in violation of ethical obligations. (The word purportedly is doing some heavy lifting, as it implies uncertainty both as to whether Reuveni is disgruntled and whether his claims are false.) In reality, as someone who served in the Justice Departments Office of Professional Responsibility and on the D.C. Bar Legal Ethics Committee, I submit that the people who really need to think seriously about their ethical obligations including the rules governing the lawyer-client relationship, conflicts of interest, candor to the tribunal and misconduct are the front offices of the Justice Department, the Pentagon and DHS.This point is a fortiori in light of Judge Paula Xinis brutal tongue lashing of the government lawyer in the original civil case stemming from Kilmar Abrego Garcias wrongful deportation: Im deeply concerned that if theres no restraint on you, Mr. Abrego will be on another plane to another country because thats what youve done in other cases. Ive rarely seen a judge this vexed by the departments conduct. While Ive seen judges chastise rogue prosecutors, this was a jurist saying that she couldnt trust the Justice Department as an institution because of their brazen, consistent and unrelenting bad faith. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One would hope that Xiniss rebuke would bring the government to heel, but unfortunately she is not an outlier. At least three judges in other deportation cases have accused Justice Department lawyers of flouting their orders or acting in bad faith. Thats the bigger story that is being lost in the governments egregious, ham-handed attempt to turn Abrego Garcia into an object lesson. Judges know the difference between a whistleblower and a dog whistle. The post Like me, DOJ whistleblower Erez Reuveni followed the law appeared first on Salon.com. Citigroup Inc. (NYSE:C) is one of the stocks that Jim Cramer shared insights on. While discussing the company during the episode, Cramer noted: One things for certain, it doesnt matter what CEO Jane Fraser says at Citigroup, everyones going to raise price targets and praise the bank anyway. Jim Cramer Says Citigroup Will Get Praised Regardless A banker closely examining a document while seated at his desk. Citigroup (NYSE:C) delivers financial products and services, including investment banking, trading, wealth and personal banking, treasury and securities solutions, serving institutional, corporate, government, and consumer clients across global markets. During an April episode, when a caller inquired about the company stock, Cramer recommended buying despite Citigroup (NYSE:C) not being his favorite stock. I want you to buy Citi. Its not my favorite. Youre absolutely right. I sold Wells, just one more consent decree knocked down. Capital One is my absolute favorite. I think you should buy that aggressively, but I like your idea. While we acknowledge the potential of C as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) With ongoing tariff uncertainty, Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has directed state leaders to conduct reports for industry stakeholders. The governors office reported on Monday that several agencies are now required to release an analysis centered on tariffs current and future impacts on the economy within 90 days. The agencies include the Oregon Business Development Department, Oregon Employment Department, Oregon Department of Agriculture and Department of Emergency Management. Vancouver will require landlords to pay annual rental registration fees Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has announced a number of tariff changes since taking office in January. Most recently, he sent letters that informed several countries they could be hit with higher tariffs if they fail to make trade deals by Aug. 1. Although some businesses have yet to see the effects of changing federal policies, Gov. Kotek previously noted Oregon is among the most trade-dependent states in the U.S. Her office reported that she is requesting tariff reports in an effort to mitigate any potential impacts. I dont like surprises, especially when it comes to Oregonians pocketbooks for things like groceries, school supplies, or even medications, Kotek said in a release. We need a full picture of where we anticipate the pain points are for Oregons economy. People should be able to get what they need from the store at prices they can afford. And businesses need predictable conditions to succeed. For-sale Portland Trail Blazers need a new arena, NBA Commissioner Silver says Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just last month, Business Oregon released the results of a survey that asked stakeholders about the anticipated impact of tariffs. While some respondents said tariffs could potentially benefit their businesses, about 62% estimated they would lead to higher prices for the products they purchase. Another 57.8% of business owners said their customers could likely see increased costs, while 45.5% said the supply chain could be disrupted. Several other states, including Colorado, Illinois and New York, have directed agencies to conduct tariff reports 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 KOIN.com. Crowded around a white board Monday night, members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus plotted over burgers their next big battle. Theyd press to claw back more federal funding in line with the Department of Government Efficiencys cuts, maybe even draft up a deficit shrinking sequel to Trumps big, beautiful bill, said GOP Rep. Keith Self, who was among those in attendance. But the optimism in the groups first meeting since Trumps agenda bill passed belied a grimmer outlook. They ultimately backed that legislation after expressing serious misgivings in public, and many in the GOP now view them as likely to put on a show over red lines then cave, if thats what the president wants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This happens all the time, Ohio Republican Rep. Max Miller told CNN. They will take you to the nth degree. They will make everyone uncomfortable, making it appear as if theyre fighting for something that they will never end up accomplishing, but yet saying that theyve accomplished it. And they havent. House Freedom Caucus members argue their objections to and eventual reversals on Trumps sweeping tax and spending cuts bill were just part of the process: they push legislation to comport with their ultra-conservative worldview, compromising on some points but not others as they look to what lies ahead. But their strategy of going public with concerns, only to set them aside under pressure, has affected how some in the party say theyll approach negotiations with the group in the future. Their power as a voting bloc, some members say, is waning as Republicans attempt to navigate their razor-thin majorities through a government funding fight and push to slash more federal spending. The pattern repeated Tuesday, less than two weeks later. Twelve hardline conservatives, many in the House Freedom Caucus, initially voted to block a cryptocurrency bill an embarrassing blow to House Speaker Mike Johnson on the floor. But after the group was summoned to meet with Trump at the White House later Tuesday night, the president got the group on board in a short discussion where few assurances were made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After breaking their own record for the longest House vote in modern history, the lawmakers ultimately voted to advance the legislation late Wednesday evening after it came up for a second time a move the Freedom Caucus chairman insisted was from a position of strength after striking a deal directly with Trump. House GOP Conference Chair Lisa McClain told CNN that she sees the groups maneuvering as part of the process to land the most conservative bills possible. It hasnt changed how she understands their public stances, she said. Me personally, I take members at their word. So, if one of those members say its a no, I believe that its a no, McClain said. But a Republican source reacting to how the vote was playing out said: Its Groundhog Day. I dont think anybody takes them seriously. They dont know how to negotiate, another GOP lawmaker, granted the anonymity to speak freely about their interactions with the group, told CNN of the Freedom Caucus. They dont know how to define a win or take yes for an answer, and they constantly move the goal posts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When approached by CNN to address criticisms within the House GOP conference, the groups chairman, Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland, raised his voice. Thats bullsh*t, Harris said. You only wish that we were actually ineffective in it. Interview is over. Once you open the vote, they get there The way Trump and House GOP leadership handled the opposition from the caucus on the eve of the final vote on the presidents agenda bill offered a blueprint for calling the lawmakers bluff. Trump initially aimed to play nice, inviting caucus members to the White House to meet with him and Vice President JD Vance for hours. The president heard them out, listened to questions and concerns and sent them on their way with the understanding that they were moving toward pushing his signature domestic policy bill across the finish line, a senior White House official told CNN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But when the caucus demands didnt stop for hours after that meeting, even after some members communicated to House GOP leadership that they were ready to vote yes, proponents of the bill including the White House became frustrated, the official said. As Trump put it on Truth Social, the time for negotiating was over. Once you open the vote, they get there, a senior GOP aide told CNN about the strategy with the House Freedom Caucus. Its easy to be a no when the vote isnt open. Youve got to force the issue and roll the dice. If you never force the issue, theyll never get to yes. GOP leaders intentionally kept various factions of the House GOP conference separate when the process stretched during the holiday recess week from Wednesday night into Thursday morning, knowing that tempers would flare if members were given the opportunity to address each other in an open forum, the aide said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those resentments, though, have only continued to build. GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, who came to Congress during the rise of the Tea Party movement, said the ultraconservative group, which he supports, could learn from an old warning that former House Speaker John Boehner would give during the height of government shutdown fights. He said, I want you to all remember this. Never say what youll never do. Itll come back to haunt you, Kelly recalled. One senior GOP lawmaker compared the members of the group to children who all wanted something different for dinner, arguing their 15 points of opposition had been too many and as such were easier to turn down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unless all the kids are unified, thats whats coming for dinner, the lawmaker said. And you might as well just get to yes and recognize thats whats for dinner. Pointing to how public the group was in its opposition, another senior GOP lawmaker questioned how serious the caucus was at negotiating. There are the folks who like to get things done. And theyre the folks who like to be on TV, the second senior GOP lawmaker told CNN. Its kind of devolved into a group of celebrities. GOP Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, who ultimately was one of just two GOP votes opposed to the final version of the bill, kept his concerns to private conversations with leadership. Members of the House Freedom Caucus, by contrast, made regular television appearances voicing their objections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another GOP aide close to the House Freedom Caucus found its arc from opposition to support so unsurprising that they sent a message days ahead of the final vote predicting the exact way it played out. The Freedom Caucus went from the all-star team to the island of misfit toys, the source said. The final days of the presidents sweeping agenda bill in the House also crystalized that Trump, not the House speaker, is the one calling the shots. Members needed to hear from the president, not just Johnson, that the time for negotiating was over. When Johnson would hit a wall with a member, hed often reach out to the president for help, two sources familiar with the dynamic said. At the bill signing ceremony, Johnson presented Trump with the gavel that was used to close out the final House vote passing the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think presidents personal influence on it was the difference. It was the deal maker, GOP Rep. Ryan Zinke of Montana said, reflecting on the bills progress through the chamber. This bill would not have been passed if Trump wasnt president, another senior Republican told CNN. Trump is the speaker. Johnson couldnt get any of the votes. Stronger now than weve ever been House Freedom Caucus members argue their constant pressure throughout the megabills months-long legislative process pushed their party to embrace deeper cuts to Medicaid and spending. Moments after the presidents agenda passed, Harris, the groups chairman, denied that he was caving by changing his vote and pointed to significant agreements struck with the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Ralph Norman, who was considered part of the face of the caucus opposition, argued that Trumps willingness to sit with members of the group for two hours to walk them through the bill before the House voted on it was a sign of how powerful the group has become. Were stronger now than weve ever been. Why do you think Trump had 14 of us in the White House? Why do you think he took the time to explain? He did a great job. And I trust him, the South Carolina Republican said. Responding to direct criticisms from his colleagues on the groups tactics, Norman said, Our holding it up improved it. Now, the criticism that we voted, that we made no changes and we ended up voting for it, thats because we wanted the tax cuts and we knew that the Senate acts on its own and theyre a bunch of liberals over there. So would I have sacrificed the whole bill? No. GOP Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri, a Freedom Caucus member, touted the groups strategy to notch conservative wins in the final legislation. Trump, he noted, often jokes with them that he considers himself a member of the group, adding that the assurances from the president about how he would implement the bill were meaningful to winning the their support. At the end of the day, our goals are aligned nearly perfectly with the president, Burlison, who was involved in the negotiations last week, told CNN. Because of that, it puts us in a different dynamic with Trump. GOP Rep. Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee, another HFC member, told CNN that theres always room for improvement when it comes to the groups negotiating strategy, but ultimately defended its role within the House GOP conference. If there is a caucus at all thats held in high esteem, its going to be the Freedom Caucus, she said. Rep. Tim Burchett, who is often aligned with the group though not a member, said Republicans walked out of their pre-vote meeting with Trump and Vance essentially with an agreement on the intent of the bill and that was enough for them. You can knock them but you should never underestimate them. And I think a lot of members do, the Tennessee Republican said. CNNs Manu Raju contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Is President Donald Trump in serious trouble? Its much too soon to know, but he is struggling to an unusual degree to contain the fallout from the Justice Departments announcement earlier this month that sought to dispel many of the popular beliefs about Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased infamous financier who faced child sex-trafficking charges. Federal investigators asserted that there was no evidence that Epstein blackmailed powerful figures, kept a client list, or died by a means other than suicide when he was found dead in his cell in New York City in 2019. The announcement prompted a wave of internal and external fury among Trumps supporters, for whom the Epstein case had taken on a totemic significance. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who held a media event in March where aides hoisted large binders that read Epstein Files and claimed that new information would soon come to light, received the lions share of the blame. FBI Director Kash Patel also came under fire after insisting on Twitter that the Epstein-related conspiracy theories just arent true, never have been. His top deputy, Dan Bongino, reportedly considered resigning in protest. In a post on Wednesday, Trump insisted that the falloutwhich, again, came largely from his own supporters and boosters in right-wing mediawas actually a scheme by Democrats to distract from how good of a job hes doing as president. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker, he wrote on Truth Social, his personal social-media service. They havent learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a bizarre statement even by Trumps own standards. Epstein is arguably one of the most famous American criminal defendants of the twenty-first century. After years of rumors and reports, he was finally hit with federal sex-trafficking charges in July 2019during Trumps first term, no lessand held at a federal detention center in Manhattan, where he died by suicide in August before his trial could begin. Trumps habit of referring to any damaging information as a hoax has never been more laughable or concerning than it is here. No one can honestly hope in 2025 that this or any other political scandal will seriously damage Trump, who has escaped multiple scandalsfrom rape allegations to the Access Hollywood tape to a felony conviction for paying off an adult film starthat would have ended anyone elses political career over the past decade. At the same time, it is striking how poorly his usual playbook will work for the Epstein files debacle. For one thing, Trump cannot simply lean into it. Toward the end of his first term, his favored tactic was to implicitly acknowledge the basic facts but insist he had done nothing wrong. When he faced impeachment for coercing the Ukrainian government to smear his eventual 2020 opponent Joe Biden, for example, Trump frequently insisted his actions were innocent and that the infamous phone call where he pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was a perfect phone call. During his second impeachment trial, he claimed that his exhortations to the insurrectionary crowd on January 6 were peaceful critiques of what he saw as a stolen election, as well as constitutionally protected free speech. That approach also worked well enough for what Trump derisively called process crimes like obstruction of justice or conspiracy after he left office; it is somewhat less tenable when the matter at hand is underage sex trafficking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump also cannot credibly claim that he is the victim of some kind of witch hunt, even though he is trying to do so. This line of attack worked well enough when he had tangible adversaries on the other side of the equation: Special counsel Robert Mueller for the Russia investigation, the Manhattan district attorneys office for his financial cases, Georgia prosecutor Fani Willis for the election fraud case, special counsel Jack Smith for the January 6 case and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, or even the House and Senate Democrats who investigated him. Trump pummeled them relentlessly for their alleged bias and hostility, discrediting them among his supporters and allies and insulating himself from any political fallout from the investigations findings. Those days are over now; there are no more witch-hunters. Trumps executive orders destroyed the post-Watergate tradition of independence at the Justice Department and the FBI, and his appointees have pursued and ousted any employees who are deemed insufficiently loyal to the presidents agenda. Both chambers of Congress are also under Republican control, depriving Democrats of a means to subpoena Trump or even hold hearings about his actions. This scandal is entirely a self-inflicted wound. The president may have thought that the next four years would be free of the investigations and hoaxes that marked the last eight years. That would explain why he appears to be even more frustrated than usual about this new scandal. Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein? he recently told a reporter when asked about him. This guys been talked about for years. Are people still talking about this creep? That is unbelievable. Do you want to waste this time? I cant believe youre asking about Epstein. Part of the problem is that the optics are terrible. It is indisputable that Trump knew both Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, the latter of whom received a 20-year prison sentence for her role in Epsteins crimes. There are countless photos of them together at public events over a number of years. Particularly damaging for Trump is that he seems to have remarked upon Epsteins personal life, so to speak, well before it became public knowledge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2002, New York magazine published a profile of the secretive financier titled Jeffrey Epstein: International Man of Mystery. It noted that his financial clients were largely unknown, as was the nature and structure of his business. Maxwell made a cameo as what one source described as a soulmate, hinting at their mysterious relationship without really scratching the surface of it. Perhaps the only person interviewed for the article who actually seemed to know much about Epstein was Trump, and his comments are eye-opening given what we now know about Epsteins activities. Ive known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy, he told the magazine. Hes a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it Jeffrey enjoys his social life. By 2019, his tune had changed. A reporter asked him at a White House photo op if he had ever banned Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. Yes, and I did have a falling out a long time ago, Trump replied. The reason doesnt make any difference, frankly. But I havent spoken to him in probably 15 years or more. I wasnt a big fan of Jeffrey Epstein, that I can tell you. The exact nature or timing of this falling out is unclear. Whatever the reason, Trump is hardly eager to draw attention to their former friendship these days. Most importantly, the scandal threatens to puncture one of the central mythologies that Trump supporters have built around him since he began his political career. One of the MAGA movements most influential subcultures holds that its opponentstop Democratic politicians, major media figures, left-wing billionaires and celebrities, and so onare secretly members of some kind of pedophilic cabal. When top Clinton advisor John Podestas emails were hacked and released in 2016, for example, far-right figures seized on mundane emails about pizza orders and claimed that they represented some kind of secret code for child sex trafficking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pizzagate, as the theory became known, never quite became a mainstream tenet of MAGA ideology at the time. Trump himself appears to have never mentioned it, Fox News anchors did not embrace it, and top Republicans were baffled by it. (An exception was Michael Flynn, an avowed conspiracy theorist who briefly served as Trumps national security advisor.) But it continued to fester in right-wing social-media spaces until a North Carolina man burst into a Washington, D.C. pizza shop with an automatic rifle and demanded the children be freed. None were found. After Trump took office, the conspiracy theory that his opponents were secret pedophiles metamorphosed into something else. An anonymous poster on 4chan, a notorious far-right website, claimed that he was a top-level government official with Q clearance. There are three basic traits to what became known as the QAnon conspiracy theory: First, there is a secret Satanic cabal of pedophiles engaged in a global sex-trafficking scheme who run the government; second, Trump is part of a secret organization working to root out the cabal; and third, Trump will someday expose the pedophiles in a day known as the Storm and bring them to justice. The conspiracy theory had proto-fascistic elements that foreshadowed Trumpisms future: In some versions of the Storm, top Democrats and liberals would be summarily and publicly executed, for example. At the time, QAnon offered a soothing counter-narrative to Trumps tumultuous first term for his supporters. The incompetence and scandal that they saw on TV and in the newspapers was just a smokescreen, its adherents believed. Everything that looked bad for Trump could be chalked up as a distraction from his real efforts to eradicate the so-called deep state. A curious detail is that Trump has, as far as I can tell, never really tried to validate these theories. He has never repeated any of the pedophilia allegations, either against specific opponents or in general terms about his adversaries. When asked about QAnon in a 2020 interview, he professed ignorance. I do know that they are very much against pedophilia, he said. They fight it very hard, but I know nothing about it. Trump has never shied away from attacking his opponents in bitter, personal, and even false terms. But even he has never gone that far. This may be the first Trump scandal that actually feels like a scandal for some of Trumps supportersnot because they think he actually played any role in the underage sex trafficking or that he silenced Epstein in some way in 2019, but because it effectively dispels a mythology that they had constructed to justify supporting him no matter what. Trump is not, in fact, a clandestine crusader who is heroically working to take down a deep-state pedophile ring that wants to destroy him first. Hes just another politician looking to get out of a jam. Dozens of Druze crowded the Israeli-controlled side of the armistice line in the occupied Golan Heights on Thursday, hoping to catch a glimpse of relatives on the Syrian-held side who might try to cross the barbed-wire frontier. Young men drove around the area near the de facto border, waving the Druze flag with its five colourful stripes representing the pillars of their Druze faith, an esoteric offshoot of Shiite Islam. The area has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, separating the Golan Druze from their relatives across the demilitarised buffer zone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the crowds, everyone asked for news of their families across the frontier, where days of violence in Syria's Druze-majority Sweida province have left hundreds dead since Sunday, according to a monitor. "Because of the dramatic situation in Syria, the murders, massacres and the violence, many people headed towards the border," said Qamar Abu Saleh, a 36-year-old educator, who lives in Majdal Shams. "They opened the fence and entered, and people from Syria also started crossing here. "It was like a dream, and we still can't believe it happened", she said enthusiastically, adding she came that day in the hope that the border would permanently reopen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It was completely crazy," Amali Shufek, another resident, told AFP. Shufek, in her 50s, hoped to meet her uncle's family living on the Syrian-controlled side just a few kilometres away. She left her parents on chairs facing the fence, again guarded by the Israeli army, hoping it would open again so that she might meet her cousins. "I've only seen photos of them," she added. - Talking all night - Nearby, a group of men hugged one another while a small Druze child from across the frontier waved an Israeli flag. The boy's father, who did not disclose his name for security reasons, said they had come from the village of Hader, and that he had just spent a few hours with his cousins in Majdal Shams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We didn't sleep all night, we only talked," he said. "I have goose bumps just seeing him here", said his cousin who lives on the Israeli-controlled side, adding that he wished for peace in the area so that these visits could become commonplace. In the afternoon, several Druze under Israeli army supervision were escorted through a hole in the ceasefire line fence back to Syrian-controlled territory. Israel, which is home to over 150,000 Druze, including those in the occupied Golan Heights, has presented itself as a defender of the minority group and bombed Syrian forces during the clashes in Sweida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those living in Israel hold Israeli citizenship, but most of the roughly 23,000 from the occupied Golan do not and still identify as Syrians. Some analysts say that Israel is using the Druze as a pretext to pursue its own military goal of keeping Syrian government forces as far from their shared frontier as possible. Following former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad's overthrow in December, the Israeli military took control of the UN-monitored demilitarised zone in the Golan Heights and conducted hundreds of strikes on military targets in Syria. Israel and Syria signed an armistice in 1974 after the Arab-Israeli war of the previous year, but never a formal peace treaty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though Israel has made contact with Syria's new Islamist-led authorities, it has treaded with caution and is now showing clear antagonism towards them. - 'Same family' - A few local elders and Druze clerics wearing traditional clothing a white veil covering the mouth for women and a red tarboush cap wrapped in a white cloth for men had also come to watch the horizon. While the Druze are spread across Syria, Lebanon and Israel, they "all belong to the same family", Salim Safadi, a resident of a nearby village, told AFP. "I think we have some sort of agreement with Israel; when they have a problem we help them, and when we have a problem they help us," the 60-year-old lawyer said, pointing to the fact that many Druze serve in Israel's armed forces and police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he felt grateful for Israel's intervention in Syria's clashes, and that it was its involvement that brought the ceasefire announced Wednesday. "We condemn what is happening in Syria, it's a barbaric act", said Intisar Mahmud, a woman in her sixties shocked by the recent days' events. "Even animals don't do this -- they killed innocents", she added. "We ask the entire world to stand by our relatives in Syria", she said, adding that the current borders did not always exist and calling on people of the region to be like "the fingers of one hand". lsb-crb/lba/phz/dcp DES MOINES, Iowa Levi Johnson and his wife were excited to build their dream home on their fathers property, just adjacent to where they currently live south of Panora. We initially decided to go with Davis. We felt like, you know, they were great to work with in and out of the office, all the reviews online seemed to be great, said Johnson. Little did he know that after construction started in November 2024, things would get more difficult. There were issues arising when Johnson asked the contractor, Davis Custom Homes, to see if there can be fixes to some issues caused by some of the work. Another red flag for Johnson was that mechanical liens were being filed by subcontractors working on the property, which means that the subcontractors werent being paid out for the work they were doing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson decided to hire a private engineer to observe his house under construction, confirming that there were issues the contractor would need to address. More charges filed against ISU student accused of sexually exploiting minors on social media We did present the information from the private engineer, we had a sit down meeting in their office, we did that twice I believe. We were both on a dead head, we were not willing to compromise on that, as well they were not willing to fork up the money needed to fix the issues. I believed that is what stemmed them to reach out to their attorney, was they felt like they didnt need to do anything, said Johnson. After working through the legal channels, Johnson hit a dead end as Davis Custom Homes legal team would not be hearing any future meetings. Johnson and a group of around 20 homeowners met with the Iowa Attorney Generals Office on Wednesday to give the office information regarding each specific situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WHO 13 News went to Davis Custom Homes property on Wednesday. The property landlord shared that the tenants of the building had paid Julys rent, but he had not seen them since Monday, July 6. A contractor was on the scene as well, he told WHO 13 News that he was out $500,000 from his work with Davis Custom Homes. He just got back from vacation on Monday, July 14 and the office was closed and no one was around, and he couldnt get in contact with the owners of Davis Custom Homes. Iowa News: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. A young driver doing donuts in a Brooklyn mall parking lot lost control and fatally struck his girlfriend landing him in jail on negligent homicide charges, police sources said Wednesday. Zachary Cando, 24, was allegedly doing the dangerous spinning trick in a luxury car at the Gateway Center lot in East New York around 12:30 a.m Sunday when he slammed into Madisyn Ruiz, 21, who was sitting on a curb nearby, according to cops. The tragic crash left Ruiz, of Jamaica, Queens, in critical condition and an EMS treated her at the scene, police said. Zachary Cando lost control of the car in the Gateway Center lot at around 12:30 a.m Sunday news12 She was then rushed to Brooklyn Health-Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cando, also of Jamaica, Queens, remained in the parking lot, near shops such as Best Buy and an Old Navy, until police arrived. Police charged Zachary Cando with negligent homicide. news12 He was later charged with criminally negligent homicide, reckless endangerment and reckless driving. The luxury white 2023 Genesis G80 hed been driving was badly dented in the front when police arrived, according to police. He was arraigned Sunday and his bail was set at $5,000 cash or $10,000 bond. WASHINGTON COURT HOUSE, Ohio (WCMH) Multiple overnight crashes, including one involving two semi-trucks in a construction zone, caused the closure of Interstate 71 North and over eight hours of gridlock traffic. According to drivers at the scene, people were stuck on Interstate 71 North, beginning at State Route 38, through U.S. Route 62, starting at about 10:30 p.m. Ohio State Highway Patrol said the roadway had to be shut down due to serious injuries, the need to move the damaged trailer, and an oil spill that required a hazmat cleanup involving the Environmental Protection Agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The southbound lanes reopened at about midnight, while the northbound lanes remained closed until 6:15 a.m., when vehicles stuck closer to the crash site were able to pass through. Traffic at the SR-38 exit, however, was not able to advance on I-71 until 6:50 a.m., about eight hours and 20 minutes after the crashes, which occurred near mile post 88 in Pleasant Township. Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (NBC4/Ronald Clark) Multiple crashes on I-71 North near the Pickaway and Madison County border have caused hours of delays. (Courtesy/Ohio Department of Transportation) I think it was about 11:15 when we finally hit our stop on traffic, said Emma McLaughlin, who was on her way back to Columbus from a Kesha concert in Cincinnati. I think we kind of hoped it was only going to be for an hour or so. But it turns out it ended up being nine hours, which is outrageous. McLaughlin said there were some moms who were asking for formula for their babies. She said they werent really sure what was going on, and didnt really get any answers until about 6 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nine hours with no restroom, no water, it was miserable, McLaughlin said. I think all of us were just really ready to get home and get some rest because it was daunting. Crews were reportedly having a difficult time clearing a path from the crashes due to the narrow lanes and no shoulder, resulting in a lack of space to operate. The OSHP noted that 42,000 pounds of heavy-duty tuck axles in a tractor-trailer had to be offloaded onto a new trailer in order to move the damaged trailer. The OSHP also said two people have been hospitalized, one from each crash, but there are no reported fatalities. Increasing accessibility at Ohio State Fair Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One woman returning from Kings Island amusement park with her three children were stuck in traffic since the crash occurred. Cars are kind of turning off and on to cool down the car, get some air, but everyone seems to be kind be conserving their gas. A lot of cars have been turned off, said Taylor Dempsey, who added that her family has water, but no food and everyone is need of a restroom. AAA recommends drivers keep emergency kits in their cars; something McLaughlin said she will be doing going forward. These types of things happen, said Kara Hitchens, a spokesperson for AAA. We know weve seen it happen before. It happened on the east coast a couple of years ago. Its good to be proactive because you can never plan for that type of thing. But its a good idea just to have it in your car in case of emergencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those who were able to maneuver on the highway were detoured to SR-38 heading southeast, to U.S. 62, through Mount Sterling towards Grove City in Franklin County. NBC4 traffic anchor Kristine Varkony said the detour could take up to an hour of extra drive time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NBC4 WCMH-TV. By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) -Iraqi Kurdistan will resume oil exports through a pipeline to Turkey after a two-year halt, Iraq's federal government said on Thursday despite a fourth day of drone attacks that have shut down half of the region's output. The semi-autonomous region did not confirm the export plan, but Baghdad and Erbil have been in negotiations since late February to end a stand-off that has halted flows from the north of the country to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baghdad said the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) will immediately begin delivering at least 230,000 barrels per day (bpd) to state oil marketer SOMO for export under a new agreement approved by the federal cabinet. The drone attacks on Iraqi Kurdistan's oilfields continued on Thursday, with officials pointing to Iran-backed militias as the likely source of attacks. They are the first such attacks on oilfields in the region and coincide with the first attacks in seven months on shipping in the Red Sea by Iran-aligned Houthi militants in Yemen. Thursday's strike hit an oilfield operated by Norway's DNO in Tawke, the region's counter-terrorism service said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was the week's second strike on a site operated by DNO, which operates the Tawke and Peshkabour oilfields in the Zakho area that borders Turkey. No group has claimed responsibility for four consecutive days of attacks, but security officials told Reuters the drones came from areas controlled by Iran-backed militias. No casualties have been reported, but oil output in the region has been cut by 140,000 bpd to 150,000 bpd, two energy officials said. AWAITING FINANCIAL DETAILS A statement from KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said the government had approved a joint understanding with the federal government and it was awaiting financial details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Similar agreements in the past failed to secure a resumption in exports and it remains unclear if this deal will succeed. Oil producers working in Kurdistan, including DNO, Genel Energy, Gulf Keystone Petroleum and Shamaran Petroleum, did not respond immediately to requests for comment. They have previously demanded that their production-sharing contracts should remain unchanged and their debts of nearly $1 billion be settled under any agreement. The KRG was producing about 435,000 bpd before the pipeline closure in March 2023. The United States has been pressuring both sides to reach a deal to resume exports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iran backs militant groups that are part of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a collection of about 10 hardline Shi'ite armed factions that command about 50,000 fighters and arsenals. They have claimed responsibility for dozens of missile and drone attacks on Israel and U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria since the Gaza war erupted in 2023. United States-based Hunt Oil operates the Ain Sifni oilfield in the Dohuk region, which was attacked on Wednesday. Hunt Oil said no workers were injured but it had to shut down its facilities to assess damage. (Reporting by Ahmed RasheedAdditional reporting by Enes TangurWriting by Ahmed Elimam and Ahmad GhaddarEditing by Barbara Lewis, Sharon Singleton, Jason Neely and David Goodman) BRUSSELS (Reuters) -A European drug trafficking ring has been dismantled in a joint operation by Belgian, Dutch and British authorities, with seven people arrested and 5 million euros ($5.80 million) seized, the pan-European Europol police body said on Thursday. The traffickers mainly dealt in ketamine, along with other products such as cocaine and heroin, and hid drugs in mail packages among other methods, it said. Nine houses in Belgium, along with two other houses in Britain and the Netherlands, were searched during Tuesday's sting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The perpetrators operated not only within Western Europe, but were spread across multiple regions around the world. They used a variety of sophisticated methods to traffic drugs through Europe without detection, including trucks with drugs hidden in deck cargo and mail packages, which were intercepted in Belgium," the Europol statement said. The U.N. said last month the global cocaine trade was at record levels. ($1 = 0.8623 euros) (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne) A fresh wave of deadly sectarian violence has rocked Syria, putting into focus the country's fragile security landscape as the new government attempts to impose its authority over the fractured territory. On Sunday 13 July, the reported abduction of a merchant from the Druze minority sparked days of deadly clashes between Druze militias and Sunni Bedouin fighters in southern Syria. Later on Tuesday 15 July, Israel intervened militarily, saying its forces were seeking to protect the Druze and to eliminate pro-government forces accused of attacking them in Suweida. At least 350 people are reported to have been killed in Suweida since Sunday, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The violence is the first in the Druze-majority province of Suweida since fighting in April and May between Druze fighters and Syria's new security forces killed dozens of people. Prior to this, clashes in Syria's coastal provinces in March were said to have killed hundreds of members of the Alawite minority, to which former ruler Bashar al-Assad belongs. The deadly unrest, along with the violent Israeli strikes, have re-ignited fears of a security breakdown in Syria, as the country grapples with the fallout from over a decade of civil war, and the recent Islamist-led rebel takeover of Damascus in December 2024. Syria's current leader, former jihadist Ahmed al-Sharaa, has vowed to protect Syria's minorities. Who are the Druze? The Druze are an Arabic-speaking ethno-religious minority in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. The Druze faith is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its own unique identity and beliefs. Half of its roughly one million followers live in Syria, where they make up about 3% of the population. The Druze community in Israel is largely considered to be loyal to the Israeli state, owing to its members' participation in military service. There are some 152,000 Druze people living in Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, according to the Israeli Central Bureau of Statistics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They have historically occupied a precarious position in Syria's political order. During Syria's almost 14-year civil war, the Druze operated their own militias in southern Syria. Since the fall of Assad in December, the Druze have resisted state attempts to impose authority over southern Syria. While the Druze factions in Syria are divided in their approach to the new authorities, ranging from caution to outright rejection, many object to official Syrian security presence in Suweida and have resisted integration into the Syrian army - relying instead on local militias. [BBC] Despite the Syrian government condemning the recent attacks on Druze people and vowing to restore order in southern Syria, its forces have also been accused of attacking the minority - with the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) war monitor documenting "summary executions" of Druze people by government forces. Such reports have fuelled mistrust among some members of the Druze community towards the authorities in Damascus. After Assad's sudden fall, Israel has been reaching out to the Druze community near its northern border in a bid to forge alliances with Syria's minorities. It has increasingly positioned itself as a regional protector of minorities, including the Kurds, Druze and Alawites in Syria, while attacking military sites in Syria and government forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the sectarian clashes in May, Israel carried out strikes near the presidential palace in Damascus, saying it was a warning against attacks on the Druze. However, some Druze figures in Syria and Lebanon have accused Israel of stoking sectarian divisions to advance its own expansionist aspirations in the region. Why is Israel attacking Syria now? The most recent strikes have primarily acted as a warning and a deterrent against the Syrian army deploying to southern Syria, with Israel seeking to create a demilitarised zone in the area. In particular, Israel fears the presence of Islamist fighters near its northern border, along the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. While the Israeli air strikes on 15 July were limited to targeting security forces and vehicles in Suweida, the Israeli military expanded the scope of its attacks on 16 July, striking the Ministry of Defence and the Syrian army headquarters in Damascus. Syria has condemned the attacks. The strikes represented the most serious Israeli escalation in Syria since December 2024, when it obliterated hundreds of military sites across the country and seized a UN-patrolled buffer zone in the Syrian Golan Heights. Israel has struck Syria multiple times, with the intention of preventing the new authorities from building its military capacities - viewed as a potential threat to Israeli security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The warnings in Damascus have ended - now painful blows will come," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz wrote on social media on 16 July, shortly after Israeli strikes on Damascus began. The targeting of the Syrian military headquarters was broadcast live by the leading Syria TV channel, from its studios located across from the building - with the presenter captured on air fleeing the studio. How has the rest of the world reacted? The US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said the US was "very concerned" about the violence and announced on 16 July: "We have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight." Several Arab states, including Lebanon, Iraq, Qatar, Jordan, Egypt, and Kuwait, have condemned the Israeli strikes targeting Syrian government and security forces. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry denounced what it described as "Israel's blatant attacks" on Syria, while Iran described the attacks as "all too predictable". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turkey, a key stakeholder in post-Assad Syria, described the strikes as "an act of sabotage against Syria's efforts to secure peace, stability and security". UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also condemned Israel's "escalatory" strikes in Suweida and Damascus. What could happen next? The violence has underlined the fragility of Syria's post-war security and political landscape, with the most recent spate of violence fuelling fears of renewed sectarian attacks across Syria. As Sharaa attempts to establish control over Syria and to unite its various groups, it remains to be seen whether his Islamist-dominated government will be able to reconcile Syria's deep-rooted sectarian divisions, stoked by years of civil war. The sectarian clashes, along with the Israeli strikes, threaten to derail attempts at state-building and post-war recovery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel, for its part, is likely to continue to perceive the new authorities, and its affiliated Islamist fighters in the south, as a significant security threat - pushing it to pursue alliances with groups that may feel alienated by the new authorities. (Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase has appointed Mike Lister and Brennan Spry as co-heads of North America corporate banking, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters. The move is aimed at reinforcing the Commercial and Investment Banking (CIB) unit, which has shown considerable strength and is a key driver of growth at the largest U.S. bank. The New York-based bank beat estimates for second quarter profit on Tuesday, helped by robust performance in its investment banking business and strong trading. The CIB arm reported a net income of $6.65 billion in the second quarter, up from $5.9 billion in the year earlier. Lister previously led the natural resources group, while Spry served as one of the co-heads of the diversified industries group within the banks global corporate banking business. In their new roles, they will oversee all segments of corporate banking in North America, including healthcare, real estate, and technology. JPMorgans global corporate banking business serves more than 7,000 clients, including large corporations and financial institutions. (Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid) Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) butted heads on Wednesday over the safety of the New York City subway system and the accuracy of crime data statistics. In testimony before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Duffy warned Nadler not to call him a liar after the congressman said Duffy has misrepresented the facts from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), which is responsible for the subways in New York. As recently as last week, you again attacked the MTA, claiming that theres a surge in subway assaults and accusing the agency of withholding information, Nadler said at the hearing. But many of your statements misrepresent the facts and ignore documentation already provided to your department. I want to address some of those claims directly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First, are you aware that major crime in the transit system, including assaults, is down 3 percent since last year and down 8 percent since 2019? Nadler asked. Duffy told Nadler those statistics were wrong and that MTA systems have seen a 60 percent increase in assaults since 2019. Nadler countered: Why do you continue to ignore this and lie about this in your public comments? Duffy pushed back, asking why Nadler continues to lie about people being lit on fire in subways or pushed in front of trains? You should be fighting to make sure your subways are safe, Duffy said. If you want people to ride subways, lets make subways safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our subways are safe, and I gave you these statistics, Nadler added. Theyre wrong, Duffy said. MTA published its latest official crime statistics in May 2025, showing total major felonies on subways down 3.9 percent over the same period in 2024. Total major felonies are down 7.3 percent compared with the same five-month period in 2019. Felony assaults, however one of the categories contained in major crimes have risen by 18 percent compared with the same period in 2024, and by more than 60 percent since 2019, according to the MTA crime statistics. Nadler and Duffy also clashed over congestion pricing in the city, which the Trump administration has opposed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pricing scheme charges drivers $9 per day during peak hours to enter Manhattans central business district, and $2.25 during off hours. Nadler said the charge was no different than any other toll road, arguing there was no precedent for the Trump administrations push to repeal the program. Duffy contended that drivers can choose alternate roads if they want to avoid normal turnpikes, unlike drivers who want to enter New Yorks Congestion Relief Zone. Secretary Duffy, why do you continue to lie about New York City? Nadler asked. Youre lying. Dont call me a liar here, Duffy countered. Im calling you a liar because youve lied continually, Nadler responded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan delivers a keynote address during the second day of the Mackinac Policy Conference at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Mich., on May 28, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Roth/Michigan Advance) Detroits powerful regional business organization has thrown its weight behind Mike Duggans independent bid to be the next governor of Michigan. The Detroit Regional Chamber PAC on Thursday announced that it was endorsing Duggan in the 2026 gubernatorial election. The decision was unanimously reached with a quorum of political action committee members present, the chamber said in a news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Duggan got the endorsement, the chamber said, because of his proven track record of executive-level business experience prior to his time as mayor, primarily as the leader of the Detroit Medical Center. Duggan was also once on the Detroit Regional Chambers Board of Directors. The Chamber and businesses across the state are growing increasingly concerned about the inability of our political parties to find common ground and move Michigan forward, Sandy Baruah, Chamber president and CEO, said in a statement. Throughout his business and government career, Mike Duggan has proven he can bring people together to work toward common goals. Voters across Michigan are tired of the political infighting; they are clamoring for results-driven leadership, which is exactly what Mike has brought to every leadership position hes held. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX That success, the chamber noted, extended to his time as mayor, which has helped Detroit experience revitalization and become a national model for renewal. Detroits population is growing, the chamber said, and that was thanks to Duggans leadership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Duggans tenure in Detroit has been a case study in effective, consistent leadership, David Foltyn, chairman of the Chamber PAC and the Honigman law firms chairman and CEO, said in a statement. He has demonstrated a unique ability to bring stakeholders together to solve generational challenges. The business community has full confidence that he will bring that same steady hand and relentless focus on results to Lansing, creating the stable, pro-growth environment Michigan needs to compete on a global scale. A news release issued by the chamber also noted that it was the first business organization to endorse Duggan during his 2013 mayoral write-in campaign, and supported him in his subsequent reelection bids. The chamber has a history of endorsing candidates from both major parties, having endorsed Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, in both her 2018 gubernatorial campaign and her 2022 re-election bid, as well former Republican Gov. Rick Snyder in his 2014 reelection campaign. However, the organization declined to make an endorsement in the 2024 U.S. Senate race, saying its board could not reach a consensus on whether to support former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers (R-White Lake) or then-U.S. Rep. Elissa Slotkin (D-Holly). Slotkin ended up winning the election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Duggan as independent will face whomever is nominated by the respective major political parties, who wont be decided until the August 2026 primary. That has given Duggan somewhat of an early opportunity to run a general election-style race early in the cycle. On the Democratic side, Duggan could face Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II, Genesee County Sheriff Chris Swanson or former Cape Coral, Fla., Mayor Marni Sawicki On the Republican side, the Detroit mayor could face U.S. Rep. John James of Shelby Township, state Senate Minority Leader Aric Nesbitt of Portage, former Attorney General Mike Cox, former House Speaker Tom Leonard of DeWitt, Genesee County truck driver Anthony Hudson and Traverse City native Evan Space. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) A traffic stop in Assumption Parish ended with the seizure of methamphetamine and the arrest of two people on multiple charges. Jamie Lynn Adams, 39, of Thibodaux, was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession of drug paraphernalia, obstruction of justice, no drivers license, and no seat belt. She also had a fugitive warrant in Lafourche Parish for a failure to pay child support. David Paul Landry, 54, of Thibodaux, was charged with possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, obstruction of justice, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of alcoholic beverages in a motor vehicle. He also had a detainer for probation and parole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vehicle they were in was stopped by the Assumption Parish Sheriffs Office on LA 308 north of Labadieville. The sheriffs office said the stop was initiated due to an equipment violation. Adams was the driver, and Landry was a passenger in the vehicle. After interviewing them, a K-9 unit was asked to come to the scene. An open-air sniff of their vehicle by a K-9 led deputies to believe there were controlled dangerous substances present. A subsequent search of the vehicle uncovered a significant amount of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia, APSO said. They said 40 grams of methamphetamine was seized along with a digital scale, multiple loaded and unloaded syringes, and six glass pipes used for smoking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 1 dead after car hits tree in East Feliciana Parish Adams and Landry were booked into the Assumption Parish Detention Center. 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. EAST ST. LOUIS, Ill. Two individuals accused of operating a years-long prostitution scheme at several southern Illinois massage parlors now face felony charges. Prosecutors charged Jianhong Hu Allbright, 57, of Shoals, Indiana, and Yalong Cao, 25, of Schaumburg, Illinois, each with one count of conspiracy to commit an offense against the U.S. and one count of money laundering conspiracy. Albright is also charged with transporting an individual to engage in prostitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to federal court documents, the crimes allegedly took place between March 2022 and June 2024 at five massage parlors across southern Illinois and Indiana, including: Oriental Home Spa & Massage (Centralia) Sunflower Spa (Mount Vernon) Rose Spa (Harrisburg) Oasis Massage Spa (Vandalia) Oriental Massage Parlor (Corydon, Indiana) Allbright allegedly managed the parlors day-to-day operations, accused of arranging transportation and providing supplies for the female employees to engage in commercial sex acts. New Missouri law bans 6 invasive plants for sale Meanwhile, Allbright and Cao are both accused of advertising illicit acts at their massage parlors on websites. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Massage parlors engaged in prostitution are not the romanticized fantasy from the movie Pretty Womanthey are criminal enterprises that create and exploit financial dependency to trap immigrants and others, coercing them into degrading subjugation, said U.S. Attorney Steven D. Weinhoeft via a news release. The Justice Department will continue to vigorously prosecute sex trafficking and work to vindicate the rights of vulnerable victims across southern Illinois. The Illinois State Police commitment to fighting human trafficking is unwavering, said Illinois State Police Director Brendan F. Kelly. We are dedicated to protecting the most vulnerable, pursuing traffickers with every available resource, and working hand in hand with our partners to dismantle the networks that exploit human lives. This is not just law enforcementits a moral obligation. The United States Department of Justice identified Allbright and Cao both as Chinese nationals. If convicted, Allbright faces up to 35 years in prison and Cao faces up to 25 years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp has said that his country will not stop seeking truth, justice and accountability in the case of the MH17 crash on 17 July 2014 in Donetsk Oblast. Source: Veldkamp on X (Twitter), quoted by European Pravda Details: Veldkamp made his statement on the 11th anniversary of the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 by Russian forces. All passengers and crew members, a total of 298 people, were killed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote: "'Even if they can never forget, they deserve peace.' Eleven years after the downing of flight MH17, this remains as true as ever for the loved ones of the victims. Today, I pause to commemorate all 298 people who lost their lives, including 196 Dutch citizens." More details: In this context, Veldkamp mentioned the recent decision of the European Court of Human Rights. Quote: "Russia's responsibility is beyond dispute. This was just recently established by the European Court of Human Rights and the International Civil Aviation Organisation. The Netherlands remains resolute in its efforts for truth, justice and accountability for the victims and all those who were left behind." Background: On 9 July, the ECHR found Russia guilty of violating numerous articles of the European Convention on Human Rights in a major interstate case that combined complaints from Ukraine and the Netherlands against Russia regarding numerous human rights violations during the war before and after 24 February 2022 and the downing of flight MH17. Ukrainian ECHR judge Mykola Hnatovskyi called the court's decision historic and noted that it was probably the largest and most important case in the history of the Court. The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice called the long-awaited decision of the ECHR unprecedented. The Kremlin stated that it considers the decisions of the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Ukraine and the Netherlands v. Russia to be null and void and does not intend to comply with them. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! This article contains information about alleged child sexual abuse material. Report CSAM to law enforcement by contacting the ICAC Tip Line at (801) 281-1211 or your local law enforcement agency. EAGLE MOUNTAIN, Utah (ABC4) An Eagle Mountain man has been arrested and charged with sending payments to a 13-year-old girl in exchange for sexual photos. Jaxson Thomas Fox, 22, has been charged with 18 counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, a first-degree felony, and two counts of voyeurism, a Class A misdemeanor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to documents, an investigator with the Utah County Sheriffs Office was sent a CyberTip referral from the Little Rock Police Department involving a case in their jurisdiction where a 13-year-old female child was exchanging sexual photos of herself with an adult man for money. American Fork woman accused of conspiring to murder husband pleads guilty The adult man, later identified as Fox, was sending the 13-year-old child payments over Apple Pay and making specific requests for the minor, making her create child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of herself and share it with him. A search warrant was obtained for Foxs residence, and police interviewed him regarding the incident. Fox allegedly admitted to meeting the underage child through social media and said that he knew she was a minor. He said that he would send the 13-year-old payments in exchange for fulfilling his requests and creating CSAM. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Graphic sexual messages from Fox to the 13-year-old were located, and his payments to the underage girl totaled around $430, documents say. Previously, Fox had faced charges for uploading CSAM in 2022, but a search warrant served on his residence did not return anything because he was out of town, and police were not aware that he lived there. They spoke with the homeowners, who did not possess any CSAM, and the case was closed. Payson man allegedly sexually abused 14-year-old in church parking lot During the police interview, he allegedly told police that he was the one who had uploaded the CSAM in that 2022 incident. Fox also admitted that he had sent and received CSAM from other individuals and has a sexual interest in young teenagers. Police discovered that Fox had access to a girl around this age, but he stated that he had not done anything to her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The detective investigating the case located CSAM on Foxs phone, as well as two videos where he secretly recorded adult women in changing rooms at a store. Fox was booked into the Utah County Jail and is currently being held without bail. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. Latest headlines: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 powerful earthquake struck Alaska on Wednesday, less than a day after one of the states Republican senators warned that cuts to public radio backed by the Trump administration could affect disaster alerts for her constituents and other Americans. U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski was one of two Senate Republicans to vote against the $9 billion in spending cuts, which passed in a 51-48 vote just after 2 a.m. Thursday. The bill now heads to the U.S. House. The legislation slashes funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public broadcasting stations across the country, from WBUR radio in Boston to Alaska Public Media in Murkowskis home state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The radio stations are not just your news it is your tsunami alert, it is your landslide alert, it is your volcano alert," Murkowski said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. Less than a day later, Alaskans saw those alerts in action. A magnitude 7.3 earthquake struck offshore of the Alaska Peninsula just after 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday. It sent some coastal residents and visitors scrambling for higher ground, though officials ultimately canceled a tsunami warning for the region. There were no reports of significant damage, according to The Associated Press. Federal advisories about the earthquake and the potential for a tsunami were issued through Alaskan public broadcasting stations, Murkowski later said in a statement on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Alaska, these are simply organizations dedicated to their communities, she said. Their response to todays earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide. They deliver local news, weather updates, and, yes, emergency alerts that save human lives. The quake offered a reminder that when we hear people rant about how public broadcasting is nothing more than this radical, liberal effort to pollute peoples minds, I think they need to look at what some of the basic services are to communities, she added in a statement, according to funds are distributed to local public broadcasting stations nationwidethe AP. U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said the cuts targeted wasteful spending, though they would reduce the federal budget deficit by only a minor amount. Thune called the vote a small but important step for fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue, according to the AP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cuts would slice $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the full amount it was set to receive over the next two fiscal years. More than 70% of the funds are distributed to local public broadcasting stations nationwide. U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, also voted against the cuts. More on Politics Read the original article on MassLive. EAST LIVERPOOL, Ohio (WKBN) The East Liverpool City School District is implementing a phone-free policy for this upcoming school year as part of a statewide mandate signed into law last year. The school says the change aligns with Ohio House Bill 250, which requires all public school districts to adopt official policies limiting cell phone use during instructional time. This move is designed to improve student focus, academic achievement, mental wellness, and real-world connection by reducing digital distractions, ELCSD stated in the announcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For students, this means phones and other personal electronic devices must be stored in lockers, backpacks or a designated classroom storage spot during the day. Devices may be accessed during lunch, with the exception of: ELJH, Westgate, North and Lacroft. The school says students can check their devices before and after school, as well as on the bus and during extracurriculars. Emergencies and medical needs are highlighted as an exception to the general policy. If students do not abide by these rules, a teacher will hold the device until the end of class, it may be held by an administration member for parent/guardian retrieval, limits could be placed on extracurricular activities, and repeated offenses could lead to detention or Friday Night School. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Refusal to turn over a cell phone to a staff member when asked will be escalated to an issue of insubordination and result in a three-day suspension, according to the district. Other schools, such as Youngstown City School District, implemented cell phone policies last year while numerous others in the area took more time to consider. The deadline to adopt cell phone policies is this month, in preparation for the 2025-2026 school year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. EASTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) Easthampton tenants are calling on city officials, as well as Beacon Hill, to put tighter restrictions on corporate landlords from out of state. Agawam police seek help identifying suspect accused of stealing $600 using stolen debit card Easthampton tenants and advocates rallied at City Hall Wednesday night, calling attention to the impacts of corporate landlords on communities, saying they are pushing people out onto the street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has been an ongoing fight, especially amid the regions growing housing crisis. They dont care about us. They come in and ruin communities, says Amy Mares, a tenant with the 17 Adams Street Association. Organizing Director for Springfield No One Leaves, told 22News, Most of the corporate landlords that are in Easthampton, that are in western Massachusetts, are from California, New York, New Jersey. Their investment in the city is not the same as it is as the person who lives on the same block. So they come in, raise the rents, flip it, just to make more profit elsewhere. Nancy Dorian lives at Pleasantview, a complex owned by Rowin Capital, a New York City-based private equity firm. She says in just six months her rent jumped from $1,150 to just over $2,200. She claims the owners are focused on the profits and that building conditions continue to decline. Weeds are coming up, she says. The gutters are overflowing. The basements are flooding. They are not taking care of their investment. Also in Easthampton, 17 Adams Street, is a complex now owned by Hurricane Properties. Tenants there are facing rent hikes of up to 50%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mares adds, The office assistant told us that there was no negotiating happening and that we should sit tight and get ready for our eviction papers. 22News has reached out to both Rowin Capital and Hurricane Properties for comment, but we have not heard back. In the meantime, tenants and advocates continue to push city officials to protect rents and restrict future property sales to corporate buyers. The organization Springfield No One Leaves will take this fight to Beacon Hill at the end of July, ahead of the municipal committee hearing on the proposed rent control bill. In a statement, Pleasantview Residences LLC said: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The current effective rent for long term tenants, and the rent that was referenced in the story by a tenant, is $1,450 per month for a two-bedroom apartment. Our long-term tenants enjoy some of the most affordable rents in the areawell below current market rates and below HUD Fair Market Rent, despite Pleasantview being a desirable market-rate property. New lease rates are currently $2,100 and we have a waiting list for these apartments. Pleasantview is well-maintained and professionally managed. Many tenants are quite happy. Management has generously offered any unhappy tenant that they may break their lease at any time and leave to another apartment complex they like better. So far, no one has taken management up on the offer, which speaks for itself. 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. HOLLAND, Mich. (WOOD) Two Holland retail shops are shutting down their storefronts this month to move fully online. Its part of a growing trend among retailers trying to survive in a changing economy. After opening up earlier this year in Holland Town Center, White Stone Trading Company is packing up. A sign on their door reads, We are closing our brick-and-mortar store and will be doing online sales and pop-up sales. Our last day here will be July 19th. Thank you to all who shopped here. We appreciate your patronage. Co-owners Gary Ezinga and Kerry Ann poured their hearts into the boutique market. They sell one-of-a-kind antiques, home decor and locally-made items. However, they say the customers just werent there and neither were the sales. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Big Beautiful Bill, automaker woes and inflation: Todays economic conditions [Ann] put together this beautiful store but unfortunately we get more compliments than we do people walking out with stuff, said Ezinga. I think its a really tough time right now. Brick and mortar are expensive. You gotta have the traffic and the trends are going to service industries and things you need. Even customers admit that shopping habits have changed. Its easier just to go online and everythings at your fingertips, said Danae Pena, a local shopper. I think its kind of sad that unfortunately stores like this cant make it as well as some online stores and bigger box stores. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to analysts with wealth management and economic company UBS, roughly 45,000 retail locations are projected to close over the next five years due to more shoppers turning to the screen instead of the store. I just think a lot of the businesses around here the small businesses especially people are doing so much online shopping that you dont get the traffic like you used to, said Ezinga. With more people shopping online, Ezinga and his wife made the challenging decision to close the store, take some time off and plan to relaunch on a digital platform and do pop-up sales. In the meantime, the shop is clearing its inventory fast with 90% off everything sales. Another local business announced its storefront closure this month. Half a mile away, the longtime toy store, EcoBuns Baby + Co. on Lakewood Boulevard is moving its sales online only on July 23. EcoBuns Baby + Co. is moving to an online-only sales model. (July 16, 2025) Co-owner Marissa Berghorst said the company began 16 years ago out of the original owners living room. Now, the company will be going back to its roots. Berghorst said the decision to close the store down was not made lightly, as its current storefront has served as a meeting place, a support system and a safe space for families for the last three years. She said, however, tariffs on imported goods have made it harder to keep shelves stocked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps tariff rollout makes business community anxious Looking ahead, if we dont have inventory to sell in the fall, we are not going to be able to make a rent payment, said Berkhorst. We just dont see that the inventory will be there enough to support an entire store. She said they plan to store inventory in her business but not to the degree her customers are used to in a full retail setting. She expects to see a trend of less inventory in all businesses later this year. Us moving online is just the next step of us staying sustainable, she said. We still want to support West Michigan, we still want to stick around. Just the overhead of the space combined with the rising increase in prices, the lack of inventory, we just dont see it as sustainable to have a storefront through the end of 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both EcoBuns and White Stone plan to keep serving West Michigan, just from behind the screen. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. A Texas woman is accused of plotting to murder her newly engaged ex-husband by injecting fentanyl into a box of chocolates and sending it to him as a congratulatory gift from a false third party, the Parker County Sheriff's Office said. Pamela Jean Stanley, 63, was indicted and charged last week with attempted murder after police say she told an acquaintance that she planned to buy powdered fentanyl, inject it into a "high-end box of chocolates" and mail it to her ex-husband, disguising the poisoned confections as a gift from a travel agency offering a honeymoon package. She was arrested after driving for hours from the small West Texas town of Coleman to try to purchase what she thought was fentanyl from undercover investigators at an interstate motel parking lot, according to police. At the time, she was also found to be in possession of a substance containing 9.5 grams of methamphetamine, they said. Her bond was set at $450,000. Stanley's ex-husband, Jeff Kauth, told local ABC News affiliate WFAA in a televised interview that he had heard rumors early last year that his ex-wife had talked about hiring a hit man. "It didn't really surprise me, because she's kind of that way," he said. Kauth told WFAA that he divorced Stanley in 2019, after 14 years of marriage. Kauth said he feared he could be the target of an armed attack and went so far as to build a dummy of himself as a decoy to keep inside his home. He said he had spoken with investigators about his concerns, but no charges were filed. "I was hoping she would move on or find happiness, and I was hoping she would hope the same for me, but it just didn't work out that way," he said. "I'll never look at a box of chocolates the same." Earlier this month, Kauth announced on Facebook the beginning of a new chapter with his fiancee, sharing a post with photos of the two smiling and showing off matching rings at a picturesque mountain pass in Colorado. He told WFAA that the two had wed last week. In a statement to The Washington Post, Kauth and his family thanked the public for their support and declined to comment further, citing Stanley's upcoming court dates. "We pray justice will be served so that our family can live in peace without fear of retribution in the future," the statement read. A legal representative for Stanley could not immediately be reached for comment. (COMMENT, BELOW) Caesar Sengupta knows what it feels like to jump from a corporate empire into complete uncertainty. He spent 15 years at Google, where he led major products like Google Pay and helped launch the company's Next Billion Users initiative. Then he walked away to start something of his own: Arta Finance. Since its launch in 2021, Arta has raised over $92 million in funding, with backing from Sequoia Capital India, Ribbit Capital, and Google CEO Sundar Pichai, CNBC says. But for Sengupta, the biggest win has been learning how to keep his mind clear in a high-stakes world. Don't Miss: Startup Pressure Made Him Rethink How He Operates Leaving Google meant giving up structure and replacing it with volatility. In a corporate environment, risk feels managed, even distributed across departments and leadership, but startups offer no such safety net, Sengupta told CNBC. At a startup, Sengupta said, "you're just much more fragile." He described the mental rollercoaster that hits when launching a startup later in life. Some days you feel energized, other days you wonder what mistake you made, he explained. Sengupta said the pressure affects not just work, but also personal well-being, touching areas like health, family, and identity. He described how easy it is to get "completely drawn in" to the point where mental clarity disappears and physical health declines. According to CNBC, those challenges ultimately pushed him to reflect on his routines and adopt habits that help him reset, including what he now describes as his greatest edge: meditation. Trending: This AI-Powered Trading Platform Has 5,000+ Users, 27 Pending Patents, and a $43.97M Valuation You Can Become an Investor for Just $500.25 Sengupta Uses Meditation As a Survival Skill "There's so much noise in the world," Sengupta told CNBC, pointing out that founders get pulled in every direction unless they learn how to filter. He told CNBC he wishes someone had told him sooner to meditate. "Dude, like everything else [will] be fine. Just sit yourself down and meditate," he recalled thinking after discovering the practice. Now, he tries to sit quietly for five to ten minutes each evening, using that time to reset his mind and energy before another full day. Out of the darkness steps a man. The mancaked in filth, dressed in rags, hair matted, teeth rottenis ranting and raving, screaming into the desert night about boxes and control and millions of dollars, that his opponents will fall prostrate before him. Hes mad, but most prophets are, and his point of origin, a new data center being built in the midst of Eddington, New Mexico, to power God only knows what type of monstrous apps and AI, is telling. The man might be crazy. But hes our future. And hes descending on all of us. THE TAGLINE ON ARI ASTERS EDDINGTONpart comedy, part western, part anthropological studyis Hindsight is 2020, and its the only movie yet made that has captured how completely insane everyone went in that completely insane year. Just the convergence and confluence of so many events, all piled up on top of each other, all coming to a head at once. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was COVID, of course, which was followed by isolation and lockdowns, which led to masking, and then social distancing, which was then overcome by Black Lives Matter protests following the killing of George Floyd, which then devolved into riots and cable news footage of burning buildings and white kids screaming about the wickedness of whiteness, all of which occurred while lunatics on the internet joined a cult arguing that kids were being sold in discount home furnishing, and all of it captured live on social media, streaming 4K video right to the little box in your hands, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. (Oh. And there was an election going on. You might remember it.) Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix) is the sheriff of Eddington and finds himself at the center of this unexpected and unwanted maelstrom, the intrusions on his personal autonomy rapidly multiplying. As an asthmatic, he doesnt like to mask and is tired of being told to do so; after a confrontation with Eddington mayor and local tech magnate Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal) at a grocery store, Joe decides to run for mayor on a platform of personal freedom. He adorns a police jeep with various deranged signs and slogans, and in a lesser movie he would be the obvious and only villain of the piece, the butt of every joke. Get 30 day free trial Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But this would be untrue to the moment the film covers, and one of the fascinating things about Eddington is how it distributes its absurdities if not quite equally than with plenty of fairness. Masking and distancing are often less about health protection than trump cards to be played in an argumentJoe himself tells Ted to back off at one pointand throughout the film you see folks with masks usefully around their chins telling others to mask up, or the COVID-conscious Mayor Garcia breaking quarantine to have a drink and a meal indoors with a business associate at Eddingtons version of the French Laundry despite restrictions on gatherings, or a the mayors son telling the sheriff to give him six feet despite walking right beside a buddy on the street, neither one properly masked. Once the Black Lives Matter protests kick off, all of these hypocrisies multiply. Eric (Matt Gomez Hidaka), the mayors son, posts a deceptively edited video of Sheriff Joe insinuating that the cop attacked a homeless man, which leads to marches in the streets, smashed windows, and an end to distancing. That the homeless man himself comes to the protest and starts attacking protesters who have to pretend they arent being attacked just puts a nice little bow on top. Eventually, Sarah (Amelie Hoeferle), Instagram handle bernieorbust, begins delivering lectures on the nature of white supremacy, despite being white herself, which in turn leads the desperate-to-get-laid Brian (Cameron Mann) to do the same, at one point saying during a vigil, I shouldnt even be speaking now or some such. Indeed, the funniest joke in the movie comes after Brian (who is white) tries to explain the importance of dismantling institutional whiteness to his parents (who are also white), prompting an excellently timed comedic pause and the perfect rejoinder. Its the funniest gag of the year, but only because it feels real, and reality was ridiculous. Again: 2020 was a very weird time, and this is very much how it was, just a series of minor hypocrisies and self-flagellations, all wrapped up in a pandemic that would ultimately claim hundreds of thousands of American lives. After Joe gets COVIDbecause of course he doesabout 90 minutes or so into the movie, Eddington hits a sort of fever-dream logic and the movie spins out of control. But even here, Asters cinematic point is on solid footing, as anyone who suffered through one of those early COVID bouts can attest. The whole country had a fever, and sweating it out was no fun, man. Share WRAPPED UP IN ALL THIS is the omnipresence of cameras, the self-created panopticon in which we live. Its not just that every trip out in public now comes with the implicit threat of some yahoo whipping out their cell phone and filming you for the reprobation of the nation; its that we spend our days online, scrolling through endless videos, watching clip after clip on Instagram and TikTok, convincing ourselves that the world is a horrible place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That Joes mother-in-law, Dawn (Deirdre OConnell), and his wife, Louise (Emma Stone), fall under the sway of what is at least partly a QAnon-style cult is the cherry on top of the crazy sundae that is Eddington and was 2020. It is, however, interesting that they also wind up as, more or less, the only truly happy characters we follow by films end. They went down the rabbit hole and found everything they ever wanted. Not already a Bulwark+ member? Then sign up today with no charge for the first thirty days. With a FREE membership, you can read our locked newsletters and listen to our locked podcasts. We bet youll like it enough to stick with us. Get 30 day free trial Eddington is only marginally about COVID or masking or MAGA or BLM or any of the events that marked 2020. The insanity was all window dressing, in a way. The events only mattered because we have changed how we live, how we consume news, how we absorb the world around us and project ourselves into it; 2020 was simply the moment when all that came to a head. Eddington is, ultimately, about those little boxes. Its about that mad prophet stumbling out of the data center in the desert, ranting about control and submission. The little box is an accelerant, one that connects people all over the country: It makes problems in your town problems in my town, it builds bridges between disparate communities of nutjobs. Once upon a time, the town crank had a mimeograph machine or a megaphone; their reach was limited to the people near them, most of whom could smell them well enough to know to stay away. Now the town crank has Instagram, TikTok, YouTube; their reach is limitless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And we love it. Just make sure to subscribe and smash that like button so the hate machine will feed another nutritional pellet right onto your little box, beaming idiocy straight off the little screen and into your little earbuds. The feed never stops, the algorithm never tires. Theres always more. It never ends. Just a few more videos. You can sleep later. You can never sleep, if thats what youd prefer. Who knows what youll miss when youre asleep? And we wonder why everyone has gone a little nuts. Share Every now and then we just have to find a little bit of good news to celebrate. Today, were happy about shoes. Specifically, shoes you no longer have to pull off, preparatory to going through an airport security screening. No more internal grimacing as you walk bare-footed into the body scanners, struggling not to think about all the feet that walked across the same rubber mat. No more balancing on one foot as you wriggle back into your sneakers, or hopping around in your flip-flops. No more worrying that a fellow passenger will see your favorite Italian loafers in a gray plastic bin and decide they like those better than the beat-up Crocs they walked in with. Last week, the Transportation Security Administration announced the end of the shoes-off policy, effective immediately. It will certainly be good news for the roughly 160,000 passengers who board planes every day at Orlando International Airport, though it might not ease the ire of homebound tourists caught in torturously long lines as they wait to go through security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shoe-removal requirement is a relic of the post-Sept. 11 era specifically, the plot of a British man named Richard Reid, who boarded a plane in Paris in December 2001, wearing shoes stuffed with explosives. Fortunately, a flight attendant noticed his attempts to detonate his beat-up black hightops after smelling the match hed struck. Members of the flight crew and passengers were able to subdue Reid wrapping him up in belts, headphone cords, seatbelts and plastic handcuffs. Reid is the only terrorist ever accused of using shoes to smuggle explosives onto an aircraft. (He was recruited along with another would-be shoe bomber, who decided not to go through with his assigned sabotage.) Yet people have been forced to take their shoes off ever since. At a press conference to announce the new policy, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem assured Americans that flights still had plenty of security. For once, were inclined to believe her. Its been years since the TSA announced any attempt to destroy a passenger jet in flight. Most airports across the nation use sophisticated body imaging technology (the so-called naked scanners) to look through travelers clothes in search of weapons or other anomalies. Baggage handlers use bomb-sniffing dogs and advanced equipment to scan checked baggage, and airports have adopted strict security measures that keep non-employees away from areas where they could compromise an aircrafts safety. Compared to these and other broad, effective protections, many of the restrictions placed on travelers in the name of security seem more like security theater. Certainly, theyre not going to do much to combat the biggest threats to passenger safety right now: The defunding of sophisticated weather-prediction technology and the dismissal or resignation of hundreds of employees in the Federal Aviation Administration or the National Weather Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Next, the TSA should ban the baggie the silly rule that restricts travelers to one quart-sized bag for liquids, with each bottle holding no more than 3.5 ounces. It was always hard to see how that restriction effectively kept travellers safe; certainly, it would be laughably easy to decant virulent chemical or bio-hazardous liquids into innocent-looking toothpaste tubes and plastic travel bottles. And its thwarted untold numbers of Americans who had to watch as their souvenir jars of salsa, their bottled water or their flasks of pricy hair gel went tumbling into the big garbage cans by the TSA checkpoints. But for now, if youre looking for something to be happy about, be happy about the shoes and give the Trump administration credit for one small twitch toward a more rational flight-security plan. The Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board consists of Opinion Editor Krys Fluker, Executive Editor Roger Simmons and Viewpoints Editor Jay Reddick. Contact us at insight@orlandosentinel.com A Snohomish County Superior Court jury found an Edmonds man guilty Wednesday of murdering a rideshare driver in 2024. Abdikadir Shariif was driving near 236th Street Southwest and Edmonds Way when he was shot and killed. 22-year-old Alex Matthew Waggoner was arrested for the crime. Police say Waggoner was walking in the area at the time and was nearly hit by Shariif. The rideshare driver tried to apologize, but police say Waggoner shot and killed him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Waggoners sentencing is set for 1 p.m. on Sept. 17. Shariif was one of two rideshare drivers killed on the job in January of 2024. Weeks after his death, Redi-cab driver Nick Hokema met a similar fate. In the weeks following the murders, rideshare drivers pushed for a new law to protect them on or between jobs. Washington Legislative House Bill 2382 was eventually passed, which provides death benefits to the families of drivers who were killed while they were logged into the rideshare companys network, if they were physically in the company drivers vehicle or just near it. Before, state law only provided benefits if the driver was on an actual trip. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In January 2024, people testified in support of the bill and highlighted safety concerns. During the testimony, a driver cited people creating fake accounts to lure rideshare drivers for robberies. Riders have also advocated for ways to quickly contact law enforcement. On its website, Uber said it allows drivers to record their rides with audio and video and created an emergency button to quickly contact emergency services. A Supreme Court decision clearing the way for deep staffing cuts at the Education Department promises to roil the agencys handling of more than $1 trillion in student debt, former officials are warning. The high courts move allows the Trump administration to fire nearly 40 percent of the agencys staff as the president hopes to eventually close it altogether. But the ruling also lands just as the agency received a one-year deadline to create a new suite of student loan services and expand a grant program from the Republicans One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Several former department employees and student aid professionals fear the agency will be hobbled from serving students and institutions who rely on it for key services. It does everything from help low-income students get on-campus jobs to evaluating aid applications from people in households with mixed immigration statuses. A potential misstep could affect millions of Americans and trigger bipartisan anger the way a debacle over a financial aid form once put Biden administration officials under the microscope. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a dysfunctional system on the best days, before the [reduction in force]. Every system was backlogged and underresourced, said Rachel Gittleman, a management and policy analyst who was laid off this year from the department's Federal Student Aid office, which handles student loan complaints. Then they fired half the people responsible for overseeing and assisting 42 million borrowers and $1.6 trillion in debt. The FSA division, which oversees a loan portfolio for more than 40 million borrowers, must establish two new student loan repayment plans, set up new borrowing limits for graduate students and expand a grant program for low-income students, among other obligations spelled out in the new law by July 2026. These duties would be in addition to managing the repayment of loans and helping college students apply for federal aid through an application that has repeatedly faltered in recent school years. There is also a backlog of roughly 1.5 million applications for Income Driven Repayment, which helps student loan borrowers lower their monthly payment. About 65,000 outstanding requests from borrowers to make lump sum payments that would make up for moments when their loans were in forbearance or deferment and count toward forgiveness are also pending. Weve already seen the staffing cuts at FSA are impeding students to get the benefits they are entitled to, and that's a real risk going forward as well given the very heavy, additional workload Congress has given FSA, said James Kvaal, former undersecretary of education for the Biden administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A department spokesperson said the agency will be able to deliver the programs mandated in the Big Beautiful Bill on time. The Department is also following the law and complying with numerous court orders to realign and strengthen the student loan portfolio, Ellen Keast, deputy press secretary for the Education Department, said in a statement. We will continue to deliver meaningful and on time results while implementing the Presidents OBBB to better serve students, families, and administrators. Former Education Department workers and Democratic lawmakers are concerned more essential duties will slip through the cracks, most notably the departments new congressional mandate to launch two new student loan repayment plans. The Department is requiring many students with loans to change their student loan plan, but those students are unable to do so due to inadequate staff at the Department of Education, while, at the same time, more people are being fired, Rep. Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said at a hearing Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the department doesnt get the plans off the ground in time, it will just create more confusion and chaos for borrowers, said Melanie Storey, president and CEO of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators and a former FSA leader. Its really confusing for borrowers, Storey said. Its another barrier of entry for them and disincentive to enroll [in a loan repayment plan] when you have no certainty or predictability about what financing options are going to be available to you. Now that the mass cuts are solidified, it also renews concerns about the fast approaching launch of the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid, which had significant delays and technical glitches in previous years. The form already had issues when the department was fully staffed, Gittleman said. Former department staff have said the FAFSA team will have less support now that other employees, such as those in tech support roles that indirectly work on FAFSA, are gone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even though the FAFSA team was untouched by the RIFs, no team operates in silos in FSA, she said, referencing the Trump administration's reduction-in-force directive. Everything is intertwined. One day after the department fired nearly half its employees in March, students and parents across the country couldnt access FAFSA. Seventy-two employees spent hours on a Microsoft Teams call as part of an effort to fix the issue. The incident was quickly resolved, but many employees questioned whether the agency could handle future technical problems after so many of the other teams that indirectly support FAFSA experienced cuts. The department maintains that no employees working on the core functions of FAFSA were affected by the RIF and that the 2026-27 form will launch on time. Just within President Trumps first six months, the Department has responsibly managed and streamlined key federal student aid features, including fixing identity verification and simplifying parent invitations, while ensuring the 2026-27 FAFSA form is on track, Keast said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congress directed the department to make slight changes around the FAFSA student aid index calculations for the 2026-27 award year, but the form is expected to launch on time, Storey said. It is always risky to have to make system changes so close to launch, Storey said. But I will say to date, it does appear that the 2026-27 FAFSA development has gone fairly smoothly, and they seem to be on track for the beta and an on time launch. Republicans in Congress seem confident the department will handle its obligations with a slimmed down staff. Rep. Burgess Owens, who leads the House higher education subcommittee, said he has no doubt the department will be able to implement the provisions in the reconciliation bill. I think [the department] is going to be much more refined, Owens said. At the end of the day, its how can we get the money and the power down to the people? We dont need to go through a whole lot of people to get that done. Like a business, how can you trim down the waste and make sure its effective and productive? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But a leaner staff also means loss of institutional knowledge, something former FSA employees say could hurt the agency financially. If the department decides it does need expertise quickly, and it decides to turn to contractors, that's often way more expensive to staff, said Sarah Sattelmeyer, a former senior adviser in the office of the undersecretary during the Biden administration. Bianca Quilantan contributed to this report. Hundreds of people have fled from Syria into Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country, Israeli media reported on Thursday. Israeli security sources confirmed the cross-border movements, without giving numbers. Security forces were in the process of returning the Syrian civilians home, they added. The Israeli military had returned dozens to the neighbouring country overnight, the ynet news portal wrote. Most of them were said to be members of the Druze religious minority. Efforts were currently under way to locate more Syrian Druze. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Times of Israel reported that it was unclear how many Syrian Druze remained in Israel. The newspaper quoted one Syrian as saying he wanted to stay in Israel, not return to his homeland. He had arrived in the country on Wednesday and was accompanied by his young son, according to the report. Clashes between Sunni Bedouins and Druze escalated in recent days, centred on the Druze-majority city of Sweida, with Syrian government troops deployed to the area. Report: 1,000 Israeli Druze enter Syria At the same time, Israeli security sources said the military had brought dozens of Israeli Druze back from Syria overnight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to ynet, around 1,000 Druze from Israel had crossed the border into Syria on Wednesday to help protect their brethren from the violence. Many Druze in Israel have relatives in the neighbouring country. According to the Times of Israel, several dozen Druze from Israel are still in Syria. Holes in the border fence are now being repaired, the Times reported, citing the military. According to security sources, blockades are being erected to prevent further border crossings. The military warned that crossing the border is a criminal offence. Media reported that members of the Israeli parliament belonging to the religious minority also crossed the border fence to bring Israeli Druze back home. Syrian president to Israel: Don't try to drag us into war Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel earlier Thursday of attempting to drag Syria into a war and said his country would not take the bait. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We, the people of Syria, know very well who is trying to drag us into war and who is working to divide us," al-Sharaa said in a dawn speech broadcast on national television. "We will not give them the opportunity to entangle our people in a war that serves only to fragment our homeland and sow destruction." Al-Sharaa blamed Israel for exploiting instability in the wake of regime change, accusing it of targeting civilian infrastructure and seeking to derail reconstruction efforts. "Power alone does not guarantee victory, and igniting a war is not the same as controlling its outcome," he said. "We are stronger than any attempt to tear us apart." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Addressing the internal unrest in the southern province of Sweida, al-Sharaa said the government had intervened to end armed clashes between local groups. Al-Sharaa blamed "outlawed factions" for rejecting dialogue and fuelling disorder while accusing Israel of exploiting the unrest through strikes on civilian infrastructure to derail peace efforts. He also reaffirmed the Druze community's place in Syrian society, underscoring the state's commitment to protecting their rights and freedoms, and warned against attempts to drag it into foreign agendas. Druze families from Hader leave Majdal-Shams to return to Syria, after they fled to Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa Druze families from Hader leave Majdal-Shams to return to Syria, after they fled to Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa Druze families from Hader leave Majdal-Shams to return to Syria, after they fled to Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa Druze families from Hader leave Majdal-Shams to return to Syria, after they fled to Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa Advertisement Advertisement A leading rights group investigating corruption in El Salvador has been forced into exile due to a crackdown by President Nayib Bukele's administration, two of its members said Thursday. The Cristosal group is a vocal critic of Bukele's controversial anti-crime policies and also provides assistance to families of migrants deported by the United States, then imprisoned in El Salvador. The NGO will announce its exit at a news conference later Thursday in Guatemala, the two members told AFP, asking not to be named. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It follows the arrest in May of the head of Cristosal's anti-corruption unit, Ruth Lopez, who is accused of illicit enrichment. Amnesty International has declared her a prisoner of conscience and called for her immediate release. Cristosal helps families of Salvadorans caught up in Bukele's self-declared "war" on gangs, as well as more than 250 Venezuelans deported by President Donald Trump's administration, which paid El Salvador to hold them in a notorious high-security facility. In a recent interview with AFP, Cristosal director Noah Bullock said that in Bukele's El Salvador "speaking out or asking something that is not aligned with the government entails the risk of being arrested." While rights groups have criticized Bukele's methods, a dramatic drop in the homicide rate has made him popular at home. mis/dr/sms A leading rights group investigating corruption in El Salvador said Thursday it had been forced into exile due to "escalating repression" by President Nayib Bukele's administration. The Cristosal group is a vocal critic of Bukele's controversial anti-crime policies and also provides assistance to families of migrants deported by the United States and imprisoned in El Salvador. It denounced "harassment," "espionage" and "defamation" by what it called a "dictatorship" being established in El Salvador under Bukele, an ally of US President Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Faced with increasing repression and the closure of democratic spaces in El Salvador, Cristosal is forced to suspend its operations in El Salvador," its director Noah Bullock told a news conference in Guatemala. He said that "a repressive apparatus that acts without limits" meant that "we are forced to choose between prison or exile." The withdrawal follows the arrest in May of the head of Cristosal's anti-corruption unit, Ruth Lopez, who is accused of illicit enrichment, a charge she denies. In recent months, several other Bukele critics have been arrested in El Salvador. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amnesty International this month declared Lopez a prisoner of conscience and called for her immediate release. The activist's arrest was "part of a systematic pattern of criminalization that seeks to silence those who denounce abuses or demand justice and transparency in public administration," Amnesty Secretary General Agnes Callamard said. A "foreign agents" law means that NGOs must pay a 30 percent tax on the funds they receive. Cristosal, whose main source of income is donations, called it "an instrument of authoritarian control." International rights groups reacted with alarm to Cristosal's exit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The cost: less justice for victims, weaker oversight of abuses, and fewer spaces for dissent," Juanita Goebertus, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, said on X. The Washington Office on Latin America advocacy organization expressed its support for Cristosal and other civil society groups "facing harassment and defamation campaigns under Bukele's government." - Fears of imprisonment - Cristosal, which had around 30 activists in El Salvador, said the country "is no longer a state governed by the rule of law." "When exercising freedoms or simply dissenting against power carries consequences, these are clear signs that a dictatorship has taken hold," Bullock said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While rights groups have criticized Bukele's methods, a dramatic drop in the homicide rate has made him popular at home. Cristosal helps families of Salvadorans caught up in Bukele's self-declared "war" on gangs, as well as more than 250 Venezuelans deported by Trump's administration, which paid El Salvador to hold them in a notorious high-security facility. Cristosal said in April that police officers had entered its headquarters to film and photograph the premises and vehicles of journalists invited to a press conference. The group, founded by Anglican bishops, said it would continue to operate from its offices in Guatemala and Honduras, after a quarter-century presence in El Salvador, to protect the safety of its members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thousands of people have been detained under Bukele's state of emergency, often without court orders, the right to phone calls or even to see a lawyer. "Democratic institutions in El Salvador have disappeared and are under the control of Bukele's authoritarian regime," said Cristosal's head of litigation, Abraham Abrego. A survey released by Central American University last week showed that six out of 10 Salvadorans fear criticizing the president or his government, as it could lead to "negative consequences," such as arrest. mis-hma/dr/acb MEXICO CITY (AP) El Salvador's top human rights organization, Cristosal, announced Thursday it is leaving the country because of mounting harassment and legal threats by the government of President Nayib Bukele. The organization has been one of the most visible critics of Bukele, documenting abuses in the strongmans war on the countrys gangs and the detention of hundreds of Venezuelan deportees in an agreement with U.S. President Donald Trump. Bukeles government has long targeted opponents, but Cristosal Executive Director Noah Bullock said things reached a tipping point in recent months as Bukele has grown empowered by his alliance with Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The clear targeting of our organization has made us choose between exile or prison," Bullock said in an interview with the Associated Press. The Bukele administration has unleashed a wave of repression over the past few months ... There's been an exodus of civil society leaders, professionals and even businessmen. El Salvador 's government did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cristosal has been working in El Salvador since 2000, when it was founded by Evangelical bishops in order to address human rights and democratic concerns following the countrys brutal civil war. On Thursday, the human rights organization announced that it packed up its offices and moved 20 employees from the Central American nation to neighboring Guatemala and Honduras. Cristosal quietly got staff and their families out before publicly announcing they were leaving out of fear that they could be targeted by the Bukele government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision came after its top anti-corruption lawyer Ruth Lopez was jailed in June on enrichment charges, which the organization denies. Cristosal's legal team has supported hundreds of cases alleging the government arbitrarily detained innocent people in its crackdown on gangs, and has unlawfully detained Venezuelans deported from the U.S. Lopez headed many of those investigations. In a court appearance in June, she appeared shackled and escorted by police. Theyre not going to silence me, I want a public trial, she shouted. Im a political prisoner. For years, the organization said staff have been followed around by police officers, had their phones tapped by spyware like Pegasus, and been subject to legal attacks and defamation campaigns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Lopez's court appearance was the moment that Bullock said he knew they would have to leave the country. At the same time, the government has arrested more critics, while others have quietly fled the country. In late May, El Salvadors Congress passed a foreign agents law, championed by the populist president. It resembles legislation implemented by governments in Nicaragua, Venezuela, Russia, Belarus and China to silence and criminalize dissent by exerting pressure on organizations that rely on overseas funding. Bullock said the the law would make it easier for the government to criminalize staff and cripple the organization economically. Cristosal's flight from the country marks another blow to checks and balances in a country where Bukele has virtually consolidated control of the government. Bullock said no longer being able to work in the country will make it significantly harder for the organization to continue their ongoing legal work, particularly supporting those detained with little access to due process. Eduardo Mendez recalls the day his mother took him for the first time to a small El Sistema center in Merida, his hometown in the Andean region of Venezuela. He was only 5 and his mom wanted him to do something better than watching TV all afternoon. I remember that the process of joining the orchestra was very easy, the violinist and lawyer, who has been the executive director of the institution since 2008, tells Billboard Espanol. They called it La Juvenil there, and I really liked how warmly they welcomed me. Nobody tested me to see if I had an ear for music or not. In fact, they told my mom, If you want, leave him here right away. He started the next day. More from Billboard Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National System of Youth and Childrens Orchestras and Choirs of Venezuela home to the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra and commonly known as El Sistema celebrates this year its 50th anniversary transforming lives through free music education with that same sense of inclusivity. Mentored by maestro Jose Antonio Abreu from an early age, Mendez, along with his peer Gustavo Dudamel, were chosen as the future of El Sistema, with Dudamel bringing its spirit to the world as a conductor, and Mendez remaining in Venezuela to strengthen its foundation, expanding its presence to 72 countries and increasing enrollment from 60,000 to 1.2 million children locally. Since 2008, Eduardo has led El Sistema with tireless dedication alongside our great Maestro Abreu for many of those years inspire millions around the world, Dudamel tells Billboard Espanol. Under his leadership, the mission of El Sistema has reached farther than ever before, reminding us that we are not just creating musicians, but citizens of the world young people who carry pride, purpose, and a sense of belonging into everything they do. The 50th-anniversary celebrations include various activities and concerts throughout 2025, including a performance by the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra conducted by Dudamel on August 28 at the Southbank Centre in London, announced Wednesday (July 16). Just days earlier, on August 22, the orchestra will perform an opening set and accompany Coldplay during the bands 10 sold-out concerts at Wembley Stadium. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, as the premier ensemble representing all the children and youth musicians of El Sistema, embodies our shared vision of celebrating music and its ability to inspire, which is why it is a profound honor for our young musicians to share the stage with such a globally renowned band as Coldplay, Mendez said in a statement. This collaboration has emerged organically as we build on the momentum and enthusiasm surrounding the 50th anniversary of El Sistema. In an interview with Billboard Espanol from Caracas, Mendez who was also honored in March at the Wayuu Taya Foundations Spring Gala in New York City discusses his career in El Sistema, the challenges the institution has faced in recent years, and its greatest achievements. Eduardo Mendez and Sting How did you go from being a violinist to becoming the executive director of El Sistema? Well, in addition to being a musician, Im also a lawyer. I graduated from the Universidad Catolica Andres Bello and played in the Simon Bolivar Orchestra. I pursued both careers simultaneously; I graduated from the conservatory at 20 and as a lawyer at 21. One day, I was talking to maestro [Abreu] in his office, and I said, Maestro, I have an issue with my work schedule. The hours are conflicting. What do you recommend? And he said, You need to come work with me. You can combine the knowledge youve gained in college with your knowledge as a musician. I replied, But I dont know anything about management. Ive never worked in that. And he said, Dont worry. Neither did I. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then he told me something that really intrigued me: We have so many musicians here at El Sistema, but very few musicians who also understand other areas and are willing to support from that perspective. I think thats what convinced me. The challenge seemed interesting. I started working with him, beginning with the most basic tasks. I went through all the administrative and managerial positions in the institution. I moved from academic direction to national leadership of the centers, to general management, human resources, and management of the Simon Bolivar Orchestra, among others. There were people who supported me a lot, and perhaps others who didnt like the idea of a young guy giving them instructions. But those situations helped me grow and learn. I studied public management at IESA (Institute of Advanced Studies in Administration in Caracas), and two years after finishing my specialization, the Maestro named me executive director. It was a complete surprise to everyone, including me I found out through a memo. How do you remember maestro Abreu (19392018)? As a great mentor, a great teacher, and an exceptional human being. His humanity was as extraordinary as his genius. He was a visionary who, in 1970s Venezuela, amidst many young musicians without opportunities, decided to convene a rehearsal to form an orchestra. At that first rehearsal, 13 young people showed up, and he announced, with his characteristic vision: This is going to be a gigantic project. This will be a project that goes around the world, is recognized, records albums with the best ensembles, and plays in the best concert halls. And it ended up happening, but not by osmosis. It took a lot of dedicated work. With me particularly, as with Gustavo [Dudamel], he was very eager to teach. I worked for 17 years alongside him from the beginning, and he taught in a very particular way, because he was very strict, very demanding. But on the other hand, he was an extraordinary human being, a person who cared about all the smallest details of sensitivity, of always conveying that message of help, of support. He said that the essence of this wasnt to develop extraordinary orchestras and extraordinary musicians. Yes, that was going to happen; in such large groups of people geniuses would emerge. But the most important thing was to develop citizens. ElSistema-Director Abreu-EduardoMendez t One thing thats fascinating is how El Sistema has thrived regardless of whos in power. What have been the biggest challenges for you in that regard, and why do you think the institution has managed to sustain and grow in a socioeconomic and political situation like Venezuelas? Adhering to institutional frameworks has been key, and that institutional framework has always been very difficult. You know what you are, and you know what youre doing, and you know you have to work for and on behalf of the children, the youth, and the project. But sometimes not everyone understands that. Even from the very beginning of El Sistema, there were many challenges that maestro [Abreu] had to overcome to achieve the states recognition of the project. At that time, it was known that a project of this magnitude could not, under any circumstances, be managed solely privately, because the concept of free funding would already be practically impossible, and that was the essence of the program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I had to go through something like that too. I faced many institutional challenges during difficult times, especially when my time as executive director combined with the illness of maestro Abreu, who was ill for almost four years. Although he was there, he wasnt there every day, so that created an obligation for me to take the reins of the project more decisively at a time when the organization was absolutely personal, dependent on maestro Abreu whatever the maestro said, was done. One of the fundamental challenges I faced there, to maintain institutionality, was the depersonalization of that project: Horizontalizing the institution, giving everyone responsibilities, training new generations of managers. My challenges were modernizing the institution, adapting the structures for growth. The maestros figure obviously remains and will always be present, but its now more like philosophy. Today theres a board of directors. In addition, I have four sector directors for each area, and the directors have clearly defined responsibilities. In other words, whether Im there or not, this functions with precision. They know what to do, how to do it. Of course, there are macro plans that I launch from the beginning of the year whats going to happen, how were going to do it. We have two- and three-year plans, which we didnt have before. But if we wanted to earn respect in the world of international classical music, we had to plan ahead. Millions of people have emigrated from Venezuela in the last decade, including many musicians from El Sistema. How did you handle this situation? These challenges led me to make many decisions that, I would say, were revolutionary for the organization itself and for the country as well, because this organization began to move in a completely different way than the rest of the country. One of the things that was happening in Venezuela, as you said, was this situation of polarization, of complex political situations, where there were even musicians who left look, for us to turn all these complex situations into strength [] The Simon Bolivar Orchestra was practically dismantled at the time of the crisis, and with the pandemic, it got worse. We had to create a new orchestra that just went on a successful tour in Europe, through the most important cities, where there were standing ovations everywhere, and its a completely new orchestra. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The question my colleagues in the other orchestras and the venues who kindly welcomed us were asking: But how can the same institution rebuild an orchestra with its own students, trained by itself, and come here and sell the tickets I dont sell? Its diametrically opposed to what happens in the rest of the country, and that has a lot to do with the way El Sistema is managed, and with how we learn music. Because music within El Sistema has always moved very quickly, its been cutting edge. A child who enters a center today isnt Eduardo Mendez when he entered at age 5. Now, a 5-year-old is hyperstimulated. In other words, the methodology has been incredibly refined over the years. And now, there are thousands of orchestras to look after, thousands of centers to look after. How many people make up the management team? There are 89, including directors and inspection chiefs, who are like the bosses who manage the entire organization. And I work directly with four directors in charge of different sectors. An organization like this, which receives both public and private funding, which receives donations, which receives a range of resources for this purpose, also requires absolutely impeccable management. Ive built very intense teams in that regard to keep things flowing. Do you think Dudamels international success helped spread El Sistemas name abroad? Evidently, yes. He was part of the success that El Sistema was already building, because when El Sistema began creating its childrens orchestras, thats when the National Childrens Orchestra in which Gustavo played was created. So, of course, the Childrens Orchestra began as an experimental orchestra of little children playing adult repertoire, repertoire that was somehow manageable, but under a strict teaching method. And thats what that orchestra did. It began touring, supported by the state, supported by various sectors, and it traveled through Italy, eventually reaching Germany. That was the first step toward internationalization of the European side; the South American side was already quite advanced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then maestro [Abreu] put him in charge of conducting the orchestra, which was formally the National Childrens Orchestra, and at that moment Gustavo gained very important experience, a wealth of experience that allows a 13- or 14-year-old boy to gain ground and to make contacts. Because normally, when a conductor in Europe or the U.S. wants to conduct an orchestra, he has to graduate and spend years before being given an orchestra. Here, Gustavo already had tons of practice, and the maestro was right there by his side teaching him. That led Gustavo to ultimately win [the Gustav Mahler Conducting Competition] in Bamberg, [Germany], which was what really launched him and made people ask, Where does this kid come from? Eduardo Mendez, Joshua Bell, and Cuarteto Armacuaco What would you say has been El Sistemas greatest achievement in these 50 years? Remaining stable despite everything and growing, because its not just about maintaining yourself, its about growing and setting an example for other countries. I believe that from all the things around El Sistema that can be described as beautiful, pleasant, and enjoyable its not just that. This is something much deeper. It has transformed the lives of millions of Venezuelans. We estimate that more than 3 million Venezuelan children and young people have passed through El Sistemas classrooms in 50 years, including those currently in attendance. And to grow and develop not only as an inclusive project that has added value, but one that has done so with quality, one that has done so with excellence, where the Venezuelan identity has also been elevated in the world of music to the point that we are now considered a powerhouse of classical music, and I would dare to go a little further not just in classical music, because even in popular music, many of those Latin musicians who are winning Grammys came from here and are absolutely proud to have passed through our classrooms. Something that 50 years ago seemed utopian has become a very important reality for Venezuela. It has transformed peoples lives, generated jobs, been a forward-thinking, innovative and unifying organization. To speak of El Sistema in Venezuela today is to speak of unity. There is no one from anywhere who can say anything negative about El Sistema. Best of Billboard Sign up for Billboard's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. An elderly couple have died in an arson attack in Merseyside. Peter Eric Greener, 77, died on Wednesday night, and his partner Sheila Jackson, 83, died on Thursday morning following the fire at a house on South John Street in St Helens on Tuesday. A spokesman for Merseyside Police said a murder investigation had been launched. Emergency services rushed to the scene on South John Street in St Helens at around 12.40am on Tuesday, July 15, following reports of a house fire - Google Maps Photographs showed a white tent pitched outside the burnt out shell of a homes front door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The windows had blown out with the surrounding bricks left blackened by the flames. Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service contacted police to report the fire at 12.40am on Tuesday and the couple were rescued from inside and taken to hospital for treatment, the spokesman said. Following a joint investigation with the fire service, police said it was determined that an accelerant was used by a third party to start the fire maliciously. Absolutely sickening Detective Chief Inspector Steve McGrath said: This is a truly shocking incident and Im sure that the community and everyone in Merseyside will be utterly appalled at what has happened. The attack is currently being considered to have been carried out with malicious intent - Liverpool Echo Its difficult to comprehend how someone could deliberately start a fire while two elderly people are inside the home. Its absolutely sickening, and we are determined to find the person or people responsible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He asked homeowners to check their CCTV or smart doorbell footage. Even if it appears to be a small detail, it could end up being vital to our enquiries, he added. I would also ask that any drivers who have dashcam footage and were in the area of South John Street and Parr Street between midnight and 1am to contact us if you have captured anything significant. 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. Super Micro Computer Inc logo on building-by Poetra_RH via Shutterstock With a market cap of $31.8 billion, Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI) is a global leader in high-performance, energy-efficient server and storage solutions based on modular and open architecture. The company designs, develops, and sells a wide range of IT infrastructure products and services for enterprise data centers, cloud computing, AI, 5G, and edge computing markets. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company is slated to announce its fiscal Q4 2025 earnings results on Tuesday, Aug. 5. Ahead of this event, analysts expect SMCI to report an EPS of $0.35, a decline of 36.4% from $0.55 in the year-ago quarter. It has exceeded Wall Street's earnings expectations in one of the past quarters while missing on two other occasions. More News from Barchart For fiscal 2025, analysts expect the server technology company to report EPS of $1.72, marking a decrease of 14.4% from $2.01 in fiscal 2024. However, EPS is anticipated to grow 26.7% year-over-year to $2.18 in fiscal 2026. www.barchart.com Shares of Super Micro Computer have dipped 39.3% over the past 52 weeks, lagging behind the broader S&P 500 Index's ($SPX) 10.5% return and the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund's (XLK) 10.8% rise over the same period. www.barchart.com Super Micro Computer stock fell 1.4% following its Q3 2025 results on May 6 due to significantly disappointing financials, including adjusted EPS of $0.31 and revenue of $4.6 billion, both falling short of Wall Street expectations. Investor concern was further fueled by shrinking gross margins, which dropped to 9.6% year-over-year, and a steep decline in net income to $109 million. Additionally, weak Q4 guidance and the company's decision not to provide full-year 2026 forecasts due to tariff-related uncertainty added to the market's negative reaction. Analysts' consensus view on Super Micro Computer stock remains cautious, with an overall "Hold" rating. Out of 16 analysts covering the stock, four recommend a "Strong Buy," three "Moderate Buys," six "Holds," one has a "Moderate Sell," and two give a "Strong Sell" rating. As of writing, the stock is trading above the average analyst price target of $42.27. On the date of publication, Sohini Mondal did not have (either directly or indirectly) positions in any of the securities mentioned in this article. All information and data in this article is solely for informational purposes. This article was originally published on Barchart.com Sources close to the Sheikh confirm his death after a viral video circulated the internet showing Shahine, 80, being publicly humiliated by members of HTS in al-Tha'la. An elderly Druze Sheikh died after being publicly humiliated by the Syrian Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) rebel group on Tuesday, the Syria Justice Archive on X/Twitter reported on Wednesday. Sources close to the sheikh, Marhej Shahine, 80, confirmed his death after a viral video circulated online showing him having his beard shaved off as a humiliation tactic by members of HTS in al-Tha'la, the western countryside of Sweida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shahine's granddaughter, Syrian journalist Christine Shahine, wrote on Facebook, "My grandfather was martyred! "He lived his whole life with dignity, his whole life his home was open for good, he raised us on goodnessmy grandfather refused to leave his home, waiting to bury his grandson! A delegation of 100 Druze leaders from Syria visits northern Israel for the first time since 1973 on March 14, 2025. Israeli Druze proudly wave their own national flag alongside the Israeli flag in festivals and ceremonies, the writer points out. (credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS) "My grandfather didnt sell his land, nor his home, nor his childrenHis beard and the pain in his eyes are on your conscience until Judgment Day, you traitors. Saudi author Aimen Dean posted the video of Shahine being humiliated and addressed the Syrian president, interior minister, and defense minister. "If you want the world to see Syria as a serious, sovereign nation-state, then teach your army to act like one," he wrote. "Shaving the beard and mustache of an elderly Druze man of faith - humiliating him like that - is not the act of a civilized state. It's disgraceful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You want global respect? Start by respecting your own people. Especially your minority elders. Especially your minority religious figures. For God's sake, act like the civilized nation you claim to be." "We want to see the perpetrators in this shameful video arrested and made an example of," he concluded. IDF prepares for days of battles in Sweida As of Wednesday afternoon, the IDF had undertaken 160 aerial attacks on Syrian regime forces in and around the vicinity of Sweida in southern Syria, where Israel says the regime's forces are slaughtering Syrian Druze. In addition, the IDF has attacked and possibly destroyed Syrias Defense Ministry and also attacked part of the Presidential Palace in Damascus. Dozens or more Syrian regime forces are said to have been killed in IDF attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement IDF sources said that the military is ready for a multi-day campaign to convince Syrian regime forces to withdraw from Sweida and leave the Syrian Druze their autonomy. However, the IDF said that the situation for the Syrian Druze is desperate and that despite aerial attacks, if on Tuesday, the Druze controlled around 70% of Sweida, by Wednesday, regime forces controlled around 70% of the city. In addition, the IDF said that the regime has around 200 militia men committing atrocities against the Druze in Sweida, while another 1,000 more official Syrian regime army forces have the city surrounded and cut off. The IDF implied that the Syrian regime may use this model to try to have plausible deniability that it was not directly involved in atrocities, but the military said that intelligence suggests that the mixing of using militias to do the regimes dirty work appears to have been planned. At the same time, the IDF did not accuse the Syrian regime of provoking the current crisis. Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this article. As triple-digit temperatures gripped Northwest Indiana this summer during a national heatwave, cities opened cooling centers and residents cranked up their air conditioners to stay safe. Days later, the regions primary utility company hiked its electricity rates to a record high. Northern Indiana Public Service Co., the states largest natural gas and second-largest electric company, recently increased electricity rates after receiving approval from the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission. Residents say the increase adds strain to already-stretched household budgets, where many live on fixed incomes and face some of the highest utility bills in the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vince Parisi, president of NIPSCO, said in a statement that the increased rates are expected to address the need for critical investments. We understand that any increase in bills is significant, he said, and we remain focused on supporting our customers through this transition with new assistance programs and continued improvements to service and reliability. NIPSCO estimates the average residential electric customer will see an increase of approximately $23 per month, or nearly 17%, over the next year. Comparatively, this is a reduction from the originally proposed increase of $32 per month, which drew strong community backlash from Gary residents last year. The rates began July 1, and will continue in incremental increases until early 2026, according to NIPSCO. The increase comes at a time when Gary residents have continuously and consistently expressed frustration over the utility companys monopoly over the region, and unaffordable prices as they stretch their fixed incomes for rising utility, grocery, and costs of living. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When is enough going to be enough? NIPSCO is a monopoly in our region, and its not right. Its another money grab, when we have so many other things that people in underserved communities are going through financially, said Sidney Savage, NAACP Gary executive board member. Garys median income is less than $40,000 a year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In Lake County, utility affordability ranks as the third-highest cause of stress for residents, a 2022 Franciscan Health Community Health Needs Assessment found. Across Northern Indiana, NIPSCOs nearly 500,000 electric customers pay the highest electric bills of any investor-owned or municipal utility company in the state, according to data from the Citizens Action Coalition, Indianas oldest consumer and environmental advocacy organization. NIPSCO provides electricity for nearly all Northwest Indiana residents. (Javonte Anderson/Capital B) For a senior on a fixed income, theyre going to have to make some very tough decisions, Savage said. I can just imagine, the decisions between certain medications, as expensive as those are, and, you know, budgeting on a NIPSCO bill, a basic necessity. Savage added that many older residents are being squeezed by rising costs and limited incomes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What are seniors going to do? he said. People are having sticker shock at these increases right now. People are at that breaking point financially, and we live right now where you work a full-time job and still cant afford necessities. Its just insane. The utility hike proposal drew consistent backlash throughout last year, resulting in a three-hour public forum hosted by the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission at the Gary Public Library in Miller last December. Dozens of residents turned out to plead with state regulators, urging them not to approve the increase. Many shared personal stories of hardship. Others criticized NIPSCOs status as a regional monopoly, questioning how the company could justify profit-driven rate hikes in a city with one of the lowest median incomes in the state. I still continue to see very minimal, very minimal intake from the community, and it is being taken seriously, Savage said. Its just a shame all of the profits that NIPSCO is getting, that they cant find a better way to serve our community. The post Electric Bills Rise Again, and Northwest Indiana Residents Say Theyve Had Enough appeared first on Capital B Gary. Elon Musk is once again raging against the Trump administration for its handling of the investigation into deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Amid the billionaire entrepreneurs explosive social media feud with Trump in June, he alleged the Justice Department was withholding information about the disgraced financier because the president is in the Epstein Files. Musk eventually removed that post from his X platform, but has more subtly pushed for information about Epsteins life and death to be released in the weeks since. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Musk seemed to take exception to the president now dismissing the entire matter as a hoax and so far declining to appoint a special prosecutor to further explore Epsteins ties to the rich and powerful including Trump. Wow, amazing that Epstein killed himself and Ghislaine (Maxwell) is in federal prison for a hoax, Musk fumed. While multiple investigators have concluded Epstein died by suicide by awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges in 2019, conspiracy-minded skeptics suspect he was killed in a deep-state plot to stop him from exposing high-profile figures with a sexual predilection for minors. Meanwhile, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epsteins very close associate, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2022 for her role in a scheme to sexual exploit and abuse multiple minor girls with Jeffrey Epstein over the course of a decade, according to the Justice Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though conspiracy theorists have long speculated Epstein kept a damning client list, Trump-appointed Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement last week that no such list exists and no further information about the matter would be released. In a series of more than a dozen posts about Epstein in just over an hour, Musk further vented Wednesday that not even one predator allegedly associated with Epstein and Maxwells scheme has been prosecuted. He further groused that so many powerful people want that list suppressed. Trump has scolded reporters for bringing up the Epstein case and criticized his own supporters for pressing the issue. In a Wednesday morning post on Truth Social, he accused them of being duped by a bulls--t Democratic party ruse. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, Trump wrote. _____ Elon Musk listens as reporters ask President Donald Trump and South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa questions in the Oval Office at the White House in May. If Musk is to go through with his plan to develop his new America Party, hell have to navigate a patchwork of state-level ballot rules. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Elon Musks announcement that he plans to form a new political party came easily, with the billionaire simply posting his intentions on his social media platform, X. Now comes the hard part. If the worlds richest man seriously pursues his goal of standing up what he calls the America Party, Musk will have to navigate a patchwork of state-level requirements to get his party and its candidates on general election ballots across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two-party system has largely retained its grip on American politics for more than a century. The Tesla CEO has plenty of money, but loosening that grip would test the America Partys organization and popular support. Musk enjoyed extraordinary entree into the White House this winter as he led the Department of Government Efficiency task force. But he broke with President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans over the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trumps signature domestic policy package containing massive tax cuts and deep reductions to social services funding. The law, which Trump signed July 4, is expected to add more than $4 trillion to the national debt. When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste & graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy, Musk wrote on X on July 5. Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom. Musk appeared to signal his party would for now focus on a small number of competitive congressional races, rather than attempting to put forward a nationwide slate of candidates. He posted that one way to execute on creating the party would be to laser-focus on two or three U.S. Senate seats and eight to 10 House seats. Musk made no mention of running candidates for state legislatures or other state-level offices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given the thin margins separating Republican and Democratic control of Congress, electing a few of his third-party candidates would allow members of Congress from the America Party to serve as the deciding vote on contentious measures, Musk wrote. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report, which ranks U.S. House and Senate races by competitiveness, lists three toss-up Senate seats and 18 toss-up House districts in 2026. All told, competing in those races would require getting on the ballot in 15 states. A small sample of what Musk would face: In Michigan, Democratic U.S. Sen. Gary Peters isnt running for reelection, creating an open race. Candidates of new political parties must gather signatures of registered voters equal to 1% of the total number of votes in the last election for governor, in this case about 44,620. At least 100 voters in each of half of the states congressional districts must sign the petitions. In Georgia, where Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is running for reelection, an America Party candidate would need to collect signatures equivalent to 1% of the number of registered voters eligible to vote in the previous election. In North Carolina, Republican U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis announced he wouldnt seek reelection after Trump threatened to find a primary opponent because of Tillis opposition to the tax and spending bill. If Musk wants to form a political party in the state, hell need to gather the signatures of at least 13,979 registered and qualified voters statewide, including at least 200 registered voters from three different congressional districts. In Ohio, two U.S. House races appear on Cooks toss-up list: the 9th District, held by Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, and the 13th District, held by Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes. To register as a minor political party, the America Party would need signatures of voters equal to 1% of the total vote for governor or for president at the most recent election for those offices. The petition would also have to be signed by at least 500 voters within each of at least half the states congressional districts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nick Troiano, executive director of Unite America, an organization that seeks to improve political representation by advocating open primaries in which all candidates regardless of party compete against each other for the support of voters, said the America Party could shake up politics. But, he added, history demonstrates that without structural change, Musks effort is unlikely to truly disrupt the two-party system. Troiano didnt take a position on whether Musk should form a new party, but said that if the mogul goes ahead with the idea, the new party should embrace open primaries. If Elon wants to help fix our democracy, his new party should build on his support for opening primaries and make nonpartisan election reform the foundation of its efforts, Troiano said in a statement to Stateline. Of course, Musks America Party would be far from the first third-party effort. The Green Party, the Libertarian Party and other minor parties all put forward candidates in elections across the country at all levels of the ballot from contests for governor up to president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Musks gambit could potentially work, said Bob Beatty, a political science professor at Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas. Independent and third-party campaigns can be successful with the right candidate and enough money, he said, pointing to Jesse Venturas election as Minnesota governor in the 1990s as a Reform Party candidate and Joseph Liebermans reelection to the U.S. Senate as a third-party candidate in 2006 after he lost the Connecticut Democratic primary. And Musk, with effectively unlimited resources, could likely gather the signatures necessary to get candidates on the ballot in at least a subset of states, Beatty said. Thats because he could pay for an army of workers to gather signatures in the states where he wants to run candidates. At first blush, youre like, Third party, Trump or someone could say thats crazy, its not going to work. A lot of people would say that, Beatty said. But when you look at his tactical approach, its something to take seriously. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE IT employee arrested on child porn charges at Peters Township High School campus A contracted IT employee who works out of Peters Township High School has been arrested on child porn charges. Jason Wayne Ayres, 46, was taken into custody on the high schools campus Wednesday morning by the Attorney Generals Office Child Predator Unit. Police said they discovered disturbing downloaded videos, including of children between 4 and 6 years old. According to the criminal complaint, Ayres admitted to police that he had been viewing child porn on and off for a couple of years, including AI-generated child porn, which is also illegal in Pennsylvania. The AGs office has filed charges against two suspects since the statute was passed last year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A forensic search of his computer found explicit images and videos, including material showing sex acts involving children as young as four to six years old. Police say Ayres admitted to searching for child pornography and using terms like pre-teen and jailbait. The Attorney Generals Child Predator Unit and the Pennsylvania Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force traced illegal activity to an IP address Ayres shared with his wife. The district says the investigation did not involve any Peters Township students and that no district equipment was used. Ayres contract with Questeq has been terminated and all district access has been revoked. Students tell Channel 11 theyre shocked by the allegations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was a nice guy the IT people kinda keep to themselves, said a Peters Township student. Its just shocking to have someone like that in a school. Ayres is charged with child sexual abuse material and criminal use of a communication facility. He is in the Washington County Jail, where he was unable to post bail set at $250,000 Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Jul. 16Just shy of a year and three months after holding the brick-and-mortar location's grand opening on April 22, 2024, at the former location of Dawn's Delectables & Sandwich Shoppe in downtown Centralia, JJ's ToGo owners and sisters-in-law Jessica and Devin Britton announced the location's upcoming closure in a post on the business's Facebook page. "We love our JJ's family and are grateful for the past year in our first brick-and-mortar restaurant. This might be the end of the physical location, but not of JJ's. Stay tuned for more details. Come get it while you still can," the Brittons said in the July 15 Facebook post. "Your support means the world to us." The physical location's final day of business will be July 26. The Chronicle visited JJ's ToGo on July 16 to ask the Brittons what some of the details of their future plans are and if they intend to transition back to a catering-faced business, but they were not at the business at the time of the visit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prior to opening the physical location, JJ's ToGo had been a local catering and mobile food business started after Jessica Britton's sister-in-law asked her to meal prep lunches out of her tiny Chehalis apartment in 2021, as previously reported by The Chronicle. By March of 2024, they were averaging over 100 lunch orders per day. After successfully growing the catering business and considering a physical location after being forced to move JJ's into a food truck, Dawn's Delectables owner Dawn Merchant reached out to the Brittons informing them she was taking a break from the restaurant industry, planning on closing her business and passing off the location as the new home of JJ's. While the business saw initial success, controversy arose last November after the Brittons refused to cater to the wedding of a same-sex couple, Ryah Calkins and Lillian Glover, publicly citing their Christian religious beliefs on social media. The couple now lives in the Seattle area, but both women grew up in Lewis County, with Glover graduating from Adna High School and Calkins graduating from W.F. West High School in Chehalis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We love JJ's. We love their food, and we really just wanted to share that with everybody who loved us at our wedding," Calkins previously told The Chronicle. "It's sad that that couldn't occur. It was really hard for us." Calkins and Glover had been communicating with both JJ's ToGo and Toledo-based The Crowded Kitchen Catering Co., about wedding catering quotes and chose JJ's. They had already been communicating with the Brittons about catering details. But, when they went to meet the Brittons in person to pay, the Brittons saw they were a same sex couple and refused to continue providing service to them or cater their wedding. After public outcry and even some protestors showing up at the business, the Brittons stated this in a now-deleted social media post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Every decision that is made is based on our faith in Jesus Christ. Every creative idea or business decision is prayed about and discussed with every member of management before it is finalized," the Brittons said. "We publicly dedicated our business to God in front of so many of you and asked Him to make us His vessels and nothing more." They added they "apologize to Ryah and Lillian for any inconvenience that has caused in their wedding planning. It is extremely important to us that you both know we love you. And our decision to say no to this event is actually for your benefit. You should have someone catering your event that supports and can celebrate your union." Calkins and Glover ultimately had The Crowded Kitchen cater their wedding. JJ's ToGo is located at 204 N. Tower Ave. in downtown Centralia. For more information, message the Brittons on the business's Facebook page at https://tinyurl.com/4arh4342. By Max Hunder, Sabine Siebold and Manuel Ausloos KYIV/BERLIN (Reuters) -"Drones, drones, drones. Only drones. A lot of drones." A weary Ukrainian platoon commander speaks to the transformed nature of modern warfare as he's medically evacuated from the front lines. Kamikaze drones. Surveillance drones. Bomber drones. Drones that kill other drones. These machines swarm the skies in vast numbers. They're cheap, they're deadly and they're among the main reasons Ukraine believes it can hold out against advancing Russian forces this year and even beyond, according to a dozen Ukrainian commanders, officials and arms manufacturers involved in Kyiv's defence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian soldiers describe the drone-infested corridor covering about 10 km either side of the line of contact as the "kill zone" because remotely piloted unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) deployed by both sides can swiftly spot and neutralise targets. The war's evolution into the most drone-intensive conflict ever seen has eaten away at Russia's ability to exploit its traditional advantages in troop numbers, artillery and tanks, according to two Ukrainian battlefield commanders interviewed. Any large vehicle operating near the front is now an obvious target, meaning Russian forces can no longer make the kind of rapid advances they did in 2022 with columns of armoured vehicles, according to the commanders as well as the founder of OCHI, a system which centralizes video feeds from over 15,000 Ukrainian military drone crews on the front lines. "The enemy sees you completely," OCHI's Oleksandr Dmitriev added. "No matter where you go or what you are driving." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia has consequently adapted its tactics, the Ukrainian battlefield commanders said; its forces now typically attack in small groups of five or six - on foot or on motorbikes or quad bikes - in an attempt expose Ukrainian positions by drawing their fire and then launching drone strikes at them, they added. Russia's defence ministry didn't respond to a request for comment on this article. Despite the changes in warfare, Russian forces retain the ascendancy and are making slow but steady advances in the east and north of Ukraine. Russia has also caught up in UAV technology after falling behind early in the war, according to military analysts, and like its enemy is churning out drones domestically at a rate of millions a year. Meanwhile, European leaders are trying to parse President Donald Trump's announcement this week that America would supply arms to Ukraine via NATO, with Europe picking up the bill. Many details remain unclear, including the types and quantity of weapons, how quickly they would be sent and precisely how they would be paid for, U.S. and European officials said this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House didn't respond to queries on the supply plan. Spokeswoman Anna Kelly said the war had gone on too long and Trump wanted to end the killing, and so is selling U.S. arms to NATO for Ukraine and threatening hefty sanctions on Russia. The people interviewed for this article, who were speaking before Trump's weapons announcement, said they believed Ukraine could fight on and resist Russia even if no more U.S. aid was forthcoming, though they didn't give precise timelines. Many cited the primacy of drones as having levelled the field to some degree and made Ukraine more self-sufficient, and also pointed to growing military supplies from European allies. "We can hold out for months," said Oleksandr Kamyshin, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's arms expert and strategic adviser, when asked about what would happen if U.S. weapons supplies ceased. "In 2023 or 2024, it would have been a lot worse we would be talking about days or weeks." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Polish military analyst Konrad Muzyka, who has made numerous visits to the front lines, said Ukraine's focus was to sap the strength of Russian attacks, adding that Kyiv didn't currently have the capability to launch offensives of its own. He said Ukraine would likely struggle in a long war of attrition due to its manpower shortages and Russia's superior resources. Although drones have changed the battlefield, he cautioned against overstating their ability to make up for an absence of artillery and mortars. "To deliver the amount of damage that an artillery shell does to a target, you would need to launch tens of drones," he added. "Drones can fill in the gaps to some extent and give you some breathing space, but they are not a substitute for artillery." DESTRUCTION RAINS FROM ABOVE Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drones are demons, at least for those in the kill zone that straddles the 1,000 km line of contact. Reconnaissance UAVs from both sides - resembling shrunken airplanes, made of plastic or styrofoam and equipped with sophisticated cameras - can spot enemies from several kilometres away. They hover over the front lines, relaying back what they see in real time. They find targets for the fleets of bomber drones - often hexacopters the size of coffee tables that can drop precision grenades with 3D-printed tailfins - as well as kamikaze drones, some with RPG warheads strapped on to pierce armour, which can fly into soldiers, tanks and weapons systems. The platoon commander being evacuated from the front, a 35-year-old called Ivan who goes by the call sign "Atom", said soldiers on both sides now saw UAVs as the biggest threat to their lives, replacing shells, mines and enemy fighters which were the primary perils earlier in the war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A medic with him on the bus, 34-year-old Olga Kozum, concurred: Most of the battlefield injuries she and her colleagues treat are caused by UAVs, she said. According to internal Ukrainian estimates seen by Reuters, drones accounted for 69% of strikes on Russian troops and 75% of strikes on vehicles and equipment in 2024. About 18% of strikes on Russian infantry and 15% of strikes on vehicles and equipment were conducted with artillery, and even less with mortars, according to the same estimates. The wartime UAV arms race has spawned many innovations; both sides are deploying short-range, fibre-optic drones that cannot be electronically jammed, as well as "interceptors" that hunt down and destroy enemy reconnaissance and attack drones. Kyiv's planned production this year of 30,000 long-range UAVs, designed to attack targets deep inside Russia such as arms depots and energy facilities, gives Ukraine an increased offensive threat, according to Vadym Sukharevskyi, commander of the country's drone forces until early June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The average cost of a long-range strike drone ranges from $50,000 to $300,000, about 10 times less than a missile of similar range, although a drone's warhead is smaller, Sukharevskyi said in an interview while still in the post. "This is our asymmetrical answer," he said, adding that Ukraine started developing such drones "precisely because we lack missiles". Kamyshin, President Zelenskiy's adviser, added: "You can't win a big war if you are only defending." Long-range drone strikes are "one of the main cards Ukraine can play against Russia right now". WANTED: U.S. PATRIOTS AND INTEL Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukraine's military-industrial base is expanding rapidly, and now accounts for around 40% of the weapons and equipment used, including drones, according to Zelenskiy, who on Wednesday set out a target to reach 50% in six months. Kyiv has also sought to diversify its supplies and its European allies are providing growing amounts of munitions, potentially making the country more resilient to geopolitical shocks. The Kiel Institute, a German-based economic research group, estimated in a report last month that Europe had surpassed the U.S. in total military aid provided over the course of the war for the first time since June 2022, reaching 72 billion euros compared with 65 billion euros from Washington. The institute said aid flows to Ukraine shifted significantly in March and April as no new U.S. aid was allocated and European countries upped support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the U.S. has been - and remains - the largest sole supplier of artillery shells to Ukraine during the war, Europe is expanding capacity and has purchased hundreds of thousands of munitions from within and outside the continent. Of around 420,000 artillery shells received by Ukraine from the start of this year until around mid-May, only 160,000 were from the United States, according to a European security source who requested anonymity to discuss confidential matters. Kamyshin said Ukraine made around 2.4 million of its own shells in 2024, although these were mostly for mortars, which are shorter range. Ukraine is nonetheless particularly reliant on the U.S. in the areas of air defences and intelligence sharing, military analysts said. Kyiv particularly covets U.S. Patriot air defence systems, capable of intercepting ballistic missiles that Russia is firing with increasing frequency. As of April this year, Ukraine had seven fully operational systems, well short of the 25 that Zelenskiy has requested, according to analysts at Ukrainian publication Defence Express. Long-range drone and missile attacks often rely on U.S. satellite intelligence. European countries can only go a small way to replacing were the United States to stop sharing it, the European Union Institute for Security Studies said. (Reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv, Sabine Siebold in Berlin and Manuel Ausloos in Dnipropetrovsk, eastern Ukraine; Additional reporting by Olena Harmash in Kyiv, Mike Collett-White in London and Trevor Hunnicutt in Washington; Editing by Mike Collett-White and Pravin Char) Environmental groups oppose a draft permit from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources for the Ottumwa Generating Station. (Photo via Google Maps) Several environmental groups are urging the Iowa Department of Natural Resources to deny a wastewater permit for an Ottumwa coal plant because, they say, it unlawfully avoids federal guidelines for coal combustion leachate discharges. DNR and Alliant Energy, which owns the plant, say the permit request updates a technical issue from a previously issued permit for the Ottumwa Generating Station and the federal guidelines in question cannot be upheld because the station does not discharge leachate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sierra Club Iowa Chapter, Iowa Environmental Council and Environmental Law and Policy Center submitted comments on DNRs published draft permit for the station, and urged DNR to require supplemental information from the company to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act. The groups argued DNR needed to apply the effluent limitation guidelines, referred to in the comments as ELG, that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized in 2024 to strengthen the wastewater discharge standards for coal-fired power plants. The expanded rules created more stringent limitations for discharges like leachate, which is water that interacts with the waste material of burning coal as it is collected in a type of landfill and becomes contaminated with the coal ash byproducts. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iowa DNR does not enforce effluent limitation guidelines in the draft permit, which the environmental groups said is unlawful and also harmful to communities downstream of the facility that could be exposed to the heavy metals and other pollutants discharged. But DNR, and Alliant, the parent company of Interstate Power and Light Company which owns the station, say the rules dont apply to the permit because the station does not discharge leachate. No leachate at the generating station The environmental groups point to the previously approved permit for the generating station, and the DNRs rationale on the 2025 draft permit, which both mention leachate as part of the discharge from one of the generating station outfalls. Melissa McCarville, a senior communications partner with Alliant Energy, said the DNR incorrectly includes mention of the landfill leachate in the rationale of the permit changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Ottumwa Generating Station does not produce leachate and the plant is not allowed to discharge leachate from any landfill under its permit, McCarville said in an email. The requested permit amendment does not change that. Tammie Krausman, communications chief and public information officer for DNR, confirmed the agencys error on the rationale. She said leachate used to be covered under the permit but because of the EPAs strengthened effluent limitation rules from last year, Interstate Power decided to no longer have a discharge option for leachate at Ottumwa Generating Station. Krausman said the generating station, and thus the 2025 permit draft, do not allow for the discharge of managed or unmanaged leachate. The DNR only has the authority to apply leachate ELGs to wastestreams that contain leachate (managed or unmanaged), Krausman said in an email. No such wastestreams exist at IPL Ottumwa Generating Station. As such, the facility is prohibited from discharging leachate at the site covered by the IPL Ottumwa Generating Station (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit. Where is the leachate? The same groups issued a notice of intent to sue Iowa Power and Light in March, claiming it lacked the necessary permits to discharge polluted groundwater into the Des Moines River. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This issue dealt with the stations nearby coal-ash landfill, the Ottumwa Midland Landfill, which processes the waste material from burning coal, the process of which creates leachate. The groups alleged the landfill was discharging polluted groundwater from below the coal ash pond into a nearby wetland, which eventually drains into the Des Moines River. The environmental groups were worried about the water entering the river because of data that indicated the water was polluted with arsenic, boron, iron, zinc and other pollutants. Interstate Power responded to the threat of lawsuit by agreeing to stop discharging the groundwater and instead transport the water, and leachate, to be used and evaporated at the coal plant, or to be treated at the Ottumwa Water Pollution Control Facility before it is discharged into the Des Moines River. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iowa Environmental Council said in a press release at the time that trucking the water to the city for treatment would be expensive and ineffective. The group also said city water treatment plants are not equipped to properly handle coal ash contaminants Joshua Smith, the senior staff attorney with Sierra Club, said in an email to Iowa Capital Dispatch the solution was like dumping used motor oil into the city sewer. It might be marginally better than dumping it into the river, but its generally unlawful because the treatment system isnt designed to remove large amounts of motor oil, Smith said as an example. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The groups, in their comments to DNR over the permit for the generating station, said the DNR circumvent(s) the ELG Rules requirements by allowing Interstate Power to transport leachate and underlining groundwater to the city. Although the (landfills permit with the city of Ottumwa) includes numeric discharge limits for several pollutants typically found in leachate wastewater discharges, the permit limits are woefully inadequate to ensure compliance with EPAs ELG Rule. According to the comments, the discharge limits of contaminants outlined in the permit with the city are many orders of magnitude greater than allowed under the ELG Rule or allow continued, indefinite discharges of some heavy metals and toxic pollutants. The (permits) numeric limits are not a lawful substitute for ELG compliance the comments said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The comments also point to a section of EPAs explanation of the effluent limitation guideline rule that says transporting leachate to a publicly owned treatment works is irrelevant to the application of the effluent limitation guidelines treatment requirements. The comments said allowing coal-plant operators to circumvent the effluent limitation rules by doing so would result in the disparate treatment of direct dischargers, unfairly shifting the financial and public health burden of compliance to municipalities, interfering with the operation of (publicly owned treatment works), and undermining the Clean Water Acts goal of eliminating pollution discharges. Smith said the comments from the environmental groups were made based on the application materials that were publicly available, and said there may be other documents, facts, explanations, etc that change the analysis, but we do not believe DNR can lawfully issue the draft permit as written. McCarville did not respond to Iowa Capital Dispatchs question about about Interstate Powers decision to transport leachate and groundwater drainage to the Ottumwa Water Pollution Control Facility and the facilitys ability to deal with its possible contaminants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ottumwa Generating Station is in compliance with the permits issued by the Iowa DNR and we remain fully committed to protecting water quality in the Des Moines River, McCarville said in an email. A representative from Ottumwa Water Pollution Control Facility did not respond to a request for comment. Michael Schmidt, general council for Iowa Environmental Council, said the situation is also indicative of the problems that result from burning coal. We have a whole bunch of coal ash landfills around the state, and they are producing this kind of waste on an ongoing basis, and DNR needs to be regulating that to make sure that our groundwater and our drinking water is not being polluted, Schmidt said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The environmental groups also requested a public hearing on the draft permit so those who live near, recreate on the river, or receive municipal water downstream of the facility can share their perspectives on protecting the Des Moines River from toxic and heavy metal discharges from the facility. Krausman confirmed Thursday the department plans to hold a public hearing on the permit, and was working to finalize details. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE (NewsNation) A whistleblower group has obtained documents suggesting the Environmental Protection Agency collaborated with Norfolk Southern to manipulate soil testing data following the February 2023 East Palestine train derailment, according to a new report. The Government Accountability Project recently acquired a March 7, 2023, email from the EPA to Norfolk Southern that allegedly shows the agency relied on the railroad companys testing methods and told them not to test for five toxic compounds, said Lesley Pacey, a representative of the whistleblower group. The most significant allegation centers on the EPAs selection of baseline soil samples from locations heavily impacted by the toxic plume of smoke from the open burn of vinyl chloride tankers. Baseline samples serve as benchmarks for comparison to track contamination levels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Tina Smith hospitalized overnight for observation This is black and white receipts that the EPA was working with Norfolk Southern to create the outcome that Norfolk Southern wanted, Pacey told NewsNation. Scott Smith, an independent testing expert and whistleblower, said the arrangement allowed Norfolk Southern to clearly handpick testing data to say, you were already contaminated. We didnt add to that contamination. Stephen Petty, one of the lead experts on a class-action lawsuit against Norfolk Southern, exclusively told NewsNation the EPA and the railroad company failed to test in the correct areas for dioxins, potentially skewing results. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said officials did not account for wind direction during the burn when determining testing locations. If they knew that the winds were actually either calmer to the other direction, primarily, then they were inverting background and foreground, which would make you conclude no problem here,' Petty said. But more, maybe more insidiously, it would call into question the entire decision-making process to go forward with the burn in the first place. Petty, who is bound by a nondisclosure agreement and cannot reveal his test results, said he believes officials may have intentionally avoided testing in areas most likely to show contamination. AOC, Sanders back Mamdani in DC as NYC mayoral race intensifies Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked whether the EPA and Norfolk Southern did everything possible to determine true exposure levels for East Palestine residents, Petty said: No, I dont think so. Residents of East Palestine say they are still having health issues more than two years after the Norfolk train derailment. Officials vented and burned five tank cars, releasing the carcinogen vinyl chloride into the air. Early this year, East Palestine and Norfolk Southern announced a $22 million settlement resolving all of the villages claims. The settlement is to be used for priorities the village identifies in connection with the derailment, but it also recognizes about $13.5 million that Norfolk Southern has already paid to the village for upgrades to the water treatment plant and to replace police and fire equipment, among other things, according to the joint announcement on the villages website. It also reaffirms Norfolk Southerns commitment of $25 million to ongoing improvements to East Palestine City Park that is in addition to this settlement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The freight train derailment in the village near the Pennsylvania state line included 11 cars transporting hazardous materials. Area residents evacuated and, days later, officials fearing a possible uncontrolled blast intentionally released and burned toxic vinyl chloride from five rail cars, sending flames and black smoke into the sky. Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board later determined that it wasnt necessary to blow open those vinyl chloride cars and burn the plastic ingredient. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. The News President Donald Trumps attempts to divert Washington away from his administrations handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case are backfiring. The number of House Republicans backing a bipartisan proposal intended to force Attorney General Pam Bondi to release records on the accused sex trafficker quickly grew to 10 in just two days. As Trumps party began breaking in greater numbers from his calls to move on from the case, the House froze in place as GOP leaders tried to head off more Epstein votes. Across the Capitol, Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released a report making public flagged banking transactions linked to Epstein. And Senate Republicans were forced to block an attempt by Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., to align the chamber behind releasing files on the notorious financier, who died in 2019 while awaiting trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even more ominous than Thursdays developments was Republicans private acknowledgment that Trumps attempts to deem the subject boring and a hoax are not landing in a party that has harped on the Epstein case for years. Id love to see whatever there is to see. I think there are good things that would come from more public awareness on the issue. I dont know exactly how this plays out, said one Senate Republican who supports more disclosure from Bondis DOJ. As to whether Trump had quieted the issue, the senator answered: No. Congressional GOP leaders are still trying to quiet their internal divisions over Epstein as Rep. Thomas Massies, R-Ky., bipartisan legislation comes closer to a forced floor vote in the House, against the wishes of Speaker Mike Johnson. Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., blocked Gallegos separate, nonbinding legislation in the Senate, arguing Democrats didnt care about Epstein when Joe Biden was president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its still not clear if Thursdays Epstein issues would imperil a bill clawing back more than $9 billion in federal spending a top Trump priority even as it delayed its passage. But beyond this week, the ramifications of Republican dissatisfaction with the president could prove significant. Even before Trump derided his supporters who want more information about Epstein as weaklings, Johnson carved out a rare bit of daylight from the president by saying he agrees with the sentiment that we need to put it out there. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said that Bondis DOJ needs to, at a minimum, release Epsteins autopsy and his flight logs, as well as details on who else might be swept up in a potential federal prosecution that never advanced after Epsteins death. Roy told Semafor leaving a meeting with Rules Committee Republicans Thursday he was considering signing onto Massies resolution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet party leaders dont want to give airtime to anything binding; the Epstein resolution theyre considering in the House would be symbolic with regard to DOJs actions. I trust President Trump. Hes made it very clear to the attorney general, to Pam Bondi: Release all the credible evidence. Thats all I need to know. Ive got to work on the things that the American people actually care about, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., told Semafor. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said that he doesnt see House-style momentum on his side of the Capitol for more action on Epstein. But even those who trust Bondis handling of the situation, which has made national headlines for nearly two weeks after the DOJ sought to declare the matter closed, recognize that the Epstein case now has a life of its own. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The public seems pretty interested in it, said Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla. Im comfortable that Pam will do everything she can. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that Trump would not recommend a special prosecutor for the Epstein case. She did not get into Trumps discussions with the House speaker but said: The president has said, if the attorney general and the Department of Justice and the FBI have any more credible evidence in regards to Jeffrey Epsteins crimes, they should put that forward. Know More All it takes is a Google search to find plenty of recent comments from Republicans including Trump urging the release of files related to Epstein, the subject of years-long conservative scrutiny and widely held theories that he trafficked young women to powerful men. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump himself once socialized with Epstein, as Democrats frequently reminded the GOP this week, though there is no evidence so far of a client list, as Bondi referred to earlier this year on Fox News. (Gawker published Epsteins address book in 2015.) Im as curious as everybody else. I have no idea whats going [on] with the Epstein files these things have been bopping around inside the FBI, Department of Justice for a long time. And who knows whats in them, whats been taken out, said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Thatd be my primary concern: What are we really getting? he asked. Its just like the JFK files. Ive always said, Do we really think were getting all of those? Others were less charitable. Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., who is retiring, said on local radio this week that he disagrees with Trumps recent dismissal of Epstein: I dont think human trafficking of young teenage girls being exploited by billionaires on a private island is boring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some Republicans suggested a more targeted approach, rather than a mass release of Epstein files in the DOJs possession, given the sensitivity of some of the information that could be included. For me, as a former prosecutor, I just dont know [how] theyre looking at it. I dont know what could be disclosed, what couldnt be disclosed, said Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo. A lot of people are curious. Im curious, Schmitt added of Trump. If theres something credible to release, hed be supportive of that. Id be supportive of that. I dont know what it is. The View From Democrats Wyden said he was presenting his report to the Senate Finance Committee but doubted that the panels Republicans would do anything with it. He said he supported those in the House who were pushing for a vote on Epstein but that his focus is on investigations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre not doing a follow-the-money investigation, which is where were different, Wyden told Semafor. There is no way you can run this gigantic sex-trafficking operation, close to 5,000 wire transfers, without a ton of money. Room for Disagreement Even as he raised questions about the Epstein case, Ron Johnson said he understood Trumps attempts to minimize the cases importance. The president said Wednesday he doesnt even want the support of those still fixated on it. There are far more important things to talk about, I dont doubt that at all. I understand peoples curiosity, I dont think were going to get the truth on all kinds of things, the senator said. Burgess and Eleanors View The Epstein case is no longer just a headache for Trump; its now affecting his partys congressional majorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And Democrats are moving to exploit GOP divisions, which could get ugly if Republicans dont come up with a game plan. Republicans dont want to repeatedly vote down Epstein measures but are now looking at that very distinct possibility all the way up until August recess. Its fair to say, also, that Trumps handling of the issue has puzzled Republicans on Capitol Hill. But at the same time, many party lawmakers have invited public questions about Epstein and are now reaping what they sowed. Notable This story was originally published on Utility Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Utility Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: The $6.2 billion deal under which the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Blackrocks Global Infrastructure Partners would buy Allete, a Duluth, Minnesota-based utility company, should be rejected, an administrative law judge said Tuesday. The deal poses foreseeable risks to Minnesotas energy transition, Alletes long-term financial health and ratepayers, ALJ Megan McKenzie said in a recommended decision filed with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. On balance, the risks of the deal, as proposed, outweigh the possible benefits. McKenzie said. Allete parent to Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power strongly disagreed with the non-binding recommendation, saying it failed to fully consider the benefits of a July 11 settlement agreement with the Minnesota Department of Commerce. The ALJ report mischaracterizes the parties, their agreements and plans, and the benefits and risks of the acquisition, Allete said Tuesday. Dive Insight: The proposed Allete transaction, announced in May 2024, has cleared all required regulatory hurdles, except for approval by the Minnesota PUC. However, ALJ McKenzie agreed with entities opposing the deal the Minnesota Office of the Attorney General, a consortium of Minnesota Powers large industrial customers, the Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, the Sierra Club and CURE, an advocacy group that it doesnt meet Minnesotas public interest standard. Allete and its buyers failed to adequately support key arguments for completing the deal, such as improving the utility companys access to capital and expertise, according to McKenzie. Petitioners have not shown that the acquisition will improve Alletes access to capital or even whether Allete needs improved access, McKenzie said. Also, access to CPP Investments and GIPs expertise appears to have limited value because of assurances that they intend to keep Alletes existing management, staff and business plan, she said. Further, the private equity model offered by CPP Investments and GIP isnt in the public interest, McKenzie said, pointing to the experience of Upper Peninsula Power Co., a utility in Michigan with similarities to Minnesota Power that was bought by private equity firms in 2014 and 2021. After a series of post-transaction rate increases, UPPCOs rates were 9 cents/kWh higher than the average rate for other investor-owned utilities in Michigan at the end of last year, according to McKenzie. A Manhattan federal prosecutor who worked on the cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell has been fired. Per a report from the New York Times, Maurene Comey was fired on Wednesday. She was a member of legal teams that brought criminal cases against the sex traffickers, including the case against Epstein that was ultimately abandoned when he died in jail. She is also the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey. Her firing comes amid increased scrutiny of the case against Epstein, brought on by the Department of Justices refusal to release a long-promised client list. Sources who spoke to the Times said Comeys termination letter referenced Article II of the Constitution, which discusses powers granted to the president. A DOJ memo shared last week said that no such list existed and claimed no evidence of foul play in Epsteins death. The release has caused a schism among President Donald Trumps supporters, who elected him in part on the promise to reveal the names of powerful people they believed were tied to the late financier and his partner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has spent the last week defending Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI head Kash Patel from his disappointed followers. The president lashed out against Republicans who were upset by the news on Wednesday, saying on social media that they were weaklings who bought intobulls**t. Epstein, who died in custody in 2019, was arrested and charged during Trumps first term. That hasnt stopped Trump from pinning the story on the opposition. In the Oval Office on Wednesday, Trump called the story around Epstein a hoax and accused his political enemies of cooking it up. Its all been a hoax perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net, he said. I call it the Epstein hoax. The post Epstein, Maxwell prosecutor Maurene Comey fired appeared first on Salon.com. (WJET/WFXP) The president of the Erie City Council seemingly claimed to have shot a man decades ago on Wednesday night. I said, You know, Nick, I can blow your head off. He said, Go ahead. And I did. I shot him in the head point-blank. This close, said Erie City Council President Mel Witherspoon. Witherspoon shocked many in the community with those words at councils evening meeting on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It included public comment that went on for over two hours as the community called on council members to use their platform to make movement in the investigation regarding the death of Erie resident Marchello Woodard. Community demands answers for Marchello Woodard at Erie City Council meeting President Witherspoon responded to frustrated residents and explained why he has not been present at rallies or Woodards funeral. He said it brought up some disturbing things from his past. I stayed in jail one night. I never went to court, I went back to basketball, said Witherspoon. Witherspoon went on to say that he had the right contact at the right time, but didnt say much about what happened in the end. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After reading a newspaper article about the incident, one council member gave his perspective on Witherspoons comment. When Mel told that story last night, it certainly was shocking it sounded like it was a confession for murder because he didnt really say the outcome on it, but thats a part of the story that hes used a number of times over the years to address issues in the community, said city council member Chuck Nelson. Nelson referred to a 1962 telegraph bulletin article that states the incident was an accident and that Witherspoon was playing with the weapon when it discharged. Leaving the story where he did and his comments last night, I think, led the public to some tough spots, said Nelson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Erie City Co. presidents online post draws attention The newspaper also said that the victim was reported in good condition. At the meeting, Witherspoon said when he heard about the death of Woodard, he decided to lay low due to the incident he experienced when he was 17. JET 24 reporter Jade Leah Burns reached out to Witherspoon to allow him to address the communitys uproar, but he said he has nothing more to say. At the meeting, Witherspoon did say that he will ask council to cosign a letter to the Erie County District Attorney requesting more information about the investigation regarding Woodards death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those interested in hearing Witherspoons entire statement can watch the video in the player below. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. Join the JET Action News team as we highlight the best places to visit in Erie, Pennsylvania. Whether youre from out of town or born and raised in Northwestern PA, Our Erie will help you plan the perfect road trip, day trip or afternoon activity. This weeks episode features reporter Nicole Lee on the hunt for her next piece of handmade jewelry at Relish. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The EU executive is preparing a list of proposed restrictions on US services companies -- including tech giants -- should Brussels fail to strike a trade deal with Washington, European diplomats said on Thursday. US President Donald Trump blindsided the European Union earlier this month by threatening to slap 30 percent tariffs on the bloc's goods, despite months of talks to get an agreement. If they don't clinch a deal by August 1, Brussels has warned it will have no choice but to retaliate against Trump's steep levies because of their economic impact, and has drawn up two lists of US goods to target. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The European Commission, steering trade policy for the 27-country bloc, is also working on a list of American services -- including financial services -- it could hit with restrictions, for example on public procurement, EU diplomats said. It could also mean excluding certain suppliers, one diplomat said, adding that the commission had not yet put forward any list to EU member states. Any action on services would be in addition to two sets of retaliatory tariffs on goods: one put forward this week that targets 72 billion euros ($83 billion) of US products, and another worth 21 billion euros, drawn up in response to steel and aluminium tariffs. One EU diplomat said the bloc could retaliate step-by-step, hitting the United States with first the smaller, then the larger counter tariffs on goods -- before potentially escalating to services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The official also stressed the EU had yet to even approve the measures by vote and that they could still change, but another diplomat said Brussels would have no choice but to respond "forcefully". Most EU member states want to keep options on the table but have backed the commission's attempts to try once again to get an agreement before firing off retaliatory measures. The EU's top trade negotiator, Maros Sefcovic, jetted to Washington on Wednesday for talks with his US counterparts but the commission did not provide details on meetings. There are questions over Europe's appetite for a damaging fight with Trump if he slaps on the 30-percent levies as promised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But France has been pushing for Brussels to take a harder line and consider deploying its most powerful trade tool, known as the anti-coercion instrument, if negotiations with the United States end in disappointment. Even if Brussels were to activate this so-called trade "bazooka", it could take months before any measures were taken, according to the rules. First, the commission would have four months to investigate the third country it accuses of detrimental trade policies -- then member states would have eight to 10 weeks to back any proposal for action. Only then would the commission have a green light to prepare measures, to take effect within six months. bur-raz/ec/dc EU anti-crime agencies Europol and Eurojust announced on July 16 they had led the dismantling of a pro-Russian cybercrime network responsible for cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in Europe. The cyber-network, known as NoName057(16), was allegedly dismantled after authorities conducted 24 raids in 12 countries between July 14 and 17, Europol said. The investigation led to two arrests, with one being carried out in France and another in Spain. Authorities also issued seven arrest warrants, targeting six individuals in Russia, including two arrest warrants for individuals identified as central figures in the criminal network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The actions led to the disruption of an attack-infrastructure consisting of over one hundred computer systems worldwide, while a major part of the group's central server infrastructure was taken offline," Europol announced in a statement. Authorities allege that the hacking group, which is mainly Russian-speaking and ideologically aligned with Moscow, carried out 73 denial-of-service (DDos) attack per day, on average, first primarily targeting Ukraine, later shifting focus to attack Kyiv's European and NATO allies. France24 reported that the cyber group had been responsible for critical infrastructure attacks, including on Europe's electricity suppliers and public transport systems. Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States participated directly in the investigation, with the support of a number of other countries, including Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the start of Russia's full-scale war in February 2022, Russia and its proxies have launched thousands of cyberattacks on Ukraine's critical infrastructure, including power grids, telecom networks, the financial system, in an attempt to disrupt the country's abilities to sustain its defenses. In addition to coordinating cyberattacks against Ukraine, the Kremlin continues to target Ukraine's Western allies as it attempts to disrupt military supplies for the embattled country and damage Western resolve. Read also: Ukrainian drones reportedly target Moscow, St. Petersburg amid wider strikes Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. ASPEN, Colorado U.S. cuts to foreign assistance and Trump administration sanctions against the International Criminal Court are hurting the ability of groups to track thousands of Ukrainian children abducted by Russian forces during its war with Ukraine, a senior European official said Thursday. In an interview on the sidelines of the Aspen Security Forum, Thordis Kolbrun Reykfjord Gylfadottir, an Icelandic politician who serves as an envoy of the Council of Europe overseeing its efforts to secure the return of abducted Ukrainian children, said that the end of U.S. financial support to programs tracking the children is making it harder to secure their release. The Trump administration cut funding to monitoring programs run by Yale University and other institutions in March as part of its freeze of U.S. foreign assistance spending. While the State Department later that month said it would resume short-term funding to the program, Secretary of State Marco Rubio reversed that announcement. Human rights groups warned at the time that this could seriously disrupt the work of groups tracking the whereabouts and wellbeing of the children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reykfjord Gylfadottir said shes now seeing evidence of that coming to pass, as the funding disruptions are adding uncertainty to these organizations efforts. Some groups have managed to keep some tracking going. The Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health was preparing to lay off its Ukrainian staff on July 1, but last-minute private donations have granted the organization a lifeline until October. Its unclear if private donations will continue to trickle in. Reykfjord Gylfadottir said Europe now needs to find ways to make up for lapsed funding, because understanding where children have been sent will be critical for repatriating them after the conflict ends. European countries will have to fund it, said Reykfjord Gylfadottir. We cannot stop tracking them and then just re-track them in the months ahead. So that has to continue. She did not specify if there were any imminent plans for Europeans to foot the bill for the programs, but said shes working to find a way to marshal the funding to support these initiatives since they represent a hefty cost to Ukraines allies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the Russian military has forcibly transported roughly 20,000 Ukrainian children into Russian territory. Human rights advocates have argued that Russias actions constitute a war crime and that Moscow is looking to indoctrinate and brainwash the children. Russia has defended the transfers as humanitarian evacuations. U.S. sanctions against the International Criminal Court are also making the task of holding Russia to account for the abductions more difficult, Reykfjord Gylfadottir added. People are afraid to work with fundamental independent courts to uphold the rules-based order and international law because they're afraid of consequences with the U.S. administration, she said. Even though the United States is not a party to the Rome Statute treaty which created the International Criminal Court, Biden administration officials relayed information to the court, which has been investigating these abductions and other alleged Russian war crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration sanctioned the International Criminal Court in February in reaction to the international tribunals investigations into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Gaza Strip. Those sanctions also affect U.S. organizations supporting ICC investigations. U.S. government collaboration with the ICCs Russia probes stopped with the Trump administrations announcement. Reykfjord Gylfadottir argued securing the release of the children is an important part of the process to secure a lasting end to the war in Ukraine. That is a non-negotiable fundamental piece of a just peace that is to bring those children back, Reykfjord Gylfadottir said. By John Irish PARIS (Reuters) -France, Britain and Germany told Iran on Thursday that they would restore U.N. sanctions unless it reopened talks on its nuclear programme immediately and produced concrete results by the end of August. The foreign ministers of the so-called E3, along with the European Union's foreign policy chief, held their first call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi since Israel and the U.S. attacked Iranian nuclear facilities a month ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A French diplomatic source said the ministers had urged Iran to resume diplomacy immediately to reach a "verifiable and lasting" deal, threatening to use the so-called 'snapback' mechanism if it failed to do so. But in a post on X, Araqchi dismissed the threat, saying he had told the ministers: "It was US that left the negotiation table in June this year and chose a military option instead, not Iran ... "If EU/E3 want to have a role, they should act responsibly, and put aside the worn-out policies of threat and pressure, including the 'snap-back' for which they lack absolutely [any] moral and legal ground." He said talks would only be possible "when the other party is ready for a fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial nuclear deal". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The three European countries, along with China and Russia, are the remaining parties to a 2015 deal - from which the U.S. withdrew in 2018 - that lifted sanctions on Iran in return for restrictions on its nuclear programme. If Iran is found to be in violation of the terms, the "snapback" can be used to restore U.N. sanctions before the U.N. Security Council resolution enshrining the deal expires on October 18. The process would take about 30 days. "The ministers also reiterated their determination to use the so-called 'snapback' mechanism in the absence of concrete progress toward such an agreement by the end of the summer," the French diplomatic source said, without specifying what this would entail. Since the air strikes, inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, have left Iran. While Tehran has suggested it is open to diplomacy, there are no indications a sixth round of talks with Washington will resume soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even if they do, diplomats say reaching a comprehensive accord before the end of August - the deadline the Europeans have given - seems unrealistic, especially without inspectors on the ground. Two European diplomats said they hoped to coordinate strategy with Washington in the coming days with a view to restarting talks with Iran. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Leslie Adler, Nia Williams and Kevin Liffey) By Fatos Bytyci LIN, Albania (Reuters) -Archaeologists working on the shores of Ohrid Lake in Albania are convinced they have uncovered the oldest human settlement built on a European lake, finding evidence of an organised hunting and farming community living up to 8,000 years ago. The team, from Switzerland and Albania, spends hours each day about three metres (9.8 feet) underwater, painstakingly retrieving wooden stilts that supported houses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The are also collecting bones of domesticated and wild animals, copper objects and ceramics, featuring detailed carvings. Albert Hafner, from the University of Bern, said similar settlements have been found in Alpine and Mediterranean regions, but the settlements in the village of Lin are half a millennium older, dating back between 6,000 and 8,000 years. "Because it is under water, the organic material is well-preserved and this allows us to find out what these people have been eating, what they have been planting," Hafner said. Multiple studies show that Lake Ohrid, shared by North Macedonia and Albania, is the oldest lake in Europe, at over one million years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The age of the findings is determined through radiocarbon dating and dendrochronology, which measures annual growth rings in trees. More than one thousand wood samples have been collected from the site, which may have hosted several hundred people. It is believed to cover around six hectares, but so far, only about 1% has been excavated after six years of work. Hafner said findings show that people who lived on the lake helped to spread agriculture and livestock to other parts of Europe. "They were still doing hunting and collecting things but the stable income for the nutrition was coming from the agriculture," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Albanian archaeologist Adrian Anastasi said it could take decades to fully explore the area. "(By) the way they had lived, eaten, hunted, fished and by the way the architecture was used to build their settlement we can say they were very smart for that time," Anastasi said. (Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Editing by Daria Sito-Sucic and Sharon Singleton) Members of Paul Webb Jr.s family visit his grave site. The family alleges he suffered from a pressure sore developed during his stay at an Encompass Health hospital. Encompass denies any negligence. (Dustin Franz for KFF Health News) Rehab hospitals that help people recover from major surgeries and injuries have become a highly lucrative slice of the health care business. But federal data and inspection reports show that some run by the dominant company, Encompass Health Corp., and other for-profit corporations have had rare but serious incidents of patient harm and perform below average on two key safety measures tracked by Medicare. Yet even when inspections reveal grave cases of injury, federal health officials do not inform consumers or impose fines the way they do for nursing homes. And Medicare doesnt provide easy-to-understand five-star ratings as it does for general hospitals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the most serious problems documented by regulators, rehab hospital errors involved patient deaths. In Encompass Healths hospital in Huntington, West Virginia, Elizabeth VanBibber, 73, was fatally poisoned by a carbon monoxide leak during construction at the facility. At its hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, a patient, 68, was found dead overnight, lying on the floor in a pool of blood after an alarm that was supposed to alert nurses that he had gotten out of bed had been turned off. In its hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a nurse gave Frederick Roufs, 73, the wrong drug, one of 26 medication errors the hospital made over six months. He died two days later at another hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I can still see Fred laying in the bed as they shut each little machine off, said his widow, Susan Roufs. They clicked four of them, and then the love of my life was gone. Encompass, which owns 168 hospitals and admitted 248,000 patients last year, has led the transformation of this niche industry. In 2023, stand-alone for-profit medical rehabilitation hospitals overtook nonprofits as the places where the majority of annual patient admissions occur, a KFF Health News and New York Times analysis found. A third of all admissions were to Encompass hospitals. Such facilities are required to provide three hours of therapy a day, five days a week. Across the nation, there are now nearly 400 stand-alone rehab hospitals, the bulk of which are for-profit. These hospitals collectively generate profits of 10%, more than general hospitals, which earn about 6%, and far more than skilled nursing homes, which make less than 0.5%, according to the most recent data from the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission, an independent congressional agency. At the same time, the number of small, specialized units within acute care hospitals where most rehab used to be provided has dwindled. There are now around 800 of those, and most are nonprofits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In its latest annual report, Encompass, which is publicly traded, reported an 11% net profit in 2024, earning $597 million last year on revenues of $5.4 billion. Federal data on the performance of about 1,100 of the rehab facilities show Encompass tends to be better at helping most patients return home and remain there. In a two-year period ending in September 2023, Medicare rated 233 rehab facilities as performing better than the national rate for this major metric, called discharge to community. Most rehabs with better community discharge rates are for-profit, and Encompass owns 79 of them. But data from Medicare also reveals Encompass owns many of the rehabs with worse rates of potentially preventable, unplanned readmissions to general hospitals. Medicare evaluates how often patients are rehospitalized for conditions that might have been averted with proper care, including infections, bedsores, dehydration, and kidney failures. Encompass accounts for about 1 in 7 rehab facilities nationally, but owned 34 of the 41 inpatient rehab facilities that Medicare rated as having statistically significantly worse rates of potentially preventable readmissions for discharged patients. (Overall, rates of readmission after discharge ranged from 7% to 12%, with a median of 9%.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And it owned 28 of the 87 rehab facilities 65 of which were for-profit that had worse rates of potentially preventable readmissions to general hospitals during patient stays. (The median for these kinds of readmissions was 5%, and rates for individual rehabs ranged from 3% to 9%.) Patrick Darby, the executive vice president and general counsel of Encompass, strongly defended the companys record in written responses to questions. He dismissed Medicares readmissions ratings of better, worse, and no different than the national rate as a crude scoring measure and said performance is so similar across the board. He called the violations found during health inspections rare occurrences that do not support an inference of widespread quality concerns. The simplest and most accurate reason for EHCs success is that our hospitals provide superior care to patients, he said, referring to Encompass by its corporate initials. Chih-Ying Li, an associate professor of occupational therapy at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston School of Health Professions, said in an interview that a research study she conducted found the profit status of a rehab facility was the only characteristic associated with higher unplanned readmissions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The finding is pretty robust, she said. Its not like huge, huge differences, but there are differences. Encompass Health owns medical rehabilitation hospitals in 38 states, including this one in Erie, Pennsylvania, where Paul Webb Jr. went to recover from a brain bleed, a type of stroke. (Dustin Franz for KFF Health News) Alarming mistakes VanBibber was admitted to Encompass Huntington hospital in 2021 for therapy to strengthen her lungs. At the time, the hospital was undergoing a $3 million expansion, and state regulators had warned the company that areas of the hospital occupied by patients had to be isolated from the construction using airtight barriers, according to a health inspection report. In her room, which was about 66 feet from the construction zone, she began having trouble breathing, the report said. When she told the staff, they ignored her and shut her door, according to a lawsuit brought by her estate. Staff members eventually noticed that she was lethargic and gasping for air, and called 911. When the emergency medical squad arrived, the carbon monoxide detectors they wore sounded. By that time, VanBibbers blood oxygen levels were dangerously low, the inspection report said. She died three days later from respiratory failure and carbon monoxide poisoning, according to the inspection report and the lawsuit. A plumber had been using a gas-powered saw in the construction area, but there were no carbon monoxide detectors in the hallways, the report said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In court papers, Encompass and its construction contractors denied negligence for VanBibbers death. The case is pending. Inspectors determined Encompass failed to maintain a safe environment for all patients during construction and didnt properly evaluate other patients for signs of poisoning, the report said. Since 2021, the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, or CMS, which oversees health inspections, has found that 10 Encompass hospitals, including the one that cared for VanBibber, had immediate jeopardy violations, federal records show. Such violations like the ones that Medicare also found in connection with the deaths of Roufs and the patient who fell after leaving his bed mean a hospitals failure to comply with federal rules has put patients at risk for serious injury, serious harm, serious impairment, or death. Darby, the general counsel for Encompass, said the company regretted any clinical problems and had promptly addressed all such findings to the satisfaction of inspectors. He said Encompass that has an excellent compliance record, including superior results from its accreditation agency, and that its overall number of health citations was tiny given how many hospitals Encompass owns and how many patients it treats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Six other corporate-operated for-profit hospitals were also cited, while none of the 31 stand-alone nonprofit rehab hospitals received such violations from 2021 to 2024. (Inspection reports for general hospitals do not systematically specify in which part of the building a violation occurred, so rehab unit violations cannot be identified.) An alert called a bed alarm was at the root of immediate jeopardies at Encompass hospitals in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Jackson, Tennessee. The devices are pressure- and motion-sensitive and emit a sound and display a light to alert staff members that someone at a high risk of falls has left his or her bed. In its Morgantown hospital, a nurse technician discovered a patient face down on the floor with a large gash on her head after a defective alarm did not go off, an inspection report said. After she died, the nurse told inspectors: We are having a lot of problems with the bed alarms. Medicare is not authorized by law to fine rehab hospitals for safety rule violations, even ones involving deaths uncovered during inspections, as it has done with nearly 8,000 nursing homes during the last three years, imposing average fines of about $28,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only option is to entirely cut off a rehab hospitals reimbursement for all services by Medicare and Medicaid, which cover most patients. That step would most likely put it out of business and is almost never used because of its draconian consequences. Termination is typically a last resort after working with the provider to come back into compliance, Catherine Howden, a CMS spokesperson, said in an email. As a result, because theres no graduated penalty, even the most serious and rare immediate jeopardy violations effectively carry no punishments so long as the hospital puts steps in place to avert future problems. Only having a nuclear weapon has really hurt patient safety, said Michael Millenson, a medical quality advocate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One immediate jeopardy incident did result in a punishment, but only because the hospital was in California, which allows its health department to issue penalties. Encompass Bakersfield hospital paid a $75,000 fine last year for failing to control the blood sugar of a patient who died after her heart stopped. A severe pressure wound made it painful for Paul Webb Jr. to stand or sit. His wife, Judy, and sons Darel (left) and Paul III cared for him at home during the weeks before he died. (Dustin Franz for KFF Health News) Rapid growth and a troubled history Encompass has accelerated its expansion in recent years and now operates in 38 states and Puerto Rico. It plans to open 17 more hospitals in Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maine, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, and Utah by the end of 2027, according to its latest report. It frequently moves into new markets by persuading local nonprofit hospitals to shutter their rehab units in exchange for an equity stake in a newly built Encompass hospital, company executives have told investors. The president of Encompass, Mark Tarr, calls it a win-win proposition: The local hospitals can use their emptied space for a more lucrative line of service and Encompass gets a jump start into a new market, with partner hospitals often referring patients. Tarr, who was paid $9.3 million in compensation last year, told investors that Encompass requires that the existing hospitals sign a noncompete deal. Sixty-seven Encompass hospitals are joint ventures, mostly with nonprofit hospitals as investors, according to the companys June financial filing, the most recent available. Darby said the companys profits allow it to build hospitals in areas that lack intensive inpatient rehabilitation and improve existing hospitals. High-quality patient care is not only consistent with shareholder return, but quality and shareholder return are in fact critical to one another, he said. The success of Encompass is particularly notable given that it barely survived what experts said was one of the largest modern accounting scandals in 2003. The Securities and Exchange Commission charged that the company, then known as HealthSouth, overstated earnings by $2.7 billion to meet Wall Street analyst quarterly expectations, leading to the ouster of its founder and directors. In 2004, the company agreed to pay the government $325 million to settle Medicare fraud allegations without admitting wrongdoing. Darby credited the companys new leaders for obtaining a $2.9 billion judgment on behalf of shareholders against the companys founder. The company changed its name to Encompass in 2018 after acquiring Encompass Home Health and Hospice. In 2019, the Justice Department announced the company had agreed to pay $48 million to settle whistleblower lawsuit claims that it misdiagnosed patients to get higher Medicare reimbursements, and admitted patients who were too sick to benefit from therapy. The company denied any wrongdoing, blaming independent physicians who worked at its hospitals. Darby said Encompass settled the case only to avoid more years of expense and disruption. He said the Justice Department never filed a lawsuit despite years of investigation. Medication harms Rehab hospital inspection reports are not posted on Care Compare, Medicares online search tool for consumers. KFF Health News had to sue CMS under the Freedom of Information Act to obtain all its inspection reports for rehab hospitals. In contrast, Care Compare publishes all nursing home inspection reports and assigns each facility a star rating for its adherence to health and safety rules. So people now choosing a rehab hospital would not know that at the Encompass hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2021, a nurse accidentally gave Roufs a blood pressure drug called hydralazine instead of hydroxyzine, his prescribed anti-anxiety medication, according to an inspection report. Roufs went into cardiac arrest. This type of error, called a look-alike/sound-alike, is one hospitals and staff members are supposed to be especially alert to. Months before, an internal safety committee had identified a trend of medication errors, including when a nurse accidentally gave a patient 10 times the prescribed amount of insulin, sending him to the hospital, the inspection report said. The nurse had misread four units as 40. Since Roufss death, inspectors have faulted the hospital six times for various lapses, most recently in April 2024 for improper wound care. An Encompass hospital in Texarkana, Texas, misused antipsychotic medications to pacify patients, resulting in an immediate jeopardy finding from CMS, the report said. And the companys hospital in Erie, Pennsylvania, was issued an immediate jeopardy violation for not keeping track of medication orders in 2023, when a patient had a cardiac arrest after not receiving all of his drugs, according to the inspection report. The federal governments overall quality oversight efforts are limited. Medicare docks payment to rehab facilities for patients readmitted to a general hospital during shorter-than-average rehab stays, but unlike at general hospitals, there are no financial penalties when recently discharged rehab patients are hospitalized for critical health issues. The Biden administration announced last year it intended to develop a rating scale of 1 to 5 stars for rehab facilities. The industrys trade association, the American Medical Rehabilitation Providers Association, requested a delay in the creation of star ratings until the current quality measures were refined. The Trump administration has not determined whether it will continue the effort to rate rehab facilities, according to a CMS spokesperson. Deadly bedsores Paul Webb Jr., a 74-year-old lawyer, died a few months after developing a bedsore in an Encompass Health hospital, a lawsuit alleges. Photos of him with family members sit on a desk in his home in Mayville, New York. Encompass denied liability. (Dustin Franz for KFF Health News) The family of Paul Webb Jr., 74, claimed in a lawsuit that the Encompass hospital in Erie left Webb unattended in a wheelchair for hours at a time, putting pressure on his tailbone, in 2021. His medical records, provided to reporters by the family, list a sitting tolerance of one hour. Webb who had been originally hospitalized after a brain bleed, a type of stroke developed skin damage known as a pressure sore, or bedsore, on his bottom, the lawsuit said. The suit said the sore worsened after he was sent to a nursing home, which the family is also suing, then home, and he died later that year. In his final weeks, Webb was unable to stand, sit, or move much because of the injury, the lawsuit said. In court papers, Encompass and the nursing home denied negligence, as Encompass has in some other pending and closed lawsuits that accused it of failing to prevent pressure sores because nurses and aides failed to regularly reposition patients, or notice and treat emerging sores. Darby said Webbs death occurred three months after his Encompass stay and was not related to his care at Encompass. He said no hospital with long-term patients could prevent every new or worsening pressure sore, but that Encompass rates were similar to the 1% national average. One of Webbs sons, Darel Webb, recalled a warning given to the family as they left an appointment their father had with wound specialists: A doctor brought up Christopher Reeve, the actor who played Superman in movies in the 1970s and 1980s. He goes, Remember, Superman was paralyzed from falling off the horse, but he died from a bedsore, he said. Jordan Rau has been writing about hospital safety since 2008. Irena Hwang is a New York Times data reporter who uses computational tools to uncover hidden stories and illuminate the news. METHODOLOGY To examine the medical rehabilitation hospital industry, we obtained and analyzed a database of inspection reports of freestanding rehabilitation hospitals from the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, or CMS. We also obtained inspection reports from several states through public records requests. We analyzed inpatient rehabilitation facility characteristics and patient volume data contained in hospital data files from the Rand Corp., a nonprofit research organization. This dataset compiles cost reports all hospitals submit each year to CMS. For each facility for the years 2012 to 2023, we categorized annual discharges by facility type (freestanding rehabilitation hospital or unit within an acute care hospital); facility ownership status (for-profit, nonprofit, or government); and which hospitals were owned by Encompass Health under its current or prior name, HealthSouth. Financial information about Encompass Health was obtained from the companys Securities and Exchange Commission disclosure filings. We examined the readmission rates for all inpatient rehabilitation facilities that CMS publishes in its quality data. CMS evaluates the frequency with which Medicare patients were readmitted for potentially preventable reasons to an acute care hospital during their rehab stay. Separately, CMS also evaluates the frequency of potentially preventable readmissions to an acute care hospital within 30 days of discharge from rehab. We also examined the rate of successful return to home or community. Figures for all three metrics were available for about 1,100 of the roughly 1,200 rehab facilities in the CMS data. The most recent readmission data covered Medicare discharges from October 2021 through September 2023. We examined nursing home penalties from the last three years from CMS data on nursing homes. 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. The leader of Liverpool City Council has vowed to ensure "we get everyone fully vaccinated" against measles following the death of a child who had contracted the highly contagious disease. Liam Robinson said the local authority extended its "deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences" to the family of the unidentified child, who died on Sunday at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. Health bosses said measles was on the rise among young people in the area, with a surge in "seriously unwell" children being admitted to hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robinson said the Labour-run council would do its utmost to improve the uptake of vaccines in the city. [BBC] The Alder Hey case was the second death due to an acute measles infection in Great Britain this decade, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said. No official details have been released either about the latest child's vaccination status or whether they were also being treated for other conditions. The Sunday Times reported the child was ill with measles and other health issues. Since June, Alder Hey said it had treated 17 children with measles. In Liverpool, the take-up rate for having both doses of the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine stands at about 74%, significantly lower than the 83% rate for England as a whole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To achieve herd immunity, the World Health Organization wants 95% of the population to be double-jabbed. Earlier this week, Liverpool's director of public health said he was very concerned about the spread of measles. In some areas of the city, Prof Matt Ashton said he believed vaccination rates were even lower, increasing fears of a major measles outbreak. His counterpart in Wirral, Dave Bradburn, confirmed on Tuesday that his borough had recorded a case of measles involving a young child. Listen to the best of BBC Radio Merseyside on Sounds and follow BBC Merseyside on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230. More on this story Related internet links Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) is set to close its distribution center in Hebron, Ken., next month. Spectrum News reported that a company letter filed under the Worker Adjustment and Restraining Notification Act was sent to the Kentucky Department of Workforce Development on June 16. The closure will affect approximately 346 employees at the company-owned distribution center. LS&Co. said some will be able to apply for a job at another company location. More from Sourcing Journal Spectrum added that Levis did not give a reason for the closure. However, the company announced earlier this year that it would undergo a restructuring plan to consolidate operations and cut costs as it pivots to being a DTC-first brand. This included a reduction of its corporate workforce by 10-15 percent. As part of the strategy called Project Fuel, the company said it would change its distribution strategy from an owned and operated model to a mix of owned and third-party operated distribution centers used to warehouse and ship products to wholesale customers, retail stores and e-commerce customers. In certain locations around the globe, LS&Co. said it had already consolidated distribution centers to service multiple countries. Levis is shrinking its footprint in other ways. It ended Levis low-margin product line Denizen and exited the footwear category. It also offloaded Dockers to Authentic Brands Group in May for $311 million. LS&Co. raised its outlook for 2025 last week following positive Q2 results. Revenues rose 6 percent to $1.4 billion, a 9 percent increase on an organic basis. Mecklenburg County is facing a housing crisis, with eviction filings reaching the highest levels in North Carolina, according to County Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell. Eviction filings in Mecklenburg County increased by 37% in the last fiscal year, putting nearly 13,000 additional households at risk of losing their homes. ALSO READ: Families who live in church face eviction over building safety concerns Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2024, the number of eviction cases doubled from 2020, with 46,026 cases filed and 29,716 granted. What were seeing is an increase in evictions, said Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell. When you get that on your record, its really devastating in the immediate, but its also devastating in the future for your record for trying to get out of the cycle of poverty and debt. Hannah Guerrier from Legal Aid highlighted that many people are facing eviction for the first time, and some are experiencing multiple evictions. In my 10 years with legal aid, Ive not seen it this bad. Ive not seen eviction numbers this high, Guerrier said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lack of affordable housing is a key factor driving the high eviction numbers. The cost of living has gone up, and minimum wage and salaries generally have not kept pace at all, Guerrier explained. Commissioner Rodriguez-McDowell emphasized the need for more resources to address the crisis, stating, It is literally a disaster. And so, we need help at so many levels. We need nonprofit help. Theyre struggling too. We need state and federal. We need everyone to be involved in the solutions. The county has created a new position focused on affordable housing and community building, aiming to assess current efforts and improve strategies to tackle the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As Mecklenburg County grapples with rising eviction rates, local officials and organizations are calling for increased support and resources to address the housing crisis. If you are facing eviction or you are starting to get warning letters, the county said you should immediately call Legal Aid of North Carolina at 866-219-5262. You can also call the Coordinated Entry Hotline at 704-284-9665. VIDEO: Families who live in church face eviction over building safety concerns A once-prominent pastor of a large, Wayne County church who entered a no contest plea was sentenced Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court in connection with charges of sexual assault in Farmington Hills involving a teenager. "Todays sentence means that Kenneth Flowers is being held accountable for his actions," Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said. "Our focus throughout the process was providing a just outcome for the victim." Flowers, the 64-year-old former pastor of Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, will serve 4-15 years in prison and be placed on the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In many ways, it was a fall from grace for a longtime man of the cloth who was once held in such high esteem that to celebrate a quarter-century of preaching, several famous and political figures were in attendance. The Rev. Kenneth Flowers, pastor of Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit, teaches an online Bible lesson on April 28, 2020. Through an agreement with the prosecution, Flowers was sentenced to two counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct-force or coercion. Other counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping charges were essentially dropped. The plea allowed Flowers and the victim to avoid a trial. A no contest plea also carries no actual admission of guilt, which is consistent with remarks Flowers made almost a year ago to Free Press "On Guard" Columnist M.L. Elrick. His comment to the journalist: "I deny all those charges, and that is all I have to say." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In court, Flowers declined to give a statement. According to Elricks reporting, which was cobbled from police and court records, Flowers was accused of assaulting a then-17-year-old on Dec. 20, 2023, and arrested. The teen lived in the pastors Farmington Hills neighborhood. More: Theres a secret garden on roof of Detroit City Hall and its off-limits to most At one time, Flowers had been described on the large Detroit churchs website as "a community/social activist for human rights issues." He had been a pastor since 1995 and followed the Rev. Benjamin Hooks, a longtime NAACP executive director. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flowers, Elrick also wrote in his column, was known for his outreach to leaders of other faiths. His church's website called him the "first Pastor ever at Greater New Mt. Moriah to license and ordain females to the preaching ministry and to ordain females as Deacons." The church website also said, according to the column, that when Flowers celebrated 25 years of preaching, his gala was featured in Jet Magazine, and Coretta Scott King, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, and Gov. Jennifer Granholm showed up. And, Elrick pointed out, while the Flowers did not serve long in the position, the former pastor was "held in such high regard" that in 2019, Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan appointed him to serve on the city's Board of Ethics. Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 orfwitsil@freepress.com. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ex-Detroit pastor Flowers sentenced to 4-15 years in sex assault case Jaime Harrison, the former chair of the Democratic National Committee (DNC), is launching a new podcast, teeing up his first episodes with guests like Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) and Hunter Biden. We named it At Our Table, because for me, many of the most important conversations that Ive had in life were at the dining room table or at our table in our house, talking to family in real talk, Harrison told The Hill in an interview ahead of his launch. Unlike other podcasts, Harrison said he had unique relationships with many of the partys top leaders, adding it was a great opportunity for folks to really get a three-dimensional sense of some of the leaders in our party and some of the biggest topics that were talking about right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other Democratic members who are expected to appear on the podcast include Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D), Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear (D), Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) and Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.). Many Democrats are trying their hand at podcasting, including Beshear and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), as the party experiments with new forums beyond traditional media. Podcasts tend to offer more intimate listening experiences, helping create connections between hosts and listeners. Podcasts because a particular focal point during the 2024 election as President Trumps appearance on shows with hosts like Joe Rogan were credited with helping him reach new audiences before he eventually defeated former Vice President Kamala Harris. Some in the political world have long been in the podcast space. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has had his podcast for a while, and Ruthless, which is hosted by GOP strategists and a commentator, is a favorite among Republicans and conservatives. Meanwhile, Pod Save America, among others, is a favorite among Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the podcasts come at a unique moment for the Democratic Party, who have struggled to reset from the November elections and are mired in low approval ratings. I think it is going to give people an opportunity to just be real, to be real people and to showcase their dimensions, and I think thats what people are looking for in the Democratic Party now, Harrison told The Hill when asked how he saw his podcast helping the party address its current challenges. Thats part of the reason why I wanted to invite the guests that I have on the podcast is because Ive known some of these people for a long time, Harrison added. Ive known Tim Walz for almost 20 years now, Ive gotten a chance to get to know Hunter Biden over the last few years, and this caricatures that they have in the media are not always the same that I see behind the scenes. Indeed, Harrison nabbed Hunter Bidens first post-election interview. In excerpts of Bidens interview with Harrison shared ahead of its release, the former presidents second son said that he believed Democrats lost the November election for not being loyal to his father and responded to CNN anchor Jake Tappers remarks in which Tapper referred to him as an acting chief of staff for the Biden family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You ask one person to go on the record that would ever tell you that I was in any way making a single decision about anything, anything in that White House, Biden told Harrison in their interview. I stayed as far away as I possibly could. Which, by the way, broke my heart. The first episode launches on Thursday with Walz as his first guest. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Dr. Francis Collins, the former director of the National Institutes of Health, has sounded the alarm over what he describes as the muzzling of scientists and a troubling decline in morale at the biomedical research agency. Appearing on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Wednesday, Collins who led the NIH from 2009 to 2021 explained exactly why he decided to finally retire from the agency altogether just weeks into Donald Trumps second term. He hadnt planned to, he told host Stephen Colbert. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But after Trumps inauguration, he recalled receiving instructions that we are not supposed to go to scientific meetings, not supposed to speak to the public in any sort of way, we are not allowed to order any supplies to do the research and basically were told, Dont start any new projects. Dont do anything innovative. Just keep doing the kinds of things that you were already doing but nothing new. After several weeks, Collins said it became clear things werent going to improve. I felt like, Why am I here? Im completely muzzled, he remembered. The rationale behind the restrictions on the NIH put forward by the unofficial Department of Government Efficiency, once headed by the worlds richest person Elon Musk before his blow-out with Trump was a belief the agency was probably full of waste, fraud and abuse, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the impact has been profound and immediate, Collins said. The morale at NIH is the lowest Ive ever seen it. People who really thought they were there to make that next breakthrough happen or at least build a pathway towards that arent sure anymore whether thats still possible, he explained. Young scientists who may be on this path toward becoming that next person to win the Nobel Prize now dont know if thats possible in America, he continued. A brain drain is seeing Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe and even China all benefiting from scientific talent who now feel theres no place for them in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement China in particular, Collins said, must be looking at this and they cant believe their luck. The NIHs taxpayer-funded work, he said, lays the scientific foundation for future breakthroughs that may take years to come to fruition, he explained, adding that: Medical miracles dont happen overnight. You have to invest in them. Our investments are in trouble now. Watch here: Related... The ex-wife of a marketing professor from the University of California, Berkeley has been arrested in connection with his death, according to Greek police sources. Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a 43-year-old associate marketing professor at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, was allegedly shot and killed in Athens on July 4 near the home where his two children -- Zoe and Angelo -- live, his younger brother Lukasz Jeziorski said in a statement. The children, who are 10-year-old twins, live with the victim's ex-wife, the professor's close friend Chemtai Mungo told ABC News. Police said an attacker "approached the victim and shot him in the chest and back, resulting in his fatal injury, and then fled." Five people have been arrested, including the professor's ex-wife, her boyfriend and three other men who were accomplices in the murder, according to Greek police sources. All five suspects appeared in court in Athens on Thursday. Courtesy Chemtai Mungo - PHOTO: Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a marketing professor at the University of California, Berkeley, was shot and killed while visiting his children in Greece, his family said. Lukasz Jeziorski, the professor's brother, said in a statement to ABC News that "five people have been arrested in connection with his death, including his ex-wife -- the orchestrator behind this heinous crime -- and her boyfriend, who has confessed to carrying out the shooting, as well as three other accomplices who have also confessed to carrying out the shooting." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our family is heartbroken, but we are grateful to Greek police and security professionals that have identified and captured those accountable. We want justice to be fully served," Lukasz Jeziorski said in the statement. Police said they were able to identify the vehicle that the accomplices and the perpetrator were in prior to the murder. Officials said they believe that two of the accomplices "left the scene of the crime without the perpetrator" and that the perpetrator "handed over his mobile phone and vehicle keys to his third accomplice" to avoid identification. Courtesy Chemtai Mungo - PHOTO: Przemyslaw Jeziorski, a marketing professor at the University of California, Berkeley, was shot and killed while visiting his children in Greece, his family said. The professor was allegedly in Greece to attend a court hearing relating to an "ongoing division of property and custody battle," Mungo said. His brother told ABC News he wanted to bring his children to his hometown of Gdynia, Poland, "as he did every year," and that he had also planned a trip to Disneyland Paris. Mungo, who had known Przemyslaw Jeziorski, or "PJ," for the past five years, said she was in touch with him while he was in Greece. She said he had arrived there with the expectation he would be able to take his children to Poland for a month, which was granted by "prior court arrangements," but when he got there, "there was a new dispute that had to be attended to in the courts." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He had been divorced from his wife for three years, and Mungo said the relationship "was not cordial." University of California, Berkeley - PHOTO: Przemyslaw Jeziorski, an associate marketing professor at the University of California, Berkeley, was shot and killed in Greece on July 4, according to this family. Mungo previously said she believed the shooting was not accidental, given it occurred in a "good neighborhood in Athens." She also said that police shared with the victim's family that a masked gunman walked up to him and fired five shots in his chest and neck. Przemyslaw Jeziorski's two 10-year-old children -- who are U.S. and Polish citizens -- are "now under care in accordance with Greek child custody procedures," his brother said. The suspects will have another court appearance on Monday, sources said. The exams regulator has admitted that a decade of data on the number of pupils receiving extra time was wrong. Ofqual said on Thursday it was pulling 10 years of data from 2014 onwards after revealing it had accidentally doubled the number of GCSE and A-level students receiving special arrangements, such as extra time or a laptop. Nearly a third of all pupils in England, or around 420,000, were recorded as getting extra time last year, with the figure quadrupling over the past decade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Private schools have also been accused of gaming the system in recent years after official data showed an eye-watering four in 10 pupils received extra time in 2024. But the watchdog has now admitted those statistics were significantly overstated and that the true figure is almost half of that, including for private schools. The Independent Schools Council (ISC) said private schools were owed an apology for the botched data which it said had seen their integrity questioned for years. Pupils are usually only eligible for extra support in exams if they have special educational needs and disabilities (Send) or a temporary injury such as a broken arm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ofqual said on Thursday that the real level of students receiving extra time in exams was broadly equivalent to the proportion of Send pupils across the school population. This would mean around 19.5 per cent of pupils across all schools in England actually received extra time in their exams last year, not the 30 per cent recorded on official statistics. It also slashes the proportion of private school pupils thought to have received extra time by around half. In total, 41.8 per cent of fee-paying pupils were recorded as getting extra time in last summers formal exams, but Department for Education (DfE) shows just 22.4 per cent currently receive Send support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics had jumped on the disparity between private school pupils receiving extra time and those in the state sector, with 26 per cent of children in non-selective state schools granted it last summer. Julie Robinson, the chief executive of the ISC, said: Ofqual is supposed to be the trusted source for exam statistics and as a result of these significant errors, independent schools have wrongly seen their results undermined and their integrity questioned. We are pleased that the investigation instigated by the DfE [Department for Education] will lead to a correction of the record and we hope an apology will be forthcoming. Ofqual blamed the data blunder on duplicate applications for the same student that were accidentally included in official statistics. It also said the inflated data wrongly counted pupils who obtained special access arrangements but did not go on to sit their exams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The watchdog said in a statement: Ofquals detailed analysis of underlying data from the boards has established that the published figures significantly overstated the number of students receiving access arrangements. Tom Bramley, executive director of research and analysis at Ofqual, said: We are correcting the record as soon as possible. The access arrangements process has not changed, and students who received support did so appropriately. This issue is limited to our access arrangements dataset and our other statistics are not affected. It will raise serious questions over the regulators official data collection, as pupils await their GCSE and A-level results next month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The exams watchdog said it will publish revised statistics later this year covering special exam arrangements for 2021 onwards, but warned they wont be perfect. It will leave a seven-year black hole in official data in England, since Ofqual will not replace the figures between 2014 and 2021. Bridget Phillipson, the Education Secretary, voiced concerns with Ofqual last year about the significant jump in pupils receiving extra time and urged them to examine the range of reasons that might be driving this and whether any policy response is required. She told the Financial Times in November that it was a real concern to me there is such a big divide between the state and private system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Torsten Bell, the Labour MP for Swansea West, also said on X last November: A far greater proportion of private than state school pupils get extra time in exams which is even odder when you consider the wider context this is happening within: we know special educational needs are more prevalent in poorer areas. Unions had also jumped at the rise in extra time figures to claim that exams are too stressful for pupils and called for a rethink of high-stakes assessments. Paul Whiteman, general secretary at school leaders union NAHT, said: While it is regrettable that problems have been identified with these statistics, Ofqual has done the right thing in withdrawing them and working to correct and republish them. School leaders have certainly seen more requests for access arrangements in recent years in the aftermath of Covid, increased reports of anxiety and mental ill-health, and significant rises in numbers of children with additional needs. 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 Emily Green (Reuters) -El Salvador President Nayib Bukele's drive to consolidate his grip on power and crack down on critics and humanitarian organizations has forced a leading human rights organization to suspend operations in the country and go into exile, the group told Reuters. Cristosal, which was founded by Anglican bishops 25 years ago and came to prominence for its investigations into corruption in the Bukele government, has pulled 20 employees out of the country in recent weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group told Reuters it has just one employee left in El Salvador: Ruth Lopez, its anti-corruption and justice director, who has been jailed since May on corruption charges. Cristosal's decision to evacuate its staff has not been previously reported. The human rights group said its decision represents a turning point in Bukele's three-year state of emergency, with many journalists and other rights groups also deeming it unsafe to continue operating there. "When it became clear that the government was prepared to persecute us criminally and that there is no possibility of defense or impartial trial, that makes it unviable to take those risks anymore," said Noah Bullock, executive director of Cristosal, who spoke to Reuters from Guatemala. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government brought the case against Lopez under seal, prompting her to call for a public trial. Reuters could not independently establish the charges against her. A spokesperson for El Salvador's attorney general's office didn't respond to requests for comment about why the case against Lopez is sealed, and whether officials consider her a danger. A spokesperson for Bukele did not respond to a request for comment about the pressure on human rights organizations. Since imposing a state of emergency in March 2022, Bukele has suspended constitutional rights, curtailed freedom of the press and undermined judicial independence. Human rights groups say thousands of innocent people have been swept up in his gang crackdown, which has resulted in the arrests of more than 85,000 people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bukele has said such drastic measures were needed to eliminate the gangs' hold over the country. Homicides have fallen more than 90% since he took office, according to government figures. Despite international criticism, Bukele remains extremely popular in El Salvador, with a nearly 85% approval rating, according to a survey released in June by the Jesuit Central American University. But there are signs of unease: Nearly 60% of those surveyed said it is very likely a person or institution could suffer negative consequences for expressing criticism of the president or government. A law enacted in May makes it practically impossible for many civil rights organizations with international funding to operate, according to people working at these institutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The law requires individuals and organizations that receive international funding to register as foreign agents and places a 30% tax on every financial transaction involving foreign funds. Failure to comply could expose groups to criminal prosecution under anti-money laundering laws. Bukele, who was elected president in 2019, devoted a significant portion of his state of the union address last month to criticizing journalists and human rights groups. He said human rights groups receive millions each year to peddle misery and spread violence. LAWYERS AND RIGHTS GROUPS FLEE At least four human rights groups in addition to Cristosal have withdrawn staff for security reasons, Bullock said. Reuters was able to confirm departures from two of the groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The arrest of Lopez, Cristosals well-known anti-corruption and justice director, marked a significant escalation in Bukeles attack on critics, rights groups say. Since May, about 60 lawyers and human rights activists have fled, according to Salvadoran human rights lawyer Ingrid Escobar, who left the country after what she described as a campaign of police harassment. At least 40 journalists have also left since May due to police harassment, surveillance and fear of imminent arrest, according to the Association of Journalists of El Salvador. In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly last year, the Salvadoran president declared that freedom of expression is protected and "we don't arrest people for their own ideas." Last month, authorities arrested constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya on charges of money laundering. An outspoken critic of the president, Anaya had called Bukele a dictator on live television. Like Lopez, Anayas case is sealed, and a judge has ordered him to remain in prison as proceedings continue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The spokesperson for the El Salvador attorney generals office didn't respond to a request for comment about the case. Angelica Carcamo, director of the Central American Network of Journalists, said Anaya's case persuaded her that it wasn't safe to return to El Salvador. She said she fled after a home security camera captured images of armed soldiers milling outside. Reuters couldn't independently confirm this. As long as there are no guarantees of protection for the press or those of us who practice journalism or defend human rights, it is not advisable to return," Carcamo said. Cristosal's Bullock said Bukele has been emboldened by his alliance with President Donald Trump, cemented by the agreement reached in March to house 238 Venezuelans deported from the United States in a maximum-security prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bukele also resisted the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, an imprisoned Salvadoran man wrongfully deported by the Trump administration. Bukele has denied Abrego Garcia's claims that he was tortured in El Salvador's mega-prison. During Bukele's visit to the White House in April, Trump said Bukele is one hell of a president and doing incredibly for your country. (Reporting by Emily Green in Mexico City; Editing by Stephen Eisenhammer and Suzanne Goldenberg) A software engineer working for one of the Pentagons most prominent defense contractors claims she was fired after flagging critical software safety issues and errors written into the code that controls high-tech automated artillery systems used by U.S. forces, as well as various other nations throughout the world. Deborah Hale alleges the problems violated at least eight different laws, rules, or regulations set out by the Army, Department of Defense, NATO and even NASA, which would have prevented appropriate safety tests from being properly developed and tested, severely jeopardizing the safety of American civilians, troops, and allies, according to a state lawsuit that has now been removed to federal court. Hales suit says that since she was let go in 2023, the Reston, Virginia-based Science Applications International Corporation known as SAIC, Inc. has blackballed her throughout the industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SAIC has annual revenues of some $7.5 billion, and works extensively with the federal government across numerous agencies, in addition to the DOD. Attorney Kelly Chanfrau, who is representing Hale, called her client an incredible employee with vast knowledge and experience. Her allegations and complaints are serious and no employee should be retaliated against based upon complaints, especially when she was trying to protect our military and civilians, Chanfrau told The Independent. In an email, an SAIC spokesperson said, SAIC cannot comment on any litigation matters. The software underpinning the U.S. military's Multiple Launch Rocket System, or, MLRS, contained crucial errors, according to a whistleblower lawsuit. The software underpinning the U.S. military's Multiple Launch Rocket System, or, MLRS, contained crucial errors, according to whistleblower Deborah Hale's lawsuit (U.S. Army photo by KCpl. Siwon Koo, 2nd Infantry/ROK-U.S. Combined Division Public Affairs) The software underpinning the U.S. military's Multiple Launch Rocket System, or, MLRS, contained crucial errors, according to a whistleblower lawsuit. The software underpinning the U.S. military's Multiple Launch Rocket System, or, MLRS, contained crucial errors, according to whistleblower Deborah Hale's lawsuit (U.S. Army photo by KCpl. Siwon Koo, 2nd Infantry/ROK-U.S. Combined Division Public Affairs) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hale has worked as a software safety engineer since 1983, at defense giants such as BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. A Subject Matter Expert in system safety of military weapons, SAIC hired Hale in September 2022, as a software safety engineer, her complaint states. On April 1, 2023, Hale was promoted to system safety manager, which came with a salary increase from $175,000 to $180,000, and required [her] to conduct a line-by-line review of the software code underpinning the Multiple Launch Rocket System, or, MLRS, an automated surface-to-surface rocket artillery platform, according to the complaint. Among other things, the MLRS software is used to calculate missile trajectories based on targeting information human operators type into the system, military analyst Dan Grazier, who served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps and is now at the nonprofit Stimson Center, told The Independent. In addition to the U.S. military, precision-fire MLRS systems are a key part of various European arsenals, along with Egypt, South Korea, and Norway, and have seen action in Iraq, Ukraine and beyond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly after beginning the code review, Hale discovered several serious problems with it that could put U.S. and allied troops in harms way, the complaint contends. The issues and errors were in violation of the following laws, rules, and regulations, including, but not limited to: the Department of the Army and United States Army Aviation and Missile Command AMCOM Regulation 385-17 Software System Safety Policy, the Defense Acquisition System, the United States Army Safety Program, the Department of Defense Standard Practice for System Safety, Joint Services Safety Authorities, Missile Defense Agency Assurance Provisions, NASA-GB-1740.13, and North Atlantic Treaty Organization Allied Ordinance Publication 52, the complaint goes on. Deborah Hale says the problems she brought up concerning the MLRS missile system could have put American civilians, troops, and allies in harm's way, but that she was ignored by her supervisors at defense contractor SAIC (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images) Deborah Hale says the problems she brought up concerning the MLRS missile system could have put American civilians, troops, and allies in harm's way, but that she was ignored by her supervisors at defense contractor SAIC (PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP via Getty Images) Although court filings do not list the specific aspects the code allegedly violated, AMCOM Regulation 385-17, for example, says [s]oftware defects affecting safety-critical functions are causes of system level hazards, such as unplanned missile launch, and that near-misses have occurred as a result of software defects or inadequate specification of software system safety requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hale promptly notified her bosses about her findings, according to the complaint. However, it maintains, Instead of taking action to correct the code and ensure the code was safe, [SAIC] ignored [Hales] reports, and nothing was done. A week later, Hale raised the issue again, bringing her concerns to a different manager at SAIC, the complaint continues. This manager, it says, looped in two higher-level managers due to the seriousness of the issue. But a few days after that, Hale was suddenly informed by her supervisor that she was being removed from the MLRS project and would be reassigned to another team, the complaint states. On April 13, 2023, before the transfer had a chance to occur, Hale spoke up at a staff meeting, appealing to higher-ups about the issues and errors she said were baked into the MLRS projects code, according to the complaint. A senior safety engineer corroborated Hales findings, it says. In response, Hales boss reiterated that the MLRS program would be moving forward without her, the complaint alleges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The next day, Hale was placed on unpaid leave, and told that she had until May 12 to find another job at SAIC or she would be terminated, according to the complaint. To no surprise to [Hale], she could not secure another position with [SAIC] due to her complaints of violations, rules, and regulations compromising safety, the complaint states. It says that by making it impossible for Hale to transfer internally, she was effectively terminated on April 14. Since then, SAIC has continued to retaliate against [Hale] by making it difficult for her to find subsequent employment, according to the complaint. Hales allegations and complaints are serious and no employee should be retaliated against based upon complaints, especially when she was trying to protect our military and civilians, her attorney Kelly Chanfrau told The Independent (75th Field Artillery Brigade/U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christian Carrillo) Hales allegations and complaints are serious and no employee should be retaliated against based upon complaints, especially when she was trying to protect our military and civilians, her attorney Kelly Chanfrau told The Independent (75th Field Artillery Brigade/U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Christian Carrillo) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The whistleblower angle of this story is all-too-common unfortunately, Grazier told The Independent. I've seen this a few times, when earnest people identify a problem and try to deal with it through the appropriate channels only to see their concerns ignored and receive a termination notice as a reward for trying to do the right thing. Had everyone on Hales team had simply listened to her and dealt with things, the outcome, across the board, would have been far better, according to Grazier. But for some odd reason, it happens this way far too often, he said. It is unclear if the issues that Hale flagged have since been addressed. An Army spokesperson told The Independent that it does not comment on ongoing litigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contrary to SAICs apparent distaste for Hale, she has received glowing recommendations on LinkedIn from former managers. Deborah is the single smartest woman with whom I have ever worked in systems safety, one wrote. Her high level of professionalism ending with products exceeding expectations make her a valuable asset to any organization. Another said: I was Deborahs manager when she transferred into System Safety, an engineering discipline that usually takes years to become effective; she grasped the concepts and was producing within months Deb is definitely a team player[,] always ready to assist others and ensures the final product achieves the customers expectations. Hales lawsuit says her firing from SAIC led to emotional distress and humiliation. She is seeking back pay and benefits, front pay, compensatory damages, emotional distress damages, punitive damages, attorneys fees and court costs and reinstatement to her former position. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) In a quiet corner of San Angelo, the past is very much alive. At St. Margaret of Scotland Catholic Parish, the ancient rite of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) also known as the Extraordinary Form continues to thrive, even as worldwide limitations challenge its practice. The Latin Mass is a ascent to Calvary where the Lord Jesus Christ reliving essentially the passion in every Latin Mass, said Father Freddy Perez, Parochial Administrator, St. Margaret of Scotland Parish in San Angelo. In 2021, the Vatican issued a decree, Traditionis Custodes, which severely restricted the use of the Latin Mass worldwide. However, on February 6, 2025, Bishop Michael Sis of the San Angelo Diocese submitted a petition to the Vatican, seeking an exemption for St. Margarets Parish. That petition was granted on May 28, 2025, with Pope Leo XIV approving the request, making St. Margarets one of the few parishes in the world to be allowed to continue offering the Traditional Latin Mass. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pilgrimage celebrates holy Eucharist in downtown San Angelo I mean, I was ready to be obedient and to give my people a beautiful mass no matter what, said Father Freddy Perez. I was really much relieved that the Holy Spirit came through, illuminated the right minds, and gave me permission not to suffer. The traditional mass dates back centuries, with the priest facing the altar and the mass celebrated in Latin. This was before Vatican II reforms in the 1960s, which introduced the modern Novus Ordo Mass. For parishioners like Jaron Yarbrough, who converted to Catholicism three years ago, the Latin Mass represents more than just a form of worship; it is an atmosphere of reverence and unity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the first Masses we ever attended was the TLM, Yarbrough recalled. We understood this was different. You can feel the reverence. Its just a different atmosphere. The atmospher is of reverence towards one goal and this is the eucharist. For Father Freddy, the Latin Mass holds a profound personal meaning a spiritual link to the Mexican martyrs, especially young Jose Sanchez del Rio, who famously cried, Viva Cristo Rey! or Long Live Christ the King. Like many during a time of fierce persecution, he gave his life defending the sacred liturgy. I always said my family is where I am, Father Sosas journey from orphan to priest During that time, what was the Mass to sustain those people? It was the traditional Latin Mass, or the Mass of the day. Im pretty sure their capacity of literacy wasnt as high as it is today, but they still knew that there was something worth defending, Father Perez reflected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While St. Margarets remains the only parish in the San Angelo Diocese authorized to celebrate the Traditional Latin Mass, the community remains hopeful. They pray that more doors will open for the preservation of the tradition, so that future generations may also experience its beauty. For details on Mass times and the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass at St. Margarets, please visit the parish website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com. Republicans in Congress are poised to slash $1.1 billion from public broadcasting, a move that would lead to cuts for Ohio's public radio stations. Senate Republicans narrowly approved $9 billion in spending cuts early on July 17. Once approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and signed by President Donald Trump, the measure would strip money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, and foreign aid agencies including the World Health Organization and the U.S. Agency for International Development, USA TODAY reported. WOSU Public Media and other Ohio public radio stations face cuts from Congress. Those cuts imperil $13.3 million that the Ohio public radio stations receive from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting each year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The loss of federal money will hit stations serving rural, minority and Native American audiences particularly hard. For example, federal money comprises one-fourth of the budget of WOUB in Athens, which serves Appalachia and educates Ohio University students on broadcasting, according to a review by The Ohio Newsroom. Here's what you need to know: How would funding cuts impact Ohio public radio stations? Federal funding cuts would hit some stations harder than others. A review from The Ohio Newsroom found federal funding comprised 5% of Cincinnati Public Radio's budget, 10% of Cleveland-based Ideastream Public Media's and 13% of Columbus-based WOSU's. The Ohio stations most reliant on federal funding are Athens' WOUB and Toledo's WGTE, which reports on Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan, according to The Ohio Newsroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But every Ohio station would feel the impact. "This is uncharted territory," said Richard Eiswerth, president, general manager, and CEO of Cincinnati Public Radio. "The action taken early today in the U.S. Senate poses a truly existential threat to the continued existence of a nationwide public service media ecosystem." Eiswerth said Cincinnati Public Radio's management team will begin a top-down reevaluation of its annual budget, including "imposing severe limits on spending across all departments" and "reassessing our strategic priorities." Cincinnati Public Radio president Richard Eiswerth called the cuts to public radio "uncharted territory." WOSU, in a previously provided statement, said, "Eliminating this funding for PBS and NPR could devastate the local-national partnerships that enable WOSU to bring trusted journalism, childrens programming, and educational resources to our community." Why do Republicans want to cut money for NPR, PBS? Trump, in a May executive order, said that neither NPR nor PBS presents "fair, accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan news coverage." Trump has threatened to pull support from Republicans who vote against cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement," Trump wrote on Truth Social on July 10. U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, an Urbana Republican, said: "This bill's real simple. Don't spend money on stupid things, and don't subsidize biased media." Why do Democrats oppose public radio cuts? Rep. Marcy Kaptur, of Toledo, and fellow Democrats urged Trump to reconsider public broadcasting cuts in a recent letter. "The cuts to CPB in the rescission package undermine the public media that Americans rely on for unfettered access to information, educational programming for kids, cultural programming and nationwide emergency alerting," wrote Kaptur and fellow Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS) is the backbone of the Emergency Alert System (EAS) and Amber Alerts and plays a critical role in keeping Americans informed and safe during emergencies," they wrote. How did Ohio's senators vote? Ohio's two senators, Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, voted for the cuts to NPR, PBS and other programs. They are both Republicans. On July 15, Vice President JD Vance, of Cincinnati, cast the tie-breaking vote to advance the bill. After the July 17 vote, Husted described the measure as a "pretty modest attempt to rein in spending in this country." He cited U.S. Agency for International Development spending on Sesame Street programming in Arabic countries and a transgender-led organization in Guatemala. If you look at this package, frankly, Ohio taxpayers don't want to fund Sesame Street in Iraq or sex change operations in Guatemala," Husted said. "Those things are crazy. We're cutting them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats and two Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, and Susan Collins, of Maine, voted against the measure. State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@gannett.com or @jbalmert on X. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: What do GOP cuts of NPR, PBS mean for Ohio's public radio stations? Matador Restaurant Group, a Del Taco franchisee operating 22 outlets, has declared bankruptcy amidst financial struggles. The South Carolina, US-based company reported assets and liabilities each between $1m and $10m, alongside more than $2.7m in merchant cash advance (MCA) debts. Matador's owner, Red Door Brands, manages other food chains including Little Caesars and Arby's. But they have not faced similar financial issues and will undergo separate bankruptcy proceedings, as reported in RestaurantBusinessOnline. Each filing pointed to the Del Taco operations and the MCA financing as the root of their problems. Court documents reveal that the Del Taco restaurants began struggling in late 2024 due to company growth, an unexpected decline in sales and rising operational costs. The company resorted to MCA financing as a temporary solution to address cash flow problems, based on the advice of its brokers. MCA providers in the case of Matador have recently intensified collection efforts, with several creditors asserting their interests through UCC-1 [Uniform Commercial Code] financing statements and one placing a lien on the company's accounts. This action has complicated the brands operations, prompting the bankruptcy filing to halt collections and facilitate reorganisation. In February 2025, Del Taco signed an agreement to open ten outlets in Indiana. The following month, Del Taco abruptly closed almost all its restaurants in Colorado, US, without unveiling details of its decision. These closures, undertaken by franchisee Newport Ventures, are reportedly due to bankruptcy proceedings involving the franchisee. In June 2025, the chain announced plans for a significant expansion into the Louisville, Kentucky area through a five-store development deal with new franchisee and local restaurant operator Karan Pandher, marking the chains first entry into the Louisville market. "Matador Restaurant Group files for bankruptcy" was originally created and published by Verdict Food Service, a GlobalData owned brand. BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) The message is prepare now, not later. The American Red Cross is urging families to gather emergency supplies. I spoke to an expert who said the time to act is now. Hope is not a method or watching the weatherman and saying I hope it doesnt come here, thats not a method you have to actively prepare,' said Russel Honore. Storms dont pick one place to fall in times like these. It is important to be ready for what happens because in a storm, hope wont keep you dry, action will, and the time to prepare is now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here in Louisiana, we know all too well how these disasters can happen and how these disasters dont pick one good place to target; it can happen to any of us in the community, said Micah Nichols. So, my advice to the community is to take this time before the storms make a plan in the event that you have to evacuate. And with expected rain, new residents who arent familiar with this kind of weather are advised to keep up with the storms on different apps to stay up to date. Well, weve got two systems, East Baton Rouge parish runs a recommendation as well as the state has a website under GOHSEP. Go look at those sites, they will keep you informed, then you can register for their app that will give you updates, said Honore. It is also important to check and see if your neighborhood is in a flood zone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Check the FEMA map to see if your neighborhood is in a flood zone, because a lot of people have bought homes that are in flood zones, and they dont know it, he said. Theyre also reminding people to have a stay-at-home kit and a go-bag ready in case conditions change quickly. 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. Despite rising sea surface temperatures across the globe, the emergence of an Atlantic Nina has brought cooler waters to portions of the Atlantic. However, experts believe that its potential effects may be short-lived. What's happening? An Atlantic Nina, characterized by persistent cool surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic, typically lasts for at least two consecutive three-month periods. An Atlantic Nina can cool the eastern equatorial Atlantic Ocean by over one degree Fahrenheit below normal. In August 2024, a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration first made note of the potential for the development of an Atlantic Nina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike El Nino and La Nina, which are based in the Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ninas are often considered to have less impact on overall weather patterns. However, the cooler surface temperatures in the Atlantic can play a large role in determining the viability of tropical waves coming off the coast of West Africa. Carl Schreck, a senior research scholar with the North Carolina Institute for Climate Studies at North Carolina State University, explained the inner workings of the weather phenomenon. "An Atlantic Nina is cooler than normal sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Guinea, which tends to weaken the monsoon and easterly waves over West Africa," Schreck told the Cayman Compass. "The strength of that monsoon is a key predictor of hurricane activity, so an Atlantic Nina could reduce activity." Why is an Atlantic Nina important? Although an Atlantic Nina may seem to be good news for the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, it appears that the effects will soon dissipate. "It's been notable over the month," said Ryan Truchelut, president of Weather Tiger. "But I don't think it will continue very long. It just doesn't have the kind of persistence that the Pacific events do." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Truchelut, the writing is already on the wall. "We're already seeing weaker trade winds, and those waters are warming up very quickly. Also, if you go down 25 or 50 metres, it's still warmer than normal." "If the Atlantic Nina was going to persist longer, the cold water would likely go down a lot further. So, I think that this will turn around probably within the next month," Truchelut added. With the Atlantic Nina likely on its way out the door, the waters will eventually warm back up, providing fuel for tropical systems to develop. As warm ocean water evaporates, it creates moisture in the air. As this moist air rises and cools, water vapor condenses into clouds and potentially storms. What's being done about the upcoming hurricane season? Because of the potential for such warm ocean waters, many tropical waves that develop into storms have a higher probability of bringing stronger winds and heavier rainfall. This is why, despite the slow start to the 2025 Atlantic hurricane season, many experts are still forecasting a highly active summer. The NOAA is predicting that at least 17 named storms will develop throughout the hurricane season, with up to five of those storms becoming major hurricanes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's not too late to help reverse the rising global temperatures and the wide array of climate issues that come with them. By reducing our reliance on fossil fuel consumption and turning to renewable energy sources, we may be able to lower our rate of carbon pollution and work toward a cooler and calmer future. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. AUSTIN (KXAN) Hundredsif not thousandsof homes across Central Texas have been destroyed or severely damaged over the last two weeks. Experts warn homeowners who have sustained damage to be wary of mold, which can grow rapidly in the humid Texas heat. When it starts growing, it starts spreading really fast, and it can get really bad, said TJ McAvoy, who is currently in Kerr County with the veteran-led disaster relief group Team Rubicon. Theres the mold that you see on something youve left in your refrigerator. This isnt that mold, McAvoy continued. This is different in this Texas humidity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McAvoy and the rest of Team Rubicon are helping clean out flooded homes to prepare homeowners for rebuilding. One of their main priorities has been curbing mold from taking over still-damp residential structures. Get the sheet rock out. Get the insulation out. Get the carpet out. Get everything out so we can get bleach sprayed to prevent that mold, McAvoy said. If we can stop the progression of that mold for them, theyre able to get back in and start rebuilding from one of their worst moments, he added. Josh Lasch with the Steam Team, an Austin-based water damage restoration company, said mold can begin growing in as little as 48 to 72 hours after a flood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If its an area without climate control, high humidity, heatespecially right now, given the fact that were in the summer, Lasch said. He recommends homeowners contact a mold consultant soon after flooding to help preserve the homes resale value and protect the health of those living there. It can cause some significant damage, so it needs to be looked at fairly quickly. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. (Reuters) -Violence in Syria pitting the Islamist-led government against members of the Druze community has put a spotlight on the small but influential minority. Straddling Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, the Druze occupy a special niche in the region's complex politics. Israel has cited protecting the Druze as a reason for attacking forces from the Islamist-led government this week. WHO ARE THE DRUZE? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Druze are Arabs who follow a religion derived from a branch of Islam. They maintain a degree of secrecy about the practice of their faith that emerged in the 11th century and incorporates elements from Islam and other philosophies, emphasizing monotheism, reincarnation and the pursuit of truth. Some hardline Sunni Muslims deem them heretics. Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, an Islamist who once belonged to al Qaeda, called them part of the Syrian fabric and vowed to protect their rights in a speech on Thursday. WHERE DO THEY LIVE? Syria's Druze are concentrated in the southwest in the Sweida region bordering Jordan and in areas of Quneitra province, near the occupied Golan. They also reside in the Damascus suburb of Jaramana. In Israel, Druze reside primarily in the north and the occupied Golan. In Lebanon, they are concentrated in mountain regions, including Chouf and Aley, and others such as Hasbaya in south Lebanon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HOW DO THEY FIT INTO REGIONAL POLITICS? Though a small minority, the Druze have often played an outsized role in the politics of countries where they live. In Israel, the Druze number 150,000. Unlike Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, many Druze Arabs serve in the Israeli military and police, including during the war in Gaza, and some have reached a high rank, meaning their voices cannot be easily ignored by Israel's political leadership. While most Druze in Israel identify as Israeli citizens, more than 20,000 living in the occupied Golan still identify as Syrians and have close ties to family on the other side of the border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Facing calls from Israeli Druze to help Syrian Druze, Israeli leaders have cited protecting them as a reason for attacking Syria repeatedly this year. Syria's Druze population is estimated to number around 1 million people. They held some protests against Bashar al-Assad after the eruption of the war in 2011 but there was little conflict between them and Damascus as it focused on trying to crush the uprising in Sunni-majority areas. Since Assad was toppled in December, friction with the Islamist-led authorities has ignited fighting several times. While some Druze leaders have urged accommodation with Damascus, others have come out strongly against Sharaa, notably Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, who urged resistance to government forces and appealed to world leaders, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during this week's violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some Druze figures have criticised this approach. Lebanon's Walid Jumblatt, one of region's most prominent Druze politicians, has rejected the notion that Israel is protecting Syria's Druze. He has warned against calls for international protection and called for Syrian national unity. WHAT IS DRIVING ISRAEL'S INTERVENTION? Israel bombed Syria frequently when Assad was in power, seeking to roll back the influence established by Iran and Iran-backed groups that deployed there to help him fight rebels. Israel has painted the new Syrian government as a jihadist threat, saying it won't allow it to deploy forces into southern Syria. Israel has said it wants to avoid any hostile build-up at its border, whilst also vowing to protect the Druze minority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli troops have also seized Syrian territory adjoining the occupied Golan Heights since December. Sharaa on Thursday said Israel was promoting division among Syrians, accusing it of seeking to "dismantle the unity of our people", saying it had "consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime". (Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer in Jerusalem and Laila Bassam in Beirut; Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Edmund Blair and Sharon Singleton) U.S. President Donald Trump gave a 50-day ultimatum to Russia to end the war in Ukraine, promising to impose harsh sanctions otherwise. Experts who spoke with the Kyiv Independent, however, say that Russia can take advantage of the once again extended deadline and scale up its summer offensive, ongoing since May. Russia could realistically advance closer to Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka in the eastern Donetsk Oblast by trying to encircle them as much as possible in the next few months, but the capture of either logistic hub is unlikely, according to Ukrainian and Western military experts interviewed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If tactics remain the same, in the next 50 days, Russia could capture 10 more villages and about 700 square kilometers of land at most, and entrench in a new battleground Dnipropetrovsk Oblast according to Ruslan Gorbenko, a lawmaker from the ruling Servant of the People who regularly travels to the war-torn east and keeps in touch with the military. Since launching the summer offensive campaign, Russian troops have occupied about 400-500 square kilometers of Ukrainian territory, roughly the size of New Orleans, each month, according to Pasi Paroinen, a military analyst with the Finland-based open-source intelligence collective Black Bird Group. Paroinen said that Russia is trying to push simultaneously across the front line rather than focusing on a specific area, and appears to be struggling to keep up its pace. But this could work if Russia manages to find weak spots in the Ukrainian defense and exploit them over time, he added. A soldier walks past destroyed residential buildings in Pokrovsk, Ukraine, on April 8, 2025. (Kostiantyn Liberov / Libkos / Getty Images) "If (Russian troops) concentrate on one direction, they could capture a city," Gorbenko told the Kyiv Independent, referring to either fully capturing the partly controlled Chasiv Yar or Toretsk, or taking Kostiantynivka under siege. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Relying less on equipment such as tanks and armored vehicles, Russia is increasingly using a few-men assault groups supported by a vast number of first-person view (FPV) drones and motorcycles to prioritize mobility. Crawling forward one after another, the small Russian assault squads try to reach the Ukrainian positions, often zeroed in by glide bombs or drones. Russia has begun to increasingly use Shahed-type drones along the contact line, rather than just in the rear, according to Roman Pohorilyi, co-founder of the Ukrainian open-source mapping project DeepState Map. He stressed that Russian drones are constantly targeting Ukrainian personnel and logistics. John Hardie, deputy director of the Russia Program at the D.C.-based Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), believes that Russia would continue to press forward at a similar pace due to equipment constraints and "extreme force quality degradation." Factors that would define Ukraine's ability to hold off the Russian offensive include its capability to manage reserves as the manpower situation worsens and the level of support from Western allies particularly the U.S., according to experts and soldiers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Petro, a senior sergeant with the 38th Marine Brigade manning Pokrovsk, said that there is "a huge problem" with Russian FPV and Shahed-type drones, as well as glide bombs. But he said that Russia's assault tactic remains the same, calling it "meat assaults in small groups." "Three (Russian soldiers) advance, two are killed, and one reaches the trench," Petro, who asked for his surname not to be disclosed due to security concerns, told the Kyiv Independent. The Kyiv Independent spoke with Ukrainian and Western military experts, as well as soldiers on the ground, to lay out the current battlefield situation as Trump declared his 50-day deadline on Moscow. What's happening north? Since Moscow opened a new front in Sumy Oblast in June, Russian troops have captured about a dozen border villages, according to Paroinen from the Black Bird Group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The captured villages are "very small," and Russian troops have only advanced 10 to 15 kilometers from the border since then, Paroinen said, citing his open-source intelligence collective's analysis. With Russia still eyeing Donetsk Oblast as a priority, it appears to be holding the Sumy operation "on the budget," mostly refraining from using heavy equipment such as tanks, infantry vehicles, and even armored personnel carriers, he added. The Russian deepening advance in Sumy Oblast began shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin called for "a security buffer zone" along the border in May. President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in May that 50,000-strong Russian grouping was amassed near Sumy Oblast. Representatives of the Regional Administration and the construction contractor Avtomagistral-pivden LLC inspect fortifications being built in the region in Sumy Oblast, Ukraine on March 16, 2024. (Kostiantyn Liberov/ Libkos/Getty Images) While Ukraine had the time to prepare and reinforce fortifications in the region, following Kyiv's cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast just across the border in August 2024, the initially fast-paced Russian counterattack revealed Ukraine's vulnerability in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Paroinen said, citing open-source visual evidence, that Ukraine likely did not spend its time well to build extensive fortifications during the seven-month-long fighting in Kursk Oblast. The apparently poorly prepared defense lines, coupled with many battle-hardened Ukrainian units being transferred to the east after the withdrawal from Kursk Oblast in March, made the defense of Ukraine's Sumy Oblast more vulnerable. Kyiv has managed to counterattack to some extent. Reinforcing Sumy Oblast with units, such as the 225th Assault Regiment, Ukraine liberated the village of Andriivka located about five kilometers from the border, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced in June. Managing to slow down the Russian push in Sumy Oblast, the Ukrainian units are trying to recapture some areas on the western side of the Russian-occupied foothold next to the border, according to Pohorilyi from DeepState Map. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But eastward of the area where Ukraine is trying a counterattack, Russian troops are aiming to capture the village of Yunakivka as a step toward beginning an offensive toward the regional center of Sumy, Viktor Kevliuk, an analyst at the Ukrainian think-tank Center for Defense Strategies, said. Read also: No point in negotiating: Russias deadly attack on Kyiv sows distrust in Trump peace plan What's happening east? The eastern front has been the main theater for Russia's offensives throughout most of the war. The summer campaign is no different. From trying to recapture the territories in the northeastern Kharkiv Oblast that Ukraine took back during its fall 2022 counteroffensive to entering the central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk Oblast for the first time, Moscow has slowly made gains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the Kupiansk sector along the Oskil River in Kharkiv Oblast, Russian troops have slowly built up a bridgehead on the western side of the waterway over the summer, past the Russian-occupied village of Dvorichna, according to Paroinen from the Black Bird Group. By increasing their presence west of the Oskil River, Russian troops can now start pushing southward toward Kupiansk and begin threatening the Ukrainian rear west of the city, the expert added. While he says that the Russian progress has been "really slow," Ukraine hasn't been able to effectively counterattack either, and Moscow could eventually recapture Kupiansk, though the timeframe is unclear. Ukrainian soldiers of the 43rd Brigade work on a Soviet-era Pion self-propelled howitzer near Chasiv Yar, Ukraine, on Jan. 27, 2025. (Wolfgang Schwan / Anadolu via Getty Images) Down in the Chasiv Yar sector of Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine is holding onto parts of the hilly town, including the central area and microdistricts to the west, according to Pohorilyi. Capturing Chasiv Yar though unlikely in the near future would be a "disaster" as Moscow could use the heights to attack the neighboring town of Kostiantynivka, Pohorilyi added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just southward in the Kostiantynivka area, Russian troops are "crawling endlessly" and trying to disrupt the Ukrainian logistics, according to Pohorilyi. He added that they are trying to advance from Chasiv Yar, the nearby fiercely contested town of Toretsk, to the southeast, and the occupied village of Novoolenivka to flank Kostiantynivka from three sides. Serhii, a soldier with the 93rd Mechanized Brigade operating in the area, said it has become extremely dangerous to enter Kostiantynivka due to the Russian FPV drones' precise targeting. "The situation in Pokrovsk is now starting to turn into a salient battle where the Russians are advancing on the flanks, and the Ukrainian positions inside and around town will start to get worse and worse." "There are just ruins (in Kostiantynivka) and it's just f*cked," Serhii, not providing his last name due to security concerns, told the Kyiv Independent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The focal point of Russia's offensive, however, is still the Pokrovsk sector, with Russian troops closing in on the key logistics hub, experts say. Since picking up the pace earlier this year, Russian troops have been trying to build a pocket around Pokrovsk by aiming to encircle the key city from the west, south, and east. Commander-in-Chief of Ukraines Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said in June that Russia has about 111,000 troops stationed in the area. Russian troops have bolstered the southern flank of Pokrovsk since launching the summer campaign in May by advancing westward and reaching the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast border for the first time. Servicemen of the 155th Brigade of Ukraines Armed Forces operate a French-made CAESAR 155mm self-propelled howitzer near Pokrovsk, Ukraine, on Feb. 9, 2025. (Pierre Crom / Getty Images) Russian troops have also gotten closer to the supply route from the north that runs through the town of Dobropillia to Pokrovsk, putting it in drone range, according to Paroinen. "The situation in Pokrovsk is now starting to turn into a salient battle where the Russians are advancing on the flanks, and the Ukrainian positions inside and around town will start to get worse and worse," Paroinen said. Petro, the senior sergeant with the 38th brigade operating in the area, said the main road connecting Pokrovsk with Pavlohrad in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast is in Russian fire range, further restraining logistics. Within the next two months, Russian troops could capture the village of Rodynske, about seven kilometers to the north of Pokrovsk, and possibly Bilytske further north. "Our 38th Brigade holds the front near Pokrovsk, but the flanks cannot hold," Petro admitted. In the adjacent Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Russia said in early July that its troops captured the village of Dachne a claim denied by the Ukrainian side. Experts believe that Russian troops would try to deepen their advance into the region that is seeing fighting for the first time in the war, though they believe it is part of Moscow's propaganda campaign to show that yet another Ukrainian region is now partly controlled by Russia. Retired Lieutenant Colonel Bohdan Krotevych, who served as the chief of staff of the famed Azov Brigade till February, said he is certain that Russia recently slowed down its offensive operations to gather forces and renew a push. CNN reported on July 17, citing Ukrainian officials, that Russia may be days or weeks away from ramping up its summer offensive by using 160,000 troops amassing along the battlefield. The Kyiv Independent couldnt independently verify the figure. Kevliuk from the Center for Defense Strategies said he hasnt heard such a number, stressing that Syrskyi estimated the Russian strategic reserves around 123,000. Read also: As Russia closes in on Pokrovsk, battle for key city enters its final act What's happening south? While Ukrainian officials have warned of a possible Russian offensive in the southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast multiple times, experts say that the situation there has been rather stable and they don't expect it to change soon. Russian troops have attacked near the village of Kamianske on the western side of Zaporizhzhia Oblast and captured several Ukrainian positions, but it is "a small skirmish" compared to the overall scale of the war, according to Paroinen. He added that the situation could potentially worsen in the future, but it would depend on the combat effectiveness of the Ukrainian units deployed there and both sides' manpower and resource levels. A combine harvester collects grain near anti-tank obstacles and barbed wire in a field outside Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine, on July 8, 2025. (Dmytro Smolienko / Ukrinform / NurPhoto via Getty Images) Pohorilyi said Russia has almost entirely depended on infantry assaults in the area. In the southern Kherson Oblast, experts said that skirmishes continue in the Dnipro River's delta, but they don't see a desire by Russian troops to cross into the western bank, where the regional capital Kherson is located. The situation in Kherson Oblast has remained largely unchanged throughout the summer offensive. But militarily, it makes sense for both sides to send out small patrols, which occasionally clash with each other, to collect information and potentially capture prisoners-of-war (POWs) for better intelligence gathering, Paroinen said. Read also: Ukraines new ground drones are hitting the battlefield in ever-increasing numbers Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Extra officers will be patrolling the main strips of Over-the-Rhine on foot during the evening hours, adding visibility to help counter a rise in crime across Cincinnati's urban core. Four officers will walk, bike or ride a Segway up and down Main and Vine streets to add extra visibility during the evening hours starting July 21, police spokesman Lt. Jonathan Cunningham told The Enquirer. Officers on the special detail will focus on being visible, conducting business checks and breaking up disorderly or unruly crowds, according to a screenshot of an email recently sent to officers, confirmed to be authentic by Cunningham. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is a visibility-based operation to address what's being seen Downtown," Cunningham said. "(The chief) wants to make sure people feel safe." More: Here's the top priority for Cincinnati's new police task force, according to Chief Theetge The detail will only be south of Liberty Street, between Liberty Street and Central Parkway on both Main and Vine streets, the email says. Cunningham said the priority is to provide more visibility and resources for Over-the-Rhine's small businesses. The operation is separate from the department's new roving task force, which after launching in early July, Police Chief Teresa Theetge said made dozens of arrests in its first week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the police visibility detail is focused on south of Liberty Street, Theetge told The Enquirer in a June interview one of the crime hot spots the task force is honing in on is north of Liberty Street. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Chief Theetge sending extra officers to Over-the-Rhine for visibility Russias war against Ukraine is one of the most documented in human history. And yet, often the experience of soldiers on the frontline is the least mentioned aspect of its story, with most books focusing either on broad battle histories or the experience of civilians. Former Telegraph chief foreign correspondent Colin Freemans excellent new book, The Mad and the Brave, remedies this imbalance from a unique angle: its a historical account of Russias invasion, told from the perspective of a rag-tag group of overseas volunteers. Most came to Ukraine following Volodymyr Zelenskys impassioned call for foreign fighters, three days into the full-scale invasion. In those early weeks and months, thousands of men (and a smaller number of women) from the UK, the USA, the Baltic States, Australia, South America and everywhere else imaginable packed their bags and joined the queues of aid trucks loaded with nappies, hand sanitiser and drones, all making their way to Ukraine. Arriving with the intention to fight alongside Ukrainians, this small cast was and is part of a much bigger movement; one on a scale unseen since the Spanish Civil War. Rumour has it, Freeman reveals, that Zelensky issued this call without taking advice from anyone else in his government, not even his military chiefs who lacked both the capacity to train this concentration of foreign troops; and, frankly, the need for them, given the sheer quantity of Ukrainian volunteers. The success of the strategy is still in question: Freeman quotes the Danish Institute for International Studies, who stated, rather diplomatically, that it remains unclear if the strategic benefits of such recruitment efforts ever came to outweigh the costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout the book, Freeman pulls no punches in describing the various shortcomings of the Ukraine Foreign Legion (a catch-all term here to describe all foreign fighters in Ukraine); even once the least competent of the would-be legionnaires had been weeded out by spring 2022, the group that remained was beset with corruption, in-fighting and incompetence. At least one legionnaire, he tells us, has died at the hand of one of his comrades. Yet, despite this uncertainty, the individual stories of heroism still clearly deserve to be told. This is Freemans focus, but his overarching tale is not one of conventional heroes: yes, there are a few members who have previously fought alongside the Kurds in Syria against Isis, but there are also adrenaline junkies and depressives fleeing failing marriages. One legionnaire, Stephen Wilson, is described as being dressed for the barracks, built for the bar. Another, Douglas Cartner, made the decision to fight based on a random shuffle of his Spotify playlist when Seven Nation Army came on, he knew it was a sign. Andy Huynh and Alex Drueke, two Americans who were captured by Russian forces whilst fighting alongside Ukrainian soldiers - William DeShazer/Getty Not all of the legionnaires turned up at the start of the full-scale invasion. British military medic John Harding, for example, moved to Ukraine in 2018 after a stint fighting Isis in Syria. He joined the infamous Azov Battalion, at the time based in a mansion seized from the deposed Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych, in the port city of Mariupol. Given Azovs reputation as far-Right and neo-Nazi, Harding a bisexual socialist from Sunderland may have seemed a strange addition to their ranks; but Harding found that, in reality, the extremism was minimal. His reasons for staying in Mariupol aside from a fear of arrest in the UK, as a result of his time fighting Isis with the Kurds included a love for the cultural life of the port city, its opera and the ease with which he could access a decent glass of red wine. Nonetheless, by early 2022, aged 60, he decided that it was time to retire back home. On the morning of February 24, his bags were packed when his Ukrainian roommates woke him: the Russians had just crossed the border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What followed was one of the bloodiest and most brutal sieges of the 21st century. Thousands of civilians and soldiers were killed by Russias indiscriminate flattening of the city. Harding spent months in Azovstal Plant, several storeys underground, and Freeman describes these episodes with blunt honesty: Harding holds his injured comrades down whilst they have limbs removed without anaesthetic (Were going to cut your leg off, mate, its going to f------ hurt.) Then, that spring, all the soldiers in the Azovstal plant were ordered to surrender to Russian captivity. Harding subsequently endured months of torture before being exchanged in a prisoner swap, brokered by Saudi Arabia. John Harding at a court hearing in August 2022, charged alongside five foreign nationals also fighting for Ukrainian forces - Getty In his introduction, Freeman notes that since most of us are lucky enough never to experience the horrors described by the legionnaires, the vocabulary to describe them is sparse. This may be true, but Freeman nonetheless succeeds with a careful balance of sensitivity and honesty, as well as a dash of dark humour. This is particularly striking in the case of one of Hardings cellmates, Alex Drueke, a US army veteran who came to serve in Ukraine as a kill-or-cure for the PTSD hed suffered in Iraq. While held in a Russian-run prison, hes told We are going to kill you by an official; later, it transpires that said official is his defence lawyer. And then theres Druekes friend, the prison handyman Artyom, in whom, if one overlooked his cadaverous face, faded Nazi tattoos, and rotten, curiously misshapen teeth, there were positive qualities to be found. These positive qualities mostly the fact that Artyom was not directly involved in the prisoners torture are somewhat undermined when Drueke finds out that, several years previously, Artyom murdered and ate three people. There are more conventionally heroic stories, though, and one of the most powerful is that of the Briton Christopher Perryman. After having joined the army at 16, Perryman went on to serve in Iraq, Somalia and Bosnia. By 2022, however, he was working as a security guard for an HS2 building site. After watching the tanks roll into Kyiv on the news that February, Perryman took a week to consider his next steps. With a young son at home, the decision to go and fight in somebody elses war was not an easy one. Colin Freeman, author of The Mad and the Brave - Eddie Mulholland But, he reasoned, with so many Ukrainian fathers having to make the same decision, most of them without a shred of the military experience he had accrued, Perryman decided that he really had no choice but to put that experience to good use. Once in Ukraine, he served in several different units, amassing a large social media following thanks to his running commentary on the war, posted directly from the frontlines. In the autumn of 2023, he was sent on a mission to Snake Island, a small patch of rocky land off the coast of Odesa, which became famous early in the war when Ukrainians stationed there refused to surrender to Russian troops, telling them to go f--- themselves. Perryman was killed by an artillery strike not long afterwards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2021, few of this books heroes would have been worthy of the title. Freemans work here, however, proves that they undoubtedly now are. And yet ultimately as Freeman himself notes whether these heroes came to escape failing marriages or to seek one last adrenaline hit, the war didnt really care why people came to fight, only that they did so. Ada Wordsworth is director of KHARPP, a charity providing aid in Ukraine. The Mad and the Brave: The Extraordinary Story of Ukraines Volunteer Fighting Force is published by Mudlark at 22.00. To order your copy for 18.99, call 0330 173 0523 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. CHICAGO (WGN) Witnesses gave potentially damaging testimony Wednesday in the murder trial of Steven Montano, accused of murdering Chicago police officer Andres Vasquez Lasso. Prosecutors showed jurors the weapon allegedly used by Montanto in the deadly shooting of Lasso in March 2023. Further eyewitness testimony provided a more detailed account of the foot pursuit in Gage Park. The police officer told him many times to stop, testified witness Edgar Gutierrez. 32-year-old Andres Vasquez-Lasso, courtesy CPD PREVIOUS: Jurors view bodycam video of deadly CPD officer shooting in trial of accused killer And what did he do next? Cook County prosecutors asked Gutierrez. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He stopped, turned around, pulled out a gun and fired, Gutierrez responded. Gutierrez is one of multiple witnesses who say they heard Lasso calling for Montano during the foot chase to stop and drop his weapon. The 21-year-old Montano is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly firing five shots at Lasso. The slain officer returned fire, with a bullet hitting Montano in the jaw. Officers quickly took the suspect into custody. A domestic disturbance call sparked the incident, investigators say. Montanos girlfriend, who took the stand Tuesday, called 911 dispatchers to say he was chasing her with a gun. Officer Lasso responded to the call near 52nd & Spaulding, which cost him his life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Latest Chicago news and headlines Court proceedings continue on Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WGN-TV. A UK Royal Air Force F-35B has been stuck in India for more than a month. India is not a part of the program, and doesn't have permission to access the jet's advanced tech. A warfare analyst said: "You really don't want it sitting in a country that isn't cleared to access knowledge about those capabilities." A UK F-35 stealth fighter jet has been stuck for more than a month in India, a country that isn't part of the program and does not have access to the plane's advanced tech and capabilities. The stealth fighter landed on June 14 at Thiruvananthapuram airport in the state of Kerala, where it was diverted after it ran into bad weather in the Indian Ocean. An engine issue then prevented the jet from returning to the Royal Navy's flagship carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, the British High Commission in New Delhi said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local media reports that the jet is still there but the repair work is underway. The jet is an F-35B, the short-takeoff/vertical landing variant built with a lift fan for operations on amphibious assault ships, certain aircraft carriers, and limited runways. This version of the fighter is used by the UK, Japan, Italy, and the US. The fifth-generation aircraft, made by the US defense contractor Lockheed Martin, is one of the most advanced jets in the world, and the US determines who gets access to these planes. India isn't on the list of approved partner countries. The jet being stuck for so long has raised questions about how this could happen to such a modern jet and concerns about having top tech stranded where it shouldn't be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former Australian Army Maj. Gen. Mick Ryan, a warfare strategist, explained to Business Insider that "given the extraordinary capabilities and advanced technologies on these things, you really don't want it sitting in a country that isn't cleared to access knowledge about those capabilities." An F-35B above a warship. Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force/X He said he suspects the US is putting pressure on the UK concerning the recovery of the jet. Neither the Pentagon nor the US State Department responded to BI's request for comment. The F-35 Joint Program Office did not immediately respond either. "I'd say there'd be a lot of diplomatic action in the background with the Indians to ensure that the security of that aircraft is paramount and that there aren't efforts to exploit that aircraft by some who might be tempted to do so," Ryan added. The US is able to decide a lot about how the jet is used around the world, including restricting its export. It has previously done so with countries that use Russian and Chinese weapon systems, such as Turkey, which was initially part of the program. India has never been a part of the program, though there's been interest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christoph Bergs, an airpower analyst at the UK's Royal United Services Institute, told The New York Times this month that "there's lots of secrecy involving military aircraft in general," but it's even more sensitive with the F-35. Even though it's used by many American and partners allies, its tech is carefully guarded. "You don't want unauthorized access where people can either interfere with the machine, or take very close-up pictures, or even start, you know, messing with the machinery itself," he said. The jet has been moved to an on-site hangar. When it was sitting out in the open, there were reports in Indian media that it hadn't been moved due to the UK's distrust. The Royal Navy rejected that in a statement to The Independent, saying it would have been done sooner if the required tools and expertise had been available. When relocating the fighter jet to a hangar became an option, action was taken "to minimise disruptions to the regular airport operations," it said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The British Royal Navy directed BI to the British defense ministry, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While the British military and experts have attempted to downplay potential trust issues and there have been no indications that India is attempting to access the jet's classified technology, there is, nonetheless, a reason to take security seriously. A complicated relationship The advanced combat technology aboard the F-35 stealth fighter is exceptionally sensitive, and the US carefully weighs who gets access to it. The US and India are not formal allies, but they are strategic partners. India has purchased billions of dollars worth of US defense equipment, and the countries hold military exercises together, with Washington viewing Mumbai as a partner against China. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement India, however, also buys a lot of Russian equipment, with Moscow as a major supplier of weapons to Mumbai. India also maintains a relationship with Russia and is a major buyer of Russian oil, complicating ties with the US. Amid these complexities in the relationship, the US has at times been hesitant to share advanced tech with India. For instance, the previous US administration left it off the list of countries with unrestricted access to US-made microchips. It's unclear how the new Trump administration will affect ties. India rejected President Donald Trump's claim in June that he had brokered a ceasefire between India and Pakistan during a conflict in May. But India's government has also publicly praised Trump, in a move seen by some analysts as a bid to avoid heavy tariffs that Trump is putting on much of the world. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump. MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images The Trump administration has pledged to deepen its defense partnership with India. Trump said in February that "starting this year, we'll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars." He added that they were "paving the way" for India to eventually get the F-35. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether that goes through remains to be seen. It's uncertain whether F-35s are right for India, which is eager to grow its own defense industry. Also, Russia is offering India an export version of its less expensive Su-57. The Russian jet comes with less red tape but also less capability. Rescuing the jet The UK is trying to repair the stranded aircraft to take it out of India. The UK Defence in India, the official X account of UK Defence Adviser in India, Commodore Chris Saunders, posted on July 7 that a team of engineers from the UK had arrived to work on the aircraft It said repairs were underway on the aircraft, which had been moved to the maintenance hangar. It said "we are grateful for the continued support and collaboration of the Indian authorities." UPDATE: A team of UK engineers has arrived in India to commence repairs on the UK F35B aircraft. Repairs are underway on the aircraft, which has now been moved to the maintenance hangar. We are grateful for the continued support and collaboration of the Indian authorities. pic.twitter.com/WD0pmkiLNH UK Defence in India (@UKDefenceIndia) July 7, 2025 India Today reported that UK military personnel were guarding the hangar and that India's security forces were staying outside and at a distance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The jet likely can't be safely flown right now. The UK Ministry of Defence, in a statement to The Associated Press, rejected speculation that the jet could be partially dismantled and transported in a cargo plane if it can't be fixed by engineers. For now, the advanced jet is where it is and has become something of a source of humor in India, sparking memes. The tourism department of Kerala shared a cartoon image of the fighter jet on a runway beside some palm trees with a fake five-star review alongside the text "Kerala is such an amazing place, I don't want to leave. Definitely recommend." Read the original article on Business Insider MANHEIM TOWNSHIP, Pa. (WHTM) The Federal Aviation Administration says they are investigating an incident at Lancaster Airport on Thursday. According to a statement from the FAA, the nose gear of a VulcanAir P68R collapsed after the plane landed at Lancaster Airport around 10:15 a.m. on Thursday. The FAA says only the pilot was onboard and a preliminary incident report will be provided later this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to aircraft information provided by the FAA, the fixed-wing multi-engine plane is registered to a company in Reinholds, Pennsylvania. Courtesy of Zack Spadaccia Courtesy of Zack Spadaccia Courtesy of Zack Spadaccia Courtesy of Zack Spadaccia Courtesy of Zack Spadaccia This is a developing story. Stay with abc27 News as more information becomes available Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. Mayville Engineering Company, Inc. (NYSE:MEC) is one of the 10 Metal Stocks with Insider Buying in 2025. The stocks price target was raised following announcements on the expansion of credit facilities and the acquisition of Accu-Fab. Mayville Executives Signal Optimism After Accu-Fab Deal and Credit Boost A close-up of a heavy-duty machining tool forming a steel component. The vertically integrated manufacturer, Mayville Engineering Company, Inc. (NYSE:MEC), offers concept-to-production services including design, prototyping, tooling, fabrication, coating, and assembly. Headquartered in Wisconsin, the company has a comprehensive portfolio serving heavy-duty trucks, agriculture, military, and powersports sectors. On June 26, 2025, Mayville Engineering Company, Inc. (NYSE:MEC) amended its credit agreement to raise its revolving credit facility to $350 million, utilizing a $100 million accordion feature. Earlier, it was at $250 million. With the terms of the credit agreement remaining largely unchanged, the company intends to use the proceeds to meet its current business needs. Particularly, the company utilized the existing credit agreement for funding the acquisition of Accu-Fab, LLC for $140.5 million. Through the acquisition, the company aims to strengthen its foothold in the critical power infrastructure, data center, and renewable energy markets. Following these developments, Citi reiterated its Buy rating on the stock and raised the price target from $17 to $21. Insider transactions, though low at 0.03% in the past six months, signal a positive view among the top executives and significant shareholders towards the companys progress. While we acknowledge the potential of MEC as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Energy Stocks with Insider Buying in 2025 and 12 Best MLP Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Analysts Disclosure. None. Claim: Rachel Maddow announced in July 2025 that she is having a baby via surrogacy. Rating: Rating: False In mid-July 2025, a rumor circulated online that MSNBC's Rachel Maddow announced she and her partner, Susan Mikula, were having a baby via surrogacy. Posts sharing the rumor included a series of images, including one of Maddow holding a baby and another of her holding up a sonogram. For example, the caption of one post which received more than 27,000 reactions, as of this writing read as follows: "At 50 Years Old, MSNBC's Rachel Maddow Emotionally Reveals Plans to Welcome a Child Through Surrogacy with Longtime Partner Susan MikulaTheir Intimate Announcement Captivates Fans Worldwide, Inspiring Heartfelt Conversations on Age, Love, and New Beginnings;[]Discover the Powerful Story Behind Their Decision and Why Their Chosen Surrogate Has Deeply Moved Millions Around the Globe with a Message of Hope, Compassion, and the Enduring Strength of Family Bonds; This Heartwarming Journey Redefines Parenthood, Challenges Stereotypes, and Reminds Everyone That It's Never Too Late to Follow Your Dreams and Create a Legacy Built on Love and Resilience." https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid0jqoLVfWkMUPrbHkrvK4ZTkM3H4L13eUvaEsv7NiPANwsp14ZARScqPA4FMMHpeLsl&id=61577569236407 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The account's bio designated itself a "supermarket/convenience store" and the link in the caption redirected users to an article on the site "USA News," which listed a physical address that doesn't exist and was not a credible news site. Variations of the rumor spread on other platforms, including another Facebook account and other websites. Dozens of Snopes readers also inquired as to the truth of the claim. Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. However, there was no evidence of Maddow making such an announcement publicly or posting the images included with the claim. As a result, we've rated the claim that Maddow announced she was planning to welcome a child by surrogate false. No credible news outlet has reported the claim that Maddow and her partner made such an announcement. A Google search of the keywords "rachel maddow surrogacy child" turned up results primarily related to the circulated posts above. Maddow also did not make any such announcement on her personal social media accounts, and no credible news outlet published the images or the claim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rather, the rumor about Maddow and Mikula having a child via surrogacy appeared to have originated from an earlier article by another USA News site from July 7, 2025 (the logo was the same as the USA News story above, although the URL differed), which began: Rachel Maddow Announces Emotional Plan to Have a Child at 50 Identity of Surrogate Stuns Fans and Sparks Tears Over Her Enduring Love with Susan Mikula New York In a deeply personal and emotional revelation, acclaimed journalist and MSNBC host Rachel Maddow has announced that she is preparing to welcome her first child at the age of 50 a decision she describes as "the most beautiful, bold, and human journey" she's ever embarked on. Speaking candidly in an exclusive interview, Maddow shared that the desire to become a parent has lived in her for years, but only recently did she feel "ready truly ready." And at the center of her strength and certainty is her longtime partner, Susan Mikula, who has supported her every step of the way. Although neither the article nor the website included a disclaimer indicating the claim was satirical, the site published dozens of other fake claims. The images used in the July 14 story were also almost entirely AI-generated. The sole exception was the first featured photo of Maddow and Mikula, which was from an event in 2011. We ran the images through AI-detection software Hive.com, which reported that they were 100% AI-generated. (Hive.com) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was not the first false rumor about Maddow that Snopes has investigated. For example, we looked into a series of posts claiming that in July 2025, in the wake of devastating floods in Texas, the MSNBC host donated millions of dollars to relief efforts, hired two helicopters for rescues, offered her Texas home for relief work and/or was herself rescued during a report. Sources: 'Who Is Rachel Maddow's Partner? All About Susan Mikula'. People.Com, https://people.com/who-is-susan-mikula-rachel-maddow-8612823. Accessed 16 Jul. 2025. Claim: A photo authentically depicts U.S. President Donald Trump, Attorney General Pam Bondi and the now-deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Rating: Rating: Miscaptioned Context: The photo is real, and it does show Trump and Epstein. However, the woman in the photo is Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve. In mid-July 2025, a photo (archived) appeared on social media sites claiming to show U.S. President Donald Trump with Attorney General Pam Bondi and now-deceased financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The image, which appeared on platforms including Instagram, Threads, YouTube and X, came to prominence a little more than a week after the Justice Department, led by Bondi, published a memo denying the existence of documents related to Epstein, including a supposed list of high-profile ped*ph*le clients he would be able to blackmail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the following days, members of the public as well as Democratic legislators demanded the release of the "Epstein files," a list of documents detailing and related to Epstein's activities, while Trump was publicly attempting to distance himself from the situation. As for the image shared across social media, it was real meaning not edited or generated by artificial intelligence but miscaptioned: The woman in the photo was Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve, not Bondi. Snopes found the original image through Getty Images, where it featured the following caption: American businessman and ex-president Donald Trump, Belgian model Ingrid Seynhaeve, and American businessman Jeffrey Epstein attend the Victoria's Secret "Angels" party on April 28, 1997 in New York City. Details present on Getty Images' website revealed it was uploaded from the archive on May 20, 2024, explaining why the caption described Trump as an "ex-president." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Epstein, who died in his jail cell in 2019 about a month after being arrested on sex-trafficking charges, has become a focal point for many conspiracy theories. While the official report called his death a suicide, many people believe he was murdered in order to prevent him from revealing the names of prominent people who knew about or participated in his criminal activities, which involved sexually abusing minors. Snopes has covered a number of topics involving Epstein, including the claim that Trump once called him a "terrific guy" and the rumor that Trump's name was in Epstein's "black book." Sources: "American Businessman and Ex-President Donald Trump, Belgian Model..." Getty Images, 20 May 2024, https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/american-businessman-and-ex-president-donald-trump-belgian-news-photo/2078474569. "DOJ Memo Dismissing Epstein Conspiracy Theories Sparks Conservative Anger." NBC News, 8 Jul. 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/doj-memo-jeffrey-epstein-theories-angers-conservatives-rcna217272. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Karni, Annie. "For Hard-Right Lawmakers, Trump's Shift on Epstein Is Just the Latest Breach." The New York Times, 15 Jul. 2025, https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/15/us/politics/republicans-congress-trump-epstein.html. Schnell, Mychael. "Republicans Torpedo Democratic Effort to Force Vote on Releasing Epstein Files." The Hill, 15 Jul. 2025, https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5402215-republicans-democrats-vote-epstein-files/. ---. "Trump-Epstein Controversy Fractures GOP." The Hill, 16 Jul. 2025, https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5402767-epstein-files-gop-house/. Solender, Andrew. "House GOP Blocks Dem Maneuver to Force Release of Epstein Files." Axios, 14 Jul. 2025, https://www.axios.com/2025/07/15/trump-epstein-khanna-doj-democrats-republicans. "Trump Disavows Supporters Pushing Jeffrey Epstein 'Bulls---': 'I Don't Want Their Support Anymore!'" NBC News, 16 Jul. 2025, https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-disavows-supporters-pushing-jeffrey-epstein-bulls-dont-want-supp-rcna219078. Claim: An old photo authentically shows U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife Melania Trump with convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell. Rating: Rating: True In mid-July 2025, an old photo widely circulated on social media purportedly showing convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell with U.S. President Donald Trump and his wife, Melania Trump. The picture spread amid reports that Maxwell, an associate of sex trafficker and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, may be willing to testify before Congress about Epstein's activities. She is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence (archived) for helping Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One X user who shared the photograph (archived) suggested that its alleged existence explained why the Republican Party did not want Maxwell to testify before Congress: "Why don't Republicans want Ghislaine Maxwell to testify? Answer." (BlackKnight10k/X) The X post, which had amassed roughly 380,000 views as of this writing, came after Republicans in the House of Representatives blocked a legislative amendment demanding the release of the so-called Epstein files. Meanwhile, a similar post featuring the image appeared elsewhere on X (archived). In short, the picture was authentic and not digitally manipulated or produced using artificial intelligence (AI). Therefore, we have rated this claim as true. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The picture can be found on Getty Images, where the caption stated that it showed "future married couple fashion model Melania Knauss (later Melania Trump) and American real estate developer Donald Trump, with British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell." Getty's caption said it was taken on Sept. 18, 2000, at the Anand Jon Fashion Show in New York City. For further reading, Snopes also investigated whether another photo showed Maxwell posing with Tesla CEO Elon Musk. Sources: Esposito, Joey. 'House Republicans Blocked Legislative Amendment Demanding Release of Epstein Files?' Snopes, 15 Jul. 2025, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/republicans-jeffrey-epstein-block/. Hays, Tom, and Larry Neumeister. "Ghislaine Maxwell Sentenced to 20 Years for Helping Epstein." AP News, 29 June 2022, apnews.com/article/ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-sentencing-aeac127f9cc3811d975ce8e10d171260. Accessed 15 July 2025. (The Center Square) The Small Business Administration has established a Center for Faith as well as eliminated the Biden regulation that banned faith organizations from receiving disaster relief. The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a cabinet-level federal agency intended to provide counseling, capital, and contracting expertise for small businesses, according to its website. The SBAs new Center for Faith is meant to extend this goal to faith organizations while it empower[s] faith-based businesses, community organizations, and houses of worship with access to capital, counseling, and government contracting opportunities, according to an SBA press release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The release also said that effective immediately, faith-related organizations are now eligible for agency disaster relief in the aftermath of tragedy. During the last Administration, the Biden SBA maintained a regulation that made any entity principally engaged in teaching, instructing, counseling, or indoctrinating religion ineligible to apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) even after the Supreme Court ruled that such discrimination was unconstitutional, the release said. Under the leadership of Administrator [Kelly] Loeffler, the SBA has reversed this rule, the release said. This reversal is a part of the SBAs commitment to ending federal discrimination against religious entities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SBA spokeswoman Maggie Clemmons told The Center Square that SBA is ending the era of weaponized government that, under the last Administration, banned religious organizations from receiving SBA disaster loans. The agency is committed to ensuring that all eligible Americans, regardless of their religious affiliation, can access our programs especially in times of disaster, Clemmons said. Clemmons additionally told The Center Square that the Center for Faith was launched to help more faith-based organizations access SBA services including capital, counseling, and contracting to ensure they have the tools and support they need to serve their communities and thrive. As explained in the SBA release, the Center for Faith will be housed within SBAs Office of Economic Development and will focus on building partnerships with faith-driven organizations to increase awareness and access to SBA services including disaster recovery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to its webpage, the Center is in response to Executive Order 14205, which established the White House Faith Office. The Center is intended to build partnerships with faith organizations and provides tools and opportunities to more effectively strengthen these organizations, their local economies, and the communities they serve, its website said. Loeffler said in the release that the SBA is proud to uphold the principles of religious freedom that our nation was founded on and look forward to forging lasting relationships that bring new small businesses into the SBA ecosystem. Raising new concerns about potentially dangerous GLP-1 drugs marketed for weight loss, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., sent a letter July 17 urging the Federal Trade Commission to investigate. "These drugs, increasingly promoted as alternatives to FDA-approved medications like Ozempic and Wegovy, are being advertised in ways that mislead consumers and undermine both public health and integrity of the pharmaceutical marketplace," the senator and the letter's co-author, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti wrote in the letter. State leaders also pointed to a Feb. 20 warning issued by Skrmetti and attorneys general from 37 other states about potentially unsafe weight loss and diabetes drugs sold online and through social media. Fraudsters in foreign countries promise a quicker and easier way to get GLP-1 drugs but don't always disclose ingredients in counterfeit drugs. Some even contain unknown amounts of insulin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Amid the unprecedented demand for these miracle medicines, foreign criminals and con artists are defrauding and endangering Americans by selling and shipping counterfeit and deceptively marketed GLP-1 drugs and active ingredients," the letter warns. Scammers selling fake semaglutide drugs with undisclosed ingredients Some sellers post false claims that their products are approved by the U.S. Food & Drug Administration. "The FDA-approved GLP-1 medications are life-changing for millions of patients, and resulted from decades of research and testing," according to the letter. Patients who have benefited include award-winning Nashville-based vocalist Michael Trotter Jr. of the duo The War and Treaty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, scammers in China, Turkey and India are selling products claiming to contain semaglutide, the active ingredient in prefilled injectable pens sold under the brand names Ozempic and Wegovy. They also are selling fake tirzepatide, the active ingredient in popular GLP-1 drugs like Zepbound and Mounjaro. "Unscrupulous companies also advertise alternative formulations of GLP-1 drugs, like nasal sprays for children, that have never been subjected to clinical testing for safety or effectiveness," according to a warning issued by the Tennessee AG's Consumer Protection Division. Once the drugs enter the U.S., they are quickly shipped across the nation, making it difficult to track, Skrmetti told The Tennessean in June. "Sometimes we really need the federal government to step in," said Skrmetti, a former assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted federal crimes in Memphis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The July letter he and Blackburn sent to the FDA cautions "the risks to consumers are real and growing." Reporter Beth Warren covers health care and can be reached at bwarren@tennessean.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: New fears over fake GLP-1 weight loss drugs escalate to FDA Waiting for fall to cool off? Sadly, The Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting a warmer-than-usual season for the South. According to predictions from the Old Farmer's Almanac, the entire Southern United States region is expected to experience a warm, dry fall in 2025. Last year, the area saw above-average temperatures with slightly above-average precipitation. In Memphis, 2024 brought above-average temperatures in October and November by about 4 to 6 degrees. The fall months of September, October, and November also saw higher-than-normal rainfall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to The Old Farmer's Almanac, we can expect similar temperatures to those of last year, but significantly less rainfall. Here's what to expect from fall across Tennessee. When is the first day of fall? Fall officially begins on Sept. 22, 2025, based on the astrological calendar and the autumn equinox. The astrological date is based on the position of the sun in relation to the Earth. According to the meteorological calendar, fall begins earlier in the month on Sept. 1. The meteorological date is based on the 12-month calendar and the annual temperature cycle. How cool will fall 2025 be in Tennessee? Unfortunately, Tennessee is not expected to receive much of a break when it comes to the heat this fall. The Old Farmer's Almanac is predicting a warm and dry fall season for the entire state. The almanac lists the South as a region that can expect warmer-than-average weather this time of year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "September and October will be warmer than normal, with below-average rainfall," The Old Farmer's Almanac writes. The South is predicted to have an average temperature of 78 degrees in September, which is about 3 degrees above normal, and 4 inches of rain, about an inch below normal. October is predicted to have an average temperature of 64 degrees, one degree below normal, and 1.5 inches of rain, 1.5 inches below normal. What was fall like in Tennessee in 2024? Overall, Tennessee experienced fairly consistent temperatures and precipitation amounts in 2024. As expected, the temperatures were about equal to the daily normals for each month; however, there was significantly more precipitation than the state typically receives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Knoxville had an average temperature of 63.5 degrees for September, October and November. September averaged 72.8 degrees, October averaged 62.4 degrees and November averaged 55.3 degrees. During the same period, there was an average of 2.85 inches of rain. September totaled 6.33 inches, October totaled 0.08 inches and November totaled 2.14 inches. In 2024, Memphis had an average temperature of 67.1 degrees for the three months of meteorological fall. September averaged 75.2 degrees, October averaged 68 degrees and November averaged 58 degrees. In the same three months, there was an average of 5.37 inches of rain. September totaled 9.89 inches, October totaled 0.76 inches and November totaled 5.46 inches. Nashville had an average temperature of 65.7 degrees between September and November. September averaged 75.2 degrees, October averaged 65.3 degrees and November averaged 56.6 degrees. Over the fall months, there was an average of 4.0 inches of rain. September totaled 8.78 inches, October totaled 0.49 inches and November totaled 2.72 inches. What is fall usually like in Tennessee? While no two years are the same in terms of weather in Tennessee, there are measured normals for regions in the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Knoxville has an average temperature of 71.8 degrees in September, with a normal total precipitation of 3.49 inches. October has an average temperature of 60.3 degrees and a normal total rainfall of 2.81 inches. November has an average temperature of 49.0 degrees and a total rainfall normal of 4.21 inches. In Memphis, the average temperature in September is 76 degrees, with a normal total precipitation of 3.03 inches. October has a normal average temperature of 64.6 degrees, with a total precipitation normal of 3.98 inches. November in Memphis has an average temperature of 52.7 degrees and a total rainfall of 4.69 inches. Nashville has an average temperature of 73.1 degrees in September, with a normal total precipitation of 3.80 inches. October has an average temperature of 61.7 degrees and a normal total rainfall of 3.36 inches. In November, Nashville has an average temperature of 50.3 degrees and a total rainfall normal of 3.86 inches. Jordan Green covers trending news for The Commercial Appeal. She can be reached at jordan.green@commercialappeal.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee fall 2025 weather outlook: What Old Farmer's Almanac says A deadly fire at a Massachusetts assisted living home on Sunday highlights the need for federal legislation strengthening oversight of such facilities, according to long-term care resident advocates. There are federal regulations for skilled nursing facilities, but states set the standards for safety, staffing and quality at assisted living facilities. Advocates say these guidelines are too lax and poorly enforced. In the absence of having any type of federal quality safety staffing requirementsthese facilities are really operating in a kind of a no mans land while theyre caring for some of our most vulnerable citizens, said Richard Mollot, executive director of the Long Term Care Community Coalition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sundays fire at the Gabriel House in Fall River, Mass., killed nine people and seriously injured 30 more. The cause of the fire, which apparently started on the third floor, remains under investigation. Officials have ruled out foul play and suspect an electrical failure was to blame. Local news outlets reported the facility was up to date on its fire and safety assessments, including having its exit routes approved. It was reportedly cited in 2023 for failing to immediately report more than two dozen health and safety incidents. Gabriel House and its owners did not respond to requests for comment on this article. Growing population in residential care More than 1 million adults lived in residential care communities or assisted living facilities in the United States in 2022, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As baby boomers age, more Americans will likely need to live in residential care communities, according to the CDC. Assisted living facilities are typically a community of individual apartments or rooms for people who need daily care, but not so much that they need to be supervised 24 hours per day by a health care provider like in a nursing home. There needs to be more regulation standards when it comes to overseeing assisted living facilities on a federal level, said Ed Dudensing, an elder abuse attorney and advocate for nursing home and assisted living residents in Sacramento, Calif. Many families are attracted to the idea of having a loved one live in an assisted living facility over a nursing home given their home-like environment, according to Dudensing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But many assisted living facilities are taking on higher-need patients with mobility or cognitive conditions like dementia or Alzheimers disease without necessarily being properly equipped to take care of them, advocates say. If you go into a typical assisted living residence today, its often hard to distinguish that between a nursing home population, said Paul Lanzikos, co-founder of long-term care advocacy group Dignity Alliance Massachusetts. This was the case at Gabriel House Assisted Living Facility. Most of them were people who needed help these are people who are not able to move themselves, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey (D) said in a press conference Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many were in wheelchairs, many were immobile, many had oxygen tanks. Firefighters, police, and other first responders found some residents hanging from windows and shouting for help when they arrived on the scene late Sunday night, according to Fall River Fire Chief Jeffrey Bacon. At least 12 of the facilitys nearly 70 residents had to be carried out of the building by first responders. And numerous air conditioning units in the facilities windows made it difficult for firefighters to rescue people, according to Bacon. Advocates saddened by not surprised Lanzikos told The Hill that while he and his fellow long-term care resident advocates were saddened by the news of the fire, they were not shocked that such a tragedy happened. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He and his colleagues have been calling for more rigorous oversight of assisted living facilities, particularly at the state level, for years. And while there have been modest improvements, he says they are not enough. Healey signed a bill into law in 2024 seeking to strengthen oversight of assisted living facilities in the state. Under the law, fines for violations of the states assisted living facility certification process increased from $50 to $500 a day. The law now requires assisted living residence operators to disclose the name and address of each officer, director, trustee and limited partner or shareholder with 5 percent or more interest in the facility. Previously, operators only had to disclose that information on partners or shareholders had a 25 percent interest in the assisted living facility. Federal-level changes have been non-existent, advocates say, because of pushback from the nursing home and assisted living facility industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson from the American Health Care Association/National Center for Assisted Living, a long-term care industry group, told The Hill that states are better positioned to regulate assisted-living facilities for a variety of reasons. They are robust, more dynamic and adaptable than federal rules, while encouraging more localized care models that can still uphold safety and security while maximizing independence and autonomy, the spokesperson said. Democrats in Congress push oversight questions Democratic Sens. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.) sent a letter to Comptroller General Gene Dodaro in March requesting an investigation into whether assisted living facilities that receive Medicaid need more federal oversight. The letter references multiple investigations that show that assisted living facility residents are vulnerable to abuse and neglect. One 2018 report from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that half of the 48 states that provide Medicaid-assisted living services could not tell the agency how many critical incidents occurred at these facilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three of those states, for example, did not monitor unexpected or unexplained deaths. A spokesperson for the GAO told The Hill that the team assigned to investigating the Senators request will begin working on it soon and could not provide an estimate on when the investigation will be complete. Gillibrand called the Gabriel House fire a terrible tragedy in a statement, adding that she is working with fellow lawmakers in Congress to determine how we can best guarantee safety for the over 1 million Americans who call assisted living facilities home. Wyden warned that healthcare cuts in President Trumps sprawling tax and spending package will increase the risk of preventable tragedies like what occurred in Fall River. Theres a better way that includes adequate staffing and safety planning in facilities like these, he said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Updated: 11:34 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 The Hill. ALEXANDRIA, Va. (DC News Now) A woman pleaded guilty Monday to causing over $42,000 in damage while employed as a mail carrier for the United States Postal Service (USPS), according to the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) for the Eastern District of Virginia. Lolita Brickhouse, 31, of Falls Church, was charged with causing damage to property belonging to the United States. According to court documents, on Jan. 16, Brickhouse was ending her shift as a mail carrier when she was unable to find her cellphone. She then proceeded to accuse and insult other employees and supervisors of stealing her phone and damaging property in the process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Woman dies after collision with US Postal truck in Montgomery County Court documents said Brickhouse knocked over and threw objects around the postal facility while threatening to call the police. The USAO states that Brickhouse then took a set of keys to a USPS vehicle and rammed it into another USPS vehicle with high force, which led to the second vehicle hitting an additional company vehicle. According to the USAO, she then got out of the car she was driving and used her metal water bottle to shatter the driver-side window. Two USPS vehicles were damaged beyond repair during the incident. Brickhouse is set to be sentenced on October 16, where she faces up to 10 years in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. LOCKPORT Ashley Marie Berger said she stabbed a man to death in a dispute over a condom and $100. She told a Niagara County Court judge on Wednesday that Richard Christian came to see her at a South End motel in the early morning hours of April 27, 2014, for a prostitution date. But after paying her $100 in cash and beginning to have sex with her, Berger said Christian took off the condom he was using. I said, No! We have to stop, Berger recounted. So at first, he didnt want to stop, but I finally got him off of me. And he wanted his money back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berger had previously testified that her sometime boyfriend and sometime pimp, a man identified during court proceedings as E.C., had always instructed her to follow his rules and never engage in unprotected sex for both her safety and to allow him to track her sexual activity. She testified that E.C. would check the number of discarded condoms in the waste baskets inside the hotel rooms that Berger used for her prostitution activities to make sure they matched the number of clients she claimed to see. (NOTE: An order from Niagara County Court Judge John Ottaviano prohibits the press and other media outlets ... from publishing or broadcasting the full name, image or other identifying information of a human trafficking witness in the case and Bergers alleged pimp and abuser.) Christian, Berger said, tried to continue to have sex with her, without the condom, so she attempted to call a friend for help. He slapped the phone out of my hand and punched me in the head, Berger testified. I got up and grabbed a knife from underneath the mattress. I was scared something bad would happen to me and I had all these visions (of instances of violent abuse) in the past. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After pointing the knife at Christian, Berger said he lunged at her. I stabbed him, she said. I cant say what I felt. I can see (in her memory) myself do it, but I feel like I wasnt actually there. Berger said Christian put his shoes on and walked out of the motel room, shutting the door behind him. I heard a thud and when I opened the door, I saw him lying on the ground, she said. After seeing Christian on the ground, Berger said she called Falls police and threw the knife off a balcony behind the motel. Police patrol officers who responded to the Rodeway Inn Motel, in the 400 block of Main Street, said they found Christian, 22, with a single stab wound to his chest, lying outside the door to Bergers room. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christian was rushed to Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center, but was pronounced dead a short time later. In November 2014, Berger pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of first-degree manslaughter in the slaying of Christian. She was sentenced to a 15-year prison term. Now 42 years old, Berger has served 10 years of her original sentence and is back in Niagara County Court, hoping to convince Judge John Ottaviano to shorten the remaining five years of her prison term, or just release her outright from custody, under the provisions of New Yorks Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act (DVSJA). The legislation, signed into law in 2019, expands the circumstances under which judges can consider abuse suffered by survivors of domestic violence or sex trafficking in determining appropriate sentences if they commit criminal offenses. Under the DVSJA, a person must show that they were a victim of abuse at the time of their criminal offense. The abuse may be physical, sexual, or psychological (in nature), committed by a family member or person in the (victims) household, and must be a significant contributing factor in the criminal conduct. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berger has testified that she was forced into sex work by E.C., posing as Fiona in ads posted to the now-shuttered Backpage website in 2013 and 2014. Under questioning by her attorney, Berger has testified that she entered sex work after ending her relationship with the father of her two children around the summer of 2013. While claiming that her abuse began at the age of 3, and continued up until Christians murder, Berger has said that her victimization by physical violence and sexual assault escalated during her time with E.C. She broke down in tears on the witness stand Wednesday when asked about violence perpetrated against her by sex buyers, particularly those who sometimes refused to pay her. Holding her hands to her face and wiping away tears, she said, That brought back a lot of memories. Asked if she ever told E.C. about the violence of clients, she said, He didnt care. She said she lost touch with reality and suffered from depression. Berger said she even offered to buy my freedom from E.C. for $10,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I offered him a lot of money, like $10,000, Berger testified. Nothing else was working. Berger, after watching videos of her police interrogation following the murder, admitted that she initially lied to police about what had happened with Christian. She called her initial statements to detectives, Not true at all, and said she didnt really recall what she told them. Niagara County prosecutors are aggressively opposing Bergers request for a sentencing reduction. In a brief cross-examination, that will continue later this morning, First Assistant District Attorney Doreen Hoffmann questioned the timelines in Bergers life story and some of her claims about he interactions with E.C. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You werent always following his rules, Hoffmann said. No, Berger said softly. She also admitted that she never raised the issues of domestic violence and sex trafficking during her murder trial proceedings. You never told the judge or lawyers about E.C., did you? Hoffmann asked. You never revealed the sex abuse and domestic violence in 2014. There was no mention of being forced into prostitution. You dont think if you had told the judge (about that), it might have made a difference in your sentencing? No, Berger replied. Pakistan's central bank, which has sole authority to print currency in the country, has dismissed baseless claims about a new 1,000-rupee note. The circulating visuals do not match existing legal tender and previously appeared in a post about a money design competition. "New currency note 1000-state Bank of Pakistan," reads the English-language caption to a TikTok video shared June 23, 2025. The clip -- viewed more than two million times -- appears to show a stack of 1,000 Pakistani rupee (3.5 US dollar) notes. Screenshot of the false post taken on July 16, 2025, with a red X added by AFP Similar visuals also surfaced elsewhere on TikTok and appeared to have misled users of the platform. "Design is clean and amazing, but it's white and may get dirty," one wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another said, "The previous note design was better." But the claim about a new banknote "appears to be misinformation", Noor Ahmed, spokesperson for the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), the country's central bank, told AFP on July 10. "For accurate information, please refer to official website and social media channels for fact-checks and updates," Ahmed added A search on the SBP's official website and social media pages found it has not announced a new design for the 1,000 bill as of July 17, 2025 (archived here and here). Moreover, the notes in the false posts do not have security features seen on genuine 1,000-rupee bills, such as the signature of former SBP governor Yaseen Anwar, Braille marks, a seven-digit serial number, and the year of production (archived here and here). Screenshot comparison of the false post (L) and a poster from the State Bank of Pakistan showing genuine currency A keyword search found an Instagram user shared a video on June 24, 2025 that featured corresponding visuals (archived link) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its caption says they were made as part of a submission to the SBP's currency note design competition in 2024 and that they are not real money (archived link). Pakistani media reported the winning mockups were then given to designers to serve as inspiration for the final layout (archived link). The design of the current 1,000-rupee note was launched on February 24, 2007 and remains in circulation (archived link). Pakistani media organisation Geo Fact Check has also debunked the claim (archived link). Annemarie Swijtink, McDonald's Canada's new CEO and president Photo courtesy of McDonald's Canada You can find original article here Nrn. Subscribe to our free daily Nrn newsletter. McDonald's Canada has named Annemarie Swijtink chief executive officer and president, effective Sept. 1. She succeedsMichele Boudria, who is retiring after serving 40 years with the company. Swijtink most recently served as managing director of McDonalds Netherlands, a position she has held since June 2022. She began her McDonald's career as a crew member and worked her way up to the McDonald's Netherlands headquarters in 2006, serving in progressively senior roles across marketing, digital customer engagement, impact, and data analytics divisions. "Having worked with Annemarie for many years, I've had the privilege of witnessing the impact she has had on our brand and our people, International Operated Markets president Manu Steijaert said in a statement. "Her leadership has not only led to the growth of the Dutch business, delivering exceptional results with regards to sales and market share, but her strategic vision and collaborative approach make her the perfect fit to build on the momentum and propel the brand in Canada into an exciting future." Swijtink called her career with the iconic brand a privilege. "I am incredibly honored to take on the role of president and CEO of McDonald's Canada. My journey with McDonald's began as a 15-year-old crew member in Deventer, and it has been a privilege to grow with this iconic brand over the years," Swijtink said in a statement. "Moving from the Netherlands to Canada is an exciting new chapter for me and my family, and I am eager to become a part of the vibrant Canadian community. Boudria began her career with McDonald's in 1984 as a crew member in Quebec, and has held various senior roles in regional, national, and international corporate offices, including as the managing director for the Netherlands, before becoming the first woman to serve as president and CEO of McDonalds Canada in 2022. According to the company, Boudria has been instrumental in driving business results while cultivating a culture grounded in talent development, operational excellence, and purpose. "We extend our most sincere appreciation to Michele as she embarks on her well-deserved retirement. Her remarkable, 40-year career at McDonald's has been nothing short of inspiring," Steijaert said. "Michele's talent for nurturing trusted relationships has profoundly shaped the Canadian business. We are deeply grateful for her countless contributions and the close partnership we've shared." WOODINVILLE, Wash. (AP) More than 1 million low-income households most of them working families with children who depend on the nations public housing and Section 8 voucher programs could be at risk of losing their government-subsidized homes under the Trump administrations proposal to impose a two-year time limit on rental assistance. Thats according to new research from New York University, obtained exclusively by The Associated Press, which suggests the time restriction could affect as many as 1.4 million households helped by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The NYU report, which was published Thursday, also raises concerns about the largely untested policy, as most of the limited number of local housing authorities that have voluntarily tried the idea eventually abandoned the pilots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If currently assisted households are subject to a two-year limit, that would lead to enormous disruption and large administrative costs," for public housing authorities, the report said, adding that once the limit was up, housing authorities "would have to evict all of these households and identify new households to replace them. Defining temporary assistance Amid a worsening national affordable housing and homelessness crisis, President Donald Trumps administration is determined to reshape HUDs expansive role providing stable housing for low-income people, which has been at the heart of its mission for generations. At a June congressional budget hearing, HUD Secretary Scott Turner argued reforms like time limits will fix waste and fraud in public housing and Section 8 voucher programs while motivating low-income families to work toward self-sufficiency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its broken and deviated from its original purpose, which is to temporarily help Americans in need, Turner said. HUD assistance is not supposed to be permanent. Elderly and disabled people would be exempted, but theres little guidance from the agency on how time-limited housing assistance would be implemented how it would be enforced, when the clock starts and how the exemptions would be defined. The NYU researchers dove deep into HUDs nationwide data over a 10-year period, analyzing nearly 4.9 million households that have been public housing and Section 8 voucher tenants. Of that, about 2.1 million could be affected by the time limits because they include at least one adult who is not elderly or disabled and about 70% of those households had already been living on those subsidies for two or more years. HUD spokesperson Kasey Lovett pushed back on the NYU study. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is plenty of data that strongly supports time limits and shows that long-term government assistance without any incentive disincentivizes able-bodied Americans to work, Lovett said in a statement. Working families most at risk The time limits could displace more than a million children, as it would largely punish families who are working but still earning far below their areas median income. Housing assistance is especially impactful for children, said Claudia Aiken, the director of new research partnerships for the Housing Solutions Lab at NYU's Furman Center who co-authored the study with Ellie Lochhead. Their health, education, employment and earnings potential can change in really meaningful ways if they have stable housing, Aiken said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Havalah Hopkins, a 33-year-old single mom, has been living in a public housing unit outside of Seattle since 2022, but now fears a two-year time limit would leave her and her teenage son homeless. The 14-year-old boy has autism but is considered high-functioning, so how HUD defines disabled and able-bodied for the time limit could determine if their family will be affected by the restriction. Hopkins, who does catering work for a local chain restaurant, pays $450 a month in rent 30% of her household income for their two-bedroom apartment in Woodinville, Washington. Asked what she likes most about her home, Hopkins said: I like that I can afford it. Few successful examples Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of the 17 housing authorities that tried time limits, 11 discontinued the trial. None tried two-year limits the most common policy was a five-year limit with the option for an extra two and the limits usually applied to specific programs or referrals. Although there are over 3,000 housing authorities in the country, only 139 of them have ever been granted flexibility to consider testing a time limit while using federal funds for programs such as job training and financial counseling. Any conversation about time limits ends up being this really nuanced, hyper-local focus on what works for specific communities rather than this broad national-level implementation, said Jim Crawford, director of the Moving to Work Collaborative which oversees that group of housing authorities. Even with those supports, several housing authorities said rent was still too high and well-paying jobs were scarce, according to the study. Others said they didnt have enough capacity to provide enough supportive services to help households afford rent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shawnte Spears of the Housing Authority of the County of San Mateo in California said the agency's five-year time limits have given folks motivation to meet their goals in tandem with self-sufficiency programs funded by dollars Trump wants to cut. Time limits also give more households the chance to use vouchers, she said. But with the Bay Areas high rents, some tenants still have to spend more than half of their income on rent once their time is up or end up back on waitlists. I believe the program is very helpful in getting folks prepared but there lies this really, really significant rent burden here in our county, said Spears. When folks do leave our time-limited program, they are facing an uphill battle. ___ Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kramon reported from Atlanta. ___ Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) After almost a year overseas, more than 150 soldiers from the Illinois Army National Guard are finally home. Returnees completed a successful deployment to the U.S. Africa Command area of responsibility supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Kenneth Gill is a Specialist (E-4) with the Guard and is extremely happy to be back in Illinois after the deployment. Its great being home, Gill said. Its been a long time with these guys, a lot of long, hard work. Im just glad to see my family again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For parents like Heather Davern, its been a long year. Her son James was a part of one of the squadrons deployed and spent his 21st birthday overseas. Its like having a piece of your soul, like fly away, she said. Even through the difficulty, she knew this was Jamess calling. His second-grade teacher actually reached out to me after he left and sent like birthday cards to him when he was there, Davern said. She told the class about how she knew James was going to go into the military because all he ever did was draw tanks and little cartoons of tanks in all of his assignments when he was in second grade. So weve kind of always known he was going to do this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the buzzer would sound and the doors of the hangar full of families would open to reveal the soldiers in formation, she knew she would feel so much love for her son. There arent words, she said. I never imagined that I would be a part of an experience like this. You see this all the time. You see the memes, you see the videos. I just cant wait to hug him. I just cant wait to hug him. My baby. I just cant wait to hug him. Many families drove as far as from Chicago to welcome their soldier back. Heather surprised James with the truck he drives so that he could drive himself and his younger brother back home to the north side of Chicago. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. The family of a man shot and killed by Fall River police on Tuesday morning decried the police response that led to his death and called for the department to provide a more detailed account of what led up to officers shooting at the man. Domonick Knight, 38, was killed after police responded to his duplex at 117 Langley St. shortly before 1:40 a.m. Tuesday after his relatives reported he was having a mental health crisis. A police crisis negotiator arrived at the scene around 2:30 a.m., but Knight did not respond to attempts by the negotiator to reach him. Police first entered the home around 3:15 a.m. and saw movement at the top of the stairs. At that point, police say Knight opened fire at officers standing in the doorway. Officers returned fire and said they resumed efforts to communicate with Knight after the exchange of gunfire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About three minutes later, police deployed a flashbang and entered the home again, finding Knight at the top of the stairs. He was found with a short-barreled rifle beneath his body and a handgun near his head. Knight appeared to have sustained a gunshot wound to the side of the head, police said. Knight was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. In a Facebook post, Kristen Knight, who identified herself as Domonick Knights wife, said she was grateful for the outpouring of support she had received but she was still struggling to comprehend her husbands death. I cant fathom the idea of not being able to hug him again. Not give him a kiss again. Not see his smile. Feel him hold me. NOTHING. Seeing my kids a mess is gutwrenching, she wrote. My husbands life was STOLEN. He did not deserve to be gunned down by the ones who were supposed to help him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the Bristol County District Attorneys office are investigating the shooting. Its not clear if Fall River has placed the officers involved on leave, a standard practice following officer-involved shootings. Kristen Knight said there were still many unanswered questions and slammed the police department for not doing more for the family. WE NEED ANSWERS, she wrote. The department has released body camera footage documenting the police response from when officers entered the home until Domonick Knight was found shot. But for some of his family, thats not enough. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anthony Knight, who identified himself as Domonick Knights older brother on social media, called the video botched and asked for video of the entire interaction to be released. He claims police shot over 60 rounds and shot through the door. In his own videos, Anthony Knight shows the bullet holes throughout the home. I hope you all can sleep peacefully. Because I havent, he wrote. Domonick Knights sister, Danielle Otarro, told WCVB she wanted justice for her brother. I dont believe this is happening, she told the station. ... Some foul stuff went on and they went for a mental health check and they ended up killing my brother. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Domonick didnt kill himself. Even if they try to swing it that way, thats not what happened, Otarro said. More News Read the original article on MassLive. NEWTON FALLS, Ohio (WKBN) A mother from Wisconsin is teaming up with a family in Newton Falls to host an event raising money for military suicide prevention. Last September, Sergeant Conner Mills died by suicide while serving active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps. Now his mother, Erica Mills, is holding a fundraiser to both honor him and address an issue thats close to her heart. There are more deaths by suicide in the military than there are from combat, from training accidents, according to two recent studies by the Pentagon, and that is something that we need to bring to light, Mills said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fundraiser is set for noon to 11 p.m. on July 26 at the Five 4s Distillery in Newton Falls. Mills isnt working alone. Shes getting help from local business owners. My husband, Donnie, served 30 years in the Marine Corps. Mike, the other owner, has served in the army. So, its a veteran-owned business. My son, my oldest son, Logan, is a sergeant in the Marine Corps, said Niki Reid. Reids son Logan was best friends with Conner, and when the Reid family heard the news, they offered up the distillery to host the fundraiser. There will be food trucks, vendors, live music, raffles and donation buckets raising money for 22 for 22, a nonprofit fighting to prevent military suicide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When youre in the active military, if someone acknowledges you have an issue, you can be seen as weak, and its not weakness to ask for help. Its showing strength, but also, are they going to be not promoted? But are their battle buddies going to say theyre going to be concerned going into combat with them? Mills said. The event will raise money for the cause, but Mills says its serving an even greater purpose. If we raise no funds whatsoever, if we raise awareness on the issue and make it okay for people to say that theyre not okay, that will be something that we will be, in my opinion, something that will be a victory, Mills said. Mills says its an event she wants to continue annually for years to come. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Family of man who died when Atlanta officer fired Taser says theyre waiting for justice The meeting was less than 45 minutes. The family of Johnny Hollman was hoping for an answer when they walked up the steps Wednesday. But they didnt get resolution. Obviously today she couldve said shes not doing anything, and that was not the conversation, Mawuli Davis, the family attorney, told Channel 2s Candace McCowan. That is the reason the family of Hollman and their attorneys remain hopeful that there could be criminal charges after their father died after an Atlanta police officer used a stun gun on him. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] It happened after a minor traffic accident in August of 2023. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Channel 2 Action News cameras were there as they walked out of the meeting with District Attorney Fani Willis on Wednesday. Every meeting the district attorney has looked this family in the eye and stated where she was in the process, Davis said. We hope to be back here in the next few weeks with news of an indictment. Thats what our hope is. Hollmans family say they want to see officer Kiran Kimbrough charged. Atlanta police fired Kimbrough. The Civil Service Board upheld that decision. The city also gave the family a $3.8 million settlement. Hollmans daughter says she wants justice. Our desire is to have this officer and this tow truck driver prosecuted and arrested for our fathers murder, said Arnitra Hollman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their hope now, is over the next few weeks a grand jury will hear the case. We trust god and were very hopeful and very optimistic, Arntira Hollman said. TRENDING STORIES: [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) A family is demanding answers after a 21-year-old man was found deceased inside the Rankin County Jail. Rankin County Coroner David Ruth said the body of Tevin Rogers was transported from the jail on June 24 for an autopsy. He said there were no signs of trauma. Agents with the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) are investigating Tevins death. Tevin was a strong young man, and like I said, he loved life. Its just right now, Im just still in disbelief about this, about my son. And I am, said his father, Michael Rogers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael said he spoke with Tevin the day before his son died. I spoke to him for five minutes, 11 seconds. Last time I talked to my son. The next call I got back was a call that I didnt want, he said. Michael is urging the community to come together and speak out to prevent this from happening to others. 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. Palestinian media reported that a church had been hit on Thursday during Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip. Two women were killed and seven people injured, the Palestinian news agency WAFA wrote. Several media outlets reported that the church in question was the Holy Family Church in the centre of Gaza City. According to WAFA, displaced people were sheltering in the Catholic church. The Israeli military said it would investigate the reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around 1,000 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, which has a total population of more than two million. WAFA reported further Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip since the morning, some of them involving fatalities. None of the reports could be independently verified. WASHINGTON (AP) Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey who as a federal prosecutor in Manhattan worked on cases against Sean Diddy Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, said in a note to colleagues that fear is the tool of a tyrant and that her firing without reason should fuel a fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain, Comey said in the note, which was obtained by The Associated Press on Thursday. Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought." Instead of fear, she added, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Until her firing Wednesday, Comey had been a veteran lawyer in the Southern District of New York, long considered the most elite of the Justice Departments prosecution offices. Her cases included the sex trafficking prosecution of Epstein, who killed himself behind bars in 2019 as he was awaiting trial, and the recent case against Combs, which ended earlier this month with a mixed verdict. Her termination represented the latest Justice Department effort to fire lawyers without explanation, a trend that has raised alarm over a disregard for civil service protections designed to remove attorneys for political reasons. The department has also fired a number of prosecutors who worked on cases that have provoked Donald Trumps ire, including some who handled U.S. Capitol riot cases and lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smiths prosecutions of the Republican president. She was long seen as a potential target given her fathers fraught relationship over the last decade with Donald Trump. The Justice Department recently appeared to acknowledge the existence of an investigation into James Comey, though the basis for that inquiry is unclear. Asked about the firing Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said, This was a decision made by the Department of Justice." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maurene Comey had most recently been among the prosecutors in the sex trafficking and racketeering case against Combs. The hip-hop mogul was acquitted of the main charges but convicted of lesser prostitution-related offenses that may result in a prison sentence of just a few years, an outcome seen by some as a rare defeat for prosecutions. But she was successful in numerous other prosecutions, most notably helping secure the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges for helping financier Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. In that case, she delivered a rebuttal argument during closings, as she did in the Combs case. Her firing comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi faces intense criticism from some members of Trumps base for the Justice Departments decision not to release any more evidence in the governments possession from Epsteins sex trafficking investigation. Some right-wing internet personalities, like Laura Loomer, who have been critical of Bondis handling of the Epstein files, had been calling for Maurene Comeys firing. James Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in Republican President George W. Bushs administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But his relationship with Trump was strained from the start. The FBI director resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the president an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum. Trump soon after fired Comey amid an investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trumps presidential campaign. That inquiry, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately find that while Russia interfered with the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration. Trumps fury at the older Comey continued long after firing him from the bureau, blaming him for a hoax and witch hunt that shadowed much of his first term. Comey disclosed contemporaneous memos of his conversations with Trump to a friend so that their content could be revealed to the media. The following year, Comey published a book calling Trump ego driven and likening him to a mafia don. Trump, for his part, has accused Comey and other officials of treason. _____ Associated Press writer Larry Neumeister in New York contributed. Campaigners are concerned that the UK's first Dark Sky Park could see its status at risk if a proposed energy development is approved. The Galloway site was first recognised in 2009 as one of the best places to view the night sky with the naked eye. The proposed Lairdmannoch Energy Park sits outside the park's boundary and buffer zone but planning documents show wind turbines and safety aviation lights would be visible from the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new site's developer - Wind2 - says the company is "very aware" of the dark sky status and the value of "preserving the area's natural light skies." Aviation lights are an essential safety measure in tall developments to mitigate the risk of collision. The proposed development includes both red "medium-intensity" lights and infrared lights invisible to the eye. Developers say only four of the proposed nine 180m (590ft) wind turbines would include red aviation lights, after consultation with the Civil Aviation Authority. They also stress the energy park was not within the Dark Sky Park or its designated buffer zone. The park secured its status back in 2009 [Matthew, Dark Sky Ranger] Matthew McFadzean is one of two dark sky rangers at the Galloway Forest Park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the project created a "detrimental" threat to night time visibility. "You can come to Dumfries and Galloway and experience a really good level of light quality at night and night vision across the region," he said. "But if you go into the Dark Sky Park, that's where you get the absolute best." Mr McFadzean believes visibility of the night sky has improved thanks to the lighting policies of the local authority over the two decades since the area secured its dark sky status. However, he said he concerned there had been an increasing encroachment of renewable energy developments on the park's boundaries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he understood the need to support the transition to renewable energy but added that red light - although it has a smaller impact than white light - could still harm night time visibility. "It will really impact things," he said. "In the Dark Sky Park, you can look up and see with the naked eye, thousands and thousands of stars on a clear night - more than people from the cities who come to visit can ever imagine. "The one word which people say the most when they actually experience looking up at a dark sky for the first time is wow and if we put red lights up there I think that can only be detrimental to that experience." Ranger Matthew McFadzean said this picture at the shore of Clatteringshaws Loch shows how light impacts horizon views [Matthew, Dark Sky Ranger] His concerns are shared by by Fi McClelland of The Scottish Dark Sky Observatory, which has plans to build a new facility in the park to replace the previous one, which was destroyed by fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said the red light effect could be scattered through the sky by clouds or cause a disruptive "sky glow" across the wider region. Campaigners say the elevated position of the turbines will see them dominate the landscape. "The combination of them both is over 1,300ft from sea level to the tip of the turbine - that's bigger than the Empire State Building without its antenna," resident Matthew James said. The fate of the energy park proposals will be decided by the Scottish government [Matthew, Dark Sky Ranger] As well as the impact on the dark sky park, locals have raised concerns about the effect of the wind turbines on wildlife and the local water system. But developer Wind2 said it had been working with the community for two years and had taken steps to mitigate risks including potential threat to night time visibility and wildlife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It added it believed the area should see "tangible benefits from local renewable energy projects". It has estimated community benefit funding of 310,000 per year would add up to 12.4m over its operational life. It said the scheme - which also includes solar panels and battery storage - matched Scottish government's best practice guidance and could meet the energy needs of up to 67,000 homes. The company stressed it had taken every effort to make the turbines "as inconspicuous as possible from sensitive areas". The window for the public to comment on the proposals is about to close. The Scottish government - which will decide the fate of the scheme - said it would not be appropriate to comment on a live planning application. More like this story (Bloomberg) -- Behind-the-scenes details of an agreement between Facebook and US privacy regulators in 2019 emerged in a Delaware court Wednesday, during a trial on investor claims the settlement cost them at least $7 billion. Most Read from Bloomberg A company director at the time, Jeffrey Zients, who was later former President Joe Bidens chief of staff, said the board asked its lawyers to approach the Federal Trade Commission with a proposal. The company, now known as Meta Platforms Inc., was willing to pay billions of dollars to settle allegations related to a privacy scandal but would not accept any settlement that held founder Mark Zuckerberg personally responsible. Board members felt it was important to get this behind us so we could focus on growth, Zients said on the first day of an eight-day trial in Delaware Chancery Court. They believed Zuckerberg, as CEO, was essential to the business and there wasnt any indication he personally had anything to do with the privacy missteps related to political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica, he said. A parade of Silicon Valley celebrities is expected to testify in the Meta trial over the next two weeks, led by Zuckerberg. Others on the witness list include the companys former chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg and prominent venture capital investors Marc Andreessen and Peter Thiel. Andreessen, who still sits on the companys board, is expected to testify Thursday. The investors contend directors of the company hurt share prices through actions tied to the decade-old incident that resulted in Cambridge Analytica acquiring data on millions of Facebook users. The data was used in work the firm did for the 2016 campaign to elect President Donald Trump to his first term. The suit alleges Meta directors engineered the companys $5 billion settlement with the FTC, overpaying to protect Zuckerberg from being held personally liable and to the detriment of shareholders. Meta representatives didnt immediately respond to a request for comment about Zients testimony Wednesday. Zuckerbergs much-anticipated testimony is expected next week. The case is unusual because its the first time that director-oversight claims involving a public company have gone to trial in Delaware Chancery Court, the premier venue for business disputes in the US. Other cases have been dismissed or settled. McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) A legal battle between a Pennsylvania county and the manufacturer of voting machines stemming from the 2020 election may be over. Fulton Countys federal lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems was dismissed, again. This time by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit was filed by the Fulton County Board of Elections, current county commissioner Randy Bunch and former county commissioner Stuart Ulsh. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a ruling filed June 23, Chief Judge Michael A. Chagares and circuit judges Tamika Montgomery-Reeves and Theodore McKee upheld a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The lower courts ruling determined that the Board of Elections, Bunch, and Ulsh are not parties to an agreement between the county and Dominion Voting Systems and therefore lack standing to sue. The district court ruled that the county itself, which is a party to the agreement, is not a plaintiff in the suit. The court also ruled that, even if they did have standing, they had failed to allege that the decertification of the voting system was attributable to Dominion rather than to the County itself. In a separate court action, Fulton County objected to the Department of States authority to decertify voting machines without reimbursing the affected county. The Commonwealth Court ruled 6-1 against the county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At issue is the agreement between Fulton County and Dominion to provide voting systems and a dispute stemming from an allegation by the former that there were severe anomalies in the voter data generated by the latters system following the Nov. 2020 election. Fulton County allowed two third-party entities to inspect the system and the Secretary of the Commonwealth decertified the systems, considering them compromised. In 2024, the county was ordered to pay a combined $1,035,925.09 in legal fees and litigation costs to the Secretary of the Commonwealth and to Dominion Voting Systems. That equates to about 15% of the countys budget. Get the latest Pennsylvania politics and election news with abc27 newsletters! The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania also imposed sanctions on Fulton County for commissioning a second third-party inspection of the voting machines, the appeals court ruling noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 2026 federal budget may bring stark contrasts to Rhode Island's future costs of providing Medicaid coverage and food assistance programs compared to now. (Photo by Alexander Castro/Rhode Island Current) Gov. Dan McKee sprung to action, pledging to activate his cabinet to prepare for federal funding cuts in a video clip released hours after Congress passed the One Big Beautiful Bill on July 3. But weeks later, state leaders are still parsing through the 870-page reconciliation package, trying to make sense of how sweeping changes to federal tax code, health care funding and social assistance programs will play out in Rhode Island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of those, we need to find out exactly what they do, House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi said. Just as important as what they do, is when they go into effect. Among Shekarchis top concerns: stricter eligibility requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, cuts to hospital funding and increased state costs for the Supplemental Assistance Nutrition Program (SNAP.) Most provisions of the federal tax and spending cuts package dont take effect for several years, giving federal and state administrators time to prepare or, as Shekarchi notes, postponing the discontent with federal Republican-led cuts until after the 2026 mid-term elections. And state lawmakers were already anticipating the prospect of sweeping federal funding cuts even before they were cemented. They inserted specific language into the states fiscal 2026 budget calling for a series of state agency-led working groups to analyze changes to federal tax codes, Medicaid programs, and other cuts, with recommendations due to lawmakers no later than Oct. 31. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Until then, Shekarchi said its premature to schedule meetings with state administrators or Rhode Islands congressional delegation. But anticipatory grief is growing, especially over what could happen to the states already precarious health care system. Preliminary analysis suggests 38,000 Rhode Island Medicaid recipients could lose coverage over a 10-year period out of 10.5 million people nationwide with a corresponding $3 billion-$5 billion decline in federal aid to the state, according to estimates from KFF. The biggest contributor to people losing coverage is a new work requirement that creates a red tape-ridden obstacle course for low-income people, even those with jobs, to keep their insurance, said Robert Hackey, a health sciences professor at Providence College. If we look at states like Arkansas and Georgia that have implemented work requirements already, the biggest challenge is that a lot of folks dont know they need to complete the paperwork to meet the requirements, Hackey said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roughly three-quarters of the 309,000 adults on Medicaid in Rhode Island already work, according to KFF But lack of notification, or obstacles with technology access or language barriers could render them unable to prove they meet the new requirements, potentially costing them coverage, Hackey said. Its a back-door way to reduce Medicaid eligibility, Hackey said. You dont cut eligibility, you just erect a barrier that makes it extremely difficult for people to continue to receive service. Similarly, more stringent and frequent redetermination of eligibility for public health insurance under the Affordable Care Act, combined with the expiration of tax credits that lowered premiums, will eliminate coverage for another 5,500 Rhode Islanders on the state health insurance marketplace over the next 10 years, according to KFFs estimates. Hospitals in Rhode Island already under strain may lose key sources of federal funding. (Photo by Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current) Pressure on hospitals Projected insurance losses for a total of 43,000 people across Medicaid and HealthSourceRI represents a roughly 4% drop over the current covered population. More uninsured patients could force hospitals to look to commercial payers to make up the difference, with commercial insurance companies in turn potentially hiking their premiums. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health insurers in Rhode Island are already seeking the steepest year-over-year premium increases on individual and employer-sponsored plans in a decade, according to 2026 rate filings with the Rhode Island Office of the Health Insurance Commissioner. That could be a really big deal for people, Health Insurance Commissioner Cory King said of the requested private insurance premium hikes, which stem partially from expiring federal tax credits separate from the latest budget reconciliation act. The broader expectation is we are going to see an increase in uninsured rates even before the cuts from the new legislation take effect. Uninsured residents with nowhere else to seek treatment for routine or preventable health care needs places more stress on hospital emergency departments. Yet, hospitals are bracing for cuts to two key federally regulated funding sources: state directed payments and provider taxes. Hospitals in Rhode Island are already under strain due to the ongoing health care crisis, said Howard Dulude, interim president of the Hospital Association of Rhode Island. Any reduction in funding could lead to further destabilization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Or, potentially, shuttering entire facilities. Hackey worries about Our Lady of Fatima Hospital and Roger Williams Medical Center, which are already hanging on by a thread as prospective new owners look to sell $165 million in bonds to finance the sale of the safety net urban hospitals. Theyre especially vulnerable to losing paying patients, Hackey said. Its going to put them under increased financial stress. It doesnt take much to put a hospital thats a safety net hospital into a tailspin. Otis Brown, spokesperson for CharterCARE Health Partners, the local subsidiary for the now-bankrupt existing owner of Fatima and Roger Williams, did not respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Dulude declined to comment on which hospitals will be most negatively impacted by the federal funding cuts. The Hospital Association is modeling different scenarios but its too early to say definitely ahead of the final rules yet to be adopted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Rhode Island may have to make cuts to its food assistance program, putting a lot more pressure on food banks and other nonprofits. Pictured are boxes of peanut butter inside the Rhode Island Community Food Banks Providence distribution center. (Photo by Christopher Shea/Rhode Island Current) SNAP cuts fuel food insecurity As health care supports shrink, so will food assistance. The budget package severs 20% of federal funding through 2034 for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program the largest cut in its history with ramifications for 40 million low-income children, adults and seniors, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement States that make frequent mistakes in determining payments to recipients too much or too little will end up shouldering more of the cost. Rhode Island is among 21 states poised to see the largest cost increase up 15% in its required match for food assistance because its error rate exceeds 10%. In fiscal 2024, the most recent year available, Rhode Island had a 12.29% error rate. The Rhode Island Department of Human Services, which administers the food assistance program to roughly 144,000 state residents, was working to reduce the overall error rate even before the federal reconciliation bill passed, Shekarchi said. In order to avoid a federally mandated cost-hike altogether, the state would need to cut errors by more than half to under 6% by the Oct. 1, 2027, start date. To meet this ambitious, potentially impossible, benchmark, Rhode Island will have to become stingier with its food assistance program, in turn increasing food insecurity, said Michael DiBiase, CEO and president of the Rhode Island Public Expenditure Council and former state administration director. Were going to see a lot more pressure and need for food banks and other nonprofits, DiBiase said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Melissa Cherney, incoming CEO for the Rhode Island Community Food Bank, also said the food bank was deeply concerned about the impacts of the reconciliation bill. As always, we will roll up our sleeves and work together to ensure no Rhode Islander goes hungry, Cherney said in a statement. Finding extra money for food banks and nonprofits in the states annual budget wont be easy with a growing budget deficit, forecasted to balloon to $462 million by fiscal 2030, according to state legislative analysts. Whats next? In early June, Shekarchi suggested lawmakers may hold a special, October legislative session to deal with fallout from federal funding cuts, which had not been finalized by the time the state approved its fiscal 2026 spending plan. Thats now unlikely, since most federal changes dont take effect for several years, Shekarchi said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate President Valarie Lawson shared his view. The state budget enacted last month contains numerous safeguards put in place in anticipation of federal cuts, including preservation of state income tax revenue, Lawson said in an emailed statement. It appears that the most serious impacts will be in future years. Even with President Donald Trumps signature, Rhode Islands congressional delegates say efforts to blunt the effects of the federal reconciliation package will continue This isnt the end of the fight, U.S. Sen. Jack Reed said in a statement. Weve got to work even harder to limit the damage and then reverse it in the years ahead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo also pledged to fight this reverse Robin Hood scheme every step of the way, decrying the tax handouts to billionaires. Congressional Republicans could face public blowback as soon as next year in the mid-term elections. But theres no real chance of undoing any of the bills tax and spending provisions while Trump is still in office, Hackey said. A change resulting from the 2028 presidential election could reverse some of the consequences, Hackey said, but not before initial cuts and lost health insurance coverage take hold. We need to have a plan for the immediate concerns, Hackey said. Devising that plan will also be no small task in a state already grappling with staffing shortages in key service agencies. We struggle now with just answering the phone from time to time at DHS, DiBiase said. This is a very heavy lift for the administration to carry out. It will be very taxing. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A federal appeals court told the Escambia County School Board that it lacked jurisdiction to hear an appeal for board members seeking "legislative privilege" in a book ban lawsuit. The three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled July 15 to dismiss the appeal of a district court order, which itself vacated a protective order for board members to be protected by legislative privilege. That's the defense the school board used to argue that its members should not have to testify on the decision-making process for book removals. The 2023 lawsuit was held off pending the federal appeals court decision, so now it is expected to resume, stemming from accusations the school board violated the First Amendment and the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of the removed books were authored by people of color or LGBTQ+ people. The dismissal means school board members could eventually have to testify on why they decided to remove the books. Original lawsuit: Nation's largest publisher files federal suit to block Florida county's book ban Appellate opinion grounded in legal technicality This appeal aimed to overturn a ruling by U.S. District Judge T. Kent Wetherell II from November. But Judges Elizabeth Branch, Nancy Abudu and Embry Kidd focused the ruling on jurisdictional grounds: The school board appealed as a whole rather than the individual board members. (Branch was appointed by President Donald Trump in his first presidential term; Abudu and Kidd were both appointed by Biden.) "In summary, because the legislative privilege asserted belongs to the Board members (and) not the Board, and the Board members did not participate in the litigation below, we lack appellate jurisdiction to review this appeal and must dismiss," the opinion says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit was originally filed by parents, authors, free speech group PEN America and the country's largest publisher, Penguin Random House. Over the years, it's grown substantially in cost. Public records obtained by the USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida in late 2024 found the Escambia County School Board spent more than $440,000 on attorney fees. Follow the money: Citing tax dollars spent, judge urges Florida school district to settle book ban lawsuit The state of book bans in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Curriculum Transparency Act in 2022, which required districts to keep logs of books on their shelves and those put for review after a complaint. In response, his administration and the Escambia County School Board have argued that removing library books is in line with "government speech," the legal doctrine that the government has the right to promote its own views without being required to provide equal time or a platform for opposing views. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This argument has been increasingly popular over the past few years in Florida, but it still hasn't been settled in cases in which federal judges aren't fully convinced that book removals fall under a First Amendment override of government speech. More recently, Escambia County's school board voted to remove more books from its library shelves mid-June, including 15 titles recommended for removal by the superintendent there, Keith Leonard, and three books identified as "pornographic" by Attorney General James Uthmeier. This reporting content is supported by a partnership with Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. USA Today Network-Florida First Amendment reporter Stephany Matat is based in Tallahassee, Fla. She can be reached at SMatat@gannett.com. On X: @stephanymatat. This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Book ban lawsuit to resume after federal appellate decision NACOGDOCHES On President Donald Trumps first day in office, he announced an end to all federally supported diversity, equity and inclusion programs. The implications of this decision have been far-reaching. It has embroiled the federal government in disputes with colleges and universities. Big cities are reevaluating programs to ensure they dont lose grants. And Fortune 500 companies seeking favor from the new administration have ended their DEI practices. And it has frozen cash flow for Black farmers, many of whom live in East Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everything is at a standstill, said Roy Mills, a third-generation East Texas Black farmer. And we don't know what the end is going to be. Were getting further behind in all the practices that were being implemented. Things that are supposed to be going on have come to a halt. To comply with Trumps order, the U.S. Department of Agriculture ended its diversity efforts across 14 programs. The department claimed in May to have canceled 3,600 contracts and grants, saving more than $5.5 billion. Applications for assistance moving forward will be reviewed without consideration of an applicants race, gender or veteran status. Mills, who also manages a nonprofit dedicated to farming education with his brother Ike, lost $300,000 in federal grant money to host a conference, he said. More broadly, the funding freeze has delayed the growing season for many. It has halted work on projects that began two and three years ago. Mills and other Black farmers have said they were unsurprised by Trump's bid to end race-based programs. And they werent particularly sad to see them go. The efforts to support Black farmers, they said, have not worked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the disruption and delays, there is a mustard seed of hope that reprioritizing small farms, which Black-owned farms are primarily, will provide them a better future. Endangered species Mills grandfather, Joshua Mills, bought the family farm in Nacogdoches in 1926. Today, the farm is 200 acres. The primary plot of land serves the cattle operation. The family home sits on several acres next to a large hot house, designed to grow different crops out of season. Greens started sprouting on their own in March. A barn that was once used to farm worms now holds equipment. While the Mills farm grew over the last century, the population of Black farmers in the U.S. has declined 96%. DEI programs rarely actually helped Black farmers, said Cindy Ayers Elliott, a doctor of economics, finance and agriculture. She runs an urban farm in Jackson, Mississippi, which has helped reduce the impacts of the food desert. This current freeze is just another example of how the USDA has failed Black farmers like her, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If I was a turtle, I would be called an endangered species, said Elliott. There are less than 40,000 Black Farmers in America overall. Former President Joe Bidens administration made diversity a priority in its farming assistance. However, according to a NPR investigation, just 36% of farmers who identified as Black were granted direct loans, which are supposed to be the easiest to get from the ag department and are targeted to farmers who cant get credit elsewhere. Meanwhile, 72% of white farmers who applied for the same assistance were approved. Today, Black farmers make up less than 1% of total producers in the U.S. but there are higher concentrations of them in certain southern states. Texas had the highest number of Black producers in 2022, according to the latest agriculture census. And most of them can be found in East Texas. But there used to be more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Joshua Mills bought his 86 acres in 1926, he was a part of a larger movement of African Americans seeking independence through farming. Through the turmoil of the Jim Crow Era, two World Wars, the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War, Joshua and his descendants grew the family farm. They went without food, so they could pay for the land, Mills said of his father and grandfather. Mills went to Stephen F. Austin State University to earn a degree in agriculture after serving two years in the U.S. Army in Vietnam. Before taking on the family farm, he taught agriculture at a local high school. Roy Mills checks on his cattle at J&R Mills Family Farms. Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune Today, he is often found in a plaid button-down and jeans. His hands are roughened from decades of hard work, his voice gravelly from years of yelling over the roar of heavy equipment. Hes quick to laugh. And is proud of his work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Farming has always been a family thing for Mills. Even as he raised his own children, they helped on the farm. My sons, they went to the farm with me almost every day when they werent in school, he said. We were going to do something on the farm whether they enjoyed it or not. But we enjoyed it. Even my daughter. He recalled the day she killed her first squirrel with a BB gun. That made history, he said with a laugh. Farming is unpredictable. Yet, it is a vital component of the U.S. economy. Agriculture contributed $1.5 trillion to the U.S. economy in 2023, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Farming, at the end of the day, is a risky business, said Gerard DSouza, Prairie View A&M dean and director of Land Grant Programs. It depends on a lot of different things, from the weather to government policy to local communities to vibrant farmers markets and neighborhoods. To keep up, Mills has had his hand in any type of farming business he can, and uses whatever he can from the USDA. He spends his days tending to his cows, preparing for the next season of vegetables and determining the feasibility of cashing in on his tree plantation. He has farmed worms and grown strawberries in his greenhouse. By and by, however, the land that surrounds his has gone to large-scale farming operations or has been converted into housing or manufacturing. The amount of land used for agriculture has remained relatively steady for decades, but the number of farms has declined significantly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a state like Texas where nearly 90% of farms are considered small, earning less than $50,000 per year, this loss is important especially for Black farmers. To help farmers like them, Mills and his brother, Ike, created International Farmers and Ranchers, a coalition of East Texas Farmers, to help their neighbors navigate the complicated USDA system and hopefully stem the tide of closures. Mills talks about growing up on his father's farm and the challenges he faced as a black farmer. Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune She wants to have a farm Farmers from across the country convened at the June International Farmers and Ranchers conference in Nacogdoches. On that Friday morning in June, the Nacogdoches County Exposition & Civic Center quickly filled up with farmers and ranchers. Speakers from a broad spectrum of agricultural experts, including lawyers, farmers and policy makers discussed an array of topics. A local high school student spoke about his participation in his high schools agricultural program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of the room was taken up by people manning booths from universities, such as Prairie View A&M, and nonprofits, such as H.O.P.E. for Small Farm Sustainability from the Rio Grande Valley. Several farmers came looking for answers on how to move forward. The USDA had one representative at the conference, but he did not speak. The USDA, however, has released a document detailing what they plan to do for small family farms. This includes streamlining application processes and transitioning farms to the younger generations. The agency also plans to create better access points to credit, farmland, markets, infrastructure, labor, risk management and business tools. To ensure small family farmers can start and stay in business for generations to come, USDA is placing specific emphasis on understanding the barriers to starting and keeping small family Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement farms viable especially for the next generation, Rollins wrote in the report. As USDA implements its action plan, ongoing assessment of gaps in service and support will occur. USDA will continue to measure and spotlight these specific metrics on an annual basis. Jacqueline Figg, a Black farmer of Hallettsville, inherited a family cattle ranch in 2019, wants to open a meat processing plant on her property. Shes been waiting for answers on grant funding from the USDA. She has also been waiting for answers on her ability to utilize an existing equipment grant program and other cost sharing measures. Some of us were in the middle of implementing these practices, and the contracts were pulled, Figg said. It didn't matter that you were in the middle of something. Octavia Brown-Reed is a school teacher from Port Arthur. She and her husband have been working hard to send their daughter to Tuskegee University in Alabama. Their daughter is seeking a degree in veterinary medicine, with a specialization in farm animals. She wants to have a farm, and she wants to have a veterinarian clinic out of her farm, Brown-Reed said. So local ranchers or farmers can come to her and she will treat their animals. She has been able to go to school the last two years without incurring debt thanks to a USDA scholarship that covered about $4,000 per year. Brown-Reed is scared that changes at the USDA will strip that support in the fall. Mills is worried these cuts will affect not only his farm, but also his students, friends and neighbors. These are people who have come to him for advice or to borrow a tool here and there. Their farms are smaller. Newer. It's always the poorest people on the totem pole that will be hit the hardest and for the longest, he said. That's every time these things come down. Aerial view of the J&R Mills Family Farms in Nacogdoches County in February. Credit: Michael Cavazos for The Texas Tribune The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 1315. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. Floodwaters left debris, including vehicles and equipment, scattered in Louise Hays Park on July 5 in Kerrville, Texas. Emergency managers say Trumps cuts to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Weather Service could prove devastating during future disasters. (Photo by Eric Vryn/Getty Images) With hurricane and wildfire season well underway across much of the country, state and local emergency managers say they have little idea how much support the federal government will provide if disaster strikes. And the recent deadly floods in Texas have shown just how dire the need can be. President Donald Trump has imposed severe cuts on the Federal Emergency Management Agency and denied some states requests for disaster recovery funds. FEMA also has failed to issue grants that many emergency managers rely on to fund their agencies or to communicate its plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wyomings Office of Homeland Security, which responds to disasters, relies on the feds for 92% of its money, said Director Lynn Budd. With that federal support in question, the state could face a precarious situation when the current grants expire at the end of September. If we dont get this funding, what are we going to do? Budd said. Youre taking our capability away. Budd serves as president of the National Emergency Management Association, a nonprofit focused on public safety. She said state officials have been told by Trump that theyve become too dependent on federal support. Trump and officials in his administration have repeatedly talked of scaling back FEMA and pushing states to take the lead in disaster response. But in the wake of this months devastating flooding in Texas, administration officials have backed off Trumps claims that he would eliminate the agency altogether. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson did not grant an interview request, but issued a statement calling on states to play a larger role in disaster response. State and local officials say Trump has provided no clarity about which disasters will qualify for federal recovery funds. He has denied support for disasters that met the existing criteria. At the same time, FEMA has yet to issue federal grants that provide much of the funding for local emergency management agencies. As local leaders in rural Saluda County, South Carolina, work to rebuild from last years Hurricane Helene, they say the recovery process has been slowed by Trump administration policies making it more difficult to access disaster aid. Worse, the countys Emergency Management Division has no idea whether the feds will release the grant funding that makes up most of its budget. Are we going to see the help we need arriving? said Josh Morton, director of Saluda Countys Emergency Management Division. I dont know. When we pick up the phone, is there gonna be anybody there to answer? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aside from the cuts to state funding, FEMA under Trumps administration has lost about a quarter of its full-time staff, according to The New York Times. The agency also cut hundreds of contractors at call centers, The Times reported, resulting in thousands of missed calls in the days following the Texas flood. Meanwhile, emergency managers say that Trumps cuts to the National Weather Service could further impair their ability to respond to fast-moving disasters. The feds pull back Trump and his administration have frequently said states should take on more responsibility for responding to disasters. Brian Hughes, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said in an April statement to Stateline that the federal government would provide support only for truly catastrophic disasters, adding that states should have an appetite to own the problem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emergency management experts say it would be inefficient for all 50 states to stockpile the resources, staff and recovery funding to handle disasters on their own. Having a national agency that can deploy where its needed is far less wasteful. Theres no reason for every state to have all the resources that FEMA has, said Michael Coen, who served as chief of staff at FEMA during the Obama and Biden administrations. He noted that FEMA also plays a key coordinating role with other federal agencies during disasters. Morton, the Saluda County official, echoed that concern. He also serves as first vice president with the International Association of Emergency Managers, a nonprofit representing professionals in the field. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would be impossible for every county in the U.S. to maintain an adequate disaster recovery fund on their own, he said. Right now, we have a disaster fund at the federal level, and that money is able to be moved around to where its needed in the moment. That really is the best bang for the buck for the American people. But that federal support is no longer a sure thing. Morton said recovery funds for Hurricane Helene which walloped states from Florida to North Carolina have been slower to materialize than for previous disasters. FEMA officials have required more paperwork, he said, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noems insistence that she personally approve any expenditure over $100,000 has also slowed the process. Disaster declarations In other parts of the country, state officials have petitioned Trump for disaster declarations, only to be rejected altogether. Washington states request for disaster aid following storms last November that caused at least $34 million in damages met all the very clear criteria to qualify, said Democratic Gov. Bob Ferguson, but was denied by FEMA. While Trump administration officials have proposed limiting the events that qualify for federal relief, they have yet to issue new criteria. State leaders say they have gotten no clarity from the feds about whether they can count on support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We really need some communication on what to expect, said Budd, the Wyoming official. If we know theres no federal funding coming, that would be an awful situation, but at least we can plan for that. Some experts say states should prepare for disaster relief to be approved along partisan lines. We just have to be honest that this White House is going to spend more resources, time and effort on people who live in red states than in blue states, said Juliette Kayyem, faculty chair of the Homeland Security Project at Harvard Universitys Kennedy School of Government and a former Obama administration official. Its a hard thing for me to admit, and I dont know how to solve it, but if you look at his reaction to [the Los Angeles wildfires in] California as compared to Texas, its very clear. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since February, Trump has denied six of the 10 major-disaster requests he has received from Democratic governors, according to an analysis from Seattle National Public Radio affiliate KUOW. He has approved 14 of 15 requests he has received from Republican governors during that same period. Meanwhile, FEMA has yet to release the preparedness grants that many state and local governments depend on to fund their emergency management agencies and conduct projects to prepare for disasters. Those grants were set to be issued in May under a spending bill passed by Congress. Coen, the former FEMA official, noted that the Texas Division of Emergency Management received nearly $20 million in federal funding last year to support day-to-day operations. Texas hasnt been able to apply for that grant this year, he said. If they never get that grant, are they going to have to lay off staff or cancel contracts? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FEMA has also revoked another set of grants, totaling $3.6 billion, that was intended to help communities prepare their infrastructure to withstand disasters. Weather agency cuts Amid the uncertainty at FEMA, emergency managers are also alarmed by Trumps cuts to the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. NOAA has lost nearly 2,000 employees, The New York Times reported, 600 of whom worked for the weather service. The cuts have left many forecasting offices understaffed, with some no longer able to operate overnight. The National Weather Service plays as big of a role in protecting lives as anyone else in government, said Morton, the Saluda County official. It would be very hard for emergency managers to do our jobs effectively without the National Weather Service. But if these cuts keep coming, youre going to start to see deficiencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Budd, the Wyoming official, said the weather agency is crucial during wildfires. Thats how we know when its time to alert our communities or evacuate an area, she said. You can put firefighters lives on the line very quickly if they dont have notification that those winds are changing. She added that Trumps cuts to the U.S. Forest Service and other land management agencies have added another layer of concern as wildfires begin cropping up throughout the West. With the loss of federal support, Budd said officials are likely to become increasingly reliant on state-to-state resource-sharing compacts that allow them to call on one another during emergency situations. Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at abrown@stateline.org. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) WGVU Public Media could feel the impact of funding cuts if Congress approves a bill that would eliminate $1.1 billion over two years for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The U.S. Senate recently passed the legislation, which now goes back to the House of Representatives. Senate passes $9B in cuts to global aid, public broadcasting in win for Trump WGVU General Manager Jim Rademaker says the proposed cuts would mean a loss of $1.4 million over the next two years for its NPR affiliate and PBS station. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We use those funds to do the expensive work, which is the local production, Rademaker said. Obviously, its a lot cheaper to use economies of scale that PBS and NPR have to produce national programs, but its really important to us to have a strong cohort of local programs. In the radio studio at WGVU Public Media. (July 17, 2025) In the television studio at WGVU Public Media. (July 17, 2025) When you add up the public radio and TV stations across the state, the amount of money that could go away grows substantially. Its about $24 million for the different public media stations, Rademaker said. WGVU has a plan to try to mitigate any cuts it could face. Do we have to shift some of the things were doing? Where are some efficiencies? So thats kind of where were looking first. And were really, quite frankly, hoping our community steps up in a big way, as well, Rademaker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The threat of cuts has already encouraged more people to donate. Our fiscal year just ended and April through June was our biggest April through June ever because our viewers and our listeners, theyre plugged in, theyre smart and they understand what is going on, Rademaker said. Native American radio stations at risk as Congress looks to slash public broadcasting funding He is most worried about the impact of cuts in less populated communities that rely on public broadcasters. There are stations in Indiana particularly and even in Michigan that over 40%, 50% of their funding is that Corporation for Public Broadcasting grant each year. Thats a catastrophic cut to them, Rademaker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He is hopeful the bill will not be approved when it goes back to the House. He said several representatives were not able to vote the first time it was brought to the floor. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The long and winding saga of the Derry Rail Trail tunnel heads back to court, virtually, next week. U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro scheduled a status conference for 11 a.m. Monday. A citizens group called the Committee to Save the Derry Rail Trail Tunnel sued the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and Federal Highway Administration last August over plans to eliminate a planned tunnel from the Exit 4A project near Interstate 93. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 30, Barbadoro sided with the trail advocates, halted construction near the Manchester and Lawrence Railroad Historic District, and asked transportation officials to make up their minds on the future of the tunnel. State officials have yet to reveal if they will include the tunnel in the project going forward or keep fighting by providing detailed and documented analysis proving their plan without a tunnel is equal to the original design with one. At issue are the proximity of the NHDOTs alternative routes to the historic district, staying true to the nature of the protected rail corridor, safety for hikers and bicyclists and whether cancelling construction of the $770,000 tunnel provided a significant savings. So far, Barbadoro has rejected state and federal officials justification for removing the tunnel from the project. The segment of the project near the newly engineered intersection of Folsom Road and North High Street in Derry costs $31 million. The overall Exit 4A project, which will connect Derry to I-93 through a new highway thats up to seven lanes wide at points, is estimated to cost $112 million. A spokesperson for the Rails to Trails Conservancy, which is helping the Derry Rail Trail group, said they didnt have any insight into the purpose of Mondays conference. A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Attorney Generals Office could not comment about the reason for Barbadoros meeting with the two sides. Election Day at the Landsdowne Elementary School precinct in Lexington, Nov. 5, 2024. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Arden Barnes) Kentuckys race for an open U.S. House seat got two new candidates one from each party Thursday morning. Republican Dr. Ralph Alvarado, a former Kentucky lawmaker, and Democrat Zach Dembo, a former federal prosecutor, announced theyre running. Alvarado has been Tennessees health commissioner since 2023, a post he held until recently announcing that he was considering a run for Congress from Kentucky. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The two new candidates bring the field to six, three from each party. The 6th Congressional District seat is up for grabs because its current holder, Republican Andy Barr, is running for U.S. Senate in hopes of succeeding Republican Mitch McConnell, retiring after seven terms. Democrat Cherlynn Stevenson, a former Kentucky House Democratic caucus chair, has gained an early fundraising lead according to recent campaign finance reports. David Kloiber, a former Lexington council member, is also running for the Democratic nomination. Alvarado joins Republicans state Rep. Ryan Dotson who announced his campaign earlier this year and state Rep. Deanna Gordon who launched her bid last week. The primary election will be held in May 2026. Alvarado: Shoulder to shoulder with President Trump Ralph Alvarado (LRC Public Information) In his announcement, Alvarado, a physician, said he would stand shoulder to shoulder with President Trump in Washington, to secure the border, revive the economy, and put America first. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alvarado describes himself as a proud son of immigrants and a relentless defender of the American Dream. He said Trump is under attack from every direction, and he needs reinforcements in Congress. Alvarado said in Congress he would fight to lower healthcare costs, save rural hospitals, and stop illegal immigrants from abusing Medicaid, as well as fight for Kentuckys signature industries including bourbon, thoroughbred horse racing and manufacturing. Alvarado was born in California, the son of a father from Costa Rica and mother from Argentina. He became Kentuckys first Hispanic legislator after unseating incumbent Democrat R.J. Palmer in a 2014 state Senate race from a district made up of Clark and parts of Fayette and Montgomery counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alvarado spoke at the 2016 Republican National Committee in support of Trump. He was Republican Gov. Matt Bevins running mate in Bevins losing 2019 bid for reelection. In his farewell speech to the Senate in January 2023, he said, I love solving problems. Work is play for me. When I wake up, my mind clicks and I cant really turn it off until I go to bed. When I am in social gatherings with many of you, I pursue discussions about policy. Some of you have said, Ralph, let it go. Were not on the clock. The problem is that Im always on the clock. I have a really hard time turning it off. Its both a blessing and a curse. Tennessees Republican Gov. Bill Lee appointed Alvarado commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Health. He recently left the Tennessee post after saying he likely would run for Congress from Central Kentucky in response to state Sen. Amanda Mays Bledsoes announcement that she would not be seeking the seat. In his announcement, Alvarado said he and his wife, Dawn, still live in Clark County where they raised their two children and are active members of their church and community. Dembo: D.C. corruption getting in the way of helping folks in Kentucky Zach Dembo (Campaign photo) A former federal prosecutor and staffer for Gov. Andy Beshear, Dembo, a Lexingtonian, left his job as an assistant U.S. attorney in the Department of Justice earlier this year amid Trumps return to the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I couldnt stand by while the administration was playing politics with the justice system to carry out a personal political agenda instead of protecting the Constitution, Dembo said in a telephone interview with the Kentucky Lantern. And I felt like D.C. corruption was getting in the way of helping folks in Kentucky. So I wanted to continue serving my country, but obviously my public service had to take a different path, and thats why Im running for Congress now. Dembo previously worked in the U.S. Department of Justice during the first Trump administration, but said that while there were many things I disagreed with, personally and politically, I still felt that everyday line prosecutors were able to do their job at DOJ. In February, several federal prosecutors resigned after being directed to drop charges in a corruption case against New York Mayor Eric Adams. More recently, Reuters reported earlier this week that 69 of the roughly 110 lawyers in the DOJs federal programs branch, which is tasked with defending legal challenges to the presidents policies, have left the unit since Trumps recent election or plan to leave. This second administration, as weve seen through many publicly reported things, is not the same, Dembo said, adding that prosecutors are being asked to do things that are immoral, unethical and facing being fired if they do not go along with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to his decision to leave the DOJ, Dembo also has concerns about the recently passed GOP megabill, which included cuts to Medicaid and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program funding. Barr voted in favor of the bill, and has supported other Trump policies as he seeks the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate. The current congressman is voting very enthusiastically in favor so that he can give tax breaks to his rich buddies and coastal elites, which, again, thats just not the Kentucky values I was raised with, Dembo said of Barr. Dembo plans to distinguish himself from his opponents by focusing on his background as a Navy veteran and federal service. However, he said he is clear-eyed that voters may not know him at present. But he remains optimistic that his background in public service, in Kentucky and the district will connect with voters. Certainly thats going to be an uphill battle with maybe the name ID, but at the same time, I think its a real advantage at a time where people are looking for new and fresh ideas, so I will definitely be looking simply to add to the conversation, not to tear anyone down, Dembo said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dembo has taken some lessons from Beshear. The governor named Dembo as his policy adviser in 2020. Dembo was later promoted to become Beshears legislative director. Something that I learned from Gov. Beshear is that I dont think that Kentuckians primarily are waking up thinking about who they vote for or what party theyre registered. I think theyre worried about their families and how they can be successful and have a good paying job and make ends meet, Dembo said. So thats very much how Im going to approach it, and its not going to be as important to me what party someone identifies with, because if Im lucky enough to get elected, Im going to represent all of them. This story was updated early Thursday morning to include Republican Ralph Alvarados announcement. WASHINGTON Years of trucking-industry pressure on Congress to pass legislation dedicating big money for expanding truck parking may finally pay off now that the U.S. Department of Transportation is elevating it for inclusion in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill. We want to fund truck parking for our truckers in this country a critical need for safety in the United States, said DOT Deputy Secretary Steve Bradbury, speaking at a surface transportation reauthorization kickoff meeting with state transportation officials at DOT headquarters on Thursday. Truck parking was one of a number of priorities Bradbury outlined at the meeting, along with finalizing a regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles and streamlining infrastructure project permitting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have a president who actually cares about our work, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told meeting attendees. He wants to see real progress on big, beautiful projects over the next three-and-a-half years. To have that kind of support from the executive branch is a great opportunity. Duffy signs MOU accompanied by U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R, Texas (L) and Texas DOT Executive Director Marc Williams. Credit: DOT. The current surface transportation funding law, signed by President Biden in 2021, expires in September 2026. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is aiming to complete a reauthorization package before the end of the year. George OConnor, spokesman for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, anticipates language from the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, reintroduced earlier this year, to serve as the baseline for inclusion in next years reauthorization. It authorizes $755 million over three years for truck parking expansion. The fact theres so much energy and enthusiasm around it as an issue, its come a long way in just a few years, said OConnor, who attended the DOT event. And its now being seen not just as a trucker issue, but a highway safety issue, something everyone can relate to and is a priority with the administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In officially kicking off the administrations effort in the reauthorization process, DOT plans to function as something of a clearinghouse for ideas not only from state DOTs but from the general public as well, Bradbury said. As part of that process, DOT will be issuing a formal Request for Information that will be open to the public for any project ideas for surface transportation funding, Bradbury said. He provided parameters around the administrations back to basics approach to project funding. That means we really want to fund those projects that are important for our nation and for our economy that have national importance. We dont want to see distracting social justice requirements in there, we dont want to use infrastructure funding and programs to try to force an artificial energy transition that is going to ruin the U.S. economy. And there will be an emphasis on safety, which means driving down highway fatality numbers. Its ultimately up to the President of the United States President Trump will decide what legislative proposals and what the specifics are, and what the administration wants to put forward to Congress. And of course ultimately its going to be Congress that will decide what the funding levels are for these programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Outside DOT headquarters, Duffy held a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding between DOT and the Texas Department of Transportation that empowers the state to manage their own projects with limited federal oversight while cutting down on unnecessary delays and costs. We want this historic agreement to serve as an example for the rest of our states to move infrastructure projects faster and more cost effectively, Duffy said. Related articles: Click for more FreightWaves articles by John Gallagher. The post Federal support paving way for millions in truck parking expansion appeared first on FreightWaves. Lower Carson Slough, looking toward Eagle Mountain (Photo: the Amargosa Conservancy) Federal land managers approved a plan Friday to drill dozens of boreholes near a critical wetland habitat in Nevada that supports a trove of endangered and threatened species found nowhere else in the world. The mining exploration project proposed by St. Cloud Mining Company will drill 43 boreholes on public lands just west of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in search of mineral zeolite a clay-like material used in water filtration, odor control, and soil conditioner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a press release announcing the approval, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management said the project was in line with President Donald Trumps executive order to boost domestic mineral production and reduce U.S. reliance on foreign minerals. Drilling operations would take place within an area of critical environmental concern in the southern portion of the Amargosa Desert about 20 miles north of the Amargosa River headwaters, the only free-flowing river in the region. The drill site is also three miles west of Carson Slough, a groundwater dependent habitat home to one of the largest populations of the critically endangered plant Amargosa niterwort. Under the proposed plan, the mining company will drill dozens of boreholes up to 200 feet deep across less than one acre of public land adjacent to the companys existing mine located about one mile south of the Nevada state line in Inyo, California. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The exploratory project will be limited to drilling activities to identify the location, quality, and quantity of a potential mineral zeolite deposit in the area and determine its suitability for further development. Despite the proposed projects location in the Amargosa North Area of Critical Environmental Concern federal land managers said the project posed no significant impact, meaning it did not require a more in-depth environmental analysis before being approved. However, federal hydrologists did highlight major uncertainty surrounding the hydrology of the proposed drill site and its proximity to major springs and groundwater dependent habitats. The agency acknowledged that groundwater at the site of the proposed project was relatively shallow, making it likely that boreholes drilled beyond 100 feet would hit groundwater in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hitting an aquifer in the region could potentially damage groundwater dependent springs if large volumes of that groundwater burst above ground due to high pressure, creating an uncontrolled water flow that can be difficult or even impossible to stop. Still, federal hydrologists maintained it was unlikely the project would hit a pressurized water zone, adding that the risk of creating an uncontrolled water flow was low. The BLM also acknowledged that groundwater connectivity for the area is not well understood, and it was possible the proposed project could affect groundwater downstream from the Amargosa River if drilling reached groundwater and was left unplugged. Exploratory drilling operations will require somewhere between 20,000 40,000 gallons of water for the project. According to the operation plan, the water used will be trucked in from either Longstreet Inn in Amargosa Valley or Wolfenstein Construction in Pahrump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conservation groups quickly criticized the projects approval and the BLMs decision not to complete a more in-depth environmental analysis on the project. Trumps decision to approve drilling for mining on the doorstep of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is an insult to all of us who love this special desert wetland, said Patrick Donnelly, the Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity and an 11-year resident of the area. Donnelly questioned the strategic importance of mineral zeolite as a means to significantly reduce U.S. reliance on foreign minerals, noting that the material is commonly used in commercial cat litter due to its odor control properties. This kitty litter mine is a ridiculous waste of our public land resources, especially when there are ecologically safer alternatives. We can preserve biodiversity and vulnerable communities while still caring for our feline friends. This mine is not the answer, Donnelly said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The St. Cloud Mining Company did not respond to requests for comment about the exploratory project. The Center for Biological Diversity pointed to the projects proximity to Carson Slough and the endangered Amargosa niterwort in its opposition to the project. The BLM noted that none of the proposed boreholes were in the Carson Slough, but acknowledged that any future drilling in that region would be at risk of hitting a pressurized water zone leading to uncontrolled groundwater flow. If drilling in this area is contemplated in the future, special precautions should be followed to avoid a situation involving a borehole or well from which groundwater discharge becomes uncontrollable, said the BLM in their decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mining interest has grown in the Amargosa Desert in recent years. In 2023, Canada-based Rover Minerals proposed drilling up to 30 exploratory lithium boreholes just north of the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, some within 2,000 feet of Fairbanks Spring, a critical habitat for the endangered Ash Meadows Amargosa pupfish. The BLM initially approved the Rover Minerals exploratory lithium project before retracting their approval after a review found the project would likely cause damage to the groundwater that feeds the meadows, and potentially harm threatened and endangered species who rely on the refuge. Mason Voehl, the campaigns director at the Amargosa Conservancy, led efforts to challenge the lithium projects approval, joining a lawsuit against the project with the Center for Biodiversity. Rover Minerals exploratory drilling project attracted fierce opposition from locals who feared it would impact groundwater. Both conservation groups vowed to oppose the St. Cloud Mining Company project, as they did with the Rover Minerals project. Over the past few years, the communities of the Amargosa Basin could not have made themselves any clearer: we will not abide by any predatory extraction projects that threaten the safety of Ash Meadows in the name of profit, Voehl said in a statement. Ash Meadows is an irreplaceable haven for biodiversity, a living sacred landscape for Tribes, and the beating heart of the watershed. We demand our land managers to do the right thing and deny any project that poses potential impacts to groundwater: the lifeblood of the Amargosa Basin. In the ever-evolving landscape of cross-border trade between the U.S. and Mexico, Reliance Partners continues to foster collaboration and expertise with annual Modernization of Cross-Border Trade events. Held on June 17, 2025, at the Laredo Country Club in Laredo, Texas, the 8th Annual Modernization of Cross-Border Trade event drew in over 500 logistics professionals. 2025 featured a strong sponsor lineup, including Cargado, Monex USA, Volvo Trucks, Evans Transportation, Werner, Dunavant, Atlantic Logistics, and more, with complimentary admission for all logistics providers, shippers, and freight brokers. What started eight years ago as an insurance-focused gathering has evolved into a premier industry forum where cross-border technology disruptors, logistics firms expanding into Mexico, and capacity providers connect and collaborate. This years speakers highlighted the following topics: What to expect from the 2026 United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement review upon the election of President Donald Trump and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum How and when to leverage cross-border warehouse space What cross-border investment firms are looking at in 2025 Cross-border partner vetting Practical technology for cross-border in 2025 U.S.-Mexico customs brokerage panel with Customs and Border Protection The Need for Cross-Border Insurance At the core of the events discussions was the vital role of cross-border insurance, a topic that is gaining increasing prominence amid escalating trade volumes and complexities. The importance of having robust cross-border insurance cannot be overstated, particularly as the Mexican cargo landscape presents numerous challenges. With a 3% increase in cargo truck hijacking reported in 2023, the situation is only getting more volatile. Mark Vickers, Executive Vice President and Head of International Logistics at Reliance Partners, highlighted key differences between U.S. and Mexican insurance policies. U.S.-issued Mexican cargo insurance is particularly beneficial as it allows claims to be resolved in the U.S., offering more reliable outcomes. In contrast, Mexican cargo insurance often involves lenient liability requirements. Carriers liability for cargo damage tends to be capped significantly lower than actual shipment values. These limitations are coupled with burdensome documentation requirements and exclusions typical to Mexican policies, which often delay claim payouts and complicate logistics operations. Moreover, the negligence-based liability in Mexico means that carriers are only accountable for damages caused by negligence, leaving significant risks for shippers uncovered. As suspected Maryland MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia stands trial in a high-profile criminal case, three more alleged MS-13 members in the state are being charged with racketeering conspiracy, including murder and drug trafficking. Commenting on the charges, acting Assistant Attorney General Matthew Galeotti said the men's actions "furthered MS-13s reign of terror across communities in Maryland." The charges, filed against Salvadoran nationals living in Maryland Maxwell Ariel Quijano-Casco, 24, Daniel Isaias Villanueva-Bautista, 19, and Hyattsville, Maryland man, Josue Mauricio Lainez, 21 were announced in a Department of Justice statement on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the statement, the three men allegedly killed a homeless man as part of their involvement with MS-13. The DOJ said the three allegedly killed the man on July 4, 2024, in a "retaliatory murder." The victim was found dead in a blue Dodge Caravan that was parked in a used car lot in Hyattsville the next day. Abrego Garcia Remains In Us For Now As Judge Takes Case Under Advisement Read On The Fox News App The department said a nearby surveillance camera caught the murder on video. According to the statement, the video shows the victim wielding what appears to be a pole at Quijano-Casco, who then flees and returns with Villanueva-Bautista, Lainez and another unnamed person. The four approach the blue van where the victim fled, open the door and appear to strike someone inside. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police arriving at the scene the next day found the victim, who appeared to have been stabbed in the neck. Fox News Digital reached out to the DOJ, FBI and Prince Georges County Police Department to request to review the video. Neither agency immediately responded to Fox News Digitals request. Quijano-Casco and Villanueva-Bautista were arrested by Prince Georges County Police on Aug. 23, according to the DOJ. Quijano-Casco was found in possession of a semi-automatic handgun and about eight grams of cocaine at the time of his arrest. Both admitted that they were present for the altercation where the victim was murdered and Quijano-Casco allegedly admitted to police to stabbing the individual. Progressive Dem Rep Faces Backlash For Calling Ice 'Nazi Thugs' While Defending Ms-13 Gang Member Inmates at the Counter-Terrorism Confinement Centre (CECOT), where hundreds of members of the MS-13 gang are being held, in Tecoluca, El Salvador, on Jan. 27, 2025. The three are being charged with racketeering conspiracy, including the July 4, 2024, murder. If convicted, they face sentences of up to life in prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the statement, Galeotti of the DOJs Criminal Division said the "senseless murder" was carried out "in exchange for promotions within the gang and drugs." Galeotti said, "Their actions furthered MS-13s reign of terror across communities in Maryland." U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Kelly Hayes called the killing a "brutal retaliatory murder" that serves as a "chilling reminder of the MS-13 gangs callous disregard for human life." She said her office will continue to work with law enforcement to dismantle criminal organizations such as MS-13 that "terrorize our communities." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mother Of Daughter Murdered By Ms-13 Gang Member Speaks Out In Favor Of New Bill This comes as Abrego Garcia, 29, another Salvadoran national who was living in Maryland, faces charges of human smuggling and conspiracy. According to the indictment, Abrego Garcia played a "significant role" in a human smuggling ring operating for nearly a decade. Attorney General Pam Bondi described him as a full-time smuggler who made more than 100 trips, transporting women, children and MS-13 gang-affiliated persons throughout the U.S. According to police and court records shared with Fox News Digital, Abrego Garcia was arrested in Hyattsville in October 2019, at which point he was identified by the Prince George's County Police Gang Unit as a member of MS-13. Original article source: Feds charge 3 more men in Maryland MS-13 racketeering conspiracy involving murder: 'Reign of terror' Two federal officials toured the former Alcatraz penitentiary in the San Francisco Bay early Thursday morning as part of the Trump administration's effort to reopen the infamous island prison, a move that critics say would be more expensive than building a new prison. U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited Alcatraz before the usual rush of tourists at the now-shuttered island prison, an apparent effort by the Trump administration to continue efforts to reopen the penitentiary. But critics of the Trump administration have called the effort a stunt and a distraction, with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi referring to the visit and the push to reopen the prison as "the Trump Administration's stupidest initiative yet." Pelosi's district includes the island and adjacent San Francisco. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Make no mistake: this stupidity is a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from this Administration's cruelest actions yet in their Big, Ugly Law, which takes food from children and rips health care from millions to give tax breaks to billionaires," Pelosi said in a statement, referring to the recently passed "Big Beautiful Bill" passed by Congress. "It remains to be seen how this Administration could possibly afford to spend billions to convert and maintain Alcatraz as a prison when they are already adding trillions of dollars to the national debt." President Trump has pushed for reopening the prison for months now, saying in a social media post that doing so would be a "symbol of Law, Order and JUSTICE." Trump said in the post that the structure would house the country's "most ruthless and violent" offenders. The visit by the two federal officials was initially promoted as preparation for an announcement about the reopening of the prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a post on X, Burgum said the purpose of the trip to the island was to "start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals." But Fox News, which was granted access to the tour with Bondi and Burgum, reported Thursday afternoon that no announcement was expected, and instead described the trip as a "fact-finding mission" and that Bondi and Burgum "know this is going to be a steep climb." "Alcatraz could hold the worst of the worst, it could hold middle-class violent prisoners, it could hold ... illegal aliens. It could hold anything," Bondi told Fox News. "This is a terrific facility. Needs a lot of work." A federal employee with knowledge of the visit who asked for anonymity out of fear of retaliation said federal workers who oversee the park didn't learn of Bondi and Burgum's visit until the day before it happened a stark departure from how such events are typically planned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was all very last minute and out of the public eye, the employee said. Things used to be done differently before here. If a [Cabinet] secretary was visiting a park, it would be fairly coordinated, like down to the T. And now it's completely separate. They bring their own media. The employee said that, despite the push to reopen Alcatraz as a prison, the building was not in any shape to hold detainees. This infrastructure is not in any shape or form to house prisoners because its a tourist attraction, the person said, adding that it was a great distraction to other controversies facing Trump and his administration. Its definitely not practical in any way. ... Government staff need to pretend everything is business as usual, but it's not." Alcatraz, a popular tourist attraction, closed as a prison in 1963 after federal officials said it was too expensive to operate. (Justin Sullivan / Getty Images) A Justice Department spokesperson said Bondi and Burgum were set to be briefed on the facility as part of their visit, and would be meeting with U.S. Park Police and other officials about what planning would be necessary to rehabilitate and reopen the facility as a prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently, the facility serves as a popular tourist attraction for visitors to San Francisco. Bondi and Burgum on Thursday visited cells that at one point housed infamous criminals such as Al Capone and George "Machine Gun" Kelly, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The two also toured Alcatraz's power station, visiting dock and industry building. Originally opened in 1934, the prison closed its doors to convicts in 1963 after federal officials determined it was too costly to operate. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, the prison was roughly three times more costly to operate than any other such facility in the country, mostly because of its location on a 22-acre island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The need to send in supplies, including food and fresh water for guards, operators and prisoners, meant that it was cheaper to open a new facility than to operate Alcatraz, according to the Bureau of Prisons. For more than five decades now, the prison has functioned as a museum under the management of the National Park Service. Read more: Trump's call to reopen Alcatraz falls flat with tourists, who ask: Why and how? The island sees about 1.4 million visitors a year and generates around $60 million in annual revenue, according to the nonprofit Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, which works with the National Park Service to support national parks around the Golden Gate area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christine Lehnertz, the conservancy's president and chief executive, described the possibility of closing Alcatraz as a landmark, and using it once again as a prison, as a mistake. "Protecting Alcatraz means protecting a global site of reflection, where people come to learn and grow," Lehnertz said in a statement. "If we lose that, we lose more than a landmark we lose an opportunity to do better." In a statement, the conservancy said, "Reopening Alcatraz as a prison would erase decades of progress and miss the point of what this place has become." "The island is working not as a prison, but as a national park that brings history, nature, and people together in a way few places can," the statement continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Alcatraz to operate again as a prison, Congress would have to pass legislation to remove National Environmental Policy Act and Historic Preservation Act requirements for the area. If reopened, the facility would also have to be transferred back to the Bureau of Prisons for operation. Local officials and Democrats have voiced strong opposition to reopening the facility as a prison. "This is plain just stupid," said Rep. John Garamendi (D-Walnut Grove), a former deputy Interior secretary. "They should know better than to turn a 60-year-old museum into a prison just because their boss got an idea from a movie he saw on television." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a social media post Thursday, San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie also criticized the Trump administration's effort. "There is no realistic plan for Alcatraz to host anyone other than visitors," he wrote in a post on X. "If the federal government has billions of dollars to spend in San Francisco, we could use that funding to keep our streets safe and clean and help our economy recover." Pelosi, in her statement, said efforts to reopen Alcatraz would face stiff opposition in Congress. "Should reason not prevail and Republicans bring this absurdity before the Congress," Pelosi said in a statement, "Democrats will use every parliamentary and budgetary tactic available to stop the lunacy." 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. RICHFIELD, Utah (ABC4) The Monroe Canyon Fire that is threatening structures in Sevier County is burning 8,646 acres and is still at 0% containment, according to the latest information released by the U.S. Forest Service- Fishlake National Forest. According to officials, it has burned two structures, and more than 50 structures are threatened. Crews say they plan to take advantage of favorable weather conditions on Thursday and aggressively engage containment in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While structure protection in the Monroe, Manning Meadows and the Magelby area remains the highest priority, crews say they are planning to begin construction of containment lines along the fire perimeter. Courtesy: U.S. Forest Service- Fishlake National Forest Officials are trying to hold the fire from coming down the Monroe Canyon on the western side of the fire. On the north end of the fire, a recent prescribed burn should stop the fire from progressing in the Signal Mountain area, crews said. 389 fire personnel are responding to the fire at the moment. North Tooele District confirmed that one of their crews left Thursday morning to battle the fire in Richfield. If you fly, we cant: Drone briefly halts firefighting air support at Forsyth Fire FEMA to make funds available The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has also authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to FEMA, the authorization makes funding available to pay 75% of the states eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling designated fires. Eligible items can include expenses for field camps, equipment use, repair and replacement. These grants, however, do not provide assistance to individual home or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire. Weather conditions Crews say current weather conditions remain favorable and could help in containing the fire. They expect 8 to 12 mph winds to blow from the west, and relative humidity levels to bottom out around 25%. Cooler and more humid conditions are expected to continue into the weekend. According to ABC4s 4Warn weather team, an influx of moisture into southern Utah will lead to scattered thunderstorms and an increased flash flood threat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the National Weather Service, a flood watch is in effect for portions of southern Utah through midnight on Thursday. 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. BALTIMORE Federal scientists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology have identified a combination of substances believed to be responsible for a last weeks mass overdose in Baltimores Penn North neighborhood. Lab testing revealed the presence of the following drugs in samples tied to the July 10 overdose event: Fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid. Acetaminophen, a common pain and fever reducer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Caffeine, a central nervous system stimulant. Mannitol, an osmotic diuretic often used as a cutting agent. N-methylclonazepam, a benzodiazepine derivative with powerful sedative properties. Quinine, a compound historically used to treat malaria, now sometimes found as a drug adulterant. The institute said that according to data from Marylands Rapid Analysis of Drugs program, most of these substances including acetaminophen, caffeine, fentanyl, mannitol and quinine are commonly found in the states illicit drug supply. However, N-methylclonazepam has not previously been detected in Maryland through RAD, nor has it appeared in data from NISTs Rapid Drug Analysis and Research, or RaDAR, program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The intense sedative effects of N-methylclonazepam are consistent with reports from first responders in Penn North. Many individuals remained unconscious after receiving naloxone, a drug that combats the effect of opioid overdoses, suggesting the presence of a nonopioid sedative, federal scientists found. The mass overdose sent at least 27 people to hospitals within hours. Based in Montgomery County, NIST collaborated with the investigation through RaDAR, the agency confirmed to The Baltimore Sun. The institute used advanced technology to identify the drugs and cutting agents involved in the overdoses, which authorities have described as a possible bad batch of street narcotics. We identify all the drugs, cutting agents, and adulterants we can, said Edward Sisco, the lead researcher on the project, through an email from a spokesperson. If we find something new in the sample, we do additional testing to try to identify it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The RaDAR program relies on a technology called DART-MS, or direct analysis in real time mass spectrometry, that allows scientists to test drug residues including swabs from used paraphernalia and empty baggies rapidly and with high precision. The goal of RaDAR is to monitor the chemical makeup of the illicit drug supply in near real time to help public health and law enforcement officials respond swiftly to emerging threats, according to NIST. Although this is part of an ongoing project, we are obviously working intensely right now to analyze samples from Baltimore as quickly as possible, NIST spokesperson Rich Press told The Sun. Our current turnaround time is less than 24 hours. The Drug Enforcement Administration is also assisting the Baltimore Police Department in the criminal investigation, which so far has not led to any arrests directly tied to the overdoses in Penn North, police have said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials with the mayors office and the Baltimore Department of Health could not be reached for comment. Over the weekend, however, Baltimore Police did arrest five people on narcotics charges near the site of the overdoses, describing the area as an open-air drug market. Police have also been increasing surveillance in known drug-dealing hot spots across the city. Court documents suggest authorities are focusing on tracing the source of the dangerous batch that caused the outbreak of overdoses. The RaDAR program began as a pilot in Maryland in 2021 and has since expanded nationally. NIST now analyzes between 750 and 1,000 samples monthly from 15 states. _____ Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said Wednesday he is not on social media at all after New York magazine reported in May that a former aide had said social platform X was often a focus of the senator. Im actually not on Im not on social media at all, Fetterman said at a Wednesday event for Semafor. I try to remind people that social media is the funhouse mirror of the distortion of reality, the Pennsylvania Democrat later added. And wherever I go in public, people are lovely, and theyre really actually kind and very supportive, and Hey, can we have a picture and shake your hand? kind of a thing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, I would just remind anybody, the world that you see on those social media is just not the reality, he continued. In May, New York magazine reported that former Fetterman staffer Adam Jentleson said the lawmaker had a fixation with X. Fetterman stated his depression was intensified by the app. Fetterman dismissed the magazines report, which described concerns from some of his past and then-staffers over his mental state a few days after it came out. Its a one-source story with a couple of anonymous sources, a hit piece from a very left publication, Fetterman told NBC News when questioned over the story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fetterman said later in May that former aides who had voiced concerns over his mental health had a bizarre grudge against him. The Pennsylvania Democrat, who was hospitalized in 2023 for clinical depression nine months after a stroke, said this spring that he was well and planned to stay in office for the rest of his Senate 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. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) Local police say more residents in Sioux City are following the latest firework ordinances. New reports from Sioux City Police show that the number of fireworks complaints in the metro has taken a dip this summer. Rules to follow when it comes to fireworks in Sioux City Police told KCAU 9 that between June 1 and July 7, approximately 238 calls were made regarding fireworks. Thats a drop from last years 285 calls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police also said they issued three verbal warnings, 16 written warnings, and only had to give out two citations. Officials said the drop in complaints is a good sign that indicates locals are complying with city regulations. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. By Ahmed Rasheed BAGHDAD (Reuters) -A massive fire in a hypermarket in al-Kut city in southern Iraq has left at least 69 people dead and 11 others missing, the city's health authorities and two police sources told Reuters on Thursday. Reuters' footage of the aftermath of the overnight fire showed the blackened exterior of "Corniche Hypermarket" building, with rescue teams and security forces still at the site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Videos verified by Reuters showed firefighters spraying water on the blazing building overnight and people climbing from the roof with the help of rescue teams. "We have more bodies that have not been recovered still under fire debris," city official Ali al-Mayahi told Reuters. The cause of the fire was not immediately known, but an initial police report suggested that the fire had first erupted on the floor where perfumes and cosmetics are sold. "Raging fires trapped many people inside the mall, and everyone was desperately trying to find a way out," said Ali Al-Zargani, whose house is next to the market building and who entered the premises after the fire had subsided. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I saw the charred bodies of children and women lying on the ground it was a horrifying scene." While some of the bodies were prepared for burial, with mourners weeping and praying over the coffins, the remains of more than 15 severely burned victims required DNA testing for identification, a Reuters witness said. As rescuers combed the smoke-charred building for more bodies, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered an immediate investigation to "uncover any shortcomings", his office said in a statement. A statement from his office called for national mourning. The provincial governor said initial results from an investigation would be announced within 48 hours, the INA state news agency reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have filed lawsuits against the owner of the building and the mall," INA quoted the governor as saying. A lack of safety measures in Iraq has led to large death tolls in fires. In 2023, more than 100 people were killed after a fire swept through a crowded wedding hall in a northern town. (Reporting by Aref Mohammed and Ahmed Rasheed in Baghdad, Additional reporting by Mahezabin Yesdhani Syed; Writing by Nayera Abdallah in Dubai; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Ros Russell, William Maclean) ENGLEWOOD, Ohio (WDTN) A house fire Thursday morning in Englewood amounted to $25,000 in damages. According to the Englewood Fire Department, the fire occurred just after 2 a.m. on the 2020 block of North Creek Drive. Harrison Township and Brookville Fire crews assisted at the scene. Upon arrival, firefighters spotted smoke coming from the garage of the residence and quickly knocked down the fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One person was evaluated for smoke inhalation at the scene, but they were not transported to the hospital. The resident was alerted to the fire thanks to their smoke detector. The Englewood Fire Department reminds residents that they provide smoke detectors free of charge, as does the Dayton 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 WDTN.com. KUT, Iraq (AP) A fire engulfed a newly opened shopping center in eastern Iraq, killing more than 60 people, including children, Iraqi officials said Thursday. Civil defense teams rescued more than 45 people who became trapped when the fire broke out late Wednesday in the city of Kut in Wasit province, the Interior Ministry said in a statement. Others are still missing, according to the state-run Iraqi News Agency. Photographs and videos on local media showed the five-story Corniche Hypermarket Mall engulfed in flames only a week after it had opened. While the cause of the fire is still under investigation, officials and residents alleged that a lack of fire safety measures in the building contributed to the scale of the tragedy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iraqs Interior Ministry said in a statement that 61 people died in the shopping center fire, most of them from suffocation. Among the dead were 14 charred bodies that remain unidentified, it said. The fire started on the second floor, in an area selling perfume and cosmetics, the state news agency said, The fire was deeply painful for the community, said 60-year-old Kut resident Abdul Redha Thahab. My friend and neighbors family, who lived right next to my house a family of six, the husband, his wife, their two daughters, and two young children all perished in the fire, he said. Provincial Gov. Mohammed al-Miyahi declared three days of mourning, with Iraq's Cabinet later following suit. He said legal cases were filed against the building owner and shopping center owner, but did not specify what the charges were. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We assure the families of the innocent victims that we will not be lenient with those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident, al-Miyahi said. In a phone interview with The Associated Press, al-Miyahi called the fire a heartbreaking tragedy for the people of Wasit and alleged that the building owner had not implemented the necessary fire safety measures when he converted it into a shopping center. He said that no government official has resigned or been dismissed as a result of the fire, and that they are currently awaiting the results of the investigation. The results of the preliminary investigation will be released within 48 hours, he said. The building owner could not immediately be reached for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Poor building standards have often contributed to tragic fires in Iraq. In July 2021, a blaze at a hospital in the Iraqi city of Nasiriyah that killed between 60 to 92 people was determined to have been fueled by highly flammable, low-cost type of sandwich panel cladding that is illegal in Iraq. In 2023, more than 100 people died in a fire at a wedding hall in the predominantly Christian area of Hamdaniya in Nineveh province after the ceiling panels above a pyrotechnic machine burst into flames. Thahab, the Kut resident, said the building lacked fire safety measures, including emergency exit stairways. Residents of the neighborhood had joined firefighters in battling the blaze because there were not enough fire trucks to quickly control it, he said. Some of the victims came from farther afield. In the southern city of Najaf, Imad al-Quraishi walked in the funeral procession of a relative who died in the blaze. Like others, he blamed poor safety standards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No emergency exits, no fire extinguisher, no care, nothing, he said, adding that if the authorities in the area have any honor, they will submit their resignation today. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani visited the site of the fire Thursday. He did not speak publicly at the site, but said in a statement that he had directed the interior minister to go to investigate and take measures to prevent a recurrence. The state news agency later reported that al-Sudani had visited the family of one of the victims to give condolences. - Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad. Associated Press journalist Ali Sadiq in Najaf contributed to this report. A highly regarded career federal prosecutor who was abruptly fired without reason Thursday warned colleagues in a goodbye email not to let fear influence their work. If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain, Maurene Comey wrote in an email seen by The New York Times. Do not let that happen. Comey also called fear the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place, she continued. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else. Comey is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey and played key roles in the prosecution of Sean Diddy Combs, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Trump fired James Comey during his first presidential term while the FBI was conducting an investigation into Russias efforts to boost Trumps 2016 candidacy, which included hacking and releasing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clintons emails shortly after Trump publicly called for Russia to do so. Sources told ABC News that Trump was privately unhappy about having a Comey in his administration. The claim is bolstered by reports that Maurene Comeys dismissal letter cited Article II of the Constitution, which describes the powers of the executive branch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her firing also comes at an interesting time for Trump, who, along with the Justice Department, is under renewed pressure to release files related to Epstein, a disgraced millionaire and convicted sex offender who died in jail while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. With Trumps support, the DOJ said this week it would withhold the remaining records, in sharp contradiction to prior Republican pledges to the contrary. Related... At the country level, the largest changes to 2025/26 production figures were for China (+1.0 million bales, to 31.0 million), the U.S. (+600,000 bales to 14.6 million), Pakistan (-200,000 bales to 5.0 million), and Mexico (+100,000 bales to 800,000). For mill use, the largest revisions were for Pakistan (+300,000 bales to 10.9 million) and Mexico (+100,000 bales to 1.4 million). Updates to USDA forecasts for 2025/26 included a +1.4 million bale addition to global production (to 118.4 million) and a +365,000 bale addition to global mill use (to 118.1 million). Revisions to previous crop years lowered 2025/26 beginning stocks -510,000 bales (to 76.8 million). The net effect on the forecast for 2025/26 ending stocks was a +520,000 bale increase (to 77.3 million). This volume represents the largest amount of stocks outside of 2019/20 (Covid) and the period when China was holding massive inventory in its reserve system (2012/13-2015/16). Indian spot prices (Shankar-6 quality) shifted slightly higher, breaking above recent highs set in May (82 cents/lb or 54,700 INR/candy). Current levels are near 84 cents/lb or 56,000 INR/candy; about one month ago values were closer to 80 cents/lb or 54,000 INR/candy. The INR was stable near 86 INR/USD. The Chinese Cotton Index (CC Index 3128B) increased slightly in international terms, rising from 92 to 97 cents/lb over the past month. This extended the slow upward trend that has been in place since May, when values set lows around 88 cents/lb. In domestic terms, prices rose from 14,600 to 15,100 RMB/ton over the past month. In May, domestic prices set lows around 14,100 RMB/ton. The RMB was stable near 7.17 RMB/USD over the past month. Although the most actively traded December NY/ICE contract floated towards the higher end of its relatively tight range between 67 and 70 cents/lb, it was not able to sustain the move, and the pattern in price movement remains sideways. The latest value is near 67 cents/lb. Story Continues The global trade estimate for 2025/26 was mostly unchanged (-135,000 bales to 44.7 million). In terms of imports, the largest changes for 2025/26 were for Pakistan (+600,000 bales to 5.9 million) and China (-700,000 bales to 5.8 million). 2024/25 import estimates were lifted for Pakistan (+300,000 bales to 6.1 million) and lowered for China (-300,000 bales to 5.2 million). In terms of exports, there were no revisions of 100,000 bales or more. A notable change to 2024/25 export numbers was for the U.S. (+300,000 bales to 11.8 million). Price Outlook Another series of significant developments hit markets over the past month. Chief among these was the passing of the July 9 deadline the U.S. administration had set for negotiations with most trade partners (the deadline for negotiations with China is set for Aug. 12). Framework tariff increases were released for a range of U.S. trade partners. Many of the increases outlined were close to the levels proposed on April 2. Although tariff increases were initially threatened to go into effect on the July 9 deadline, the application of the current round of duty increases was postponed until Aug. 1. In the meantime, talks are scheduled to continue and tariff rates can be expected to continue to evolve. Despite the string of influential announcements in the policy environment, there was little reaction in the cotton market, with the December NY/ICE contract holding within its 3 cent/lb range between 67 and 70 cents/lb. There were also cotton market-specific developments over the past month. At the end of June, the USDA released an update to its estimate for U.S. planted acreage. Given prices for cotton relative to other crops, and weather-related challenges that may have prevented planting in eastern regions, there were widespread expectations that the June number would have been meaningfully lower than existing figures. However, the June estimate was adjusted slightly higher (from 9.9 to 10.1 million acres). In recent years, there have been important revisions to acreage estimates after June (for example, -500,000 acres from July to August in 2024, -860,000 acres from August to September in 2023, and +1.3 million acres from August to September in 2022), so some uncertainty remains about U.S. acres planted. There has been beneficial moisture in the southwest growing region, and the possibility of a better crop in West Texas contributed to the increase to the forecast for the U.S. These cotton-specific developments also had little perceivable effect on cotton prices, with NY/ICE December futures generally holding within its tight 3 cent range since May. Given the absence of price movement after all these events, there are questions about what could shake cotton prices out of their recent range. There are downside pressures from a slowing global economy and the potential for further increases in global exportable supply looking for buyers. Several of the countries that have the highest threatened tariff rates are also some of largest suppliers of apparel and textiles to the U.S. If tariff rates are increased as much as has been threatened, there could be a chilling effect on downstream orders in the supply chain. On the supply side, if moisture levels can hold up in West Texas during the critical period from late July and through August, there could be an additional couple million bales of exportable production. A factor that could inhibit price decreases could be the near record net short position held already by speculators in the futures market (Commodity Futures and Trading Commission or CFTC data). Since speculators have been so negative on the market, their ability to go even shorter may be limited. Relatedly, a potential factor that could support price gains could be a shift in speculator holdings away from their strong short position. However, speculators likely would need a reason to change their position. Policy uncertainty and projections of slower economic growth keep them from changing their position. Jon Devine, senior economist at Cotton Incorporated, keeps key stakeholders in the textile and investment communities informed via timely market analyses of commodity economics and factors influencing their stability. He generates industry analyses of the various links on the cotton supply chain, contributing to the divisions examinations and reports on consumer and retail trends relevant to cotton textile and apparel sectors. For more economic information about the cotton market, visit Cotton Incorporateds Lifestyle Monitor. An 18-year-old is recovering in the hospital after firefighters say he was underwater for 15 to 20 minutes before he was rescued from Lake Washington on Tuesday. The Seattle man was swimming with friends just before 10 p.m. off Houghton Beach Park. His friends said he went underwater and didnt resurface. Three off-duty city of Kirkland lifeguards were already at the scene looking for the man before firefighters arrived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Kirkland firefighter found the man at the bottom of the lake, and the water rescue team quickly pulled him to shore, where he was taken to the hospital. His condition is unknown. This incident is a sobering reminder of the importance of water safety, especially during the summer months when more people are enjoying the lake. Kirkland Fire and Police encourage the community to keep the following water safety tips in mind: A small business owner has been fined for serving products containing nuts to a customer with a severe allergy. Samantha Brauner, the owner of Small's Kitchen in Derby, sent an online order of protein balls to a customer in May 2024, triggering an allergic reaction. Derby City Council Trading Standards said the customer had repeatedly asked if the products contained nuts, but Brauner said they did not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Southern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court on Monday 30 June, 36-year-old Brauner, of Alport Heights in Oakwood, pleaded guilty to two charges and was fined more than 7,200. Trading Standards said Brauner narrowly escaped a custodial sentence due to her early guilty plea to supplying unsafe food with undeclared allergens, and selling food which was not of the nature, substance, or quality demanded by the purchaser. She was fined 1,920, ordered to pay costs of 4,515, and given a victim surcharge of 768. Regulatory services lead councillor Shiraz Khan said the sale "could have had disastrous consequences" and that the prosecution "serves as a reminder to other businesses that they need to take their allergen management responsibilities seriously". Follow BBC Derby on Facebook, on X, or on Instagram. Send your story ideas to eastmidsnews@bbc.co.uk or via WhatsApp on 0808 100 2210. Related internet links "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Amid constant warfare, climate change, a reduction in mental health across the globe, and the rapid deployment of AI, what does it mean to be a first lady? It is one of the most visible roles, with access to an international platform, and yet in many countries, including the United States, it is not written into the constitution. Its a position with advantages that are social but not fiscal, one that is not earned by winning over the electoral college but assumed by virtue of marriage to the countrys foremost leader. As Kim Simplis Barrow, the former first lady of Belize, put it at the Global First Ladies Alliance conference last week in New York City, We might not have power, but we have influence. Leslye Smith The Alliance was started 16 years ago by Montana senator Cora Neumann and Nicole Brzeski, who served as a senior advisor to the RAND Corporation on the African First Ladies Fellowship. Three years ago, it launched an annual weeklong academy in New York City, put on in partnership with the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. At the latest iteration, held last week at the Ford Foundation, first ladies and representatives from 13 countries gathered to discuss their evolving roles and the unique pressure they face with the only other women who would understand: their peers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The women were the picture of elegance, with some arriving in delicately woven gowns and matching head wraps and others in jewel-toned silk dresses or tailored pantsuits worn with classic pearls. There was a sense of excitement and relief as they caught up with familiar faces over coffee and light bites in the Mandela Room, their security quietly doing routine sweeps in the background. The tight-knit feel of the safe space, as many of the first ladies came to refer to it, was by design. First ladies attending for the first time are allowed two staff members, while those attending again are allowed one in order to keep the numbers small and the room intimate. Leslye Smith This years session drew attendees from groups representing first partners around the globe, including the Organization of African First Ladies for Development (OFLAD), the Caribbean-based Spouses of CARICOM Leaders Action Network (SCLAN), Alliance of Spouses of Heads of State and Representatives of Latin America (ALMA). First gentlemen are invited, but to date none have attended. Topics in the agenda shared ahead included gender-based violence, mental health, and AI. These kinds of academies and workshops focusing on leadership, purpose, empathy, soft power, and diplomacy inspire us and give space not only for reflection but for vision-setting, says Anna Hakobyan, the incumbent first lady of Armenia. Barrow served as the first lady of Belize from 2008 to 2020, during which she was a founding member of SCLAN; today, she is the president of the Belize Cancer Society. The conference focuses on preparing incoming first ladies for their role, she says. And this year they have engaged formers like myself to share our experiences. I believe they recognize the historical knowledgethat we can impart some kind of guidance. Leslye Smith This was the first year the Alliance invited conference alumni to speak. On one panel, Eliza Reid, the former first lady of Iceland, and Monica Geingos, the former first lady of Namibia, spoke with first ladies from Guatemala, Belize, and Angola about the importance of establishing and protecting your legacy. Geingos, who also served as the president of OAFLAD during her term, has long been vocal about the social-media abuse women in public positions face, as well as the importance of having a strong paper trail. Its not uncommon for politicians within the government, sometimes even the same political party, to target presidents and prime ministers through their wives. Often, these claims center on unapproved spending for personal events and even travel to outside countries where they have been formally invited. Such accusations can lead to the women facing ridicule, trial, or, worse, jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in addition to exhorting the women to protect themselves, Geingos feels passionately about helping them prepare for their futures. For first ladies, there will be a time where you are no longer in that role, she said in one of the smaller conference rooms across from the Mandela Room, where the main panels were taking place. And at that point, you want to speak to your time in a public-facing role, that you used it effectively. Prior to serving as first lady from 2015 to 2024, Geingos held various high-level positions in private equity, including chairman of the board of eBank Namibia. Today, she is the chancellor of Kepler College in Rwanda, as well as the executive chairperson of the One Economy Foundation. Leslye Smith My husband passed away as an incumbent president. He had a few months left on his term, so I didnt get to think about exits or about transition. I learned some tough lessons, which I think may be important for incumbent first ladies to wrap their minds around. Most of them will go through an orderly exit, but the continent on which I am, its not always orderly; it could be a coup, it could be that your country has a parliamentary system and your party withdraws your presidency. So not everybody has the luxury of knowing, This is the date on which I go. You must think about the day after. Do you want to build sustainability into the work that you do? Or does it stop with you being a first lady? For many, the answer is nothe work doesnt stop when your time in office ends. Sarah Brown served as the first lady of the United Kingdom from 2007 to 2010. During her term, Brown focused on raising awareness around maternal mortality and newborn health. Today, she carries on with the work through her charity, Theirworld, and has come to the academy to not only impart her past knowledge to incumbents (many of whom were eager to catch up with her) but to learn. Theirworld promotes healthy child development and education around the world. Through its Act for Early Years campaign, it encourages leaders to pledge their commitment to supporting early childhood development. And what better way to reach them than by networking in a room full of first spouses? The Act for Early Years campaign isnt just for making something work on the global stage, Brown explains. You know, we can have all the voices going to the leaders and have them meet in a room and hope theyll make the right decisions. This is also about whats happening at a national level, right down to community and grassroots levels. And this is where this network is so powerful, because a first lady, inside her country, is very connected to the groups that exist, that can organize, that can reach out into the grassroots levels. So knowing that you have the first lady in your corner for a campaign like [this] is really, really important and really powerful. Leslye Smith Theirworld is just one example of how a first lady can leverage the Global First Alliance in aiding her personal initiatives. Fatima Maada Bio, the incumbent first lady of Sierra Leone, says that last years session helped adapt her campaign, Hands Off Our Girls, by expanding the outreach to boys. I realized that I was a mother who only looked after girls and not boys. And we have boys in our country, so I had to find a way to incorporate [them]. From a course on inclusivity last year, I started to find a way. Now, Bio has started to distribute unisex footwear through a partnership with World Shoes, in addition to the sanitary pads she personally hands out across the districts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lack of resources, both financial and with regard to staffsome ladies have as few as two aides, while others have upwards of 100were openly on the table, as were climate change and treatments for disease. In a panel called Leading Through Division: Strategies for Navigating Polarized Times, led by Peter T. Coleman, a professor of psychology and education at Columbia University, each woman took a short quiz determining her ability to remain calm, perceptive, and in control during conflict. In a roundtable discussion led by Jyoti Gupta, the president and CEO of Womens Health and X-Ray at the GE Healthcare Foundation, and titled The Future Is Female and AI-Powered: Innovations in Womens Health, the first ladies were shown examples of how AI-powered technology could make up for the lack of skilled technicians available to conduct highly technical procedures, such as ultrasounds and mammograms, while offering more precise diagnoses of diseases such as early-stage cancer. Leslye Smith This space gives us an opportunity to talk to each other instead of the technocrats, says Barrow. We do need the tech technocrats at the end of the day, but its always good to share our experiences and learn from each other. Just yesterday we were talking about cervical cancer, and there are many fears of implementing the HPV vaccine, and at the end I just had to share that Belize has been successful in the launch of the HPV vaccine. Theres a reason for it; theres a lot of work that has happened before for that launch to be successful, and you have to rely on science. Prior to the conference, first ladies would meet on a regional basis, which didnt afford them the advantage of hearing firsthand how their peers in a separate hemisphere were navigating the same issues. With all the opportunities at hand, you have to be [aware] that youre not the prime minister or president. You have all the visibility, all the responsibility, all the everything, but not the resources and not the actual role in government, says Brown. Leslye Smith The position they hold is a delicate, if not tricky, one to step into and maintain. The Global First Partners Academy isnt just training the women on how to wield their soft power the most effectively, its creating a sisterhood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These gatherings not only reduce the sense of polarization globally, they also inspire me personally, says Hakobyan. I return home feeling more empowered, more enthusiastic, and less alone. Instead of isolation or frustration, I feel connected to a greater purpose and more committed than ever to addressing the challenges facing my own country. You Might Also Like MILAN (AP) Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner, the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound during a 24-mile leap through the stratosphere more than a decade ago, died in a crash Thursday along the eastern coast of Italy. He was 56. Italian firefighters who responded said a paraglider crashed into the side of a swimming pool in the city of Porto Sant Elpidio. The city's mayor confirmed Baumgartner's death in a social media post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our community is deeply affected by the tragic disappearance of Felix Baumgartner, a figure of global prominence, a symbol of courage and passion for extreme flight," Mayor Massimiliano Ciarpella said. Baumgartner, known as Fearless Felix, stunned the world in 2012 when he became the first human to break the sound barrier with only his body. He wore a pressurized suit and jumped from a capsule hoisted more than 24 miles (39 kilometers) above Earth by a giant helium balloon over New Mexico. The Austrian, who was part of the Red Bull Stratos team, topped out at 843.6 mph the equivalent of 1.25 times the speed of sound during a nine-minute descent. At one point, he went into a potentially dangerous flat spin while still supersonic, spinning for 13 seconds, his crew later said. When I was standing there on top of the world, you become so humble, you do not think about of breaking records anymore, you do not think of about gaining scientific data. The only thing you want is to come back alive, he said after landing in the eastern New Mexico desert. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The altitude he jumped from also was the highest-ever for a skydiver, shattering the previous record set in 1960 by Joe Kittinger, who served as an adviser to Baumgartner during his feat. Baumgartners altitude record stood for two years until Google executive Alan Eustace set new marks for the highest free-fall jump and greatest free-fall distance. In 2012, millions watched YouTubes livestream as Baumgartner coolly flashed a thumbs-up when he came out of the capsule high above Earth and then activated his parachute as he neared the ground, lifting his arms in victory after he landed. Baumgartner, a former Austrian military parachutist, made thousands of jumps from planes, bridges, skyscrapers and famed landmarks, including the Christ the Redeemer statue in Brazil. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2003, he flew across the English Channel in a carbon fiber wing after being dropped from a plane. In recent years, he performed with The Flying Bulls as a helicopter stunt pilot in shows across Europe. Baumgartner said after his record-breaking jump in 2012 that traveling faster than sound is hard to describe because you dont feel it. Sometimes we have to get really high to see how small we are, he said. ___ Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio. ATHENS, Ala. (WHNT) A woman was arrested in Athens on Wednesday night after documents state she had smokable hemp products. According to court documents, an Athens Police officer reported that on July 7, Mary Noble either sold or possessed seven Delta 9 pre-rolls and one Delta THC vape pen. Nobles arrest follows House Bill 445 going into effect on July 1. The bill prohibits all smokable hemp products, including those with Delta-8, Delta-9, and Delta-10 (such as THC vapes, cigarettes, etc.) in Alabama. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesman with the Athens Police Department confirmed that her arrest was the first under the new law. She is also facing additional charges of resisting arrest, attempting to elude by any means and obstructing justice using a false identity. The new law applies to everyone regardless of age or whether the products were purchased before July 1. APD offers hemp product disposal at their building, located at 951 Hobbs St E. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEED TO KNOW A Florida man was arrested after allegedly attempting to run down three kids with his car The man was allegedly upset because the three kids "ding-dong ditched" his home He now faces multiple charges for aggravated assault A Florida man was arrested last week after he allegedly tried to run over a group of kids with his car after they "ding-dong ditched" his home. Collier County Sheriffs Office records reviewed by PEOPLE show that John P. Albanos was arrested on July 12 and charged with two counts of aggravated assault with the intent to commit a felony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Albanos, 51, was released on bond the next day and is due back in court in early August, records show. A spokesperson for the Naples Police Department did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment Thursday on Albanos' arrest. According to the local Gulf Coast News, the 51-year-old man was at his home in Naples, Fla., when three kids approached his home, rang the doorbell, and ran away. The outlet, citing a police report, reported that the kids were riding on scooters and had played the prank on multiple homes along the block of 28th Ave. in town. 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. Albanos did not take kindly to the prank, according to the Gulf Coast News, which reported that police allege he grew angry with the kids, got in his car, and began to chase them down the street as they ran away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eventually, according to the news outlet, the kids ran into a neighboring yard to avoid getting hit by Albanos and a neighbor who witnessed the incident called 911 after trying to steer Albanos attention away from the children. Read the original article on People RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) The National Weather Service in Albuquerque has issued a Flash Flood Warning in southeastern Lincoln County, including Ruidoso, Ruidoso Downs, and Hollywood until 3:30 p.m. Thursday, July 17, 2025. People are asked to avoid the Blue 2, South Fork, and McBride burn scar areas due to heavy rainfall and runoff expected. The National Weather Service said several swiftwater rescues have been performed. According to the Ruidoso Downs Police Department, this includes two children and three adults who were rescued from the Friedenbloom Trailer Park. They were safely removed with no injuries. Ruidoso leaders have urged residents to get to higher ground when the flooding starts. After losing three lives last week, were all very much aware of that, and so thats on top of our minds. So, when we ask people to evacuate, we would ask them, please, please, I know its not comfortable, I know its not fun, but please evacuate, said Mayor Lynn Crawford, Village of Ruidoso. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Flooding was reported in the US 70 area and videos taken by bystanders showed water rushing down the road. US 70 and Gavilan Canyon Road were closed but have since reopened. Lincoln County warned that flash flooding could take place near Friedenbloom, Ruidoso Downs, and the Glencoe area. People in area have been told to move immediately to higher ground. An evacuation shelter has been established at Ruidoso Community Center. The flooding comes nearly one week after one man and two children were killed and many homes and businesses were damaged in flash flooding in Ruidoso. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KANSAS (KSNT) The National Weather Service (NWS) of Topeka is warning of flash flooding in parts of eastern Kansas on Thursday morning. At 5 a.m., the NWS issued a flash flooding warning that will be in effect until 8 a.m. for Douglas, northeastern Osage, southeastern Shawnee and southern Jefferson Counties. Other flash flooding warnings for Jackson, Clay, Platte, Wyandotte, Johnson and Leavenworth counties are also in place until 8:45 a.m. Jefferson County Emergency Management reports there is flooding on Highway 24 going north into Lawrence and also at Highway 24 and Highway 59. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the NWS, Doppler radar and rain gauges indicate there was heavy rain across the area with between 1.4 and 4 inches. The NWS says another 0.5 to 1 inches are possible in the area. The NWS said flash flooding is ongoing or is expected to begin shortly. Turn around, dont drown when encountering flooded roads, the NWS wrote. Most flood deaths occur in vehicles. As a result of the storms, Evergy reports that over 22,000 customers in Kansas and Missouri are without power. Storms tonight with a brief cool down Thursday More information will be provided as it becomes available. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. KANSAS CITY, Mo. For the second day in a row, heavy rainfall doused Kansas City on Thursday, leading to flash flooding on major highways and water rescues across the metropolitan area. Strong to severe thunderstorms rolled through Kansas and Missouri early Thursday, leading to the second consecutive day with more than 2 inches of rain, according to the National Weather Service office in Kansas City. "This ties the record for consecutive days of 2 inches or more at KC, which has occurred 12 times in 137 years," the NWS said on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Flash Flood Warning was in place until 9 a.m. CT for areas east of Kansas City. Flash flooding was reported across parts of Highway 169 and Interstate 70. Interstate 435 at 23rd Street had extensive flooding, and several other low-lying roadways were covered with water. Missouri Department of Transportation cameras on I-435 in Kansas City showed several cars nearly submerged in water. The Kansas City Fire Department responded to multiple stranded drivers and water rescues. Kansas City Fire Department Battalion Chief Michael Hopkins told FOX Weather that as of 5:30 a.m., 18 water rescues had been performed by the department, and rescues continued throughout Thursday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How To Watch Fox Weather Hopkins said no one was injured during the flooding. Missouri State Highway Patrol troopers were also assisting drivers on Thursday as the flooding caused delays on many roads. Thousands of customers across Kansas and Missouri experienced power outages overnight and into Thursday morning, with about 20,000 outages between the two states, according to FindEnergy.com. Original article source: Flash flooding in Kansas City closes highways, leads to water rescues SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. When 20 children were murdered two weeks before Christmas in Newtown, Conn., my worldview shifted. To me, the violent shooting deaths of babies who were contemplating sugar plums and Santa challenged my belief in a good and loving G od. There was no reason, no justification, no earthly or celestial explanation as to why such evil could be allowed to enter a school. Guns, mental illness, and bad parenting were all thrown around as the cause of the catastrophe, and I even went to our state capitol to speak before our legislature about the importance of preventing people with mental health issues from ever touching the trigger of a gun. But nothing could make the deaths of the children make any sense, and the lobbying and the anger and all of the social media posts and the letters to Congress and the promises of "never again," which of course became "look away until the next thing happens," were just noise. I think that's because children died. Although six brave adults were also murdered that cold December day, it is hard for me to conjure their faces. They were heroes, and tried to shield the children from the bullets, and they had families that will mourn them for eternity. But I don't see them when I hear the phrase "Sandy Hook." I see the smiles of the babies, and it never fails to make something crumple inside of me, the part of me that believes in the essential goodness of people. That is not a given anymore. And the thing that always angered me about Newtown was that people on both sides of the aisle, but especially the gun control activists on one particular side, tried to exploit the tragedy by playing partisan politics over the bodies of 7-year-olds. You can understand how mourning parents would beg for laws that would stop the next class of kindergartners from being caught in the scope of a mad and evil man. But the way that some Democrats used the tragedy to attack their Republican opponents, as if the latter were rejoicing in the death of children, was repellent. The phrase "Second Amendment" became a curse, and anyone who argued for anything less than a total ban on what was incorrectly called "automatic weapons" was told they had the Newtown blood on their hands Using children to advance a political goal is probably the most disgusting thing human beings can do. And adults do it all the time, including some conservatives who, for example, point to children born in this country of undocumented parents as "invaders." But that is for another column, and another audience. Right now, I'm angry at the left for using the deaths of little girls at Camp Mystic in much the same way as it used the death of the Newtown children: to hurt their political opponents. I have read, and reread, comments about the tragedy in Texas. The overwhelming majority are from good human beings who have not been stripped of their compassion. That is a comfort. And virtually all, but not all, of the people I respect (or respected) have found within themselves the ability to grieve for children and the adults who loved them. But as is so often the case, there are those who are like driftwood on the roiling sea of humanity, pushed inexorably toward the furthest shores of inhumanity. They have lost any semblance of decency. They hate President Trump, and those of us who either voted for him or did not vote for his opponent, and those who refuse to bow to their superior status as sole arbiters of a better society, so much that they are using the lifeless bodies of little girls and the emptied souls of their parents as ammunition to wound their enemies. And for clarity, these same people lied about the damage that would be done by a bill, that while in so many ways objectionable, does not starve children, throw the elderly out of nursing homes, or arm a rising immigration Gestapo. It is very clear to me that the hatred of a man and his politics has eaten up these people from the inside out, leaving zombie husks that appear to be human but are nothing more than mobile corpses. That we cannot simply take a moment to pause and mourn together the extinguishing of such bright and promising lights is a terrible commentary about who we are, and who we have not stopped being since Adam Lanza stole the world from bright-eyed babies. Actually, since well before that. (COMMENT, BELOW) Christine M. Flowers is a lawyer and columnist. NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE:NG) is one of the 10 Metal Stocks with Insider Buying in 2025. Negative second-quarter results at NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE:NG), following the additional ownership acquisition in Donlin Gold. NovaGold Insiders Raise Stakes Following Donlin Deal Despite Quarterly Loss An aerial view of a gold mining claim in the Kuskokwim region of southwestern Alaska. Based in Vancouver, NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE:NG) explores and develops precious metal projects in the U.S. The companys principal asset is its 50% interest in the Donlin Gold project in Alaska, covering ~29,000 hectares. Established in 1984, the company pursues long-term development of one of the highest-grade gold deposits globally. On June 3, 2025, the company, in collaboration with Paulson Advisers, announced the successful closing of their previously disclosed acquisition of Barrick Mining Corporations 50% interest in the Donlin Gold project. The transaction was valued at a total of $1 billion. With Paulsons ownership at 40% and NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE:NG)s ownership increased from 50% to 60% in the company, Donlin Gold LLC advances the Donlin Gold project in Alaska. Following the acquisition, NovaGold Resources Inc. (NYSE:NG) released its Q2 2025 results on June 25, 2025. The report indicated a net loss of $54.3 million. While the increased acquisition shows promise, the company indicated that it would take approximately two years and $80 million in cost to update the feasibility study on the Donlin Gold project. Despite these headwinds, the top executives confidence in the stock remains sturdy since insider ownership in the last six months saw an uptick of 12%. While we acknowledge the potential of NG as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 10 Energy Stocks with Insider Buying in 2025 and 12 Best MLP Dividend Stocks to Buy According to Analysts Disclosure. None. BEDFORD, PA. (WTAJ) The National Weather Service has issued a Flash Flood Warning for parts of Central/Southern Pennsylvania. Stick with WTAJ Your Weather Authority for all severe weather alerts and updates. The warning highlights Blair, Cambria, Somerset, and Bedford County and will expire at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, July 16. Between one and three inches of rain have fallen. Additional rainfall amounts up to an inch are possible in the warned area. Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly. It is always important to know the messaging from the local weather office in terms of its impact and messaging. Get the latest weather updates for this event by downloading the Your Weather Authority app. A general Flash Flood Warning should still be taken seriously, but when the messaging threat includes phrases like considerable or catastrophic, action must be taken immediately to ensure the safety of all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Move to higher ground now. Act quickly to protect your life. Turn around, dont drown, and never drive through water on roadways. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTAJ - www.wtaj.com. Four people have died from Vibrio vulnificus a type of bacteria that can cause a life-threatening infection in Florida so far this year, the Florida Department of Health announced. The bacteria, which have been nicknamed flesh-eating bacteria, are naturally found in warm, brackish seawater. Vibrio vulnificus infections are rare, but they can be fatal if left untreated. The United States typically sees 100 to 200 cases each year. So far, 11 people have contracted the infection in Florida this year. Last year, there were 82 cases and 19 deaths in Florida a surge likely caused by Hurricane Helene. Vibrio vulnificus infections are rare but they can be fatal if left untreated. BSIP via Getty Images The bacteria thrive in water between 59-104 degrees Fahrenheit. So warmer temperatures which are becoming more common due to climate change create ideal conditions that help the bacteria proliferate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Florida, we typically have cases seen each year but it appears an increase in cases is being seen,Dr. Norman L. Beatty, an associate professor of medicine in the division of infectious diseases and global medicine at the University of Florida College of Medicine, told HuffPost. How do you get a Vibriovulnificus infection? There are two ways you can be exposed to Vibrio vulnificus. The first is by consuming uncooked or undercooked shellfish, like oysters. The second method is by entering affected seawater with an open wound. Bacterial levels are typically highest in coastal waters between May and October, when temperatures are the warmest, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The vast majority of cases occur when the bacteria enter an open wound, but about 10% are caused by undercooked seafood, according to the University of Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Infections tend to spike during and after hurricanes. According to research from the University of Maryland, intense rainfall, changes in seawater temperature, and an increase in chlorophyll levels in the water (which indicate there may be nearby plankton blooms) can lead to an abundance of Vibrio bacteria. Hurricane Helene in 2024 and Hurricane Ian in 2022 both led to an abnormal spike in Vibriovulnificus cases. The cases in Florida documented this year do not appear to be related to any weather events, Beatty said. While the bacteria are more prevalent in Florida, they exist in other regions, too. Its more common in Florida because of the warm coastal waters, but cases can happen in other Gulf Coast and East Coast states during the summer, even as far north as New England, said Dr. Daniel D. Rhoads, chair of the College of American Pathologists Microbiology Committee. What are the symptoms like? Symptoms of Vibrio vulnificus infections appear suddenly, often within 24 hours of being exposed to the bacteria. People typically experience fever, chills, dizziness and confusion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you ingested uncooked seafood, you may develop gastroenteritis and experience nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. But if the bacteria entered a wound, you may develop a rash near the site of the wound that quickly becomes swollen and painful. You may also notice fluid-filled blisters. If a person develops blistering at the site of infection, which we call bullae, this indicates the tissue is dying and a person should immediately go to a hospital, Beatty said. The wound infection, known as necrotizing fasciitis, eats away at human flesh, the University of Florida states. Some people may experience a rapidly progressing soft tissue infection that can spread systemically and cause sepsis and septic shock, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, an infectious diseases expert and senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Healthy individuals typically develop a mild form of the disease. But people who are immunocompromised such as those with chronic liver disease, diabetes, or iron overload face a higher risk of both sepsis and soft tissue infection, Adalja said. One study found that people with underlying health conditions are 80 times more likely to develop Vibrio vulnificus bloodstream infections than healthy people. Roughly 50% of Vibrio vulnificus bloodstream infections are deadly. Overall, about 20% of cases in the U.S. are deadly. Vibrio vulnificus wound infections are somewhat unusual in that they can worsen quickly and can be life-threatening, Rhoads said. Whats treatment and recovery like? If you experience any of the above symptoms and suspect you were exposed to the bacteria, its crucial to seek medical help immediately. The infection can be quite fulminant if not recognized and treated early, Adalja said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vibrio vulnificus is typically diagnosed via stool, wound or blood cultures. The infection is primarily treated with oral antibiotics. They are effective at preventing severe disease, Beatty said. In severe cases, surgery may be necessary to remove infected soft tissue. According to University of Florida, early treatment is crucial and helps prevent the need for surgery or even amputation. How can you protect yourself from Vibriovulnificus? We are now in hurricane season, which has been associated with an uptick in Vibriovulnificus activity. As such, its crucial to be prudent and prepared, Beatty said. The best thing you can do is avoid going into the ocean if you have an open wound or recent piercing. As the Florida Department of Health states, Water and wounds do not mix. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This advice is crucial for people at high risk of severe infections, Adalja said. If you develop a wound while youre in the water, get out and immediately clean it with sterile water, Beatty advised. And if youre a fan of seafood, the safest bet is to cook your shellfish, oysters and mussels thoroughly. Wear protective clothing like gloves when handling raw shellfish. Vibriovulnificus infectionscan become serious quickly, but they can be easily prevented by following these simple steps. Related... Airports from Boston to Atlanta have seen a substantial spike in flight cancellations since the summer travel rush began this year compared to the same period in 2024. Nationally, the cancellation rate is up about 29% from 1.4% of flights being canceled in 2024 to 1.8% so far this summer. Historically, airlines see between 1 and 2% of flights canceled on any given day. Using data from flight tracker FlightAware, CBS News looked at May 21, 2025 the Wednesday before Memorial Day through July 14, 2025, compared to the same period last year, which is shifted by one day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While there were nearly 256,000 fewer scheduled flights, about an 18% drop compared to summer 2024, the number of canceled flights has been higher by about 1,000 flights. So far this summer, 27.3% of flights have been delayed compared to 25.1% last year. The average delay time has crept up four minutes to 62 minutes. The summer travel troubles vary greatly by airport with many on the East Coast experiencing worse cancellation rates than they did last year, according to data from Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, for the Wednesday before Memorial Day through July 15. Airports with worse flight cancellation rates than last summer Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are the airports with the highest increases in cancellation rates so far this summer compared to the same time period last year: DCA Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport tops the list with a 274% higher cancellation rate so far this summer. Nearly 6% of its flights have been canceled. On-time performance is down more than 10%. The airport was the site of the deadly crash between an American Airlines plane and an Army helicopter in January. ATL While Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport's cancellation rate this summer of nearly 1.6% is within historic norms, that is up by 257%, and its on-time arrival is down 9.3%. Hundreds of flights at the airport were canceled after a crippling storm in June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement IAD Washington Dulles International Airport has seen its cancellation rate surge 104% compared to last year, while its on-time performance is off by just over 10%. BOS Boston Logan International Airport's cancellation rate is 68% higher this year, and on-time performance has dropped by 3.7%. LGA LaGuardia Airport has canceled about 5% of flights so far this summer, a 65% increase from last year. Its on-time performance rate is down 6.1% PHL Philadelphia International Airport's cancellation rate is up 63%, while on-time performance is down 2.2%. Airports with better flight cancellation rates than last summer Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These airports have decreased cancellation rates the most so far this summer compared to the same time period last year: MIA Miami International Airport has seen a 40% lower cancellation rate this summer with on-time performance up 7.3%. FLL Another Florida airport, Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, has a cancellation rate that is 25% lower than last year's. Its on-time performance rate is up 7.7%. SFO San Francisco International Airport's cancellation rate is down 21%, and its on-time performance is up 5.6%. DFW Dallas Fort Worth International Airport has seen its cancellation rate decline 17%, while on-time performance has improved 0.8%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LAX Los Angeles International Airport's cancellation rate has fallen 12% this year. On-time performance is up 2.9%. ORD Chicago O'Hare International Airport has seen its cancellation rate drop by 9%, while on-time performance has edged up 1.6%. 2025 so far Looking at 2025 so far, not just from the start of the summer travel season, the total number of flights in the U.S. grew by about 3% compared to the same time period in 2024. There were 4,842,254 flights departing the U.S. for domestic and international destinations between Jan. 1, 2025, and July 15, 2025, while that period in 2024 saw 4,675,727 flights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cancellations are up 17% in 2025 with the overall cancellation rate increasing from 1.31% last year to 1.53% this year, according to Cirium's data. On-time departures are up slightly by 0.29%. Wall Street Journal reports Trump sent "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein, Trump threatens to sue 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Medical expert on Trump's chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis The first part of a silver collection owned by the late Flog It! antiques expert Michael Baggott has sold for more than double its estimate at auction. Baggott, who worked on the BBC series from 2004 to 2018, died in January aged 51 after a heart attack. His antiques collection included the most comprehensive set of silver assessed by metal testers in York to ever enter the open market, according to auction house Woolley & Wallis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 150 lots sold on Wednesday were expected to reach 60,000, but went for a total of 124,614. The remaining 290 lots will be sold at two later auctions, because of the impact that selling the entire collection at once could have on the markets, the auctioneers said. Rupert Slingsby, silver specialist at Woolley & Wallis, said there was an "unprecedented amount of interest" in the collection, mainly from private collectors. "The main thing that brought people in was the fact that it was this rare collection of York silver," he said. Normally, the auction house sells about 2,500 lots of silver every year, with approximately 50 of those being York silver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The fact that Michael in his collection has got over 500 pieces of York silver is quite a wow." Baggott died in January from a heart attack, after suffering a stroke in October 2024 [Baggott Family Archive] As well as silver from York, Baggott's collection includes items assessed in Liverpool, Chester, Dundee, Newcastle, Bristol, Exeter and Aberdeen. The auction house said that he was a recognised authority on antique silver, specialising in early spoons, boxes, provincial and continental silver. The highest seller was a rare York silver George III chamberstick and snuffer, made in 1793, which was expected to sell for between 1,000 and 1,500, but made 8,190. A rare York silver chamberstick and snuffer sold for 8,190, more than five times its estimate [Woolley & Wallis] The chamberstick also bears the rare York town mark, which "collectors like to see", according to Mr Slingsby. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If that was a London-made chamberstick that would be 500," he said. Baggott was born in Birmingham and his interest in antiques began at an early age. Before joining Flog It!, he worked at Christie's auction house and was head of silver at Sotheby's Billingshurst, before becoming a private consultant. "In recent years he had a very funny social media presence, and did a lot of posts explaining various aspects of silver," said Mr Slingsby. "He was a greatly-loved character." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North. More on this story Florida AG intervening in legal dispute involving homes Trump signage Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is intervening in a Volusia County legal dispute. Uthmeiers office accuses Jason McCormick of violating the free speech rights of Kimberly and Daryl Ward by suing them to remove pro-Trump flags from their property. However, McCormicks initial lawsuit does not mention the flags or any political signage. A trial in that dispute is set for September. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. Orders from the administrations of President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis have achieved what vandals have tried and failed: The elimination of a street intersection on Boynton Beach painted with the rainbow colors of the LGBTQ+ progress pride flag. The rainbow colors were removed Wednesday morning. The intersection, at East Ocean Boulevard and Southeast First Street, close to City Hall, was painted black. Other cities in South Florida Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach and across the nation face the same mandate, but it was not immediately clear whether or how they would comply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The instructions came via a July 1 social media post, press release and Dear Governor letter from Trump Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and a July 2 social media post from Florida Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue, who attached a detailed memorandum from one of his assistant secretaries. Duffy was direct about his intentions. Taxpayers expect their dollars to fund safe streets, not rainbow crosswalks. Political banners have no place on public roads. Im reminding recipients of @USDOT roadway funding that its limited to features advancing safety, and nothing else. Its that simple. Perdue wasnt pride-flag specific, but his message was clear. Writing on social media a day after Duffy, he said that Floridas proactive efforts to ensure we keep our transportation facilities free & clear of political ideologies were cemented into law by @GovRonDeSantis & reemphasized in FDOTs attached memo. Great to now have our federal partners also aligned behind this same common-sense policy. The bottom line: Non-approved markings are out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A statement from the city of Boynton Beach said it had removed the inclusionary-painted intersection on the 100 block of East Ocean Avenue to ensure full compliance with state and federal transportation mandates and address safety concerns. The decision follows recent guidance from the U.S. Transportation Secretary and the Florida Department of Transportation. The city cited the memorandum from Perdues agency that establishes specific requirements for roadway markings and materials. City Manager Daniel Dugger amplified the reasoning in the statement. While we recognize the symbolic importance of this intersection to our community, we must prioritize public safety and regulatory compliance, Dugger said. The city remains committed to finding appropriate ways to honor and celebrate our diverse community and will consider alternative memorial options at a future date. Rand Hoch, president of the Palm Beach County Human Rights Council, was present when the Boynton Beach intersection was unveiled during LGBTQ+ Pride Month in June 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hoch, who suggested West Palm Beachs pride intersection years ago, has been monitoring the edicts earlier this month from the state and federal governments. He said he was taken aback that Boynton Beach had already acted. The intentions of other South Florida cities Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach with crosswalks or intersections or sections of roads painted to represent the rainbow Progress flag werent immediately known. Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean Trantalis said his citys installation is on a side street not used by cars and not at an intersection so he hopes it can survive. Delray Beach Commissioner Rob Long said Wednesday the matter hasnt yet been considered. A city of West Palm Beach spokesperson didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Perdues memorandum didnt make the change optional. The penalty for violating the orders: withholding state money from the cities, effectively giving the communities no choice but to comply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is just another example of the president and the governor blackmailing local governments by telling them theyre going to withhold funding so they can try to publicly erase the LGBTQ+ community, Hoch said. This seems to be a priority of these administrations. And for the life of me I cannot understand why. More people nowadays are identifying as LGBTQ+ than ever before. And we are not going to disappear. Its personal for Hoch, a retired judge who has been advocating for LGBTQ+ rights for some 40 years. When the West Palm Beach Art In Public Places Committee, where he was serving as a member, was told in 2018 there were plans to refurbish and paint dozens of city crosswalks, Hoch suggested a rainbow crosswalk in Northwood Village, a part of West Palm Beach that the LGBTQ+ community helped revitalize. Mayor Dean Trantalis of Fort Lauderdale, his citys first openly LGBTQ+ mayor, also said moves from the transportation agencies are ideological. Regardless of black letter law, I believe this is nothing more than a very petty attempt to try to undermine freedom of expression and to try to circuitously justify some kind of attempt to deny peoples First Amendment rights of expression, Trantalis said. If the stripes on sidewalks were red, white and blue I dont think they would be coming down on anybody even though that in and of itself is a political expression. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have better things to do in this world. We have wars to settle. We have insurance costs to reduce. We have housing crises. We have homelessness. America doesnt care about the color of its crosswalks, Trantalis said. I think its time to move past this kind of pettiness. The progress pride flag, which is used in Fort Lauderdale and was used in Boynton Beach, is the current symbol for the LGBTQ+ community. Most of it consists of the six rainbow stripes that are a familiar symbol LGBTQ pride. It also includes triangular black and brown stripes to represent people of color and baby blue, pink and white stripes to include colors of a transgender flag. Duffy is a former member of Congress from Wisconsin who later served as a Fox News contributor and host on the Fox Business Channel. Hes competed and appeared on TV reality shows The Real World: Boston, Road Rules: All Stars and as a lumberjack on ESPNs Great Outdoor Games. Roads are for safety, not political messages or artwork. Today I am calling on governors in every state to ensure that roadways, intersections, and crosswalks are kept free of distractions, Duffy said. Far too many Americans die each year to traffic fatalities to take our eye off the ball. USDOT stands ready to help communities across the country make their roads safer and easier to navigate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The memorandum Perdue attached to his social media post stated that Non-standard surface markings, signage, and signals that do not directly contribute to traffic safety or control can lead to distractions or misunderstandings, jeopardizing both driver and pedestrian safety. Non-compliant markings, the memo said, include pavement surface art that is associated with social, political or ideological messages or images and does not serve the purpose of traffic control. It also said consistent application of pavement surface markings is critical for the overall effectiveness of automated vehicle operation. Trantalis rejected the assertion that rainbows on streets are a safety issue. It does not distract drivers. It does not distract bicyclists. It does not distract pedestrians. All it seems to do is distract politicians who are trying to inculcate society with their narrow points of view. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The press office for the state Department of Transportation didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. The federal agencys press office responded with a link to its press July 1 press release. The transportation policies come at a time of a rapidly shifting political environment surrounding the LGBTQ+ community and related issues. During Trumps first presidential campaign, he courted LGBTQ+ voters. And in his second presidency, his treasury secretary is the highest-ranking openly LGBTQ+ cabinet member to serve in any presidents administration. But his second administration also has been marked by hostility toward anything touching on diversity, equity and inclusion. DeSantis, as he prepared for his ultimately unsuccessful candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, turned further to the right and embraced a host of culturally conservative issues, often involving the LGBTQ community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under DeSantis, the state enacted the Parental Rights in Education Law, called the Dont Say Gay law by critics, which restricts instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity in schools. It has imposed age restrictions on audiences for drag shows. After years of acknowledging the targets of the 2016 Pulse nightclub massacre the LGBTQ and Hispanic communities DeSantis omitted them last month from his official 2025 state description of Pulse Remembrance Day, which marked the ninth anniversary of the massacre that took place on Latin Night at the LGBTQ club in Orlando. The gunman killed 49 people and wounded 53. And in the transportation arena, the DeSantis administration previously banned light displays on state-managed bridges, except on official government holidays using red, white and blue a move that effectively blocks rainbow-colored lights during Pride month. Long, the Delray Beach commissioner, objected to what he said are constant moves by the state to override decisions made by local elected officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the Delray Beach pride intersection is on a city-owned street. If we went out to (Interstate) 95 and painted a pride emblem on it theyd have a point. But thats our jurisdiction. I see that as a home-rule issue. If theyre going to come into our city and tell us what to do with the streets, thats a problem. The rainbow street markings in Boynton Beach, Delray Beach and Fort Lauderdale have been damaged by vandals over the years. The Delray Beach intersection was damaged last month by a pickup truck driver burning tire marks into the paint, the third time its been vandalized since it was unveiled in 2021. Hoch said vandalism doesnt mean we should stop doing this. He said that its costly when people who damage the installations are caught. He said one of the previous Delray Beach vandals had to pay $6,000 to repair the damage. _____ Florida's Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the state's current congressional redistricting map, rejecting a challenge over the elimination of a majority-Black district in north Florida that was pushed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. The court, dominated by DeSantis appointees, ruled that restoration of the district that previously united Black communities from Jacksonville to west of Tallahassee, or across 200 miles (322 kilometers), would amount to impermissible racial gerrymandering. That, the majority ruled, violates the Constitution's equal protection guarantees. The record leaves no doubt that such a district would be race-predominant. The record also gives us no reasonable basis to think that further litigation would uncover a potentially viable remedy, said Chief Justice Carlos Muniz in the court's majority opinion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision means Florida's current congressional districts that give Republicans a 20-8 advantage over Democrats will remain in place for the 2026 midterm elections and beyond. The former north Florida district was most recently represented by a Black Democrat, former Rep. Al Lawson. The new districts divide that area among three Republicans. A panel of three federal judges previously upheld the current congressional districts. This was always the constitutionally correct map and now both the federal courts and the FL Supreme Court have upheld it, DeSantis said on X. One of the plaintiffs, the National Redistricting Foundation, called the new ruling alarming because it diminishes the voting power of Black Floridians by upholding the GOP-drawn map. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court is abandoning the most basic role of the judiciary: to provide justice for the people, said Marina Jenkins, executive director of the foundation. Earlier redistricting efforts by the state Legislature included versions of the north Florida district that preserved Black voting power. But after a veto by DeSantis, the governor pushed through the current map that eliminated it. In its ruling, the Supreme Court said one problem for the plaintiffs was they did not propose a viable alternative map but only pointed out potential problems with the current one. It is not enough in the redistricting context for challengers to identify a flaw in an enacted districting plan and demand that the court send the Legislature back to the drawing board," the decision said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Justice Jorge Labarga was the lone dissenter, contending the lawsuit should be sent back to a lower court for further proceedings to allow the challengers a chance to produce different districts. By foreclosing further litigation, the majoritys decision now allows to remain in place a congressional redistricting plan that is unconstitutional under the Florida Constitution, Labarga wrote. Rock climbers living in the flatlands of Florida now have a new massive venue to hone their skills as High Point Climbing and Fitness opens its doors. The 45,000-square-foot indoor climbing gym features 52-foot walls, a bouldering area, a full-service gym, a yoga studio, party rooms and a dedicated childrens climbing area in Orlandos Packing District. The new facility is the largest climbing gym in Florida and the sixth largest in the United States, said High Point co-founder Johnny OBrien. Florida is probably one of the most underserved markets in terms of climbing gyms. Theres a giant population with demographics that work for climbing, he said. We believe that people will spend their weekends traveling over here from different parts of the state who want to do rope climbing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OBrien and co-founder John Wiygul looked at Tampa and Jacksonville as potential options for their eighth location, adding to the companys locations in Tennessee and Alabama. The business partners found a collaborative supporter in Dr. Phillips Charities, which is overseeing the new 202-acre Packing District development along Orange Blossom Trail west of College Park. Were really excited to be working with Dr. Phillips, and were really excited to be in this location in the Packing District. We feel like its a great location in Orlando and Central Florida, Wiygul said. Weve had an amazing and welcoming reception to Orlando. Ken Robinson, the president and CEO of Dr. Phillips, Inc., and The Dr. P. Phillips Foundation, said the gym fits into the vision for the Packing District and supports a healthier community. One of the things weve always wanted to do with the Packing District is to take buildings weve owned for 50 or 70 years and put them to a higher function. This is a perfect adaptive reuse of this building, he said. We want to bring the right people that have common values. We want to see a mix of different communities in here with the same value of a healthy environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement High Point joins a growing roster of climbing facilities in Central Florida, which includes longtime staple Aiguille Rock Climbing Center in Longwood, Blue Swan Boulders and Central Rock Gym in Orlando, DynoClimb in DeLand and ROX in Lake Nona. Be Climbing is under construction in Apopka. Memberships are now on sale for climbers interested in visiting High Point regularly. The facility is currently open to founding members only, but will open to the broader community as soon as city permits allow for a greater capacity. Were a very grassroots company. Were looking forward to serving the greater Florida climbing community here in Orlando, Wiygul said. Find me @PConnPie on Instagram or send me an email: pconnolly@orlandosentinel.com. Stay up to date with our latest travel, arts and events coverage by subscribing to our newsletters at orlandosentinel.com/newsletters. If you go High Point Climbing and Fitness is currently open to members at 1978 Stanhome Way in Orlando. For information about memberships and facility details, call 689-306-9021 or visit highpointclimbing.com. (WJET/WFXP) A Florida man convicted of spearheading several burglaries while posing as a utility crew at the homes of several elderly residents across western Pennsylvania has received his sentence. Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that 57-year-old Steve Nichols of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was sentenced in Butler County Court to 2.5-20 years in state prison for being the driving force behind seven burglaries in five counties. Jamestown police arrest man wanted for homicide out of Puerto Rico Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nicols and his crew, which included his son, 39-year-old Archie Marino, burglarized seven homes of PA residents, mostly in their 80s, across Butler, Erie, Indiana, Lackawanna, and Westmoreland counties. During the robberies, Nichols crew would pose as a utility company to get inside, then one of them would distract the homeowners while the rest would take their cash, jewelry and other valuables. The defendant was the engineer of this criminal conduct, intentionally targeting older Pennsylvanians because he felt they were more vulnerable to be duped, Attorney General Sunday said. My office is committed to holding fully accountable those who threaten the sanctity of our homes. This case should serve as a reminder for residents to remain vigilant when contacted by people they do not know. Jamestown man allegedly stole millions from employer over decade-long period Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents, Marino was sentenced in February 2024 to 3.5 to 10 years in prison for his role. The crimes were initially investigated by Millcreek Township, Mount Pleasant and Scranton police departments, and Pennsylvania State Police. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. Weeks after the state Board of Education tore into Hillsborough Countys media specialists over age-appropriate books on school shelves including one member who suggested the county firethem all the board voted to amend the states competency and skill requirements for all media specialists across the state. The last time those requirements for media specialists were amended was in 2009, and some parents and community members then expressed dire concerns that the state was lowering standards for media specialists in light of a heated political battle over books. The new requirements have eight outlined sections, compared to 25 before. The previous standards included sections for adhering to professional ethics and means for providing equity, diversity, and global perspectives. The previous versions had greater focus on reading comprehension and vocabulary skills, and identifying outstanding authors and illustrators and standardized techniques to maintain bibliographic integrity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new version omits much of that, and places greater emphasis on state compliance, such as using tools for evaluating, selecting, and weeding print and digital resources and library materials on an ongoing basis to meet the specific needs of the learning community and adhere to the Florida Statutes and State Board of Education rules. The item was on the boards consent agenda to pass without discussion, but members of the public raised concerns. Stephana Ferrell, co-director of the Freedom to Read Project, said she was worried about what the new standards could mean. The proposed changes for media specialists eliminate vital references to national standards on intellectual freedom, leaving confusion when state law conflicts with directives from this board, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ferrell pointed to Escambia County, which voted to get rid of more than 400 titles after the states strongly worded letterto Hillsborough County. While process takes time, it also protects our childrens first amendment rights, she said. (It) ensures one citizen across the state cannot dictate the reading boundaries I get to set for my children. Jane Aman, a lecturer at the University of Central Florida, said she couldnt imagine her lifewithout the support of experienced librarians and media specialists. The wonder I got to experience walking through the stacks of my schools resource center and selecting my next challenging read is something I hope all kids get to experience, she said. Well-trained media specialists are a fundamental part of a healthy school ecosystem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2022, Florida passed a law requiring trained media specialists to approve all materials in school libraries. The next year, they passed a new law expanding the definition of unsuitable material, and this year a proposed bill to expand that definition failed. But Hillsborough and its media specialists still came under fire after the state sent a scathing letter about certain books which had not received official complaints been complained about through existing processes remaining on shelves. They grilled superintendent Van Ayres, who pledged to yank those books and more. Education Commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas balked at the suggestion that the board was trying to diminish the role of media specialists, noting that to last years state teacher of the year was a media specialist from Bay County. To suggest that the department or the commissioner, whether it was Manny Diaz or myself, dont value the work of media specialists, its just a false narrative, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Juan Copa, deputy commissioner for the division of accountability, said the changes were part of routine updates to competency and skill requirements in any division. Theres a greater focus on an adherence to the rules, laws and regulations, policies and principles related to the role of education media specialists, he said. Editors Note: The title of the story has been corrected to reflect that the outlook was raised, instead of the erroneous outlook cut mentioned in the original title. Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS) reported second-quarter 2025 earnings on Thursday and raised its full-year earnings forecast. Quarterly sales reached $14.05 billion, almost in line with the analysts consensus estimate of $14.06 billion. Net sales grew 12% year over year (+11% on constant currency or cc) with core operating income up 20% to $5.93 billion (+21% on constant currency). Also Read: Novartis Gets Swiss Approval For First Malaria Drug For Babies Sales growth driven by performance from breast cancer treatment, Kisqali ($1.18 billion, +64% cc), Entresto ($2.36 billion, +22% cc), multiple sclerosis drug, Kesimpta ($1.08 billion, +33% cc), Scemblix ($298 million, +79% cc), Leqvio ($298 million, +61% cc), and Pluvicto ($454 million, +30% cc). Novartis reported adjusted earnings of $2.42 per share, beating the consensus of $2.38. View more earnings on NVS The company also announced a substantial share buyback program. Novartis said it is initiating a share buyback of up $10 billion to be completed by year-end 2027. Our robust balance sheet and confidence in our mid- and long-term growth enable us to initiate an up-to $10 billion share buyback as part of our commitment to balanced capital allocation, stated CEO Vas Narasimhan in a statement on Thursday. Earlier in July, Novartis released topline results from the Phase 3 GCAptAIN study evaluating Cosentyx (secukinumab) for newly diagnosed or relapsing giant cell arteritis (GCA). The study evaluated Cosentyx with a 26-week steroid taper and compared it to a placebo plus a 52-week steroid taper. Cosentyx did not demonstrate a statistically significant improvement in sustained remission at Week 52 compared to placebo. Outlook For fiscal year 2025, Novartis reaffirms that net sales will grow in the high single digits. 2025 core operating income is expected to grow in the low teens, compared to the low double digits forecasted earlier. We continue to assume Entresto US generic entry in mid-2025 for forecasting purposes, though the timing of generic entry is subject to ongoing IP and regulatory litigation, Novartis said in the release. Management Update In a separate announcement, Novartis provided a key leadership update: Chief Financial Officer Harry Kirsch will retire in March 2026, concluding an impressive 22-year tenure at the company, including 12 years in the CFO role since 2013. The big story: Although school boards control local schools, Floridas State Board of Education increasingly has flexed its authority to push district decisions and actions. New education commissioner Anastasios Kamoutsas on Wednesday made clear his intent to work with the State Board and other state agencies to actively enforce the DeSantis administrations education agenda, Florida Phoenix reports. This is not an empty threat, he said. Our partnership with the Attorney General will prove to be effective, as we saw in Hillsborough County public schools recently with materials that were inappropriate for minors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After praising Kamoutsas for his aggressive stance, the board dealt with several hot button issues, including student testing and school security. It adopted new school safety rules, including a requirement that schools enter all threats in a statewide portal, Central Florida Public Media reports. The board delayed action on a measure related to when doors and gates must be locked, at the commissioners request. The board also reduced the requirements for media specialist certification, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. And it revised the rules for the alternative reading and math tests that high schoolers may take to meet their graduation requirements, expanding the options and in some cases making the passing scores higher. Its not a watering down, chairperson Ben Gibson said said of the concordant scores changes. We are maintaining accountability and high standards across the board. Hot topics Teacher training: The Polk County school district joined forces with Polk State College to prepare para-educators to become classroom teachers, the Ledger reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Student health: All Florida schools are now required to have at least one defibrillator on campus with staff trained to use it, WCJB reports. School safety: The Martin County school district and Sheriffs Office are at odds over their resource officer contract terms, TC Palm reports. Educator discipline: A Highlands County former teacher faces state discipline over accusations of helping students on their middle school state science exam in 2022, Highlands News-Sun reports. A Bay County high school principal was suspended amid allegations of using school resources for personal use, WMBB reports. Charter schools: The Miami city commission is poised to hand control of an historic theater to a group of charter schools, the Miami Herald reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Campus security: Representatives for the University of Florida and its campus police officers reached a tentative contract agreement offering to increase the base salary by $13,000, the Gainesville Sun reports. Budgets: Leon County superintendent Rocky Hanna blamed state officials for fueling a financial crisis for districts, WCTV reports. Pinellas County district leaders said major cuts are coming as they deal with state and federal funding reductions, Bay News 9 reports. The Pinellas district has scheduled a public town hall about the budget for 6 p.m. July 24 in the districts Largo headquarters. Book challenges: The Escambia County school board voted to remove more than 400 books from its shelves, WUWF reports. The titles had not been challenged locally, but had been pulled out of other districts. From the police blotter ... A Broward County elementary school teacher faces dismissal after being arrested on child pornography charges, the Sun-Sentinel reports. A Palm Beach County teacher was arrested on accusations of sexually assaulting a minor student, WPTV reports. Dont miss a story. Heres a link to yesterdays roundup. Before you go ... Icelands latest volcanic activity is mesmerizing. The Florida Supreme Court building. (Photo by Michael Moline/Florida Phoenix) The Florida Supreme Court upheld on Thursday the states congressional map championed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, which reconfigured a district in North Florida, erasing Black representation in that area of the state, and helped elect Republicans instead. The 5-1 opinion written by Chief Justice Justice Carlos Muniz found the old Congressional District 5, which stretched for more than 200 miles along the Florida/Georgia border to encompass Black populations in Duval, Leon, and Gadsden counties, is likely an illegal race-based gerrymander that violates federal equal protection rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Writing for the majority, Muniz concluded that legislators had a superior obligation to follow federal equal protection law, not the Fair Districts Amendment passed by Florida voters in 2010, which says districts cant be drawn in a way that diminishes the ability of minorities to elect representatives of their choice. Justice Charles Canady, whose wife, Lakeland Republican Jennifer Canady, sits in the Legislature, recused himself. Justice Jorge Labarga, the sole justice not appointed to the court by DeSantis who dissented, wrote a seven-page opinion. DeSantis, meanwhile, touted the decision on social media posting on X. This was always the constitutionally correct map and now both the federal courts and the FL Supreme Court have upheld it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The case stems back to 2022, when the state House and Senate approved a redistricting plan that would have preserved a Black-opportunity district in North Florida, meaning one in which Black voters had a chance to elect their candidate of choice. DeSantis vetoed the maps and insisted the Legislature adopt his own map, which abolished the district, and the Legislature complied. The DeSantis-drawn congressional maps divided Black voters living within the states old plantation zone between white-majority districts that elected Republicans. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat, had served the old district. The DeSantis administration argued in court the district constituted a racial gerrymander, but a trial judge ruled that the governors map violated Floridas Fair Districts Amendment, a constitutional ban on the diminishment of minority voting power. Florida Supreme Court justices, via the court The state successfully appealed to the First District Court of Appeal, which chose to consider the case instead of immediately certifying it to the Supreme Court, a move that slowed the suits path to Supreme Court review, and was criticized in the majority opinion and Labargas dissent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We reject the First Districts contrary approach. Finally, we remind all district courts of their constitutional authority to certify for this Courts direct review of trial court judgments in which an appeal is pending and which are of great public importance or have a great effect on the proper administration of justice throughout the state, Muniz wrote. The parties in this case jointly asked the First District to do the same here, to no avail. Had the district court honored the parties request, this dispute could have been resolved before the 2024 election cycle. The Black Voters Matter Capacity Building Institute, League of Women Voters of Florida, Equal Ground Education Fund, Florida Rising Together, and individual voters brought the lawsuit and blasted the courts decision Thursday. The Florida Supreme Courts refusal to enforce state law, allowing an unconstitutional map to remain in place, is alarming. The court is abandoning the most basic role of the judiciary: to provide justice for the people, Marina Jenkins, the National Redistricting Foundations executive director, said in a prepared statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This decision shamefully dismisses the fact that the states map actively diminishes the voting power of Black Floridians a fact agreed to on record by Floridas Secretary of State, the Florida House of Representatives, and the Florida Senate. Make no mistake, the fight for the fight for fair maps in Florida is far from over. Genesis Robinson, executive director of Equal Ground, a Black-led, nonpartisan, nonprofit organization working to expand Black political power in Florida, called it another dark day in the history of Florida. With todays ruling, the Florida Supreme Court has turned its back on Black voters, the state constitution, and the fundamental principles of representative democracy, Robinson said in a written statement. By allowing a map that clearly diminishes Black voting power to stand in a 5-1 decision, the Court has sent a chilling message: the constitutional rights of Black Floridians are negotiable, and the will of the people can be ignored, even when it is written into the very fabric of our laws. Unenforceable as a matter of law In his dissenting opinion, Labarga complained the decision lays the groundwork for future decisions that may render the Non-Diminishment Clause practically ineffective or, worse, unenforceable as a matter of law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Labarga said the court should have remanded the case to the trial court to give the plaintiffs another opportunity to prove the possibility of drawing a North Florida district that is both non-diminishing and non-race-predominant. Labarga did agree with the majoritys critique of the Tallahassee appellate courts decision to consider the case and not pass it along to the Supreme Court. Exercising pass-through jurisdiction would not have been an act of surrendering the district courts jurisdiction to this Court quite the contrary. Submitting the case for this Courts consideration would have been an acknowledgment of the import of deciding this case in a timely manner. This was a case that was all but likely to reach this Court one way or the other and it did far later than it should have. By declining to certify the trial courts judgment for immediate resolution and instead deciding the case on the merits, the district court injected an unacceptably lengthy delay in getting this important matter before this Court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Correction: This story has been amended to clarify that Justice Canady, like Justice Labarga, is not a DeSantis appointee. He was appointed to the court by former Gov. Charlie Crist. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Floridas congressional districts will stand now that the Florida Supreme Court upheld the maps and rejected a challenge over a former district that stretched from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. The court ruled July 17 in a 5-1 opinion that the Legislature couldnt have kept the old Congressional District 5 intact without drawing it based on racial motives, violating the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. We uphold our states congressional districting plan, because the federal Equal Protection Clause prohibits the racially gerrymandered district that the plaintiffs demand, Chief Justice Carlos Muniz wrote for the majority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A group of voting-rights groups, including Black Voters Matter and the League of Women Voters of Florida, had challenged the new districts. They claimed the new maps violated Florida's anti-gerrymandering Fair Districts Amendment passed by voters in 2010, which bars the Legislature from drawing maps that diminish the ability of minority groups to elect a representative of their choice. Justice Charles Canady recused himself from the case. He gave no reason but his wife Jennifer Canady is a Republican state House member, in line to become speaker of that chamber, who voted for the maps. The old district was held by former U.S. Rep. Al Lawson, a Black Democrat from Tallahassee. The shape of the district was the result of a previous redistricting challenge, which resulted in the Florida Supreme Court essentially ordering the district in a 2016 ruling. After the new maps were enacted Lawson ran in the district that encompassed Tallahassee, which stretched west to Panama City. He lost to incumbent U.S. Rep. Neil Dunn, a Panama City Republican. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Lets be honest - this was Ron DeSantiss map, and every single justice who upheld it was appointed by him," Lawson said in a released statement. "These partisan judges owe their jobs to Ron DeSantis, and they continue to rubber-stamp whatever he wants. This isnt justice - its political loyalty in robes." In the latest decision, Muniz stated the court erred in its previous decision: In fairness, we acknowledge our Courts role in leading the trial court astray, he wrote. But the change came after Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed five of the members of the state Supreme Court. The court in 2016 had a 5-2 liberal majority, but that has turned into a 6-1 conservative swing after DeSantis appointments. DeSantis was also behind the Legislatures drawing of the new districts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The GOP-led Legislature originally passed a plan in 2022 with a backup set of maps in case the courts required them to redraw the old CD 5. But DeSantis vetoed that move and essentially ordered them to draw them without the Tallahassee-Jacksonville district. "This was always the constitutionally correct map and now both the federal courts and the FL Supreme Court have upheld it," DeSantis posted on X on July 17. Justice Jorge Labarga dissented in the latest opinion, saying the case should have been sent back to a trial court. The decision resolves one outstanding legal challenge to Floridas congressional maps, but another one is pending. Cubanos PaLante, a progressive Cuban-American group, has sued in federal court over CD 26 in South Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer. This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: DeSantis-era court affirms GOP-drawn Florida congressional districts Indiana Task Force One members are pictured at work in Texas on Friday, July 11, 2025. (Courtesy Indiana Task Force One) As recovery teams continue to search for the missing after deadly, catastrophic flooding in Texas earlier this month, Gov. Mike Braun is taking a closer look at Indianas emergency systems and warning capacity. The newly minted Emergency Alert Task Force will evaluate what currently exists while also determining if there are places to improve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the tragic loss of life from flooding in Texas, were taking proactive action to make sure our emergency alert systems are up-to-date, fully functional, and that were making any enhancements possible to better protect Hoosiers from extreme weather, Braun said in a statement. A warming climate has increased the frequency of adverse weather events, specifically by elevating the risk of flooding and extreme heat, as detailed by Purdue Universitys Climate Change Impacts Assessment. Indianas Department of Homeland Security and Integrated Public Safety Commission will lead the task force, with input from local public safety officials. The Indiana Geographic Information Office, National Weather Service and cell-phone network carriers will advise. Current resources include the Emergency Alert System established by federal officials in 1994, which broadcasts the blaring alarms heard on television and radio stations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A report, which will include recommendations for the emergency systems, will be due to Braun by November 1. As of Wednesday, just under 100 people are still missing. Ongoing rain delayed initial recovery efforts in a process that officials say could take weeks or even months. Earlier this week, a second wave of elite first responders from Indiana joined those already on the ground, with roughly 84 members of Indiana Task Force One in the Lone Star State. The team is one of 28 across the country that the Federal Emergency Management Agency deploys in a disaster. However, Task Force One hasnt received any state funding since 1992, though its busier than ever before with ever-increasing weather-related events. The unit, composed mostly of firefighters, collectively has hundreds of hours of training in specialized rescue techniques for floods, structural collapses and more. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) As renovations in the building continue at the Food Bank of West Central Texas, CEO Ronnie Kidd is preparing to retire from the nonprofit organization. He told KTAB/KRBC that the updated renovations are designed to directly benefit the community by incorporating new facilities and increasing the overall space of the building, along with on-site food pantries, educational spaces, and community gathering areas. Kidd is set to retire on August 31 after serving as CEO for seven and a half years, having spent over 23 years on the food banks board of directors before that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reflecting on his decision to step down, Kidd said, Its definitely bittersweet. Im looking forward to retirement, spending more time with the family, and doing things of that sort. Im going to miss being a part of the food bank; Ive been a part of it for a long time. I certainly support the mission and vision of the food bank, those that we serve, and Ill intend to stay involved in some form or fashion so that we can keep doing good things for people who need access to food. Kidd also spoke about the timing of his retirement in light of the organizations ongoing facility upgrades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think a couple of projects that we have going on are just examples of the way that we are trying to look forward to the future, trying to position ourselves to serve people better in our community. This is the first time in over 40 years that well have the ability to serve people directly from our facility here at the food bank, and thats exciting, as well as the opportunity to have space for the community to engage in education, said Kidd. He expressed gratitude to the volunteers, donors, and community partners who continue to support the food banks mission. As Kidd prepares for retirement, Brandon Forrest will assume the role of CEO of the Food Bank of West Central Texas. Prior to his appointment by the board, Forrest served as the food sourcing manager at the same organization. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. Fighting hunger came under the spotlight in Des Moines. The Iowa Hunger Summit addresses the challenges of food insecurity in the state, underscoring the need for hunger solutions through every stage of life. Representatives from Save the Children Action Network expressed concerns Iowas new summer food program, Healthy Kids Iowa. The program provides $40 worth of food for every eligible child each month during summer, distributed through food pantries. For more information about the Iowa Hunger Summit, 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 WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. NEW MEXICO (KRQE) The feds are working to peel back a rule barring new roads from being paved through federal forests, and now, many are wondering what it could mean for two million acres in New Mexico. For decades, the federal Roadless Rule has blocked new road building across New Mexicos untouched back country, but it may soon be a thing of the past. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were going to go back to common sense forest management to ensure that our forests are here for generations to come, said US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins, who states that the choice will in part help with wildfire prevention. But conservation groups, such as the New Mexico Wilderness Alliance are skeptical of the Trump Administrations choice. They fear what it could mean for some of the states forest land. Lands the New Mexicans know and love would be at risk because of this rollback, said NM Wilderness Alliance Executive Director Mark Allison. Which was intended to open up these places for industrial activity and development like commercial logging, mining, and oil and gas development. Other concerns include the impact on outdoor recreation areas, habitat, and sacred tribal lands, as well as the potential of poaching endangered species like the Mexican Grey Wolf. But some New Mexico lawmakers are in favor of the rule change. Silver City Republican Senator Gabriel Ramos says it may help protect communities from wildfire, floods and property damage. If you look at every forest fire out here in the Gila, theyve used dozers and theyve actually cut lines, said Ramos. And if they already had a road there, it would be a lot easier for them to go ahead and cut that line and try and stop the fire from growing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NM Wilderness Alliance thinks whats being floated as a solution to the wildfires could actually cause more, citing studies showing most fires are human-caused and 90% occur within half-a-mile of a road. When you have more roads, you have more people, which means you have more human-caused fires, said Allison. Near the Carson National Forest, Taos Democratic Senator Bobby Gonzales says there needs to be a balanced approach. I know that harvesting timber is important, said Gonzales. But it has to be done that it meets the needs of everyone Now, just to come in with wide open developing roads- that does a lot of harm to the land and to restore it back is not that easy. The US Forest Service still has to go through a long process before repealing the Roadless Rule, which is expected to include public 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 KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. NEW YORK (PIX11) A survivor of child sexual abuse was awarded a $30 million verdict against a man who posed as a camp doctor for the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). A New York court ruled in favor of Jeff Pringle, 56, who was drugged and sexually abused during his time as a staff member at the Forestburg Scout Reservation when he was 16 years old in 1985. More Local News Pringle said the abuse began during a summer camp, when the camps doctor, Paul Caillaud, brought him to the health lodge two nights in a row and injected him with drugs. From there, Caillaud sexually abused Pringle while he was immobilized, lawyers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The then 16-year-old left the camp shortly after and reported the incidents to his mother who was a registered nurse. Realizing that Caillaud was not a registered medical professional, Pringles mother reported him to police. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Caillaud pleaded guilty to four counts of unauthorized practice of medicine but did not serve any prison time. Instead, he was placed on probation for five years and went on to have a successful law practice in Florida. Additionally, he was not formally charged with sexually abusing Pringle. More than three decades later, Pringle was able to file a lawsuit against Caillaud after the passing of the Child Victims Act. The former camp doctor admitted to drugging Pringle, instructing him to remove his clothes and touching him inappropriately, as well as doing the same to other children in the camp, lawyers said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pringle is now suing the Boy Scouts of America, accusing them of perpetuating the abuse by employing Caillaud as the camp doctor. This verdict is a major victory for Mr. Pringle and for survivors across New York. It also sends a clear message to any individual or institution that believes they can get away with the sexual abuse of children: the law will hold you accountable, said Benjamin Watson, Attorney at PCVA Law. 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. France has officially handed over its two remaining military bases in Senegal, leaving the onetime colonial power with no permanent presence in either West or Central Africa. France returned Camp Geille, its largest base in Senegal, and its airfield at Dakars airport in a ceremony on Thursday attended by top French and Senegalese officials, including Senegalese Chief of the General Staff Mbaye Cisse and General Pascal Ianni, the head of the French forces in Africa. The pullout ends the French armys 65-year presence in Senegal and comes after similar withdrawals across the continent as former colonies increasingly turn their backs on the nation that once ruled them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frances withdrawal from Senegal also comes as the Sahel region faces a growing conflict. The violence across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger is threatening Gulf of Guinea nations to the south. About 350 French soldiers, who had primarily been tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, are now leaving the country, marking the end of a departure process that began in March. General Cisse said the handover marked an important turning point in the rich and long military journey of our two countries. France is reinventing partnerships in a dynamic Africa, Ianni said. We are turning a page in the military history of our two countries, a very special relationship and one essential for the countries of the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After storming to victory in elections last year by promising dramatic change, Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw its soldiers by 2025. However, unlike the leaders of other former French colonies such as Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, which are run by military governments, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris. After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of Frances staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its history. Faye has also urged France to apologise for colonial atrocities, including the massacre on December 1, 1944, of dozens of African troops who had fought for France in World War II. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With governments across Africa increasingly questioning Frances military presence, Paris has closed or reduced the numbers of its soldiers at bases across its former empire. In February, France handed back its sole remaining base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of French presence there. The month before, France turned over the Kossei base in Chad, its last military foothold in the Sahel region. Coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali from 2020 to 2023 have swept military strongmen to power. Their governments have collectively ejected 4,300 French soldiers. All three countries have cut ties with France and turned to Russia instead for help in fighting the Sahels decade-long unrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Central African Republic, also a former French colony to which the Kremlin has sent mercenaries, has likewise demanded a French pullout. Meanwhile, the French army has turned its base in Gabon into a camp shared with its Central African host. Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will be home to a permanent French army base after Thursdays withdrawal. France intends to make that base with about 1,500 people its military headquarters for Africa. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) A former pastor of the Greater New Mount Moriah Missionary Baptist Church in Detroit was sentenced to 4-15 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 17-year-old boy. The former pastor is 64-year-old Kenneth Flowers from Farmington Hills. The Oakland County Prosecutor says he assaulted the 17-year-old at his home in December 2023. In April, Flowers pleaded to two counts of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Todays sentence means that Kenneth Flowers is being held accountable for his actions, Oakland County Prosecutor Karen McDonald said in a news release sent to 6 News. Our focus throughout the process was providing a just outcome for the victim. As part of his sentence, Flowers is required to register with the Michigan Sex Offender Registry. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Shares of Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) surged on Tuesday after the company said it expects to resume shipments of its H20 AI chip to China, a surprise development that boosted ETFs that hold the stock. In a blog post, Nvidia said it is filing applications to restart shipments of the H20 GPU, a China-specific, modified version of its flagship AI chips designed to comply with U.S. export controls. NVDA Scores Major Win The U.S. government has assured the company that licenses will be granted, and Nvidia hopes to begin deliveries soon. This marks a potential reversal of months of halted sales that began in April, when new U.S. restrictions effectively blocked Nvidia from shipping those chips to China without a special license. Nvidia previously estimated it lost $2.5 billion in H20 sales in the first quarter due to the ban and forecast an additional $8 billion hit in the second quarter. The potential resumption of shipments is a major win for the company. CEO Jensen Huang has argued that locking Nvidia out of the Chinese market would ultimately backfire, pushing business toward domestic Chinese rivals like Huawei and accelerating the country's chip-making capabilities. Huang has reportedly met with President Donald Trump multiple times, including shortly before Tuesdays announcement, suggesting his message may be getting through. In addition to the H20 update, Nvidia also unveiled a new chip specifically designed for the Chinese market. The NVIDIA RTX PRO GPU, which is fully compliant with U.S. export rules, is geared toward digital twin AI for smart factories and logistics. Stock Rally Lifts SMH Nvidia stock jumped 4.5% as of midday Tuesday, pushing its market cap above $4.2 trillion, further cementing its position as the most valuable company in the world. The rally lifted several major ETFs where Nvidia holds a dominant position. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) has a 7.5% weighting in the stock, the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) has a 9.5% weighting and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (SMH) has a 21% weighting. On the day, SMH rose 2.2%, QQQ climbed 0.5% and SPY hovered near unchanged. With AI still the dominant theme in financial markets, Nvidias reentry into China could have big implications for both the company and the many ETFs tied to its success. Permalink | Copyright 2025 etf.com. All rights reserved FORT SMITH, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A former Fort Smith library employee has been indicted on a federal charge related to the sexual exploitation of children. According to court documents, Ronny Phengsouvannavong allegedly possessed and transported files depicting the exploitation of minors on Sept. 20, 2023. The indictment states the files were moved from Port Miami, Florida, to an unspecified location. Phengsouvannavong worked as a circulation manager at the Fort Smith library from 2008 until his resignation in June 2025, a library official confirmed. In that role, he was responsible for checking materials in and out, handling library fines and fees, shelving adult books and programming for adults. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His responsibilities related exclusively to materials and programs for adults, the official said. Russellville 7-year-old allegedly tied in closet by couple, hospitalized after physical and mental torture If convicted, he faces up to 40 years in prison. This is a developing story. Stay with KNWA/FOX24 for the latest. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. A Walton County grand jury has indicted a former Georgia Police Academy instructor accused of molesting a child. Samuel Ray Ham was arrested in April on child molestation and aggravated sexual battery charges. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] According to court documents obtained by Channel 2 Action News, a grand jury indicted Ham on eight counts June 30. The indictment is for three counts of aggravated sexual battery, four counts of child molestation and one count of grooming of a minor. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the indictment, Ham is accused of touching a girl who was under the age of 16 in an inappropriate and sexual manner. Documents indicated that the alleged immoral and indecent acts went back as far as April 1, 2023 up to the week of Hams arrest. The indictment shows that Ham entered a not guilty plea to the charges. Ham had worked as the Georgia Police Academy division director. The academy holds advanced and specialized training for certified law enforcement officers in Georgia. The Georgia Public Safety Training Center, which runs the Georgia Police Academy, fired Ham after his arrest. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Thursdays Top Stories Thursdays Five Facts [1] Former Hope Christian School teacher to remain behind bars through trial A former Hope Christian School teacher, accused of sexually abusing two female students, will reman behind bars until trial. The prosecution argued that Kelly McEachran should remain in jail until trial, highlighting that he was allowed access to the school even after the allegations surfaced. Judge Clara Moran ordered that McEachran stay behind bars through his trial with no bond, stating that he poses a danger. [2] Memorial commemorates Trinity Test Downwinders As the 80th anniversary of the day the U.S. military tested the first atomic bomb at the Trinity Site was commemorated, some New Mexicans celebrated a milestone of their own. Tina Cordova, co-founder of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, led an unveiling of a new sign near the Trinity Site. A map is located on one side of the sign to give a glimpse into how many people were living near the site in 1945. For decades, New Mexicans have been fighting to be added to the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. The state was added to the list in President Trumps recent budget bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [3] Stormy day with a drop in temperatures A low pressure system to the southwest, in combination to a high pressure system moving away to the southeast, will combine to for more monsoon storms across many of the burn scars. Flooding is likely, across the mountains, and partially down some of the valleys floors, including parts of the Rio Grande Valley. Thick clouds will dampen temperatures with most reaching the 70s, 80s and near 90 degrees. Some highly-elevated areas or northern areas may not get out of the 60s. [4] CABQ closes ADA sensory trail to repair flood damage Less than a week after opening, flooding has forced a new ADA sensory trail in Tijeras to shut down. A storm caused damage to several sections around the Tijeras Biozone Education Center. Volunteers have already began clearing debris and will soon remove fallen railings. There is no timeline to when the trails will reopen. Parks and Recreation officials expect the ADA features in the area to remain intact. [5] 2025 Balloon Fiesta poster released The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta released this years limited-edition poster. The poster was painted by Jason Valencia, a Native American born and raised in the Pueblo of San Felipe. Valencia said he wanted to not only capture the magic of Balloon Fiesta but also the culture surrounding it. Balloon Fiesta has been working with local artists since 1979. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. In the 22 years since Immigration and Customs Enforcement was created to identify and eliminate border security threats, Congress has again and again failed to reform the badly broken immigration system that ICE polices. That failure has fostered a culture of grievance at ICE and its sister agencies, and Donald Trumps hard-line immigration position has only indulged that siege mentality. Now, in an effort to push agents to achieve his mass deportation agenda, Trump has granted the agency a massive, record-breaking cash infusion, while in the same stroke, he eliminated the oversight bodies that are supposed to regulate ICEs actions. One former top ICE official says that theres a worryingly real possibility that the incoming agents will be seeded from Proud Boys and other insurrectionists. Whether or not that nightmare scenario is realized, the results of Trumps agent expansion and oversight contraction will likely spell disaster for civil liberties across the country. Since its inception in 2002, ICE has become the second-largest investigative agency in the federal government, and today it has about 21,000 employees and an annual budget of $8 billion. For years, ICE has been accused of using problematic tactics when enforcing immigration law, a trend that has skyrocketed since Trump took office again this year. By March, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had announced that the three oversight divisions within DHS were effectively shutting down: the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, and the Office of the Citizenship and Immigration Services Ombudsman. These were established by Congress as a way to implement oversight of DHS and focused on protecting detainees civil rights and ensuring they were receiving immigration-related benefits. Noem fired a majority of their staff by claiming their work was creating roadblocks to immigration enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights group sued, forcing the oversight bodies to remain open, though key positions are either empty or being held by Trump-aligned figuresTroup Hemenway, a former leader on Project 2025, was appointed acting officer for the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Meanwhile, the recently passed One Big Beautiful Bill awarded ICE $29.9 billion for enforcement and deportation operationsa threefold increase of their current annual budget. Even more funding will be provided to hire 10,000 new immigration enforcement agents, intended to push the rate of deportations to reach as high as 1 million per year, Noem announced. All in all, DHS, which oversees ICE, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Customs and Border Protection, secured $165 billion in the new legislation. Scott Shuchart, former assistant director of ICE under the Biden administration, does not believe the agency is capable of spending this money responsibly. This administration is led by criminals, and theyre going to keep doing unlawful and terrible things, he told me. Its hard to keep track of just how unprecedented, expansive, and legally questionable the Trump administrations push on immigration enforcement has been, from arresting immigrants at courthouses and revoking legal status from hundreds of thousands of people to targeting birthright citizenship. Its led to a massive wave of lawsuits, which the federal government is mostly losing. ICE is largely the face of these actions, with about 9,000 people working under Enforcement and Removal Operations, which are the officers tasked with enforcing civil interior immigration law. They go into local communities, identify immigrants being targeted by the administration, and then go on to arrest and detain them. Since Trump took office, these officers have been wearing masks to obscure their identities as they arrest people, inciting widespread fear and confusion across American communities. Some states have pushed back by introducing legislation that would ban law enforcement from wearing masks or a personal disguise while performing their duties. A group of detainees also filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration arguing that masks enable ICE to flout the Constitution and federal law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The OBBB has appropriated funding to double this department to 20,000, which Shuchart is certain will drastically change the agencys culture. Im very worried that they are going to be Proud Boys and other insurrectionists and hoodlums, Shuchart said. What self-respecting person who wants a meaningful career in law enforcement would go to work at the ERO right now, knowing the way ERO comports itself? Hiring ERO officers typically takes months, as applicants must go through a security clearance process and then spend time at a training academy. Shuchart explained that Border Patrol officers traditionally make up a large share of ERO officers, since that unit is considered an entry path into federal law enforcement and hires younger applicants with less experience. From his time at ICE, Shuchart said EROs culture was already one of grievance and self-pity. The job was considered difficult; they canvass the entire country for immigrants who are here without legal status, and do so with too few resources. They resent sanctuary cities, which are local jurisdictions that dont work with federal immigration efforts, feeling that they put ICE in danger and made their job harder. And if there was a death of a migrant in a detention center, it was rarely anyones fault, said Shuchart, with officers blaming the detention centers conditions on inadequate funding. During Trumps first term, ProPublica discovered a Facebook group made up of employees of CBP in which participants, including a CBP supervisor, made sexualized posts about members of Congress and used degrading language to describe migrants. Since Trump took office, the culture has further shifted, with officers working around the clock under pressure to meet impossibly high arrest quotas. One career ICE official told the Atlantic: Its miserable. The toxicity is spreading to local law enforcement, as federal agents raid their communities completely masked and unidentifiable, which ends up eroding residents trust in the police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the Trump administrations approach to immigration, manipulating existing laws and often straight-up violating them, is not exactly new. Disturbing reports of abuse at immigration detention centers surfaced under the Biden administration, problematic family detention tactics were used by the Obama administration, and Trumps first administration pursued a notorious zero-tolerance policy that resulted in thousands of parents being deported while their children remained in the U.S. Our system makes no sense whatsoever and serves nobodys interests, Shuchart said. The only thing thats ever going to work is legislation. Shuchart believes the Trump administrations solution, which has thus far included firing staff, eliminating guardrails, and throwing billions more dollars at an overwhelmed agency so it can meet the presidents mass deportation goal as quickly as possible, is pure fantasy. The situation facing DHS and all the agencies it oversees is begging for a policy intervention that outlines real leadership and a plan, something money cannot buy. ONAWA, Iowa (KCAU) A former nurse from Onawa, Iowa, was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for stealing pain medications from nursing home residents, burglarizing multiple residences, committing bank fraud, and possessing a firearm as a felon. The U.S. Attorneys Office Northern District of Iowa said in a release that a federal judge handed a prison term to Sarah Haptonstall, 47, on July 16. Woman found dead in back of car following Nebraska pursuit Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes ordered to pay more than $8,000 in restitution to her former employer and repay $5,000 in court-appointed fees, the release said. Haptonstall must also serve a 3-year term of supervised release after the prison sentence. Theres no parole in the federal system. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said she had previously been released on a bond and is expected to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on a future date. Authorities said Haptonstall pleaded guilty on February 24 to multiple charges: One count of acquiring and attempting to acquire a controlled substance by misrepresentation, fraud, deception, or subterfuge One count of possession of a firearm by a felon One count of bank fraud Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Law enforcement said in a plea deal, and at the plea and sentencing hearings, Haptonstall admitted that in March 2023, she burglarized a couples home in Onawa multiple times to steal narcotic pain medication. Officials said Haptonstall knew that the couple had medication to relieve constant nerve pain because, as a nurse in 2021, she delivered medicines to the house. Authorities said when she was arrested on March 10, 2023, after burglarizing the couples home for the last time, Haptonstall had a 9mm pistol in her truck. At the time, she was a felon and a drug user, which made it illegal for her to have firearms in her possession. In February 2020, the DOJ said Haptonstall bought two 9mm pistols after falsely stating that she was not an unlawful user of, or addicted to, a controlled substance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Law enforcement said the burglaries at the home in Onawa were part of a bigger scheme she maintained in the western part of Iowa. Story continues below Federal authorities said Haptonstall stole pain medications from multiple apartments in Onawa in February and March 2023. While working as a licensed nurse in Iowa, officials said between April and October 2022, she stole hydrocodone pills from four elderly individuals at nursing homes in Onawa and Sergeant Bluff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Law enforcement said a 90-year-old woman suffered from severe pain as she died because Haptonstall stole her pain medicine, swapped it for Tylenol, and made a false entry in the womans medical record. Another patient was in hospice when Haptonstall stole their narcotics. DOJ reported that she admitted to committing bank fraud in early 2023 against a small family-owned business in Onawa when working as the bookkeeper. She embezzled more than $8,000 from the company. Federal officials said she wrote fraudulent checks to herself, drawn on the companys account, and bore one of the owners signatures. Haptonstall disguised those checks with false and fake entries in the electronic bookkeeping system. Law enforcement said Haptonstall obtained a 10-year, fully suspended prison sentence in state court for felony drug diversion in February 2023. This happened while she committed bank fraud and around one month before she started to burglarize homes in Onawa. DOJ said she admitted to swapping a patients hydrocodone for Tylenol pills while working at a pharmacy as a delivery driver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) A former Fairmont Heights Police Officer was sentenced Wednesday for using excessive force while detaining a man in 2019, according to the United States Attorneys Office (USAO) for the District of Maryland. Philip Dupree was sentenced to six years and two months in prison after being convicted by a jury in June 2024 on charges of excessive force by a law enforcement officer. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Former Maryland police officer guilty of excessive force Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court documents state that Dupree was on duty on Aug. 4, 2019, when he saw a driver speeding near Eastern Avenue NE and conducted a traffic stop, which resulted in the driver being detained. Based on a 911 call recording, Dupree did not tell the driver why he was being pulled over before telling him to put his hands behind his back or he would be pepper-sprayed. Dupree then handcuffed the man and placed him in the front seat of his car before calling for backup. The drivers sister, who was in the car at the time of the stop, called 911, and Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officers responded to the scene. Court documents note that the MPD officer turned on his body camera, but Dupree did not turn his on at any point during the arrest. Dupree then placed him in his car, where he proceeded to pepper-spray the driver in the face and chest while he was handcuffed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) A 27-year-old former R.I. National Guard member accused of killing a Providence man almost six years to the day was found guilty of murder by a judge on Thursday. Court records show Associate Justice Maureen Keough found Troy Ingram guilty of first-degree murder and mutilation of dead human bodies both felonies after a bench trial took place over a four-day period in May and June. (Ingram waived his right to a jury trial in May.) Ingram is accused of killing and beheading Moshin Muhammad, 40, on July 20, 2019. Police responded to the Muhammads Jewett Street apartment after coworkers said he did not show up for the night shift at work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspects mother, LaShaun Ingram, told reporters at the time that she didnt believe he could have killed someone. She said her son was in between residences and had stayed with a neighbor on the night of the murder after she got into an an argument with him. Police said Ingram and the victim had never met before the night of the killing, when they believe Ingram broke into Muhammads Jewett Street apartment. In the first day of Ingrams trial, former Providence Detective Angelo Avant testified that Muhammad had appeared to be decapitated. During the investigation, police reportedly found a shirt at the scene containing both Ingrams and the victims DNA ,and they also traced a phone registered to Muhammad to an area where Ingram was spotted and fled from officers. The defense argued that Ingram suffered from mental illness stemming from his time in the National Guard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorney General Peter Neronha issued a statement to Target 12 following the verdict. We are grateful that justice has been served for Mr. Muhammed and his family following this terrible crime, Neronha said. I hope this verdict provides some semblance of peace for everyone affected, and I thank the Providence Police and the attorneys in my office for their hard work on this difficult case. Court records show Ingrams attorney plans to appeal. A hearing on a motion for a new trial has been scheduled for July 28, so a sentencing date is still pending. Target 12 reached out to Ingrams attorney for comment on Thursday but did not immediately hear back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ingram was also previously facing charges for first-degree robbery and unlawful breaking and entering of a dwelling/house, but the charges were dismissed earlier this year. Alexandra Leslie (aleslie@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter covering Providence and more for 12 News. Connect with her on Twitter and on Facebook. Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. A School District of Palm Beach County employee is facing a criminal charge after authorities alleged he sexually assaulted a child who was between the ages of 7 and 14 years old. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office took Miguel Benavente, 57, of Royal Palm Beach into custody July 15 on one count of sexual battery involving a minor. The agency said it is working to determine if there are additional victims. According to the sheriff's statement, Benavente has worked for the school district since 1991, serving in various roles, including as a teacher. Palm Beach Post archives show he was named the district's Hispanic teacher of the year in 2005. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His work as a medical sciences teacher also garnered national recognition, with a panel of Hispanic leaders selecting him in 2003 for a national teacher of the year award. At the time, Benavente taught at Roosevelt Middle School in West Palm Beach, where he created a premedical program. Benavente most recently has worked in an administrative position, the sheriff's office said. In a statement released July 16, the district said it placed him on administrative leave pending the outcomes of both the criminal investigation and an internal review. He will not be permitted to have access to a school campus or interact with students, the school district said. During a court hearing at the Palm Beach County Jail, County Judge Marni Bryson ordered that Benavente be held without bail and that he have no contact with minors, school district property or school district employees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An attorney who represented Benavente in court was not immediately available for comment. Python hunt: Florida has dangerous animals that can kill. Here's a list of the deadliest PBSO: Alleged contact with student happened decades ago According to an arrest report, the sheriff's office began investigating in June after being contacted by school district police regarding alleged sexual contact involving a minor that occurred during Benavente's time as a teacher. A person who is now an adult described to authorities being groomed by Benavente as a child during visits to Benavente's home. The accuser described Benavente as a family friend and alleged that the sexual contact began when the accuser was 9 years old and lasted for about five years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The accuser described seeing Benavente bring students from Roosevelt Middle to his home. Investigators said Benavente used school work as an excuse to bring other children to his home. Sheriff's investigators reviewed a 2000 school police case involving another accuser who made sexual assault claims against Benavente. The other accuser described being assaulted at Benavente's home while the accuser was a student at Roosevelt Middle. Investigators said the accusers did not know each other but provided similar accounts of Benavente's behavior. According to a sheriff's statement, Benavente did not face charges in the 2000 case because it had exceeded the statute of limitations. The child was over the age of 12 at the time of the alleged conduct. Under Florida law, there is no statute of limitations on sexual assault crimes involving a victim under the age of 12. In 2020, Florida lawmakers passed "Donna's Law," which removed the statute of limitations on sexual assault cases involving minors on or after July 1 of that year, regardless of age. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone with information on other victims is urged to contact Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 1-800-458-TIPS (8477), or the School District Police Department at (561) 434-8700. Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Former middle school teacher faces charge of sexual battery on a child A former South Yorkshire Police worker who stole thousands of pounds from the force has been ordered to pay back a further 100,000. Jacqueline Fletcher, 55, of Boundary Walk in Rotherham, was jailed for two years eight months in 2018 for four counts of theft, and told to pay back 47,000. The order has since been reviewed, and a judge at Sheffield Crown Court said on 8 July that Fletcher must pay another 108,256. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If she does not pay the total in three months she could be jailed again, police said. Fletcher worked in Attercliffe Police Station's property store and in 2013 a "large amount of cash" was seized during a police investigation, the force said. Fletcher said she counted and banked the money for the force but she actually banked 98,500 to her own account with 1,500 into the force account. She left the force in 2015. The theft came to light in summer 2017, police said, when a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) investigation connected to the seized money requested the cash but it could not be found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An investigation was launched by the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU) and Fletcher was told to pay 47,000. Police said the original 2018 order had been reconsidered and Fletcher must now pay the extra sum calculated from assets acquired since the first confiscation order. If she fails to pay in three months she could face a 12-month prison sentence. Det Supt James Axe, the force's head of professional standards, said police employees should behave "professionally, honestly and with integrity" but "Fletcher showed none of these traits" and had "behaved disgracefully". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the money recovered by YHROCU's "vital work" means more money is secured for community grants and police training so criminals cannot keep benefitting. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North More on this story Related internet links SPRINGDALE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A former bank worker in Springdale was arrested earlier this week after being accused of stealing money from customer accounts, according to court documents. Christopher Timos, 28, of Rogers, was arrested on July 16 by the Springdale Police Department for one count of financial identity fraud, one count of computer fraud and one count of theft of property. Christopher Timos, 28 (Courtesy: Washington County Detention Center) The Federal Reserve said last month in an order of prohibition that Timos was employed by Arvest Bank in Springdale from November 2020 until his termination on March 21, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mauricio Torres appeal delayed again, new deadline set for case record According to the Federal Reserve, between Dec. 1, 2023, and March 20, 2025, Timos engaged in conduct that violated banking laws and regulations, involving the unauthorized use of customer funds totaling $42,731.28. Under the terms of the Federal Reserves consent order, Timos is now not allowed to work for or be involved with any bank or financial company unless the Federal Reserve gives special permission. Any violation of this order could lead to civil or criminal penalties, the document said. The order was issued without Timos admitting or denying the allegations but with his consent, avoiding a formal hearing or prolonged litigation, according to the document. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Timos is being held in the Washington County Detention Center on a $15,000 bond. He is set to appear in court on Aug. 13. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. Nvidia (NVDA) stock jumped more than 4% in early trading on Tuesday after the AI chipmaker said it was applying to resume sales of its H20 GPUs in China following a US ban that cost the company billions in lost sales. In a blog post late Monday night, Nvidia said it was filing the application, and the US government assured Nvidia that licenses will be granted. The company said that it hopes to start deliveries soon. Nvidia stock closed at a record high, with shares trading hands at $170.70 at Tuesday's close. Read more about Nvidia's stock moves and today's market action. Nvidia has repeatedly introduced lower-power versions of its AI chips for the Chinese market to comply with tightening US export controls as the government looks to limit Chinas ability to advance AI technology, citing national security concerns. The company began sales of its H20 GPUs (graphics processing units) a less powerful version of its prior generation Hopper chips to China in 2024. The Trump administration in April implemented a ban on sales of its H20 AI chips for China, a surprise that immediately sent the stock spiraling. The move cost the company $2.5 billion in lost sales in the first quarter of its 2026 fiscal year (ended April 27), and Nvidia projected an additional $8 billion loss in the second quarter. CEO Jensen Huang previously said that Nvidia can't make another Hopper AI chip like H20 for China under the current restrictions and called the new US ban deeply painful. China is one of Nvidia's biggest markets, accounting for roughly 13% of its 2025 revenue. Huang met with President Trump at the White House last week before heading to China, where he's set to hold a media briefing on Wednesday during his second visit to Beijing this year. Bernstein analyst Stacy Rasgon said that it seems unlikely the company will be able to ship many of its H20 chips in its second quarter, which ends in two weeks, but it could see a substantial catch-up in the second half of the year if sales resume. Rasgon projected that Nvidia would see $0.40-$0.50 added to its per-share earnings of 2026 if the chipmaker is able to rake in $15 billion-$20 billion in revenue from China in the second half of the year. Nvidia stock has risen to new record highs over the past month in a sharp turnaround from the first half of the year, pushing the company's market cap above the $4 trillion mark to become the worlds most valuable company in history. AI chipmaker Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) also surged Tuesday, rising more than 6% after the Nvidia rival said that it is also planning to resume sales of its AI chips for China that were banned in April, pending approval from the US Commerce Department. A former Voice of America (VOA) employee was indicted by a grand jury over allegations that he threatened to kill Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) along with her family members. The four-count indictment, which was unsealed Thursday, charges Seth Jason, of Edgewater, Md., with influencing a federal official by threatening a family member; anonymous telecommunications harassment; influencing a federal official by threat; and interstate communications with a threat to injure or kidnap. According to the indictment, Jason allegedly issued repeated threats from late January 2024 through early January of this year against Greenes family members. From around Oct. 11, 2023, through late January 2025, Jason allegedly threatened to assault and kill Greene, the indictment showed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jason, a former VOA worker, was arrested by U.S. Capitol Police and the Anne Arundel, Md., Police Department early Thursday morning. Capitol Polices probe found that calls were placed from various phone lines linked to studios and control rooms at VOA headquarters in Washington, D.C., according to the U.S. attorneys office of the District of Columbia. Jason threatened to use firearms to kill Greene, her staff and their families in eight calls made over fifteen months, the U.S. attorneys office said. For 15 months, I received terrifying death threats from one individual who worked alarmingly close to my office building at the Voice of America. That kind of sustained, targeted harassment is deeply disturbing. I truly feared for my life, as I do with all of the death threats I receive, Greene said in an emailed statement to The Hill. I want to thank U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Senior Advisor Kari Lake, the Capitol Police, and the prosecutors who took this threat seriously and acted decisively to stop someone who was planning to kill me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lake, who is serving as President Trumps United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM) adviser, thanked interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro for taking these threats seriously. I am sickened by what Congresswoman @RepMTG, her staff and their families had to go through as the threats persisted for 15 months, Lake said in a Thursday post on social platform X. It angers me that a taxpayer-funded VOA employee, would use taxpayer-funded equipment in a depraved way to threaten the lives of people, including an elected official. If he is found guilty, I hope he is sentenced to the maximum amount of time behind bars. Jason worked at the VOA since the early 2000s, according to his LinkedIn. Rome, Ga., Police Department late last year received an email containing a bomb threat directed toward Greene. The House member later confirmed she was safe, and the investigation was turned over to the FBI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In late July 2024, a Georgia man pleaded guilty to threatening to kill Greene. Prosecutors said Sean Patrick Cirillo of Atlanta made three calls in November 2023 to Greenes Washington office and made threats. Updated at 6:09 p.m. EDT Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. WASHINGTON A man has been arrested in the nation's capital and accused of threatening Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and members of her family. Seth Jason, of Maryland, was arrested in Washington after being indicted on four charges, according to court records released Thursday. Jason faces charges of influencing a federal official by threatening a family member, influencing a federal official by threat, interstate communications with a threat to kidnap or injure, and anonymous telecommunications harassment. Jason was in custody Thursday, and court documents do not list a lawyer for him. The interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Jeanine Pirro, whom Trump has nominated to take over the position, announced the charges at a news conference Thursday. Pirro said Jason was a former Voice of America employee and a reserve officer with the Anne Arundel County Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Department said in a statement that an investigation revealed the calls to Greene were "made from various phone lines connected to studios and control rooms" at Voice of America headquarters. Voice of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment. "You threaten a public official and you face the full force of the law crushing down on you," Pirro said Thursday. "There will be no mercy and no excuses." Jason, the indictment alleged, repeatedly threatened to assault and murder the family members of Marjorie Taylor Greene. The threats were made from Oct. 11, 2023, to Jan. 21, according to a government motion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The alleged actions took place before Trump took office. The Voice of America, a broadcast outlet funded by the U.S. government but editorially independent, has been nearly dismantled since Trump returned to office, with hundreds of staff members terminated. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com A Depew man faces up to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to stealing nearly $450,000 from the volunteer fire company where he served as treasurer. James Hoffman, 41, Depew, pleaded guilty Wednesday before Erie County Court Judge James F. Bargnesi to one count of second-degree grand larceny (Class C felony) and one count of repeated failure to file personal income and earnings taxes (Class E felony under New York State Tax Law). He entered a guilty plea to the highest sustainable charges. Between Jan. 1, 2019, and Jan. 31, Hoffman stole a total of $446,118.42 while working as the treasurer for the Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Co. He committed the crime over the course of six years by making unauthorized cash withdrawals from the fire companys bank accounts and failing to deposit money from fundraiser proceeds. In January, the fire company became aware of the missing money after a vendor reported that a check for an unpaid invoice was rejected due to insufficient funds. Hoffman, who used the stolen money to support his gambling habit, was subsequently removed from his position. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hoffman also pleaded guilty for failure to file personal income and earnings, with the intent to evade payment, for more than three consecutive taxable years. He did not file his personal income taxes between 2021 and 2024. On Wednesday, Hoffman turned over $55,000 to his defense attorney, which will be provided to the Sheridan Park Fire Co. As a condition of the plea, he signed a Confession of Judgment to pay the remaining restitution balance of $391,118.42 to the organization. Hoffman also signed a Confession of Judgment to pay $26,706.00 in restitution to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. Hoffman faces a maximum of 15 years in prison when he is sentenced on Oct. 6. Despite a requested that he be held pending sentence, Hoffman was released on his own recognizance. For many years, this defendant abused his position as treasurer to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from a fire company that helps and protects the residents of Tonawanda. He knowingly violated the trust placed in him by firefighters, dedicated volunteers and the community. I am pleased to announce that he pleaded guilty to the highest sustainable charges, and I hope that the Sheridan Park Fire Company will be made whole through his restitution payments and continued support from our community, Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keane commended Detective Eric Schmidt of the Town of Tonawanda Police Department and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance for their work in this investigation. The case was prosecuted by Chief Gary M. Ertel of the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Bureau. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt is probably used to tough questions from journalists. But she seemed a little taken aback by one that she was asked on Thursday by Jacqui Heinrich of Fox News. And, yes, it was about Donald Trumps recent handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. After Trumps DOJ and FBI heads issued a memoclaiming there is no evidence that the convicted sex offender had a client list he used to blackmail powerful figures, the president dismissed the idea as a hoax and called Epstein truthers weaklings who are doing the Democrats work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres been a lot of discussion about the Epstein files and the presidents comments yesterday calling it a hoax, Heinrich noted before bluntly asking Leavitt to clarify which part of the Epstein hoax is the hoax part? Leavitts response was more pointed than anything Trump has claimed himself, but could still be summed up as Democrats are bad, mkay? The president is referring to the fact that Democrats have now seized on this as if they ever wanted transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, which is an asinine suggestion for any Democrat to make, Leavitt began. The Democrats had control of this building, the White House, for four years, and they didnt do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres a clip of the exchange. Reporter: The president called it a hoax. Which part of the Epstein Hoax is the hoax part? Leavitt: The president is referring to the fact Democrats have now seized on this The president has been transparent and followed through on his promises to the American people. pic.twitter.com/K0VoQF8X6i Acyn (@Acyn) July 17, 2025 Leavitts explanation wasnt well-received on social media, however. The Dems aren't the ones seizing on this - MAGA is demanding answers for what's been promised to them for so many years. The Great Gig in the Sky (@thegreatgig8) July 17, 2025 The White Houses explanation of the Epstein files makes absolutely no sense. Democrats didnt do a dang thing with the Epstein files, Leavitt says but Dems are now somehow behind the files? Those same files allowed Bondi to determine there should be no further charges but https://t.co/iES4Ah1s0i Justin Glawe (@JustinGlawe) July 17, 2025 So the hoax is that dems are against pedos Matthew Thomas (@MattThomas2021) July 17, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reporter: Why did Trump call the Epstein files a hoax? Karoline Leavitt: https://t.co/QwuwSGm7pvpic.twitter.com/rqo60b7b8R House Homeland Security Committee Democrats (@HomelandDems) July 17, 2025 Of course shes not actually answering the question. It's also entirely possible that neither she nor Trump actually knows what the definition of the word hoax. I wouldn't be surprised in the slightest Brandon SanGiovanni (@TheBrandalorian) July 17, 2025 Credit to her for being able to say all that with a straight face Akash Maniam (@ManiamAkash) July 17, 2025 Just so it's clear: Epstein was arrested in 2006, sentenced in 2008, and re-arrested in 2019all while @realDonaldTrump played golf, threw parties, and dodged questions. Frank C (@FrankC164) July 17, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Which part of telling his followers to forget about Epstein because if they don't then Trump doesn't need them anymore is the transparency part? pic.twitter.com/rMzjGcwzyM Melissa (@Proudmimi12) July 17, 2025 Maybe one of the reporters could just ask when did Pam Bondi first learn that Donald Trump was in the Epstein files? Laurence (Larry) Boorstein (@LarryBoorstein) July 17, 2025 Related... A French appeals court Thursday ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese militant Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, imprisoned for 40 years for the 1982 killings of two foreign diplomats. Abdallah, 74, is one of the longest-serving prisoners in France, where most convicts on life sentences are freed after less than 30 years. He has been up for release for 25 years, but the United States -- a civil party to the case -- has consistently opposed him leaving prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abdallah was detained in 1984 and sentenced to life in prison in 1987 for his involvement in the murders of US military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris. Lebanese of Maronite Christian heritage, he has always insisted he is not a "criminal" but a "fighter" for the rights of Palestinians, whom he said were targeted, along with Lebanon, by the United States and Israel. The Paris Appeals Court ordered he be freed from a prison in the south of France on July 25, on condition that he leave French territory and never return. It said the length of his detention had been "disproportionate" and that he no longer represented a danger to the public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, Abdallah told left-wing deputy Andree Taurinya, who visited him in prison, that his liberation was the result of efforts by his supporters. "The fact that they accepted to free me is thanks to this growing mobilisation," he told the MP, in the presence of an AFP reporter. Several sources before the hearing said that it was planned for him to be flown to Paris and then to Beirut. Prosecutors can file an appeal with France's highest court, but any such request is not expected to be processed fast enough to halt his release next week. - 'Delighted' - The detainee's brother, Robert Abdallah, in Lebanon told AFP he was overjoyed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We're delighted. I didn't expect the French judiciary to make such a decision nor for him to ever be freed, especially after so many failed requests for release," he said. "For once, the French authorities have freed themselves from Israeli and US pressure," he added. Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said Abdallah should be freed from jail, and had written to the appeals court to say they would organise his return home. Abdallah's lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset also welcomed the decision, calling it a "political scandal he was not released earlier". Israel's embassy in Paris meanwhile released a statement saying it regretted the decision to release Abdallah. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Such terrorists, enemies of the free world, should spend their life in prison," it said. Lebanon's charge d'affaires in Paris, Ziad Taan, told AFP the country was "extremely satisfied" by the decision, adding that Abdallah will be "welcome" in Lebanon. In November last year, a French court ordered Abdallah to be released on condition that he leave France. But France's anti-terror prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision, which was suspended. A verdict was supposed to have been delivered in February, but the Paris appeals court postponed it over compensation payments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - 'Past symbol' - The court re-examined the latest request for his release last month. During the closed-door hearing, Abdallah's lawyer told the judges that 16,000 euros had been placed in the prisoner's bank account at the disposal of civil parties in the case, including the United States, according to several sources who attended. Abdallah was wounded as a teenager when Israel invaded Lebanon in 1978 in the early years of the country's civil war. As an adult, he founded the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Factions (LARF), a Marxist pro-Syria and anti-Israel group that has now been dissolved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After his arrest in 1984, French police discovered submachine guns and transceiver stations in one of his Paris apartments. The appeals court in February however noted that the FARL "had not committed a violent action since 1984" and that Abdallah "today represented a past symbol of the Palestinian struggle". Lebanon hosts tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to the United Nations, most descendants of those who fled or were expelled from their land during the creation of Israel in 1948. mdh-lar/ah-jh/rlp By Anait Miridzhanian and Ngouda Dione DAKAR (Reuters) -France handed over control of its last major military facility in Senegal on Thursday, marking the end of its armed forces' long presence in the West African country and a milestone in a withdrawal from the wider region. The commander of French forces in Africa, General Pascal Ianni, handed over a key to the military camp in Dakar during a ceremony at which a Senegalese flag was raised while military musicians played the national anthem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Today's transfer of Camp Geille marks a new stage in the evolution of the partnership between our two armed forces," Ianni told reporters. "It is a response to the Senegalese authorities' wish to no longer have permanent foreign forces present on their territory." Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye announced last year that France's military bases were incompatible with Senegalese sovereignty and would have to be transferred. The two countries agreed to complete that process by the end of the year and it began in March when France handed over two other facilities, also in Dakar. The process has been more amicable than the departure of French soldiers from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, where military juntas have pushed out French troops and turned to Russia for help fighting jihadist insurgencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chad, an important Western ally in the fight against Islamic militants in the region, abruptly ended its defence cooperation pact with France last year, forcing its troops to withdraw. With a reduced presence in West and Central Africa, France has said it is planning to focus on training, intelligence sharing and responding to requests from countries for assistance. TRAINING TO CONTINUE Ianni said French forces' presence in Senegal dated back more than two centuries, but that a change was needed to reinvent the partnership. General Mbaye Cisse, head of the Senegalese armed forces general staff, said the new agreement would allow Senegal to continue benefiting from training and information exchanges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We wish all our comrades and their families a safe return to France," he said, adding that he hoped the long history linking the countries would provide a strong base for cooperation. Former colonial ruler France has faced criticism for stationing soldiers in Senegal long after it gained independence in 1960. Senegal has long demanded that Paris properly investigate a massacre in 1944 of African soldiers who fought for France in World War Two. (Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian and Ngouda Dione, Editing by Robbie Corey-Boulet and Timothy Heritage) DAKAR, Senegal (AP) The French military completed its withdrawal from Senegal on Thursday, the last West African country where it maintained a permanent troop presence, amid waning regional influence in recent years. France has faced opposition from leaders of some of its former colonies in Africa over what they described as a demeaning and heavy-handed approach to the continent. The French military handed over Camp Geille, its largest base in Senegal, along with a nearby air facility, to the Senegalese government during a ceremony in the capital, Dakar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gen. Pascal Ianni, head of French forces in Africa, said the handover marked a new phase in military ties. It is part of Frances decision to end permanent military bases in West and Central Africa, and responds to the Senegalese authorities desire to no longer host permanent foreign forces on their territory, he said. Senegals military chief, Gen. Mbaye Cisse, said the withdrawal supports the country's new defense strategy. Its primary goal is to affirm the autonomy of the Senegalese armed forces while contributing to peace in the subregion, in Africa, and globally, Gen. Cisse said. The ceremony marked the completion of a three-month withdrawal of roughly 350 French troops from the West African country, which began in March. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement France's military had been present in Senegal since it gained independence from France in 1960, under military cooperation agreements between the two countries. The withdrawal followed a call by Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye last year for all foreign troops to leave, citing Senegals sovereignty as incompatible with hosting foreign bases. Senegals new government has taken a hard-line stance on the presence of French troops as part of a larger regional backlash against what many see as the legacy of an oppressive colonial empire. France has said it is closing all permanent French military bases in Africa except in the eastern African country of Djibouti, where France has around 1,500 troops. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Col. Guillaume Vernet, spokesman for the French militarys chief of the defence staff, said the withdrawal from Senegal is part of a shift away from Frances strategy of permanent presence in West and Central Africa toward a more flexible partnership approach. He said the French military would provide countries with defense training or targeted military support, based on needs expressed by those countries. France has suffered setbacks in Africa recently, including in Chad and the Ivory Coast where it handed over its last military bases earlier this year. They follow the ousting of French forces in recent years in Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso, where military-led governments have turned to Russia instead for military support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While France is ending its permanent military presence in West and Central Africa, some of its army staff will remain in the region. Around 350 French servicemen are still present in Gabon, where the army has turned its base into a camp shared with the central African nation. In the Ivory Coast, some 80 French servicemen advise and train the country's military. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) When her two-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukemia in late 2023, Samantha Dorman and her husband noticed how quickly the bills piled up. On top of their regular bills, they were suddenly dealing with the added stress of medical expenses and hospital food. Just like you wouldnt leave a two-year-old alone in your house, we couldnt leave a two-year-old alone in a hospital room to go get food, Dorman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were able to order hospital food to the room. But for families whose loved ones need to stay for weeks and months at a time, those costs can add up quick especially if one parent has to stop working. Thats when they thought of the Feeding Families Foundation Parent Plate program, which provides meals to parents and caregivers of hospital-bound children. Since it launched at Oregon Health and Science University Doernbecher Childrens Hospital in February, the program has provided 1,774 free meals to an average of 51 families a month. A lot of these kids are immunocompromised, so a lot of times we were actually quarantined to our room. These kids are very, very immunosuppressed, she said. You dont want to bring those germs in. OHSUs Doernbecher Childrens Hospital, 2022 (Courtesy photo) Leukemia treatment took more than two years for Dormans daughter, and their longest hospital stay was one month. She said she knows families who have had to stay in the hospital for eight months at a time while their loved one was undergoing treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Something as simple as a coffee and an omelet in the morning can change the whole trajectory of the day when youre in the hospital with your child, she said. While the program is currently only serving caregivers in OHSUs Pediatric Hematology/Oncology and Bone Marrow Transplant unit, Dorman said they hope to expand to others soon. She encourages those who want to help to donate to the Parent Plate Program Fund at OHSU. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. There's a basic principle of free speech that the censors always seem to forget. Namely, the act of suppressing speech only tends to add more fuel to the speaker's fire. Don't believe me? Just ask Karl Marx. In 1842, Marx was an up-and-coming radical journalist and chief editor at a Prussian publication called the Rheinische Zeitung. His readers thrilled to his biting pen and caustic attacks on the Prussian monarchy. But when Russian Emperor Nicholas I happened to read one of Marx's articles, which also savaged Prussia's then-key ally, Russia, the boot of censorship came stomping down. Russia lodged an official complaint about Marx's writings with the Prussian regime and the Rheinische Zeitung was repressed by state censors in 1843. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I am tired of this hypocrisy and stupidity, of the boorishness of officials, I am tired of having to bow and scrape and invent safe and harmless phrases," Marx told a correspondent. "In Germany there is nothing I can do." So Marx departed for Paris and the rest, as they say, is history. "Two years later," the political philosopher Isiah Berlin wrote in his illuminating 1939 biography, Karl Marx: His Life and Environment, Marx "was known to the police of many lands as an uncompromising revolutionary communist, an opponent of reformist liberalism, the notorious leader of a subversive movement with international ramifications." Indeed, Berlin argued, "the years 1843-5 are the most decisive of his life." It was during that tumultuous period in which Marx truly became the notorious figure that we recognize today. All of which suggests an interesting counterfactual: What if the Prussian authorities had left Marx in peace to crank out his rancorous articles? Might he have remained content to scribble away and never become the communist firebrand of historical infamy? What if? But the censors did not leave Marx alone. They hounded him out of Germany. And their efforts backfired spectacularly. Not only did the censors fail to throttle Marx's work; they actually turbo-charged his radicalization and greatly furthered the spread of his ideas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The historical record is replete with similar stories about ultimately doomed efforts to silence political speech. For example, when I was researching my book about Frederick Douglass and the Constitution some years ago, I was struck by how many celebrated antislavery activists first became radicalized against slavery when they witnessed proslavery mobs trying to stamp out abolitionist speech. Take the case of the great Salmon P. Chase. In the summer of 1836, Chase was a successful young lawyer living in Cincinnati, Ohio. On July 12, a proslavery mob forced its way into the offices of a local abolitionist newspaper called the Philanthropist and destroyed the printing press. Two weeks later, the mob went hunting for the paper's editor, the abolitionist James G. Birney. "I heard with disgust and horror the mob violence directed against the Anti-Slavery Press and Anti-Slavery men of Cincinnati in 1836," Chase later wrote. "I was opposed at this time to the views of the abolitionists, but I now recognized the slave power as the great enemy of freedom of speech [and] freedom of the press and freedom of the person. I took an open part against the mob." So began Chase's extraordinary antislavery career, which included arguing against the Fugitive Slave Act before the U.S. Supreme Court, helping found the antislavery Free Soil Party (whose catchy motto, "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free Labor, and Free Men," he coined), and eventually replacing the hated Roger Taney, author of the disgraceful Dred Scott decision, as chief justice of the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It all started with Chase's outrage at the sight of proslavery thugs on the rampage against abolitionist speech. "From this time on," Chase recalled of the violent summer of 1836, "I became a decided opponent of Slavery and the Slave Power." I suppose that's the one good thing that might be said about censorship: It has a pronounced tendency to blow up in the faces of the censors. The post A Free Speech Lesson From Karl Marx appeared first on Reason.com. HOLYOKE, Mass. (WWLP) A vibrant two-day festival of music, dancing, food, and community spirit is coming to downtown Holyoke as De la Luz celebrates its first anniversary with Race Street SalsaFest on Friday, July 18, and Saturday, July 19. YMCA of Greater Springfield recognizes support for 2025 Summer Programs The free event will take place at 92 Race Street, the former Gateway City Arts building, now home to De la Luz Soundstage and Divine Theater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The venue, reimagined by LightHouse Holyoke as a nonprofit cultural hub, sits in the heart of Holyokes Puerto Rican Cultural District and aims to celebrate and serve the surrounding community. This festival is both a birthday party and an invitation, said Kyle Homstead, Technical Director at De la Luz. Our goal is to honor the rich cultural heritage of this neighborhood while creating a vibrant space thats truly for the community. Courtesy of De la Luz / LightHouse Holyoke The celebration kicks off Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. with the Holyoke Food and Equity Collectives Summer Gathering Meal, a sliding-scale community dinner ($0$20) that invites neighbors to connect over a shared meal. Friday nights lineup continues with: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 7:00 p.m. Free salsa dance lesson with McCoy Jamison 8:00 p.m. Performance by Sharina y su Conjunto Guajiba (Divine Theater) 9:00 p.m. 14-piece Puerto Rican salsa band Orquesta El Macabeo (Soundstage) 10:30 p.m. Latin DJ dance party (Divine Theater) The festivities pick up again on Saturday, July 19, beginning at 11:00 a.m. with: Outdoor brunch and music by Tony Silva (11 a.m.2 p.m) 2:00 p.m. Family concert with Latin Grammy winner MISTER G (Soundstage) 4:007:00 p.m. Food and drinks served on the patio 7:00 p.m. Salsa dance lesson with McCoy Jamison 8:00 p.m. Afro-Cuban performer Miguel Periche (Divine Theater) 9:00 p.m. All-women multicultural salsa fusion band Las Karamba (Soundstage) 10:30 p.m. High-energy community drum circle led by Tony Vacca The festival is supported by local sponsors, including Bueno y Sano and Holyoke Community College. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Race Street SalsaFest promises to be a celebration of culture, music, and communityright in the heart of Holyoke. 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. Wan Quan/VCG via Getty Images Nvidia stock surged 5% on news that the company will be able to restart selling H20 chips to China. CEO Jensen Huang recently met with President Donald Trump to discuss AI the US' AI dominance goals. Morgan Stanley CIO Mike Wilson sees this as a highly bullish indicator for the broader AI sector. The move: Nvidia stock jumped as much as 5% on Tuesday morning, rising to $172.39 a share. After bottoming in April, the stock has regained momentum and is currently up more than 27% year-to-date. The chart: Why: The company said that the US government will clear it to start shipping its H20 chips to China again. In a July 14 blog post, Nvidia announced that it had begun filing applications to resume selling the H20 GPU in China. "The U.S. government has assured NVIDIA that licenses will be granted, and NVIDIA hopes to start deliveries soon," it added. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang recently met with policymakers in both the US and China, including President Donald Trump, to discuss the importance of supporting artificial intelligence infrastructure. Secretary of Treasury Scott Bessent said in an interview on Tuesday morning that multiple Chinese firms are currently at work on similar chips, which could pose a threat to America's AI dominance. This decision is a stark contrast from the Trump administration's previous position on Chinese trade relations. In April 2025, NVDA stock fell as the White House announced strict controls on selling AI-enabling chips to China. What it means: Morgan Stanley CIO and chief US equity strategist Mike Wilson said he sees the development as a highly bullish indicator for the broader AI sector. He said that the AI capital expenditure (capex) cycle has been significant for the market's recovery, although it often doesn't receive much attention. "This deal is just more fuel to that fire," he said. Wilson also noted that the new Chinese revenue would be a "huge, positive kick to margins" for Nvidia. Reports indicate that Chinese firms are already rushing to buy the Nvidia chip when H20 sales resume. Read the original article on Business Insider France on Thursday formally handed back its last two military bases in Senegal, leaving Paris with no permanent army camps in either west or central Africa. Ending the French army's 65 years in independent Senegal, the pull-out comes after similar withdrawals across the continent, with former colonies increasingly turning their backs on their former ruler. The move comes as the Sahel region faces a growing jihadist conflict across Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger that is threatening the wider west African region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A recent string of attacks this month in Mali included an assault on a town on the border with Senegal. France returned Camp Geille, its largest base in the west African country, and its airfield at Dakar airport, in a ceremony attended by top French and Senegalese officials. They included Senegalese chief of staff General Mbaye Cisse and General Pascal Ianni, the head of the French forces in Africa. Cisse said the handover marked "an important turning point in the rich and long military journey of our two countries". He said the "new objectives" were aimed at "giving new content to the security partnership". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senegalese troops were working "to consolidate the numerous skills gained it its quest for strategic autonomy", he added. The general ended his speech with a quote from Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the French author of "The Little Prince", who spent several months in Dakar: "For each ending there is always a new departure." Ianni said Paris was "reinventing partnerships in a dynamic Africa". "We have to do things differently, and we don't need permanent bases to do so," he said. The French general however insisted that the pull-out "takes nothing away from the sacrifices made yesterday by our brothers-in-arms in Africa for our respective interests". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around 350 French soldiers, primarily tasked with conducting joint operations with the Senegalese army, are now leaving, marking the end of a three-month departure process that began in March. After storming to victory in 2024 elections promising radical change, Senegal's President Bassirou Diomaye Faye demanded France withdraw troops from the country by 2025. Unlike the leaders of other former colonies such as junta-run Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, however, Faye has insisted that Senegal will keep working with Paris. - 'Sovereignty' - Senegal was one of France's first colonies in Africa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After gaining independence in 1960, Senegal became one of France's staunchest African allies, playing host to French troops throughout its modern history. Faye's predecessor, Macky Sall, continued that tradition. However Faye, who ran on a ticket promising a clean break with the Sall era, has said that Senegal will treat France like any other foreign partner. Pledging to make his country more self-sufficient, the president gave a deadline of the end of 2025 for all foreign armies to withdraw. "Senegal is an independent country, it is a sovereign country, and sovereignty does not accept the presence of military bases in a sovereign country," Faye said at the end of 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He maintained nonetheless that France remained "an important partner for Senegal". Faye has also urged Paris to apologise for colonial atrocities, including the massacre on December 1, 1944, of dozens of African soldiers who had fought for France in World War II. - Continent-wide pull-out - With governments across Africa increasingly questioning the presence of French soldiers, Paris has closed or reduced numbers at bases across its former empire. In February, Paris handed back its sole remaining base in Ivory Coast, ending decades of French presence at the site. The month before, France turned over the Kossei base in Chad, its last military foothold in the unrest-hit Sahel region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Coups in Burkina Faso, Niger and Mali between 2020 and 2023 have swept military strongmen to power. All have cut ties with France and turned to Russia instead for help in fighting the Sahel's decade-long jihadist insurgency. The Central African Republic, also a former French colony to which the Kremlin has sent mercenaries, has likewise demanded a French pull-out. Meanwhile the army has turned its base in Gabon into a camp shared with the central African nation focused on training. Only the tiny Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti will play host to a permanent French army base following Thursday's withdrawal. France intends to make its base in Djibouti, home to some 1,500 people, its military headquarters for Africa. lp/sbk/ach A French court has ordered the release of pro-Palestinian Lebanese fighter Georges Ibrahim Abdallah, who has been imprisoned for 40 years for his role in the killings of two foreign diplomats in France in the early 1980s. The Paris Appeals Court ordered on Thursday that Abdallah, 74, be freed from a prison in southern France on July 25 on the condition that he leave French territory and never return. The former head of the Lebanese Armed Revolutionary Brigade was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1987 for complicity in the 1982 murders of United States military attache Charles Robert Ray and Israeli diplomat Yacov Barsimantov in Paris and the attempted murder of US Consul General Robert Homme in Strasbourg in 1984. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First detained in 1984 and convicted in 1987, Abdallah is one of the longest serving prisoners in France as most prisoners serving life sentences are freed after less than 30 years. The detainees brother, Robert Abdallah, told the AFP news agency in Lebanon on Thursday that he was overjoyed by the news. Were delighted. I didnt expect the French judiciary to make such a decision nor for him to ever be freed, especially after so many failed requests for release, he was quoted as saying. For once, the French authorities have freed themselves from Israeli and US pressures. Abdallahs lawyer Jean-Louis Chalanset also welcomed the decision: Its both a judicial victory and a political scandal that he was not released earlier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abdallah is expected to be deported to Lebanon. Prosecutors may file an appeal with Frances highest court, the Court of Cassation, but it is not expected to be processed quickly enough to halt his release next week. Abdallah has been up for release for 25 years, but the US a civil party to the case has consistently opposed his leaving prison. Lebanese authorities have repeatedly said Abdallah should be freed from jail and had written to the appeals court to say they would organise his return home to Beirut. In November, a French court ordered his release on the condition Abdallah leaves France. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But French prosecutors, arguing that he had not changed his political views, appealed the decision, which was consequently suspended. A verdict was supposed to have been delivered in February, but the Paris Appeals Court postponed it, saying it was unclear whether Abdallah had proof that he had paid compensation to the plaintiffs something he has consistently refused to do. The court re-examined the latest request for his release last month. During the closed-door hearing, Chalanset told the judges that 16,000 euros ($18,535) had been placed in the prisoners bank account and were at the disposal of civil parties in the case, including the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abdallah, who has never expressed regret for his actions, has always insisted he is a fighter who battled for the rights of Palestinians and not a criminal. The Paris court has described his behaviour in prison as irreproachable and said in November that he posed no serious risk in terms of committing new terrorism acts. Abdallah still enjoys some support from several public figures in France, including left-wing members of parliament and Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux, but has mostly been forgotten by the general public. By Dominique Vidalon PARIS (Reuters) -The municipal authority for the Paris suburb of Saint-Cloud, which hosts the annual Rock-en-Seine music festival, has decided to withdraw a 40,000 euro ($46,000) subsidy for the event due to its booking of Irish rap band Kneecap, it said on Thursday. The Belfast-based Kneecap, which raps in Irish and English, has drawn criticism because it has displayed pro-Palestine messages during gigs. It is scheduled to play on the final day of the Rock-en-Seine festival, which takes place from August 21 to August 24. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement late on Wednesday, the Saint-Cloud city hall said the money had been agreed before the final line-up of the festival was announced and that it had decided to withdraw the funding on July 3. The Saint-Cloud city said it respects the festival's programming freedom, and had not sought "to enter into any negotiations with a view to influencing the programming". "On the other hand it does not finance political action, nor demands, and even less calls to violence, such as calls to kill lawmakers, whatever their nationality," the statement said. Rock-en-Seine could not be immediately reached for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kneecap member Liam Og O hAnnaidh, who is known by his stage name Mo Chara, was charged in May with a terrorism offence for allegedly displaying a flag of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militant group that is proscribed as a terrorist organisation in Britain. He denies the offence and the band says its members do not support Hamas or Hezbollah. ($1 = 0.8627 euros) (Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; editing by Barbara Lewis) A transplant surgeon at Froedtert Hospital is facing federal charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. Calvin Eriksen, 46, was arrested by federal agents on July 15 near his Brookfield home. He is being charged after a years-long investigation into his possible connections to child sexual abuse material, according to a criminal complaint filed by the Department of Homeland Security's Homeland Security Investigations task force. As of July 17, Eriksen's page has been taken down from Froedtert's websites and websites for the associated Medical College of Wisconsin and Children's Wisconsin. Web archives state that he specializes in kidney and liver transplants and sees patients of all ages, including infants, adolescents and seniors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stephanie Burton, Froedtert's communications director, wrote to the Journal Sentinel that the hospital is fully cooperating with law enforcement. "The allegations in the criminal complaint are deeply disturbing," Burton wrote. "This doctor has been placed on leave, and his ability to see patients has been suspended while the investigation proceeds." On March 18, the task force received a tip submitted by an internet service provider that a user had uploaded four files of apparent child pornography between Jan. 13 and April 4, according to the complaint. The IP addresses linked to the files were traced through geolocation to Froedtert hospital and locations in Milwaukee and New Berlin. The task force linked the case to a prior investigation by the Homeland Security Investigations task force in West Palm Beach, Florida. In August 2023, a user with a similar username as the individual who uploaded the files in Wisconsin had messaged an undercover agent who was posing as a young mother of an 8-year-old daughter on a chatroom for individuals interested in "taboo" sexual relationships. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The user inquired about beginning a sexual relationship with both the apparent mother and the daughter. Throughout the course of their correspondence, the user revealed he lived in Wisconsin and worked as a surgeon. He also sent the undercover agent a photo of himself. Through a facial recognition analysis, the West Palm Beach task force identified the user as Eriksen. From August through December 2023, the user identified as Eriksen engaged in explicit chat conversations with the agent about what he wanted to do with the supposed woman and her young daughter. He said he planned to travel to Florida in January 2024 to meet them, but stopped communicating with the undercover agent in December 2023. The agent next encountered the user identified as Eriksen in July 2024 in a different chatroom. They began privately messaging again, and the user confided in the agent about watching child pornography. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On April 8, during the investigation into the March 18 tip, a judge signed a search warrant for records relating to Eriksen from the internet provider that had submitted the tip. Through the warrant, the task force found that Eriksen appeared to obtain and share "numerous videos and pictures" of child sexual abuse material on various online group chats. The search warrant returns also yielded photos of Eriksen in scrubs in a hospital setting. Eriksen was released on a signature bond on July 15, according to online court records. He is required to comply with a curfew and location monitoring. He is scheduled to next appear in federal court on July 31. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Froedtert surgeon faces federal child pornography charges PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) The delay in funding for a senior food assistance program through Neighborhood House has been resolved. The Senior Farmers Market Nutrition Program, a nationwide program funded by the Department of Agriculture to state agencies, helps low-income seniors afford fresh fruits and vegetables. Seniors get a $25 coupon booklet to be used at local farmers markets. Each booklet contains five $5 coupons to be used at farmers markets Now they can go to the local farmers market. They can use those books to get the fresh produce that theyve been wanting to get their hands on, said Julie Bonar, CEO and president of Neighborhood House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The program was set to begin on July 10. Upon learning about the federal funding delay from the state, Neighborhood House paused distribution of the coupon booklets. So we immediately shut our doors. We were able to get the word out to anyone who picked up a coupon book. If they gave us a cell phone number, they should have received a text saying, Hold onto your coupon book. Its still good. Theres just going to be a delay until when you can start using it, she said. Now that the funding has come through, Neighborhood House will resume distribution on Monday. Bonar said they have 900 booklets to give out. So we didnt look at any alternative type of resources because we knew it would come. We just werent sure how soon. We were very fortunate that it was only about a week pause and were able to start going again, said Bonar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre eligible and would like a coupon booklet, head to Neighborhood House on Monday from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. or Tuesday from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The program is valid through Oct. 31. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) Breonna Cestodio always thought her Uncle Rick was invincible. I just figured hes survived so much, Cestodio told 12 News. I thought he would survive anything. Thats why when she first learned the Gabriel Assisted Living Facility had caught fire, she wasnt too concerned. I thought, Oh hes definitely going to be the first one out, carrying his oxygen tank and puffing on a cigarette,' she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But 78-year-old Richard Rochon didnt make it out of the burning building. The Vietnam War veteran was one of nine residents who died in the fire. It still doesnt feel real, Cestodio said. I dont think its truly sunken in yet. RELATED: What we know about the Fall River fire victims He always said, When its my time to go, itll be my time to go. Trust me,' she added. I just keep replaying him saying that in my head Life is too short, and you never know when its your time. Cestodio said her uncle had a witty sense of humor. Youd be having a conversation with him and he would always have a wisecrack comment that would make you laugh, she recalled. Richard Rochon (Courtesy: Breonna Cestodio) Richard Rochon (Courtesy: Breonna Cestodio) Richard Rochon (Courtesy: Breonna Cestodio) Rochon, who was a sharp shooter for the U.S. Army, never shied away from sharing his war stories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cestodio told 12 News she plans on eventually telling those stories to her younger relatives. You have to let that legacy live on somehow, and although theyre scary stories, I am proud of his service, she said. Its been a rough couple of days for Rochons family. Cestodio said her family has been in panic mode searching for affordable funeral arrangements. How are we going to afford this?' she recalled her relatives asking. He deserves to be buried and honored with dignity and grace we were just so overwhelmed. That why Cestodio was shocked when she received a phone call from Tom James, the owner of South Coast Funeral Home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I explained the circumstances, and he said the entire funeral would be paid for by him, she said. He said he would take care of everything. James told 12 News it was the least he could do for Rochons family. I said, lets get him home and figure out the rest, were not charging for any of this,' James remembered telling Cestodio. MOER: Chief says Fall River fire was destined to kill 50-plus people For Cestodio, the kind gesture meant more than James would ever know. I live life every single day with the most love in my heart, and I try to give out as much kindness as I can, Cestodio said. I try to compliment strangers, try to make everybody smile, and I just recently had the sense of maybe Im the only one out there who does these kinds deeds for anybody, because Ive just had a lot of bad luck lately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To hear from someone else who has so much love in their heart for everybody and so much kindness to give, it definitely gave me the confidence to keep being kind, she continued. James told 12 News he is covering the funeral expenses for two other victims as well. He is encouraging the families of other victims to reach out to him for assistance. These people are going through the worst times of their lives right now, James said. No one plans for funerals. Its not like it used to be and its very expensive. The community comes to us all the time and keeps our lights on, so lets do the same thing for them, he continued. Weve got to do what we do best, and thats help people. If its at no cost, then thats what it is. I encourage everyone to do the same. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said families can either call South Coast Funeral Home at (508) 672-1752, or him directly at (781) 579-1752. SEE ALSO: How to help those affected by Fall River fire Cestodio and her family have been left with more questions than answers as to what caused her uncles death, especially after what she had witnessed during her visits. I never saw a single worker there, she said. No one stopped me at the door, and the doors were never locked, ever. Cestodio said she used to bring her dog with her to visit her uncle, and she was never stopped once. She said anyone could walk into the building, and that things had been stolen from her uncles room in the past. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rochon lived at the Gabriel House for roughly two years, according to Cestodio. Despite being unable to walk, she said he was placed in a room on the second floor. Cestodio said her uncle rarely left his room for months due to the elevator being broken. Sometimes we would go there and ask him, what did you eat today? and he would say Oh, well I cant get down there, so I didnt eat anything,' she said. No one would go to check on him. TARGET 12: Records reveal pest problems at Gabriel House long before deadly fire Cestodio said her uncle had been hospitalized the day prior to the fire and returned Sunday morning. Her family had no idea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His sister is his emergency contact and she shouldve been notified that he went to the emergency room and when he returned, she said. Rochon was also plagued by the rats that he claimed infested the building, according to Cestodio. We would bring him groceries, and the last time we visited he asked for an extra loaf of bread, Cestodio explained. We thought maybe someone else in the building needed it, but no, it was for the rats. They were eating his food and he didnt want them to eat his food, so he would feed them the bread and trap them. Cestodio doesnt blame the two workers who were on the clock when the fire broke out for her uncles death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a tough hand to be dealt working with 70 patients when there are only two of you, she said. Cestodio believes her uncle would still be alive today if the facility was properly staffed. I worked at a residential home for teenagers and we had a three-to-one ratio, so one staff member for every three students, she explained. If the ratio at a residential home for teenagers is three-to-one, I think, for those who are immobile and take care of themselves, the ratio should be at least three-to-one. The cause of the fire remains under investigation, but it does not appear to be suspicious in nature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shannon Hegy and Kayla Fish contributed to this report. How you can help The Firefighters Wives Association has set up a GoFundMe page for those affected by the fire. Catholic Charities is also collecting donations for impacted residents, including clothing, bedding, toiletries and other essentials. Donations can be dropped off between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The city has compiled a list of residents specific clothing and mobility needs for those who want to donate but are unsure what to bring. 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. We've only known about its existence for a few short weeks, and already astronomers have been able to learn a lot about the mysterious interstellar comet 3I/ATLAS. The object was detected on 1 July 2025, and it made a big splash. Scientists rapidly discovered that it came from outside the Solar System just the third known object to have done so. Astronomers thronged to study, track, and categorize it. Thanks to their efforts, we now have a pretty detailed but still evolving profile of the unusual comet. Initial observations suggest that it is very different from the other two interstellar objects, 1I/'Oumuamua, which appeared in 2017, and 2I/Borisov, discovered in 2019. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related: Astronomers Have Traced Our New Interstellar Comet's Origin, And It's a First Here's what we know. Please note that all papers are, at time of writing, preprints that are awaiting peer review. Trajectory YouTube Thumbnail Ongoing observations of 3I/ATLAS have enabled astronomers to chart its future path through the Solar System. It was discovered when it was at a distance of 4.5 astronomical units from the Sun (one astronomical unit is the distance between Earth and the Sun). That placed it inside the orbit of Jupiter. It's traveling at just under 60 kilometers (37 miles) per second, but that will speed up as the comet approaches the Sun. 1I/'Oumumua was traveling at 26 kilometers per second, and 2I/Borisov at 32. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The closest 3I/ATLAS will come to the Sun is around 1.36 astronomical units, inside the orbit of Mars, on 29 October 2025. Its closest approach to Earth will be in December 2025, when it will come to a distance of 1.8 astronomical units. Origin The speed and trajectory of 3I/ATLAS suggest that it comes from the thick disk of the Milky Way, the puffy region around the thin disk wherein just 15 percent of the galaxy's stellar mass resides. This part of the galaxy is relatively sparse, and most of the stars in it are very old. The thick disk of the Milky Way contains only 10 to 15 percent of its stars. ( Gaba p/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 Age The comet's origin provides clues about its age. Since it seems to hail from a region of mostly elderly objects, it stands to reason that 3I/ATLAS is likewise quite venerable. This is supported by a separate paper that has analyzed the speed and velocity of the comet to try to calculate its age. It is traveling much faster than the two previous interstellar objects, 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov, suggesting that it is older than them too. Future observations will help narrow down the object's age, but this analysis places it somewhere between 3 and 11 billion years old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Universe is 13.8 billion years old, and the Sun is 4.6 billion. 3I/ATLAS is unlikely to be at the upper end of the age range, but it's still probably older than the Solar System. "This is an object from a part of the galaxy we've never seen up close before," says astrophysicist Chris Lintott of the University of Oxford in the UK, co-author of one of the papers that has emerged. "We think there's a two-thirds chance this comet is older than the Solar System, and that it's been drifting through interstellar space ever since." Appearance We don't know much about the appearance of 3I/ATLAS yet, because it is very small and still quite far away, but initial observations suggest that it is quite large compared to 1I/'Oumuamua and 2I/Borisov about 10 kilometers across, compared to up to 400 meters long (around 1,300 feet) for 1I/'Oumuamua and 975 meters for 2I/Borisov. The spectrum of light reflected off the comet has been measured by a number of independent teams, all arriving at the same findings, suggesting that the object has either a complex mix of grain sizes, a different composition from those of Solar System comets, or a combo of both explanations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New images taken with the Gemini North telescope reveal the comet's puffy coma, a sort of 'atmosphere' of dust and gas that surrounds the comet. As it draws closer to the Sun, scientists expect its activity to pick up, resulting in cometary outgassing. "3I/ATLAS likely contains ices, especially below the surface, and those ices may start to activate as it nears the Sun," says astronomer Darryl Seligman of Michigan State University in the US. "But until we detect specific gas emissions, like H 2 O, CO or CO 2 , we can't say for sure what kinds of ice or how much there is." What next? Astronomers are going to continue keeping a close eye on 3I/ATLAS. Since it is so much larger than either of the previous two interstellar visitors, it presents a much better observation target, and its projected origin and age means it represents a rare opportunity to study parts of the galaxy in time and space that are usually out of reach. Its appearance has another implication, too. It suggests that interstellar visitors are relatively common to the Solar System which is all the more reason to be excited about the forthcoming ESA/JAXA Comet Interceptor mission, designed to visit comets and study them up close, currently slated for a 2029 launch. Related News APALACHICOLA, Fla. (WMBB) Oyster harvesting could return to Apalachicola for the first time in five years. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is proposing for the first season to begin on October 1, 2026. Many estuaries in Florida have lost 80-90% of oyster reefs. But oystermen say overharvesting was not the cause. Whatever killed oysters, I dont know, but I can promise you it wasnt from overharvest. Our span started dying, and when it did survive, it didnt last long. I mean, it never got bigger than your fingernail. So thats what happened to the oysters, Seafood Work and Watermans Association President Wayne Williams said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Based on the FWCs 2025 monitoring, there are four current oyster reefs in Apalachicola. The state is working to restore $2,000 acres of oyster reefs by 2032 and re-establish the fishery with a long-term clutching program. To continue the restoration, theyre proposing a limited opening of the oyster beds, keeping some areas closed. The FWC is also suggesting having an app for mandatory reporting of oyster harvesting. Oyster harvesters say they would be happy with anything. We need to go back to work. It dont matter if its a bag a day, we would be happy with a bag a day, Apalachicola resident Francis Estes commented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Franklin County commissioners say the local economy needs the oyster industry to return. Theres not a lot left here. Everything here is based on tourism. We live in hurricane alley. Theres going to come a day if we dont diversify our economy, that were going to be looking at down the barrel of a gun. If Hurricane Michael hit Franklin County, we would have no economy today, Chairman Ricky Jones said. FWC officials say theyd prefer $30-50 million a year to continue the restoration. Franklin County asked the legislature for $30 million dollars this year, but only received $2.1 million. I just dont dont want to be left hanging. Now, a lot of people come in, and as long as the moneys there, theyre going to do this and do that. But then theres no money. You know, people drop us like a bad habit, and then were stuck with a mess and with nothing for our community, Commissioner Jessica Ward added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The FWC hosted several public workshops across Florida to hear about oyster harvesting. They will hold their proposed rule hearing at 8:30 a.m. on August 13th and 14th in Havana. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Billy McFarland, 33, became notorious for organizing the failed Fyre Festival in 2017. The disgraced founder said he auctioned off the branding rights for the event on eBay for $245,300. McFarland was ordered to pay $26 million to the investors, concert-goers, and vendors he defrauded. Billy McFarland, the founder and CEO of the Fyre Festival, said on Tuesday that he has sold the branding rights for the infamous event. McFarland, 33, wrote in a statement on X that he had auctioned off the Fyre Festival's brand and intellectual property on eBay. He added that the auction was the "most-watched non-charity listing on eBay." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McFarland's listing received 175 bids and was ultimately sold for $245,300, per its eBay auction page. He said in his statement that he looked forward to working with the buyer to "finalize the sale." "Fyre Festival is just one chapter of my story, and I'm excited to move onto my next one," McFarland said in his statement. McFarland also teased his next venture, "a tech platform designed to capture and power the value behind every view online." He did not elaborate further but said the project would be "coming soon." Earlier, McFarland had expressed disappointment at the final sale price. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Damn. This sucks, it's so low," he said in a livestream on Tuesday, per NBC News. McFarland had gained notoriety following the failure of the Fyre Festival back in 2017. McFarland had marketed the event as a luxury music festival in the Bahamas. McFarland managed to raise over $26 million from investors and recruited influencers like Kendall Jenner and Hailey Bieber to promote the event. He ended up selling over 5,000 tickets, some of which went up to $75,000. But McFarland's customers were in for a rude shock when they arrived at the Bahamas in April 2017. What was supposed to look like paradise ended up resembling a disaster drill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Disaster relief tents from FEMA replaced the villas they were promised. Instead of gourmet meals, customers were served cheese sandwiches and salads. Bahamian locals who worked as the event's caterers and laborers said they did not receive their salaries. In 2018, McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud related to the festival and was sentenced to six years in prison. He was also ordered to pay $26 million to investors, concert-goers, and vendors. McFarland was released from prison early in March 2022. He apologized for his actions during an interview with Good Morning America in November 2022, saying that what he did was "wrong" and "bad." "I let people down. I let down employees. I let down their families. I let down investors. So I need to apologize," McFarland said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McFarland, however, was not done with the Fyre Festival just yet. In April 2023, he wrote in a now-deleted post on X that a sequel to the Fyre Festival was "finally happening." McFarland initially announced in February that Fyre Festival 2 would take place on Isla Mujeres, a Mexican island. The location was later changed to another Mexican tourist hot spot, Playa del Carmen, after the Isla Mujeres government said it had "no knowledge of this event." In April, the event's organizers said the festival would not be held at Playa del Carmen either. The organizers said in a statement to The New York Times published on April 16 that the event was "still on" and they were "vetting new locations." That changed again on April 23, when McFarland said in a statement on Instagram that he was selling the brand rights to the Fyre Festival. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "For Fyre Festival 2 to succeed, it's clear that I need to step back and allow a new team to move forward independently," McFarland said. Representatives for McFarland and eBay did not respond to requests for comment from Business Insider. Read the original article on Business Insider By Kopano Gumbi, Maria Martinez and Colleen Goko DURBAN (Reuters) -South Africa urged G20 countries to show global and cooperative leadership to tackle challenges including rising trade barriers, as the club's finance chiefs met on Thursday under the shadow of President Donald Trump's tariff threats. The G20, which emerged as a forum for cooperation to combat the 2008 global financial crisis, has for years been hobbled by disputes among key players that have been exacerbated by Russia's war in Ukraine and Western sanctions on Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Host South Africa, under its presidency's motto "Solidarity, Equality, Sustainability", has aimed to promote an African agenda, with topics including the high cost of capital and funding for climate change action. In opening remarks, South Africa's Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana said the G20 must provide strategic global leadership, cooperation and action in the face of complex challenges. "We have a critical role to play in revitalising and strengthening multilateralism by fostering inclusive dialogue, reinforcing rules-based cooperation and driving collective action in global challenges that no country can solve alone," he said. "The need for bold cooperative leadership has never been greater." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Questions, however, are lingering over the ability of the finance chiefs and central bankers meeting in the coastal city of Durban to tackle those issues and others together. The G20 aims to coordinate policies, but its agreements are non-binding. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will not attend the two-day meeting, his second absence from a G20 event in South Africa this year. Bessent also skipped February's Cape Town gathering, where several officials from China, Japan and Canada were also absent, even though Washington is due to assume the G20 rotating presidency at the end of the year. Michael Kaplan, acting undersecretary for international affairs, will represent the United States at the meetings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A G20 delegate, who asked not to be named, said Bessent's absence was not ideal but that the U.S. was engaging in discussions on trade, the global economy and climate language. Finance ministers from India, France and Russia are also set to miss the Durban meeting. South Africa's central bank governor Lesetja Kganyago said that representation was what mattered most. "What matters is, is there somebody with a mandate sitting behind the flag and are all countries represented with somebody sitting behind the flag?" Kganyago told Reuters. U.S. officials have said little publicly about their plans for the presidency next year, but one source familiar with them said Washington would reduce the number of non-financial working groups and streamline the summit schedule. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TARIFF SHADOW Trump's tariff policies have torn up the global trade rule book and clouded the economic outlook. With baseline levies of 10% on all U.S. imports and targeted rates as high as 50% on steel and aluminium, 25% on autos and potential levies on pharmaceuticals, extra tariffs on more than 20 countries are slated to take effect on August 1. His threat to impose further 10% tariffs on BRICS nations of which eight are G20 members has raised fears of fragmentation within global forums. Germany's Bundesbank chief said the central bank's expectation of 0.7% growth in Europe's largest economy next year could be eaten up if tariffs of 30% threatened by Trump were implemented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If tariffs materialise in August, a recession in Germany in 2025 cannot be ruled out," Joachim Nagel told Reuters in Durban. Trump's attacks on U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was causing concern too in Durban, with Nagel warning against interfering with the independence of central banks. On the broader agenda, South Africa's Treasury Director General Duncan Pieterse said the G20 hoped to issue the first communique under the South African G20 presidency by the end of the meetings. The G20 was last able to collectively issue a communique a year ago. (Reporting by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo, Kopano Gumbi, Colleen Goko, Philip Blenkinsop, Maria Martinez in Durban, Andrea Shalal in Washington; Writing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo and Emelia Sithole-Matarise; Editing by Philippa Fletcher and Joe Bavier) Jen-Hsun Huan NVIDIA's Founder, President and CEO by jamesonwu1972 via Shutterstock Three weeks ago, we recommended Nvidia Inc. (NVDA) stock in a June 22 Barchart article and shorting out-of-the-money puts. Now, NVDA is near its target prices, and the short play is successful. What is the best play here? NVDA is at $171.30, up over 4.5% today. Trump OK'd an export license to sell its powerful H20 AI chips to China after Nvidia's CEO, Jensen Huang, met with President Trump. The Wall Street Journal said this has been a top seller for Nvidia in China and was specially designed for the Chinese market. More News from Barchart NVDA stock - last 6 months - Barchart - July 15, 2025 My prior price target was $178 per share using an estimated 55% forward free cash flow (FCF) margin (i.e., FCF/sales), as well as a 2.85% FCF yield valuation metric (i.e., 35x FCF multiple). Last quarter, Nvidia made a 59% FCF margin. So, if this continues over the coming year, NVDA stock could have further to go. Moreover, analysts have lifted their price targets. Let's look at this. Updated FCF Estimates In Q1 ending April 27, Nvidia generated $26.1 billion in FCF on $44.06 billion in sales. That represents a 59.2% FCF margin. Over the trailing months, according to Stock Analysis, it's generated $72.06 billion FCF on $148.5 billion in sales, or a 48.5% FCF margin. So, it seems reasonable to assume Nvidia could make at least a 57% FCF margin going forward. Here's how that would work out. Analysts expect sales to rise to a range between $199.89 billion this year ending Jan. 2026 and $251.2 billion next year. That puts it on a next 12 months (NTM) run rate of $225.5 billion. Moreover, now that it will be able to sell to China again, let's assume this pushes sales at least 5% higher to $236.8 billion: $236.8b NTM sales x 57% FCF margin = $135 billion FCF Just to be conservative, let's use a 55% margin on the lower NTM sales estimates: $225.5 billion x 55% margin = $124 billion FCF So, our estimate is that FCF over the next 12 months could range between $124 billion and $135 billion, or about $130 billion on average Updating Price Targets Therefore, using a 30x FCF multiple (i.e., the same as dividing by 3.33% FCF yield): $230b x 30 = $6,900 billion market cap (i.e., $6.9 trillion) That is 65% over today's market cap of $4.178 trillion, according to Yahoo! Finance (i.e., at $171.35 p/sh). A Georgia man is now behind bars after police said he tricked an innocent victim into sending him thousands of dollars. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Shelby Township detectives in Michigan said the investigation began back in February. The victim told detectives a man who identified himself as Shawn Taylor with the U.S. Treasury and Social Security Administration office, told her someone had been using her social security number and that there was a warrant for her arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The person on the phone told the victim to protect the rest of her money, she needs to transfer a large amount to him. Shawn called the victim again to transfer another large sum of money. According to police, the victim transferred nearly $110,000. TRENDING STORIES: A detective immediately began searching for a suspect. The detective looked into the bank accounts that received the wire transfers and quickly identified the suspect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The detective then used Flock cameras to confirm the suspect as Kelly Umana, from Georgia. On June 25, Roswell police said they had Umana in custody. On July 10, Umana was taken to the Macomb County Jail, where he is awaiting arraignment. Detectives said the man did not act alone and more arrests are forthcoming. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] On July 11, Umana was arraigned on charges of false pretenses and was given a $20,000 cash surety bond. Stealing from others through lies and deception is just as serious as any other crime - and here in Shelby Township, we will not tolerate it, Shelby Township Chief of Police Robert J. Shelide said. A suspect who swindled over $100,000 from an innocent victim is now behind bars, thanks to the sharp, determined work of a great detective. Police are breaking their silence in the University of Idaho murder case hours after Judge Steven Hippler lifted the nondissemination order, revealing information about the status of the investigation and interactions with admitted killer Bryan Kohberger. The order, also known as a gag order, banned police and prosecutors from speaking about the high-profile case that gripped the nation. "Weve been focused on the victims and bringing justice for the victims," Moscow Police Chief Anthony Dahlinger told ABC News. "That was our focus ... that was our mission ... so that mission was accomplished." Idaho Statesman/TNS via Getty Images, FILE - PHOTO: Four University of Idaho students were killed at an off-campus house on King Road in Moscow, Idaho, in November 2022. MORE: New book on University of Idaho murders sheds light on Bryan Kohberger's potential motive Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked if police were able to find a clear motive, Dahlinger said he could not answer. All documents in the case that have been sealed will remain sealed for now. Moscow police said they are preparing to release a large amount of information later on. "We're committed to being transparent when we can be," Dahlinger said. Looking ahead to Kohberger's sentencing next week, Dahlinger said, "Our hope is that not only the families, but the friends, even the Moscow community and all the communities that were affected by this, can start to heal and bring some sort of closure to this horrendous act." Kyle Green, Pool via Reuters - PHOTO: Bryan Kohberger, charged in the murders of four University of Idaho students, appears at the Ada County Courthouse, in Boise, Idaho, July 2, 2025. MORE: Idaho college murders: As Kohberger admits to the brutal crime, here's the full timeline of events Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hippler's decision to end the gag order on Thursday came six days before Kohberger's sentencing. Kohberger, who pleaded guilty to all counts at a July 2 change of plea hearing, will return to court for his sentencing on July 23. As a part of the plea deal, Kohberger will be sentenced to four consecutive life sentences on the four first-degree murder counts and the maximum penalty of 10 years on the burglary count. At the July 2 hearing, Hippler asked Kohberger how he pleaded for each count of murder and named the four students: roommates Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Kernodle's boyfriend, Ethan Chapin. Kohberger quickly said "guilty" each time. The college students were all stabbed to death at the girls' off-campus house in the early hours of Nov. 13, 2022. Kohberger was arrested nearly seven weeks later. MORE: Idaho college victim's siblings remember arriving at crime scene: 'Not on this earth anymore' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gary Jenkins, the former Pullman, Washington, police chief and current Washington State University police chief, also opened up to ABC News, shedding light on his own interaction with Kohberger, who was a criminology Ph.D. student at WSU at the time of the murders. Kohberger was one of four students Jenkins interviewed over Zoom for an intern position in April 2022, but the chief didn't select him. "This particular position, it requires someone who can develop trust and rapport with my staff, and these are police officers," Jenkins said. "In talking with [Kohberger], he didn't have a real conversational manner about him. He didn't come across as particularly personable, and I just didn't think he would be able to develop that trust and rapport." Months later, on Dec. 20, 2022, Jenkins said he got "chills" when Kohberger's name was brought up in the quadruple homicide investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The hair on the back of my neck stood up," Jenkins said. MORE: Idaho college victims' friends recall moment they responded to home: 'You know something's wrong' "His name definitely rang a bell with me. And I told them that I had interviewed Bryan Kohberger. ... I had his resume and cover letter for the intern position," he said. Jenkins also said he has knowledge of issues with Kohberger's demeanor and relationships with classmates and professors. "There were a couple criminal justice professors who oversee that Ph.D. program who felt just like they were responsible because they made the decision to admit him to WSU," Jenkins said. "I'm a law enforcement professional. I interviewed him, and I couldn't tell you what was to come, and I don't know how they could either. But still, they had a very deep sense of responsibility, feeling like they should have known." Kohberger's attorneys said they will not speak out until sentencing is finished. (WKBN) Full-time workers need to earn at least $22.51 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment in Ohio, an increase of almost $2 an hour from last years report, according to a new report. The 2025 Out of Reach report was jointly released Thursday by the National Low Income Housing Coalition and the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio (COHHIO). It shows that the disparity between renters income and the cost of rent in Ohio has more than doubled since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020. WKBN spoke with local tenants in 2023 about rising rental prices. At the time, the tenants reported that their rent increased by at least $200 a month, and they were having difficulty budgeting due to the increase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The average Ohio renter now earns $18.62 an hour, or $3.89 an hour less than the 2-bedroom Housing Wage, according to a news release from COHHIO. In 2020, the difference was $1.57 an hour a gap that has increased 148% in five years. The Housing Wage is an estimate of the hourly wage full-time workers must earn to afford a rental home at HUDs Fair Market Rent without spending more than 30% of their incomes. The report also found that only four out of the 15 most common jobs in the state pay more than the 2025 Housing Wage. That means nearly 1.2 million jobs 21% of all the jobs in Ohio dont pay enough to afford a basic two-bedroom apartment, according to COHHIO. Gap Between Ohio Rents and Tenants Chart COHHIO Executive Director Amy Riegel said while workers wages have increased somewhat in recent years, rents have risen much faster. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cost of rent is squeezing working Ohioans like never before. Rent now consumes so much of the income that people need to survive, she said in a statement. Thats why homelessness has been increasing, and were seeing more and more seniors wind up in the homeless system. Riegel praised legislators for maintaining the Ohio Low Income Housing Tax Credit program and preserving the Ohio Housing Trust Fund in the new biennial budget passed last month, but she said state policymakers will need to consider investing more. Those at COHHIO are also concerned about proposed cuts by President Donald Trumps administration to cut some of HUDs funding. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. Gary is launching a new Behavioral Health Division and awarding $900,000 in grants to local organizations, marking a major step in the citys effort to expand access to mental health and addiction services. At a press conference on Thursday, Mayor Eddie Melton announced the new division along with the recipients of the funding while highlighting the importance of paying attention to mental health. Asking for help is not a sign of weakness, Melton said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initiative was spearheaded by the Interfaith Action Network, which has been advocating tirelessly for investment in mental health resources for over three years. The Melton administration partnered with IAN to identify funding and key partners. We are all human beings and the stress of life, the stress of jobs, the stress of just day to day, going to and fro sometimes we need someone with the expertise that can talk to us and listen and to provide that guidance. The $900,000 in funding for mental health and addiction services is being distributed across 10 local organizations in three rounds. In the first round, Sojourner Truth House received funding to expand its substance use and addiction response services, while City Life was awarded a grant to launch its Leading with the Heart project, which hopes to support youth and families. The second round included four organizations. Butterfly Dreams will use its funding to provide paid summer internships and youth mental health programming. Faith Community Center is offering temporary emergency housing for women and children. The Crisis Center is launching its Hope Initiative, which focuses on families who have experienced traumatic loss. And Flourish Community Hub is expanding access to care by providing free part-time therapy opportunities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The third and final round supported four more groups. For the Love of Hearts is hosting a free six-week summer camp focused on youth well-being. Edgewater Health is adding two new therapy positions to address youth substance abuse. All Things Autism is creating a day program tailored to families with children diagnosed with autism. And Compassion Care Community is implementing a hybrid case management model for youth and families in crisis. Garys latest investment in mental health services builds on a growing push to close long-standing gaps in behavioral health care across the city. In recent years, local leaders have moved to shift how the city responds to mental health crises from police and emergency rooms toward community-based care. That includes a $1.5 million mobile mental health unit, which the Common Council funded through the American Rescue Plan in 2023, designed to bring support directly to residents where they live. The project was shaped by community input and advocacy from groups like AARP Indiana, with a focus on serving older adults and individuals who have historically faced the greatest challenges in accessing care. At the same time, the city has been developing a broader Mental Health and Crisis Network, now housed under the Gary Health Department. The goal is to coordinate care more effectively, reduce stigma, and connect residents to services beyond crisis response, including assistance with housing, transportation, and insurance. Groups like Edgewater Health and the Phoenix Nicholas Center helped lay the groundwork for that effort. Local providers are also stepping up. Brighter Day Community Health Services has expanded youth and women-focused mental health programming, and earlier this year, NorthShore Health Centers opened a new clinic offering therapy alongside primary care. Some of those programs have been supported by earlier ARPA grants, part of a wider push to address the mental health crisis at the neighborhood level. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investments also come against the backdrop of cuts to Medicaid services that are relied on heavily by Gary residents. During this years legislative session, Chakara Gunn, the citys Behavioral Health manager, spoke out against Indiana Senate Bill 2, which proposed major cuts that advocates say will threaten residents access to mental health services. This bill is a direct threat to mental health, to disability services, and to civilization as a whole, Gunn told Capital B Gary as the bill moved through the Legislature. Now that the bill has come into effect as of July 1, Gunn is excited to ramp up the citys efforts at such a crucial time. The goal is to have that multi-door entry, she said. So calling me will enable me to find out whats going on, so that I can refer out. We want to be able to work together, rather than working in silos, and being able to connect residents to services that they may not know are available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a time when were seeing reduced access to health care and cuts in funding due to federal and state policy changes, Gary is making a different choice, Melton said. Were choosing to invest in expanding mental health care access for our residents, with the resources we have available. This investment reflects our belief that Garys recovery must include mental, emotional, and spiritual healing, not just economic development. The post Gary Launches Behavioral Health Division, Awarding $900K to 10 Local Health Organizations appeared first on Capital B Gary. In an age when political authenticity is currency, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is making a risky bet: that he can repackage his image from slick, left-coast progressive into pragmatic, media-savvy moderate. Newsoms strategy appears engineered to break out of the coastal liberal mold. His new iHeartRadio podcast, "This Is Gavin Newsom," features guests from across the political spectrum. Hes launched a Substack, plastered Fox News with ads, and even taken his feuds with Donald Trump directly to national audiences. In one episode, he sounded more like a centrist mayor than a San Francisco progressive, defending the rule of law and even nodding to law enforcement concerns around crime and public safety. But this isnt just about booking podcast guests. In another instance, Newsom criticized the inclusion of biological males in womens sports, conceding to Charlie Kirk that their inclusion was "deeply unfair." The comment was a stark departure from his earlier record as a vocal supporter of expansive transgender rights. Progressive critics immediately pounced, accusing him of pandering to the right. The backlash highlighted the tightrope Newsom is now walking, trying to appeal to moderate voters without alienating his liberal base. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such maneuvering makes sense. A June survey from the Public Policy Institute of California shows his approval hovering at just 47% among likely voters. More troubling for Newsom, a UC Berkeley-Los Angeles Times poll finds that 54% of Californians believe hes more focused on national ambitions than governing the state. His shift in tone and strategy doesnt do much to counter that very perception, but his pivot does allow him to reintroduce himself to a broader electorate before 2028 speculation becomes a reality. Its a rebrand as ambitious as it is audacious, and it may be guided by one of the most unlikely figures imaginable: Kimberly Guilfoyle, Newsoms former wife, Donald Trump Jr.s former girlfriend - and current Trumpworld operative. Guilfoyle, a key figure in Republican fundraising and messaging, was once the glamorous first lady of San Francisco. Although she and Don Jr. apparently have parted ways, she has been nominated by Donald Trump to serve as U.S. ambassador to Greece. And she remains a seasoned political operative known for her bombastic speeches, relentless media presence, and deep ties to the MAGA establishment. She served as national finance chair for Trumps 2020 campaign and has been one of the movements most aggressive defenders on cable news and social media. According to The Wall Street Journal, Guilfoyle helped broker introductions between Newsom and hard-right populists Charlie Kirk and Steve Bannon, a move that raised eyebrows across the political spectrum. While she obviously holds no official title in Newsoms political operation, her behind-the-scenes facilitation marks a surreal twist in Californias ongoing political theater: the governor once hailed as the prince of progressivism now courting the architects of right-wing populism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics on both sides arent buying it. Conservatives see a cynical ploy, a progressive in centrist clothing. Some Democrats are equally skeptical, worried that cozying up to MAGA voices lends legitimacy to extremism. And with homelessness, crime, and housing shortages still plaguing his home state, Newsom risks looking like a politician distracted by vanity projects while California struggles. Still, his media makeover may be more than a branding exercise. By engaging with adversarial audiences, hes signaling an understanding of political polarization and attempting to do something about it. Whether voters reward him for that courage or punish him for perceived opportunism remains to be seen. If Newsoms transformation succeeds, he wont just have reinvented his image. Hell have rewritten the playbook for what it means to be a post-woke Democrat in an era where ideological purity often takes a backseat to electability. If it fails, expect both the left and the right to say: We told you so. Adair Teuton is a 2025 intern with RealClearPolitics. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) For the first time, a school district in the Finger Lakes invites a student to sit on the board and explain what students think about whats happening in their schools. A seat at the table with some of the most powerful people in his school district, incoming senior Jonathan Capozzi says hes more excited than nervous to be the first student advocate on the Phelps-Clifton Springs school board. You cant really go wrong, he said. I mean, theres no one here thats done it right, so really its just going to be a learning experience. Whats right and whats wrong, well figure out from there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jonathan says hes involved in lots of school activities where leadership comes naturally to him. He says his parents always taught him to stand up, speak his mind, and advocate for others to have their voices heard. Young people, as we grow up, fresh minds, fresh ideas. Its some things that people dont even realize, you know? It just comes to you right away, he said. Still, he was shocked to learn that his classmates nominated and then voted him in to set this precedent and serve as their voice addressing the adults on the school board. Thats just a phenomenal feeling knowing that they put their full trust in me to speak on behalf of them, Jonathan said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thinking back on his inspiration to lead, Jonathan reflects on a documentary he made about his grandfathers life as a Syrian immigrant. His work recently won at regionals and placed in the New York State History Day Competition under the theme: Rights and Responsibilities in the Middle East. Although it touched on the hardships and all of the current problems in the Middle East, just how beautiful the region truly is and how beautiful it used to be, and parts still are, Jonathan said. He says thanks to everything he learned, he knows not to take for granted any opportunity to say your thoughts loud and proud. Its having the voice, he said. I feel like having the right to be able to speak and speak freely, because there are a lot of people that cannot. So just being able to speak freely and express my opinions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed a new member to the Georgia Supreme Court. John McCosh/Georgia Recorder (file) As a law student at the University of Georgia, Benjamin A. Land clerked for the Georgia Supreme Court. After decades of judicial experience and a stint serving in the state appellate court, Land will soon return to the Supreme Court, this time as a justice. After an appointment from Republican Gov. Brian Kemp Thursday morning, Land will be the newest member of Georgias Supreme Court. He will fill a vacancy created by the retirement of Michael P. Boggs, who served as the chief justice before returning to private practice this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After careful consideration of multiple accomplished and noteworthy candidates, Im proud to announce Ben Land as my appointment to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court, Kemp said in a Thursday statement. Judge Land has earned the respect of his peers and hardworking Georgians through his commitment to fairness and impartiality, his strong work ethic, and his integrity. His extensive experience as a former litigator and judge will make him a valuable addition to the Supreme Court as he continues his service to the people of our state. Land has served on the Georgia Court of Appeals since July 2022 when he was appointed by Kemp. In 2024, he won a statewide election to serve a full six-year term. Prior to his time with the Court of Appeals, Land served as a judge in the superior court for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit, an appointment he received in 2018 from former Gov. Nathan Deal. Lands early career started with a focus on complex civil litigation as a private practice attorney in Columbus for over 25 years and over the years represented plaintiffs and defendants in a variety of cases. The Supreme Court congratulates and welcomes Judge Land, Chief Justice Nels S.D. Peterson said in a statement. His background and experience, including years as a state appellate judge, trial court judge, and litigator, position him well to serve on the states highest court. My fellow Justices and I look forward to working with him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of the Justices currently serving on Georgias Supreme Court, four have been appointed by Kemp and an additional three were appointed by his predecessor, Deal. John J. Ellington is the only justice who was elected without an initial appointment. Lands appointment means that Kemp has handpicked over half of Georgias Supreme Court. Lands official swearing in date has yet to be announced, but will take place before Aug. 1. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX First Liberty Building and Loan the day after the Securities and Exchange Commission filed its complaint against the Newnan-based lender. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder A Georgia man accused of running an alleged Ponzi scheme made contributions to at least three elected Alabama Republican officials over the last four years, either directly or through his businesses, according to campaign finance records. The recipients of the funds from Edwin Brant Frost IV, an investor whose family is influential in the Georgia Republican Party, include then-Rep. Andrew Sorrell, R-Muscle Shoals, now the Alabama state auditor; Rep. Ben Harrison, R-Elkmont, and Alabama State Board of Education member Allen Long. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frosts interest in Alabama politics is not clear. Joshua Mayes, a lawyer representing Frost, wrote in an email Wednesday that Mr. Frost has no comment on this matter when asked about his political interests in Alabama or connections to elected officials. A lawsuit filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 10 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia alleged that Frost and his associated investment firms raised at least $140 million between 2014 and 2025 through fraudulent means. Frost is accused of misappropriating over $5 million of investor funds for himself and his family members. The SEC said Frost used $570,000 from the allegedly misappropriated money for political donations. According to campaign finance records, Frost, members of his family or his businesses made at least $132,000 in contributions to Alabama politicians and political action committees (PACs). Alabama State Auditor Andrew Sorrell listens to Gov. Kay Ivey deliver the State of the State address in the Old House Chamber at the Alabama State Capitol on Feb. 4, 2025 in Montgomery, Alabama. Will McClelland for Alabama Reflector Sorrell and his PAC, Alabama Christian Citizens, collectively received at least $71,000 in contributions from the Frost family and their investment entities. According to campaign finance records, Alabama Christian Citizens, Sorrells PAC, made a loan of $29,000 to First Liberty Building & Loan, one of the Frosts companies, in April 2024. According to Alabama election law, a PAC may issue a loan for the purpose of influencing the result of an election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reached by phone on Tuesday, Sorrell, who is running for Alabama secretary of state, asked that questions be sent in writing. Hours later, Sorrell said in a statement that he was one of over 300 people who fell victim to the scheme and that the political action committee he operates had invested money. I am among the hundreds of people who lost money when the federal government recently discovered that First Liberty Building & Loan in Newnan, Georgia was defrauding its investors through a Madoff-like Ponzi scheme, Sorrell said in a statement. Sorrell said in his statement that he will return the contributions to a court-appointed receiver as soon as the process is available. Its important that all recovered money goes back to the investors so everyone can be made whole rather than to the individual who defrauded us, he said in the statement. Ponzi scheme allegations According to the SEC lawsuit, Frost and First Liberty Building & Loan told investors that their funds would be used to provide Bridge Loans to small businesses seeking long-term SBA loans. These investments offered annual returns ranging from 8% to 18%. The SEC alleges that Frost and his entities did not use investor funds as represented, and most of the Bridge Loans ultimately defaulted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The SEC alleges First Liberty operated as a Ponzi scheme as early as 2021, at about the time when donations to Alabama politicians began, using funds from new investors to make interest payments to existing investors. The complaint states that most, if not all, of the funds raised through the publicly advertised offering were either misappropriated or used to make Ponzi-style payments to existing investors. Sorrell added in the statement that Frosts company had marketed itself through conservative channels as a patriotic and Christian investment opportunity. Its an unfortunate situation that happens frequently across the U.S., and all of us who trusted the marketing and lost our investments have learned a tough lesson, the statement said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sorrells campaigns began receiving contributions in 2021, with individual contributions from Frost and his son, Brant Frost V. According to campaign finance records, both Frosts made personal donations to Sorrells auditor campaign totaling $7,500 in July 2021. Brant Frost V made an additional contribution of $2,500 to Sorrells campaign the following March. First Liberty Capital gave Sorrells auditor campaign $10,000 on Dec. 13, 2021, according to campaign finance reports. In May 2022, Sorrell received $10,000 from First National Investments, another one of the Frosts investment entities. First National contributed $12,500 to Sorrells PAC in July 2024. In May of this year, First National gave Sorrells secretary of state campaign $25,000, according to campaign finance reports. SEC Senior Accountant Tiffany Kunkle, in testimony, said that Frost controls all the funds flowing in and out of both entities, as well as First Liberty Building & Loan. Sorrells PAC received various interest payments totaling $3,876.37 from First Liberty Building & Loan between June 2024 and May 2025, with individual monthly payments of up to $290 stemming from the $29,000 loan the PAC made to First Liberty in 2024. An influential Republican The Frost family has deep ties to the Georgia Republican Party. Brant Frost IV served as Georgia state director for Pat Robertson, a conservative televangelist-turned-Republican presidential candidate, in 1988, according to Georgia Recorder. Brant Frost V, who worked as a principal at First Liberty, is a former vice-chair of the Georgia GOP, and Frost IVs daughter, Katie Frost, chairs a regional committee for the state party. Until last month, both siblings held leadership roles in the Georgia Republican Assembly, a far-right wing of the Georgia Republican Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement Monday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger pushed for any political entity that accepted contributions from First Liberty, the Frost Family, or any of their affiliates to return those contributions to the court-appointed receiver so that victims of the alleged fraud may be made whole. Ill-gotten gains do not belong in the State Capitol, Raffensperger said. Rep. Ben Harrison, R-Elkmont, received over $21,000 in donations from Brant in 2022. Harrison said in a phone interview Tuesday that he was unaware of the alleged scheme and that he will investigate it (and) make a determination on whether he will return the funds, as Raffensberger outlined. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They make political donations to conservative candidates, but I know nothing of this, this lawsuit or any claims, Harrison said. A few hours after the phone interview, he said in a statement that he is looking into the legal avenues to return the funds. I am committed to making sure I do everything in my power to support the victims of this financial tragedy, he said. Allen Long, a conservative member of the Alabama State Board of Education, also received $40,000 from First National Investments in December 2023, an unusually high donation in ALBOE campaigns. By contrast, Longs Republican opponents in the primary for the seat, Douglas Bacchus and Oscar Mann, raised a combined total of $43,194 for the campaign. Long also received $500 from Edwin Frost in December 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A message seeking comment from Long was left on Wednesday. Other recipients of Frosts political contributions include Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, who last received a donation from Frost in 2019, according to campaign finance records in that state; Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert, a Republican from Colorado. Former Alabama Reflector reporter Jemma Stephenson contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ATLANTA (AP) A Republican candidate for Georgia governor asked a state ethics body Thursday to determine whether his GOP rival illegally lent $10 million to a campaign committee to evade restrictions under state campaign finance law. Attorney General Chris Carrs campaign lawyer asked the Georgia Ethics Commission for a legal opinion saying Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was prohibited from making the loan to his leadership committee, a special fundraising vehicle that allows the governor, lieutenant governor and legislative leaders to raise unlimited funds. A spokesperson for Jones called the complaint a weak attempt to get attention in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carr and some other candidates for state office cannot have the so-called leadership committees for campaign fundraising under a 2021 state law that created the committees unless they win their partys nomination for governor or lieutenant governor. Instead, they are limited to candidate committees, which can raise a maximum of $8,400 from each donor. Opponents say that's an unfair advantage for incumbents. Jones and Carr are competing for the Republican nomination to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp, who legally can't run again after two terms. The GOP primary is next May, followed by the general election in November 2026. Jones filed documents showing he made loans of $7.5 million and $2.5 million to the WBJ Leadership Committee when he announced his long-anticipated run for governor on July 8. The cash infusion was part of Jones strategy to set himself up as the front-runner in the race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carr announced his run for governor last year, saying he needed a long runway to raise money because he isn't personally wealthy. Carr's campaign has been voicing concerns for months that Jones will use his leadership committee and his family wealth from a string of gas stations to win the primary. Bryan Tyson, a lawyer for Carrs campaign, on Thursday requested an advisory opinion from the Ethics Commission on whether the loans are legal. Tyson argued that under Georgia law, loans can be made only to a candidate committee, not to a freestanding political action committee, or even a leadership committee, which is allowed to coordinate with a candidate committee. Carrs campaign cited a 2022 federal judges ruling that a leadership committee for Gov. Brian Kemp could not spend money to get Kemp reelected during the Republican primary that year. U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen found that the unequal campaign finance scheme violated challenger David Perdues First Amendment right to free speech. Jones spokesperson Kendyl Parker said in a statement she was not surprised by this weak attempt to get attention its exactly what youd expect from a campaign thats losing steam with many months to go until Election Day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tyson suggested that if Jones could make a loan to the leadership committee and then raise unlimited sums to repay himself, he could give the repaid money to his candidate committee to spend in the primary. That would evade Cohens ban on the use of leadership committee money in the primary. Tyson warned that such laundering would wash away contribution limits entirely. The Ethics Commission must issue an advisory opinion within 60 days under state law. In a related complaint to the commission on Thursday, Tyson alleged that Jones broke state law because his previous financial disclosures didnt show that he had $10 million in cash or securities to be able to afford such large loans. Tyson pointed to a 2022 financial disclosure that showed Jones had a net worth of $12.4 million, but only $700,000 in cash and securities. The rest was tied up in the value of real estate and Jones insurance agency, the disclosure stated. Tyson noted that Jones 2024 disclosure showed he hadnt sold real estate or his business, arguing it appears he could not have sufficient liquid assets to loan his leadership committee $10 million. Ethics complaints can take years to resolve, but Tyson said it was imperative that the commission move quickly to determine the source of the loan, whether it was properly reported and whether Jones planned to spend from his leadership committee in the primary. A German company has supplied Ukraine with nearly 2,000 HF-1 kamikaze drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI), developed in cooperation with a Ukrainian manufacturer. Source: Ukrinform news agency, citing Simon Brunjes, the companys representative responsible for drone operations in Ukraine, as reported by European Pravda Details: The German company Helsing has delivered 1,950 AI-powered HF-1 kamikaze drones to Ukraine, developed jointly with the Ukrainian manufacturer Terminal Autonomy. The company is now testing a new loitering munition, the HX-2, in Ukraine. The HX-2 has enhanced specifications and is entirely produced by Helsing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brunjes said the company is expected to supply another 2,050 drones to Ukraine. The HF-1 drones are currently in service with several Ukrainian units and have proven effective in combat. "The system has this capability: once it locks onto a target, it remains fixed on it despite all countermeasures by the enemy in the electromagnetic spectrum," Brunjes explained. The same software has also been implemented in the HX-2, an attack drone featuring a dual X-shaped wing design, entirely developed in-house by Helsing. Brunjes noted that there are areas on the Ukrainian front where GPS signals or radio communication at the operating frequency are jammed or completely lost. However, the HX-2 does not fail in such conditions it returns to the last point where contact was available, enabling the operator to reassess the situation, change the task, choose another sector or assign a new mission. Background: On 14 January, Germany delivered a military aid package to Ukraine that included 600 HF-1 attack drones. In February, Helsing announced it would produce 6,000 AI-guided HX-2 attack drones for delivery to Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! By Che Pan and Casey Hall BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) -Nvidia will ramp up supply of Chinese-compliant H20 chips in the coming months and look to bring more advanced semiconductors to the world's second-largest technology market, Chief Executive Jensen Huang said at an event in Beijing. Huang's remarks came after the world's most valuable company said it planned to resume sales of the H20 artificial intelligence chip to China, a move U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said was part of negotiations on rare earths. "H20 was released from its ban, the memory bandwidth is extremely good, for LLMs and other new models it will be excellent," Huang said. "I hope to get more advanced chips into China. Today H20 is still incredibly good, but in coming years, whatever we are allowed to sell to China we will do so." The planned resumption is a reversal of an export restriction imposed in April over U.S. national security concerns. Huang has said that U.S. tech giant Nvidia's leadership position could slip without sales to China, where developers were being courted by Huawei Technologies with chips produced in China. His comments come days after he met with U.S. President Donald Trump, as Nvidia walks a tightrope between the world's two biggest economies, both vying for dominance in AI and other cutting-edge technologies. Huang told media on the sidelines of the supply chain expo in Beijing that licenses for Chinese orders would be approved swiftly, noting: "There are many order books already in." Orders from Chinese companies for H20 chips need to be sent by Nvidia to the U.S. government for approval. NEW CHIP Sources said internet giants ByteDance and Tencent were in the process of submitting applications. ByteDance denied it was submitting applications while Tencent did not respond to a request for comment. Nvidia has also announced it is developing a new chip for Chinese clients called the RTX Pro GPU, that would also be compliant with U.S. export restrictions. Huang said the new chip would be designed specifically for smart factories and for robot training purposes. "Here in China, because there's so much robotics innovation going on, and so much smart factory work being done here, and the supply chain is so vast, RTX Pro is perfect," Huang said. At the expo opening, he described AI models from Chinese firms Deepseek, Alibaba and Tencent as "world class" and said AI was "revolutionising" supply chains. (Reporting by Che Pan, Ellen Zhang and Casey Hall; Editing by Sonali Paul and Bernadette Baum) German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has called on the parties to the conflict in Syria to adhere to a ceasefire and not to jeopardize the stability of the country following deadly clashes in the south of the country. The fact that the weapons are now silent, even after mediation by the US partners, is good news, Wadephul said in a statement issued by the Foreign Office in Berlin on Thursday. "It is now crucial that all parties adhere to the agreement and cease hostilities," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the statement, Wadephul strongly condemned the attacks on members of the Druze minority and said those responsible must be held accountable. He stressed the Syrian government has a duty to protect its citizens from violence, regardless of their religion or ethnicity. In addition, he said, the government in Damascus must initiate an inclusive political process in which all citizens of Syria are represented. With regard to the Israeli airstrikes on the capital Damascus, Wadephul demanded that Syria not become a playground for regional tensions. Germany's Defense Ministry said it has no knowledge of any Patriot missile systems currently en route to Ukraine, contradicting U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that the shipments are already underway, SRF reported on July 16. "I cannot confirm that anything is currently on the way. That is not known to me," a spokesperson for the German Defense Ministry said, according to Swiss public broadcaster SRF. The spokesperson added that a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) is scheduled for July 21 to resolve outstanding questions and work toward implementing the delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine "as quickly as possible." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Patriot air defense missiles bound for Ukraine are already en route, Trump said on July 16, just days after unveiling a new NATO-coordinated arms initiative for Kyiv. "They're already being shipped," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland when asked about Patriot missiles and other weapons. "They're coming in from Germany and then replaced by Germany. And in all cases, the United States gets paid back in full." The announcement comes as Ukraine continues to press its allies, particularly the United States, for additional air defense systems amid a surge in Russian missile and drone attacks on cities across the country. A German government spokesperson had previously confirmed on July 14 that discussions were ongoing among European allies over the provision of more than three Patriot systems to Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump said the shipments fall under a new arrangement in which NATO and EU countries will purchase U.S.-made weapons systems, deliver them to Ukraine, and later replenish their own stockpiles through agreements with Washington. The new weapons shipments would come a few days after Trump issued an ultimatum to Moscow, warning that the U.S. will impose "severe" tariffs unless Russia agrees to a peace deal within 50 days to end its war in Ukraine. Read also: Latvian prime minister on Trumps NATO deal and new Russia sanctions Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A representative from the German Ministry of Defence has not confirmed that Patriot air defence system components have been sent to Ukraine, contrary to earlier statements by US President Donald Trump. Source: European Pravda, citing DW Quote from representative: "I cannot confirm that something is on the way now." Details: On 15 July, Trump announced that the supply of Patriot missiles from Germany to Ukraine had already begun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He stated that "they're coming in from Germany and are then replaced by Germany. And in all cases, the United States gets paid back in full". On 16 July, a German Ministry of Defence spokesperson revealed that a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Contact Group (also known as the Ramstein format) will take place on 21 July, at which options to expedite the delivery of Patriot systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be discussed. Background: During a press conference on 14 July, Trump announced an agreement between the United States and NATO under which the supply of US weapons to Ukraine will be financed by European allies. Trump also announced the transfer of up to 17 Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine in the near future. Reuters reported that Trumps promise to provide Ukraine with additional weapons, including Patriot air defence systems, funded by partners, surprised even close US allies, who learned of it only at the time of the announcement. The agency noted that the challenge now lies in determining which countries will relinquish their valuable systems, including Patriot batteries urgently needed by Kyiv. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are set to sign a bilateral friendship agreement when Merz heads to the UK on Thursday for his first official visit since taking office in May. The 27-page treaty is mainly aimed at increasing cooperation in defence and foreign affairs, with both nations highlighting their obligation to defend each other in case of an attack, as stipulated by NATO. Berlin and London also plan to expand cooperation in defence production. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Irregular migration is also expected to be high on the agenda, with Britain trying for years to tackle people smuggling across the English Channel. Last week, Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron announced a new migrant return agreement due to begin within weeks aimed at deterring migrants from making the dangerous journey. However, the deal still faces final legal verification and consultation with the EU bloc before it can come into effect, according to the PA news agency. Merz and Starmer are also set to discuss economic cooperation, as they seek to restart German-Anglo ties following Brexit, which saw Britain withdraw from the European Union in 2020. The two leaders have crossed paths several times since Merz was sworn in on May 6, including during a surprise joint visit to Kiev alongside Macron and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk just days later. The King has said the commitment of a major centre for Islamic study to "international co-operation" is more "imperative than ever in today's world". His Majesty officially opened the King Charles III Wing at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies, of which he is a patron, during a ceremony at the institution on Thursday. The centre's current home was first opened by the then Prince of Wales in the early 1990s, and was granted a Royal Charter by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2012. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a short speech, the King said he had seen the centre "grow from a modest hut" into an "internationally renowned institution". He said the centre, which was founded in 1985 and is celebrating its 40th year, had become a "beacon of Islamic scholarship". "The centre's ongoing commitment to objective scholarship and international cooperation, underpinned by principles of dialogue, deep understanding and mutual respect, is more imperative than ever in today's world." "I need hardly say I am extremely heartened that the centre continues to play such a significant role in that globally critical endeavour," he said. King Charles also met local school children [PA Media] The King also praised the institution's "unfailing work to broaden our understanding of the Islamic world in the United Kingdom". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dr Farhan Nizami, the centre's director, said it provided the "ability to bring scholars from around the world in a safe space where they can exchange ideas", whilst also encouraging students to study in the city. "I think the very presence of the centre is a statement of inter-faith," he added. His Majesty is a patron of the centre [PA Media] The centre is affiliated with, and has a deep-rooted connection, to the University of Oxford. Dignitaries from the university, including its current chancellor - and former Conservative Party leader - Lord Hague, joined the King during his visit. As well as opening the new wing, the King also launched a new education programme at the centre - which has also been named in his honour. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram. Related Links KERR COUNTY, Texas (Nexstar) Susan Johnson heard the toilet bubbling in her Kerr County home at 4 a.m. July 4. She and her husband, Rick, knew they were in trouble as a wall of water approached their home in Ingram. MAP: Where have flash flooding deaths been confirmed in Texas? Within minutes, that water slammed into their house positioned between Bumblebee Creek and the Guadalupe River in west Kerr County. The couple had to swim for their lives in the darkness, clinging to a sycamore tree for nearly two hours as flood waters raged around them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a difference between watching real hard and then a 32-foot wall coming down and hitting. Theres just no time, none, Johnson said. At least 134 people have been killed in the catastrophic flash flooding across Texas, with Kerr County suffering the heaviest toll. Officials said 107 people died in the county as of July 15, including 37 children, with 97 people still missing from the greater Kerrville area. The Johnsons property sat at the convergence of two waterways a geographic feature that helps explain why the Hill Country flooding proved so devastating across the region. Perfect storm geography Becky Etzler, executive director of the Riverside Nature Center in Kerrville, uses topographical maps to show visitors why the Hill Country experiences such severe flash flooding. The regions steep terrain creates a natural funnel that channels water rapidly downhill from elevations exceeding 2,000 feet to areas below 1,600 feet in short distances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Western Kerr County sits at the headwaters of the Guadalupe River system, where multiple tributaries converge after rushing down limestone hills. When heavy rainfall hits the area, water flows horizontally through underground rock formations until it reaches springs that feed the river. Its the perfect storm, just geographically, in geology and through geologic features of, you know this rapid, rapid, and thus flash flood alley, Etzler said. Life-or-death escape The Johnsons received alerts warning of extreme danger around 4 a.m., but the water rose faster than they could react. Johnson, a military veteran, used his training to guide his wife through chest-deep water to a window as their house filled rapidly. He grabbed his go-bag containing knives, flashlights and a whistle. Outside, they faced roaring floodwaters that Johnson described as sounding like freight trains. In complete darkness, a flash of lightning illuminated a sycamore tree limb and they managed to grab it, pulling both of them to safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If I missed that tree for whatever reason we were going to hit the flood, and I mean extreme flood and no human could swim against it, Johnson said. The couple secured themselves in the tree with Johnsons web belt about 12 to 14 feet above the ground, enduring freezing water and wind for nearly two hours until dawn broke and water levels began dropping. Once the immediate danger passed, Johnson organized rescue efforts for his neighbors. He helped evacuate elderly residents, including a 98-year-old man and his 83-year-old wife, and coordinated with first responders who arrived around 7:30 a.m. The neighborhood effort ensured all 19 houses were safely evacuated, though most residents lost their homes and belongings. Johnson credited the communitys quick response and cooperation for preventing any deaths in their area. Unprecedented flooding Even facilities designed to withstand periodic flooding suffered extensive damage. The Riverside Nature Center, located in what officials designated a 500-year flood plain, experienced its first-ever inundation when both the Guadalupe River and Town Creek rose simultaneously. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Etzler said the center had never flooded despite numerous Guadalupe River high-water events over the years. This time, the facility sustained three feet of water in education buildings, destroying classroom materials and forcing complete reconstruction of damaged structures. Starting over The Johnsons lost their home of 13 years, both vehicles and nearly all possessions. They plan to relocate within Kerr County but will choose higher ground away from creek and river convergences. Johnson said his military training helped him stay focused during the crisis, but he has no desire to face such conditions again at age 67. Were alive, he said. Why should I be sad? Were alive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A GoFundMe page has been established to help the Johnson family rebuild after losing their home and belongings. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Democratic U.S. Rep Jared Golden of Maine announces plans for a discharge petition to force a vote on the Protect Americas Workforce Act in Washington, D.C., on July 17. (Photo via Rep. Jared Golden) Democratic U.S. Rep Jared Golden of Maine is attempting to force a vote on his bill that would nullify President Donald Trumps executive order stripping union rights from about two-thirds of the federal workforce. On Thursday, Golden and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York announced they are urging members of both parties to endorse a discharge petition, a procedure that would force a vote on the House floor, though such petitions have historically rarely been successful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont think anyone who voted in the last election, no matter who they voted for, were voting to silence the voices of workers or to take away their collective bargaining rights, Golden said on a press call with union leaders in Maine Thursday afternoon. The petition requires at least 218 signatures and currently more Republican support is needed. The bill already has some support from the majority party. Golden introduced the Protect Americas Workforce Act with Republican Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania in April. It currently has 222 co-sponsors, every Democrat and seven Republicans, which would be enough support to pass the measure in the lower chamber if Republican leadership brings it up for a vote. We dont need every one of them that co-sponsored the bill to sign the discharge, Golden said referring to the Republican co-sponsors, although I dont know why you would co-sponsor a bill if you feel strongly about it and then not sign the discharge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Thursday afternoon, only two of the seven Republican co-sponsors had signed the petition. Assuming all House Democrats sign on, four more Republicans need to sign to force a vote. Goldens hope is to have the required signatures before Congress takes its usual August break. Trumps executive order on March 27 banned collective bargaining agreements at government agencies with national security interests. These include the Department of Defense, Department of Veterans Affairs, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Environmental Protection Agency, among numerous others, overall impacting more than 1 million workers. The White House said in a fact sheet that accompanied the order that certain federal unions have declared war on President Trumps agenda and that the order was necessary to safeguard American interests. A coalition of unions sued shortly after but, as of the latest decision issued on Wednesday, a federal appeals court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with implementing the executive order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One way to definitively resolve the lawsuits filed against the order, Golden said, would be for Congress to weigh in. Union leaders in Maine are hoping that will be the case. On the press call, Grant Provost, vice president of the Maine American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations, described the executive order as a push to make the government not work as good for you and me as it worked for my parents. Congress granted federal workers the right to engage in collective bargaining about their working conditions in 1978, after earlier executive orders granted more limited rights to do so. Since then, unions like ours have played a critical role in building a safe, stable and mission-ready work environment, said Alana Schaeffer, president of the Portsmouth Metal Trades Council, which represents about 3,600 federal workers at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need to be really clear that collective bargaining isnt a barrier to federal efficiency, Schaeffer added. Its a tool that helps improve it. Beyond this executive order, unions and workers have been on the receiving end of many of the Trump administrations actions, which have sparked informational pickets, labor protests and press conferences in several Maine towns. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A woman holds a "good trouble" sign during a protest of President Donald Trump held outside the Indiana Statehouse on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Hundreds of people rallied outside the Indiana Statehouse on Thursday to protest President Donald Trump and pay tribute to U.S. Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. The late civil rights leader famously encouraged listeners to get into good trouble across a range of speeches. We are all here because we are causing the good trouble that needs to happen to overthrow this fascist regime, one speaker, identified as Sara, cried to cheers and applause. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Orators spoke from under a white tent erected atop the Statehouses steps, looking out at fellow protesters clustered in the shade cast by the south lawns few trees. Pastor Clyde Posley Jr. orates during a demonstration against President Donald Trump held outside the Indiana Statehouse on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Clyde Posley Jr., a senior pastor at the Antioch Fountain of Grace in Indianapolis, pushed attendees to unite and stop getting in silos. He recounted how Martin Luther King Jr. spent three days feeling insulted after being introduced as an untouchable, just like us, during a 1959 visit to India. That was until, God spoke to him and told him, You are an untouchable and your class, your education, your academics, your work, none of that changes that you are an untouchable in America because you are Black,' Posley told the crowd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that has changed. The assault on the American citizen is not diverse it is against everybody that is not financially elite, Posley asserted, buoyed by whoops and whistles. Multiple speakers mirroring national calls by conservatives sought the release of the list of clients supposedly kept by the infamously wealthy financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, or accused Trump of being on the list. The downtown Indianapolis event was among hundreds held across the country on Thursday, as part of the Good Trouble Lives On national day of action. Indianas chapter of 50501, an anti-Trump protest group, hosted. The organization has also put on a No Kings demonstration and another gathering shortly after the president reassumed office. A protester flies an upside down American flag during a demonstration against President Donald Trump held outside the Indiana Statehouse on Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Leslie Bonilla Muniz/Indiana Capital Chronicle) State Organizer Scott Johnson said the organization is different because it hosts major events bi-weekly instead of once or twice annually, tapping into a Signal group chat of 500 or 600 people to stay fresh with what what the communitys got. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He estimated 700 people attended the event. I used to worry about numbers. Now, I dont, Johnson added. Now, I worry about reaching people. If we change one mind, it was a success, as far as Im concerned. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ST. LOUIS Voting rights advocates will hold nearly 1,500 events across the nation Thursdayincluding in Missourito honor the life and legacy of the late Congressman John Lewis and to call on Congress to pass legislation ensuring accessible elections for all citizens. The John Lewis National Day of Action marks the five-year anniversary of the congressmans passing. The Missouri Voter Protection Coalition (MOVPC) and nearly a half-dozen partners are hosting eight Good Trouble Lives On events in the state, pushing for voter protections, ending gerrymandering, and getting money out of politics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The St. Louis John Lewis National Day of Action will be held from 5:15 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. on the eastern steps of the Old Courthouse in downtown St. Louis. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. (FOX40.COM) Communities across the nation plan to unite on Thursday for the John Lewis Good Trouble Lives On National Day of Action to protest the Trump administration. Video Above: Thousands gathered at the state Capitol, for the No Kings anti-Trump protest Good Trouble Lives On is an organization that highlights the legacy of late civil rights leader and former Congressman John Lewis, who coined the phrase Good Trouble, meaning the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change, according to their website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The organization said that the Good Trouble Lives On National Day of Action is a response to the administrations attack on civil rights and the targeting of marginalized communities. Over 1,600 events have been scheduled nationwide, the organization said. According to Axios, White House spokesperson Liz Huston released a statement in response that said, Nearly 80 million Americans gave President Trump a historic mandate to Make America Great Again and he is delivering on that promise in record time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. We recently published Market on Mute? Not for These 10 Stocks With Surprising Gains. Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) is one of Monday's top performers. Oklo extended its winning streak to a fourth consecutive day on Monday, soaring 11.29 percent to close at $62.41 apiece following an investment firms higher price target for the company. Late last week, Daiwa initiated coverage on Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO), giving the latter a hold recommendation and a price target of $58. The figure marked a 3-percent upside from its closing price on Friday and supported its further rally in Mondays session. Oklo (OKLO) Rallies 11.3% on Higher Price Target Last month, Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) was tapped by the US Air Force to deploy its advanced Aurora powerhouse to its military base in Alaska. Under the terms of the agreement, Oklo Inc. (NYSE:OKLO) will design, construct, own, and operate the power plant at the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska, which will serve as the Department of the Air Forces (DAF) microreactor pilot to enhance energy resilience and reliability for critical national security infrastructure. While we acknowledge the potential of OKLO 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 extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: 30 Stocks That Should Double in 3 Years and 11 Hidden AI Stocks to Buy Right Now. Corrections & Clarifications: A previous version of this article gave an incorrect date for the protest. Protesters demonstrated in Arizona in opposition to President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and mass deportation agenda, decrying Trumps actions from the White House, such as his many executive orders aimed at reshaping the federal government, as overreach by the executive branch and detrimental to democracy. Thousands of people turned out across the country on July 17 for a national day of protest to rebuke Trump and honor the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, an icon of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement and a longtime Democratic congressman from Georgia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was the latest widespread protest of Trumps second term, after the Hands Off and No Kings mass demonstrations that drew millions of people across the country in April and June. Protesters also opposed a tax law he recently signed that made deep cuts to social programs such as Medicaid. The "Good Trouble" protest also comes a month after the president sent the California National Guard and Marines into Los Angeles in response to immigration protests in the city, an unusual move that was met with strong pushback by officials and legal experts. From Sedona to Scottsdale, hundreds of people demonstrated at more than two dozen protests across Arizona. The states 30 events were among 1,600 protests around the nation, including cities like Chicago, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arizona protests were largely peaceful, although Mesa police responded to an incident where a counterprotester was accused of brandishing a gun. In Phoenix, 50 protesters stood outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office waving flags from various regions of the world, including Europe and Latin America, along with LGBTQ+ Pride flags and anti-ICE flags. Something needs to change," said Evo Terra of Phoenix. Three Phoenix Police Department detectives stood outside and watched protesters, who cheered as cars honked in support of the protest, alongside Central Avenue. "We're all children of immigrants and we can't forget that," said Nancy Francque of Phoenix. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Events planned in Arizona included a protest at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix and demonstrations in cities across the state, such as Tucson, Sedona and Yuma. A "Teach-In" event was held in Flagstaff. A list of area protests was available on the Mobilize website. By defending the weakest among us, we defend ourselves," said Duane Stilwell, a dual citizen who is originally from Mexico City. Several hundred people turned out at the state Capitol with creative signs and chanting to express their anger at Trump and his policies. Donna Roscoe, 26, Scottsdale, protests during the "Good Trouble Lives On" rally at the state Capitol in Phoenix on July 17, 2025. The crowd was mostly reserved and quiet for much of the demonstration that began at 9 a.m. Their colorful, homemade signs often including profanity combined to tell the story of their many different reasons theyre against the president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Signs included phrases like Unmask ICE No Secret Police, Doing nothing is not an option: Resist! and Release the Epstein Files! Donna Roscoe, a 26-year-old PhD student in biomedical engineering, held a sign that read stop turning me into a mad scientist. She said the reference was to Trumps Health and Human Services secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, and his support of anti-vaccine conspiracies. RFK is my worst enemy, she said. Randy Hamilton, 78, of Tempe, wore an American revolutionary costume as he stood next to a life-size model of Trump with his head trapped in a stockade. He has no clue what a president is supposed to be, Hamilton said, adding he was dressed as Alexander Hamilton. Hes a criminal and hes morally inept. Protester Randy Hamilton of Tempe, Arizona, dressed as Alexander Hamilton, Founding Father of the United States, at the Good Trouble Lives On anti-Trump protest at the Arizona state Capitol in Phoenix on July 17, 2025. Chaos in west Mesa In west Mesa, a peaceful protest turned chaotic when a man was accused of pulling a gun. A few dozen demonstrators had gathered on Southern Avenue and Dobson Road with protest signs on the sidewalks of the busy intersection. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A man walking to a Wendys restaurant at the street corner shouted at the protesters on the sidewalk. He praised Trump and the presidents hardline immigration policies. Some of the demonstrators approached the man, who they said identified himself as an immigrant from Australia, while they talked about Trumps multiple felony convictions. The Mesa protesters said that the pro-Trump counterprotester who approached them earlier and identified himself as an Australian immigrant had returned in a truck with another man who, according to a Mesa police victim report, is now an aggravated assault suspect. Queen Creek resident Neal Scanlon was on a corner of Dobson and Southern when the truck, which had an attached flag with TRUMP emblazoned on it, stopped at the traffic light. Scanlon said the man on the passenger side of the truck pulled a handgun on him. The two men left in the truck and a Mesa police cruiser in the adjacent gas station drove onto Dobson with its sirens on, pulling over the truck at a Banner Desert Medical Center parking lot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About seven police vehicles appeared at the scene and spoke with the men in the truck and with multiple protesters. "Good Trouble" protester Neal Scanlon is seen July 17, 2025, filling out a police witness report after he said a man pulled a gun on him during a rally at the nearby intersection. Scanlon received a victim report which listed Clifford M. Klooster, 64, as a suspect of an aggravated assault. Police told Scanlon that there were health concerns precluding an arrest, he said. Before the truck left and police responded, the driver got out of the truck and started arguing with another protester when Megan OConnor, co-leader of the Indivisible Mesa activist group and who is on crutches, got in between and fell down, she said. At the protest, Mesa resident Elizabeth Holmes pointed to her T-shirt that featured activist and John Lewis mentor Ella Baker. The white 63-year-old retired school teacher felt her presence as in multiple other anti-Trump protests through the years afforded her an opportunity to speak up for others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's important for the people in my community to see that somebody like me cares about this. And right now, I feel like I may be in a in a position that other people are not in, Holmes said. I think that for people of color in our communities, it's very dangerous right now and it's time for us to stand up for them. Protester: 'We need to be heard' In north Scottsdale, some 100 people gathered at the intersection of Northsight Boulevard and Raintree Drive for a peaceful protest, continuing a weekly demonstration that has taken place every Monday since Presidents Day. The crowd, many of whom are regulars, held handmade signs and participated in call-and-response chants. The protests are typically aimed at Rep. David Schweikert, R-Arizona, but many turned out on July 17 to honor the legacy of Lewis, a civil rights leader whose legacy continues to inspire. Despite the heat, the mood was upbeat, with smiling faces and a sense of community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judy Robbins from Phoenix said, We need to be heard, and we need to be protected. And our civil rights, our human rights, our morals need to be upheld in our highest office. He asked people to be in the streets. We're on the sidewalk. You know, so how brave are we? But there may be a day that comes that we need to be on the street, Ruth Murphy of Phoenix said. Lewis died five years ago on July 17, 2020. Civil rights advocates have hosted protests in his honor every year since. This years protests are larger than ever, organizers say. We knew this was gonna be much larger this year, said Robert Weissman, the co-president of the consumer-advocacy and government-watchdog organization Public Citizen. People are really eager to participate in protests, marches, vigils, teach-ins, even barbecues, to challenge Trumps authoritarianism. Especially the administrations clampdown on civil rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public Citizen is one of many groups organizing the protest, including the League of Women Voters, the Transformative Justice Coalition, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Black Voters Matter. Events happening across Arizona In Tucson, more than 400 people trickled into the Georges DeMeester Performance Center in Reid Park. The protest, organized by Democracy Unites Us, began around 8 a.m. in the park where local activist groups spoke about organizing and fighting back against threats to democracy. Afterward, protesters took to the sidewalk with their signs. Many attendees stood in the shade of the trees outlining the grassy field as the speakers voiced their messages, while others braved the strong sun, with wide-brimmed hats, umbrellas and large poster board signs shading their heads. A group of older artists dressed up as clowns in bright-colored shirts played kazoos as they walked around the grassy field. One gave a hand-size plastic wand to a nearby 20-year-old. Demonstrators at the "Good Trouble Lives on" protest at Reid Park in Tucson on July 17, 2025. The protest was to rebuke President Donald Trump and honor the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis, an icon of the Civil Rights movement and a longtime Democratic lawmaker. That 20-year-old was Brandi Mobley. She stood in the middle of the grassy field as the sun beat down on her. She was one of the smattering of young adults who attended. Mobley said its a scary time for LGBTQ rights and for immigrants who are threatened with deportation. She said her friend, who was born in Mexico and moved to Tucson a while ago, was recently pulled over by law enforcement for the first time. Afterward, he joked to Mobley about the risk of being deported. That shouldnt be a joke that we have to play off. That shouldnt be the dark humor thats going around right now, she said. The Good Trouble protests were planned to focus on civil rights considerations and organizations. Lewis served 17 terms in Congress, where he was often called the moral compass of the House. The Georgia Democrat was one of the youngest leaders in the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. He was an organizer of the 1963 March on Washington, and in 1965 was injured while leading the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis coined the phrase good trouble, meaning nonviolent action and peaceful protest. 'Teach-In' event staged in Flagstaff About 140 people turned up at the Flagstaff Federated Community Church on Aspen Avenue in Flagstaff for Indivisible Arizona's "Good Trouble Lives On 'Teach In'" event. The group was mostly made up of White men and women in their 50s and 60s, joined by several Black organizers, speakers and around a dozen non-White attendees. Seated around plastic tables on folding chairs, attendees listened to opening remarks by Bernadine Lewis, Inclusive Excellence program director at Northern Arizona University who has family ties to the event's inspiration John Lewis, followed by a Zoom presentation by Justin Mallet, vice president of Inclusive Excellence at NAU. Deb Harris, who is running for the Flagstaff City Council, takes the pen to help her table make a poster for protesting ICE raids at a Good Trouble Teach-In event in Flagstaff on July 17, 2025. Mallet was away from town on vacation but joined virtually to speak to those gathered to reflect on the civil rights work of John Lewis during a moment in American history when much of that seems to be moving backward. "We cant stop thinking that this work is important, Mallet told those gathered. The opposite of diversity is uniformity. The opposite of equity is inequity, and the opposite of inclusion is exclusion. And thats not an environment that we want to live in." Bernadine Lewis reminded attendees that their participation in the ongoing civil rights movement matters. The honest truth is, its on you, Lewis said. It does take the White folks to help make this work and help get the attention of the people in power. Organizers passed out posters and markers and attendees worked together at tables to make signs for a future anti-ICE protest. This is your assignment, Susan Shapiro, event organizer and Indivisible Arizona director, told the room. Youre going to make your poster now that is in support of immigrant rights and the right of people to live free from fear of being deported without due process. Protests also highlight 'opposition to Trump's authoritarianism' According to Weissman, protesters are eager to turn out for a long list of reasons, including the presidents immigration crackdown, the Republican-backed tax bill that makes deep cuts to Medicaid, and the Justice Department abandoning its traditional mission and focusing instead on alleged abuses against the rights of White people. The protest is designed to show mass opposition to Trump's authoritarianism, Weissman said, and create a sense of solidarity and overcome people's feelings of fear and isolation. Back in Tucson, immigration and LGBTQ rights were top of mind for Elena Ash, 53, who attended the event with her 10-year-old granddaughter, her son and his husband from Berkeley.Ash said she was at the protest because she has been watching democracy crumble.From our migrants in our fields who are feeding us, preparing our foods, to the LGBTQ people, she said.She added that everything she grew up learning about what America stands for, Im getting more and more educated about where it hasnt toed the line well.She said she is proud of Tucson and how it has responded, from the Tesla Takedown movement to protests and groups.I have felt informed and I dont feel alone, Ash said. Stephanie Murray covers national politics and the Trump administration for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Reach her via email at stephanie.murray@gannett.com and on X, Bluesky, TikTok and Threads @stephanie_murr. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 'Good Trouble' protests to honor Rep. John Lewis in Arizona, across US MIDDLETOWN, OH A few dozen protestors July 17 lined the side of Verity Parkway here in the hometown of Vice President JD Vance. Demonstrators held signs and American flags and waved to passing motorists, part of a national day of action opposing President Donald Trump and his administration. They were met with honks and cheers of support, but also some shouts of pro-Trump rhetoric. Constance Miller, a 43-year-old Middletown resident, said she organized the demonstration for people who are "going crazy" and don't have an outlet to express their response to recent actions by the Trump administration. She hoped the protest would help people feel empowered to engage in community action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said the protest gave a voice to those in Vance's hometown who do not support him, who she said often have their "voice squashed" by his outspoken supporters. Middletown is a "working-class town," she said, and Vance has abandoned those roots. "JD seems to have climbed the ladder and pulled it up behind him," she said. The July 17 demonstrations, which organizers called "Good Trouble Lives On" protests, were similar to June's "No Kings" protests. The gatherings were a response to "the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations" from the Trump administration, according to the Good Trouble Lives On website. 'Good Trouble Lives On' protests were scheduled across Greater Cincinnati The protests took place on the fifth anniversary of the death of civil rights icon John Lewis. The former congressman coined the phrase "good trouble" to describe peaceful protests challenging civil rights infringements, and organizers say the upcoming demonstrations will carry on this legacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protesters planned to demonstrate in several locations in the Cincinnati region, including: Cincinnati Cincinnati City Hall: 801 Plum Street, Cincinnati, Ohio 45202. Union Township Veterans Memorial Park: 906 Clough Pike, Cincinnati, Ohio 45245. Mason Intersection of Mason Montgomery Road and Tylersville Road, Mason, Ohio 45040. Middletown Douglass Park: 1825 Minnesota Street, Middletown, Ohio 45044. Oxford Intersection of West High Street and South College Avenue, Oxford, Ohio 45056. Southeast Indiana Intersection of U.S. 50 and Walnut Street, Lawrenceburg, Indiana 47025. More: 'Good Trouble Lives On:' What Cincinnatians can expect on nationwide day of protest A small crowd gathered in Middletown Demonstrators waving signs and American flags line Verity Parkway in Middletown, Ohio, for the "Good Trouble" protest on July 17, 2025. Azrieo Kreider, an 18-year-old visiting Middletown from Louisiana, said she felt encouraged by the overwhelming positive response from passersby, even though she wasn't expecting it. It was her first time protesting the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kreider said she was driven to protest by the administration's stance on women's rights and rhetoric about the LGBTQ+ community. Demonstrators waving signs and American flags line Verity Parkway in Middletown, Ohio, for the "Good Trouble" protest on July 17, 2025. Todd Miller, a 59-year-old Carlisle resident, was on his way home from work when he decided to stop by and participate in the demonstration. He said he went to the protest what he called a "circus" of a government where "Republicans run the show." He was happy with the support from others driving by, but said he wished "people would stand up more." "At least have your voices heard," he said. "And if enough people do it, change will come. And if not, the midterm's coming in 2026." This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Good Trouble Lives On protests set for Greater Cincinnati July 17 Over 50 cities in Florida are hosting events today to protest the Trump administration under the name Good Trouble Lives On." "The civil rights leaders of the past have shown us the power of collective action. Thats why on July 17, five years since the passing of Congressman John Lewis, communities across the country will take to the streets, courthouses, and community spaces to carry forward his fight for justice, voting rights, and dignity for all," the website states. Since President Donald Trump's inauguration on Jan. 20, 2025, there have been monthly nationwide protests since April. This is the fourth large-scale protest this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's all you need to know about "Good Trouble" protest locations in Florida. Anti-Trump protests near me; see FL 'Good Trouble' protests by city list Registered events in Florida for Good Troubles Lives On planned for July 17, 2025. According to the Good Trouble website, 49 protests (including multiple in the same city) are planned across Florida as of Wednesday, July 16. Several require participants to RSVP in advance to receive the address. What are the 'Good Trouble' protests? When are the protests? Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of action in response to what organizers say are attacks on civil and human rights by the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations, a graphic on the Good Trouble Lives On website says. Whether youre outraged by attacks on voting rights, the gutting of essential services, disappearances of our neighbors, or the assault on free speech and our right to protest this movement is for you. The "Good Trouble" protests will take place on Thursday, July 17, 2025. This is the same day that Rep. John Lewis died five years ago in 2020. He was a major leader in the 1960s civil rights movement he was an original Freedom Rider and an organizer of the March on Washington in 1963. "Coined by civil rights leader Congressman John Lewis, 'Good Trouble' is the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change," the website states. The website notes that it expects all participants to seek to de-escalate any potential confrontation with those who disagree with its values and to act lawfully at these events. They advise that weapons should not be brought to the protest. What to know before attending any protests in Florida Human Rights Campaign has tips for those participating in a peaceful protest to help ensure their safety and well-being: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Properly prepare: Dress for the weather, pack the necessary supplies (cash, water, extra battery, etc), have at least one emergency contact, and plan to share your status throughout the protest. Know the environment: Research the location beforehand and have an offline-accessible map to reference if the service is spotty. Have multiple routes into and out of the protest area. Stay Aware: Maintain 360 situational awareness always know what is happening around you. If you see something, say something. Observe, Orient, Decide, Act : The OODA Loop (Observe, Orient, Decide, Act) is a helpful framework to stay calm and make decisions during high-stress situations: Observe: Identify the source of danger and your surroundings Orient: Determine where you are and where you need to go Decide: Choose a course of action that minimizes risk Act: Implement your decision and stay aware of changes in the environment This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Good Trouble protests today: See over 50+ events across Florida PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Protests and events against President Donald Trumps controversial policies such mass deportations, cuts to Medicaid and other safety nets for low-income people are planned Thursday at more than 1,600 locations around the country, including the Portland metro area. The Good Trouble Lives On national day of action honors the late congressman and civil rights leader, John Lewis on the fifth anniversary of his death. Protests are expected to be held along streets, at court houses and other public spaces. Organizers are calling for them to be peaceful. Assault near Oregon Convention Center MAX station causes life-threatening injury Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The protests and rallies also come on the heels of the US Senates passage $9 billion in federal spending cuts requested by President Trump, the administrations planned restructuring of the HUD in terms of providing stable housing for low-income people, as well as mass firing of State Department employees. Locally, protesters in Portland and Southwest Washington said they were demonstrating to not only honor Lewis but to defend democracy. Just to make a difference, do what we can to let this president know that we do not back him up, we dont agree, said Dawn Bracket, a protester in Portland. Thats what drives me crazy, is people dont even know whats going on. Like come on, wake up! Some people protested outside the ICE facility in South Portland on Thursday, including Portland City Councilor Sameer Kanal. As head of the Public Safety Committee, they are looking into potentially revoking the ICE facilitys permit. However, Kanal said they are still looking into if this is even possible based on ICEs alleged violations of its permit agreement with the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nationally, Public Citizen is a nonprofit with a stated mission of taking on corporate power and is a member of a coalition of groups behind Thursdays protests. We are navigating one of the most terrifying moments in our nations history, Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said during an online news conference Tuesday. We are all grappling with a rise of authoritarianism and lawlessness within our administration as the rights, freedoms and expectations of our very democracy are being challenged. Major protests are planned in Atlanta and St. Louis, as well as Oakland, California, as wells as Annapolis, Maryland. Honoring Lewis legacy Lewis first was elected to Congress in 1986. He was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, a group led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1965, a 25-year-old Lewis led some 600 protesters in the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis was beaten by police, suffering a skull fracture. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., speaks as the House of Representatives debates the articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Dec. 18, 2019. (House Television via AP) Within days, King led more marches in the state and President Lyndon Johnson pressed Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act that later became law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America, Lewis said in 2020 while commemorating the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. He died that year at the age of 80 following an advanced pancreatic cancer diagnosis. Chicago will be the flagship city for Thursdays protests as demonstrators are expected to rally downtown in the afternoon. Click here to find more Good Trouble Lives On events throughout the country. Meanwhile, rallies and free events are planned all across the Portland area, including the North Portland Library, as well as Laurelhurst Park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another gathering at Willamette Park will feature speakers, then a march to the Portland ICE facility where they will light candles and leave flowers for those taken into ICE custody over the past few months. They will then head to Caruthers Park where more speakers will stand strong with the protesters before making a three-mile loop. Stay with KOIN 6 News as we continue to cover this story. 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 KOIN.com. A woman holds up a poster featuring the late U.S. Representative and civil rights leader John Lewis, who coined the phrase "good trouble," as people participate in a protest as part of the 'Good Trouble Lives On' national day of action against the administration of President Donald Trump in Houston, Texas, on July 17, 2025. Credit - Ronaldo SchemidtAFP/Getty Images Demonstrators have taken to the streets across multiple states on Thursday to protest President Donald Trumps Administration in a day of action honoring the late civil rights icon Rep. John Lewis, with more events planned across the country in the evening. We are facing the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations, reads the movements website. Whether youre outraged by attacks on voting rights, the gutting of essential services, disappearances of our neighbors, or the assault on free speech and our right to protestthis movement is for you. Trump is trying to divide us, but we know the power of coming together. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Good Trouble Lives On is a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration, the website continues. Together, well remind them that in America, the power lies with the people. The phrase Good Trouble, coined by Lewis, refers to the action of coming together to take peaceful, non-violent action to challenge injustice and create meaningful change, according to the website. Lewis was a leader in the civil rights movement, traveling between states to challenge segregation as one of 13 original Freedom Riders and serving as chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, which he helped found. He went on to represent Georgias 5th district in Congress for more than 30 years and became an outspoken Trump opponent during the Presidents first term. The day of action was set for Thursday, July 17five years after Lewis died, at the age of 80, following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The events on Thursday included block parties, candlelight vigils, and peaceful protests in cities including New York City, Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago. The movements website said that a core principle behind the events is a commitment to nonviolent action, adding that no weapons should be brought to the events. The Good Trouble protests follow more than 1,500 No Kings Day demonstrations that were held across the country last month to protest the Trump Administration on the same day that the President held a military parade in Washington, D.C. They also come after Trump earlier in June mobilized the National Guardagainst the wishes of California Gov. Gavin Newsomto quell immigration-related protests in Los Angeles. Trumps actions sparked outrage from Democratic politicians, advocacy organizations, and legal experts, and protests spread across the country amid the outcry. Contact us at letters@time.com. Good Trouble protests bring rallying cries back to Central Florida Hundreds of people packed downtown DeLand and The Villages Thursday morning as the first Good Trouble protests kicked off. The rallies, named after a phrase coined by late civil rights leader John Lewis, were a continuation of the No Kings Day protests in June. The protesters cited their displeasure with President Trump and his administration, as well as The Everglades detention center nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photos: Good Trouble protests bring rallying cries back to Central Florida Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Trump supporter counter-protested the Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. If the president was a Democrat and right now doing the same thing, Id be out here every day also, Tom Colie said, calling the presidents policies immoral. Colie was then asked about the effect he hoped his attendance would have. Theres not a lot you can do, he explained. You send letters into your congressman and senators. You wonder if some of them just get tossed in garbage baskets. One lone counter-protester stood and allowed the people around him to get in his face. The man, who did not want to provide his name, said he supported the presidents moves to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities, crack down on immigration and push European countries to spend more of their money on defending themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He then shot a critique at his political opponents. Even when Biden was president, they [Democrats] didnt hit the 50 percentile of being proud to be an American, he said, citing polling. So its anti-American. The protests were scheduled to continue throughout the rest of the day in cities like Orlando, Kissimmee and Altamonte Springs, mostly after working hours. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. Protests persist across Tennessee and the United States on July 17. The upcoming demonstration, called "Good Trouble Lives On" protests, will take place at more than 1,600 locations across the country to rally against many of the Trump administration's policies. "The Trump administration is launching one of the most aggressive attacks on our civil and human rights in a generation, from voter suppression laws like the SAVE Act to criminalizing protests and silencing our voices," said protest organizers on Light for Our Democracy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Tennessee, there are 12 protests planned, according to Good Trouble Lives On. There will be demonstrations in all four major Tennessee cities: Knoxville, Nashville, Memphis and Chattanooga. Before attending a Tennessee demonstration, get familiar with your rights to protest. Here's everything you should know about your First Amendment rights and how to stay safe. What amendment is your right to protest? The right to protest is protected under the First Amendment, which guarantees free expression by protecting the right to freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly and petition. Americans have the right to protest, but there are stipulations in legislation that may prohibit when and where protests can take place, as well as what behavior warrants police intervention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are a few key things to know before protesting in Tennessee, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee: Where can I protest in Tennessee? Without prior permission, you can only protest on public property. Keep to standing or walking on public sidewalks to avoid any potential conflict. Protestors may be required to have a permit if they are in the street, as it can be considered a "parade." Demonstrations at the park may be limited by parks department rules and local noise ordinances. What is a civil disturbance at protests? Civil disobedience is generally understood as violating the law through a non-violent manner of protest, according to the ACLU. In Tennessee, this term is also known as a public disturbance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone whose actions cause immediate danger of or result in property damage or injury can be arrested and prosecuted. Can I legally film police in Tennessee? If you are in a public area, you have the right to video and photograph anything within plain view, including law enforcement, federal buildings and fellow protesters. This does not apply to private property. There is generally an understanding that there is no expectation of privacy if you film or take an audio recording in public. Tennessee is a one-party consent state, meaning that you don't need to seek explicit permission before hitting record. Can I pass out leaflets or pamphlets at a protest? Yes. You have the right to pass out leaflets to passers-by in Tennessee, as long as you don't harass anyone or force a person to take the handout, according to the ACLU. Is it legal to counter-protest? Yes, it is absolutely legal to stage a counter demonstration within the same legal standards as any other protest that may be occurring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You have the right to carry protest signs in opposition to any protest's speakers or the policies for which they advocate, according to the ACLU. Can police arrest you for protesting? Police cannot arrest you for expressing your First Amendment rights; however, that doesn't grant blanket immunity. If you break the law by trespassing, causing a civil disturbance or otherwise, you may be subject to arrest, according to the ACLU. If you find yourself in a precarious situation with a law enforcement officer, remember to stay calm and keep your hands visible. Don't argue or resist the police officer. If you are arrested, you have the right to ask why and the right to remain silent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police may "pat down" your clothing if they suspect you have a weapon and may search you after an arrest. Otherwise, you don't have to consent to a search of yourself or your belongings. Tennessean reporter Angele Latham contributed to this report. Allison Kiehl reports on trending and breaking news for the Tennessee Connect team. Email: allison.kiehl@knoxnews.com This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Good Trouble protests: Is it legal to protest in Tennessee? One month after millions of people took to the streets during No Kings Day, another day of mobilization to protest President Donald Trump and his policies, known as Good Trouble Lives On, is set for July 17. In Providence, people will gather on the mall side of the Rhode Island State House at 2 p.m. In East Providence, a protest is located at Freedom Green from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. If you plan to attend a protest, heres what you should know about your rights, with information from the ACLU of Rhode Island and the Providence Police Department. Do I have a right to protest in Rhode Island? Yes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution protects the right to free speech and assembly. The Providence Police Department says they recognize that the First Amendment affords all individuals the right to free speech, which can be exercised in peaceful demonstrations. Where can I protest? You have a right to engage in free speech and to assemble in traditional public forums, like public streets, sidewalks, parks, and in front of some government buildings. However, the government can limit the time of day, specific locations and noise levels of a protest under reasonable time, place, or manner rules. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Providence Police Department, there is no limit on the number of demonstrators at a protest as long as it is peaceful. However, city ordinances prohibit demonstrations at a private residence or in a way that would disturb public school sessions. Demonstrators are also not allowed to impede vehicular or pedestrian traffic demonstrators should remain on the curb side of the sidewalk and maintain three feet of sidewalk access so people can get by. They must also not block a door, passageway, driveway, crosswalk or other business entrance or exit. Free speech related to partisan political activities is also prohibited at post offices or polling places. Protesters at the Rhode Island State House display their signs at the "No Kings Day" rally on June 14. Do protests need permits? You dont always need a permit before engaging in a protest on public property. However, a government can legally require permits in some situations, like if a march will require street closure or block traffic, if its expected to be very large, or if it will involve loud sounds. In Providence, any sound trucks must get a permit from the Commissioner of Public Safety. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the ACLU of Rhode Island, you do not need a permit for small gatherings or to approach pedestrians with items like leaflets or petitions. What is the role of police at a protest? Police can be present at a protest to generally ensure safety and keep the peace, according to the ACLU. According to the Providence Police Department, any limitations given by the police due to "reasonable restrictions" must be content/message neutral, as least restrictive as possible, and must afford demonstrators an alternative means of communicating. If a demonstration is in violation of the law, officers can give demonstrators specific instructions on how to remedy the violation. But if a violation requires immediate action, law enforcement may make an arrest without warning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If officers feel there is a threat to public safety, they can offer the protesters an alternative (like move from the street to the sidewalk). Officers should be fair and objective in the performance of police duties. Officers must not allow themselves to become the focus of the dispute. They must avoid taking sides or provoking any action that could result in violence, says the departments protest guidelines. What do I do if I get stopped by the police? If you are stopped by the police, the ACLU says not to argue, resist, or obstruct the police, even if you think they are violating your rights. You should also keep your hands visible, so they dont think you are reaching for a weapon. If you are under arrest, you should remain silent. You can ask why and say you want a lawyer, but you do not have to provide your name and address. This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Is it legal to protest in RI? Here are your rights Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) brushed off President Donald Trumps harsh words for his own supporters on Wednesday with a comment thats been mocked online as sycophantic and surreal. Trump lashed out at those of his MAGA base who are furious with the Justice Departments refusal to release any more documents related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, calling them stupid. Asked for his response to Trumps slamming of his own supporters, Burchett spun: President Trump has his own opinions, but honestly, man, he wins. CNN: Whats your response to President Trump calling his own supporters weaklings? Burchett: He has a strategy in all this and I suspect it will play out because he wins every time. pic.twitter.com/2NCPeKCCrR Acyn (@Acyn) July 17, 2025 Trump has a strategy in all this and I suspect thats gonna play out because, dad-gummit, he wins every dad-gum time, the Republican added, playing into the MAGA notion that Trump always knows exactly what hes doing at any given time because hes playing 4D chess. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its uncanny that he ends up on top, Burchett added. And I suspect on this case he will do as well. The Tennessee lawmakers defense sparked swift backlash on social media: Are we back to the 4D chess trope? The Dr. - s Educated Women (@gatesisthedevil) July 17, 2025 Such a weaklings answer! Evaristus Odinikaeze (@odinikaeze) July 17, 2025 Sycophants gotta sycophant. Bill Schmidt (@BaByBoY12216) July 17, 2025 Panic and rant is a strategy? Chimes of Freedom (@throbbingvicar) July 17, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Narrator: in fact, the convicted felon fails most of the time and then declares victory anyway. Because liar. Guy Cole (@guycole) July 17, 2025 Related... SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) Texas Gov. Greg Abbott held a briefing and press conference in San Angelo on July 17 to discuss Texas continued response to recent severe flooding in the state. The conference was held in the afternoon. Concho Valley Homepage livestreamed the conference, which is now available for viewing as a recording in the video player above. Abbott was be joined by Senator Charles Perry, Representative Drew Darby, Texas Division of Emergency Management Chief Nim Kidd, Tom Green County Judge Lane Carter, San Angelo Mayor Tom Thompson, San Angelo Fire Department Chief Patrick Brody and other state and local officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement San Angelo Police Department shares more footage of San Angelo flood rescues The conference was held in the wake of the July 4 floods, which have resulted in more than 130 confirmed casualties across Texas as of the time of publication. Dozens of people remain missing, and thousands of structures were damaged or destroyed by the floodwaters. Tom Green County was among the counties affected by the historic floods, with San Angelo, its county seat, receiving rainfall totals of up to 14.46 inches, as recorded by West Texas Mesonet weather stations in and around the city on July 4. One person died in San Angelo due to the flood, and a Tom Green County citizen was confirmed dead in Kerr 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 ConchoValleyHomepage.com. PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) is one of the Best 52-Week Low Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. On July 7, PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) announced that it is calling for innovators to help solve Californias toughest energy challenges. The company has up to $25 million to fund new projects. They want entrepreneurs, inventors, and tech experts to join their 2025 Innovation Pitch Fest. The event will take place from September 23 to September 25, at PG&Es Oakland headquarters. It focuses on breakthrough technologies that need strong collaboration between PG&E and external innovators. The company updated its strategy in 2024, highlighting key problem areas and increased emphasis on using Artificial Intelligence to improve energy systems. PG&E Corporation (PCG) Calls Innovators to Help Solve California's Energy Challenge Brightly-lit nighttime view of an electricity power grid with distribution lines and transmission substations. For this years Innovation Pitch Fest, PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) has set 10 specific problem statements. They include challenges like managing the energy demands of growing AI data centers, accelerating neighborhood electrification, reducing wildfire risks, and improving safety through AI. PG&E wants fast, scalable solutions to these urgent problems. PG&E Corporation (NYSE:PCG) is a major utility serving northern and central California. It provides electricity and natural gas to about 16 million people across a 70,000-square-mile area. While we acknowledge the potential of PCG as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term 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. COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) After Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Columbus native and current Georgia Court of Appeals judge Ben Land to be the states next Supreme Court justice, he spoke with WRBL News 3s Chuck Williams to provide detail on his decision. Kemp appointed Ben Land on Thursday to fill the vacancy created by Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs resignation earlier this year. Well I think one thing that stood out to me is that, I mean he obviously got the legal educational horsepower to do it, but one of the things he talked to me a lot about was just his well-rounded experience, Kemp said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added, being a private sector lawyer, being a superior court judge, serving on the court of appeals, I mean its really a kind of an all of the above experience that I think will really make him a great member of the court and really help move the court in the right direction in the years to come. The governor also touched on having a representation from all over the state among the court when he spoke to WRBL on Thursday. It is great to have representation on the court from all over the state, so having a justice from the Columbus area, in this part of the state is very important and that had a big part to do with my decision as well, Kemp expressed. After careful consideration of multiple accomplished and noteworthy candidates, Im proud to announce Ben Land as my appointment to serve on the Georgia Supreme Court, Kemp said in a statement. Judge Land has earned the respect of his peers and hardworking Georgians through his commitment to fairness and impartiality, his strong work ethic, and his integrity. His extensive experience as a former litigator and judge will make him a valuable addition to the Supreme Court as he continues his service to the people of our state. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Columbus native Judge Ben Land appointed by governor to Georgia Supreme Court Ben Land, is a lifelong resident of Columbus and was initially appointed as a judge of the Georgia Court of Appeals on July 20, 2022, by Gov. Brian Kemp. He became the first Columbus attorney to serve on this court in its 116-year history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2018, then-Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Land to a vacant Superior Court seat in the Chattahoochee Circuit. Before his judicial career, Ben Land practiced law in Columbus for nearly 26 years at Buchanan & Land LLP, focusing on civil litigation and trial practice. A portion of that time, he was in practice with his brother. Ben Lands pro bono work earned him the William B. Spann, Jr. Award for successfully handling a case from trial court to the Georgia Supreme Court. Watch the full reaction from Judge Ben Land on him being appointed by Gov. Kemp to Georgia Supreme Court below: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WHNT) Gov. Kay Ivey has announced more than $3.7 Million dollars in funding for local road project across the state. The funding is being awarded to cities and counties for 12 road projects across Alabama. The grants are the second round of funding made available this year under the Alabama Department of Transportations Annual Grant Program created by the Rebuild Alabama Act. The Rebuild Alabama Act, was overwhelmingly passed in the Legislature and was signed by Governor Ivey in 2019. The Act requires ALDOT to establish an annual program that sets aside a minimum of $10 million off the top of the states share of gas tax revenue for local projects. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rebuild Alabama is doing exactly what we promised fixing roads and bridges in every corner of our state, said Governor Ivey. With every round of funding, were seeing real improvements along our busiest highways and the local roads Alabamians rely on every day. This is a smart, long-term investment at work, and Alabama is better for it. Of the awarded projects, cities and counties also contributed more than $3.5 million in local matching funds. All projects are required to move forward within one year of the awarding of funds. Since the passage of the Rebuild Alabama Act, ALDOTs Annual Grant Program has awarded more than $66 million in state transportation funding for local projects. Additional funding is expected to be awarded later this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In North Alabama, funding will be awarded to Franklin County and Marshall County. In Franklin County, $350,000 of state funding was awarded to resurface Winne Frost Drive and Ninth Street (1.53 miles) in Red Bay. Additionally, local funding of $127,485 was provided to assist in the project. This bring the total to $477,485 for the resurfacing project. In Marshall County, $350,000 of state funding was awarded to resurface 30 city streets in Boaz. Additionally, local funding of $2,062,973.01 was provided to assist in the project. This bring the total to $2,412,973.01 for the resurfacing project. To view a full list of counties and cities that are receiving funding, 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 WHNT.com. Gov. Jim Pillen talks with constituents in O'Neill, Nebraska, at a ceremonial event celebrating passage of a bill banning the sale and production of lab-grown meat in the state. (Erin Bamer/Nebraska Examiner) ONEILL, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen celebrated his victory over cultivated meat Thursday at a butcher shop in rural Nebraska. The governor ceremonially signed Legislative Bill 246 at Shamrock Locker in ONeill for the citys annual Summerfest celebration. The new law will ban the sale and manufacturing of cultivated meat in Nebraska, starting in September. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bills target is cell-derived meat produced from animal cells, enabling the cells to multiply and differentiate into muscle, fat and connective tissue without slaughtering animals. The Food and Drug Administration approved lab-grown meat for human consumption in 2022. Pillen campaigned for governor with a promise to fight against the emerging product, calling it petri dish meat. He and others used multiple terms to describe cultivated meat Thursday, most often fake meat, but also bioreactor meat Pillens new favorite term for it and frankenfood, the way Nebraskas Agriculture Director Sherry Vinton described it. Sherry Vinton, director of the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. (Courtesy of the Governors Office) Pillen, a hog farmer, spoke of the importance of protecting Nebraskas agricultural industry, saying that the state feeds the world through its production of beef and corn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nebraska is the second-largest cattle-producing state in the U.S., behind only Texas. Cattle and other livestock production are among Nebraskas largest industries, bringing nearly $31.6 billion to the state, according to the Nebraska Department of Agriculture. State Sen. Barry DeKay of Niobrara, who introduced LB 246 on Pillens behalf, acknowledged that cultivated meat was not a present product or industry in Nebraska. However, he argued that allowing it into the market gives the product a level of legitimacy he doesnt think it deserves based on the unknowns about it. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Vinton argued the nutritional and safety standards for cultivated meat production doesnt stack up to traditional meat production. While the cells are tested going into the process, she claimed the finished products are not tested before they are sent out for sale. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DeKay said he believes the intention of cultivated meat producers is to socially engineer consumers away from traditional meat products. Let them run down the river, and get them the hell out of Nebraska, Pillen said. Pillen took it a step further, describing cultivated meat as a crazy far left ideology that doesnt belong in Nebraska. When anybody is talking about meat and it does not come from a live critter, a four-legged critter, it aint meat, Pillen said. Shouldnt even have the word associated with it. Uma Valeti, CEO and founder of California-based company UPSIDE Foods, previously told the Nebraska Examiner that he met with Pillen before LB 246 was passed with hopes to correct what he felt was misinformation used in reference to cultivated meat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Banning cultivated meat wont protect farmers; it will only limit Nebraskas ability to lead, grow its meat production capacity, and weaken its food system, Valeti said. The Nebraska Farm Bureau supported legislation that would label lab-grown meat but not ban it, saying the bureau supports a free and open market and believes that there is a much better option than a ban. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) During his monthly press conference on Thursday, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters the organizers of last months No Kings protest in Salt Lake City were advised against having peacekeepers. In the month leading up to the protest that turned deadly following a shooting involving a peacekeeper and a protester reportedly carrying a rifle, Cox said the events organizers were warned that it would be a bad idea to have the peacekeepers on site. Our [Department of Public Services] said, Its a bad idea. You can do it. Its not illegal. There is nothing illegal about it. Its just a bad idea. They said, We think its a good idea. End of conversation, Cox stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, in a statement provided to ABC4.com, Utah50501, the organizers behind the Salt Lake City No Kings protest said it never told DPS they thought it was a good idea for their safety volunteers to carry weapons. The organizers of Utah50501 are not aware of anyone having such a conversation with DPS in which they were warned against having a volunteer safety team at events. At no time did Utah50501 request or require any safety and de-escalation volunteers to carry weapons, the organization said. Utah50501 said it worked with Utah Highway Patrol and asked whether people carrying weapons could be asked to leave and say they were advised that individuals have the right to open carry or to carry a concealed weapon. The organization said it understood that it could not lawfully prohibit anyone from carrying a weapon at its event. SLCPD turns over deadly No Kings protest shooting case to district attorney Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Utah Governor said he wasnt sure if there was anything more the state could have done to prevent the tragedy that took the life of Afa Folasa Ah Loo, a 39-year-old fashion designer whose work has highlighted everything from the red carpet to weddings. Ah Loo was a bystander at the protest the confrontation between the unidentified peacekeeper and a 24-year-old protester identified as Arturo Gamboa took place. Event organizers said the peacekeeper believed there was an imminent threat to protesters after he spotted Gamboa carrying an AR-15. In the shooting that followed, Ah Loo was struck by a stray bullet and later died in the hospital. Gamboa was later taken into custody as a suspect in the shooting, but was released shortly after, as no charges were immediately filed. The Salt Lake City Police Department said, as part of their investigation, they did not find any record of armed or organized security in the events permit. Utah50501 said it had coordinated with SLCPD, as well as any other involved law enforcement, when planning for the events per the permits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The police department turned over the results of its investigation to the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office earlier this week, just over a month after the shooting. Utah County Sheriffs Office votes yes to enter agreement with ICE As of Thursday, July 17, no charges have been filed in relation to the shooting. When asked for his thoughts on who should be held responsible, Gov. Cox said he will let the District Attorney make that decision. Its a tragedy. I dont know who is ultimately responsible, but I think a lot of people are responsible for what happened, said Cox. My heart goes out to [Ah Loos] family. I think mistakes were made by the organizers, by the peacekeepers, by the protester who brought his rifle lots of mistakes were made. Latest headlines: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Amanda Whittle, director of the state Department of Children's Advocacy, speaks at a news conference in Columbia on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. (Photo by Skylar Laird/SC Daily Gazette) COLUMBIA A Columbia attorney is the governors choice to lead the state Department of Childrens Advocacy, his office announced Thursday. Margaret Fent Bodman, who most recently worked for the University of South Carolinas Childrens Law Center, is set to run the 215-person agency created seven years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agency was meant to serve as a one-stop shop for people with questions and concerns about children and ensure nine other agencies that work with children were providing the care they should, according to the law that created it. Margaret Fent Bodman was appointed the states next child advocate Thursday, July 17, 2025. (Provided/Governors Office) The 58-year-old will take over the role from Amanda Whittle, who was the states first child advocate. Whittle, also an attorney, was appointed a family court judge this year, which meant she had to leave the agency. Im grateful for Ms. Whittles service, and I know that Margaret Bodmans extensive legal experience, strong background in child advocacy and career-long commitment to public service have provided her with the tools she needs to continue this important work, Gov. Henry McMaster said in a statement. Bodman has degrees from Fordham University in New York City and St. Marys University School of Law in Texas. She worked as a prosecutor in San Antonio, Texas, before moving to South Carolina in 1999, according to her USC bio. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since then, Bodman has worked as a prosecutor with a specialty in sexual assault cases for adults and children. She is part of the South Carolina Bar Associations Childrens Law Committee and is state coordinator for the National Association of Counsel for Children, according to the governors office. I am honored to serve as South Carolinas state child advocate, Bodman said in a statement. I look forward to continuing our mission of improving outcomes for children in South Carolina through advocacy, accountability, and service. RALEIGH, N.C. (WGHP) A state of emergency has been declared for several North Carolina counties as they deal with ongoing impacts from Tropical Storm Chantal earlier this month. On Thursday, Governor Josh Stein declared a state of emergency for 13 counties, to facilitate and support long-term recovery efforts from flooding caused by Tropical Storm Chantal. According to the governors release, this step is needed to make state and federal recovery assistance available to the affected counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tropical Storm Chantal cost some of our neighbors their lives and others their livelihood and property. We must do everything we can to support them as they get back on their feet, said Stein. This State of Emergency will help get North Carolinians the support they need and enable the state to seek out potential funding to help communities rebuild. EF-1 tornadoes struck Mebane and Snow Camp during Tropical Storm Chantal The State of Emergency covers Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Davidson, Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Lee, Moore, Orange, Person, Randolph, and Wake Counties. Tropical Storm Chantal hit the area on July 7, causing record or near-record water levels for the Haw River, Eno River and Jordan Lake. Flooding impacted infrastructure including highways and forced evacuations in some neighborhoods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Multiple people died due to the weather across the counties impacted by the state of emergency. The Division of Emergency Management is working with local officials to assess the scope of damage caused by Tropical Storm Chantal, the release states. As the full damage assessment is completed in concert with relevant federal partners, the declaration along with the assessment analysis will determine possible additional support that residents, businesses, and local governments may receive to accelerate the recovery process and support expenses incurred during the response phase of the disaster. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP. (WHTM) Governor Josh Shapiro on Thursday endorsed Janelle Stelson (D) in her second bid to unseat Congressman Scott Perry in Pennsylvanias 10th District. The governor called Stelson a decent, good, honorable person who respects the rule of law, in a video released on Shapiros campaign social media. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now This Week in Pennsylvania This community deserves a congresswoman whos on your side and Janelle Stelson is, said Shapiro, who is expected to attend a campaign event with Stelson on Thursday night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shapiro campaigned with Stelson late in her 2024 bid against Perry, which she lost by 5,133 votes. The race was Perrys closest electoral victory since being elected to Congress in 2012. It is time we had a Representative in Congress who actually listens to us and fights for us, said Stelson when relaunching her campaign on Monday. The former television news anchor won the 2024 Democratic primary with more than 43% support in a six-candidate race. One of the biggest issues in the 2024 campaign was Stelsons residency, as she is registered to vote in Manheim Township, Lancaster County, outside the 10th District that covers Cumberland, Dauphin, and York counties. Stelson recently told abc27 she has now moved to Cumberland County; however, as of July 17, she was still registered to vote in Lancaster County and, according to the Lancaster County tax map, still owns her Lancaster County home that was last sold in 2003. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scott Perry reports nearly $900,000 raised in Q2 after Stelson jumps into race Dauphin County Commissioner Justin Douglas (D) has also expressed interest in running for Perrys seat, saying on July 7 that he was forming an exploratory committee. abc27 reached out to Douglas for comment on Shapiros endorsement of Stelson Thursday morning. Matt Beynon, a spokesperson for the Perry campaign, reacted to Shapiros endorsement of Stelson saying, Rather than spending his time endorsing in a congressional race or running off to Nantucket to rub elbows with ultra-wealthy liberal donors, Governor Shapiro should focus his time on passing a budget and actually getting stuff done for the people of Pennsylvania. According to Politico, Shapiro is holding a campaign fundraiser in Nantucket, Massachusetts on Saturday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perry was endorsed by President Donald Trump earlier this year and reported raising $900,000 during the second quarter of 2025. In his endorsement of Perry, Trump said, An original Member of my Pennsylvania Federal Leadership Team, Scott Perry has my Complete and Total Endorsement for Re-Election HE WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. CHARITON, Iowa Farmers markets across the state are in full swing. For some business owners, it can take years of work just to secure a coveted spot. When it comes to Chariton, they believe in starting the path to entrepreneurship young. Farmers markets celebrate community. You will notice we do have different cultures of families here, said Christine Grimes, director of the Chariton Farmers Market. They often display a passion for buying local. Grimes said, This shows everybody can do anything. More: Live on Location in Chariton Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Chariton, their farmers market can be a small window into the future. As long as kids keep showing up we are going to keep doing it because its their time to shine, said Grimes. In its second official year at the Chariton Farmers Market, the town has launched the Mini Market. Grimes said, All you can do is try. Thats all we did. We didnt expect last year to have the turnout we did and it was just like wow! Two times a year, kids in grades K-12 can sell handmade and homemade crafts, baked goods, and refreshments free of charge. Grimes said, We just invite them. It doesnt cost them for the day and so everything that comes in is money in their pocket. It gives them a chance to see what the adults do. Eight-year-old Alexis her six-year-old sister Paisley run Sassy Pants Lemonade. When people taste it they say they love it, said Alexis with a smile. Their table was filled with a variety of products. We are selling some tomatoes, lemonade, cookies and pens, cups and bracelets, Alexis said. Huxlee McFall was running RenKyn & Company with his friend Ren Wright. Its like hand-made Play-Dough, said Huxlee. Annabelle Loew is ten years old and runs her own stand with Annabelles Loewmonade. It specializes in refreshments that stand out. She said, The flavor and also that it is fresh-squeezed and not store-bought. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The business experience gained is truly priceless, but just like the diverse items being sold by these kids in Chariton, their goals and dreams of what to spend their hard-earned money on is endless. Alexis said, We save it up to go to a lot of places like Adventureland, Disneyland and a lot of stuff. Annabelle added, To do stocks and invest my money and be smart about it and have some money when I grow up so I dont have to start fresh when Im twenty-something. Paisley was excited about how the day of business was going and said, We make a lot of money. Whatever the reason, the experience is priceless for these young entrepreneurs. I learned the income and all the stuff that we need to know to sell stuff, Annabelle said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When local leaders like Christine take a step back, they dont see inexperience; they see the towns future. She said, I think it says weve got parents that care. Weve got a strong community. Im just happy they showed up. The second and final Mini-Market of the year is Thursday, July 17th, at the Chariton Farmers Market from 4:00 pm until 6 pm. The normal farmers market continues every Thursday through October 1st on the east courthouse lawn in Chariton. Iowa news Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. A grand juror in a federal proceeding related to the Karen Read case in suburban Boston has been charged with leaking confidential information about closed-door hearings. Jessica Leslie has already agreed to a plea deal that includes a single-day sentence, for which she will be credited time served, according to court documents, plus two years of probation, court records show. The case was filed on July 11, and she signed the plea deal three days later. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cleared Of Murder Charges, Karen Read Could Eye Legal Payback Against Investigators Who Cost Her Karen Read, is surrounded by reporters as she and her legal team leave the Dedham, Mass. courthouse, after the judge issued instructions to the jury in Read's trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Friday, June 13, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. Jurors found Read not guilty of all homicide-related charges in the death of her former boyfriend, former Boston cop John O'Keefe, whom prosecutors alleged had been killed in a collision with Read's SUV. Read's defense denied the vehicle ever struck him. Read On The Fox News App Karen Read's Lawyers Identify Exact Moment Prosecution 'Lost The Case' In Murder Trial Jurors rejected most of the state's case and found her guilty of drunken driving. Read the federal complaint: Federal prosecutors said that between August 2022 and March 2024, Leslie leaked details from a grand jury proceeding to multiple people in violation of a judge's May 26, 2022, order -- spilling the names of witnesses who appeared before the panel, details of their testimony and other evidence that was under seal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recipients of the leaks were not identified in court documents. Karen Read Lands Lucrative Book Deal While Witnesses Face Continued Harassment After Acquittal While the filings do not specifically identify the case Leslie was a grand juror on, a source close to the investigation confirmed to Fox News Digital it was related to Karen Read. Read's first trial on charges of murder, drunken driving manslaughter and fleeing the scene of a deadly accident ended with a deadlocked jury last year. A second trial cleared her of the most serious charges. Karen Read, who is accused of killing her boyfriend Boston police Officer John O'Keefe, in 2022, during her murder trial at Norfolk Superior Court, Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Dedham, Mass. She is still facing a wrongful death lawsuit brought by O'Keefe's family. The lawsuit also names two bars Read and O'Keefe were drinking at in the hours before his death C.F McCarthy's and the Waterfall Bare and Grille, both in Canton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The O'Keefes filed the lawsuit in August 2024, after Read's first trial ended with a deadlocked jury. The court put it on hold until her second trial ended. Read is accused of "knowingly and deliberately" changing her story, concocting "a conspiracy" and publicizing a " false narrative , thereby frustrating Justice for JJ." JJ was O'Keefe's nickname, and the family alleges Read's narrative caused them "aggravated emotional distress." Read's civil lawyers asked a judge to dismiss the case last week. Original article source: Grand juror charged with leaking confidential information in Karen Read case GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) A museum in Grand Rapids is getting a massive upgrade. The Grand Rapids African American Museum & Archives, known as GRAAMA, announced Wednesday that it will be moving locations. Its a multimillion-dollar acquisition that will relocate its building from Monroe Avenue to a building off Sheldon Avenue. That property used to be Compass College of Film and Media. This is such a monumental day, its so exciting, Deborah Pryor-Bayard, director of learning & engagement at GRAAMA, told News 8. When we found this space, we fell in love with it. We happened upon this space and so this is icing on the cake for us, but that journey has been one of finding a space that would be able to hold the exhibits and the artifacts that we have as well as be a resource for the community, where the community can come. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grand Rapids African American Museum says it has found a new home It is more than just a new building its an upgrade in space and opportunity, leaders said. The current building sits at around 2,000 square feet. The new building is 15 times that, sitting at over 30,000. The address previously housed a now-defunct film and media school, the ArtPrize Hub and part of the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (also now closed). Compass, the film school, said in a statement that the building includes a 160-seat theater, classrooms and event areas. That space upgrade offers GRAAMA an avenue to become a hub to the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All the things we have in storage can come out, everything in the back room can come out. More importantly, there are traveling exhibits that want to come through Grand Rapids that did not have a hub to sit in for African American culture that now have a place to be and that is the beauty of it, we will always have space now, GRAAMA Vice President Victor Holt said. The name of the museum is intentional. The museums team said that is the goal when coming into their space to feel like you are at your grandmas house, who holds the history of the family. Watch: Honoring Black History 2025 Gramma is the one in the family who holds the history, who has the stories, who has really good stories, Pryor-Bayard said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You are not sure how much greatness is curated in this community until someone sits down and tells you about it and that is what we are excited to be able to do, Holt said. Holt said that the team hopes to be moved into the building and open to the public by the end of the 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 WOODTV.com. We recently published Jim Cramer Analyzed These 9 Stocks As He Said Tariffs Are Better Than CIA Coups. Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is one of the stocks Jim Cramer recently discussed. Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) is an iconic American apparel company, which is one of the most well-known brands in the world. Its shares have gained 26% year-to-date and are up by 57% since early April. One reason why Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)s shares have performed well in 2025 is due to the firms ability to manage the high costs resulting from President Trumps tariffs. For instance, the firms fourth-quarter earnings report released in May saw its $1.70 billion in revenue, and $2.27 in profit per share beat estimates of $1.65 billion and $2. Cramer also commented on Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL)s ability to hold its ground against the tariffs: And Ralph Lauren is doing well. Weve got companies that I think can withstand the tariff. Previously, the CNBC host discussed Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE:RL) in detail: This is a stock I recommended a little over a month ago on March 13th when it was trading at just $216 and change. Now its back up to $274. Im betting it continues to climb. Yesterday morning, Ralph Lauren reported what I thought was an excellent quarter, but the market couldnt figure out what to make of the numbers, and the stock turned into a roller coaster, ultimately finishing the session up three and a half bucks. The way I see it, the stock should have been up a lot more, but it was down a lot at one point Ralph Lauren Corporation (RL) Is Doing Well, Says Jim Cramer A man and woman in business attire walking down a street, bags of clothing in hand. When you put it all together, Ralph Laurens not only holding its ground against the backdrop of an uncertain economy, its positioning itself for long-term success. So heres the bottom line: Its clear that demand for RLs timeless apparel is more than intact. And when you factor in their strong international business sourcing flexibility and momentum in high-potential categories, project momentum, Ralph Laurens looking really good after that quarter. The sellers were wrong yesterday, and the buyers who sent the stock back up were dead right. More important, this thing, its got a lot more to run. While we acknowledge the potential of RL 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 extremely cheap AI stock that is also a major beneficiary of Trump tariffs and onshoring, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. Officials in Maine are warning swimmers and beachgoers to exercise caution after multiple sightings of great white sharks in the same area where the state's only fatal shark attack took place. There were two documented sightings off Bailey Island, a picturesque spot in Maine's Casco Bay, according to a social media post by Harpswell Marine Resources & Harbor Management. Shark notification flags are now on display at Cedar Beach, on the northeast side of the island. The beach is still open for swimming, the agency said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This notification system is in place for people to make informed decisions only," the agency said. Beachgoers who see sharks are asked to take pictures of the fish and contact the Cumberland County Regional Communication Center, the marine resources agency said. Maine's first and only deadly shark attack occurred off the coast of Bailey Island in 2020. Julie Dimperio Holowach, a 63-year-old New York City woman, was swimming with her daughter about 30 to 40 feet off the island's shore when she was bitten. Her daughter was not injured. Two kayakers helped Holowach get to shore, where an ambulance provided care, but she was pronounced dead at the scene. Maine officials said the shark that attacked Holowach was a great white shark. Officials described the incident as an unprovoked attack, but said that Holowach was wearing a wetsuit and may have been mistaken for a seal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There have only been two documented unprovoked shark attacks in Maine, including the one that killed Holowach, according to researchers from the International Shark Attack File, a database run by the Florida Museum of Natural History and the University of Florida. Unprovoked shark attacks are generally rare. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska People who are in Greece illegally and do not want to leave voluntarily will face a minimum of three years in prison in future. The country's conservative government wants to crack down on irregular migration with a draft law published on Thursday. A statement from the Ministry of Migration described the draft law as an important step towards restoring the balance between protecting human rights and preserving the rule of law, social cohesion and national security. The draft is to be presented to parliament in Athens soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Until now, people without the right to remain in Greece have not faced imprisonment. Instead, they are taken to a camp to be deported at a later date. They are allowed to leave the camp. Under the draft law, the suspension or conversion of the prison sentence is generally excluded unless those affected agree to leave the country voluntarily. In this case, the sentence can be lifted. "In future, those affected will only have two options: detention or return," the ministry said. Greece temporarily stopped accepting asylum applications from migrants arriving by sea from North Africa on July 11. The measure was implemented after thousands of people arrived on the island of Crete, and is primarily intended as a deterrent. The asylum ban will initially apply for three months. ATHENS (Reuters) -Greek police have arrested five people over the killing of a University of California at Berkeley professor who was shot dead in an Athens suburb earlier in July, police said. The professor's ex-wife, who has denied any wrongdoing, her Greek partner, and three other people - one Bulgarian and two Albanian nationals - were arrested on Wednesday evening over the incident, a police official said on Thursday. The woman's partner has confessed to shooting the academic, a 43-year-old Polish national, according to the official. The rest of the detainees are accused of assisting him. The weapon used in the killing has not been found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspects were expected to respond to the charges, which have yet to be disclosed, this week. Greek authorities have not released the names of the individuals alleged to be involved in the incident. The professor was shot in the chest and the back on July 4, in the northeastern suburb of Agia Paraskevi, according to a confidential police document seen by Reuters. Police later found six bullet shells and a shotgun cartridge at the crime scene, the document said. Some of the suspects escaped in a luxury car, according to video footage collected by the police as part of the investigation. They were later detained by police acting on arrest warrants. (Reporting by Yannis Souliotis and Renee Maltezou; Writing by Angeliki Koutantou, Editing by William Maclean) GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the Greenville Fire Rescue Junior Fire Marshal Academy continued its annual interactive summer camp for kids ranging from second- to fifth-graders. The children learn a lot about how firefighters keep themselves and others safe. The camp can be especially important during the summer when children are out of school and topics like flooding or hot cars are critical to know about. One of the informational lessons was about the gear firefighters wear to withstand scorching temperatures inside a burning building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It helps keep them safe from the fires and they have this big air bottle on the back of them, so they dont have to breathe in the nasty air, Junior Cadet Jackson Kennedy said. Im going to be a firefighter one day, here in Greenville. Storm Team 9 Meteorologist David Sawyer came to the camp for his 11th-straight year teaching at the event. Sawyer introduced the children to topics like humidity, dew point, and how wind can cool you down more when you have sweat or water on your skin versus just being out in the sun. Weather is a critical, important thing for our first responders who take care of us. So, we talk about heat safety, Sawyer said. We have been out here in the heat and humidity all day today just to talk about how dangerous the heat and humidity can be. Were also going to talk about lightning safety, were going to talk about flooding, you know, with things that are going on currently with all the flooding thats going on. Keeping safe is the number one goal of Greenville Fire Rescue and it is a privilege to be a part of the Junior Fire Marshal Academy. One of the interactive demonstrations was comparing a glass of ice water with inside temperatures and outside temperatures to find out how the change in humidity and dew point can impact the condensation on the glass. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im passionate about teaching. I love to especially see the students when that proverbial lightbulb comes on and they get the concept, Sawyer said. I do agree that hands on is the best way to allow students to be interactive to understand whats going on and to hopefully let it stick. For more information on the camp this week click on the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. WILLIAMSBURG, VA (WNCT) Law enforcement officers with the York-Poquoson Sheriffs Office in Virginia arrested a Greenville man on July 15, for possible child abduction. Deputies went to the Great Wolf Lodge on Rochambeau Drive after reports came in about an attempted abduction and assault of a 7 year old. The family of the child and staff with the Great Wolf Lodge were spoken to by investigators. They reported that a man had attempted to lure the child away from near the pool, once the child tried to walk away the man prevented her from leaving. The man left the area shortly after the incident. Deputies obtained video of the suspect, leading to the arrest of 46 year old Travis Andrew Bright from Greenville, NC. Bright was taken to the Virginia Peninsula Regional Jail where he has been charged with felony abduction and assault/battery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. The July 4, 2025, floods in Kerr County, Texas, swept away children and entire families, leaving horror in their wake. Days later, flash floods struck Ruidoso, New Mexico, killing three people, including two young children. These are not just devastating losses. When death is sudden, violent, or when a body is never recovered, grief gets tangled up with trauma. In these situations, people dont only grieve the death. They struggle with the terror of how it happened, the unanswered questions and the shock etched into their bodies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im a social work professor, grief researcher and the founder of The Young Widowhood Project, a research initiative aimed at expanding scholarship and public understanding of premature spousal loss. I was widowed when I was 36. In July 2020, my husband, Brent, went missing after testing a small, flat-bottomed fishing boat called a Jon boat. His body was recovered two days later, but I never saw his remains. Both my personal loss and professional work have shown me how trauma changes the grieving process and what kind of support actually helps. To understand how trauma can complicate grief, its important to first understand how people typically respond to loss. Grief isnt a set of stages Many people still think of grief through the lens of psychiatrist Dr. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross five stages of grief, popularized in the early 1970s: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in fact, this model was originally designed for people facing their own deaths, not for mourners. In the absence of accessible grief research in the 1960s, it became a leading framework for understanding the grieving process even though it wasnt meant for that. Despite this misapplication, the stages model has shaped cultural expectations: namely, that grief ends once people reach the acceptance stage. But research doesnt support this idea. Trying to force grief into this model can cause real harm, leaving mourners feeling theyre grieving wrong. In reality, mourning is often lifelong. Most people go through an acute period of overwhelming pain right after the loss. This is usually followed by integrated grief, where the pain softens but the loss is still part of everyday life, returning in waves. Although grief is unique to each person and relationship, researchers have found that mourners often strive to a) make sense of the death; b) adjust to a world without their loved one; c) form an ongoing connection with their deceased loved one in new ways; and d) figure out who they are without their loved one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its difficult and at times disorienting work, but most people find ways to carry their grief and keep living. Julia Mora embraces her granddaughter, Isla Meyer, during a vigil for Texas flood victims on July 11, 2025. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert When grief and trauma collide However, some losses carry an extra layer of pain, confusion and trauma. Sudden, unexpected, accidental, violent or deeply tragic deaths like those experienced during the recent floods can lead to what researchers call traumatic bereavement: grief that is disrupted by the traumatic nature of the death. People experiencing traumatic bereavement often endure a longer and more intense acute grief period. They may be haunted by disturbing images, nightmares or relentless thoughts about how their loved one died or suffered. Many wrestle with dread, spiritual disorientation and a shattered sense of safety in the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of these deaths are also considered ambiguous unclear or unconfirmed loss such as when a body is never recovered or is too damaged to view. Without physical confirmation, mourners often feel stuck in disbelief and helplessness. This was true in my case. Not seeing my husbands body left a part of me suspended between knowing and not knowing. I knew he had died but couldnt fully believe it, no matter how much I lived with the reality of his absence. For a long time, I caught myself repeating these words every morning: Brent is dead. Brent is dead. In many cases, these reactions arent short term. Many people affected by traumatic loss remain overwhelmed and sometimes physically and emotionally impaired for years. Symptoms may taper over time, but they rarely disappear entirely. Supporting mourners Traumatic bereavement can feel unbearable. Many mourners struggle with intense, long-lasting reactions that can leave them feeling helpless, altered or even unrecognizable to themselves. They may appear withdrawn, forgetful or emotionally drained because their systems are overwhelmed. Coping can look messy or self-destructive, but these are often survival strategies, not conscious choices. Ive also seen how those same struggles become more survivable when mourners dont have to carry them alone. If youre supporting someone through traumatic loss, here are three ways to help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Make space for the horror. Listen without flinching. Acknowledge the full weight of what happened and how terrifying and unjust the loss was. This means saying things like, This should never have happened, or What you went through is beyond words. It means staying present when the mourner speaks about what haunts them. Let them know they dont have to carry this alone. You may feel the urge to say something hopeful such as, At least the body was recovered, but there is no silver lining in these cases. Instead, say: Theres nothing I can say to fix this, but Im not going anywhere. Help them find others who can understand. Trauma can be isolating. Mourners often feel uniquely overwhelmed or confused. Support groups, peer companions and therapists trained in treating grief and trauma can offer the kind of recognition and validation that even the most devoted friend may not be able to provide. Take care of yourself, too. Being present for someone in deep grief takes energy, especially if you were personally affected by the loss. Stay connected to replenishing people, practices and routines. If you dont, you may begin to experience trauma, too. Taking care of yourself will help you remain grounded so that you can show up. I believe supporting someone through traumatic bereavement is one of the most meaningful things you can do. You dont need perfect words or a plan. What sustains them wont be advice or solutions, but your simple, powerful act of staying. 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: Liza Barros-Lane, University of Houston-Downtown Read more: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Liza Barros-Lane 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. MINOT, N.D. (AP) The Richardson's ground squirrel weighs less than a pound, is about a foot long and is native to the northern Plains. The little creature also is a ferocious tunneler, and its exasperating the people of Minot, North Dakota, where it's burrowing everywhere from vacant lots to the middle of town, and growing more plentiful over the past two decades. Now North Dakotas fourth-largest city is fighting back, but even the pest control guy leading the charge acknowledges that it will be difficult to turn the tide against the rodent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An uphill battle Joshua Herman said fighting the squirrels is akin to one guy standing against a massive storm. If Im trapping but my neighbor isnt, well then, were really not going to get anywhere with it, long-term, Herman said. Ground squirrels have been an issue in Minot, a city of nearly 50,000 people, for at least 20 years, but the problem has dramatically worsened in the last few years, said Minot Street Department Superintendent Kevin Braaten. It's unclear how many of the squirrels live in Minot but it likely nears or even exceeds the city's population. Gosh, there's got to be tens of thousands of them in the area, Herman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials in the city, a green spot along the winding Souris River surrounded by farmland and grassy prairie, know they can't get rid of the squirrels, but hope to simply get the rodent numbers down. I dont see the population ever going to zero, Braaten said. I mean, its almost impossible by the numbers that we have. Put another way, Minot won't be able to rid itself of the squirrels because the animals have lived on the prairie for centuries. Outside of town, predators like coyotes, badgers, owls and even snakes love to dine on the squirrels. But in residential neighborhoods and even downtown, where few of their predators live, the rodents can roam pretty freely. Greg Gullickson, an outreach biologist with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, adds that the squirrels now have fewer grassland areas available to them and like the mowed spots they find in town. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No land is safe Female squirrels typically give birth to litters of about six babies a year, so it's easy to see how their numbers can quickly soar. Herman said he kills 3,500 to 5,000 of them a year, primarily by putting snares and carbon monoxide into the holes, and using an air rifle. Ive had calls downtown, calls in the mall, along the highways, here at the airport really every part of the city Ive done trapping for ground squirrels here in Minot, Herman said as he checked his traps along an apartment building and shoveled dirt over holes. Herman says they damage driveways, sidewalks and lawns; create tripping hazards with their holes and can harbor disease from fleas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Along an apartment building, the squirrels had dug under a concrete slab and against the foundation. Nearby in a vacant lot, the rodents popped in and out of holes. Ground squirrels near Pashone Grandson's ground-level apartment dig holes near her door and eat her plants. One squirrel even got around her baby gate at the door and into her daughter's clothes in her bedroom. It was a little scary. You don't know what disease they carry. They're dirty. I have a young daughter ... I didn't know if it was going to bite her, Grandson said. North of town, Minot Air Force Base, which houses bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles, has fought the ground squirrels for years. Earlier this month, the base said it had trapped more than 800 dak-rats, a base name for the rodents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Base officials declined to comment on the squirrels. Jared Edwards, facilities director for Minot Public Schools, which has three schools on the base, said residential areas of the base and runways are overrun by ground squirrels. He called it a continuous battle for them for the last 75 years since the base has been there." I'm not going to exaggerate: They're by the millions out there, Edwards said. In town, three school properties have large populations of ground squirrels, he said. Last year, the school system began using snares, and for years before that had used poison. It's something you have to keep up with. It is Mother Nature," Edwards said, adding that they've probably been in the area since homesteaders came through. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A cute nuisance Still, not everyone sees the squirrels as a pest. Some find the critters cute and fuzzy. Herman said people have sabotaged, stolen or thrown out his traps. They occasionally confront him when he shoots at ground squirrels with an air rifle, scolding him for hurting the wildlife, he said. They get that cute association, and they are, you know, adorable, but they're a vermin and a pest and dangerous when they are allowed to proliferate, Herman said. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Are you an undiscovered Sherlock Holmes? Or maybe a Columbo? As Ohio celebrates its contributions to Americas semi-quincentennial, the call is going out for citizen investigators. America will mark its 250th birthday next July 4. NBC4 is teaming up with Ohio 250 to bring stories of the states contributions to our nations rich history. Ohio has a surprising connection to the Revolutionary War, and help is needed. This is a dream assignment for a history buff or for people who fancy themselves as a good detective. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio was not a state at the nations birth in 1776, so it might be a surprise that there are more Revolutionary War veterans buried in Ohio than in any other state. Where are they buried? Well, thats where you come in. They stand as silent sentinels to the first men and women to serve America even before it became America. Gravestones that mark Revolutionary War era patriots are believed to be scattered throughout Ohio. Surprisingly, its over 7,000, said Quanta Brown, operations director for the Ohio 250 Commission. We know a lot of people wouldnt have been born here in Ohio prior to the revolution, but a lot of those Revolutionary War veterans and their families moved here after the war. So, of course, their final resting place is here, and wed really like to know where they are. One Dublin cemetery is the final resting place of John Davis a war veteran who was with Washington when he crossed the Delaware and his wife Ann a teenage spy who carried messages for Washington himself behind enemy lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She and so many other people like her who were supporting the war, even though they werent necessarily fighting, were still key to making sure that this country became who we are today, Brown said. Like thousands of other families in the late 1700s, Ann and John Davis were given land in what was then the Northwest Territory as a reward for their service in the war. Our goal is to be able to document all of those Revolutionary War patriots and put them into a digital map in a searchable database, Brown said. But of course, our commission cant do it on its own. Here is what the commission wants you do to: search through cemeteries whether they are massive like Green Lawn, or tucked away in a family farm plot. If you find the grave of a Revolutionary War-era American, like Nathan Goodale, go online, and become part of the citizen research project. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You might find veterans like William Walcutt. There are five Revolutionary War veterans buried at Green Lawn. Its believed there are as many as 12 more. Around Ohio, you might fight foot soldiers, or simple patriots who supported Americas first fight for freedom. You can help protect their memories and their final resting place. Ohio does not have the strongest laws to protect cemeteries, and especially the family cemeteries or the Native American cemeteries, said Randy Rogers, executive director of the Green Lawn Cemetery Association. Getting the word out there that they exist and identifying where they are and who is buried there is really important, because that is the first line of protection for these properties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you find or are already aware of a Revolutionary War-era grave, go online and upload that information to the database that is part of this project. You can also go online and see the graves that have already been identified. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Guernsey could benefit from a youth mobility scheme under a new UK government deal with the EU. UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said as part of a "reset" with the EU post-Brexit there could be a "reciprocal" arrangement in which young people would be able to move abroad for up to two years. In her first speech to the States, President of Policy and Resources Lindsay de Sausmarez said Guernsey officials had been speaking with UK counterparts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the new UK-EU relationship de Sausmarez said: "This could give young people more opportunities to experience living and working in Europe for a time." Prior to Brexit, young people in the Bailiwick of Guernsey had the right to travel and study freely, without a visa, in the rest of Europe and vice versa under an arrangement called Protocol 3. A new deal could see a return to a similar state of affairs. 'More goods from France' De Sausmarez told deputies any new arrangement would not mean any change to fishing rights, as those are settled. However she said there could be changes to border controls for goods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It could provide a good opportunity to diversify our imports and bring in more goods from France," she said. "In doing so it could increase our food security, reduce our carbon footprint, and improve affordability as well." She went on to explain where she thought the other advantages of the new UK-EU relationship may fall. "We could see benefits. Our young people could access the proposed youth mobility scheme, the Erasmus scheme could also give our young people opportunities in training and learning," she added. Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. More on this story Guernsey's States will send a delegation to the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham this September. It is the first time an official party from Guernsey's government will attend the event. Alongside Reform's event, officials and deputies from Guernsey's States will also go to the Liberal Democrats, Labour and Conservative party conferences. Policy and resources lead on external relations, Deputy Jonathan Le Tocq, said: "Many MPs don't really know what the crown dependencies are and what Guernsey is." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have for the past few years increased from one to three party conferences, now because of the changing political scenery in the UK we're adding Reform to that." Reform UK currently have four MPs in the House of Commons and are led by Nigel Farage, who visits the Channel Islands regularly. Deputy Jonathan le Tocq said it was vital the Channel Islands sent delegations to these events [BBC] Deputy Le Tocq said it was important the island engaged across the political spectrum. "Obviously the Lib Dems have big numbers in Parliament so we want to make sure our network is understood," he said. "Overall in Westminster over half of the MPs are brand new, like here in Guernsey, Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's really important to have that engagement, so when questions occur we don't have people getting the wrong idea and our constitutional relationship is maintained." Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. More on this story Related internet links The News in Brief Thursday, July 17, 2025 A new investigation by the iFact collective, in collaboration with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), has uncovered how a Russian couple acquired land in the western Georgian village of Shukhuti under the guise of an investment project, while maintaining contact with a Kremlin-linked foundation.According to leaked emails reviewed by journalists, Maria and Yulia Arkhipova presented themselves as investors planning to revive a defunct fruit-canning plant in Guria. Once they secured the land, they sidelined local landowners and began promoting the area as a future site for a cosmodrome. Investigators say no such project ever materialized.Instead, iFact found that Maria Arkhipova regularly sent reports from Georgia to Pravfond, a foundation established by Russia's Foreign Ministry and sanctioned by both the U.S. and EU. The emails, dated from late 2021 onward, included proposals to strengthen Russia's influence in Georgia, such as opening Russian-language schools, granting official status to the Russian language, and even negotiating military base openings in exchange for Russia's recognition of Georgian territory.In one email, Arkhipova wrote: "Otherwise, we will have to return Georgia in the same way as we are now returning Ukraine."The couple also offered to help Pravfond circumvent sanctions. "I can deliver via so-called third countries or directly myself," Arkhipova wrote in April 2022, offering to supply electronics and spare parts to Russia. OCCRP noted there is no evidence this offer was acted upon.Maria Arkhipova, a trans woman formerly known as Evgeny Arkhipov, had previously worked with Pravfond and attempted to run for Russian president in 2018. Leaked emails show her wife received Euro72,000 from Pravfond between 2014 and 2015, ostensibly for humanitarian work in Ukraine.In Georgia, Arkhipova reportedly continued influence efforts through legal and consulting work. She told Pravfond she had represented Lali Moroshkina, a pro-Russian Georgian figure, who confirmed the interaction and said she had reported the couple to Georgia's State Security Service.The Arkhipovas have since left Georgia. One of them is currently in France, reportedly for medical treatment.UK Minister of State for Europe, North America and the UK Overseas Territories, Stephen Doughty, has said that the United Kingdom is "keeping the worsening situation in Georgia under close review," following concerns about political repression and the treatment of civil society groups in the country.In a written response to Labour MP Blair McDougall, who asked about the UK's stance on the prosecution of opposition leaders in Georgia, Doughty said the government is "seriously concerned" by recent developments. He described the imprisonment of opposition figures as "clearly politically motivated and aimed at blocking political opposition from future elections."Doughty outlined several recent actions taken by the UK government. He said that on May 15, he raised concerns about "recent repressive legislation on civil society and the media; restrictions on freedom of assembly and arbitrary arrests; and growing anti-Western rhetoric from high-level representatives of Georgian Dream."He added that on June 18, he discussed these issues with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili and voiced support for "her work supporting democracy in Georgia." On June 23, he called on Georgian Dream to "end its misuse of the courts to silence dissent, and free all political prisoners."The minister also referred to a June 26 meeting between British Ambassador Gareth Ward and Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili, during which the ambassador raised concerns about pressure on NGOs, the media, and civil society. The Georgian Foreign Ministry later said that UK sanctions "cast a shadow over the strategic partnership and friendship" between the two countries.On June 30, the UK summoned Georgia's charge d'affaires to express its "firm opposition to Georgia's increasingly harmful trajectory." Doughty said he also chaired an emergency meeting with European partners on July 1 to discuss coordinated responses."The UK's support for Georgia's Euro-Atlantic aspirations remains steadfast, and we stand ready to assist in a return to European values and democratic norms," Doughty said. Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) is one of the Best 52-Week Low Stocks to Buy According to Analysts. On June 30, RBC Capital analyst Ben Hendrix lowered the firms price target on Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) from $674 to $640, while keeping an Overweight rating on the stock. Hendrix expressed disappointment due to Medicare cap limitations affecting the companys 2025 outlook. These limits are expected to weigh on revenue, especially for its hospice care segment, VITAS, in Florida. However, he is encouraged by VITAS receiving a new Certificate of Need (CON) in Pinellas County. This will help VITAS stay strong in a competitive market and manage Medicare cap pressures effectively going forward. RBC Capital Lowered Firm's PT on Chemed Corporation (CHE), Kept a Buy Rating A close-up of an experienced nurse administering hospice and palliative care. Hendrix also noted headwinds for Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE)s Roto-Rooter segment. He highlights that an unexpected drop in residential volume hurt performance; however, the commercial business improved. Chemed Corporation (NYSE:CHE) operates two main businesses. Its VITAS segment provides hospice and palliative care services. Whereas, the Roto-Rooter segment delivers plumbing, drain cleaning, water restoration, and related services. While we acknowledge the potential of CHE as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If youre looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term 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. (WGHP) The Trump administration announced a decision to freeze federal Title funds earlier this month with a three-sentence email to state education officials. That message sent waves of fear through school districts of all sizes, including in the Piedmont Triad. Heres a look at the impact on some local districts: Guilford County Schools: $6,223,733 Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools: $5,546,714 Alamance Burlington School System: $1,668,392 Randolph County Schools: $1,126,548 Davidson County Schools: $1,070,749 Stokes County Schools: $298,943 Caswell County Schools: $206,200 Lexington City Schools: $356,642 Thomasville City Schools: $305,074 Davie County Schools: $305,868 Asheboro City Schools: $430,763 Rockingham County Schools: $993,350 Surry County Schools: $676,292 Stokes County Schools: $298,943 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOX8 spoke to superintendents at two districts to discuss how the funding freeze impacts students locally. This is going to impact teachers. Its going to impact children. Its going to hurt each and every child in some way, shape or form, said Gregg Slate, superintendent at Davidson County Schools. North Carolina among states suing over funding pause to after school programs Whitney Oakley, superintendent of Guilford County Schools, said, These are real cuts to real programs that will negatively impact our students and our students and our teachers. Both DCS and GCS are bracing for potential cuts to federal Title funds, which were frozen as opposed to being administered on July 1 as normal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slate says he was shocked when he was notified that the funds the district counted on were frozen. That money is allocated by Congress, so were expecting that money to hit July 1 and for us to be able to use that money accordingly, and it blindsided us, said Slate. Slate, with 25 years in education leadership, never imagined federal Title funds could be withheld like this. I immediately start thinking, What is this going to impact? Who is this going to impact? Slate said. The funds in jeopardy are Title I-C, II-A, III-A, IV-A and IV-B. Statewide, the frozen funds amount to $169 million. Each Title fund represents a different pot of money with a different purpose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oakley says core classroom components would be impacted. Things like math instruction and support for students, literacy. We fund some programs for the arts, JROTC, physical education. All of those areas are impacted by this federal freeze, she said. Slate listed more programs at risk of cuts in Davidson County under Title IV. Were looking at STEM programs. We are looking at arts, chorus, band, he said. The cuts extend from the classroom to the corridors. Part of the subscription for our scanners for our middle and high schools were paid for with that Title IV pot of money, said Oakley. They would extend to the front of the classroom as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we look at Title II, thats a little over $670,000. Thats going to impact professional development for teachers. Thats going to impact mentors for beginning teachers, said Slate. And Title III, its going to impact students who dont speak English as their primary language, he said. The threat of losing this much federal money means the state stands to lose 1,000 educators, according to Gov. Josh Stein. Were talking salaries of folks. Were talking, Where do we cut? said Slate. Both districts now face tough conversations if the freeze is not resolved, just weeks away from the first day of school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If this isnt settled by October, we are going to be staring down a fiscal crisis, said Slate. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A tropical disturbance near the northern Gulf Coast only has a small window for development, but poses a threat of flooding rainfall, particularly in Louisiana, regardless. Happening Now The tropical disturbance, called "Invest 93L" by the National Hurricane Center, is centered near the northern Gulf Coast, moving westward. The chances of it becoming a tropical depression prior to moving over land and up the lower Mississippi Valley are now quite low. Areas of locally heavy rain have already pushed westward into parts of Louisiana, as the radar image below shows. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A flood advisory was issued early Thursday morning for parts of southeast Louisiana, including Baton Rouge. From 2 to 8 inches of rain had already fallen in a few areas near and north of Houma and Morgan City, Louisiana, according to the National Weather Service. (MORE: What Is An 'Invest'?) Flooding Rain Threat The main threat for flooding rain near the Gulf Coast will be through Friday, though some isolated locally heavy rain may last into Saturday in parts of the lower Mississippi Valley. The heaviest rain totals are expected along and south of the Interstate 10 corridor from extreme eastern Texas into southern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, southern Alabama and the western Florida Panhandle. Some of those area could pick up over 6 inches of rain through Saturday, with locally heavier amounts where bands of rain repeatedly track over the same area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Weather Service has issued flood watches for all of southern Louisiana and parts of southern Mississippi. (MORE: What To Do In A Flood) Rainfall Forecast Jonathan Erdman is a senior meteorologist at weather.com and has been covering national and international weather since 1996. Extreme and bizarre weather are his favorite topics. Reach out to him on Bluesky, X (formerly Twitter) and Facebook. TOPEKA (KSNT) One of the largest gun and knife show promoters in the nation will be setting up in Topeka this weekend. RK Shows, a company with more than 29 years of experience hosting gun shows, is calling for all gun collectors and hunting enthusiasts. The company will be holding a gun show on Saturday and Sunday at the Stormont Vail Events Center. Whether youre looking for new firearms, essential ammunition, or unique accessories, youll find it all under one roof, the Stormont Vail Events Center wrote on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement RK Shows said there will be a variety of vendors displaying guns, hunting supplies, military surplus and outdoor gear. New bargain store opening soon in Topeka, what to know The gun show will be held from: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 19. 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 20. Attendees will need to buy tickets at the door. Tickets cost $12 for adults and $4 for children ages 6-12. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. Child Advocate Cassandra Sanchez (second from left) and Associate Director Lissa Mascio (left) testify before House lawmakers on Feb. 6, 2024. (File photo by Annmarie Timmins/New Hampshire Bulletin) Cassandra Sanchez, New Hampshires child advocate, saw her team shrink nearly by half this month. When New Hampshires state budget went into effect July 1, so too did a major cut to the Office of the Child Advocate. Established in 2018, the agency serves as a youth-focused watchdog for the state, overseeing its child welfare, juvenile justice, and youth care systems, and advocating for childrens interests. Over the past few months, the office was the target of state lawmakers looking for cost savings amid a difficult fiscal year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This month of July started with a lot of angst and unknown, Sanchez said. The office was first placed on the chopping block in March as Republican lawmakers were working to trim hundreds of millions of dollars from the budget. State Rep. Dan McGuire, an Epsom Republican and chair of one of the three legislative subcommittees working through the state budget, said at the time that it, and a few other small state offices, are sort of nice-to-haves, but theyre not necessary, and so we need the money. The House subsequently passed a budget that eliminated the office entirely. When the budget went to the Senate, Gov. Kelly Ayotte urged senators to restore the office. Senate President Sharon Carson, a Londonderry Republican, spearheaded an effort to save the office but downsize it. Carson told the Bulletin in May she understood the importance of the work the office does, but was trying to find a middle ground that the House will accept. Carsons proposal was the version that ultimately made it into the final budget and was enacted this month. Thursday, the office laid off two employees, Sanchez said, adding that the state is trying to find jobs for them in other parts of the government. Two other employees quit in recent months because they knew their positions were set to be eliminated. They will not be replaced, and so the office of nine is now an office of five. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So the last two weeks have been focusing heavily on, one, supporting the two employees that were going to be laid off, Sanchez said. And then, two, really focusing on prioritizing the work that were going to do in the office and starting to wrap our heads around the idea of letting certain things go because we dont have the staff to achieve them. Top among Sanchezs concerns with the smaller staff is that her office will be unable to review restraints and seclusions that occur at residential care facilities for children. State law allows staff at residential facilities to physically restrain children, particularly those with behavioral issues, or seclude them from their peers in an isolated room if they become a danger to themselves or others. Restraints and seclusions are supposed to be a last resort and temporary while the child calms down and regulates their emotions. One of the people laid off was responsible for reviewing incident reports filed by staff to ensure restraints and seclusions are handled properly and consistent with the law, she said. The research, what it tells us about restraints and seclusion is that it is not beneficial for children and is extremely traumatizing, Sanchez said. So as a state, we have been focusing for many years now on reducing the use of restraint and seclusion on children. Its not only traumatizing for the children, its also traumatizing for the staff that are doing it, as well as other children who may be observing that restraint or seclusion. So we are reading every single one of those reports to ensure that the facilities are using them only when absolutely necessary, that they have tried other techniques to deescalate the situation and help regulate that childs emotions in the moment, and we are ensuring that they are used very sparingly in very desperate need for short periods of time. For example, she said her team has worked to ensure that a particularly dangerous kind of restraint known as prone restraint prone restraint has been associated with death and is illegal in New Hampshire is never used. Sanchez said the office will no longer have the bandwidth to review the reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanchez said the office is also adjusting its goal response time. She said they previously strived to respond to reports to their office within 48 hours and have often been able to do so within 24. She doesnt think that will be feasible anymore. She now plans on telling people they can expect a response to reports in three to five business days. If a childs in a mental health crisis, three to five days is a really long period of time, she said. That can escalate to that child having to be in the highest end of our care, which is hospitalization. Sanchez said the office does tell people they are not an emergency service like police or EMS, and thus do not have an emergency-level response time. However, the weight of the calls they receive from families in imminent crisis often necessitates quick response, she said. So for us, that is a hard one to have to cope with, she said. Putting that message out there that that is going to be our new time frame. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanchez anticipates the team will discover more areas where they have to pull back. She said the summertime, when children are home from school out of view of mandatory reporters, is typically less busy for the office and similar agencies like the Division for Children, Youth, and Families, but when children go back to school in the fall, she expects their caseload will increase. Outside of cost concerns, some lawmakers who pushed to cut the Office of the Child Advocate were unhappy with the offices advocacy work. The budget bill included a provision prohibiting the office from partisan advocacy. Sanchez had been vocal in support of trans youth and in April 2024, she participated in a press conference speaking out against bills targeting LGBTQ children. State Sen. Victoria Sullivan told New Hampshire Public Radio that advocacy is distracting from the actual good work thats happening with the children. Other lawmakers expressed a similar sentiment. Sanchez said she wont be able to do any advocacy even if she wanted to. One of the positions cut was the offices legislative liaison, who was responsible for a lot of that advocacy work, she said. Managerial and human resources tasks will also now fall to Sanchez because those duties had previously been handled by a position just eliminated, leaving her with less time for advocacy. Im not going to have time to be following bills closely and to be advocating in the Legislature, she said. And that may have been their intent, and if it was, they achieved what they were getting at, because I dont foresee how thats going to be possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the downsizing, Sanchez also worries the state could experience a tragedy because her office is unable to respond properly. Outside of the resulting trauma for a family, any such incident could cost the state more money than it saved in cutting the office. Indeed, the state saved roughly $500,000 over two years by shrinking the Office of the Child Advocate. Eliminating it outright wouldve saved about $2 million. The settlement for one abuse lawsuit can often cost the state millions. For example, a massive child abuse scandal at the Youth Development Center, a juvenile justice facility in Manchester, has so far cost the state over $150 million in settlements. The Office of the Child Advocate is aimed at preventing or intervening in these situations before its too late. My biggest concern for my office staff is burnout, because they are so invested in this work, she said. Theyre so passionate about this work. Letting things go is very hard. And so I can see some folks in the office having a really hard time taking that step away from certain things. The whole ordeal has left Sanchez frustrated. Theres a lot of messages out there of, Oh, the office was saved, thats great, and we can continue on, and it didnt have an impact, she said. And its frustrating that there is a narrative that it didnt have an impact, because it absolutely did have an impact. It had an impact on the people that we have available to do the work, which is going to have an impact on the work that were able to do and the effectiveness of the office. New Hampshire Republican Gov. Kelly Ayotte has gone against her party and vetoed two anti-LGBTQ+ bills and three other far-right ones. Ayotte vetoed the bills Tuesday, while signing 101 others into law. House Bill 324 would have barred schools from distributing books and other materials deemed harmful to minors. It was aimed primarily at sexual content and likely would have been used against books with LGBTQ+ characters and themes. It also would have required school districts to strengthen the process through which parents could challenge these materials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Current state law appears to provide a mechanism for parents through their local school district to exercise their rights to ensure their children are not exposed to inappropriate materials, Ayotte said in her veto message. Under this law, parents must be notified at least two weeks in advance of course materials that involve human sexuality, sexual education, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, or gender expression, she noted. If a parent objects in writing, New Hampshire law further requires an alternative agreed upon between the school district and the parent. Therefore, I do not believe the State of New Hampshire needs to, nor should it, engage in the role of addressing questions of literary value and appropriateness, particularly where the system created by House Bill 324 calls for monetary penalties based on subjective standards, Ayotte added. Parents who were dissatisfied could have filed lawsuits. House Bill 148 would have let businesses and correctional facilities to classify and segregate people by sex assigned at birth rather than gender identity, affecting restroom and locker room use. State law bans discrimination based on gender identity, but under the bill, these classifications would not have been considered a violation of the law. I believe there are important and legitimate privacy and safety concerns raised by biological males using places such as female locker rooms and being placed in female correctional facilities, Ayotte wrote. At the same time, I see that House Bill 148 is overly broad and impractical to enforce, potentially creating an exclusionary environment for some of our citizens. It could have led to lawsuits as well, she said. Her immediate predecessor as governor, fellow Republican Chris Sununu, had vetoed a similar bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, Ayotte vetoed House Bill 358, which would make it easier for parents to apply for religious exemptions to child vaccine requirements in school, House Bill 446, which would require schools to get explicit parental permission before giving students non-academic surveys, and House Bill 667, which would require sex education courses to include a high quality computer generated animation or ultrasound video that shows the development of the heart, brain, and other vital organs in early fetal development, the New Hampshire Bulletin reports. She also vetoed two budget-related bills. It would take a two-thirds majority in both the state House and Senate to override Ayottes vetoes. Republicans do not have a veto-proof majority in the House. House Democratic Leader Alexis Simpson issued a statement Tuesday praising the vetoes without mentioning Ayotte. Were grateful that today New Hampshire chose to protect the rights and dignity of our transgender neighbors and House Democrats will keep fighting until every Granite Stater can live freely, openly, and safely, no matter who they are, Simpson said, according to the Bulletin. Ayotte was not always an LGBTQ+ ally, having once opposed marriage equality and adoption by same-sex couples. But "Ayottes vetoes are a rejection of her partys attempt to assert cultural control throughout the state, and the country," The New Republic notes. This article originally appeared on Advocate: This Republican governor vetoed anti-LGBTQ+ book ban and bathroom bills A 49-year-old woman and her 9-year-old son who found themselves stranded deep in the dense Stanislaus National Forest late last week left a trail of handwritten notes that helped their rescuers locate them, officials announced this week. On July 11, the pair traveled from the Sacramento area to Camp Wolfeboro for an overnight camping trip, officials with the Calavera County Sheriffs Office said in a news release. During their excursion, the 49-year-old was using a GPS unit that offered alternate routes to their destination along with more common ones. When the GPS unit lost its signal, the mother and son were already well inside a remote area of the forest and were unable to retrace their route back out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rescue efforts unfolded on July 12 after a person reported that the woman and her son had not returned or called as expected. A deputy was dispatched to initiate a missing persons investigation, and the search and rescue team was deployed to begin search efforts, officials said. The reporting party also provided a location obtained from a location-sharing app they previously used with the missing persons. A command post was established in a recreational area off Highway 4 where team members began assessing the terrain and the complex network of interconnecting, labyrinth-like roads to establish search parameters. During the early part of the rescue effort, a Forest Service Law Enforcement Ranger responded to a 911 text from a camper around Black Springs and Winton roads who said theyd seen a vehicle matching the missing persons report at around 4 p.m. the previous day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This information, along with data provided by the reporting party, confirmed that the teams were searching in the correct area, officials said. While stranded with no GPS or cellphone signal, deputies said the pair took actions to increase the likelihood of being rescued, including using the vehicles hazard lights at night. The 9-year-old also utilized an international signal for help by periodically using his whistle in three short bursts. Then there were the mothers handwritten notes. A mother and her son were lost in a remote forest area were rescued in part because of handwritten notes they left along the trail on July 12, 2025. (CCSO) A mother and her son were lost in a remote forest area were rescued in part because of handwritten notes they left along the trail on July 12, 2025. (CCSO) A mother and her son were lost in a remote forest area were rescued in part because of handwritten notes they left along the trail on July 12, 2025. (CCSO) A mother and her son were lost in a remote forest area were rescued in part because of handwritten notes they left along the trail on July 12, 2025. (CCSO) A search and rescue team spotted the first note at around 5:40 p.m. at the intersection of a forest service road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Help. Me and my son are stranded with no service and cant call 911, the note read. We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 and get help for us. California professor shot dead in Greece in apparent plot involving ex-wife Following the notes directions, rescuers spotted another note about a mile from the first, providing additional information, including the names of the missing pair and a telephone number. The mother and son were found about another mile from the second note. Because of the dense forest and canopy in the remote location, the rescue team was unable to communicate with the command post that the pair had safely been found. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They utilized an amateur radio frequency, commonly known as HAM radio, to establish communication, officials said. After broadcasting emergency traffic on the HAM radio, their call was immediately answered by a retired El Dorado County Communications Supervisor who was a HAM operator monitoring frequencies from his home. This HAM operator then contacted the El Dorado 911 center, which provided the information to Calaveras Dispatch, and the SAR command post was notified. The search and rescue crew assisted the mother and her son in driving back to the command post where their family was waiting for them. Of importance in the successful outcome was their pre-trip notification of telling someone where they were going and when to expect them back, 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 KTLA. New details about last months Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad, which killed 260 people, have emerged this week, shifting focus onto the actions of the senior pilot during the last moments before the plane crashed. According to a report published on Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal quoting sources close to United States officials early assessment of evidence, the black box audio recording of the last conversation between the two pilots indicates that the captain might have turned off the switches controlling the flow of fuel to the planes engines. Last week, a preliminary report by Indias Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) found that both engines had shut down within the space of one second, leading to immediate loss of altitude, before the plane crashed into a densely populated suburb of Ahmedabad. However, that report, which stated the fuel-control switches had moved to the cutoff position, did not assign blame for the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two groups of commercial pilots have rejected suggestions that human error may have caused the disaster. What happened to the Air India flight? At 1:38pm (08:08 GMT) on June 12, Air India Flight 171 took off from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad for London Gatwick Airport, carrying 230 passengers, 10 cabin crew and two pilots. About 40 seconds after taking off, both engines of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner lost power during the initial climb. The plane then crashed into the BJ Medical College Hostel in a populated suburb 1.85km (1.15 miles) from the runway. The aircraft broke apart on impact, causing a fire that destroyed parts of five buildings. All the passengers on the plane died except one Vishwaskumar Ramesh, a 40-year-old British national of Indian origin. Some 19 people on the ground were killed as well, and 67 were injured. (Al Jazeera) What did the AAIB report say? The AAIB is investigating the crash, the deadliest aviation incident in a decade, along with Boeing and experts from the US and United Kingdom. A preliminary report from the investigators released on Saturday found the aircraft had been deemed airworthy, had up-to-date maintenance and carried no hazardous cargo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the report noted that a 2018 US Federal Aviation Administration advisory warned of a potential flaw in the fuel-control switch system of some Boeing planes, including the Dreamliner. The report said Air India did not inspect the system and it was not mandatory for it to do so. During the crash, recovery systems activated, but only partial engine relight occurred, the report stated. Both engines shut down just after takeoff as fuel switches moved from the run to cutoff positions. The report cited a black box audio recording in which one pilot asked, Why did you cut off? and the other denied doing so. The speakers were not identified. Despite taking emergency measures, only one engine partially restarted, and moments before impact, a Mayday call was issued before communications were lost. Air traffic control received no response after the distress call but saw the aircraft crash outside the boundary of the airport. CCTV footage from the airport showed one of the flight recovery systems known as the Ram Air Turbine (RAT) deploying shortly after liftoff, followed by a rapid descent. Who were the pilots? Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, 56, served as the pilot-in-command on the flight. A soft-spoken veteran who had logged more than 15,600 flight hours, 8,500 of them on the Boeing 787, Sabharwal was known for his reserved nature, meticulous habits and mentorship of junior pilots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He trained at Indias premier aviation school, the Indira Gandhi Rashtriya Uran Akademi, and friends who spoke to The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) recalled him as deeply committed to his career as a pilot as well as caring for his ageing father, a former civil aviation official. First Officer Clive Kunder, 32, was the pilot flying the aircraft at the time of the crash while Sabharwal was the pilot monitoring. Kunder had accumulated more than 3,400 flying hours, including 1,128 hours on the Dreamliner. Flying was his childhood dream, inspired by his mothers 30-year career as an Air India flight attendant. At age 19, he trained in the US and earned a commercial pilots licence before returning to India to join Air India in 2017. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Described by family and friends in the WSJ as joyful, curious and tech-savvy, Kunder was said to be passionate about aviation and excited to be flying the 787. People stand next to a condolence banner as they wait for the body of Captain Sumeet Sabharwal [File: Hemanshi Kamani/Reuters] What has emerged this week? According to US officials who examined evidence from the crash and were quoted by the WSJ, the cockpit voice recording suggests it was Sabharwal who may have moved the fuel control switches to cutoff after takeoff, an action that cut power to both engines. The switches were turned back on within seconds, but it was too late to regain full thrust. As the flying pilot, Kunder would have been occupied with the climb-out, making it unlikely he could have manipulated the switches, according to unnamed US pilots quoted by the WSJ. Sabharwal, as the monitoring pilot, would have had a freer hand, they said. What are the fuel-control switches? Located on a key cockpit panel just behind the throttle levers between the two pilot seats, these switches manage the flow of fuel to each of the aircrafts two engines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pilots use these fuel cutoff switches to start or shut down the engines while on the ground. In flight, the pilots can manually shut down or restart an engine in the event of a failure. How do fuel-control switches work? The switches are designed for manual operation. They are spring-loaded to stay firmly in place and cannot be moved accidentally or with light pressure during flight operations. The switches have two settings: cutoff and run. The cutoff mode stops fuel from reaching the engines while run allows normal fuel flow. To change positions, a pilot must first pull the switch upwards before shifting it between run and cutoff. Could the crash have been caused by human error? Experts are cautious about this. US aviation analyst Mary Schiavo told the Financial Express in India that people should not draw premature conclusions, arguing that there is as yet no definitive evidence of pilot error. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She highlighted a similar incident during which one of the engines suddenly shut down midflight on an All Nippon Airways Boeing 787 during its final approach to Osaka, Japan, in 2019. Investigators later found that the aircrafts software had mistakenly interpreted the plane as being on the ground, triggering the thrust control malfunction accommodation system, which automatically moved the fuel switch from run to cutoff without any action from the pilots. Schiavo warned that a similar malfunction cannot yet be ruled out in the Air India crash and stressed the importance of releasing the full cockpit voice recorder (CVR) transcript to avoid misleading interpretations. There is nothing here to suggest pilot suicide or murder, she said. The voices, words and sounds on CVRs must be carefully analysed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indias Federation of Indian Pilots criticised the framing of the preliminary findings in the media this week. In a public statement, the federation noted that the report relies heavily on paraphrased CVR excerpts and lacks comprehensive data. Assigning blame before a transparent, data-driven investigation is both premature and irresponsible, the statement read before adding that it undermines the professionalism of the crew and causes undue distress to their families. Campbell Wilson, chief executive of Air India, this week urged staff not to make premature conclusions about the causes of the crash, telling them this week that the investigation was far from over. Prince Harry walked through a minefield in Angola Wednesday, in a clear evocation of his mother and her ground-breaking work in the field. The similarity of the images 28 years apart was nonetheless striking. Meghan did not join him on the trip with sources telling the Daily Beast she was looking after their children at home. Parts of Angola remain some of the most heavily mined regions of the world. 80 Angolans have been killed by mines in the last five years alone. In 1997, my mother was in Huambo. The very minefield that she walked through was a bustling community that I managed to visit. Prince Harry returns to #Angola with HALO, 28 years after his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, brought landmines to the worlds attention: pic.twitter.com/NXDJzJi4cd The HALO Trust (@TheHALOTrust) July 16, 2025 The deadly munitions are a remnant of the 1975-2022 Angolan Civil War. The Halo Trust, of which Harry is patron, has cleared over 120,000 landmines and 100,000 bombs from Angola, but some 1,000 minefields remain to be cleared across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harry visited a school and said in a statement released by Halo, Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school. Here in Angola, over three decades later, the remnants of war still threaten lives every day. Of course, this being Harry, his critics were swift to criticize images of the visit released on social media as performative PR. The criticism was arguably intensified by a decision Harry made to ban the U.K. media, thereby antagonizing them, from attending his engagements in Angola. The fallout demonstrated the difficulty that Harry now has in avoiding his and Meghans toxic feud with his familywhich they have publicized in great detail in books, films and interviewsfrom derailing even the most altruistic initiatives that they undertake. Diana, Princess of Wales is seen in this January 15 1997 file picture walking in one of the safety corridors of the land mine fields of Huambo, Angola during her visit to help a Red Cross campaign to outlaw landmines worldwide. / Juda Ngwenya / REUTERS The Daily Mail, for example, claimed that the exercise was aimed squarely at rebranding him as something other than a bitter prince, and the report also claimed that Harry decided not to bring Meghan because he didnt want to be overshadowed by her. Sources close to Harry told the Daily Beast this was categorically untrue and that it was entirely normal for the couple to do separate engagements. They added that Meghan was looking after her children at home. The Duke of Sussex has followed in the footsteps of his mother, Princess Diana, as he visited a charity clearing landmines in Angola. "Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school," said Prince Harry, about the continuing threat of mines to the civilian population. Prince Harry was in Angola supporting the work of the Halo Trust, the charity that had been backed by Princess Diana on her high-profile visit to the Central African country in 1997. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The image of the princess walking through a minefield, in a visor and body armour, had brought worldwide attention to the danger caused by mines left behind after wars had ended. There are still about a thousand minefields in Angola, left over from civil wars [PA Media] Prince Harry visited a village near to a minefield and met children who are given lessons in how to avoid detonating the explosives. The Halo Trust has cleared 120,000 landmines in Angola, left over from years of civil war. An estimated 60,000 people have been killed or injured by mines in the country since 2008 and about a thousand minefields are still to be cleared. "The remnants of war still threaten lives every day," said Prince Harry, patron of the Halo Trust. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also spent time with the British charity during a visit to Angola in 2019 when he walked through a partially-cleared minefield and set off a controlled explosion. Earlier this week, Prince Harry met Angola's President Joao Lourenco, where the prince welcomed the government's renewed support for the charity's work. James Cowan, the Halo Trust's chief executive, said: "We will continue our work in solidarity with the Angolan people until every last mine is cleared." The pictures of Princess Diana in Angola in 1997 drew worldwide attention [PA Media] In January 1997, Princess Diana had been photographed in Angola in what became a symbolic image of the efforts to stop the harm to civilians from landmines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She had walked on a path cleared through a minefield and had given her support to calls for an international ban on the use of landmines. That had sparked a row, with the princess being criticised by some politicians for her views. But the minefield where she had walked in 1997 was cleared and the site is now a thriving community, with local children attending the Princess Diana School. [BBC] Sign up here to get the latest royal stories and analysis every week with our Royal Watch newsletter. Those outside the UK can sign up here. HATTIESBURG, Miss. (WHLT) The City of Hattiesburg named its Intermodal Facility, commonly known as the Hattiesburg Train Depot, in honor of former Mayor J. Ed Morgan. The dedication ceremony, held on-site at the depot on July 17, brought together community leaders, city officials and members of the Morgan family to celebrate the renaming. Lamar County superintendent wants to continue districts success Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morgan served as mayor of Hattiesburg from 1989 to 2001. During his 12-year tenure, officials said he led major initiatives that elevated Hattiesburgs profile across the state and region, spearheading efforts to create the Hattiesburg Convention and Tourism Commissions, Area Development Partnership, Pine Belt Regional Solid Waste Authority and the citys western annexation. His administration oversaw the development of Tatum Park, the construction of a new public library, the accreditation of the Hattiesburg Police Department and the renovation of assets like the Saenger Theater and the Hattiesburg Zoo. Mayor Morgans ability to unite people around big ideas is still evident today, said Hattiesburg Mayor Toby Barker. His determination to secure funding and forge partnerships made the restoration of this train depot possible. Naming this facility in his honor is a fitting tribute to a man whose vision and leadership continue to move Hattiesburg forward. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. To combat this, the Bank of England will now allow more borrowers to take out mortgages of more than 4.5 times their income. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is also considering simplifying the rules to make it easier for existing homeowners to remortgage and a new, permanent government mortgage guarantee scheme will support loans to buyers with a deposit of less than 5pc. However, there are concerns the measures went too far, needlessly preventing households from getting a home of their own. Tough mortgage lending rules were brought in after the financial crisis. The idea was to limit risky loans and avoid another cycle of boom and bust in the housing market. Here are the biggest of the changes Reeves has announced under her so-called Leeds Reforms and the Citys view on whether they will work. It will be the City/financial services which might go some way to bail her out of the sinking ship. She needs to persuade top taxpayers to stay and not fear wealth taxes, says Peter Hargreaves, the co-founder of share trading platform Hargreaves Lansdown. The critical question is whether or not financiers will be in a mood to help Reeves. In some cases, that means tearing up red tape that has hampered the Citys growth for years. Theoretically, it will allow banks to lend more, leave finance firms less at risk of mis-selling scandals and remove the threat of more environmental paperwork. In an effort to restore some goodwill and boost growth the Chancellor has announced what she claims is the biggest overhaul of finance rules in more than a decade . I have pretty much given up on that lot, complains one bank boss. They just dont understand business and probably dont want to understand business. Many now feel betrayed. The National Insurance contributions increase has lumped them with extra costs. Their best customers have been chased off by attacks on non-doms. Entrepreneurs, another key market for financiers, are under the cosh from higher inheritance tax. And the threat of a wealth tax looms . Reeves and Sir Keir Starmer went on a charm offensive in the City before the general election in an effort to win over bosses. Several ended up backing Labour, believing their pro-business message. She needs to find ways to boost the economy and with it, tax revenues. Financial services, long one of the main engines of Britains economy, is one of the few sectors that may be able to make a difference. Her financial plans are in tatters. The economy is sluggish. Her 25bn tax raid on employers has backfired, hammering jobs and pay. And every attempt to hold back the tide of public spending is met with rebellion from her own MPs. Wooing bankers at the Mansion House might not be a Labour chancellors favourite pastime. But Rachel Reeves has little choice. Story Continues Lower capital buffers Challenger banks are getting a boost as they will be allowed to hold less capital against home loans, freeing up cash to better compete with the high street giants. That suggests there could be more, and cheaper, loans for house-buyers. In a Brexit benefit, the Bank of England is also ditching some EU-era rules, freeing some mid-sized banks from the requirement to hold capital to cover the cost of their resolution should they collapse. That should mean lower costs and lower prices too. So-called ring-fencing rules separating retail and investment banking activities will also be reformed after claims the system was too onerous and tied up too much capital. Action to tackle mis-selling scandals Banks are terrified of another PPI scandal the mis-selling crisis that cost the industry more than 50bn, plus years of humiliation. There are fears we are at the foothills of a repeat, with a motor finance mis-selling scandal expected to cost the industry an estimated 40bn. City chiefs will be relieved by new proposals to rein in the power of the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), which has been involved in the motor finance scandal. It follows concerns that the FOS was becoming too powerful and setting rules by the backdoor. What we want the FOS to do is what it was set up to do, which is a quick, effective, efficient, impartial disruptive resolution system to ensure fairer outcomes for consumers where they have specific issues with firms, says a Treasury source. The FOS isnt a quasi-regulator. If a firm is abiding by the rules and regulations, they shouldnt be found somehow in the wrong from the FOS. Share ownership British households are remarkably reluctant to invest in the stock market, given the scale of the UKs financial industry. Just 8pc of personal wealth is held in equities and mutual funds, less than any other G7 economy. To address that the Government is planning a national campaign backed by banks and stock brokers to promote the importance of investment invoking the Tell Sid share ownership campaign used to promote British Gass privatisation in the 1980s. Reforms will also include watering down the grim warnings that accompany any investment advert. A Whitehall source said the warnings particularly dissuade women from investing, so rewording the small print to be more proportionate and to note the likely benefits of share ownership could be good for equality too. For too long, lengthy risk warnings and a tangled system of financial advice have made it too hard for consumers to even begin to decipher their options, the growth and competitiveness strategy for financial services states. Banks will be able to alert customers about specific investment opportunities and urge them to buy stocks and shares, instead of holding cash. Previously lenders could not promote these kinds of products because they were seen as too risky. However, Reeves has shelved plans to overhaul cash Isas to encourage more cash into stocks after a backlash from building societies. Listings Taskforce Businesses are also getting encouragement to list on the stock market, with easier rules and less bureaucracy on secondary fundraising. A new Listings Taskforce will seek to make London a more attractive market for companies to raise funds and grow, to ensure the UK attracts the best and brightest businesses from around the world. It comes amid fears that Londons star is fading as the capital struggles to attract initial public offerings from foreign, and even domestic, businesses. The paperwork needed to raise fresh money after a company has listed will also be reduced. Meanwhile, a dedicated concierge service will help guide foreign businesses wishing to set up shop in the UK, helping them manage regulations and local market conditions. Green U-turn Reeves has also abandoned plans for stricter rules governing green investments, despite previously backing the measure. In a lecture last year, the then shadow chancellor said she planned to push ahead with a UK green taxonomy, strict rules that would dictate what investments could qualify as environmentally friendly. However, that plan has now been shelved. The consultation on the value case for a UK green taxonomy showed that other policies were of higher priority to accelerate investment into the transition to net zero and limit green washing, the financial strategy said. Swathes of other red tape are also being slashed to bring dynamism back to the Square Mile. From faster authorisations of businesses and their regulated bosses to making it easier for insurers to set up investment funds in London, this could end up resembling a bonfire of red tape which the previous government would envy. Will it work? The Treasury was keen to trumpet praise from the City, publishing supportive statements from the bosses of institutions including NatWest, HSBC and Royal London. There is certainly room for households to borrow more. The average family spends less of their income on mortgage repayments now than they did 20 years ago, according to the Bank of England. 1607 Households can afford to take more risk Yet not everyone is convinced these reforms will trigger a new big bang. Hargreaves believes taxes need to come down if Reeves really wants to see growth. There is a level at which its impossible to tax an electorate more, he says. We are there; more taxes will result in more defections and more tax avoidance schemes. I remember in the Seventies, businessmen took a disproportionate part of their day working out how to avoid taxes rather than run their businesses. Andy Bell, founder of stockbroker AJ Bell which would stand to benefit from a surge in retail investment also wants Reeves to take action on taxes. Its not about over-regulation its all demand. In order to kick-start demand there needs to be incentives, he says. That could be by way of stamp duty relief on all UK shares or, a bit more controversially in the current environment, it could be exemptions to inheritance tax on UK shares and funds which invest in UK shares. Steven Fine, the chief executive of Peel Hunt, says Reeves needs to be more ambitious with her plans, suggesting the Chancellor should reform the Isa regime, initiate a full consultation on stamp duty and use incentives to attract listings. He wants tax breaks for companies that list on the stock market and entrepreneurs tax relief only for those who take their businesses public. Conversely, Dave Howell at RSA Insurance says it is the constant changing of the rules that is damaging for his industry. If the Government is serious about cutting red tape, insurers need three things: stability, simplicity and open and honest communication with the regulators, he says. Andrew Griffith, the shadow business secretary, says: All the uncertainty is killing confidence theres more rain on the moon than IPOs in London at the moment. Talking about growth and reforming rules is irrelevant if the City fears a big wealth tax or raid on bank balance sheets is coming this autumn, he adds. The Chancellors speech to business leaders made her sound like a born-again Thatcherite. In too many areas, regulation still acts as a boot on the neck of businesses, choking off the enterprise and innovation that is the lifeblood of growth, she said. City bosses will hope it is more than just empty words. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A perverted man from the grave is haunting Donald Trump. While its just the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein, he is in a very real sense Jacob Marley to Trumps Ebenezer Scrooge. I guess Christmas in July is a real thing. This week, the Justice Departments failure to release the Epstein files, as many pundits have gleefully noted, has led to the largest division yet in Trumps MAGA minions. In a Wednesday morning Truth Social post, Trump admitted as much and declared those who are concerned about the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, are his PAST supporters and I dont want their support anymore! Maybe he isnt running for a third term after all. Trump called those who still wanted to know what happened to the sex offender weaklings, and he echoed a post earlier in the week in which he encouraged his lackeys to forget Epstein. Trump told them he not only didnt understand why anyone would be interested in him, but theres nothing to see anyway, so move along. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If all this wasnt enough, the Washington Post reported late Wednesday evening that federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, who worked on the criminal cases of Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell, was fired by the Justice Department, according to two people familiar with the matter. In a rare appearance on the White Houses South Lawn on Tuesday, Trump issued a rambling statement in an attempt to defend Attorney General Pam Bondis lack of action on the Epstein files. He stressed her credibility, but he sounded as if he were stringing together random sentences culled from private briefings, without any concern or knowledge that they made sense. The more Trump said to look somewhere else, the more people didnt. Last year, while campaigning for president, he signaled he would release the Epstein files. Last week, Bondi was asked once again about the files she had steadfastly said, since February, were on her desk and ready for inspection. This time, she claimed they didnt exist, only to have Trump contradict her in a Truth Social post afterward that declared the files were a work of fiction made possible by Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, perhaps the Easter Bunny and two dangerous immigrant felons to be named later. You dont have to be a genius to see something isnt adding up here, former Trump administration staffer Miles Taylor explained to me. Hes not making this go away by his denials. Not this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bondi is protecting Trump, even though both could, in theory, face prosecution for their actions but of course since Trump is President and she runs the DOJ, neither will. Though he has been convicted of 34 felonies, Trump has never faced serious consequences for any of his illegal actions. Bondi has made a career of poor decisions, questionable actions and unbridled avarice that makes Cruella de Vil look like Barbie. Naturally, she has a long relationship with Trump. They apparently met in 2013 when Bondi, as Floridas attorney general, received at least 22 fraud complaints against the now-defunct Trump University. Her office announced she would consider joining a lawsuit initiated by the attorney general of New York involving potential tax fraud charges against Trump. Four days later, And Justice for All, a political action committee established by Bondi to support her re-election, received a $25,000 donation from Trump. Bondi subsequently declined to join the lawsuit. Both Bondi and Trump have defended the propriety of the donation. Its not that Trump bought Bondi, but its just damn funny as to how cheap the price tag was. Trump apparently bought her for the equivalent of $480 a week, or roughly $12 an hour, for a year you know, what the average food delivery driver earns annually. This makes Bondi the DoorDash Woman of the Year for Donald Trump. You get what you pay for. But then again, any factual criticism of Trumps empty drawer of a cabinet often quickly degenerates into descriptions resembling those of cartoon henchmen. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is a square-jawed former television anchor with juvenile body-art, and a look that makes you think he has had bad plastic surgery and at least one mini-stroke during the last five years. Hes Ted Baxter on Adderall, legendary Houston anchor and reporter Marvin Zindler with a better toupee and, after Trump himself, he probably spends more money on makeup than anyone else in the administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the empty shell of a hero who might have been. The son of an American prince, he could have had it all. But, to quote Pink Floyd, No matter how he tried, he could not break free and the worms ate into his brain, causing total dysfunction and delusion. If he were a character in a Star Wars prequel, hed be the guy huffing chemtrails. Finally, in this cabinet of incapability, theres Mad Man Marco Rubio. The wearer of a thousand hats. More powerful than most, his ability to sell himself out gives him the superpower to leap over large piles of Trumps political fecal remains in a single bound. He once called the president a con artist and he now bows before Trump as the king, hopeful he can take control of the Resolute desk following the 2028 presidential election. Imagine the aneurysm Rubio will get when he finally realizes Trump still wants to run in 2028. Then theres J.D. Vance the man nobody but Peter Thiel wanted. In his shrewdest move as president, Trump picked a man that guarantees he will never be convicted of impeachment. For this, Vance will go down as the man who brought unity to America for the first time in decades. Actually, in a very real sense, Jeffrey Epstein a man as perverse in politics as he was in his sexual and personal life could be the spark that brings American voters back together. Everyone wants to see Epsteins files and for the same reason: Accountability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But accountable is the one thing Trump has never been. He runs chaos in a blender and hes not as sharp now as he was in his first administration a fact that is even more frightening considering how little he accomplished and how incompetent he was then. Want more sharp takes on politics? Sign up for our free newsletter, Standing Room Only, written by Amanda Marcotte, now also a weekly show on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. Still, Trump in his first term was better for two reasons: He was more cogent and never left the house without a properly-worn necktie. Today, he can barely get out a sentence without babbling. Consider his recent explanation about a deal in which our NATO allies will supply Ukraine with Patriot missiles and other weapons. Its everything. Its Patriots. Its all of them. Its a full complement, with the [missile] batteries, Trump said in a July 14 meeting with the NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House. A couple of the countries that have the Patriots are going to swap over, and well replace the Patriots with the ones they have. We have one country that has 17 Patriots getting ready to be shipped. Theyre not going to need themSo were going to work a deal where the 17 will go, or a big portion of the 17 will go to the war site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im still not sure what war site is. As for the rest of it, even members of his staff couldnt explain that gibberish. People, people I gotta tell you, I see a lot of glum, glum faces now. Please dont be disconsolate. This is this is politics at its finest, we were told in the movie Wag the Dog. Thats also what were often told about the new Trump administration by the administration. If Trumps first term was a Mike Judge movie Idiocracy then the current reality show Trump is orchestrating in the White House is much more like Barry Levisons Wag the Dog. I would not be surprised if Stephen Miller had viewed both films as training material. It could also be Trump himself, since he doesnt read and has adapted plot lines from both movies in his current administration, including a UFC match at the White House for the next Fourth of July, an event straight out of Idiocracy. But the essence of Trump is summed up best by Dustin Hoffman as Stanley Motss in Wag the Dog: Look at that. That is a complete f**king fraud, and it looks a hundred percent real. Its the best work Ive ever done in my life, because its so honest. His entire life is one colossal reality show production of near biblical and fictional proportions. Trump is not only the producer, but also the star. He constantly demands to be the center of attention in his own production, on stage as well as off. But the recent pictures of swollen ankles as well as his poor posture, bad gait, unexplained anger, extreme lethargy and deepening addiction to gibberish are causing the show to falter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These are symptoms exhibited by traumatized shooting victims and are, I am told by several doctors, exacerbated by Trumps age. If you believe Biden slid into senility during his tenure in office, then Trump has plunged into it. During a Wednesday gaggle in the Oval Office, Trump said he was surprised Jerome Powell was appointed as chair of the Federal Reserve apparently unaware that he had nominated Powell in 2017. This noticeable decline is part of what is causing his own supporters to now call his actions into question. When he spoke about the Epstein files on Wednesday in the Oval Office, he said, Its all been a big hoax perpetrated by the Democrats . . . Some stupid, foolish Republicans have fallen into the net. They try to do the Democrats work. The Democrats are good for nothing other than these hoaxes. But Trump supporters, especially the young ones who legitimately want transparency in government, remember what the president said in the past about the files. The world wants them released so we can decide for ourselves the amount of damage that a rich sexual predator caused. The more Trump pushes back, the more suspicious the entire nation becomes. As this gets darker, it also gets more dangerous. On October 23, 1983, in a disaster that deeply embarrassed President Ronald Reagan on the world stage, 241 U.S. service personnel died in their barracks in an explosion on a military base in Beirut, Lebanon. On October 25, 1983, Reagan invaded Grenada, a British Commonwealth island, infuriating his great ally British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Coincidence? Maybe. But the fact remains that the invasion took the Lebanon bombing off the front page. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is the central plot point of Wag the Dog. A president who is alleged to have been involved with a very young girl concocts a fake war to bury the accusations against him. As Robert De Niros character said in the movie, What difference does it make if its true? If its a story and it breaks, theyre gonna run with it. So far, the only place Trump has deployed American troops is in American cities. But as the Epstein scandal widens and the stakes become higher, it isnt beyond consideration that Trump would concoct something to hide the stain of his past actions from the American public. I dont doubt that at all, Miles Taylor told me of such an event. With Trump there is a very high likelihood of him creating a false scenario to hide his treachery. Look, dont worry about it, De Niro said in the film. Its nothing new. During Reagans administration, 240 Marines killed in Beirut 24 hours later, we invade Grenada. That was their M.O. Change the story, change the lead. Its not a new concept. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It isnt new, but it is definitely dangerous. And if the MAGA split continues or widens, threatening an aging presidents power and status, the danger will increase. Since Epsteins ghost is already rattling his chains and howling at Don, the next reality show in Trumps production will probably be A Christmas Carol. But I doubt if Trump will get the message. The post Haunted by Epstein, Trump spirals further out of control appeared first on Salon.com. New Haven man charged with 2024 theft of Porsche in Branford BRANFORD, Conn. (WTNH) A New Haven man was arrested Wednesday after allegedly stealing a Porsche from a garage in Branford last year. According to Branford police, on May 29, 2024, a 2016 Porsche Cayenne GTS was stolen from a garage on Lomartra Lane. Multiple suspects were identified using surveillance footage, forensic analysis, and digital evidence. Milford man charged after dog left in car during store visit suffers heatstroke Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With assistance from the Connecticut State Police along with police departments in West Haven and Stratford, 19-year-old Deante Hammie was identified using fingerprint evidence and data extracted from the vehicles infotainment system. Hammie was arrested by New Haven police Wednesday and was arraigned at New Haven Superior Court on Thursday. He was charged with third-degree burglary, conspiracy to commit third-degree burglary, larceny of a motor vehicle, and conspiracy to commit larceny of a motor vehicle. Hammie is being held on a $100,000 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 WTNH.com. WASHINGTON Missouri U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley has filed a bill to stop future reductions of Medicaid. The legislation comes just two weeks after he voted in favor of U.S. President Donald Trumps spending bill, which is expected to cut billions from Medicaid. Hawleys new bill would repeal parts of the legislation he just voted for, including the reduction of provider-tax fees that are scheduled to begin in 2030. He also wants to repeal provisions related to state-directed payments that could reduce Medicaid reimbursements. Hawleys bill also calls to increase the Rural Health Transformation Fund by $100 billion and extend the life of that fund from five to ten years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite broader concerns about Medicaid cuts outlined in the spending bill, Hawley voted in favor of it, noting a $50 billion fund for rural hospitals as a reason for his support. MSHP: Florissant man drowns in the Lake of the Ozarks after kayak overturns The $50 billion fund we just passed, thats already law, that I got put in the bill, thats going to start paying out to Missouri right now, said Hawley in a one-on-one virtual interview Thursday with FOX 2. There are no Medicaid cuts for Missouri for benefits ever. Theres no changes to our hospital funding formula until the future, but the money, the new money for rural hospitals will start coming to Missouri hospitals right now. I want to be clear, thats not to offset cuts, thats over and above what Missouri is getting. Its one of the big reasons I voted for the bill. Thats one of the best part of that bill, new funding for rural hospitals. Hawley didnt want to necessarily cut Medicaid, expressing concerns in May that doing so would turn against needs of working-class communities. The new legislation, he hopes, will protect rural healthcare funding and prevent harmful cuts to Medicaid in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What my new legislation would do is extend it. It would say, lets do more of that, lets take the new funding that were getting for rural hospitals and lets double it over the next eight years, said Hawley. And lets make sure there are never any cuts in funding to rural hospitals for any time in the future. Under Trumps spending bill, Missouri is reportedly expected to lose $17 billion of federal Medicaid funding over the next decade, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, an independent health policy analysis organization. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) A Rhode Island-based coffee company is getting ready to open its third location. Hazel Origin Coffee posted on Facebook that they are opening a store on Thomas Street where Cafe Choklad used to be. This will be their second location in the capital city. No word yet on an opening date, but the business said it will be sometime mid-summer. According to the business, they grow, import, and roast their own coffee straight from their family farm in Honduras. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NEXT: Beer now being served at Olneyville New York System 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. WALTON COUNTY, Fla, (WMBB) North Walton County residents will soon have more emergency healthcare options without having to travel too far. HCA Florida broke ground on its new freestanding emergency room today in DeFuniak Springs. HCA officials, community leaders, emergency service workers and more were on-hand Wednesday morning to break ground on a 19-million-dollar freestanding emergency room. Opening day is just a few months away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a really unique project. Weve built sections of this facility off-site to exact specifications necessary and required to bring high-level health care to the residents of North Walton. And so, this facility is going to go up really quickly once they start construction, HCA Floridas Twin Cities Hospital CEO Todd Jackson said. Twin cities hospital in Niceville started construction over a year ago. Once ground preparation is complete, youll see the building take shape in just a matter of weeks, with a projected completion date of early 2026. The facility is located on the northwest corner of U.S. 331 and I-10, a necessity for travelers passing through. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But its also crucial to keep up with the areas growth. HCA has obviously recognized that the growth of our community calls for additional support, and with a 10-room facility that is very significant for this region, and weve never had it, Wonderful Waltons Economic Development Alliances Executive Director Uriah Matthews said. The ER will hire about 35 full time employees. We have nurses and techs, we have radiographers, lab technicians, and all of those individuals come together to bring care to the patient at the bedside, Jackson said. The 11,000 square foot facility will have a bay for emergency medical services, a trauma room, an on-site laboratory, and all of the critical imaging technology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emergency care was a critical issue after HealthMark closed the DeFuniak hospital in March 2022. North Walton County residents were without local emergency healthcare for years, until north Walton Doctors Hospital reopened last year. The sheriffs office even bought a new helicopter so EMS could more quickly transport patients to hospitals outside of Walton 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 mypanhandle.com. BOSTON (SHNS) The Healey administration went to bat for its five-year, $2.9 billion environmental borrowing bill on Tuesday, securing praise from lawmakers and climate advocates, some of whom urged the state to do more with the legislation. Environment and Natural Resources Committee members questioned Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper, and Administration and Finance Secretary Matt Gorzkowicz along with municipal leaders, policy experts and activists about Gov. Maura Healeys 51-page bill (S 2542) in a standing-room-only hearing room. This bill will help our cities and towns plan, and as a former mayor, Ive seen firsthand how strained municipal budgets can become, especially in times of disaster. Local governments are asked to do more with limited resources, Driscoll told lawmakers. This will really be a partnership and a tool to ensure that they have the resources they need to do that really important planning and design work. Its going to equip our communities with the funding they need to invest in their water systems and local infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gorzkowicz said the state is on track to spend just under $2 billion out of the $2.4 billion authorized under a 2018 environmental bond law. The size of the borrowing bill far exceeds the $1.18 billion allotted for energy and environmental spending under the five-year capital spending budget the Healey administration unveiled in late June. Energy and environment accounts are capped at $217.8 million in spending under the fiscal 2026 capital budget. We do have a lot more authorizations than we have capacity to spend in our capital program, but weve been doing a lot of things to try to, what I will describe as, increase the pie, to make sure that we can invest in priority areas and put more tools on the table, Gorzkowicz said. Weve also been doing things, as I mentioned, to leverage other resources we have, Gorzkowicz said. As part of our transportation plan, we have money for culverts. We are trying to find other resources that we can bring to the table that free up the pressure that we have on our capital investment plan so that were able to invest in some of our other priority areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to state officials, the bill includes more than $600 million for urgent repairs for inland and coastal flooding protection efforts such as fixing broken dams, sea walls and culverts. The bill also authorizes just over $587 million for Department of Conservation and Recreation property work, more than $176 million to DCR roadway, bridge and path of travel infrastructure, and about $308 million to agency dam and flood projects. The bill designates $385 million for drinking water and wastewater system upgrades, $120 million for PFAS remediation and $340 million for open space and land protection. Theres $125 million in the bill to support food security infrastructure to help farmers and nonprofits expand food access. City and town officials from Beverly to Becket vouched for the $315 million allocated to the Municipal Vulnerability Preparedness program, which supports local climate resilience planning and implementation. While Healeys bill focuses on flood mitigation and education including policies like the Flood Risk Disclosure measure, which requires that homebuyers and renters are notified of property flood history and flood risk Senate Chair Becca Rausch asked officials about the lack of drought management policy within the bill, referencing wildfires that erupted across the state in recent years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We will continue to see more droughts. Our statewide Hazard Mitigation Plan tells us that, and we have a drought commission that is run by professionals, by scientists and experts in the field, and they provide recommendations on a regular basis on where we are with droughts, Tepper said. The Department of Environmental Protection has tools to require providers to restrict water use, she said, and there are other bills filed this session that address drought management. I think its a really good opportunity of us all sort of to sit back and think about what the best way to deal with the drought situation is, she said. Tepper also highlighted a Resilience Revolving Fund called for in the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Itll be a revolving fund where communities can apply to get a loan for a resilience project, whether it be dam or sea wall or any kind of resilience issue that people are struggling with in their communities, and it would be a loan that they would pay back over time, Tepper explained. Right now, were starting off at a pilot program stage and see how that goes. EEA would manage disbursement and would develop criteria to make sure the projects go to the communities that need them the most, according to the administration. Asked by House Chair Christine Barber how the the bill would fill in potential gaps due to lack of federal funding, Tepper said there are several areas where we have concerns about the loss of federal funding, and of course, no state can make up for the loss of all the federal funding. That being said, this bill is a real investment in Massachusetts and in making sure that were providing the money that we have in the most efficient and effective way, which includes these revolving funds, so that were stretching our money as best as we can, Tepper continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill also aims to expedite and simplify the Chapter 91 environmental permitting process for housing and natural infrastructure projects like culvert repairs and nature-based mitigation. It would also enable local appeals to be used for wetlands regulations. The move would decrease the number of projects that have to go through a drawn-out review, Driscoll told lawmakers. We appreciate the efforts to streamline the permitting process for environmental restoration projects, but we think the bill could go further, Katie Theoharides, president and CEO of environmental advocacy organization The Trustees of Massachusetts, said Tuesday. We have advocated for restoration to be exempt from Chapter 91 rather than the creation of a cumbersome general permit for restoration as proposed in the bill. The states top environmental official during Gov. Charlie Bakers administration, Theoharides was among a group of advocates that suggested lawmakers also commit more toward conservation. Even with the exceptional funding preserved, we are concerned that the investment for state resources for land protection is not close to sufficient to meet the states 30-by-30 land conservation goals, Theoharides said, testifying beside Mass Audubon, The Nature Conservancy and Environmental League of Massachusetts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. A photo of a woman with measles (Photo by Getty Images). Public health officials in Cascade County confirmed the first case of measles in the county, according to a Wednesday announcement by the City-County Health Department, marking the states 26th case this year. The department is investigating a single case of measles in a reportedly vaccinated adult residing in Cascade County, though the county has not yet confirmed the vaccination status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of Thursday afternoon, the health department had released a list of possible exposure locations in Great Falls between July 6 and July 15. The locations include Walmart on July 6-9, and July 14-15; Rib and Chop House on July 12; and the Great Falls Clinic Walk-in at 3000 15th ave on July 12. The times listed on the table include the period when exposure occured and two hours after, which is how long the measles virus can remain airborn. Health officials ask anyone who may have been at a listed location, on the dates and times shown on the published table, to monitor for symptoms for 21 days, and reminded to not enter a medical facility with possible measles symptoms instead call ahead using phone numbers posted on a facilitys entry door. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, Montana has reported 26 measles cases this year, after seeing no cases of the disease from 1990 to 2025. Infections have been reported in Cascade, Flathead, Hill, Yellowstone and Gallatin counties, with the majority of cases clustered in the Bozeman area this spring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Measles is a highly infectious airborne disease that spreads when an infected individual coughs, sneezes or talks. Measles can also be spread through touching contaminated surfaces and then touching the mouth, nose or eyes. Symptoms typically begin with a fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes, white spots in the mouth and a red rash that appears about 14 days after exposure. The rash usually starts on the face and spreads downward to the rest of the body. Individuals who are immune to measles through vaccination, laboratory evidence of immunity, laboratory confirmation of disease, or were born before 1957 are not considered at risk for infection. Individuals without prior measles infection or vaccination have a 90% likelihood of contracting the disease if exposed. If you are unsure of your vaccination status, here are a few places you can review: Call your old high school, college, or university and ask if they have vaccination records. Contact your doctors office, urgent care, or pediatrician. Even if you have not been there in years, they may still have records. Reach out to the health department where you grew up. Check your home state immunization registries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A measles infection is particularly dangerous for infants for whom vaccination is generally not recommended until 12 months of age. Maintaining a high level of vaccination in the community helps protect infants who are too young to be vaccinated, as well as individuals who cannot be vaccinated for medical reasons. Measles continues to be prevalent in many regions worldwide, resulting in an estimated 300 deaths every day. Cases in the U.S. are generally rare but have been increasing in recent years. The best way to protect against measles is vaccination. No changes have been made to the existing measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine recommendations in the United States. Two doses of MMR, a measles-containing vaccine that protects against measles, mumps and rubella, are 97% to 99% effective in preventing measles. Measles vaccines have been available in the U.S. since 1963, and two doses have been recommended for children since 1989. If you are in need of the MMR vaccine, please call your primary care physician as soon as possible. For more information about measles and the measles vaccine, visit the state health departments website. Additional information can also be found on the CDCs website. As our world warms and creates ideal conditions for mosquitoes to thrive, mosquito-borne illnesses are spreading along with them. State health officials in Michigan are recommending that residents take precautions against mosquito bites after detecting West Nile virus in the state this year, the Midland Daily News reported. What's happening? Because West Nile virus is potentially serious, officials monitor the human population, wildlife, and local mosquitoes for the infection. In 2024, 31 human cases were reported in Michigan. In 2025, Michigan officials first spotted West Nile virus in a dead crow found in Saginaw County in May. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of mid-June, they had also found the disease in a mosquito sample taken in Bay County. While no human cases have been reported yet this year, officials are concerned and are urging the public to take precautions to prevent mosquito bites. Why is the spread of West Nile virus important? West Nile virus is a disease spread by mosquito bites that originated in Uganda, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Although not all cases are severe, serious infections can result in high fever, inflammation of the brain, coma, or even death. West Nile virus is just one of the many mosquito-borne illnesses that experts are concerned about as global temperatures rise. Changes in rainfall and the active seasons of these insects mean that their territories are expanding, and regions that previously did not have to worry about malaria, dengue, Zika, and West Nile virus are now becoming susceptible. Michigan's warming winters are a notable factor in the region's increasing mosquito problem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These diseases have caused countless deaths in the areas of the globe where they originate. Without precautions, they could do the same in new regions, including the U.S. What's being done about West Nile virus in Michigan? Michigan officials are implementing measures to reduce the population of both adult mosquitoes and mosquito larvae, the Midland Daily News reported. However, they can't completely eliminate these insects, so they have also warned the public to do their best to minimize bites. Empty any standing water around your home, even tiny puddles caught in old tires, rain gutters, and similar small containers. Wear insect repellent and long clothing. Make sure your window screens are in good repair. The fewer bug bites you receive, the less your risk of exposure and the fewer bites occur in the community as a whole, the fewer infected people there will be to pass on the disease to more mosquitoes. 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. DENVER (KDVR) The town of Wellington has seen more than $30,000 in vandalism of local parks and playgrounds, including slides melted from arson and fireworks set off in public bathrooms. Now, the town is speaking out. The town of Wellington said in a social media post that parks have seen nightly vandalism over the past few months, with more than $30,000 in damage, and growing. This Rockies player is the new voice of the DIA train greeting Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This damage includes ripped-down skatepark panels, motorized bikes that tore up grass, snapped trees, painted over playgrounds, slides melted from arson, broken warning lights and court equipment and trashed bathrooms. Inside the bathrooms, the town said partitions have been ripped off, soap dispensers were broken, trash cans and paper towels were set on fire and even fireworks were set off inside. $30K worth of damage to a Wellington park (Courtesy of Town of Wellington) $30K worth of damage to a Wellington park (Courtesy of Town of Wellington) $30K worth of damage to a Wellington park (Courtesy of Town of Wellington) $30K worth of damage to a Wellington park (Courtesy of Town of Wellington) $30K worth of damage to a Wellington park (Courtesy of Town of Wellington) During the past few months, our parks places meant for kids to laugh, families to gather, and neighbors to connect have become a nightly target for vandalism. And its not just harmless fun. Its destruction. Costly, frustrating, and heartbreaking destruction, the town said. Colorado Renaissance Festival makes historic change after pirate weekend sellout Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The town said this vandalism is happening after the parks close at 10 p.m. Some amenities, like the bathrooms and splash pad at Wellington Community Park, close even earlier at 8 p.m. Lets protect what makes Wellington great. Our parks should be a place to play, not for destruction. Lets hold each other accountable. Our kids and our community deserve better, the town said. Twelve-year-old Macklund agrees. Hes at Wellington Community Park every day during summer break. I understand trying to have fun, but not the right time, he told FOX31s Greg Nieto. So, you know, just have respect for everything. Dont destroy stuff that other kids can use and have fun on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The town is asking anyone who sees something to report it to the Wellington Squad Larimer County Sheriffs Office at (970) 416-1985. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ISLAMABAD (AP) Heavy monsoon rains killed at least 54 people in eastern Pakistan in 24 hours, bringing the total rain-related deaths in the country to 178 over the past three weeks, officials said Thursday. Rainfall has triggered flash floods and inundated several villages as the country experiences 82% more rainfall this month compared to the same period in July 2024, the Pakistan Meteorological Department said. Since June 26, Pakistan has reported 178 deaths from Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the northwest, Sindh in the south and Balochistan in the southwest, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 54 deaths in the past day occurred in Punjab province, which received 124% more rainfall between July 1 and July 15 than the same period the previous year, forecasters said. Heavy downpours continued Thursday, flooding streets in several urban areas including Rawalpindi and Lahore. Cloudburst in the Jhelum district in Punjab triggered flash flooding, prompting authorities to use boats to evacuate dozens of people. The National Disaster Management Authority issued an updated flood alert Thursday and urged local officials to remain on high alert. Tourists were advised to avoid travel to affected areas where rains could trigger landslides and block highways. Television news footage Thursday showed an army helicopter plucking three members of a family from the roof of their house after they were stranded by a flash flood on the outskirts of Rawalpindi city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More rain is expected in the capital Islamabad, Pakistan-administered Kashmir and other parts of the country, the meteorological department reported. Authorities have warned they cannot rule out a repeat of extreme weather like the 2022 floods that inundated a third of the country, killing 1,737 people. This story was originally published on CFO Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily CFO Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Renault Group appointed its CFO Duncan Minto to the role of interim CEO, effective July 15, according to a company release Tuesday. The move comes one month after the French automakers former CEO Luca de Meo announced his intent to step down from the position, also effective Tuesday. In his temporary role, Minto will ensure the day-to-day management of the company together with Jean-Dominique Senard, who will become chairman, the Paris, France based company said. The selection process for a permanent successor to the CEO seat is already well underway, according to the release. Also Tuesday, the automaker slashed both its free cash flow and its operating margin guidance for full-year 2025, with Renault now anticipating free cash flow of between 1.0 billion to 1.5 billion euros ($1.16 billion to $1.7 billion USD), versus the 2 billion forecast previously, according to a separate press release detailing preliminary results for its H1 of 2025. The company is also now expecting an operating margin around 6.5% compared to the 7% it expected previously for the year. Dive Insight: First joining Renault in 1997, Minto has solid experience in finance and a deep understanding of the issues at stake, the automaker said in its Tuesday announcement. During his time at Renault, Minto has served in various regional and divisional CFO roles, including a four-year term as finance chief for its Asia Pacific market and as CFO for its Dacia Brand, according to his LinkedIn profile. The interim CEO appointment comes as Renault looks to strengthen its cost reduction plan, after announcing it would be implementing additional measures to cut expenses in its first quarter earnings report in April, according to company releases. Renault also recorded group revenue of 27.6 billion, a 2.5% increase. The automaker also reported free cash flow of 47 million, which includes a significantly negative change in the working capital requirement estimated at 900m excluding tax effects. It attributed its preliminary results to lower-than-expected performance in June, including an increasing commercial pressure due to the continuing decline in the retail market, as well as underperformance of its light commercial vehicle business in what it described as a sharply declining market in Europe. The European auto market has faced declining sales over the past several months, with new car registrations in the European Union falling by 0.6% in May compared to the prior year period, after seeing a 1.2% dip in April, according to figures from the European Automobile Manufacturers Association. In May, Renault Group saw a 4% increase in new car registrations for the month across its brands, including Renault, Dacia and Alpine, according to ACEA data. A slow-developing, broad area of low pressure located over the far northern portion of the Gulf is threatening to bring heavy rain and flooding to portions of the region over the next few days, forecasters said Thursday. The system, designated as Invest 93L, could see some additional development over the next 12-24 hours, according to the National Hurricane Center. However, its current structure suggests that its chances of developing into a tropical depression before it reaches the Louisiana coast later on Thursday are decreasing. "Regardless of development, heavy rainfall could produce localized flash flooding over portions of the north-central Gulf Coast through Friday," hurricane center forecasters said in an advisory early Thursday morning. Will the tropical system in the Gulf impact Texas? Even if the system doesn't develop into a named storm, which would be named Dexter, forecasters warn it will still bring significant impacts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Texas is not currently in the projected path, remnant moisture drifting west or southwest across the Gulf could trigger scattered storms especially in Southeast Texas along the coast. Tropics 8 a.m. July 17, 2025. The National Weather Service in Houston has issued a slight risk of excessive rainfall for areas east of I-45 on Friday. "We continue to monitor a disorganized disturbance in the far northern Gulf. Based on the current structure of the disturbance (storms displaced well away from the center), the chances of it developing into a tropical depression before reaching the Louisiana coast later today are decreasing," the National Weather Service office wrote. "The National Hurricane Center is now giving this system a 30% chance of development into a tropical depression, which is a lower probability than previous outlooks," according to the report. "Regardless of development, a surge of tropical moisture could enhance the risk of heavy showers and thunderstorms in Southeast Texas on Friday." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The National Weather Service office that services the Mobile, Alabama and Pensacola, Florida areas is cautioning residents against heavy rainfall Thursday and especially Friday. Forecasters said most areas across northwest Florida, coastal Alabama and southeast Mississippi will see around 2 to 4 inches of rain, while areas further inland could see 1 to 2 inches. The NWS said the greatest concern for flash flooding is along the Interstate 10 corridor. Spaghetti models for Invest 93L Illustrations include an array of forecast tools and models, and not all are created equal. The hurricane center uses only the top four or five highest performing models to help make its forecasts. Atlantic storm tracker This forecast track shows the most likely path of the center of the storm. It does not illustrate the full width of the storm or its impacts, and the center of the storm is likely to travel outside the cone up to 33% of the time. This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Is there a tropical storm coming? Invest 93L tracker, spaghetti models Hollywood actor Ron Perlman has endorsed animal rights advocates efforts to silence nightly summertime fireworks in Niagara Falls. In a recently released video, the Sons of Anarchy and Hellboy star calls on Niagara Falls Tourism, the entity responsible for evening fireworks shows at the Falls, to stop terrorizing area wildlife and companion animals by putting an end to the series which features loud booms and bright lights on 151 nights of the year through Oct. 13. Imagine dogs, cats, birds, deer, and other animals panicking every single night for months, Perlman said in his video. The falls are already a wonder. You dont need gimmicks like fireworks to bring people in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perlmans video received an endorsement from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, commonly known as PETA, which has been calling on the Canadian tourism agency to suspend fireworks shows in the Falls for years, arguing that they are disorientating and distressing to animals. PETA argues that fireworks shows can cause dogs and cats to jump fences or break through windows and screen doors to try to escape the noises, leading to some animals never being reunited with their families. Other animals, including wildlife, are hit by cars when they flee onto roads, PETA says. In his video, Perlman, who has several companion animals in his home, also urged his fans to celebrate the Fourth of July holiday responsibly by avoiding the use of fireworks around animals. PETA has advocated for Niagara tourism to consider other celebratory options, such as drone shows or explosion-free displays, that are used for celebrations in other parts of southern Ontario, including North Bay, Ottawa and Toronto. In his video, Perlman agrees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Please do better, Perlman said. Switch to drones. Give animals, and everyone else, a break. PETA says more than 90,000 people have joined the call to push Niagara Falls officials to end fireworks displays at the Falls. Today, the Safer Beauty Bill Package was introduced into Congress in an attempt to reform the cosmetics industry, currently subject to little governmental oversight. The collection of four bills aims to remove certain chemicals from products, protect vulnerable salon workers, and introduce greater transparency to formulation and ingredient sourcing. Lawmakers and some dermatologists agree that the legislation is long overdue. The reality of today's cosmetics industry is that stuff we slather over our skin or lather into our hair isn't subject to much government oversight. While there are some regulations on labeling and ingredients, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesnt require that most over-the-counter beauty products be approved before they hit the market. As a result, its up to shoppers to figure out if a product is a healthy choice for them. But that could change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, a new bill package has been introduced in Congress that asks for sweeping reforms to and industry that, some say, is shrouded in too much mystery. Its called the Safer Beauty Bill Package and, as the name implies, its aimed at making your skin, hair, and makeup products better for you. Heres what you need to know. Meet the experts: Gary Goldenberg, MD, is an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine. Jan Schakowsky is a member of United States House of Representatives who represents the 9th district of Illinois. Lizzie Fletcher is a member of the United States House of Representatives who represents the 7th district of Texas. Joshua Zeichner, MD, is the director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. What does the bill package say? The package is made up of four different bills and is spearheaded by four lawmakers: House Representatives Jan Schakowsky, Lizzie Fletcher, Doris Matsui, and Ayanna Pressley. The bills are designed to remove certain chemicals from cosmetics and personal care products, increase transparency about whats in products as well as where they came from, and protect the health of at-risk populations who use these products. The package includes these: Toxic-Free Beauty Act: This act would ban two classes of chemicals, along with 18 hazardous chemicals like lead, mercury, formaldehyde, asbestos, phthalates, and parabens from cosmetics and personal care products due to their links to cancer, brain damage, and reproductive harm. (Worth noting: Most of these are already banned in the European Union and some U.S. states.) Cosmetic Safety Protections for Communities of Color & Salon Workers: The act highlights the disproportionate exposure to toxic chemicals in cosmetic products that are marketed to salon workers and women of color. The bill would provide $30 million in research, public education, and safer alternatives, as well as direct the FDA to oversee the safety of synthetic hair products that are often used by Black communities. Cosmetic Hazardous Ingredient Right to Know Act. This legislation would require the disclosure of hazardous fragrance and flavor ingredients on product labels and brand websites. Businesses that include these ingredients would also need to provide links to safety information on any ingredients with a risk of causing health issues. Cosmetic Supply Chain Transparency Act: This act would require information about ingredients used in the cosmetics supply chain to provide more transparency and allow manufacturers and brand owners to make safe decisions about their products. Why is this needed? For some, this legislation is long overdue. "People assume that the personal care and beauty items they use are safe, but with minimal oversight, many of the care, beauty, and salon products sold across the country actually contain toxic chemicals," says Representative Lizzie Fletcher, a bill co-author. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The package is part of a movement toward transparency over the last few years. In 2022, the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA) added more regulatory oversight to the FDA over ingredients, labeling, and safety. But it doesnt change the safety of ingredients in these products. This law is a good first step, but much more is needed, bill co-author Representative Jan Schakowsky says. Today, it is estimated that there are more than 10,000 chemicals used to make beauty and personal care products and, on average, men and women use six to 12 personal care products a day, exposing themselves to hundreds of unique chemicals daily. Representative Schakowsky points out that the European Union bans thousands of chemicals, while the FDA has only banned or restricted a handful of chemicals in cosmetics. This bill package aims to fix that. More and more science is showing beauty and personal care products contain chemicals linked to many health concerns, ranging from hormone disruption and infertility, to respiratory harm, cancer, and more. Dermatologists are on board, too. This bill is a great idea, says Gary Goldenberg, MD, assistant clinical professor of dermatology at Icahn School of Medicine. Making beauty products safer and increasing transparency is definitely needed. Joshua Zeichner, MD, director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital, agrees: Cosmetic skincare products are currently loosely regulated, so I think greater oversight over these products is a good thing. But he's quick to point out that more research is needed to establish a clear connection between personal care products and potential health harms. Many of the studies cited have been conducted on animals in a lab setting. It is important for there to be definite data in humans showing that ingredients are truly harmful, he says. Current animal research suggesting that high levels of specific compounds are harmful to your health is quite different from real-life exposure in humans. What happens now? This just a package of bills at this point. From here, they will need to be debated, studied, and voted on in the House of Representatives, before moving on to the Senate. If the bills pass the House and Senate, they will go on to the president to be signed into law. Theres a lot that can happen in the processthis is just the first step. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, Rep. Schakowsky says she hopes a lot will come out of this package. We must continue to strengthen our nations cosmetic safety laws by banning the most toxic chemicals found in personal care products, closing the fragrance and flavor loophole, and protecting communities that are most vulnerable to unsafe chemicals hiding in their beauty and personal care products, she says. We all deserve a government that protects us from toxic chemicals in the beauty and personal care products we use every day. You Might Also Like Hibbing man convicted of infant manslaughter wanted as a fugitive originally appeared on Bring Me The News. A Hibbing man convicted of manslaughter in the 2017 death of a baby in a house fire is now a wanted fugitive. Jesse Bonacci-Koski, 32, was reported as a fugitive by the Minnesota Department of Corrections on Monday. He was released on probation in January. No further details are provided by the DOC as to why he is currently wanted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bonacci-Koski was convicted of 2nd-degree manslaughter after his nephew died in a house fire while under his watch. According to the criminal complaint, the fire broke out on Aug. 2 of 2017 at a home in Tower. A baby was found unresponsive in a crib in an upstairs bedroom and declared dead at the scene. Minnesota Department of Corrections The childs parents told police that his uncle, identified as Bonacci-Koski, was supposed to be watching him. Bonacci-Koski was not found at the scene. Bonacci-Koski reportedly fled the area in a car stolen from the parking lot of a nearby bar. He was eventually taken into custody. Bonacci-Koski later admitted to police he had left the house to go buy drugs. Methamphetamine was found in the backpack he had on him at the time of his arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was sentenced to five years in prison and three years on supervised release, but was also charged with assault in 2022 while out on release. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to contact police. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared. Fires that burned across moorland at Carrbridge and Dava in the Highlands recently were the biggest Scotland has ever seen, according to landowners. Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) estimates the fires that broke out in late June and early July affected 29,225 acres (11,827 hectares) - an area almost 30 times bigger than Lanarkshire's Strathclyde Park. SLE said at least 101 workers from more than 30 rural businesses assisted dozens of firefighters in tackling the blazes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A fire at Carrbridge discovered on Friday 20 June re-ignited on multiple occasions times over 11 days before being fully extinguished. Police and firefighters are continuing to investigate a wildfire that started on Dava Moor on Saturday 28 June. In numbers:. What it took to fight the wildfires [ 34 All-terrain vehicles ],[ 27 Fogging units - specialised equipment that creates a fine mist ] [ 33 Rural businesses, including 27 estates and two nature reserves, assisted firefighters ],[ 50 Leaf blowers along with nine tractors and five diggers were also used in tackling blazes ],[ 5,000 The highest cost of the damage to 18 businesses worst affected ], Source: Source: Scottish Land and Estates, Image: A wildfire in Highlands in June Ross Ewing, director of moorland at SLE, said rural workers should be commended for their efforts. He said: "The Carrbridge and Dava wildfires represent the largest such event in Scotland's history and without the extraordinary intervention of rural businesses, the scale of devastation would have been even greater. "These land managers brought not only equipment and personnel, but also essential knowledge of the terrain and fire behaviour much of it honed through generations of safe muirburn practice." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muirburns are controlled fires set burn off old heather and other vegetation on grouse shooting estates. While the main purpose is to encourage new heather growth for grouse and other animals to feed on, it also gets rid of excess vegetation which can fuel wildfires. However, the practice also has the potential to damage peatlands, which play an important climate role in locking up carbon, and can have a negative impact on other wildlife. New restrictions on the use of muirburns are due to come in next year. How are wildfires controlled? The Scottish Gamekeepers Association's Kenneth Stephen said the use of muirburns had proven crucial in controlling some of the recent fires. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But he told BBC Scotland News: "Where there were no firebreaks and the land was not managed, the wildfire just raged through large areas. "It becomes too hot and unmanageable that it is not actually safe to put people in there." He added: "What we want is for the Scottish government to look at the forthcoming muirburn restrictions, due to come into place on 1 January 2026, and realise that they are not going to help prevent wildfire and the loss of peatlands." Mr Stephen said wildlife was likely to have been affected, including hares, adders and the nests of hen harriers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their comments came as Scottish Agriculture Minister Jim Fairlie visited areas affected by the fires. Speaking earlier on Thursday, he praised the group and members of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association for the role they played in tackling the blazes. "I am extremely grateful to the SFRS, the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, and others for their hard work and dedication in fighting these fires, and for taking the time to meet with me this week to reflect on that experience and lessons we can learn for future incidents," he said. What causes wildfires? The fire service classifies wildfires as large, uncontrolled outdoor fires exceeding 1,000 sq m of burned area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It says these fires are unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable, and occur in areas with combustible vegetation that can fuel rapid spread. Human activity is often to blame with fires started by barbecues, glass bottles magnifying sunlight on dry vegetation and discarded cigarettes. One of the reasons fires continued to burn on moorland was because of its peaty soil which fuels the flames. The incidents at Dava and Carrbridge resulted in closures of local roads and nearby residents being told to keep windows of homes and businesses closed due to smoke. BBC Weather Watchers reported smoke from the wildfire near Carrbridge in the Highlands drifting for 40 miles (64km) across the Moray Firth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But residents in Orkney have also reported smelling smoke carried miles north on the wind. Moray Scottish Greens councillor Draeyk Van Der Horn also photographed smoke from a number of wildfires visible from a summit in the Cairngorms. Early morning and evening skies over parts of north Scotland were tinged orange by wildfire smoke. Meanwhile, SFRS said it was back at Dava Moor on Wednesday. A spokesperson told BBC Scotland News: "We were alerted at 19:20 to reports of a fire in the open affecting heather and trees along the A940 near Dava. "Operations control mobilised six appliances, which included a water carrier, to make the area safe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Firefighters are no longer at the scene." In a separate incident, firefighters tackled a large wildfire near Dallas in Moray. A helicopter was brought in to help extinguish the flames. All the incidents came during a spell of warm, dry weather. More on this story (FOX 5/KUSI) San Diego Police say large, crowded events like Comic-Con and Pride can attract criminal activity, including theft. Moe Girton, owner of Gossip Grill in Hillcrest, is one of the many bars and restaurants gearing up for a busy Pride weekend. She has safety measures already in place year-round and some new ones for the weekend. Girton says her bar will have metal detectors specifically for Pride weekend and her bag policy has changed. Only clear bags will be allowed into the bar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gossip Grill is an all-womens establishment that welcomes everyone, and Girton says they are trained on looking out for unusual and suspicious behavior. What we look for are men coming in here pretending to drink a beer or cocktail and not drink it and walking around. Theres a certain motion that we can spot and that is someone that we ask to leave. That is not a good sign for us. Every patrons ID is scanned and a photo taken when they enter too, which can help deter unsavory activity. However, pickpocketing remains the biggest issue at the bar during Pride weekend. Last year, more than 70 cell phones were stolen from people. To combat that, Girton has signage posted everywhere reminding people to keep an eye on their cell phones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres this bump and grab thing thats happening where one bumps, the other one grabs, she said. We also make announcements whenever we see something going on. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. HINTON, WV (WVNS) It is about time to splash back to Hinton for their annual Water Festival. City of Hinton certified as a Build WV District For 2025, the festival will begin Thursday, July 17 and finish Saturday, July 19. It will feature its famous Firemans Parade Friday evening followed by fireworks, the Grand Parade Saturday morning, with plenty of delicious food, and more! City of Hinton Mayor Jack Scott told 59News they may have had to dial back some of the activities this year, but they are looking forward to having a blast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This has been in our community for well over 50 years and it is really important. It was originally established to create awareness about the abundant waterways and outdoor recreation we have here, said Mayor Scott. Here is the full list of events. July 17: Vendors open @ 5 p.m. located at the Summers County Courthouse Square. Randy Gilkey and Alex Bair will perform at the Rivertown State from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. July 18: Nathan Seldomridge will perform at the Rivertown Stage from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Firemans Parade (starts from James Street and 1st Avenue) @ 8:00 p.m. Fireworks (View from the bridge on Route 20) @ 9:00 p.m. or Dusk. July 19 Grand Parade (Starts at the corner of James Street and 1st Avenue) @ 11:00 a.m. Matt Mullins will perform at the Rivertown Stage from 12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Monroe County gets new emergency medical assistance program The trackless train will be available for folks to ride on Friday from 5:00 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 11 a.m., as well as from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. It boards at 3rd Avenue and Ballengee Street every 15 minutes. There will also be bouncy houses, food trucks, and games throughout the weekend. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ALBANY, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul is facing a political tripwire as she weighs the future of a decade-old bill that would allow terminally ill people to obtain life-ending medication. Hochuls administration has begun meeting with key interest groups as she decides whether to sign one of the most controversial pieces of legislation to pass the Legislature in recent history just as she gears up for a tough reelection contest. Controversial measures are often delivered to the governors desk amid the distractions of the end-of-year holiday season. But the timing of the meetings suggests Hochul is interested in acting sooner rather than later on the hot-button bill, which would be effective immediately if signed into law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advocates who, for years, relentlessly lobbied lawmakers to pass the measure said they are hopeful that Hochul will sign the bill without demanding changes, pointing to several amendments made over the proposals long legislative history to erect safeguards against abuse and allow doctors not to participate. But opponents, most notably the Catholic Church, say they wont be happy with anything short of a veto. You can't tinker around the edges of a fundamental life and death question, New York State Catholic Conference spokesperson Robert Bellafiore said in an interview with POLITICO. It turns doctors from healers into killers. As an active member of the Catholic Church, Hochul will have to weigh her faith, her own personal views and the measures popularity among constituents not to mention her 2026 reelection bid, which will likely see challengers from the left and the right. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The aid-in-dying bill will land on Hochuls desk at a pivotal moment in her career. Republicans are already using the issue to bash the Democratic governor. And the state Democratic party is split: Some lawmakers representing low-income, minority communities worry about unequal access to the life-ending prescriptions and that eligibility could later be expanded beyond terminal illness. Assembly Majority Leader Crystal Peoples-Stokes aired her concerns during the floor vote in April, citing her religious beliefs and her opposition to introducing the euthanizing medication into the market. I just do not agree with it, not just for the spirituality of it all, but for the fact that we're creating this new drug that will be in our communities one day, Peoples-Stokes told POLITICO. Fifty-four percent of New Yorkers support legislation that would allow medical aid in dying, a Siena College poll found earlier this month. Registered Democrats and independents back the policy by more than a two-to-one margin, as do 48 percent of registered Republicans, according to the poll. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The same poll found Hochul leading three potential Republican rivals in the 2026 gubernatorial race by at least 20 points, although none has announced. Corinne Carey, who serves as senior campaign director for New York and New Jersey for Compassion & Choices, which advocates for aid-in-dying bills, said that in the 11 states where similar laws passed there was little evidence of negative political consequences for supporters. No governor or lawmaker has ever lost at the polls following their action, Carey said in a statement to POLITICO. Governor Hochul has nothing to fear politically and everything to gain by signing the Medical Aid in Dying Act into law. But that's not stopping Hochul's political foes from wielding the issue as a political brickbat. One of her potential GOP challengers, Rep. Elise Stefanik, criticized the governor in a New York Post op-ed last month for her gutless silence on the measure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill now sits on Hochuls desk, and where is she? Hiding. Silent. Dodging with a spineless shell review the legislation statement from her team, Stefanik wrote, calling the legislation a moral travesty. Hochuls office declined to comment on Stefaniks remarks or answer questions for this article. Stefanik and other aid-in-dying opponents have partly hinged their arguments on the states low utilization of hospice and palliative care programs, which focus on improving seriously ill patients quality of life by easing pain and distress. Instead of investing in palliative care, mental health support and life-affirming resources for those facing terminal illness, this legislation offers an immoral shortcut that devalues human life, Stefanik said in a statement after its passage in the Assembly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Jeanne Chirico, president of the Hospice & Palliative Care Association of New York State, denounced arguments that pit the two treatment pathways against each other. She said Hochul should invest more resources into hospice and palliative care regardless of her decision on medical aid in dying, noting that the association is neutral on the bill. In states that have authorized medical aid in dying, 88 percent of individuals who used it were enrolled in hospice or palliative care services at the time of their deaths, according to a report released this year by Compassion & Choices. New York would become the 12th state to legalize the measure. This is not an independent decision on medical aid in dying this is about quality of end-of-life care, Chirico said. Chirico said the association met post-session with the governors office to discuss the aid-in-dying bill and press for state funding to bolster the hospice and palliative care workforce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Carey said she is confident the governor will sign the legislation without amendments. She said the governors team has reached out with questions but declined to go into specifics. The questions that they have are standard questions that lawmakers have had, relatively easy to answer, and we've been answering them, Carey told POLITICO. This bill has been amended several times during the course of the 10-year campaign. Religious organizations, including the New York State Catholic Conference, and the Center for Disability Rights are spending tens of thousands of dollars to fight legalization, lobbying records show. Rabbi Yeruchim Silber, from Agudath Israel of America, said that while there are serious religious concerns with the legislation, the bill language also lacks proper safeguards for handling the euthanizing medication. In addition, he argued there should be a more in-depth approval process that includes a mental health assessment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As written, the bill requires mental health professionals in some cases to certify that the person seeking euthanizing medication has the capacity to make an informed decision. We obviously believe that life is sacred and every moment is sacred and its not for us to decide when our time comes, Silber said. We believe that a doctor is there to heal people, and a doctor who takes the Hippocratic oath shouldnt be the one whos taking someones life. As a vocal supporter of the Catholic Church, Hochul will be forced to grapple with her personal views and faith in contrast to those of her constituents. Many Democratic lawmakers said they struggled with going against their personal views when casting their votes during the final weeks of the legislative session. Carey said she feels confident the governor will take her faith out of the equation and pointed to her support for abortion access in New York as an example of her breaking away from the Catholic Church. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New York State Catholic Conference will not be pleased with anything short of a veto. Bellafiore called the issue the most consequential piece of legislation that will cross Hochuls desk in her career. In the future, you can't create a chapter amendment that prohibits judges from expanding this, he said. Once a 30-year-old with severe, lifelong depression comes to the court and says, my rights are being deprived, no chapter amendment can deal with that. HOLYOKE De La Luz Soundstage, an arts and music venue in the citys Puerto Rican Cultural District, is celebrating its first anniversary with a two-day salsa festival packed with live music, dance, and community events. Set to begin at 5 p.m. on July 18 and continue through July 19, the Race Street Salsa Fest marks a milestone for the venue, which has quickly become a cultural anchor in downtown Holyoke. Hosted by Lighthouse Holyoke, this free event celebrates the transformation of the former Gateway City Arts space into a vibrant hub for creativity and connection. All events take place at De La Luz, including in the Divine Theater and De La Luz Cafe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The festival kicks off Friday evening with a community dinner, followed by salsa dance lessons and performances by Sharina y su Conjunto Guajiba and Orquesta El Macabeo. A Latin DJ will close out the night with a dance party. Saturdays events begin with an outdoor brunch and continue with a family concert by Latin Grammy winner Mister G. The evening will offer more dance lessons as well as performances by Afro-Cuban artist Miguel Periche and the all-women salsa band Las Karamba. The night ends with a drum circle led by percussionist Tony Vacca. Organizers say the event is both a celebration of the venues success and a tribute to the cultural richness of the neighborhood. In just one year, De La Luz has become a vibrant, welcoming space for the community a place where people feel ownership, pride, and possibility, said Catherine Gobron, executive director of Lighthouse Holyoke. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We invested in a considerable renovation and upgrade of the facility, standing on the shoulders of what Gateway City Arts created, she said. As a nonprofit, our mission is to serve the community. Since opening, the venue has hosted everything from Pride dance parties and cultural festivals to Grammy-winning artists, student performances, film screenings, weddings and fundraisers. As organizers, weve heard again and again that folks feel something different when they walk into De La Luz theres an energy and intention here that centers community, culture, and care, Gobron said. One of our goals was to reconnect this space with its neighborhood, and were proud to say thats happening. The momentum is real. Were building an arts and education movement rooted in accessibility, creativity, and cultural identity. This anniversary celebration is both a milestone and a love letter to Holyoke and all of Hampden County, she said. Read the original article on MassLive. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) A former Hope Christian Elementary School teacher was ordered Wednesday to remain in jail until his trial. The former teacher and dean of discipline at the private Christian school is accused of sexually abusing two female students. During Wednesdays hearing, Kelly McEachrans wife and friends attempted to persuade the court to grant him release until the trial. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ann McEachran, his wife, expressed her support, stating, Hes kind, hes tender, hes loving. McEachran is being accused of inappropriately touching two former studentsone during the current school year and the other during the 2016-2017 school year. When asked if she was aware of any past allegations, Ann McEachran stated, Just the one just the one with the restraining order. The prosecution argued that Kelly should remain in jail until trial, highlighting that McEachran was allowed access to the school even after the allegations surfaced. Prosecutor Savannah Skye Brandenburg-Koch said, So the school was still allowing the defendant, even though hes supposed to be on leave, to still be at the school and attending sporting events and being around children. The prosecution also noted a pattern of inappropriate behavior dating back to 1993. Not all the accusations were of a sexual nature; some were described as bullying by McEachran, according to court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As many more victims come forward, they have disclosed this chair incident. That the defendant brings his student up to this chair and talks to them, and this is where a lot of the touching occurs, said Brandenburg-Koch during the detention hearing. The defense attempted to discredit the allegations, with attorney Chris Dodd arguing against the Albuquerque Police Department going to the media prior to McEachrans arrest and extradition back to New Mexico in June. There were never any other allegations. [Commander] Hartsock went to the media, and then people came forward. The defense called upon a friend and a former teacher who used to work with McEachran to testify in his favor, asserting that he is a good man. I think he is a very credible individual; hes trustworthy, hes dependable; hes a man of God, said Giovanna Eisberg, a former Hope teacher and friend of McEachran. However, Judge Clara Moran ordered that McEachran stay behind bars through his trial with no bond, stating that McEachran poses a danger. McEachran blew a kiss to his family before being led out of the courtroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He will not face charges for the older abuse accusations, as the statute of limitations has expired. Investigators are still interviewing other potential victims. McEachrans attorney said they plan to challenge Wednesdays detention ruling. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Savings money growing over time by Nattanan23 via Pixabay A retirement-ready portfolio consists of reliable, income-generating stocks that quietly compound over time. Realty Income (O), Verizon Communications (VZ), and Pfizer (PFE) are all solid dividend stocks designed for long-term wealth. These are stocks that provide a strong balance of stability, income, and growth. More News from Barchart Dividend Stock #1: Realty Income Few dividend stocks can match Realty Incomes (O) long-term resilience, consistent dividend growth, and dependable cash flow. The companys most appealing feature for retirement investors is its consistent and growing monthly dividend, which is supported by long-term rental income from a well-diversified portfolio. Realty Income has been paying dividends for 661 consecutive months. It has increased its dividend for more than 30 years in a row, earning the title of Dividend Aristocrat. Unlike most companies that pay quarterly dividends, Realty Income pays monthly dividends, a unique feature that perfectly fits retirees regular income requirements. It provides an attractive yield of 5.64%, which is higher than the real estate sectors average of 4.46%. Known as The Monthly Dividend Company, it is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and manages a large portfolio of commercial properties leased to high-quality tenants under long-term net lease agreements. These leases are typically longer than nine years and are structured as triple net leases, which means the tenant is responsible for property taxes, insurance, and maintenance, reducing cost volatility for Realty Income and increasing predictable cash flows. Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO) is the primary earnings metric for REITs. It reflects actual, recurring cash available to pay out for dividends. While its forward AFFO dividend payout ratio is high at 75.4%, the company has seen consistent AFFO per share growth in recent years. Overall, Wall Street has rated Realty Income stock a Moderate Buy. Of the 23 analysts that cover the stock, five recommend a Strong Buy, one rates it a Moderate Buy, and 17 say it is a Hold. The mean target price for the stock is $60.97, which is 5% above current levels. The Street-high estimate of $68 implies upside of 19% over the next 12 months. www.barchart.com Dividend Stock #2: Verizon Communications Verizon Communications (VZ) is one of the largest telecommunications companies in the U.S. Its revenue comes primarily from wireless service plans, data usage, and broadband subscriptions. These are recurring revenues that are not impacted by cyclical fluctuations. This allows the company to pay out generous and consistent dividends. The company pays an attractive dividend yield of around 6.5%. In addition, it has increased its dividend for the past 20 years. Hope Hoffman speaks out after Vance Boelter indicted with her attempted shooting originally appeared on Bring Me The News. The daughter of state Rep. John Hoffman is speaking out following a federal indictment alleging she was also an intended target in the politically motivated assassination that nearly killed her parents. Vance Boelter was formally indicted on federal charges Tuesday in the murder of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, the shooting of John and Yvette, and the attempted shooting of Hope Hoffman. Prosecutors describe the June 14 rampage as "an act of political extremism" against Democratic lawmakers in Minnesota. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I feel relief today in knowing that the perpetrator of these heinous acts will be charged to the fullest extent of the law," Hope Hoffman said in a statement issued after the indictment. "Though I was not shot physically, I will now forever coexist with the PTSD of watching my parents be nearly shot dead in front of me and seeing my life flash before my eyes with a gun in my face." Hope Hoffman (left) with her parents.Sen. John Hoffman, Facebook Hope Hoffman says her parents, John and Yvette, pushed her out of the way of Boelter's gunfire, allowing her to walk away with only bruises from getting hurled against a washing machine. Her statement continues: "How I didnt get grazed is nothing short of dumb luck. Im grateful I happened to be at my parents house to be able to call 911. Had I not been, they wouldnt be here. My parents saved me, and we saved each other." John and Yvette Hoffman were shot a total of 17 times in their Champlin home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yvette Hoffman recovered in the hospital for several days. John Hoffman was recently released from intensive care and moved into a rehabilitation facility. Related: Sen. John Hoffman out of intensive care weeks after assassination attempt The statement calls out a family member who posted on Facebook and told local media that Yvette Hoffman shielded her daughter, who was born with spina bifida, during the attack. "Ive also had to cope with the violation of my estranged cousin perpetuating incorrect narratives of that night, which was then used alongside my disability to create some feel-good, inspirational story," Hope Hoffman said in her statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hope Hoffman shut and locked the family's front door after her parents were shot, then she called 911 to report the attack, according the couple's earlier statement. Related: 'John initially lunged at the gunman': Sen. Hoffman and wife describe terror of political attack John and Yvette Hoffman have praised their daughter for helping to save other lives by informing the operator that her father is a senator. "Her brave actions and quick thinking triggered the notice to public safety officials that a politically-motivated act was potentially underway," the couple previously said. Boelter visited the homes of two other Democratic state lawmakers in between shooting the Hoffmans and the Hortmans, and he carried with him a lengthy list of potential targets, according to prosecutors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boelter was arrested June 15 in rural Sibley County after an extensive manhunt. Prosecutors have determined that he alone carried out the "act of political extremism." Hope Hoffman's statement concludes: "Terrible things are happening. Lets all try to have some decency. Thats whats getting me through. Most people are decent, and many people are good." This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared. "His actions were not inconsequential; they directly and immediately endangered the lives of hostages at the time," wrote the Forum. The Hostages and Missing Families Forum requested to join as a side to the criminal case against Yonatan Urich, an aide to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for alleged acts that were tied to the murders of six hostages in Hamas captivity last August. His actions were not inconsequential; they directly and immediately endangered the lives of hostages at the time, wrote the Forum in its letter to Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara, State Attorney Amit Aisman, and Central District Criminal Prosecutor Haim Wismonsky. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legally, victims of an attack can be given the opportunity, under specific circumstances, to express their position before relevant authorities in the criminal case. That is the Forums request. Baharav-Miara announced earlier this week that the prosecution is considering criminal charges against Urich, the lead suspect in the investigations into Qatari influences on figures close to the prime minister. The charges considered include: the unlawful disclosure of classified information with intent to harm national security, possession of classified information, and destruction of evidence. This is concerning what is known as the Leaked Documents Affair, in which former Prime Ministers Office military affairs spokesmanEli Feldstein allegedly leaked classified military documents to the German tabloid Bild, after permission for their publication was denied by the Israeli military censor. The documents were eventually published, allegedly to sway public opinion on the hostage negotiations. This was around August 2024, when six hostages were killed by their Hamas captors in a tunnel: Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Almog Sarusi, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Carmel Gat, and Alex Lobanov. Urich accused of sportswashing for Qatari government The connection between the intentions behind Urichs actions and calls for an immediate deal that would free the hostages cannot be severed, argued the Forum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Negotiations are currently in progress, along with Qatari, Egyptian and American mediation. Two hundred and fifty-one people were kidnapped on October 7, 2023, by Hamas-led terrorists. Fifty remain in Hamas captivity in the Gaza Strip, over a year and a half later. If Urichs actions had an effect on hostage negotiations, the hostage families have a right to be part of the criminal process, wrote the Forum. The goal of joining is to uncover the truth and prevent the obstruction of future deals. Urich said in response, in a Twitter/X post, "Returning our hostages is not a matter of Right and Left - it is the most important goal that is shared by all." "I always worked towards this goal - and there are many witnesses to that... It is unfortunate that a small number of hostage families are being dragged into a political play," he added. The ranking Democratic member of the House Oversight Committee sent a letter to the top executives at Fox News demanding answers about the right-wing networks editing of a 2024 interview with Donald Trump, claiming it misled the public about the then-candidates stance on releasing documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. The letter from Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA), first obtained by CNN, accuses Fox News of omitting key context from Trumps response when asked by Fox & Friends host Rachel Campos-Duffy whether he would commit to making the Epstein files public. Garcia is requesting that the network provide all internal records and communications related to the interview with Trumps campaign. Considering President Trumps well-documented past social ties with Jeffrey Epstein, Fox Newss selective omission raises serious concerns that the network may have deliberately sought to shield then-candidate Trump from any further association with Epstein, the letter to Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott and Fox Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch reads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is legitimate to ask whether President Trump himself or those close to him may have actively encouraged the edit, Garcia adds. The network, meanwhile, is denying any claims that it deceitfully edited the interview, noting that the entire conversation was later made available on its digital site. Donald Trump sits down for an interview with Fox & Friends Weekend hosts in June 2024. That interview is now under scrutiny over the way the network edited Trump's comments about his stance on releasing the Epstein files (Fox News) Donald Trump sits down for an interview with Fox & Friends Weekend hosts in June 2024. That interview is now under scrutiny over the way the network edited Trump's comments about his stance on releasing the Epstein files (Fox News) As previously stated, there was no selective or deceptive editing whatsoever. Portions of the initial interview that aired on Fox & Friends Weekend with then-candidate Trump on June 2, 2024 had standard editorial cuts for time and the full answer to the Epstein question aired on the following days show, Fox News said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The entire unedited interview was also run on multiple FOX News Media platforms with full transparency on June 3, 2024, including audio, digital and streaming, while the entire transcript was posted on foxnews.com, the network added. During the televised portion of the interview that originally aired on Fox & Friends Weekend, Trump appeared to be fully in favor of releasing the Epstein case documents, unequivocally telling Campos-Duffy that he supported that decision. During the unedited version that was later made available online, however, Trump hedged and suggested that he would need to redact or fully withhold some documents and evidence because it could contain phony stuff that could potentially affect peoples lives. Yeah, yeah, I would. I guess I would. I think that less so because, you dont know, you dont want to affect peoples lives if its phony stuff in there, because its a lot of phony stuff with that whole world, Trump told Campos-Duffy when asked if hed declassify the Epstein files. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you think that would restore trust? Help restore trust? the Fox host wondered. I dont know about Epstein, so much as I do the others, he deflected, referencing files related to the John F. Kennedy assassination and the 9/11 terror attacks. Certainly, about the way he died. Itd be interesting to find out what happened there, because that was a weird situation and the cameras didnt happen to be working, etc., etc. But yeah, Id go a long way toward that one. The other stuff, I would. While the edit for the television broadcast drew attention at the time, especially after Trump sued CBS News for election interference over edits 60 Minutes made to an interview with Kamala Harris, the Fox News sit-down has gained further scrutiny and criticism in recent days amid the uproar over the Justice Departments conclusion that Epstein had no client list and died by suicide. Amid the MAGA meltdown over the DOJs memo and Trump now claiming the files are a Democrat-created hoax while angrily demanding his stupid supporters move on from Epstein, Democrats have looked to politically take advantage of the controversy by calling for the release of more documents and evidence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following CBS News parent company Paramounts recent $16 million settlement with the president over the meritless 60 Minutes lawsuit, which occurred as Paramount seeks an $8 billion merger that requires the Trump administrations approval, Democratic senators questioned FCC Chairman Brendan Carr about the Fox News edit. Carr, who is currently investigating CBS regarding the editing of its Harris interview, was asked last week by Sens. Chuck Schumer and Ed Markey why he wasnt probing the conservative cable giant. This selective editing appears to be far more misleading than the run-of-the-mill editorial decision-making in CBSs interview with Harris, the senators letter stated, adding that rather than investigate Fox, Carrs FCC should stop its partisan investigations into the news media and cease interfering with independent journalism altogether. Washington House Republicans approved a package after midnight Friday to claw back $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funding, sending it to President Trump's desk. Congress beat a Friday end-of-day deadline to pass the bill, which is known as a rescissions request, after which the money would have had to be spent as originally intended. Efforts to release files related to child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein stalled movement on the bill for hours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The House combined the vote on final passage with a procedural vote, allowing members to pass the package quickly. It passed in a mostly party-line vote, with 216 voting in favor and 213 against. Two Republicans opposed it: Reps. Mike Turner of Ohio and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. The bill targets roughly $8 billion for foreign assistance programs, including the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID. The package also includes about $1 billion in funding cuts for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public radio and television stations, including NPR and PBS. Mr. Trump hailed the vote on Truth Social early Friday morning, highlighting the cuts to public media funding. "REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED.BUT NO MORE," he wrote. "THIS IS BIG!!!" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters early Friday he's "delighted to send that over to the president's desk for signature, and he'll sign that quickly." Before the floor vote, the package had to get through the House Rules Committee, where there was heated debate on Democrats' demands for a vote on an Epstein-related measure. All but one Republican on the committee voted against similar amendments when they were first presented earlier this week, further fueling criticism from those who want documents on Epstein released. The controversy has divided Mr. Trump's base since his administration released a memo earlier this month saying that Epstein had no "client list" and died by suicide in 2019. Some Republicans have pushed for more disclosures in the Epstein case, though Mr. Trump has called the controversy a "hoax." Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, defended the GOP committee members on Thursday afternoon, saying they were unfairly taking heat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They're trying to stick to their job and move the procedural rules to the floor so we can do our work and get the rescissions done for the American people," Johnson said. Early Friday, Johnson claimed the White House and House Republicans are on the same page on how to handle the controversy surrounding the Epstein files. "There's no daylight between the president and House Republicans on transparency, and he's been very clear that he wants all credible information, credible evidence, to be turned over to the people, so that the people can decide. We trust the American people and their judgment." Democrats wanted a vote on a bipartisan measure introduced by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California that would force the Justice Department to release Epstein-related files within 30 days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, Republicans voted against the effort and offered a resolution that carries no legal weight to make the files public. Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the House Rules Committee, noted that there would be no recourse if the Trump administration did not comply with the non-binding resolution. "This resolution they're offering is a cover vote and I'll be surprised if they even bring it to the floor," McGovern said. Republican Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, the committee chair, said it would be up to the majority leader whether the resolution receives a floor vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the committee debated the release of the files, Mr. Trump announced that he asked Attorney General Pam Bondi "to produce any and all pertinent Grand Jury testimony, subject to Court approval." The request came after the Wall Street Journal published a letter Mr. Trump allegedly wrote to Epstein for his birthday in 2003, which the president called "fake." House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries would not say Thursday afternoon whether he planned to delay a final vote past the deadline by exercising his right under House rules to speak for as long as he'd like, a power he used to make a record-breaking speech earlier this month. "I expect that I will speak longer than a minute," the New York Democrat quipped. Jeffries ended up speaking for about 15 minutes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate passed bill early Thursday after criticism After an hourslong vote series, the Senate narrowly passed an amended version of Mr. Trump's rescissions request earlier Thursday, sending it to the House, which approved a larger package of cuts last month. The Senate version is about $400 million smaller than last month's House version, after the Trump administration agreed not to cut funding for a global AIDS prevention program to alleviate some of the concerns of Republican dissenters. Some senators also worried about the implications of PBS and NPR cuts for rural areas, where many residents depend on public radio stations for emergency alerts. The administration promised to find funding elsewhere to alleviate the cuts to the rural stations to win over critics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, the president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said the decision to eliminate its federal funding will force many local public radio stations to shut down and have "profound, lasting, negative consequences for every American." Though all but two Republican senators ended up supporting final passage, some said they had reservations about doing so, especially because they had not received details from the administration about how the broader cuts would impact specific programs. "I suspect we're going to find out there are some things that we're going to regret," Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina said Wednesday before voting for the package. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska both criticized Congress, saying it was undermining its budget oversight role by ceding to the White House's, and arguing that any funding cuts should be sorted out during the annual appropriations process. Collins and Murkowski both voted against the package. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Wall Street Journal reports Trump sent "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein, Trump threatens to sue 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska The House fell into disarray after breaking a record for the longest vote on a rule for debate on a trio of GOP crypto bills. Hardline Republicans with concerns over central bank digital currencies and self-custody said they cut a deal with the Trump administration to merge two of the proposals. There was just one problem: Top House Republicans werent looped in. Youve got people that are just upset they were left out, one of the hardliners, Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As members negotiated compromises like adding the CBDC ban to defense legislation, the procedural vote was left open late into the night until at last leaders convinced holdouts to allow the bills to advance. Theres not a doubt in my mind the bills will eventually pass, Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told Semafor. Its just: How good are they going to be? WASHINGTON (AP) The House gave final approval to President Donald Trump's request to claw back about $9 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid early Friday as Republicans intensified their efforts to target institutions and programs they view as bloated or out of step with their agenda. The vote marked the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted such a rescissions request to Congress, and the White House suggested it won't be the last. Some Republicans were uncomfortable with the cuts, yet supported them anyway, wary of crossing Trump or upsetting his agenda. The House passed the bill by a vote of 216-213. It now goes to Trump for his signature. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need to get back to fiscal sanity and this is an important step, said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. Opponents voiced concerns not only about the programs targeted, but about Congress ceding its spending powers to the executive branch as investments approved on a bipartisan basis were being subsequently canceled on party-line votes. They said previous rescission efforts had at least some bipartisan buy-in and described the Republican package as unprecedented. No Democrats supported the measure when it passed the Senate, 51-48, in the early morning hours Thursday. Final passage in the House was delayed for several hours as Republicans wrestled with their response to Democrats' push for a vote on the release of Jeffrey Epstein files. The package cancels about $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and nearly $8 billion for a variety of foreign aid programs, many designed to help countries where drought, disease and political unrest endure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The effort to claw back a sliver of federal spending came just weeks after Republicans also muscled through Trumps tax and spending cut bill without any Democratic support. The Congressional Budget Office has projected that measure will increase the U.S. debt by about $3.3 trillion over the coming decade. "No one is buying the the notion that Republicans are actually trying to improve wasteful spending, said Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. A heavy blow to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting The cancellation of $1.1 billion for the CPB represents the full amount it is due to receive during the next two budget years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The White House says the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. The corporation distributes more than two-thirds of the money to more than 1,500 locally operated public television and radio stations, with much of the remainder assigned to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service to support national programming. Democrats were unsuccessful in restoring the funding in the Senate. Lawmakers with large rural constituencies voiced particular concern about what the cuts to public broadcasting could mean for some local public stations in their state. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the stations are "not just your news it is your tsunami alert, it is your landslide alert, it is your volcano alert. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the Senate debated the bill Tuesday, a 7.3 magnitude earthquake struck off the remote Alaska Peninsula, triggering tsunami warnings on local public broadcasting stations that advised people to get to higher ground. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said he secured a deal from the White House that some money administered by the Interior Department would be repurposed to subsidize Native American public radio stations in about a dozen states. But Kate Riley, president and CEO of Americas Public Television Stations, a network of locally owned and operated stations, said that deal was at best a short-term, half-measure that will still result in cuts and reduced service at the stations it purports to save. Inside the cuts to foreign aid Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the foreign aid cuts are $800 million for a program that provides emergency shelter, water and family reunification for refugees and $496 million to provide food, water and health care for countries hit by natural disasters and conflicts. There also is a $4.15 billion cut for programs that aim to boost economies and democratic institutions in developing nations. Democrats argued that the Republican administration's animus toward foreign aid programs would hurt America's standing in the world and create a vacuum for China to fill. This is not an America first bill. It's a China first bill because of the void that's being created all across the world, Jeffries said. The White House argued that many of the cuts would incentivize other nations to step up and do more to respond to humanitarian crises and that the rescissions best served the American taxpayer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The money that we're clawing back in this rescissions package is the people's money. We ought not to forget that, said Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chair of the House Rules Committee. After objections from several Republicans, Senate GOP leaders took out a $400 million cut to PEPFAR, a politically popular program to combat HIV/AIDS that is credited with saving millions of lives since its creation under Republican President George W. Bush. Looking ahead to future spending fights Democrats say the bill upends a legislative process that typically requires lawmakers from both parties to work together to fund the nations priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Triggered by the official rescissions request from the White House, the legislation only needed a simple majority vote to advance in the Senate instead of the 60 votes usually required to break a filibuster. That meant Republicans could use their 53-47 majority to pass it along party lines. Two Republican senators, Murkowski and Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, joined with Democrats in voting against the bill, though a few other Republicans also raised concerns about the process. Lets not make a habit of this, said Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker of Mississippi, who voted for the bill but said he was wary that the White House wasnt providing enough information on what exactly will be cut. Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the imminent successful passage of the rescissions shows enthusiasm for getting the nations fiscal situation under control. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were happy to go to great lengths to get this thing done, he said during a breakfast with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. In response to questions about the relatively small size of the cuts -- $9 billion -- Vought said that was because I knew it would be hard to pass in Congress. Vought said another rescissions package is likely to come soon. ___ Associated Press writers Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska, and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report. Almost every city has vacant buildings lying around, but some local organizations are finding ways to make the most of those unused spaces in the City of Erie. Three community leaders have announced plans to turn the former Washington School, St. Paul Parish Center and Sacred Heart School into housing units for the homeless, and the work is already underway. We have buildings in our community that are vacant, and what we have been able to accomplish at the Mercy Anchor Community Center, which was the former Holy Rosary School building, has really triggered our minds that we should be doing more, said Jennie Hagerty, Executive Director of the Mercy Center for Women. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mercy Center for Women hosts Community Picnic for those in need Boo Hagerty with the Hamot Health Foundation has plans to build permanent housing for the homeless at the old Washington School on West 21st Street. Then, Erie Insurance CEO Tim NeCastro looks to put a community hub for residents of permanent housing at the St. Pauls Center on West 16th Street. Meanwhile, Jennie Hagerty has similar plans to build more housing for the homeless at the Sacred Heart School on West 25th Street, also providing supportive services for those living there. But getting to the finish line is still a long road ahead, and the Sacred Heart School will need some necessary renovations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont believe theres a classroom without broken windows, and again, its a vacant building, so its completely understandable. It just needs a lot of love, but I think the true beauty behind the sacred heart school is the memories it once held, and I believe the alumni and the sacred heart community will embrace it, said Hagerty. Erie VA Medical Center housed 79 homeless veterans through 2024 fiscal year Hagerty said they have plans to house about 20 people in the former school, but right now, theyre looking to assess with contractors to get the total projected cost for the three projects. But according to Hagerty, it all comes down to helping those in need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres a lot of work to be done internally, but again, the need to serve this community is far more important than a price tag, said Hagerty. Hagerty said she expects construction to start in the fall or early winter, which will then take around 18 months to complete. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com. The Brief Houston police are investigating after a man was shot and killed early Wednesday morning. According to officials, the shooting occurred in the 5100 block of West 34th Street around midnight. Authorities are searching for a dark-colored sedan in connection with the shooting. HOUSTON - Houston police are investigating after a man was shot and killed early Wednesday morning. West 34th Street shooting: Hispanic male shot, killed while walking near a bus stop Photo from the scene What we know According to officials, the shooting occurred in the 5100 block of West 34th Street around midnight. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said a Hispanic male left a WingStop and was walking near a bus stop when someone fired multiple shots towards him, striking him. The man was being taken to the hospital by ambulance but was pronounced dead on the scene. Authorities are searching for a dark-colored sedan in connection with the shooting. Police said 15 shell casings were recovered at the scene. Officials said witnesses remained on the scene and are cooperating with investigators. What we don't know Authorities did not identify the victim as they are still investigating. The Source Houston Police Department. Howard County is experiencing a housing crisis, and with threats to federally funded Housing and Urban Development programs, those with the lowest income will continue to be affected the most. Howard County had a shortage of about 9,000 housing units at the end of 2023, according to Howard County Housing Commission Executive Director Peter Engel. For many of these households, families overpaid substantially for rent or squeezed large families into small units. But for the Shaffer family, the shortage meant they had to live in Browns Motel after the pipes burst in their town house until they could find affordable housing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The couple searched for housing over four of the five years they lived in Browns, mother Cierra Shaffer said, but couldnt find affordable housing in the Veterans Elementary School district where their children attended school. Eventually, Shaffer was forced to move to another school district in Howard County with her four children, Cameron, Kaia, Addy and Levi, and partner Nick. But without the help of services in the area, such as Bridges to Housing Stability, a nonprofit organization helping community members find stable housing that receives federal and county dollars, Shaffer said she and her family wouldnt be in the stable home they are now. Threats to federal funding With over $32 billion of the Department of Housing and Urban Developments funding on the chopping block as Congress deliberates whether to pass the 2026 fiscal years budget request, residents are facing a lack of affordable housing programs compounded by a housing crisis. If passed, the budget proposes taking many of the federal HUD grants that are relied upon at the state level and lumping them into a grant to then be divvied out to state programs, said Howard County Affordable Housing Coalition Coordinator Jackie Eng, which would result in the state receiving less money and would create mass confusion about how funds would be distributed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Howard Countys Community Action Council an anti-poverty organization designed to meet local needs a little less than half of its funding would be under question, according to CAC President Tracy Broccolino. The organization receives part of the federal Community Services Block Grant to alleviate community members in poverty. Cutting this grants funding would significantly hinder the organizations ability to provide the child care, food, energy and housing assistance, Broccolino said. It would also hinder the 17 other community action agencies in Maryland that receive portions of this grant. A loss of HUD funding would mean a reversal of progress made to reduce homelessness in Maryland, a virtual halt to the production of affordable housing in Maryland, thousands of Maryland families who depend upon housing vouchers to remain housed becoming homeless, and an end to critical community and infrastructure projects in rural Maryland that depend upon community development block grants, said Allison Foster, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Developments director of communications. The extent of cuts to this funding is currently undetermined as budget negotiations are ongoing. Affordable housing in Howard County is almost impossible to find, said Shaffer, and even with a combined income of Nicks full-time job as an arborist and Shaffers part-time job at an insurance company, they still struggle financially, and moving out of the county isnt feasible for Nicks career. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How far away from the vision for Howard County have we gotten when a good percentage of our school teachers cant afford to live in the county? Joanna Lake, CACs public affairs and marketing coordinator, said. When we pride ourselves on being that city on a hill, that place where everyone can live, work, play and thrive when you hold that up in the mirror, are we seeing that reflected in the design and the planning in some spaces? The housing crisis in Howard County Part of Howard Countys need for these housing services is a direct result of its current housing market. Pew Research Centers Housing Policy Initiative Director Alex Horowitz said Marylands high rental prices and low rental availability indicate a real housing shortage in the state. The national rental availability rate in communities is about 7% meaning the other 93% of homes in a jurisdiction are occupied while Maryland sits at 5.7%, and Howard County sits at 5%, Horowitz said. The median monthly price for rentals nationally is $1,400, he added, while Maryland residents have a median rent of $1,800 per month. But the community is not affected proportionally by these figures, he said. Those who earn a low income bear the brunt of these figures. While high- and middle-income households who cant find a place to live can live in both middle- and low-income neighborhoods, low-income households are left with nowhere to go in a housing shortage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When theres a housing shortage and that pushes up rents and hurts affordability, that means more people struggle, Horowitz said. But to Horowitz, theres a solution to this crisis for any jurisdiction experiencing a housing shortage: Build more homes. State and local policies often limit the type and amount of housing that can be built in an area, he said, and when these policies change to make it easier to build homes, housing affordability improves. The state has taken a couple of steps the last few sessions to make it easier to build homes, Horowitz said. But overall, weve seen a number of other states that have taken, candidly, stronger steps than Maryland has to allow to allow more homes. One of the steps Howard County has taken to address its lack of affordable housing is the moderate-income housing unit program, said Kelly Cimino, Howard Countys director of the Department of Housing and Community Development. This program requires developers to set aside about 10% to 20% of their units to be rented or sold at affordable prices. The Department of Housing and Community Development, which is the countys housing department, also receives federal dollars for HUD programs, including the Community Services Block Grant, to facilitate services like the moderate-income housing unit program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cimino said the program allows those at 60% of Howard Countys median household income, which the U.S. Census Bureau puts at around $146,982 as of 2023, to afford units in almost any apartment. Those with an extremely low income are eligible to receive housing assistance via housing choice vouchers, which are commonly known as Section 8 vouchers. Under the program guidelines, Engel said 75% of vouchers must go to households earning 30% of the area median income or less, which is around $44,000 in 2023 dollars. The wait time to receive a housing voucher is around eight to 10 years, and the 3,500-household waitlist is no longer accepting applicants. When the waitlist last opened at the end of 2023 for one month, Engel said the program received 16,000 applicants, which were then reduced to 3,500 via lottery-style selections. Most applicants were from the Howard County region. Its an indication that both regionally and nationally there is a severe, severe shortage of apartments [and] rental units that are affordable to people at the lower end of the income spectrum and that weve documented in many ways, Engel said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But this is not a new issue for Howard County, Broccolino said: Ever since CAC opened 60 years ago, housing has been a main contributor to households living in poverty. Lake said its unacceptable for locals to have to live outside Howard County, even when working here just to afford a home. Rent in Maryland needs to get better Howard County specifically, Shaffer said. Its just unreasonable for young adults trying to make it. Have a news tip? Contact Kat Mauser at kmauser@baltsun.com. Jul. 16Centennial Lane and Bryant Woods elementary schools, projected to be at 118% and 150% capacity by 2035, respectively, are at the center of the redistricting process as the school system looks to shift students to neighboring schools. Subscribe to continue reading this article. Already subscribed? To log in, click here. Originally Published:July 16, 2025 at 2:20 PM EDT Rivian will resume prep work on its planned Georgia factory in August and is still looking to break ground early next year, according to emails TechCrunch obtained through a public records request. The restarted effort comes months after the Biden administrations Department of Energy approved a $6.6 billion loan meant to fund construction. Rivian has invested more than $80 million in the project as of June 20, 2025, up from $41 million in July 2024, according to a progress report submitted to the local joint development authority included in the emails. The project has created 46 full-time jobs so far. Rivian will begin installing deep utilities in August, with vertical construction set to begin in the first quarter of 2026, according to the emails. The company is also reaching out to existing suppliers to see which ones might want to co-locate near the Georgia factory, the emails show. Rivian also asked the states economic development department for a list of suppliers already in the region that may be able to help build the R2 SUV and R3 hatchback at the factory when it opens in 2028. Amid this push to restart the project, Rivians founder and CEO RJ Scaringe met with the states governor Brian Kemp at the end of May. The companys corporate affairs director told the governors office in an email that the meeting was a top priority for the company. Peebles Squire, a spokesperson for Rivian, said the meeting between Scaringe and the governor was a regular check-in. We discussed our ongoing work in Georgia and gave general project updates as well as discussed ways in which we can continue to have a strong partnership with the state, he wrote in an email to TechCrunch. The governors press secretary did not respond to requests for comment. Rivian first announced the Georgia factory shortly after its IPO in late 2021. The company originally planned to start construction in 2022 and have vehicle production up and running by 2024. It promised to invest $5 billion in the facility, and in May 2022, Rivian lined up $1.5 billion in state incentives to help make that happen. The factory quickly faced local opposition. And the project took a back seat as Rivian worked around supply chain shortages during the ramp-up of its R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV at its original factory in Normal, Illinois. Rivian ultimately pushed back the timeline for the Georgia project in favor of expanding the Normal factory, for which it nabbed $827 million in incentives from Illinois. The company announced this delay in 2024 when it showed off the R2 SUV and R3 hatchback for the first time. In early June, a career journalist in El Salvador received a call from a government source. Their name was on a list of more than a dozen individuals the administration of President Nayib Bukele planned to have arrested. I left the country the next morning, they tell Rolling Stone. I didnt know that at the same time, others were getting the same warning colleagues and other people in civil society. As an investigative journalist, I asked myself many questions and had many doubts [about leaving], they say, but in a country that has no guarantees, no rule of law, and no fair trials, I couldnt just wait and see. The reporter who had covered the corruption, abuses, and public deceptions orchestrated by the Bukele administration is part of a growing exodus of journalists, activists, human rights advocates, and nonprofit organizations fleeing El Salvador. The mass exile is taking place in the backdrop of an alliance between Bukele and President Donald Trumps administration, and the rapid devolution of U.S. support for humanitarian rights and grassroots organizations operating around the globe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They wanted us all to run, says Noah Bullock, director of the Central American human rights organization Cristosal. They created conditions where there were really no better options. Hundreds of people left the country in the last month. Cristosal made the decision in May to evacuate their staff and cease operations within El Salvador after 25 years working in the country. On Thursday, the organization is holding a press conference in Guatemala City to explain their decision, and discuss how they will continue their work in exile. The move came shortly after the arbitrary detention of their Chief Legal Officer for Anti-Corruption Ruth Lopez, an internationally renowned attorney who remains imprisoned by the Bukele regime along with scores of other political prisoners. Bullock and other exiles who spoke to Rolling Stone emphasize that they are leaving in order to continue to do their work in the most effective way they can. Its not about putting more martyrs on the table, says one Cristosal employee, who asked to remain anonymous. We left to better protect Ruth. Prisoners cannot protect Ruth. [When we are] free, we can continue demanding as have the organizations that have had to leave Nicaragua and Venezuela denouncing, and fighting for the freedom of those detained, and that is what we are doing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Journalists and others operating in Latin and Central America long ago learned to dance along the lines of repressive governments, organized crime, corruption, and the threat of violent retribution in response to their work. Those who spoke to Rolling Stone some under conditions of anonymity to protect themselves and their families say that Bukele has transformed the expected atmospheric anxiety of their careers into a more acute sense of dread and paranoia. In the vein of Trumpism, the self-styled worlds coolest dictator who was elected in 2019 and modified the Salvadoran constitution in 2024 to allow him to serve a second term quickly cast members of the press and human rights groups as the enemies of progress under Bukeles righteously ordained command. Outlets were barred from press conferences, subjected to frivolous financial audits and investigations by the administration, and attacked regularly by the president and his allies. Prominent members of the media and outspoken critics of Bukele discovered in 2022 that they were the victims of a mass, covert, digital surveillance program using the NSO spyware software Pegasus. The forced exile of some of the only voices publicly attempting to hold Bukeles government accountable is taking place in the context of a global surge of right-wing authoritarians whose strategies for consolidating power regularly overlap. Its within this global fraternity of strongmen which also includes Hungarys Viktor Orban, Argentinas Javier Milei, and Indias Narendra Modi that Trump and Bukele have bonded over their shared visions of themselves as national saviors unaccountable to the laws of their nations. The point isnt that Trump is a Latin American dictator or an Eastern European one like Orban the point is that they are all, along with the people who work under them, part of contemporary right-wing networks, explains Patrick Iber, Associate Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Its a dynamic system for mutual support. And it is one in which authoritarian ideas get reinforced, enemies get defined, and the leaders get to imagine themselves as engaged in a project of national redemption. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Central to Trumps national redemption project is to rid the United States of undocumented immigrants. Bukele has been there to help. In March, the Trump administration handed over 200 mostly Venezuelan deportees to the physical custody of El Salvador, and made a show of having them frogmarched, manhandled, and humiliated at Bukeles Terrorism Confinement Center (CECOT). The high-security prison complex has served as the primary propaganda stage for Bukeles anti-crime crackdown, and is the public face of a carceral system notorious for human rights violations, enforced disappearances, torture, and the frequent deaths of inmates. It was here that the Trump administration chose to stage one of the first public performances of its crackdown on alleged criminal immigration. In the dead of night, the president invoked an archaic law the Alien Enemies Act to grant himself wartime powers to summarily deport undocumented migrants under the guise that they were foreign invaders. The vast majority of the deportees sent to CECOT had no criminal record, and hundreds remain trapped in the prison system without access to legal representation. The American government, despite paying El Salvador unspecified millions to house their prisoners, has continuously insisted that the fate of those deported rests in the hands of El Salvador, while Bukeles government in response to an inquiry by the United Nations Office Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances has said the detainees are under the control of the United States. The partnership gave Americans a window into the dysfunction within El Salvador, but it was only a snapshot of Bukeles wholesale dissolution of democratic governance, the dismantling of institutional protections for civil and humanitarian rights, and the end of the freedom to dissent. Activists, lawyers, journalists, and human rights advocates who spoke out have been systematically targeted and harassed to the point they have now been forced to flee the country, lest they become one of the thousands of political prisoners lost in the Salvadoran justice system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gabriel Labrador, a veteran journalist who has now left El Salvador, notes that Bukeles antipathy towards members of the press began even before his presidency. As the mayor of San Salvador, for example, he prohibited certain journalists from entering his press conferences, and began to use the refrain that all politicians use when the press criticizes them that the media had a hidden agenda against him, and that media criticism of him was motivated by special interests. The rhetoric was decidedly Trumpist. Civil rights defenders and reporters pointing to violations being committed by the Bukele government or reporting on the deals he made with transnational cartels in order to lower crime rates were accused of being in cahoots with his political opposition, or of defending and supporting gang violence in El Salvador. In 2020, Labrador went viral after confronting Bukele about the state of civil rights in the nation at a nationally televised press conference in which the president attacked El Faro a long-running independent Salvadoran news outlet, which has been forced to relocate significant portions of its staff and several journalists who worked there. I suffered a lot of attacks on social media [as a result of that incident] but at that press conference, a guard from the presidential battalion of the presidents security approached me and said I had no right to speak to the president like that. When I brought the recorder closer to him so he could repeat it, well, he walked away, Labrador says. Moments like that were not uncommon. The sources who spoke to Rolling Stone recalled that they and their colleagues were tailed, harassed, and had police and other law enforcement appear at the homes of family or their workplace asking strange questions. Bullock recounted that a contractor who had worked with Cristosal had been abducted and interrogated in an unmarked vehicle for hours, others had had their homes searched and devices seized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ive been followed, strangers have followed me, suspicious cars have followed me, one journalist, who worked at multiple independent news outlets before leaving El Salvador in June, tells Rolling Stone. Theyve taken my picture, officials have held press conferences to defame my work. And so its been very incremental. Monica Rodriguez, a radio journalist with over 15 years of experience, recounts how in December of last year, her home was raided by police and agents of the Salvadoran attorney generals office. Rodriguez and her partner were told that they had been accused of fraud. Law enforcement agents claimed that they couldnt provide her any additional information because the case was under seal, and after conducting an invasive search of her home, they seized a trove of electronic devices, hard drives, and other electronics containing material relevant to her work as a journalist. The events that night were supposed to result in our arrest, she said. In the end we concluded that perhaps they didnt detain us because we managed to make a fuss, and our colleagues managed to get out the word about what was happening to us. In May, years of mounting pressure finally erupted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rodriguez left El Salvador after covering protests against the eviction of agricultural communities from a series of collectives granted to them in the aftermath of the Salvadoran Civil War. The protests, which took place near Bukeles presidential palace, were met with an intense police response, which Rodriguez and her colleagues livestreamed. I think we were there at the right time to be able to denounce what these rural families were being put through, she recalls. What we did was show what was happening. I think it showed the most repressive face of Nayib Bukeles government. Rodriguez received a tip-off days later indicating that she and her colleagues had been photographed at the protest and were being profiled by government officials as targets for arrest. We left with practically only the clothes we were wearing, our bag, and some other things, she says. Several individuals at Cristosal were tipped off by acquaintances or sources in the Bukele administration who warned them that members of the organization would be arrested, or that their offices would be raided. Most of the journalists who spoke to Rolling Stone received similar tip-offs about being on lists created by the regime. Were in a way better spot than lots of other people who dont have the advantage of organizational backing in their exile, Bullock says, adding that the tip-offs felt more than anything like an intentional common pattern used by the regime to create an environment of fear among Bukeles critics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some journalists were able to reach out to the Salvadoran Association of Journalists, whove helped develop protocols for reporters who are threatened or otherwise harassed. Most left by land, either driving or taking buses out of the country in order to minimize potential contact with law enforcement. In some cases they left behind family, parents, partners, and pets, with the hope that they would find a way to extricate them from El Salvador once they had established themselves abroad. Most do not anticipate being able to return to the country of their birth. It hurts me to think that I probably wont be able to bury my parents, one journalist says. That I am taking my child away from their country. One social services nonprofit worker, who has fled the country and asked not to be identified, tells Rolling Stone that the exact number of political exiles can be hard to pinpoint, because many organizations and individuals are ensuring they, their families, and their staff are out of the country before going public. In a way, the impact of this exile is quite minuscule in terms of the amount of people, they say. But in social terms, in terms of what it implies for democracy, it is great. The journalists and activists who spoke to Rolling Stone almost universally cited the arrest of a dozen high-level executives at several bus companies in early May as the first detonation in a chain reaction that would result in their exile. One of the men detained, Roberto Jaco of Seisabus, died while in custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Days later, the Salvadoran government detained Lopez, the renowned anti-corruption lawyer and prominent Bukele critic. Lopez remained missing within the Salvadoran penal system for days following her arrest, and was ultimately charged with embezzlement in a case international human rights groups have condemned as a politically motivated farce. Lopezs arrest was followed by the detention of constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya who had publicly defended Lopez following her arrest, and who was also charged with financial crimes. Alejandro Henriquez, an environmental lawyer protesting the forced eviction of over 300 families from several agricultural collectives outside of the presidents mansion, and Jose Angel Perez, an evangelical pastor and president of the El Bosque cooperative, were arrested that same month. Them going after Ruth, getting involved with this lawyer who had enough recognition, not only nationally but especially internationally, was a wake up call, the nonprofit worker says. That was like the first blow of feeling like They are going to do this, if they have done this [to her] they can do anything, [and then] with Enrique Anaya it became clear they wouldnt stop theyre going after anyone whoever speaks out, whoever denounced them, whoever they want. The Salvadoran government simultaneously implemented a foreign agents law, targeting non-governmental organizations. The broadly worded legislation requires all entities operating in El Salvador who receive funding from abroad to register as foreign agents, prohibits them from participating in activities with political or other purposes or from affecting the public order, and subjects all funds, goods, or other payments and transfers received by the organization to a 30 percent tax. The government has the power to designate an entity a foreign agent, and the ability to level hefty fines or impose the suspension or cancellation of the legal status of noncompliant organizations. The law also opens the door for the Salvadoran government to pursue criminal complaints against NGOs under existing anti-money laundering statues, laws that have already been weaponized to target activists and media outlets on an individual basis. Its a play Latin-American civil society has seen before. The measure is eerily similar to a law implemented by Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega in 2021. Ruth, combined with the foreign agents law, it just becomes absolutely clear that theres no place for us even to defend ourselves, Bullock says. Staying is suicide. Were clearly the target of the repression [and] the way that the case was conducted, its clear that theres no possibility of any judicial defense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congress has considered handing similar powers to Trump through measures like the nonprofit killer provision, which was almost included in the Big Beautiful Bill the president signed into law earlier this month. The provision would have allowed the Treasury Secretary to arbitrarily revoke nonprofits tax-exempt status by labeling them terrorist supporting organizations. Meanwhile, Trumps deportation machine is already operating well outside of the bounds of established immigration law and due process rights. In the construction of the so-called Alligator Alcatraz a migrant detention camp in the hostile backwaters of the Florida Everglades Republicans have engineered their own Potemkin detainment center. The camp is ready-made for camera crews and GOP lawmakers eager to mock the migrants that pass through its tents, while those detainees lawyers are unable to reach them. The judicial system Bukele has built in El Salvador operates in an even darker void. Inmates have extremely limited contact, if any, with family, legal representation or advocates. Trials if the detained person manages to get one are conducted away from the public eye, as is the case with Lopez. El Salvador now has the highest population of prisoners per capita in the world. Hundreds of prisoners have died in the custody of the regime, allegations of torture and abuse abound. Any voice of dissent has been systematically neutered. Theres no effective [political] opposition to Bukele, Michael Paarlberg, an associate professor of political science at Virginia Commonwealth University and an expert in Latin American politics and migration tells Rolling Stone. NGOs and independent media outlets are a potential check on his rule, so thats who hes going after next. Another parallel to Trump and not just Trump, but Orban, and like all of them is that as [Bukele] talks, he uses words like globalist, he talks a lot about George Soros, Paarlberg adds. Its just something that they throw out there because its a dog whistle to the global far right, to be able to say, like, Look, were part of this fight too. But it goes into his narrative that anyone who opposes him must be a foreign agent, you know, must be doing it because theyre paid to, and so the foreign agent law is meant to not just intimidate or jail these NGOs, but also to discredit them and make it seem like they are acting as puppets of the U.S. or these shadowy global networks and the press. While nonprofits operating in the United States have yet to see themselves targeted en masse, the warning signs are there at home and abroad. Trumps first months in office saw the dissolution of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under accusations that the organization was little more than a money laundering scheme for global nonprofits. The administration has ordered an audit of all NGOs receiving government funding and grants, and cut out those whose activities do not align with goals and priorities, of the administration, leading to a chain reaction of death, disease, and starvation around the world. As the Trump administration and Elon Musk took the proverbial chainsaw to government spending, Cristosal was one of a torrent of nonprofits that lost funding amid the administrations dismantling of USAID. A letter of termination reviewed by Rolling Stone informed the organization in February that a $3.8 million grant funding their anti-corruption work in El Salvador had been terminated. Indirectly, the administration was fulfilling a request made by Bukele in his first call to Trump following the 2024 election. We began to restructure and downsize in November, Bullock says, indicating that Cristosal and other organizations anticipated a period of foreign aid austerity under Trump. In January, we got the formal notifications, and so we reduced our staff by like 60 percent and not all of that was U.S. funded staff, but overall changes in order to adapt. Once our contracts were canceled, [they] said that they evaluated our projects and they were no longer aligned with U.S. national interests, he adds. Thats a big message, right? They told us in writing that this type of work is no longer in their interest. If its no longer in the interest of the United States to support the protection of human rights and the development of robust civil society groups in its own hemisphere and beyond, autocrats like Bukele are all too happy to take advantage of the American withdrawal. Politicians, one of the things that they do if they are doing their job well is tell a story to the people, so that people can understand the actions that the government is taking, Iber, of the University of Wisconsin, explains. In El Salvador Bukeles story is a salvation narrative. Its that he has rescued the country from a dire situation, in regards to the gangs, violence, and the economy. There are aspects to Bukeles story hed rather not have told: his reported deals with gang members, the corruption in his own administration, the crimes hes committed against the untold number of innocents lost in his prisons. Thats the kind of megalomania of power that you can see in somebody like Bukele and in somebody like Trump, Iber says. Theyre not really capable of taking on alternative information and dealing with it in a sophisticated way. They reject alternate stories and accuse the people who are providing them of undermining the nation in some way, because of their identification of themselves with the national project and with the restoration of national greatness in one way or another. Trump and Bukele mirror each other most closely in their ability to exploit visual propaganda and public narratives about crime as a vehicle to undermine the very foundations of their nations governmental systems, as well as the legitimacy of their critics: governmental, journalistic, charitable, or otherwise. In El Salvador, nobody doubts that if you speak out, youll suffer a consequence. If youre an organization and you decide to do activities that arent sanctioned by the president, you will get canceled. Youll get fined. Theyll take all of your assets, and they can put you in jail. And theres really nothing you can do about it. There is nothing you can do besides protect yourself, protect your colleagues, work from afar, and hope that one day you can return to the nation you fled and hope to rebuild. In the meantime, many are pained by the notion of having to leave the detained behind, with the hope that their continued efforts and international pressure will secure their well-being. Our priority now is defending Ruth, Bullock says. Thats the last thing we as her colleagues and friends and family can ever let go of. But at the same time, I cant do anything for Ruth if Im in prison. 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. Hundreds across Atlanta metro march to honor John Lewis on 5th anniversary of his death Communities across the country held rallies to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the passing of Rep. John Lewis. They are also part of a National Day of Action called Good Trouble Lives On. Channel 2s Eryn Rogers went to a rally that started at the mural of Lewis along Auburn Avenue and then marched to the Martin Luther King Jr. Center, where several speakers talked to the crowd of a few hundred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They said its important to uphold Lewis legacy. Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs said the congressman was a mentor to him and believes that if he were alive today, he would still be advocating for issues like voting, housing, and immigration rights. Its important to continue to lift up the legacy of the honorable Congressman John Lewis in his advocacy of civil rights, Griggs told Rogers. RELATED STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A block party was set to take place later in the evening near Ebenezer Baptist Church. These events were just a few of many across the Atlanta area and the country. Channel 2s Steve Gehlbach was in DeKalb County earlier in the day, where people lined the sidewalks and waved signs at passing cars along Clairmont Road. A large group demonstrated before the heat of the day, with support for things like vets, public broadcasting, the CDC, and messages against President Donald Trump and his administration. Its one way to have our voices heard, really gives us a feeling of hope and unity because theres a lot going on out here that we dont approve of, said Anne Hughes, who organized the rally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the demonstrators was Jean Harsch, who told Gehlbach that she and her late husband had hosted Lewis first launch for office. Its not quite as exciting as the day he was in our backyard, but its close, Harsch said. When we were young, people we were really on the street, Hughes said. They say this National Day Action on the anniversary of his passing honors Lewis and his fight. , Police officers were assaulted and their vehicles damaged during a protest at a hotel used to house asylum seekers. Hundreds of people protesting about the use of the Bell Hotel in Epping were at the site on Thursday, as well as a smaller pro-refugee demonstration. Essex Police said one officer suffered minor injuries to their neck and eight officers in total sustained cuts, grazes and hand injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper said those responsible would "feel the full force of the law" and confirmed two men had been arrested in relation to protests at the hotel. "If you were one of individuals responsible for damage, particularly towards my officers and vehicles, you can expect a knock on your door," he added. Assistant Chief Constable Stuart Hooper spoke to the media on Friday [BBC] Fireworks were let off and eggs were thrown outside the Bell Hotel in the latest demonstration. The building itself was also damaged. Officers closed a section of High Road in Epping "for the safety of the public and those protesting". The force said it had identified suspects who had carried out the criminal damage and assaulted officers, and was analysing footage from body-worn cameras, drones and social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We know the people who carried out these crimes do not represent Epping or Essex," added Ch Supt Simon Anslow. "Nothing about the offending we saw tonight is representative of these communities, or the peaceful event that ended before this started." Ch Supt Anslow said earlier demonstrations that took place at the site were peaceful, lawful and responsible. Asked about discussions on social media about further protests at the weekend, Assistant Chief Constable Hooper said people should pass on any information to the force. "We will not accept that kind of selfish vandalism we saw last night," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If you are coming to Epping with the intention of carrying out mindless thuggery, that is not acceptable." He said the "selfish criminality and violence" began at 18:30 on Thursday, with everyone dispersed from the site by 23:00. BBC Essex political reporter Simon Dedman, who was at the scene, estimated there were about 400 people there. About 40 pro-refugee demonstrators attended a protest in Epping on Thursday [Simon Dedman/BBC] Last week, Chris Whitbread, the Conservative leader of Epping Forest District Council, called for the Home Office to stop housing asylum seekers at the hotel. He was joined by two local Tory MPs - Epping Forest's Neil Hudson and Alex Burghart, who represents Brentwood and Ongar. They claimed the Home Office did not understand the "seriousness of this situation". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It followed the arrest of an asylum seeker on suspicion of alleged sexual assaults in the town. Hadush Kebatu, from Ethiopia, was charged with three sexual offences, harassment and inciting a girl to engage in sexual activity. He was remanded in custody at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court ahead of a further hearing. Weyman Bennett, a member of Stand Up To Racism who attended Thursday's rally, said: "Britain is a peaceful country in which people should be allowed to go about their business without being attacked." Millie Smith, who lives in Epping and attended the rally, said: "There has been a lot of misinterpretation of who is here and why they are here." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ch Supt Anslow continued: "Disruption and offending is never an appropriate response, no matter the strength of feeling in this case, and on this issue." The Home Office said it had "begun to restore order [to the asylum system], with a rapid increase in asylum decision-making and the removal of more than 24,000 people with no right to be in the UK". A 65-year-old man from Harlow was arrested on Thursday, in relation to an alleged assault which happened close to the hotel on Sunday. He was charged with affray and was released on bail. He is due to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court in September. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A second individual was arrested on Thursday for failing to comply with the orders that were given around dispersal, and was in custody, police said. Follow Essex news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. Related internet links HONOLULU (KHON2) More than 200 Hawaiian Airlines employees will receive Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices by the end of the week, Hawaiian Airlines officials confirm. The company told KHON2 the layoffs will affect 252 Hawaii-based nonunionized employees, whose interim roles are expected to end in the fall. JANUARY 2025 WARN notice issued to dozens of Hawaiian Airlines employees Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These employees have been aware of this milestone and have done meaningful work to integrate our airlines in the first year of our combination, helping us deliver greater value to our guests, said Alex Da Silva, Hawaiian Airlines spokesperson. Officials said 252 people will receive a retention bonus, severance package and individualized job placement services to help with their career transition. Employees are also encouraged to apply for open positions with Alaska or Hawaiian Airlines. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Da Silva said the majority of Hawaiians nonunionized employees have received long-term or extended roles with the company to help support the ongoing integration work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added that more than 5,600 unionized positions remain unaffected, and they are working on growing union-represented jobs in Hawaii. This year alone, we plan to hire more than 800 people for Hawaii-based positions, including some 100 pilots, 400 flight attendants, as well as mechanics and various roles in airport operations across the islands. Check out more news from around Hawaii The company has not filed a notice with the state about the layoffs, but said they intend to do so by the end of the week. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has claimed that unknown individuals set fire to a church in Ukraines Zakarpattia Oblast, leaving the inscription "Magyars to the knives". Source: Orban on Facebook, as reported by European Pravda Details: On Thursday 17 July, Orban posted about the incident on Facebook, including a photo showing the phrase "Magyars to the knives" written on the building. "Forced conscription, murder, arson attacks on churches, incitement and intimidation. All this is happening with our Hungarians in Zakarpattia. We will not allow it; you can count on us!" he stated. "Magyars to the knives" inscription. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photo: Facebook The Zakarpattia police reported that the incident occurred on 16 July at around 22:00 in the village of Palad-Komarivtsi. They found that an unidentified person entered the church grounds, set fire to the front door and painted a provocative inscription on the facade with black paint, intended to incite national and religious enmity. Currently, police, in cooperation with the Security Service of Ukraine, are conducting searches to identify those responsible. Background: Last week, Hungary summoned the Ukrainian ambassador to lodge a protest following media reports that a Hungarian citizen had died in Zakarpattia allegedly after being beaten by the employees of a military enlistment office. Ukraine clarified that the deceased was a Ukrainian citizen. A forensic medical examination concluded that the cause of death was a pulmonary embolism. Ukraines Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Hungarys attempts to exploit individual mobilisation cases for political purposes are harming Ukrainian-Hungarian relations. A few days later, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto proposed that the European Union impose sanctions on three Ukrainian officials in connection with the alleged violent death of a Hungarian citizen due to the actions of the military enlistment office staff in Zakarpattia Oblast. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! BUDAPEST, Hungary (AP) Hungary on Thursday banned three Ukrainian military officials from its territory over the death in Ukraine of a Hungarian-Ukrainian dual citizen, as diplomatic relations between the neighboring countries rapidly deteriorate. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban last week accused Ukrainian authorities of beating the man to death during his mobilization in the Ukrainian military. Ukraine, which has been battling against a full-scale invasion by Russia since February 2022, has rejected Orbans claim, saying the man was a Ukrainian citizen who had left his military unit without authorization and later checked himself into a hospital which found no signs of physical injury indicating violence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian officials have promised a full investigation into the man's death, which they said had been caused by a pulmonary embolism. But Orban and media outlets associated with his government have continually insisted that the man was beaten to death by military recruiters, despite providing no conclusive evidence. Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto told a news conference Thursday that Hungary would ban three military officials in response to the death. He did not name them, but said they were a head of personnel for the military, a regional commander and a Defense Ministry official in charge of mobilization. Szijjarto added that Hungary's government on Wednesday had requested that the three individuals be put on a European Union sanctions list. Until the sanctions are implemented, we have today taken measures to ban all three individuals from entering Hungary, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Orban, a vehement critic of Kyiv and its fight to ward off Russias invasion, has charted a starkly different course than his EU partners in his approach to Ukraine, refusing to supply it with weapons or allow their transit through Hungarian territory, demanding sanctions relief and rapprochement with Russia, and adopting a combative stance toward both Kyiv and its EU backers. In recent weeks, he has escalated a sweeping anti-Ukraine campaign and lobbied intensely against the embattled country's eventual accession into the EU, portraying Ukraine's membership in the bloc as an existential threat that would bring war, crime and economic ruin. Last month, Orban blocked a common position in the European Council on support for Ukraine and its path toward EU citizenship, the only leader among the bloc's 27 member states to do so. ___ Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) A Dothan natives incredible journey back home, which included a hurricane and motorcycle crash, is shaping a new look and atmosphere at a local barbershop on Foster Street. Dothan residents can receive grooming services with an experience in the heart of downtown at Brittle Bones Barber Company, located at 180 N. Foster Street. The owner, Keefer Albritton, says the community has been supportive since opening one month ago. He never imagined he would be where he is today, but everything has worked out for a reason, despite the difficulties he has faced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Seeing people genuinely excited to come in and get their hair cut, and the number of times Ive heard I have never had an experience like this before, is enough to keep me going. This should be in every barbershop, and theyre like its not. Theyre like no one has shampooed my hair before, and I was like it feels good, right, and hes like its nice, Albritton told WDHN. Kalen DeBoer looking to escape Nick Sabans shadow and lead Tide back to playoffs in 2nd season Albritton says he is just following where the universe wants to take him, and Foster Street seems to be the right place. Albritton left the Wiregrass for Tampa, where he fulfilled his dreams by attending barber school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He found his way back to the area after nine years when Hurricane Milton forced him to flee north, and a near-deadly motorcycle crash kept him in the Wiregrass. Last October, I got into a motorcycle accident when I was up here escaping Hurricane Milton, two broken legs, broken pelvis, broken neck, a month stay in UAB, and in that time, we found out that we lost our house as well in Tampa, explained Albritton. Through all the human process of doing all that stuff, I just so happened to be well enough to walk, and I wanted to see what was different about the area I grew up in, and Foster was one of those places that it was always cool, and I wish more was being done with it. Despite his extensive and painful injuries, the upbeat barber did not let harrowing situations dictate his future, and he is making the best of his second chance with his new shop. I have gaps in my schedule specifically for resting my legs. I have a little stool over there that I use occasionally, but its weird and awkward. I enjoy talking and walking around, so learning to use the stool has been interesting. However, most of the time, by the end of the day, my legs hurt, but Ill be fine tomorrow, said Albritton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alabama woman arrested after allegedly stabbing man, chasing woman with crowbar in Walmart The shop offers a relaxed and fun atmosphere for anyone needing a trim or just wanting to talk. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 locomotives that run on electricity and renewable fuels could reduce rail freight emissions by more than half on a typical journey. A 150m investment was made into Class 99 locomotives, which were unveiled in Peterborough at GB Railfreight (GBRf) headquarters on Thursday. Once testing was complete, the new fleet could enter commercial service to move consumable goods and materials across the country this winter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew Pakes, the MP for Peterborough, said it was a "game changer for our city and the national effort to build a greener, more sustainable future". "With the Class 99, we're not just keeping pace with a changing network - we're shaping its future... this is the cleanest, greenest, and fastest way yet to move freight by rail in the UK," said, said GBRf boss John Smith [Emma Baugh/BBC] The Class 99s run on electric lines where available and switch to renewable fuels elsewhere. They aimed to reduce the industry's carbon footprint and ensure goods arrived at their destinations sooner. John Smith, CEO of GBRf, said the locomotives "set a new benchmark for performance and sustainability in UK rail freight". "It's massive," he said. "This is seven years in the making from the point of having the idea to replace our existing diesel trains with this bi-mode locomotive, to ordering them, to financing them, to them actually being built and delivered to the UK." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Smith hoped the decarbonising locomotives would help grow rail freight in the UK as it was "far less carbon emitting than road transport". Transports from GBRf included materials for house building, aviation fuel to airports, clothes, white goods, wine and materials used to heat homes. Jon Garner, senior operation training manager, told the BBC it was "a real pleasure" to drive and "fantastic for our office and the community". "I've spent about nine months talking about the locomotives and looking at them when we visited Stadler in Valencia. They're our babies." Jon Garner said the new locomotives will cover hundreds of miles once they are put into use [Emma Baugh/BBC] Rail Minister, Lord Hendy, said he looked forward to seeing the locomotives decarbonising the rail network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said: "With robust protections for fair network access and ambitious growth targets a part of our plans for Great British Railways, we're ensuring the rail freight sector has what it needs to thrive so it can continue removing thousands of HGVs from our roads whilst delivering huge economic benefits across the country." The new locomotives had hybrid power, faster acceleration, reduced downtime, and increased productivity. Pakes added the investment would not only help cut emissions, but also create local jobs and drive economic growth. "Peterborough is proud to be at the forefront of Britain's rail freight innovation," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I am proud to see our city playing such a key role in shaping the future of rail freight." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More like this story Related internet links A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent was dragged for nearly a block in Oklahoma by an illegal alien from Honduras attempting to escape federal custody, authorities said. Jose Melgar-Rivas, 34, of Honduras, has since been charged with assaulting, resisting or impeding a federal officer resulting in bodily injury, U.S. Attorney Robert J. Troester of the Western District of Oklahoma announced Wednesday. ICE agents pulled over a vehicle in Oklahoma City Tuesday, and Melgar-Rivas, a Honduran national and an ICE fugitive, refused the officer's demands to exit the vehicle, court documents say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A struggle ensued as officers attempted to remove him, and Melgar-Rivas shifted the vehicle into drive and fled, according to a complaint. An ICE officer became trapped in a door of the vehicle as it accelerated. Pentagon Scaling Down National Guard Deployment To La The officer was dragged on a road for nearly a block as Melgar-Rivas tried to escape, the complaint says. The officer ultimately freed himself and sustained multiple injuries. Read On The Fox News App ICE said its Enforcement and Removal Operations agents from Dallas were involved in the incident. The agency shared two photos showing the injured agent's scraped, bloodied upper thigh and a bruised and bandaged arm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Melgar-Rivas was arrested several hours later, prosecutors said. ICE also shared a photo with an agent holding each arm of a handcuffed Melgar-Rivas once he was taken into custody. "Ensuring the safety of law enforcement personnel in executing their lawful duties is paramount, and it remains a top priority of the Justice Department," Troester said in a statement. "Those who assault or interfere with members of law enforcement for simply doing their job enforcing the law must and will be held accountable." "Those who assault federal officers will face swift and stern accountability for their actions," Travis Pickard, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Dallas special agent in charge of North Texas and Oklahoma, added. "Violence and any threats of violence to a federal officer in the performance of their duties will result in an immediate and collaborative law enforcement response to track down the perpetrator." Dhs: Assaults On Ice Now Up Nearly 700% Over Same Time Last Year Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Assaults on federal agents will not be tolerated by the FBI," FBI Oklahoma City acting Special Agent in Charge Joe Ogden said. "We will continue to aggressively support and defend our fellow public servants so they can safely carry out their sworn duties." The Department of Homeland Security has reported a 700% increase in assaults against ICE agents and other immigration enforcement officers in the first six months since President Donald Trump returned to office. The Trump administration has pledged to hold perpetrators accountable to the fullest extent of the law. The Justice Department brought charges against more than a dozen defendants in the July 4 attack against an ICE detention center in Alvarado, Texas, where a police officer was shot in the neck defending the center holding prospective deportees. The FBI on Wednesday captured a Marine Corps reservist believed to have opened fire at the officer and correctional officers that night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Los Angeles has seen a rash of anti-ICE demonstrations since June, but the Pentagon this week removed about half of the 4,000 National Guard troops federalized to protect the city, arguing most "lawlessness" had subsided. Melgar-Rivas appeared Thursday in U.S. District Court in Oklahoma City and was ordered to be detained in federal custody pending further proceedings. Prosecutors say Melgar-Rivas faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted. The U.S. Attorney's Office said the case is part of Operation Take Back America, "a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime." Original article source: ICE agent dragged for nearly a block by Honduran migrant attempting to escape federal custody: authorities Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has faced criticisms recently for agents wearing masks to conceal their identities while making immigration-related arrests. Now, immigration judges are withholding the names of lawyers representing ICE from public record, The Intercept revealed this week. "We're not really doing names publicly," said Judge ShaSha Xu, an immigration judge in New York City, during an immigration hearing in late June, reports The Intercept. But only the names of the attorneys representing ICE were omitted, shocking the two lawyers representing immigrants in the courtroom. One immigrant's attorney pushed back, stating the record would be incomplete without the ICE lawyer's name. But Xu refused to provide a name, citing privacy concerns. Both immigrant attorneys were directed to send a private and confidential message to the ICE attorney via the Webex platform used for the proceeding. In another case in July, Judge James McCarthy, also a New York immigration judge, referred to the ICE attorney as merely "Department" with no objections. Immigration courts are part of the executive branch and differ from courts run by the judiciary in important ways. Immigration judges and attorneys representing the government are employed by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), respectivelyraising concerns over their susceptibility to political pressure. While immigrants have a right to due process under the Fifth Amendment, their rights are limited in comparison to those in criminal court. Immigrants have no right to a court-appointed attorney, except in rare cases, and must represent themselves unless they hire an attorney. Immigration courts are also less transparent than county, state, or federal courts; procedural rules block the publicand immigrantsfrom accessing legal filings and valuable case law of previous immigration hearings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But even with a reputation for lacking transparency, the New York immigration judges' actions are unprecedented. "I've never heard of someone in open court not being identified," Elissa Steglich, a law professor and co-director of the Immigration Clinic at the University of Texas at Austin, told The Intercept. "Not identifying an attorney for the government means if there are unethical or professional concerns regarding [DHS], the individual cannot be held accountable. And it makes the judge appear partial to the government." "It's up to the judges whether or not they want to [withhold an ICE attorney's name]," Judge Shirley Lazare-Raphael, a New York immigration judge, told The Intercept. She's heard that some ICE attorneys believe it is "dangerous to state their names publicly." Since President Donald Trump took office, pressure to deport immigrants has escalated, bringing many due process concerns to the forefront. While much of the focus has remained on masked ICE agents indiscriminately arresting noncitizens to meet the Trump administration's quota of 3,000 immigration-related arrests per day, pressure has also been mounting within the immigration court system to process more deportations, quicker. New immigration protocols have resulted in a record-high 11,000 asylum cases closed in April, with a denial rate of 80 percentup from 62 percent over the last six months. Once asylum is denied, those without another legal means to stay in the United States are deported. Although no formal rule or directive has been put in place to hide ICE attorneys' names from the public, favoring state actors' privacy concerns over the rights of the American people to hold their government accountable will only degrade the public's trust. The post As ICE Agents Hide Their Faces, ICE Attorneys Are Hiding Their Names in Immigration Courts appeared first on Reason.com. This story was originally published on Manufacturing Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Manufacturing Dive newsletter. Dive Brief: Rolls-Royce will invest $75 million to expand its Aiken, South Carolina, engine plant, in an effort to meet surging data center demand driven by the artificial intelligence boom, the U.K.-based company said Tuesday. The project will increase production volume for the companys large Series 4000 engines, which can generate power for data centers, hospitals, locomotives, superyachts and other applications. Construction is set to begin in the first quarter of 2026. The 60,000-square-foot expansion allows Rolls-Royce to manufacture more of its engine components in the United States, rather than rely on parts from Germany, according to a news release. The project will add 60 jobs to the Aiken facility, with expanded production slated to be ready by July 2027. Dive Insight: Rolls-Royce, not to be confused with the luxury car brand, is one of the worlds largest manufacturers of engines for civil aerospace and military aircraft and ships, according to its website. It also has a power systems division, based in Friedrichshafen, Germany, that is responsible for engine, propulsion and battery storage systems. As demand for infrastructure that supports AI surges, Rolls-Royce said its data center-related sales jumped 50% last year. The company is looking to build on that momentum with its recent U.S. investments. Rolls-Royce is expecting as much as $1 trillion to be spent on AI data centers over the next few years. In recent months, manufacturers have pledged to invest heavily in the space. Jabil recently picked North Carolina for a $500 million facility focused on liquid cooling and thermal solutions for data centers. Meanwhile, Schneider Electric is spending $700 million to expand and upgrade its U.S. facilities to support growing sector demand. According to the Electric Power Research Insitute, data center electricity demand could double across the nation by 2030. We are proud to support Americas growing demand for reliable, domestically made energy systems that strengthen our nations energy independence and security, Adam Riddle, CEO of Rolls-Royce North America, said in a statement. Last month, Rolls-Royce announced a $24 million investment to expand its Mankato, Minnesota, facility, to more than double its production of data center backup power generation systems. By increasing our machining capabilities in Aiken, we can supply more engines to Mankato, enabling us to deliver more gensets with shorter lead times, Adam Wood, managing director for Rolls-Royces power systems division in America, said in a statement. MESA COUNTY, Colo. (KREX) After Ice Cream with a Cop was such a hit in June, the Grand Junction Police Department will head back to Enstrom Candies again Thursday. The family-friendly event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. and there will be a special appearance from the BearCat and SWAT operators. Enstrom Candies is at 701 Colorado Ave. and the event is strictly conversation based, no speeches or agendas, just a relaxed look behind the badge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. President Trump campaigned on a vow to round up the "worst of the worst" offenders among the criminals who were living illegally inside the United States. But CBS News has obtained deportation data that indicates the Trump administration's deportation push has ensnared many undocumented immigrants without violent criminal records. Of the estimated 100,000 people who were deported between January 1 and June 24 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, 70,583 were convicted criminals, according to an ICE document obtained by CBS News. However, the data also shows that most of the documented infractions were traffic or immigration offenses. The ICE document listed out raw data that was broken down by conviction, not by deportee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only 1.8% or 2,355 of the total convictions against those criminals had to do with sex offenses. Another 1,628, or 1.2%, were for sexual assault. The number of homicide convictions totaled just 729, or 0.58%, and the number of convicted kidnappers were 536, or 0.42%. About 10,738 convictions were for assault, or 8.5%, the data showed. ICE's public messaging about its deportation push has focused on undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records, highlighting deportees who were convicted of murder, sex offenses and other violent crimes. Another stated goal of the Trump administration was to remove those with ties to criminal organizations. The CBS News-obtained document shows that 3,256 of the more than 100,000 people removed were known or suspected gang members or terrorists. In response to a CBS News inquiry, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said ICE has now deported about 140,000 undocumented immigrants since Mr. Trump took office. She also added that 70% of those arrested by ICE were of "illegal aliens with criminal convictions or have pending criminal charges." McLaughlin declined to detail the nature of the convictions or criminal charges, or offer further specifics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Back on June 11, six Republican lawmakers who are members of the Congressional Hispanic Conference wrote to ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons to urge the Trump administration to prioritize the detention of violent offenders, convicted criminals and national security threats. ICE has now responded to that inquiry for the first time with figures of those deported since Jan. 1. The Republicans who signed the letter include the conference's chair, Rep. Tony Gonzales of Texas, along with Reps. Monica De La Cruz of Texas, Nicole Malliotakis of New York, David Valadao of California, Maria Elvira Salazar of Florida and Gabe Evans of Colorado. ICE arrests have soared since Mr. Trump took office, averaging 1,200 per day in the first three weeks of June, according to internal figures previously reported by CBS News. White House adviser Stephen Miller has pushed the agency to aim for 3,000 arrests per day, a more-than-twofold increase that has led to pressure on ICE leadership. An increasingly large share of people held in ICE deteintion do not have criminal records, CBS News has previously reported. Around 40% of the agency's detainees since Mr. Trump took office had criminal convictions of some kind with 8% of them convicted of violent crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr. Trump and top administration officials have said their focus is on arresting and deporting people with serious criminal records. "The violent criminals in our country are the priority now," Attorney General Pam Bondi told reporters last month. White House "border czar" Tom Homan says the administration's primary focus is on the "worst" offenders, but he has long said any undocumented immigrant could be subject to arrest. "If you're in the country illegally, you are not off the table," Homan said at an event in Texas this week. "We prioritize the worst, first. That makes sense. But it doesn't mean you prioritize this group and everybody else is good to go." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify that the percentages included represent the number of convictions of recently deported undocumented immigrants. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska The Trump administration is forging ahead with a plan that is sure to fuel alarm across California's immigrant communities: handing over the personal data of millions of Medicaid recipients to federal immigration officials who seek to track down people living in the U.S. illegally. The huge trove of private information, which includes home addresses, social security numbers and ethnicities of 79 million Medicaid enrollees, will allow officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement greater latitude to locate immigrants they suspect are undocumented, according to an agreement signed this week between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by the Associated Press. ICE will use the CMS data to allow ICE to receive identity and location information on aliens identified by ICE, the agreement says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: National Guard came to L.A. to fight unrest. Troops ended up fighting boredom The plan, which has not been announced publicly, is the latest step by the Trump administration to gather sensitive information about people living in the U.S. as it seeks to deliver on its pledge to crack down on illegal immigration and arrest 3,000 undocumented immigrants a day. It is certain to face legal challenges. Critics have sounded the alarm ever since the Trump administration directed the CMS last month to send the DHS personal information on Medicaid enrollees, including non-U.S. citizens registered in state-funded programs in California, Illinois, Washington and Washington, D.C. These states operate state-funded Medicaid programs for immigrants who are otherwise ineligible for federal Medicaid and had committed not to bill the federal government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California Sens . Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff warned last month of potential violations of federal privacy laws as Trump officials made plans to share personal health data. "These actions not only raise ethical issues but are contrary to longstanding HHS policy and raise significant concerns about possible violations of federal law," the senators wrote in a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz. We are deeply troubled that this administration intends to use individuals private health information for the unrelated purpose of possible enforcement actions targeting lawful noncitizens and mixed status families, Padilla and Schiff said in a statement. The decision by HHS to share confidential health information with DHS is a remarkable departure from established federal privacy protections that should alarm all Americans. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin declined to answer questions about whether immigration officials are now accessing the personal Medicaid data or how they plan to use it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trump consistently promised to protect Medicaid for eligible beneficiaries," McLaughlin said in a statement. "To keep that promise after Joe Biden flooded our country with tens of millions of illegal aliens CMS and DHS are exploring an initiative to ensure that illegal aliens are not receiving Medicaid benefits that are meant for law-abiding Americans. Undocumented immigrants are not permitted to enroll in Medicaid, a joint federal and state program that helps cover medical costs for low-income individuals. The program also limits benefits for other lawfully present immigrants, with some required to undergo waiting periods before they can receive coverage. However, federal law requires states to offer emergency Medicaid, coverage that pays for lifesaving services in emergency rooms to everyone, including non-U.S. citizens. Read more: ICE agents wearing masks add new levels of intimidation, confusion during L.A. raids Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 2024 Congressional Budget Office report found that a total of $27 billion was spent on emergency Medicaid for noncitizens between 2017 and 2023. That number represents less than 1% of overall spending on Medicaid during that time period. Nevertheless, Trump and other federal leaders have pushed to reduce spending on Medicaid, alleging that undocumented immigrants have been taking advantage of the program. Hannah Katch, a CMS advisor during the Biden administration who previously worked for California Medicaid, told The Times that the Trump administration's plan to turn over Medicaid data represented "an incredible violation of trust." The data that states send to CMS has certain protections and requirements in statute and also by custom, Katch said. For CMS to share the information of Medicaid enrollees outside the agency, she said, would have a devastating impact on people who depend on emergency Medicaid to access critical care. "Making people afraid to seek care when they are experiencing a medical emergency, or when their child is experiencing a medical emergency, it is an incredibly cruel action to take," Katch said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elizabeth Laird, the director of equity in civic technology at the Center for Democracy and Technology, said the sharing of such data would further erode people's trust in government. "By turning over some of our most sensitive healthcare data to ICE, Health and Human Services has fundamentally betrayed the trust of almost 80 million people," she said in a statement to The Times. "This jaw-dropping development proves that the Administrations claim of using this information to prevent fraud is a Trojan horse that instead will primarily advance their goal of deporting millions of people," she said. "Over 90 percent of entitlement fraud is committed by U.S. citizens, underscoring the false pretense of sharing this information with ICE." The plan to share Medicaid data is not the first time the Trump administration has sought to share personal information across departments. In May, the Department of Agriculture told states they had to turn over data on the recipients of SNAP food benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last month, the California Medical Assn. warned that the Trump administration's sharing of personal Medicaid data would put nearly 15 million patients and their families at risk statewide. Our job is not protecting the borders, its protecting our patients and providing the best health care possible, " Dr. Rene Bravo, CMAs president elect, said in a statement. "When patients come to us its often the most vulnerable times in their lives, and we offer a safe space for their care." Read more: L.A. woman faked immigration 'kidnapping' in scheme for donations, feds charge Orange Countys Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs notified the public last month that the CMS had been directed to send DHS personal information of Medicaid enrollees, including non-citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jose Serrano, director of Orange Countys Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs, said Thursday that certain information about those who sign up for benefits has long been shared with the state, which passes it along to the federal government for research, funding and eligibility purposes. The one thing that is different during this time is that the information is being used against people, especially those who are immigrants, he said. The situation has already caused anxiety among immigrant populations in Orange County, Serrano said. Some have reached out to the agency asking whether they can un-enroll from programs or change their addresses for fear that they or their families may be targeted by immigration officials. The truth is immigrants spend more and invest more in our communities and the economy than they take away, Serrano said. Its unfortunate, he added, that this medical information is going to be used against the same families that are already investing in our communities through the taxes they pay on a yearly basis. 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. In California, well before federal immigration agents reach their targets, their regular, brutal raids are sometimes augured by a video. They passed Ventura, entering Santa Barbara, 10am, read the caption on an Instagram post the morning of Thursday, July 10. Shot through the windshield of a moving car on the freeway, it showed a line of vans, SUVs, and other large vehicles, the type often spotted at raids. Fucking caravan, you guysfucking caravan, a voice in the car added. The footage was reposted by two immigrant rights groups in Ventura County, 805 Immigrant Coalition and VC Defensa. Then it spread over social media. A few hours later, an ABC7 news chopper hovered over the scene as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents descended on farms near Camarillo. It was late afternoon on the East Coast when I opened the news stations live feed on YouTube. Almost instantly, I felt sick. From high overhead, the choppers camera zoomed in on ICE agents in an apparent standoff, their vehicles parked in dusty brown earth at the roadside, as if abandoned. Striding around casually while dressed for war, agents could be seen lining up farm workers. Some agents stood a few feet from a stretcher with a person lying on it. All told, the arrests a week ago may add up to the largest single roundup yet by this administration. According to the Department of Homeland Security, more than 300 people were arrested in the raids on farms in Camarillo and Carpinteria. But the arrests did not target only workers. Additional federal agents, their faces covered with neck gaiters and reflective sunglasses, launched smoking canisters into the group of witnesses and community members gathered behind a length of flimsy yellow police tape drawn across the road. Stacks of water bottles appeared roadside, to drink and as an eye flush in case of tear gas. This was direct action more than protest; few, if any, signs could be seen. People were putting their bodies in ICEs way, a rolling vigil over hours. Periodically, different witnesses raised their phones aloft, pointing them at officers blocking the road. The whole thing was recorded from so many angles. At times, individuals stood motionless, inches from the front of the federal agents vehicles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The live feed of the arrests and protests, almost completely silent except for an eerie mechanical buzz, went on for hours, too. It was numbing to watch until those moments when the scene seemed to mark itself for future inclusion in a documentary series or a civil rights case (or a news story). That quantity of footage may be too much to consume, especially on top of the myriad videos that demonstrators themselves shot and shared on Instagram, TikTok, and Bluesky. As available as all of this material was, a record right at our fingertips, the simple facts of the raid could get submerged. Breaking news stories euphemistically described an immigration enforcement action and clashesa disingenuous term that suggests equal force on both sidesbetween protestors and federal agents. But the story is both clear and simple: Federal agents arrested workers at a large commercial farm near Camarillo, and federal agents also arrested the people who came out to defend the workers. Defending workers is something Californians have been doing in rising numbers for weeks now, ever since Trumps close advisor, Stephen Miller, and Trumps immigration czar, Tom Homan, selected California residents as the people to be made an example of in their contemptible national crackdown. This week marked the fortieth day of ICE raids in California, during which an estimated 3,000 people have been arrested, and 2,000 National Guard and 700 active-duty Marines remain stationed in Los Angeles. In mid-June, Border Patrol released a video of its agents, also faceless and in full gear, making arrests in Los Angeles. The video, titled A Relentless Mission LA Protests U.S. Border Patrol, underlines the extent to which these immigration enforcement actions are deliberately choreographed displays of power, meant to suppress and shrink immigrant communities and political opposition alike. The raids are spectacles, designed for the rest of the country to applaud or fear, in which immigrants are scapegoated and dissenters are punished for the cameras: a cautionary action-horror movie playing out in real time. In addition to the Border Patrol, National Guard and police blockaded access to the farms, reported Mel Buer, an independent journalist in Los Angeles who has been covering the response to ICE raids. But people, she wrote, came anyway. Arriving as the sun set, Buer could hear them chanting well before she reached them. She saw more than 100 demonstrators facing down a thick line of Border Patrol agents and National Guard kitted out in riot gearhelmets, gas masks, and shields. Angelmarie Taylor, a student at California State University Channel Islands and part of 805 Immigrant Coalition, was one of those demonstrators. We are average community members who have been volunteering our time to patrol our own streets to keep each other safe from these ICE agents, Taylor said on Democracy Now on Friday. While the federal agents harmed the demonstrators and violated their rights, she said, those agents used even more intense violence on the farmworkers themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also among the witnesses and protesters was Jonathan Caravello, a professor at California State University, whom Taylor said had been targeted for speaking out in defense of the immigrant community. After he was arrested on Thursday, Caravello vanished for days. The California Faculty Association, Caravellos union, condemned his abduction and disappearance, and said they were still working to locate him. The Trump Administrations barbaric attacks on peaceful observers aim to force people of good conscience into silence and complicity while Trump tears our nation apart, said Arnulfo De La Cruz, President of SEIU Local 2015 and Executive Board Member of SEIU California. CFA and SEIU California jointly called for the release of all the people who were taken by immigration agents in the raid on Thursday and for a stop to all immigration raids, immediately. Late Monday afternoon, Caravello was released from federal detention. Unusually, federal prosecutors did not announce the charges against him until Sunday, and when they did, it was in a post on X by Bill Essayli, the interim U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. The same office is pursuing federal charges against an activist who brought face shields to distribute at a protest, to protect people from chemical agents used by police. In the Department of Justice, such overreach is now par for the course: The day after Caravello was released, federal prosecutors in Spokane, Washington, charged a group of protestors, including the former city council president, for conspiracy to impede or injure officers. Most of those who were charged in Spokane had merely blocked a bus carrying people whom ICE had detained, a type of intervention we are seeing now across U.S. cities. This politically motivated action is a perversion of our justice system, said Spokane Mayor Lisa Brown. In bringing such specious prosecutions, the Trump administration is hunting for ways to criminalize people who oppose the ICE raids, including those engaging in nonviolent self-defense. Protestors are not a monolith. In opposing the raids, they offer a range of arguments and tactics. Some defend the contributions of immigrant workers. Some do practical work like documenting ICE raids. But the point of these raids is to demonstrate that no one, no matter what they contribute to the community, will be spared arrest. In fact, some, including citizens and elected officials, were targeted precisely for their contributions. Ultimately, neither good immigrants nor good protestors can use their goodness as a shield from ICEs violence. Trumps campaign of mass deportations was never just about carrying out more immigration raids. We knew this campaign would reach far beyond those immigrants who are living in the country without authorizationnot just because the number of people he said would be deported exceeds the numbers of undocumented, but because his plans also involve making more and more people deportable. Sure enough, some of the workers who were detained in the July 10 raids were citizens, the United Farm Workers said in a statement. George Restes, a disabled veteran and American citizen, was arrested and held for three days without a phone call, he said, and without treatment after agents pepper sprayed him. These detentions may have been aimed at managing perceptions of the raid. The UFW pointed out that many of those detained reported being released only after they were forced to delete photos and videos of the raid from their phones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICEs project goes well beyond the violent scenes of the raids: It has transformed everyday life in California. Family pets are filling Southern California shelters, given up by owners who have been forced to leave the United States. At a Glendale hospital, ICE agents camped out for days, scaring people away from seeking care; National Nurses United shared Know Your Rights guides for all health care workers. Countless children are left waiting for parents to return, like 16-year-old Alexa, whose pregnant mother was arrested Thursday, forcing Alexa to become the caretaker for her younger siblings until their mother returns. Other family members of missing workers, including their young children, went to the farm the next day, hoping to be reunited. The family of Jaime Alanis, one of the workers gravely injured in the chaotic raid, reunited with him in the hospital, where he died on Saturday. His surviving family members have said that he will be brought to Huajumbaro, Michoacan, his hometown: His wife and daughter are waiting for him. People have long asked themselves what they would do when faced with something like these mass roundups and detentionsan injustice of historic proportions. Until recently, this question may have seemed to be asking you to imagine yourself into the past. But then the Trump administration opened an American concentration camp in the Everglades. What would you do? You would do what youre doing right now. Now it is becoming routine in California for armed agents, without warning or cause, to arrest and detain and deport the people who have, for years, been vilified by an unpopular regime leader. Thats why any resistance to these raids is being met with such fierce repression and reprisal. Seeing the evidence of the roundups in front of us doesnt necessarily lead people to do anything differently. But seeing other people push back sometimes does. COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Iceland will launch talks on a security and defence partnership with the European Union, Icelandic Prime Minister Kristrun Frostadottir said on Thursday at a joint press conference with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Keflavik. Frostadottir said she was hoping to conclude talks by the end of the year. "This is very important for us to show that we can have cooperation on critical infrastructure, civil protection, any sort of dual use defence investment and this also includes hybrid and cyber threats," she said. (Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, editing by Alexandra Hudson) By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -Idaho, which has a near-total ban on abortion, agreed not to prosecute or take away licenses of doctors who refer patients out of state to obtain the procedure, under a consent decree approved by a federal judge on Thursday. The decree prevents Idaho's Republican Attorney General Raul Labrador and county prosecutors from prosecuting healthcare providers who refer, counsel or otherwise provide information to patients seeking abortions in other states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A local Planned Parenthood affiliate sued Idaho in April 2023 to block enforcement, after Labrador said the referrals could violate state law and require license suspensions for doctors who make them. Planned Parenthood said the restriction violated the U.S. Constitution by infringing doctors' First Amendment free speech rights and regulating lawful out-of-state reproductive health services. A federal appeals court blocked enforcement last December. During oral arguments, a lawyer for Labrador said the attorney general would not prosecute people for making the referrals. Idaho makes it a crime to perform or attempt to perform abortions, or for healthcare providers to assist in abortions, with narrow exceptions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decree covering Planned Parenthood and two doctors was approved by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise. "Idaho's strong pro-life laws remain fully in effect, and we remain proud to defend the rights of mothers and their unborn children," Labrador said in a statement. "This settlement simply affirms what our office already made clear in court: we do not have the authority to prosecute referrals for out-of-state services." Rebecca Gibron, chief executive of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawaii, Alaska, Indiana, Kentucky, said in a statement that the decree "affirms something every patient deserves: open, honest care from a provider they trust." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Supreme Court eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion in 2022, overturning the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. Eighteen Republican-led states have total abortion bans or ban abortions at or before the 12th week of pregnancy, according to the nonprofit Guttmacher Institute, which focuses on reproductive health. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Richard Chang) BOISE, Idaho (AP) An Idaho judge lifted a sweeping gag order Thursday in Bryan Kohbergers quadruple murder case. Kohberger avoided a potential death sentence by pleading guilty earlier this month to the brutal stabbing deaths of four University of Idaho students at a rental home near campus in 2022. A coalition of news organizations including The Associated Press had asked the court to lift the gag order since a trial is no longer planned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a hearing Thursday morning, 4th District Judge Steven Hippler agreed that lifting the gag order would protect the First Amendment rights of the public and press. The primary purpose of the non-dissemination order, which is to ensure that we can seat an impartial jury, is no longer at play, Hippler said. He said he couldnt justify continuing the gag order because the public has the right to receive information about the case, and those rights are paramount. Kohberger's defense team argued against lifting the gag order, saying it could lead to more media coverage and jeopardize the integrity of the sentencing process. The media frenzy, as its been described, will continue regardless, Hippler said. Lifting the non-dissemination order does not require the counsel or others previously bound by it to speak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A different judge in Moscow, Idaho, originally issued the gag order early in the case, saying additional publicity could harm Kohbergers right to a fair trial. More than 240 orders sealing documents have been issued in the case since it began in 2022. The media coalition also asked Hippler to immediately unseal those documents. He said he would go through the documents carefully to determine which ones could be made public, but said that process would not start until the sentencing is over. Though the gag order has been lifted, both the prosecutor's office and the defense team declined interview requests for now, as did former Moscow Police Chief James Fry. Kohberger admitted to breaking into the rental home through a sliding door and killing the four friends, who had no connection with him. Prosecutors said he spent months carefully planning the attack, and that his studies as a criminal justice graduate student at Washington State University helped him take steps to cover up his tracks. U.S. Sens Mike Crapo, left, and Jim Risch, both R-Idaho, speak at the Idaho Republican Party election night watch party in November 2024 in Meridian. (Clark Corbin/Idaho Capital Sun) In the wake of the June 29 deadly attack on North Idaho firefighters, Idaho U.S. senators introduced a bill to increase penalties for crimes against first responders. Idaho Republican Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo as well as Missouri Republican Sen. Eric Schmitt introduced the Graham Hoffman Act, which would make it a federal crime to assault first responders, according to a press release. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the act, a knowing assault of a first responder while they are performing official duties that causes serious bodily harm, death or attempts to do so, would be punishable by up to 10 years in prison, fined or both. If the attack results in death or the includes a kidnapping or attempted kidnapping, the penalty could be up to a life sentence. Last months evil attack on first responders in North Idaho is a stark reminder of the dangers our brave men and women in uniform face every day, Risch said in the release. The Graham Hoffman Act is commonsense legislation to properly punish those who assault the men and women who keep our communities safe. Risch said he and his wife, Vicki, continue to pray for the victims of the North Idaho ambush, their loved ones, and all affected by this reprehensible act. The attack in Coeur dAlene killed Coeur dAlene Fire Department Battalion Chief John Morrison and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Frank Harwood and severely injured engineer Dave Tysdal, who also works for the Coeur dAlene Fire Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suspect, Wess Roley, was found dead nearby. Officials believe he started a brush fire and then opened fire on the firefighters, the Sun reported. Their loss impels us to strengthen the law and deter further violence to ensure justice is fully meted on any individual who attacks our law enforcement or first responders, Crapo said in the release. Proposed law named after Kansas City paramedic The act was named after Graham Hoffman, a Kansas City firefighter paramedic who was stabbed and killed while transporting a patient in April, the Kansas City Star reported. This tragic loss underscores the urgent need to protect our first responders, who put their lives on the line to serve our communities, Schmitt said in the release. This legislation, in honor of Graham, ensures that anyone who assaults or kills a first responder faces the full force of federal law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Risch and Crapo are joined by U.S. Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Ashley Moody (R-Fla.), Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), and Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.). SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Jerusalem Post visited a new, secluded IDF outpost dubbed "Israela," built to prevent any future potential invasion from the Gaza Strip. Returning to the Gaza Strip for the sixth time, in addition to countless other trips to the South in general, and for the first time since the IDF shifted gears in May to taking control over 75% of it, brought into contrast a number of paradoxical issues. The Jerusalem Post was visiting a new secret IDF position in Northern Gaza, dubbed Israela, which is designed both to project power and serve as an additional forward defense line to prevent any potential invasion from getting anywhere near residential Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The position, along with two other nearby positions, gives a unique strategic high-ground view of Beit Hanun, Beit Lahiya, Jabalya, and Gaza City in the distance. At a professional military level, Lt.-Col. (res.) T., commander of Battalion 969, said he was proud of the hard work that his unit had invested in building the new position. He is focused on taking the fight to Hamas terrorists in Beit Hanun in northern Gaza. Battalion 969 is part of the Northern Gaza Brigade and Division 99, led by Brig.-Gen. Barak Hiram. Jerusalem Post IDF correspondent Yonah Jeremy Bob visits IDF base in the Northern Gaza strip. (credit: Chen G. Schimmel) T said it took his forces a few weeks to build; this was a few months after they had defeated Hamas forces in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also declined any terminology of defining the position as part of an anticipated Israeli perimeter, following an IDF withdrawal from deeper parts of Gaza. He said he hoped the political echelon would support his battalion holding the position for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, many soldiers at the new position said they understood Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Hamas could announce a new ceasefire any day, including unpredictable IDF withdrawals. Such questions were out of their hands, they said. Furthermore, they understood that their job in the meantime was to maintain the military pressure on Hamas to advance efforts to defeat any nearby Hamas forces, as well as to enhance the chances of the terrorist group returning more Israeli hostages. 'Their cemeteries are full of people [Hamas commanders] who thought they were irreplaceable' The IDF was asked about Hamass recent large-scale ambush of IDF soldiers in Beit Hanun and whether this was part of a broader trend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Capt. A., deputy commander of a company, said: Like us, Hamas understands that there are movements toward a ceasefire There is some additional daring from their side to create a picture of success, which is not good for our forces. The opposite is also true. Our forces also understand this and will not give them this picture and will present a different picture, our victorious picture. We are reducing their [leadership] to being a less experienced group, he said. Their cemeteries are full of [Hamas commanders] who thought they were irreplaceable. Jerusalem Post IDF correspondent Yonah Jeremy Bob visits IDF base in the Northern Gaza strip. (credit: Chen G. Schimmel) At a personal level, I questioned how and why I could once again be driving toward large plumes of smoke erupting from Gaza, 21 months after I first did so, visiting Beeri on October 11, 2023. Wasnt Hamass last battalion defeated in Rafah in the June-August 2024 period, and wasnt Hamass last northern Gaza battalion defeated by January 2024? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And yet, during my visit in Gaza, I saw about a dozen explosions or smoke from explosions from a mix of fighting Hamass reconstituted forces in Beit Hanun and from blowing up more of Hamass endless maze of tunnels. In March 2024, the IDF announced that it had destroyed 85% of Hamass strategic tunnels in Khan Yunis after three months of fighting there meaning about 20 km. out of a total of 140 km. of tunnels. Since then, the IDF has destroyed far more tunnels, but those numbers illustrate the challenge. IDF sources said it seemed that all or nearly all of the strategic Hamas tunnels containing weapons factories, senior officials, and intelligence and communications centers had been destroyed, and that most tunnels being found and destroyed in Beit Hanun or Beit Lahiya these days are much smaller tactical maneuvering tunnels. Jerusalem Post IDF correspondent Yonah Jeremy Bob visits IDF base in the Northern Gaza strip. (credit: Chen G. Schimmel) We are destroying many tunnels in Beit Hanun, but the destruction takes time, A. said. You need to locate them, then take them over, then blow them up we are doing it every night. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IDF recently said it has been trying to surround and corner a group of about a dozen Hamas fighters in the Beit Hanun area who are hiding underground, occasionally popping out to fire a rocket-propelled grenade or to plant an improvised explosive device (IED) to ambush Israeli soldiers. We are in conflict with dozens of terrorists in the area, an area of combat, T. said. But we are pushing them southward and backward into their [small remaining] territory [that is under their control] every day. Every action, every bomb, every sign of smoke that you see exposes and definitively pushes the enemy backward. We are not standing on the goal line to defend; rather, our defense is forward on the other side [inside previous Hamas territory] of the field, he added. Looking from our side, we can see all of Beit Hanun and see all that is left there. Not far away from Beit Hanun and easily within visual range are Kfar Aza, Nahal Oz, Sderot, and other Israeli villages, T. said, and any soldiers stationed here know and see exactly what they are protecting, and they know who they are up against. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You see many bombs and explosions, he said. We are working hard on Beit Hanun against Hamas. During his briefing on the Gaza areas that can be observed from the position, T. pointed out a water facility in the Beit Hanun area. He said the new position was crucial strategically for thwarting any attempts by Hamas to approach the Israeli border. The Post had traveled through the Beit Hanun area at earlier points in the war, when large portions of it were destroyed, but significant portions, possibly as much as 30%-50%, were still standing. During the visit on Thursday, only about 5% of Beit Hanun appeared to be still standing, showing how much additional fighting between Israel and Hamas in recent months has brought down what was left of Beit Hanun into additional piles of rubble. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the enemy has nowhere [no place] to return to, there is no way to return, T. said. Destroying structures also makes it much harder for Hamas to make any unexposed movements above ground, he added. Right now, any Palestinian civilians in the area possibly as many as one million in the Gaza City area are about two km. away, so anyone who comes close to this position is presumed to be a fighter who can be targeted. As with Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon, if large quantities of Palestinian civilians do not return to places too close to the Israeli border, it will be harder for Hamas to return. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In contrast, since Gaza is much smaller and narrower than Lebanon, if more Gazans returned all the way up to the border, it would make it harder to prevent Hamas from returning, concealed within the civilian population. All the reservists the Post spoke to had a mixed message regarding the status of reservists showing up for duty, with most of them on their fourth round of reserve duty since the October 7 massacre. Most of their service has been in the Beit Hanun and Beit Lahiya areas of northern Gaza, with one round in the West Bank. On the one hand, those at the IDF position said they were highly motivated to serve as long as necessary to defeat Hamas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the other hand, they acknowledged that they have had to show an increasing level of understanding for those reservists who have stopped showing up for duty due to job issues, family issues, university education, or general or ideological exhaustion. In the meantime, officers T., A., and others said they would continue to try to corner and batter Hamas as long as the order stands. One of the Hezbollah terrorists killed was identified as Hassan Ahmed Sabra, a commander in the terror group's naval force. The IDF targeted and killed two Hezbollah terrorists in south Lebanon on Thursday morning, the military confirmed. This included Hassan Ahmed Sabra, a commander in the terror group's naval force, near Kafra, in south Lebanon, the military noted. Another Hezbollah terrorist, responsible for attempts to restore Hezbollah's infrastructure near Nakoura was also killed in Israeli strikes, the military added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement IDF publishes footage of two strikes on Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon, July 17, 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) The IDF published footage of the two strikes later on Thursday. IDF kills Gaza terror cell, dismantles north Gaza terror tunnel Additionally, the IDF soldiers dismantled a terror tunnel which was approximately 800 meters long and 18 meters deep, located in northern Gaza. IDF publishes footage of strike on RPG-armed terrorist in Gaza, July 2025. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT) At some time over the past week, soldiers from the IDF's Commando Brigade identified a terror cell armed with a rocket-propelled grenade aimed towards IDF soldiers. They coordinated with an Israel Air Force aircraft, which carried out strikes to kill the terrorists, the military added. In addition, the IDF dismantled weapons, observation posts, and military structures belonging to terror organizations in the Gaza Strip, including a weapons storage facility where Hamas terrorists were hiding. Efforts from the European Union (EU) to impose a new set of sanctions against Russia were hindered as Slovakia sought assurances over its gas supply before the EU's proposed phase-out of Russian gas, reported Reuters. Slovakia's stance at the EU foreign ministers' meeting on Tuesday [15 July] was to seek a postponement of the sanctions vote, according to a statement from Prime Minister Robert Fico. The government coalition rejects the imbecile proposal of the European Commission to stop the flow of Russian gas from 2028," Fico stated, expressing readiness to negotiate for certain comfort in gas supplies after 2028. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas expressed disappointment at the lack of approval for the sanctions, noting that the ball is in Slovakia's court. The deadlock arises from Slovakia's dependency on Russian energy and its concerns over potential shortages, price hikes, and legal repercussions from Gazprom should the EU follow through with its plan to phase out Russian gas by 1 January 2028. Fico highlighted the opposition's criticism of the EU's proposals and called for an exemption allowing Slovakia to honour its contract with Gazprom until 2034. The European Commission (EC) offered assurance to assist in potential litigation, but did not grant an exemption to Slovakia. The letter from the EC also detailed measures to mitigate the impact of the phase-out, including an emergency break for price spikes and a reduction in cross-border gas and oil tariffs for Slovakia. The EU's strategy to eliminate Russian gas by 2028 requires a reinforced majority of member states for approval, meaning Slovakia cannot single-handedly veto the proposals. Slovakia and Hungary have voiced significant resistance to the EU's plan, exacerbating tensions between Brussels and these nations regarding their position on Moscow. "Slovakia requests for guarantees, following EUs new sanctions against Russia" was originally created and published by Offshore Technology, a GlobalData owned brand. In recent months, the IDF thwarted several attempts to transfer tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to the Syrian Golan region. Israel has changed its security approach along its northern border since the October 7 massacre and the fall of the Assad regime, security sources explained. Iran and Hezbollah have attempted to re-establish their presence in the area, along with armed Palestinian infrastructure in the area, security sources report, adding that the groups have faced difficulties in building trust with Syrian civilians living in harsh conditions under a new and unstable regime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israels political leadership has decided that the IDF will protect the border and the residents of the Golan Heights on the Israeli side from Syrian territory, setting up posts in the Syrian Golan and conducting ongoing security operations in the area. The IDF has destroyed critical infrastructure threatening its operational freedom in the air and on the ground, including preventing weapons smuggling to hostile entities. In recent months, the IDF thwarted several attempts to transfer tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APCs) to the Syrian Golan region. Members of Syrian security forces patrol after being deployed in the village of Al-Soura al-Kubra, following clashes between Sunni Islamist militants and Druze fighters, in Sweida province, Syria, May 2, 2025 (credit: REUTERS/KARAM AL-MASRI) The IDF will not stand idly by if the Syrian regime or others attempt to bring heavy equipment into the Golan Heights, even if the weapons or vehicles are not aimed at Israel. Any such action poses a threat to Israel, a security source told Walla. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Assads regime fell, Ahmad al-Shaara took power, and his presence drove away Iranian elements, Hezbollah operatives, and their representatives from the Golan Heights, as the two groups view each other as "sworn enemies." We are identifying attempts by Iran and Hezbollah to return to the region and re-establish themselves. We will not allow this, a source stated. When the Israel-Hamas war began, Palestinian terror cells managed to launch rockets toward the Golan Heights. There is Palestinian infrastructure in Syria. It is not strong, but it exists. We are monitoring this to ensure it doesnt approach the border, an IDF source said at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another source mentioned that anyone moving in Syrian territory is being monitored, including Sharaas people, as there is still no agreement between the sides. Almost every house in the Syrian region is likely to have weapons because the trends in the area are jihadist. We must remain alert to this, he explained. Meetings with Druze on Syrian soil After all theyve been through in recent years, they mostly want to live, said another IDF source. The situation also changes the further you are from the border. There are areas where people still draw water from wells, without running water. No new vehicles, no permanent jobs, and everything is old and falling apart. The residents live in simple structures, some without windows. People sleep on the roof in summer because its hot, and move to a sealed room in winter because its very cold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the northern Golan Heights, some Syrian Druze have proposed ideas for annexation to Israel. Some only seek assistance due to fears of the extremist regimes people. In central Golan Heights, Syrian citizens are indifferent, telling IDF officers, The regime was here, didnt care for us. The new regime, half here, also didnt care for us. [the IDF] were here before, didnt really care for us, or cared for us and left us. And now? Youll be here, then come to an agreement, and then leave us again. As a result, security officials claim the Druze are less cooperative with the IDF, sometimes even opposing basic communication, as they understand that everything is temporary. In recent months, dozens of Syrians have been arrested and transferred for questioning over concerns about hostile activity against the IDF and Israel, with some having connections to Palestinian infrastructures in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are attempts to establish armed infrastructure in the region under various local organizations, a military source said. Before the current escalation, the IDF carried out over 100 strikes in Syria in recent months to eliminate military capabilities in the region. In recent days, the IDF attacked tanks to prevent Syrian regime forces from moving toward the Druze mountain as part of the massacre against the Druze community. The IDF sent a message to the al-Sharaa regime that Israel will not stand idly by, said a security source. He added, If the situation continues to deteriorate, the IDF will take more aggressive actions. The Israeli decision is clear to everyone: not to stand idly by. The source rejected reports that the United States prevented Israel from striking in Syria. IDF soldier suspected of spying for Iran in exchange for financial incentives. An IDF soldier was indicted on Thursday by the Military Prosecution over contact with Iranian agents, and for information he passed on to them in exchange for payment. The information that the soldier released was not security-related, Israel Police and the Shin Bet noted. The two agencies, along with the Police Investigation Department, made the arrest following an investigation conducted with the Lahav 433 National Crime Unit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the investigation, authorities surmised that the soldier was aware that he was in contact with an Iranian agent. The charges against him are contact with a foreign agent and passing along information to the enemy. He carried out acts at their instruction, including sending a video of missile interceptions and photos of missile strikes and fall sites across the country. During two weeks last month, Iran and Israel exchanged a volley of missiles, as Israel sought to strike key military and nuclear sites belonging to the Islamic Republic. Thirty people were killed in Israel, hundreds were injured, and the damage was extensive. At the time, the military and police buckled down on real-time location sharing of the missile fall sites. Wreckage from an Iranian missile impact in central Israel, June 22, 2025. (credit: Chen G. Schimmel/The Jerusalem Post) This was aimed at all citizens, but also particularly targeted foreign journalists, subjected to scrutinous checks by police, as new security directives granted officers on the ground extensive powers to seize equipment and remove the journalists from the site. A High Court of Justice hearing on the law that deals exactly with this issue took place last week. Soldier did not possess any security clearance The information he gave the Iranian agents did not come from any security clearance he had as a soldier, the agencies noted. His arrest was extended until Tuesday. The soldiers arrest wasnt the first such kind on Thursday, either. Earlier in the day, an indictment was issued against a 33-year-old teacher from the Negev for carrying out acts at the instruction of Iranian agents in exchange for pay. Over 30 such cases have been tackled by authorities since October 7. AUSTIN (KXAN) A new IKEA store opened in San Marcos, Texas, Wednesday, according to a press release from the Swedish furniture company. The new store is also a new format that IKEA US CEO Javier Quinones said would provide shoppers a more convenient and accessible option. Courtesy IKEA At IKEA U.S., we are committed to improving the customer experience by adapting our store formats for greater convenience, making delivery more affordable and ensuring better connectivity with our customers in their daily lives, said Quinones in the release. The opening of IKEA San Marcos exemplifies our strategy of developing smaller, more accessible store formats in this journey toward a more connected and accessible IKEA experience for the many. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its located at the San Mar Plaza shopping center in San Marcos. IKEA San Marcos is a 35,000 square foot space, far smaller than the typical IKEA showroom. However, it isnt the companys smallest store variant KXAN previously covered the 2024 opening of a smaller IKEA store at The Domain in Austin. Were thrilled to show customers our new format store and celebrate our new location, said Keena Garcia, IKEA US market manager, in the release. No more trekking through that notorious I-35 trafficnow you can enjoy IKEA and our inspiring home design with less hassle. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SPRING HOPE, N.C. (WNCT) According to the Nash County Sherriffs Office, 25-year-old Daniel Oswaldo Santos-Soto has been sentenced to 130 months in prison methamphetamine possession with intent to distribute and possession of a firearm. On August 28, 2023, the Nash County Sheriffs Office sent an officer undercover to purchase methamphetamine from Santos-Soto at a gas station in Spring Hope, NC. When Santos-Soto arrived with around 10 ounces of methamphetamine, he was arrested. After a search of his vehicle, 83.61 grams of pure methamphetamine packaged in four plastic bags and a SKS rifle were found in the backseat of the car. Santos-Soto is a citizen of Mexico, who crossed the border into the United States in 2017. He has been a resident of Wake County since, with no criminal record until the arrest in 2023 occurred. Santos-Soto plead guilty to all charges on April 14. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department seized an illegal marijuana grow operation worth more than $3 million in street value during a raid Wednesday in Hacienda Heights. According to officials, the Industry Station County Special Assignment Team executed a search warrant targeting the unlicensed grow and found that the home had been bypassing its electrical panel and meter, stealing an estimated $500,000 worth of power over several years. Southern California Edison said the home was consuming about $18,000 in electricity per month. Todays operation sends a clear message that criminal activity will not be tolerated in Los Angeles County, said Captain Glenn Emery of the Sheriffs Industry Station. Our communities deserve to live free from the dangers and risks associated with illegal marijuana grow operations. An illegal marijuana grow site is seen in Hacienda Heights. July 2025. (LASD) An illegal marijuana grow site is seen in Hacienda Heights. July 2025. (LASD) An illegal marijuana grow site is seen in Hacienda Heights. July 2025. (LASD) An illegal marijuana grow site is seen in Hacienda Heights. July 2025. (LASD) Authorities emphasized that the theft of electricity poses a major fire risk to surrounding neighborhoods and can endanger both residents and first responders. Illegal grows may also contribute to environmental damage and attract other criminal activity, according to law enforcement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to express my deepest gratitude to the deputies from the City of Industry Station, particularly those assigned to the Unincorporated Area Task Force, said L.A. County Supervisor Hilda L. Solis, who represents the First District and serves as Chair Pro Tem. This specialized task force, which I have proudly supported with $525K in funding for this fiscal year, has played a vital role in addressing quality-of-life concerns across Hacienda Heights and other unincorporated areas in the First District. Solis added that coordination with Southern California Edison, which helped flag the home due to abnormal power usage, was instrumental in identifying and dismantling this illegal operation. The home has since been shut down and an investigation is ongoing. The search and seizure were part of an ongoing effort to combat illegal grows and protect public safety in unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CHICAGO, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV) Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker led a group of 17 governors to ask Secretary of Education Linda McMahon to release the nearly $6.8 billion being withheld from schools across the U.S. In a letter to the secretary, the governors detailed the impact of the missed payments at institutions across the nation. The news release from the governors office states that its the departments job to distribute the funding appropriated by Congress, and that not doing so is not following the law. The Trump administration is not only openly flouting the law, but they are abandoning their responsibility to our students, said Governor JB Pritzker. This unprecedented and irresponsible withholding of lawful, bipartisan funding will force cuts to critical programs and hold back the next generation from reaching their full potential. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 14th and Chestnut Community Center at risk of closure Based on fiscal year 2025 grant awards, the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Community College Board estimate the administration is currently withholding $241.8 million from Illinois schools. The release cites specific programs being impacted as: $75.6 million for Supporting Effective Instruction to support 784 local educational agencies and the mentoring of approximately 250 novice superintendents, in addition to providing more than 142,000 professional learning subscriptions for educators through the Ed Leaders Network. $30.4 million for English Language Acquisition to provide direct support to 293,070 English learners in 274 districts and 56,842 eligible immigrant students in 137 districts, in addition to supporting professional development, targeted technical assistance, and program monitoring efforts for an estimated 630 districts serving approximately 335,000 English learners. $56.6 million for Student Support and Academic Enrichment to increase capacity, provide access to well-rounded education, improve school conditions, and enhance technology and digital literacy in 571 local educational agencies. $54.3 million for 21st Century Community Learning Centers to support 118 grants for afterschool programming in public and private entities serving approximately 375 program sites. $1.9 million for Migrant Education to serve approximately 1,200 eligible students who are or whose parents are migratory workers. $20 million for Adult Education Basic Grants to support a continuum of education programming and services including basic literary and skills instruction, digital literacy, college and career readiness, integrated education and training, and employability skill development. $3 million for Adult Integrated English Literacy and Civics Education to support English learners with skills needed for employment in high-demand industries. Pritzker warns that further delaying the release of the funds could result in high-impact, immediate, and long-term consequences for Illinois students. He states that school leaders will be forced to make impossible budgeting decisions without the promised and legally entitled federal funds. Students also run the risk of losing summer and after-school programs, tutoring, and language support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other states that signed the letter with Pritzker include: Arizona California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Kansas Kentucky Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Maine New Mexico Oregon Rhode Island Washington Wisconsin A copy of the full letter can be found below. Federal-Education-Funds-LetterDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com. CHAMPAIGN COUNTY Ill. (WCIA) Leaders from across the state gathered in Urbana Wednesday afternoon for the dedication of the Scott M. Bennett Administrative Center. Among those in attendance included familiar faces like State Senator Paul Faraci, Representative Brandon Schweizer and Vermilion Advantage President Mike Marron. Its mission critical; Champaign schools working to fill vacant positions Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ceremony officially named the Champaign County building after him on the day he would have turned 48 years old. Stacy Bennett said the purpose of the dedication is to honor Scotts life and legacy to a community he loved very much. Thats what I really wanted to stress when they were planning this, Stacy Bennett said. I said this I want this to be a celebration. This is not a memorial. This is a way to honor him and to continue his legacy. And so seeing all these people here and knowing that many of them have been out in their community doing all sorts of good work and now coming together again to celebrate him is really rewarding. And its it would have been his birthday. So its a great way to celebrate that. Stacy Bennett also announced shes launching the Be Like Bennett organization. It will look to raise awareness for issues todays youth faces while also raising funds for non-profits who look to solve those issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Brief A woman and her two young children were seriously injured in a multi-vehicle crash Friday night in Palatine. Police say the driver, Rosalba Ramirez-Fraga, was intoxicated, had open alcohol containers in her vehicle, and was driving the wrong way before the head-on collision. Ramirez-Fraga faces multiple charges, including two felony DUI counts, and remains in custody ahead of her Aug. 8 court date. PALATINE, Ill. - A suburban woman is facing felony DUI charges after a multi-vehicle crash in Palatine left a mother and her two young children hospitalized with serious injuries, police said. What we know The crash happened shortly after 10 p.m. Friday near East Dundee Road and North Kennedy Drive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Palatine police said officers arrived to find several damaged vehicles, including a black Lexus and a black Nissan that had collided head-on. A 23-year-old woman riding in the Nissan, along with her 7-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter, were taken to area hospitals with serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to police. An investigation revealed the driver of the Lexus, Rosalba Ramirez-Fraga, 31, was traveling northbound on North Frontage Road when she rear-ended a gray Toyota. Police said she then continued into the westbound lanes of East Dundee Road while driving eastbound ultimately crashing head-on into the Nissan. Officers said Ramirez-Fraga showed signs of impairment and admitted to drinking before the crash. Police also recovered several open containers of alcohol from her vehicle. Pictured is Rosalba Ramirez-Fraga. (Palatine PD) Charges Filed Ramirez-Fraga was arrested and charged with the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aggravated DUI (alcohol) great bodily harm (Class 4 felony) Aggravated DUI (alcohol) no valid insurance (Class 4 felony) DUI (alcohol) (Class A misdemeanor) No valid drivers license (Class B misdemeanor) Failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident (petty offense) Illegal transportation of open alcohol driver (petty offense) Additional petty and business offenses related to the crash What's next She appeared in court Wednesday and was ordered held until her next appearance, scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 8 in Rolling Meadows. An 80-year-old woman told police that shes lucky to be alive after she and another man, along with a police officer, were hurt in an attack, Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Haydens office said Thursday. On July 3, Abraham Galindo, 31, of Boston, was charged with assault and battery on a person over 60 or disabled with serious injury, assault and battery on a person over 60 or disabled, and assault and battery on a police officer. Galindo was released on personal recognizance, but Judge Steven Kim ordered that he remain under the care of a psychiatrist and take his medication, Haydens office said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I wish the two victims fast and full recoveries, Hayden said in his statement. Our victim witness advocates and prosecutors will provide them with complete support through the court process. Im very grateful for the Good Samaritan who intervened and may have prevented further injury to these elderly victims. At around 4:48 p.m. on June 7, Boston police received a radio call about an assault and battery in progress at 131 Clarendon St., Haydens office said. Officers saw a bystander restraining Galindo on the sidewalk. As an officer placed a handcuff on Galindos left wrist during his arrest, he used his right hand to strike an officer in the face, Haydens office said. Police later learned that Galindo attacked a woman and a 78-year-old man, with the woman found on the ground, complaining of severe pain to her ribs, the statement read. A security camera at the Clarendon Garage filmed the attack and showed Galindo sprinting across the intersection of Clarendon and Stanhope streets before he crashed into the woman, knocking her to the ground. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She later told police that Galindo pushed her with both hands and struck her several times with a closed fist, Haydens office said. Im lucky to be alive, the woman told police. He almost beat me to death. The 78-year-old man stepped in to stop Galindo, but Galindo grabbed his collar and shook him aggressively and repeatedly while Galindo dragged the woman on the pavement, the statement read. The woman had a fractured patella, fractured ribs, abrasions to the face, elbows and hands, along with extensive bruising and soreness, Haydens office said. She was taken to Brigham and Womens Hospital for further treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Galindo, with a bloody mouth, was taken to Boston Medical Center for psychiatric and medical evaluations, and was hospitalized until three days before his arraignment. More local crime stories Read the original article on MassLive. A Chicago father who has lived in the United States for about 30 years and has no criminal record has become a prime example of the kind of immigrants being swept up without warrants by Immigration and Customs Enforcement as the Trump administration seeks to increase deportation numbers, according to immigration advocates who say the arrest and that of others were unlawful. Abel Orozco, an undocumented immigrant, was swept up in an arrest about six months ago when ICE agents without a warrant went into his backyard and onto his porch, according to the National Immigrant Justice Center. The agents were looking for his eldest son, who is also an immigrant, but detained Orozco instead when his car pulled up to the property, according to his attorney. Abel Orozco and his family in Chicago. (Courtesy National Immigrant Justice Center) They immediately reached through the car window, forcibly opened the car and immediately handcuffed Abel Orozco and threw him in the back of one of their cars. It was only 45 minutes to an hour later that they realized they didnt have the right person, but instead of releasing him, they kept him handcuffed until they could figure out who he was and then claim that his arrest was based on a warrant that didnt exist, Mark Fleming, the associate director of litigation at the center, told NBC News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Orozco remains detained, and his attorneys and family are seeking his release. His case has drawn attention to the issue of warrantless arrests by immigration authorities as the Trump administration has stepped up detention of immigrants in the interior of the U.S. Fleming says Orozcos detention was illegal and showed how ICE agents in recent months are trying to cut as many corners as they can, as far as the traditional guardrails that you would have, such as establishing probable cause that the persons removable and likely to escape. Theyre sweeping up people who are long-standing residents of the United States, who have very deep, deep roots here, he said. ICE did not immediately respond to requests for comment, but the Trump administration has defended its tactics and mission of increasing deportations to defend the U.S. borders and said immigration enforcement was key to Trumps campaign promises. Attorneys: ICE needed probable cause But according to documents filed by attorneys in Orozcos case in March, his arrest and that of about two dozen others, including a U.S. citizen, violated a 2022 settlement that said that in order to make arrests without warrants, ICE needed to have probable cause that an immigrant was in violation of a law or regulation and was likely to escape before a warrant could be obtained for their arrest. That agreement was born out of a lawsuit over immigration raids in 2018 during the first Trump administration, and applied to six states: Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, Kansas and Missouri. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NBC News reported in Chicago at the time of the immigration raids in which Orozco and others were arrested in late January. The Trump administration said those immigration arrest operations targeted criminals, but from the beginning there were concerns that law-abiding migrants with varying forms of legal immigration status could also be rounded up, otherwise known as collateral arrests. Asked about collateral arrests at the time, Sam Olson, the enforcement and removal operations director in the Chicago field office, said that they were possible. Were tasked to enforce the immigration laws, he said. If somebody is here illegally, whether or not theyve committed crimes, there is that possibility that they could be arrested. ICE has also been criticized for warrantless arrests during the sweep of immigration arrests in Los Angeles, where a judge ruled last week that immigration officers in Southern California cant rely solely on someones race or the fact that theyre speaking Spanish to stop and detain them. That order barred the detention of people unless the officer or agent has reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is within the United States in violation of U.S. immigration law. Abel Orozco at work. (Courtesy National Immigrant Justice Center) The U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, who was also named as a defendant in that suit, denied any wrongdoing and said the government maintains our agents have never detained individuals without proper legal justification. Our federal agents will continue to enforce the law and abide by the U.S. Constitution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Almost half of the people currently in ICE custody have neither been convicted of nor charged with any crime, ICE data shows. Late last month, internal data obtained by NBC News showed that after six months of aggressive immigration enforcement and promises to focus on deporting violent criminals, the Trump administration has arrested and detained only a small fraction of the undocumented immigrants already known to ICE as having been convicted of sexual assault and homicide. The data tallied every person booked by ICE from Oct. 1 through May 31, part of which was during the Biden administration. During that time, a total of 185,042 people were arrested and booked into ICE facilities and, of those, 65,041 of them were convicted of crimes. The most common categories of crimes they committed were immigration and traffic-related offenses. Eduardo Orozco discusses the arrest of his father, Abel Orozco, while being comforted by attorney Mark Fleming. (Anthony Vazquez / Chicago Sun-Times via AP file) Fleming said Orozcos continued detention is having a devastating effect on his family, as his wife has breast cancer and their home could be in foreclosure due to lost income from his clients tree-cutting business, which one of his clients sons has been forced to suddenly take over. Fleming said Orozcos case also shows the complications of the immigration system and how one decades-old decision can lead an immigrant who has built a life in the U.S. to suddenly be facing deportation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said Orozco came legally to the United States from Mexico in the late 1990s after his sister petitioned for him. Years later, Orozco went to Mexico to see his father who had suffered a massive stroke but since Orozco went without permission to leave the country, he wasnt allowed entry into the U.S. and was sent back to Mexico. Orozco later re-entered the U.S. and became undocumented, where he lived for decades and established his family and business, Fleming said. A judge could decide in the next few weeks if Orozco will be released, a move which the government is seeking to block. Fleming said he is greatly concerned other arrests like Orozcos by ICE could follow. I fear that these large-scale sweeps in communities, and sweeping up whoever is there, is likely to lead to tremendous error rates as far as who gets arrested, he said. Theyre cutting so many corners and are desperate for numbers because of the pressures from the White House, the risks of errors just keeps going up. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com This story was originally published on Multifamily Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Multifamily Dive newsletter. St. John Properties is expanding into residential building for the first time with the launch of a new multifamily construction division to complement its existing development and investment operations. The Baltimore-based commercial real estate firm is currently invested in over 3,000 residential units through a number of joint venture partnerships, and has 1,500 units in its development. The company intends to leverage its existing subcontractor relationships in commercial office, flex/office, industrial and retail to support its multifamily division. We are launching this new in-house division based on our long-term confidence in the multifamily sector and our mission to bring consistency and reduce expenses when developing multifamily product, Lawrence Maykrantz, president and CEO of St. John Properties, said in the news release. Starting a new multifamily construction division has been in our corporate plans for many years. To oversee the new division, St. John Properties has hired Michael Poirot as vice president of multifamily construction. Poirot will initially oversee multifamily construction and development in Maryland, then expand the divisions scope to the companys operations across the country including Nashville, Tennessee, its newest market. St. John Properties business model emphasizes vertical integration, a philosophy that encompasses every phase of the development process, Poirot said in the release. Managing the entire process with in-house resources brings consistency, allows for the implementation of proven protocols, helps eliminate delays and saves money. Poirot has over 20 years of construction management experience, most recently at Towson, Maryland-based Whiting-Turner Contracting Co. He has overseen the construction of more than 2.3 million square feet of development space, including over 1,400 multifamily units, with a combined value of almost $400 million. He intends to start in his new role by building a team of professionals to support St. John Properties multifamily pipeline. St. John Properties has a national commercial real estate portfolio valued at over $5 billion, and has developed more than 24 million square feet of real estate across a variety of asset classes, according to the release. Voters hoping to open up Pennsylvanias closed primary system to independents asked the state Supreme Court on Tuesday to declare the current system violates the state constitutions right to free and fair elections. Four independent voters asked the justices to take up the case directly, arguing that in many districts and in many races, including for the great majority of legislative seats, the primary elections among Republicans and Democrats are the only real contests, not the fall election. There are relatively few swing districts in most parts of Pennsylvania, one party or the other predominates. Exclusion from primary elections is the functional equivalent of losing the right to vote in those districts, they argued in a 51-page petition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Department of State was named as respondent to the lawsuit along with the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and Secretary of State Al Schmidt, who serves under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro. A department spokesperson said Tuesday that the lawsuit was being reviewed. It might be suggested that (the) petitioners have brought exclusion on themselves by choosing to not identify as members of a political party, the four voters argued in the lawsuit. They said that ignores how the state constitutions Free and Equal Elections Clause is designed to equalize voters power regardless of their faction (or lack thereof) and regardless of their individual political-viewpoints. Jeremy Gruber, senior vice president with New York-based Open Primaries, a group that campaigns for more open primaries among the states, says Pennsylvania is among 14 states with closed primaries. New Mexico this year passed a law allowing voters with no party affiliation to vote in primary elections without changing their nonpartisan status. Lawsuits are pending in Wyoming, Oregon and Maryland, Gruber said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its unclear when the Supreme Court will rule on the request that it take up the case directly. Three of its seven justices, all Democrats, face up-or-down statewide retention votes this fall, with voters deciding whether they should get additional 10-year terms. When an open primary bill was passed in May by the Pennsylvania House State Government Committee, all Democrats were in favor and all Republicans opposed. It remains pending in the House. Ive always said, the primarys not the election the primarys the nomination, House Republican Leader Jesse Topper of Bedford County said in the Capitol on Tuesday. Topper left the door slightly open on the topic, saying he is always willing to give it a fresh set of eyes. The sponsor of the House bill, state Rep. Jared Solomon, a Philadelphia Democrat, said unaffiliated voters pay into the system, prop up the election system and get zero in return, and no vote. It is not a partisan issue at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pennsylvanias nearly 8.9 million registered voters include some 3.8 million Democrats, 3.6 million Republicans and about 1.4 million others. The four voters who sued are broadcaster and political commentator Michael Smerconish; grocery story owner Jeffery Doty; physical therapist Rachel Shanok; and David Thornburgh, son of former Republican Gov. Richard Thornburgh and head of Ballot PA Action, a group that advocates for open primaries. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW Marvin Jose Vasquez-Martinez was arrested on July 16, 2025, by deputies from the Iredell County Sheriffs Office, in collaboration with the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and the FBI Violent Crime Task Force. ALSO READ: Suspect arrested in convenience store robbery and sex assault Vasquez-Martinez was wanted on an outstanding fugitive arrest warrant from Indiana for charges of rape and child molestation. He was taken into custody without incident and transported to the Iredell County Detention Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upon arrival at the detention center, Vasquez-Martinez appeared before Magistrate M. Russell, who set a $1 million secured bond on the warrant. During processing, it was determined that Vasquez-Martinez was undocumented. Detention center staff contacted United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which resulted in an immigration detainer being issued for Vasquez-Martinez. He is currently being held on the detainer as well. VIDEO: SC Pastor and wife charged in child abuse case Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston speaks at the American Legislative Exchange Councils annual meeting on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Indianapolis. (Photo provided by Joel Sorrell/American Legislative Exchange Council) Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston framed the states universal school voucher system as both a policy success and a model for expanding educational freedom across the country while speaking before a national gathering of conservative lawmakers on Wednesday. Huston, a Republican from Fishers, gave keynote remarks during a session on school choice at the American Legislative Exchange Councils annual meeting in Indianapolis. He was joined by EdChoice CEO Robert Enlow, West Virginia Sen. Patricia Rucker, and Idaho Sen. Ben Toews. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The panel highlighted the ways states are implementing or expanding voucher programs and similar education policies that inject public dollars into private and charter schools, as well as other non-public or non-traditional settings. ALEC, a national conservative policy group known for crafting model legislation on a variety of issues, has for years backed policies that build out universal or near-universal education choice programs. I dont care if its a private school, a charter school, or a public school whos responding best to the consumer, to what their needs are? Thats what matters. Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston Huston detailed how Indianas Choice Scholarship voucher program first approved by state lawmakers in 2011 gradually expanded until becoming basically universal in 2023. Earlier this year, the General Assembly removed the final income cap to open voucher eligibility to all Hoosier families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the Choice program, along with Education and Career Savings Accounts, has given parents a greater say in their kids schooling and created a stronger public education system, overall. Those programs, he added, are rooted in the belief that money should follow the student not be locked into systems that may not serve them well. Its empowered parents to choose the right education system for their kids, Huston said during the panel. The existing system has let a whole bunch of people down for a long time, he continued. We should be empowering [students] and getting them to the outcome we want, which is either getting prepared to go to a two- or four-year college, or making sure they have a credential in a field that can sustain them. Indianas choice system highlighted amid national trend Enlow emphasized that nearly half of the nations students now live in states with some form of choice and Indiana, he said, remains at the center of that momentum. Part of that push has come from EdChoice, the Indianapolis-based school choice advocacy group, which he leads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are winning, Enlow said. But now that were winning, the question is, are we winning the right way? In total, 76,067 Indiana students received a Choice Scholarship during the 2024-25 school year, up from 70,095 in 2023-24. The cost is around $497 million a year and growing. Rucker, who sponsored West Virginias 2021 Hope Scholarship Act the first fully universal ESA in the country said being the first to implement such a policy has been bumpy, citing regulatory hurdles and a lack of initial infrastructure. But she noted the program has already sparked the creation of microschools, hybrid schools, and other education options. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve seen public schools start to copy some of the things being offered in those private models, Rucker said. That is literally the vision and the dream. Toews, whose state just passed a refundable tax credit program to support private education, said Idaho is still in the earliest stages of implementation just 16 days in but demand is already high. The next steps are, how do we expand the funding? Toews said. This battle has always been about, to a large extent, about keeping money in the system, or letting money flow out of the system into the free market. I think that we have the right people in our legislature right now to be able to expand the funding, he continued. And Im excited about expanding the opportunities for all the parents to have the best possible education for the unique needs of their children. Pushing back on criticisms The three lawmakers addressed concerns about oversight and potential misuse of public funds a common criticism of vouchers and ESAs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rucker argued that states should avoid over-regulating choice programs out of fear of fraud, noting that parents are best equipped to hold systems accountable. There is no perfect system and no way to prevent 100% of fraud, she said. But parents who love their children, who know their children theyre the ones best able to hold the system accountable. Huston echoed that sentiment, saying Indianas programs have seen minimal issues with misuse despite rapid growth. Theres this incredible bar thats been set like these programs have to be perfect, Huston said. Weve had zero implementation issues. You have to understand and appreciate that the existing (public) system isnt perfect either. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They also rejected criticisms that school choice expansion harms rural school districts. EdChoice CEO Robert Enlow, Indiana House Speaker Todd Huston, West Virginia Sen. Patricia Rucker, and Idaho Sen. Ben Toews speak at the American Legislative Exchange Councils annual meeting on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, in Indianapolis. (Casey Smith/Indiana Capital Chronicle) Huston specifically called that argument a complete red herring, and said hes seen broad support for choice in Indianas rural areas including from public school leaders. I dont know a single Republican legislator who was beaten in a primary for supporting school choice, he said. Weve found that our rural communities are super excited about this, and options are growing. Dont buy into (arguments) that your rural schools are going to collapse. Thats nonsensical, and I think its, frankly, an embarrassing argument. As for whats next, Huston said Indianas school choice landscape is already making strides with one in five students now attending a school of their own choice but theres still room for additional growth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have a fertile ground on this, he said. In 10 or 15 years, do I think the whole education world will look completely different? No. But I think there will be a lot of good changes across all the sectors. He pointed to Indianas recent move to allow charter schools to share in local property tax revenue a shift he believes will break down funding silos and unlock more innovation. The biggest change that school choice has given us is that the consumer is now in control, he said. I dont care if its a private school, a charter school, or a public school whos responding best to the consumer, to what their needs are? Thats what matters. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Indianas GOP supermajorities are taking a hands-on approach to higher education. From ending diversity efforts to cracking down on tenure and making syllabi postings mandatory, conservatives are seizing more control on public universities and colleges that receive state funding. The latest move is to eliminate lesser-used degree programs. Leaders inserted language into the state budget that targets programs when the average number of students who graduate over the immediately preceding three years is fewer than: 10 for an associate degree program 15 for a bachelors degree program seven for a masters degree program three for a doctorate degree program three for an education specialist program Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The educational institution can seek an exception from the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. The mandated contraction raises a lot of questions. Yes, it could be better for the budget of the institution and therefore the state budget but isnt part of governments role to fund items for the public good? Public higher education is still a business and Im concerned that customers i.e. Hoosier students will go elsewhere to get what they need. Is that what Indiana wants? Jacob Stewart: IU program cuts, anti-woke policies harm conservatives on campus An initial review by higher education officials identified a stunning 408 programs to be eliminated, suspended or merged. Thats nearly 20% of the degree offerings in the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among those being terminated: A bachelors degree in teaching German at Ball State University A fine arts masters degree in visual arts at Ball State University Bachelors degrees in education for physics, chemistry and math at Indiana University Bloomington An associates degree of applied science in public safety at Ivy Tech Community College A masters degree in public administration at Purdue Fort Wayne A masters degree in accountancy at University of Southern Indiana A recent Newsweek article said Indianas Republican Gov. Mike Braun has called for more practical degrees that lead students into jobs, but the alterations to Hoosier higher education also come at a time when colleges across the country are coming under increasing scrutiny over funding and the programs they offer. I have to admit, Im torn on this one. I think I would feel better about the move if the idea was actually vetted publicly during the legislative session instead of, once again, inserting it into a bill with only a few days left and no advance notice. This type of move isnt good for building trust in the legislative process and automatically puts people off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio, for example, appears to have an almost identical measure which means its being pushed nationally. Senate Bill 1 in Ohio requires public universities to eliminate undergraduate degree programs that graduate fewer than five students a year over a three-year period. On one hand, if only a handful of students are pursuing the degrees, it seems to make financial sense to assess whether these programs are worth the cost. But I also think students should be able to pick the degrees they want if they are spending tens of thousands of dollars on it. This move also makes it harder for students to customize their educational paths to their interests. West Lafayette Democratic Rep. Chris Campbell said when she received her masters in audiology at Purdue it was a relatively small program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the size of the program didnt matter. It was offered because students were interested, and even though the discipline is small, audiologists provide essential services, she said. Opinion: Purdue, IU abandon student newspapers, diminishing campus voices This is an overreach of government into higher education, echoing a dangerous national trend. The majority isnt outright controlling students education, but theyre restricting it, which achieves the same goal. Students should be able to study whatever they choose, especially since theyre paying hundreds of thousands of dollars for it. Programs impacted include economics, secondary education, finance and three engineering disciplines. I was especially shocked to see special education degrees on the list. Workforce shortages have turned into a major thorn for state leaders, and this move is clearly a way to push students into specific industries and sectors that business and state leaders want to emphasize to fill open jobs in Indiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But nothing will cause burnout and transiency in employment more than not loving what you do. And if the degree options arent here, young Hoosiers will go elsewhere. Niki Kelly is editor-in-chief of the Indiana Capital Chronicle, where this column first appeared. She has covered the Indiana Statehouse since 1999. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana degree cuts may drive students to other states | Opinion A stricter youth curfew in Marion County with fines up to $7,500 for parents of violators has moved one step closer to becoming law in Indianapolis. An Indianapolis City-County Council committee voted unanimously July 16 to make the youth curfew two hours earlier, meaning children ages 15-17 won't be allowed in public unsupervised past 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and past 9 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays. Children under 15 will face a 9 p.m. curfew every day. But the stricter curfew won't take effect until after a full council vote Aug. 11 and will remain in place for only 120 days, at which point the council will decide whether to extend or relax the policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Until then, including during this weekend's busy WNBA All-Star festivities, Indianapolis police will enforce the state law that sets youth curfews two hours later. This weekend, police will debut a downtown site where officers will take kids who violate curfew and connect them with their parents or guardians. The change comes after hundreds of unsupervised teens lingered downtown in the hours following the Fourth of July fireworks show, culminating in a mass shooting after midnight that killed Xavion Jackson, 16, and Azareaon S. Cole, 15. Two other teens and three adults were also injured. The curfew ordinance doesn't create a criminal offense for children, but it does grant police the authority to detain them. The policy allows several exceptions for kids who are returning home from work, a school activity or a religious event, among others. The only possible penalty is fining the parents or guardians of repeat violators up to $2,500 for a first offense and up to $7,500 for a second offense, according to council attorney Brandon Beeler. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The council doesn't have the authority to require mandatory parenting classes as previously discussed, said Leroy Robinson, chair of the Public Safety Committee, which passed the new proposal. Multiple councilors, particularly council Republicans, said they support harsh penalties for parents or guardians who neglect to look after their children. "We don't want to make this punitive for the children particularly, we want to help them," Democratic Councilor Dan Boots said. "But we've tried various things for decades, and we're still having a big problem. "Historically, we've whipped people with wet noodles," Boots added. "Our enforcement's been pretty weak. People don't feel the pain, so therefore they don't fix the problem." Critics doubt curfew will be effective While councilors tout the curfew as an important tool to keep children safe, critics say it will be ignored and even mocked by teens who are already willing to break the law by carrying guns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kids as young as 13 and 14 were charged with gun possession over the Fourth of July weekend, and a total of eight teens and three adults face charges in connection with the downtown mayhem, according to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office. Fraternal Order of Police President Rick Snyder, who represents all IMPD officers, told councilors they need to demand harsher penalties from the prosecutor and the court system. "We're talking about criminally violent offenders armed with guns who ... are laughing at what we're doing here tonight," Snyder said. "They know nothing will happen to them in the juvenile justice system," Snyder added. "That's a huge red flag." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department hasn't enforced the state curfew for years because the juvenile court system was unwilling to process violations, IMPD Chief Chris Bailey said. That changed last year after a different downtown Indianapolis mass shooting wounded seven teens, and IMPD officers announced plans to enforce the curfew. "Voluntary compliance is what we all want," Bailey said while speaking in support of the bill Wednesday night. "Keep your kids home so they stay alive, so they don't end up in our custody for some criminal charge, or they don't catch a stray round." Email IndyStar Reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09 This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis youth curfew includes parent fines. Final vote in August New Orleans City Councilwoman at-large Helena Moreno greets supporters outside the Orleans Criminal District Courthouse before qualifying to run for mayor July 9, 2025. (Christiana Botic/Verite News) The candidate lineups for the 2025 New Orleans mayoral and council elections are set. Primary elections will be held on Oct.11, and any necessary runoffs will be held on Nov. 15. This election will be the first open mayoral election in 50 years not driven by support for, or opposition to, established political family dynasties or Black political organizations. The mayors office and three council offices are vacant, so regardless of how incumbents perform, there will be a regime change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the last 50 years, city politics was either dominated by old family dynasties or by Black political organizations such as LIFE, BOLD, COUP or SOUL. In the past 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, the influence of political families and organizations has gradually waned. Political scientist Clarence Stone coined the term urban regime when describing the types of networks that govern cities. In the past, the occupants of New Orleans City Hall whoever they were have often been described as caretaker regimes, governed by family-based or neighborhood organization-based political aristocracies, that maintained coalitions by awarding patronage jobs and government contracts. By contrast, other Southern cities such as Atlanta, Houston and Dallas are described as corporate regimes. They lack traditional family-based or neighborhood-based political aristocracies. Instead, those cities are governed by coalitions between politicians and business leaders, and those coalitions are constantly changing with each election cycle, usually based on who can best deliver high-paying corporate jobs to their city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are other types of regime classifications: Progressive, demand-side, entrepreneurial, etc. While it is too early to say the type of regime that New Orleans will become, it is clear that the current caretaker regime is fading. The current or former elected officials in the race for mayor are: Councilwoman at-large Helena Moreno, District E Councilmam Oliver Thomas, retired Criminal District Court Judge Arthur Hunter and state Sen. Royce Duplessis. Moreno has led in every poll taken so far in the race and also leads all candidates in fundraising. Ten additional candidates qualified to run for mayor, for a total of fourteen. None of the candidates are currently claiming an association with a political organization. Thomas had an organizational affiliation with BOLD in the past but no longer uses that affiliation. None are the children of past mayors or related to past mayors. None are related to any current officeholder. In the council races, the most watched race will be Morenos vacated at-large seat. Three candidates qualified, including two current legislators State Reps. Matthew Willard and Delisha Boyd. Council district A, a vacant seat, drew five candidates, including two former council staffers to incumbent Joe Giarrusso: Holly Friedman and Aimee McCarron. The other vacant district council seat, District E now occupied by mayoral-contender Thomas drew a whopping 11 candidates, including state Rep. Jason Hughes and former Councilwoman Cyndi Nguyen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three incumbent council members attracted challengers. At-large Councilman JP Morrell has 2 challengers. District C Councilman Freddie King III drew 3 challengers, and District D Councilman Eugene Green has 3 challengers. In an example of the decline of a once-powerful organization, District B Councilwoman Leslie Harris was re-elected unopposed. For decades, the District B seat was controlled by BOLD and was the base of their neighborhood power. Four years ago, Harris defeated a BOLD incumbent to win her seat. In this election, the organization did not even field a candidate in its own power base. The decline of political organizations seems to correlate with a decline in voter turnout, perhaps because of the loss of the turnout functions of the neighborhood-based groups. In the last pre-Katrina mayoral runoff election in 2002 with a vacant seat, turnout was 44.3%. Turnout gradually decreased in each election cycle and was 33.3% in 2017, the last post-Katrina cycle with a vacant seat. Turnout was 29.1% in 2021, the last cycle with an incumbent mayor. It should be noted that corporate regimes usually have low turnout rates. In their last mayoral runoff elections with vacant seats, Atlanta had 21% in 2021, Dallas had 10% in 2019, and Houston had 17% in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There seems to be a trade-off in regime types: As caretaker organization-based regimes fade, so does voter participation. This could lead to vulnerable populations not having a voice unless the issue is recognized and mitigated. Perhaps nonprofit organizations can fill the void by engaging in non-partisan voter turnout campaigns and offering rides to the polls for those without transportation. Regardless of the type of regimes competing, it remains the responsibility of each citizen to educate themselves about the candidates and to vote in each election. Democracy only works when everyone participates. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE This article first appeared on Verite News New Orleans and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW ) If youre looking to buy a home in Myrtle Beach, youre not alone. As out-of-state transplants flock to the Grand Strand, one local real estate broker says its driving up housing costs. People are going to still be moving here. Home prices will still be going up and up, said Joel Barber, a real estate broker with Advantage Agents Group in Myrtle Beach. Barber said hes seen real estate prices rise with the influx of transplants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We typically have more inventory than other parts of the country Barber said, But those home prices will be continue to go up because well continue to have people move into the area. According to U.S. Census data, Horry County is the third largest growing county in the nation. While most of Barbers clients are migrating from the Northeast, he said hes seen transplants from all over. We do have a number of buyers, of course, from that general area as well, whether it be New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Western New York. We have buyers from Arizona who might be moving here because its cooler, Barber said. [We have] people from California that might say, Im paying $8 for a gallon of gas and its only $2.50 here.' Amid the rise in transplants, locals have taken to social media to share their thoughts. In housing Facebook groups, some say they feel priced out of Myrtle Beach, and can no longer afford to live there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, others point out that the area is still relatively more affordable than most coastal cities in the country, something Barber believes is drawing transplants in. Weve got the low cost of living. We have the weather, the cheap taxes. Theyre dirt cheap compared to some other states. Those are just a few things that people are moving here for, and I guess you might say the employment and the job opportunities, Barber said. There are people from other areas of the country that are now able to work remotely. Barber said some locals may be concerned about traffic with the influx of tourists. However, he hopes it will lead the county to improve infrastructure and roads. * * * Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shelby Martin is a multimedia journalist who joined the News13 team in May 2025. Shelby is from Orange County, California, and graduated in 2023 from California State University, Fullerton. You can read more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. An injured climber summoned help after falling on a remote Washington peak by shouting across a canyon, officials said. The 31-year-old was climbing alone on Sinister Peaks northern glacier when he fell, the Chelan County Sheriffs Office said in a July 16 post on Facebook. He slid about 200 feet, dislocating his shoulder and possibly breaking his legs, according to Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, which sent a search and rescue team after authorities were alerted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The injured climber got help by yelling to another party in the area, deputies and navy officials said. That group got in touch with rescuers and made its way to the fallen climber by traversing glacial and rocky terrain, according to deputies. The man was showing signs of early-stage hypothermia, deputies said. The Naval Air Station Whidbey crew hoisted him and flew him to a Seattle hospital, officials said. Sinister Peak is in the North Cascades. Lost hiker makes one last call for help before phone dies, NH officials say HELP. Handwritten notes lead rescuers to mom, 9-year-old stranded in CA forest Fisherman falls in lake and vanishes as friend tries to help, Washington cops say SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) South Central Veterinary Clinic is no stranger to having people bring them wild animals. But when a client came in saying she had an injured turtle in her car, receptionist Emily Adkins was shocked. I go out there, and she opens the car door. I look on her floor of the car and Im like, nope. Let me go get Sara. I knew exactly what it was. It was a snapping turtle, said Adkins. Dr. Sara Hofer does have experience with turtles and other reptiles, but she wasnt sure what she was legally allowed to do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I did contact the veterinarian at the zoo through a friend, a mutual friend. She said she could not help but to contact Game Fish and Parks. I contacted them, and they asked if I had a wildlife rehab license. I said I did not, said Sara Hofer, Head Veterinarian, South Central Veterinary Clinic. Hofer ended up contacting Dr. Virginia Trexler-Myren, who is the only veterinarian in the state who is wildlife rehab certified. The problem though, she lives in Pierre. Looking for help, the clinic ended up posting on social media and asking if anyone could carpool with the turtle. I was overwhelmed. The amount of people that message that are not clients of the vet clinic at all. Just willing to drive out of here for absolutely no reason other than just to drive the injured turtle there and back. So I was completely overwhelmed by the response, said Hofer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Doctor Virginia said the turtle had a part of its shell missing and a fractured lower jaw, which she believes could have been caused by a large animal. You know, they didnt even know us. They have nothing to do with us, and they wanted to help us. So we really do have amazing community support in Sioux Falls, said Adkins. Until its wounds are fully healed, the turtle will recover at All Creatures Animal Hospital in Pierre and hopefully be released in a few months into the wild after its recovered. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. In the back room of a morgue on the outskirts of Kyiv, the stench of rotten flesh hangs heavy in the air, its source a large white bag lying on a metal table. The mortician opens it, and inside is a smaller black bag containing a pair of mud-covered military boots, a mummified body, and a skull. This is all that is left of a Ukrainian soldier returned from captivity in Russia. Now begins the grueling work of finding out who he was. Since Russia's all-out invasion of Ukraine began three and a half years ago, at least 60,000 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been reported missing. Soldiers often vanish after coming face-to-face with Russians in combat. Some are taken alive as prisoners of war; others who die on the battlefield are captured as collateral for future body repatriation exchanges between Kyiv and Moscow a corpse for a corpse. For the missing's wives, parents, siblings, and children back home, there is most often no way of knowing where they are, what condition they are being kept in, and whether they are alive. Personal belongings of a Ukrainian soldier whose body was returned to Kyiv in an exchange with Russia on June 27, 2025. Christopher Occhicone for BI At the center of the search for missing soldiers are some 1,300 investigators within the war crimes unit of Ukraine's National Police. Each investigator, some in their early 20s and fresh out of the police academy, manages hundreds of cases at a time, working early mornings, late nights, and weekends to locate, return, and identify the missing. They interview witnesses, scour social media and cellphone records, collect DNA samples, and coordinate with the Ukrainian government. Perhaps more than anything, they serve as a crucial lifeline to the families living through a nauseating uncertainty that can extend for months or even years. This summer, the National Police gave Business Insider exclusive access to interview and witness the investigators at work at three locations in the Kyiv region the first time a publication has been allowed to report on their work in detail. (This story contains graphic descriptions and photos.) At the Brovary police station east of Kyiv, Maksym Kot's phone rings, one of 50 calls he will get throughout the day, the majority from the families of some of the 400 missing soldier cases he is working on. Baby-faced and soft-spoken, Kot is 23 and graduated from Ukraine's police academy two years ago. He is the sole investigator of soldier disappearances in Brovary, a city of more than 100,000. A rosary is pulled from the jacket of a deceased Ukrainian soldier on June 27, 2025. Christopher Occhicone for BI As we sit in his small, cluttered office, Kot explains how each case begins: A family member files a missing persons report with the police, which includes the name and circumstances of a soldier's disappearance, if there are any known witnesses, or any suspected perpetrators in this case, Russian service members. Then Kot starts calling the vanished's fellow soldiers, other relatives, and friends into the station for questioning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Soldiers serving alongside the missing service member provide a timeline leading up to their last known moments. They can tell Kot where a troop was fighting, what their last orders were, and the exact last location of the missing soldier. Maksym Kot, a 23-year-old investigator, is currently working on some 400 missing persons cases. Christopher Occhicone for BI The families, whom Kot refers to as "the victims," share intimate details of the missing soldiers' lives. They provide pictures and descriptions of the soldiers' faces, tattoos, birth marks, and other identifying features, the last text messages soldiers wrote to them, and DNA samples to test for matches with bodies returned from Russia in prisoner exchanges. When Kot talks to the families, they often "can't stop crying, and it's hard to engage them in conversation," he says. "I always tell them that hope dies last." The emotional toll they face is deep and excruciating. Russian soldiers have also been known to torture Ukrainian POWs, starving them, and at times sexually assaulting them. (The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine has gathered claims from Russian prisoners of war of being tortured, severely beaten, and subjected to sexual violence.) Mental images of what could be happening to their loved ones in captivity often sends family members into hysterics. Masha Chuprinchuk (left) and family members search for her son through a digital database of the bodies of unidentified Ukrainian soldiers at a police station in Kyiv. Christopher Occhicone for BI At Kot's office, a 21-year-old woman named Nadiia arrives for a scheduled visit. Her father, Pavlo, 46, went missing off the front lines in the eastern Bakhmut region on October 1, 2022. She has come to provide her first DNA sample; an uncle had previously provided one. (The families who work with Kot whom I spoke with asked that their last name be withheld for security reasons; if their soldier is alive and in captivity, they fear speaking out could worsen the soldier's treatment.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The last time I spoke to him was during the day," Nadiia tells me of her father. "He didn't say anything special, he just said he would call me again in the evening, but he never did." One week later, her family received a call from a military office informing them that Pavlo had gone missing. Several weeks after that, a soldier serving alongside Pavlo told his brother that their unit had been sent to positions in two groups of four one group returned and the other did not. Nearly three years later, his case remains open, and his whereabouts and whether he's alive remain unknown. Bohdan Rozderii, a senior forensic specialist, takes a DNA sample from Nadiia, 21, who is searching for her father, Pavlo. Christopher Occhicone for BI After a few minutes, a forensic specialist walked into Kot's room with a large black suitcase containing personal protective equipment and a buccal swab kit to take a DNA sample from inside Nadiia's cheek. While the swab takes a few seconds, it can take months to a year to create a DNA profile. Nadiia tells me she is hopeful that her sample will not match with the remains of any of the soldiers recently returned from captivity to Kyiv which would mean her father could still be alive. After Nadiia leaves, Kot reaches over to the left side of his desk and grabs a large stack of paper held together by a binder clip this is the paperwork of a single case. Once he collects witness statements and DNA samples, Kot goes through various bureaucratic channels of Ukraine's government to receive permission to create the official case of a missing soldier. With that, he can gain access to cellphone records which can show who the soldier last spoke with and where as well as letters from the military confirming the soldier is missing. Kot records Nadiia's DNA sample. Christopher Occhicone for BI The International Committee of the Red Cross is another resource investigators rely on. As a neutral body, the ICRC has designated teams in both Moscow and Kyiv that maintain lists of current POWs from both sides of the war. "There are delays. It's not a perfect system. But by and large, this system functions," says Pat Griffiths, a spokesperson for the ICRC Ukraine. It can be months before a POW is entered into the system, and if they have not been accounted for after a prolonged period, the likelihood that the person has been killed increases significantly, Griffiths says. As of June, the ICRC has received requests to account for 134,000 missing people from both Russia and Ukraine since the start of the war. Of those, 14,200 have been told the fate of their loved ones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Families come to Kot regularly with any fragments of information from their own research. He trawls Telegram and other Russian social media and messaging channels for information about a soldier's whereabouts. In one instance, he found video and photos of one of the missing soldiers who was in Russian captivity. "I quickly informed his mother about this. She was very happy," Kot recalls. Beyond collecting evidence, all Kot can do as the investigator is wait and comfort the families through their maddening purgatory. "I never show them that I have reached a dead end," says Kot. "I have not shown and will not show weakness." When he started his job, Kot took every new case "to heart," he says each family's anguish tormented him. After thousands of meetings with missing soldiers' wives, siblings, parents, and children, he's managed to "stay psychologically resilient," he says, though he still feels each case deeply. An investigator stands at the entrance of a van that was used to transport repatriated Ukrainian soldiers in Kyiv. Christopher Occhicone for BI One case that Kot worked on was a 38-year-old soldier named Oleksandr, who went missing from the eastern Pokrovsk region, one of the war's hotspots, on November 22, 2024. Eleven days before his disappearance, Oleksandr married his wife, Nataliia, 37. A few hours into my visit to Kot's office, Nataliia arrives to meet with him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "No one knew I was getting married because I wasn't sure if his brigade would allow him to attend the ceremony," she tells me with a smile. "After we got married, my mother asked me, 'Why him?' I said, 'Because he can listen to me and understand me." She talks about the hobbies she took on to pass the time: web design, adopting a poodle, learning Turkish for no particular reason. She is 99 percent certain her "soulmate" is alive, she says with conviction. Nataliia has come to show a Facebook post about some soldiers who went missing with her husband and recently returned from captivity could Kot locate and interview them? Kot nods as he types notes into Oleksandr's case file on his desktop computer. Eight days after my visit, Nataliia sends me a text message. She had just heard from Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which interviews POWs upon their return, that two witnesses saw Oleksandr die. She did not specify whether it was on the battlefield or in captivity. "It feels like I'm falling into an abyss," she says on the phone. Months of certainty that her husband was alive were stripped away in a moment. Kot says that he and other investigators are identifying witnesses and will conduct interviews to confirm that Oleksandr is dead. After that comes the interminable process of returning and identifying his body. Since 2022, Ukraine has secured the release of 5,700 prisoners of war and civilians from Russia. The Ukrainian police believe there are many thousands more still in Russian captivity, as well as tens of thousands of bodies of Ukrainian soldiers. Most of them have been killed on the front lines; at least 206 have died in captivity, according to the Ukrainian government. Ukraine receives the bodies of around 100 deceased soldiers every two to six weeks, investigators told BI. They are unloaded from vans by Russian government workers in an undisclosed location and collected by their Ukrainian counterparts, who in turn return the bodies of Russian soldiers. Investigators load the repatriated bodies of Ukrainian soldiers onto stretchers in Kyiv. Christopher Occhicone for BI In June, Ukraine received a sudden influx of 6,057 bodies (while Russia received 78, according to Kremlin aide Vladimir Medinsky) as part of a round of failed ceasefire talks between Kyiv and Moscow in Istanbul. The mass of corpses strained an already delicate system, with hundreds of bodies being brought to morgues throughout the country simultaneously. "As the nature of this conflict changed and rapidly escalated, suddenly you're dealing with a lot more human remains. The forensic infrastructure here risks being overwhelmed," says Griffiths. More than 90 percent of bodies return unlabeled and unidentified, and connecting each to a missing persons report is a lengthy, painstaking endeavor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 26, I visit a morgue on the edge of Kyiv that just received the bodies of 50 servicemen, and meet with Victoriia Konopatska, a 24-year-old senior police investigator. Where Kot focuses primarily on locating missing soldiers who are thought to be alive, Konopatska focuses on identifying the dead upon their return. When the full-scale war began in February 2022, she was in her final year at Ukraine's police academy. She had four months of training left when, in March, she and her classmates graduated early to join the police force. The smell of decaying corpses in the morgue seeps into the skin, makes your eyes water, and lingers long after you leave the building. Konopatska has been exposed to this smell nearly every day on the job for three and a half years, and has not grown used to it. The remains of the unidentified soldier that investigators assessed in Kyiv on June 27, 2025. Christopher Occhicone for BI In the front room of the morgue, three dead civilians who just died at a local hospital an elderly man and woman, and a man in his 40s lie on separate tables. The mortician, a middle-aged woman, carefully dresses them in their funeral clothes: the men in black suits, the woman in a deep blue dress and a headscarf that the mortician delicately wraps around her head and tied just below her chin. The bodies of the civilians were intact and their eyes and mouths peacefully closed a stark contrast from the room Konopatska leads me to a few steps away. She is wearing a large white PPE suit, a blue hair net, and a face mask. Underneath all of the dressing, her eyebrows are perfectly shaped, her long lashes painted with mascara, and she has a fresh French manicure. As she stands holding an iPad, Simon Nikolaichuk, a forensic scientist, and his assistant assess the body of an unidentified soldier lying on the metal table. Though the soldier was dressed in the military uniform he had been killed in, the body was partly skeletal and mummified. It has "significant putrefactive changes and is generally reduced to bones and grease," Konopatska says flatly. Identifying it will be challenging. Victoriia Konopatska (center), a 24-year-old senior police investigator, and colleagues take notes during an autopsy performed on an unidentified soldier in Kyiv on June 27, 2025. Christopher Occhicone for BI As Nikolaichuk conducts the autopsy over the next hour, characteristics of the soldier begin to emerge. A rosary is pulled from his jacket, followed by a destroyed cellphone charger, and a pair of reading glasses, which suggests he may have been older. (The average Ukrainian soldier fighting today is 40.) These mementos will be given to the family of the soldier if he is identified and they are notified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Konopatska types on her iPad each assessment called out to her. "Head injury. Gunshot wound to the head. Damage to the skull bones," says Nikolaichuk. "Broken shoulder blade. Fracture of the right and left shoulder blades. Fracture of the upper third of both humerus bones." He examines the soldier's scalp. "There are remnants of hair up to 0.7 inches long." Konopatska estimates that she has assessed well over a thousand bodies throughout the war, both civilian and military. She spends the majority of her workdays collecting DNA samples from the bodies of the soldiers returned to Kyiv, up to five per day. "We finish working with some bodies, and others are immediately brought in," she says. Their assessment of the soldier's body complete, Nikolaichuk and his assistant return the remains to a white bag and carry it to a nearby cargo-sized refrigerator that is filled with dozens of other bodies stacked neatly on shelves. Nikolaichuk walks back to the morgue and quickly looks through the corpses in the three other bags one dead a few months and partially intact, the man's white beard flowing from his chin; one putrefied; and the other torn to shreds, the skull split in two, likely from an explosion. Forensic experts examine the remains of a Ukrainian soldier whose body was returned to Kyiv on June 27, 2025. Christopher Occhicone for BI Bones and mummified corpses are all that remain of 80 percent of the soldiers' bodies that Russia returns to Ukraine, according to Ihor Kalantai, head of the police unit investigating war crimes. Some return decapitated, have their hands tied, or have stab wounds all "signs of extrajudicial executions," says Kalantai. Undetonated explosive devices have been found tucked inside the clothes of bodies of Ukrainian soldiers, Kalantai says. A de-miner is now present during every repatriation. Some soldiers, Kalantai says, return as nothing more than a leg, arm, or a mere finger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other bodies have been dissected and have pieces of medical waste sewn into them. Bodies have also returned with missing organs. Last spring, when the body of Victoria Roshchyna, a prominent Ukrainian journalist who died in Russian custody at age 27, was returned to Ukraine, her eyes, brain, and parts of her windpipe were reportedly missing. "It's hard to single out which bodies are difficult to look at," says Konopatska, "because every body is difficult to look at because you understand that someone was waiting for this person at home." There is a common folklore belief in Ukraine that when a loved one dies, they will visit the dreams of their family members to say goodbye. When families have lost all contact with their relatives on the battlefield, many hold onto that legend, believing that if they have not dreamed of their son, their husband, or their father, then he must still be alive somewhere. Once Konopatska has taken the DNA samples of the bodies, she brings them to Olha Sydorenko, 33, an investigator at the station's Department of Particularly Serious Crimes. She sends the samples to forensic scientists to create a DNA profile and begins the process of matching the remains to possible relatives. Olha Sydorenko, 33, an investigator at the station's Department of Particularly Serious Crimes, sits among stacks of case files at her office in Kyiv. Christopher Occhicone for BI When there is a match, Sydorenko is tasked with informing families. She has had this conversation with more than 2,000 families. It always begins with a phone call where she introduces herself and asks them to come to her office in Kyiv to discuss their case, a courtesy to deliver life-altering news in-person. Often, though, they're already expecting the worst, and she breaks the news on the call. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "No one wants to believe that their loved one has died," Sydorenko says in her office. Some families require many repeated explanations to fully comprehend that their son or husband has returned home in a body bag. Then she details the condition the body has returned in, so the family can decide whether to view the bodies and begin to make funeral arrangements. Many often choose cremation. One of Sydorenko's first and most haunting cases, she tells me, was of Vladyslav Lytvynenko, a 27-year-old who went missing on April 7, 2022. Vira Lytvynenko, Vladyslav's mother, received a call from the patronage service of the 12th Special Forces Brigade of the National Guard a unit known in Ukraine as Azov informing her that he was killed fighting in Mariupol. Vira Lytvynenko sits for a portrait in her apartment while holding a photo of her son Vladyslav. Christopher Occhicone for BI "I felt hysterical, like any mother would," Vira tells me. "We had been waiting for a message from him while he was already gone," she says as her voice breaks. She was then told that the fighting in Mariupol the site of the heaviest shelling in the war's early months was too fierce to collect the dead. Azov was forced to surrender in Mariupol to encircling Russian soldiers in May 2022, and more than 2,500 soldiers of the brigade were believed to have been taken as prisoners of war. Russian forces also took the bodies of hundreds of soldiers, including Vladyslav. Sydorenko first connected with Lytvynenko that summer, and they worked together for months to find a way to bring her son's body home. For hours at a time, the pair looked through the National Police's online catalogs of corpses, which are filled with pictures of remains in morgues throughout Ukraine. Lytvyenko and her husband provided two rounds of DNA samples and pictures of their son's tattoos, one of which is a Viking warrior standing tall in front of skyscrapers, an orange sunset visible in the distance. In mid-October 2022, Sydorenko called Lytvynenko to inform her that they'd found a match: Vladyslav's body was at a morgue in Kyiv. Photos of Vladyslav Lytvynenko in the family apartment. Christopher Occhicone for BI It was a cold spring when Vladyslav died, Lytvynenko says, and she hoped Russian soldiers would "at least return his body in a proper condition so that I could see him one last time." But the decaying body that Russia had returned bore no resemblance to her son, Sydorenko told her. "Nothing was sacred to them," she says of Russian soldiers who kept Vladyslav's body for months. Lytvynenko chose not to see his remains, in part because Sydorenko advised her against it, and in part because she did not believe her son would want her to see him as the "pieces of rotten flesh" he returned as. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's horrible to see any animal or person dead," she says. "And if you see it and they tell you it's your son, I guess humanity hasn't come up with a word to describe that feeling yet." The remains of Ukrainian soldiers killed in action are delivered to a morgue for examination. The bodies were collected by Russian forces and exchanged for Russian bodies at a neutral site after negotiations between the two countries. Christopher Occhicone for BI Additional reporting by Olena Lysenko. Anna Conkling is a journalist currently based in Kyiv. Her writing has been featured in Rolling Stone, Elle, The Daily Beast, and elsewhere. Read the original article on Business Insider Disclaimer: The analyst who wrote this article owns shares in Strategy. Strategys (MSTR) aggressive bitcoin BTC acquisition strategy has dramatically boosted the value of its convertible debt. With bitcoin steady near its record price and the company's shares rebounding toward $450, five of the six bonds outstanding are deep in the money, meaning the stock price exceeds their conversion prices. Only the 2029 note, with a high $672.40 conversion price, remains out of reach. The Tysons Corner, Virginia-based company issued convertible notes totaling $8.2 billion in notional principal with ultra-low average coupons of just 0.421%. The bonds, which mature between 2028 and 2032, carry a set price based on MSTR and BTC levels at the time of issues at which the debt can turn into the common stock. MSTR stock has rebounded from as low as $235 three months ago and is within sight of late last year's $543 record. The rally has pushed the bonds market value to $13.4 billion, roughly $5.2 billion above their notional value. The premium reflects how much investors are willing to pay in secondary markets, driven by the bonds potential to convert into valuable equity. Of late, however, Strategy has paused issuing new convertible notes. That may be due to more cautious sentiment as reflected in the options market. As of July 15, MSTRs implied volatility sits at 53.1%, well below past highs above 200%. Implied volatility is an indication of how much the options traders believes the stock will move in the future based on their market positioning. Open interest remains healthy at over 2.4 million contracts, but both the open interest put-call ratio (0.93) and the volume put-call ratio (0.62) indicate neutral sentiment, suggesting traders are not aggressively betting on a major surge in the stock. A put is a cautious position that offers protection against price declines in the underlying asset while a call is a bullish instrument that allows traders to profit when the price rises. Additionally, trading volume is just 20% of its 30-day average, hinting at reduced speculative interest. This muted options activity implies that while MSTRs price is high enough to put five of the six convertible bonds deep in the money, there may not be the same frothy market enthusiasm that allowed the company to issue convertibles at ultra-low coupons and favorable terms. Investors might demand higher yields or lower conversion prices for any new issuance, which could dilute existing shareholders sooner. The U.S. Department of the Interior on Wednesday announced the transfer of nearly 28,000 acres of land to NANA Regional Corporation, Inc., under Section 12(c) of the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA). With this conveyance, NANAs total land entitlement now exceeds 713,000 acres, representing 96% completion of its entitlement. This milestone supports efforts to fulfill ANCSA obligations. This land transfer is a clear example of the Trump administration delivering on its promises, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a press release. The Department is committed to honoring the agreements made with Alaska Native corporations, cutting federal red tape and unlocking Alaskas full potential. By putting land into Alaska Native hands, we are advancing opportunity in Alaska, while reducing federal barriers to resource development. Never miss Indian Countrys biggest stories and breaking news. Click here to sign up to get our reporting sent straight to your inbox every weekday morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NANA Regional Corporatioin President and CEO John Lincoln praised the transfer. NANA is pleased to receive the first land transfer to an Alaska Native Corporation under the Alaska Land Transfer Acceleration Act. We are grateful to President Trump, Secretary Burgum, Alaskas federal delegation, and their teams for their hard work towards fulfilling federal commitments to Alaska Natives" Lincoln said. "NANAs land selections were made many years ago by our Elders and past leadership. We look forward to continuing to work closely with our federal government on the conveyance of the remaining 100,000+ acres of selected lands and on other issues of great importance to our state and nation," he continued. In addition to fulfilling longstanding Alaska Native land claims, the transfer supports the implementation of Executive Order 14153 and Secretarys Order 3422, Unleashing Alaskas Extraordinary Resource Potential. The land lies at the western end of the proposed Ambler Road corridor and is no longer under Bureau of Land Management jurisdiction increasing local control over land use and resource development in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Enacted in 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) resolved aboriginal land claims by establishing regional and village corporations to receive title to designated federal lands. Although most land selections were made in the early 1970s, the Bureau of Land Management continues to process complex conveyances like this one. About the Author: "Native News Online is one of the most-read publications covering Indian Country and the news that matters to American Indians, Alaska Natives and other Indigenous people. Reach out to us at editor@nativenewsonline.net. " Contact: news@nativenewsonline.net Weather Aware Until 9 PM Thursday for Intense Heat and Humidity Thursday: Invest 93L moves into Louisiana, increasing humidity across Alabama. It will be partly cloudy and hot, with spotty showers and storms. Highs will be in the lower to mid-90s, with feels-like temperatures of up to 106F. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friday: The remnants of Invest 93L will move north across Louisiana, bringing southerly winds to Alabama, which will make it more humid. It will be mostly cloudy with scattered showers and storms. Heavy rain is likely with any storms, with street flooding possible. WPC has placed all of Alabama in a Level 1/5 Marginal Risk for excessive rainfall. High temperatures will be around 90F, feeling like 100-105. Weekend Outlook: Central Alabama will still feel the effects of the remnants of Invest 93L on Saturday, with scattered showers and storms. Isolated heavy rain is likely, so watch out for street flooding. WPC has placed all of Alabama in a Level 1/5 Marginal Risk for excessive rainfall. However, it wont be a complete washout. It will remain hot and humid, with highs in the lower 90s and feel-like temperatures of 100-105F. Expect more of the same Sunday, with unevenly scattered downpours that can produce locally heavy rain and a heat index between 100 and 105. Early Next Week: Surface high pressure will build across the eastern Gulf, and an upper-level high will develop toward Alabama from the west. This will help reduce the coverage of afternoon and evening storms. It will stay hot and humid, with highs in the lower 90s and feel-like temperatures of 105-110+. It will be some of the hottest weather of the year so far. Tracking the Tropics: #Invest93L is currently located around the Florida panhandle. It remains disorganized and is also battling wind shear. It will continue to move west, but odds continue to diminish this system can organize into a tropical depression or tropical storm. This system will mainly bring rain and waterspouts along the northern Gulf Coast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Be sure to follow the CBS 42 Storm Team: Follow Us on Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Dave Nussbaum, Meteorologist Michael Haynes, Meteorologist Alex Puckett, and Meteorologist Jacob Woods. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. A death investigation is underway after a body was pulled from the water near a restaurant in Boston on Thursday morning, officials said. A spokesperson for the Suffolk District Attorneys Office told Boston 25 News that the body of a female was recovered from the water near the Barking Crab on Sleeper Street. There were no initial signs of trauma detected, according to the DAs office. The identity of the individual hasnt been released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No additional details were available. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW HONOLULU (KHON2) According to the Better Business Bureau, a recent Gallup Poll showed 85% of U.S. consumers say theyre looking for personal finance information. BBB: $23K lost from scams targeting military members in Hawaii While the majority of Americans want to invest and are actively seeking out financial advice many dont know where to start. The BBB said this confusion can be costly, from putting off financial planning entirely to losing thousands on fraudulent investment schemes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement BBBs Cameron Nakashima said theyre seeing a lot of people actively looking for financial help, but turning to the wrong sources. BBBs latest Scam Tracker Risk Report found that investment scams are now the riskiest scam type in North America. Eighty percent of people who reported one lost money, with a median loss of $5,000. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Locally, BBB received seven investment scam reports from people in Hawaii in 2024, with total losses over $289,000. Nakashima said most of these scams start with someone online pretending to be a crypto expert or investment guru. When investing, it is best practice to work with a local, trusted financial planner or wealth management business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are some other tips: Dont feel bad if this stuff overwhelms you. Topics around investing can be intimidating, so reaching out to a trusted financial advisor is a great way to begin your investing journey. There are a lot of great websites out there that help you quickly learn what options might be best for your budget. Better Business Bureaus BBB.org offers a free resource called Financial Wellness HQ, which explains what to look for in a financial business, how to avoid scams, and how to connect with trusted professionals. While Better Business Bureau is not here to give financial advice, we do help you for free to find trusted businesses that can provide reliable advice for your situation. When you find a business you want to learn more about, you can reach out to them using BBBs Get a Quote feature for pricing and to compare your options. Its a great way to start a conversation with a trusted business that can help you take those first steps in your financial planning journey. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DES MOINES, Iowa We did receive some rainfall in parts of Iowa overnight, with the southeast seeing the least. Totals follow. Cooler air has moved in behind the rain. Your weather timeline takes you into Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The boundary that passed today will stall over southern Iowa or northern Missouri this evening, setting southern Iowa up for the potential for storms and heavy rainfall. The rest of us will just see cool low temperatures. Warmer temperatures and storm chances then return to Iowa starting Saturday morning and lasting intermittently into Monday. Rain chances will be best during the mornings all three days, and heavy totals are possible. Isolated storms will be possible during the heating of the day during the afternoons and evenings. The European model and Weather Prediction Centers rainfall predictions through Monday afternoon are above and below. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Highs for the next six days are in the preceding slideshow. It will be cool Thursday and Friday before humidity returns for the weekend. The extended outlooks below keep us in the heat with above-average precipitation chances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. IOWA (KCAU) A Galva, Iowa, woman received a prison sentence for distributing more than 100 thousand fentanyl pills. A judge gave Braleigh Schossow, 25, more than 11 years in federal prison for the guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl. She must also serve a five-year term of supervised release. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During sentencing, Schossow admitted to distributing the pills from December 2020 to February 2024. Officials said she got the counterfeit pills stamped M-30 from her sources in Minnesota. Authorities said Schossow sold tens of thousands of pills in Iowa and Nebraska. In 2022, some of those pills were distributed to another person who later died from an overdose. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has admitted for the first time that his country had security failures in the war against Israel. "The security shortcomings that became apparent during the war must be analysed and remedied," Pezeshkian said at a Cabinet meeting in Tehran, the daily newspaper Iran reported on Thursday. Self-criticism of this kind is extremely rare in authoritarian Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the 12-day war against Israel, several high-ranking Iranian military commanders were killed in their private residences. In addition to military and nuclear facilities, relatively unknown targets were also attacked, including a Holocaust-denying foundation in the capital Tehran. Experts believe such attacks would not have been possible without insider information. Speculation has been circulating for several weeks about extensive cooperation between some elements of Iranian security aparatus and the Israeli foreign intelligence service Mossad. In the same context, several people have already been arrested for allegedly spying for Mossad. Iran has until the end of August to agree to a nuclear deal with the United States and its allies, Fox News has learned. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the foreign ministers of France, Germany and the United Kingdom set the de facto deadline, according to three sources with knowledge of a call Wednesday among the officials. If Tehran fails to agree to a deal, it would trigger the "snapback" mechanism that automatically reimposes all sanctions previously imposed by the United Nations Security Council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Iran's Leader Threatens 'Even Bigger Blow' Against Us; Trump Says He's In No Rush To Talk Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with his European counterparts about Iran being given a deadline to accept a nuclear deal. The sanctions were lifted under the 2015 Iran deal. The Trump administration has tried pressuring Iran to accept a deal to walk back its nuclear program after U.S. and Israeli strikes targeting nuclear sites. Read On The Fox News App United Against Nuclear Iran, a nonprofit that opposes Tehran's effort to develop a nuclear weapon, applauded Wednesday's news. Iran Vows Retaliation If Un Security Council Issues Snapback Sanctions On Anniversary Of Nuclear Deal "Tehran has learned that, for the Trump administration, a deadline means a deadline," UANI Chairman and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and CEO Ambassador Mark D. Wallace said in a joint statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "After failing to agree to a deal within 60 days of diplomacy, the United States and Israel undertook targeted military action against the regime in June. Consequently, Tehran should take this new deadline seriously." On Monday, Iran warned it would retaliate if the U.N. Security Council imposes the snapback sanctions. "The threat to use the snapback mechanism lacks legal and political basis and will be met with an appropriate and proportionate response from the Islamic Republic of Iran," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei claimed during a press conference, according to a Reuters report. Baghaei didn't specify how Tehran would retaliate. Original article source: Iran faces August deadline to accept comprehensive nuclear deal or face renewed UN sanctions In the aftermath of the Israel-Iran war last month, political and media attention has focused on the conflicts impact on Irans nuclear program, particularly with regard to the U.S. airstrikes targeting key Iranian nuclear installations that preceded the ceasefire. Key questions include how much damage the attacks caused to Irans nuclear facilities; how long it may take Iran to rebuild and regenerate capacities it may have lost; and the condition and whereabouts of Irans inventory of enriched uranium. The decision by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to start the war, and that of U.S. President Donald Trump to join it, promptly provoked highly partisan debate, both for and against the intervention. This polarization spilled over into discussions of the impact on Irans nuclear program, which were further exacerbated by the absence of conclusive evidence for any speculative claims. Moreover, most of the ensuing speculative discussions ignored or discounted conclusions about the impact of the bombing reached by the International Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, the United Nations-affiliated organization tasked with verifying Irans obligation under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, not to possess nuclear arms. By June 26, the IAEA concluded that the U.S. bombing attack on the critical underground uranium enrichment plant at Fordow had rendered the facility inoperable. The IAEAs finding was important because it was based on technical analysis that challenged the claim that the U.S. bombing of Fordow had been unsuccessful and that, as a consequence, Iran could continue to enrich uraniumincluding to weapons-grade levelsat the site after the attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IAEA thus contributed to what little is known about the results of the attacks on a critical Iranian nuclear installation. But the IAEAs longer-term prospects for success in assessing nuclear threats from Iran are far less certain. The IAEA cannot assess the full extent of the damage at Fordow and other locations because it currently has no access to Irans nuclear materials and installations: All of its inspectors left Iran as soon as it was possible to do so after the ceasefire; just before, Iran indefinitely suspended all cooperation with the agency. To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter. Any restoration of the IAEAs access to the program will rest upon a possible future negotiation involving Iran and its adversaries. But the most serious challenges to the IAEAs nuclear verification work in Iran may prove insurmountable without a significant de-escalation of this conflict by all participating states, renewed and extensive cooperation from Iranincluding providing access to undeclared sitesand a commitment from IAEA member states to fund many years worth of costly forensic resources for the agency to carry out its oversight tasks. The IAEA Damage Assessment at Fordow In the aftermath of the U.S. air attacks, attention immediately focused on Fordow, a site hosting an underground uranium enrichment plant that was one of the targets of U.S. strikes. Initially built clandestinely, the public discovery of the facility in 2009 played a key role in triggering U.N. sanctions that in turn helped lead to the negotiation of the Iran nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA, in 2015. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That arrangement expanded the scope of IAEA verification and monitoring activities concerning Irans uranium enrichment program and called for the Fordow uranium enrichment site to be repurposed as a nuclear research center. Shortly after the U.S. withdrew from the JCPOA in 2018 during Trumps first term, however, Iran began installing advanced centrifuges at Fordow. It then resumed uranium enrichment there in 2019 and has increased the enrichment level to nearly weapons-grade since 2022. The attacks on Irans nuclear installations represent a dramatic setback for the IAEAs verification mission in Iran on three critical fronts. In his comments following the U.S. airstrikes on June 22, Trump described the damage inflicted on Fordow and the rest of Irans nuclear program as total obliteration. Two days later, however, a preliminary U.S. intelligence assessment was leaked to the press suggesting the attack had only set Irans program back by a matter of months. Though much of the ensuing debate over the attacks impact was highly partisan, some of it was based on the longstanding doubts held by military analysts and government officials as to whether even the GBU-57 bunker-busting bombs used by the U.S. against Fordow could destroy such a deeply underground target. Independently, immediately after the attack on Fordow, the IAEA began assessing the damage on the basis of its cartographic knowledge of the site but also satellite-based information. On June 23, IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi reported to IAEA governors that, given the explosive payload utilized, and the extreme vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred at Fordow. Three days later, Grossi expressed far greater confidence in this assessment, asserting categorically that the centrifuges at Fordow are no longer operational. Though the IAEA has not publicly revealed the details of how it reach this conclusion, open-source information suggests that it relied on outside assistance it has used in recent years to strengthen its forensic capabilities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IAEA has been using satellite data for verification for over two decades. But especially after the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018, followed by Tehrans decision in 2021 to halt implementation of its Additional Protocolwhich permitted the IAEA to track certain activities beyond the scope of Irans NPT safeguards agreementthe agency has sought to add information collection and processing capacities to its analytical toolbox. In some critical areas, it has received assistance from the European Space Agency, or ESA, and from member-state support programs. Some of these capacities contributed to the IAEAs postwar assessment of the status of Irans nuclear infrastructure. In 2023, the IAEA entered into a cooperation agreement with the ESAs Navigation Innovation and Support Program, including for leveraging advanced communication technologies and satellite information for efficient data authentication and outdoor surveying, particularly in remote and uncharted areas. Some ongoing work in the IAEA safeguards support program also involves innovative approaches related to satellite data. One specific area relevant to the IAEAs Fordow analysis is satellite altimetry, which can provide information that allows analysts to create a digital surface model or digital elevation model of terrain, similar to the process for creating highly accurate relief maps. This technique can provide precise topographical information that can then be applied to assess the extent of ground displacement at locations subject to severe bombing attacks. It is likely that this information contributed to Grossis confidence about the IAEAs assessment of the damage at Fordow. U.S. President Donald Trump speaks from the East Room of the White House after the U.S. military struck three Iranian nuclear and military sites, in Washington, Saturday, June 21, 2025 (pool photo by Carlos Barria via AP). The topography at Fordow matters because, as Grossi underlined, the enrichment equipment installed at the site is highly sensitive to vibrations. Each centrifuge assembly stands vertically and rests upon a stationary bearing assembly featuring engineering design tolerances measured in microns, or millionths of a meter. Shocks that are powerful enough to cause a reduction in elevation of the mountain at Fordow of even a few centimeters would likely affect the underground equipment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IAEAs initial and early assessment of damage at Fordow was important because, as mentioned earlier, it relied on quantitative and analytical information, rather than largely partisan speculation. That said, while the IAEA determined that the forces unleashed by the detonations were strong enough to render the underground centrifuges at Fordow inoperable, a judgement as to whether the equipment there has been irreparably damaged would require onsite information that the IAEA no longer has access to. Challenges for the IAEA in Iran Looking ahead, the attacks on Irans nuclear installations represent a dramatic setback for the IAEAs verification mission in Iran on three critical fronts: continuity of safeguards knowledge; the safeguards baseline; and the outlook for possible future undeclared nuclear activities. The IAEAs circumscribed findings about the damage at Fordow underscored that what the agency doesnt know in the aftermath of the bombing will likely prove far more significant than the extent of damage to equipment operating prior to the attack. Continuity of knowledge. The IAEA needs to be confident that items subject to verification are accounted for over time, without any gaps. The IAEA has safeguarded Irans declared nuclear materialsespecially its expanding inventory of 9 metric tons of enriched uraniumusing surveillance equipment and seals, which are designed to provide assurance that the material will not be tampered with or withdrawn when inspectors leave. While the JCPOA was being implemented, seals were also attached to gas centrifuge equipment that Iran was obligated not to use under the terms of the deal. Since the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, however, the IAEA increasingly warned that because of Irans insufficient cooperation, the agency may lose continuity of knowledge in some areas. In 2021, after Tehran halted implementation of its Additional Protocol and thereafter began removing surveillance equipment installed as part of the JCPOA, the IAEA declared that it had lost continuity of knowledge regarding production of centrifuges and uranium ore processing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result, the IAEA currently does not know whether Iran has continued to produce centrifuge equipment, and if it has, where it has done so and in what amounts. The IAEA also does not know the whereabouts of Irans inventory of 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to nearly weapons-grade levels, which is enough material for several nuclear weapons if enriched slightly further. This material was under safeguards at Fordow before the current crisis escalated in late May, but on June 13, following Israels initial airstrikes, Iran informed the IAEA it would take special measures to protect the material. On June 23, the IAEA informed its governors that it did not know what measures Iran had taken and that the agency had no information about the current location of the material. Baseline for safeguards. The baseline for NPT safeguards in any non-nuclear-weapons state is a declaration by the state of all its nuclear materials and facilities. IAEA verification of the states declaration is then an iterative process, one that in the case of Iran has required over two decades of contentious engagement without Tehrans full cooperation. The 12-day war last month resulted in severe damage at many of Irans declared nuclear installations, including most or all of the sites considered significant for its strategic and nuclear weapons-relevant nuclear material processing. Simply put, the IAEA cannot succeed without Irans extensive cooperation and without permanent and longstanding crisis de-escalation by Iran, Israel and the United States. Given the IAEAs prior experience in Iraq and South Africa beginning in the 1990s and assuming the best-case scenario of an agreement by Iran to resume verification, it will almost certainly take the agency many years, perhaps a decade or more, to reestablish a credible verification baseline for safeguards in Iran and restore the previous level of confidence in the IAEAs accounting of Irans nuclear material. Simply put, the IAEA cannot succeed at this without Irans extensive cooperation and without permanent and longstanding crisis de-escalation by Iran, Israel and the United States. Even before the war, after a quarter-century of Tehrans provocative nuclear activities, Iran had already become the most verification-intensive IAEA member state, requiring an oversight effort on par with Canada and Japantwo states with far more nuclear materials and installations than Iran but without a track record of noncompliance. Should it now resume verification, the IAEA will require substantial additional personnel and funding resources to carry out the reconstruction of its safeguards baseline in Iran. That is on top of what it will need to meet its safeguards obligations among the IAEAs other 180 member states, given the anticipated expansion in nuclear energy use in coming years. In other words, reestablishing a safeguards baseline in Iran will be both difficult and expensive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Undeclared nuclear activities. As mentioned earlier, Iran suspended all cooperation with the IAEA in the aftermath of the war. At the time there was also speculation that it could quit the NPT altogether and actively develop nuclear weapons. Such a move would almost certainly prompt further U.S. and multilateral sanctions, as well as likely renewed attacks from Israel and/or the U.S. aimed at preventing it from crossing the nuclear weapons threshold. On July 12, however, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that Tehran will resume cooperation with the IAEA, although the form of that cooperation is yet to be determined, and that it will also remain in the NPT. If so, it is possible that Iran will attempt to involve the IAEA and its member states in a prolonged negotiation over its nuclear program, as it has done in the past. The widespread assumption that Iran may respond to last months attacks by quickly developing nuclear weapons may be wrong. But for as long as it suspends or limits cooperation with the IAEA even while negotiating with its adversaries, Iran may elect to move forward clandestinely with manufacturing and operating gas centrifuges, enriching uranium, and developing and manufacturing nuclear weapons. After all, when the war broke out, Iran informed the IAEA that it was prepared to enrich uranium in undisclosed locations. If such sites do exist, they would allow Iran to carry on negotiations, only to sneak out of the NPT at a future time. Over the course of three decades, the IAEA has been increasingly challenged in its efforts to verify that Irans provocative nuclear technology development has not crossed the red line into making nuclear weapons. Throughout this period, the possibility of conflict escalation and preventive attacks against Irans nuclear infrastructure waxed and waned but never disappeared. Indeed, it is possible that had last months attacks not taken place, something similar would have transpired in five yearswhen key conditions of the JCPOA were set to expireif Iran did not agree to extend them and continued to advance its sensitive nuclear capacities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One month after the attacks, what is not known about their impact underlines the fact that without IAEA access to all of Irans nuclear materials and facilities, Tehrans nuclear activities will be less transparent, increasing the probability that Irans adversaries will resume armed hostilities. That said, should a negotiation over future cooperation between the IAEA and Iran ensue, it is imperative that the IAEA have access to military and other sites that Iran has not yet declared. Irans adversaries know that Iran today is a far weaker state than at any time in the recent past. But without its cooperation, the IAEA cannot succeed. Mark Hibbs is a nonresident senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, in Washington. His research has focused on national nuclear development programs as well as international nuclear trade and multilateral governance, including at the International Atomic Energy Agency. He is based in Berlin. The post Irans Nuclear Program Took a Real Hit. So Did IAEA Oversight of It appeared first on World Politics Review. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu apologized on Thursday for a strike on Gazas only Catholic church which killed three people following criticism he received from President Donald Trump. On Thursday morning, an Israeli shell hit the besieged enclaves Holy Family Church, killing three and injuring several others, according to the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Gaza has a tiny Christian community, many of whom have lived and sheltered inside the church since the outbreak of the war. Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy, Netanyahus office said in a statement, adding the incident was being investigated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The strike triggered a torrent of condemnation from world leaders including Trump, who voiced his displeasure with Netanyahu in a phone call Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said from the briefing room podium. It was not a positive reaction, Leavitt said when asked how Trump had responded to the attack. Trump called Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning to address the strikes on that church in Gaza and I understand the prime minister agreed to put out a statement, Leavitt said, adding Netanyahu had told Trump the attack was a mistake by the Israelis. In a rare criticism, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a general supporter of Israel and the Netanyahu government, also slammed Israels attacks against the civilian population as unacceptable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pope Leo XIV said he was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack" and reiterated calls for a ceasefire. Among those injured in the strike on the church was its priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, who received near-daily phone calls from the late Pope Francis throughout the war. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa expressed doubt that the strike was an accident. "What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] says by mistake, but we are not sure about this. They hit the church directly," he told Vatican media. Nearly 60,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israels military campaign in Gaza, which it launched in retaliation for Hamas Oct. 7 attack, according to Gazas Health Ministry. By Marleen Kaesebier (Reuters) -Swatch Chief Executive Nick Hayek is counting on improvements in China in the second half of 2025, he said on Thursday, but would not cut jobs in the pursuit of profits. "It will not be a revolution, it will not be massive, but it's a trend in the right direction," Hayek told Reuters, referring to an improvement in Chinese consumer demand. Swatch, whose brands include Omega and Tissot, has been struggling with weak demand in China - which makes up 24% of group sales - for over a year, with sales once more sliding in the first half of 2025. The company would deal with the downturn, and had no plans to cut jobs in Switzerland, Hayek said. Swatch's share price has fallen 17% this year, but Hayek said he was taking a long-term approach. "We can cope with it. We can also accept to have less profits," Hayek said. "But we stick with our people." "We train them. We have our factories. We have our know-how. If there is a slowdown and the capacities cannot be filled, we start to develop new products." Hayek, the son of Swatch Group's founder, also said that while "it would be nice," he has no plans to delist the company. In May the company had come under pressure when American investor Steven Wood, founder of U.S. firm GreenWood Investors, sought a spot on the board. The motion was rejected at the annual general meeting. "I saw him once because he presented himself as a potential investor," Hayek said, adding that without knowledge of the Swiss watch industry, the AGM had good reasons to say no. (Reporting by Marleen Kaesebier, editing by John Revill) Israeli forces have bombed Gazas only Catholic church, killing three people and wounding at least 10 others, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said, as the military continues its assault across the besieged enclave. At least one person is in critical condition as a result of Thursdays strike on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, the Patriarchate said in a statement. The churchs priest was also lightly wounded, it added. Among those killed were the parishs 60-year-old janitor and an 84-year-old woman who was receiving psychosocial support inside a Caritas tent in the church compound, according to the Catholic charity Caritas Jerusalem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli attacks across Gaza on Thursday killed at least 32 Palestinians, including 25 in Gaza City alone, medical sources told Al Jazeera. Footage of the Holy Family Church attack published by a Palestinian activist and verified by Al Jazeera shows Father Gabriel Romanelli, the churchs pastor, following the Israeli attack. The video shows the priest with his right leg bandaged but otherwise in good condition. The people in the Holy Family Compound are people who found in the Church a sanctuary hoping that the horrors of war might at least spare their lives, after their homes, possessions, and dignity had already been stripped away, the Patriarchate said in its statement after condemning the deadly attack. Shadi Abu Dawoud, a 47-year-old Palestinian Christian, said the churchs main hall was housing dozens of displaced citizens, mainly children and elderly people, and that all were peaceful civilians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My mother suffered serious injuries in the head; she was wandering in the churchs yard with other elderly women [when Israeli forces attacked], he told Al Jazeera. We were taken by surprise by this Israeli air strike. This is a barbaric and unjustifiable act. Mohammed Abu Hashem, a 69-year-old man who lives beside the church, said he was in the ruins of his home when there was a huge explosion that covered the area in black smoke, adding that he never thought the Israelis would attack the church. The Israeli air strike was massive, totally horrifying, he said. The horror we are living in is beyond description. No words could describe what we are living through. It is not even close to what you watch [on TV] or hear. Father Bashar Fawadleh, the parish priest of Christ The Redeemer church in Taybeh, nearly Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, said he spoke about the attack with the assistant parish priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He told me that the bombing was very hard. They bombed the church itself, Fawadleh told Al Jazeera. Our feeling is between hope and sorrow, between life and death. Fawadleh reiterated calls for a ceasefire to stop the horrible war in Gaza. War of extermination Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attributed the strike to stray ammunition, adding that Israel was investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites. His statement was issued after a call from United States President Donald Trump, who had contacted the Israeli leader after having not a positive reaction to the strike, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, thats what the prime minister relayed to the president, Leavitt said. Reporting from Jordans capital Amman, Al Jazeeras Hamdah Salhut said Netanyahu issued the statement after coming under pressure from Trump, echoing the Foreign Ministrys earlier announcement that an investigation was underway. Its a little bit hard to believe any sort of Israeli investigation that happens after 21 months of war because the military oftentimes absolves itself of any sort of wrongdoing. There is no one held accountable, said Salhut. The ministry had also asserted Israel did not target churches or religious sites despite repeated attacks since the start of the war on Gaza, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pope Leo, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, said he was deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack on the Gaza church, according to a telegram signed on his behalf by Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vaticans secretary of state. Pope Leo assures the parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, and the whole parish community of his spiritual closeness, the telegram said. The pontiff renewed his call for an immediate ceasefire, and he expresses his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region. His predecessor, the late Pope Francis, had held nightly calls with the churchs parishioners in a show of solidarity with them. The last call took place the day before he died in April. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin patriarch of Jerusalem, said in comments to Vatican News that an Israeli tank hit the church directly. What we know for sure is that a tank the [Israeli army] says by mistake, but we are not sure about this they hit the church directly, the Church of the Holy Family, the Latin church, he added. Since the start of the war on Gaza, Israel has repeatedly attacked religious sites, including mosques and churches. In October 2023, just days after the deadly assault began, the Israeli army bombed the Church of Saint Porphyrius, the Gaza Strips oldest, killing at least 18 people. An independent United Nations commission report said last month that Israel has committed the crime against humanity of extermination by attacking Palestinian civilians sheltering in religious sites and schools in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report by the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem and Israel, said Israel has destroyed more than half of all religious and cultural sites in the territory, as well as more than 90 percent of school and university buildings in Gaza. Meanwhile, Hamas slammed the attack as a new crime committed against places of worship and innocent displaced persons. It comes within the context of the comprehensive war of extermination against the Palestinian people, the group said in a statement shared on Telegram. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni also blamed Israel for the strike, saying attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. Only about 1,100 Christians live in Gaza, according to a US Department of State report in 2024. The majority of Palestinian Christians are Greek Orthodox, but there are also Roman Catholics living there. The Director-General of the ministry, Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram said that this move would allow the ministry to replenish consumed stocks of weapons and ammunition. Israel will raise its defense spending by 42 billion NIS ($12.5 billion) this year and in 2026, the Finance and Defense Ministries said on Thursday, citing the country's security challenges. The budget agreement will enable the Defense Ministry to "advance urgent and essential procurement deals critical to national security," the ministries stated in a press release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A long-term buildup plan starting in 2027 will be developed, per Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's instructions, to "strengthen readiness and technological superiority against [distant] threats," the ministry said. Additionally, mechanisms for the oversight of the defense budget will be strengthened, according to the statement. The Director-General of the ministry, Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram said that this move would allow the Defense Ministry to replenish consumed stocks of weapons and ammunition. Amir Baram, new director of the Ministry of Defense, at a conference organized by the Ministry of Defense Rehabilitation Department held at the Tel Aviv University. March 25, 2025. (credit: TOMER NEUBERG/FLASH90) Welcoming the move Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and Finance Ministry Director-General Ilan Rom all welcomed the increase in defense spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The challenges ahead are complex, in distant and close arenas, against enemies who openly declare their intent to destroy us. For this, absolute military, technological, and operational superiority is required," Katz said. This is a developing story. By Olivia Le Poidevin GENEVA (Reuters) -Israel has demanded the U.N. Human Rights Council scrap a commission investigating rights violations in the Palestinian territories and Israel, accusing the body of bias, in a letter seen by Reuters. In the message sent on Wednesday, Israel's ambassador to the UN, Daniel Meron, said The Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel, discriminated against his country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel has regularly criticised findings by the U.N.-mandated commission, which has condemned actions by the Israeli military since it launched its offensive on Gaza following the deadly attacks by Hamas militants in October 7, 2023. The commission - established in May 2021 by the Human Rights Council during earlier hostilities between Israel and Hamas - can provide evidence used in pre-trial investigations by tribunals such as the International Criminal Court. "The Commission of Inquiry, both in its mandate and in the work of its members, constitutes nothing less than a manifestation of the institutional discrimination against Israel in the Human Rights Council," read the letter. Council President Jurg Lauber Lauber had received the letter but had no authority to abolish the commission, Council spokesperson Pascal Sim said. That would be up to the Council's 47 members, Sim added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March a report by the commission said that Israel had carried out "genocidal acts" against Palestinians. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the report's findings biased and antisemitic. Israel disengaged from the Human Rights Council in February. (Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin; Editing by Andrew Heavens) JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli authorities have charged a soldier with spying for Iran in exchange for money, the police and security agency Shin Bet said in a statement on Thursday. The statement said the soldier, who was not named, had sent the Iranians videos of Israeli missile interceptions and sites hit by Iranian rocket fire in last month's 12-day war between the arch enemies. The security service said he had not sent material collected during his duties with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and added that none of the information given to Iran had been classified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the statement said: "This is considered a particularly grave incident involving direct contact between an IDF soldier and hostile foreign elements." A military court ordered that he should remain in custody until next week. News of the indictment came just one day after Israel launched an unusual, nationwide media campaign warning citizens against spying for Iran. The ads said people who took Iranian cash in return for information faced up to 15 years in prison. For its part, Iran has executed several people over the past month after they were convicted of collaborating with Israel and facilitating covert operations in the country. (Reporting by Crispian BalmerEditing by Ros Russell) (Illustrative) A silhouette over an Iranian flag. (photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK) More than 25 cases of Iranian recruitment attempts were uncovered in the past year, resulting in over 35 indictments against Israeli citizens on severe charges. The National Public Diplomacy Directorate and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) launched a national awareness campaign on Wednesday warning Israelis of attempts by Iran to recruit for intelligence and security-related missions. The campaign, called "Easy money, heavy price", will run on radio, websites and social media, and aims to raise awareness about the phenomenon and deter potential collaborators. It also seeks to clarify the legal consequences, which can include up to 15 years in prison for serious security offenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Shin Bet, more than 25 cases of Iranian recruitment attempts were uncovered in the past year, resulting in over 35 indictments against Israeli citizens on severe charges. Many of those approached were allegedly motivated by financial gain. Lahav 433 officer reveals motives behind Israelis spying for Iran Of these cases, 17 were managed by the National Unit for Serious and International Crime Investigations within Lahav 433, while eight cases were handled by the central units in various police districts. In every case, investigators succeeded in gathering evidence that led to the arrest of the suspects. Lt. Col. Sarit Peretz, head of the security department in Lahav 433, shared insights on the matter with Maariv. An illustrative image of an Iranian agent in the backdrop of an Iranian flag. (credit: SHUTTERSTOCK) "Our unit has worked on 17 espionage cases so far," says Lt. Col. Peretz. "These cases reflect a broader phenomenon that began with the outbreak of the war, with Iranian operatives showing a strong drive to recruit from within Israel." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She continued, "The first case we uncovered involved a young haredi man from Beit Shemesh in July 2024. At the time, it seemed like an isolated incident. It wasnt clear that this was part of a larger trend until another significant case came to light. This was the case that brought attention to the phenomenon, with several suspects tied to Iran who had carried out operations for them over the past two years." Lt. Col. Peretz further explained, "From that point, we began to uncover cases involving two or three suspects each, all linked to Iran. Most of these connections began on social media platforms. Initially, it wasnt obvious that they were Iranian operativessometimes they posed as journalists or used friendly or romantic connections. But it quickly became clear that the entity behind these contacts was Iran, with the goal of harming the State of Israel." When asked if the suspect's motive was always financial, Peretz confirmed: "Yes, always. The motive is moneyeasy money. They are motivated by the desire to receive payments as quickly as possible. Theres also the issue of anonymitygetting money from someone they dont know." Peretz further explained that the money is often funneled through digital cryptocurrencies: "Exactly. The use of cryptocurrencies allows for greater anonymity and ease of transfer." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The campaign comes amid assessments that Iran will seek to increase its recruitment efforts following Operation Rising Lion. The government is urging citizens to report any suspicious contacts to the police. The campaign is being implemented by Lapam, the Israeli Government Advertising Agency. Maariv contributed to this report. By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM (Reuters) -The head of an Israeli parliamentary committee told the Finance Ministry on Thursday to come up with a compensation plan by next week for Israelis stranded abroad during last month's war with Iran or the panel would impose one. Tens of thousands of Israelis were unable to return to the country for much of the 12-day conflict that began in mid-June since Israel's airspace was largely closed due to daily incoming rocket fire from Iran. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both foreign and Israeli carriers were forced to halt flights to Tel Aviv. Many stranded travellers incurred heavy costs despite either receiving money back for the cancelled flights or a seat on a so-called rescue flight from one of Israel's airlines. The Economic Affairs Committee has been debating the issue for a week and representatives from Israel's carriers said they have received increasing numbers of compensation claims. A Finance Ministry representative told the committee that the ministry was reviewing data to propose a compensation framework. "If the Finance Ministry doesnt complete its review soon, the committee will issue a decision that, in cases of third-party claims, could serve as a basis for the courts to hold the state liable," said David Bitan, head of the economics committee and a member of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I can make that decision but I want a compromise." Uri Sirkis, CEO of Israeli carrier Israir, said he worried that under a final framework airlines would not be compensated. "Weve suffered millions in damages. This wasnt a commercial incident or error, and theres no reason for us to bear it alone," he told the panel, referring to the Israel-Iran war. Oz Berlowitz, CEO of Israir rival Arkia Airlines, also accused the state of shirking its responsibility, leaving airlines and citizens without support. "We are receiving hundreds of claims and will have to pass them on to the state as a third party if we are forced to pay compensation," he said, adding that passenger claims amounted to millions of dollars. (Reporting by Steven ScheerEditing by Frances Kerry) Chaim Rotter arrives to a court hearing at the Magistrate Rotter's arrest has been consistently extended, and several others who are close to him were apprehended for questioning as well. The victims of the alleged grave sexual assault attacks by ultra-Orthodox haredi mogul Chaim Rotter extend as far as the United States. Israel Police announced on Thursday morning that it collected testimony from a male victim of Rotters residing in the US, with assistance from the FBI. To date, there are currently 15 open cases related to the Rotter watershed investigations, including the testimony from the US. Police said they are working diligently to gather as many comprehensive testimonies as possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CEO of the Shomrim neighborhood patrol watch group was arrested at the beginning of the month upon his arrival at Ben-Gurion Airport. Allegations of bullying, attacks, and sexual assault He allegedly bullied, attacked, and sexually assaulted dozens of men and boys over the years. One complaint was filed with police nearly a decade ago, but was eventually closed. Ultra orthodox Jews clash with police during a protest against the drafting of ultra orthodox jews to the Israeli army, on Road 4 near Bnei Brak, June 5, 2025. (credit: ERIK MARMOR/FLASH90) About three weeks before Rotter's arrest, whispers began to grow louder in the streets of Bnei Brak, and once one complaint was made, the dam broke, and many more followed. Victims have come out publicly, some with their full names and identities, to tell their story. Rotter's arrest has been consistently extended, and several others close to him have also been apprehended for questioning. By Steven Scheer JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israel will raise defence spending by 42 billion shekels ($12.5 billion) in 2025 and 2026, the finance and defence ministries said on Thursday, citing the country's security challenges. The budget agreement will allow the Defence Ministry to "advance urgent and essential procurement deals critical to national security," the ministries said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said the new defence budget "fully covers the intense fighting in Gaza, alongside comprehensive security preparations for all threats from the south, the north, and more distant arenas." Israel's military costs have surged since it launched its military offensive on Gaza following the deadly attacks by Hamas militants on Israel on October 7, 2023. Since then, Israel has also fought Hezbollah in Lebanon and waged a 12-day air war with Iran, and carried out airstrikes in Syria this week after vowing to destroy government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria and demanding they withdraw. Over the past 21 months, Israel's missile defence systems have been working almost daily to intercept missiles fired by Hezbollah, Iran and Houthis in Yemen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Current annual defence spending is 110 billion shekels - about 9% of gross domestic product - out of a total 2025 budget of 756 billion shekels. The extra budgetary funding "will allow the Defence Ministry to immediately sign procurement deals for the weapons and ammunition required to replenish depleted stocks and support the IDFs ongoing operations," said Amir Baram, director general of the Defence Ministry. It would also enable the defence establishment to initiate development programs to strengthen the Israel Defence Forces' qualitative edge for future systems, he said. MULTIPLE SCENARIOS Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defence Minister Israel Katz said the funds would allow Israel to prepare for multiple scenarios since "enemies are openly declaring their intent to destroy us...For this we require complete military, technological and operational superiority." Separately, the Defence Ministry said it had signed a deal with state-run Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to accelerate serial production of Arrow interceptors. The Arrow, developed and manufactured in cooperation with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency, is a missile defence system designed to intercept and destroy ballistic missiles. The Arrow had a high interception rate during the conflicts with Hamas and Iran. As part of the deal, IAI will supply the military with a significant additional amount of Arrow interceptors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The numerous interceptions it carried out saved many lives and significantly reduced economic damage," Baram said. On Wednesday, the ministry signed a $20 million deal with Israel Weapon Industries (IWI) to supply advanced machine guns aimed at significantly enhancing the IDF ground forces' firepower capabilities. ($1 = 3.3553 shekels) (Reporting by Steven Scheer, Editing by Bernadette Baum and Timothy Heritage) While the Syrian Druze community might not stand with Israel, experts say that Jerusalem has an obligation to protect them against malevolent forces from within President Ahmed Al-Sharaa's camp. The ongoing crisis in southern Syria, centered on the Druze community, has effectively disrupted any potential Israeli cooperation with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa. In an interview with Maariv, Prof. Amatzia Baram said that Israels interest in forging ties with Damascus is now in direct conflict with its obligation to protect the Druze minority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This doesnt add up, said Baram, a Middle East expert at the University of Haifa, describing the gap between security cooperation talks and the recent violence. The development of talks on Israeli-Syrian security cooperation is now facing a major obstacle the Druze issue. The turning point, Baram explained, came when Syrian regime forces carried out a surprise assault on Druze communities in Sweida and the Jabal al-Druze region. What began as a localized dispute between Bedouin and Druze groups escalated into a broader strategic test. Now, can Israel trust Syrias emerging leadership? This latest crisis, Baram said, exposes the deep internal contradictions of post-Assad Syria. Theres no doubt that Sharaa wants to work with the West and with us, too. He badly needs it. Western and Gulf powers, he noted, could play a key role in salvaging Syrias devastated economy. Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Julani, is seen in Damascus, Syria, on December 23, 2024. (credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS) From Israels perspective, there had been a real opportunity to coordinate with Sharaa, primarily against Hezbollah. Sharaa is presenting the image of a moderate leader, Baram noted. As of today, the reality on the ground is entirely different. Druze refusal to disarm provokes conflict At the heart of the conflict lies Druze opposition to regime control. The problem between the Druze and Sharaais that most Druze refuse to hand over their light and medium weapons to the regime, and dont want armed regime units in their areas for example, in Sweida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The regime demands full control, he continued. Though until now it had backed down from enforcing it. But now, perhaps because Bedouins (who are Sunnis) and other Sunni jihadists attacked the Druze, Sharaa, or senior generals under him, see an opportunity to impose Damascuss full control over the Druze towns. Still, Baram raised questions about command authority. Even if Sharaa himself isnt a jihadist and thats still an open question he is surrounded by them, including some of his top commanders. Is it possible that parts of the army acted without presidential approval? Sharaas office said hes against harming civilians and promised to punish those responsible, but it didnt announce that the president opposes the military action itself. And you cant send armored forces dozens of kilometers south of Damascus without the involvement of the Syrian general staff. So, who gave the order? Was it Sharaa himself, or did his commanders act on their own in which case, does he have any control over his forces? Perhaps he sent forces to end the clashes, but his jihadist troops exploited the opportunity to massacre Druze. If thats the case, then clearly he has no control over them. All the options are very bad, Baram said. Israeli Druze gather, near the ceasefire line between the Golan Heights and Syria, amid the ongoing conflict in the Druze areas in Syria, in Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025. (credit: AMMAR AWAD/REUTERS) The Druze Community and Israel's obligation Baram emphasized that the Druze have long been part of Syrias social and political fabric. The Druze always fought against us alongside Assad in every war, he said. Because they see themselves as Syrians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But after Assad was totally removed from power, the Druze were exposed to new threats. They are vulnerable to threats from Sunni residents in the area Bedouins, ISIS, and others. Zooming out, Baram painted a broader picture of instability. "Syria is divided. In the Alawite coastal region, Sharaa barely holds control. In the Turkish-controlled north, he doesnt have full control either, but the Turks support him, so he isnt worried there. Theres the Kurdish zone in northeast Syria, where Sharaa has no control, and another area stretching from south of the Euphrates to the Syrian-Jordanian border, from Deir ez-Zor in the east to the Golan. This is a desert area with lots of sheep and a mix of armed factions, each posing a different challenge for Sharaa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baram added that Sweida is about 80 kilometers from the Israeli border. Theyre part of that chaotic region. The regime has only partial control there, and the Druze are part of the problem. Because they are not militarily strong, the regime may have decided this was the moment to impose its rule over them. Israel at a moral, strategic crossroads Baram described a fundamental strategic bind for Israel. Israel genuinely wants to coordinate and cooperate with Sharaa, and for good reasons both from our perspective and his. We share common enemies. But we have an obligation to the Druze and not because the Syrian Druze are pro-Israel. Theyre not. But we have a commitment to them because they have brothers in Israel who serve in the IDF, and they are proud and loyal Israeli citizens. We are committed to them. He added that Islamist extremism poses a deeper threat to these communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Islamists harbor deep hatred toward the Druze. To extremist Islamists like Islamic State (ISIS), people who are Druze, Alawites, and Shiites are all viewed as Muslims who left the faith, meaning traitors to Islam, and therefore deserve death. You cant eliminate the Shiites there are too many of them. But the Druze and Alawites, being small communities, are more vulnerable. Sharaa is surrounded by people who and its hard for me to say this would like to slaughter them. Baram stressed that Israel is unlikely to launch a military campaign. Israel wont invade southern Syria. Period. Weve got enough wars already and Gaza is an open wound. However, he added, limited action is possible. Israel can help through tank fire, combat helicopters, very limited ground action all to hit any target aiming to stop government forces and militias, and to protect the Druze. It complicates things for us, but we have no choice but to do so. We cant allow a Druze massacre. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even though a ceasefire was announced Wednesday, and a senior Druze figure reported that the Syrian army had withdrawn, Baram said the danger remains high. The danger remains. Ceasefires in our region are merely a suggestion. Baram argued that the best political solution might involve limited autonomy. As a first step, for example, the Syrian army should leave for good, but regime police units with light arms could patrol Druze areas. Ideally, young local Druze would volunteer for the police, wear Syrian uniforms to symbolize unity, and patrol Sweida. That arrangement would calm the Druze and show Damascus sovereignty. He also advocated diplomatic pressure. Politically, Baram says the Trump administration should be enlisted to threaten renewed sanctions unless Sharaa changes course. The economic issue carries a lot of weight. Ultimately, Baram said the crisis reveals the limits of political realism in the Middle East. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Israel and Damascus both want security understandings, mainly against Hezbollah, the situation on the ground is harsh, even toxic. Islamist religious hatred of the Druze and Alawites runs deep and is tied to painful memories from the civil war. Its important to remember that most Druze dont like Israel. Not all of them want us to intervene unless its really about saving lives. Most Druze still see themselves as Syrians, and some of them, even now, support Damascus. Can [Israel] balance the need to build bridges and ties with the new regime in Damascus with its obligations to the Druze? Should it continue trying to engage with Sharaa, or see him as a Syrian Sinwar?" Baram concluded. "The answers to these and related questions will impact not only the Druze in Syria, Sharaa's regime, and Israels moral and diplomatic standing and strength, but also the future stability of the region as a whole. A government that has lost its majority has no mandate to erase the October 7 massacre and bury the truth, the families concluded. A group of over 1,500 families of victims of the October 7 Hamas massacre, called the October Council, demanded in a statement on Thursday that the government form a State Commission of Inquiry now that it has lost its majority. Following the withdrawal of Shas and United Torah Judaism, the Israeli government is now effectively operating as a minority governmentwithout a majority in the Knesset and without public or moral mandate to continue blocking the establishment of a State Commission of Inquiry into the most horrific disaster in the countrys history, the families wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The October Council, which brings together over 1,500 bereaved families, families of hostages, survivors of captivity, and massacre survivors, emphasizes that a government without a majority also lacks legitimacy to bury the truth. It is inconceivable that a government which has lost its majority continues to promote alternative legislation or internal committees, when 83% of the public, across all sectors and political views, demands the immediate establishment of a State Commission of Inquiry. The current government is incapable of legislating, yet continues to obstruct investigation. In whose name? For what purpose? Shas chairman Arye Deri. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM) Calls for Shas and UTJ to help establish a probe into the events of October 7 We hereby call on the leaders of Shas and United Torah Judaism, MK Aryeh Deri and MK Moshe Gafni, to join the resounding call of the bereaved families and the overwhelming majority of the Israeli public to establish a state commission of inquiry into October 7, the families wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Immediately after the Meron disaster [in April 2021], MK Gafni declared, A State Commission of Inquiry must be established to investigate the disaster and prevent its recurrence. Now, in the face of a far more painful and extensive failure, we askwhere is that same commitment? The families wrote. The Meron Committee found Netanyahu among those who were personally responsible for the disaster, but refrained from issuing any recommendations due to his position as prime minister. A government that has lost its majority has no mandate to erase the October 7 massacre and bury the truth, the families concluded. A State Commission of Inquiry is the most powerful probe in Israel's legal system, and the only type of probe that operates completely independently of the political echelon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its members are appointed by the Chief Justice, and it has the power to subpoena witnesses and make personal, punitive recommendations regarding individuals. The other types of probes are government-appointed and parliament-appointed inquiry committees. The government, led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, has cited a lack of public trust in the High Court as a justification for an alternative committee, whose members will be appointed jointly by the coalition and opposition. However, polls have consistently shown a significant majority of Israelis preferring a State Commission of Inquiry over any other form of inquiry. Indranil Aditya / NurPhoto / Getty Images Tesla opened its first showroom in India this week as the EV maker looks to expand as sales decline in other regions Key Takeaways Another top Tesla sales executive is leaving the electric vehicle maker, per a Tuesday report from the Wall Street Journal. Vice president of North American sales and service Troy Jones has reportedly left Tesla less than a month after another high-level executive departed. The EV maker has seen sales slump in the first half of this year. Tesla (TSLA) has lost another top sales executive, according to a new report, as the electric vehicle maker's sales have fallen in the first half of this year. The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the situation, on Tuesday reported that Troy Jones, who on his LinkedIn page is described as a vice president of sales and service in North America, has left Tesla after a 15-year run with the EV maker. Tesla did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication. Omead Afshar, another top Tesla sales executive for North America and Europe, was reportedly fired by CEO Elon Musk less than a month ago. Tesla has faced declining sales through the first half of this year in major markets like the U.S. and China. The EV maker launched its first showroom in India this week as it works to expand to another potentially large market. The company is scheduled to report second-quarter results after the market closes next Wednesday, with analysts expecting updates on Tesla's robotaxi program that launched last month, as well as on its seemingly delayed plans for a more affordable model that was supposed to launch in the first half of the year. Tesla shares were down 1% in recent trading. They are down more than 20% since the start of this year. Read the original article on Investopedia People inspect destroyed cars that were set alight during a reported late-night attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Burqa, east of Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on July 15, 2025. Credit - Zain JaafarGetty Images Residents across the occupied West Bank say they have been targeted in a wave of attacks by Israeli settlers this week, following the killing of a Palestinian-American man near Sinjil. In Burqa, villagers describe coordinated arson that set dozens of cars ablaze and forced some families to seek medical help for smoke inhalation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is not the first and is not going to be the last attack from these settlers, Sayel Kanan, the mayor of Burqa, tells TIME. They [settlers] come with impunity, and the army just stands by to protect them. Kanan added that the flames from the attacks reached the windows of some homes, forcing residents to seek first aid. The Israeli military arrived in a few minutes. They stayed at the side of the settlers to make sure that nobody came close or hurt them, he claims. The Israeli military said it is reviewing reports related to both incidents. The attacks are part of a sharp uptick in settler violence since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023. In the West Bank alone, nearly 1,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces or settlers since then, according to United Nations figures. The violence escalated following the killing of Sayfollah Musallet, a 20-year-old Palestinian-American from Florida, who his family says was beaten to death by Israeli settlers near Sinjil while trying to protect his familys land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Muhammad Al-Shalabi, 23, was also killed during the same attack, after allegedly being shot in the chest by Israeli settlers. Another 58 Palestinians were reported injured during the violence in Sinjil, according to the U.N. Muhammads uncle, Samer Al-Shalabi, tells TIME that Muhammad went to the area near Sinjil to protect land that was being damaged by Israeli settlers. He says the family did not find his nephews body until 10:30pm on Friday, hours after he had been shot. Before Friday, we were joking with Muhammad, we were preparing for him whether he should get married or not at this time, he says. All the preparation, all the memories, all the dreams we had together are lost, in just a second it disappeared. Al-Shalabi claims it took more than one hour for the Israeli army to allow the ambulances to go in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IDF said that six people were arrested in connection with the murders, but have since been released and issued with a 15-day ban on entering the West Bank. TIME has reached out to the Israeli Police for further updates regarding the incident in Sinjil on Friday. In a separate incident this week, the Christian West Bank town of Taybeh was also targeted by settlers, who reportedly set fires near a 5th century church and attacked homes in the area last week. Democrat Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York said he was horrified by the brutal murder of Musallet. Reports that the settlers prevented ambulances from reaching the victims and IDF soldiers were also present but failed to intervene are deeply disturbing. Violence in the West Bank has reached epidemic levels, he wrote on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, four British bishops have written a letter to the U.K. government, calling on it to act in response to growing Israeli settler violence in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Israel-Hamas war started after Hamas launched a terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing over 1,200 people and taking 251 others hostage. At least 58,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed since then, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Since the start of the war, at least 964 Palestinians have been killed by the Israeli military and settlers in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, according to the U.N. 35 Israelis have also been killed in the territory by Palestinians or during clashes within that same period. The British governmentalongside Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Norwayrecently sanctioned two far-right Israeli ministers for inciting extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights in the West Bank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich have both been vocal about their support of the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, which are illegal under international law. Contact us at letters@time.com. By Nidal al-Mughrabi and Crispian Balmer CAIRO/JERUSALEM (Reuters) -Israeli forces killed at least 27 people in attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including three people who died in a strike on a church that late Pope Francis used to speak to regularly, medics and church officials said. Eight men tasked with protecting aid trucks were reported among the dead in airstrikes that were carried out while mediators continued ceasefire talks in Doha. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A U.S. official said this week the talks were going well but two officials from the Palestinian militant group Hamas told Reuters there had been no breakthrough as the Israeli military continued to pummel Gaza. Two women and one man died and several people were wounded in a strike by the Israeli army on Gaza's Holy Family Church, said the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the small parish. "The Latin Patriarchate strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place," a statement by the Patriarchate said, adding that the victims had turned to the church compound as a safe haven "after their homes, possessions, and dignity had already been stripped away". "This horrific war must come to a complete end," it said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Photos released by the church showed its roof had been hit close to the main cross, scorching the stone facade, and that windows had been broken. Father Gabriele Romanelli, an Argentine who used to regularly update the late Pope Francis about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, was lightly injured in the attack. TV footage showed him sitting receiving treatment at Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza, with a bandage around his lower right leg. Pope Leo said in a statement that he was "deeply saddened" by the loss of life and renewed his appeal for an immediate ceasefire, while Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said attacks on civilians were unacceptable. The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident. Israel's foreign ministry said in a statement on X that the results of the investigation would be published. It also said the country did not target churches or religious sites and regretted harm to them or civilians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel has been trying to eradicate Hamas in Gaza in a military campaign that began after the group's deadly attack on Israel in October 2023 and has caused widespread hunger and privation in the tiny enclave. Palestinian medics said one airstrike on Thursday had killed a man, his wife and their five children in Jabalia in northern Gaza, and that another in the north had killed eight men who had been handed responsibility for protecting aid trucks. Three people were killed in an airstrike in central Gaza and four in Zeitoun in eastern Gaza, medics said. CEASEFIRE TALKS Arab mediators Qatar and Egypt, backed by the United States, have hosted more than 10 days of talks on a proposed U.S. 60-day truce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the potential deal, 10 hostages held in Gaza would be returned along with the bodies of 18 others, spread out over 60 days. In exchange, Israel would release detained Palestinians. The exact number is not clear. A Hamas source with knowledge of the matter said Israel had presented new maps to the mediators, pledging to pull the army further back than had previously been offered. The source said this partially met Hamas' demands, but was still insufficient. Disputes also remain over aid delivery mechanisms into Gaza, and guarantees that any eventual truce would lead to ending the war, said the two other Hamas officials who spoke to Reuters. Israel has told the mediators it is willing to drop its demand to maintain a military presence along the so-called Morag Corridor in southern Gaza during a ceasefire and is prepared to show flexibility regarding the size of the security buffer it would retain near the Israeli border, Israeli media reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office did not immediately comment on the reports. On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy, Steve Witkoff, said that negotiations for a ceasefire in Gaza were going well. A Palestinian official close to the talks said such optimistic comments were "empty of substance." Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. Almost 1,650 Israelis and foreign nationals have been killed as a result of the conflict, including 1,200 killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack, according to Israeli tallies. (Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini in Rome, Editing by Timothy Heritage, William Maclean) An illustrative image of an Iranian agent in the backdrop of an Iranian flag. (photo credit: SHUTTERSTOCK) Abh Samhan joins a consistently growing list of Israeli citizens who knowingly carried out assignments and committed acts at the instruction of Iranian agents. Tahani Abu Samhan, 33, a teacher from the Beduin village of Abu Talul, located about 10 km. from Beersheba, was indicted on Thursday for spying for Iran, on charges of contact with a foreign agent and passing on information to the enemy. She was arrested on June 29 by the Israel Police and Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency), and her arrest was extended once. Abh Samhan joins a growing list of Israeli citizens who knowingly carried out assignments and committed acts at the instruction of Iranian agents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the October 7 massacre, Irans fight with Israel took a heightened stance in its proxy wars, in direct confrontations, and in more than 30 individual spy operations that authorities have uncovered this far. As the war dragged on, Iran and Israel fought each other directly three times: The first on April 13-14, 2024; the second on September 1, 2024; and the third, spanning over two weeks this past June, when Israel targeted Iranian military and nuclear sites. Just a few weeks after the second Iran attack, at some point during October-November 2024, Tahani received a message on the Telegram app from an Iranian agent who identified himself as Abu Mahmad. He asked her to put together a summary of the main news events in Israel. She refused to do so herself, but explained to him how to go about garnering such information via Telegram news channels and Facebook. She didnt receive any payment for passing on this information After this first interaction, the two spoke and decided that he would transfer a secure phone to her to enable them to handle operations from Israel discreetly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In November, she collected the phone, along with NIS 3,000, from a specific location the agent sent her to in Beersheba. Several days later, the agent instructed her to take NIS 1,000 of the stash and hide it at a location of her choice. She hid it in a park in Beersheba and sent the agent a photo of it, using the secure phone. Later on, between January and March of this year, the agent gave her a similar assignment: Collect NIS 5,000 from an area next to the Negev Zoo in Beersheba, and pick up a phone from a different location in the city. The agent asked her to store the cash and the phone rather than drop it off somewhere else. After this assignment, Abu Samhan began to receive threats from an unknown man who threatened to inform her husband of her actions. She cut off all contact with the agent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The contact was renewed sometime between April and May. The agent ordered her to hide the money that she had picked up months earlier in a park in Beersheba. She did so, sending him a confirmation photo. After this assignment, the agent asked her to choose a location from which to pick up another cell phone. She chose the location of a main road in Beersheba, and informed the agent of her choice. But, a few days later, he called the assignment off. When direct attacks between Israel and Iran began in June, the agent asked Abu Samhan to pass on photos of Israeli fighter jets; he knew she lived close to the Nevatim air force base. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She indeed took the pictures, but never sent them. A short while later, he told her to purchase a camera and set it up near Nevatim, at a specific location on Highway 25. She responded that she didnt have the money for it. In a different instance just a few days before she was arrested the agent asked her if she could see fighter jets in the sky. She responded that she could hear them. On June 28, just one day before her arrest, the agent assigned her to collect a backpack that contained military equipment and take it to another specified location. She did not do so. The indictment notes that the news summary the agent had requested and the photo Abu Samhan sent of the money hidden in the Beersheba park were both pieces of information that directly served the enemy. THE HAGUE (Reuters) -Israeli airstrikes on Damascus are hampering Syria's efforts to find and destroy chemical weapons stockpiled during the rule of toppled ruler Bashar al-Assad, a government adviser said on Thursday. A planned visit by inspectors from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has already had to be postponed, adviser Ibrahim Olabi, who is the legal adviser to Syria's Foreign Ministry tasked with the chemical weapons file, said. The OPCW will hold an urgent meeting on Tuesday next week to discuss the situation in Syria, a document published on its website on Thursday showed. The meeting comes at the request of Qatar which represents the interest of Syria at the OPCW and which said in a letter the Israeli attacks on Damascus pose a direct threat to Syria's capacity to meet its obligations to the chemical weapons watchdog. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel launched powerful airstrikes on Damascus on Wednesday, blowing up part of the defence ministry and hitting near the presidential palace, taking action it said was to protect the Druze minority in southern Syria. The Syrian defence ministry provided the institutional infrastructure needed to organise and secure visits from OPCW inspectors, Olabi said. Since March there have been several visits by inspectors to previously unseen production and storage locations for chemical weapons to prepare for the task of destroying remnants of Assad's illegal stockpile. Syria's interim-government has vowed to rid itself of chemical weapons. The OPCW, a treaty-based agency in The Hague with 193 member countries, is tasked with implementing the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention. (Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Alexandra Hudson) For many Jews, the images of Druze men having their mustaches forcibly shaved conjure up memories of the Holocaust. Israels decision to take decisive action in Syria in an effort to deter attacks on the Druze community has shown that it is possible for countries to work to preempt massacres or genocide. In the wake of the fall of the Assad regime, Israel has been vocal about protecting the Druze in Syria. The IDF has acted several times when clashes in Syria between armed groups and Druze fighters led to the killings of Druze. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attacks in Damascus on Wednesday included high-profile airstrikes near the presidential palace and targeting a military headquarters. In addition, Israel carried out strikes near Suwayda against Syrian government forces and others who were involved in killing Druze. It was not known yet how effective this campaign has been. Nevertheless, it clearly resulted in the Syrian government taking a step back to consider a ceasefire and also hinting it might withdraw from parts of Suwayda. Iraqi Yazidis attend a ceremony on the occasion of Red Wednesday, to celebrate the Yazidi New Year, at Lalish temple in Shekhan District near Duhok province, Iraq April 15, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/KHALID AL-MOUSILY) There is a lesson here. Countries can do more than just make statements when it comes to genocide and ethnic cleansing. This means other genocides could have been prevented if countries were willing to take action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2014, the Yazidi minority in Iraq was subjected to a brutal genocide by ISIS. ISIS terrorists massacred Yazidis in the northern Iraqi area of Sinjar. After conquering many Yazidi towns and villages in August 2014, the ISIS terrorists separated the Yazidi men, women, and children. They massacred thousands of men and sold the women into slavery. This was done while the international community largely looked on and made statements but didnt do much to prevent the killings. The US did intervene to fight ISIS and eventually built a large coalition against the group. But it was too late to save many of the Yazidis. Instead, the Yazidis were saved by Kurdish forces linked to the Kurdish Peoples Protection Units (YPG), who helped them flee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The massacre of Yazidis didnt take place suddenly. ISIS had invaded large parts of Iraq in June 2014. It had captured Mosul, Iraqs second-largest city in June 2014. ISIS had expelled Christians and minorities from Mosul. It also captured more than 1,000 Shiite Iraqi military cadets at Camp Speicher in June 2014 and then proceeded to massacre them. It did this publicly, and many of the images made their way around the world. ISIS supporters celebrated on social media. ISIS planned the massacre of Yazidis between June and August. There was time to prevent the genocide. As it was ongoing, there was time to do more. But many countries preferred to wait and watch. Druze among small minority groups in the Middle East The Druze are one of many small minority groups in the region. Like Yazidis, Kurds, Christians, and other groups, they have faced persecution and have sought to protect themselves in their areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attacks on the Druze in Syria are not new. During the Syrian civil war, there were also attacks on Druze by some extremist factions of the Syrian rebellion. The Druze were accused of being close to the Assad regime, and they were attacked for religious reasons. In Syria, this has become a pattern since the fall of the Assad regime. While the new government of Ahmed al-Sharaa seeks to unify the country, there are many supporters of Sharaa who are willing to use violence to achieve this goal. Over the past six months, some of these supporters have persecuted minorities. They have massacred Alawites in Lattakia, for example. Israels support of the Druze is important, because it shows Israel is willing to act onbehalf of a minority group. This doesnt come in a vacuum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Druze in Israel serve in the army and are considered to be part of a blood covenant alongside Jewish Israelis. Joint service in the army creates close bonds. That is why Israeli political leaders across the spectrum support the Druze and action to protect them in Syria. Now is the real test to see whether this policy has worked to protect them. The major lesson is that action is demanded more than words when people are being massacred. For many Jews, the images of Druze men having their mustaches forcibly shaved conjures up memories of the Holocaust and the abuse of Jews at the hands of Nazis. It is natural, therefore, that Israel should feel a kinship for this minority group. An Israeli shell struck the only Catholic church in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, killing three people and wounding 10 others, including the parish priest, officials said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu later issued a statement, acknowledging the strike was a mistake. The Parish Priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was lightly wounded in the strike, the patriarchate confirmed. "This morning, at approximately 10:20 a.m., the Comp(o)und of the Holy Family in Gaza, belonging to the Latin Patriarchate, was struck by the Israeli army. As of this hour, three individuals lost their lives as a result of the injuries sustained and ten others were wounded, including one in critical condition and two in serious condition," the patriarchate said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The patriarchate said it condemned "this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place." "However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza," the statement continued. "Many other innocent civilians have also been harmed, displaced and killed. Death, suffering and destruction are everywhere. The time has come for leaders to raise their voices and to do all what is necessary in order to stop this tragedy which is humanly and morally, unjustified. This horrific war must come to a complete end-so that we may commence the long work of restoring human dignity." In a statement provided by the Church in Rome, Pope Leo XIV said he was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack" on the church, adding a renewal of his "call for an immediate ceasefire." Netanyahu said "stray ammunition" had hit the church by accident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church," Netanyahu said. "Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful. We are grateful to Pope Leo for his words of comfort. Israel is investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites." Father Carlos (center) from the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, assists casualties injured in an apparent Israeli strike on the church at the city's Al-Ahli Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, July 17, 2025. / Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP/Getty Earlier on Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said "Israeli raids on Gaza" had hit the Church of the Holy Family, condemning "the attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months" as unacceptable. "No military action can justify such behavior," the Italian leader said on social media. Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a previous statement that "Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty," and said the result of the IDF's investigation would be "published transparently." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians," the foreign ministry said. Parish Priest of the Holy Family Church in Gaza City, Fr. Gabriel Romanelli, receives care after he was injured in an apparent Israeli strike on the church, at the city's Al-Ahli Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, July 17, 2025. / Credit: OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP/Getty The Patriarchate of Jerusalem confirmed earlier that Romanelli, the Parish Priest, was among those wounded, and that "the Church sustained damage." The late Pope Francis would regularly call Romanelli to check in with him and the people staying in the church during the war in Gaza. In his final public appearance, one day before his death, Francis called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as well as the release of Israeli hostages. CBS News' team in Gaza saw Romanelli being brought to the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. He appeared to have sustained an injury to his right leg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Italian Catholic news agency SIR reported earlier that the parish had been housing around 500 displaced Christians, but Fadel Naem, the acting director of Al-Ahli Hospital, told The Associated Press there were both Christians and Muslims sheltering at the church, including a number of children with disabilities. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Wall Street Journal reports Trump sent "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein, Trump threatens to sue SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) Attorney General Jackley was a guest at the White House Wednesday for the signing of the legislation that Congress passed last month. Jackley is one of 25 Attorneys General that urged passage of the legislation. The HALT Fentanyl Act closes a loophole for copycat fentanyl, which is a lab-created drug that is made to work around U.S. law. Shooting investigation underway in Pierre Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If its an analog or a copycat it doesnt have the exact chemical make up as fentanyl, and there fore that would be a defense, no we didnt possess, we didnt distribute or manufacture fentanyl because because it an analog and so that was a loophole that needed to be closed, said Marty Jackley. The copycats are often more powerful and harmful than prescription Fentanyl. The HALT Fentanyl Act permanently classifies illicit Fentanyl knockoffs as Schedule I substances. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Jacksonville company with $78.5 million Alligator Alcatraz contract tied to DeSantis donor Action News Jax has learned the Jacksonville-based company contracted to staff Alligator Alcatraz has ties to a donor of Governor Ron DeSantis. Critical Response Strategies (CRS) is being paid $78.5 million for its work on the Everglades-based immigration detention facility. CRS took down its leadership page sometime after May 13th, but using the Wayback Machine, Action News Jax was able to track down its leadership team. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among those listed were local businessman Will Adkins, former Duval Emergency Director and current JFRD Lieutenant Todd Smith, and former GOP Michigan Gubernatorial Candidate Tudor Dixon. According to Dixons communications director Sara Broadwater, Dixon is no longer affiliated with the organization. Tudor Dixon has not worked for Critical Response Strategies in over a year, Broadwater said. Sunbiz documents reveal that Matthew Fenner is listed as the manager of CRS. Fenner is also the CFO of Caplin Ventures. When we visited the listed address of CRS, we found Caplin Ventures occupies the same suite. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While CRS is not currently listed on Caplin Ventures client portfolio, using the Wayback Machine, we were able to see as of May, CRS had been listed as a Caplin Ventures client. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando), who has been raising concerns about CRS involvement in the Everglades immigrant detention center, argued there appears to be an effort to erase evidence linking the company to the facility. This entire operation is very concerning. It does not meet the basic standards and guidelines of how detention centers are managed, and anyone associated with it is at risk of litigation at this point, said Eskamani. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She noted the contract between CRS and the state was pulled down off the Florida Department of Financial Services website sometime on Wednesday. Among the six people previously listed on CRS leadership page, only one lists their employment with the company on their LinkedIn profile. Meanwhile, the companys CEO has either deleted or made their profile private. Additionally, Eskamani argued the apparently simultaneous deletion of CRS leadership page and the removal of CRS from Caplin Ventures website seems intentional. If youre so proud of the way public money is being spent, then post the contracts, and if youre proud of managing these public projects, then keep your leadership pages online, said Eskamani. The lack of transparency is so appalling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She suggested the motive could also be intended to hide political connections. Action News Jax was able to find more than $86,000 in campaign donations associated with Caplin Ventures CEO Ricky Caplin made to political committees and campaign accounts tied to Governor Ron DeSantis. This is about enriching a handful of political elites that are close to Governor Ron DeSantis on the backs of immigrant families being separated, said Eskamani. All of our efforts over the past two weeks to contact and question CRS have gone unanswered. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] CENTENNIAL, Colo. (KDVR) An adult daughter testified in court on Thursday that her mother, Angel Craig, was an awesome mother and loved nothing better than being a mom. That daughter, who FOX31 is not naming, fought back tears as she testified. She broke down the moment she saw a picture of her smiling mother was shown on courtroom monitors. Her father, James Craig, is on trial for allegedly using cyanide and tetrahydrozoline in protein shakes to kill his wife of 23 years, Angela Craig, in 2023. Craig pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder and several other charges, including solicitation to commit murder and solicitation to commit perjury. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators say the former dentist poisoned his wifes protein shakes so he could be with another woman. She was my best friend. We were very close. We texted throughout the day, the daughter said. But then Angela began to get sick. She felt heavy and dizzy and was less stable on her own two feet, she said. When her mother was declared brain dead, the daughter told the court her father told her he did not want an autopsy performed. Investigators have said Potassium Cyanide, arsenic and tetrahydrozoline, an ingredient found in Visine, were in Angela Craigs system when she died. During the hearing, James Craig could be seen crying as his daughter testified directly in front of him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lead detective testified as well and explained how she was able to get the cell phones that belonged to both James and Angela. The person at Midland Scientific who sold Craig potassium cyanide told the jury he was trying to get the substance overnighted and he wanted it as soon as possible. And there was a concern about the domain from which James Craig was sending his emails to purchase the cyanide. Yes, it raised a red flag with having a Gmail domain, Midland Scientific customer service representative Cassie Rodriquez said. Another former Midland Scientific worker, Ashley Donohue, told the court Craig had shown up at the companys warehouse in Aurora asking for a storefront during the same time he was trying to have the product shipped to his dental office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trial is expected to last until early August. More coverage on James Craig trial Jump to: Archived live blog with updates below. The trial started on Tuesday with opening statements. The prosecution claimed that Craig allegedly poisoned his wife after financial issues and affairs. However, the defense argued that money problems and marriage issues arent a motive, and the case is based on speculation and assumption. Witnesses called by the prosecution took the stand on Wednesday. Several people testified, including a former employee at Craigs practice and a registered nurse who was working when Angela was hospitalized. The prosecution called more witnesses for the third day of the trial. Archived Live Updates FOX31s Vicente Arenas shared notes from the courtroom and updates were published by the FOX31 team in the newsroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. By Leika Kihara and Kentaro Sugiyama TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's top trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa held talks with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on U.S. tariffs on Thursday, as Tokyo races to avert a 25% levy that will be imposed unless a deal is clinched by an August 1 deadline. During the 45-minute phone call, the two sides "re-confirmed each other's position on U.S. tariff measures and engaged in deep conversation," Japan's government said in a statement, adding that Tokyo would continue dialogue with Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The phone talks came after President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that the U.S. would likely keep 25% tariffs on imports from Japan, which take effect from August 1, unless the countries agree on a trade deal. Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba will meet U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent in Tokyo on Friday, the Japanese government said in a separate announcement. Bessent is visiting Japan to attend the U.S. national day at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka on Saturday. Akazawa will be in Osaka on Saturday to receive the U.S. delegation led by Bessent. "There are certain elements we cannot compromise," Akazawa told reporters on Thursday. "But we hope to continue efforts to reach an agreement with August 1 in mind as a milestone." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Japan has failed to clinch a trade deal with the U.S. as it struggles to win concessions for 25% tariffs on automobiles, a mainstay of the country's export-reliant economy. Bilateral trade talks are complicated by Japan's upper house election on Sunday, with media polls showing Ishiba's ruling coalition could lose its majority in the chamber - a result that heightens the risk of political instability. (Reporting by Leika Kihara and Kentaro Sugiyama. Editing by Himani Sarkar and Mark Potter) A federal judge on Friday vacated a Biden-era rule that would have stripped medical debt from consumer credit reports, siding with credit-industry and Trump-administration arguments that regulators overreached. What Happened: According to a Reuters report, U.S. District Judge Sean Jordan said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rewrote the Fair Credit Reporting Act when it finalized the policy in January, a move he ruled exceeded the agency's authority. Trending; GoSun's Breakthrough Rooftop EV Charger Already Has 2,000+ Units Reserved Become an Investor in This $41.3M Clean Energy Brand Today His decision blocks a measure the CFPB estimated would erase about $49 billion in liabilities from the records of 15 million Americans and bar lenders from using medical data in loan decisions. The judge, a 2019 Donald Trump appointee, noted that Congress lets credit bureaus report coded medical debts and that federal law pre-empts stricter state limits. Experian, Equifax and TransUnion argued the rule would give lenders an incomplete picture of a borrower's ability to repay, even after they voluntarily stopped listing medical collections under $500 in 2022. "This is the right outcome for protecting the integrity of the system," Consumer Data Industry Association chief executive Dan Smith said. See Also: Invest early in CancerVax's breakthrough tech aiming to disrupt a $231B market. Back a bold new approach to cancer treatment with high-growth potential. Why It Matters: The Biden administration adopted the ban after research showed medical bills, which include shocks from accidents or hospital stays, distort credit scores yet reveal little about long-term solvency. Roughly one in 12 adults carries at least $250 in unpaid medical debt. A CFPB statement in January called the measure a common-sense fix for families who would see scores rise by as much as 20 points. Consumer advocates condemned Friday's ruling and urged the White House to appeal, but the Justice Department has not defended the rule since the CFPB reversed course under President Trump. The policy's fate grew uncertain after that reversal, warning millions could still face higher borrowing costs. The now-vacated rule anchored a broader White House strategy that also steered Medicaid funds to North Carolina hospitals that forgave patient balances. Read Next: A Jefferson County man visited his child's Oconomowoc school seven times without notifying the school he is on the state's sex offender registry. Now he's facing charges. Dean Piskula Jr., 36, was charged July 10 in Waukesha County Circuit Court with seven misdemeanor counts of knowingly failing to notify a school of his sex offender status - first offense. If convicted, he could face up to nine months in jail and a fine of up to $10,000 on each of the seven counts, according to the criminal complaint. According to the complaint: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On April 7, an Oconomowoc Area School District school resource officer learned after reviewing the state sex offender registry that Piskula has been a registered sex offender since June 2017 when he was convicted of possession of child pornography. His registration end date is listed as June 2037. Piskula had apparently visited Summit Elementary School several times this school year. District officials and the school principal told the officer Piskula did not notify them about his sex offender status, despite requirements by district policies that he do so. State statute also requires advance notification to school districts by those on the registry, according to the Wisconsin Department of Corrections. After reviewing security footage from Summit Elementary, the officer found that Piskula had visited the school seven times between March 17 and April 7. His March 17 visit to the school was with his wife for a parent/teacher conference for their child. Piskula's other visits were to drop off his child for a before-school program, the complaint said. What does the school district need to know about a visitor's background? Kelly Ellifson, the Oconomowoc Area School District's communications and marketing manager, said that while school is in session, visitors are required to complete background checks through its Raptor security system. The system's screening would have identified Piskula as a registered sex offender if his visits had occurred during regular school hours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the district does not screen during parent/teacher conferences because they are held outside of school hours. Similarly, the district does not screen those dropping off children at the child care before school. A third-party provider runs that program within the school building. Oconomowoc School Board policies outline the expectations and process for sex offenders on school property, Ellifson said. The policies follow state law in requiring registered sex offenders to: Notify the district superintendent of the specific date, time and place of the person's visit to any school facility Notify the superintendent of their registered sex offender status. Registered sex offenders who are parents of district students must: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Notify the superintendent of their status and that they have a child enrolled in the district Notify the superintendent at the beginning of each school year or at the time the individual is required to register or whenever the child is first enrolled, which occurs first Inform school administration any time they will be on school grounds. They may be allowed on campus at the principal's discretion to participate in their child's school activities. School officials may impose conditions on sex offenders visiting their child's school, including: requiring prior permission, requiring check-in, having an approved escort in the building or at an event, having to leave immediately after their visit has concluded. Some may be prohibited from visiting while school is in session. No notification is required if the person will be on school grounds to vote in an election or to attend a non-school-sponsored event on school grounds. Ellifson said the conditions listed in the policy are used in every situation where a parent notifies a school of their registered sex offender status. She said those situations are infrequent but happen periodically. What to know about Piskula's background Piskula pleaded no contest in 2017 in Jefferson County Circuit Court to one felony count of possession of child pornography. Nine other felony counts of the same charge were dropped as part of a plea agreement. He was sentenced to three years in prison and two years of extended supervision for that case and added to the state sex offender registry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Piskula also has two pending cases in Jefferson County. One of those cases is on a felony charge of failing to register or maintain sex offender registry information. In the other case, Piskula faces eight felony charges of possession of child pornography and two felony counts of possession of virtual child pornography. Both cases are scheduled for proceedings on July 22. Piskula's wife, Leah, started divorce proceedings in May, according to online court records. A reporter's phone message left July 15 at the law office of Michael Houlihan, the attorney representing Piskula in the Jefferson County cases, was not returned. Piskula does not have a lawyer listed on the most recent case in Oconomowoc. An initial appearance on the Oconomowoc case is scheduled for 8:15 a.m. July 24, according to online court records. As of July 16, Piskula is on electronic monitoring, according to the Waukesha County Jail's online inmate list. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contact Alec Johnson at (262) 875-9469 or alec.johnson@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at@AlecJohnson12. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Jefferson County man charged with failing to notify school of sex offender status Questions about supposed files on Jeffrey Epstein have created a rare moment of division within the Republican Party. Epstein was a financier and convicted sex offender who died while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019. President Donald Trump had long accused the Biden administration of hiding a list of Epstein clients. In March, Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had a "truckload" of Epstein files to review and potentially release. On July 7, Bondi's Justice Department said there was no "client list" and no further disclosure was needed. Trump brushed it off like old news, but long-time Trump loyalists, including daughter-in-law Lara Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson have called for more transparency. Democrats have also hopped on the moment, pushing for legislative action to release some of the documents. Trump lashed out at his own supporters over the saga. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "(Democrats') new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bulls***, hook, line, and sinker," Trump said in a July 16 Truth Social post. "They havent learned their lesson, and probably never will." So how did we end up here? Here is what to know about the origins of the Epstein case: What was Epstein convicted of? Jeffrey Epstein, center, at a West Palm Beach court appearance in July 2008. Epstein never sat for trial, but he pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a minor for prostitution in 2008 in Florida. That's when he became a registered sex offender. He died in 2019, before he could be tried on sex trafficking charges in New York. He was found hanged in a Manhattan jail cell, and the medical examiner ruled it a suicide. When was Epstein caught and first charged? A police investigation into Epstein began in March 2005 after a woman from Palm Beach County said her 14-year-old step-daughter had been molested by a wealthy man. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In July 2006, Epstein was indicted by a grand jury on a felony charge of soliciting prostitution, which did not address the 14-year-old victim's age. He was arrested and spent one night in Palm Beach County jail, released the next day on $3,000 bond. Epstein signed a non-prosecution agreement that was called the "deal of the century." He pleaded guilty in 2008 to solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a minor for prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, where he was allowed work leave privileges six days a week/12 hours a day. He served 13 months. When he was released from jail, he spent a year on house arrest but was allowed to travel anywhere so long as he returned in 24 hours. Where is Epstein Island located? Epstein owned a private island called Little Saint James in the U.S Virgin Islands. It became known as "Epstein Island." He bought another called Great Saint James in 2016. Is Donald Trump in the Epstein files? Trump has already appeared in legal documents concerning Epstein's crimes but never in a way that implicates him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the 1990s, Trump rode on aircraft owned by Epstein, according to flight logs released in two lawsuits. But that was 30-plus years ago. In Palm Beach County state attorney documents, an image of a message pad communication seized in a Palm Beach police search appeared, but there is nothing more than Trump's name and a phone number. A phone message from Donald Trump, likely from November 2004, to Jeffrey Epstein. It was seized by Palm Beach police in a search of Epstein's home in 2005. Provided by the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office. Contributing: Aysha Bagchi, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Jeffrey Epstein and Trump: What to know about the late Palm Beacher My decision was not easy: Former Charlotte mayor Jennifer Roberts not running for office CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) Former Charlotte Mayor Jennifer Roberts has announced she will not run for mayor in the upcoming election. Roberts recently sparked speculation after suggesting on social media that she was considering a campaign. The post drew public support, with some residents urging her to enter the race. However, after conversations with community members, friends, and family, Roberts announced on Thursday that she ultimately decided the timing wasnt right. PREVIOUS: Seeking choices: Former Charlotte mayor considering running against Vi Lyles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Citing her current commitments and the demanding nature of the role, Roberts said she could not give the mayors office the full-time attention it deserves. Roberts is not running. "I have decided finally that this is not the time for me to run. I have too many existing commitments that cannot take second place right now to a public service job that is full time, 24/7, often with sleepless nights." | @Queen_City_News https://t.co/n1YM5Fa5pt Andy Weber (@andy_weber_tv) July 17, 2025 While stepping away from the race, she pledged to remain active in civic life through ongoing work on climate, democracy, and racial justice initiatives. With Roberts out, incumbent Mayor Vi Lyles and Democratic challenger Tigress Sydney Acute McDaniel remain the only announced candidates. The filing deadline is July 18. MORE FROM QCNEWS.COM North Carolina elections Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. JFRD Lieutenant failed to disclose job with Alligator Alcatraz contractor to the city for 2+ years A Jacksonville firefighter may be in violation of the city code by working for the company contracted to staff Alligator Alcatraz. According to the City of Jacksonville, Lieutenant Todd Smith had not disclosed his secondary employment with the city as of Thursday. Once we started asking questions, the city told Action News Jax that Smith will submit the proper form this week - More than two years after he started working for the company. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith previously resigned from his role as Jacksonvilles Chief of Emergency Services in 2023 after an Action News Jax investigation revealed accusations of sexual harassment. Since then, hes applied twice to become the citys fire chief, but never got the job. Now, its his employment with a private company that is raising concerns. Smiths LinkedIn page shows he has worked for Critical Response Strategies, the company that landed a $78.5 million contract to help staff Alligator Alcatraz, for more than two years. RELATED: Jacksonville company with $78.5 million Alligator Alcatraz contract tied to DeSantis donor Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smiths employment in and of itself wouldnt be an issue if he had disclosed his second job to the city. But according to the City of Jacksonville, Smith never filed the necessary disclosure form. City officials also tell Action News Jax that Smith previously filled out two secondary employment disclosure forms for jobs with FSCJ and GetInstructors.com. To see a public official double dip into government funds is shameful, said State Representative Anna Eskamani (D-Orlando). Eskamani, who has been raising alarms about Critical Response Strategies involvement with Alligator Alcatraz, argued Smiths association with the company is yet another red flag. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is an institution thats operating without rules, without laws, with no due process, no background checks on those who are getting hired, said Eskamani. We reached out directly to Smith for comment and asked him if he could provide any evidence to show he did disclose his employment with Critical Response Strategies. A read receipt shows he saw the message this morning, but he never responded. According to the city code, violations of the secondary employment disclosure policy are a Class C offense, punishable by a $100 fine and up to 60 days in jail. It definitely emphasizes how we need to shutdown this detention facility and also hold every person who is profiting off it illegally accountable, said Eskamani. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given Smith now apparently plans to file his disclosure form, it seems unlikely hell face any repercussions. Its still unclear why he waited until we started asking questions to come into compliance. >>> STREAM ACTION NEWS JAX LIVE <<< [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] AUSTIN (KXAN) - For 31 years, Jim Moy and his family have been serving up sweet treats at Jim Jims Water Ice. But in a few months hes saying goodbye. Austinites might have seen the water ice cart at Deep Eddy or Barton Springs Pool. The community also might have stopped by his shop on Sixth Street, where Jim and his wife, Rachel, greet their customers with a smile. After more than three decades, though, Moy said its time for him to retire. This is so he can spend more time with his family and said he will be closing the business permanently. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Saturday, Moy put out a call for customers to stop for a Big announcement. Thats when he broke the news to his loyal customers. I will probably just cry, said Michael Lambert, who has been eating Jim Jims since he was a kid. There is no replacement. How much longer do Austinites have to get water ice before they close? Moy said they are expecting to close in September, but it could happen sooner if they run out of inventory. The community came out to Jim Jims Water Ice after the owner made a big announcement. (KXAN Photo: Nabil Ramadna) The community came out to Jim Jims Water Ice after the owner made a big announcement. (KXAN Photo: Nabil Ramadna) The community came out to Jim Jims Water Ice after the owner made a big announcement. (KXAN Photo: Nabil Ramadna) The community came out to Jim Jims Water Ice after the owner made a big announcement. (KXAN Photo: Nabil Ramadna) Water ice is different from a snow cone its characterized by a smooth, almost slushy texture and is made with real fruit and not syrup. Many people remember Moy catering birthday parties or special gatherings, or stopping by schools in Austin to deliver his iconic water ice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Moy said he has made many wonderful memories over the years and is thankful for all the messages hes received. When KXAN asked him if he would ever make water ice again, he said maybe for a special occasion. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HONOLULU (KHON2) If youve ever had a thought about working for the United States Postal Service, now might be the perfect opportunity to do so. The USPS is looking to expand its team by hosting job fairs throughout July to help fill rural carrier and driver positions on Maui and Hawaii Island. US Postal Service improving security at Windward Oahu branch Candidates will get the opportunity to meet postal employees and learn more about the carrier and other positions currently available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said candidates must have a valid state drivers license, a safe driving record and at least two years of unsupervised experience driving passenger cars or larger. USPS said ARC and RCA salaries start at $20.38 per hour, plus TCOLA. Job fairs will be held at the following locations. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You Hawaii Island Holualoa Friday, July 18 from noon to 1 p.m. Holualoa Post Office: 76-5921 Mamalahoa Hwy. Kailua-Kona Friday, July 18 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Kailua Post Office: 74-5577 Palani Rd. Kealakekua Friday, July 18 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Kealakekua Post Office: 81-990 Halekii St. Hilo Saturday, July 19 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Hilo Post Office: 1299 Kekuanaoa St. Kamuela Saturday, July 19 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. Kamuela Post Office: 67-1197 Mamalahoa Hwy. Maui Kahului Friday, July 25 from noon to 1 p.m. Kahului Post Office: 138 S. Puunene Ave. Kihei Friday, July 25 from 2 p.m to 3 p.m. Kihei Post Office: 1254 S Kihei Rd. Wailuku Friday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. Wailuku Post Office: 250 Imikala St. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Check out more news from around Hawaii Applicants can also submit applications on the USPS website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. Joe Rogan has condemned the Trump administration over its failure to release more files from its sex trafficking investigation of Jeffrey Epstein. The podcaster and comedian, who backed President Donald Trump in the 2024 election, was incredulous on Tuesdays episode of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast that the Justice Department and FBI reversed their position on the disgraced financier. Related: Hillary Clinton Just Hit On One Of Donald Trump's Biggest Insecurities With Three Words Rogan joins a growing right-wing backlash after the departments announced they wouldnt be releasing any additional files about Epstein, concluding there was no evidence he kept a client list to blackmail influential figures. But Rogan was anxious to call out how the Trump administration had previously insisted it was in possession of previously unseen compelling evidence. Davidoff Studios Photography / Getty Images Theyve got videotape and all a sudden they dont, Rogan said on his Tuesday show with guest and fellow podcaster Danny Jones. You had the director of the FBI on this show saying, If there was [a videotape], nothing youre looking for is on those tapes, referring to FBI Director Kash Patels interview with Rogan in June. During his appearance, Patel made clear there was no video evidence of people committing crimes on Epsteins private island. Related: Donald Trump's Day Probably Got A Whole Lot Worse After These MAGA Voters Started Turning On Him Over The Epstein Files Whyd they say there was thousands of hours of tapes of people doing horrible shit? Whyd they say that? Didnt [Attorney General] Pam Bondi say that? Rogan continued, referring to Bondi in May, saying the FBI was reviewing tens of thousands of videos of the wealthy financier with children or child porn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related: "Evidence Of Trumps Stupidity": Trump Was Ruthlessly Mocked After Suffering A Brain Fart While Trying To Insult Biden Bondi had already fanned the flames in a Fox News interview in February when she suggested she had an Epstein client list on her desk. The White House has lately insisted Bondi was merely referring to the overall Epstein case files. Even so, Bondi had for weeks suggested more material was going to be revealed after a phase 1 document dump failed to tamp down the Epstein controversy. Fox News / Via foxnews.com Of Patels dismissal of the videotape on his show, Rogan reflected, Oh, OK. OK. I mean, what am I gonna do? Im gonna push back? The podcaster went on to suggest he isnt buying the administrations new position and even suggested that Junes airstrikes on Iran were designed as a distraction. Just bomb Iran. Everybody forgets about it, Rogan said. Related: "Trends That Can Lead To The Alt-Right Pipeline": This Woman Is Calling Out Ways The Far Right Targets Women And Girls Another Trump-supporting podcaster and comedian, Andrew Schulz, has also called out the administration for covering up a global pedophile blackmail ring. Both Rogan and Schulz influential podcast bros who are credited with helping sweep Trump back to power have hit out at the president recently. Rogan earlier this month blasted Trumps insane immigration crackdown amid a series of high-profile Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Meanwhile, Schulz last week said on his podcast, Flagrant, that Trump is doing the exact opposite of everything I voted for. Emma McIntyre / Getty Images for Netflix On Wednesday, Trump urged his supporters to move on from the Epstein furor, accusing them of falling prey to a hoax and declaring that he doesnt want their support. Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images/ @realDonaldTrump / Via truthsocial.com Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This article originally appeared on HuffPost. Also in In the News: "He Torched His Entire Reputation For Nothing": 27 Of The Best Political Tweets From This Messy, Messy Week Also in In the News: These Tweets Prove MAGA Is Seeing Some Serious Backlash Amid The Texas Floods Also in In the News: Donald Trump Just Hung A Painting Of Himself Where Hillary Clinton's Portrait Used To Be And It's Exactly What You'd Expect Read it on BuzzFeed.com Demonstrations opposing President Donald Trump's administration continue across the country. On July 17, the demonstrations will not only protest Trump's policies but also honor the legacy of civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis on the fifth anniversary of his death, calling on participants to carry forward his tradition of causing "good trouble." The coalition behind the July 17 protests also led the nationwide No Kings demonstrations on June 14, which, according to their estimates, drew millions of participants across 2,100 locations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since April, the group has coordinated monthly nationwide protests in opposition to the administration and its policies, USA TODAY reported. The upcoming Good Trouble demonstrations mark the fourth major day of action since Trump took office in January. Here's what to know about Lewis and the protests planned in Tennessee. Who was John Lewis? Lewis, born in 1940 and died in 2020, was a champion for civil rights and a longtime U.S. Congressman who dedicated his life to fighting for equality and voting rights. The son of Alabama sharecroppers, he rose to national prominence in his early 20s as one of the Big Six leaders of the Civil Rights Movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lewis helped organize the 1963 March on Washington and played a pivotal role in the 1965 Selma march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge, where he was brutally beaten by police in an event that became known as Bloody Sunday" a moment which galvanized support for the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Lewis was also a founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and an original Freedom Rider, challenging segregation across the Deep South, including leading sit-ins in Nashville. Arrested, jailed, and beaten for his activism, he remained committed to nonviolence and justice throughout his life. In 1986, he was elected to Congress representing Georgia, where he served for 33 years, continuing to champion civil rights and voting access. He believed voting was the most powerful nonviolent tool we have in democracy and encouraged generations to make good trouble through civic engagement. In 2011, Lewis was awarded the nation's highest civilian award by former President Barack Obama, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Was John Lewis from Nashville? Lewis was born outside of Troy, Alabama and later attended the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee in 1957. According to Biography.com, it was there that he learned about nonviolent protest and helped to organize sit-ins at segregated lunch counters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After four Black college students sat down on Feb. 1, 1960, at a whites-only lunch counter at a Woolworth's in Greensboro, North Carolina, Lewis helped organize similar sit-ins around the South that drew national attention to the rampant racism that pervaded southern states. Lewis was arrested for the first time at a sit-in in Nashville on Feb. 27, 1960. U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who got his start in the civil rights movement as a college student in Nashville, talks about his Nashville memories of those times from the early 1960s Oct. 13, 2013. Lewis stands next to a historical maker at the former First Baptist Church which was headquarters for the sit-ins Civil Right movement. 131013 A "If it hadn't been for Nashville, I would not be the person I am now," Lewis told the Tennessean in 2013. "We grew up sitting down or sitting in. And we grew up very fast." What did John Lewis mean by 'good trouble?' Good trouble, a phrase popularized by Lewis, refers to the necessary, non-violent actions taken to challenge injustice and create meaningful change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lewis believed that standing up against injustice was essential, and famously urged others to never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble. "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime," Lewis said in a 2018 social media post. "Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." When did John Lewis die? Lewis died on July 17, 2020, at the age of 80, after being diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in December of 2019. Why is July 17 a day of action? July 17 is recognized as a national day of action to honor Lewis' legacy, exactly five years after his death, by mobilizing in public spaces across the U.S. to continue Lewis' lifelong fight for justice, voting rights and dignity for all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a call for collective resistance and civic engagement, inspired by Lewis' message to make good trouble in the pursuit of equality and democracy. Known as "Good Trouble Lives On," the day of action also serves as a response to "the attacks on civil and human rights by the Trump administration" which the organization cites online as "attacks on voting rights, the gutting of essential services, disappearances of neighbors, the assault on free speech, and the right to protest." Where are 'Good Trouble' protests happening in Tennessee on July 17? Multiple "Good Trouble" protests will be happening across Tennessee mostly on July 17. The Nashville protest is set for July 19. Events with no address listed require an RSVP for additional information. Memphis : "Good Trouble Lives On" at National Civil Rights Museum Jackson : "Good Trouble Lives On: Indivisible Jackson TN Action Cookout" Clarksville : "Good Trouble Lives On: Clarksville Indivisible" at 101st Parkway Pedestrian Bridge Hendersonville : "Good Trouble Lives On: Sumner County" at Memorial Park Pavilion 1 Nashville on July 19: "Get in Good Trouble And redeem the soul of America! The John Lewis Way March" at Tennessee State Library and Archives Fayetteville : "Good Trouble Lives On" at 1203 Winchester Highway Tullahoma : "Good Trouble Lives On: Tullahoma" at Tullahoma High School Chattanooga : "Good Trouble Lives On" at 650 McCallie Ave. Madisonville : "Good Trouble Lives On" Maryville : ""Good Trouble Lives On" at 523 W. Lamar Alexander Parkway Suite 14 Knoxville: "Good Trouble Lives On" at Howard H. Baker Jr. United States Courthouse Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for the Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X at @_leyvadiana This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Who is John Lewis? 'Good Trouble' protests extends legacy of service John Lewis died five years ago, but his philosophy of getting into "good trouble" lives on. The late Democratic representative's roots may have been in Georgia, but his work in the Civil Rights Movement touched communities across Tennessee and the South. Lewis' influence and philosophy to engage in "good trouble, necessary trouble," is the backbone of the latest round of nationwide protests against the Trump administration, called Good Trouble Lives On. Lewis used the "good trouble" phrase often, whether it was in speeches in communities across the country as well as the floor of the House of Representatives, to achieve positive social change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's what Lewis meant by good trouble and how he often used it in his life. What does 'good trouble' mean? When Lewis spoke of "good trouble," he usually spoke of going against the grain and pushing for changes to our society, even if it meant being labeled a troublemaker or even going to jail. It was also his way of encouraging people to take action and speak out against injustices, even if it meant getting into "necessary trouble." One of the most poignant examples of when Lewis used the phrase came when he returned to Selma for the 55th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, where Lewis and other Civil Rights activists were beaten by Alabama law enforcement during the first march for voting rights. Speak up, speak out, get in the way, Lewis urged the crowd from the Edmund Pettus Bridge just before his death in 2020. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2018, Lewis posted on X about "good trouble". "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." The quote came years after he became a household name for his activism and time in Congress, but his actions showed his long history with causing "good trouble, necessary trouble." Rep. John Lewis' ties to Tennessee Lewis' ties to Tennessee run deep and started in his college days at the American Baptist College in Nashville and the start of his civil rights activism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Coming to Nashville at a young age as a student at American Baptist College, John Lewis was captured by the dream of a world of fairness and equality, ideals of the beloved community," American Baptist College President Forrest Harris said in a statement in 2020 after Lewis' death. "This giant of a man sacrificially gave of himself, to the very end of his life, fully to the cause of building a better America." In 1960, Lewis took part in the first mass lunch counter sit-ins in Nashville, according to the Civil Rights Trail. His time in Tennessee came and went as he became more active in the Civil Rights Movement and gained a name for himself and his type of "good trouble". "Nashville prepared me," Lewis said in Washington in 2013. "If it hadn't been for Nashville, I would not be the person I am now." From Nashville, Lewis went on to participate in the Freedom Rides, speak at the March on Washington, cross the bridge at Selma, and finally on to Washington, D.C. as a member of Congress. He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2011 for his work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lewis' physical ties to the Volunteer State were just one small part of his presence in it. He inspired hundreds, across multiple generations, to take a stand and be the change they wanted to see in their community, the United States and the world. "To see John Lewis stand without flinching, knowing that they were going to cave his head in with the nightsticks, to see him stand there and then repeatedly go and expose himself to brute force was a source of 'If John Lewis can do that, I can do it,'" said Rev. LaSimba Gray, former senior pastor of New Sardis Baptist Church in Memphis at the time of Lewis' death. Watch John Lewis' talk about getting into 'Good Trouble' Lewis may have used the phrase often in speeches, but it never lost its potency. Watch as Lewis talks about getting into "good trouble". When is the 'Good Trouble' protest in the U.S., Tennessee? The Good Trouble protests will be on July 17, marking the fifth anniversary of Lewis' death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Participants are encouraged to protest the Trump administration's stance on women's rights, cuts to safety net programs, treatment of immigrants and use of the National Guard to quell largely peaceful protests in California. "People are showing up in their communities in the ways that they feel led to show up, and that's just exactly what Congressman Lewis meant when he talked about good trouble: finding ways to be of service to your community, Allison Pulliam, co-director of one of the organizing groups, Declaration for American Democracy Coalition. Where are protests happening in Tennessee on July 17? You can find the locations for the protests are occurring on the map below. The July 17 marches and protests are just part of what is happening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Pulliman, some groups will hold "moral assemblies" at statehouses and federal buildings, food drives, teach-ins, voter registration drives and other community-building events. USA TODAY contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: 'Good trouble' protest: The meaning behind John Lewis' quote A memorial statue to honour politician and Labour Party "giant" Lord John Prescott has been refused at a full meeting of Hull City Council. The former deputy prime minister, deputy Labour leader, MP for Hull East and member of the House of Lords died on 20 November last year. He was 86 years old and had been in a care home, living with Alzheimer's disease. Prescott was first elected as MP for Hull East in 1970 and and was one of the city's longest-serving MPs, holding the seat for 40 years. Prescott was hit by an egg as he arrived in Rhyl to address a Labour Party rally in 2001 [PA Media] Councillor Julia Conner raised the motion for the statue on Thursday. Concerns were raised about funding and the plans were rejected after a 26-26 tied vote. Lord Mayor Cheryl Payne cast the deciding vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Funding had been requested from the council leader's capital budget, and for the statue to be placed in Prescott's former constituency. Council leader Mike Ross voted against the motion and said such a statue would cost "upward of 150,000". He questioned whether the public would feel it was "right to spend taxpayers' money on this proposal". Ross added: "That's not to say that John Prescott should not be commemorated... the question is how." 'Packed a punch' Conner said the statue would be a "typical Hull mark of respect for a working-class lad who made his way to the top of the politics, and who made his mark on the city and the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He was a character... John's presence and style certainly packed a punch." Prescott was deputy leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007 and deputy prime minister from 1997 to 2007. He is remembered by many for punching a protester who threw an egg at him during the 2001 general election campaign. 'Working-class hero' Following Prescott's death, tributes were paid by former prime ministers. Sir Tony Blair said there was "no one quite like him in British politics". Gordon Brown called him a "working-class hero" and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer hailed him a "true giant" of the Labour movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Listen to highlights from Hull and East Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here. Click here to download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad. Click here to download the BBC News app from Google Play for Android devices. More on this story Related internet links Key Points Taiwan Semiconductor has several key clients in the AI race. It just announced stellar monthly growth. 10 stocks we like better than Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing In the realm of artificial intelligence (AI), my top stock pick is Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM). Its position within the AI race is one of the most neutral ways to play this theme, and its stock rewarded investors with impressive returns, continuing to notch new all-time highs. Those highs are likely to keep coming, especially when you consider the performance that TSMC (as it's also known) is putting up. It's one of the fastest-growing stocks on the market, which is even more impressive when you consider its size. Image source: Getty Images. TSMC is in a crucial position in the AI race TSMC is a chip foundry, which means it produces chips for companies that can't do it themselves. If you can name a company that's involved in the AI race, the likelihood is nearly 100% that it uses TSMC chips in some way. It's a key supplier for Nvidia, Tesla, Broadcom, and Apple, among many others. It is the top option in the big tech space for multiple reasons, but chief among them is that it is just a foundry; it's not selling its own products. This means that intellectual property from Nvidia or Apple won't be used for its own purpose to market a chip that could rival what they design. This has become a concern with some other chip foundries, which are often competing against their customers. Another differentiating factor is that the chipmaker is always one of the first to launch cutting-edge technologies. Its 3-nanometer (nm) chip node has been a big seller and has far surpassed production yields of its competitors. And management is not stopping there. It's on track to launch a 2nm node later this year and a 1.6nm node next year. This continual improvement cycle is what keeps clients around: They know it's unlikely they'll need to switch suppliers to gain access to the most innovative chips. As a result of its market position, TSMC continues to win business, but it is also succeeding with longtime customers, which has driven a huge amount of growth. Its growth is incredibly rapid considering its size The chip foundry goes above and beyond to provide investors with valuable information about its business. It announces revenue figures every month, providing an update on how the company is doing, in addition to the standard quarterly updates. One thing to keep in mind is that these monthly updates can be skewed in favor of one year or another. For example, there were 21 working days in June 2025 but only 20 in June 2024. These comparisons are drowned out in a quarterly view, but you need to be aware of them when examining monthly sales. In any case, revenue rose an impressive 26.9% in June, which followed up strong results in May and April. A vehicle was recovered from the Iowa River a day after it was reported stolen. The car was empty when first responders from the Johnson County Sheriff's Office pulled it from the water near the Curtis Bridge boat ramp (Curtis Bridge Road), just east of Interstate 380 in North Liberty. The vehicle was found partially submerged around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday, July 17. The roof of the car was visible from shore. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: Caitlin Clark injury update: Indiana Fever star to miss WNBA All-Star weekend events The Iowa City Police Department, which is investigating the case, said they are not searching for any missing persons. Stolen car belongs to Iowa City resident The make and model of the car, which belongs to an Iowa City resident, were not made available. The car was first reported stolen in Iowa City on Wednesday, July 16, according to police. More: Iowa City will continue to offer free bus rides for at least another year. What to know: The North Liberty Fire Department, Iowa Department of Natural Resources, Iowa State Patrol and Johnson County Ambulance Service assisted the sheriff's office in recovering the vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An Iowa City Police Department spokesperson said no further information is available. Ryan Hansen covers local government and crime for the Press-Citizen. He can be reached at rhansen@press-citizen.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @ryanhansen01. This article originally appeared on Iowa City Press-Citizen: Stolen vehicle found floating in Iowa River near North Liberty KENTUCKY (FOX 56) One of the three men convicted in the murder case of Crystal Rogers is asking a judge to throw out the jurys guilty verdict or grant him a new trial. Joseph Lawson was convicted last week of conspiracy to commit murder and tampering with physical evidence. He was tried alongside Rogers boyfriend, Brooks Houck. The FOX affiliate in Louisville, WDRB, reported that the motion said the trial included recorded statements Houck made to investigators, but Houck did not testify during the trial. Lawsons attorneys say he had no way to defend himself against the statements. Courtroom sketch of Joseph Lawson on day two of the trial on June 25, 2025, in Bowling Green. (Sydney Young) Lawson is set to be sentenced on Aug. 21. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The defense attorneys have asked that their motion be heard at or before the sentencing date. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. They have fled to Guatemala, Mexico, Costa Rica and Spain. Most left in a hurry with few possessions, unsure of when or whether they would be able to return home. As El Salvador cracks down on dissent, jailing critics of President Nayib Bukele, droves of human rights activists, journalists and other members of civil society are leaving the country out of fear. More than 100 people have fled in recent months the biggest exodus of political exiles since the country's bloody civil war. That puts El Salvador in the company of other authoritarian Latin American nations, including Nicaragua and Venezuela, where dissent has been criminalized and critics choose between prison and exile. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, one of El Salvador's most prominent human rights groups joined the flight. Cristosal, founded in 2000 by leaders of the Episcopal Church, announced that it had suspended its operations in the country, and that nearly two dozen of its staffers had left. We can't help anybody if we're all in prison Noah Bullock, director of the civil rights group Cristosal Cristosal has been a thorn in the side of Bukele, a charismatic populist who has disregarded democratic norms and who appears emboldened by his close alliance with President Trump after El Salvador's deal to detain migrants deported by the the U.S. Cristosal opposed Bukele's unconstitutional run for a second presidential term last year and has investigated allegations of corruption by his government. It has criticized El Salvador's ongoing suspension of civil liberties as part of Bukele's sweeping crackdown on gangs, compiled evidence of torture and other abuses and provided legal representation to hundreds of people it says were wrongly imprisoned in the country's notorious jails. Nayib Bukele, at right with his vice president, Felix Ulloa, was reelected in February 2024. (Alex Pena / Aphotografia / Getty Images) Cristosal's leaders have for years faced surveillance, police harassment and attacks by Bukele on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the situation has worsened in recent months. Authorities passed a new law that would impose a 30% tax on donations to nongovernmental organizations like Cristosal. And in May, police arrested Ruth Eleonora Lopez, the leader of the group's anti-corruption program, alleging she stole public funds during a stint working for the government years earlier. International rights organizations, including Amnesty International, say the charges are spurious and describe Lopez as a political prisoner. Read more: What El Salvador's Bukele, a hero for the American right, isn't showing the world Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her detention and the recent jailing of other outspoken Bukele critics, including constitutional lawyer Enrique Anaya, environmental activist Alejandro Henriquez and pastor Jose Angel Perez, prompted Cristosal to close its offices and remove its employees from the country, said the group's director, Noah Bullock. Police escort Enrique Anaya out of court in San Salvador after a June hearing. The constitutional lawyer was arrested and accused of money laundering. (Salvador Melendez / Associated Press) "There is no impartial institution where we can plead our case if and when the government decides to continue to persecute us and our staff," Bullock said. "We can't help anybody if we're all in prison." Bukele's Nuevas Ideas party controls Congress and has purged the judiciary, replacing independent judges with loyalists. Amid that concentration of power, independent journalism and civic groups "were the only pillar of democracy that remained," Bullock said. He said the recent arrests send a clear message: "Democracy is over." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "El Salvador is on a dark path," said Ivania Cruz, an attorney who heads another nonprofit, the Unidad de Defensa de los Derechos Humanos y Comunitarios. She has been living in Spain with her son since February, when her group's office was raided and one of her colleagues was arrested. Read more: Human rights attorney who criticized Bukele is detained in El Salvador Cruz, too, had represented inmates swept up in Bukele's mass imprisonment campaign, under which more than 85,000 people, or nearly 2% of El Salvadors population, were locked up. "Bukele has criminalized us for defending the rights of the people," she said. Indefinite exile in a new country has not been easy, she said. "I came with only a small suitcase," she said. "It's hard knowing you can't go home and you have no choice but to start a new life." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bukele has also waged a campaign against journalists. An analysis by the University of Torontos Citizen Lab and digital rights group Access Now found that more than two dozen journalists were surveilled for more than a year with the spyware Pegasus, whose Israeli developer sells exclusively to governments. At least 40 journalists have fled the country, according to the organization that represents them in El Salvador. They include the reporters who documented the Bukele government's negotiations with gangs, corruption in the awarding of public contracts during the pandemic and the Bukele's family acquisition of dozens of properties valued at more than $9 million during his first presidential term. El Faro, the investigative news site that first exposed the gang negotiations, pulled its reporters out of the country after government sources warned that they were about to be arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We know whats coming: exile or prison," editor-in-chief Oscar Martinez said in an interview published by the Committee to Protect Journalists earlier this year. "As long as we have time, well keep reporting." Under President Biden, the U.S. frequently criticized the Bukele government for violating rights or democratic norms. That has not happened under Trump, who has repeatedly praised Bukele, and who this year sent hundreds of U.S. deportees to El Salvador's jails. During an April meeting with Bukele in the Oval Office, Trump said his administration hoped to also send U.S. citizens to Salvadoran prisons. "We've got space," Bukele said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bukele, 43, has maintained high approval ratings in large part because his security crackdown has helped dismantle the powerful gangs that long controlled El Salvador. Citizens were so hungry for peace that they have been willing to overlook the violation of rights of people who were falsely imprisoned, said Ingrid Escobar, a human rights lawyer. "Bukele took advantage of Salvadorans' desire to live free of violence." Attorney Ingrid Escobar discusses human rights in her homeland of El Salvador during an appearance in North Hollywood in 2024. (Alejandro R. Jimenez / For Los Angeles Times en Espanol) But polls show that a growing number of Salvadorans fear speaking out against the government. That sentiment may grow as the Bukele government cracks down on critics and members of civil society flee. Escobar, who had documented police harassment against her on social media, decided a few weeks ago that it was no longer safe to stay in El Salvador. She asked that, for her family's safety, the nation where they now live not be named while she seeks asylum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I just grabbed my suitcases, my two children, and I left," she said. "Before, we feared gang members," she said. "Now it's security forces and the state." 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. The Oxford Center's safety and training director, who is out of jail on bond after being charged in the death of a 5-year-old boy in a hyperbaric chamber fire, will be allowed to leave the confinement of his home to report to work. Jeffrey Alan Mosteller, 64, of Clinton Township, got a new, full-time job, said his attorney, Alona Sharon, at a July 17 hearing before Judge Maureen McGinnis in district court in Troy. Jeffrey Alan Mosteller, 64, of Clinton Township, listens as attorneys speak as he is arraigned with three others in front of Judge Elizabeth Chiappelli at the Oakland County 52-4 District Court in Troy on Tuesday, March 11, 2025, in a 5-year-old childs hyperbaric chamber death. She asked McGinnis to modify the conditions of his bond to allow Mosteller to report to work without preapproval from the court each time, noting that Mosteller is in his mid-60s, is not a violent man and, prior to his arrest in the death of Thomas Cooper, of Royal Oak, had never been in trouble with the law before. Mosteller is charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The court does not need to worry about him fleeing," Sharon said, while Mosteller awaits a preliminary exam set for Sept. 15 and Sept. 16, when McGinnis will consider the evidence and determine whether his case should go to trial in Oakland County Circuit Court. Mosteller was arrested in March in the death of Thomas Cooper, of Royal Oak, who was undergoing his 36th treatment in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber for ADHD and sleep apnea when it burst into flames Jan. 31 at the Oxford Center's clinic in Troy. He pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, and posted a $50,000 bond. Mosteller did not disclose where he is working, but told McGinnis that it's less than 3 miles away from his home, and his work shifts are scheduled for 10 a.m-6 p.m. Wednesdays through Sundays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think it is appropriate to grant that motion that you are making," McGinnis said, adding, however, that she would not remove the bond conditions altogether. "The seriousness of these charges" don't warrant that, she said, reminding Mosteller that he must remain in Michigan and avoid any contact with the other defendants in the case. Thomas Cooper, age 5, died at The Oxford Center in Troy after a hyperbaric chamber he was in exploded. Sharon said the six-month gap between when Mosteller was charged in the criminal case and his preliminary exam is longer than what is typical because there also are pending civil charges in his case. "There had to be another investigation on the (hyperbaric) chamber and that was only concluded ... a couple of weeks ago," Sharon told the Detroit Free Press after the hearing. "No one wants to proceed to the (preliminary) exam until we have reports from this investigation, so that's what is really taking the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I don't want it to appear as if the delay is anyone's fault. It's just the natural process. ... The logistics of everything has just taken a long time." State Attorney General Dana Nessel charged Mosteller in Thomas' death, alleging he disregarded safety measures that could have prevented the fatal fire. She also brought criminal charges against the Oxford Center's founder and CEO, Tamela Peterson, 58, of Brighton, along with two other employees, Gary Marken, 66, of Spring Arbor, and Aleta Harward Moffitt, 60, of Rochester Hills. Peterson, Marken and Moffitt also pleaded not guilty and also posted bond. More: Charged in boy's hyperbaric chamber death, Oxford Center owner to sell Brighton property Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: In wake of child's death, industry leaders call for regulation of hyperbaric chambers A Troy police investigation suggested Mosteller performed his own safety experiments at the Oxford Center, attempting to prove grounding straps used to discharge static electricity to prevent sparks from forming inside hyperbaric chambers' oxygen-rich, pressurized environment were not necessary. They were not used in the chamber in which the boy died. Yet, industry experts, safety manuals, and the Oxford Center's own training materials all detail the importance of using grounding straps, Troy Police Detective Danielle Trigger said in testimony earlier this year, which was cited in court documents. Mosteller couldn't tell police the name of a single medical facility in his 41 years of hyperbaric chamber experience that did not use the grounding straps, Trigger said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nessel said a single spark ignited the flames that killed Thomas in what was described in court documents as "a fireball." Detroit Free Press staff writer Andrea May Sahouri contributed to this report. Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Subscribe to the Detroit Free Press. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Judge: Oxford Center safety director can leave home confinement to work NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) With just weeks left before Byron Blacks scheduled execution, a Davidson County chancellor is weighing whether the state must remove a heart defibrillator from his chest beforehand. Blacks attorneys argue the device, implanted to regulate his heartbeat, could interfere with Tennessees lethal injection process and cause what they describe as torturous death. The defense team asked the court this week to approve surgical removal of the device ahead of the Aug. 5 execution date. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts Black was sentenced to death in 1989 for the murder of 6-year-old Lakeisha Clay. He also received life sentences for killing his ex-girlfriend Angela Clay and her 9-year-old daughter, Latoya. The three were shot to death in their Nashville home in March 1988. Investigators said Black used the same gun he had previously used to shoot Angelas ex-husband, the father of both children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, at age 67, Blacks attorneys said he suffers from dementia and severe brain damage and is no longer mentally competent to be executed. Earlier this year, Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk agreed, stating Blacks condition rendered him ineligible for capital punishment under Tennessee law. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court denied a request for a hearing on July 8, ruling there was insufficient medical evidence to justify intervention. That ruling cleared the way for the state to proceed with the execution, but it raised new questions about how it would happen. On Monday, Blacks legal team presented testimony from a neuropsychologist and an anesthesiologist, both supporting the argument that the defibrillator could complicate lethal injection by repeatedly shocking the body during the process. The state responded Wednesday, calling its own experts, including Dr. Joe Antognini. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State experts said the device would deliver no more than eight shocks total and that Black would be unconscious and unlikely to feel them. This case is considered unique in Tennessees modern death penalty era. If the execution moves forward with the device still implanted, it would be the first known instance of the state executing someone with a functioning defibrillator. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Chancellor Russell Perkins is expected to issue a ruling on the matter Thursday or Friday. While he does not have the authority to stop the execution entirely, his decision will determine whether the state must remove the life-saving device before carrying out the death sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unless a stay is granted by Gov. Bill Lee or the U.S. Supreme Court, Byron Black is scheduled to be executed on Aug. 5 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) A judge refused a Peoria mans request to have his 14-year prison term reduced, but did give him credit for more than a year already served. During a brief hearing Wednesday, Peoria County Judge Paul Bauer denied Vanda Terrells motion to reconsider the 14-year prison term imposed after Terrell was convicted of aggravated DUI earlier this year. It wasnt unexpected, as its uncommon for a judge to change a sentence for such a motion. However, it is the formal way to challenge the sentence on appeal. The case will now go before the appellate court, which is normal procedure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Bauer did give Terrell credit for 440 days already spent in custody and on home confinement. On a previous order, he was not given credit for that time. Peoria man sentenced for deadly DUI crash Under state law, he must serve at least 85% of his prison term, minus any time already in custody. He pleaded guilty in February, almost a year to the day of the Feb. 14, 2024, crash that took the life of 46-year-old Wardrick Millburn. According to Peoria police and court records, officers were to the area due to an alert from the ShotSpotter gunfire detection system that indicated two rounds had been fired. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A responding officer saw a car turn onto Western Avenue from Ann Street at a high rate of speed. The vehicle appeared to be fleeing from the area where the gunfire occurred, according to police. Man charged for deadly Peoria car crash The car sped up and pulled away from the officer, who had turned around to investigate. The first car, Terrells, ran a stop sign at Blaine and Butler streets and struck another vehicle that had been going west on Butler, according to police. That vehicle was Millburns, according to police. Both were taken to a local hospital, where Millburn was pronounced dead. A blood draw showed Terrell had a blood alcohol content over the legal limit, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the hearing, Terrells attorney filed a motion for his appeal. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DANVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) An Estill County circuit judge has denied a motion to dismiss a lawsuit against the Danville Police Department following a controversial October arrest. The police department, along with the City of Danville, was named in lawsuits at the state and federal levels after John Hardwick, a man with dementia, was arrested for alleged shoplifting and public intoxication. In the motion to dismiss, the defendants claimed the plaintiff failed to state a claim and the complaint violated a rule against claim splitting. Body camera footage FOX 56 previously obtained showed Hardwick was pleading for help at a Walmart while being accused of shoplifting. This led to Hardwick allegedly being wrestled to the ground and punched by Officer T.J. Godbey before being taken into custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He wasnt actually shoplifting, surely, he didnt walk out the door with the beer, he just wanted to buy his beer, I guarantee you he wasnt shoplifting, Cindy Hardwick, Johns wife, told the police. After the arrest, text messages exchanged between officers called Hardwicks severe dementia claim a stretch, according to body camera footage. Read more of the latest Lexington & central Kentucky news In the months that have followed, Mr. Hardwick no longer leaves his residence to go to Walmart with his wife. His quality of life was already difficult due to his dementia but the trauma inflicted by the Defendants on October 15, 2024, has since completely altered and devastated his life, court documents read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit also claimed that Hardwicks dementia has drastically declined since the incident. His attorney, Ephraim Helton, claimed that the police violated Hardwicks Fourth Amendment rights along with the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act, according to previous coverage. Protests have been held in Danville seeking change and accountability for Godbey since body camera footage and reports surrounding the arrest have been made public. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police Chief Tony Gray and Assistant Chief Glenn Doan signed off on Godbeys reports following the arrest, stating the punches werent deemed excessive, records show. FOX 56 has reached out to Danville PD and the mayor several times over the last few months for additional comments and has not heard back. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. A Wisconsin woman will be released from a mental hospital more than a decade after she nearly stabbed a classmate to death to please the horror character Slender Man, a judge decided Thursday. Waukesha County Circuit Judge Scott Wagner signed off on the conditional plan to release Morgan Geyser, now 22, from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute, a psychiatric hospital where she has spent the last seven years. Another judge had ruled in January she could be released after three experts testified she has made progress battling mental illness. In April, prosecutors objected to Geysers original conditional release plan after the mother of the victim, Payton Leutner, expressed concern that Geysers group home was located eight miles away from Leutner. The judge then ordered the Department of Health Services to draft a new plan, which was approved Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details of the plan and the timing of her release were not shared in court, and Geyser's attorney did not immediately respond to phone messages seeking comment. Geyser and her friend, Anissa Weier, lured Leutner to a Waukesha park after a sleepover in 2014. Geyser stabbed Leutner 19 times while Weier egged her on. All three girls were 12 years old at the time. Geyser and Weier fled after the attack but were arrested as they were walking on Interstate 94. They told investigators they attacked Leutner to earn the right to be Slender Mans servants and feared he would hurt their families if they didnt follow through. They had planned to walk to Slender Mans mansion in northern Wisconsin after the attack, they said. Leutner barely survived. Geyser ultimately pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in 2017 but claimed she wasnt responsible because she was mentally ill. The following year, Waukesha County Circuit Judge Michael Bohren had committed her to a psychiatric hospital for 40 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State health officials argued in March that Geyser couldnt be trusted after learning that she hadnt told her therapists that she had read a novel about murder and black market organ sales. They also alleged she had been communicating with a man who collects murder memorabilia and sent him her own sketch of a decapitated body and a postcard saying she wants to be intimate with him. Cotton countered that Geyser only read what the facility allowed, and staff knew she had been communicating with the collector. He added that she stopped talking to the man in 2024 after she discovered he was selling things she sent him. Bohren concluded that Geyser wasnt trying to hide anything and ordered state health officials to continue developing a release plan. Wagner took over Geysers release request after Bohren retired this past April. Weier pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon in 2017, but like Geyser claimed she was mentally ill and not responsible for her actions. She was committed to 25 years in a mental hospital but was granted release in 2021 after agreeing to live with her father and to wear a GPS monitor. The case has drawn widespread attention in part because of the girls fascination with the Slender Man character. Slender Man was created online by Eric Knudson in 2009 as a mysterious specter photo-edited into everyday images of children at play. Hes typically depicted as a slim, spidery figure in a black suit with a featureless white face. He has grown into a popular boogeyman and has appeared in video games, online stories and a 2018 movie. Judge recommends state regulators reject sale of Minnesota Power to BlackRock originally appeared on Bring Me The News. A judge has recommended that state regulators reject the proposed $6.2 billion sale of Allete, the Duluth-based parent company of Minnesota Power, to two private investors. In the filings released Tuesday, Judge Megan J. McKenzie cited reports and analysis suggesting the proposed sale to Canada Pension Investment Board and BlackRocks Global Infrastructure Partners could bring about new risks for Minnesota Power and its customers, as well increase electric rates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weighing against these possible benefits, there are foreseeable risks of harm to the energy transition, Alletes long-term financial health, and ratepayers. On balance, the risks of the deal, as proposed, outweigh the possible benefits,McKenzie wrote in the filings. The proposed sale between the utilities provider and the investment groups was announced last year. Electricity pylonPixabay Earlier this month, Allete announced that it reached an agreement with the Minnesota Department of Commerce to back the sale, after pledging to a one-year rate freeze and committing to green energy projects. The Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota, a nonprofit advocacy group, applauded the judges recommendation, saying many Minnesota Power customers already struggle to afford their electric bills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a time when the separation between the haves and the have-nots is growing more apparent, this deal puts the interests of Alletes shareholders ahead of Minnesota Power customers, Citizens Utility Board of Minnesota executive director Annie Levenson-Falk said in a statement. The Sierra Club, the Minnesota Attorney Generals Office, and CURE, an environmental nonprofit, have also voiced their opposition to the sale. The final decision on the outcome of the sale now lies with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission. Minnesota Power services about 150,000 residential and commercial customers in northeastern Minnesota. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared. Video: Bonus funding sparks division at Jefferson County Quorum Court JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ark. An employee bonus package passed by the Jefferson County Quorum Court, overriding the county judges veto, has been returned unsigned by the judge. According to an email from Jefferson County Chief Deputy Clerk Tiffany Lowery, Judge Gerald Robinsons refusal to sign means that eligible county employees will not receive the expected checks this Friday. The bonuses were to compensate employees for the time they went without pay at the beginning of the year, as the quorum court was unable to approve a county budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 300 Jefferson County employees finally paid after county budget bill is signed into law County department heads were advised by an email on Thursday from Lowery that the checks would not be sent out today as expected. The County Judges office has returned the Employee Bonus Payroll affidavit unsigned, the email stated. The County Judges Chief of Staff, Rosetta Giddens, advises that the County Judge will not be signing the claim. Robinson responded by stating that the county clerk has already violated state law in an attempt to put county employees against the county judges office because it acted on legislation that he had not signed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The quorum court overrode Robinsons veto of the bonuses at a Monday night meeting. Robinson and a minority of justices of the peace wanted the funds to come from the countys general fund, rather than its emergency fund, as the legislation was written. More than 300 Jefferson County employees finally paid after county budget bill is signed into law The bonuses were $1,000 for full-time employees and $500 for part-time employees, totaling more than 300, who were unpaid for nearly six weeks at the beginning of the year due to the budget impasse. A law was passed by the legislature and signed by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, which allowed counties to remain on the previous years budget if they did not have one for the current 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 KARK. US-based Trucordia has acquired Vegas Valley Benefit Plans, a provider of employee benefits and insurance solutions located in Las Vegas, Nevada. Financial specifics of the deal remain undisclosed. The move expands the company into the south-west of the US and is expected to enhance its portfolio of specialised benefits solutions. Vegas Valley Benefit Plans offers benefits solutions including medical, dental, vision, life and disability insurance, as well as retirement planning services to its client base in southern Nevada. Trucordia stated that its acquisition strategy centres on partnering with businesses that align with its core values, which include integrity, innovation and a commitment to community. Trucordia CEO Felix Morgan said: Acquiring the Vegas Valley Benefit Plans business aligns perfectly with our mission to provide exceptional service and innovative insurance solutions to clients nationwide. The teams deep understanding of the Las Vegas market and dedication to client-centric service makes them an ideal partner as we continue to grow our footprint and capabilities. Recently, Trucordia acquired Fuhriman Insurance, a company based in Boise, Idaho. Fuhriman Insurance offers a variety of insurance solutions including policies for auto, home, commercial, life and workers compensation, among others. The company also provides services to help clients research and compare quotes from different carriers. "Trucordia snaps up Vegas Valley Benefit Plans " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand. The Brief A Groveland councilwoman suspended over alleged racist and anti-gay posts is back in office following a judges ruling. Judith Fikes attorney argued the citys ethics code isnt grounds for removal. An investigation into the allegations is ongoing. GROVELAND, Fla. - A Groveland city councilwoman suspended earlier this month over controversial social media posts has been reinstated by a judge and returned to office. What we know Groveland Councilwoman Judith Fike has returned to office after a judge reversed her suspension over controversial social media posts. The city alleged the posts some dating back to 2015 and one from November 2024 were racist and anti-gay, violating the citys Code of Ethics. What we don't know It remains unclear whether the investigation authorized by the city council will result in further disciplinary action. Fike has not publicly explained the content or authenticity of the posts, and no timeline has been given for the investigations completion. Local perspective The case has stirred debate in Groveland over free speech, digital accountability, and the powers of local government. The ruling has also raised questions about how cities can enforce internal ethical guidelines on elected officials. What they're saying Fike attorney, Anthony Sabatini, argued that the city's Code of Ethics is not a legal document and warned the suspension would cause "irreparable harm" and confuse voters. Fike declined to comment after the hearing. Attorneys for the city also declined to comment. What's next The council previously voted to hire an investigator to review the allegations, and Sabatini said he hopes the case will be resolved within a few months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35'S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS The Source This story was written based on information shared by Groveland city leaders and Anthony Sabatini, the attorney representing Judith Fke. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A judge in Mahoning County Probate Court Thursday held a hearing on a settlement agreement between the family of the man who died in the explosion of the Realty Building downtown and the people they held responsible for the explosion. The hearing was held before Judge Robert Rusu on a proposed $6.1 million settlement that was reached in March by the family of Akil Smith, 27, who was killed in the May 28, 2024, explosion in the basement. The building was ultimately demolished. The site is now empty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drakes estate reached a settlement with Yo Properties 47, LLC; Youngstown Live Property Management; Greenheart Companies, LLC; Enbridge Gas Ohio, Dominion Energy and its affiliates. Of the $6.1 million agreed upon, the family will receive $3.6 million after attorneys fees and other expenses. Judge Rusu did not make a ruling on Thursday, saying he was not sure how long it would take him to decide to approve the settlement agreement. Drakes mother, Sharnette Crite, will receive 50 percent of the settlement, with his sister receiving 40 percent; his paternal grandparents will receive 3 percent, and the remainder will be spread out among other family members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drake worked in a bank in the building when the explosion took place. Several other people were also injured. Drake worked at other branches of the bank but happened to be working downtown the day of the explosion, Crite said. Crite, who is from Pittsburgh, heard of the explosion from the mother of a woman whom Drake used to date, Crite said. She was at the explosion site when Drake was found, Crite said. They would not let her look in the debris where her son was found, but she saw the gurney that the body removal team from the Mahoning County Coroners office used. I knew then that my baby was gone, she said. It was surreal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Crite and her attorneys said that they learned during discovery that Drake helped others out of the building, and had his hand on the door to leave himself when the floor collapsed and he fell into the debris pit, Crite said. Judge Rusu told Crite that he had read through court documents and discovered what a fine person he was. He died honorably and probably saved other peoples lives, Judge Rusu told her. I think you did a good job raising a fine young man. Several other plaintiffs are suing in relation to the explosion. Ohio Chief Justice Sharon Kennedy assigned retired Trumbull County Common Pleas Judge W. Wyatt McKay to the case. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for August 8. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Rusu went over expenses submitted to the court as part of the settlement to be reimbursed, and he said he would not reimburse travel expenses or mileage. He said the law firms were charging a 40 percent fee to the family, which was more than enough to cover their own expenses. One of the firms in the case submitted $8,700 in travel expenses. Judge Rusu said they would not be approved. There were also two reports submitted for over $94 apiece for Hulu accounts. Judge Rusu said those would not be approved. Thats not fair to the family, the judge said. An investigation is still ongoing to determine what caused the explosion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. The Brief A judge has dismissed a proposed class-action lawsuit over ads on Amazon Prime Video. Subscribers claimed the move violated consumer protection laws and breached contracts. The court ruled Amazons ad rollout was allowed under its subscriber terms. Amazon doesnt have to pay back Prime Video users upset about seeing commercials. That was the ruling from U.S. District Judge Barbara Jacobs Rothstein, who dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday that accused the tech giant of misleading customers and breaching its promise of ad-free streaming. The case, brought by subscribers in Washington state, claimed the move violated consumer protection laws and effectively raised the price of Prime without proper disclosure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the judge disagreed, saying the ads were a permitted "benefit modification" under Amazons terms of service. The ad-supported version of Prime Video launched in January 2024, with users given the option to pay $2.99 per month to opt out. Why was Amazon sued over Prime Video ads? The backstory Prime Video subscribersmany of whom paid $139 annually for Amazon Primeargued they had been led to believe that commercial-free streaming was part of their core subscription. When Amazon announced the $2.99 monthly ad-free upgrade in late 2023 and rolled it out in early 2024, users claimed the change was effectively a price hike. The plaintiffs filed a proposed class action, alleging the switch breached their subscriber agreement and violated Washington states consumer protection laws. What we know The ruling is a major win for Amazon, which has faced scrutiny over how it rolled out ads to millions of paying subscribers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Rothstein ruled that the change was legally allowed under Amazons user agreement. She called the commercials a "benefit modification" that subscribers had already agreed Amazon could make. The $2.99 monthly fee for ad-free viewing remains optional and is still in effect. What we don't know For now, the decision leaves subscribers with limited legal recourse, though future challenges could arise depending on how Amazon evolves its pricing and ad strategies. Lawyers for the plaintiffs have not said whether they plan to appeal the ruling. Its unclear whether similar lawsuits could emerge in other states or jurisdictions. The Source This article is based on reporting from Reuters, which first reported the dismissal of the Prime Video subscriber lawsuit on July 16, 2025. The outlet cited federal court documents and legal filings in Seattle. No comment was provided by attorneys representing the plaintiffs at the time of publication. GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) A Pitt County Superior Court judge has accepted evidence from the Southern Coalition for Social Justice on behalf of the Brookhaven community in their opposition to a RaceTrac gas station being built in their backyard. According to a press release, Resident Superior Court Judge Jeffery B. Foster granted in part a motion to supplement the record, which is what the hearing in June was about his ruling means that the neighbors can bring in additional information showing why they believe a prior hearing before the city of Greenvilles Board of Adjustment didnt meet standards of fairness and how they will be harmed by the Citys decision to grant the gas station permit. We feel grateful that the judge recognized the importance of affirming the communitys right to have these additional materials included, said Anna Byers, Senior Counsel for Environmental Justice at SCSJ. The Adams affidavit helps to show why the neighbors had the right to be heard on the issue of a possible RaceTrac being built near their homes, and Dr. Moores affidavit explains why the hearing before the Board of Adjustment was insufficient to protect the neighbors due process rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WNCT. Upper Seven lawyers Molly Danahy, left, and Rylee Sommers-Flanagan, founder, argue Christopher Martinez should be released because he was unlawfully detained by ICE. The U.S. government argues the case should be in a different jurisdiction. (Keila Szpaller/The Daily Montanan) U.S. District Court Judge Dana Christensen ruled on Tuesday his court does not have jurisdiction over Mexican national Christopher Martinez, who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Officers in Helena, but said his review of the case presents some disconcerting and troubling facts. One of those issues has been the Helena Police Department officer who originally stopped Martinez because he fit a profile of a Venezuelan national wanted for domestic abuse. But during the stop, body camera footage shows officer Andrew Barton saying while laughing, Hes being kidnapped right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OK. Good enough for me, replied Helena police officer Seth Montgomery. While Christensen ultimately determined case law and the federal governments decision to initiate deportation proceedings against Martinez means his fate will be left in the hands of U.S. immigration courts until a review by a federal appellate court the judge noted his concern with allegations. The court is alarmed that a law enforcement officer would suggest even in jest that a kidnapping occurred under his watch, Christensen said. The release of the body camera footage, along with more details about the case have roiled the Helena community, sparking protests and feedback at public meetings in Montanas capital city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to the public outcry, Helena Police Chief Brett Petty acknowledged the comment was inappropriate and the department has begun an investigation into the comments. Meanwhile, Lt. Adam Shanks told the Daily Montanan on Wednesday that Montgomery was currently on duty. I am incredibly disappointed with the comment that was made. Our leadership team does not believe it is reflective of the departments involvement in the incident where the remark was captured, Petty said. We want to assure the public that any statements or actions that are insensitive or unprofessional are taken seriously and are subject to internal review. However, Christensens concern extended beyond the Helena Police Department, when the judge noted detention officials with the Lewis and Clark County Sheriffs Office, which runs the jail, had intentionally denied Martinezs lawyers access to him while they coordinated with ICE officials to take him in an unmarked van with Washington state plates to an ICE facility in Tacoma, where he is believed to be held, awaiting a hearing on Aug. 19. When attorneys from Upper Seven Law Firm went to meet with Martinez, they were repeatedly told they could not facilitate the meeting because he was not in their custody, even as they watched the van. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lt. (Troy) Christensen further stated that he had intentionally prevented the attorneys from meeting with (Martinez) at the direction of ICE, the court noted. The Daily Montanan reached out to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo C. Dutton about the cooperation with ICE and the judges decision, but had not received a response on Wednesday. Lacks jurisdiction Though attorneys for Martinez filed a petition of habeas corpus, a foundational court procedure which challenges the arrest and detention of a person, whether a citizen or not, before a judge, Christensen said U.S. law is clear in that the federal courts in Montana are not the proper venue for Martinez; instead, immigration courts are empowered to decide the case. In his ruling, Judge Christensen explained that while he found several of the issues raised by Martinezs attorneys concerning, Congress has specifically given immigration judges power to review those. In addition, immigration courts are subject to a review by federal appeals courts, which means the case could ultimately be reviewed by a federal judge, but not at this stage during the proceedings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of the issues raised by his attorneys include allegations of racial profiling, unlawful search and seizure, as outlined in the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, and whether Martinez could be put in jail for a minor traffic stop in which he ultimately was not cited by the Helena Police Department. Any issue arising from any action taken or proceeding brought to remove (an illegal immigrant) from the United States can only be reviewed by the United States Court of Appeals through a petition for review after exhausting the administrative process, Christensen said, quoting in part directly from federal law. If the government has initiated removal proceeding, this court lacks jurisdiction over this matter and petitioners claims can only be heard, initially, by an immigration judge. And the U.S. Attorneys Office in Montana believes it has enough evidence and history with Martinez it has decided to proceed to deport him, despite his wife telling the media hes tried repeatedly to go through the naturalization process. According to court documents, Martinez was returned to Mexico twice in 2007 after entering illegally. In 2021, law enforcement arrested Martinez four times after entering the U.S., and as part of that, he was prohibited from entering the country on a 10-year ban. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martinezs attorneys had pointed to other recent immigration cases with U.S. Constitutional concerns as reasons for and support of Judge Christensen retaining jurisdiction over the case, but he said those cases were very different. For instance, a First Amendment case in which ICE had rounded up an immigrant in America legally who had spoken out against the U.S. government. He noted in his order that those cases dealt with individuals who had legal status to be in the country. Judge Christensen said while other immigration cases had raised issues of racial profiling, as been brought up in Martinezs case, he said that immigration judges and appeals courts were also able to address those concerns. (Those) reinforce the courts conclusion that claims of egregious violations in removal cases belong in front of an immigration judge, not a federal district court, he said. While the court takes allegations of racial profiling and constitutional violations seriously, (Martinez) cannot bypass the immigration courts and proceed directly to district court. Instead, he must exhaust the administrative process before he can access the federal courts. Attorneys with the Upper Seven Law Firm said they plan to appeal the decision to the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were disappointed in the courts ruling. The habeas clause of the Constitution is meant to provide relief from unlawful detention by the executive. Deferring to the executive immigration machine under these circumstances contravenes the purpose of the Fourth Amendment and of habeas corpus. We look forward to appealing this decision to the Ninth Circuit, said Molly Danahy, the Litigation Director for Upper Seven. Christensen decision Martinez HPD Petty statement After spending years in a mental health center, a Wisconsin woman involved in the infamous 2014 "Slender Man" stabbing case will be released, a judge ruled after several months of deliberation, according to The Associated Press. Morgan Geyser, now 22, confessed in 2017 to stabbing her friend, Peyton Leutner, when Geyser was just 12 years old, as part of a disturbing plan she and co-defendant Anissa Weier devised to appease "Slender Man," a fictional internet figure. As part of a plea deal, Geyser was committed to a psychiatric institution, where she has spent the past eight years. On Thursday, a Waukesha County judge approved her conditional release, the AP reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision follows a lengthy legal process that included expert testimony, prosecutor's objections and a judicial review of Geysers mental health status. In January, mental health professionals testified in favor of her release, which the judge initially approved. Any Tie Bryan Kohberger Has To 'Pappa Rodger' Could Become Clear When Gag Order Is Lifted A Wisconsin judge approved the conditional release of Morgan Geyser, who spent eight years in a psychiatric center after the 2014 "Slender Man" stabbing case when she was 12. However, in April, Leutners mother voiced concerns over Geyser potentially being placed in a group home roughly 8 miles from their home. Prosecutors opposed the release based on these concerns. Read On The Fox News App The judge then required the Department of Health Services to develop a revised resettlement plan, which was eventually approved, paving the way for Geysers conditional release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Idaho Murderer Bryan Kohbergers Former Friends Dive Into Killers Mindset About Why He Did It Morgan Geyser appears in a Waukesha County courtroom Jan. 9, 2025, in Waukesha, Wis. Geyser and Weier drew national attention in 2014 after luring Leutner into a wooded area after a sleepover and stabbing her 19 times. All three were just 12 years old at the time. During police interviews, Weier and Geyser told authorities they felt they had to kill Leutner to become Slender Man's "proxies," or servants, and protect their families from him. 'Slender Man' Stabber Release Hits Roadblock After Learning Victim Would Live 8 Miles Away Leutner was left for dead but miraculously survived the attack after she crawled out of the woods and was found by a bicyclist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2017, Geyser pleaded guilty to attempted first-degree intentional homicide in Leutner's attack but claimed she was not responsible due to her mental illness. She was sentenced in 2018 to a maximum of 40 years of state mental health supervision. Geyser has been at the Winnebago Mental Health Institute for nearly a decade but asked the court to consider her conditional release every six months. Weier also pleaded guilty to being a party to attempted second-degree intentional homicide with a dangerous weapon and was sentenced to 25 years in a mental hospital. In 2021, she was released on the condition she must live with her father and wear a GPS monitor. "Slender Man" started with an online post in 2009 as a mysterious specter whose image people edit into everyday scenes of children at play. He is typically depicted as a spidery figure in a black suit with a featureless white face. He was regarded by his devotees as alternately a sinister force and an avenging angel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As of now, specific details regarding the timing of Geyser's release and the final placement plan remain undisclosed. Fox News Digital reached out to Geyser's lawyer but did not immediately receive a response. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Judge signs off on release plan for woman who stabbed a classmate to please 'Slender Man' The Garrahy Judicial Complex in downtown Providence. (Photo by Janine L. Weisman/Rhode Island Current) Five attorneys are on Gov. Dan McKees shortlist to get a lifetime appointment to the states judicial branch including a former Rhode Island Senate majority leader whose advancement has drawn opposition from progressive advocates. The Judicial Nominating Commission met for four hours Wednesday evening to interview nine candidates vying for a District Court seat that opened last year when then-Associate Judge Melissa DuBose was appointed to the federal bench by then-President Joe Biden. Dubose now serves as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under state law, the commission sends a list of three to five highly qualified candidates to the governor for each judicial vacancy after conducting public hearings and interviews. The governor then nominates a candidate from that list to the Rhode Island Senate for confirmation. The candidates on the governors list include Michael McCaffrey, a Warwick Democrat who served as the Senates majority leader from 2017 through the end of the 2022 legislative session. Nearly a dozen speakers attending the commissions July 8 public hearing voiced their opposition to McCaffreys candidacy. I am not sure if it was the largest turnout ever for a JNC meeting to take public comment, but it was the largest I have seen during my tenure as chair, Chairwoman Krystle Tadesse wrote in an email to Rhode Island Current Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leading up to the July 8 hearing and Wednesday nights public interview sessions, the Womxn Project took to social media to encourage the public to oppose McCaffreys potential appointment, comparing him to conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. He has publicly shamed different communities that are marginalized and doesnt stand for the separation of church and state, Jocelyn Foye, the organizations director and co-founder, said of McCaffrey in an interview Thursday. McCaffrey served in the Rhode Island Senate from 1995 through the end of the 2022 legislative session, when he announced he would not seek re-election. A conservative member of his party, McCaffrey was part of the leadership team that allowed a vote on codifying abortion-rights to go to the floor in 2019. He ultimately voted against the measure that ultimately passed He also among the 12 senators who voted no when the chamber passed the bill to legalize same-sex marriage in 2013. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McCaffrey told the panel he would not let his political influences impact any decision he would make as a judge, as captured on video by Providence-based advocacy journalist Steve Ahlquist. As a judge, you have to listen to the facts, be neutral, and then apply whatever the state law is, he said to the commission. McCaffrey said his understanding of the matters has evolved. I have listened, learned and grown both personally and professionally and I have members of my family who are members of those communities, he said. I believe that growth is an essential quality that is important in any judge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Foye said in a time when LGBT and abortion rights are in question federally, its important that the state have a champion of such issues on the bench. He is going for only a District Court position, but he is in a place to be fast-tracked to the Supreme Court of Rhode island, she said. Along with McCaffreys name, the panel recommended the following four other candidates to McKee: Rebecca Aitchison , an assistant public defender Maria Deaton , a former state prosecutor and East Providence probate judge who practices criminal law at Lynch & Pine Anthony J. DiBiase, Jr. , a Warwick attorney whose practice areas range from personal injury to criminal defense Robert E. Johnson, IV, a special assistant attorney general Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under the commissions rules, members can vote up to five times as each candidate is considered. In the final vote tally, McCaffrey, Deaton and Johnson all received six votes. Aitchinson and DiBiase each had five votes. Eight of the nine commissioners were present Wednesday. Commissioner Nkolika Etell Onye was absent. The other four candidates interviewed who did not make the list and the number of votes they received are: Amy Dodge Murray (4); Alan Goulart (2); Eva-Marie Mancuso (1); and Ania Zielinski (1). Laura Hart, a spokesperson for McKees office, said the governor has received the formal nomination list and will review each potential judge. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX It's not often that the word fuck comes up at a Senate confirmation hearing. But Sen. Adam Schiff (DCalif.) said it six times during the Senate Judiciary Committee's June 25 hearing on President Donald Trump's nomination of Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. Schiff was not using that expletive to express his dismay at Bove's nomination, which the Republican-controlled committee voted to advance on Thursday despite credible concerns about Bove's respect for the rule of law. Rather, Schiff was quoting Justice Department whistleblower Erez Reuveni, who alleges that Bove, during a March 14 meeting about Trump's invocation of the Alien Enemies Act (AEA) to summarily deport alleged gang members, "made a remark concerning the possibility that a court order would enjoin those removals before they could be effectuated." According to Reuveni, Bove "stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts 'fuck you' and ignor[ing] any such court order." That account goes to the heart of the objections raised by critics of Bove's nomination, who include conservatives as well as progressives. Ed Whelan, former president of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, has expressed "serious doubts that Bove has the character and integrity to be worthy of confirmation as a federal judge." The Wall Street Journal's editorial board worries about Bove's "reputationas a smashmouth partisan who wields the law as a weapon." New York Times columnist David French warns that Bove's nomination reflects Trump's preference for "judges who will do whatever it takes to curry favor with a president who values fealty above all." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuveni's account, which is backed up by contemporaneous internal communications, powerfully reinforces those concerns about Bove. When Bove suggested that the Justice Department could simply ignore any court orders against the AEA removals, Reuveni says, "others in the room looked stunned," there were "awkward, nervous glances," and "silence overtook the room." But "notwithstanding Bove's directive," Reuveni "left the meeting understanding that [the Justice Department] would tell [the Department of Homeland Security] to follow all court orders." That understanding proved to be mistaken. The next day, the Trump administration began sending alleged members of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to a notorious prison in El Salvador, despite an injunction issued that day by James Boasberg, chief judge of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Boasberg later concluded that the evidence "strongly support[s]" the conclusion that the government's lawyers "willfully disobeyed" his order. That conduct was consistent with another message that Reuveni says Bove delivered during that March 14 meeting. According to Reuveni, Bove "stressed to all in attendance that the planes [transporting AEA detainees] needed to take off no matter what." When Schiff asked Bove about those alleged remarks, the nominee was notably evasive. "I have no recollection of saying anything of that kind," Bove said, referring to the "fuck you" quote. "I've certainly said things encouraging litigators at the department to fight hard for valid positions that we have to take in defense of our clients.I did not suggest that there would be any need to consider ignoring court orders. At the point of that meeting, there were no court orders to discuss." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schiff pressed Bove: "Did you suggest telling the courts 'fuck you' in any manner?" Bove did not deny it. "I don't recall," he said. When Schiff asked Bove whether he had in fact "stressed to people in attendance that the planes needed to take off no matter what," Bove implicitly admitted saying something along those lines. "I certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation," he said. "I don't recall the specific words that I used." Schiff suggested that response was not credible: "Wouldn't you recall saying that if you had instructed that the planes needed to take off no matter what, including whether the court ordered otherwise?" That summary was "a mischaracterization," Bove replied, because "there were no court orders at this point." Attorney General Pam Bondi portrays Reuveni as a "disgruntled employee" who is "asserting false claims" and "seeking five minutes of fame." He was fired in April after he admitted in court that Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was deported to El Salvador despite a court order barring the government from sending him there, had been removed due to an "administrative error." As Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche told it, Reuveni had failed to "follow a directive" from his superiors, failed to "zealously advocate" on behalf of the U.S. government, and engaged in "conduct prejudicial to [his] client" by conceding that Abrego Garcia had been deported by mistake. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller described Reuveni as a "Democrat" and "saboteur." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuveni's work history tells a different story. As his attorneys noted in a June 24 letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Justice Department's inspector general, and the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, Reuveni served as a DOJ lawyer for nearly 15 years in both Republican and Democratic administrations, doggedly defended Trump's immigration policies during his first administration, received excellent performance reviews, and was promoted several times. On the same day that Bove made the remarks he says he can't recall, Reuveni was promoted to acting deputy director of the Justice Department's Office of Immigration Litigation (OIL). He says he was fired because he insisted that government lawyers have an obligation to be truthful in court and cannot defy judicial orders. Given that background, Reuveni seems like a credible source, and he has evidence to back up his account of what Bove said. On the evening of March 15, Reuveni texted his immediate boss, August Flentje, OIL's acting director. "Guess it's find out time on the 'fuck you,'" he wrote. "Yup," Flentje replied. "It was good working with you." In another text exchange with Flentje four days later, Reuveni again alluded to the March 14 meeting. "At this point," Reuveni said, "why dont [sic] we just submit an emoji of a middle finger as our filing," adding, "a picayune middle finger." Flentje again seemed to understand the reference, replying, "So stupid." On April 5, the day Reuveni was placed on administrative leave because of his candor in Abrego Garcia's case, he texted Flentje, noting "you were at a certain meeting too." Flentje's reply: "I believe I told our host we would not violate a court order. I think there is definitely a through line from that meeting to where we are today." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That "through line" is the Trump administration's willingness to defy court orders when they obstruct the president's agenda. Bove's apparent embrace of that attitude should disqualify him from his current position, let alone a seat on a federal appeals court. There are other reasons to worry about Bove's suitability for the latter job. Bove, a former federal prosecutor, earned Trump's favor by representing him in the state and federal criminal cases he faced in 2023 and 2024. As a top Justice Department official, Bove played a central role in the dismissal of corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adamsa decision that provoked a revolt by federal prosecutors, who resigned rather than participate in what they perceived as an unethical quid pro quo: Adams would avoid prosecution by cooperating with Trump's immigration crackdown. The fact that Bove sought to have the charges against Adams dismissed without prejudice, meaning the mayor could be prosecuted again at the government's discretion, lent credibility to that characterization. Dale Ho, the federal judge overseeing the case, refused to let the Justice Department hold that sword over Adams' head. Ho credited the dissenting prosecutors' take on the situation, saying, "Everything here smacks of a bargain: dismissal of the Indictment in exchange for immigration policy concessions." That episode also came up during Bove's confirmation hearing. So did his decision to dismiss dozens of prosecutors who had worked on the criminal cases against Trump supporters who invaded the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In all these cases, Bove has proven himself a tireless Trump advocate, and the president evidently expects him to continue that role as a federal appeals court judge. "Emil is SMART, TOUGH, and respected by everyone," Trump wrote on Truth Social when he announced Bove's nomination. "He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. Emil Bove will never let you down!" That seems like an impossible mission, since it entails irreconcilable goals. A judge who is prepared to do anything that is necessary to help Trump implement his agenda will have to look the other way when the president tries to do something illegal or unconstitutional. Otherwise, he is bound to let Trump and his supporters down, at least occasionally. We can have either the rule of law or everything that Trump wants; we cannot have both. Bove's record suggests how he is inclined to resolve that problem. The post Judicial Nominee Emil Bove Can't Recall Whether He Said the DOJ Might Say 'Fuck You' To Court Orders appeared first on Reason.com. A junk removal service with local offices in Hagerstown and Pennsylvania will soon open another in Frederick. The Two Men and a Junk Truck business has been serving Frederick for about six years out of its Hagerstown office, but is preparing to open an office on Monocacy Boulevard in about two months, Bobby Simpson, one of the local owners, said in an interview last week. The company provides furniture removal, disaster cleanup, appliance removal, clean-out services, and more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Simpson and his partner Bryan Payne started as a franchise of the Two Men and a Truck moving service about six years ago, and thought junk hauling would be a natural extension of the business, Simpson said. "It just kind of fits into our model," he said. Two Men and a Junk Truck has local offices in Hagerstown and Chambersburg, Pa., and is hoping to begin serving Martinsburg, W.Va., next summer, along with the new Frederick office, he said. The company offers an online portal for booking appointments, and dumpsters, as well as just hauling away junk, Payne said. For now, they're serving Frederick out of the Hagerstown office. The Monocacy Boulevard location should be open by the late summer, Simpson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clinics team up to better serve patients Green Valley Therapy and Frederick County Pediatrics, both in New Market, have formed a partnership to expand behavioral health services in the New Market area. Frederick County Pediatrics has provided pediatric services for 15 years. It has added therapy services in recent years to serve a need, according to a press release announcing the partnership. Green Valley Therapy began operating in 2023. The partnership helps fill a gap in accessible pediatric behavioral health services, according to the press release. Families on the Frederick County Pediatrics wait list for therapy will receive calls from the Green Valley Therapy team to schedule appointments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Green Valley's three therapists can currently see about 40 clients a week, and hope to add 15 to 20 hours of services, Kelly Jarvis of the clinic wrote in an email Tuesday. The organization's offices in Boonsboro and downtown Frederick are also growing, she wrote. They are currently hiring for a child/teen therapist for the Boonsboro office and part-time adult therapists for each of the New Market and Frederick offices. Preferra launches online job bank The Frederick-based Preferra Insurance Company has started a free online job bank to help social workers and human service workers find new jobs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The initiative is in response to recent federal job cuts, as well as Medicaid cuts that have affected community mental health centers and children's hospitals, according to a press release from the company. Preferra has offered liability insurance to social workers, mental health professionals, and behavioral health specialists since 2012, according to the release. Users of the job center can search and apply for jobs, post resumes, and get personalized alerts when jobs match their skills and experience. They can also get advice on networking, resume building, leadership skills, and preparing for interviews, and explore career trends, salary data, and qualification requirements to help them make the next step in their careers. Send business news to Ryan Marshall at rmarshall@newspost.com. The Brief A jury is deliberating the fate of a propane technician accused of involuntary manslaughter in a deadly 2024 home explosion in Sterling. Roger Bentley was the propane technician charged with killing firefighter Trevor Brown in February 2024. The jury rested on Wednesday. Deliberations will resume Thursday morning. LOUDOUN CO., Va. - A Loudoun County jury started deliberations in the trial over a deadly home explosion in Sterling, Virginia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Roger Bentley was the propane technician charged with killing firefighter Trevor Brown in February 2024. Bentley is facing involuntary manslaughter charges. PREVIOUS STORY:Trial begins for propane technician charged in fatal Virginia home explosion The backstory The homeowner on Silver Ridge Drive in Sterling had a 500-gallon propane tankwhich she did not usethat had a leak. Early last year, she wanted to get it fixed so she could sell the home. For reasons we dont know, the tank was filled on Feb. 16, 2025. Almost immediately, she smelled gas and called the company, who then sent Bentley. When the prosecution put its case on, they said Bentley told the homeowner this was not an emergency and to let the propane seep out. He made it clear that she could stay in the home and there was no reason to call 911. The other side The defense said Bentley followed his training and wasnt aware of the leak in the underground tank and stressed that the homeowner should call him if there were issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They argued that the propane tank had a documented history of issues and suggested that those problems may not have been fully documented and communicated to technicians. Hours after he left, a neighbor called 911. Firefighters evacuated the house and the explosion happened a short time later, killing Brown. Legal perspective After speaking to multiple attorneys not involved in the case, the key question the jury must answer is whether 68-year-old Bentleys actions constituted a callous disregard for human life. "I mean it's tough and so negligence, what we normally think of for negligence, is you have a duty and you breach it. This is much more than that," said Defense Attorney Jennifer Leffler, who is not affiliated with the case. "This is a duty that you're completely ignoring. You're breaching it knowing that it could potentially cause somebody's death and you do it anyway." What's next The jury wrapped up deliberations today with no verdict and will resume at 9 a.m. Thursday morning. Theres a lot of uncertainty, said Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, a labor rights watchdog in Washington, D.C. Lesotho and other garment exporters are facing the prospect of tariff rates that were unthinkable six months ago and in many cases look unsurvivable. What made Lesotho attractive for brands was its low production costs, coupled with tariff-free trade under AGOA. If the African Growth and Opportunity Act, or AGOA, isnt renewed in September, the entire garment industry could cease to exist, the government has said. It doesnt help that U.S. foreign aid cuts have crippled industries that previously sustained thousands of jobs, as Prime Minister Samuel Matekane said on TV last month. Nor does it that until March, Lesotho was under an eight-month state of disaster because of acute food insecurity. The rumblings of a potential exodus by American buyers are already being keenly felt. Orders started evaporating in April, when the initial tariffs were announced, and a significant fraction of Lesothos 30,000 mostly female garment workers were furloughed or laid off beginning in June. With unemployment standing at 30 percentor nearly 50 percent for young peopleNthomeng Majara, the countrys deputy prime minister, said a state of disaster would be in force until June 2027, allowing it to take all necessary steps to unlock funds to spur job creation in other sectors. A follow-through of the so-called reciprocal rate of 50 percentthe highest faced by any country outside of China could also be the undoing of its garment industry, which contributed more than half of Lesothos nearly $1 billion in annual exports in 2024 and underpins roughly 20 percent of its gross domestic product. Some 75 percent of the clothing it makes for brands such as JCPenney, Levi Strauss & Co., Reebok, The Childrens Place and Wrangler owner Kontoor Brands are earmarked for the United States. Denim and activewear are big categories. Some Trump-branded Greg Norman golf shirts are made in Lesotho, too. As the White Houses Liberation Day tariff deadline of Aug. 1 creeps closer with no sign of a deal for the country President Donald Trump once said nobody has ever heard of, nor the renewal of a critical trade program that has boosted economic development on the Sub-Saharan continent for a quarter of a century, the outlook for Lesotho is nothing short of bleak. Story continues The concern, he added, is that the Trump administration has been unwilling to pay attention to the matter, at least to the degree that action will happen, despite AGOA previously enjoying bipartisan support in Congress. While economists have questioned its formula, the White House claims that Lesotho imposes 99 percent in tariffs and other trade barriers on the United States, creating a $234.5 million trade deficit in 2025. As far as Nova is concerned, thats a rounding error. Is there anything Lesotho could particularly do to fix the trade deficit? he asked. Theyre selling two things: diamonds and clothing, and theyre not going to buy an equivalent amount of diamonds from the U.S, right? Thats not an option. And blue jeansbasic blue jeans, even higher-end blue jeansare not coming back to the U.S. for production. And since theyre not, there really isnt any beneficiary of high tariffs. Nobody wins. Of the brands that were contacted about changes in their sourcing strategy, only Levis responded to say that its plans have remained unchanged. The denim giant is a prominent client of Nien Hsing Textile Group, a major employer that shuttered several of its subsidiaries, including Glory International, Nien Hsing International and C&Y Garments, in 2023 due to what it said was a lack of demand for its products on the international market, especially in the United States. Two years before that, the Covid-19 fallout and other market forces led to mass retrenchments. A spokesman from Nien Hsing Textile Group said that Nien Hsing Lesotho has orders until the first quarter of 2026, though he would not say if there have been or will be further layoffs. Other factories are less lucky. Facilities employing thousands of people, such as Precious Garments, Tzicc Clothing Manufactures and Maseru-E Textiles, havent fielded orders since the tariff was originally announced, said Solong Senohe, secretary-general at the United Textile Employees Union, or UNITE, which has been negotiating worker settlements with various owners. Precious Garments, he said, has started rotating employees on shifts that have them working just two weeks out of each month. Many of UNITEs members, however, have been placed on short-term layoff without pay until September, with a rapidly dwindling hope that they might be recalled in October if the tariff rate eases or if, by some miracle, AGOA is put back in play, returning it to equal footing with competitors like Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya that are facing an additional 10 percent tax post-Aug. 1no different than what every nation is grappling with now. Even South Africas 30 percent figure looks like a bargain by comparison. Most of the workers whose livelihoods are now hanging by a thread dont know what they will do if they remain unemployed, Senohe said. They worry that when schools reopen later this month, theyre not going to be able to afford the fees. Or worse, that they will lose the literal roof over their head because they can no longer afford rent. They will also have to contend with extreme deprivation in a country where half of its 2 million-strong population already lives below the poverty line. Even breaking into the far less-regulated informal sector would be difficult because it is already flooded, he said. The garment industrys travails will extend into other sectors that rely on workers patronage: transportation operators, say, or lunchtime vendors. When their savings run out, workers could find themselves resorting to the most dangerous jobs. Parents could be forced to traffic their children. The governments response is to opt to diversify export markets to the European Union or other African countries like South Africa, Senohe said. But unfortunately, the process is not that easy; negotiations have to start now. And meanwhile, people are suffering. Nova thinks that September will be a decision inflection point. No AGOA and a 50 percent duty on garments from Lesotho would also mean no garment industry in Lesotho, he said. Many of the support programs workers relied on, such as HIV and tuberculosis prevention, have already been pulled because of the gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development. If conditions further deteriorate, every social ill that already exists in Lesotho will be massively magnified for this worker population, he said, before adding, itll be one of the worst things weve ever seen in the garment industry. There will be no place for people to go. It was only in 2021 that Lesotho was the site of the first binding agreement to tackle gender-based violence and harassment in the fashion industry. The Worker Rights Consortium, the Solidarity Center, the Federation of Women Lawyers in Lesotho and UNITE were among a slew of organizations that helped broker a hard-won deal between Nien Hsing Textile Group, Levis, The Childrens Place and Kontoor Brands to create a worker-led program to eliminate sexual harassment and abuse across the then-four shop floors. The Lesotho Agreement to End Gender-Based Violence and Harassment would prove to be one of the templates for the Dindigul Agreement to Eliminate Gender-Based Violence and Harassment in India and the Central Java Agreement for Gender Justice in Indonesia. The fate of the program is now in the air because its tied to that of the industry. Senohe said that factory owners were told by brands that their companies had no say in this because the state of affairs was directed by the U.S. government and they cannot increase the prices of the products they buy. But these are peoples lives that are at stake, he said. Surely brands should feel some kind of responsibility? Hes unsure why this isnt the case. The buyers are not willing to pay the tariffs, Senohe said. Even the 10 percent tariffs now they are not paying. The factories are doing it. The reason they are exporting from Lesotho is the cheap labor that gives them more profit. It is, unfortunately, how capitalism works. It sucks your blood and whatever to make profit and then, at the end of the day, it dumps you. And come September, if nothing changes, mass firings will begin in earnest. Factories that depend on U.S. orders, too, will have no choice but to close. The implications of this are deep and sweeping. Even if part of the sector survives, itll no longer be beholden to American brands generally higher-road requirements, such as freedom of association, freedom from forced labor and freedom from gender-based violence and harassment. Instead, Lesotho may have to court marketsperhaps Chinawhere people dont care. I think the worst scenario is going to be that people are going to cross the border into South Africa as illegal migrants, Senohe said. There is a textile hub in the city of Newcastle in KwaZulu-Natal, where most of the people are illegal and youre harassed every day by the police. Some of them are going to go to the illegal mines in South Africa. If somebody comes up and says, I have work for you in South Africa, they will go there. And then we dont know if well ever see them again. CHICAGO Prosecutors opened the third day of trial for the man accused of killing Chicago Police officer Andres Vasquez Lasso with the slain cops own body-worn camera footage that captured the moments just before his death. Yelling and running steps could be heard from a television placed before the jury at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse Thursday morning before gunfire sounded. Raised hands holding a gun were visible on the video, which then abruptly tips to show the sky and bare trees. After a few moments, the head of another officer appeared at the right-hand side of the screen, peering down. The officer could be heard yelling: Come on, man! Hey, hey! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors showed the video twice Thursday, side by side with another officers body-worn camera footage. After the initial sequence, the video begins to shake. The sound of heavy breathing and shouts of a 10-1, shorthand for a call of an officer in distress, filled the courtroom. The body camera was still recording when then-Lieutenant Patrick Kinney arrived at the scene. Speaking in a loud, confident voice to the jury, Kinney, now a commander with the departments Investigative Response Team, described recovering the body camera from 32-year-old Vasquez Lassos vest outside Sawyer Elementary School on the Southwest Side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kinney then walked through what hed seen when he took the camera back to a mobile command van: a man in a black sweatshirt who appeared to be racking the slide on a gun. Steven Montano, the man accused of killing Vasquez Lasso in an exchange of gunfire, faces charges of first-degree murder and other felonies in connection with the officers death. Vasquez Lasso and other officers were dispatched to the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue after Montanos girlfriend allegedly called 911 to report that he threatened her with a gun, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said shortly after Montano, now 21, was arrested that he had jumped out the window to escape arriving officers, who chased him to an area near a playground where Montano was wounded and Vasquez Lasso was killed. Most of Thursdays trial proceedings consisted of testimony from a number of officials from CPD and state law enforcement agencies who handle body-worn camera footage and other evidence collected from the scene of Vasquez Lassos death. Jurors had previously seen footage from other officers who responded to the scene alongside Vasquez Lasso, but had not watched the shooting from his own camera. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Miguel Enciso, Vasquez Lassos partner, testified that the suspect yelled at him kill me in the first chaotic moments after the shooting. Montano was shot in the chin, while Vasquez Lasso was hit three times in the head, arm and leg. Montanos attorneys have said they expect he will testify in his own defense, which is expected to come on the final day of testimony Friday. They have argued that he had a most unfortunate reaction to a stressful situation and told the jury to keep an open mind about the case, the first involving a slain police officer to come before a jury since one of Officer Ella Frenchs killers was convicted at trial last year. ____ Manhattan federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, who worked on the cases of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, as well as the highly publicized trial of Sean Diddy Combs, was fired by the Department of Justice Wednesday, according to the New York Times. The decision comes eight years after her father, former FBI director James Comey, was fired by President Trump during his first term. While the reason for her termination remains unclear, some have speculated that her connection to the Epstein case, which has caused rifts in the Trump administration following a controversial attempt to bury any further investigation by Pam Bondis DOJ, may have contributed to the decision. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has largely dodged the Epstein issue following Elon Musks accusation that the president was on the disgraced financiers client list, which would insinuate his involvement with acts of child sexual abuse. On Tuesday, Trump told the press outside the White House that the Epstein files were a hoax concocted by James Comey, as well as former presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. And I would say that, you know, these files were made up by Comey, they were made up by Obama, they were made up by the Biden [administration], Trump said. And we went through years of that with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, with all of the different things that we had to go through. Elsewhere in the press gaggle, Trump outwardly supported Bondis work as attorney general and her decision to keep the Epstein files from the public eye. The attorney general has handled that very well, he said. She has really done a very good job. And I think that when you look at it, youll understand that. I would like to see [transparency] also. But I think the attorney general the credibility is very important. And you want credible evidence for something like that. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. WASHINGTON (AP) The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a federal prosecutor in Manhattan who worked on the cases against Sean Diddy Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Wednesday. There was no specific reason given for her firing, according to one of the people. They spoke to the AP on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Maurene Comey was a veteran lawyer in the Southern District of New York, long considered the most elite of the Justice Department's prosecution offices. Her cases included the sex trafficking prosecution of Epstein, who killed himself behind bars in 2019 as he was awaiting trial, and the recent case against Combs, which ended earlier this month with a mixed verdict. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment Wednesday. It's the latest move by the Justice Department to fire lawyers without explanation, which has raised alarm over a disregard for civil service protections designed to prevent terminations for political reasons. The Justice Department has also fired a number of prosecutors who worked on cases that have provoked President Donald Trump's ire, including some who handled U.S. Capitol riot cases and lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smiths prosecutions of Trump. Maurene Comey was long seen as a potential target given her father's fraught relationship over the last decade with the Republican president. The Justice Department recently appeared to acknowledge the existence of an investigation into James Comey, though the basis for that inquiry is unclear. Most recently, she was the lead prosecutor among six female prosecutors in the sex trafficking and racketeering case against Combs. The failure to convict the hip-hop mogul of the main charges, while gaining a conviction on prostitution-related charges that will likely result in a prison sentence of just a few years, was viewed by some fellow lawyers as a rare defeat by prosecutors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But she was successful in numerous other prosecutions, most notably the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell on sex trafficking charges for helping financier Epstein sexually abuse underage girls. In that case, she delivered a rebuttal argument during closings, as she did in the Combs case. Her firing comes as Attorney General Pam Bondi faces intense criticism from some members of Trump's base for the Justice Department's decision not to release any more evidence in the government's possession from Epstein's sex trafficking investigation. Some right-wing internet personalities, like Laura Loomer, who have been critical of Bondi's handling of the Epstein files had been calling for Maurene Comey's firing. James Comey was the FBI director when Trump took office in 2017, having been appointed by then-President Barack Obama and serving before that as a senior Justice Department official in President George W. Bush's administration. But his relationship with Trump was strained from the start, and the FBI director resisted a request by Trump at a private dinner to pledge personal loyalty to the president an overture that so unnerved the FBI director that he documented it in a contemporaneous memorandum. Trump soon after fired Comey amid an investigation into potential ties between Russia and Trump's presidential campaign. That inquiry, later taken over by special counsel Robert Mueller, would ultimately find that while Russia interfered with the 2016 election and the Trump team welcomed the help, there was insufficient evidence to prove a criminal collaboration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump's fury at the older Comey continued long after firing him from the bureau, blaming him for a hoax and witch hunt that shadowed much of his first term. Comey disclosed contemporaneous memos of his conversations with Trump to a friend so that their content could be revealed to the media, and the following year he published a book calling Trump ego driven and likening him to a mafia don. Trump, for his part, has accused Comey and other officials of treason. _____ Associated Press reporter Larry Neumeister in New York contributed. The U.S. Justice Department on Thursday asked California counties to provide it with lists of all inmates in their jails who are not American citizens, as well as the crimes they have been accused or convicted of and their scheduled release dates. The Justice Department said in a statement that its "data requests" to the counties including Los Angeles and San Francisco counties were "designed to assist federal immigration authorities in prioritizing the removal of illegal aliens who committed crimes after illegally entering the United States." The requests add another layer to the Trump administration's already roiling turf war with California over immigration policy and state and local sanctuary laws. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have been swarming the region making thousands of arrests as part of President Trump's call for mass deportations, and the Justice Department is already suing the city of Los Angeles over its sanctuary policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State officials have long defended California's sanctuary policies, which generally forbid local authorities from enforcing civil immigration laws but provide for exceptions in cases involving criminal offenses. They have also criticized the administration and ICE agents for their recent arrest tactics in Southern California, including by citing figures that show that a majority of those arrested had no criminal convictions. California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta's office immediately called the legality of the demands into question, and said it would review the directive and monitoring its implementation "for compliance with the law." State law namely the California Values Act, or SB 54 "allows county jails to transfer an individual into ICE custody if ICE presents a criminal arrest warrant for a violation of a federal criminal immigration law, but it does not allow for the wholesale notification to DOJ of individuals housed in county jails, regardless of whether or not they have even been found guilty of a crime," a spokesperson for Bonta's office said in a statement. "President Trump and his Department of Justice cannot bully our local law enforcement into breaking the law." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: National Guard came to L.A. to fight unrest. Troops ended up fighting boredom The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department recently resumed transferring some jail inmates to ICE for the first time in years, citing criminal exceptions to state and local sanctuary laws. A spokesperson for L.A. County referred questions about the request to the Sheriff's Department. Asked about the request during a Civilian Oversight Commission meeting Thursday morning, L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said information about all county inmates is already publicly available on the department's website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The minute you get booked, processed and you get Livescanned, thats a national system, so agents of the federal government will know youre in custody," he said. "So its not that were notifying them, its an automatic notification based on your fingerprints." The Justice Department said that it hoped the counties would voluntarily comply with its requests. But if they do not, it said, it would "pursue all available means of obtaining the data, including through subpoenas or other compulsory process." It said that while "every illegal alien by definition violates federal law, those who go on to commit crimes after doing so show that they pose a heightened risk to our Nations safety and security." Not every noncitizen in the U.S. is in the country illegally, given that there are noncitizen permanent residents and other visa holders. However, as part of its immigration crackdown, the Trump administration has given heightened scrutiny to people in those categories, as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi, in her own statement about the requests, said that removing "criminal illegal aliens" from the country was the administration's "highest priority." Read more: L.A. County jails are handing inmates over to ICE for the first time in years "I look forward to cooperating with Californias county sheriffs to accomplish our shared duty of keeping Californians and all Americans safe and secure," Bondi said. In May, Luna's department transferred inmates from its jails to ICE for the first time since early 2020. Between May and June, the department handed 20 inmates over to the federal agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At Thursdays oversight meeting, Luna said the department received 995 civil detainer requests from ICE in 2024, and that it did not comply with any of them, which it is not legally required to do. But he said that the department had to turn over the 20 inmates because it received federal judicial warrants from federal authorities for each of them. He said he expected such warrants to increase, which would increase the number of inmates turned over. "Those are legal documents signed by a judge. We cannot deny those," he said. Max Huntsman, the countys inspector general, and other experts have said the Sheriffs Department is required by federal and state law to comply with the warrants, and the process is legal under state and local sanctuary policies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Times staff writers Rebecca Ellis and Rachel Uranga contributed to this report. 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. It has been some time since US President Donald Trump has asked his supporters are you tired of winning yet?, but in recent weeks the president has piled up so many victories at the Supreme Court that keeping up with them all could well prove an exhausting task. The judiciary has not always been so amenable to Trump. In the months after his return to office in January, dozens of Democrat-appointed judges, and some Republican-appointed ones, too, blocked or stayed numerous policies and directives from the executive branch, obstructing much of Trumps agenda and the electoral mandate behind it. Almost all of those rulings, however, were issued by lower-level federal district courts or mid-level circuit courts. At the Supreme Court Americas final court of appeal matters have been rather different. Despite much frustration over adverse lower court rulings, Trumps Justice Department has deftly appealed many of them, frequently via the Supreme Courts emergency petition procedure. Emergency rulings are generally handed down without a written justification explaining the Courts legal reasoning and without a statement of how its nine justices voted, though the justices are free to issue such statements and publicly declare how they voted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This gambit of appealing to the Supreme Court on an emergency basis has paid off. In rapid succession, the court has ruled that Trump can legally deport illegal immigrants en masse, including to places other than their countries of origin. It chose not to immediately quash his inauguration day executive order ending birthright citizenship a longstanding policy that automatically confers citizenship on all children born on US soil to foreign parents. The Court has temporarily allowed Trumps Defence Department to ban transgendered individuals from military service. It has permitted the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge) to examine private Social Security records and avoid scrutiny under the Freedom of Information Act. It has upheld Trumps dismissal of appointed officials from independent government boards. Last week, a hotly contested emergency ruling allowed the president to sack large numbers of federal government employees, whose jobs had been temporarily saved by lower-level court injunctions. Perhaps most significantly, the Supreme Court has limited the ability of lower-level federal courts to issue universal injunctions, a much-needed step towards stopping relatively junior activist judges from assuming the power to effectively dictate national policy. Even in cases that continue to be adjudicated in the federal court system, which can take years to conclude, an emergency rulings immediate effect can often render continuing litigation moot. Illegal immigrants who are deported to distant countries are unlikely to return, whether or not they eventually prevail in the US legal system. Sacked federal workers might, even if successful in litigation, find it hard to go back to radically altered workplaces in which their positions might well have been eliminated. Dismissed federal board appointees who prevail in court will almost certainly have been replaced by new officials by the time they theoretically win, leaving them with little more than a moral victory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even so, many Democrats are still looking to the Supreme Court for salvation. Divided, demoralised, and unpopular, they seem to believe that they have found an effective leader of the resistance in the one justice who has proved willing to oppose practically everything the president stands for. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson was nominated by Joe Biden to fulfil a cynical campaign promise to appoint a black woman to the Supreme Court. The former president made that pledge reportedly because he required the support of South Carolina kingmaker Rep Jim Clyburn to win the decisive South Carolina primary in his 2020 quest for the Democratic presidential nomination. An early sign that she was a poor choice came during her Senate confirmation hearings. She refused to provide a definition of the word woman, despite Biden being quite open that she had been chosen in part because of her own sex. Although Jackson has since reliably turned up among the dissenting faction in many of the recent pro-Trump Supreme Court rulings, even her own judicial colleagues have been unable to hide their disdain for some of her arguments. In the case that reined in the universal applicability of lower federal court decisions, Justice Amy Coney Barrett, writing for the majority of the Court, said she found Jacksons arguments extreme and at odds with more than two centuries worth of precedent, not to mention the Constitution itself. In the case evaluating whether Trump could dismiss federal employees, in which Jackson cast the only dissenting vote, her Democrat-appointed counterpart Sonia Sotomayor dismissed her argument in short order. Even Jackson doesnt seem to claim any particular interest in trenchant legal analysis. I just feel that I have a wonderful opportunity to tell people in my opinions how I feel about the issues. And thats what I try to do, she bizarrely told ABC News in a recent interview. If Democrats feel she can lead any form of opposition, they would do well to remember that their last presidential candidate largely based her campaign on joy and lost. Paul du Quenoy is a historian and president of the Palm Beach Freedom Institute. 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. Vaping brand Juul Labs can continue to sell its e-cigarettes and refill cartridges, the Food and Drug Administration announced Thursday. The decision comes as the once-pioneering company struggled for years against heightened regulatory scrutiny and backlash as its flavored pods became popular amongst young people, contributing to the rise in teen vaping. The brand, once worth over $13 billion, has also floundered amid the multi-year FDA review, a flurry of lawsuits and massive loss in sales. But the FDAs decision may provide Juul, which nearly filed for bankruptcy following a federal ban in 2022, a new lease of life. In its ruling, the FDA said it found that Juuls studies proved its e-cigarettes are less harmful for adult smokers, who can benefit from switching from cigarettes to vaping. The company will be just one of two in the US allowed to sell menthol-flavored vapes. This is an important milestone for the company and I think we made a scientifically sound case for the role that menthol can play in e-vapor, Juul CEO K.C. Crosthwaite told The Associated Press. The FDA ruled Thursday that Juuls e-cigarettes can remain on the shelves in stores. (AP) The FDA ruled Thursday that Juuls e-cigarettes can remain on the shelves in stores. (AP) The decision has already received backlash from parents and anti-tobacco groups, which have argued for years that Juul is responsible for the years-long increase in youth vaping. Its a big step in the wrong direction to authorize sales of the product that was responsible for this public health crisis in the first place, said Yolonda Richardson, the CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Ahead of the decision, Juul attempted to drive away some of its teen consumers by discontinuing several fruit and candy flavors that were favored by that demographic. Still, the company has been forced to pay billions to settle lawsuits over its role in the rise of teen vaping. The FDA had ordered the company to remove its products from the market in June 2022, but quickly changed course after Juul pushed back in court. Juul had argued that regulators overlooked thousands of pages of scientific data, and the agency then allowed to reopen its scientific review of Juuls application. Notably, the FDAs decision does not equate an endorsement of the products, rather Juul provided evidence that its products met the legal standard for marketing new tobacco products in the US. With the announcement, the FDA reiterated that people who do not smoke should not use Juul or any other e-cigarettes. The agency, however, did find that smokers who switch completely to Juul can reduce their exposure to deadly carcinogens and other chemicals in traditional cigarettes. Its critically important that American adults who use tobacco have regulated options, Crosthwaite, the CEO of Juul, added. With reporting from the Associated Press. WHITESBURG, Ky. (FOX 56) A Whitesburg man was arrested on Wednesday morning after allegedly being found with dozens of opiate pills and thousands of dollars in cash during a traffic stop. Police foundation accepting donations to help family of trooper shot near Lexington airport Trooper Matt Gayheart posted on Facebook that just before 10 a.m. on Wednesday, July 16, Kentucky State Police (KSP) had pulled over Charles Tackett, 75, when a pill was found in plain view in his vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers with the Whitesburg Police Department (WPD) assisted with the stop, bringing along K-9 Sully, who alerted law enforcement to the presence of narcotics. Read more of the latest Kentucky news KSP wrote that 30 oxycodone tablets, 17 hydrocodone pills, 2 Xanax tablets, and a Suboxone tablet were allegedly found in the car. Charles Tackett, 75, was lodged in the Letcher County Jail on Wednesday, July 16. (Letcher County Jail) Tackett was arrested and charged with: Disregarding a stop sign Failure to signal properly First-degree trafficking in a controlled substance, first offense10 or more opiates Second-degree trafficking on a controlled substance, first offenseless than 20 opiates Prescription controlled substance not properly containedfirst offense Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was lodged in the Letcher County Jail. The drug 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. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Officials said a man was rescued from a canal with the help a quick-acting police officer near 24th and Oak street overnight. The Bakersfield Fire Department said it received a 911 call about a man in distress in the canal at around 1 a.m. Bakersfield Police Department remembers Officer William Sikola Officials said a Bakersfield police K-9 officer was first on scene and used his dogs leash to help the man. Photos from the fire department showed the man hanging on as more fire emergency crew workers arrived and pulled him out of the canal. Photo: Bakersfield Fire Department Photo: Bakersfield Fire Department The fire departments post on social media crediting the work of both city agencies working together to protect the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News. EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas has emphasised that Russia must be held accountable for the deaths of nearly 300 people resulting from the downing of flight MH17 in 2014. Source a statement by the European External Action Service, as reported by European Pravda Details: On the anniversary of the MH17 tragedy, Kallas expressed her condolences to the families and loved ones of the 298 victims, most of whom were citizens of European countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She highlighted the recent rulings by the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), both of which found that Russia bears responsibility for the downing of MH17. "The judgment of the ECtHR and the decision of the ICAO Council are important steps towards truth, justice and accountability for all victims of Flight MH17, their relatives and loved ones. The European Union reiterates its call on the Russian Federation to accept its responsibility for this tragedy and to fully cooperate with efforts to serve justice," she stated. Background: In July 2014, Russian militants from the so-called Donetsk People's Republic shot down Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 en route from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur over eastern Ukraine. All 298 people on board were killed. Earlier on Thursday, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp stated that his country will not cease its efforts to establish the truth, achieve justice and ensure accountability in the MH17 case. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! KANSAS CITY, Mo. A Kansas City woman is out more than $30,000 and the house she once called home is now unrecognizable gutted, dangerous and possibly unsalvageable. Felicia Safir, 71, is a lifelong music teacher. But in 2023, she decided it was time to downsize from the home that had been in her family for generations, a house her aunt once proudly owned as one of the first Black homeowners on the block. To prepare it for sale, Safir hired contractor David Lyman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blue Springs kids play space, venue encourages creativity and connection She took out a $40,000 loan and paid his company $32,500 to complete a wide range of repairs roofing, electrical, flooring and walls, all spelled out in a signed contract FOX4 obtained. What she got in return left her in tears. When I came into the house and saw what he had done. Stealing things and damaging the property. All I could do was sit on the steps and cry, Safir told FOX4. Inside the home, floors have been ripped out and replaced with unsafe plywood. Walls are missing. Electrical wiring has been stripped. A chandelier gone. And the bathroom? Nothing but framing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Safir, who is disabled, says even the access ramp she relied on to enter her home has vanished. She calls Lyman not just a bad contractor, but a thief. Missouri making changes to temporary tag, vehicle registrations next month FOX4 tried calling Lyman multiple times. He picked up on the third try but declined to answer questions, only telling us to look at the new roof. That roof, however, is already falling apart. Two years later, Safir is still struggling to pick up the pieces. But now shes getting help from local realtor Danny Tipton, who stepped in to help her sell the home to a rehabber. The sale is expected to close soon, just enough to repay the loan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do you think this was a bad repairman or a thief? FOX4 asked. I think he was a thief, Safir replied. Now, shes sharing her story as a warning to others to make sure you know whos working on your home and hold them accountable. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Fed attack aftershocks. Markets have stabilized a bit on Thursday after a Trump-fueled tizzy on Wednesday. According to multiple reports, President Trump had sounded out lawmakers on whether he should fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. The US dollar immediately tanked, and the closely watched 10-year Treasury yield rose. Stocks took a hit. Trump later walked back the reports in a press conference. But Trump's repeated attacks on Powell and the Fed have investors on edge after a record-setting run for stocks. "I think he has done a very good job," Carlyle Group (CG) cofounder David Rubenstein told me. Rubenstein hired Powell in the late 1990s as a partner at his private equity firm, where Powell stayed for eight years. Here is everything we touched on during Yahoo Finance's Opening Bid on Thursday. Tune in live daily to Opening Bid at 9:30 a.m. ET. Another bullish read on tech Those looking for a bearish read on AI demand won't find it in Taiwan Semiconductor's (TSM) earnings release today. Taiwan Semiconductor, which manufactures chips for top players such as Nvidia (NVDA) and Apple (AAPL), now sees full sales growing 30% year over year. Previously, it modeled for sales growth in the mid-20% range. The company maintained a bullish tone around consumer demand for smartphones. The company is on track to spend $40 billion in capital expenditures this year to support strong AI chip demand. "Overall, we view this update from the industry's largest customer as encouraging/reassuring when applied toward next year's revenue spending outlook," Stifel analyst Brian Chin said. This comes hot on the heels of Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang's visit to China this week, during which he called out a strong order pipeline for the AI chips the company will soon be allowed to export back into the market. PepsiCo serves up a bubbly bottom line After a surprisingly lackluster first quarter in which it issued a rare outlook warning, PepsiCo (PEP) came back today with better news (off lowered expectations, to be fair). The maker of Pepsi soda and Frito-Lay snacks served up a $0.09 earnings beat and a $400 million revenue beat for its second quarter. Importantly, the company maintained its 2025 outlook for low-single-digit percentage revenue growth. EPS growth is still expected to be unchanged year over year. But it's clear the company continues to battle price-sensitive shoppers and higher costs of doing business. The PepsiCo North America food business saw volumes fall 1% and operating profits drop by 13%. The North America beverage business clocked a 2% volume decline, while operating profits were unchanged versus the prior year. While the Trump administration's funding pause on federal after-school programs may prove temporary, the implications are significant to our communities regardless, writes guest columnist Anna Almerico. (Getty Images) Recent news of a freeze on delivery of federal education funding raises grave concerns about the potential ripple effects on student learning, family stability and community engagement. This funding was approved by Congress and signed into law by the president in March. This shift in direction, to not obligate the money for fiscal year 2025 awards, immediately impacts $6.5 million in 21st Century Community Learning Centers grants in Idaho that support nearly 7,000 developing youth in 95 after-school programs across our state. After-school programs serve as a vital part of the learning ecosystem for millions of children across the United States. This demand far outpaces supply in Idaho, for every child enrolled in after-school programs, there are four more who would participate if one was available offering opportunities that support academic achievement, social development, build critical work and life skills and support family economic stability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If programs close, parents will struggle. In Idaho, 77% of the parents reported after-school programs are helping working parents keep their jobs, according to the Afterschool Alliance. Our thriving economy benefits from after-school programming as well. Businesses have more productive employees who miss work less because they do not have to juggle care for their kids. Staff currently employed and contributing to the health of youth in programs could join our state unemployment rolls if these jobs in youth work go away due to the funds not arriving. Its an issue Americans agree on across the board. Presented with the choice of eliminating or funding federal investments in after-school and summer learning programs, 88 percent of President Donald Trump voters favor investments, according to the Afterschool Alliance. In Idaho, parents report overwhelmingly positive outcomes from these programs. Ninety-four percent say attending programs is helping their child succeed academically, while 97 percent say attending programs is providing new learning opportunities for their child, according to the Utah Education Policy Centers report compiled on behalf of the Idaho Out-of-School Network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After-school programs often go beyond academics. Many offer meals, physical activity, mentoring, STEM exploration and safe environments during peak hours for juvenile crime and risky behavior. Access to these programs is uneven, especially in rural areas, tribal communities and among low-income families. The America After 3PM report notes that children from low-income households are more likely to attend a program where staff help with homework, provide healthy snacks and offer enrichment activities, but are also more likely to lose access when funding is unstable. While this funding pause may prove temporary, the implications are significant regardless. This freeze introduces uncertainty for schools and community organizations that plan and staff these programs months in advance. More importantly, it adds to the structural challenges that have long affected availability and affordability of quality after-school options. As the conversation around federal education budgets continues, it is important to understand the role of after-school programs in supporting the whole child and the whole community. These programs represent more than enrichment they represent opportunity, safety, and connection and economic stability for millions of families nationwide. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The City of Keller is considering becoming the first city in Tarrant County and the largest in Texas to partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through the 287(g) Program, a federal initiative that enables local law enforcement to assist in identifying and deporting criminal illegal aliens. Mayor Armin Mizani announced the proposal on X, stating that public safety is non-negotiable. At our upcoming meeting, the City Council intends to become the 1st city in Tarrant County and the largest city in Texas to enter a memorandum of understanding and formally partner with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through the 287(g) program under the Jail Enforcement Model, the city stated in a press release. The 287(g) Program allows ICEs Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers to work alongside state and local law enforcement to identify and remove illegal aliens who have been arrested for criminal activity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mayor Mizani told The Dallas Express the partnership is focused on public safety, not politics. Law enforcement professionals need our support and collaboration now more than ever, he said. As mayor, my top priority is the safety of our residents. Supporting ICE at every levelfederal, state, county, and localmeans were doing everything we can to keep dangerous individuals off our streets. When law enforcement agencies work together, we close the gaps that allow violent offenders, drug traffickers, and repeat criminals to go unnoticed. This isnt about politicsits about unapologetically protecting families, enforcing the law, and making sure our communities remain safe and secure. ICE officers have come under increasing attack in recent months amid a rise in violent resistance from far-left anti-enforcement activists. As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the Department of Homeland Security said assaults on ICE officers have increased 830% since President Donald Trump returned to office. Editor's note: The article was updated after the Ukrainian media reported that Keith Kellogg had left Ukraine on July 16. U.S. President Donald Trump has begun taking a tougher line on Russia following months of quiet influence by Republican foreign policy hawks, with Special Envoy Keith Kellogg playing a central role, the Telegraph reported on July 16, citing its sources. According to three congressional sources cited by the Telegraph, Kellogg, who recently visited Ukraine on an official visit, has "been in the ascendancy lately" and is helping drive a shift in Trump's approach, alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Initially appointed as Special Envoy for both Ukraine and Russia, Kellogg was later reassigned to focus solely on Ukraine. He dealt directly with President Volodymyr Zelensky and his administration after the Kremlin reportedly objected to his involvement in peace talks, viewing him as too pro-Ukrainian. A diplomatic source added that Kellogg has "taken on a bigger role in the past few weeks" as Trump recalibrates his Ukraine strategy in response to stalled negotiations and intensifying Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities. Kellogg's return to influence comes after months of being sidelined in favor of real estate executive and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who had taken the lead in back-channel talks with Moscow. Witkoff, a close Trump ally with no prior diplomatic experience, became a de facto U.S. envoy to Russian President Vladimir Putin despite concerns within the administration over his informal conduct, use of Kremlin translators, and push to lift U.S. energy sanctions on Moscow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The shift in Trump's stance comes amid growing frustration over Russia's refusal to engage meaningfully in peace efforts. Trump warned on July 14 that the U.S. would impose "severe" secondary tariffs, up to 100%, on Russia unless a deal is reached within 50 days. "I'm disappointed in President Putin. I thought we would have had a deal two months ago," Trump said at a joint press conference with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. Trump also announced a new agreement under which NATO countries will finance the purchase of U.S.-made missiles, including Patriot air defense systems, to be delivered to Ukraine. The weapons will be paid for and coordinated by the alliance, not from U.S. funds directly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kellogg met with Zelensky on July 14 in Kyiv to discuss strengthening Ukraine's air defense, joint production, and procurement of defense weapons in collaboration with Europe. While initially saying he would stay in the country for the whole week, Kellogg left Ukraine on July 16, RBC-Ukraine reported, citing sources. Read also: Zelensky unveils new cabinet nominees in major government reshuffle Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Having spent nearly 50 years telling Americas stories, warts and all, Ken Burns knows better than to traffic in the reassurance business. I was reminded of that on Monday when I spoke with him a couple of hours before he was set to take the stage for an eager audience in Seattles McCaw Hall. Few documentary filmmakers can pack a 2,900-seat auditorium in major cities like this, one of many on the filmmakers national tour to promote his highly anticipated upcoming documentary series The American Revolution, a 12-hour project that has been a decade in the making. But then, Burns is a unique public figure meeting viewers at a dire time for public broadcasting. His name is synonymous with public televisions mission statement to serve the American public with programming and services of the highest quality, using media to educate, inspire, entertain and express a diversity of perspectives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burns Seattle visit happened days before the Senate approved the White Houses request to claw back nearly $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the private, nonprofit corporation that provides funding to National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. Two Republicans, Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine, joined Democrats to oppose the rescission measure, which passed 51-to-48 early Thursday morning. The House is expected to grant final approval by Thursday evening. Once it receives President Trumps signature, the CPB will be defunded for the first time since Congress established it in 1967. These cuts will significantly impact all of our stations, but will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas, said PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger in a statement released on Thursday morning. Many of our stations which provide access to free unique local programming and emergency alerts will now be forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead. Days before this happened, I wondered aloud how many public TV viewers were attending his appearances in the hope of receiving some consolation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont know if our obligation is to provide reassurance, other than to be calling balls and strikes, Burns answered. I mean, you dont turn to the umpire whos been calling you out and say, Will you ever say this is a ball and not a strike? Or, Do you think we have a chance to win? I think what you do is, you just look to the fact that the process goes on . . . that things change and are constantly changing. Calm as this may read, Burns is under no delusions concerning what PBS and NPR are facing. I just think its so incredibly short-sighted that you would take something that is so central to almost every citizen and gut it kill it in many areas, particularly rural areas, he said. It seems the opposite of what youd want to do, to provide such extraordinary services just beyond childrens and primetime. The pursuit of happiness that our founders meant was not the pursuit of objects in a marketplace of things, but lifelong learning, Burns observed. PBS is a marketplace of ideas. So this is our role, and to create citizens is to create a population thats virtuous and actively participating in whatever citizenship means. And thats the ongoing revolution. (PBS) Ken Burns Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Support from the CPB and other federal sources amounts to 15% of PBS overall funding, most of which flows to more than 330 member stations. NPR derives around 1% of its annual budget from those sources. In turn, those PBS member stations and the more than 1,200 public radio stations that broadcast NPR content pay licensing fees and dues that are in part used to support national programs such as All Things Considered. On May 1, President Trump issued an executive order titled Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media, placing supporters of NPR and PBS on high alert. Not long after Trump issued his order, Burns expressed faith that PBS would survive and thrive during an interview with Axios, adding, I think it will be a voice of sanity in the midst of a lot of cacophony thats out there. That was before the GOP-controlled House of Representatives narrowly approved legislation to eliminate federal funding for the CPB in June. Prior to his appearance in Seattle, Burns promotional voyage for The American Revolution had already taken him to major cities on the East Coast, including historically relevant locales like Boston and Monticello in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he spoke on the Fourth of July. Following a West Coast round, Burns will bring the film to NYC, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington, DC, all prior to the series mid-autumn premiere on PBS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stations in larger American cities like these will likely survive, but may need to lay off staff. Many stations in rural communities wont make it. On Monday, The New York Times shared details from a 2011 internal NPR report estimating that if Congress cuts funding to the public radio system, broadcasters in the Midwest, South and the West would be most affected. The report also estimates that as many as 30% of listeners would lose access to NPR programming, and up to 18% of its member stations would be shuttered. In addition to being 14 years old, this information largely predates the demise of local media in rural areas. Todays PBS member stations would likely cut their homegrown productions first, including their newsrooms, some of which are the only source for community information in their towns. Well begin to see these impacts most acutely in October, which is when payments from CPBs cancelled 2025-2027 fiscal appropriations were set to be distributed.(Congress originally approved these funds in March 2025.) Which is to say, by the time The American Revolution premieres in November, there may be fewer stations broadcasting it. The six-part docuseries, which Burns co-directed and produced with Sarah Botstein and David Schmidt, who joined him in Seattle, may be his most ambitious undertaking yet. It recreates the war through the perspectives of Continental soldiers, militiamen, British officers, and American Loyalists, as well as Native soldiers and civilians, enslaved and free African Americans, German mercenaries and French and Spanish allies. And, of course, common people who bore witness. Presenting The Americana Revolution feels timely urgent, even owing to this administrations brute force efforts to revise Americas history and laws in ways that would have made the nations founders recoil. Many politically precarious eras in our history would have done that, Burns reminded me. Nevertheless, I think there have been three great crises since the creation of the United States: the Civil War, the Depression and World War II, he said. I think were in the fourth, and I think its as existentially serious as anything weve been through. I dont know how it will turn out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, he believes a lot of Americans want our democracy, as they once knew it, to survive. The majority of Americans also believe NPR and PBS should survive 43%, according to a Pew Research survey released in March. That number includes Democrats and Republicans. (33% say they are not sure.) I believe that whatever happens, it will take years to repair the damage thats been done in seven months, Burns said. And I think that thats our job, wherever youre able to do it. Burns has often maintained that he could earn a lot more money by making documentaries for production companies or streaming services. But only PBS gives him the space and time to carefully craft substantial works like The American Revolution and his other series, so he intends to stay there. Burns also knows his profile allows him to fundraise for his productions with more success than less established filmmakers may face, and that worries him. Central to the Republican argument for defunding public media, I pointed out, is that private funders such as philanthropists and corporations would step in to save shows like Nature, Nova and other flagship programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I cant predict the future, but I also think theres a little bit of cannibalization implied by your question, he responded. Automatically, because we cant solve the big wolf at the door, were going to start saying, OK, so how much of the food are you going to get? And, how much of the food are you going to get?' Were all in this together, he added, There has to be just complete and utter solidarity. Otherwise, the hand-wringing will be legitimate. Start your day with essential news from Salon. Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course. When Burns and Schmidt took the stage in Seattle with historian Alan Taylor, one of their films advisors, they were met with raucous applause. Burns, in fact, received a standing ovation simply for coming out to introduce the hour-long montage of clips that preceded a question-and-answer segment moderated by The Atlantics senior editor Vann Newkirk II. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such appreciation is certainly gratifying. Even so, as I watched viewers like you and me joyfully greet him, I recalled what Burns shared about his recent three-hour sit-down with Joe Rogan. After recording that podcast episode, Burns heard from some of Rogans listeners who admitted theyd never heard of him before, but intended to watch his past series with family. I went, This is better than, Oh, youre a national treasure, Youre great, I love everything youve done, he said. . . . I just thought, OK, hallelujah, one person. Maybe there were six people, or whatever it is its a start. To have that kind of conversation is much more important than ratifying our anxiety, or ratifying the fact that the sky is falling, or agreeing that this is the worst ever. Burns concluded, The biggest thing is the enthusiasm for the possibility that this origin story, told in a complicated way, could be a way back to putting, as weve said ad nauseum, the us back in the U.S. The American Revolution premieres Sunday, November 16 and airs over six consecutive nights on PBS member stations. The post Ken Burns meets Americas latest crisis appeared first on Salon.com. KENTUCKY (FOX 56) Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman has filed a lawsuit against Temu, accusing the company of unlawful data collection. According to a news release, the lawsuit was filed Thursday in Woodford County, alleging the Temu app has been unlawfully collecting data, violating customers privacy, and counterfeiting some of Kentuckys most iconic brands The complaint alleges that Temu: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Illegally collects users data without their knowledge and consent; Allows unfettered access of that data to the Chinese Communist government; Steals the intellectual property of U.S.-owned companies, including some of Kentuckys most iconic brands including the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Buffalo Trace Distillery and Churchill Downs; and Uses forced labor from Chinese ethnic minorities in clear violation of U.S. trade policies. Temu is owned by the Chinese holding company PDD Holdings. PDD Holdings first retail app, Pinduoduo, was banned from U.S. app stores for allegedly containing malware. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Coleman said the Temu app shares a significant amount of its code with the original Pinduoduo app and has a documented relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Temus cheap products and flashy marketing hide real danger. Their platform can infect Kentuckians devices with malware, steal their personal data and send it directly to the Chinese government, Coleman said. At the same time, theyre eroding trust in some of Kentuckys most iconic brands, which could lead to job losses and hardship. Kentuckians need a strong defense against this aggression, and thats exactly what the Attorney Generals Office intends to do. The lawsuit said Temu is notorious for various forms of consumer fraud, including advertising items that bear no resemblance to the actual products that arrive, falsifying customer reviews, and using consumers payment information to order items without their consent. Read more of the latest Kentucky news Read the full complaint 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 56 News. WICKLIFFE, Ky. (FOX 56) A Ballard County Jail inmate has been charged after allegedly attempting to escape the facility and assaulting two corrections employees. Kentucky State Police said at 10:50 p.m. on July 11, the Ballard County Sheriffs Office asked for help investigating an incident at the Ballard County Jail. The sheriffs office reported that an inmate had attempted to escape and assaulted two deputy jailers in the process of attempting to escape. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Troopers responded to the jail and began an investigation. According to KSPs preliminary investigation, 32-year-old Jeremy Lynn entered the control room of the Ballard County Jail, and allegedly assaulted a corrections employee and attempted to unlock doors from within the control room. He allegedly assaulted a second corrections employee who entered the control room before he was taken back into custody. Lynn, of Lovelaceville, was arrested and charged with first-degree escape (attempt) and two counts of third-degree assault (inmate assault on correctional employee). aa He remains lodged at the Ballard County Jail. LATEST KENTUCKY LISTS AND RANKINGS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kentucky State Police said neither correctional employee required medical attention. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) The 2026 Election is already underway, as candidates throw their names in the ring for local, state and federal offices. Wednesday morning, Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains announced her run for Californias 22nd Congressional District. 17 Political Reporter Jenny Huh sat down with Bains for a candidate profile. CD-22 is one of the most contentious house races nationwide, each election cycle, without fail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The big question for 2026 will Bains be the Democratic candidate? This is about being a doctor whos taking her oath to the highest level to protect her community, said Bains of her decision to throw her hat in the ring. The assemblywoman just re-elected to her second term in Californias 35th Assembly District is now eyeing the title of congresswoman. 17s Jenny Huh: Did you feel like 2026 was really your year to run, just given that health care, your expertise is front and center? Asm. Dr. Jasmeet Bains: I never signed up for this to be a career politician. Im a doctor. Things lined up in a way that this community needs their doctor. When I first got elected and I brought in about $10 million for the fentanyl task force, one of the things we did with it was open up a detox option for people on Medicaid, Bains recalled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speculation of Bains congressional run began with Congress considering President Donald Trumps Big Beautiful Bill. On the chopping block billions in funding to health care programs like Medicaid. And in the hot seat David Valadao, who ultimately voted with his party in passing the bill. The beginning of this year, a lot of people were asking me, are you going to run? Are you going to run? And I waited. I waited to see if he would do the right thing and put the I mean, we all have seen David Valadao do that before, Bains said. Like, she noted, when he was one of 10 House Republicans that voted to impeach Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When you vote to impeach Trump? That brought nothing back to the district. That didnt put food on the table. That was politics. Jara standoff: Police feared county supervisors husband wanted officers to shoot him Bains went as far as to say when Valadao faced off against 2018 Democratic challenger TJ Cox and lost, she had actually voted for the congressman. Cox, after just a term, was charged with fraud. The 40-year-old Bains is a family doctor at the Delano branch of Adventist Health. During the week, Bains is in session in Sacramento. During the weekend, shes back in the district at her clinic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im a doctor, and this community saw a doctor that put the people over politics over and over and over again, Bains said. I have bucked my own party. Most notably, Bains in her first term was the lone Democrat to vote against Gov. Gavin Newsoms bill to prevent price-gouging by oil companies and was temporarily stripped of a committee assignment. Recently, in the two special legislative sessions addressing the states gas prices, she was the only Democrat to oppose both measures, though the bills eventually passed. Kern County has been bullied by both sides. Its been bullied by the Republicans and bullied by the Democrats. We need someone thats going to stand up for the Valley, Bains said. Running for Congress, especially in a race like this. Its not easy. You know how ugly its going to get. Im going to get beat up from both sides. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CD-22 has a history of being one of the most expensive, contested congressional races nationwide, with the House majority running right through it. Its described as a moderate district majority Latino, leans Democrat, yet a Republican has been reelected time and time again. 17s Jenny Huh: Do you feel like voter turnout is really the problem or has it, quite frankly, just been weak candidates, weak messaging about your party? Asm. Dr. Jasmeet Bains: Thats a really good question. And its both. Yes, we have some of the worst voter turnout in the state here, right here. But at the same time, what is it that gets voters to turn out? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Again, its health care, Bains underscored. She also pointed out that her people have, historically, shown up when it matters. She cited the labor rights movement founded in Delano and the national impact it carried. It all depends on a community believing in someone, she said. Instead of doing more to strengthen health care, we cut it by a trillion dollars? Bains said. I stutter saying that because through my eyes as a doctor, I and every doctor in this community, every health care worker, every nurse, every person thats on the frontlines of health care in this community sees whats about to happen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She also noted a direct impact of the bill when it comes to her work at the state capitol. My biggest dream for this community was my UC, the Kern medical school, Bains said. Well within the Big Beautiful Bill is a tax on endowment funds that Congressman David Valadao voted for. Bains said as the bill made its way through Congress, it was actually her patients that asked her to do something, amid looming health care cuts. Her work about being a party loyalist because the issue of health care will only get worse, the congresswoman hopeful said. The daughter of immigrants from India, Bains was born in Cleveland but grew up in Delano. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shes fluent in English, Spanish, Punjabi. She was the first South Asian woman elected to the California Legislature and first Sikh American in California state office. Bains cannot run for CD-22 and reelection to her AD-35 simultaneously. So, shes taking the risk of being out of office, if she did not advance past the June primary or emerge victorious in November. If thats the case, Bains said, she can be found, Right back in that clinic in Delano providing care. Also in the candidate pool is fellow Democrat Randy Villegas viewed as the more progressive candidate. Click here for the full interview with Jasmeet Bains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Click here for the full interview with Randy Villegas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News. BEIRUT (AP) Clashes that shook southern Syria this week killed hundreds of people, including civilians, and drew in an array of local and international players, harking back to the dynamics of the country's yearslong civil war. The violence underscored the difficulties facing the Syrian new government struggling to consolidate control over the country, months after Islamist-led insurgents ousted longtime autocrat Bashar Assad in a lightning offensive last December. Some key players and alliances in Syria are different now than during the civil war, but the landscape remains complex. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's a look at the main parties in the four days of violence in Sweida province before a ceasefire mediated by the United States, Turkey and Arab countries took effect. The truce mostly held on Thursday, though scattered violence was reported. The government Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa leads the new government and is Syria's international face. His Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, once an al-Qaida affiliate that later split from it, spearheaded the anti-Assad charge. Since taking power, al-Sharaa has taken a more moderate tone, preached coexistence and formed diplomatic ties with Western countries, including the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His government has faced suspicion from minority communities including Assad's Alawite sect, Christians, Syrian Kurds and the Druze and there have been outbreaks of sectarian violence. Damascus also struggles to turn a patchwork of former rebel groups including some extremists into a professional army. In Sweida, al-Sharaa's government forces intervened in clashes that started between local Bedouin tribes and Druze militias, but ended up themselves clashing with the Druze, drawing Israeli airstrikes, purportedly in defense of the Druze. Some government fighters allegedly killed Druze civilians, and looted and burned houses. The Druze The Druze sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Others mostly live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During Syria's civil war, the Druze were split between supporting Assad, who offered them a degree of autonomy and exemption from army conscription, and his opposition. They established their own militias, partly to defend against Islamic militants who consider them heretics. Until this week's clashes, the Druze were split between those who wanted to integrate with the new government and those seeking to maintain autonomy. The Bedouins While predominantly Druze, Sweida is also home to Bedouin tribes who are Sunni Muslim and who have on occasion clashed with the Druze. In 2000, unrest broke out after a Bedouin killed a Druze man in a land dispute. Assad's forces intervened, shooting Druze protesters. After a 2018 Islamic State group attack on the Druze in Sweida that killed more than 200 people, the Druze accused the Bedouins of helping the militants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest escalation began with a Bedouin tribe in Sweida setting up a checkpoint and attacking and robbing a Druze man, which triggered tit-for-tat attacks and kidnappings, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor. Al-Sharaa's forces then intervened, ostensibly to restore calm, but sided with the Bedouins. Some Druze groups allegedly carried out revenge attacks against Bedouins after a ceasefire was reached. Israel Israel frequently launched strikes on Iranian and Iran-backed forces who were Assad's allies during Syria's civil war. Since Assad's fall, Israel has been suspicious of the new Islamist authorities in Damascus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli forces seized have control of a U.N.-patrolled buffer zone in Syria and carried out airstrikes on military sites in what officials they was a move to create a demilitarized zone south of Damascus. Washington has been pushing for Syria and Israel to move toward normalizing relations. Syrian officials have acknowledged holding indirect talks with Israel to defuse tensions. Israel stepped up its intervention during the Sweida escalation this week, saying it was acting to protect the Druze, who are seen as a loyal minority in Israel and often serve in the military. Israel launched dozens of airstrikes on convoys of Syrian forces around Sweida and struck the headquarters of the Syrian Ministry of Defense in the heart of Damascus. The U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a watershed moment, President Donald Trump met with al-Sharaa during a visit to Saudi Arabia in May, a major boost from Washington as the new Damascus authorities try to consolidate control. Amid the Sweida violence, the U.S., which has been pushing to broker ties between Syria and Israel, launched a flurry of diplomacy to push for a ceasefire. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the U.S. was very worried about the violence, describing it as a direct threat to efforts to help build a peaceful and stable Syria, and added that Washington was in repeated and constant talks with the governments of Syria and Israel to deescalate. Turkey Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turkey, an ally of both the U.S. and al-Sharaa's government, was also part of the mediation efforts over Sweida. Ankara wants a strong state in Damascus and is primarily concerned with curtailing the influence of Kurdish groups in Syria along the border with Turkey specifically, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF. While the Kurdish SDF fighters are allied with the U.S. and were key in defeating the Islamic State militants, Ankara considers them terrorists because of their association with the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which has waged a long-running insurgency in Turkey. The Kurdish-led forces Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Kurdish-led SDF controls much of northeast Syria and was not part of the Sweida violence. But its fighters have in the past clashed with Turkish-backed groups that are now part of the new Syrian government forces. In March, the SDF and Damascus signed a landmark deal backed by Washington under which the Kurdish-led forces would merge with the new Syrian national army. The deal also said Syria's border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, as well as airports and oil fields in the northeast that are now under the SDF control would be turned over to the central government. But the details of the deal were left vague, and the two sides have been at odds over how to implement it. The Sweida escalation could further sideline those discussions. (NewsNation) Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., said Wednesday that previously hidden KGB files on President John F. Kennedys assassination will be released to the American public in the fall. Luna told NewsNations CUOMO the Soviet intelligence files reportedly show the KGB observed Lee Harvey Oswald during his time in Russia and determined he was not a good shot. Luna said multiple witnesses told the Warren Commission and other investigators that Oswald was not seen in the Texas School Book Depository, the location from which the fatal shots were allegedly fired. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newly declassified files suggest CIA cover-up on details about JFK death Rep. Luna says CIA files prove cover-up in JFK assassination The congresswoman, who is the chairwoman of the Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets, said that newly released CIA documents provide evidence the agency engaged in a cover-up of Kennedys assassination and lied to Congress about its association with Oswald. She said the Joannides Files released by the CIA under Director John Ratcliffe, reveal Oswald was in contact with and being observed by the CIA in the weeks leading up to Kennedys Nov. 22, 1963, assassination in Dallas. This was probably one of the biggest breaks in the JFK assassination in the last 60 years, Luna said. It disproves the lone gunman theory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The documents allegedly show that George Joannides, a CIA operative, used a cover name and lied to Congress while serving as a liaison between congressional investigations and the CIA. Luna said Joannides was later awarded by the CIA for intentionally stonewalling investigations into the assassination. Luna cited witness testimony stating Kennedy was shot from both the front and back, indicating multiple shooters. She also claimed the Warren Commission omitted evidence from its investigation. The assassination of Kennedy has been the subject of numerous investigations and conspiracy theories over the past six decades. The Warren Commission concluded in 1964 that Oswald acted alone in killing the president. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. KILLEEN, Texas (FOX 44) A mans death is under investigation by Killeen Police Department Robbery-Homicide Unit detectives. Officers were dispatched to the 1500 block of N. 8th Street at approximately 9:46 a.m. Wednesday in reference to an unconscious person. When they arrived, they found a man dead inside of a dumpster. Police say the man did not have any visible signs of trauma. Justice of the Peace Gregory Johnson ordered an autopsy to be performed at the Southwest Institute of Forensic Science in Dallas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is no known threat to the public. The community is not believed to be in any immediate danger. Police say detectives are asking residents and businesses in the area to check their surveillance footage for any people or vehicles in the area over the past two days. If you have video or information that could assist the investigation, please use the QR code provided below or contact the Killeen Police Department at 254-501-8800. (Courtesy: Killeen 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 KWKT - FOX 44. (Bloomberg) -- Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. raised its outlook for 2025 revenue growth, shoring up investors confidence in the momentum of the global AI spending spree. Most Read from Bloomberg The worlds biggest contract chipmaker on Thursday forecast sales growth of about 30% in US dollar terms this year, up from mid-20% previously. That reinforced expectations that tech firms from Meta Platforms Inc. to Google will keep spending to build the data centers essential to artificial intelligence development. TSMCs American depositary receipts gained as much as 4.3% after markets opened in New York, while top supplier ASML Holding NV rose as much as 3.5%. TSMCs move underscores resilient demand for high-end chips from the likes of Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., which is outpacing its production capacity. Chief Executive Officer C.C. Wei affirmed on Thursday that AI orders still run hot seeking to dispel persistent speculation that tech firms may curtail spending. While he stressed that underlying AI demand is strengthening, the uncertainty around the Trump administrations tariffs merited caution. This is supporting the AI value chain, and AI optimism still holds, said Billy Leung, investment strategist at Global X ETFs in Sydney. For investors, TSMC results again ease fears of an AI slowdown. Margins hold, demand outlook good, generally reinforces the AI buildout is still well underway. Investors have piled back into AI-linked companies, shaking off a funk that settled in after Chinas DeepSeek cast doubt on whether the likes of Amazon.com Inc. needed to spend that much money on data centers. Last week, Nvidia became the first company in history to hit a $4 trillion valuation, underscoring investors renewed enthusiasm for companies like TSMC that are key to building the infrastructure for AI. TSMC wasnt hiking its outlook on news the US is prepared to grant Nvidia licenses to export its H20 AI chip to China, Wei told reporters. While that resumption in sales was positive for the industry, it was too early to quantify the impact, he added. A day before TSMCs results, ASML triggered anxiety across markets by walking back its own growth forecast for 2026. Geopolitics and the global economy are sources of increasing uncertainty, Chief Executive Officer Christophe Fouquet said. Its shares dropped more than 11%. NASHVILLE, Tennessee A key court hearing recessed Wednesday without resolving a mystery about whether the Trump administration intends to keep prosecuting Kilmar Abrego Garcia or will attempt to abruptly deport him before a jury can decide his fate. The crucial question arose at the end of a two-and-a-half hour court session where a federal judge mulled whether Abrego, a Salvadoran man deported illegally from the U.S. in March to a notorious anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador, should be detained as he awaits trial on immigrant smuggling charges. The charges were filed in May, as the administration grappled with court orders requiring it to seek Abregos return from El Salvador. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw, Jr. made no rulings, but he seemed inclined to order Abregos release from criminal custody as the smuggling case against him proceeds. He suggested there were weaknesses in the governments case, particularly its reliance on three cooperating witnesses with family ties. That relationship raised the possibility theyd coordinated their stories, the judge noted. Theyre family. Family talk, said Crenshaw, an Obama appointee. Crenshaw also said he was having a hard time understanding prosecutors argument that there were no conditions under which Abrego, who has no criminal record, could be released without endangering the community or making it likely he would flee. However, the twists and turns of the Abrego saga mean that Crenshaws decision may not ultimately control whether the Salvadoran man who lived in Maryland for about a decade after he entered the U.S. illegally in 2012 walks free or even whether he remains in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Litigation over those questions is raging instead in another federal courthouse about 600 miles from here in Greenbelt, Maryland, where a judge is considering blocking the Trump administration from immediately re-deporting Abrego if hes released. That judge, Paula Xinis, indicated she planned to rule before Crenshaws hearing, but did not do so. Xinis, also an Obama appointee, has strongly hinted that she plans to put in place an order requiring the administration to give Abrego at least two business days notice before attempting to deport him again. In recent weeks, Justice Department attorneys repeatedly said theyll seek to expel Abrego from the U.S. likely to a country other than El Salvador if he is granted release by the court overseeing his criminal case. However, spokespeople for the White House and DOJ insisted theyre committed to the criminal case rather than deportation. Defense attorney Sean Hecker raised that uncertainty at the conclusion of the bail hearing Wednesday, asking if U.S. Attorney Robert McGuire could clarify Immigration and Customs Enforcements plans for Abrego if hes released while trial preparations proceed. However, McGuire did not respond before Crenshaw ended the Wednesday hearing by saying he doesnt expect to rule on the bail issue until next week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A federal magistrate judge already ordered Abrego released in the criminal case last month, but the administration appealed the decision and Abrego took the unusual step of asking to remain incarcerated for now to ensure hes not subject to snap deportation proceedings upon his release. The Trump administration deported Abrego without warning to El Salvador in March, labeling him a member of the violent MS-13 gang. But Abrego, who denies any gang connections, had been protected from deportation to his home country by a 2019 immigration court order finding he would likely be subject to violence at the hands of Barrio 18, another local gang. Despite lower courts and the Supreme Court finding the deportation illegal, the Trump administration resisted court orders to secure Abregos return. Then, in June, the administration abruptly returned Abrego to the United States, announcing at a nationally televised press conference that prosecutors had secretly secured a grand jury indictment, charging Abrego with immigrant smuggling. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The hearing Wednesday produced some new evidence against Abrego, including call logs that prosecutors say show him calling the man who allegedly ran the smuggling operation, Jose Hernandez-Reyes, on the night in November 2022 when Tennessee state troopers stopped Abrego as he drove an SUV with nine Hispanic men on Interstate 40 near Cookeville, Tennessee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors also said Abrego called from a phone number that was registered to Abregos wife and saved in the contacts of Hernandez-Reyes phone under Kitmar Chofer. Chofer means driver in Spanish. Data discussed at the hearing also shows the phone moved through Texas, Arkansas and Missouri in the lead-up to the traffic stop, which did not immediately result in charges or even a ticket. Abrego can be seen in a bodycam video telling a trooper that the men were working in construction in St. Louis. It appears to travel really nowhere close to St. Louis, McGuire said, referencing the phone and arguing that Abrego lied to the troopers. A Homeland Security Investigations agent who testified Wednesday, Peter Joseph, also said hed been told an alarming story by one woman who has said she aided the smuggling operation. That woman said she cooked for and ate meals in her Houston home with men involved in the enterprise and heard Abrego confess to a murder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was an occasion where the defendant stated he fled El Salvador because he had taken part in the murder of a rival gang members mother, Joseph said the woman told him. However, Joseph said efforts by him and other investigators to confirm that story have been unsuccessful and no one else interviewed by authorities has reported hearing it. Were trying, he said. We dont have a date or region, and obviously there were a lot of murders that took place in El Salvador over the last decade or so. Abregos defense scored some points at the hearing by making aspects of the investigation look slipshod or incomplete. For instance, Joseph said he didnt read three earlier law enforcement reports on statements by Abregos alleged boss before interviewing the man. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was interested in what he said when he talked to me, Joseph said. Under questioning by Crenshaw, Joseph also said he hadnt asked the three informants who are related whether theyd coordinated their testimony. McGuire suggested Hernandez-Reyes and the female family member are not on good terms. Hecker also briefly mentioned Ben Schrader, a high-ranking federal prosecutor in Nashville who abruptly quit his position on the same day in May that the indictment against Abrego was returned. Under questioning by Hecker, Joseph acknowledged that at the interview of Hernandez-Reyes in early May, Schrader was among those present. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Did he participate in any subsequent interviews? Hecker asked. No, Joseph said. He said he did not know why, although there have been national and local press reports about Schraders departure and ABC News reported the high-ranking assistant U.S. attorney quit over the handling of Abregos case. Schrader has not responded to requests for comment. Gerstein reported from Nashville. Cheney reported from Washington, D.C. Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Abrego Garcia, arrives at the Fred D. Thompson Federal Courthouse on July 16, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee (Photo" John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout) Kilmar Abrego Garcia will remain incarcerated in Tennessee for at least another week after a federal judge heard prosecutors arguments that he poses a flight risk and a danger to the community if released. U.S. District Court Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. said Wednesday he would make a decision as early as next week on the pretrial release of Abrego, a Maryland resident who was wrongly dispatched to a notorious prison in El Salvador as part of the Trump administrations mass deportation plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abrego was brought to Nashville in June to face two criminal human smuggling charges tied to a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop. The grand jury indictments against Abrego were brought even as his deportation case drew national attention, and after the Supreme Court ordered Trump administration officials to facilitate his return from El Salvador. Abrego, 29, has pleaded not guilty to the Tennessee charges. What would immediately happen to Abrego should Crenshaw order his pretrial release in Tennessee remains an open question. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, in a separate Maryland case centered on Abregos wrongful deportation, said they planned to take him into custody immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE officials said they may then send him to a third country. Abrego, a Salvadoran national who entered the U.S. illegally nearly 15 years ago, has an active immigration case that includes an order barring U.S. officials from returning him to El Salvador due to fears of gang violence. Wednesdays hearing was the third in recent weeks to review the pretrial release of Abrego, who sat next to his attorneys in an orange jumpsuit for the hours-long hearing. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, attended the hearing. Last month, Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes ruled Abrego was not a flight risk or a community danger, setting certain conditions for his release that included ankle monitoring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Holmes subsequently agreed to a request by Abregos attorneys to temporarily keep him detained while they sought assurances from the government that he would not be deported. Crenshaw on Wednesday heard the prosecutions appeal of Holmes release order. The judge appeared, at times, skeptical of the governments arguments to keep Abrego detained, including allegations that Abrego is a member of the notorious MS-13 gang. Crenshaw noted there is a high bar in federal court that evidence be clear and convincing to warrant pretrial detention. The proof on MS-13 in and of itself does not meet clear and convincing, Crenshaw said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Jennifer Vasquez Sura, wife of Abrego Garcia, arrives at the Fred Thompson Federal Courthouse on July 16, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photograph by John Partipilo/Tennessee Lookout 2025) Kilmar Abrego Garcia will remain incarcerated in Tennessee for at least another week after a federal judge heard prosecutors arguments that he poses a flight risk and a danger to the community if released. U.S. District Court Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw Jr. said Wednesday he would make a decision as early as next week on the pretrial release of Abrego, a Maryland resident who was wrongly dispatched to a notorious prison in El Salvador as part of the Trump administrations mass deportation plans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Abrego was brought to Nashville in June to face two criminal human smuggling charges tied to a 2022 Tennessee traffic stop. The grand jury indictments against Abrego were brought even as his deportation case drew national attention, and after the Supreme Court ordered Trump administration officials to facilitate his return from El Salvador. Abrego, 29, has pleaded not guilty to the Tennessee charges. What would immediately happen to Abrego should Crenshaw order his pretrial release in Tennessee remains an open question. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials, in a separate Maryland case centered on Abregos wrongful deportation, said they planned to take him into custody immediately. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE officials said they may then send him to a third country. Abrego, a Salvadoran national who entered the U.S. illegally nearly 15 years ago, has an active immigration case that includes an order barring U.S. officials from returning him to El Salvador due to fears of gang violence. Wednesdays hearing was the third in recent weeks to review the pretrial release of Abrego, who sat next to his attorneys in an orange jumpsuit for the hours-long hearing. His wife, Jennifer Vasquez Sura, attended the hearing. Last month, Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes ruled Abrego was not a flight risk or a community danger, setting certain conditions for his release that included ankle monitoring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Holmes subsequently agreed to a request by Abregos attorneys to temporarily keep him detained while they sought assurances from the government that he would not be deported. Crenshaw on Wednesday heard the prosecutions appeal of Holmes release order. The judge appeared, at times, skeptical of the governments arguments to keep Abrego detained, including allegations that Abrego is a member of the notorious MS-13 gang. Crenshaw noted there is a high bar in federal court that evidence be clear and convincing to warrant pretrial detention. The proof on MS-13 in and of itself does not meet clear and convincing, Crenshaw said. This story first appeared in the Tennessee Lookout, a member with the Phoenix in the nonprofit States Newsroom. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Noteworthy Hawaiian food company Kings Hawaiian announced it will invest about $54 million to expand its Oakwood facility, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemps office announced Thursday. The company is expected to create more than 135 jobs by adding a new production line at the 150,000-square-foot facility. For nearly 15 years, Kings Hawaiian has proven to be an incredible partner in creating quality jobs in northeast Georgia, and we look forward to even more years of great success for them in Hall County, Kemp said. Expansions like these are an important part of our economic development work, helping create further opportunities in growing communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company anticipates the new production line to become operational by the second quarter of 2026. It will produce additional flavors of Kings Hawaiian Pretzel Bites. This expansion represents a major milestone in our journey, and were thrilled to continue growing our ohana in Hall County, said Mark Taira, CEO of Kings Hawaiian. For 15 years, Georgia has been an essential part of our success. The support from Lanier Technical College, Georgia Quick Start, and the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce has been instrumental in helping us train and develop talent to grow our business. Kings Hawaiian was founded in 1950 in Hilo, Hawaii by the Taira family. The company started its Georgia presence in 2010 and it has since grown to support 800 jobs in the state. Tim Evans, president and CEO of the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce, said this is the sixth major expansion of the facility located in the Oakwood South Industrial Park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kings Hawaiian has become a cornerstone of our regional economy and a shining example of a company that invests in both business and community, Evans said. He said the county is especially proud of their ongoing support for youth and community programs, including the University of North Georgias First Generation Scholars, Junior Achievement, and Youth Leadership Hall. We look forward to continuing this remarkable partnership. The company will hire positions in management, maintenance, food safety, and quality control. Interested individuals can learn more and apply at kingshawaiian.com/careers. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A Kings Mountain couple said they are fortunate to be alive after their car went airborne and sailed down a 50-foot embankment last week. ALSO READ: 3 young men rescue two women from submerged vehicle Firefighters in Gaston County repelled down from a ladder truck to get them out. I think God had his hands on us, said Becky Shockley. Danny and Becky Shockley went to Dallas. Danny Shockley had Benadryl for a bee sting, which he thinks attributed to the crash on Dallas Bessemer City Highway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I didnt even know I ran off the edge of the road until she hollered, Danny Shockly said. A witness said the car went about 12 feet airborne. (A) metal sign come right through where the mirror was, came right by my head, Danny Shockley said. They stopped about 15 feet away from the road and 50 feet down a steep embankment. I could see nothing but kudzu. The car was covered, Danny Shockley said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A friend, who witnessed it, called 911. Firefighters said crashes, such as this, usually dont end well, especially with an 83-year-old driver and a 77-year-old passenger in a vehicle. Firefighters repelled to them. They would have had no chance at getting straight up this hill, said Capt. Lucas Rollins, Gastonia Fire Department. I said, Here comes spiderman with the basket, and then he got me up, said Becky Shockley. She called them heroes. (They) saved us. Got us out of that hole, she said. Danny Shockley had a fractured vertebra. His wife only had scratches. They were just glad to have help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were every receptive. They were ready to get up out of there, said Matthew Quarles, Gastonia Fire Department. Those firefighters were wonderful, Becky Shockley said. The Shockleys are home recovering. Danny Shockley is still able to get around despite his injury. Theyre both happy to be alive. VIDEO: Flash flooding in Foothills prompts swift water rescue teams to deploy A 65-year-old Kingston resident was charged with reckless driving and fleeing police after a 16-mile chase, according to Pennsylvania State Police. On July 14, state police responded to the report of a gray 2008 Nissan Altima traveling east on I-78 in Swatara Township with a missing front left tire. Officers said they intercepted the vehicle, which traveled at high speeds without regard for traffic lanes or public safety. "A tire deflation device was deployed and the vehicle became disabled in the grass median of I-78 in Upper Tulpehocken Township, Berks County," police said in a release Wednesday. "The sole occupant refused all commands to put the vehicle in park and exit the vehicle." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The operator continued to spin the tires, resulting in a small fire that was extinguished by local fire crews. Officers said that several state police units surrounded the vehicle and extricated Anthony Pacovsky Jr. by force from the Altima. Pacovsky's charges include fleeing or attempting to elude an officer, resisting arrest and reckless driving. State police said he was transported to Reading Hospital for treatment of undetermined apparent medical distress. Matthew Toth is a reporter for the Lebanon Daily News. Reach him at mtoth@ldnews.com or on X at @DAMattToth. This article originally appeared on Lebanon Daily News: Police: Kingston man charged after chase in Lebanon, Berks counties Jul. 17WILKES-BARRE A Kingston man convicted by a Luzerne County jury on multiple charges related to soliciting a teenage boy for sex was sentenced Thursday to state prison. Judge Michael T. Vough sentenced Dusty Erron Fulkersin, 32, to 11 years, four months to 22 years, eight months on charges of criminal solicitation to commit statutory sexual assault, criminal solicitation to commit involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, criminal use of communication facility and two counts of criminal attempt to commit unlawful contact with a minor. A jury convicted Fulkersin on the charges after deliberating for 90 minutes following a one day trial in March. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kingston police charged Fulkersin based on information supplied by a "cooperating witness" who is not identified in court records. Court records say the cooperating witness was on a social media app portraying himself as a 15-year-old boy. The cooperating witness accepted an invitation from Fulkersin who requested to meet to perform a lewd sex act, court records say. Fulkersin also sent nude pictures of himself and instructed the cooperating witness to meet him at a Zerby Avenue, Kingston, residence where he was confronted on the front porch on May 19, 2024, according to court records. Court records say online conversations from Fulkersin involved sexual acts he wanted to perform and receive. Fulkersin is subject to lifetime registration of his address under the state's Sexual Offender Registration and Notification Act. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) Here are the top headlines from this morning. A former nurse from Onawa, Iowa was sentenced to more than three years in federal prison for stealing pain medications from nursing home residents, burglarizing multiple residences, committing bank fraud and possessing a firearm as a felon. Former Iowa nurse sentenced to federal prison Today, two events will be held in Sioux City to show support for nonprofit organizations and public education in Siouxland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sweetgrass Uprising & Siouxland Good Troublemakers hosting human rights march A portion of the 11th Street bridge in Sioux City is closed until further notice. Portion of 11th Street bridge closed Watch more stories in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. Hoosiers in upwards of 25 cities across Indiana will exercise their First Amendment rights during the "Good Trouble Lives On" demonstrations happening this week around the country. For those planning to join the rallies, here's what you should know about your protected rights and what actions should be avoided. First Amendment rights: What protesters can and can't do in Indiana Protesters are granted certain freedoms under the First Amendment, including the right to: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protest. Demonstrate, such as taking part in a rally or march Donate to groups and political candidates Get together with other people to talk about issues Amy Garrison yells to passing cars during a protest Sunday, July 13, 2025, outside Sure Foundation Baptist Church near Lafayette Road and West 30th Street in Indianapolis. Supporters of the LGBTQ+ community gathered to protest after a sermon was delivered at the church encouraging the deaths of those who identify as LGBTQ+. Jesus would not approve of this, ever, Garrison said. These rights come with limitations, however. Though not exhaustive, here are a few rules Hoosier protesters must follow, according to the ACLU of Indiana. Where can I protest? Your right to free speech is strongest in public spaces, such as streets, sidewalks and parks. You can typically speak out on other public property, like plazas in front of government buildings, as long as you are not blocking access to the building or interfering with any other purposes of the building. You must receive permission from the owner to protest on private property. The government cannot restrict your speech if you're protesting on your own private property. What about counterprotests? Counterprotests should receive the same rights as protests, and the two should be allowed within sight and sound of the other, but antagonistic groups should be separated. A Donald Trump supporter drives laps around the Indiana Statehouse as protesters chant and march on Saturday, June 14, 2025, during a 'No Kings' protest in Indianapolis. Can I video police and take photographs at a protest? You can photograph anything in plain view, including federal buildings and the police, while protesting on public property. You must get consent from the owner to photograph or film anything on private property. What happens if I'm stopped or detained for taking photographs? Always remain calm and never physically resist a police officer. Police cannot detain you without reasonable suspicion that you have or are about to commit a crime or are in the process of doing so. If you are stopped, ask the officer if you are free to leave. If the answer is yes, calmly walk away. If you are detained, ask the officer what crime you are suspected of committing, and remind the officer that taking photographs is your right under the First Amendment and does not constitute reasonable suspicion of criminal activity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Story continues after photo gallery. Do I need a permit? You don't need a permit to march on sidewalks or streets, as long as you are not blocking pedestrian or car traffic. Marches or parades that require blocking traffic or street closures, large rallies requiring the use of sound amplifying devices or rallies over a certain size may require permits. Permits cannot be denied because the event is controversial, filing procedures weren't followed in time before a breaking news event or the application fee was too high. Story continues after photo gallery. Things you can't do during a protest You cannot disrupt public order or harm others while protesting. You cannot incite imminent violence or crime while protesting. Can police disperse protests? Yes, police can shut down a protest through a dispersal order, according to the ACLU of Indiana, but it must be used as a last resort in the following situations: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When there's a clear and present danger of riot Disorder or interference with traffic Other immediate threats to public safety. If officers choose to do so, they must provide protesters a reasonable opportunity to comply with the order, including sufficient time and a clear, unobstructed exit path, ACLU says. Police should give demonstrators clear instructions concerning the dispersal order before they are arrested or charged with any crime, according to ACLU. This includes how much time demonstrators have to disperse, the consequences of failing to do so, and a clear exit route they can follow. Protesters chant and march on Saturday, June 14, 2025, during a 'No Kings' protest at the Indiana Statehouse in Indianapolis. What to do if you believe your rights have been violated The ACLU of Indiana suggests the following: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Write down everything you remember when you can, including the officers badge and patrol car numbers and the agency they work for. Get contact information for witnesses. Take photographs of any injuries. File a written complaint with the agencys internal affairs division or civilian complaint board. What to do at a protest if you are stopped by police Stay calm with your hands visible and point out that your actions are protected under the First Amendment. Ask if you are free to leave. If you are under arrest, ask why and request a lawyer. You have the right to make three phone calls. You do not have to consent to a search of yourself or your belongings, though police may "pat down" your clothing if they suspect you have a weapon. Police officers may not confiscate or demand to view your photographs or video without a warrant, nor may they delete any data. What are the 'Good Trouble Lives On' protests? The "Good Trouble Lives On" demonstrations are being held to protest recent actions by President Donald Trump and his administration. The organized demonstration borrows part of its name from the late Congressman John Lewis, and will involve gatherings across dozens of Indiana cities, including Indianapolis, Bloomington, Evansville and Fort Wayne. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The organizers of "Good Trouble Lives On" define the movement on their website as "a national day of action to respond to the attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration." The website urges readers to fight back against the recent "brazen rollback of civil rights," including attacks on voting rights, limiting freedom of protest and stripping of essential services. What does 'Good Trouble' mean? Using the term coined by Lewis, "Good Trouble" refers to the act of coming together peacefully to challenge injustice and create meaningful change, according to the site. A majority of the protests are scheduled on July 17, the fifth anniversary of Lewis' death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Story continues after photo gallery. When and where are protests in Indiana? The times and addresses of the July 17-19 protests scheduled in Indiana can be found below. Rallies without addresses are marked as private events, which can be joined via the Good Trouble Lives On website. Thursday, July 17 'Good Trouble' protests: Angola: 3-5:30 p.m. on July 17 @ 55 S. Public Square Bedford: 6-8 p.m. on July 17 @ 3315 16th St. Berne: 5-6 p.m. on July 17 @ U.S. 27 & Indiana 218 Bloomington: 5-7 p.m. on July 17 @ 100 W. Kirkwood Columbus: 6-7:30 p.m. on July 17 @ 123 Washington St. Corydon: Noon-2 p.m. on July 17 @ 300 N. Capitol Ave. Crown Point: 5-8 p.m. on July 17 @ Crown Point Courthouse Evansville: 6 p.m. on July 17 @ Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library McCollough branch Fort Wayne: 5:30-8 p.m. on July 17 @ Lawton Park Skatepark, 715 S. Calhoun St. Greencastle: 5:30-7:30 p.m. on July 17 @ Putnam County Courthouse. Greenfield: 4-6 p.m. on July 17 Greensburg: 6-7:30 p.m. on July 17 @ Decatur County Courthouse Highland: 5:30-6:30 p.m. on July 17 @ Highway of Flags Veterans Memorial, SE corner of Ridge & 41 Indianapolis: Noon-3 p.m. on July 17 @ Indiana Statehouse Lafayette: 6-7 p.m. on July 17 @ West Lafayette Public Library LaGrange: 4-6 p.m. on July 17 @ LaGrange County Courthouse Lawrenceburg: 6-8 p.m. on July 17 @ Corner of U.S. 50 & Walnut St. Liberty: 3-6 p.m. on July 17 @ W. Union St. & N. Main St. Muncie: 5:30-7 p.m. on July 17 @ Heekin Park (Meet at the Walk of Fame),1797 S. Hackley St. Pendleton: Noon-3 p.m. on July 17 @ Pedestrian Bridge, SR 38 & I-69 Peru: 5-7 p.m. on July 17 @ 225 E. Riverside Dr. South Bend: 5:30-7:30 p.m. on July 17 @ Howard Park Terre Haute: 6-7:30 p.m. on July 17 @ North Fairbanks Park Valparaiso: Noon-2 p.m. on July 17. Warsaw: 4-8 p.m. on July 17 @ Warsaw Community Library Warsaw: 5:30-7:30 p.m. on July 17 @ Center Lake parking lot (meet up location), 117 E. Canal St. Friday, July 18 'Good Trouble' protests: Auburn: 5:30-7:30 p.m. on July 18 @ DeKalb County Courthouse Saturday, July 19 'Good Trouble' protests: Indianapolis: Noon-2 p.m. on July 19 @ Birch Bayh Federal Building, 46 E Ohio St. Nashville: 10 a.m.-noon on July 19 @ Brown County Courthouse. Wabash: Noon-2 p.m. on July 19 @ Wabash County Courthouse, 1 Hill Street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More in Indiana politics: Gov. Braun hints state could intervene over Indy violence. 'Something's gotta give.' John Tufts covers trending news for IndyStar and Midwest Connect. Send him a news tip at JTufts@Gannett.com. Find him on BlueSky at JohnWritesStuff. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 'Good Trouble' rallies: Know your rights as protesters in Indiana The Brief Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell has announced his resignation after serving for nearly a decade He is focused on finishing out his time until he leaves the seat in November On July 15, police investigated a bomb threat at city hall. After an investigation, police said it was a swatting case KYLE, Texas - City of Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell announced his resignation on Tuesday. Mitchell has held the position for nearly a decade, making him the longest-serving mayor in Kyle. Kyle Mayor Travis Mitchell speaks out Local perspective Kyle City Mayor Travis Mitchell is stepping down from the role one year short of fulfilling his term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I'm really, really proud of where the city is at, and I feel like this is just time for me to move on," said Mayor Travis Mitchell. "The city is in a good place." "I'm at the point in my life personally where it makes more sense for me to move on than not," said Mitchell. "I really have to think about the family as a part of this decision." Mitchell has held the position for nearly a decade, making him the longest-serving mayor in Kyle. "For the last eight years as mayor, and you know, nine years on the city council, I've always felt that the calling to do the position was worth the sacrifice that it takes," said Mitchell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mitchell said he came to the decision over the past month or so, and his timing to resign a year ahead of schedule was strategic. "This window of time in the summer is when I needed to announce in order for us to call an election that would coincide with the district one and district three race for the city council," said Mitchell. "It will give the council time to process this transition, and also it will give the public time to engage in the upcoming election." Mitchell said he has gotten a lot of questions about his next steps, but he is focused on finishing out his time until he leaves the seat in November. Special election called for November What's next The City of Kyle has called for a special election to replace Mitchell on Nov. 4. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city says that, per the City Charter (Sec. 3.04), it is required to hold a special election to fill a vacancy within 120 days of its occurrence. Because the general election scheduled for November 4, 2025, falls within that timeframe, the special election will be held on that date to elect a new mayor who will complete the remaining year of the current term. An election packet and application, along with key dates and filing deadlines for interested candidates, is available here. Until a new mayor is elected and sworn in, Mayor Mitchell will continue to serve as a holdover pursuant to both state law and the City Charter. Swatting call at Kyle City Council meeting Dig deeper Kyle police responded to multiple threats made against City Hall just before Tuesday's city council meeting began. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At around 6:53 p.m., KPD received a call claiming that a bomb had been put under a nearby vehicle; the caller also said they were armed and intended to shoot officers as they arrived. Officers already there for the meeting evacuated and secured the building, then conducted a thorough search. However, no credible threats or suspicious items were found. Investigators now believe this was a case of "swatting", or the act of making a false emergency report with the intent of prompting a heavy police or SWAT response. The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Katie Pratt and previous coverage By Manya Saini, Nupur Anand and Suzanne McGee (Reuters) -Wells Fargo has suspended all travel to China after a banker was blocked from leaving the country, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters on Thursday, causing broader anxiety about the risks of travel in the country. The U.S. banking giant's Chenyue Mao was subjected to an exit ban after she entered China in recent weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. "We are closely tracking this situation and working through the appropriate channels so our employee can return to the United States as soon as possible," Wells Fargo said in a statement emailed to Reuters. China's foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told a press briefing on Friday that he was not familiar with the Wells Fargo matter, adding that China was committed to providing a welcoming environment for foreign companies to do business. A senior Trump administration official on Thursday said they could not comment on the reports of Mao being refused permission to leave China, citing privacy considerations. The ban could worsen concerns among multinational companies about the risks of doing business in China, particularly around employee safety and freedom of movement. The incident could also chill corporate travel to the country and complicate relations between the world's two biggest economies. Broader U.S.-China relations remain tense, shaped by deepening strategic, economic, and geopolitical rivalries. Mao was born in Shanghai and is based in Atlanta, according to a June 2025 release from FCI, where she serves as chairwoman. FCI, formerly named Factors Chain International, is a global network of companies that do business in the factoring and financing of trade receivables. Even before the incident with the Wells Fargo employee, some of the large banks had been asking their employees to exercise more caution while traveling overseas by carrying additional documents, considering the geopolitical risks and some concerns around immigration policies, a source at a large bank said. "This kind of event is not a step in the right direction," said Mark Headley, co-founder and CEO of Matthews Asia, a San Francisco-based asset manager with $6.5 billion in assets. Matthews Asia has a team based in Hong Kong, and five dedicated China funds as well as a roster of broader emerging market and pan-Asian funds. "Should I be worried about my employees in China or traveling there? It certainly has leaped to the front of my mind yet again," Headley said. "We've seen a long pattern since I first traveled to China in 1991 of the country being very tricky to work in, to seeming totally normal, to being tricky again." A Long Island man has been indicted for boating while intoxicated after a Hamptons crash over Memorial Day weekend that left his fiancee with a serious spinal injury and endangered two young children, officials announced Thursday. Edward Hillkewicz, 28, of Mastic Beach, is accused of crashing a 33-foot boat into a jetty while crossing Peconic Bay on his way back to Hampton Bays after drinking in Greenport, the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office said in a news release. According to investigators, Hillkewicz was allegedly navigating the boat at a high rate of speed when he crashed into a jetty in front of Meschutt Park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The impact of the crash caused the vessel to catapult into the Shinnecock Canal wall, bounce off it and then slam into another section of the jetty before ultimately running aground on the sand. Authorities say there were five other people on the boat at the time: two young girls, ages 2 and 6, and three other adults, including Hillkewiczs fiancee, who was seriously injured in the crash. The woman, identified by local media as 28-year-old Brooke Skrocki, also of Mastic Beach, was airlifted to Stony Brook University Hospital, where she underwent two surgeries on her spine, before being transferred to another hospital for rehabilitation. Currently, she has limited movement from the waist down, the DAs office said Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The four other passengers, including the two girls, who are Skrockis daughters, were not seriously injured. Hillkewicz was arrested by Southampton Town Police at the scene. He was arraigned Wednesday in Suffolk County Court on 10 charges, including second-degree assault and operating a vessel while intoxicated with a child. According to a GoFundMe page set up by Skrockis aunt, her path to recovery will be extensive. In a recent update to the page, Melissa Barravecchio wrote that her niece had taken some steps backward but the family is holding strong that she will continue to fight. Hillkewicz pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and was placed on supervised release. Hes due back in court on Sept. 4 and faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of the top charge. Federal prosecutors have charged a woman with faking her abduction by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in downtown Los Angeles last month, alleging a "well-orchestrated conspiracy" meant to elicit public sympathy and donations based on her undocumented status. Authorities on Thursday announced that Yuriana Julia Pelaez Calderon, 41, of South L.A. has been charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers, with prison terms of up to five years. She has not yet entered a plea and is expected to make her initial court appearance in the coming weeks. Dangerous rhetoric that ICE agents are kidnapping illegal immigrants is being recklessly peddled by politicians and echoed in the media to inflame the public and discredit our courageous federal agents, U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 25, friends, family members and activists gathered outside a Jack in the Box in downtown to decry what they said was the kidnapping of a local mother by masked men. A lawyer for the family told reporters that Calderon, who goes by Juli, had pulled into the fast food restaurant's parking lot to evade two trucks that had followed her down Alameda Street. As she did so, the lawyer said, the trucks pulled in behind her and armed men who didn't identify themselves sprang out and took her into their custody. The lawyer said Calderon recounted being taken to a parking lot near the San Ysidro border crossing, where she was pressured by ICE staffers to sign self-deportation paperwork. She claimed her demands to see a judge or an attorney were ignored, and she was instead bundled into an unmarked vehicle and taken to a warehouse in an undisclosed location. The attorney said Calderon alleged she was given only water and denied access to showers, beds or blankets. Attempts to reach her attorney for comment Thursday were unsuccessful. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time of the news conference, numerous immigrant rights groups showed up to support Calderon, including the Immigrant Defenders Law Center and Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, of which Calderon is a member. They spoke about working to find Calderon in ICE's detainee locator system and contacting numerous branches of the Department of Homeland Security. Despite their search, no evidence of Calderon's whereabouts could be found. Calderons daughter started a GoFundMe page to raise money, saying that the family couldn't find her mother after she was taken by masked men in an unmarked vehicle "when she was on her way to work. The fundraiser had only raised $80 of its stated goal of $4,500, as of Thursday. But, according to an affidavit federal authorities filed in support of the criminal complaint, Calderon's story was entirely made up. Homeland Security Investigations agents began searching for Calderon over the Fourth of July holiday weekend, eventually tracking her down to the parking lot of a shopping plaza in Bakersfield. Calderon continued to claim she was taken by masked men and held in custody with others, the affidavit said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Investigators tracked Calderon's movements through cellphone records and surveillance video that showed her leaving the Jack in the Box parking lot in a sedan parked nearby. She also created what law enforcement suspect were doctored photos of her "rescue," which made it appear as though she had been abused while in ICE custody. GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform, or any attempt to exploit the generosity of others, and cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing," a company spokesperson said. "This fundraiser was removed from the platform and the $80 raised was refunded; at no point did the organizer have access to any of the funds." The case came amid an ongoing White House crackdown that has swept up hundreds of immigrants and sown fear across the region, and prompted local, state and federal leaders to demand that immigration agents identify themselves. Concerns have spiked in recent weeks about ICE impersonators, the use of masks by federal agents to conduct ICE raids, and rumors about "bounty hunters." A man in Huntington Park was arrested on suspicion of impersonating an ICE officer, and L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger expressed concern about "bad players" exploiting the anonymity of ICE agents to wreak havoc. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some people have taken to calling 911 to report a kidnapping that turned out to be an ICE operation. Law enforcement leaders, including LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, have said that their officers would investigate to ensure there is no foul play but not interfere with federal agents carrying out their business. 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. The Labour Party has said it is taking "incredibly seriously" an interview by Diane Abbott in which she stood by comments she made about racism that led to a year-long suspension from the Labour Party. In an interview with the BBC's James Naughtie, she was asked about the controversy that was sparked by a letter she wrote to the Observer in April 2023. In the letter, she wrote that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people "undoubtedly experience prejudice" that is "similar to racism". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She added: "It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism." Abbott was quick to withdraw the remarks, which were heavily criticised by Jewish and Traveller groups, and apologised "for any anguish caused". But she was suspended from the party and only re-admitted just before last year's general election. Asked by Naughtie if she looked back on the whole incident with regret, she said: "No, not at all." She added: "Clearly, there must be a difference between racism which is about colour and other types of racism because you can see a Traveller or a Jewish person walking down the street, you don't know. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You don't know unless you stop to speak to them or you're in a meeting with them. "But if you see a black person walking down the street, you see straight away that they're black. They are different types of racism." Asked if she believed she had done anything wrong or had said something in her Observer letter that she did not believe in, she said: "I just think that it's silly to try and claim that racism which is about skin colour is the same as other types of racism. "I just... I don't know why people would say that." A Labour Party spokesperson said: "There is no place for antisemitism in the Labour Party. We take these comments incredibly seriously, and will assess them in line with Labour Party's rules and procedures." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baroness Shami Chakrabarti a Labour peer and a friend of Abbott - told BBC's Politics Live she did not interpret the interview as the MP retracting her previous apology. "She was saying, as I understand it... that people do experience racism differently - that doesn't create a hierarchy, that doesn't mean one kind racism is better than another," she said. "I think people who are writing 'island of strangers' speeches should be a bit slow to sit in judgement on Diane Abbott who has been fighting racism all her life," she added in a reference to comments made by Keir Starmer last month. Another Labour peer Lord John Mann - who co-produced a report into antisemitism this week - said: "When her [Abbott's] constituents are attacked on the street because they are Jewish, it is anti-Jewish racism... they know what it is because they're experiencing it day-in, day-out." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a wide-ranging interview for his Reflections programme, which was recorded in May, Naughtie asked the Hackney North and Stoke Newington MP if she would condemn antisemitic behaviour in the same way she would racist behaviour against someone because of the colour of the skin. She replied: "Well of course, and I do get a bit weary of people trying to pin the antisemitic label on me because I've spent a lifetime fighting racism of all kinds and in particular fighting antisemitism, partly because of the nature of my constituency." The exchanges came as Abbott discussed her life and career in politics, including her own experiences of racism, as Britain's first black woman MP and her years of campaigning with other radical left wingers including Jeremy Corbyn. She entered Parliament in 1987 and is now the Mother of the House, the honorary title given to the longest-serving female MP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In April 2023, the veteran MP was suspended by the Labour Party pending the outcome of an investigation, with leader Sir Keir Starmer saying her letter "was antisemitic" and should be condemned. Abbott was readmitted to the Labour Party in May 2024, just in time for her stand as a Labour candidate in the general election, even though an internal inquiry into her conduct had concluded four months earlier. The former shadow home secretary was given a "formal warning" for engaging in conduct that was in the opinion of Labour's National Executive Committee "prejudicial and grossly detrimental to the Labour Party". She also completed an online antismetism awareness course. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked by Naughtie if she had been "hung out to dry" by the Labour leadership, who had continued to say she was subject to a disciplinary process after it had finished, she said: "In the end, Keir Starmer had to restore the whip to me. "I got tremendous support locally. We had a big rally on the steps of Hackney Town Hall. And in the end Keir Starmer and the people around him had to back off because of the support I had from the community." She said she was sure that the Labour leadership had been "trying to get me out" and there were "hints" that she would be offered a seat in the House of Lords if she stepped down as an MP. "I was never going to that. And I'm a Labour MP today, and I'm grateful," she said. Reflections is on BBC Radio 4 on Thursday 17 July at 09:30 BST. Listen here on BBC Sounds. [BBC] Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to read top political analysis, gain insight from across the UK and stay up to speed with the big moments. It'll be delivered straight to your inbox every weekday. Angela Rayners workers rights reforms risks making it harder to sack rogue police officers, the former head of the Metropolitan Police has warned. Lord Hogan-Howe, who was Britains most senior police officer for six years, said he was concerned that plans to shorten probation periods meant more officers who should be removed would remain in the force. He told peers: The two-year probationary period has always been a good way in which to remove those people who should be dismissed or arent suited to the role. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So if we were to scrap that two-year period, one of the measures by which we get rid of the worst officers will be lost. I do worry about that. He added: Police officers are not employees and its already quite difficult to remove the ones who should be [removed]. Under Ms Rayners Employment Rights Bill, workers will have the right to take their employers to court for unfair dismissal from the first day of a new job. Currently, people must be employed for at least two years before they qualify for these powers. The plans have sparked concerns that businesses could be inundated with tribunal claims. Lord Hogan-Howe said lawmakers should also pay particular attention to the impact on policing following a series of high-profile scandals involving rogue officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said: Often the officers who turn bad later should have been removed in their probationary period, had everyone had the courage to take that decision. The former Met chief told peers on Wednesday that he wanted more clarity from the Government on how the package of reforms would affect the police. Police officers are servants of the Crown rather than employees in the typical sense. There have been serious concerns about the police vetting process ever since the murder of Sarah Everard by serving Met officer Wayne Couzens in 2021. An inquiry branded him a predatory sex offender and murderer who should have never been a police officer, with a history of sexual offending dating back to 1995. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a 347-page report published last year, Dame Elish Angiolini said there had been a lamentable and repeated failure to deal with allegations reported to police before Ms Everards murder in south London. In a separate case, former Metropolitan police officer David Carrick was jailed for 30 years in 2023 for raping and assaulting 13 women. That year, Baroness Louise Casey highlighted examples of racist, homophobic and misogynistic behaviour amongst serving officers in the Metropolitan Police and warned that there might be another Wayne Couzens or David Carrick hiding in the ranks. Lady Caseys report revealed failures in holding officers to account internally - Kirsty O'Connor/Pool via AP Her report said a toxic culture of blame sought to pin responsibility for the widespread and institutionalised misbehaviour on bad apples with a strong tendency to look for a positive spin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report documented several failures to properly investigate claims of sexual assault and said racist and other discriminatory behaviour was often tolerated, ignored or dismissed as banter. Earlier this year, police chiefs were handed new powers to sack officers who failed background checks under measures intended to strengthen faith in policing. A government spokesman said: Officers who fall seriously short of the standards expected have no place in our police and we must ensure they can be dismissed as swiftly as possible. Thats why we have introduced new rules to strengthen the ability for police chiefs to clear out their forces of officers unfit to serve and the Employments Rights Bill will in no way impact their ability to do 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. BRONSTON, Ky. (FOX 56) Pulaski County firefighters responded Wednesday to a large structure fire in Bronston. Bystanders told FOX 56 the fire was near the 900 block of Colyer Road at Woodson Bend Resort. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pulaski County Emergency Management confirmed that the building was a total loss. Christian Craddock Christian Craddock Christian Craddock Officials stated that the fire was caused by a malfunctioning golf cart that was plugged in. Only one of the four units was occupied, and the four inside were uninjured but are now displaced. Matthew Duckworth contributed to this story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 56 News. NEW YORK - The largest chunk of Mars ever discovered on Earth sold at a Sothebys auction Wednesday for $5.3 million to an undisclosed bidder. The Martian meteorite, identified as NWA 16788, was first discovered in Africas Sahara Desert back in November 2023 by a meteorite hunter, according to the Meteoritical Society. Space experts believe the giant rock was dislodged from the Red Planets surface by an asteroid impact, causing the Martian mass to travel 140 million miles before crashing into Earths surface. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "NWA 16788 is a discovery of extraordinary significance - the largest Martian meteorite ever found on Earth, and the most valuable of its kind ever offered at auction," Cassandra Hatton, vice chairman of science & natural history at Sothebys, said in a statement. See The Objects Humans Left Behind On The Moon According to the international auction house, the 54-pound meteorite is some 70% larger than the second largest known piece of Martian. It is not clear when the reddish, gray meteorite crashed into Earth and experts were only able to confirm its identity when comparing it with data collected during NASAs Viking lander mission in 1976. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "NWA 16788 is an olivine-microgabbroic shergottite, formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma and characterized by a course-grained texture composed primarily of pyroxene, maskelynite and olivine. A significant percentage (21.2% by volume) of NWA 16788 is composed of a glass known as maskelynite, produced when an asteroid struck the Martian surface with such force that it metamorphosed the rocks original feldspar through intense heat and pressure," researchers at Sotheby stated. Nasa Develops "Moon Duster" To Zap Away Lunar Dust Out of some 77,000 meteorites that have been identified on Earth, only about 400 are thought to have originated from Mars. Also drawing attention at Wednesdays auction were the remains of a dinosaur that sold for north of $30 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fossilized remains of the Ceratosaurus nasicornis stand over six feet tall and was originally discovered in 1996 during an excavation in Wyoming. The skelton is said to date back to the Jurassic period, around 150 million years ago. The Sharpest View Of Mars Ever Taken From Earth Was Obtained By The Recently Refurbished Nasa Hubble Space Telescope (Hst). This Stunning Portrait Was Taken With The Hst Wide Field Planetary Camera-2 (Wfpc2) On March 10, 1997, Just Before Mars Opposition, When The Red Planet Made One Of Its Closest Passes To The Earth (About 60 Million Miles Or 100 Million Km) Original article source: Largest chunk of Mars discovered on Earth sells at auction for $5.3 million The Kansas Open Meetings Act says government officials have to specify their reason for going behind closed doors to do business. In the state's largest counties, the stated reasons are not always satisfactory. (Illustration by Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector) Because Kansas law recognizes that a representative government is dependent upon an informed electorate, the meetings of local governments, such as county and city commissions, are open to the public. But the electorates ability to be informed is curtailed when the governments members recess to a temporary closed-door meeting, known as an executive session, a move the Kansas Open Meetings Act authorizes under certain circumstances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There can be times when recessing to executive session serves the public interest. To help the public make sure, an explanation for the executive session is required to be recorded in the meeting minutes documenting the motion for recess. But these motions for recess are not always satisfactory. We do occasionally get pushback from the public that wants more than what is in the motion, said Douglas County Commissioner Karen Willey during a commission meeting from earlier this year. Thats just something that we hear from folks. Willeys constituents, and Kansans at large, have reason to be concerned. A majority of commissions for the five most populous counties in the state recently fell short of providing the information legally required before entering executive session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Transparency obligations Local governments, including all five surveyed for this article, tend to follow their obligation under the Kansas Open Meetings Act to list one of the 15 generic justifications for executive session. Commonly used justifications include discussing personnel matters of nonelected personnel, the acquisition of real property, and subjects which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship. But even presuming the facts underlying the motion support the use of one of the justifications, the public gains little from such generic terminology. Simply allowing bodies to copy and paste one of them into the motion for recess had proven insufficient to inform the electorate about what was happening behind closed doors. In recognition of this problem, KOMA was amended in 2017 to require that local governing bodies include the complete motion to recess in their minutes, which involves more than simply stating the justification for recess. As former Attorney General Derrick Schmidts office interpreted the amended KOMA in 2018, the recording of the motion is not complete if it merely summarizes the actual motion and must reflect the content of the motion as it was in fact made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thus, as Schmidts office opined, a motion for recess to executive session must be more than a generic or vague summary, or a list of the subject(s) to be discussed, although the statement describing what will be discussed must not be so detailed that it negates the usefulness of a closed or executive meeting. Attorney General Kris Kobachs office followed suit in 2024, finding that the city commission serving Junction City violated KOMA when its motion for recess to discuss industrial revenue bonds to inspire construction of a beef slaughterhouse did not adequately describe the subject to be discussed. But when county commissions for Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, Wyandotte, and Douglas counties recently made motions to recess to executive session that relied on the justification of attorney-client privilege, only Johnson Countys motion also included a statement about the ensuing closed-door discussions that more than likely complies with current law. Transparency in action When Johnson Countys commissioners made a motion on April 10 of this year to recess to executive session for consultation with legal counsel which would be privileged in the attorney-client relationship, the motion went on to explain that the discussion involved potential litigation involving Johnson County Transit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This provides clarity on the topic without compromising the purpose of the executive session and informs the public about the nature of the discussion, rather than merely referencing attorney-client privilege, said Peggy Trent, chief counsel for Johnson County. Arguing with that conclusion is difficult. Although the motion doesnt reveal much detail, at least the public is aware that a lawsuit involving a particular department may be on the horizon, which is substantially more enlightening than having to guess why a local government had to consult with an attorney. Shawnee Countys commissioners also offered an explanation beyond merely listing a justification when it recessed for attorney-client privileged discussions regarding (emergency medical) services on April 10. But as Shawnee County counselor Rich Eckert noted over the phone in response to a request for comment, the motion could have included more detail without compromising anyones privacy, such as by referencing the existing contract with the countys EMS services provider. While Eckerts proposed revision would undoubtedly improve transparency as well as the odds of the countys compliance with KOMA, just offering the explanation of EMS services did more to clue in the public than recent motions for recess recorded in the minutes for the commissioners of Sedgwick, Wyandotte, and Douglas counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Transparency troubles On April 9, Sedgwick Countys commissioners entered executive session for consultation with legal counsel for the County regarding matters deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship in order to discuss legal claims against Sedgwick County. As Schmidts 2018 opinion points out, generic terminology, such as merely notifying the public that the body is consulting with an attorney, is insufficient to comply with the law. Moreover, the Sedgwick Countys motion doesnt even clarify whether the referenced claims are prospective or active. Still, according to county manager Tom Stolz, the motion complies with the requirements of the Kansas Open Meetings Act because it contains the statutory elements of a valid motion for executive session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stolz did not explain how the countys position squares with Schmidts office expressly finding that motions merely summariz(ing) the actual motion in a manner that addresses only the required statutory elements are inadequate. Also on April 9, the commissioners for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County recessed to consult with our attorneys and to discuss confidential matters related to pending claims and litigation. Casey Meyer, senior counsel for the unified government, defended the motion, writing in an email that maintaining confidentiality in executive session speaks to the very privilege attorneys and clients rely on. He argued that the specificity of the description of the subjects to be discussed under that justification for recess are harder to achieve without violating the confidentiality and negating the need for the executive session. Eckert, the Shawnee County counselor, independently echoed Meyers position, arguing that attorney-client privilege should be considered a first among equals when it comes to justifications for recess to executive session under KOMA. But like Eckert, Meyer also suggested his client could explore how it could be more transparent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the future, (the unified government) will look for a way in which we may describe our subjects differently to provide more information without breaching that confidentiality, Meyer wrote. Lastly, on April 23, the only reasoning to support the Douglas County Commissions motion for recess to executive session, beyond the justification of attorney-client privilege, was to discuss pending litigation. Douglas County did not answer whether that motion did or did not comply with the law. But according to Karrey Britt, the countys spokesperson, Douglas County takes its obligations under the Kansas Open Meetings Act seriously. Britt also noted that motions to recess into executive session are prepared by legal counsel. Britt then went on to quote portions of KOMA verbatim. Douglas County may claim to take its KOMA obligations seriously, but this response suggests the concerns of Commissioner Willeys constituents, as noted at the outset of this article, are unlikely to have been resolved. Despite the hurdles local governments face to both keep the public informed about matters of public concern and maintain the confidentiality necessary to discuss such matters candidly with legal counsel, most of our states most populous counties could stand to offer more transparency about the rationale for discussing the publics business behind closed doors. Informing the electorate requires nothing less. July 17 (UPI) -- A meteorite from Mars, the largest piece ever found on Earth, sold for $5.3 million to an anonymous bidder at a Sotheby's auction in New York on Wednesday. Bidding for the 54-pound, reddish-brown object began at $2 million, according to ABC News, and it went to $4.3 million plus $1 million in fees and taxes. The original owner wasn't disclosed. The rock, known as NWA 16788, is 70% larger than the next largest piece of Mars recovered, according to Sothebys. It is nearly 15 inches long. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is the largest piece of Mars on planet Earth," Cassandra Hatton, vice chairwoman of the science and natural history at Sotheby's, said in a video posted online. "Remember that approximately 70% of Earth's surface is covered in water. So we're incredibly lucky that this landed on dry land instead of the ocean where we could actually find it." The auction house said the rock broke from Mars after an asteroid strike and went more than 140 million miles to Earth. The piece crashed in the Saharan Desert in Nigeria's Agadez region. It was discovered by a meteorite hunter in November 2023, according to Sotheby's. Martian meteorites make up 400 of the 77,000 officially recognized meteorites, according to the auction house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Testing determined it is an olivine-gabbroic shergottite, which is a relatively new type of meteorite from Mars. That material is also found on the Earth's upper crust. The rocket is composed of 21.2% of a glass known as maskelynite, which was produced when an asteroid struck the Martian surface and forced the object off the planet's surface. Only about 19 craters are big enough to produce meteorites on Earth. "This isn't just a miraculous find, but a massive data set that can help us unlock the secrets of our neighbor, the red planet," Hatton said. The rock was on public display at the Italian Space Agency in Rome and in a private gallery in Arezzo, Tuscany, in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It would be a shame if it disappeared into the vault of an oligarch," Steve Brusatte, professor of paleontology and evolution at Scotland's University of Edinburgh, told CNN before the auction. The Martian rock was part of Geek Week with sales of items related to natural history, science and technology history, and space exploration. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Harry Reid International Airport announced Wednesday it was launching a new program to help support hearing-impaired travelers. The Aira ASL app offers hearing-impaired travelers live, on-demand American Sign Language interpretation while at the Harry Reid International Airport. The program, which arrives ahead of the Las Vegas 2025 DeafNation World Expo and Conference, will help welcome thousands of deaf and hard-of-hearing visitors with what the airport called a more accessible and confident travel experience. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The app uses secure, live video calls on smartphones to connect travelers with certified ASL interpreters. It will help with communication during check-in, security screening, and terminal navigation, a release from the airport said. Harry Reid International Airport is committed to ensuring every traveler feels welcome and supported throughout their journey, Rosemary Vassiliadis, Director of Aviation, said. Adding the Aira ASL app broadens the resources we offer to passengers and complements our current suite of tools like the Aira Explorer app, helping travelers who are blind or very little vision, and the MagnusCards app, which helps guide travelers with cognitive disabilities through airport procedures. The app is available at no cost to travelers while they are at the Harry Reid International Airport and is also offered at Henderson Executive Airport and North Las Vegas Airport. Travelers are encouraged to download the app before arriving or upon reaching the airport. For more information, visit the Aira ASL app website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To learn more about the accessibility resources available to travelers at the Harry Reid International Airport, go to the LAS Special Assistance webpage 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 KLAS. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A Las Vegas family living at the Hampton Apartments said they have been left to suffer in dangerous heat after their air conditioning broke down for the third time in the past month. At this point, no one has mentioned replacing the air conditioning or figuring out what the root of the problem is. Its always well fix it because you yelled at us, Michael Sterling said. The family said complex management has told them that air conditioning isnt considered an emergency, despite Las Vegas temperatures regularly topping 110 degrees this month. To cope, the family said they were forced to purchase a portable air conditioning unit out of pocket. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They have now moved into a single bedroom where the portable unit is running all the time just to keep the room cool enough to avoid heat stroke. Weve given them a verbal notice, now we need to give them a written notice. Then well have to follow what legal avenues we have in order to be recompensated for electricity or trying to get a hotel room, Michael Sterling said. The family shared their electric bill with our news team, saying it has nearly doubled due to the added strain of keeping the portable unit running. Under Nevada law, landlords are required to maintain safe and livable housing conditions, which include providing working air conditioning during extreme heat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Nevada Revised Statutes, landlords must address vital repairs that impact health and safety in a timely manner. In Clark County, that standard includes functioning air conditioning during the summer. Local health experts say heat-related illnesses can happen quickly, especially to children, seniors, and pets. Symptoms of heat exhaustion include dizziness, nausea, headaches, and, in severe cases, heat stroke, which can be life-threatening. They called me unprofessional, and Im like, if you were in my spot, would you be unprofessional too. I have dogs, I have a toddler, and I went off on them and they didnt care, Samantha Sterling said. The family said they have repeatedly contacted Hampton Apartments management but have only received vague assurances that repairs are coming soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One can reach out to the Clark County public response code enforcement office for any landlord disputes at 702-455-4191. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) is one of the best airline stocks to buy according to hedge funds. On July 7, analysts at UBS initiated coverage of the stock with a Neutral rating and a $49 price target. The stance comes amid expectations that the airline will deliver second-quarter results in line with guidance ranges. UBS Affirms Neutral Stance on Alaska Air (ALK), Expects Solid Q2 Results UBS is optimistic that Alaska Air demand trends did stabilize in the second quarter. Consequently, the research firm expects the airline to deliver $1.56 in earnings per share, which is better than the consensus estimate of $1.53 and within the guidance range of $1.15 to $1.65. Nevertheless, the research firm expects the company to deliver a 1% decline in revenue per available seat mile compared to the consensus estimate that projects a 0.9% decline. Likewise, UBS believes Alaska Air anticipated a year-over-year decline in RASMA in June due to increased industry capacity. UBS analysis suggests that the airline maintained adequate load factors even though fares were lower in the quarter compared to the previous year. Additionally, Alaska Airlines may have faced pressure due to weakness in domestic main cabin performance, particularly in San Francisco. Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK) is a major airline primarily serving the West Coast of the United States, with a focus on connecting cities in Alaska, Hawaii, and the broader West Coast to over 100 destinations. It also operates a cargo service specializing in the shipping of various goods. While we acknowledge the potential of ALK as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you're looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock. READ NEXT: Goldman Sachs REIT Stocks: Top 12 Stock Picks and Goldman Sachs Healthcare Stocks: Top 10 Stock Picks. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) After Las Vegas hottest summer ever, Democratic Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen is introducing legislation to declare extreme heat a major disaster. The Extreme Heat Emergency Act would add extreme temperatures to a list of disasters eligible to receive federal aid, Rosens office said. The president has the authority to declare disasters for fires, floods, hurricanes and other natural catastrophes. So far this summer, 29 people have died in Southern Nevada from heat-related illnesses, a Clark County spokesperson said earlier this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, more than 500 people died in one single county in Nevada from heat-related illnesses, Rosen said in a statement. Current federal policy ignores the physical and health risks that such extremely high temperatures have on our communities, which is why Im introducing a bill to change that. By classifying extreme heat as a major disaster, our communities will be able to receive the federal funding needed to respond and prepare for future extreme heat events. On July 7, 2024, a weather station at Harry Reid International Airport marked its hottest temperature ever 120 degrees. The summer of 2024 marked the hottest ever for the city, records said. Democratic Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego and Democratic Texas Rep. Sylvia Garcia joined Rosen in introducing the measure. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) Three young people arrested for their roles in a murder last year walked free Tuesday after a judge sentenced them to probation, warning them they will not receive second chances. Prseyus Dennis, Javier Galvan and Daisy Gonzalez appeared before Clark County District Court Judge Carli Kierny for sentencing Tuesday for the January 2024 murder of Darian Gonzalez, 29. In all, six people initially faced murder charges in connection with Darian Gonzalezs shooting death. Dennis was 18 at the time of her arrest a month after the murder, police said. Gonzalez was 15. Police arrested Javiar Galvan two months after the murder. He was 20 at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kierny previously sentenced Dewey Arredondo-Ramirez, Juan Galvan and David Valle to 14-45 years in prison for their roles. Each pleaded guilty to charges including second-degree murder and robbery, records said. On Jan. 2, 2024, Darian Gonzalez was shot and killed inside his apartment on Torrey Pines Drive near Sahara Avenue. Darian Gonzalez had a recording studio in his apartment, and the defendants planned to rob him, prosecutors said. At least two people fired their weapons at Darian Gonzalez during the robbery-gone-wrong, prosecutors said. Attorneys identified Arredondo-Ramirez and Valle as the shooters. Dennis, Javier Galvan and Daisy Gonzalez also took plea deals, leading to Tuesdays sentencing. Dennis agreed to plead guilty to a charge of accessory to commit murder; Dennis and Gonzalez to charges including voluntary manslaughter and robbery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daisy Gonzalez told police said she visited the apartment to record a song, documents said. The group then smoked marijuana and drank alcohol. While they were there, Darian Gonzalez showed the group a rifle and other people showed off their guns. Daisy Gonzalez said she was in the bathroom when she heard a lot of shots, police said. When she left the bathroom, she told police she saw Darian lying on the floor, and because she was high, drunk, and underage, she ran away with everyone else. Messages on Instagram revealed the group planned to steal Darians AR pistol, police said. Police said some messages sent from Valles account after the shooting were sent by Dennis while Valle was in the hospital. Less than an hour after the shooting, Gonzalez sent messages to Valles account that read: Dont mention nothing that happen [sic] and, You both have to stick to the same story, documents said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In court Tuesday, attorneys for Dennis, Javier Galvan and Daisy Gonzalez asked the judge for probation, noting their ages. Darian Gonzalezs family requested substantial prison time. Documents filed on behalf of Daisy Gonzalez indicate she did not know about the planned robbery, but later agreed to participate in this robbery by stealing clothing. In an attempt to rob Darian Gonzalez of a firearm worth but a few hundred dollars, Mr. Valle and Mr. Arredondo struggled with Darian Gonzalez, who fought to retain his own property in his own home, Daisy Gonzalezs attorney said. During that struggle, both Mr. Valle and Mr. Arredondo shot and killed Darian. Those 2 split-second moments forever changed Daisys life. When I look at the actual roles of what was done, and I look at the assistance that was provided, I think what your attorneys are asking for is appropriate, Kierny said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kierny sentenced Dennis and Daisy Gonzalez to 5 years probation and ordered each to obtain a GED or high school diploma. If they violate probation, they will go to jail for 4-10 years. Kierny sentenced Javier Galvan to 2 years probation, ordering him to have no contact with his brother. He will go to jail for 2-5 years if he violates probation. The judge ordered all the defendants to stay away from each other and abstain from drugs and alcohol. Good luck to all of you, you will not get a second chance, Kierny said as the hearing ended. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A Las Vegas nurse practitioner pleaded guilty to conspiring to fraudulently bill Medicare for wound care in exchange for illegal health care kickbacks, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Prosecutors charged Mary Huntly, 67, with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and receiving or paying health care kickbacks. Huntly applied medically unnecessary allografts, a product made with amniotic fluid aimed to help stubborn healing, to Medicare beneficiaries who were procured through illegal kickbacks and bribes, according to court documents and admissions made in court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 Las Vegas nurses accused of making millions in health care fraud scheme From September 2022 through April 2024, Huntlys wound care company fraudulently billed Medicare about $14,333,550 and Medicare paid about $9,105,563 based on those false claims. Huntly was one of more than 300 defendants charged in the U.S. Department of Justices 2025 National Health Care Fraud Takedown, according to a news release. Huntly is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 15. She faces a maximum of five years in prison. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A woman about to be sentenced for decapitating the father of her children and throwing his head in the trash unexpectedly revoked her plea Thursday in a heated and emotional hearing. Henderson police arrested Devyn Michaels, 47, who also uses the name Tracee Tavarez, on Aug. 15, 2023, for the murder of 46-year-old Johnathon Willette. Police said Michaels killed and decapitated Willette at a Henderson home. Last fall, Michaels pleaded guilty to a second-degree murder charge. As part of the deal, she would be eligible for parole after serving 15 years in prison. As in all plea deals, sentencing is at the judges discretion. Michaels later attempted to revoke her plea, but Clark County District Court Judge Tierra Jones determined Michaels entered it voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently, documents said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During sentencing Thursday, Michaels apologized to Willettes family and then immediately said she was innocent. It doesnt turn out the way they tell me it will, and it just gets worse, and I dont know what to do anymore, she said as tears streamed down her face. Michaels statements led Deputy Clark County District Attorney John Giordani to call for Michaels to withdraw her plea, sending the case to trial. This wouldnt be appropriate. Lets go to trial, he said. I dont know how to fix this, Michaels said as Jones agreed to withdraw the plea. When Henderson police spoke to Michaels after the murder in 2023, she told them that she did not live with Willette, but that they were in the process of moving in together to make it easier on their children, documents said. However, this move was complicated because Michaels was married to and lived with Willettes son, making him both her husband and stepson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michaels is accused of taking Willettes head from the Henderson crime scene and driving it to her home in Las Vegas, where she threw it in the trash, documents said. The head was then likely picked up by a trash service, prosecutors said. It was never recovered. As the 8 News Now Investigators reported after Michaels arrest, Clark County District Court Judge Mary Kay Holthus sentenced her to one year of probation on the child abuse charge on Aug. 9, 2023 after prosecutors believe Michaels had killed Willette. In the days before and after that hearing, police were interviewing Michaels and collecting evidence as part of their murder investigation, documents said. Shes a low risk of reoffending, Michaels public defender told Holthus at the time. Theres nothing on there that says she would offend again. Jones scheduled a hearing in the murder case for July 31. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS. The House is expected to approve President Donald Trumps request to claw back about $9 billion in already appropriated funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid Thursday evening. The White House had described the rescissions package as a test case and said that if Congress went along, more would come. The Houses approval would mark the first time in decades that a president has successfully submitted a rescissions request to Congress. Opponents voiced concerns not only about the programs targeted, but about Congress ceding its spending powers to the executive branch as investments approved on a bipartisan basis are being subsequently cancelled on a party-line basis. No Democrats supported the measure when it passed the Senate in the early morning hours Thursday, 51-48, and two Republicans also voted no. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here's the latest: A growing and forbidding visual rises: The law enforcement officer in a mask It has quickly become a regular sight nationwide: immigration enforcement agents detaining people and taking them into custody, often as public anger and outcry unfold around them. But in the process, something has disappeared: the agents faces, covered by caps, sunglasses, pulled-up neck gaiters or balaclavas, effectively rendering them unidentifiable. The increase in high-profile immigration enforcement, directed by the White House, was already a contentious issue between opponents and supporters. The sight of masked agents carrying it out is creating a whole new level of conflict in a way that has no real comparison in the U.S. history of policing, and critics say the use of face coverings causes public fear and should be halted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Administration officials defend the practice. They say immigration agents have faced strident and increasing harassment in public and online as they have gone about enforcement and hiding their identities is for their and their families safety. Read more about masked immigration agents Stephen Colbert, frequent Donald Trump critic, says CBS is ending his Late Show in May 2026 The host delivered the news to his audience at a taping Thursday, days after spoking out against Paramount Global, parent company of his network, CBS, settling with President Donald Trump in his lawsuit over a 60 Minutes story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his monologue Monday, Colbert said he was offended and joked that the technical name in legal circles for the deal was big fat bribe. Paramount and CBS executives said in a statement that the cancellation is purely a financial decision against a challenging backdrop in late night. It is not related in any way to the shows performance, content or other matters happening at Paramount. The most recent ratings from Nielsen show Colbert as winning his timeslot, with about 2.417 million viewers across 41 new episodes. It also said his late night show was the only one to gain viewers so far this year. The Late Show was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding talk show this week for the sixth time. It also won a Peabody Award in 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more about the cancellation Tennessee Three member removed from Kristi Noem press conference in Nashville Tennessee state Rep. Justin Jones was removed from the press conference Thursday before the Department of Homeland Security secretary arrived. The Democrat obtained national recognition in 2023 as one of the Tennessee Three when his Republican colleagues expelled him for a gun control protest on the chamber floor. He was quickly reappointed to his district, which includes the Nashville International Airport, where Noem came to speak about new security lanes to make it easier for military members to travel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jones told reporters he was allowed into the secure area where the press conference would be held after a security check. However, members of Noems staff objected to his presence, and he was required to leave. Jones said he had come to ask Noem what happened to 196 people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a recent weeklong operation in Nashville. The event was by invitation only and Jones was not invited, according to DHS. With the cut in federal funding public broadcasters are looking to cope Lauren Adams, general manager for KUCB public radio in Unalaska, Alaska, didnt have much time to reflect on Congress, 4,000 miles (6,440 kilometers) away, stripping federal funding for public media this week. Shes been too busy working. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sirens blared in the Aleutian Islands community Wednesday warning of a potential tsunami, with a voice over public loudspeakers urging residents to seek higher ground and tune into the radio to Adams station. At the same time in Washington, the Senate was voting on a measure that would eliminate nearly $1.1 billion that had already been appropriated for NPR and PBS. Trump had called for it, saying public media was biased against him and fellow Republicans. The cuts are expected to weigh most heavily on smaller public media outlets away from big cities, and its likely some wont survive. Read more about the measure to cut public media funding Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump offers regulatory relief for coal, iron ore and chemical industries President Trump is granting two years ofregulatory relief to coal-fired power plants, chemical manufacturers and other industries as he seeks to reverse Biden-era regulations he considers overly burdensome. Trump issued a series of proclamations late Thursday exempting a range of polluting industries that he calls vital to national security. The proclamations cover coal-fired power plants, taconite iron ore processing facilities used to make steel, and chemical manufacturers that help produce semiconductors and medical device sterilizers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proclamations allow the facilities to comply with Environmental Protection Agency standards that were in place before rules imposed in recent years by the Biden administration. Trumps EPA had earlier exempted many coal plants for the same reasons. Trump signs order to add more political employees The order would create a new class of federal workers called Schedule G consisting of workers considered political employees, meaning their government service will end once the president who appointed them leaves office. President Trump believes creating non-career Schedule G positions will enhance government efficiency and accountability and improve services provided to taxpayers by increasing the horsepower for agency implementation of Administration policy, Harrison Fields, a White House spokesperson, said via X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump and other Republicans have long been skeptical of career federal service workers, believing them to be a part of a deep state working against the president. Trump took steps earlier this year to reclassify tens of thousands of employees under Schedule F, giving them less protection from dismissal. Thursdays executive order includes a specific reference to the Department of Veterans Affairs. It says the VA secretary shall consider whether an employee would be suitable exponents of Trump policies, while not taking into account potential employees political affiliations. ICE access to Medicaid enrollee lists is an abuse of power, Voto Latino president says Voto Latino President and Co-Founder Maria Teresa Kumar called the news that the administration has been capturing data on Medicaid enrollees an unprecedented breach of the public trust that not only violates the privacy of 79 million Medicaid enrollees but also raises questions over why ICE needs access to the data. Kumar, in a statement, said the weaponization of health care data to pursue immigration enforcement is a flagrant abuse of power and a chilling escalation of the Trump administrations ongoing immigration enforcement efforts. She added that the act creates a major public health emergency and risks the health data of all recipients. Kumar called Medicaid a lifeline for 26.8 million Latinos and over 50% of Latino children. They all deserve care, not surveillance. US to pull back on commentary and criticism of foreign elections In new guidance issued Thursday to all U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, the department said posts should refrain from issuing statements that invoke any particular ideology and what they may say must be in line with President Donald Trumps stated position that the U.S. will respect the sovereignty of all foreign nations. Consistent with the administrations emphasis on national sovereignty, the department will comment publicly on elections only when there is a clear and compelling U.S. foreign policy interest to do so, said the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press. Messages should avoid opining on the fairness or integrity of an electoral process, its legitimacy or the democratic values of the country in question, said the cable, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and first reported by the Wall Street Journal. The State Department has for decades issued statements highly critical of or questioning the legitimacy of certain elections, notably in authoritarian countries. House stalls on $9 billion spending cuts as GOP scrambles over Epstein files The House came to a standstill late in the day when GOP concerns over the clamor to release the Epstein files complicated swift passage of another item Trumps request to claw back $9.4 billion for public broadcasting and foreign aid. House Speaker Mike Johnson huddled privately with key Republicans trying to forge a solution that could include a resolution supporting the release of credible files pertaining to Epstein and his activities. The House Republicans are for transparency, and were looking for a way to say that, Johnson said. We agree with the president, he said. All the credible evidence should come out. Johnson acknowledged that Republicans have been taking incoming criticism after Democrats on the House Rules Committee forced votes to release the files. The GOP lawmakers on the panel mostly rejected the amendments on procedural grounds. Chinese embassy credits Xi-Trump phone call for correcting the course for bilateral economic and trade ties The Chinese embassy on Thursday said the phone calls between the two leaders have set the economic and trade relationship on the right path. President Xi Jinping and President Trump corrected that course during their phone calls, said Chen Zhenghong, an embassy official. Xi and Trump talked over the phone in early June when tensions were rising over trade restrictions the two governments placed on each other. After the phone call, senior U.S. and Chinese officials met in London and reached a framework agreement before both sides took steps to ease trade restrictions. It was the first phone call between the two men after Trump returned to the White House in January. They also spoke on the phone just days before Trump was sworn in. In their most recent phone call, Xi welcomed Trump to visit China. Interior Department order requires Burgum to sign off on all wind and solar projects All solar and wind energy projects on federal lands and waters must be personally approved by Interior Secretary Doug Burgum under a new order that authorizes him to conduct elevated review of activities ranging from leases to rights-of-way, construction and operational plans and biological opinions. The enhanced oversight on clean-energy projects is aimed at ending preferential treatment for unreliable, subsidy-dependent wind and solar energy, the Interior Department said in a statement Thursday. Clean-energy advocates said the action could hamstring projects that need to be underway quickly to qualify for federal tax credits that are set to expire under the Republican tax-cut law. Schumer calls on Trump to fire key aide Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is calling on the White House to fire Russell Vought after the Office of Management and Budget director said the appropriations process in Washington has to be less bipartisan. Schumer has long said that it takes both parties working together to pass spending bills that keep the federal government running. Thats because it generally takes 60 votes to advance spending measures in the Senate. He said hes furious with Vought. Donald Trump should fire Russell Vought immediately before he destroys our democracy and runs the country into the ground, Schumer told reporters. Vought said the federal government has racked up $37 trillion in debt under the current spending process. He said over time a more partisan appropriations process will eventually lead to more bipartisanship. Schumers call for Voughts firing follows the Senate passing a bill early Thursday to roll back about $9 billion in previously approved public broadcasting and foreign aid funds. Vought helped lead the effort, which Democrats unanimously opposed. State Department lowering security alert level for staffers at US embassy and consulate in Iraq The State Department says it is ending its ordered departure status for U.S. diplomats and other government employees at its embassy and consulate in Iraq. Spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Secretary of State Marco Rubio decided Thursday to lower the security alert level for staffers at the Baghdad embassy and consulate in Irbil. The security advice for private American citizens remains at level four or do not travel. The State Department had ordered the departure of non-essential diplomats and other government employees from Baghdad and Irbil last month, shortly before Israel and then the U.S. launched airstrikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, fearing that Iranian proxies in Iraq might retaliate against American interests. Lawmakers seek review of US intelligence sharing with Spain Top lawmakers are urging a review of U.S. intelligence sharing with Spain following reports that it hired the Chinese firm Huawei to provide services related to national security wiretaps. Sen. Tom Cotton and U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford wrote to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Thursday seeking the review. The letter cited media reports in Spain that the Ministry of the Interior selected Huawei to provide technical services for its wiretap system. Huaweis close ties to Chinas government have prompted tight restrictions on its businesses in the U.S. and many American allies. Cotton and Crawford lead the Senate and House intelligence committees. The two Arkansas Republicans wrote in their letter to Gabbard that given national security concerns about Huawei, American spy agencies should ensure that any information shared with Spanish authorities is redacted of information that could be exploited by China. More than 20 states sue the federal government over a new health insurance rule More than 20 Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging a new federal health insurance rule that tightens restrictions for enrolling in marketplace plans through the Affordable Care Act and bans coverage requirements for gender-affirming care. The lawsuit led by New Jersey, California, and Massachusetts, also involves 18 other states. They argue that the new rule could strip coverage from millions of Americans, drive up health care costs and harm state health systems. The rule set to take effect in August shortens open enrollment windows, eliminates year-round enrollment for low-income Americans and adds verification requirements. It also prohibits states from including gender-affirming care in the ACAs list of essential health benefits. On its website, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services says the rule finalizes additional safeguards to protect consumers from improper enrollments and changes to their health care coverage, as well as establishes standards to ensure the integrity of the ACA Exchanges. White House doing own probe of Biden autopen The White House said Thursday that it has launched its own investigation into former President Joe Bidens use of the autopen to sign presidential documents. The counsels office has requested information from the National Archives, Leavitt said Thursday. We deserve to get to the bottom of it, the press secretary said. Press secretary botches name of NYC mayoral candidate While answering a question about Trump weighing in on New York Citys mayoral race, Leavitt got the name of Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani wrong, calling him Zemdhani. It is unclear whether the flub was intentional. Leavitt did not acknowledge the mistake before moving on. Trump spoke with Netanyahu about Israelis striking church in Gaza Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to express his frustration with Israels military striking the Holy Family Church in Gaza, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. Leavitt said Trump did not have a positive reaction to the strike and that Netanyahu agreed to put out a statement as part of the conversation. She said that Netanyahu relayed to Trump that it had been a mistake to hit the church. Trump does not support special prosecutor for Epstein case Asked about the possible appointment of a special prosecutor for a full probe into the federal sex trafficking case of late financier Jeffrey Epstein, Leavitt confirmed that Trump does not support such a move. The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case, she said. White House planning signing ceremony for crypto legislation The White House is putting together a signing ceremony for crypto legislation on Friday afternoon. The House is working its way through the so-called Genius Act, which would regulate a form of cryptocurrency known as stablecoins. The Senate has already passed the legislation, meaning it would go to Trump for his signature once the House passes it. This piece of legislation is going to make America the crypto capital of the world, Leavitt said. Trump got a health checkup over swollen legs and bruised hand White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt read a doctors letter on Thursday that was intended to dispel health concerns about the swelling in Trumps ankles and a makeup covered hand. Leavit said that Trump noticed mild swelling in his lower legs and was evaluated by the White House medical unit. She said the tests showed no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease, but that Trump has blood pooling in his veins that she said are common in individuals over than 70. She said that the bruising on Trumps hand covered up by makeup is consistent with irritation from his frequent handshaking and the use of aspirin. Leavitt said the president remains in excellent health. Trump to travel to Scotland The White House confirmed Thursday that the president will travel to Scotland later this month. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump will be in Turnberry and Aberdeen from July 25 to July 29. During that visit, Trump will meet with British prime minister Keir Starmer to follow up on the U.S.-U.K. trade deal that the two nations struck earlier this year. Trump owns two golf courses in Scotland one in Turnberry and the other in Aberdeen. Leavitt also said Trump and first lady Melania Trump will head back to the United Kingdom for a state visit Sept. 17 to Sept. 19. That trip had already been confirmed by Buckingham Palace earlier this month. The visit marks the second state visit for Trump and is unprecedented. No U.S. president has been invited for a second state visit. Columbia University and White House are negotiating University officials met with administration officials to discuss ways to restore federal funding that has been withheld from the school. Thats according to a person familiar with the meeting who requested anonymity to disclose a private conversation. Columbia is one of the universities that has been targeted by Trump. More sanctions against Tren de Aragua leaders New measures announced by the Treasury and State departments on Thursday designate the gangs chief, Hector Rusthenford Guerrero, and five other top leaders as members of a transnational criminal organization, blocking their property and assets. A reward of $5 million for information leading to Guerreros arrest or conviction was offered more than a year ago. Tren de Aragua has already been designated a foreign terrorist organization by the State Department for its involvement in the illicit drug trade, extortion, money laundering, human smuggling and trafficking, and the sexual exploitation of women and children. Some alleged gang members who had been imprisoned in the U.S. have been deported to a high-security prison in El Salvador. Former Fox News host advanced as top federal prosecutor in DC The Senate Judiciary Committee has advanced former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro to be the top federal prosecutor for the nations capital. The committees Republican members voted unanimously Thursday to send Pirros nomination to the Senate floor after Democrats walked out to protest Emil Boves nomination to become a federal appeals court judge. Pirro has served as acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia since May. Trump withdrew his first pick, Ed Martin Jr., after a key Republican senator said he could not support him, given Martins outspoken support for rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Before she replaced Martin, Pirro cohosted the Fox News show The Five on weekday evenings. She was elected as a judge in New Yorks Westchester County Court in 1990 before serving three terms as the countys elected district attorney. A previous Border Patrol hiring spree offers lessons as ICE expands As Immigration and Customs Enforcement prepares to add 10,000 employees in five years to enable Trumps mass deportations, the Border Patrols torrid expansion in the early 2000s serves as a cautionary tale. Hiring and training standards were loosened, arrests for employee misconduct rose and attrition spiked. If they dont uphold pretty rigorous standards and background checks, you can end up hiring the wrong people, and then you pay a huge price in how the public perceives them, said Gil Kerlikowske, who ran Customs and Border Protection from 2014 to 2017. ICE is set to get $76.5 billion, nearly 10 times its annual budget, under the bill Trump signed. The unprecedented funding for ICE will enable my hard-working officers and agents to continue making America safe again by identifying, arresting and removing criminal aliens from our communities, acting ICE director Todd Lyons said. Read more about what happened the last time ICE tried rapid expansion More than a million US children could be displaced. HUD secretary says helping them is wasteful Amid a worsening national affordable housing and homelessness crisis, Trumps administration is determined to reshape HUDs expansive role providing stable housing for low-income people, which has been at the heart of its mission for generations. At a June congressional budget hearing, HUD Secretary Scott Turner argued that imposing a two-year limit on rental assistance will fix waste and fraud in public housing and Section 8 voucher programs. Its broken and deviated from its original purpose, which is to temporarily help Americans in need, Turner said. HUD assistance is not supposed to be permanent. Read more from the APs examination of proposed limits on rental assistance Trumps proposed HUD time limit could evict 1.4 million of nations poorest renters More than 1 million low-income households most of them working families with children who depend on the nations public housing and Section 8 voucher programs could lose government-subsidized homes under the Trump administrations proposal to impose a two-year time limit on rental assistance. New research from New York University obtained exclusively by The Associated Press the limit could affect as many as 1.4 million households helped by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The NYU report published Thursday predicts enormous disruption and large administrative costs, for public housing authorities that would have to evict all of these households and identify new households to replace them. Democrats walk out as Republicans advance judicial nomination of Emil Bove The uproar started when Republican Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley moved to vote on the nomination of Bove, a top Justice Department official, to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Democratic Sen. Cory Booker expressed frustration that not all voices had been heard yet, prompting the rest of the Democrats on the committee to walk out before Republicans advanced his nomination to the floor. Bove, who along with Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche served as a criminal defense lawyer for Trump, has been behind some of the most scrutinized Justice Department actions since Trump returned to office, including the dismissal of New York City Mayor Eric Adams corruption case. A former Justice Department lawyer accused Bove of suggesting the department might have to defy court orders. Bove denied that claim. Blanche wrote in a piece published by Fox News Wednesday that Boves legal acumen is extraordinary, and his moral clarity is above reproach. Hamilton 10th anniversary is a fundraiser for immigration services Lin-Manuel Miranda plans to use the 10th anniversary Broadway performance of Hamilton to raise about $3 million for the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, a group of 14 nonprofits including the National Immigration Law Center. Miranda told The Associated Press that he remains surprised by the joyous audience reaction to the Immigrants: We get the job done line thats shared in the show by Hamilton and French military officer Marquis de Lafayette. Its one of the things that just heartens me and gives me hope. In these dark times, it still gets a big cheer, Miranda said. Its the same reason why that No Kings protest vastly outnumbered the military parade happening on the same day: There are still a lot of people who believe in basic decency and treating people who come here often from really tough situations with humanity. OMB chief applauds rescissions package, says another will come soon Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, says the imminent passage of a new package of spending cuts shows enthusiasm for getting the nations fiscal situation under control. Were happy to go to great lengths to get this thing done, Vought said during a Thursday breakfast with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor. In response to questions about the relatively small size of the cuts $9 billion Vought said its because I knew it would be hard to pass in Congress, and that more are coming. Another rescissions package is likely to come soon, Vought said. But were not there yet. House tees up vote to claw back foreign aid, public broadcasting funds The House is expected to take up Trumps request to claw back about $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting on Thursday evening. We cant be spending taxpayer funds overseas, engaging in all sorts of nefarious activities. Thats what this rescissions package is about, to stop that, Speaker Mike Johnson said. We need to get back to fiscal sanity and this is an important step. The Senate approved the package in the early morning hours Thursday. If the House does the same, the bill would go to Trumps desk for his signature. Supporters of the foreign aid spending say its miniscule for the amount of good it does in saving lives and enhancing the standing of the United States around the world. Fired State Department employees say Americans arent being told the truth They spoke with The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals as they remain on the payroll until September. The American people arent getting all of the facts about what the department has done, said one officer working in intelligence. This person said their teams work had been transferred to office that lacks capacity to handle the sensitive material. Others were tasked with maintaining U.S. energy dominance, a centerpiece of our foreign policy, Rubio said at his confirmation hearing. The fact that they got rid of all the energy experts who would promote oil and gas sales overseas clearly undermines everything that theyre saying, the official said. The list also includes intelligence analysts who specialize in Russia and Ukraine, and experts with deep institutional and cultural knowledge of China, leaving the U.S. exposed to a country Rubio labeled the most significant long-term risk to the United States. Far-right activist Laura Loomer celebrated the Department of Justices decision to fire the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, Maurene Comey, who prosecuted Ghislaine Maxwell. Comey was terminated as a federal prosecutor for the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday, according to reports. Its not immediately clear what led to her termination. The Independent has reached out to the U.S. Attorneys Office and the DOJ for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The move comes weeks after Comey led the prosecution of Sean Diddy Combs. The rapper was convicted of prostitution-related charges but cleared of the more serious charges: racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking. Before that, she prosecuted Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after her 2021 conviction on charges related to her role in a scheme to abuse minor girls with Jeffrey Epstein. Loomer seemed thrilled about the move. This comes 2 months after my pressure campaign on Pam Blondi to fire Comeys daughter and Comeys son-in-law from the DOJ, Loomer boasted in a X post on Wednesday, referring to Attorney General Pam Bondi. Justice Department fires Maurene Comey, according to reports (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) Justice Department fires Maurene Comey, according to reports (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.) In May, Loomer urged Bondi to terminate Comey and her husband, Lucas Issacharoff, an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the civil rights division. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Blondi was a serious person, she would FIRE them both for being a national security risk via their proximity to a criminal who just committed a felony by threatening to assassinate the President, the far-right activist wrote in a lengthy X post. Days earlier, the former FBI director faced intense scrutiny after posting a photo of shells depicting 8647 on his Instagram account. Some close to Trump believed the post was a call to assassinate Trump. The elder Comey later took down the photo, denied that he intended for any violence, and said the message was "totally innocent." Loomer continued: Both Maurene Comey and Lucas Issacharoff need to be FIRED from the DOJ immediately. If Blondi refuses to fire them, she should RESIGN. On Wednesday, she applauded the attorney general: +1 for Blondi today! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week, Trump accused James Comey as well as former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden of having made up the Epstein files, a controversy that has created a schism in MAGA world. Laura Loomer first called for the younger Comey to be fired in May (Getty Images) Laura Loomer first called for the younger Comey to be fired in May (Getty Images) Its not immediately clear if Loomers demands played a role in the Trump administrations decision to fire Comey. Loomer does appear to have Trumps ear when it comes to who he keeps in his administration. Loomer met with Trump in April and urged him to fire members of the National Security Council who had been disloyal to him. Not long after, the president terminated several NSC staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In May, the far-right activist believed Trumps pick for surgeon general, Janette Nesheiwat, was not ideologically aligned with Donald Trump or his admins health initiatives so she called for a new nominee. The president later withdrew Nesheiwats nomination. Asked how many staffing decisions shes had a hand in, Loomer told the New York Times this month: I dont even know. She continued: I really enjoy and take great pleasure in humiliating people who suck at their job. Laura Loomer re-entered the Trump White Houses periphery this week at precisely the worst possible moment for a president trying to stop a firestorm from spreading. As Donald Trump continues battling the blaze of controversy surrounding his administrations reversal on the issue of releasing a list of Jeffrey Epsteins alleged co-conspirators, the so-called Epstein Client List, Loomers own contribution to the mess may end up letting what little air is left out of the presidents tires. On Wednesday afternoon, the acidic conservative activist celebrated the firing of Maurene Comey, an assistant U.S. attorney and daughter of the former FBI Director James Comey. The latter is a reviled figure among many Republicans and Democrats in Washington over his handling of investigations into both Hillary Clinton and Trump during the 2016 election season. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her celebration came after Loomer personally lobbied the administration for Comeys firing, publicly and privately. In typical shoot-first form, she labeled Attorney General Pam Bondi the sexist nickname Blondi as she bombarded Twitter with posts calling for Comey to be sacked. The reason behind the firing of his daughter is obvious to anyone versed in the far-rights lore: she represented the clearest image of the Deep State conspiracy which Trump and his lackeys concocted to explain the prosecution of members of his campaign in 2016 as well as the DoJs efforts to prosecute Trump himself after her father was fired in 2017. Laura Loomer, a far-right activist with a history of racist views, is one of Donald Trumps newest advisers (AP) Laura Loomer, a far-right activist with a history of racist views, is one of Donald Trumps newest advisers (AP) But to be clear, that reason isnt going to be what the vast majority of Americans see about this latest development, especially if Democrats latch on to the issue at all. Instead, the headline (or tweets) will be much more succinct: Trump fires the prosecutor who put away Ghislaine Maxwell as his base revolts over the Epstein Client List. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats right: at the peak of the uproar over the Justice Departments insistence that such a list doesnt even exist, Loomer talked Trump into firing a key figure behind the effort to hold Epstein and his co-conspirator accountable. And he did it the same day as he Truthed and deleted a post on his social media platform ripping apart his followers for feeling let down. The attack lines write themselves. Will Saletan, a writer and commentator for The Bulwark, tweeted in response to Comeys firing: Its becoming difficult to explain the presidents behavior as the conduct of an innocent man. Its some of Trumpworlds most prominent defenders, too, like Dana Loesch (former spokeswoman for the NRA) and Riley Gaines, the face of the right-wing anti-transgender movement. Responding to Trump on Wednesday calling his followers stupid and foolish in a now-deleted Truth Social posting, Gaines wrote: Was it stupid & foolish when he campaigned on releasing the files? Are Pam Bondi, Kash Patel, Dan Bongino, and Alina Habba all foolish & stupid for peddling this for the past 6 months? Why on earth is he doing this? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This isnt the first time Loomer has played an oversized role in the second Trump White House. Its just the first time it has immediately blown up in the presidents face. Loomer previously orchestrated a purge of the national security council (NSC) earlier this year after accusing staff members of disloyalty and leaking to the media. Mike Waltz, the national security adviser, was eventually shifted out of the White House to serve as U.N. ambassador after accidentally adding a reporter in his contacts to a Signal chain where information about imminent attack plans were shared by senior officials. Accusations of a cover-up are quickly evolving into full-scale assumptions of Trumps own direct involvement in Epsteins known criminal activities. And the administrations refusal to release more information after very publicly promising the opposite and inviting right-wing influencers and operatives like Jack Posobiec to the White House to receive big flashy binders marked The Epstein Files is doing the president absolutely no favors. On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also announced that the administration would not appoint a special prosecutor to review the investigation into Epstein, hardly a surprise given that Trump has repeatedly urged his followers to stop talking about it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That was a direct rebuke of Steve Bannon, War Room podcast host and one of Trumps longtime advisers though the two were closer during Trumps first term. Bannon has called for the appointment of such an official multiple times on his show over the past weeks. New polling is clear: Trumps Epstein flip-flop is quickly becoming the least popular thing hes ever done. Even the majority of his own MAGA supporters, Republicans and independents both, are in near-uniform opposition to his refusal to release the client list, the Justice Departments reversal-of-fact on the issue of whether it exists or not, and especially Trumps own bluster and blunder as he attempts to force the story out of the headlines. And if this week is any indication, Trump and his team have come up with nothing that can move the story out of the headlines or satisfy the MAGA bases hunger for answers except by following through on a promise to deliver the moon. Law enforcement agencies prepare for Good Trouble Lives On protests Several protests are scheduled for Thursday across Central Florida and beyond. The Good Trouble Lives On demonstration is powered by organizers who were also involved in the No Kings Day protest earlier this summer. People will be bringing their kids; its safe, said Jessica Szczesiul, whos part of the team organizing the demonstration in Kissimmee. This is all part of a larger initiative to peacefully stand up against what organizers call undemocratic policies both at the federal and state levels. They are also voicing their concerns about the new detention facility in the Florida Everglades, nicknamed Alligator Alcatraz. It should really be called a concentration camp, Szczesiul said. Because its worse than a prison, and there are inhumane conditions. The protests name is a reference to the late civil rights leader John Lewis. The 50501 Movement, the nonpartisan group behind the initiative, mobilized millions of demonstrators across Central Florida in June. At home, the protests were so peaceful that even counterprotesters attended some of them. For the majority of people who are willing to have a conversation, its been nothing but civil. And theres a lot that we agree on, said a supporter of President Donald Trump during one of the rallies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the last protest was peaceful, local law enforcement agencies are ramping up security, just in case. Melbourne police announced they will be partnering with other law enforcement agencies to ensure support in managing traffic flow and addressing any public safety issues. Altamont Springs Police told Channel 9 they have been in touch with organizers and are expecting a peaceful protest. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. NEW YORK New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday formally received support for his reelection bid from several unions representing employees of the police and correction departments unions, who expressed concern a City Hall led by Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani would be a de Blasio 2.0. Union heads from the 13 organizations who backed the mayor cited the mayors support in contract negotiations and in securing their members pay bumps. Benny Boscio, president of the New York City Correction Officers Benevolent Association, one of the unions that endorsed Adams, said he supports the mayor because the city cant afford to have de Blasio 2.0 back in City Hall, a reference to ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio, who often feuded with the citys law enforcement unions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My members know all too well what its like to have a mayor who purposely defunds them, scapegoats them, and puts their lives in jeopardy, Boscio said. That was exactly what we endured over the years under the de Blasio administration. Mamdani, the Democratic mayoral nominee whos polling as the favorite to win Novembers election, has signaled his City Hall would take cues from de Blasio, and he has said hes talked to Steve Banks, the ex-mayors social services commissioner, and Amit Singh Bagga and Maria Torres-Springer, who also held roles in the de Blasio administration. Mamdani also said he would consider keeping current Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch. We have come too far to go backwards, Adams, whos running as an independent in Novembers contest, said, slamming Mamdanis plans to close Rikers Island and have mental health professionals and social workers respond to domestic violence incidents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The formal endorsements, which were reported earlier this week, came a day after Adams former interim New York Police Department commissioner, Tom Donlon, alleged in a bombshell lawsuit that the mayor and top department officials promoted unqualified friends to prestigious posts and punished those who spoke out against the practice. Those allegations followed lawsuits filed last week against the mayor by four ex-NYPD chiefs who alleged a similar pattern of cronyism and corruption. In his remarks, Adams, a former NYPD captain, touted his record on crime, including increases in subway ridership and drops in homicides, and how he secured contracts for law enforcement unions. We will ensure that they always have the resources they need, the mayor said of police officers. Dont tell me about law enforcement overtime, tell me about how we brought down crime. Under Adams, overtime costs have mushroomed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In attendance at Thursdays rally were the Detectives Endowment Association, Sergeants Benevolent Association, Captains Endowment Association, Lieutenants Benevolent Association and Correction Officers Benevolent Association, along with other law enforcement unions, including some from Long Island and other parts of the state. The Police Benevolent Association, the citys largest police union, has yet to announce which candidate it is backing. The heads of several of the unions endorsing Adams reelection bid shrugged off the string of lawsuits alleging that the mayor and his allies have run the NYPD as a corrupt enterprise. I dont really know enough about (the suits), I can just go on Eric Adams record and what hes done for crime in the city and what hes done for correction officers and my members, Boscio said of the suits after the news conference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scott Munro, president of the Detectives Endowment Association, one of the NYPD unions that endorsed Adams independent campaign, said the lawsuits against Adams and his top NYPD advisers arent important to his members, arguing the mayor has his groups support because he believes in the police. The mayor called the NYPD lawsuits against him baseless as he left the event to go back into City Hall. Adams has been good to them on contracts, they know all this, but they are looking at Adams, and they got good contracts from him, Donlon told The News when asked of the new endorsements. (Graham Rayman contributed to this report.) The Republican-controlled Legislature has often gone to law firms with ties to the national GOP and the Wisconsin Department of Justice under former Attorney General Brad Schimel to fight its legal battles. These law firms have earned a total of $26.2 million in taxpayer dollars since 2017 for representing the Legislature in high-profile fights over redistricting, laws passed during the 2018 lame-duck session and Michael Gableman's failed investigation into the 2020 election. The Legislature has paid many of the lawyers more than $500 per hour, according to contracts between legislative leaders and the firms obtained through open records requests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That's significantly higher than the typical rate paid by Gov. Tony Evers, who has spent just over $1.7 million on legal fees to outside counsel since taking office in January 2019. Firms hired by Evers billed between $275 and $450 per hour, with some work done pro bono. Evers' spending on outside counsel is dramatically lower in part because he is frequently represented in litigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice under Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul. Here are the five law firms that have made the most money representing the Legislature since 2017: Troutman Pepper Locke: $10.6 million Troutman Pepper Locke, formerly Troutman Pepper and Troutman Sanders, has made $10.6 million representing legislative leaders in legal fights over the 2018 lame-duck laws, Act 10 and absentee voting deadlines during the COVID-19 pandemic, among others. The Atlanta-based law firm has more 1,600 attorneys across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Partner Misha Tseytlin, who has ties to the Federalist Society and helped develop the strategy to overturn Roe v. Wade, served as Wisconsin's solicitor general under Schimel. Another attorney at the firm, Kevin LeRoy, previously served as a deputy solicitor general. The most recent contracts show Troutman Pepper Locke attorneys bill the Legislature $550 per hour. A spokesperson for the firm said this rate is reduced. In light of the public service nature of the client and our longstanding relationship, we provide a substantial discount of our normal rates to the Legislature, said a spokesperson for the firm. Eimer Stahl: $3.5 million The Chicago-based firm Eimer Stahl has represented the Legislature in a range of cases, including Evers' use of the partial veto for education funding, the City of Green Bay's installation of surveillance devices in City Hall and the fight over Fred Prehn's refusal to leave the state's Natural Resources Board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The firm has made $3.5 million since 2017. Eimer Stahl partner Ryan Walsh worked under Schimel as chief deputy solicitor general from 2016 to 2018. Walsh and the other attorneys at the firm bill the Legislature $650 per hour, according to contracts. Walsh said in an email Eimer Stahl is proud to represent the Legislature and that the firm's rates are "steeply discounted." "This reflects our dedication to serving the public interest and minimizing costs to taxpayers," Walsh said. Consovoy McCarthy: $2.3 million Consovoy McCarthy is a small but powerful national conservative law firm. The firm has won victories for conservatives at the U.S. Supreme Court, including the case that in 2023 led to race-conscious university admissions programs being declared unlawful. It has also represented President Donald Trump in his efforts to prevent the release of his tax returns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wisconsin legislative leaders hired Consovoy McCarthy for redistricting-related litigation during the 2020 cycle, agreeing to pay counsel $400 per hour. Experts have said firms from outside Wisconsin have been hired in part because legal fights at the state level have become nationalized. A Consovoy McCarthy attorney who has represented the Legislature did not respond to a request for comment. Bell Giftos St. John: $1.76 million Bell Giftos St. John, a Madison-based law firm, has worked primarily on redistricting litigation during both the 2010 and 2020 cycles. The firm has made $1.76 million representing the Legislature since 2017. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most recent contract, from 2021, showed the firm billed a rate of $375 per hour and a paralegal rate of $125 per hour. Partner Kevin St. John served as Wisconsin's deputy attorney general from 2011 to 2015 under Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. St. John declined to comment. Augustyn Law: $1.02 million Augustyn Law has served as general counsel for the state Senate since 2021, providing legal advice, organizing outside counsel and assisting Senate offices with legal matters, according to contracts. The Senate pays the firm a flat monthly fee of $20,000 for its services, contracts show. Attorney Jessie Augustyn previously worked in the office of former Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who is now a Republican U.S. representative. Augustyn declined to comment. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Here are the go-to law firms for GOP-controlled Wisconsin Legislature By Jonathan Stempel (Reuters) -The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ended a civil bribery case against two former Cognizant Technology Solutions executives, after President Donald Trump decided to stop enforcing a key anti-corruption law. In a filing in the Newark, New Jersey federal court, the SEC said it dismissed claims against Gordon Coburn and Steven Schwartz "in the exercise of its discretion and as a policy matter," and not on the merits. The dismissal followed the Department of Justice's April 3 decision to abandon a related criminal case against Coburn and Schwartz. James Loonam, a lawyer for Coburn, said he was very happy with the dismissal. A lawyer for Schwartz did not immediately respond to requests for comment. U.S. authorities charged Coburn and Schwartz in February 2019 with authorizing a $2 million bribe to an Indian official for helping to obtain a construction permit for a new Cognizant office in Chennai. The SEC accused Coburn and Schwartz of violating anti-bribery, books and records, and internal accounting controls provisions of federal securities laws. Alina Habba, the acting U.S. attorney in New Jersey, said in April the criminal case should end in light of Trump's executive order pausing enforcement of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The FCPA prohibits companies that operate in the United States from bribing foreign officials. Trump has called it a "horrible law," and when signing his executive order said ending enforcement would "mean a lot more business for America." Cognizant agreed in February 2019 to pay $25.2 million to settle with the SEC. The regulator also accused the Teaneck, New Jersey-based information technology and outsourcing company of authorizing two additional bribes. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) A ranch owner may have to take down a disruptive fence around their property, according to The Colorado Sun. Texas oil heir William Harrison erected roughly 20 miles of 8-foot-high fencing to keep unwelcome visitors from fishing, driving ATVs, dumping trash, and collecting antlers on his San Luis Valley property. He also has a herd of bison he needs to contain. Harrison purchased the ranch in 2017, when it was listed for $105 million. Environmental advocates have argued that the fence has disrupted migration patterns for local wildlife and produced greater soil erosion. Such barriers can even be lethal if they block retreat routes during a wildfire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following a 2023 injunction on further fence construction by Harrison, Colorado Governor Jared Polis recently signed into law a new requirement for fencing construction in the Sangre de Cristo Land Grant area. An application to the local government is now required if the fence is more than 5 feet high, if the fence is more than a mile long and encloses a property, or if the fence is half a mile long but not enclosed. Human-made barriers can isolate wildlife from food sources and mating opportunities. Roads are typically the biggest culprit in this kind of habitat fragmentation, but solutions are available. Canadian elk and grizzly bears have been able to cross over a road thanks to a custom naturalized bridge. A similar bridge is under construction in Arizona. Meanwhile, a tunnel under a Vermont road has been able to reduce amphibian mortality in the area by 80%. When it comes to fences, there are a range of design options that can make them more wildlife-friendly, including low clearance and visual cues on top wires. Environmentalists maintain the new Colorado law is a win for local ecosystems in the face of wealthy landowners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This will enable other counties to protect themselves from the destructive, obscene displays of wealth that the ultra-wealthy who are purchasing large mountain tracts in Colorado can engage in to separate themselves in their private sanctuaries from the regular people," said activist Joseph Quintana, per The Colorado Sun. 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. There have been 27 major disaster declarations issued by President Trump so far in 2025. The disasters range in size and scope, from the L.A. wildfires to Midwest tornadoes and the Texas flooding as well as several winter storms. Many of them have resulted in fatalities and billions of dollars in damage to property and businesses, but one major deadly weather event that occurred in June hasn't been declared: an extreme heat wave. Between June 20-24, a heat dome, or the presence of high heat over a region that lingers for an extended period of time, exposed nearly half of the country to dangerously high temperatures. On June 24, seven states tied or broke monthly high temperature records, many exceeding triple digits. One of those states, Maryland, reported that 472 people needed medical assistance for heat-related illnesses during that time when the heat index topped 110 degrees in some places. But there's no disaster declaration for the event listed on the FEMA website. That's because extreme heat is not considered a "disaster" that is eligible for federal funding, according to the Stafford Act, which is the guiding law that outlines when and how the president can declare disasters and direct the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide assistance to state and local governments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, three Democratic lawmakers are attempting to change that. Senators Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Ruben Gallego of Arizona, along with Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia of Texas, have proposed legislation to classify extreme heat as a disaster, which would allow federal funding to flow into areas where hotter temperatures cause significant physical and economic distress. Republican Rep. Mike Lawler of New York has signed on as a co-sponsor. "Last year, more than 500 people died in one single county in Nevada from heat-related illnesses," Rosen said in a statement. "Current federal policy ignores the physical and health risks that such extremely high temperatures have on our communities, which is why I'm introducing a bill to change that. By classifying extreme heat as a major disaster, our communities will be able to receive the federal funding needed to respond and prepare for future extreme heat events." It's not the first time Rosen has proposed the legislation. She introduced a similar bill in 2024 that passed through the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee rather quickly, before being blocked by a Senate Republican. Under the Stafford Act, there are 16 types of natural disasters listed, defined as "any hurricane, tornado, storm, flood, high water, winddriven water, tidal wave, tsunami, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, mudslide, snowstorm, drought, fire, or other catastrophe in any part of the United States which causes, or which may cause, substantial damage or injury to civilian property or persons." It does not explicitly list extreme heat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, Gallego said that more Americans are killed by extreme heat than any other form of extreme weather incident combined, according to the National Weather Service. "By adding extreme heat to FEMA's list of major disasters, we can unlock the funds and support our communities desperately need," he added. According to Rosen's office, declaring extreme heat a major disaster would enable states and local governments to request federal funds that could provide additional cooling centers, air conditioning to communities that need it, money for water infrastructure projects, as well as a mechanism where communities can request money for heat adaptation projects, such as planting more trees, or building shade structures to reduce urban heat. But there are some who do not agree that adding extreme heat to the Stafford Act is necessary. "It is already eligible under the Stafford Act," says Deanne Criswell, the former FEMA administrator under President Biden, "There's nothing that excludes a governor from requesting a declaration for extreme heat." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There have been at least three previous times when a governor requested a major disaster declaration for extreme heat: in 1980 by the governor of Missouri; in 1995, when the Illinois governor requested it over a heat wave that killed more than 700 people; and most recently in 2022, when California Gov. Gavin Newsom requested a major disaster declaration for a heat dome and resulting wildfires. In all instances, the requests were denied at the time by the sitting president. According to Criswell, the Stafford Act is designed to pay for impacts to infrastructure caused by a natural disaster, but the majority of resources a state might need for extreme heat like cooling centers, tree shade, and air conditioning are things that can be addressed ahead of an extreme heat event through existing hazard mitigation grants. "What damaged infrastructure do you have from an extreme heat situation?" Criswell told CBS News, "You might have power issues, but is it damaged or is it just a temporary situation because of the overload on it?" While Criswell doesn't see the need for extreme heat to be added to the Stafford Act to qualify for disaster funding, she does believe there needs to be a greater emphasis on supporting hazard mitigation projects and funding, which have been subject to cuts under the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This administration has not been granting the hazard mitigation grant programing to these disaster declarations," says Criswell. The reasoning behind that, she says, is because much of the mitigation money that was given in previous disaster declarations hasn't been utilized. The White House has not commented on extreme heat being added as a disaster risk, and President Trump has focused on overhauling FEMA and shifting disaster response and recovery to states. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration recently concluded a series of public hearings as it debates whether to institute the first federal rule to protect indoor and outdoor workers from heat, which would mandate employers provide paid breaks, water and shade. The rule has faced criticism from business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which says the rule would "impose unreasonable burdens." Business groups have backed efforts in some Republican-led states, like Florida and Texas, to block local municipalities from passing heat protection rules for workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the pushback, seven states Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Colorado, Minnesota and Maryland have adopted independent heat protection rules for workers, but significant federal legislation to address extreme heat, both in the workplace and for disaster declarations, remains an uphill battle for Democrats. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Downwinders held an annual memorial on the 80th anniversary of the Trinity Test, honoring those who have suffered and died as a result of NM's nuclear legacy. (Leah Romero for Source NM) Dozens of people including advocates, lawmakers and downwinders gathered near the northern entrance to White Sands Missile Range Wednesday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Trinity test, which left generations of New Mexicans impacted by nuclear exposure. The Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium and state Rep. Joanne Ferrary (D-Las Cruces) held a dedication ceremony along US Highway 380 near San Antonio, New Mexico and WSMRs Stallion Gate to unveil a new roadside sign detailing the suffering New Mexico downwinders endured following the July 16, 1945 detonation of the Trinity nuclear bomb. The sign is the product of House Memorial 50, which Ferrary sponsored during the most recent legislative session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The memorial requested that the New Mexico Department of Transportation conduct a study for placing a memorial plaque at the location recognizing the sacrifices of New Mexicans living in the Tularosa Basin at the time of detonation and ongoing impacts to their health and livelihoods. Honoring the downwinders of the Tulurosa Basin is an important way to acknowledge the human consequences of the Trinity test and to ensure that their experiences are recognized and remembered, Ferrary said during the dedication. These were the downwinders the men and women and children of the Tularosa Basin who breathed the fallout, drank from contaminated wells and carried on, unaware of the physical danger that had descended upon them. In the years that followed, many suffered from rare cancers, chronic illnesses and the [generational] toll of radiation exposure. Ferrary was joined by Lt. Gov. Howie Morales; representatives of New Mexicos congressional delegation; advocates who traveled to the state from throughout the country and internationally; and by members of the consortium. While the 1990 version of the federal Radiation Exposure Compensation Act excluded New Mexicans, and expired last year, RECA renewed as part of President Donal Trumps so called big, beautiful bill and now includes New Mexicos downwinders and post-1971 uranium miners. Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium Founder Tina Cordova told Source NM that she was overwhelmed by the turnout Wednesday morning and that it was a good day for the people of New Mexico. However, she added that the joy of finally being recognized through the RECA bill was marred because other U.S. communities have still been left out of the reparations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we first found out that it was going to leave out some of our sisters and brothers in places like Guam, weve developed these close relationships with those people. You know, weve traveled with them all over the country, weve gone to D.C with them, Cordova said. For them to be left out was heartbreaking for us. We couldnt even begin to celebrate anything because we felt so bad. And its still rough, but weve decided that we have to just assure them that we stand with them and as we fight for more, that includes them. According to an advisory released by U.S. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, while eligible downwinders can qualify for $100,000 in compensation through RECA, the U.S. Department of Justice has yet to release eligibility rules. Both Lujan and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) last week sent letters to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer urging both to issue guidance quickly for RECA given the short two-year timeline for compensation. The day ended in Tularosa with a candlelight vigil, honoring the people who have suffered and died because of the bomb. New Mexico youth from Albuquerque traveled to the dedication and to Tularosa where they handed out hundreds of luminarias at the vigil and attendees wrote the names of loved ones on the paper bags, while volunteers read out each name. We love to help people, Mario Morales, 13, told Source. Were here to stopthe people thats trying to build more nukes and trying to go back to uranium miningIm against that because youre risking peoples lives. Lawmakers worry that military housing funds may again be diverted to domestic operations. Barracks have been plagued with maintenance issues for years, impacting troop morale and safety. The Army and Marine Corps are seeking more funding to address barracks and quality of life concerns. As lawmakers negotiate next year's defense bill, some are sounding alarms over the possibility that funds intended to improve housing for junior troops could instead be diverted to support military operations at home. In a hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Sara Jacobs, a California Democrat, pushed to add two stipulations into the House version of the National Defense Authorization Act aimed at safeguarding funding for military barracks and childcare centers. The proposals would have prohibited using the funds for domestic deployments of troops specifically in support of immigration enforcement and barred their transfer to border operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is simply saying that the money that we allocate as Congress for barracks and child development centers and quality of life infrastructure should be used for barracks and child development centers and quality of life infrastructure, not anything else," she said during the hearing. Both additions were shot down along party lines. Military barracks, dormitories where unmarried junior troops are housed, have long been plagued by maintenance issues. Many buildings are decades-old and have fallen into disrepair during 20 years of war in the Middle East. Soldiers with the 173rd Airborne Brigade play a game of pool in the Rhine Ordnance Barracks Deployment Processing Center. Keith Pannell/US Army "This is about actually showing our service members that we care about them," Rep. Jill Tokuda, a Democrat from Hawaii, said during the hearing, highlighting instances of barracks rooms overrun by black mold, leaky plumbing, unreliable electrical and A/C systems, and a lack of kitchens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 2022 government watchdog report noted how continuously delayed maintenance aggravates problems for the military's buildings around the world, valued at $1.3 trillion overall. In fiscal year 2020, for instance, the DoD's deferred maintenance backlog amounted to over $137 billion, exacerbated by "competing priorities". A separate report the following year found widespread concerns about barracks management oversight and hazardous health risks to troops and noted that shoddy conditions harm troop morale. The services have taken note after coming under fire for the poor living conditions highlighted in the reports and scandalous news reports of substandard living conditions. The Army sought $2.35 billion last year to address barracks concerns, an over 60% increase in funding from the year prior. The Marine Corps, meanwhile, has undertaken a decade-long, nearly $11 billion refurbishment program. The US Army Rhine Ordnance Barracks at Kaiserslautern, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. Keith Pannell/US Army "The idea is not to fix it and forget it," Lt. Gen. James Adams, Deputy Commandant for Programs and Resources, said of the initiative during a panel at the Modern Day Marine expo in April, explaining that the Corps partly "got ourselves into the position we're in now" by neglecting maintenance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the military is facing maintenance woes on other fronts too one of the Army's biggest bases was forced to dissolve its teams that oversaw preventative housing maintenance last month, amid federal government cuts, according to Military.com. And the Pentagon sought to shift $1 billion intended for Army barracks to finance deployments to the southern border earlier this year. In a statement provided to Business Insider, Jacobs said that funds approved for barracks issues and childcare centers which have faced staffing shortages and meager pay are already a comparatively modest sum, considering the level of disrepair with which some facilities must contend. "There's not enough money as it is to upgrade and maintain quality of life infrastructure like barracks and child development centers, and address urgent issues like mold and broken heating and A/C units," Jacobs wrote. "None of this money should be diverted for any reason let alone to terrorize immigrant communities and stifle dissent." "The fact that a billion dollars in the first six months of this administration was diverted from barracks and quality of life and operations and maintenance to the border is sending the message that we really don't care about your health and wellness," Tokuda said during the hearing, adding that money transfers were equivalent to "essentially guaranteeing that we will ultimately never fix these barracks." Read the original article on Business Insider Lawrence ODonnell crowned Rosie ODonnell the winner in her spat against Donald Trump after the comedienne and actress dubbed the president the Tangerine Mussolini. The MSNBC anchor says theres now ample room for Republicans to get in their own clap back, particularly after their leader called them stupid. I got to say, as nicknames for Donald Trump go, Tangerine Mussolini is a possible winner, and it certainly gave Rosie ODonnell the win in her latest exchange with Donald Trump, ODonnell said during the opening of Wednesdays episode of The Last Word. It will be interesting to see what nicknames the Republicans, who Donald Trump called stupid today, will come up with to compete with Tangerine Mussolini. More from TheWrap ODonnell was referring to all the shade thats been thrown around in Hollywood and in politics over the past few days, with Trump throwing his most recent rageful words at his own political party. On Wednesday, Trump took to social media to blast the GOP over their calls for more information about the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, which Trump and his camp have continuously tried to dismiss and label as a non-issue Americans should move on from. The Trump administration and Attorney General Pam Bondi have declined to release all of the documents related to Epstein, whom Trump seemingly had close ties to for several years. They have also mentioned that they found no evidence of Epsteins rumored client list. In the post, per ABC News, Trump claimed Democrats have launched a campaign for the Epstein files as a new scam and said his PAST supporters have bought into it. He went on to say that he no longer needs Republicans or their support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore! Trump said in the post, per ABC News. During an interview with ABC News Chief White House Correspondent Mary Bruce, he slammed Republicans over their push for more details about the Epstein files. It was a hoax. Its all been a big hoax. Its perpetrated by the Democrats and some stupid Republicans and foolish Republicans fall into the net. And so they try and do the Democrats work. The Democrats are good for nothing other than these hoaxes, Trump told the journalist. Where Rosie comes in? ODonnell feels his recent attack against her threatening to take her natural-born U.S. citizenship away over her criticisms of him is just one of his ways of distracting the country from more pressing issues, i.e., the Epstein files. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is no way Donald Trump could take away the citizenship of natural-born citizen Rosie ODonnell. Donald Trump knows that, but that was Trumps idea of the moment of how to change the subject from Jeffery Epstein, ODonnell explained. It obviously failed spectacularly, but it did provoke a video response from her new residence in Ireland, which she said, Im safe here in Ireland. Im out of reach of the Tangerine Mussolini.' You can watch her video below. Rosie ODonnell goes on ramble against Trump after he branded her a threat to humanity. Dont worry about me. Im good. Im safe here in Ireland. Im out of the reach of the Tangerine Mussolini. pic.twitter.com/rM6XgLZMB1 Oli London (@OliLondonTV) July 15, 2025 At the top of the MSNBC hosts message, he shared that this is a new beginning for Trump and his turn against his political party. For the first time, you are going to hear the words Trump and stupid in the same sentence, but not in the order you might expect It is a historic turn for Donald Trump. It is a brand new use of the word stupid by Donald Trump, and it is the most important Trump usage of the word stupid ever, ODonnell said. No one insults the intelligence of Trump voters more than Donald Trump. No one thinks less of the intellectual capacity of Trump voters than Donald Trump, and he has always proved that in the way he pathologically lies directly to them about things that they know are not true. Donald Trump has always thought that he can do that to his supporters, because he believes that they are not That was his word for Republicans who have been religiously devoted to him, who think of him as chosen by God. Donald Trump turned on those Republicans. Check out ODonnells full remarks above. The post Lawrence ODonnell Says Rosie ODonnell Won Donald Trump Spat After Dubbing Him Tangerine Mussolini | Video appeared first on TheWrap. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The family of Maria Pike, a woman who was killed in an Independence police shooting last November alongside her infant daughter, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit in Jackson County against the officers who were involved. An attorney for Tom and Lynn Pike, along with Mitchell Holder, Jr., filed suit on Thursday against Independence police officers Jordan White and Chad Cox for the Nov. 7, 2024, shooting. The lawsuit claims that on the afternoon of Pikes death, just before 1:45 p.m., both officers were called to the Oval Springs Apartments on reports of a domestic disturbance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kansas City Fire Department responds to 23 water rescues during overnight storms When the officers arrived, Holders mother told police that Maria had hit her while she tried to see her granddaughter. Officers then went inside the apartment building and talked with Holder in the doorway of their unit. Holder told police that before they arrived, his mother had allegedly unlawfully entered their apartment through a sliding glass door. After his mother entered, Holder claimed he asked her to leave, but she refused, forcing he and Pike to physically force her out of their apartment. In the lawsuit, the plaintiffs allege the officers disregarded Holders story and made the unlawful decision to arrest Pike and remove their nearly 3-month-old daughter, Destinii Hope, from their custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit states officers knew Pike struggled with mental health issues, specifically post-partum depression, but proceeded to try to remove the baby. Previously released bodycam footage showed Pike shaking her head in response to officers questions while holding the baby, but not speaking. Both officers recognized Maria (Pike) suffered from some type of mental illness, and knew from their training and experience that forcibly removing [Destinii] from Marias arms would likely escalate into violence, resulting in harm to Maria and [Destinii], unless the officers took some appropriate measures to avoid such harm, the lawsuit said. When Pike refused to hand over her baby, the lawsuit claims the officers chose to take action and tried to remove Destinii from her arms. The lawsuit alleges officers then prepared for an altercation with Maria, anticipating that someone could get hurt, and physically closed in on her and her daughter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Bodycam footage showed Officer White backing into a closet as Pike grabbed a knife from a bedside table, and approached White. He then shot Pike, who was also holding Destinii. Both were killed. The Jackson County Prosecutors Office declined to criminally charge both officers in March 2025, citing use of force laws in Missouri. Prosecutor Melesa Johnson said the officers use of deadly force fell within the protection of the law. Pikes family and Holder are suing for compensatory damages, punitive damages, prejudgment and post-judgment interest as provided by law and equity, court costs and other further relief that may be necessary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Thursday, FOX4 reached out to Independence Police for comment. A spokesperson said the police department does not comment on pending litigation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. Lawyers hired by the Chicago Housing Authority recently cited Illinois Supreme Court case Mack v. Anderson in an effort to persuade a judge to reconsider a jurys $24 million verdict against the agency in a case involving the alleged poisoning of two children by lead paint in CHA-owned property. The problem? The case doesnt exist. In the latest headache for CHA, law firm Goldberg Segalla used artificial intelligence, specifically ChatGPT, in a post-trial motion and neglected to check its work, court records show. A jury decided in January, after a roughly seven-week trial, that CHA must pay more than $24 million to two residents who sued on behalf of their children, finding the agency responsible for the childrens injuries, including past and future damages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The firm apologized for the error in a June 18 court filing, calling it a serious lapse in professionalism. An exhaustive investigation revealed that one attorney, in direct violation of Goldberg Segallas AI use policy, used AI technology and failed to verify the AI citation before including the case and surrounding sentence describing its fictitious holding, said Goldberg Segallas lead counsel in the case, Larry Mason, in the filing. Mason, whom the judge admonished for shouting during closing arguments in January, noted that several contributors supported him while preparing the motion. He also said in the filing that the investigation found no intent to deceive the Court and no other attorneys at the firm were aware of the improper citation. Goldberg Segalla has since implemented firm-wide measures to re-educate its attorneys on its AI use policy, the filing said, and established preventative measures. The firm requested that the court not punish CHA for the attorneys mistake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to a list of Tribune questions, CHA provided a copy of a letter that its interim Chief Legal Officer Elizabeth Silas sent Wednesday to Mason and said Goldberg Segalla has taken all responsibility in this matter. In the letter, Silas thanked Mason for bringing the AI issue to the agencys attention and for apologizing for the error. As you know, CHA expects its outside counsel to hold themselves to the highest responsible and ethical standards, Silas said. We sincerely hope that the Court recognizes this unfortunate error and recognizes Goldberg Segallas good faith actions to investigate, accept responsibility, and take proper corrective action. Please note, however, that depending on the Courts finding and rulings, CHA may consider and reserves the right to take additional appropriate action to protect its interests. CHA, the third largest public housing authority in the country, serves more than 65,000 households and is the largest single owner of rental housing in the city with more than 21,000 housing units. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The housing authority is without a permanent leader, with Board Chair Angela Hurlock serving as interim CEO. Mayor Brandon Johnson is nearing the final stages of a search for a new chief executive, with mayoral ally Ald. Walter Burnett, 27th, a front-runner for the role. Cook County Circuit Judge Thomas Cushing called a special hearing Thursday for a further explanation as CHAs counsel offered to provide when admitting to the error on the matter. He required any attorneys responsible for the mistake to be present and for Goldberg Segalla to provide the court with copies of the firms policies on the use of AI by attorneys. At the hearing, Danielle Malaty, the attorney responsible for the mistake, told the judge she did not think ChatGPT could create fictitious legal citations and did not check to ensure the case was legitimate. Three other Goldberg Segalla attorneys then reviewed the draft motion including Mason, who served as the final reviewer as well as CHAs in-house counsel, before it was filed with the court. Malaty was terminated from Goldberg Segalla, where she had been a partner, following her use of AI. The firm, at the time, had an AI policy that banned its use. I find all of this very unfortunate, Malaty said in the hearing. At no point did I have any intent to deceive the court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mason told the judge that because of his repeated losses when arguing before the court during the trial, he was very hands off with the post-trial motion because the case needed a fresh perspective away from me. Mason said he was not expected to check all 58 cases cited in the motion and is personally disgusted and embarrassed by what happened, calling the mistake horrific. Mason declined to comment to the Tribune. Malaty, who has since started her own practice, declined to comment through her attorney, but said in court that she had engaged in about 70 hours of training related to the use of AI and other ethical issues since making the error. Matthew Sims, an attorney for the plaintiffs, in the hearing asked for permission to file a motion for sanctions against Goldberg Segalla and CHA based on the fraud upon the court. The judge granted his request and said it must be filed by Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The next hearing for post-trial motion arguments is scheduled for July 31. CHA continues to contest the ruling and is seeking a verdict in its favor, a new trial on liability or a new trial on damages or to lower the verdict. Goldberg Segalla has billed CHA more than $389,900 for legal services, invoices dated between March 2024 through December 2024 show. CHA confirmed to the Tribune that it will not be billed for any time or expenses related to this issue, including the Thursday hearing. Related Articles The case, filed in January 2022, focused on Shanna Jordan, mother of Jahmir Collins, now 10, and Morgan Collins, the mother of Amiah Collins, now 6, who sued CHA, The Habitat Co., East Lake Management Group and Environmental Design International, alleging that the defendants knew their unit had lead-based paint and that their children suffered severe lead poisoning while living in the unit. The unit was owned by CHA and is located at 7715 N. Marshfield Ave. in Rogers Park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit said that CHA had known the property had lead-based paint since 1992 and faced code violations by the city in the early 2000s because of the hazard. Property management companies, The Habitat Co. and East Lake Management Group, who had managed the residents CHA-owned property, were found not liable for the childrens injuries. The two companies did end up settling with the plaintiffs for much smaller amounts. Habitat then sued the CHA and two of its attorneys in February for an alleged breach of contract and legal malpractice over the agencys handling of the lead poisoning lawsuit. A few months prior to the January ruling, Habitat had terminated all of its management agreements with the CHA, covering 16 buildings and approximately 3,400 units of public housing. Environmental Design International conducted an inspection for lead-based paint in 2017 on behalf of CHA and found lead-based paint, the suit said. Environmental Design International settled with the plaintiffs prior to the trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was not the first time CHA approved housing for residents who then were later diagnosed with lead poisoning. Dozens of children were found to have been poisoned by brain-damaging lead while living in homes and apartments declared safe by the Chicago Housing Authority, a Tribune investigation found in 2017. The housing authority created a new division in April focused on environmental concerns and hazards for residents. The divisions staff will start by focusing on lead-based paint hazards as they build out the program. ekane@chicagotribune.com Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. In November 1967, President Lyndon B. Johnson added a monumental new institution to his Great Society: the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a miracle in communication that LBJ compared to the United States first telegraph line. This Corporation will assist stations and producers who aim for the best in broadcasting good music, in broadcasting exciting plays, and in broadcasting reports on the whole fascinating range of human activity, Johnson remarked, as he approved the nonprofit that would birth National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. Today we rededicate a part of the airwaveswhich belong to all the peopleand we dedicate them for the enlightenment of all the people. Nearly 60 years later, Congress has done all it can to obliterate that mission. This week, the Senate narrowly approved a legislative package that rescinds $9 billion in formerly approved spending for various federal programsincluding but not limited to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. About $1.1 billion of that money had been directed to support CPB over the next two years. The corporation would then have delegated the bulk of it to its over 1,500 affiliate radio and TV stationsmany of which are the only free sources of basic information available to millions of Americans in rural regions as well as underfunded communities like Native reservations. These primary sources of news, emergency alerts, educational programming, arts coverage, and stories from your neighborhood are to be severely curtailed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This rescissions package, the first of its kind in 30 years, is not yet law; the House of Representatives will vote Thursday before the bill goes to President Donald Trumps desk. But its unlikely the House will preserve public media funding either. [Update, July 18, 2025, at 9:50 a.m.: The House voted to pass the package around midnight.] Historically, Republicans from states with significant rural and Indigenous populations have often fought to preserve and even expand public media funds, even when other GOP legislators opposed such efforts. (Past recipients of the Champion of Public Broadcasting Award include reliable conservatives such as West Virginia Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, Idaho Rep. Mike Simpson, and Oklahoma Rep. Tom Cole.) Polls conducted over the years have consistently demonstrated major support for public media and its government funds from the populaceincluding GOP voters. Trump, during his first term, consistently attempted to zero out public media budgets, yet was often stymied by fellow Republicans. This time, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were the only real GOP holdouts, with the latter pointing to a Wednesday earthquake in her home state of Alaska as an example of public medias necessity. Local residents and summer visitors alike were able to evacuate thanks to federal tsunami advisories relayed through local public broadcasting stations, Murkowski tweeted that day, echoing a speech she made on the Senate floor. Their response to todays earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide. What changed for their colleagues, then? There are two main factors here: a yearslong culture-war campaign to reduce Americans trust in NPR and PBS, and the far-right Heritage Foundations successful effort to install the architects of its Project 2025 agenda in the White House. After a former NPR senior editor published a screed last year accusing his employer of having been compromised by wokeness, right-wing activists leaped on the controversy to undermine the radio networks then recently installed CEO, Katherine Maher, by pointing out her past anti-Trump and pro-Biden tweets. The attacks on Maher extended to her affiliations with other nonprofit services like Wikimedia and Signal, and she was called up to testify to Congress this March alongside PBS CEO Paula Kerger. But it was less a hearing than a moment of Republican bellyaching, having been organized by well-known conspiracist Marjorie Taylor Greene, given the title of Anti-American Airwaves, and rounded out with a Heritage Foundation fellow as a witness. The ridiculous sideshow saw Republicans falsely claim that PBS had introduced drag shows into childrens programming and transformed themselves into propaganda machines. This served as an addition to Project 2025 co-author and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carrs ongoing crusade, in which he baselessly accused PBS and NPR of violating federal law by airing commercials, something public broadcasters are prohibited from doing. And that was all on top of Trumps endeavors to fire three CPB board members who had been appointed by President Joe Biden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was nothing like the forum where Fred Rogers brought a PBS-skeptical lawmaker to tears with an impassioned case for the value of public programming. Rather, it was the cheap justification for widespread cuts to far left public media proposed by DOGE and by Russell Vought, the Project 2025 leader now serving as Trumps Office of Management and Budget director. Late last month, propublic media senators grilled Vought in a less sensational hearing about how slashed CPB funding would starve rural neighborhoods of a much-needed public resource. He excused the move by vaguely promising that emergency services and rural stations would be fine no matter what, while adding that the budget cuts wouldnt take effect until the next fiscal year, giving CPB member stations ample time to adjust. Thats not quite the case. NPR and PBS are well prepped to adjust, as national brands that use a only minimal amount of their federal dollars2 percent of NPRs budget and 15 percent of PBSs budget, respectivelyand earn ample revenue from corporate sponsorships, viewer donations, distribution fees, and special endowment. However, even though CPB gives the bulk of its government appropriations to local stations, it does get some money in turnnamely, programming fees that Michigan Public pays for the rights to broadcast NPR shows like All Things Considered, just as Missouris Ozarks Public Television pays for the rights to broadcast PBS NewsHour. Local public radio and TV stations dont have the same wider recognition that NPR and PBS do, and if they serve low-income areas (as many of them do), their listeners are less able to gift substantial donations. Overall, NPR and PBS will take a hit, but they have a much better chance of adapting than Alaska Public Media does. Which means such stations are likely to trim costs further, lay off staffers, or even close altogether. Its obviously true that radio and TV are no longer the dynamic, widely indispensable media they were in the preinternet age. But car drivers and long-haul truckers still love their NPR, and rural areas without high-speed internet can still depend on public airwaves. Plus, CPB has done a valiant job of adjusting to the digital age, bringing more PBS shows to streaming, on its own app and on other services (see also: Sesame Street), while NPR still produces some of the most successful podcasts of the modern age. PBS has noted in its own stats that nearly 60 percent of American television householdsabout 130 million peopletune in to local and national public stations on a yearly basis, and that 60 percent of those viewers hail from rural areas. The TV networks kids programming in particular remains the gold standard in terms of healthy and legitimately educational screen time for millions of children in the U.S. At the very least, its a more than worthy substitute for YouTube brainrot. Also, for pundits and members of Congress to decry CPB as some leftist indoctrination factory is laughable. The corporation has multiple Republican board members, including current President and CEO Patricia Harrison, a George W. Bush appointee. Throughout their lifespans, NPR and PBSalong with their member stationshave employed several conservative hosts, including William F. Buckley Jr., Milton Friedman, Rich Lowry, and Sarah Isgur. And all hosts frequently bring on right-wing voters, legislators, and commentators to share their viewsincluding those politicians who directly inform radio and TV anchors why they want to halt federal support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And if I can get personal for a second: I dont know what I would be today without NPR, PBS, and their locally tailored Michigan programming. Even as a youth of the computer age, I learned so much and found endless value in Mister Rogers Neighborhood reruns, classical-music broadcasts, and specialized podcasts like Microphone Check. Such free-to-consume treasures opened up my world and exposed me to ideas I would never have encountered otherwise. This is not the end of public media, to be clear. At least three dozen states also provide direct monetary support for local public stations, and there are other nonprofit groups not backed by the federal government, like American Public Media and Pacifica. Still, the local and national media ecosystems will suffer a steep injury, and there will be a far narrower range of programming and opportunities than before. Lyndon Johnsons dream of dedicating Americas channels to the enlightenment of the public has been shattered. LONDON (AP) U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a landmark treaty on Thursday that pledges to tighten defense ties, as European nations try to protect Ukraine, and themselves, from an aggressive Russia in the face of wavering support from President Donald Trump's U.S.-focused administration. Merz said it was "a historic day for German-British relations as he signed an agreement that also commits the two countries to boost investment and strengthen law-enforcement cooperation against criminal people-smuggling gangs using the English Channel. We want to work together more closely, particularly after the United Kingdoms withdrawal from the European Union," Merz said. "It is overdue for us to conclude such a treaty with each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A partnership with a purpose The treaty builds on a defense pact the U.K. and Germany, two of the biggest European supporters of Ukraine, signed last year committing to closer co-operation against the growing threat from Russia. It includes a promise to assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack on the other, though it's unclear what practical impact that will have, since both countries are NATO members and bound by the alliance's mutual defense pact. Starmer said the treaty signed at Londons V&A Museum, which is named after Queen Victoria and her German husband, Prince Albert sealed a partnership with a purpose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We see the scale of the challenges our continent faces today, and we intend to meet them head on," Starmer said during a joint news confernce at an Airbus defense and space factory north of London. The U.K.-Germany treaty follows agreements signed during a state visit last week by President Emmanuel Macron, in which France and Britain pledged to coordinate their nuclear deterrents for the first time. Germany does not have nuclear weapons. The treaty with Britain says the countries will maintain a close dialogue on defense issues of mutual interest ... including on nuclear issues. The treaty stressed a shared commitment to the security of the Euro-Atlantic area, and underpinned by enhanced European contributions a nod to Trump, who has demanded European NATO members greatly increase military spending. Germany and the U.K. have both promised to raise defense spending to 3.5% of GDP in the coming years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merz, making his first trip to the U.K. since taking office in May, said it was no coincidence he traveled to London a week after Macron. The E3 Great Britain, France and Germany are converging in their positions on foreign policy, on security policy, on migration policy, but also on economic policy issues, he said. Weapons for Ukraine Merz and Starmer discussed ways to boost European support for Ukraine, following Trumps announcement of a plan to bolster Kyivs stockpile by selling American weapons to NATO allies who would in turn send arms to Kyiv. Merz signaled that those plans are still a work in progress, saying it might take days, perhaps weeks before weapons reach Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said that above all, we need clarity on how weapons systems that are given up from the European side will be replaced by the U.S. During the trip the leaders announced that German defense startup Stark, which makes drones for Ukraine, will open a factory in England. They also agreed to jointly produce defense exports such as Boxer armored vehicles and Typhoon jets, and to develop a deep precision strike missile in the next decade. Starmer also praised Merz for his help curbing the smuggling gangs that brought 37,000 people across the English Channel from France in small boats in 2024, and more than 22,000 so far in 2025. Dozens have died attempting the journey. Berlin agreed last year to make facilitating the smuggling of migrants to the U.K. a criminal offence, a move that will give law enforcement more powers to investigate the supply and storage of small boats to be used for the crossings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merz committed to adopting the law change by the end of the year, a move Starmer said "is hugely welcome. Srudent exchange trips Starmer has worked to improve relations with Britains neighbors, strained by the U.K.s acrimonious departure from the European Union in 2020. He has sought to rebuild ties strained by years of ill-tempered wrangling over Brexit terms, and worked to reduce trade barriers and to strengthen defense cooperation. But he has ruled out rejoining the 27-nation blocs single market or customs union, and has been cool to the idea of a youth mobility agreement with the EU. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Britain and Germany agreed on a more limited arrangement that will make it easier for schoolchildren to go on exchange trips. I am glad we were able to reach an agreement so that schoolchildren and students can come to Britain more easily in the future, and the other way round can come to Germany more easily, so that the young generation in particular has an opportunity to get to know both countries better, Merz said. ___ Moulson reported from Berlin. Russia's 41st Combined Arms Army fighting in eastern Ukraine has suffered "catastrophic" losses, according to internal documents published on July 17 by Ukraine's "I Want to Live" government project. Launched in September 2022 by Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR), the 24-hour "I Want to Live" hotline helps Russian soldiers willingly surrender themselves or their units to the Ukrainian army. "Russians who are not indifferent to the fate of Russia have given us documents that reveal the scale of losses of Russian troops in Ukraine," the project said in a post on social media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The documents detail the toll on Russia's 41st Combined Arms Army, a major military formation made up of four motorized infantry brigades, with soldiers primarily drawn from Siberia and southern Russia. As of June 1, 2025, at least 8,625 troops from this army had been killed in combat, 10,491 were listed as missing in action, and another 7,846 had deserted. Most of the 41st Army's units are operating near the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast. The worst-hit is the 74th Motor Rifle Brigade from Kemerovo Oblast in Siberia, which has lost 2,479 soldiers killed, 2,732 missing, and 2,789 deserting, more than double the brigade's original size of around 3,500 troops. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other brigades show similar figures. The 35th Brigade from Altai Krai in Southern Siberia reported 1,975 killed, 3,163 missing, and 2,229 desertions. The 55th Brigade from Tuva, bordering Mongolia, once a small formation of 1,600, has lost 1,430 troops killed, 1,467 missing, and 1,616 deserting. The 137th Brigade reported at least 1,158 killed, 2,319 missing, and 948 deserting. Desertion rates reportedly remain high. On a single day, May 31, 42 soldiers fled their units, according to the project. Over the course of one week, 175 deserted, nearly half the size of a typical battalion. Of those, 28% were former prisoners recruited into penal assault units known as "V companies." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It is also worth noting that the 'V companies' exist exclusively in motorized rifle brigades, where prisoners are used as cannon fodder," the statement from "I Want to Live" said, describing the losses as "catastrophic." The Kyiv Independent could not independently verify these claims. Russian losses in Ukraine hit a massive, and grim milestone on June 12 1 million Russian soldiers killed or wounded during the 39-month-long full-scale war, according to figures from Kyiv. Although hugely symbolic, the number is unlikely to prompt a change in tactics from Moscow as it gears up for more offensives this summer, and escalates drone and missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But behind the figure lies an economic time bomb that the Kremlin will find impossible to ignore. "(Russian President) Vladimir Putin made a fundamental strategic mistake in deciding how to resource this war," George Barros, Russia team lead at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), told the Kyiv Independent. "What Vladimir Putin has done is he has created a system in which he doesn't use the monopoly of violence of the Russian state to coerce Russians to go fight and die in Ukraine, as the Soviet Union might have. What Putin has done is he's created an alternative social contract where he pays you to go fight in Ukraine. "That strategy can work if you're planning on running a short war. It does not work if you are running a multi-year protracted war." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read also: As Russian losses in Ukraine hit 1 million, Putins war economy heads toward breaking point Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. This story was originally published on Automotive Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Automotive Dive newsletter. Volvo Cars said electric vehicles launch delays and rising costs due to tariffs is behind its decision to take a 11.4 billion Swedish kronor ($1.2 billion) impairment charge, the automaker said in a July 14 statement. The automaker, which will report Q2 earnings on Thursday, said its unable to sell its electric ES90 luxury sedan profitably in the U.S. due to tariffs, and that its margins are under similar pressure in Europe. A company spokesperson said in an email to Automotive Dive that the sedan is built in China and any vehicle exported to the U.S. is subject to a 25% tariff as of April 2 in addition to the existing 2.5% base tariff. The company said the impairment charge reflects adjustments in expected volumes and planned lifecycle profitability associated with the platform for the EX90 electric SUV and ES90 sedan. Volvo said about 4 billion Swedish kronor ($411 million) of the charge is estimated to impact cost of sales and the majority of the remaining amount affects the R&D line in its financial reporting. Given market developments such as import tariffs in the US, development and launch delays for the EX90 and strategic investment prioritisation, we have reassessed volume assumptions for these two cars, Volvo Cars CFO Fredrik Hansson said in the release. This has resulted in a lower than planned lifecycle profitability. Despite the setback, Volvo remains committed to advancing development of its electrified vehicles. The automaker wants EVs and plug-in hybrids to account for 90% to 100% of its global sales by 2030. Year-to-date through June, Volvo worldwide sold 353,780 units, down 9% year over year. Electrified models accounted for 155,019 or about 44% of sales. The upcoming all-electric EX60 mid-size SUV, which will be produced in Sweden, is on track for production in 2026, the company said. Volvo on July 16 announced it will build the XC60 mid-sized SUV at its Ridgeland, South Carolina plant starting in late 2026. Building another vehicle in South Carolina is part of the companys strategy to boost efficiency and tap underutilized production capacity, CEO and President Hakan Samuelsson said on a call with analysts in April. Volvo began producing the all-electric EX90 luxury SUV in South Carolina in June 2024 and started retail and customer deliveries last September, the spokesperson said, but did not disclose production or sales numbers. Though specific models were not identified in the companys June sales report, Volvo reported sales of 912 fully electric units in the U.S. in June, a 136% YoY increase. Bulgarian villager Rumyana Tsoneva keeps opening the tap in her yard in Gorna Studena near the Danube -- and keeps finding it dry. When water finally comes, it lasts only a few hours, and the retired agricultural expert has to choose between filling cans, running the washing machine or taking a shower. "The problems date back 15 years, but every year the situation gets worse," the energetic 69-year-old told AFP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This year, we switched to rationing as early as June," she added. Bulgaria, the EU's poorest country, has decades-old pipes -- some laid before World War II -- while water theft and poor resource management amplify the consequences of climate change. "Every other drop is lost before reaching the tap," said Emil Gachev, a researcher at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. In mid-July, water interruptions affected more than 156,000 people in the country of 6.4 million, which ranks worst in the EU for losses in supply networks. - Systemic issue - Gachev warns that Bulgaria is dangerously close to a lasting water crisis, with rationing periods stretching out longer and more localities affected as dry seasons extend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past four years, spring rainfall has been well below the average of the last 25 years, and some reservoirs are only filled to a fifth of capacity. "The villages with disrupted water supplies are scattered throughout Bulgaria, indicating that this is a systemic rather than an isolated issue," Gachev said. This week a commission set up last year to address the worsening situation recommended establishing a national fund to modernise the infrastructure, among other measures. The water disruptions could increase political stability in the Balkan nation, which has seen seven elections in three years -- the most recent in October 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last summer, residents of Gorna Studena blocked the main road connecting two neighbouring regions in protest. This year, the village, located about 30 kilometres (20 miles) from the Danube in a fertile plain, has been in a state of emergency since late June. The water is rationed according to zones and hours, but some houses can go without water for more than two days. The situation is similar in the two neighbouring villages in the region, where a saying goes: "We have water under our feet, but we are dying of thirst". - 'Not asking for swimming pool' - "We're not asking for a swimming pool, just a normal life," said Tsoneva, a former agronomist at the local agricultural cooperative, and now keeps a dozen chickens and grows corn. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gorna Studena's population has dwindled from more than 2,000 in the 1960s to some 200, the vast majority of them retirees. A clinic, a pharmacy, a school and a nursery all have closed. These days, mayor Plamen Ivanov, 52, roams the village posting the water distribution schedules, while his phone keeps ringing. "This rationing system needs to change; it no longer works," Ivanov told AFP in his air-conditioned office. Ivanov explains that the situation is causing tensions, with different parts of the village receiving different amounts of water. Not far from the mayor's office, a resident, who only gave her name as Nivyana, slowly steps out of her house with a bucket in her hand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She's lucky: one of the blue tanks installed by the authorities is right in front of her door. "I wanted to wash my clothes," the 83-year-old said, lowering her eyes. "But the water ran out before I could finish." rb-jza/dc Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect a revised death toll in Dobropillia, Donetsk Oblast. Russian attacks across several Ukrainian regions over the past day left at least five people killed and 48 others injured, regional authorities reported on July 17. Ukraine's Air Force reported that Russia launched 64 drones overnight, mostly Shahed-type drones. Air defenses shot down 36 of them, primarily in northern and eastern Ukraine. Five decoy drones were jammed or lost contact due to electronic warfare. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Governor Serhii Lysak said that massive drone strikes targeted the city of Dnipro, where one person was killed and five were injured. Fires broke out and several enterprises were damaged. In the Nikopol district, five more people were wounded as Russia used FPV (first-person-view) drones and Grad rocket systems. Additional infrastructure was damaged in the Synelnykove district. In total, 10 people were injured in the oblast. In Donetsk Oblast, Governor Vadym Filashkin reported that four people were killed, three in Dobropillia and one in Zarichne, while 29 others were injured. Russian attacks damaged hundreds of houses, shops, and cars, with significant destruction reported in Dobropillia. In Kherson Oblast, three people were wounded as Russia shelled numerous towns and villages throughout the day, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Ten houses and several civilian vehicles were damaged, including in the city of Kherson and Bilozerka. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the morning, Russian artillery struck the village of Bilozerka, wounding one more person. In Kharkiv Oblast, five people were injured in Russian strikes using a range of weapons, including guided bombs, rockets, Shahed drones, and FPV drones, according to Governor Oleh Syniehubov. Civilian infrastructure was hit in the Kupiansk and Izium districts, including houses, vehicles, and a fire station. Read also: Latvian prime minister on Trumps NATO deal and new Russia sanctions Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. NEED TO KNOW At least 60 people have died and 11 others are missing after a fire at the Hypermarket Mall in the city of Kut, Iraq on Wednesday, July 16 Footage captured the building engulfed in flames, as well as the aftermath of ashes and debris 45 people were reportedly rescued At least 60 people are confirmed to have died after a massive fire erupted inside a shopping mall in Iraq. The fatal blaze occurred on Wednesday, July 16, inside the five-floor Hypermarket Mall in the city of Kut, which lies around 140 miles south of the capital, Baghdad, reported Reuters and NBC News, citing state media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police sources also told Reuters that 11 people remained missing on Thursday, July 17. "We have compiled a list of 59 victims whose identities have been confirmed, but one body was so badly burned that it has been extremely difficult to identify," a city health official told the news agency. "We have more bodies that have not been recovered still under fire debris," city official Ali al-Mayahi added to the outlet. AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Rescue teams inside the burned out shopping mall Rescue teams inside the burned out shopping mall Footage shared by The New York Times of the aftermath of the fire, showed the interior of the mall covered in ashes and debris. In a translated statement on Facebook, the Iraqi Ministry of Interior said, "With hearts filled with pain and sorrow, the Ministry of the Interior mourns the victims of the horrific fire that broke out yesterday in a five-storey commercial building in the center of Waset Governorate, which includes a restaurant and a hypermarket." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This painful fire has claimed (61) innocent citizens, most of them suffocated inside the bathrooms as a result of heavy smoke, among them (14) unidentified charred bodies in a painful incident that shook the conscience and conscience," they continued. "Despite the physicality of the situation, the civil defense teams managed to rescue more than (45) people who were trapped inside the building with heroic effort and high dedication," the ministry added . AHMAD AL-RUBAYE/AFP via Getty Close up of the damaged shopping mall Close up of the damaged shopping mall The mall had opened just 5 days before the fire, the BBC reported, citing Agence France-Presse. The BBC added that ambulances transported people with injuries at 4:00 a.m. local time, while those unaccounted for are still being searched for. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A three-day mourning period has been declared by the Governor of Wasit, Mohammad Jamil Al-Mayahy, according to the Iraqi News Agency. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. We will not show leniency toward those who were directly or indirectly responsible for this incident, which is surrounded by suspicious circumstances, Al-Mayahy said in a statement to the outlet. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad The damaged shopping mall in Kut, Iraq The damaged shopping mall in Kut, Iraq We will announce the preliminary findings of the investigation to the public within 48 hours, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.K. newspaper The Guardian reported that the fire began late on Wednesday on the first floor after an air conditioning unit exploded. The outlet added that the Governor confirmed legal action against the building owner, the mall owner and people connected to the incident has been initiated. Read the original article on People Prison officers stand guard at a cell block at the Salvadoran mega-prison Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo, or CECOT, on April 4, 2025. (Photo by Alex Pena/Getty Images) The Trump administration has painted a distorted picture of the threat immigration poses to the United States to justify its unprecedented and arguably illegal enforcement actions. Proponents say the crackdown is needed to end the unfettered access of murderers, rapists, human traffickers and drug smugglers to our country. Louisiana totally turned that theory on its ear this week when federal prosecutors announced the indictment of a Central Louisiana businessman and four law enforcement officials for their alleged involvement in an immigration fraud scheme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even when you consider our states well-established legacy of political corruption, this is new territory. Chandrakant Patel, a convenience store owner and Subway franchisee in Oakdale, reportedly paid for the creation of fake police reports for armed robberies that never occurred. According to the indictment, co-conspirators in the scheme were Oakdale Police Chief Chad Doyle, Oakdale City Marshal Michael Slaney, Forest Hill Police Chief Glynn Dixon and Glenmora Police Chief Tebo Onishea. The victims listed on the reports were then entitled to U-visas, which are available to foreign nationals who are targets of crime or have information that will help in the prosecution of the crime. The visas cover the listed victim and their family members, providing them legal access to the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Patel allegedly paid $5,000 for each victim listed on a fabricated police report. The indictment lists 25 alleged crime victims, all of whom share the last name Patel, a very common surname in India. The fabricated crimes were logged from November 2022 through November 2024. In February of this year, federal prosecutors say Chandrakant Patel offered $5,000 to a member of the Rapides Parish Sheriffs Office to file a fraudulent police report. U.S. Attorney Alexander Van Hook said the sheriffs office assisted with the federal investigation. Investigators also tracked Patels bank transactions and logged more than $250,000 in checks, wire transfers, deposits and a real estate purchase that they say are linked to the visa fraud scheme. Purchases the police chiefs allegedly made are also part of the indictment, including $15,000 that Doyle put toward a pickup truck, $15,000 Dixon spent on an SUV, $40,360 in real estate Slaney acquired and $14,000 Slaney used for a travel trailer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The feds have compiled a long list of bank accounts, personal property and vehicles belonging to the five defendants that are eligible for forfeiture should they be tied to the alleged offenses. The investigation came to a head Tuesday, when Doyle, Dixon and Slaney were detained Tuesday while attending a police conference in Baton Rouge, WBRZ-TV reported. Meanwhile, authorities in Central Louisiana were closing in on Patel and other targets. In case youre wondering, the political affiliation of the indicted police chiefs covers the spectrum, with a Democrat, a Republican and an independent officer holder represented. State history has shown us corruption is not confined to a particular party. While each man is presumed innocent before their case is heard, their indictment serves as a reminder that not all immigration threats are what those in power would have us believe them to be. In Louisiana, they could just be business as usual. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Lee Enterprises faces a number of class-action lawsuits related to the handling of subscriber data and data breaches. (Getty Images) DES MOINES Iowa-based newspaper company Lee Enterprises has agreed to pay $9.5 million to subscribers alleging privacy violations and is now facing three invasion-of-privacy lawsuits from current or former employees. The three new lawsuits, each filed in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Iowa, allege that Lee, which owns hundreds of newspapers and specialty publications in Iowa and 24 other states, is guilty of negligence, breach of an implied contract, unjust enrichment and invasion of privacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lees Iowa newspapers include the Quad-City Times in Davenport, the Sioux City Journal, and the Muscatine Journal. It owns Nebraska papers as well, including the Omaha World-Herald, the Lincoln Journal Star and the Kearney Hub. Each of the three lawsuits is seeking class-action status in pursuit of damages on behalf of thousands of current and former Lee employees whose personal information is believed to have been accessed by cybercriminals. The three named plaintiffs in the cases are Nicole Church of Colona, Illinois; Declan Lawson of Missoula, Montana; and Anthony Bangert of Wisconsin. According to the lawsuits, on June 3, 2025, Lee began sending letters to current and former employees advising of them that the private information of certain employees had been accessed by others without authorization. The lawsuits allege the letters omitted details such as the cause of the data breach, the system vulnerabilities that had been exploited, and any remedial measures undertaken to guard against additional security breaches. In one of the cases, the plaintiff asserts the purported disclosure amounts to no real disclosure at all in that it fails to provide critical facts surrounding the incident, limiting workers ability to take steps to mitigate any damages that might result. Lee, the lawsuits claim, could have prevented the data breach by properly securing and encrypting the files and file servers containing the employees private information and by training its employees on standard cybersecurity practices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The data breach, one of the plaintiffs alleges, could have been avoided had Lee bothered to implement basic monitoring and detection systems, which then would have stopped the data breach or greatly reduced its impact. Lee Enterprises has yet to file a response to the lawsuits, and Tracy Rouch, director of communications for Lee, said the company does not comment on pending litigation. However, Lee has stated that it has incurred $2 million in expenses related to restoring data systems in the wake of the February 2025 cyberattack. The company has also indicated the data breach affected the companys finances by hampering its ability to bill customers and pay vendors. The Qilin ransomware group has claimed credit for the attack and alleged that it gained access to 350 gigabytes of data. It also shared samples of what it claimed was data stolen from the company, including contracts, financial spreadsheets, non-disclosure agreements and other confidential files. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In SEC filings and in a filing with the attorney general of Maine, Lee indicated the data breach involved documents containing personally identifiable information related to 39,779 individuals. The documents may include a mix of names, Social Security numbers, drivers license data, financial account numbers, medical information and health insurance data, according to the Maine attorney general. The plaintiffs Lawson and Bangert are each represented by the law firm of Shindler, Anderson, Goplerud & Weese of West Des Moines. Church is represented by Josh Christensen of RSH Legal in Cedar Rapids. Lee agrees to $9.5 million payout in subscriber case Its not the first time data systems at Lee have been hacked. In 2020, Iranian cybercriminals allegedly gained access to the companys systems as part of a what prosecutors claimed was a campaign to spread disinformation related to the 2020 presidential election. Two Iranian nationals were later charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse, intimidate voters, and transmit interstate threats. Court records indicate the criminal case remains open and active. In December 2022, a group of subscribers to Lee newspapers sued the company, alleging it had failed to disclose that their personal identifying information was being captured by various tracking methods embedded in Lee websites and then transferred to the social-media company Facebook where it could be accessed by others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit, which attained class-action status, alleged individuals could use fairly basic web-browsing tools to see the titles of whatever video content had triggered the initial exchange of information between Lee and Facebook, providing an indirect link between named Facebook users and the specific videos those users had watched on Lee websites. The plaintiffs in that case sought a temporary injunction requiring Lee to immediately remove tracking tools from the companys websites and to obtain the appropriate consent from subscribers for any information sharing that may take place. In March 2025, the parties in that case reached a proposed settlement which they presented to the court for preliminary approval. According to public court filings, the proposed settlement grew out of an all-day mediation session in November 2024 before Judge Wayne R. Andersen in Fort Myers, Florida. Andersen later provided a mediators proposal that recommended the matter be resolved by Lee or its insurer paying $9.5 million to settle the case, and the parties agreed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court records indicate the proposed settlement involves 1,528,941 paid subscribers to Lee newspapers who accessed video material on a Lee website at any time between December 2020 through March 4, 2025, and who used Facebook during that same period. In a memorandum supporting court approval of the settlement, the parties state that the $9,500,000 will yield a significant benefit to each of the participating class members, while avoiding costly litigation that could drag on for years. According to the court records, the settlement agreement also requires revisions to Lees business practices. A court hearing on final approval of the settlement agreement is now scheduled for Aug. 7, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Editors note: Iowa Capital Dispatch Deputy Editor Clark Kauffman was employed by Lee Enterprises from 1987 to 2000 and Editor-in-chief Kathie Obradovich was employed by the company from 1987 to 2003. Iowa Capital Dispatch and the Nebraska Examiner are part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Kathie Obradovich for questions: info@iowacapitaldispatch.com. The Brief An 83-year-old woman in Forest Park was without power for two days after a tree branch knocked out her electricity, and help arrived only after FOX 5 Atlanta intervened. Despite having an agreement with Georgia Power to remove the tree, the utility company initially did not act, leaving the retiree unable to afford hiring an electrician to fix the issue. After FOX 5 Atlanta contacted Georgia Power, the company promptly sent a supervisor to restore power and remove the tree, preventing the woman from having to sleep in her car due to the heat. FOREST PARK, Ga. - An 83-year-old Forest Park woman was without air conditioning for two days after a fallen tree branch knocked out power to her home and it wasnt until a call from FOX 5 Atlanta that help finally arrived. Forest Park woman left in the heat What they're saying Mary Keahey, a retired grocery store meat wrapper living on a fixed income, said the problems began Monday when a loud crash startled her at home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I heard terrible racket and I wondered what the heck is that," Keahey recalled. The noise came from a 30-foot Bradford pear tree, which had dropped a large branch onto her home, damaging her porch and vehicle, and snapping the power line. "I looked out the window, and there was this huge limb off of this tree on my car, on my house, on my porch," Keahey said. She had previously sold the right to remove the problematic tree to Georgia Power and kept paperwork documenting the agreement. But despite her and a neighbor's calls to the utility company and the local fire department, no action was taken for nearly two days. Keahey said she was told she needed to hire an electrician something she simply couldnt afford. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They're telling me that I have to get an electrician to repair it. I can't afford it. I am on Social Security and that's it," she said. Georgia Power makes repairs The other side Desperate and overheated, Keahey reached out to FOX 5 Atlanta. Just hours after the station contacted Georgia Power, a supervisor arrived at her home. Georgia Power later told FOX 5 they would remove the tree and restore Keaheys electricity that same day. "I hope they'll just send an electrician out here and fix that and turn my power back on," she said earlier in the day. Keahey had feared she would be forced to sleep in her car because of the intense summer heat. But that outcome was avoided. The Source FOX 5's Aunglique Proctor spoke with Mary Keahey, a retired grocery store meat wrapper living on a fixed income, for this article. Georgia Power contributed to this report. COLCHESTER, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) A green card holder who was detained at the Highgate Springs Port of Entry earlier this month has reportedly been ordered released on bond. The Vermont Freedom Fund paid the $7,500 bond for Esther Ngoy Tekeles release. She may soon be reunited with her 2-year-old son, as well as the rest of her family, according to legal council. In one court document, Tekele contended that U.S. Customs and Border Protection took her Legal Permanent Resident card without legal grounds to do so and arrested her July 6. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Migrant Justice says two organizers to be released on bail She was then transferred to ICE custody and incarcerated at the Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility. The reason she was detained is still unclear. While in detention, Tekele alleges that she was unable to communicate with legal counsel for several days, which was a situation further exacerbated by the fact that she does not speak English. The timeline for her release is also uncertain, as Vermont Freedom Fund officials noted that they have to get multiple rounds of approval, from ICE on submittals, before Tekele can be released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The possibility of her being released immediately Thursday did not seem likely, according to the fund. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Leftist theatre director Claus Peyman - a fixture of the postwar German stage - has died in Berlin at the age of 88, a former associate told dpa on Wednesday. Born in Bremen in 1937, Peymann was artistic director of the Berliner Ensemble from 1999 to 2017 and made significant contributions to German theatre both as a director and a managing director of key theatres. He worked chiefly with German-language authors such as Thomas Bernhard and Thomas Brasch, Botho Strau, Peter Turrini, Peter Handke, George Tabori and Elfriede Jelinek. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After stints at the Stuttgart State Theatre, Schauspielhaus Bochum and the Burgtheater in Vienna, he went to Berlin in 1999. With an activist bent, Peymann considered himself to be "a thorn in the side of the powerful." Until his departure in the summer of 2017, he celebrated audience records at the Berliner Ensemble and was annoyed by critics who labelled his classic productions as old-fashioned. Passion for theatre and politics Even after a career spanning decades, Peymann fought for the theatre with passion. He was never squeamish. He liked to lash out verbally. "You can't be bored in my presence," Peymann once said of himself, admitting tat "of course I'm also unbearable." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peymann also made headlines beyond the realm of theatre with political statements and stunts. He showed solidarity with the playwright Handke when the author was criticized for a pro-Serbian stance. Peymann himself faces sharp criticism when he offered the former Red Army Faction (RAF) terrorist Christian Klar an internship at his theatre in 2008. Leftist theatre director Claus Peyman - a fixture of the postwar German stage - has died in Berlin at the age of 88, a former associate told dpa on Wednesday. Born in Bremen in 1937, Peymann was artistic director of the Berliner Ensemble from 1999 to 2017 and made significant contributions to German theatre both as a director and a managing director of key theatres. He worked chiefly with German-language authors such as Thomas Bernhard and Thomas Brasch, Botho Strau, Peter Turrini, Peter Handke, George Tabori and Elfriede Jelinek. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After stints at the Stuttgart State Theatre, Schauspielhaus Bochum and the Burgtheater in Vienna, he went to Berlin in 1999. With an activist bent, Peymann considered himself to be "a thorn in the side of the powerful." Until his departure in the summer of 2017, he celebrated audience records at the Berliner Ensemble and was annoyed by critics who labelled his classic productions as old-fashioned. Passion for theatre and politics Even after a career spanning decades, Peymann fought for the theatre with passion. He was never squeamish. He liked to lash out verbally. "You can't be bored in my presence," Peymann once said of himself, admitting tat "of course I'm also unbearable." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peymann also made headlines beyond the realm of theatre with political statements and stunts. He showed solidarity with the playwright Handke when the author was criticized for a pro-Serbian stance. Peymann himself faces sharp criticism when he offered the former Red Army Faction (RAF) terrorist Christian Klar an internship at his theatre in 2008. Politicians honour Peymann Germany's Culture Commissioner Wolfram Weimer called Peymann "a titan of the theatre, a master of imposition and renewal." Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) called Peymann one of the most influential personalities of modern German theatre. "With commitment, the courage to engage in debate and a great passion for the arts, he played a decisive role in shaping Berlin's culture. We are losing a controversial spirit and a great theatre man," Wegner added. KANSAS CITY, Mo. Jackson County Legislator Manuel Abarca IV issued a formal letter to Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe on Wednesday, requesting the governor take executive action to address the increase in commercial property taxes. Jackson County likely to comply with latest order on assessments The letter comes just a little over a week after Abarca and two other county legislators hosted a commercial property tax appeals town hall meeting to help inform property owners of the appeals process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the letter, Abarca claims the tax increase has little to no justification or transparency. These increases place unsustainable burdens on small businesses and threaten our regional economy, Abarca stated in the letter. Country Club Plaza joins list of property owners appealing 2025 valuation Following the letter, Abarca took to the social media site X to call for a special Missouri legislative session. After a conversation with @GovMikeKehoe this past Friday, I put pen to paper and got this written out. No doubt theres much more to add and more ideas, to follow up with; however, the request is for IMMEDIATE executive action to curb the outrageous Frank & Gail commercial tax pic.twitter.com/tlztbjiLyz Manny Abarca (@MannyAbarcaIV) July 16, 2025 The Jackson County Legislator cited increases for property owners ranging anywhere between 100% to 1600%. These increases place unsustainable burdens on small businesses and threaten our regional economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Source: TradingView.com Key Takeaways Palantir shares hit another all-time high during Tuesday's session amid optimism that the data analytics software provider will benefit from massive AI spending. The stock traded within an ascending triangle before nudging above the patterns top trendline in Mondays trading session, potentially setting the stage for a continuation move higher. Bars pattern analysis forecasts a potential upside target of around $195 and indicates the shares could continue trending until late August. Investors should watch two major support levels on Palantir's chart around $125 and $107. Palantir Technologies (PLTR) shares hit another all-time high during Tuesday's session amid optimism that the data analytics software provider will benefit from massive AI spending. The company's CEO, Alex Karp, was among the executives in attendance Tuesday, along with President Donald Trump, at an energy and AI summit in Pittsburgh, where companies announced tens of billions of dollars in investments in energy infrastructure and data centers. Jeff Swensen / Getty Images Palantir CEO Alex Karp (looking left) during today's event at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh. Last week, Wedbush analysts said in a client note that Palantir could be in a sweet spot to benefit from federal spending in North America and Europe, adding that the Trump administrations focus on AI initiatives provides another tailwind for the stock. Palantir shares have nearly doubled since the start of the year, making the stock the biggest advancer in the S&P 500 in 2025, boosted boosted by surging enterprise and government AI spending, including several lucrative defense contracts. The stock hit an intraday record of near $151 Tuesday morning, but closed the session slightly lower at $148.58. Below, we break down the technicals on Palantirs chart and point out price levels that investors will likely be watching. Ascending Triangle Breakout Palantir shares traded within an ascending triangle before nudging above the patterns top trendline in Mondays trading session, when the stock closed at a record high, potentially setting the stage for a continuation move higher. Meanwhile, the relative strength index confirms bullish momentum, though the indicator remains below overbought levels, providing the shares with ample room to explore higher prices. Lets apply technical analysis to forecast how an ongoing uptrend in Palantir shares may unfold and also identify two support levels worth monitoring during future pullbacks in the stock. Bars Pattern Analysis Investors can forecast how a move higher in Palantir shares may look by using the bars pattern tool, a technique that analyzes earlier trends on the chart to projects future directional movements. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Memphis only HBCU is launching a bold new initiative that invests in students and strengthens the Bluff City. The Magician Advantage loan repayment assistance program has been introduced this year for incoming freshmen at Lemoyne-Owen College. All incoming freshmen with a GPA of 2.5 or higher will be eligible for the program. Its a way to address pressing workforce challenges, including Tennessees teacher shortage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Magician Advantage provides students and families with a financial safety net after graduation by helping repay up to $80,000 in federal student, private alternative, and parent plus loans, if graduates earn $45,000 or less annually. Many students are fearful, taking the next step to pursue a degree in higher education because they are unsure of what the return on the investment is, said Tara Dunn Ross, COO of Lemoyne-Owen. The program is especially impactful for those pursuing careers in areas such as education, social work, and ministry. Its a partnership with ARDEO Education Solutions. And as the college prepares for students to begin classes August 11, they want to introduce them to the campus beforehand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New student orientation is for students to learn what a college student looks like. Registering for classes, a day in the life, Dunn Ross said. And so we love when we have students on campus, and we love to give them a glimpse of what their, future experience had, LOC will be. Eighty-nine percent of LOC graduates stay in Memphis, contributing to the citys future in education, healthcare, business, and civic leadership. Students interested in the assistance program are encouraged to visit the colleges website for more information. New student orientation will be held from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday. If youre unable to attend, a third event will be held Aug. 5. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) Nearly a month after a 2-year-olds suspicious death, a 21-year-old Green Bay man was officially charged with homicide. According to a criminal complaint obtained by Local 5, 21-year-old James Vanderleest was charged with first-degree reckless homicide and seven other charges in relation to the death of a two-year-old child. The Green Bay Police Department identified the child as Leo Escalante. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 22, officers were called to a residence on Alpine Drive for a report of a child who was not breathing. The mother of the child was reportedly driving the child to the hospital but pulled over so someone could do CPR. Flooding causes major delays in Wautoma as storms move through area Authorities spoke with James father, who said he was the only one at the residence. Which was later debunked, and James admitted to being home alone with the child. The child was later airlifted to a hospital, where he died from his injuries on June 23. On June 23 authorities spoke with the childs doctor, who said the injuries were not consistent with a fall down the stairs. James claimed that he left to get toilet paper and came back to find the child at the bottom of the stairs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 24, authorities met with the childs mother who wanted to provide the full story of what happened on June 22. She reportedly said she left the residence and got a call from James saying the child was not breathing. She reportedly told authorities that the child was not a fan of James. On June 27, both James and his father were arrested at a cabin in Florence County. Two days later on June 29 authorities spoke with James. He claimed he left to grab a roll of toilet paper and was gone for maybe a minute. When he came back, he found the child unconscious, James told authorities. When detectives asked him why he didnt call 9-1-1, James reportedly said he panicked and thought the childs mother had called 9-1-1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James continued to deny that he harmed or injured the child. After detectives told James that the childs injuries were not consistent with him falling down the stairs, he said nothing else happened, according to the complaint. Later that day, detectives spoke with James again. Authorities reportedly explained to James that the injuries appear to be consistent with shaking baby. Mail carrier accused of stealing Menards rebates bound for Wisconsin enters guilty plea James reportedly said he did not make any mistakes and is telling the truth. In the complaint, James mentioned multiple times to authorities that he had a no-contact order with the mother of the child, and that played a role in some of his actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James is charged with: First degree reckless homicide Felony Up to 60 years in prison Obstructing an officer Misdemeanor Up to nine months in prison Bail jumping (four felony counts) Felony Up to six years in prison (per count) Bail jumping (two misdemeanor counts) Misdemeanor Up to nine months in prison (per count) Court records show Vanderleest was in court on July 16 for his initial appearance. His cash bonds is at $2,050,000. He is scheduled to be back in court on August 16. No additional information was provided. Local 5 will update this story as the case progresses. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. The July 11 Reading Eagle contains the headline, Palestinians, soldier die; truce hopes fade. As noted in the article, the fight in Gaza has shown no signs of slowing since Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with President Donald Trump. Hope for an agreement in the near term appears to be fading. Until we see Israel and Palestine shaking hands and living in peace, Israel and Iran totally stop fighting and an end to the Russian and Ukraine war, no one should be getting a Nobel Peace Prize. And on another note, I ordered something online recently and there was a $3 tariff charge added at the end. Susan Miller Spring Township To the editor: Anyone paying attention to environmental policy in California surely found the Los Angeles Times recent article about the negative environmental impacts expected from federal funding cuts and policy changes to be more than a touch ironic ( State officials say federal cuts threaten Californias environment, July 11). The distress expressed by state officials is hard to stomach when just weeks ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state Legislature brazenly gutted key environmental laws . Even closer to home, Mayor Karen Bass proposed city budget took a chainsaw to environmental justice and climate resilience programs, which were thankfully largely restored by the City Council . The reality is we are not going to get federal support for climate resilience while Donald Trump is president. Decrying his disastrous actions while doing much of the same is simply unacceptable. Its high time for our state and local leaders to fill the climate leadership void left at the federal level. The buck stops with them. Bruce Reznik, Los Angeles The writer is the executive director of Los Angeles Waterkeeper, a nonprofit that advocates for clean waterways. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. To the editor: Guest contributors Mehmet Oz and Kim Brandt are raising the flag regarding Medicare fraud ( Medicare fraud has gone global. Itll take a nationwide effort to stop it, July 15). However, does Oz know President Trump has pardoned some of the biggest Medicare fraudsters? During Trumps first term, he granted clemency to at least 10 healthcare executives and doctors convicted of large-scale Medicare fraud schemes. In May 2025, Trump commuted the sentence of Lawrence Duran , who was convicted in 2011 for his role in a $205 - million Medicare fraud scheme . Philip Esformes , a Florida healthcare executive convicted in 2019 of a $1.3-billion Medicare/Medicaid fraud scheme, would see his 20-year sentence end after just 4.5 years when Trump gave him a commutation in 2020. Salomon Melgen , a Florida eye doctor whose clinics defrauded Medicare of $42 million, was serving a 17-year sentence when Trump gave him a commutation. These are just a few of the people in the long list of healthcare fraudsters that Trump either pardoned or handed commutations to. So, Oz, I would suggest that you talk to the president about letting criminals who prey on the government programs that you are overseeing walk before taking any further steps in warning us about Medicare fraud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pam Cwiklo, Camarillo .. To the editor: I applaud the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for creating the Fraud Defense Operations Center in an attempt to diminish the incredible amount of fraud perpetrated against Medicare and Medicaid. However, the Trump administration should not be taking credit for "changing that" process to make Medicare less vulnerable. It was the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 passed by President Obama that amended the Social Security Act, under which Medicare and Medicaid exist, to move from a "pay and chase" model to proactively preventing payments. The Center for Program Integrity at CMS has been preventing payments from occurring for almost 15 years now. It is disingenuous to claim that the Trump administration is just now starting this effort without acknowledging steps taken previously. John Winkelman, Rancho Mission Viejo This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) The LGBTQ+ section of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline shut down Thursday following a directive from the Trump administration, drawing bipartisan criticism from lawmakers and mental health advocates who warn the move endangers lives. The specialized LGBTQ+ line, launched in 2022, offered targeted support for individuals in crisis and had fielded more than 1.2 million calls, texts, and chats since its debut. Theres more than a million of those moments where someone thought it would be better if they werent here, and they had someone to call, said Rep. Sharice Davids (D-Kan.). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration eliminated resources for diversity, equity and inclusion programs, including this crisis line. Its been very successful, said Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.). And President Trump has determined to put politics ahead of care, ahead of saving lives. According to The Trevor Project, about 40% of LGBTQ youth seriously considered suicide in the past year. Those with access to affirming mental health services like the 988 line were significantly less likely to attempt it. Even some Republicans, like Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) are urging the Department of Health and Human Services to restore the LGBTQ+ line. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To me, this is about saving lives, said Lawler. It is about preventing suicide. And its something all of us as Americans should be unified on. Lawmakers say the shutdown not only strips away critical mental health support but also sends a harmful message to vulnerable communities. Whether you are part of the LGBTQ community, whether someone in your family is or you have friends that are, every single one of us should be concerned about that, Davids said. Lawmakers have sent a letter urging HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to immediately reverse the shutdown. As of now, the agency has not announced any changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. If you or a loved one are in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 74174. This story was originally published in Uncloseted Media, an LGBTQ-focused investigative news outlet. When Arden was 16, they called a suicide crisis hotline thinking their life was over. They were in an abusive relationship, regularly self-harming, and felt that nothing was helping. It was terrifying, they told Uncloseted Media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If it werent for the hotline, I would have killed myself. Since that day, Arden, now 24 years old and living in Brooklyn, has used various crisis helplines. When the 988 national suicide prevention hotline launched a Press 3 option in 2022 for LGBTQ+ youth, they immediately started using the resource. Arden, who identifies as nonbinary, says the LGBTQ+ hotline workers respected their identity and were understanding that they are not a woman. It was really affirming for a very troubling time in my life. Since then, Arden has Pressed 3 more times than they can remember, seeking help for everything from dealing with the loss of their friend, who died by suicide, to stupid cliquey gay people stuff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I remember when my friend had killed himself and I was dealing with a lot. I called them and they talked to me for over an hour because I was really upset, they say. When I called the hotline, it was a last resort. I was really at my wits end. Arden whose last call to the lifeline was two weeks ago is one of 1.3 million callers and chatters the LGBTQ+ youth hotline has served since it launched, according to federal data. The legislation that greenlit the national program, signed by Trump in 2020 during his first term, explicitly recognized that LGBTQ+ youth are more than 4 times more likely to contemplate suicide than their peers, with 1 in 5 LGBTQ+ youth and more than 1 in 3 transgender youth reporting attempting suicide. Kaoly Gutierrez/Uncloseted Media This new option to Press 3 allowed queer youth in crisis the ability to directly connect with counselors from a set of specialized LGBTQ+ crisis centers. These counselors are trained in cultural competency and often bring lived experience, providing identityaffirming, empathetic support for challenges like coming out, discrimination or mental health crises. Despite the hotlines success, the Trump administration announced last month that they would be shutting it down on July 17, claiming that the service had run out of congressionally directed funding. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said in an email to Uncloseted Media that continued funding of the Press 3 option threatened to put the entire 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in danger of massive reductions in service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are no plans, however, to shut down the other hotline options, including the Veterans Crisis Line, the Spanish Language Line and the Native and Strong Lifeline. And while Congress spent $33 million on the LGBTQ+ service last year, the cost of continuing it represents merely 0.006 percent of the $510 billion that suicide and self-harm costs the U.S. yearly. This is absolutely a mistake, a suicide prevention call center director told Uncloseted Media. We are concerned that this will result in increased suicide rates for LGBTQ+ youth. Why we need option 3 The directors concern is supported by a 2022 research brief that found that queer college students with access to LGBTQ-specific services were 44% less likely to attempt suicide than those without it. Research also shows that a hotline specific to LGBTQ+ services increases the likelihood of queer youth calling. Its true for any direct service, Harmony Rhoades, associate research professor of sociology at Washington University, told Uncloseted Media. People who are in substance use recovery want to work with people whove gone through recovery themselves because they understand what that experience is. Culturally, there is not a lot of understanding of the specific experiences of someone who is LGBTQ+ and without specific training, a crisis counselor isnt going to be able to know the language thats going to feel affirming. Kaoly Gutierrez/Uncloseted Media Connecting with someone who gets it was really helpful. Because at home, I was so isolated and I didnt really interact with other queer people, says Genna Brown, who used the Trevor Projects chat function at 10 years old. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was an extremely self-loathing, suicidal kid who was under the impression that God hated me and I was gonna burn in hell for eternity, Brown, now 15 and living in High Point, North Carolina, told Uncloseted Media. I only used the chat feature because I was scared my parents would hear me. We shared a wall, she says. I was spiraling really bad. Id just realized I was crushing on girls, and I thought I was going to burn in hell for all eternity because that is what we are taught. Raised in a Southern Baptist church, Brown never felt safe at home, where her father would regularly spit slurs like faggots and queers. At church, every sermon was about Sodom and Gomorrah or about how real love only existed between a man and a woman. I grew up knowing the number one thing not to be was one of the dirty queers, she says. I kept thinking, I can kill myself now and go to hell, or live longer and still go to hell. I used to have panic attacks at 9, 10 years old, just thinking about burning in hell perpetually. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brown remembers Caitlin, the chat counselor who helped her, being the first ever to tell her that queer love was valid. She told me shed been with her girlfriend for seven years. I didnt even believe queer people could be happy. It broke my brain in the best possible way, says Brown, who is now out and proud to her parents, who have come around, and to most of her friends on social media. Genna and her Mom, Melanie. Kaoly Gutierrez/Uncloseted Media Arden had a similar experience. The queer line is better than the regular line, they say. I feel like its less like going through a checklist on the queer line. As a survivor of sexual assault, Arden says knowing that the counselors on the other line were trained in LGBTQ-specific trauma made it easier to reach out for help. My voice doesnt pass per se but they still respected my identity, they say. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LGBTQ-specific resources for youth are critical, with 41 percent seriously considering suicide in 2024. In addition, queer youth are disproportionately affected by a litany of mental health issues and trauma, including physical and sexual assault, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, bullying and addiction. Its not like were cherry-picking some random group, says Rhoades. If we are going to fund [suicide prevention], there is no reason we should do it inefficiently by not effectively targeting the people who need it most. So yes, they need specific suicide prevention services. While the hotline focuses on LGBTQ+ youth, they dont turn away adults who need help. Joshua Dial, 36, says that when he called 988, he was often connected to the LGBTQ+ youth hotline after mentioning that hes gay. I always walked away feeling better after I called, he says. There have been times when I spoke to the regular 988 crisis people, and they helped too. But they didnt understand quite as much. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dial, a Lutheran who lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma, says he wasnt always comfortable being open about his sexual orientation to his religious community and that the only way to meet other gay people was on hook-up and dating apps, which he notes are not for emotional support. I wouldnt be talking to my pastor about getting on Grindr. I cant go to my pastor and tell them what I did last weekend, he says. Dial, who was raised to believe that homosexuality is a sin, has experienced depression since the age of 16 and has also struggled with bipolar disorder, addiction and PTSD. My addiction was getting worse, and the only constant was that the line was always available, he says. I didnt have any other options, but I knew that if I called the hotline, I would get help. Dial says the emotional support he received through these phone calls kept him from self-harm and suicide. There are times when I called that number and was this close to taking a handful of pills, this close to slitting my wrist, this close to buying a gun to shoot myself. And I talked to those people, and they not only understood, but they gave me the empowerment of knowing that someone had my back. How cutting option 3 affects the whole system While the cuts are only meant to affect the hotlines support for LGBTQ+ youth, crisis center employees say theyll impact the entire 988 network. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This being rifted does very much mean less capacity for 988 as a whole, says the suicide prevention call center director. Everyone will be affected. When the LGBTQ+ hotline opened up, it really lowered the volume on the mainstream counselors, a 988 hotline counselor in Washington state told Uncloseted Media. It seemed really helpful, and I didnt get a lot of LGBTQ+ chats after that point. The counselor at the Washington state center says they are about to lay off 42 counselors from their LGBTQ+ hotline. They say these roles wont be replaced on the main 988 line due to a hiring freeze. Because of this, counselors expect the number of calls they receive to double, which could dramatically increase wait times. The Washington state center did not respond to a request for comment. Even without the cuts, wait times are an issue. A 17-year-old caller from Virginia says that even the 10 minutes they had to wait for their call to be answered were painful. I was worried that nobody would want to talk to me. I was just feeling hopeless, they say. Theres this one resource that Im supposed to be able to have access to 24/7, but it just isnt as accessible as it should be. For some people, those 10 minutes are crucial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a 2009 study of 82 patients referred to a psychiatric university hospital after a suicide attempt, nearly half reported that the period between their first thought of suicide and their actual attempt had lasted 10 minutes or less, underscoring how shorter wait times can be a matter of life and death. If we are not able to catch someone during the time that suicidal thoughts have appeared and intervene as quickly as possible, they could start figuring out how theyre going to kill themselves and make it happen, says the suicide prevention call center director. And a lot of folks have access to means that can result in instant death like firearms. What can be done? With the Press 3 option gone, Rhoades worries that the current spate of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and hateful rhetoric toward the community will affect how counselors without queer-specific training will provide care. Were living in an unprecedented time where anti-LGBTQ+ hatred is being normalized, she says. It absolutely affects how young people are treated. And it filters down to crisis counselors. As Congress and the Trump administration prepare to shut down Press 3 on July 17 in an effort to save money, many believe that it will have the reverse effect. They just want these people to die. Thats the message I got, says a hotline operator in Washington state, adding that the administration is not looking at the bigger picture. Representatives and advocates are fighting for more LGBTQ+ mental health services. Kansas Rep. Sharice Davids reintroduced a bill last month dedicated to LGBTQ+ mental health resources. By increasing access to mental health support for our children and teens, we can save lives, Davids said in a press release. And last weekend, hundreds of people protested in front of Trump Tower in an effort to save the hotline. Arden says they wouldnt be here today without the lines support. Ive been struggling for a long time in my life [with] self-harm and Ive been clean almost two years now, they say. I would definitely not be clean if it werent for the hotline and I would probably hurt myself again. The post LGBTQ+ youth have lost a lifeline. What now? appeared first on The 19th. News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday. Subscribe to our free, daily newsletter. The Missouri Public Service Commission has changed the location of the Joplin public hearing next week in the Liberty electric rate case pending before regulators. It is now set 6 p.m. Monday in the Mills Anderson Justice Center Auditorium, 3350 Newman Road, on the campus of Missouri Southern State University. Several other public hearings are planned around the region, including Aurora, Nixa, Bolivar and Branson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The proposal could raise overall electric rates by $33 to $39 a month for the average Liberty customer, according to the utility. Public hearings are a part of every rate case and include a question-and-answer session and a chance for the public to comment on the record as part of the case. Liberty, which had filed a rate case last fall, withdrew that and filed for a new case in February. It is asking regulators to allow it to increase revenue by about $152.8 million, or 29.6%, a year. Customers of Liberty began receiving notices with their June bills with details about the hearing and an explanation of the rate request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That letter says rates for that average user, defined as someone using 1,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity per month, will go up $48.68 from June to September, from $147.77 a month to $196.45 a month, or 32.94%. That same user will see an increase of $46.78 a month, from $138.25 to $185.03 per month, from October through May, or 33.84%. Charlotte Emery, senior director of rates and regulatory affairs for Liberty, previously told the Globe the actual impact customers will see on their electric bills, if the PSC approves this rate request, is lower than the numbers in the meeting notice because the larger numbers dont include about $12.12 already being collected from customers for increased fuel costs. That is based on the cost of fuel and purchased power for Liberty as of the time of the February filing. That number can change as fuel and purchased power costs change. According to Liberty, the full impact would increase the bill for the average customer somewhere between $33 and $39 after including the amount already being paid by customers. Other public hearings next week: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Noon Tuesday at Nixa City Council chambers, 715 NW Mount Vernon St. in Nixa. 6 p.m. Tuesday at Southwest Baptist University, McClelland Joe Roberts Room (Dining Hall), 1600 University Ave. in Bolivar. Noon Wednesday at Branson City Council chambers, 110 W. Maddux St. in Branson. Noon Thursday at the Recreation Center, 126 W. Hadley St. in Aurora. The PSC said two video/telephone conferences are are planned one for 6 p.m. Wednesday and one for noon Friday, July 25, for those who cannot attend the in-person meetings. People can call 855-718-6621, with access code 2861 936 9973 and password 0261, for the Wednesday hearing and the same phone number, with access code 2866 586 9984 and password 0261, for the Friday hearing. Food delivery service Lieferando said on Thursday it plans to lay off around 2,000 couriers in Germany starting at the end of the year, many of them in Hamburg. The reduction amounts to roughly 20% of the company's entire fleet, said Lieferando, which is part of the Dutch multinational Just Eat Takeaway group. The reason for the cuts is a shift in the company's delivery model: going forward, it will increasingly rely on subcontractors for so-called "last-mile" delivery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The competitive landscape and the market are changing faster and more fundamentally than ever," said Lennard Neubauer, Lieferando's Germany chief, in an interview with dpa. "Customers expect reliable service and short delivery times." In some areas, this can no longer be guaranteed under the current set-up, he said. In particular, Lieferando will partner with specialized logistics firms to handle deliveries in smaller markets such as Wiesbaden, Lubeck and Bochum, Neubauer added. The same approach will be taken in Hamburg, which because of the city's size will be hit especially hard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lieferando points out that working with subcontractors is common practice in the market, saying rivals such as Uber Eats and Wolt also operate this way. Many of their riders work as freelancers, a setup that labour advocates say can lead to exploitative conditions. Lieferando's approach of employing riders directly had long been welcomed by labour representatives, making the backlash to this partial outsourcing all the more likely. Germany's Food, Beverages and Catering Union has spent years pushing for a collective agreement for Lieferando employees, including a minimum wage of 15 ($17) per hour. With parts of the delivery business now moving to third-parties, the union will likely find it more difficult to fight for uniform working conditions. SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) Let there be light as St. Pauls Episcopal Cathedral was bathed in rainbow colors honoring the LGBTQ+ community a few days before San Diego Pride celebrations take over the Hillcrest neighborhood. This is the 10 Light up the Cathedral interfaith Pride celebration, and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria says hes seen the fight for gay rights reach heights he never could have imagined. So many of us were raised to believe that God didnt love us, and as you come of age and evolve as a society you have faith leaders, priests, ministers, rabis, imams who say no, God is about love and this is how we express it, said Gloria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Pride in San Diego Faith leaders say this year of gathering couldnt be more important. Its an especially important year to show we are all together and that we are all family, said The Very Reverent Penny Bridges from St. Pauls Episcopal Church. This event being held on edge of Pride is a bit of common ground as the LGBTQ+ community is split this year over San Diego Prides decision to host musical guest Kehlani, with critics calling the performer antisemitic. You are platforming someone who is calling for violence and thats not the spirit of Pride, and they said they were committed to platforming this artist, said Devora Marcus, Sr. Rabi Temple Emanuel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now Pride has a competing festival known as J Pride, being held at an undisclosed location. We are rejecting hate speech, said Rabi Marcus. Board members of San Diego Pride declined to speak to us for this story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. Nvidia (NDVA) and AMD (AMD) may soon get the green light to sell AI chips to China again, potentially reviving a key growth market. The US government is reportedly considering loosening export restrictions, which could allow the tech giants to resume sales of some lower-end AI chips to China. This policy shift comes after April's export ban blocked chips such as Nvidias H20 AI accelerator and AMD's MI308. This is a game changer, Dan Ives, managing director of Wedbush Securities, told Yahoo Finance. Nvidia stands to gain billions in annual revenue from China, and every Nvidia supplier is going to benefit, as well as second and third derivative plays. Bank of America (BAC) raised its price targets for Nvidia and AMD to $220 and $175, respectively, in anticipation of license approval. Favorable regulation could boost Nvidia's earnings per share by 5%-7% and AMD's by 3%-5%, its analysts estimate. But it's not just Nvidia and AMD that stand to gain. "It's a silver bullet positive for the AI buildout sector, Ives said. If Chinas cloud and data center buildouts ramp back up, companies like Broadcom (AVGO) and Marvell Technology (MRVL), whose custom chips support AI infrastructure, could benefit. Credo Technology Group (CRDO), a high-speed interconnect supplier, may also see demand rise alongside broader server deployments. All three stocks carry a Buy rating from BofA. The clearest beneficiaries may be at the heart of chip manufacturing. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which produces Nvidia and AMDs chips, and Samsung Electronics (SSNLF), a key supplier of high-bandwidth memory, are well-positioned to capture a rebound. Read more: How does Nvidia make money? If Im pointing to derivatives, Im pointing to Samsung and TSMC, Matt Bryson, managing director of research at Wedbush Securities, told Yahoo Finance. Theyre literally working on the parts Nvidia and AMD are shipping. Bryson said that before Aprils export ban, Chinese server build activity was the number one positive inflection the industry was watching. The momentum stalled in the second quarter, but could quickly return if policy changes are confirmed. The semiconductor market is rapidly expanding as AI advances. Gaining approval and reopening the key Chinese market, even partially, shifts sentiment across the sector. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang estimated the Chinese AI market is worth $50 billion. Still, the exact effect on balance sheets will be hard to pin down in the near term. Nvidias first quarter earnings reported a $2.5 billion drop in China revenue and a $4.5 billion inventory write-off. An additional $8 billion loss is anticipated in the second quarter. One person died and 14 others were injured, including eight children, after being struck by lightning on Wednesday in New Jersey, officials said. The strike hit the ground near a group at the Black Knight Bowbenders archery range, a well-known community site that regularly hosts events, Jackson Township Mayor Michael Reina told New York ABC station WABC. The Jackson Township Police Department said it received a call shortly after 7 p.m. reporting multiple people struck by lightning, resulting in a male being administered CPR, while multiple other victims were being triaged. WABC - PHOTO: One person was killed and more than a dozen were injured by a lightning strike at an archery range in Jackson Township, N.J., on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Robert Montgomery, 61, who was identified by the mayor as an instructor, died from his injuries, according to Jackson Township Police Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The injuries ranged from "burns to non-specific complaints of not feeling well," the police department said in a statement to WABC. One person was knocked unconscious but later regained consciousness, police said. MORE: Golfer, 28, dies after being struck by lightning while playing on course in New Jersey All were transported to nearby hospitals, including Jersey Shore University Medical Center. One person with more serious injuries was taken to the Livingston Burn Center. This was the 12th lightning fatality in the country this year, according to the National Weather Service. It's the second death in New Jersey in as many weeks, after a 28-year-old golfer died after being struck by lightning on a course in Hamburg on July 8. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is such a tragedy," Reina said to WABC. "My thoughts and prayers are with the victim's family and all those injured tonight. It's difficult to understand what happened." STOCK PHOTO/Adobe Stock - PHOTO: Lightning is seen in this stock image. A severe thunderstorm warning was issued for the area Wednesday evening. Much of northwest and central New Jersey was also under flood watches through Wednesday night, with storms expected to produce heavy downpours following a deadly deluge earlier this week. A common misunderstanding is that a thunderstorm needs to be severe to be life-threatening, but that is not true. A casual summer thunderstorm that has a few rumbles of even distant thunder can be deadly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether it's raining or if it's completely cloudy overhead or partially sunny as a storm builds, if thunder can be heard, there is a danger being outside and you should seek shelter immediately. ABC News' Darren Reynolds, Jason Volack and Daniel Manzo contributed to this report. LIMESTONE COUNTY, Ala. (WHNT) Limestone County holds the title of the fastest-growing county in Alabama for four consecutive years. But growth brings along challenges. According to the U.S. Census Bureau data, the countys population has grown by nearly 15% since 2020. County commissioners said the increase in people calls for improvements across the area, from roads to county services. They said the funding is now there to start tackling some of those issues. Public weighs in on the future of the Huntsville Historic Depot Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When you grow fast like weve grown, you know, a lot of those abatements and things like that that have been done over the years are just now kind of starting to come back full circle to where you can start back and invest in your community, Limestone County Commission Chairman Collin Daly said. With that funding in place, Daly has three initiatives on his mind he wants to look at first: traffic flow, staffing and infrastructure. Were growing faster than the infrastructure is growing around us, Daly said. And, you know, infrastructure means county services. I mean, it means employment. Limestone County Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin said the sheriffs department is one of the services in need, pointing to critical staffing issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Decatur woman hosting birthday blood drive and youre invited! In a statement to News 19, Sheriff McLaughlin said the department is staffed with less than 25% of the recommended personnel. Using a conservative standard of 1.8 sworn officers per 1,000 residents, a widely accepted benchmark in law enforcement, Limestone County should currently employ at least 234 full-time deputies. Presently, the department operates with only 59 sworn officers, less than 25% of the recommended minimum. This shortfall significantly impacts public safety, with consequences ranging from delayed emergency response times and limited community presence to rising personnel burnout and backlogs in investigations and civil duties. Limestone County Sheriff Joshua McLaughlin McLaughlin added in his statement that he is not asking for all 234 positions to be added immediately. Rather, he said he presented this to the commission so they could work to create a staffing plan for the future, emphasizing the critical need for more deputies and the consequences of a short-staffed department. Daly said he recognizes the growing populations impact on the sheriffs department. With everybody you add, you add a car, too, Daly said. You talk about traffic, there adds another speeding person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daly said he is working with the sheriff to include staffing the department in the upcoming budget plan. That plan will take effect on October 1. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Lin-Manuel Miranda plans to use the 10th anniversary Broadway performance of his award-winning cultural phenomenon Hamilton as a fundraiser for a coalition of nonprofits providing immigration services. The Aug. 6 performance of Hamilton at Broadways Richard Rodgers Theatre is expected to raise about $3 million for the Immigrants: We Get the Job Done Coalition, 14 nonprofits ranging from the Hispanic Federation and National Immigration Law Center to the Haitian Bridge Alliance and the Tahirih Justice Center. The donation will come from Miranda, the Miranda Family and Miranda Family Fund, and the Hamilton cast. It seemed like a fitting tribute to Hamilton and its inspiration, Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, Miranda told The Associated Press, though he recognizes that Hamilton wouldnt have called himself an immigrant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His narrative in our country kind of mirrors that of an immigrant story, Miranda said. He did not grow up here. He didnt come from England. He came from the Caribbean, escaping harsh circumstances. And he really helped shape this country. Miranda did exclusively reveal some plans for the special, invite-only Hamilton anniversary show and the preshow reception that he will host. Fans already know the possibilities after the special Hamilton medley at the Tonys in June. Even the audience will be stacked, he said, since every actor who has ever performed during the show's Broadway run will be invited to be in the audience to watch the shows current Broadway cast that night. Were working on something special for the curtain call and another nice special thing after that, Miranda said. Thats about all I can say. The bulk of the invites have gone to winners selected from a Prizeo sweepstakes, where entrants donated at least $10 to the Immigrants coalition. A few dozen VIP packages, ranging from $2,500 to $10,000, will be available Thursday through the Hispanic Federation, with proceeds also going to the coalition. One of Americas greatest exports -- at least for me growing up -- was the immigration narrative, Miranda said. So many people I know came to this country from somewhere else seeking a better life and then helped make this country better by being here. And I believe thats one of the greatest promises, one of greatest things about the American experiment, and Ill continue to fight for that and support organizations that are helping that cause. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Immigrant-serving nonprofits welcome #Hamilten support And the organizations that will benefit from the donations generated by the Hamilton 10th anniversary, better known as #Hamilten, say the donations and encouragement are sorely needed now. Since the start of his second term, President Donald Trump swiftly moved to make good on Mass Deportation Now! promises from his campaign. His administration has encouraged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to detain and deport people quickly, even to countries where they have never been, in order to rein in illegal immigration. Hispanic Federation President and CEO Frankie Miranda, no relation to Lin-Manuel Miranda, said he is heartened by the more than 125,000 people who have donated to the Hamilton fundraiser. I think it is the beginning of what could be an incredible movement of philanthropy and individual donors basically saying, Enough is enough, he said. We have seen it also in the different demonstrations of people around the country where they are expressing their concern and their frustration out in the streets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hispanic Federation has already lost millions in federal funding, as the Trump administration cuts support for workplace development initiatives and environmental justice work, Frankie Miranda said. He has also seen some corporations withdraw their financial support because they fear reprisals from the Trump administration. We need bold ideas like Hamilton where everybody feels that they can stand behind it, he said. Aarti Kohli, executive director of the Asian Law Caucus, another coalition member, said the donations would help her group continue to provide community legal services to individuals, while also pursuing lawsuits like its challenge to the Trump executive order seeking to strip away birthright citizenship from some children born in the United States. At this time, when so many people are afraid to speak out and support vulnerable communities, Lin-Manuel Miranda being willing to use the Hamilton platform just shows real leadership and bravery, Kohli said. And Im hoping that more donors will step up and support our sector. We are the firewall between authoritarianism and democracy. Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, said her nonprofit plans to use the donations from the coalition to support its Defending Democracy initiative, which informs immigrants of their rights and uses the law as a bulwark against unconstitutional actions carried out by this administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Matos sees it as a full circle moment to use funding generated by the story of one of our nations Founding Fathers who himself was an indigent immigrant, who through his own grit, determination and his brilliance, worked his way up. He was somebody who thought deeply about this new nations democracy, she added. What better way to honor Hamilton and to express our gratitude for these resources? Immigrants: We get the job done was a line that surprisingly resonated For Lin-Manuel Miranda, the fact that people remain fascinated by Hamilton 10 years later also leaves him feeling grateful. And he remains surprised by the resonance of the line Immigrants: We get the job done, a line shared in the show by Hamilton and French military officer Marquis de Lafayette at the Battle of Yorktown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I thought it was no big deal, he said. But from the moment it was performed on stage, the audience reaction was so joyous at just the utterance of that simple fact. Its one of the things that just heartens me and gives me hope. In these dark times, it still gets a big cheer. The cheering still requires the show to add extra measures of music to wait for the audience to calm down before continuing with the song Yorktown. Miranda attributes it to the fact that so many Americans are only one or two generations away from an immigrant. Its the same reason why that No Kings protest vastly outnumbered the military parade happening on the same day, he said. There are still a lot of people who believe in basic decency and treating people who come here -- often from really tough situations -- with humanity. ______ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. LINCOLN COUNTY, Tenn. (WHNT) A Lincoln County man was recently arrested during an ongoing narcotics investigation carried out by multiple agencies. On Friday, July 11, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) Special Agents along with the assistance of the Lincoln County Sheriffs Office, the Fayetteville Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), carried out a search warrant at a home in the 300 block of Walnut Avenue. While searching the home, authorities found and seized drugs, drug paraphernalia, and firearms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 40-year-old Edward Marquis Askins was arrested and charged with Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, Possession of a Weapon by a Convicted Felon, Possession of Schedule II Drugs, and Possession of Schedule VI Drugs. Askins was booked in the Lincoln County Jail where he later posted a $82,000 bond. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. ST. LOUIS One of St. Louis beloved sandwich chains placed high in a USA Todays 10Best poll. Lions Choice placed #3 as Americas Best Regional Fast Food restaurant, according to a USA Today 10Best panel. This panel consists of food and travel experts, as well as readers across the United States. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Known for its roast beef sandwiches, Lions Choice was the only Missouri-based chain to be named in the national poll. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CEO of Lions Choice, Fred Brumer, expressed the significance that this achievement means for the franchise. Its a testament to the people whove supported us for nearly 60 yearsfrom our team members who have been with us for decades, to our loyal fans who make Lions Choice part of their everyday lives. Were proud to represent St. Louis on the national stage, Brumer said. Voting lasted for about four weeks, and Lions Choice was one of 20 regional chains considered for the title. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Nexstar sister station, Columbus NBC4i (WCMH) video above. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A lioness died at the Columbus Zoo on Thursday, April 17. The USDA released a report on her death. According to a report from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), officials believe a lion broke through the panel between the enclosures at night. In the morning, the lioness, Asali, was found with a deadly bite wound. Roary, a lion, had minor wounds. The other two lionesses were fine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said Roary and Asali were kept in separate enclosures at nighttime because they didnt get along. Asali had to be put down because of her injury. Summer Crisis Program aids low-income families in heat relief Per the report, the zoo said it believes the pair had gotten into an altercation. The USDA said it has found improvements at the zoo since the incident to prevent this from happening again. 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. Lithuania has summoned a Belarusian diplomat over a drone that crashed over the Baltic country, a member of both NATO and the European Union. In a diplomatic note, Lithuania expressed its "strong protest over the unlawful entry" of the unmanned aerial vehicle into Lithuanian airspace. The authoritarian-ruled neighbouring country was asked to provide an explanation of last week's incident, the Foreign Ministry in Vilnius said on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On July 10, a Russian-made drone from Belarus crashed in Lithuania near the border. It was a so-called Gerbera drone, which resembles the Shahed combat drones used by Russia in its war on Ukraine. Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said the incident was likely to be linked to an attack on Ukraine. According to the Lithuanian military, the unmanned aerial vehicle was spotted outside the country's territory and crashed a few minutes after crossing the border. The drone, which prompted Prime Minister Gintautas Paluckas and Parliament Speaker Saulius Skvernelis to take precautionary measures and seek shelter, posed no danger to the population as it was not equipped with explosives, the military said. Lithuanian investigators are now looking into the possible purpose of the drone, which was made of plywood and foam. Discussions are also under way about how to respond to the incident. President Donald Trump has gone to great lengths in recent days to quash the Jeffrey Epstein fervor in his party. It doesnt seem to be working and one particular effort to force the release of more files could spiral out of his control. Last week, Trumps Justice Department published an unsigned memo that concluded the sex offender had killed himself and that no so-called client list existed. Since then, Trump has called people who have pushed for more answers seemingly including GOP members of Congress, top members of his own administration and MAGA influencers weaklings who have been duped by a Democratic hoax. His consistent message: Theres nothing else to see here, move along. But Trump allies keep raising questions. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday showed nearly as many Republicans disapproved of the administrations handling of the matter (36%) as approved (40%). And a CNN poll showed 40% of Republicans said they were dissatisfied with the governments disclosures in the Epstein case, while just 4% said they were satisfied. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Republican members of Congress truly dont want to let the issue lie, as several have indicated, they have a critical tool at their disposal: a discharge petition. Its an arcane procedure with a straightforward premise: If 218 members of the House sign one, they can force a floor vote in the chamber on anything even if leadership opposes it. Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky has joined with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California to spearhead a discharge petition that would force a vote to release all of the Epstein files, and its showing early signs of life. Two other Republicans said Wednesday they would sign the petition Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Eric Burlison of Missouri. Massie said five others have signed on to the underlying bill (but not yet the discharge petition). If six Republicans joined all 212 House Democrats on the petition, they could force the vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were a long way from that. There are reasons to be skeptical this this effort will ultimately force a vote, and even if the House ultimately approves it, theres no telling if the Senate will take it up. Majority Leader John Thune indicated Thursday that he was not hearing GOP senators clamoring for a vote on releasing more Epstein files. But it still matters. Heres why. The basics A discharge petition is an oft-invoked tool that rarely leads to an actual vote. The basicidea is that you force House leadership to hold a vote by marshalling a clear majority of the House. It requires 218 signatures a majority of all 435 districts, rather than a majority of members present. That means it needs at least some members of the majority party to sign on, and vacancies dont lower the threshold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It rarely succeeds in forcing a vote because lawmakers in the majority are often hesitant to buck leadership. Leaders will do plenty to avoid ceding their control over the floor. So they could punish members who go this route or cut deals to avoid the embarrassment. Only about 4% of discharge petitions have historically led to actual votes, according to Brookings Institution senior fellow Sarah Binder. Political commentator Rogan O'Handley carrying a binder bearing the seal of the US Justice Department reading "The Epstein Files: Phase 1" walk out of the West Wing of the White House in Washington DC, on February 27. - Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images Why Epstein could be different But the Epstein documents could animate lawmakers to take that drastic step. The modern Republican Party is chock full of true-believers who dont think Epstein killed himself and think there is a massive conspiracy involving influential people participating in sex trafficking. It might not be enough for the vast majority of House Republicans to aggressively defy leadership and Trump, but the most conspiratorial among them could be tempted. Democrats also have reason to sign on, as theyve made it clear theyre eager to press on an issue that divides Trump from his base. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some could have qualms about truly releasing all of the Epstein files files that could invoke people who havent been charged with crimes and seed unwarranted suspicions. The Justice Department has cited that and the fact that many of the documents are under seal by the courts as reasons for not releasing more. But despite those qualms, Wednesday showed this could have some momentum. How the effort could succeed without a vote And the effort is worth watching even if it doesnt ultimately force a vote, because thats not the only measure of success. As Binder has noted, the mere threat of a discharge petition can be enough to force leaders to act in one way or another. While discharge petitions only lead to actual votes on the desired measure about 4% of the time, theyve led to either that or votes on similar measures about 8% of the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its possible the threat of embarrassing Trump, by making it look like hes not in control of his party, would be enough to spur the administration to release more. Or maybe the House could take other actions perhaps a vote on a partial release or an investigation to quash the dissent. The state of play So where do we go from here? Its tempting to just look at the raw numbers of members who say theyll sign the petition, and well certainly do that in the coming days particularly the Republicans. But as congressional expert Matt Glassman of Georgetown University told CNN, that number can be misleading. He notes what a discharge petition really requires is not just 218 members, but 218 hellbent members lawmakers that wont back down, even in the face of leadership pressure, and will really force the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump seems very involved here, and not too many members want to stick their necks out against him, even if its on an issue where the Trump GOP base seems split from the president, Glassman said. A telling detail: More Republicans are supporting the underlying bill than the discharge petition, at least for now. They dont want to go that far, yet. Getting a handful of members on board is one thing; becoming the decisive Republican and the 218th House member to greenlight something Trump doesnt want is something else entirely. The debate earlier this year over proxy voting in the House illustrates how such efforts can fizzle when leadership is determined to suppress them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GOP Rep. Anna Paulina Luna of Florida spearheaded a discharge petition on a measure that would allow parents of newborns to vote by proxy, and it clearly had the support of a bipartisan majority of the House mostly Democrats, but about a dozen Republicans, too. Ultimately, rather than actually forcing that vote, Luna cut a deal with House Speaker Mike Johnson, who fought hard against her efforts, on a watered-down proposal. Thats why hellbent members are critical. And theres a significant difference between the proxy voting proposal and Epstein. That involved challenging Johnson, who was dead-set against the idea, even as Trump appeared amenable to it and said so publicly. A discharge petition on Epstein means going at Trump, a much more severe undertaking. If nothing else, the discharge petition will test just how serious Republicans are about getting more information about Epstein. This story has been updated with additional developments. Ted Barrett contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) Changes in leadership at the Livingston Parish Library were made after the board voted not to renew the directors contract Tuesday. The librarys Board of Control went into an executive session that lasted over two hours to discuss Michelle Parrishs contract during the meeting. Parish President Randy Delatte voiced his opinion on leadership, saying a fresh face is needed to lead rather than divide. In a Thursday statement, Delatte described his motion to end Parrishs contract as a tough call, adding that he thought it was a necessary move with the majority of the board in agreement. Four board members who voted no resigned at the end of the meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a voting member of the Library Board, I had to confront a leadership issue. This wasnt political. The demand signal was clear, and the concerns had been building long before I joined the board. At some point, continuing to stay silent wouldve been a failure of responsibility, Delatte said. Some residents spoke in favor of Parrish, telling board members that shes worked hard and done a great job operating the library. One person said Parrish has professionally led the library system through political attacks, budget battles, challenges, and disinformation. Have a library card? Visit some Louisiana museums for free using it Delatte acknowledged Parrishs work leading the library system. She led through challenging times and made meaningful contributions to the system, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other residents voiced unhappiness with library leadership and their support for a change. The library belongs to the parish. It belongs to the people of the parish, and the people of the parish are asking you to give us leadership and management of this library that will no longer bring in radical political agendas and that will no longer create this kind of controversy and division, First Baptist Church Pastor Brian Gunter said at the meeting. Libraries are cutting back on staff and services after Trumps order to dismantle small agency Whats next for library leadership? An official statement from the library thanked Parrish, who was hired as director in 2023, for her service and announced that Dustin Cotton and Julia Falcon will serve as acting co-directors. A special board meeting will be held to start the search for an interim director and create a committee to review the hiring of a new permanent director. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We want to assure the public that our commitment to serving the community and fulfilling our roles remains unchanged. Everyone employed by the Livingston Parish Library is a public servant, and we take that responsibility seriously, the library said. Delatte said he supports the library and its mission while looking forward to new leadership that will prioritize the librarys commitment to serving the community. The Livingston Parish Library was established by the policy jury in 1946 and now has grown into five branches and a bookmobile. 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. Several local agencies are mourning the death of an Ohio deputy. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The Hardin County Sheriffs Office announced in a social media post that Detective Bryan Bodine passed away on Tuesday. He served the agency for 12 years as a sheriffs deputy, K9 handler, and detective. He will be sadly missed as a valued friend and member of the Sheriffs office staff, said the Hardin County Sheriffs Office. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some local agencies have posted tributes to Bryan Bodine. The Auglaize County Sheriffs Office extended its condolences on its Facebook page. Detective Bodine dedicated 12 years of his life to proudly serving the citizens of Hardin County as an enforcement deputy, K-9 handler, and detective. His commitment and service leave a lasting impact, and we honor his memory with our deepest appreciation. The Logan County Sheriffs Office also paid tribute to Bodine. Different Badges- One Family! they wrote on social media. (The Logan County Sheriffs Office) stands with the Hardin County Sheriffs Office as we mourn the loss of Detective Bryan Bodine. The Russells Point Police Department offered its condolences to the Hardin County Sheriffs Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our hearts hang heavy with the news of Detective Bodine. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and our brothers and sisters throughout the Hardin County law enforcement community. The Washington Township Police Department in Logan County also paid tribute to Bryan Bodine. Our thoughts and prayers are with the Hardin County Sheriffs Office and the family and friends of Detective Bodine. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Key Points Joby Aviation announced that it will double the size of its existing California production facility. The company is also expanding its test fleet. Mounting losses and a steep valuation suggest caution is warranted. 10 stocks we like better than Joby Aviation Shares of Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) were flying high Tuesday, soaring as much as 10.3%. As of 3:12 p.m. ET, the stock was still up 9.1%. The catalyst that sent the electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft specialist higher was an announcement that the company is expanding its manufacturing capacity. Image source: Joby Aviation. Ready to take flight In a press release on Tuesday, Joby announced plans to increase the size of its Marina, California, manufacturing facility to 435,500 square feet of total space. This will effectively double the production capacity at that location and support the scale-up of the company's commercial operations. Joby is also ramping up manufacturing capacity at its newly renovated Dayton, Ohio, plant, which will be tasked with manufacturing and testing aircraft components. Joby is also expanding its flight test program, adding a new aircraft to its growing test fleet. Is Joby a buy? It's important to remember that Joby isn't yet generating much revenue, and the company's losses are piling up. As such, a lot will have to go right for Joby to succeed, and the stock is exorbitantly expensive, currently trading for 179 times next year's expected sales. To be clear, Joby is a high-risk, high-reward investment, which could lead to something of a binary outcome. If the eVTOL specialist can win certification from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) -- the process in ongoing -- and manufacture its aircraft at scale, the stock could fly much higher. On the other hand, if Joby isn't successful in either of these areas, the highflier could crash and burn. With that in mind, investors should size their positions with their risk tolerance in mind. Should you invest $1,000 in Joby Aviation right now? Before you buy stock in Joby Aviation, consider this: The Motley Fool Stock Advisor analyst team just identified what they believe are the 10 best stocks for investors to buy now and Joby Aviation wasnt one of them. The 10 stocks that made the cut could produce monster returns in the coming years. Consider when Netflix made this list on December 17, 2004... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $680,559!* Or when Nvidia made this list on April 15, 2005... if you invested $1,000 at the time of our recommendation, youd have $1,005,670!* Poll workers process ballots in Janesville, Wisconsin, in November 2024. A 2025 survey of local election officials found concern about federal cuts to election security. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Local election officials across the country fear the loss of federal support for election security, according to a new survey. Sixty percent of local election officials expressed some level of concern, a survey by the Brennan Center for Justice found. The center, a left-leaning pro-democracy institute, surveyed 858 officials between mid-April and mid-May. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The concern comes as President Donald Trump has curtailed federal election security work. The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, or CISA, in March halted its election security work. A month earlier, the Department of Government Efficiency task force also fired 130 cybersecurity workers at the agency. And Trump in April ordered an investigation into Christopher Krebs, a former agency director who had vouched for the security of the 2020 election, which Trump falsely claims was stolen. Federal cuts mean election officials are going to need more financial support from state and local governments, said Lawrence Norden, vice president of Brennans Elections and Government Program. The federal government has the advantage of being able to see the big picture and more easily share information with election officials across the country, he said. That is going to be difficult for states to replicate, Norden said. It doesnt mean its impossible, but they have to start rethinking how theyre sharing information about what theyre seeing with each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cybersecurity has long been a concern of states and not just in elections. Only 22 of 48 states that participated in a voluntary 2023 cybersecurity review conducted by federal agencies met or exceeded recommended security levels. In the Brennan survey, 36% of local election officials said they were very concerned about federal cuts to election security services, while 24% said they were somewhat concerned and 21% said they were a little concerned. Nineteen percent said they were not concerned at all. Sixty-one percent of local election officials expressed some level of concern over cuts to the federal cybersecurity agency specifically, with 32% saying they were very concerned. The survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) New funding could bring some much-needed support resources to Raleigh County. Raleigh County Commission members announced the opening of the application process for the Raleigh County New Direction Grant on Tuesday during the commissions Regular Session meeting. Hinton prepares to kick off the 2025 West Virginia State Water Festival Local organizations can now apply for grant funding from Raleigh Countys share of the West Virginia Opioid Settlement funds. Grants submitted will be reviewed by an advisory committee put together for the initiative. Raleigh County Commission President, Greg Duckworth said the first round of funds will be geared toward kids and prevention in schools throughout the area. This application is going to be somewhat narrowed in to focusing on the kids and prevention in the schools and things like that, said Duckworth. Its really exciting to kick out the Raleigh County New Direction Grant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commissioner Duckworth said there are future plans in place to focus efforts in other areas as well. Substance abuse treatment, sober living, foster care, and employment opportunities were just some of the issues commissioners said they plan to address through the funding. The online application process for the first round of grant funding will be open until end of August. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) A local man claims an argument over a comment about his sexuality turned into a brutal attack on an NFTA bus, leaving him hospitalized. Timothy Crossfield was on his way home from meeting with a friend. He tells WIVB News 4 he got on an NFTA bus on the 12 Utica line and immediately received an insult about the bag he was carrying and his sexuality. After a brief back and forth between the two men, violence ensued. Video of the incident captured by bystanders on the bus shows Crossfield taking punches and kicks to his body. He was also choked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The altercation ended after Crossfield was kneed in the face. He then fell backwards, slamming his head on the concrete, causing him to lose consciousness. Im definitely frustrated, said Crossfield. I wouldnt say shocked because I am a homosexual man. Ive been dealing with this my whole entire life but not to this extent. Crossfield ended up getting 14 staples in the back of his head and is currently struggling with some memory loss. His mother, who did not want to be named, said the video circulating on social media of her sons attack is heartbreaking, not only the violence but the bystanders who were videotaping and heard laughing in the background. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How would they have felt if it was one of their family members that happened to, said Crossfields mother. Everybody is somebodys baby. Another frustration for Crossfield and his mother was that the bus driver kept on driving, while he laid unconscious on the sidewalk. Kelly Khatib, the Public Information Officer for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA) said the bus driver called the control center while the incident was unfolding. The control center is supposed to get in touch with emergency responders. The driver thought he saw both men exit the bus, so he kept on driving on his route and emergency responders were not contacted. Crossfield said he plans to press charges in the coming days. The NFTA said they will help him do so in any way they can. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, the NFTA said the operator of the bus followed proper protocol in the incident. The NFTA is aware of the incident, and it is part of an active investigation, the NFTA said in a statement. We are deeply concerned by what occurred and are committed to transparency and public safety. The person involved in the incident, identified as 29-year-old Jamal Baxter, has since been arrested and is banned from the system, according to the NFTA. They said they are deeply concerned by what occurred and are committed to public safety. Latest Local News Trina Catterson joined the News 4 team in 2024. She previously worked at WETM-TV in Elmira, a sister station of WIVB. See more of her work here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. KIRTLAND, Ohio (WJW) A frightening warning for everyone after a police officers sister was targeted in a sinister scheme. She drives an expensive car, so that leads me to believe that this is an attempted carjacking, said Kirtland police officer Joseph Gibson. His sister was driving home from fireworks in the Greater Cleveland Area on the 4th of July when she heard something hit her vehicle and thought it was a rock. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New video of alleged ethnic intimidation incident involving Ohio Congressman Max Miller When she arrived home, a couple pulled up to her house and came to her door. My sister opened up the upstairs window, greeted them and a female stated that my sister had her cellphone, he said. She noticed two other unfamiliar cars nearby running with their lights off on the cul-de-sac and refused to come outside. She offered to call the police and all three vehicles left. The next day, after speaking with her brother, she checked her vehicle and found a cellphone magnetized and stuck to the car. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They were able to use the iPhone tracking to follow her, he said, And if you were looking for your cell phone, you wouldve called it. They werent too concerned about the cellphone. They just wanted my sister to come out of the house. Its a terrifying thought about what couldve happened, he said, but its a common set up tactic criminals use and Officer Gibson saw when he worked in Washington D.C. He said sometimes air tags or similar GPS tracking devices are applied. I felt the need to alert the public. No matter what city you live in, be careful, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beach hazard: Swimmers warned to stay out of Lake Erie on Thursday Some safety tips include changing your routine, not stopping when something hits your vehicle and driving to a police station if youre in a fender bender, or staying in the vehicle until police arrive. He said never open the door for strangers, especially anyone who follows you home. If my sister had not looked and saw the other cars, she wouldve been a victim, he said. We go back to what our parents told us: dont open the door for strangers, dont talk to strangers. The incident was reported to Cleveland police, but unfortunately, cameras did not record the suspects and so far no one has been identified. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BROWN COUNTY, Wis. (WFRV) A longtime advocate for responsible alcohol service and a pillar of the local business community has died at the age of 91. According to his obituary, Vern Krawczyk died Sunday at a local care facility following a brief illness. He is survived by his wife, Judy, and their three children. Polka, pierogi & parades: Pulaski Polka Days returns for 46th year of festive fun Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Brown County Tavern League paid tribute to Krawczyk in a social media post, calling him someone they were honored to have on our side. After serving in the United States Marine Corps, Krawczyk and his wife owned the Skytop Supper Club for more than 30 years. He later served as president of the Brown County Tavern League for 23 years, while Judy spent six years as a Wisconsin State Representative. Krawczyk taught at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College for more than 15 years, where he instructed responsible beverage server courses. He was a strong advocate for safe and responsible alcohol consumption, regularly working with law enforcement and helping to pioneer the SafeRide program in the area. He also served on the City of Green Bays Protection and Welfare Committee, now known as the Protection and Policy Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beyond the tavern industry, Krawczyk was active in community causes, particularly the NEW Zoo. Through partnerships with the Tavern League and the Restaurant Association, he helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the zoo, including funds to purchase its first giraffe. Krawczyk also served on the Advisory Council for St. Vincents, chaired fundraising efforts for the Sky Ranch for Boys, and led the Brown County Republican Party. While I was serving as president of the Brown County Tavern League, Vern and I traded hand-written letters, which to me was like getting an autograph from a celebrity, said Don Mjelde, Eastern District vice president of the Tavern League of Wisconsin. This is a man who, without hesitation, consistently gave back to the community that supported his family and business. 10-month-old killed, four others hospitalized in single-vehicle crash in Wisconsin Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mjelde added, Today, through misty eyes, we raise a glass. To the man who helped shape the good in all of us may we all strive to help our friends and neighbors as much as Vern showed us we can. Dozens of community members left tributes on his obituary page, reflecting on Krawczyks legacy and the lasting impact he made on those around 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 WFRV Local 5 - Green Bay, Appleton. Peter McDermott spent nearly five decades in law enforcement in Connecticut challenging the status quo with a vision of what police work should be a profession that could aim to help people first and use physical force as a last resort. His 48-year career at three different police agencies, as well as an instructor, is remembered as one that was ahead of its time. It was one which helped shape modern-day policing models that are now widely accepted in Connecticut and beyond, his brother, Brian McDermott said. Peter McDermott died last week at 84 years old following health struggles over his last few years which worsened in the weeks leading up to his death. One of four siblings who had four children of his own, those closest to Peter McDermott will no doubt remember him as a father, brother, grandfather and uncle, though hes remembered in the law enforcement community as someone who never stopped pursuing the vision of what he thought policing could be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He had a good heart, and he was a really intelligent guy, Brian McDermott said. He had a gift to communicate. And he was always concerned that that was never part of what police officers were trained. They were given a very limited focus on communication. Theyd get weeks and weeks of weapons training, he would say. But they would get nothing on how to build a relationship or how to communicate without being confrontational. Peter McDermott graduated from Hartford High School and served in the Army National Guard before joining the West Hartford Police Department in the early 1960s, where he would spend 27 years and quickly rose through the ranks to captain. During his time in West Hartford, Peter McDermott is credited with instituting formalized training that outpaced state mandates and introducing an employee assistance program and a peer help team, concepts that are now widely practiced. He also used mock drills and reenactments aimed at practicing investigation techniques and firearms simulations. Hes also credited with establishing non-mandated training for officers that covered issues like domestic violence, social service referrals and other areas. Jim Noonan spent 25 years serving alongside Peter McDermott, and the two would go on to be lifelong friends. Noonan worked as an instructor in the regional training facility Peter McDermott helped establish in West Hartford, one where nine area police departments would regularly send officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Noonan said his friend was very dedicated to improving law enforcement and was so passionate about it that he once sent him all the way out to Ohio to learn about a program involving training using fake bullets. That was unheard of at the time, Noonan said. You never pointed a gun at another officer. Training simulations using firearms with nonlethal bullets is universally practiced today, but back then it was unprecedented. According to Noonan, Peter McDermott also helped launch a program that saw an officer go to different schools multiple times a week. This later evolved into having a dedicated officer at most schools and served as the groundwork for the towns school resource officer program, which is now commonly found all over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He not only started stuff, but the stuff he started would start other stuff, Noonan said. He knew changes had to be made, and he was just intelligent, he continued. The things he came up with were usually brilliant. After leaving West Hartford, Peter McDermott spent 10 years as a captain at the Windsor Police Department. Pete was way ahead of his time, said Tim Triggs, who worked alongside him in Windsor. Before anybody heard of community policing, that was Petes whole thing. He wanted cops out in the neighborhoods talking with people, and we adopted it in Windsor. It helped us greatly in reducing crime and having our relations with the people we served, Triggs added. It changed our whole culture in Windsor. Pete did it in a matter of 10 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following his time in Windsor, Peter McDermott spent a decade as a Master Instructor at the Connecticut Police Academy in Meriden. There, he helped train thousands of police recruits. He taught generations of police officers through the academy, Triggs said. You go anywhere and you find people who had Pete for this class or that class. And nobody had a bad word to say about him. The pupil that brought him the most pride was his daughter, Ciara, who became an officer with the Newington Police Department, Brian McDermott said. She was consoling, she was intelligent, she was compassionate, Brian McDermott said. That was the vision of what he saw as the potential in policing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ciara was tragically killed in 2005 at the hands of her former boyfriend, a suspended state trooper, during a murder-suicide. He was always incredibly proud of how she worked and the influence she had, Brian McDermott said. A number of people who struggled with things like drugs, depression, abuse or thoughts of suicide credited Ciara with saving their life, he added. Peter McDermott forged on after the terrible loss and continued his lifelong mission of helping law enforcement evolve. He went on to become an adjunct faculty member at Fairfield University and co-authored two books on police culture, communication and community building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His brother didnt realize the true impact he had until his death, when numerous individuals expressed their condolences and said Peter McDermott had helped take them under his wing. They were saying things like he changed my life and I could have gone a different way, and he was there to help me see a different path, Brian McDermott said. One thing his brother had a strong disdain for in police work was the attitude among some of the old school officers who would brag about the brutality they used when apprehending a suspect. He believed strongly in communication and de-escalation before such things were commonly taught. He was always all about, you gotta talk to people like theyre human, you gotta make connections before you establish power, Brian McDermott said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a big loss, Noonan said. He was just innovative, Noonan added. He was a very clever, innovative guy. And dedicated, very dedicated, to making police a better place. I never saw Pete lose his temper in the 10 years I worked with him, Triggs said. He always wanted to get peoples points of view, talk about the problem and try to come up with solutions to the problem. (BOSTON) Many of us have a loved one, or know someone, who is living in or being cared for in an assisted living facility or nursing home. The process of finding safe and supportive care for them can be a challenge, but its something Jennifer Benson, director of AARP Massachusetts, and Paul Lanzikos, co-founder of Dignity Alliance Massachusetts, say shouldnt be rushed. It can be both emotionally draining, as well as exhausting, Lanzikos said. Youre not looking for long-term care just because you want to. Theres a demand for it, theres a pressing need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That fire was destined to kill 50-plus people: Fall River chief recounts firefighters life-saving efforts What do you look for? Is the home safe? Do they need someone 24 hours a day or just a few hours a day to help with those activities of daily living? Benson said. After the deadly fire at the Gabriel House in Fall River, there has been confusion about the difference between a nursing home and an assisted living facility. The main difference between the two is the level of care provided. Nursing homes offer 24/7 skilled nursing care, while assisted living facilities provide support with some medical care for patients who are generally more independent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan told reporters on Tuesday that there were only two employees caring for the 70 residents at the Gabriel House when the fire broke out Sunday night. Its always good to check with management about what their staffing ratios are, Lanzikos added. Assisted living facilities in Massachusetts must have evacuation plan, fire drills Is it clean? Are there enough safety precautions as far as handrails? Do they have a disaster or emergency plan? Benson added. The best advice is to ask a lot of questions and to report any concerns to the proper departments and authorities. 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. House Republican leaders are under fierce internal pressure to send members home for the summer amid deepening anxiety over a possible vote on the Jeffrey Epstein controversy. Many GOP lawmakers fear being cornered by an expected discharge petition that would force a House vote on publicizing Epstein-related records. Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) launched the effort Tuesday, making it available for signatures and a possible floor vote as soon as next week. Democrats have already forced Republicans to take tough Epstein-related procedural votes that have stoked a barrage of constituent calls into GOP offices, but they have not yet been able to force a clear up-or-down vote on releasing the so-called Epstein files. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Questions about the late convicted sex predator have exploded inside the GOP since the Justice Department announced earlier this month it had concluded there was no foul play involved in his 2019 death while in federal custody and there is no client list of powerful accomplices to be released. Republicans want to leave town early for several reasons, but senior House Republicans acknowledge the calls for transparency around the Epstein case is becoming a bigger problem for the party. President Donald Trumps insistence that the controversy is a Jeffrey Epstein Hoax concocted by Democrats while eviscerating some of his own supporters as weaklings who have fallen prey to his political opponents bullshit has done little to tamp down the fury. Its all Epstein, all day, said one frustrated House Republican who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about the controversy. We cant ignore this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The hope, according to more than a dozen GOP members and aides, has been that Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Steve Scalise decide to cancel next weeks scheduled House session and instead send members home for an extended summer recess once voting concludes Thursday or Friday. The thinking, the members and aides said, is that members wont have to face questions at home about whether or not they have signed on to the Massie-Khanna effort and that the issue will have died down by the time members return to Washington in September. Scalise said Tuesday there are no plans to change the House schedule, which has members staying in Washington through July 24. An aide to the majority leader reiterated Thursday that plan is not changing. Leaving early would spark intense anger from appropriators who are already livid over delays in government funding work ahead of the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline. GOP leaders have discussed changing next weeks schedule, but senior Republican aides acknowledge it would not look good to leave for the traditional August recess in mid-July, with plenty more work to do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats are expected to create more headaches for the GOP Thursday, by seeking to attach an Epstein-related amendment to the Trump administrations funding clawbacks package in the House Rules Committee. A similar effort failed earlier this week, but not before one GOP member of the panel broke ranks. Massie said in an interview he was confident the Epstein issue would remain ripe through the summer. He recalled how conservative hard-liners moved a decade ago to remove former Speaker John Boehner right before the August recess and then Boehner resigned after members came back in September. They probably want to let the steam out, but this will build momentum over August, Massie said. They can't sweep it under the rug. The Epstein saga has been a subject of deep fascination for many Trump supporters, who see it as emblematic of a deeply corrupt cabal of political elites preying on vulnerable Americans. Trump, who associated with Epstein in the past and has denied any wrongdoing, discussed the controversy on the campaign trail and pledged to root out any coverup. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But after the Justice Department essentially announced theres no there there, the pressure broke out into a full crisis this week. Some Republican lawmakers have reported an onslaught of calls from constituents. Others are calling for Epstein accomplices and others to testify before Congress. Some House Republicans have raised the matter in private floor conversations with party leaders, begging them to do something. The level of alarm exploded after Massie, a dissident Republican, unveiled his discharge effort with Khanna. It would tee up a floor vote on legislation giving Attorney General Pam Bondi 30 days to release a broad array of files related to Epstein, his onetime girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell and other associates. Notably, it would provide for the release of investigative files without regard for [e]mbarrassment, reputational harm, or political sensitivity, including to any government official, public figure, or foreign dignitary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under House rules, the measure becomes available for discharge signatures after seven legislative days. Trumps effort Wednesday to tamp down the controversy suggesting his own supporters had bought into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker only triggered more alarm across the GOP conference. People are like, What the fuck is the president doing? said a second House Republican, also granted anonymity to speak candidly. The lawmaker added that people are freaking out and the issue is only getting worse. Asked by reporters Thursday if he supports using congressional authority to investigate the Epstein matter, Johnson replied, Look, we'll see how it all develops. We're for transparency. I've said that repeatedly, so has the president, Johnson said. And all the credible information needs to come out and the American people need to make their own decisions. A mother and her young son were rescued after getting lost in a California forest, thanks to quick thinking, a handwritten note and timely action by rescuers. It happened on Saturday, July 12, when a routine training exercise for the Calaveras County Volunteer Search and Rescue (SAR) Team turned into a real-life rescue mission in the rugged terrain near Spicer Reservoir. Shortly before 1:30 p.m., Calaveras County Dispatch received a report of a 49-year-old mother and her 9-year-old son who were overdue from a trip to Camp Wolfeboro. The pair had left Sacramento the day before but had since gone silent no calls, no texts and no check-ins, according to the reporting party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Concerned for their safety, a deputy was immediately sent to investigate. Fortunately, the Search and Rescue (SAR) team was already training nearby and quickly joined the search. Five Helicopters Needed To Save Injured Solo Climber On California's Second-highest Peak A location-sharing app provided by the reporting party helped narrow the search zone, officials said. Air support from the California Highway Patrol was also called in to assist. Read On The Fox News App A breakthrough in the search came from a promising lead a 911 text from nearby campers who reported seeing a vehicle that matched the missing familys description the day before. With this critical tip, officials said searchers zeroed in on the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, early in the evening, searchers discovered a handwritten note at a remote intersection. It was from the missing mother, pleading for help. Hiker Disappears In Wilderness After Taking Shortcut That Leads To Voice From The Woods The Calaveras County Sheriff's Office shared an image of the note, showing the directions the mother had laid out to help find them. "HELP. Me and my son are stranded with no service and cant call 911," the note read. "We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!" Following a series of similar notes left along the route, rescuers tracked the pair to their vehicle, roughly a mile down the road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the remote location and thick forest canopy posed another challenge as cell and radio signals were blocked, "making standard radio or cell communication impossible." Officials said the rescue team utilized an amateur radio frequency, commonly known as "HAM radio," to establish communication. Hiker Disappears From Edge Of The World Campground On Trip With Father After broadcasting "emergency traffic" on the HAM radio, their call was immediately answered by a retired El Dorado County Communications Supervisor who was a HAM Operator monitoring frequencies from his home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This HAM operator then contacted the El Dorado 911 center, which provided the information to Calaveras Dispatch, and the SAR command post was notified," officials said. Rescuers used recovery equipment to free the familys vehicle and safely escorted them back to the command post, where they were reunited with anxious loved ones. Officials said that the rescue mission revealed just how quickly technology can fail in remote areas. Authorities later revealed that the mother had been following a GPS route that diverted her onto remote backroads. When the signal dropped, the pair became disoriented deep in the forest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the dangerous circumstances, officials said the duo made several smart decisions that contributed to their safe rescue. They left notes at intersections, used hazard lights at night, and relied on basic survival skills. Notably, the young boy used a whistle in short bursts to help signal their location, officials said. Authorities highlighted that their most important move was informing someone of their itinerary and expected return, critical information that helped launch the timely rescue. Original article source: Lost mother's handwritten notes save her and 9-year-old son stranded in remote California wilderness NORTH WALPOLE, N.H. (ABC22/FOX44) A Vermont hiker was rescued from Fall Mountain Tuesday after sustaining a heat-related injury, according to New Hampshires Fish & Game Department. Conservation officers initially received a call about the Bellows Falls Hiker at 5:00 p.m. A third party individual reported that they had spoken to this hiker, who said she was lost and feeling unwell. It was later found that the hiker, a 33-year-old, had gotten lost and called a family member for help before her phone died. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities from multiple departments took part in a two-hour search, and eventually found the hiker. She was reportedly discovered by a conservation officer while they were checking ATV trails. This hiker was assisted off the mountain and taken to Springfield Hospital via ambulance. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MILAN Wolford AG has appointed Marco Pozzo its deputy chief executive officer. At the same time, on Wednesday the luxury skinwear brand stated it has successfully completed a capital increase of 25 million euros, reinforcing the companys financial foundation to accelerate its strategic transformation. More from WWD The transaction, carried out via rights issue, resulted in the issuance of more than 5 million new shares at a subscription price of 4.80 euros per share, increasing the companys share capital to more than 71.4 million euros. This capital raise reflected the confidence of parent Lanvin Goup and other key investors in Wolfords vision and execution, stated Wolford. Pozzo has previously worked in leading design and luxury brands ranging from Ermenegildo Zegna and Alessi, to FontanaArte and Driade, holding executive roles internationally from Mexico to Greater China spearheading major retail and organizational expansions, as well as the digital transformation and the omnichannel strategy of the brands. Regis Rimbert succeeded Silvia Azzali as the CEO of Wolford in the summer of 2024, but he left after only six months, as reported in January. This was a return to Wolford for Rimbert as he held senior management positions from 2009 to 2013 at the Austrian hosiery and innerwear company, driving its omnichannel transformation. Since Rimberts exit there has been no CEO at the helm of Wolford. Azzali had set in motion a reorganization of the company, planning its expansion and inking a string of collaborations with brands ranging from No. 21, Jonathan Simkhai and Mugler to Adidas, Alberta Ferretti and Etro, among others, on collections that included jumpsuits or bodysuits in addition to hosiery. In February 2023, Nao Takekoshi was named artistic director. On her tours, Beyonce has been seen wearing Wolford tights and bodysuits and her dancers, during the Cowboy Carter tour, wore matching denim chaps with Wolford x Etro paisley tattoo bodysuits. Wolford marks its 75th anniversary this year as it was established in 1950 near the shores of Lake Constance in the city of Bregenz. Since 2018, it has been part of the Lanvin Group then called Fosun. Lanvin Group is publicly listed in New York, while Wolford is traded on the Vienna Stock Exchange. As reported in April, Lanvin Group revenues fell 23 percent to 329 million euros last year. Losses widened to 189.3 million euros from 146.3 million euros a year earlier. Adjusted losses before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization widened to $92.3 million from $64.2 million. Some of that represented organizational and operational changes at the company, which also owns Lanvin, St. John, Sergio Rossi and Caruso. This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist's weekly newsletter here. In Louisiana, natural gas a planet-heating fossil fuel is now, by law, considered green energy that can compete with solar and wind projects for clean energy funding. The law, signed by Republican Governor Jeff Landry last month, comes on the heels of similar bills passed in Ohio, Tennessee, and Indiana. What the bills have in common besides an updated definition of a fossil fuel as a clean energy source is language seemingly plucked straight from a right-wing think tank backed by oil and gas billionaire and activist Charles Koch. Louisianas law was based on a template created by the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC, a conservative organization that brings legislators and corporate lobbyists together to draft bills dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism. The law maintains that Louisiana, in order to minimize its reliance on foreign adversary nations for energy, must ensure that natural gas and nuclear power are eligible for all state programs that fund green energy or clean energy initiatives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But natural gas, also known as methane gas, is no more natural than any other fossil fuel. Its primary ingredient is methane, an intense heat-trapping gas that is far more potent than the carbon pollution produced by coal and oil, though it doesnt stay in the atmosphere as long. Its often marketed as a bridge fuel a less harmful fossil fuel that can be used as communities transition away from coal but studies have found that over the long term, the planet-warming impact of the natural gas industry may be equivalent to that of coal. Thats because gas pipelines often leak; according to an Environmental Defense Fund analysis, natural gas pipelines in the U.S. allow between 1.2 million and 2.6 million tons of methane to escape into the atmosphere each year. Louisiana State Representative Jacob Landry first introduced a near-identical bill to the model posted on ALECs website and to the other bills that have passed in Ohio, Tennessee, and Indiana. (The Washington Post reported in 2023 that ALEC was involved in Ohios bill; ALEC denies involvement.) Landry, who represents a small district in the southern part of the state, is the recipient of significant fossil-fuel-industry funding and co-owns two oil and gas consulting firms himself. During his campaign for the state Legislature, Landry received donations from at least 15 fossil-fuel-affiliated companies and PACs, including Exxon Mobil (which has also funded ALEC) and Phillips 66. Those donations alone totaled over $20,000. Representative Landry did not respond to multiple requests for comment. ALEC did not get back to Grist in time for publication. A man fishes in Sabine Pass in Texas, across from a tanker carrying liquefied natural gas docked at Chenieres Sabine Pass LNG export facility in Cameron Parish, La., in June 2024. (Julie Dermansky / Julie Dermansky LLC) While Louisiana has one of the least reliable grids in the country, that lack of reliability is in large part due to the states reliance on natural gas, which provides most of its electricity, according to a 2025 report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditors Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Best practices have found that gas plants are susceptible to large-scale failures during extreme weather, the auditors wrote. Diversifying the energy sources used for electricity generation is a priority. Bills that benefit both the fossil fuel industry and the individual lawmakers who introduce them arent exactly a new genre in Louisiana, said Laura Peterson, a senior analyst with the Union of Concerned Scientists. Whats less standard is that this one is dressed up in climate-friendly language. Louisiana is a classic example of a captured state, Peterson said. Their state economy is just so dependent on fossil fuels and petrochemicals. (The amount of money the fossil fuel industry brings to Louisianas people, though, has been on the decline since the turn of the century.) The state accounts for about 10 percent of the countrys natural gas production and holds about 6 percent of U.S. natural gas reserves. Natural gas is already used to generate about three-quarters of the states electricity, and building out more pipeline projects to carry liquefied natural gas, or LNG, wont necessarily make electricity bills cheaper for residents, Peterson said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Building LNG infrastructure is not going to lower anyones energy prices in the short term, since it takes many years to build a pipeline, Peterson said. And theres a lot of research that shows that overreliance on gas leaves power grids vulnerable to extreme weather, which Louisiana has a lot of. Jeffrey Clark, president of the Louisiana Advanced Power Alliance an industry group representing both renewable and fossil fuel energy companies and investors testified in opposition to the bill in early June. This legislation is being promoted as a solution to Louisianas reliability challenges. But with all due respect, it is a solution in search of a problem, Clark said. We support fossil fuels as a key part of the nations energy mix, but codifying them as the only acceptable path forward dismisses a growing body of evidence that grid reliability depends on resource diversity. Fossil fuel advocacy groups lauded the move. Larry Behrens of the nonprofit Power the Future wrote that the legislation turns Louisiana into an energy sanctuary state, taking a direct shot at the China-backed solar and wind lobby. An LNG export facility in southwest Louisiana. (Julie Dermansky / Julie Dermansky Photography LLC) Reclassifying natural gas as green energy means that proposed natural gas pipelines may be able to access funding that would otherwise have gone to new solar or wind projects; it may also make natural gas companies more appealing to environmentally conscious investors. ALEC, the right-wing think tank that provided the template language for Landrys bill, noted in a press release that resolutions like this could pave the way for more AI data centers in the state, too. Redefining green energy allows utilities to continue using natural gas while fulfilling state green energy or clean energy initiatives, ALEC staffer Mark Lucas wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the years, ALEC has succeeded in getting laws that benefit fossil fuel companies passed across the country. Recently the group, which was founded in the 1970s, has helped draft legislation criminalizing grassroots protest against pipelines, gas terminals, and other fossil fuel infrastructure versions of that bill had passed in 17 states by 2022. They have also drafted bills aiming to punish economic boycotts of the oil industry. And there are currently 114 different model policies related to energy on their website, 23 of which specifically address green energy. Its classic greenwashing, right? said Peterson of the new Louisiana law using the language of sustainability to describe an activity thats actually not sustainable at all. The intent of these laws is to allow the buildout of fossil fuel infrastructure, which will perpetuate the use of fossil fuels for decades to come. This article originally appeared in Grist at https://grist.org/language/louisiana-latest-state-greenwash-gas-law/. Grist is a nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to telling stories of climate solutions and a just future. Learn more at Grist.org BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy, both Republicans from Louisiana, support President Trumps plan to cut $9.4 billion in what they call wasteful federal spending. The spending cuts, identified by the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), were included in the Rescissions Act. It passed the U.S. Senate and now heads back to the House of Representatives for final approval. Cassidy said the move is a step toward responsible budgeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Living within your budget means making some hard, and not so hard, decisions, Cassidy said. This is a long overdue step towards addressing Americas spending problem. Cassidy has also called to defund NPR. ACLU of Louisiana: Iranian LSU students detained by ICE were released Kennedy praised the Trump administration for trying to cut outrageous spending porn. He said taxpayer dollars should support efforts that directly help Americans. President Trump ran on a platform of reducing the size of government and cutting unnecessary, wasteful spending, Kennedy said. American taxpayers shouldnt be footing the bill to fund woke foreign aid or activist media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rescission package accounts for roughly one-tenth of one percent of the federal budget. If passed by the House, it will head to President Trumps desk for final approval. 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. Togo has voted in municipal elections amid reports of voter apathy, after the country was rocked by deadly protests last month. Polling stations in Togos capital Lome were largely deserted on Thursday. The low turnout came after Junes protests against constitutional reforms that could keep leader Faure Gnassingbe in power indefinitely. Rights groups blamed the police for the deaths of seven marchers in the protests, whose bodies had been fished out from the capitals rivers by activists. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People are afraid of being attacked by protesters for legitimising these elections, or afraid of being dispersed by security forces, Edem Adjaklo, a voter in the Gakli neighbourhood, told The Associated Press news agency. They feel its pointless to vote because the results are always the same predetermined. The sense of unease in Lome was reportedly heightened by a heavy police and military presence at major intersections. Despite a call for demonstrations against Gnassingbe, the streets of the seaside capital were quiet on Thursday. Gnassingbe has ruled the country since 2005, after the death of his father and predecessor as president, Gnassingbe Eyadema. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The constitutional reforms, approved by a parliament dominated by Gnassingbes Union pour le Republic (UNIR) party, swapped the presidential system in the country for a parliamentary one. Under the reforms, Gnassingbe was sworn in two months ago as president of the Council of Ministers effectively as prime minister a role with no official term limits, which would allow him to be re-elected indefinitely. Critics called it a constitutional coup. Diaspora-based social media influencers and civil society groups had called for a boycott of the elections, the first national vote organised since the constitutional reform. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This years bout of protests was triggered after popular rapper and TikToker Tchala Essowe Narcisse, popularly known as Aamron, was arrested for publishing a video where he called for protests to mark the presidents June 6 birthday. Anger had also been simmering over the state of the economy, widespread unemployment and the repression of government critics. Public demonstrations have been banned in the country since protests between 2017 and 2018, which saw thousands of protesters taking to the streets in demonstrations tagged Faure Must Go and Togo stands up. Although officially a democracy, Togo operates in practice as a militarised state, with the army heavily involved in politics. The LSU Student Union sits in central campus on Monday, March 20, 2023, on Highland Road in Baton Rouge, La. (Matthew Perschall for Louisiana Illuminator) A judge has ordered the release of two Iranian-born LSU students from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center, where they have been detained since late June. Pouria Pourhosseinhendabad and Parisa Firouzabadi, a married couple enrolled in the mechanical engineering Ph.D. program at LSU, were released this week on the recommendation of a federal magistrate, according to a news release from the American Civil Liberties Union of Louisiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This victory is a powerful affirmation of immigrants rights and the fundamental guarantee of due process and equal protection in our legal system, said Nora Ahmed, legal director for the ACLU of Louisiana. The pair were arrested at their off-campus apartment in Baton Rouge in late June. Both have legal status to study in the United States, according to the ACLU. The couples attorneys allege their arrests were illegal. According to the release, ICE used state police to get the couple to step out of their apartment to discuss a hit-and-run they reported previously so that ICE could arrest them. Pouria and Parisa came to the U.S. legally, have no criminal records, and have spent years taking classes and pursuing their studies, said Sarah Gillman, who leads strategic U.S. litigation for the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization. Faced with undeniable evidence that the Trump administration arbitrarily and unlawfully targeted them on the basis of their nationality, after filing of federal lawsuits for both Pouria and Parisa, they were released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ken Mayeaux, an immigration attorney representing the couple, said they will return to their studies at LSU. Their arrests came days after President Donald Trump authorized the U.S. military to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities. ICE has reported multiple arrests of Iranian nationals in the U.S. since then, including at least one other Iranian woman whos lived in New Orleans for nearly 50 years, the Times- Picayune reported. She has also been released from ICE detention. LSU enrolls thousands of international students, many seeking advanced degrees. According to a 2024 report from the Institute of International Education, there are more than 1 million international students enrolled in U.S. colleges in universities, with approximately 12,000 from Iran. To study in the United States, international graduate students need to be accepted not only by their university, department and faculty adviser, but they also obtain legal status from the U.S. State Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inside Higher Ed has identified nearly 2,000 international students and recent graduates who have had their legal status suddenly changed. Attorneys for many of the students have alleged they were targeted for their speech. The Trump administration announced earlier this year it would monitor immigrants social media for antisemitism. The Trump administration has cracked down on international students who they say have forfeited their right to be educated in the U.S., leaving hundreds at risk of deportation. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE LUFKIN, Texas (KETK) Some East Texas school districts are scrambling after being notified that federal grant money for after-school programs has been frozen just a few weeks before students return to class. For something like this to happen suddenly and abruptly without notice is quite shocking, Lufkin ISD Superintendent James Hockenberry said. Canton City Council defends decision to request water rights from Grand Saline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lufkin ISD was one of many schools whose federal grant money for their after-school programs was frozen, leaving the district in limbo before kids come back to school. This late notice, I mean, we had no indication that the money might not exist, Hockenberry said. Hockenberry said the lack of funding will directly affect the 21st-century after-school ACE program, which provides before and after-school activities at no cost to parents. Were able to give them that opportunity and also provide some relief to parents as theyre working one to some even three jobs, and these programs after school help assist them as well, Hockenberry said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hockenberry said if the money remains frozen, his district might have to cancel the program altogether or have an extremely scaled-back version. The fact of the matter is this: this program is $1.6 million a year, and we do not have local funds to cover that cost, Hockenberry said. I wish we did, but we do not. Some schools have already cut their after-school programming, including Jefferson ISD and Linden Kildare CISD. Jefferson ISD posted the news on social media, stating, We are very disappointed in the withholding of these funds and the timing of this federal decision. Lufkin ISD is asking people to reach out to their elected officials at the national level to request the unfreezing of this programming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfreeze the funds, thats what we need, Hockenberry said. Unfreeze the funds so that we can do the work on behalf of the children that so desperately need us right now. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEED TO KNOW Elmer Wayne Henley Jr. was an accomplice to Texas serial killer Dean Corll Henley is speaking publicly for the first time in 50 years in a new ID documentary Corll, known as the "Candy Man," killed at least 28 boys in the early 1970s In the early 1970s, young boys began vanishing from the streets of a quiet Houston neighborhood. At the time, many believed police brushed off the disappearances as runaways. But the truth was far more horrifying than anyone could imagine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dean Corll, a seemingly ordinary man known for handing out candy from his family's factory to local kids, was living a double life one that would come to light only after a shocking turn of events in August 1973. With the help of two teenage accomplices, Corll, infamously known as the "Candy Man," lured at least 28 young boys to their deaths in what became known as the "Houston Mass Murders," according to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Now, over 50 years later, a new Investigation Discovery documentary is revisiting the case. The Serial Killer's Apprentice features an in-depth interview with Corll's accomplice, Elmer Wayne Henley Jr., marking the first time Henley has spoken about his crimes in decades. (An exclusive trailer can be seen below.) The documentary, premiering Sunday, Aug. 17, at 9/8c on ID, will feature Henley in conversation with renowned forensic psychologist Dr. Katherine Ramsland. "Over the course of two hours, Ramsland will work to delve into the mind of Henley and what motivated him to act as an accomplice in such tragic, violent crimes," reads a press statement from ID. Investigation Discovery Dr. Katherine Ramsland in 'The Serial Killer's Apprentice' on ID Dr. Katherine Ramsland in 'The Serial Killer's Apprentice' on ID "I'm not trying to absolve myself of guilt," Henley says in the trailer. "I'm trying to make people see the truth." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henley, along with David Brooks, both teens, lured the victims to Corll's Pasadena, Texas, home "under false promises of fun," with Henley later reporting to police that the pair were paid $200 for each boy, per NCMEC. Authorities said the victims, most between the ages of 13 and 20, were tortured and raped before being killed, according to KHOU-11, KPRC-TV, and Houston Public Media. nvestigation Discovery Elmer Wayne Henry with his hands covering his face. Elmer Wayne Henry with his hands covering his face. The killing spree ended in August 1973, when then 17-year-old Henley fatally shot Corll during an altercation, claiming self-defense, according to NCMEC. Officers who responded to the scene on a report of someone in distress found Henley near Corll's dead body. According to Houston Public Media, authorities said both Henley and Brooks, then 18, led investigators to multiple burial sites: a boat storage shed, a remote woodland area, and a beach near Galveston. Investigation Discovery Men digging amid the investigation. Men digging amid the investigation. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of the victims have since been identified except for one of the 17 boys found buried in the boat storage shed, per NCMEC. Police believe "John Doe" was between the ages of 15 and 18 and had been dead for at least a year before his body was recovered in August 1973. Both Henley and Brooks pleaded guilty to their roles in the murders and were subsequently sentenced to life in prison. In 2020, Brooks died in prison and Henley remains incarcerated, having repeatedly been denied parole, KHOU-11 reported. In addition to the interview with Henley, the documentary will also offer access to "expansive archival footage and insight from victims' loved ones, local authorities, and journalists who are still unpacking the extent of Corrl's crimes decades later," the press statement reads. The Serial Killer's Apprentice premieres Sunday, Aug. 17 at 9/8c on ID. Read the original article on People (COLORADO SPRINGS) After starting their business in 2021, Lynda Sues has gained tons of support for their salsa flavors. Owners Linda and Sean make their salsas fresh with locally sourced ingredients. Theyve got seven different salsas all at a different spice level: mild, medium, mango tango, and ghostly hot salsa. They even have a hot sauce called the reaper sauce. Right now, Lynda Sues Kitchen Salsa is in 30 different retailers and pops up at three different farmers markets around town. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To find their products online, you can check out their website here. The company says, We started in a small commercial kitchen cooking in 12-qt pots, making 45 jars a day. We are now in a commercial canning facility, cooking in 80-gallon pots, turning out 600 jars in about 4 hours. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. COLLEGE STATION, Texas (FOX 44) The K9 members of the Texas A&M Task Force Urban Search and Rescue were deployed to Kerrville to assist in the the recent floods which have devastated the Texas Hill Country. FOX 44s MG Montemayor spoke with Dr. Debra Zoran, who is part of Texas A&Ms Veterinary Emergency Team who shared more about these unsung heroes. You can watch the interview in the video above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KWKT - FOX 44. The world of the wasteland as presented in the 2015 movie Mad Max: Fury Road is brutal, unforgiving, and, most importantly, reliant on the shaky relations provided by the suppliers of critical logistics nodes. It has been ten years now since the release of George Millers penultimate (so far!) and masterful addition to the Mad Max saga. As a military logistics professional and a former logistics advisor to the Afghan National Security Forces, the core concept of the film, one that the entire existence of life in the wasteland hinges on, was both immediate and striking to me. Simply put: this movie puts military logistics right in the foreground as vital elements to the story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Military logistics can be broken down into ten distinct classes of supply, but for the purpose of this movie, we are going to be focusing on three specifically: Class I (Subsistence), Class III (Fuel), and Class V (Ammunition). Additionally, it wouldnt be a Mad Max movie without my favorite function of logistics: Transportation (Motor-T Marines represent!). Now lets break down exactly how Mad Max: Fury Road depicts these foundations. Class I (Subsistence) The Citadel Immortan Joe, leader of The Citadel, controlling the flow of vital Class I supplies to residents. (Roadshow/Warner Bros.) The Citadel, led by the nefarious and charismatic Immortan Joe, is the nexus for all food and water in this post-apocalyptic hellscape. As the gatekeeper for the very necessities of human life, Immortan Joe has a stranglehold on the peoples and economy of the wasteland. We do not know to what extent or how deep the reservoirs of water run beneath the Citadel, but what we do know is that Immortan Joe controls the flow with an iron fist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence! Joe proclaims from atop his balcony on one of the Citadels rock towers during a brief and ceremonial release of potable water to his thirsty citizens. Immortan Joe recognizes that controlling the flow of water equals power in this world, and he wields this power with undeniable cruelty. While we are not shown any significant food production (other than the farming of mothers milk by enslaved women in Immortan Joes protected spaces), we can assume that expanded lore would lead to some sort of food cultivation using the only available clean water portrayed in the movie. With this incredible bargaining chip at his disposal, Immortan Joe is not only free to control his own populace at will, but also enter into trade negotiations with his allies at the bullet farm and gas town. Class III (Fuel) Gas Town The Gas Town. (Roadshow/Warner Bros.) The next stop on our wasteland tour is the Gas Town. The epic convoy battles that have become a staple of the Mad Max franchise simply could not happen without the key ingredient of fuel, or Guzzolene as it is referred to within the movie. If Immortan Joe wants to extend his empire and defend against threats, he needs precious guzzolene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Gas Town is led by its mayor, the ominously named People Eater. Fittingly, the lore suggests that before he became a fuelmonger he was a banker. Surely the accounting skills he learned in this role suited him for controlling the production of Class III supplies in his refinery, surrounded by a moat of crude oil. Class V (Ammunition) The Bullet Farm The Bullet Farm. (Roadshow/Warner Bros.) Closing out the logistics triangle of Fury Road is The Bullet Farm. Located within convoy distance of the Citadel, it provides the key function of security through ammunition production. The plot of the movie depends on a distribution of labor across the wasteland whereby uneasy alliances between these logistics nodes provide for each others needs. In exchange for truckloads of mothers milk, the bullet farmer provides Immortan Joe with the ordnance he needs to equip his army of warboy zealots who uphold Immortan Joes rule. If you dont think that maintaining large caches of arms and ammo is vital to survival in a world like this, then you clearly havent spent a day in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. As the Bullet Farmer himself proudly proclaims: I am the scales of justice! Conductor of the choir of death! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ammo equals freedom of movement and security for the denizens of the wasteland; but its tight regulation also represents a control factor for the power brokers. Richard Carter as The Bullet Farmer. (Roadshow/Warner Bros.) Military logistics are critical to survival Mad Max: Fury Road depicts a dark vision of a society thats been torn to shreds and forced to rebuild from the ashes. The most important lesson we can take away from this is that the foundations for a rebuilding world require extensive logistics capabilities. Its not so different from the way economies of scale actually work in our own world, especially for expeditionary military logistics. The Fury Road Convoy.(Roadshow/Warner Bros.) Although more crude and unrefined due to the unforgiving nature of their post-cataclysmic world, the logisticians of Fury Road have learned to sustain their forces in a manner consistent with how military strategists approach combat deployments. Where am I going to get food and water? How am I refueling our vehicles? What type of ammo do I need to secure, and where am I getting it from? These are some of the first and most important questions that logistics planners need to figure out before any field operation or deployment. The operating environment, like Mad Max: Fury Road, is not always permissive. Its often fraught with danger, hazards, and uneasy relationships with providers in order to sustain operations. Those who learn to master the wasteland will be well poised to succeed in any military operation. Dont Miss the Best of Mighty Entertainment We Are The Mighty is a celebration of military service, with a mission to entertain, inform, and inspire those who serve and those who support them. We are made by and for current service members, veterans, spouses, family members, and civilians who want to be part of this community. Keep up with the best in military culture and entertainment: subscribe to the We Are The Mighty newsletter. More than ever, consumers are looking for ways to align their actions with their values. Nielsen IQ data from 2022 found that 78% of consumers value a sustainable lifestyle. If youre part of this majority, you may be looking for additional ways to support the causes you care about, including in your financial life. If so, ESG banking may be right for you. Where traditional banking may prioritize profit and growth over sustainability, ESG banking aims to put values first. If youre concerned about the impacts financial institutions are having on the world and want to put your money where your values are learn more about ESG banking and how to choose the right bank for you. This embedded content is not available in your region. What does ESG stand for? ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance issues. These three pillars broadly support sustainability, but cover a wide range of factors. Heres a breakdown of each: Environmental: The environmental perspective focuses on a companys impact on the environment. This may include addressing climate change impact, pollution, declining biodiversity, and more. These environmental threats can hurt more than just the planet they can negatively impact a companys reputation and harm employees or stakeholders. Social: Social factors include how a company interacts with and affects its stakeholders, such as customers, owners, employees, and the local community. Potential threats to these issues include discrimination, a lack of transparency, and investing in harmful industries or practices. Governance: Governance refers to a companys integrity and how well it avoids corruption. Ignoring these governance issues can hurt customers, employees, the environment, and a companys reputation. In many cases, environmental, social, and governance issues overlap. For instance, poor governance can lead to environmental degradation and have negative impacts on communities. What is ESG banking? Generally speaking, ESG banking considers the environmental, social, and governance issues in how financial companies operate. In practice, this might look like investing in ESG funds, offsetting carbon emissions, or donating to ESG-related nonprofits. However, theres no official definition of ESG or what it entails. Many issues fit under the ESG umbrella, and banks may define ESG differently. Several firms assign a metric called an ESG score to banks and other companies. One such firm is S&P Global. While scoring models can vary by firm, S&P Globals scores measure a companys performance on and management of material ESG risks, opportunities, and impacts informed by a combination of company disclosures, media and stakeholder analysis, modeling approaches, and in-depth company engagement via the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA). Read more: 9 common types of banks: Which one is right for you? Examples of ESG banking Because theres no universal or official definition of ESG banking, there arent perfect examples of ESG banks. However, there are several banks that make ESG a central focus of their mission and marketing. Some examples include: Amalgamated Bank: Carbon-neutral; invests in clean energy, environmental protection, health and wellness, and community empowerment Beneficial State Bank: Fossil-free certified; finances clean energy systems; lends to mission-impact sectors and businesses led by marginalized groups Climate First Bank: Carbon-neutral operation; finances clean energy and affordable housing Forbright Bank : Offers sustainable lending; has carbon-neutral operations and LEED-certified buildings; donates to nonprofit organizations GreenFi (formerly Aspiration): Offers carbon offsets; has a rewards program for sustainable spending; donates to climate action nonprofits Read more: The 10 best national and super regional banks of 2025 How to look up a banks ESG score The easiest way to look up a banks ESG score is to enter the banks name and ESG score into a search engine. For example, to look up JPMorgan Chases ESG score, you could enter "JPMorgan Chase ESG score in Googles search bar. You can also search for a bank in a specific scoring companys database. Examples of entities that publish ESG scores include: Keep in mind that scores can vary by firm, as theres no standard procedure for ranking a banks ESG score. If you want a better understanding of what these scores mean, youll have to dig into each companys methodology. Benefits of ESG in banking The benefits of ESG banking may be obvious to you if youre personally interested in ESG causes. But these benefits can also extend to other stakeholders, such as the banks themselves, their local communities, and the environment. Here are a few broad benefits of ESG banking: You can align your financial activity with your values. Beyond your personal habits, ESG banking allows you to financially support causes you believe in. Local communities can feel a positive impact. By holding themselves to higher environmental, social, and governance standards, banks can have bigger positive impacts on the communities they serve. This can look like donating money to nonprofits, building sustainable bank branches, or investing in local industries. Banks invest in environmentally friendly causes and infrastructure: ESG banking can direct money away from harmful industries and toward sustainable ones. For example, banks might invest in renewable energy instead of tobacco or fossil fuel companies. The popularity of ESG banking can cause a domino effect: As ESG banking becomes the norm, customers will expect it. Banks that arent already focused on ESG may begin to feel the pressure to adapt to stay competitive, leading to a larger global impact. ESG banking may be a good financial move: While there isnt a clear consensus on the data, several studies show that ESG investing delivers similar or better results compared to traditional investing. How to choose an ESG bank If youre committed to finding a bank that aligns with your values, it may take some research. Start by visiting a banks website and looking for something called an impact report, ESG report, or sustainability report, which you can often find in the websites About section. These reports often share detailed data about the companys lending portfolio, philanthropy, workforce inclusivity, and more. For a third-party perspective, you can look up specific banks ESG scores. Be sure to review the corresponding methodology so you can understand how the bank was rated. Finally, confirm that a bank offers the financial products, services, and features you need before opening a new account. Read more: How to switch banks: An easy step-by-step guide Republican-appointed justices on the Supreme Court made a highly controversial move this week, giving the Trump administration a green light to move forward with its plans to dismantle the Education Department. Justice Sonia Sotomayor was not at all impressed. When the Executive publicly announces its intent to break the law, and then executes on that promise, it is the Judiciarys duty to check that lawlessness, not expedite it, the progressive jurist wrote in a dissent. Sotomayor described the majoritys decision as indefensible, adding that it hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out. The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naive, but either way the threat to our Constitutions separation of powers is grave. I would gladly highlight the Republican-appointed justices rationale for ruling the other way, but there was no stated rationale: They simply issued a brief, unsigned order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New York Times noted soon after that this has happened quite a bit lately. In clearing the way for President Trumps efforts to transform American government, the Supreme Court has issued a series of orders that often lacked a fundamental characteristic of most judicial work: an explanation of the courts rationale. ... The court has allowed the administration to fire tens of thousands of government workers, discharge transgender troops, end protections for hundreds of thousands of migrants from war-torn countries and fundamentally shift power from Congress to the president often with scant or no explanation of how it arrived at those results. Citing research from Georgetown Law professor Stephen Vladeck, an expert on the high courts shadow docket, the Times report noted that in the past 10 weeks alone, the Supreme Court has granted emergency relief to the Trump administration without explanation seven times. The order on the gutting of the Education Department, the analysis added, was an exercise of power, not reason. It was against this backdrop that the latest national poll from Quinnipiac University included an important question: In general, do you think that the Supreme Court is mainly motivated by politics or mainly motivated by the law? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The results were not close: 63% said the high court is principally focused on politics, while 30% said the justices prioritize the law. This follows a series of related national surveys showing public trust in the Supreme Court as an institution reaching record lows. Its tempting to assume that the justices wont care since theyre not in elected positions, but as regular readers know, it was a few years ago when Justice Amy Coney Barrett made a public appearance in which the conservative jurist declared: My goal today is to convince you that this court is not comprised of a bunch of partisan hacks. In 2023, Justice Brett Kavanaugh made similar comments, insisting that the Supreme Court is an institution of law not of politics, not of partisanship. The conservative added that he believes that the current lineup of justices has succeeded in deciding cases based on law and not based on partisan affiliation and partisanship. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Apparently, those declarations arent persuading much of the American mainstream. In 2021, a national Grinnell College/Selzer poll similarly found that nearly two-thirds of Americans agree that politics drives Supreme Court rulings. Grinnell College National Poll Director Peter Hanson said at the time, This is a nightmare scenario for Chief Justice John Roberts, who has sought to protect the courts reputation as an apolitical institution. Four years later, this nightmare scenario is ongoing. The tarnishing of the Supreme Court its credibility, its integrity and its reputation has unfolded episodically over the course of several years. When far-right justices issue regressive and reactionary rulings, the problem gets worse. When far-right justices get caught up in indefensible ethics controversies, the problem gets worse. When far-right justices deliver political speeches, the problem gets worse. When far-right justices do favors for political allies, the problem gets worse. When far-right justices sit down with conservative media personalities, the problem gets worse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats more, theres no reason to assume conditions will improve any time soon, as this weeks developments make clear. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Last fall, Kamala Harris sat down with CBS News 60 Minutes, and when the pre-election interview aired, it included the kind of benign edits that are typical of broadcasts of its kind. Donald Trump, however, didnt quite see it that way. Rather, the Republican became rather hysterical about the largely meaningless edits, accusing the program of criminal misconduct, demanding that CBS lose its broadcast license, and even filing a $20 billion lawsuit over the manufactured controversy. (The networks corporate parent recently settled the case out of court under controversial circumstances.) All of this came to mind anew this week when the public was reminded of one of Trumps Fox News interviews from last year in which he commented on Jeffrey Epsteins case and his willingness to share information about the case with the public. Though the entirety of the interview appeared on the networks website, and was also aired on a Fox radio program, those who watched the interview on Fox News saw an edited version of the Republicans comments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And while Rep. Robert Garcia of California doesnt appear likely to file any $20 billion lawsuits, the top Democrat on the House Oversight Committee does have a few questions about exactly what transpired. CNN reported: A top oversight Democrat sent a letter on Thursday to Fox Corp chairman Lachlan Murdoch and Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott demanding answers about Foxs editing of a Donald Trump interview from June 2024 concerning Jeffrey Epstein an edit they say both misled the public and distorted the former presidents position. The letter from the ranking Democratic member on the House Oversight Committee, obtained first by CNN, accuses Fox of omitting key qualifiers in Trumps response to a question about whether he would release Epstein-related documents. MaddowBlog has independently verified the accuracy of the report. Garcia specifically asked Fox News to turn over internal records about the interview, as well as communications about the interview between the network and the Trump campaign. Considering President Trumps well-documented past social ties with Jeffrey Epstein, Fox Newss selective omission raises serious concerns that the network may have deliberately sought to shield then-candidate Trump from any further association with Epstein, the letter read, adding, it is legitimate to ask whether President Trump himself or those close to him may have actively encouraged the edit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fox News issued a statement in response to Garcia's outreach, noting, among other things, As previously stated, there was no selective or deceptive editing whatsoever." Theres no shortage of angles to a story like this one, so lets unpack it. First, its important to emphasize that the congressmans outreach to Fox News came in an informal request, which the network is likely to ignore. The Oversight Committees Republican majority sends out subpoenas all the time, but Garcia is in the minority and has no legal authority to compel cooperation. Those expecting major revelations from the effort, in other words, should temper their expectations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Second, while I can appreciate the underlying point Garcia is making he didnt literally say, Two can play at this game, but he didnt have to I would much prefer if members of Congress didnt make a habit of demanding private information from media outlets. But stepping back, Im also struck by the degree to which Democrats appear to be taking its time to get tougher and start playing hardball advice to heart. Just in recent days, weve seen Democratic officials at the state and federal level respond to GOP mid-decade redistricting plans with comparable efforts of their own; Democratic members of Congress repeatedly put Republicans in awkward positions related to forcing the release of files related to the Epstein case; and now Democrats leaning on Fox News over a controversial and edited pre-election interview with Trump. I have a hunch we havent seen the last of these efforts. Watch this space. This piece has been updated to note Fox News' official statement. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Donald Trump seems to realize that the Jeffrey Epstein scandal has become a significant political problem for him, but much of the evidence about the scope of the problem has been anecdotal. Theres no shortage of quotes from prominent political voices, but theres a difference between public criticism and quantitative data. Complicating matters for the president, however, is that the quantitative data also looks bad for him and his team. The Washington Post reported: A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday shows voters largely disapprove of the Trump administrations handling of the investigation into deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. ... According to the poll, 63 percent of voters disapprove of the Trump administrations handling of the files, while 17 percent of voters say they approve and 20 percent did not offer an opinion. As is nearly always the case, there were significant partisan gaps in the results, but to the chagrin of the White House, even many Republicans are not on board with what theyve seen thus far: In the Quinnipiac poll, 40% of self-identified GOP voters said they approve of the Trump administrations handling of the Epstein files, while 36% disapproved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Epstein has been dead and gone for years but his tawdry legacy looms large in a country wanting to know more about who he knew and whether secrets have been buried with him, Quinnipiac University polling analyst Tim Malloy said in an analysis of the data. The results do not appear to be an outlier. The latest CNN poll conducted by SSRS, also released this week, asked respondents, Generally speaking, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the amount of information the federal government has released about the Jeffrey Epstein case, or does it not matter to you either way? The results showed that 50% of the country said it was dissatisfied, while just 3% thats not a typo said it was satisfied. Whats more, among Republican voters, the satisfaction rate was 4%. My goodness gracious! When you only have 4% [of Republican voters] that is with Donald Trump on a particular issue, that is ridiculously low, CNNs chief data analyst Harry Enten said of the results. Ive never seen anything quite like it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That came on the heels of a YouGov-Economist poll that found two-thirds of Americans (67%) believe Trump administration officials are covering up evidence it has about Epstein. Even a majority of Republican voters (59%) agreed that theres a cover-up underway. (Click on the above links for more information about the surveys respective methodologies and margins of error.) How will Trump and his team turn these numbers around? I havent the foggiest idea but more importantly, I dont think they know, either. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Donald Trump's first choice to serve as the U.S. attorney in Washington, D.C., was Ed Martin, a hyperpartisan Republican lawyer whose nomination collapsed in the face of bipartisan opposition. After Martin's bid failed, the president assured the public that his second choice would be great, and soon after, Trump announced that he wanted Jeanine Pirro perhaps best known for work as a Fox News host to be the top federal prosecutor in the nation's capital. Evidently, that sounds "great" to Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee. USA Today reported: Former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro has moved one step closer to taking on a long-term role as the top federal prosecutor for Washington, D.C., after a Senate committee voted to advance her nomination. ... The vote by the Republican-controlled Senate Judiciary Committee sets the stage for a vote by the full Senate on Pirro's bid to be the D.C. U.S. attorney. It's worth emphasizing that the committee vote was technically unanimous, but only because the panel's Democratic members boycotted the process. In fact, the Democratic minority intends to take their concerns to the Senate parliamentarian, though their odds of success aren't great. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Fox News vet has already been serving in the role on an interim basis since mid-May. Democratic concerns about Pirro's background are easy to understand, especially given her work on Fox News. Its unrealistic to try to summarize her rhetorical record in a single blog post, but broadly speaking, as regular readers know, there are two key elements of Pirros career as a television personality to keep in mind. The first is that shes as much of a sycophantic Trump loyalist as anyone in conservative media. As The Washington Post noted after the presidents announcement, Jeanine Pirro has long stood out as one of his most reliable backers, often taking his critics to task in stark and colorful language. The affection has been mutual. In 2019, Fox News found it necessary to publicly condemn anti-Muslim statements Pirro made, at which point Trump leapt to her defense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This kind of partisan unity between the president and Pirro helps explain why she was nominated, but it's hardly reassuring given the powers of the U.S. attorney's office in Washington, D.C. The other angle of note is that the Republican lawyers worldview appears to be rooted in a series of outlandish conspiracy theories. Way back in 2014, Pirro launched into a truly unhinged rant against Barack Obama, suggesting to viewers that the Democratic president was secretly training ISIS radicals, prompting BuzzFeed to publish a memorable headline: Is This The Craziest Rant A Fox News Host Has Ever Done? In the years that followed, Pirro continued to peddle one ludicrous conspiracy theory after another. Indeed, after Trumps 2020 election defeat, it reached the point that Fox News felt the need to temporarily remove Pirro from the air. According to court filings, one executive who oversaw her show at the time privately explained, I dont trust her to be responsible. As Media Matters noted, internal Fox communications revealed by court filings also showed that her executive producer described Pirro as a reckless maniac who is nuts, promotes conspiracy theories and should never be on live television. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In theory, these details might give senators pause before backing her nomination to serve as of the United States' most important prosecutors. Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee rubber-stamped her anyway. Her nomination now heads to the floor for a final confirmation vote, and unless four GOP senators break ranks, Pirro will almost certainly succeed. If confirmed, my MSNBC colleague Barbara McQuade a former U.S. attorney and University of Michigan Law School recently made the case that Trump will use her "as a tool of retribution in our nations capital." Given that Pirro has, among things, endorsed possible criminal investigations into Jan. 6 prosecutors, it's an unsettling prospect. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Senators have faced plenty of controversial judicial nominations in recent memory, but Emil Bove a former criminal defense lawyer for Donald Trump, whom the president tapped for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals is arguably the most controversial of them all. Given the degree to which Boves nomination has been mired in scandal, there was some hope that at least one Republican member of the Senate Judiciary Committee might agree that itd be a mistake to give Trumps former lawyer a lifetime position on the federal appellate bench. That didnt happen. NBC News reported: A spokesperson for Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley says that Boves nomination had been reported out of committee to the full Senate, even though Democrats on the committee walked out in protest of the lack of debate and the refusal to hold a vote on whether to hold a hearing with a whistleblower before they voted. Shortly before the vote, the panel's Democratic members walked out of the hearing room in protest, with Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey describing the process as "insane." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In fact, after the committee's Republicans voted in support of Bove, members of the Democratic minority, led by Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, suggested the issue of whether Bove was actually reported out was still an open question and may be referred to the Senate parliamentarian because, as Democrats argued, Republicans broke procedural rules. Stepping back, when the president first announced Boves nomination in May, he claimed his former defense attorney is respected by everyone. All things considered, everyone was a poor choice of words. When Bove worked in the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York, for example, he earned a reputation as an unprofessional and abusive prosecutor. He parlayed this background into a role as a Trump defense attorney, punctuated by his defeat in the Stormy Daniels case, which paid dividends: Trump rewarded Bove with a powerful position in the Justice Department, where he fired federal prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases and helped oversee the scandalous dismissal of New York City Mayor Eric Adams corruption case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just as importantly, if not more so, Erez Reuveni, a 15-year veteran Justice Department prosecutor, recently came forward as a whistleblower to tell senators that Bove repeatedly endorsed ignoring court orders and deliberately misleading judges. In a case involving the Alien Enemies Act and the administrations alleged violation of a court order regarding deportation flights, Reuveni also described a meeting during which Bove stated that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts f--- you and ignore any such court order. The nominee denied the whistleblowers allegations, but internal documents released by Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats appeared to bolster Reuvenis allegations. In case this werent quite enough, in his post-hearing written Senate questionnaire, Bove declined to rule out the possibility of the president running for a third term despite the plain language of the U.S. Constitution and did not denounce the insurrectionist Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Given all of this, opposition to Boves judicial nomination from outside Capitol Hill was overwhelming and unprecedented: Several dozen former judges and more than 900 former Justice Department lawyers pleaded with the Senate to oppose the nominee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans on the Judiciary Committee voted for him anyway. Boves nomination now advances to the Senate floor for confirmation. To defeat him, four GOP senators would have to break ranks with the party, which seems unlikely. Watch this space. This is a developing story. Check back for updates. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Crime rates improved dramatically during Joe Bidens presidency, and preliminary data suggests the news continues to look encouraging as Donald Trumps second term gets underway. Common sense might suggest that the White House would be eager to celebrate the developments, touting improved public safety. But thats not quite what the public is hearing from the presidents team. During one of his Fox News appearances this week, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller spoke generally about the administrations efforts to arrest immigrants, before making a specific claim about a specific city: We have communities all across this nation that, 20 years ago, before the era of open borders, were completely peaceful, completely stable, thriving middle classes. Look at a place like Minneapolis. Post-mass migration, they are unsafe, they are violent, you cannot use the public parks. The comments did not go unnoticed, especially among people in Minneapolis who enjoy visiting local parks. (If Miller is looking for a better example of people steering clear of public parks, I might refer him to MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, where local residents were recently forced to flee when federal officers and National Guard troops arrived for reasons that are still unclear.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats more, plenty of observers were quick to note that crime rates across Minnesota have improved considerably in recent years, and Minneapolis, in particular, has seen a significant decrease in violent crime in the first half of 2025. But perhaps the most pointed response to Miller came from Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who said in a statement released by her office, If we wanted a white supremacists opinion, wed ask. But we dont. So we wont. Moriarty added for good measure, Also, Minneapolis is great. To be sure, thats a memorable reaction, but theres still the larger context to consider. Amid genuinely terrific news on crime rates in cities across the country, Trump administration officials arent just failing to brag, theyre pretending that public safety is getting worse, reality be damned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Consider this exchange between Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York. Theres no great mystery here: The Trump administration wants people to be afraid, because the more Americans are scared, the more theyre likely to endorse a mass-deportation campaign. For the White House, in other words, the politics of fear is overriding every other consideration, including the temptation to brag about and perhaps even try to take credit for a heartening national trend. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Todays edition of quick hits. * Russia continues to take advantage of Trumps 50-day timeline: Russia pounded four Ukrainian cities overnight into Wednesday, injuring at least 15 people in an attack that mostly targeted energy infrastructure, officials said. The latest bombardment in Russias escalating aerial campaign against civilian areas came ahead of a Sept. 2 deadline set by President Donald Trump for the Kremlin to reach a peace deal in the three-year war. * Maurene Comey, among other things, played a role in Jeffrey Epsteins prosecution: Federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, was fired by the Justice Department on Wednesday, according to four sources familiar with the matter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * In related news: "Fired federal prosecutor Maurene Comey sent an email Thursday morning to her former colleagues at the Manhattan U.S. attorneys office, warning that its becoming harder for them to do their jobs 'without fear.' * Speaking of Trumps DOJ: The Justice Department is seeking no prison time for a former officer who blindly shot into Breonna Taylors home during a botched 2020 raid that sparked a federal inquiry into policing in Louisville, Kentucky. * The latest on Donald Trumps health: The president has been diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency after he was checked out for mild swelling in his lower legs, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at the press briefing today. * Obliterated was obviously incorrect: One of the three nuclear enrichment sites in Iran struck by the United States last month was mostly destroyed, setting work there back significantly. But the two others were not as badly damaged and may have been degraded only to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume in the next several months if Iran wants it to, according to a recent U.S. assessment of the destruction caused by the military operation, five current and former U.S. officials familiar with the assessment told NBC News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * No one will benefit from this: The Trump administration on Thursday afternoon officially terminated the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifelines LGBTQ Youth Specialized Services program, which gave callers under age 25 the option to speak with LGBTQ-trained counselors. * All is not well at HHS: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired two of his top aides this week, shaking up his leadership team at the Department of Health and Human Services amid an aggressive effort to reshape public health policy. * It sure would be nice if Americans could have some confidence that there was a connection between presidential claims and reality: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Coca-Cola in the United States will begin to be made with cane sugar, but the company did not explicitly say that was the case when it was asked later about Trumps claim. See you tomorrow. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com Earlier this month, many congressional Republicans made clear that they had serious concerns about the partys far-right domestic policy megabill, shortly before those same GOP lawmakers went ahead and voted for it anyway. This week, it happened again, as a variety of Senate Republicans voiced concerns about a highly controversial $9 billion spending-cut bill, only to do what Donald Trump directed them to do soon after. NBC News reported: The Republican-led Senate Republicans voted Thursday morning to pass a package of spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump, sending it to the House. The rescissions package cancels previously approved funding totaling $9 billion for foreign aid and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. Republicans passed it through a rarely used process to evade the 60-vote threshold and modify a bipartisan spending deal on party lines. In a floor fight that happened shortly after 2 a.m. ET, the measure passed on a 51-48 vote. Two Senate Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted with the unanimous Democrats against the package. (Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota missed the vote due to hospitalization, though shes expected to be fine, and her vote wouldnt have affected the final outcome.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Senate vote came less than a week after the president not only demanded that Republicans approve the legislation, but also vowed to withhold future endorsements for any GOP members who defied his instructions. As legislative fights go, this one is a little different from most on Capitol Hill, its common for lawmakers to approve funding measures, but its far more unusual to see members un-approve funding measures so lets unpack why these developments are so important. Whats a rescissions package? When Congress appropriates funds, the White House is obligated to spend the tax dollars accordingly. Presidents, at least for now, do not have the legal option of simply ignoring lawmakers wishes and impounding the money, though Richard Nixon tried and failed to do so. But there is a legal mechanism in place that allows the White House to send Congress requests to undo funds that were appropriated but not spent. These are called rescissions packages. Once they arrive on Capitol Hill, lawmakers have 45 days to either approve the packages and un-spend the money, or ignore the presidents request, which in turn would force the administration to do what Congress directed in the first place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats in Trumps rescissions package? While other presidents have had small and unremarkable rescissions requests, Trumps version was far more ambitious: It sought to codify cuts from Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), cutting roughly $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund local public television and radio stations around the country, and roughly $8 billion from the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). While $9 billion might not seem like an enormous amount of money given the size of the federal budget and the overall U.S. economy, these specific cuts would, if approved, have a significant impact. Not only are there communities nationwide that rely on public broadcasting for things such as weather forecasts and emergency alerts but as MSNBCs Michael Steele recently explained, the USAID cuts raise life-or-death questions for many desperate people worldwide. What about the power of the purse? A bedrock feature of the Constitution is that Congress controls the nations purse strings. Trump and his team have made no secret of the fact that they hope to shift at least some of these powers to the White House, and pry authority away from lawmakers, as part of a larger power grab. A great many Republicans appear eager to go along with these efforts, surrendering congressional power to the president again. Why didnt Senate Democrats use a filibuster to block the package? Because they couldnt: The legislative process on rescissions packages does not require the bills to meet a 60-vote threshold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why are Democrats insisting this will change spending negotiations going forward? This is an underappreciated element of the broader fight: For generations, Democrats and Republicans have advanced spending deals through bipartisan negotiations and compromises in which both parties end up with some of what they want. But if were entering an era in which presidents can decide to reject certain congressionally approved investments, and a narrow congressional majority can endorse such efforts after the fact, then members especially those in the minority have no reason to even try to reach bipartisan deals, since theyll have no guarantees that the money will actually be spent. Indeed, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made this point explicitly during an interview with MSNBCs Chris Hayes this week. What happens now? The House passed its version of the bill in mid-June, but Senate Republicans made some changes specifically, they agreed to remove $400 million in cuts to PEPFAR, the foreign aid program to combat HIV/AIDS which means the package will need to be voted on again in the lower chamber. The timing is highly relevant: Under the procedural rules for this effort, Congress will need to pass the rescissions package by midnight Friday or the effort will fail. Most observers agree, however, that House Republicans will follow Trumps demands before the deadline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the presidents gambit succeeds, as now appears very likely, it will almost certainly open the door to a series of related efforts. Watch this space. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com At an Oval Office event on Wednesday, Donald Trump fielded some questions from White House reporters, many of whom pressed the president on the major topic of the day. Mr. President, will you ask Attorney General Pam Bondi to release more documents to finally put this controversy to an end? one asked, referring to the Jeffrey Epstein controversy. As part of his response, the Republican president eventually got around to saying the story is no different than Russia, Russia, Russia. It was a familiar refrain. In fact, Trump made a nearly identical claim earlier in the day. And the day before. And a few days before that. And two days before that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The point, evidently, is relatively straightforward: The president is facing allegations related to the late alleged sex trafficker, which has led him to effectively argue that if the Russia scandal was fake, the Epstein scandal should necessarily be seen as fake, too. For those whove read my second book, this probably sounds familiar. Indeed, the president has made this same pitch repeatedly in recent years. When he was accused of illegally bringing classified documents to Mar-a-Lago, he said the case was just like RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA. When the New York attorney generals office accused the Trump Organization of fraudulent business practices on a systemic scale, Trump declared: This is like Russia, Russia, Russia. When the Jan. 6 committees report came out, he said the panels members were not to be trusted because they believed the RUSSIA, RUSSIA, RUSSIA HOAX. For the president, this line has been a get-out-of-trouble-free card for years, to be played ad nauseam: If the Russia scandal wasnt real, the argument goes, then voters should necessarily discount every other controversy related to the president. There are two rather important flaws with the argument. The first is that logic doesnt work this way: If someone is falsely accused of wrongdoing, it doesnt mean that all future accusations must necessarily be seen as false. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second problem is that Trumps Russia scandal is still real, no matter how many times he pretends otherwise. Indeed, the presidents timing could be better: It was literally just last week when Trumps handpicked CIA director released the findings of an internal investigation that concluded, once again, that Russia attacked the U.S. political system in 2016 because Putins regime wanted to put Trump in the White House. But if the president is determined to keep talking about this on a near-daily basis, perhaps now is a good time to review some basic truths about the Russia scandal, many of which are too often overlooked. Russia attacked the American elections in 2016 Every U.S. intelligence agency and lawmakers from both parties have long agreed that the Kremlin launched an expansive and expensive covert military intelligence operation that targeted the U.S. political system in 2016. This basic fact is no longer contested except by Trump, who publicly declared that he found Putin more reliable than his own administrations officials and its importance is too often overlooked. Russias goal was to put Trump in power The Kremlins operation was not politically neutral: Moscow attacked our elections in the hopes of helping dictate the outcome. According to the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies, special counsel Robert Muellers investigation, and the multi-step investigation from the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee, Russia saw Trump as a prospective ally and believed it would be in its interests if the Republican were in the White House. Russia and Team Trump were political allies As regular readers know, investigations from Muellers team and the GOP-led Senate Intelligence Committee documented the extent to which Trump and his team welcomed, received and benefited from Russian campaign assistance. (They also obstructed the investigation into this assistance by some measures, 10 times.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The evidence also showed there was coordination and high-level connections between Trumps political operation and those responsible for the attack on our elections. The Senate Intelligence Committees report at one point literally described a direct tie between senior Trump Campaign officials and the Russian intelligence services. Team Trump lied about its communications with Russia No, really, Team Trump lied about its communications with Russia. A lot. Out loud and on record. Over and over again, Trump and his spokespeople insisted there were absolutely no interactions between the Republican, his political operation and their Russian benefactors. We now know definitively that they were lying and theyve never been forthcoming about why. The Russia scandal led to a series of felony convictions and prison sentences For an alleged hoax, the Russia scandal led to an amazing number of federal prosecutions. In fact, the investigation led to the convictions of, among others, Trumps White House national security adviser, campaign chairman, deputy campaign chairman, foreign policy adviser and personal lawyer, and to the indictment of 13 Russian nationals who interfered in our elections as part of the larger plot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I realize, of course, that there are all kinds of contentious details and personalities related to the controversy, which are still being debated, years later, as part of the broader conversation about the story. But these core truths remain unambiguous: Russia attacked our elections to help Trump. The Republicans political operation welcomed, received, benefited from and lied about Russian campaign assistance. Many key players from Trumps inner circle were charged, prosecuted and convicted. These arent opinions. Theyre conclusions drawn from multiple, bipartisan investigations, conducted across several years. If the president is of the opinion that the Russia scandal and the Epstein scandal are of equal validity, then the White House should prepare for the ongoing controversy to become even more dramatic. This post updates our related earlier coverage. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com MAGA-friendly TV channel Newsmax is throwing shade at Fox News for tiptoeing around the controversy surrounding President Donald Trumps handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Anchor Rob Schmitt suggested that Fox News hosts are terrified to cover MAGAs uproar over the Trump administrations decision not to release any more information on the late convicted sex offender. They dont want to lose their audience and they dont want to p--- off the White House at the same time, he said. So it becomes a bit of a catch-22. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By 4 p.m. Tuesday, Fox News mentioned Epstein just four times on Monday, compared to 42 mentions of Biden, according to Matthew Gertz, a fellow at the progressive media watchdog Media Matters. On Monday, there were eight Epstein mentions to 158 for Biden, Gertz noted. Fox's coverage through 4 p.m. today: Biden: 42 mentions Epstein: 4 (airing Trump's gaggle and responding to it in the 1 pm hour) https://t.co/Eik4TvqTV3 Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) July 15, 2025 Schmitt, who served as a Fox News host himself until 2020, remarked on the conservative networks noticeable pivot, pointing out that it had offered very consistent coverage of the Epstein saga until recently. Its pretty obvious that a lot of people dont really know what to do with this, Schmitt said. Theres a lot of people that are very scared, because its clear that the White House didnt want this to be a subject. Trump over the weekend pleaded with his allies to forget about Epsteinhis former friendtelling them not to waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Schmitt noted that Fox News Laura Ingraham basically went dark on the subject during her Monday night show, during which, he said, she mentioned it only with disdain for about two seconds. He rolled a clip in which Ingraham made a passing reference to conservative influencers eating their own. That was it, Schmitt said. There was a little bit of it on Bret Baiers show, Special Report. Otherwise, it was completely blacked out of the network. That came from somewhereobviously, theres a pressure point, and it was hit. President Donald Trump stands with Labor Secretary Alex Acosta in 2019. Acosta resigned after coming under fire for his role in the Jeffrey Epstein plea deal in 2007 when he was a U.S. Attorney in Florida. / Mark Wilson/Getty Images Former prosecutor Alex Acosta, who negotiated Epsteins notoriously lenient 2007 plea deal, currently sits on Newsmaxs board. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The deal allowed Epstein to avoid federal charges that could have landed him in prison for life. The financier, accused of sexually abusing underage girls, served just 13 months in a state prison on state prostitution charges. Acosta later served as Labor secretary in the first Trump administration, but he resigned in July 2019 amid renewed scrutiny of the deal. Last week, it was announced that Newsmax was partnering with Trump Media & Technology Groupwhich was founded by the president in 2021 and operates Truth Socialto launch a new streaming service, Truth+. Trump Medias CEO and Chairman Devin Nunes said the platform would bring (Newsmaxs) unique programming to major new markets and lay the groundwork to challenge the woke news monolith with hard-hitting, non-woke reporting and commentary. Wildfires destroyed more than 2,400 homes in 2024 not to mention threatening countless human lives. You may associate wildfires with states like California and Texas, but the U.S. Forest Service reports that about one-third of American homes are located in counties at high risk of wildfires. While wildfire damage can be devastating, home insurance provides a safeguard against the worst financial impacts. But its important to understand whats covered and be aware of any exclusions that could affect you. This embedded content is not available in your region. Does homeowners insurance cover wildfires? Homeowners insurance usually covers wildfires and related losses. Most policies include fire and smoke as covered perils, which are events your carrier agrees to insure you against. A standard home insurance policy provides the following coverages that may apply to wildfire damage: Dwelling coverage: This helps pay for repairing or rebuilding your home and other attached structures, like an attached garage or deck. Sometimes, this coverage includes detached structures, like a shed or separate garage. If a fire damages your roof or wall or destroys your home altogether, dwelling coverage would help pay for repairs or rebuilding. Personal property coverage: This insures your personal belongings, like furniture, appliances, and clothing. This coverage could help you pay for replacing these items if theyre destroyed by a wildfire. Personal property coverage is included in most homeowners and rental insurance policies. Loss of use coverage: Also called additional living expense (ALE) coverage, this helps pay for temporary living expenses, like hotels and extra food costs, if youre displaced by a wildfire or another covered peril. Like personal property coverage, loss of use coverage is a feature of standard homeowner and renter policies. Learn more: Homeowners insurance: What it covers and how much you'll pay What homeowners insurance might not cover Insurers are increasingly excluding wildfire damage in many high-risk areas. In these situations, you may be able to buy a standalone policy or add on an endorsement. Many insurers are also canceling or refusing to renew policies for homes in places with frequent wildfires. Some carriers have stopped writing new policies in high-risk markets altogether. You still have options for insuring your property if you cant get coverage through a private insurer, but the premiums are often high and the coverage may be limited. Learn more: What does home insurance not cover? Tips to get the best wildfire insurance First, check your policy documents to verify that wildfires are covered by your home insurance. Most HO-3 policies (the most common type of home policy) include fire and smoke damage as covered perils. Here are some tips to make sure you have the amount of home insurance you need when it comes to wildfires: Tip 1: Consider insuring more than the standard RCV Most home policies cover your homes structure up to its replacement cost value (RCV), which is the cost of repairing or rebuilding it at todays prices. But if many surrounding properties are damaged by a wildfire, the costs of building supplies and labor will likely increase, so standard RCV may not be enough. Purchasing extended replacement cost coverage or guaranteed replacement cost coverage offers protection against these rising costs. Extended replacement cost coverage can increase your dwelling coverage limit by up to 50%. Guaranteed replacement cost coverage pays for the homes full replacement cost even if it exceeds policy limits. Tip 2: Dont forget about your personal belongings Your personal belongings are usually covered by your home policy, but the default is actual cash value (ACV), not replacement cost value (RCV) like your residence. Heres the difference between ACV vs. RCV: Actual cash value: ACV is the value of your property at the current market value. Since ACV accounts for depreciation, your reimbursement for destroyed personal belongings could be substantially less than the cost of actually replacing them. Replacement cost value: RCV coverage, on the other hand, will replace your destroyed property with a brand-new item. Consider insuring your property at RCV instead of ACV for an additional cost if youre worried your property wont be covered enough. Learn more: Actual cash value vs. replacement cost: Understanding the difference in home insurance For example, lets say your couch was damaged in a fire. You purchased it five years ago at $2,000, but now that same couch is only worth $700. With the default ACV on your homeowners insurance policy, youd only get $700. But if you had added RCV coverage, youd get a brand new couch of similar quality worth the same $2,000 you spent five years ago. Expert tip: If you own high-value items like artwork, jewelry, or collectibles, you may want to add a scheduled personal property endorsement for additional protection. Tip 3: Check the time limit on ALE coverage Many home and renters policies have a time limit of about 12 months of additional living expense (ALE) coverage, though some insurers have caps of up to 24 months. Choosing a policy with a longer time limit could make sense if you live somewhere at high risk of wildfires. This way, you wont have to stress about covering your living expenses while youre displaced and/or looking for a new home. Tip 4: Choose affordable deductibles You can often save money on home insurance by choosing higher deductibles, but youll have to pay your full deductible before your policy kicks in. If you cant afford to pay your deductible out of pocket, opting for lower deductibles even if it means higher premiums may be the safer choice. Keep in mind that, in some areas, separate deductibles may apply to wildfire claims. How to get wildfire insurance in high-risk areas Shopping for homeowners insurance covering wildfire damage can be tough if you live somewhere vulnerable to widespread blazes. Here are some options for wildfire insurance in high-risk areas. Check out your states FAIR plans Fair Access to Insurance Requirements (FAIR) plans are state-run pools that serve as insurers of last resort for property owners in high-risk areas. These plans cover wildfire damage and are available in all 50 states. However, you may need to make upgrades to fireproof your home to qualify. FAIR plans are designed to be temporary and usually offer lower limits at a higher cost. While dwelling coverage is usually included, you may need to buy separate insurance for your personal property and ALE coverage. Consider surplus or excess line insurance (E&S insurance) Surplus or excess line (E&S) carriers are specialty insurers that cover high-risk scenarios that traditional insurers avoid. Traditional insurers are admitted carriers, meaning theyre licensed and regulated by the states in which they operate. E&S insurance carriers arent bound by state laws and regulations. While they have more flexible underwriting standards, they also come with fewer protections than admitted carriers. For example, admitted carriers are backed by a states guarantee fund, which pays out claims if an insurer becomes insolvent, whereas E&S insurers have no such backing. E&S insurance may be necessary if: You live in an area at high risk of wildfires or other natural disasters. You need high coverage limits. You dont meet a standard carriers underwriting guidelines for some other reason, like you have an older home or youve filed multiple claims in a short window. Look into premier carriers if you have a high-value home Some premier carriers specialize in high-value homes, typically those worth over $1 million. These insurers often provide extensive coverage and mitigation services like private firefighting. Can insurance companies refuse to renew policies due to wildfires? Yes, insurance companies can refuse to renew your policy due to wildfires or exclude wildfire damage from coverage. Some companies opt to pull out of high-risk areas altogether. Insurers canceling or declining to renew policies in high-risk areas is becoming more common, especially as wildfires become a year-round phenomenon instead of a mostly seasonal occurrence. A December 2024 Senate Budget Committee report found high rates of nonrenewals in places that are especially vulnerable to wildfires, like California, eastern New Mexico, and Colorado. How to make a wildfire insurance claim Your safety comes first, so avoid returning home after a wildfire until you get the green light from local officials. Once you return, take any necessary steps to secure your property to avoid further losses, like boarding up broken windows or placing a tarp over a damaged roof. Then, follow these steps to file a wildfire insurance claim: Contact your carrier or insurance agent ASAP. Once youve determined that the cost of your property damage likely exceeds your deductibles, notify your insurance company or agent as soon as possible. Ideally, you can do this by phone, though many insurers set up temporary on-site claim centers after major disasters when cell service is often limited. Make sure you get a claims number. Make note of any deadlines or other requirements for filing a claim. Take a thorough inventory of the damage. Youll need to document any damage to your home and personal property for your insurance adjuster. Gather any evidence you have, like receipts and photos, to help you document the damage. You may also want to get bids from contractors to estimate repair or replacement costs before the adjuster inspects your home. Document every conversation. Take notes during every conversation with your insurance company. Ask for the name and phone number of each person you speak with. Meet with the insurance adjuster onsite. At some point, a company insurance adjuster will inspect your home. The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) notes that an inspection can happen in as little as three to five days for minor claims, but after a major disaster, the process can take significantly longer. Consider a public adjuster. If you disagree with the adjusters assessment or if your case is especially large or complex, hiring a public adjuster who can advocate for you may be worthwhile. How to fireproof your house and property Wildfires can spread rapidly and cause devastating damage, but here are some ways to mitigate the risk, according to FEMA: Create a 30-foot buffer with minimal vegetation around your home. Store combustible materials, like firewood and gas grills, away from the home. Enclose porches, balconies, and overhangs with exposed space underneath. Cover vents with corrosion-resistant wire mesh. Opt for fire-resistant roofing materials, like single-ply membranes or fiberglass shingles, instead of flammable materials, like wood or shingle. Cover chimneys and stovepipes with spark arrestors. Wildfire insurance FAQs Does renters insurance cover wildfires? Renters insurance usually offers personal property coverage for wildfire damage, and it often includes ALE coverage if youre temporarily displaced. However, renters insurance doesnt provide dwelling coverage. Your landlords insurance would kick in if the physical home or building is damaged in a wildfire. Learn more: How an auto and renters insurance bundle can save you big Does car insurance cover wildfire damage to vehicles? Wildfire damage to vehicles is usually covered if you have comprehensive insurance. This type of coverage protects against car damage not caused by collisions, like losses from severe weather or falling objects. Youre usually required to maintain comprehensive car insurance coverage if you finance or lease a vehicle; however, its not legally required in any state. So if you only carry your states minimum coverage levels, your vehicle likely wont be insured against wildfire damage. Learn more: Bundle home and auto insurance: Be sure its the best deal When should I hire a public adjuster for a wildfire insurance claim? Hiring a public adjuster for a wildfire claim may be helpful if you feel your insurer is shortchanging your claim or need help navigating your policy or the claims process. For example, if youre struggling to provide evidence of your losses or dont understand the legal jargon in the insurance contract, you might benefit from hiring a public adjuster. Jamie Young and Tim Manni edited this article. Elected representatives say they arent interested if their constituents are detained by federal immigration officials. On Capitol Hill Wednesday, South Carolina Representative Ralph Norman, Texas Representative Troy Nehls, and Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville brushed off reports that American citizens were being targeted by ICE agents in overzealous raids. Congressman, do you care if U.S. citizens accidentally get detained in ICE raids? Migrant Insiders Pablo Manriquez asked each of them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No, Im not concerned about that, confessed Norman, underscoring that he was so appreciative of border czar Tom Homans actions to force undocumented immigrants out of the country en masse. Im concerned about law and order in America. If youre an illegal, you dont need to be here, Norman said, apparently forgetting that ICE has no authority to arrest, detain, or deport U.S. citizens. But what if youre a citizen?... It just seems to be happening a lot, pressed Manriquez. But Norman said he doesnt believe that, highlighting concerns about alleged undocumented gang members in the country when Manriquez cited reports that U.S. veterans are getting dragged into ICEs deportation machine. Congressman, do you care if U.S. citizens accidentally get detained in ICE raids? RALPH NORMAN: "No, I'm not concerned about that." pic.twitter.com/SuEh44nIRf Pablo Manriquez (@PabloReports) July 16, 2025 At least one veteran has so far been detained by the aggressive agency: George Retes, a 25-year-old disabled veteran, was detained on July 10 while at work on a California farm. He was held for three days by ICE officials without access to legal representation and without any charges against him, according to Representative Pramila Jayapals office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jayapal introduced legislation Wednesdaythe Stop ICE from Kidnapping US Citizens Actto make ICEs illegal actions even more blatant. The measure would prevent ICE from detaining and deporting U.S. citizens following reports that the agency had been harassing the countrys Latino population, requesting on-demand proof of citizenship. But Norman isnt the only lawmaker to disregard the alarming cases. Nehls attempted to undermine the traumatizing nature of detention when asked if he cared about the arrested citizens, telling Manriquez that the media shouldnt spin detention for more than it really is. Are you detained for more than three days? Nehls asked rhetorically, waving his cigar. In some cases, yeah, responded Manriquez. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, maybe people cant prove that theyre American citizens, either, have the documentation, Nehls said, apparently at a loss for words, though he did mention that he believed Homan was doing a hell of a job. Its not a big problem. It really, really isnt, Nehls added. Congressman, do you care of U.S. citizens are accidentally detained by ICE? TROY NEHLS: pic.twitter.com/RkpN5fk41w Pablo Manriquez (@PabloReports) July 16, 2025 Tubervilles sensitive advice to Americans concerned about being illegally detained by plainclothed undercover ICE agents was simple: First of all, dont put yourself in a situation where that happens. Im sure with the illegals we have in this country, some mistakes happen, that alwaysthats gone happen, Tuberville said, before directing Americans to disengage from undocumented communities. But if you are gonna be hanging around people who are not citizens of this country, some things like that are going to probably happen. Dont hang around illegals, he warned. Tuberville had no advice for mixed-status families. President Donald Trump appears at odds with some of his supporters over files on the late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was a Palm Beach resident and convicted sex offender who died while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges in 2019. Trump had long accused the Biden administration of hiding a list of Epstein clients. In March, Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had a "truckload" of Epstein files to review and potentially release. On July 7, Bondi's Justice Department said that there was no "client list" and that no further disclosure was needed. The move prompted an outcry for more transparency among Republicans, even as Trump appeared to downplay it as old news. His apparent frustration over the matter reached a new high in a July 16 Truth Social Post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "(Democrats') new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bulls***, hook, line, and sinker," Trump wrote. "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore!" Trump later said the DOJ should release "credible" records related to Epstein, according to a White House pool report. Which Republicans have called for more transparency on the Epstein files? Since Bondi's memo, here are some prominent Republicans who have spoken out against the Trump administration with calls to release the files: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement House Democrats have also introduced legislative measures to release the Epstein files. What was Epstein convicted of? Epstein never sat for trial, but he pleaded guilty to solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a minor for prostitution in 2008 in Florida. He was also a registered sex offender. He died in 2019, before he could be tried for sex trafficking charges in New York. He was found hanged in a Manhattan jail cell, and the medical examiner ruled it a suicide. When was Epstein caught and first charged? A police investigation into Epstein began in March 2005 after a woman from Palm Beach County said her 14-year-old step-daughter had been molested by a wealthy man. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In July 2006, Epstein was indicted by a grand jury on a felony charge of soliciting prostitution, which did not address the 14-year-old victim's age. He was arrested and spent one night in Palm Beach County jail, released the next day on $3,000 bond. The Palm Beach Post sued in 2019 to make public those grand jury transcripts after learning in an investigation that then-Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer had tanked his own case. When the documents were released in July 2024, they showed prosecutors questioning the only two victims to testify about matters such as what kind panties and bra they wore and even worse, calling them prostitutes and asking whether they knew they had committed a crime. Epstein signed a non-prosecution agreement that was called the "deal of the century." He pleaded guilty in 2008 to solicitation of prostitution and solicitation of a minor for prostitution. He was sentenced to 18 months in jail, where he was allowed work leave privileges six days a week/12 hours a day. He served 13 months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When he was released from jail, he spent a year on house arrest but was allowed to travel anywhere so long as he returned in 24 hours. What is the president up to? Is Donald Trump in the Epstein files? Trump has already appeared in legal documents concerning Epstein's crimes but never in a way that implicates him. In the 1990s, Trump rode on aircraft owned by Epstein, according to flight logs released in two lawsuits. But that was 30-plus years ago. In Palm Beach County state attorney documents, an image of a message pad communication seized in a Palm Beach police search appeared, but there is nothing more than Trump's name and a phone number. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Contributing: Aysha Bagchi, Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: MAGA supporters Donald Trump called 'weaklings' over Jeffrey Epstein files HANOVER, Pa. (WHTM) Main Street Hanover has created a new way to thank Midstate veterans. Main Street Hanover announced that they are now accepting applications for the 2026 Hometown Heroes Banner Program. Main Street Hanover said community members can honor military service members in their lives by sponsoring a commemorative banner to be displayed in downtown Hanover. Close Thanks for signing up! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now ICYMI: Top 5 Stories of the Week Each custom banner features a photo, name, branch of service and other relevant details about the service member, which will be displayed on utility poles in the area to honor their sacrifices and service to our state and nation. The application period begins July 1 and runs through November 1, or until all slots are filled. Banners will hang seasonally from February through October 2026. Each banner costs $190, and 50 banners are available on a first-come, first-served basis. Only two banners are hung per pole, and placement is determined by Main Street Hanover based on available space and pole locations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Penn State Health collects, delivers bras to Midstate shelter to raise breast cancer awareness To be eligible to be honored in a banner, a servicemember must be active duty, retired or honorably discharged from any branch of the U.S. Armed Forces or National Guard. The heroes must a local graduate, current/deceased resident, property owner or born in the Hanover area. To reserve a banner, visit their website to apply or contact mainstreethanover@gmail.com with any questions. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. *This article contains an image of a malnourished infant which some readers may find distressing Severe malnutrition is spreading in Gaza and aid distributions supposed to stop famine have instead become a death trap, a top British surgeon has said. Professor Nick Maynard, a Oxford-based gastrointestinal surgeon currently in Gaza, added that snipers were deliberately targeting certain body parts on different days, such as the head, legs or genitals near US-Israeli run aid distribution points. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prof Maynard said unprecedented levels of severe malnutrition were directly contributing to preventable deaths among patients receiving surgery. The malnutrition Im seeing here is indescribably bad. Its much, much worse now than a year ago. Zainab Abu Haleeb, five-months-old, receives treatment for malnourishment at Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza - REUTERS He added that colleagues he worked with a year ago were barely recognisable, having lost 20-30 kg due to severe food shortages. Critically, he said injured patients were dying because malnutrition was preventing them from healing properly. The repairs that we carry out fall to pieces, patients get terrible infections, and they die. I have never had so many patients die because they cant get enough food to recover, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prof Maynard said the Nasser hospital, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, where he is currently based, had almost completely run out of intravenous liquid fluids, used to treat severely malnourished children. He added that four infants recently died from malnutrition in the neonatal ward. I saw a seven-month-old who looked like a newborn. The expression skin and bones doesnt do it justice, he said. A woman slumps over in a donkey cart after she was hit in the head with part of a stun grenade at a aid distribution site run by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation - AP Prof Maynard added that snipers appear to be targeting body parts including genitals and legs near the controversial US-Israeli Gaza Humanitarian Foundations (GHF) food aid collection points in southern and central Gaza The medical teams here have also been seeing a clear pattern of people being shot in certain body parts on different days, such as the head, legs or genitals, which seems to indicate deliberate targeting, said Prof Maynard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These are mainly from the militarised distribution points, where starving civilians are going to try and get food but then report getting targeted by Israeli soldiers or quadcopters. Local medics have also reported a pattern of snipers targeting Palestinians in the backside, according to the BBC. GHF, the Israeli-backed American organisation, limits food distribution to four fixed sites in southern and central Gaza, all guarded by private American security contractors and Israeli soldiers, in a move designed to wrest distribution away from aid groups led by the UN. Israel and the US have been criticised over near-daily shootings near the distribution sites, which have killed 875 Palestinians seeking food since May, according to the UN human rights office. British surgeon Prof Nick Maynard said he has never had so many patients die because they cant get enough food to recover - Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) Israeli and international news organisations have talked to IDF reservists and a contractor working for GHF who confirmed that civilians were being fired on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prof Maynard called the distribution sites death traps, saying he has mostly operated on young teenage boys who were trying to retrieve food for their families. A twelve-year-old boy I was operating on died from his injuries on the operating table he had been shot through the chest, said Prof Maynard. The enforced malnutrition and attacks on civilians we are witnessing will kill many more thousands of people if not stopped, he said, adding that getting adequate food and aid into Gaza is essential. The fact the world is letting Israel get away with this is deeply upsetting, something must be done to stop this collective punishment of the population of Gaza. Palestinians carry aid supplies from the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza - REUTERS Gazas more than 2 million Palestinians are living through a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, and the territory is teetering on the edge of famine, according to food security experts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unrwa, the UN Relief Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees, recently reported one in 10 children brought to its clinics were malnourished, adding that the condition surged amid severe shortages of nutrition supplies. Doctors Without Borders/Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the medical NGO, said their teams are witnessing the highest levels of acute malnutrition ever recorded in two facilities in Gaza. Numbers of malnutrition in the Gaza City clinic, north of the enclave, almost quadrupled in less than two months, with cases soaring from more than 290 cases in May to over 980 cases at the beginning of July, said MSF. This is the first time we have witnessed such a severe scale of malnutrition cases in Gaza, said Mohammed Abu Mughaisib, MSF deputy medical coordinator in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The starvation of people in Gaza is intentional, it can end tomorrow if the Israeli authorities allow food in at scale. 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. A coalition of pastors, parents, and education reformers launches the Give Mama the Money Crusade this morning at 11 a.m. at New Mount Rose Missionary Baptist Church in Fort Worth aiming to turn Texas into a school choice-friendly state. Led by Pastor Kyev Tatum, the kickoff took place during the Ministers Justice Coalition meeting and featured guests from Universal Academy in Irving, Families Empowered in Houston, and the Frederick Douglass Freedom Alliance in Washington, D.C. According to the blog post, This is more than a meetingits the beginning of a movement. Today marks a bold step forward as we cultivate a communitywide commitment to school choice as a transformative tool for educational justiceespecially for children trapped in failing public schools. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The campaign highlights the potential of Texas Education Savings Accounts (ESAs) and charter schools to expand educational opportunity and parental empowerment. The event streamed live today at 11:00 am on the Determined & Undeterred Podcast at newmountrose.com. For more information, visit the official blog post here: Give Mama the Money Crusade July 17, 2025 at 11:00 am. Days after Eric Adams won the New York City mayoral primary four years ago, he was invited to Washington by then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi to speak to the House Democratic caucus, touted by the chair of the House Democrats campaign arm as a model for campaigns around the country, and welcomed at Joe Bidens White House. Zohran Mamdanis trip to Washington after his own primary victory lasted about four hours. There were no meetings with senior Democratic leaders. The 33-year-old assemblyman and democratic socialist had breakfast Wednesday with Democratic members of Congress before a private strategy session with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, a key endorser before his stunning primary victory. But party leaders and many swing-district lawmakers kept their distance from Mamdani, worried about his policy ideas and Republican plans to make him a national foil. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanders urged his now-protege to be firm in calling for Democratic leaders to rally behind him but also to more carefully address what hes said about Israel. First was a breakfast meeting arranged by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had also endorsed him before the June 24 primary. The conversation around the platters, according to multiple people in the room, involved roughly 40 House Democrats asking and taking notes about Mamdanis message of affordability. Mamdani joked at one point that in terms of getting support, hes gone from being the hunter to the hunted. California Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, still munching on a spinach pastry, was all smiles as she headed to her car. She said her big takeaway was about not being distracted by the culture wars Republicans inevitably want to stoke. Most New York Democrats skipped the meeting, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who has not endorsed Mamdani but plans to meet with him Friday in Brooklyn. Some members joked privately to CNN that their invitations must have gotten lost. Some blamed scheduling conflicts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A half-dozen political trackers one carrying her fluffy brown dog as she held her phone up to take videos hounded House Democrats on their way out about condoning the phrase globalize the intifada, which Mamdani has moved to distance himself from even as he faces allegations that he hasnt sufficiently condemned antisemitism. But even as members like California Rep. Mark Takano walked out of seeing Mamdani by already embracing some of his far-left ideas, arguing, theres not a lot of difference between a government-run grocery store and some sort of co-op, Rep. Tom Suozzi, who represents a swing district centered on suburban Long Island, was blunt in an interview with CNN. Im a Democratic capitalist, Im not a democratic socialist and I think that Mamdanis philosophy of raising taxes would make New York City less attractive than it is right now, he said. Asked why she wasnt standing with Mamdani or offering him up to campaign around the country the way her predecessor did with Adams four years ago, the House Democrats campaign chair, Washington Rep. Suzan DelBene, said in a statement that voters in swing districts want local leaders talking about lowering costs and pushing back on Republicans. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voters in places like Arizona and Iowa arent thinking about who the mayor of New York City may be, DelBene said. What Sanders told Mamdani Perhaps Mamdanis biggest meeting of the day was on the Senate side of Capitol Hill not with Chuck Schumer, the minority leader and senior senator from Brooklyn, or with Kirsten Gillibrand, the chair of the Senate Democrats campaign arm and the states junior senator. Neither has met with him. Both have pushed off talk about endorsing him. Sanders, a Brooklyn native, was eager to welcome Mamdani for their first meeting after several phone calls, including a congratulatory one after his primary win. The closest that theyve come in person before was at Sanders October 2019 rally in Queens marking his comeback after a heart attack, which Mamdani used as an early organizing opportunity for his first assembly campaign. A person familiar with their conversation, speaking on condition of anonymity, disclosed some of Sanders advice to Mamdani. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The eagerness of some wealthy opponents to his candidacy to attack his campaign via super PACs and independent expenditures, Sanders told him, was a topic worth keeping attention on. Call out the oligarchs, the senator said, but also be prepared not to unilaterally disarm via his own PAC. What I find outrageous, to tell you the truth, is that you have billionaires openly saying, Well, yes, Mamdani won the primary, but were going to spend as much as it takes to defeat him, Sanders told CNNs Anderson Cooper on Wednesday. As for the other Democrats whove been holding out, Sanders said in their private meeting, there should be no supplication, even to Jeffries and Schumer. They should be supporting him, Sanders said, since hes the Democratic nominee. According to the person familiar with his comments, Sanders noted he did the same when he lost the Democratic presidential primaries to Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden. Sanders, who is Jewish, urged Mamdani to be cautious about how he approaches talking about Israel. Both are critics of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israels handling of its war in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ahead of the trip, Mamdani told business leaders in New York that he would discourage the use of the phrase globalize the intifada. Mamdani, who has not used the phrase himself, has said he believes the phrase to be a rallying cry for Palestinian human rights and refused to condemn its use when asked during his primary campaign. According to the person familiar with their conversation, Sanders told Mamdani he had to do a better job explaining that his criticism is not antisemitic and to not let himself seem like hes minimizing the fear Jews in New York and elsewhere feel from the threat of hate against them. Afterward, they talked outside for photos showing them with big laughing smiles. Sanders posted them and Mamdani quickly reshared them. Bernie may be the great Senator from Vermont, Mamdani wrote. But hes Brooklyn through and through. Jeffries and Mamdani will soon meet in NYC A Jeffries spokesman declined comment on why the House Democratic leader hadnt extended the same kind of invitation to speak to the whole caucus that Adams received four years ago. The two still dont know each other much, and Jeffries has been holding off in saying much about him until they meet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked how the candidate felt about not getting an invitation, a spokesperson for Mamdani pointed to comments earlier this week saying that hes looking forward to their Friday meeting and that they had already connected about working together to tackle what he called the twin crises in the city of fighting for affordability and standing up for immigrants rights. Several House Democrats pointed out that it wasnt as if their embrace four years ago of Adams worked out so well. Adams is now seeking reelection as an independent after dropping out of the Democratic primary. He faced a corruption indictment that the Trump administration dropped in its first months. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) speaks at a rally to free Kilmar Abrego Garcia at Lafayette Park near the White House in Washington, DC, on May 1, 2025. - Bryan Dozier/Middle East Images/AFP/Getty IMAGES/FILE Rep. Pramila Jayapal, the Washington state congresswoman and former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, had her own private meeting with Mamdani on Wednesday. They talked about help campaigning and some policy issues. What struck Jayapal, she said later, was how the younger staffers in her office and in the hallways responded to seeing him, how many came up to meet him or take a photo. Obviously everyone has to go through their own processes, but people have to recognize what an incredible campaign he ran and what an incredible campaigner he is, she told CNN. And I hope everyone gets on board quickly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, the only Republican member of Congress from New York City, was also happy Mamdani was in the capital. She argued Democrats going anywhere near him was a tell about their own fears. The radical left and the socialist wing of the Democratic Party is moving everybody to the left, and these folks who are supposedly centrists are afraid of their shadow so theyre just going along for self-preservation, she said. The headline of this story has been updated. It has also been updated to add details about Sanders public comments on Mamdani. CNNs Manu Raju contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com NEW YORK Zohran Mamdani drew rave reviews from fellow Democrats on Wednesday after a meeting hosted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in Washington, D.C., along with a separate sit-down with Sen. Bernie Sanders. The New York City Democratic mayoral candidate met for nearly two hours with lawmakers at a breakfast gathering, but did not meet with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries or Sen. Chuck Schumer. I hope that this conversation can be constructive to bring the party together and rally behind our nominee, Ocasio-Cortez said ahead of the closed-door meeting, which attracted several lawmakers from around the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ocasio-Cortez, who gave Mamdani a key boost with her endorsement in the primary, left the building without addressing reporters, as did the mayoral candidate. The charismatic Democratic nominee got thumbs-up from fellow lefties in Congress, who warned establishment Democrats to get in line behind the front-runner after he romped to victory over ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary last month. Anyone whos not endorsing this incredible, dynamic leader is missing an opportunity, said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., a former leader of the House progressive caucus. Its hard not to be won over, she said. Among the New York lawmakers at the sit-down was Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., who backed Mamdani after he won the primary and has helped build bridges with fellow Jewish lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y., praised Mamdani as the real deal after the meeting. Its just beautiful to have someone who is so authentic, you know, that money cannot buy that. Velazquez said it wasnt rocket science to expect most of the citys lawmakers to endorse Mamdani in the race against incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa and Cuomo, whos running as an independent. We are Democrats, Velazquez added. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., a leading moderate lawmaker in the citys delegation, was conspicuous by his absence. Some Israel backers have opposed Mamdani over his harsh criticism of the Jewish state and refusal to abandon the slogan globalize the intifada, although he recently said he wouldnt use the phrase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jeffries and Schumer have both promised to meet Mamdani but say theyll do so back in New York City, with Jeffries saying he planned to meet in Brooklyn by the end of the week. Sanders, I-Vt., gushed over Mamdanis political skills after a separate meeting on Capitol Hill. He warned that corporate interests are scrambling to block him from winning the battle for City Hall in November. The oligarchs are prepared to undermine democracy and spend tens of millions to buy the election for his opponents, Sanders said. We will not allow that to happen. Mamdani returned the favor by praising Sanders as one of his political heroes. Bernie may be the great Senator from Vermont but hes Brooklyn through and through, Mamdani posted on X. _____ Zohran Mamdani, the presumptive Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, met Wednesday with congressional Democrats in Washington as he continues his outreach to members of New Yorks congressional delegation, some of whom still have not said whether theyll endorse him. Some of those members have pointed to concerns over his progressive policy proposals or how he has declined to criticize the pro-Palestinian phrase Globalize the intifada, although he himself has not used the phrase and has emphasized policies to combat antisemitism. Most members leaving a breakfast meeting organized by key ally Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York at a Washington restaurant did not disclose what was discussed, although Rep. Luz Rivas, D-Calif., said the meeting was focused on strategizing after Mamdanis stunning win in the primary and Rep. Lateefah Simon, D-Calif., a Muslim member of Congress, told ABC News that the meeting was focused on skills Mamdani could share and about his background. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Influential Latino leader Espaillat endorses Mamdani in New York mayor's race It was a skill-share where he just talked about the way in which he's embodied his experience as an organizer, as a local elected, but also like as a young Muslim man, born and raised in one of the most diasporic cities in the world, and as a Muslim elected, I was not only inspired by it, I learned a lot. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images - PHOTO: NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani briefly speaks with reporters as he leaves the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. When asked by ABC News if she thinks Mamdani is appealing to moderates, Simon said, Listen, he's winning, and praised his ability to reach out to people across races and backgrounds. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., continues to hedge on whether hell endorse Mamdani but is set to meet with him in New York this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ocasio-Cortez told reporters that members showed up in good faith even if they werent fully onboard with him. MORE: Mamdani's New York mayoral primary win exposes Democratic divide Asked what she'd say to skeptics, including members of the New York delegation who havent endorsed Mamdani, Ocasio-Cortez responded, Get to know him. You know, this is not about having any kind of hard line. I think that, if anybody is skeptical, I would say, get to know him. And once you get into a room with him, kick the tires yourself and make your own assessment, instead of just kind of making assessments from what you may see on television. Later, while leaving votes at the Capitol, Ocasio-Cortez said discussion around the phrase Globalize the intifada did not come up at the event. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images - PHOTO: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends the House Energy and Commerce markup of the FY2025 budget resolution in Rayburn building on May 13, 2025. Mamdani has faced questions about comments he made about the controversial phrase while speaking on a podcast hosted by The Bulwark, where he said he could see that and similar phrases being reflective of standing up for Palestinian human rights and that he did not want to discuss the the permissibility of language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has emphasized hearing and understanding different perspectives on the phrase, which some say is a call for nonviolent uprising by Palestinians against Israeli control; others see it as a call for violence against Israelis and/or Jews. Mamdani has not used the phrase himself. He has also emphasized policies to protect Jews and to combat antisemitism in New York. President Donald Trump has attacked the Democratic socialist as a 100% Communist Lunatic and a nutjob and other Republicans have used him to depict Democrats as "radical socialists" and out of step with the country. Asked by a reporter if she thinks the Democratic Party is moving in a more socialist direction, Rep. Debbie Dingell said, It's a question by the media to try to stigmatize the Democratic Party. Every member of Congress runs in a district that is unique, and we all can learn from each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dingell praised Mamdani as bright and praised his campaigning. Francis Chung/politico/AP - PHOTO: Rep. Debbie Dingell speaks during the 24th hour of a House Energy and Commerce Committee markup on a budget reconciliation bill on Capitol Hill May 14, 2025. Donald Trump and he both get out and they talk to people, and they listen to people, and they understand how people feel. And he's using social media the way that Donald Trump has, she said. And you know what? All of us in life have different perspectives, different experiences everybody can learn from -- if we take the time to listen to each other, see what they're doing. Learn. We can all learn. Some congressional Democrats said they still had doubts about Mamdani. Rep. Tom Suozzi, whose New York district partially includes a swath of Queens, told reporters on Wednesday that he was still critical of how Mamdanis policy proposals could mean higher taxes and that he has not decided if he'll endorse a candidate in the general election for mayor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked by ABC News if he had considered going to the breakfast hosted by Ocasio-Cortez, he said, "I have other things on my calendar." The meeting came two days after former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who conceded in the Democratic primary, said he would actively run an independent bid for mayor. Mamdani is also set to face incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, who is also running as an independent, Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa and independent candidate Jim Walden. After the meeting organized by Ocasio-Cortez, Mamdani went to Capitol Hill for a meeting with Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a fellow democratic socialist who had endorsed Mamdani during the primary. Speaking to reporters after the meeting as he prepared to catch a train back to New York, Mamdani said both the meeting with Democrats and the meeting with Sanders went well, and that he and the Democrats discussed just the ways in which you want to unite the party. Asked if hes winning over House Democrats who are skeptical about him, Mamdani said, I think that we are continuing to grow our coalition. Sanders said, I think the issues that he's campaigning on, the need to create a city that is affordable for working class people, is exactly what has to happen in New York. New York City socialist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is facing heat online over a clip where he explains how he was able to take time off work because he knew his parents would financially support him. "I worked until January, and then I took time away from my job and one of the major reasons I could do that was because I knew that if I ran out of my savings my family would be able to support me," Mamdani said in the clip of a Zoom call posted on X by a Washington Free Beacon reporter. The clip received criticism on social media from those pointing to Mamdanis socialist policies and suggesting the clip is evidence he is comfortable spending money that belongs to taxpayers due to a wealthy upbringing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The one thing my parents told me: if you aren't working, and you don't have money, we cannot and will not support you," New York Post columnist Kirsten Fleming posted on X. "This guy is very comfortable with other people's money." Mamdani's Failure To Walk Back These Positions Could Cause Reckoning In Democratic Party: 'Five-alarm Warning' New York City mayoral candidate and Democratic State Representative Zohran Mamdani campaigns in New York City on April 16, 2025. "The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money, -Margaret Thatcher," Fox News contributor Katie Pavlich posted on X. Read On The Fox News App "Classic Socialism: Once I blow through my money, Ill take yours," former CIA officer Bryan Dean Wright posted on X. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Him and every other American socialist in 2025," digital strategist Greg Price posted on X. Mamdani's Father Sits On Council Of Anti-israel Group Tied To Terror, Legitimizes Role Of Suicide Bombers Candidate for New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, speaks during a press conference while campaigning outside a subway station in New York City on April 1, 2025. "Hes privileged," Twitchys Amy Curtis posted on X. Fox News Digital reached out to the Mamdani campaign for comment. From left to right, Mira Nair, New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, Rama Duwaji and Mahmood Mamdani celebrate on stage during an election night gathering at The Greats of Craft LIC on June 24, 2025. Mamdani, who has faced criticism from his mayoral opponent, Mayor Eric Adams, for his "silver spoon" upbringing, rocketed onto the political scene last month when he was victorious in New York Citys Democratic mayoral primary. Part of Mamdanis success has been with working-class voters as he campaigns on various issues affecting working voters, including housing affordability and taxpayer-subsidized programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mamdani will square off against former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Adams in the general election in November. Original article source: Mamdani sparks social media frenzy with viral clip discussing what happens if he runs out of money NEW YORK Zohran Mamdani wants to charm his way to a broader coalition. The Democratic nominee for New York City mayor is in the midst of a whirlwind of meet-and-greets in territories both friendly and hostile as he seeks to build general-election support and prepare to govern a city that encompasses a population far more diverse than his young, progressive base. On Monday, Mamdani gathered with Jewish elected officials concerned about his defense of the phrase globalize the intifada. He met Tuesday with more than a hundred big-business CEOs worried about his vow to hike taxes on the wealthy. And on Wednesday, he began with a breakfast in Washington with House progressives, who fawned over his election strategy, and then returned to New York where he held court with tech industry leaders hoping to influence City Hall. His Thursday schedule includes still more closed-door meetings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The work-week push will culminate Friday when he meets with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a fellow New York Democrat who commended Mamdanis focus on affordability after his stunning primary win but has yet to bless his general election run. Get to know him! Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told reporters after the Washington meeting she organized for him and left-leaning House Democrats. If anybody is skeptical, I would say get to know him. And once you get into a room with him, kick the tires yourself and make your own assessment. Mamdani, a 33-year-old state assemblymember, is the heavy favorite to become the next mayor of the countrys largest city. But while he and his fleet of volunteers turned out new voters who handily boosted him over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in Junes primary, he now faces a larger-scale challenge in winning over dubious powerbrokers. His stops this week included opportunities for those elites to pose questions to the democratic socialist, who rocketed last month from being a largely unknown Queens legislator to a nationally recognized progressive darling. Mamdani, a charismatic speaker with a megawatt smile, has been more than happy to answer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hes incredibly dynamic, but its not just that hes dynamic, said Julie Samuels, president and CEO of Tech:NYC, which cohosted Wednesdays gathering. People are so curious. They want to know what all the fuss is about. Mamdani has taken the proactive approach this week to addressing their criticisms head-on. Some have said hes a little too smooth. Others simply want to hear from the fresh-faced Democrat who shocked the political world with his primary victory. Holdouts within the top echelons of the Democratic Party, at the helm of major corporations and in New Yorks vibrant Jewish community have outstanding concerns about Mamdanis lack of executive leadership, his proposals to freeze rent and tax the rich, and his record of criticism of Israel. Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who has also been hesitant to endorse Mamdani, have both taken issue with the candidate declining to condemn the phrase globalize the intifada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mamdani is trying to clarify his approach to the slogan, which many Jews have said they hear as a call to violence against them, POLITICO has reported. He told attendees at the Partnership for New York City business event Tuesday that he would discourage the use of the slogan, and he is expected to further soften his stance more publicly. More broadly, the Democratic nominee for mayor has signaled a willingness to make some concessions as he listens and learns. At the core of my politics is not just a sincerity, but also a desire for partnership, he told reporters Tuesday. Business executives from the meeting later that day appeared appreciative of Mamdanis outreach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The meeting was a net positive, one told the Financial Times. He was genuinely wanting to engage and ultimately gave most people present a sense that he cares about New York and wants to be the mayor of all New Yorkers. Mamdani is facing Cuomo, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa and independent business leader Jim Walden in the general election. New York Citys most influential unions are with Mamdani, as are some local leaders who endorsed Cuomo in the primary. He has support from New Yorks most progressive House members. But several top Democrats have thus far withheld their endorsements, including Jeffries, Schumer and Gov. Kathy Hochul. Jeffries cited lack of familiarity as an obstacle to Mamdani earning his support but appeared this week to soften his view on the candidate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I look forward to sitting down and talking to him, the top House Democrat told MSNBC on Tuesday night. I didnt get involved in that primary election, and I dont know him well. Schumer is also set to meet with Mamdani in New York City, but their sitdown hasnt been scheduled yet. Mamdani is working through a packed meeting schedule as Adams and Cuomo face their own challenges: A new lawsuit from Adams former NYPD commissioner alleges the agency is rife with corruption. And Cuomo is attempting to recalibrate his approach to voters in his independent bid for mayor after losing by more than 12 points. HAMPTON BAYS, N.Y. (PIX11) A man is accused of driving drunk in a Peconic Bay boat crash that injured five people, including his fiance and two children, according to the Suffolk County Police Department. Police said it happened on May 25 around 8:40 p.m. Edward Hillkewicz was accused of driving a 33-foot boat to Hampton Bays after drinking in Greenport, according to authorities. More Local News Police said Hillkewicz, 28, was allegedly speeding when he crashed into a jetty in front of Meschutt Park. The impact of the crash caused the boat to catapult into the Shinnecock Canal wall, ricochet, and slam into a different part of the jetty, according to authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said the boat grounded on sand in Meschutt Park. Hillkewicz was arrested at the scene, according to authorities. Police said Hillkewiczs fiance, along with two other adults and two children aged 2 and 6, were all injured. Hillkewiczs fiance needed two surgeries on her spine and has limited movement from the waist down. The other victims werent seriously injured, according to authorities. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Hillkewicz was charged with assault, vehicular assault, operating a vessel while intoxicated with a passenger less than 15 years old, operating a vessel while intoxicated, endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment and reckless operation of a vessel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A judge ordered Hillkewicz to be placed on supervised release and his boating license suspended during the trial. He faces up to seven years in prison if convicted. Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. DARLINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) A man has been arrested in Darlington County after allegedly hitting a child on their thigh and leaving red welts in the shape of his fingers, the sheriffs office said. Patrick Moore II was charged with cruelty to children. He was booked into the W. Glenn Campbell Detention Center on Thursday morning. Deputies responded to the Darlington area on Jan. 24 for abuse, the sheriffs office said. When they arrived, deputies met with a caseworker and the caregiver of the child. The deputies learned the childs school had contacted DSS about the markings on them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During their investigation, they learned that while Moore was getting the child ready for school, he allegedly hit them with an open hand on their inner thigh, according to the sheriffs office. A warrant for Moore was obtained on March 10, but he wasnt found until he turned himself in on Thursday. * * * Caleb is a digital producer at News13. Caleb joined the team in January 2023 after graduating from Liberty University. He is from Northern Virginia. Follow Caleb on X, formerly Twitter, and read more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. Resources through the Ohio Domestic Violence Network can be found here. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) A man accused of killing a Columbus City Schools teacher in a domestic violence incident made his first court appearance Thursday. Jason Palmer, 37, was arraigned on murder charge in the strangulation death of his girlfriend Rachel Prince, 46, on Sunday in northwest Columbus. Palmer has faced domestic violence charges against Prince previously for incidents on Nov. 13, 2023 and Sept. 1, 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Franklin County Municipal Court judge issued Palmer a $10 million bond and scheduled a preliminary hearing for July 25. Police officers responded to emergency calls on Sunday to an apartment on the 5000 block of Cobblestone Drive around 1:20 p.m. Officer found Prince inside the apartment with blunt force trauma injuries and pronounced her dead at 1:29 p.m. The following day, the coroners office determined her cause of death as strangulation. Drivers stranded on I-71 North in central Ohio for hours after multiple crashes Palmer was arrested by police on Tuesday after witness statements, video evidence, and more revealed that he dragged Prince into the apartment on Saturday evening and that the two of them were the only ones in the apartment, according to court documents. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prince was an art teacher for the past two years at Marion-Franklin High School. She has two children an 11-year-old and a nine-year-old. In a statement, Marion-Franklin principal Tanita Fleming said, Ms. Prince devoted her life to uplifting young people, always leading with compassion. Her presence brought hope and guidance to countless lives, and her loss is deeply felt throughout the Marion-Franklin community and beyond. Yet, the legacy she leaves will live on, inspiring us all to believe in the power of one person to make a lasting difference. Columbus launched a new initiative, a five-question perception survey in several different languages related to domestic violence. We want people to be educated and informed that there are resources available to allow you to escape that abusive relationship, said Columbus city attorney Zach Klein. That could be dangerous. It could be dangerous for you, your family members, your kids. We want people to know that resources are there. Were here to help, but we want people to escape that violent situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MEMPHIS, Tenn. The man who was arrested for allegedly shooting at Memphis Police officers downtown on July 4 made an appearance in court this morning. After weeks of being on the run, 22-year-old Victor Peeler was arrested Tuesday for the alleged shooting by the MPD Fugitive Unit, MGU, and the U.S. Marshals Two Rivers Violent Fugitive Task Force in the 800 block of Dawn Cove. He was charged with 12 counts of attempted murder and one count of reckless endangerment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man arrested after allegedly shooting at MPD on July 4th And according to court records, Peeler is not new to the judicial process. On June 17, roughly two weeks before the shooting, Peeler was arrested for trespassing and disorderly conduct. Three days later, those charges were dropped. In May of last year, he was arrested for trespassing and theft of property. According to the Shelby County Criminal Justice portal, prosecutors chose not to pursue the trespassing charge, but he was found guilty of the theft charge and placed on diversion. His diversion was supposed to end on July 10, but since he was on the run for the attempted murder charges, he didnt make what was supposed to be his final court date. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Woman charged as accessory after shots fired at police Court documents show that the case has since been reopened, and an arraignment date has been set. As for his latest charges, Peeler is being held on a $650,000 bond and is expected to be in court July 24 with an attorney. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Just three days after being granted immunity from prosecution under Californias mental health diversion laws, a Napa man allegedly committed a brutal murder, prompting serious concerns about a system intended to protect public safety. On Tuesday, Napa County prosecutors filed murder charges against Ramiro Ochoa Mendoza, 36, for the killing of Noel Batres, 47, whose body was found under a bridge on July 3. Mendoza, who had a history of criminal offenses and poor compliance on probation, was deemed mentally incompetent to stand trial earlier this year on misdemeanor charges including violating a restraining order and resisting arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite numerous attempts by defense counsel to dismiss the cases outright, the Court, following legislative guidelines, ordered Mendoza into a mental health diversion program with supervised release for the two remaining misdemeanors. Illegal Immigrant Killer Of Laken Riley Wins Unexpected Court Victory For Mental Evaluation Mendoza, however, failed to appear for his scheduled mental health diversion review and was deemed non-compliant with the terms of the program. Read On The Fox News App "Mendoza promptly failed to appear in court for his mental health diversion review and was found to be out of compliance with the diversion program," the Napa County District Attorney's Office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even with repeated violations and non-compliance, the court was legally required to dismiss charges due to Mendozas mental health status and the misdemeanor-only nature of his offenses. California Man Accused In Recent Murder Was Let Out Of Jail On 'Mental Health Diversion' Six Months Ago "Because the law prohibits prosecution from continuing in cases where a defendant is deemed incompetent on only misdemeanor charges, the court had no choice but to dismiss both remaining cases and did so on July 8, 2025," the DA's office said. The dismissal followed recent legislative reforms, specifically Senate Bill 317, that bar courts from restoring competency in misdemeanor-only cases, even if the defendant shows signs of escalating behavior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mendoza was re-arrested on July 11 and now faces murder charges with enhancements related to his prior offenses and the alleged brutality of Batres killing. The case is already fueling debate over the limits of mental health protections and their implications for public safety. Prosecutors Plan To Drop Charges Against Sex Offender In Elementary School Alleged Kidnapping Attempt A Napa man was charged with murder days after being granted mental health immunity. "This case highlights the real-world impact of the recent legal reforms, where courts are required to prioritize mental health treatment over traditional prosecution, even when defendants exhibit an unwillingness or inability to comply with court-ordered programs," Napa County Deputy District Attorney Katie Susemihl said in a statement. California Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones criticized Californias "mental health diversion" law, arguing it allowed a violent repeat offender to be released without proper oversight, leading to the murder of an innocent man. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is yet another devastating example of Californias soft-on-crime policies creating more victims instead of preventing crime. Under the so-called mental health diversion law, a violent repeat offender was released and just days later, he brutally murdered an innocent man," Jones shared in a statement with Fox News Digital. "The system failed at every turn. This law prioritizes the rights of offenders over public safety, even when individuals show no willingness to comply with court-ordered treatment. If someone is truly mentally unwell, they should receive help within the justice system not be dumped back onto our streets without accountability or oversight," he continued. Jones called the current system broken and urged legal reform to prevent further tragedies and better protect the public. "Californians deserve better than laws that protect dangerous individuals while endangering the public. Its time to fix this broken system before more innocent lives are lost," Jones said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A GoFundMe campaign was launched to assist with returning Batres remains to his home country of Guatemala. According to the page, Batres was a resident of Napa for 26 years. "Noel was not perfect by any means. However, he was a wonderful, caring, gentle soul," the page read. "We ask that you please help us send Noel back home to be seen by his immediate family one last time before they lay him to rest." Mendoza was being held without bail at the Napa County Department of Corrections. Fox News Digital reached out to Governor Gavin Newsom's office for comment, but did not immediately receive a response. Original article source: Man allegedly commits brutal murder just days after being freed by California's mental health laws DANVILLE, Ill. (WCIA) The Danville Police Department said a man was arrested on Tuesday in connection to a shooting that left one person in serious condition earlier this month. Officers with the Danville Police Department responded near the intersection of North Vermilion and Seminary Streets around 10 p.m. on July 5. Once there, they found a 30-year-old Danville man with a single gunshot wound. After investigating, police learned the shooting had happened on the northwest side of the Churchill Towers Apartments on East Seminary Street. Man in serious condition after Danville shooting, police search for leads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Detectives continued to investigate and eventually found probable cause for an arrest warrant, the Danville Police Department said. On July 15, 27-year-old Isacc Forest of Westchester was arrested by United States Marshals Service in Park Forest. Forest is charged with two counts of aggravated battery/discharge of a firearm, one count of possession of a firearm as a repeat offender, and one count of possession of a firearm as a convicted felon. The Danville Police Department said all people are considered innocent until proven guilty. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Man arrested after victim arrives at hospital with apparent stab wound GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) An ongoing dispute involving two men resulted in one of them allegedly getting stabbed. The Grand Junction Police Department was first made aware of the assault around 5:50 p.m., Wednesday, after the victim arrived at St. Marys Hospital, 2635 N. Seventh St., with an apparent stab wound. Officers learned the man was in a physical altercation around North Sevent Street and Center Avenue. The suspect, Daniel Rodden, 34, allegedly brandished a knife and stabbed the victim several times before fleeing on foot. The victim, who knew Rodden, then walked to the hospital, where he was admitted and treated for his injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rodden was later contacted by law enforcement near 28 3/4 Road and North Avenue, where he was taken into custody without incident. He was transported to the Mesa County Detention Facility and charged with first-degree assault. The GJPD stated that it believes this was an isolated incident. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WesternSlopeNow.com. NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) A man is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to child sexual abuse charges in April. According to a release, on Aug. 8, 2024, while the Naval Criminal Investigative Service was conducting an undercover operation with Norfolk Police, 41-year-old Jason James Bush responded to an advertisement on a prostitution website which was posted by an undercover agent. The pair then exchanged numbers, the release states. Following this, the undercover agent told Bush on multiple occasions that they were a 14-year-old girl. Despite this, Bush continued to engage in sexually explicit conversations and even scheduled to meet up in Ocean View for oral sex. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said that after agreeing to meet up, Bush asked the undercover agent for nude photographs to prove he wasnt speaking with a law enforcement officer. Although Bush never received said photos, he continued with the plan and instead asked the agent if a friend would be able to vouch for her identity. After receiving a call from a separate undercover agent to confirm the identity, they agreed to meet at a different location, the release states. While on the way to the agreed location, Norfolk Police pulled over Bush, where he was then arrested. On April 3, 2025, Bush entered an agreement to plead guilty to attempting to solicit prostitution from a minor under the age of 16 and attempting to commit indecent liberties with a minor under the age of 15. In exchange, all other additional related charges were dismissed. Mr. Bush thought he was enticing a 14-year-old girl and took steps to exploit her; fortunately, on the other end of the chat was a law enforcement officer who was committed to keeping our children safe, Commonwealths Attorney Ramin Fatehi said. There is no such thing as consensual sex with a 14-year-old, and at sentencing we intend to ask for a sentence above the guidelines to account for the seriousness of Mr. Bushs actions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bush is schedule to be sentenced on Aug. 8, where he can face up to one year and eight months in prison. Continue to check WAVY.com for updates. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WAVY.com. NICHOLASVILLE, Ky. (FOX 56) High woods and rushing water made matters difficult for police as they said 23-year-old Andrew Snell took them on a search that stretched more than 10 miles. Through perseverance, it came to a peaceful end on Wednesday, on a hot, sunny day. All of us working together [law enforcement], we realized the threat to the community, and we werent going to give up, and it just shows when everybody collaborates, multi-agency, what we can accomplish, said Nicholasville Assistant Police Chief Matt Marshall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It all started when Snell attempted to rob the Caseys convenience store near Nicholasville Road and Edgewood Drive. The police said he pulled a knife on the clerk, but she did not open the cash register. That is when Snell left by car and went to the Brannon Crossing area before running into the woods and across the creek. Besides the thick foliage, its also a steep incline behind, and once we lost visual, they continued the chase for as long as they could, Marshall said. Nicholasville officers, Jessamine County deputies, and Lexington police teamed up in the search for Snell, using drones, a helicopter, and K-9s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At one point, Marshall said they had just about exhausted all resources, not knowing how much longer they would continue the hunt. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Were going to keep using all the resources we have, but I mean, at a certain point with an area this huge, our resources can only do so much. So, were not giving up at this point, Marshall said. Thanks to a heat signature detected from air units, Snell was found off Ashgrove Road and arrested without a fight, around three hours after the search started. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Snell is in the Jessamine County Detention Center facing 13 charges, including first-degree robbery. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. AUBURN, Ala. (WHNT) The man at the center of a multi-state manhunt last week that ended in Ardmore has been charged with capital murder and kidnapping in Lee County. Aaron Dontay Williams, 41, is accused of killing his wife and her daughter in Auburn and kidnapping their son. The son was the subject of an Amber Alert on July 10. Man dead, 2 injured after crash on Yarborough Road in Harvest Williams lived in Huntsville for several years, and police say he returned to the Huntsville area the week of the murders. News 19 crew members spoke to workers at the Economy Inn located on University Drive last Friday. According to motel employees, two men and a child checked into the motel around 9:30 p.m. and July 8 and they checked out the following morning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Motel officials told News 19 that they believe a family member of Aaron Williams booked a room at the motel. Local law enforcement agencies assisted the U.S. Marshals in finding Williams at the Rodeway Inn in Ardmore on July 11. The child was found unharmed. Williams was extradited from the Giles County Jail in Tennessee to the Auburn Police Department on Wednesday after waiving his right to fight extradition. While he was at the department, warrants charging him with capital murder and kidnapping were executed, and then he was transported to the Lee County Jail. 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 The capital murder charges Williams is facing include killing two or more people, killing a child under 14 and committing murder during a kidnapping. The victims were his wife, Tyeisha Williams, and her teen daughter, Zynnya Wright, 13, who were found dead inside a home during a welfare check. Court records show Aaron Williams had a lengthy criminal history in Madison County. His last arrests were for DUI in 2020 and a felon in possession of a weapon charge in early 2021. He pleaded guilty to those charges, according to court records. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. KANSAS CITY, Mo. A man is facing charges in connection with a 2024 Fourth of July weekend deadly shooting in Grandview. Jackson County Prosecutor Melesa Johnson announced on Wednesday that Steffon L. Smith is charged with second-degree murder and armed criminal action. Platte County man sentenced to 20 years in prison for brutal beating of girlfriend According to court records, Grandview police officers responded to the area of E. 140th Street and Dunoon Street, just east of Interstate 49, just after 8 a.m. on July 6, 2024, on a reported shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When officers arrived on the scene, they located the victim, identified as 26-year-old Kevin McMillian, on the ground unresponsive between two vehicles. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim sustained two gunshot wounds, according to court documents. The clothing around one of the gunshot wounds, on the left side of the chest, was burned, which led investigators to believe that McMillian was shot at close range. Detectives connected Smith to the shooting based on his DNA found on a hat left at the crime scene and on the victims hands, and cell phone data, which showed his phone being in the area during the homicide and then leaving shortly after, according to court documents. Download WDAF+ for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In jail calls between Smith and another party, he also indicated that he needed to be gone by the time the DNA test results came back. Smith is being held without bond at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A West Side man facing his fourth felony domestic violence charge waived his preliminary hearing Thursday in municipal court. Read next: Former area police officer secretly indicted on 17 charges A grand jury will now hear the case against Gerald Baytos, 59, who waived his hearing before Judge Renee DiSalvo, and bound the case over to a Mahoning County grand jury. Baytos has been in the Mahoning County jail since he was arrested July 6 by city police who were called to a Youngstown home, where a woman said she was with Baytos at a Mahoning Avenue restaurant and he was too drunk to drive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The woman said she would not allow Baytos to drive her car, so he slammed her wrist into the door then hit her in the back of the head. After she was assaulted, she decided to let him drive, reports said. When they arrived at the home, he grabbed her wrist again and scratched her hand so much it started bleeding, reports said. Reports said he would not leave her alone despite repeated requests, until she rubbed her blood on him. The woman had extreme bruising on her arm and hand but refused an ambulance, reports said. Court records show Baytos was charged with felony domestic violence in 2004, 2012 and 2019. In 2012, he was sentenced to probation in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court after pleading guilty to a third-degree felony, court records show. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2019, Baytos again pleaded guilty to a third-degree felony and was sentenced to three years probation, with the first six months to be spent in the county jail, common pleas records show. There is no record of the 2004 case in online common pleas court records. Mahoning County court records also show Baytos pleaded guilty in 2003 to an amended misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct after originally being charged with a third-degree felony domestic violence charge. Baytos was also charged with misdemeanor domestic violence in 1998, municipal court records show. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. Editors note: This story corrects the date of the preliminary hearing. We regret the error. UNITY TWP., Ohio (WKBN) A Columbiana man is facing charges following a reported break-in at a state representatives home. Nathan Johnson, 29, is facing aggravated burglary and disrupting public services charges. According to an affidavit filed in Columbiana Municipal Court, a Columbiana County Sheriffs deputy was sent to a home on Hatcher Road in New Waterford for a report of a burglary in progress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Representative Monica Robb Blasdel lives in the home, as well as her mother, Seventh District Court of Appeals Judge Carol Robb, and father Ken, along with her husband, former state Rep. Chuck Blasdel, and their children, according to a report in the Morning Journal. A legislative aide for Rep. Bobb Blasdel shared the following statement from her on Thursday: On Tuesday, July 15, 2025, there was an incident at our home, and unfortunately, members of my family were present. We want to commend the Columbiana County Sheriffs Department, dispatchers, and local police departments who promptly responded and professionally managed the situation. The alleged perpetrator is currently in custody and our family is safe. Rep. Monica Robb Blasdel The affidavit states that one of the victims reported that a man he was not familiar with pulled into the drive at a high rate of speed and got out of his truck, approaching him in an aggressive manner. The man, identified in court records as Johnson, then demanded to know where the homeowners were, the affidavit stated. The victim reported that Johnson punched him in the head, knocking him to the ground, and later threw a chair through the front window. Johnson was then able to reach through the glass to unlock the door and go inside the home, the affidavit stated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was a child locked inside another room at the time. WKBN reached out to the Columbiana County Sheriffs Office but was unable to obtain more information on the incident. Johnson was arraigned Thursday in Columbiana Municipal Court, where bond was set at $500,000. If he posts bond, he was ordered to have GPS monitoring, no contact with the alleged victims and no weapons or firearms. He is set to appear in court again at 1 p.m. July 24 for a preliminary 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 WKBN.com. YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A Niles business owner accused of bribing a former Warren city prosecutor entered a guilty plea Wednesday in federal court. Brian Votino, 53, entered a guilty plea before U.S. Judge Solomon Oliver Jr. in the U.S. Northern District Court of Ohio to a count of conspiracy. A sentencing date will be set after a presentence investigation is completed. Votino remains free on bond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Votino, along with former Assistant City Prosecutor Nick Graham, were indicted in September by a federal grand jury on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and extortion. The indictment in the case said Graham is accused of using his position as a city prosecutor to reduce criminal charges against Votino in exchange for repairs to a vehicle he had between October 2019 and January 2020. Votino, who owned an auto repair shop in Niles, had been charged with a first-degree misdemeanor operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol drugs charge along with a fifth-degree felony charge of possession of drugs. The two used coded words and phrases and discussed the scheme with an unindicted third person, the indictment said. Votino wrote a fake invoice at Grahams urging to hide the agreement, reports said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Votinos charges were ultimately amended to a first-degree misdemeanor on the drug charge and reckless operation for the OVI. He was given a suspended license and placed on probation for two years. Graham is also free on bond. He has pleaded not guilty. Court records show his trial is set to begin Aug. 18. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SYCAMORE, Ill. (WTVO) DeKalb Deputies arrested Joshua Odle, 18, for allegedly burglarizing an RV Resort. Officers were called to the RV park for reports of multiple incidents involving someone breaking into properties over the past couple of days on July 14. After investigations, Odle turned himself in to the DeKalb County Jail after an arrest warrant was obtained. He is charged with two counts of burglary. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Odle was granted pretrial release. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) A Sioux Falls man, accused of pushing a woman off a retaining wall near the 8th street bridge, faces new charges. SF Council approves $113k to raze former DSS building A grand jury has indicted 45-year-old Jubal Rattler of murder and manslaughter. Hes accused of killing 39-year-old Doris High Elk late last 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 KELOLAND.com. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A Marion, Arkansas, man has been charged with sex crimes against children who were younger than 10 years old. Crittenden County Sheriff Mike Allen says 63-year-old Kenneth Phillips has been arrested on three counts of sexual assault of a minor in the second degree, as well as aggravated assault on a minor. The sheriff said Phillips is accused of assaulting two children, but did not give other details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Man wanted after allegedly raping, grooming minor Photo courtesy of Crittenden County Sheriff Mike Allen Phillips was arrested at around 12:30 p.m. on Thursday. Allen says warrants for Phillipss arrest were issued out of the West Memphis District Court. Phillips is currently in the Crittenden County Jail. He is expected to be in court on Friday morning. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Man who died after grocery store shootouts with St. Paul police is identified originally appeared on Bring Me The News. The man who engaged in a shootout with police inside two St. Paul grocery stores and also opened fire inside a restaurant before killing himself has been identified. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says Tevin Bellaphant, 32, died when he shot himself as he spoke with police officers inside the Cub Foods-Phalen store last Friday, July 11. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was being tracked by police who had received a domestic assault call at 11:30 a.m. on the 1500 block of Jessamine Lane. He had allegedly assaulted a female relative, fired a gun into the home, and then took a 4-year-old child without permission. Police found Bellaphant and the child inside the Aldi store at 1160 Clarence Street. As officers spoke with him, Bellaphant proceeded to shove one of them and ran towards the front of the store, leaving the child behind. The scene outside Cub Foods on July 11.Bring Me The News The two officers, identified as St. Paul PD Officer Melissa Leistikow and Sgt. Megan Kosloske, began to chase Bellaphant when he "suddenly fell to the ground near the register." As he got back to his feet, he pulled out a gun and fired at the officers, who fired back before Bellephant ran out of the store. As he exited the store, Bellephant allegedly fired at St. Paul PD Officer Christopher Leon, who returned fire at Bellephant continued to run across Clarence Street. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He then proceeded to the nearby restaurant Destiny Cafe 2, trying to get inside only to find people who had fled to take cover were trying to close the doors on him. Bellephant got his arm and gun inside the doors and fired, striking and injuring a man and a woman. Chased by Officer Leon, Bellephant then ran across the road into the Cub Foods, which was evacuated by police as negotiations began, with Bellephant "expressing thoughts of suicide." "Bellaphant shot himself while officers were speaking with him," the BCA said, with Bellephant pronounced dead at the scene. The three officers involved have been placed on standard administrative leave. The incident is being investigated by the BCA. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared. A man from Devon drowned while snorkelling with sea turtles off a small, uninhabited Caribbean island, an inquest has heard. Retired newspaper editor Gareth Weekes, 77, was on a week-long yachting trip in St Vincent and the Grenadines when the incident happened in March 2023, Exeter Coroner's Court was told on Thursday. His wife, Alison Weekes, said she and her husband were not told about the currents when they were dropped by dinghy on the beach of the island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She told the hearing: "I fully accept his death was accidental, but we had no warnings about currents and no means of communication from the uninhabited island - the dinghy disappeared." The yacht's captain and the Dutch company that organised the holiday said that the swimming and snorkelling trips were free activities, but the risks and responsibilities lay with the guests themselves. Mrs Weekes told the coroner she believes the sailing company should improve their safety procedures. Retired journalist Gareth Weekes was snorkelling with his wife when they became separated [BBC] Mrs Weekes said her husband - a former editor of the Tavistock Times Gazette - was an "adequate swimmer" and had swum from the yacht on previous days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said Mr Weekes chose not to use flippers on the day in question, as they were difficult to walk with on the beach. They entered the sea together, but she left the water when her mask misted up, before realising her husband was missing. She appealed to other tourists for help, before one of the yacht's dinghies returned after 20 minutes, when a "frantic" Mrs Weekes told the crewman her husband was missing. The crew searched for Mr Weekes, finding him clinging to ropes at the edge of the snorkelling zone. They took Mr Weekes back to the yacht, where he was given CPR, but could not be saved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A post mortem concluded he died from drowning and he also had atrial fibrillation and Parkinson's Disease. The senior Devon coroner, Philip Spinney, recorded a conclusion of accidental death. Follow BBC Devon on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@bbc.co.uk. Related internet links A 51-year-old man with what police call an extensive criminal history is accused of shooting two people to death in Kent earlier this week. The Kent Police Department says that they found the suspect with the help of the Snohomish County U.S. Marshals Task Force in Seattle. The man is accused of shooting and killing two people at an apartment complex on Benson Road SE, where Benson Road SE becomes 108th Ave SE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Kent PD, witnesses said they heard an argument before they heard gunshots. Witnesses then saw a man lying on the ground outside, who appeared to have been shot. That 34-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. Officers went into the apartment where witnesses reported hearing gunshots and found a 46-year-old woman dead inside. No one else was in the apartment and there were no other known victims. The suspect was booked into the King County Jail on unrelated charges. He could face charges from the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office for the shooting. Man facing animal cruelty charge after dog left tied to trash can in extreme heat A man is facing a charge of animal cruelty after he allegedly left a dog tied to a trash can in the extreme heat in Attleboro. The dog was found outside of 101 Park Street on Wednesday morning, according to the Attleboro Police Department. That address is located a short distance from Sturdy Memorial Hospital. Investigators believe the dog was left alone in the heat, tied to the trash can for more than two hours, with only what appeared to be a Styrofoam dish of water. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police released a surveillance image of a man who was seen walking the dog around 9 a.m. Wednesday, asking the public if they recognized him. In an update on Thursday morning, police said that they had identified and charged the pictured individual with cruelty to animals. His name wasnt released. Much of Massachusetts, including Bristol County, was under a heat advisory on Wednesday. Forecasters warned of heat index values of 95 to 100 degrees. The dog is now being cared for by animal control. The suspect will be called to court to face a judge at a later time. An investigation is ongoing. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) A man who was arrested after being found locked overnight in a North Side store has been found incompetent to stand trial, but there is a chance his competency can be restored. Because of the evaluation done on Aaron Jones, 30, he will now be treated at Heartland Behavioral Health with a goal of restoring him to competency. Jones is charged with breaking and entering, a fifth-degree felony. After his case was bound over to Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Judge Anthony Donofrio ordered a competency evaluation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A competency hearing was held Thursday before Judge Donofrio. Youngstown police arrested Jones on April 5 after police were called about 6:05 a.m. to the Walgreens on Belmont Avenue, where Jones met them at the front door, which was locked. He then went to a back door that reports said was able to be opened easily from the inside. He told police he went to the restroom about 9 or 10 p.m. the night before, got left inside and fell asleep. Jones said he called 911 to be let out, reports said. Reports said Jones pockets and pants looked stuffed, and when police checked, they found a camera, lighters, cigarettes, condoms and other items. Police went inside the store to make sure no one else was there and found several large trash bags in the hallway where the restrooms were. The bags were filled with several thousands of dollars of merchandise, reports said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police also found a hooded sweatshirt inside they believe belongs to Jones, reports said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A man who stabbed a Las Vegas tourist more than two dozen times on a city bus will serve at least eight years in prison, a judge ruled earlier this month. Clark County District Court Judge Ron Israel sentenced Devinski Tunggadewa, 27, to an 8-to-36-year sentence as part of a plea agreement. Earlier this year, Tunggadewa agreed to the prison sentence on charges including attempted murder and battery, records said. Video showed Tunggadewa stabbing Joseph Lopez, of California, during a ride on June 20, 2024, prosecutors said. Tunggadewa faced charges for allegedly stabbing Lopez on one bus and then stabbing two men on another bus before battering a casino employee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before stabbing Lopez, Tunggadewa appears to talk to himself and wave around a knife for several minutes. Within minutes, Tunggadewa leapt out of his seat and stabbed Lopez about 27 times, according to a lawsuit Lopez filed against the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada. In the second series of stabbings on a second bus, which happened on Fremont Street near 10th Street, Tunggadewa became angry when a passenger noted Tunggadewa was spitting on the floor, documents said. Tunggadewa then stabbed two people on that bus, including to the victims faces. Tunggadewa then allegedly approached a person working at the Circa Resort & Casino as he tried to enter a cocktail bar. The employee noted that Tunggadewas hands were covered in blood. Tunggadewa then allegedly hit the employee in the head and ran off. In the wake of a series of violent crimes in 2023, including the murder, RTC added more security guards. The agency has since switched security contractors, adding more than 300 armed guards to the system, according to Tom Atteberry, RTCs senior director for safety and security operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With credit for time served, Tunggadewa will be eligible for parole in 2032. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PORTSMOUTH, R.I. (WPRI) A man was arrested in Portsmouth last week, accused of attempting to solicit a minor for sex, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Josue Santiago Perez Gomez, 29, was charged on Friday, July 12, with patronizing a minor for commercial sex, indecent solicitation of a child, and procurement of sexual conduct for a fee. The following day, he was administratively arrested by ICE New England after reportedly being released on bond from criminal custody. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE said Perez Gomez is an illegally present Guatemalan national who entered the United States at an unknown time without inspection. He remains in ICE custody pending removal proceedings. NEXT: ICE: Agents arrested known MS-13 gang member in Providence Josue Santiago Perez Gomez (Courtesy: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) 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. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) A man who was shot and killed near the intersection of Main Street and Arch Street in Springfield has been identified. Woman seriously injured in Springfield shooting on Parker Street The Hampden County District Attorneys Office states that on Saturday at around 11:20 p.m., officers were sent to the intersection of Main Street and Arch Street for a report of a gunshot victim. When officers arrived, they found a man with gunshot wounds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center for their injuries, where they died shortly after midnight on Sunday. The man has been identified as 35-year-old Webstern Grant-Stovall of Springfield. The Springfield Police Homicide Unit is investigating in conjunction with the Hampden District Attorneys Murder Unit. There is no ongoing public safety threat. If anyone has information on the shooting, call Springfield Police Detectives at 413-787-6355 or anonymously Text-A-Tip. Text CRIMES (2-7-4-6-3-7), type SOLVE and your tip. 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. DENVER (KDVR) A 37-year-old man is dead following an afternoon shooting in Greeley on Wednesday, according to police. The Greeley Police Department reported that officers responded to a report of a shooting at a multifamily residence located at 817 26th Ave., which is north of Highway 34. The police department said that officers arrived on scene at about 12:22 p.m. and found a male with obvious injuries. Officers provided medical attention until emergency medical personnel arrived and transported the victim to the North Colorado Medical Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Free on Your TV New FOX31+ App for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV The victim was identified as a 37-year-old resident of Greeley. He died of his injuries after being transported to the hospital. The Weld County Coroners Office will release his identity after notifying his next of kin. The Greeley Police Department said the incident appears to be an isolated event and that the investigation was active. Anyone with information was asked to call Detective Losasso at 970-351-5446 or email him at collin.losasso@greeleypd.com. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX31 Denver. ADAMS COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) The man who was accused of sexually assaulting a Gettysburg College student on campus, then messaging her, So I raped you, was in court Thursday for his plea deal. Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to his felony sexual assault charge in front of Senior Judge Kevin A. Hess, online court documents show. Sentencing is scheduled to take place in October. Close Thanks for signing up! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News Alerts Shannon Keeler, the former Gettysburg College student who pursued the case for more than a decade, faced Cleary in court Thursday for the first time since the encounter. Law enforcement was searching for Cleary, who was in France, after a warrant for his arrest was filed in 2021. The warrant shows Cleary stalked Keeler, who was 18 at the time, at a campus party in 2013, then sneaking into her dorm and sexually assaulting her as she texted for help. Cleary did not return to campus following the assault. Keeler underwent a rape exam the same day. She also spent time gathering evidence to take to law enforcement, but it wasnt until 2021 when she saw Facebook messages from Cleary and took those to the authorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So I raped you, was one of the messages Cleary sent through Facebook Messenger. Cleary is an American who has been in custody since he was arrested in France last year after a years-long search. A lawyer for Cleary says he experienced several mental health episodes there. 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 ABC27. WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) Two would-be theft suspects fled the scene of a crime, but not before unloading their haul when the person whose items they were trying to steal returned home with a pistol in his hand. Read next: Suspect charged with arson in fire that destroyed Warren home Police were called to an Atlantic Street NE home after a man was alerted to an active burglary at his residence while he was next door. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to an incident report, a man was next door to his house when he got an alert on his phone that someone was at his residence. The man went over to his house, where reports state he found a man loading items into the trunk of a Silver Honda, along with a woman sitting in the passengers seat. The man said he had his pistol in his hand and told the burglars to take his stuff out of the vehicle, and the male thief complied due to fear that he would be shot. The homeowner told police the culprits had taken things from his garage which had a garage door that didnt lock and inside his actual home, which he had left unlocked. The suspects unloaded their haul back into the mans driveway and told him they had permission to come get items out of the house, claiming an unknown third party told them it was OK, according to reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pair fled when the man went next door to call police. However, reports state he got the license plate number of the vehicle and video footage of the incident. The man also noted he found an electric chainsaw in the front yard that did not belong to him. At the time of this report, no suspects have been identified. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. KANSAS CITY, Mo. A 25-year-old man has pleaded guilty in the 2022 Kansas City, Kansas shooting death of 17-year-old Lorenzo Johnson. According to court records, Jaylen Butler entered a guilty plea in Wyandotte County Court on Wednesday, July 9, on the felony charge of voluntary manslaughter. Platte County man sentenced to 20 years in prison for brutal beating of girlfriend The shooting was reported on the night of June 13, 2022, at Brown Strauss Steel on Kindleberger Road, in KCKs Fairfax District. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said the business was open when they responded to the shooting. Officers found the victim, a Kansas City, Missouri teenager, later identified as Johnson, in the parking lot. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators said Johnson worked at Brown Strauss Steel. Butler was initially charged with second-degree murder on June 16, 2022. That charge was later amended to voluntary manslaughter on April 16, 2025. The case did go to a jury trial that began on March 31 and ended with a mistrial on April 3. The case was then reinstated on April 16. Download the FOX4 News app on iPhone and Android Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A sentencing date for Butler has been scheduled for 10 a.m. on Aug. 1, 2025, in Wyandotte County Court. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. SPARTANBURG COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) A man has pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in connection with the homicide of a missing person in 2022. According to the 7th Circuit Solicitors Office, Lajohn Devarus Gaither, of Lancaster, was sentenced to 28 years in prison for the death of Franklin Hines Jr. An investigation was initiated when Hines, also known as Solo, was reported missing in 2022. Hines was last seen during the early hours of April 10, 2022, leaving a nightclub with several individuals, including Gaither, Jiquan Nasir Stover and Anttavis Deuantae Foster. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A few days later, Hines was found shot to death near Cross Anchor Road in Woodruff. Based on surveillance videos, witness and suspect interviews, deputies with the Spartanburg County Sheriffs Office said there was sufficient evidence to charge all three men with murder and possession of a weapon during the commission of a violent crime. On Wednesday, Gaither entered an Alford plea to voluntary manslaughter. An Alford plea is a plea in which the defendant admits that there is evidence to support a conviction but does not confess to guilt. Officials have not shared the decision that led to changing Gaithers initial murder charge to voluntary manslaughter at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Online records also show that Stovers original charges were dismissed in May 2022. He is now facing an accessory after the fact charge. Stovers father, James Jamar Smith, was also charged in the homicide with accessory after the fact of a felony. All three other defendants cases remain 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 WSPA 7NEWS. Asharq News: Syria has been subjected to a number of Israeli attacks. Multiple members of Syrias security forces and civilians were killed. What is Chinas position and what is its view of the situation in Syria? (Similar question from Al Jazeera) Lin Jian: Syrias sovereignty and territorial integrity should be respected. In particular, given the continuous ongoing turbulence in the Middle East, there shouldnt be any action that may lead to escalation. Reuters: U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he thinks China will soon sentence people to death for fentanyl manufacturing and distribution. Whats Chinas response to these remarks? Lin Jian: Weve repeatedly made it clear that fentanyl is the U.S.s problem, not Chinas. Its the U.S.s responsibility to solve the issue. Despite the goodwill China has shown, the U.S. wrongly slapped fentanyl tariffs on Chinese imports. The move has dealt a heavy blow to China-U.S. dialogue and cooperation on counternarcotics, and gravely hurt Chinas interests. If the U.S. truly wants cooperation with China, it needs to face the facts squarely, and seek dialogue with China based on equality, respect and mutual benefit. Beijing Youth Daily: According to a recent UN assessment report on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, nearly half of the goals are moving too slowly and 18 percent of the goals have gone backwards. UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said that We are in a global development emergency but the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are still within reach, but only if we act with urgency, unity, and unwavering resolve. Whats your comment? Lin Jian: As we have seen, rising unilateralism and protectionism is impacting the global economic recovery. International development cooperation lacks momentum. The implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is seriously lagging behind. Certain country even openly rejects and denounces this overarching document for international development cooperation. Development crisis has become a real challenge facing all countries. China has always taken strong actions to advance global development. The Chinese government has included the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development into the 14th Five-Year Plan. China has already realized relevant SDGs in poverty alleviation, public health and other areas ahead of schedule, contributing significantly to the implementation effort worldwide. China actively promotes international development cooperation. China put forward and has been implementing the Global Development Initiative. We have deepened cooperation under this initiative with over 20 development agencies in recent years, benefiting more than 30 million people in over 60 countries. At last years G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, President Xi Jinping outlined Chinas eight actions for global development to facilitate international cooperation in food security, scientific and technological innovation, green transition and other key areas and inject more impetus into global development. Realizing the SDGs calls for solidarity and action. To meet the challenges, we need to renew the very purpose of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, reinvigorate the global development partnership, remain committed to development as an important pillar of the UN, and bring development back to the center of the international agenda. China stands ready to work with all parties for a more prosperous world. RT TV: Yesterday, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the plan of constructing new highways in the East Section of the M-12 Highway which is part of the Western Europe-Western China International Transit Corridor and leads up to Russias border with China, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea. How will the highway impact the development of tourism and logistics between China and Russia? Lin Jian: Under the strategic guidance of the two presidents, China-Russia transport cooperation has maintained sustained, sound and steady development, with cross-border connectivity making significant progress and internal driving forces for the mutually-beneficial cooperation becoming increasingly robust. China stands ready to work with Russia to continue deepening cooperation on transport, and tap the potential for transit transport, so as to facilitate cross-border travels, attract more mutual visits of tourists, and further enrich the China-Russia comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era. TASS: Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko said recently that Russia is negotiating the restoration of the RussiaIndiaChina (RIC) format with Beijing and New Delhi. He pointed out that Russia remains positive towards promoting the operation of this mechanism. Does the Foreign Ministry have a comment on this? Lin Jian: China-Russia-India cooperation not only serves the respective interests of our three countries, but also helps uphold peace, security, stability and progress in the region and in the world. China stands ready to maintain communication with Russia and India on advancing the trilateral cooperation. AFP: Im just wondering if you could confirm that the China-EU leaders summit will take place soon and can you provide any details on it? Lin Jian: I have no information to share at the moment. WEST POINT, Miss. (WJTV) A man was found guilty of capital murder in connection to a Clay County homicide. The Daily Journal reported Emerson Houston was sentenced to life in prison for the March 2022 death of Mikale Craven, 41. 19-year-old charged in Hattiesburg hit-and-run According to prosecutors, Houston and three others planned to rob Craven, but their planned changed when Craven answered the door wielding a knife and machete. Investigators said Houston and William Austin Hill were both armed and fired shots. According to officials, Craven was found in a ditch with gunshot wounds. Emerson Houston (Courtesy: Clay Co. Sheriffs Office) William Austin Hill (Courtesy: MDOC) Greyson Klutts (Courtesy: Clay Co. Sheriffs Office) Authorities said brothers Greyson Klutts and Jeremy Klutts, Jr., were also charged in connection to the shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hill pled guilty to capital murder in January and was sentenced to 41 years in prison. The brothers have not been tried. 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. GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) An American extradited from France to face charges that he sexually assaulted a fellow Pennsylvania college student in 2013 and later sent her a Facebook message that said So I raped you pleaded guilty Thursday. Ian Cleary, 32, pleaded guilty to second-degree sexual assault more than a decade after Shannon Keeler says he sneaked into her first-year dorm at Gettysburg College on the eve of winter break and assaulted her. Cleary's guilty plea was the first time she'd seen him since the assault. I had been thinking about this moment for 12 years, said Keeler, who clenched her husband's hand as Cleary was led into court by deputies. She called it a surreal moment. A decade ago, a former prosecutor had declined the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its taken a lot of twists and turns to get to this point, said Keeler, now 30. It took a lot of people doing the right thing to get us here. Judge Kevin Hess set an Oct. 20 sentencing date. The two sides proposed a four- to eight-year sentence, which the judge can accept or not. Keeler, in interviews with The Associated Press, described her decade-long efforts to persuade authorities to pursue charges, starting hours after the assault. She renewed the quest in 2021, after finding a series of disturbing Facebook messages from his account. Cleary has been in custody since his arrest on minor, unrelated charges in Metz, France, in April 2024. A defense lawyer told the judge Thursday that Cleary experienced several mental health episodes there and was hospitalized around the time he sent the Facebook messages in 2019. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cleary left Gettysburg after the assault and finished college in Silicon Valley, California, where he'd grown up. He then got a masters degree and worked for Tesla before moving overseas, where he spent time writing medieval fiction, according to his online posts. The AP published an investigation on the case and on the broader reluctance among prosecutors to pursue campus sex assault charges in May 2021. An indictment followed weeks later. Authorities in the U.S. and Europe tried to track Cleary down for the next three years, but seemed unable to follow his trail, online or otherwise. In court Thursday, defense lawyer John Abom said Cleary was homeless at times and unaware of the charges. Adams County District Attorney Brian Sinnett on Thursday said he has his doubts, but cannot prove that Cleary was on the run, so it's unlikely to be an issue at sentencing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second-degree sexual assault charge carries a maximum 10 years in prison. His family members have declined to comment on the case and have not attended his court hearings. Abom also declined to comment on Cleary's behalf Thursday. The AP typically does not name people who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they come forward publicly, as Keeler has done. I hope that we as a society, the institutions around us, can make truly successful legal outcomes more viable for victims, she said after the plea. "It starts with listening to victims and making sure their voices are heard, she said, even if the systems slow to catch up. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A Warren County man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to arson and assault charges. Michael Burch, 62, of Hamilton Township, was sentenced to 21-24 years in prison on several counts related to a house fire and police standoff that occurred in March 2024. Mother of deceased 7-year-old boy appears in court Court records state on March 29, 2024, Burch poured gasoline onto the carpet in the residence he shared with his girlfriend, who was home at the time. He then lit the gasoline on fire, setting the home ablaze. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials say Burch also threw additional gasoline out through a window onto his girlfriend, who had escaped outside. The fire destroyed the home and damaged several others in the area. During the fire response, Burch fled to his backyard where he held a gun to his head in a standoff with police. At one point, Burch pointed his weapon at a responding officer, who attempted to fire in self-defense, but the firearm failed to discharge. Burch was finally taken into custody with the assistance of a canine officer. One shot was fired into the ground during the altercation, but no injuries were reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Burch entered a guilty plea to three counts of aggravated arson, one count of felonious assault on a police officer, one count of inducing panic and one count of obstructing official business. He will spend the next 21-24 years in prison for these crimes. Burch will also be required to register his address as an Arson Offender for the rest of 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 WDTN.com. BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) A man formerly from the Town of Covington was sentenced on Thursday after he raped a woman in May 2024, the Wyoming County District Attorneys Office announced. Justin Tilton, 39, forcibly raped a 22-year-old woman on or about May 13, 2024 in Covington in Wyoming County, officials said. He was found guilty of first-degree rape in May of this year. I am extremely proud of the victims bravery and strength throughout the duration of this prosecution, said Wyoming County District Attorney Vincent Hemming. The victim is an inspiration to sexual assault survivors everywhere. Our office takes sexual assault cases very seriously and we are pleased by the sentence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tilton was sentenced to 20 years in prison followed by 20 years of post-release supervision. He is required to register as a sex offender and is subject to an order of protection until 2072. Latest Local News Kayleigh Hunter-Gasperini joined the News 4 team in 2024 as a Digital Video Producer. She is a graduate of Chatham University. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) Judge Scott Paccagini has sentenced Jarrid Maynard, 26, to serve 3 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for sexually assaulting a teen. Maynard was found guilty on one count of aggravated sexual assault of the victim on May 23, 2025. Maynard sexually assaulted the 16-year-old girl in May 2020. Jarrid Maynard. Photo: Winnebago County Jail When officers confronted Maynard, he told them the incident was a mistake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maynard was arrested in Freeport on weapons charges in 2022 while the case was still active. If you are a survivor of domestic or sexual violence, visit our Stateline Strong page for resources. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyStateline | WTVO News, Weather and Sports. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) A man has been sentenced after authorities claimed he stole firearms during the clean up of Spencers historic flood of 2024. The US Department of Justice said Hector Benavidez, 38, of Texas, was working as part of a cleanup crew for intense flooding in Spencer, Iowa. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A gun audit at a Spencer store noted two firearms were not accounted for, and Benavidezs cleaning crew had access to the area where they were being stored. Officials claimed Benavidez admitted to taking the firearms and keeping them in his hotel room. Benavidez was not allowed to possess firearms because he had been convicted of a felony robbery out of Texas. He was charged with one count of possession of firearms by a felon and one count of possession of stolen firearms and pleaded guilty. Benavidez was sentenced to 42 months in prison, and he has to serve a two-year term of supervised release after hes finished his prison 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 SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. LYNN HAVEN, Fla. (WMBB) A Lynn Haven man is in the hospital tonight, with what are being called extreme burns over the majority of his body. Bay County Sheriffs deputies say he received them when he intentionally set his house on fire this morning. At 10:20 a.m., the Bay County Sheriffs Office received a call about a house fire and possible explosion on Bingoose Lane in North Shore. The gas exploded, resulting in an explosion and significant damage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a very quick response from Bay County Fire and Panama City Fire and allow them to get the fire under control pretty quickly, Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said. Authorities believe this all began as a domestic violence incident. We were able to locate a female, said that she indicated that shes estranged from her husband. She was potentially held against her will this morning, Ford said. Despite significant burns, investigators say the man fled the scene in his vehicle and got on Highway 77. When deputies conducted a traffic stop, they say the vehicle was doused in gas. Hes now in the hospital getting treatment for the burns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fortunately, the wife is okay, along with the kids. They were staying at a different location, to my understanding, and they were not here when the situation occurred, although she had been here earlier in the day, Ford added. Ford says the explosion caused major damages. It shifted the house off its foundation, blew out the windows, and the front door was blown across the front yard. The State Fire Marshalls office has joined the investigation. We anticipate some pretty serious charges against the suspect at this time, Ford said. The suspects identity has not been released. News 13 will have more details on this case as they become 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 mypanhandle.com. A man living in Southern California was sentenced to prison for defrauding the government of over $1.3 million through a scheme that targeted COVID-19 unemployment and disability benefits. The man was identified as Abiola Femi Quadri, 43, of Pasadena, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. According to court documents, Quadri is a Nigerian citizen who acquired permanent residency in the U.S. through what he described as a fake wedding in messages sent to a woman who was not his wife. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Quadri was living in the San Gabriel Valley from 2021 to 2024, he claimed COVID unemployment and disability insurance benefits by submitting more than 100 fraudulent applications using stolen identities. The applications were submitted in both California and Nevada, prosecutors said. Through this scheme, he collected over $1.3 million. He used the stolen funds to pay for commercial developments in Nigeria, including the construction of a 120-room resort hotel called the Oyins International. The property also included a nightclub, a mall and additional high-end amenities, court documents said. On Quadris phone, investigators found photos of 17 counterfeit checks that totaled more than $3.3 million, along with messages about negotiating the checks. Some checks were also made payable to shell businesses held in the names of Quadris aliases, prosecutors said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In September 2024, Quadri was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport, where he was planning to board a flight to Nigeria. In his California application, Quadri had fraudulently told federal officials that he provided daycare services to developmentally disabled children through an Altadena company called Rock of Peace. When agents searched Quadris residence, they found the childrens misappropriated food-aid debit cards, officials said. On Jan. 2, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. On July 10, he was sentenced to 135 months in prison for the crimes. He was also ordered to pay $1,356,229 in restitution and a $35,000 fine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Homeland Security Investigations and the California Employment Development Department Investigation Division. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WESTBURY, N.Y. (PIX11) A man was critically injured after he was pulled into an MRI machine in Westbury on Wednesday, according to the Nassau County Police Department. Police said it happened at Nassau Open MRI on Old Country Road around 4:30 p.m. The 61-year-old man was accompanying a patient when he entered an MRI room without permission, according to authorities. More Local News Police said the man was wearing a large metallic chain around his neck, causing him to be sucked into the machine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man suffered a medical episode, according to authorities. Police said he was taken to a local hospital in critical condition. Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018. She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. UPDATE: Crittenden County Sheriff Mike Allen says Addison was taken into custody in Marked Tree, Arkansas, and taken to the Crittenden County Jail. MEMPHIS, Tenn. The Crritenden County Sheriffs Department is searching for a man accused of rape and grooming a minor. Johnathan Addison, 25, has a warrant out for his arrest for allegedly grooming and raping a minor, and aggravated assault. Johnathan Anderson, Courtesy of Crittenden County Sheriffs Dept. The sheriffs department said Crittenden County CrimeStoppers is offering up to $2,000 as a reward for information on where Addison is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you have information that could help the sheriffs department, call 870-732-4444. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. MARLBORO COUNTY, S.C. (WBTW) With less than two weeks before classes are set to resume, registration has been suspended for all Marlboro County students except those attending high school, officials announced Wednesday. The move comes just ahead of the state Board of Education voting to take financial control away from the troubled 3,200-student district and as anger mounts from residents over its local leadership. Officials said the districts website and school pages will be updated regularly with information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, the school board halted a controversial downsizing plan that would have closed Clio Elementary and shifted students to Bennettsville and Blenheim. That move was put on hold following guidance by the state Department of Education, News13 reported. State education officials issued a declaration of fiscal emergency for Marlboro County in February after spending more than three of the previous five years under fiscal watch. The school board failed to adopt a 2025-26 budget by June 30, when the previous fiscal year ended. * * * 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. NEED TO KNOW Lucille Ann McManus, 63, was found naked with a head injury in her home in November 2023 Her husband Brian McManus was arrested a few days later He was having an affair, which Lucille found out when he sent her a message meant for his girlfriend A former police officer from England killed his Georgia wife after she learned about his affair silencing her so she wouldnt expose his secret about his immigration status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brian McManus, a 57-year-old UK native and former London police officer, was found guilty of the 2023 murder of his wife, 63-year-old Lucille Ann McManus, the Houston County District Attorney's Office confirmed in a statement on Facebook this week. The investigation began on Nov. 24, 2023, when police responding to a report of a suicide in a Warner Robins, Ga., home found Lucille on the bed with an injury to her head, the Warner Robins Police Department said at the time. She was naked at the time her body was found, per police, FOX 5 reported. Brian, who called 911, told police he found her dead after returning home from a walk with his dog, The Macon Telegraph, FOX 5 and 11 Alive reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, prosecutors said during his trial that he exhibited no signs of concern for Lucille and became emotional only when he spoke about being the prime suspect, FOX 5 and The Macon Telegraph reported. Investigators soon learned that Brian met Lucille on Tinder and the couple married within three months, per the two outlets. Several witnesses testified during the trial that the couple married so Brian could get his green card, according to The Macon Telegraph, FOX 5 and 11 Alive. Brian was reportedly having an affair with a woman in Florida which Lucille learned when he accidentally sent her a message that was meant for his lover, authorities said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lucille threatened to report him for their 'sham' marriage, officials said in the statement. National Gun Violence Memorial Lucille Ann McManus Lucille Ann McManus 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 the investigation, Brian tried to deflect blame in multiple directions suggesting a staged robbery gone wrong, accusing Lucilles granddaughter and her boyfriend, and claiming his wife died by suicide, FOX 5 reported. Brian was a former police officer in London, where he was fired after several women said they were sexually threatened by him, prosecutors said, per the outlets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was sentenced to life in prison without parole, The Telegraph reported. If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People Demetria Marshall carries supplies for the 2023 J. Millard Tawes Crab and Clam Bake through ankle-deep tidal waters that flooded the Somers Cove Marina. Crisfield was one of the cities in line for so-called "BRICS" environmental resilience funding until it was frozen by the Trump administration. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Maryland joined 19 other states this week in a lawsuit aimed at reversing the Trump administrations termination of the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, a key disaster mitigation program. The program, administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, funds state, tribal and local government projects that help fortify people and property against natural disasters, funding things like flood barriers, building reinforcements, wastewater infrastructure improvements or hardened electric grids. The funds can also be used to prepare emergency plans or identify hazards within communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FEMA typically covers up to 75% of a projects cost, although smaller, rural communities can receive up to 90%. The suit, filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, said the wildly successful program, operating under different names over several decades, has helped communities avoid $150 billion in disaster-related costs. But, in what the states called an illegal move, the administration suspended the BRIC program in April as part of a larger strategy to do away with FEMA. BRIC funding was intended to pay for critical flood protection projects in Crisfield and South Baltimore and is now in jeopardy because of the Trump administrations funding cuts, Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said in a statement announcing the suit. With the deadly flooding weve recently seen in New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas, this is the worst possible time to cut life-saving disaster preparedness funding. The suit is co-led by Attorneys General Andrea Joy Campbell of Massachusetts and Nick Brown of Washington. Other states involved in the suit, besides Maryland, are Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. Since opening for applications in 2020, BRIC has funded over 2,000 projects with about $4.5 billion in funds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Rhode Island, for example, the University of Rhode Island has been using BRIC money to develop a modeling tool for flood risks in the states coastal and inland waters. The project had been awarded $976,488 across multiple BRIC grants, but a $348,978 grant for one project is threatened by the BRIC termination, the lawsuit said. URIs BRIC project cannot move forward without BRIC funding, the lawsuit reads. As a result of the termination of the BRIC program, Rhode Island will have less data and information regarding inland flooding and inland flood risk. In Maryland, $36 million awarded last year under BRIC toward a comprehensive flood mitigation project for low-lying Crisfield. The loss of that money puts Crisfields entire flood mitigation project at risk, since many of the non-federal resources the city leveraged to meet its expected federal cost-share responsibilities required the city to have a comprehensive funding plan in place, that included federal funds, the lawsuit says. The Chesapeake Bay Journal estimated that ending the BRIC program may have affected as much as $1 billion in projects across the six states in the bay watershed, including $32 million to restore wetlands along the Patapsco Rivers Middle Branch near Baltimore. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit alleges that BRICs suspension violates the separation of powers as well as the Administrative Procedure Act. Lawsuits against the Trump administration over funding cuts have frequently employed similar arguments. The President understands that he and his Administration do not have the power to unilaterally withhold Congressionally allocated funding to the states, and yet here we are again, Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha said in a statement on the suit. The lawsuit also argues that the elimination of BRIC defies the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. The official who ended the program Cameron Hamilton, who served as acting administrator of FEMA from January until his firing in May was never nominated to serve as FEMA Administrator, nor was he confirmed by the Senate, according to the suit. Page not found FEMA, which is itself an agency within the Department of Homeland Security, did not immediately return a request for comment about the lawsuit Wednesday. The agency posted a notice about the programs termination to its website on April 4, although the link now returns a Page not found error as of this writing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A cached version of the memo stored on Archive.org reads, The BRIC program was yet another example of a wasteful and ineffective FEMA program. It was more concerned with political agendas than helping Americans affected by natural disasters. An April 16 memo clarified that FEMA would cancel applications for the 2024 funding cycle, as well as all BRIC projects not yet obligated from fiscal years 2020 through 2023, and annul obligated projects yet to begin construction. Unspent funds, which FEMA cited at over $3.6 billion, would be returned to the Disaster Relief Fund. The advisory noted that FEMA would craft a new mitigation strategy that is more responsive to state and local requirements. Wednesdays lawsuit claims that the abrupt termination of funding has caused serious harm as states are not able to move forward with projects and will end up wasting time, effort and money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each day that passes causes more harm and increases the chances that these projects will not be able to go forward, as communities face expiring permits, escalating costs, and eroding stakeholder trust, the suit reads. FEMAs efforts to harden communities against disaster began with pilot programs in the late 1990s, and were formalized in 2002 with the Pre-Disaster Mitigation program, which also offered subsidies for mitigation. In response to Hurricane Katrina a year prior, Congress passed legislation in 2006 that furthered mitigation funding as one of FEMAs key functions. In 2018, legislation reformed FEMA offerings to make them more consistent, and in September 2020, the first applications for the BRIC program opened. -This story first appeared in Rhode Island Current, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Rhode Island Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Janine L. Weisman for questions: info@rhodeislandcurrent.com. YORK COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) A Maryland-based manufacturer with a facility in York County is expanding with a second location, creating dozens of new jobs for Pennsylvanians, the Shapiro Administration announced Thursday. Baltimore Fabrication is acquiring a 35,000 square foot building at 1 Church Road in York, with a $6.2 million investment. This is near its other location at 101 Mundis Race Road in York. Governor Josh Shapiro, in a statement, said the expansion is going to create more opportunity for York. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Baltimore Fabrications decision to double down on Pennsylvania and open a second manufacturing operation here is going to create more opportunity in York County and its another reminder that were making real progress on growth and economic development, Governor Shapiro said. My Administration is committed to creating real opportunity across the Commonwealth thats why we are investing in a talented, skilled workforce, cutting red tape and eliminating permit backlogs, and creating shovel-ready sites for companies that want to move or expand in Pennsylvania. We are going to continue to make these types of strategic investments in real economic growth for Pennsylvania businesses and workers and keep our Commonwealth moving forward. Pennsylvania high schooler wins $15K national duck tape prom dress competition The expansion is expected to create 75 new full-time jobs over the next three years, and will also retain 47 current positions, the Shapiro Admin. says. Baltimore Fabrication deals with fabricating and erecting steel frames for buildings and handles different metal fabrications like staircases, railings and other custom metal components. The company was founded in 2014 in Baltimore. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were incredibly excited to expand our operations into York, President of Baltimore Fabrication Mark Rich said. This regions rich manufacturing heritage and skilled workforce make it the perfect fit for our continued growth. Were grateful for the support of Governor Shapiro and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in helping make this expansion possible. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now abc27 Evening Newsletter Baltimore Fabrication received funding from the Department of Community and Economic Development, which includes a $250,000 Pennsylvania First Grant and a $200,000 WEDnet grant to train workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amazon announced last month it was investing $20 million in Pennsylvania to establish multiple high-tech cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) innovation campuses across Pennsylvania. The project was coordinated by Governor Shapiros BusinessPA team. The Shapiro Admin has created nearly 11,000 jobs and has secured more than $25.2 billion in private sector investments since taking 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 ABC27. BALTIMORE Charter school leaders are expressing concerns about newly proposed state regulations that they say could force schools to close. Among the regulations discussed Tuesday at a meeting of the Maryland State Department of Educations Charter Workgroup is an increase in administrative costs from 2% to 5%. Those funds are managed centrally by school districts rather than by individual charter schools. Will McKenna, founder and executive director of Afya Baltimore, which runs two city charter schools, said the new regulations would certainly sink the charters in Maryland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McKenna questioned the proposal for increased administrative costs. What is the evidence that it should be 5%? McKenna asked, in an interview with The Baltimore Sun. It just seems like they said it was going to be 5% but they dont know why. The state superintendent will offer a recommended regulation in time for the State Board of Educations December meeting. The Board will then decide whether to publish the regulation for further public comment. The new proposals are spurred in part by the states landmark education reform plan, the Blueprint for Marylands Future. The debate over the new proposals follows a long history of tensions related to funding between charter schools and school districts, dating back decades. Charter schools claim school districts are withholding too much of their funding, making it difficult to provide unique education opportunities that draw more than 25,000 students statewide, with around the same number on waiting lists. McKenzie Allen, executive director of the Maryland Alliance of Public Charter Schools, told The Sun she believes all charter schools would close in the next several years if the draft regulations are implemented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some charter schools have reserves that they would have to dip into to survive even two years, three years. But no charter school would survive longer than four years if it were to pass as is, she said. The Baltimore City school district, which oversees the majority of the states charter schools, previously told The Sun that its necessary for the district to retain funds in order to cover expenses like employee benefits and special education services, and also disputed charter schools claims that they are in danger of closing. As active participants in the work group, City Schools is encouraged with the direction of the work, BCPS told The Sun Tuesday. We are hopeful that the final result will align with our well-established approach to charter school funding and our desire to ensure an equitable funding formula that works for all students, including both traditional and charter students. What should the rules be? During Tuesdays meeting, Mary Gable, assistant state superintendent at MSDE, said the conversation around charters should focus on two questions: One is, are the LEAs [local education agencies or school districts] following the rules? And two, what should the rules be? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McKenna said he applauds MSDE for tackling these questions, but said theres a lot more work to do. Its great that theyre trying to figure out what the rules should be, but they have yet to determine whether or not the LEAs are following the rules, he said. Allen took issue with the 5% administrative fee proposal, saying the number was arbitrarily selected and that more research needs to be done to determine a realistic percentage. In response to a question during Tuesdays meeting about the rationale for the change, Gable said the fee percentage ranges widely across the country from as low as 2% to numbers far higher than 5%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are not tied to the 2%, Gable said. This is a recommendation to look at the 5%. BCPS previously told The Sun in a May interview that a 2% administrative fee is too low and inequitable, and that it is inconsistent with the law and previous state board decisions. Loophole Another proposed change states that for countywide obligations and contracts for goods and services that are not managed by individual schools, the school districts can exclude those from charter school revenue. McKenna described this as a loophole. Who defines what county obligations are? The county does, he said. At least one of the regulations would turn out to benefit some charter schools, McKenna said. For charter schools that operate in private facilities, they would be exempt from having the local system deduct debt service from their revenues. Charter schools that operate in buildings owned or formerly owned by a school system would have debt service deducted. A closer look at school budgets In May, charter leaders celebrated as the State Board of Education resolved that school districts should submit their budget breakdowns and methodology for charter school funding by July 31. That deadline has been extended to August 22. Seeing mathematical projections out of what things would actually cost, and what these withholdings would actually mean for a public charter school would be really important, Allen said. _______ Mass. lawmaker admits to drunk driving after arrest near State House, will lose his license After an initial arraignment during which a not guilty plea was entered for him, Rep. John Lawn admitted to the facts as he faced charges of drunken driving and leaving the scene of a crash in a Boston courtroom Thursday. After Thursday mornings arraignment ended and he returned to the courtroom, Lawn changed the not guilty plea that had been entered on his behalf and admitted to the facts of the case. He faces a slew of fines, required alcohol treatment and education, and a 45-day loss of his license. The OUI charge will be continued without a finding if the representative maintains a clear record for one year, and the leaving the scene charge will be handled similarly, contingent upon a clean record for six months. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawn was arrested at about 1:45 a.m. Wednesday by the Boston Police Department, with assistance from the Mass. State Police, on two misdemeanor charges: OUI and leaving a scene where there was property damage, BPD said. The arrest occurred after Lawn allegedly hit a parked car on Hancock Street, which runs alongside the State House, while driving a GMC Yukon and proceeded to run several stop signs. Another driver who saw the crash followed Lawn as he circled the State House and flagged down an officer when Lawn parked on Bowdoin Street, which runs along the opposite side of the State House. The responding officer observed extreme damage to the passenger side front wheel ... turned to an extreme degree not consistent with normal vehicle operations, according to the arrest report. When the officer requested Lawns license and registration, he detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from Lawn and further observed that the suspects eyes were glassy and bloodshot, and his speech was slurred. Lawn made a brief statement after his second court appearance Thursday, but took no questions. He did not answer as reporters pursued him and asked whether he intends to resign from the House and where he was before his arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Id just like to say I deeply regret my actions the other night. I take full responsibility for them. I own it, and will do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this ever happens again, he said outside the courthouse. I apologize to my friends and family, my constituents, my colleagues. I feel terrible and will do all I can to make sure I live a better life and a healthier life, make sure nothing like this ever happens again. During his initial appearance in Boston Municipal Court on Thursday morning, a not guilty plea was entered on the Watertown Democrats behalf. That is a standard practice in many District Court cases across Massachusetts. He was released on his own recognizance and was slated to have a pre-trial hearing Aug. 1. Lawn has represented parts of Watertown, Waltham, and Newton in the House since 2011. He is the chairman of the Committee on Health Care Financing, which wrestles with some of the most pressing and complicated challenges facing Massachusetts. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW A Democratic state lawmaker from Watertown copped to the facts of an OUI arrest near the State House earlier this week, as a judge slapped him with a battery of fines, an order for treatment, and the 45-day suspension of his license. The OUI charge against state Rep. John Lawn, D-10th Middlesex, will be continued without a finding if the suburban Boston legislator keeps his record clean for a year, according to a published report. A separate count of leaving the scene will be handled the same way if he keeps his record clean for six months, State House News reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawn, the House chairperson of the Legislatures Joint Committee on Health Care Financing, was arrested around 1:45 a.m. on Wednesday in the area of Beacon and Bowdoin streets, which both run next to the State House. Lawn told cops that he was a state representative and was coming from an event at the State House, WCVB-TV in Boston reported. In a statement, Lawn, who switched his plea during Thursdays brief court appearance, said he deeply [regrets] and [takes] full responsibility for my actions. What happened was completely unacceptable. I make no excuses. I am committed to taking the necessary steps to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again, he continued. To my family, friends, and constituents, I have let you down, and for that I am deeply sorry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Houses top Democrat, Speaker Ronald J. Mariano, D-3rd Norfolk, said he was very disappointed to learn of Lawns arrest. Driving under the influence is an incredibly dangerous and often deadly mistake, and I am relieved that no one was injured in this particular instance, the Quincy pol said. Representative Lawn has told me that he takes full responsibility for this egregious lapse in judgment, and that he will work to ensure that something like this does not happen again. A spokesperson for the state Republican Party called on Lawn to resign as a result of his actions. More on Politics Read the original article on MassLive. A man has been sentenced to prison after pleading guilty to raping his 14-year-old daughter whom he impregnated at a hotel shelter for migrants and homeless families, the district attorney said Thursday. Ronald Joseph, 44, who was living at a state-run shelter in Marlborough, was sentenced to 12 to 15 years in state prison after pleading guilty to aggravated rape of a child, Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and Marlborough Police Chief David Giorgi said in a statement. Judge Kenneth Salinger handed down his sentence on Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Between September 2023 and May 2024, Joseph and the victim were living at the same hotel in Marlborough when adults at the hotel and the girls school became concerned that the 14-year-old girl was pregnant. The concerns were reported to the state Department of Children and Families, to local police and to Ryans office. The girl was immediately placed into the care of the Department of Children and Families. Joseph was removed from the shelter while an investigation was ongoing. In June, Fox News reported that Jon Fetherston, a former director of an immigrant shelter in Marlborough, first blew the whistle about widespread abuse in the shelter system after he discovered Joseph, a Haitian migrant, was living in his shelter and had repeatedly raped and impregnated his young daughter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fetherston previously told Fox News Digital that as soon as Joseph heard he was losing custody of his daughter, he reached across the table and grabbed me and got angry with me and started cursing and yelling and screaming and swinging at me because he realized what was happening. Fetherston told Fox News that, instead of Joseph being arrested immediately, he was directed to order Joseph a Lyft ride to another shelter in Worcester County. Joseph was not arrested until eight months in February. In a letter sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi on June 9, Fetherston said that this was not an isolated incident but despite his raising the alarm, there has been a deliberate wall of silence. No reforms. No accountability. Just more spin, stonewalling, and bureaucratic excuses, Fox News reported. This is a crisis one that requires federal action now, Fetherston told the news outlet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An extensive ultrasound of the victims fetus placed the time of conception within the timeframe when the girl and Joseph were living together at the Marlborough shelter, prosecutors said. After the girls baby was born, buccal swabs were taken from the victim, her child, and Joseph, Ryan said. The samples were sent to a forensic testing laboratory. On Jan. 24, investigators determined that Joseph was the biological father of the girl, and also twenty-three trillion times more likely than not, that he was the biological father of the victims baby, Ryan said. Joseph was held without bail after his Jan. 31 arrest, when he was charged with aggravated rape of child. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was subsequently indicted on the child rape charge on Feb. 19. In late June, Gov. Maura Healey announced plans to close most of the states emergency family shelters in hotels, with a few remaining hotel shelters slated to be shuttered by July 31. Healey declared a migrant housing crisis in 2023 when shelter occupancy reached its peak with 100 reported state-run facilities. This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW In the days leading up to the Senates vote on whether to rescind funding for public broadcasting, PBS and NPR affiliate New England Public Media has been running radio spots warning of possible funding cuts. On Wednesday afternoon, a banner on New England Public Medias website said, This is the last chance to stop Congress from taking back vital public media funding, while also urging its audience to contact their senators. But the Senate voted 51-48 early Thursday to rescind $9 billion in funding, including $1.1 billion set to go to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The nonprofit distributes money to about 1,500 public media organizations across the country. The House has already passed the measure and will take a final vote this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for the corporation directed questions about how these cuts might affect Massachusetts to the local public media organizations here. In the 2024 fiscal year, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting distributed $22.55 million to Massachusetts recipients. Much of the funds, about $19.4 million, went to GBH. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting provides about 8% of GBHs funding. Recently, the organization has been communicating with its audience about its impact across the nation and locally. GBH remains committed to our mission and our communities across the Commonwealth, and well continue to fight for our future, GBH President and CEO Susan Goldberg said in a statement Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NEPM, which broadcasts to about 165,300 radio listeners in Western Massachusetts, operates with a $7.26 million budget, according to its most recently available tax documents. It received $257,900 from CPB in the 2024 fiscal year. In a statement in response to questions from The Republican, NEPM President Matt Abramovitz said hundreds of thousands of people in Western Massachusetts rely on the station. We are locally owned, operated and our employees proudly call this region home, Abramovitz said. In every way, our work is rooted in this community. We are entering an uncharted territory, but we are ready to meet the moment. For some public media stations that rely heavily on federal funding, cuts could be devastating, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey told colleagues last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we talk about eliminating funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, we talk about cuts that are going to imperil the survival of many public stations in rural and underserved areas, which often rely on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for more than half of their budgets, Markey said July 9. In Massachusetts, the congressional proposal to roll back funding comes after several public broadcasters laid off workers over the past few months. In February, NEPM eliminated seven positions due to a challenging financial environment, a spokesperson said at the time. Facing declines in on-air sponsorship, NPR affiliate WBUR in Boston said it would trim its staff by 14% in April, according to MassLive. In June, Goldberg of GBH said flat revenues and funding cuts were among the factors that led the nonprofit to reduce its workforce of 750 by 6%. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In May, the White House issued a fact sheet saying NPR and PBS fueled partisanship and left-wing propaganda with taxpayer dollars. The document which cited an NPR Valentines Day piece on queer animals and accused the organization of failing to cover the story about Hunter Bidens laptop was issued in conjunction with an executive order. About a month later, after President Donald Trump sent Congress the proposal to rescind funding to the CPB, Patricia Harrison, the organizations president and CEO, said it took the complaints of bias seriously, but cutting funding was not the answer. The path to better public media is achievable only if funding is maintained, Harrison said in a statement. Spokespersons at other Massachusetts-based public media organizations, WBUR and PRX, did not return requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two Republican senators vote against making the cuts U.S. Sen Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Investigations Editor Greta Jochem contributed to this report more news from Western Massachusetts Read the original article on MassLive. Colorado Court of Appeals Judge Grant T. Sullivan walks into the auditorium for oral arguments at Fort Lupton High School on Tuesday, April 2, 2024 in Fort Lupton, Colorado. The Colorado Court of Appeals and Supreme Court hold "Courts in the Community" events for students to learn about the justice system and hear real cases. (Rebecca Slezak For The Denver Gazette) Maurene Comey exits from federal court in New York on Wednesday, July 31, 2019. Credit - Peter FoleyGetty Images The Department of Justice has abruptly fired a prosecutor who worked on the case against the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean Diddy Combs. Maurene Comey was fired Wednesday from her job in the Manhattan U.S. Attorneys Office, Politico first reported. CNN and the Associated Press also reported on Comeys firing, citing unnamed sources familiar with the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the reason remains unclear, Comeys firing comes at a time of heightened interest in the Trump Administrations handling of the so-called Epstein files. A memo released last week by the Justice Department and FBI effectively dismissed the existence of an Epstein client list, and said that the agencies will disclose no further information on the case. Some high-profile supporters of President Trump have criticized the decision. During his campaign for the presidency, Trump had promised to release the Epstein files and had fueled intrigue in his death. Epstein died by suicide in 2019 at a New York correctional center while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. Trump shrugged off outrage this week over the Epstein files and rebuked his own supporters for buying into a Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. Read More: A Timeline of Donald Trump and Jeffrey Epsteins Relationship as It Draws Renewed Attention When asked about Comeys firing, the White House referred TIME to the Justice Department, which has not immediately responded to a request for comment. Who is Maurene Comey? Comey had worked at the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY) since November 2015, and has served leadership roles in its public corruption unit and violent and organized crime unit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Comey is the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey, who led SDNY from 2002 to 2003. Trump fired James Comey in May 2017 over his handling of the inquiry into Hillary Clintons emails, but Democrats have said the move was a result of the FBI investigating alleged links between the Trump campaign and Russia. James Comey, who is seen as an adversary of Trump, was recently followed by law enforcement after sharing a post on social media critical of the U.S. President. The FBI is also investigating the elder Comey for possible false statements to Congress. A person familiar with Maurene Comeys firing told CNN that being a Comey is impossible in this Administration as her father is constantly going after the Administration. Comey is married to Lucas Issacharoff, who works at SDNYs Civil Division as an assistant attorney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a federal attorney, Comey has also taken on high-profile cases. Among them are the prosecutions of Treasury Department whistleblower Natalie Edwards, and Robert Hadden, a top New York doctor who was sentenced for luring patients across state lines so he could sexually abuse them. She is truly a prosecutors prosecutor, Kristy Greenberg, former deputy chief of the SDNYs criminal division, told MSNBC, adding that many people look up to her and that she is beloved in the agency. How is Maurene Comey involved in the Epstein case? Comey was one of three lead prosecutors in the case against Epstein and the British socialite Maxwell, who was convicted for helping the disgraced Epstein sexually abuse young girls. She has been serving a 20-year sentence since 2022. Last year, Comey filed a declaration in federal court seeking to bar the release of Epstein-related records in response to a Freedom of Information Act request. In the declaration, Comey said that the release of the recordswhich contained witness information and statements as well as business recordscould reasonably be expected to interfere in any retrial of Maxwell, who unsuccessfully appealed her sex trafficking conviction and has petitioned the Supreme Court to vacate her conviction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. District Judge Paul Gardephe upheld the FBIs denial of access to the bulk of the Epstein records. Influential right-wing figures have supported Comeys firing. +1 for Blondi today, Laura Loomer said on X, using a moniker for Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has been facing MAGA calls for her resignation over the decision to not release the Epstein files. Read More: Trump Urges Supporters to Move On From Epstein, as MAGA Conspiracists Demand Transparency Sen. Adam Schiff (D, Calif.) said in a video that Comeys firing amid the reignited Epstein controversy raises questions: Did they fire her because shes James Comeys daughter? That would be improper for one reason. Did they fire her because she was a prosecutor in the Epstein case? That would just feed into what the MAGA base is already suspicious of. Contact us at letters@time.com. Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was fired Wednesday from her job as a prosecutor in the Manhattan U.S. attorneys office, a Justice Department official confirmed to Fox News. Comey was informed of her termination on Wednesday by the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys, the official said. She worked most recently on the prosecution of Sean "Diddy" Combs and previously prosecuted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reason for her firing as senior trial counsel at the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York was not immediately clear. Former Fbi Director Comey's Daughter Suffers High-profile Loss As Prosecutor In Diddy Trial Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was fired Wednesday from her job as a prosecutor in the Manhattan U.S. attorneys office. The U.S. Attorneys Office did not immediately respond to a call from Fox News Digital. Read On The Fox News App Comey's father was fired during President Donald Trump's first term in office after he initiated the investigation into potential ties between Russia and President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. The Justice Department recently appeared to acknowledge an investigation into James Comey, although it is unclear what sparked that probe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James Comey's Daughter Is Key To Diddy Prosecution After Taking Down Epstein Accomplice Maurene Comey, right, was informed of her termination on Wednesday by the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. The Trump administration has moved to terminate Justice Department lawyers who have worked on cases that have led to Trump's frustration. Maurene Comey was long viewed as a potential target because of her fathers rocky relationship with the president. The termination of Maurene Comey represents the latest shake-up for the Manhattan U.S. attorneys office. In April, prosecutor Matthew Podolsk stepped down, which cleared the path for Trump to tap Jay Clayton, his nominee for interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. The termination of Maurene Comey represents the latest shake-up for the Manhattan U.S. attorneys office. Podolsky had taken over after the departure of Danielle Sassoon, who resigned in February in protest of the Justice Department's decision to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump named Sassoon interim U.S. attorney when the president fired Edward Kim, who took the position during the change in administrations. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Original article source: Maurene Comey, prosecutor in 'Diddy,' Epstein, Maxwell cases, daughter of ex FBI head, fired from DOJ A day after she was fired as an assistant U.S. attorney, Maurene Comey the daughter of former FBI Director James Comey urged her colleagues Thursday not to let fear of retribution "seep into" their decisions and to fight back against "abuses of power." "Every person lucky enough to work in this office constantly hears four words to describe our ethos: Without Fear or Favor. Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons without fear of retribution and without favor to the powerful," she wrote in a memo to her colleagues. The Justice Department fired Comey on Wednesday. She was a key figure in several high-profile cases, including the trial of Sean Diddy Combs and the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and his co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019, has been the subject of conspiracy theories that have become a major source of contention between President Donald Trump and some of his supporters. Comey said that she was not given a reason and that her termination was done via a memo. A source familiar with the matter told NBC News on Wednesday that the Justice Department cited Article II of the Constitution, which establishes the executive power of the president. In her memo, Comey talked about how "fear was never really conceivable" during her nearly 10-year tenure at the Southern District. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We dont fear bad press; we have the luxury of exceptional security keeping us physically safe; and, so long as we did our work with integrity, we would get to keep serving the public in this office," she wrote. "Our focus was really on acting 'without favor.' That is, making sure people with access, money, and power were not treated differently than anyone else; and making sure this office remained separate from politics and focused only on the facts and the law." But, Comey said, they are now in a "new phase where 'without fear' may be the challenge." "If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Do not let that happen," the memo read. "Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else." Her father, James Comey, has for years been in a public feud with Trump. He was one of the key figures in launching a probe of Russias involvement in the 2016 presidential election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During his first term as president, Trump fired James Comey, and his administration launched a criminal investigation this month targeting him and former CIA Director John Brennan. The details of the investigation remain unclear. Asked at a news briefing Thursday about Maurene Comeys firing, the White House said, "This was a decision made by the Department of Justice." This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Maurene Comey told colleagues in a farewell email that she was fired as a federal prosecutor without being told a reason but urged them not to succumb to the "fear" she said her termination could cause. If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decision of those who remain, Comey said in her email, a copy of which was obtained by ABC News. Do not let that happen. Comey, daughter of former FBI director James Comey, was fired Wednesday after President Donald Trump vented to subordinates about having a Comey working in his administration, sources told ABC News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Yesterday was unexpectedly my last day in the Office. I was summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not give a reason for my termination," Comey wrote in the email. MORE: Maurene Comey, federal prosecutor in Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Ghislaine Maxwell cases, fired: Sources Comey was a highly regarded assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, where she worked on cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell. "Every person lucky enough to work in this office constantly hears four words to describe our ethos: Without Fear or Favor. Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons without fear of retribution and without favor to the powerful," she wrote in the email. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "For the majority of my nearly ten years in SDNY, fear was never really conceivable. We don't fear bad press; we have the luxury of exceptional security keeping us physically safe; and, so long as we did our work with integrity, we would get to keep serving the public in this office. Our focus was really on acting 'without favor.' That is, making sure people with access, money, and power were not treated differently than anyone else; and making sure this office remained separate from politics and focused only on the facts and the law," the email read. Comey urged her colleagues to continue to fight abuses of power, seek justice for victims and dedicate themselves to truth above all else. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought, Comeys email said. MORE: What we know and don't know about Jeffrey Epstein, according to key victims' attorney Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt didn't answer questions on the firing of Comey at the press briefing on Thursday. Leavitt referred reporters to the Justice Department, saying that it was their decision to fire her. The press secretary was later asked whether the White House had knowledge of the firing and whether Trump signed off on it. She again sidestepped, saying only that it was a decision from the DOJ. ABC News' Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report. Related Video: NWACC launches Isaiah Torres Memorial Scholarship Fund from June 2023 BENTONVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) The appeal for Mauricio Torres, a man convicted of abusing and killing of son a decade ago, has been delayed again, according to court documents. Torres, 55, has been convicted in three separate trials for the 2015 assault of his six-year-old son, Isaiah, leading to his death. Mauricio Torres, 55 (Courtesy: Benton County Detention Center) The first was overturned on a sentencing technicality, and the second was declared a mistrial when Torres stepson jumped out of the witness stand and attempted to attack him during sentencing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Torres third conviction was in February 2023, and a Benton County jury imposed a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole. Bentonville car dealership ordered to pay $47K in EEOC settlement Court records say Torres attorneys appealed the conviction on March 6, 2023. Since the appeal was filed, Torres counsel has been trying to get a complete record of the case. Seven motions for extension have been given since the appeal was filed. On June 17, the Arkansas Supreme Court agreed to give a lower court more time to turn over the complete case record. The new deadline was set for July 31. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. The family of Ghislaine Maxwell has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to take up her case, alleging that federal prosecutors reneged on a prior agreement not to pursue charges related to Jeffrey Epstein. Maxwells siblings claim the British socialite did not receive a fair trial and remains behind bars due to a promise the U.S. government made and broke. They stated that her legal team plans to file a formal response to the governments opposition in the Supreme Court and may also pursue a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, based on alleged government misconduct. Maxwells attorney, David Oscar Marcus, also claimed that he believed the case could hinge on a federal deal struck in 2007 with Epstein, a deal he claims should have shielded Maxwell as an alleged co-conspirator, per The New York Post. The Breakdown: Maxwells family alleges she is in prison due to a broken deal by federal prosecutors. Maxwells family is petitioning the U.S. Supreme Court and says they may also file a habeas corpus motion. Her lawyer claims the 2007 non-prosecution agreement with Epstein should have protected her. Prosecutors argue the agreement only applied to Floridas federal district. The FBI recently said its Epstein review found no evidence of foul play or blackmail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Id be surprised if President Trump knew his lawyers were asking the Supreme Court to let the government break a deal, Marcus reportedly said. Hes the ultimate dealmakerand Im sure hed agree that when the United States gives its word, it should keep it. Marcus added, With all the talk about whos being prosecuted and who isnt, its especially unfair that Ghislaine Maxwell remains in prison based on a promise the U.S. government made and broke, per NYP. The Maxwell family said they profoundly concur with Marcuss remarks. Maxwell, 63, was convicted in 2021 by a Manhattan federal jury of grooming and abusing young women in a sex-trafficking scheme connected to Epstein, who was her longtime associate. She is currently serving a 20-year sentence at a federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Southern District of New York have successfully argued that the 2007 deal, which permitted Epstein to serve a 13-month jail sentence in Florida with work-release privileges, was only binding on prosecutors in that jurisdiction. The 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Maxwells argument earlier this year, leaving the Supreme Court as her final venue for appeal. The Maxwell familys statement comes shortly after the FBI and DOJ concluded a systematic review of the Epstein case. That review, released in an unsigned memo, asserted there was no credible evidence Epstein was murdered, nor that he blackmailed public figures, maintained a client list, or withheld evidence warranting further prosecution. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is under scrutiny for walking back earlier comments that suggested her office might release a tranche of documents related to Epstein. House Speaker Mike Johnson signaled support this week for congressional efforts to subpoena the DOJ for those files. Its a very delicate subject, Johnson said on a podcast Tuesday, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide. Orlando has a big birthday coming up. The City Beautiful turns 150 next weekend. So, in honor of the citys sesquicentennial a word that would earn you 27 points in Scrabble but would make people wince if you ever tried using it in casual conversation I thought we could recap O-towns entire history in one column. The first thing to know is that Orlando wasnt always Orlando. (Just like Orange County wasnt originally Orange County. It was Mosquito County.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city was originally named Jernigan after a couple of cattlemen who originally settled here. But there were two problems with the name Jernigan. 1) The Jernigan boys were accused of murdering someone at the local post office; and 2) Jernigan sounds like a cream you might apply to a rash in Mosquito County. Since Visit Jernigan didnt sound all that appealing, the city founders opted for Orlando instead. The word has Italian roots. It means, Good lord, its humid here. A lot of people believe the city was named for a soldier named Orlando Reeves who was killed during the Seminole Wars. Theres even a marker in his honor at Lake Eola. But heres my favorite detail about soldier Orlando Reeves: Historians agree that likely no soldier was named Orlando Reeves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats from Wikipedia. But I verified as much from local and beloved historian, Joy Wallace Dickinson. Thats right, were named for a fictional character, which made this city the perfect place for Fantasyland. Dickinson said theres a lengthy back story about the name Orlando Reeves and another guy named Orlando Rees, but that, as far as she can tell, the citys name really came from a judge who borrowed it from Shakespeares As You Like it. Weve now spent about four paragraphs on fictional names, and were not even to Orlandos actual incorporation in 1875. So lets move on. The citys early history had a number of twists and turns. If you had to sum them up in seven words, theyd be: We grew citrus and sweated a lot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around the turn of the century, though, two key things happened: Henry Flagler built a railroad line that made it easier for people to get to Florida, and Willis Carrier invented the modern air-conditioner that made it easier for people to feel like they werent suffocating once they got there. Thats when Floridas land rush and boom kicked in, and Orlando was no exception. People flocked here for warmer weather, new opportunities and to serve their country at places like McCoy Air Force Base and the Naval Training Center. (McCoy eventually became Orlando International Airport but kept the MCO identity. And much of the Naval Training Center land is now Baldwin Park, thanks to a deal where city leaders basically gave the billionaire Pritzker family the land to develop in exchange for some pocket lint and leftover Tic Tacs.) The citys big boom started after a guy named Walt Disney decided Orlando was the perfect place to build his East Coast empire and started covertly scooping up land. The Orlando Sentinel blew the lid off his plans with a front-page headline on Oct. 21, 1965 that said Is Our Mystery Industry Disney? (Notice that, even 60 years ago, newspapers phrased headlines as questions when they werent 100% sure. Like: Did state senator steal money, kill puppy, cheat on wife?) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Sentinel credited the newspapers intrepid magazine editor, Emily Bavar, who broke the story, as Girl Reporter which was kinda weird, seeing as how she was 50. Disney died the next year. But the company opened its park. Then another. And then two more, with Universal and SeaWorld nipping at its heels. Soon, Orlando became one of the most-recognized tourist destinations in the world. (Though apparently not so recognized that local leaders feel anyone would know about us if they didnt spend 100 million tax dollars promoting the place every year.) Today, Orlando has about 330,000 residents and about 75 million annual visitors. That means that, for every one person who actually lives here, we have 227 trying to make their way from Epcot to Wonderworks. If you havent ever looked at the city limits, I dont recommend doing so. Theyre terrifying. They resemble a mutated amoeba, stretching from as far north as Apopka to as far south as Cuba. Thats because the city has long had developer-friendly leaders willing to annex any development pitched by a builder with cheap houses and big campaign checks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the most part, though, city politics havent been scandal-plagued in recent years. Most of the grand-jury-level stench has emanated from gubernatorial appointees to Orlando-area boards. I wont mention any specific boards by name, but one of them rhymes with Flexpressway Flauthority. Still, a few Orlando Council members have had legal problems. One was arrested and removed from office last year. Before that, another was arrested, removed from office, imprisoned and then re-elected. Not every city can say that. Mayor Buddy Dyer is the guy who really runs the place, though, having been first elected around the time the Jernigans moved to town and the Seminole Wars were winding down. Buddys actually the citys 32nd mayor and presided ably during the darkest chapter in city history in 2016 when 49 people were murdered at the Pulse nightclub. The day was horrific. Yet the city and its leaders were resilient, reminding the rest of the world that Orlando is an oasis of inclusion in a state that often revels in division. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maxwell: After Pulse attack, with all eyes on Orlando, let me tell you who we really are In fact, Orlando is pretty special. We may be a tourist town, but more people choose this community as their home every year because it offers opportunity, culture, an increasingly impressive dining scene and the ability to wear shorts in February. And for all the rapid change and development, Orlando still pays homage to its roots. In big ways like the Orange County Regional History Center, which has an exhibit running right now that celebrates the citys 150th birthday. And in subtle ways like the painted traffic box near the intersection of South Street and Orange that features Barney, the famed buffalo who busted loose from Buffalo Bill Codys traveling Wild West show and rampaged through downtown Orlando in 1912 before dying an unceremonious death. Put simply, there arent many other places like us. So happy birthday, Jernigan. smaxwell@orlandosentinel.com Freedom is in the air. America just celebrated the Fourth of July - our Independence Day - as the nation approaches its 250th birthday next year. The Trump administration has notched a major legislative victory, passing its long-promised reconciliation bill, which makes permanent the signature tax cuts of the presidents first term. With that chapter closed, the Trump administration now turns to other matters - still chasing the promise of "winning." Next up: TikTok. The fate of the wildly popular social media platform once seemingly destined for a ban is taking a new turn. In January, it looked all but gone as the app disappeared for American users for a brief 12 hours before being spared by alegally murky maneuverfrom the president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the "Art of the Deal" commander in chief may be getting what he wanted all along: a deal. Mere hours after Trump refocused his gaze on the platforms pending ban, TikTok announced plans to launch a new, U.S.-based app this fall. Some see this merely as laying the groundwork for a potential sale orchestrated by Trump. With a launch date set for September 5, the new American version of TikTok is expected to arrive just over a week before the looming ban deadline. ByteDance, the Chinese parent company, has indicated that the current version of the app would bephased out by March 2026- a timeline that appears to stretch beyond what the enacted law currently permits. To continue using the platform, American users would need to download the new, separate app. The new platform will use a copy of the original platforms algorithm. Moving forward, however, the algorithm will be trained only by new data from U.S. users. It will also operate on a separate data system, building off its transition since January to American data centers run by Oracle. China hawks who pushed the original ban will likely continue to express concern with whether a new app is truly insulated from the CCPs political interests or data harvesting. Keeping Americans online data - including sensitive personal and financial information - safe from foreign adversaries like the CCP will remain their chief priority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president appearsready to negotiateas he engages in broader trade negotiations with Chinese President Xi. Backroom talks are already ongoing. With the corporate governance structure of Chinese-base firms like ByteDance inextricably linked to the ruling Chinese Communist Party, high stakes international diplomacy is critical to the future of TikTok. ByteDance remains mum, suggesting it hasno plans for a sale- even though under current law a U.S.-based app will likely require at least majority ownership by American business. Chinas Foreign Ministry expressed little openness to a deal with the Trump administration,statingthat the CCP "has reiterated its principle and position on issues related to TikTok on multiple occasions." The silence doesnt mean talks arent happening behind the scenes. Yet, various sources expect the new app to be a joint venture owned predominantly by American investors like current shareholders Susquehanna International Group, General Atlantic, KKR, as well as Blackstone, Andreessen Horowitz, and even Oracle. This may be a moment tailor-made for Trump - a stage where the dealmaker-in-chief can step in, hash it out, and make TikTok great again. It would be another striking victory for Trump, but he wouldnt be the only winner. TikTok has become a surprising driver of the U.S. economy. Beyond viral videos, it supports small businesses, artists, marketers, and developers. For many young Americans, its a place to launch products, grow audiences, and earn income. Entire industries - from digital advertising to e-commerce and music - now revolve around the app. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The question of TikToks future has stalled for months, caught in a tangle of legal battles, congressional deadlines, and corporate negotiations. Now, the decision once again rests with the president. Hes the one who will shape what comes next - whether thats a sale, a new app, or some other compromise. The stakes are high, and the outcome will have a real impact not just on Americans digital lives but on peoples livelihoods. After so much delay, the process is finally moving forward. Maybe, just maybe, morning is on the horizon. Sam Raus is the David Boaz Resident Writing Fellow at Young Voices, a political analyst and public relations professional. Follow him on X: @SamRaus1. Gary Sergott felt weary all the time. Id get tired, short of breath, a sort of malaise, he said. He was cold even on warm days and looked pale with dark circles under his eyes. His malady was not mysterious. As a retired nurse anesthetist, Sergott knew he had anemia, a deficiency of red blood cells. In his case, it was the consequence of a hereditary condition that caused almost daily nosebleeds and depleted his hemoglobin, the protein in red blood cells that delivers oxygen throughout the body. But in consulting doctors about his fatigue, he found that many didnt know how to help. They advised Sergott, who lives in Westminster, Maryland, to take iron tablets, usually the first-line treatment for anemia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But like many older people, he found a daily regimen of four to six tablets hard to tolerate. Some patients taking iron complain of severe constipation or stomach cramps. Sergott felt nauseated all the time. And iron tablets dont always work. After almost 15 years, he found a solution. Michael Auerbach, MD, a hematologist and an oncologist who is the co-director of the Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders in Baltimore, suggested that Sergott receive iron intravenously instead of orally. Now Sergott, 78, gets an hourlong infusion when his hemoglobin levels and other markers show that he needs one, usually three times a year. Its like filling the gas tank, he said. His symptoms recede, and I feel great. His story reflects, however, the frequent dismissal of a common condition, one that can not only diminish older adults quality of life but also lead to serious health consequences, including falls, fractures, and hospital stays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anemias symptoms tiredness, headaches, leg cramps, coldness, decreased ability to exercise, brain fog are often attributed to aging itself, William Ershler, a hematologist and researcher, said. (Some people with anemia remain asymptomatic.) People say, I feel weak, but everybody my age feels weak, Ershler said. Even though hemoglobin levels are likely to have been included in their patients records, as part of the complete blood count, or CBC, routinely ordered during medical visits, doctors often fail to recognize anemia. The patients come to the clinic and get the blood tests, and nothing happens, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anemia affects 12.5% of people over 60, according to the most recent survey data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, and the rate rises thereafter. But that may be an underestimate. In a study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Ershler and his colleagues examined the electronic health records of almost 2,000 outpatients over 65 at Inova, the large health system based in Northern Virginia from which he recently retired. Based on blood test results, the prevalence of anemia was much higher: About 1 in 5 patients was anemic, with hemoglobin levels below normal as defined by the World Health Organization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet only about a third of those patients had anemia properly documented in their medical charts. Anemia deserves our attention, but it doesnt always get it, said George Kuchel, a geriatrician at the University of Connecticut, who wasnt surprised by the findings. Thats partly because anemia has so many causes, some more treatable than others. In perhaps a third of cases, it arises from a nutritional deficiency usually a lack of iron, but sometimes of vitamin B12 or folate (called folic acid in synthetic form). Older people may have decreased appetites or struggle to shop for food and prepare meals. But anemia can also follow blood loss from ulcers, polyps, diabetes, and other causes of internal bleeding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Surgery can also lead to iron deficiency. Mary Dagold, 83, a retired librarian in Pikesville, Maryland, underwent three abdominal operations in 2019. She remained bedridden for weeks afterward and needed a feeding tube for months. Even after she healed, the anemia didnt go away, she said. She remembers feeling perpetually exhausted. And I knew I wasnt thinking the way I usually think, she added. I couldnt read a novel. Her primary care doctor and Auerbach both advised that oral iron was unlikely to help. Iron tablets, available over-the-counter, are inexpensive. Intravenous iron, becoming more widely prescribed, can cost $350 to $2,400 per infusion, depending on the formulation, Auerbach said. Some patients find a single dose sufficient, while others will need regular treatment. Medicare covers it when tablets are hard to tolerate or ineffective. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For Dagold, a 25-minute intravenous iron infusion every five weeks or so has made a startling difference. It takes a few days, and then you feel well enough to go about your daily life, she said. She has returned to her water aerobics class four days a week. In other cases, anemia arises from chronic conditions like heart disease, kidney failure, bone marrow disorders, or inflammatory bowel diseases. These people dont lack iron, but theyre not able to process it to make red blood cells, Kuchel said. Since iron supplements wont be effective, doctors try to address the anemia by treating patients underlying illnesses. Another reason to pay attention: Loss of iron can be the first harbinger of colon cancer and stomach cancer, Kuchel pointed out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In about a third of patients, however, anemia remains frustratingly unexplained. Weve done everything, and we have no idea whats causing it, he said. Learning more about anemias causes and treatments might prevent a lot of misery down the road. Besides its association with falls and fractures, anemia can increase the severity of chronic illnesses heart, lung, kidney, liver, Auerbach said. If its really severe and hemoglobin goes to life-threatening levels, it can cause a heart attack or stroke. Among the unknowns, however, is whether treating anemia early and restoring normal hemoglobin will prevent later illnesses. Still, things are happening in this field, Ershler said, pointing to a National Institute on Aging workshop on unexplained anemia held last year. The American Society of Hematology has appointed a committee on diagnosing and treating iron deficiency and plans to publish new guidelines next year. The Iron Consortium at Oregon Health & Science University convened an international panel on managing iron deficiency and recently published its recommendations in The Lancet Haematology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, many older patients can gain access to their CBC results and thus their hemoglobin levels. The World Health Organization defines 13 grams of hemoglobin per deciliter as normal for men, and 12 for nonpregnant women (though some hematologists argue that those thresholds are too low). Asking health care providers about hemoglobin and iron levels, or using a patient portal to check the numbers themselves, could help patients steer conversations with their doctors away from fatigue or other symptoms as inevitable results of aging. Perhaps theyre signs of anemia, and perhaps its treatable. Chances are, youve had a CBC in the last six months or a year, Kuchel said. If your hemoglobin is fine, great. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, he added, If its really outside the normal boundaries, or its changed compared to a year ago, you need to ask questions. The New Old Age is produced through a partnership with The New York Times. KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF an 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. The post Maybe Its Not Just Aging Maybe Its Anemia appeared first on Katie Couric Media. NEW YORK Discovery in the civil sexual assault suit against Mayor Eric Adams has hit a snag as his lawyers say they cant produce his NYPD employment records because they were destroyed in Hurricane Sandy more than a decade ago. Adams accuser, former city Transit Police administrative aide Lorna Beach-Mathura, has been seeking his NYPD personnel file as part of her Manhattan Supreme Court lawsuit against him, filed in March 2024. The records, she has argued, will substantiate that she and Adams worked at the same police command in Brooklyn around the time she claims he sexually assaulted her in 1993, an accusation the mayor vehemently denies. But late this spring, Adams Law Department attorneys sent Beach-Mathuras legal team a letter saying the mayors employment file was destroyed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the exception of a personnel assignment record all physical personnel records and employment folders maintained for Defendant Adams were destroyed when the Kingsland Avenue warehouse suffered extensive damage from flooding during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, Maxwell Leighton, an assistant corporation counsel at the Law Department, wrote in the May 15 letter, which was made public on the court docket Thursday. The Kingsland Ave. warehouse is in Greenpoint, and news reports from 2012 confirm the facility suffered damage when the Newtown Creek flooded during the devastating hurricane, contaminating hundreds of drums of police records. But Megan Goddard, Beach-Mathuras attorney, said she found it odd Adams attorneys are only now providing this explanation. We were surprised to learn, only on May 15, 2025, and 11 months after we first requested them, that Defendants now claim Eric Adamss physical personnel file was destroyed during the 2012 flooding of the Kingsland Avenue warehouse, she told the Daily News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This alleged loss was never mentioned in any prior response, letter, or conversation, not even when we specifically raised the issue in our original discovery requests or our deficiency letter, Goddard continued. Eric Adams became mayor nearly four years ago, and we have to ask: when did the City actually learn that these records were allegedly destroyed? Spokespeople for Adams and the Law Department didnt immediately return requests for comment. In a letter also released on the court docket Thursday, Beach-Mathura complained that Adams and the NYPD have engaged in willful obstruction of discovery in her clients case, producing nearly no records in response to repeated requests. Beach-Mathura asked the court to schedule a discovery conference to address the matter. In her suit, Beach-Mathura, whos seeking at least $5 million in damages, alleges Adams tried to force her to perform oral sex on him in his car after he picked her up at the end of a shift to talk about a workplace issue. When she refused, she alleges Adams masturbated and ejaculated on her leg before dropping her off at a subway stop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adams has strongly denied the accusations, saying he cant recall ever even meeting Beach-Mathura. Earlier this year, The News first reported that Beach-Mathura, who now lives in Florida, has filed for personal bankruptcy as she pursues the suit against the mayor. The suit also names the NYPD, the city and a police department fraternal organization Adams used to lead as defendants. A police sergeant told the victim he had identified the perpetrator before the victim had a chance to weigh in Every corner of the country contributes to our nations success, but we have a soft spot for the places where many Americans live our cities. We believe American cities are the chief economic and cultural engines of the nation. And we have a front row seat on their story, as the Republican mayor of Oklahoma City and the Democratic mayor of Columbus, Ohio. After the challenges of the pandemic era, cities have rebuilt stronger and safer. Crime is down. Investment is up. Businesses are growing. But revitalization hasnt happened by accident. Its been built from the ground up, block by block, family by family, business by business. And for five decades, the federal government has been a critical partner in this effort, primarily through the Community Development Block Grant, or CDBG. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First enacted in 1974 under the leadership of Republican President Gerald Ford, CDBG returns tax dollars back to local communities and gives local leaders the people with the best knowledge as to what is needed the flexible federal funds to invest in what works: housing, public safety, child and senior services, infrastructure, and economic development programs. As President Ford said in 1974, CDBGs strength is that it is replacing federal judgments on local development with the judgments of the people who live and work there. And CDBG has fulfilled his aspirations. Since 2005 alone, CDBG has kept a roofover 2 million families and created or protectedmore than a half-million U.S. jobs. In its proposed FY 2026 budget, the current administration has proposed eliminating CDBG. This is not the first time since President Fords original stroke of genius that this has been proposed. Every time that CDBG has been threatened, however, bipartisan members of Congress have recognized the critical value of the program. In the coming weeks, Congress will look once again at CDBG. Construction continues on a homes in 2023 at The Village on Walnut in Oklahoma City. Infrastructure for the collaborative neighborhood development project between Jefferson Park Neighbors Association and Positively Paseo was possible with help through the Community Development Block Grant program. What they will find is a program that works far better than most, because it has that local decision-making component. The success rate and efficiency of CDBG dollars has been proven for decades. Its historically some of the best dollars that Washington spends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As they make budget decisions in the weeks ahead, Congress must save CDBG. These funds fix whats broken and build whats missing. They make communities safer and stronger. Theyre one of Americas best tools to grow not just bigger, but better. Consider housing as an example. Cities across the country are facing a housing shortage ofbetween 4 million to 7 million homes, pricing out families and causing homelessness rates to surge. In arecent survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors, most mayors said changes to federal housing programs like CDBG would severely limit their ability to develop affordable homes. Americans need CDBG to close the housing gap. With CDBG funds, communities provide financial assistance to first-time homebuyers and support housing rehabilitation projects that preserve affordability. Oklahoma Cityused about $1 million to build the infrastructure that unlocked two dozen new homes in a development called The Village on Walnut. Before then, the land sat unused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CDBG helps people, including the elderly and disabled, to stay in their homes through housing repairs and rehabilitation. In the Columbus area, $565,000 has been designated for housing repair and assistance to help low- to moderate-income homeowners access quality roof replacements and HVAC replacement in workforce housing units. As Rep. Steve Womack, the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee with jurisdiction over CDBG, said last year, Ive heard from Members on both sides of the aisle on the importance of Community Development Block Grants CDBG supports decision-making at the local level to meet critical economic development needs. More: Our crisis of confidence in scientific research should alarm everyone about OMRF | Opinion Seniors especially benefit. In Arkansas, Rep. Womacks home state, theCDBG program has funded over 340 wheelchair ramp installations, saving each low-income senior more than $700 and helping them remain in their homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just as seniors rely on CDBG, kids do, too. In Oklahoma City, CDBG funds provideafterschool programming at five city schools, where students receive tutoring and hands-on learning opportunities. In Columbus, the Bridgeway Academy, which supports children with autism and other developmental diagnoses,received $125,000 to replace and upgrade HVAC and lighting systems. Importantly, CDBG helps make communities safer. With the funds, cities create and expand neighborhood watch groups, make safety improvements to homes and businesses, and encourage local police substations to move into high crime areas. The smalltown of Owingsville, Kentucky received $750,000 to upgrade its ambulance bays, seeking to accelerate emergency response times in a county without a hospital facility. Americans cant afford to lose CDBG. Neither can state leaders. Their budgets are already razor thin with rising costs and falling federal support. InOklahoma andOhio alone, CDBG provided more than $178 million last year. CDBG funding works. Its transparent and cost-effective. The federal government collects annual data on the program, and every dollar of CDBG leverages over$3 in non-CDBG funding, unlocking private, philanthropic, and other partnerships. Thats a powerful multiplier with a high return on investment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a time when federal deficits loom large, Congress should prioritize programs that work efficiently. CDBG puts taxpayer dollars to work in America first and last. It builds and preserves great neighborhoods Americans want to call home. Thats why this Republican idea has become one of Washingtons best bipartisan success stories for half a century. Lets keep it that way. Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt David Holt is mayor of Oklahoma City and the president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Andrew Ginther is mayor of Columbus, Ohio, and is a past president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Mayors urge Congress to save community block grant program | Opinion LEWISBURG The Ronald McDonald House of Danville is proud to host the award-winning film, Audreys Children at The Campus Theatre at 6 p.m. July 23. Audreys Children features the true story of Dr. Audrey Evans (played by Natalie Dormer). Evans pioneered revolutionary life-saving pediatric oncology treatments and was the visionary for the first Ronald McDonald House in Philadelphia. A trailblazer with a relentless spirit, Evans fought for change and redefined medicine. Her work continues to impact millions of lives, according to organizers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are than 300 Ronald McDonald Houses across the world. The Ronald McDonald House of Danville has provided comfort to families with children receiving medical treatment for nearly 45 years. The house has 19-guest rooms, along with a family room inside the local childrens hospital, and Camp Dost, a summer camp for pediatric cancer patients. All are welcome to attend the free movie screening July 23. Space is limited. RSVP at AudreysChildren.GiveSmart.com. For more information about the Ronald McDonald House programs or to support the mission, visit RMHDanville.org. BLOOMINGTON, Ill. (WMBD) The McLean County Museum of History has been given a national award for one of its temporary exhibits. In July, the museum received a national Award of Excellence from the American Association for State and Local History for its temporary exhibit titled A Deadly Deception: The Asbestos Tragedy in McLean County. This award is the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation and interpretation of state and local history, according to the associations website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Severe storms forecast for Central Illinois through next week Open since last September, the exhibit works in testimonies of workers and documents to discuss the dangers of asbestos and bring to light the Union Asbestos & Rubber Company deception on the west side of Bloomington from 1951 to 1972. The exhibit shows how the company subjected workers to hazardous and toxic conditions in its drive for profit, disregarding their health and safety. Exposure to asbestos is associated with lung cancer, mesothelioma and other severe health conditions. Exhibit co-curator Mike Matejka said that its important to showcase issues like this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The asbestos tragedy in McLean County is a story that resonates nationally because what was done to working people here with a corporate cover up and exposing people to a hazardous substance is a story that were still dealing with today, said Matejka. The exhibit features a section that displays and honors the lives lost because of the exposure to asbestos in the companys factory. Julie Emig, the museums executive director emphasized that the asbestos tragedy extends far beyond the local community. This exhibit tells a story larger than just McLean County. It is a universal story of people being sacrificed and forced to endure toxic conditions and environmental hazards, all in the pursuit of profit, she said. It illustrates a national tragedy on a local scale, while educating the public about the dangers of asbestos and honoring our neighbors who lost their lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Co-curators Matejka and Susan Hartzold will travel to Cincinnati in September to receive the award on the museums behalf. The exhibit will remain open until 2027. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. ASH GROVE, Mo. Residents are invited to a workshop in Ash Grove to learn the basics of archery on Sunday, July 27. According to a Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) press release, an archery basic workshop titled Learning Archery: Archery Beginner is happening at the Andy Dalton Shooting Range and Outdoor Education Center from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Ash Grove on July 27. MDC says the event will focus on the basic information for people who are new to shooting a bow and arrow. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement City of Camdenton to break ground on new community center The event will include an indoor session at the Dalton Ranges classroom, and later participants will get to test their new knowledge of archery at the static archery range. Participants are welcome to bring their bow or use equipment provided by MDC staff. The release says that the course is designed for ages five and up, with attendees under 15 required to have an adult with them during the program. For more information on the program, visit MDCs website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. Pediatrician Dr. Ryan Gottfredson talks daily with parents about vaccines and most of his young patients at Utah Valley Pediatrics are fully vaccinated. But hes not surprised to see measles cases increasing here and across the country because a growing number of families are hesitant. Some parents have their children vaccinated after discussing their concerns. Others a small but real percentage of families overall see more harms than benefits for completing vaccines on the (measles-mumps rubella) schedule, said Gottfredson, who has a masters of public health degree and completed medical residencies in both pediatrics and preventive health. The question of whether to be vaccinated is extremely relevant as measles case counts nationwide are high and cases have been confirmed in more than 40 states or jurisdictions, despite the fact that measles is not supposed to be a major concern in the U.S. anymore. It was considered eliminated about 25 years ago, a status that could be in jeopardy given the number of recent outbreaks and cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Utah Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday confirmed a new case, bringing the states total to 10 so far in 2025. Cases have been confirmed in the Utah County and Southwest Utah health districts. Nationally, there were 1,309 lab-confirmed cases as of Tuesday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which said there are also suspected cases. There have been 29 outbreaks three or more related cases nationally this year and 92% of the confirmed cases involve individuals who were unvaccinated or whose vaccine status is not known. All of Utahs cases, which include nine adults and one minor, involve people who have not been vaccinated, public health officials said. Which raises a question: If some people really dont trust and will not get vaccinated, are there steps families can take to reduce the risk of transmission of this highly contagious illness? Information, misinformation and uncertainty Dr. Syra Madad believes wholeheartedly that vaccination is the best protection from measles, which is always miserable and can be deadly. Madad, the chief biopreparedness officer at NYC Health + Hospitals, told Deseret News that two doses of the mumps, measles, rubella vaccine (MMR) provides 97% protection against the virus, which is so contagious that someone who has measles will infect up to 90% of those they come in contact with if they are not vaccinated or immune because they already had measles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gottfredson agrees that the MMR vaccine is a vital form of protection. He is equally convinced that parents, regardless of their views on vaccination, are dedicated to doing what they believe is best for their families and are making their decisions with love. They want to do the right thing, he said. Theyre just concerned that maybe weve got this one wrong, maybe something about vaccines is going to cause harm to their children. Questions on whether the pandemic was handled correctly have spilled over to other things, he said, including medical advice. Emphatically yes, theres a massive uptick in distrust, Gottfredson said. He added, We see a strong correlation with COVID and particularly a lot of distrust regarding the COVID vaccine and thats unfortunate. Its a challenge I think were still trying to figure out how best to address. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His solution is relationship building and sharing the decades of research that show the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine, he said. But its still not easy with those described as vaccine hesitant. Ive had parents in tears, conflicted with the decision. They dont want to harm their child by giving them the vaccine, Gottfredson said But they dont want to harm their child by letting them get a vaccine-preventable illness. Some people are in turmoil about that and I am sympathetic to that. People are inundated with often contradictory information, he noted. Information they get from sources like social media or influencers may not match scientific arguments. Hes certain that vaccines are more than valuable; theyre the best way to prevent measles spread and infection. But he tells colleagues to be kind and check any impatience they feel with those who disagree or question. Advice for the vaccine-averse The number of people seeking exemptions from having children vaccinated to attend school has climbed, as Deseret News recently reported. The number of children arriving at kindergarten fully vaccinated has dropped. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So Deseret News asked Gottfredson and others what parents who dont get their children vaccinated or parents whose children cannot be vaccinated because theyre too young or have medical conditions that preclude measles vaccine should do. Gottfredson said that while he is sympathetic to the uncertainty many people feel, it reminds him of being told by a mechanic that your car needs an unwelcome $2,000 transmission repair. It might make sense to get a second opinion. But if you do that 10 times or 100 times and all the mechanics say the same thing, you probably do need a new transmission. Among health experts, he sees little variation in what doctors and researchers recommend to prevent measles. Most pediatricians, most vaccine researchers are on the same page. He said most parents come around, too. But not all of them. That doesnt mean they want their children to get measles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Deseret News asked Utahs public health officials in the Department of Health and Human Services for advice for those who will never get a vaccine but want to avoid measles. The response: Surround yourself with other vaccinated persons, especially in your household, if possible. If youre exposed to someone who has the measles, talk to a doctor about post-exposure vaccination or medication. Avoid large gatherings and crowded places in areas with known outbreaks and ongoing transmission. Consider getting the MMR vaccine at least one month before trying to get pregnant, to avoid harm to your baby during pregnancy. Stay away from others if they are sick. For anyone who thinks they or their child could have measles, those health officials recommend: Stay home and away from others as much as possible. Seek care if you have a hard time breathing or if a fever wont come down. Call the clinic or provider ahead of time and let them know you are concerned about measles to protect other people from getting exposed in the waiting area, such as pregnant women and babies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The best the parent of an unvaccinated child can do is try to minimize their exposure, Madad said. This includes avoiding crowded indoor settings especially during outbreaks, keeping them away from individuals who may have been exposed as well as those with symptoms such as fever, cough and rash and monitoring local public health alerts. She continued, However, even with these measures, the risk remains high. We do not live in isolation and children can be exposed in everyday environments like schools, airplanes and grocery stores. If you have questions or concerns about vaccination, I urge you to speak with your health care provider. Gottfredson said that while its impossible to live in a bubble, herd immunity can help. That refers to being surrounded by enough people (mid-90%) whove been vaccinated or have natural immunity because of previous infection that a protective barrier hampers spread. He added that a small percentage of people who were vaccinated also never made antibodies so theyre still susceptible to measles. The only sure way for someone without immunity who wont get vaccinated to avoid measles is to only be around people who are immune, he said. If the virus travels through a community thats not vaccinated or naturally protected, the chance of stopping it is low. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Masking with a really good mask can help, but the average Joe who buys an N95 mask off Amazon will not necessarily be protected from measles, Gottfredson said. A risky illness There are few things as well-studied as the MMR vaccine, per Gottfredson. Its been around for decades and decades. At this point, we have so much information and so many studies published about its safety. But he surprises parents by acknowledging that the possibility of a vaccine injury exists. That can happen; its just that its really rare. Vaccine can trigger an allergic reaction or other complication. One worried-about risk is Guillain-Barre syndrome, in which the immune system mistakenly attacks peripheral nerves, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis. The National Institutes of Health reported that the likelihood a measles vaccine could launch the rare syndrome is not statistically significant. The risk is actually greater from having measles. Measles carries real risks. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 1 in 4 or 5 children who contract measles will need to be hospitalized. Between 1 and 3 of every 1,000 individuals with measles die from respiratory and neurologic complications. One in 1,000 develop acute encephalitis, in which the virus infects brain tissue. If you survive that, its often the case that youre not neurologically the same ever, said Gottfredson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CDC said encephalitis from measles may cause intellectual disability or deafness. More common complications include pneumonia and ear infections. Years after infection, 1 in 10,000 who had measles develop subacute sclerosing panencephalitis, a rare but lethal degenerative neurological condition that leads to memory loss and seizures, then inevitably death. You cannot stop it, Gottfredson said. When the community rate of vaccine uptake drops, a measles outbreak occurs, said Gottfredson, who notes a worldwide pattern. When the community gets vaccinated again, measles goes away. His advice to families? Talk to your health care provider. But he admits that inadequate access to primary care is a real problem for many people. That makes it harder to ask questions or have a constructive discussion, he said. As for health care providers, Gottfredson said, Be patient and empathetic with families. They love their children and want to do their best for them. Mindy Porter wasn't like the other girls growing up, given that her first spoken word was "tenderloin," her childhood tea parties served T-bones instead of cookies, and her prom photos captured her gnawing on a rack of ribs. Mindy, you see, is a self-professed meathead. The character, played by an actor chosen for her improv comedy chops, stars in a cheeky new campaign from Havas Chicago for a jerky product called Yumbo (a portmanteau of yum and jumbo). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the meat stick's coming out party, the agency has dropped a short film called "Meat for Real Meatheads" that charts Mindy's life as an unrepentant carnivore. The mockumentary-style work, for new client Carl Buddig & Co., aims to set the snack apart by departing from the testosterone-charged advertising that rules the category. "There's a very gym bro, get swole, workout vibe to the existing marketing," Jeff Beck, senior vice president and group creative director at Havas Chicago, told ADWEEK. "Being able to flip the meathead' moniker on its head-almost redefining what it means-that's us thumbing our noses and saying the category is being taken way too seriously." The protein trend Smoky-flavored dried meat products, a longtime staple of convenience stores, have elevated their status and exploded in popularity recently, riding the ongoing grab-and-go protein craze in the Ozempic era. Data firm Circana reported a 10.4% jump in sales in 2024 to about $3.3 billion, the fastest-growing segment in snacks. The category is filled to overflowing with competitors, including Jack Link's, Chomps, Slim Jim, Duke's, Fatty and others, and could amount to north of $9 billion in sales by 2033, per Spherical Insights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The typical outreach, filled with slapstick Sasquatch antics and WWE stars, has largely targeted men with "hyper masculine" messages, Beck said. On the other end of the spectrum, some ads for "better for you" (sugar-free, grass-fed, less processed) products have focused solely on nutrition and wellness. For the launch of Yumbo, manufactured by Buddig's Old Wisconsin label, creatives intended to find the "white space" in between, speaking to a female audience with a light-touch approach centered on the unapologetic joy of eating meat. "It doesn't have to be a monster truck rally, and it doesn't have to be a prescription-there's a massive area in between, which is what we targeted," Beck said. "People often eat meat snacks simply because they love the taste of meat." "Meat for Real Meatheads" comes after Havas Chicago became agency of record for the Buddig portfolio in March. The legacy family-owned company, which dates back to 1943 in the Chicago area, is best known for its cold cuts and deli meats. Yumbo is the brand's newest and largest meat snack. Break from the pack Buddig executives saw the need to "creatively push ourselves" in a crowded landscape, according to Matt Barlow, vice president of brand and commerce marketing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The collaboration with Havas Chicago resulted in "more than just a product launch," Barlow said, "it's a defiance of all the other brands out there that say meat sticks are just for a certain type of person." The brand's goal is a 60/40 female/male consumer base, creatives said. The hero ad, shot recently in suburban Chicago with director Brandt Lewis of Sanctuary, took pains to cast improv actors and allow them room to riff. Their input gave the spot "some of its best lines," Beck said. Though the mockumentary has been a favorite format in the ad world for years, creatives thought it was "the best tool" to tell the fictional Mindy's story, complete with awkward social interactions and talking head (ever-supportive) dad. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mindy, by the way, was the only Girl Scout roasting a chicken instead of marshmallows and, as an adult, she nearly set her office on fire by smoking a whole turkey at her desk, per the short film. "It wasn't easy being a meathead," Mindy says in the video. "Now it is." The campaign will fan out across online video and social platforms, with shortened versions of the hero spot airing on Hulu, Disney+, ESPN, YouTube, Meta and TikTok. Additional content will roll out through October. Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders on Thursday slammed US President Donald Trump for his "authoritarian" attacks on the media since returning to office, accusing him of inspiring press crackdowns worldwide. Trump "has grown into a key figure in a global anti-journalism political movement," the New York-based RSF said in a statement. In the six months since his return to the White House, RSF said Trump had used "lawfare" and economic pressure on newsrooms, dismantled public media, banned outlets and undesirable wording, as well as smearing journalists and their employers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Trump has matched years of verbally attacking journalists with new, concrete actions to limit press freedom. Many of these tactics are nothing new -- it's the same playbook we've seen press freedom predators employ around the world," said RSF USA executive director Clayton Weimers. "But it's clear that Trump has amplified this phenomenon, emboldening and inspiring other leaders to crack down on their own domestic media. The result is a disaster for press freedom globally." RSF also reported that it had tracked "at least 60 acts of violence against journalists during recent protests in Los Angeles against Trump's immigration policies." "This aggression towards journalists has been a staple of Trumpist politics," RSF said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February, the White House restricted the access of US news agency Associated Press (AP) because it refused to use "Gulf of Mexico" instead of "Gulf of America," as the body of water was renamed by Trump. The Trump administration is also seeking to dismantle public broadcasting and has announced the closure of international radios Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Radio Free Asia. His bid is facing legal challenges. RSF said the measures would deprive hundreds of millions globally of "credible information," promoting "propaganda" media by "authoritarian regimes" like Russia and China. gw/sst WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Qatar, Egypt and the U.S. presented Israel and Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas with an updated Gaza ceasefire proposal on Wednesday, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two sources. The two main updates in the latest proposal had to do with the scope of the Israeli military's withdrawal from Gaza during a ceasefire and the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released for each Israeli hostage, Axios reported. The Qatari prime minister is expected to meet with Hamas leaders in Doha on Saturday in an effort to get their agreement to the updated proposal, the report added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel previously insisted on maintaining a presence in a zone stretching 5 km north of the Philadelphi Corridor along the GazaEgypt border and has now reduced that demand to 1.5 km, closer to Hamas' demand that Israel withdraw to the same position as under the last ceasefire, Axios reported. U.S. President Donald Trump met with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani on Wednesday. Israeli and Hamas negotiators have been taking part in the latest round of ceasefire talks in Doha since July 6, discussing a U.S.-backed proposal for a 60-day ceasefire. A previous two-month ceasefire ended when Israeli strikes killed more than 400 Palestinians on March 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest bloodshed in the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict was triggered in October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 and taking about 250 hostages, Israeli tallies show. Gaza's health ministry says Israel's subsequent military assault has killed over 58,000 Palestinians. It has also caused a hunger crisis, internally displaced Gaza's entire population and prompted accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice and of war crimes at the International Criminal Court. Israel denies the accusations. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Chris Reese and Daniel Wallis) TOPEKA (KSNT) Kansans are sending a strong message to state lawmakers ahead of next years legislative session. State officials and members of the public took the opportunity to share their concerns with a group of Kansas lawmakers during this weeks KanCare Oversight Committee meeting. More than 100 people packed into the committee room on July 15 and they all shared a similar message: Prioritize state funding for disability services and Medicaid. Several members of the public shared personal stories and experiences about how Kansas services have helped them overcome their disabilities. They emphasized the need for the legislature to work on reducing the waitlist for these services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What to know ahead of the Topeka Primary Election Thousands of Kansans are on a waitlist for an Intellectual Disability Waver currently. Other waivers such as the Frail Elderly Waiver and the Brain Injury Waiver are at risk of placing applicants on a waitlist if Kansas lawmakers dont approve additional funding soon. Janet Williams, CEO of Minds Matter, spoke with 27 News to emphasize the importance of keeping people off waitlists. When people start a waiting list, we start talking about numbers and theyre no longer people, Williams said. Its 10, its 20, its 50. Today, there was a room full of very emotional people talking about their stories and saying were all different, we all have paid taxes, we all need these services, and we find ourselves in really challenging circumstances and we need Medicaid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For more Capitol Bureau news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. HARRODSBURG, Ky. (FOX 56) We are getting closer and closer to the first day of school, and districts across the state are finishing up filling any open positions they may have. But getting quality teachers to fill those roles can be a challenge for some districts. According to the National Education Association, in 2024, Kentucky ranked 41st in the nation for starting teacher pay. This year, Kentucky ranks 48th with an average starting teacher pay of a little more than $40,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mercer County Superintendent Jason Booher said the district has taken immense strides in remaining competitive with some of the other districts in the state. For the upcoming school year, the district is offering a base pay range of $50,000 to $58,000, depending on what level of degree a teacher has. Read more of the latest Kentucky news Booher said part of what has made this possible is not cutting corners on student success, but also having support from the county government. Its a local decision on whether youve got to be able to want to increase your salary or not, Booher explained. Now, at Mercer County over the last six years, weve been able to increase teacher pay dramatically, not just starting teacher pay, but teachers across the board, but all while reducing it. So, our taxes are lower now than they were. The tax rate is lower now than they were six years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We all have that one teacher who had an immense impact on our school-age years. Someone who inspired us to do our best every single day, both in school and after graduation. Booher said school districts across the state, including his, inspire this current generation of students to want to get into teaching. He noted there has been a shortage of teachers, specifically in science and math. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Booher said its up to districts to create cultures that have kids wanting to be teachers to stay in the state, as well as teachers from out of the state to come here, but they also need help from the state. Its a team effort in order to get this, the starting pay, to increase, Booher said. First of all, at the state level, the General Assembly has to give more dollars to each school district so theyre able to give those teachers pay raises. I saw, one district in the state has over 360 teacher openings still. So, were fortunate here. We just got a couple left, and hopefully in the next month before school starts, well be able to fill those. Booher said for Mercer County specifically, they have been fortunate this summer not having many roles to fill to begin with, but the ones they did have, most were filled by teachers from other Kentucky districts who want to be a part of the Mercer County 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 FOX 56 News. BLUEFIELD, WV (WVNS) On Saturday August 2, 2025, Mercer Mall will host its Back-to-School Pop-Up Shop. Folks can go to the mall to stock up all on all kinds of different school supplies ahead of the new school year. This will take place in the center court of the mall. Clearing the air: Raleigh County Vape Shop Ordinance passes This is taking place over the West Virginia Sales Tax Holiday. So, there is going to be a lot of savings and additional incentives. Essentially, we are inviting community affiliated organizations to come and brings in materials to help prepare students, so they can get ready to go back to school, said Amanda Hill, a managing partner of Mercer Mall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They are still looking for vendors to help out with this event. If you are interested in having your business be a part of this pop-up shop, you can email them at mercermall@ershigproperties.com or call (304) 327-2507. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has expressed confidence that Germany will soon reach an agreement with the United States on the delivery of Patriot air defence systems to Ukraine. During a visit to London on Thursday, Merz said the countries' defence ministers were currently negotiating the technical details, describing their talks as "very concrete." "They also have to be transported and set up. That's not a matter of hours. It's matter of days, maybe weeks," the chancellor said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Patriot systems can be used to intercept enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. The targets can be hit at a distance of around 100 kilometres and at altitudes of up to 30 kilometres. The mobile launch station resembles a large lorry and contains up to four launch containers. Merz's comments come after a visit by German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius to Washington on Monday, during which he met with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. Germany's original plan was to purchase two Patriot systems, each costing around 1 billion ($1.16 billion) from the United States and deliver them directly to Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, as the systems are not yet available, Germany's armed forces, or Bundeswehr, now plans to hand over two of its nine remaining Patriot systems to Ukraine and later receive replacements from the US. Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz (R) and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer take part in a press meeting at Airbus Defence and Space in Stevenage, Britain. Michael Kappeler/dpa British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz view a geostationary telecommunications satellite during a visit to the Airbus facility in Stevenage. Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire/dpa German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (C) joins British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on a tour of the production halls of Airbus Defence and Space at the Stevenage site, where they observe the work of apprentices. Michael Kappeler/dpa German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (2nd L) joins British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R), Airbus Defence and Space CEO Michael Schoellhorn, and Airbus Head of Public Relations John Harrison on a tour of the production halls at the Airbus Defence and Space site in Stevenage. Michael Kappeler/dpa Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (2nd L) joins Keir Starmer (L), British Prime Minister, Michael Schoellhorn, Managing Director of Airbus Defence and Space, and John Harrison, Head of Public Relations at Airbus, on a tour of the Airbus Defence and Space production halls at the Stevenage site and looks at a component of a satellite. Michael Kappeler/dpa Britain sought a firm commitment Thursday from Germany to change its law to help smash people smuggling gangs, as the two countries agreed to boost defence ties on the first official UK visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The trip comes a week after undocumented migrants also topped the political agenda during a state visit to Britain by French President Emmanuel Macron. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Merz signed the first ever "friendship treaty" between their countries at London's Victoria and Albert Museum before heading for talks at the PM's Downing Street office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merz said London and Berlin had agreed an exchange programme for German and British students. Speaking in German, he said he believed allowing the "young generation" to get to know each other and their respective countries was a "good basis for the further development of our relations". The two leaders were also expected to unveil a deal to jointly produce military goods such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets, which could lead to "billions of pounds of additional defence exports," Downing Street said. They were to commit to developing a precision strike missile with a range of more than 2,000 kilometres (1,250 miles) in the next decade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Chancellor Merz's commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome," Starmer said ahead of the talks. His office said it was hoped the German legal changes could be made "this year". Undocumented migration has become a major headache for Starmer's year-old Labour government, as support for the upstart anti-immigrant Reform UK party soars. More than 22,500 would-be asylum seekers have arrived on England's southeastern coast by small boat from northern France this year alone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The "friendship treaty" also seeks to improve post-Brexit ties with its neighbours. - Brexit trauma - Macron's trip in early July was the first state visit to the country by a European Union head of state since Brexit -- the UK's acrimonious 2020 departure from the bloc. A German government source said "we shouldn't underestimate" how much relations with the UK had improved since the "traumatic" experience of Brexit. The friendship deal would be a "foundation on which we go further to tackle shared problems", Starmer said. The two leaders were also to discuss continued support for Ukraine, with both countries expected to play a role in US President Donald Trump's plan to send weapons to Kyiv with financing from other NATO countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The visit is Merz's first to the UK as chancellor, although he has already met Starmer several times, including on a trip by train to Ukraine just days after he took office in early May. The wide-ranging treaty will refer to the turbulent security situation faced by both countries, and include a mutual defence pact. "There is no strategic threat to one which would not be a strategic threat to the other," pact says, with a pledge the two countries "shall assist one another, including by military means, in case of an armed attack". While Britain and Germany already have a commitment to mutual defence as NATO members, the treaty aims to pave the way for greater defence cooperation, including operations on NATO's eastern flank. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Train links - German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul accompanied Merz, meeting with his British counterpart, David Lammy. On migration, Merz's government is expected to make a commitment to modify German law by the end of the year to criminalise the facilitation of "illegal migration". This will include action against storage facilities used by migrant smugglers to conceal small boats intended for Channel crossings. The two countries will also commit to improving train connections. Last month Eurostar said it planned to launch a new route from London to Frankfurt in the early 2030s - the first such direct connection between the UK and Germany. jsk-har/jkb/tw German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has supported US President Donald Trump's decision on the continued supply of weapons to Ukraine. Source: BBC, as reported by European Pravda Details: On 17 July, Merz and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer signed a new Anglo-German treaty that includes a commitment to assist each other in the event of an armed attack. Following the signing, they held a press conference during which Merz praised Trump after the US leader announced he would send weapons to Ukraine through NATO. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The German chancellor believes this will increase pressure on Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin to finally enter peace talks. "Europe and the United States are pulling in the same direction here," Merz added. Background: On 14 July, Trump announced an agreement between the US and NATO under which US arms supplied to Ukraine will be financed by European allies. Trump also announced that additional Patriot air defence systems will be sent to Ukraine. Trumps plan that Europe should purchase US weapons for Ukraine came as a surprise to at least some European allies, and it remains uncertain who will supply Patriot systems. Meanwhile, Supreme Allied Commander Europe Alexus Grynkewich stated that the defence alliance is preparing the rapid deployment of additional Patriot air defence systems in Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated that Ukraine will receive long-range missile systems "very soon" following the decision by US President Donald Trump to continue supplying weapons to Ukraine. Source: Politico and Sky News, as reported by European Pravda Details: Speaking at a press conference in the United Kingdom on Thursday 17 July, Merz said that Ukraine needs deep-strike capabilities to improve its defence and that "very shortly, very soon" Kyiv will receive additional support in this regard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Merz suggested that these capabilities could be deployed in Ukraine within a few weeks. "Ukraine will be much better positioned and use these systems and get the support of us with regard to those systems in the weeks and months to come," he stated. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, in turn, said that the friendship treaty signed on 17 July enables London and Berlin to cooperate in procurement and production. "We all see this as a responsibility but also an opportunity for Europe to step up on defence and security. And that's enshrined in the treaty we signed this morning," Starmer said. Background: On 14 July, Trump announced an agreement between the US and NATO under which US arms supplied to Ukraine will be financed by European allies. The day before, Trump also claimed that missile deliveries for Patriot systems from Germany to Ukraine had already begun, but the German side did not confirm this. Trumps plan that Europe should purchase US weapons for Ukraine came as a surprise to at least some European allies, and it remains uncertain who will supply Patriot systems. Notably, on 17 July, Merz insisted on clarity regarding how the US intends to replace the new Patriot air defence systems that are to be delivered to Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! If youve spotted someone recently with a blue tongue, that inky stain could actually be the side effect of a new health trend. Biohacking enthusiasts have been using a substance called methylene blue as a daily supplement, sharing videos of their stained tongues on TikTok. Users claim the highly pigmented compound, which was originally developed as a fabric dye before being used for medical purposes, can improve cognitive function, energy levels and mood, and could even prevent Alzheimers disease. But what do experts have to say? Heres what doctors and researchers say you need to know about potential effects of using methylene blue as a supplement. What is methylene blue? The history of methylene blue dates back to the late 19th century, when it was synthesized as a textile dye. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trending blue dye was invented in 1876 by German chemist Heinrich Caro. As he was searching for novel dyes for cotton derived from byproducts of the coal industry, one of his experiments accidentally created a vivid blue compound. Methylene blues chemical structure gives it its signature blue color. It absorbs photons of certain wavelengths and the blue photons are the only ones left to be reflected rather than absorbed by the molecule, explains Dr Roger Rothenberg, assistant professor of clinical medicine at Temple University Hospitals Lewis Katz School of Medicine. In other words, it absorbs all the colors that make up the rainbow spectrum apart from blue, which is reflected back to our eyes, making it appear blue. A decade after Caros accidental invention, another German scientist, Paul Ehrlich, discovered during an experiment that the organic compound turned parasite cells blue under a microscope. One of the dyes most famous uses is identifying malaria cells and it was later administered in Germany, France and the UK as a treatment for the illness. (To fight malaria, scientists want to poison mosquitoeswith human blood.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was some efficacy for its use in malaria, Rothenberg says, but not as much as the standard treatment for malaria at the time [quinine], so it fell out of favor for that purpose. What is methylene blue used for? Nowadays, the treatment of methemoglobinemia is methylene blues only FDA-approved use. Methemoglobinemia is a disorder in which red blood cells cant adequately deliver oxygen to the mitochondria, where its needed for energy production, leading to symptoms including fatigue, dizziness and shortness of breath. In serious cases, it can be life-threatening. Methylene blue is also still used as a stain in surgical or diagnostic procedures. Physicians have used the compound to help visualize the urinary tract or lymph nodes in colorectal cancer. Methylene blue may be given intravenously for the treatment of methemoglobinemia, a disorder that reduces the blood's ability to carry oxygen. Photograph by James Mutter, Gett Images Initially, methylene blue was initially used for dying textiles. As it turns out, methylene blue is also excellent for dying cell nuclei and cytoplasm, as well as nerve fibers such as the motor neuron above. Micrograph by Ed Reschke, Getty Images Raphael E. Cuomo, scientist and professor at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, says that as a supplement taken in low doses, methylene blue has the potential to enhance mood and energy, and possibly cognitive function, because it inhibits monamine oxidase and also has benefits on mitochondrial activity. Monamine oxidase (MAO) is an enzyme which breaks down neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine. Allowing these feel-good chemicals to flow freely in theory creates a mood boost, while aiding the delivery of oxygen to mitochondriathe powerhouses of cells, can result in more energy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement (How to get high on your own hormonesnaturally.) However, evidence for these effects in humans is limited, Rothenberg says. This is based entirely in theory, from studies on isolated tissue cultures and rats. There are maybe four to six randomized studies in human beings on this general cognition indication. That seems to be the reason people are taking it as a supplement. For example, a 2021 study of 248 elderly adults found methylene blue administered intravenously significantly reduced postoperative cognitive disorders. Claims that methylene blue can alleviate the symptoms of Alzheimers disease may be more reasonable, Rothenberg believes. The few human studies were done on Alzheimer's patients. There was a statistically significant, though very small, effect of methylene blue in mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease, showing five points [of improvement] on a 70-point scale, says Bronwyn Holmes. Holmes specializes in regenerative and longevity medicine and says the results should be interpreted with caution. A man and a woman who have Alzheimer's, or any neurological disease, they metabolize methylene blue differently, so [the effect may be] very different depending on the patient, says Holmes. What experts say about oral methylene blue Physicians are seeing the trend of methylene blue used as a supplement skyrocket, thanks in part to viral videos across social media. TikTok specifically is flooded with videos in which users rave about the latest nootropic, meaning a supplement with cognitive benefits. Holmes, who is on the Medical Advisory Board at healthcare provider Eden Health, says she first had patients asking her about the neurological benefits of methylene blue around three years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some experts are skeptical about off-label use of methylene blue as a brain booster. Never has a patient come to me with perimenopausal or post-menopausal brain fog, taken methylene blue, and all of a sudden the brain fog has declined, says Holmes. Rothenberg suggests, its very hard to really prove or disprove these claims when you have individuals taking it rather than a well-controlled, well-designed scientific study. Due to its vibrant color, methylene blue can also turn human waste products blue or green a harmless but potentially alarming side effect and cause teeth staining. I had to work with the dentist once because a patient had taken so much meth blue, Holmes adds. Methylene blues impact on your health Beyond cosmetic concerns, doctors warn there are a number of health risks associated with consuming methylene blue as a supplement. The most serious is serotonin syndrome, a rare but potentially life-threatening condition which can occur if it is taken in conjunction with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), which are widely used to treat depression and anxiety disorders. (What's the right way to wean off antidepressants?) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you're on an SSRI, it interacts with methylene blue and compounds the drug's effects, Holmes explains, causing symptoms of anxiety, fast heart rate, sweating, and tremors. In severe cases, the surge of serotonin can lead to seizures, irregular heartbeat, fever, hallucinations, or loss of consciousness. A 2013 study shows that those with a G6PD deficiencypeople missing a key enzyme that protects red blood cells from damageshould avoid methylene blue as it can trigger hemolytic anemia, which is a condition where red blood cells break down rapidly. Less serious side effects can include headache, dizziness, and nausea, while at extremely high doses, paradoxically, we see that methylene blue can be causative of methemoglobinemia, which is the very indication it has been approved to treat, Cuomo says. The concern is that people are taking methylene blue as liquid drops, so it is very easy to overdose. (Why supplements may hurt your health more than help.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre concerned about your cognitive health, experts recommend addressing other nutrition and lifestyle factors rather than doing any DIY dosing. Unless you really want to turn your toilet bowl blue, there is no compelling reason to take it outside of an indicated medical setting, says Rothenberg. Nootropics that we know absolutely are effective are caffeine, exercise, and appropriate sleep. The latter two specifically are what I would recommend to anyone who wants to boost their cognition. PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY, Md. (DC News Now) Metro celebrated the completion of its new modern bus garage facility in Bladensburg Thursday. The new facility at the Bladensburg Bus Garage replaced three outdated buildings and is now a sustainable operations and maintenance hub, designed to meet Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum Certification. On Thursday, July 17, Metro leaders gathered to celebrate the opening of the Bladensburg Bus Garage. (Photo Courtesy: WMATA) The garage will include solar panels and a rainwater harvesting system for bus washing. In addition, it features 31 maintenance bays, a body shop, a paint booth, wellness center, fueling lanes, a CNG fuel yard and enhanced security and lighting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MoCo Minute | County plans to transform North Bethesda Metro area According to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), the new facility will provide customers with more reliable bus service, offer nearly 500 employees a safer and modern work environment, and enable Metro to improve its operational efficiency. Our original Bladensburg facility was built in 1962 and no longer reflected Metros modern transit system, said Metro General Manager and Chief Executive Officer Randy Clarke. We are so proud to transform one of Metros oldest assets, which services bus routes in the District and parts of Maryland, into one of our most advanced facilities. Operations at the new facility will begin on July 20. A future phase will incorporate a multi-level structure for almost 300 buses and improved traffic flow through the new entrances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Metro team celebrated the modernization of the historical property by acknowledging it as a symbol of sustainability, progress, and its commitment to 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is hosting its inaugural MetroFest celebration to celebrate community connections. Guests will be able to enjoy music, snacks, and fun activities all for free. According to the official Metro Transit website, the Metro staff will be available to share information, guide attendees through exhibits, and answer questions. Grab a free hot dog this National Hot Dog Day from Dog Haus Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The event will give transit enthusiasts the chance to board Metro vehicles, meet the team and get a closer look at the inner workings of powering the transit. The Metro website says the celebration will take place rain or shine. The event will be held on July 26 from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. at the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU Metro Station. To secure your spot or find out more information, visit the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. New Mexico 988 services unaffected as option for LGBTQIA+ youth ends, Health Care Authority says NEW MEXICO (KRQE) The national 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline removed its press 3 option for LGBTQIA+ youth, however, the New Mexico Health Care Authority said it will continue to provide service to all individuals who may reach out for help. Every person deserves to feel seen, heard, and supported during their most vulnerable moments, Kari Armijo, cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Health Care Authority, stated in a news release. While this national change removes one pathway to specialized support, our local counselors are trained to provide inclusive, affirming crisis intervention for all New Mexicans, including LGBTQIA+ youth individuals. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The New Mexico Health Care Authority said it is actively exploring additional options to enhance LGBTQIA+ crisis support through the 988 system and that NM 988 counselors receive ongoing training in LGBTQIA+ cultural competency and affirming practices. Officials said that in 2024, the New Mexico 988 Lifeline received 5,716 calls through the LGBTQIA+ support option. Anyone experiencing a mental health, substance use, or emotional crisis can call or text 988 anytime to connect with trained local counselors. Services are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Press 1 option for veterans and Press 2 for Spanish-language support remain active and available. For more information about 988 services in New Mexico, 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 KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. NEW MEXICO (KRQE) The New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez is trying to stop a federal freeze on some education funding that could halt more than a hundred New Mexico after-school and other learning programs expected to start just weeks from now. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump Administrations funding freeze targets about$ 6 billion for a wide range of education programs. Roughly $45 million is on the line in New Mexico, which stands to have a major effect on K-12 schools, less than a month from now. These cuts go to heart of that relationship and undermines a commitment that we all share, Republicans and Democrats, that working families that are in public schools need and support as much as they can get, said Attorney General Raul Torrez. Torrez is joining 21 other attorneys general across the US trying to get a judge to get that federal education funding flowing again. The $45 million in play for New Mexico pays for tutoring English language learning and other programs like the 21st Century Community Learning Centers. They run more than 120 before and after-school programs in a lot of New Mexicos rural and underserved communities. Funding for those programs was frozen just one day before it was supposed to be paid out to school districts, who say theres no back-up plan yet. This is not about party lines, this is about the future of our students and our kids delaying our denying these funds sends a message that their education in negotiable, said Superintendent Kristie Medina of Raton Public Schools. The AG also emphasized Wednesday that the federal funding freeze only stands to potentially worsen New Mexicos juvenile crime problem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far, a federal judge has not scheduled a first hearing on the lawsuit, but the AG expects that the courts could decide on a temporary injunction within the next week. Earlier this month, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said shes considering the potential of calling a special session to deal with federal funding cuts, but hasnt said when that could happen. The Republican Party of New Mexico sent this statement: The Republican Party of New Mexico stands with President Trump in his effort to end reckless federal spending that prioritizes radical agendas over the real needs of American children. President Trump has long warned that he will cut funding for programs that promote DEI indoctrination and that cater to illegal immigrants at the expense of our students and our communities. We support this measure because we believe it will help secure the long-term viability of education programs that put New Mexico children first. While Attorney General Torrez claims that a potential freeze of $45 million in K12 funding will harm schools across our state, it is important to recognize that rural schoolsthose he says will be hit hardesthave long suffered under current funding structures. These communities already receive fewer resources and face greater challenges than larger, urban districts, in which they over come successfully. Yet, the quality of education statewide has not improved under existing policies. We believe New Mexico students benefit most when local communities have control over their schools. Thats why we continue to advocate for school choice. Parents across our state are demanding an end to ideological indoctrination and a return to academic excellence. They want the freedom to choose educational environments that reflect their values and truly prepare their children for the future. This lawsuit from the AG is more about political theater than protecting our kids. The RPNM will always support policies that return power to parents, cut wasteful spending, and focus our limited resources where they belongon our childrens success, not on federal mandates that dilute accountability and outcomes. Amy Barela, Chairwoman, Republican Party of New Mexico Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank spent a day in Colorado Springs riding along with firefighters, touring an Air Force unit and working at a convenience store. Crank said the experience gave him a deeper understanding of his constituents' challenges and will help guide his work in Congress. U.S. Federal District Court in Las Cruces. (Photo by Leah Romero / Source NM) Private attorneys representing people who otherwise cant afford a legal defense in federal courts in New Mexico are working for free because the public program that pays them and private federal defenders across the country ran out of money at the start of July. In interviews this week, private defense attorneys told Source NM the lack of pay is especially urgent in Southern New Mexico because of the massive volume of cases being prosecuted by the U.S. government as part of President Donald Trumps immigration agenda, specifically the newly created military buffer zone along New Mexicos border with Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The funding crisis has raised concerns in the federal judiciary about providing adequate and legally mandated representation to defendants who cant afford an attorney approximately 90% of all defendants in federal court, according to a United States Courts news release on Tuesday. Federal defender organizations handle approximately 60% of such cases, while private attorneys who agree and are qualified to serve on a state-level Criminal Justice Act panel take on the rest. Funding for those panels, however, ran out July 3, after Congress in March froze all judicial branch funding at last years levels as part of its continuing budget resolution. In New Mexico, some private defense attorneys have stopped taking cases until funding resumes, Ryan Villa, the CJA panel representative for the District of New Mexico, told Source NM. Ryan J. Villa. (Courtesy photo) If more lawyers start turning down CJA appointments, then it is unclear who will represent those people, Villa said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This places at risk the fundamental right of a person facing criminal charges to effective counsel regardless of the defendants economic status, Judge Amy St. Eve, chair of the national Judicial Conferences Budget Committee, said in a statement. St. Eves statement also notes that the attorneys wont be paid until Oct. 1 for the work they have done and for the work that we continue to ask them to do, unless the Judiciary receives supplemental funding from Congress before then. Cori Harbour, an El Paso-based attorney who also works as a private federal defender on the New Mexico CJA panels Las Cruces division, told Source she had to stop taking on new cases in the Western District of Texas, and has pivoted to find other kinds of legal work in order to pay her staff. She said next week, she will have to decide whether to continue taking cases in the District of New Mexico. Cori Harbour. (Courtesy photo) There are 73 lawyers on the Albuquerque division of the CJA panel in New Mexico, and 29 private attorneys who are on the CJA panels Las Cruces division, according to court records. There are approximately 12,000 CJA attorneys across the country, Villa said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to their own billing, defense attorneys also have to pay out experts such as paralegals, investigators, language interpreters, social workers, mitigation specialists and forensic psychologists. Such experts have asked attorneys to delay their cases because they cant sustain working trials without being paid, Villa said. Harbour confirmed her investigator has had to turn down unpaid CJA jobs and instead look for other income sources. Moreover, the Las Cruces court has seen a surge of defendants being charged under the federal governments new criminal trespassing laws for entering the so-called National Defense Area on New Mexicos border. Those additional military trespass charges come on top of the unlawful entry charges brought against migrants before the buffer zone existed, Harbour said, creating more work for the defense. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case numbers have been astronomical because they are prosecuting everything, Harbour said. Theres just no way for us to handle the number of cases that are coming in, and then to expect us to do it now without compensation is just a lot. Harbour said she has 71 open CJA cases, her largest caseload ever in her 20-year career. Almost all of her cases require an interpreter, usually for Spanish, she said, which is yet another expense no longer covered. Federal public defenders cant step in because they are already understaffed and overworked, and have been under a hiring freeze for 17 of the past 24 months because of tight budgets from Congress, according to the judiciarys news release. Margaret Katze, federal public defender for the District of New Mexico, told Source NM it is more than unfair to expect attorneys to work for almost three months without getting paid for that work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is a terribly difficult situation, Katze said in an emailed statement. The federal defense function, one that is critical to the justice system, must be appropriately funded. People do this work because they believe that it is important that people accused of crimes in federal court, who cannot afford to hire attorneys, deserve equally strong representation. This story has been corrected to accurately reflect Cori Harbours last name. Source regrets the error. A host of education officials stood beside New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez on Wednesday in the state Justice Department building to decry the impacts of frozen education funds as a threat to families and as unpopular policy even for many Donald Trump voters. Torrez has brought New Mexico into a coalition of 24 states and the District of Columbia that is suing the federal government for the release of nearly $7 billion in education funds marked for programs like after-school and English-language instruction. With those funds frozen, the attorney general and his slate of speakers argued the most vulnerable student groups will be hurt and child care crises will be exacerbated. Nearly 10,000 students in New Mexico are expected to lose after-school and summer school programs, Torrez said, creating a ripple effect that will impact everything from student outcomes to their parents' work schedules. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement States were notified of the freeze by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget on June 30 a day before they were set to receive the funding. The freeze affects nearly $45 million earmarked for New Mexico. It was last-minute news for school districts, which are forced now to make some impossible choices, said Kristie Medina, superintendent of Raton Public Schools, adding the freeze will have a have a direct and devastating impact especially in rural and underserved communities such as ours. This is not about party lines. This is about the future of our students and our kids, said Medina, whose school district is in Colfax County, which voted solidly for Trump in 2024. Torrez and his speakers honed in on bipartisan support for after-school and summer programs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Even in this very divided political world helping kids is still thankfully a place where we still find a lot bipartisan support, Torrez said, though he acknowledged the constant need to improve efficiency and eliminate waste in programs. Bipartisan or not? Amy Barela, chair of the Republican Party of New Mexico, pushed back on Torrez's claim of bipartisan agreement in a statement issued a few hours after the news conference in which she called the attorney generals lawsuit political theater. The party, Barela wrote, stands with President Trump in his effort to end reckless federal spending that prioritizes radical agendas over the real needs of American children, adding the president has long warned he would cut programs that promote DEI indoctrination and that cater to illegal immigrants at the expense of our students and our communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In reference to Torrez's claim rural schools will be hit the hardest, she said rural districts have long suffered under current funding structures, and preexisting policies have not improved the statewide quality of education. Barela instead called for school choice, a frequent refrain among conservatives that typically signals support for parents enrolling students in private, charter or parochial schools outside of traditional public education. I think if you went and asked folks even folks that supported the administration and voted for the administration if when they cast a ballot for Donald Trump, they did so because they thought he was going to cut after-school and summer care programs in rural communities, Torrez said, I would imagine they have other issues and ideas on their mind." In statements to various media outlets regarding the freeze, the Office of Management and Budget cited an "ongoing programmatic review" of funds to ensure they align with Trump administration priorities. The office pointed to New York, where it said the funds went to promote illegal immigrant advocacy organizations." New York Attorney General Letitia James called that claim patently false in a Tuesday announcement her state had joined the coalitions lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Torrez said the funding freeze will have unintended or unrealized consequences that will go against even a conservative agenda. I find it ironic that this administration would issue an executive order seeking to establish English as the official language of this country, and yet at the same time, cut supports for helping kids who want to learn English, he said. They want to more fully participate in the American dream and in American society and making these kinds of cuts will have a dramatic impact on their ability to do that." Another unintended consequence, Torrez said, will be the potential impact on juvenile crime if summer and after-school programs are suspended. All of that [program] impacts their ability to succeed in the education system and makes them far more likely to end up in the criminal justice system, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eight-seven percent of voters, including large majorities of Republicans, independents and rural voters agreed that after-school programs are an absolute necessity and nearly four in five Republicans favor greater investments in these programs, said Ian Gates, who serves as special projects coordinator for the New Mexico Out-of-School Time Network, one of 50 state advocacy organizations of its kind that advocates for after-school and summer school programs, during the event. 'We're scrambling' Santa Fe Public Schools officials who also attended the news conference said the freeze will impact the city. There's no clear path forward, said Peter McWain, Santa Fe Public Schools executive director of curriculum and instruction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McWain said the district has not redirected funding to keep its after-school program afloat for the 700 local families it serves. Santa Fe Public Schools and school districts I've worked in don't have frivolous things built into their budget that are disposable, he said. School starts in three weeks. With this cut we're scrambling and trying to figure out how to support our students that are in most need. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in Rhode Island, also came with a motion for preliminary injunction, which, if granted, will mean the administration will be ordered not to cut this funding meaning the status quo will remain in place, Torrez said. A hearing for preliminary injunction has not been scheduled, he added. The new litigation joins a pile of lawsuits filed by Torrez and the coalition of Democratic attorneys general the last few months, some over other funding freezes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though the granting of the preliminary injunction would mean the restoration of funds, the lawsuit, "if it follows the same pattern that previous litigation has followed," Torrez said, can be appealed up to the U.S. Supreme Court. "That [lawsuit] could take a year or more, maybe several years to resolve this question," Torrez said. "So it's very early on in the process." NEW MEXICO (KRQE) Just a couple of months ago, KRQE News 13 shared the story of a 105-year-old New Mexico man who was one of the oldest surviving veterans of World War Two. Valdemar DeHerrera survived the brutal Bataan Death March in the war and came home to northern New Mexico, where he built a loving family. Mr. DeHerrera passed away on Tuesday at his home in Costilla, New Mexico. Forest road rule in New Mexico faces potential change DeHererra was a proud veteran and a survivor of one of the darkest events of World War Two. During the Bataan Death March, the Japanese Imperial Army forced-marched more than 70,000 American and Filipino war prisoners more than 25 miles. Thousands died along the way, some of them shot or stabbed to death by their Japanese captors. DeHerrera survived the march and would spend the next three years and seven months. In a prison camp, even as he suffered, DeHerrera worried about his parents, back in Costilla, New Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When DeHerrera returned to the U.S., he weighed just 80 pounds. After months in Santa Fe recovering, he ran into an old family friend in Taos, 15-year-old Consuelo Devargas. They would later marry and went on to have 6 children, five daughters and a son. He was with Consuelo until her death in 2019, 80 years after the war. The former soldier leaves behind his children,19 grandchildren, 29-great great-grandchildren, and four great-great-grandchildren. and a northern New Mexico home filled with love. There will be a rosary and funeral for Deherrera at the Catholic church in Costilla, a week from Thursday. Hell be buried at the Santa Fe National Cemetery the following Monday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. This week, New Mexicos largest river ground to a halt in Albuquerque. (Photo by Laura Paskus) A pair of panting crows peers down from a cottonwood perch, croaking when I pass. Yellow breasted chats call from brush along the river channel. And a single, dazzlingly white egret hops knee-deep into a warm, brown puddle, stabbing the water for fish. Traffic roars across the Central Bridge in Albuquerque, and the tiny fish in the puddle at my feet flurry back and forth, seeking shade or safety or some way out. Fish larger than my thumbnail have already died in the dry channel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For almost 30 years, the Middle Rio Grande has dried in the summer south of the states largest city. When the drying also reached the Albuquerque stretch in July 2022, people rushed to the riverbed, peering over the bridges, posting their grief on social media. Now, here we are again. This year, drying in the Middle Rio Grande began in April and this week, New Mexicos largest river ground to a halt in Albuquerque. Irrigation canals are already empty; months ago, the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District warned farmers and homeowners irrigation season could end as early as May. For now, cities like Albuquerque will shift toward pumping groundwater. And most of us wont notice any big changes in our daily lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, every time the river dries, the more-than-human world suffers. At first, predators feast on the dead and dying fish. Its noisy as birds clamor and flies and other insects swarm the fish carcasses. Then things get quiet. Beavers disappear. Coyotes, foxes, badgers, skunks, cottontails, bobcats, and other wildlife become increasingly desperate. Swallows and songbirds die or move on once there arent insects. Ducks, killdeer, cormorants, geese, herons and in fall, sandhill cranes have no water. The young waterbirds die first; they cant fly away from predators or toward another flowing stretch of the river. Soon, even the turkey vultures leave, kettling up in committees of 50 or 100 birds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drying reverberates throughout the system, killing and stressing trees, increasing fire risks, devastating groundwater supplies and making the future less secure, not just for the species we share our state with, but for humans, as well. For more than 20 years, Ive reported on river drying, for print, online, radio, and television news outlets. During that time, Ive never heard a coherent, factual, or honest argument that a dry riverbed benefits humans. And Im never going to stop saying this: New Mexicos rivers deserve rights to their own waters. Especially in a warming world. Right now, billions of people across the world are experiencing extreme rain events, catastrophic wildfires and the floods that follow, longer and hotter heat waves, melting glaciers, rising seas and expanding aridity. Here in New Mexico, weve known for decades that the state is warming, snowpack is decreasing, forests are drying out and climate change is wreaking havoc on our farms, rural communities, ecosystems and wildlife. Given the current state of our nation, some state and local leaders might say its still not time for state and local climate action. Some people will be well-meaning or earnest; others will continue to mimic disinformation campaigns from industries like oil and gas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But we know that the Trump administrations actions on climate change will cause devastating, long-term harms to people and our planet. And while its tempting to dismiss these actions as ignorant or haphazard, they are not. To be clear: The administrations actions are deliberate, calculated and carried out by climate realists like U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who told The Guardian earlier this year, The Trump administration will treat climate change for what it is, a global physical phenomenon that is a side-effect of building the modern world, adding: Everything in life involves trade-off. When I walked to the Rio Grande this morning, I felt ashamed to stand in her broken river channel again and ashamed to think of the trade-offs we accept, while the more-than-human world suffers for our actions. And inaction. With the crows watching, the chats calling and the egret hunting, I thought about what its been like, year after year, to watch a river dry and an ecosystem and its species suffer. And I know that in this moment, its time to take a birds eye view of our rivers and watersheds, to peer down into the landscape and see what we can do as a state, within our local communities and neighborhoods and even in our own yards. Its time to decide what were willing to trade, and what were unwilling to let die. TAOS COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) New Mexico State Police have taken Eduardo Castaneda in custody. Castaneda is a suspect in a shooting in Ranchos De Taos on Wednesday. Cloudcroft woman accused of killing husband arrested in Texas Eduardo Castaneda | Courtesy: New Mexico State Police The shooting happened on Espinosa Road, which killed one man and injured a woman who was shot in the arm. Investigators found that four children of the victims were in the residence at the time of the shooting. They were unharmed and have been relocated from the home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Casteneda has been charged with murder and four counts of child abuse. Anyone with information on the shooting is asked to call NMSP at 505-425-6771. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) A judge sentenced to Davona Chavez to five years of supervised probation Thursday after she accidentally shot her young son in 2023. Suspect in the robbery of an elderly woman in Santa Fe is arrested In September 2023, Chavez shot her boyfriend in a case of self-defense. The bullet went through his knee and hit her seven-year-old son, causing severe injuries. Chavez previously pleaded guilty to two counts of child abuse and drug possession. Judge Jennifer Wernersbach sentenced her to five years of supervised probation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. A lack of benefits, like health insurance or retirement accounts, has been one of the largest contributors to teacher turnover in early childhood education. Tight budgets prohibit many child care providers from offering their employees the kind of comprehensive benefit packages that are common across other educational professions. Coupled with industry-wide low pay, having no benefits can make it difficult for teachers to stay in the job, and "continue to put their families and themselves in such bad financial positions," said Joan Blough, a director at the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, which supports Michigans early childhood system. A new program aims to change this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A two-year pilot program, slated to kick off in the fall, will create a marketplace where child care providers can purchase benefits, including heath insurance, 401(k), and life and disability benefits, to offer their employees. The state is working with the Small Business Association of Michigan, or SBAM, to group early education businesses as an association and negotiate with insurance carriers on their behalf. More than half of the people who work in early education and child care settings in Michigan are uninsured or on Medicaid, according to an SBAM survey of more than 1,000 early education workers, and the vast majority of early education teachers lack retirement savings, according to experts in the field. The effort, which the state said is the likely first of its kind in Michigan, also includes a state subsidy, to ensure these insurance rates are affordable for business owners, said Michelle Beebe, chief revenue officer of SBAM. This industry is asking for support, to be treated as businesses and not as babysitters, Beebe said. We want employees to come in and feel this is a valid employment opportunity for them, not just a stepping stone to something else, so that kids in care have regular, consistent providers in their life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beebe said she believes the pilot will allow for a more stable child care business ecosystem by making it a more viable career path. I think its really going to make a difference, Beebe said. The pilot sets up a Multiple Employer Welfare Program in partnership with Blue Cross Blue Shield. The benefits program will be governed by a board of child care providers, which means that decisions, like approval of plan offerings, will be made by business owners in this industry, Beebe said. The latest on Head Start: New Trump policy would bar undocumented kids, families from federal Head Start programs The benefits pilot would be a step toward getting early educators access to total compensation on par with K-12 teachers, professionals with whom they often share degrees and credentials but receive significantly less in terms of wages and benefits, said Blough. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The $4.4 million dollar investment is funded through a three-year, $33 million dollar federal early childhood grant awarded to MiLEAP, the state agency overseeing early education initiatives, in 2024. Early education business owners and employees will be able to begin enrolling in benefits in fall 2025, with benefits activating on Jan. 1, 2026. All active licensed child care providers across the state will be eligible to participate and can enroll throughout the year. Tyler Huntey owns a network of seven child care sites across western Michigan called Hunteys Clubhouse and said the pilot would change his life and that of his employees. Hunteys child care business is one of the largest providers in Michigan and, as such, federal law requires it to provide health insurance to employees. But those benefits are not great and still expensive for team members, he said. Huntey estimates hes spending six figures for pricey and mediocre health insurance for the businesses 190 employees, including himself. For his family of four, all in good health, he pays nearly $24,000 dollars annually for health insurance. His business doesnt offer retirement benefits even though employees have asked, because they havent found an option they can afford. Huntey said he looks forward to being able to access what he assumes will be higher quality group benefit plans at affordable rates through the MiLEAP and SBAM pilot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I give MiLEAP a lot of credit and commend them for using some of this funding for this pilot, said Huntey, who acknowledged the funding could have gone to any number of initiatives and appreciates that some went toward addressing a problem providers have been vocal about for some time. Huntey also serves as the president of the Michigan Childcare Provider Collective, an organization that advocates on behalf of the industry. The benefits pilot comes at an opportune time for two reasons. First, Huntey said, a minimum hourly wage increase to $15 will be effective at the beginning of 2027. Being able to access an affordable group health plan through the state means well be able to reallocate funds toward teacher wages, he said. Second, theres a looming possibility some Michiganders could get kicked off Medicaid given federal cuts recently passed through Trumps big, beautiful bill 200,000 to as many as 700,000 depending on the analysis. Given that a large portion of early educators are on Medicaid, the pilot timing is kind of perfect, Beebe said. Some people may be displaced with changes to Medicaid and at least this provides options and a safety net for people. Though the pilot is only funded for two years, both SBAM and MiLEAP said they intend to secure permanent state funding to keep it going. SBAM will be monitoring program impacts throughout the pilot to see whether the benefits program improves retention of early educators, which is data Beebe said could be used to advocate with Michigan lawmakers for a permanently funded program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There also has been interest from private funders in the state looking to keep the child care benefits program sustainable in the long term. They have vested interest in their communities because child care affects all of us, Beebe said. Beki San Martin is a fellow at the Detroit Free Press who covers child care, early childhood education and other issues that affect the lives of children ages 5 and under and their families in metro Detroit and across Michigan. Contact her at rsanmartin@freepress.com. This fellowship is supported by the Bainum Family Foundation. The Free Press retains editorial control of this work. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan program helps child care centers offer benefits to employees Welcome to fire season. Even if we dont see flames where we live, across much of the U.S. and Canada, in any given year, we are likely to see smoke and breathe polluted air from fires more than a thousand miles away. Cities are burning with regularity: Los Angeles, Santa Rosa and Paradise, California; Louisville, Colorado; Lahaina, Hawaii; Jasper, Alberta. West Michigan is currently under an air quality warning from Canadian wildfire smoke. For the last few years, the smoke has regularly obscured the sun and fouled the air across the eastern U.S. and Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michiganders have been living with wildfire smoke. But can a warming climate bring wildfires to Michigan? The easy answer is that yes, a warmer climate can increase the risk of fire in Michigan. A more useful answer, however, is not easy. Understanding the likelihood of more wildfires in Michigan requires a framework for thinking about how a warming climates may influence wildfires in Michigan. Photos of the Mackinac Bridge at 1:07 p.m. Sunday, July 13, 2025 from camera No. 2 from the dock in St. Ignace looking south show the bridge covered by smoke from wildfires. Freep Editorial: Gov. Whitmer, it's time for a special election in Michigan's 35th District Fuel, heat, oxygen, ignition First, there are some overarching ideas to introduce. The ingredients of fire are often listed as fuel, heat and oxygen, and implicitly, a source of ignition. The way a warming climate influences these ingredients most strongly is by changing the characteristics of the fuel in wildfires, the fuels we think of first are grasses, brush and trees. A warming climate can make these fuels wetter or drier, and that decreases or increases the risk of wildfire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another overarching idea is how we manage our landscape. The amounts of grasses, shrubs and trees are often determined by decisions people. Even more directly related are decisions about where we build our houses and towns, and how we manage the interface between our towns and natural, unbuilt spaces. Or decisions about how we manage fire, which is a naturally occurring part of the landscape. Do we suppress all fires? Do we practice controlled burns? Do we use fire to clear land? Our landscape management decisions are often more important to wildfires than a warming climate. That is good news, because it means we also have a powerful method to limit and protect ourselves from wildfires. More from Freep Opinion: Why I would choose Nixon over Trump any day (and I couldn't stand Nixon) Rainy Michigan summers suppress fire risk, increase flood risk If we consider Michigan and the states in the Great Lakes region, the most definitive aspect of climate change is that it is warming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A warming climate can be wetter, drier, or bounce back and forth between the two. From a fire perspective, in Michigan we are, at first blush, fortunate. There is a large supply of water vapor to the Great Lakes region, which means we get a lot of rain. This reduces fire risk, but at the cost of increased flooding. However, we live in a region that does experience drought. These are times that the moisture supply to the region is disrupted. Because it is warmer now than during the droughts we experienced in the past, fuels, especially grasses and brush, dry out more quickly. Plus, in the warmer, wetter periods, the grasses and brush grew more quickly, leading to more potential fuel. Increased, dry fuels increases fire risk. This risk is realized in fires such as those in Jackson County in April of 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So, episodically, we expect increased risk of wildfire as the climate warms. And, of course, extended drought would lead to increased risk in forested lands. Michigan is probably safe from serious wildfires In the past decade, we have seen both more precipitation, and extreme precipitation. This increase in precipitation likely contributes to a decrease of wildfires in North Central Hardwood Forests, an ecological region that includes some southern portions of Michigan, documented in a scientific paper by researcher Victoria Donovan and others. But the wetter weather of the past decade is not guaranteed for our future. It is plausible, if not probable, that as warming continues, we will have more evaporation than precipitation, which would dry grasses and brush and increase fire risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Still, it is not likely that Michigan will have fire seasons such as those experienced in western Canada and the western United States. But Canadian wildfires will continue The western U.S. and Canada has a wet-season/dry-season climate, in which winters are usually wet and summers are often very dry. Those regions have a history of multi-year droughts, and there has always been a fire season. As it gets warmer, the fuels dry trees, grasses and brush in the summer are increasing. We can document increases in fires in western North America that are related to the warming climate, and there is little we can do in Michigan to avoid the smoke and air pollution from these distant fires. But Michigan does not have that natural wet-season/dry-season climate of the West Coast; we normally get precipitation all year around, and in recent years we have been getting more precipitation. So, it is unlikely well slip into a West Coast fire regime anytime soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are, however, parts of the Great Lakes region, including the Upper Peninsula, where its gotten warmer than in other parts of the region, and in which the precipitation increases are smaller. This is a yellow flag to be alert to potentially increasing fire risk. What about those Canadian fires that seem to regularly bring haze and smoke to Michigan? Large fires in eastern Canada have happened before. We can say that the size and duration of the Canadian fires in 2023 were influenced by the warmer and warming climate. As the climate is still warming, we can expect this to continue. Pay attention to precipitation Though wildfire is a threat in Michigan, and a warming climate can, at least episodically, increase its risk, we are fortunate to have abundant water and moisture. Also, in populous regions, there are usually diligent efforts to prevent and fight fires. Climate scenarios that consider drought and fire are part of responsible planning. Management of the landscape makes sense irrespective of warming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Looking beyond 10, 20 or 30 years, it is essential to pay attention to changes in the balance of precipitation and evaporation, because the more it warms, the greater the fire risk. Richard B. Rood is professor emeritus of climate and space sciences and engineering at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Submit a letter to the editor at freep.com/letters, and we may publish it online and in print. Like what you're reading? Please consider supporting local journalism and getting unlimited digital access with a Detroit Free Press subscription. We depend on readers like you. Richard B. Rood This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan air quality bad thanks to Canadian wildfires | Opinion Microsoft is looking to lower its vast carbon footprint by pumping human waste 5,000 feet below the grounds surface. The tech giant hopes to offset its massive carbon footprint, only exacerbated by its ventures into artificial intelligence, by using an unusual greenhouse gas removal strategy. On Thursday, Microsoft announced a deal to purchase 4.9 million metric tons of durable carbon dioxide removal from Vaulted Deep. The companys bioslurry, or mix of human and farm waste, is injected deep underground in exchange for carbon credits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Microsofts purchase will span 12 years, starting next year. For each ton of carbon they shuttle deep underground, they will receive a carbon removal credit. Were taking different types of organic waste, Julia Reichelstein, the co-founder and chief executive of Vaulted Deep, told the Journal. Vaulted Deep Co-Founder Omar directing Hutchinson community leaders on a site visit during the ribbon cutting ceremony. (Vaulted Deep) Vaulted Deep Co-Founder Omar directing Hutchinson community leaders on a site visit during the ribbon cutting ceremony. (Vaulted Deep) Its sludgy, often contaminated organic waste that today causes problems above ground, and instead we take the waste and put it really deep underground for permanent carbon removal, Reichelstein added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The waste used by Vaulted Deep is typically a slurry, not quite solid, liquid, or gas. Traditionally, this type of waste is difficult to treat and often ends up being left in fields, leading to nutrient runoff and the spread of PFAS, or "forever chemicals," into water systems. Vaulted Deep, however, takes the slurry and pipes it deep under natural rock formations. The company then sells carbon credits based on the amount of carbon it stores below the ground. They currently sell for about $350 a metric ton, according to the report. Companies like Microsoft, which emitted 75.5 million tons of CO2 from 2020 to 2024, hope that storing organic waste thousands of feet underground will help them meet their emission targets. Microsoft has a goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030, and by 2050, hopes to remove more greenhouse gases than the company has emitted since its founding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To date, Microsoft has bought many carbon removal credits. It has acquired more than 83 million tons of carbon removal, of which 59 million tons have been bought so far this year, not including the deal with Vaulted Deep, according to the report. Brian Marrs, the tech giants senior director of energy and carbon removal, touted the investment in Vaulted Deep as being mutually beneficial. Theyre essentially taking biosolids, and much of that today is spread over fields, he said. It can create nutrient [runoff] and other pollutants for watersheds, and sealing out that biosolid where it cant be a nuisance to the environment and where it will not repatriate carbon into the atmosphere that approach, that co-benefits approach is very, very interesting to us. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) This summer has been abnormally wet, with Nashville experiencing one of the wettest first halves of a year on record. Autumn is still a couple of months away, but how is Middle Tennessees wet summer going to impact our fall foliage? Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts News 2 spoke with Peter Forister, who is the media manager for Explore Fall. Explore Fall predicts the timing of when fall foliage will peak across the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Forister, last years fall colors were not great. He said the drought conditions in late summer and early fall were the main cause for the muted colors. One year ago, much of Middle Tennessee was experiencing drought, and it only worsened in August. This year, there are no areas experiencing drought conditions. Forister said we typically see peak fall colors in mid to late October, and in order to get the brightest colors, there will need to be less rainfall. Really, the best thing for the vibrant colors is an average amount of moisture and then a cold snap that happens right on time, mid-October, and that really just pushes the trees into the mode very quickly, Forister told News 2. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Forister said if we continue to see above-average rainfall, peak fall colors will be delayed and muted. He said we could also see muted colors if we experience drought between now and mid-October. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, despite the drought conditions, there were still spots with great color. Here are some pictures that viewers sent us in 2024. (Courtesy: Tim Gillahan) (Courtesy: Barbara Burnett) (Courtesy: Cindy Martin) (Courtesy: Jeannie Maynard) Dont forget to take the power and reliability of the WKRN Weather Authority with you at all times by downloading the News 2 Storm Tracker 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 WKRN News 2. Nearly two years after a collection of firearm owners and gun rights groups sued Boulder County and three of its municipalities over their respective ordinances, a federal judge on Monday signaled she was prepared to dismiss the lawsuit due to a lack of standing. Some migrants are turning to the platform OnlyFans to raise money for their legal bills as they fight deportation proceedings. A former Colombian model who is currently locked up in an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Louisiana is raising money on the sex-centric content creator vehicle to fight for her freedom, USA Today first reported. ICE funding has been supercharged because of President Donald Trumps spending bill, and as a result, the administration is expected to dramatically expand immigration detention facilities and bulk up staffing over the next four years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Migrants are taking drastic measures to raise the cash to pay for legal representation, including OnlyFans pages and public appeals on GoFundMe. The unnamed womans husband, who is American-born, is running the OnlyFans account for her while she waits in detention, USA Today reports. Ive been hesitant about it because I dont know where its going to lead, but Im trying to do anything to come up with the money, he told the outlet. People rounded up in ICE raids are taking drastic measures to raise the cash to pay for legal representation, including turning to OnlyFans. (AFP via Getty Images) People rounded up in ICE raids are taking drastic measures to raise the cash to pay for legal representation, including turning to OnlyFans. (AFP via Getty Images) The account has only generated a handful of subscriptions, as her legal bills have already exceeded $15,000, said her husband, who works as a full-time Uber driver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The womans account is titled: The Blonde that shouldn't get deported. Stills and footage from before ICE locked me up, the account reads. Every sub, tip, and PPV helps me raise bond moneyso I can come home. Several photos of the woman shared on her X account show her posing in a bikini. This is what freedom looked like before I was detained and locked up, one post with a picture of the woman posing beside a river reads. Flowing river, silent nature, peace....freedom. Speaking to the outlet from the Louisiana facility, the woman said she was trying to stay positive ahead of an upcoming bond hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sometimes I am filled with faith and I think everything is going to turn out OK, she said via a video call. But then other times I lose heart. A screengrab from the detained womans OnlyFans account, which her husband is running while she is in ICE lockup. The couple is using the site to help cover her legal fees. (@blondeonbond/OnlyFans) A screengrab from the detained womans OnlyFans account, which her husband is running while she is in ICE lockup. The couple is using the site to help cover her legal fees. (@blondeonbond/OnlyFans) She is beautiful. She likes to look at everything on the bright side, the womans husband added. She has a strong belief in God and spirituality. She brought me a lot of peace with that sort of mentality and that sort of attitude. The Independent has contacted OnlyFans for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elsewhere, ICE crowd-funders on sites like GoFundMe have increased as the Trump administration carries out its mass deportation agenda. A search for ICE detention fundraisers on the platforms website brings up hundreds of results, though these have not all been verified. Funds raised on GoFundMe for ICE-related campaigns have increased from $141,000 in April and May to $1.7 million in June and July, according to analysis by USA Today. By Emilio Parodi MILAN (Reuters) -The mayor of Milan has been placed under investigation, three sources said on Thursday, caught up in a probe into the dealings that have helped to underpin a real estate boom in Italy's financial capital over the last 10 years. The investigation into Mayor Beppe Sala comes after prosecutors on Wednesday sought the arrest of Milan's councillor for urban planning, the head of real estate firm Coima and four others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to three sources with knowledge of the matter, Mayor Sala, who heads a centre-left coalition in the city, is among dozens of people under investigation. He is accused of concealing a conflict of interest relating to the appointment of a chairman of a municipal commission that grants building permits. He is also allegedly among those who put pressure on that same chairman to unblock the authorisation of a building project in the city. His spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment. The probe on the mayor was first reported by three Italian newspapers. In a comment published by Corriere della Sera newspaper on Thursday, Sala denied any wrongdoing and said he found it "shocking that the mayor should learn from a newspaper that he is under investigation and not from prosecutors. It is unacceptable". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scandal risks embarrassing Milan as the city prepares to co-host the 2026 Winter Olympics next February. The ruling centre-right parties, who govern at national level under Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, have called for Sala's resignation. Two of the sources specified that the investigations into the mayor's position are still in their early stages and are not close to any conclusion, expressing regret that the news had become public. The Milan property market began flourishing in 2015, when the Expo international exhibition helped to transform the city into a hot spot for developers from Italy and abroad, reshaping its skyline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But complaints from local residents objecting to a sharp increase in the number of multi-storey buildings triggered investigations into alleged abuses in the fast-tracking of building permits, stalling construction activity. According to court documents, prosecutors said investigations related to the largest urban planning projects in Milan, "have brought to light a 'system'...whose purpose is to facilitate the issuance of illegal building permits and to carry out highly speculative real estate transactions". (Additional reporting by Elvira Pollina, editing by Keith Weir and Sharon Singleton) MILFORD, Conn. (WTNH) A man accused of leaving his two dogs in a car while visiting a store is facing charges in Milford after one of the dogs died from heatstroke, police said. While running an errand at CVS on June 25 around 1:30 p.m., police say John Torres, 72, of Milford left his dogs in the vehicle for nearly 30 minutes with the windows rolled up. Authorities say that surveillance footage confirms this. Mans vehicle shot at after striking two people in North Haven road rage incident Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement News 8 meteorologist Ashley Baylor reported that June 25 was the hottest day of the year so far, with temperatures soaring to 97 degrees. Police say Torres returned from the store to find his French bulldog unresponsive. He attempted to cool the dog down with cold water before taking it to a nearby animal hospital, where veterinarians pronounced the dog dead from heatstroke. Police and animal control were then notified. Connecticuts extreme hot weather protocol activated for 2nd time this year: What you need to know Something like this, and actually seeing a tragic death like this, is not that common for us, said Milford Public Information Officer Brianna MacDonald. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While it is not illegal to leave dogs unattended in a car in Connecticut, police emphasized that animal neglect is a criminal offense. Its like our childyouve got to keep your eye on them, said John Bucknall, a Milford resident and dog owner. The surviving dog is still believed to be in Torres care. John Torres, 72, of Milford, was charged with two counts of cruelty to animals on July 10. Torres is scheduled to appear in court on Aug. 7. The investigation by Milford Police and Animal Control is ongoing. The investigation by Milford Police and Animal Control is ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WTNH.com. In the wake of massive wildfires in Canada's Manitoba province, people thousands of miles away are being warned to stay indoors thanks to the noxious ash and smoke that's traveling on the wind to their homes. As flagged by Newsweek, people who live in eight American states (and four Canadian provinces) are now under air pollution warning and as an air quality map shows, the regions impacted have tens of millions of residents. According to AirNow which publishes a real-time, color-coded air quality map based on data from dozens of state, local, and federal agencies in the US parts of New York City, Detroit, and Oklahoma City are currently impacted by "moderate" air pollution. Poor quality air can be problematic for anyone, but especially sensitive groups including pregnant people, children, the elderly, or people with heart or lung conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the entire area surrounding the Texas cities of Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio is under a similar air quality index (AQI) warning, and the suburbs of the latter are considered "unhealthy" or "unhealthy for sensitive groups." With more than six million people living in just those four cities alone and an additional 9.5 million in NYC, OKC, and Detroit, that means that untold millions of people are experiencing negative enough air quality that they should, if they have any health issues at all, remain indoors until the wildfire smoke passes. As the Environmental Protection Agency explains, the 500-point, color-coded AQI legend used by US-based agencies is graded based on how many people are affected by poor air quality. Even those who live "code yellow," which most of the impacted areas are currently designated, can have issues and it might not just be "unusually sensitive" people who suffer. Though the EPA notes that it "cannot identify groups of people that are at greater risk" under "moderate" AQI, controlled human exposure studies undertaken by the agency have suggested that "there are individuals who experience health effects at more moderate levels of outdoor exertion or at lower ozone levels than the average person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "These individuals," the EPA's AQI legend explainer reads, "may experience effects when air quality is in the moderate range." While it's certainly a good thing that the AQI isn't worse in the United States right now, the fact remains that an untold number of people could be at risk due to the wildfire smoke infiltrating their cities. The only real way to avoid heightened air pollution is to stay indoors with the windows closed and with so many people under AQI warning right now, that's an impossible ask. More on pollution: Pollution Industry Using AI to Make the Case for More Pollution The Brief A Milwaukee company has created custom t-shirts and hoodies to honor fallen Milwaukee Police Officer Kendall Corder. The t-shirts and hoodies sell for $40 a piece, and all proceeds will benefit the Milwaukee Police Association Fallen Officers Fund. The shirts are available online. MILWAUKEE - Fallen Milwaukee Police Officer Kendall Corder remains in our minds. He was laid to rest last Friday. Now, a Milwaukee business is giving back in Corder's name. Honoring fallen Officer Kendall Corder What we know Shirts and Logos, a Milwaukee company, is putting together a special creation in support of fallen Officer Corder, who died in the line of duty in June. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It comes in white and black, and there's a short, a hoodie and a short-sleeve shirt," said Rick Marino, Shirts and Logos owner. "Both the family and the union approved everything." Rick Marino The shirts sell for $40 each. Marino told FOX6 News all proceeds will go to the Milwaukee Police Association Fallen Officers Fund. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android This is not the first time Shirts and Logos has been involved in creating shirts like this. In 2023, the company made benefit shirts for fallen Milwaukee Police Officer Peter Jerving. What they're saying "It's just important to take care of those to take care of us," Marino said. "They put their life on the line to protect us. And that's something that is very important that they should be recognized." Consider a purchase What you can do If you are interested in purchasing one of the custom shirts from Shirts and Logos, you are invited to visit the company's website. The Source The information in this post was provided by Shirts and Logos, a Milwaukee company. A Milwaukee man has been charged in connection to the abduction of 7-year-old Jamal White, who has since been found. Corey Williams, 25, was charged on July 17 with being party to the crime of kidnapping with intent to transfer property, taking hostages and contributing to the delinquency of a child. Jamal, known as Baby J, was abducted at gunpoint and found the following day, less than 24 hours after an Amber Alert was issued and Milwaukee police designated the child critically missing. On July 13, Milwaukee police arrested Williams at an address connected to the kidnapping. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On July 17, police said they also arrested a 38-year-old man and a 14-year-old boy in relation to the abduction and intend to refer criminal charges to the Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office. The department is not seeking additional suspects, it said in an email. A flyer depicts 7-year-old Jamal White, who was abducted on Milwaukee's north side July 11. Family, friends and community members gathered at Carmen Park July 12 to search for the boy. According to the criminal complaint, Jamal's father told a Milwaukee Police Department officer that a white Jeep had drove up to the front of his Wyrick Park residence while his son rode his bike out front. The parent, unnamed in the complaint, said he ran inside his residence when he saw Black men jump out of the Jeep carrying guns. The father said he saw the men grab Jamal "without consent," put the child in the white Jeep and drive eastbound. Officers reviewed a surveillance video that confirmed the account of the abduction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police officers located Jamal on July 12 in the upper unit of a Washington Park house, according to the complaint. They found the 7-year-old hiding in the attic of the duplex, with a methamphetamine pill in his pocket. A detective interviewed Jamal on July 13. According the complaint, Jamal said a man grabbed him by the back of his shirt and took him when he was at his father's house. The 7-year-old recalled being in a car with three unknown men, who drove him to the house where police ultimately recovered him. Jamal said he heard one of the men talking to his mother while they were in the house. He told the detective he heard his mother say she was going to come and pick him up, but she never came. Jamal White According to the complaint, Jamal teared up remembering his mother did not pick him up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a photo array, Jamal identified Williams as the man who drove the car in which he was taken. In an interview with a different detective, Williams alleged Jamal's mother is a well-known drug dealer. Williams claimed he had borrowed the white Jeep to assist in robbing Jamal's mother at gunpoint at her home on July 11. After waiting by her home that day and not encountering her, Williams and two companions drove to Jamal's father's residence instead. In the interview, Williams confirmed the account of the 7-year-old's abduction. After driving off with Jamal, the plan changed, Williams recounted, according to the court document. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His companions contacted Jamal's mother later that night and demanded $100,000 and jewelry in exchange for her son. They offered to meet her at a nearby park. Williams said Jamal's mother never showed up to the meeting. Once the three abductors became aware of the Amber Alert, they discussed whether they should harm the child "to show they were serious," but did not do so, the complaint states. If Williams is convicted on the three charges all felonies he could face a combined maximum penalty exceeding 100 years in prison. This story was updated to add new information. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Milwaukee man charged in connection with abduction of Jamal White, 7 The Brief Milwaukee Police Department - District 2 held its monthly crime & safety meeting on Wednesday. District 2 is where fallen police officer Kendall Corder served until he was killed in the line of duty almost three weeks ago. A moment of silence was held on Wednesday for Corder. MILWAUKEE - There was a powerful display of support at the Milwaukee Police Department - District 2s monthly crime & safety meeting on Wednesday, July 16. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement District 2 is where fallen police officer Kendall Corder served until he was killed in the line of duty almost three weeks ago. The meeting did touch on issues and safety within the district, but a big part of the conversation was honoring the fallen officer. A moment of silence was held on Wednesday for Corder. The backstory Officer Corder and his partner, Christopher McCray, were shot near 25th and Garfield on June 26. Police said the gunman "ambushed" the officers. FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android McCray was released from the hospital on Saturday. Corder did not survive, succumbing to his injuries on Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court records show 22-year-old Tremaine Jones is charged in the shooting with first-degree intentional homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and first-degree recklessly endangering safety. Local perspective Officer John Parlier is the coordinator of the MPD wellness team. Hes serving as a liaison for Corder's family. "The day it happened, we all felt helpless. It was just the two of them sent out to the location and the incident happened so quickly, so many of us weren't able to get there. I was stuck in the office myself," Parlier said. "I know how much Kendall's family meant to him, how much they will continue to mean to him and being in a position to take the support the community has wanted to give and pay it forward to the family who has faced the ultimate sacrifice has been a privilege." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The packed room felt that sacrifice, as unwavering support continued to grow from community members. What they're saying "He's a human being, he's a man that loved the community and that served. I think the community support that came out today was wanting to encourage that and show support of the officers just like him," resident Jasmin Treske said. "This has shown how strong our roots are on the southside, how much we have come together." District 2 is holding onto that togetherness as they cling to their bonds with their brothers and sisters in blue. "As a unit we just tried to stay together, knowing grief is better shared," Parlier said. What you can do There are still flowers and other tributes for Corder outside the police building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Money is still being raised for Corders family, including a GoFundMe. If you are looking for a way to help the families of the officers, you can donate to MPA Fallen Heroes, Inc. According to the website, every dollar offers immediate emergency aid for injured officers and supports long-term recovery for officers and their families. MPA Fallen Heroes Fund The Source The information in this post was collected and produced by FOX6 News. Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara attends the Knesset in Jerusalem. November 18, 2024. (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) Israels cabinet moves to dismiss Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara, sparking legal challenges and potential Supreme Court intervention. The ministerial committee formed to fire Attorney-General Gali Baharav-Miara published its formal recommendation to that effect on Thursday, after she refused to attend a hearing due to what she argued was an illegal process. The committee, chaired by Diaspora Affairs MinisterAmichai Chikli, wrote that its recommendation was based on fundamental and ongoing disagreements and a lack of effective cooperation with the A-G, as well as delays and deficiencies in executing tasks and priorities and serial rulings that government policies were not legally viable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The ministers also cited adversarial and disrespectful conduct and systematically voicing public criticism against the government and its ministers as reasons for her dismissal. The ministers convened at the Prime Ministers Office in Jerusalem and waited for the attorney-general over an hour, according to the meetings protocol. The committee will reconvene on Sunday in order to approve the recommendation. The government plenary will then vote, likely next Sunday (July 27), on whether or not to accept the recommendation. Once the decision is final, it will likely be challenged in theHigh Court, and Baharav-Miara will likely continue serving in her position in the meantime. ATTORNEY-GENERAL Gali Baharav-Miara. Last week, the A-G and her office issued a sharply critical advisory opinion on a government decision to change the traditional firing process of the attorney-general, one of many back-and-forths Baharav-Miara has had with the government. (credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST) The procedure was 'fundamentally flawed' The committee set the initial hearing for Baharav-Miara on Tuesday, but she refused to attend, arguing that the hearing was for appearances only and the result was known in advance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to the committees decision to give her a second chance at a hearing on Thursday morning, the attorney-general announced on Wednesday that she again refused to attend, writing that the invitation to a second hearing did not change the fact that the procedure was fundamentally flawed. A situation in which, from now on, the government can end the tenure of an attorney-general without oversight and out of foreign and, heaven forbid, corrupt considerations, including illegitimate influence on ongoing criminal proceedings, causes serious harm to the rule of law, Baharav-Miara wrote. The government formed the committee, called the Ministerial Committee on the Methods and Conditions for Terminating the Tenure of the Attorney General, on June 8, after failing to fire Baharav-Miara via the procedure that was set over 20 years ago. As well as Chikli, the committee is composed of Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister MK Itamar Ben-Gvir, Science and Technology Minister MK Gila Gamliel, and outgoing Religious Affairs Minister Michael Malkieli. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Sunday, Supreme Court Justice Noam Sohlberg rejected an injunction request by a number of NGOs to cancel the hearing. Sohlberg wrote that the court would only rule on the matter once it was irreversible, meaning after the committees decision. In its decision on Tuesday to summon Baharav-Miara to a second hearing, the committee wrote, The position of the Ministerial Committee is that the attorney-generals decision to take the law into her own hands and not appear before the committee especially after requesting an interim order from the Supreme Court to block the hearing, which the court rejected constitutes contempt of court and undermines the standing of an elected government in Israel. This is particularly troubling given her role as the authorized interpreter of the law, after the Supreme Court ruled contrary to her position. Led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the government has blamed Baharav-Miara for intentionally issuing restrictive legal opinions in order to trip up and eventually topple the government. The A-G has argued in her defense that the government has repeatedly attempted to act illegally, and that it was her statutory duty to advise it on the limits of the law and prevent it from acting illegally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She has also stressed that the attorney-general was an independent gatekeeper and was not required to obey every government wish and command. The issue of the method of firing the A-G is especially complex, as ministers have disregarded her opinion on the matter due to what they claimed was a conflict of interest. Already in March, Justice Minister Yariv Levin initiated a government decision by expressing no confidence in Baharav-Miara. However, Levin failed to assemble the required committee to proceed with her removal, which needed to include a retired Supreme Court justice as chair, appointed by the Supreme Court chief justice and with the approval of the justice minister; a former justice minister or attorney-general, chosen by the government; an MK, chosen by the Knessets Constitution, Law and Justice Committee; a lawyer, chosen by the Israel Bar Association (IBA); and a legal academic, selected by the deans of Israels law faculties. Levin took the lead since Netanyahu is not allowed to deal with issues that could affect his ongoing criminal trial. The attorney-general is the head of Israels law enforcement apparatus and oversees the state prosecution, and her removal could pave the way for a new attorney general more inclined to do away with the charges against the prime minister. Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota was hospitalized Wednesday after she began feeling unwell while working at the Capitol, according to a statement from her staff. "While at work at the Capitol today, Sen. Smith started to not feel well," read a post on X. "She went to the Capitol physician who recommended she undergo more thorough examination at GW hospital." Senator Chuck Schumer Taken To Hospital As Dc Struggles With Heatwave Senator Tina Smith was admitted to George Washington University Hospital on Wednesday, her staff said. Doctors have opted to keep her overnight "out of an abundance of caution," her office said. "She expects to be back at work very soon," the statement reads. Read On The Fox News App Original article source: Minnesota Senator Tina Smith hospitalized after not feeling well at Capitol A 13-year-old Amur Tiger and mother to six cubs was euthanized last week, the Minnesota Zoo announced Thursday. Sundari, also known as Dari, was euthanized due to mesothelioma, an aggressive and incurable form of cancer, the zoo said in a release. She passed peacefully and under expert care. Born in 2012 at the Apple Valley zoo, Dari gave birth to six cubs: Vera, Brosno, Vostok, Yana, and last spring welcomed Amaliya and Andrei. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dari was more than a tiger she was a powerful ambassador for her species, said Minnesota Zoo Director John Frawley, in the release. Her legacy lives on in her cubs and in the hearts she touched. An endangered species due to poaching, Amur Tigers hovered near the brink of extinction around the 1930s with an estimated population between 20 and 30, according to the zoo. Since opening in 1978, 46 Amur tiger cubs have been born at the Minnesota Zoo. Of the 46 cubs, 21 have gone on to produce litters of their own, resulting in another 86 cubs to bolster the population, per the release. The Minnesota Zoo is also active in several Species Survival Plans, including tigers and Japanese and lion-tailed macaques, that serve as a genetic insurance policy against extinction by coordinating with experts to guide breeding decisions and animal transfers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through her life, Dari gave the SSP program what it needed most consistency, maternal excellence and critical genetic contribution. She nurtured her cubs with extraordinary love and helped guide a new generation of care for tiger mothers, said Trista Fischer, Minnesota Zoo zoologist and coordinator of the Amur Tiger Species Survival Plan, in the release. To honor Dari, well wishers are invited to support the Tiger Conservation Fund, donate to the Minnesota Zoo Foundation or visit Daris offspring at the Minnesota Zoo, located at 13000 Zoo Boulevard in Apple Valley. Related Articles As Colorados Renaissance Festival in Larkspur sees higher-than-normal turnout this year, officials recently announced they would limit online ticket sales. The annual medieval-themed festival currently runs Saturdays and Sundays through August 3 should more days be added to help meet demand? You voted: RANDOLPH COUNTY, N.C. (WGHP) The body of a teen has been identified after being found in a vacant area in Trinity last month, according to a Randolph County Sheriffs Office news release. On June 25, the RCSO responded to an undeveloped tract of land in the Trinity area of Randolph County when they were told about unidentified human remains. Investigators located evidence on the scene that Chance Trevon Jenkins, 15, of High Point, had died after being shot multiple times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time, Jenkins was unidentified. He was positively identified by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner on July 15. He was reported missing to the High Point Police Department by his family around June 16. The investigation is ongoing. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX8 WGHP. A Jersey yachtsman hopes to reduce the maritime industry's emissions by using hydrogen power to fuel boats and ferries. Ocean racer Phil Sharp has used an 347,000 grant from the States of Jersey to develop a hydrogen-powered sailing boat. The plan now is for his company, OceansLab, to scale this sustainable technology to larger vessels, including ferries. "I have always been keen to push a new clean tech that we can adapt to the marine environment," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is the moment to try and kick-start the industry to demonstrate technologies that we can embrace for like inter-island ferries but also short sea shipping and longer-term, deep-sea shipping," he said. "My goal is to get this technology into real vessels and ships as quickly as possible in order to reduce the detrimental effect we are seeing from the maritime sector." OceanLab uses hydrogen fuel cells and solar panels. He said the company was currently trying to commercialise the technology in order to have a "greater environmental impact" and has recently moved into a production centre to start creating and assembling the technology to use. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Sharp also said the company has been visiting schools to teach them about clean energy on the island. Follow BBC Jersey on X and Facebook. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. Related internet links JACKSON, Miss. (WJTV) As financial uncertainty largely looms on the minds of many Americans, a WalletHub report revealed that Mississippians may be among the most stressed about their financial situation. Roughly one in five, or 18%, of Mississippians live in poverty, the second highest rate nationally. Jacksons poverty rate surpasses one in four residents. This partially explains the states lowest average credit score nationally, according to WalletHub. It led the website to rank the state as having the eighth highest rate of financial distress nationally. Alcorn, Belhaven named Moneys Best Colleges 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WalletHub used data from March 2024 and March 2025. During the period, the share of people with financial accounts in distress worsened in Mississippi. However, the number of bankruptcy filings decreased over the last year. In 2024, the state ranked as the seventh most financially distressed. Some statistics remained the same from last year. The state has the highest share of households without bank accounts and the second-highest share of people who borrow money from non-bank lenders. Additionally, Mississippi has the lowest share of residents with sustainable spending habits. The state has the second-lowest rate of emergency savings among its residents nationally. Mississippi seeks to ensure that younger Mississippians are better positioned to be more financially stable. Since 2022, Mississippi students must take a personal finance course before graduating from high school. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJTV. STARKVILLE, Miss. (WJTV) On July 19, Mississippi State University (MSU) will honor the anniversary of Dr. Richard E. Holmes becoming the first African American student in school history. This will mark 60 years since Holmes first stepped onto campus on July 19, 1965. His integration would become a massive leap for the civil rights movement of the time, as he was the first African American student to be integrated into MSU and was not met with violence. This was in stark contrast to James Merediths integration into University of Mississippi just three years prior, which required the National Guard to be deployed to quell violent protests against integrating schools. Mississippi State launches graduate construction degree program Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Holmes would go on to earn two degrees from MSU. He earned a liberal arts degree and masters degree in microbiology before going to medical school at Michigan State University. In a 2014 interview at Mississippi State, he said it was one of his professors at MSU who recommended him to medical school. In 1965, I met Dr. Morris Kinsey, and Dr. Kinsey had just graduated from Michigan State with a Ph.D., Holmes said. He mentioned that at Michigan State, there was a new medical school there, and said, If youre interested in going to medical school, Ill write the dean and Ill introduce you. Holmes would later serve as an emergency room doctor for over 20 years in Birmingham, Alabama. He returned to MSUs campus to work in the universitys Longest Student Health Center in 2003. The university honored Holmes in 1991 with the establishment of the Richard E. Holmes Cultural Diversity Center, now known as the Holmes Center for Student Success. 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. COLUMBUS, Miss. (WJTV) The Mississippi University for Women (The W) will offer a Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) in Elementary Education in fall 2025. This is an effort to help address Mississippis teacher vacancies. Were proud to offer a program that not only strengthens our states teacher workforce but also empowers individuals to make meaningful contributions to Mississippi classrooms, said Nora Miller, University President. The State Board of Education voted to approve the degree program. Offered through The Ws School of Education, the MAT in Elementary Education is a 33-credit hour, alternate-route initial licensure program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hinds CC offers training for Amazon Web Services data centers This program is both rigorous and essential. It fulfills state licensure requirements and opens doors for Mississippians to join the teaching workforce, said Dr. Martin Hatton, dean of the School of Education at The W. The teacher shortage is not only a national issue but also a pressing concern in Mississippi. According to the university, the program includes 12 credit hours of literacy instruction; three hours in STEM methods; three hours in classroom management; three hours in special education instruction; three hours in data analysis and evaluation; three hours of reading-related research; and two three-credit supervised teaching internships. To apply for the Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education or other graduate programs at The W, click here. 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. MISSOURI Among 13 different measures that Governor Mike Kehoe signed into law last week, one eliminates the luxury tax on diapers and feminine hygiene products. Kehoe passed House Bill 483 that will end the tampon tax and cut the tax rate of luxury goods like menstrual products and diapers from 4.22% to 1.225%. While these products will not be subject to state tax, the new law does not prevent municipalities from imposing their own additional taxes on these goods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MSHP: Florissant man drowns in the Lake of the Ozarks after kayak overturns Prior to the passing of the bill, Missouri was one of 21 states that taxed diapers and feminine hygiene products as luxury items. The new law will take effect on Aug. 28 of 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 FOX 2. Jul. 16MITCHELL A 67-year-old Mitchell man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison with four years suspended after pleading guilty to his sixth driving under the influence (DUI) offense. Steve Rath received the sentence in Davison County court stemming from a high-speed chase earlier this year with the Davison County Sheriff's Office. He was also given credit for 138 days already served, fined $1,000 and ordered to pay $456 in restitution for damage caused during the incident. The charges followed a pursuit that occurred in February in the Mitchell area. Deputies attempted to stop Rath, who fled and reached speeds of up to 115 mph, according to court documents. The chase was called off as it approached residential streets, but Rath continued driving and eventually crashed into a tree, where he was arrested. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rath faced multiple charges, including a Class 4 felony for sixth-offense DUI, Class 1 misdemeanors for eluding law enforcement and driving with a revoked license, and Class 2 misdemeanors for no proof of insurance and having an open container. He was also cited for not wearing a seat belt. On Tuesday, Rath pleaded guilty to the felony DUI charge as part of a plea agreement. In exchange, prosecutors dismissed the remaining charges. Court records show Rath has a long history with substance abuse and the legal system. He participated in the James Valley Drug and DUI Court program multiples times, graduating twice first in January 2020 and again in November 2023. After Rath is released from prison, his driver's license will be revoked for three years. Childrens Hunger Alliance distributes food at the Upper Valley Medical Center parking lot in Troy on Tuesdays during the summer. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal). Jodi Hess drove her Head Start van through the Upper Valley Medical Center parking lot in Troy on Tuesday and received 18 food boxes to give to the three families she works with. This is extra support for kids for the summer. A lot of kids skip meals because theres not enough at home, so this is definitely a blessing for people, said Hess, who is a home-based educator for Head Start, meaning she teaches in peoples homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The Troy location is one of two weekly mobile routes Childrens Hunger Alliance has this summer that distributes ready-to-eat meals for families to take home in the summer. The meals include five days worth of breakfasts, milk, and snacks. All the food is shelf stable, meaning it does not need to be refrigerated. The other mobile route is in Sabina (Clinton County) on Thursdays. The families are used to just providing dinner and weekend food during school time and then summer is a whole different bear, Hess said. More than 450,000 Ohio children struggle with hunger and the summer months can often be the hungriest stretch of the year for students who rely on free or reduced school meals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The alliance has more than 200 summer meal sites statewide that provides food for children that are sponsored through the USDAs Summer Food Service Program. In the summer, theres nothing there to replace it, and so thats part of what (the alliance) is trying to do is just help ease the burden a little bit and make sure the kids get food in their bellies, and try to help as much as possible, said Diane Miller Ryan, Childrens Hunger Alliance director of community outreach. Slightly more than a quarter (27.2%) of Ohio students participated in the school breakfast program and 54.5% of students participated in the school lunch program during the 2023-24 school year, according to the Ohio Department of Education and Workforce. A box of food containing milk, various graham crackers, and an assortment of cereals. (Photo by Megan Henry, Ohio Capital Journal). The alliance has two vans at the Troy site filled with about 300 boxes of milk, fruit juice, various graham crackers, and an assortment of cereals. Each child receives a box. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Troy site typically gives away about 250 boxes each week and Sabina averages distributing about 70 boxes each week, Ryan said. I pick up two boxes for my grandkids, Amy Thompson, of Covington, said. They really enjoy the snacks that are in there. This was Ashley Elliotts second time picking up food boxes. I really dont know what I would do to feed the kids, she said. It helps a lot. Paula Smith has been picking up food boxes in the summer for the past few years for her five grandchildren. I do it because I know it helps them, she said after the boxes were loaded into her car on Tuesday. Most of them are used to having meals at school so this helps my grandson and granddaughter and their parents save a little bit of money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of families say the grab-and-go meals help take the burden off of their grocery bills, Ryan said. It helps the parents a lot of times just stretch their grocery dollars more than it normally would if they didnt have it, she said. Kids can be bottomless pits, especially in the summertime. The grocery budget is often one of the first things to get trimmed, Ryan said. You cant cut your rent, you cant cut your electricity, you cant cut your power, she said. So whats the one thing thats kind of expendable? Its your food budget. So thats usually where it gets knocked off the most. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The alliances funding was cut by $2 million in Ohios two-year operating budget that was recently signed into law meaning the alliance will provide 1.2 million fewer meals for children when they go back to school next month, said Childrens Hunger Alliance President and CEO Michelle M. Brown. Despite the state budget cut, we do not plan to cut any children from our programs, Brown said in an email. To make the numbers work, we will have to provide less food over fewer weeks during the year. Follow Capital Journal Reporter Megan Henry on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Jada McPherson was brutally assaulted by her neighbors, Andreea Dumitru, 45, and her daughter, Sabrina Starman, 21, in Ridgewood, Queens over a parking spot on Monday (July 7). When footage of the attack surfaced, McPherson was seen being attacked by multiple people including the aforementioned mother and daughter and an unidentified man. They were trying to literally rip my hair out of my scalp, said the 21-year-old Pace University student. The women were charged with first degree assault and second degree harassment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dumitru and Starman appeared on StrangeMcKnights YouTube channel on July 14 for a 30-minute tell-all interview. Dumitru claims McPherson called her white trash and that shes been receiving death threats since evidence of the brawl surfaced. Dumitru did express regret about the assault. I regret that it was very wrong of me to do. It wasnt right. I regret it, but accused McPherson of choosing violence, adding, She provoked the situation. Starman also claimed that McPherson started the racial comments, but later apologized for her behavior. I wanna say that I apologize for approaching the way I did after being provoked. Its not the answer or solution to stop a situation, but people like me [Starman is a transgender woman] have fought so much in this country, on this world. Ive dealt with so much trauma in the past for being who I am as a person, she stated. Comments under the YouTube video sided with McPherson. Its crazy to me that the person who actually ripped locs out of a womans head is trying to pretend to be victim, said one user. Another responded, Wait a minute, they aggressed her by calling her a monkey and now theyre in fear??? Aint no fun when the rabbit has the gun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another comment read: I live less than ten blocks away from where this was. These people have been known throughout Ridgewood as a nuisance at best. Theyre sorry they got caught, and nothing else. Crocodile tears. During the attack, McPherson was flung to the ground by her hair and Dumitru was heard yelling, Youre a monkey, b***h. McPherson was also called a slave. She was treated for her injuries at the scene and is moving out of the neighborhood, despite over 100 people rallying in support of her, according to the New York Post. Dumitru and Starman are due in court on September 9 to fight the charges. More from VIBE.com Sign up for Vibe's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Passions ran high outside of a Kent County courtroom Wednesday after the family of the teenager who was charged in a crime spree that culminated in 17-year-old Riley Doggetts death learned he will be charged as an adult. The teen, who News 8 will not name until he is charged as an adult, waived his right to be tried in juvenile court. He is facing two counts: receiving and concealing a stolen car and conducting a criminal enterprise. Police: Chase that injured teen was second of night for suspected car thieves Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My son dying, no, thats not (the teenagers) fault. He was not behind the wheel of the vehicle that killed my son, Doggetts mother Becky Wilbert said. Why are you taking this young mans life away from him when he is not the one who caused that death? Authorities say that on April 8, 2024, the defendant was driving the stolen Range Rover that deputies pursued. The chase came to an end when the SUV crashed in Wyoming and the people inside ran off. As he ran, Doggett was clipped by a patrol car. He was seriously injured and died at the hospital about a month later. Reports: Police watched group before teen hit by cruiser during chase The defendant was a friend of Doggetts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I just think theyre taking another childs life away. Like why? Why are we doing that? Hes a juvenile, Wilbert said. Wilbert said that the blame is being misplaced. This is not (this young mans) fault. (He) was not the one who killed my son. [The deputy] is who killed my son, she said. She has called for the deputy to be charged, but the Kent County prosecutor last year decided there was no basis for criminal charges, saying he was under the impression the suspects were dangerous individuals and that guns may be involved. Wilbert has filed a civil excessive force lawsuit against Kent County and the deputy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Democratic congressional candidate Jessica Killin, an Army veteran and former chief of staff to second gentleman Doug Emhoff, raised more than $750,000 in the first 24 hours after launching her bid to unseat Republican U.S. Rep. Jeff Crank in Colorado's 5th Congressional District, her campaign said Wednesday. It's more than Crank has raised all year, according to the first-term incumbent's campaign finance reports, and appears to be a record for first-day fundraising by a congressional challenger anywhere in the country this cycle. Killin's campaign told Colorado Politics that the total doesn't include any candidate contributions or loans. Killin kicked off her campaign Tuesday morning after teasing her run for more than a month in national political newsletters. Her launch got a boost when Emhoff, former Vice President Kamala Harris' husband, reposted Killin's announcement video and news coverage about her announcement to his nearly 1 million followers on X, asking them to join him in supporting his former chief of staff. "I'm incredibly grateful for the overwhelming support my campaign has received in just 24 hours," Killin said in a statement. "Southern Colorado deserves a representative who prioritizes them and will bring pragmatic solutions and independent leadership to Washington, unlike Jeff Crank, who just voted to add over $3 trillion to our national debt while stripping 225,000 Coloradans of their health care. This outpouring of support shows that Coloradans are ready for real leadership, and I'm ready to get to work for El Paso County." In her campaign material and an interview with Colorado Politics, Killin took aim at Crank's support for the Republican budget bill recently signed into law by President Donald Trump. Nonpartisan budget analysts project the legislation will increase federal debt by more than $3 trillion over the next decade, while nearly $1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and other health care spending over the same period could lead to more than 200,000 Colorado residents losing coverage, according to state estimates. A senior advisor to Crank told Colorado Politics that Killin's powerhouse fundraising out of the gate wasn't a surprise, considering her connections. Not a surprise, Im sure all of her Biden swamp pals chipped in," Crank advisor Nick Trainer said in a text message, adding: "Has she found the county clerks office to register to vote yet? It is a long way from Washington DC. Killin, who was raised in Colorado Springs and graduated from Falcon High School, returned to the city earlier this summer following a lengthy stint in Washington, where she worked as a top aide to Democrats in Congress and at the White House. Previously, she was an executive at USAA, a financial services company that works with members of the military, veterans and their families. The 5th CD, whose borders nearly coincide with those of El Paso County, hasn't once sent a Democrat to Congress in the 54 years since its creation ahead of the 1972 election. The Cook Political Report rates the 5th CD as a solid Republican seat in next year's midterms. Inside Elections, however, puts the district in the slightly more competitive category, calling it a likely Republican hold. Among reasons cited by analysts at the nonpartisan site are the seat's steady movement toward Democrats over the last decade. Featured Local Savings While Crank won election last year by a nearly 14-point margin over Democratic nominee River Gassen, a scientist and first-time candidate, his winning margin was the lowest on record in the district and amounted to less than half of Lamborn's margin just eight years earlier. Colorado Democratic Party Chair Shad Murib said voters in the district's voters are ripe for a change in their representation in Congress. Colorado Springs is tired of being represented by Republican benchwarmers who sleepwalk through their job and toe the party line thats why youre seeing incredible enthusiasm for change in Colorados 5th Congressional District," Murib said in a text message. "Jeff Crank only knows how to obey Donald Trump, not listen to his constituents. Hes done his Partys bidding by voting to kick people off their health care, make life even more expensive for working people, and has barely lifted a finger to protect things like Space Command its time for a change. Killin's single-day haul didn't just surpass Crank's total fundraising for the first six months of 2025 it's more than Crank's predecessor, nine-term Republican Doug Lamborn, raised for any of his reelection campaigns, only falling short of the roughly $1 million Lamborn raised during his successful, first congressional bid in 2006. Crank's campaign said in a report filed Tuesday with the Federal Election Commission that he raised just over $279,000 in the three-month period ending on June 30, bringing his total fundraising for the cycle to just over $653,000, including funds left over from his 2024 campaign. Crank reported having $425,774 on hand at the end of the second quarter. Last year, when he was part of a crowded field of Republicans hoping to take over after Lamborn retired, Crank raised $1.1 million and spent just under $1 million to get elected. Four other Democrats are also running in for the seat. Joe Reagan, an Army combat veteran and nonprofit head who also ran in 2024, reported raising $53,430 so far this cycle and finished the quarter with just under $50,000 in the bank. Jamey Smith reported raising $18,500 and had a little over $30,000 left to spend. Zurit Zuriel Horowitz reported raising just over $6,700 through June 30 and had a little over $5,000 on hand. Michelle Tweed didn't report any fundraising activity. Since she got in the race after the end of the second quarter, Killin's first campaign finance report isn't due until Oct. 15, covering the three months ending Sept. 30. LYON COUNTY (KSNT) A local group is empowering parents with expert knowledge on a topic many new mothers struggle to master. Lyon County WIC and Care-Arc hosted their annual Breastfeeding Bash on July 16 at the Lyon County Fair Grounds in Emporia. Its a way for pregnant and nursing mothers learn about local health resources and the services they provide. New mothers may be presented with a variety of challenges with breastfeeding. Organizers say they want moms to know support is ready and available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I do think that it helps moms know that theyre not alone, said WIC Coordinator Diana Moore. Theyre supported no matter what we just want to make sure mamas healthy and the babys healthy and thats the main goal. Driver busted at 100 mph in Kansas I-70 work zone hit with nearly $1,000 ticket This was the fourth year for the event. You can find more information about the event by clicking here. For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. A Nigerian monarch has taken to the Federal High Court of Nigeria to demand reparations from oil and gas giant Shell before the company fully divests from its assets in the country. Several civil rights and environmental groups have formed a coalition to back King Bubaraye Dakolo, Agada IV of the Ekpetiama Kingdom, in this lawsuit, according to Business Day Nigeria. After almost nine decades of operating business in Nigeria including pumping over 1 million barrels of oil per day from operations in the Niger Delta Shell is looking to sell off its assets and focus on more lucrative renewable energy projects, including wind and solar. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In fact, the oil and gas giant has publicly revealed its intention to divest from the Niger Delta area in 2021 following significant backlash from the community after years of oil spills, as well as militant attacks. There have been more than 7,000 oil spills, amounting to an average of 240,000 barrels of spilled oil per year, in the Niger Delta region since the 1950s, according to Gas Outlook. These incidents, along with gas flaring or the controlled burning of natural gas have significantly contaminated the soil, water, and air in the region, posing a serious health risk to local communities that depend on these natural resources. Local communities have also been exposed to dangerous levels of known carcinogens, which increase the risk of cancer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Shell's move to divest from gas and oil in the region to focus on renewable energy sources seems commendable following a larger global trend toward a more sustainable planet and future Shell cannot wipe its hands clean of its destructive actions by simply selling off assets to local energy companies. This monumental lawsuit, led by King Dakolo and backed by a strong alliance of civil rights experts and environmentalists, aims to stop Shell from leaving the region before it rectifies the environmental damage it has caused in the area over the past decades of business operation. The plaintiffs seek $12 billion in restitution for environmental pollution and damage, remediation of polluted sites, and the decommissioning of obsolete infrastructure, per Business Day Nigeria. Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time Often Only sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. This case sets a precedent in Nigeria, as well as internationally, that large corporations cannot carelessly exploit natural resources in a region and simply walk away without paying the cost of redress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Niger Delta cannot be a sacrificial zone for fossil fuel greed," said Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of the Health of Mother Earth Foundation, per Business Day Nigeria. "Shell wants to leave behind a mess that has ruined our rivers, farmlands, and livelihoods," said King Dakolo, per Terra Daily. "We will not accept abandonment." 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 UK-based war monitor on Thursday said the death toll from sectarian violence in the southern Syrian province of Sweida over the past days has risen to 360. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights relies on a network of sources on the ground and is generally seen as credible, though its figures cannot be independently verified. Clashes between the Sunni Bedouin and Druze minorities in southern Syria have escalated sharply in recent days, centred on the Druze-majority city of Sweida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Syrian authorities and Sheikh Yusuf al-Jarbou, the spiritual leader of the Druze community, announced a new ceasefire agreement - though it remained highly uncertain whether peace would prevail after a local leader of the Druze minority rejected the deal. According to media reports, the government in Damascus announced it would halt all military operations under a new ceasefire agreement. A joint committee of government officials and Druze religious leaders is expected to monitor the deal's implementation. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington had engaged with all parties and that "we have agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight." Meanwhile, Israel, a close US ally, carried out airstrikes on multiple targets in Damascus on Wednesday, including within the compound of Syria's defence ministry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following the outbreak of violence in Syria's Sweida province, the Syrian government deployed troops and other security forces. Israel then said it intervened to protect the Druze minority. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 personnel from Syria's defence and interior ministries were killed in Israeli airstrikes. A UK-based war monitor on Thursday said the death toll from sectarian violence in the southern Syrian province of Sweida over the past few days has risen to 360. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights relies on a network of sources on the ground and is generally seen as credible, though its figures cannot be independently verified. Clashes between the Sunni Bedouin and Druze minorities in southern Syria have escalated sharply in recent days, centred on the Druze-majority city of Sweida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Syrian authorities and Sheikh Yusuf al-Jarbou, the spiritual leader of the Druze community, announced a new ceasefire agreement - though it remained highly uncertain whether peace would prevail after a local leader of the Druze minority rejected the deal. According to media reports, the government in Damascus announced it would halt all military operations under a new ceasefire agreement. A joint committee of government officials and Druze religious leaders is expected to monitor the deal's implementation. On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington had engaged with all parties and that "specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight" had been agreed. Meanwhile, Israel, a close US ally, carried out airstrikes on multiple targets in Damascus on Wednesday, including within the compound of Syria's Defence Ministry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 personnel from Syria's Defence and Interior Ministries were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Following the outbreak of violence in Syria's Sweida province, the Syrian government deployed troops and other security forces. Israel then said it intervened to protect the Druze minority. In a dawn speech broadcast on national television, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday accused Israel of exploiting the unrest by targeting civilian infrastructure and seeking to derail peace and reconstruction efforts. He also reaffirmed the Druze community's place in Syrian society, underscoring the state's commitment to protecting their rights and freedoms, and warned against attempts to drag Syria into foreign agendas. Showers and storms are becoming more scattered this evening. A Flash Flood Warning has been issued for the South Fork burn scar due to heavy rainfall. These showers and storms will continue to impact the state as we move into the late evening and overnight hours. Through the end of the week, a monsoon pattern sets up across the region. This will bring more scattered showers and storms across the state through the end of the week. This will also bring a heightened flash flooding threat across many areas of the state, especially burn scar areas. Moving into the weekend we will see an area of high pressure moving southeast of New Mexico. This will continue to push more moisture into the region. Isolated to scattered showers will be in place across many areas of the state through Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By the beginning of next week, drier air will move across the area. This will bring less showers and storms to the state to start the week. Spotty to isolated showers and storms will still be possible each afternoon. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Jul. 16RED LAKE COUNTY, Minn. A Great Falls, Montana, woman pleaded guilty Wednesday, July 17, to theft by swindling for stealing more than $500,000 from Red Lake County Cooperative, Inc., by wire fraud. Stephanie Michele Nipp, 56, gave an Alford plea to the crime, which means she maintains her innocence but acknowledges there is enough evidence that, if she took the matter to trial, she would likely be convicted. Alford pleas are often given by someone who wants the benefit of a plea agreement, however, none is filed in Nipp's case. Instead, the prosecution filed a notice that it intends to seek an aggravated sentence, citing a statute that says this is allowable if the defendant pleads guilty without a plea agreement or is convicted through a trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prosecution's reasoning for a more severe sentence though its requested sentence length is not included is that Nipp's charge is a major economic crime, she demonstrated a high degree of planning and her offense is more egregious than is typical for someone charged with the same offense, according to the court document. Nipp faces a maximum of 20 years for the crime, though sentencing guidelines recommend between 21 and 68 months, depending on criminal history. Nipp maintains a not guilty plea to a second felony charge of receiving stolen property. She was arrested in January and placed on a $5 million bond Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement that was later reduced to $1 million after a Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigation identified her as a perpetrator of wire fraud, according to a probable cause statement filed in the case. The investigation began in October, months after a general manager of the Red Lake County Co-op sent $573,818.75 to what she believed was Sackett-Waconia, a company that was hired to assist with building and providing materials for the co-op's new agronomy facility. However, the manager received a call a month later asking for the status of the payment that she believed she already sent. She explained she followed the instructions in the email she received; the caller said no instructions were emailed. The authorities were contacted, and it was determined that the act was fraudulent, and the information provided was consistent with a Bravera Bank account located in Great Falls, Montana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was also determined that an unauthorized phone number was in the system of Gales Design, the company that hired Sacket-Waconia to assist with the co-op project. This would have allowed the person to authenticate log-ins, follow email conversations and mark them as junk, the statement said. The investigation revealed that Nipp opened the Bravera Bank account the same month of the offense. While opening the account, she presented a Montana Secretary of State document of Incorporation for Sackett-Waconia, listing herself as the incorporator, according to the statement. Dan Rondeau, president of Sackett-Waconia, told law enforcement the company was not incorporated in Montana, nor did it have an employee named Nipp, nor was anyone authorized to incorporate in Montana in the company's name. He also said he did not recognize the person shown in the bank's surveillance footage, who law enforcement identified as Nipp. The account had one deposit as well as various withdrawals and transfers. It was closed the month after the wire fraud. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nipp has been given permission to be released from custody until her sentencing, which is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Aug. 27. In order to get out, she had to sign a waiver of extradition, which means that if she fails to show up for her sentencing, she would not go through an extradition process she would simply be returned to Red Lake County custody. A pre-sentence investigation will be completed prior to sentencing. Jul. 17Employees of the Montgomery County Public Defender's Office have filed a class action lawsuit against the county for its alleged failure to pay public defenders on par with county prosecutors, as mandated by state code. The suit, filed earlier this week in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, names three defendants and respondents: The Montgomery County Public Defender's Office (MCPDO) itself; the Public Defender Commission of Montgomery County, which oversees the office politically; and the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, which makes budgeting decisions that affect the office. In the filing, an attorney representing employees of the MCPDO alleges a history of "gross and unlawful compensation disparities between the Public Defender's Office and the Prosecutor's Office in Montgomery County, Ohio." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The allegation is largely based on a rule in the Ohio Administrative Code that says the "supporting staff, facilities, equipment, supplies, and other requirements needed to maintain and operate an office of a ... county public defender ... shall be substantially equivalent to that provided for the county prosecutor's office." This rule goes on to clarify that the "salaries for public defender attorneys shall approximate and be in parity with the compensation received by a prosecutors with comparable years in practice and experience." Plaintiffs in the case allege that the county has "continually and intentionally ignored the parity requirements," and has instead allowed for "vast disparities in compensation and resources" between the MCPDO and the Montgomery County Prosecutor's Office (MCPO). Plaintiffs allege this has been the case since 2015. Their filing demonstrated recent disparities, particularly in year-end bonuses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A chart included in the plaintiff's filing shows the following total bonus breakdown for each office: In 2024, $1.4 million in bonuses were awarded within the county prosecutor's office, compared to $318,518 for public defenders and staff. In 2023, that comparison was $1.8 million to $171,960; in 2022 it was $1.5 million to $707,034; in 2021 it was $814,776 to $199,048; and in 2020 it was $1.1 million to $59,540. In 2023, the largest bonus given to a county assistant prosecutor was $51,566, the lawsuit alleges; The largest bonus to a public defender was $2,012. The plaintiffs allege that Montgomery County Prosecutor Mat Heck has continually accepted and requested funding from the county for vacant positions with the intent of "distributing the funds allocated for those vacant positions as additional year end compensation to bolster the compensation of prosecutors in the prosecutor's office." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "These funding disparities between the MCPO and the MCPDO creates (sic) huge disadvantages to the public defenders who are employed by the MCPDO," the plaintiffs argue. "Primarily, it makes the MCPDO less competitive in the search for and hiring of qualified, competent attorneys and staff, leaving the MCPDO understaffed and overworked in comparison to the staffing of the MCPO." They argue that the disparities leave their office less effective "against a more highly compensated and, as a result, better staffed, and thus better prepared prosecutor's office." There has not yet been a legal response from the county. Messages left with the prosecutor's office and county offices named in the suit were not immediately returned. Plaintiffs in the case include public defenders Michael Dailey, William Ehrstine and Susan Souther; staffers Debra Burs and Paul Nerone; former staffer Cynthia Packet; and former Montgomery County public defender Travis Dunnington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Note: This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available. ------ For more stories like this, sign up for our Ohio Politics newsletter. It's free, curated, and delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday evening. Avery Kreemer can be reached at 614-981-1422, on X, via email, or you can drop him a comment/tip with the survey below. Loading... Bostons effort to convert office space to housing hit a milestone Thursday as more than 100 homes are currently under construction. Developer Boston Pinnacle Properties began demolition Thursday on the building at 263 Summer St. in Fort Point, where it will create 77 homes. The project is the fourth in the citys Office to Residential Conversion Program to begin work and the largest under construction, with a total of 141 homes currently in progress and another 639 in the pipeline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats space for more than a thousand new residents, families, workers, students who will be ready to settle in and continue shaping our city, Mayor Michelle Wu said during a news conference at the Summer Street site on Thursday. The 60,000-square-foot building is also home to a historic sign bearing the name of Boston Wharf Co. that is considered a neighborhood landmark. It will be preserved as part of the redevelopment. Meanwhile, tenants are expected to begin moving into 15 homes in a former office building at 281 Franklin Street at the end of the summer. And two other projects are underway at 129 Portland St., with 25 homes, and 615 Albany St., with 24 homes. Since the city launched the program in October 2023, it has received 16 applications for projects that include 142 income-restricted and 780 total housing units across 21 buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Construction on more than 100 additional units is expected to begin in the fall. The program provides a 75% tax abatement for 29 years on vacant office spaces converted into residential space. The program was expanded earlier this year to include student and workforce housing. These conversions are not what was originally envisioned for the building and take a lot of work maneuvering all the small spaces, making sure that everything is set, changing the entire use so that these buildings can be revitalized and meet the citys goals for housing, Wu said. In addition to supporting the citys goal of producing more housing, the program was created to repurpose office space that was no longer needed as companies change their in-office policies after the pandemic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael Nichols, president of the Downtown Boston Alliance, said this would return much-needed foot traffic to downtown businesses. It would also encourage workers to return to the office in the future. When the residents of this building look out this window, theyre going to see their offices, he said. Everybody like me in every part of the country is thinking about How do we get people back in their offices more often? Ill give you a hint. Its not free coffee. ... The number one metric across the United States for people returning to their office is the proximity they live to that job. Developers interested in converting office space to housing can apply to the program through the end of this year, with applications being reviewed and approved on a rolling basis. More on housing Read the original article on MassLive. STORY COUNTY, Iowa An Iowa State University student accused of sexually exploiting minors on social media is now facing more charges. In March, the Iowa State University Police Department announced the arrest of 43-year-old Patrick A. Connerley for alleged communications with minors on social media. According to ISUPD, the investigation into Connerley began in February when law enforcement agencies in Texas alerted them of Connerley communicating with multiple minors on social media and other online chat applications. The conversations allegedly entailed sexual messages and details about sex acts with minors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plea deal reached for former Marshalltown substitute teacher accused of sexually exploiting student At the time, Connerley was booked into the Story County Jail on two counts of enticing a minor, one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of grooming. According to court records, when Connerley was taken into custody by law enforcement two cell phones were found in his possession. A search warrant was obtained for the phones and during the execution of the warrant, detectives discovered additional evidence, including inappropriate photos of minors, as well as videos showing sexual acts with an animal, court records state. On Sunday, Connerley was additionally charged with two counts of purchase/possess depiction of minor in sex act first-offense and one count of bestiality. He remains booked in the Story County Jail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A preliminary hearing for the new charges is scheduled for July 25. Court records show that Connerley pled not guilty to the initial charges, and a jury trial is scheduled for September 16 for that case. If convicted of the charges pertaining to sex crimes against minors, Connerley would face an enhanced sentence as he was convicted of similar charges in 2015. Metro News: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. More people with sickness and disabilities will have to go back to work to prop up Britains ageing population, Liz Kendall has warned. On Wednesday, the Work and Pensions Secretary said that Britains job market must be overhauled to ensure that those with ill-health or long-term conditions continue to work into later life. Britain is facing a demographic time bomb from its ageing population and getting more people back to work even those with poor health is seen as one way to stem the crisis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With an ageing society, weve now got to think much more seriously about [achieving higher employment rates] for sick and disabled people, because the truth is, as we live for longer, we are going to have to work for longer. I see it as a big societal change, she told MPs. Government has a role in that, but the bottom line is we have to work together with businesses, the public sector [and] with the NHS. Were just not doing that at anywhere near the level we need if were going to improve peoples life chances. Ms Kendall likened the scale of change required to the effort needed to get more women into work in recent decades, for example through maternity pay and childcare provision. Speaking to MPs on the work and pensions committee, she said: Public services and the world of work need to wake up to the fact that as we live for longer and more of us have health conditions and are caring for longer, we need a big, big change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How did we get record numbers of women into work? Partly we changed the law, but we also put in place those public services and we changed the culture of work. A bleak report from the Office for Budget Responsibility recently warned that the UKs national debt is on track to spiral from just under 100pc of GDP to 270pc in the next 50 years if nothing is done to reduce the benefits bill. About 53pc of Britons with a disability are in work, compared with 82pc of people with no disability. The Work and Pensions Secretary warned that once workers start receiving the health element of Universal Credit an additional payment for disabled people 3pc a year manage to get off the benefit again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The remarks come after the Governments botched welfare reform, which had set out to save 5.5bn a year by the end of the decade. Ms Kendall defended the reforms despite embarrassing last-minute concessions after Labours biggest rebellion, describing it as a bumpy ride. She said: The heart of the bill that we put forward was to deal with perverse incentives in the system where essentially people are almost incentivised to define themselves as incapable of work. We need to remove disincentives in the benefits system, and we need to provide a pathway to work for those who can work now or at some point near into the future. Unpaid care Meanwhile, the Resolution Foundation has warned that one million lower-income families across Britain include both an unpaid carer and a disabled person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The think tank said three in 10 people of working age in poorer households have a disability twice as many as among richer families and up from 19pc since the mid-90s. Among young people, the share with a disability in low-income families has doubled to 21pc over this time, a rise almost entirely explained by mental health illnesses. Hannah Slaughter, of the Resolution Foundation, said: The trend of rising levels of disability across Britain and the need for unpaid care isnt going to end. 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 city of Colorado Springs is hosting an open house Thursday evening to answer residents' questions about the planned extension of Powers Boulevard on the northeast side of the city, including a noise study to determine whether abatement measures are needed. The project is meant to make traffic flow more efficient between Voyager Parkway and Colorado 83, which are the only access points for the proposed extension. Years in development, the project is a recipient of key project tax funding from the Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority. A new Voyager Parkway bridge to support the expansion completed construction in March of this year, meant to carry local traffic over the Powers expansion. City engineer Ryan Phipps told The Gazette earlier this year that the bridge project was "accelerated" to alleviate traffic concerns from construction on Powers. The public meeting on Thursday will provide information on an underway noise study on a 500-foot buffer from the planned roadway. According to a white paper released on the noise study, scientists will be in the process of gathering acoustic data in the buffer zone to determine the existing noise level later this summer. Featured Local Savings Then, a Federal Highway Administration traffic-noise-model computer program will estimate how the new roadway would increase noise levels. Planners' consideration of noise abatement will come down to whether the predicted noise levels are higher than established thresholds, according to the white paper. "It is critically important to remember that just because a study is happening, it doesnt mean that mitigation solutions (e.g., noise walls or berms) will be put in place," the document reads. The public meeting will provide information on the overall project and the noise study, according to the city. The open house will be 5:30-7 p.m. at Discovery Canyon High School. More information can be found at the project website. PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) Is Gov. Dan McKee in much better political shape than widely believed? That was the argument implied Wednesday by Morning Consult, a Washington-based media outlet that for years has published quarterly surveys testing the job approval ratings of governors and senators across all 50 states. Morning Consults latest survey showed McKees job approval rating at 45%, up from 43% in the firms previous survey three months earlier and far better than the approval ratings between 19% and 25% that the incumbent Democrat has scored in other recent surveys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So whos right? Theres no way to know for sure. Morning Consult uses an unusual methodology, testing job ratings across a three-month period, a far-longer window than most pollsters who get a snapshot over just a few days. Still, its notable the firms new survey shows McKee making gains compared with its own previous release, rather than losing ground as might be projected based on the results of other polls. Morning Consult has not responded to follow-up questions about its new survey. Everything with polling depends on how you draw your sample, the way you interview all of that, said 12 News political analyst Joe Fleming, who has conducted opinion polls in Rhode Island for decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is the fourth time McKees job rating has been tested recently. Surveys in May by the University New Hampshire and MAD Global Strategy put the governors job approval at 19% and 24%, respectively, while a poll last month by Salve Regina Universitys Poll Center put him at 25%. Hes probably in between all these numbers, I would think 45% is the high and 19% is the low, Fleming said. Whether hes closer to 45% or 19%, Im not sure. But the 45% gives his campaign hope that, if my approvals at 45%, if it can stay there, I would be in a competitive race for sure. Among the nations 50 governors, McKees job approval rating is the second-lowest in Morning Consults nationwide polling, with Indiana Republican Mike Braun also at 45% and Iowa Republican Kim Reynolds even lower at 42%. (Reynolds is retiring rather than seek reelection.) McKee succeeded Gina Raimondo as governor in 2021 and won a full term in 2022. He is eligible to seek reelection in 2026 and has repeatedly said he plans to run. Former CVS executive Helena Foulkes, who nearly defeated McKee in 2022, is already raising money to seek a rematch. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to reporters on Wednesday morning, McKee brushed off the 25% showing in the Pell Center poll and appeared to allude to the Morning Consult survey that emerged hours later. I think the work matters so were going to keep on doing the work, McKee said. The polls come and go. Therell be another one coming out shortly, and who knows? You might be up, you might be down thats irrelevant to the work that were doing. In the end I believe that people are going to measure our administration and me in particular based on the success were having on raising incomes, raising outcomes for our kids and our schools, making sure were healthy, and building things at a rate that weve never built before, he added. Right now the work is good, and we always can improve, and were going to keep on working to maximize the opportunity that I have as governor. Ted Nesi (tnesi@wpri.com) is a Target 12 investigative reporter and 12 News politics/business editor. He co-hosts Newsmakers and writes Nesis Notes on Saturdays. Connect with him on Twitter, Bluesky and Facebook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joe Cortese contributed to this report. Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch 12 News Now on WPRI.com or with the new 12+ smart TV app. Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily Roundup Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WPRI.com. Two thirds of people incarcerated in Texas prisons face another summer without air conditioning after lawmakers again declined to pass legislation that would mandate a timeline for installing climate control in state facilities. After years of promises from state officials that resulted in modest progress and a federal judge who has ruled Texas prison heat conditions unconstitutional but declined to force any changes, tens of thousands of people incarcerated in the state do not know if they will see air conditioning anytime soon. "During this triple digit summer, approximately 88,000 individuals in Texas prisons do not have air conditioning," said Amite Dominick, founder and president of Texas Prisons Community Advocates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Texas Department of Criminal Justice currently has 48,372 cooled living areas across its facilities, providing climate control to roughly a third of the 137,778 people incarcerated in the states prisons, as of June 30, according to agency spokesperson Amanda Hernandez. Bryan Collier, executive director of TDCJ, has repeatedly called adding air conditioning to Texas prisons his top priority. However, Collier has never committed the agency to a definitive timeline for installing climate control across the system absent the passage of legislation that would provide more than a billion dollars for the effort. At the current rate of installing air conditioning, it would take 25 years to climate control Texas prisons on the most generous timeline, according to U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in a March ruling. Complicating TDCJs future commitment to solving the issue, Collier is retiring Aug. 31 and the nine-member Texas Board of Criminal Justice is tasked with appointing his replacement. Despite knowing of the risk extreme heat poses to all inmates and the inadequacy of TDCJs mitigation measures, Collier has no concrete timeline for installing permanent or temporary air conditioning in TDCJ inmate living areas, wrote Pitman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Indoor temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees, and court records show hundreds of incarcerated people have been diagnosed with heat-related illnesses. According to Pitman's ruling, "TDCJ has admitted that at least 23 individuals died in TDCJ facilities from heat-related causes between 1998 and 2012" and "Collier admitted he was aware of 10 deaths from heat stroke in the summer of 2011 alone." Asked when TDCJ would air condition all its facilities, Hernandez declined to answer the question due to pending litigation. TDCJ received $85 million from the state in 2023 and an additional $118 million this year to build air conditioning, but it has never formally bid out the cost of installing air conditioning throughout all its facilities, according to court testimony from TDCJ Facilities Director Ronald Hudson last year. Hernandez again cited pending litigation and declined to answer whether TDCJ had bid out the cost of air conditioning for all its facilities in the time since. "The fundamental issue is, how can they give any estimate as to the amount of time it'll take or how much it'll cost, without soliciting bids for air conditioning the entire system?" said Kevin Homiak, partner and pro bono chair at Wheeler Trigg O'Donnell, who represents incarcerated people in the federal lawsuit. TDCJ accelerates construction, but judge seeks more TDCJ has completed 2,902 air-conditioned beds using the $85 million appropriated in 2023 and plans to finish another 12,827 within 18 months, according to Hernandez. The agency has now "expensed or obligated" all that funding, up from just $13 million at the start of this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This legislative session, lawmakers appropriated an additional $118 million that Hernandez said the agency estimates will fund 18,000 more beds, while declining to provide a timeline for completion. So far, 2,378 of those beds are waiting for vendors to submit construction bids, while 15,798 beds are in the design phase, Hernandez said. The funding from the Legislature has corresponded with a significant shift in pace for TDCJ, which has more than doubled its rate of building cooled living areas in recent years. Court documents and archives of its online tracker show the agency built fewer than 1,000 cooled beds annually between 2018 and 2021, but built 6,700 beds between 2022-2023. Since 2023, TDCJ has averaged building over 3,000 beds per year. Despite this acceleration, Pitman challenged the agency's commitment in his March ruling, scrutinizing whether TDCJ has devoted adequate resources to addressing the crisis. "Although TDCJ has a multi-billion-dollar budget, it has allocated only $115.5 million to installing air conditioning in TDCJ units since 2018," Pitman wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advocates remain skeptical of TDCJs progress, pointing to the large number of incarcerated people who continue to live without air conditioning or an understanding of when they may receive it. "That's little but nothing, that's minuscule," said Dominick of the roughly 3,000 beds so far completed using the money appropriated in 2023. TDCJ sets own timeline as advocates await ruling Without legislative mandates or judicial orders, TDCJ sets its own timeline for installing air conditioning using funds from a general maintenance budget. Dominick said this approach allows the agency to "maintain control and power" over the pace of installation. TDCJ cites design challenges as the main bottleneck to building air conditioning. Hernandez said the major holdup is designing for different cell types and the difficulty of building in older facilities, some of which date to the 1800s. "Once we have the blueprint in place for adding air conditioning to a standard facility type we can bid those out and build them more quickly," she said.TDCJs pace of building has raised questions about the agencys cost estimates and construction capabilities. In his 2024 federal court testimony, Hudson acknowledged that because the agency has never formally bid out the cost of installing air conditioning throughout all its facilities, its cost estimates at that time were "pie-in-the-sky." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TDCJ's credibility on cost estimates has been questioned before. During a 2017 federal case involving the Wallace Pack Unit, the agency's cost projections for building air conditioning dropped from more than $20 million to $11 million after recalculation, with actual installation costs totaling less than $4 million. Prison air conditioning has not been added to the summer 2025 special session agenda. So, absent extraordinary legislative action, advocates hope relief comes either from TDCJ stepping up its rate of building air conditioning or Pitman ruling on a definite timeline for the installation of air conditioning through the jury trial in March 2026, the next major step in the ongoing federal civil rights case. "When I initially chose what our organization was going to focus on with limited resources, I purposely didn't choose legal because I thought it was going to take longer," said Dominick. "I believe I was naive at the time." The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 1315. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. Correction, July 17, 2025 at 11:24 a.m. : A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled the name of TDCJ's executive director. He is Bryan Collier. MADISON, Ala. (WHNT) Kelcie was diagnosed with autism at the age of two. Today, hes 35 years old and likes reading with his mother at the Madison Public Library in the Next Chapter Book Club reading program. Its one of only a few social outings for adults on the autism spectrum in North Alabama. Decatur woman hosting birthday blood drive and youre invited! He had all of the classic symptoms of autism, but after that, we discovered that they had a lot of programs when he was younger, but as he got older, the system just stopped, his mother, Rosalyn Roper, explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lack of programs prompted Roper to use her voice to raise awareness and advocate for resources and education. Roper created Kelcies Place Inc., a nonprofit that offers a more inclusive space for autistic individuals to learn and to share experiences. They cannot stop learning at any age, said Roper. It is good to have an environment that fosters that education system, and that is what we want to continue. 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. In noting the shortage of specialized programs that support the states special needs population, the Madison Public Library is collaborating with Kelcies Place to inspire a collective action within the autism community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is vitally important to have programs for everyone that include everyone in our programming, and I wish that we could do more, said Carolyn Regan of Madison Public Library. Roper is bringing the program to Madison County from Montgomery, where she has operated for 18 years. When I first started, I found that some parents were afraid to bring their autistic child out of the house, explained Roper. Now they have a choice to do things with their child and to know people will not look at them funny, and also that they can go and do things, no matter whos looking. Let them know that they are there. Kelcies Place will host an event for special needs adults at the Madison Public Library starting on Monday, July 21, at 10 a.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can find more information by clicking this link. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Bridget McCarthy believes that if her son Riley Chart had quick and easy access to a suicide prevention hotline designed for queer young people, he might be alive today. Chart, a trans teen who had once endured bullying because he was different, took his own life at the familys home during the COVID-19 lockdown in September 2020 two weeks after his 16th birthday. I truly believe that had there been an LGBTQ-specific [help] number right in front of him, he wouldve tried it, McCarthy said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State lawmakers are set to vote in August on a bill that McCarthy and its sponsors say could save the lives of other young queer Californians. California Assembly Bill 727 would require ID cards for public school students in grades 7 through 12 and students at public institutions of higher education to list the free LGBTQ+ crisis line operated by The Trevor Project on the back, starting in July 2026. The Trevor Project is a West Hollywood-based nonprofit that the federal government cut ties with when it eliminated funding for LGBTQ+ counseling through the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (9-8-8). The lifeline was expected to stop routing crisis calls to The Trevor Project and six other LGBTQ+ contractors Thursday. It's one of several actions in the second Trump administration that critics fear will roll back years of progress of securing health-care services for queer Americans. When the Trump administration threatened and then went through with their threat to cut the program completely, that told us that we had to step up to the plate, said Democratic Assemblymember Mark Gonzalez of Los Angeles, who said he introduced the legislation to ensure that queer youth receive support from counselors who can relate to their life experiences. Our goal here is to be the safety net especially for those individuals who are not in Los Angeles but in other parts of the state who need this hotline to survive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, the L.A. LGBT Center and the Sacramento LGBT Center all have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill. Gov. Gavin Newsom told Politico the Trump administration's 9-8-8 decision was "indefensible" and that he also backs the bill. His office said the state's $4.7 billion Master Plan for Kids' Mental Health includes partnerships with organizations such as The Trevor Project. Gonzalez said the bill originally included private schools but in response to conservative opposition, the mandate was amended so it would be limited to public schools. With federal funding for the LGBTQ+ crisis counselors who field calls through the 9-8-8 lifeline running out on Thursday, local nonprofits and elected officials have vowed to fill the void. L.A. County Supervisors Janice Hahn and Lindsey P. Horvath authored a motion to explore the impact of the cut and see whether the county can help to continue the service. The board unanimously approved it Tuesday. "The federal government may be turning its back on LGBTQ+ people, but here in L.A. County we'll do everything within our power to keep this community safe," Hahn said in a statement after the vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About 40% of young queer people in the U.S. have seriously contemplated suicide compared to 13% of their peers, according to a teen mental health survey published last fall by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Trevor Project and other organizations have reported a rise in the number of people calling crisis lines to seek mental health support, both in California and nationwide. Trans Americans have been particularly shaken by the backlash against LGBTQ+ people and by the prospect of new restrictions on gender-affirming healthcare, according to new findings published this week by researchers at the University of Vermont. Their survey of 489 gender-diverse adults after the 2024 election, published Wednesday in JAMA Open Network, found that nearly a third of those interviewed would consider risky DIY hormone therapies if treatments disappear elsewhere. A fifth of respondents reported having suicidal thoughts. As the mother of a trans child who died from suicide, McCarthy said she wants to use the lessons she's learned to educate and advocate for other trans young people and their families in similar situations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McCarthy, who lives in Culver City, has started a memorial fund with The Trevor Project, organized suicide prevention walks in West L.A. and attended Pride festivals to hand out crisis line information. She remembers Riley as an artistic and warmhearted son who joined LGBTQ+ groups and built a network of friends while attending high schools in both Santa Monica and Culver City. Riley had a therapist for support living as a trans teen, but during the pandemic, he found it hard to cope with not being able to spend time in person with his friends. The confinement made him increasingly irritable. He was staying up later than usual and spending excessive time on his phone, McCarthy said. After Riley died, the family discovered that hed texted a gay friend for help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The only other number in his phone was a 10-digit veterans hotline number that he did not call, McCarthy said. Thats why you have to have a lifeline that speaks to different populations. A veterans hotline will not work for a 16-year-old kid whos struggling with their identity. When Riley was 12, McCarthy took him to the Pride parade in West Hollywood hoping that he would experience the feeling of belonging that he seemed to yearn for. He loved it. Ry said hed found his people, McCarthy recalls, using the family's nickname for him. He was like, This is it Im home, mom. When Riley's mother took him to Pride a second time the following year, he bought a trans pride flag that became one of his prized possessions. He was wrapped in it when he went, when he left us, McCarthy said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McCarthy spoke by phone from one of Rileys favorite places, Lummi Island in Washington state, near the U.S.-Canada border. The family laid Rileys remains on the island and McCarthy goes to visit the grave site four times a year to care for the maple tree planted in his memory, admire the painted stones his friends placed around it and talk to her son. McCarthy said she and Riley visited family friends on the island almost every year when he was younger. Especially during middle school when he faced bullying from classmates and issues over which restroom to use, the island served as a refuge where McCarthy saw her son at his most carefree. He loved climbing trees, swimming and herding cows, far from the pressures of being a kid in L.A. When youd open the car door, it was just like opening the barn gate, McCarthy remembers. Like a colt across a field, he would just run. It gave us a chance for some peace. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A missing mother and her child were found in deep California forestland recently by rescuers who located them after following a trail of notes the woman had left behind, authorities said. In another unmodern twist in this rescue tale, searchers also got help from ham radio. The Calaveras County volunteer search-and-rescue team received a report Saturday that the woman and her 9-year-old son had not returned from a trip the day before to Camp Wolfeboro, a childrens summer camp near Stanislaus National Forest, according to the county Sheriff's Office. A deputy was dispatched to begin an investigation while the team conducted a search on the ground. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pair was traveling by car, and the mother had become lost after using a GPS unit that provided directions on remote roads in addition to common routes, the department said in a news release. As she traversed deeper into a remote forested area, she lost her signal entirely, and they were unable to retrace their original route. In an effort to get help, she and her son made several efforts to make themselves more visible, deputies said: The mom posted notes on their trail, her son periodically blew a whistle three times in quick succession an international signal for help and, as they waited out the night in the dark, the woman turned on her vehicle's hazard lights. Authorities obtained a general location for the pair because, before they went missing, they'd shared their location via app with the reporting party. The search-and-rescue team then used four-wheeled utility terrain vehicles to scour a labryrinth-like network of interconnected roads in the area, according to the release. Amid the search, a deputy and a Forest Service law enforcement ranger received another report from campers who described seeing a vehicle Friday that matched that of the missing people, deputies said. The location was in the same area so they knew they were on the right track. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Then, early Saturday evening, the search-and-rescue team came upon a handwritten note posted along a Forest Service road that implored authorities to assist the mother and son, who had become stranded, according to the release. Rescuers followed the road and found another breadcrumb: a second note with additional information, such as the names and telephone numbers of the missing individuals. Help. Me and my son are stranded with no service and cant call 911, one note posted online by deputies said. We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 and get help for us. The woman and her son were found in their vehicle a mile farther down the road, deputies said. The team wanted to communicate as quickly as possible that the missing boy and his mom had been found and what their next steps were. But dense forest and tree canopies made cellphones and conventional radio frequencies useless. They resorted to a frequency used for amateur radio commonly known as ham radio to broadcast an emergency alert. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Listening in on his home ham radio setup was an El Dorado County retiree, a former communications supervisor. He heard the alert and made contact with authorities to relay the message, according to the release. Deputies said in the release that the woman and boy had done a couple of things that were instrumental in aiding rescuers. Of importance in the successful outcome was their pre-trip notification of telling someone where they were going and when to expect them back, deputies said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A mother and her nine-year-old son lost in the rocky mountain forest of Sierra Nevada in the US state of California were rescued thanks to a trail of handwritten notes they left behind - after getting stranded for more than 24 hours. A search and rescue team found the pair on 12 July after discovering multiple notes tucked beneath rocks, left by the mother, aged 49. "HELP. Me and my son are stranded with no service and can't call 911," one said. The pair were found by members of the Calaveras County Volunteer Search and Rescue Team, who already happened to be in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mother told ABC10 it had been a "very scary experience", but paid tribute to the "amazing" efforts of the rescuers. The mission was detailed in a Facebook post by the Calaveras County Sheriff's Office. On 11 July, someone phoned the Calaveras County Dispatch Center and informed officers that the duo were "overdue" to return after departing for Camp Wolfeboro around 11:30 PST (18:30 GMT), the post said. The mother and son were also not responding to phone calls, police were informed. Speaking to ABC10, the mother, who identified herself as Tami, confirmed that they were unable to make any calls of their own, and that her son Stirling resorted to blowing his Cub Scout whistle in an effort to gain attention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She had been attempting to drop off Stirling for a camping trip, she explained. The police Facebook post said a volunteer search and rescue team already in the area for monthly training was soon deployed. It established a command post along the highway that leads to Wolfeboro. "The team began assessing the terrain and the complex network of interconnecting, labyrinth-like roads to establish effective search parameters," the post added. "Air assets" and "specially equipped" off-road vehicles were also used in the search. A group of campers sent a text message to an emergency line telling police that they had seen a vehicle matching the description of the missing persons, which authorities said "confirmed that the teams were searching in the correct area". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shortly afterwards, a rescue crew located the first handwritten message. "We are ahead, up the road to the right. Please call 911 to get help for us. Thank you!" the message said. The teams followed the road and found a second note, which included a telephone number and the names of the missing individuals. Roughly a mile further along, officials found the mother and son. Recounting the moment of their rescue, Tami told ABC10 that she first heard a vehicle honk. "I turned around and I saw this truck coming down the road and it was just the best feeling ever." She and Stirling had spent the night in the car to avoid wild animals, and were lucky to have food, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After locating the duo, the search team deployed vehicle recovery equipment to free their car and assisted them to return to waiting family members. Officials determined the pair became lost in part due to a GPS signal that stopped working after they reached a remote area, leaving them unable to retrace their route. GRAHAM (KFDX/KJTL) Its been eight years since a University of Texas freshman was killed in a campus stabbing, but for one Texoma mother, the pain is still fresh. CRIME | Victims brother testifies in Ron Burdick murder trial Lori Brown from Graham was preparing for the emotional toll of a hearing scheduled for Thursday, July 17, when news of the delay came in. Her son, 19-year-old Harrison Brown, was fatally stabbed in a random campus attack in May 2017; three others were injured in what prosecutors described as a burst of psychotic rage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the court date has been pushed to September due to the Kerrville flood, the weight of whats at stake hasnt changed. Harrisons attacker, fellow student Kendrex White, was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state psychiatric hospital, where Lori was told he would remain for decades before consideration of moving through the mental health system. Now, just eight years later, that hearing that was delayed will determine whether he White be released on outpatient treatment, where hell be able to come and go as he pleases. The system is flawed when it comes to mental health; it really, truly is. And its not just a problem in the state of Texas, Lori said. It is a problem all over the United States. Our question is, whats happened? Whats changed? I mean, last year he thought it was Jesus Christ. So. Whats changed? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though postponed, Harrisons mother will be testifying at the hearing and hopes the judge will consider her and the three other victims who were blessed to live through their injuries that tragic day. You know, I wish the judge could just get in my shoes for a day or two and think about the fact that one day I literally could come face to face with my sons killer on the street, Lori said. He was such a kind soul, a happy person, always happy. Everybody loved him. He was friends with everybody. He didnt deserve what happened to him. He had a beautiful life ahead of him. CRIME | Wichita Falls police seize meth, heroin, and more in traffic stop The hearing has been rescheduled for September, and an exact date has not been released at the time of publication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Texomashomepage.com. "We mothers of soldiers haven't slept in two years," said Ayelet-Hashakhar Saidof, a lawyer who founded the Mothers on the Front movement in Israel. A 48-year-old mother of three, including a soldier currently serving in the army, Saidof said her movement brings together some 70,000 mothers of active-duty troops, conscripts and reservists to demand, among other things, a halt to the fighting in Gaza. Her anxiety was familiar to other mothers of soldiers interviewed by AFP who have refocused their lives on stopping a war that many Israelis increasingly feel has run its course, even as a ceasefire deal remains elusive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to urging an end to the fighting in Gaza, Mothers on the Front's foremost demand is that everyone serve in the army, as mandated by Israeli law. That request is particularly urgent today, as draft exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jews have become a wedge issue in Israeli society, with the military facing manpower shortages in its 21-month fight against the militant group Hamas. As the war drags on, Saidof has become increasingly concerned that Israel will be confronted with long-term ramifications from the conflict. "We're seeing 20-year-olds completely lost, broken, exhausted, coming back with psychological wounds that society doesn't know how to treat," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They are ticking time bombs on our streets, prone to violence, to outbursts of rage." - Mounting toll - According to the army, 23 Israeli soldiers have been killed in Gaza over the past month, and more than 450 have died since the start of the ground offensive in October 2023. Saidof accuses the army of neglecting soldiers' lives. Combat on the ground has largely dried up, she said, and soldiers were now being killed by improvised explosives and "operational mistakes". "So where are they sending them? Just to be targets in a shooting range?" she asked bitterly. Over the past months, Saidof has conducted her campaign in the halls of Israel's parliament, but also in the streets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Opening the boot of her car, she proudly displayed a stockpile of posters, placards and megaphones for protests. "Soldiers fall while the government stands," one poster read. Her campaign does not have a political slant, she maintained. "The mothers of 2025 are strong. We're not afraid of anyone, not the generals, not the rabbis, not the politicians," she said defiantly. - 'Wars without goals' - Saidof's group is not the only mothers' movement calling for an end to the war. Outside the home of military chief of staff Eyal Zamir, four women gathered one morning to demand better protection for their children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We're here to ask him to safeguard the lives of our sons who we've entrusted to him," said Rotem-Sivan Hoffman, a doctor and mother of two soldiers. "To take responsibility for military decisions and to not let politicians use our children's lives for political purposes that put them in unnecessary danger" . Hoffman is one of the leaders of the Ima Era, or "Awakened Mother", movement, whose motto is: "We don't have children for wars without goals." "For many months now, we've felt this war should have ended," she told AFP. "After months of fighting and progress that wasn't translated into a diplomatic process, nothing has been done to stop the war, bring back the hostages, withdraw the army from Gaza or reach any agreements." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beside her stood Orit Wolkin, also the mother of a soldier deployed to the front, whose anxiety was visible. "Whenever he comes back from combat, of course that's something I look forward to eagerly, something I'm happy about, but my heart holds back from feeling full joy because I know he'll be going back" to the front, she said. At the funeral of Yuli Faktor, a 19-year-old soldier killed in Gaza the previous day alongside two comrades, his mother stood sobbing before her son's coffin draped in the Israeli flag. She spoke to him in Russian for the last time before his burial. "I want to hold you. I miss you. Forgive me, please. Watch over us, wherever you are." sa-mib/glp/phz/smw William Dalton Edwards, 26, of Mount Airy, N.C., was sentenced to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release for his involvement in a livestock theft scheme. Edwards was also ordered to pay $334,350.46 in restitution to the victims of the scheme, which involved the theft of livestock from stockyards and farms in North Carolina and their resale in Texas and Oklahoma. ALSO READ: Trailer carrying 40 cows overturns on I-77 SB ramp Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scheme, which ran from April 2018 to October 2022, involved Edwards and his co-conspirator, Clint Clifford Sicking, writing worthless checks to purchase cattle from sales barns in Iredell and Cleveland Counties, North Carolina. Court documents revealed that Edwards and Sicking transported the cattle out of state before the sales barns and financial institutions could realize the checks were worthless. The stolen cattle were then resold in Texas and Oklahoma, causing over $350,000 in losses to the family-owned sales barns in North Carolina. These sales barns are required to pay farmers and ranchers immediately after the sale of their livestock, which compounded their financial losses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Edwards pleaded guilty on August 2, 2024, to conspiring to defraud the United States and to violate U.S. laws, including hampering the Packers and Stockyard Division of the USDA in its regulation of fair livestock markets. Sicking has also pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge and is awaiting sentencing. VIDEO: Trailer carrying 40 cows overturns on I-77 SB ramp Movies to see this week: 'A History of Violence,' 'NeverEnding Story,' 'Wallace & Gromit' originally appeared on Bring Me The News. If you've ever wanted to see The Wild Robot 75 times in a single week, boy, have we got good news for you. This week's repertory film screenings include masterful directors, fantasy wonderlands, claymation, and so many theaters playing The Wild Robot. (That's no slight on the movie. It's a lovely movie for kids and one of the best released last year. But it's certainly the movie of the summer for family-friendly series.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Here are all the movies you should catch around the Twin Cities this week, including, you know, that one. The Virgin Suicides (1999) Wednesday, July 16, at Mann Edina Theatres and Thursday, July 17, at Mann Grandview Theatres Two Mann theaters are taking moviegoers back to 1999 and the directorial debut of Sofia Coppola. It's a tone-rich movie about the five sheltered, mysterious, and religious Lisbon sisters and the boys who were obsessed with them in a small town. Led by Kirsten Dunst and Josh Hartnett, and based on the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, it's worth revisiting. Though if your memory of the story is as hazy as the movie's soft tones, be warned, it might be a little darker than you remember. 3911 W 50th St., Edina ($12.15); 1830 Grand Ave., St. Paul ($14.44) A History of Violence (2005) Thursday, July 17, at Emagine Willow Creek Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Director David Cronenberg's first of four films with Viggo Mortensen in the lead, A History of Violence felt like a sharp turn from the sometimes bizarre, almost always violent movies he'd been making since the '70s. It had a more straightforward narrative, a (for the most part) lack of horrific gore, and an air of respectability. (It got two Oscar nominations.) Mortensen stars as Tom Stall, a small-town diner owner who, after an act of heroism, has his cover blown. His past crawls out from a dark hole and comes back for retribution that forces him to become "Joey," the man he used to be, once again, at the risk of losing everything he'd built since assuming the identity of Tom. History was followed by Eastern Promises, A Dangerous Method, and Cosmopolis, all movies that strike a more staid tone than earlier work like The Brood, The Fly, Scanners, or Videodrome. But this screening is part of a series of the director's work, and putting it into that context helps surface the ways this is very much in line with Cronenberg's seeming obsession with the malebility of who we are, both physically and metaphysically. 9900 Shelard Pkwy., Plymouth ($11.60) Three Colors: Blue (1993) Thursday, July 17, at The Main Cinema Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MSP Film Society, as part of its ninth presentation of the Lumieres Francaises festival, has been hosting a series of three movies starring Juliette Binoche. As mentioned last week, the series includes the first film from Krzystof Kieslowski's Three Colors trilogy, Blue. It's a heavy one, featuring Binoche as a woman attempting to find a reason for living in the wake of the deaths of her husband and daughter. It's an honest dive into the process of grieving, including the possibility that joy can be found again. 115 SE Main St., Minneapolis ($16) The Thing (1982) Thursday, July 17, and Tuesday, July 22, at St. Michael Cinema Drive-In MacReady (Kurt Russell) is part of a research team in Antarctica that can't catch a break. It's a rough assignment even before a shape-shifting alien lifeform appears, hell-bent on absorbing every life form with which it comes into contact. It takes on the form of the people it absorbs, so the team a stacked cast of character actors that includes Keith David, Wilford Brimley, Charles Hallahan, T.K. Carter, and Richard Dysart can't trust anyone. 4300 O'Day Ave. NE, St Michael ($10 per car) The NeverEnding Story (1984) Friday, July 18Saturday, July 19, at Walker Art Center Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A week after Black Panther, the Walker's "Compelling Speculations on Human Survival" series, curated by author and activist Adrienne Maree Brown, continues with spoiler alert the saddest animal death in movie history. Basitan (Barret Oliver) escapes school bullies by slipping into a dusty book shop where he's given an ancient book that draws him into the land of Fantasia. There, he finds Atreyu (Noah Hathaway), The Childlike Empress (Tami Stronach), Falkor (Falkor), and a world that needs a hero. 725 Vineland Pl., Minneapolis ($15-$12, students are free on Friday; masks required on Friday) To Be or Not To Be (1942) Sunday, July 20Tuesday, July 22, at The Trylon Cinema Maria (Carole Lombard) and Joseph (Jack Benny) lead a theater troupe traveling through Nazi-occupied Poland. They work under oppressive restrictions, including the inability to perform a comedy they'd written about Hitler. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maria's love interest, an air force lieutenant named Sobinski (Robert Stack), trusts someone who turns out to be a Nazi spy, resulting in the need to enlist the actors to stop a list of family members from getting into the wrong hands. Part of the Trylon's "Nazis... We Hate These Guys!" series, it's entertaining, but also gets into the ways that dictatorships change the fabric of everyday life, affecting your ability to trust others and demanding the action of good people to resist the encroaching fascism. 2820 E 33rd St., Minneapolis ($8) Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) Tuesday, July 22 at Woodbury 10 Theatre Slightly less heavy than To Be or Not To Be, Wallace and his claymation pup are on the big screen this week. While the excellent Vengeance Most Fowl was released earlier this year, the Woodbury 10 is venturing back to Wallace and Gromit's last big-screen adventure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They set out to use Wallace's many inventions to suss out the cause of the village's vegetables being sabotaged just days before the giant vegetable growing contest. (Gasp!) But it's not just rabbits that are causing the damage. 1470 Queens Dr., Woodbury ($1.50) Related: 'Rocky Horror' stars will celebrate the movie's 50th anniversary in Minneapolis Movies screening in the Twin Cities this week: Related: Stars of 'The Daily Show' announce Twin Cities gigs This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared. By Akbar Novruz The 3rd meeting of the Azerbaijan-Vietnam Intergovernmental Commission on Economic, Trade and Scientific and Technical Cooperation was held in Hanoi, marking a significant step in strengthening bilateral ties. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy confirmed the event and highlighted that the discussions touched on a wide array of sectors. Ahead of the main meeting, Azerbaijani Minister of Energy Parviz Shahbazov met with Vietnamese Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien to discuss key issues on the cooperation agenda. The commission, co-chaired by Shahbazov and Dien, emphasized that the foundation of bilateral relations rooted in historic visits by President Ho Chi Minh to Baku in 1959 and National Leader Heydar Aliyev to Hanoi in 1983 has entered a new strategic phase. This development was reinforced by the visit of the Secretary General of the Communist Party of Vietnam, To Lam, to Azerbaijan in May, which culminated in a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership. Minister Shahbazov stated that the declaration and accompanying agreements form a roadmap for expanding cooperation, noting that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev called the visit a major political milestone. He added, The Intergovernmental Commission has been tasked with transforming the declaration into concrete projects, boosting trade and mutual investment. A cooperation document for 20252027 has been drafted, covering 58 measures across 17 priority areas. Vietnams Minister Nguyen Hong Dien underlined the strength of the political will between the two nations and highlighted Vietnams strategic energy cooperation with Azerbaijan. He said Vietnam, the third-largest economy in Southeast Asia, offers vast market opportunities with access to a regional market of 600 million people. The meeting reviewed cooperation across various domains including energy, transport, small and medium-sized businesses, agriculture, defense, tourism, culture, and education. It was noted that trade turnover had risen by 5.4% in the first five months of 2025, reaching $58.4 million a positive sign of growing economic ties. In energy cooperation, SOCAR Tradings role as a key supplier in Vietnams oil market and its participation in international Vietnamese oil sales were spotlighted. New agreements including memorandums between the Ministry of Energy, SOCAR, and Vietnamese entities, as well as a renewable energy partnership with ROX Group aim to deepen energy ties. Transport and logistics were also highlighted as essential areas to boost industrial output and trade potential. Both sides pointed to cooperation along the Middle Corridor, North-South, and East-West routes. Silk Way Airlines has already opened a Vietnam office and plans to launch direct cargo flights, while Azerbaijan Airlines is eyeing a passenger route between Baku and Hanoi. Defense industry and agriculture also emerged as promising fields. Additionally, cultural diplomacy has gained momentum, exemplified by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyevas visit to Vietnam and upcoming Vietnam Days events in Azerbaijan. The meeting concluded with the signing of a protocol and adoption of an Action Plan for 20252027, cementing the strategic partnership framework for years to come. By Andrea Shalal WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States aims to pare the Group of 20 major economies back to its financial roots next year when it takes over the rotating presidency from South Africa, sources familiar with the Trump administration's plans said. Washington has scaled back its participation this year, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent skipping a G20 finance chiefs' meeting that started in Durban, South Africa, on Thursday, his second absence from an event this year. Experts and administration sources say the absence of top U.S. officials reflects the Trump administration's skepticism about multilateral institutions such as the G20, which the U.S. helped found in 1999. U.S. President Donald Trump has upended the global economy with a wide-ranging trade war that has targeted many developing countries, including G20 members, while slashing foreign development funds to pursue an "America First" agenda. Three U.S. sources familiar with the matter say Washington still plans to assume the G20 presidency at the end of the year, which coincides with the 250th anniversary of the United States. But it will focus on two "tracks" - the leaders' summit and the financial track - eliminating other working groups and ministerial-level meetings, including those on energy, health, commerce and the environment, two of the sources said. A more streamlined G20 process would be in line with Bessent's call in April for the International Monetary Fund and World Bank to focus on their core missions of financial stability and development instead of climate finance and gender issues. The White House and Treasury had no immediate comment. SECOND-ROUND RESET Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council in Washington, said Bessent and other senior U.S. officials want to get "back to basics," an approach being embraced by other G20 members. The U.S. has already withdrawn from co-chairing a working group on sustainable finance with China and it remains unclear whether Trump will join this year's leaders' summit in South Africa. Many members agreed the G20's portfolio had grown too large, triggering a review, said two sources familiar with the issue. In 2024, G20 host Brazil sought the group's endorsement of a global minimum tax on the ultra wealthy, a step that the Biden administration rejected as an overreach. "There seems to be consensus at the G20 that it has expanded a lot. G20 South Africa is conducting a review of the G20 process and will provide recommendations to streamline it. That is in line with what the U.S. is looking at," one of the sources said. Dutch Finance Minister Eelco Heinen told Reuters on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in Durban that collaboration under the G20 was more important than ever. "But I do understand the agenda of the United States administration to keep it more lean and mean," he said. Activists and developing countries say they will watch U.S. actions, but that paring back could help the G20 survive. "Our hope is that development continues to be linked," said Eric LeCompte, executive director of the non-profit Jubilee USA Network. "Financial stability, debt issues and economic issues cannot be separated from development and global growth." CRISIS ORIGINS The G20 was founded after the Asian financial crisis of 1997-1998, before expanding to include state leaders during the global financial crisis in 2008. It has been tested by U.S.-China tensions, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and divergent views on the Middle East conflicts. Brad Setser, a former U.S. official now at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the G20 still offered a platform for high-level bilateral meetings. He said Trump could welcome to the U.S. next year foreign leaders such as Chinese President Xi Jinping and even Russian President Vladimir Putin if the Ukraine war ended, without the fanfare of a bilateral summit or state visit. Ben Harris, a former senior Treasury official now at the Brookings Institution, said Washington's decision to pull back offered China and others a chance to show leadership, which might not serve U.S. interests. "It obviously creates a vacuum, and that vacuum will be filled." (Reporting by Andrea Shalal; additional reporting by Philip Blenkinsop in Durban, Editing by Daniel Wallis and Emelia Sithole-Matarise) MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- The Midland Police Department has asked for help from the community to identify a man accused of fraud. According to the department, on June 26, the man pictured below deposited a fraudulent check for $1,500 at Community National Bank and then two hours later, withdrew $1,100 of the funds. The man was last seen driving a black Kia SUV. Anyone with information has been asked to call Crime Stoppers and reference case number 250710013. You may also submit your anonymous tip online or by using the P3 TIPS mobile app. If your tip leads to an arrest, it could be worth a cash reward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A woman is facing charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, and harassment after police say she attacked a relative in front of her children and threatened her online. MiKayla Farmer, 22, was booked in the Shelby County Jail Wednesday, nearly two weeks after the alleged assault in front of Kroger in the 1200 block of Shelby Drive in Whitehaven. MiKayla Farmer (SCSO) The victim stated that she was shopping inside the store with her two sons when she was approached by Farmer, a distant cousin, and two other women. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The victim said they began harassing her and her children and posting videos of them on Facebook. The victim told investigators that when she walked out of the store, the women began hitting her, and Farmer struck her in the face with a gun. According to police, Farmer began harassing the victim on social media and, during a Facebook Live, gave out her home address. Farmer has 22,000 followers on Facebook. The victim said Farmer also made vague threats on the victims own posts about wanting to use her gun. The victims children were not hurt during the alleged grocery store attack. Farmer is scheduled to appear in court on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. FRANKFORT, Ky. (FOX 56) Its quarterly campaign finance reporting time; while not the liveliest topic for political outsiders, it is one of many metrics to judge how a campaign is doing at different points in the race. Congressman Andy Barr leads with a significant advantage, pulling in nearly $1.1 million in contributions between April and June, for a total of $6.1 million cash on hand; thats money ready to be spent. This is a very clearly a good day for Andy Barr, who came into this race with a nice pool of money already saved up, FOX 56 News Political Analyst Jonathan Miller said. Its very healthy, particularly this early with this many candidates in the race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police foundation accepting donations to help family of trooper shot near Lexington airport Barrs campaign called the numbers a clear sign of momentum. Former Attorney General Daniel Cameron reported about $385 thousand in contributions this quarter. His campaign has $532 thousand in the bank. I remind people that I didnt raise the most in my governors race, but I won that primary with nearly 50% of the vote, Cameron told FOX 56 in an interview this month when asked about his finances. Although theres significantly less raised than Barr, Miller isnt counting Cameron out. Hes ahead in terms of name recognition. So, you know, on that side, hes definitely beating Barr. But, if this disparity continues, then Barr will be in great shape, but obviously we dont know yet what Nate Morris is doing, Miller said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Just like a new venture, Ive had to put in some of my own capital, and Im willing to spend whatever it takes to be successful, Morris told FOX 56 in an interview earlier this month. Morris entered the race late enough in the quarter that no report was required, but in his sit-down with FOX 56, he said hed be self-financing his campaign in addition to donor support from across the nation. LATEST KENTUCKY NEWS: On the Democrat side, State Representative Pam Stevenson reported about $150 thousand in contributions this quarter but has just under $50 thousand cash on hand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Pam Stevenson is going to make a run or if any Democrat is going to win that race, its pretty clear that the national Democrats needed to come in and fund that race, which they can do, Miller said. The next opportunity to take a look at the numbers is in October. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. LONDON (Reuters) -British police said on Thursday one child was killed and at least two others seriously injured after a collision involving a bus carrying school children in Somerset, southwest England. Avon and Somerset Police said the bus was carrying 60-70 people and was heading to Minehead Middle School at the time of the crash. A number of people were seriously injured, including two children who were taken to hospital by air ambulance, Chief Superintendent Mark Edgington told reporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police declared the collision a major incident, meaning an event with serious consequences requiring special arrangements from emergency services. Fire crews had earlier rescued people trapped in the bus in what was a "complex and technically difficult incident", Chief Fire Officer for the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service Gavin Ellis, said. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the incident was "heartbreaking." "There are no adequate words to acknowledge the death of a child. All my thoughts are with their parents, family and friends, and all those affected," he wrote on X. (Reporting by Sachin Ravikumar; Editing by Franklin Paul and Sandra Maler) ROUBAIX, France (AP) As statements go, it's a big one. A towering mural in France of the Statue of Liberty covering her eyes is racking up millions of views online with its swipe at U.S. President Donald Trump 's immigration and deportation policies. Amsterdam-based street artist Judith de Leeuw described her giant work in the northern French town of Roubaix, which has a large immigrant community, as a quiet reminder of what freedom should be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said freedom feels out of reach for migrants and those pushed to the margins, silenced, or unseen. I painted her covering her eyes because the weight of the world has become too heavy to witness. What was once a shining symbol of liberty now carries the sorrow of lost meaning, de Leeuw wrote in a July 4 post on Facebook, when Americans were celebrating Independence Day. Her depiction of the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the French people in the late 1800s, has inspired some sharp criticism. Rep. Tim Burchett, a Republican lawmaker from Tennessee, wrote in an angry post on X that the work disgusts me. He said he had an uncle who fought and died in France, where U.S. forces saw combat in both World War I and World War II. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with The Associated Press, de Leeuw was unapologetic. Im not offended to be hated by the Donald Trump movement. I am not sorry. This is the right thing to do," she said. The town stood by the work, with its deputy mayor in charge of cultural affairs, Frederic Lefebvre, telling broadcaster France 3 that it's a very strong and powerful political message. Since returning to the White House amid anti-immigration sentiment, Trump has launched an unprecedented campaign that has pushed the limits of executive power and clashed with federal judges trying to restrain him. People from various countries have been deported to remote and unrelated places like South Sudan and the small African nation of Eswatini. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Polling by Gallup released last week showed an increasing number of Americans who said immigration is a good thing and decreasing support for the type of mass deportations Trump has championed since before he was elected. The mural in Roubaix is part of an urban street culture festival backed by the town. Roubaix is one of the poorest towns in France. It was economically devastated by the collapse since the 1970s of its once-flourishing textile industry that used to attract migrant workers from elsewhere in Europe, north Africa and beyond. ___ Associated Press journalists Ahmad Seir in Amsterdam and John Leicester in Paris contributed. COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL) The man who was killed in a construction accident Wednesday has been identified. 49-year-old Michael Cody, a subcontractor out of Edison, Georgia, was the person killed in the accident that happened near Rivercrest Drive. Authorities say he was operating a roller compactor, which flipped over, pinning him underneath the roll bar. The next of kin has been notified Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WRBL. BANGKOK (AP) Myanmar 's military has recaptured a strategic gateway town from rebel forces after nearly a year, state-media reported Thursday, marking a rare turnaround in the countrys northeast, where an alliance of ethnic militias seized a large swath of territory in an offensive that began in late 2023. Nawnghkio, which sits on a major highway trading route linking central Myanmar to China, had been under the control of the Taang National Liberation Army, or TNLA, a group in the Three Brotherhood Alliance, since July last year. Its recapture by the army comes after a long period where the military government had been seen as being on the defensive against an array of rebel forces in the civil war that is being fought over much of the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nawnghkio, which also stands on the highway leading to the major military garrison town of Pyin Oo Lwin, was completely captured by the army at noon on Wednesday after nearly 11 months of operations to retake the town, according to a state-run Myanma Alinn newspaper report on Thursday. After more than 500 armed engagements, including 20 major clashes, the bodies of 171 members of the TNLA and its allies were recovered and their ammunition supplies were captured, the report said, adding that the military was working to restore the towns administrative mechanisms, remove land mines and ensure the safe return of residents who had fled to avoid fighting. The newspaper also published photos of the soldiers who had recaptured the town in front of the government offices, hospitals, and markets. The Taang National Liberation Army did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Restrictions on reporting make independent confirmation of the town's recapture virtually impossible, though the army's claim has not been challenged. However, in a statement posted Wednesday on the Telegram messaging app, the TNLA said it had moved the groups civil administration and service offices in Nawnghkio to safe locations as the militarys intensive offensive operations in the past few months made it difficult to carry out work. The groups in the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which also include the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Arakan Army, have been fighting for decades for greater autonomy from Myanmars central government and are loosely allied with the Peoples Defense Force, the pro-democracy resistance that emerged to fight military rule after the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021. Since October 2023, the alliance members captured and controlled significant swaths of territory in in northeastern Myanmar near the Chinese border and in western Myanmar. Their victories were seen as forcing the army to go on the defensive over most of the country, while boosting the morale and strategic position of resistance forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recapture of Nawnghkio comes more than two months after the TNLA rejected the military's demands to withdraw from five towns controlled by the group, including Nawnghkio, during talks brokered by China in the Chinese city of Kunming in late April. China tries to maintain good relations with both the military government and the groups making up the Three Brotherhood Alliance, but fears that the aggressive posture of the rebel groups destabilizes Myanmar, which is a key Southeast Asian ally of Beijing with large strategic Chinese investments in minerals, energy and infrastructure. Nawnghkios recapture also comes just more than a week after the military claimed to take back the strategic town of Mobye in southern Shan state, which had been seized since late 2023 by another alliance of ethnic armed organizations in the eastern state of Kayah, also known as Karenni. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the armys 2021 takeover, which led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalated into armed resistance and what now amounts to civil war. Nay Phone Latt, a spokesperson for the oppositions National Unity Government, which coordinates resistance to army rule, told The Associated Press last Friday that the military regime has been trying to retake areas controlled by the resistance ahead of a general election planned for later this year. The poll is widely seen as an attempt to normalize the militarys seizure of power through the ballot box and to deliver a result that ensures the generals retain control. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) Recent flooding in North Carolina after Tropical Storm Chantal, excessive heat during June, and large-scale wildfires in the Carolinas in March are all examples of extreme weather that make it important than ever to protect yourself and your elderly neighbors. One way to do that, according to Myrtle Beach fire officials, is to help them pack an emergency bag. It should have clothing, cash, medications, and other important documents that might be needed if they need to evacuate. If you know you have somebody next to you that might need a little help when the time comes, its good to know whats going on, Myrtle Beach Fire Department Capt. Jonathan Evans said. So, when we come through the neighborhood, and were asking for you all to evacuate, it helps because we dont always know everybodys situation in everybodys household. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If your elderly neighbor does not have anyone to stay with after evacuating, Evans said organizations like the American Red Cross will find them shelter and supplies. Evans also said the fire department works with staff members at assisted-living facilities to make sure there are safety plans in place before emergencies. Theyll know who needs what assistance in each room, Evans said. So, when we talk about fire drills and things, usually, wed say, Get everyone out of the building completely. But in these assisted-living placesthe way theyre built, with the smoke alarms and the sprinkler systems, and everything elsewe say, Shelter in place, unless youre in immediate danger. Then, get to a stairwell or a safe place. Evans said its important for fire officials to know ahead of time who might need some extra help. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the case of an actual emergency, we need to know who those folks are that may need some extra assistance: theyre wheelchair-bound, or theyre non-ambulatory, he said. We need to figure out how to get them down safely. So, those are going to be our first priorities, while those who can walk, just like any kind of triage situation, were going to help them get out, but they can kind of get out on their own means. Evans said elderly peoples bodies regulate heat differently than others, so they are more susceptible to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Keep checking on your elderly neighbors during extreme heat, especially if they recently started or changed medications. Certain medications can also affect that, too, Evans said. So, you may think youre good, but now youre taking a new medication thats now changed how your body regulates that heat. Evans also recommends that neighbors have an emergency preparedness meeting if your area is prone to wildfires or flooding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement * * * Skylar Musick is a multimedia journalist at News13. Skylar is originally from Long Island, New York. She joined the News13 team in June 2024 after graduating from Villanova University in May 2024. Follow Skylar on X, formerly Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram, and read more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WBTW) Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach is holding its third annual Pack the Pantry event, and because of recent high client numbers, shelves that are normally stocked are now dwindling in supplies. Helping Hand of Myrtle Beach is a local nonprofit organization that offers help to those struggling with food, home, and financial insecurity. Between this year and last year, the number of households and individuals they assist has nearly doubled, leaving them in need of extra donations. According to Helping Hand, in 2024, through donations and a grant from the USDA, they managed to supply around 400,210 lbs. of food to those in need. The total number of households served last year in June was 486, while this year, during the same month, the total number of households served reached 865. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The food pantry has really been exploding with people coming, a lot of new households, executive director Tracy Gardner said. Its definitely been difficult to keep up with the pantry and to make sure that we have the items that we typically will give to people who are in need. She says they try to give families in need seven days worth of food for three meals each day. The organization also provides food to children during the summer, since those children would not be able to eat lunch while school is out. While the organization receives several donations at any given time, they say the growing numbers are becoming difficult to keep up with. Now that our numbers have doubled, we havent been able to stock anything. Its as soon as it comes in, it goes right back out the door, pantry coordinator Samantha Tate said. And a lot of things that we normally offer, were out of or short on, for the most part. And right now, we are completely out of canned beans and vegetables. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Helping Hand team said on average, they help around 50 households each day. In addition to running low on non-perishable food, they said they are running low on hygiene products as well, and have also opened a pet pantry to help families avoid having to surrender their pets. With the client numbers at a record high, Tate said they have started thinking they may have to do multiple Pack the Pantry events in the future. The organization has its third annual gala approaching in September, where they hope to gain more sponsors and donations as well. Even if it is just a little donation, it adds up and it really helps keep the pantry stocked and maintained, Gardner said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can find out what to donate on the Helping Hand Myrtle Beach website, and bring any food, pet, or hygiene items you would like to donate to 1411 Mr. Joe White Ave. Unit B, in Myrtle Beach. * * * Katie Harrill joined the News13 team as a multimedia journalist in June 2025. She is a native of Cumming, Georgia, and graduated from the University of Georgia in December 2024. You can keep up with Katie on Facebook, X, (formerly Twitter), or Instagram and read more of her work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WBTW. Another anonymous donor has supercharged Luigi Mangiones defense fund, this time with a $50,000 boost that has reignited grassroots enthusiasm and the debate around one of the nations most polarizing criminal cases. The large donation, made anonymously on July 16, marks the single largest contribution to date in the ongoing fundraising campaign for Mangione, who faces federal murder and other charges in connection with the December 2024 shooting death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. I already knew about the life-saving treatment denials of cancer patients (like my mom) and severely ill, elderly + the Senate inv report, the donor wrote in a message posted alongside the donation. Id hear her crying of pain; its always been messy. For legal purposes, this is unrelated to any litigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There was another anonymous $36,500 donation to Mangiones fund in March, according to The New York Post. The dramatic influx has pushed Mangiones total defense fund to $1,202,400 out of a newly revised $1.5 million goal. Since its creation in December 2024, the fund has repeatedly raised its target as donations surged beyond expectations. The Breakdown: A July 16 anonymous donor gave $50,000 to Luigi Mangiones legal defense fund. The donor cited family hardship and frustration with the U.S. health system as motivating factors. Smaller donors responded with praise and renewed support for Mangiones cause. The fund has now raised over $1.2 million, with more than 32,000 individual contributions. Mangione faces the death penalty in the high-profile federal case. Smaller supporters were quick to react to the $50,000 contribution with messages of solidarity. Thank you to the 50,000 dollar donor. Incredible. So sorry to hear about your mom! Lets get Luigi to 2 million, a woman named Valerie wrote with her $5 donation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another donor, who listed themselves as Concerned Citizen, wrote, Luigi means the world to me. He stands among the small group of men in the world I respect and admire for their bravery in the face of oppression. They also quoted Russian dissident Alexei Navalny: When corruption is the very foundation of a regime, those who battle it are extremists. One anonymous $5 donor wrote, My friend is trying to get Ozempic to lose weight, she is obese and needs it for medical reason. Insurance refuses to cover it this model of health insurance is unsustainable, we are dying. We need to keep FIGHTING!! The support comes amid a swelling online movement surrounding Mangiones case, which has ignited both outrage and admiration. The University of Pennsylvania graduate was arrested on December 9, 2024, at a McDonalds in Pennsylvania following a five-day manhunt. Federal officials allege Mangione cold-bloodedly murdered Thompson outside a Manhattan hotel and are seeking the death penalty. Luigi Mangiones murder of Brian Thompson an innocent man and father of two young children was a premeditated, cold-blooded assassination that shocked America, U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in an April 1, 2025, press release. After careful consideration, I have directed federal prosecutors to seek the death penalty in this case as we carry out President Trumps agenda to stop violent crime and Make America Safe Again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mangiones legal team and supporters argue that the case represents an abuse of prosecutorial power. In previous statements, the December 4 Legal Committee has described the charges as an insult to the American people and accused prosecutors of working on behalf of corporate elites. In a May press release celebrating the fund passing the $1 million mark on Mangiones 27th birthday, a committee presser noted, Even in a worsening economy, everyday people facing financial hardships of their own continue to provide monetary support for Mr. Mangione. Mangione has reportedly received a flood of letters and photos from supporters while held without bail in a federal detention facility in Brooklyn. Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL) faces allegations of stolen valor, domestic abuse, links to a radical Islamic cleric, and is facing a congressional ethics investigation. Despite the deluge of controversy, mainstream corporate donors, high-powered lobbyists, trade associations, and other lawmakers continue to cut checks to the congressman. Leadership at big names such as Toyota, the National Rifle Association, Robinhood, and major defense contractor General Dynamics, among others, made financial contributions to Mills's reelection campaign after his various scandals were reported on by the media, according to recently released campaign finance filings. Donations from mainstream corporate and political entities made up more than 15% of his fundraising between April and June. "The [National Republican Congressional Committee] is presenting it as a top race for any donor in the country," Lake County, Florida, Commissioner Anthony Sabatini told the Washington Examiner. "They probably don't know s*** about Mills. They don't know anything about him. They're not following controversies and articles and this and that. They just see this is a Republican seat, a purple seat. They're getting a call from NRCC. He's got fundraisers dialing for dollars, and checks are coming in. There's probably very few face-to-face contacts associated with those donations." Millss first major controversy this year came after the Metropolitan Police Department responded to a reported domestic assault at his penthouse apartment an event reported on Feb. 21. The police report associated with the alleged assault states that Mills had been conservative activist Sarah Ravianis significant other for over a year and that he had grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door. There were bruises on her arm which appeared fresh when officers arrived, and Mills even admitted [to officers] that the situation escalated from verbal to physical, per the report. Raviani denied that Mills had assaulted her after responding officers told Mills he would be arrested. Police officers, however, obtained a recorded phone call in which Mills instructed her to lie about the origin of her bruises. Police issued a warrant for Millss arrest on Feb. 21, but interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ed Martin declined to sign it, with some speculating that Martin, an ally of the president, was exhibiting political favoritism in the case of Mills. Weeks later, on March 28, the Office of Congressional Conduct released a report claiming that Mills may have violated federal law by lying on personal financial disclosures. The office noted that Mills appeared to own a firm with federal government contracts as a member of Congress, which is against the law, and recommended further investigation. Mills reportedly refused to cooperate with the Office of Congressional Conducts investigation. More problematic news for the congressman broke shortly thereafter when independent journalist Roger Sollenberger reported on April 21 that Millss 2014 marriage to an Iraqi refugee was presided over by Mohammed al Hanooti, an Islamic cleric who was an unindicted coconspirator in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot and the 2008 Holy Land Foundation Hamas fundraising trial. Millss marriage occurred at the Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center outside of the district, a mosque that has faced controversies over its alleged links to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. After all this transpired, Toyotas corporate PAC, a leadership committee affiliated with Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC), top political operatives, and five senior Robinhood employees, including its chief brokerage officer and chief legal officer, made contributions to Millss reelection campaign between April 10 and May 5. Among these donors were Philip English, a senior government affairs adviser at the law firm ArentFox Schiff who was previously a member of Congress, Daniel Gallagher, a former Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission who now works for Robinhood, and a partner at Kirkland & Ellis. "Representative Mills represents Lake Mary, Florida, where Robinhood has an office with over 150 employees," a spokesperson for the online brokerage told the Washington Examiner. "We have long engaged with policymakers on both sides of the aisle, including those who represent states and districts where we have significant physical operations, and remain focused on our efforts to preserve and expand access to the financial markets." Toyota did not respond to a request for comment. Millss next major controversy came when five men who served with him in the armed forces went to the press with allegations that he had embellished his service record. Featured Local Savings He didnt save my life, Pfc. Joe Heit, who is listed on Millss bronze star recommendation form as a soldier he allegedly rescued under fire, told NOTUS in a piece published May 5. I dont recall him being there either. Sgt. Joe Ferrand, who also appears on Millss recommendation form as someone he saved, called the stories on the congressman's documents a fabrication. Some of Millss other former colleagues also allege that he lied about being an Army Ranger and military-trained sniper in a piece published by the Blaze on May 20. The alleged discrepancies in Millss service record have since been relayed to the Office of Congressional Conduct. While facing accusations of stolen valor, Mills nonetheless secured a $1,000 donation from SEAL PAC, a political committee that aims to support conservative veterans. SEAL PAC did not respond to a request for comment. Other big-name donors that sent funds to Mills after all his controversies became known included the National Rifle Association, General Dynamics, more Robinhood executives, the National Electrical Contractors Association, the American Financial Services Association, Americas Credit Unions PAC, Honeywell Internationals PAC, and a number of top-level government affairs operatives, among others. Mills occupies a district that the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, House Democrats' campaign arm, has identified as one of its targets for the 2026 midterm elections. The congressman recently found himself in the news again after his landlord moved to evict him over $85,000 in unpaid rent a lapse Mills blamed on a processing error. The DCCC, alluding to Mills's myriad controversies, has taken to comparing him to former Rep. George Santos. Sabatini, who has a large social media presence, called the comparison "unfair," arguing that Mills's situation is "far, far, far worse than George's." "George exaggerated a couple of things," Sabatini said. "George never committed stolen valor and lied about having a fake military record. That never happened. George Santos never converted to Islam and also was anointed as a Muslim by a major affiliate of terrorist groups, as Mills was in Virginia." CORY MILLS UNDER HOUSE ETHICS COMMITTEE INVESTIGATION FOR ALLEGED FINANCIAL VIOLATIONS Some of Mills's former associates told the Blaze that he converted to Islam to marry his then-wife at Dar al Hijrah Islamic Center, though Mills publicly professes to be a Christian. The NRA, General Dynamics, the American Financial Services Association, Honeywell International, the National Electrical Contractors Association, Americas Credit Unions PAC, and Mills did not return requests for comment. Police in India are trying to piece together the story of a Russian woman who was found living in a cave in the southern state of Karnataka with her two young daughters. Nina Kutina was rescued on 9 July by policemen who were on a routine patrol near Ramteertha hills in the Gokarna forest, which borders the tourist paradise of Goa. Authorities say the 40-year-old and her daughters - six and five years old - do not have valid documents to stay in India. They have been lodged in a detention centre for foreigners near Bengaluru, the state capital, and will be deported soon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kutina has defended her lifestyle in two video interviews to Indian news agency ANI, saying she and her children were happy living in the cave and that "nature gives good health". But even a week after they were found, there is very little clarity on how the woman and her children came to be in a forest infested with snakes and wild animals; how long they had been living there and who they really are. Police stumble on the cave dwelling "The area is popular with tourists, especially foreigners. But it has a lot of snakes and it's prone to landslides, especially during the rainy season. To ensure the safety of tourists, we started patrolling the forests last year," M Narayana, superintendent of police for Uttara Kannada district, told the BBC. A second policeman who cannot be named and was part of the patrol party that stumbled on the cave dwelling said they walked down a steep hill to investigate when they saw bright clothes that had been hung outdoors to dry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When they got closer to the cave - the entrance to which had been curtained off with brightly coloured saris - "a little blonde girl came running out". When the shocked policemen followed her inside, they found Nina Kutina and the other child. Their possessions were meagre - plastic mats, clothes, packets of instant noodles and some other grocery items - and the cave was leaking. Videos shot by the police at the cave dwelling which the BBC has seen, show the children dressed in colourful Indian clothes, smiling into the camera. "The woman and her children appeared quite comfortable in the place," Mr Narayana said. "It took us some time to convince her that it was dangerous to live there," he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said when they told her that the cave was unsafe because of the presence of snakes and wild animals in the forest, she told them: "Animals and snakes are our friends. Humans are dangerous." Kutina and her daughters were taken to a hospital for a check-up after their rescue and were certified to be medically fit. Who is Nina Kutina? Nina Kutina has said she was born in Russia but hasn't lived there for 15 years [ANI] An official in India's Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) has told the BBC that she's Russian and that she will be repatriated once the formalities are completed. He says they have reached out to the Russian consulate in Chennai - the BBC has also written to the Russian embassy in Delhi but they are yet to respond. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In video interviews with India's ANI and PTI news agencies, Kutina said she was born in Russia but hadn't lived there for 15 years and travelled to "a lot of countries, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Bali, Thailand, Nepal, Ukraine". In her interviews with both agencies, Kutina said she had four children between the ages of 20 and 5 years. She talked about the eldest - "my big son" - who died in a road accident in Goa last year. Officials say her second son is 11-years-old and is in Russia - and that they have shared the information with the consulate. On Tuesday night, the FRRO said they had tracked down the father of the girls - Dror Goldstein - and that he was an Israeli businessman. They said he was in India at the moment and that they met him and were trying to persuade him to pay for Kutina and her daughters' repatriation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Goldstein told India's NDTV channel that Kutina had left Goa without informing him and that he had lodged a missing complaint with the police there. He said he wanted joint custody of his daughters and would do everything to prevent the government from sending them to Russia. When did she come to Gokarna? There is no clarity on how and when Kutina and her daughters reached the forest in Karnataka. Police said she told them that they had been living in the cave for a week. They added that she had bought some vegetables and groceries, including a popular brand of instant noodles, from a local store, a week ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They said she told them that she arrived in Karnataka from Goa where she also claimed to have lived in a cave. She also said that one of her daughters was born in a Goa cave. In her interview to PTI on Wednesday, she complained about the detention centre where she's been lodged with her daughters saying "it is like jail". "We lived in a very good place. But now we cannot be alone. We cannot go outside. Here it's very dirty, and there's not enough food," she added. It's not clear when and how Kutina came to India. Police say she told them she had lost her passport, but they were able to find an older expired passport among her belongings which showed that she had come to India on a business visa which was valid from 18 October 2016 to 17 April 2017. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But she overstayed, was caught a year later, and the Goa office of the FRRO issued her "an exit permit" to leave India. According to immigration stamps in her passport, she entered Nepal on 19 April 2018 and exited three months later. It's not clear where she went after that, but Kutina told ANI that overall she had "travelled to at least 20 countries" - at least "four of them since leaving India in 2018". It's also not clear when she returned to India next, although some reports say she's been back since February 2020. She told PTI that she returned because "we really love India". Kutina admitted that her visa expired a few months back. "We don't have our visa, valid visa, our visa finished," she said, adding that the lapse happened because she was grieving for her dead son and couldn't think of anything else. Why was Kutina living in a cave? The entrance to the cave where Kutina was living with her daughters had been curtained off with brightly coloured saris [Karnataka police] After an idol of Panduranga Vittala, a form of Hindu god Krishna, was found in her cave dwelling, it was reported that she had gone there to do meditation and for spiritual reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in her interview to ANI, she rejected the narrative. "It is not about spiritually. We just like nature because it gives us health... it's very big health, it's not like you live in a home." She added she had "big experience to stay in natural, in jungle" and insisted that her daughters were happy and healthy there. The cave she had chosen was "very big and beautiful" and it was "very close to a village" so she could buy food and other necessities. "We were not dying, and I did not bring my children, my daughters, to die in jungle. They were very happy, they swam in the waterfall, they had a very good place for sleeping, a lot of lessons in art making, we made from clay, we painted, we ate good, I was cooking very good and tasty food," she told ANI. Kutina also rejected suggestions that living in the forest exposed her children to danger. "For all the time we lived there, yes we saw a few snakes," she said, but added that it was similar to people reporting finding snakes in their homes, kitchens or toilets. Elon Musk's company, xAI, is building a massive supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee, called "Colossus," which is powering the AI chatbot "Grok May 14, 2025 in Memphis, Tennessee. The NAACP and another group are challenging the Shelby County Health Departments decision to grant xAI an air permit for 15 gas turbines at its South Memphis data center, according to an appeal filed Wednesday. The groups also contest the departments determination that temporary gas turbines which generate electricity and have potential to emit pollutants are nonroad engines exempt from permitting requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That determination, the appeal says, violates the Clean Air Act and would allow entities to install and operate any number of new polluting turbines at any time without any written approval from the Health Department, without any public notice or public participation, and without pollution controls. The Southern Environmental Law Center brought the appeal to the Memphis and Shelby County Air Pollution Control Board on behalf of the NAACPs Memphis chapter and Young, Gifted & Green. The Shelby County Health Department did not respond to a request for comment. Elon Musk founded xAI, an artificial intelligence company, in 2023. The company announced it would build the supercomputer in Memphis at the former Electrolux building about a year later. The company could not be immediately reached for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The health department approved a permit for 15 turbines at xAIs Paul R. Lowry Road campus on July 2 after months of community debate over the potential impact to South Memphis neighborhoods, which have battled various forms of industrial pollution for years. xAI welcomed the departments July 2 decision with a statement pledging that onsite power generation will be equipped with state-of-the-art emissions control technology, making this facility the lowest emitting of its kind in the country. State Rep. Justin Pearson, a Memphis Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday that the health departments permit approval to a company that ran dozens of large gas turbines for more than a year without authorization sends a troubling message that violating environmental laws in Shelby County is acceptable. Whats in the appeal The appeal says the health departments permit treats the site as a new facility with no existing sources of emissions ignoring the fact that the site has had multiple un-permitted turbines on the property for more than a year. The groups allege that the campus had up to 35 gas turbines on site capable of generating more than 420 megawatts of electricity before it sought permits. The 35 turbines can emit between 1,000 to 2,100 tons of nitrogen oxides reactive gases that can irritate human airways in high concentrations according to the appeal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Instead, the groups argue that xAIs campus is an existing major source of emissions because the turbines on the property have the potential to emit 900 tons of nitrogen oxides, well above the Clean Air Acts 250-ton threshold. Permits for existing major sources of pollution have more strict provisions, including emissions limits and air quality impact assessments. xAIs voluntary agreement to comply with Best Available Control Technology and monitoring are far less stringent than what other turbine sites would require, according to the appeal. As a Black woman born and raised in Memphis, I know firsthand how industry harms Black communities while those in power cower away from justice, Young, Gifted & Green CEO and President LaTricea Adams said in a statement. The Shelby County Health Department needs to do their job to protect the health of ALL Memphians, especially those in frontline communities like 38109, that are burdened with a history of environmental racism, legacy pollution, and redlining. Memphis city officials reported in June that independent tests found no dangerous levels of air pollutants in the Boxtown, Whitehaven or Downtown Memphis areas near the supercomputer campus. The SELC said the tests failed to measure ozone pollution. Air monitors in the Memphis metropolitan area show that ozone emissions averages have exceeded federal limits for the last two years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The SELC filed a petition with the Environmental Protection Agency on June 5, asking the agency to formally recognize the areas failure to meet federal standards and trigger stricter requirements for air permits. The department has stated that permits are not required for temporary turbines that operate for less than a year, but the appeal contends that Shelby Countys federally approved Local Implementation Plan doesnt include any exemptions for temporary large portable turbines. The appeal acts as a stay of decision pending the boards final decision, effectively putting the permits on pause, according to Shelby County Air Code. The board must set an appeal hearing date within 60 days. 2025-07-15 NAACP and YGG xAI Air Permit Appeal with Appendices Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday exposed why the Republican Party is so afraid of defying President Donald Trump, referencing a harrowing event her family experienced. In an interview with SiriusXMs Zerlina Maxwell, Pelosi said many GOP members of Congress worry they could be attacked in the same way her husband, Paul, was assaulted inside the couples San Francisco home nearly three years ago. Thats what theyre afraid of, she said. They dont want their children threatened, their families threatened, their lives in jeopardy because they speak out against him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David DePape broke into the Pelosis home in October 2022 looking for the then-House speaker who was not there. The intruder went on to beat Paul Pelosi with a hammer, fracturing his skull. DePape, who had a track record of embracing right-wing conspiracy theories, was sentenced to life in prison without parole in state court in October of last year on top of a 30-year-sentence he got in the federal case against him. Pelosi told Maxwell that she finds it astounding that congressional Republicans would be so ignoring of the institution that they represent, raising little to no opposition to Trumps demands, accusing them of abandoning their constitutional duty to serve as a check to the executive branch. Still, Pelosi seemed to concede that it was understandable that many would have reservations about speaking out against him given that Trump could seek revenge from them, including by using the Department of Justice and the FBI to launch baseless investigations against them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres real justification for fear, because Trump is just ruthless in how hes going after those who do not agree with him, Pelosi said. The former speaker also singled out current House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) when she was asked to comment on Trump supporters anger with the administration over its handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. The DOJ and the FBI released a memo earlier this month noting that there was no evidence to suggest the disgraced financier was murdered or that he kept a client list to blackmail people. Pelosi suggested that she found it surprising that Johnson, one of Trumps staunchest allies, seemed to break with Trump on the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson has done everything Donald Trump has asked him to do, to the horror of all of us who care about not only the people we serve, but the institution we serve in, Pelosi said. Johnson on Wednesday claimed his comments to conservative podcaster Benny Johnson, calling for the release of all files on Epstein, were misrepresented, adding that there was no daylight between him and Trump. Related... On July 17, Nashville-based Centerstone announced a forthcoming merger with a Missouri organization that would create the nations largest nonprofit provider of behavioral health services, with projected annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. Centerstone CEO David Guth told The Tennessean that he and C.J. Davis, the head of Springfield-based Brightli, have signed an agreement with the intention of merging into an organization with more than 10,000 employees spread across nine states. Brightli is the parent company of a network of mental health and addiction treatment centers. The due diligence process is underway with an anticipated close in November. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Together, they hope to provide services for a quarter of a million clients annually, including counseling for children, adults and families as well as recovery services for people with substance use disorders. David Guth, head of the Nashville-based Centerstone, said plans for a merger with another large provider of behavioral health services should allow the nonprofit to serve more individuals and families in Tennessee and across the nation. In a joint statement issued by the two CEOs, they vowed that current patients of Centerstone and Brightli will be able to continue to see the same providers they know and trust. Guth said he anticipates adding jobs in Nashville, but he declined to estimate when those openings might be created or how many new employees he expects to hire. The nonprofit plans to offer more than 360 outpatient, inpatient and residential treatment locations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We're not just growing," Davis said. "We're building a stronger, more sustainable system of care that breaks down barriers and saves lives." Centerstone in Shelbyville, Tennessee offers counseling for children and families and recovery programs for people with substance use disorder. The Centerstone leader said he's most excited about teaming to enhance services offered to people in need. He said Brightli has more experience offering specialized services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. That's something that could be expanded in Tennessee. Davis said the Brightli organization and its affiliates have led more than 25 successful mergers and affiliations, amassing a team of more than 6,000 associated employees working at more than 220 locations across five states. "This partnership represents an incredible opportunity to transform mental health and substance use disorder care in a way that neither organization could have achieved alone," Davis said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The merger between two nonprofit giants does garner attention, Guth said. "But the real story here is not the scale," the executive said. "It's really what is needed at this time, this important time. "We're at an inflection point." Expanding mental health care in Tennessee The peak of the COVID-19 pandemic proved challenging for adults and children alike, but it also helped accelerate the destigmatizing of mental health care, he said. People were more willing to seek help for anxiety, depression and other conditions. Unfortunately, there aren't enough clinicians to keep up with a growing patient population, Guth said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It resulted in demand that far outpaces not only the staff capability today in our communities, but also what's in the pipeline," he said. "We've been working on strategies to really, really help accelerate people getting exactly to the right care they need." Centerstone, which launched the first comprehensive simulation training center, can also share its expertise in developing best practices with Brightli. For decades, Centerstone has offered counseling to victims of trauma, including students at Antioch High School in the aftermath of a school shooting; Hurricane Katrina survivors; victims of flooding in Nashville, northeast Tennessee and beyond; and survivors and first responders to the September 11 terrorist attacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Centerstone also continues to work to intervene to prevent suicides, helping lobby for the national 988 crisis hotline. The non-profit organization has a network of about 1,600 licensed therapists across the country that serve veterans and active duty military members, including soldiers and their families who are stationed at Fort Campbell, a U.S. Army installation straddling Tennessee and Kentucky. Centerstone's leaders set a goal of connecting a person who is seeking help with a counselor within 30 minutes. "In recent years, that's also extended overseas" to 19 foreign countries where military members and their families are stationed, Guth said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also launched school-based clinics in Nashville decades ago, which has grown to include positioning counselors at more than 1,500 schools nationwide, about 450 of which are in Tennessee public elementary and middle schools. "People who do these mass shootings often times are suicidal themselves," he said. "They have given up on hope for themselves, and that means they've devalued the lives of others. "The way we really put a dent in this is getting to people that are in that state of crisis." Guth said he hopes that merging with another large organization will offer the opportunity to compare models and effectiveness to offer the best possible care across the state and nation. Where to seek mental health, addiction treatment in Tennessee More information about individual or family counseling or recovery services for those with a substance use disorder can be found on Centerstone's website at Centerstone.org. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Also, a variety of services, including peer support, can be found through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services helpline at 800-560-5767. For immediate help, children and adults can text or call the 988 crisis hotline. Reporter Beth Warren covers health care and can be reached at bwarren@tennessean.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Major merger creates largest behavioral health nonprofit in the US Protests and events against President Donald Trumps controversial policies that include mass deportations and cuts to Medicaid and other safety nets for poor people have started Thursday at more than 1,600 locations around the country. The Good Trouble Lives On national day of action honors the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. Protests were being held along streets, at court houses and other public spaces. Organizers have called for them to be peaceful. We are navigating one of the most terrifying moments in our nations history, Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said during an online news conference Tuesday. We are all grappling with a rise of authoritarianism and lawlessness within our administration as the rights, freedoms and expectations of our very democracy are being challenged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public Citizen is a nonprofit with a stated mission of taking on corporate power. It is a member of a coalition of groups behind Thursdays protests. Major protests were planned in Atlanta and St. Louis, as well as Oakland, California, and Annapolis, Maryland. Honoring Lewis legacy Lewis first was elected to Congress in 1986. He died in 2020 at the age of 80 following an advanced pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, a group led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1965, a 25-year-old Lewis led some 600 protesters in the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis was beaten by police, suffering a skull fracture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within days, King led more marches in the state, and President Lyndon Johnson pressed Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act that later became law. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America, Lewis said in 2020 while commemorating the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Demonstrators march down Fifth Avenue during the "No Kings" protest in New York, on June 14, 2025. - Stefan Jeremiah/AP Chicago will be the flagship city for Thursdays protests as demonstrators are expected to rally downtown in the afternoon. Betty Magness, executive vice president of the League of Women Voters Chicago and one of the organizers of Chicagos event, said the rally will also include a candlelight vigil to honor Lewis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Much of the rest of the rally will have a livelier tone, Magness said, adding we have a DJ whos gonna rock us with boots on the ground. Protesting Trumps policies Pushback against Trump so far in his second term has centered on deportations and immigration enforcement tactics Earlier this month, protesters engaged in a tense standoff as federal authorities conducted mass arrests at two Southern California marijuana farms. One farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof during a chaotic raid. Those raids followed Trumps extraordinary deployment of the National Guard outside federal buildings and to protect immigration agents carrying out arrests on Los Angeles. On June 8, thousands of protesters began taking to the streets in Los Angeles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And organizers of the June 14 No Kings demonstrations said millions of people marched in hundreds of events from New York to San Francisco. Demonstrators labeled Trump as a dictator and would-be king for marking his birthday with a military parade. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com CHICAGO (AP) Protests and events against President Donald Trump's controversial policies that include mass deportations and cuts to Medicaid and other safety nets for poor people have started Thursday at more than 1,600 locations around the country. The Good Trouble Lives On national day of action honors the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. Protests were being held along streets, at court houses and other public spaces. Organizers have called for them to be peaceful. We are navigating one of the most terrifying moments in our nations history, Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert said during an online news conference Tuesday. We are all grappling with a rise of authoritarianism and lawlessness within our administration ... as the rights, freedoms and expectations of our very democracy are being challenged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Public Citizen is a nonprofit with a stated mission of taking on corporate power. It is a member of a coalition of groups behind Thursday's protests. Major protests were planned in Atlanta and St. Louis, as well as Oakland, California, and Annapolis, Maryland. Honoring Lewis' legacy Lewis first was elected to Congress in 1986. He died in 2020 at the age of 80 following an advanced pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, a group led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1965, a 25-year-old Lewis led some 600 protesters in the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis was beaten by police, suffering a skull fracture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within days, King led more marches in the state, and President Lyndon Johnson pressed Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act that later became law. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America, Lewis said in 2020 while commemorating the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. Chicago will be the flagship city for Thursdays protests as demonstrators are expected to rally downtown in the afternoon. Betty Magness, executive vice president of the League of Women Voters Chicago and one of the organizers of Chicagos event, said the rally will also include a candlelight vigil to honor Lewis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Much of the rest of the rally will have a livelier tone, Magness said, adding we have a DJ whos gonna rock us with boots on the ground. Protesting Trump's policies Pushback against Trump so far in his second term has centered on deportations and immigration enforcement tactics Earlier this month, protesters engaged in a tense standoff as federal authorities conducted mass arrests at two Southern California marijuana farms. One farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof during a chaotic raid. Those raids followed Trumps extraordinary deployment of the National Guard outside federal buildings and to protect immigration agents carrying out arrests on Los Angeles. On June 8, thousands of protesters began taking to the streets in Los Angeles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And organizers of the June 14 No Kings demonstrations said millions of people marched in hundreds of events from New York to San Francisco. Demonstrators labeled Trump as a dictator and would-be king for marking his birthday with a military parade. ___ Williams reported from Detroit. (NewsNation) More than 1,600 protests are planned across the country Thursday against President Donald Trumps policies, including mass deportation efforts and proposed Medicaid cuts. The events are part of a nationwide day of action dubbed Good Trouble Lives On, in honor of the late congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis. Demonstrations are expected to take place at courthouses, along streets and in other public spaces. Organizers have urged participants to remain peaceful. Public Citizen, a nonprofit organization known for its efforts to counter corporate influence, is among the coalition of groups leading the protests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Border czar: White House considering migrant worker exception Chicago will serve as the flagship city for the day of protest. Demonstrators are expected to rally downtown Thursday afternoon, culminating in a candlelight vigil to honor Lewis. Major protests are planned in Atlanta and St. Louis, as well as Oakland, California, and Annapolis, Maryland. Protesting Trumps ICE, Medicaid policies Much of the pushback in Trumps second term has focused on immigration enforcement. Last week, protesters clashed with federal authorities during mass arrests at two marijuana farms in Southern California. One farmworker died after falling from a greenhouse roof during a raid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those raids followed Trumps deployment of the National Guard to support immigration operations in Los Angeles and protect federal buildings in the wake of protests there. Thousands marched in Los Angeles on June 8, and days later, millions participated in No Kings protests from New York to San Francisco. Many demonstrators had labeled Trump as a dictator and a would-be king. Army vet arrested in ICE raid warns it could happen to anyone Honoring civil rights leader John Lewis Lewis was first elected to Congress in 1986. He died in 2020 at the age of 80 following an advanced pancreatic cancer diagnosis. He was the youngest and last survivor of the Big Six civil rights activists, a group led by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1965, a 25-year-old Lewis led some 600 protesters in the Bloody Sunday march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. Lewis was beaten by police, suffering a skull fracture. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within days, King led more marches in the state, and President Lyndon Johnson pressed Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act that later became law. Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and redeem the soul of America, Lewis said in 2020 while commemorating the 1965 voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. The Associated Press contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. General Alexus Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, has said that NATO is preparing for the rapid deployment of additional Patriot air defence systems in Ukraine. Source: ntv, as reported by European Pravda Details: Grynkewich said that preparations were being carried out in close cooperation with Germany. The general said at a conference in Wiesbaden that the order was to act as quickly as possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesman for the German Ministry of Defence said the day before that he was not aware of whether components of the Patriot air defence systems had already been sent to Ukraine. He added that he could not confirm whether anything was being prepared at that time. The spokesman said that at a meeting of countries supporting Ukraine on Monday that they would seek a solution to deliver the weapons as quickly as possible. Background: On 14 July, US President Donald Trump announced an agreement between the US and NATO under which European allies would pay for the delivery of American weapons to Ukraine. Trump also announced the delivery of additional Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine. At least for some of the US's European allies, Trump's announcement of a plan for Europeans to purchase American weapons for Ukraine came as a surprise, and uncertainty remains as to who exactly will supply the Patriot systems. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The U.S. Navy will construct new housing at a Guam Air Force base, the Navy announced Wednesday, several months after an independent government watchdog reported on subpar living conditions in the bases barracks. The Navy awarded a $297 million contract to Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Pacific to design and build replacement housing units at Andersen Air Force Base by December 2028, according to a Navy release. This is another significant step forward in enhancing the infrastructure and resiliency of the base, following Super Typhoon Mawar, said Col. Dan Cooley, 36 Wing commander, in the release. The new houses will provide better living conditions for our Airmen and their families, immediately increasing quality of life and allowing our service members to focus on carrying out the mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project includes the design and construction of three- and four-bedroom housing units, according to the release. A May 2 report published by the Project on Government Oversight, or POGO, detailed mold-infested walls and exposed electrical wiring at barracks on base, which led the Navy to conduct its own Navy-wide review of unaccompanied housing. The state of housing at Andersen was so dire that Navy Secretary Phelan ordered sailors and Marines to be moved out within 10 days of his visit to Andersens Palau Hall barracks. I actually thought the buildings were condemned, Phelan told POGO. When we pulled up to them and saw what shape theyre in, I was shocked. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are currently five permanent party dormitory facilities at the Guam base, according to the Air Force. Conditions for other barracks were not markedly different than those at Palau, an Air Force spokesperson told POGO. Barracks 2030 isnt a fix it and forget it effort, USMC leaders say By May 22, 25 Marines and 48 sailors had left the barracks. Vice Adm. Scott Gray, commander of Navy Installations Command, sent a May 5 email to Navy leaders after Phelans visit, condemning the clearly unacceptable living conditions and ordering inspections to be conducted by May 27. Gray ordered service members to be moved into better living conditions if their housing was poorly maintained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Damage from Typhoon Mawar in May 2023 was partly to blame for the barracks deteriorating conditions, an Air Force spokesperson told Navy Times previously. After the storm, the Air Force estimated that it would need nearly $10 billion to properly rebuild facilities, according to reports. But a naval officer who spoke to POGO under the condition of anonymity said that any service member whos lived on the Guam base can agree theyre crappy quarters. Rene Kladzyk, the author of the POGO report, spoke to Navy Times over the phone and said she still had concerns despite the new contract and attempted fix. I know that sounds like a big number, but is that enough considering the level of need? Kladzyk said. Guam is in the midst of a pretty significant military build-up. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joint Region Marianas spokesperson Lt. Cmdr. Katie Koenig told the Pacific Daily News in 2024 that the military population is expected to grow to 34,500 by 2028. About 21,000 people affiliated with the U.S. military live on Guam currently, a U.S. territory that houses Andersen Air Force Base, Naval Base Guam and Marine Corps Base Camp Blaz. Editors note: This article has been updated to reflect that the housing covered by the project includes three- to four-bedroom housing units. The U.S. Navy responded to a letter from congressional leaders that voiced serious concerns about the services handling of an investigation into a Naval Station Norfolk sailors disappearance and death. Members of Congress sent a letter July 10 to Secretary of the Navy John Phelan criticizing the chain of commands response to the disappearance and death of Culinary Specialist Seaman Angelina Resendiz. The 21-year-old sailor, who was assigned to the Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer James E. Williams, went missing May 29 from her barracks in Miller Hall on Naval Station Norfolk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Resendizs body was found June 9 in a wooded area nearby in Norfolk, Virginia. A fellow sailor has been placed in pretrial confinement in connection with her death. The Naval Criminal Investigative Service, or NCIS, has yet to confirm that sailors identity. On May 29, the day Resendiz went missing, Resendizs mother, Esmerelda Castle, called to check in on her daughters whereabouts after her daughters colleagues informed her of her disappearance, according to the congressional letter. She contacted her duty station, where Seaman Resendizs chain of command responded that her daughter had been located, the letter stated. It is imperative to know what protocols were activated and the elements by which her chain of command reached that conclusion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a June 25 press conference organized by leaders of the civil rights organization The League of United Latin American Citizens, Castle recounted how the Navy had told her that her daughter was fine when she initially called after Resendizs colleagues alerted Castle that she was missing. The Navy, in its response to congressional leaders, said Resendiz was on authorized liberty on May 29 and had no assigned duties that required her to interact with her chain of command. When she failed to report for duty the following day, May 30, the Navy sent two members of the James E. Williams to conduct a wellness check on her barracks room, as well as on the barracks room of the sailor she was last seen with, according to the Navy memo. Body of fallen sailor returned home in terrible condition, mother says Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The crew members were unable to locate either sailor and called the command to report them as missing. The warship listed Resendiz on the daily absentee report in accordance with the Navy Regulations and Military Personnel Manual, the Navy said. The Navys memo also stated that a wellness check was conducted the day before, May 29, after a James E. Williams sailor reported he couldnt find Resendiz after she contacted him requesting to be picked up at the barracks. But during a wellness check on another sailor the same day, a chief petty officer found Resendiz in the barracks room of another sailor, the Navy said. This is the sailor she was last seen with, according to the Navy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NCIS began investigating Resendizs location May 31 after the Norfolk Police Department contacted them with a missing persons report that day. Congressional leaders asked the Navy why so much time had passed between May 29, when Resendiz went missing, and June 3, when the Navy finally classified Resendiz as a missing person. The Navy said that Resendizs unauthorized absence status began May 30 and had no bearing on the NCIS investigation commencing. NCIS allegedly contacted Castle on June 1 and continued to speak with her every day between that day and June 11, except for June 7, according to the Navys memo. The Navy said it informed Castle her daughter was missing, that it was concerned for her well-being and that it was collaborating with law enforcement to find her on June 2. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This conversation happened four days after Resendiz was unaccounted for, which followed Navy policy of notifying the next-of-kin of a sailors absence by day five, the Navy said. However, Castle claimed at the June 25 news conference that once NCIS became involved, she stopped receiving information regarding the investigation. Lawmakers stated that they had received reports that the sailor being held in pretrial confinement in relation to Resendizs death was under investigation for separate instances of sexual harassment when he was transferred from the aircraft carrier Truman to Naval Station Norfolk. They asked the Navy to verify whether this was true and whether it was common practice to transfer a sailor who is the suspect in an active investigation. The Navy did not address those questions in its memo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The congressional letter also asked the Navy what steps they took to ensure Resendizs body was preserved before being returned to her mother in Texas on June 20. The Navy also did not respond to that question. Castle said during the June 25 press conference that her daughters body was covered in maggots and was in a shocking state of decay when she visited her in a funeral home. They didnt preserve her body or prepare her to come home, Castle said in the conference. Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy told guests at the Hill Nation Summit in Washington, D.C., that he was enjoying his "fabulous" post-congressional life. He's also thankful he no longer has to deal with former Rep. Matt Gaetz. "We dont have Matt Gaetz anymore," McCarthy mused, the audience laughing at the remark. Gaetz left the House in November after winning reelection, as President Donald Trump nominated him as his attorney general. Extensive controversy ensued over the political firebrand until he withdrew his name from consideration. The party is so much stronger now, McCarthy added before comparing Trump to President Ronald Reagan for having transformed where America is in this world. WATCH: Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said post-congressional life was fabulous. We dont have Matt Gaetz anymore. https://t.co/TmwM5B7H5R pic.twitter.com/6aBZGZMufY The Hill (@thehill) Gaetz and McCarthy have a long-running feud, which peaked when Gaetz helped oust him as speaker in October 2023. Since then, they've continued their feud. Another notable incident happened when Gaetz confronted McCarthy at the Republican National Convention last year. Gaetz asked if McCarthy was speaking. He added that if he did, he would "get booed off the stage." Featured Local Savings Gaetz, who now has a show on One America News Network, responded to McCarthy's quip Wednesday on X. "This is so sad, Kevin. Get help. Move on. You dont have to always be thinking about me," he said. McCarthy also said at the summit that Trump has a coalition comprising the new Republican Party, which could answer voters' frustrations. I understand peoples frustration with things not getting solved, but now is a different opportunity, McCarthy said. Trump has put a coalition together thats rather unique. Anybody else that thinks about doing some other party, I think that would only help the Democrats win an election, he added. GOP MUST SHOWCASE HOW 'BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL' MAKES LIFE 'BETTER' AHEAD OF 2026 MIDTERMS: MCCARTHY McCarthy said last week that the Republican Party should show voters how the One Big Beautiful Bill Act improves voters' lives before the 2026 midterm elections. If you didnt pass it, everybodys taxes would go up. So theyre keeping them the same. So show them they secured the border. Show them theyre bringing their energy costs down. Show them theyre making the average Americans life better, McCarthy told Fox News. Whew, chile, you know it's gonna be a doozy when someone uses the words "the Blacks"...and doesn't even stop there. Today's culprit is none other than Greg Gutfeld of Fox News. Roy Rochlin / Getty Images Related: Hillary Clinton Just Hit On One Of Donald Trump's Biggest Insecurities With Three Words In a clip from his political satire show, Gutfeld!, posted to X, the commentator and his panel are discussing anti-fascists who call ICE agents, supporters of President Donald Trump, and other conservatives "Nazis." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nazism is, of course, the political ideology associated with Adolf Hitler, the fascist dictator who controlled Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. His regime, having implemented the anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws and seeking a 100% "Aryan" society, ordered and oversaw the systemic killing of over 6 million Jewish people and others. "This is why the criticism doesn't matter to us when youse call us Nazis," Gutfeld starts. "Nazi this, Nazi that...y'know, I'm beginning to think they don't like us," he jokes. "Y'know what? I've said this before. We need to learn from the Blacks," he says. "The way they were able to remove the power from the n-word by using it." Related: "Evidence Of Trumps Stupidity": Trump Was Ruthlessly Mocked After Suffering A Brain Fart While Trying To Insult Biden "So from now on it's, 'What up, my Nazi? Hey, what up, my Nazi! Heyyy, what's hangin', my Nazi?'" Gutfeld says, smiling and pointing to the panelists one by one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After a brief pause, libertarian commentator Lisa Kennedy Montgomery says, "Nazi, please!" Gutfeld, predictably, finds this hilarious. "Thank God you did a hard 'i' there," he says. Then, mercifully, the clip is over. Fox / Via x.com You can watch the full clip here. Gutfeld: You know what? I've said this before, we need to learn from the blacks. The way they were able to remove the power from the n-word word by using it. So from now on its: What up, my Nazi? Hey, what up, my Nazi? Hey, what's hanging, my Nazi?Kennedy: Nazi, please! pic.twitter.com/GC76xmTbSK PatriotTakes (@patriottakes) July 15, 2025 @patriottakes / Via x.com I won't lie, I'm at a real loss for words on this one. There are too many things to say, so I'll let the internet step in. Related: Donald Trump Was Completely Stumped By A Simple World Cup Question, And His Response Is Exactly What You'd Expect The Lincoln Project said, "So they're just fully comfortable calling themselves Nazis now. Got it." "I did not have republicans admitting that they are in fact Nazi on my 2025 bingo card," someone wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This person said something like this "would have ended someone's career on television" a decade ago. This account asked how the two words could even be compared, and a lot of people agreed. Someone called it "the most stupid analogy I heard so far." Related: Amy Klobuchar's Donald Trump Joke Is Going Viral This person said Gutfeld was "forgetting that being a Nazi was always a bad thing while being black never was." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One user said it sounded like Gutfeld was showing "how subhuman he believes *Black people* are" with his intonation. This person said, "they went full mask off and stopped hiding it." And finally, this person said what I imagine we're all thinking. What do you think? Sound off in the comments. Also in In the News: "He Torched His Entire Reputation For Nothing": 27 Of The Best Political Tweets From This Messy, Messy Week Also in In the News: These Tweets Prove MAGA Is Seeing Some Serious Backlash Amid The Texas Floods Also in In the News: People Genuinely Cannot Believe This "Disgusting," "Nauseating," And "Offensive" Post From Donald Trump Is Real Read it on BuzzFeed.com NBC News was one of the few major outlets to see its web traffic climb year-over-year during the second quarter, according to new Comscore data shared exclusively with TheWrap on Thursday. The Peacock network, bolstered by multiple exclusive interviews with President Trump, had a 12% jump in unique visitors compared to Q2 2024. Between April and the end of June, NBC News averaged more than 79 million unique visitors per month. More from TheWrap Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other outlets, like The New York Times and The Washington Post, ended up heading in the opposite direction. Both the Times and Post saw their web traffic hit by a double digit percentage drop. For the quarter, the only other mainstream outlet to see an increase in unique visitors was The Wall Street Journal. WSJ averaged 38.8 million unique visitors per month during Q2, up 14% year-over-year. Here is how a few other top outlets stacked up in Q2, per Comscore: NYT: 80.2 million unique visitors, down 11% year-over-year WaPo: 40.4 million unique visitors, down 14% year-over-year ABC News: 48.4 million unique visitors, down 1% year-over-year Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fox News: 79.3 million unique visitors, flat year-over-year NBC News scored an exclusive interview with President Trump on Meet the Press in early May, and host Kristen Welker followed that up with another phone interview with the commander-in-chief during the quarter. Reporter Yamiche Alcindor also had an exclusive phone interview with Trump in June in which he discussed the ceasefire between Israel and Iran. The web gains for NBC News come as the outlet has also found success on TikTok as of late. NBC News pulled in 2.5 billion TikTok views in Q1, and 1.7 billion in Q2. In other news-related news, TheWrap recently looked at how the top channels are performing on YouTube. Fox News, through late June, had seen its YouTube viewership more than double year-over-year, while MSNBCs YouTube channel has enjoyed strong growth in 2025 as well. To read the full story, click here. The post NBC News Sees 12% Web Traffic Boost as NYT, WaPo Visitors Decline | Exclusive appeared first on TheWrap. The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles is working to resolve a credit card system outage Thursday. ALSO READ >> Gov. Stein signs new rule for expired driver licenses in North Carolina According to NCDOT, all statewide offices lost the ability to process credit card payments Wednesday. All #NCDMV Driver License offices are temporarily unable to process credit card transactions as payment for services. DMV is working with NCDIT to resolve the issue. All offices are accepting cash as an alternative form of payment. pic.twitter.com/GFHY5Mz4hv NCDOT (@NCDOT) July 16, 2025 The agency says its working with the Department of Information Technology to find the reason for the outage. All offices are accepting cash as an alternative form of payment. VIDEO: NC DMV expands all-day walk-ins to help customers avoid summer heat NEBRASKA (KCAU) On Wednesday, Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen signed four bills relating to government efficiencies from the 2025 legislative session. The ceremonial bill signing event took place in the state Capitol Building in Lincoln. L-B 346 eliminates around 40 boards, commissions, and committees that no longer serve their intended purpose. L-B 376 would eliminate 28 outdated reports, add sunset dates to two others, and modernize six reports from the states health and human services. L-B 660 requires state agencies to review their regulations regularly and repeal any unnecessary rules. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Story continues below The governor said the state government needs to run like a business. But one thats fascinating is that when you work with great public servants and they make a comment about what theyre the process theyre working on, and they look at you and you make eye contact and they know it doesnt make any sense. And then the answer is its a state statute. So, as I love to say, when we have those moments, we need to clean the closets out. Lets get rid of that state statute and modernize whats going on, Governor Jim Pillen (R) of Nebraska said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 4th bill signed was L-B 664, which makes changes to submitting public comments and legal complaints under the states regulatory process for state agencies. All 4 measures were signed into law earlier this year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to SiouxlandProud | Sioux City, IA | News, Weather, and Sports. ANKENY, Iowa An Ankeny man turned a near-fatal car accident into a new outlook on life. Johnny Nerem of Ankeny was living in Chicago back in 2016. Little did he know, Feb. 14, Valentines Day, would be the day that changed his life forever. Its not the kind of life-changing event that normally happens on Valentines Day, either. Instead, Nerem lost control of his new Chevrolet Camaro going around a curve on the outskirts of Chicago and crashed his dream car. Nerem was life-flighted from the scene and taken to a hospital in Chicago. It was there he was told that he had broken both of his legs, all of his ribs, scalped his head, needed a hip replacement and lost three-fifths of his blood. Remarkably, he survived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Until the accident, Nerem didnt believe what he did in life had an impact on anyone else. That thought changed when his family drove from Ankeny to Chicago through a blizzard. What is normally a five-hour drive took nine. Valuable statue honoring American soldiers, veterans saved from Albia fire When they walked in, I realized that my life does touch a lot more people than just myself, Nerem said. And that was when I was like, I need to change my life. Thats exactly what he did. After being out of work for eight months, Nerem found a job in Las Vegas. He told himself that he would not drink alcohol again and vowed that every weekend, he would not sit inside and do nothing. That is where his journey started. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I made a rule that Id never just sit at home over the weekend, Nerem said. At first, I just started going up into the mountains around Las Vegas. He then visited the Grand Canyon, which led him to visit Death Valley, which was only a couple of hours away. That is when Nerem decided to start tracking his journey through a National Parks passport book. His life brought him back to Iowa to be closer to his family. By that time, he had crossed many parks off his list. After my time was done in Las Vegas, I realized that I was pretty close to being halfway done with these, Nerem said. Thats when I really decided that I wanted to visit all of them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Today, Nerem has visited 52 of the 63 national parks. He has a plan to visit the remaining 11 before his birthday next October. Johnnys mom, Karen Nerem, said that she didnt know what he was going to do in life, but always knew that it would be something special. I really didnt see what his journey was going to be, but I knew it was going to be a great one because he was an amazing man, Karen said. It was almost like, you dont want to say a blessing in disguise, but, God had a plan for him and it really turned out to be a great one. Sides coming together with one goal at lowa Hunger Summit Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnny collects everything from coffee mugs and magnets to pins and T-shirts at every park he visits. He said that much of the time, the gift store is the most expensive part of his trip. Nerem has planned for his last stop to be in Yosemite National Park in California. He said that the park is planning a celebration for him and he has invited many of his family and friends to attend. Its not just the National Parks he plans to check off his list, either. After this journey, he plans to visit all seven continents and travel on every interstate in the U.S. Iowa news Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. The Brief Nearly 1,000 lawsuits have been filed alleging sexual and emotional abuse by staff at Illinois Youth Centers and the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, with 107 new cases filed this week. The majority of the alleged victims, 86% of whom were boys, say the abuse occurred in the early 2000s and included rape, forced sexual acts, and prolonged emotional trauma. Survivors, some of whom spoke publicly, described long-term psychological effects such as PTSD and anxiety, while officials have declined to comment on the pending litigation. CHICAGO - Nearly 1,000 lawsuits have been filed alleging decades of sexual abuse by employees at Illinois and Cook County youth detention centers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, some of the survivors joined their attorneys to announce the lawsuits and demand accountability. What we know The alleged abuse is said to have occurred at Illinois Youth Centers (IYC) and the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. Most of the victims were between the ages of 14 and 16 years old at the time, but some were as young as nine, according to the complaints. "It's the expose of a system, a state-run system, that protected predators at the expense of children," said Kristen Feden, shareholder, Anapol Weiss. "When the state allows dozens upon dozens of officials to perpetrate abuse across decades without consequence, that is a systemic failure." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorneys for the victims said hundreds of lawsuits have been filed over the last several months, but 107 new cases were filed in court on Tuesday. In total, 907 cases have now been filedcovering incidents of alleged abuse from 1996 to 2023. Nearly 70 percent of the abuse detailed in complaints unfolded at IYC facilities, including in Chicago, Harrisburg, St. Charles, and Warrenville. Attorneys say 31.4 percent of the abuse reported by their clients took place at the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, located in the 1100 block of S. Hamilton on the city's West Side. The facility, which was formerly known as the Arthur J. Audy Home, is the largest of its kind in the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We're here today because children were raped, they were assaulted, they were molested, they were threatened and they were abused, all while in the custody of the state," Feden said. Attorneys said 86% of the victims were boys, and the majority of the alleged abuse took place in the early 2000s. "The attorney general of this state has taken the position on June 9, 2025, that traumatized children should have come forward with their claims before turning age 19," said Jerome Block, partner, Levy & Konigsberg LLP. Attorneys for the victims went on to say: "The states outrageous and callous legal position ignores the deep trauma of childhood sexual abuse and the rights granted by the Illinois Childhood Sexual Abuse Act." What they're saying The lawsuits allege that the victims were stripped, raped, and forced to perform sexual acts by their abusers, who were allegedly juvenile correctional officers and other staffers. The complaints claim that some of the abuse occurred in the middle of the night, and that strip searches were often used as a pretext for the assaults. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I was left bruised, naked, handcuffed, shackled, and unable to move," Caitlin, a survivor, shared. "My life has been severely impacted by the trauma I experience at the hands of these state employees at IYC Warrenville." The plaintiffs also alleged that boys and girls endured years of psychological abuse while in the facilities. Survivors, on Wednesday, shared that they are still struggling to cope years later. "I thought that the officers in the facility were there to keep me safe and protect us, but they were only there for their own game, the game of taking our innocence and manipulating our minds," added Charles Graves, another survivor. Now, the survivors are reclaiming their stories in hopes to prevent the same thing from happening to others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The trauma that we had to endure does not just disappear from our memories as a result of being sexually abused as a child in the juvenile justice system," said Michael Moss, one of the survivors filing a lawsuit. "I struggle trusting others and tend to shut down [with] those around me. It's also difficult for me to express my feelings and let people in. Daily, I suffer from PTSD and anxiety as well. I'm often fearful that others may judge me for what I've been through, but today I stand before you hoping to lead by example and eliminate those feelings of shame." What's next Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raouls office shares that they are reviewing the complaints and do not have further comment at this time. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Office of the Chief Judge, which runs the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center, said they cannot comment on pending litigation. (WJET/WFXP) Nearly 100 laptops are being donated to an Erie County organization to help bridge the digital gap within the community. On Thursday, July 17, Republican Senator Dan Laughlin announced that the Greater Erie Community Action Committee (GECAC) was awarded 90 laptops thanks to the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authoritys Digital Connectivity Technology Program. Housing the homeless community leaders look to transform old buildings for those in need Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those laptops will aim to assist low-income residents and help them have better access to things such as education and job training. Senator Laughlin said this award will greatly benefit residents in the Erie community. Erie County awarded nearly $30 million for water infrastructure projects Too many Pennsylvanians still lack access to the technology needed to succeed in todays world, Laughlin said. This award helps ensure more people in Erie County have the tools they need to pursue opportunity, stay connected and access critical services. The Digital Connectivity Technology Program is a multi-million-dollar initiative that provides Pennsylvania organizations with devices rather than direct funding to help support their missions goals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. National Public Radio headquarters on North Capitol Street in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. (Photo by Jacob Fischler/States Newsroom) Editors Note: The story has been updated to reflect the Houses overnight vote and adds additional comments. LINCOLN Nebraska Public Media will lose federal funding it says makes up 16% of its annual budget, as both of the stations home-state U.S. senators voted overnight to cut $9 billion that the federal government had previously approved for international aid and public media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 51-48 mostly party-line vote seeks to revoke $8 billion from foreign aid programs run by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. It also cuts $1.1 billion that Congress approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, which funds the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio. U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith (left), R-Neb., speaks during the annual summit put on by the Nebraska, Lincoln and Omaha Chambers of Commerce. To the right are Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Mike Flood, R-Neb., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) A carve-out deal negotiated by some senators will preserve funding for grants to help some Native American radio stations. And the package was changed to preserve full funding for the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. Those tweaks will require a separate vote in the U.S. House, which narrowly passed the bill before and is likely to do so again. The House approved the changes 216-213 overnight, mostly along party-line vote, to approve Senate changes to the package. All three Nebraska House members voted for it, which was expected. Now, the bill is sent to President Donald Trump for his signature. Trump followed through on a long-sought GOP goal stripping federal funding from NPR and PBS. The push is a continuation of his ongoing political battle with news organizations. During his second term, Trump has barred the Associated Press from entering some White House events and sued CBS News over its editing of an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S Sen Deb Fischer, R-Neb., voted for the rescissions package despite having expressed concerns about how the cuts might affect emergency alert systems in rural parts of the state. A Fischer spokesperson said the senator supported it in response to unchecked federal spending under the Biden administration. Senator Fischer recognizes the importance of public media in delivering information and educational programming to Nebraskans, said Emma Hoffschneider, a Fischer spokesperson. The American people delivered a mandate last November and sent their representatives to Washington to tackle reckless spending. The packages $9 billion cut is 0.1% of the roughly $7 trillion that the federal government is on track to spend this year, according to The Congressional Budget Office. The Trump administration has said it hopes Republicans approve similar cuts in the months and years ahead. Hoffschneider said that while the package is just a small part of the federal budget, its a commonsense first step toward restoring fiscal responsibility and respecting taxpayer dollars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., had no immediate comment but had indicated his support for the cuts during a Fox News Business Interview earlier this month, calling the rescission package a great first step to get government spending under control. While federal funding accounts for only a fraction of the budget of national public news organizations, it does help smaller, often rural, local affiliate stations afford to operate in places the free market might not otherwise serve. Nebraska Public Media, which is responsible for most public TV and radio stations in the state, has said it would lose about 16% of its annual budget. Two other public radio stations in the states biggest city and one in the Lincoln area also could lose funding. The state funds roughly 44% of the NPM budget, according to information published on the outlets website. Two stations in Omaha have said they will also lose funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this year, Nebraska U.S. Rep. Mike Flood said, Broadcast journalism is the cornerstone of how Middle America receives its news. He echoed criticisms of NPRs national bias but defended the value Nebraska Public Media provides locally. U.S. Rep. Don Bacon speaks about his decision to retire from Congress and not run again in 2026 at Omahas Eppley Airfield. June 30, 2025. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner) Nebraska Public Media General Manager and CEO Stacey Decker said they lost a major battle. The loss of federal funding makes us more dependent on our dedicated community of supporters, Decker said. This outcome does not change who we are. We are strong, resilient, and focused on what matters: providing trusted, valued, and essential programming and services that educate and enlighten all Nebraskans. One Nebraska radio station, KZUM-FM in Lincoln, is at risk of going dark due to federal funding cuts, according to an analysis from Public Media Company, a nonprofit organization focused on supporting public media. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nebraska U.S. Rep. Don Bacon has said he had received reassurances from House leadership that PBS would receive funding for next year, and Congress would discuss shifting to annual funding after that. Earlier this year, Bacon said NPMs absence would leave a void if they lost funding. House and Senate Democrats have warned that the GOP push for the rescissions package could threaten future negotiations on funding the federal government as a government shutdown approaches. Editors Note: Nebraska Examiner Reporter Juan Salinas II interned at KERA, an NPR station serving North Texas. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Nebraska officials on Wednesday announced a lawsuit against Colorado, alleging the Centennial State is allowing unlawful water diversions from a transboundary resource. Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and state Attorney General Mike Hilgers (R) accused Colorado of threatening Nebraskas water supply along the South Platte River in multiple ways. The lawsuit alleges Colorado has deprived Nebraskans of their water rights during irrigation season, while also obstructing plans to construct a long-disputed conduit called the Perkins County Canal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nebraska must push forward to secure our water for future generations, Pillen said in a statement, noting his state made every reasonable effort to resolve our differences with Colorado. The complaint in large part revolves around the enforcement of the South Platte River Compact, a deal signed by the states in 1923. The agreement limits Colorados usage of the river and defines how much water Nebraska can receive during the summer irrigation season and the winter non-irrigation season. The headwaters of the South Platte River are southwest of Denver near South Park, from which it generally heads northeast through central Denver and the metropolitan region, to Fort Lupton and across the Colorado Eastern Plains, before heading into Nebraska. Because the U.S. Supreme Court has original jurisdiction regarding disputes between the two states, the Nebraska officials argued that the courts input is required to resolve a now irreconcilable dispute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Todays action will ensure that Nebraska receives all the water to which it is entitled to under the Compact and that Nebraskas agriculture and economy are protected, Hilgers said in a statement. Water is the essential lifeblood of Nebraskas economy, and its my goal to protect one of the states most important assets, the attorney general added. The lawsuit maintains the 1923 compact requires Colorado to disconnect certain water users whenever Nebraska is not receiving 120 cubic feet per second of flow during the irrigation season. Currently, the complaint argues, Colorado enables users with junior water rights statuses to take Nebraskas share of summertime water violating the agreement and Nebraskas senior rights status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The rights in question stem from a historic U.S. West system that adheres to a first in time, first in right approach to water access. This method, rooted in the mid-19th century homesteading and gold rush era, enabled farmers and miners to secure and divert water according to their arrival, rather than their geographical position along the river. The 1923 compact, per the lawsuit, also permits Nebraska to divert 500 cubic feet per second of water flow in the winter, as well as additional water when the Perkins County Canal is constructed. As it stands today, Colorado pumps water in the winter and gradually releases it into the river to compensate for summer overuse, the complaint explains. While this occurs under the theory that the water reaches Nebraska by the following irrigation season, the lawsuit criticizes this method for taking water from the state when farmers are in greatest need. To guarantee that Nebraska can fulfill its rights in the winter and regulate water flow, the state has set out to build the Perkins County Canal, the document explains. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Nebraska state Legislature in 2023 approved $574.5 million in funding for the canals constructions despite pushback from lawmakers who had sought to reduce the cost. While recognizing that Colorado has acknowledged its neighbors entitlement to build the canal, the Nebraska officials expressed frustrations that negotiations over the projects fine print have persisted for years and ultimately reached a stalemate. Despite Nebraskas good faith efforts, Colorado wont agree on such basic things as the location or the size of the Canal, or how much water can flow through it, a fact sheet issued by the attorney general argued. In response to the lawsuit, Colorado Gov. Jared Poliss (D) office issued a press release that described the complaint as meritless. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I am disappointed that the states of Colorado and Nebraska will need to waste time and money in court over this meritless challenge, Polis said. The governor stressed that Colorado has always complied with the South Platte Compact and has met in good faith with Nebraska officials, despite attempts to intimidate Colorado landowners. This escalation by Nebraska is needless, and Colorado will take all steps necessary to aggressively defend Colorado water users, landowners, and our rural economy, Polis added. Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser (D) echoed these sentiments in his own statement, slamming neighboring leaders for prioritizing politics over agricultural and likely setting in motion decades of litigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Describing the Perkins County Canal project as wasteful, he said that the canals operation would require Colorado to build new water infrastructure to offset the impacts of Nebraskas initiative. When the dust finally settles, likely over a billion dollars will have been spenttens of millions of that on litigation alone and no one in Nebraska or Colorado will be better off, Weiser added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Getting stalked is terrifying, but realizing how its happening can be just as disturbing. Thats what one Nebraska woman discovered while searching for her lost AirPods between the seat and armrest of her car. Instead of earbuds, she pulled out a tracking device she didnt recognize, definitely didnt install. Don't miss Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I was afraid to leave my house and take my dog for a walk because I didnt know if he was going to be there or what he was going to do, the victim, whose identity is being withheld, told the First Alert 6 Investigates team at WOWT. And that was just the beginning. Using a plumbers camera and a device designed to detect trackers, she inspected the underside of her vehicle. What she found was chilling: four separate electronic tracking devices, each hidden in magnetic key holders and carefully placed beneath her car. Why current laws cant protect you The discovery of the four trackers wasnt enough to directly tie the evidence to the victim's ex. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nebraskas electronic stalking laws are considered weak because they dont explicitly prohibit the use of tracking devices without consent, especially when those devices are hidden on someones vehicle or personal belongings. The problem in the law is that theres nothing prohibiting people from using AirTags or other devices to track individuals without their consent, Deputy Sarpy County Attorney Leighandra Hazlett told First Alert 6 Investigates. Under Nebraska law 28-311.03, stalking is defined as [a]ny person who willfully harasses another person or a family or household member of such person with the intent to injure, terrify, threaten or intimidate commits the offense of stalking. In cases like this, the legal definition of stalking may not be sufficient. The victim who suspects an abusive ex was tracking her is urging lawmakers to close the gap in protections against digital surveillance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to investigators, prosecuting these cases remains difficult under current statutes, which require proof of both intent and a repeated pattern of behavior. But as tracking technologies become more discreet and widely available, advocates argue the law needs to evolve. Its not a law right now, its not illegal to track somebody, the victim said. And thats scary. Read more: Americans are revenge saving to survive but millions only get a measly 1% on their savings. Heres how to quickly earn 280% more on your cash How to protect yourself from digital tracking While an app that detects hidden tracking devices can help, its often not enough to prove who placed them or why. Thats why the victim went a step further, installing a dash cam and a rear-facing camera in her car to capture suspicious activity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If youre concerned youre being tracked, start by doing regular visual checks around your vehicle, especially under wheel wells, bumpers and behind license plates, where devices are often magnetically attached. Consider downloading a Bluetooth scanner app, which can alert you to unknown devices nearby. Keep a detailed log of any incidents, screenshots or messages that suggest stalking behavior. And if you find a device, dont remove it right away. Contact local law enforcement so it can be documented as evidence. These proactive steps helped detectives gather enough information to arrest 48-year-old Michael Hoerman, who later pleaded no contest to felony and misdemeanor stalking charges, as well as violating a protection order. Hes currently being held on a $50,000 bond, with sentencing set for early September. As the victim continues taking steps to protect herself, prosecutors are urging Nebraska lawmakers to finally make electronic stalking a crime. What to read next Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Money doesnt have to be complicated sign up for the free Moneywise newsletter for actionable finance tips and news you can use. Join now. This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Former Democratic National Committee Vice Chairman David Hogg said Wednesday at the Hill Nation Summit that he "will be vindicated in four years" after Democrats removed him from his seat. Hogg left the DNC after his election was vacated over a procedural rule on gender diversity. He stirred controversy within the party after calling for primary challengers to help vote out Democratic incumbents. He started his own PAC, Leaders We Deserve, to do just that. Hogg called out the controversy as a double standard that was selectively enforced. I would argue that what Im doing is not that different from someone having a leadership PAC that gives against an incumbent, he added. The 25-year-old Hogg thinks the Democratic Party lacks the courage to do bold things and support for competition. Featured Local Savings He said he's still willing to work with the DNC, an organization that elected Ken Martin to head it in February after President Donald Trump won the White House and Republicans held down Congress. Hogg has backed young liberal political hopefuls like New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and Arizona congressional candidate Deja Foxx. The 25-year-old Foxx decisively lost by more than 40 points on Tuesday in a special election to fill former Rep. Raul Grijalva's seat after his death in March. Mamdani has had better luck. He's in a good position to win New York City's top office after capturing the Democratic nomination. His chief competition will be old rival former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent, incumbent Mayor Eric Adams, and Republican Curtis Sliwa. DNC ELECTION FOR DAVID HOGG'S SUCCESSOR HEADS TO RUNOFF VOTE Hogg called out racist attacks on Mamdani on Wednesday. A lot of stuff that I think is very, you know, racist, Hogg said of certain criticisms of Mamdani. A lot of times it wasnt even focused on his actual policy; it was more focused on him and his identity. Mamdani, who is Muslim, has faced attacks on his identity, statements critical of Israel, and his plans to make buses and child care free, along with enacting government-run grocery stores. "I instructed the IDF to act with force because the Damascus regime sent its army south of the capital and massacred the Druze," Netanyahu said. Israel has achieved aceasefire in Syria through forceful actions, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday. We have established a clear policy: the demilitarization of the area south of Damascus and the protection of our brothers, the Druze, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I instructed the IDF to act with force, because the Damascus regime sent its army south of the capital and massacred the Druze. As a result of our intensified action, a ceasefire has been established, and Syrian forces have withdrawn back to Damascus. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaas government would soon withdraw its forces from areas with Druze populations, an Israeli official told The Jerusalem Post Wednesday night. Syrias Druze had reached a ceasefire agreement with the Syrian government in Sweida that would take immediate effect, Druze religious leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou said in a video broadcast by state media on Wednesday, Reuters reported earlier. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, with a map of the Middle East (Illustrative). (credit: Chip Somodevilla, Ali Haj Suleiman, KeithBinns/Getty Images) A ceasefire announced on Tuesday night collapsed after a few hours. There was still fire from government forces in the predominantly Druze city of Sweida after the announcement was made, a witness told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Syrias official Syrian Arab News Agency corroborated the reports of a ceasefire agreement and said security checkpoints had been deployed across Sweida. Israel conducted strikes on key Damascus sites Israel struck the entrance to the Syrian regimes military headquarters complex in Damascus, the IDF reported Wednesday. On Thursday, Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture Syria and promised to protect its Druze minority after US intervention to help achieve a truce in fighting between government forces and Druze fighters. Overnight between Wednesday and Thursday, the Islamist-led governments troops withdrew from Sweida, where dozens of people have been killed in days of conflict pitting Druze fighters against government troops and Bedouin tribes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in a worrying development, a Bedouin military commander said their fighters had launched a new offensive in Sweida province against Druze fighters, and that the truce only applied to government forces. The Bedouin, a collection of Sunni Muslim farmers who have long-standing frictions with the Druze, were seeking to free detained colleagues, the Bedouin military commander told Reuters. A round of fighting between the Bedouin and Druze earlier this week prompted the government to send troops to Sweida to quell the clashes, but the violence escalated until a ceasefire was declared. The violence has underlined the challenges that Sharaa faces in stabilizing Syria and exerting centralized rule, despite his warming ties with the US and his administrations evolving security contacts with Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One local journalist said he had counted more than 60 bodies in the streets of Sweida on Thursday morning. Ryan Marouf of Suwayda24 told Reuters he had found a family of 12 people killed in one house, including women and an elderly man. On Wednesday, Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, while also hitting government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze, whom Israels Druze consider brothers. Israel, which bombed Syria frequently under the rule of ousted president Bashar al-Assad, has struck the country repeatedly this year, describing its new leaders as barely disguised jihadists and saying it will not allow them to deploy forces in areas of southern Syria near its border. Addressing Syrians on Thursday, Sharaa accused Israel of seeking to dismantle the unity of our people, saying it had consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sharaa, commander of an al-Qaeda faction before cutting ties with the group in 2016, said protecting Druze citizens and their rights was our priority. He rejected any attempt to drag them into the hands of an external party. Sharaa vowed to hold responsible those who committed violations against our Druze people. Netanyahu said Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarization of a swathe of territory near the border, stretching from the Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida. Western diplomats were passing near Syrias Defense Ministry in Damascus in an armored convoy when Israel struck the building with several missiles on Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter, including a Syrian eyewitness. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one in the convoy was wounded, and it continued on its way, the diplomats said, declining to elaborate about the nationalities or number of those involved. A Syrian medical source said the strikes on the Defense Ministry had killed five members of the security forces. Amichai Stein contributed to this report. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Syrian government troops will be blocked from the area south of the capital Damascus to protect the Druze minority following Israel's attacks in the country earlier this week. "We have set forth a clear policy: demilitarization of the region to south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights and to the Druze Mountain area," Netanyahu said in a video address on Thursday. "That's rule number one." "Rule number two is protecting the brothers of our brothers, the Druze at the Druze Mountain," the Israeli prime minister added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We will not allow Syrian army forces to enter the region south of Damascus, and will not allow any harm to the Druze at the Druze Mountain," he said. The Syrian government deployed troops and other security forces to the country's southern province of Sweida during escalating clashes between Sunni Bedouins and Druze in the Syrian province of Sweida in recent days. Israel then carried out airstrikes on multiple targets in Damascus on Wednesday, including within the compound of Syria's Defence Ministry, stating that its aim was to protect the Druze minority. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, said 15 personnel from Syria's Defence and Interior Ministries were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The monitor said on Thursday that at least 516 people had been killed in the clashes in Sweida since fighting erupted on July 13. Netanyahu said that as a result of Israel's intervention, a ceasefire had come into force and the Syrian armed forces had withdrawn to Damascus. It remained unclear whether a ceasefire agreement announced on Wednesday between Syrian authorities and the spiritual leader of the Druze community, Sheikh Yusuf al-Jarbou, would bring peace, after a local Druze leader rejected the deal. According to the observatory, the humanitarian situation in Sweida was precarious. Activists called on the international community to provide urgent aid. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Druze emerged from Shiite Islam in the 11th century and today reside primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. Many Druze serve voluntarily in the Israeli army. Hundreds fled from Syria into Israel Hundreds of people fled from Syria into Israel amid the violence, Israeli media reported on Thursday. Israeli security sources confirmed the cross-border movements, without giving numbers. Security forces were in the process of returning the Syrian civilians home, they added. The Israeli military had returned dozens to the neighbouring country overnight, the ynet news portal wrote. Most of them were said to be members of the Druze religious minority. Efforts were currently under way to locate more Syrian Druze. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Times of Israel reported that it was unclear how many Syrian Druze remained in Israel. Report: 1,000 Israeli Druze enter Syria At the same time, Israeli security sources said the military had brought dozens of Israeli Druze back from Syria overnight. According to ynet, around 1,000 Druze from Israel had crossed the border into Syria on Wednesday to help protect their brethren from the violence. Many Druze in Israel have relatives in the neighbouring country. According to the Times of Israel, several dozen Druze from Israel are still in Syria. Holes in the border fence are now being repaired, the Times reported, citing the military. According to security sources, blockades are being erected to prevent further border crossings. The military warned that crossing the border is a criminal offence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Media reported that members of the Israeli parliament belonging to the religious minority also crossed the border fence to bring Israeli Druze back home. Syrian president to Israel: Don't try to drag us into war Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel earlier Thursday of attempting to drag Syria into a war and said his country would not take the bait. "We, the people of Syria, know very well who is trying to drag us into war and who is working to divide us," al-Sharaa said in a dawn speech broadcast on national television. "We will not give them the opportunity to entangle our people in a war that serves only to fragment our homeland and sow destruction." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Al-Sharaa blamed Israel for exploiting instability in the wake of regime change, accusing it of targeting civilian infrastructure and seeking to derail reconstruction efforts. "Power alone does not guarantee victory, and igniting a war is not the same as controlling its outcome," he said. "We are stronger than any attempt to tear us apart." Addressing the internal unrest in the southern province of Sweida, al-Sharaa said the government had intervened to end armed clashes between local groups. He said government troops had since handed responsibility back to local militias and promsied to hold the perpetrators of crimes accountable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Al-Sharaa blamed "outlawed factions" for rejecting dialogue and fuelling disorder while accusing Israel of exploiting the unrest through strikes on civilian infrastructure to derail peace efforts. He also reaffirmed the Druze community's place in Syrian society, underscoring the state's commitment to protecting their rights and freedoms, and warned against attempts to drag it into foreign agendas. At the same time, he held Druze leaders partly responsible for the clashes. A direct conflict with Israel had been averted thanks to mediation by the United States, Turkey and Arab states, al-Sharaa said. Israeli soldiers are seen on the border of Israel and Syria. Hundreds of people have reportedly fled from Syria into Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa Druze families from Hader leave Majdal-Shams to return to Syria, after they fled to Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa Druze families from Hader leave Majdal-Shams to return to Syria, after they fled to Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa Druze families from Hader leave Majdal-Shams to return to Syria, after they fled to Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country. Ilia Yefimovich/dpa Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want to allow Syrian government troops south of the capital Damascus. "We have set forth a clear policy: demilitarization of the region to south of Damascus, from the Golan Heights and to the Druze Mountain area," Netanyahu said in a video address on Thursday. "That's rule number one." "Rule number two is protecting the brothers of our brothers, the Druze at the Druze Mountain," the Israeli prime minister added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Due to the intervention of the Israeli military in Syria, a ceasefire had come into force and the Syrian armed forces had withdrawn to Damascus, Netanyahu continued. "This is a ceasefire that was reached through strength. Not by making requests, not by begging - through strength," he emphasized. Following the outbreak of violence between Sunni Bedouins and Druze centred on the Druze-majority city of Sweida, the Syrian government sent troops and other security forces. According to Israel, it then intervened to protect the Druze minority. On Wednesday, the Israeli Air Force also bombed targets in Damascus, including the grounds of the Defence Ministry, where the military headquarters are located, as well as a target near the presidential palace. ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) An unaccompanied Veteran is a United States military service member who has passed away and has no next of kin to attend their funeral service. Recently, one unaccompanied Veteran was laid to rest with full honors at the Texas Veteran Cemetery, whose ceremony saw more people than one might expect in this particular situation. Retired United States Air Force Staff Sergeant Kenneth White Jr. served for 20 years as a civil engineer in the military, and despite having no next of kin, had many Veterans and civilians in attendance at his funeral. Community helps reunite family ahead of unaccompanied veteran burial in Abilene Among those present was a six-member team of active-duty Air Force members who served as the Honor Guard for the ceremony. The duties of the Honor Guard carry several time-honored traditions that are key for performing a Veterans funeral with honors. That includes acting as pallbearer for the departed, a three-volley 21-gun salute, the playing of Taps and a flag presentation. Airman First Class Mikaelah Clark was one of the members of the Honor Guard for the service and reflected on the significance this ceremony holds and the unseen importance it carries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To perform this duty today means a lot to me, especially because I have family members who were also in the military as well, Clark shared. I think its special to provide those honors because there are so many people who werent able to receive honors. And I wish there were more things that we could do for him. Because we love the people: Abilene flight team honors fallen Veterans on own dime The unaccompanied status of Staff Sergeant White may lead some to imply a small reception for his funeral service. However, Division Manager for the Texas Veteran Cemetery, Brad Kerr, spoke about how all Veterans who take the oath to defend our country are never truly alone in their times of need. A service like this. The Veterans that you saw there werent there to honor a stranger. They werent there to honor somebody theyd never met before. They were there to honor a brother in arms or a sister in arms who has been through the same trials and tribulations that they did themselves, Kerr explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the Veterans and service members who would seem to be complete strangers to the honored individual, showing their respect helps to give them validation for their service, as A1C Clark explains, It makes me feel like theres hope. I feel like its amazing that people are coming out for somebody that doesnt have anybody to represent them. Community invited to attend Unaccompanied Veteran Burial in Abilene The Texas Veteran Cemetery in Abilene will play host to another unaccompanied Veteran funeral service next Wednesday, July 23, 2025, for Army Veteran John Kenneth Andrews. The Veterans Cemetery is once again inviting members of the public to attend this service, which will begin at 11:00 a.m. sharp. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) A Newburgh chiropractor is on emergency suspension following an investigation into reports of inappropriate sexual conduct with female patients, including a juvenile. According to a petition filed to the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, the attorney generals office received a complaint against Dr. Aaron King, who owns and operates Axis Chiropractic LLC in Newburgh. Through an investigation by the office of the attorney general, it was determined that Kings actions represented a clear and immediate danger to the publics health, safety, or property if he was allowed to continue his practice. Officials say King asked a patient to go on a date with him on multiple occasions beginning in September of 2024. King also reportedly sent extremely vulgar sexual messages and an unsolicited photo of his genitals through social media. After the patient complained about pain following an adjustment at Axis, authorities say King invited the patient to his apartment for assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities say the patient went to Kings apartment on January 12, and King attempted to make sexual contact with her during a massage despite the woman saying no multiple times and even pulling his hand away from her. After leaving the apartment, King allegedly texted the woman to tell her that he did not think she was serious about telling him to stop. After this incident, the patient told authorities that King made an attempt to come to her home after she would not message him. Evansville Police interviewed the woman, as well another patient who claimed that King messaged her when she was only 17-years-old while she was a patient at Core Chiropractic in Evansville. That patient told authorities that King acknowledged that she was 17-years-old but continued to talk, saying they could keep everything between themselves. King also reportedly sent photos of his genitals to that patient as well. The owner of Core Chiropractic was interviewed by Evansville Police about King as well. During the interview, the owner said King had anger issues and would make coworkers cry. He also said King was flirty with female patients, and he was aware of King messaging a 15-year-old patient. Kings license is listed as being under an emergency suspension online. Eyewitness News reached out to Axis Chiropractic and Kings attorney for a statement, and we are waiting to hear back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). The Brief Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles as unnecessary and disruptive to California communities. Newsom accused the Trump administration of federal overreach and racial profiling, contributing to fear and economic downturn in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods. Despite objections, Newsom warned that similar deployments might continue across other U.S. cities. LOS ANGELES - Governor Gavin Newsom calls the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles "unnecessary" and "a waste of resources." His remarks come as President Trump pulls 2,000 of the roughly 4,000 Guard members stationed in DTLA. Newsom said its time for all National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to return to their regular duties and their lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "End this theater once and for all this cruelty. It's about terrorizing communities. It's about appearing tough. I've said it, and I'll repeat it: weakness masquerading as strength," Newsom said in a message directed at President Trump. Newsom criticized what he described as federal overreach thats disrupting California families and small businesses. He did so outside of the Downey Memorial Christian Church, the same location where ICE agents arrested a man in the parking lot just over a month ago. The governor accuses the Trump administration of wasting hundreds of millions of dollars on a deployment that, he says, served no real purpose. "Look, you recall, we had close to 1,600 officers at certain points, at the peak in a couple blocks in Los Angeles. CHP officers and LAPD were protecting the National Guard. Not the other way around. Thats how absurd this whole thing has become," said Newsom. Despite his objections, the governor says he expects the administration to continue deploying the National Guard to other U.S. cities, warning this is just the beginning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If you think this is about California, youre fooling yourself. These are operations youre going to see all across the United States. Theyve tested the boundaries of the law." According to Newsom, only about 5% of the 5,000 Guard members were ever given actual assignments. The rest, he said, were essentially "sitting around with nothing to do." Before meeting with reporters, Newsom visited local businesses in Downey and nearby Bell, communities he says have been directly impacted by the recent immigration raids. He described a climate of fear, where even legal residents are afraid to go out, devastating small businesses. "I met a woman, a legal resident, who told me she carries her passport everywhere, just in case shes stopped or questioned," he said. Newsom blamed racial profiling by federal agents for discouraging people from leaving their homes. He says that is contributing to an economic downturn in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods. After President Donald Trump federalized California National Guard troops in response to anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, progressive Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters, "Its about time Donald Trump grow up. I want to get them back under my control." Speaking outside a Los Angeles church Wednesday, Newsom, who is believed to have presidential aspirations, urged Trump to release the remaining National Guard troops in LA. He called the deployment a waste of hundreds of millions of dollars. The governor, who tried to sue the Trump administration over its use of the National Guard to respond to the rioting, called the president a "chaos agent" who has "torn asunder" California communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pentagon Scaling Down National Guard Deployment To La This comes after Newsom called Trump a "son of a b----," something he did not back away from when asked about it during the news conference. "I don't think they understand any other kind of language," and "I have no apologies for standing tall and firm and pushing back against their cruelty," Newsom said. Read On The Fox News App "It's a disgrace," Newsom said. "The president of the United States decided to advance his rote cruelty by utilizing the brave men and women of the National Guard as pawns in an effort to theatrically show his strength." Gavin Newsom and Donald Trump Newsom claimed the deployment was a massive waste of time and money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He accused Trump of having "burned" hundreds of millions of dollars "just to try to sear in your mind that he's some tough guy because he didn't get enough hugs from his parents growing up." "This is about families. It's about community. It's about the sense of place. It's about our economy. And it's about time Donald Trump grow up. It's about time Donald Trump understand what the hell he is doing," he added. "And, so, I'm here in front of a church, on church grounds, mindful that our democracy is not on firm ground. And mindful of our responsibility to be assertive at this moment." The governor also criticized Trump for sending troops to a U.S. city rather than overseas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He deployed roughly 5,000 military, not overseas. In fact, his entire first term the president of the United States did not even send military boots on the ground overseas his entire first term. [In] the first six months of his administration, he decides to send them to the United States of America." Newsom, Vance Exchange Jabs Over Immigration After Vp's California Vacation: 'Hope You Enjoy Your Family Time' The U.S. National Guard was deployed around downtown Los Angeles June 8, 2025, after an immigration raid protest the night before. He said the deployment "is a preview of things to come." "If you think this is about California, you are fooling yourself. These are operations you're going to see all across the United States of America," Newsom added. "This cruelty, isn't about terrorizing communities. It's about appearing tough." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governor also said he wanted to regain control over "my National Guard or your National Guard." "I want to get them back under my control so we can get them back doing the kind of work to control wildfires, to keep our community safe, to address the issue of counter-narcotics, to address the issue of fentanyl," he said. Santa Monica Business Owner Offering One-way Flights To Get Homeless Out Of California In response, Abigail Jackson, a White House spokeswoman, told Fox News Digital in an emailed statement that Newsom "is on the wrong side of history, and he will have to answer for his atrocious policies." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is whats actually harming our communities: Gavin Newscums pro-criminal illegal alien policies," said Jackson, adding the governor "recently protested a successful immigration raid at a California marijuana farm that rescued children who were victims of labor exploitation and detained rapists, pedophiles and other criminals. "The American people elected President Trump to deport these sick criminals, and a vast majority of American voters including Democrats support these policies." Original article source: Newsom says its time for President Trump to grow up in rebuke over National Guard deployment California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, has made several comments in recent days pointing out President Donald Trump's ties to deceased sex predator Jeffrey Epstein, as the president seeks to shut down questions about his administration's refusal to release documents surrounding Epstein's case and its claims that there is no "client list." Earlier this week, Newsom made an appearance on the Shawn Ryan Show, in which he was asked about Trump's administration not releasing Epstein files after vowing during his campaign to release such documents. "The whole thing has, to me, always been a side show," Newsom said. "But I thought it got real interesting when Elon [Musk] put out that tweet and then all of a sudden a few weeks later, 'what file?'" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newsom was referring to a since-deleted post on X in which Musk said last month that Trump "is in the Epstein files" and that "is the real reason they have not been made public." Musk, a former close ally of Trump before their recent spat, has since made several more posts criticizing the administration for not releasing any Epstein "client list" or making any arrests in connection to the Epstein case. Republicans Fixated On Epstein Are Getting 'Duped' By Democrats, Trump Insists California Gov. Gavin Newsom has made several comments pointing out President Donald Trump's ties to sex predator Jeffrey Epstein. "When Elon put that out, I thought it was a big tell," Newsom said. Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The California governor added that Trump and Epstein knew each other, citing the images and videos of the two men together. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said earlier this year that an Epstein "client list" was on her desk before the Justice Department and FBI recently claimed that Epstein killed himself and that there is no evidence he kept such a list. Bondi also walked back her earlier comments, saying she was referring to the Epstein case file, not a "client list." Trump has sought to avoid the Epstein topic as of late, repeatedly arguing the issue does not matter anymore. He also said he no longer wants the support of "weaklings" who continue to press the Epstein case. L-R: California Gov. Gavin Newsom and U.S. President Donald Trump. "Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this 'bulls---,' hook, line, and sinker," Trump wrote on Truth Social on Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Countrys history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax," he added. "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore!" Newsom noted that Trump and Epstein knew each other. Trump said at the White House on Wednesday that Bondi could release "whatever's credible" related to the Epstein case as he defended her work on the matter and criticized Republicans who are still pushing for Epstein material to be released. "He's dead. He's gone," Trump said of Epstein. "And, all it is, is the Republicans, certain Republicans got duped by the Democrats, and they're following a Democrat playbook and no different than Russia, Russia, Russia and all the other hoaxes." Newsom made a series of social media posts in recent days about Trump and Republicans declining to make information on the Epstein case public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Why try so hard to block a list that 'doesnt exist'?" Newsom said on Tuesday, responding to news that House Republicans blocked an effort by Democrats to force the release of Epstein files. The Golden State Democrat also wrote "Retweet" in reply to a 2019 post from conservative commentator Charlie Kirk calling on Trump in his first term to order an investigation into Epstein for sex trafficking. In another post, the governor wrote that Trump "calls his base 'bad people'" in response to a recent clip of the president saying he does not understand why the Epstein case would be of interest to anybody. Bondi Should Release 'Credible' Epstein Files, Trump Says Newsom made a series of social media posts about Trump and Republicans declining to make information on the Epstein case public. "Its pretty boring stuff," Trump told reporters in the clip. "I think only bad people want to keep something like that going." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Newsom jokingly said he forgot about the Epstein files in response to a post Trump made announcing that Coca-Cola agreed to use real cane sugar. "Oh thank god! Ive totally forgotten about the Epstein files now!" Newsom said on Wednesday. The governor posted a clip later on Wednesday with a picture of Trump and Epstein together, along with lyrics from the Nickelback song "Photograph" that says "Look at this photograph." "Nickelback said it best," Newsom wrote. Original article source: Newsom taunts Trump with series of comments about president's ties to Epstein amid efforts to avoid subject A Dallas County judge has sentenced Rashee Rice to five years of probation and 30 days in jail, according to the Dallas Morning News. The Dallas County District Attorneys Office confirmed that Rice pleaded guilty to two third-degree felonies: collision involving serious bodily injury and racing on a highway resulting in serious bodily injury. As part of the resolution, Rice covered over $115,000 in out-of-pocket medical expenses for the victims. Last year, Rice was involved in a six-vehicle crash on March 30, according to Dallas police. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An investigation conducted by Dallas Police determined that Rice, who was driving a Lamborghini he had leased, and Theodore Knox, who was driving a Corvette that Rice owns, were "speeding in the far-left lane" of North Central Expressway before the drivers lost control and caused a chain reaction collision involving four other vehicles." The Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver issued a public statement following his sentencing 30 days in jail and five years of probation for his involvement in the car crash that left four people injured. "Last March, I was involved in a high-speed accident in Dallas," Rice said, via his lawyer Royce West. "There have been a lot of sleepless nights thinking about the damages that my actions caused, and I will continue working within my means to make sure that everyone impacted will be made whole. I urge everyone to mind the speed limit, drive safe and drive smart." This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Kansas City Chiefs' Rashee Rice to serve 30 days in jail for car crash Nick Offerman channeled the spirit of his beloved Parks and Recreation character Ron Swanson during a recent visit to The Daily Show, where the actor scolded Donald Trump for cutting $267 million in funding for Americas national parks. I have several undeniable loves in my life. The oaky notes of a barrel-aged whiskey, an old-fashioned plumb bob dangling over a red cedar plank, my blushing brides hoo-ha, and of course, Americas national parks, Offerman said to cheers from the audience while explaining that budget cuts have gotten so bad at national parks that scientists are now helping to clean toilets. This is a huge mistake. No scientist has the strength to clean the skid marks of a man whos been eating beans and campfire hot dogs for the past three days! Theyre weak. More from Variety Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On a more serious note, Offerman called out Trump for his new strategy when it comes to national parks. The budget is being cut $267 million, but the plan is to increase admission in order to bring in $90 million to the Department of Interiors budget. Let me get this straight, Mr. President, Offerman said. You cut $267 million to get back $90 million. Now, Im no mathematician, but I believe thats called shitting the bed. But then again, I didnt go to Wharton Business College. Offerman threw to a news report which explained how national parks brought in $55 billion to the U.S. economy in 2023, plus employed 415,000 people. The Parks and Recreation favorite also explained how national parks are an easy vacation for families. That is the true miracle of our national parks, Offerman said. It is an affordable vacation that everyone can take inside our own borders, whether youre traveling with your family or abandoning your constituents during a crisis. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Because lets face it, America without its national parks is like McDonalds without the hamburgers, he concluded. You can still go there, I guess, but at that point its kind of just a bathroom. Offerman has been more vocal in recent week about his disdain for Trump. Speaking to IndieWire earlier this month, the actor said dumb people insist that Ron Swanson wouldve voted for Trump. [Ron] would think [Trump]is an absolute idiot, Offerman explained. He would also despise him because hes disrespectful to women and many others. And thats just an example of all the people and value sets that Ron would despise, because Ron is a good person. Watch Offermans full appearance on The Daily Show in the video below. Best of Variety Sign up for Variety's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) are blasting congressional Republicans and the Trump administration over a proposal to rescind more than $1 billion in previously approved federal funding for public broadcasting, calling it a dangerous and shortsighted move that threatens rural emergency alert systems and essential public programming. In a joint statement issued Tuesday, the Democratic senators said they were "deeply disturbed" by Republican efforts to gut funding for public broadcasting, including $100 million allocated to Virginia. The proposal, part of a broader $9.4 billion rescissions package backed by President Donald Trump, targets more than 1,500 public radio and television stations nationwide. "In yet another shortsighted effort, President Trump is now trying to gut public radio and broadcast TV news, which deliver impartial news, critical information, and educational programming to communities all across the country," the senators wrote. "Public radio plays a key role in public safety, delivering emergency alerts during disasters like floods, hurricanes, and wildfires." Sen. Warner emphasized the point in a video posted to social media Wednesday, recorded from his car, in which he linked the proposal to recent deadly flooding in Texas. This week Republicans are rescinding already approved funding that powers emergency alerts in rural communities. In light of the heartbreaking tragedy in Texas, how can anyone support this? pic.twitter.com/WO8HTABIn4 Mark Warner (@MarkWarner) "This week, Republicans are rescinding already approved funding that powers emergency alerts in rural communities," Warner said. "In light of the heartbreaking tragedy in Texas, how can anyone support this?" He warned that public stations are critical in transmitting emergency alerts when other communications systems fail. Warner added that defunding public media would be "a huge gift to China." Featured Local Savings Vice President JD Vance broke a 50-50 tie Tuesday night to move the bill forward after three Republican senators Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, and Mitch McConnell joined Democrats in opposition. Senators must now clear several procedural obstacles and engage in up to 10 hours of debate before the measure reaches a final floor vote. If passed, the legislation will return to the House for consideration before Friday's deadline. Critics of public media funding, such as Media Research Center's Dan Schneider, dismissed Warner's warnings. In a post on X, Schneider claimed NPR was "sleeping" during the Texas floods and cited examples of local NPR affiliates airing national programming rather than flood updates. "@MarkWarner, your narrative has been overcome by the facts," Schneider wrote. "NPR has admitted to sleeping through the TX floods That's for helping us educate you." Schneider alleged that Texas Public Radio was slow to respond to the July 4 flash floods, posting updates hours after commercial radio stations had already issued emergency advisories and interviewed local officials. "When the flood hit at 4:03 a.m., the NPR affiliate in Kerrville aired Morning Edition from Washington, D.C., rather than providing local news," he wrote on X. "That day, listeners heard commentary calling the Reconciliation Bill an 'abomination' and labeling Trump a liar. MRC has looked but found no evidence that Texas Public Radio interrupted its regularly scheduled programming to provide urgent advisories about the flood." Washington Examiner editor-in-chief Hugo Gurdon also pushed back on Warner's rescission framing, noting, "Rescission is essentially Congress changing its mind, which it should do when it decides that spending is unnecessary or damaging." AMY KLOBUCHAR SLAMS PUBLIC BROADCASTING CUTS THAT 'GET ALERTS OUT' ON NATURAL DISASTERS Still, Warner and Kaine argue that the cuts would endanger public safety and devastate rural access to news and education. They vowed to fight the rescission package as it goes through the Senate. "We are a better country than this," Warner said in his video. "This November and next, we have to vote to put a muzzle on this awful administration." EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The Catholic Diocese of El Paso provided a statement to KTSM following eight new lawsuits filed within the Third Judicial District in the State of New Mexico against them, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Las Cruces, and other parishes within the region. The statement reads as follows: At current the diocese has been made aware of the aforementioned lawsuits and cannot comment on any pending litigation. The Diocese of El Paso works very diligently to cooperate with all parties involved when cases like this are brought forward. The diocese takes all matters of abuse as grave and serious situations and will work to ensure that justice is served. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The diocese has worked to implement and train clergy, employees, and volunteers on best practices of Safe Environment. All who work in any ministry as a member of the clergy, employee, or volunteer within the diocese must have undergone and passed a certification of training annually as part of the diocesan Safe Environment protocols. We encourage individuals with any knowledge of any misconduct and or of any crime committed by any member of the clergy, employee, or volunteer within the diocese to please come forward to law enforcement. They can also reach out to our office of victims assistance and our office of safe environment by calling 915-872-8400. As we previously reported, Davis Kelin Law Firm, LLC and Huffman Wallace & Monagle, LLC (HWM) say the lawsuits allege child sexual abuse by the following priests: Monsignor Albert Chavez, Father David Holley, Father Emilio Roure, Father Wilfrid Diamond, Monsignor Gonzalo Morales, Father Bernard Bissonnette, and Father Joaquin Resma. The law firms say the cases involve sexual abuse of young children ranging from ages 3 to 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The law firm says its filed lawsuits against the following parishes for child sexual abuse committed by priests while they were employed by the diocese: Our Lady of Health in Las Cruces; Our Lady of Purification in Dona Ana; Immaculate Conception in Alamogordo; Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mesilla Park; St. Anthony in Anthony; and St. Eleanor in Ruidoso. In a recent article by the Associated Press, Pope Leo declared that there should be no tolerance in the Catholic Church for any type of abuse including sexual and spiritual abuse, and abuses of authority and power. When speaking to bishops and cardinals at the Vatican, he emphasized the need for leaders to be firm and decisive in dealing with abuse cases, especially those involving minors, and to fully respect existing legislation. Davis Kelin Law Firm, LLC and Huffman Wallace & Monagle, LLC As KTSM 9 News has previously reported, the law firms filed two previous lawsuits against the El Paso Diocese for alleged sexual abuse of children by priests in the diocese. NM law firms file 2nd suit against El Paso Diocese over alleged sex abuse The law firms have set up information for victims and their families at https://nmpriestabuse.com/. People can see the full list of confirmed abusers here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone who has been victimized or anyone who knows someone who has been a victim of sexual abuse or assault can call (575) 573-8503 or 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 KTSM 9 News. I.C.E. agents are setting the record straight about their work to "protect the public" after the agency has been bombarded with attacks by Democrats for their deportation efforts under President Donald Trump. "The Story" sat down with four agentsPaul, Andres, Celina and Daniel who have served the country for several years, to ask about the hardships they have faced in recent months. (The agents' last names were withheld for their safety.) "There are officers here who have been attacked," Paul told anchor Martha MacCallum. "There are officers who have families, and they are well known in their communities, and they operate in a way where ... many people don't let their families ...(and) don't (let) their community know that they work for I.C.E. There is a sense of danger." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal Authorities Charge Pair Who Allegedly Helped Ice Facility Attacker Escape After Shooting WASHINGTON, DC - White House border czar Tom Homan talks to reporters outside the White House on April 23, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Paul told Fox News the mask his colleagues wear is a sense of "security" for I.C.E. agents , who often have other jobs outside of law enforcement, such as business ownership. "We're following the law," Paul explained. "We're basically enforcing immigration law, administrative law, and we have every right to do that. So, in all honesty, that is really what we're doing. We're not out here just randomly picking up people based on race and things like that, just to remove people and kick them out of the country." Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agents clarified they operate through a "process" to remove illegal migrants . Under the Trump administration, the agents have seen more people being arrested and deported rather than being sent back into the streets. "We have our targets, we know who we're going to pick up, and we have our plan beforehand," Andres said. "We don't just go out there and look for anybody. We know who we're looking for." Agents can also make collateral arrests. "We know our target, and we're encountering them, and let's say he has a passenger with him and, you know, we ask for ID for our safety, and we vet them and we run a criminal record of them and if they're here in the country illegally ... they are a collateral, and we will take them into custody," Celina explained. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andres told Fox News that detainees are given accommodations in detention centers. They are provided with tablets to chat with family, beds, warm showers, and three meals a day. "To debunk that statement about cages, I can tell you right now, we have no cages at our detention centers, nor have I ever seen a cage in one of our detention centers," he said. Bond hearings are still happening under the Trump administration, according to the agent. "That is a due process right for every sovereign individual in the United States," Andres explained. "The approval process is based on certain factors, which is the individual a threat to the community, is the individual a flight risk if we give a person a bond and he just skips town, or if the person already has an immigration order of deportation. So, those are determining factors that a judge will determine before issuing a bond. The bond process will remain the same, we will not and have not taken that right from people." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The four agents expressed pride in their work in carrying out the mission of the agency. "I haven't met anybody that works for I.C.E. that is ashamed of what they do," Daniel said. "We're all proud law enforcement officers and the hardest working people I've ever met in my life." Original article source: No cages, due process rights intact: ICE agents set the record straight on Trump's immigration enforcement United States President Donald Trump's recently announced weapons deal for Ukraine has caught many allies off guard, with diplomats across Europe saying they were neither briefed nor consulted ahead of the announcement a move that is now prompting confusion and frustration among key NATO partners. Under Trump's proposal, NATO countries would donate Patriot missile systems to Ukraine, while the U.S. would sell newer replacements to those contributors. Speaking earlier this week alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, Trump claimed that some of the systems could be delivered to Ukraine "within days." But according to several European and U.S. officials cited by Reuters on July 16, the plan appears to have been hastily devised and announced publicly without prior notification to the countries expected to be involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During his meeting with Trump, Rutte named six NATO countries Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands, and Canada as willing participants in the weapons-purchasing scheme. However, senior sources at two of those countries' embassies in Washington told Reuters they only learned of the plan as it was being announced. Even close U.S. allies appeared to be receiving details in real time. "It is my clear sense that nobody has been briefed about the exact details in advance," said one European ambassador. "I also suspect that internally in the administration they are only now beginning to sort out what it means in practice." Some officials, however, expressed early enthusiasm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are ready to participate," Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen told reporters in Brussels on Tuesday, ahead of a European Union ministerial meeting. Still, the specifics of participation remain unclear. When asked during a July 16 U.S. Department of State press briefing which if any countries had formally committed, spokesperson Tammy Bruce declined to offer any details. One official who spoke to Reuters cited Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, and Spain as potential candidates to donate Patriots to Ukraine, either because they already have multiple systems or because their perceived threat levels are relatively low. Meanwhile, both France and Italy have reportedly opted out of the initiative, citing a need to prioritize domestic defense spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "As always with these things, the devil is in the details," said one northern European ambassador in Washington, highlighting the lack of clarity surrounding Trump's proposed plan. So far, no formal commitments have been confirmed, and key questions remain unanswered including which countries will contribute Patriots, when they will arrive, and how the effort will be coordinated. While Trump has portrayed the initiative as a breakthrough, many European officials say the lack of prior consultation has left allies scrambling to interpret what, if anything, will happen next. Read also: Trumps big Russia announcement fails to lift spirits in a fatigued Ukraine Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. The Madison and Dane County Department of Public Health issued an overdose alert after five overdoses were reported in a 24 hour period earlier this week. The overdoses happened between July 13 and July 14. In at least three of the overdoses, people thought they were taking pain pills, according to the Madison and Dane County Public Health Department. There weren't any deaths and patients were transported to local emergency departments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "There is no pattern that we can identify. The overdoses happened across Dane County and across ages, race, and gender," the health department said in an emailed response to questions from the Journal Sentinel. The public health alert was issued July 15 from the Health Department, saying the numbers are higher than normal. What could cause the sudden rise in overdoses? The department offered a few possibilities. A change in the local supplier, or a change in additives to street drugs hitting the local market could have been factors. Changes in the level or quality of opiates, fentanyl or other synthetic drugs can dramatically raise risks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heat also might have contributed. Some drugs can raise body temperatures, which can lead to heat stroke and dehydration. What are the signs of an overdose? The health department listed: Pale, sweaty or clammy skin Lips and/or fingertips turn blue Slow or irregular breathing, gasping or gurgling Difficulty waking up People with someone suspected of overdosing are always urged to call 911. Don't leave them alone. "First responders, healthcare providers, and people who use drugs and their families should be aware of the increased risk of overdose in our community," the release said. How common are opioid overdoses? A June 9 report from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, shows that since the beginning of 2025, there have been 126 opioid overdose ambulance runs in Dane County. Some suggestions if you have a loved one who uses drugs Between 2000-2023, the Madison and Dane County Department of Public Health reported that fentanyl has become a leading cause for overdoses when mixed with synthetic opioids and cocaine. With that in mind, be sure to test all drugs for fentanyl and xylazine before using. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, carry Naloxone nasal spray, more commonly known as Narcan, which is often seen as the most effective way to reverse an opioid overdose. The health department recommends picking up fentanyl and xylazine test strips and Narcan from its Syringe Services Program, 2705 E. Washington Ave., or 2300 S. Park St., in Madison. Pharmacists can also dispense Narcan. Finally, don't use street drugs alone. If you must use, be with someone in case something goes wrong. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Dane County issues alert after overdose spike in 24-hour period HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) Flooding events in North Alabama can happen whether the area sees rain or not a drop at all. One of the main water bodies that bisects the area is the Tennessee River. Chelly Amin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Huntsville, says the Tennessee Valley Authority has 16 gauges along the river to monitor the river levels. Pear lovin bear shows up to Tuscumbia home, homeowner says he loves the company Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S.G.S. & TVA have river gauges across the area, the satellite sends out data from the gauge, we ingest it into our system, and we can issue forecasts and warnings based on how quickly those rises happen, said Amin. When it comes to flooding along the Tennessee, Paint Rock, and Flint River, the events are known as a 10 to 20-year event. The thousand-year just means that there is a very low chance of happening, but when it happens, it will be very significant, said Chelly Amin, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Huntsville. The topography can influence the flood threat for an area. If you live at the base of a mountain, the runoff can lead to increased flood threat due to runoff; on the mountain itself, mudslides are possible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Monte Sano causes a lot of runoff issues where people get their houses flooded, and they dont live in a floodplain. A variety of reasons can lead to a typical flood that we see or a once-in-a-generation event, Amin added. Flash flooding can occur anywhere, even if you dont live near a body of water. Thats why its important to have multiple ways to receive weather alerts. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. Sign up for Trumps Return, a newsletter featuring coverage of the second Trump presidency. Donald Trump helped create a monster. Now hed like for everyone to ignore it. After years of sounding dog whistles and peddling outright conspiracism to work his supporters into a lather about global pedophile rings, Trump is telling those same people to move on. Earlier today, Trump posted on Truth Social that the Jeffrey Epstein conspiracya pillar of the MAGA cinematic universeis a hoax and went so far as to disavow his PAST supporters over the issue. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, he wrote. I dont want their support anymore! The responses poured in immediately on the platform. It is not going well for Trump. Why was Epstein in prison then? How about Ghislaine? For a hoax? I dont think so, a top reply to the post reads. This is the hill we all die on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In short, Trump appears to have lost control of the situation. In a second term thats been defined by chaos, unpopular policies, and the dismantling of the federal government, Trump has managed to bounce back from one scandal after another. Except, perhaps, from this one. If theres one person who can derail a Trump presidency, it appears that it might be a convicted sex offender who has been dead for nearly six years. The Jeffrey Epstein saga is just about perfect, as conspiracy theories go. At its core, its about a cabal of corrupt billionaires, politicians, and celebrities exploiting children on a distant islandcatnip for online influencers and QAnon types who have bought into any number of outlandish stories. Yet for such a dark conspiracy theory, theres a great deal we know about Epsteins life and crimes. There are unsealed court transcripts, flight records, victim statements. His black book has been reported on, giving the public access to names of people Epstein is thought to have associated with (though some have said they dont know why he had their information). Theres real investigative reporting, much of it from the Miami Heralds Julie K. Brown, who spoke with detectives and victims and provided a fuller account of Epsteins alleged sex trafficking and the attempts to downplay his crimes. Brown also credits the police officers who continued to press on their own investigation as federal officials seemed to wave it away. The case is real and horrifying, which gives life to all the wild speculation: If this is true, why not that? At the center is a genuine secret, the main thing that keeps the story from fading away: the specter of Epsteins so-called client list, a document that supposedly contains the names of powerful people whom Epstein provided girls to. This list is the basis for the most sordid and compelling parts of the conspiracy theory: that Epstein not only facilitated the trafficking of these girls to elites, but that he then entrapped and extorted those elites. The Trump administration had teased the release of this list as though it were a blockbuster movie, even though its very existence remains an open question: Attorney General Pam Bondi said in February that it was sitting on my desk right now to review. But in an abrupt reversal last week, the Department of Justice and the FBI released a memo saying that the list would not be coming after all and that the list did not even exist, an announcement that has enraged many prominent members of the MAGA base and captured the interest of, well, everyone else. In 2025, it feels as if no news story can hold attention for more than a few days, yet the Epstein story has been an exceptiona mass attentional event with few parallels. It is the rare episode that can nominally unite Elon Musk and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and create common ground between tinfoil-hatted conspiracists and average, curious news consumers. The Epstein conspiracy theory belongs to everyone and answers to no party. It is an unstable compoundone thats being used by political actors everywhere to get attention or score political points. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Epstein ordeal speaks to the American psyche like no conspiracy since the JFK assassination and feels liable to explode. Brown, the Miami Herald reporter who effectively reopened the case back in 2017 with a series of investigative articles, said, Im not convinced he committed suicide, on a podcast this week. And in The American Prospect, David Dayen wrote that the Epstein ordeal is also a legitimate policy issue that exposes fault lines in Americas justice system. All the while, the supposed client list is a perfect conspiracist document: With its actual contents unknown, anyone purported to have spent time in Epsteins orbit (a large grouping of influential individuals including Donald Trump and Bill Clinton) could be on the list. All you have to do is imagine. The longer the list stays in the dark, the more power it accrues. The Epstein case is threatening to tear apart Trumps coalition. For a man with an obvious ability to command news cycles and wield attention, Trump has bungled his response to all of this, suggesting that Barack Obama, the Biden administration, and James Comey made up the files, and admonishing many of his most loyal supporters over Truth Social to not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. This, of course, has only aroused interest and suspicion. Now the people around Trumpmany of them current or former MAGA news personalities and influencers who had previously leveraged Epsteins death as a piece of political propagandahave been forced to make an awkward choice between pursuing a story theyve touted for years as a massive government cover-up or siding with Trump. FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino has reportedly threatened to resign from his post over the administrations handling of the situation; Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday that the DOJ should release more information; and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (a proud conspiracy theorist) appears livid. But the establishment is starting to fall into place: House Republicans voted unanimously yesterday to block the release of additional Epstein files. Influencers who once tweeted that Epstein didnt kill himself are now tripping over themselves to reverse course. They are audience-captured in two directionspleasing Trump would mean displeasing their audiences, and vice versaleaving them to make an awkward choice. What happens next is uncharacteristically hard to predict. With any other story, the MAGA diehards would all but certainly put this incident behind them or find some way to turn it back on the Democrats. The president, with his cries of hoax, is certainly trying to give them the blueprint to do just that. But Trump and his acolytes seem to have underestimated not only their base, but the salience of the Epstein story itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The MAGA movement is used to dictating terms with its audience and posting away any potential cognitive dissonance that might arise. But this story is unusually persistent. Yesterday afternoon, as Trump praised Bondi for her handling of the investigation and pro-Trump pundits tried to pivot away from the story, Wired reported that the surveillance footage released by the DOJ and the FBI showing the area near Epsteins prison cell on the night of his death had nearly three minutes cut out, contradicting Bondis own claim that just one minute was removed as part of a system reset. Pure, uncut conspiracy-theory fodder. Whatever happens next will be a defining moment for Trump. However strange it seems to measure the Epstein conspiracy theory against, say, the presidents approach to tariffs or his bombing of Iran, this is the stuff Trumps mythology is based on. Trump has positioned himself as an outsider who shares enemies with his basenamely, elites. It hasnt mattered to his supporters that Trump is an elite himself; the appeal, and the narrative, is that Trump wants to punish the same people his supporters loathe. In appearing to bury the Epstein listwhich, again, may or may not existby calling it a hoax and pinning it to his PAST supporters, Trump is pushing up against the limits of this narrative, as well as his ability to command attention and use it to bend the world to his whims. If Trump and the MAGA media ecosystem can successfully spin the Epstein debacle into a conspiracy theory that helps them, or if they can make the story stop, it would suggest once again that his grip on the party and its base is total: an impenetrable force field no bit of reality can puncture. What if they fail? Maybe this is what it looks like when Trump loses his vise grip on his supporters. But this is late-stage conspiracism: a noxious mix of real events and twisted theories egged on by shameless attention merchants and fed into an insatiable internet until it spins out of control, transcending fact and fiction and becoming unstoppable. What if the desire for answers isnt about justice, truth, or even politics at all? What if the Epstein dead-enders could never be satisfied, even by the publication of a client list? What if they would continue to allege further cover-ups, that the conspiracy was still alive? All the anger may just be the result of an addiction to an information ecosystem that has conditioned people to expect a right to evidence that justifies any belief they might hold. To believe such a thing would suggest that the epistemic rot, reality decay, and culture of conspiracism are not by-products of a specific politician or political movement, but something deepersomething intrinsic to the platforms, culture, and systems that define our lives. It would suggest that the fever will never break. Article originally published at The Atlantic Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is under fire amid reports of a botched disaster response effort in Texas, one that the editorial board of the states biggest newspaper is comparing to the debacle that followed Hurricane Katrina. Heck of a job, Secretary Noem, the Houston Chronicles editorial board wrote Monday, riffing on former President George W. Bushs notorious praise of then-Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Michael Brown as New Orleans flooded. The editors joined Democratic members of Congress including Sens. Ruben Gallego (Ariz.), Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Ed Markey (Mass.), as well as Texas Reps. Greg Casar and Jasmine Crockett in calling for investigations into Noems handling of FEMA, an agency both she and President Trump have previously talked about closing, amid reports of poor response times and local volunteers filling in for federal responders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, Markey called for Noems resignation, describing her handling of the floods as an absolute disgrace. In a video posted to the social platform X, Murphy said FEMA had begun to look like a PR agency for the secretary of Homeland Security, not an actual disaster response agency. Rafael Lemaitre, FEMA director of public affairs under former President Obama, said Trump and Noems vision for FEMA one where it exists mostly to back up state responses is largely already reality. The Trump administration, he said, is in denial about the role of FEMA, the improvements that FEMA has made since Hurricane Katrina not only in its ability to respond better to disasters but to help communities prepare for them in an era of increased severity and frequency in disasters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the reforms after hurricanes Rita and Katrina, FEMA has functioned as a support service for local officials, who must request its aid and run the disaster response themselves. If there ever was a federal agency built not to tell states how to handle things but to support them when needed, its FEMA, which only kicks in when a states capacity is exceeded, whether in response, recovery, mitigation, or preparedness, Lemaitre said. Governors, red or blue, are in charge. They ask for what they need, and we provide it. He argued that the administration is undoing the post-Katrina reforms, starting with its new head, David Richardson, who is under fire for his failure to make any public statements or appearances for more than a week after the floods. Richardson, who runs FEMA part-time, is the first agency head since Brown without any background in disaster response. Under the post-Katrina law requiring FEMA heads to have at least five years of disaster management experience, he would be disqualified but as an acting head, hes exempt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, at the inaugural Hill Nation Summit in Washington, Noem told NewsNations Blake Burman that Trumps vision for FEMA is that we would empower states to be able to respond to their constituents much more than what FEMA has done in the past. In Texas, she told Burman, the agency cut through the bureaucratic red tape and the rules and regulations that were left over from the Biden administration so that we immediately predeployed millions of dollars to Texas so that they could run their response. Over the weekend, Noem attacked the press reports of a poor response in Texas, insisting on Fox and Friends that the reporting of FEMA delays are fake news and absolute trash. She told NBC News that its discouraging that during this time, when we have such a loss of life, and so many peoples lives have turned upside down, that people are playing politics with this, because the response time was immediate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pressed on reports of low response rates at FEMA hotlines, Noem said she didnt believe the numbers and challenged anonymous sources to come forward. In a statement to The Hill, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin decried reporting that the agency had been slow to deploy teams as lies and an unapparelled display of activist journalism. Within moments of the flooding in Texas, DHS [Department of Homeland Security] assets, including the U.S. Coast Guard, tactical Border Patrol units and FEMA personnel surged into unprecedented action alongside Texas first responders, McLaughlin said. By Tuesday, FEMA had deployed 311 staffers, providing support and shelter for hundreds of people, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement McLaughlin argued calls to dismantle the agency had been metaphorical. Under the new administration, she said, Its no secret that FEMA, as it is today, will no longer exist. In what has now become a mantra of Noems tenure, she added that the agency is shifting from bloated, DC-centric dead weight to a lean, deployable disaster force that empowers state actors to provide relief. That message has also been embraced by Trumps Republican allies in Texas. In a press conference Monday, Gov. Greg Abbott (R) agreed with the administration that FEMA needed to be what I call rightsized, so that it would be more nimble, quicker in response understanding its the locals that know whats best in responding to a disaster. But this description of the future course of the agency looks a lot like how it has traditionally looked, former disaster management professionals have told The Hill. They try to equate FEMA with red tape, but thats a red herring, because thats not how the disaster response system has been set up, particularly since Katrina, Lemaitre said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FEMA has lost 25 percent of staff since Trump took office, cuts worsened after the floods when hundreds of call center contractors were let go, according to The New York Times. That followed reporting from CNN that Noem waited 72 hours to send FEMA disaster response teams to Kerr County because under her leadership, the agency has to get her approval for every expenditure of more than $100,000. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson called CNNs reporting absolute hogwash. Given the funds that FEMA works with and the size of Noems purview at the department, the reported delays are really, really upsetting, said Candace Valenzuela, who ran the Department of Housing and Urban Development for the region that includes Texas under former President Biden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It just reeks of looking at things granularly, and not understanding that this is a massive country, and doing it at that level just does not work or wanting to pick winners and losers, Valenzuela said. One impact of Noems new mandate seems to be fewer federal personnel on the ground than in past disasters. In far western Travis County, where devastating floods killed more than a dozen people, even the countys chief executive isnt clear what role FEMA is playing. While Judge Andy Brown declared a local disaster in the county the day of the floods, Trump didnt approve it until nearly a week later, and, as of Tuesday, Brown had seen just one uniformed FEMA official on the ground. As far as I know, they have not set up that station where people can walk in, ask questions to FEMA and apply for things, he told The Hill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. (NewsNation) A former maintenance worker at the New Orleans jail where 10 inmates escaped May 16 has been formally charged with assisting the breakout as his attorney continues to accuse authorities of scapegoating Sterling Williams. The 33-year-old Williams shut off the water that day after someone purposely clogged a toilet at the problem-plagued Orleans Parish Justice Center, his attorney, Michael Kennedy, told Banfield on Wednesday. He said Williams denies doing it so that inmates could remove the commode to slip through a wall, as authorities allege. He was the jail plumber, Kennedy said. He entered the tier. There was a toilet that had been stuffed full of jail clothing, towels, etc., forcibly overflowed. In order to clear it, he was forced to turn off the water. Thats his job. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sheriff from romantic jail escape dishes on New Orleans breakout We do expect that evidence is going to prove that as soon as discovery is tendered. This week, the Louisiana attorney generals office charged Williams with 10 counts of principal to simple escape and one count of malfeasance in office. He has been jailed since May 19 one of several people accused of assisting the escaped inmates. Williams remains held on $1.1 million bond. Kennedy offered an explanation in response to reports that one of the inmates had threatened to shank Williams if he didnt turn off the water. Williams told investigators the inmate had threatened to stab him, but not as a reprisal if he didnt cooperate, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That was jailhouse banter, the attorney said. It was misconstrued as being the reason he turned off the water. Of the 10 inmates who escaped, nine have been recaptured. Convicted murderer Derrick Groves is still at large. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 rendering of the floodwall wrapping around Harbor Park, with a walkway on top and living shoreline in front. (Image courtesy city of Norfolk) By Katherine Hafner/WHRO People passing through the eastern edge of downtown Norfolk will soon see construction for the first phase of the citys massive floodwall project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Norfolk Planning Commission recently approved designs for Phase 1A of the more than $2.6 billion project, which the city calls Resilient Norfolk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The effort aims to protect the city from catastrophic flooding during major storms and is part of the Army Corps wider Coastal Storm Risk Management program developed after 2012s Hurricane Sandy. Virginia Beach and the Peninsula are working on CSRM projects but are still in the study phase. Norfolks project is set to include home elevations, pump stations, surge barriers across several waterways and a nearly 9-mile seawall wrapping around downtown to Lamberts Point. The first piece will stretch around the shoreline from the Berkley Bridge east to the Chesterfield Heights neighborhood, including Harbor Park and the future casino. A map showing the elements of the floodwall Phase 1A. (Map courtesy city Of Norfolk) The wall will range in height from about 6 1/2 feet to about 16 1/2 feet, according to the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kyle Spencer, Norfolks chief resilience officer, said it will look much different than the existing floodwall that the Army Corps built around Nauticus in the 1970s. The old one is just a big, bare concrete slab sticking out of the ground, Spencer said. Ours will look mainly like an elevated walkway, bike path and have some textures and design elements to it that kind of soften it to the eye. A rendering of the aesthetics of the floodwall. (Image courtesy city Of Norfolk) The Elizabeth River Trail will sit on top of the wall and levee system from the Berkley Bridge to the Amtrak railroad tracks. Spencer said the goal is to install benches and lighting to allow people to take in the river view. The floodwall will be more visible from the street side along Water Street, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first phase also includes two new pump stations to help drain heavy rainfall during storms, and a living shoreline along parts of the seawall. Norfolk plans to start sitework this fall, such as relocating utilities and tearing up pavement. Contractors hired by the Army Corps would then build the actual wall, likely not until 2027. A rendering of the floodwall at the Ferry Landing Gate. (Image courtesy city Of Norfolk) In May, city and Army Corps officials told the City Council that the cost and timeline for Resilient Norfolk have both gone up . The new estimated end date for all parts of the project is 2037, five years later than the original timeline. The federal government is responsible for paying 65% of the cost, with the city on the hook for the rest, or more than $930 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Army Corps Norfolk District stated it cannot comment on a new price tag until officials conduct a formal analysis, but they expect it to rise beyond the $2.6 billion Congress approved in 2020. Here is the status of some other elements of the project: The next piece of the floodwall Phase 1B will run from the Berkley Bridge west to Freemason, including Town Point Park. Spencer said Army Corps consultants plan to complete about a third of the design by early next year. Path through Freemason : The final and longest piece of the floodwall would go from Town Point Park to Lamberts Point, including around the historic Freemason waterfront. The current alignment has gotten strong pushback from Freemason residents , who say a 16-foot wall would tank property values and community character. The city is now asking the Army Corps to consider a different path that would place the wall further out in the water from roughly the USS Wisconsin to PETA headquarters. The potential change requires federal authorization and will likely trigger additional environmental reviews, Spencer said. Extending to the Southside : Residents of five historically Black communities on Norfolks Southside, across the Elizabeth River, have been fighting to be included in the project . The current design offers home elevations to some homeowners but no structures such as a seawall. The Army Corps historical cost-benefit calculation often leaves out lower-income communities in favor of wealthier ones where total property values drive up the monetary benefits of protection on paper. The agencys Norfolk District has stated its pursuing federal authorization to study extending the floodwall to the Southside, but has failed to gain funding to do so for the past several years. Surge barriers : The Resilient Norfolk project includes three storm surge barriers across entrances to the Lafayette River, Broad Creek and Pretty Lake in Ocean View to prevent surging waves from flooding neighborhoods during storms. Officials are in early stages of designing the barriers, Spencer said. The Lafayette barrier will be the largest about a mile long and will be the most complicated to design to maintain the river as a navigation channel. Individual home floodproofing: Norfolk recently launched a tool allowing residents and business owners to search whether their property is potentially eligible for voluntary non-structural measures, including filling in basements and elevating flood-prone homes. This story was originally published by the Mercurys media partner WHRO Public Media, the Hampton Roads regions largest media company. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A Norfolk Southern train moves cargo from the S.C. State Ports Authoritys inland port in Greer. The railroad wants the authority to pay $27 million for a project that will let its trains use the Port of Charlestons Navy Base Intermodal Facility next to the Leatherman Terminal in North Charleston. (Provided by Norfolk Southern) A late-in-the-game demand by Norfolk Southern railroad is hiking the price of an already over-budget rail yard the South Carolina State Ports Authority is building to support cargo shipments through the Port of Charleston. Norfolk Southern has told the authority it wont use the rail yard known as the Navy Base Intermodal Facility unless the authority spends $27 million to install a new track at the Ashley Phosphate Road crossing that trains must navigate while making their way to the North Charleston facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Barbara Melvin, the authoritys president and CEO, told state legislators this week that Norfolk Southern made the demand within the past year. The rail yard project has been in the works for more than a decade. Melvin told a subcommittee of the states Joint Bond Review Committee that Norfolk Southern originally was going to pay for the Ashley Phosphate project as part of its own capital budget. It was improvements they were making to their own rail network outside of this (rail) project, Melvin said, adding the railroad recently shifted that cost to the authority. So, what were saying is that Norfolk Southern is choosing to take the opportunity to lay (millions) from their capital budget requirements for their company on the taxpayers of South Carolina, said Sen. Sean Bennett, a Dorchester County Republican. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think at this point theyre choosing to lay it on the (authoritys) board, Melvin replied, adding that no further state money is available for the project. Melvin said the authority has no choice but to pay it because the rail project wont work without Norfolk Southerns participation. Thats probably pretty good negotiations on their part, Bennett said. There are times I wish I had that much power, Melvin responded. Norfolk Southern said in a written statement that its role has been and continues to be to inform the requirements for the ports investment in this project. The railroad did not address questions about where it had shifted the costs from its own budget to the authoritys. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We remain committed to the success of the Navy Base Intermodal Facility and to collaborating to get this facility online as quickly as possible to benefit our mutual customers and South Carolinas strong logistics network, the statement reads. The rail yard project has already blown its deadline for opening this month. The debut is now scheduled for January 2026, although only the facilitys northern entrance will be available at that time. A southern entrance, which is still in the design stage, wont be ready until March 2027. The work that Norfolk Southern is demanding is called siding a section of track adjacent to the main line where trains can stop while waiting for a clear route to their destination; in this case, the rail yard located on Navy Base property next to the ports Leatherman Terminal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Norfolk Southern needs the siding because CSX Corp. the other railroad that has agreed to use the rail yard has the right-of-way along the Ashley Phosphate Road crossing. At $27 million, the four miles of track needed for the siding comes to about $6.75 million per mile. Thats a lot of money per mile, Bennett said. Its money the authority will have to come up with because it has vowed not to seek more state funding for the rail yard. The Legislature approved spending $550 million in public funds in 2022 for the rail yard and a separate barge project that would move cargo containers by water between port terminals. The rail yard, however, is eating up almost all of that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 118-acre rail yards current budget is $544.7 million up from $349 million in 2022. The southern access is estimated to cost another $145 million. In addition to paying for the siding, Norfolk Southern wants the authority to help it find alternate uses for its Seven Mile Yard in North Charleston, where cargo containers are currently moved to and from trains. Once the Navy Base Intermodal Facility opens, the Seven Mile Yard will no longer be needed for that purpose. The conversations that we have had with Norfolk Southern are about repurposing the existing Seven Mile that would allow for some type of activity that is related to the port, Melvin told the subcommittee. There is a future opportunity for us to work together to create value on the land that they would no longer be utilizing, that is used today for their intermodal yard. About 25% of the ports cargo containers currently move by trains. Thats roughly 600,000 containers measured in 20-foot increments each year, with the rest hauled by trucks from the ports terminals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The authority hopes to boost train shipments while taking some trucks off local roads. The rail yard will eventually have capacity for moving 1 million containers annually to and from trains. The rail yard will eventually have direct access to the adjacent Leatherman Terminal, giving the Port of Charleston the near-dock rail it needs to stay competitive with other East Coast ports. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE (The Center Square) Maine Republicans are criticizing a report by Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows that dismissed their claims of voter fraud in the previous election. The probe was sparked by claims made earlier this year by the state's Republican Party that nearly 600 Maine voters were registered twice in the state's voter database and that more than 50 voted twice in the November 2024 election. But Bellows said her review of the allegations found no wrongdoing and dismissed the GOP's claims that some people voted twice. Mainers can be reassured that following a thorough investigation, my office has confirmed that none of the 51 names provided by the Maine GOP had voted twice in the same election, Bellows said in a letter to GOP officials. "We are proud of Maines safe, free, and secure elections, and I applaud the detailed work that Maine election officials do to ensure the integrity of our voter rolls and protect Maine elections." Bellows said the investigation found that voters who were alleged to be registered twice were different people, and that nearly 20 people accused of voting twice were "erroneously" listed as voting more than once by local election clerks. She also found 21 duplicate voters' records. There were no instances of Mainers voting twice, which is illegal under state and federal laws, she said. "Its not only unfair to the individuals wrongly accused but also an insult to the hardworking state and local election officials to make false accusations of criminal activity," she said. The Maine GOP called the investigation a "huge victory" for Republicans and the integrity of the state's voting records and suggested that Bellows' comments would hurt her gubernatorial bid. The Democrat is running to replace outgoing Gov. Janet Mills, who is prevented from seeking reelection because of term limits. Featured Local Savings "Were glad that we were able to begin pushing a resolution to this issue before any more elections have taken place," the Maine GOP said in a statement. "Bellows previous botched license plate roll out, spending millions in state highway funds in Canada for faulty plates, and now this voter registration debacle should be seen as red flags for Bellows' campaign." The Republican Party's executive director Jason Savage pushed back on Bellows' "absurd" claims in the report that more than 50 Mainers were "falsely accused" of voting twice and had their names and addresses "handed to the media" by GOP officials. LIBBY DROPS CENSURE LAWSUIT IN MAINE He accused Bellows of trying to shift the blame for shoddy record-keeping to local election clerks and said her statements accompanying the report are "an admission that her data showed voters voting twice and that there was a problem with voters being registered to vote twice." "We provided evidence to reporters to demonstrate the seriousness of the problem upon agreement that they also protect the privacy of voters and the data was not for public release," he said in a statement. "Bellows' claims about this are a blatant revision to the truth. The objective is always for Maine voters to have confidence in our elections." Members of the North Carolina Board of Elections are sworn into office on May 7, 2025. (Photo: Lynn Bonner/NC Newsline) The North Carolina State Board of Elections rolled out its plan to collect missing information from more than 100,000 North Carolina voters on Thursday and vowed that no one will be removed from the registration rolls over the discrepancy. In a call with reporters Thursday morning, NCSBE executive director Sam Hayes said the board plans to contact roughly 103,000 registered voters who lack either a drivers license number or the last four digits of their Social Security Number on record missing information that formed the basis of Judge Jefferson Griffins efforts to throw out more than 60,000 ballots case in the 2024 state Supreme Court election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want to make it abundantly clear that this project will not result in the removal of any eligible voter from the voter rolls, as some have inaccurately suggested, Hayes said. Instead, it will result in more complete voter rolls and full compliance with state and federal law. North Carolina State Board of Elections Executive Director Sam Hayes (Photo: NCSBE.gov) Hayes added that he hopes the initiative will also have the benefit of helping us settle pending litigation on this topic a reference to a lawsuit brought by the Trump administration in May over the missing identifiers. The Democratic Party also wrote in a letter on July 11 that it was considering litigation over any plan that effectively removes registrants from the official list of eligible voters. The state election board launched a Registration Repair webpage explaining how to provide missing information for voters whose registrations lack the identifiers, as well as a database where voters can search for their names to see if they must supply identification information in order to vote. The data was not previously collected because a registration form used until January 2024 incorrectly displayed the identifiers as optional. Registered voters on the list who do not provide the missing information ahead of the election can still cast their ballots, but will be directed by poll workers to submit provisional ballots including either their drivers license number or the last four digits of their Social Security Number. Once that information is validated through the DMV or Social Security Administration databases, the ballots will be counted normally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Paul Cox, the elections boards general counsel, if that information is omitted from the provisional ballot application or is found to be incorrect, then the vote will not count for state and local elections, only those at the federal level, such as the U.S. Senate. The U.S. Department of Justice has made clear to us in our discussions that they interpret the National Voter Registration Act, the federal law, to require votes that are cast provisionally under this process to count for federal contests, Cox said. Those are duly registered voters, and you cant, under the National Voter Registration Act, deny them the ability to cast their ballots in a federal contest. Cox added that the state board interprets the state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court decisions in the Griffin challenges to require voters who have not supplied either identifier to vote provisionally, and if they fail to provide it in their provisional ballot application, then the votes cannot be counted for state races. Its unclear whether the additional assurances will deter the Democratic Party from legal action. In its July 11 letter, attorney Seth Waxman wrote that requiring voters to cast provisional ballots that may not be counted is effectively the same as striking them from the list of eligible voters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members of the Democratic party who attempt to update registration records during the voting process will be disenfranchised when they submit drivers license number or partial Social Security numbers that fail to match administrative records, Waxman wrote. North Carolina state auditor Dave Boliek speaks to lawmakers about a bill that would give his office a new team to examine state spending and jobs on April 2, 2025. (Photo: Galen Bacharier/NC Newsline) The state board has been at the center of controversy since the General Assembly transferred its oversight from Governor Josh Stein to State Auditor Dave Boliek, in doing so flipping it to a Republican majority. Hayes, the new executive director, previously served as counsel to GOP Speaker of the state House of Representatives Destin Hall. State election officials said they will contact any voters still missing information in August by mail, including a postage-prepaid return envelope with a form allowing them to supply the information and instructions on how to add it to their registration online, whichever mode they prefer. The board has also directed county election boards to search election records for any identification numbers that may be stored locally but not in the state registration system. Efforts to locate improperly recorded information have already yielded identifiers for another roughly 90,000 voters who previously lacked it in the statewide database, Cox said. Those voters will be contacted separately by mail to ensure their information is correct, but will not be required to cast provisional ballots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve gone to great lengths to make this process as straightforward and transparent as possible, both for the affected voters and the public in general, Hayes said. We anticipate the number of voters on the list will decrease quickly as word spreads about this important effort. In a press release accompanying the Registration Repair project rollout, North Carolina election officials outlined three ways to provide the requested information: Voters on the Registration Repair list have three options: Attorney General Jeff Jackson and Secretary of State Elaine Marshall have launched a statewide initiative in North Carolina to combat bitcoin and cryptocurrency ATM scams, which can result in victims losing over $100,000. Honor system is over: Make sure you report crypto on your taxes The initiative, in partnership with AARP, the Wilmington Police Department, and United Way NC/NC 211, aims to raise awareness and educate the public on recognizing and preventing these scams. Cryptocurrency-related financial fraud is a growing concern, with annual losses approaching $6 billion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were hearing devastating reports of people losing their life savings through a crypto ATM scam, said Jackson. Thats why were working with partners across the state to help people recognize the signs of these scams. We want to help people protect their money from scammers. Marshall expressed pride in joining forces with partner agencies to raise public awareness about cryptocurrency ATM scams. AARP volunteer David Kirkman emphasized the importance of education and awareness, stating, AARP knows that vigilance against scammers is our number one defense. By being informed about the latest scams, and knowing what red flags to look out for including the demands for bitcoin payments, we all have the power to better protect ourselves and our families. At 211, were seeing firsthand how scammers are evolvingand how quickly theyre targeting vulnerable North Carolinians through tactics like cryptocurrency ATM fraud, said United Way NC and NC 211 President and CEO Brittany Pruitt Fletcher. How it works Cryptocurrency ATMs, commonly found near convenience stores, gas stations, or smoke shops, are increasingly being used by scammers to defraud individuals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scammers often instruct their targets to use these ATMs to convert cash or bank funds into cryptocurrency, which is then transferred to the scammers account. Once the cryptocurrency is transferred, it is nearly impossible to recover, as scammers can quickly exchange it back into cash. This method of fraud is particularly insidious because it often involves forming emotional or romantic relationships with victims, who are frequently older and less likely to report the crime. The Secretary of State, AARP, and United Way NC/NC 211 are collaborating with law enforcement to spread awareness about cryptocurrency ATM scams. What to look out for: An older adult is using the crypto ATM while someone on the phone is talking to them. An older adult tells you they need to withdraw cash immediately from their bank account to send to someone who called them. Someone says a government official (ex. law enforcement) told them to pay a fine with crypto. Remind them that the government NEVER accepts crypto as payment. Anyone who is acting stressed, scared, or emotional may be receiving threats. VIDEO: Everybody is a target: CMPD investigates series of ATM robberies Commissioners Murray Sagsveen, left, and Ronald Goodman, right, members of the North Dakota Ethics Commission, listen to a House committee hearing on March 18, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota Ethics Commission is looking into whether strongly worded communications from the state Attorney Generals Office have negatively impacted commission staff. The decision follows a July 3 letter addressed to the commission from Attorney General Drew Wrigley that harshly criticized the commissions recent investigation report on ethics violations by Rep. Jason Dockter, R-Bismarck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report said the Attorney Generals Office at times did not cooperate with the investigation and did not turn over some requested records a characterization Wrigley called patently false. Wrigley said his office gave the commission access to all requested records except when pending investigations and court proceedings prevented them from being turned over. His letter went on to accuse Ethics Commission Executive Director Rebecca Binstock and her staff of inexperience and poor judgment. Ms. Binstock, your report is replete with misleading narratives and omissions, and officials and the public are left having to guess whether your actions are the result of carelessness or the intentional politicization of your office, Wrigley wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ethics Commissioner Ward Koeser in a prepared statement he read Wednesday said he felt many of the criticisms were personal attacks and out of line, and defended the quality of the report and commission staff. The Attorney Generals Office in a statement to the Monitor said the comments were made in good faith. Our comments have been strictly substantive and focused on constitution, legal and ethical conduct and communications by publicly accountable staff, the office said Wednesday. The Ethics Commission and the Attorney Generals Office have been publicly at odds since the beginning of this year. The Attorney Generals Office raised concerns in testimony to lawmakers that the commission would violate the state constitution if it tried to penalize people who violate ethics laws. The Ethics Commission says the constitution grants it this authority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both sides have openly accused one another of unprofessionalism. We have felt for some time that we have had a strained relationship with the Attorney Generals Office and we need to find a way to work through that, Koeser said. Koeser made a motion Wednesday to appoint a commissioner to evaluate how staff have been treated by the Attorney Generals Office and decide whether to take additional steps to support a respectful, professional and productive working environment for commission staff. Commissioner Ron Goodman volunteered to take the lead on the matter with help from Commissioner Cynthia Lindquist, who was appointed chair during Wednesdays meeting Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lindquist suggested reaching out to human resources personnel within the state government first. I think we need some advice or guidance from the state personnel office, she said. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A sign in Devils Lake, North Dakota, marks the road leading to the Spirit Lake Reservation. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday put a temporary freeze on North Dakotas legislative district map, keeping it in place pending next steps in a tribal voting rights case against the state. The move came just a day before the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals was expected to issue a mandate officially reversing a North Dakota federal judges decision and ordering the lawsuit to be dismissed. That would have resulted in North Dakota reverting back to a previous district map that two tribal nations and a group of tribal citizens took the state to court to change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, Spirit Lake Nation and three tribal members filed the lawsuit in 2022, alleging that North Dakotas 2021 redistricting map was discriminatory and diluted the power of Indigenous voters. North Dakota U.S. District Court Judge Peter Welte in 2023 sided with the plaintiffs and ordered the state to adopt a different map, but the 8th Circuit reversed his decision in May. The appellate court ruled that private citizens cannot file lawsuits under Section 2 of the federal Voting Rights Act, which outlaws racially discriminatory voting practices. The plaintiffs are getting ready to petition the Supreme Court to review the lawsuit. On Tuesday, they filed a motion asking the court to allow Weltes map to stay in place while the case plays out. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to an initial, more limited element of that request on Wednesday. Under the high courts administrative stay, the map will remain unchanged for now. The justices will later decide whether its necessary to put a longer-term hold on the district map until a final decision in the case is reached. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The high court on Tuesday asked the state to file its response to the plaintiffs motion by July 22. North Dakota has maintained that the 2021 map is not discriminatory and that it agrees with the 8th Circuits finding that the tribes lack standing to sue. The plaintiffs deadline to file their official petition asking the Supreme Court to take the case is in October. In a Tuesday filing, the plaintiffs argued the 8th Circuits decision severely damaged voting rights in the circuits seven states. The 8th Circuit is the only one to hold that private plaintiffs cannot file voting discrimination claims under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. The plaintiffs also said that allowing North Dakotas 2021 map to go back into effect would harm Native American voters as well as potentially unseat three lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weltes map, adopted in 2024, changed District 9 to include two reservations. In the 2024 election, three Native American candidates from that district were elected to the state Legislature: Sen. Richard Marcellais and Rep. Jayme Davis both citizens of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa and Rep. Collette Brown, a citizen of the Spirit Lake Nation and plaintiff in the lawsuit. All three are Democrats. If the 2021 map is reinstated, three lawmakers would change districts, including Brown. Attorneys for the North Dakota Legislature have said the lawmakers could be subject to removal from office, since the state constitution requires lawmakers to live in the districts they represent. The 8th Circuit includes North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska and Arkansas. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX A North Georgia man who has already been indicted on more than 70 charges of using artificial intelligence to make images of minors appear naked is now facing 120 charges. Ronald Richardson, 48, was arrested in January after investigators found evidence that he was using AI to make normal photos into child porn. A student at Gilmer High School told a school resource officer on Dec. 3 that Richardson, who filled the vending machines at the school, had asked her to send him pictures through a social media app. She told the SRO she felt that was inappropriate. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to deputies, the student told the SRO that she would talk to Richardson regularly when he was at the school and had done so for a year. She said Richardson would often give her free soft drinks, but this was the first time she had been asked to send him pictures. Sheriff Stacy Nicholson told Channel 2s Bryan Mims this is the first case where AI has been a component of an investigation for the sheriffs office. Unfortunately, I doubt it will be the last, Nicholson said. All of the sexually explicit (nude) photographs of the minor children that Richardson is alleged to have possessed are actually normal snapshots, which he captured from various social media pages and then altered (or had altered) using AI to make the images appear nude. Richardson was initially indicted on April 16 in Gilmer County on 76 charges. He was indicted on 44 more charges last week, making a total of 120. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Prosecuting Attorneys Council of Georgia requested that the DeKalb County District Attorneys Office serve as the prosecutor in this case. Richardson is scheduled to be arraigned on his new charges on Aug. 5. LAS VEGAS (KLAS) A new law is clearing federal government regulations from 7,000 acres of Nevada land and giving more power to North Las Vegas. This week, President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill into law freeing cumbersome regulations from development in the Apex community of North Las Vegas. Support for the legislation was echoed by Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who praised its progress from the Senate floor. The federal government owns more than 80 percent of the land in our state, that requires us to have that federal partnership every time a company wants to develop a property on public land, and they need a permit from the Bureau of Land Management she said. That process as we all know can take years and, in that time, we are losing out on economic growth and new job creation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The development of the northeast portion of Apex has already broken ground, and its growth hasnt gone unsupported, according to North Las Vegas Councilman Scott Black. They championed it for us through the Congress, Black said. And we certainly were there along the entire way to help with advocacy, technical specs and information, to make sure that it really is a commonsense piece of legislation. Black said the new law slashes six to 12 months off the permit process for business interests in the Apex area. All those things add up to cost savings, efficiencies and enabling people to come and fill those warehouses with materials and employees, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The development has already been met with infrastructure following the construction of $500 million investment from the Southern Nevada Water Authority for the next three years through the Garnet Valley Water System. That enables us to grow, to build our economy, but do so in a sustainable way, Black said. The businesses that have already broken ground include Kroger, Smiths, and Air Liquide. The speed of the construction was praised by Keith Earnest, executive vice president for NTrust Real Estate, who pointed to several of their ready-to-move-in warehouses. At the end of the day, the faster we get the buildings up, the quicker the tenants occupy, Earnest said. Which increases the taxes to pay for libraries, roads, infrastructure. Things that are essential for a city to work. Its really a great alignment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) Nonprofit Canopy NWA is taking time to showcase developing businesses in the area, highlighting feats made by the immigrant community. Aimed at refugee resettlement, Canopy NWAs Immigrant-Owned Business Expo is an opportunity for the organizations entrepreneurship program to celebrate with the community in place of a graduation ceremony. Since 2016, the organization has been stepping in to help rebuild the lives of refugee individuals and families who are new to the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the agency welcoming over 900 people to our community through the United States Legal Refugee Resettlement Program, many refugees who come are fleeing devastating events happening in their home country. Executive director Joanne Krause said its not just aiding in the transition to the states the agency takes care of, but providing the long welcome, connecting the newcomers and the Northwest Arkansas community. I get to hear and see stories every single day about people who came as refugees give back to the community, and I also get to hear from people who have volunteered about how this experience has helped them build relationships to people who they may have never met and how that has enriched their lives, help bring new friendships, and really made them feel more connected and rooted here, Krause said. Since it started in 2020, the entrepreneurship program has helped start more than 30 immigrant-owned businesses across Northwest Arkansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 13-year-old dog reunited with family after being found over 200 miles from home The program is on its eighth graduating cohort with 11 businesses being showcased this year, from things like hair braiding to Arabic coffee to construction and more. Entrepreneurship program director Devon Newman said the expo is a rich cultural experience with many business owners even bringing food to share their heritage during the celebration. This is their graduation, so, its really going to be free food, free drinks, raffle tickets, Newman said. Youll get to see some different cultures that are represented in Northwest Arkansas. Really see how diverse the tapestry business ownership is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said being the only program in the area geared towards immigrant startups, the expo that comes with graduation is an opportunity to create another outlet for connection to the community, following in line with the work of the non-profit as a whole. Newman said she believes opportunities like this help create a more diverse and thriving Community. The more diversified we are, then the better services that are offered, the more these people we are able to reach, and their cultural niches, as well, Newman said. So I think it helps provide jobs for the community, and it just helps overall diversify Northwest Arkansas. The immigrant-owned business expo is July 17 at the Fayetteville Public Library in the Walker Room, starting at 6:00 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. The White House dismissed comments that the Trump administration's efforts to yank already approved federal funds for foreign aid and public broadcasting pose a public safety threat. The rescissions package the Senate approved early Thursday pulls more than $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) that provides federal funding for NPR and PBS. "These are not honest news organizations," Leavitt told reporters Thursday. "These are partisan, left-wing outlets that are funded by the taxpayers. And this administration does not believe it's a good use of the taxpayers' time and money." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PBS and NPR could not be immediately reached for comment by Fox News Digital. Long Overdue: Senate Republicans Ram Through Trump's Clawback Package With Cuts To Foreign Aid, Npr Hands are raised as press secretary Karoline Leavitt holds a briefing at the White House, July 17, 2025. Additionally, the rescissions package revokes nearly $8 billion in already approved funding for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which the Trump administration dismantled amid concerns the formerly independent organization did not advance U.S. interests. The organization is not part of the State Department. Read On The Fox News App The Senate narrowly approved the rescission measure, 51-48, which would revoke funding the Congress previously approved. Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted alongside Democrats to oppose the package. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Look, $9 billion worth of crap that was in our federal funding is now being rescinded," Leavitt said. "This is a good thing for the American people and the American taxpayer." Republican lawmakers like Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have touted the measure as a step toward "fiscal sanity" as the Trump administration seeks to weed out waste, fraud and abuse. Senate Marches Toward Passing Trump's $9B Clawback Bill After Dramatic Late-night Votes Republican lawmakers like Senate Majority Leader John Thune have touted the measure as a step toward "fiscal sanity." "I appreciate all the work the administration has done in identifying wasteful spending," Thune said in a speech ahead of the vote. "And now its time for the Senate to do its part to cut some of that waste out of the budget. Its a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Democrats claim that the cuts to foreign aid benefit Russia and China, and that the rescission package jeopardizes national security. Likewise, Democrats are concerned that further rescissions could spread to areas beyond foreign aid and public broadcasting. Trump's $9 Billion Clawback Passes First Senate Test, While More Hurdles Await "If Republicans slash more American aid, it will create a dangerous vacuum that the Chinese Communist Party will continue to eagerly fill," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Tuesday on the Senate floor. "They're letting Donald Trump decide for himself which programs to defund, and that puts everything at risk healthcare, education, food assistance, public health," Schumer said. "Everything everything becomes at risk. That is what happens if a package like this is allowed to become law." Fox News' Alex Miller contributed to this report. Original article source: Not 'honest' news organizations: White House defends yanking $9B worth of crap in rescissions package National Guard troops and Marines deployed to Los Angeles during last months anti-ICE protests say their biggest problem wasnt demonstrators - but boredom and low morale. Trump sent more than 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Southern California last month as thousands of people took to the streets in protest of the administrations widespread immigration enforcement. The troops were sent to quell lawlessness, the administration said, but several service members spoke to the contrary. Theres not much to do, one Marine, who was not named, told the Los Angeles Times. After the protests died down a month ago, the marine said his duties had mostly involved approving access for visitors and workers at the Veterans Affairs office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Steve Woolford, a resource counselor for GI Rights Hotline, told the Los Angeles Times that many troops have told him they have little to do. The most recent people I talked to sounded like theyre sitting around bored without much to do, Woolford said. And theyre happy with that: They arent asking to do more. At the same time, I dont think people see a real purpose in what theyre doing at all. Members of the California National Guard stand watch in front of a federal building in Los Angeles. Several say theyre bored and concerned about assignments related to immigration enforcement in the region (AFP via Getty Images) Members of the California National Guard stand watch in front of a federal building in Los Angeles. Several say theyre bored and concerned about assignments related to immigration enforcement in the region (AFP via Getty Images) Some National Guard troops deployed to LA also told The New York Times they are being ordered to back up federal immigration agents in the region. Six service members told the outlet that theres low morale among those stationed around LA, as well as concern that this mission could hurt future recruitment. Some said they believe Trump sent them to the city on a fake mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A National Guard official told The New York Times this mission could hurt morale in the long term. The moral injuries of this operation, I think, will be enduring, the official said. This is not what the military of our country was designed to do, at all. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told The Independent Trumps efforts to quell the protests have been successful. Clearly, President Trumps efforts to restore order to Newscums lawless California have been successful rioters are deterred by our brave men and women in uniform who have been keeping our public buildings and the entire community safe, Kelly said. No troops were ever expected to conduct immigration enforcement operations, only protect the federal law enforcement officers from Newscums violent rioters when he refused to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration ordered the release of 2,000 troops from the mission Tuesday, leaving half of them still in place. California Governor Gavin Newsom accused Trump of exploiting troops as political pawns. California National Guard troops stand guard as protests swelled in Los Angeles last month. Trump deployed more than 4,000 troops to the area (AP) California National Guard troops stand guard as protests swelled in Los Angeles last month. Trump deployed more than 4,000 troops to the area (AP) Thousands of members are still federalized in Los Angeles for no reason and unable to carry out their critical duties across the state, Newsom wrote on X Tuesday. End this theater and send everyone home. Trump deployed the troops last month after demonstrations swelled against widespread ICE raids across California, including in LAs Fashion District and the nearby city of Paramount. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The protests stretched on for days and footage showed clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, particularly after the National Guard arrived, with police in riot gear using tear gas to disperse people. Some demonstrators threw fireworks and other projectiles at officers, vehicles were set on fire, and f*** ICE graffiti sprayed throughout the city. A Los Angeles protester holds a sign that reads, 'ICE OFF MY PROPERTY GET A WARRANT!' The anti-ICE protests erupted early last month (Getty Images) A Los Angeles protester holds a sign that reads, 'ICE OFF MY PROPERTY GET A WARRANT!' The anti-ICE protests erupted early last month (Getty Images) Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump administration arguing that federal officials must end the illegal and unnecessary takeover of Californias National Guard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A district judge initially sided with Newsom and Bonta, issuing a temporary restraining order that would have returned control of the troops to the state. However, the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals paused the judges order shortly afterward and allowed the troops to stay in LA. Democratic lawmakers slammed Trump for the deployment. Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and Democratic New Jersey Senator Corey Booker backed Newsoms lawsuit, with Booker describing the presidents actions as hypocritical at best. A Los Angeles protester carries a sign that reads, 'MILITARY OFF OUR STREETS.' Governor Gavin Newsom attempted to sue the Trump administration to stop them from commandeering National Guard troops in the region (Getty Images) A Los Angeles protester carries a sign that reads, 'MILITARY OFF OUR STREETS.' Governor Gavin Newsom attempted to sue the Trump administration to stop them from commandeering National Guard troops in the region (Getty Images) Democrats were also outraged when California Senator Alex Padilla was forcibly removed and handcuffed after asking a question at a June 12 press conference led by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Veterans similarly decried the move. Marine veteran Janessa Goldbeck told The Independent last month that Trump is using the military as a political prop. Goldbeck is the CEO of the nonpartisan advocacy group Vet Voice Foundation. When I joined the Marine Corps, I swore an oath not to a person, not to a party, but to the Constitution, Goldbeck said. Thats not just just politicizing the military its crossing a dangerous line, she added. Editor's Note: This article was updated after publication to include a statement from the White House Across Africa, and in the tiny nation of Eswatini, fury has erupted over the arrival of foreign deportees from the United States, after its government confirmed that migrants described by a Department of Homeland security spokesperson as depraved monsters had been sent to its prisons. Roughly the size of New Jersey, Eswatini formerly known as Swaziland is governed by a monarch who has absolute power. On Wednesday, officials said that five deportees from the US were being held in isolated units in its jails, acknowledging widespread concern but insisting the deported men pose no threat to the country or its citizens. The five men are being kept in solitary confinement, acting government spokesperson Thabile Mdluli told CNN Friday, but stopped short of disclosing the prisons they were held in, citing security risks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mdluli did not reveal how long the men would stay in Eswatini, but said: Critical engagements between stakeholders are still ongoing. She had earlier stated that the deportation was the result of months of robust high-level engagements between the US and the southern African nation. Critics of the move say it is unacceptable for Eswatini to be treated as a dumping ground for people considered unfit to live in the US. US pressure on African countries While the Trump administrations mass deportations to the prisons of El Salvador have made headlines around the world, the White House has also been quietly attempting to strike agreements with a number of African countries to accept deportees originally from other nations. President Donald Trumps aggressive clampdown on immigration has run into logistical hurdles, with some countries refusing to take back their nationals, or doing so only on a limited basis. Undocumented immigrants, shackled at the wrists and ankles, were searched before boarding a charter flight at Kansas City International Airport, run by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Department. The detainees were flown to Louisiana, Texas or Arizona, where they are returned to or flown to the detainees countries of origin, on December 2, 2024. - Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service/TNS/Getty Images Some of those approached by the US, such as Nigeria, have decried being pressured to take in foreign deportees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The US is mounting considerable pressure on African countries to accept Venezuelans to be deported from the US, some straight out of prison, Nigerias foreign minister, Yusuf Tuggar, said in a televised interview last week, citing Washingtons announcement of increased tariffs and recent reductions in the validity of visas. The US Mission in Nigeria insisted visa changes were not the result of any nations stance on third-country deportees but rather to safeguard US immigration systems. The Trump Administration is committed to removing criminal illegal aliens from the United States, a White House official told CNN in a statement. The Administration frequently engages in conversations with foreign nations on a variety of topics, but we do not share information on private discussions. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media upon his arrival from Pennsylvania, at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, U.S., on July 15, 2025. - Nathan Howard/Reuters Earlier this month, the US Supreme Court paved the way for the Trump administration to deport certain migrants to countries other than their homeland with little notice. Soon after, eight third-country deportees said by the US to have criminal records landed in South Sudan, a nation on the cusp of civil war. Who were the prisoners deported to Eswatini? DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a post on X Wednesday that the five detainees flown to Eswatini were nationals from Jamaica, Laos, Cuba, Yemen and Vietnam. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back, she wrote. These depraved monsters have been terrorizing American communities but thanks to @POTUS Trump @Sec_Noem they are off of American soil, McLaughlin added. The prisoners were convicted of various crimes, including child rape, murder and robbery, she said. Eswatini government spokesperson Mdluli said the nation would now collaborate with the US and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to facilitate the transit of these inmates to their countries of origin. She told CNN Thursday, however, that there are no timelines at present for their repatriation. Why are people outraged? Eswatinis decision to accommodate Americas deportees has met with widespread public disapproval, both due to the perceived risk around their presence and the US portrayal of the nation as a safe third country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The landlocked country of just over one million people is already beleaguered by poverty, unemployment, high crime rates and congested prisons. Human rights are also deteriorating, according to Human Rights Watch, following a wave of crackdowns on pro-democracy movements. More than half its population lives on less than $4 a day, according to the World Bank. Opposition party PUDEMO said accepting foreign deportees from the US poses a serious risk to our already vulnerable communities which it said are battling a severe scourge of crime, including rape and murder. Our country must not be treated as a dumping ground for those deemed unfit to live elsewhere, the group said in a statement sent to CNN. Lucky Lukhele, of the Swaziland Solidarity Network, an exiled civil society group based in South Africa, told CNN it was clear racism to think Africa is a dumping ground for Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lukhele said he was informed by unnamed sources that more US deportees would be sent to Eswatini, warning that Swazi prisons are (already) overcrowded with prisoners who get one meal a day. The Multi Stakeholder Forum (MSF), a coalition of Eswatinis civil society groups, said in a statement that the countrys sovereignty and dignity must not be traded off for unclear deals or political expediency. Its not clear how Eswatini stands to benefit from housing US deportees. Government spokesperson Mdluli told CNN that the terms of the agreement (with the US) remain classified information. Asked whether more foreign US deportees would arrive in Eswatini, she said there was currently no information to that effect. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Eswatinis trade privileges with the US came under threat in April after it was included in Trumps list of tariffs, facing a rate of 10% on its exports. Its neighbor and biggest trading partner, South Africa, was also slapped with a 30% tariff, triggering panic from Eswatinis central bank on the implications for its economy. The tariffs are due to come into effect on August 1. Its intake of US deportees has similarly generated uproar in South Africa, whose relations with the US have deteriorated under Trump. A South African government source told CNN, There is a feeling that some inside the Trump administration could be using this (the deportation of prisoners to Eswatini) to destabilize South Africa, given its porous borders and Eswatinis struggling economy. Everyone knows that these fellows (the deported convicts) will want to move to South Africa another diplomatic source said, adding that the US did (ask South Africa to accept migrants) and we refused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The source said the deportations to Eswatini were a provocation by the US and a direct national security threat. Ken Opalo, an associate professor at Georgetown Universitys School of Foreign Service in Washington, DC, said African nations are being pushed by the Trump administration into doing egregious things such as accepting migrants from random countries or giving them (the US) their mineral wealth in ambiguous deals that dont make much sense. He cautioned: Its foolhardy for African countries to think that they can make deals and expect a credible commitment from the White House, given their transactional nature, which means everything is subject to change. This story has been updated with additional developments. CNNs Mary Kay Mallonee contributed to this report. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com The Syrian government withdrew its forces from Druze-dominated areas in the south on Wednesday after several days of heavy fighting, declaring a ceasefire in the process. Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa spoke to the nation for the first time since Israel began launching heavy airstrikes against regime targets. His speech saw a marked turnaround in rhetoric, which had previously avoided the harsh denunciations of Israel used by the previous government. Al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to "dismantle the unity of our people," arguing it had "consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime." He referred to the Druze as an integral part of Syria, and pledged to hold those accountable who had committed atrocities against them. We affirm that protecting your rights and freedoms is among our top priorities, al-Sharaa said. We reject any attempt, foreign or domestic, to sow division within our ranks. He said Syria was faced with two options: "either confront Israel or reform our internal front." "We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction," al-Sharaa said. He credited the United States, the Gulf States, and Turkey for mediating a ceasefire. The Syrian president then attempted to spin the Syrian withdrawal as planned, saying, "We are assigning local factions and tribal leaders the responsibility of maintaining security in Suwayda ... based on the supreme national interest. Damascus's retreat from Suwayda came after days of intense fighting saw rebellious Druze forces under the Suwayda Military Council ambush and repel an intervening government force after it entered the city to exert control over feuding Druze and Bedouin militias. The intervention by the government over the Druze-dominated south, which had been under the de facto control of the SMC since the fall of the Assad regime, triggered an Israeli intervention. Buoyed by calls of outraged Israeli Druze over massacres and other atrocities perpetrated by government forces, Israel launched a major air campaign, targeting Syrian military vehicles and logistics in support of the Druze. On Wednesday, strikes expanded to hit Damascus itself, destroying the Ministry of Defense headquarters and hitting al-Sharaa's Presidential Palace. Multiple ceasefires were agreed upon by Damascus and local Druze leaders, but were repeatedly rejected by the SMC, led by Hikmat al-Hijri. For his part, Hijri said he rejected any ceasefire until Suwayda was entirely liberated. The most recent ceasefire has a higher likelihood of holding due to government forces withdrawing completely, but clashes between local Druze and Bedouin militias could risk another intervention. Some open-source intelligence channels reported a local mobilization of Bedouin militias to continue fighting. Another major impediment to a lasting ceasefire is the outpouring of reports of mutual atrocities pro-government sources accuse the Druze of massacring Bedouin civilians, while the Druze accuse government forces of committing massacres and other atrocities against them. Pictures and videos of purported atrocities flooded social media, with conflicting claims as to the perpetrators. In one video, dozens of corpses of executed people in a hospital could be seen. Featured Local Savings Israel defended its actions to assist the Druze. The Israel Defense Forces said military actions against Damascus would continue if its troops traveled back south. "We are acting decisively to prevent the entrenchment of hostile elements beyond the border, to protect the citizens of the State of Israel, and to prevent the harming of Druze civilians," IDF chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said Thursday. "We will not allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold," he added. Fighting appeared to have largely ceased as of Thursday morning. Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr said a "tense calm" had settled over Suwayda, but whether that would hold was uncertain. The heavy fighting over multiple days claimed hundreds of lives. A local journalist told the outlet that he'd counted over 60 corpses on the streets of Suwayda, while Ryan Marouf of the local Suwayda24 told Reuters he found the bodies of a family of 12 in a single house. While the Druze and government forces accused each other of atrocities, most of those documented by the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights were committed by the government. Of the 374 confirmed deaths, 27 were executed by the government. The government bore the brunt of the casualties, with 189 killed in clashes and another 15 killed in Israeli airstrikes. The true totals are certainly much higher, with casualty counts ongoing. The Druze have a significant community in Israel, 150,000 out of 1 million globally, noted for their strong and close relationship with the Jewish state. Over half of the worlds Druze live in Syria, concentrated in the south. Jerusalem views the Druze in many ways as a model minority, taking the opposite approach of the Palestinians by choosing to cooperate and integrate itself with Israel. Following the outbreak of hostilities, thousands of Druze in Lebanon and Israel began protesting in solidarity with the Druze in southern Syria, with those in Israel demanding Jerusalem step in. Hundreds of Israeli Druze mobbed the Israeli-Syrian border, breaking through the border fence and heading over to assist their fellow Druze. More protests at the border continued into Thursday, with continued calls for Jerusalem to intervene. ISRAEL PUMMELS DAMASCUS AS SECTARIAN FIGHTING ESCALATES IN COUNTRYS SOUTH The fighting put the U.S. in an awkward position, with President Donald Trump pursuing a path of normalization with the embattled Syria, lifting all sanctions against the country. Just days prior to the clash in the south, Tom Barrack, the U.S. special envoy for Syria, compared al-Sharaa to George Washington. He told the New York Times earlier this month that the U.S. was facilitating normalization talks between Syria and Israel, intending to have Damascus join the Abraham Accords. Al-Sharaa's rhetoric toward Israel on Thursday indicated that normalization talks were dead in the water. (KRON) Handwritten notes left under rocks led to the rescue of a mother and her 9-year-old son who were lost in Northern Californias wilderness this summer. The mother and son was reported missing to the Calaveras County Dispatch Center at 1:20 p.m. on July 12. At the same time, the Calaveras County Volunteer Team was conducting its monthly training session by Spicers Reservoir. Eerie photo of Piedmont Cybertruck victims released Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 911 caller reported that the mother and son had left Sacramento at 1:30 p.m. on July 11, and they were heading to Camp Wolfeboro, where a Boy Scouts camp is nestled in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Deputies and the search and rescue team launched search efforts. (Photo via Calaveras County Sheriffs Office) The team established a command post near Highway 4 and the Black Springs OHV Recreational Area. The team began assessing the terrain and the complex network of interconnecting, labyrinth-like roads to establish effective search parameters, the Calaveras County Sheriffs Office wrote. Campers reported seeing the mothers vehicle on July 11. Just before 6 p.m. on July 12, the team found a handwritten note weighted down by rocks at an intersection of a remote forest service road. The note indicated that the author and her son were stranded and in need of assistance. The team followed the road and found another note, which provided additional information, including a telephone number and the names of the missing individuals, CCSO wrote. (Photo courtesy Calaveras County Sheriffs Office) The mother and son were found a mile away in a heavily forested area without cellphone reception. Their vehicle was stuck nearby. Rescuers utilized an amateur radio frequency, commonly known as HAM radio, to report the location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their call was immediately answered by a retired El Dorado County Communications Supervisor who was a HAM Operator monitoring frequencies from his home. This HAM operator then contacted the El Dorado 911 center, which provided the information to Calaveras Dispatch, and the SAR command post was notified, CCSO wrote. (Photo via Calaveras County Sheriffs Office) Monterey Bay fisherman who vanished at sea 28 years ago identified To enhance their likelihood of being found, the 9-year-old boy and his mother had posted notes at intersections near their location and used the vehicles hazard lights at night. He also used his whistle to periodically deploy three short bursts, an international signal for help. Rescuers determined that the mother was using a GPS unit for driving directions. When the GPS signal was lost in the mountains, they had already traveled deep into a forest and were unable to retrace their route. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 major pulp mill in British Columbia has been fined after racking up nearly two dozen air pollution violations in less than two years. What's happening? Domtar's mill in Skookumchuck, formerly owned by Paper Excellence, went over legal air quality limits 23 times between 2021 and 2022. Government inspectors said the mill failed to control pollution output coming from its wood-waste boiler, releasing too much smoke and dust into the surrounding area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite these repeat violations, the company received a relatively small fine. According to Business in Vancouver, British Columbia's Ministry of Environment fined Domtar $17,200 for exceeding the allowed smoke opacity threshold on multiple occasions. Inspectors originally recommended a fine of $39,000, but the penalty was lowered after Domtar argued the pollution output posed "low to none" health risks and that it had taken steps to improve its pollution controls. Still, the mill broke the rules 23 separate times in less than two years, and environmental advocates say that raises serious concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is a reminder that a corporation's actions speak louder than words," said Charles Latimer, the head of strategic innovation at Greenpeace Canada, per Business in Vancouver. This isn't the first time Paper Excellence-linked mills have made headlines. In early 2024, the Crofton mill, another facility under the same ownership, was fined $25,500 after it dumped over one million liters of toxic wastewater into the Salish Sea, per the Times Colonist. In Nova Scotia, a federal court fined the company $225,000 in 2016 after it released 47 million liters of untreated waste into the ocean near Pictou Harbour. Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time Often Only sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Why are repeated pollution violations concerning? While the company claimed the health risk was low, pollution from mills like this can have lasting effects on nearby communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When boilers like these exceed opacity levels a measure of how much smoke is in the air it often means more fine particles are being released, which can worsen breathing problems and affect the environment over time. Facilities like the one in Skookumchuck produce hundreds of thousands of tons of pulp each year, which makes consistent pollution control essential. Repeated violations demonstrate that some companies continue to fall short of their environmental promises. What's being done about the violations? Domtar has 30 days to appeal the fine, but regulators say the decision is final unless overturned. There have long been concerns that British Columbia's pollution penalties are too weak to actually change corporate behavior. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Greenpeace Canada has also called out Paper Excellence in the past, saying the company's green marketing doesn't match its actions, a type of behavior often referred to as greenwashing. Stronger enforcement, tougher fines, and better public transparency are all needed if communities are going to be protected from industrial pollution in the long run. 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. KANTNER, Pa. County conservation district leaders from across Pennsylvania watched after a heavy rain Wednesday as iron-laced water oozed from an acid mine seep. Decades ago, the water would have rolled into an orange Stonycreek River. But about a dozen conservationists watched the water move Wednesday through a system of pipes, leading to basins filled with hundreds of tons of limestone and compost to buffer its pH before it flows into the now-clear Stonycreek River. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The passive water treatment site off state Route 403 near Kantner is known as Oven Run treatment site D. It is one of four acid mine drainage treatment systems that the Somerset Conservation District has maintained since the late 1990s. Combined, the four sites manufacture 1.6 billion gallons of clean water a year, said Len Lichvar, retired Somerset Conservation District manager. Its not a warm and fuzzy environmental project; its infrastructure, he said. Those four sites and about 20 others across the Stonycreek River watershed have brought the river back to life over time. A tour of the Oven Run treatment site was part of the annual meeting of the Pennsylvania Association of Conservation Districts, or PACD, the parent organization of conservation districts across 66 Pennsylvania counties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 30 conservation district leaders and volunteers gathered at Seven Springs Mountain Resort for a presentation about Somerset Countys acid mine drainage improvements. More than a dozen people, including Rob Shannon, director for the North Central Region of the PACD, then toured the Oven Run treatment site in person. Im impressed by the magnitude of these systems, he said. A retired Penn State environmental studies professor, Shannon recalled what he used to tell his students. Twenty-five years ago, I said that Im going to be long dead before the states water quality improves, he said, but now I see hope with the proliferation of these types of systems all across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tour educated the conservation district representatives on how the systems work, as well as the cost to maintain them. The systems have a lifespan of about 20 years. The site toured Wednesday was rehabilitated within the past five years with a $1.2 million grant, said Greg Shustrick, watershed specialist with the Somerset Conservation District. The rehabilitation involved adjusting pipes to collect more water, cleaning the limestone that traps iron and sediment, as well as replacing a layer of compost that generates bacteria necessary to destroy iron content in the water. The conservation district is continually seeking grants from state and federal sources as well as local nonprofits to maintain the treatment sites. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The funding is critical for the next 1,000 years, approximately, abandoned mines in the area will continue to pollute groundwater, Shustrick said. If we want to maintain water quality, we have to keep this running, he said. Acting PACD Executive Director Amy Brown said she was eager to see the system working. Its amazing what has been done here, she said. Creeks that were orange are now clear. I couldnt wait to see it working. The knowledge and experience this district has is so great. Drainage that comes from mines abandoned before laws required companies to remediate them is especially a problem for regions of the state including Somerset and Cambria counties, where metallurgical coal has been mined for steel-making. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Phil Wilson, PACD conservation technician, said laws protecting the environment have improved as mining continues. Mining remains the best way to make steel, he said. There is a need for coal. Environmental scars from the past remain, however, including toxic bony piles as well as acid mine drainage. A pile of abandoned reject coal is not far from the acid mine drainage treatment system at Oven Run, but Shustrick said the conservation districts work is aided by Robindale Energy in Seward, which is scheduled to remove the bony pile and burn it to produce electricity. With that, its one more layer to water quality, he said. It kicks water quality up to another tier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The treatment systems, surrounded by trees, are out of sight and out of mind for residents, Lichvar said, but they have transformed the 46-mile Stonycreek River, which has become fit for fishing and kayaking over the decades since they were installed. The environmental benefits of the acid mine drainage treatment are not only local, but flow across the state and nation, he said. The Stonycreek flows into the Little Conemaugh River, which flows into the Allegheny River, then the Ohio River and eventually to the Mississippi River. The pollution we take out of here doesnt flow into the Allegheny River and beyond, Lichvar said. Before the Senate voted early Thursday morning to pass a rescissions package that includes major cuts to public broadcasting, National Public Radio President and CEO Katherine Maher warned, "defunding this is a real risk to the public safety of the country." "Public media, public radio, public television, are a critical part of the emergency response plans of nearly half of the states in this nation," Maher said in an interview with CBS News. "If these types of emergency alerting go away, you will have fewer outlets to be able to respond in real time" to future natural disasters. In June, the White House asked Congress to cancel $9.4 billion in appropriations that had previously been approved. The request, known as the rescissions package, passed in the House in mid-June and would cut roughly $8 billion from international assistance, including organizations like the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID. The Senate added an amendment to exempt $400 million in global health funding for PEPFAR, a program started during the Bush administration to combat HIV/AIDS in developing countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The revised package passed by a vote of 51-48, with Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski joining Democrats in voting against it. "My obligation is to my constituents and to the Constitution," Murkowski told reporters after voting against an earlier procedural vote Tuesday. "So I look at the Constitution and say that it is the legislative branch that has the power of the purse. I take that charge personally, and so I'm going to execute on it." In addition to the foreign assistance cuts, the package includes $1.1 billion in reductions for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds 1,500 local public radio and television stations around the country. The legislation follows an executive order by President Trump in May directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS, the Public Broadcasting Service, alleging partisan bias. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Neither entity presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens," the order stated. Maher previously testified before a House subcommittee in March alongside PBS CEO Paula Kerger, where they defended their organizations from the accusations of bias. In her interview this week, Maher reiterated that NPR prioritizes stories that "directly speak to Americans' political interests and changing beliefs." "I take all criticism seriously, as I think any news organization should," Maher said. "And if there's a perception that we are not serving the full range of American political life, well we need to, we need to respond to that." Ahead of a Friday deadline, Mr. Trump urged Republicans to support the clawbacks or risk losing his support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together," Mr. Trump said in a Truth Social post this month, using a nickname designed to mock MSNBC. "Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement." Democratic and Republican senators have voiced concerns about cuts to public broadcasting, especially for those serving rural and Native communities. During Wednesday's vote-a-rama, Sen. Maria Cantwell warned that eliminating funding for CPB could endanger those who rely on radio for emergency information. "We're not just putting PBS at risk here, we're putting millions of Americans who depend on local media for life-saving information [at risk]," Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington state, said in a floor speech. "And what's in this rescission request is really making sure that public broadcasters don't have that ability, at least in 20 states where they have emergency plans." South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, a GOP holdout who initially expressed skepticism about the rescissions package, said this week he intends to support it after working with the White House to reallocate unused funding through the Department of the Interior to tribal stations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It will keep them in operation. It will be for one year at a time," Rounds said. The rescissions package comes on the heels of the devastating July 4 floods on Texas' Guadalupe River, which left more than 130 dead and search efforts are still ongoing for more than 100 still unaccounted for. Since the tragedy, there have been questions about the efficiency of emergency alert systems many of which, Maher said, rely on public broadcasting. Maher said communities in rural areas like that would feel the largest impacts of the funding cuts. She said some NPR stations receive "more than 50% of their budget" from federal funds and could face tough decisions, from staffing layoffs to potential station closures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WDIY, a public radio station in Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, has a mix of news and musical programming that is produced by a staff of four along with a host of community volunteers. About 15% of its overall budget comes from CPB funding. "Losing that money would mean that we would have to make some serious decisions about do we carry NPR programming anymore because that money helps us pay for that programming," WDIY Executive Director Margaret McConnell told CBS News. Without those smaller stations producing area-specific news and media, Maher cautioned it could become more difficult for such communities to receive information usually provided through local radio. "We lose something fundamental as a nation if public media goes away," said Maher. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Would you go on a retirement cruise? Wall Street Journal reports Trump sent "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein, Trump threatens to sue Artist creates massive designs, visible only until the tide rolls in ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) A facility capable of creating the same kind of energy generated by the sun could make its way to Albuquerque. The state has announced a tentative plan, that would make the city a hub for the burgeoning field of fusion energy. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The technology was developed at Sandia Labs, and now, the California-based company using it is looking to put it to use in Albuquerque. They say the $1 billion site could bring clean energy and more than 200 jobs. The US and New Mexico is leading this charge, creating fusion technology here, we will be energy independent, and it will be clean energy independent, and thats a place of leadership that New Mexico wants to be, said Rob Black, Cabinet Secretary for the New Mexico Economic Development Department. On Wednesday, the New Mexico Economic Development Department announced the company Pacific Fusion has signed a memorandum with the state to potentially make Albuquerque the site of their new facility. Unlike solar or wind-powered energy, fusion systems can generate power regardless of the weather. Once the facility is up and running, the state says researchers will work towards perfecting the technology, so that it can deliver carbon-free electricity to the grid and generate an almost limitless supply of on-demand power. We are just absolutely thrilled that we have the kind of gravitational pull that a large company that is really on the cutting edge of advanced energy, decided or is on the brink of making the decision to come to Albuquerque, said Max Gruner, Economic Development Director, City of Albuquerque. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The citys Economic Development Department says if this company builds the facility, its estimated to have a $1.2 billion economic impact on the state over the next ten years. The company is considering possible locations, including one in Mesa del Sol. The state Economic Development Department says theyre expecting a final decision in September with a potential groundbreaking sometime in 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 KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. Nuclear power is seeing a renaissance due to the need for cleaner energy and rising electricity demand because of the increasing use of artificial intelligence. And now, it could also play a role in treating cancer. The former headquarters of the Manhattan Project, where the world's first atomic bomb was created, is now turning nuclear waste into a potential cure for cancer. The research is being conducted at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Nuclear power company TerraPower and Energy Department contractor AtkinsRealis Isotek have developed a process to extract a key component from nuclear material for a promising cancer treatment called targeted alpha therapy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Isotek is taking the government supply of Uranium-233, and we are processing it ultimately for disposal," an Isotek spokeswoman told FOX Business. "But during that process we are extracting Thorium-229." New Satellite Imagery Shows Ongoing Activity At Iran's Fordow Nuclear Complex After Us Airstrikes Scientists conduct research on nuclear waste, exploring the potential to turn it into a cure for cancer at Oak Ridge, the former headquarters of the Manhattan Project. There are only 45 grams of Thorium-229 in the world, which is about equivalent to six metal washers, making it extremely rare. Read On The Fox Business App Alpha therapy selectively targets and destroys cancer cells while minimizing harm to nearby healthy cells. Researchers are hopeful it can be used for multiple types of cancer, from breast to prostate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Why Us Must Destroy Iran's Fordow Nuclear Facility Now The image on the left shows a patient with metastatic prostate cancer. The images on the right show the same patient after being treated with actinium over the course of a few months. The public-private partnership allows for significantly increased production of the component while reducing costs, and eliminates a significant risk by removing the highly enriched fissile material from Oak Ridge National Laboratory, where it is stored. Scientists are taking the government's supply of Uranium-233 and processing it for disposal while extracting Thorium-229. Click Here To Read More On Fox Business There is already one drug in the third phase of clinical trials and it could come to market by the second half of 2027. Original article source: Nuclear waste being transformed into promising cancer treatment at former Manhattan Project site Caring Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation in Anita. (Photo via Google Earth) A Cass County nursing home with a history of resident abuse has been fined $9,500 due to new allegations of resident abuse and poor-quality care that may have contributed to a death. The Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing alleges that the staff of Caring Acres Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Anita failed to adequately respond to a male residents change in condition during the day and evening shifts of May 18, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The resident allegedly developed a fever about 7 p.m., after which a staff member applied a cold rag to his head, according to inspectors. No medication was provided to lower the mans fever and his physician was not notified until 3 a.m. the next morning, inspectors allege. By that time, the mans vital signs had reportedly worsened considerably and he was vomiting and having trouble breathing. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The resident was taken to a hospital where he was diagnosed with a left hip fracture, according to inspectors. He died at the hospital either five hours later or 17 hours later, with the state inspection report providing conflicting information as to the timing. The immediate cause of death was listed as sepsis as a consequence of aspiration pneumonia. According to the inspectors findings, a certified nursing assistant later told them, We look out for our residents, we notice the changes, and said that while she had reported the mans worsening condition to the nurse on duty, the nurse was not paying attention. She reported that after the nurse said hed check on the man, he instead went outside and attended to other matters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The nurse allegedly told inspectors he was not informed of the mans changing condition by either the staff or the mans family. The facilitys director of nursing allegedly told inspectors the only thing staff should have done that weekend was to contact her when they sent (the resident) out to the hospital. When informed what staff members had said they observed and reported, she allegedly told the inspectors she did not know a lot of that information. When asked again what should have been done, the director of nursing allegedly indicated the staff should have reached out to her and also used their nursing knowledge, contacted the physician and provided medication. Caring Acres was fined $9,000 as a result of the death. Report: Nurse belittled injured resident The home was also fined $500 for abuse involving a different resident. According to inspectors, a certified nursing assistant was assisting a resident who had fallen to the floor and sustained a serious injury when a licensed practical nurse the same nurse involved in the May 19 death entered the room and began making belittling comments to the resident, such as, Aww, did you fall out of bed? That was kind of a dumb idea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another worker who was present told inspector the nurse told the woman, Dont reach for your fing water. Use the call light. Oh wait, you dont use it. How about we start making smart decisions? The nurses two co-workers reported that as the nurse attempted to lift the resident from the floor, he told her, Jesus, they need to stop feeding you so much. Your trunk is four times the size of the rest of you and its getting gross. Later that same night, the CNA allegedly reported, the nurse was harassing a different resident of the home who had dementia and was concerned about her pets. The nurse, the CNA reported, was telling the resident that her cats and dogs were not at the facility or back at her home. Then, the CNA allegedly reported, he turned to me and said, Sometimes you gotta piss them off to make the night more fun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another worker at the home allegedly corroborated the CNAs claims, telling inspectors the nurse would tell the woman her cats were gone, that he didnt know what happened to them and that he didnt care. The worker added that when the woman would ask whether her children would be coming to see her, the nurse would tell her, They know you are here. The nurse later told his superiors that he was not verbally abusive with the residents, according to inspectors, but was fired for resident abuse on May 22, 2025. The state inspectors reported they were unable to interview the nurse when they conducted their investigation a few weeks later because he had died sometime after being fired. Sexual abuse reported in 2023 In 2023, Caring Acres was cited for failing to protect residents from sexual abuse at the hands of a male resident of the home. The mans known history of groping workers and residents had earned him the nickname Captain McFeelypants among the staff at the facility, according to inspectors. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to inspectors, facility records showed that on Jan. 25, 2023, the homes director of nursing entered a female residents room to tell her it was time for lunch and found a male resident of the home leaning over the womans bed, groping her breasts and kissing her intimately. Later, in talking to inspectors, the director of nursing acknowledged that neither resident was capable of providing informed consent for sexual activity. She also told inspectors that when she informed the administrator, he indicated there was no need to tell the Iowa Department of Inspections, Appeals and Licensing of the incident. On the evening of July 17, 2023, a nurse aide walked into a female residents room. As she later stated in her written report, when she opened the door, she saw an undressed male resident of the home in the womans bed, on top of the woman. The man was in mid-thrust when both residents turned to look at me, the aide wrote in her report. The aide separated the two and summoned a nurse to the room. The nurse did an assessment of the female resident, and facility records indicate that when asked what happened the woman reported the man had come into her room and said he wanted to do sex. She reported that she told the man, Get outta here, at which point he took off his clothes, took off some of her clothes, and lay on top of her. I told him, Get off, get off, the woman reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The woman who had Alzheimers disease, schizophrenia and severely impaired cognitive skills was checked for vaginal bleeding and reportedly told the staff she didnt mind the encounter. Verbal abuse reported in 2024 Last summer, the state proposed fines of $30,250 against Caring Acres due to verbal abuse allegedly committed by a teenage caregiver. According to state inspection reports, a female resident of the home reported that when she complained to the staff about delays in caregiving, a certified nursing assistant whom the resident and staff described as the 16-year-old daughter of the assistant director of nursing said to her, I am not putting up with your s tonight, and walked away. The teen had also berated her in the past and had been physically rough with her, the woman alleged. One Caring Acres employee allegedly told inspectors she had to hold back her own tears after watching the resident cry while describing the verbal abuse and rough handling she was allegedly subjected to by the CNA. The worker reportedly told inspectors that she personally witnessed the CNA telling another resident of the home, Shut the f up, and, I dont care about your bulls, and said the teenager spent a lot of her time at work on her phone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The residents, the worker allegedly told inspectors, would be happier without her here because she is so disgusting and horrible to them. The charge nurse at the home allegedly told inspectors the teenage CNA could be really nasty to residents, really mean, and would respond to residents requests for assistance by saying, I dont care, its not my problem Her mom is the assistant director of nursing, and she will tell her to shut the f up in front of residents. The charge nurse allegedly added that she and others at the home were fearful of retaliation for complaining because all of (the CNAs) family works at the facility. State records indicate Caring Age is owned by Anew Healthcare Operations of Blue Springs, Mo., although operations are being overseen by a receiver. The for-profit company has operated 12 nursing homes in Iowa, Kansas and Missouri and is headed by Mark Hastings of Missouri who could not be reached for comment Thursday. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Meteorologist Alexandra Holley held a giant weather balloon and the rapt attention of a group of youngsters. "It'll tug on you, and you let it go," she told her young helpers as they prepared to set the orb aloft. The 6-foot sphere climbed toward the clouds. Onlookers waved goodbye. Some roared in awe. "I've never seen a weather balloon," said Bryce Hoyt, 10, of Mt. Juliet. "I was expecting it to be a normal-size balloon." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latex object, filled with hydrogen, was headed more than 20 miles up into the Earth's lower atmosphere, Holley explained during the July 15 demonstration at the National Weather Service's Nashville office. Its flight was expected to last about two hours, during which it would transmit data back every minute to the weather service office, tracking atmospheric pressure, humidity, temperature and wind speed. "Our launch will help mold what we're forecasting," Holley said. Balloons also help the National Hurricane Center track storms. NWS sends balloons up at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. daily. Eventually they reach an altitude where pressure dissipates. Then they expand to the size of a single-story house and pop, Holley said. Bryce played a hand in this week's event, helping tie a knot around the ballon's base. He'd love to become a meteorologist some day, he said, so he can be in charge of releasing the balloon. Uncertain future forecast for NWS The balloon launch was part of an event meant to help the public to learn about the weather agency. It came amid budget cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that experts warn threaten the future of agencies that operate under NOAA, like the National Weather Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It will stop all progress in U.S. forecasting, James Franklin, who retired in 2017 as chief of the National Hurricane Centers forecast specialists, told USA TODAY. Were going to stagnate and were not going to continue to improve as we go forward. Meteorologist Alexandria Holley, right, helps Bryce Hoyt, 10, prepare a radio sonde device, which transmits information from a weather balloon after it is launched Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. "If NWS products and services are reduced, we all suffer," renowned Alabama meteorologist James Spann said in a social media post earlier this year, "especially during times of life-threatening weather." Inside Climate News, a nonprofit news organization, reported that federal cuts have led to a decrease in the number of weather balloon launches across the country. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended the cuts during a June 5 hearing on Capitol Hill, saying NOAA is transforming how we track storms and forecast weather with cutting-edge technology. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The weather service's Nashville office lost about seven employees from Jan. 1 to May 27, records show. The weather service has 16 employees with seven openings as department operate under a hiring freeze, according to NOAA spokesperson Marissa Anderson. "The National Weather Service continues to meet its core missions amid recent reorganization efforts and is taking steps to prioritize critical research and services that keep the American public safe and informed," she said in a statement. "NWS is committed to investing in new technology and prioritizing public safety." Anderson said NWS is working to fill filed positions to be advertised as critical and an exception to current hiring freezes. She did not say if any of those positions would emanate from Nashville. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The weather service employees around 4,250 people across 122 local offices, each doing the same daily balloon launches. The proposed White House budget for NOAA would see a 40% cut, or approximately $2.3 billion less than in 2024. Ryan Husted, a warning coordination meteorologist, monitors weather patterns from his desk in the National Weather Service building during an Evening at the Weather Service event for the public to learn more about what the agency does Tuesday, July 15, 2025, in Mt. Juliet, Tenn. The National Weather Service Nashville Office hosts these events annually for the public to visit with meteorologists. It costs around $1 billion to fund NWS across the country; Holley said that equates to $3 per person in the United States to fund the agency that provides life-saving weather information to people impacted by flooding, tornadoes and other severe weather events. "We issue severe weather warnings and watches," Holley said. "We are the only people in America that can do that," she said. "We issue 7-day forecasts for the entire nation. We monitor river conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are here watching the weather for you guys." USA TODAY reporter Dinah Voyles Pulver contributed to this story. Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NWS in Nashville works to help inform public amid funds cuts A 20-year-old New York City high school student from Ecuador released from a federal detention facility endured a frightening saga of summarily being whisked away by ICE agents, forced to sleep upright in an overcrowded holding room and then sent off to Louisiana before ultimately winning her freedom. Her story echoes what critics of President Trumps stepped-up deportation campaign have been saying: Asylum seekers whove been told by judges they are safe are being ambushed outside courtrooms, held in inhumane conditions and threatened with deportation despite fears for their safety in their home countries. Joselyn Chipantiza-Sisalema was among those who have managed to find her way home after a Southern District of New York federal judge order her release, slamming ICE for violating her rights. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE summarily detained Chipantiza-Sisalema pursuant to an agency policy of arbitrary detention without affording her notice or opportunity to be heard, Judge Analisa Torres wrote in the order responding to a habeas corpus motion filed by her lawyers. There is no doubt that [ICEs] ongoing detention of Chipantiza-Sisalema with no process at all, much less prior notice, no showing of changed circumstances, or an opportunity to respond, violates her due process rights. Chipantiza-Sisalema returned to New York on Wednesday after Torres ordered her release from the Richwood Correctional Center over the weekend. Her release, first reported by The City, came roughly three weeks after her arrest at 26 Federal Plaza following a routine asylum hearing. At the June 24 hearing, an immigration judge left the door open on Chipantiza-Sisalemas bid to stay in the U.S. to avoid persecution back home and gave her another court date. Nonetheless, federal agents, lying in wait outside the courtroom, arrested her the second she stepped foot into the hall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorney Paige Austin with Make the Road New York sued on behalf of Chipantiza-Sisalema calling for her release, arguing that her sudden detention violated due process since her case status hadnt changed. She also argued she posed no flight risk and has no criminal record. In her ruling, Torres noted that Chipantiza-Sisalema was held under conditions that are substantially worse than those imposed on criminal defendants following convictions for violent felonies and other serious crimes, and with far less procedural protections than those convicts. Following her arrest, federal agents tossed Chipantiza-Sisalema into an overcrowded holding room on the 10th floor of 26 Federal Plaza where she slept upright on the floor for nine nights and was often extremely hungry due to inadequate food. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE only allowed her three phone calls in the 10 days she was held in the lower Manhattan courthouse, with each call lasting less than two minutes. They would not let her contact any legal counsel. Stuck wearing the same red shirt and blue jeans she wore when she got arrested, Chipantiza-Sisalema was unable to shower or brush her teeth for the entirety of her detention. On July 2 she was flown more than 1,000 miles away to a Monroe, La., facility, where she was held until her release. The young girls family made an emotional plea for her release earlier this month outside the courthouse where she was held, saying her deportation would mean certain death. Chipantiza-Sisalemas parents and then 4-year-old brother fled Ecuador in 2022 after being nearly killed by individuals targeting the family, Torres order states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chipantiza-Sisalema, who was 16 years old at the time, took refuge at her grandparents home in a different part of the country, but it didnt last. Eventually she too faced threats and fled the country, crossing the southern border in May 2024. Its complicated, but we came to this country to save our lives because its very dangerous there, Chipantiza-Sisalemas father Marco Chipantiza, previously told reporters in Spanish. Its very different with the gangs that [are] all over the country. Chipantiza, 40, said his daughter was pursuing her GED at RiseBoro Community Partnership. I dont understand these laws that led to the detainment of my daughter, the distraught dad said. I dont understand why they are subjecting her to these conditions. Im begging the authorities to understand my situation, and the situation of many immigrant families who are here looking for a better life. (NewsNation) Fresh off a resounding upset win in the New York City Democratic primary, mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani met Wednesday morning with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and other Democrats at the National Democratic Club in Washington, D.C., as he works to build a broader political coalition ahead of the November general election. Ocasio-Cortez has tried to rally support for Mamdani in the past months, even as he faces pushback from Republicans and some Democrats over his progressive viewpoints. Trump denies reports he will fire Fed Chair Jerome Powell soon Mamdani meeting with top progressives in DC During his visit to Washington, Mamdani met face-to-face with several top progressive lawmakers, including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Mich. and Rep. Nydia Velazquez, D-N.Y. The meetings appeared to go well, with lawmakers praising his authenticity and focus on economic justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Similar to Ocasio-Cortez, Sanders has consistently praised Mamdanis campaign, calling his willingness to challenge powerful interests essential for New York City. The fact he is prepared to take on the big money interest is (also) important, Sanders said. He connected with people of New York. He understands that people are hurting on affordability issues, Dingell said. Velazquez echoed the sentiment. Epstein saga a political detriment in MAGA world: Bill OReilly It is beautiful to have someone who is so authentic, she said. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump emphasized the critiques many Republicans have with Mamdanis progressive ideologies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In New York, we have a communist running he may get elected too, but hell destroy the city, Trump said. Mamdanis platform Bankruptcy filings soar as farmers face inflation, ICE raids Mamdani, 33, previously served as a New York State assemblyman and is a self-proclaimed democratic socialist. He has called for fare-free transit, expanded public housing, rent freezes for people living in rent-regulated apartments and significant tax hikes on the wealthy, among other progressive policies. Mamdani has also been an outspoken critic of the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas. His refusal to condemn the slogan globalize the intifada has concerned politicians across the political spectrum. Some believe the phrase calls for violence against Jewish people, while others say it is merely a slogan of protest against Israels occupation of Gaza. However, Mamdani met with NYC business leaders Tuesday and told them he would discourage use of the phrase, according to The Wall Street Journal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of this comes amid rising levels of antisemitism in New York City and across the country. Internal drama and chaos led to RFK Jr. firings at HHS: Source Whats next for Mamdani? Later this week, Mamdani has plans to meet with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., where he could face more questions about the controversial globalize the intifada slogan. Jefferies has not yet issued an endorsement. In November, Mamdani will face current Mayor Eric Adams, Republican Curtis Sliwa and former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is now running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the primary. Trump threatens to arrest Mamdani, look into Musk deportation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Early polls show Mamdani leading over the other candidates. I think we are continuing to grow our coalition, Mamdani said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. National Mill Dog Rescue, an animal-welfare nonprofit based in Peyton, recently rescued more than 160 neglected dogs from hazardous, unsanitary living conditions that shook even the most seasoned veterinary professionals. In our 18 years of rescuing over 24,000 dogs, this was the worst situation weve ever seen, Mill Dog Rescue officials wrote in a statement. In mid-June, the nonprofit received an urgent request from the Colorado Bureau of Animal Protection for help with a large-scale animal cruelty case, Mill Dog Rescue Director Sarah Thompson said. The bureau told us that more than 100 dogs were about to be seized from a suspected commercial breeding operation, and we would have to move quickly, Thompson said. There wasnt much time to plan. Mill Dog Rescue accompanied the Bureau of Animal Protection, a local sheriffs office, and other agencies to a property on the Western Slope, where they executed a search warrant and found 165 dogs all miniature Schnauzers except for a single pug living in small, filthy outdoor enclosures. Officials believe the dogs were once used for commercial breeding, with the puppies likely sold in pet stores or online. After the breeding, the dogs were left to live in their own filth, Thompson said. The small pens were caked with muck and fecal matter, and many of the dogs were so badly matted that they couldnt walk normally or relieve themselves, properly. Ive seen one or two dogs in that kind of condition at a time, Thompson said. I have never seen that many dogs, in that kind of condition, all at once. Humane Colorado, another animal-welfare nonprofit based in Denver, also took about 90 cats from the property. The breeder, whose name was not released, faces charges of more than 200 counts of animal cruelty and neglect, according to Thompson. After the team transported the dogs to their Peyton headquarters, it immediately shifted into emergency mode. Local professional groomers volunteered to shave down the most severely matted dogs. This was not cosmetic grooming to make them look cute, Thompson said. This was a lifesaving procedure. The groomers shaved nearly 200 pounds of fur an average of 1.5 pounds per dog from the mini Schnauzers, most of which weighed less than 10 pounds. After the fur was removed, caregivers could assess the skin of the dogs. Many had sores, injuries and debris embedded . Featured Local Savings The large-scale rescue more than doubled the number of dogs in Mill Dog Rescues care, so they had to rig a makeshift shelter at the site. The Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region loaned the facility 50 wire pop-up crates. We have Schnauzers everywhere, Thompson said. Physically and emotionally exhausted, many of the dogs slept for nearly two days, officials said. Veterinarians and technicians are currently performing surgeries, dental care, treatment for eye and ear infections and other procedures. Some may need amputations. After their urgent medical needs have been addressed, theyll be spayed or neutered. Of the 165 rescued dogs, two have died, Thompson said. On Wednesday, many of the dogs rushed to the front of their pens, eager to greet visitors. Others, fearful of strangers, retreated to the rear. Some of them are coming around, Thompson said. A lot of them are very timid. Some of them will need an intensive behavior plan before they are ready to go to a home. In about a week, 50 of the dogs will be transported to partner shelters in Michigan. For now, they are enjoying gentle baths, fresh air and safe surroundings. Mill Dog Rescue is planning an adoption event in the coming weeks. The last thing we want is for a family to take one of these dogs home, only to find that it has an undiagnosed illness, or that it doesnt get along with people, Thompson said. Were going to work with them until theyre ready. Before joining the NYPD, a rookie police officer bilked clients at his former bank job in Rye, NY, out of $87,000, which he spent on luxurious vacations, a BMW and a subscription to a glute-building workout program called Booty By Jacks, among other extravagances, according to the Westchester County district attorney. Police arrested Manhattan resident Yeison Rodriguez Acosta, 27, Wednesday and charged him with grand larceny, identity theft and scheming to defraud for his alleged thievery while employed at Wells Fargo, which he continued after being hired by the NYPD, Westchester County D.A. Susan Cacace said. The defendants brazen conduct, as alleged, does a disservice to his colleagues in law enforcement, who wear the badge honorably and took the same oath to protect and serve, Cacace said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My administration will work to ensure that Mr. Rodriguez Acosta is held accountable for his alleged crimes and that the victims in this case are made whole. Rodriguez Acosta has been assigned to the 48th Precinct in the Bronx, which serves Belmont, East Tremont and West Farms, since recently graduating from the NYPD Police Academy in May. Before entering the Police Academy in October 2024, he worked as a branch operations coordinator for a Wells Fargo bank in Rye from March to September that year. During that time, he allegedly used banking information he had gleaned at his job to steal from 14 customer accounts, according to the Westchester D.A.s office. He reputedly used the ill-begotten funds to pay for a lavish vacation in Aruba, car and insurance payments on a BMW, restaurant dinners, credit card debt for himself and others and a subscription to Booty By Jacks which, according to its website, describes itself as the worlds best glute building program among other expenses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rodriguez Acosta has been suspended without pay but is so far still employed with the NYPD, according to a Police Department spokesperson, who otherwise declined to comment. Rodriguez Acosta was arraigned in Rye City Court Thursday morning. Judge Valerie Livingston released him on the condition that he surrender his passport and call the court every day until his next court date on Sept. 30. Results such as todays arraignment help keep communities safe and, in this case, remove an individual who is charged with scheming to defraud numerous individuals, not only in Rye but in the greater Westchester County area, Rye Public Safety Commissioner Michael Kopy said in a statement. Kopy urged anyone who may feel that they have been victimized to reach out to his department or the Westchester D.A.s Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rodriguez Acostas arrest comes as the NYPD is attempting to fire 31 rookie police officers who were hired despite failing their psychiatric and character evaluations and having checkered histories, including arrests, drug use, patronizing sex workers, traffic violations and serious disregard for rules and consequences, according to lawyers for the city and the NYPD. The officers are appealing their termination in a lawsuit against the city. Rodriguez Acosta is not one of the 31 rookies named in that dispute, according to court documents. WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (PIX11) A New York City Police officer is accused of stealing tens of thousands of dollars to pay for a popular workout program, among other things, according to the district attorney. 27-year-old Yeison Rodriguez Acosta, of Manhattan, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly stealing over $87,000 from client accounts while working for Wells Fargo. More Local News Acosta allegedly used banking information from 14 customer accounts to steal the money to pay off credit card and insurance bills, make car payments on a BMW, pay for a trip to Aruba, dinners at restaurants and other things between March and September 2024, according to the felony complaint. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its alleged he used some of the funds to pay for a subscription to the Booty by Jacks glute-building program as well. The complaint alleges that Acosta continued to steal after he entered the NYPDs Police Academy in October 2024 and graduated in May 2025, according to Westchester County DA Susan Cacace. Acosta was charged and indicted on a 30-count felony complaint including grand larceny, identity theft and scheme to defraud. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State He was released on the condition that he turn over his passport and call the court every day until his next scheduled appearance in September. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spencer Gustafson is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered New York state and city news since 2023. See more of his work here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to PIX11. An Oakmont man is accused of repeatedly threatening to kill a Florida hospital CEO. A criminal complaint filed in federal court in Florida charges Lawrence Brunn with cyber harassment. The complaint alleges Brunn began calling for the execution of the CEO of Tampa General Hospital, only identified with the initials of J.C., since at least 2023. But, Brunns harassment reportedly began even years before that, after he was terminated from Jupiter Medical Center in 2014. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The complaint states J.C., who was the President and CEO of the hospital, was responsible for terminating Brunn from his role at Jupiter Medical Center after he falsely accused the hospitals chief financial officer of embezzlement. It was after a lawsuit for that alleged harassment ended in J.C.s favor that investigators say Brunn began using a website to call for J.C.s execution, often referring to beheading with a guillotine, and increasing in frequency and intensity. In addition to the online threats, the complaint says he sent mail to J.C.s home and to J.C.s neighbors. The complaint does not detail what those mailings said. The complaint states the repeated threats have J.C. in fear for his life and the lives of his family members. So much so that hes hired full-time security to monitor his residence and take him to and from work. 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 MURRAY COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) According to the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, agents seized firearms and meth in Murray County on Wednesday. Officials say the OBN, Murray County Sheriffs Office and the Chickasaw Nation Lighthorse Police Department executed four search warrants and 20 arrest warrants. The warrants were served as part of a two-year long investigation into a drug trafficking organization bringing meth into southern Oklahoma. LOCAL NEWS: Two in custody in unlicensed dentistry investigation Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to OBN, 18 people were found and arrested. Agents also found 14 firearms and a quarter pound of meth. Murray County bust. Image courtesy OBN. I am proud of the tireless work by our OBN Agents on this lengthy and complex investigation. And I am grateful to the Murray County Sheriffs Office and the Chickasaw Nation Light Horse Police Department for helping with this case from the start. Meth remains one of Oklahomas leading killers, and my agency is committed to working with our local, federal, and tribal law enforcement partners to aggressively target those who are taking lives by moving this drug into our communities. said OBN Director Donnie Anderson. The suspects have been booked into the Murray County Jail where they face multiple charges including Trafficking Methamphetamine. Criminal drug activity and human trafficking can be anonymously reported to the OBN through Facebook DM. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. An 87-year-old Oconomowoc man died July 16 due to serious injuries he sustained after an SUV collided with his tractor and drove off without stopping July 14. Allan Eighmy, known by friends and family as Al, died in the hospital July 16, Pastor Clare Sedlacek of Dr. Martin Luther Church in Oconomowoc confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Eighmy was the longest-attending member of the church, Sedlacek said. Police have secured an arrest warrant and are now looking for Matthew L. Brennecke as a person of interest and the fleeing vehicle as evidence in the fatal hit-and-run, the Oconomowoc Police Department said in a news release July 17. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vehicle was last seen on Concord Road and Allen Road following the hit-and-run, which occurred around 12:56 p.m. July 14 at Orchard Circle and Allen Road. The Oconomowoc Police Department is searching for Matthew L. Brennecke as a person of interest in a fatal hit-and-run July 14. Brennecke is described as a 49-year-old white male with a "striking tribal tattoo" on his upper left bicep that reaches to cover his hand. Brennecke is described as a 49-year-old white male with a "striking tribal tattoo" on his upper left bicep that reaches to cover his hand. He has a second tattoo of a clock on his shoulder. The Oconomowoc Police Department has identified Matthew L. Brennecke as a person of interest in a fatal July 14 hit-and-run crash in Oconomowoc. Brennecke is described as a 49-year-old white male with a "striking tribal tattoo" on his upper left bicep. The vehicle is a black 2008 Volvo XC90 with the Wisconsin plates AYL-2899. "If you have ANY information, we urge you to act now," Oconomowoc Police Chief James Pfister said in the release. A stock image shows a 2008 Volvo XC90. The Oconomowoc Police Department is searching for that same type of vehicle with Wisconsin plates AYL-2899 in a hit-and-run investigation. Police have an arrest warrant for Matthew L. Brennecke. Anyone can remain anonymous by submitting tips through the Waukesha County Crime Stoppers website: stopcrimewaukesha.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those with any information on Brennecke's whereabouts can also contact a detective at 262-569-3257. Family members of Eighmy could not be reached before publication. Eighmy was a fixture in Dr. Martin Luther Church. He helped out constantly and, with his late wife Barb, never missed a Sunday service unless they were "up north," Sedlacek said. Eighmy pushed the congregation to get viewing screens installed in the sanctuary to stream services and improve the sound system, the pastor said. Eighmy was known to give hugs at every greeting, farewell and sharing of peace, Sedlacek said. "We saw him on Sunday, full of life," Sedlacek said. "Al got a lot of hugs on Sunday, I know that for a fact." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bridget Fogarty covers Brookfield, Wauwatosa and Elm Grove for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be contacted at bfogarty@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Oconomowoc man dies of hit-and-run injuries, police search for driver The Department of Justice asked in a sentencing memo that Brett Hankison a former Kentucky police officer who was convicted in connection with a raid that resulted in Breonna Taylor's death serve one day in prison. Hankison was convicted in 2024 of using excessive force during a botched 2020 drug raid that left Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical technician, dead. The then-Louisville police officer fired 10 shots into Taylor's glass door and windows during the raid, but didn't hit anyone. Some shots flew into a next-door neighbor's adjoining apartment. Taylor was shot in her hallway by two other officers after her boyfriend fired from inside the apartment, striking an officer in the leg. Police did not find any narcotics at the apartment and afterward, Taylor's death became a rallying cry for racial justice across the country. Hankison was cleared of a federal charge of using excessive force on Taylor's neighbors, and during a 2022 state trial, he was acquitted of all charges after a jury deliberated for three hours. His first federal civil rights trial in 2023 ended in a mistrial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A federal judge will decide Hankison's sentence, which could amount to several years, at a hearing set for Monday. The government requested in the sentencing memo released Wednesday that Hankison receive a sentence of time served, which would be one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. President Trump's appointee to run the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department, Harmeet Dhillon, and a senior non-career official in the division signed the memo, seemingly instead of attorneys or staff who usually handle sentencing filings. The memo said multiple prosecutions against Hankison were sought, while only one portion succeeded in securing a conviction. While the DOJ respects the jury's decision, the memo said, it "will almost certainly ensure that defendant Hankison never serves as a law enforcement officer again and will also likely ensure that he never legally possesses a firearm again." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lengthy sentence would "simply be unjust" under the circumstances in the government's view, the memo said. Attorneys for Taylor's family, including civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, decried the DOJ's request. "This recommendation is an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor and a blatant betrayal of the jury's decision," their statement said. "Every American who believes in equal justice under the law should be outraged. It is unfathomable that, after finally securing a conviction, the Department of Justice would seek a sentence so drastically below the federal guidelines." The lawyers said it would set "a dangerous precedent." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When a police officer is found guilty of violating someone's constitutional rights, there must be real accountability and justice," they wrote. "Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity." Wall Street Journal reports Trump sent "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein, Trump threatens to sue 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Medical expert on Trump's chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis Wildfire risk in Northern New Mexico is reshaping the housing market. The Taos News reported that insurance companies are raising premiums or pulling out entirely, leaving homeowners in Taos County scrambling for coverage. Rising construction costs and new risk-assessment models have triggered the issue. It marks a shift toward algorithm-based risk evaluations, especially in regions prone to fire. What's happening? New Mexico joins Colorado on a growing list of states where wildfire risk is reshaping the insurance landscape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Yes, rates are going up," Melissa Robertson, chief of the Property and Casualty Bureau at the New Mexico Office of the Superintendent of Insurance, told the News. Insurers are using satellite tools and updated cost models to decide which homes qualify for coverage and which don't. Homes that qualified for $5,000 policies a few years ago may now cost as much as $18,000 to insure. Agents said even longtime customers have lost coverage based on satellite ratings that flag heavy tree cover, single-road access, and limited fire response nearby. The state's Fair Access to Insurance Requirements Plan still covers some homes, but it only applies to fire, wind, theft, hail, and vandalism coverage. Why is this concerning? Pollution from human activity, namely the burning of dirty fuels, is driving hotter, drier conditions that make fire seasons longer and more destructive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Insurance companies are reacting by tightening thresholds, focusing on how close homes are to trees, roads, and fire stations. This shift has put millions of homes at risk of losing coverage or becoming too expensive to insure. Buyers are now weighing insurance costs alongside mortgages and adjusting where to buy because of it. Fire risk isn't just a critical environmental issue it's now a key factor in where people can afford to live. What's being done about it? New Mexico Senate Bill 33 created a wildfire preparedness fund and emphasized new standards for defensible space, including removing flammable materials within 5 feet of a home. Mitigation can lower insurance rates and reduce the chance of fire damage by up to 60%, the News reported. Some communities, including San Cristobal, are already applying these practices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Local efforts from brush cleaning to Firewise programs are also central to keeping homes insurable. 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. JOHNSTOWN, Pa. Modern radar technology will be paired with old records in the ongoing attempt to pinpoint where several of the Williamson babies were buried in 1980. Cambria County Coroner Jeff Lees said Wednesday that a Camp Hill company will bring ground-penetrating radar equipment to Laurel United Cemetery in Cambria Township to try to detect the infants wooden burial box. He said the equipments high success rate in detecting underground objects made it easy to justify a second dig. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This (effort) has been outside what Im accustomed to (as a coroner whose job) is to determine the cause and manner of death, Lees acknowledged. The babies were born and died during the Great Depression era, but werent discovered until Stella Williamson died in 1980, leaving a note that led police to their remains in a steamer trunk in the attic of her Gallitzin home. A former Cambria County maintenance worker recalled an Oct. 29, 1980, burial of the remains in a small wooden box at Cambria Countys paupers cemetery, which is now Laurel United Cemetery. But it was recently learned that two of the infants skulls had been stored for years at the Mutter Museum in Philadelphia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the two skulls recovered from the museum and buried last week, Lees is almost certain that all five of the babies remains are now in the same cemetery. But I could not sleep at night wondering, What if? Lees said. We have a chance to reunite these babies together ... (and do) whats ethically and spiritually right. The rented equipment will cost his office $1,600 to deploy Friday, Lees said. A ground-penetrating radar operator from Utility Services Group will use the equipment, which resembles a bladeless lawnmower with a display screen. An excavator operator and a Mercyhurst University forensic anthropology team will also return to the scene to assist with the dig, Lees added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said the equipment is often used to detect water lines and other underground infrastructure for property survey work, but has also been used in exhumation efforts such as this one. The coroner said recent record reviews and Saturdays meeting with the retired maintenance worker who recalled the burial also encouraged him to bring in radar equipment. Last week, when crews dug a deep trench into the cemetery in an initial and unsuccessful search for the babies burial site, they found wood from a door and a doorknob. As it turns out, doors were placed vertically between burial sites generations ago to separate graves, Lees said. I feel confident were going to find them, Lees said, and were going to give it 100%. Residents of Mumbai will be spared from water cuts thanks to a welcome period of heavy rainfall. According to the Times of India, the water levels for seven lakes that provide drinking water for India's capital city surged by 12% in just 24 hours from June 19-20. This windfall of rainfall means the city doesn't need to tap into its reserve stocks or impose restrictions on the city's water supply. With a population exceeding 22 million, the wider metropolitan area requires an astonishing amount of water each day: 4,200 million liters. Sustaining such a large city often comes at the expense of the surrounding rural areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This year's monsoon season came early. According to Reuters' reporting, the annual monsoon supplies 70% of the water needed to sustain the nation's vast population and agricultural sector. As India's Meteorological Department (IMD) reported, much of the country experienced much higher than normal rainfall in June. Northwest India experienced one of the wettest Junes on record. These developments are welcome in a nation that routinely grapples with water scarcity, exacerbated by increasingly severe heat waves. In 2024, some 700 citizens succumbed to the excessive heat, and thousands more were treated for heatstroke. Such extreme weather events are a direct consequence of the planet-heating pollution caused by dirty energy sources. Despite some significant advances in promoting clean energy, India is still heavily dependent on the worst energy source of all: coal. In the short term, the relatively good times look set to continue. India is projected to experience above-average rainfall going into July 2025. The Economic Times reported that the IMD forecast levels at 106% of the 50-year average, although the extra rain will not necessarily be evenly distributed. Rising water levels in lakes and reservoirs are always good news, but innovative and effective local action is needed to fully capitalize on seasonal good fortune, not just in India but worldwide. 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. ** CPR video above ** DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) An Ohio pharmacist is being recognized after saving a woman experiencing cardiac arrest. In late June, a woman inside of Discount Drug Mart in New Philadelphia, just southwest of Canton, reportedly collapsed on the floor of the store. Bryan Greenwood, pharmacist at DDM, immediately located the woman and performed CPR until paramedics arrived. Greenwoods quick thinking and medical training proved crucial as he administered CPR, sustaining her until her eyes began to blink and she regained consciousness, said DDM. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Through Greenwoods actions and the response of first responders, the womans life was saved. Since the experience, the woman returned to the New Philadelphia pharmacy to personally thank Greenwood for his heroic and swift actions. Greenwood was also visited at his workplace by the area fire chief to recognize his good deed. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Ohio lawmakers are considering a bill that would require public officials to comply with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), challenging a central Ohio courts policies that limit immigration arrests on its premises. Senate Bill 172 would require public officials and offices to allow law enforcement agencies to make arrests or detain individuals for immigration enforcement purposes. This applies to entities such as public schools, courts, and municipal corporations. The legislation passed the Senate 23-8 on June 18 and awaits review by the House. Columbus says villages speed cameras are straining resources Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Introduced by Ohio Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) in April, the bill would explicitly grant federal, state, or local law enforcement agencies permission to arrest or detain those suspected of being in the country illegally anywhere in this state under any circumstances, with or without a warrant, and regardless of whether the proceedings are administrative, civil, or criminal in nature. Currently, across the country, ICE agents typically do not need a warrant to arrest an individual in public if they have probable cause, but do on private property. The bill states all its provisions are subject to the protections afforded under the United States Constitution and the Ohio Constitution. The legislation was introduced in response to Franklin County Common Pleas Court policies introduced earlier this year that limit how ICE can arrest people, including by prohibiting civil arrests on its property without a judicial warrant. The court said these rules were designed to protect due process and justice for victims. There are instances, both in Ohio and other states across our nation, where certain activist judges and other elected officials are attempting to block ICE from doing their job, from keeping America safe, Reogner said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio schools face $185 million losses in federal funding freeze Obstructing or interfering with an ICE arrest is already a federal crime. However, states and local jurisdictions have the ability to limit their cooperation with ICE in various ways. For example, law enforcement agencies can limit how they share information with the federal agency. At a June 11 hearing for the bill, Gary Daniels with the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio spoke out against the measure, stating it calls into question the separation of powers between the legislature and judicial system by limiting the ability of judges to enforce policies in their courtrooms. He also said it could result in legal problems for jails. Without a warrant authorizing ongoing detention, local jails run the risk of lawsuits and paying monetary damages, arguing this continued detention without a warrant is a constitutional violation, Daniels said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Daniels was the only individual to submit public testimony on the bill, according to the Ohio legislatures website. However, at the bills vote, multiple Senate Democrats spoke out against it. Ohio Sen. Casey Weinstein (D-Hudson) said the bill would allow law enforcement to deprive residents of their freedom based solely on suspicion, without clear criteria or judicial oversight. It does not make Ohio safer, Weinstein said. What it does is put everyday Ohioans at risk of being unfairly targeted, strain trust between communities and law enforcement, and [discourage] people from coming forward when they need help. Not a scam: Postcards seek Ohioans for jury duty Ohio Sen. Andrew Brenner (R-Delaware) defended the bill, saying it helps maintain public safety, ensures consistent enforcement of immigration laws, and supports national priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ohio, like every other state, must not be a sanctuary where federal law is undermined by conflicting local policies, Brenner said. If you find federal immigration law too harsh or too lenient, your path isnt through obstructing state cooperation; its through engaging Congress. The legislation is just one of many immigration bills introduced at the Ohio Statehouse this year, including one that would strip state grants from hospitals that do not comply with ICE enforcement, and another that would create a felony charge for undocumented immigrants who enter or reside in Ohio. SB 172 awaits its first hearing in the House, where it will receive feedback before potentially reaching Ohio Gov. Mike DeWines desk. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. First Amendment of the US Constitution. (Stock photo Getty Images) Paramounts $16 million settlement with the President Trump to end his frivolous lawsuit is an abomination, un-American, and a grievous injury to the First Amendment. As a media law scholar, Ill explain the adverse trend of media companies bending to government pressure and suggest tips for what citizens can do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a working democracy, there should be a healthy tension between elected officials and the press. In the 1964 landmark libel case New York Times v. Sullivan, the unanimous U.S. Supreme Court ruled that not only is it a journalists First Amendment right to question our elected leaders, but it is also our duty. Trump hates American libel law because he cant control what journalists write, so he found a way around it. And Paramount chose money over democracy. The Paramount case The president held Paramount hostage, angry over a pre-election interview with his political rival Kamala Harris on the venerable CBS News program 60 Minutes. Paramount, the parent company of CBS, needed federal okay for a multibillion-dollar sale and caved to Trumps demands on July 1, even agreeing to pay legal fees and court costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Legal scholars including me agreed that Trumps lawsuit probably would have been dismissed. The ABC case The eye-bulging $16 million Paramount settlement is part of pattern. In December, ABC News agreed to settle a Trump defamation case against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos. ABC is owned by Disney, which has a wide range of interests affected by the federal government. In the CBS case, Trump sued under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Consumer Protection Act. He claimed that CBS violated the law by airing two versions of then Vice President Harris interview prior to the Nov. 5 election, allegedly misleading the public in an effort to swing the election in her favor. He accused CBS of false advertising, seeking up to $20 billion damages. Journalism is not advertising, so the case seemed weak. What has changed Litigation and threat of litigation are long-held Trump tactics, including a history of lawsuits against media. While Trumps litigious behavior may be consistent, several other factors have changed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Too often, media companies prefer to settle than fight. Trust in news media has eroded. And many Americans live in information echo chambers that support partisan division. In his 1999 book, Rich Media, Poor Democracy, scholar Robert W. McChesney saw this coming. He sounded the alarm that a key indicator of a democracys wellbeing is the state of its journalism. Corporate media bigwigs like Paramount are directly responsible for the low and false information ecosystem that is saturating our culture and eroding our democracy. What can news consumers do? I suggest these action items: Rely on a wide range of actual news sources. Donate to your local nonprofit newsroom, such as the Ohio Capital Journal. Heres a directory via the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). The Media and Democracy Project lists community journalism outlets focusing on watchdog reporting. Watch the prescient 1999 film The Insider. Al Pacino plays Lowell Bergman, a 60 Minutes producer fighting CBS executives who kill a story about Big Tobaccos misdeeds in order to save a CBS merger with Westinghouse that would have given millions to those same corporate honchos. Conclusion Those in power and those who hold the powerful accountable have always sparred. Our republic, well into its third century, has been well-served by robust debate, freedom of expression, and protection against government retribution. Our legal system includes safeguards against malicious libel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our heralded tradition of free speech, enshrined in the First Amendment to our Constitution, has been wounded by corporate acquiescence to government pressure spawned by the quest to concentrate power and chill criticism. Dr. Aimee Edmondson is author of In Sullivans Shadow: The Use and Abuse of Libel Law During the Long Civil Rights Struggle. She is Associate Dean of the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE An Ohio judge has found the states main voucher program violates the state constitution, dealing a blow to one of the nations largest private school tuition payment programs and one that has grown dramatically the last several years. Whether that ruling from a Democratic judge in a county-level court survives appeals to the Republican-dominated Ohio Supreme Court will be the real test. If it stands, the ruling would cut off the $700 million Ohio now pays for 140,000 students to attend private, mostly religious schools, through its EdChoice voucher program. Voucher opponents, who say EdChoice takes away money from school districts, hope the money will now go to public instead of private schools. Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newsletter EdChoice makes up nearly 90% of Ohios voucher programs by giving students and schools nearly $6,200 a year each through eighth grade and $8,400 for high school. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a late June ruling, Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Jaiza Page found that EdChoice, once a small program limited to only low-income students or those at schools with low test scores, has expanded so much after Ohio opened it up to any student in 2023 that it violates parts of Ohios constitution calling for the state to fund a system of common schools. In the EdChoice case, filed by school districts against the state in 2022, Page agreed that the vouchers, which are used mostly at religious schools that can choose who they accept and what they teach, have created a second, parallel school system thats selective, not common. In expanding the EdChoice program to its current form, the General Assembly has created a system of uncommon private schools by directly providing private schools with over $700 million in funding, she wrote. Page, though, recognized that EdChoice has grown so fast that ending it would cause significant change to school funding in Ohio. She held off ordering EdChoice to shut down until after appeals, even as she ruled against it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yitz Frank, a suburban Cleveland rabbi and president of School Choice Ohio, vowed to appeal Pages ruling. He praised her, though, for delaying ending the vouchers just a few months before the start of a new school year. You would essentially have well over 100,000 students lose their scholarships, Frank said. Tens of thousands of them would have no ability to even figure out how to possibly make those tuition payments. Im sure there are some more middle class families that might be able to figure it out with great sacrifice, but it would be pretty devastating for the families. The ruling, if upheld, is high stakes for Ohio, but will have little impact on vouchers in other states because it centers on language in the state constitution and falls under state courts. Its the latest, however, in a string of state court findings against state aid for private school tuition, including in Utah and Kentucky, where a bid to change the state constitution to allow state money to pay for private schools also failed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case is also significant because Ohios voucher program is among the largest in the country. Ohio spends the fourth-most of any state on private school tuition assistance, relative to total state spending on education, according to EdChoice, the nonprofit school choice advocacy group. Florida leads the way, with just over 10% of state spending on education going to private school tuition through vouchers, tax credits or related Education Savings Accounts. Arizona is close behind at 7% and Wisconsin at 5% before Ohio and Indiana follow at around 3.7%. Voucher opponents, though, hope EdChoice clears appeals and ends soon. They disagreed that cutting off vouchers would be so harmful to families, noting that many sent their children to private schools without vouchers until the Republican majority in the legislature lifted income limits over the last few years. Taxpayers are being ripped off, said Dan Heinz, a school board member of the Cleveland Heights-University Heights school district, the district historically most affected by EdChoice. Wealthy families that have always used private schools and afforded private schools are now having that tuition subsidized by much poorer families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smaller Ohio voucher programs, including two for students with disabilities and one only for Cleveland residents, are not part of the case. The Cleveland program is well-known as the center of the 2002 U.S. Supreme Court case Zelman v. Simmons-Harris that allowed vouchers to be used for students to attend religious schools. Vouchers in Ohio have been given to increasing numbers of students over the last several years, but took a leap the last two school years after the state removed family income limits. (Fordham Institute, Ohio Education By The Numbers 2025 Page also ruled that Ohios requirement for common schools means that public schools, the common ones, should be fully funded. She agreed with districts that the state legislature has not met that mandate, particularly by under-funding the planned phase-in of the Fair School Funding formula it passed in 2021. The state provides hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to private schools through EdChoice while at the same time Plaintiffs are unable to educate their students because the General Assembly decided not to fully fund public schools, Page wrote. Voucher advocates promise to appeal, saying they are not surprised by this ruling by a Democratic judge in one one the most Democratic-leaning counties in Ohio, even as the state has trended strongly Republican in recent years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advocates including Keith Neely, a lawyer for the Virginia-based Institute for Justice who helped defend EdChoice on behalf of families using the vouchers, said he expects to easily win at the Supreme Court for a few reasons, including that Ohio has no ban on funding additional schools if the state also pays for a system of common schools. Theres no provision that prohibits the general assembly from enacting scholarships, or even providing for this other system of uncommon schools, he said. I think plaintiffs are wrong to try and argue that there is a restriction in Ohios constitution that prevents the state from providing for educational alternatives like Ed choice. Voucher opponents, who say they now have half of Ohios 611 school districts, including large ones, as plaintiffs in the case, praised the ruling and hope that public pressure will overcome the political leaning of the state Supreme Court. Six of the seven members, all of whom face election, are Republican. Put on the political lens for these people (justices) when theyre looking at 75% of the states voters living in districts that have signed up for the lawsuit, said Heinz. Thats not a very promising outlook for their political futures. COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) Ohio school districts are preparing for a new school year with millions less in funding. With just one days notice before federal education grants were set to be released, state education departments learned five crucial grant programs are frozen until they can be fully reviewed for compliance with President Donald Trumps administrative priorities. As ordered by Congress, the more than $6 billion in grants was supposed to be released on July 1. Not a scam: Postcards seek Ohioans for jury duty Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A coalition of 24 states and Washington D.C. sued Trump and the Department of Education on Monday over the grants, which provide supportive services like STEM and arts programs, afterschool organizations for economically disadvantaged students or programs for English language learners. Ohio was not a part of the lawsuit, but the federal funding freeze has paused $185 million in education funding for Ohio schools. The funding freeze comes as Ohios public schools prepare for less state funding, too. Columbus City Schools Treasurer Ryan Cook said the district expects to see a $14 million-$15 million shortage in state funding, compounded by a $15 million-$20 million loss from the federal funding freeze. Columbus is the states largest school district, and Superintendent Angela Chapman said the district will have to make some tough decisions and adapt to maintain services. According to state records, the district received just under $50 million in federal grants last year, including funds from four of the five paused grants. We have to make sure that our classrooms have the resources that they need, our teachers are ready, our staff are ready to support our students when they return regardless of what funding sources are in or out, Chapman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How Dept. of Education abolition could affect Ohio Olentangy Schools, Ohios fourth-largest district, received just under $730,000 in now-paused grants last year, according to the district treasurer. South Western City Schools, Ohios fifth-largest district with 21,000 students, received roughly $11.4 million in federal funding in 2024. South Western spokesperson Evan Debo said the district already spends less per student than the state average to save taxpayer dollars, and losing federal funds would significantly disadvantage students. Debo said the frozen grants provide support to elementary school math instruction, student support services and the districts nearly 4,000 English language learners. The freeze is also hitting after-school programs and charter schools. The national budget cut funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers starting in 2026, and the learning center funding is one of the frozen grants. This funding is used to help groups like the Boys & Girls Club or YMCA, which now face possible cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Debo and Cook said their respective districts have not heard any updates about when, or if, they will receive their grant funding. With limited time and options, CCS leadership said they have to plan and pivot where necessary. Rep. Jim Jordan to be questioned under oath on Strauss sex abuse scandal Any time we lose dollars, it impacts what Dr. Chapman and her team are able to do in the classroom, where these dollars are needed and targeted most, Cook said. We continue to evaluate every way possible to do more with less. Cook and Chapman encouraged students and families to contact lawmakers to request action on the federal funding freeze. They also encourage community members to reach out to Ohio legislators to protect a series of vetoes by Gov. Mike DeWine that Ohio House members intend to try and overturn. Chapman said these vetoes are important to not lose even more funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Days after residents voiced concerns about immigrants being detained at the Butler County Jail, the sheriff's office's posted a photo showing a pond full of inflatable alligators in front of the jail. Why? To create an Ohio version of "Alligator Alcatraz," the controversial immigrant detention facility in Florida. "Florida has Alligator Alcatraz!! We have the Butler County Crocs!!" a post on the official Butler County Sheriff's Office Facebook read. The photo showed five inflatable alligators (which are real) swimming in a pond that was AI-generated, spokesperson Sgt. Kim Peters said. The post, shared July 17, garnered over 5,000 comments. Some commenters thought the stunt was funny. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is hilarious I love this!!!" one person wrote. "Look at all the people pissed off over some inflatable crocodiles." Others criticized the sheriff's office for poking fun at "Alligator Alcatraz." "This Sheriffs office is literally the laughing stock of the country," another wrote. What is Alligator Alcatraz? "Alligator Alcatraz," the makeshift airport-turned-detention center in Florida's Everglades, was built to support the Trump administration's mass deportation plan, and can hold up to 3,000 people. The nickname, coined by Florida's attorney general, refers to the facility's surrounding swampy area, known for alligators, and the closed island prison off the coast of California. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics of the facility have called the nickname dehumanizing, and said the facility's temporary structures aren't fit to house humans during Florida's hot summer months or hurricane season. Sheriff Richard Jones is a staunch supporter of immigration enforcement. His office renewed its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February. Butler jail has detained hundreds for ICE this year The Butler County Sheriff's Office renewed its contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in February and began detaining people for the agency in March. Last month, Sheriff Richard Jones said 10 deputies were authorized by ICE to make immigration arrests. This isn't the first time the sheriff's office's Facebook posts have drawn ire from immigration advocates. In a February post, Jones posed with a sign that reads "Illegal aliens here" in front of the jail. But the county, where President Donald Trump won 62% of the 2024 vote, is overwhelmingly Republican. Jones himself was elected to a sixth term in November. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Inflatable alligators surround Ohio jail that holds ICE detainees CLEVELAND (WJW) A specialized team from Ohio Task Force 1 has been deployed to assist in search and recovery operations in Central Texas. The deployment, requested by Texas emergency officials, includes three highly trained team members and two canines, specifically skilled in Human Remains Detection (HRD). Unfortunately, HRD stands for human remains detection. These dogs are trained to smell specific odors from a body that has passed, said Chris OConnor, spokesperson for Ohio Task Force 1. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New video of alleged ethnic intimidation incident involving Ohio Congressman Max Miller The team arrived in Texas late Friday and began field operations early Sunday morning, joining a multi-agency effort to locate roughly 100 individuals still unaccounted for. So far, the death toll has risen to at least 134. Severe weather has complicated recovery efforts. Lightning and rising floodwaters have forced temporary pauses in the search. They encountered weather issues where inclement weather caused them to pull back, OConnor said. And on the second day, it happened again. Shedeur Sanders hosts event supporting residents after apartment explosion Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even in the face of these challenges, the team remains focused. They look at it as a form of closure for the families and the communities, OConnor said. Thats the pride they take in their jobthe ability to do something very, very difficult. OConnor added the team is prepared to stay as long as Texas needs them. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. A zoo in Ohio has been cited by the U.S. Department of Agriculture after the agency investigated the death of a female lion at the park. According to the USDA report, the Columbus Zoo self-reported an April 17 incident in which a sliding door meant to separate two groups of lions failed. The barrier was supposed to keep a male lion, named Roary, away from an adult female lion named Asali. The animals were separated after zoo officials deemed them incompatible, according to WBNS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of the lions ended up in the same space, which ultimately led to both Roary and Asali suffering injuries from fights inside their enclosures. Veterinarians at the zoo treated the lions immediately after they were injured, but Asali's bite wounds were too severe and she had to be euthanized. A lioness, Asali (pictured), at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio was killed by a male lion after the animals found a way to break a panel door between their enclosures (Columbus Zoo and Aquarium) A lioness, Asali (pictured), at the Columbus Zoo in Ohio was killed by a male lion after the animals found a way to break a panel door between their enclosures (Columbus Zoo and Aquarium) Roary sustained minor injuries and recovered after the incident. Two younger lionesses were also living in the habitat, and neither were hurt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Columbus Zoo staff believe that the sliding panel that separated the groups of animals was actually broken by one of the animals. The USDA cited the zoo and asked it to fix the issue by June 20. The agency has also asked the zoo to make sure that its replacement is made of more durable material. The window in the paneling was, according to zoo officials, the weak point that allowed the door to break. All doors and locks are checked daily by keepers, however during the night, this door gave way. We determined that the window that was manufactured into the door likely created a structural weak point, the zoo said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zoo officials conducted an internal investigation into the malfunction, and in doing so checked other, similar paneling throughout the park. A zoo spokesperson told WBNS that the organization is trying to make the best of a bad situation by learning from the incident and sharing that knowledge with other zoos and wildlife parks. As part of our commitment to animal wellbeing and continuous improvement, we have shared details of the incident with other accredited zoos," the spokesperson told WBNS. The spokesperson said the Columbus Zoo knows "the importance of not just holding ourselves accountable but helping elevate standards across the profession." The safety and wellbeing of our animals isand always will beour top priority," the spokesperson said. "We continue to grieve the loss of Asali and are committed to doing everything in our power to prevent an incident like this from ever happening again. An electricity meter. (Stock photo from Getty Images.) Around Ohio, utility bills are rising, and they may keep climbing. Next week, the regional grid operator PJM Interconnection will announce the results of its annual capacity auction. Under normal circumstances, most people ignore the proceedings. But the auction has drawn increasing scrutiny after a dramatic spike last year. The price power generators can charge for supplying the grid shot up 833% percent from about $29 to $270 to provide a megawatt of energy for a day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That figure isnt the cost of the energy itself. Instead, GridLab Executive Director Ric OConnell said its more like insurance: PJM estimates its peak load, builds in a bit of extra wiggle room, and goes to the market to ensure it can serve that load throughout the year. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX And so, Im going to pay those generators just a fixed fee to just basically make sure that theyre there, he described PJMs approach. Im not actually paying for them to provide me energy. Im just paying for them to be there, really kind of like an insurance policy. Using the last auction price, for instance, a hypothetical 1-megawatt power plant would get a check for $270 a day on top of the revenue from actually selling its energy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spread across PJMs 13-state footprint, those higher capacity costs amount to a $12.5 billion increase in utility bills. If last months utility bill was a shock, last years PJM auction could be the culprit. The new prices took effect in June, and theyll run through next May. Ohio cities served by the aggregator NOPEC shared flyers warning customers of 10-15% increases on their monthly bill and sharing tips on how to save power. Throughout the PJM area, consumer rates went up about 20% according to John Gordon, policy director for Advanced Energy United. Supply & demand The basic function of the capacity market is to bring supply and demand into alignment by putting a value on power generation. When theres plenty of power to go around, the price will be low, but when supply is tight it will be high. That price signal encourages companies to bring new plants online or retire old ones when theyre no longer economical. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sharp uptick in capacity prices last year is a result of increasing demand for power and a slackening supply network. Older fossil fuel plants are retiring, and PJM has been slow to connect new facilities to the grid. Some proposed plants have been waiting in line for six years. Meanwhile, Gordon said, demand on the grid has shot up. The economy has been going strong, he said, increases in manufacturing, increases in electric consumption, electric vehicles and so forth. And of course, data centers have had a dramatic impact on demand. Casey Roberts leads the Natural Resources Defense Councils work on grid operators like PJM, and she explained that two changes last year took a big bite out of supply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First, PJM changed its calculation for reliability. Just because a gas plant has a peak output of 100-megawatts doesnt mean its always available, and the changes took a plants downtime into account. So, what that meant was that the PJM region then had a supply tightening, Roberts said, not because necessarily plants had retired, but just because they had previously been inflated. Second, PJM struck a deal to keep two large plants in Maryland online past their scheduled retirement, but then didnt calculate their output in the capacity auction. That was almost 2 gigawatts of supply that was not reflected, she explained, and that caused perceived shortage in one region of PJM that then rippled out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the upcoming auction those plants power will be taken into account. The price collar But Clara Summers from Consumers for a Better Grid worries even with a better supply picture, the current auction will still be bound by a price collar. Following last years surge, Pennsylvania officials, led by Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro, negotiated a price cap and floor. Although her group supports the cap, of $325 per megawatt day, Summers argued that the floor is still quite high. So, the price cap does prevent the prices from skyrocketing even further in the face of this broken interconnection queue, she said. But it also means that prices cant go below the floor which $175 per megawatt day was much higher than (it was) historically. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More fundamentally, Summers argued the auction is a raw deal for consumers because PJMs backlog saps the effectiveness of the capacity auction. Fundamentally, the point of high prices is to signal new generation resources to come online, she said. But since PJMs interconnection queue is frozen, these high prices cannot bring new generation online. And without new generation resources, prices cant go down meaningfully. Follow Ohio Capital Journal Reporter Nick Evans on X or on Bluesky. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) A local Criminal Defense Attorney weighed in on Richard Glossips legal teams request for his release. Criminal Defense Attorney Joe Griffin says a deal in any big criminal case isnt uncommon. Defense attorneys and prosecutors make deals all the time, Attorney Griffin said. Richard Glossips attorneys file motion for his release The motion for Glossips release was filed Wednesday morning. His attorneys say a deal was reached with Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond back in April 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to court documents, the deal would allow Glossip to plead guilty to an Accessory to Murder Charge, with a 45-year sentence. With good behavior, hed still be eligible for immediate release. In an email exchange between AG Drummonds attorneys and Glossips attorneys, Drummond responds, saying, We are in agreement. However, hours later in his own filing Wednesday morning, Drummond is dialing back on the agreement. Drummond argues the plea bargain was unfinalized and long abandoned by both parties. Attorney Griffin said, in order for the deal to be off the table, there had to have been a breach of the agreement terms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Has there been breach by the defendant? Has there been new evidence put forward so far? Has someone of authority said, you know, were not going to take this plea deal? Not to anybodys knowledge, so whats going on? Attorney Griffin added. Glossip has been on death row for nearly 30 years and has been scheduled for execution nine times. Many are left wondering whats next if the state wont release him? Attorney Griffin said, Youre kind of going into uncharted waters. So from a legal standpoint, this is something to watch. Neither attorney for AG Drummond nor Glossip is providing further comment outside of the filings at this time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. UPDATE 7/17/2025 9:37 AM According to the Oklahoma City Police Department, officers later entered the home and found it empty. Police are now searching for the people involved. ORIGINAL STORY OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The Oklahoma City Police Department was involved in a standoff following reports of gunshots in the area of NW 12th and Tulsa on Wednesday afternoon. This is located near Corbin Park. A police spokesperson told KFOR that when officers arrived at the scene, several people ran into a house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A perimeter was set up around the house, and people are being asked to avoid this area. No injuries have been reported at this time. This is a developing story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. State public safety leadership defended an upcoming plan to reallocate resources away from the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metropolitan areas, saying it was the best move for taking care of underserved areas with increased traffic issues and that the plan had received the governor's blessing. The move has the Oklahoma City Police Department seeking a legal opinion and a department official said it could affect their response times. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol expects to shift its troopers away from the metro areas later this fall and toward areas across the state and along the interstates that officials said need a greater patrol presence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Starting Nov. 1, Oklahoma Highway Patrol will entrust responsibility for all interstates inside the incorporated city limits of the Oklahoma City metro areas to OKC, Edmond, Moore, Norman, Midwest City and Del City. The patrol also will similarly defer responsibility for all interstates inside the incorporated city limits to Tulsa. Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton speaks at July 17 news conference for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. In a news conference Thursday, July 17, Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton admitted that the changes would be "somewhat of a burden" on other law enforcement agencies in the municipalities, but believed in the "professionalism" of the police in both metro areas to adapt to the plan. "In weighing this, it is, what is the best footprint for us as a state law enforcement agency that need to provide the best coverage for public safety statewide, and how do we deploy those assets in a way that give us that best coverage?" Tipton said. More: Oklahoma Highway Patrol to pull coverage from OKC, urban areas Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement, the Oklahoma City Police Department acknowledged potential issues in the future for their coverage areas and said they would need to evaluate the appropriate protocol. "This action could seriously diminish our ability to respond to priority calls and violent crimes where response times are critical," Sgt. Gary Knight, a spokesman for OKC police, said in an email. "This is being reviewed by the appropriate authority and a legal opinion will be forthcoming from them in the near future. Once that is received, we will determine the next steps we need to take, if any." A spokesman for the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office said he could not comment on the new patrol plan as he had not yet seen it. Tipton said that the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas are where the bulk of law enforcement in the state already work daily. But when you consider policing outside of those metropolitan areas, Tipton said, the law enforcement footprint drops dramatically. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Of course, the more rural area you get into, there are a lot fewer police officers and deputies out there, a lot sparser coverage to respond to immediate needs for assistance from citizens or motoring public that are coming through Oklahoma," Tipton said. "Our calls for service in those areas outside of the metros have steadily increased over the years." In justifying the upcoming changes, Tipton cited data showing there is currently 589 troopers. He then mentioned studies that claimed the agency would actually need about 1,100 troopers to best cover all of the state's service areas. Along with shifted boundaries for the troop units, Tipton said the highway patrol would be assigning 34 troopers to the Interstate 40 corridor, 18 troopers to Interstate 35 corridor, and 66 troopers to the Interstate 44 corridor. "It's not been done before in the past, but we feel that, again, the calls for service, the traffic patterns and incidents that occur on the interstate system, require us to be able to have coverage for our citizens in those areas." Oklahoma Department of Public Safety Commissioner Tim Tipton speaks July 17 at news conference for the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. Tipton said he had spoken with Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt in June about the plan and received his support. He also said he then spoke with police leadership for various cities ahead of the plan's announcement in June but did not speak to any elected officials beforehand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The commissioner said, however, that the the troop realignment had been needed for years as traffic increased across the state to major venues and events. He also said he's spoken about budgetary concerns for more funding in presentations to lawmakers regularly in the past. "I guess the decision has to be made: how big do you want to grow state government?" Tipton said. "Or can we go through partnerships such as this to take up duties and responsibilities that allow us to meet the missions that are the most critical?" The highway patrol said it would continue to refine the troop realignment plan as the Nov. 1 transition approaches. A Tulsa Police Department spokesman told the Tulsa World they would ask for more information from the highway patrol, but that they would be able to handle the increased load. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What this means for the Tulsa Police Department is we will start responding to collisions and other incidents that were otherwise handled by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Capt. Richard Meulenberg told the Tulsa World. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Officials defend pulling Oklahoma Highway Patrol resources from OKC OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) The puppy showed up at a friends house over the winter. He weighed around 30 pounds, recalls Twyla Pratt. As a teacher, she was already saddled with papers to grade and a classroom full of at-risk students at a local alternative school, didnt really need any extra responsibilities, but something about this stray dog, flea-ridden and lame, took hold. I went to pick him up and saw the condition he was in, with his leg facing backward, my heart just absolutely broke, Pratt said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She was only supposed to keep him for a few days, but he escaped. Then the nearest animal shelter put him in quarantine and deemed the one-year-old pup unadoptable. She insists, The thought of him being euthanized just because of his leg was heartbreaking. Journey, as she came to be called, could very easily have been one of thousands of animals euthanized each year in Oklahoma. But Twyla made him her pet project. previous More Great State Stories She convinced an organization called Forever Yours Dog Rescue to take on his case. Staffers there arranged for a surgery to repair his backward-facing front paw. The vet said he used what he called surgical artistry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A few days of fostering turned into a few months as Journey recovered from surgery and heartworm. In my mind, originally, I thought we might have him a few weeks. Further care and training at another agency called The Dog House revealed the pup to be relaxed and playful around other dogs. As a teacher, students enter Pratts life, stay for a time, and leave hopefully better for her careful guidance. Twyla couldnt keep Journey either, but she wanted to set him up for a family that could. Pratt says, He now runs and plays. If you were to see him in a dog park, you wouldnt know there was ever anything wrong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His end didnt come in early winter. Instead, its a lot more hopeful now in these dog days of summer thanks to one dedicated teacher and her own A grade on that pet project. As of mid-July 2025, Journey is up for adoption through Forever Yours Dog Rescue. You can see his profile here. Pratt gives another organization further credit for training and recovery care. Great State is sponsored by True Sky Credit Union Follow Galens Great State adventures on social media! Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) KFOR has learned that an Oklahoma woman accused of killing her child has been extradited to Florida. According to investigators, the mother of the child, Pediatrician Dr. Neha Gupta, and her daughter Aria Talathi had traveled from Oklahoma City and were staying at a short-term rental in Miami. Neha Gupta. Image courtesy Oklahoma County Detention Center. Officials say officers from the Village of El Portal Police Department in Miami, Florida, responded to a residential pool regarding a possible drowning. Upon arrival, a child was found and taken to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the arrest warrant, a call came into 911 just after 3 am reporting a child drowning. When police arrived, Aria was found floating in the water. According to an autopsy report in the arrest warrant, the medical examiner did not find water in her lungs or stomach and had cuts and bruising in her mouth consistent with smothering. According to Oklahoma court documents, Arias father filed for divorce in 2022. During the lengthy proceedings, documents show Arias father requested a psych evaluation on Gupta due to concerns over her behavior with the child. This is a developing story. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KFOR.com Oklahoma City. ATLANTA (WSAV) Ahead of the 95th MLB All-Star game, WSAV spoke one-on-one with Byron Buxton inside the American League locker room at Truist Park. Joey Lamar: Im joined by Minnesota Twins outfielder Byron Buxton. Congrats on making the All-Star Game. Now that this moment is just, you know, a few minutes away, how are you feeling? Byron Buxton: I feel good. Im glad to be here. Second All-Star Game. Familys here a little closer to home. Its exciting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement JL: Walk us through last night. The Home Run Derby. I know you had a lot of hype leading up to that moment, but what was it like actually stepping out there and then having a performance like you did? BB: Glad to step out of that little box I was in to show the world a little bit of who I am. So to be able to do it back home made it a little bit more special. JL: Now, in that first round, in the bonus, round five in a row, six overall, I mean, what was it like to hit five out in a row? Like, thats a pretty amazing moment. BB: Oh, yeah, I guess. I mean, we kind of do a little bit mess around in BP back home, so just trying to keep it simple. I think about the guys back home and the competition we have amongst ourselves sometimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement JL: You talked about how special the moment would be when you got to get a towel and a Gatorade bottle from your son. Like, what was it like actually living that moment? BB: Oh, its definitely a dream come true. Obviously, them telling me that as a parent, you want to make their dreams come true and to be able to mark one those off the bucket list for them is something that I really cant put into words. Their face, their smile, how happy they were thats all that really matters to me. JL: Is there anything else that would make this All-Star experience any more memorable? Is a one more thing you want to do for them. BB: I mean, know Im here. Theyre here. Just enjoy the moment, take it in because its a once-in-a-lifetime thing. I wont be here again to play playing another All-Star Game in Atlanta, so make the most of it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSAV-TV. UPDATE (1:50 pm, July 18): According to Oneida County Sheriffs, the owner of the kayak has been located and is in good health. As a result of the investigation, the Sheriffs Office says they have no reason to believe anyone is missing. ROME, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) Oneida County Sheriffs are asking for the publics help in finding a missing kayaker after finding their kayak in the Erie Canal Wednesday night. Officers responded to the area of South James Street and Muck Road in the City of Rome at approximately 10 pm on Wednesday, July 16. According to Oneida County Sheriffs, a passerby found an unoccupied kayak in the Erie Canal and reported it to the sheriffs office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Upon their arrival, Oneida County Sheriffs also discovered that the kayak was located near the center of the canal, along with a backpack and oars, initialed E.W.H. The investigation was turned over to the Oneida County Sheriffs Criminal Investigation and Forensic Identification Units due to the severity of the situation. Sheriffs also brought in their Marine Patrol Unit and Dive Team to assist with the search, with no results. The Rome Fire Department also searched the area via drone, with no results. The area was shut down for several hours as police conducted their searches. Oneida County Sheriffs were also assisted at the scene by AmCare Ambulance of Rome. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sheriffs are seeking the publics assistance with the investigation. If anyone has any information, you are asked to contact the Criminal Investigations Unit at 315-765-2226. This is an ongoing investigation. We will provide more information as it becomes available to us. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WUTR/WFXV - CNYhomepage.com. OpenAI should continue to be controlled by a nonprofit because the artificial intelligence technology it is developing is too consequential to be governed by a corporation alone. That is the message from an advisory board convened by OpenAI to give it recommendations about its nonprofit structure delivered in a report released Thursday, along with a sweeping vision for democratizing AI and reforming philanthropy. We think its too important to entrust to any one sector, the private sector or even the government sector, said Daniel Zingale, the convener of OpenAIs nonprofit commission and a former adviser to three California governors. The nonprofit model allows for what we call a common sector, that facilitates democratic participation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recommendations are not binding on OpenAI, but the advisory commission, which includes the labor organizer Dolores Huerta, offers a framework that may be used to judge OpenAI in the future, whether or not they adopt it. In the commission's view, communities that are already feeling the impacts of AI technologies should have input on how they are developed, including how data about them is used. But there are currently few avenues for people to influence tech companies who control much of the development of AI. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, started in 2015 as a nonprofit research laboratory and has since incorporated a for-profit company with a valuation that has grown to $300 billion. The company has tried to change its structure since the nonprofit board ousted its CEO Sam Altman in Nov. 2023. He was reinstated days later and continues to lead OpenAI. It has run into hurdles escaping its nonprofit roots, including scrutiny from the attorney generals in California and Delaware, who have oversight of nonprofits, and a lawsuit by Elon Musk, an early donor to and founder of OpenAI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most recently, OpenAI has said it will turn its for-profit company into a public benefit corporation, which must balance the interests of shareholders and its mission. Its nonprofit will hold shares in that new corporation, but OpenAI has not said how much. Zingale said Huerta told the commission their challenge was to help make sure AI is a blessing and not a curse. To grapple with those stakes, they envision a nonprofit with an expansive mandate to help everyone participate in the development and trajectory of AI. The measure of this nonprofit will be in what it builds, who it includes, and how faithfully it endures to mission and impact," they wrote. The commission toured California communities and solicited feedback online. They heard that many were inspired by OpenAIs mission to create artificial intelligence to benefit humanity and ensure those benefits are felt widely and evenly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, Zingale said many people feel they are in the dark about how its happening. They know this is profoundly important whats happening in this Age of Intelligence, but they want to understand better what it is, how its developed, where are the important choices being made and whos making them? he said. Zingale said the commission chose early on not to interact with Altman in any way in order to maintain their independence, though they quote him in their report. However, they did speak with the companys senior engineers, who they said, entered our space with humility, seriousness, and a genuine desire to understand how their work might translate into democratic legitimacy. The commission proposed OpenAI immediately provide significant resources to the nonprofit for use in the public interest. For context, the nonprofit reported $23 million in assets in 2023, the most recent year that its tax filing is available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The commission recommend focusing on closing gaps in economic opportunity, investing in AI literacy and creating an organization that is accessible to and governed by everyday people. For OpenAIs nonprofit to fulfill its mandate, it should commit to more than just doing good - it should commit to being known, seen, and shaped by the people it claims to serve, they wrote. The commission suggested opening a rapid response fund to help reduce economic strains now. Zingale said they specifically recommended funding theater, art and health. We're trying to make the point that they need to dedicate some of their resources to human to human activities, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The commission also recommended setting up a requirement that a human lead the nonprofit, which Zingale said is a serious recommendation and a sign of the times." ___ Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy. On June 21, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, an authoritarian who has ruled the nation since 1994, freed 14 political prisoners, including the husband of exiled opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. This happened hours after Lukashenko received U.S. envoy Keith Kellogg in the capital of Minsk. The release of Siarhei Tsikhanouski known as Minsks number one political prisoner, who had received the regimes harshest verdict of 18 years underscores the high-profile nature of the gesture. That visit was not the first by a U.S. delegation. On Feb. 12, soon after U.S. Deputy Assistant State Secretary Christopher W. Smith visited Belarus alongside two other U.S. officials, the authorities pardoned three political prisoners, including an American citizen. The June amnesty therefore builds on a pattern linking each wave of releases to Kellogg-brokered diplomacy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The end of the isolation of the Lukashenko regime, however, does not necessarily mean abandonment of Belarusian opposition. Every year since she emerged in 2020, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya has used major international platforms from long-form journalism and television interviews to speeches at parliaments, security conferences and her own social channels to repeat the same demand: freedom for all Belarusian political prisoners. The consistency of that message underlines that freeing everyone, not a token few, is non-negotiable for the democratic movement she leads. Posting on social media, Tsikhanouskaya thanked President Trump, Kellogg and other partners for securing her husbands freedom. She added, Were not done, and urged that the remaining 1,186 political prisoners be released as well, a demonstration that the fight against the regime will persist. With so many political prisoners still behind bars, Lukashenkos selective pardons fall far short of systemic change. Yet they signal a calculated bid to shed pariah status and rebalance Belaruss dependence on Russia and Vladimir Putin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Belarus is the worlds third-largest producer of potash, a key component of fertilizer, but sanctions and Lithuanias 2022 ban on its using the port of Klaipeda have cut it off from Western buyers. Almost all Belarusian potash now travels by rail through Russia to China and other Asian customers. Because Russia controls this sole export route and competes with Belarus in the same fertilizer market, it can charge premium transit fees, squeezing Belarusian profits and deepening Lukashenkos dependence on the Kremlin. Putins leverage helps explain why Lukashenko trades high-profile prisoner releases for talks on easing sanctions and restoring cheaper sea access. Sending Kellogg to Minsk lets Trump advertise an early foreign-policy win: a humanitarian deal, plus a possible opening for Ukraine peace talks. To pull Belarus even slightly out of Putins orbit strengthens Trumps argument that his personal diplomacy can keep Russia in check. Over 90 percent of the potash used in the U.S. is imported. Top countries for potash exports include Canada, Belarus, China and Russia, with the last three accounting for more than 40 percent of global supply. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Belarus has turned eastward since Western sanctions cut off its traditional routes: Chinas share of Belaruss potash sales surged from 17 percent in 2021 to more than 70 percent in 2023. President Xi Jinping hailed Lukashenko as a true friend during the Beijing summit on June 4. For Trump, who has pursued a consistently hardline stance toward Beijing, the June deal that freed Tsikhanouski also serves as proof that his direct, transactional diplomacy can peel partners away from Beijing while advancing U.S. security aims whether that is diversifying fertilizer supply chains or kick-starting Ukraine peace talks. While economic and political calculations may shape how the Trump administration engages with Lukashenko, they do not equate to an end of international criticism of the Lukashenko regime or support for the Belarusian opposition. On March 27, the EU added 25 more officials and seven entities to its Belarus list of 310 individuals and 46 entities under asset freezes and travel bans, keeping Belarus under the same scrutiny as before the prisoner-release diplomacy began. High-level political platforms remain open to Tsikhanouskaya and her allies, and foreign legislatures and multilateral bodies still push accountability. This international pressure helps to keep the oppositions cause alive and ensures that the struggle for democracy in Belarus still has external backing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tatsiana Kulakevich is an associate professor of instruction in research methods and quantitative analysis at the University of South Florida. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. This spring, thousands of Cubans gathered in Havanas Revolutionary Square to mark the nations Labor Day celebrations. Only this year, there was nothing to celebrate. Cuba is experiencing a national catastrophe, and the Cuban people are growing increasingly desperate. In the midst of likely the most severe economic crisis to affect the island, on May 1, the Cuban government pressured its citizens to attend the annual gathering. Its been reported that some 600,000 were present in Havana, with millions attending similar ceremonies across Cuba. But participation in such rallies is hardly voluntary it is the price one pays for access to state benefits, including employment, housing, education, food rations and other necessities. Despite drastic shortages of water, food, medicine and fuel that have crippled Cuba in recent years, on this day, all assets of the government were used to facilitate attendance at the Revolutionary Square event. And thats because this gathering, like others, was intended to serve as an act of political will, meant to convey a public message of support for the ailing Cuban government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although Cubas leadership changed in name in 2019 to Miguel Diaz-Canel, Raul Castro is still believed to be in charge behind the scenes. Despite turning 94 last month, he appears to remain the center of power, wielding significant influence over political, economic and military matters. Under his guidance, social control measures remain all-encompassing, beginning at the community level with the neighborhood Committees in Defense of the Revolution, the Brigades of Rapid Response, the National Revolutionary Police, the Revolutionary Armed Forces, and the Grupo de Administracion Empresarial S.A., which facilitates the Cuban militarys control over the economy. All of these government structures, reminiscent in some cases of George Orwells writings, have ensured the continuation of Cubas one-party system for the last 66 years. Today, the greatest concerns of the Cuban government are the incessant electricity outages. Once largely restricted to Cubas outlying provinces, the blackouts are now also frequent in the capital. They are the direct result of government incompetence that has led to fuel shortages and aging infrastructure; without a doubt, they make daily life extremely challenging. In March 2025, following a major failure at a substation, much of the country was without power, leading to vast work and school closures. This was the fourth such national outage in six months. For a country already suffering from abysmally low monthly incomes, no functioning economy, and decaying living standards, its no surprise that the population has grown increasingly discouraged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the Cuban government continues to blame the nations challenges on the U.S. economic embargo, the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and changes to U.S. travel policy, each day it appears fewer and fewer Cubans accept these excuses. In the last several years, an estimated 1 million Cubans have emigrated, representing a loss of roughly 10 percent of Cubas population. And protests, once extremely rare, have become a relatively more common occurrence. In early June, students at the University of Havana began protesting a sharp hike in internet and cell phone service fees set by the government-run telecommunications company. This entity, largely owned by Cubas military, is said to be well financed by Cuban exiles who purchase cellphone packages for their families on the island and represents an important revenue source for the Cuban government. For Cubas leadership, these price hikes are also likely intended to curtail internet usage an important strategy for a government that aims to control all access to information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another government concern is the lack of access to foreign and hard currency reserves to facilitate trade, specifically for the import of much needed food and medicine. Once the recipient of financial support from the former Soviet Union during the Cold War, followed by Venezuela under President Hugo Chavez, today Cuba is without an economic benefactor. Although Cuba still benefits from political support from Russia, China, Iran, North Korea and others, these allies cannot (or will not) effectively assist Cuba economically. Add to that Cubas foreign debt, which is said to be extremely high, leaving the country severely constrained when it comes to trade. Against this background, the new Trump administration has made changes to U.S.-Cuba policy. As part of his sweeping cuts to USAID, President Trump cancelled Radio and TV Marti, two longtime stalwarts in the U.S. soft assault against Cuban communism. Since taking office, the Trump administration has also moved to redesignate Cuba as a state sponsor of terrorism, and approved the re-creation of the Cuba Restricted List, which prohibits transactions with companies associated with the Cuban government. In late January, the administration also announced that it had opened the door via Title III of the LIBERTAD Act, to bring private rights of action involving trafficked property confiscated by the Cuban regime. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More recently, following record-setting outward migration from Cuba, the Trump administration moved to end the humanitarian parole program that had allowed a designated number of Cubans to enter the U.S. under temporary legal status. On June 4, the U.S. announced a partial travel ban on Cubans wishing to enter without an existing visa. And Trumps big beautiful bill includes a tax on remittances, affecting Cubas largest source of foreign revenue. Today, Cuba is facing a devastating moment. Over six decades of revolution have taken their toll. Cubas leadership remains unwilling to enact the commonsense democratic reforms necessary to alleviate suffering and return dignity to its people. As Cuban citizens continue to find small, but meaningful ways to express their discontent, it is time for the international community to raise awareness of Cubas desperate reality and to demand change from its leadership. Cristina Lopez-Gottardi, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and chair of programming at the University of Virginias Miller 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 The Hill. Well over 300 federal, Article III judges across the country are former federal prosecutors. They have been nominated by Democratic and Republican presidents in larger numbers than any other group of lawyers. And yet I cannot recall such fierce and widespread opposition to a former prosecutors nomination not just from a range of ideological backgrounds, not just from the legal community generally, but from more than 900 former Justice Department attorneys and former judges until the nomination of Emil Bove. Bove is a former Southern District of New York prosecutor-turned-Donald Trump defense lawyer, now serving as the principal associate deputy attorney general at the Justice Department, and he previously was the acting deputy attorney general. He has been nominated by Trump for a lifetime seat on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and the Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote this week on whether to advance his nomination to the full Senate. Since his nomination, former federal prosecutors and judges have been ringing alarm bells with rare intensity and in great numbers opposing his nomination. Why? The short answer: Bove has demonstrated a total disregard for the high ethical standards to which most federal prosecutors hold themselves, and, perhaps worse, he has shown a complete disregard for other lawyers who refuse to do the same. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First, there was Boves conduct undoing the prosecutions of Jan. 6 Capitol rioters and punishing those public servants who had been part of the prosecutions. Trumps pardon dismissals which Bove helped make happen of thousands of prosecutions by a prior administration that included trial verdicts, guilty pleas, lengthy sentencing proceedings by judges, months of hard work and sweat by prosecutors and federal agents, is not just bad practice by the Justice Department; its a slap in the face to those public servants who worked on these cases and the law enforcement officers injured and traumatized by the events of that day. Even more shocking, Bove led a politically motivated purge of law enforcement professionals who worked on the cases. He was instrumental in the firing of prosecutors who worked on cases because of the claim that they could not be trusted to carry out President Trumps agenda something that should have no place in employment decisions of federal prosecutors and he was behind the firing of FBI agents who had done nothing more than work on cases to which they were assigned. He claimed that these public servants participated in what the president appropriately described as a grave national injustice that has been perpetrated upon the American people. And Bove did all of this despite the fact that as a national security prosecutor in the Southern District of New York, he had worked on these very same cases. In his role as acting deputy attorney general, Bove orchestrated a brazen dismissal of criminal charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, in what appeared to be a quid pro quo, in exchange for his cooperation with the Trump administration in immigration enforcement efforts. As if that were not bad enough, he tried to force other prosecutors into compliance. Trumps interim U.S. attorney in SDNY, as well as several other prosecutors in New York, resigned over the episode, stating that it would violate their ethical and legal obligations to be part of this dismissal. Bove then reportedly assembled members of the Public Integrity Section at the Justice Department and threatened disciplinary action, including possible firing, if one of them did not sign the motion to dismiss something I have never heard of happening under any Justice Department leader prior to this. One career attorney who was near retirement ultimately agreed to sign the motion in order to save his colleagues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Judge Dale Ho ultimately dismissed the Adams case, noting that he could not force the government to prosecute, but he dismissed it with prejudice, meaning the charges cannot be refiled, rather than without prejudice as the government had requested (which would have allowed the administration to continue to hold the charges over Adams head). The judge wrote a blistering opinion and agreed that the attempted dismissal by Justice Department and Bove appeared to be part of a corrupt deal between Adams and the administration. He also found, contrary to Boves representations, there was absolutely no evidence prosecutors had done anything improper by bringing the case and called Boves argued reasons for dismissal pretextual. This kind of critique by a federal judge of ones integrity would humble if not shame most federal prosecutors but not Bove. Most recently, a Justice Department whistleblower has made serious allegations about Boves role in deliberate defiance of the very federal bench that he now seeks to join. Erez Reuveni, a 15-year veteran Justice Department prosecutor who litigated some of the most divisive cases the department has ever defended and was promoted under Trump, was then fired because he dared to tell a federal judge the truth: that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported to El Salvadors CECOT prison by mistake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuveni has filed a whistleblower complaint, which includes a great deal of damaging information about the administrations disregard for due process and defiance of the courts and about Boves leadership of those efforts. The complaint discusses a meeting at the Justice Department in mid-March after the administration decided to rely upon the Alien Enemies Act to deport the Venezuelan immigrants at which Bove said that the deportations were a highest priority for the president and that the planes with the Venezuelans would be taking off in the next 24 to 48 hours no matter what. In the most explosive allegation, Reuveni reported that Bove said that if they were confronted with a court order to halt the deportations, they would need to consider telling the court f--- you and continuing anyway which is exactly what happened. During an emergency hearing as the flights were about to take off, Chief U.S. District Judge Boasberg of the District of Columbia ordered that the deportations be halted and that any planes already on their way be ordered to turn back. The government defied that order, the planes landed, and the immigrants were sent to the supermax prison. During his confirmation hearing, Bove denied advocating defiance of the courts and claimed he could not recall using vulgar language, but emails strongly corroborate Reuvenis description. When Trump nominated Bove, the president said Bove would do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. That is not a qualification for prosecutors or federal judges, who should do everything they can to uphold the Constitution and act with integrity and candor consistent with legal ethics, even if it conflicts with a political agenda. Violating these principles is bad enough, but trying to coerce other attorneys of integrity to do so for your own political gain, as Bove has, is unforgivable. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com 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. Breaking: Trump just announced that Coca-Cola will go back to making Coke with real cane sugar rather than high fructose corn syrup a great day for America. A bad day for Costco, where I buy my Mexican cola. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alert: President Trumps Department of Homeland Security called one of Bidens border advisors Humpty Dumpty after he wrote an opinion piece in The New York Times titled, I Was One of Bidens Border Advisers. Heres How to Fix Our Immigration System. Watch tonight: Blas Nunez-Neto joins us tonight to respond to the comments made by DHS about him. You wont believe it: The mayor of Providence, Rhode Island, is red with anger over the arrest of an MS-13 gang member wanted for fentanyl trafficking in her city. What, might you ask, is the mayor angry about? Well, Mayor Brett Smiley is upset that the Providence police might have helped ICE officers arrest the gang member imagine the horror. Im interested in making sure that our community knows that Providence police are there to protect them, that they will not cooperate or serve as immigration agents, and that preliminarily, we believe that policy was followed in that instance, although it certainly was jarring video that I saw, Smiley said. Now, he wants an investigation the police deny helping arrest a wanted gang member go figure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bombs away: Israel bombed Syrias capital today that headline should terrify anyone, but it no longer does. We are at an endless state of war in the Middle East and by we, I mean Western civilization against increasingly radical forms of Islam. Weve learned the only thing that fills a power vacuum in the Middle East is terrorists. Weve seen it time and again in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Syria (ISIS), Yemen and now Syria again. The leadership of Syria is at best terrorist-adjacent and things go downhill from there. Watch tonight: John Hannah, former national security advisor to Dick Cheney, on why weve become numb to perpetual war. Bonus: Right now, the Syrian jihadist types are slaughtering Druze (a religious minority) in the south of Syria. There is literally a genocide in the Middle East where are the protests? Special Counsel to the Rescue Team Trump just found a way out of the Jeffrey Epstein debacle: A special counsel. Note: The idea came from MAGA world now Trump says he has nothing to do with it, but all of MAGA loves it its almost like a West Wing episode. Prediction: Trump will appoint an ultra-MAGA prosecutor who, 18 months from now, will release a milquetoast report saying they looked into everything and found Epstein was a terrible pedophile but nobody else was involved. Not much different than the New Jersey drone investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More: John Solomon says that Trump told him he supports appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the case. OF COURSE HE DOES! Pro/Con: The Special Counsel appointment solves so many of Trumps problems. It pushes anything about Epstein off for years remember that Special Counsel dont talk until their report comes out. It ensures nothing will be found because both the Trump and Biden DOJ already looked at the Epstein case and charged those they thought they could. Really a Special Counsel will somehow find crimes that neither Bill Barr nor Merrick Garlands DOJs did?! A Special Counsel may help the story disappear for now but why is he so terrified of these files getting published? Why is the most powerful man in the world spending so much time and political capital on this? In a lengthy post on Truth Social this morning, President Trump doubled down on what he calls the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. Question: How is the Epstein case a hoax when it was Trumps Justice Department that arrested Jeffrey Epstein in the first place? Look back: Epstein was charged with sex trafficking of minors in a Manhattan federal court in 2019, during Trumps first term. If Trump calls the Epstein case a hoax, does that mean Ghislaine Maxwell gets a pardon? Be smart: Special counsels are almost always appointed to look into new cases, not to review closed cases. How can Trump continue to have confidence in an attorney general, Pam Bondi, who said there is nothing to see, but now needs a Special Counsel to look over things again? Trump is too scared to release all of the files for the case his DOJ started. What did someone tell Trump about whats inside the files thats making him so scared? Doth protest too much: Trumps message to his MAGA base that does not support his handling of the Epstein files: My PAST supporters have bought into this bulls-, hook, line, and sinker. They havent learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore! Trump continued in his Truth Social post. Wow: Awfully aggressive over files that allegedly dont show anything. MAGA doesnt buy it: Matt Walsh in a post on X: Nobody was calling the Epstein story overblown nonsense up until two weeks ago. Youre saying it now simply because the people in power have told you to say it. This makes you a mindless drone and a coward. Benny Johnson on his podcast discussing Trumps handling of the files: Its been abysmal and people arent satisfied. And thats what all available polling shows. I find it stingingly ironic that Trump compares (Epstein) to these hoaxes, and the reason we know theyre hoaxes is because evidence was released. Its not just MAGA: Wow: According to a new poll by CNN, only 3% of Americans say they are satisfied with the amount of information the government has shared about the Epstein case. A significant amount of Republicans 40% say they are dissatisfied with the information shared about Epstein. The dissatisfaction climbs to 52% with independents and 56% with Democrats. As we showed you last night, Trump has always been tepid about promising to release Epstein files. Hes often given the caveat that doing so would hurt innocent people. Most often, the simplest explanation is the answer. Watch tonight: Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., on whether a Special Counsel would actually do anything or just play the delay game. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and NYC Mayoral Candidate Zohran Mamdani enter an elevator after a meeting in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images) Mr. Mamdani Comes to Washington Zohran Mamdani and Omar Fateh the socialists gaining traction in New York City and Minneapolis are running campaigns that wish to replace American values with socialist ones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement American exceptionalism: People came to the United States because of the freedoms we have here the shining city on the hill. America has offered Mamdani and Feteh things that they could have never dreamed of. Mamdani was born in Uganda. Fatehs parents came from Somalia. Zoom out: Now, they are fighting against the very values that made them want to come to America in the first place. The promises of the American dream are the opposite of the socialist policies Mamdani and Fateh are promoting. Rent control Defund the police Antisemitic/anti-Israel They arent trying to improve their home cities they are trying to turn New York City and Minneapolis into Caracas and Havana. Be honest: Caracas and Havana have a lot more in common with Mogadishu than Minneapolis. What makes America the shiny city on the hill is capitalism. Socialism will make Americas cities the equivalent of those in third-world countries. Watch tonight: Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., on when socialism becomes un-American. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 July 17, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov visited the House-Museum of Bulbul in Shusha. Member of the Milli Majlis Polad Bulbuloghlu informed Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov that the renowned musician Bulbul was born and spent his childhood in this house. Under the directive of National Leader Heydar Aliyev, a decision by the Executive Committee of the Shusha City Peoples Deputies Soviet in 1982 designated Bulbuls birthplace and residence as a house-museum. The building was renovated in 19821983, a museum exhibition was established, and an administrative building was constructed in front of it. The house-museum ceased operations in 1992 during the First Garabagh War due to Armenian vandalism. Following the liberation of Shusha, restoration efforts began on the house-museum and other historical and cultural monuments. The museum was reopened in August 2021 after the completion of restoration work. A new bust of Bulbul has been erected in the courtyard of the house-museum. The original bust, which was damaged during the occupation, has been preserved as evidence of the acts of vandalism committed. The Supreme Court recently ruled in favor of upholding Tennessees ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth. With this ruling, the court opens the door for more states to cut off life-saving medical care care that is backed by every major medical association, and that has been shown to unequivocally improve the health and well-being of gender diverse, transgender and nonbinary youth. As dissenting Justice Sonia Sotomayor warned, this puts transgender youth and their families at the mercy of political whims. This issue hits especially close to home for me, as almost exactly a year ago my younger sister came out as transgender. Watching her grow into herself has been such a joy from painting her nails for the first time and texting TikTok makeup tutorials back and forth to giving her advice as she navigates online dating and teaching her to style her new, long hair. When I was younger, I always wished for a sister. I just didnt realize it meant that one day Id have to share my moms jewelry and handbag collection (something Im still coming to terms with). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But it hasnt all been joyful. My sister hasnt been able to update her passport to reflect her new identity. She has been hesitant to fly to Florida to visit our grandma, out of fear for her safety. She is worried that one day her doctor will have to stop providing care or that insurance will no longer cover the costs. That fear of being harassed, denied care, or worse is a fear that has only been further validated by this ruling. Growing up, my sister went to school with Chief Justice John Robertss kids, and for some time, they were her closest friends. She played in their yard and watched movies on their couch. John Roberts introduced my sister to root beer, which to this day is still her favorite soda. We knew the Roberts family during an era when politics felt like something you could keep separate from everyday life. Were far beyond that now. The decisions being made by the court arent just political theyre deeply personal, and theyre dangerous. And while the court hands down rulings rooted in fear, bigotry and rigidity, my 95-year-old grandmother, who immigrated to the U.S. from Chile over 60 years ago a woman who is quite literally from another century is learning and evolving in real time. She now uses my sisters chosen name and pronouns with more grace and consistency than many people half her age. Sure, sometimes she still calls my sister he, but she also mistakenly calls me Poppy, the name of our family dog, who is arguably the favorite grandchild. After Trumps re-election, my family found itself having impossible conversations. Im half British on my dads side, and for a while, we told ourselves that if things got too dangerous here, my sister could go to England. But the truth is, Englands not safe either. Regressive legislation in the U.K. has increasingly restricted gender-affirming care and fueled a vicious media campaign against trans people, one that is funded by my sisters favorite childhood author, JK Rowling. The irony is that Chile, the country my grandmother emigrated from, may now be safer for her transgender granddaughter than the U.S. or the U.K. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its hard to ignore the hypocrisy: many in this country hate immigrants, yet they create unlivable conditions that force its own citizens especially queer and transgender people, especially non-white people to flee. The U.S. has spent decades destabilizing governments across the world, including Chile, and now its turning on its own children. Its pushing people like my sister out of public life, forcing them back into the closet and locking the door. Were privileged even to consider leaving. So many cant. But I wont. Im staying, as is my sister, both of us fueled by anger. Im staying because my sister deserves to feel joy and safety and autonomy here, in the country she calls home. Im staying because we need people who are willing to fight, to testify, to tell the truth even when the courts wont listen. And because some of the fiercest advocates Ive had the privilege of meeting through this work people whove taught me how to show up better, louder, more radical are young, queer and transgender folks from the South who have been fighting the worst kinds of legislation with unimaginable strength and determination. The other day, I told my sister I was tired. Working in reproductive justice and immigration advocacy, I feel like I am always in flight or fight mode. I joked that in another timeline, Id be a cute monkey on a beach eating mangoes, minding my business. She laughed and said that in another timeline, she wishes shed been born cisgender. My heart broke. This country makes it so hard to exist as herself; it shouldnt require this much bravery just to be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attacks on our communities are relentless. Every day, we are slowly losing our reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and our ability to decide if, when and how to create our families. The road ahead will be long and grueling, but we are not powerless. We can and will fight back because weve been left with no other choice. And because, as my favorite quote from author Mariame Kaba reminds me, Hope is a discipline. Gabriella G. Watson is a fellow of the OpEd Project with the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice and the Every Page Foundation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. What makes someone an American? It is a question that has been asked, weaponized and redefined in every generation. And right now, President Donald Trump has decided that he alone should provide the definition. So far this year, he has attempted to revoke the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship, deport immigrants with green cards and temporary protected status who have lived here for decades and impose ideological requirements for certain people to stay in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The question of who should be an American citizen has been debated since the country was founded. And while there have been times when the answer has been more restrictive, the arc of history has bent toward a more expansive view, from the Reconstruction Amendments after the Civil War to the landmark immigration reform of the 1960s. The Founding Fathers, for all their flaws and contradictions, were preoccupied with what kind of people this new nation would call its own. You can see it throughout the Federalist Papers, the series of anonymous essays written to argue for the ratification of the Constitution. In Federalist No. 1, Alexander Hamilton argued that the Constitution would test whether society could establish a government from reflection and choice instead of bloodline. In No. 2, John Jay wrote that Americans were knit together by the same national government, conducting their common concerns. And in No. 10, James Madison argued that the Constitution would help the country manage the affairs of a diverse society. From the beginning, then, American identity was meant to rest not on racial or ancestral ties, but on faith in a common political experiment. Two centuries later, we are watching an American president insult immigrants on a near-daily basis and call for stripping naturalized citizens of their status. Over the weekend, he even floated the blatantly unconstitutional idea of stripping New York-born Rosie ODonnell of her citizenship because of her criticism of him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump would like us to believe that he is defending the nations heritage, but his attempts to weaponize citizenship against critics tell a different story. This is not about ancestry; its about allegiance to him. This is especially dangerous in a moment when immigration is not being treated as a policy challenge but as a political target. Trump and his allies have revived language of invasion, redirected military resources toward domestic immigration raids, and even proposed mass deportations of people with deep roots in their communities. Theres a direct line between that kind of rhetoric and the broader effort to delegitimize citizenship itself. That vision has now moved beyond the fringe and into the heart of Republican leadership. In a speech at the Claremont Institute, a right-wing think tank, Vice President JD Vance endorsed a hierarchy of citizenship, implying that those with longer ancestral ties to the country are more authentically American. But that idea stands in direct opposition to the founding promise of this nation, which is why we must say out loud what history has already proven: The people crossing our borders today fleeing violence, seeking opportunity, working for a better life for their families are living out the very promise this country was built on. They are showing us what belief in America looks like. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve seen this fight before. In the 19th century, Irish and Italian immigrants were told theyd never be real Americans. In the 20th century, African Americans were beaten and jailed for demanding the rights they were born with. Every time this country has tried to expand the definition of we the people, there has been backlash. But every time, hope and the belief in a broader, more inclusive America has marched ahead anyway. So yes, we should take these attacks on citizenship seriously and aggressively challenge them. We should also remember our history is filled with people who refused to let anyone else define their Americanness. From Frederick Douglass to Shirley Chisholm to the immigrants fighting in courtrooms today, the American story is one of people forcing this country to live up to its ideals. What makes someone an American? Its not who they are, but what they believe. Do they believe in democracy? In equal protection under the law? In the idea that power should be earned, not inherited? If so, whether theyre born in Brooklyn, Port-au-Prince or Caracas, they belong. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is power in saying that. There is hope in remembering that. And there is danger in forgetting it. For more thought-provoking insights from Michael Steele, Alicia Menendez and Symone Sanders-Townsend, watch The Weeknight every Monday-Friday at 7 p.m. ET on MSNBC. This article was originally published on MSNBC.com President Trumps approach to Africa has shown potential but is reaching a critical point. The presidents focus on pursuing greater economic and security cooperation with key countries has gained traction, but it is clashing with competing domestic priorities, like immigration and tariffs. If the administration cannot reconcile these goals, it risks leaving massive opportunities on the table. Trumps recently concluded July summit with five West African leaders displayed many of the characteristics of his second-term Africa strategy thus far it was direct and transactional, with a focus on areas where interests converge. This strategy has shown substantial promise, albeit unfulfilled. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For example, U.S. diplomacy between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda has, for now, limited fighting in their conflict-stricken border area while creating potential opportunities for U.S. investment and critical mineral access as part of a broader peace framework. Such access would conveniently also help the U.S. diminish Chinese dominance of several critical minerals found in the region. The small U.S.-Africa summit focused on a handful of countries Gabon, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mauritania and Senegal that can provide the administration a big bang for its buck. All five countries play various roles in Trumps key priorities: combating Chinese influence, stemming migration, accessing critical minerals, and containing the spread of Salafi-jihadi terror groups. They also highlight the central tension of the Trump administrations Africa policy, where foreign policy goals and domestic priorities compete. In Gabon, greater U.S. investment and defense cooperation can address two of Trumps objectives: critical minerals and China. The United States has an opportunity to support Gabonese efforts to grow its domestic refining capacity to counter Chinas outsized influence on the manganese market, which multiple U.S. agencies list as a critical mineral due to its role in steel production and lithium-ion battery manufacturing. Gabon has little domestic refinement capability, exporting most of its manganese to China. China has the second-largest manganese reserves and is largest manganese consumer but is heavily reliant on imports, 22 percent of which come from Gabon. However, Gabon has made it a priority to boost domestic refining capacity and courted U.S. investment to help reach this goal. Greater economic engagement opens other opportunities to counter China. Gabon is a top target of Chinese efforts to secure an Atlantic coast naval base, and the two countries conducted joint naval exercises earlier in 2025. However, Gabons president has so far rejected Chinas base overtures and tried to balance ties with the West. Gabonese forces have also participated in numerous U.S.-led exercises and training programs over the last decade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stronger partnerships with Mauritania and Senegal can also address two of Trumps other key objectives: migration and terrorism. Mauritania and Senegal have become increasingly popular destinations for migrants attempting to reach Europe and to a lesser extent the U.S. Both countries are also next-door to the epicenter of global terrorism, where strengthening al Qaeda and Islamic State affiliates could have the capacity to attack the homeland, according to U.S. officials. The U.S. should coordinate with its European partners and build upon pre-existing ties with Mauritania and Senegal to address these shared challenges. On migration, the U.S. can augment the efforts of the European Union, which has already invested hundreds of millions of dollars into both countries to address the root drivers of migration and help security forces contain illegal migration. The U.S. and European allies should build upon preexisting defense cooperation with both countries to help address shared security concerns, especially given the terror groups increasingly pose a direct threat to Mauritania and Senegal. Looking beyond the countries that attended the summit, Trump has said he wants to revive peace talks in Sudan. Doing so would bolster Trumps status as a peacemaker, help address the worlds largest humanitarian and migrant crisis, and support his Red Sea strategy by containing opportunistic Iranian and Russian efforts to access Sudans Red Sea coast. U.S. officials should use their peace efforts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo as a template and bring key external actors namely the United Arab Emirates, which is a major U.S. defense partner and a critical backer of one of the warring sides to the table. Doing so will help limit the scale of the violence and create space for the U.S. to bring in other partners to help engage the Sudanese factions. But amid these many opportunities to pursue peace, power and prosperity in Africa, there are clear tension points with Trumps America First domestic agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The presidents tariffs, for example, undermine his trade, not aid and equal partnership mantras, encouraging other countries to turn to China. Beijing continues to give nearly the entire continent no-tariff access to its markets, which helps expand the already sizeable gap between Chinese and U.S. trade figures with Africa. The Trump administration and Congress should consider ways to save and improve the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which has given African countries tariff-free access to U.S. markets for 25 years, instead of killing it altogether. Trump himself said he would look into saving the program during the recent summit. On migration, some U.S. policies have further undermined Trumps narrative of an equal U.S.-Africa partnership. Multiple African officials condemned visa restrictions and tariffs as unacceptable and counterproductive during the U.S.-Africa business summit in June. This backlash highlights that U.S. officials should seek to limit the damage hardline policies in this area have on commercial and diplomatic ties with Africa. The administrations push to have African countries accept third-nation migrants deported from the United States, while threatening two-thirds of the continent with a travel ban, also appears lopsided. The administration has a chance to fine-tune aid cuts and travel restrictions in ways that support the presidents Africa agenda. Saving a program like Power Africa, which supported energy and internet projects, is one clear opportunity. The United States can help African countries generate the electricity they need to boost critical mineral production and refinement and secure American access to resources in places such as Gabon. Growing the number of African student visas where China has a numbers advantage is another way to ensure the United States is building ties with the continents best and brightest, as Africas youth boom positions it to emerge as a major force in the coming decades. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The first six months of Trumps second term have shown the promise of Trumps approach to the continent. But U.S.-Africa relations do not take place in a vacuum. Trump will have to continue to thread the needle between his domestic agenda and foreign policy goals to fulfill this massive potential and truly redefine U.S.-Africa relations in a way that will leave a lasting legacy. Liam Karr is the Africa team lead for the Critical Threats Project at the American Enterprise Institute. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Following his Monday meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, President Trump took his latest and largest steps towards tightening the screws on Moscow for continuing and even escalating its war on Ukraine, and rejecting the numerous proposals his administration has offered to establish a stable ceasefire. This is a vastly different approach than the Obama-like reset with Russia that Trump sought in the first months of his administration. However, it is consistent with his pledge to establish a national security policy of peace through strength and his statements the first week in office that he would put pressure on the party to this war that obstructed his efforts to end it. This new Trump approach is based on two lines of pressure: weapons for Ukraine and reduced revenue flows for Russias economy. Trumps announcement means that he has not only restored the weapons pipeline to Ukraine that had been approved by Congress and the Biden administration last year, but he is sending billions of dollars of additional weapons. Trump himself only mentioned Patriot batteries and missiles, essential to stop Russian ballistic missiles targeting Ukraines cities, but Rutte also mentioned missiles that could be used to blunt Moscows military offensives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rutte came to Washington because NATO members will purchase the U.S. weapons and transfer them to Ukraine; this meets Trumps requirement that U.S. aid to Ukraine end. Nonetheless, this is a significant message to Moscow: If the U.S. weapons supply does not end with the Biden pipeline, Putins plans to achieve effective control of Ukraine by additional territorial conquest will be far harder to achieve. That goal will be harder still to reach because at the same time Trump announced plans to add pressure on Moscows stuttering economy by placing secondary sanctions on Russias trading partners in the form of 100 percent tariffs if Russia does not agree to a peace with Ukraine within 50 days. Moscow has been dependent on trade, especially purchases of its oil and gas, ever since the West placed major sanctions on Russia after the big invasion of February 2022. Since then, Moscow has used a ghost fleet of oil tankers either registered in other countries or unregistered to circumvent the U.S.-led $60 oil price cap to deliver the product. According to the Kyiv School of Economics, this was worth $9.4 billion in revenue last year to Moscow, though its total oil and gas revenues are far higher. Denying Moscow this and additional revenues would be a real blow to its war economy. These steps point to a welcome realism in the White House about Putins intentions and Russias danger to our interests, but alone they will prove inadequate to force him to negotiate a stable ceasefire or peace deal. His goal remains to achieve effective political control of Ukraine by seizing more territory on the battlefield. That includes Kharkiv and Sumy in the east, Kyiv and all major cities on the Dnipro River, Odesa and Ukraines remaining Black Sea coast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He believes that by constant assaults on the frontlines, even with high Russian casualties, and constant bombing of Ukrainian cities, he can impose his will on Kyiv and outlast the West, starting with the U.S. This perception persists in Moscow even after Mondays announcement. Konstantin Kosachev, the deputy speaker of Russias upper legislative body, called the announcement much ado about nothing because in 50 days so much can change both on the battlefield and in the moods of the powers that be in the U.S. and NATO. The administration needs to eschew the ad hoc and incremental approach of the Biden team and put together a long-term strategy that blocks Russian gains at the front, weakens the Russian war economy and bolsters Ukraines ability to not just continue to fight, but to fight more effectively. What might this look like? Yes, we should try to address the immediate air defense needs by getting Ukraine more Patriot batteries and far more interceptor missiles, but our operational goal should be to help Ukraine stop any further Russian gains on the battlefield. That requires a close assessment of what they need to do that. On the economic side, besides reducing Kremlin oil and gas revenues, the U.S., working with allies and partners, should impose sanctions on countries like China, providing dual-use technology for Russian weapons. We can also announce our intention in consultation with our G7 partners to arrange the use of the nearly $300 billion of frozen Russian state assets to help Ukraine if Russian offensive operations do not cease by, again, a not distant date certain. Following his strike on Iran, President Trump is in a unique position to dissuade Saudi Arabia from renewing its threats not to buy Eurobonds if those assets are transferred. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the past four months the administration has learned beyond a shadow of doubt that Moscow has no interest in peace. Only strong measures methodically pursued can persuade Moscow to accept a durable peace for a secure and economically viable Ukraine and reestablished security in Europe. John Herbst is senior director of the Atlantic Councils Eurasia Center and former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A lawsuit has been filed against several Morrow County and Port of Morrow officials for an alleged insider sale, according to a statement Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield released on Tuesday. The lawsuit claims that two former Port of Morrow Commissioners and two former Morrow County Commissioners abused their power as board members of the non-profit Inland Development Corporation to purchase Windwave Communications at an undervalued price. This nonprofit was created to connect eastern Oregon communitiesnot to quietly enrich a handful of officials behind closed doors, said Attorney General Dan Rayfield. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beaverton father detained by ICE outside of preschool Construction is seen at an Amazon Web Services data center on Aug. 22, 2024, in Boardman, Ore. (AP Photo/Jenny Kane) Former Port of Morrow General Manager Gary Neal, former Port of Morrow Commissioners Jerry Healy and Marvin Padberg, and former Morrow County Commissioner Don Russell were among those named in the lawsuit. When public officials use their positions to game the system for private gain, its a betrayal of trust. These were people in power who knew that Windwave was about to explode in valueand instead of protecting the publics interest, they cashed in, Rayfield said. Windwave was purchased by the four officials in 2018. According to the complaint, they withheld financial information to manufacture and artificially low valuation of Windwave, and ultimately purchased it for $2.6 million when it was worth at least $9.5 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit also alleges that defendants Jill Parker, Richard Devi and Gregory Smith were recruited to serve as disinterested directors, with the intention that they sign off on the Windwave sale. These insiders, the complaint states, knew that Windwave would soon rake in massive profits as its largest customer, Amazon, planned to build large-scale data centers in the area. In this way and, others to be proven at trial, the Insiders put their own interests ahead of those of Inland, to which they owed a fiduciary duty, the complaint states. KOIN reached out to the Port of Morrow and Morrow County for comment, but did not hear back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. Jul. 17Oregon lawmakers have passed a pair of bills to enable "microgrids" within the larger power system. Microgrids are essentially local "islands" of energy generation and storage systems that connect to a utility but can operate independently when needed. Many are designed to serve community facilities such as hospitals and schools during emergencies. California passed its own microgrid policy in 2018, but Oregon advocates say the new legislation there is the most ambitious in the nation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If a utility needs to shut off transmission lines during a period of high wildfire danger, a community microgrid could use a combination of local solar and battery storage to keep key facilities online even while cut off from the main grid. The pair of bills in Oregon passed with large, bipartisan majorities and are awaiting the expected signature of Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek. One of the bills orders the Oregon Public Utility Commission to create a regulatory framework for private and community-owned microgrids. It also orders regulators to establish rules for buildings to connect to microgrids. Under the measure, local governments can establish "microgrid zones" with unique land-use regulations. Oregon state Rep. Mark Gamba, a Democrat who serves as vice chair on the House Climate, Energy, and Environment Committee, said the state needs further changes to its land use to speed up permitting for energy projects. The microgrid legislation, he said, "cuts a little bit of red tape." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is not the end-all, be-all on fixing the permitting system by any stretch, but this was what we could get passed this year," Gamba said in an interview. The other bill would allow a public utility or a third-party consultant to evaluate requests to connect a microgrid to the public power grid. Backers say it would help ease a regulatory bottleneck slowing clean energy projects, trade publication Utility Dive reported. Rural communities are especially susceptible to power reliability issues, Dylan Kruse, president of Oregon-based nonprofit Sustainable Northwest, told Utility Dive. Some utilities opposed the legislation, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported, saying it could be risky to allow third parties to connect to utility infrastructure. They cited their own work to establish microgrids with public partners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kruse told OPB that wildfires, heat waves and snowstorms are creating urgency to make the grid more resilient. "We're seeing challenges with the grid," he said. "It's impacting communities and we're seeing a lot more of these outages and they are looking for alternatives to say, 'Look, if the lights are going to go off, we've got to have some options here'." Editor's note: This story was updated to include a similar policy in California. Alex Baumhardt of the Oregon Capital Chronicle contributed to this report. Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at [email protected]. YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE. Solar panels are seen in the parking lot at the College of Marin in Kentfield, Calif. Local solar panels and battery storage can be used in "microgrids" that keep community facilities online during emergencies. Legislation passed in Oregon this month makes it the first state to establish a framework for such microgrids. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Oregon lawmakers have passed a pair of bills to enable microgrids within the larger power system. Microgrids are essentially local islands of energy generation and storage systems that connect to a utility but can operate independently when needed. Many are designed to serve community facilities such as hospitals and schools during emergencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California passed its own microgrid policy in 2018, but Oregon advocates say the new legislation there is the most ambitious in the nation. If a utility needs to shut off transmission lines during a period of high wildfire danger, a community microgrid could use a combination of local solar and battery storage to keep key facilities online even while cut off from the main grid. The pair of bills in Oregon passed with large, bipartisan majorities and are awaiting the expected signature of Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek. One of the bills orders the Oregon Public Utility Commission to create a regulatory framework for private and community-owned microgrids. It also orders regulators to establish rules for buildings to connect to microgrids. Under the measure, local governments can establish microgrid zones with unique land-use regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Oregon state Rep. Mark Gamba, a Democrat who serves as vice chair on the House Climate, Energy, and Environment Committee, said the state needs further changes to its land use to speed up permitting for energy projects. The microgrid legislation, he said, cuts a little bit of red tape. This is not the end-all, be-all on fixing the permitting system by any stretch, but this was what we could get passed this year, Gamba said in an interview. The other bill would allow a public utility or a third-party consultant to evaluate requests to connect a microgrid to the public power grid. Backers say it would help ease a regulatory bottleneck slowing clean energy projects, trade publication Utility Dive reported. Rural communities are especially susceptible to power reliability issues, Dylan Kruse, president of Oregon-based nonprofit Sustainable Northwest, told Utility Dive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some utilities opposed the legislation, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported, saying it could be risky to allow third parties to connect to utility infrastructure. They cited their own work to establish microgrids with public partners. Kruse told OPB that wildfires, heat waves and snowstorms are creating urgency to make the grid more resilient. Were seeing challenges with the grid, he said. Its impacting communities and were seeing a lot more of these outages and they are looking for alternatives to say, Look, if the lights are going to go off, weve got to have some options here. Editors note: This story was updated to include a similar policy in California. Alex Baumhardt of the Oregon Capital Chronicle contributed to this report. Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at abrown@stateline.org. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Microplastics, about the size of a grain of rice, have been found in Oregon waterways, and have been shown to cause damage to human and animal cells. (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) The average human brain now contains enough tiny plastic fragments to equal the weight of a plastic spoon, a 50% increase in the past decade. Those sobering statistics, included in a February study from researchers at the University of New Mexico, spurred a bipartisan, bicameral and bicoastal congressional team to introduce legislation Thursday to require the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to study the health impacts of microplastics. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum and Sen. Jeff Merkley, both Oregon Democrats, and U.S. Sen. Rick Scott and Rep. Greg Steube, both Florida Republicans, introduced the Microplastics Safety Act. Bynum told the Capital Chronicle its an example of the type of low-hanging fruit she aims to tackle as a first-term congresswoman in the minority party. U.S. Rep. Janelle Bynum, a Democrat who represents Oregons 5th Congressional District, sits for a portrait at her new office in Oregon City on Jan. 28, 2025. (Photo by Rian Dundon/Oregon Capital Chronicle) The (Trump) administration has indicated an interest in making America healthy again, so this was the perfect opportunity to marry the interests of Oregonians with the interests of the administration, Bynum said. The three-page bill would require Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to identify the major causes of microplastic exposure and study the impact of exposure to microplastics on childrens health, hormones, cancer, chronic illness and reproductive health. Kennedy would need to submit a report to Congress within a year. Scott, the chairman of the U.S. Senates Special Committee on Aging, said in a statement that he was especially concerned about the long-term harm microplastics pose to older Americans. The University of New Mexico study found a clear correlation between people diagnosed with dementia and plastic brain tissue from dementia patients had up to 10 times as much plastic than brain tissue from others but it couldnt determine a causal link. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Microplastics Safety Act is a critical step toward understanding the full scope of these risks, Scott said. As exposure continues to grow through food, water, air, and everyday products, this legislation will help ensure were guided by sound science to protect public health and our next generation. Merkley added that microplastics threaten human health and the environment. Most of us have been taught the three Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. Too often, the reality for plastics is really the three Bs buried, burned, and borne out to sea as dangerous chemicals are seeping into our soil, air, and water, he said in a statement. Bynum said its not a coincidence that the bills first four sponsors hail from coastal states: People who live near the coast, or by rivers or lakes, are more likely to see large plastic washing up on beaches. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a real issue that people can see every day in their communities, and theyre also probably a lot more focused on making sure that those waterways and those areas of recreation and areas where we are are harvesting our food, are clean, are safe to eat and are not environmentally contaminated, she said. She also hopes that a federal study will help more people understand the reasoning behind policies like Oregons laws to phase out the use of plastic bags, straws and disposable tableware. As a state representative, Bynum voted for 2019 laws to ban single-use plastic grocery bags and prohibit restaurants from giving plastic straws to customers who dont ask for them. Critics decried those bans as virtue signaling and symptoms of a nanny state government. Bynum said she hopes that having more information and research from the federal government will help more people see the value of limiting plastic, similar to how the Food and Drug Administration provides guidance on how much water to drink or what constitutes a healthy balance of protein and vegetables. She acknowledged that it may be hard to trust the results of a report from a department led by Kennedy, whose stances on vaccines and fluoride in drinking water have alarmed scientists and public health officials. But Bynum said that isnt a reason to stop trying to help improve health and welfare. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, I think it is important for us to ask the question about what microplastics are doing to our bodies and to our environment, and we should continue pushing on that, whoevers in charge of the administration, she said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) An Oregon man was arrested in Washington D.C. for allegedly parking a car full of weapons near the White House on Wednesday. Officers said Nolan R. Churan, 23, was parked in an area reserved for Congressional staff without a parking permit and with what seemed to be a bow and arrow, knife, and empty pistol holster inside. Tree falls into power line, causing power outages for thousands in Vancouver Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Capitol Police said Churan was not near the car and was eventually tracked down near the north barricade of the U.S. Capitol. When interviewed, Churan reportedly told police he had guns in his car. The car, a Subaru Outback with a large tricycle attached to the roof, was investigated by a K-9 team with the DC Metropolitan Police Department. Officers reported finding a rifle, a handgun, and ammunition along with multiple knives, axes, a halberd, a rapier sword, and a bow and arrow. (US Capitol Police) (US Capitol Police) (US Capitol Police) (US Capitol Police) Churan faces charges of unlawful activities, carrying a pistol without a license, carrying a rifle without a license, carrying a dangerous weapon (sword), possessing a high-capacity ammunition feeding device, having an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials said they are not sure what Churan was doing on Capitol grounds, but added that there does not appear to be a nexus to the Congress. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) As the President Donald Trump administration halts over $6 billion in federal education funding, Oregon organizations that serve hundreds of children may face devastating consequences. The Oregon Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs warns that several of their satellite sites may be forced to shut down if funding isnt restored soon. Oregon man with weapons in car arrested in DC The U.S. Department of Education recently announced a hold on billions in federal education dollars, including money designated for 21st Century Community Learning Centers. These grants support after-school and summer programs, particularly those formed through strong partnerships between school districts and community-based organizations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Oregon, clubs in Greater Santiam, Western Lane County, and Emerald Valley are among the recipients of this grant. School year kick-off is a really looming date, said Bethany Thramer, Director of the Oregon Alliance of Boys and Girls Clubs. If funding isnt in place or expected, the kind of pressure it puts on the organization is significant. With the school year rapidly approaching, the Oregon Alliance stands to lose $1.41 million in funding, according to Thramer. That shortfall could lead to: Closure of three satellite sites Layoffs affecting up to 13 staff members Hundreds of youth left without a safe, enriching place to go after school or during summer break Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of the young people impacted come from underserved and rural communitiesareas where options for after-school care are already scarce. When there are only a couple of options for where kids can go, where they can stay involved, its really essential we keep the doors open, Thramer emphasized. Thousands without power in Vancouver Thramer says the organization is doing everything it can to secure alternative public and private funding to avoid shutdowns. I know we are not alone, she said. Community organizations across the state are facing challenging times. As of now, the U.S. Department of Education has not provided a timeline for whenor ifthe frozen funds will be released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Orlando Out Fest, the theater festival celebrating Central Floridas queer artists and stories, will not return this year, Orlando Fringe confirmed Wednesday evening. While changing resources and funding realities have made it difficult to plan for a 2025 edition, the team and board of directors have made the thoughtful decision to pause the event this year, wrote Genevieve Bernard, Orlando Fringe director of experience, in a statement. The brainchild of Ciara Hannon, a playwright, Fringe artist and former Orlando Fringe contractor, Orlando Out Fest made its debut in 2024 as a weekend-long festival with eight shows. More than 35 artists from the local LGBTQ community had submitted applications to the festival, presented by Orlando Fringe. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the festival faced unexpected obstacles from the start. A flood in the downtown Fringe ArtSpace, which was to house the fest, meant it had to be abruptly postponed from summer to September. Although Orlando Fringe gave up the ArtSpace venue in February, the organization still hoped to present Out Fest this year. The printed program for the annual Orlando Fringe Festival in May contained a message from George Wallace, a former Fringe executive who now leads The LGBT+ Center Orlando and was planning to partner with Orlando Fringe to produce the second Out Fest in September. It will be a celebration of diversity, inclusion and belonging for not only queer artists but our whole community, he wrote. We need events like the annual festival and Orlando Out Fest now more than ever. But Bernard said producing the festival proved to be too heavy a lift while the nonprofit organization is in a rebuilding phase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Orlando Fringe suffered financial setbacks over the cost of running ArtSpace, which it operated on Church Street for two years. And, as with all cultural organizations, a drop in government support has hit them hard. Last year, Gov. Ron DeSantis blamed fringe festivals for his veto of funding the states four primary arts-grant programs, calling them sexual in nature. And attendance fell sharply at the 2024 Fringe Festival in Loch Haven Park, although it stabilized this year. Orlando Fringe Festival attendance ticks upward: A lot of positive energy In the state budget for the coming fiscal year, Orlando Fringe missed out on a $150,000 grant because of a reduced allocation for cultural grants by the state Legislature and the surprise implementation of new criteria for recommending which grants get funded. We carefully considered all possibilities of producing this event, but the truth is we are still facing financial challenges and trying to build a Fringe that we can sustain for the long haul, Bernard wrote. Part of that work means being honest about what we can take on right now and making decisions that keep us moving forward in a real and responsible way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bernard indicated Fringe leadership, which includes managing director Melissa Fritzinger and artistic director Tempestt Halstead, remained committed to the spirit behind Orlando Out Fest. Were incredibly proud to have been able to launch the inaugural Orlando Out Fest last fall at Fringe ArtSpace, Bernard wrote. Were hopeful that Orlando Out Fest will return in the coming years. Follow me at facebook.com/matthew.j.palm or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel.com. Find more entertainment news and reviews at orlandosentinel.com/entertainment or sign up to receive our weekly emailed Entertainment newsletter. OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) Thursday, the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH) is reminding families with a back-to-school checklist as children head back to school. Now is the time to begin gathering the documents parents and caregivers may need before kids return to the classroom, said Erica Rankin-Riley, OSDH Spokesperson. The sooner families begin the processes to obtain what they need, the better. Birth certificates: Birth certificates can be ordered online or by calling 877-817-7364. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Below are the costs for ordering birth certificates or changes to birth certificates: Birth certificate (with no changes): $15 search fee One (1) copy issued, if birth record is found. Search fee is non-refundable if birth record is not found. Additional copies: $ 15 each Change or amendment to a record: $40 ($15 search fee + $25 amendment fee) Online/phone convenience fee: $5 for Oklahoma residents (varies for non-residents) Online/phone expedite fee: $20 (if applicable). Wall Street ticks toward a record as PepsiCo and tech stocks rally Shot Records: If a parent or guardian needs to get a childs shot records click Oklahoma Immunization Information System (OSIIS) portal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If the records are not in OSIIS, OSIIS Help Desk at OSIISHelp@health.ok.gov. For more information to help get your family ready for the new school year, 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 KFOR.com Oklahoma City. Over 67,000 Cases of This Popular Deodorant Have Been RecalledHere's What to Know originally appeared on Parade. Over 67,000 cases of a popular deodorant have been recalled. In an enforcement report published by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the recall was initiated by the deodorant's company on July 10, 2025. It is still ongoing. Created by A.P. Deauville, the recall involves the personal care company's Power Stick for Her Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant in "Power Fresh," Power Stick Invisible Protection Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant in "Spring Fresh" and Power Stick Original Nourishing Invisible Protection Roll-On Antiperspirant Deodorant. SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox The recall was initiated by A.P. Deauville themselves, citing cGMP deviations. This means it was related to the FDA's Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement cGMP deviations indicate that procedures and standards outlined in the Current Good Manufacturing Practice regulations have not been followed. This can happen at any stage of the production process. For this particular instance, the manufacturing issue has not be disclosed. Related: This Popular Cheese Product Is Being RecalledHere's What to Know 21,265 cases cases of the Power Fresh scent are currently being recalled, including lot numbers 032026B011, 032226B031, 051626C241, 061526C882, 071226D371, 071226D381, 082526E341 and 082826E402. For the Spring Fresh scent, 22,482 cases are being recalled, including lot numbers 031726A991, 041226B561, 062026C901, 062026C911, 071026D351, 071026D361, 071326D391 and 111626G231. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the original version of the deodorant, 23,467 cases are being recalled, including lot numbers 101225D781, 032926B281, 032826B221, 041126B531, 062226D011, 070626D301, 070626D333, 111026G051, 111326G091 and 111626G221. The implicated cases of the Power Stick Deodorant were shipped nationwide, according to the FDA report. The deodorant is sold at Walmart, Dollar Tree and Amazon. A.P. Deauville is based in Easton, Pennsylvania. The men and women's personal care company also makes shampoos, conditioners, lotion, body washes and facial wipes, according to its website. At this time, no press release has been released involving the recall. Related: Egg Recall Outbreak Turns Fatal as Cases Climb Nationwide Over 67,000 Cases of This Popular Deodorant Have Been RecalledHere's What to Know first appeared on Parade on Jul 17, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The Overland Park Fire Department is investigating after a home was destroyed in an overnight fire by a potential lightning strike. According to OPFD, just before 3:30 a.m. Thursday, crews were sent to the area of 139th Terrace and Flint Street with Overland Park police for a home intrusion alarm. Kansas City Fire Department responds to 18 water rescues during overnight storms When units arrived, it was reported that they found a large fire on the roof of a two-story home. The call was then changed to a house fire, and additional units from the Lenexa and Leawood Fire Departments were called to the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement OPFD said that its firefighters entered the home and began extinguishing the fire, which had spread to the basement, first and second floors, and the roof. As of 6:30 a.m., they were still on the scene, working to put out the flames. Although the fire was contained to the single-family home, the structure partially collapsed, making it difficult for crews to access other hot spots. Thousands without power after overnight flash flooding in Kansas City metro After OPFD was able to get the scene under control, crews began working to determine the cause of the fire. Investigators said a lightning strike may have been to blame after finding trees that had been struck next to the house. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fire department added that lightning reports indicate nearly 50 strikes around the home at the time of the fire. According to OPFD, no injuries were reported, and the occupants were out of town. Investigations are still 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 4 Kansas City WDAF-TV | News, Weather, Sports. KANSAS CITY, Mo. The National Weather Service in Pleasant Hill has canceled a flash flood warning for parts of the Kansas City metro as the heavy rain ended Thursday morning. Several areas on both sides of the state line were impacted by flash flooding as the storm moved through the area early Thursday. Kansas City Fire Department responds to 18 water rescues during overnight storms As of 8:40 a.m., the National Weather Service canceled a flash flood warning for parts of Buchanan, Carroll, Clay, Jackson, Lafayette, Platte and Ray counties in Missouri and Johnson, Atchison and Leavenworth counties in Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FOX4 meteorologists have been sharing the amount of rainfall that residents have recorded. About 3 to 8 inches of rain fell across the metro. Here are some of the totals: Shawnee: 8.71 inches Overland Park: 8.2 inches Independence: 8 inches Kansas City, Kansas: 6.3 inches Gardner: 5.95 inches Gladstone: 5 inches According to KCFD, the large rain totals have left many low-lying roadways flooded and people trapped in their cars. The Kansas City Fire Department said it has responded to at least 23 water rescues Thursday morning due to a high volume of rain from overnight storms. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PHOENIX (AP) When Jeffrey Epstein died in prison, then-President Donald Trump speculated that authorities might be wrong in ruling it a suicide. Many of his allies in the pro-Trump media went further, casting Epsteins death as a murder meant to continue a decades-long coverup of pedophilia by elites. Now back in the White House, Donald Trump has elevated prominent proponents of Epstein conspiracies to senior law enforcement roles, and they're struggling to contain a fire that they spent years stoking. Much of Trump's base is choosing to believe the president's earlier claims about Epstein over his latest contention that there's nothing of substance in government files. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres a look at how Trump and his aides, including the attorney general and FBI leadership, fanned the flames of the Epstein conspiracy theories over the years, and how they're now trying to extinguish them. In their own words: Trump and Epstein were friends Before Epstein's sexual predation was well-known, he and Trump were friends. Both were New Yorkers with homes in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump knew something about Epstein's social life and interest in women on the younger side, though there's no evidence Trump was aware Epstein was involved in sex trafficking of minors, as prosecutors allege. I've known Jeff for 15 years, Trump told New York Magazine for a 2002 profile of Epstein. Terrific guy. Hes a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The friendship later fell apart, according to Trump. He has since distanced himself from Epstein and more recently describes their relationship as far more distant than he portrayed in 2002. Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him, Trump said on July 9, 2019, after Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges. I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I dont think Ive spoken to him for 15 years. I wasnt a fan." Three days later, Trump was asked what led to his falling out with Epstein and whether the financier had been banned from Mar-a-Lago, Trump's Palm Beach home. Yes. And I did have a falling out a long time ago. The reason doesnt make any difference, frankly, Trump said. He said he had no idea Epstein was molesting women. A month later, on Aug. 10, 2019, Epstein was found dead in his New York City jail cell. His death was ruled a suicide. Trump nods toward conspiracy theories The day Epstein was found in his cell, Trump shared a social media post that linked his death to former President Bill Clinton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I want a full investigation, and thats what I absolutely am demanding, Trump told reporters on Aug. 13, 2019. Pressed on whether he really believed Clinton was involved in Epstein's death, Trump responded at length about Clinton traveling on Epstein's private plane. Because Epstein had an island that was not a good place, as I understand it, Trump said. And I was never there. So you have to ask: Did Bill Clinton go to the island? In a 2020 interview with Axios, Trump cast doubt on the New York medical examiner's ruling that Epstein's death was a suicide. He was asked about Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's longtime companion. Maxwell had been charged a month earlier with luring teenage girls to be sexually abused by Epstein, and Trump had controversially responded: I wish her well. Well, her boyfriend died in jail and people are still trying to figure out how did it happen? Was it suicide? Was he killed? And I do wish her well. Im not looking for anything bad for her. Im not looking bad for anybody, Trump told Axios on Aug. 3, 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Trump left office, Maxwell was convicted in 2021 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. In the years since, Trump has said he's unsure whether Epstein killed himself. In a Fox News interview during his 2024 campaign, Trump hedged when asked whether he'd release the Epstein files. His noncommittal answer came right after he'd agreed without hesitation to declassify files related to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and the John F. Kennedy assassination. "I guess I would. I think that, less so, because you dont want to affect peoples lives if its phony stuff in there because its a lot of phony stuff with that whole world. But I think I would," Trump said on June 2, 2024. Trump allies lean in Trump's unconventional picks to lead the FBI Director Kash Patel and Deputy Director Dan Bongino were commentators in Trump's Make America Great Again movement before joining federal law enforcement. In their prior roles, both aggressively promoted theories that Epstein was killed to keep him quiet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a 2023 appearance on Benny Johnson's podcast, Patel was incensed that House Republicans weren't trying harder to force the release of an alleged list of high-powered Epstein associates a document the Patel-led FBI now says doesn't exist. What the hell are the House Republicans doing? They have the majority. You can't get the list? ... Put on your big boy pants and let us know who the pedophiles are," Patel said in the interview, which Johnson posted to social media on Dec. 19, 2023. As a podcaster, Bongino called the Epstein story one of the biggest political scandals of our time and portrayed it as a wide-ranging conspiracy involving global elites. What the hell are they hiding with Jeffrey Epstein? Bongino asked on his show on May 4, 2023. What do Clinton, Obama officials, big money leftists, a former Prime Minister of Israel why do they want to make this Jeffrey Epstein story go away so bad? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attorney General Pam Bondi stoked the conspiracy even after taking the helm at the Justice Department. The alleged Epstein client list is "sitting on my desk right now to review, Bondi said in a February interview on Fox News. She later told reporters, There are tens of thousands of videos of Epstein with children or child porn. Trump and his team try to put the genie back in the bottle Patel, Bongino and Bondi now contradict their earlier selves. The Justice Department this month said Epstein did not maintain a client list" of powerful men for whom he trafficked underage girls and said no more files would be released. Patel and Bongino offered assurances that they'd reviewed the evidence and there was no reason to doubt Epstein killed himself. I believe he hung himself in a cell in the Metropolitan Detention Center, Patel testified in a Senate hearing on May 8. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump himself has been the most aggressive. In a lengthy post Wednesday on Truth Social, he lashed out at his PAST supporters who have believed in Epstein conspiracy theories, calling them weaklings and saying he doesn't want their support anymore! He claimed, without offering evidence, that Democrats concocted the Epstein stories that have animated his base. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, Trump wrote. In another lengthy post on Saturday, he vouched for Bondi and pressed his supporters to move on. Whats going on with my boys and, in some cases, gals'? Theyre all going after Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is doing a FANTASTIC JOB! Trump wrote. The Palm Beach County School Board voted July 16 to repeal Diversity, Equity and Inclusion language from its policies despite an effort from board member Edwin Ferguson to suspend them while DEI issues play out in the courts. He and fellow board member Virginia Savietto, after voting in favor of suspending the policies, opposed repealing them. It was a sort of a lose-lose vote for school board members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vote to make permanent their decision to rescind the district's DEI language is likely to disappoint many of the racial minorities, women and LGBTQ+ community members who have urged the district to fight back against what they described as a bigoted overreach by the Trump administration. Conversely, a vote to reinstate the DEI language would have likely angered not just the administration but also Republicans in the state Legislature who also oppose DEI and are positioned to punish a school district that publicly bucked the administration. More: Teachers, activists push back against Palm Beach County School Board repeal of DEI rules Schools Superintendent Mike Burke says threat to lost money was real Superintendent Mike Burke warned school board members in April that the threat to the hundreds of millions of dollars the district gets from the federal government each year was real. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Department of Education had sent state education commissioners a notice demanding that they get school districts to sign a statement acknowledging the administration's view that some DEI policies could violate federal antidiscrimination laws and lead to a loss of funding. The threat to withhold federal education funding represented the Trump administration's follow-through on a pledge the president and other Republicans made throughout last year's campaign to end DEI, which they describe as a form of reverse discrimination against whites that put minorities in positions of authority without merit. Palm Beach County schools Superintendent Mike Burke, seen here talking to students at Grove Park Elementary School in August 2024, warned board members in April that the federal threats of cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in funding was real. Democrats and LGBTQ+ groups counter that the programs are a necessary tool to ensure that women and minorities are included in job candidate pools and that the views of people in marginalized communities are taken into account as policy is crafted. In the face of the administration's funding threat, Burke signed the statement acknowledging the administration's view of DEI, and school board members voted in April to suspend the district's DEI language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vote did not end any formalized DEI program in the district. But the school board had authorized the district to undertake a marketplace disparity study, the first step governments take before establishing a program that sets goals for how much contract work goes to firms owned by women or minorities. And district policy required principals to consider diversity as they hire teachers and staff. Ferguson cast the lone vote in April against removing that language, calling the administration's actions "child-like" and "bullying" and castigating as an "idiot" those who might unwittingly back threats forcing the district to scrap policies that help women as well as minorities. "We should let them do it and see what happens," he said of the Trump administration. "I promise you they'll flip-flop just like the silly tariffs that are implemented one day and then flipped off the next. It's the exact same thing. You know who you're dealing with." School district received $300 million from the feds this year The district got $300 million from the federal government this fiscal year and has used the money on everything from student meals to teacher recruitment and training and also to help educate students with special needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Given those financial realities, Burke told Ferguson he felt compelled to sign the statement. "I respect your position as a board member," Burke said in April. "I know this is a tough vote for everyone. We're trying to navigate this to the best of our ability. I'm not a real fearful person myself, but I can't look at just my own personal situation. I need to look at the district and their finances. I felt like the threat was real." Because the decision to rescind the district's DEI language was undertaken on an emergency basis in April, the change went into effect immediately and remained so for a 90-day period before the July 16 vote. During that time, members of the public could weigh in on the issue. Weigh in they did. School board member Edwin Ferguson, seen here at a March 2025 news conference with U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel at Dreyfoos School of the Arts, urged the district to suspend its DEI policies rather than repeal them and to let the issue play out in the courts. More than a half dozen people showed up at the board's May 7 meeting to urge board members to reconsider their decision to back away from DEI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's not too late to change course," said Geanny Joseph Ruiz, a senior manager for Equality Florida, a nonprofit group that advocates for LGBTQ+ communities. "You can reinstate these policies and reaffirm your commitment to equity, fairness and inclusion. This community is watching. Your students and staff are watching." In the weeks before the July 16 vote, the legal landscape of the issue continued to evolve. Courts weighing in on withholding federal money A trio of federal judges in different judicial districts issued national injunctions barring the administration from carrying out its threat to withhold federal funding. The rulings did not address the merits or legality of DEI. Instead, they cited various reasons for blocking the threats. Two of the judges said the administration was attempting to ban something that it had not clearly defined. A third said the funding threat exceeded the U.S. Department of Education's authority. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration did not directly challenge those rulings. But in a separate case involving birthright citizenship, the administration did argue before the U.S. Supreme Court that federal district court judges exceed their authority when they issue nationwide injunctions. Supporters of a district court judge's authority to issue nationwide injunctions argued they are a necessary tool to immediately halt an unconstitutional practice or policy. In a 6-3 decision handed down on June 27, the court sided with the administration. The impact of that decision on the injunctions issued in the DEI cases remains unclear. Wayne Washington is a journalist covering education for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at wwashington@pbpost.com. Help support our work; subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Palm Beach County School Board votes to repeal DEI. What to know Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum arrived Thursday morning at Alcatraz, the San Francisco tourist attraction that President Donald Trump has vowed to reopen as a prison in one of the most far-fetched, performative schemes of his second term. Bondi and Burgum both posted photos of the visit on social media, with Burgum saying the visit was made to start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals suggesting the site could be used to detain immigrants rounded up in Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids. A great morning at Alcatraz with @SecretaryBurgum. Under President Trump, we are Making America Safe Again. pic.twitter.com/a4gzX05kNi Attorney General Pamela Bondi (@AGPamBondi) July 17, 2025 Their visit set off Democrats, with Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosis (Calif.) statement getting right to the point. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [T]he planned announcement to reopen Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary is the Trump Administrations stupidest initiative yet. It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies, she said. Theres been some speculation that Trumps implausible idea to reopen Alcatraz was the product of his well-known TV-watching habit. Just hours before Trump laid out the idea in May in a head-scratching Truth Social post, a PBS affiliate serving Mar-a-Lago aired Clint Eastwoods 1979 movie Escape From Alcatraz, The Hollywood Reporter found. It remains to be seen how this Administration could possibly afford to spend billions to convert and maintain Alcatraz as a prison when they are already adding trillions of dollars to the national debt with their sinful law, Pelosi continued, referring to Trumps Big Beautiful Bill. Attorney General Pam Bondi is seen on a U.S. Coast Guard boat after visiting Alcatraz on Thursday. via Associated Press California state Sen. Scott Wiener (D), whose district includes San Francisco, said Thursday that while the idea of reopening Alcatraz as a prison is absurd on so many levels, people shouldnt write off the possibility of Trump going ahead with the idea with or without ensuring its a safe facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has shown that he executes on many of the insane and destructive things that come out of his warped brain, Wiener wrote in a statement. Im very concerned that Trump will actually try to turn Alcatraz into a gulag to hold the political prisoners ICE is sweeping off the streets. We need to do everything in our power to fight this dangerous idea. The idea of reopening Alcatraz as a prison is laughable to many whove visited the facilities, an extremely popular tourist destination on an island in the San Francisco Bay that welcomes more than a million visitors every year. Alcatraz, which is now part of the National Park Service, contains none of the safety or security features of a modern detention facility and only operated as a federal prison for less than 30 years before closing in 1963 due to the high operational costs of running a prison on an island. Spent the day on Alcatraz Island, a @NatlParkService site, to start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals. This administration is restoring safety, justice, and order to our streets. @Interior & @TheJusticeDept are following pic.twitter.com/1CA9O5WWSu Secretary Doug Burgum (@SecretaryBurgum) July 17, 2025 This isolation meant that everything (food, supplies, water, fuel...) had to be brought to Alcatraz by boat, The Federal Bureau of Prisons says in its history of the former prison. For example, the island had no source of fresh water, so nearly one million gallons of water had to be barged to the island each week. The Federal Government found that it was more cost-effective to build a new institution than to keep Alcatraz open. Alcatraz, the bureau said, was nearly three times more expensive to operate than any other federal prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bondis visit comes as she continues to get heat for the Justice Departments announcement that it wouldnt release any more files from the Jeffrey Epstein case, reneging on promises from Trumps campaign after hyping up their release. Related... PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) The Panama City Police Department arrested a man who was allegedly involved in a hit-and-run incident shortly after midnight on Wednesday. Jayquan Walker, 21, of Panama City Beach, was taken into custody after officers said he struck a bicyclist and kept driving in the area of Michigan Ave. and 23rd Street. The bicyclist was injured and taken to the hospital for treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to an arrest affidavit, through camera footage, investigators were able to see the license plate of the grey Mitsubishi car hitting the bicyclist, and eventually use that information to track the vehicle. Walker is scheduled for his first appearance before a Bay County judge Wednesday afternoon. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com. The 500,000-strong Haitian community in the United States is in a state of panic as the Trump administration pushes to deport those who fled here after a huge 2010 earthquake. "I came here seeking refuge, and now they want to kick me out," said Clarens, who obtained temporary protected status (TPS) following the quake that leveled much of his Caribbean island home. "I believed in the American dream, and I thought I could bring the rest of my family here. I thought we would be able to thrive in the United States." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Miami and New York, where the Haitian diaspora is largest, fear of being returned to the destitute, violent, largely lawless and gang-ridden island is widespread. "It's total panic, the whole community is suffering because even if your temporary status has not yet been revoked, ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) agents are on the streets and can arrest anyone," said Clarens, which is not his real name. After cancelling an extension of the protective status granted to 520,000 of Clarens's countrymen to February 2026, Trump definitively cancelled it in June. While a New York court has blocked Trump's move, Haitian-American immigration lawyer Stephanie Delia warned the reprieve will likely be short-lived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If it ends February 3, which sadly we expect that it will, you're talking about (people) who for 15 years have relied on something and have built their life on," she said. In Brooklyn's "Little Haiti" neighborhood, many in the diaspora are too afraid to go to church, work, or even the doctor for fear of being arrested by ICE agents. - 'Slaughterhouse' - "The number of TPS people, so mostly Haitians and people from Latin America, has dropped sharply at the clinic. From 300 to 30 a day. People are afraid," said the head of a clinic in the neighborhood who requested anonymity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Guerline Jozef, director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said she was aware of many people afraid to go outdoors, including one woman in "complete distress." "She had to flee Haiti 20 years ago, and was able to get that protection in 2010. Now her fear is what is going to happen -- primarily with her children," Jozef said. Haitian activist Pascale Solages warned that without legal status, "people will no longer be able to work, pay their rent, and will end up on the street." Faced with the choice of being arrested and removed, or "self-deporting", some migrants are fleeing to Canada. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are receiving many inquiries and calls. We are seeing 10 to 15 people per day," said Marjorie VilleFranche, director of Maison d'Haiti, a support organization in Montreal, home to a large Haitian community. Under an agreement on safe third countries, Haitians in the United States can apply for asylum in Canada if they have family there. Others can cross the land border and request asylum within two weeks. Canada's Border Services Agency said more than 8,000 asylum seekers crossed at the Saint-Bernard-de-Lacolle crossing between Quebec and New York State in the first six months -- up from 4,613 in the same period in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most of those were Haitian. Clarens said he could not imagine travelling to Canada without his family and waiting years for an asylum ruling. The prospect of returning home is even more daunting. Haiti is plagued by gang violence with more than 3,000 people killed in the first six months of 2025, the UN says. The gangs control most of the capital city, Port-au-Prince. Haiti is run by a weak, non-elected transitional government and has not held an election of any kind since 2016. "Gangs control everything -- they have informants monitoring those who enter and leave the country. In their minds, if you live in the United States, you must have money," Clarens said. "We'd be kidnap targets. Sending us back there is like sending us to our deaths, to the slaughterhouse." gl/gw/dw As Gov. Tina Kotek works toward a special legislative session to mitigate nearly 500 layoffs looming at the Oregon Department of Transportation, some observers are still trying to understand the failure of House Bill 2025. That bill, in the works for a year, would have raised $15 billion in new transportation funding over the next decade. And in the sessions waning days, few lawmakers played a bigger role in the drama around the bill than state Rep. Kevin Mannix (R-Salem), one of the most wily and experienced elected officials in Oregon politics over the past four decades. Mannix voted no three times on HB 2025 in committee before abruptly announcing the day before the sessions end (when the bill was on its way to the House floor) that hed broken with Republicans and switched his vote to yes. It ultimately didnt matter. Democrats had hoped they could rely on the three-fifths supermajorities they hold in both legislative chambers to pass HB 2025. (The Oregon Constitution requires a supermajority to pass new taxes.) But with Rep. Hoa Nguyen (D-East Portland) mostly unavailable due to cancer treatment and Sen. Mark Meek (D-Gladstone) opposed to the bill, Democrats desperately needed to find Republican votes. That was a tall order, given GOP leaderships stated belief that ODOTs budget should be cut rather than increased. Mannixs reversal came, he says, because Democrats trimmed the new taxes enough for his taste. But others point to the timing of his reversal, just days after lawmakers approved a $100 million earmark to deepen the shipping channel in the Port of Coos Bay. A group including former state Rep. Brian Clem (D-Salem) proposes to build a multibillion-dollar container port there and to ship goods by rail to and from Eugene. Mannix is a vocal supporter of the Coos Bay project and previously an investor in companies that could benefit from its construction. He says he no longer has a stake in one of the companies he formed Coos Bay Marine Terminals LLC but hes still actively involved in rail-related companies that hope to provide container traffic to the Coos Bay-to-Eugene rail line. Mannix acknowledges hes long been a booster of state investment in the Coos Bay project. I think the state should be more visionary when it comes to Coos Bay, he says. But he adamantly denies that he traded his vote in exchange for the $100 million for the project. While I support the appropriation, I was not engaged in any discussion with leadership about it, Mannix says. My willingness to vote yes [on HB 2025] had absolutely nothing to do with Coos Bay. Scott Moore, the chief of staff to House Speaker Julie Fahey (D-Eugene) supports that account. The speaker had many conversations about HB 2025 with legislators, including Rep. Mannix, who is a member of the joint committee, Moore says. For the record, he never once mentioned Coos Bay to her. Yet the end result was that a project important to Mannix got a massive financial boost just three days before he switched his vote and the size of the Coos Bay earmark came as a surprise to many, even the House member who represents Coos Bay. Mannix, 75, grew up in Ecuador, Panama and Bolivia (his father served in the Foreign Service) before earning undergrad and law degrees from the University of Virginia. He made his way to Oregon and joined the Oregon Department of Justice, but his oratorical skills and passion for civic affairs led him to politics. He first entered the Legislature in 1989 as a Democrat. A bill-writing machine, he says on his website that he was the chief sponsor of more successful legislation (135 bills) than any other single legislator since 1859, when Oregon became a state. Mannix also authored numerous ballot initiatives, most notably Measure 11 in 1994 that created mandatory minimum sentences. After running unsuccessfully for attorney general as a Democrat in 1996, Mannix switched his party affiliation to Republican and soon embarked on a second act, pursuing higher office in earnest. He ran again for AG in 2000, nearly won the governors race in 2002, ran again for governor in 2006, and then for Congress in 2008, battling Democrats over ballot measures all the while. In 2017, having left electoral politics, Mannix noticed that the large transportation funding package lawmakers passed that year created opportunities for rail freight. That got me involved in rail transportation issues, he says. Records show he established a series of companies seeking to create rail-shipping capacity for agricultural interests in the Willamette Valley. In 2022 Mannix returned to the Capitol for a third act, winning an open Salem House seat. In the statement of economic interest required of all lawmakers, he disclosed on his 2023 form investments in three rail-related companies: Willamette Intermodal Group LLC, Oregon Independence Railroad LLC, and Coos Bay Marine Terminals. In 2024 he disclosed those same investments. Mannix tells OJP he ended his investment in Coos Bay Terminals when he reentered the Legislature in 2023 and listed it in 2024 because the company owed him money for legal services. His 2025 form does not include an investment in that company, but lists the railroad and Willamette Intermodal Group. (Mannix says he is a minority owner in both and president of the latter.) Those companies are aimed at linking the Willamette Valley to the Coos Bay container port. In June 2021, the OIRR, Mannixs company, purchased about a half-mile of track that formerly belonged to the Valley and Siletz Railroad. In 2022, records show, the Marion County Board of Commissioners awarded another Mannix company, Willamette Intermodal Group, a $1 million grant, part of Mannixs goal of serving Willamette Valley agricultural shipping needs. In his application to Marion County, Mannix described plans for a $138 million, 400-acre intermodal rail yard in Woodburn, served by Interstate 5 and major rail lines. Upon completion, his application said, the rail yard would have maximum capacity of 150,000 containers annually and, among other possibilities, could serve as a general distribution location for products moving to and from the International Port of Coos Bay. For some time, Mannix has been a zealous advocate for the Coos Bay container port. He says he introduced NorthPoint Development, the company tapped to build the facility, to Coos Bay officials. Another example: Early in the legislative session, officials from Business Oregon and the Port of Portland pushed a bill that would provide state funding for the latters container shipping terminal, which would be a direct competitor to Coos Bay, should the Coos Bay terminal get built. But during a hearing on the bill, Mannix insisted that the state not play favorites, even though the Port of Portland has an existing container business. I want to make sure we are not excluding the Port of Coos Bay, he said. I see an amendment coming. Mannix later proposed an amendment that changed the bills language so that rather than going to an existing container port, the state money would go to an existing or proposed container port. That was in February. By late June, Democrats were scrambling to salvage HB 2025, a transportation bill that had veered dangerously off course in the final days of the session. On June 20, the Joint Committee on Transportation Reinvestment voted to move HB 2025 to the House floor on a party-line vote. Mannix joined his Republican colleagues on the committee in voting against what he called an obese bill. On June 23, the Joint Ways and Means Committee released its capital expenditure bill, the so-called Christmas Tree legislation that bestows funding requested by influential legislators. The bill emerged from a secretive process in which requests for funding far outstripped available funding (i.e., only select lawmakers got their wishes). Among the biggest expenditures in the bill: $100 million to deepen the channel at Coos Bay to accommodate massive container ships. Lawmakers and lobbyists watching the Ways and Means process reacted with surprise that the Coos Bay project got such a big chunk of funding. I had absolutely no idea how that happened, says state Rep. Boomer Wright (R-Coos Bay), whose district includes the port. Thats a crazy amount for Coos Bay, a transportation lobbyist told OJP. Then on June 26, Mannix switched his vote on HB 2025. He became the sole Republican to announce hed support a new, slimmer version of HB 2025 on the House floor. We need to remember the basic goal of this legislation, which is to reestablish accountability in our transportation operations but also develop the resources to meet the needs of Oregonians, he said in explaining his change of heart. Mannix says he always hoped to find a version of the transportation bill he could support. But the timeline shows that after the release of the Coos Bay news, he saw things the Democrats way. Mannix was one of four Republicans Democrats chose to negotiate with on HB 2025 behind closed doors. That kept him in regular communication with Democratic leaders, who were ultimately responsible for the Christmas Tree bill. State Sen. Kate Lieber (D-Portland), co-chair of the Joint Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for the earmarks, including the $100 million for Coos Bay, says she did not cut any deal with Mannix. We never talked about it, Lieber says. Liebers committee co-chair, Rep. Tawna Sanchez (D-Portland), did not respond to questions. In the end, Coos Bay got far more from lawmakers than did the Port of Portland ($20 million), although the $100 million is contingent on Coos Bay raising federal matching funds. Mannix voted for HB 5006, the Christmas Tree bill, without declaring a conflict of interest. He says potential benefits from his transportation investments are so uncertain and so far off he did not think it necessary. Any connections between my projects and Coos Bay are ethereal, he says, and way in the future. Related stories: Donald Trump is desperate for anything to distract the angry mob seeking answers on alleged sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Now, hes hoping to toss them some dirt on Hillary Clintontoo bad nobody cares about that. During an appearance Wednesday on Real Americas Voice, Just the News founder John Solomon reported that Trump was open to declassifying information tied to conspiracy theories about the former secretary of state. One piece was the classified annex of Inspector General Michael Horowitzs 2018 report on the FBIs actions ahead of the 2016 election. The missing annex had become the center of right-wing conspiracies that the FBI had ignored credible information of Clintons wrongdoing in the investigation of her private email server. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked if hed declassify the annex, Trump told Just the News, I would do that. Absolutely. I think it should be looked at. The whole thing was a scam. I would do that broadly, Trump said. Trump also indicated he was open to declassifying another classified annex from Special Counsel John Durhams 2023 report, which supposedly contained evidence that Clinton had approved a proposal to vilify Donald Trump by stirring up a scandal claiming interference by the Russian security services. I would declassify it, yeah. Why not? Trump told Just the News. I would absolutely declassify it. But Trumps promises are far from an actual commitment. Trump had previously pledged the total declassification of any & all documents related to Russiagate and Clintons use of a private email server during his first term, but attorneys from the Department of Justice told the Office of White House Council to simply disregard the presidents hollow threat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has been increasingly desperate to redirect the massive backlash over his administrations toothless findings in its investigation into Epstein, which produced no additional documents and found that the sex offender kept no incriminating client list, even though his attorney general claimed one had been sitting on her desk. The president posted a furious rant on Truth Social Tuesday, saying that any of his followers who were interested in the Epstein case were falling for Democratic bullshit, and compared it to the totally fake and made up story used in order to hide Crooked Hillary Clintons big loss in the 2016 Presidential Election. Similarly to Russias interference in the 2016 election, Trump now claims that Epstein files are a hoax. Unfortunately for Trump, Americans dont care about Clintons emails nearly as much as they care about his own administrations scandal: Signalgate, the infamous use of a non-secure messaging app by several top Cabinet officials to discuss sensitive war plans. After Signalgate, a YouGov survey found that nearly 75 percent of respondents believed the scandal was very or somewhat serious. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After Clintons email scandal in 2015, YouGov found that 56 percent of respondents thought the issue was very serious and somewhat serious. By 2022, people had become more concerned, but only 62 percent saw it as very serious or somewhat serious, likely at least in part resulting from Trumps constant griping about it. Meanwhile, a Quinnpac Poll published Wednesday found that 63 percent of American voters disapprove of the Trump administrations handling of the Epstein files. Trumps looking for anything at all that can distract the angry mob. Just in case the almond moms were sharpening their pitchforks, Trump even promised that he would get real sugar added to Coca Cola instead of high fructose corn syrup. Now theres something everyone can get behind! Parents demand answers on alleged abuse at Ocala day care Parents in Ocala are demanding answers after a day care worker was arrested on allegations of abusing infants. Karla Gonzalez faces eight counts of child abuse after police say she violently shook, force-fed and handled babies roughly at All Stars Learning Center. Parents who showed up to drop off their children found the doors locked with no warning. I never received any phone calls they were closed or anything like that, said one parent, Laci Clavette. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All Stars Learning Center has not responded to requests for comment. The Florida Department of Children and Families is investigating. Police say supervisors knew about complaints but didnt report them. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. The Brief An Ocala daycare worker is accused of abusing at least six infants, prompting a criminal investigation. Parents say management ignored prior warnings, and police confirm reports dating back months. Authorities and DCF are actively investigating, while families pull their children from the center. OCALA, Fla. - A daycare worker in Ocala is accused of abusing at least six infants between the ages of four and nine months, and police say there may be more victims. What we know Karla L. Penalverty-Gonzalez, a daycare worker at All Stars Learning Academy in Ocala, is accused of abusing at least six infants between the ages of four and nine months. Ocala Police (OPD) arrested Karla L. Penalverty-Gonzalez, 33, in connection with multiple allegations of child abuse at All Star Learning Academy on West Silver Springs Boulevard. Police say the abuse included force-feeding, violently yanking children by their arms, and in one case, shaking a baby with enough force to risk fatal injury. Another employee reported witnessing an infants head being pushed into a mattress, potentially causing suffocation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CLICK TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX LOCAL APP Authorities confirmed Penalverty-Gonzalez began working at the daycare in July 2023, with abuse allegations dating back to March 2025. Despite early reports from at least one employee to the daycare's management, police say no action was taken until the allegations reached law enforcement. What we don't know It remains unclear how many children may have been affected, as police continue to investigate additional potential victims. It is also unknown why management failed to escalate earlier warnings and what internal protocols, if any, were followed. The backstory The investigation began after a daycare employee submitted video evidence to Ocala police, reportedly showing Penalverty-Gonzalez violently shaking an infant. That video triggered a deeper investigation, revealing multiple instances of alleged abuse and prompting involvement from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). What they're saying Amanda Fuentes said she was met by detectives and a child welfare officer on Monday evening, who informed her that her infant had been injured in the care of the facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It was a gut-wrenching feeling," Fuentes said. "I was scared and confused." Another parent, Matt Lutz, said his family is still waiting to learn whether their child was harmed. "The fact that it went unanswered for so long is absolutely beyond unacceptable," he said. "It's infuriating because these are people that you trust." SIGN-UP FOR FOX 35'S BREAKING NEWS, DAILY NEWS NEWSLETTERS Ocala Police say childcare workers who fail to report suspected abuse could face a third-degree felony. "Nobody wants to see kids get hurt, right? So generally speaking, cases involving children, especially for me, are probably top of the spectrum," said Detective Mark Pfeifer of the Ocala Police Department's Major Crimes Unit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The daycares parent company, Otter Learning, issued a statement which read, "We are deeply concerned by the allegations and are actively gathering information related to this serious matter. At Otter Learning, the safety and well-being of children in our care is, and always will be, our absolute top priority." What's next Both the Florida Department of Children and Families and Ocala police are actively investigating. Some parents have already withdrawn their children from the facility, saying they no longer feel safe leaving them in daycare. The Source This story was written based on information shared by the Ocala Police Department, and parents of infants in the care of All Stars Learning Academy. ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. Governor Mike Kehoe signed a new bill into law last week that bans students from using cell phones, and now local schools, including the Parkway School District, are following suit. Under the new law, signed as Senate Bill 68, students will not be allowed to use their personal cell phones from the beginning of the school day until the end of the school day. The ban begins during the upcoming school year and applies to students between kindergarten and the 12th grade. St. Louis area schools are now implementing the ban. While Parkway School District initially announced stricter phone restrictions earlier this year, the district will now be required to implement the complete ban. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everything to know as the Savannah Bananas visit St. Louis this weekend In April, the Parkway School Board approved a new policy that barred elementary and middle school students from using cell phones and other devices during school hours. High school students would only be barred from using them in class but could access them before school, during passing periods, at lunch, and after school. Now, all students in the district from kindergarten through the 12th grade will be prohibited from using cell phones from the first to the last bell, including lunch and passing periods. According to the new policy, students will be subject to disciplinary action and may have their devices confiscated if they violate the new policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Daily News The school will only allow a student to use their cell phone during an emergency that threatens the students safety while at school, for health-related purposes, or for educational purposes as approved by the faculty and staff. The policy also states students will not be allowed to use other devices such as smartwatches, laptops, iPads, and tablets. Parkway will be expected to still use their school-provided Chromebook during the school day. An August 2024 SLU/YouGov poll found strong support for a statewide cell phone ban in Missouri schools, with 72% of respondents favoring a ban on high school students using phones during school hours. The poll also found support to be consistent across political lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PARSONS, Kan. Its good news for the city of Parsons: crime numbers are down. The Kansas Bureau of Investigation recently released numbers from 2024, which showed a 14.5% overall drop in crime in Parsons between 2023 and last year. There was also a close-to 23% decrease in property crimes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the city did see a 20% increase in violent crimes, 95 total. To be clear, it wasnt necessarily more of them, but more of them reported, something officials credit to enhanced reporting and proactive interventions through its Domestic Violence Unit. Youll recall, it was established in 2024 to address the often-under-reported issue of domestic violence in the community. So, our real core problem is we generally have about 50 habitual criminals out of a community of 10,000 that eat up a large part of our work. Weve been tracking those individuals for the past four years, because we thought maybe that was a fluke of people being arrested 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 times weve had a couple people get arrested about 12 times a year. So, either youre a really bad criminal or theres something wrong with the criminal justice system that is letting these individuals come back out and reoffend, said Robert Spinks, Parsons Police Chief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those interested in learning more about the statistics or residents who want to get involved with neighborhood safety programs can do that 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 KSNF/KODE | FourStatesHomepage.com. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A stretch of Trebein Road in Greene County will be closed beginning Friday. The Greene County Engineers Office announced that the road closure is due to the installation of a water main near Outdoor Enterprises. Lane closures coming to WB US-35 in Greene County The new water main will be courtesy of the Greene County Sanitary Engineering Department as part of the Hilltop Wellfield Development Project. Courtesy of the Greene County Engineers Office. Trebein Road will be closed between Dayton-Xenia Road/Hilltop Road and Dayton Xenia Road from tomorrow, July 18 until around 6 p.m. Sunday, July 20. This schedule could change depending on weather and equipment available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the meantime, Dayton-Xenia Road to factory Road to U.S. 35 will be the detour to use if you usually travel along this path of Trebein Road. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. (Photo: Clayton Henkel) Despite bipartisan support for bills to expand the states property tax relief programs for elderly and disabled North Carolinians, theres unlikely to be movement on the legislation this year. State lawmakers have gotten an earful from senior citizens and others on fixed incomes who worry that rising property taxes across the state will make it impossible for them to remain in their homes. Rep. Tim Longest (Photo: NC General Assembly) I think that the concern that members are having is that if the General Assembly passes some large property tax relief exemption without providing any kind of corresponding source of revenues that counties are going to be facing budget shortfalls of their own and having to make rather drastic cuts for services, said Rep. Tim Longest (D-Wake), who supports additional property tax relief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Longest noted that the Houses version of the budget pauses scheduled income tax cuts, which he said would offset revenue counties would lose if eligibility for homestead exemption programs is expanded to allow more people to qualify. We cant cut our way to revenue, and if we want to ensure fairness for older people and people with disabilities, people that cant afford their homes, then we need to make sure that that loss of revenue is offset somewhere else, Longest said. The N.C. Association of County Commissioners (NCACC), a nonpartisan organization that serves as the official voice of the states 100 counties, opposes property tax relief legislation, citing concerns about revenue losses for counties. Kevin Leonard (Photo: NC Association of County Commissioners) In a March letter to the General Assembly, Kevin Leonard, the NCACCs executive director, wrote that local leaders agree that relief is needed but that mandating property tax exemptions at the state level is not the answer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If these bills pass as currently drafted, they would create an unfunded mandate on counties, Leonard said. Because counties have limited options to generate revenue primarily relying on property and sales taxes the revenue lost due to these exemptions would have to be offset through other means. Counties would be forced to raise taxes on property owners or cut critical services such as public safety, social services or disaster recovery efforts, Leonard said. While all counties would face these decisions, the impact would be more severe for counties affected by Tropical Storm Helene, Leonard said. These counties already face reduced property tax revenue for FY 2025-26 and beyond because real property that was damaged and not repaired or replaced as of January 1, 2025, will be excluded from the tax base for the upcoming year. Rising property tax rates in the states urban areas such as Mecklenburg, Wake, Durham and Orange counties are a big concern for senior citizens fighting to stay in their homes amid rising tax bills. Rep. Erin Pare (Photo: NC General Assembly) Rep. Erin Pare (R-Wake) said she believes the General Assembly still has an appetite to provide relief for citizens struggling to pay high property taxes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im still waiting to see if the finance chairs are going to take a vote on any piece of legislation dealing with this issue in the House, but its my understanding that that this is widely supported among the members of the House to do something about the issue, Pare said. Pare is a sponsor of House Bill 59, which would expand homestead exclusions for the elderly and disabled. Senate Bill 349 would provide similar relief. North Carolina currently offers three property tax relief programs for qualified homeowners that are administered by counties: The Elderly/Disabled Homestead Exemption is for residents 65 years or older or those who are totally and permanently disabled. The program excludes from taxes the greater of $25,000 or 50% of the assessed value of the owners permanent residence. To qualify, income for the preceding year must be $37,900 or less, including both incomes for a married couple. The Circuit Breaker limits the amount of annual property taxes the owner pays on their permanent residence. Eligibility is limited to homeowners who are 65 and older or who are totally and permanently disabled. The tax bill is limited to a fixed percentage of income, and any taxes owed above that limit is deferred until a disqualifying event such as the owners death. This program requires a new application to be filed every year. The Disabled Veteran Exclusion program excludes up to the first $45,000 of the appraised value of the permanent residence of a disabled veteran who has a total and permanent service-connected disability or who received benefits for specially adapted housing. There is no age or income limitation for this program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pare said its time to modify the $37,900 income limit for the elderly/disabled exemption, so more people qualify. Thats just not realistic, Pare said. I think that with the cost of living in some of the more high cost-of-living counties, that just seems ridiculous. A proposed amended version of HB 59 offered up last month during a bill discussion in the House Committee on Pensions and Retirement would link eligibility for the age/disability exemption to a countys area median income. Doing so, she said, would ease the burden on low wealth counties. Thats the most accurate way to do it, Pare said. I would just say that the only alternative would be for towns to budget differently and take the tax burden down for everybody, which I think is a good thing. The proposed amendment would also set an area median income limit of 70% for a two-person household to qualify for the Circuit Breaker exemption. Applicants would be required to file an application for the Circuit Breaker every three years instead of every year under the proposal. A patient in Bethesda Norths cardiac monitoring unit died after staff failed to notice for almost a half hour that his heart rate had plunged to dangerously low levels, according to a federal report obtained by The Enquirer. The incident, which happened in December 2024, resulted in an immediate jeopardy citation from the federal government which the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services reserves for the most severe and egregious violations of federal safety regulations. A patient in one of Bethesda North's cardiac monitoring units died after staff failed to respond to his dangerously low heart rate. If the hospital doesn't fix the problems cited by the government within 23 days, federal officials can revoke its ability to bill the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services for patient care. Such a move could be devastating, because Medicare and Medicaid accounted for 50% of the patient accounts at Bethesda Inc. last year, according to a 2024 financial statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident is the first immediate jeopardy citation issued in southwest Ohio for a patient death in at least a decade, according to an Enquirer review of federal data. Citing federal privacy law, TriHealth declined to answer questions about the incident and the corrective plan that the hospital put in place to avoid losing its federal certification. The federal government reports all immediate jeopardies in a publicly available spreadsheet, and The Enquirer did not ask the hospital to divulge patient or staff identities, which are not included in the spreadsheet or related reports. In accordance with HIPAA regulations, we cannot disclose information about specific patient events, said Brian Eagan, a spokesperson for TriHealth. However, any time we have an unexpected outcome or even a 'near miss,' we perform a robust root cause analysis and take immediate steps to address underlying causes. According to Eagan, TriHealth reports immediate jeopardy citations to the family of the patient and collaborates with regulators to put a correction plan into place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The hospitals citation was removed in January, after the hospital implemented a plan of action, according to the report provided by the Ohio Department of Health. A patient was transported to Bethesda North's emergency department on December 18, 2024. Two days later, he was dead. Cardiac units 27 minute delay proves fatal The incident began Dec. 18, 2024, when the patient arrived at Bethesda's emergency department. He was experiencing hallucinations and confusion, but was alert and able to provide history, according to the report. A physicians history stated that the patient reported feeling reasonably well, despite his symptoms. After about 10 hours receiving treatment in the emergency department, the patient was moved to one of the hospital's cardiac monitoring units, also known as a telemetry unit. Three hours and three minutes later, his heart rate dropped to 27 beats per minute, from 95 when he was admitted. The facility failed to ensure a patient on a telemetry unit was assessed timely when his heart rate slowed, read the report, which also concluded that the hospital's failure to monitor the unit effectively posed a threat to at least 10 of the patients in the unit at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are at least two 38-bed telemetry units at Bethesda North, both of which are meant to provide continuous monitoring and around the clock care for patients with heart failure and other cardiac issues, according to job postings for the units on TriHealths website. A patient undergoes an electrocardiogram test to monitor his heartbeat. When the patients heart beat dropped to dangerously low levels, it took 13 minutes for the monitor technician on duty to notify the acute care technician. According to the report, the monitor technician sent a message to the acute care technician stating that the adhesive used to attach the monitoring device to the patient was "off," assuming the problem was related to the equipment, rather than the patient's medical condition. The acute care technician immediately responded "yes" but did not enter the patient's room until 14 minutes later. That means the patient was in a life threatening situation for 27 minutes before staff attended to him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The acute care technician "didn't realize there was urgency" to respond to the patient, according to the report. It took an additional six minutes for staff to realize the patient was unresponsive and call code blue, the hospital's signal for a patient medical emergency. It was confirmed that from 2:23 AM - 2:50 AM, 27 minutes," the staff involved did not notify the primary nurse on duty or take other steps necessary to address the problem, the report states. The delay proved fatal. Though staff administered medications, started CPR, regained a heart beat and transferred the patient into intensive care, the patient died the next day. Bethesda Norths plan of correction Once given an immediate jeopardy citation, a hospital must create a plan detailing immediate steps to prevent further harm to patients. The citation is lifted once state and federal regulators approve the plan and verify that its been executed, often within a matter of hours. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The monitor technician who failed to follow policy was fired, according to state regulators interviews with hospital staff and administration. The acute care technician, who was less than three months into the job at the time of the incident and had enlisted another staff members help when she responded to the call, has since been trained in administering and monitoring an electrocardiogram. Other parts of Bethesda Norths correction plan included teaching staff, including new hires, to interpret electrocardiogram results, to escalate care for the cardiac monitoring unit when necessary and log every step in the escalation process in real time. For a year following the incident, a nurse manager will conduct 20 audits per month to validate confirmation of escalation of telemetry alarms. By recording electrical activity in the heart, electrocardiograms measure how quickly a patient's heart is beating. Southwest Ohio has had at least 19 immediate jeopardies in the past decade Immediate jeopardy citations are rare. A 2019 study found that they represented 2% of deficiencies reported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services between 2007 and 2017. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But chances are, a hospital you know has gotten at least one immediate jeopardy in the past decade. Excluding nursing homes, Southwest Ohio has seen at least 19 immediate jeopardy citations issued to hospitals and psychiatric facilities since 2015. Over 40% of them came from psychiatric facilities. The last time a TriHealth hospital was given an immediate jeopardy was in 2019, due to a patient rights violation at Good Samaritan Hospital that involved the failure to ensure that doctors orders were written for the use of violent restraints, among other infractions. If you have any information about the immediate jeopardy situation at Bethesda North that you'd like to share with The Enquirer, please email ekim@enquirer.com. This story was updated to add a video. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Feds: Man died after Bethesda North failed to respond to issue Days after U.S. President Donald Trump promised new Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, the scramble is on to ship some out as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, given the finite supply of these weapons, the Pentagon has told Switzerland it will delay a previously agreed-upon delivery. On Monday, Trump announced a deal where the U.S. would supply the systems that NATO nations would pay for. In some cases, they would be provided from existing stocks and backfilled by the U.S. Now that promise is being set into motion. We are working very closely with the Germans on the Patriot transfer, U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), said at a conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, today. The guidance that I have been given has been to move out as quickly as possible. Grynkewich declined to offer a timeline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I wont go into a ton of details on any of that, Im not going to tell the Russians or anyone else the exact numbers of weapons that were transferring or when those will happen, he said. Volodymyr Zelensky, President of Ukraine, stands in front of a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system during his visit to a military training area on June 11, 2024, in Mecklenburg, Germany. (Photo by Jens Buttner Pool/Getty Images) Pool There is some confusion about the status of these deliveries. On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that theyre already being shipped when asked when he thought the first Patriot missiles, some of those weapons our allies will buy, would arrive in Ukraine. Theyre coming in from Germany and then replaced by Germany, Trump responded. However, a spokesman for the German Defense Ministry said that he cannot confirm that they are currently underway. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The German government has declared its willingness to contribute financially to the additional delivery of Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine, a German Defense Ministry (MoD) spokesman told The War Zone on Thursday. Germany is prepared to finance two systems. Other NATO countries are also prepared to contribute to the costs. The origin of these systems and further details of the delivery is subject of further consultations. Later on Thursday, during a joint press conference with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said those deliveries are not imminent. At this very hour, the ministries of defense are discussing the details of how we can ensure the delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine in a short timeframe, he said. This may take weeks. The talks are very specific, the American side is ready to move forward, but we do not yet have a final result. Earlier this week, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that Germany does not have enough to share with Ukraine unless the U.S. provides more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We only have six left in Germany, Pistorius told Financial Times, explaining that Berlin had already given three Patriot systems to Kyiv while two others were lent to Poland and at least one remains unavailable due to maintenance or training. Thats really too few, especially considering the NATO capability goals we have to meet. We definitely cant give any more, he added. German servicemen operate a launcher of MIM 104 Patriot surface-to-air defence system batteries during German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius visit to the German compound of a military training ground. (Photo by Dominika Zarzycka/NurPhoto) Dominika Zarzycka The German MoD spokesman noted that earlier this week, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pistorius agreed that a group of experts under the leadership of SACEUR should meet quickly to clarify details. Thursday, Grynkewich confirmed that the meeting will take place. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Air defense is important on the modern battlefield, and weve seen the scale of recent Russian attacks against Ukraine, he explained. So to meet that objective, I do intend to bring everyone together to look at whats in the art of the possible. This will be tied to being able to sequence what flows into Ukraine. Capabilities that are in Europe can be moved more quickly than something coming off the production line, but the production line can then be used to backfill the capabilities that others donate, Grynkewich added. So I dont have a good sense of what the numbers will be, but I know that my guidance is to get the Ukrainians what they need to defend themselves. So therell be a lot more to follow. Were going to move as quickly as we can on this. A ton of coordination [is in the] work[s], but as I mentioned, were already in the preparation phase for the first tranche of capability to start moving with respect to Patriots. The first U.S.-made Patriot systems arrived in Ukraine in April 2023 from Germany. Since then, the U.S. has provided three batteries and an unspecified number of interceptors. Kyiv has also received two from Germany, one from Romania and one jointly given by Germany and the Netherlands. All of these have been put to great use swatting down Russian missiles, drones and aircraft. The Patriot is the only system that can defend against Russian high-speed and ballistic missiles. The promise of additional Patriots to Ukraine comes amid increasing U.S. and global demands for these systems. Earlier this week, we reported that the U.S. Army plans to stand up four new Patriot battalions in the coming years to help ease the strain on what it says is its most stressed force element. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This move represents about a 25% increase in the services overall Patriot force, and even more so when it comes to units that can be deployed operationally. However, the Armys Patriot battalions have already been shown to be worryingly inadequate to meet heavy existing operational demands, something TWZ has been calling attention to for years now. The lack of capacity would be a huge problem if a large-scale conflict, such as one in the Pacific against China, were to erupt. In addition to a surge in need for Patriot batteries, there is also increasing demand for the interceptors they fire and Raytheon and Lockheed are working to expand their respective production capacities for PAC-3 interceptors, which cost millions of dollars apiece. In its most recent budget request for the 2026 Fiscal Year, the service disclosed its intention to roughly quadruple its PAC-3 procurement plans, from 3,376 to 13,773. Last Year, Lockheed Martin received a contract from the Army to increase the annual production of PAC-3s from around 550 to 650. Our new Camden [Arkansas] facility, built in 2022, has capacity to increase production rates and enable the program to continue its critical production ramp-up, a Lockheed Martin spokesperson told us Thursday. Our rigorous infrastructure and supply chain provide a stable foundation for increasing production to protect critical assets at scale. Given the limited number of batteries and interceptors and the long lead time it takes to build more, the Pentagon has told Switzerland it will have to wait for the systems theyve already agreed to buy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2022, Switzerland ordered five Patriot systems. Delivery was scheduled to begin in 2027 and be completed in 2028. The Pentagon on Wednesday informed the Swiss that it will reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine, focusing on ground-based air defense, the Swiss Federal Department of Defense, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) said in a statement. This also affects Switzerland, which will receive its production batches later than planned. The Federal Council has been notified. Countries now supplying weapons systems to Ukraine will be able to replace them faster, the DDPS explained. The U.S. has therefore decided to reprioritize the delivery of Patriot ground-based air defense systems. Germany, among others, has decided to once more supply two of their Patriot systems to Ukraine. It is currently unclear how many systems will be affected and whether the delivery of guided missiles will also be affected, DDPS added. No statement can be made at this stage regarding the exact timing and any further implications for Switzerland. Clarifications are ongoing. A Patriot PAC-3 interceptor. (Lockheed Martin) DDPS noted that last year, Switzerland was among several nations affected by a similar delay imposed by the Biden administration. In June 2024, then-President Joe Biden ordered the temporary halt of deliveries of Patriot and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) interceptors for all countries except Ukraine and Taiwan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were going to reprioritize the deliveries of these exports so that those missiles rolling off the production line will now be provided to Ukraine, then-White House National Security spokesman John Kirby told reporters, including from The War Zone, at the time. He added that while the other countries will have to wait, it is only a temporary delay, through Fiscal Year 2025. It is unclear when or if those deliveries have resumed. Also unclear is whether any other nation besides Switzerland will see a delay in the delivery of either Patriot batteries or interceptors as a result of Trumps new deal to provide them to Ukraine. Raytheon referred our questions to the Pentagon, which has yet to respond. Weve also reached out to the State Department, Lockheed Martin and Switzerland for more details and are awaiting responses. We will update this story with any pertinent details provided. Despite concerns about interceptor shortfalls, the Pentagon recently pushed back on a published report claiming that the U.S. only has about 25% of the Patriot interceptors it needs. The comments follow DoDs temporary pause in the delivery of interceptors and other weapons to Ukraine over concerns about U.S. supplies. Still, there is a legitimate concern that there are not enough batteries or interceptors for everyone who wants them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, officials in Kyiv are pleading for more of both because they are getting pummeled by Russian airstrikes. Russia has ramped up its drone and missile attacks with no indication that it plans to stop. While it remains unclear when any of these new systems and interceptors will be delivered, they will be greatly welcomed when they do arrive. Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com WAVERLY TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) A Paw Paw-area man has been charged with eight criminal counts after authorities say they found him in possession of child pornography. Travis Lane, 35, was arraigned Friday on the charges, which include two counts of child sexually abusive activity, two counts of possessing child sexually abusive material and four counts of using computers to commit a crime. The Van Buren County Sheriffs Office says deputies and state police troopers went to a home on County Road 665 in Waverly Township, north of Paw Paw, on July 9 after getting a tip about child pornography. There, they found Lane and a number of electronic devices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs office said it and the Michigan State Police Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force are still investigating. Anyone with information can call the sheriffs office at 269.657.3101 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. PBS CEO Paula Kerger blasted the Senates decision to revoke $1.1 billion in public media funding on Thursday a move that President Trump has been pushing for in recent months saying it would be especially devastating to smaller stations serving rural areas. The Senate just approved a rescissions package that goes against the will of the American people, the vast majority of whom trust PBS and believe we provide excellent value to their communities, Kerger said in a statement on Thursday morning. More from TheWrap Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She continued: These cuts will significantly impact all of our stations, but will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas. Kerger said many PBS stations will now be forced to make hard decisions in the months and weeks ahead, presumably referring to headcount and program funding. In May, Kerger had said President Trumps push to cut PBS funding would spell the end for a number of local news stations. Kerger, in an interview with Katie Couric at the time, lamented there are stations that will go off the air in rural areas if the president is successful; she did not project a specific number of PBS member stations that would cease to operate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think well figure out a way, through digital, to make sure there is some PBS content, Kerger said. But there wont be anyone in the community creating local content. There wont be a place for people to come together. President Trump has been leading the charge to defund PBS and NPR in recent months. He signed an executive order on May 1 calling for the end of taxpayer subsidization of both public broadcasters via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse and innovative news options, the order said. Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalisti independence. The president has also called NPR and PBS radical left monsters that Republicans must defund in his social media posts. And last week, President Trump said any Republicans who do not vote in favor of taking funds away from PBS and NPR would lose his support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congress had allocated $535 million for public broadcasters this fiscal year, and PBS recently said it is it receiving $325 million in 2025 from the CPB, which accounts for 22% of its funding. Following the Senates vote, the rescissions bill now moves to the House of Representatives which may vote as early as Thursday. Congress has a deadline of Friday to pass the bill. Kerger, who has led PBS since 2006, concluded her statement on Thursday by saying she and her team are determined to find a way to stick around, without any public funding. There is nothing more American than PBS, she said. Despite todays setback, we are determined to keep fighting to preserve the essential services we provide to the American public. The post PBS CEO Blasts Senates Devastating $1.1 Billion Funding Cut: Against the Will of the American People appeared first on TheWrap. PBS CEO and president Paula Kerger claimed Wednesday that she doesnt see any evidence behind the accusations that her outlet is partial to liberal viewpoints. Kergers comments come as the U.S. Senate is set to vote on President Donald Trumps rescission bill, a piece of legislation that would cut just over $1 billion in federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the government-backed funding arm for NPR and PBS. Trump and Republicans have made the case for the cuts, saying they are scraping back funding for "woke" programs that do little more than gird the governments spending addiction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When I look at the range of our programmings on public broadcasting, I cant make any sense of an argument that we are somehow biased in any way," Kerger told CNN anchor Boris Sanchez. Npr, Pbs Honchos Face Tense Grilling By Gop Lawmakers Over Biased Coverage, Taxpayer Funding President and CEO of Public Broadcasting Service Paula Kerger told CNN on Wednesday she "can't make sense" of accusations that PBS shows liberal bias. Sanchez cited the Trump administration stating that PBS publishes "radical woke propaganda disguised as news," and asked Kerger to respond. Read On The Fox News App "I dont think that Daniel Tigers Neighborhood is a biased program," she replied, providing an example of PBS childrens programming. It teaches children basic skills around letters and numbers." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GOP lawmakers have pointed to examples of PBS children's programming showing evidence of left-wing bias. Rep. Mary Miller, D-Ill., called out PBS program Sesame Street for promoting Pride Month this June in an X post, as the show has done in the past. She shared the post, and commented, "PBS is shamelessly grooming our children while collecting taxpayer dollars. This is evil and should infuriate every parent in America. DEFUND!!" "Federal funds arent for grooming. Through Sesame Street characters or otherwise. Defund PBS," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, posted to his personal X account last month in reply to a video of a 2020 episode of "The Not-Too-Late Show" with Sesame Street character Elmo featuring Johnathan Van Ness of Netflixs "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pbs, Npr Blast 'Blatantly Unlawful' Trump Executive Order Halting Public Funding, Vow Challenges Congress is set to have a final vote on whether to cut federal funding for NPR and PBS. "The news programming that we do represents about 10% of our broadcast schedule, and that includes the [PBS] NewsHour, of which Im very proud of the excellence of the journalism of that series," Kerger continued. She claimed that she often asks people for examples of liberal bias in PBS programming, but they have trouble presenting her with any. "People often struggle to come up with examples of what really theyre talking about," she said, adding, "So, were always interested, obviously, in making sure that were serving a multiplicity of viewpoints." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PBS has been heavily criticized for political bias and for advancing leftist ideologies like gender ideology, such as a PBS movie called "Real Boy," which, according to PBS, follows a transgender-identifying teen as he "navigates adolescence, sobriety, and physical and emotional ramifications of his changing gender identity." A "PBS Newshour" segment on promoted transgender treatments for children such as puberty blockers while shrugging off Republican criticisms. "PBS NewsHour" anchor Judy Woodruff apologized in August for her "mistake" in reporting that President Trump urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to delay a hostage deal between Israel and Hamas until after the 2024 presidential election to benefit him politically. Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture During an interview with journalist Katie Couric in May, Kerger denied seeing any bias to one side in her networks programming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "You know, I get as many calls from people on the more progressive side as on the conservative side that have issues every night with every nights broadcast. You know, I see this or I see that," she said. Kerger also suggested that viewers who complain are the ones seeing red when they see a narrative they dont like. "Were in a difficult time right now in our country around news coverage where people forget that news is news, and it is not about hearing information that is reaffirming what you think you know," she told Couric. Original article source: PBS president declares she 'cant make any sense' of accusations of left-wing bias Peacocks are making life miserable for the residents of a neighborhood in Orlando, Florida. Residents at the Villas at Costa del Sol are angry about a bunch of peacocks who they say are damaging property and creating safety concerns by defecating all over the neighborhood and chasing local children. The frustrated Floridians said the problem began years ago when a resident introduced a pair of peacocks into the community. The birds reproduced, adding more and more peacocks to the area over the years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now the birds are numerous, and are reportedly causing issues. Theres feces everywhere and the kids play in the ground, you know that has so much bacteria, so thats one of the things were worried about. They go after the kids, like if the kids were with their family and theyre playing, they just run after them, Maria Calderon, the volunteer HOA president at the Villas, told News 6 Orlando. Residents of the Villas at Costa del Sol in Orlando, Florida, are frustrated that a large community of peacocks have been damaging their homes and cars, scaring their children, and leaving droppings around their homes (stock image) (Unsplash/Gibran Hamdan) Residents of the Villas at Costa del Sol in Orlando, Florida, are frustrated that a large community of peacocks have been damaging their homes and cars, scaring their children, and leaving droppings around their homes (stock image) (Unsplash/Gibran Hamdan) The birds aren't just scaring children and leaving droppings; they're also reportedly scratching up residents' vehicles and damaging their homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Calderon, the birds see their reflections in the car panels and try to fight their reflections, leaving scratches and beak marks. One resident reportedly had to spend thousands to repair their car, and later switched to a lighter-colored vehicle that was less reflective to avoid bird attacks. They scratch your car because they think theyre fighting, the resident, who chose not to provide their name, told the broadcaster. All I hear is THUD THUD THUD cause theyre pecking it with their beak, and they go to the other side of the car cause they think theyll get to that other bird. And then theyre not just pecking at it, theyre jumping up and theyre scratching it. Another resident, named Victor, told the outlet that birds have torn at his screen door and have flown onto his roof, forcing him to replace two tiles already. Unfortunately for the residents, if they want the birds gone, they'll have to foot the bill. The city of Orlando, Orange County, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have all said that removing the birds is the responsibility of the residents. That's easier said than done; Calderon said she's tried numerous public and private groups asking for help, but hasn't found anyone willing to take on the task. She said few organizations she's spoken with have the capacity to house the large number of peacocks loose in the area. Pelosi Calls Plans to Reopen Alcatraz Stupid as Trump Administration Officials Visit the Island originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Courtesy Alex Wong Getty Images In May, President Trump announced potential plans to reopen Alcatraz in a post on Truth Social, stating, "today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house Americas most ruthless and violent Offenders." As of this morning, US Attorney General Pam Bondi and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are to visit Alcatraz and are expected to announce plans to reopen this federal prison. According to some estimates, refurbishing this site would cost at least a quarter of a billion dollarsa steep price necessary for a prison facility this old. Alcatraz has seen many prisoners throughout the years, the first dating back to the late 1850s. After a major rebuilding from 1909 to 1911, this facility, known as "The Rock," would go on to operate as a federal prison for 29 years starting in 1934, housing some of the most infamous criminals, including Al Capone and George Machine Gun Kelly. Eventually, the prison closed in 1963, after costs to maintain the facility became too high, mainly due to the isolation of the penitentiary and lack of a fresh water source. Consequently, this talk of refurbishment and reopening has led many to question the feasibility of this plan. US Rep. Nancy Pelosi denounced the prospective proposal, asserting, "The planned announcement to reopen Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary is the Trump Administrations stupidest initiative yet. It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies." Others stated their disbelief; California Governor Newsom's Press Office released a statement, reading: "Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So... never." And San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie weighed in, declaring, "There's no realistic plan to make Alcatraz reopen as anything other than the wonderful tourist attraction that it currently is..." According to an article published last May by the National Park Service, Alcatraz Island welcomes around 1.6 million visitors annually, generating an estimate of $60 million dollars in yearly revenue. Indeed, converting Alcatraz back into a prison facility would require an end to both the environmental protections for this site, as well as the National Park Service relinquishing its control. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jul 17, 2025, where it first appeared. SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Amid ongoing rumblings from President Donald Trump about his outlandish plan to reopen Alcatraz as a prison, a delegation of administration officials is reportedly set to visit the island Thursday. According to Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, whose agency the purview of the island falls under, and Attorney General Pam Bondi will visit the former prison. According to Pelosi, the two will announce a plan to reopen the island as a federal penitentiary for the first time since it was closed by then-AG Robert F. Kennedy in 1963. Pelosi is one of many officials to have slammed the proposed plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three of 10 wealthiest US suburbs are in the Bay Area: study With stiff competition, the planned announcement to reopen Alcatraz as a federal penitentiary is the Trump Administrations stupidest initiative yet, Pelosi said. It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies. Democratic Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi speaks at the North Carolina Democratic Unity Dinner fundraiser in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, July 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker) Pelosi may have been referring to the 1979 Clint Eastwood film, Escape from Alcatraz, which Trump reportedly may have watched just prior to initially floating the idea of reopening the former prison. The Trump delegations visit to Alcatraz, which has for decades been a national park and popular tourist attraction, comes at a time when the president appears increasingly desperate to change the subject from the ongoing flap around the Epstein files. On Thursday, Trump ally Laura Loomer warned that the administrations handling of the Epstein case could consume Trumps presidency. Laura Loomer arrives with Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump for a visit to the Shanksville Volunteer Fire Company in Shanksville, Pa., Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke) Pelosi, for her part, dismissed the Alcatraz visit as a diversion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Make no mistake: this stupidity is a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from the Administrations cruelest actions yet in their Big, Ugly Law, which takes away food from children and rips health care from millions to give tax breaks to billionaires. Alcatraz was closed back in the 1960s due to the exorbitant cost of operating it. Its remote location as an island in the middle of San Francisco Bay mean that everything from food, to water, to fuel, had to be brought in by boat. Already crumbling at the time, it was estimated that bringing the prison up to standards would require between $3 to $5 million in restoration work the equivalent of at least $32 million in todays dollars. It remains to be seen how this Administration could possibly afford to spend billions of dollars to maintain Alcatraz as a prison when they are already adding trillions of dollars to the national debt with their sinful law, Pelosi said. Should reason not prevail and Republicans bring this absurdity before the Congress, Democrats will use every parliamentary and budgetary tactic available to stop this lunacy. Transferring Alcatraz from under the control of the Department of Interior would be legislatively challenging. It would require legislation to be proposed and passed by a two-thirds majority in Congress in order to repeal the islands environmental protections, before it could then be transferred to the Bureau of Prisons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to Trumps plan, SF Mayor Daniel Luries office offered KRON4 a statement: Theres no realistic plan to make Alcatraz reopen as anything other than the wonderful tourist attraction that it currently is. If the federal government wants to spend billions of dollars, I want them to spend it on clean and safe streets and San Franciscos economic recovery. Alcatraz draws millions of visitors a year, tens of millions of dollars in economic activity and that is benefitting San Franciscos recovery. Were on the rise and thats what Im focused on. KRON4 has reached out to the United States Department of Justice and Alcatraz for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. Attorney General Dave Sunday announced that Pennsylvania will receive over $1 million as part of a $202 million multistate settlement with Gilead Sciences, Inc. over an illegal kickback scheme to promote HIV drugs. The settlement, involving 49 Attorneys General and coordinated with the U.S. Department of Justice, addresses Gileads violations of federal law by providing incentives to healthcare providers to prescribe its HIV medications. The scheme led to false claims being submitted to government healthcare programs. Gilead used illegal kickbacks to corner the market on these life-saving drugs needed by one million Americans living with HIV, said Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From January 2011 to November 2017, Gilead Sciences engaged in practices that violated federal anti-kickback laws, according to the AGs office. The company provided healthcare providers with gifts, meals, and travel expenses to promote its HIV drugs, including Stribild, Genvoya, Complera, Odefsey, Descovy, and Biktarvy. Gilead allegedly paid high-volume prescribers substantial amounts to participate as speakers in promotional programs. These programs often included travel to attractive destinations and dinners at upscale restaurants. The AGs office said Gileads internal compliance mechanisms failed to prevent these violations, as the companys policies did not adequately restrict sales representatives from offering improper incentives. Pennsylvania is expected to receive $1.28 million, and $642,189 will go directly to its Medicaid program. 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 CHAMBERSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) The Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture is warning residents after a recent spike in reported salmonella cases that may involve raw milk products. The Ag Department says customers who picked up The Family Cow brand raw milk and raw-milk cheese from their Chambersburg retail store and online at YourFamilyFarmer.com for pickup at more than 50 locations across Pennsylvania should discard the products. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Local Business Beat The raw milk was sold in pints, half-gallons, and gallon containers. The raw milk cheese was sold in various sizes, both in blocks and shredded. Varieties include cheddar, yellow cheddar, Colby, garlic and chives cheddar, applewood smoked cheddar, unsalted cheddar, raw pepper jack cheese, baby Swiss, yogurt cheese, and Fromage Affine (aged cheddar). Varieties of shredded cheese include pizza cheese, white cheddar, yellow cheddar, and white and yellow cheddar mix. All milk and all cheese from the dairy should be discarded regardless of sell-by dates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Agriculture Department says experts with the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Agriculture have been investigating the source of more than 70 reported salmonella infections since August 2024. They say a substantial number of those cases reported consuming The Family Cows products before they became ill. Who is running for Governor of Pennsylvania? A similar warning was issued earlier this week for another raw milk product produced in Franklin County. According to the Agriculture Department, consumers should also immediately get rid of Byers Organic Dairy brand raw milk purchased between July 8 and July 10, with sell-by dates of July 22 and July 23, after tests confirmed it to be contaminated with Shigatoxin-producing E. coli bacteria. Anyone who consumed the raw milk should consult a physician if they become ill. Symptoms may include diarrhea, ever, and stomach cramps. Children under five, adults over 65, and people with compromised immune systems may experience more severe illness that requires medical attention or hospitalization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Although the Pentagons fiscal 2026 budget flatlines funding for the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve, officials said Wednesday the move was less about killing the program created to demonstrate technology that can meet urgent military needs and more about normalizing the process it created. Its been institutionalized now, Alexander Lovett, deputy assistant secretary of defense for prototyping and experimentation, told reporters Wednesday. That is the way we do business. So, we dont specifically call it RDER anymore. We just call it prototyping and experimentation. RDER was created in 2021 to prioritize overlooked combatant command needs. The program identified capabilities gaps that spanned multiple COCOMs and military services, found mature technologies officials thought could fill those gaps and then sought to prove it through experimentation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The effort faced an uphill battle in Congress, with lawmakers consistently cutting its budget and claiming its work was redundant to other Defense Department innovation initiatives and wasnt transitioning technology fast enough. In FY25, after Senate appropriators moved to make steep cuts to the program, former Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu campaigned heavily to save it. Speaking Wednesday at a technology display staged in the Pentagons courtyard that featured several successful RDER projects, Lovett said funding from the effort is now being pushed to the services to scale technology that meets the departments priorities. We dont need a separate program, Lovett said. Weve completely adopted that, and well continue to do operational experimentation. Technology experimentation One element of RDER that remains intact is a semi-annual demonstration and testing campaign called Technology Readiness Experimentation, or TREX. Initially intended to help identify and vet potential RDER projects, the Pentagon will now use TREX to get after high-priority capability needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the next few years, Lovett said, that will largely center around autonomous systems, like UAS and counter-drone technology. Much of the technology on display Wednesday was part of the RDER program and has benefitted from the chance to demonstrate at TREX events. The showcase largely focused on autonomy, featuring 18 systems, many of them drones, that DOD has experimented with over the past year or two. That includes a long-endurance UAS called Vanilla built by Platform Aerospace, which graduated from RDER last year. The system can perform a range of missions, including ISR, signals intelligence, communications and kinetic and non-kinetic effects. The system is currently under operational assessment by U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, U.S Central Command and U.S. Africa Command according to Jon Rasche, a program manager at the firm. Those reviews, which should be complete in 2026, evaluate the aircrafts capability and meet command requirements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, Platform has funding from DODs Accelerated Procurement For Innovative Technologies program, or APFIT, to build out its production capacity and make sure its ready to start delivering the system once its part of a program of record. Rasch told Defense News the company expects to ramp up from its current rate of one system per month to four per month next year. The companys involvement in RDER not only provided a pathway for Vanilla to become a formal DOD program, Rasche said, but the exposure and feedback from program managers and operational units helped shape the systems development. Obviously everyone wants to move into a program of record. But that transition path is confusing at times, Rasch said. The RDER program was helpful as we got different program managers from the RDER team to help us understand what the next steps were moving through that process. Drone dominance The event followed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseths June 10 memo that rolled out a slew of reforms to the way the Pentagon tests, buys and fields drones and pushes decision-making authority to units in the field. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The memo requires the military services to each create active-duty drone formations to scale the use of small uncrewed air systems, or UAS, across DOD. It gives procurement authority to combat units to buy, test and train with small UAS. And it calls on the services to stand up unsubordinated program offices focused entirely on rapidly acquiring drones. By the end of 2026, every squad will have low-cost, expendable drones, prioritizing Indo-Pacific combat units and consistent with other Secretary of Defense strategic guidance documents, the memo states. Hegseth made an appearance at the showcase Wednesday, visiting several booths. He spoke briefly with reporters and noted that the systems on display represented a small fraction of the innovation the department hopes to spark by reducing some of the policy barriers that make it harder for companies to work with DOD and for military operators to get the capabilities they need. What we continue to do is drastically reduce red tape, Hegseth said. Previous barriers have been put in place to block innovation, block speed, to block scale, to block working with industry, to block competition. . . . When it comes to drones large, small, all classes we need to be world class. And we will. People gathered Thursday, July 17, 2025, to rally against President Trump and his policies. The protest is part of the 50501 movement. Myrriah Gomez is from the Pojoaque Valley in Northern New Mexico, an associate professor in the Honors College at the University of New Mexico and author. (Courtesy of Myrriah Gomez) July 16, 2025 marked 80 years since the atomic test at the Trinity site, as well as the 46th anniversary of the toxic uranium spill at the Church Rock mine, a disaster that sent millions of gallons of toxic tailings in the Rio Puerco, contaminating Navajo Nation lands and waters. This years dual commemorations come in the wake of Congress expanding, for the first time, a program to compensate people harmed by the countrys nuclear programs to include New Mexico downwinders and post-1970 uranium workers. Myrriah Gomezs 2022 book, Nuclear Nuevo Mexico: Colonialism and the Effects of the Nuclear Industrial Complex on Nuevomexicanos (2022), examines the history of New Mexicos cradle-to-grave role in Americas nuclear project and the legacy of erasure, trauma and environmental racism toward Native American and Mexican-American communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Source spoke with Gomez, an associate professor in the Honors College at the University of New Mexico, about the states nuclear legacy and the recent renewal and expansion of the federal Radiation and Exposure Compensation Act. The following conversation has been edited for concision and clarity. Source: You open your book with an account of your cousins funeral in June of 2008, along with the deaths of your grandfather and great-uncles, all of whom died from cancer and worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Why start the story there? Gomez: For those of us who are from the Valley, Los Alamos is always just part of our lives. We see family and friends who work at the lab, and we take for granted that its always been there. But really, theres a much larger backstory. Theres a whole history of the Pajarito Plateau [that] my family has deep ties to, even before the Manhattan Project. Opening the book with the memories of my family grounded me in place, grounded me in community, and grounded me in this other story of Los Alamos that most people dont have any context for. What do you make of this moment as New Mexico downwinders are formally recognized for the first time? The passage of RECA in what is now known as the Big, Beautiful Bill, is sort of an ironic moment. At the same time that New Mexicans are finally being recognized and includedNew Mexicans are having rights stripped from them. Not only because of taking away access to health care like Medicaid, but its also [the bills] increase in nuclear spending. Right now, New Mexicos Los Alamos National Laboratory is the only place that has the capabilities to produce nuclear plutonium pits in the entire country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a very bittersweet feeling because on one hand, its the recognition and the reality that New Mexicans will be able to apply [for] RECA, but its also at the cost of having all sorts of other effects that the bill will bestow. You wrote despite what many people argue, New Mexico is not a national sacrifice zone. in order to be a sacrifice zone, the object being sacrificed has to hold value. New Mexico does not hold value to the nation other than being a wasteland. Has your opinion changed since you wrote that? It hasnt changed. I wish I would have nuanced that more, and Im actually working on a whole other book that expands on that idea of what it means to be a sacrifice zone and why I dont believe that New Mexico is one. The New Mexico state Legislature voted to make it illegal to bring high-level nuclear waste in New Mexico. The government is blatantly disregarding that at all various levels: at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, now the Supreme Court [which overturned lower courts decisions and reopened the possibility of high-level nuclear storage facilities in Texas and New Mexico]. Theyre saying, tough, were going to bring it anyway. Were not making that sacrifice; theyre making that decision for us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve seen that from the very beginning. There used to be a film shown at the Bradbury Science Museum called The Town That Never Was. One of the things said in the film is that the residents proudly and willingly gave up their land to build Los Alamos there is not one thing true about that. They just took the land. We see the same thing happening 80 years later: New Mexicans have said no to the high level storage facility, and theyre gonna proceed with it anyway. Former uranium workers whom I spoke to in Paguate Village, which abuts the Jackpile mine, described the federal efforts to restart uranium mining in New Mexico as an insult, given the failure to acknowledge and care for people who were exposed previously. What are your thoughts on expansion? Indigenous homelands have been ravaged by uranium mining since that started in the United States, and in particular, in and around Navajo Nation and Laguna Pueblo for us in New Mexico. Theyre seeking [expansion] again when theres over 500 abandoned uranium mines on Navajo nation alone, with remediation efforts underway. Of course, we know we can never fully remediate these sites. They think that people are either not going to care or not going to notice. But luckily, we have lots of organizations and individuals who are pushing back. And I think one of the things that Ive seen is all of the efforts that are being done: cross-cultural, international efforts between places where uranium mining has occurred. Its not just the Navajo Nation and Laguna Pueblo; this is happening to Indigenous communities across the world. What are the most important changes in the nuclear landscape in the three years since your book was published? The plutonium pit production expansion has significantly shaped and reshaped the landscape. U.S. Secretary of Energy [Chris] Wright, was in Los Alamos in early May of this year. He did a photo-op in front of Oppenheimers house, and he said, Were in the new Manhattan Project. What was so interesting about that statement was the fact that he was actually referring to AI. But in reality, it was an effort to distract us from the fact that we are in a new Manhattan Project with weapons production. The other issue that really affects New Mexico is the fact that PNM has divested from Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station in Arizona, an interesting opening into how New Mexico can divest from the nuclear industry. Is there anything else that you wanted to expand upon in this moment of reflection? People really want to put Trinity in the past. They want to think about it as history, that we can put it in a box to look at and we can talk about, but that its not really relevant [to today], right? And I think that were starting to see as American citizens, as global citizens, as New Mexicans, how important it is that we pay attention to the nuclear issues right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When Iran was bombed by the United States this summer, it sort of opened our eyes to the possibilities and the role that New Mexico plays in that. Instead of just going with the status quo and accepting the billions of federal dollars that we get for our national nuclear facilities, we really need to be questioning the role that we play as New Mexicans, the complacency in all of that weapons development. We can further increase discussion by educating each other and by having really difficult conversations at this moment. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Three years ago, a Southern California consumer complained about unwittingly renewing a Peacock subscription. Now, the conflict is expected to end with media giant NBCUniversal paying $3.6 million to Los Angeles County. The county this week announced a proposed settlement with NBCUniversal and its subsidiary, Peacock TV, to resolve a pending legal fight over allegations that the streaming service failed to provide clear disclosures and an easy way for subscribers to cancel the service, avoiding an automatic renewal. It's up to a Los Angeles judge to approve the settlement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of the deal, the Comcast-owned streaming service agreed to pay $1.5 million to the county's Department of Consumer and Business Affairs to help fund consumer protection enforcement as well as $100,000 to cover the costs of investigating Peacock's subscription and auto-renewal practices. In addition, NBCUniversal would pay $2 million in civil penalties earmarked for enforcement of consumer protection laws. Read more: The cheap streaming era is over. Here's why your bills are going up "This outcome is a significant win for the public and a reminder that no business, regardless of size or influence, is above consumer protection laws, Rafael Carbajal, director of the countys Department of Consumer and Business Affairs, said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NBCUniversal declined to comment. Other streaming services have faced consumer protection complaints of onerous cancellation procedures. Peacock's practices ran afoul of California and federal consumer protection laws, the county alleged in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. The proposed settlement was also filed with the court. Under the proposed settlement, Peacock must satisfy certain requirements. The service must present automatic subscription renewal terms clearly and conspicuously on its platform. Auto-renewal terms and a description of Peacock's cancellation policy must be provided to consumers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company also must obtain a customer's affirmative consent to a subscription agreement rather than an auto-renewal and provide an easy method of cancellation that allows for immediate termination "without any further steps that obstruct or delay the end of service," according to the agreement. Read more: NBCUniversal wades into streaming wars with Peacock As part of the deal, the county would abandon its lawsuit and its request for a trial. After an investigation into consumer complaints, L.A. County Counsel Dawyn R. Harrison filed the civil lawsuit on behalf of people in California. The initial consumer complaint was lodged in early 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Members of the county counsels Affirmative Litigation and Consumer Protection Division investigated the alleged violations, then negotiated the settlement. Read more: Natasha Lyonne remains unconventional as a sleuth in 'Poker Face' and in her career We appreciate Peacock TVs responsiveness and cooperation during our investigation and their willingness to negotiate a settlement," Harrison said in a statement. Read more: Who will win the streaming wars? Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. A farmer plants soybeans into a cover cropped field. (Photo by Brandon O'Connor/NRCS) PepsiCo and Cargill have announced plans to expand sustainable farming practices on 240,000 acres of Iowa cropland by 2030. The brands will partner with Practical Farmers of Iowa, which will give technical and financial support to farmers as they implement practices like cover crops, reduced tillage and steps to reduce nitrogen application on their operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a press release from PepsiCo, the effort will center on the shared corn supply chain in Iowa, from which Cargill produces ingredients for PepsiCo products. PepsiCo, in addition to soda brands, owns products like Lays, Doritos, Cheetos and more. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Together, the companies aim to deepen supply chain resilience, support positive outcomes for farming communities by helping them implement regenerative practices, and unlock new opportunities for advancing sustainable agriculture at scale, the release said. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture show about 13.1 million acres across Iowa were planted with corn, for all purposes, in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The release said the collaboration with Practical Farmers of Iowa is key to scaling regenerative agriculture practices, and Jim Andrew, PepsiCos chief sustainability officer, said the effort creates shared value and long-term sustainability. By working with farmers to understand whats best for their farms and partnering across the supply chain we can accelerate the adoption of regenerative agriculture practices that can result in healthier soil, reduced emissions, and improved crop yields and livelihoods for farmers, Andrew said in the release. PepsiCos goal is to drive adoption of these practices on 10 million acres globally by 2030, and according to the release, Cargill aims to do the same on 10 million North American acres over the next five years. Cargills Chief Sustainability Officer Pilar Cruz said it will drive measurable results where the food chain starts, at the farm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By coming together across the value chain, we can help create the conditions for regenerative agriculture to take root and grow, Cruz said in a statement. The collaboration offers a model for how we can drive meaningful impact at scale. The partners aim to improve soil health, resiliency to the impacts of a changing climate and farm productivity while also integrating farmers into sustainably-focused supply chains. PepsiCo declined to share the financial investment the project represents. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ) The number of active oil rigs across the United States has dipped to 537, down two from last week and 48 fewer than this time last year, when the count stood at 585. Texas currently reports 255 active rigs, a slight decrease of one from the previous week. In the Permian Basin, which spans West Texas and southeastern New Mexico, the rig count remains steady at 265. Thats unchanged from last week but down from 305 rigs at this time in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Energy Analyst, Oren Pilant of East Daley analytics tells ABC Big 2s Chris Talley, oil producers could look to shift to natural gas production. Right now, the amount of natural gas being produced in the Permian Basin is more than the pipelines can handle. Because of this, about 500 million cubic feet of gas per day might have to be burned off (flared) in 2025, according to East Daley Analytics. By adding additional pipelines, it raises the effective price that you can sell your gas at in Waha which is beneficial for these producers in the Permian. We see a 20% total increase in the size of the natural gas market in the U.S driven primarily by LNG demand on the Gulf Coast, as well as data center demand growth across the country. you really need to be aware of not only the Permian, but every basin, and how those basins are going to react to supply all this LNG growth, explained Pilant. WTI oil prices have fallen 15% since 2024, which makes it harder for oil companies in the Permian Basin to predict future profits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement producers arent really confident that they can see consistent returns if they were to try to grow production. OPEC is planning to add 500,000 more barrels of oil per day in August. Because of this, Pilant suggests paying more attention to global oil prices. those marginal barrels out of the Middle East are maybe significantly cheaper than what it costs to produce a barrel of oil here in Texas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) One person was confirmed to have come in contact with a rabid cat in Greenville County. Officials with the Department of Public Health said the cat was found in Pelzer, near Holland Ford Road and Beech Springs Road. The cat was confirmed to have rabies on July 15. One person was exposed and has received medical attention, officials said. Pet owners should keep their pets up to date on their rabies vaccinations. Officials said it is the easiest way to protect yourself from this deadly virus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you believe you, someone you know, or your pets have come in contact an animal that potentially has rabies, call the Department of Public Healths Upstate Greenville-Spartanburg office at (864) 372-3270. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) One person is suffering major injuries after a car wreck sent them to the hospital Thursday afternoon. The crash occurred at about 1:06 p.m., near Redbank Road and Vineyard Street, according to the CHP Traffic Incident Information page. The California Highway Patrol, Kern County Fire Department and HALL Ambulance responded to the scene. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KGET 17 News. HARTFORD, S.D. (KELO) Just off of Highway 38 in Hartford, youll find a new motorcycle repair shop that does everything from general services to custom performance builds. Our goal first is to provide the same level or better of services capabilities that you can get at any named dealership, Andrew Hahn, co-owner of War-Torn Cycles, said. The owners of War-Torn Cycles also want to be people-focused. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of the community, a lot of the customers, have reached out and theyre like, man, theres really a need for a shop thats more focused on us as the rider and that personable one-on-one instead of just the big corporate machine, basically,' Christopher Fischer, co-owner of War-Torn Cycles, said. But the idea of being there for their customers and community goes well beyond just fixing and building bikes. One of our biggest personal drives is veteran outreach, predominantly for veteran suicide intervention issues, and just building a camaraderie base with the vet community, Hahn said. Owners Andrew Hahn and Christopher Fischer are veterans themselves who met while serving in the Tennessee National Guard. At the time, Fischer had just gotten back from Afghanistan where he was hit with an IED. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was a really dark time for me and he kept me from committing suicide in 15, Fischer said. Together they now want to help other veterans facing similar struggles by pledging a portion of their profits to fund local outreach programs. I dont want to just be another organization that can just turn a wrench, Hahn said. I want here to be known as a center spot that you can get phenomenal care, you can talk to us like human beings and then you can come to get support for whatever effort that youre then trying to do. If I can take one guy and bring them out of that dark spot, or gal, and just give them a redirection and keep them from going down that path, thats what I want, Fischer said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The grand-opening for War-Torn Cycles is this Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm. The event will include a bike blessing from the Christian Motorcyclists Association, raffle drawings and a Dyno shoot-out. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Long Island hospital worker admitted Tuesday that he filmed as many as 13,000 patients and staff in the bathroom but was shockingly spared jail time by the judge, leaving the DA filled with disappointment and disgust. Sanjai Syamaprasad, 48, will only get five years of probation after he pleaded guilty to using a camera disguised as a smoke detector to spy on patients, workers and even children while they used the restrooms at two Northwell Health Sleep Disorders Center in Manhasset. The former sleep tech changed his original April not guilty plea to guilty on five counts of unlawful surveillance, and two counts of tampering with evidence. Sanjai Syamaprasad, 48, will only get five years of probation. NBC 4 He was caught attempting to toss several memory cards and recording devices into a dumpster near his Brooklyn home shortly after he was caught and reported by a coworker for watching the bathroom footage on his phone while at work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My reaction to five years probation is disappointment and disgust this case deserved jail time, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly told reporters after the plea hearing. What he did, the number of people he exposed over 300 plus videos we have and you treat that with probation? I think its wrong and thats why I was recommending upstate jail time. During the plea hearing, Judge Meryl Berkowitz shut down Assistant District Attorney Kelsey Lorers prison time recommendation, pointing out that the DAs office no longer had a say since he pleaded guilty to all seven charges. Syamaprasad was caught attempting to toss several memory cards and recording devices into a dumpster near his Brooklyn home. NBC 4 The scandal was uncovered in April 2024 when another employee caught the worker watching someone using the bathroom on his laptop, prompting a police investigation. NBC 4 Berkowitz, who is expected to retire this year after 26 years on the bench, said she factored in the remorse expressed by Syamaprasad and noted his enrollment in a treatment program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I made you a promise that I will give you five years probation, the judge said to Syamaprasad in court. If you violate that you are looking at one to three years. The Northwell Health facility that Syamaprasad operated out of has now been caught in several class-action lawsuits for millions of dollars. The facility is now involved in multiple class-action lawsuits. NBC 4 Syamaprasad worked the overnight shift at the Northwell Sleep Disorders Center in Manhasset between July 2023 and April 2024 and filmed thousands of both patients and co-workers, some multiple times and he may have bought his first covert recording device as early as August 2022, officials said. Northwell has so far sent out 13,000 letters to each potential victim, with attorneys estimating the true number of victims could be even higher as investigators continue to comb through months of footage. The damage done by this breach of privacy is not just emotional its a violation of our most basic expectations of safety and decency, Benjamin Dell and Christopher Dean, the two attorneys who filed the most recent case, told The Post. We expect answers. We expect accountability. And most importantly, we need real assurances that this will never happen again. (NewsNation) Comedian Pete Davidson is going to be a first-time dad. The actors girlfriend, Elsie Hewitt, confirmed the news on her Instagram, with images of a sonogram, as well as pictures of her and Davidson. Welp, now everyone knows we had sex, Hewitt wrote on Instagram to her 1 million followers. Pete Davidson to do 50 hours community service after charge of driving into Beverly Hills house Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hewitt is reportedly due in the winter and had already begun telling friends and family, according to TMZ, which was first to report the news. Davidson and Hewitt sparked dating rumors in March when they were photographed together in Palm Beach, Florida, People reported. A source told People that the couple moved in together in May and are splitting their time between Petes house in upstate New York and a brownstone they recently started renting in Brooklyn. PETA vs. Pete Davidson: Comedian called out for buying puppy In 2022, the Saturday Night Live alum expressed a desire to become a father, telling fellow comedian Kevin Hart on his talk show Hart to Heart that his dream was to have a child. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its super corny, but it would be so fun to dress up a little dude, he told Hart. Im so excited for that chapter so thats kind of what Im just preparing for now, is trying to be like good as a dude and develop and get better so when that happens its just easier. NewsNations Markie Martin reveals shes having a baby boy Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Questions linger at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base after a new memorandum from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth calls for drastic changes in American military leadership. Hegseths memo focuses on removing bureaucratic layers and redundant force structure by reducing excess general and flag officer positions. Stripping the four-star command status from Wright-Patt would have a profound effect on its massive operations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Loud military training exercises scheduled at bases Hegseth directed the following actions: A minimum 20 percent reduction of 4-star positions across the Active Component. A minimum 20 percent reduction of general officers in the National Guard. An additional minimum 10 percent reduction in general and flag officers with the realignment of the Unified Command Plan. Through these measures, we will uphold our position as the most lethal fighting force in the world, achieving peace through strength and ensuring greater efficiency, innovation, and preparedness for any challenge that lies ahead, wrote Hegseth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wright-Patt is the largest employer in the Miami Valley. According to MilitaryOneSource, approximately 38,000 military members, civilians and contractors work on the base. East Palestine, we will never forget you, VP Vance announces new study on the train derailment Senator Jon Husted, Congressman Michael R. Turner and U.S. Senator Bernie Moreno wrote a letter on Monday, July 14, to Hegseth. Sen. Husteds Press Secretary sent a copy of this letter to 2 NEWS. It started with thanking Hegseth for his service as a Guardsman and now as the U.S. Secretary of Defense. The letter addressed the memo and then specifically Wright-Patt. It explained how the Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) is critical for the entire Air Force and touches nearly every aspect of the Service. The AFMC Commander oversees more than 89,000 people and manages an annual budget of $72 billion, nearly 40 percent of all Air Force spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We write to urge you to maintain a four-star United States Air Force general as the commander of Air Force Materiel Command, headquartered at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio. We believe that the foundational importance, far-reaching impact, and complexity of AFMCs mission merit a 4-star billet for its commander, wrote the group. The group wrote about AFMCs role in providing everything from uniforms to spare parts to nuclear-capable B-2 bombers. As you seek to rebuild and modernize Americas military to meet the threats of today and tomorrow, AFMC will be critical to those efforts by providing cradle-to-grave lifecycle support of Air Force weapon systems, wrote the group. AFMC also plays a vital role in Americas nuclear enterprise, providing acquisition, modernization, and sustainment support for Americas land-based ICBM force and air-based nuclear delivery systems. Six arrested after years-long probe in Operation Crystal Clear Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter then explains the history of reductions that birthed the AFMC in 1992. It used to be two different 4-star commands: the Air Force Systems Command and Air Force Logistics Command. Given its size, scope, nuclear triad responsibilities, and foundational importance to all Air Force activities, we believe that AFMC requires 4-star leadership to effectively execute its mission. As such, while you seek to optimize the militarys command structure, we urge you to spare the Commander, Air Force Materiel Command billet from a demotion to a 3-star position, wrote the group. They finished by inviting Hegseth to the base. We would also like to invite you to visit Wright-Patterson Air Force Base at the earliest possible opportunity so that you can see the important work done at the base to support the Air Force and the defense of our nation, wrote the group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 2 NEWS is following this memorandum closely. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. As Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parkers US$2 billion housing plan moves forward, heated debates continue about another set of municipal housing proposals that could transform Philadelphia tenants rights. In June 2025, Philadelphias City Council considered three housing bills, collectively known as the Safe Healthy Homes Act. The package was introduced by Nicolas O'Rourke, an at-large council member who belongs to the Working Families Party. One of the bills authorized the city to create a fund for tenants to relocate if their buildings are condemned by city inspectors. It was signed into law, though it remains unclear how the fund will be financed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The other two bills stalled. One was an ordinance that would broadly strengthen tenants rights, and the other known as the Right to Repairs would shift how Philadelphia ensures housing is safe for tenants, empowering the city to proactively inspect rentals for housing code violations. These bills deal with housing policy, but theyre also matters of public health. I know this because I am a researcher in Philadelphia who studies how housing affects our health outcomes. And in particular, recent research by myself and others suggests the fate of the Rights to Repairs legislation could have major implications for Philadelphians well-being. Housing protections today To understand this new evidence, its important to first understand the system of housing regulations Philadelphia has now, in the absence of the proposed Right to Repairs legislation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When a landlord rents an apartment, Pennsylvania law mandates that apartment must be habitable and free of hazards such as mold, cockroaches and dangerous dilapidation. This legal principle is known as the implied warranty of habitability. All 50 states except Arkansas have some kind of policy like this, though they vary in how much they hold landlords responsible for tenants safety. Under Pennsylvanias warranty and related municipal law, if conditions deteriorate in a rental property, Philadelphia tenants are first supposed to alert their landlord, who has 30 days to fix the given violation such as rodents or lead exposure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If landlords refuse, however, tenants are in a bind. They could file a complaint with the Department of Licenses and Inspections, which might come and issue a citation. Tenants could also file a lawsuit against their landlord, and they are entitled to withhold rent. But all of these options risk provoking your landlord at potentially high cost. Invoking your warranty rights as a tenant can therefore be tricky. You have to know your rights, document repair requests in writing, and be willing to take your landlord to task legally. Thats challenging in a city like Philadelphia, where most renters outside of a pilot program in some ZIP codes arent guaranteed lawyers in housing court. Indeed, nationally, 9 in 10 landlords have lawyers in housing cases, while 9 in 10 tenants do not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The stakes are high for tenants. If they complain, they risk eviction and thats amid a shortage of affordable housing in Philadelphia and across the country. In 2018 alone, according to a local news investigation, Philadelphia landlords filed over 2,000 eviction cases soon after tenants raised habitability issues, despite such retaliatory evictions being illegal. More up-to-date estimates are hard to come by, as these illegal evictions are not systematically tracked. Tenants have little choice. Philadelphia does not require that an apartment pass an inspection before the city issues rental licenses or certificates of rental suitability. If housing violations arise, its on tenants to assert and defend their rights. Philadelphia City Council member Nicolas O'Rourke introduced a housing legislation package guided by three rights the right to safety, the right to repairs and the right to relocation. Only the right to relocation bill was passed. Lisa Lake for MoveOn via Getty Images Do habitability laws work? Housing quality protections for tenants, in other words, largely boil down to implied warranties of habitability, plus associated fines the city can issue. But this works only if tenants are able to properly document violations, submit complaints and defend themselves from the blowback. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite warranties forming the backbone of Philadelphias housing quality governance system and concerns that these laws saddle tenants with unreasonable enforcement responsibilities little is known about whether warranties are even effective. Do they keep tenants from getting sick due to poor housing conditions? To find out, fellow researchers and I examined what happened when nine states enacted implied warranty of habitability laws like the one in place in Pennsylvania today. We wanted to know whether renters health improved after warranty policies were enacted, compared with other states where such laws didnt go into effect over the same period. We also used homeowners as a control group, comparing whether renters health uniquely improved when these laws were enacted. Homeowners are useful here because we wouldnt expect homeowners health to be affected by these laws. Our findings were stark: We found no improvements for renters at all, across a slew of housing-related health outcomes, even 10 years after enactment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There were no effects on renters asthma, respiratory allergies, bronchitis, mental health, hospitalizations, or even less clinical outcomes such as self-rated health. To be clear, implied warranties of habitability are important laws and are surely helpful for individual tenants. Broadly speaking, however, our findings suggest that these policies simply dont work. That is likely especially true in Pennsylvania, a state whose implied warranty of habitability was given an F- by researchers who evaluated the comprehensiveness of states policies for protecting tenants well-being. A 2014 study in neighboring New Jersey helps shed light on why these policies fall short. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Researchers there examined 40,000 eviction cases, looking for whether tenants successfully raised implied warranty of habitability violations as a defense. Given how often landlords retaliate after violation complaints are made, one might expect thousands of tenants party to these lawsuits to have invoked their warranty rights. The result? Only 80 tenants did so 80 out of 40,000. In practice, then, existing data paints a bleak picture: The vast majority of tenants lack the financial resources, legal knowledge, alternative housing options or freedom from fear necessary to protect themselves from unsafe conditions at home. Proactive rental inspections show more success What policies might work instead? Cities such as Rochester, New York, may provide an answer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2005, Rochester implemented a more proactive rental inspection program to combat their child lead-poisoning crisis a problem Philadelphia shares. This meant that Rochesters municipal inspectors began proactively inspecting rental units on a regular basis and issuing fines for any violations they found. Tenants did not have to file a complaint and therefore werent forced into adversarial disputes with their landlords. The results were dramatic. By 2012, childhood lead poisoning in Rochester had dropped by 85%. This decline was nearly 2.5 times faster than the rest of New York state. Further, scientists found that units that were inspected every three years had one-third of the rate of housing code violations as units inspected every six years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether the Right to Repair is good policy for Philadelphia is a question for city legislators. But research is increasingly clear: The citys current housing policies do not protect tenants from unsafe housing, while proactive rental inspections show real promise for fighting persistent housing-related health problems. Read more of our stories about Philadelphia. 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: Gabriel L. Schwartz, Drexel University Read more: Gabriel L. Schwartz's research described in this article was funded through a pilot grant from the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative. UCSF had no role in the design, completion, or reporting of that study. The views expressed in this article solely represent the scientific opinion of the author, and do not necessarily represent the opinion of either UCSF or his employer. Opponents of the proposed Piedmont power transmission line in Central Maryland protested outside a conference on the data center industry in Frederick last summer. (File photo by Josh Kurtz/Maryland Matters) The company behind a proposed power line that would cut across northern Maryland filed suit Tuesday against another 200 landowners who have refused to give project surveyors access to their property. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for Maryland by the New Jersey-based power company PSEG, comes just weeks after a federal judge ruled in PSEGs favor in a similar suit against 117 other Maryland landowners who had refused access to their properties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dozens of landowners have appealed that ruling to the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals but, so far, U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelsons June 20 ruling remains in effect. And PSEG spokesperson Bill Smith said Wednesday that the companys April lawsuit was just round one. The case filed this week, involving 149 properties, is round two and the company expects there will be a round three, Smith said. The initial filing was done to prioritize certain surveys that had a need to be done sooner rather than later, whether it was seasonality or something like that, Smith said. In the meantime, Smith said theres nothing preventing PSEG from beginning the first round of surveys authorized by Abelson. The company anticipates issuing 24-hour notices to landowners for the surveys in the near future, he said. The latest lawsuit will also be heard by Abelson. In Tuesdays filing as in the round one case PSEG argued that the clock is ticking on the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project (MPRP). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company argues that it was selected by the regional electric grid operator, PJM Interconnection, and given a deadline of June 1, 2027, to place the 67-mile power transmission line in service or risk blackouts or other woes due to increasing strain on the electric grid. Opponents of the project have cast doubt on the urgency and necessity for the power line. To build the line, though, PSEG must go through the Maryland Public Service Commission, which is currently considering whether to issue the company a key certificate that would let it move forward with construction. But in March, officials from the Maryland Power Plant Research Program deemed PSEGs application deficient, in part because it was missing information that could be obtained from on-the-ground surveys. From the beginning, PSEG has run into vocal opposition, spearheaded by rural landowners in the path of the proposed line, which runs through parts of Baltimore, Carroll and Frederick counties. They argue the project is poised to destroy beloved rural lands, interrupting family farms, forested lands, streams and a longtime youth camp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joanne Frederick, a landowner named in the first lawsuit, is the president of Stop MPRP, the nonprofit formed to oppose the transmission line. She said Wednesday that the landowners who had refused access to PSEG, but were not named in the first lawsuit, had been waiting on pins and needles to see what action PSEG would take. They could have just filed against everyone, Frederick said. To continue to draw this process out and continue to torture landowners is unfortunate. During a hearing in Baltimore in May, attorneys representing the landowners argued that if PSEG were allowed to access the properties before receiving its certificate from the PSC, it would essentially be unlawfully wielding the power of eminent domain before getting government sign-off. But PSEG attorneys argued that such an interpretation of eminent domain law would make it impossible for them to obtain the surveys needed to obtain the certificate from the PSC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, PSEGs arguments won out, with Abelson allowing the company to access the properties of 117 landowners at any time while the PSC is still considering its case so long as it provided notice 24 hours in advance. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Now, Frederick is living with the knowledge that at any time, PSEG could place a notice on her door, and come onto her property the next day to perform surveys for a project she passionately opposes. And she isnt sure yet what those surveys on her land might involve or how long they could last. Every time a delivery person comes to my driveway, it causes a certain amount of fear, she said. Oh no. Is this it? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Matt Moran, a Frederick County landowner, is among the Marylanders sued Tuesday. Weve been trying to live normal lives, but its really hard when you have this heavy weight hanging over you, and you dont know whats going to happen, Moran said. As he spoke, Moran said he was walking through the tract of woods on his land that the power line could go through, a mature stand of red oaks and hickories. He said his father originally purchased the land to get off the grid, and built a home that ran on solar energy. I just think its sad that its rolling through here of all places, Moran said. Despite the fact that Abelson already ruled in PSEGs favor, Moran said he remains hopeful that the landowners will ultimately prevail, in part because he believes PSEG failed to consider other alternatives adequately like building the Piedmont project close to pre-existing power lines. Im hoping that somehow we can stop it, Moran said. We have a pretty good case. By Mike Stone and Ju-min Park (Reuters) -Satellite imagery indicates that a new maritime pier has been completed at North Korea's key rocket station, where the latest spy satellite launches and other rocket tests have been conducted, satellite operator ICEYE said. The pier at the Sohae Satellite Launching Station seen via the imagery "enables transport of larger rocket components than previously possible via rail", ICEYE said in findings provided to Reuters. Larger components would allow the site to host rockets that can travel longer distances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in 2022 inspected the Sohae facility and ordered it to be modernised and expanded to ensure that various rockets, including those capable of carrying military spy satellites, could be launched, state media said. The facility has been used to put a satellite in orbit and also to test various missile components including rocket engines and space launch vehicles that South Korean and U.S. officials say require similar technology to that used in intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM). An image from July 9 also shows the pier with a newly constructed jetty and vessels indicating potential operational status, according to ICEYE, a sign that could help enhance Sohae's logistical capabilities. ICEYE added that it took about 28 months from initial reports to develop and complete the pier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Work to expand the road and rail infrastructure throughout the facility continues, according to 38 North, a Washington-based North Korea monitoring programme. Satellite images, taken from December to July by the commercial satellite firm Planet Labs, also show what appears to be a pier under construction on the shore. Pyongyang's latest attempt to launch a military spy satellite at the Sohae site failed in May 2024 but Kim has vowed to never give up the space reconnaissance project that he views as crucial for national self defence against enemy threats. North Korea successfully placed its first spy satellite in orbit in November 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As part of growing military ties with Moscow, North Korea is likely getting help from Russia on its satellite programme in exchange for sending troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, South Korean officials have said. North Korea says its military activities, including nuclear weapons, are its sovereign right and only for self defence. It accused the United States and its allies of threatening it with "hostile policies" such as military drills and sanctions. (Reporting by Ju-min Park in Seoul, Mike Stone in Washington; Editing by Ed Davies and Michael Perry) Jul. 17Three children, their mother killed PORTSMOUTH A Piketon man has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for driving under the influence and killing three children and their mother in May 2024 accident. They had just attended a kindergarten graduation. Trending * Man takes metal pipe to PAC windows * Siblings dominate show An Ohio State Highway Patrol report from May 24, 2024, said that Gage A. Smith, now 24, of Piketon, was driving a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier northbound on State Route 104. After passing another northbound vehicle, Smith lost control, traveled left of center and struck an oncoming southbound vehicle, a 1994 Ford F-350. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three children in the back seat of his car, Navy A. Copas, 4, Madison Q. Copas, 6, and Xavier A. Smith, 5, did not survive the crash. Their mother, Courtney D. Copas, 28, of Piketon, died at a Columbus hospital. They were returning from Piketon, where they had just attended Madison Copas' kindergarten graduation ceremony at Portsmouth West Elementary School. Smith was treated and released at SOMC and then incarcerated at the Scioto County Jail. Smith initially faced 47 total counts, 37 of them for felony charges, stemming from an indictment returned by the Scioto County Grand Jury in June 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith waived his right to a jury trial and elected to have Judge Mark Kuhn decide the merits of the case. Trending * A successful debut (WITH GALLERY) * 4-H and FFA Rabbit Showmanship and Breeding Rabbits (WITH GALLERY) The three-day trial ended on July 9 and Smith was sentenced to a life sentence without parole eligibility for the next 60 years following his convictions for four counts of murder and a host of related charges. Scioto County Prosecutor Shane Tieman said an eyewitness testified that Smith was weaving in and out of his lane of travel and passing other vehicles in prohibited areas and that Smith was traveling at speeds approaching or exceeding 80 mph in a 55 mph zone. After Smith had passed another vehicle, he lost control of the car and spun into the southbound lane where the rear of the Cavalier impacted a truck pulling a camper driven by 29-year-old Tyler Bellaw, also of Piketon, who was able to bring his truck and the camper to a careful and controlled stop despite the massive collision. He never left his lane of travel and had no ability to avoid the collision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tieman said a large-scale investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol was immediately commenced. Search warrants were obtained for Smith's blood, urine, vehicle and cellular phone. Tieman said Smith further admitted to 'snorting' painkillers prior to the collision and to smoking from a THC vape pen found on his person, and that blood and urine analysis confirmed the presence of THC (marijuana), Hydrocodone, and Oxycodone in Smith's system. Smith was in possession of almost 100 illegal Vicodin and Percocet pills at the time of the collision. Tieman said Smith had deliberately disconnected one of the brake lines of the vehicle and was regularly using the parking/emergency brake to try and slow the Cavalier. This brake line was 'crimped' off to try and prevent fluid from leaking. Four empty or nearly empty bottles of brake fluid were discovered during the investigation. The Cavalier was also a 'salvage' under Ohio law, which had not been properly inspected. The tires on Smith's vehicle were nearly bald and had signs of dry rot. Smith admitted he had never had a driver's license in Ohio or any other state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Smith's defense counsel admitted during closing arguments that his conduct was reckless, but disputed that it rose to the level of 'knowingly' required for felonious assault and murder under Ohio law. The prosecution contended that based on the totality of Smith's actions and the evidence of his knowledge that the results which occurred were foreseeable and probable, therefore rising to the level of felony murder in Ohio. Judge Kuhn agreed, finding Smith guilty of all four counts of murder (as a result of felonious assault) along with 33 other counts. He was found not guilty on only three lower-level felonies and two misdemeanor counts. Judge Kuhn then imposed four consecutive 15 year-life imprisonment sentences on Smith, ordering that each run consecutive to one another for a total sentence of 60 years-life. All other charges were ordered to run concurrently. "The end result is that Smith will be 82-years-old before he is eligible to file for parole under Ohio law," Tieman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You Might Like News 2025 Lawrence County Fair winners News Johnson gets second grand champion win News A successful debut (WITH GALLERY) News 4-H and FFA Rabbit Showmanship and Breeding Rabbits (WITH GALLERY) NEED TO KNOW A pilot is missing after his plane was disappeared in the Snowy Mountains of Australia on Tuesday, July 15 David Stephens, 74, was not located when his 1966 Beechcraft Debonair plane was found by search teams on Thursday, July 17 Stephens was traveling to Moruya on the New South Wales coast when he took off from Wangaratta in Victoria The pilot of a small aircraft is missing after it was found crashed in a remote area of the Snowy Mountains in Australia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement David Stephens, 74, was not located when his 1966 Beechcraft Debonair plane was discovered by search and rescue teams on Thursday, July 17, according to news.com.au. The missing flyer took off from the town of Wangaratta in Victoria on Tuesday and was en route to Moruya on the New South Wales coast, around 350 miles to the east, reported the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), Rescue & Bomb Disposal - NSW Police Force Facebook Crews pictured during the search operation of the plane in the snowy mountains Crews pictured during the search operation of the plane in the snowy mountains The wreckage of the aircraft, which had been missing since Tuesday, was found at around 4 p.m. on Thursday, and search teams are now scouring the Snowy Mountains for any signs of him. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. About 4.35 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15 2025, emergency services were notified of a possible plane crash in the vicinity of Dargals Trail, Snowy Valleys, the New South Wales Police Force wrote in a release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) was notified by Air Services Australia that a plane took off from Victoria, bound for Moruya Airport; however, it never arrived. About 8.30 a.m. today (Wednesday, July 16), the multi-agency search resumed, involving officers attached to NSWS Police Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit, State Emergency Services, National Parks and Wildlife Service and Snowy Hydro, officials added. The AMSA Challenger rescue jet and two helicopters, from Victoria and Sydney conducted an overhead search, the release continued. About 4.00 p.m. today (Thursday, July 17, 2025), a rescue helicopter located what is believed to be the crashed plane near the plane's last known GPS location. Authorities concluded, NSW Police Force now have carriage of this matter with investigations to continue tomorrow (Friday, July 18, 2025). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dan Gilllis, duty manager at the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) also told ABC, "The trails are heavily snowed in. It's very rugged terrain and very steep alpine terrain that they're trying to navigate through." PEOPLE has contacted NSW Police Force and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) for further comment According to ABC, Stephens wife Lynda Leigh described her husband as an experienced pilot. Rescue & Bomb Disposal - NSW Police Force Facebook Snowy mountains Snowy mountains "Unfortunately, David disappeared on his flight home on Tuesday after having his aircraft inspected," she told the outlet. It is known that the mountain weather can turn very quickly, and we can only assume he must have seen a way over the mountain to decide not to turn back to Wangaratta. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "David has quite a bit of experience flying that plane, but we can't know what situation he was facing, and we'll only have answers once they locate the plane and with that David," she added. Stephens was also a member of the Frog's Hollow Flyers aero club. Tony Rettke, the clubs president, told ABC that he had serviced his plane at Wangaratta before take off. "[It would] only be a minor amount of work, the aircraft was immaculate, an incredibly beautiful aircraft, well maintained," he said. He must have done everything he needed to do, just with a basic service, probably an oil change, the usual stuff that goes with 100 hours, and he headed off that afternoon." Stephens is set to retire from his career in accounting in two months, reported ABC. Read the original article on People The Pittsburgh Bureau of Police is remembering Officer Calvin Hall on the sixth anniversary of his shooting death. Officer Hall was off-duty when he was shot and critically wounded. He died three days later, on July 17, 2019. >> Who is Calvin Hall, the off-duty officer shot in Homewood? He served the bureau for two years before his death. His words, Time for me to make a difference, are written outside the Officer Calvin M. Hall Public Safety Center, where he worked and for which it is named, Pittsburgh police said in a social media post Thursday. On this day, we remember our brother and friend, Pittsburgh Police Officer Calvin Hall, who lost his life on July 17, 2019. His words "Time for me to make a difference" are written outside the Officer Calvin M. Hall Public Safety Center where he worked and for which it is named. pic.twitter.com/GinyqhZsG8 Pittsburgh Police (@PghPolice) July 17, 2025 Halls killer, Christian Bey, was found guilty of first-degree murder in April 2024. Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW (Stock photo by Vladimir Vladimirov/Getty Images) The plaintiffs challenging Arkansas ban on transgender minors health care asked a federal appeals court to send the case back to district court, while the defendants asked for a reversal of the lower courts decision in light of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In its United States v. Skrmetti decision in June, the Supreme Court upheld Tennessees previously blocked ban on puberty blockers and hormones for children with gender dysphoria. The ruling means the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals should apply rational-basis review to Arkansas similar Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act, or Act 626 of 2021, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and Solicitor General Autumn Hamit Patterson argue in a brief filed Friday and made public Wednesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AR Supplemental Brief in 23-2681 Rational-basis review means analyzing whether a law is rationally related to a legitimate governmental interest. The standard is less rigid than strict scrutiny, which analyzes whether a law is narrowly tailored to a governmental interest. U.S. District Judge James Moody of the Eastern District of Arkansas blocked the SAFE Act before it could go into effect, in response to a lawsuit filed by four families of transgender minors represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas. Moody permanently enjoined the law on First and Fourteenth Amendment grounds in June 2023, and the state appealed the ruling. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments in the case last year and has yet to issue a ruling. In June, the court ordered the parties on both sides to file supplemental briefs in light of the Skrmetti ruling. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The SAFE Act prohibits medical care on the basis of sex, in violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, Moody wrote in his 80-page ruling. He also wrote that the rational basis test does not apply when a classification is based upon sex. The plaintiffs attorneys reiterated these points in their brief. Plaintiffs presented substantial evidence [at trial] demonstrating that Act 626 does not further the governments asserted interests and that it was enacted based on negative attitudes about transgender people, the brief states. Brandt v Griffin appellees brief Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the plaintiffs arguments that the law failed rational basis review did not factor into the district courts injunction of the law, the plaintiffs attorneys wrote. This merits returning the case to the district court to determine in the first instance whether Plaintiffs have carried their burden of proving that Act 626 violates the Equal Protection Clause under the rational basis test, they said. Griffin and Patterson wrote that the SAFE Act is substantively identical to Tennessees law and that the Supreme Court decided the latter did not classify individuals based on sex or gender. Instead, it concluded that the law classifies based only on age and medical use, making rational-basis review the appropriate standard. The same is true here, the defendants brief states. Although the Tennessee law regulated treatment for gender dysphoria that only transgender individuals seek, not all transgender individuals seek the prohibited treatment, and transgender individuals fall into the group that can receive the treatment for other purposes. This means the SAFE Act does not violate the Equal Protection Clause, Griffin and Patterson wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three of the four transgender minor plaintiffs Dylan Brandt of Greenwood, Sabrina Jennen of Fayetteville and Parker Saxton of Vilonia are now at least 18 years old. The fourth, Brooke Dennis, is 13 years old. The Dennis family has moved from Bentonville to another state in which Brookes health care is not in jeopardy, according to the plaintiffs brief. They would like the opportunity to be able to return to Arkansas, where they have deep family roots, the brief states in a footnote. The Dennises do not feel they can return to Arkansas unless and until Act 626 no longer poses a risk to continued care for their daughter. One parent of each child shared their experiences with their childrens gender transitions during the cases eight-day trial in 2022, the nations first trial over a law like the SAFE Act. Brandt, then 17, was the only minor to take the witness stand. The other two plaintiffs were Dr. Michele Hutchison and Dr. Kathryn Stambough, physicians who have treated transgender minors in Arkansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State officials in both Tennessee and Arkansas have claimed transgender health care for minors is rooted in activism and experimentation rather than evidence-based science. All 14 members of the Arkansas State Medical Board are defendants in addition to Griffin. At least one person is dead and two others have been injured in a small plane crash in a remote area of Olympic National Park in Washington, authorities said. The incident occurred on Tuesday evening at approximately 6:50 p.m. when park rangers were notified of a crash in the Quinault area of Olympic National Park on a steep slope north of the Irely Lake Trailhead, according to a statement from the National Park Service. MORE: 2 water buffaloes kill farmer after he becomes trapped in their enclosure Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rangers immediately coordinated a response with Naval Air Station Whidbey Island Search and Rescue, officials said. The three occupants of the plane -- a Murphy SR3500 Moose -- were transported to a Level 1 Trauma Center. NPS Photo by Jon Preston - PHOTO: At least one person is dead and two others have been injured in a small plane crash in a remote area of Olympic National Park in Washington, authorities said. Authorities said that two occupants were being treated for their injuries and that one person died due to the crash. MORE: At least 7 geese dead after car strikes flock crossing New Jersey street Officials have not yet publicly identified the people involved in the incident and have given no details about what might have caused it in the first place. The cause of the accident is unknown and is currently under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board. SYLACAUGA, Ala. (WIAT) A small plane crashed outside the runway of the Sylacauga Municipal Airport Wednesday afternoon. The airport confirmed that a small Beechcraft plane experienced engine trouble and crash landed in the woods just before the runway at 1:45 p.m. Wednesday. Sylacauga Fire Chief Nate Osgood confirmed one person was in the plane was injured and was airlifted to UAB Hospital for treatment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Osgood said the pilot was travelling from Florida to Lexington, Kentucky, before reporting engine trouble. The airport here actually had somebody who put a plane in the air to help search the area from the air, and as we kind of bounced around with different bits of information trying to locate where he might be, eventually we got enough information to center us in on one area, to which the aircraft in the air eventually spotted him, Osgood said. The crash is being investigated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CBS 42. The UK and Germany have agreed a plan to create a new, direct rail link between London and Berlin as part of a wide-ranging treaty. The Kensington Treaty also includes opening e-gates for frequent travellers between the two countries next month, as well as agreeing school exchange visits. Friedrich Merz made his first official visit to the UK as German chancellor to sign the deal, which will also tighten laws around people smuggling gangs and strengthen defence ties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Downing Street said the move will make it easier for German authorities to investigate and act against warehouses and storage facilities used by smugglers to conceal small boats intended for illegal Channel crossings to the UK. The new travel arrangements come as part of plans to re-set relations around trade and business between the two countries. A joint taskforce will be established for transport experts from both governments to examine how to establish the necessary border and security controls for direct long-distance rail passenger services. Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said the rail link could offer an alternative to flying within the next decade. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We're pioneering a new era of European rail connectivity and are determined to put Britain at the heart of a better-connected continent," she said. "The Brandenburg Gate, the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie - in just a matter of years, rail passengers in the UK could be able to visit these iconic sights direct from the comfort of a train, thanks to a direct connection linking London and Berlin. "This landmark agreement - part of a new treaty the prime minister [has signed] with Chancellor Merz today - has the potential to fundamentally change how millions of people travel between our two countries, offering a faster, more convenient and significantly greener alternative to flying." Merz met Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the Victoria and Albert Museum in Kensington for the signing ceremony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sir Keir described the pact as "evidence of the closeness of our relationship as it stands today" as well as a "statement of intent, a statement of our ambition to work ever more closely together". Commercial investments in the UK, worth more than 200m and expected to create more than 600 new jobs, have been announced, and a new UK-Germany Business Forum has been established. Defence and security was also a key part of discussions, including support for Ukraine, and a new agreement on the joint export of co-produced military equipment has been unveiled. Downing Street said the agreement on equipment such as Boxer armoured vehicles and Typhoon jets was likely to lead to billions of pounds of additional defence exports in the coming years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On security, Merz has committed to changing the law, making facilitation of illegal migration to the UK a criminal offence, by the end of the year. Facilitating people-smuggling is not technically illegal in Germany currently, if it is to a country outside the European Union - which, following Brexit, includes the UK. A BBC investigation last year exposed the significant German connection to small boat crossings, with the country becoming a central location for the storage of boats and engines. Sir Keir said: "Chancellor Merz's commitment to make necessary changes to German law to disrupt the supply lines of the dangerous vessels which carry illegal migrants across the Channel is hugely welcome." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The German agreement comes a week after the UK announced a new pilot returns scheme with France, during President Emmanuel Macron's state visit. Under the "one in, one out" deal, some small boat arrivals would be returned to France in exchange for the UK accepting an equivalent number of asylum seekers with connections to the UK. The prime minister is under pressure to tackle the number of people crossing the Channel in small boats. More than 21,000 people have made the dangerous journey so far this year - a 56% increase on the same period in 2024. The Conservatives' shadow home secretary Chris Philp said the figures showed "the crisis in the Channel continues to spiral". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is just more of the same tired, headline-chasing from Keir Starmer. "This government has clearly lost control of our borders and left the country exposed when they cancelled our returns deterrent." [BBC] Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond. PLEASANT GROVE, Utah (ABC4) Drinking water in Pleasant Grove recently received a perfect score from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in a sanitary survey. According to a press release from Pleasant Grove, Emergency Response Program Manager Tom McOmie told the city that he didnt issue a single deficiency, an outcome that is exceptionally rare, he said. He added that it was almost unheard of. Wasatch Front sees four large-scale water leaks within matter of days Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sanitary surveys inspect public drinking water systems to assess construction, operations, and record keeping in order to identify conditions that may pose a risk to public health. By Utah law, sanitary surveys must be conducted every three years, and they are conducted by the Division of Drinking Water at the DEQ. Neal Winterton, public works director for Pleasant Grove, described sanitary surveys as the white glove test of the cleanliness of public water facilities. A sanitary survey looks at eight different elements: the source of the water, how the water is treated, distribution of the water, water storage, water pumps, monitoring and reporting of water quality, maintenance and operation of facilities and systems, and whether operators are certified. After the inspection, McOmie stated, The system is not only extremely well maintainedclean, organized, and thoughtfully managedbut it is also evident that your team takes great pride in their work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In light of this achievement, the Pleasant Grove city council honored three people for their work at a meeting on July 15: Drew Hoffman, Derrick Rowberry and Trevor Workman. 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. Poland has summoned a representative of the Russian embassy following a strike by Shahed drones on a Polish companys facility in the Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia. Source: press service of the Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs; European Pravda Details: The summons occurred on 16 July, after UAVs struck a facility in Vinnytsia owned by Barlinek Group, which produces floor coverings. Quote from Polish Foreign Affairs Ministry: "Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland informed a representative of the Russian embassy that the attack on the Barlinek factory in Vinnytsia, which is a Polish business and is exclusively engaged in civilian production, is a violation of international law." Background: On 16 July, Polish Foreign Minister Radosaw Sikorski reported that the Barlinek factory in Vinnytsia was hit by Russian Shahed drones. The manager said that the strike appeared deliberate. Sikorski also expressed hope that the European Union will soon adopt the 18th package of sanctions against Russia and pledged further military aid to Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! PITTSBURG, Kan. A pursuit in Pittsburg ends in an arrest for a southeast Kansas man. This morning (7/16), around 8:45 a.m., members of the Pittsburg Police Department were dispatched to a reported possible domestic disturbance at the 300 block of E. 7th Street. A person whom law enforcement says was involved in the disturbance was located by an officer. While attempts to approach the involved persons were made, a male subject got into a vehicle and started fleeing the area. A pursuit entailed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The chase continued down 7th, and then south on Joplin Street, where it led to the National Mini Storage facility, where the male subject struck a fence after losing control of his vehicle. The male subject tried to flee again when an officer approached his vehicle, but the car was only able to lurch forward, hitting a storage building. The subject was identified later as Lakedric D. Williams, 36, of Pittsburg. Lakedric D. Williams, 36, of Pittsburg Law enforcement says that Williams was combative when they attempted to take him into custody, but they were able to apprehend him with the help of additional officers, who arrived shortly. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additional first responders with the Pittsburg Fire Department and Crawford County EMS arrived on scene, due to the nature of the collision. Williams was medically transported to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburg for treatment. Police say that items of contraband were found in a procedural inventory of the vehicle, along with cocaine and other illegal drugs. Williams vehicle was towed from the scene after the inventory. In investigating the original disturbance, law enforcement with the Crawford County Sheriffs Office say that Williams had reportedly threatened and battered two female victims before the police response. Williams was taken to the Crawford County Jail following his release from the hospital, and was arrested for felony fleeing or eluding law enforcement, felony aggravated assault to a law enforcement officer, felony criminal threat, felony criminal damage, felony interference with law enforcement, felony possession of narcotics, misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor domestic battery, operating a motor vehicle without a valid drivers license, operating a motor vehicle without insurance, and operating a motor vehicle without lawful registration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Williams is being held without bond. The Pittsburg Police say that anyone with information about this incident (or any others) should contact them by phone at (620)231-1700. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Jul. 16A woman jogging Wednesday morning near Manito Country Club on the South Hill was struck and killed by a teenager who then fled on foot, according to police. The jogger, who was found unresponsive in the road, was taken to the hospital where she was in critical condition, according to a Spokane Police Department news release Wednesday morning. Officer Daniel Strassenberg, spokesman for the department, said Wednesday night the jogger had died. The driver, a 17-year-old boy, is said to have crashed into the victim in the area of 49th Avenue and Perry Street around 5:30 a.m., according to the release. The teenager then fled without shoes toward Eagle Ridge, where police eventually located and detained him with help from the public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another jogger was with the injured woman during the collision, but was not hurt. A passenger remained in the car and "was treated for minor injuries," the news release said. Strassenberg said the driver's speed and the area's speed limit are presently unknown. The suspect was arrested on suspicion of vehicular assault, felony hit-and-run and DUI, but Strassenberg said Wednesday night prosecutors could amend the charges based on the jogger's death. Police suspect speed and impairment contributed to the crash. Neither the driver nor the victim have been identified. S-R reporter Garrett Cabeza contributed to this story. Caroline Saint James' 's reporting was funded by Comma's First Amendment Club. PORTLAND, Maine (AP) Police in Maine said Thursday they have arrested a 17-year-old state resident in connection with the killing of a paddleboarder who went missing on a rural pond. The body of Sunshine Stewart, 48, of Tenants Harbor, was found this month on Crawford Pond in Union, about 80 miles (130 kilometers) north of Portland. The killing shocked and scared the community, where trips to the pond and nearby campground are a summertime staple. Maine State Police said a teenager was taken into custody without incident in Union on Wednesday night. Police did not say why he was arrested or if he was charged, and they declined to release any other information about him as the investigation is ongoing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state attorney generals office declined to comment about possible charges. The Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta determined Stewarts cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma, police said. Police said the investigation is still active. They have asked for information from anyone who may have seen Stewart paddleboarding on July 2 between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. near 100 Acre Island on Crawford Pond, or who has any other information related to the case. Stewart lived about 21 miles (34 kilometers) from the pond, which is a popular summer destination about 15 miles (24 kilometers) from the scenic coastal areas of the state's midcoast region. A person reached by phone who identified herself as Stewart's sister declined to comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Friends of Stewart have posted online testimonials remembering her as fiercely independent and always up for a challenge, including outdoor adventures and building projects. Over the years, she worked in many roles, including as a fisherman and bartender, friends said. She renovated her own home in Tenants Harbor, a neighborhood in St. George, said Bruce Twyon, a friend who knew Stewart from her time living in the Virgin Islands. That spoke to her self-motivation and spirit of getting things done and enjoying life every day, he said. She was such a sweet person and very strong and independent, and took care of a lot of people, Twyon said. The pond, in the 2,400-resident town of Union, is approximately 600 acres (243 hectares) and does not have public access. It is available for a variety of uses, including boating and fishing. The 100 Acre Island preserve in the center of the pond is a wooded island reachable by canoe, kayak or paddleboard from a nearby campground. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pond has numerous nooks and narrow areas, so its possible there were other boaters on the water at the time of the killing who were unaware someone was in danger. Police asked residents to remain aware of their surroundings and report suspicious behavior. They said in a statement the arrest was the result of relentless investigative work and that the teen who was arrested was transported to Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland. Loved ones of Stewart who was known as Sunny by her friends launched a GoFundMe page in her honor that had raised more than $33,000 by Thursday to help celebrate her life. The page said memorial service dates were being determined. Police were reportedly considering child abuse charges "before" the death of Emilie Kiser and husband Brady Kiser's 3-year-old son. Arizona Central reported on Tuesday, July 15, that court records indicated police had been considering pursuing the charge ahead of Triggs death in May. (Trigg was found unconscious in their family pool on May 12. The Chandler, Arizona, Police Department confirmed to Us Weekly on May 18 that he died. It's unclear when prior to Trigg's death the child abuse charge was considered.) News broke on Tuesday that the Chandler Police Department had submitted a criminal charge recommendation for Brady. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Chandler Police Department has completed its investigation into the tragic drowning of three-year-old Trigg Kiser. Following a thorough review of the evidence, investigators have recommended a Class 4 felony charge of child abuse against Brady Kiser, the statement read. The case has now been submitted to the Maricopa County Attorneys Office for review. Emilie Kisers Husband Brady Kiser Recommended for Child Abuse Charge After 3-Year-Old Son Triggs Death Us reached out to Bradys team for comment. One month prior, Brady told authorities he was home alone watching both Trigg and now 3-month-old son Teddy while Emilie was out with friends, per search warrant applications obtained by USA Today. (Sources close to the litigation shared with Us that Emilie was not home at the time of the accident.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brady shared that his eldest son went to the backyard to play after he finished eating. He noticed that Trigg was playing near the pool something police records indicated was not uncommon. Brady explained that the pool typically had a protective cover on it. He claimed he became soon distracted by son Teddy and lost sight of Trigg for three to five minutes. Brady later found Trigg floating in the pool and proceeded to jump in and call 911, per the applications. The records noted that investigators filed the search warrant applications on May 13 to obtain video surveillance from two outdoor cameras in the backyard to align with his statement. Us reached out to Bradys team for comment at the time. Teen Mom 2s Jenelle Evans Reacts to David Easons Reported Child Abuse Charge Against Her Son Jace The Chandler, Arizona, Police Department confirmed to Us in May that Trigg died after being pulled unconscious from the familys backyard pool. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emilie, for her part, has yet to address her sons death or the investigation. In May, the influencer filed a lawsuit asking the court to block the release of records about Triggs death. A judge ruled in May to give Emilie temporary confidentiality on her request for privacy until a determination is made that balances the publics need for information vs privacy interests, in court documents obtained by Us. If you or someone you know is experiencing child abuse, call or text Child Help Hotline at 1-800-422-4453. For more vital, life-saving information on pool safety, see Bode Millers tips and visit Coverstars website during Water Safety Awareness Month. NEED TO KNOW Melinda Schoon Rose, 53, and Ryan Rose, 46, were found slain in their Colorado home Police say they had been called to the residence hours prior regarding a domestic violence incident The shooting occurred while police were working on an arrest warrant for Ryan A Colorado woman who was found slain in her bedroom over the weekend was seemingly shot by her husband as police were preparing a warrant to arrest him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Melinda Schoon Rose, 53, was found dead in the bedroom of a Garfield County, Co., home by police on Saturday, July 12, the Garfield County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. Her husband, 46-year-old Ryan Rose, was found dead on a recliner in the living room, the statement said, adding that his wounds indicated he died by suicide. Police did not name the couple in their statement, but the deceased were identified by the coroner's office, according to The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel, KREX and the Post Independent. Gofundme Melinda Sue Schoon Melinda Sue Schoon In their statement, the sheriff's office said law enforcement had been called to the residence earlier that day for a domestic violence incident. By the time police arrived, Ryan had escaped the location by foot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police determined that they had probable cause to arrest him for Domestic Violence, Harassment and Protection Order Violation. They urged Melinda to leave the residence and find a safe location until they could find her husband, but she reportedly declined to do so, the sheriff's office said in the statement. Deputies returned from the residence and began putting together information for an arrest warrant against Ryan for domestic violence. As they were doing so, the emergency dispatch of Garfield County received a call that Ryan was back at the residence and "was trying to locate a firearm inside the house," per the statement. The call disconnected and deputies rushed to the residence where they found the couple fatally shot. 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. In a GoFundMe set up to assist with funeral costs, Melinda's daughter Masi Basile said her family is devastated by her killing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "My mother was a kind, loving, and selfless person who touched the lives of everyone she met," read part of the fundraiser. "We want to honor her memory with a service that truly reflects the incredible person she was." If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages. Read the original article on People Jul. 16Police have identified a "person of interest" in the shooting of two people Wednesday afternoon in Taos. New Mexico State Police said they are trying to find Eduardo Castaneda, 35, in connection with the case. He's described as 5 feet, 5 inches tall, 160 pounds. He was last seen wearing a gray hat, black shirt, black pants and shoes with white soles. Anyone with information on his whereabouts is asked to call State Police at 505-425-6771. Amanda Richards, a New Mexico State Police spokesperson, said officers responded around 2:30 p.m. to a shooting along Espinoza Road. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Richards said in an email there were "at least two victims & the extent of their injuries is unknown." "Details are very limited at this time," she said. No other details were given. Around 3 p.m., State Police posted to X that residents along Espinoza Road should "shelter in place" as they searched for the alleged shooter. "Please report any suspicious activity," the post advised. Residents in the area of Espinosa Road in Ranchos De Taos are advised to shelter in place due to a shooting incident. Suspect at large. No other information known at this time. Please report any suspicious activity. Law enforcement is on scene. Please avoid the area. pic.twitter.com/G0YZLcQoyO NMSP (@NMStatePolice) July 16, 2025 DENVER (KDVR) The Northglenn Police Department was in a neighborhood south of East 120th Avenue on Wednesday, where officers were conducting a search warrant regarding animal neglect. The agency reported that the incident occurred near the intersection of 116th Place and 116th Drive near Wyco Park and said that when officers arrived on the scene, they found the situation to be larger than originally believed. FOX31 Newsletters: Sign up to get breaking news sent to your inbox Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The police department told FOX31 that the health department and Thornton Animal Control were on scene to aid in the incident. Crews had been on scene for hours, according to a public information officer. In a subsequent press release, the agency said that officers discovered a large number of pets living in what were described as unsanitary and undesirable conditions. Due to the scale of the situation, assistance was requested from neighboring law enforcement and animal welfare agencies, the Northglenn Police Department reported. The investigation is ongoing, and the total number of animals and the extent of their condition are still being assessed. The neighborhood is bordered by the Regional Transportation Districts N Line. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Northglenn police are asking anyone with information related to this incident to contact the agency at 303-450-8892. FOX31 has a crew on the way to this scene where they are working to learn how long officers have been on scene, how many animals were involved, if there have been any arrests, if there are charges expected and what comes next in this 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 FOX31 Denver. The Brief Prosecutors don't plan to file charges after a man was shot five times at a Renton transit center, citing self-defense. Renton's police chief disagrees, calling the use of lethal force excessive and unjustified. The shooting victim remains hospitalized, and the incident has sparked debate over self-defense claims. RENTON, Wash. - A man was shot five times at Renton's transit center last week. Days later, prosecutors say they don't plan to file any charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, Renton's police chief is speaking out, saying he's frustrated with the decision. What they're saying Prosecutors say they can't prove that the men didn't act in self-defense. But, the police chief says he believes it was excessive force. Video shows the moments leading up to the shooting at the Renton transit center. In it, you can see a 52-year-old man approaching a woman, her boyfriend and brother with a PVC pipe in his hand. Then, he takes a swing at the woman, hitting her in the leg. Her boyfriend pulls a gun and at some point, the man drops the pipe and goes after him. The two begin tussling, falling to the ground and moving to the street between two buses. That's when the woman's brother pulls out a gun and ultimately shoots him in the chest, both thighs and knee. "There were 10 different senior deputy prosecutors who looked at this, all the videos, frame by frame, and came to the same conclusion," said Casey McNerthney with the King County Prosecuting Attorneys Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Their conclusion is that self-defense can't be disproven. The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office released a memo explaining why they are not charging the men with assault, including that the man who was shot advanced first. The memo states, "Without apparent provocation, (he) can be seen approaching the group who were standing near the buses and looking at their phones. "(He) suddenly puts some of his bags down and, without warning, swings the pipe at (her)....striking (her) in the leg." Her resulting injury is pictured below. "The first aggressor part, is a big part of that analysis," said McNerthney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The memo also states when the woman's boyfriend pulls out a handgun, "audio confirms that no shot was fired." However, it states the man, "with the pipe still in his hand, continues his attack". The memo highlights that moment below. According to the memo, the fighting is only stopped after the woman's brother first tries to hit the man with a gun in his possession, then when that doesn't work, opens fire. "When the gun was drawn, it looks like the person who was shot didnt stop and still went hands on," said McNerthney. However, the Renton Police Chief says the video tells a different story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In no way, looking at the video, do we feel that it was reasonable or justified that the subjects used lethal force in that encounter," said Jon Schuldt, Renton Police Chief. "I think we are very disappointed in the King County Prosectors Office decision not to file assault charges on the suspects in the case that happened at our transit center last Friday where a couple of the individuals shot rounds at one of our community members." About the initial swing at the woman, the chief says it was a "tap". "I wouldnt call it a hit, it was more of a tap to the female in the group and that started the physical altercation between the subjects," said Schuldt. Despite the man being the initial aggressor, at some point he dropped the pipe and put up his hands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It appeared at some points he was defenseless, and they continued to assault him," said Schuldt. "People should be able to defend themselves, but defend themselves with a certain amount of reasonableness." The 52-year-old who was shot was still hospitalized but stable as of Wednesday afternoon, according to police. The Source Information in this story came from The King County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, the Renton Police Department and FOX 13 Seattle reporting. MORE NEWS FROM FOX 13 SEATTLE Idaho hiker mistaken for Travis Decker tells all Pierce County Sheriff's Office major arrested after serious Graham crash Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grandmother shot near Pioneer Square 'thought it was a rock' that hit her Buyer secures iconic Seattle 'Spite House' under listing price Seattle Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh wins 2025 Home Run Derby Trash piles up in Renton amid nationwide Republic Services strike To get the best local news, weather and sports in Seattle for free, sign up for the daily FOX Seattle Newsletter. Download the free FOX LOCAL app for mobile in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store for live Seattle news, top stories, weather updates and more local and national news. PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) Prince William County police have released the names of the 12 suspected members of the Wheels of Soul gang who were arrested and charged on Wednesday. Dozens of search warrants executed in investigation into Babylon Cafe fight This comes after Prince William County police investigated an assault and shooting from April. On April 13, around 1 a.m., officers responded to the Babylon Cafe at 3081 Golansky Boulevard in Woodbridge to investigate a shooting. There, police found a 42-year-old man was hurt after a physical altercation. Around the same time, another man arrived a hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Neither men cooperated with police about what led to the shooting or who the suspects were. However, the investigation continued. Detectives learned the incident had ties to the Wheels of Soul motorcycle gang. The 42-year-old had been removed from the business before he was beaten up by the gang members in the parking lot. After the assault, someone who knew the victim confronted the group while they were congregated in the parking lot, resulting in an exchange of gunfire totaling more than 80 rounds. On Wednesday, a joint operation across other agencies led to executed search warrants across several areas in Prince William County, Stafford, Linden and Falls Church. Some searches went as far south as the Hampton Roads area in Virginia and as far north as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The operation uncovered 15 suspects in connection with the incident; 12 were taken into custody, and police are still searching for three more. The 12 gang members that were arrested are as follows: Hakiem Burnett Clarkson, 41, of Norfolk, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, aggravated malicious wounding by mob (2 counts), aggravated malicious wounding (2 counts), use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, reckless handling of firearm and discharging of firearm in public Place Jamarle Xzavier Drakeford, 35, of Woodbridge, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, abduction, aggravated malicious wounding by mob, aggravated malicious wounding, assault and battery by mob, Assault and Battery Robert Joseph Fejfar, 46, of Manassas, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, aggravated malicious wounding by mob (Accessory 2nd) Bryant Alfonzo Fletcher III, 42, of Woodbridge, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, abduction, aggravated malicious wounding by mob, aggravated malicious wounding, assault and battery by mob, assault and battery Wendell Abraham Howard, 39, of Stafford, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, and aggravated malicious wounding by mob (accessory 2nd) Julius Lorell Kinlow Jr., 34, of Woodbridge, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, and aggravated malicious wounding by mob (accessory 2nd) Roger William Long, 40, of Woodbridge, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, abduction, aggravated malicious wounding by mob, aggravated malicious wounding, assault and battery by mob, assault and battery Dionte Dewayne Rodgers, 35, of Manassas, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, aggravated malicious wounding by mob (Accessory 2nd) Edwin Humberto Rojas, 54 of Falls Church, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, abduction, aggravated malicious wounding by mob (2 counts), aggravated malicious wounding (2 counts), assault and battery by mob, assault and battery, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, reckless handling of firearm, possession of firearm by convicted felon, discharging of firearm in public place Francisco Antonio Rojas, 38, of Falls Church, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, aggravated malicious wounding by mob (2 counts), aggravated malicious wounding by mob (accessory 2nd), aggravated malicious wounding, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, reckless handling of firearm, possession of firearm by convicted felon, discharging of firearm in public place Ronnie Colby Dejean Shephard, 39, of Portsmouth, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, abduction, aggravated malicious wounding by mob (2 counts), aggravated malicious wounding (2 counts), assault and battery by mob, assault and battery use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, reckless handling of firearm, discharging of firearm in public place Jayson Alexander Wilkes, 42, of Falls Church, Va. Charged with prohibited street gang participation, abduction, aggravated malicious wounding by mob (2 counts), aggravated malicious wounding (2 counts), assault and battery by mob, assault and battery, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, reckless handling of firearm, possession of firearm by convicted felon, discharging of firearm in public place While police were conducting the operation on Wednesday, an additional four people were arrested on charges stemming from the police activity unrelated to the initial incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Police release new photos in ongoing search for at-large Apple Valley stabbing suspect originally appeared on Bring Me The News. Investigators are releasing new photos of an Apple Valley murder suspect in the hopes of finally tracking him down. Aron Isait Medina Rojas, 20, of Minneapolis, who goes by Medina Rojas, has been on the run since July 8, when he's accused of fatally stabbing 21-year-old Daniel Issac Aguilar, of Burnsville. Rojas has been charged with second-degree murder via warrant. Aron Isait Medina Rojas goes by "Medina Rojas." According to criminal charges, the stabbing was preceded by a fight between Rojas and Aguilar involving both of their girlfriends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the early hours of July 8, Aguilar was found bloodied and lying on the sidewalk at Pennock Avenue and 138th Street in Apple Valley. Despite lifesaving measures by responding officers, he died at the scene. Aguilar's family is raising money for his funeral through a GoFundMe campaign. Medina Rojas Authorities believe Rojas may be trying to flee the U.S. to Mexico and could be driving a gray 2017 Chrysler 300 with Minnesota license plate SKU892. If you see him, you are asked to call 911 immediately. Crime Stoppers of Minnesota is offering a $1,000 reward for any information that may lead to the arrest of Rojas. Medina RojasApple Valley Police Department Facebook This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared. The Brief Man exposed himself at Target in Groveton on June 30, police say. Suspect fled after allegedly approaching two shoppers. Police seek tips; security footage shows red hat, black shirt. GROVETON, Va. - Authorities in Fairfax County are searching for a man who allegedly exposed himself to shoppers at a Target in northern Virginia. The incident occurred just before 10:15 p.m. on June 30 at the store on Richmond Highway in Groveton, police said. The suspect reportedly approached two customers before exposing himself and fleeing the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Surveillance footage shows the man wearing a red hat, black shirt, and shorts. Police seek info What you can do Anyone with information is asked to contact the Major Crimes Bureau at 703-246-7800, option 3. Anonymous tips can also be submitted via Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS or online. The Source Information in this article comes from The Fairfax County Police Department. Police are looking to identify the victim of an assault in Shrewsbury on Wednesday. West Mercia Police said it was called to New Park Road at about 20:15 BST to reports that a man had been hit by a vehicle. The force said it believed the car was deliberately driven at the victim, who was riding a black and orange bicycle. The occupants got out of the car to further assault the man, police added. According to witnesses, he left the scene in the direction of Morrisons. Police said they wanted to ensure he received the medical care he needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 32-year-old man arrested on suspicion of affray remained in police custody, the force stated. Police described the victim as white and about 5ft 9in (1.75m) tall and in his late 20s. The force added he may have had an Albanian accent, and was wearing black shorts, shoes, a black cap and black jacket. Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. Related internet links FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (DC News Now) Police in Fairfax County are asking for the communitys help in identifying a man who is accused of exposing himself to two women inside a store last month. The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) said on June 30 at 10:13 p.m. that officers were called to the 6600 block of Richmond Highway in Groveton for a sex offense case. Woman dies after collision with US Postal truck in Montgomery County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When police arrived, two victims told investigators that a man approached them while they were shopping and allegedly exposed himself. He then left the store before police arrived. After reviewing surveillance camera video, Fairfax County police released a picture of the man. (Photo Courtesy: Fairfax County Police Department) Anyone who knows him is asked to call the police at 703-246-7800, option 3. Tips can also be entered online. Check DCNewsNow.com for updates. To keep up with the latest news and weather updates, download our Mobile App on iPhone or Android. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 Joplin Police Department announced Thursday that it continues to seek information about the disappearance of Sarah Burton seven years ago. There is a $10,000 reward for information leading to the location of Burton. In their statement Thursday, the Joplin Police Department said that since its investigation began officers have followed up on more than 170 leads throughout the Four-State Area. Burton is described as 5 feet, 7 inches tall, 160 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are concerned for the safety and well-being of Sarah and ask anyone that has any information to contact us," police said. The Joplin Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation last year raised the reward to $10,000. Burton, a mother of two children, would be 35 years old now. She vanished in the early morning hours of July 16, 2018, after a friend dropped her off at 10th Street and Rex Avenue. Her disappearance was not reported to the authorities until a few days later. At that time, her parents told police they had not seen her since July 8. Burtons father had bought her a used SUV to replace a car she had wrecked earlier that year. She had taken the SUV for a drive. Her parents later learned from others that she had crashed it July 11 in Pittsburg, Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Property in Newton County was searched by Ozark Drug Enforcement Team members in April 2019 when a tip was received. Divers were called to search a pond there, and FBI crime lab technicians brought in to help process the scene. If there was any connection, it has never been made public. Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Jason Stump with the Joplin Police Department at 417-623-3131, ext. 1620, Joplin Police Department Dispatch at 417-623-3131 after hours, or 911 if Burton is located. (KTLA) Police and federal agents raided a California home Wednesday afternoon and seized, among other evidence, a fire truck that may be tied to a Chino Hills man who was arrested nearly two years ago for impersonating a law enforcement officer and creating a fictional fire department. The Los Angeles Police Departments (LAPD) Major Crimes Division confirmed to Nexstars KTLA that they, along with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, executed a search warrant at a home in Brentwood. Officials would only say that a person at the residence was arrested on charges related to firearms violations, government fraud and impersonating a first responder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the items taken from the home and impounded at a tow yard in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Wilmington was a fire truck registered to the Santa Muerte Fire Department. The Santa Muerte Fire Department and law enforcement arson investigative unit, which does not exist despite a website claiming it does, came up in a July 2023 investigation in San Bernardino County. L.A. police and federal agents seized a fire truck and unknown evidence from a Brentwood home on July 16, 2025. (KTLA) A firetruck registered to the fictional Santa Muerte Fire Department seen in a Wilmington tow yard after it was seized in Brentwood on July 16, 2025. (KTLA) A firetruck registered to the fictional Santa Muerte Fire Department seen in a Wilmington tow yard after it was seized in Brentwood on July 16, 2025. (KTLA) The suspect, 42-year-old Andrew De Boer of Chino Hills, in a photo from the Chino Hills Police Department. Items confiscated from Andrew De Boer after he was arrested for allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer. (Chino Hills Police Department) Items confiscated from Andrew De Boer after he was arrested for allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer. (Chino Hills Police Department) Items confiscated from Andrew De Boer after he was arrested for allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer. (Chino Hills Police Department) During that incident, a Chino Hills man identified as then-42-year-old Andrew De Boer, was caught on surveillance cameras dressed in a fake uniform, armed with a gun, baton, pepper spray and a Santa Muerte badge, illegally conducting a traffic stop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement De Boers vehicle, a white Ford F-350 truck, was equipped with California-exempt license plates, fire department decals and emergency lights. California professor shot dead in Greece in apparent plot involving ex-wife De Boer was arrested and booked on charges of impersonating a law enforcement officer and false imprisonment. Investigators with the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department executed a search warrant at his Chino Hills residence and found additional evidence, including body armor, firearms, an identification card, badges and uniforms with patches for the Santa Muerte Fire Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far, the LAPD is being tight-lipped about Wednesdays raid in Brentwood. The identity of the person taken into custody has not been released, nor have police said what other evidence was seized during the operation and whether there are any ties to De Boers 2023 arrest. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill. Police and federal agents raided a Brentwood home Wednesday afternoon and seized, among other evidence, a firetruck that may be tied to a Chino Hills man who was arrested nearly two years ago for impersonating a law enforcement officer and creating a fictional fire department. The Los Angeles Police Departments Major Crimes Division confirmed to KTLA that they, along with assistance from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, executed a search warrant at a Brentwood home in the 100 block of South Rockingham. Officials would only say that a person at the residence was arrested on charges related to firearms violations, government fraud and impersonating a first responder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the items taken from the Brentwood home and impounded at a Wilmington tow yard was a fire truck registered to the Santa Muerte Fire Department. The Santa Muerte Fire Department and law enforcement arson investigative unit, which does not actually exist, despite a website claiming it does, came up in a July 2023 investigation in San Bernardino County. L.A. police and federal agents seized a fire truck and unknown evidence from a Brentwood home on July 16, 2025. (KTLA) A firetruck registered to the fictional Santa Muerte Fire Department seen in a Wilmington tow yard after it was seized in Brentwood on July 16, 2025. (KTLA) A firetruck registered to the fictional Santa Muerte Fire Department seen in a Wilmington tow yard after it was seized in Brentwood on July 16, 2025. (KTLA) The suspect, 42-year-old Andrew De Boer of Chino Hills, in a photo from the Chino Hills Police Department. Items confiscated from Andrew De Boer after he was arrested for allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer. (Chino Hills Police Department) Items confiscated from Andrew De Boer after he was arrested for allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer. (Chino Hills Police Department) Items confiscated from Andrew De Boer after he was arrested for allegedly impersonating a law enforcement officer. (Chino Hills Police Department) During that incident, a Chino Hills man identified as then 42-year-old Andrew De Boer, was caught on surveillance cameras dressed in a fake uniform, armed with a gun, baton, pepper spray and a Santa Muerte badge, illegally conducting a traffic stop. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement De Boers vehicle, a white Ford F-350 truck, was equipped with California-exempt license plates, fire department decals and emergency lights. California professor shot dead in Greece in apparent plot involving ex-wife The then 42-year-old was arrested and booked for impersonating a law enforcement officer and false imprisonment. Investigators with the San Bernardino County Sheriffs Department executed a search warrant at his Chino Hills residence and found additional evidence, including body armor, firearms, an identification card, badges and uniforms with patches for the Santa Muerte Fire Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So far, LAPD is being tight-lipped about Wednesdays raid in Brentwood. The identity of the person taken into custody has not been released, nor have police said what other evidence was seized during the operation and whether there are any ties to De Boers 2023 arrest. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. Anne Arundel County Circuit Court in Annapolis. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) A former aide to the chair of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee was sentenced Wednesday in connection with the theft of $20,000 in state funds used for legislative scholarships. Esther Dikongue was sentenced in Anne Arundel County Circuit Court to four consecutive weekends in jail. If she completes the weekend sentence, Dikongue will receive probation before judgment and two years of unsupervised probation. The Office of the State Prosecutor asked for a criminal conviction because Dikongues crime was a breach of trust with the legislator who employed her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our Office worked hard in this case to raise awareness that abusing the trust the people of Maryland place in our legislative offices will result in criminal consequences, Maryland State Prosecutor Charlton T. Howard III said in a statement. We will continue our efforts to ensure Maryland government employees are held to the highest standard while serving the public interest. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US Dikongue was an aide to Sen. William C. Smith Jr. (D-Montgomery) from fall 2019 through March 2023, a position that gave her access to Smiths email, including his password, according to a statement of facts read in court. Smith, like other lawmakers, receives $50,000 annually for college scholarships for students in his district. Dikongues responsibilities included administering those funds and interacting with a committee that helped award scholarships ranging from $500 to $5,000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors said Dikongue established a state account to receive the funds to pay for her Ethics, Peace, and Human Rights masters program at American University. She neither applied for the scholarship nor completed the required essay, but awarded herself a scholarship and told the Maryland Higher Education Commission in July 2022 that she was to receive a $10,000 scholarship. Later that month, Dikongue sent the money to American University, according to the statement of facts. Dikongue left Smiths office in March 2023, but used his password in May 2024 to access his email and sent emails to MHEC authorizing a renewal of her scholarship, according to the statement of facts. Bump for Moore in Morning Consult poll Gov. Wes Moore is sitting among the top 20% of state executives, according to a poll released by Morning Consult. The poll, pushed to reporters by the Democratic Governors Association, shows Moore in the top 10 governors, with his 60% approval versus 29% disapproval tied with Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D). Gov. Wes Moore (D) and his wife Dawn Moore watch the final moments of the 2024 session from the Senate gallery. (File photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters). Vermont Republican Gov. Phil Scott holds the title as most popular governor in the poll with a job approval rating of 72%. Morning Consult said it is a position Scott has held for three consecutive years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In that same poll, 44 of 50 governors were listed with job approval ratings of 50% or better. In March, a poll released by Annapolis-based Gonzales Research & Media placed Moores approval number at 55%. Another 36% said they disapproved. That poll represented a statistically significant decline from a January poll conducted by the same pollster. In that poll, Gonzales found Moore had a 61% approval rating, while 28% disapproved and 11% gave no opinion. A February poll by the Institute of Politics at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, placed Moores approval number at 52%. That survey showed the number of people who said they strongly approved of Moores performance showed signs of softening. Since the end of the 2025 session which featured tough budget talks and tax increases Moore has been the beneficiary of television and radio ads touting the governors leadership. Those ads are paid for by a group tied to the Democratic Governors Association. Retiring Wiedefelds absence was already felt Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul Wiedefeld is leaving his post soon, but his absence from the meetings of one public body has not gone unnoticed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wiedefeld has led the department since 2023. But while his predecessors were a constant presence at meetings of the Board of Public Works, which approves a lot of the departments ongoing business, Wiedefeld has been a no-show. Since the change of administrations, the Department of Transportation has been represented at board meetings by Valerie Radomsky, the departments chief procurement officer. First, Id like to offer a special congratulations to Secretary Wiedefeld on maintaining his streak of successfully avoiding Board of Public Works meetings for his entire tenure as transportation secretary, Comptroller Brooke Lierman said. So, wherever he is right now, he owes you one, Valerie. Maryland Department of Transportation Chief Procurement Officer Valerie Radomsky has been the face of DOT at Board of Public Works meetings since Gov. Wes Moore took office. (Photo by Bryan P. Sears/Maryland Matters) Wiedefelds absence at those meetings was not the norm for those who preceded him in that position: In 2015, then-Gov. Larry Hogan (R) made clear his attendance expectations. At Hogans second meeting of the panel, Transportation Secretary Pete Rahn ran a few minutes late and hoped to slip into the back. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was unsuccessful. Hogan admonished Rahn publicly. Lets make sure that doesnt happen again, Hogan said. Gov. Wes Moore said theres still time for Wiedefelds streak to end before he steps down. Hes still got one more Board of Public Works meeting, Moore said. I think we have a new mission for Secretary Wiedefeld before he takes off. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz heads into the summer recess with limited public support, according to a YouGov survey commissioned by dpa. The poll found that 32% of eligible voters believe Germany has worsened since Merz took office, while 22% see an improvement and 37% notice no change. YouGov surveyed 2,192 eligible voters between July 11 and 14. Shortly after taking office in May, Merz told the Bundestag, Germany's lower house of parliament, that he wanted citizens to feel by summer that things were slowly improving and progress was being made. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When asked about Merz's recent claim that his government is among the best in decades, only 17% agreed fully or somewhat, while 71% disagreed. Among supporters of Merz's conservative bloc made up of his Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavaria-only sister party, the Christian Social Union (CSU), satisfaction is higher, with 54% seeing improvements, 11% a decline, and 28% no change. Yet Merz's praise of his government received mixed reactions even within his own camp, with 44% (somewhat) agreeing and 41% (somewhat) disagreeing. A potential dampener on public mood could be the coalition's decision to delay a planned electricity tax cut for households due to financial reasons, applying it only to select companies and agriculture. Some 69% of respondents expressed little or no understanding for this, while 23% found it somewhat understandable. Opinions are split on whether Merz's government can keep the far-right AfD at bay in the long term: 31% expect the CDU/CSU to lead over AfD by the end of his term, 26% foresee a tie, and another 26% believe the AfD will be ahead. Voting has closed in two local authority by-elections on the Isle of Man. Polling stations in both Port Erin and Ramsey South Ward were open for 12 hours until 20:00 BST on Thursday. Port Erin Commissioners Offices and Ramsey Town Hall had been set up as polling stations. Eligible voters in Port Erin were able to choose two new people to join the local authority, while in Ramsey there is only one vacant seat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The elections were held after the authorities failed to attract enough candidates at April's general election. Candidates Port Erin (two vacancies): James Cubbon, Karl Drinkwater and Fenella Gray Ramsey South Ward (one vacancy): Gillian Corlett, Christopher Martin and John Powell Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. Related internet links Pope Leo XIV has renewed his call for a Gaza ceasefire after three people sheltering in the Catholic church in Gaza City were killed in an Israeli strike. A telegram said the Pope was "deeply saddened to learn of the loss of life and injury caused by the military attack" on the Holy Family Church. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the church, said it was "struck by the Israeli army". Nine other people were wounded, one of whom is in a critical condition in hospital. The parish priest was lightly injured. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel's prime minister said it "deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit" the church and the Israeli military said the incident was under review. Many displaced families from Gaza's small Christian community have been living in the church compound since the war began after their own homes were destroyed. While he was alive, the late Pope Francis called them on a near-daily basis. A video and photos shared with the BBC showed the roof of the Holy Family Church was hit, close to the cross, and that windows were broken. TV footage showed the Argentine parish priest, Father Gabriele Romanelli, walking unsteadily and checking on a man on a stretcher at the Al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, told the Vatican News website that the Holy Family Church was hit by a tank shell. "What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF [Israel Defense Forces] says by mistake, but we are not sure about this. They hit the church directly," he said. The charity Caritas Jerusalem said the shell hit the church roof, "scattering shrapnel and debris across the yard". "At the time, some individuals were outside the main building, including two elderly women who were sitting inside our Caritas psychosocial support tent. Both were severely wounded and were transported by ambulance to Al-Ahli Hospital after a 15-minute delay," it said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Three young people who had been standing at the entrance of the church were also badly injured and were rushed to the hospital using private vehicles." Later, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem announced that "three individuals lost their lives as a result of the injuries sustained and nine others were wounded, including one in critical condition and two in serious condition". It named those killed as Saad Issa Kostandi Salameh, the 60-year-old parish janitor, Foumia Issa Latif Ayyad, 84, and Najwa Abu Daoud. The patriarchate said it "strongly condemns this tragedy and this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "However, this tragedy is not greater or more terrible than the many others that have befallen Gaza. Many other innocent civilians have also been harmed, displaced and killed," it added. The Vatican's secretary of state sent a telegram to the victims saying Pope Leo was deeply saddened by the loss of life and had assured Father Romanelli "and the whole parish community of his spiritual closeness". "His holiness renews his call for an immediate ceasefire, and he expresses his profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region," it added. Caritas Jerusalem said a shell hit the church roof, scattering shrapnel and debris across the yard [Caritas Jerusalem] In the evening, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said: "Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Every innocent life lost is a tragedy. We share the grief of the families and the faithful." The IDF said an initial inquiry suggested that "fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly". "The cause of the incident is under review," it added. Asked by reporters, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said US President Donald Trump had rung Netanyahu to discuss the issue. "It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, that's what the prime minister relayed to the president," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said: "The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable." "No military action can justify such an attitude," she added. The Greek Orthodox Patriarchate in Jerusalem also condemned the strike, which it called a "flagrant violation of human dignity and a blatant violation of the sanctity of life and the sanctity of religious sites". It estimated that 600 displaced people were sheltering inside at the time, the majority of whom were children as well as 54 people with special needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Holy Family Church falls within part of Gaza City that the Israeli military has previously told locals to leave. Caritas Jerusalem said Father Romanelli had urged people to remain in the rooms "due to the presence of Israeli tanks near the church compound and continuous strikes in close proximity". "If Father Gabriel hadn't warned us to stay indoors, we could have lost 50 to 60 people today. It would have been a massacre," one Caritas staff member said. More than 20 people are reported to have been killed by Israeli attacks in Gaza on Thursday. In the north, medical sources said eight men protecting aid lorries and a couple and their five children were among those killed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel launched its war in Gaza in retaliation for the Hamas-led attacks on 7 October 2023, which killed about 1,200 people and led to 251 others being taken hostage. Israeli attacks have since killed more than 58,500 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. The ministry's figures are quoted by the UN and others as the most reliable source of statistics available on casualties. ROME (Reuters) -Pope Leo said on Thursday he hopes to travel to Turkey later this year for the 1,700th anniversary of a major Christian Church summit, in what would be the first foreign trip of his papacy. The early centuries of Christianity were marked by a lively debate about how Jesus could be both God and man, and the Church decided on the issue at the First Council of Nicaea - now known as Iznik in Turkey - in 325. "I hope to be able to meet you again, in a few months, to take part in the ecumenical commemoration of the anniversary of the Council of Nicaea," Pope Leo said in an audience with Orthodox and Catholic pilgrims from the United States. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The pilgrims visited Leo at his summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, near Rome, before continuing their journey to Istanbul. Earlier this month, the Turkish presidency said the pontiff had told Turkish First Lady Emine Erdogan about his intention to visit her country. Leo, elected on May 8 following the death of Pope Francis, has not yet embarked on any foreign travels. Francis had been planning to go to Turkey to celebrate the anniversary of the Nicaea Council with Patriarch Bartholomew, the spiritual leader of the Eastern Orthodox Church. In May, after visiting Leo at the Vatican, Bartholomew told the Italian bishops' TV2000 broadcaster that a possible date for the pope's Turkish trip was November 30. (Reporting by Giulia Segreti and Alvise Armellini, Editing by William Maclean) Theres no television, nightlife or music at the brewery in this tiny Connecticut town of 4,000. Thats because the Fox Farm Brewery owners would rather guests talk to one another and focus on the quality of the beer. Kind of a crazy concept, said Dave Adams who owns the brewery along along with his brother, Zach Adams and sister-in-law, Laura Adams. We are a unique brewery. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre open Thursday and Friday from noon to 7 p.m., Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday from 11a.m. to 5 p.m. Were a small brewing company thats focused on quality products and not necessarily endless growth, Dave Adams said. The understated approach has served them well, as Fox Farm Brewery is the only Connecticut Brewery chosen this year to be part of The Vermont Brewers Festival this Friday and Saturday (July 18-19). Now in its 32nd year, the festival is said by organizers to be one of the most anticipated events in the craft beer calendar, bringing brewers and beer lovers together at Waterfront Park in Burlington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emma Arian, executive director of Vermont Brewers Association, said it was participants while answering a questionnaire who wanted Fox Farm Brewery back after they participated last year. She said they loved the beer, their story and the people who run it. We love them, Arian said. Customer reviews online rave about the beer, calling it amazing, and Best brewery in Connecticut, as good as any weve visited in New England. This gem does beer right, one reviewer wrote. Reviewers also say staff is friendly, knowledgeable. One reviewer wrote, I have been to countless breweries and this one tops them all in my opinion. It is not too big like a factory or two small to handle the crowd. It is just perfect. Out in the Connecticut woods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adams said they often travel to Vermont and take inspiration from other breweries there. To pour our product in a state like Vermont is a great honor, he said. We were honored to be invited to this awesome festival. During their frequent trips to Vermont, the family drinks what the locals drink, he said. We dont have the ambition to be big. We just want to be good and friendly, Dave Adams said. They focus on quality and sustainability. Dave Adams is the general manager and brother Zach Adams is head of production. They employ 12 people, and make about 2,500 barrels per year of classic lagers, American ales, farmhouse and spontaneous beers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre tucked away in Salem at 62 Music Vale Road with no foot traffic. The tap room is in a barn on a former dairy farm. If you come you come for the beer and hopefully the good service and company, he said. Half a century ago, the dairy barn on the 30-acre farm was filled with cows. Years passed and the farming operation fizzled, then the barn sat idle for nearly three decades. Then Zach and Laura Adams ambitiously bought the farm in 2012 with aspirations to transform it into a brewery. The Adamses built their home on the property, had children, and in 2015, started to convert the dairy barn into what Zack has called, a far-flung dream. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lot of pieces had to come together. It was a huge unknown to see if the town would be receptive to this, and even if the building itself was suited for it, Adams has told the Courant, There were a lot of major enhancements we needed to make, to make this conducive to this operation. In May 2017, after renovating the barn to accommodate brewing equipment and an attractive, light-filled taproom, the Adams introduced Fox Farm Brewery to the town of just over 4,000. He has since said theyve been blown away by the reception. in Vermont, with three sessions spread across two days, and an expected attendance of more than 6,000 enthusiasts, this years festival will provide the opportunity to sample an array of beers from 36 breweries per session, including Vermont icons and newcomers. This festival is about more than great beer its about celebrating Vermonts brewing spirit and community, Arian said. We cant wait to raise a glass with our brewers, neighbors and craft beer fans from near and far. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) The co-owner of Portlands oldest restaurant has died. Hubers Cafe recently announced that James Kai Louie, who owned the eatery alongside his brother David and sister Lucille, died on Monday morning. He was 79 years old when he passed away in Beaverton, an obituary shows. Immigrant-grown produce stand provides fresh food to East Portland Hubers first opened in 1879. Louies great-uncle Jim began working for the restaurant in 1891, nearly 10 years after he immigrated to Portland from China, according to the Oregon Historical Society. He later purchased half of the business from the namesake owner for $1. He then sold the business to his nephew Andrew, but it wasnt until 1991 that his great-nieces and nephews took over. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the social media announcement from Hubers, longtime employee Roxanne Lau highlighted Louies contributions to the restaurant and Portland community over the years. How many thousands of people have been greeted by his firm handshake and kind, confident words? Laus post reads. How many employees have been guided by his knowledge of the restaurant industry and classic taste in food, drink, and presentation? James was, is a Portland legend. He was also a loving brother, father, grandfather, and husband. Where he found the time while running Portlands oldest bar, no one knows, but listening to him proudly talk about his family you knew immediately the love and pride he had for those closest to him. Louie once told KOIN 6 he worked at the eatery about five decades ago when they first began slinging Spanish Coffees, which have become a Hubers staple in the years since. The Oregon Historical Society also revealed that the late co-owner was behind the latest version of the popular drink, which is now served tableside. Hubers sells about 5,000 Spanish coffees per month. Report: Portland sees significant reduction in crime near 2 homeless shelters Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, the longstanding business is known for its turkey sandwiches and reliable Thanksgiving dinners. It has also sustained major events like floods, wars, recessions and the pandemic with the several generations of Louies who have owned the restaurant. We will do our best to carry on the legacy you left us, Lau wrote. Thank you for giving us all a second family in Hubers. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A new report from the Portland Police Bureau found reduced crime in areas surrounding two of the citys new emergency overnight shelters. PPBs Strategic Services Division released the report Wednesday, analyzing reported crime statistics within 1,000 feet of the Burnside Shelter and the Moore Street Shelter. The report compared reported crime data between July 16, 2024, and January 6, 2025, before the shelters opened, to January 7, 2025, to June 30, 2025, immediately after the shelter openings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DONT MISS: Pearl District residents opposed to homeless shelter The report found significant decreases in the total reported person and property crimes around each site, providing evidence that the sites are not increasing crime as sometimes portrayed by shelter critics, PPB said. Instead, the police bureau says it has seen a positive shift in crime reduction. Analyzing data for the Burnside Shelter which is located along Southwest 2nd Avenue and operated by The Salvation Army the report found total crime dropped 2.5% compared to the period before the shelter opened. Food Network unveils Oregons most charming small-town restaurant Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Notably, person crimes were down 17.5%, a far greater decrease than the 0.9% reduction citywide. Property crime in the area fell by 4.3%, PPB said. PPB added that an increase in society crimes around the Burnside Shelter was mainly driven by drug and weapons law violations, noting the recriminalization of drug possession after the state reversed Measure 110 in August 2024, likely contributed to the rise. Meanwhile, the Moore Street Shelter which is located along North Williams Avenue and operated by The Salvation Army showed even more encouraging results, PPB said, noting this shelter is in a historically lower-crime area. Close Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KOIN Morning Digest According to the report, total crime in the area dropped 12.5%, including a 9.5% decrease in person crimes and a 12.2% drop in property crimes. Society crimes in the area dropped 50%. These findings support what weve long believed. Sheltering people indoors not only provides stability for our most vulnerable neighbors, but also helps create safer neighborhoods, Mayor Keith Wilson said in a statement released by PPB. Portland is working hard to compassionately enhance community safety, and this report is proof that Portland is taking the right steps forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Precinct Commander Robert Simon, who oversees police operations in the area surrounding the Moore Street Shelter, emphasized the importance of collaboration between PPB and city organizations. Man faces criminal charges for allegedly using stolen excavator in Clackamas County ATM heist This progress is due in large part to the strong partnerships between Portland Police, Portland Solutions, Portland Street Response, and other community-based outreach teams. Their daily presence and connection to shelter participants play a critical role in building trust, identifying needs early, and reducing conflict, Simon said. Portland Solutions Director Skyler Brocker-Knapp added, Outreach isnt just about connecting people to services, it is about building relationships. That visibility and consistency fosters trust not only with shelter participants, but also with neighbors and businesses. When people know someone is paying attention and cares, the entire community benefits. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PPB said the City of Portland will continue to evaluate shelter-related impacts to refine operational strategies and neighborhood outreach efforts. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) On the same day that Portland Parks & Recreation director Adena Long announced her resignation, city leaders referred a long-debated parks levy hike to voters. Portland City Council has unanimously approved a resolution that will send the proposed $1.40 levy to the November 2025 ballot. This represents a 75% increase from the current 80-cent rate, which was approved by 64% of voters in 2020 and expires next year. Assault near Oregon Convention Center MAX station causes life-threatening injury Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, the councils Climate, Resilience & Land Use Committee debated between a $1.37 rate which would cover partnership funding and maintain funding levels for PP&Rs current priority items and a $1.47 rate that would add another $6 million for capital maintenance projects. But Willamette Week reported last week that Portland Metro Chamber negotiated a tax that would instead charge $1.40 per $1,000 of assessed property value. If backed by voters later this year, the majority of the levy would allocate $456 million toward maintaining services at the parks bureaus community centers, pools, recreation programs and more over five years. Three cents of the proposed amount would be allocated toward capital maintenance. Before voting on the new amount on Wednesday, city council discussed five amendments to the resolution two of which failed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont like surprises: Gov. Kotek directs Oregon agencies to conduct tariff reports District 2 Councilor Sameer Kanals proposal would have set aside $139,169 annually to extend hours at community centers in each voting district throughout the summer, to promote access to free third spaces for all Portlanders, in particular young people, and promote student achievement, community safety, and youth development. The proposal ultimately failed, but District 1 Councilor and former middle school teacher Jamie Dunphy expressed his support by emphasizing the importance of third places for East Portland students. This is the difference between life and death and its not hyperbole, Dunphy said. Kids who do not have a place to go find a place to go and, if they dont have something positive to do, they will find something to do and it.. is directly tied to gun violence, directly tied to car theft, directly tied to retail theft and directly tied to interpersonal violence. I think that this is an enormously responsible use of our time, to modestly increase the amount of hours that some of our kids can benefit even if it saves one childs life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Good Trouble Lives On rallies, events in Portland metro to protest against Trump policies Among the approved amendments was District 2 Councilor Dan Ryans proposal to require PP&R to submit key performance indicators to city leaders so officials can create a Parks Levy performance dashboard. The bureaus former director, who informed staff of her resignation on Wednesday, is credited with spearheading the passage of the current parks levy. Longtime city leader Sonia Schmanski will replace Long as officials search for a permanent director. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOIN.com. The new head of the United States Postal Service told employees he wants to preserve the agencys independence during his first week in office, amid musings from President Donald Trump to privatize the nations mail service. I am convinced that a strength of the Postal Service resides in our structure as a self-financing independent entity of the executive branch, functioning much like a business but with a public service mission, David Steiner, the nations 76th postmaster general, wrote in the Thursday letter. Steiner, a former FedEx board member, was selected after former postmaster general Louis DeJoy fell out of favor with some Republicans and the Trump administration. Steiner does not report directly to Trump he was selected by the USPS board of governors, who are appointed by the president but The Washington Post reported in May that Trump made the final call on his hiring Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has previously suggested a takeover of the Postal Service by the Commerce Department, and said the concept of privatizing the agency was not the worst idea hes heard. The USPS is an independent agency of the government; critics have warned that a challenge to that independence particularly privatization would risk letter carriers mission to deliver the mail to every American. A private USPS could make rural delivery more expensive or non-existent, they warn. Steiners appointment triggered criticism from the American Postal Workers Union, with a spokesperson calling him an inappropriate choice on Thursday. Brian L. Renfroe, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, called the selection a direct assault on postal workers in a statement in May. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His selection isnt just a conflict of interest its an aggressive step toward handing Americas mail system over to corporate interests. Private shippers have been waiting to get USPS out of parcel delivery for years. Steiners selection is an open invitation to do just that, he said. Steiner wrote in his letter he wants to reverse the trend of the agencys financial difficulties, addressing a line of criticism Trump has used to justify his potential takeover. You should know that I believe strongly in the role of the Postal Service as a pillar of Americas democracy and economic infrastructure, in the important support and services we provide at every business and residence, as a positive and competitive force in the marketplace, and in our enduring mission to bind the nation together, he said. A misleadingly clipped video of Rahul Gandhi purportedly showing him calling a major religious festival a "drama" has circulated in posts accusing the opposition leader of insulting Hindus. Gandhi was in fact criticising a local Indian state government, saying it was serving the interests of billionaires over its own people. "Rahul Gandhi, standing on the soil of Odisha, called the Rath Yatra of Lord Jagannath a 'drama'!" reads part of the Hindi-language caption of a Facebook video shared on July 11, 2025. The video shows Gandhi standing at a podium and saying: "When the Jagannath Yatra takes place in Odisha, the chariot of the Jagannath Yatra comes out, hundreds of thousands of people watch it and follow it and then a drama takes place." It was shared after a deadly stampede marred the annual Rath Yatra festival honouring the Hindu deity Lord Jagannath, which was held in eastern Odisha state (archived link). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least three people were killed and around 50 others injured in the early hours of June 29, with the Times of India reporting that eyewitnesses blamed the chaos on poor planning and arrangements for VIPs (archived link). Screenshot of the false Facebook post captured on July 16, 2025, with a red X added by AFP The clip was also shared in similar Facebook, Threads and X posts targeting the opposition Congress party's leader. "The Supreme Court should take cognisance of the insult of the Hindu faith and Lord Jagannath by this heretic and strict action should be taken against this heretic," read a comment on one of the posts. Another said: "When will action be taken against this corrupt stupid man? How long will he keep roaming around the country and keep talking nonsense, keep playing with the sentiments of Hindu believers?" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The video, however, has been misleadingly edited. Clipped video A reverse image search on Google using keyframes from the misleadingly edited video led to a longer version published on the verified YouTube channel of News 18 Odia on July 11 (archived link). Its description states that Gandhi was speaking at Congress' "Save the Constitution" rally in Odisha's Bhubaneswar city, part of a national campaign to bolster support for the opposition party. Screenshot comparison of the falsely shared clip (left) and the News 18 Odia video (right) The segment used in the false posts can be seen at the video's 32-second mark. The falsely shared clip omits Gandhi explaining what he meant by "drama". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When the Jagannath Yatra takes place in Odisha, the chariot of the Jagannath Yatra comes out, hundreds of thousands of people watch it and follow it and then a drama takes place -- the chariots are stopped specifically for Adani and his family," he says, referring to Indian billionaire Gautam Adani. The Adani Group chairman took part in the Rath Yatra with his family on June 28 (archived link). The pulling of giant chariots of Lord Jagannath and his siblings from the Lions Gate of the Shree Jagannath Temple to the Gundicha Temple 2.5 km (1.5 miles) away -- a key ritual in the Rath Yatra -- had been delayed by a day, according to India's The Telegraph newspaper (archived link). The newspaper said the opposition Congress party accused the Odisha state government, run by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), of deliberately delaying the ritual so the Adani family could take part. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response, Odisha law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan accused the opposition of trying to "politicise the issue". Gandhi goes on to say in his speech: "This alone reveals the true nature of the Odisha government. This is not the Odisha government and it is also not the government of poor people. "It doesnt serve the people of Odisha, but rather a handful of billionaires like Adani. Their aim is to seize your land, your forests, and your future." His remarks were also reported by The Indian Express, The Print, PTI and Times of India (archived here, here, here and here). AFP has debunked other false posts targeting the opposition leader here. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) Several non-profit groups in Oregon are concerned that federal funding that they rely on may end up disappearing. The City of Portland has 126 active federal grants totaling $387 million, mostly in transportation and housing. However, that money may now be at risk of stalling. Fred Meyer to close Gateway location in E Portland Leaders at the Cascade AIDS Project in Portland told KOIN 6 News they depend on some of those federal dollars passed along by the city. Theyre concerned that millions promised for fiscal year 2026, which has just begun, may end up not coming in. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The federal government said it could withhold grants from cities that support diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives as part of an executive order by President Donald Trump earlier this year. Two million dollars in federal money is what the city had planned to give to the Cascade AIDS Project to help fund housing for low-income people with HIV/AIDS and their families. That would cover housing and support services, affecting 1,200 people. We have multiple pools of funding, but this is one of our largest grants. This serves so many people, said Marisa Miller-McDowell with the Cascade AIDS Project. And just to say, this wouldnt be about just future people we couldnt serve. It would be unhousing people, it would be moving people from housing to homelessness. The mayors office staff said he and the city council are reviewing their options. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 new Tennessee law specifies parental rights cannot be terminated solely because of economic disadvantage. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Child protective services should focus on providing resources that families actually need rather than punishing families for being poor, I said. Raise your hand if you agree. As I looked over the room of training attendees at Healthy and Free Tennessees Day on the Hill in March, I watched dozens of hands, all of them, rise. The answer felt obvious undeniable even. And yet, until now, Tennessee law did not reflect that truth. That moment surrounded by parents, advocates and community members it was clear: we werent just agreeing on a statement we were standing together in a demand for justice. That shared clarity is what powered our movement forward. And now, that vision is becoming reality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Healthy and Free Tennessee is an organization growing the movement for reproductive justice across race, class and gender by bringing new people into the movement, developing skills and capacities and building connections across organizations and sectors. Our work is to improve and expand access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare resources and services while fighting the growing trend of criminalizing pregnancy outcomes. This includes the increased surveillance, regulation and punishment of financially struggling parents and parents of color by both state and societal institutions. Last month, we recognized June as the inaugural Stolen Childrens Month, a month to honor the children who have been stolen from their families and communities via the family policing system and the parents and caregivers who are fighting to reunite and heal with their children. At the same time, Tennessee took a critical step to ensure that families are not separated due to economic disadvantage. I led the grassroots advocacy that led to the passage of Senate Bill 0560/House Bill 0347. The measure clarifies that poverty alone does not constitute child neglect, a long-overdue correction to a system that has disproportionately penalized low-income families. For too long, injustice has torn apart families who love and care for their children but need material resources . With this new law, Tennessee is prioritizing family preservation over harmful separations, creating a future where children can remain safely with their parents while families receive the support they need to thrive. A step forward for Tennessee families Struggling to make ends meet is not the same as willfully neglecting a childs needs. However, the child welfare, or family policing, system has not differentiated between the two. Poverty has never been the same as neglect, yet the child welfare system has often treated it as such. Families struggling with economic hardship have been disproportionately surveilled and penalized, with Black, Indigenous, and low-income parents facing the highest rates of child welfare involvement. The passage of SB0560/HB0347 ensures that the states response to families in need will be support-based rather than punitive, shifting focus toward strengthening families rather than tearing them apart. Why this change matters Removing a child from their home due to financial hardship is not only unjustit is harmful. Family separation has lifelong consequences for children, including emotional trauma, academic setbacks and increased risk of entering the juvenile justice system. Studies have shown that the best place for a child whenever safe and possible is with their family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now that SB0560/HB0347 has passed, Tennessee must ensure that this law is effectively implemented, meaning that judges, caseworkers, and mandatory reporters fully understand and apply the new standard. This policy change is a victory, but our work is not finished until we see a significant decline in removals and more families receiving the support they need to stay together. Looking ahead This change is a major milestone, but the journey toward justice continues. It opens up opportunities for deeper public education, stronger legal advocacy and more equitable support for families experiencing poverty. At its heart, this law affirms a simple truth: families deserve to be supported, not punished, when they are doing their best with limited means. By recognizing and addressing the root causes of family separation, Tennessee has taken an important step. The focus now turns to how this vision can be fully realized through community engagement, education, and continued accountability. No family should face separation simply because of their income. With this step forward, we edge closer to a Tennessee where every child can grow up in a safe, loving home and every family has the dignity, resources, and respect they deserve. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) Traffic is set to be impacted for about two hours Wednesday afternoon on southbound Interstate 5, south of Grapevine Road, due to power pole repairs. The repairs are set to start at 4:30 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. Two wooden power poles were damaged after a line was struck around 8 a.m. The damages need immediate repair. Traffic may get heavy in the area. Highway patrol advises if you have to travel through the area to have a full tank of gas and water. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (COLORADO SPRINGS) Its a project more than 60 years in the makingthe City of Colorado Springs is preparing to start construction to extend Powers Boulevard about two miles north to Voyager Parkway. The expansion will extend Powers from Highway 83 to Voyager Parkway. Reducing congestion and travel times, minimizing cut-through traffic through neighborhoods, improving safety, especially at busy intersections, and preparing for growth by protecting our communitys quality of life, said Gayle Sturdivant, the City Engineer and Deputy Director of Public Works. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project is set to begin at the end of 2025. It will start with three new bridges to connect Ridgeline Drive, Flying Horse Club Drive, and a pedestrian bridge over Powers. Voters approved this project as part of the PPRTA ballot in November 2022, said Sturdivant. The City will also conduct a noise study to see whether or not it will need to add sound barriers. Crews expect to have the entire project done by 2030. Most of it is really in unpopulated areas, and should be minimal traffic disruption. However, with every construction project, we ask folks to be mindful of the traffic cones, mindful of the workers and traffic advisories, for their safety and for the safety for our workers too, said Sturdivant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Colorado Springs will host an informational meeting about this project on July 17, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Discovery Canyon High School. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. John Harris, president and CEO of Prairie Public Broadcasting, speaks March 7, 2025, during a legislative committee hearing about state and federal funding for the organization. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) North Dakota-based Prairie Public Broadcasting may look and sound different over the next 12 months if Senate lawmakers proceed with expected funding cuts. John Harris, president of Prairie Public, said Wednesday he is pessimistic about federal funds continuing to flow to PBS and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting after Vice President JD Vance cast the tie-breaking vote to advance a bill that claws back previously approved funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its just a high potential that were going to take a significant hit, Harris said. He said the elimination of the federal funds adds up to about $2 million of Prairie Publics budget over the next two years. Federal funding for three North Dakota tribal radio stations also was at risk, but a deal announced late Tuesday would set aside funds for some Native American radio stations. Prairie Public has been saving money to blunt the impact of the federal budget cuts, Harris said. Potential changes to programming, staff and facilities may happen more gradually over the next year. Everything is on the table for consideration of what to do to balance the budget, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harris said losing Prairie Public broadcasting coverage in rural parts of the state would be an extreme and he believes the organization would do everything it could to preserve its coverage area across North Dakota and western Minnesota. North Dakota Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer were among Republican senators who voted yes to begin debate on the bill that would cancel $9 billion in funding for public broadcasting and several foreign aid programs. Theres a strong feeling that they should get their funding privately, like the other broadcasters do, Hoeven said after a news conference last week in Bismarck. Cramer said there may have been a time when Prairie Public needed federal funding to stay afloat, but he thinks that time has long passed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement North Dakota U.S. Rep. Julie Fedorchak, also a Republican, previously supported the bill. Sen. Kevin Cramer, left, R-N.D., speaks with Prairie Public News Director Dave Thompson after a press conference hosted by the North Dakota Petroleum Council in Bismarck on July 7, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) Public funds should support core national interests not subsidize biased messaging or unaccountable programs, Fedorchak said in a statement last month. State lawmakers also took aim at public broadcasting funds this year. Gov. Kelly Armstrong included $2.9 million in funding for Prairie Public in his budget proposal for 2025-27, including $1.7 million in one-time funding for transmitter maintenance. However, that funding was reduced to $400,000. Native American radio stations As the U.S. Senate voted late Tuesday to advance the bill, South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds announced an agreement that would continue to fund some Native American radio stations, States Newsroom reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agreement with White House budget director Russ Vought would move $9.4 million from an account within the Interior Department to Native American radio stations in North Dakota and 10 other states, according to Rounds office. The budget request for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting lists three North Dakota Native American radio stations serving the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation and the Spirit Lake Nation. Federal funding makes up a large share of the budget for KEYA, the public radio station that serves the Turtle Mountain Reservation, said program director Jarle Kvale. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting requested that KEYA receive $222,675 in federal money. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kvale said it would be difficult to survive without that funding. He described KEYA as an old school radio station that serves the Turtle Mountain community by broadcasting tribal council meetings, public service announcements and weather forecasts, among other news. The station turns 50 years old in October. Kvale has been working there for 31 years, he said. Cutting public broadcasting funding for tribal radio stations would be devastating to Indian Country, said Nicole Donaghy, executive director of North Dakota Native Vote. In rural communities, tribal radio is often the only trusted source for culturally relevant content, emergency alerts, civic updates and language revitalization, Donaghy said in a Wednesday statement. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX While still a young man, President Henry B. Eyring was challenged by his father the renowned chemist Henry Eyring to explore the hard sciences in college. He said that we would need that foundation to be effective in the rapidly changing world, recalled President Eyring at Wednesdays ceremony at the University of Utah celebrating the completion of the schools Applied Science Project. Just weeks after claiming a physics degree from Utahs flagship university, the younger Eyring was serving as a newly commissioned 2nd Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force. To his surprise, he was assigned to a military special weapons project. Gov. Spencer Cox and President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, talk during a ribbon-cutting event for the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Eyring is the son of University of Utah chemist Henry Eyring. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News The only information that the (Air Force) had about me was that I had graduated from the University of Utah two weeks earlier, said President Eyring, the second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the two years I served in that assignment, I saw my fathers promise fulfilled as I found myself able to resolve problems and make judgments which had the potential to affect the lives of people and nations across the world. Folks across the University of Utah campus and throughout the state are certain that all who study, teach and conduct scientific research at the school are being prepared to make similar contributions in the global science community. Utahs Crocker Science Complex: A scientific discovery hub Gary Crocker, managing director of Crocker Ventures, and Mark Skaggs of the ALSAM Foundation help cut the ceremonial ribbon during a ribbon-cutting event for the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Wednesdays ribbon cutting ceremony marked the official completion of the $97 million Applied Science Project which combines the newly built L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building with the renovated historic William Stewart Building and the Crocker Science Center. Together, the three facilities form the Crocker Science Complex a 275,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art locale for scientific study and research. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The project was funded by a $67.5 million state appropriation combined with a $10 million gift from ALSAM Foundation (Skaggs Family) and $8.5 million from Gary and Ann Crocker ($19.7 million total for the Crocker Science Complex). The new Applied Science Building provides a 56% increase in the capacity of undergraduate physics labs, Peter Trapa, Vice Provost/Senior Dean of the Universitys College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, told the Deseret News. Peter Trapa, University of Utah vice provost and senior dean of liberal arts and sciences, points to one of three dynamic light fixtures that are part of Three Medusae in the atrium of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. Strings of beads move in patterns that can be programmed to change. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Almost every STEM student at the University of Utah will learn, collaborate and even conduct research at the building at some point during their time on campus, he added. Meanwhile, the Crocker Science Complex will serve 37 different STEM degree programs meaning every future nurse, chemist, engineer, statistician and software developer at the university will take classes in its buildings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is truly a momentous day for science at the University of Utah, Trapa said Wednesday. Gov. Cox: Investing in science = Investing in people In his remarks at Wednesdays ceremony, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox saluted the individuals and organizations that donated to the universitys science complex project. Its an honor to stand in this atrium today and talk about the brick and mortar spaces that lead to boundless opportunities and possibilities of discovery, innovation and education, he said. This building represents Utahs bold investment in the future a future driven by research technology and the next generation of thinkers and doers. The classrooms and labs that are here will ignite curiosity, a characteristic that is sadly missing far too much in our public discourse these days." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The facility, Cox added, was built with a strong partnership between state leadership, the university and the community. The same values that we use to teach science correlate perfectly to how we do things here in Utah: Collaboration and creativity with a commitment to putting the greater good in the forefront, and always seeking truth. When we invest in science, we invest in people. Cox added that at a time when the federal government is cutting back on funding for scientific initiatives, Utah is doing the opposite. We can be fiscally responsible and we can invest, he said. In fact, it is fiscal responsibility that requires us to invest in the future. Otherwise, all of those things that we enjoy today will be gone. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have to invest in the next generation. A place where dreams will happen University of Utah President Taylor Randall shakes hands with President Henry B. Eyring, second counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, during a ribbon-cutting event for the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. Eyring is the son of University of Utah chemist Henry Eyring. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News In his remarks, President Eyring spoke of how science has helped define his educational, professional and ecclesiastical experiences. He spoke of his appreciation for teachers and professors who help us to see the vastness of the physical world and the beauty of understanding it and the power that it gives us. I am grateful for teachers who strengthen my confidence that there is order in the physical world which has and will be continuously better understood." President Eyring then saluted the generosity of donors and university leaders who have made the Crocker Science Complex a reality. My hope is that those who study here may follow your example to use whatever powers and resources they gain to lift and to bless others in future generations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In his remarks, University of Utah President Taylor Randall noted the essential role faith-driven educators such as W.W. Phelps, Orson Pratt and Henry Eyring played in establishing the schools science bona-fides and global reputation. This is actually a place where students dreams will happen, said Randall. Whether they are undergraduates or graduate students, they will happen here. And many of the individuals that enter applied areas later on, will begin in this college with physics and mathematics. The University of Utahs College of Science, he added, leads the country with its science research initiative. That means that freshmen over 700 start in the labs on projects that actually have real world application," he said. And then if they stay with it to the end, they get to work with our biotech industry, performing experiments that will lead them on to those great, great things. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a place where dreams will come true. Donors express faith in science and research Peter Trapa, University of Utah vice provost and senior dean of liberal arts and sciences, speaks during a ribbon-cutting event for the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Gary Crocker, the president of Crocker Ventures, spoke of he and his familys decades-long relationship with the University of Utahs science education community and his gratitude for Utahs elected leaders. I want to thank and acknowledge the leadership and the vision, persistence and the advocacy of Governor Cox, said Crocker. Its been exceptional what hes been able to do with the State Legislature in making this complex a reality. Crocker also saluted the Eyring family and the generosity of the religious organization in which he serves. The pivotal difference that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints makes in our community is literally impossible to measure and its impact ripples through lives, worldwide." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building, Crocker added, is going to ripple through the lives of tens of thousands of students. They will become our future physicians and our future nurses, our future scientists, our future pharmacists and astronomers and environmental scientists. They will form the core of this states industrial and commercial complex over the next 60 or 70 years. Mark Skaggs of the ALSAM Foundation spoke of his familys belief in and continued commitment to the power of education. We are big believers in this community and in this state and in this university...We love this university. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Skaggs admitted to being fearful amid todays politically-charged debates over the future of higher education. Im actually afraid of where were headed, he said, before referencing the slogan: Make America Great Again. Explain to me how we do that when we cut the NIH budget by half and when we close program after program after program at key universities?" Skaggs concluded saying he could not think of a better recipient of his foundations gift than to the universitys Applied Science Building. Thank you for believing in what we believe in and what weve always believed in and what hopefully will be a brighter future in this country." Helping Utahs science students identify their passions An observatory is pictured on the roof of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News College of Science Interim Dean Pearl Sandick concluded Wednesdays ceremony envisioning the research and educational possibilities now afforded by the new Applied Science Building. Our programs in physics, astronomy and atmospheric sciences are internationally recognized in research and education, and they will now have the advantages of these modern facilities making it possible for us to address scientific questions and societal challenges in new ways," Sandick said. Lives and industries will be improved by the research happening at the University of Utahs science complex. The work done here will directly affect energy, water resources, public health and natural disaster preparedness. Universities play a vital role in society as hubs of scientific research and discovery. Institutions like ours are where curiosity meets capacity; where ideas are explored, tested and transformed into knowledge that shapes our world. Utah students, Sandick added, remain the schools central priority. This state of the art facility is going to provide them with new opportunities that will help them identify their passions, learn new techniques in modern laboratories, work side-by-side with faculty and prepare them for careers that are both rewarding and critical for our economy and national interests. John Lin, The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy scientific director, talks about The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy during a tour of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Jim Muller, University of Utah senior director of infrastructure, operations and strategy for liberal arts and sciences, looks to see if a "laser in use" sign illuminates yet at the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Pearl Sandick, University of Utah College of Science interim dean, talks about the benefits of a rooftop classroom, with clear views of the Salt Lake valley, during a tour of the L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Peter Trapa, University of Utah vice provost and senior dean of liberal arts and sciences, gives a tour of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Jim Muller, University of Utah senior director of infrastructure, operations and strategy for liberal arts and sciences, gives a tour of an office at the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News The cloud physics lab is picture in the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News Fielding Norton, The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy managing director, and John Lin, The Wilkes Center for Climate Science and Policy scientific director, talk on the roof of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. Telescopes will be installed on the pedestals behind them. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News One of three dynamic light fixtures that is part of Three Medusae is pictured in the atrium of the new L.S. Skaggs Applied Science Building at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City on Monday, July 14, 2025. Strings of beads move in patterns that can be programmed to change. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News NEW MEXICO (KRQE) President Donald Trump has signed a fentanyl crackdown bill championed by New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich (D). The Halt Fentanyl Act permanently reclassifies the drug as Schedule I, meaning it does not have an acceptable medical use, but has a high potential for abuse. Im proud we got my Halt Fentanyl Act signed into law. This law gives law enforcement the tools that they need to hold traffickers of fentanyl accountable and hold them behind bars, said Sen. Heinrich. New Mexico State Police will begin sending mobile alerts for Silver and Turquoise Alerts Sen. Heinrich, who co-sponsored the bill, praised the signing, saying the change will add stricter penalties for fentanyl traffickers. President Trump echoed that sentiment on Wednesday. It doesnt sound like much. Its a big deal as they will tell you, meaning anyone caught trafficking these illicit poisons will be punished with a mandatory ten-year minimum sentence in prison, said President Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Drugs like heroin, LSD, and ecstasy are also Schedule I. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos. The average gas price in the United States is over $3 a gallon as of early July, according to AAA. Just around 20 states currently have average prices falling below this threshold. President Donald Trump seemed to claim in May, meanwhile, that many states saw prices as low as $1.98 something FactCheck.org said was inaccurate. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) posted on Truth Social, "Gasoline just broke $1.98 a Gallon, lowest in years, groceries (and eggs!) down, energy down, mortgage rates down, employment strong, and much more good news." Many drivers wondered where that figure had come from, as the prices they saw at the pump weren't that low. FactCheck pointed to an idea from CNBC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president seemed likely to be referring to the price of Reformulated Blendstock for Oxygenate Blending or RBOB gasoline, according to the outlet. The product is made to be later reformulated with other components, like ethanol. At the time of the president's post, RBOB was priced closer to $1.98. But that price isn't what you'd pay at the pump once taxes and other costs such as for those additional ingredients are added in. Patrick De Haan, GasBuddy's head of petroleum analysis, told CNBC, "It does not come anywhere near explaining what consumers are paying." While it may not have been intentional, misleading claims like this can confuse consumers. Gas prices have put financial pressure on many families for years now, and inaccurate information makes it harder for consumers to understand what's driving prices and how to plan for rising costs. FactCheck requested a statement from the White House to bring clarity to the situation but did not receive one. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, many consumers are looking beyond the pump to avoid increasing gas prices. Clean and renewable energy sources, such as electric vehicles and solar energy, can offer long-term relief from the unpredictable costs of traditional fuel. And cleaner energy is as beneficial for the environment as it is for your wallet. Switching to solar energy, for example, can help shield consumers from rising natural gas costs and the risk of gas leaks that pollute the environment and endanger families. If you drive an EV, you can also save big on fuel while reducing your carbon footprint. But misinformation surrounds the clean energy industry as well. One TikToker debunked claims that switching to cleaner energy is prohibitively expensive, highlighting research that shows a quicker transition to clean energy sources can lead to greater savings. A YouTube video from EnergySage thwarted another claim that energy costs are rising because utility companies lose money as more people adopt solar energy, a process known as the solar cost shift. Consumers rely on accurate data to make smart financial and environmental decisions. Confusing and incomplete assertions that go unchecked can steer them away from cost-saving and climate-friendly options. That's one reason it's important to stay up to date on critical climate issues it can help consumers spot perplexing and partial information. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some commenters expressed their frustration in reply to Trump's social post, with one saying, "Gas is still over $3.00 a gallon and eggs are still over $5.00 a dozen. #StopGaslightingAmerica." Another wrote, "Gasoline in Michigan is $3.39I don't get it." Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet. President Donald Trumps leg swelling has been attributed to a common vein condition, according to a note from the White House physician Capt. Sean Barbabella. The president underwent medical tests and an ultrasound to examine swelling in his legs and was diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during a July 17 briefing. Leavitt said there was "no evidence" of more serious conditions such as deep vein thrombosis (a blood clot in the leg or arm in a deep vein) or arterial disease. Additional exams identified "no signs of heart failure, renal impairment or systemic illness," Leavitt said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chronic venous insufficiency is the most common vascular disease in the United States, according to Dr. Sean Stewart, regional medical director at the Center for Vein Restoration. "For most people, this is not life-threatening," he said. "For most people its genetic and its not a reflection of overall body health." What is chronic venous insufficiency? Chronic venous insufficiency, or CVI, occurs when the leg veins become damaged and dont work as they should. The veins in our legs have one job, Stewart said. They work against gravity to push used blood out of the legs through muscle contractions. When these veins dont work, typically due to damaged valves, it can cause blood to pool in the legs and lead to symptoms like swelling and ulcers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Cleveland Clinic, other symptoms also include achy or tired legs; burning, tingling or pins and needles sensation in your legs; cramping in your legs; discolored skin that looks reddish-brown; swelling in your lower legs and ankles (especially after standing a while or at the end of the day); flaking or itching skin on your legs or feet; full or heavy feeling in your legs; leathery-looking skin on your legs; ulcers; and varicose veins. Yes, exercise lowers blood pressure. This workout helps the most. What causes chronic venous insufficiency? Most cases of CVI are due to genetics, Stewart said, but certain risk factors can increase a persons chance of developing the condition. These risk factors include a history of deep vein thrombosis, varicose veins or a family history of varicose veins, obesity, smoking and tobacco use and sitting or standing for long periods, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Women are more likely to develop venous insufficiency because pregnancy is another risk factor, Stewart said. The chances of developing the condition also increase with age. Trump celebrated his 79th birthday on June 14. What is VO2 max? The metric that could give you better workouts Can you treat or prevent venous insufficiency? Damaged veins cannot be repaired, Stewart said, but certain treatments can alleviate symptoms in patients. Patients can undergo vein closures, which is when doctors close the veins that arent working. These veins can be closed with glue, heat lasers or by injecting medicine, Stewart said. Performing vein closures is done by ultrasound guidance, so it doesnt require opening up the leg or putting the patient under anesthesia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More details: President Trump diagnosed with chronic vein condition tied to leg swelling Although most cases of CVI are attributed to genetics, Stewart said patients can reduce their chances of developing the condition by avoiding prolonged sitting, wearing compression socks and following a generally healthy lifestyle. White House physician Barbabella's memo did not discuss whether Trump is receiving any medical treatment to address the vein condition. Contributing: Joey Garrison Adrianna Rodriguez can be reached at adrodriguez@usatoday.com. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Donald Trump diagnosis: Chronic venous insufficiency symptoms TOWN OF TONAWANDA, N.Y. (WIVB) A former member and treasurer of the Sheridan Park Volunteer Fire Company has confessed to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars of the companys fundraising money. 41-year-old James Hoffman of Depew pleaded guilty in front of Judge James Bargnesi to one count of second-degree grand larceny and one count of the repeated failure to file personal income and earnings taxes. According to the Erie County District Attorneys Office, between Jan. 1, 2019, and Jan. 31, 2025, Hoffman stole a total of $446,118.42 by making unauthorized cash withdrawals from the fire companys bank accounts and failing to deposit money from fundraiser proceeds for six years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DAs office said that the stolen money was used to support his gambling habit. Local fire company asks for community support after hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly stolen He was a friend, not just [to] me, a lot of people, and it hurt a lot of people not just what he did, but friendships and everything, said Paul Palistrant, the president of the Sheridan Park Fire Company. Palistrant said this doesnt impact the companys responses to calls. These funds are for its events and helping family members if a member passes away. He said how these funds were collected throughout a span of 96 years and that they were left with less than a hundred dollars in the account. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We got a lot of guys [who have] over 50 years of service, so a lot of these gentlemen that were there were there for more than half of the time trying to save that money and working to save that money, and it hurt a lot of people, Palistrant said. According to the DAs office, Hoffman turned over $55,000 to his defensive attorney, which will be provided to the Sheridan Park Fire Company. As a condition of the plea, he signed a Confession of Judgement to pay the remaining restitution balance of $391,118.42. He also signed a Confession of Judgement to pay $26,706.00 in restitution to the New York Department of Taxation and Finance. Officials said he could have faced up to 15 years in prison, but as part of the judges plea deal agreement, he could now face up to six years. Hoffman is due back in court on Oct. 6 for sentencing. Latest Local News Hope Winter is a reporter and multimedia journalist who has been part of the News 4 team since 2021. See more of her work here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to News 4 Buffalo. SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) Big changes are underway at Savannah State and the Universitys new president is ready to talk about them. Dr. Jermaine Whirl is hitting the 100-day mark in the office, and hes promising a vision that could redefine the Universitys future. President Whirl is preparing to reflect on his first 100 days since taking office as Savannah States president, and hes already making waves. From new hires to major campus plans, hes taking big steps to set a new course for the University. Dr. Whirl stepped into his role earlier this year as the schools 15th president. In just a few short months, hes filled key leadership roles, launched strategic planning sessions, and announced major capital improvements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His speech will highlight those wins and introduce SSUs Vision 2030 a bold plan to become not just a leading HBCU in Georgia, but a national model. Whirl has been listening closely, hosting town halls and focus groups with students, faculty, alumni, and local partners. He says its all part of building a vision rooted in community and excellence. We have some bold goals and some bold visions for Savannah State. This will be the preeminent HBCU only Georgia, but really across the nation and really setting a path forward for us for what we call our 2030 upper plan. So, Ill be giving some nuggets about whats to come and showcasing all of the excitement for Tiger Nation, said Dr. Whirl. The presidents speech is set for 11 a.m. today at Torian Auditorium on campus. The event is free, but reservations are required, and itll also be livestreamed. Savannah State is Georgias oldest public HBCU, and Dr. Whirl says its time to honor that legacy while building something even greater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The municipal parking garage on Las Olas that serves Fort Lauderdales famous beach used to light up like the Fourth of July. You wouldnt know it now. The five-story garage with the upscale address, 200 E. Las Olas Circle, opened in December 2018. The garage went dark in February 2023 when its pricey lighting system stopped working. Fort Lauderdale has been looking into the problem for at least two years now and Mayor Dean Trantalis is tired of waiting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weve been dancing around this issue for several years now, he said during a recent City Hall meeting. We need to sue them (the manufacturers and the general contractor). We cant keep going back and forth and waiting for them to do nothing. This is a multimillion problem that the city is not going to pay for. I think they think theyre going to wear us down and were going to forget about it. And were not going to forget about it. The garage cost $21 million to build. The lighting system alone cost $1 million. And the exterior facade that simulates the motion of waves cost another $6 million. Serious problems with the light display showed up less than two years later. The city contacted the manufacturer and repairs were made in 2021. But by February 2023, nearly half the lights were no longer working. In addition, the metal mesh screening that supports the lights had already started rusting. It too needs to be replaced. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The original lighting fixtures are no longer made and the software that runs the light displays is obsolete, commissioners have been told. The cost to replace the lights: At least $3 million, according to the latest estimate. What is going on? During a public meeting in mid-June, Trantalis grilled staff on why the process had dragged on for more than two years. They had their experts out there, he said. We had our experts out there. Its been months that have passed. What is going on with regard to their liability to compensate the city for the defective lighting system? Interim City Attorney DWayne Spence told the mayor the city was still trying to work out a solution with the vendors before heading to court. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trantalis told Spence hes been hearing that for months now. Weve got to make a decision about moving forward on this, Trantalis said. When are we going to make a decision? When are we going to realize that time is not on our side anymore? We need to do something. This should not be taking this long. We need to do something aggressively on this and I dont know what were waiting for. Trantalis told Spence he was parroting what hes been hearing from the community. Im tired of being accosted on the beach (by people asking) Whats happening with our lights? And I dont have an answer for them, Trantalis said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spence told the mayor the city would likely enter into mediation in mid-July. Put their feet to the fire Trantalis asked when the city could file a lawsuit. Spence told him the city was required to try to find a solution through mediation before it can file suit. We know where we can buy new lights, Trantalis said. Whos paying for them is the issue. And weve been dancing around on this for several years. Not months. Years. And we need to bring closure to this. We need to put their feet to the fire and say, Look, you gave us bad stuff. Its damaged goods. Youve got to cough up the money. You have insurance. This is what insurance is for. We need to get this job done. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Commissioner Steve Glassman, whose district includes the beach, quickly agreed. This has been dragging on forever and ever and ever, he said during the meeting. Weve got to get this done. The South Florida Sun Sentinel contacted the city attorneys office this week. Assistant City Attorney Rhonda Hasan referred questions to Gray Brown, the outside attorney hired to represent the city in negotiations with the general contractor that built the garage and other companies involved in building and installing the mesh screening and lighting system. State law requires plaintiffs to enter a pre-suit process that aims to resolve construction defect claims without resorting to litigation. The process requires the claimant to provide written notice of a claim to the contractor, subcontractor, supplier or design professional potentially responsible for the defects at least 60 days before filing any legal action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brown and his firm were retained by Fort Lauderdale in late 2023 to investigate the issues with the lighting system and decorative wire mesh on the facade of the parking garage. Since that time, our firm has been evaluating the issues, including interviewing city staff involved with the project, and attending several site visits/inspections, Brown told the South Florida Sun Sentinel. Long and slow process On behalf of the city, Brown sent a mandatory pre-suit statutory notice (referred to as a Chapter 558, Florida Statutes, construction defect notice) in May 2024 to the following five parties: Skanska USA Building Inc., the construction manager; EDSA Inc., the architect of record; Arquitectonica International Corp., a design subconsultant hired by EDSA; GKD-USA Inc., the manufacturer and installer of the mesh system; and Meisner Electric Inc., the subcontractor hired by Skanska to furnish and install the lighting system. The purpose of the notice was to formally put those parties on notice of potential construction defects at the garage, Brown said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such a notice is a prerequisite under Chapter 558 of state law for the city to file suit regarding the identified defects, he said. The parties and/or their counsel reached out to our firm after receiving the notice to set up an inspection of the garage, Brown said. Due to coordination issues with the parties and counsel, two inspections occurred. The first one occurred on Feb. 25, 2025 with Skanska and Meisner, and the second on March 26, 2025 with EDSA and GKD. Our firm and city representatives attended both inspections. Since the inspections, some of the parties requested additional information from the city, including samples of the lighting system and wire mesh, Brown said. Those samples have since been provided. The city is waiting for the parties to finalize their respective evaluations of the issues, Brown said. We anticipate that upon completion, our firm will be provided with the results, and that the parties will proceed with pre-suit mediation and/or settlement discussions in an attempt to avoid the city having to file suit. While the typical 558 process normally takes less time to conclude, given the nature of the claims and number of parties involved, the city and the parties agreed to extend the statutory 558 period with a view towards trying to see if the claims can be resolved without litigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fort Lauderdale would be within its rights to file a lawsuit if the process of conducting pre-suit mediation does not move forward in a timely fashion, Brown said. The citys goal has always been to expeditiously resolve the claim, preferably without litigation, but is prepared to file suit if that cannot happen, he said. The Sun Sentinel reached out to Skanska, GKD, EDSA, Arquitectonica and Meisner Electric. Ashley Jeffery, a spokeswoman for Skanska, emailed this response: We do not have any additional information to provide. As of Thursday, the other companies did not respond to emails or phone calls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week, Glassman told the Sun Sentinel the city needs to head to court if the vendors dont agree to replace the lights using updated technology. Im hoping that theyll do the right thing, he said. Glassman says residents want to know why the lights arent fixed already. I hear about it all the time, he said. Why cant we fix the lights? Why cant the garage look the way its supposed to look? Magic of the lights Jo Ann Medalie is one resident who keeps asking those questions. That splash of color brightened up the entrance to the Las Olas corridor, Medalie told the Sun Sentinel. Everybody loved it. And then it just went kaput. Its going to cost millions to fix it. I keep hoping theyll fix it in my lifetime. Im 88 right now. My husband just died. And it was such a big thing with us. We loved it. It is such a delight to see this garage lit up. Id like to see it back. Elisabeth George, who lives in a condo nearby, also misses seeing the garage all lit up. It was nice having the magic of the lights, she said. It really added an artistic flair. Its kind of depressing that it doesnt have those beautiful lights anymore. George, vice president of the Central Beach Alliance neighborhood association, says many residents just assume the city is dragging its feet. People are wondering why the city isnt going after the manufacturers, she said. I think a lot of people dont realize whats going on. Some people thought there was a wait because the marina was being built. They thought the lights would be back when the marina reopened. But the marina opened and the lights are still not back. Susannah Bryan can be reached at sbryan@sunsentinel.com. Follow me on X @Susannah_Bryan A flood emergency has been announced in Islamabad, and the Army has moved to rescue people, Azernews reports via DND News Agency. Intermittent rain continues in the federal capital as well as in the entire Rawalpindi District. The highest rainfall in the city was recorded in the I-12 area, 186 mm 168 mm of rain was recorded in Golra, 152 mm of rain was recorded in H-8 132 mm of rain has been recorded in Saidpur Village so far. The district administration has appealed to the citizens not to make unnecessary trips. Rain emergency has been imposed in Rawalpindi. Torrential rain has been continuing for the last 15 hours. A total of more than 230 mm of rain has been recorded, said MD WASA. WASA Rawalpindi high alert, a rain emergency has been imposed in the city. MD WASA Muhammad Saleem Ashraf said that crew and heavy machinery are deployed in low-lying areas. The water level in Nala Lai is rising rapidly, as water is 20 feet at Katarian, while the flow of water in Gowalmandi is 19 feet. MD Wasa had appealed to evacuate low-lying areas. More than 450 mm of rain has been recorded in Chakwal city. The situation is very critical; many houses have been submerged, there are reports of houses collapsing, and sirens are also sounding in Rawalpindi. Due to constant heavy rainfall, which is expected to continue till afternoon, people are requested to avoid unnecessary travelling. Roads are flooded. ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Car thefts and vehicle burglaries tend to rise during the summer months across the Permian Basin, said Steve Lesueur, with the Odessa Police Department. In a lot of the cases the suspects are targeting vehicles when they are burglarizing these vehicles, LeSueur said. They are looking for specific things including spare keys, firearms and other electronics, things like that. LeSueur said gun owners need to register their firearms in case they are stolen, and stop leaving them behind in a vehicle altogether. He also said people need to be mindful about leaving their cars running and unattended, in fact, in Texas, its illegal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Texas it is the state law, it is illegal to leave your vehicle left unattended with the engine running while the key is left in the ignition, so the key word, key phrase is key left in the ignition, he said. Ways to prevent car theft include locking the doors behind you, not leaving the spare keys in vehicles, not leaving keys in the ignition, and removing valuable items such as forms of identification. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Yourbasin. (NewsNation) The senior aides to Prince Harry and King Charles were seen meeting in London this past weekend, sparking possible reconciliation rumors between the father and son. The Daily Mail obtained photos showing Meredith Maines, Harrys chief communications officer, with Tobyn Andreae, Charles communications secretary, at a private club near Buckingham Palace. The secret gathering comes after Harry fifth in line to the throne said he wants to reconcile with his family during an interview months ago. Harry and Charles have had issues since the former lost his appeal against His Majestys governments decision to abandon his publicly funded security detail. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement King Charles refusing chemo, could see Harry at end of month: Insider Theres no point in continuing to fight anymore, said Harry. Life is precious. I dont know how much longer my father has. He wont speak to me because of this security stuff. But it would be nice to reconcile. In addition, the turmoil between the two extends to Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, after they planned on taking a step back as senior members of the royal family in 2020. For years, Harry has challenged both his security detail and tabloid and newspaper publishers for supposedly hacking phones and employing private investigators to snoop on his life for stories. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Credit: Getty Images Prince Harry shares his late mother's passion for helping to create a world free of landmines, and on Wednesday, July 16, he once again recreated Princess Diana's famous walk through an Angolan minefield. The Duke of Sussexdressed in protective gear like his mother'sretraced Diana's steps in Angola for the second time on behalf of the same landmine clearance charity she worked with, the HALO Trust. The Duke of Sussex became patron of the U.K.-based organization in 2019 and shortly after, took the same walk his mother did in Huambo, Angola. During his visit on Wednesday in Cuito Cuanavale, Prince Harry returned to a minefield he first visited in 2013, which was active at the time. Per the HALO Trust, the land is now completely cleared and the site of a children's safety class the duke attended. During the event, he helped teach children some tips on how to stay safe from landmines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although the Angolan Civil War ended in 2002, more than 1,000 minefields still remain in the area, per the charity. "Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school," the Duke of Sussex said. "Here in Angola, over three decades later, the remnants of war still threaten lives every day. Prince Harry walked through a minefield in Cuito Cuanavale, Angola on July 16. | Credit: Ampe Pedro/The HALO Trust The Duke of Sussex attended a children's safety class with The HALO Trust. | Credit: Ampe Pedro/The HALO Trust Princess Diana's famous minefield walk took place in Huambo, Angola, in January 1997. | Credit: Getty Images Prince Harry praised the country's government for their efforts on Wednesday, stating, The Angolan governments continued commitment is a powerful testament to HALO's success in saving lives and reducing humanitarian risk. We thank President Lourenco for his leadership and partnership, as well as continued donor support as we work together towards completing the mission of a landmine-free country. The HALO Trustwhich has cleared more than 120,000 landmines since 1994works with local communities to train men and women to clear landmines, giving them an income they can use to help rebuild their lives. As for his own children, the Duke of Sussex recently shared that he's teaching Prince Archie, 6, about the issue of landmines and the work Archie's late grandmother did on behalf of the HALO Trust. In a clip shared during the 2025 Invictus Games, the duke spoke about explaining difficult topics to children, sharing that Archie had been asking questions about landmines. "He then saw videos...he wanted to see videos and photographs of his grandma Diana out doing her thing for landmines all those years ago," Harry said. LONDON -- Law enforcement officials in Europe said they had coordinated the dismantling of an international pro-Russian cybercrime network, arresting two members, issuing warrants for others in Russia and disrupting the group's main infrastructure. The network, known as NoName057(16), was alleged to have targeted Ukraine and countries that supported Kyiv in its fight against the Russian invasion, Europol said in a statement Wednesday. The group was alleged to have recruited volunteers via "pro-Russian channels, forums, and even niche chat groups on social media and messaging apps." "Individuals acting for NoName057(16) are mainly Russian-speaking sympathisers who use automated tools to carry out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks," Europol said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two people were arrested, one in France and one in Spain, officials said of the 3-day operation. Seven other arrest warrants were issued, including six by Germany for alleged hackers living in Russia, Europol said. Peter Dejong/AP - PHOTO: The Europol headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. MORE: Ukraine braces for Trump's 50-day window amid escalating Russian strikes "The group, which professed support for the Russian Federation since the start of the war of aggression against Ukraine, executed multiple DDoS attacks during high-level political events in Europe," the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, or Eurojust, said in a statement posted to social media. The FBI in the United States was among the law enforcement agencies who took action against the group, Europol said. Europol and Eurojust, the European Union's top law-enforcement agencies, coordinated the operation, which they called "Eastwood." They were joined by authorities from Czechia, France, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the Netherlands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement MORE: Trump is signaling a change on Ukraine. What does it mean for Putin?: ANALYSIS The hacking group was estimated to have mobilized some 4,000 users to support their operations, Eurojust said. Europol and other law enforcement agencies sent some 1,000 alleged supporters messages notifying them of "their legal liability," Europol said. Investigators said they disrupted more than 100 servers used by the group, along with a "major part" of the group's main infrastructure. Law enforcement officers searched two dozen houses throughout Europe and questioned people in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and Spain, according to Europol. Koen Van Weel/ANP/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: The headquarters of Eurojust, the European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation, is pictured in The Hague, July 3, 2023. The pro-Russian group was accused of a series of hacks, including attacking banks and government offices in Sweden, along with perpetrating waves of cyber attacks in Germany and elsewhere. The attacks in Germany targeted some 230 organizations and businesses, including arms factories, power suppliers and government organizations, according to Eurojust. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In Switzerland, multiple attacks were also carried out in June 2023, during a Ukrainian video-message addressed to the Joint Parliament, and in June 2024, during the Peace Summit for Ukraine at Burgenstock," Europol said. The group was most recently alleged in June to have attacked the NATO summit in the Netherlands. In the week and a half since the Justice Department released a memo saying theres no evidence that indicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein was murdered, that he never kept a client list, and that the department doesnt plan on releasing any new documents on the matter, the calls from across the political spectrum to release the Epstein Files have only grown louder. Rep. Hank Johnson, a Democrat from Georgia, released a video of himself performing a parody of Jason Isbells Dreamsicle. In the video, he sings in a higher register than his normally bellowing voice, Epstein died by suicide. Believe that and you must be blind. Youve been telling us youll release the files, but where are they? House Speaker Mike Johnson had this to say about the so-called Epstein Files in an interview with conservative influencer and commentator Benny Johnson: I agree with the sentiment that we need to put it out there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And of course theres the far-right political provocateur, podcaster, and conspiracy theorist Steve Bannon, who told conservatives at Turning Point USAs Student Action Summit in Tampa, Florida, over the weekend that the Epstein Files could help uncover more than just individual offenses: Epstein is a key that picks the lock on so many things, not just individuals, but also institutions, intelligence institutions, foreign governments, and who is working with him on our intelligence apparatus and in our government, he said. The only folks who seemingly dont want to release the full findings of the investigation into Epstein are the two people who could snap their fingers and make them public: Attorney General Pam Bondi and President Donald Trump. To understand whats going on, Today, Explained co-host Sean Rameswaram spoke with Elie Honig, a former federal and state prosecutor and author of the upcoming book, When You Come at the King: Inside DOJs Pursuit of the President, From Nixon to Trump. You can read an excerpt of their conversation, edited for length and clarity, below, and listen to the full episode of Today, Explained on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts. If youre someone out there whos like, release the Epstein Files, who should they be most mad at right now that they dont have their Epstein Files? Im going to answer with a what rather than a who. The first thing they should be mad at is an ancient DOJ policy that says, we DOJ, we federal prosecutors, do not just make public our closed investigative files because people want to know. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People want to know a lot of things. People want to see all the closed files on the Trump cases. People want to see every piece of paper from Robert Hurs investigation of Joe Biden. People want to see everything from the Hunter Biden cases. But there is a longstanding DOJ policy and principle that has been observed by both political parties that we dont turn these things over. We dont slag people in public who cant defend themselves, who arent charged with anything, who dont have the ability to go to trial. Now listen, let me just say that that policy sucks sometimes. Its very unsatisfying at times. As a member of the public and the media now, I hate that policy. But it is a longstanding policy and it exists in part to give DOJ prosecutors some cover. Theres other good reasons for it too. But I think you should start with that policy. Whats confusing people, I think, about that policy, at least right now, is one very specific moment. The moment where the person in charge of the department that doesnt typically release this kind of information said that she would. Why would Pam Bondi say, Its sitting on my desk right now to review if she didnt intend to? I have no earthly idea. It could be that shes incompetent. It could be that she doesnt know what shes doing. It could be shes trying to respond to the political winds of a given day or what she perceives to be the political winds or what she perceives to be Donald Trumps best interests or wishes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pam Bondi has handled this whole situation in an utterly inexplicable, inconsistent, and I think often dishonest manner. She blazes into office as attorney general and she basically by her actions makes clear: I dont give a crap about that policy that I just talked about. Im going to be turning this all over. Im going to break the cover off this thing and you all are going to know everything. And by the way, it goes back. If you remember months ago, Pam Bondi had her much-ballyhooed phase one disclosure, right? She called all these conservative influencers to the White House and gave them these thick binders labeled The Epstein Files: Phase I. And youve seen the photo of people triumphantly holding up these files. Well, what happened when they opened those binders? They realized it was crap. It was 200 pages of stuff that had basically already been out there in the public that revealed nothing new. And maybe at that point, Pam Bondi was hoping this kind of fades away. But she made it worse when she was asked awhile back on Fox News about the client list. She said, Its on my desk, waiting to be reviewed. And now, last week, theres an FBI memo saying, Nothing to see here, everything closed, everyone should shut up. Clearly when she said the client list is on my desk, it wasnt. Because it appears there is no client list, per se. Now that doesnt mean nobody is implicated, but this notion that theres some list, theres some piece of paper entitled Jeffrey Epsteins client list, one, two, three, seems to be pretty clearly an oversimplification. So I think thats the $64,000 question. Why this very sudden, very stark turnabout? Since we cant necessarily answer that question yet, can we maybe answer the question of how Pam Bondi came to be sitting at the top of the United States Department of Justice? Pam Bondi on paper looked like she was quite qualified to be the attorney general of the United States. She had been a prosecutor for [almost] 20 years. She was the attorney general of Florida, the state attorney general for two terms, for eight years. If you just take that resume, Id say, yeah, thats actually quite comparable to several other AGs. Perhaps more qualified than, say, Matt Gaetz? Right. Matt Gaetz had zero qualifications. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The objections that were lodged at Bondi related to her independence and her credibility. Primarily, two things: One is she has a long history with Trump. She has represented him briefly during one of his impeachments. Theyve had political support for one another. Thats not that big of a deal. The bigger problem, though, is she was and in part remains a 2020 election denier. After the 2020 election, well before her nomination as AG, she was very vocal. She said, We won Pennsylvania. I have evidence by the way, another example of her saying she has some piece of paper that she clearly doesnt. She said, we have evidence, we have fake ballots that never surfaced. And when she was confronted about her election denial at her confirmation hearing in 2025, she fell back on the old line, the cop-out line of Joe Biden is the president of the United States. She wouldnt disavow her prior election denialism. And so there was a question about her credibility. Theres been a lot of writing that Pam Bondi has perhaps brought the Justice Department under Donald Trump in a way that we havent seen in decades. What do you think is the clearest evidence of that? I think thats true and I think its provable. If we think back through the last many AGs, and by the way, Id include Donald Trumps prior AG, Bill Barr, who by the way, my first book is a criticism of Bill Barrs tenure as Trumps AG called Hatchet Man. But I think Bondi is different and worse Because even Bill Barr didnt believe the Big Lie. Barr had his lines. Bondi has no lines. And Ill give you something that to me was a really telling moment for Pam Bondi. Its been almost forgotten already in the shuffle. The Signal scandal, when Mike Waltz and other officials JD Vance and Pete Hegseth and Marco Rubio were discussing a military strike over the Signal app, right? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What does Pam Bondi do? And by the way, we have precedent for this. Weve had comparable situations of presidents potentially mishandling or other high ranking officials mishandling classified information. Every time theres at least been an investigation opened, whether it was Hillary Clintons email, whether it was Joe Biden mishandling documents, whether it was Donald Trump mishandling documents. And so at a minimum, any modestly halfway semi-independent AG would at least say, were going to investigate, were going to get to the bottom of this, and then who knows, maybe come back in six months and say, alright, we looked at it and while people were reckless, there was nothing quite criminal. Pam Bondi, in contrast, basically announces three days in, were not going to be investigating, nothing wrong was done here, none of that information was classified, everyone should just be cheering on the fact that this was a successful military strike. And that moment showed us that she is completely at Trumps beck and call and she will never intentionally do anything contrary to Trumps political interests. Like maybe release the Epstein Files? There you go. Thats one of the theories out there, that perhaps theres something in there thats bad for Trump. And by the way, who knows? But we do know Trump, its already been disclosed that Trump is in the address book, the black book. Theres all sorts of phone numbers for Donald Trump and Mar-a-Lago in there. We know theyre old friends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is a sort of forgotten moment, but Donald Trump, some magazine, Im blanking on which one, did a magazine feature on Jeffrey Epstein years ago, before he had been convicted of any crime. And both Bill Clinton and Donald Trump are quoted in the magazine. And Trumps quote is something like, He sure does like beautiful women, even younger than I do. Im not getting it word for word, but its very close to that. Would it be shocking if there was something embarrassing for Donald Trump in those files? Or Bill Clinton or whoever? No. Do you think the anger thats directed at Pam Bondi right now is misdirected and in fact it should be going right to the top when Donald Trump is out there clearly stating he has no desire to see these files released? Not to mention he has previously made no secret of his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. Let me put it this way: Both the president and the attorney general have the power, almost without question, to disclose whatever they want to disclose with a snap of the fingers. I mean, yes, look, they should not do that for the reasons I said before. There are policies against this and I think it was Pam Bondi who said at one point, Wed have to do redactions and there are victims. And yes, of course youd have to protect victims and minors and redact out pornographic materials and all that stuff. However, any one of them does have the ability to disclose whatever they deem fit tonight if they wanted to. You think theyll do it? I dont think theyll ever open the files and just say, Here you go, everybody. I think they will try to appease the public and the media by making some sort of partial disclosure, but thats not going to satisfy anybody. And Pam Bondi just now reiterated she is sticking to that DOJ memo, which says basically, Nothing more to see here, no cases to be brought, and case closed. Pam Bondi just doubled down on that. She said thats our position and Im not answering any other questions. So if people are wondering are we ever going to see a complete dump and complete satisfaction, no, I dont think thats ever going to happen. RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) North Carolina election officials on Thursday launched an online database of voter registration records for 103,000 people being asked to add their drivers license numbers or partial Social Security numbers to the state's records, a move critics worry could disenfranchise some voters. The State Board of Elections began the process in an effort to resolve a lawsuit by President Donald Trumps Justice Department and conservatives say to help safeguard elections in the ninth-largest state. Nearly all of the people whose names are included in the online database have registered to vote since 2004, but their registration records don't include the numerical identifiers. Thats partially because for many years the states registration form didnt make clear that registrants were required to provide the ID information if they had it, according to both state law and the federal Help America Vote Act. The absence of numerical IDs has muddled election administration and voter eligibility in North Carolina for over a year, and played a prominent part in a very close 2024 judicial race. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The state has more than 7.5 million registered voters and is considered a perpetual battleground. Most recently, Donald Trump defeated Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris by about 3 percentage points in the 2024 election. Sam Hayes, the newly installed executive director of the state elections board, said hes discussed the Registration Repair Project with Justice Department attorneys and is hopeful it will settle the litigation. While U.S. attorneys haven't offered evidence of voter fraud related to the absent numerical IDs, they contend in the lawsuit that accurate registration rolls help ensure fair and reliable election results. People included in the newly launched online database can provide an ID number through the Division of Motor Vehicles website or by visiting their county election board offices. Registrants who havent provided the ID information by early next month will get letters and postage-paid return envelopes allowing them to complete the process. Hayes said those who don't will have to vote provisionally the next time they cast a ballot meaning their ballots may not count in some state and local races without correct ID information. Municipal elections in North Carolina are held starting in September. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A former iteration of the State Board of Elections led by a Democratic majority instead of the current Republican one acknowledged the missing ID numbers in late 2023 and updated the voter registration form. The board declined to take further steps to collect the information, pointing out in part that the state's photo ID mandate for voters would affirm their identity. Lawsuits followed, first by state and national Republicans last summer who claimed voter rolls contained ineligible voters. Then the Justice Department sued in May and the new GOP-controlled board unanimously approved Hayes data collection proposal several weeks later. Were going to fix this problem, Hayes said. We must put this issue behind us so we can focus our attention squarely on preparations for accurate and secure municipal elections this fall. Several advocacy groups and individuals have raised concerns that the DOJ litigation will result in eligible voters being removed from the rolls. The Democratic National Committee threatened last week to sue the state board this fall, saying the board's plan violates the National Voter Registration Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DNC applauds efforts to add identification numbers missing from the North Carolina voter file. But those efforts should not disenfranchise eligible voters, DNC Litigation Director Dan Freeman said Thursday. But Hayes told reporters the project won't remove any eligible voter from the rolls. "Instead, it will result in more complete voter rolls and full compliance with state and federal law, he said. In addition to the 103,000 voters included in the online database of those with missing ID numbers, almost 100,000 more whose records lack the identifiers will be contacted later, election officials said Thursday. Those voters will be allowed to continue casting regular ballots because theres evidence, for example, that they supplied a number or an alternate ID allowed under the Help America Vote Act, said Paul Cox, a board attorney. More hospitals are pulling back on providing "gender-affirming care" for youth patients, in accordance with a recent executive order against these practices. Rush Medical Center in Chicago is the latest large health system to announce that it is stopping these gender-related treatments. The hospitals spokesperson, Tobin Klinger, confirmed to local outlets that it has "paused" hormonal therapies for new patients under 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gender Dysphoria Treatments Pose Significant Risks To Kids And Teens, Hhs Report Reveals Rush has not provided gender-related surgery for minors since 2023, according to Klinger. (Adults will continue to be eligible for treatments, as will minors who were already receiving care.) Read On The Fox News App More hospitals are pulling back on providing "gender-affirming care" for young patients, in accordance with a recent executive order against these practices. These changes follow President Donald Trumps executive order, titled "Protecting Children from Chemical and Surgical Mutilation," which was issued on January 28, 2025. The order states that the administration will not "fund, sponsor, promote, assist or support the so-called transition of a child from one sex to another," and that it will "rigorously enforce all laws that prohibit or limit these destructive and life-altering procedures." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For patients age 19 and under, "chemical and surgical mutilation" includes the use of puberty blockers, sex hormones and surgical procedures, according to the order on The White Houses website. Trans Surgeries Increase Risk Of Mental Health Conditions, Suicidal Ideations: Study On July 9, the Department of Justice announced that it has issued more than 20 subpoenas to doctors and clinics involved in performing "transgender medical procedures" on children. "Medical professionals and organizations that mutilated children in the service of a warped ideology will be held accountable by this Department of Justice," Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in a statement on the DOJs website. For patients age 19 and under, "chemical and surgical mutilation" includes the use of puberty blockers, sex hormones and surgical procedures, according to the order on The White Houses website. Other hospitals appear to have followed actions similar to Rush Medical Center. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NewYork-Presbyterian appears to have removed and changed online verbiage for its COMPASS Program, which was previously described as a "a safe space for youth navigating their gender experience" offering "puberty suppression and gender-affirming hormone treatment." The website now describes the program as "a supportive space for youth and gender," and references to gender-affirming care have been removed. A spokesperson for NewYork-Presbyterian provided the below statement to Fox News Digital. "We continue to work through this evolving situation to comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations. As always, our priority is to serve all our patients in a compassionate and responsible way." For patients 19 and under, "chemical and surgical mutilation" includes the use of puberty blockers, sex hormones and surgical procedures, according to the order on The White Houses website. Stanford Medicine has also reportedly halted "gender-affirming surgeries," according to a statement provided to the San Francisco Chronicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "After careful review of the latest actions and directives from the federal government and following consultations with clinical leadership, including our multidisciplinary LGBTQ+ program and its providers, Stanford Medicine paused providing gender-related surgical procedures as part of our comprehensive range of medical services for LGBTQ+ patients under the age of 19, effective June 2, 2025," the statement said. Gender Dysphoria And Eating Disorders Have Skyrocketed Since Pandemic, Report Reveals It was also reported that shortly after Trumps executive order, NYU Langone canceled some appointments for hormone treatments and gender surgeries, with parents claiming they were told the hospital no longer offers those services to new patients under 19. Cleveland Clinic also responded to Fox News Digitals inquiry, confirming that the clinic "does not provide gender-affirming treatments for patients under the age of 19." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Previous studies have suggested that "gender-affirming surgeries" can be harmful to young peoples mental health. Researchers determined that rates of depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and substance-use disorders were "significantly higher" among those with gender dysphoria who underwent surgery. Previous studies have suggested that "gender-affirming surgeries" can be harmful to young peoples mental health. Florida neurosurgeon Dr. Brett Osborn and Jonathan Alpert, a Manhattan-based psychotherapist and author, both previously cautioned against gender-affirming surgeries for youth. Click Here To Sign Up For Our Health Newsletter Teens who are being treated for gender dysphoria should be "properly supported and treated with compassion" without being pressured into making "life-altering" medical decisions , Alpert advised. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Osborn also stressed the need for comprehensive psychological evaluations, especially for those with preexisting mental health challenges. Mental health support, lifestyle modifications and counseling should all take precedence before surgery, not after, he said. "You dont amputate a limb because of temporary pain, and you certainly dont permanently alter your body without exhausting every other option first," he said. Osborn expressed the same cautions about hormone therapy "were talking about irreversible changes that demand lifelong management." For more Health articles, visit www.foxnews.com/health Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This isnt about politics and ideology its about health, longevity and making sure people dont undergo drastic, life-altering procedures only to regret them," he said. Fox News Digital reached out to all hospitals mentioned above for comment. Original article source: Prominent hospitals across America are halting gender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) A proposal to move a former diner now being used as an Albuquerque Police substation in Nob Hill will be presented at a community meeting next week. The plan includes moving the former Little House Cafe in Nob Hills Triangle Park, located on the corner of Girard and Central Avenue, to the Route 66 Visitor Center on the citys westside. The building was originally a Valentine Diner, one of the many prefabricated diners that became popular in the 1930s and could be easily moved. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, the city hopes to move and restore the 1940s-era diner as part of a historical exhibit for the Route 66 centennial next year. When we move it to a place like the Visitor Center, where we will have staff starting later this summer, we can open it to the public so that people can actually go into this space, Shelle Sanchez, the director of Arts and Culture for the City of Albuquerque, told KRQE in a previous interview in June. It remains unclear how much the move will cost. Officials plan to discuss the proposal at the Route 66 Visitor Center Commission Meeting on Tuesday, July 22. The meeting will take place at 3 p.m. at the Route 66 Visitors Center, 12300 Central Ave. SW, and is open to the public. At the time of publication, the agenda for the meeting had not been posted; however, KRQE confirmed with the city that the diner proposal will be discussed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. FAIRMONT President Donald Trump seeks a 93% funding cut to a quasi-federal government agency responsible for promoting economic development and community building in Appalachia. West Virginia is the sole state that falls entirely within the geographical region served by the Appalachian Regional Commission. ARC is really the best federal agency to work with on economic and community development, because it is focused on Appalachia, Chelsea Barnes, director of government affairs and strategy at Appalachian Voices, said. The people who work at ARC understand the region, its challenges and are super focused on this region. The programs are designed for this region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Appalachian Regional Commission was established in 1965, and serves the Appalachian portions of 12 states and all of West Virginia. According to Fairmont City Manager Travis Blosser, the Commission helps state partners by building administrative capacity where its needed. Towns cant just apply for federal funding, administrative infrastructure needs to be in place in order for a town to make its bid successful. However, those requirements might be out of reach to small municipalities who dont have funding for the right staff or structure in place to apply. ARC is strategic in how it applies its resources as well. Blosser said rather than fund individual small towns for grant writers, it created grant resource centers throughout the state to help individual municipalities with their grant needs, which could be anything from sidewalks, trees and parks to water and sewer projects. The commission also helps cities, towns, counties and other state agencies with economic development. The ultimate goal is to help Appalachia achieve socioeconomic parity with the rest of the nation. Blosser said ARC has a pretty big footprint in West Virginia. Theres probably things that people see that theyll never know that the Appalachian Regional Commission was connected to it, or provided funding to it, Blosser said. It may be an indirect connection, in that it funded something else that then led to this larger component happening and people dont see that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For fiscal year 2025, ARC obligated $50,000 to the City of Fairmont for economic development, according to USASpending.gov. In fiscal year 2024 ARC also obligated roughly $382,000 to the Marion County Sheriffs Department, and $110,000 to Region VI Planning and Development Council. Region VI works on water infrastructure projects in the North Central West Virginia region. Sheena Hunt, the director of Region VI, declined to comment for this article, but the organizations website states we promote stability, growth and progress in West Virginia, especially assisting local jurisdictions too small to maintain staff for grant writing, planning and project administration. Trump released his discretionary budget on May 2. Discretionary spending is federal spending that is not mandated by law, such as the Department of Defense. Instead, its appropriated every year. Discretionary spending covers everything from building roads to paying salaries of federal workers. Its a little over a quarter of federal spending, while mandatory spending makes up two thirds of total government spending. Trumps budget calls for reducing ARCs budget to $14 million for fiscal year 2026, $186 million less than fiscal year 2025. The document notes ARC serves a region uniquely hard-hit by the loss of good coal mining jobs and the opioid crisis. Barnes said the current amount ARC is funded at pays for staff time, operations and all of the grant and technical assistance programs that ARC funds. Defunding the agency to $14 million would functionally end grant and technical assistance programs. The impact of losing the grant money goes beyond the money ARC provides through its grants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investments really pay off, right? she said. Theyre able to invest millions of dollars to create hundreds of millions of dollars of private investment. A lot of these grants require match. Theyre getting investment matching from private or state funds. So theyre very cost effective. On July 8, more than 80 state and local government officials, educational institutions, businesses, churches and nonprofits urged Congress to maintain funding for ARC. Ten organizations and two elected officials from West Virginia were among the 80 or so. In the letter they sent to Congress, they noted FY2024 ARC grants attracted investment ratios of 2 to 1 and 14 to 1, for other project funding and non-project leveraged private investment, respectively. The 2024 ARC projects will create or retain about 16,000 jobs and provide skills training to almost 40,000 students and workers. In recent years, Appalachia has built incredible momentum toward a multi-industry economy that provides good jobs that take good care of the communities around us, the letter reads. The ARC has been instrumental in driving this potential forward. Reductions to its programs pose a risk to innovative initiatives in workforce development, community revitalization and American made resilient energy. Congress still has to decide on the Presidents budget priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The discretionary budget isnt passed as one bill, but as a variety of tax and spending choices Congress makes through legislative action. Kelley Moore, communications director for Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said West Virginias senior senator has long supported the ARC, and has worked to reauthorize the agency and strengthen the programs that impact West Virginia. As chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which has jurisdiction over the ARC, Sen. Capito continues to remain involved with the Commission and prioritize its success. Meanwhile, Blosser is avoiding a sky-is-falling mentality. He said hes seen this episode before, with the 2017 elimination not coming to pass. Hes also curious if the Biden-era stimulus efforts increased ARCs funding beyond what it had been traditionally set at. As an individual with most of his professional experience working in the realm of municipal government, his learned experience doesnt match the rhetoric raising alarms over the proposed budget cuts. Politico wrote in an article from March that the presidential budget rarely reflects what Congress actually passes into law. Being the optimist, if youre not, then I think you start getting into that negative standpoint, and I dont think you move forward when youre in that negative standpoint, Blosser said. You have to be rational to the issues and do the work to it. Even with those recommended cuts, while I may not think thats going to happen, when I see Sens. Capito and Justice and Congressman Moore and talk to their staff, Im certainly going to articulate to them, hey, we dont like what were seeing with that proposal for ARC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Blosser said the nature of contemporary political discourse damages the ability to calmly and rationally engage with a subject such as federal budgets. Kelly Allen, executive director of the West Virginia Center for Budget and Policy, indicated the environment around whats likely has changed. She said the federal job losses in Parkersburg and NIOSH in Morgantown would have seemed unlikely seven or eight months ago. It does seem like were in a world where just because something has broad bipartisan support before, doesnt necessarily mean it will going forward, she said. Barnes also noted the changed environment. In 2017, Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said they wouldnt touch ARC funding. She hasnt seen anything like that this time around. She added cutting ARC at the same time cuts to SNAP, Medicaid and Medicare are going forward would compound harm to the region. She said ARC would be able to help the region navigate the changing landscape. I dont know if its because theres just so much that the administration is doing that its hard for them to play whack a mole with every little proposal, Barnes said. But were hoping this letter raises awareness and well hear some lawmakers speak out against the proposed cuts. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Theres support behind new legislation, which would create a registry in New York State for law enforcement agencies to report animal abuse cases. This registry would be made available to local shelters. It would be monitored by the Department of Criminal Justice Services and each county Sheriffs Office statewide would be responsible for reporting these cases once a year to the registry. At a statewide level, were very supportive of that. At a statewide level, were going to be able to get the data from every agency there was someone convicted of animal cruelty, said Reno DiDomenico who oversees the law enforcement department for Lollypop Farm. He says on average, the nonprofit sees about 900 service calls for animal cruelty each year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Right now, DiDomenico says theres fewer than a dozen registries available by county across the state, but a comprehensive database would be beneficial to all shelters as well as professional breeders. Itll not just help Lollypop, but also help our local rescue groups who are out there who dont have access to our law enforcement cruelty reports that there are. Theyll be able to check on peoples backgrounds, he said. Lollypop is also working with NYS Assemblymember Jen Lunsfords office on a separate bill to act immediately when animals are at risk. Basically, what the bill is saying is if an animal is put at risk, we would be able to act. Right now, the way the cruelty laws are written, the animal has to be suffering or in pain or be dead before we can actually act. This bill would help us remove the animal from dangerous situations before the animal reached that neglect or abuse, said DiDomenico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both bills are in committee right now. Lollypop officials encourage those in support of the legislation to contact their local public officials to help push these forward into becoming 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 RochesterFirst. A pair of Helena parents have taken legal action against the Helena Elementary School District and filed a notice of appeal with the county superintendent over the process of closing Hawthorne Elementary School. The two separate actions are distinctly different, but claims in each stem from the closure process. Helena parents Hannah Cail and Beagan Wilcox Volz are claiming a lack of transparency and repeated violations of open meeting laws. The notice of appeal, filed July 9 with County Superintendent Katrina Chaney, alleges the public was deprived of information regarding the Hawthorne Elementary School decision. The lawsuit, also filed July 9 in Lewis and Clark County District Court, alleges violations of Montana's open meetings law. Superintendent Rex Weltz issued a statement Wednesday. "The Boards decision to close Hawthorne Elementary was painful, a pain felt most intensely by members of the Hawthorne school community," he said. "Helena Public Schools has cut more than $6.8 million from its budget over the last four years, each cut real and painful to some child, some teacher somewhere in the Helena Public Schools," Weltz said. School Board Chair Jennifer McKee took to Instagram Thursday morning acknowledging the recent filings. She talked about the district's budget crisis over the years, including the closing of the Ray Bjork Learning Center and cuts to the PEAK program, music and physical education. Other district decisions she mentioned were high school teachers working six hours without a break and middle school cuts, among others totaling $6.8 million. The district was still in debt, she said in a post. She added firing every music and P.E. teacher would shorten school days for students. "Why," she asked. "So their classroom teacher could teach music and P.E. to the older grades. Music and P.E. are required to be taught." "It's an insane idea. Or we could close Hawthorne, a school with 125 students in its organic attendance area. Now, two parents from Hawthorne have filed a kind of legal action saying we didn't consider the best interests of every kid when we made that decision," McKee's post said. "But we did." Volz explained the reasons for the legal filings. "From start to finish, the process of closing Hawthorne has lacked transparency," she said. "We want to bring those processes and decisions into the light so that no other Helena kids and their families have to go through something like this again." Cail and their attorney were not immediately available for comment. Hawthorne, 430 Madison Ave., was closed by the Helena Public Schools board in a 6-1 vote June 10 after hours of public comment and meetings over weeks of discussion. One morning at Hawthorne Elementary School When students and staff leave Hawthorne on the last day of school, they wont know if they are saying goodbye until next year or goodbye forever. Notice of Appeal In the appeal, Cail and Volz do not specifically ask the decision be overturned. However, among the actions sought, they ask the county superintendent to order the district to write a letter to parents and guardians of Hawthorne students expressing regret and remorse for failing to do a transparent and compliant closure process. The petitioners alleged in appeal documents that on Feb. 25 Weltz told the "entire" Hawthorne staff that he would tell the board to close the school at the end of the school year. He "had the votes on the board," Weltz allegedly said at a gathering, according to documents. Over a three-day span beginning March 11, the appeal documents state, Weltz presented a plan for district facilities that included closing Hawthorne by June 30. The following day, "Weltz informed the Hawthorne Parent Council of the course of action that included closing Hawthorne at the conclusion of the 2024-2025 academic year. At this meeting, Weltz indicated there were plans regarding the reorganization of the district's elementary schools including where displaced Hawthorne students would attend school, but he would not share the details with the public," appeal filings state. Weltz allegedly added that he knew of a potential tenant for the elementary building once it closed. Weltz said Wednesday that keeping Hawthorne open would have concentrated deeper cuts throughout the elementary school district, resulting in further reductions including shortened school days and "throwing thousands of working Helena families into a new child care crisis." "Hawthorne has fewer than 130 kids in its organic attendance area. While closure was painful, I simply could not recommend keeping Hawthorne open at the expense of thousands of other elementary students and our board agreed with me," he said. Cail and Volz asked Chaney, the county superintendent, to find the school district failed to adopt and issue findings that closing the neighborhood school was in the best interest of students affected and failed to consider factors relating to facilities, personnel, finances and safety. Appeal documents state the petitioners hoped the district would be ordered to preserve all documents, correspondence, emails, calendars, budgets and memoranda about the closure, lease, disposal, restructuring, reorganizing and "reboundarying," with all copies provided to Volz and Cail. The petitioners added in documents the respondent be ordered to do a closure determination process in compliance with district policy 9150 and all applicable laws. Policy 9150 was adopted in 1999, according to appeal documents, and amended in September 2024. It was made for the topic of school closure and stated multiple factors that should be acknowledged, reviewed and discussed prior to any closure. Some of the policy's bullet-points focused on the impact of a school closure on other facilities and the district's educational programming, alternative uses for the facility, financial considerations, the impact of a closure on staffing and costs of instruction, administration, transportation and support services. Petitioners claimed that on April 9, a hearing regarding Hawthorne did not provide a sufficient basis to develop a set of findings for the board to adopt the closure. It did not address if the closure was in the "best interest of the affected pupils," documents cited from statute. June 8's board packet, provided two days prior to the board's decision to close Hawthorne, did not address the impacting factors the decision would have, documents state, but had one line that said Weltz recommended the closure of Hawthorne prior to the 2025-2026 school year. Lawsuit Along with the filing to the county's superintendent, Cail and Volz have filed a lawsuit against the elementary district in Lewis and Clark County District Court, according to a first amended complaint for declaratory relief. Initial suit documents were filed in the court on March 25. The lawsuit filed by the Helena parents slightly differed from the notice of appeal in that they claim the district failed to comply with its open meeting policies and laws. Cail and Volz alleged in suit documents that meetings dated March 11-13 and April 9 were used to discuss district restructuring and reorganization, including the closure of Hawthorne. The meetings were "disguised" by the district as meetings with stakeholders to give an appearance of public participation. Helena Public Schools hears public comment on potential closure of Hawthorne Elementary In an emotional public hearing hosted by Helena Public Schools trustees, community members voiced their concerns Wednesday on impacts closing their neighborhood school would have, financial and mental. Court documents state the plaintiffs repeatedly requested documents from the district between March 1 and June 10, but the district informed them it would have taken hours to compile the requested documentation. The district said the costs for said documents would be hundreds and sometimes over $1,000, Cail and Volz added. "This indicates that the district did not consider key documents or information in reaching its decision, or that the district was deliberately hindering plaintiffs from obtaining the requested information," according to the 14-page filing to be heard by District Court Judge Christopher Abbott. Due to the lack of information the district told parents, community members and others would not be released, documents allege public comments and discussions could not be well informed or sustain substance. "The decision to close Hawthorne was predetermined prior to June 10, 2025, and deprived the public of their right to know, observe and participate," the plaintiffs said in lawsuit documents. The plaintiffs asked the court in its relief section of suit documents to rule the school district violated public participation and open meeting laws repeatedly, order the district to retain all documentation in regard to plaintiffs' complaints, unseal and release March 12's meeting minutes, appoint a standing master to monitor operations within the district for compliance with the public's right to know and observe and participate for five years. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit aimed at delaying the New York State Department of Healths overhaul of a Medicaid-funded home care program known as the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program. The lawsuit, brought by the New York Legal Assistance Group on behalf of six individuals and two independent living centers including one based in the Rochester area argued that the transition process imposed by the state was rushed and burdensome. The lawsuit focused on the states mandate that CDPAP participants and personal assistants switch over to a single, state-selected care management firm: Public Partnerships LLC. Previously, more than 600 organizations known as fiscal intermediaries administered these services. But in September 2023, the state selected PPL as the sole administrator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Department of Health originally required all CDPAP consumers to complete the transition by April 1, despite widespread concerns from disability rights advocates and lawmakers. Under the proposed settlement, that deadline has been extended to August 1. A judge must still approve the agreement following a hearing scheduled for August 6. Until then, an amended preliminary injunction remains in effect, triggering a series of notices and outreach efforts to participants who have not yet registered with PPL. There are tens of thousands of disabled people that no one knows what happened to. Theyre not getting services. Theyre not connected with anything that anyone knows of, said Bruce Darling, President and CEO of the Center for Disability Rights. So what is happening is theyre getting letters to let them know this is what you need to do to get connected back up with services. And then theres a requirement that the managed care companies actually send someone to the persons last known address. The lawsuit cited multiple concerns with PPLs registration system, including incorrect data storage, mismatched participant information, unresolved technical issues, and inconsistent customer service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement to News 8, the New York State Department of Health said, As the Department continues to transition the Consumer Directed Personal Assistance Program (CDPAP), our focus remains on continuation of care for consumers and timely payments to and proper oversight of personal assistants. Were pleased the latest agreement in court allows the State to pursue our goal of protecting both access to care and program integrity. A fairness hearing is scheduled for August 5 at 11 a.m. via Zoom to gather feedback from class members. This development also comes amid leadership changes at PPL, including the reported departure of the companys president, first reported by Politico. A separate state Senate hearing is planned for late August to collect public testimony from those impacted by the CDPAP transition. FULL STATEMENT FROM A PPL SPOKESPERSON: PPLs systems remain secure and were not breached. Unfortunately, recent reporting has incorrectly described both the scope and details of the problem. A former staffing agency employee, not a PPL employee, was terminated for failing to follow required operational procedures. A subsequent review of this individuals system activity revealed suspicious behavior, prompting us to immediately launch an investigation. It appears that no funds were diverted from PAs, and only a handful of payments were involved. Separately, fewer than 100 PAs out of 225,000 were affected by a phishing scam involving fake Google ads. PPL promptly reported incidents to the State in accordance with its contract and data security protocols. This type of rapid detection and response would have been significantly harder under the previous CDPAP structure, which relied on hundreds of fiscal intermediaries with inconsistent oversight. Our strategic leadership transitions were planned well in advance and are entirely unrelated to these recent incidents. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. JEFFERSON The circumstances by which Ashtabula County Prosecutor April Grabman is seeking a full-time investigator are different than under the previous prosecutor, who tried to force the Ashtabula County Board of Commissioners to create the position. Former Ashtabula County Prosecutor Colleen OToole took the request for a full-time investigator all the way to the Ohio Supreme Court, where it was denied. Grabman approached the commissioners with a request to consider a full-time investigator, but came knowing the challenging financial situation facing the county. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said the need for a full-time investigator is significant, and offered to fund the position for the rest of the year with savings in her budget. Grabman provided the commissioners with a proposed job description. Grabman said the county handles 1,000 civil suits, 2,300 criminal and traffic cases and 600 felony cases a year. One of the ways this person would help would be in preparing for grand jury, she said at a Tuesday morning work session. She said defense attorneys must only provide discovery information seven days before a case, which can provide challenges for the prosecution. She said Trumbull and Geauga counties presently employ three full-time investigators, and Lake County, six. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Grabman said she knows there are population and budgetary differences between the counties, but it is a need for her office. She is seeking a fully-certified investigator that has a police commission and can make arrests. Ive really given a lot of thought to it, Grabman said. Commissioner Kathryn Whittington said she is in favor of the idea, but the commissioners are dealing with flat sales tax through the first five months of the year, and have put a hiring freeze on county departments. The commissioners asked Grabman if she could provide more funds through different parts of her budget. She said that could be possible, and the commissioners said a meeting with Ashtabula County Administrator Janet Discher would be a place to start. Whittington said some of the one and done opiate settlements might be a source of funding for the investigator. ST. LOUIS St. Louis prosecutors agreed to amend one murder charge and dismiss another entirely to secure a guilty plea from a man accused of a 2024 fatal shooting in the citys Kingsway East neighborhood. According to the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Departments probable cause statement, the shooting happened on Dec. 15, 2024, in the 4900 block of St. Louis Avenue. The victim, Kyle Fitgerald of House Springs, was killed in front of an abandoned house. Surveillance video from a market across the street showed Deandre M. Johnson walk up to Fitzgerald, followed by two muzzle flashes. A witness also told investigators that Johnson shot Fitzgerald. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fitzgerald was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He was 22. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Breaking News Johnson, 31, was arrested in February 2025 and charged with first-degree murder, armed criminal action, and unlawful possession of a firearm. At the time of the shooting, Johnson was on federal supervised release for a prior unlawful gun possession conviction. Prosecutors said he had multiple convictions for crimes like tampering, resisting arrest, and property damage. Those convictions barred him from carrying a gun. Johnson was scheduled to face trial for Fitzgeralds death this week in St. Louis Circuit Court. However, the St. Louis Circuit Attorneys Office negotiated a plea deal with Johnson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors agreed to dismiss the armed criminal action charge and reduce to murder charge to voluntary manslaughter for Johnson to admit he killed Fitzgerald. Also, prosecutors dismissed charges from an April 2021 murder, where Johnson had been accused of shooting Kyren Smith, 21, and then burning his body in the 4700 block of Northland Avenue. The circuit court judge overseeing the Fitzgerald murder case accepted the terms of the plea agreement and sentenced Johnson to 10 years for the firearm conviction and 15 years for manslaughter. Both sentences will run concurrently. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX 2. WASHINGTON, July 17 (UPI) -- Protesters gathered and marched Thursday in Washington and across the United States in opposition to President Donald Trump and his administration's actions, which they say have unraveled years of progress towards civil, women's and human rights. The goal is to "march in peace," and "act in power," according to organizers, and to honor the fifth anniversary of the death of Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a civil rights activist and politician. The motto "Good Trouble Lives On" is a rallying cry for what is called a national day of protest, and it's a spinoff of Lewis' phrase, "Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help build the soul of America" -- by disrupting unjust systems and challenging the status quo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests throughout the day and around the country were organized by such groups as the Transformative Justice Coalition, Black Voters Matter, Indivisible, Declaration for American Democracy and Public Citizen, along with local organizers and activists. In Washington, a small group met at 9.a.m. at Metro Center for the start of a series of events that included an "umbrella protest." Organized by the American Civil Liberties Union, about 20 participants, mostly women, held umbrellas decorated with phrases calling for change. Good Trouble Lives On and FLARE protesters hold up signs and prepare to march to Capitol Hill on Thursday in in Washington D.C. Photo by Bridget Erin Craig/UPI Some phrases included "No militarizing our cities," "Public Broadcasting benefits us all," "Immigrants made our country great" and "Trump-ism is making America sick." The goal of the demonstration was for participants to meet people as they walk by and reinforce how the Trump administration's policies affect everyone. Demonstrators hold signs at the Good Trouble Lives On Protest in front of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Harlem State Office Building at West 125th Street & Adam Clayton Powell Junior Boulevard in the Harlem section of Manhattan on Tfursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI "I am hoping to build consensus among the casual workers here in D.C., those lucky enough to still have jobs," said Karol Smith, a retired nurse and State Department employee. The State Department began to lay off 1,300 employees Friday as part of a reorganization plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As protesters peacefully walked the Metro Center blocks and rode up and down the escalators, many people expressed gratitude for them taking the time to call for change. Demonstrators hold signs at the Good Trouble Lives On Protest in front of Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Harlem State Office Building at West 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard in the Harlem section of Manhattan on Thursday. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI Smith said she has been protesting since Trump began his second term, calling the action the people's "final refuge." She added: Trump is "wrecking the economy with his nonsense about tariffs. Secondly, I feel that he's robbed our federal government of a generation worth of talent." Three metro stops down the Red Line, another rally began In front of Union Station at Senate Park. The organization For Liberation and Resistance Everywhere, or FLARE -- a group dedicated to removing Trump from office, according to website -- hosted speakers and prepared to take elected officials on Capitol Hill. "If 1,000 people go through the halls of Congress and go to their offices and say 'If you support fascism, we will hold you accountable,'" FLARE speaker Cliff Cash said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "And, we will hold you accountable in every way the human mind can fathom the word accountability. Imagine it and that's how we'll do it," he continued, referencing the plans for the rest of the rally. Using a 50-page list of representatives, both Republicans and Democrats, and their political positions, FLARE attendees marched to the Hill to meet representatives in their offices and demand the legislative branch hold Trump accountable. Further actions were planned for late afternoon and early evening. At 5 p.m. in Woodley Park, there is to be a rally that focuses on civil rights and community solidarity. And at 5:30 p.m., attendees plan to march from Franklin Park to the former Black Lives Matter Plaza to honor Lewis and protest the Trump administration's policies. Kasse Andrews-Weller, a U.S. veteran, said her fondness for Lewis as motivation to participate in the show up at a morning event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I was born and raised in Georgia, so John Lewis means a lot to me. I saw him at his last public appearance on the plaza for Black Lives Matter. It makes me have chills still up and down," she said. Having been involved in the "Hands Off" and "No Kings" protests over the last few months, Andrews-Weller said she is committed to demanding change as veterans' rights and benefits have been at risk since Trump took office. Good Trouble Lives On events -- some 1,600 -- are planned in all 50 states, many in major cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Miami. After Since Lewis died July 17, 2020, an actual Good Trouble Lives On organization formed. It partnered with other organizations for the national day of action, committed to "respond to attacks on our civil and human rights by the Trump administration. Together, we'll remind them that in America, the power lies with the people," according to its website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lewis represented Georgia's 5th Congressional District from 1987 to 2020. Before heading to Congress, he rose to national prominence as a young leader in the civil rights movement. He participated in the 1960 Nashville sit-ins and became one of the original 13 Freedom Riders in 1961, risking his life to challenge segregation on interstate buses. As chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, he was one of the "Big Six" organizers of the 1963 March on Washington, and in 1965 led marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., where he was beaten by police. During his time in office, he took bold political stances, such as opposing the Gulf and Iraq wars, calling for welfare reform and criticizing President George W. Bush's surveillance policies. He also sponsored the Peace Tax Fund bill, advocating for conscientious objection to military taxation. Successful turnout for the "No Kings" protests in June and "Free America" protests on July 4 strengthened the momentum for the "Good Trouble Lives On" protests, commemorating the life and legacy of civil rights icon John Lewis, to take place across the country on July 17. Protests have been a part of the United States since the founding of the country. The U.S. Constitution guarantees rights, but that doesn't always mean the police will respect them or that a court will uphold them if they're violated, according to the National Lawyers Guild's "Know Your Rights a guide for protesters." "When you are protesting or having any interaction with law enforcement, asserting your rights does not usually mean that the police will respect your rights or change how they are treating you. However, by using your rights ... you can make it harder for police to use your own statements or anything found on you during a search as evidence against you during a trial." A security officer at the ICE and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices in Detroit denies entry to Strangers No Longer Board President Judith Brooks and Fr. David Buersmeyer, as they participate in a solemn protest on Monday, July 14, 2025 to deliver a letter to the Detroit ICE Regional Field Office Director Kevin Raycraft, asking for individuals to be treated with dignity. Hundreds prayed during the protest for family and community members who have recently been detained or deported by ICE. Where do I have the right to protest? Public property. No permit is necessary to march on public sidewalks, as long as car and pedestrian traffic is not obstructed, according to the ACLU of Michigan. Police may ask demonstrators without a permit to move to the side of a sidewalk to let people pass or for other safety reasons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the ACLU, the rights of protesters and organizers are strongest in "traditional public forums," such as streets, sidewalks and parks. People have the right to speak out in front of government buildings as long as they are not blocking access or interfering with operations. The rules for speech on private property are determined by the property owner. Counter-protesters also have the right to be present and voice displeasure within the vicinity of a different group, although they do not have a right to physically disrupt an event or drown out the speakers they are protesting, according to the ACLU. Some Michigan cities, including Detroit, Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, ask large gatherings that have the potential to obstruct traffic obtain a permit with up to 70 days notice. State Senator Mallory McMorrow listens to protesters talk about the issues during the Indivisible We The People Dissent rally and protest at Hart Plaza in Detroit on Saturday, July 5, 2025. What should I do if I am stopped by police? The National Lawyers Guild recommends trying to end law enforcement interaction as quickly as possible, as well as stating your rights out loud when asked questions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If a cop is speaking to you on the street, ask: Am I free to go? If they say yes, you should leave, if you can do that safely. "If the cop says anything other than yes, follow up with: 'Am I being detained? If they say anything other than yes, then say that you do not want to talk further and leave immediately, according to NLG's Know Your Rights guide. If a police officer asks a question, a protester does not have to answer and can let the officer know they will remain silent and want to speak to a lawyer. Statements you make to people who are not police can be held against you, according to the NLG. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Michigan, police cannot ask you to provide your name or other identity information unless you have been detained on reasonable suspicion that you have committed a crime. This right is not the same in every state. Police are allowed to pat down the outside of your clothing without consent, but they need your permission or a warrant to search beyond that, according to NLG's guide. To decline a search, the guide recommends using the standard legal phrasing, I do not consent. What if I get arrested? Michigan's ACLU recommends asking for a lawyer immediately, remaining silent and not signing or agreeing to anything without a lawyer. If a defendant hasn't hired a lawyer, they can ask for a court-appointed public defender if they can't afford it, according to Michigan Legal Help from the Michigan Supreme Court and Michigan State Bar Association. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If you are arrested, you will be searched as part of the arrest process, according to NLG. Police officers may lie to you about having evidence, deals to drop charges, overstating penalties for crimes, the timeline of your detention, and whether they are recording, according to the guide. Lying to a government agent is sometimes a criminal offence, while remaining silent until speaking to a lawyer is not, according to the NLG. Can I take photos and videos? When in a public space, people have the right to photograph anything in plain view, including federal buildings and police, according to Michigan's ACLU. On private property, property owners may set their own rules. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police may not confiscate or demand to view photos or videos without a warrant. They may not delete data under any circumstances, according to the ACLU. Police may order citizens to stop recording if they are "truly interfering with legitimate law enforcement operations, but video recording from a safe distance is not interfering," according to the ACLU. [ Your voice matters: Help us make the Free Press better for you. ] What are my rights if police shut down a protest? According to Michigan's ACLU, police may not disperse a protest unless there is "clear danger of a riot, disorder, interference with traffic, or other immediate threat to public safety." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Protesters must receive a clear and detailed notice of a dispersal order, including how much time they have to disperse, consequences for failing to disperse, and what exit route they can follow before they may be arrested or charged with any crime," according to the ACLU. Officers must give "reasonable opportunity to comply, including sufficient time and a clear exit path," according to the ACLU. What should I do if I think my rights have been violated? The ACLU of Michigan recommends getting contact information of witnesses, taking photos of injuries, and writing down everything you can remember, including officers' names, badge and patrol car numbers. With this information, you can file a written complaint to a civilian complaint board, police department or agency, according to the ACLU. This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: 'Good Trouble Lives On' protests in Michigan: Know your rights Protestors gather to object to various Trump administration policies, particularly its immigration crackdown, on July 17, 2025. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror) A smattering of protests in Phoenix took place Thursday as part of a larger round of national anti-Trump demonstrations under the name Good Trouble Lives On, in a reference to the late civil rights icon and member of Congress John Lewis. Thursdays protest took place a little over a month after the No Kings protests took place on Trumps 79th birthday, which drew over 5 million people nationwide. The Good Trouble Lives On protest in Phoenix drew a much smaller crowd than its No Kings counterpart, between 150 to 200 compared to 5,000, but enthusiasm for the cause was still strong among attendees. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You have to get out and demonstrate, you have to show your displeasure, the 80-year-old Elissa Hugens, who said shes been protesting since the 1960s, told the Arizona Mirror. Hugens said that voting matters but putting pressure on elected officials by voicing your concerns has a large impact. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Many who were in attendance at the states Capitol Thursday morning carried signs protesting the administrations immigration policies, in particular the expansion of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the continued immigration crackdowns. Hes taking away people that we really care about just to count bodies, Hugens said, adding that the issue of immigration, hurts her the most. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prior to the protest at the Capitol, some gathered at an ICE field office in downtown Phoenix. Dozens of protestors lined the sidewalk in front of the local ICE field office, waving handmade signs criticizing the agency at passing cars. One man flew an enormous black flag with ICE crossed out in bold red lines; hed later join protesters at the Capitol. A sign at the Good Trouble protest on July 17, 2025, objecting to various Trump administration actions. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror) A woman held a poster reading UNMASK ICE, NO SECRET POLICE above her head. Some posters were leftovers from the previous No Kings and Hands off protests a reminder of the frenzy of activism that has occurred in just the last six months but the majority singled out the Trump administrations anti-immigrant stance. And the theme of the day, according to attendee Teresa Brice, was acknowledging the contributions of immigrants and recognizing that most Americans were transplants once. Some protestors waved British flags, others wrapped German flags around them like capes. The 70-year-old glued pictures of the Canadian and Mexican flags onto her poster in honor of her grandparents, above which was written in Spanish: I am from both sides of the United States: Canada and Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are all immigrants, Brice said. Unless youre Native American, all of our families come from somewhere else. Angel Mendoza attended the protest to advocate for his parents, who are from Mexico and Guatemala, but have lived in the U.S. for more than 40 years. Im here to speak up for them, he said. This is the struggle I need to show up for to pay for their struggle. A poster equates ICE agents to Gestapo, the secret police of Nazi Germany, during a protest in Phoenix, Ariz. on July 17, 2025. The agency has faced increasing public disapproval in response to increased raids and and a spike in due process violations. (Photo by Gloria Rebecca Gomez/Arizona Mirror) Activism isnt new to Mendozas family. His mother was arrested while protesting against SB1070, Arizonas notorious show me your papers law, and shes still involved in efforts to keep immigrants aware of their rights. But, Mendoza said, while his mothers bravery inspires him, he still worries about the future. He frequently checks in with his extended family to make sure no ones been detained overnight. And the massive appropriation Congress recently set aside for ICE only heightens that fear, Mendoza said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans allocated $170 billion for Trumps immigration crackdown, with $30 billion of that sum awarded to ICE, making it the countrys highest funded law enforcement agency. The money is expected to fund 10,000 new ICE positions, detention centers and border wall construction through 2029. It was scary under Arpaio, but this is one hundred times crazier, Mendoza said, referring to Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, whose tenure saw unprecedented levels of racial profiling. And its just going to get more crazy. Multiple protesters said the event was one of the first times theyd decided to join a public demonstration in the hopes of making a difference. Katherine Hartley, 66, said it was important to make her disgust with the current administrations policies known. I hope this f***ing country comes to its senses and the cruelty ends, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Dale Cooper, who experienced Jim Crow laws in the South as a child, said hes always been concerned about standing up for whats right. But his involvement until this year was mostly limited to calling his representatives. That changed when he saw how hostile the Trump administration was being towards immigrants, who he said have contributed so much to the country. I need to be out here, he said, propping a large upside-down American flag against his shoulder the traditional signal of national distress and political protest. If people dont show up, its all going to be allowed to happen. Anti-Trump buttons displayed at a protest on July 17, 2025, objecting to various Trump administration actions. (Photo by Jerod MacDonald-Evoy/Arizona Mirror) Timothy Jarman said he was unsure whether the protest would have any impact, but said he still felt it was necessary to try. The 37-year-old taped a sign emblazoned with the phrase END ICE above an LGBTQ+ pride flag, to draw attention to the Trump administrations erasure and disrespect of LGBTQ+ people, he said, particularly trans Americans. I recognize Im a small person in a big system, but I have to do something, Jarman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administrations actions have brought out many fresh faces to the protests that have been occurring both locally and nationally. They also seem to have galvanized younger, progressive voters. The young people are seeing that the old school Democrats are not working, Hugens said, alluding to primary wins by progressives such as Zohran Mamdani in New York and Adelita Grijalva in Tucson. I think youre seeing the younger crowd gravitating to the far-left cause the center is not working. Angel Mendoza, 33, criticizes the Trump administrations mass deportation agenda in Phoenix, Ariz. on July 17, 2025. Mendoza is the son of immigrants, and he worries about the safety of his family as ICE ramps up their immigration enforcement activity. (Photo by Gloria Rebecca Gomez/Arizona Mirror) Thursdays protest also included allusions to conspiracy theories that the left has often shied away from. One protester in attendance held a sign demanding a hand recount of the 2024 election making accusations similar to the unfounded ones made by the Republicans in 2021. Additionally, attendees led several chants demanding for the release of files related to the case of Jeffery Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Epstein was a wealthy businessman who was arrested for sex trafficking of minors but died in custody before he could face the charges and his death has led to a plethora of conspiracy theories. Releasing the files has long been a priority of the Trump faithful, who have seen it as a way to indict Democratic lawmakers, but Trump has since reversed on releasing the files leading to an uproar among his base. Trump is in the Epstein files! protesters chanted as they marched along the Capitol grounds. Trump is on the list! Editors Note: This item has been modified to correct the name of Angel Mendoza. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE WEST PITTSTON, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) With the vice presidents visit to NEPA, came groups of supporters and protestors. 28/22s Joe Mason spoke to people on both sides. Vice President J.D. Vance making a stop in northeastern Pennsylvania, touting the passing of President Trumps Big Beautiful Bill. Some people came out to support, others to protest. I had the opportunity to speak with people on both sides. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The vice president speaking at Dons Machine shop in West Pittston, highlighting parts of what The White House calls The Greatest Legislation for American Workers in History. The supporters we spoke with seem more united than ever around Vice President Vance and President Trump. How traffic and locals were impacted during Vances visit I believe they were sent by God. Im serious, to preserve Abraham Lincolns promise that a government of the people, by the people, and for the people will not perish from the earth, expressed Edward Young, Trump/Vance supporter, New Jersey. I love them, they believe in god and they believe in us and they care for us, and they want the best for America, stated Linda Bonczkiewicz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im a die hard, J.D., Donald J. Trump fanatic, added Ivor Richards, Republican 119th District Committee Member. They say the law addresses many of their concerns. We have people who are taking advantage of the system who have never worked at all. If youre healthy, you work, thats the way I feel and Trumps gonna make that happen, voiced Richards. Im gonna be getting social security next year, I get a lot of overtime with my job too, no tax on that, thats great. But more than that, I mean the big beautiful bill will enable the wall to be finished said young. The first thing is the border. The border, people want to come in hear legally, thats fine, but if youre illegal: bye, bye, added Bonczkiewicz. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, not everybodys happy about it. Were here to tell J.D. Vance that hes not welcome here. Were here to tell the entire administration that theyre not welcome here. Their agendas not welcome here. Its just a big ugly abomination, voiced Jesse Bender, protestor. Protestors say theyre entirely against it. It cuts billions and billions, almost a trillion dollars of Medicaid. People will lose their health care, people will lose their lives, and all for billionaires to get a bigger and bigger tax break, line their pockets, line the pockets of buddies, stated bender. We want our Medicare protected, we want immigrants protected, we want people whove been working their whole live to be able to retire. There are so many things that theyre hiding in these bills that theyre getting pushed out one after the other that we dont have tome to look at and fight about, added alexia Kelly, protestor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well a lot of the things that get passed and trump supports, they kind of lie about whats in it. You know, a lot of the Medicaid cuts honestly thats the biggest thing for me, said John Palumbo. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Protests aimed at Trump administration held across Central Florida Central Floridians joined a nationwide call to action Thursday by taking to the streets to protest whats happening in Washington, D.C. Good Trouble protests were held in cities cross the region in honor of the late John Lewis. Demonstrators also spoke out about their dissatisfaction with President Donalds Trumps administration. Rallies were scheduled in Orlando, The Villages, DeLand, Sanford, Kissimmee, Mount Dora, Altamonte Springs and Melbourne, among other cities. No violence was reported at any of the rallies in Central Florida. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. (Credit: Geovany Dias) Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. (Credit: Geovany Dias) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. (Credit: Geovany Dias) Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets in honor of the late John Lewis and to voice their displeasure with current government policies. (Credit: Geovany Dias) Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. A Trump supporter counter-protested the Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Protests broke out nationwide as people took to the streets to voice their displeasure at President Trump, his administration and the direction of the country in July 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. GARY The McDowell County Public Service District is in the early stages of determining whether or not it can help another potentially distressed municipal water system. The West Virginia Public Service Commission issued an order last week establishing a proceeding to determine whether the city of Garys municipal water works is a distressed utility or failing utility. According to the commissions order, residents in the city of Gary have been under a boil water advisory for some time and residents have been dealing with water discoloration issues. The order says a potential permanent resolution to Garys water issues would be for the McDowell County Public Service District to assume control of the municipal system. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the McDowell PSD just received the commissions order last week, and a meeting was scheduled for Wednesday to discuss it, Mavis Brewster, executive director of the McDowell County PSD, said. We will certainly meet with the city of Gary and work with the Public Service Commission and do anything we can to help, Brewster said Wednesday. At the same time, we have to look at the age of the system and things that need to be addressed with the system. Brewster said the water system in Gary is an aging utility that is difficult to maintain. I get calls from residents of Gary asking if you can take over the water system, Brewster said. I know they have poor water quality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The county PSD does provide water to neighboring Skygusty, Pageton and Anawalt. So there is a connection point not that far away. The Gary water system currently serves about 400 customers not just in Gary, but also Elbert, Filbert, Thorpe and Wilcoe, Gary Mayor Robert Little said Wednesday. Little said the town was waiting for more information to see when a meeting would be held between the town, the PSC and the PSD. Right now we havent heard anything, Little said. We just got the papers on it. They are supposed to set up a meeting between us and the public system. The order from the PSC was just issued last week, and the commission has not yet acted on it, the Public Service Commission said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city of Gary is located about 10 minutes away from the city of Welch. At one time, the town was home to a large mining operation, including U.S. Steels Alpheus preparation plant, which towered high above the main roadway in Gary. U.S. Steel pulled out of the town in the late 1980s as the coal industry began to decline, and the preparation plant was later demolished. According to the commissions order, the West Virginia Bureau of Public Health has reported high levels of iron, manganese and alkaline metals in the towns water, along with other contamination sources. Additional, the Bureau of Public Health said the towns water system has an unaccounted-for water loss of 76 percent. Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com Video footage, showing the moment guns and ammunition were found in loyalist community worker Winston Irvine's car, has been released by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI). Edited extracts from police body-worn video recording the arrests of Irvine and Larne man Robin Workman were released to the BBC, but with the sound almost entirely removed. A PSNI transcript of the original video indicates officers knew they were looking for weapons when they pulled over Irvine in Belfast in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The PSNI said the sound on the video had been removed to prevent the identification of any of the police officers. Irvine, 49, was jailed in May for after admitting firearms offences, including possession of handguns and ammunition. The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) is appealing his two and a half year sentence which it said was "unduly lenient" and should be extended. Irvine was arrested in June 2022, after police observed the firearms being transferred to his car by Workman, who was also subsequently jailed. Undercover surveillance officers were part of the operation that led to their arrests, but the newly released videos show both men were later stopped in their vehicles by uniformed officers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the PSNI transcript of Irvine's arrest in west Belfast, an officer told Irvine they were about to search his vehicle for "munitions and wireless apparatus", an indication he was being stopped under the terms of the Justice and Security Act. "Have you anything in here that shouldn't be?," the officer asked. According to the transcript, Irvine replied: "In the boot there is, yesthere's a bag...I don't know what's in it." The officer said: "OK, where did you get that?" Irvine replied that he did not want to say. Irvine and Workman, who was jailed for five years, both failed to explain why the weapons were being transported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) paraphernalia was found in both their homes, but the judge in the case concluded there was "no evidence of a direct terrorist connection to these firearms". Irvine was given less than the statutory minimum sentence because of his peace and charity work. He is due to be released in 2026 unless the PPS appeal is successful. The PSNI does not normally release body-worn video but agreed to do so after BBC NI's Spotlight team made the request to Belfast Crown Court in late May, during the making of Caught: Guns In The Boot, which investigated Irvine's arrest and the implications it could have for the potential disbandment of the UVF. What is the UVF? The Ulster Volunteer Force murdered more than 500 people during the Troubles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was formed in 1966 and involved in various atrocities including the bombing of McGurk's Bar in Belfast, the sectarian killings of the Shankill Butchers and the Loughinisland massacre. In recent years, it has been linked to serious criminality, including drug dealing. Who is Winston Irvine? Winston Irvine first came to public prominence as a spokesman for the Progressive Unionist Party, which was linked to the UVF throughout the peace process. Spotlight reported in 2013 that a number of sources alleged Irvine was a UVF commander, but he said that was "preposterous". When Irvine was arrested in June 2022, he had been employed as a community worker by the Belfast organisation Intercomm for 10 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group suspended him when he was arrested. After he was jailed in May, Irvine chose to serve his sentence on a segregated loyalist wing of HMP Maghaberry. Prior to his arrest he was described as an "interlocutor" working with the Loyalist Communities Council on transforming the UVF into a peaceful organisation. Pa. (WETM) Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) are warning residents of a new impersonation scam that is targeting victims over the phone. PSP says it has received reports of a new phone scam that involves a caller impersonating a state police troop captain and attempting to intimidate their victim by claiming they have Megans Law violations or have failed to appear in court. The caller then requests the victim to pay them via gift card or by giving out personal information. Document shredding event to be held during Senior Expo in Bradford County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In response to this scam, PSP says it is actively investigating the incidents and is encouraging the public to protect themselves by being wary of phone calls claiming to be from law enforcement or a government agency. PSP further states that law enforcement will not request personal or financial information over the phone, nor would they request payment in the form of prepaid gift cards for criminal violations. Pennsylvania emergency alerts: What was it, what you need to know about the 911 outage Those who have received one of these calls are asked to notify the Pennsylvania State Attorneys Office either online or by contacting the Consumer Protection Hotline at 1-800-441-2555 or the Bureau of Consumer Protection at scams@attorneygeneral.gov. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those who have given out personal information, gift cards, money or financial information are encouraged to contact their local 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 WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. LANSING, Mich. (WLNS) Public comment on Enbridge Energys Line 5 tunnel project in the Straits of Mackinac is now open and will run until Aug 29. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy made the announcement Thursday afternoon, with the EGLE starting full review of the project Wednesday. Enbridge is currently planning to construct a 3.4-mile-long tunnel beneath Lake Michigan, replacing and relocating the Line 5 pipelines crossing the Straits of Mackinac and encasing them in the tunnel bored beneath the lakebed. The full 634-mile-long pipeline runs through the Great Lakes from Wisconsin to Michigan and ends in Ontario. An above-ground section of Enbridges Line 5 at the Mackinaw City, Mich., pump station is seen, Oct. 7, 2016. (AP Photo/John Flesher, File) Enbridge says the tunnel will help protect the pipeline better in the wake of growing concerns regarding the aging pipelines structural stability. Line 5 has been in operation since 1953, and in 2017, Enbridge officials came forward and revealed that engineers had known about gaps in the pipelines coating in the Straits of Mackinac, sparking fears of a potentially catastrophic oil spill in the Great Lakes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those fears were exacerbated in 2018, when a boat anchor damaged part of the line. At that time, the company reached a deal with then-Michigan Gov. Rick Snyders administration to build a protective tunnel around the line. The project has been controversial ever since, with some state leaders saying the risk of a spill into the straits from the tunnel is virtually zero, and that the project will create jobs and benefit the states economy. However, environmentalists and Michigan Native tribes have previously asked the states Supreme Court to overturn the permit, arguing that the companys history of catastrophic spills, environmental destruction, and a complete disregard for tribal sovereignty makes the project too risky for the Great Lakes. Public comments were opened due to substantial public interest in the application, according to the EGLE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The EGLE will hold two virtual meetings during the public notice period, an informational session on Aug. 12 and a formal public hearing on Aug. 19, where comments will be received for the record. Information on these meetings can be found here. Additional comments will be accepted through Aug 29. Comments can be made at this link. 2025-07-16-NoticeDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall provides a public safety plan update at a news conference in front of City Hall on July 16, 2025. (Alixel Cabrera/Utah News Dispatch) Six months after Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall presented a public safety plan in response to demands from state leaders, she gave an update on the plans progress on Wednesday, saying crime has gone down and the city has implemented community-based approaches to improve safety. But tensions between Utahs capital and the state government remain, as Mendenhall says that the citys requests for resources failed during the 2025 legislative session. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During the past six months, the city switched police chiefs and achieved 12 of the 27 proposed actions, Mendenhall said. June also ended up recording the lowest overall crime rates in eight years. But, some of the plans recommendations for external partners have stalled. That includes allocating funding for services and housing, as well as considering policy changes to help tackle substance abuse and implementing a joint plan across state, county and city entities to improve public safety. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Im disappointed, and I wish that more progress was made on those external recommendations. During this years legislative session the city advocated for several clear policy changes that would have better advanced this plan, but many of them failed to pass through the legislature, Mendenhall said. I urge lawmakers to give those measures more serious consideration moving forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mendenhalls public safety plan came after Gov. Spencer Cox and Republican legislative leaders gave Mendenhall a firm deadline to draft a plan to restore public confidence, security and safety, warning the Legislature could step in if progress stalled. This year Salt Lake City officials advocated for 42 bills that aligned with the plans goal. Of those, 28 of them passed, representing significant progress, according to the plan update. Those that failed included the citys request to dedicate an ongoing funding source for homeless services, increased funding for mental health treatment teams, and a requirement for more counties to provide residential behavioral health and substance abuse treatment. When Mendenhall released her plan, she offered city-owned land for a temporary shelter campus if the state or philanthropic groups funded its operations. But now, the state has considered that site for a permanent facility, Mendenhall said. Progress has now stalled, she said. The city has done everything in our power to support this effort. Now we need the state to act to fully fund development and ongoing operations for this state-owned campus. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city added 400 additional homeless shelter beds this year, extended its winter shelter into the summer months, and the Salt Lake City Council approved more youth beds. While Mendenhall acknowledged that systemic changes take a lot of time and work, she reiterated the city cant keep doing this alone. This crisis demands sustainable, long-term funding from the state to meet the scale of this challenge in the fastest growing state in this nation, she said. The plans first six months One of the first actions city officials took as part of the public safety plan was to deploy the Violent Crime Apprehension Team, or VCAT, which targets gang activity to disrupt drug and firearm trafficking, Mendenhall said. Over the past six months the team helped seize thousands of fentanyl pills, over 20 pounds of narcotics and nearly 100 illegally-possessed firearms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With a new Community Impact Division within the Salt Lake City Police Department, officers have also been assigned to patrol areas downtown, along the Jordan River Trail and in the Ballpark neighborhood. That team also works to connect unsheltered people with services, the mayor said. Theyve taken hundreds of criminals off the streets. Theyve tracked suspects, and they dismantled drug operations. At Cottonwood Park alone, (Community Impact Division) officers assigned to our bike units seized over 5,000 fentanyl pills and more than $11,000 in cash from a single dealer, Mendenhall said. Salt Lake City dedicated $4 million of this years budget for the new public safety initiatives, including added security across nine city parks and sections of the Jordan River Trail. City officials have also improved street lighting in high-traffic areas. Let us know what you think... Officer proactivity is up nearly 10% every year, and the city is on track to end 2025 with over 1,000 more jail bookings than in 2024, Mendenhall said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the public safety plan is not just about the police since they arent equipped to solve every problem, Mendenhall said. She said a more holistic solution needs to come from a more community-based approach, with teams that work to keep the city clean and restore neglected spaces, and partnerships with businesses and residents in the downtown area to craft safety solutions. The city is also eyeing a pilot program to bring free restrooms, showers and laundry facilities for those living on the streets, the mayor said. To Salt Lake City Police Chief Brian Redd, the public safety plan has two themes; accountability for those who choose to victimize the community, and support for those in need, better aligning the criminal justice and social services systems. The city also created a system to connect the biggest repeat offenders in the criminal justice system in the city to housing, treatment and services. Additionally, Redd said, the public safety approach includes investment in public safety technology, such as cameras and drones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of course, as we utilize this type of technology, were going to be guided by principles of protecting privacy and civil liberties community involvement in those decisions, Redd said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) Puerto Ricos governor has signed a bill that prohibits hormone therapy or gender-affirming surgeries for transgender youth, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from activists in the largely conservative U.S. territory. The law approved late Wednesday applies to those younger than 21 and calls for 15 years in prison for any violators, as well as a $50,000 penalty and the revocation of all licenses and permits of medical staff. Minors, having not yet reached the necessary emotional, cognitive, and physical maturity, are particularly vulnerable to making decisions that can have irreversible consequences," the law reads. Therefore, it is the States duty to ensure their comprehensive well-being. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also states that public funds cannot be used for such purposes. Puerto Ricos LGBTQ+ Federation criticized the law in a statement Thursday. Let there be no doubt: We will go to court to challenge the constitutionality of the governors cruel and inhumane signing of a law that criminalizes health professionals for caring for trans minors, said Justin Jesus Santiago, the federations director. Puerto Rico associations that represent physicians, surgeons, psychologists, social workers, lawyers and other professionals had urged the governor to veto the bill. Roughly two dozen U.S. states have similar laws. Moscow is debating a return to Soviet-style censorship. Mikhail Shvydkoy, a theater critic and ally of President Vladimir Putin, recently argued that the art and literature of the USSR proved that the censors stamp, permitting approved works, was compatible with creativity. It would be, he wrote, more honest than the current system requiring creators to follow legal codes and face punishment for breaking them. There are already major restrictions on free speech in Russia, The Bell noted it is effectively illegal, for instance, to describe some recent tax increases as tax increases. But there are no formal pre-publication censors. The publication of Shvydkoys piece suggests that the Kremlin has given its tacit backing to, at least, explore changing that. Mothering Justice Executive Director Danielle Atkinson | Photo by Anna Gustafson For Detroit-based organization Mothering Justice, whose mission is rooted in advocating for mothers of color and low-income families, President Donald Trump signing of the Republican megabill that extends tax breaks and cuts spending marks a moment of renewed urgency. In a wide-ranging conversation, Michigan Advance Editor-in-Chief Jon King spoke with Mothering Justice Executive Director Danielle Atkinson to explore what implementing the new law will actually mean. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From the cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, to the cascading effects on mental health care and family stability, Atkinson says that while the legislative process may have concluded, the real workeducating, mobilizing, and supporting those most affectedis only beginning. Thats especially true for those who will bear the brunt of the fallout: marginalized communities, particularly mothers of color. What follows is a conversation that has been edited for length and clarity. Advance questions are in bold, and Atkinsons responses are in regular type. There was so much buildup toward the signing of the One Big Beautiful Bill. For you and the organization you lead, which has been working to get the word out about what the bill would do, how do you shift now from informing people about what it could do, to educating them about what it is going to do? The work of Mothering Justice is very much about breaking down the internalized oppression that people feel when they are faced with policies that dont reflect what they need or their values. And so were not a direct service organization, but we are friends with a lot of them, and I think in the months and years to come, we will have to have a stronger relationship with the United Ways of the world to make sure that people have what they need. But then, after they have what they needafter they get some handle on their basic needsthe next step is being really active in sharing their stories and sharing the facts of policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And so we are continuously asking folks, Tell us your Medicaid story. Tell us your SNAP story. Tell us how you made ends meet and how its impossible now. Tell us about the afterschool programs that help with your parenting. Were all just really bracing ourselves for what the actual reality is. And in the meantime, letting folks know the connection between a drastic reduction in funding and the things that we take for granted. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Medicaid and SNAP are two of the biggest targets of this legislation, and the impact wont be distributed evenlysome people are going to be hit much harder than others. Specifically for moms of color, how is this legislation going to impact them? Were going to see a reduction in preventative care. Folks are going to have fewer abilities to just maintain their health. Programs that address mental health and physical health are going to take a cut. And when we see a reduction in preventative care, we see an increase and strain on our emergency system, so well see longer lines at the places that are already overrun and people receiving curative care instead of preventative care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were looking to see food instability. Were going to see cuts to programs that make sure children get fed all day long, and also in the summer. I am not an economist, but we know that this is going to have an effect at the grocery stores as well. SNAP put millions of dollars into our local economy, so when people are not able to buy food, grocery stores are going to see a hit at the bottom line. So yes, its going to affect us disproportionately. Its going to affect the most marginalized the most. But its also going to make our entire system look and operate differently. It really feels like were living in two different societies and that divide has really come to the forefront in response to this bill. There seems to be a whole group of people who, whenever any negative effects are brought up, just dismiss it all as fraud. They assume any cut is good and dont want to consider the real impacts. That seems rooted in privilege, though people without privilege will also be hurt by thislike rural communities, where hospital closures are a real possibility. Have you experienced that kind of denial? How do you respond to it? The disconnect is very real. And even when you point out the connectioneven when something closes downweve seen reports of people going, No, but this is not because of what Trump has done. So we just have to continue to beat that drum and make those connections for people. And even folks that are on the receiving end of some sort of privilegethey have relatives, they have friends, they have cousins. Everyone will be touched by the effects, and its on usthe media and the advocatesto continue to make those connections, to consider ourselves educators in this time so that people can see. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But I also think another component of it is being proactive. When youre just bringing doom and gloom to folks, its very hard for people to be like, Yes, I want to be on that struggle bus with you. But when were talking about building the world that we can be in and using our political energy and tools to create the world that we want, thats a place where we can build together, I think, a little bit easier. Its been said in many ways, but in many crises, theres also opportunity. Maybe one positive is that more people seem to be waking up to the importance of income inequality. Do you get that sense too? Yes. I do think people are understanding that. Its a problem, but its also a benefit the amount of information we have access to. We can really just compare, right? We have our parents saying, I worked hard and I put myself through college, and I was able to do two vacations a year. I dont understand. Youre just lazy. But lets just look at the numbers. People are just not making as much. Fewer people are in this so-called middle class. And so it is different. Hard work amounts to less than it did before. And we have to redesign our society to reflect that and to reflect the needs. And I think people are waking up to that reality. We see all these people on the street corners with their signs. And there is a real anger. And it is important in this moment that there are organizations and entities that are able to capture that enthusiasm and that frustration and to channel it into a proactive agenda and opportunities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats next for Mothering Justice, whether in response to this bill or more broadly? So with what relates to the cuts in this bill to the social safety net, we are making people aware. We are making sure people understand what pain is going to come as much as we can. Were also making sure that the Legislature knows that it is on them. We elected them to make sure that we are taken care of. So it is on them to make sure that they are prioritizing the most marginalized, that they are finding solutions, that they are using the money that we give them and pay taxes to make sure that we have health care and food and places to go for our children. And there are the mechanisms and the resources. Its a matter of prioritization. So we are using that energy and the frustration and the outrage of folks to drive that conversationand also bringing hope, right? Making sure that people have a place to go and that they are with like-minded individuals. So the Legislature now has to deal with the consequences of this bill. But beyond that, it seems like people are focusing more on the communities they live in and belong tomaintaining and strengthening those ties as everything above them gets more chaotic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yes, its really important. And its also importantlike you saidso people obviously, big target on DC. And then people look to Lansing. But also in your communities and in your counties. Before the election, I started talking to county commissioners about the childcare crisis. And I had a Republican from Macomb County saying that shes getting calls from her constituents about how complicated the process is in order to get resources for childcare. And it has her looking for solutions. Those are the opportunities. So when folks are feeling that there is no hope, just know that continuing to put pressure on your legislators and your elected officials creates opportunities for groups to then say, Hey, heres a solution. And so as were organizing city commissioners and city councilmembers and county commissioners, were also saying, Hey, there are local solutions that we can not only use to relieve the burdenwe can have it as an example for the state and the federal government. That then, in turn, enables those lawmakers to point to their states and be like, Well, this is happening in Oakland County. Why cant it happen across the country? So I just encourage people to continue to raise their voicehowever much it hurts and in spite of any perceived embarrassmentbecause it does matter and it does make a difference. Back-to-school week draws nearer and nearer for schools in the Quad Cities area. With the recent history of school shootings and threats, safety in schools remain a significant concern. Lead by the Rock Island-Milan School District, schools went through a training this week to practice how to safely reunite students with their parents in the event of a crisis. (Joel Kellar, OurQuadCities) Most administrators and teachers in the Rock Island-Milan School District went through the training, as well as leaders from the Moline, East Moline, and Davenport districts. They partnered with the I Love You Guys Foundation to implement a reunification process. The foundations program is used in more than 50,000 schools, agencies, and organizations across the world. It is designed to make sure the schools are able to reunite students with their registered guardian. The program is meant to ease some anxiety for all the parties involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everyone is very excited to have a process, said Rock Island-Milan Superintendent Sharon Williams. I will say that it makes people feel better when they know what to do. The first day of the class was on Tuesday, when administrators and teachers spent the day in the classroom. Speakers from the foundation and emergency services taught the participants the ins and outs of the program and how to apply it to their own schools. On Wednesday, the participants stepped out of the classroom and ran through real-life scenarios. The simulations gave them the opportunity to learn hands on. (As) a former teacher, now principal, theres no better way to learn than actually doing it, said Earl Hanson Elementary School Principal Kevin Turner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turner and the rest of the participants split up into three groups: Parents, teachers and reunification team members. Then they ran through what the process looks like in a real-life situation. School cards are filled out by parents when they arrive. The cards include the information of the parent and the information of the student they are picking up. The nice thing about it that we do there is we ask them to use their ID to verify that the adult is who they say they are, said Jim French, one of the lead instructors from the foundation. Then we check that name with the student information system to make sure theyre able to pick up that child. Once the adult was verified as the correct parent or guardian for a student, they were led around the building to another station. This station was where they handed a card with the students name to a reunification team member. Then the member would grab the student from the safe zone and lead them to be united with their parent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The parent check-in table is kept away from where the students are located to make sure each student is accounted for during pick-up. The last thing staff wants is for a student to run to someone picking them up without the verification the adult is the right person for the student. Participants ran through the full drill three times. Not only did it allow the participants to work out some kinks but also allowed each participant to experience the drill in each role. This allowed the administrators and teachers to understand the scenario from all points of view. This was important for them to understand, so they can help the parents and students be more comfortable in the event of a scenario where the program is needed. The program is supposed to be a strong foundation for the schools to make adjustments to meet the needs of their building and students. They will work on that, then deliver the plan to all the buildings and staff in the district. Were all on the same page, same terminology, said Turner. We are ready for if it were to happen to any of us and it obviously could. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. The 45-year-old Queens woman gunned down by her estranged husband during a brazen, broad-daylight shooting was trying to protect her daughter when she bravely stepped up to her killer and was fatally shot, prosecutors said Thursday. Chaneil Ramsay and her 21-year-old daughter had managed to hide behind a parked car when Audwin Caines, 62, began shooting at them at 2:30 p.m. on June 23 in St. Albans. As she hid behind the car, Ramsay stepped away from the vehicle and approached her former husband, who shot her multiple times about the head and body, according to the criminal complaint filed against Caines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Queens prosecutors believe Ramsay did this in an effort to shield her daughter from Caines. Ramsay was hit by the gunfire at point-blank range, prosecutors said. He chased her from over there where her car was, Ramsays next door neighbor, who witnessed the shooting, told the Daily News. She was with her daughter, the neighbor added. He was shooting at her, the neighbor said. She ran into my yard and he killed her right there by the post. There were like eight or nine shots, another horrified witness told The News at the time. He hit her in the head. Ramsay was also shot in the arm and stomach, according to cops. Her wig was found on the ground near her body, horrified witnesses said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement EMS rushed her to Jamaica Hospital, where she died a short time later. Two hours before the fatal shooting at 127th Ave. near 176th St., Caines had smashed the window to Ramsays Jeep Cherokee. He also sent her threats on WhatsApp. Im going to keep fing up your s-, he wrote next to a photo of the smashed Jeep window, according to court papers. You want to f me over now, Im doing it to you. Caines, who is homeless, was grabbed by U.S. marshals and the NYPDs Fugitive Task Force in Harlem on Tuesday. Hes been charged with murder, attempted murder for shooting at his stepdaughter, weapons possession and criminal mischief for destroying Ramsays Jeep window, officials said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Ramsay] was senselessly gunned down on the streets of St. Albans by her estranged husband, as part of an escalating series of violent incidents, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said Thursday. This murder shocked the community, and my office will seek justice for the family of Chaneil Ramsay. A Queens Criminal Court judge ordered Caines held without bail following his arraignment late Wednesday. A call to his attorney, James Shalley, was not immediately returned Thursday. Besides the murder and attempted-murder charges, Caines is facing an additional assault charge for stabbing Ramsay in the chest with a broken liquor bottle on July 1, 2024, nearly a year before he killed her. Ramsay was hospitalized, but managed to survive that earlier brutal attack, prosecutors said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A neighbor who asked not to be identified recalled the attack last year. I saw them bring her out of the house the last time, he said. Her arm was wrapped up and she was bleeding. She was definitely bleeding. Id only seen the guy a couple of times, he said. I had no idea at the time it was domestic violence. The doting mother lived in South Jamaica, less than five blocks from where she was fatally gunned down on the street. She was a nurse who lived with her mother and young son, one neighbor said of Ramsay. She was a nice lady I cant believe it. In the past, cops had repeatedly responded to Ramsays home to stop fights between her and Caines. When questioned after the shooting, Ramsays daughter identified Caines as her mothers killer, a police source with knowledge of the case said. She has since returned home to Jamaica to be with her remaining family, the former next door neighbor said. RALEIGH COUNTY, WV (WVNS) The Raleigh County Sheriffs Office announced that there will be an increased deputy presence in construction zones throughout the county. According to a post on the Raleigh County Sheriffs Offices Facebook page, they informed the public that there will be a higher presence of deputies in work zones in Raleigh County during the upcoming months. DUI checkpoint scheduled in Raleigh County Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The post stated that the Raleigh County Sheriffs Office will carry out a zero tolerance policy for violations in construction zones as a way to help with the safety of road workers and drivers due to receiving multiple complaints about drivers not listening to flaggers directing traffic and speeding cars. According to the Raleigh County Sheriffs Office, they advised people to follow traffic signs, posted speed limits, and the directions of flaggers, especially when workers are at the scene. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WVNS. The Trump administration is treating South Africa almost like a pariah, blacklisting its envoys, refusing to send top-level officials to meetings it hosts, and threatening to hit the nation with such high tariffs that its economic crisis is likely to deepen. The latest sign of this came with the revelation by the second-biggest party in South Africa's coalition government, the Democratic Alliance (DA), that the US government had rejected President Cyril Ramaphosa's special envoy, denying him a diplomatic visa in May and refusing to recognise him as an "official interlocutor". Ramaphosa had created the post for Mcebisi Jonas, the non-executive chairman of mobile phone giant MTN and a respected former deputy finance minister, to improve South Africa's rock-bottom relationship with the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ramaphosa's spokesman accused the DA of "disinformation", but did not explicitly deny the party's claim. The US State Department declined to comment when contacted by the BBC, citing "visa record confidentiality". Jonas's appointment came after President Donald Trump had cut off aid to South Africa, accused Ramaphosa's government of persecuting white people, condemned it for bringing a genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and for "reinvigorating" relations with Iran - an implacable foe of the US. Priyal Singh, a South Africa foreign policy expert at the Pretoria-based Institute for Security Studies think-tank, told the BBC that if the DA's claims about Jonas were true, it would be in line with the Trump administration's strategy to give South Africa the "cold shoulder, and cut off channels of communication that it so desperately needs". The US has not only cut back bilateral relations with South Africa, but also boycotted it in global bodies like the G20 - which Ramaphosa currently chairs, hoping to advance the interests of developing nations in talks with the world's richest states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest sign of this was US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's decision to skip Thursday's meeting of G20 finance ministers in South Africa, preferring to send a lower-ranking official instead. Bessent skipped a similar meeting in February, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio stayed away from a meeting of G20 foreign ministers, saying Ramaphosa's government was doing "very bad things" and he could not "coddle anti-Americanism". Ramaphosa had hoped to get relations with the US back on an even keel after Trump invited him to the Oval Office in May - only for the US president to ambush him by showing footage and brandishing a sheaf of spurious reports to advance his widely discredited claim that a genocide was taking place against white people in South Africa. Mcebisi Jonas is a widely respected former deputy finance minister [Gallo Images/Getty Images] Jonas was strikingly absent from Ramaphosa's high-powered delegation, giving credence to the DA's claim that he was unwelcome in Washington. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This put South Africa back to square one as the US had expelled its ambassador to Washington, Ebrahim Rasool, after he accused Trump, in a leaked speech given at a meeting of a think-tank, of "mobilising a supremacism" and trying to "project white victimhood as a dog whistle" as the white population faced becoming a minority in the US. In a politically odd decision, Ramaphosa left the post vacant, despite its significance, suggesting that his government had a dearth of well qualified career diplomats who could rebuild relations with South Africa's second-biggest trading partner. Instead, Ramaphosa pinned his hopes on a special envoy who, he said at the time of Jonas's appointment, would "lead negotiations, foster strategic partnerships and engage with US government officials and private-sector leaders to promote our nation's interests". But it is unclear how Ramaphosa expected Jonas to achieve this given that he, like Rasool, had made controversial remarks about Trump, calling him a "racist" and a "narcissistic right-winger" in a 2020 speech that came back to haunt him after his appointment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was compounded by the fact that MTN had a 49% stake in Iran's telecom company IranCell, a major concern for the US. Compared to its previous stances, South Africa was "more circumspect" - as Mr Singh put it - in its response to US air strikes on Iran in June, merely saying that it viewed the conflict with "great anxiety" and hoped that it could be resolved through dialogue. W Gyude Moore, a policy analyst at the US-based Center for Global Development, told the BBC that it was not surprising that South Africa was in Trump's firing line. He pointed out that South Africa championed what Trump's support-base saw as "woke culture". For instance, Ramaphosa regarded the G20 as a forum through which to promote international "solidarity, equality and sustainability", which Rubio had opposed, equating it to "diversity, equity and inclusion", as well as climate change. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Moore said this was also borne out in the Trump's administration's attitude towards South Africa's "black empowerment" policy, accusing it of "race-based discrimination" against white people. Ramaphosa's government sees it as necessary to address the legacy of the racist system of apartheid. "I cannot see how the differences can be resolved. South Africa will just have to carry on, and strengthen ties with other countries. It's not the only one in the crosshairs of the Trump administration," Mr Moore added. But it is a major blow to South Africa, as it had maintained strong trade and aid relations with successive Republican and Democratic administrations despite having sharp differences with them. Mr Singh pointed out that South Africa, for example, opposed the Republican George W Bush's war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but South Africa still benefited from Pepfar, the programme he had established to tackle HIV/Aids, until the Trump administration slashed funding earlier this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The Trump administration is completely different, and caught everyone off-guard. South Africa will just have to weather out the storm, and try to mitigate the damage," Mr Singh said. But the economic consequences could be devastating - especially if Trump imposes 30% tariffs on South African goods from 1 August, as he has threatened to do. South Africa's central bank chief Lesetja Kganyago said the tariffs could lead to around 100,000 job losses - worrying for a country where the unemployment rate stands at a staggering 32.9%. The tariffs would hit South Africa's agriculture sector hard. This is ironic as Trump has portrayed himself as a champion of the country's Afrikaner farmers, offering them refugee status in the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also gives them an opportunity to farm in the US and boost its economy in line with Trump's "America First" policy. More BBC stories on US-South Africa relations: [Getty Images/BBC] Go to BBCAfrica.com for more news from the African continent. Follow us on Twitter @BBCAfrica, on Facebook at BBC Africa or on Instagram at bbcafrica BBC Africa podcasts After bumping down a dusty forest road in the Little Belt Mountains for the hour long drive from White Sulphur Springs, Kristen McHugh parked her agency pickup. She and her partner, Jackman Mitchell-Robohm, filled small gas cans with fermented blood, shouldered their packs and began bushwhacking through the woods, GPS in hand. They were zeroing in on one of 64 corrals they helped set up, not to catch livestock, but to snag hairs off black bears. The five-year Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks study is jumping to different regions of the state each year in an attempt to more specifically quantify the states black bear population. Now in its third year, the study has moved from the Missoula region to near Kalispell and is currently focusing on the Little Belt Mountains in central Montana. Need for more info In the years after the COVID-19 pandemic, FWP noticed an increase in annual black bear harvests. The long-term average had been around 1,500 bears a year. From 2019 to 2023 that climbed to an average of almost 1,700. The agency also noted an increased public interest in bear hunting after the 2021 Legislature passed a bill allowing residents to use hounds to pursue black bears in the spring. Montana's spring black bear season has also been extended. It used to run until May 31, but now stretches to June 15. The fall season begins with archery hunting, opening on Sept. 6 this year, and ends with a rifle season that runs until Nov. 30. In the wake of the changes, FWP's sale of black bear licenses has risen from just over 33,000 in 2019 to more than 43,600 in 2023. Most of that increase has been in resident license sales which jumped 30% in the same time span. According to Colby Anton, the lead black bear monitoring biologist for Montana FWP, the changes prompted the agency to freshen up its understanding of Montanas black bear population. The previous population estimates the agency was using were out of date and insufficient. As of 2011, FWP estimated about 13,300 black bears roamed Montana. We wanted to better understand both population dynamics for black bears over time, and understand how harvest impacts black bear populations, Anton said, so that we can then develop management protocols and plans for the state based off of more up-to-date and contemporary collected data. Thus, the Montana Black Bear Monitoring Program was born. Background In 2011, researchers estimated Montanas black bear population by extrapolating regional bear density data across all of the state's bear habitat. The new study hopes to craft an updated and more detailed statewide population model. The program was conceived in 2022, and sampling work began in the summer of 2023. The multi-year initiative aims to model, in greater detail than ever before, the size, distribution and demographic trends of Montana's black bear population. The program is also illuminating how bears utilize different habitats and the circumstances around how some bears use the same habitats differently. The project is broken into five ecoregions: northwest, west, central, southwest and eastern Montana. The bear monitoring teams focus on one ecoregion a year. This years study is located in the Little Belt Mountains of the central ecoregion. In 2023, the study focused on the west ecoregion with sampling in the Blackfoot River drainage. In 2024, the northwest ecoregion was examined utilizing the area northwest of Kalispell. The program is modeled off of FWP's statewide monitoring program for mountain lions, which helps the agency better understand the big cat's population beyond relying on annual harvest data. FWP has a similar goal for the black bear program: Get a more accurate and timely understanding of the black bear population to better inform management decisions. Importance and challenges tracking black bears Understanding the populations and trends of a species are the most important metrics for wildlife managers to properly conserve and manage that species, according to Anton. The task we have at hand is pretty big, he said. When the state counts Montana's other big game species like deer, elk, bighorn sheep and mountain goats a lot of it is done through aerial surveys via planes and helicopters. Biologists cant do that with black bears because of their inclination to live in closed canopy conifer forests. The process is made even more difficult because of their relatively low population densities compared to the previously mentioned big games species. So because of that, we have to try to fit our methodology for how we estimate populations for a species to their ecology, Anton said. In this case, this is a tried and true method for estimating both black bear and grizzly bear populations, using hair corrals for noninvasive genetic sampling. In order to maximize hunter harvest and manage sustainable harvest in the future, which is the goal according to Anton, understanding current population estimates and trends into the future is paramount. How the sampling works The primary means of data collection for this study is through the use of hair corrals. These corrals are designed to attract bears and capture their hair, which will then be genetically analyzed and recorded. Each corral consists of roughly 100 feet of barbed wire wrapped approximately 20 inches off the ground around a series of trees. In the middle of the corral researchers create a pile of woody debris from the surrounding area which receives a dose of scent lure each week. A small amount of scent lure is also hung from a tree directly over this debris pile in a plastic jug. Lures used include fermented blood sourced from a local butcher, rotten fish and Gusto, a lure used in fur trapping. Each corral is also fixed with a game camera to monitor the site and identify the species that visit the area. Then field technicians drive, bike or hike to the corral sites weekly to check the barbed wire for black bear hair. The corrals are deployed on June 16, after the spring bear hunting season, and removed by the end of August, before the fall archery hunting season. The study so far For the 2023 sampling season, FWP staff monitored 64 hair corral sites and 10 bear rub trees in the Blackfoot River watershed between Missoula and Helmville from June 16 through Aug. 17. Technicians collected 960 distinct hair samples over the course of that season, with 906 of them belonging to black bears and 55 belonging to grizzly bears. Hair corral success varied across the study area with 84% of hair corrals producing black bear hair and documented black bear visitation. After cross referencing the hair samples with game camera imagery, FWP submitted 786 hair samples to a lab for genetic testing. The 2024 sampling season was focused northwest of Kalispell, where FWP deployed and monitored 75 hair corrals between June 16 and Sept. 6. Personnel collected 684 hair samples from the corral sites, 677 of which were from black bears with seven from grizzly bears. Approximately 91% of corral sites produced at least one hair sample. After cross referencing the hair samples with game camera imagery, FWP submitted 598 samples to a lab for genetic analysis. Starting in May 2023, FWP captured and collared 48 black bears (25 females, 23 males) to monitor the bears vitals and habitat selection. The GPS collars have been deployed in all five of the studys ecoregions, providing nearly 46,000 GPS locations thus far. As of October 2024, 12 mortalities have occurred, 10 collars slipped off bears, and two collars have remotely dropped off. Currently, 24 GPS collars remain on animals. Annual home range size displayed significant variation as animals moved due to seasonal food availability. Female black bear home ranges averaged 41.71 square kilometers, roughly 16 square miles, and males averaged 373.31 square kilometers, about 144 square miles. Cattle gather along a fence in Burleigh County on July 11, 2024. (Jeff Beach/North Dakota Monitor) A new lawsuit filed by a group of independent North Dakota ranchers alleges that Gov. Kelly Armstrong and private associations have too much power over who serves on the North Dakota Beef Commissions board. The primary role of the Beef Commission is to decide how to use the money the state raises through checkoffs. Checkoffs are a small fee that ranchers pay on cattle sales. The proceeds are used for promoting beef consumption and research and education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beef producers pay $1 to the state and $1 to the federal government in checkoffs for each head of cattle they sell. These fees raised about $1.67 million in revenue for the Beef Commission last year, according to the commissions 2024 annual report. The Beef Commissions nine-member board comprises three beef producers, one cattle feeder, one dairy farmer, one public livestock market representative and three at-large members. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in Burleigh County, claims the governor and a few ag associations the Stockmens Association, the Stockmens Association Feeder Council, the Milk Producers Association of North Dakota and the North Dakota Livestock Marketing Association wield virtually complete control over who ends up on the board. The plaintiffs include the Ranchers Rights Initiative and three of its directors: Kenneth Graner, Jeremy Maher and Michael Heaton. The Ranchers Rights Initiative describes itself as a group for independent North Dakota ranchers who dont belong to any of the leading professional associations for cattle producers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The complaint names the Beef Commission, state of North Dakota, Armstrong and Attorney General Drew Wrigley as defendants. The Beef Commission said as a state agency, it does not comment on pending litigation. Under North Dakota Beef Commission Act, adopted in 2009, members of the Beef Commissions board arent democratically elected but are, for the most part, nominated by private organizations and then selected by the governor, the complaint says. When the commission needs a new cattle feeder representative, for example, the Feeder Council of the Stockmens Association gets to nominate at least two people. The governor then chooses who to appoint from the candidate pool, according to the lawsuit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone can submit nominations for the three at-large positions, but the governor has only ever chosen members and affiliates of the Stockmens Association for these seats, the plaintiffs claim. That means in practice, independent ranchers have no representation on the board, according to the complaint. The plaintiffs say this process unconstitutionally favors association members at the expense of others in the industry. The government shouldnt be picking winners and losers, said Robby Dube, the lead attorney representing the plaintiffs. The lawsuit asks a state district court judge to find the Beef Commission Act unconstitutional and to strike it down. As an alternative, the complaint suggests that the court order that the governor cannot select new commission members based on the nominations of private associations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Checkoffs are commonly applied to the sale of other agricultural products, who have groups of their own to decide how to spend the revenue. But the plaintiffs allege that the Beef Commissions process for picking board members stands out as being particularly unrepresentative of its industry. The Beef Commission is the only North Dakota commodity checkoff group that does not use an election process, the plaintiffs state in the complaint. All board members of the barley, corn, dry bean, dry pea and lentil, and soybean checkoff groups are elected. Dube said the Beef Commissions process for selecting board members has been controversial for decades. The North Dakota state Legislature earlier this year considered legislation to have board members elected rather than appointed, but it died in the House. The North Dakota Beef Commission opposed the legislation. In testimony, a representative of the commission disputed the notion that the selection process for board seats is not fair. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Having the governor appoint board members ensures balanced representation from diverse sectors of the beef industry while maintaining impartiality and strategic oversight, the commission said in written testimony to lawmakers. The commission also argued that administering elections for board seats would be financially burdensome and could open up the commission to political polarization. While a couple of individuals may feel overlooked in the current system, the process works, the commission said in the testimony. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The plaintiffs in their complaint also allege that the Beef Commission Act unfairly discriminates against beef producers who request refunds on the checkoffs they pay to the state. To be eligible for eight of the nine positions on the board, producers cannot have obtained a state checkoff refund for at least three years. The statute describes this requirement as ensuring that board members are active participants in the beef checkoff process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some ranchers may seek these refunds for financial reasons, or they may disagree with how the Beef Commission uses the money, Dube said. The plaintiffs propose in their complaint that the court suspend the eligibility requirement that says board members cannot have received any state checkoff refunds for the past three years. The case has been assigned to South Central Judicial District Judge Jackson Lofgren. The state as of Thursday had not filed any response, but is expected to in the coming weeks, Dube said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A Massachusetts couple has pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme that defrauded numerous investors of millions of dollars. Milendophe Duperier, 33, and Vanessa Joseph, 26, both from Randolph, each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They were initially charged back in May. According to charging documents, Duperier was acting as an investment advisor, soliciting investments from people and telling them that their funds would be invested in securities markets. Joseph was Duperiers girlfriend and business partner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of their scheme saw the couple applying for and receiving small business loans for various entities. Duperier would make false statements/excuses to investors as to why he had not made promised interest payments and/or could not return the investors principal. Between 2018 and December of 2022, the two had defrauded dozens of individual investors by falsely alleging that Duperier would use their investments to purchase securities. What they did instead was use the money to either pay prior investors or for personal use. including payments for luxury vehicles and mortgage, and credit card debt. In total, it is believed that Duperier and Joseph defrauded nearly $3.2 million from investors. The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss from the offense, whichever is greater. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Duperier and Josephs sentencing is set for October 14. 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 Yin Yang/Getty Images The campaign to bring ranked choice voting to Michigan elections announced that signature collection will begin in an effort to make the 2026 general election ballot. Petition sheets and signature gatherers will fan out starting Thursday and this weekend, the campaign Rank MI Vote will begin holding field launch events across the state. That includes the Latin Americans United for Progress Fiesta in Holland and the Ann Arbor Art Fair. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pat Zabawa, Rank MI Votes executive director, said the first signature will be his on Thursday morning. One down, 446,197 to go, Zabawa said in a statement. Obviously, we have our work cut out for us: when we qualify for the ballot, it will have taken the biggest signature collection campaign in Michigan history. That might intimidate some campaigns, but its what this team is built for. We have thousands of volunteers who are very eager to win this with shoe leather and hard work. Were now in the stage of the campaign where progress is measured in how much ink we put on paper and how many conversations we have with our friends and neighbors. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX He urged supporters to stay tuned for big things, adding that youre going to see this campaign absolutely take off. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, guaranteeing that candidates must receive majority support to win. The campaign must, within a six-month window, collect 446,198 valid signatures to qualify for the November 2026 ballot. Rank MI Vote touted in a Wednesday news release that it is seeing thousands of new volunteer signups in the last two months, which increased after the petition was approved for signature collection by the Michigan Board of State Canvassers on June 27. The volunteer energy weve seen recently has been beautiful, Kate Grabowsky, Rank MI Votes co-field director, said in a statement. This is a great problem to have, but its been a full-time job keeping up with all the new volunteers signing up. The new folks cant wait to take their clipboards to concerts, festivals, and street corners to start having these important conversations with Michigan voters about how Ranked Choice Voting benefits all of us. If passed by voters next year, the amendment would bring ranked choice voting to all federal and statewide elections in Michigan. LONGMEADOW, Mass. (WWLP) For one weekend only, the 42-inch weather rooster atop the First Church steeple in Longmeadow can be seen up close by the community, which will be celebrating its historic preservation. Director of Communications Noelia Ortiz from First Church Of Christ in Longmeadow told 22News that the cooper rooster has been on display atop the steeple since 1795. In the 230 years, the rooster has only been taken down four times, including after the great gale of 1821. Free two-day SalsaFest coming to Holyoke Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The piece of Longmeadow history has weathered storms, witnessed history, and is part of the towns very identity. It was taken down to undergo preservation, made possible through support from the Community Preservation Act, the Longmeadow CPC, and the Town of Longmeadow. The church is allowing the public to come face to face with the 42-inch weather rooster this weekend. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and from noon to 2 p.m. on Sunday, community members are invited to see the rooster up close and take photos. Visitors are asked to enter Bailey Hall at First Church through the Williams Street doors. Photo courtesy of First Church of Christ in Longmeadow We like to say the rooster is a member of our community, not just our church, say organizers. Wed love for you to stop by, take a photo, and share in this moment of gratitude. If you take any photos, 22News would love to see them, email reportit@wwlp.com! Local News Headlines WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WWLP. Florida has already seen four deaths tied to a flesh-eating bacteria this year. State health authorities have reported 11 infections with fatal cases in Central Floridas Bay, Broward, Hillsborough, and St. Johns counties. "There's a lot of bacteria that just live in different areas, even in, like, waterborne spots," Dr. Daniel Egan, an infectious disease specialist at Orlando Health, explained to WESH. "So there's fresh water, salt water, and this bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus likes salt water." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vibrio vulnificus infections are rare, but naturally occur in brackish seawater. Cases often spread through open cuts. A person may also be infected when they eat raw shellfish, and the bacterium is frequently found in oysters from warm coastal waters. Most healthy individuals experience mild disease following exposure, including symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, fever, chills, high heart rate, and disorientation. However, if the bacterium invades the bloodstreams of those with weakened immune systems, people may be affected by fever, chills, septic shock and skin lesions. Sometimes, infection may even result in amputation, and rare cases may cause necrotizing fasciitis, when the flesh around an open wound dies. Beaches in Florida and around the Gulf Coast are leaving residents vulnerable to bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus. Exposure has led to four deaths in the state so far this year (Getty Images) Beaches in Florida and around the Gulf Coast are leaving residents vulnerable to bacteria called Vibrio vulnificus. Exposure has led to four deaths in the state so far this year (Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Antibiotics and wound care should be given to patients immediately, the Florida Department of Health says. Infections that enter the bloodstream are fatal about 50 percent of the time. One in five people who contract infection die, sometimes within just a couple of days, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Unfortunately, cases have been on the rise in recent year and last year reached record levels. The department reported 19 deaths and 82 cases -- marking an increase of seven deaths and nearly double the tally of cases in 2023. Notably,Vibrio vulnificus is underreported. Before 2007, there was no national surveillance system for the bacterium. A sign warns of a storm surge before Hurricane Debby last August in Cedar Key, Florida. Vibrio vulnificus ases and deaths reached record levels last year after late-season storms (Getty Images) A sign warns of a storm surge before Hurricane Debby last August in Cedar Key, Florida. Vibrio vulnificus ases and deaths reached record levels last year after late-season storms (Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last years unusual influx of cases was tied to late-season hurricanes that pounded Florida and the Southeast. Cases more than doubled following Hurricanes Milton and Helene, with saltwater moving inland and people coming in contact with water that they normally wouldnt. Dr. Kami Kim, director of infectious disease at Tampa General Hospital and the USF Health Department of Internal Medicine, told WUSF that storm surge can also contaminate other sources of water, such as freshwater rivers and lakes. With the climate crisis, these risks are becoming more common. A hotter climate provides all the ingredients of stronger and more frequent hurricanes and other storms, including record sea surface temperatures. Climate change is forecast to increase the costs of infections with bacterium that require salt, according to the Department of Agriculture, rising from nearly $2.6 billion in 1995 to a projected $6.1 billion in 2090. People can avoid exposure by not eating raw shellfish, not exposing open wounds to warm salt or brackish water, and wearing gloves and other protective clothing. A man walks through a flooded street after Hurricane Milton in Port Richey, Florida, last October. Climate change-induced flooding is increasing chances for exposure to the flesh-eating bacteria (Getty Images) A man walks through a flooded street after Hurricane Milton in Port Richey, Florida, last October. Climate change-induced flooding is increasing chances for exposure to the flesh-eating bacteria (Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, the problem isnt going away any time soon, according to researchers at Florida Atlantic University. A 2023 study found that Vibrio pathogens are adapting to stick to microplastics. They can also combine with the smelly sargassum blooms that often plague Sunshine State shores. Think of all the plastic debris that just went into the water because of the hurricanes, Mia McCormick, of the non-profit group Environment Florida, told Florida Phoenix. A sign warns against dumping on Almonaster Avenue in New Orleans East near where the Sewage & Water Board intentionally dumped thousands of gallons of raw sewage. (Photo: Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator) Over several days in May, the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans approved the intentional disposal of thousands of gallons of raw sewage into the citys stormwater drainage system, according to records from state regulators and the local utility. Documents the Illuminator obtained from the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality show the agency received an anonymous complaint May 16 from a citizen who reported that SWBNO workers were pumping untreated sewage into ditches on both sides of Almonaster Avenue, in a sparsely populated area on the citys outskirts. The ditches are meant to carry stormwater runoff not raw sewage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thousands of gallons of sewage have been dumped in the roadway for the past three days, the complaint stated. There are people driving down Almonaster with their windows down It is a health hazard and a public safety hazard. According to LDEQ records and SWBNO maintenance logs, the incident started May 12 after a sewer main broke below the neutral ground in the 11000 block of Almonaster Avenue between Read Boulevard and Paris Road in New Orleans East. The busted pipe flooded the roadway with fecal matter and spread unpleasant odors in all directions. The stormwater drainage system in the area flows to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and to Lake Pontchartrain. Raw sewage is supposed to flow to the citys wastewater treatment plants, where it goes through a multi-stage process to filter and decontaminate it into clean water. The cleanup of a sewage spill normally calls for vacuum trucks to remove the waste material and bring it to a treatment facility, but records show the SWBNO chose to pump it all into the roadside ditches because an official believed there was simply too much sewage for the vacuum trucks to handle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When an LDEQ emergency response inspector conducted a site visit on May 21 five days after the complaint was filed and nine days after the sewer line break his inspection report indicates he found a crew of SWBNO contractors from CMG Pipelines in a 10-foot deep hole working on the busted pipe. The inspector noted frothy brown foamy water in Almonaster Avenues north side ditch, but the contractors told him they were hired only to fix the pipe and did not handle cleanup of the sewage spill. The inspector then called SWBNO Utility Services Manager Peter Brown to ask why untreated sewage was pumped into the ditch. Mr. Brown replied that it was too much volume for vacuum trucks to handle, the LDEQ inspectors report said. Most sewer vacuum trucks can hold between 1,000 and 3,000 gallons. The SWBNO has a fleet of those trucks, though its unclear how many are in operation. The utility did not respond to a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SWBNOs routine sampling of wastewater at its East Bank treatment plant about 15 miles from the sewer line break on Almonaster Avenue detected concentrations of fecal coliform bacteria measuring 1,000 colonies per sample a day after the incident. State regulators consider 200 colonies per sample a safe maximum for recreational waters. John Day, an environmental scientist at LSU, said raw sewage is teeming with bacteria and contaminants harmful to humans and other living organisms. Its like were descending into a third-world state, Day said when he learned of the incident. Generally, dumping untreated sewage into a roadside ditch puts people and wildlife at risk of catching diseases, though its hard to accurately assess that threat without some scientific analysis, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LDEQ ended its investigation into the incident May 23, and the agency is currently evaluating whether the Sewerage and Water Board will face any consequences for the pollution. While the complaint has been closed, this does not mean that the Department will not address the release through appropriate enforcement action if violations are identified during the CEI [Compliance Evaluation Inspection], said LDEQ spokesman Matthew Day, who is not related to the LSU scientist. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE RAYNE, La. (KLFY) A nursing home is Rayne was the target of a bomb threat Wednesday evening, authorities said. Rayne Police responded just before 8 p.m. Wednesday to a report of an anonymous bomb threat called into The Ellington of Rayne on Amelia Street. Officers evacuated the building and bomb detection dogs conducted a thorough search. No explosive devices were found, officials said. An investigation is underway to identify the person responsible for the threat, police said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now KLFY Daily Digest Latest news Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLFY.com. I, for one, still have numerous questions about the story of the 12-year-old girl sent home from her schools Culture Celebration Day, after turning up in a dress emblazoned with the Union flag. Not least because, according to the girls indignant father, she was told that she gets to celebrate being British every day. Really? Does that mean shes allowed to wear the Union flag dress to school every other day of the academic year? And if so, does the same apply to all the girls at the school and, for that matter, all the boys? On a typical morning, do the schools pupils march through the gates in Union flag dresses, singing Rule, Britannia! and clutching a pork pie for teacher? I think we should be told. For me, however, the real mystery is this: if this girl wasnt supposed to wear an outfit celebrating her own countrys culture, what should she have worn instead? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After all, the event was supposed to foster inclusion. Refusing to let her join in the dressing-up, therefore, would have constituted exclusion. And that wouldnt have been fair, would it? But in that case, what else could she have worn? An outfit celebrating some other countrys culture? Say, a sari? A grass skirt? A burka? I hardly think so. Because that would have constituted cultural appropriation. Which, as we have all been required to learn in recent years, is colonialist, offensive and racist. As a result, attending a fancy dress party in, say, a feathered head-dress or a sombrero is now a serious no-no. Then again, perhaps cultural appropriation is no longer deemed a heinous crime against fashionable thought. Not now that so many purveyors of such thinking proudly wear keffiyehs, to demonstrate their heartfelt support for Palestinians. Or, alternatively, their burning hatred for the people they usually remember to call Zionists. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the subject of which, allow me to offer parents a small piece of advice. If your own daughters school holds a Culture Celebration Day, for pitys sake dont put her in a dress emblazoned with the Israeli flag. Never mind sending her home, the teachers will probably try sending her to the Hague. As for the girl in the Union flag dress, her school has apologised to her and her family. Well just have to hope that others in education and elsewhere learn from the furious public outcry. We all know that many self-professed progressives regard British patriotism with contempt. What we dont know is: what makes them think their contempt is shared by anyone other than our countrys foes? 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 in Boston are turning to the public for help identifying a man wanted in connection with a champagne bottle attack at a music venue earlier this summer. An altercation inside Big Night Live at 110 Causeway Street around 1:30 a.m. on June 29 resulted in a victim being smashed with a champagne bottle, according to the Boston Police Department. The suspect, who police described as an Asian man, is wanted on a charge of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police on Wednesday released a surveillance image of the suspect. Anyone who recognizes the suspect is urged to contact Boston police detectives at 617-343-4571. Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts. Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW American students are applying for U.K. universities in record numbers amid Donald Trumps college crackdown during his first few months in office. The Trump administration has intervened in higher education, pressuring states, colleges, and universities to abandon diversity, equity, and inclusion programs while attempting to dictate curriculum. The president has also launched high-profile battles against institutions such as Harvard University, freezing billions of dollars in federal funding over alleged liberal bias and antisemitism and threatening their tax-exempt status. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of that appears to be driving American students across the Atlantic, with new figures from the U.K.s university admissions service, UCAS, showing 7,930 applications from American students for the fall 2025 semester. It marks a nearly 14 percent rise on the previous year and the highest total since records began in 2006. The total number of U.S. students paying deposits to secure places on UK courses is up 19 percent compared to this time last year, according to Enroly. U.S. university students are hoping to flock to the U.K. to undertake their undergraduate studies degrees (Getty Images) U.S. university students are hoping to flock to the U.K. to undertake their undergraduate studies degrees (Getty Images) St Andrews University is home to around ten percent of Americans studying at UK institutions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prestigious university, which has educated the Prince and Princess of Wales, reported a 14 percent increase in applications, according to the Financial Times. Cara Skikne of Studyportals, a higher education data provider, said increased concern over campus freedoms had pushed more U.S. students to consider degrees abroad. Global universities are increasingly competing to attract students who feel unwelcome in the US, and at the moment that includes many of its domestic students, she told the FT. Studyportals analysed student searches on its website to highlight another concerning trend: U.S. universities are losing their appeal to international students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Research published in June showed that pageviews for U.S. courses fell by 50 percent in the first quarter of the year, marking a post-Covid-19 pandemic low. Despite Trumps more restrictive approach to student visas and immigration policies, Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the U.S. remains a welcoming place for British students. Last month, McMahon told The Times that she would like to continue to encourage British students to come here and study. SPRINGFIELD When Lee Enterprises reported earlier this month that Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton decided against taking money from corporate political action committees in her run for retiring U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin's seat, it was noted that there were caveats. Those were on full display as Stratton and others reported earlier this week how much they raised between April 1 and June 30. Stratton announced raising nearly $1.1 million while spending $417,286. This left her with $666,416 cash on hand, though about $185,000 of that can't be used until the general election campaign. To be in compliance with her self-imposed "no corporate PAC money" pledge, Stratton returned a $5,000 contribution from a political action committee representing Marquis Energy, a corporation that operates a north-central Illinois ethanol plant. But, as has previously been highlighted, there are ways around the pledge. Case in point: Six executives of the family-run corporation donated to Stratton's campaign in their personal capacity. This technically complies with Stratton's pledge, though it's not far-fetched to believe that the executives had the interests of their ethanol plant in mind when giving to her campaign. This is just one observation from second quarter filings with the Federal Elections Commission and Illinois State Board of Elections this week. Here are four more interesting fundraising observations from Illinois politics and government: Pritzkers give big to Stratton Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker was quick to endorse his No. 2 in the Senate race. And he and his were quick to follow up with financial support. The billionaire governor and seven members of his family each donated $7,000 apiece to Stratton's campaign, the maximum allowed under law. In addition to the governor, First Lady MK Pritzker and their adult children Teddi and Donny donated to Stratton. Pritzker's cousins Gigi, John and Jennifer and first cousin once removed Adam also gave Stratton the maximum amount, totaling $56,000. The real question moving forward will be whether Pritzker financially backs a super PAC supporting Stratton. While campaign finance laws place strict restrictions on how much individuals can contribute directly to candidates, super PACs, which can support candidates and causes but can't directly coordinate with them, can receive and spend unlimited amounts. Before Durbin announced his retirement, Stratton launched her own Level Up PAC. And in May, Illinois Blue PAC was formed to explicitly support her candidacy. In addition to the Pritzker family, Stratton received contributions from Blackhawks owner Danny Wirtz and Bulls and White Sox chairman Jerry Reinsdorf along with Reinsdorf's son Michael, who runs the Bulls day-to-day. She was also backed by many involved in state government, including Intersect Illinois chairman John Atkinson and several state lawmakers. Krishnamoorthi dominates fundraising Get used to seeing Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi's face on television. The Schaumburg Democrat has spent years preparing to run for Durbin's seat, amassing an enormous war chest that made him an immediate frontrunner when he officially launched his campaign in May. Krishnamoorthi continued to be the most prolific fundraiser in the Illinois delegation, raising more than $3.1 million last quarter, upping his cash on hand to more than $21.1 million. This puts him at a more than 30-to-1 advantage against Stratton, who had to start from scratch since state and federal campaign accounts are separate. And it places him at a more than 8-to-1 advantage over Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Lynwood, who is also running for Durbin's seat. Kelly raised $573,831 last quarter and has about $2.45 million in the bank. With this fundraising advantage, Krishnamoorthi launched the first television ad of the campaign this week. To give context, the $500,000 buy, which covers a week of ads on broadcast television and streaming platforms, is about the same amount as Stratton has in the bank. Downstate congressional districts As much as Illinois Republicans would love Rep. Darin LaHood, R-Peoria, to jump into the race for the open U.S. Senate seat, he is far more likely to run for reelection and continue to climb the leadership ladder in the House. Regardless, LaHood took full advantage of his flirtation with a Senate bid, raising $688,213 last quarter, bringing his total cash on hand to more than $6.23 million. He serves on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Nikki Budzinski, D-Springfield, raised $386,480 and has nearly $2.26 million in the bank. Progressive primary challenger Dylan Blaha of Urbana reported having just $2,223 on hand while Republicans Jeff Wilson and Joshua Loyd reported $45,543 and $1,185, respectively. Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-East Moline, raised $399,496 and had $544,742 in the bank. Republican challenger Dillan Vancil raised $44,045 and had $34,223 on hand. Rep. Mike Bost, R-Murphysboro, raised $283,598 and has $498,219 on hand. The six-term incumbent won the GOP primary by less than 3,000 votes against former gubernatorial candidate Darren Bailey in 2024. However, it does not appear like Bailey is gearing up for another run. The Louisville Republican reported just $1.18 in his federal campaign account. Rep. Mary Miller, R-Hindsboro, one of President Donald Trump's closest elected allies in Illinois, raised $175,096 last quarter and had $704,291 on hand. There are three Democrats vying to taking her on next year, though none have reported more than $1,000 in the bank. Sen. Tammy Duckworth, not up for reelection until 2028, raised $1.1 million and has $3.41 million in her campaign war chest. Statewide officials While Pritzker announced his reelection last month, the self-funder has yet to replenish his campaign account. He reported more than $2.4 million cash on hand. Expect that to change soon. DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick, who announced his candidacy for the Republican gubernatorial nomination earlier this year, raised $81,500 and has $100,588 on hand while Stratton, focusing on her Senate campaign, reported raising $5,085 in her state account while spending $84,444, leaving her with $19,014. Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias, who is seeking reelection and is often mentioned as a potential challenger to Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson in 2027, raised nearly $1.05 million, leaving him with nearly $4.69 million on hand. Comptroller Susana Mendoza, who announced earlier this week that she would not seek another term as the state's chief fiscal officer amid speculation that she's mulling her own Chicago mayoral bid, raised $84,525 and has nearly $1.4 million in her campaign account. Among the Democrats that considering running for Mendoza's job, state Rep. Margaret Croke, D-Chicago, leads with $261,940 on hand while Lake County Treasurer Holly Kim has $43,909 in the bank. State Sen. Karina Villa, D-West Chicago, has $12,329 in her account. Attorney General Kwame Raoul raised $191,847 and has more than $1.28 million on hand. Treasurer Mike Frerichs raised $268,420 and has nearly $1.26 million on hand. Both are seeking reelection. FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) Exterminators were called to the Gabriel House multiple times since 2014 to get rid of bedbugs, mice and other pests at the assisted living facility, according to records obtained by Target 12. The facility has been the center of an investigation after the recent fire that killed nine people and hurt 30 others on Sunday. Debbie Johnson, who is an employee of Gabriel House, described cockroach and bedbug infestations inside the building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her harsh criticism of the building prompted Target 12 to ask Fall River city officials for all housing and sanitation reports to understand what the building was like before the fire broke out. The documents Target 12 reviewed show that exterminators were sent to the property in 2014, 2015, 2019, 2020 and 2024, with a total bill of more than $6,000. The earliest records Target 12 obtained were from 2014, when a city employee reported finding bedbugs on the third floor, undercooked food, and a filthy dining room. The next year, a pest control company was hired after bedbugs were found on a twin mattress, box spring, bedding, dresser and closet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2019, the assisted living facility dealt with another bedbug infestation, according to a document from the Fall River sanitation department. A handwritten record from 2020 shows bedbugs were moving from one room to another, and an exterminator went back to the building three times to take care of the issue. In 2024 alone, a pest control company billed Gabriel House eight times to exterminate rodents, roaches, and bedbugs. A spokesperson for the state of Massachusetts said it has also received complaints about the building and its owner, which it is investigating. Gabriel House owner Dennis Etzkorn has not responded to a request for comment. 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. Red Cross volunteer deals with her own storm disaster while helping others An American Red Cross volunteer experienced a disaster of her own after her porch collapsed as she sat inside during Tuesdays storms. I was in an office chair. It knocked the chair over, then pushed me through the screen, Kathy Burkett said. It knocked her tablet out of her hands, breaking her device, as well as furniture and other items. I have a scrape on my knee and I think I was a little bit in shock, but other than that Im OK, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She blames Mother Nature for the mess, saying I truly believe that the amount and the weight of the water is what collapsed the porch. It came so fast and there was so much of it. Burkett, whos a volunteer for the American Red Cross, said her friends from work rushed over to make sure she was OK. It was pretty scary. I think I was in a little bit of shock yesterday but needing to do what I do with Red Cross and help find my neighbors, she said. So even though she had her own mess on her hands, Burkett decided to walk around the corner and help flood victims at the Patio Apartments. Its what Im called to do. Its what I have dedicated the past seven years of my life to doing is assisting those in disaster, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, this Red Cross volunteer realized its a miracle shes alive. I do think its a blessing that I was not more seriously injured, possibly paralyzed from the roof falling on top of me, she said. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live. It's almost time to redraw Ohio's congressional map, and Republicans hold all the power to draw more GOP districts headed into competitive national midterm elections. Republicans control every aspect of the redistricting process in Ohio. They have a supermajority in the Ohio Legislature, which gets the first opportunity to draw a new congressional map. They hold five of the seven seats on the Ohio Redistricting Commission. And they have a 6-1 advantage at the Ohio Supreme Court, which will determine whether the map complies with anti-gerrymandering rules voters approved in 2018. Speaker of the House Matt Huffman, right, speaks to Senate President Rob McColley before the State of the State address. Republicans will wield nearly all the power in the state's new congressional map. And Republicans already hold two-thirds of the state's seats in Congress under the current map. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The stakes are high for Republicans: the GOP holds a narrow majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, and midterm elections are historically tough for the party that holds the White House. President Donald Trump's policies on immigration, Medicaid cuts and the "big, beautiful bill" have been polarizing. Ohio is one of the only states redrawing its map before the 2026 elections. Texas is another. Other states could redraw their maps depending on the outcome of legal fights. "The nation may turn its focus to Ohio because the U.S. House of Representatives is so close," Republican strategist Mark Weaver said. "It's likely that there will be at least one more Republican from Ohio in the House of Representatives come 2027 when the new Congress takes the oath. It could be two." Asked about that pressure, a spokesperson for Speaker Matt Huffman, R-Lima, said: "The speaker is focused on delivering a durable outcome for Ohio, not on meeting external expectations." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Redrawing Ohio's map offers an opportunity for Republicans to pick up a couple of seats in a state that Trump won by 11 percentage points in 2024. Last year, voters rejected a redistricting reform measure that would have given Democrats more say in the mapmaking process. Republican Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a different approach, modeled after Iowa, but that has gone nowhere. Ohio Democrats have little recourse to stop a GOP-drawn map, but they will make some noise about the process. "The Republicans have this level of single-party control in the state precisely because they have drawn maps that favored themselves," said House Minority Leader Dani Isaacsohn, D-Cincinnati. "How do we break out of single-party rule? We have to end gerrymandering. In the meantime, we have to hope and hold the majority party to account that they will respect the makeup of the state." Here's what you need to know: Voters rejected a 2024 redistricting reform measure. Why does Ohio have to draw a new congressional map? Ohio Republicans approved the state's current congressional map in 2021. But the map lasted only four years because no Democrats voted for it. Ohio's leaders must now draw a new map for the three next elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The map also faced legal challenges. In 2022, a divided Ohio Supreme Court ruled the map was unconstitutional. Later that year, Republican leaders took the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court, which sent it back to the Ohio Supreme Court under new leadership to review. To avoid uncertainty, the map's opponents asked the court to dismiss their lawsuits. In 2024, Ohio voters rejected a new redistricting proposal to replace elected officials with a citizen commission. Democrats blame the loss on GOP-crafted ballot language that confused voters. "It's partisan politics that have prevented us from being able to have a fair redistricting plan," said Senate Minority Leader Nickie Antonio, D-Lakewood. "As long as you have people in positions of power who are legally allowed to lie to the people of Ohio about what they're even voting on, I don't know how we get a fair ballot measure." What should Ohio's congressional map look like? Ohio's current congressional delegation includes 10 Republicans and 5 Democrats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Bernie Moreno told Punchbowl News that Republicans would probably end up with a 12-3 map that "reflects the state." That would give Republicans 80% of the congressional seats in a state where Trump won 55% of the votes. Isaacsohn said Ohio should have six Republican districts, five Democratic ones and four tossups to match the state's partisan leanings. Antonio said she'd support the current map. "The 5-10 map would give some representation and some voice in Congress to the people who are looking for a Democratic representative and believe that their values line up with the Democratic platform," Antonio said. Huffman's spokesperson, in a statement, said he supports "a fair and data-driven redistricting process that accurately reflects Ohios political landscape and provides consistency for voters. He believes input from newly elected members of the General Assembly is essential to ensure the process is representative and forward-looking." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate President Rob McColley, R-Napoleon, could not be reached for comment. Ten Republicans and five Democrats represent Ohio under the current congressional map. Who is on the chopping block? Republicans would love to flip the seat held by Toledo Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, the nation's longest-serving congresswoman. Kaptur's 9th congressional district is the most competitive in the state and, on paper, skews Republican. Trump won the district by 6.7 percentage points in 2024 as Kaptur narrowly defeated Republican challenger Derek Merrin. A libertarian candidate in the race likely pulled votes from Merrin, too. Weaver said Kaptur was "well out of touch" with that district. "She has seen her effectiveness come and go." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Isaacsohn disagreed, saying: "They've been trying to take out Marcy Kaptur for a very long time, and so far, they keep running extremist after extremist that are totally out of touch with that district." Before 2022, Kaptur's Democratic district stretched from Toledo to Cleveland and became known as "the snake on the lake" for its obvious gerrymander. Any change to Kaptur's current district would likely require dipping into Rep. Bob Latta's safe Republican district that surrounds Kaptur's. Another district to watch is the Akron-based Ohio 13th held by Democratic Rep. Emilia Sykes. The toss-up district, which includes Summit County and parts of Stark and Portage counties, is highly competitive. The map used before 2022 was notorious for slicing Summit County into multiple districts. Changing the 13th could impact the balance for nearby Republican Reps. Max Miller or Dave Joyce. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Republicans really want to push the envelope, they could go after the 1st congressional district held by Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman. That district currently stretches from Cincinnati to Warren County. Anti-gerrymandering rules require Cincinnati to be kept in one congressional district, but the race could be more competitive if the city were paired with deeper red territory. Weaver called Landsman a "very weak incumbent" who could lose his seat if Republicans perform well in 2026. Any changes to Landsman's district could impact GOP Rep. Warren Davidson's 8th, which includes Hamilton, Butler, Darke and portions of Miami counties. Trump threatened to primary Davidson for voting against the president's "big, beautiful bill." Also nearby is a district held by Rep. Mike Turner, R-Dayton. Turner has disagreed with Trump on some foreign policy and was ousted as chairman of the powerful House Intelligence Committee earlier this year. What is the deadline for approving a new congressional map? Ohio must approve a new congressional map by Nov. 30 to use in the 2026 elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But there are other deadlines before that final one. Lawmakers have until Sept. 30 to pass a congressional map with support from at least three-fifths of lawmakers in each chamber and half of the Democrats. That's unlikely to happen if Republicans choose to increase their majority in Congress. Then, the Ohio Redistricting Commission has until Oct. 31 to pass a map with bipartisan support. That commission includes three Republican statewide officials, two Republican lawmakers and two Democratic lawmakers. The pen returns to lawmakers, who can approve a map with support from three-fifths of members and one-third of Democrats on board. The final option is for the Ohio Legislature to pass a map without any Democratic support. If Republicans take that route, they must follow some rules: they cannot "unduly" favor a political party or incumbents or "unduly" split counties, townships and municipalities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Any map approved by lawmakers will be sent to DeWine for his signature or veto. What are the rules for drawing Ohio's new map? Ohio voters approved lawmakers' anti-gerrymandering rules in 2018. These rules require districts to be compact, contiguous and in compliance with federal laws protecting against racial gerrymandering. Cities with at least 100,000 residents, including Cleveland, Cincinnati, Akron, Dayton and Toledo, cannot be split into multiple congressional districts. Columbus can be divided because its population (about 933,000 residents) exceeds the number of people in a congressional district (about 792,000 people). A "significant portion" of Columbus must be kept in the same district, which is currently the 3rd, represented by Democratic Rep. Joyce Beatty. The Ohio Supreme Court, where Republicans hold a 6-1 majority, will interpret whether the map violates any of the anti-gerrymandering rules. Democrats are pessimistic that the Ohio Supreme Court will rein in fellow Republicans. "They've (Republicans) been willing to put forward unconstitutional maps for the last four years," Isaacsohn said. "I don't see what stops them now." State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@gannett.com or @jbalmert on X. This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Will Ohio GOP expand its advantage in new congressional map? PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) South Dakotas public universities are seeking nearly $32 million more in ongoing funding for the year ahead. The increases are to cover repair and maintenance of campus buildings as well as to keep up with rising costs for insurance, cybersecurity and technology. Zipping through zipper zones Another $8.5 million in one-time funding is sought for insurance and converting the system-wide internal accounting system to a cloud-based approach. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a meeting Thursday at South Dakota State University in Brookings, the state Board of Regents endorsed the package. The requests will next be sent to Gov. Larry Rhoden. He will decide what to recommend to the Legislature during the annual budget speech in December. Lawmakers will then make the final budget decisions next March. The 2027 budget year starts on July 1, 2026. Reflecting the expectation that state governments revenues will continue to be tight, the universities took a different approach this year by presenting a unified group of requests, rather than submitting individual proposals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The universities ongoing requests include: $17.1 million for deferred maintenance and repairs. $4 million for insuring academic buildings. $2.75 million for cybersecurity. $7.9 million for core technology expenses. The one-time requests include: $4.5 million for the conversion of the system-wide accounting system. $4 million for insurance. University of South Dakota president Sheila Gestring spoke about the need for maintenance and repair funding. The goal for the past decade has been reaching 2% of replacement value. Gestring said the level reached as high as 1.75% a year ago. This year, lawmakers cut that back to 1.21%, a $9.1 million reduction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State government has such a huge investment in infrastructure at the universities and it makes sense to maintain it, regent Pam Roberts of Pierre said. We want to try to fund this fully, and when its not it makes it harder, said regent Jeff Partridge of Rapid City. SDSU president Barry Dunn said insurance costs system-wide have gone up $4.8 million system-wide in the past five years. Weve got to get control of this, regents president Tim Rave of Baltic said. Dakota State University president Jose-Marie Griffiths said IT costs have risen significantly since 2020. She said total costs for technology must be considered, including the ongoing expenses for running and updating it, and the rise of AI artificial intelligence will only accelerate the need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) In the Tennessee Valley Authority River Forecast Center, employees work constantly monitoring the river levels and weather forecast. The National Weather Service plays an important role when the TVA puts together the river level forecasts. We use their meteorologists to get our precipitation forecast. We use that forecast to then put that over our reservoir through our modeling systems to determine how much water is going to end up in the reservoirs, says Ben Heath, River Forecast Center Operations Support Manager for the TVA. No two flood events are the same Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The dams along the river were built to handle large river flows and flooding. Even if rain doesnt fall in North Alabama, flooding along the Tennessee River will be possible. All the excess water upstream flows down into North Alabama. During a flood event, you are going to have more water than the generators can handle; therefore, you have spillway gates, added Heath. Before releasing water from the reservoirs, the TVA evaluates the levels downstream to make sure flooding wont occur in areas along the riverbank. Heath added, The big thing is people really need to learn their area, learn where they live, learn their reservoirs, learn their streams, learn what the NWS warnings mean. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can find information about gauges along the Tennessee River 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 WHNT.com. Reimagined Kali Restaurant Trades Tasting Menus and Wine Pairings for Steaks and Martinis originally appeared on L.A. Mag. Courtesy Frank Lee A reimagined Kali will reopen its doors to Los Angeles on July 18, following its six-month closure. Co-founded in 2016 by chef Kevin Meehan and Drew Langley, the one-Michelin-starred restaurant trades its tasting courses and wine pairings for a newly designed menu of steaks, sides and ice-cold martinis. Upon entry, patrons of Kali are transported back to the golden days of Old Hollywood when movie stars dined at tucked-away tables and agents clinked glasses with cigarettes in hand. The reimagined restaurant retains the dimly-lit charm of a classic steakhouse: a sepia-toned space, furnished with oxblood-red booths and soft velvet banquettes, and subtle gunsmoke accents throughout. At the bar nearby, stools and tables sink into softly lit corners, adding to an atmosphere that is seductively intimate. Courtesy Frank Lee The menu is upscale American classic, offering a selection of salads for starters and numerous entrees including a bone-in pork chop, salmon au poivre, chicken milanese and a mushroom wellington. Specially made sauces and sides accompany the menus steak-specific section (with options from a 16-ounce Ribeye to a 32-ounce bone-in porterhouse), flanked by six unique potato dishes from scalloped to pomme puree. Despite the sultry elegance that Kali exudes, Meehan wanted the space and menu to retain a welcoming and approachable feel. More than just the food, I want Kali to be a place where you can unwind, connect, and feel at home whether youre celebrating, catching a Dodgers game or just looking for a great meal with friends, Meehan wrote in a statement. No special occasion necessary. Courtesy Frank Lee Courtesy Frank Lee Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Facing hit after hit in recent years the COVID-19 pandemic, the Writers Guild of America and Screen Actors Guild strikes, Januarys wildfires and the recent raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement the citys culinary industry has felt a palpable slump. According to Eater, restaurants have weathered as much as a 30 to 40 percent decline in revenue, due to a decrease in foot traffic and loss of workers. Meehan acknowledged the challenging reality of the dining landscape at present. I wont sugarcoat it: running a restaurant in Los Angeles right now is more than difficult. These are trying times for all of us in this industry owners, staff and guests alike, Meehan said. Many of you, especially those working in Hollywood and the creative fields, have faced your own unique challenges. Your resilience and support have meant everything to me and my team. Courtesy Frank Lee As it reopens its doors, Kali invites Angelenos to gather together for good food in good company. In paying homage to the citys culinary past, Kali calls to the enduring spirit of resilience and reinvention at the very heart of Los Angeles. This story was originally reported by L.A. Mag on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) Tennessee Republican Congressman Andy Ogles sent a letter to the Education Secretary calling for an investigation into Belmont University. Ogles said he penned this letter to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon in reference to leaked videos reportedly showing a Belmont official talking about renaming their diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices rather than dismantling them. Real estate fraud becomes growing problem in Tennessee Belmont University claims to be a Christian school rooted in Biblical principles, but its teachers deal in deception. President Trump has rightly demanded that all colleges and universities dismantle their DEI cartel or risk losing federal funding. So why are Belmont officials on camera bragging about their clever scheme to simply rename their DEI offices and keep pushing the same agenda? I just sent a letter to @EDSecMcMahon demanding a full investigation into Belmontand, if necessary, a cut to their funding. Not in Tennessee. Not on my watch. U.S. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) President Donald Trump has ordered all colleges and universities to end DEI programs. Ogles called the leaked videos troubling evidence, stating the university is continuing the activities that the Trump administration has required be discontinued. Andy Ogles Belmont letter Andy Ogles Belmont letter Ogles letter claims the school discussed renaming its DEI programs as Hope, Unity, and Belonging (or HUB), which would violate Executive Order 14173 and possibly the Title VI Civil Rights Act of 1964. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ogles asked McMahon for a compliance review of Belmonts HUB operation, for her to issue guidance on cosmetic name changes, and for a report to Congress on DEI rebranding across federal institutions. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Belmont University sent News 2 the following statement in response to the calls for an investigation: We are deeply saddened that these videos portray Belmont as having a shadow operation as nothing could be further from the truth. Its also disappointing that Rep. Ogles and others perceive such an approach as being representative of Belmont Universitys character and values. As a Christian institution, Belmont believes that every human being is created in the image of God and is worthy of respect. Our Office of Hope, Unity & Belonging, The HUB, was established in 2022 to inspire the campus community to fully live in light of Christs resurrection. The HUBs staff works tirelessly toward the goal that every Belmont studentregardless of background, religion, ethnicity, political party or perspectivefeels valued and respected throughout their time at the University. The employee in this video was not authorized to represent the University on these topics nor speak on behalf of Belmont as an institution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) is calling on Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to explain why the Trump administration has repeatedly ordered cuts to HIV/AIDS programs both at home and abroad. In a letter to Kennedy dated Thursday, Garcia asserted that the cabinet secretary has a history of peddling misinformation about the virus and disease, and that the planned cuts which he called "alarming and unprecedented" would cost lives. "We are concerned that your motivations for disrupting HIV funding and delaying preventative services and research are grounded not in sound science, but in misinformation and disinformation you have spread previously about HIV and AIDS, including your repeated claim that HIV does not cause AIDS," wrote Garcia, the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Health and Human Services spokesperson said Kennedy remains committed to science-based public health, that critical HIV/AIDS programs will continue under his leadership, and that ongoing investments in such work demonstrate that commitment. Both President Trump and Kennedy have previously defended the sweeping cuts to Health and Human Services programs and staff under Kennedy's leadership. Agency spokespeople have said they would allow for a greater focus on Kennedy's priorities of "ending Americas epidemic of chronic illness by focusing on safe, wholesome food, clean water, and the elimination of environmental toxins." Kennedy has said the department under his watch "will do more a lot more at a lower cost to the taxpayer." Read more: Trump cuts will cause a spike in HIV cases in L.A. and across the country, warn Democrats and public health advocates Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Garcia's letter which he co-wrote with Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the ranking Democrat on the Health Care and Financial Services subcommittee requested that the health department produce a list of all HIV/AIDS-related funding it has cut and an explanation for how those funds were identified for elimination, as well as other documentation and communications around several of the largest cuts. The letter is the latest attempt by Democrats, in coordination with health experts and LGBTQ+ organizations, to challenge what they see as an inexplicable yet coordinated effort by the Trump administration to dismantle public health initiatives aimed at controlling and ultimately ending one of the most devastating and deadly epidemics in human history. It comes the same day that Senate Republicans agreed to a Trump administration request to claw back billions of dollars in funding for public media and foreign aid, but declined an earlier White House request to include in those cuts about $400 million in HIV/AIDS funding for the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, which is credited with saving millions of lives in some of the poorest nations around the world. The House had previously voted for an earlier version of the measure that did cut the funding for PEPFAR, which was started by President George W. Bush in 2003. However, senators pushed for the restoration of the funding before agreeing to sign the broader rescission package. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The House must now approve the Senate version of the measure by Friday for it to take effect. In an interview with The Times, Garcia said he has long viewed Kennedy as a dangerous "conspiracy theorist" who has "peddled in all sorts of lies" about HIV, vaccines and other medical science. Now that Kennedy is Health secretary, he said, the American people deserve to know whether national and international health decisions are being driven by his baseless personal beliefs. "Folks need to understand what he's trying to do, and I think that he has to be responsible and be held accountable for his actions," Garcia said. In their letter, Garcia and Krishnamoorthi noted that recent scientific advancements including the creation of new preventative drugs are making the eradication of HIV more attainable than ever. And yet Kennedy and the Trump administration are pushing the nation and the world in the opposite direction, they said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Since taking office, the Trump Administration has systematically attacked HIV-related funding and blocked critical HIV-related services and care for those who need it most," Garcia and Krishnamoorthi wrote. "These disruptions would threaten Americans most at risk of contracting HIV, and many people living with HIV will get sicker or infect others without programs they rely on for treatment." The letter outlines a number of examples of such cuts, including: The elimination of the HIV prevention division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and termination or delay of billions of dollars in HIV prevention grants from that office. The termination of a $258-million program within the National Institutes of Health to find a vaccine to prevent new HIV infections. The termination of dozens of NIH grants for HIV research, particularly around preventing new infections among Black and Latino gay men who are disproportionately at risk of contracting the virus. The targeting of HIV prevention initiatives abroad, including PEPFAR. The U.S. drawing back from the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Many in the medical and foreign aid community expressed grave concerns about Kennedy being appointed as Health secretary, in part because of his past remarks about HIV/AIDS. Kennedy told a reporter for New York Magazine as recently as June 2023 that there "are much better candidates than H.I.V. for what causes AIDS." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In their letter, Garcia and Krishnamoorthi called out a specific theory shared by Kennedy that the recreational drug known as "poppers" may cause AIDS, rather than the HIV virus, writing, "We are deeply concerned that the Trump Administration's HIV-related funding cuts are indiscriminate, rooted in a political agenda, and not at all in the interest of public health." Kennedy's skepticism about the link between HIV and AIDS conflicts with well established science that has long been accepted by the medical establishment, and by the federal government. Studies around the world have proved the link, and found that HIV is the only common factor in AIDS cases. In August 2023, about a week before Kennedy threw his support behind Trump, his presidential campaign addressed the controversy surrounding his "poppers" comment, stating that Kennedy did not believe poppers were "the sole cause" of AIDS, but contended they were "a significant factor in the disease progression" of early patients in the 1980s. Garcia and Krishnamoorthi also noted a successful effort by local officials and advocates in Los Angeles County to get about $20 million in HIV/AIDS funding restored last month, after it and similar funding nationwide was frozen by the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Trump administration restores funds for HIV prevention following outcry The restoration of those funds followed another letter sent to Kennedy by Rep. Laura Friedman (D-Glendale) and other House members, who cited estimates from the Foundation for AIDS Research, known as amfAR, that the nationwide cuts could lead to 127,000 additional deaths from AIDS-related causes within five years. Garcia and Krishnamoorthi cited the same statistics in their letter. In his interview with The Times, Garcia, who is gay, also said the LGBTQ+ community "is rightly outraged" at Kennedy's actions to date and deserves to know if Kennedy "is using his own conspiracy theories and his own warped view of what the facts are" to dismantle public health infrastructure around HIV and AIDS that they fought for decades to build. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 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. President Donald Trump on Wednesday flipped out at his own supporters for continuing to ask about late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said there may be a reason the president wants to change the subject. Trump said Epstein has been dead for a long time and was never a big factor in terms of life. But Crockett pointed out that Trump and Epstein were once friends. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For him to say hes a nonfactor ... when we can go and find pictures and pictures and pictures of the two of them together, thats a very interesting concept, right? she told MeidasTouch contributor Katie Phang on YouTube. This idea that like, hes a nonfactor. Well, why were you hanging around with nonfactors, Mr. President? Like, what was that about, right? Trump and many in his circle promised repeatedly to release files related to Epstein, including a long-rumored client list. Documents released previously have detailed a long list of powerful people who had connections to Epstein including Trump although those documents did not allege any wrongdoing by those people. Last week, however, the Justice Department said no client list exists and there are no more files to release, angering many including some of Trumps own supporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The move came weeks after former Trump pal Elon Musk tweeted that the president wont release the files because Trump himself is in them. He later deleted the post, but Trump and Epstein were once close, reportedly partying together at each others properties. The Washington Post said the two had a falling out in 2004 over real estate. Crockett on Wednesday said the questions remain, especially given that Trump has previously been found liable for sexual abuse in a different case. This is someone, that when it came down to the Miss USA pageants, there were concerns about things that he was doing with the young ladies and that kind of stuff, Crockett said. He is overall a creep. Like, we know hes a creep. The question is, is he also a criminal in that way as well? And the fact that he is so adamant about not releasing the Epstein files, I think kind of answers the question. See Crocketts full conversation with Phang below: CHICAGO (WGN) Former Minnesota Vikings defensive end Everson Griffen was removed from a Delta flight Wednesday after he allegedly caused a mid-flight disturbance, according to TMZ Sports. TMZ reported Griffen was onboard a Delta Air Lines flight departing Chicago for Minneapolis when he was accused of creating a disturbance. Minutes after the plane took off, it returned to OHare International Airport so that staff could have an unruly passenger removed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is unclear if Griffen was arrested in connection to the incident. He played 12 seasons in the NFL, 11 of which were spent with the Vikings. Griffen was a four-time Pro Bowl selection for Minnesota and accumulated double digit sacks three times in a Vikings uniform. His best season came in 2017 when he registered 45 tackles and 13 sacks on the way to being voted to Associated Press second-team All-Pro. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (FOX 5/KUSI) A report from San Diego Imperial Valley High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) shows the effects marijuana is having on Californians statewide. While nationally, marijuana is the leading drug in polysubstance emergency visits involving alcohol, doctors, researchers and experts warn of a grave concern for public health, including mental health, its potential links to suicide, emergency room visits and how young kids are accidentally getting marijuana. The report, which comes out every two years, shows that in 2022, 43 percent of suicides in San Diego County among individuals under the age of 25 involved THC. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cannabis is also a risk factor in suicide, Dr. Roneet Lev, an ER Physician and expert in Cannabis Use Disorder, said. It also found that emergency visits due to marijuana rose by 521 percent in California from 1,988 in 2008 to 12,347 in 2022. With more people using, weve been seeing more people in the emergency department on a daily basis, every single shift with marijuana poisoning, Dr. Lev said. I dont think when Californians voted to legalize marijuana, they realized that they were legalizing 99% THC products that behave like methamphetamines, Dr. Lev said. Marijuana became commercialized in 2010, and legal in California in 2016, and theres a growing number of children who are being impacted by marijuana. The report shows that youth aged 12 to 17 years old accounted for nearly 38 percent of marijuana treatment admissions in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But its not only the teens, its also impacting the younger generation, and the data shows that national poison control calls jumped 752 percent for kids between 0-12 years old after THC edible exposure from 2018-2023, with the most common ages impacted being under 5 years old. In California, the largest group impacted by marijuana exposure was children under 5 in 2023, with 842 cases. Experts, doctors and law enforcement warn that marijuana packaging is also misleading, unregulated and attractive to children who dont know what they are getting into. Last year, the San Diego County Sheriffs office tested marijuana products found at local smoke shops and gas stations and found that items were mislabeled. Some of the products contained a much higher THC level than advertised on the label. They also found some of the items contained bath salts and pesticides, which are found at licensed and unlicensed grow sites. You really have no idea what youre getting Its completely unregulated, San Diego County Sheriffs Office Lt. Michael Peppin, who is an expert in product potency, enforcement and illicit market, 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 FOX 5 San Diego & KUSI News. Report: Vance Boelter plans to plead not guilty to federal charges originally appeared on Bring Me The News. Accused political assassin Vance Boelter is reportedly planning to plead not guilty to federal charges in the murder of state Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and the attempted murder of state Sen. John Hoffman and his family. Boelter, 57, of Green Isle, was indicted by a grand jury Tuesday on six federal charges, including murder and stalking. He's scheduled to appear Sept. 12 at the Minneapolis federal courthouse for an arraignment hearing, during which the defense anticipates to plead not guilty, Boelter's attorney told the Minnesota Star Tribune. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal defender Manny Atwal wouldn't say whether he plans to pursue a mental health defense for Boelter. Vance BoelterHennepin County Jail Boelter surrendered to police after an extensive manhunt on June 15, the day after the Hortmans were killed in their Brooklyn Park home and the Hoffmans were injured in their Champlin home. A 47-page search warrant was unsealed Tuesday alongside the federal indictment. According to the federal indictment, Boelter left behind a handwritten note addressed to the director of the FBI, claiming he was trained "off the books" by the U.S. military and recruited by Gov. Tim Walz to kill U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Tina Smith. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities seized additional writings by Boelter, including notebooks that contained all manner of notations, scribbles, stray phone numbers or emails and lists, but few cohesively written thoughts," per the warrant. Boelter was described in the warrant as believing he acted in a twisted and misguided sense of doing good. If you want to save the country you have to get your hands dirty, Boelter wrote in a notebook recovered with the search warrant. Prosecutors say Boelter admitted to shooting the Hoffmans and Hortmans in his letter to the FBI. Boelter's federal trial iin November. This story was originally reported by Bring Me The News on Jul 16, 2025, where it first appeared. Hundreds of people have reportedly fled from Syria into Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country, Israeli media reported on Thursday. The Israeli military returned dozens to the neighbouring country overnight, the ynet news portal wrote. Most of them were said to be members of the Druze religious minority. Efforts were currently under way to locate more Syrian Druze. The Israeli military did not confirm the information upon request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Times of Israel also reported that Israeli forces had sent back several Syrian Druze, adding that it was unclear how many Syrian Druze remained in Israel. The newspaper quoted one Syrian as saying he wanted to stay in Israel, not return to his homeland. He arrived in the country on Wednesday and was accompanied by his young son, according to the report. Clashes between Sunni Bedouins and Druze have escalated in recent days, centred on the Druze-majority city of Sweida, with Syrian government troops deployed to the area. Report: 1,000 Israeli Druze enter Syria At the same time, the Israeli military brought dozens of Israeli Druze back from Syria overnight, the Times of Israel reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to ynet, around 1,000 Druze from Israel had crossed the border into Syria on Wednesday to help protect their brethren from the violence. Many Druze in Israel have relatives in the neighbouring country. According to the Times of Israel, several dozen Druze from Israel are still in Syria. Hundreds of people have reportedly fled from Syria into Israel following the outbreak of violence in the south of the country, Israeli media reported on Thursday. The Israeli military returned dozens to the neighbouring country overnight, the ynet news portal wrote. Most of them were said to be members of the Druze religious minority. Efforts were currently under way to locate more Syrian Druze. The Israeli military did not confirm the information upon request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Times of Israel also reported that Israeli forces had sent back several Syrian Druze, adding that it was unclear how many Syrian Druze remained in Israel. The newspaper quoted one Syrian as saying he wanted to stay in Israel, not return to his homeland. He arrived in the country on Wednesday and was accompanied by his young son, according to the report. Clashes between Sunni Bedouins and Druze have escalated in recent days, centred on the Druze-majority city of Sweida, with Syrian government troops deployed to the area. Report: 1,000 Israeli Druze enter Syria At the same time, the Israeli military brought dozens of Israeli Druze back from Syria overnight, the Times of Israel reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to ynet, around 1,000 Druze from Israel had crossed the border into Syria on Wednesday to help protect their brethren from the violence. Many Druze in Israel have relatives in the neighbouring country. According to the Times of Israel, several dozen Druze from Israel are still in Syria. Holes in the border fence are now being repaired, the Times reported, citing the military. Blockades were reportedly also being erected to prevent further border crossings. The military warned that crossing the border is a criminal offence. Media reported that members of the Israeli parliament belonging to the religious minority also crossed the border fence to bring Israeli Druze back home. Syrian president to Israel: Don't try to drag us into war Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel earlier Thursday of attempting to drag Syria into a war and said his country would not take the bait. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We, the people of Syria, know very well who is trying to drag us into war and who is working to divide us," al-Sharaa said in a dawn speech broadcast on national television. "We will not give them the opportunity to entangle our people in a war that serves only to fragment our homeland and sow destruction." Al-Sharaa blamed Israel for exploiting instability in the wake of regime change, accusing it of targeting civilian infrastructure and seeking to derail reconstruction efforts. "Power alone does not guarantee victory, and igniting a war is not the same as controlling its outcome," he said. "We are stronger than any attempt to tear us apart." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Addressing internal unrest in the southern province of Sweida, al-Sharaa said the government had intervened to end armed clashes between local groups. Al-Sharaa blamed "outlawed factions" for rejecting dialogue and fuelling disorder while accusing Israel of exploiting the unrest through strikes on civilian infrastructure to derail peace efforts. He also reaffirmed the Druze community's place in Syrian society, underscoring the state's commitment to protecting their rights and freedoms, and warned against attempts to drag it into foreign agendas. US federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, who was involved in high-profile investigations into Jeffrey Epstein and Sean "Diddy" Combs, has been dismissed from her position, US media reported on Wednesday. The reason for her dismissal was not immediately clear, according to online outlet Politico and US newspaper The New York Times. Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, had worked on the federal cases against Epstein, a convicted sex offender, and music mogul Combs, who earlier this month was found guilty on two prostitution-related charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James Comey was fired in 2017 by US President Donald Trump during the FBI's investigation into alleged links between Moscow and members of Trump's 2016 presidential campaign team. Epstein died in 2019 in a New York prison cell in what was officially labelled a suicide. Especially in right-wing circles of US society, Epstein's death led to wild speculation despite official findings, because the financier had excellent contacts in US high society. Last week, the FBI reaffirmed Epstein's death was suicide and said no evidence implicated other high-profile individuals or pointed to a "list" of powerful clients. The statement drew backlash. HERCULES, Calif. (KRON) As a sanitation workers strike stretches into its ninth day, negotiations remain at a standstill between Republic Services and the union. Meanwhile, trash is piling up. In parts of the East Bay, garbage hasnt been picked up since before the Fourth of July. In one Hercules neighborhood just off John Muir Parkway, residents are dealing with a mounting garbage crisis. Republic Services has told customers to leave cans out, just in case they can come by and do a pick-up. But that hasnt happened for some time now, and people are frustrated. On Wednesday, Hercules resident Kristina Abuda told KRON4 that trash cans havent been collected in her neighborhood since before the July 4th holiday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Safeway workers rally in Pleasant Hill ahead of possible strike Around the corner, you can see birds picking at bags, making an even bigger mess. A nearby business park also had overflowing bins and rotten items. The Contra Costa County Health Department said it is monitoring the situation for any public health concerns. Union workers are demanding better wages and working conditions. The Teamsters have now joined forces with Republic Services workers nationwide, causing services to come to a standstill. Residents say they have empathy for the workers. I get it, I am a union employee, and they should get more money, said resident Valerie Wong. Contra Costa County officials said they continue to demand that Republic Services do something and help neighbors and businesses. In the meantime, the garbage just keeps piling 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 KRON4. WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) Cuts to federal funding are moving forward in Congress. Republican lawmakers are working to claw back $9 billion from foreign aid and public broadcasting. House lawmakers are currently considering whether to move the bill forward before the Friday deadline. The package of cuts, requested by the president, is a key part of his agenda. Republicans say it targets wasteful spending. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans voted to save the American taxpayers over nine billion dollars, said Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) Two Republican senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, voted against the bill along with all Democrats. While Americans were asleep, Senate Republicans gutted critical funding for local TV and radio, for foreign aid that keeps America safe, all to keep paying for their billionaire tax cuts, said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.). The package of cuts, representing a tiny fraction of the federal budget, is a priority for the president. This will help restore fiscal sanity in our country, said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russ Vought with the Office of Management and Budget said the White House is okay with the one change Republicans made to the bill, to exempt cuts to PEPFAR, a global anti-aids initiative. The president has always been supportive of lifesaving treatment, said Vought. Democrats criticized the cuts to public media and said the foreign aid cuts will hurt Americas standing on the world stage. This is a dark day for America, said Schumer. The bill must be signed by midnight on Friday for the cuts to take effect. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 As lawmakers prepare to return to their states for the August work period the longest stretch of time members are away from Washington throughout the year both parties are preparing their messages for constituents back home. And both Republicans and Democrats are planning to use the same weapon: President Donald Trumps big, beautiful bill. Congress passed the massive tax package just before the July Fourth holiday, enacting the presidents domestic policy agenda ranging from border security to energy production to tax reform. The budget framework also approves trillions of dollars in spending cuts to government programs to offset the costs of permanent tax cuts expected to take effect at the end of this year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration began its sales pitch in earnest on Wednesday as Vice President JD Vance traveled to one of the most competitive House districts in Pennsylvania to campaign on the policy bill. It marks the beginning of the midterm messaging onslaught as Republicans fight to protect their slim majorities in Congress and Democrats look for any opening to have some sense of leverage in Washington. GOP leaders press lawmakers to counter Democratic attacks at home Before lawmakers make it back home for the August recess, the midterm messaging has already begun taking shape on Capitol Hill. In closed-door meetings throughout the week, GOP leaders implored their members to defend the budget behemoth to their constituents, particularly those who are running for reelection in tight races. Republicans face an uphill battle as recent polling shows a majority of Americans oppose the domestic policy bill, with several expressing concerns it will raise costs and hurt the economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democrats are seizing on those worries, flooding the airwaves with ads that frame the bill as harmful to everyday Americans. Thats sent GOP leadership into a flurry encouraging party members to get specific on policies as a way to ease concerns. I feel like theres less selling and more just clarifying the bill, Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, told the Deseret News. Moore, who serves as the vice chairman of the House GOP Conference, is part of Republican leadership efforts to ensure the budget framework is received well by voters. Part of that, he said, is educating voters on whats inside. In general, Utahns understand that lower taxes, competitive taxes, create more revenue, create more business opportunity, create more jobs. I think we proved that pretty well in the state, and we just want to mimic it a little bit more nationally, he said. When I highlight those things they get it. They get behind it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, other Republican leaders are taking a more offensive approach by accusing their Democratic colleagues of outright lying about the consequences of the bill. If you just spent all your days listening to the lies told by the Democrats, you would be living in a parallel universe because theyre rooting against the success of this bill, which means theyre rooting against the success of working families across America, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., told reporters on Tuesday. Republicans turn to voters themselves to help sell big, beautiful bill As part of their efforts to humanize the newly approved policies, Republicans are relying on a familiar political tool: having regular voters promote the legislation for them. During their weekly leadership press conference on Tuesday, Republicans featured two business owners from Florida who said they would benefit from the policies approved under the massive tax package. Johnson told reporters they should expect more of that in future press availability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You all are going to see us highlighting real hard working Americans for the foreseeable future, because the one big beautiful bill helps everybody, Johnson said. And youre going to hear their stories about what it means to them and what it means to their employees. Democrats sink in their teeth House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks about President Donald Trump's policies and the GOP's tax and spending cut bill that passed this month, during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, July 14, 2025. | J. Scott Applewhite But as Republicans attempt to market the package as a major win, Democrats are using the same provisions to frame it as a dangerous piece of legislation. Democratic leaders have consistently branded the Trump bill as the big, ugly bill and pointed to the cuts toward green energy tax credits and health care programs as policies that will make life more expensive for lower- and middle-income families. There is nothing in the one big ugly bill that will meaningfully make life more affordable for the American people, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters on Monday. In fact, the one big ugly bill will make life more expensive for everyday Americans, particularly as it relates to utility costs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Democratic campaign arms are particularly highlighting the more controversial provisions of the bill, dedicating millions of dollars on attack ads and other campaign materials. The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, the main fundraising vehicle for House Democrats, has launched a series of ad campaigns targeting Republicans in vulnerable districts as part of efforts to flip control of the lower chamber next year. Every day between now and the election, the DCCC will communicate the harm this bill will cause and uplift stories of the everyday Americans negatively impacted, DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton told the Deseret News. Well do this through social media, paid communications, and mobilizing voters to hold vulnerable Republicans accountable for abandoning their central promise to voters by passing the largest cut to health care in American history to pay for tax breaks for billionaires. The Democratic National Committee is also getting involved by launching interactive websites in a number of states, including Utah, highlighting how the package could specifically impact those who live there. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DNC characterizes the website as a way for Utahns to see that if youre not a billionaire, Trumps bill wont benefit taxpayers. Hospital closures and Medicaid cuts will lead to higher health care costs and hospital bills for everyone, the DNC said in a release. Meanwhile, the White House has released its own state-by-state breakdown of how the legislation could aid Americans through tax cuts, higher wages and more. Other Republicans have brushed off Democratic attacks as mere campaign tactics to get back in power. Look, Democrats are in the minority right now, and theyre going to use this as an opportunity to message (and) try to get back in the majority, Moore told the Deseret News. Thats the nature of this place. I wish it werent the case, but it is the nature of this place. During a suffocating heat wave across Europe, wildfires have forced thousands of residents to evacuate their homes. What's happening? At the end of June, many European countries experienced temperatures that were well above average, Reuters reported. High temperatures were roughly 10 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit above their normals for that time of year. France, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Germany, and the Netherlands all issued health warnings because of the high temperatures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement El Granado, Spain, saw temperatures reach 110 degrees Fahrenheit. The Iberian country and England both recorded their hottest June ever. "It's awful," one Spanish resident told Reuters. "We need to be looking for shade constantly." The heat brought other problems with it, as fires broke out in France, where the temperature soared over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and Turkey. In Turkey, heat and strong winds fueled the flames, and more than 50,000 people had to evacuate their homes. Why are heat waves important? Extreme heat is a huge threat to human life. As Reuters noted, it kills up to 480,000 people each year, more than the combined number from disasters such as floods, earthquakes, and hurricanes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this case, Reuters reported that 2,300 people died as a result of the heat wave, according to a rapid scientific analysis of the heat wave. Such deadly heat waves are likely to happen more frequently as the planet continues to warm. Last year was the warmest in recorded history, and the 10 hottest on record each happened within the past decade. What's more, experts with the World Meteorological Organization expect the record to be broken again at some point in the next five years. How concerned are you about your energy bills increasing this summer? Very Somewhat Not much Not at all Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Scientists agree that this warming is the result of human-caused air pollution. As we burn more fossil fuels and release more toxic gases into the air, those gases trap heat within our atmosphere, causing the planet to warm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Such warming does more than just increase temperatures. It also makes other types of extreme weather more frequent and can make natural disasters more severe. The problem is so severe that experts have likened our warming planet to "steroids for weather." What's being done about heat waves? Across Europe, countries have taken several precautions to protect their citizens from this extreme heat. Italy, for example, banned outside work during the hottest parts of the day, and Germany asked residents to limit their water use. But the only real way to stop these heat waves from becoming worse is to reduce our planet's greenhouse gas pollution. Individuals can take many steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Some are small, such as reducing the amount of plastic used daily, and some are larger, such as installing solar panels or purchasing an electric vehicle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By understanding the issues that cause extreme weather to happen and using that knowledge to make informed decisions, everyone can play a role in trying to keep our planet cooler. 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. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) Neighbors are speaking out as a waste transfer station is one step closer to becoming a reality. The Ohio EPA held a meeting in New Carlisle Wednesday night regarding a potential Rumpke waste transfer facility, where Bethel Township and New Carlisle residents say they feel their concerns arent being heard. Its been over six months since Rumpke first came to New Carlisle to address concerns around a new waste transfer facility off of State Route 235. That meeting ended in a lot of disagreements regarding the site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now in July, the Ohio EPA held their own meeting to announce that Rumpke has one more step before their permit is approved to begin building. Right now, theyve met the requirements of the permit, of the application, the rules of the state of Ohio. Well be making a recommendation to the director, said Russell Brown, Ohio EPA assistant chief. Attendees at the meeting say they feel their input wasnt of any use in the discourse between the EPA and Rumpke. Theyre looking at a monetary saving, theyre not looking at destroying the peoples environment that live in this area, said Wayne Massie, Park Layne resident. So very disheartening, the meeting was very disheartening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Concerns arose over flooding and potential hazardous materials leaking into nearby areas where many residents rely on wells for their water. Rumpke was not present at Wednesdays meeting, but 2 NEWS talked with a spokesperson on the phone, who says theyre not expecting the permit to be denied. No true construction has been done, but were hoping to start moving forward once we get the permit to construct, said Molly Kennedy, Rumpke communications coordinator for Dayton. The facility is slated for a grand opening in Spring 2026. Kennedy says they did not have a representative at Wednesdays meeting because Rumpke felt there wasnt a need after their first meeting in November, further saying they did not want to take away from the EPAs message. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Retailers were "elated" and "hopeful" after the States confirmed it would be purchasing a site in St Sampson. The States of Guernsey announced plans to buy the Leale's Yard site on The Bridge for 4.5m on Wednesday. Earlier this year it had pulled out of a deal to spend about 35m on the project to support the Channel Islands Co-Operative and developer Omnibus with the scheme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Martin Search, owner of Ray & Scott Jewellers, said he was "absolutely elated" by the purchase. Martin Search did not think changes would happen in his lifetime [BBC] He said: "I honestly didn't think it would happen in my lifetime and I think it is going to happen this time. "I honestly think it's gone on too long but we've got so close now to the point of the negotiation and where they bought it and where they've actually put their hands in the pocket." Shop owner Dave Perchard said he was "hopeful that something is actually going to happen this time". He said: "I've traded on The Bridge for 30 years now, and even 30 years ago I was concerned as to what the future for my shop was going to be because of Leale's Yard. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Here we are 30 years later and nothing's happened, but it really looks positive this time." Deputy Steve Williams, President of the Housing Committee, said it was a "great opportunity" for the States to improve the area. He said: "It's been derelict for a long time and we saw through the election period a lot of the public were really keen that something happened with Leale's Yard. "We desperately need housing in the island, this is such a brownfield site... it's really good derelict land to make some good opportunity for new housing." 'Generating transport links' Committee for the Environment and Infrastructure President Deputy Adrian Gabriel said work had to be done to improve the roads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said: "The road network at the moment won't certainly cope with extra housing, so this site is ideal for generating some transport links to help the surrounding area residents and anyone visiting. "It's brilliant that we've been able to capitalise on this and invest in this site... this site has been derelict for many a year so now it's wholly in the state's hands." Lisa said she was hopeful for more housing in the island [BBC] Lisa said the States needed to provide more housing for its islanders. She said: "Hopefully it's a good thing and it'll be redeveloped into new homes which are desperately needed in the island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think The Bridge needs a bit of a facelift... we need houses, it's a unique site." Islander Martin disagreed: "More houses, more people, we haven't got the infrastructure in this island. "What the bridge needs to make it more vibrant is more shops... make it look nice, a nice shopping precinct [and a] nice big car park." Debs said she was worried about the impact on the local school. "For me, I feel it's bursting at the seams already - adding all that extra housing in one spot, that concerns me." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Andrew said he was not convinced things would change: "It's been going on for a few years now and I don't think they're going to do much with it. "That's not going to happen within a year, I reckon give it another five years and it'll probably still be the same." Islander Robert said this was "just what the bridge needs": "For the footfall that will come out of the building project and with Quayside work going on when that's in place there's going to be a lot more commercial benefit from it." Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. More on this story Related internet links Youth slang has always been an ephemeral, shape-shifting thing, arriving as if from nowhere, taking over the lexicon, and then fading out, to be replaced by other popular words and phrases. But since the advent of social media, words no longer spread organically through a population. Those that catch on tend to be artificially and often cynically disseminated by a power we cannot see but are very much guided by: the algorithm. As etymologist Adam Aleksic writes in his engaging and readable new book Algospeak, Were entering an entirely new era of etymology, driven by the invisible forces behind social media and its algorithms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Aleksic is young and perpetually online himself. Aged 24, hes just two years out of Harvard University, where he studied linguistics. Since graduating, he has built a multi-platform empire making catchy short-form videos about etymology and now, a book. The stated mission of Algospeak is to reveal the bigger social story of how language shapes us, just as much as we shape it. What it hones in on, however, is how language is used and spread on social media, how politics is affected (of which more later), and how younger users are getting past keywords and topics that are increasingly censored or outright banned on social media platforms. Using seggs instead of sex, for instance; unalive instead of kill or suicide; or emojis, such as the watermelon, to talk about Palestine (a Six-Day War reference). The censorship force is causing language change to happen faster, explains Aleksic. But why? This censorship, he says, exists partly to avoid incentivising things such as suicide or eating disorders. But, unsurprisingly, its not simply ethically motivated. A lot of the rest of it is whats going to make [the social media platforms] money and we have a little bit of banality of evil going on there, he says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the UK, there will soon be another block on certain content reaching children on social media: under the Online Safety Act, from this month algorithms will have to filter out content deemed harmful, or else face large fines. Content creators will presumably respond as they have done before: by finding imaginative new ways around this. Its a process Aleksic refers to as linguistic Whac-a-Mole, and illustrates the difficulty of effectively policing this democratised medium. Social media researcher Emily van der Nagel calls it Voldemorting, which in practice means avoiding typing certain keywords, just as wizards in the Harry Potter books avoid saying the name of the evil Lord Voldemort. This, in the social media age, is how taboo topics are discussed, and it has given rise to an explosion of semiotic workarounds: Donald Trump goes by 45 or 47 (the 45th and 47th president of the United States), the Cheeto or orange man, and now, the taco emoji (standing for the acronym of Trump Always Chickens Out); the corn emoji may be used as a replacement for porn; and so on. As soon as a platform bans a keyword, a human user will find linguistically innovative ways to get past these barriers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were able to figure out new ways to talk about what we want to talk about. Humans are good at circumventing these algorithms, says Aleksic. Etymologist Adam Aleksic says censorship on social media has caused language to change rapidly - Jonah Rosenberg Raised in Albany, New York, he is the son of two Serbian immigrants, both atmosphere research scientists. So I was the oddball for being the humanities person, he says. His passion for linguistics started as a teenager, when he came across a book on the subject. He became hooked, and started a blog called The Etymology Nerd, which then snowballed into @etymologynerd. Hes sitting in front of an exposed brick wall, a background that appears in many of his TikTok videos. These consist of him explaining at breakneck speed to hold his viewers attention the origins and meanings of words or phrases, or interesting features of the way we use language. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He speaks almost as fast and excitedly during our chat, so its unclear where his online persona ends and his offline self begins. A false distinction, perhaps, for a content creator such as Aleksic, whos immersed in the digital world with 1.5 million followers on Instagram, 744,000 on TikTok, 630,000 on YouTube and a Substack newsletter with 57,000 subscribers. As such, he knows exactly how to pull in an online crowd. It helps that Im literally studying how influencers talk [and] what are the tricks, he says. If you want to do well in the algorithm, youve got to predict how people think. It definitely helped that I was studying the tactics. One of which is his million-words-a-minute talking speed, because theres a real risk that if you pause for breath, your audience will grow bored and scroll on. Aleksic is open about how he uses these tricks to bring linguistics to a broader audience. He is also canny about his subject choice, often discussing slang words and phrases, such as skibidi (which has no real meaning), to appeal to his young, digitally minded audience. His TikTok post on the phrase hes cooked (meaning hes in trouble or exhausted) received almost 120,000 likes, suggesting the TikTok generation is especially interested in having its language explained to itself. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That he has managed to interest millions of followers in etymology is in itself impressive. That hes using his platform as a digital content creator to critique the media hes built his career on is perhaps even more so. There are processes Aleksic wants his audience to be aware of where language and social media is concerned. As an etymologist, he is naturally concerned with where words come from, but so should their users be too, he suggests. Slang words appropriated from online or offline subcultures are used in harmless ways by others who have no idea of their origins. But what if you knew that some of those strange slang words your children and grandchildren use known as brainrot among the initiated come from online incel culture (the term for a subculture of men who consider themselves unable to attract women and therefore hostile in their attitudes to women)? Mewing, for instance a jaw exercise that supposedly improves facial bone structure hails from the incel playbook, which centres on the belief that some men are discriminated against for not being good looking (or a Chad, to use their term). While plenty of youngsters use these words simply to connect with each other, and with no intention whatsoever of spreading incel culture, Aleksic argues that incel culture has nevertheless found its way into the mainstream by way of its slang and memes. Theres middle-schoolers talking more like incels The ideas get Trojan-horsed through the meme[s], he says. I do think the words have an ability to shift what I call the consensus reality. It makes it more palatable to accept these ideas about lookism, the [incel] philosophy. Aleksic argues that incel subculture has permeated the mainstream - Jonah Rosenberg Incel slang words spread online initially because people find them funny, he suggests. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other types of language and content spread online because they are extreme and so provoke emotion often anger which drives engagement, which in turn makes money for the platforms. The collateral damage, arguably, is nuance, objectivity and moderate opinions. Were just fed this extreme version of reality, says Aleksic. In the US, youre more likely to get far-Left or far-Right perspectives because the middle doesnt go viral. Theres nothing attention-grabbing or spectacular about the middle, and nothing that will be pushed farther by the algorithm. This, he believes, helps explain the re-election of Donald Trump as president. Just as the telegenic John F Kennedy was better suited to the TV age than Richard Nixon in the 1960 presidential election, Trump is better suited to the social media, or algorithmic, era, Aleksic argues. What works with algorithms? Memes and trends. Trump is extremely meme-able, he says. The language Trump uses lends itself to what Aleksic calls remixable sentences: Make X Y again; this is the greatest X in the history of Y. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are no good memes coming out of the progressive side [of politics], and thats a very important thing to pay attention to, he says, because it shapes our perception of whats happening. Still, Aleksic is chipper and at pains to present all this not as the end of civilisation as we know it but as a continuation of existing phenomena. Its the medium thats new, he stresses, not the behaviour: in his 1948 novel The Naked and the Dead, American author Norman Mailer replaced every use of the F-word with fug to get it past his publisher (just as I am calling it the F-word here because this is The Telegraph). Social media is something of an equaliser, Aleksic suggests. The old rules of language arent policed in the way they once were. The traditional linguistic gatekeepers, such as newspapers or, in repressive regimes, the government dont control how we express ourselves on the platforms, where were free to use endlessly inventive slang and censorship-avoiding tweaks to regular words. He doesnt want to sound like a doomer (a term he doesnt need to explain). The main takeaway is everything is the same except its happening way faster and [is] compounded by human-algorithm interactions, he says. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Older readers may see it differently. Never before in human history have we lived our lives through a screen we carry in our pockets, with an algorithm, rather than humans, curating, dictating and shaping our world view, how we relate to each other, and how we experience life on this planet. Maybe, actually, that is the scary part. 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 Canadian government ordered 400 ostriches to be culled after they were exposed to bird flu, but U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to save the flock. Universal Ostrich Farms in British Columbia was ordered to cull the flightless birds after avian flu was detected last December, CBC reported. A month later, 69 birds died. A court battle has ensued, with the farm owners arguing the ostriches should be kept alive to be studied for potential treatments. Although the court rejected the initial argument, the federal appeals court last month paused the order as it reviewed the matter; the court heard arguments in the case this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amid the legal challenges the birds have found an unlikely ally to the south: RFK Jr. The Secretary has urged Canada not to kill the ostriches but to do further testing to try to better understand the virus, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services told Politico. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to save 400 Canadian ostriches from being culled (REUTERS) HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to save 400 Canadian ostriches from being culled (REUTERS) The health secretary wrote a letter to the president of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency in May, urging the agency not to go through with plans to eradicate the flock and instead test the birds antibodies: We believe significant scientific knowledge may be garnered from following the ostriches in a controlled environment at the Universal Ostrich Farm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cull was ordered as part of a so-called stamping-out policy, used to mitigate the risk of the virus spreading to humans or animals, according to the agency. A screengrab from a video capturing two ostriches resting at the Universal Ostrich Farm, where the Canadian government has ordered for 400 birds to be culled due to avian flu exposure (Katie Pasitney / Facebook) A screengrab from a video capturing two ostriches resting at the Universal Ostrich Farm, where the Canadian government has ordered for 400 birds to be culled due to avian flu exposure (Katie Pasitney / Facebook) Allowing a domestic poultry flock known to be exposed to [bird flu] to remain alive means a potential source of the virus persists. It increases the risk of reassortment or mutation of the virus, particularly with birds raised in open pasture where there is ongoing exposure to wildlife, the agency explained in a May release after the federal court dismissed the farm owners applications for judicial review. This week, Kennedy along with Trumps Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz and billionaire John Catsimatidis sent letters to Prime Minister Mark Carney pressing his government to alter its policy, Politico reported. Hundreds of birds remain symptom-free months after 69 birds died after being exposed to bird flu, according to the farm owners' lawyer (Katie Pasitney) Hundreds of birds remain symptom-free months after 69 birds died after being exposed to bird flu, according to the farm owners' lawyer (Katie Pasitney) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to CBC, Katie Pasitney, whose parents own the farm, thanked the trio for their efforts, saying on Tuesday: "I guess we'll just see where that goes from here because we do know that Dr. Oz and RFK are very passionate about this, just as well as John Catsimatidis." In court on Tuesday, Umar Sheikh, a lawyer for the farm owners, similarly argued that the government's policy was too strict, noting that hundreds of ostriches still exhibit no symptoms of avian flu. Only two birds tested positive for the virus before the cull was ordered, he said. "We would ask questions such as why 100 percent destruction needs to occur based on 0.5 percent confirmed infection?" Sheikh asked the court, according to CBC. Aileen Jones, a lawyer for the agency, argued that the court has already determined the stamping-out policy is a reasonable policy, the outlet reported. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) The New York Public Service Commission has approved a project submitted by RG&E to start construction of the Rochester Transmission Project Enhancement. This project is meant to strengthen the reliability of the electric grid by improving upon existing infrastructure. The upgraded or expanded facilities and lines will meet the growing demand for power in the Rochester area and support its economic growth. RG&E & NYSEG propose increases to gas and electric rates Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The development of new, state-of-the-art transmission systems is key to improving the local electric distribution grid and bolstering the local economy, said Commission Chair Rory M. Christian. The project we are approving today for the Rochester area will do just that. New York State held virtual forums two years ago on the proposed transmission line project. The improved reliability and resilience are said to benefit more than 65,000 residents within the area of distribution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) A time-honored tradition returned to downtown Sioux City Wednesday evening. The River-Cade Parade filled 4th Street between Court and Nebraska Streets as has been the case for more than 30 years. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People lined both sides of 4th Street to grab some beads and candy from nearly 60 groups and organizations taking part in the event. This year had one of the best weather days for the parade. River-Cade officials said the parade is built around the community and building people together. So, I think the real big thing that makes the parade such a time-honored tradition is just the amount of years that River-Cade has been around in the community. So, weve been around for 64 years, and in that time, weve always had a parade downtown. So, I think its just more of the generations to generations everybody knows to expect the River-Cade parade in downtown in Sioux City right around that Fourth of July, to end of July time period, Sydney McManamy-Hermann from River-Cade Commodore said. The free Dairy Queen ice cream social and the smile contest finals took place after the parade at the Sioux City Public Museum Grounds. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MEMPHIS, Tenn. Riverside Drive will look a lot different when it reopens next month. A section of the roadway has been reduced from four to two lanes of traffic to make room for nearly two dozen additional parking spaces next to Tom Lee Park. Riverside, between Beale Street and Georgia Avenue, has been closed since mid-April due to festivals downtown and road construction, and it wont reopen until August 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It appears that much of the road construction is done. There are now 89 diagonal public parking spaces along the riverfront. The city stated that the new public parking would feature a mix of paid and free parking days, and the changes to Riverside would improve the streets accessibility and usability. More than $62 million was spent to renovate Tom Lee Park, but the project eliminated two parking lots and 133 parking spaces. Riverside Drive. WREG photo. Riverside Drive. WREG photo. Riverside Drive. WREG photo. Riverside Drive. WREG photo. Riverside Drive. WREG photo. Riverside Drive. WREG photo. Riverside Drive. WREG photo. Riverside Drive. WREG photo. Riverside Drive. WREG photo. The Downtown Neighborhood Association, which had complained about a lack of parking for the park, was in favor of the changes to Riverside Drive. Seventy percent of the neighborhood stakeholders, businesses, and residentssaid they would support a two-lane Riverside Drive from Beale Street to Georgia, as long as it incorporated more parking, Downtown Neighborhood Association of Memphis President, Jerred Price, said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Memphis River Parks Partnership, which manages the park, told WREG that there are more than 2,000 additional parking spaces within a couple of blocks of the park. However, most of these are paid parking spots. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WREG.com. Airport Road in Rock Island County is the latest road to undergo construction in the area. The Illinois Department of Transportation announced in a news release that construction is underway on Airport Road, from just east of the Rock Island-Milan Parkway and north of the Quad Cities International Airport. The project includes pavement patching and resurfacing. There will be daily lane closures controlled by flaggers during the project, which should be completed in August. Drivers are asked to pay close attention to changing conditions and signs in the work zone, obey the posted speed limits, avoid using mobile devices and watch for workers and equipment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement IDOT plans to improve over 3,000 miles of highway and nearly 10 million square feet of bridge deck over the next six years as part of the Rebuild Illinois capital program, which is investing $33.2 billion into all modes of transportation. Click here for details on area construction projects. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. King Charles III just got a royal portrait - painted not by a human, but by a robot. In a scene that felt like something out of a dystopian Ridley Scott movie, a painting of the monarch created by a robot named Ai-Da was unveiled at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva. But Ai-Da isnt just your typical robot. Titled "Algorithm King", the oil painting is the latest work by Ai-Da Robot, the worlds first ultra-realistic robot artist. Created in 2019, Ai-Da is able to draw and paint thanks to high-tech cameras in her eyes, complex AI algorithms and a specially-designed robotic arm. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her latest regal piece was shown alongside her earlier portrait of the late Queen Elizabeth II, "Algorithm Queen", which she painted to mark the Platinum Jubilee. Related His Majesty King Charles III depicted in the painting "Algorithm King" by Ai-Da Robot - Credit: Ai-Da Robot Studio/Aidan Meller Speaking at the UN's AI for Good Global Summit, Ai-Da said: "Presenting my portrait of His Majesty King Charles III is not just a creative act, its a statement about the evolving role of AI in our society, and to reflect on how artificial intelligence is shaping the cultural landscape." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Created by gallerist and researcher Aidan Meller, Ai-Da can draw, paint, sculpt, and even engage in conversation, thanks to a sophisticated language model. Ai-Da chose to paint His Majesty King Charles III because he has an admirable and thoughtful leadership style," Meller told Euronews Culture. "As both a monarch and a long-standing advocate for the arts and sustainability, King Charles emphasises some concerns that Ai-Da's work also seeks to explore the tension between traditional and the contemporary, for example. Ai-Da presenting the work "AI God Polyptych" at the United Nations in Geneva. - Credit: AI-Da Robot Artist/Aidan Meller Ai-Da has already made history. Earlier this year, a painting by the robot sold at Sothebys for a staggering one million dollars. But the true significance of her work might lie less in the gallery and more in the debate it provokes. "Ai-Das work challenges us to reconsider long-held assumptions about human ingenuity and the purpose of art itself," Meller explained. "More broadly, the portrait invites discussion about the ethical use of AI in the arts: how humans and machines can work together collaboratively." ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) The not-for-profit Cancer Support Community at Gildas Club hosted a Youth Summer Program to offer support and resources for children affected by a cancer diagnosis. The free-to-attend Youth Summer Program aims to connect those affected by a cancer diagnosis with others who have similar experiences. When they come here, they get to meet other kids who have gone through the same thing, Manager of Youth Program and Volunteer Engagement Shivani Patel said. So theres some sort of like bond thats built, and they actually understand how to, you know, talk and open up to the other kids that are in the program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Youth Counselor Liana Dimarzio attended the Youth Summer Program with her little sister as their mother went through chemotherapy treatments. I think it makes it seem like me and my sister arent the only ones going through this, she said. It helps to see other people go through that and see other people are affected in this way that we are right now. By playing games, visiting the Rochester Museum and Science Center, exploring Seneca Zoo, and doing hands-on activities, the campers get to have fun rather than worry about cancers impact on their lives. Kids who have had cancer or have it right now, they can like get out of like their house and like make new friends, Dimarzio said. I feel like its easier to make friends who like share some of that experience because like you can connect more on that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The camp and all other resources at Cancer Support Community are free to anyone impacted by cancer. The not-for-profit group has several programs for adults, teens, kids, caregivers, and family members designed to be inclusive to all backgrounds and perspectives. While the first weeks program concludes on Friday, residents still have another opportunity to join in on the excitement. The next Youth Summer Program will run from August 11 through August 15. Parents can register their kids and learn more about the Cancer Support Communitys resources 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 RochesterFirst. ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) To inspire a lifelong love of learning and to empower Rochesters youth. Thats the mission of the City Councils Literacy and Movement program. Its a partnership with Primetime 585, the Rochester City School District, and the Read Alliance. The alliance seeks to enrich city students in grades K-3 with a blend of literacy, phonics, movement, and other tutoring help by pairing them with teen leaders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Christian McCullough, a teen mentor and Senior at Aquinas Institute, shared why he sees his role in the program as more than just a job. Most of these kids come from city district programs and some of them are less fortunate, McCullough said. Coming here can be an escape from where they come from, and most of them look to me as a mentor. McCollough explained what he sees as the bigger mission of the program. Id say its very important, changing the culture, changing the stereotype of these children, Teen Leader Christian McCullough said. This is a great way to do that. But, the learning doesnt stop there. Students are also taught important life skills, from building confidence to interpersonal guidance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As you raise the confidence in the students, their ability to read improves tremendously, School No. 12 Special Education Teacher Curtis Woods said. That makes me feel good, and it makes other educators feel good, the fact that theyre getting the confidence to know that they can do it, and it might take a little bit of time, but they know that they have the confidence, they push themselves, theyre working hard at it, they can do it. So its a big step, its a big thing. Currently, there are 90 students enrolled in this years program, which runs through August 14th. There are still open spots for interested students. Those interested in enrolling their child can call (585) 626-7742 for more details. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. President Donald Trumps so-called one, big beautiful tax and spending bill allocates $170 billion to fulfill the administrations long list of immigration priorities, including hiring for law enforcement agents, border security personnel and immigration court judges. Also tucked into the massive, nearly 1,000-page legislation are provisions that pave the way for migrant children to face longer periods in detention with fewer legal protections. The bill designates $45 billion to build new immigration and family detention facilities. One analysis by the American Immigration Council found that this funding would amount to at least 116,000 additional detention beds. The legislation also states that families, including their children, may be detained indefinitely until courts reach a decision in their case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advocates for migrant children told The 19th this is the latest in a series of recent efforts by Republicans that chip away at the quality of care for migrant children in the governments custody. For years, Trump and his associates have had their eyes on ending the Flores Settlement, a decades-long court agreement meant to legally bind the federal government to certain safety and well-being standards for children held in detention. Up until now, those efforts have been struck down by federal courts. In Trumps second term, the administration is continuing to target these legal safeguards and in some cases allegedly violating the parameters of the Flores Settlement, advocates said. Our constitution says no cruel and unusual punishment, and other federal laws and values also state you have to treat them with a fair modicum of respect and provide for their basic needs, said Sergio Perez, executive director of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, one of three legal organizations known as the Flores Counsel tasked with enforcing the settlement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats all weve been asking for through the initial Flores litigation, and the enforcement of the settlement agreement: that these vulnerable populations, children and families, be given the necessities to survive while they are being detained by the federal government. The Flores Settlement outlines the oversight and standard of care for both accompanied and unaccompanied migrant children. Prior to the settlement, kids slept in rooms with adult strangers, were subjected to arbitrary strip searches and had no rights to visitation, education or recreational activities. The resulting lawsuit led to a negotiated agreement generally requiring federal agencies to house detained minors in facilities licensed for childrens care, provide the detained children with access to health care and education, and make efforts to release detained minors to family members or other qualified custodians without unnecessary delay. These requirements apply to both accompanied and unaccompanied minors. Generally, migrant youth who are unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian enter the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the Department of Health and Human Services. They are then placed in shelters before ultimately released to a guardian or sponsor. Minors who are arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with their families often stay in family detention centers managed by the immigration enforcement officials under the Department of Homeland Security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the core provisions of the Flores agreement have remained since 1997, it has faced unsuccessful challenges from over the past decade: President Barack Obamas administrations sought to exclude accompanied minors from the protections, and in 2019 the Trump administration tried to replace the agreement with new regulations. The Flores Counsel primarily push for enforcement through the courts. The essential function of the Flores agreement, experts said, is a set of standards they can use to hold the executive branch accountable when violations occur. It allows attorneys from three legal organizations to monitor immigration facilities throughout the country and speak with children about their experiences: the National Center for Youth Law, Childrens Rights and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law. The Office of Refugee Resettlement runs 240 shelters and across 27 states that house unaccompanied migrant children, according to the offices website. Among the facilities managed by ICE, the South Texas Family Residential Center and the Karnes County Detention Facility currently hold families. Across multiple administrations, our team has gathered overwhelming evidence of the governments persistent failure to meet the Flores Settlements basic standards, returned to court to hold the government accountable, and secured repeated court rulings confirming that the government is in fact violating the terms of its own agreement, said Melissa Adamson, a senior attorney for the National Center for Youth Law. Migrant children lie inside a pod at the Donna Department of Homeland Security holding facility, the main detention center for unaccompanied children in the Rio Grande Valley run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, in Donna, Texas on March 30, 2021. (Dario Lopez-Mills/AP Photo) Despite decades of court decisions reaffirming a continuing need for the Flores protections, advocates charged with enforcing the agreement are facing a barrage of tests in the new Trump administration that has real-time consequences for children and their families, Perez said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New rules governing the Office of Refugee Resettlement under the Department of Health and Human Services have extended waiting times for children in shelters. One policy added more restrictions on who can sponsor a child, or take temporary custody of a child in the care of the Office of Refugee Resettlement. The administration said it seeks to ensure the safety of migrant children. Advocates say the measure disqualifies parents, siblings and other close family members from sponsoring unaccompanied minors. In March, the Department of Homeland Security closed three offices focused on civil rights and oversight of immigration policies and detention facilities. In May, the Department of Justice filed a motion in court seeking to end the Flores agreement in its entirety, arguing that immigration decisions should be left to the executive branch rather than the judiciary branch. It also stated that the Flores requirement for migrant children to be held in state-licensed child care facilities is an impossible task for children detained with their loved ones in family detention centers. Immigration enforcement agents have also carried out unannounced wellness checks at schools and homes that have resulted in the detention of children and their family members. Earlier this month, nearly 100 National Guard members and federal officers raided MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, disrupting a childrens summer camp. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What were seeing here in Los Angeles are processing centers that are meant to hold individuals for a couple of hours, at most, now being used to house individuals for several nights, Perez said. What Trump is doing the tenor of it, the scale of it and the rhetoric of it completely stands on its own. One court motion filed in June by the National Center for Youth Law, Childrens Rights and the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, presents evidence of the Trump administration allegedly violating the Flores agreement and includes declarations from more than 20 individuals about the conditions inside detention facilities. My children have a disability, Marfan Syndrome, which causes mental and cognitive challenges, stated one mother. They cry and worry. It is very difficult for them to handle being here. They are afraid and dont know how long we will be forced to stay here. A 16-year-old taken by ICE with his mother and two younger siblings testified that for water to drink, there is a very dirty water container with a strong chemical smell. They told us this was the water we had to drink. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new budget reconciliation bill may only add fuel to the fire because they now have billions of dollars to detain, deport and separate, said Mary Miller Flowers, the director of policy and legislative affairs for the Young Center for Immigrant Childrens Rights, which provides legal representation to unaccompanied children in detention. For now, continued litigation against the Trump administration will be key, Miller Flowers said. The Young Center is building up its litigation team and pushing for Congress to do more oversight, she added. I think we really have to keep changing the narrative on immigrant families, communities and children, Miller Flowers said. She wants to empower the public to not be OK with the pain and suffering that were enacting on families, and really push their members of Congress to make different decisions to challenge these rules. Several advocates told The 19th they view the measure as one way to override the Flores Settlement restrictions on the length of time children can be detained. Research indicates that any amount of detention can negatively impact a childs mental health, and these harms are exacerbated during long periods in detention. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This June, Adamson met with a mother, father and their young daughter being held at a family detention center in Dilley, Texas. In that conversation it became clear how the girl was processing the ICE staffs treatment of her family. The little girl was coloring while I spoke with her parents, and it was at one point in the interview when she turned to me with no warning, really out of the blue and said, There are monsters here, Adamson said. I asked her, What do you mean? And she said, There are monsters outside, and theyre everywhere. The post There are rules protecting children in immigration detention. Trumps tax law seeks to override them. appeared first on The 19th. News that represents you, in your inbox every weekday. Subscribe to our free, daily newsletter. Russian forces carried out strikes on several districts in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on 17 July, injuring two people. Source: Serhii Lysak, Head of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Details: Lysak reported that Russian troops attacked the Nikopol district using FPV drones and artillery. The city of Nikopol, as well as the Pokrovska and Marhanets hromadas, came under fire. An 85-year-old woman was injured in the attack. [A hromada is an administrative unit designating a village, several villages, or a town, and their adjacent territories ed.] Photo:Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Russians damaged two houses, one of which caught fire. Dry grass also caught fire, but firefighters promptly extinguished the blaze. Photo:Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration Additionally, Russian aircraft dropped guided bombs on the Novopavlivska and Velykomykhailivska hromadas in the Synelnykove district. A 53-year-old man sustained injuries there. He was taken to hospital, and his condition is assessed as moderate. The extent of the damage is being confirmed. Background: Russian forces attacked the city of Kryvyi Rih with drones on the morning of 17 July, causing fire and injuring one civilian. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Editors Note: In accordance with the security protocols of the Ukrainian military, soldiers featured in this story are identified by first names and callsigns only. POKROVSK, Donetsk Oblast Light rain and the dying light of a cool summer evening accompany the Ukrainian drone teams preparation to begin their shift. The men are silent as the military pick-up truck, full of drones and other supplies, turns off the village track onto the main road south into Pokrovsk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Every trip in and out of this fortress city in Donetsk Oblast is a roll of the dice with death. There are ways of reducing the risk of a strike from above, but none are foolproof in the war of summer 2025. Driving in at dusk or dawn used to be a good bet, but no longer: Russian drones are by now watching in the air 24/7. Drone detectors and electronic warfare can be life-savers; two members of the team are glued to their devices from start to finish. But it doesnt matter how many frequencies you cover, if the Russian drone is running on a fiber optic cable, both are useless. The map of Russian gains over summer. (The Kyiv Independent) Anti-drone nets seem helpful, but enemy drones simply need to find the entrance or create one themselves to strike a vehicle. The result is visible in one section: the net droops in the middle of the road, and not too far along, a group of soldiers can be seen walking toward Pokrovsk on foot. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The evening rain normally the strongest obstacle to drone flight proved promising, but by the time the frantic drive begins, it has reduced to a drizzle, and will be no savior. The only universal recourse is speed, but thats hard to maintain when the road is riddled with so many burned-out cars. Read also: Explainer: What Russia could achieve in Ukraine by Trumps 50-day deadline The most dangerous part is the railway line, slowing down the cars progress without offering any cover from view. This time, the car makes it across without incident. Beyond that, in the grey-green tones of a gloomy summer evening, a landscape of destruction opens before the eyes: Entire nine-story apartment buildings blackened by fire, others with great chunks blown out of them by Russian glide bombs all a testament to the months of the fighting for Pokrovsk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Is that a new hit? asks 31-year-old Bohdan, callsign Zub, from the front seat, looking at one building to the left. I could swear it looks more messed up than last time. A ruined building in the front-line city of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) After Russian forces first approached the outskirts of Pokrovsk in fall, this proud coal-mining city became the rock upon which the Russian army dashed itself against. Head-on assaults on the city proved bloody and fruitless, while attempts to outflank Pokrovsk from both east and west were also stopped in their tracks over winter. Over spring, Russian forces made new advances on the eastern flank of the city, and as of mid-July, now threaten to cut off logistics routes from the city of Dobropillia in the north. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With U.S. President Donald Trump openly expressing frustration with Russias unwillingness to make peace and setting a deadline to reach a deal with Ukraine by early September, Moscow is aiming to make the most of this time, to surge forward on the battlefield over the rest of summer. In the Donetsk Oblast theater, Pokrovsk is the first big prize. In what could be one of the last visits by journalists to the city, the Kyiv Independent spent 24 hours in Pokrovsk, embedded with a first-person view (FPV) drone team of Ukraines 68th Jaeger Brigade. Free hunting By the time the pick-up swings into the sleepy yard of a residential district, the late summer dusk has truly arrived. A short flurry of faces, red torch light, boxes and bags tossed back and forth, and the shift change is done in a heartbeat. Before getting some rest for the night, the three-man drone team sets up their equipment to be ready for the next mornings work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arming the first batch of FPV quadcopters with batteries and bombs is 26-year-old Tadei Teddy, a native of Lviv with a quiet temperament and round-rimmed glasses. Before the full-scale war, Teddy and his brother played music together in the streets of Ukraines western city of Lviv. Now, they both serve in the 68th brigades drone battalion, named the Hornets of Dovbush after Ukrainian folk hero Oleksa Dovbush. The first flights begin right before the crack of dawn, a time when Russian logistics are often most active. Wrapping himself in a blanket as he sits down in front of the screen is 24-year-old pilot Vladyslav Venia, heavily tattooed and with a striking deadpan face well-suited to the hipster neighborhoods of his native Kyiv. Ukrainian soldier Tadei 'Teddy' preparing a first-person view drone in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) Ukrainian drone pilot Vladyslav "Venia" flying a first-person view drone from a basement in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) The third member of the team, Zub, operates a retranslator drone, a must have for flying long distances out of a city like Pokrovsk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the first drone ready to take off, Venia dons the ubiquitous goggles and transports his eyes into the quadcopter's camera, quickly soaring above the citys mangled landscape. From these positions, the teams preferred way to work is known as free hunting: finding and engaging targets without first receiving them from aerial reconnaissance teams. I didn't think they could make it this far. Free hunting allows the team to fly a lot further behind enemy lines, catching Russian logistics unawares and reducing the time between spotting and destroying a target from several minutes to a matter of seconds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This time, Venias hunt takes his drone to the occupied city of Selydove, 15 kilometers southeast of Pokrovsk and now an important logistical node for Russian forces. This is ideal territory for free hunting: far enough from the zero line for Russian vehicles to feel safer driving in, but not far enough to truly be out of reach for a competent Ukrainian FPV team. Sure enough, a target is spotted: a Soviet-era UAZ army van better known in these parts as a loaf. Hearing the drone approaching, the driver slams on the brakes and three Russian soldiers jump out, giving Venia a clear approach at the car. As the drones video feed cuts out, Venia removes his goggles and takes a short breather. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One downside of free hunting is that without an escorting reconnaissance drone, there is no way to confirm the hit immediately. There are no emotions, said Venia of his work. If you hit something on the move, or hit a juicy target like a Grad (multiple rocket launcher), then maybe you feel something but not with this everyday stuff. Few brigades have held the line in the Pokrovsk area for as long as the 68th, which was moved here from Luhansk Oblast in the first half of 2024. The most active work of the Hornets of Dovbush came in fall last year, when Russian forces attempted to overrun Selydove in a frontal assault. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since then though, the increasing saturation of drones in the sky has seen both sides adapt, stretching out the grey zone and doing ones best to stay out of sight and out of reach. Now, Venia said, infantry assaults are mostly stopped by bomber drone squads working much closer to the zero line, while FPV teams focus on logistics and communications targets. Since Selydove, they have understood that if they try an armored attack in our sector, everything they have will burn, said Venia. They stopped trying, they only come by foot now. Ukrainian drone pilot Vladyslav 'Venia' flying a first-person view drone from a basement in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 27, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) Ultimately, Selydove fell in October without much of a fight, after Russian forces cut off the last roads Ukrainian forces used to reach the city. Now, a similar fate is looming for Pokrovsk. Soldiers from several brigades fighting in the area noted Russian forces had gotten better at targeting weak points in the line of defense, those held by less combat effective, less-coordinated brigades without much infantry or a strong drone unit of their own. Once those units are pushed back, the flanks of brigades like the 68th are often compromised, even if the defense in their own sector was holding firm. I didn't think they could make it this far, said Venia. The situation was stable at first when we arrived, but the brigades on both our flanks buckled at one point, and we had to keep falling back. Twilight zone In the yard outside the building, as drone after drone of the Dovbush Hornets begin their short flights toward the Russians, local civilians can be seen passing by sometimes by bicycle, sometimes on foot, sometimes in pairs, mostly alone. Back when Pokrovsk was further in the rear as recently as a year ago the city thrived off its status as a hub for Ukrainian soldiers, who coexisted in constant interaction with the local population. Now, in what could be the final act of Pokrovsks existence as a city under free Ukraine, soldiers and civilians return to their scripted roles, rarely crossing paths. Living life as a burden is not for me. As soldiers like Venia, Teddy, and Zub work night and day, hundreds of kilometers from home, to pin the enemy down in the outskirts, the remaining local residents of Pokrovsk have assumed an age-old rhythm of survival. Crouching suspiciously under a tree by the buildings entrance, 30-year-old Oleksii is buried in his phone, leeching off the soldiers internet connection. Oleksii, who speaks in perfect Ukrainian, lives in a nearby basement with his parents and younger brother after the family apartment was destroyed in a Russian strike. Oleksii, resident of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) Roses grow among destroyed windows in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) There is nowhere to go, and no money to live off, he said. Living life as a burden is not for me. Oleksii, as did all other civilians the Kyiv Independent spoke to in Pokrovsk, declined to give his last name when asked. There is not much the soldiers can do about civilians seeing their take-off position, and the risk of their location being handed to Russian forces hangs over every interaction. Though tensions can flare up, servicemen and civilians tend to stay in their lanes, aware of the threat to safety that escalation could bring. They are surprisingly calm, said Teddy of the locals. Some of them are aggressive, but most are polite, good people. I don't know what keeps them here... a strong attachment to their homes, I guess. In 2025, more so than ever, the long arm of Russian drones makes the lives of civilians in areas this close to the front line more isolated than ever. Civilians draw up water from a well in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) Unlike during the battles of Bakhmut and Avdiivka in previous years, when volunteers and police could evacuate civilians from practically under the nose of assaulting Russian troops, only the bravest still make the drive to Pokrovsk now. The acute danger to any humanitarian aid was already clear by winter, when British volunteer Edward Scott lost an arm and a leg after a Russian drone deliberately struck his van on a routine civilian evacuation mission to the city. The city is holding, but you can see what is happening on the flanks. But despite the desolation the city has faced, once inside, islands of life can be seen around every corner in Pokrovsks Soviet-era southern neighborhood. On a bench outside one five-story apartment building, two elderly women take in the fresh air on a bench. To their left are rows of freshly-planted roses, the floral symbol of Donetsk Oblast. To their right, a black cat named Pirate munches freshly-laid dry food. What do I want more than anything? To be honest, just to die sooner rather than later, said 84-year-old Olena. I've already buried my son, my daughter, and my husband, but I can't go to the cemetery anymore. Now I'm all alone. I just want to die and to be buried here outside my home. Speaking about the right and wrong of Russias war with residents like Olena is often a confusing and fruitless endeavor. Olena and Vira, residents of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) A ruined building in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) On one hand, those civilians who stay in Donbas cities like Pokrovsk until the very end are often stigmatized in Ukrainian society, and assumed to be zhduny, best translated as those waiting for the Russians arrival. In reality, when mixed with attachment to home and a general degradation in ones mental state and connection to reality, the lines that could otherwise be described as national loyalty become heavily blurred. Our defenders? They are not defending us, our city is being destroyed, said Olena, her voice crescendoing into a spontaneous, hazy train of thought. They are mocking us... If there is still a window in one piece, suddenly boom boom and it's gone. How can you do that to people? Of the residents seen and spoken to inside the city, none were as young as Oleksii and with that youth came at least a little self-awareness of the surreal grey zone that his life had become. I just got used to it. I feel like if I go somewhere where it's normal, I'll find it strange and uneasy, he said, before heading back to his family in the basement. Maybe my head's not in place anymore, I don't know. Cat and mouse As the day continues, so does the drone teams work a steady rhythm of flight after flight, with time in between for coffee, a quick lunch, and some social media scrolling. A few more hits are scored on cars in and around Selydove, but most of the targets are now a lot less glamorous: finding and hitting the dugouts and antennas of Russian drone teams. Over the spring, the stakes of the cat-and-mouse skirmishes between drone units were raised when two of Russias most elite drone units, Rubicon and Sudny Den (Judgment Day), were deployed to this part of Donetsk Oblast. We could tell that a gangster unit had arrived in our area of operations, recalled Venia, in a day they torched eight of our cars. In the afternoon, headquarters notifies them of a new target: a Russian Starlink dish on a position in a small gully to the south. The radio horizon in that direction means the team cant hit it from their position with a standard FPV drone, but they have a specialized tool just for this type of mission: the notorious fiber optic drone. Ukrainian soldier Tadei 'Teddy' preparing a fiber optic first-person view drone in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) Ukrainian soldier Tadei "Teddy" preparing a fiber optic first-person view drone in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) Having prepared the bulky quadcopter complete with two large batteries and a 15-kilometer spool of optical fiber Teddy sets it up on the launchpad in the yard: an old wooden chair. Russia continues to maintain a major advantage in its use of the unjammable fiber optic drones, while only the best Ukrainian drone units use them regularly. The difference is obvious, they have the state backing them, they have a factory for optical fiber, said Venia. We, on the other hand, are still in a testing phase, buying stuff from different manufacturers and using what we can get our hands on. Enjoying a perfect image right up until the target, Venia hones in on the enemy Starlink dish. In this case, the drone used costs less than the target, but if it means temporarily putting a Russian drone team out of action, its worth it. Its very varied, said Venia of his experience using fiber optic drones, sometimes you get eight hits out of eight flights, or you can have the cable snap and lose connection because of weather, obstacles, but most often, because of badly rolled spools. The hit on the Starlink is confirmed by a nearby reconnaissance drone, and comes with a bonus: three Russian soldiers, visibly disorientated, emerging from a nearby dugout now a target that other friendly drone teams can continue hitting. A matter of time Having just started their shift, Venia, Teddy, and Zub will stay on for six more days; passage out of Pokrovsk is offered by a neighboring drone team that is finishing up their own stint. Walking through the rubble-strewn streets lit up by the evening sunlight, Venia recalls the thriving city that the brigade first arrived to over a year ago. We always used to come into Pokrovsk to eat and rest after a mission, he said, the guys would meet their relatives here, there were plenty of places to go for a walk. There was the occasional missile strike, but apart from that, it was a beautiful, peaceful city. By now, Pokrovsk has become like a home for me. I feel like I've been here for 10 years, not one I know every street like a local. Screeching around a street corner, the getaway car arrives on the spot in a split second, and just as quickly, begins its escape from Pokrovsk. Ukrainian soldier Volodymyr "Master" riding in the back of a pick-up truck out of Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) From the rear tray of the beaten-up Mitsubishi pick-up, Volodymyr Master keeps an eye out for Russian drones, ready to shoot down any that dive on the vehicle from behind with his rifle. A wing! he shouts, raising his weapon at a distant black shape in the sky, clearly distinguishable from the swallows by its steady flight. Its aiming at us! For a split second, the drone does seem to begin its descent, but then turns away. Before long, the car is cruising up the main road to Dobropillia. Master breathes a sign of relief and lights up a cigarette as the sun sets over the fields to the west. This time, they were lucky, but with the threat to this route only growing with every kilometer that Russia gets nearer, luck can only go so far. Ukrainian soldier Tadei 'Teddy' walking through a ruined neighborhood in Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, on June 28, 2025. (Francis Farrell/The Kyiv Independent) Two weeks after the Kyiv Independents visit, Venia, Teddy, and Zubs team was targeted by a Russian fixed-wing drone on the same route. Narrowly avoiding a direct hit, their car and equipment were damaged, but the team escaped without injuries. The city is holding, but you can see what is happening on the flanks, said Venia. The enemy is approaching from the side and looking to cut off the main road in. If they get much closer, we will simply have to withdraw. Unfortunately, it's just a matter of time, and once it happens, they can take the city itself without much of a fight. Note from the author: Hi, this is Francis Farrell, the author of this piece, written after a rare and tumultuous trip into a city that may soon be cut off for good. A bit of a different message from us today. Weve reported from over 30 front-line trips often relying on cars rental from one lovely but slightly insane company that lets journalists drive them into a war zone. Having our own vehicle would make our field reporting quicker, safer, and truly independent. Were currently fundraising to make that possible. Want to support or learn more? Contact our donations manager at l.shmidt@kyivindependent.com. U.S. citizens can make tax-deductible donations through our 501(c)(3) partner. Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. MOSCOW (Reuters) -The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned Israeli air strikes on Syria as violations of the country's sovereignty and international law. "The new wave of violence in Syria is deeply concerning," the ministry said in a statement. "The Russian side has repeatedly condemned Israel's arbitrary use of force in Syria. These attacks, which constitute a gross violation of the country's sovereignty and international law, deserve strong condemnation. "We are convinced that the path to solving this problem lies through dialogue and strengthening national unity". (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn) Editor's note: This is a developing story and will be updated as new details emerge. Russian forces dropped a 500-kilogram (1,100-pound) aerial bomb on the city of Dobropillia in Donetsk Oblast, killing at least two people and injuring 28 others, regional officials reported July 16. Vadym Filashkin, head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, said the strike targeted a shopping center in the heart of the city. The explosion damaged 54 retail outlets, 304 apartments, and eight vehicles, Filashkin reported on Telegram. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A fire broke out following the attack, according to officials, and emergency crews were dispatched to extinguish it. President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the attack, calling it "horrendous, dumb Russian terror" lacking any "military logic." He also offered condolences to the families of those affected. The attack on Dobropillia comes just two days after U.S. President Donald Trump issued a "major" announcement, pledging to impose "severe" tariffs on Russia within 50 days unless a peace deal is reached. The 50-day ultimatum is the latest in a series of deadlines Trump has proposed to end the war including timelines of 24 hours, two weeks, and 100 days. So far, such ultimatums have proven ineffective, as Russia continues to attack Ukraine on a regular basis, with devastating consequences for civilians all over the country. Read also: Putin unfazed by Trumps threats, plans to fight on in Ukraine, Reuters reports Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. MOSCOW (Reuters) -A senior Russian Defence Ministry official was sentenced to six years in prison on Thursday after being found guilty of fraud and forgery in relation to an embezzlement scheme at a military theme park, the RIA state news agency reported. Major General Vladimir Shesterov was detained last August for his role in the scheme at the Patriot Park, a war-themed tourist attraction outside Moscow. Two other men, including Pavel Popov, a former deputy defence minister, are also facing prosecution. RIA, citing the investigation materials, said Shesterov and the ex-director of the park, Vyacheslav Akhmedov, who is also in custody, forged documents related to completed construction work at the park in the amount of some 26 million roubles ($332,000). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scandal at Patriot Park is one in a slew of criminal cases against former top officials that have engulfed the Russian army in recent months. Shesterov fully admitted guilt, but insisted he had not received any material benefit from the scheme. "I am to blame, I don't whitewash myself, I sincerely repent," he said in court, according to RIA. Akhmedov has also entered a guilty plea in his trial. The case against Popov, the former deputy defence minister, is ongoing. RIA reported that Popov had instructed Shesterov and Akhmedov to build him a two-storey house, a guest house with a sauna, and a two-storey garage on land Popov owned in the Moscow region - with the Defence Ministry footing the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Popov has previously denied wrongdoing. Reuters was unable to contact his lawyer on Thursday. Patriot Park displays a vast collection of Russian and Soviet weaponry, and offers visitors the chance to clamber on tanks and take part in combat simulations. On its website, it also features a photo gallery of "heroes of the special military operation" - Russia's official term for its war in Ukraine. ($1 = 78.3455 roubles) (Reporting by ReutersWriting by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Frances Kerry) Russia has handed over the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers to Kiev, in line with terms agreed in talks with Ukraine, Moscow's chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky said on Thursday. In return, Moscow had received the bodies of 19 Russian fighters, he said. "May they rest in peace in their native soil," Medinsky wrote on Telegram. The Ukrainian side confirmed the return of 1,000 soldiers' bodies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In May and June, bilateral negotiations took place between Russians and Ukrainians for the first time in three years. The talks in Istanbul were aimed at finding a pathway towards ending Russia's war on Ukraine. The two sides were able to agree on a large exchange of prisoners of war and the return of soldiers' bodies. Both sides also submitted their lists of demands for ending the war. But their positions remain far apart. The repatriation of bodies has developed into a political issue. Moscow had handed over 6,000 bodies ahead of Thursday's exchange and offered a further 2,000. According to Medinsky, Ukraine has transferred fewer than 100 fallen soldiers, however. Moscow views this as an indication that Ukraine is experiencing significantly more casualties at the front than Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kiev later said that Moscow had mixed Russian soldiers' bodies among the fallen returned to Ukraine. Experts explain the discrepancy by noting that Russian troops are advancing and thus able to retrieve their own fallen. The Russian Foreign Ministry noted that the attacks against the Druze Community in Syria were "deeply concerning." The Russian Foreign Ministry on Thursday condemned Israeli air strikes on Syria as violations of the country's sovereignty and international law. "The new wave of violence in Syria is deeply concerning," the ministry said in a statement. "The Russian side has repeatedly condemned Israel's arbitrary use of force in Syria. These attacks, which constitute a gross violation of the country's sovereignty and international law, deserve strong condemnation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are convinced that the path to solving this problem lies through dialogue and strengthening national unity." Russia said that Israeli strikes in Syria constitute a gross violation of the country's sovereignty and international law, and deserve strong condemnation. Israeli Druze cross the border to check on their family members in Syria, amid the ongoing conflict in the Druze areas in Syria, in Majdal Shams, near the ceasefire line between the Golan Heights and Syria, July 16, 2025. (credit: REUTERS/AMMAR AWAD) Russia's history in Syria Moscow was a heavy supporter of former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad before his government fell in late 2024 to HTS-backed forces. Assad fled to Russia and has remained there under the protection of the Kremlin. Since interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa assumed Syrias highest office, Moscow has repeatedly tried to negotiate its airbases in the region. In early March, Israel reportedly urged the US to allow Russia to remain in the region to counter Turkey's influence in Syria. Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said Moscow should consider launching "preemptive strikes" against the West as the U.S. and its NATO allies ratchet up defensive support for Ukraine. "The statements of Western politicians on this topic are complete nonsense," Medvedev, deputy chair of Russias security council, said in an interview with state media outlet Tass, according to Reuters reporting. "We need to act accordingly. To respond in full. And if necessary, launch preemptive strikes," he added. Russian President Vladimir Putin and former President Dmitry Medvedev attend a cabinet meeting in Moscow, Jan. 15, 2020. Senate Majority Leader Says Republicans Ready To Move On Russia Sanctions Bill When Trump Gives Green Light Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Medvedevs comments come just two days after President Donald Trump announced secondary tariffs on Moscow by slapping 100% tariffs on nations that purchase Russian oil if the Kremlin does not enter into a peace agreement with Ukraine within the next 50 days. Reports also surfaced this week claiming that Trump had mulled the possibility of Ukraine hitting the Russian capital while in a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy earlier this month. Kyiv would not comment on the issue and the White House said the question was taken "out of context" and was not an attempt at "encouraging further killing." Read On The Fox News App Trump this week said the U.S. would be sending Patriot missiles to NATO nations that would then be routed to Ukraine, and on Wednesday he suggested the sophisticated weaponry was already en route to Germany. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They're already being shipped," Trump told reporters from Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. "They're coming in from Germany and then replaced by Germany. And in all cases, the United States gets paid back in full." But the timing of the weapons delivery systems and where exactly they are being routed to remains unclear as a spokesman for Germanys defense ministry on Thursday told reporters he had no knowledge of such an incoming shipment. "I cannot confirm that anything is currently on the way. That is not known to me," the spokesman reportedly told Swiss broadcasting outlet SRF, before noting that a virtual meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group (UDCG) will be held on Monday, when delivery specifications of U.S. Patriot systems will be hashed out. Ukrainian and German soldiers train on the Patriot air defense missile system at a military training area in Germany in June 2024. Putin Mum On Trump's 50-Day Ultimatum, Kremlin Officials Claim Russia 'Didn't Care' Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the quick delivery of the U.S. missile systems appears to be a top priority for Washington and NATO as Switzerland, which is not a NATO nation, also announced on Thursday that its anticipated receipt of five Patriot batteries, purchased from the U.S. in 2022 with a pledged delivery date to begin in 2026, had been delayed. "The United States Department of Defense has informed the (Swiss Defense Ministry) that it will reprioritize the delivery of Patriot systems to support Ukraine, focusing on ground-based air defense," the ministry said in a statement. "No statement can be made at this stage regarding the exact timing and any further implications for Switzerland," the ministry added. "Clarifications are ongoing." Medvedev on Thursday said the action by Nato amounted to a full-blown war against Russia by the West. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What is happening today is a proxy war, but in essence it is a full-scale war (launches of Western missiles, satellite intelligence, etc.), sanctions packages, loud statements about the militarization of Europe," he told the Russian media outlet. Though the push to send Patriot systems and threats to sanction Moscow are significant as it is the first time since Trump entered office that he has looked to start actively countering Russian President Vladimir Putins war effort, not everyone is convinced it is strong enough. EU leaders earlier in the week commented on the length of time the president allotted for Putin despite months of diplomacy failing to yield real action on the battlefield. Soldiers of the 30th Prince Konstanty Ostrogski Mechanized Brigade fire a missile from a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher at Russian troops positions in the Donetsk direction, Ukraine, on June 3, 2025. And Zelenskyy noted that 50 days of waiting means another 50 days of death for Ukrainian citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Fifty days, for us, is just every day is scary," Zelenskyy said in an interview with the New York Post released on Thursday. "Putin has wasted President Trumps time," he added. "I would very much like to see the United States, the Congress and the president put some pressure on this situation with sanctions and so the sooner, the faster it can be done, the better." "We would certainly like to speed up this process," Zelenskyy added. "We, for our part, will work to provide more information [to Trump], more arguments for strong sanctions against Russia." Fox News Digital could not immediately reach the Pentagon or Germany's Defense Ministry for comment. Original article source: Russia threatens West with preemptive strikes as NATO looks to deliver Patriots 'as quickly as possible' US President Donald Trumps 50-day pause ahead of possible secondary sanctions on Russia gifts the Kremlin a window to exploit the incremental gains of recent weeks, which analysts say increasingly put key Ukrainian strongholds in the east in peril. Russia is thought to be days or weeks away from surging into a heightened summer offensive, perhaps using the 160,000 troops Ukrainian officials have said are amassing near their front lines. But in the past two weeks, Russia has also made small but vital advances, placing its forces in a better position to cut off Ukrainian troops in three key towns Pokrovsk, Kostyantynivka and Kupiansk on the eastern front line. The Kremlin appeared unperturbed by the new Trump deadline, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying on Tuesday: Fifty days it used to be 24 hours; it used to be 100 days; weve been through all of this. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Analysts said the new time frame boded well for Russian President Vladimir Putins goals. Keir Giles from Chatham House wrote Tuesday that it also provided space for Moscow on the diplomatic stage. The deadline of 50 days gives Russia plenty of time to concoct its own alternative plan, and once again outmanoeuvre Washington through a diplomatic ploy which Trump may well accept willingly Trumps latest extension of his notional deadlines for Putin extends Ukraines suffering for the same arbitrary period. John Lough, head of foreign policy at the New Eurasian Strategies Centre think tank, said the summer offensive had likely been underway for several months already, and that the Russians are undoubtedly intensifying their efforts, both on the ground and in the air. He said the recent aerial onslaught against Ukraines cities was perhaps a reflection of Moscows slow progress on the front lines, and aimed to demoralize the population and zap its will to fight. Putin has sounded for a few months now quite confident about the progress of this campaign, recognizing that the Ukrainians are short of manpower, (and) short of certain weapons systems, Lough said, adding that Moscow was hoping to spread the Ukrainian defense too thin. Were going to see a continuation of that over the next at least 50 days. The incremental advances Moscow has made around these three towns have come at a significant cost. But mapping of the front line by DeepState, a Ukrainian monitoring service, and reports from the region show Russian progress in a bid to flank all three. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the past 72 hours, Russian forces have edged closer to Rodynske, a key settlement to the northeast of Pokrovsk, a main Ukrainian military hub besieged by Moscow for months. This advance is matched to Pokrovsks west, where Russian troops are now moving to encircle the village of Udachne, enabling them to challenge supply routes into Pokrovsk with greater efficiency. A Ukrainian commander, who goes by the call sign Musician, and has led a drone company near Pokrovsk since October, told CNN the Russian offensive had been underway for some time. It has probably not reached its peak yet, he said, but they have been advancing for some time and are doing so quite successfully. Musician said the defense of Rodynske was key. The enemy understands this and is counting on it. If they advance from Rodynske, the situation will be critical. There are one or two roads there that they can take control of, and logistics will be cut off. Its a logical move on the part of the enemy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said reinforcements were urgently needed there, or they would risk a repeat of the encircling and retreat seen in early 2024 around the town of Avdiivka to Pokrovsks east. Ukrainian troops held on in Avdiivka for months, until they lacked the numbers and resources to maintain their grip on the town, in a defeat that came to symbolise both Kyivs tenacity and Moscows relentless tolerance for high casualties to take territory. A special Ukrainian police force helps evacuate some of the last civilians from Kostantynivka, Ukraine, on July 16, 2025. Residents there have faced daily bombardment. - National Police of Ukraine Ukrainian military blogger Bohdan Miroshnikov wrote that if Rodynske is captured, this will complete the encirclement of our entire left flank around Pokrovsk, adding similarly pessimistic assessments of the right flank and south. If things continue like this, there will be few options left either our garrison will be forced to retreat under threat of encirclement, or there will be fierce fighting in a semi-encirclement with unclear prospects. The Russian military Telegram channel Voennaya Khronika, which translates to military chronicle, said the ambition was for Pokrovsk to fall like Avdiivka and Bakhmut before it, with successive flank isolation, pressure on supply lines and frontal stagnation after strategic exhaustion. DeepStates mapping also shows advances towards Kostyantynivka another key hub in the east which Russia has swiftly approached in the past two weeks from the southeast and southwest, and which is now relentlessly hit by attack drones. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ukrainian blogger and serviceman Stanislav Buniatov, who goes by the call sign Osman, wrote that the advances bring Moscows forces further into the Dnipropetrovsk region, an area not originally part of Putins territorial goals. The daily clashes leave 70-90% of the enemys personnel and equipment destroyed, but the enemy is advancing, and everyone understands why, Osman wrote. Misleading reports from Ukrainian commanders to their superiors were hampering their defense, DeepState posted on Wednesday. A big part of the enemys success is the lies in reports from the field about the real state of affairs, which makes it hard to assess risks and respond to changes in the situation from above this is a huge problem that has catastrophic consequences. Lies will destroy us all. The post highlighted the area to the south of Pokrovsk as particularly vulnerable to this internal, Ukrainian failing. Russian advances are slighter to the north of Kupiansk but present another challenge to Kyivs often over-stretched forces. Moscows advance since June 23 from Holubivka has left it now in control of a key access road to the north of Kupiansk, by the settlement of Radkivka. Kupiansk is one of the main towns to the east of Ukraines second city, Kharkiv, and control over it helps secure the city of an estimated million people. Svitlana Vlasova reported from Kyiv and Nick Paton Walsh and Lauren Kent from London. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russia and Ukraine have exchanged more bodies of their war dead, a Kremlin aide said on Thursday, part of an agreement struck at the second round of peace talks in Istanbul in June. Vladimir Medinsky, the head of Russia's delegation at those peace talks, said in a statement on Telegram that Moscow had handed over the bodies of 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers and had received 19 bodies of its own fallen soldiers in return. The RIA state news agency reported, citing a source, that Russia plans to return the bodies of 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers and that the exchange on Thursday was the beginning of that process. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The warring sides have carried out a series of swaps of captured troops and the remains of dead soldiers since renewing peace talks in Istanbul in May following a gap of more than three years. (Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn) (Reuters) -A Russian crew member of a Greek cargo ship sunk by Houthi militants is undergoing treatment in Yemen, Russia's state RIA news agency said on Thursday, quoting a source. RIA identified the Russian mariner as Aleksei Galaktionov, one of several crew members picked up by the Yemeni navy after the ship was sunk. It quoted a highly placed source as saying the man, who had suffered wounds in the attack, was now in a markedly improved condition. Maritime security sources had earlier reported that 10 mariners -- eight crew members and two security guards - had been rescued and taken to Saudi Arabia. The sources said all the crew were Filipino, except for one Russian. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sources said the Iran-aligned Houthis had sunk the Liberia-flagged Eternity C, with 22 crew and three armed guards on board, after attacking the vessel with sea drones and rocket-propelled grenades over two consecutive days. The remaining 15 people who were on board were considered missing and a privately run search to find them has been called off. The Houthis have attacked more than 100 ships since November 2023 in what they say is an act of solidarity with the Palestinians over the Gaza war. (Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Sandra Maler) Russian lawmakers on Thursday advanced a bill that would outlaw opening or searching for content online judged "extremist", such as songs glorifying Ukraine and material by feminist rock band Pussy Riot. Critics say the law, which has drawn a rare backlash from across Russia's political spectrum, would stifle internet freedom. Russian authorities already block access to thousands of websites accused of hosting "extremist" content. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The latest proposed legislation threatens fines of up to 5,000 rubles ($64) on anyone found to have deliberately searched for or gained access to material listed as extremist by the justice ministry. More than 5,000 entries are on the list, including web pages, political slogans, books, artworks and music albums. Among them are songs glorifying Ukraine, blog posts by feminist rock band Pussy Riot and information on the Wikipedia page for dynamite. Deputies in the lower house State Duma backed the bill by 283 votes to 22 in its second reading. It is not clear whether the government supports the bill. The Kremlin said the proposal needed "more detailed explanations" to allay people's concerns. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I am not familiar with the initiative by the deputies," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a question from AFP. - 'Attack on basic rights' - The bill requires three readings and approval by Russia's upper house before President Vladimir Putin can sign it into law. During Thursday's second reading, lawmaker Alexander Teterdinko of the governing United Russia party said the legislation would only affect those who "deliberately" search for extremist material. "That is to say, if you Google something and material appears in the search results, but you do not click on it, do not read it, do not use it in any way... you will not fall under this article," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others, however, expressed concern over the apparent lack of safeguards. It was not clear how the bill would work in practice, and whether internet service providers or websites would be responsible for monitoring violations. Sarkis Darbinyan, lawyer and co-founder of digital rights group Roskomsvoboda, said the definition of extremist content was "very wide" and could go beyond the justice ministry's list. "Any kind of materials even not included on the registry can be considered extremist material," he told AFP. "If you do it for researching, cultural or scientific purposes, it doesn't matter. That will be all considered an offence." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill was originally about tightening regulation over shipping clerks, but evolved as lawmakers inserted amendments. Deputy State Duma speaker Vladislav Davankov called components of the bill an "attack on the basic rights of citizens". Russia's internet safety tsar warned the legislation would stifle her department's work. The bill would also ban advertising for virtual private networks (VPNs) and impose fines for transferring SIM cards to another person, both ways of browsing with more privacy. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of pro-Kremlin broadcaster Russia Today, said the legislation would make it impossible to investigate and expose extremist groups. "I hope there will be amendments," she said on Telegram. bur/tw Russian drones struck a cargo truck in the city of Nikopol in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast overnight on July 17, injuring five people, including three emergency workers, Ukraine's State Emergency Service reported. Russian first-person-view (FPV) drones initially struck a cargo truck, causing a fire and injuring two civilians. Soon after, as emergency workers were working on site, another Russian drone targeted the scene, injuring three emergency workers, the State Emergency Service said. Ukraine's Air Force reported that drone were approaching the city around 1:45 a.m. local time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attack hospitalized the emergency workers. No information was provided on the status of the other two injured victims, described as one man and one woman. Russia has repeatedly employed double-tap attacks against civilian targets, often resulting in casualties among first responders. Nikopol, located on the banks of the destroyed Kakhovka Reservoir, just across from Russian-occupied Enerhodar and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, is a near-daily target of artillery and drone strikes. As Moscow continues to intensify its drone attacks against Ukrainian cities, Russian forces have attempted gain a foothold in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russian troops have been tasked with establishing a buffer zone up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) deep into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Ukraine's military intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with Bloomberg, published on July 11. Despite Russia's claims that it had entered the region, Ukraine's military has repeatedly denied the reports. Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent) Read also: Ukraines new ground drones are hitting the battlefield in ever-increasing numbers Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. A Russian attack on Kharkiv on 16 July has completely destroyed the property of Arabesky Theatre, founded by Svitlana Oleshko, who died on 20 December 2024. Source: Arabesky Theatre on Facebook Details: In a statement posted on the theatres Facebook page, representatives shared: "After Svitlana Oleshko passed away, Tetiana Pylypchuk and I discussed how to begin anew with the theatres belongings. We considered staging a performance, donating the costumes to a museum, or handing some over to the theatre faculty of my alma mater but it didnt work out..." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result of a Russian Shahed drone strike on 16 July, the theatres entire property was destroyed in a fire including stage sets, props, costumes, equipment and staging materials. Arabesky Theatre was founded in the early 1990s by students of the theatre department at Kharkiv Institute of Arts. It brought together independent Ukrainian artists in Kharkiv and became known for theatrical experiments, including reviving the poetry of repressed authors from the Executed Renaissance and dissidents, whose works had been banned by the Soviet authorities. Among the notable productions were Theres No Better Sun Anywhere (1994) based on the poetry of Vasyl Symonenko, The Road to the Beyond Commune (1993) based on the writings of Mykola Khvylovyi and many others. As a director, Svitlana Oleshko staged Red Elvis (2010), RadioShanson: Eight Stories about Jura Soyfer (2007) based on texts by Serhii Zhadan, Chornobyl, a Ukrainian-Polish-Belarusian documentary performance (2006), among many others. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since 2008, the theatre also produced the band Mertvyi Piven (Dead Rooster), whose vocalist, Misko Barbara, moved from Lviv to Kharkiv to join the theatre as an actor. This collaboration led to the release of albums such as Mertvyi Piven. Made in UA, Mertvyi Piven. Chosen by the People, and Criminal Sonnets, a literary and musical project with writer Yurii Andrukhovych. Under Oleshkos leadership, Arabesky also launched the project Theatre Therapy as a Method of Social Rehabilitation, staging performances with professional directors and inmates in three penitentiaries (Kharkiv and Lviv). Background: On the night of 15-16 July, the Russians launched at least 17 strikes on Kharkiv, reportedly using Geran-2 type UAVs. Five people were injured in the Kyivskyi district and surrounding suburbs. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Russian troops attacked the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast with an FPV drone on the evening of 18 July, killing two civilians and injuring a 70-year-old woman. Source: Anastasiia Miedviedieva, spokesperson for Donetsk Oblast Prosecutors Office, in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda Quote: "At 16:30, Russian forces struck Pokrovsk with an FPV drone, killing two civilians. A 70-year-old woman sustained multiple shrapnel wounds and a blast injury." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Medvedieva added that on the morning of 17 July, Russian troops also bombarded the city of Myrnohrad with tubed artillery. A 63-year-old man was injured in the street as a result. He was diagnosed with a blast injury and a fracture and received qualified medical assistance. The prosecutors office has launched a pre-trial investigation under Articles 438.1 and 438.2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The Russians intend to expand cargo transhipment capacity in the occupied city of Skadovsk in Kherson Oblast. Source: Ukraines Centre for Transport Strategies Details: Projects for this purpose have been developed by the Russian Unified Institute for Spatial Planning. Quote from Centre for Transport Strategies: "The project proposals include the construction of storage sites for containers and general cargo at the Skadovsk port, as well as specialised tanks for liquid food products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, reconstruction of the building and berth of Henichesk port is planned, as well as construction and renovation of berths at Skadovsk seaport. The aforementioned institute stated that the ultimate goal includes increasing the volume of cargo exported from the part of Kherson Oblast occupied by Russian forces." Details: The Centre for Transport Strategies also notes that Petro Andriushchenko, head of the Centre for the Study of Occupation, previously stated that under the guise of "infrastructure development" of ports in Kherson Oblast, Russia is focused on actively expanding a network of logistical corridors serving military objectives and the systematic theft of Ukrainian resources. Background: It was previously reported that in temporarily occupied Crimea, Russia intends to build transport infrastructure with the help of China. Sergei Aksyonov, head of the occupying administration in Crimea, claimed that early agreements had been reached concerning the Kerch seaport, which Russia is actively using for "grey" exports. It was also reported that investments in Russias largest railway projects would be cut fivefold due to the debts of Russian Railways. Russia is also facing increasing difficulties in delivering goods to China via its eastern railway network, which signals broader economic problems caused by the war and sanctions. Russian authorities promised that the airport in Gelendzhik, Krasnodar Krai, located on the Black Sea coast and closed for security reasons since February 2022, would resume operations. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! RUTHERFORD COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) Research from the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research projects that Rutherford Countys population has surpassed Hamilton County, making it the fourth largest county in the state. Downtown Murfreesboro business owners like David Trett, who owns Red Bicycle, told News 2 they were not surprised by the new numbers. Have breaking news come to you: Subscribe to News 2 email alerts Were a Nashville based company, and then when we opened our first location out here and we realized the growth potential, along with the customer base, is incredible, Trett said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trett opened his first Rutherford County Red Bicycle location in 2019 and is now working to open his third. Its all been because of the growth and how well they support local businesses, and I feel like they really want small businesses and not just the chains, Trett said. The Boyd Center projected the countys population is now just under 389,000. With the areas growth has also come a diverse workforce, attracting a variety of new businesses. If you look at our top 10 employers, youll see about six different industries, which is great for the diversity of our economy, so we would expect that continued growth across all different sectors to provide extra stability to our economy, but also to provide great employment opportunities to our residents, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce Senior Vice President Patrick Cammack said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michael Shirley is part of the Rutherford County Planning Commission, which is currently working to finalize Plan Rutherford. The plan looks at community input and lays out a guide for land development, public infrastructure and government services. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com The news that Rutherford County has shot up to the top four of the fastest growing and largest counties in Tennessee came as a shock to no one that has driven the roads of Rutherford County recently and seen the schools and infrastructure, Shirley said while noting financial constraints. So, putting the right things in the right places, through the county so that Rutherford County continues to be an attractive place for people to live. The planning commission has a work session coming up on July 28 where leaders will exclusively discuss Plan Rutherford. They welcome public feedback ahead of that meeting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (FOX40.COM) The Sacramento Police Department has arrested Vernon Jordan, 19, of Carmichael, on homicide charges related to a shooting that occurred in June. Video Above: Sacramento police investigate shooting on Broadway Avenue According to SPD, a man was shot on Broadway in Sacramento on June 1 and later died on June 5 in a hospital. SPD said that around 12:30 p.m., on June 1, SPD responded to reports of a shooting in the 2800 block of Broadway. When crews arrived at the scene, they found a man who had sustained one gunshot wound. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The man was then transported to a local hospital and was in critical condition. Four days later from the original incident, he was pronounced dead, SPD said. South Natomas porch fire prompts response of multiple personnel Later, a second victim who also had one gunshot wound, self-transported to an area hospital and was expected to survive, SPD stated. SPD stated that they will release the identity of the deceased after the next of kin has been notified. SPD said on social media, Arrests like these would not be possible without the dedicated work of all involved. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to FOX40 News. EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) The Sacred Heart Church in El Pasos Segundo Barrio is seeking your help with monetary donations to restore the iconic place of worship. Segundo Barrio Historic District opens opportunity for Sacred Heart Church restoration According to the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of El Pasos website, the restoration will be to the church, along with the former Sacred Heart School building (now the Pastoral Center), the rectory building that houses the Jesuit residence and church offices. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Additionally, the Catholic Foundation said it needs help to raise $3 million for restoration and infrastructural upgrades. The Foundation will oversee the distribution of funds for the project. Please consider supporting the restoration of our historic church, the first Catholic Church founded by Jesuit Father Carlos Pinto in El Paso to minister to Mexican and Mexican American immigrant peoples, mainly from the Segundo Barrio, Father Rafael Garcia, S.J., Pastor of Sacred Heart Church, said. The Catholic Foundation said on its website that the buildings of the Sacred Heart Church complex are between 92 and 129 years old. The stone work and bell towers are from 1923, while parts of the exterior walls of the sides and back of the church are from the original 1893 church, Father Garcia said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Those wanting to donate to restore Sacred Heart Church can do so in the following ways: Check by sending through mail Make the check payable to Restore Sacred Heart Church to the Catholic Foundation for the Diocese of El Paso, 499 St. Matthews Street, Building G, El Paso, Texas 79907. Attn: Restore Sacred Heart Church. Online You can donate online through the Catholic Foundations website here. The Segundo Barrio National Historic District was established in 2021 with nearly 700 properties, becoming one of the biggest historic districts in the country. Segundo Barrio now a part of National Register Historic District Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The restoration of Sacred Heart Church is a unique, significant, and impactful project for the Segundo Barrio National Historic District, the community at large, and the state of Texas. The Catholic Foundation invites you to be part of this historic event, the Catholic Foundation said on its website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTSM 9 News. The family of a Fall River man shot and killed by police has set up two GoFundMe campaigns to raise money to support them, with one of the campaigns calling for justice. Today is a sad day for my family, read the description of one of the GoFundMe fundraisers, written by Elijah Knight on July 15. Today we lost a dad, a friend, a father, a brother and a husband. Domonick Knight was a father of four and a husband. Before he left this earth, we were not prepared for this nor expecting this. We are asking for help to pay for his funeral, to get a lawyer, and to help his family with future expenses, Elijah Knight continued. We cant replace a father, a husband, a brother or a son, but we can help his family. Please find the kindness in your heart to help his family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In asking for help, the fundraiser stated that the funeral date has not been determined, though it also states that Domonick Knights services will be held on July 21. So far, the fundraiser has received 170 donations totaling $15,000, with a goal of receiving $18,000. In the description of a separate fundraiser set up by Nieema Knight, she wrote that Fall River police shot my dad in the head and killed him, and added that officers did not help him. Me, my mother and my 3 younger siblings were held at gunpoint and were out in the rain from 1 a.m. to 7 a.m. waiting for answers, scared and disregarded, she continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nieema Knight added that she cant imagine how scared and alone my father felt in his last moments. Domonick Cornwallace Knight deserved to be given a chance, a helping hand, and a caring environment, she wrote. The second fundraiser has so far received 124 donations totaling $5,529, with a goal of receiving $15,000. What police say happened On July 15, Fall River police arrived at a duplex at 117 Langley St. before 1:40 a.m. They had received several 911 calls from Domonick Knights relatives, which said he was experiencing a mental health crisis, authorities said. His relatives said he was expressing intent to harm himself and had a gun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers secured the scene, evacuated the homes other residents and brought a trained crisis negotiator to talk to Domonick Knight on the phone via text messaging or by loudspeaker, but he did not respond. After nearly an hour of unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Domonick Knight, officers decided to enter the home to try to speak with him, police said. Fall River polices Emergency Services Unit went into the home via the front door around 3:15 a.m. and quickly noticed movement at the top of the stairs. Domonick Knight began shooting at officers in the doorway from the second-floor landing, police said. Police fired back at him while they moved out of the way, with body camera footage showing officers yelling at Domonick Knight to come downstairs. Officers can be seen finding Knight lying on the floor of the landing with a handgun in his hand and a short-barreled rifle underneath him. They can be heard quickly calling for medical services as they put him in handcuffs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Knight was rushed to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, Bristol County District Attorney Thomas Quinn IIIs office said in a statement. An autopsy is being performed on his body and forensic testing is being done to determine how he died. The Bristol County District Attorneys Office is investigating the incident. No further information has been released. More GoFundMe stories Read the original article on MassLive. SCRANTON, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) A religious pilgrimage that attracts the faithful from near and far is underway in Scranton. The nine-day novena to Saint Ann began Thursday with masses and novena services at the basilica on the citys west side. People from near and far prayed on the first day of Saint Anns Solemn Novena in Scranton. This is the 101st year of the novena and church leaders are expecting a good turnout. Pennsylvania state universities increasing tuition Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The crowds are fantastic, we usually fill the tents, and we have a great weekend coming up, the weekend looks like its going to be pretty nice. So, were hopeful that people will make the trip up, said Brian Hallock, a coordinator at the novena. Those in attendance may have specific prayers in mind and one Saint Anns parishioner tells us this years novena is special for her. Normally, we just come here and pray in general, but this year, my mother actually just recently passed away, so Im coming in her honor, and I know she loved the novena, so, yeah, this year Im doing this for her, said Julia Cicco. For the past century, some families have made it a tradition to attend this annual novena, passing down their faith pilgrimage through generations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You know, since 1924 is when the novena started, so you have great grandparents, the grandparents, the parents, now with kids, and even the grandkids which is really, really good, Brian Hallock explained. Its so nice seeing all these people here, I know theres some faces I recognize, some that I dont, but its just nice to see everyone come out and just celebrate, Julia Cicco stated. The novenas rich history began in the 20th century with miners who would do their walk at night. Saint Anns carries on that tradition to remember those who walked before them. You know, this takes tradition from when the miners had to go to work, they had a novena service for them, a mass and novena early in the morning on the feast day, so they can participate as well. We kind of do it as a tribute still and a remembrance of that. Again, were at a hundred and one years this year, so we want to keep some of the old traditions going and thats one of them that weve kept very well over the years, Brian Hallock continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The event will include masses for infants, children and grandparents, masses in Spanish, and more until the final feast day. The novena to Saint Ann concludes Saturday, July 26 with the feast day of Saint Ann and a final mass that night celebrated by the Diocese of Scrantons bishop Joseph Bambera. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. A Greenfield salon facility that houses dozens of Milwaukee-area beauty and medical businesses will open a second location in the Town of Brookfield. Avery & Birch got final approval from the Brookfield Town Board July 15 to build its second location at 21055 Crossroads Circle, not far from the intersection of East Moreland Boulevard and Swenson Drive. The business rents private luxury salon suites to local beauty and medical providers like hairstylists, barbers, estheticians, makeup artists, brow and lash specialists and massage therapists. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All businesses in the Greenfield location are women-owned, and there's already a waitlist for business owners eager to rent space at the new Brookfield location, owner Jennifer Janssen told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Avery & Birch began out of makeup artist's desire for better studio space Private salon suite business Avery & Birch will open a second location in the town of Brookfield. Jennifer Janssen (right) is the owner and creator of the facility and her sister Delanie Ford (left) is the operations manager. Janssen, who built her career as a makeup artist in the bridal industry, created Avery & Birch while looking around for a space to run her own business. When she didn't like the options before her, she decided to build her own. Avery & Birch aims to be an elevated, supportive and communal environment for both business owners and their clients, she said. Her sister Delanie Ford works with her on the business as operations manager. Brookfield's Avery & Birch hopes to start construction end of summer 2025 Both the Greenfield location and plans for the future Brookfield location's plans include single, double and triple private salon suites that come with amenities like stand-behind shampoo bowls to meet the needs of different businesses. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The one-story Brookfield location will have about 45 salon suites, according to Janssen. The location's common areas will include a work space with outlets and seating, open spaces with a fireplace and a coffee bar. Avery & Birch Brookfield aims to start development on the new building by the end of summer 2025 to open by spring or summer of 2026, according to Janssen. Bridget Fogarty reports on Wauwatosa, Brookfield and Elm Grove for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at bfogarty@gannett.com This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Brookfield Town Board approves second Avery & Birch location (WJBF) For Bernadette Phillips, her time serving her country was all about taking care of others. I served this Army for thirty years, she said. I was a 42 Alpha, which is a human resource specialist. So what that is, is basically taking care of soldiers and their family members, and I also deployed. I served in every staff job, as well as every leadership job. Up from a Drill Sergeant, all the way to a brigade level, Command Sergeant Major, in my 30 year tenure. Once Bernadette started serving, she realized that this was her purpose. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For me, when I first came in, I was thinking about how I was committed to the military and about how I wanted to serve and serve my country, how I wanted to be a good student to the people around me, but after I got in, and I started serving, I started thinking that its not about me any more, but about others and about having that connection with the people around me, so that became a milestone in my career and became the purpose of my career, taking care of soldiers and their families, making sure that not only are they taken care of but the people around them was taken care of, and also bringing people up behind me, so that was my most important journey that I did in my 30 years. Phillips isnt the only one in her family to serve. My father was in the marines, he served three times in Vietnam, so of course being in a household with a marine every day kind of made me say Hey, when I get out of high school I dont really want to go to college, I want to go straight in to the Marine Corps, but somehow I ended up joining the Army, and I loved it every day. Phillips work isnt done, and shes still helping others to this day. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement So out at Fort Gordon, I work at a place called DPTMS and we do the operations for Fort Gordon. Most of what I do is making sure the soldiers are trained and going out there to honor the military funeral honors, and any type of ceremony that they have on the installation of off the installation I support, so doing that every day and also in the community just volunteering down at the DAV, down at the VA, down at any type of volunteer service that they need me for. I like to go back to Maya Angelo because she always talks about that people will forget what you say, people forget what you did, but theyll never forget the way you make them feel, so thats what I get up and do each and every day. When Phillips found out she was receiving the Salute to Service Award, she was humble. I dont ever look for reward but when I do get them Im like oh thank you, someone seeing exactly what Ive done and said you dont see it but someone else is seeing it. I just want to say thank you and a big shout out to my mother, shes definitely been a huge inspiration, her and my grandmother making sure that I became a better me each and every day, and continue to put in me as I put in you and we will be great. I would not be able to do this without the people in my life. I feel like God is always first and then my family is next, so it wouldnt be possible for me to be me if I couldnt have those two things in my life. So thank you again, thank you for always believing in me and pushing me to be the best version of me each and every day. WJBFs Brandon Dawson thanked Bernadette for the special interview. Bernadette is a fan of the Your Hometown Roadtrip show and has an invite to be a guest taste tester! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If theres someone youd like to nominate for the Salute to Service award, you can fill out the form here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WJBF. Samsung boss Lee Jae-yong has been cleared by South Korea's top court of fraud charges, concluding a years-long legal battle over his role in a 2015 merger deal. Lee, the grandson of Samsung's founder and the de facto head of the company since 2014, had been accused of using stock and accounting fraud to try to gain control of the firm. In its final verdict, the Supreme Court in Seoul upheld a not guilty verdict, after Lee was acquitted of all charges in two earlier trials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The case drew widespread scrutiny of the technology giant, as the country grapples with corporate corruption scandals involving its powerful family-run conglomerates known as chaebols. "Today, the Supreme Court has clearly confirmed through its final ruling that the merger of Samsung C&T and the accounting treatment of Samsung Biologics were lawful," said Samsung's lawyers on Thursday. "We sincerely thank the court for its wise judgment following a thorough five-year trial process." Prosecutors accused Lee and his advisors of inflating the value of his pharmaceutical firm, Samsung Biologics, through fraudulent accounting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They argued that the higher value allowed him to buy a larger share of a key Samsung subsidiary in a 2015 merger deal, which secured his succession. Prosecutors also said the merger was designed to shift control of the company from Lee's father, Lee Kun-hee. His father, who faced legal troubles of his own, suffered a heart attack in 2014 and died in 2020. The younger Lee was first arrested in 2017 for bribing an advisor to former President Park Geun-hye to smooth his succession at Samsung. Over the course of his legal problems, he had separate jail terms cut short - one due to a special presidential pardon when he was on parole from prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the time, the government said the leader of the country's biggest company was needed to spearhead South Korea's economic recovery in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2024, a district court cleared Lee of all charges linked to the merger worth around $8bn (5.97bn) of two of its subsidiaries. Lee was cleared again after prosecutors appealed the case in the High Court. The legal cases over the past decade have added to Samsung's troubles as it struggled with intensifying competition. Samsung Electronics, which has major operations making smartphones and computer chips, has been facing declining sales in recent years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year during a trial, Lee acknowledged that Samsung faces major challenges. "The reality facing [Samsung] is harder than ever, but I will overcome and take a step forward," he said. US President Donald Trump's tariffs are another potential hurdle for Samsung, which exports a large number of products to America. The court's decision was welcomed by the country's business community. The Federation of Korean Industries said in a statement that the ruling will allow swift decisions at the top of Samsung, which will help the economy navigate trade turmoil with the US. Editors Note: This article contains descriptions of sextortion crimes enacted against minors and an adult. Reader discretion is advised. SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Homepage) A San Angelo man has been sentenced to over two centuries in federal prison for sextorting minors and an adult across the United States, the Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Nancy E. Larson announced. According to the United States Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Texas, 21-year-old Juelz Sincere Armstead was sentenced on July 15 to 245 years, or 2,940 months, in federal prison after being found guilty by a Lubbock jury in April 2025 on five counts of production of child pornography, two counts of attempted production of child pornography, and seven counts of cyber stalking. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The horrendous acts against each victim in this case warranted the substantial sentence imposed here, Larson said. We hope that the lengthy incarceration of this defendant will assist the victims as they continue in the healing process and serve as a warning to like-minded predators that we will pursue swift justice and extensive punishment for these types of despicable crimes. What happened to the TGSO inmate roster? The trial, which lasted four days, saw evidence presented which showed that, over the course of approximately three years, Armstead met his victims, nine minors and one adult, on various social media platforms. He cyberstalked and coerced them into sending him sexually explicit photographs and videos, routinely threatening to expose this material to family, friends, and others if they did not create and send him more sexual abuse material, the attorneys office said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Testimony given during the case showed that the Tom Green County Sheriffs Office arrested Armstead for his conduct in December 2022 and, upon his release from jail, Armstead obtained another cell phone and continued his sextortion scheme. The attorneys office said he would continue to amass more victims until his second arrest in February 2024. Multiple victims from across the U.S. testified during the trial about their experiences with Armstead. The office reported that many victims described how Armsteads threats placed them in fear, that they felt their lives were over, and that they felt as if they were being raped by Armsteads actions. In some cases, victims felt suicidal, the attorneys office said. The office stated that graphic photographs and videos were discussed at trial, including of one 14-year-old victim with tears rolling down her cheeks as she created the sexually explicit video Armstead demanded. Another instance showed that an 18-year-old victim was so fearful of Armsteads repeated threats to harm and expose her that she was manipulated into filming sexually explicit videos of her 13-year-old sister. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The prosecution introduced tens of thousands of pages of messages between Armstead and the victims along with hundreds of photographs and video evidence, the attorneys office said. Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent Mike Baker testified during the sentencing that there were additional victims who were too traumatized to prepare for and attend trial. Judge James Wesley Hendrix issued Armsteads sentence. In issuing the sentence, he described Armsteads conduct as repeat, incessant terrorizing and bullying [of] these victims over and over again without any sign of mercy. You are an incredible danger. The protection of the public is at its apex here, Hendrix told Armstead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Menard County Sheriffs Office seeks suspect after dogs found abandoned in grave condition The Abilene offfice of Homeland Security Investigations led the investigation with the assistance of HSI San Angelo, the Tom Green County Sheriffs Office, HSI Atlanta, HSI Dallas, HSI Waco, HSI San Antonio, HSI Newark, HSI Colorado Springs, HSI Eastern Shore MD, HSI Stockton, HSI Philadelphia, HSI Houston, HSI Wichita, HSI Raleigh, HSI Portland, Abilene Police Department, San Angelo Police Department, Mississippi Attorney Generals Office, Albany Police Department (Oregon), Clinton County Sheriffs Office (Indiana), Salem Police Department (Oregon), and several additional federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies in Texas, Indiana, Oregon, California, New Jersey, Colorado, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kansas, North Carolina, Georgia, and Mississippi. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Callie Woolam and Stephen Rancourt, with victim-witness assistance from Kelsea Martin and the Western District of Wisconsins victim-witness coordinator. The attorneys office stated that the case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Led by U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims, the attorneys office said. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit justice.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, visit justice.gov/psc and click on the tab resources. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ConchoValleyHomepage.com. (FOX 5/KUSI) A 37-year-old woman was found dead early Monday in her Rolando apartment under what San Diego police are calling suspicious circumstances, prompting a homicide investigation and raising concerns of possible domestic abuse. Police responded to a 911 call shortly after 1:30 a.m. from a man who said his wife had fallen and sustained serious injuries at their residence in the Dalton Apartment Complex on College Avenue. He was reportedly performing CPR when officers arrived, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene. Due to signs of unexplained injuries on the victims body, homicide detectives were called in to investigate further. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There were some minor unexplained injuries on the victim, and just out of an abundance of caution, we were called to do the investigation, San Diego police Sgt. Matt Ruggiero said. The womans husband, who made the emergency call, is currently being questioned by police but has not been arrested. Authorities say he has been cooperating with the investigation. The victims name has not yet been released. Kamala Worth, a friend of the victim, said she had long feared something like this might happen. She described her friend as warm and generous, someone who lit up the room and was so loving and kind. Worth claimed the woman had suffered years of abuse at the hands of her husband, who she said was once the womans high school sweetheart. She also alleged that her husband had previously been arrested a month ago for domestic violence, but police have not confirmed those claims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He had tried to strangle her and knocked her unconscious and fled, Worth said. They were going to press charges, but she dropped them. Worth said she had pleaded with her friend for years to seek help and leave the relationship. Ive seen her with bruises, black eyes I even have pictures of her where he bit her on the top of the skull, Worth said. She had so much more to live for. She didnt deserve this. The investigation is ongoing, and police are urging anyone with information to contact the San Diego Police Departments Homicide Unit. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. SAN FRANCISCO - A San Francisco man and his girlfriend were convicted Wednesday in connection with a 2017 fatal shooting. Victim was sitting in parked car What we know A jury found Brejon Jackson, 28, guilty of premeditated murder in the Jan. 29, 2017, killing of 27-year-old Justin Willis, a South San Francisco resident. Prosecutors said Jackson ran up to a parked car in broad daylight in the 1600 block of Armstrong Street and shot Willis several times while he sat inside. Willis died at the scene. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After the shooting, Jackson fled the area in a passing car and escaped to Emeryville with his girlfriend, Nakida Lampkins, 28, prosecutors said. Police stopped the car five days later. Lampkins was driving, and Jackson was in the passenger seat. Killer's girlfriend forged vehicle title What they're saying Prosecutors said Lampkins later falsely registered the vehicle in her name, claiming she purchased it the day after the shooting. However, evidence presented during the trial showed Jackson had taken the car in for a tune-up nine days before the killing. Lampkins was convicted of two counts of forging a vehicle title and passing a forged vehicle title. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Let this case be a reminder that my office will always fight on behalf of victims to get justice, for as long as it takes," said District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Jackson remains in custody. Lampkins had been out of custody. Sentencing for both is scheduled for Aug. 18. The Source San Francisco District Attorney's Office NHS Fife has the wild-eyed optimism of a gambler chasing their losses. Barely a day after admitting nurse Sandie Peggie had done nothing wrong, the trusts lawyers were back in court, still hell-bent on defending the indefensible. At any point since the case began, they could have folded settled the matter with dignity and spared the public purse the 220,000 thats already sunk. But what NHS Fife lacks in judgement, it makes up for in dogged, taxpayer-funded bloody-mindedness. The tribunal, now back underway in Dundee after a five-month pause, centres on a Christmas Eve incident at Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy. Peggie, a nurse with more than 30 years unblemished service, had a sudden and heavy period during her shift. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She entered the womens changing room to check her scrubs and found Dr Beth Upton already inside, undressing. Upton is a man who claims to be a woman. Peggie voiced her discomfort. What was said is disputed, but Upton complained and the board logged it as a hate incident. This wasnt a political protest or a publicity stunt. It was a woman, bleeding through her clothes, asking for privacy. To anyone outside NHS Fifes boardroom or trans activist cliques, its obvious: a woman spoke up against an entitled man, and her employers punished her for it. Peggie was accused of misgendering and faced allegations of gross misconduct not just for the changing room exchange, but for allegedly failing to communicate with Upton and putting patient care at risk. In May last year, she filed a tribunal claim against NHS Fife and Dr Upton for sexual harassment, belief discrimination, and victimisation all while still under investigation by the trust. Last night, after 18 months, NHS Fife issued a mealy-mouthed statement conceding that there was insufficient evidence to support any finding of misconduct. Yet in court, their lawyers have pressed on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The tribunal, which began in February, resumed this week with testimony from Isla Bumba, the trusts equality and human rights officer. Bumba, a diversity officer with no formal policy in place to guide her, admitted she was asked to write guidance on trans staff facilities when Dr Upton was hired. Inexperienced but well remunerated, Bumba told the court she based her understanding on a general consensus among health boards. Then in April, the Supreme Court finally spelled it out: under the Equality Act, woman means biological female. The court confirmed that even those with a Gender Recognition Certificate (GRC) may lawfully be excluded from single-sex spaces. Upton, notably, does not even have a GRC. In the months since, like other public bodies blindsided by reality, NHS Fife is scrambling to revise its guidance. The trust now says work is underway across the entirety of the health boards estate to ensure compliance with the ruling. All they ever needed to do, of course, was listen to Peggie. The trust still insists it acted appropriately. And it continues to burn through NHS time, money and credibility in the process. While junior doctors strike, hospitals crumble, and patients wait months for care, NHS Fifes management is shovelling public money into defending a policy apparently cobbled together by a recent graduate who seems to have mistaken fashionable groupthink for the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yesterday First Minister John Swinney bestowed what will surely be the kiss of death: his full confidence in NHS Fife. Just as Nicola Sturgeons career was shredded by her handling of the Isla Bryson scandal a double rapist who declared himself a woman and was placed in a womens prison, Swinney now appears to be staking his reputation on the judgment of gender ideologues. If this is a gamble on public patience, NHS Fife is betting with borrowed chips and the public has just about had enough of being the house that always loses. 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 Brief The Sandy Creek community is voicing their concerns after deadly flooding during the July 4th weekend They are questioning the response from Travis County Travis County responded and said they have several resources available LEANDER, Texas - As Central Texas begins the long road to recovery after the deadly flooding, communities are coming together to rebuild. However, questions continue to grow about the response at the county level. Sandy Creek community voice frustrations What they're saying "It's a warzone, it's an absolute warzone. Theres decaying matter everywhere, there's debris, there's wreckage, there are cars still in peoples backyards," said volunteer, Annette Sponseller. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That's how residents are describing what's left of their Sandy Creek community following the deadly July 4th weekend flooding. "Saving your kids and having to go uphill from a place you never should have had to go uphill from. My nephew's car was swept into our neighbor's yard and my neighbor's home was swept away," said Kaleena, a Sandy Creek resident. For resident Kaleena, she says words cant describe the destruction shes seen. The flooding damaged her home that had been in her family for nearly half a century. Kaleenas family home was ruined by the flood. Now, all her belongings sit piled outside, surrounded by the debris. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "My mother has raised three kids here, over 11 grandkids, five or six great grandkids. We were all raised here. This is mommas house. It was the safe place and, for the first time in 47 years, it was no longer the safe place," said Kaleena. Despite her own loss, Kaleena, like so many others, is stepping up for her neighbors. Shes turned the front of her damaged home into a distribution center and is collecting items the community so badly needs. Volunteer Annette Sponseller says the frustration is building and many feel the county support has been slow and unorganized. "This community needs help. Theres hundreds of us every single day out here in the heat not going to work, getting things done for these neighbors and no officials are stepping up to help us," said Sponseller. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She stresses the need for dumpsters, heavy machinery to haul away debris, and people who know how to operate them. "Travis County's response to this has been terrible from the start. There are stories, for forever, I could tell you of missteps in Travis County. They say they have this community center and the resource center. Were here every day, and were finding we have to meet these folks where they are," said Sponseller. Travis County responds "We understand your frustration, we understand your anger, we hear you. Rest assured, Travis County and all of its partners at the state level and at the federal level are working very hard to get resources out there and to help all the families impacted," said Yoojin Cho, Travis County spokesperson. Travis County says it, along with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, are working with the Texas Military Department to conduct door-to-door assessments with residents to help get them connected to recovery resources and assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The county resource recovery center at Danielson Middle School offers hot meals, showers, flood boxes, cleaning supplies, health screenings, mental health support and more to those in need. "Talk with a volunteer who is manning the check-in desk and let them know what services you are looking for. It's a big gymnasium with different booths. Depending on what you need and the service you are looking for, the volunteer will direct you," said Cho. Additionally, a FEMA Disaster Outreach Center is open at Round Mountain Baptist Church, where residents can apply for federal disaster assistance. For those wanting to help, a Volunteer Reception Center opened this week at Plain Elementary in Leander. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Starting at 8 a.m., shuttles will take you out to the work sites where youll receive your assignment and spend the morning or afternoon helping neighbors," Cho said. "In the face of loss, this community is proving its strength and is coming together to rebuild, one step at a time." The Source Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Jenna King By Halil Akkoc Turkish Minister of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, Murat Kurum, presented Turkiyes large-scale post-earthquake construction efforts as a model for international recovery during the 2025 Ukraine Recovery Conference held in Rome. The event, jointly organized by the Italian and Ukrainian governments, brought together officials, experts, and international stakeholders to discuss the future of Ukraines reconstruction amid ongoing conflict. Representing Turkiye, Minister Kurum held bilateral and inter-delegation meetings and delivered a keynote at a high-level panel attended by representatives from countries including Italy, Germany, Ukraine, and Poland. His remarks focused on Turkiyes experience rebuilding after the devastating 2023 Kahramanmara?-centered earthquakes, which affected 11 provinces and displaced millions. Kurum began his visit with a cordial meeting with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, during which the two discussed Turkiyes previous support for Albania following its 2019 earthquake. Emphasizing the spirit of friendship and solidarity, Kurum noted the importance of continued cooperation in the field of reconstruction. Highlighting the speed and scale of Turkiyes recovery efforts, Kurum shared that just 15 days after the February 2023 disaster, debris was already being cleared and foundations laid for new housing. We delivered our first residences on the 45th day, he stated. Together with our 182,000 architects, engineers, and workers, we are constructing 23 residences per hour or 550 per day. So far, we have launched construction on nearly 500,000 residences and have delivered 250,000 of them. We are committed to completing them all by the end of the year. Kurum said Turkiye was prepared to share its expertise with Ukraine. The Republic of Turkiye is ready to share all its knowledge and experience to help end the tragedy in Ukraine, he emphasized. The minister also held talks with Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha. Following the meeting, Kurum wrote on social media: As a country that launched 450,000 housing units in a short time after the disaster of the century, we conveyed our readiness to contribute to Ukraines reconstruction, provided the necessary financing is secured. We will continue engaging with all relevant actors to support this effort. In a separate meeting with Italian Minister of the Environment and Energy Security Gilberto Pichetto Fratin, Kurum provided detailed information on Turkiyes reconstruction campaign and reiterated its relevance as a roadmap for Ukraines future recovery. Speaking at the panel titled A Comprehensive Recovery Approach: Common Ground for Businesses and Governments to Rebuild Communities, Kurum underscored the urgent need for international cooperation. The RussiaUkraine war, now in its third year, has had profound implications for global security and stability, he said. Turkiye, under President Recep Tayyip Erdo?ans leadership, has worked sincerely since the outset to foster dialogue and end the hostilities. Noting the staggering cost of rebuilding Ukraine estimated at $530 billion Kurum stressed the scale of destruction across housing, infrastructure, transportation, energy, and education. The cost of debris removal alone is projected at $13 billion, he added. Accompanied by an English-language promotional film, Kurum presented visuals and data on Turkiyes reconstruction achievements, including ongoing projects in 11 provinces. We experienced an earthquake that affected 14 million citizens and claimed more than 50,000 lives, he said. From day one, we mobilized our resources in accordance with local needs, scientific input, and climate conditions. Today, we are operating 3,481 construction sites across 172 locations in the disaster zone. He noted that Turkiye has built 1.7 million social housing units over the past 23 years, including 250,000 earthquake-resilient homes since 2023. We plan to raise this number to 453,000 by year-end, he said. Drawing a comparison between the war in Ukraine and natural disasters, Kurum stated: The tragedy in Ukraine is a man-made catastrophe comparable in scale to a natural disaster. Turkiye stands ready to assist in its reconstruction by sharing its capabilities and experience. All state institutions, local governments, and global experts must act now to plan and implement Ukraines recovery. Kurum concluded by reaffirming Turkiyes commitment to regional peace and diplomacy. We hope lasting peace is established in our region soon, he said. This is vital for both regional and global security. The Republic of Turkiye has supported and will continue to support every effort to ensure Ukraines sovereignty, stability, and lasting peace. A Redditor shared a bewildering satellite image of a Florida community to r/Suburbanhell. The image is of Cape Coral, a community built around a sprawling network of canals. It hosts over 400 miles of navigable waterways, the highest density in the world. They were intended to provide waterfront access and manage stormwater for residents. The soil excavated for the canals was also used to raise the ground levels on the large floodplain. Photo Credit: Reddit While ambitious, the planners had begun construction without getting State permits, resulting in the company's swift bankruptcy. One Redditor said the city "has so much money poured into such a lifeless, useless public space," full of strip malls and zero sidewalks. The community has since faced ongoing environmental challenges, including algae blooms, polluted runoff, stray fishing lines, mismanaged locks, and sinking soil. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite a landscape well-suited to mitigate flooding, the increasing severity of flood conditions due to atmospheric pollution has led to soaring housing insurance premiums and declining home prices in Cape Coral. These conditions make the city the worst housing market in the country, according to recent research. One of the biggest ways Florida homeowners can save money under these harsh circumstances is to install solar power. Given the state's extensive sun cover, solar panels can bring utility bills to below zero, earning credit for power during cloudier months. Some experts say panels can even provide structural protection from harsh weather. EnergySage offers a free online tool that connects homeowners with vetted solar installers, whether they're in Florida or abroad. These experts can help save upwards of $10,000 on installations with the help of rebates and credits, which are now set to expire at the end of 2025 as a result of the "Big Beautiful Bill." As solar projects take about 12 weeks to complete, it's best to take advantage of those incentives as soon as possible to ensure the project can fall within your 2025 tax return. The Reddit community had a wide range of reactions to the current state of Cape Coral. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's just a bunch of McMansions with dead lawns out front & canals in the backyard full of mosquitoes and alligators," said one community member who had spent some time in the area. "This is habitat destruction," said another. 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. AUSTIN (KXAN) The Office of Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating scammers who targeted the Center Point Volunteer Fire Departments charitable campaign to raise money for their efforts and the fire station after devastating flood damage July 4. In the early morning hours of Independence Day, as residents and vacationers slept, the Guadalupe River rose over 30 feet. Center Point is located in Kerr County, which had the largest death toll. As of July 17, there were 107 people confirmed killed there and 97 still missing. MAP: Where have flash flooding deaths been confirmed in Texas? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CPVFDs team has assisted with search and rescue. The nonprofit department also started a charitable drive to help fund themselves, their recovery efforts and rebuild their own station that was damaged in the flood, according to Paxtons office. Thats when scammers struck, said CPVFD chief Charles Holt. As soon as the CPVFD posted its Venmo account for the charity drive, about six other false accounts popped up to divert money. Venmo soon locked the accounts down, Holt said, but its not clear how much money was siphoned off. Paxtons office said it would use the full weight of its powers to go after scammers profiting off the flood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unfortunately, things like that happen, Holt told KXAN by phone. With every good deed happening, theres also some bad but theres a lot more good people than bad. That type of scam online, rapid and difficult to spot is the type of fraud Paxtons office and consumer-protection advocates have warned about. With the enormous influx of charitable donations for July 4 flood victims, scammers are swooping in and stealing money in the online fundraising space by creating phony links and cloning websites, among other tricks. Texas flood victims warned to watch out for scammers, contractors It is sick and disgusting that people would use the tragedy of the devastating floods to enrich themselves by deceiving well-meaning people trying to help, Paxton in his news release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Holt said his fundraiser is back up and operating, with the real GoFundMe being run in conjunction with the Cajun Navy. You can find it here. Holt also said people can send checks to CPVFD at P.O. Box 494, Center Point, Texas, 78010. Scam warnings and protecting yourself The Better Business Bureau warned that scammers are using increasingly sophisticated methods to extract money from would-be donors. Jason Meza, a senior director of communications with the Better Business Bureau, said they are seeing an emerging threat from cyber criminals using artificial intelligence. They are cloning websites and replacing, switching bank account links and hijacking comment sections in Meta stories. By harnessing AI, scammers can swiftly implement these tactics on the web. AI is allowing cyber criminals the advantage of now speeding up that process of creating profile bots that are chatting, Meza said. As soon as they go up or establish the profiles and put them on these platforms, theyre quickly taken down, and theyre just moving onto another. They migrate so fast. Meza recommended, at the very least, taking a pause before donating and triple-checking payment sites and links to ensure they are routing to the right place. If something doesnt seem right, direct message the fundraiser or pick up the phone and call because scammers wont take the time to answer detailed questions and provide more information beyond what is already posted on the website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Watch out for appeals that are emotional, urgent or have similar names to well-known charities, experts warn. The Office of Attorney General has tips and information on disaster scams here and below: Additional tips and resources: Do not wire money or provide personal banking information like account, credit card or social security numbers. Research charities before donating. Two tools to check credentials are CharityWatch and Guidestar, which keep IRS data on nonprofits. Dont trust names or phone numbers, which can be faked. Watch out for text message solicitations for donations, also called smishing. Enter your name in the Texas Do Not Call Registry (by visiting https://www.texasnocall.com or by calling toll-free at 1-888-309-0600) and the National Do Not Call Registry, by visiting www.donotcall.gov or by calling toll-free at 1-888-382-1222 (TTY 1-866-290-4236). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. For decades the sewage from the Tijuana River Valley has given Imperial Beach, CA, the unfortunate distinction of being one of the most--if not the most--polluted beach in America. While there was a time it was only really bad after heavy winter rains, the last 5-10 years have seen a dramatic increase in sewage flows and beach closures. On bad days the contamination reaches well into Coronado, one of the most expensive zip codes in the US, creating an invisible threat for affluent residents, tourists, surfers and Navy SEALs who train and reside at the Naval Base Coronado. One could think that with all of the federal money flowing to border security (and a desire to make things great) that there would be funding and support to clean up the situation, that unfortunately isn't the case. The California State Assembly just denied a hearing for Senate Bill 10, proposed legislation by Senator Steve Padilla addressing the cross-border pollution crisis at the Tijuana River. The sewage plums are so bad that they can be seen from space (see video). For generations, families in the South Bay of San Diego have suffered from millions of gallons of sewage and pollution flowing through the Tijuana River, which has been driven by growing commercial manufacturing in Tijuana. Since being elected to the Senate, addressing these issues have been my highest priority. I am deeply disappointed my colleagues in the Assembly chose to deny San Diego families a chance to finally have some solutions to this decades-long crisis. Clearly, additional education is required on the impacts our community copes with every day. I will never stop fighting for the environmental justice San Diegans deserve. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As far as legislation goes, this could have been a lay up because there was no new proposed tax that would be passed onto citizens. Rather, "SB 10 would have expressly authorize funds from the new toll road to be used to assist in the maintenance of the South Bay International Boundary and Water Commission sewage treatment facility and the development of additional sanitation infrastructure projects related to the Tijuana River pursuant to an agreement with the federal government." Sick waves, literally. A solid day at the Sloughs could mean epic rides and terrible illness. Jeff Knox Months ago, I wrote a story from San Diego Magazine sharing the perspective of local surfers and lifeguards on the harsh reality of being a surfer in IB. I was lucky to connect with lifelong locals, Jeff Knox, Adam Wraight, Dwayne Fernandez, and Ramon Chairez, to hear their perspective on what had essentially become a toxic relationship with their home and that which they all loved so much, surfing.I share another version of that story here for surfers everywhere to stand in solidarity as we all face increased risks to our beloved breaks, coastlines, and wilderness areas. Every year, when winter swells bring San Diegos best waves to their fullest potential, all eyes are on spots like Blacks and Swamis, yet some of the heaviest, emptiest, and most dangerous waves lie further south off the coast of Imperial Beach. The premier wave being the Tijuana Sloughs, where the biggest swells can serve up 20+ foot waves that break up to a half-mile from shore. Aerial view of the Tijuana Sloughs and the Tijuana River Mouth. Jeff Knox Even as the surfing population has exploded, IB remains empty in comparison to the rest of San Diego and thats not because of a lack of waves, its because of pollution. With nearly 300 days of beach closures last year, it has the unfortunate distinction of being the most polluted beach in America according to the Surfrider Foundation. Given the complexities of the border region, and all of the industry and commerce involved, the forces at play go far beyond Imperial Beach and Tijuana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement South Bay surfers arent the only ones exposed to the risks as the sewage contains toxic pollutants that can become airborne and spread inland all throughout communities in the Tijuana River Valley. To be a surfer in IB means you dont just check the surf cams and swell forecasts, you monitor the water data from the nearby International Water Boundary Commission (IWBC). Lifeguards and surfers are essentially forced into being the canaries in a volatile coal mine. Jeff Knox, a former lifeguard and lifelong IB surfer, says, Weve always had to deal with pollution, its been an issue since the 20s and 30s, I started surfing IB in the 60s. Throughout my entire life its never been as bad as the last 10 years, the last 5 have been absolutely terrible. Despite mandates prohibiting surfing and swimming during closures, if the waves are good, surfers are probably out there. Why take the chance, though, when there are so many other good waveswith cleaner waterin the county? Unidentified surfer on a good winter's day at the Sloughs from years past. Jeff Knox Its partly a point of local pride. The surf history in IB runs deep. Stories of the Tijuana Sloughs on its good days are stuff of legend, discussed in hushed tones in the core San Diego surf community. The Sloughs was never a spot meant for everyone...The paddle-out alone was enough of a deterrent for most. The shorebreak took care of the rest. Its mostly locals out there; we like it that way. Its one of the best waves around and, for that very reason, we never used to talk about it. But those days are long gone. We need all the help we can getthe more attention, the better. Because this is a huge problem. Jeff Knox, former Imperial Beach Lifeguard Tijuana sits higher than San Diego and has an aging infrastructure from the 50s, when the city had less than 100,00 peopletoday, the population is over 2.2 million. Gravity brings anything and everything downstream and can overwhelm the South Bay International Wastewater Treatment Plant (SBIWTP). Built in 1996 with funding from the EPA, the plant is permitted to treat up to 25 million gallons per day and is discharged via the South Bay Ocean Outfall offshore into a depth of 95 feet of water (for reference, the Point Loma outfall is at a depth of over 350 feet). The shallow depth results in the treated sewage simply being swept back to shore via nearshore currents, at deeper depths these discharges can be trapped by the thermal layer and disperse into the deep ocean far offshore. Aerial view of Tijuana and the US Border. Getty Adam Wraight, an Imperial Beach Lifeguard Sergeant, Junior Lifeguard Coordinator, and lifetime local surfer explained that, on bad days, the sewage flow can hit 60 - 80 million gallons. Anything that exceeds the limits of the SBIWTP comes out as raw sewage, clearly visible in the water as a dark brown plume with an accompanying nasty smell. We can see it from the tower, the water gets all dark and you can even see it in the air. You dont want to be out there when that happens and it can happen quickly. Videos online show millions of gallons releasing into the ocean at the river mouth of the estuaryan area otherwise incredibly beautiful and that supports a vast array of wildlife. Naturally, these events prompt beach closures but that doesnt stop the fish and contamination can move up the food chain and threaten larger mammals like dolphins, whales and, yes, non-surfing humans too. While surfing or swimming is prohibited during closures, if the waves are good, surfers are likely out there. Jeff Knox, years ago, on a rare clean summer day surfing the IB Pier. Jeff Knox Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wright added, As a lifeguard, I see all the data. I check the flows daily and monitor the testing just to see if I can go for a surf during my break or after work. There are plenty of people who dont check anything, they just go out, but even they get spooked when they hit the water and everything feels (and smells) wrong. Ramon Chairez, an activist and educator with Un Mar de Colores, has lived in IB for decades but no longer surfs there, I made a conscious decision in 2020 to stop surfing IB. I saw too many people around me getting sick. It wasnt worth it. Hes not alone. The real tragedy lies in the loss for the children of the South Bay, they all know that the beach isnt safe and, to be frank, theyre disgusted. Wrights work as Junior Lifeguard Coordinator means that he takes the kids to other beaches, we cant even take kids out to train where they livewe have to travel around the county. Same goes for the YMCAs Camp Surf, a program that attracts youth from all over the nation for San Diego surf. The range of illness is as wide as the strand that runs from Coronado into Playas de Tijuana. Over 350 types of bacteria and 175 toxic pollutants have been found in the water and surfers have contracted everything from bacterial infections like MRSA, to neurological disorders, to diarrhea, and even hepatitis A. A shame to think that there's a wave like this anywhere that can't be surfed due to pollution. Jeff Knox The premier wave of IB, the Tijuana Sloughs, used to be a spot serious surfers would keep into consideration when following big winter swells, it's not like that anymore. Knox says, Its mostly just locals out there, we like it that way. The Sloughs is one of the best waves around and, for that very reason, we never used to talk about it. But, those days are long gone, we need all the help we can get because the its never been this bad Everyone likes to blame Mexico but no one wants to acknowledge our relationship and the big money being made. We are being ignored by our state and federal government and the kids and community are suffering. Governor Newsom has largely ignored this issue, and the kids hear all about it. Ramon Chairez, Un Mar de Colores On certain days, the IB school district must limit or prohibit outdoor activity due to poor air quality. The kids undoubtedly ask their parents, their teachers, any authority figures, different variations of Why is the Governor (or the President) ignoring us? Or, why cant we go to the beach (or outside) like everyone else? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You would think, or at least hope, that the tremendous growth of industry would come with an expansion of infrastructureunfortunately, thats not been the case. In a sense, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) changed everything as industry flooded the border area for cheap labor. While jobs, profits, and the population boomed, so did pollution. One thing that didnt change was gravityall the new sources of sewage and toxic waste still flows downstream, border wall be damned, right into the US. No matter who you want to blame, the fact is that everyone hates the pollutionAmericans, Mexicans, kids, Navy SEALs in Coronado, local politicians, residents, tourists and, particularly, surfers. Dwayne Fernandez, another lifelong IB surfer, shares that, My wife hates it, she gets worried. I check the reports every day to see if its safe, which has been rare these days. If its not, I may have to drive over an hour just to get in the oceanand I live minutes from the beach in IB. Without context, its easy to blame Mexico but Knox says its more complicated, They hate it too. You wont find any other Mexican beach town with pollution like this, not one. Tijuana is a cash cow and everyone just wants to take, take, take. The profits go to the executives, the shareholders, and the politicians in Mexico City. Related: 10 Most (and Least) Polluted Beaches in California Scandal In San Diego: "We Need All The Help We Can Get" first appeared on Surfer on Jul 16, 2025 On a rainy day in Manchester, crowds stream out of Piccadilly station and wait for taxis beneath umbrellas. A steady procession of private-hire vehicles pull up to collect or discharge passengers, not far from the black-cab rank. But theres something odd about the words on many of their licence plates: City of Wolverhampton Council. For every few Manchester-plated taxis here, one licensed in Wolverhampton crawls past. Why are so many local drivers obtaining their licences from a council 75 miles away? Because its cheap, its easier, says Wolverhampton-licensed taxi driver Yasar Ditta over the honking of horns and the drumbeat of Manchester rain on his roof. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wolverhampton has a reputation among drivers for being an easier place to obtain a licence, he explains. Others taking fares from the swarm of arrivals at the station agree. It takes a long time here [in Manchester], says another taxi driver with a Wolverhampton plate. In Manchester you have to do [an additional] driving test, all these things, says a third. I didnt need to do that [to get my licence from Wolverhampton Council]. There arent as many obstacles. Manchester chooses to make it hard for people. Out-of-area licensing, as its known, is not a new phenomenon, nor is it limited to Manchester taxi drivers. For years, City of Wolverhampton Council has been receiving thousands of taxi licence applications from drivers outside the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now, though, there are fears that Wolverhamptons licensing regime is, in some cases, becoming a magnet for drivers seeking to circumvent more stringent rules imposed by their own local authorities in areas such as Rotherham, following the grooming gangs scandal. In the year ending March 2024, just 813 Wolverhampton licences were issued to local drivers, while a striking 20,375 went to drivers based elsewhere. The year before, the figures were similar: 778 licences for Wolverhampton residents, compared with 19,592 for those outside the city. According to government data, Wolverhampton now has almost 110 licensed taxis and private-hire vehicles per 1,000 people far higher than Londons 12 per 1,000, Rotherhams four, or the under 10 seen in many other areas. In 2023, more than a third of private-hire taxi drivers in Greater Manchester were registered with Wolverhampton Council. This year, figures show that almost half of Greater Manchesters private-hire vehicles are now licensed out of area. The trend appears to be widespread. Across England, more than 11 per cent of private-hire vehicles are licensed by Wolverhampton council. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are two types of licences required to operate taxis (including Ubers): one for the vehicle and one for the driver. Both must be obtained from the same local authority. Omed Basir, who works for a firm renting 200 Wolverhampton-plated cars to taxi drivers across the country, says most of their business comes from Manchester drivers. Many of them seem to view obtaining a Wolverhampton taxi driver licence as quicker and easier than elsewhere but they also need a Wolverhampton-licensed vehicle. More than half [of our customers] come from outside Wolverhampton, he says. You can drive [these cars] anywhere. There is nothing illegal about this. Under current laws, a taxi driver can obtain a licence from any local authority, irrespective of where they live as long as it is the same council that has granted their vehicle licence. Wolverhampton council points out that it is, in fact, illegal for it to refuse to grant a licence on the basis of where in the country the applicant resides. It is also illegal for licensing authorities to impose a limit on the number of private-hire licences they issue, says a spokesman. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, argues the system is broken, and warns that a lack of local accountability leaves communities exposed. This isnt just about fairness for local drivers; its about public safety, he says. Burnham adds that loopholes in the law mean if it wasnt Wolverhampton, it would be somewhere else. Andy Burnham, the Mayor of Manchester, says loopholes in taxi licensing leave towns such as Rochdale and Bolton exposed to risks of exploitation and abuse - Leon Neal/Getty In towns and cities where grooming gangs have operated, fears around safety are heightened. In Greater Manchester, the towns of Rochdale, Bolton and Oldham have all been previously affected by child sexual exploitation (CSE) perpetrated by such gangs. Taxi drivers were involved in some of the cases. In the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham, where 1,400 girls were abused between the late 1990s and mid-2010s, taxi operators and drivers were heavily implicated. Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council subsequently implemented one of the most stringent licensing regimes in the country. This includes a robust fit and proper person test for licence holders, along with mandatory CCTV and audio recording in licensed vehicles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet some local taxi drivers are unquestionably obtaining licences elsewhere to avoid these onerous requirements, warns Sarah Champion, Rotherhams Labour MP. The link between private-hire vehicles and child sexual exploitation has been well established by numerous reports, she says. Strict licensing requirements introduced in Rotherham came about in direct response, in order to keep the public safe. That they can be so easily circumvented jeopardises public safety and damages public confidence, says Champion. For many drivers, Wolverhamptons appeal seems to lie in the belief that its not only cheaper and quicker to obtain a licence here than elsewhere, but that there are fewer hoops to jump through. Unlike some, the council does not require drivers to undergo an additional driving test if they already hold a Category B licence, allowing them to carry up to eight passengers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The council also says its early adoption of digital technology has enabled it to offer a simple and efficient online application process though drivers are still required to attend in person for training and to undergo a strict assessment. Theres basically a lower bar for entry, suggests Rob Berrisford, a Hackney carriage driver and chairman of the Salford Black Cab Association in Greater Manchester. But at what cost? He repeats a conversation he had with one local driver who was planning to obtain a licence from Wolverhampton and whom Berrisford advised to get licensed in Salford, where he would be working. The driver replied, Yeah, but Ive got to do this test [in Salford], Ive got to do X, Y and Z Rotherham council introduced one of the most stringent licensing regimes in the country, in response to the grooming gangs scandal - Asadour Guzelian/Guzelian In Wolverhampton, a one-year private-hire or black cab driver licence costs 69 but this excludes the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which must be obtained separately (although the council says it checks the DBS status of drivers daily). In Salford, the total licence application fee is 283.50, which includes the DBS check and test fee. In Rotherham, the cost is 226.50, also including a DBS check. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is also a fair amount of variation in practices across different local authorities, including whether CCTV is routinely fitted in taxis, or even allowed. In Wolverhampton it is now permitted but not mandatory, after a ban (due to privacy concerns) was recently overturned in the interest of driver and passenger safety. And while some councils enforce daily road-worthiness checks, others dont. For Manchester and Rotherham-licensed drivers, these are mandatory. Since an amendment to the Police Act 1997 (Criminal Records), all taxi and private-hire vehicle drivers must get an Enhanced DBS Check. But one problem with allowing drivers to pick and choose where they get licensed is that if they do something wrong, as one councillor says, the local council where they work has no authority over them if they obtained their badge elsewhere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Years ago, if you had a Salford plate on your cab and you had a job in Liverpool, the police would pull you over to make sure everything was all right, says Berrisford. Whereas now, because Wolverhampton [plates] are everywhere, theyve got no idea whether [a driver] should be working in that area or what [drivers] are up to. Residents have also voiced concerns. Cllr Ryan Bamforth, representing the Communities First party on Bolton Council, says Wolverhampton isnt the only out-of-area council issuing licences to Bolton cab drivers. Some obtain their badges in Knowsley or Sefton in Merseyside, both at least 35 miles away. A message on Knowsley Councils website which charges 66 for a one-year licence warns it is currently receiving an exceptionally high volume of new driver applications. When I ask drivers, Are you registered here?, some say, Well, its cheaper or easier to get a licence [elsewhere], which is concerning, says Bamforth. At the moment weve got no control and no say over whats going on in this area. Our council cant do anything about a taxi driver licensed with a different authority who starts committing offences here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Residents worry about safety, he says, because they dont know who to go to when they want to report a taxi-related issue. People feel they should be able to go to their own council. Bolton councillor Ryan Bamforth says residents are worried about reporting taxi-related offences - Asadour Guzelian/Guzelian Ltd Theres always a risk, too, that the system helps create a climate where grooming and sexual abuse can be perpetrated more easily, he agrees. People should be documented within the local authority where theyre working, he says, because it gives that council more control and oversight. It was the Deregulation Act 2015, introduced by the then Conservative government, that effectively allowed licensed private-hire vehicle drivers to operate across any licensing authority, notes Champion. My concerns about this were dismissed at the time and have been repeatedly ignored in the years since, she says. Baroness Casey also highlighted the issue in her recent independent grooming gangs report, recommending the Government take immediate action to stop out-of-area taxis. Baroness Casey has urged the Government to act swiftly to close loopholes letting taxi drivers work far from where theyre licensed - James Manning/PA Wire As a key part of the nighttime economy, taxis have historically been identified as a way children can be at risk of sexual exploitation, she wrote. [] In some areas, especially those who have recognised problems of child sexual exploitation, local authorities go above and beyond this statutory guidance to provide additional protection for children. However, they are being hindered by a lack of stringency elsewhere in the country, and legal loopholes which mean drivers can apply for a licence anywhere in the country and then operate in another area. In response, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper promised that the Department for Transport would work at pace to close loopholes in the law on taxi licensing. The concerns are shared in Wolverhampton as well. At a full council meeting on Wednesday, Cllr Simon Bennett, Conservative leader of the opposition, put forward an urgent motion calling for a full review of the local authoritys licensing regime. As far as Im aware, it isnt any easier [to get your licence here], the questions arent less difficult, the processes arent less stringent, but they are more streamlined, more efficient, and therefore you can get your application processed a lot quicker, he says. [But with Wolverhampton-licensed] drivers operating outside of the area, we have no idea what theyre doing. The concern, he adds, is that the Casey review named taxi drivers in particular as a high-risk group of people who, maybe when theyre operating outside of area, may not be behaving as they should because theres nobody monitoring them. Since the grooming gangs inquiries in Rotherham and Telford, all licensing authorities in England must now undertake extensive background checks on taxi drivers, and since 2023 all must use a single database to prevent a driver whos been refused a licence in one area on safety grounds from going elsewhere. The Government now plans to consult on making local transport authorities responsible for licensing taxis and private-hire vehicles. City of Wolverhampton Council, which has teams of compliance officers based in the East Midlands and the North of England, says safeguarding is its number one priority in taxi licensing and it welcomes any Government measures on this. A spokesman says that since last year the council has required drivers to undertake a daily walkaround check of their vehicle before commencing work. The council does not gain financially from taxi licensing, as the fees are legally ring-fenced for spend only on related activities, the spokesman adds. We take enforcement responsibilities seriously and our officers are out across the country, every Friday and Saturday night, working to protect the public. Until the closure of the loophole allowing taxi drivers to be licensed wherever they want, however, the widespread safety concerns will doubtless remain. 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. Gov. Tony Evers and Veterans Affairs Sec. James Bond spoke an event for veterans in the state Capitol on April 22, 2025. (Photo via Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Facebook page) Two Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs programs that provide support to struggling veterans, including those experiencing homelessness, are on track to close locations and shrink in size due to a lack of funding in the new state budget. The state budget was passed by the Legislature and signed into law by Gov. Tony Evers in early July following months of negotiations. While Evers and lawmakers hailed the agreement as a bipartisan accomplishment, they are now blaming each other for the anticipated closure of two facilities, one in Chippewa Falls and one in Green Bay, that serve veterans struggling with homelessness this year due to insufficient funding available. Another program that provides support for veterans dealing with mental health and substance use issues will also face cuts due to the budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Veterans Housing and Recovery Program (VHRP), which currently has three physical sites, serves veterans who are on the verge of or experiencing homelessness, including those who have experienced incarceration, unemployment or underemployment, physical and mental health problems. The program lasts a maximum of 24 months, but the average length of stay is six to 10 months. The VHRP locations in Chippewa Falls, which has 48 beds, and Green Bay, which has 17, will close by September 30 of this year. The Union Grove location, which has a capacity of 40 beds, will remain open. We make a promise to our veterans that when they return home to their civilian life, we will support and serve them just as they have supported and served us. Our veterans should not have to worry about being able to afford to keep a roof over their heads. Period, Evers said in a statement Monday. Randy Nelson, 63, has resided at Klein Hall in Chippewa Falls for about three months. He told the Wisconsin Examiner in a phone interview that it has been the perfect place for me to come and figure some things out, especially since his daughter lives nearby. Before he moved in, he had been experiencing homelessness and navigating substance use issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Nelson served in the military for three years starting in 1979 and spent much of his time working on aircraft repairs. He said he has been lucky to receive some of the veterans services that he has. Nelson said the VHRP program has given him an array of resources, including access to recovery and anger management programming, and it has also been a safe place for him to look for housing. I just lucked out in getting a housing voucher this quick, otherwise Id have no place to go, Nelson said. Nelson said he is confident in his sobriety now and more hopeful about my remaining years, but is truly worried about his fellow veterans, given the recent news. He said some residents are considering leaving the state to try to find a new place with similar services, even though they want to remain in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre scared of getting kicked out and being homeless, Nelson said. He said residents are still considered homeless to some degree, since they lack a permanent address, but the closure could mean some would actually be out on the streets again. Theres people that are working and saving up money here, and they dont know what to do because theyre not making enough money to get into a place yet, Nelson said. The Legislature, Nelson said, is taking away valuable resources for veterans with the cuts to the program. The program was created by Wisconsin lawmakers in the 1993-95 state budget and was initially supported from Wisconsins veterans trust fund. It was expanded in the following years and is currently funded from a combination of trust fund payments, payments made by program participants and per diem payments, which are made to the agency by the federal government at a current rate of about $71 per resident per day. Participants can be charged up to 30% of their monthly income in rent when using transitional housing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Growing staffing and maintenance costs at the facilities led to Evers and the agency requesting nearly $2 million in additional state funding during the budget process, but it wasnt included in the final bill. The bottom line is that there will now be fewer options for homeless veterans as a result of the Legislatures irresponsible decision to reject the investments, Evers said, adding that he would be urging the Legislature to provide additional support for veterans in the fall. Democratic lawmakers, including Sens. Jeff Smith (D-Brunswick), Jamie Wall (D-Green Bay) and Reps. Jodi Emerson, Ryan Spaude, Christian Phelps, Christine Sinicki, Brienne Brown, Amaad Rivera-Wagner, Maureen McCarville and Angelito Tenori, quickly introduced legislation Wednesday that would provide the necessary funding. Republicans withheld critical funds for over a year while our region struggled with hospital closures. Now homeless veterans are the victims of the Republicans callous inaction, Smith said in a statement. These men and women served our country. We have a moral obligation to ensure they have a roof over their heads. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Emerson called the closures extremely alarming in a statement, noting that the facilities are scheduled to close just as the weather in Wisconsin turns cold. The co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee Rep. Mark Born and Sen. Howard Marklein pushed back on Evers in a statement, saying his comments were simply disingenuous. The Legislature made significant investments to support veterans in our state including in this program, the lawmakers said, noting the budget included $5 million to support Wisconsin veterans homes, $2.5 million to support the Veterans Community Project which provides housing and support services for veterans and a slight increase in the Veterans Housing and Recovery Program. Legislative leaders negotiated for weeks with Governor Evers and he did not bring this topic up once, Born and Marklein said. Evers is looking for a scapegoat to blame for his administrations failure to adequately manage the changes to the program volume and demands. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement WDVA Assistant Deputy Secretary Joey Hoey told the Wisconsin Examiner, however, that it is disingenuous to blame Evers when lawmakers made the decision to exclude the funding from the budget. They can try and paint it however they want, Hoey said. If they wanted to fund it, they could have put it in the budget. The agency worked with lawmakers on the Joint Finance Committee during the budget cycle, agreeing to eliminate over 200 positions that were unfilled. Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) thanked the head of the agency for working with them during the committees June 12 meeting. Hoey said the agency had hoped the budget would reflect that collaboration and would include funding for the Veterans Housing and Recovery program (VHRP) or the Veterans Outreach and Recovery program (VORP). Ultimately, it did not. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The VHRP programs base funding was about $2.1 million, including $1.3 million in federal funding, $677,500 from the veterans trust fund and $115,500 from rent payments. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) laid out the stakes for the program in a memo to lawmakers as they were writing the state budget. Without additional funding, the Department would not have sufficient resources to maintain the programs three sites, the memo stated. One of the funding issues outlined by LFB was the rising cost of staffing. According to the memo, about two-thirds of VHRP costs went towards Lutheran Social Services, the organization providing management and supportive services at each location. Lutheran Social Services has incurred higher staffing costs in recent years. Evers dedicated $500,000 in ARPA funds to those increased costs in 2023-24, but that funding has run out. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The facilities were also proving a problem, Hoey said. Evers had requested $24 million in his capital budget to build new facilities in Green Bay and Chippewa Falls, but lawmakers declined to fund them. The physical upkeep was also above what we had calculated or budgeted, Hoey said, noting that the Chippewa Falls building had roof leaks and the HVAC system was old. We were paying people to repair it and Band-Aid it. In Green Bay, we had problems, and every time you have a problem and you cant have a resident in a room youre not getting that $73 per day from the federal government. Its a double whammy, and thats why we thought new facilities would fix that for Green Bay and Chippewa Falls. Evers had proposed providing $1.95 million across the biennium for the program. Lawmakers provided an adjustment to the program of $100,000, which they are touting as a 15% increase. Hoey said in an email, however, that the funding is an adjustment that reflects what the agency has already been spending and still falls well short of the funding the LFB identified as necessary to keep the sites open. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hoey also noted another program administered by the WDVA will face cuts under the new state budget. The Veterans Outreach and Recovery Program (VORP), which serves veterans dealing with mental health and substance use issues and aims to reduce the suicide rate among veterans, is set to lose seven employees. Evers had asked for seven positions and more than $1.1 million to help support the program. The program launched in 2015 with the help of a federal mental health grant, and has since become state funded. ARPA funds were used in 2023 to expand the reach of the program, but with those funds running out the agency sought state funds to continue its current size. The positions expire in October 2025. We had expanded to 16 regions where there was somebody who was living in that part of the state, and now were having to go back to 11 regions, Hoey said. They wouldnt fund that. Those positions had helped the agency reach more veterans, provide support in a more timely manner and give veterans more time, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The program provided services to 2,222 people in 2023-24 nearly 70% more contacts than in 2021-22 when the program served 1,329 people. It was really very disappointing, because these are two programs that have incredible track records of really helping veterans who need it, Hoey said. It was really disappointing being in Joint Finance when that vote came up. My heart was breaking, sitting there thinking Oh, my God, all these people who wont get served. Hoey shared an anecdote of a former program participant who recently returned to the Chippewa Falls site to give people an update on where he was, to illustrate the effectiveness of the programs. The VHRP, Hoey explained, is a monthslong process to help struggling veterans get to the point where they can return to society in a stable, functioning way. He came in and wanted to tell everyone that, you know, five years ago, he was homeless, and now hes married with a kid, and he had just bought his first house and was so proud because he had paid his first property tax bill, Hoey said. Thats the kind of result these programs have Between the two programs youre looking for $4 million and we couldnt find that. Wisconsin DVA Secretary James Bond said in a statement that the agency remains committed to assisting veterans. We have a duty to support veterans, especially in their darkest times, Bond said. VHRP has been integral in helping veterans find stability and succeed in their communities, and along with our partners on the ground, we intend to still carry out that mission to the best of our ability. Veterans who are currently residing at the two facilities will be offered alternative placement options and will continue to receive assistance through supportive services. Hoey said even as the Department of Veterans Affairs continues its work, the cuts and closures will likely mean fewer veterans will be served and it could be more difficult to reach veterans across the state. He said wait times could also become more of an obstacle for veterans seeking services. Most of these veterans, they want to go to a program thats somewhat near their community so they can count on whatever support systems they have, so its unlikely well be able to serve as many veterans in the majority of the state, since the home thats existing is near Milwaukee. Hoey said the agency decided to retain the Union Grove site, located just south of Milwaukee, because upgrades and repairs that were funded with state and federal funds were recently completed. The VORP team, instead of referring someone to Chippewa Falls, now they have to refer them to a program in Minneapolis, so were going to still try and get people the help they need, Hoey said. Its just going to be harder. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Dominion Energy offices in Richmond, Va. (Photo by Parker Michels-Boyce for The Virginia Mercury) In a ruling on Tuesday, the State Corporation Commission stated that Dominion Energys 2024 Integrated Resource Plan, while legally sufficient, raises concerns about the utilitys future spending plans, which will significantly impact millions of residential and business customers in the monthly bills they must pay for power, the commission stated in the final order. Utility companies serving Virginia must provide a 15-year plan every two years to explain how they will meet energy demands, and carbon emission reductions standards through the Virginia Clean Economy Act that passed in 2020. The SCC then determines if the plan is reasonable and within the publics best interest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres a roundup of the SCCs top recommendations for Dominion. Planning period The company has been using a 15-year planning period for the IRP. For the next one, the SCC asked them to use a 20-year plan to match the regional power grid PJMs forecast window. The commission believes it makes more sense to align planning periods for the utility and the energy provider. Modeling The commission recommended Dominion have at least one model run where carbon emission generation is retired completely, as required by the VCEA. In the 2024 IRP, Dominion laid out limitations for building more battery storage that holds power from renewable energy sources. In the next report, Dominion is asked to look at the feasibility of increasing its limits to build battery storage as the technology becomes commercially available. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There has been stalled legislation in the General Assembly to try and bolster battery storage that hasnt moved forward due to the governors vetoes. Clean Virginia, a clean energy advocacy group, has been granted permission to see the companys final modeling before the 2025 IRP is filed. Demand side management Dominion provides an efficiency program that homeowners and businesses can opt into to try and save money by reducing their power usage. The VCEA has power efficiency targets laid out for the states utility companies, which Dominion failed to meet in 2022, 2023, or 2024. In the 2024 IRP Dominion proposed low-end feasible energy savings targets of 2.10% for 2026, 2.41% for 2027, and 2.73% for 2028. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The SCC said it would be reasonable to establish for Dominion energy savings targets of 3.00%, 4.00%, and 5.00%, for 2026, 2027, and 2028, respectively. Accordingly, consistent with the requirements for the Companys RPS planning, we direct Dominion to model achievement of the final savings targets. Bill analysis Commissioners asked Dominion to include how base rates could be impacted in their future analysis. The company said it could be difficult to calculate, but the SCC said theyd like to see it even if it could be imprecise. Clean Virginia aired their frustrations with the IRP report on Wednesday, with Deputy Director Dyanna Jaye stating, year after year, Dominion files plans that ignore clean energy requirements, lock in expensive fossil fuel infrastructure and drive up electric bills. She commended the SCC for their ruling, saying it has taken a step in the right direction by calling for significant reforms moving forward. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The group said the procedural changes handed down by the SCC do help with transparency and boosting the companys required targets, but it does not stop them from pursuing projects like gas plants that go against the VCEA goals. Fixing Virginias energy system will take more than technical tweaks, Jaye continued. As long as monopoly utilities control the energy planning process, Dominion will keep profiting from poor decisions, and Virginians will keep paying the price through higher bills and worsening health outcomes. Dominion filed its 2024 IRP in October of last year. The commission asked the company to give public notice of scheduled hearings to allow for stakeholder input. Several environmental groups and companies participated in the case. The SCC did accept the plan overall despite these recommendations. Environmental groups were frustrated by the commission not addressing Dominions plans to build more gas plants without running analysis on the health risks for surrounding communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Commission ordered some solid improvements to the planning process moving forward, but in the meantime, customers are left with many unanswered questions and members of environmental justice communities are left with even more, said Nate Benforado, senior attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center. Dominion may attempt to proceed with its accepted polluting plan, even though the Commission has recognized it is the product of a flawed process. Dominion responded to the order by thanking the commission for its thorough review of the IRP and pledging to follow the additional requirements in its future plans. i Our customers are using 5% more power each year, and demand is expected to double in the (next) 10 years. Were focused on serving our customers growing needs with reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy, Dominion spokesperson Aaron Ruby said in a statement. Were investing in new power generation from every source, grid upgrades to strengthen reliability and energy efficiency programs to help our customers save. Ruby added that most of the utilitys new power is generated by carbon-free sources including offshore wind and solar, but didnt discount the utilitys continued reliance on fossil fuels. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Were building the largest offshore wind project in the country, and we have the third-largest solar fleet. We also need natural gas in the mix because renewables are not always available. Thats a balanced energy mix that is increasingly clean and always reliable. The companys residential rates are below the national average, Ruby said, and are projected to grow by less than 3% a year. He also touted the companys ongoing efforts to build resilience against severe weather by burying power lines in areas most prone to power outages. Thats substantially reducing storm-related outages and shortening restoration times for our customers, Ruby said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCBD) The South Carolina Department of Transportation Commission will hold a meeting Thursday to discuss several resolutions. One of those is dedicating a road in Colleton County to Willie L. Brown Jr., and an intersection in the county could also be dedicated to Emma Mackenzie Lake. Additionally, the commission will discuss dedicating an intersection in Charleston County to Gabriel Seagraves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That meeting will be held at SCDOT headquarters in Columbia 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 WCBD News 2. A school crowned the kindest in the UK by a national charity has been invited to parliament. East Hunsbury Primary in Northampton, which has 450 pupils, has been given the Kind School Award for its efforts in promoting kindness by the charity 52 Lives. The achievement was raised in the House of Commons by Labour Northampton South MP, Mike Reader. In response, Leader of House Lucy Powell invited the school's kindness ambassadors to meet her and other MPs to "share a bit more kindness across the house". MP for Northampton South Mike Reader spoke about the school in the House of Commons [HoC] The school's designated kindness ambassadors are pupils who focus on supporting the wellbeing of their peers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are also regular wellbeing sessions at the primary school. Reader told the Commons about the award and asked Powell and other MPs to join him in "commending the school, Kelly Roberts the mental health lead, but particularly all the students who put themselves forward to be kindness ambassadors". He added that MPs in the Commons "online and in the press could be a bit more like East Hunsbury Primary and always act with kindness". Powell congratulated the school and then extended her invitation to the school to come to Westminster. The school has kindness ambassadors who help other students with their wellbeing [Ollie Conopo/BBC] Ms Roberts told BBC Radio Northampton's Annabel Amos it was "exciting" to be invited to parliament and the school would take up the offer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Give me a date, we'll get them on the minibus and we'll come down and we'll show the MPs how to be a little bit more kind to each other, I think the world needs it," she said. "We're so proud of all of young people but it's very much a team effort. "It's our entire school community, our parents, our local community, the staff [and] the children, everybody makes it such a wonderful place." On its website, the school said the judges had revealed that reading their award submission was "a genuine joy". "You could sense a school where kindness isn't an act but a rhythm, pulsing through every relationship," the judge said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Children, staff, families, and the local community - all bound by a quiet, powerful commitment to care. East Hunsbury isn't just teaching kindness. They're living it." Follow Northamptonshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X. More on this story Related internet links A Science Hill man was sentenced Thursday to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to possession and distribution of child pornography. Tyler Jordan Vaught, 29, pleaded guilty to 20 counts of Distribution of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor Under 12 and two counts of Possession of Matter Portraying a Sexual Performance by a Minor Under 12. In addition to the sentence, Vaught must undergo five years of conditional discharge and be a lifetime registrant on the National Sex Offender Registry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vaught entered into a plea agreement in May. Vaught was arrested in October 2024 after an undercover investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. That investigation found that Vaught had been sharing sexually explicit images of a juvenile online. Investigators seized electronic equipment during the investigation. "Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links." Heres what youll learn when you read this story: For more than a decade, theres been growing proof that adult humans can form new neurons in the hippocampus, but scientists were still missing evidence of a missing link known as neural progenitor cells. Now, scientists have trained a machine learning algorithm to identify these cells successfully, and they used it to find evidence in adult brains ranging from age 20 to 78. Scientists hope that future therapies could stimulate neurogenesis in the hippocampus for people suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. Its well-understood that brain plasticity in childrenincluding a process known as neurogenesis, which describes the creation of new neuronsis significantly greater than adults. And it doesnt take too much imagination to understand why evolution took this course. After all, children need to learn a lot of things really quickly, so forming new neurons (particularly in the hippocampus where learning, memory, and emotional regulation are located) makes a lot of sense. However, scientists have long wondered whether neurogenesis is an exclusive feature of growing up, or if adults continue to generate new neurons as well (albeit at lower rates). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2013, a team of scientists led by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, found evidence of neurogenesis in the hippocampus, and other studies discovered the presence of stem cells and immature neurons. However, there remains a missing link: neural progenitor cells, which can differentiate into different neurons and glial cells. Now, the search is over. A new studypublished earlier this month in the journal Science and featuring some of the same scientists who worked on the 2013 paperreported evidence of these progenitor cells in adult brains, aged 20 to 78. A variety of examination methods and machine learning techniques allowed the researchers to identify the cells in an area of the hippocampus called the dentate gyrus, which features prominently in learning, memory, and cognitive flexibility. This gives us an important piece of the puzzle in understanding how the human brain works and changes during life, Jonas Frisen, the senior author of the study from the Karolinska Institutet, said in a press statement. We have now been able to identify these cells of origin, which confirms that there is an ongoing formation of neurons in the hippocampus of the adult brain. Identifying these well-hidden cells was far from a simple process. Frisen and his team first created a machine learning algorithm that could accurately identify neural progenitor cells by using the hippocampus samples from the brains of children donated for research after death. Because these cells look remarkably similar to progenitor cells found in mice, the team developed an AI that can spot the molecular fingerprints of childhood progenitors and use that to identify these cells in adults, Frisen told New Scientist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When tested on mice, the model successfully identified 83 percent of the progenitor cells, and when tested on areas of the brain unaffiliated with neurogenesis (such as the cortex), it accurately recorded an absence of progenitor cells. The researchers then turned the model onto 14 hippocampus samples belonging to recently deceased donors between the ages of 20 and 78. To help things along, they used an antibody that identified dividing cells at the time of death, which helped to narrow things down by excluding mature neural cells. Once the samples had been run through their AI models, the team found that nine of those samples contained progenitor cells. Because they werent universally present, and concentrations of the cells varied between individuals, scientists theorized that the presence of these cells in adults could be influenced by genetics or environment. But the discovery of these progenitor cells is definitely good news for scientists hunting for effective ways to treat neurodegenerative diseases. If the means to create new neurons exist, future therapies might be able to use that biological fact to its advantage. Our research may also have implications for the development of regenerative treatments that stimulate neurogenesis in neurodegenerative and psychiatric disorders, Frisen said in a press statement. Turns out its never too late to learn something newour biology tells us so. You Might Also Like COMPANY NEWS: Highly credentialled tech veteran and former Deutsche Bank and SAP executive, Dilipkumar Khandelwal, has joined global process mining leader Celonis as Chief Customer Officer and Chairman of the India Advisory Board. The move signals Celoniss ongoing commitment to ensuring customers achieve measurable value from AI using Process Intelligence and solidifies its strategic investment in India as a global hub for innovation and talent. As enterprises rush to adopt AI, the ability to deliver tangible business outcomes has become the single most important success factor. Khandelwals appointment underscores Celonis's strategy to focus on customer ROI and empower companies to drive tangible value from their processes and from their AI deployments. Carsten Thoma, President and Board Director at Celonis, said: In this economic climate, delivering quantifiable value is the only thing that matters. Our customers are looking for a true partner to help them make AI work for their business. Dilip has built and scaled global teams that serve the worlds most demanding clients. He has lived in the world of our customers, understands their challenges intimately, and knows how to connect technology to the top, bottom, and green line. He is the ideal leader to guarantee our customers' success. Khandelwal will also serve as Chairman of the India Advisory Board, spearheading Celonis' continued expansion in the region, a critical market for both innovation and talent. This follows significant recent investments, including the launch of the Celonis Garage innovation hub in Bengaluru. I am excited to work with our customers and partners to harness the power of Process Intelligence and AI to move the needle on their most critical business goals and unlock billions in value, said Khandelwal. When I saw how the process intelligence platform provides AI the operational context it needs to be relevant and effective for the enterprise, I knew it had the potential to completely reinvent operations. Im here to make that a reality for our customers. Khandelwal's career is marked by extensive experience in building, scaling, leading, and integrating organisations in the enterprise software and financial services industry at SAP and Deutsche Bank. He successfully led the turn around for a critical business unit, made it the fastest growing Cloud business and built a worldclass engineering organisation. As an entrepreneur and investor, he is an avid supporter of disruptive technologies. He is also the founding member of Plaksha University, a partner and advisor to venture funds and an active angel investor in more than 70+ companies to support the next generation of entrepreneurs. Not only is sea ice melting in the ocean surrounding Antarctica, but the water is also getting saltier. Overly salty water brings heat up from deep in the ocean, making it harder for sea ice to reform. What's happening? As The Straits Times shared, a new study revealed that the Southern Ocean is changing in ways that differ from what scientists had expected. Researchers from the University of Southampton, the Barcelona Expert Centre, and the European Space Agency collaborated to track ocean surface conditions using new algorithms and satellites. They used satellite observations and underwater robot data to make 15-year predictions of the ocean's salinity, temperature, and sea ice conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The researchers found that the Southern Ocean became significantly saltier when sea ice began to melt rapidly around 2015. While fresh, cold water helps sea ice expand, warm, salty water has the opposite effect, perpetuating melting. They believe we have already passed a tipping point and entered a feedback loop in which sea ice can't reform due to the increased ocean salinity. "Continuous satellite missions and in situ monitoring are now more critical than ever to track and understand the drivers of recent and future shifts in the iceocean system, including atmospheric forcing, ocean dynamics, and iceoceanatmosphere feedbacks," the researchers wrote in their publication. Why are saltier oceans a problem? Saltier oceans exacerbate the issue of sea ice melt, making it a more significant problem and hindering its reformation even when temperatures bounce back from high spikes and drop again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sea ice is vital because it reflects sunlight into the atmosphere, slowing the steady overheating of our planet. Without Antarctica's sea ice intact, this warming will speed up and intensify storms and sea level rise in coastal communities. The increased salt content in our oceans also affects the marine wildlife habitats of emperor penguins and krill, which provide food for seals and whales and form the foundation of Antarctica's food chain. Do you worry about air pollution in your town? All the time Often Only sometimes Never Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Sea ice is crucial to sustainable global ecosystems, and without it, our warming world will soon look much different on sea and land. What's being done about high ocean salinity levels? Research studies like this help shed light on why sea ice continues to disappear, informing both the scientific community and the general public. They highlight the importance of sea ice on a global scale and how human activities have caused persistently reduced sea ice in the Antarctic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Our activities are also exacerbating extreme weather events beyond just the Antarctic, putting people and communities at greater risk close to home. Beyond continued research and monitoring of Antarctic sea ice, governments must collaborate for the global good by prioritizing the conservation and management of sea ice. Understanding the ripple effects of melting sea ice and increased ocean salinity can motivate real change, starting with climate-focused conversations with people you know. Learning about critical climate issues is an excellent first step in influencing climate policy. Meanwhile, individuals can enhance their climate resilience through planet-friendly upgrades and simple lifestyle adjustments. From driving an electric vehicle to using energy-efficient appliances and installing solar panels, you can set a sustainable example for others to follow. Forward-thinking companies like EnergySage are making sustainability more affordable by empowering homeowners to compare vetted solar installer quotes for free and cutting installation costs by up to $10,000. 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. First on Fox: Eric Conroy, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former CIA case officer, announced his campaign to represent Ohio's 1st Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday. Speaking with Fox News Digital ahead of his announcement, the Cincinnati native said southwest Ohio deserves a "common-sense advocate" in Washington, D.C., who can help the city reach its full potential. Conroy criticized incumbent Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman as "anything but" that common-sense decision maker for Ohioans, tying Landsman's policy record to President Joe Biden's progressive agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is decision-making more along the lines of an AOC or a Nancy Pelosi and not someone from Southwest Ohio," Conroy said of the second-term Democrat. Air Force Veteran Jumps Into Key House Race To Unseat 22-Term Vulnerable Dem: 'Time To Pass The Torch' Ohio, once a reliable swing state, has shifted to the right over the past few election cycles. Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, a businessman and political outsider, defeated longtime incumbent Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown in 2024, securing a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate. Read On The Fox News App Republicans Target Vulnerable Senate Democrat Over Los Angeles Rioting Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the campaign trail, Moreno also tied his Democrat opponent's voting record to Biden's, capitalizing on Ohio's conservative shift. Conroy blamed the Democratic Party's "lack of initiative, lack of foundation, and lack of any real ideas" for Ohio's red wave. "Greg Landsman has been a part of that problem and a part of that party that has really failed to address any day-to-day issues that people are encountering. Instead, they are focused on promoting a far-left agenda, which does not put money back in their pockets or help them solve day-today issues," he explained. Landsman was elected to represent Ohio's 1st District in 2022, unseating former GOP Rep. Steve Chabot. The Democrat won his re-election campaign last year against Republican challenger Orlando Sonza, an Army veteran and former Hamilton County prosecutor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conroy said he would bring a multi-faceted approach to representing Cincinnati in Washington, D.C., given his experience growing up locally, nationally in the U.S. Air Force, and internationally at the CIAs Directorate of Operations, leading intelligence missions around the world. "Im running for Congress because Ive seen the threats we face abroad and the struggles families face here at home. Its time for new leadership that will stand up to the extremes, restore common sense, and fight to make sure the American Dream stays within reach for every Ohioan," Conroy said. Core among Conroy's campaign promises are a commitment to building the economy, supporting law enforcement and securing the border. The Republican has also vowed to protect Social Security and Medicare, a hot-button issue heading into the 2026 midterm elections as Democrats seize on Republicans' Medicaid reform included in President Donald Trump's "big, beautiful bill." Fox News Digital has reached out to Landsman's office for comment. Original article source: SCOOP: Former CIA officer, Air Force veteran launches GOP campaign for Dem-held Ohio district Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen speaks to supporters at a rally at an Apple Valley Cowboy Jack's Wednesday, May 4, 2022. Photo by Nicole Neri/Minnesota Reformer. Scott Jensen, the 2022 Republican nominee for governor, announced Thursday that he will run again in 2026. Jensen is a physician and former state senator from Chaska who gained national attention for his skepticism about the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and usefulness of universal vaccination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Minnesotans want their state back, Jensen said in a press release announcing his candidacy. We remember the days when our communities were safe, our schools were strong, and our leaders put people not politics first. Thats the Minnesota were going to fight to bring back. Jensen joins Kendall Qualls, an Army veteran and health care executive, in the Republican race. Jensen beat out Qualls in 2022 for the endorsement at the GOP state convention on his way to the nomination. Democratic-Farmer-Labor Gov. Tim Walz has signaled that he may run for a third term, though he hasnt made an official announcement. Jensens priorities include rebuilding law enforcement, getting politics out of the classroom and lowering taxes, according to the press release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walz beat Jensen soundly in 2022, by more than 7 percentage points. Jensen acknowledged after the election that he was hobbled by a strong anti-abortion stance that was ill-timed to the U.S. Supreme Courts Dobbs decision, when voters were newly engaged and energized by the issue of losing abortion rights. The last thing Minnesotans want is another extreme conservative pushing Trumps agenda to ban abortion and gut critical programs, like Medicaid, just to line the pockets of billionaires and large corporations, said Emma Piorier, communications director at Alliance for a Better Minnesota, an outside group thats been a well-funded bulwark for Minnesota Democrats for 15 years or so. The former site of Rock Ridge Residential & Assisted Living Care Center in Shellsburg, Iowa. (Photo via Google Earth) A lawsuit between two health care providers is shedding new light on the scuttled sale of an eastern Iowa assisted living facility to a troubled company that runs substance-abuse treatment centers. Shellsburg Associates, an Iowa company based in Benton County, is suing Landmark Recovery of Louisville, a company based in Kentucky, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shellsburg Associates was formed in the mid-1990s when it created Rock Ridge Residential & Assisted Living Care Center in the town of Shellsburg. State records indicate that at one time, Rock Ridge had 54 resident rooms, plus self-contained apartments, and offered on-site nursing care along with a doctors office and a helicopter pad that could be used to help transport residents to hospitals in Cedar Rapids, 19 miles to the east. According to the lawsuit, Rock Ridge suffered numerous financial setbacks tied to the construction of competing residential care facilities that offered a continuum of care from independent living to full skilled-nursing care. In addition, the lawsuit claims, the COVID-19 pandemic adversely affected Rock Ridge and the industry, resulting in high fatality rates and a resulting decline in occupancy. Rock Ridge, the lawsuit claims, had difficulty in retaining and paying its nursing and certified nursing assistant staff, and the homes occupancy dropped to only 12 residents in the facility with zero residents in the apartments. Rock Ridge collected governmental financial assistance in the form of Paycheck Protection Program loans and other pandemic-related benefits, but the lawsuit claims the funds were insufficient to maintain operations. At one point, the lawsuit alleges, one of Shellsburg Associates shareholder owners was providing nursing services to residents without pay, while the corporations president was providing administrative, maintenance and janitorial services without pay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Shellsburg Associates then fell behind in payments to its primary lender, Bank of the West, and considered filing for bankruptcy but decided instead to pursue a sale of the facility while winding down the corporation, the lawsuit alleges. In October 2021, Shellsburg Associates allegedly entered into an agreement with Senior Care Realty to market Rock Ridge. In May 2022, Shellsburg Associates agreed to sell the property for $1.25 million to Landmark Recovery, which planned to establish a substance-abuse treatment program there. The closing on the real estate transaction was scheduled for Oct. 19, 2022, with Landmark Recovery allegedly assuring Shellsburg Associates the sale would be completed as planned and asserting there were no financing or other issues that would delay the sale. According to the lawsuit, the owners of Rock Ridge vacated the building, assisted the remaining residents in relocating to other facilities, and cleared the buildings of any remaining personal property equipment so that Landmark Recovery could immediately take possession of the property at the closing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the lawsuit claims, three hours before the scheduled closing, Landmark Recovery notified Shellsburg Associates by email that the sale would not be completed. That decision, the lawsuit alleges, resulted in Shellsburg Associates inability to satisfy its obligations to Bank of the West, which proceeded to foreclose on the property. The real estate and care facility wound up being sold through a sheriffs sale for an amount that the plaintiff says was significantly lower than what Landmark Recovery had agreed to pay. When Shellsburg Associates attempted to collect money from Landmark Recovery for the damages it had incurred, the latter allegedly asserted that any such claims would have to be submitted to an arbitrator. Shellsburg Associates claims it then initiated an arbitration proceeding but Landmark Recovery refused to respond to the arbitration notices or to participate in the arbitration proceedings. The lawsuit is seeking unspecified damages for fraudulent misrepresentation, negligent misrepresentation and breach of contract. When asked about the lawsuit, representatives of Landmark Recovery directed the Iowa Capital Dispatch to the companys corporate office and provided a phone number to a line that was disconnected. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Landmark Recovery has experienced a number of financial and regulatory problems in recent years. In 2023, Indianas Division of Mental Health and Addiction shuttered three of the companys Indiana facilities after three patients died in a single week at one of the companys treatment centers. Company officials told Behavioral Health Business the closures led to a cashflow issue that resulted in two other Landmark Recovery facilities one in Nevada, and one in Oklahoma losing their lease. In January 2025, former Landmark patients and staff told Indiana television station WTHR that severe understaffing and neglect had contributed to injuries and deaths at two of the companys Indiana rehab centers. In February 2025, police alleged a female patient at a Landmark treatment center in Louisville, Kentucky, was strangled by another patient who is now charged with murder. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) 21-year-old Manarion Fuse, a South Dakota Department of Corrections inmate charged in the overdose death of fellow inmate Anthony Richards, made a court appearance in the case via video call Wednesday at the Minnehaha County Courthouse. The 20-year-old Richards died on Feb. 6; Fuse is accused of giving him K2, a synthetic drug thats meant to act like marijuana. Fuse is currently behind bars at the Jameson Annex on the campus of the South Dakota State Penitentiary, the same facility where he was an inmate during his alleged crime and, per the DOC, where Richards died. Man charged with murder over 8th Street bridge death Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A judge entered a not guilty plea on Fuses behalf Wednesday. A jury trial in his case is scheduled to start the week of Oct. 6, 2025. According to online court records, this is also when 50-year-old Melibu Ross is scheduled to go on trial; she is accused of providing the methamphetamine which killed inmate Jason Garreau in another overdose death. Ross allegedly transported the meth on a visit to Garreau on May 14, with the 39-year-old dying the next day. Unlike Fuse, Ross was not an inmate during her alleged crime. Its unclear in Fuses case how he could have gained access to the drug he allegedly supplied to Richards. Court papers dont detail how, and South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley did not elaborate on the point when discussing the case at a news conference on June 24. Department of Corrections Secretary Kellie Wasko told KELOLAND News on June 12 that drugs can enter a facility in a variety of ways. We have had them coming in through the mail and through packages, and I would like to further share that with you, but its still an active investigation, Wasko said in June. A spokesperson for South Dakotas Division of Criminal Investigation says the DCI has investigated four overdose deaths in 2025 among state DOC inmates in Sioux Falls. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Up to 10 jobs are set to be created with the opening of a second supermarket chain in Guernsey. Alliance announced a second Iceland Foods shop would open in September at the Rectory House in Market Square, St Peter Port, replacing charity shop Health Connections. The first Food Warehouse outside the UK opened at Braye Road at the start of 2025 as part of Alliance's new franchise agreement with Iceland Foods. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keiran Poole, operations director at Alliance, said customer assistance positions and store management roles would be recruited for. He said: "We're pleased to be opening a second Iceland location in Guernsey, this time right in the centre of St Peter Port - the new store has been designed with town centre shoppers in mind. "We're also growing our team on the island with a number of new roles, and we look forward to welcoming customers to the store later this summer." Justin Addison, international and partnerships director at Iceland Foods, said the new shop would be "helping to support the community while expanding our presence in the Channel Islands". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CEO of Health Connections Bella Farrell said the charity's shop currently at the site would "pop up again somewhere else at some point" and that there would be no job losses. Follow BBC Guernsey on X and Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to channel.islands@bbc.co.uk. More on this story Related internet links A second member of the Goyim Defense League, an antisemitic group based in Mississippi, has been charged in connection to assaults and racial intimidation in July 2024. Louis Edward Dunn, 43, is being held as a fugitive in Maricopa County Jail in Phoenix after he was arrested July 13. He is charged with assault and civil rights intimidation of a Clarksville man on July 13, 2024 at a 10th Avenue parking garage. Nashville and our police department will not let stand hatred that translates into criminal conduct, Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake said in a news release. I am grateful to the team at the Specialized Investigations Division for their months of work to hold GDL members accountable." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Clarksville man was attacked at the 10th Avenue South parking garage after members of the Goyim Defense League marched in Nashville. Dunn is the second member of the group to be charged after the assault, police said. A Nashville jury convicted Ryan McCann of assault and civil rights intimidation charges after three hours of deliberation, according to a spokesperson from the Davidson County District Attorney's Office. He will be sentenced July 30. Civil rights intimidation is a Class D felony, according to Tennessee's hate crime statute. It carries a possible prison term of at least two years and a $5,000 fine, according to the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference. Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Second man from antisemitic group charged in 2024 Nashville assault BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) SEIU California announced its endorsement of Assemblywoman Dr. Jasmeet Bains (D-Delano) after Bains announced her bid for Californias 22nd Congressional District against Congressman David Valadao. In a statement, Riko Mendez, chief elected officer of SEIU Local 521 and executive board member of SEIU California, said Bains is SEIUs choice for the 2026 election as she fights for health care for children as well as home care for the seniors. Mendez also said Bains grew up in Central Valley and knows the regions struggles with providing basic needs other regions take for granted, such as the relative lack of a nearby emergency room or doctor availability. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jara standoff: Police feared county supervisors husband wanted officers to shoot him We need a leader like Jasmeet in Congress someone who is fighting for the people in the Central Valley, not billionaires, and well be working hard every day to make sure she wins, Mendez said in the release. Mendez went on to heavily criticize Valadaos vote in favor of health care cuts in a press release on Thursday. According to Mendez, Valadao betrayed all working families in the United States by voting for the Trump Administrations budget bill, which cut down on funding to health care programs like Medicaid and Medi-Cal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voting for Medi-Cal cuts when nine out of 10 children in CD-22 rely on it for healthcare in order to give massive tax cuts to the huge corporations and the wealthiest Americans absolutely disqualifies Valadao to represent us, Mendez said. Bains, a family doctor at the Delano branch of Adventist Health, told 17 News she treats patients at her clinic on the weekends while being in session in Sacramento during the weekdays. Never miss a story: Make KGET.com your homepage Im a doctor, and this community saw a doctor that put the people over politics over and over and over again, Bains said. I have bucked my own party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bains joined fellow Democrat Randy Villegas in the race against Valadao. Villegas, considered the more progressive candidate, announced his run for CD-22 in April. Bains was re-elected to her second term in the 35th Assembly District of California in December. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Utah Sen. John Curtis said the United States should not publicly place limits on how Ukraine uses American weapons during an appearance on The Lead with CNNs Jake Tapper on Tuesday night. The Financial Times, and other outlets, reported on Tuesday that President Donald Trump had asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy if the country had the ability to strike the Russian capital of Moscow. Later that same day, Trump told reporters that were not looking to do that, and the White House issued a statement saying Trumps comments had been taken out of context. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Curtis said that to avoid the same problems that prevented Ukraine from quickly repelling Russias invasion early on, the United States should not announce whether the country can use weapons to go on the offensive. I think one of the mistakes weve made is taking things off the table, Curtis said. (S)imply from a strategic advantage we shouldnt talk about what were not going to allow them to do publicly. Whats been missing in our Ukraine strategy is exactly thatstrategy. We shouldnt be dictating red lines for Ukraine from Washington. I support the President in giving Ukraine the tools and backing it needs to defend its sovereignty, push back against Putins aggression, and pic.twitter.com/MrekgvzTPP Senator John Curtis (@SenJohnCurtis) July 16, 2025 The senator, who sits on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee with Utah Sen. Mike Lee, said the policymakers he associates with are pleased the Trump administration has restarted weapons shipments to Europe. In early July, a Department of Defense official moved to halt military shipments to Ukraine, apparently without the knowledge of many Republican officials and allies, out of concern that U.S. munitions were running low. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Curtis said he has not received a satisfactory answer from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on why the decision was made. He said he absolutely would support asking Hegseth to testify to Congress on the issue. Last week, Trump announced his administration would reverse the temporary pause in arms shipments to Ukraine by allowing NATO allies to purchase weapons from the U.S. and then deliver them to Ukraine. The reversal earned the praise of many more traditional Republicans, including former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, who said it represented a peace through strength approach. President Trump's Ukraine policy is peace through strength. It means jobs and investments in the U.S. And it's the best chance to force Putin to negotiate. President Trump deserves our full support for putting America first with a strong foreign policy that makes us safer. Tom Cotton (@TomCottonAR) July 16, 2025 The only way the Russian Ukrainian war comes to an end is when the US puts its weight behind NATO and Ukraine. Its Putins nightmare. Kudos to Trump for acknowledging who the real aggressor in this war is. The Ukrainians are good fighters. They will finish it if they have the Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) July 15, 2025 But it also angered the more isolationist wing of the GOP and Libertarian Party, including former Congressman Justin Amash and Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who said the move ran contrary to Trumps MAGA base. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. has provided Ukraine with around $70 billion in military assistance and $32 billion in Department of Defense stockpiles, since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, according to the U.S. Department of State. However, over the past 3 years, the U.S. has approved five bills appropriating around $175 billion to sustain the Ukrainian government budget and give humanitarian support in addition to military aid. What has been lacking is a game plan or timeline for ending the war, Curtis said. But Trumps latest announcement was coupled with a threat of new 100% tariffs on Russia if no ceasefire deal is reached within the next 50 days. And I think one of the mistakes weve made in Ukraine in the past is we havent been strategic about what were sending over and what were actually trying to achieve, Curtis said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The key to helping Ukraine win not just survive this war" is to give the country the support it needs to defend itself and rebuff Russian President Vladimir Putin, Curtis said in a post on X sharing his CNN interview. And that includes not dictating red lines for Ukraine from Washington, according to Curtis. When asked what he thought about Ukraine attacking Moscow, Curtis said it should remain an option. Editors Note: The transcript of this live Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity. AUSTIN (KXAN) Just weeks after catastrophic flooding in Central Texas, the Texas Legislature will commence a special session next Monday to discuss ways to streamline emergency alerts for Texans when disaster strikes. KXAN Midday Anchors Will DuPree and Avery Travis spoke to State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt on her filing of Senate Bill 25, which aims to solve the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Avery Travis: So we want to dig into your proposed legislation here in a couple of minutes, but first, talk about the special session starting on Monday. We know theres a lengthy agenda, a lot of topics that the governor and lawmakers want to cover, but how much do you think the deadly flooding weve seen in Central Texas should factor into lawmakers work next week? Sarah Eckhardt: Well, certainly, the flooding has to be the absolute top priority. Peoples lives are threatened, and Texans are in need, and theyre in grief. Its very important that every member of the Texas Legislature bend all of their efforts to serving Texans in need, rather than bowing down to political theater. Will DuPree: We want to circle back to that legislation you just introduced. So you just brought forward Senate Bill 25, which could streamline how Texans can start getting emergency alerts on their phones. What would change if this legislation becomes law? Eckhardt: We have regional emergency alert systems throughout the state of Texas, to the extent that local governments band together in collaboration to create them. So here in Central Texas, we have Warn Central Texas, and I encourage everyone to go to Warn Central Texas and sign up. Its absolutely voluntary, so we dont get as high of a subscription to Warn Central Texas and other local warning systems that we would like. So this bill would be no cost to the taxpayer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It would put a check box on your drivers license application or renewal so that you could check that box, and the Department of Motor Vehicles could share your contact information with your local warning system and get you signed up. You can always unsubscribe. This bill was filed back in 2019 by a couple of my colleagues. I was not in the legislature. Then it passed, but it was vetoed by the governor. The governor said I quote, local governments, not the state, should be in charge of gathering and managing this type of data. But as weve seen, not enough people are signed up. We really need the states help, and this is a zero-cost way to increase subscriptions in warning systems. Travis: You have so much experience in local government as a former Travis County judge. Talk to us about the role that played in putting forth this legislation, and what other flood related items do you want to see discussed in this upcoming special session? Eckhardt: We really do need to take a longer and honest look at our emergency warning systems where they work, and where they dont work, and we have a very big state, so the terrain is very different across the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some areas have no broadband access, which is a real problem for those areas. A warning siren is probably the best option, as long as people are well educated about what to do when they hear the siren. But for other areas where we do have cellphone towers and broadband, we need to make sure that the alerts people are getting are well understood. If youre getting too many alerts on your phone, you will turn them off, and if too many of those alerts dont directly have any effect on you and theyre more performative than they are actionable. Youll stop listening to them or paying attention to them. So we need to make sure that theyre used 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 KXAN Austin. SIGN UP FOR THE DAILY JWR UPDATE. IT'S FREE. (AND NO SPAM!) Just click here. When former Labor Secretary Robert Reich can muster equal enthusiasm for radical leftist mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani and for PBS, that might help people locate precisely where PBS is on the political spectrum. In a new video, Reich began by posing with an Elmo puppet. Doesn't every leftist begin their PBS argument with Elmo? Supposedly, President Donald Trump opposes "Sesame Street" because they once made a puppet called "Donald Grump." I'm sure he loved that parody when it happened ... 20 years ago. Reich asked: "Why is Trump so hell-bent on defunding PBS? It's part of a larger plan one where he can control not just what we do, but what we think." It's a conspiracy theory: "Trump is waging a war on the American mind!" Once again, Trump is painted as a dictator. Reich claimed: "Throughout history, tyrants have understood that their major enemy is an educated public. Slaveholders prohibited enslaved people from learning how to read. The Third Reich burned books. The Khmer Rouge banned music. Stalin and Pinochet censored the media." "Fact-checkers" could ask: How is Trump just like slaveholders, Hitler, Stalin, Pinochet and the Khmer Rouge? Where has Trump prevented people from reading, burned books, banned music or censored the media? And how is taking taxpayer subsidies away from PBS anything like book banning or reading prevention? The Left always associates itself with education. Reich said Trump believes, as they say in Orwell's novel "1984," that "ignorance is strength." Reich claimed Trump favors teaching children "our country has never been wrong." That's what they claimed about the Florida education standards under Gov. Ron DeSantis. Leftists are firmly in control of universities and suppress all dissent. But Reich pretended the opposite: "As a professor, I know firsthand how education empowers young people's minds. We can't have a functioning democracy if people cannot deliberate critically about it. That's why authoritarians replace education with indoctrination. Instead of teaching students to think for themselves, authoritarians seek to instill blind allegiance and to suppress dissent." In 2022, a poll found more than 80% of Harvard faculty respondents characterized their political leanings as "liberal" or "very liberal." Only 1% of respondents stated they are "conservative," and no respondents identified as "very conservative." Just like PBS, most universities seek to prevent any conservative from speaking as an authority. They equate conservatism with ignorance and misinformation. That results in "blind allegiance," "indoctrination" and the opposite of a "functioning democracy" of minds. The Left associates a "functioning democracy" with Democrat Party control. When Republicans win, we live in frightening "authoritarian" times. Reich conflated Trump's lawsuits against ABC and CBS and defunding "public" broadcasting with "suppressing" the media. Trump is "trying to silence major news sources." Calling them out for "fake news" is suppression. Isn't that fascinating? Attacking the leftist press is not "dissent." It's not "authoritarian" for PBS to suppress the conservative view on taxpayer-funded television. Reich lectured: "A free press exists to question authority and help the public question it as well." But how did these "major news sources" perform in questioning authority in the Biden administration? Look no further than their propagandistic coverage of Biden's mental state. They denied there was any problem and suppressed all "functioning democracy" with the so-called Democratic Party until it could no longer be ignored. Ignorance wasn't strength. The Left objects to defunding PBS because it objects to any diminution of its indoctrinating power. The Left objects to adding any conservative narratives to education and the culture for the same reason. Conservatives exist to foist democracy upon them. (COMMENT, BELOW) The Brief Minnesota Senator Tina Smith is spending the night at George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C. Staff say the senator "started to not feel well" during her work at the Capitol. A Capitol physician recommended she undergo a more thorough examination. WASHINGTON, D.C. (FOX 9) - Minnesota Senator Tina Smith will spend Wednesday night at the George Washington University Hospital in Washington, D.C., on the advice of a Capitol physician. Tina Smith admitted to hospital What they're saying The senator "started to not feel well" while working in the Capitol on Wednesday, her staff said in a social media post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She then went to a Capitol physician who recommended more thorough examinations for her at George Washington University Hospital. Staff say Sen. Smith is being kept at the hospital overnight "out of an abundance of caution." The post, attributed to the senator's staff, can be viewed below: A Note from Senator Smith's Staff: -- While at work at the Capitol today, Sen. Smith started to not feel well. She went to the Capitol physician who recommended she undergo more thorough examination at GW hospital. Out of an abundance of caution, they are keeping her overnight Tina Smith (@SenTinaSmith) July 16, 2025 The Source This story uses information shared in a social media post from Tina Smith's official X account. Sen. Thom Tillis on Wednesday said he supports the release of files about the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein that has divided President Donald Trump from many of his supporters. Tillis spoke to McClatchy about the ongoing nationwide debate calling for greater transparency in the case. The Epstein files have created a unique union between Democrats and some of Trumps far-right supporters who are demanding that Trump live up to his campaign promise to release the files. Tillis also spoke about the case earlier Wednesday in a radio interview on WBT in Charlotte. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres one of two reasons why you wouldnt release the files, Tillis told McClatchy. Number one, you can redact, so dont talk about protecting innocent victims. So theres only one of two other reasons why you wouldnt want to release it, is youre embarrassed because you overplayed what was in it or what is in it is problematic. Neither one of them is a good enough reason, Tillis said. Trump and his team campaigned on the promise they would release the Epstein files when he became president in his second term. Epstein, previously convicted of sex crimes, died in prison while facing additional charges for sex trafficking minors. Trump helped popularize conspiracy theories surrounding Epsteins death and that he kept a client list to blackmail high-profile people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Fox News that an Epstein client list was sitting on her desk for review. But last week, the Department of Justice and the FBI announced the client list doesnt exist and that further files would not be released. Trump supporters became livid and accused the president and his administration of being part of a cover-up. Release the damn files, Tillis told WBT on Wednesday morning. This could be over in an instant. Why Tillis says Epstein files should be released Tillis was more measured when speaking to McClatchy Wednesday afternoon as he made his way from the Senate chamber to talk with people in the Senate gallery. He was preparing for a long night of votes on an unrelated bill. Tillis told McClatchy he assumes the files are not being released because there isnt a lot of new information. But he added that what Epstein did was horrible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I mean the systematic trafficking of young girls is just, I dont think its the least bit boring, Tillis said. I think its critically important, so I tend to think its more ... Im not saying there isnt a list out there, but Im kind of erring on that its not as sensational as they thought it was. So theyre a little bit embarrassed. And he reiterated thats not a legitimate enough reason to withhold it. Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican from Banner Elk, also found herself fielding questions about releasing the files Monday night while holding the House Committee on Rules hearing. Democrats put forward an amendment to a bill on cryptocurrency to bring to the House floor a motion to release the Epstein files. Republicans were able to quash the amendment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the next day, House Democrats tried to force debate on releasing the files. All Republicans voted to stop that from moving forward. But now, Rep. Thomas Massie, a Republican from Kentucky, is working on a discharge petition to bring a vote to the floor for the files release. The New York Times reported Wednesday afternoon he already gained six Republicans signatures. He needs 218 signatures from the entire body to force a vote. Sen. Ron Wyden has spent the past three years investigating the financial machinery behind Jeffrey Epsteins sex-trafficking operation. The Oregon Democrat, who is the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee, says that he has been pushing the Justice Department to uncover the full extent of Epsteins money movements and the banks that enabled them. We felt from the beginning this was a follow-the-money case, Wyden said in an interview with the New York Times. This horrific sex-trafficking operation cost Epstein a lot of money, and he had to get that money from somewhere. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Donald Trump has been urging his supporters to move on from the story. However, he has said he would let Attorney General Pam Bondi decide which documents related to the case are credible and should be made available to the public. Wydens staff has reviewed thousands of pages of highly confidential bank filings, known as Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs), documenting more than $1.5 billion in flagged transactions connected to Epstein. The reports from JPMorgan Chase, Deutsche Bank, Bank of America and Bank of New York Mellon reveal a dizzying flow of money: payments to women in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, fees from wealthy clients and transactions through Russian banks that the U.S. eventually sanctioned. Some individual transactions reached as high as $100 million. Start your day with essential news from Salon. Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course. Wyden said his investigation has taken on greater urgency as the Justice Department has declined to release the FBIs records or make the bank filings fully available to Congress. While some Republicans have called for more transparency on the so-called Epstein Files, Trump has dismissed the matter as irrelevant and part of a Democratic Party hoax. Congressional Republicans followed suit and blocked recent efforts to force the DOJs hand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wyden believes the story is far from over, and that reforms to bank reporting are needed. When banks are only filing these reports after crooks like Epstein are dead or behind bars, that does not do anyone any good, he told the Times. The Justice Department and most of the banks named in the report have declined to comment. Deutsche Bank said that it regrets our historical connection with Jeffrey Epstein. JPMorgan and Deutsche Bank have paid $290 million and $75 million, respectively, to settle lawsuits alleging they ignored clear warning signs about Epstein. The post Sen. Wyden presses DOJ to release Epstein bank reports to Congress appeared first on Salon.com. Both of Indiana's U.S. senators voted to claw back over $1 billion from public media as the Senate approved the bill 51-48 early July 17. Defunding NPR and PBS was the headline cut in a $9.4 billion package of federal spending reductions, which also includes losses for foreign aid agencies. Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine were Republican holdouts. The bill will now return to the House to vote on the Senate's changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since taking office, President Donald Trump has sought to defund public media, asserting it has a liberal bias that thwarts fair coverage. NPR and PBS have repeatedly refuted these claims, and NPR is suing his administration on First Amendment grounds. In a July 10 Truth Social post, Trump threatened not to endorse Republicans who attempt to preserve public media money and "allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting." Republican Sen. Jim Banks of Indiana has been a vocal supporter of dismantling federal support for public media. His Hoosier colleague, Sen. Todd Young, had not taken a public position on the bill until recently. Under the new law, $1.1 billion will be slashed from the public media budget over the next two years. The cuts could trigger a massive reduction in local coverage, journalist layoffs and shuttering of stations, public media leaders have said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rural areas already at risk of becoming news deserts are especially vulnerable. Typically, federal and state money accounts for a significantly larger percentage of smaller stations' revenue compared to larger metropolitan stations. In Indiana, public media leaders fear the bill will cause some of the small and rural stations to close. Last week, a cohort of statewide journalists was told they would be laid off following the state's zeroing out of its $7.4 million in public media support. More: Proposed USAID cuts include research at Indiana universities How Indiana's U.S. senators voted on July 17 U.S. Sen. Jim Banks , Republican: Yea U.S. Sen. Todd Young, Republican: Yea How Indiana's U.S. House members voted on June 12 U.S. Rep. Erin Houchin , Republican, 9th Congressional District: Yea U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan , Democrat, 1st Congressional District: Nay U.S. Rep. Rudy Yakym , Republican, 2nd Congressional District: Yea U.S. Rep. Marlin Stutzman , Republican, 3rd Congressional District: Yea U.S. Rep. James Baird , Republican, 4th Congressional District: Yea U.S. Rep. Victoria Spartz , Republican, 5th Congressional District: Yea U.S. Rep. Jefferson Shreve , Republican, 6th Congressional District: Yea U.S. Rep. Andre Carson , Democrat, 7th Congressional District: Nay U.S. Rep. Mark Messmer, Republican, 8th Congressional District: Yea Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The USA TODAY Network - Indiana's coverage of First Amendment issues is funded through a collaboration between the Freedom Forum and Journalism Funding Partners. Have a story to tell? Reach Cate Charron by email at ccharron@indystar.com or message her on Signal at @cate.charron.28. This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: How Todd Young, Jim Banks voted on Senate bill to defund NPR, PBS Washington The Senate passed President Trump's request to rescind $9 billion in foreign aid and public broadcasting funding early Thursday, culminating an hours-long "vote-a-rama" and sending it back to the House ahead of a Friday deadline. In a 51-48 vote, Republicans Susan Collins, of Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska, joined Democrats in opposing the package. Vice President JD Vance, who cast two tie-breaking votes Tuesday for the measure to clear procedural hurdles, was not needed for final passage. Democratic Sen. Tina Smith of Minnesota was hospitalized and missed the vote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Both chambers need to approve the request before it expires at the end of the week, or the funds will have to be spent as lawmakers previously intended. The House approved the original $9.4 billion rescissions request last month, but it faced pushback in the Senate, where some Republicans opposed slashing global health assistance and funding for local radio and television stations. The Senate began the lengthy vote series Wednesday afternoon, rejecting dozens of amendments on retaining international aid and sparing public broadcasting from cuts. The Senate's version targets roughly $8 billion for foreign assistance programs, including the United States Agency for International Development, or USAID. The package also includes about $1 billion in cuts for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports public radio and television stations, including NPR and PBS. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Republicans met with Mr. Trump's budget director, Russell Vought, on Tuesday as GOP leaders worked to get holdouts on board ahead of the procedural votes later in the day. Vought left the meeting saying there would be a substitute amendment that would eliminate $400 million in cuts to an AIDS prevention program, one of Collins' main concerns. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said he hoped the House would accept the "small modification." Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Republican of South Dakota, walks from the Senate floor to his office at the Capitol on July 16, 2025. / Credit: ALEX WROBLEWSKI / AFP via Getty Images When asked about the $400 million change, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, told reporters "we wanted them to pass it unaltered like we did." "We need to claw back funding, and we'll do as much as we're able," Johnson added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the change did not satisfy Collins and Murkowski. The holdouts said the administration's request lacks details about how the cuts will be implemented. "To carry out our Constitutional responsibility, we should know exactly what programs are affected and the consequences of rescissions," Collins said in a statement Tuesday. In a floor speech ahead of the procedural votes, Murkowski also said Congress should not give up its budget oversight. "I don't want us to go from one reconciliation bill to a rescissions package to another rescissions package to a reconciliation package to a continuing resolution," she said. "We're lawmakers. We should be legislating. What we're getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, 'This is the priority, we want you to execute on it, we'll be back with you with another round.' I don't accept that." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cuts to local radio and television stations, especially in rural areas where they are critical for communicating emergency messages, were another point of contention in the Senate. Republican Sen. Mike Rounds, of South Dakota, who had concerns about the cuts, said funding would be reallocated from climate funds to keep stations in tribal areas operating "without interruption." Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, who voted for the package, said he expected that Congress would have to try later to fix some of the cuts once their impacts are determined. "I suspect we're going to find out there are some things that we're going to regret," he said Wednesday on the Senate floor. "I suspect that when we do we'll have to come back and fix it, similar to what I'm trying to do with the bill I voted against a couple of weeks ago the so-called Big, Beautiful Bill, that I think we're going to have to go back and work on." Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska WASHINGTON The Senate approved the Trump administrations first round of requested spending cuts after an overnight voting session, approving the clawback of billions of dollars in federal funding including substantial cuts to public broadcasting. The bill passed in a 51-48 vote, approving roughly $9 billion in spending cuts for programs already approved by Congress but targeted by the Trump administration as being wasteful or anti-conservative. The spending measure passed after an hourslong voting series as Democrats introduced dozens of amendments in a process known as a vote-a-rama. Two Republicans joined all Democrats in voting against the measure: Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Both Utah Sens. Mike Lee and John Curtis voted in favor of the bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite a last-minute effort to remove language halting federal funding from going toward the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, that effort failed in a 47-51 vote on the Senate floor. Collins and Murkowski co-introduced the last-minute amendment to remove the provision, but that effort was shot down by their fellow Republicans who accuse stations such as PBS or NPR of promoting anti-conservative bias. As a result, roughly $1 billion in federal funds will be withheld from the CPB for the next two fiscal years. NPR and PBS are not neutral media outlets, Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. They are the closest thing weve ever had in this country to Pravda. They are the arms of the left-wing activist class. Why are Americans being forced to subsidize institutions that hate them? Both PBS and NPR are partially funded through the CPB, which was authorized by Congress in 1967. Less than 1% of NPRs total funding comes from the federal government, but some local and rural stations rely on those funds for emergency alert systems and other educational purposes. Sawyer Tibbitts, studio crew, works on the set of PBS Utahs "Contact with Mary Dickson" at the Dolores Dore Eccles Broadcast Center at the University of Utah, home to KUER and KUED, in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News There has been probably no issue, no single issue that has drawn out more interest across the state of Alaska than support for public broadcasting, Murkowski said. I come from a state where access to other forms of information and communication may be limited. It may just come by way of your radio. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But President Donald Trump and other Republicans, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, have repeatedly pushed to strip that federal funding, accusing the stations of using taxpayer dollars to amplify misinformation about conservatives. I completely disagree with those who want to take (the spending cuts) out, Lee told the Deseret News last week. I know this is important to the president, and I think its important to a lot of voters. PEPFAR funds restored However, a group of Republicans did manage to remove one of the most controversial provisions in the original bill that would cut roughly $400 million from the U.S. Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR, a program started under the George W. Bush administration that focuses on global HIV prevention, care and treatment. Cuts to that program caused alarm for several Senate Republicans, including Curtis, who argued the program has saved millions of lives and has been a successful global operation. The White House agreed to remove the proposed cuts from the final package, telling reporters on Tuesday they are fine with adjustments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is still a great package, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said after meeting with GOP senators. The Senate has to work its will, and weve appreciated the work along the way to get to a place where they think theyve got the votes. Still, the package contains billions of dollars in cuts to other foreign aid and humanitarian projects, particularly in relation to the United Nations, which some Republicans have accused of being rife with fraud and abuse. But with the removed provisions, it has left some fiscal conservatives in the House upset with their Senate colleagues that the changes bring the total spending cuts lower than the $9.4 billion originally requested. A group of 15 fiscal conservatives in the House sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Tuesday warning that weakening the cuts would undermine both his leadership and the discipline our budget urgently demands. Instead, the group urged the Senate to pass the rescissions package as-is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This is just a test case that the White House wants to see if weve got stomachs, if weve got guts, if weve got muscles for what were willing to pass, Rep. Mark Harris, R-N.C., who signed on to the letter, told the Deseret News. And if we cant hit this softball thats being pitched right over home plate, we cant knock this out of the park, then Im very concerned for what we as Republicans really are willing to do. But those demands may not be feasible as lawmakers are right up against the Friday deadline, the day on which the bill must be passed and signed by Trump otherwise all halted funding must be continued. The Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station has secured $54 million in the Senates National Defense Authorization Act in a major step forward to building a new Combined Operations Alert Facility. The new facility would provide more effective command and control, improved cohesion between squadrons, improved mission response times, and streamlined communications, according to a release from U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumers office. Currently, support functions for the 914th Air Refueling Wing are distributed across multiple stovepiped and outdated facilities at the air base, adding unnecessary burden and mission load. The Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station and the 914th Air Refueling Wing has continuously delivered for New York and Americas strategic deterrence over the last 50 years, but to best fulfill its mission going forward it needs a new facility to centralize its command & control operations and improve communication across squadrons. ... Schumer said. (The air base) is one of Niagara Countys top employers and it needs continued federal investment to keep this facility in top notch shape. This is a major step forward to improving efficiency and upgrading operations at (the air base), which is why we need the House to follow suit as we continue efforts to deliver this funding. Schumer said the House needs to follow suit backing the authorization as the he works to deliver funding in the next defense appropriations bill. Schumer previously secured $2.8 million in federal funding for the design and planning of the Combined Operations Alert Facility in FY 2023. The Brief A controversial Senate bill aimed at creating affordable housing in Pacific Palisades has been paused due to community opposition and concerns about decision-making authority. State Senator Ben Allen announced the pause to allow more time for community input and support from impacted councilmembers. Despite the bill's delay until 2026, residents and local leaders, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, continue to express strong opposition. A controversial Senate bill that could bring more affordable housing to Pacific Palisades has been put on pause. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Senator Ben Allen sent out a written statement on Wednesday evening addressing the issue. "I appreciate the input of the folks who have weighed in about the bill, and along with legislative colleagues have decided that it would be best for us to pause the bill until next year to give us more time to see if we can get it right," said Sen. Allen. "For me to feel comfortable proceeding, the bill will have to be deeply grounded in community input, empowerment, and decision-making, including the support of the impacted councilmembers." The controversial Senate Bill 549 was approved by the California Senate. However, many people in Pacific Palisades have been strongly voicing their concerns. "It does sound quite a bit like Big Brother deciding whats good for all of us," said Aileen Haugh, a resident. "Its irritating to think that other people [not local residents] are going to make decisions of what gets built and how it gets built." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In its most simply described meaning, SB 549 would allow Los Angeles County to make a so-called "Resilient Rebuilding Authority." The group would target housing shortages and issues with rebuilding from the Palisades Fire. It would also buy fire-destroyed lots and rebuild a percentage of them for low-income housing units. "We had some low-income housing, and we had affordable housing," said Jessica Rogers. "We want what we had on January 7 [the day of the Palisades Fire]. Nothing more, nothing less." Rogers is president of the Pacific Palisades Residents Association. When she heard about the new possible law, Rogers wrote a letter voicing opposition to lawmakers. In less than a week, more than 23,000 locals have signed along with the resistance. "[Lawmakers are] asking for a land grab," said Rogers. "This is a rebuild, this is not a politicians get to decide a pet project on what theyre going to decide in the Palisades. This is residents of this community get to decide what happens in our rebuild phase, period." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass sent a letter to State Senator Allen expressing her opposition to SB 549. Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom tweeted Wednesday that, "The claim that the Governor wants to bulldoze fire victims neighborhoods and replace them with affordable housing is absurd" While the bill is now paused until 2026, many residents are still watching it closely. "Other than bringing us safety, and fire safety, we dont want anything else," said Rogers. "Give us our homes back and protect us from fire." The Senate Judiciary Committee clashed today over Emil Bove, President Trump's controversial pick to be a federal judge. Democrats walked out of the hearing. NBC News Chief Capitol Hill Correspondent Ryan Nobles reports more. MSNBC Legal Correspondent Lisa Rubin and New York Times Chief White House Correspondent Peter Baker join Katy Tur to discuss further. July 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee approved two of President Donald Trump's nominees for judicial offices Thursday, despite objections from Democrats who left a business meeting after debate was halted. Emil Bove, a former member of Trump's criminal defense team in his fraud case in New York, is the Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General of the United States. Trump nominated him for Third Circuit Court of Appeals judge in Philadelphia, a lifetime appointment. Jeanine Pirro is a former county judge and Fox News host. She was confirmed as a nominee for U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A whistleblower provided documents last week saying that Bove is the person who gave the Trump administration the directive to ignore a court order to stop flights taking migrants to a Salvadoran prison. Bove allegedly said to prepare to tell the courts "f- you." Bove told Congress he doesn't remember using the F-word and sidestepped other questions about the incident. Bove was behind the firings of prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases. He also pushed for the dismissal of bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams. This caused a surge of resignations. Sen. Corey Booker, D-N.J,, listens as senators question Ketanji Brown Jackson, a federal judge President Joe Biden nominated for the Supreme Court in, 2022. Booker was angered when Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, refused to let Democrats speak about judicial nominee Emil Bove. Booker and other Democrats walked out of the meeting. File photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI Yesterday, more than 900 Justice Department employees signed a letter urging the committee to reject Bove's nomination. In the committee meeting, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., tried to convince Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, to allow debate. Grassley did not allow Democrats to speak on the Bove nomination. Attorney Emil Bove, left, listens as Attorney Todd Blanche and President-elect Donald Trump, seen on a television screen, appear virtually for sentencing after Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts in his hush money criminal trial last year, at the Manhattan criminal court on Jan 10 in New York, NY. Bove's nomination to the court of appeals just passed the Senate Judiciary Committee. Pool Photo by Jabin Botsford/UPI "You are a good man. You are a decent man, why are you doing this? What is Donald Trump saying to you that are making you do something which is violating the decorum of this committee, the rules of this committee, the decency and the respect that we have each other to at least hear each other out?" The Hill reported Booker said. "This is unjust. This is wrong. It is the further deterioration of this committee's integrity with a person like this. What are you afraid of?" Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Booker then left the meeting with the other Democrats. Grassley said the accusations present no scandal. "Even if you accept most of the claims as true, there's no scandal here." Grassley said. "Government lawyers aggressively litigating and interpreting court orders isn't misconduct - it's what lawyers do." The whistleblower is Erez Reuveni, who was fired from his job as the acting deputy director for the Office of Immigration Litigation after he disclosed that Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported in error. He worked for the Department of Justice for 15 years. Bove will now face a vote from the full Senate. The Senate Appropriations Committee removed Sen. Chris Van Hollens amendment Thursday that wouldve kept dollars reserved for the FBI headquarters move to Greenbelt, Maryland, instead of downtown Washington, D.C. Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat, recently attempted to add language to an appropriations bill to stop funding set aside for a new bureau to go anywhere other than the selected Greenbelt site. This came after the Trump administration announced on July 1 that the FBI would move to the current Ronald Reagan Building and requested Congress use the funds allocated for the move. The committee passed the amendment on July 10 with all committee Democrats and Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski voting to support the Greenbelt location. But shortly after its passage, the other committee Republicans switched their votes to block the entire appropriations bill from passing out of committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Murkowski, who voted against the amendment on Thursday, following a meeting with FBI Director Kash Patel, said she did so because she did not want to derail the appropriations bill or lock the FBI into the Greenbelt location. Not only is this reversal bad for the men and women of the FBI who deserve a safe and secure headquarters it also represents everything the American people have come to distrust about our political process, Van Hollen said in a Thursday statement. How should Americans have faith in our legislating when a bipartisan amendment is what derails a bill and the only solution to get it back on track is a partisan vote? Congress approved a bill in 2022 that required the General Services Administration administrator to select one of three sites for a FBI headquarters, two Maryland locations and a Virginia location. Greenbelt was announced as the selected site in Nov. 2023. Maryland won, the competition for the FBI headquarters location after a nearly-decade long bid for the headquarters, which many local politicians say could bring billions of dollars in economic growth to the region. The first Trump administration scrapped plans in 2017 for a new FBI headquarters, which had started in the Obama administration for a new FBI headquarters, before the Biden administration restarted the search efforts for a new headquarters location. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rep. Jamie Raskin of Montgomery County said Thursday that Marylands pursuit of the FBI headquarters is not over but called the latest developments unfortunate. We thought a fair process had taken place, Raskin told The Sun. ------------ Washington The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday advanced the nomination of Emil Bove, President Trump's former defense lawyer and a top Justice Department official, to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit. The GOP-led panel voted 12-0 to favorably report Bove's nomination to the full Senate, surmounting a key hurdle amid staunch opposition from a host of former federal prosecutors and judges, as well as allegations of unethical conduct by a Justice Department whistleblower. But as Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley called Bove's nomination for the vote, Democrats erupted in protest because not all were allowed to speak. Grassley also refused to consider a motion by Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, to delay consideration of Bove's nomination and allow the whistleblower, Erez Reuveni, to testify before senators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All Democratic members of the committee then left the meeting. Grassley and Republicans continued to tick through nominations, including Bove's, while Booker criticized his GOP colleagues before joining his fellow Democrats in walking out. "This lacks decency. It lacks decorum. It shows that you do not simply want to hear from your colleagues. It is absolutely wrong," Booker said, accusing Republicans of trying to rush Bove's nomination through the committee. At the start of the hearing, Grassley accused his Democratic colleagues of "unfair rhetoric and treatment" of Bove. "Mr. Bove has a strong legal background and has served his country honorably. He deserves fair treatment," Grassley said. "The vicious partisan attacks and obstruction of nominees that we've seen from Democrats this Congress has to stop. One day, roles will reverse again, and my colleagues will want the same fairness for nominees of their president that they refuse to extend to President Trump's nominees." Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley confers with aides as the panel meets to advance President Trump's nominees for the federal bench on Thursday, July 17, 2025. / Credit: J. Scott Applewhite / AP But Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the panel, said Bove shouldn't be seriously considered by the upper chamber for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "He led this administration's embarrassing efforts to strike a corrupt bargain with New York City Mayor Eric Adams and he's been trailed by a history of complaints long predating his affiliation with President Trump about his temperament, poor judgment and lack of candor before the court," Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, said. Bove's path to winning approval from the Judiciary Committee became easier earlier this week, when Republican Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina told reporters that he was inclined to back his nomination. But it's less clear whether he will be confirmed by the full Senate. Republicans hold 53 seats in the upper chamber, meaning the nomination would fail if Bove loses the support of four GOP senators. Mr. Trump announced in May that he had selected Bove to fill a vacancy on the Philadelphia-based 3rd Circuit, which covers Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Bove was part of the legal team that represented the president in his criminal cases, including the New York hush-money trial and the two federal cases brought by former special counsel Jack Smith. After Mr. Trump won a second term, he selected Bove to serve as principal associate deputy attorney general. Bove also worked as the acting deputy attorney general while Todd Blanche, the current deputy, awaited confirmation by the Senate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bove has been embroiled in controversy since joining the Justice Department. He was accused of pushing a quid pro quo in which the Justice Department would drop its prosecution of New York City Mayor Eric Adams in exchange for commitments on immigration. Several prosecutors resigned in the wake of the move regarding Adams' case. Emil Bove testifies during his Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing on June 25, 2025. / Credit: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images Bove defended the decision to drop the charges against Adams, telling senators in a questionnaire to the Judiciary Committee that it was "well within the scope of prosecutorial discretion." He also argued that Adams' submissions to the court "refute false public allegations by third parties regarding some sort of improper quid pro quo." Earlier this month, Reuveni, a former Justice Department attorney who handled immigration cases, filed a whistleblower claim with the Senate that accused Bove of suggesting that the administration ignore court orders. Reuveni worked for more than a decade at the Justice Department and was most recently the acting deputy director of its Office of Immigration Litigation. He was fired in April after he told a federal judge that the administration's deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia to El Salvador had been an administrative error. A top immigration official with the administration had acknowledged in a March court filing that Abrego Garcia's removal was an "error" and an "oversight." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuveni wrote in his report that during one meeting about Mr. Trump's proclamation invoking the wartime Alien Enemies Act, Bove said that the Justice Department would need to consider telling the courts "f**k you" if a judicial order blocked removals under the law. Emails and text messages shared with the Senate by the whistleblower include exchanges between Reuveni and a colleague at the Justice Department in which they appear to be referring to Bove's alleged directive regarding court orders. But Grassley said the documents were not enough to delay the vote on Bove's nomination, and he accused Democrats of mischaracterizing them. "Government lawyers aggressively litigating and interpreting court orders isn't misconduct. It's what lawyers do all the time," the Iowa Republican said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Durbin said senators could have questioned Reuveni about his claims themselves, since he volunteered to appear before the Judiciary panel. "If you question the veracity of Mr. Reuveni, he's ready to stand before you, raise his right hand, take an oath and testify under oath. What more can you ask about credibility than that?" he said. Booker attempted to have the committee vote on a motion to delay the vote on Bove's nomination and allow Reuveni to testify before senators, but Grassley said the proposal wasn't on the agenda. "There's no need to rush this. What are you afraid of?" Booker said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Justice Department has defended Bove and sought to paint Reuveni as a "disgruntled former employee." Blanche said the claims about Bove and other top Justice Department officials are "utterly false." White House spokesman Harrison Fields has also praised Bove as an "incredibly talented legal mind and a staunch defender of the U.S. Constitution who will make an excellent circuit court judge." During his confirmation hearing before the Judiciary Committee in June, Bove denied Reuveni's allegations that he urged department attorneys to violate a court order. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Wall Street Journal reports Trump sent "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein, Trump threatens to sue The Senate has voted to cancel $1.1 billion in public funding for NPR and PBS, a move described as "an unusual surrender of congressional spending power" by The New York Times, though the only thing particularly unusual here is the federal government deciding not to spend money. NPR CEO Katherine Maher has fought this outcome tooth and nail. During an appearance on CNN, she made the case that public radio was a vital source of information in rural areas that lack adequate cellphone service and internet access. "There's a real understanding of the need there, as well as for emergency alerting, in which public media plays an extraordinarily important role," she said. NPR CEO Katherine Maher argues rural America often has no other possible source of news or connection to the outside world EXCEPT through PBS and NPR: "Large rural communities, large tribal communities" don't have "a lot of other options. Broadband service is not universal, and pic.twitter.com/OFWuQTCa2E Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) July 16, 2025 This argument is hard to take seriously. While it's true that there are places in the U.S. that don't have reliable internet access, it does not follow that federally subsidizing an outmoded means of distributing information is the answer. If the government is going to do something about a lack of connection, it should spend more money on building infrastructure or clearing the way for private interests to provide the services that people need. If they value it, they will pay for it. And during an age in which Elon Musk's Starlink can use satellites to provide high-speed internet to war-torn Ukraine, the idea that the U.S. government should continue to pay for a specific editorial product because it's the best way to transmit emergency information strains credulity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unsurprisingly, mainstream media voices are already describing this vote as part and parcel of the Trump administration's attack on a free press. To be sure, President Donald Trump has undermined press freedom in numerous ways: He has sued media organizations over their editorial choices, and his Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has threatened to remove the broadcast licenses of channels that criticized him. Both Republican and Democratic members of Congress routinely browbeat media companies for speech-related reasonsa practice known as jawboning, which violates the spirit of the First Amendment if not its literal text. But defunding NPR does not constitute censorship of NPR. On the contrary, forcing taxpayers to subsidize it represents a kind of compelled speech. NPR should be free to make its own editorial choiceseven ones that are pathologically unfriendly to Trumpand Americans should be free to choose whether they want to pay for it. This Week on Free Media I'm joined by Amber Duke to discuss Andrew Cuomo's shameless quest for New York City's mayor's office, Tucker Carlson's conviction that Jeffrey Epstein was an intelligence asset, Andrew Schulz's frustrations with Trump, and much more. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Worth Watching I am delighted by the Legend of Zelda movie casting news! This is Miyamoto. I am pleased to announce that for the live-action film of The Legend of Zelda, Zelda will be played by Bo Bragason-san, and Link by Benjamin Evan Ainsworth-san. I am very much looking forward to seeing both of them on the big screen. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/KA5XW3lwul (@Nintendo) July 16, 2025 It seems that Nintendo heeded my advice and chose age-appropriate, relatively unknown actors to play Link and Zelda instead of, say, Tom Holland and Zendaya. This was the right move. Someone like Tom Holland, who is already a star in his own right, would have overshadowed the character; it takes a certain amount of subtlety and obscurity to play Link, who famously does not speak in the source material. Same goes for Princess Zelda, who is best when underused: The mystical nature of the character is effectively preserved by having her off-screen some of the time. The next big task is the script. I would encourage Nintendo to hire me to write it. My script would loosely adapt Ocarina of Time with some elements from Skyward Sword, and set up for a trilogy of filmswith adaptations of Majora's Mask and Twilight Princess to follow. My movie goes like this: In the past, Zelda uses the Ocarina of Time to transport herself and Ganon (in monster form) a thousand years into the future, granting Hyrule centuries of freedom from the king of evil. In the present, Link must prepare for Ganon's impending arrival by acquiring the Master Sword and clearing out the sage's temples, while also traveling seven years into the future (and back) to confront Ganondorf after his minionsKoume, Kotake, and Girahim!revive him in human form following Ganon's destruction. Seriously, Nintendo: Call me. The post The Senate Was Right To Defund NPR and PBS appeared first on Reason.com. Emil Boves nomination to serve as a judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals is headed to the Senate floor after Democrats walked out of the Senate Judiciary Committee meeting in protest. The panel voted Thursday morning with only Republican support to advance Boves nomination, as every Democrat abstained from recording a vote either way. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) shouted over the proceedings as the roll was called, imploring colleagues to continue debate and accusing committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) of failing to follow Senate rules. All Democrats, barring Booker, left the hearing room during the votes to advance Bove and other nominees pending before the committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This lacks decency. It lacks decorum. It shows that you do not want to simply hear from your colleagues, Booker said. This is us simply trying to rush through one of the most controversial nominees weve had under this presidential administration. Booker shouted through the votes for a number of other judicial nominees, before ultimately following his colleagues out of the room. Grassley argued the Republican-led committees conduct had precedent. He said that, in November 2023, Democrats proceeded with a vote on two judicial nominees put forward by President Joe Biden, despite Republican protests to continue debate. But Bove, the former criminal defense attorney to President Donald Trump who is now principal associate deputy attorney general, has come under scrutiny after a whistleblower complaint from a former Department of Justice employee alleged that he had suggested defying court orders for the administrations deportation agenda. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He has been trailed by a history of complaints, long predating his affiliation with President Trump about his temperament, his poor judgment and lack of candor in front of the court, said Senate Judiciary ranking member Dick Durbin of Illinois. Think of it: Were talking about a judge for life. Democrats earlier this week asked to have the whistleblower at the center of the allegations against Bove testify before lawmakers before holding a vote to send the nomination to the Senate floor. Grassley rejected the request, saying he had reviewed the materials from the whistleblower and his office had investigated the allegations. He said he found them unconvincing and decided there was no reason to delay Boves nomination. Durbin also questioned Thursday whether Bove was involved in the Justice Departments decision not to release files in the case against disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein who was found dead in his jail cell in 2019. In recent days, Democrats have sought to juxtapose Trump allies promises of transparency around the Epstein case with the DOJs decision to withhold release of further materials. Their campaign has sought to exploit division between Trump and his MAGA base, which has long championed conspiracies around a cover-up of the Epstein files. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who has become the de facto swing vote on the judiciary panel amid his announcement he won't seek reelection next year, opted to advance Boves nomination, despite recently saying he would not support nominees who have supported the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a senior Justice Department leader, Bove played a role in the agencys dismissal of staffers who had worked on cases tied to the Capitol attack during the Biden administration. Tillis, however, fiercely defended his decision to support Bove and emphasized he would not support any nominee who had specifically endorsed violence against Capitol police officers. Does anybody really believe that, if I was convinced that Bove had made any statements condoning the violent acts against Capitol police officers, that Id be voting for him? Tillis said during Thursdays committee meeting. Just ask Ed Martin whether or not thats a red line. Tillis objected to Martins nomination to be U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, citing his defense of Capitol rioters and his comments around the attack. The senators decision to oppose Martin on those grounds effectively tanked his confirmation chances, with former Fox News host Jeanine Pirro nominated as Trumps second choice for the job. The fact of the matter is, I cant find one piece of evidence where he said that the violent acts against police officers were okay or condoned, Tillis said of Bove. If you find it, let me know. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Democrats also decried Boves nomination by pointing to his involvement in the dismissal of corruption charges against Eric Adams, which coincided with the New York City Democratic mayors decision to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement activities at the Rikers Island jail. Lawyers at the Justice Department resigned over the episode amid accusations that Adams had entered into a quid pro quo. The judiciary panel also voted Thursday to proceed on a number of other nominations, including Pirro, who has been serving in that role in an interim capacity. Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans voted on Thursday to advance the nomination of Emil Bove, President Donald Trumps former personal attorney, to a federal judgeship, over the loud protests of Democrats. The vote in which all 12 Republican committee members voted to move Boves nomination forward occurred as Democratic Sen. Cory Booker railed against Republican committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and as every Democratic senator walked out. If he is ultimately confirmed by the Senate, Bove, a senior Justice Department official, will hold a lifetime appointment to the bench for the 3rd US Circuit Court of Appeals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have respect for you Mr. Chairman, but this is outrageous, this is unacceptable, this is wrong, Booker, of New Jersey, said at the meeting as his Republican colleagues proceeded with the vote to advance Boves nomination. This is an abuse of power. It is an undermining of the wellbeing and the integrity of this Senate. In the weeks since Trump first announced Boves nomination, the presidents former attorney has come under fire from Democrats for some of his more controversial decisions at the DOJ, including mass firings within the Justice Department, threats against officials who resist Trumps immigration agenda, a campaign to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, and investigations into officials who worked on cases related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. Earlier this week, more than 75 former federal and state judges, both conservative and liberal, urged the Judiciary Committee to reject Boves nomination. Last month, a whistleblower letter from a terminated DOJ employee alleged that Bove and other top Justice Department officials intended to ignore court orders and mislead federal judges. Among the whistleblowers allegations against Bove were that he stated in a March meeting that DOJ would need to consider telling the courts f**k you if they stood in the way of Trumps deportation efforts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bove repeatedly rebuffed such claims of corruption last month in his confirmation hearing before the same committee that advanced his nomination Thursday. During that confirmation hearing, Bove said he had no recollection of the claims leveraged in the whistleblower letter. What were witnessing has all of the hallmarks of a political hit job done for maximum media splash with minimum substance, Grassley said of the attacks on Bove. Time and time again, there were allegations made against this nominee by independent people, by Republicans, by career professionals, and we are not listening to them or demanding answers, Booker responded Thursday. Trumps Justice Department itself has also become the center of a growing fissure between the president and his MAGA base over the Attorney General Pam Bondis handling of files related to accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Trump has repeatedly defended Bondi and, in a post on Truth Social yesterday, derided his own supporters who continue to demand more information on Epstein as weaklings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bove is not the first of Trumps former personal attorneys to be nominated to a high-profile job within the administration both Solicitor General John Sauer and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche have previously represented the president. But he is the first former Trump lawyer to be selected to serve on the federal bench. While working as the presidents personal attorney, Bove helped defend Trump in his federal criminal cases, both of which were dismissed after his reelection last fall, and in the New York hush-money case, where he was found guilty of all 34 charges he faced. Pirro nomination The Senate Judiciary Committee also voted Thursday to advance the nomination of Jeanine Pirro to serve as the DC US attorney, the capitals top federal prosecutor. Pirro, a former Fox News host, judge, and district attorney for Westchester County in New York, is currently serving as the interim US attorney. She was named to that interim position in May, after Trumps first pick, Ed Martin, faced insurmountable pushback from Republican lawmakers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement By the time the meeting wrapped, every Democrat had left the room. Prior to adjourning the meeting, Grassley pointed to a November 2023 instance in which Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin then the committee chair advanced a vote on two judicial nominees over Republican protests to continue debate. If youll spread that word that this is not unprecedented, either the actions of the minority walking away or what we did here as the majority, Grassley said right before adjourning the meeting. Its happened before. We have to move things along. This story has been updated with additional developments. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com Members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday voted to advance President Donald Trump 's former defense attorney Emil Bove to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, clearing his nomination out of the committee to the full Senate for a vote. The narrow vote came after roughly an hour of sharp debate from Democrats on the panel, who stormed out of the committee room shortly before the vote was held. Sens. Cory Booker, D-NJ, and Sheldon Whitehouse, D-NY, had unsuccessfully urged Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa to allow for more time to consider Bove's nomination, citing concerns made by a former Justice Department attorney and whistleblower, Erez Reuveni. The lack of candor prompted Whitehouse to declare, "there's something rotten in Denmark," invoking Shakespeare and Booker, moments later, to unsuccessfully appeal to Grassley's "decency and decorum." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Debating the nomination, putting things on the record Dear God, that's what we are here for," Booker erupted. "What are you afraid of?" Trump Nominates Former Defense Attorney Emil Bove For Federal Appeals Court Vacancy FBI Director Kash Patel and Emil Bove listen to President Donald Trump speak at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. on March 14, 2025. In the end, their appeal was unsuccessful, and Booker joined Democrats on the panel in walking out of the room before the vote was held. Read On The Fox News App The narrow confirmation vote from Republicans on the panel advances Bove's nomination to the full Senate for a vote. It comes as Bove, a hard-charging former federal prosecutor whom Trump installed earlier this year as a senior official at the Justice Department, faces fresh scrutiny over his role in the administration. In recent weeks, a group of former federal judges and several Democrats on the committee have urged senators to reject his nomination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If confirmed by the Senate, he would serve a lifetime appointment on the federal bench , which has jurisdiction in the districts of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. Grassley rejected a request Tuesday afternoon from Democrats on the panel to hold a second round of hearings on Bove's nomination, noting that, under the Democrat majority, the panel rejected at least four such requests made by Republicans. "Many times during the last Administration, then-chairman Durbin said there cannot be one set of rules for Republicans on this committee and another set of rules for Democrats," Grassley said. "I agree with this statement and intend to adhere to the precedent of then-Chairman Durbin." Grassley added that Bove had participated in a lengthy confirmation hearing last month, testifying under oath about whistleblower allegations made by a former Justice Department attorney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bove said under oath at the time, "I have never advised a Department of Justice attorney to violate a court order." Grassley also noted that Bove provided members of the panel with 165 pages of written responses to their questions. "Following a comprehensive review of the additional documents that you published following the hearing and discussed in the media, I do not believe that they substantiate any misconduct by Mr. Bove," Grassley said, outlining plans to move forward with the vote as planned. Hawley Urges Dhs Secretary Noem To Declassify All Trump Butler Rally Assassination Attempt Documents "I am not anybodys henchman," Bove told the committee at his confirmation hearing last month. "Im not an enforcer. Im a lawyer from a small town, who never expected to be in an arena like this." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bove, who spent nearly 10 years as a prosecutor for the Southern District of New York, previously represented Trump as his personal attorney in two criminal cases following his first term as president. As a prosecutor and at the Justice Department, he has earned a reputation for his fierce and at times, aggressive leadership style. One longtime defense lawyer who crossed paths with Bove in New York told Fox News Digital the nominee was an arrogant "bully" and browbeat people. At the Justice Department, Bove has also emerged as the man behind some of the administration's most contentious actions, including the decision to drop federal corruption charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, prompting some officials to resign rather than carry out his marching orders. Trump Faces Judge Boasberg Over Migrant Deportation Flights Defying Court Order Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These allegations were detailed in part by an explosive whistleblower report last month from former Justice Department attorney Erez Reuveni, who also detailed Bove's role in ousting some federal prosecutors involved in the investigations into the January 6 U.S. Capitol riot, and his alleged role in ordering department officials to ignore court orders with regard to the Alien Enemies Act According to Reuveni, Bove "explicitly plotted to violate court orders" and directed law enforcement officers "to engage in illegal acts," among other things. Reuveni, a 15-year DOJ veteran who was fired after struggling to defend the Trump administration's deportations in a U.S. court case in Maryland, said in the whistleblower complaint that Bove shocked longtime career officials handling immigration cases by telling them they would "need to consider telling the courts f*** you and ignore any such court order." The report prompted new concerns from former judges, including a group of more than 75 former federal and state judges, who urged lawmakers Tuesday to reject Bove's nomination citing what they described in a letter as his "egregious record" at the Justice Department, according to the allegations from Reuveni. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "These are not actions of someone committed to equal justice under the law," the group said in a letter. "Rather, they reflect a troubling pattern of abusing prosecutorial discretion to shield political allies." Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, who has worked closely with Bove for years, told Fox News Digital in an interview ahead of the Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing last month that Bove is a "freaking brilliant lawyer," and described his nomination to the appellate court as a "no-brainer." Blanche described his colleague as the "most gentle, empathetic, great person that anybody could ever work with." Original article source: Senate panel advances Trump's former defense attorney Emil Bove toward federal appeals court position The Senate voted early Thursday to claw back $9 billion in federal funding for global aid programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, sending the package requested by President Trump to the House for a final vote. The 51-48 vote on whats known as a rescissions package is a victory for Trump, who has vowed to shrink the size of the federal government, and who has come under fire from Democrats for adding a projected $3.3 trillion to the debt over the next decade by signing his One Big, Beautiful Bill Act into law earlier this month. Senators finally passed the package after 2 a.m. Thursday after voting for more than 12 hours on amendments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The win is more symbolic than anything, as it would cut only one tenth of 1 percent from the federal budget. Even so, Republicans see it as important progress. Its a small but important step toward fiscal sanity that we all should be able to agree is long overdue, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said before the final vote. Trump failed to get a $15 billion rescissions package passed during his first term after Senate Republicans balked at the proposal. This time around, Trump is working with a bigger Senate Republican majority and a GOP conference that is generally more amenable to his agenda than it was seven years ago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thune was able to get Trumps latest rescissions bill over the finish line even though two senior Republicans on the Appropriations Committee voted no. Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), the chair of the Interior Appropriations subcommittees, opposed the package. Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), the chair of the Defense Appropriation subcommittee, voted no on two procedural votes Tuesday night but voted in favor of final passage. Democrats were missing Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.), who was hospitalized after feeling unwell. Collins on several occasions before the final vote raised concerns about what she saw as the White Houses failure to offer sufficient details about how the funding rescissions would be implemented. She raised that issue directly with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought at a lunch meeting Tuesday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Senate Republican leaders lined up the votes after the White House agreed to an amendment to remove from the package the $400 million in cuts to the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) global anti-AIDS initiative launched by former President George W. Bush more than 20 years ago. Thune told reporters Tuesday that saving PEPFAR from deep cuts was a top priority of many GOP senators. The bill would still cut nearly $8 billion from an assortment of international programs, including development assistance, the economic support fund, the United States Agency for International Development global health programs and programs to assist refugees and victims of international disasters. It would cut more than $1 billion dollars from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which would hit rural radio stations that depend more on federal funding than their big-city counterparts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Republicans hailed the cuts to public broadcasting, something Trump proposed during his first term but failed to achieve, as a big victory. I hope that the administration keeps sending us rescissions packages. Thats the only way I can see us reducing spending, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, were going to cut them off like a dead stump, he said, pointing to National Public Radio CEO Katherine Mahers social media post from 2020 declaring America is addicted to white supremacy. But some Republicans, including Murkowski, expressed concern that defunding public broadcasting would hurt radio stations that are often the only sources of information during natural disasters in her home state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She pointed out Wednesday that a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake in the Aleutian Islands has forced communities along a 700-mile stretch of Alaskas coastline to evacuate, and many of those residents rely on public radio for news. Seven-point-three [magnitude] earthquake off of Alaska and tsunami warnings. You know how I got this information? From public broadcasting, she said. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) said at the Hill Nation Summit on Wednesday that the cuts could put rural radio stations in her home state out of business. These rural stations are often the lifeblood of these communities when it comes to emergency alerts, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These are things that, they sound small, but they are what bring communities together, she added. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said the legislation would have devastating consequences. This bill will harm Americas farmers and researchers and businesses, make the world an easier place, unfortunately, for terrorist recruitment, and reward communist China and [Russian President] Vladimir Putin, Schumer said of the cuts to global aid programs. Republicans are rushing forward without a clue how these unhinged cuts will be implemented, he declared. Democrats tried and failed to amend the legislation to spare various federal programs from cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An amendment sponsored by Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) to shield $496 million for international disaster relief failed by a vote of 49-50, although Collins, Murkowski and McConnell voted for it. And a motion sponsored by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) to recommit the bill back to the Appropriations Committee with instructions to restore Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding failed by a vote of 48-51. Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) offered an amendment to strike the rescission of $785 million appropriated for the Feed the Future Initiative, a global hunger and food security program, praising the program for helping to save lives, promote self-reliance and create new opportunities for trade. It failed by a vote of 48-51. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) offered a substitute amendment that had been contemplated by Collins to reduce the cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and global health programs. It would have also protected NATO dues and funding to Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kelly offered Collinss amendment after the Maine senator decided it didnt have a chance of being adopted by the House. Republicans voted to table the amendment, 51-47. Schumer warned in a Dear Colleague letter last month that the Republican push to rescind funding that Congress had agreed to on a bipartisan basis in the past could threaten the chances of reaching any spending deals later this year. He said Republican senators know its absurd to expect Democrats to act as business as usual and engage in a bipartisan appropriations process to fund the government while they concurrently plot to pass a purely partisan rescissions bill. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The legislation now heads to the House, where lawmakers must pass it by Friday or otherwise the Office of Management and Budget will be forced to release its hold on the funding it has targeted for rescission. Thune, speaking to reporters Tuesday, described the amended language to restore the funding for the Bush-era anti-AIDS initiative as a small modification and expressed hope the House would accept the Senates work. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. July 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. Senate early Thursday voted to rescind some $9 billion in federal funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, two areas of the government that the Trump administration has long targeted for cuts. The senators voted 51-48 mostly along party lines to approve House Bill 4 with Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joining the Democrats in voting against it. The bill, which now goes to the House of Representatives, will cut about $8 billion from international aid programs and about $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bill passed at about 2:20 a.m. EDT Thursday. "President Trump promised to cut wasteful spending and root out misuse of taxpayer dollars," Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said on X prior to the vote. "Now, @SenateGOP and I are voting to make these cuts permanent. Promises made, promises kept." The vote comes as the Trump administration faces criticism from Democrats, and some Republicans, for having promised to reduce government spending but then last month passed a massive tax and spending cuts bill that is expected to add $3.3 trillion to the U.S. deficit, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Meanwhile, the Cato Institute states it could add nearly double that, as much as $6 trillion. The Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which funds local news and radio infrastructure, has been a target of the Trump administration for funding a small portion of the budgets of PBS and NPR, which he accuses of being biased. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Murkowski chastised her fellow Republicans for attacking a service that informed Alaskans that same day that there was a magnitude 7.3 earthquake and a tsunami warning. "Some colleagues claim they are targeting 'radical leftist organizations' with these cuts, but in Alaska, these are simply organizations dedicated to their communities," she said on social media. "Their response to today's earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide. They deliver local news, weather updates and, yes, emergency alerts that save human lives." Public media outlets around the country were preparing for the worst. Early Thursday, the worst arrived. The U.S. Senate voted to approve the Trump White House's proposal to claw back $9 billion in federal funding previously allocated for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The 51-48 Senate vote means that the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, which administers the funds for NPR radio stations and PBS TV affiliates, is on track to lose $1.1 billion that had been budgeted for the next two years. The House of Representatives is expected to give final approval for the Trump administration's request later Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The reaction from NPR was swift. The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit has two major affiliates serving the Los Angeles area: LAist, or KPCC-FM (89.3), and KCRW-FM (89.9). In a statement after the vote, NPR Chief Executive Katherine Maher warned of dire consequences for smaller communities that depend on public broadcasting outlets. "Nearly three in four Americans say they rely on their public radio stations for alerts and news for their public safety," she said."We call on the House of Representatives to reject this elimination of public media funding, which directly harms their communities and constituents, and could very well place lives at risk." PBS leaders sounded a similar alarm. These cuts will significantly impact all of our stations, but will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas," PBS President Paula Kerger said in a statement. "Many of our stations which provide access to free unique local programming and emergency alerts will now be forced to make hard decisions in the weeks and months ahead." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PBS and NPR have both filed suit against President Trump and other administration officials over the president's May executive order calling for the funding cutbacks. They say the order is a case of "viewpoint discrimination" driven by the White House's unhappiness with the content of public media. Trump has called NPR and PBS government-funded "left-wing propaganda." Republicans have for decades called for cuts to public broadcasting because of the perceived liberal slant of its programming. Public media outlets in Southern California's urban areas are less dependent on federal funding than stations in smaller, rural markets, which don't get the same kinds of donations from wealthy locals, for example. But they will feel an immediate impact as the money TV and radio stations expected from the Corp. for Public Broadcasting in October is now on the verge of disappearing. Connie Leyva, executive director of KVCR Public Media in San Bernardino, which operates PBS and NPR affiliates, said earlier this week that the Senate action will mean losing $540,000, about 6% of its operating budget. Thus, she has to consider cutting five positions on an already lean staff. Read more: PBS and NPR on edge over FCC letter and Trump budget scrutiny Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition to serving the Inland Empire, KVCR operates a service called First Nations Experience (FNX), which produces programming for and about Native Americans and world Indigenous cultures. Such initiatives are endangered by the funding cuts. "We just created an app, which is free to download and get Indigenous material wherever you are," Leyva said. "But without funding, how do we continue to keep that relevant and fresh?" Leyva said KVCR will likely have to reduce its block of PBS children's TV programming that reaches her community through over-the-air antennas. "I heard one senator say, 'You can have Disney or Nickelodeon,'" she said. "He doesn't understand you have to purchase that. All of our programming is free, and these cuts harm our poor communities." LAist, based in Pasadena, was set to receive $1.7 million, about 4% of its annual budget. Alejandra Santamaria, president and chief executive of LAist, said the money is equivalent to 13 journalist positions at the local news operation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We have to make some tough choices," Santamaria said. Santamaria said the station has already reached out to donors to cover the expected shortfall. "We may not ever again get federal funding, so you have to fundraise the money to fill that gap in perpetuity," she said. PBS SoCal, which operates member stations KOCE and KCET in Los Angeles, is facing a loss of $4.3 million in federal funding, according to Andy Russell, president and chief executive of the stations. Among the services that could be reduced are free early educational materials for parents and caregivers that PBS SoCal provides to the area. "Without federal funding, we will have to significantly cut back on what we can provide to the over 1 million children under 5 years old in our region and their families and early education teachers," Russell said in a letter urging Congress to reconsider the rescissions package. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russell said that the situation is more dire for smaller California stations that are far more dependent on federal funding and face shutdowns once the cuts are enacted. KEET in Eureka gets 46% of its funding from the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, Russell noted. Federal funding covers 42% of the budget for KIXE in Chico and 30% for Valley PBS in Fresno. The outlets provide news and programming to large rural areas with limited local service from commercial media, Russell added. Classical California, which operates radio stations KUSC-FM (91.5) in Los Angeles and KDFC-FM (90.3) in San Francisco, receive around $1 million annually in government funding. KCRW in Santa Monica, which produces tastemaking noncommercial music programs as well as news content, was expecting $264,000 from the Corp. for Public Broadcasting. Sign up for our Wide Shot newsletter to get the latest entertainment business news, analysis and insights. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Eight Democrats in the Senate have expressed profound alarm about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureaus decision to terminate a consent order involving Navy Federal Credit Unions alleged overcharging of overdraft fees. Under the CFPBs original order issued in November 2024, Navy Federal agreed to pay at least $80.2 million in restitution to its members who were allegedly charged overdraft fees on their accounts unfairly. The CFPB issued a termination notice this month for that November order, without stating a reason. Neither Navy Federal nor the CFPB responded to questions from Military Times about how much restitution if any had been provided to members of the credit union. Its membership is mostly made up of service members, veterans and their families. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The settlement reached in November 2024 wasnt clear about firm deadlines for paying restitution. CFPB also didnt respond to questions about why the consent order was terminated. In a letter Wednesday to Russell Vought, President Donald Trumps budget director and the acting director of the CFPB, the eight senators asked for an explanation for the termination. Among other requests for information, they want to know how much of the funds for restitution remains unpaid to affected consumers. They want answers by July 30. CFPBs July 1 decision to terminate the consent order appears to prioritize financial institutions over the very service members the Bureau is charged with protecting, the senators wrote. The restitution funds intended to compensate harmed consumers are now at risk of being withheld. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The original consent order alleged that Navy Federal charged customers surprise overdraft fees on certain ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases, even when customers accounts showed sufficient funds at the time of the transactions. In addition to the $80.2 million in restitution, CFPB ordered Navy Federal to pay a $15 million civil penalty to the CFPBs victims relief fund, and to stop charging illegal overdraft fees. In that consent order, CFPB stated Navy Federal officials neither admitted nor denied any of the CFPBs allegations. In a statement to Military Times, Navy Federal officials defended their overdraft program and said they supported CFPBs latest decision. Navy Federal complied with all applicable laws and regulations at the time and continues to do so, Navy Federal said in the statement. We firmly believe CFPBs decision to terminate the order was appropriate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They stated their overdraft program allows our members to make necessary, everyday purchases without going into long-term debt or turning to payday lenders. Navy Federal is the largest credit union in the U.S., serving active-duty military, veterans, Department of Defense civilian employees and their families, of all branches of service. The credit union has nearly 15 million members and $190 billion in assets, according its website. In 2024, the credit union took over the operation of the DODs Community Bank locations located on 60 overseas military installations. In the November consent order, CFPB stated that starting in 2017, Navy Federal received complaints from consumers expressing anger and confusion about overdraft fees charged, even though their available balances were high enough to cover the transactions at the time they were authorized. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Navy Federal officials began investigating some of the overdraft issues as early as June 2018 and made changes to their overdraft policies starting in September 2020, according to the November order. The senators, led by Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., noted that on April 16, CFPB pledged in a press release to focus its enforcement and supervision resources on pressing threats to consumers, particularly service members and their families and veterans. But the senators contend the abrupt reversal of the consent order suggests the credit unions stated commitment to service members is little more than lip service. In addition to Gallego, the letter was signed by Sens. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Ron Wyden, D-Ore. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The senators asked how the action to terminate the consent order aligns with CFPBs publicly stated priorities. Among other questions, they asked how much of the $15 million originally designated for the CFPB victims relief fund was actually deposited. They also want to know whether affected consumers were notified about the termination of the consent order and that restitution requirements might be altered or withdrawn. Democrat lawmakers and advocacy groups have expressed concerns about the Trump administrations moves to cut back on CFPBs work. In the nearly six months since the administration has had control of the bureau, its leadership has focused almost exclusively on rolling back any punishments, fines and penalties made against companies during the Biden administration, The Associated Press reported. MATTOON Mattoon businesses have learned to roll with the punches in recent years. The latest round of water restrictions has challenged restaurants and other businesses reliant on water. But its important to make lemonade out of lemons, said Austin Keating, owner Alamo Steakhouse and Saloon, located at 700 Broadway East. Were in the business of serving people and making their day better. We cant call out on the bad days. Were just trying to stay with the flow, said Brianna Arena, the daughter of Villa Pizzas owner. City of Mattoon water customers are on their second round restrictions that prevent the use of tap water for drinking and cooking. The first round lasted from July 10-13, and was issued again on Tuesday because of the presence of an algal bloom neurological toxin in the water supply. Water samples collected Wednesday by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency showed the presence of an algal bloom neurological toxin at 0.215 parts per billion, a decrease from 0.38 parts per billion in previous testing. The advisory threshold for a do not drink order is 0.3 parts per billion, the city of Mattoon said in a news release issued at 10 p.m. Wednesday. While continued testing was showing some improvement, the city remained under the restrictions Thursday afternoon. "The do not drink order will remain in place until the city receives at least two consecutive safe test results, as recommended by IEPA at this point, the city said in the news release. The restaurants have experienced challenges during the past week. But were surviving, Keating said. According to the managers and owners, the Coles County Health Department is keeping the businesses updated on current conditions. The customers have been supporting their favorite businesses as well, Arena said. Which we are very thankful for, she said. Villa Pizza closed during the weekends first round of restrictions. However, the staff decided to haul water to their restaurant, located at 2100 Broadway Ave. Were staying open to make everybody happy and comfortable, Arena said. The first round of restrictions was a warmup for the current conditions, the restaurants said. Once they lifted that first order, we got everything flushed out and running again, said Andy Pullen, general manager of the Original Burger King, 1508 Charleston Ave. But that didnt last very long. Diners were limited as well after the first order was announced during the weekend. Some people are wary, Arena said. With their health, they have to be very careful. According to Pullen, the numbers are going back up. Were just as busy as weve ever been, he said the day the second restrictions were announced. Restaurants purchased bottles of soda and water, plastic utensils, plates and cups. But were finding the demand for eating a steak on a paper plate isnt all that high, Keating said. A few restaurants have chosen to close the dining area, instead providing walk-up and carry-out services. The Airport Steak House and Hubbart's Downtown Diner have issued statements on their Facebook pages. "In light of the present circumstances, our dining area and beverage service, including coffee, will be temporarily unavailable," the Airport Steak House posted. The Downtown Diner is offering to-go meals in bulk, "while this water issues is happening," they stated. "We can have these hot and ready for you or you can pick them up cold in foil pans and pop them in the oven." The restaurants are avoiding tap water for cleaning. Many sanitize cookware with heated portable water. Ive been handwashing the first thing in the morning everyday, every piece of cookware, Keating said. Steak knives are the only utensil Keating and the Alamo staff provide for their customers eating steak. A plastic knife isnt going to cut it, he said. Handwashing stations are available for most restaurants staff and customers. Many managers and owners had been traveling to Charleston or other nearby towns to receive water as well as ice, one of the hottest commodities during the restrictions, the restaurants said. The city recently began providing ice along with water to help the restaurants. Theres a large opportunity cost there, Keating said about taking valuable time to retrieve the silver nuggets. And then theres a high cost there, too. Other restaurants were going without ice. We chill the beverages as much as we can, Pullen said. Angela Hampton, founder of The Broadway District small business group, said the effects of the ongoing restrictions on local restaurants and food services has motivated her to organize an effort to provide them with free water, ice, and paper plates and cups. The crisis started to be almost too much to bear for some of the local restaurants, Hampton said, adding that restaurants had not budgeted for needing so much disposable serving ware such as paper plates and cups. Hampton said she reach out to KC Summers Auto Groups Keith Summers and Mattoon Community Development and Planning Director Alex Benishek with this idea, and they helped make it a reality. Local restaurants and food services can arrange to pick up these supplies by contacting The Broadway District via its Facebook page or contacting the Mattoon Chamber of Commerce. Until the community is able to use the water again, we will be out here, Hampton said. The Mattoon Chamber of Commerce is providing a similar similar service. A tanker of water has been parked at the Mattoon Area Family YMCA for use by small businesses only, along with access to paper plates and cups. The Chamber said on its Facebook page that it was seeking additional water tankers to serve businesses in other areas of the city. Animals also need protection. Mattoon PetSmart, 104 Dettro Drive, has closed the pet salon. Sometimes when theyre in the tub, the dogs like to drink it, said general manager Rikki Souza. But everything else is OK, The fish system runs on a different system, the manager said. We have a different water filtration system, Souza said. Mattoon and Charleston share several business owners, according to Charleston Chamber of Commerce president Colleen Peterlich. They are doing all the prep work here in Charleston and then delivering it to Mattoon so that they can stay open, she said. Hotels have had customers who would normally stay in Mattoon for the Bagelfest or class reunions book rooms in Charleston. They didnt want to stay in Mattoon, Peterlich said. Pullen compared the water restrictions to the pandemic in which businesses had to adjust to the times. We do what we can do and hope for the best, he said. As long as were able to, were definitely staying open. Rob Stroud contributed to this report. Jul. 16ROCHESTER The sentencing of one of two brothers convicted in the deadly shooting of a man last year in a Rochester Chick-fil-A parking lot has been delayed while the court considers a more lenient sentence. The attorney representing Jose Gutierrez Ojeda, 28, filed a written petition and asked the court in an in-person hearing in Olmsted County District Court Wednesday, July 16, 2025, to consider amending a felony charge of aiding an offender down to a misdemeanor. Gutierrez Ojeda pleaded guilty Feb. 20, 2025 to the aiding charge for his role related to the shooting that claimed the life of 24-year-old Osbel Ornelas on Feb. 3, 2024. His brother, Isaac Gutierrez, was sentenced to five years in prison after a jury found him guilty of murder without intent . The lower sentence in that case is being appealed by the Olmsted County Attorney's office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gutierrez Ojeda initially told police that he, not his brother, shot Ornelas. In his plea, other charges against Gutierrez Ojeda including second-degree assault, terroristic threats and two counts of aiding an offender all felonies were dropped. Gutierrez Ojeda's attorney, Eric Olson, said Gutierrez Ojeda is in the United States on a green card, and any sentence longer than one year would result in him being deported. Olson noted Wednesday that Gutierrez Ojeda has no criminal history or record and that probation with a risk of deportation should he violate it would be an adequate deterrent for any unlawful behavior. Ornelas's family members who attended the hearing asked the court not to reduce any punishment for Gutierrez Ojeda's role in the shooting. The mother of Ornelas' children spoke to the court, telling Judge Kathy M. Wallace the loss has been "devastating" and that Ornelas' children will grow up without a father. That Gutierrez Ojeda and his brother were riding around town armed demonstrates a disregard for public safety, family members said in the hearing. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to witness testimony, Gutierrez Ojeda was driving in the parking lot near Chick-fil-A with his brother Isaac Gutierrez in the car. Gutierrez Ojeda tried to back into a parking space forcing Ornelas to stop his car. A fight broke out between Gutierrez Ojeda and Ornelas. Isaac Gutierrez then shot Ornelas in the head. A new sentencing date has been set for Aug. 19. The Brief The San Francisco Board of Appeals declined to overturn a determination allowing a halfway house to operate at the site of the historic Comptons Cafeteria riot in the Tenderloin. The site was added to the National Register of Historic Places, but officials said that designation does not alter the legal use of the building. Several Board of Appeals members expressed that the matter could be brought up to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - In a blow to local advocates, the San Francisco Board of Appeals on Wednesday declined to overturn a city zoning determination allowing a halfway house operated by a major private prison company to continue operating at the site of the historic Comptons Cafeteria riot in the Tenderloin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The board heard from dozens of community members urging the city to revoke the buildings current use designation, calling for the property, located at 111 Taylor St., to be returned to the LGBTQ+ community in the Tenderloin. But the board ultimately voted not to appeal the Planning Departments January letter of determination, which reaffirmed the buildings legal use as a group housing facility. "This is not just about code enforcement," one speaker said during the meeting. "Its about transparency, due process, and moral integrity." The site, now a halfway house for formerly incarcerated individuals, is owned and operated by the GEO Group, a private prison company. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Ive been to the site of the Comptons Cafeteria riot and seen firsthand how this community has come together to remember our history," said Supervisor Bilal Mahmood. "This appeal is about more than a zoning or a letter of determination." The backstory Comptons Cafeteria was the site of a pivotal moment in LGBTQ+ history. In the summer of 1966, a trans woman threw coffee in the face of a police officer attempting to arrest her for "female impersonation," sparking a riot that has since been recognized as a major milestone in the transgender rights movement. Earlier this year, the site was added to the National Register of Historic Places, but according to Zoning Administrator Corey Teague, that designation does not alter the legal use of the building. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The landmarking itself would not change the legal use," said Teague at the meeting. The Comptons X Coalition, a community group leading the push to reclaim the site, called the decision "heartbreaking." The group wants to transform the building into a public space honoring its place in trans history. Opponents of GEO argue the halfway house does not meet the zoning definition of group housing. David Blackwell, a representative for GEO Group, defended the companys position, saying, "The brief confirmed that the group housing use is a legal non-conforming use. Nothing has changed since 1989, except now we have an appellant who doesnt like the use and would prefer to have something else there." During the meeting, several Board of Appeals members expressed regret that they did not have the legal grounds to overturn the letter of determination. They suggested that it might be a matter advocates could pursue with the Board of Supervisors. The Source KTVU reporting Shane Strum, once the trusted right-hand man to Gov. Ron DeSantis, now wields a level of power never before seen in Broward County. Nine months into his interim role, Strum is calling the shots as CEO of Memorial Healthcare System a 17,400-employee public hospital district for the symbolic salary of just $1 a year. At the same time, hes still at the helm of Broward Health, the massive health care network that dominates the northern half of the county. And yet, for all this influence, Strum doesnt have a formal contract at Memorial. He works at the behest of the governor-appointed, seven-member board of commissioners, and they can terminate his employment at any time. So can he. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Strum, a Broward County native, is the only person to have ever simultaneously led both massive public health districts in their roughly 75-year history. His strategic direction helps determine how much every property owner in the county pays in taxes for healthcare, what type of healthcare patients receive at Broward Countys public hospitals, and where Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System add medical services and new facilities. Strum has sway over hundreds of contracts, thousands of employees and billions in revenue. Memorials board members say they are not conducting a search for a CEO and will likely offer Strum the job permanently on his one-year anniversary in September. Strum said he will likely accept. Its a lot of power for one individual, said David DiPietro, a Broward County attorney and a former board member of Broward Health. One individual would be controlling nine hospitals, including every trauma hospital in Broward. That person will control how trauma is initiated throughout the county through the fire department and EMS. That person would have a budget bigger than the sheriffs office, bigger than the airport authority, and bigger than the port authority. It might even be bigger than the county the amount of money and control would be pretty exponential for somebody not elected. Unique to Strum are his deep political connections. Hes served multiple Republican governors (Charlie Crist, Rick Scott, Ron DeSantis) and helped shape policy at the highest state levels. This makes him adept at navigating Tallahassee politics, particularly with a current Republican governor and a majority-Republican Legislature. With his political skills and control over two large health care systems, Strum, at least for now, has become one of the most influential, yet unelected, figures in the region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At 55, Strum walks fast, talks fast, and moves like a ball of energy, claiming he thrives on work. A married father with a teenage daughter, hes raising her in Hollywood, where he grew up. His relentless drive fuels his leadership, and he often uses the word excited when describing the future of the two hospital systems. However, not everyone is excited about Strums authority, and some are outraged. Broward faces a health care crossroads This new consolidation of leadership and collaboration between the two health systems, with nearly 30,000 employees combined, has energized some and angered others. It comes as Broward healthcare is at a critical juncture: competition intensifies, Medicaid cuts mean the uninsured population is likely to grow, and technology requires more investment and training. Broward is the only county in the state with two public health districts. Each board is run by seven political appointees all chosen by the governor. Memorial currently has two unfilled seats. Both health systems aim to provide medical care to all populations, regardless of their capacity to pay. Memorial Healthcare System has consistently been more financially successful and operates every hospital in the southern part of Broward County. To the north, Broward Health serves a district with a larger percentage of low-income patients and more competition from for-profit hospitals. The two public health systems compete for doctors, nurses, donors and insured patients, whose coverage pays for much of the hospitals bills. But should they compete? Would Broward patients benefit from the two health districts combining, with Strum as the leader of a mega health system? And, is now the right time for change? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Health care experts say that working as a single unit would position Broward Health and Memorial to cut costs, increase purchasing power, and offer better care to all patients in the county. They cant legally negotiate deals together as separate taxing districts without a legislative change. We have a very large percentage of our population that lacks health insurance, said Steven Ullmann, professor and director of the Center for Health Management and Policy at Miami Herbert Business School. While Broward has two systems, I think what youre seeing is that they themselves have realized that thats not necessarily the best way to go about things because their mission is the same. For now, the taxpayer-funded Broward Health is picking up the tab for Strums leadership. He was hired at Broward Health in 2021 with an annual salary of $920,000, and bonus and other benefits for a total compensation package of $1.3 million. Since then his salary or his contract has been amended three times, but the specifics of the increased salary adjustments have not been released to the South Florida Sun Sentinel despite repeated public records requests, nor have they been disclosed at public meetings. While steering Broward Health, with its four general hospitals and a childrens hospital, has always been a full-time job, its board has signed off on its leader also serving as the interim CEO of Memorial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I never saw any reason why the two systems were two systems, said Nancy Gregoire, an attorney and member of Broward Healths Board of Commissioners. We did factor in that we are paying his salary. But we have spent years competing with Memorial, and that didnt serve anybodys good or purpose. People are always better cooperating with each other than challenging each other, and this is our opportunity to do that. Gregoire said decades of fighting havent been productive for either health system. Our boards fought with each other, our doctors and nurses fought with each other, and who suffers because of that? The taxpayers of Broward County. Now, all of a sudden, its like a new dawn, she said. Im excited by it, and the time hasnt come yet, but when the time does come to combine those two systems, you can bet I will be on the side of saying yes. At Broward Health, Strum took the top job in March 2021, just as the health system was beginning to stabilize after years of significant management turnover, compliance issues, and financial mismanagement. Over the past four years, Strum has improved Broward Healths finances and credit ratings, expanded its clinical and academic footprint, and created a maternal health collaboration with Memorial called Better Together, according to reports presented to the Broward Health board. Strum ruffles feathers at Memorial Strums nine months at the helm of Memorial have been anything but smooth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As interim CEO at Memorial, the board gave Strum a straightforward mandate: Examine every corner of a health care system with six hospitals in South Broward County and make it better. In doing so, Strum has moved at what chair Liz Justen describes as warp speed, bringing remote employees back to the office, eliminating positions, firing and demoting executives at all levels, and renegotiating physician and vendor contracts to make them more beneficial for Memorial. Broward Healths general counsel and chief operating officer now serve in those roles at Memorial as well. Strum bulldozed into a system that had been well-funded and unmotivated to change. Changes came with fallout: Some physicians have quit, one high-level doctor fired by Strum sued (but lost the challenge), and a Memorial board member resigned. The November 2024 announcement that Broward Health had entered a collaboration with Nicklaus Childrens Hospital of Miami rather than Joe DiMaggio Childrens Hospital, operated by Memorial, was seen as a betrayal by some physicians at Memorial. Terminated staff members told the South Florida Sun Sentinel that Strum has damaged morale and created an environment of fear in a system where culture has always been a priority. When there are changes that are determined to be important to be made and somebody makes them, they are probably not going to be a very popular person, said Brad Friedman, a Memorial Healthcare board member. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Strum said he recognizes his fast-paced, aggressive style has caused angst. Im a Broward guy. Im going to stay here. I care about both systems. And if you give me a task, Im going to get it done, he said. I think when youre moving and making changes, youre bound to have some dissent. Years ago, Strum worked at Memorial Healthcare System as senior vice president and had previously served on its board. He brushes aside the tension among staff and says he is focused on improving health care in Broward County, his longtime home. This place was complacent, not moving in the right direction, and stuck in the mud, he said. We have moved the place forward. Now, where we might have fallen out is on some of the communication. I move so fast that I sometimes forget weve got to go and hold hands and tell everybody the story. But because were so far behind in some areas, theres no time for that. If we dont catch up now, well be overtaken by the competition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Almost daily, an anonymous critic who claims to represent Memorial doctors sends emails to news media, politicians, and Memorial Healthcare employees, writing angrily that Strum has dismantled organizational culture and fostered fear among employees. Dan Lewis, a longtime critic of Broward Health, says Strums leadership at both organizations has made it more difficult for the public to get information, even at board meetings. Everything is done in private briefings, nothing is done in public, Lewis said. He has eliminated transparency in both systems. Attorney George Platt, a prominent figure in Broward Countys legal and civic circles, says that leading two massive health systems serving the most vulnerable residents of Broward requires open communication and the expectation of pushback. Shane is obviously capable, a good organizer and generally respected, Platt said. But you know, any time you try to marry up two systems that are not identical, youre going to have a bunch of challenges, not the least of which are your doctors who have opinions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Brett Cohen, a bariatric surgeon who chairs Memorials physician leadership council, said Strum swept in and made changes without communicating with physicians and staff, who were accustomed to being informed. No one knew what to make of the changes or where it was going to land, he said. Some of the senior leadership was migrated out, and new leadership came in, and there wasnt a lot of direction for us to know what was happening. Cohen said he took his complaints directly to Strum. I think once that was kind of ironed out and that communication became a little bit easier and more open, it became very obvious to everybody that it was a good change, Cohen said. I think the ability to grow and expand and take care of additional patients is what everybodys been looking for, and I think thats whats made everybody much happier with the way things are going right now. Memorial, which has been the only health system in South Broward, now has competition. Baptist Health and HCA Florida Healthcare are opening freestanding emergency departments in Pembroke Pines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While no one was doing anything, the competition is incredibly bright and they know that this is a gem of a community, and they moved in, Strum said. He says as interim CEO, he quickly pushed forward Memorials plans to build two free-standing emergency departments in South Broward. Strum says he also moved Memorial forward on a $670 million new bed & surgical tower at its flagship Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood and created a marketing campaign for Memorial Cancer Institute. Memorials board members say Strum is the right leader for the system and want to make him their permanent CEO. We really dont have any reason to want to look anywhere else for someone that will do a better job for the community than he is, said Memorial board member Steven Harvey. We are finally trying to get on the offense of all of the competition thats coming into our market and really provide better and accessible health care for Broward County, and hes making it happen, said Justen, chair of the Memorial Healthcare System board of directors. Shane is the best CEO that this organization has ever had in my 25 years, said board member Laura Raybin Miller. I really think that he is the right person for the times, given where we are as a system. He understands the workings of the system and hes able to get things done. The future of Broward health care With both systems under one leader, speculation is rampant that Browards two health districts will merge. Proposed bills in this years legislative session would have paved the way and allowed Broward Countys two taxpayer-supported hospital districts Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System to go into a for-profit or not-for-profit business together without fear of violating state or federal antitrust laws. The bills did not get approved, yet they set off a furor, in part because they surfaced soon after a round of firings at Memorial. Strum says he likely will float the bills again next year. He has no plans to attempt to merge the two systems at this time a complicated process that would require agreement among the health district boards, local elected leaders and community stakeholders; a possible Broward County voter referendum; financial and legal plans for integrating assets, debts, and obligations; and a plan for how to handle taxes and governance, and new state legislation. Yet, the politically aware leader of both systems said no one is ready for a merger. Look, so Ive been here nine months. Look at how hard weve had to work to move the organization forward. And think about this, nobody likes change, right? Its hard, he said. Whether a merger would benefit Broward patients is a matter of debate. Ullman, the health care policy professor, notes that most hospital systems today are focused on expanding their footprint and becoming as efficient as possible. These two Broward systems will need to provide the highest quality of care to their population in the most cost-effective manner, which is why a merger makes a fair amount of sense. DiPietro fears a merger would be detrimental to patient care: Its a real loss of say for the doctors over patient care. I think competition helps, and when you have less competition, you have more bureaucracy. Despite vocal critics, Strum says he sees a future with more collaboration between the two, including doctors credentialed to work at both health systems and residents and fellows doing rotations at both systems. He believes his political connections in Tallahassee will help Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare attract state research and grant funding. Everything we do can be devastated by politics, said Broward Health Commissioner Ray Berry. Shane is the right guy at the right time to keep that at bay. He isnt going to let anyone in Tallahassee have sway over our health districts. Berry also notes that health systems face the looming impact of proposed federal Medicaid cuts, which would flow down to the state and put a strain on public hospitals. This is an urgent call to become more efficient, more innovative and more business-savvy. Shane is the leader who can navigate both organizations through these turbulent times and ensure they continue to thrive. Strum said his goal, for now, is continued collaboration between the two health districts. We want the best health and medical outcomes for all residents of Broward County, and to make sure that no families have to seek medical services outside of our county, he said. We have everything that we need here. We have to work together. Platt says what Broward health districts currently have is a de facto consolidation run by a politically connected leader. Eventually, a merger will be inevitable, he said. Those systems play a huge role in our county and they are going to continue to play a big role. l like the idea of doing this slowly, he said. Youve got to learn how to walk before you can run, and so taking the time to work towards some kind of assimilation is good. I think theres going to be a time when it just makes sense to take a local bill and go to Tallahassee and merge the two together. But I dont think were there yet. South Florida Sun Sentinel health reporter Cindy Goodman can be reached at cgoodman@sunsentinel.com or 954-304-5908. Shane Strum professional highlights ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley told a statewide panel Its time for me to go. The admission by the veteran prosecutor follows her initial refusal to step down last spring after a controversial traffic stop caught on police body worn camera. Tuesday, the New York Commission on Prosecutorial Conduct released the results of its investigation and recommended a public censure for Doorley who told the group she would be vacating her position as district attorney. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NYS Commission recommends censure for Monroe County DA Sandra Doorley I will be satisfied the day she leaves that office, explained Mike Johnson from Save Rochester. Last spring Johnson and other community activists protested outside Doorleys office. He says after seeing the body camera footage of Doorley refusing to pull over for speeding on April 22, 2024 in Webster he and others they collected thousands of signatures demanding she step down. She was disrespectful to the officers and she had total disregard for the law and she thought she was going to get away with it, said Johnson. Doorleys term expires in 2027. She told the panel investigating her behavior that she wants to ride off into the sunset. She also explained that she and her husband had already sold their home in Webster and purchased another one in South Carolina. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, she did not indicate when she would step down. Johnson said he was relieved the statewide panel found that Doorleys actions undermined public confidence in the justice system. Yes, justice was served but it was served very slowly at a snails pace, Johnson said. In the future we would like to see this type of accountability be served in a much more appropriate time frame. The timing of Doorleys departure will determine if voters will select her permanent replacement in November or at an election next year. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to RochesterFirst. The Dragon Bravo Fire, a controlled burn that quickly got out of hand, has scorched thousands of acres of the Grand Canyon National Park so far. The managed burn took a serious turn when a change in weather caused the fire to spread. Only miles away, the White Sage Fire has spread along the park's North Rim. Both fires remain 0% contained and more personnel are being sent to Northern Arizona to battle the flames. The North Rim is a more isolated part of the Grand Canyon and sees significantly fewer visitors. Any hikers have been told to divert around Phantom Ranch, and no injuries have been reported. But the park has lost between 50 and 80 structures, including the famous Grand Canyon Lodge. Advertisement Advertisement The 98-year-old building was a fixture of the North Rim and could be the start of many historic structures facing destruction. And some of these buildings, including the Phantom Ranch cabins, were built by someone described to me as "the most known unknown architect in the world": Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter. Her works integrated nature and Indigenous art in her unconventional and inventive style. And if you've been to the Grand Canyon, you've probably seen something she's built or something she has inspired. Colter's most recognizable structure is probably the Desert View Watchtower or the interior of the El Tovar Hotel. But her notable work doesn't stop there. On this episode of Valley 101, a podcast by The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com about metro Phoenix and beyond, we explore the life and influence of Mary Elizabeth Jane Colter, a historic Arizona woman lost to time. PORTRAIT OF MARY COLTER, AGE 50 SITTING IN A RATTAN CHAIR. CONTEMPLATIVE POSE. CIRCA 1919. NPS COPYRIGHT. Listen to the episode Listen to Valley 101 on your favorite podcast app or stream the full episode below. Advertisement Advertisement Submit your questions to us about metro Phoenix and Arizona for a chance to be chosen for the podcast. Note: Valley 101 is intended to be heard, but we offer an AI transcript of the episode script. There may be slight deviations from the podcast audio. Subscribe to Valley 101 : Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher Follow Valley 101 and all azcentral podcasts on X, formerly Twitter, and on Instagram. Reach the producer Amanda Luberto at aluberto@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter @amandaluberto and on Bluesky @amandaluberto. Catch up on past episodes of Valley 101: This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Grand Canyon fire could destroy more historic buildings Ingenious modern-day ship sails are again making headlines. This time, London's Union Maritime is outfitting its Brands Hatch tanker with 123-foot-tall windcatchers that are projected to cut dirty fuel consumption by more than 1,320 tons each year, according to Renewable Energy Magazine and a news release from Lloyd's Register. The London firm specializes in maritime classification and compliance services and was involved with this project from "design to delivery." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The massive 114,000 deadweight-ton tanker is now the most powerful wind-assisted ship on the seas. Union's plan is for 34 ships to eventually be aided by the wind, with 14 featuring WindWings designed by the United Kingdom's BAR Technologies. Brands Hatch's sails were manufactured by CMET, according to Renewable Energy Magazine. The sails aren't something Blackbeard would find familiar. They are tall, rigid rectangles made from "robust marine steel and advanced industrial composite construction materials," per BAR's website. Cargill's Pyxis Ocean, which set sail in 2023, is outfitted with two of the giant BAR-made structures. The tech is part of innovations aimed at cleaning up sea travel, which also includes fascinating kites. Shipping produces about 3% of global planet-warming pollution, according to the European Federation for Transport and Environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Concerningly, NASA reported that our vast oceans have absorbed 90% of the Earth's warming that has happened in recent decades. The experts noted that coral bleaching, accelerated ice sheet melting, and intensified hurricanes are some of the repercussions. The severe weather is also impacting home insurance coverage and costs. As a result, shippers are working to limit non-renewable fuel use with sails, as well as hydrogen and ammonia fuels. The latter two can have health risks as well, depending on how they are used, per the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Sierra Club. For WindWings' part, the contraptions can make intelligent aerodynamic adjustments in angle and camber for improved efficiency and thrust. But the cargo is apparently going to be counter to the cleaner travel. Lloyd's suggested the tanker will be carrying oil. Exploring environmental concerns in our oceans can help you make informed decisions about what companies are working toward a cleaner future. You can invest in the ones that are making legitimate progress, which can be profitable, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Choosing planet-friendlier transportation, even riding the bus a little more instead of driving, can also cut pollution and save you cash. "The upcoming delivery of Brands Hatch is a powerful example of how Union Maritime is responding to the evolving regulatory landscape by putting smart and sustainable technologies into action," Laurent Cadji, managing director at Union Maritime, told Renewable Energy Magazine. "It marks the beginning of a new era for Union Maritime and the global shipping industry." 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. SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) A man accused of shooting at Sioux Falls police officers is out of the hospital and in the Minnehaha County jail. DOC warns public of release of sex offender KELOLAND News received an alert that Deondre Black Hawk has been booked into jail. He faces two counts of attempted murder on law enforcement. Suspect fired half a dozen times at officers Monday A week ago Monday, police were trying to serve an arrest warrant near 10th Street and South Garfield Avenue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Black Hawk is accused of running from the officers while firing a gun. Three officers fired back, striking Black Hawk multiple times. He was hospitalized for his injuries. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 day before Bad Bunny kicked off his blockbuster residency that's expected to bring hundreds of millions of dollars to Puerto Rico while showcasing its rich culture, he posted a simple message: Shop Local. The ethos is core to his 30-show concert series in San Juan which, after nine performaces exclusive to residents, will open up to fans from elsewhere -- what many Boricuas, as Puerto Ricans are known, are hoping will serve as an exercise in responsible tourism. "It's an incredible moment for the island," said Davelyn Tardi of the promotional agency Discover Puerto Rico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The organization conservatively estimates the residency will bring in some $200 million to Puerto Rico over the approximately three-month run, which falls during the typically less-trafficked summer months. Azael Ayala works at a bar in one of San Juan's popular nightlife zones, telling AFP that business was already booming even though the residency was only in its first weekend. It's "completely changed," the 29-year-old said, as crowds buzzed about La Placita where some bars were slinging Bad Bunny-themed cocktails. "We're thrilled," Ayala said. "The tips are through the roof." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fact that people are coming from across the globe to see Bad Bunny "is a source of pride for Puerto Rico, too," he added. Arely Ortiz, a 23-year-old student from Los Angeles, couldn't score a ticket to a show -- but said Bad Bunny was still the draw that prompted her to book her first trip to Puerto Rico. "I really love how outspoken he is about his community," she said. "Just seeing him, that he can get so far, and he's Latino, it encourages more Latinos to be able to go for what they want." "He has for sure empowered Latinos, like 100 percent." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Tourism: it's complicated - But while tourism has long been an economic engine for the Caribbean island that remains a territory of the United States, the relationship is complicated. Concerns around gentrification, displacement and cultural dilution have magnified on the archipelago beloved for stunning beaches with turquoise waters -- especially as it's become a hotspot for luxury development, short-term rentals and so-called "digital nomads" who work their laptop jobs remotely while traveling the world. Visiting foreigners sample the island's beauty but are shielded from the struggle, say many locals who are coping with a chronic economic crisis exacerbated by natural disasters, as rents soar and massive blackouts are routine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bad Bunny -- who was born and raised Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio -- himself has pointed to such issues and more in his metaphor and reference-laden lyrics. "In my life, you were a tourist," reads one translation of his track "Turista." "You only saw the best of me and not how I was suffering." Historian Jorell Melendez Badillo told AFP that Puerto Rico by design has long catered to foreign investment: "A lot of people see tourism as sort of like this colonial undertone," he said. But when it comes to Bad Bunny and his residency at the affectionately nicknamed venue El Choli, "we cannot negate the fact that it's going to bring millions of dollars" to the island, he added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We can celebrate what Benito is doing while also looking at it critically, and having a conversation around what type of tourism will be incentivized by this residency." Ana Rodado traveled to Puerto Rico from Spain after a friend native to the island gifted her a ticket. She booked a five-day trip with another friend that included a visit to beachside Vega Baja, the municipality where Bad Bunny grew up and worked bagging groceries before gaining fame. After posing for a photo in the town square, Rodado told AFP that she'd been trying to take the artist's "shop local" plea to heart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Tourism is a global problem," she said. "To the extent possible, we have to be responsible with our consumer choices, and above all with the impact our trip has on each place." "We try to be respectful, and so far people have been really nice to us." Ultimately, Bad Bunny's residency is a love letter to his people -- a show about and for Puerto Ricans whose narrative centers on heritage, pride and joy. "We're here, damn it!" he shouted to ecstatic screams during his sweeping first show, which at times felt like a giant block party. "I'd come back for the next 100 years -- if God lets me, I'll be here." mdo/jgc NEW YORK (PIX11) A yellow cab driver is speaking out from his hospital bed after being shot by a passenger allegedly enraged over a $40 fare. Aulsine Barrie, 27, says doctors have been unable to remove a bullet lodged in his abdomen following the Monday afternoon shooting in the Bronx. The driver, who has spent nearly a decade behind the wheel in New York City, told PIX11 in an exclusive interview that the violent encounter unfolded after he dropped Joseph Meeks off at home, on Nelson Avenue. More Crime News Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He shot me twice and said, Go to hell,' Barrie recalled. The cabbie said the man not only shot him but also spat on him before walking away. After he finished, he spit on me, he said. Barrie called his mother after the harrowing dispute. He said, Mom, come down. They shoot me. Come down. Im dying,' his mother recounted. I said, What!? When she arrived at the scene, she found her son lying on the ground. I said, please tell me who did this to my son. Who did this to him? My son is dying, she said. Police arrested the 76-year-old at his home in the Bronx. Officers say they recovered the weapon used in the shooting. Meeks has since been charged with attempted murder and is currently being held on Rikers Island. NYPD sources say he has an extensive criminal record. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Barries sister rushed to New York from Atlanta. They caught the guy, but we need justice. This is too much. Forty dollars trying to kill somebody? Barries family has remained at his side during his hospitalization and said doctors were unable to remove the bullet during an initial surgery. He has a wife there and a son now who will care, money for them? his mother asked. The family says Barrie regularly sends money to his family back in Africa, but after the attack, hes uncertain whether hell ever get back behind the wheel. Were really worried about him, his sister 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 PIX11. SHREVEPORT, La. (KTAL/KMSS)- Shreveport firefighters are seeing the flood devastation firsthand in Texas. More than 130 people have been confirmed dead from the flooding. Shreveport sent boats and swift water rescue personnel to help, and Captain David Burden, who is there, told us what they saw when they arrived, Its pretty bad, well, its bad in areas where we put the boat the other day, could look at the waterline and you could tell the waterline was forty feet higher than what it is right now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The team was assigned to recovery, taking cadaver dogs out to search for those lost to the floodwaters. It is not an easy job. Burdent said, Its tough and everybody here is in good spirits because everybody knows that were here to try to bring closure to everybodys families. Despite everything the people in the area have been through, the firefighters say the people are grateful and the firefighters should return to Shreveport on July 17th. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Jeffrey Epsteins crimes and death in prison have been central to the years-long, overlapping conspiracy theories that have put the worlds most powerful people at the center of an alleged criminal network of traffickers and child predators. Epsteins case and the conspiracy theories surrounding it were welcomed by Donald Trumps campaign, with supporters and prominent right-wing media figures demanding the president expose the alleged cabal fueling Epsteins criminal enterprise. But now the president dismisses Epsteins case as a hoax, a scam, and bull****, and even asked a room of reporters why anyone is still talking about a sex offender nobody cares about. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement His dismissive statements and statements from Department of Justice and FBI officials affirming Epstein died by suicide and that no such client list exists have triggered a civil war among the presidents supporters and a constellation of right-wing figures wondering whether Trump has something to hide. The White House handed over binders of previously disclosed Epstein-related documents to several far-right influencers earlier this year in an apparent effort to prove that the administration was listening to them. But the administration has since reversed course, and the people who once believed Trump would hold Epsteins network accountable are now blaming the president, administration officials or unseen government figures for failing them. Attorney General Pam Bondi has brushed aside criticisms over her handling of Jeffrey Epsteins case while Donald Trump has called the investigation a hoax, raising questions among their allies that the president has something to hide (Reuters) Attorney General Pam Bondi has brushed aside criticisms over her handling of Jeffrey Epsteins case while Donald Trump has called the investigation a hoax, raising questions among their allies that the president has something to hide (Reuters) Who is sticking with Trump? While Trump repeatedly tries to get his supporters to talk about anything else, top officials at the Justice Department and FBI arent entertaining questions about ruptures in Trumpworld and criticisms over their handling of the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi told Fox News that Epsteins client list was sitting on my desk right now to review. She later clarified that she was broadly referencing the case files, and she has since brushed aside questions about the case and in-fighting among Trumps allies about their release. Were going to fight to keep America safe again and we're fighting together as a team. Thats what's so important right now, she told reporters this week. Trump has also told reporters that Bondi has handled that very well and said she should release whatever she thinks is credible. Shes really done a very good job, Trump said Tuesday. I think when you look at it, youll understand that. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a post on X, FBI director Kash Patel said the conspiracy theories just arent true, never have been. Its an honor to serve the President of the United States and Ill continue to do so for as long as he calls on me, he said. Last year, podcaster Dan Bongino now Patels deputy director said he didnt trust any story they tell me about Jeffrey Epstein. There is a reason this client list is hidden, he said at the time. He was reportedly out of control furious and threatened to quit over mounting frustrations with the case, but Trump has since called him a very good guy. I like Dan, Trump told reporters this week. Far-right influencers were handed binders of largely already-available documents in the Epstein case in February (AFP/Getty) Far-right influencers were handed binders of largely already-available documents in the Epstein case in February (AFP/Getty) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some prominent right-wing figures and influencers who made their names amplifying conspiracy theories to support the presidents agenda appear satisfied with Trumps word. Even though there are unanswered questions about Epstein, it is in fact time to move on, Dinesh DSouza said on his podcast. House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan also said he has confidence in President Trump and defended Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, Bondi, Bongino and Patel. He said he has total confidence in the administration. Who wants accountability? But many other Republican members of Congress including Trumps staunchest allies arent satisfied. House Speaker Mike Johnson said he is for full transparency and suggested the Justice Department should put everything out there and let the people decide it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other prominent far-right lawmakers such as Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Anna Paulina Luna and Nancy Mace, among others, are also demanding those documents. Rep. Ralph Norman of South Carolina was among representatives who voted with Democrats to try to forced the Justice Department to release more information on the case. I think that the American people need to see whats in there, and thats not hard to understand. Across the board, governments supposed to work for us, Norman told CNN. If theres nothing there, show the blank sheet. Ghislane Maxwell is serving a prison sentence on trafficking charges in connection with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 (AFP/Getty) Ghislane Maxwell is serving a prison sentence on trafficking charges in connection with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 (AFP/Getty) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement After saying he was done with Epstein, podcaster Charlie Kirk later said his full remarks were taken out of context, and he has pushed for the Justice Department to unseal grand jury testimony Far-right influencers Tucker Carlson, Alex Jones, Mike Cernovich, Matt Walsh, Jack Posobiec and Benny Johnson have also remained skeptical of the administrations narrative, and Johnson said on X that powerful MAGA voices should be credited with pressuring the administration to change its approach. Laura Loomer has called on Bondi to resign, warning that her handling of the Epstein case threatens to consume Trumps presidency. Who blames Trump? Elon Musk dropped a bomb in the middle of his feud with the president over a megabill moving through Congress, stating on X that Trump is in the Epstein files. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT! he wrote last month. Last week, he posted Whats the time? Oh look, its no-one-has-been-arrested-oclock again, with a graphic that read The Official Jeffrey Epstein Pedophile Arrest Counter with several zeroes underneath it. This week, he mocked Trumps claim that the case is a hoax. Wow, amazing that Epstein killed himself and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax, said Musk, referencing Epsteins associate Ghislane Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after she was found guilty of child sex trafficking and other offences. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He should just release the files and point out which part is the hoax, Musk added. Steve Bannon is among far-right figures who have placed Epsteins case at the center of a wider deep state conspiracy theory implicating powerful world figures trying to undermine Trump (Getty) Steve Bannon is among far-right figures who have placed Epsteins case at the center of a wider deep state conspiracy theory implicating powerful world figures trying to undermine Trump (Getty) Other Trump loyalists have wondered why the president is risking his presidency on his resistance his supporters demands. Why is 47 making the worst moves of his tenure in the last 9 years? Alex Jones asked on X. Far-right commentator Wayne Allyn Root also pleaded with Trump on X to just release the files. Best 6 months for any president in history. Everything he's doing is fantastic. Why risk it all on this stupid file? he wrote. And who blames the deep state or Democrats? While prominent voices on the right are demanding more from the Justice Department, they have also suggested that they believe the Trump administration is not solely to blame, reviving long-brewing conspiracy theories that Democratic officials and rogue prosecutors have destroyed evidence or otherwise interfered with the Epstein investigation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump himself claimed the case was somehow made up by President Barack Obama and former FBI director James Comey. Epstein was arrested in 2019 during Trumps first administration, and he was found dead that same year in his jail cell. That day, Trump shared a social media post claiming Bill Clinton was involved. I want a full investigation, and thats what I absolutely am demanding, Trump told reporters at the time. Was it suicide? Was he killed? he told Axios in 2020. Longtime Republican operative and Trump ally Roger Stone said Patel is telling us the truth and believes former FBI director Christopher Wray and the Joe Biden-era Justice Department destroyed evidence. Former White House adviser Steve Bannon has gestured to the wider conspiracy theory environment surrounding the Epstein case and its links to QAnon and an alleged deep state threatening Trumps agenda. In that arc of looking at how the deep state has tried to stop Trump and the MAGA movement, you can easily fit in, Bannon told a crowd at a Turning Point US conference this week. Epstein is a key that picks the lock on so many things, he said. Not just individuals, but also institutions. Intelligence institutions, foreign governments, and who was working with him on our intelligence apparatus and in our government. DES MOINES, Iowa The World Food Prize Foundation hosted the 19th annual Iowa Hunger Summit Wednesday where leaders and advocates from across the state came together to try to tackle the challenges of hunger. The day at the World Food Prize Hall of Laureates in downtown Des Moines was filled with speeches, breakout sessions, lunch and important discussions surrounding hunger in Iowa. This years theme, From the Ground Up, underscored the importance of nurturing sustainable solutions to food insecurity at every stage of life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State senators and representatives were in attendance, along with former Governor Terry Branstad. Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Mike Naig was also there and a speaker at lunch. There were people from all sides with a common goal in mind: end hunger. Save the Children Action Network (SCAN) had a petition at their table against Governor Kim Reynolds new summer food program, Healthy Kids Iowa. I think its definitely better than nothing, SCANs Iowa State Manager Paige Chickering said. Were really excited to have those federal dollars coming into the state with the goal of trying to address food insecurity specifically for kids over the summer. We know that in those summer months, when kids lose access to free and reduced priced school meals, we really see a leap in food insecurity among children. So thats been, thats been a well-documented process. And we are happy that somethings being done to try to address that problem. However, we do have an alternative to this program, and that alternative is the summer EBT, SUN Bucks program. That program would have brought in $29 million in federal funding to Iowa and serve 245,000 children in Iowa. Comparatively, the Healthy Kids Iowa program brought in $9 million and is serving only 65,000 children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This was a bipartisan event that accommodated different opinions to be discussed for one common goal. Iowa to see cool down before more storms roll in Were blessed to have a lot of folks that get up every single day thinking about how they can improve the communities that they live in, Secretary Naig said. The Iowa spirit is exactly why I can remain optimistic when I look at the issues that confront us and that we can make progress on things like, yes, food insecurity. During his lunch speech, Naig brought up his new Choose Iowa Food Purchasing Pilot Program for Schools, where schools are connected with farmers they can buy locally from. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Iowa Hunger Summit attendees were open to hearing different ideas, like that one. Folks are really trying to come together and find different creative solutions to the issue of food insecurity and hunger, Chickering said. Being in an agricultural state. How can we be innovative and support programs that both support our huge agriculture economy and also help feed Iowans right here in our state? Iowa Agriculture is truly a productivity powerhouse, and most of the time when we think about that, we think of it being a powerhouse related to commodities, Naig said. Thank you for your commitment to feeding everyone, and for being hunger fighters. We need to do this together. To end the afternoon, there was an hour of packaging over 35,000 meals that will be distributed directly to lowans through Meals from the Heartland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Another highlight of the day was when the Robert D. Ray Humanitarian Award was given to Davenports Tapestry Farms executive director Ann McGlynn, who works with refugees. Iowa News: Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. An abandoned yacht that was reportedly sinking into Puget Sound for a few weeks, sparking curiosity on social media, has been hauled away by the state Department of Natural Resources. The department received a report about the vessel in Filucy Bay on June 27, spokesperson Zoe Love told The News Tribune. Photographs show the vessel taking on water, a scene that generated curiosity on the Key Peninsula and Puget Sound Boating Facebook groups. One post about the boat received 166 reactions and 77 comments. A contractor hired by the department hauled away the vessel Wednesday, Love confirmed. Photos from the department showed the boat partially submerged in the water. She also said that the U.S. Coast Guard and the state Department of Ecology pumped diesel fuel out of the vessel prior to removal. A sinking Ed Monk yacht was spotted in the waters of Filucy Bay and reported to the Washington State Department of Natural Resources on June 27. It was scheduled for emergency removal July 16, 2025. The Derelict Vessel Removal Program, under the Department of Natural Resources, manages the removal of sunken or neglected watercraft from the states waters, the department website says. It addresses both abandoned and derelict vessels, which mean different things under state law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An abandoned vessel is one that remains in the same area (within a 5-mile radius), unauthorized by the owner, manager or lessee of the aquatic lands in that area, for more than 30 consecutive days or for more than 90 days in any 365-day period. The owner of the abandoned vessel is unknown, unable to be located or unwilling to take control of the boat, the law says. A derelict vessel is one that stays on public or private property without authorization or against the governing rules, or has been left for seven consecutive days; and is sunk or in danger of sinking, is obstructing a waterway or is endangering life or property. The boats owner is known and can be located, according to the law. The department took the abandoned vessel in Filucy Bay into custody under the temporary possession provision of state law, Laurel Schoenbohm, a natural resource specialist for the Derelict Vessel Removal Program, told The News Tribune. If the owner cant be located or isnt able or willing to take responsibility for the boat, and if the vessel meets certain criteria such as being in immediate danger of sinking and posing a risk to safety or the environment, the public entity can take the boat into custody temporarily. The law says that a public entity seeking to address an abandoned or derelict boat must follow a sequence of steps to notify the boats owner and wait a period of days before taking action. The vessel in Filucy Bay now waits out the custody period in a safe location, allowing the owner to come forth and reclaim it if they can pay costs incurred up to this date, Schoenbohm wrote in an email. Contractors oversee the emergency removal of a vessel that was sinking in Filucy Bay on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, near Key Peninsula. Because the costs can skyrocket in cases where the department has to take temporary possession of a vessel, Schoenbohm said, the department uses that option cautiously. A number of factors can drive up costs, including how far away the vessel is from emergency-response resources, potential overtime needs and the availability of necessary assets to complete the removal, she wrote in a follow-up email. The department prioritizes vessels for removal based on many factors, including the vessels condition, size, proximity to navigation channels and more, according to the website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We always carefully weigh out costs for emergency responses, versus priority and threat of the vessels disposition, versus if the boat can wait a little if the pollution was removed and we can retrieve it through the normal custody route, she wrote. We take pride in finding the most economical solution to remove these threats. The department can track down a vessels owner in several ways, including looking up the Hull Identification Number or the vessels name or number recorded with the U.S. Coast Guard, Schoenbohm said. Its sort of like having a car, and you have to look at the license plate ... to figure out who owned it, she said. Schoenbohm wrote Thursday that the department has not been able to identify the vessels official owner, but if they had, they would mail a notice to the owners last known address per state law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If we find any other leads that can link the vessel to an official owner (HIN or USCG Documentation #), we would then notify them via an owner letter and other methods of the temporary custody action, she wrote. The only lead we currently had was with a registration sticker that did not turn up the correct vessel. Noelle Morris, a dock captain at the Port Orchard Yacht Club, said she recognized the vessel in Filucy Bay from photos others posted as an Ed Monk wooden boat. She recently helped someone who was trying to sell a boat of the same type that was moored at the Port Orchard Yacht Club, along with a boathouse, and said she thought it was the same one. She didnt know who took possession of the boat from the previous owner. A 1949 Ed Monk wooden boat remained for some time at Port Orchard Yacht Club, according to dock captain Noelle Morris. She said she believes it is the vessel that later was spotted sinking into Filucy Bay. The department website says that the Derelict Vessel Removal Program had a budget of $10.3 million in the 2023-2025 biennium. That includes $8.3 million from the Watercraft Excise Tax, which draws from state sales tax dollars, and $2 million from the Derelict Vessel Removal Account, which draws on fees for recreational vessel registration and commercial vessels. Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken speaks to the Project Prison Reset group on April 3, 2025, at the Military Heritage Alliance in Sioux Falls. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight) Sioux Falls Mayor Paul TenHaken said Thursday that the city needs to cut its operating expenses by $8 million to $10 million over the next three years because of new state caps on property tax growth. The state Legislature and Gov. Larry Rhoden passed the caps during the annual legislative session that ended in March. The multifaceted law includes a five-year, 3% cap on countywide growth in owner-occupied home assessments, plus other provisions such as expanded eligibility for an assessment freeze program for elderly and disabled people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cities receive revenue from sales taxes and property taxes. Counties and schools receive property taxes, and the state receives sales taxes. TenHaken said in a news release that the law will impact the way we deliver some city services in the future. For Sioux Falls and our surrounding communities that comprise about one-third of the states population and drive our collective population and economic growth, he said, its important to understand how state legislation has the potential to restrict our ability to provide important public services as we grow. The citys general fund, which receives property tax revenue, accounted for about $250 million of the citys total $773 million budget this year, according to the news release. Within the general fund, 64% of expenses go to employee wages and benefits, while the remaining 36% goes toward operational costs for city services. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The general fund pays for city services including public safety, street maintenance, parks, pools, libraries, public health efforts, and planning and development. TenHakens announcement came on the same day as a meeting of the Legislatures Comprehensive Property Tax Task Force. The task force is studying additional ways to lower property taxes, with an eye toward proposing legislation next winter. The mayor alluded to those efforts in his news release. In the end, its pretty simple, TenHaken said. An imposed property tax reduction or elimination without an alternate stable revenue source will lead to a reduction in the current level of city services Sioux Falls residents receive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TenHaken said he has worked with city departments to find targeted savings and avoid across-the-board cuts. The mayor will make a 2026 budget presentation at 3 p.m. July 24 at Carnegie Town Hall, 235 W. 10th St. The Sioux Falls City Council will consider the proposed 2026 budget in September. Proposed Sioux Falls budget cuts A news release from the city of Sioux Falls said Mayor Paul TenHaken and department heads have so far identified $6 million of reductions for the 2026 proposed budget, including: General Government and Operations Part-time and consulting alignment. Full-time workforce (3 FTEs eliminated: Mayors Office (1), Attorneys Office (1), and Communications (1)). Reduction of funding for subsidy agreements. Culture and Recreation Library hours of service reduction for Sioux Falls and Brandon locations (up to two hours per day). Outdoor pool closures after the first weekend in August. Reimagine Midco Aquatics concession offerings. Evolve the playground recreation program to incorporate the mobile recreation unit. Phased closure of non-refrigerated outdoor ice rinks. Streets, Planning and Development Alignment of de-icing materials. Phasing in city-owned motor graders. Extend equipment replacement cycles and reduce equipment rentals. Credit card fees shifting to customers who choose to use this form of payment. Public Safety and Health By Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang TAIPEI (Reuters) -Sirens wailed, roads emptied and people were ordered to stay indoors in Taiwan's capital Taipei on Thursday during an annual air-raid exercise aimed at preparing for any Chinese missile attack. Sirens sounded at 1:30 p.m. (0530 GMT) for the mandatory street evacuation drills, which effectively shut towns and cities across northern Taiwan for 30 minutes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An alert, asking people to evacuate to safety immediately, was sent via phone text message by the defence ministry. "Air Defence Drill. Missile attack. Seek immediate shelter," it read in Chinese and English, accompanied by a shrill alarm. Taiwan authorities this month updated instructions on what people should do when air-raid alerts are issued, including for citizens who are not able to get into shelters in time or for those who are driving a car. China, whose government views democratically governed Taiwan as its territory over the island's rejection, has ramped up its military pressure over the past five years, including almost daily fighter jet flights into the skies around the island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the past 24 hours, 58 Chinese military planes including fighter jets were detected around Taiwan, its defence ministry said. Among them, 45 crossed the Taiwan Strait median line, an unofficial buffer zone. Taiwan President Lai Ching-te, who China reviles as a "separatist", rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims and says only Taiwan's people can decide their future. He has repeatedly offered talks with China but has been rebuffed. China has never renounced the use of force to bring Taiwan under its control. During the drill, police in Taipei directed vehicles to move to the side of roads and people already not inside were told to seek shelter. Some shops and restaurants pulled down shutters and turned off lights - steps aimed at reducing the risk of becoming a target in the event of a night-time attack. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sirens sounded 30 minutes later to give the all-clear. The civil defence drills are taking place at the same time as Taiwan's largest ever military drills, which simulated attacks on its command systems and infrastructure, as well as China's grey zone tactics including military incursions and a disinformation campaign designed to test Taiwan's response. (Reporting by Fabian Hamacher and Ann Wang; Writing by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) Six months to the day that flames ravaged Altadena and Pacific Palisades, Mayor Karen Bass was preparing to mark the occasion alongside Gov. Gavin Newsom and other leaders. But instead of heading north to the Pasadena news conference last week, the mayors black SUV made a detour to MacArthur Park, where a cavalcade of federal agents in tactical gear had descended on the heart of immigrant Los Angeles . In a seafoam blue suit, Bass muscled her way through the crowds and could be heard on a live news feed pushing the agents to leave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, she sent an underling to join Newsom and U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla to discuss fire rebuilding and recovery, as she held an impromptu City Hall news conference decrying the immigration raid. This is the delicate dance Bass has found herself doing in recent weeks. Recovering from one of the costliest natural disasters in American history remains a daily slog, even as a new and urgent crisis demands her attention. The federal immigration assault on Los Angeles has granted Bass a second chance at leading her city through civic catastrophe. Her political image was badly bruised in the wake of the fires, but she has compensated amid a string of historically good headlines. Killings have plummeted, with Los Angeles on pace for the lowest homicide total in nearly 60 years . Bass has also made progress on the seemingly intractable homelessness crisis for the second consecutive year, with a nearly 8% decrease in the number of people sleeping on city streets in 2024. A "Karen Bass Resign Now" sign on Alma Real Drive on July 9 in Pacific Palisades. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) But there is a widening gulf between Pacific Palisades, where the annihilation remains palpable as far as the eye can see, and the rest of the city, where attention has largely flickered to other issues. Amid her successes, the mayor still faces harsh critics in the wealthy coastal enclave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The mayor has been very clear that every day that families cant return home is a day too long, and she will continue taking action to expedite every aspect of the recovery effort to get them home," Bass spokesperson Zach Seidl said. Bass was on a diplomatic trip to Ghana, despite warnings of severe winds , when the conflagration erupted in early January. She floundered upon her return, fumbling questions about her trip, facing public criticism from her fire chief (whom she later ousted ) and appearing out of sync with other leaders and her own chief recovery officer . Those initial days cast a long shadow for the citys 43rd mayor, but Bass has regained some of her footing in the months since. She has made herself a fixture in the Palisades, even when the community has not always welcomed her with open arms, and has attempted to expedite recovery by pulling the levers of government. Her office also led regular community briefings with detailed Q&A sessions. Bass issued a swath of executive orders to aid recovery, creating a one-stop rebuilding center, providing tax relief for businesses affected by the fires and expediting permitting. The one-stop center has served more than 3,500 individuals, according to the mayors office. Felipe Ortega raises the California flag at Gladstones Malibu on July 2 in Malibu. After sustaining damage from the fire, Gladstones reopened for business earlier this month. (Juliana Yamada / Los Angeles Times) A number of restaurants and other amenities have also reopened in the neighborhood. The Starbucks on Palisades Drive is set to return later this month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bass frequently touts the Palisades fire recovery as the fastest in modern California history, though recent natural disasters dont offer an apples-to-apples comparison. Sue Pascoe, a Palisades resident who lost her home in the Via Bluffs neighborhood and helms a hyperlocal website called Circling the News , said the mayor has made some inroads. I think she's tried very hard to repair relationships. Shes come up there a whole lot, Pascoe said. But Im not sure its worked, to be honest with you. When Bass visits the Palisades, said Maryam Zar, head of the Palisades Recovery Coalition, residents tell her she has not done enough to hasten rebuilding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "She always seems truly mind-boggled by that accusation, Zar said. She looks at us like, 'Really? What have I not done?'" Read more: A reluctant brawler, Mayor Bass takes direct aim at Trump over immigration raids The issue, in Pascoes view, is more about the limitations of the office than Bass leadership. Residents traumatized by the loss of their homes and infuriated by a broken insurance system and cumbersome rebuilding process would like to see the mayor wave a magic wand, slash red tape on construction and direct the full might of local government to reviving the neighborhood. But Los Angeles has a relatively weak mayoral system, compared with cities such as New York and Chicago. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The mayor is far from powerless, said Raphael Sonenshein, executive director of the John Randolph Haynes and Dora Haynes Foundation and a scholar of local government. But he or she shares authority with other entities, such as the 15-member City Council and the five-member L.A. County Board of Supervisors. "To move things in L.A., you always need mayoral leadership, combined with the cooperation, collaboration or hopefully not opposition of a lot of powerful people in other offices," Sonenshein said. "And yet, the mayor is still the recognized leader. So it's a matter of matching up people's expectation of leadership with how you can put the pieces together to get things done." Take the issue of waiving permit fees. Construction workers rebuild a home on July 9 in Pacific Palisades. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times) In February, City Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the fire-ravaged area, introduced a proposal to stop levying fees for permits to rebuild Palisades homes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pascoe and others cheered in late April when the mayor signed an executive order supporting Parks plan. But as Pascoe moved forward with rebuilding her longtime home, she was confused when her architect gave her a form to sign that said she would pay the city back if the City Council doesnt move forward on the fee waivers. As it turned out, Bass order did not cancel permit fees outright but suspended their collection, contingent on the council ultimately passing its ordinance, since the mayor can't legally cancel the fees on her own. Parks proposal is still wending its way through the council approval process. Officials estimate that waiving the fees will cost around $86 million a particularly eye-popping sum, given the citys budget crisis, that may make approval difficult. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Apart from the limitations of her office, Bass has also confused residents and made her own path harder with a seemingly haphazard approach to delegating authority. Mayor Karen Bass speaks at a discussion with local leaders and residents to mark 100 days since the start of the L.A. wildfires at Will Rogers State Beach on April 17. (Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times) Within a month of the blaze, Bass announced the hiring of Hagerty Consulting as a world-class disaster recovery firm that would coordinate private and public entities. To many residents, Bass had appeared to give the firm the gargantuan task of restoring the Palisades. In reality, Hagerty was retained as a consultant to the citys tiny, underfunded Emergency Management Department , whose general manager, Carol Parks, is designated by city charter as the recovery coordinator. Bass also brought out of retirement another former EMD chief, Jim Featherstone, who has served as de facto recovery chief behind the scenes. But based on Bass' public statements, many Angelenos thought the recovery would be led by a familiar face Steve Soboroff. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass and her disaster recovery czar Steve Soboroff, left, talk to media during a news conference at the Palisades Recreation Center on Jan. 27 in Pacific Palisades. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Soboroff, a developer, civic leader and longtime Palisades resident, signed on for a three-month stint as chief recovery officer and was initially tasked with creating a comprehensive strategy for rebuilding. But his role was soon dramatically scaled back. When he left in mid-April, Soboroff said he had been shut out from high-level planning essentially from the start and spoke candidly about his issues with Hagerty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The city brought in a headhunter before Soboroff left, but the position has now been unfilled for longer than Soboroffs 90-day tenure. (Seidl said Wednesday that the city is "in the process of interviewing and thoroughly vetting qualified candidates," though he did not set a timeline.) In June, Bass shifted course again by tapping AECOM, the global engineering firm, to develop a master recovery plan, including logistics and public-private partnerships. Read more: As L.A. rebuilds from the Palisades fire, residents ask: What's the plan? Yet Bass office has said little to clarify how AECOM will work with Hagerty, and at a public meeting last month, leaders of the Emergency Management Department said that they, too, were in the dark about AECOMs scope of work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We dont know a whole lot about AECOM other than their reputation as a company, Featherstone said at the City Councils ad hoc recovery committee. Seidl said Wednesday that AECOM would be working in "deep coordination" with Featherstone's department while managing the overall rebuilding process. The firm is responsible for developing an infrastructure reconstruction plan, a logistics planning in coordination with local builders and suppliers and a master traffic plan as rebuilding activity increases, he said. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, left, U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla and California Gov. Gavin Newsom tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades as the Palisades fire continues to burn on Jan. 8 in Los Angeles. (Eric Thayer / Getty Images) Hagerty, meanwhile, continues to work with EMD and has charged the city nearly $2 million thus far, Seidl said, most of which is reimbursable by the federal government. Zar, head of the Palisades Recovery Coalition, said she was told to expect a meeting with AECOM more than a month ago, but that meeting has been delayed week after week after week, for four or five weeks. That organized recovery structure isn't there, and that void is really creating space for Palisadians to be fearful, fight against each other, and be divided, said Zar. That our leaders and lawmakers have yet to come to the table with a plan is unforgivable. The work awarded to Hagerty, AECOM and another firm, IEM, which is assisting in federal reimbursements, prompted City Councilmember Monica Rodriguez to remark in June, "For a broke city, we find a lot of money to give out a lot of contracts." Bass 2022 mayoral opponent Rick Caruso has been a frequent and very public antagonist since the fires, questioning delays and taking other shots at the mayor. Carusos Steadfast L.A., the nonprofit he launched to support fire victims, pushed for an artificial intelligence tool that could swiftly flag code violations in construction plans and trim permit processing times. Steadfast representatives got buy-in from L.A. County. When they presented the tool to Bass team, they said they encountered general support but a plodding pace. Frustrated, Caruso reached out to Newsom, who, according to Caruso, quickly championed the technology, pushing the city to embrace it. Bass' spokesperson disputed the suggestion of delays, saying the mayor's team has discussed technological innovations with Newsom's office since February. This week, L.A. County rolled out a pilot program in which fire survivors can use the AI plan-check tool. The city launched beta testing of the tool Wednesday. The episode exemplified to Caruso why the recovery has moved slowly. Theres no decision-making process to get things done with a sense of urgency," he said. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. Members of the Accountability and Implementation Board's nominating committee approved a list of potential new board members with little debate Wednesday. (Screenshot from virtual meeting) Six candidates were forwarded to the governor Wednesday to fill three openings on the Blueprint for Marylands Future Accountability and Implementation Board, the body that oversees the states multibillion-dollar education reform plan. A Blueprint nominating committee chose David Harper, Joseph Manko, Contina Quick-McQueen, John Seelke, Joanna Tobin and Robin Werner from a field of 36 applicants looking to serve on the seven-member board. Gov. Wes Moore (D) has 30 days to choose the three board members, who will serve six-year terms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new board members would still be subject to approval by the Senate in the legislative session that begins in January, but would be able to serve in acting capacity until then. A Moore spokesperson said the names had been received Wednesday and were currently in the process of vetting and selecting. The nominees would fill seats left vacant by Manko who reapplied for his job and Mara Doss and Laura Stapleton, whose last meeting was June 26. Stapleton, who chairs the Human Development and Quantitative Methodology Department at the University of Maryland, College Park, chose not to reapply after her term ended July 1. Doss, a former associate vice president for teaching, learning and student success at Prince Georges Community College, resigned with a year left on her term. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Besides serving on the board, Manko works as an education program director at the Abell Foundation in Baltimore, according to the nominating letter Wednesday. It identified the other candidates as: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harper, of Caroline County, who works as vice president of workforce and academic programs at Chesapeake College. He was previously chosen to serve on an advisory committee focused on the Blueprints third pillar, or priority, that deals with college and career readiness. Quick-McQueen, who works as a supervisor of instruction in college and career readiness for St. Marys County Public Schools. She also serves as part of a statewide Expert Review Team visiting schools to assess growth in academics, professional development for staff, among other educational factors. Seelke, a Montgomery County resident whoworks as a mathematics teacher in the countys public schools. He currently serves as chair of the advisory committees second pillar focused on high quality and diverse teachers and leaders. Tobin, who is a member of the Anne Arundel County Board of Education. Shes also chair of accreditation site team visits for the American Academy for Liberal Education. Werner, who works as director of teaching and learning for public schools in Talbot County, where she also resides. She also serves on the pillar three college and career readiness advisory committee. Stacy Goodman, a principal policy analyst with the General Assembly, said that of the 36 applicants to the board, eight were from Prince Georges County, seven were from Montgomery County, five were from Baltimore City and three were from St. Marys County. Twenty of the applicants were women, and 15 identified as Black, 14 as white, four as Asian and three as Hispanic. The six finalists were evenly divided between men and women. Three are white and one each is Black, Asian or Hispanic. We want to thank all those applicants for their interest in this very important opportunity, said Shanaysha Sauls, chair of the Blueprint nominating committee. The Blueprint boards next scheduled meeting is July 24. The next general election will see 16-year-olds able to vote for the first time, the Government has announced. The change, which was promised in Labours manifesto last summer, will bring the voting age down to 16, in line with Scottish and Welsh elections. The Government has also proposed automated voter registration, going further than their original plans, in an effort to increase participation in elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Angela Rayner, the Deputy Prime Minister, said: For too long public trust in our democracy has been damaged and faith in our institutions has been allowed to decline. We are taking action to break down barriers to participation that will ensure more people have the opportunity to engage in UK democracy, supporting our plan for change, and delivering on our manifesto commitment to give 16-year-olds the right to vote. Automated voter registration is already used in Australia and Canada. Other changes will make UK-issued bank cards an accepted form of ID at polling stations. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said far too many people had been put off voting by the voter ID rules introduced by the previous government, with the Electoral Commission finding around 750,000 people did not vote due to a lack of ID. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Government has already made the Veteran Card an accepted form of voter ID, and intends to allow digital forms of ID to be used when they become available. Thursdays plans will also see a tightening of the rules on campaign finance aimed at barring shell companies from donating to political parties and requiring more checks on donations to unincorporated associations. The Electoral Commission will be given the power to levy 500,000 fines on those who break the new rules on donations. Rushanara Ali, the minister for democracy, said: We are modernising our democracy so that it is fit for the 21st century. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She added: By reinforcing safeguards against foreign interference, we will strengthen our democratic institutions and protect them for future generations. The proposal follows concern about the vulnerability of UK politics to donations from overseas, which came to prominence amid reports Elon Musk was considering a major donation to Reform UK. Unincorporated associations have long been another concern of transparency campaigners, who have warned they can obscure the real source of political donations. It also comes as the Electoral Commission reported spending at last years general election hit a record high of 94.5 million, including 69.3 million spent by political parties. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Labour outspent its rivals, shelling out 30 million during the campaign, more than twice the amount it spent in 2019, while the Conservatives spent 23.9 million and the Liberal Democrats 5.6 million. Reform spent 5.5 million, the Greens 1.7 million and the SNP 799,000. Thursdays plan will see the Government bring forward legislation to introduce its new rules, which also include tougher sentences for people who intimidate candidates amid a rise in reports of abuse aimed at those standing for election. Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director of the IPPR think tank, said the changes were the biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969, when the voting age was lowered to 18. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said: Barely half of people voted in last years general election. Our democracy is in crisis, and we risk reaching a tipping point where politics loses its legitimacy. The Government has clearly heard these alarm bells. Arguing that lowering the voting age and introducing automated voter registration could bring 9.5 million more people into the democratic process, he said: At a time when public trust in politics is at a low ebb, this expansion of our democracy is a vital step toward rebuilding confidence, modernising our institutions and pushing back against the rise of populism. 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) Nearly a month after a Sioux Falls shooting, a suspect is behind bars. 21-year-old Zachariah Ruffner faces six counts of Aggravated Assault. Hes being held on a $100,000 cash bond. USPS ending Hy-Vee and Lewis Drug mail in Sioux Falls This all happened just after Midnight on June 22nd, near 11th Street and First Avenue. It had been a warm summer day, so court documents say there were people walking around and sitting on the patio of a nearby business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Between Midnight and 1 a.m., witnesses told police they saw one man in a ski mask standing on the sidewalk near 11th Street. Several other men wearing ski masks were on the other end of the lot, about 50-feet away. Court documents say there were several shots fired by at least two guns. One of the men in the group was hit in the groin area and had to go to the hospital. Investigators used surveillance from the area to identify five of the people involved. Court documents say the man on the sidewalk was 21-year-old Zachariah Ruffner. He faces six counts of Aggravated Assault and made his first court appearance Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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 United States' destruction of a warehouse worth of emergency food that had spoiled has drawn outrage, but lawmakers and aid workers say it is only one effect of President Donald Trump's abrupt slashing of foreign assistance. The Senate early Thursday approved nearly $9 billion in cuts to foreign aid as well as public broadcasting, formalizing a radical overhaul of spending that Trump first imposed with strokes of his pen on taking office nearly six months ago. US officials confirmed that nearly 500 metric tons of high-nutrition biscuits, meant to keep alive malnourished children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, were incinerated after they passed their expiration date in a warehouse in Dubai. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers of the rival Democratic Party said they had warned about the expiring food since March. Senator Tim Kaine said that the inaction in feeding children "really exposes the soul" of the Trump administration. Michael Rigas, the deputy secretary of state for management, acknowledged to Kaine that blame lay with the shuttering of the US Agency for International Development (USAID), which was merged into the State Department after drastic cuts. "I think that this was just a casualty of the shutdown of USAID," Rigas said Wednesday. State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, however, took a more defiant tone Thursday, saying the biscuits represented less than one percent of US global food aid, using figures that appeared to come from before Trump's cutbacks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We will not be lectured about the issue of food aid or what we do for the rest of the world," she said. The Atlantic magazine, which first reported the episode, said that the United States bought the biscuits near the end of Biden administration for around $800,000 and that the Trump administration's burning of the food was costing taxpayers another $130,000. - 'Yanking the rug' - For aid workers, the biscuit debacle was just one example of how drastic and sudden cuts have aggravated the impact of the aid shutdown. Kate Phillips-Barrasso, vice president for global policy and advocacy at Mercy Corps, said that large infrastructure projects were shut down immediately, without regard to how to finish them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This really was yanking the rug out, or turning the the spigot off, overnight," she said. She pointed to the termination of a USAID-backed Mercy Corps project to improve water and sanitation in the turbulent east of the Democratic Republic of Congo. Work began in 2020 and was scheduled to end in September 2027. "Infrastructure projects are not things where 75 percent is ok. It's either done or it's not," she said. - Sweeping cuts - The House of Representatives is expected late Thursday to finalize the end of funding for what White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called "$9 billion worth of crap." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It includes ending all $437 million the United States would have given to several UN bodies including the children's agency UNICEF and the UN Development Programme. It also pulls $2.5 billion from development assistance. Under pressure from moderate Republicans, the package backs off from ending PEPFAR, the anti-HIV/AIDS initiative credited with saving 25 million lives since it was launched by former president George W. Bush more than two decades ago. Republicans and the Trump-launched Department of Government Efficiency, initially led by tycoon Elon Musk, have pointed to projects they argue do not advance US interests. "We can't fund transgender operas in Peru with US taxpayer dollars," House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters, an apparent reference to a US grant under the Biden administration for the staging of an opera in Colombia that featured a transgender protagonist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The aid cuts come a week after the State Department laid off more than 1,300 employees as Secretary of State Marco Rubio ended or merged several offices, including those on climate change, refugees and human rights. Rubio called it a "very deliberate step to reorganize the State Department to be more efficient and more focused." Senate Democrats issued a scathing report that accused the Trump administration of ceding global leadership to China, which has been increasing spending on diplomacy and disseminating its worldview. The rescissions vote "will be met with cheers in Beijing, which is already celebrating America's retreat from the world under President Trump," said Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. sct/aha SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) The Salt Lake City Police Department presented investigative findings in the No Kings protest shooting that lead to the death of a bystander to the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office, making no charging recommendation. What that means is that the police department did not make any recommendation regarding charges one way or another. They did not recommend charges be filed, and they also did not recommend no charges. Arturo Gamboa is released from jail, walks out arm in arm with his mother Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While there are certain instances where we may provide input, charging decisions are ultimately made by the prosecuting attorney, a spokesperson for SLCPD said. Making a decision on filing charges comes down to the District Attorneys Office, who said that their investigation is still ongoing. As of this moment, Salt Lake City Police Department has formally presented the case to our office, but the investigation is not complete. As with many investigations referred to the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office, there is follow-up work to be done. This continues to be an open case without any formal conclusions at this stage of the proceedings, Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill said in a statement. Gamboa was arrested on June 14 following the deadly shooting at the No Kings protest in Salt Lake City that left 39-year-old Afa Ah Loo dead. Gamboa was carrying a rifle at the protest when an armed peacekeeper saw him and opened fire, striking both Gamboa and Ah Loo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Continuing Afa Ah Loos legacy, fellow fashion designers finish last design for upcoming wedding Gamboa was ultimately released without charges being filed after the police department presented their initial findings to the District Attorneys Office. The preliminary presentation of the evidence by the Salt Lake City Police Department on June 20, 2025, was so our office could determine if there was enough evidence, from what police had gathered at that point, for the continued detention of Mr. Gamboa, DA Gills statement continued. This was necessary because the standard time to detain Mr. Gamboa without filing charges had past, and this office had a three-day extension from a judge in which to make that determination. The day after a judge granted the request to extend Gamboas detention, the District Attorneys Office wrote an order for Gamboas release, a judge signed it, and he was released with conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Following Gamboas release, SLCPD presented their findings to the District Attorneys Office a second time, a more comprehensive presentation of the evidence, Gill said. Investigative materials were turned over to the District Attorneys Office. Since then, there has been follow-up work requested of detectives as a result of our prosecutors reviewing the evidence given to our office at the July 2, 2025 presentation, DA Gill said. Man arrested in connection with deadly protest shooting in SLC released Friday You can read the full statement from Brent Weisberg, Salt Lake City Police spokesperson, below. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As an independent fact-finding agency, the Salt Lake City Police Department is responsible for collecting and analyzing all relevant investigative material, including forensic evidence, video footage, witness statements, and other pertinent information. While there are certain instances where we may provide input, charging decisions are ultimately made by the prosecuting attorney. In this particular case, the SLCPD did not offer a charging recommendation but instead presented our initial investigative findings to the Salt Lake County District Attorneys Office for review and determination. Following Mr. Gamboas arrest, a preliminary screening occurred on June 20, 2025, in coordination with the district attorneys office to determine if charges would be filed. When no formal charges were submitted to the court at that time, the district attorneys office requested Mr. Gamboas release as detectives conducted additional investigative work. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A secondary screening was held on July 2, 2025. SLCPD detectives remain available to assist with any further investigative needs as requested by prosecutors as they review this case. Because case screenings represent a critical and confidential phase of the investigative process, the Salt Lake City Police Department does not typically disclose details unless a public filing occurs, such as the issuance of a formal charging document or a prosecutorial motion seeking either additional investigative time or the release of a subject from custody. 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. JAPSER COUNTY, S.C. (WSAV) The latest investigation into Jasper County Schools and the former superintendent alleges money issues and potential ethics violations. Now, those allegations are out of the countys hands and being investigated by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED). The 38-page report comes from the South Carolina Inspector Generals Office. It was requested by the South Carolina Department of Education Superintendent Ellen Weaver. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The biggest takeaway was possible fraudulent activity involving positions and money by former school superintendent Rechel Anderson. The investigators found a variety of issues, such as Anderson and the school district being delinquent or not filing several yearly mandated state audits. US Department of Agriculture issues official warning to Alpha Genesis facility There are also questions about if Anderson lived in the district and that she may have even forged documents to make it look like she had a home in the county. Both of those would be violations. Investigators said she used her position to help Cognia, a school accreditation agency. She was reportedly getting paid thousands of dollars by the company. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anderson was in charge of the district for seven years before being suspended last year and then eventually released from her contract by the board in March. She received a settlement for more than $336,000. The investigation has been turned over to SLED for possible criminal charges. Jasper County Schools still have not named Andersons permanent replacement. Sam Whack has been in the acting Superintendent position since last August. Read the full document here: Jasper_Cnty_School_-District_RptDownload Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEED TO KNOW Morgan Geyser has been granted release by a judge from the Winnebago Mental Health Institute Geyser has been at the psychiatric facility since 2017 The mother of Geyser's victim previously expressed concerns about the location Geyser was set to be moved to The Wisconsin woman who tried to fatally stab her friend following a sleepover in 2014 when they were both 12 will walk free, a judge has ruled after months of consideration, per the Associated Press. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Morgan Geyser, now 22, admitted in 2017 to stabbing her best friend Peyton Leutner in 2014, in a plan she hatched with co-defendant Anissa Weier to please an online mythical creature known as the "Slenderman." Geyser accepted a plea deal in 2017 and spent the last eight years at a psychiatric facility. On Thursday, July 17, a Waukesha County judge ruled Geyser can be released, per the AP. This ruling comes after months of back-and-forth between the judge, prosecutors and experts who testified about Geyser's current mental state. In January, following expert testimonies vouching for Geyser's progress, a judge ruled she could be released from the facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in March, a brief concern arose after it was revealed that Geyser was reading a book with themes of sexual sadism and sale of human organs in the black market, Court TV, The Waukesha Freeman and WISN reported at the time, citing authorities. In April, after Leutner's mother expressed concerns about the location where Geyser was set to be resettled, prosecutors objected to Geyser's conditional release, the AP reported. The group home where Geyser was to be relocated, Leutner's mother said at the time, was about eight miles from where Leutner lives. After the judge ordered a new plan from the Department of Health Services, the judge approved Geyser's release. 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. Geyser and Weier gained notoriety in 2014 after luring Leutner into the woods following a sleepover, where they proceeded to stab the young girl 19 times. All three were 12 at the time. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Geyser and Weier were both candid in their interviews with officers and told them they carried out the crime in order to appease a mythical online creature known as the "Slenderman." Leutner survived the attack and physically recovered. Neither a date for Geyser's conditional release nor the new details in the updated draft were immediately clear. Read the original article on People FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) Slim Chickens asks a judge to dismiss a lawsuit filed by RSolution in June, claiming that the lawsuit is an attempt to shift the blame for the stores poor performance and says the two parties signed agreements not to sue. According to court documents filed July 3, the Fayetteville-based restaurant says the initial complaint lacks specific facts and does not state a claim against Slim Chickens to address. The documents say the plaintiffs signed an agreement not to sue. Slim Chickens says the language in the agreement releases it from the claims made by RSolution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slim Chickens also filed a motion to disqualify RSolutions attorney, Marshall Ney of Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP. The motion cites a conflict of interest, stating Slim Chickens has been a long-time client of Friday, Eldredge & Clark, with the law firm serving as counsel in many business and legal matters for more than 20 years. Slim Chickens wants the lawsuit dismissed with prejudice, meaning a claim can not be brought back against the same defendant again. RSolution alleges that Slim Chickens has inflated data and is falsely advertising fresh and house-made food. The company accuses Slim Chickens of deception, stating that the company advertises certain dipping sauces as house-made, when they are predominantly manufactured and distributed by third-party suppliers. The company also accuses the restaurant of promoting its food as fresh when it arrives in stores frozen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fast food restaurant has shared an Average Unit Volume, or AUV, of $3.8 million for Group 1 stores, but is accused of using 14 of the 66 stores to get that number. The company states it has invested more than $15 million in Slim Chickens and has helped expand the company to other states, including Illinois, Missouri, and Kentucky. However, the lawsuit states that the amount of money wouldnt have been invested if the company had been truthful. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. ST. LOUIS The newly reconstituted State Board of Police Commissioners is set to hold its first meeting Thursday morning at the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department headquarters. The meeting marks the beginning of a new era of state control over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, a move initiated by Governor Mike Kehoe. The board, mostly appointed by Governor Kehoe, will convene at 9 a.m. to discuss the future direction of the department. The board consists of six members, including St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer, who is a member by virtue of her position. Other members include Sonya Jenkins Gray, a former personnel director for the city who was fired in March; Maggie OBriens owner Edward McKey; Chris Pancake and Dining owner Chris Saracino; and Aerial Photography Business owner Brad Arteaga, who was previously part of the citys police oversight board. Additionally, Don Brown, a local car dealer, will serve as a non-voting member. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Missouri law bans 6 invasive plants for sale Governor Kehoes decision to return control of the police department to the state has been controversial. The department was under state control from the Civil War until 2012, when voters decided to return control to local leaders. Despite opposition from Police Chief Robert Tracy and other local officials, the bill to transfer control back to the state was signed into law by Governor Kehoe in March. As the State Board of Police Commissioners meets Thursday, the impact of this shift in control will begin to unfold, setting the stage for future developments in the governance of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department. 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. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. (L-R) Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (photo credit: YONATAN SINDEL/FLASH90) Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon announced Slovenia will become the first European Union member state to ban the two ministers from entering the country. Slovenia will ban Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon announced after a cabinet session on Thursday. Fajon stated that the two will be declared personae non grata following accusations against them inciting "extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians" with "their genocidal statements." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slovenia will become the first member of the European Union to ban the two ministers. Recent sanctions against Ben-Gvir, Smotrich In June, Britain joined Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and others in sanctioning the two ministers over comments regarding Gaza and Palestinians that British Foreign Secretary David Lammy described as monstrous. US Ambassador to the UK Warren Stephens wrote in response: "The United States stands firmly in support of Israel. The United States is deeply concerned by the recent decision to impose sanctions on democratically elected officials of the State of Israel. "These measures impede constructive dialogue and do not advance our shared goals of supporting peace and security. The United States will continue to focus our collective efforts on defeating Hamas, securing the release of all hostages, helping to create an enduring peace, and promoting Israels security and regional prosperity." This is a developing story. Slovenia has banned far-right Israeli cabinet ministers Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich from entering the country. Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon declared the pair personae non gratae on Thursday in what she said was a first for a European Union country. We are breaking new ground, she said. In a statement, the Slovenian government accused Israels National Security Minister Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Smotrich of inciting extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians with their genocidal statements. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also noted that both cabinet ministers publicly advocate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the forced evictions of Palestinians, and call for violence against the civilian Palestinian population. There was no immediate reaction from Israels government. Ben-Gvir and Smotrich, key coalition partners in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government, have drawn international criticism for their hard-line stance on the Gaza war and on illegal settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank. Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement, has supported the expansion of settlements and has called for the territorys annexation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Settlements are illegal under international law. Last July, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israels continued presence in occupied Palestinian territory was unlawful, a decision Israel has ignored. Smotrich has previously called for total annihilation in Gaza and said that a Palestinian town in the West Bank should be wiped out. Ben-Gvir was an open admirer of Baruch Goldstein, an Israeli who massacred 29 Palestinians as they prayed in Hebron in 1994. He has been convicted multiple times by Israeli courts for incitement to racism. Despite the ministers positions, Netanyahu relies heavily on support from the two and from their factions in parliament for the survival of his government. On May 21, Slovenias President Natasa Pirc Musar told the European Parliament that the EU needed to take stronger action against Israel, condemning the genocide in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fajon said Slovenia had decided to make the move after EU foreign ministers did not agree on joint action against Israel over charges of human rights violations at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. She said other measures were being prepared, without going into detail. In June, Britain, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Canada imposed sanctions on the two Israeli ministers, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinians. Last year, Slovenia announced it was recognising a Palestinian state, following on the heels of Norway, Spain, and the Republic of Ireland. Slovenia announced on Thursday that it would ban two far-right Israeli ministers from entering in what authorities said was a first in the European Union. National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich will be declared "persona non grata," the Slovenian government said in a statement, accusing them of inciting "extreme violence and serious violations of the human rights of Palestinians" with "their genocidal statements". In June, Australia, Canada, Britain, New Zealand and Norway imposed similar sanctions on Smotrich and Ben Gvir, key coalition partners in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ben Gvir and Smotrich have drawn international criticism for their hard-line stance on the Gaza war and comments about settlements in the occupied West Bank, the other Palestinian territory. Smotrich, who lives in a West Bank settlement, has supported the expansion of settlements and has called for the territory's annexation. "This is the first measure of this nature in the EU," Slovenia's Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said of the ban. On May 21, President Natasa Pirc Musar in an address to the European parliament urged the EU to take stronger action, condemning "the genocide" in Gaza. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Slovenia was in May among six European countries to say that they "firmly reject any demographic or territorial change in Gaza" after Israel announced plans to expand its military offensive in the Palestinian territory. Last year, Slovenia announced it was recognising a Palestinian state after Ireland, Norway and Spain, in moves partly fuelled by condemnation of Israel's bombing of Gaza after the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. Nearly 150 countries recognise a Palestinian state. bk-jza/tw SARAJEVO (Reuters) -Slovenia declared two far-right Israeli cabinet ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, persona non grata on Thursday, the first European Union country to do so, Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon said. The government accused Israel's national security minister Ben-Gvir and finance minister Smotrich - both West Bank settlers - of making "genocidal statements" and inciting violence against Palestinians. There was no immediate reaction from Israel's government which has regularly rejected accusations of genocide in Gaza, and says it is acting in self-defence following the deadly October 7, 2023, attack led by Hamas militants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fajon said Slovenia had decided to make the move after EU foreign ministers did not agree on joint action against Israel over charges of human rights violations at a meeting in Brussels on Tuesday. "Today, the government adopted one of the first national measures, which is to declare two Israeli ministers... unwanted in the Republic of Slovenia," Fajon told a news conference. "This kind of measure is the first of its kind in the European Union. We are breaking new ground," she said. Other measures were being prepared, she added, without going into detail. Slovenia's government issued a statement saying the ministers "publicly advocate the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the forced evictions of Palestinians, and call for violence against the civilian Palestinian population". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last year, Slovenia recognised an independent Palestinian state. In June, Britain, Norway, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, imposed sanctions on the two Israeli ministers, accusing them of inciting violence against Palestinians. Israel began its offensive in Gaza in response to the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel in 2023 in which 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were killed, according to Israeli tallies, and 251 people were taken to Gaza and held hostage. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 58,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. (Reporting by Daria Sito-SucicEditing by Alexandra Hudson and Andrew Heavens) The U.S. Supreme Court ruled July 14 that the Trump administration can move forward with laying off more than 1,300 U.S. Education Department workers as part of a broader effort to dismantle the agency. Wisconsin students and schools were already seeing the effects of a department that used to employ 4,000 workers. The agency is about half the size it was when President Donald Trump took office. Some workers took early retirement. Others were let go because of their probationary status. The bulk of the cuts came in March. The Supreme Court's six-justice conservative majority made these terminations official without ruling on the merits of the case. A legal challenge continues to play out in the lower courts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the agency would continue to perform education-related functions required by law while empowering families and teachers by reducing education bureaucracy. McMahon has also said she knows her agency can't be fully eliminated without the help of Congress. Abolishing the agency seems unlikely, experts say. There would be significant pushback from school districts and colleges, and no help from Democrats. Republicans hold slim majorities in both chambers. "Right now, they're just going to starve it to death, for lack of a better term," said James Nussbaum, an attorney with Indianapolis-based Church Church Hittle + Antrim, who specializes in higher education law. Here's what to know about how the shrinking Education Department will affect Wisconsin students and schools: Fewer civil rights investigations may mean more lawsuits A student with a disability who isn't getting the help they need. A student who was sexually assaulted and feels their account was swept under the rug. A student whose skin color leads to bullying that their school doesn't take seriously. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These students could file a complaint with the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights, which investigates discrimination violations and works with schools to address problems. But since Trump took office, many cases initiated by students have been put on hold, Nussbaum said. Instead, the headlines have focused on investigations initiated by the administration, often at Ivy League institutions. There were at least 79 open investigations at Wisconsin schools and universities as of January. It's unclear how many of those have been cleared and how many more have been filed in the months since. An online listing of the department's open investigations was last updated in the days before Trump took office. Fewer investigations may sound like good news for schools. But frustrated students who aren't getting answers from the department may turn to the courts instead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We're telling our clients to expect litigation in this area to increase," Nussbaum said. Fewer supports, more frustration for student loan borrowers Student loan borrowers will receive less support, with fewer workers available to help with complicated questions. Remaining department workers are seeing their workload increase in other ways, too. The "Big Beautiful Bill" signed into law requires the agency to implement two new loan repayment programs and a new college accountability system. Wisconsin has about 725,000 borrowers who hold nearly $24 billion in federal student loan debt, according to the latest federal education data. Slower processing of financial aid The agency distributes federal financial aid to students through universities and colleges. University of Wisconsin System students, for example, received about $720 million in federal financial aid last school year, the bulk of which was delivered through the Education Department. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The department also administers Pell Grants to make college more affordable for more than 60,000 Wisconsin college students. But disbursement of these funds has already slowed since the department laid off about half of its workers in March, according to a survey by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. The organization's membership includes employees who work in financial aid offices at colleges and universities nationwide. More than half said they have experienced noticeable changes in responsiveness, communication or processing timelines from the Office of Federal Student Aid. Melanie Storey, who leads the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, said the organization remains concerned by the lack of detail in how the Trump administration plans to redistribute the departments work in a way that does not cause significant disruption for college students. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Our students and our members need clarity and reliable support for these critical programs," she said in a statement. USA Today contributed reporting. (This story was updated because an earlier version included an inaccuracy.) Kelly Meyerhofer has covered higher education in Wisconsin since 2018. Contact her at kmeyerhofer@gannett.com or 414-223-5168. Follow her on X (Twitter) at @KellyMeyerhofer. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What a smaller U.S. education department means for Wisconsin schools HUDDLESTON, Va. (WFXR) Midway through its busiest season of the year, Smith Mountain Lake State Park has announced its new park manager as James Wright. Wright was introduced to the public Wednesday afternoon through a meet-and-greet at the parks Discovery Center, in what he hopes will kick off a period of strong community engagement at the park. One of my biggest goals here is really furthering the relationships with the community, said Wright, who has spent 10 years working in the Virginia State Parks system. Fostering those partnerships and developing a responsive staff. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wright officially took over his post on June 25, just over a week before the Parks marquee summer holiday. New park manager announced at Smith Mountain Lake State Park My start here has been great, he said. We had a very busy Fourth of July weekend. We had record attendance that forced us to close our beach area just due to capacity. Wright most recently served as park manager at Staunton River State Park, and said the biggest adjustment to Smith Mountain Lake so far has been getting used to the sheer size of the park. This park offers a lot, said Wright. Weve got overnight facilities, cabins, camping, along with hiking trails, and plenty of activities out on the water. The transition to this busier park has been fun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFXRtv. Jul. 16Wildfires in New Mexico and surrounding states blanketed the Albuquerque area and other parts of the Land of Enchantment with a layer of smoke. On Wednesday, the city of Albuquerque issued an air quality forecast that said while smoke levels were not high enough to warrant a health alert, the smoke would affect visibility. "A lot of the haze that's in the sky is mainly elevated smoke left over from the Laguna Fire that's up in the Jemez Mountains and the other fires that are located in northern Arizona and southern Utah," National Weather Service meteorologist Carter Greulich said in an interview. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In New Mexico, the Laguna Fire, four miles northeast of Gallina, has burned 15,000 acres. To the west, in Arizona, the Dragon Bravo Fire has burned 8,500 acres in the Grand Canyon and the White Sage Fire has torched over 50,000 acres in the northern part of the Kaibab National Forest. "Those are likely going to be the two that are producing the most smoke from Arizona," Greulich said. Those fires, along with the France Canyon fire in southern Utah, produced the smoke that has settled over New Mexico. Greulich said only those who have a hypersensitivity to things like smoke and dust in the air will notice a change in the air quality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "If you have some sensitivity ... just consider limiting time outdoors," he said. Greulich said New Mexicans can expect to see smoky skies through the weekend, with a possibility for improvement next week. "Hazy skies may be sticking around until Friday at the earliest," he said. BLUEFIELD, Va. A perfect storm of high humidity, gasoline fumes and smoking is the suspected cause of a vehicle fire late Tuesday evening next to a service stations gas pump. Firefighters with the Bluefield, Va. Fire Department and the Bluefield Fire Department were dispatched when a vehicle fire was reported 8:10 p.m. at the Hometown Shell along College Avenue in Bluefield, Va. Units were on scene within minutes and much of the College Avenue and adjoining Stadium Drive and Leatherwood Lane area was blocked off. Chief Danny Evans with the Bluefield, Va. Fire Department consulted his incident report Wednesday morning and recounted incident. A vehicle was in flames when firefighters arrived. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When we showed up, we found a fully-involved pickup truck under the canopy by the gas pumps with the gas pumps catching on fire, he said. There were no injuries. The trucks occupants refused treatment after being checked by the medics with Tazewell County EMS, Evans said. Two warrants were issued Wednesday for Richard Lambert, 59, of Bluefield, said Sgt. P.M. Rogers with the Bluefield, Va. Police Department. The charge on one warrant was smoking within proximity to gas pumps and the second was driving without a license. Both charges are misdemeanors, according to the Code of Virginia. According to the Code of Virginia, any person who smokes or uses an open flame within 20 feet of a pump used to fuel motor vehicles or a fueling tanker being used to deliver gasoline to a gasoline station is guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor if smoking or the use of an open flame is prohibited by a sign at the pump. Any person who causes a fire or explosion as a result of a violation of this section is guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the pickup truck caught fire, the blaze spread quickly to the gas pump and the stations awning. Hometown Shell employees acted quickly. They cut off the pumps and shut the electricity off to it, Evans said. And thats what saved it right there. They got everything cut off and got us called quick. Evans said smoking appears to be what started the fire. Notices on the pumps and at the store warn customers not to smoke, not to use their cellphones and to shut off their vehicles while filling up at the gas pumps. Sparks of static electricity and flames from lighters and cigarettes can ignite gas fumes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Firefighters had the blaze under control within 10 minutes, Evans said. Precautions were taken to make sure gasoline didnt spill into the nearby Beaverpond Creek. We also put down containment pads for the runoff in case of gas, keep it out of the creek, he said, adding the little of the fuel leaked out. Jarried McFarland, the fire departments public affairs officer, arrived at the station and checked Tuesday nights weather records. He saw the humidity levels that were around the Shell station when the fire started. The humidity level was hovering from 87% to 84% and then bounced back up to 87%, McFarland said. Different types of gas fumes hover in different ways depending on the airs humidity. How high gas fumes will hover will depend on air quality and humidity levels. Oxygen levels will vary, too. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With that (Tuesday), the humidity levels at that high of a percentage I dont have the oxygen level readings from that yesterday that obviously did played a part in it, he said. And there again, its just the basics of filling your gas tank. We encourage everyone to follow the signs and placards on the pumps and at the facility. A lot of times people will just say well, Im just getting fuel, I can leave the car running. Well, dont leave the car running. Some people say well Im just going to walk up to the front cabin or the front door and get something out of the car. No. Dont leave the pump unattended. Reminding the public what to avoid doing while refueling at a gas station is important, McFarland said. Well continue to work with the Shell station as we uncover more, but dont use cellphones. Turn the car off. No smoking. That is the biggest, he said. The fumes, the perfect conditions, they create situations no one can handle. I hate to repetitive, but it was a perfect storm scenario. Electronic cigarettes, commonly known as e-cigarettes, should not be used around gas pumps, either. Fires from e-cigarettes start when users discard batteries into dumpsters, trash cans and on roadsides. The electronic cigarettes battery gets exposed to the sun and has the potential to ignite, McFarland said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Like Chief Evans, McFarland praised the Shell employees quick thinking and training. There has to be an enormous amount of accolades to the staff at the Hometown Shell, he said. Not only to the ones who were there yesterday, but in training those employees on if an emergency happens, heres what you need to do. There are many instances when firefighters see part-time service station employees who get a crash course on using the cash register, but no training for emergency pumps shutoffs, McFarland said. The staff at Hometown Shell went above and beyond on how their employees were trained for this, he said. That what we need businesses to do, to be prepared. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chief Evans said the employees also didnt try to fight the fire. So many times people want to try to extinguish the fire themselves, he said. No. For your safety and to minimize property damage, get us there as quick as possible. Thats the biggest thing. Hometown Shell was closed Wednesday and scheduled to be closed today. Managers posted Wednesday afternoon on the stations Facebook page that they hoped to reopen by Friday. Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com The man police arrested after an hours-long standoff July 15 at a Smyrna liquor store is facing several felony charges as store owners sought a return to normalcy one day later. Renaudd Broaden, 49, is charged with aggravated robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and felony theft of a firearm. Smyrna police said additional charges of felony vandalism, attempted arson and felony reckless endangerment are pending against Broaden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said Broaden fired on multiple employees at Legacy Wine & Spirits on Lee Victory Parkway. His actions triggered an active shooter alert from the department shortly before 2 p.m. on July 15. The active shooter alert was later downgraded to a barricaded suspect. When a reporter went by the business July 16, the owners identified as members of the Patel family were cleaning up the store, which they say will remain closed until further notice. The store opened almost 10 years ago and is one of several family-owned businesses in the area. A spokesman for the Patel family said the store's managing partner, Ketan Patel, witnessed what happened. Patel recounted that Broaden asked to use the phone, argued on the phone, hung up and then asked for a $200 bottle of tequila before pulling the gun and firing shots, the spokesman said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No officers or store employees were injured by Broaden, police said. Multiple agencies, including the Murfreesboro Police Department, Rutherford County Sheriff's Office and La Vergne Police Department responded to assist Smyrna Police. The Tennessee Highway Patrol also assisted. Surveillance video from the store shows Broaden in a white tank top shirt holding a gun, pulling 14 bottles of alcohol from the store shelves and throwing them to the floor. Smyrna police were able to arrest Broaden without incident after the suspect had barricaded himself inside the store for several hours. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Phone call, $200 tequila ask came before Smyrna standoff, owner says SMYRNA, Tenn. (WKRN) The Smyrna Police Department has identified the man arrested Tuesday after officers responded to reports of an active shooter at a liquor store. According to a news release from the SPD, Renaudd Broaden was arrested as a result of the incident that occurred on Tuesday, July 15, at Legacy Wine and Spirits on Lee Victory Parkway. PREVIOUS | Suspect taken into custody without incident after hours-long barricade in Smyrna Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said Broaden shot his gun at multiple employees at the business. Renaudd Broaden. (Courtesy: Smyrna Police Department) Officers with SPD, the Murfreesboro Police Department, Rutherford County Sheriffs Office and the La Vergne Police Department arrested Broaden after an hours-long barricade situation. Broaden is now facing the following charges: aggravated robbery, three counts of aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and felony theft of a firearm. The following charges are pending, according to Smyrna police: felony vandalism, attempted arson, felony reckless endangerment and others. CRIME TRACKER | Read the latest crime-related reports from across Middle Tennessee Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities said no injuries were reported. The investigation remains active. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKRN News 2. The largest individual Martian rock ever found on Earth has sold at a Sotheby's auction for almost US$5.3 million, to an anonymous bidder. This massive chunk of Mars is a meteorite named NWA-16788, and at 24.67 kilograms (54.39 pounds), it towers over the previous record-holder, Taoudenni 002, a meteorite weighing 14.51 kg found in Mali back in 2021. The Sotheby's auction opened on July 16 at 14:00 UTC, and closed just under five hours later, at 18:46 UTC. Prior to the event, the value of this scientific marvel was estimated to be between $2 million and $4 million, but ultimately it sold for $5.296 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Martian rock's pristine condition and rich history likely led to it surpassing expectations. NWA-16788 "shows minimal terrestrial weathering, indicating that its physical and chemical makeup have not been significantly altered since its arrival in the Sahara Desert," the Sotheby's listing explains. "In other words, NWA-16788 is likely a relative newcomer here on Earth, having fallen from outer space rather recently." The rock was likely sent careening into Earth when an asteroid forcefully crashed into its home planet, based on the presence of a few shock-melted areas, and the fact that around a fifth of its make-up is a glass called maskelynite, which forms when feldspar is transformed through intense heat and pressure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Sotheby's listing states the meteorite was "formed from the slow cooling of Martian magma and [is] characterized by a coarse-grained texture composed primarily of pyroxene, maskelynite, and olivine." These micro-gabbroic qualities make it particularly rare: only 5.4 percent of Mars meteorites are classified as such. It was discovered by a meteorite hunter in the Agadez region of Niger, in November 2023. A small sample was sent to the Shanghai Astronomy Museum, where its Martian identity was confirmed. Related: Man Keeps a Rock For Years Hoping It's Gold. It Turns Out to Be Far More Valuable. A close-up of the very expensive rock. ( Sotheby's The auction raised mixed feelings from the scientific community, with some questioning whether we should really put a price-tag on such a rare specimen. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It would be a shame if it disappeared into the vault of an oligarch," paleontologist Steve Brusatte from the University of Edinburgh told Jack Guy at CNN, before the auction took place. "It belongs in a museum, where it can be studied, and where it can be enjoyed by children and families and the public at large." Meanwhile, University of Leicester planetary scientist Julia Cartwright gave CNN a different opinion: "The scientific interest will remain, and the new owner may be very interested in learning from it, so we may still gather lots of science from this." But with the successful bidder's identity concealed, the fate of this very expensive rock is uncertain. Related News Board members for SolutionHealth, Elliot Health System and Southern New Hampshire Health have jointly filed their plans with the states Charitable Trusts Unit to dissolve their partnership. SolutionHealth shared its proposal with state regulators and explained why disaffiliation is in the best interest of the communities they serve, SolutionHealth spokesperson Kelly Scargill said in an email. Home Health & Hospice Care in Merrimack will also negotiate its disaffiliation, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Charitable Trusts Unit is reviewing the proposal. The review process can take up to six months, Scargill said. SolutionHealth includes the Elliot Hospital in Manchester, Southern New Hampshire Medical Center in Nashua, Home Health & Hospice Care and their network of local doctors offices. The affiliation began in 2018 when its founding hospitals joined together. They added Home Health & Hospice Care in 2022. The states Charitable Trusts Unit is reviewing the proposal. The review process could take up to six months, during which time state officials will likely hold one or more public hearings of their own. We will collaborate in that process and communicate updates as we have them, including where and when such hearings will take place, Scargill said. Listening sessions Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To read SolutionHealths disaffiliation agreement and answers to frequently asked questions, visit info.solutionhealth.org. SolutionHealth held public listening sessions in April in Manchester and Nashua. During those sessions, officials said the goal of improving cost, quality and access to regional care became difficult and it became increasingly hard to repair the cracks in the affiliation. At this time, we have recognized that the three organizations cannot be integrated in a way that enhances their missions, SolutionHealth officials said earlier this year. The Elliot Hospital opened in 1890 and has 296 beds, a Level II regional trauma center, 17 locations, 900 affiliated clinicians and more than 100 primary care providers in 20 practices. Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, formerly Nashua Memorial Hospital, opened in 1893 and has 188 beds. Southern New Hampshire Health has around 400 providers in more than 50 locations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Home Health & Hospice has been around since 1983 and serves 25 communities in southern New Hampshire. It provides home care, nursing facilities and operates the Community Hospice House in Merrimack. The SolutionHealth providers share a deep sense of responsibility to continuously improve how they serve our families, friends, and neighbors, Scargill said. Now those needs will be better met at the local level with the three organizations going their separate ways, she said. dpierce@unionleader.com South Dakota Board of Regents Executive Director Nathan Lukkes participates in a meeting Dec. 14, 2023, in Brookings. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) The South Dakota Board of Regents approved a policy on Thursday in Brookings allowing people with enhanced permits to carry concealed pistols on the states public university campuses. This is something that we dont take lightly, said Regents Executive Director Nathan Lukkes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The policy was necessitated by a law that took effect July 1, after lawmakers approved it during this years winter legislative session in Pierre. The prior policy prohibited guns and other dangerous weapons on campuses. Under the new policy, a person must have an enhanced concealed-carry permit to carry a concealed handgun on campus. The permits require a background check and completion of a handgun safety course, and are available to people as young as 18. Pistols and ammunition must be stored in a locked case or safe when not being carried. The policy sets standards for schools to designate restricted spaces and rules for special events, establishes signage requirements, and addresses storage rules for dormitories. It also requires members of the public using campus facilities to adhere to the same regulations. The safety and well-being of our students and campus communities remains at the forefront, and we wanted to make sure that we were very thoughtful, very intentional, on the policy framework that we put together to do that to the best of our abilities, Lukkes said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lukkes said the process was onerous and involved, citing extensive research into other states policies and consultation with campus stakeholders. The board opted for a first-and-final reading rather than its usual two-reading process that allows for more public comment citing the need to provide certainty ahead of the fall semester and the law already having gone into effect. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The U.S. Department of Justice on Thursday announced charges against a 41-year-old undocumented mother from South Los Angeles, accusing her of orchestrating a fake kidnapping by federal immigration agents to generate sympathy and solicit donations. Yuriana Julia Juli Pelaez Calderon is charged with conspiracy and making false statements to federal officers. On June 30, Calderons family and attorney held a news conference claiming she had been taken from a fast-food restaurant parking lot in downtown Los Angeles, driven to the U.S.-Mexico border, and told to self-deport. At the same time, her daughter launched a GoFundMe campaign, and federal agents began searching for Calderon since she was not in their records as being in immigration custody, according to the DOJ. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Authorities later found Calderon at a shopping plaza in Bakersfield. Dangerous rhetoric that ICE agents are kidnapping illegal immigrants is being recklessly peddled by politicians and echoed in the media to inflame the public and discredit our courageous federal agents, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said in a statement. The conduct alleged in todays complaint shows this hoax kidnapping was a well-orchestrated conspiracy. The June 30 news conference drew significant media attention as the family and attorney alleged Calderon was taken by bounty hunters working for the government. They claimed the mother of three and local community activist was driven to San Ysidro, presented with self-deportation paperwork, and, after refusing to sign, was moved to a warehouse at an undisclosed location where she was denied food. Booking photo of Yuriana Juli Calderon (U.S. Department of Justice) In a post on X, the Department of Homeland Security immediately called the case a hoax. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This woman was never arrested or kidnapped by ICE, Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told KTLA, without providing further details at the time. The DOJ said surveillance footage shows Calderon leaving a Jack in the Box parking lot and getting into a sedan, and telephone records also indicate that she fabricated the story, prosecutors said. Calderon and her family knew that law enforcement was searching for her and feared for her safety, but Calderon and her family did not come forward, the DOJ said. Instead, Calderon created what law enforcement believe to be fabricated photos of her rescue, made to look as if she was abused while in ICE custody and planned to hold a press conference on July 6 to increase donations to the GoFundMe page and to obtain other benefits. A spokesperson for GoFundMe released the following statement to KTLA: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement GoFundMe has zero tolerance for the misuse of our platform, or any attempt to exploit the generosity of others, and cooperates with law enforcement investigations of those accused of wrongdoing. This fundraiser was removed from the platform and the $80 raised was refunded; at no point did the organizer have access to any of the funds. The GoFundMe Giving Guarantee guarantees donors a full refund in the rare case something isnt right. If convicted, Calderon faces up to five years in federal prison for each charge, the DOJ said. She remains in custody awaiting her first court appearance. Essayli indicated that additional individuals could face charges. This is a developing story. Stay with KTLA 5 News for updates. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. JUBA, South Sudan (AP) South Sudan s main opposition party on Thursday dismissed a presidential call for dialogue to avoid the country slipping back into a civil war due to stalled peace talks. Pal Mai Deng, a spokesperson for the opposition SPLM-IO, said President Salva Kiir must release political and military leaders of the SPLM-IO who are in detention to show his seriousness about the dialogue. During the reopening of parliament on Wednesday, Kiir said there was a need for unity and national reconciliation, adding that the doors of peace remain open. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The suffering of our people must not be prolonged by the continued rejection of dialogue, he said. The situation in South Sudan remains tense after Vice President Riek Machar Kiirs former rival was placed under house arrest following an attack on army bases in March. Several members of the SPLM-IO opposition party have gone into exile fearing arrests. South Sudan signed a peace agreement in 2018, ending a five-year civil war in which nearly 400,000 people died as forces loyal to Kiir and Machar clashed. Deng told The Associated Press that Kiirs appeal was paradoxical and insincere due to the arrests of opposition officials and army attacks on opposition forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before he (Kiir) urged the parties to resume dialogue, he needed to stop military campaigns against SPLM-IO forces and indiscriminate killing of Nuer civilians he considered anti-government, said the exiled spokesperson. The CEPO civil society group has warned that Machar's detention has made the continuation of talks impractical. The absence of Machar in the function of the government in day-to-day business of the government is making the government of national unity unbalanced, Edmund Yakani, Executive Director of CEPO, said. The United Nation warned last month that a 2018 peace agreement was on the verge of collapse due to escalating violence, political repression, and foreign military involvement. Yasmin Sooka, chairperson of the UN's Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan, described the situation as a crisis adding that the peace agreement was at the brink of irrelevance, threatening a total collapse. MEMPHIS, Tenn. A 59-year-old Southaven, Mississippi man was arrested and charged with Possession of Child Pornography after an investigation. The Southaven Police Department said detectives received a tip Thursday from the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children about child pornography images in the city. Jonathan Pummill Detectives identified the origin and location of the images as the 8000 block of Chesterfield Drive. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement John Pummill was arrested and booked in the DeSoto County Jail. A mugshot was not 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 WREG.com. SOUTHINGTON, Conn. (WTNH) Southington police say a Bloomfield man was charged Tuesday in connection to a strong-arm robbery at a CVS last month. Rashaun Jeffers, 32, was charged with second-degree conspiracy to commit robbery and third-degree conspiracy to commit larceny. RELATED: Hartford woman arrested after robbery investigation in Southington The charges stem from a strong-arm robbery at the CVS at 326 Main St. on June 19. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police said Jeffers was taken into custody on an active arrest warrant while at New Britain Superior Court for unrelated charges. He was transported to Southington police headquarters to be charged and process before posting his court-set bond and being released. Earlier this month, Tadae Love, 24, was also arrested in connection to this incident. Police said Love and a man- later identified as Jeffers- arrived together at the CVS at 326 Main St., allegedly assaulted a store employee and stole fragrances from a locked display case. Jeffers was given a $50,000 cash or surety bond and is scheduled to appear in New Britain Superior Court on July 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 WTNH.com. HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) A woman from southwestern Indiana joined a USDA press conference on July 17. Sam Schwoeppe, a dairy farmer from Huntingburg, arrived at Washington D.C. to discuss her familys dairy farm. Schwoeppe Dairy is the name of the farm her family operates, and they are fifth-generation owners. Property owner and Mid-States survey team come face-to-face For families like ours, ice cream is much more than just a treat or dessert its how we make our living, and how we support our families and our communities. Schwoeppe said, in part. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She notes her family is part of the Prairie Farms Dairy Cooperative, where she serves on the board of directors alongside other farmer-owners, with grown sons who do the daily operations on their family farm. Ive lived on an operating dairy my entire life, and growing up, my parents were foster parents. I personally observed the importance of good nutrition and the transformation it can make in a human being. She continued. Im not happy: Judge rules against property owner in INDOT hearing She talked about when one of her brothers came to the family when he was nine years old, and he had gray hair, bald patches on his head and skin flaking off his body due to a lack of nutrition. Once he got the right nutrition, he transformed into a redheaded little boy with freckles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her full speech can be viewed in the player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW). By Emma Pinedo MADRID (Reuters) -Spain said on Thursday it would step up investigations into suspected crimes by members of far-right and racist groups after four nights of clashes with African migrants in some of the nation's worst such unrest of recent times. Authorities have detained 11 people and filed more than 60 complaints over hate crimes and disorder since violence erupted last Friday following an attack on a local man in his 60s in the town of Torre Pacheco in southeastern Murcia region. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police have detained three Moroccan men over the attack in a town where one third of the inhabitants are of migrant origin. The Interior Ministry said Spain's terrorism and organised crime intelligence specialists have been asked to include hate crimes within their remit and to monitor online spaces for incitement to violence. Far-right groups will be investigated for links to national movements, the ministry said, after government claims that Vox, the nationalist party that is now Spain's third largest electoral force, was inciting violence in Torre Pacheco. "We cannot allow hatred to take root in our society," Interior Minister Fernando Grande-Marlaska said during a meeting of law enforcement officials. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Crime is not on the rise, nor is it linked to migration," he added, countering a common refrain of far-right groups. Vox has denied responsibility for the unrest and blamed the socialist-led government's migration policies. Despite a 54% rise in foreign residents between 2011 and 2024, crime has dropped seven percentage points, with hate crimes down 13.8% last year and Spain among the world's 25 safest nations, Grande-Marlaska said. 'UNACCEPTABLE ATTITUDES' As well as the Torre Pacheco trouble, in Alcala de Henares, west of Madrid, there were protests earlier this month after a man - identified as Malian by El Pais newspaper - was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault outside a migrant reception centre. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Four people arrested during an unauthorised protest in front of the same centre are being investigated for disorder. Grande-Marlaska condemned the Torre Pacheco attack that triggered the unrest and highlighted swift police action to detain the three suspects including the suspected main perpetrator who was attempting to flee to France. Calls went out on social media for people to go to the town to "protect Spaniards" and "hunt north Africans". "These are unacceptable attitudes that have grown in recent years, encouraged by anonymity on social media, but also, and more seriously, by irresponsible politicians," the minister said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Spain has been open to migration and its economic benefits, even as other European governments have tightened borders. But debate has reignited, led by Vox, as plans to relocate unaccompanied underage migrants from the Canary Islands to the rest of Spain have been confirmed in recent weeks. (Reporting by Emma Pinedo, editing by Aislinn Laing and Andrew Cawthorne) Amid all the other big news this week, a landmark development in a federal court in Texas drew less attention than expected. On Monday, the IRS agreed to a consent judgment that will restore the First Amendment rights of churches and religious non-profit organizations to speak freely without losing their tax-exempt status. The court should quickly approve that proposed settlement of a lawsuit filed by the National Religious Broadcasters and Texas churches, which was brought to overturn a 1950s-era provision in the tax code known as the Johnson Amendment. As a former constitutional law litigator, I along with many of my former colleagues have long argued that the Johnson Amendment is unconstitutional. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trump understands this well, and in his speech to the 2017 National Prayer Breakfast, he resolved to get rid of and totally destroy the Johnson Amendment and allow our representatives of faith to speak freely and without fear of retribution. Resolving the Texas case will be key to ensuring that people of faith are no longer censored and silenced because of the tax code and hopefully it will serve as a teachable moment about one of the most misunderstood subjects in our culture. Most people today who insist upon a rigid separation between church and state are unaware the phrase derives not from the Constitution, but from a personal letter that President Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist Association in 1802. He explained that because religion is a matter which lies solely between Man & his God, the language of the First Amendment is a vital safeguard for our rights of conscience. Jefferson said he revered that act of the whole American people which declared that their legislature should make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof, thus building a wall of separation between Church & State. Jefferson clearly did not mean that metaphorical wall was to keep religion from influencing issues of civil government. To the contrary, it was meant to keep the federal government from impeding the religious practice of citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Founders wanted to protect the church from an encroaching state, not the other way around. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks after signing President Donald Trump's signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, Thursday, July 3, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington. | Mariam Zuhaib The majority of the Founders, having personally witnessed the abuses of the Church of England, were determined to prevent the official establishment of any single national denomination or religion. However, they very deliberately listed religious liberty (the free exercise of religion) as the first freedom protected in the Bill of Rights because they wanted everyone to freely live out their faith as that would ensure a robust presence of moral virtue in the public square and the free marketplace of ideas. Volumes written on this topic can be summarized by reference to the sentiments of our first two presidents. In his historic Farewell Address, the Father of our Country, George Washington, declared: Of all the dispositions and habits which lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supports. John Adams warned directly: Our Constitution is made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What these two Founders and their fellow patriots all understood from history was that there are many important rules and practices that can help build and sustain a healthy republic. But the key and the essential foundation of a system of government like ours must be a common commitment among the citizenry to the principles of religion and morality. The Founders acknowledged in the Declaration the self-evident truths that all men are created equal, and that God gives all men the same inalienable rights. However, they knew that in order to maintain a government of the people, by the people and for the people, as Lincoln articulated, in this nation, under God, those inalienable rights must be exercised in a responsible manner. They thus believed in liberty that is legitimately constrained by a common sense of morality and a healthy fear of the Creator, who granted all men our rights. The Founders understood that all men are fallen and that power corrupts. They also knew that no amount of institutional checks and balances or decentralization of power in civil authorities would be sufficient to maintain a just government if the men in charge had no fear of eternal judgment by a power HIGHER than their temporal institutions. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., surrounded by Republican members of Congress, is reflected in a mirror while speaking with reporters following the passage of President Donald Trump's signature bill of tax breaks and spending cuts, Thursday, July 3, 2025, at the Capitol in Washington. | Julia Demaree Nikhinson A free society and a healthy republic depend upon religious and moral virtue not only because they help prevent political corruption and the abuse of power, but also because those convictions in the minds and hearts of the people make it possible to preserve their essential freedoms by emphasizing and inspiring individual responsibility, self-sacrifice, the dignity of hard work, the rule of law, civility, patriotism, the value of family and community, and the sanctity of every human life. Without those virtues, indispensably supported by religion and morality, every nation will ultimately fall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Inscribed on the third panel of the Jefferson Memorial here in Washington, D.C., is his sobering reminder to every American: God who gave us life gave us liberty. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed a conviction that these liberties are the gift of God? Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that his justice cannot sleep forever. The experience of history teaches that these principles are universal and timeless, and they certainly apply to our nation today. Alexis de Tocqueville is credited with the keen observation that America is great because she is good, and if she ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great. That has been the key to our exceptionalism. Our republic depends upon it now more than ever, and it is our job to instill and preserve it. As we approach the 250th birthday of our great nation, it has never been more important to defend truth on every front, repair our foundations and hold fast to who we are and what we stand for. Anyone who has been misled to believe that religious principles and viewpoints must be separated from public affairs should be reminded to review their history. Let us hope the federal court in Texas accepts the IRS consent judgment as yet another acknowledgment of these essential truths. This op-ed first appeared on X and is published here with permission from Speaker Johnson. Starting in October, Spirit Airlines will be servicing Middle Georgia. The first route? Fort Lauderdale. The Florida-based airline announced July 17 a partnership with Contour Airlines to offer nonstop, twice-weekly flights between Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL) and Middle Georgia Regional Airport (MCN) in Macon. "South Florida has consistently been one of the most popular destinations for travelers in our region, and we're excited to offer nonstop service to this top destination through Spirit Airlines," said Doug Faour, Macon-Bibb County Director of Aviation. "This new route reflects our ongoing commitment to providing convenient and affordable travel options for the communities we serve." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Introductory fares starting at $49.99 one-way are now available for booking at spirit.com. Spirit has a trough time the last few months, with a plane evacuated in Detroit over a bomb threat and a viral video in May showing cockroaches on a flight. The airline recently emerged from bankruptcy and shook up its board, appointing Dave Davis as its new chief executive officer. Spirit had plans to merge with JetBlue but the plan was scrapped in 2024 after the U.S. Department of Justice sued to block it. Where is the new Spirit route in Florida? Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Macon (MCN), twice weekly, starting Oct. 16, 2025. Spirit changes fare options Last month, Spirit reworked its ticket lineup to emphasize that the budget airline offers high-value options as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The new names are easier to understand and a bit more straightforward. "Spirit First," instead of the former "Go Big," for its premium "Big Front Seats," for example, and "Value" instead of "Go." The budget airline's "Go Savvy" option will be phased out, the company said in a release. The change came a few months after Spirit updated its loyalty program and started offering extra legroom seating for the "Go Comfy" ticketholders (now called "Premium Economy"). Which Florida airports does Spirit fly out of? Spirit currently services the following Florida airports: Fort Lauderdale (FLL) Fort Myers (RSW) Miami (MIA) Orlando (MCO) Pensacola (PNS) Tampa (TPA) West Palm Beach (PBI) More new Florida flights from Allegiant, Avelo, Frontier, JetBlue Spirit isn't the only airline bringing new routes to the Sunshine State. Several of them have announced new flights or started them already, including: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Allegiant: Two more routes announced for the fall between Fort Lauderdale and South Bend, Indiana, and Key West and Knoxville, Tennessee. Avelo: Extended its East Coast schedule through mid-February. Breeze: Announced 16 new routes to and from Florida airports, starting in September and October. Delta: Started new nonstop Saturday flights, incuding several to and from Florida. Frontier: Added three new routes between Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Jacksonville, Fort Myers and Palm Beach. JetBlue: Started a year-round route between Tampa and La Guardia Airport in New York City and a a new daily flight between Fort Lauderdale and Guatemala City, added premium service flight from Orlando. Southwest: New nonstop flights from Sarasota to Orlando. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Spirit Airlines new flights coming from Florida to Macon, Georgia SPRINGDALE, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) A pair of Arkansas police departments are searching for a man wanted in connection with two separate shootings, according to court documents. Rodney Tillman Jr., 18, is accused of one count of committing a terroristic act and one count of aggravated assault. A probable cause affidavit filed in Washington County said that on July 7, Tillman shot at a group of people during an altercation at an apartment complex parking lot in Springdale and struck four cars with bullets. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Witnesses reported seeing a man in a black sweatshirt and a mask flee the scene of the shooting. The affidavit said Springdale police officers were unable to catch the man. Tillman was later identified by investigators as a suspect through photos and videos provided by the Marianna Police Department. Mauricio Torres appeal delayed again, new deadline set for case record Photos showed Tillman posing with guns and a necklace that said Willie Tillman on it. The affidavit said Willie Tillman was murdered in Springdale on April 29. MPD told Springdale police that Rodney Tillman was wanted for first-degree battery, aggravated assault and committing a terroristic act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tillman reportedly shot two people during an incident in Marianna on April 18. He is described in the affidavit as a Black male with a light skin tone. Tillman is 6 feet tall, weighs 130 pounds and has a skeleton tattoo on his right hand. A warrant was issued for Tillmans arrest on July 14. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KNWA FOX24. SPRINGFIELD, Mo. A Springfield man faces a felony charge almost a year after an ATV wreck claimed the life of his daughter. According to court dockets, Bryon Heard, born 1995, is charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child death of a child. Court documents say the wreck happened on Oct. 3, 2024. PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Child dies following ATV crash in north Springfield Springfield Police Department (SPD) officers were dispatched to the southwest corner of Jean St. and Missouri St. in Springfield at around 10:19 p.m. for a report of a yellow 2005 Kazuma ATV Four-Wheeler that had collided with a utility pole. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officers contacted Heard on the scene shortly after the crash. Heard was trying to relocate the ATV, but he was heavily injured and disoriented, documents say. SPD officers soon discovered Heards 8-year-old daughter had been riding the ATV during the crash. The investigation revealed neither of them wore a helmet, while also revealing Heard was on the ATV with her during the crash. The ATV was illegally used on a city street, and Heard was discovered to have multiple drugs in his system, including cocaine and oxycodone, the statement says. Heard was booked in the Greene County Jail this week for an unrelated charge of resisting arrest for a felony. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If convicted, he faces up to life in prison. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KOLR - OzarksFirst.com. SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (WDTN) A new option for transportation has arrived in Springfield, and 2 NEWS spoke with officials on the ins and outs of the new service. The city of Springfield recently launched Field Trips, a public transit service that can take passengers anywhere within city limits. Officials say this new transportation option is more accessible than ever. Field Trips is easy to use. To go from point A to point B, all you have to do is download the app or place a reservation by phone. A Field Trips vehicle will then show up and get you to your intended destination. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The application will match riders with vehicles going in the same direction. Springfield officials hope this new transit service addresses the need for transportation in the community. Our first goal with the service was to ensure that we are fully supporting all of our existing ridership, said Jason Via, Springfield deputy director of safety & operations. Field Trips will replace the current SCAT transportation system. SCAT will terminate rides by August, allowing riders to transition from the former service to the new one over the course of July. The difference between the two public transit options is accessibility. Field Trips utilizes minivans that will take riders to and from specific destinations rather than designated stops. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theyre going to be able theyll get exactly to their destination, whether thats work, school, health care, said Via. The city decided to bring this program after a 2021 study determined that transportation services in the city needed to move forward more efficiently. Unfortunately, we had seen a decline in ridership from about 280,000 rides in 2013 to 120,000 rides in 2023. So less people were using the service, said Via. The new transit service also eliminates the need for transfers, making sure you get to your location all in one ride only. And the entire process can be done through the phone, whether by calling or in the Field Trips app. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From that customers perspective, its really going to provide greater value, said Via. Youre going to have much more feedback through the app, through the web portal or by phone. The city says that even if numbers have been declining in these services, they are confident that Field Trips will be a path to success for those who need to travel within the city. We feel like this is the best path to move forward to make sure we can support the entire community, and provide equity and access to everyone who wants to ride and ensure they get to their destinations, said Via. The city of Springfield is offering its residents free rides through July 28, giving everyone a chance to try out the new 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 WDTN.com. SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) A Springfield man with two outstanding warrants was arrested on Tuesday in connection with two shootings. Man identified in Main and Arch Street deadly shooting in Springfield The Springfield Police Department states that on January 16th at around 8:50 p.m., officers were sent to a ShotSpotter activation on the 600 block of Liberty Street. When officers arrived, they found evidence of gunfire and a window from a business had been damaged. Springfield Police Firearms Investigation Unit (FIU) Detectives identified the suspect as 20-year-old Zaddiel Aponte-Perez of Springfield. On July 8th, a warrant was applied for and granted for his arrest in connection to this shooting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On June 26th at approximately 3:50 p.m., officers were sent to a ShotSpotter activation on the 900 block of East Columbus Avenue. Shell casings were found, along with ammunition, and damage to a fence and a vacuum at a local business. Aponte-Perez was the suspect in this shooting as well, and officers were also granted a warrant for his arrest on July 8th. On July 16th, FIU Detectives were granted a search warrant for a vehicle connected to the investigation. Approximately $1,430 in cash, a high-capacity firearm magazine, 45 rounds of ammunition, 56 bags of heroin, and nearly a pound of marijuana were found. Detectives have requested that Aponte-Perez face additional charges based on what was found in the vehicle. Aponte-Perez was arrested on Tuesday inside an apartment on the 200 block of Fernbank Road. 20-year-old Zaddiel Aponte-Perez of Springfield is charged with: Arrest Warrant Springfield District Court Carrying a Firearm without a License Carrying a Loaded Firearm without a License Attempted Assault & Battery with a Firearm (Two Counts) Discharging a Firearm within 500 Feet of a Building Arrest Warrant Springfield District Court Carrying a Firearm without a License Carrying a Loaded Firearm without a License Attempted Assault & Battery with a Firearm (Two Counts) Discharging a Firearm within 500 Feet of a Building Malicious Destruction of Property More than $1200 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. SPRINGFIELD The victim who was shot and killed in the North End over the weekend has been identified as a 35-year-old city man. Webstern Grant-Stovall, 35, of Springfield, died Saturday night after being struck by gunfire on Main Street near the intersection with Arch Street, Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said in a statement. The shooting took place at about 11:20 p.m. When police arrived, they found Grant-Stovall suffering from serious injuries. He was taken to Baystate Medical Center by ambulance and later died, Gulluni said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Springfield Police Homicide Unit under the direction of Capt. Trent Duda is investigating the crime with the Hampden District Attorneys Murder Unit. There is no ongoing public safety threat, Gulluni said. T was a beloved son, father, brother, uncle, nephew, cousin and friend. If you knew him then you knew and he will truly be missed. T is survived by many loved ones including his son, Jayson, a GoFundMe page read, created to defray funeral costs for Grant-Stovalls family. Gulluni offered his condolences to Grant-Stovalls family. Anyone with information or video of the shooting is asked to contact Springfield detectives at 413-787-6355. People can also anonymously send information through the text-a-tip system by dialing CRIMES (2-7-4-6-3-7), and then starting the message with SOLVE followed by the tip. Read the original article on MassLive. Sri Lankan authorities returned six orphaned and injured elephants to the wild on Thursday after nursing them back to health under a long-running conservation project, officials said. Two females and four males, aged between five and seven, were released into the Mau Ara forest within the Udawalawe Wildlife Sanctuary, environment minister Dammika Patabendi told AFP. He said it was the 26th such release of rehabilitated elephants since the Udawalawe Elephant Transit Home began its programme in 1998. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We hope, in the interest of conserving elephants, we will be able to improve facilities at this transit home in the near future," Patabendi said. The calves were transported in trucks and then allowed to walk free because they were deemed strong enough to fend for themselves or join wild herds. Baby elephants have minimal contact with humans at the transit home to ease their integration into wild herds. All elephants at the facility were rescued after being found abandoned, injured or separated from their herds. Udawalawe, about 210 kilometres (130 miles) southeast of Colombo, is renowned for its wild elephants and is a major tourist attraction. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sri Lankan authorities believe the transit home's strategy of rewilding rescued elephants, rather than domesticating them, has paid off. The centre's director, Malaka Abeywardana, said 57 elephants remain at the facility, which has released 187 back into the wild since the first release in early 1998. Sri Lanka had previously sent rescued calves to the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, which has also become a popular tourist site. The Pinnawala orphanage marked its golden jubilee in February. Conservation efforts have become increasingly urgent due to growing conflict between wild elephants and farmers. The human-elephant conflict has resulted in the deaths of around 400 elephants and 200 people annually over the past five years. aj/sai/pbt Editors note: A previous version of this article contained incorrect information about where Gies lives, which has been corrected. OLEAN, N.Y. (WETM) Another democratic candidate has announced his campaign to run against incumbent Congressman Nick Langworthy for New Yorks 23rd Congressional District. Aaron Gies, of Olean, a current assistant professor of Theology and Franciscan Studies at St. Bonaventure, and leader of a non-profit organization, announced his bid for Congress on Tuesday, July 15. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gies intends to challenge Nick Langworthy, emphasizing the need to elect leaders who listen to and lift up those they serve, according to his announcement. Candidate for New Yorks 23rd Congressional District makes stop at Harris Hill Were in an affordability crisis in New York State, Gies said, The American Dream is out of reach for most people. A government that favors those at the top isnt just wrong because its unfair, its wrong because it doesnt work, he said. This crisis can only be solved by all of us together. Rural folks know how to take care of themselves. They need their government to support them, not sell them out to elite interests, Gies said in his announcement. Gies made claims in his announcement that Congressman Langworthy refuses to meet with his constituents, tariffs and high prices are ruining small businesses, while Langworthy rubber-stamps everything the Trump administration does, regardless of the issue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gies pointed out that these are some of the key issues why he is running for Congress. Born in rural North Carolina, Gies now lives in Cattaraugus County and understands small-town life. He spends time as a bookkeeper and helps run a non-profit vegetable farm. Gies now joins Kevin Stocker in the democratic race running against Langworthy. 18 News reached out to Congressman Langworthys office for a statement on Wednesday. Langworthy said he will not comment on any campaign matters at this time. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WETM - MyTwinTiers.com. Charges are allegations only. All arrested persons are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. WASHINGTON CITY, Utah (ABC4) A St. George woman has been arrested and charged with allegedly driving under the influence and causing a crash with three juveniles in the vehicle. Megan Deann Harding, 37, has been charged with negligently operating a vehicle with serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony; negligently operating a vehicle resulting in injury, a Class A misdemeanor; three counts of driving under the influence with a passenger under 16, a Class A misdemeanor; and an infraction for not obeying right of way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement READ NEXT: Woman charged for DUI boat crash that caused 14-year-old severe injuries, documents say According to documents, on May 7, 2025, a Washington City Police officer was dispatched to a vehicle crash with injuries. When the officer arrived, he found a flatbed work truck hauling a trailer with a mini excavator; the trailer was tipped over and on its side. Another vehicle was involved, a silver Audi SUV with airbags deployed and significant damage. Witnesses stated that they saw the crash and that the Audi did not stop at the intersection. This intersection had two stop signs going north and south, while east and west traffic did not have a stop sign. The Audi was travelling south and did not stop at the sign. Following the crash, witnesses and bystanders ran to the vehicle and helped the driver out of the vehicle and stayed with her until medical services arrived. Three 12-year-old juveniles were in the Audi at the time of the crash. Two of them had to be transported by ambulance to the hospital. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The driver of the Audi was identified as Harding. At the scene, a mother of one of the juveniles told police that she believed Harding was under the influence of fentanyl and was a known drug user. The police officer made contact with Harding and allegedly observed that she was nodding off and seemed dazed. Harding explained to the officer that she thought the intersection was a four-way stop, but had not stopped. Two charged for alleged abuse of 77-year-old family member who suffered fractures, malnourishment A search warrant was obtained for Hardings blood to perform a drug test. On June 30, the results from the test allegedly revealed that Harding had amphetamine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and norfentanyl in her blood. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the two 12-year-olds who were transported to the hospital required a laparoscopic surgery. When Harding crashed, the seatbelt the 12-year-old was wearing pressed on their waist and caused damage to an organ. The other 12-year-old only suffered bruising and soreness and was released from the hospital. Harding was arrested and booked into the Washington County Jail and is currently being held on bail. 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. ROCHESTER, N.Y. St. Johns Home celebrated Rochesters Pride Month with a courtyard concert aimed at uplifting and affirming LGBTQIA+ residents and staff. The event featured local musician Josh Shapiro, whose performance was part of a larger effort to create an inclusive environment within the elder care community. Alongside the music, St. Johns Spiritual Care team offered what they call glitter blessings a mixture of glitter and anointed oil as a symbolic gesture promoting acceptance and pride for people of all identities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think its true that if there are LGBTQIA people in the community, that oftentimes they go back in the closet when they come to their nursing home, said Rev. Sarah Culp, director of spiritual care at St. Johns. And so if thats the case for any of our residents, we want them to know from Spiritual Care that they are loved, they belong, and its safe. St. Johns says the celebration is part of its ongoing mission to offer life-enhancing experiences that nurture the emotional, spiritual and social well-being of older adults. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEW YORK (PIX11) A beloved New York City non-profit, Harlem Grown, has 18,000 new reasons to smile. Shay Joseph and Victor Diab are Starbucks baristas helping deliver coffee and a check to their favorite community organization. Starbucks baristas are delivering your favorite coffee and critical funding. More Local News It puts the bucks in Starbucks, $190,000 in grants for non-profits in New York City. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harlem Grown is receiving $18,000 to continue its hard work in the neighborhood, providing children with access to fresh food and urban farming. For the past six years, the Starbucks Foundation has been making a difference. Starbucks is empowering its thousands of employees and baristas to give money to causes close to their hearts by nominating them for grants. Diab loves Harlem Growns mission. Joseph from the Bronx has volunteered. They both nominated Harlem grown to receive the cash. More than 16,000 grants awarded to nonprofits, and more than $25 million invested into communities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Next time you order your coffee, they are also brewing a change for your community. If you have a story in your community, reach out to Monica Morales at monica@pix11.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 PIX11. In Brussels, there is no such thing as a free lunch. By resuming payments into the EU budget, the Prime Ministers reset has already reversed the most symbolic achievement of Brexit. In the name of dynamic realignment, Britain is once again reverting to being a rule-taker, not a rule-maker, in the key policy areas of food standards and net zero. And we are paying for the privilege. Even as the British people long to take back control over our borders from the meddling of the ECHR, the Government is conniving with the Commission to subject us again to another set of foreign judges, the European Court of Justice. Under the deal agreed by Sir Keir Starmer and Ursula von der Leyen in May, the Luxembourg court is the ultimate arbiter of the rules governing both the common Sanitary and Phytosanitary area and the EUs carbon trading market. No prizes for guessing which side these judges will take in any dispute between the EU and Britain. The cavalier manner in which the Prime Minister has sacrificed our hard-won sovereignty is bad enough. But what is Britain receiving in return? At the first sign of serious competition from British business in these instinctively protectionist European markets, the goalposts will be moved and there will be no neutral referee to whom we could appeal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chancellor Merzs visit to London reminds us that Europe still needs the UK to defend it. Rather than play this trump card, however, the Government meekly folds. Sir Keirs dynamic alignment boils down to obsequious submission. 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. Native leaders in Arizona are hailing new state funding for traditional medicine and a new dialysis center on the Navajo Nation. (Photo by Shondiin Silversmith/Arizona Mirror) The new state budget supports Tribal Nations in Arizona in two main ways: first, by giving Indigenous peoples increased access to traditional healing practices from specific health providers, and second, through secured funding for a new dialysis center on the Navajo Nation. The Arizona House of Democrats called the newly signed bipartisan state budget one of Arizonas largest-ever investments in Indigenous Tribal healthcare. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The budget utilizes $100,000 from the state to secure more than $222 million in federal matching funds to support culturally relevant traditional healing practices, and it allocates $3 million for a dialysis center at Sage Memorial Hospital on the Navajo Nation. Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the budget at the end of June and held a bill signing ceremony in July, where many tribal leaders were in attendance, including Rep. Mae Peshlakai (D-Cameron). Peshlakai said she is proud to have fought for the most significant investment in traditional healing and Tribal healthcare she has seen in her lifetime. This budget shows care, concern, respect, and resources for our people, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Traditional Healing Services Offering more access to traditional healing practices through the states Medicaid program is a significant win for individuals seeking this service through the Indian Health Service or a Tribally operated health facility. The Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), the states Medicaid program, provides healthcare coverage for about 2 million residents in Arizona, with over 167,000 of them being Native American, according to AHCCCS data. After about a decade of work, AHCCCS received approval in October from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to cover traditional healing services provided through the Indian Health Service (IHS) and tribally operated health facilities in Arizona. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arizona is one of only four states that have received federal approval to cover traditional healing practices as a Medicaid benefit. The other states are Oregon, California and New Mexico. Indigenous traditional healing is a comprehensive medical system encompassing a range of holistic treatments used by Indigenous healers to treat various acute and chronic conditions, as well as promote health and well-being, according to the National Institutes of Health/National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). NATIVE HEALTH Chief Executive Officer Walter Murillo said it took a great deal of collaborative effort from tribal health organizations, tribal communities and tribal leaders across Arizona to bring to the forefront the importance of including traditional healing practices as a Medicaid benefit in the state. Murillo said that Medicaid should reimburse for it because it is part of the healing process in Indigenous communities and many Native health care facilities were already providing it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Traditional healing practices vary across Tribal Nations, but some standard practices include sweat lodges, prayers, talking circles, and ceremonial rituals. Funding for traditional healing services provided by the Indian Health Service or Tribally operated health care facilities will be 100% reimbursed by the federal government. The state would need to pay for reimbursements involving non-Native family members of Indigenous people covered by Medicaid who receive their healthcare from Indigenous providers. Although traditional healing practices are covered as a Medicaid benefit, a gap remains in the service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Urban Indian Health Clinics, such as NATIVE HEALTH or Native American Connections, which provide traditional healing practices for Indigenous patients, do not qualify for the reimbursement. Murillo said that urban Native health care facilities were initially included in the initiative to get reimbursement for traditional healing through Medicaid; however, over time, the policy language changed, and they were removed. We can provide the service like we always have, we just wont be reimbursed for it, Murillo said, unless the patient is referred to their facility by the Indian Health Service or a Tribally operated facility. The patients that choose us as their primary care outlet still dont have direct access to reimbursable, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement About half of their patients are Native, Murillo said, and they estimate that up to 10% of them utilize the traditional healing services that NATIVE HEALTH provides. Murillo said they hope to work with legislators in the future to get this gap covered. Navajo Nation Praises Dialysis Center Funding Navajo Nation leaders praised Hobbs and state legislators for approving the critical funding needed to establish the dialysis center at Sage Memorial Hospital. This represents a vital step toward expanding healthcare access across the Navajo Nation and addressing the urgent medical needs of our Navajo people who often travel hours to receive dialysis treatment, Navajo Nation Council Speaker Curley said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Navajo patients often have to travel long distances several times a week for their dialysis treatments, Curley said, which can impose a significant physical, emotional, and financial burden on patients and their families. Im thrilled to support expanded access to health care for the Navajo Nation with the creation of a new $3 million dialysis center, Hobbs said in a press release. The development of a local dialysis center in Ganado, Arizona, will ease some of the hardships many Navajo families face by providing them with accessible and timely care. The Navajo Nation Council has said that a new facility in the Ganado area will reduce travel times, improve health outcomes, and enhance the overall quality of life for Navajo patients living with kidney conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sage Memorial Hospital CEO Melinda White expressed gratitude to Hobbs and legislative partners for ensuring that life-saving dialysis care is accessible to the members of the Navajo Nation. The funding included in the bipartisan state budget reflects Arizonas commitment to equitable healthcare across our communities and will be effectively used to serve the needs of our community, White said in a statement. Sage Memorial Hospital currently serves a population of about 11,000 individuals across eight Navajo communities, including Ganado, Steamboat, Klagetoh, Wide Ruins, Greasewood Springs, Cornfields, Kinlichee, and Nazlini. Dr. Kenneth Anaeme, chief medical officer at Sage Memorial Hospital, said that there is a significant need for improved local dialysis care. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Within Apache County, there are 324 active End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) patients, while Navajo County accounts for 400, totaling 724 individuals in need of dialysis treatment services, according to the hospital. Many of our patients currently travel long distances for dialysis, which strains families and worsens health outcomes, Anaeme said in a press release. This new center will provide life-saving care closer to home, reducing costs and improving quality of life for our community. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE The cuts of cybersecurity and technology staff at the State Department are more extensive than previously reported, and include a significant number of people with specialized skills that could leave major gaps in expertise at the department, according to interviews with four people familiar with the cuts. Much of the activity has centered on the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, which promotes democratic norms online and helps allied countries improve their network cybersecurity. Jennifer Bachus, the acting head of the CDP, was removed as head of the bureau, and is pending reassignment internally at the State Department, while around a dozen others in the office received reduction in force notices, according to a former official and to a congressional aide with knowledge of the cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, the CDPs Office of the Coordinator for Digital Freedom which worked on online safety and countering digital repression abroad was dismantled, the former official said. And about half of the offices International Information and Communications Policy team received RIF notices, the aide said. This team works with global companies and foreign allies to improve the security of tech products like telecommunications equipment, often built by untrusted Chinese companies. Both the former official and the congressional aide were granted anonymity to discuss changes that werent yet public. CDP, which formally opened its doors in 2022, is being completely reorganized as part of Secretary of State Marco Rubios revamp of the wider State Department, with CDP personnel being split into three different offices. As such, it has been expected it would see cuts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the details on the CDP layoffs and a number of other previously unreported cuts provide a picture of a much broader and deeper reduction of cybersecurity expertise in the federal government that was immediately clear when RIF letters started going out on Friday. The individuals interviewed for this article expressed surprise at the extent of the changes. The State Department has not provided details on what the revamp means in terms of what cybersecurity roles are being eliminated. Asked about cuts to CDP and other tech-related positions, the State Department said in a statement that, mission-critical functions and personnel from these offices will be retained and integrated elsewhere in the department. Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committees subcommittee on cybersecurity, said he was aware of a number of cuts of staff with specific and hard-to-replace skills. They have lost people with genuine expertise in cyber, in 5G, in quantum, a whole group of people who had really exquisite skills, Coons said. Asked to quantify the extent of cuts to the cybersecurity workforce, Coons said: My impression is: significant. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The cuts to cyber and tech roles at State have gone beyond the CDP. Also laid off have been staff involved in ensuring the use of secure telecommunications infrastructure by allies; and those that worked to fix problems Cyber Command identifies in the networks of U.S. allies, said Annie Fixler, director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Center on Cyber and Technology Innovation, who has been in contact with a number those laid off. The congressional aide said that around half a dozen of the staff from the Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technologies which works on topics including AI and quantum computing were given RIF notices, representing a sizeable proportion of the small office. This aide said this office is now being merged into the CDP. It has become increasingly clear over the past few days that the reorganized State Department will have very few cybersecurity positions. The Washington Post first reported earlier this week that CDP personnel had been among those laid off, in particular those on teams that focus on global data policy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former official confirmed that Liesyl Franz, the CDPs deputy assistant secretary for International Cyberspace Security was among those placed on administrative leave. Her departure was previously reported by NextGov. Franz did not respond to a request for comment. The entire Office of Science and Technology Cooperation has also been shut down, according to a laid-off employee. Felicia Fullilove-Cashwell, a foreign affairs officer at the State Department, wrote on LinkedIn that her reduction in force letter included the words office abolished. Fullilove-Cashwell said in an interview that "it has been suggested that regional offices may take over a lot of the functions of eliminated offices," though she argued that eliminating OSTC still hurts the relationships between civil servants and foreign officials. The elimination of OSTC was previously reported by FedScoop. The full cuts to the State Department involved laying off around 1,300 agency personnel as part of notices sent out late last week, which came after the Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Trump administration to move forward with the changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Congressional Republicans have not publicly expressed many reservations about the changes to cyber and tech roles at the State Department. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Jim Risch (R-Idaho) said Wednesday, just after his panel held a hearing on the reorganization at the agency, that the State Department personnel cuts were a tiny fraction of the 76,000 people at the department globally. Asked specifically about the cuts to cybersecurity and technology workers, Risch said: Im absolutely convinced that they can do the job theyre supposed to do with what theyve got. Key Democrats on Capitol Hill vowed to respond, though its unclear how. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committees cyber subcommittee, called the cuts to the CDP reckless and irresponsible adding Im going to push back every way I can. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked what that would entail, the senator said that she wasnt sure, but weve got to figure it out, because lets put it this way, the next hacking, any of these things happen, its on them, and its on their watch. Rep. Bill Keating (D-Mass.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committees subcommittee on Europe, which held a hearing on CDP changes earlier this year, pointed out that the CDP is a congressionally mandated office, and argued that Rubio needs to be consulting with Congress on changes. Coons said that the State Department has not responded to a single one of his letters about any issue involving the department in recent months. The changes to the State Departments cyber efforts are in addition to wider shifts on cyber policy throughout the federal government, which includes massive cuts to personnel at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and uncertainty over open top cyber leadership positions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sen. Angus King (I-Maine,) a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and leading cyber expert on Capitol Hill, pointed to escalating threats from China against U.S. critical infrastructure as underlining the need to keep cyber personnel in government. Its like throwing away your umbrella when its pouring rain, King said. CORRECTION: Due to incorrect information provided to POLITICO, a previous version of this story misstated how the State Department personnel changes applied to Jennifer Bachus. The New York State Department of Veterans Services will unveil its newest service kiosk on Grand Island today. It will be located in the lobby of the Western New York Welcome Center off of the I-190. The digital kiosk will provide 24/7 access to more than 60 state programs to veterans, service members and military families. They include resources related to housing, employment, education, mental health support, legal assistance peer support programs, and access to accredited veterans benefits advisors. The kiosks touchscreen interface allows for searching for services, accessing agency contact information or scheduling appointments with an advisor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Veterans and their families often dont know where to begin when seeking services or may feel overwhelmed by bureaucracy, said DVS media representative Josh Fitzpatrick. The DVS digital kiosks simply that process by acting as a centralized, one-stop entry point. The kiosks were first launched in November 2021 as a collaboration between the state DVS and several state agencies, getting further funding in the states 2023 budget. Since then, they have been installed in high-traffic and easily accessible locations across the state, like airports, museums, welcome centers, malls, train stations and other government facilities. There are now 15 locations statewide, including in Niagara Falls State Park and Buffalo Niagara International Airport. Other states like Florida, California, Missouri, Maine, and Nevada are also looking to emulate the idea. The Welcome Center on Grand Island was chosen because of its location between Buffalo and Niagara Falls, providing another site for the thousands of veterans and military families living in the region or for those driving by on the I-190. It is also part of Gov. Kathy Hochuls plan to install such kiosks in every Welcome Center in the state. China moves to promote sustainable operations of state-owned insurance companies Xinhua) 10:07, July 12, 2025 BEIJING, July 11 (Xinhua) -- China has adjusted the evaluation metrics for state-owned insurance companies, as part of efforts to promote their sustainable operations, the Ministry of Finance said on Friday. This adjustment aims to enhance the roles of insurance capital in stabilizing markets and supporting economic growth, according to a circular from the ministry. The assessment of state-owned insurers' return on equity will shift from a "current year and a three-year cycle" model to a multi-tiered system incorporating current-year, 3-year and 5-year cycle metrics, the circular said. Evaluation of the state capital maintenance and appreciation rate will adopt the same system -- replacing the previous current-year-only measurement, it added. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Kou Jie) By Qabil Ashirov In accordance with the instructions of President Ilham Aliyev, the Great Return to the liberated territories continues. Azernews reports that those who have relocated to the village of K?ng?rli in the Aghdam district are families who had been temporarily settled in various parts of the republic, mainly in dormitories, sanatoriums, and administrative buildings. At this stage, 43 families 176 people have been resettled in the village of K?ng?rli. The returning residents expressed their gratitude to President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva for the comprehensive state care they have received. They also conveyed their appreciation to the valiant Azerbaijani Army that liberated our lands, to our heroic soldiers and officers, and offered prayers for the martyrs who sacrificed their lives on this path. It should be noted that currently, more than 43,000 people live in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur. This number includes not only the former internally displaced persons who have been relocated but also those involved in the implementation of various projects in the region, employees of local branches of different state institutions, as well as those working in reactivated healthcare, education, culture, tourism, industry, and energy facilities. A 17-year-old teenage boy has been arrested in connection with the killing of a Maine paddleboarder, state police said Thursday morning. The teen, who is from Maine, was not identified because he is a juvenile. Sunshine Stewart, 48, of Tenants Harbor, was found dead in a pond in Union on July 3, state police said. Crews found her body while searching for the missing paddleboarder. An autopsy determined her cause of death as strangulation and blunt force trauma and the manner of death was homicide. Authorities on Thursday did not immediately share details about a possible motive or whether the teenager and Stewart knew each other. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At approximately 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, state police arrested the teen without incident in Union in connection with the homicide investigation. He was taken to the Long Creek Youth Development Center in South Portland. The arrest is the result of relentless investigative work by detectives and investigators with the Maine State Police, state police said Thursday. State Rep. Katrina Smith, a Maine Republican, called Stewarts homicide a tragedy on every front. Shortly after news of the teens arrest broke on Thursday, Smith thanked investigators for their work on the homicide case. Thank you to the Maine State Police for your diligence in keeping our community safe! This is certainly a tragedy on every front. Rest in Peace Sunshine, Smith said in a post on Facebook. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stewarts killing has rattled the quiet communities surrounding Union, a small town southeast of Maines capital city of Augusta. The homicide prompted public safety warnings from both law enforcement and Smith, whose constituents live near Union. Stay vigilant. Lock your doors, dont be alone in remote areas, Smith said in a Facebook post on July 9. An investigation into Stewarts death is ongoing. Anyone with information for investigators is asked to contact the Maine State Police at 207-624-7076 or by texting MESPTIP to 847411. Union is a small town southeast of Augusta. The towns population was 2,383 at the 2020 census. 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 One would naturally assume that Georgia (nicknamed "The Peach State") would hold the torch for producing the most peaches in the United States. It's true that the Southern state grows exceptionally sweet and delicious peaches, and the growing conditions there are perfect for this kind of fruit. But it's California which grows the most peaches each year, by far. In 2022, the peach harvest in California equaled 475,000 tons. South Carolina produced the second most at 67,400 tons, while Georgia took the number three spot, producing a relatively humble 24,800 tons. There are 13 growing zones in the United States. Certain crops not only grow but thrive in each growing zone. When it comes to peaches, the fruit can grow in zones 4 to 10, but are known to thrive in zones 6 to 8. The majority of the state of Georgia is zone 8, but contains swaths of zones 7 and 9, which are all great for peach production. California contains growing zones 6 through 10. Most California peaches which are sold at market (which basically means, for people to eat) come from the Central Valley in the counties of Fresno, Madera, and Tulare. (You can choose the perfect peaches at the store by using a simple squeeze test.) The soil and weather in California is excellent for crop growing. Processed peaches also come from Central and parts of the Northern section of California. Of course, you'll find wonderful seasonal peaches all across the state, including Southern California where the Mediterranean-like climate is ideal for growing this fruit. Just don't ruin these beauties by storing them in the fridge when you get home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: 7 Must-Buy Aldi Items For First-Time Customers Georgia Still Has A Strong Bond With Peaches Welcome to Georgia sign with peach decal - Feng Cheng/Shutterstock Georgia may not grow the most peaches in the nation, but it still has strong ties to the stone fruit due to its historical association with it. There are about 70 roads in Georgia named after the peach, including Atlanta's famed Peachtree street which is full of historic landmarks and hip businesses. Fun fact: In the novel, "Gone With the Wind," Scarlett O'Hara lives on Peachtree Street when she moves from Tara to the capital city. Peaches came to North America from China in the 16th century. Franciscan monks planted the fruit on St. Simons and Cumberland islands, which both sit just off the coast of Georgia. When it was discovered that they grew exceptionally well in the Southern climate, more were planted across the state. Georgia peaches' reputation soared after the Civil War, when soldiers reported how delicious they were and when former cotton farmers were looking for alternative crops to grow. When you're known as "The Peach State," you need to live up to your reputation; a task Georgia has no problem with. There are dozens of orchards across the state where people can pick their own fruit or purchase peach-flavored everything, from jams to tea and wines to ice cream. The state also hosts an annual peach festival in early summer where thousands of people congregate for music, food, and of course to take home sweet Georgia peaches. Just avoid the classic mistakes everyone makes when buying peaches. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For more food and drink goodness, join The Takeout's newsletter. Get taste tests, food & drink news, deals from your favorite chains, recipes, cooking tips, and more! Read the original article on The Takeout. Jul. 16SANTA FE Two-term state Sen. Harold Pope Jr. has announced a campaign for lieutenant governor, setting up a Democratic primary clash with outgoing state Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard. Pope, who was first elected to a West Side Albuquerque district in 2020, is a U.S. Air Force veteran and the first African American state senator in New Mexico history. As a state senator, Pope has pushed unsuccessfully for a rule change that would bar senators from drinking alcohol before or after floor sessions or committee hearings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said in a Wednesday interview he would have a "bigger voice" for New Mexico residents as lieutenant governor, while adding he would push to expand veterans' services statewide, among other initiatives. Pope also said he would be an electoral asset to whichever candidate emerges from a three-way gubernatorial primary race next year. "I believe I would strengthen the Democratic ticket for November 2026," Pope said. While Pope expressed appreciation for former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's past support, he said he plans to stay neutral in the gubernatorial contest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We need to be in a situation where there's no bad blood" regardless of the primary election's outcome, Pope said. Along with Haaland, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman and former Las Cruces Mayor Ken Miyagishima are also vying for the Democratic nomination in the June 2026 primary contest. Under New Mexico's system, governor and lieutenant governor candidates run independently in the primary election. The winners of those races who share the same party affiliation are then paired on a ticket for the November general election. Pope will not have to give up his Senate District 23 seat to run for lieutenant governor, since the four-year term he was elected to last year does not expire until 2028. He said Wednesday he plans to remain in the Senate and would only step down if elected to statewide office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for Garcia Richard, he said he's discussed the lieutenant governor race with the outgoing land commissioner, who is term-limited in her current post and announced her campaign in March. "We're going to keep it friendly and professional," Pope said of the race between the two candidates, while adding he believes he has certain advantages, including his relationship with other state senators. Under the state Constitution, the lieutenant governor is tasked with presiding over the state Senate while the Legislature is in session. Recent New Mexico lieutenant governors have not gone on to win higher office, and current Lt. Gov. Howie Morales announced last month his decision not to run for governor next year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, in response to Pope's campaign announcement, Senate GOP floor leader William Sharer of Farmington blasted his fellow senator for representing an "out-of-touch ideology." As evidence for that claim, Sharer cited Pope's support for past legislation such as a 2024 paid family leave bill and a proposed "green amendment" that would enshrine environmental rights in the state Constitution. HARRISBURG, Pa. (WHTM) The Pennsylvania state budget is now two and a half weeks late. The state Senate held a rare mid-July session on Thursday morning, but is that a sign that a deal is close? Senators moved the budget process during Thursdays morning meeting, positioning bills to pass once a deal is finalized. The House did the same thing earlier this week. However, officials say they still arent close to a budget deal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Governor Josh Shapiro and House Democrats sought a $51.5 billion spending number, which the Senate considers too high. Since then, Democrats say they dropped the ask to just below $50 billion. Republicans argue that this would still mean spending more than the state is taking in. That, combined with the uncertainty from a GOP-controlled Congress hyper-focused on cuts, creates the perfect formula for a stalled budget in Harrisburg. The Senate left after the 45-minute session and is now on call, meaning when leaders agree on an actual budget, they will be called to vote on it. This is a developing story. Stay with abc27 News as more information becomes available Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to ABC27. SPRINGFIELD Illinois State Treasurer Michael Frerichs returned a record $303.8 million in missing money to nearly 312,000 residents, businesses and organizations through the I-CASH program during Fiscal Year 2025. Frerichs marked the record-breaking total by presenting a check for more than $200,000 to the Orphans of the Storm animal shelter in Riverwoods. The money comes from a late Lake County woman who named the shelter as a beneficiary of her life insurance policy. We made common-sense changes to I-CASH to return more money to more folks, and we are proud to set records, Frerichs said. But were even more proud of helping people. One of my biggest fights was to take on insurance companies to make sure life insurance benefits rightfully end up with the people and organizations they were left to. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This gift represents a meaningful and impactful contribution to Orphans of the Storm and comes as the shelter approaches its 100th anniversary and is actively planning for the next century of compassionate animal care. We are deeply grateful for this generous gift and for Treasurer Frerichs leadership in making sure it reached us, said Michelle Shields, Volunteer President of the Board of Directors at Orphans of the Storm. For nearly a century, our shelter has been part of the fabric of this community. We have connected people and animals through love, care, and second chances. This support honors that legacy and helps us build toward a future where every animal has a safe place to land and a family to call their own. I-CASH is one of Illinois oldest consumer protection initiatives. The Illinois State Treasurers Office is tasked with safeguarding and returning unclaimed property, including the contents of overlooked safe deposit boxes, unpaid life insurance benefits, forgotten bank accounts and unused rebate cards. The Illinois Treasurer is legally required to return unclaimed property to its owner or heirs, no matter how long it takes. The record-setting $303.8 million Treasurer Frerichs returned in missing money broke last years mark, which was $301 million. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its not just people we return money to, but businesses and organizations as well, Frerichs said. We encourage business owners and nonprofit groups to check the I-CASH site to see if we have money waiting for them to claim. The Enhanced Money Match program is a key driver in this success, taking the claim out of unclaimed property by automatically returning money without the need to file a claim after some information is electronically verified. This summer, a record-breaking 600,000 people will receive $45 million in money they didnt even know they had coming. Most of the matched claims in this Enhanced Money Match round equal $50 or less, though some people can have multiple claims and their checks will amount to much more. Frerichs office founded the Enhanced Money Match program in 2018 and has since returned more than $130 million to more than 870,000 people. All told, Frerichs has returned more than $2.3 billion in missing money during his time in office. When Frerichs first became Treasurer, there were 60,000 claims paid a year. Today, more than 300,000 claims are paid a year, owing in no small part to Frerichs complete restructuring of the missing money process. The State Treasurers Office added electronic claims and eliminated red tape that slowed small-money claims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Frerichs also added a Friends and Family share feature. When visitors to the I-CASH website come across the name of someone they know, they can select the share icon and provide the email address of their friend or relative. Frerichs office will notify the individual by sending an email that mentions the missing money along with the name of the friend or relative who spotted it. Then, that individual can start the process of retrieving their missing money. Last year, Treasurer Frerichs unveiled a Spanish-language missing money website. The site works the same way as its English-language counterpart. People enter a name and city or ZIP code into the search box, and if theres a match, they can start filing a claim online. When the Treasurers Offices safe deposit boxes fill up, unclaimed items go up for auction after 10 years of private and public attempts to locate the owner or heirs. The next live unclaimed property auction will be Saturday, Aug. 16, at 11 a.m. at the Lincoln Stage during the Illinois State Fair, with a preview of items starting at 9 a.m. All auction proceeds are held in perpetuity for the rightful owners or their heirs. Illinois is a national leader in the unclaimed property space and is frequently consulted by other states leaders who are seeking to reform their unclaimed property laws, rules, and procedures. The Illinois State Treasurers Office recommends that people check at least twice each year at icash.illinoistreasurer.gov to see if missing money is waiting for you. MADISON Upward of 400 attendees demonstrated at the state Capitol in Madison, part of a nationwide plan to take to the streets to protest President Donald Trump's administration. The Madison event came ahead of others planned throughout Wisconsin later in the day July 17. Crow, a co-organizer for the Badger Collective who only goes by one name, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the goal of the protest is to bring people together and keep up the energy to stand up against the Trump administration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We don't want to go down without a fight," Crow said. The "Good Trouble Lives On" protest is named after a phrase coined by the late Rep. John Lewis, a pioneering civil rights advocate and 17-term Georgia congressman. "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble," Lewis wrote in a 2018 tweet. Lewis was a leading critic of the Trump administration during its first term. The July 17 protests mark the fifth anniversary of his death. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Organizers are calling the "Good Trouble Lives On" protests a response to "the most brazen rollback of civil rights in generations" by the Trump administration. University of Wisconsin-Madison senior Roselyn Pacheco speaks on behalf of Voces de la Frontera at a "Good Trouble" rally outside of the Wisconsin State Capitol on July 17 in Madison. University of Wisconsin-Madison senior Roselyn Pacheco spoke about the attacks immigrants are facing from the administration. Speaking on behalf of the immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, Pacheco told the crowd that as a daughter of a Central American family, she has had "good trouble" running through her veins for as long as she can remember. "We must be willing to make good trouble when it comes to immigration and workers. The kind of trouble that exposes policies like 287(g), a program that deputizes local police officers to act as ICE agents," Pacheco said. "The line between local law enforcement and immigration has been blurred. It fuels the dangerous narrative that being undocumented means being a criminal. ... Silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality, it's called complicity." 'Good trouble' encouraged at Milwaukee rally Melanie Wielochowski, 43, said she attended the Good Trouble protest on Milwaukees lakefront because democracy is on the line. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least 200 protesters stood along Lincoln Memorial Drive to dissent against the Trump administration. This administration is not focused on democracy whatsoever, Wielochowski said. Everybodys entitled to due process. Everybodys entitled to freedom of speech. Inspired by Lewis, Wielochowski says she looks to get in good trouble and keep the momentum going. Our administration and our leaders, Democratic or Republican, arent doing anything for us, she said. We need to take things into our own hands and cause some good trouble. I just hope we keep this energy going. Trump Administration moves 'breaking my heart,' protester says The Rev. Marilyn Miller, 70, with Milwaukee Innercity Congregations Allied for Hope, or MICAH, said she attended the July 17 protest because she has concerns about the Trump administrations handling of education. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed the Trump administration to significantly reduce the size of the Department of Education. Whats happening with education is breaking my heart, Miller said. Were just watching public education be dismantled before our very eyes. And in a nation that says, it cares about children, I dont see it. Where is that care? Miller is also concerned about cuts to benefits for underserved populations. I hate to say it, but it almost feels like were going to have to start helping to feed our neighbors with SNAP being cut. And were talking possible Medicaid cuts. Were going to have to take care of each other. Epstein files, LGBTQ+ rights on mind of protester Emerson Heavener, 48, said he brought his daughter to the Milwaukee protest to rally for more transparency from the administration by releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im protesting the Trump administration because of all the lies that weve been told, all the crimes that have been committed," he said. Theres a lot going on with the (Epstein) files and I think both sides can come together over this. Were hoping we can get some MAGA people to realize what is going on. Heavener, a trans man, said he was also concerned about the administrations handling of LGBTQ+ rights. We need to have someone back in the White House who cares about everyone and not just a certain subset of people theyre using just to get votes. Its twisted and we dont deserve that as a country. Ozaukee County protesters line bridges above I-43 Groups of Ozaukee County protesters joined the movement beginning at 4 p.m., gathering on eight different bridges above Interstate 43 overpasses between County Line Road and Fredonia Highway 32. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Around 240 people attended the local protests dubbed "18 miles of Ozaukee Outrage," organizers said. The goal was to show evidence of resolute opposition to Trumps policies across a wide swath of Ozaukee County, a decades-long Republican stronghold, Keri Wuenstel said. Wuenstel, 44, is a local organizer with Indivisible Cedarburg and Ozaukee Democrats who attended and helped organize the local protest. She said the work to plan the local protests took dozens of volunteers from both groups and others in the community wanting to speak out. When one person stands up, it makes it easier for others who maybe sitting on the sidelines to feel empowered to do something," Wuenstel said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most attendees carried signs, and some also held American flags as a way of reclaiming its meaning and fighting for what it should represent, she said. Wuenstel has heard stories from people in her community whove been negatively impacted by Trumps policies, namely from farmers, manufacturers, people who rely on Social Security and Medicaid, parents worried about the future of education, LGBTQ+ people and immigrants. Protesters say they fear what America is losing Another Ozaukee County attendee Moss Gaglione, 20, spoke candidly about their fear for the future and the way Trumps policies have impacted them. Gaglione, who is queer and disabled, said theyve often struggled lately to afford basic necessities like food, and they worry about access to safety net services like SNAP benefits. Our community has done so much to come so far. It feels like its all disintegrating before my eyes, Gaglione said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Fred Hesselbein, 84, felt similarly. All his life, Hesselbein never understood how fascism could take hold in a country, he said. But he feels like hes watching it unfold live, especially the way immigrants have been scapegoated for all ills in American society. Hesselbein used to fear speaking out against Republican policies viewed as harmful to vulnerable groups, he said. As former Director of Ozaukee Countys Department Community Programs, which addresses mental health, substance abuse and disability issues across the county, Hesselbein said he would often bite his tongue in fear that his programs would be cut. But hes unburdened now and speaking out loudly, even proudly, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hesselbein got especially choked up, discussing the impact Rep. John Lewis had on American politics throughout his life. He said he vividly remembers watching Lewis on television in 1965, nearly beaten to death by Alabama state troopers, marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, during a civil rights protest. He was an unbelievably courageous man who did so much good for the country, Hesselbein said. At least 40 protests planned across Wisconsin Organized by more than 100 progressive groups, advocacy organizations and unions, the protest is the largest nationwide action since the "No Kings" protests in June, which saw Wisconsinites in more than 50 towns and cities rallying in opposition to Trump's second-term agenda. Partnering organizations include the Wisconsin Fair Maps Coalition, Wisconsin Conservation Voters and the 50501 group, short for "50 protests, 50 states, 1 movement," which was behind the "No Kings" protests. Protests are currently scheduled in at least 40 Wisconsin towns and cities for July 17, according to the website. It's unclear whether Thursday's protests will draw similar crowds to the "No Kings" protests. In response to the protests, the White House said Trump is delivering on what he said he would do. Nearly 80 million Americans gave President Trump a historic mandate to Make America Great Again and he is delivering on that promise in record time, White House spokesperson Liz Huston said. USA TODAY contributed to this article. Anna Kleiber can be reached at akleiber@gannett.com. (This story was updated to add new information and a video.) This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin 'Good Trouble' protests held in Madison, Milwaukee, statewide DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) ODNR wants people to get outside this summer to enjoy a nice hike in the woods, a swim in the lake, or go boating on the open water, but they want you to do so safely. 2 NEWS spoke with an officer with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to learn more about how to stay safe while enjoying the summer weather. One of the easiest ways to protect yourself if you are on the water is by wearing a life jacket. ODNR officer Garrett Heasley says just a few months ago, they added 32 life jacket loaner stations around the state. Its a safety thing. Life jackets are going to help you float, said Heasley. You know, you might have a sudden medical condition, an injury, something like that, where youre not able to swim. So having a life jacket on will keep you afloat and keep you safe until you can get rescued. Before you head to the water or the woods, let a friend or family member know where you will be hiking or swimming, and when you expect to return from the park. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heasley says if something were to go wrong, this helps locate you faster. Search parties or rescue personnel can assist and better make it to you in a more timely manner, said Heasley. Bring enough water, and be sure to leave the alcohol at home, as consumption is not allowed in the parks, especially when boating. Heasley says operating any vehicle under the influence is illegal. Operating under the influence of alcohol in Ohio is illegal. Theres no open containers allowed of alcohol on our state park waters, said Heasley. Theres very stiff penalties for operating under the influence of alcohol. ODNR recommends you check out park maps to find out where the no wake zones are located, which are in place to protect beachgoers and the shoreline. To learn which state parks are near you, 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 WDTN.com. NEED TO KNOW A U.S. Marine Corps veteran has reportedly been charged with aggravated child abuse. He pleaded not guilty According to news outlets, Zachary Perez, 42, is accused of punching and kicking his 6-year-old stepson, as well as placing him in a dog leash and forcing him to carry a backpack full of rocks Perez was released on house arrest earlier this year and is due back in court in August Newly released video from the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office allegedly shows a U.S. Marine Corps veteran abusing his stepson over the course of two days in May, according to several new reports. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The surveillance videos allegedly show Zachary Perez abusing his stepson by placing a dog leash around the childs neck and yanking him to the ground, kicking and punching him, and forcing him to walk around carrying a backpack full of rocks, local NBC 6, WPLG, and CBS News Miami reported this week. Perez, 42, was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse in May but has since been released on house arrest, according to WPLG. He is scheduled to return to court on Aug. 28. The veteran can allegedly be seen on video holding a pink dog leash that appears to be wrapped around his 6-year-old stepsons neck, according to NBC 6, citing the video shared by the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office. The video also reportedly shows Perez kicking the young boy and yelling at him, the outlet reported. CBS News Miami also reported that an arrest report alleges that Perez punched the 6-year-old boy in the face a handful of times, bruising the young boys face. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Perez pleaded not guilty to the child abuse charge, according to NBC 6. Since his arrest, the state attorneys office alleges that it has received a number of other calls from other victims who claim Perez has abused them in the past, including from his 14-year-old daughter. Lily Wisset, an Assistant State Attorney with the Miami-Dade office, described the former marine as a ticking time bomb in court earlier this year, according to NBC 6. Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. The defendants mother, Barbara Perez, has claimed in court that she believed her son has PTSD and also has a traumatic brain injury, according to WPLG. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The outlet reported that while under house arrest, Perez has also been ordered to remain at least 500 feet away from his stepson and the boys mother and have no contact with them. Read the original article on People The Berlin murder-suicide case has exposed a gap in real-time information sharing between law enforcement and the courts about stalking charges and temporary restraining orders, according to Executive Councilor John Stephen, R-Manchester. Executive Councilor John Stephen Executive Councilor John Stephen After meeting with Gov. Kelly Ayotte, Stephen and fellow Councilor Joe Kenney, R-Wakefield, sent a letter to Supreme Court Chief Justice Gordon MacDonald, Safety Commissioner Robert Quinn and Attorney General John Formella seeking a meeting and an update about efforts to close that gap. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My issue today I have is much bigger. There is a global issue here, a broader issue, Stephen said Thursday. I dont want to read in the paper tomorrow about another person is killed because our law enforcement doesnt have the tools. Earlier this week, MacDonald named two judges to investigate the court systems handling of Michael Gleason Jr., the Berlin man released on $5,000 bail who authorities said murdered his estranged wife, then fatally shot himself earlier this month. The two councilors, state Rep. Lori Korzen, R-Berlin, and House Deputy Majority Leader Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, separately called for the resignation of Court Magistrate Stephanie Johnson, who let Gleason, 50, out on bail for kidnapping, sexual assault and theft charges two months before he killed Marisol Fuentes and himself at the La Casita Mexican Restaurant where she was working. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Johnson also ordered the release of Kyle Bisson, who then stabbed a Manchester man seven times on Elm Street. Bissons lawyer said he acted in self-defense. On Wednesday, Ayotte added her voice to the call. Magistrate should resign This magistrate should resign. I advocated for eliminating the magistrate system in our bail law that goes into effect in September to keep violent offenders and domestic abusers off our streets, Ayotte posted on X. My heart goes out to Marisols loved ones and the entire Berlin community. During an interview on Good Morning New Hampshire with Jack Heath, Stephen said court administrators told him Johnson is not sitting in on any cases during this review. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They have assured me she is not hearing cases but that is not enough, Stephen said. Court officials have declined comment on Johnsons status as a magistrate, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters in the judicial branch. A different judge issued a restraining order against Gleason in a case brought under civil law by another woman five days before Gleason murdered Fuentes and killed himself. Stephen questioned whether the court system shared that information with law enforcement in real time. When an individual on bail reoffends or becomes subject to a protective order, law enforcement authorities must have immediate access to comprehensive information and tools necessary for decisive action, Kenney and Stephen wrote in their letter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The State Police manage an electronic information exchange network with the court system called the J-One Program. Stephen said he worked on it when he was an assistant commissioner in the Department of Safety. Formellas office released a statement on the case, which read in part: The New Hampshire Department of Justice is treating the recent and tragic domestic violence-related homicide in Berlin with the utmost seriousness. We are actively gathering all relevant information, including monitoring the results of the Berlin Police Departments ongoing internal investigation, and are working in close coordination with the New Hampshire State Police, the Coos County Attorneys Office, and other appropriate partners to fully examine the circumstances of this case. The AGs statement also indicated the states Domestic Violence Fatality Review Committee will ultimately review the findings of the case and will recommend ways to improve stronger coordination among agencies in such cases. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ayotte joined resignation call of magistrate under fire The estranged husband who officials say murdered Marisol Fuentes (pictured) before killing himself was freed on $5,000 bail on felony charges because a tougher bail reform law had yet to begin, Gov. Kelly Ayotte said. On Wednesday, Ayotte joined a parade of officials who have called upon the magistrate making that bail decision, Stephanie Johnson, to step down. Here, Fuentes was pictured at the La Casita Mexican Restaurant where she had been working and was found murdered on July 6. 2024 bail reform law In a 2024 bail reform law (HB 318) signed by former Gov. Chris Sununu, the Legislature gave the judicial branch $1.7 million to set up a data platform and manage a system that would share any individuals bail conditions with law enforcement upon request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter seeks a meeting with MacDonald, Quinn and Formella, as well as the councilors in the next seven-to-10 days. The councils next regularly scheduled meeting is July 30 in the Great North Woods town of Pittsburg. While we recognize that internal and external reviews are currently underway, we believe this discussion will provide valuable opportunities to explore additional measures for strengthening the systems that protect our communities and ensuring that law enforcement, courts, and other stakeholders possess the necessary resources to respond effectively and decisively, Kenney and Stephen wrote. WMUR reported earlier this week that the surviving family of Gleason wrote a letter to Fuentess family expressing sorrow for her violent end. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Please know that we are immensely sorry for your great loss. No one in the family knew his intention nor agrees with what he did. Not all of us had met Marisol but, the ones that did loved her, the Gleason family letter said. We loved him too, because this is not the man that we knew. To us he was a loving father, grandfather, caring son and bratty, protective brother. His nieces and nephews called him Uncle Monkey because he was funny and playful. We never could have imagined him committing this grave sin, nor do we condone it. klandrigan@unionleader.com A resurfaced video of a younger White House deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller shows the presidents ghoulish policy adviser raving that torture is a celebration of life. In a video dated 2003, 17-year-old Miller sits backward on a school bus speaking about the United States invasion of Iraq. To the issue of the Iraqi civilians, I think that as many of them should survive as possible, because the goal of any military conflict is to kill as few people as possible, Miller said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But as for Saddam Hussein and his henchmen, I think the ideal solution would be to cut off their fingers. I dont think its necessary to kill them entirely, were not a barbaric people, we respect life. Therefore torture is the way to go. Because tortured people can live. Torture is a celebration of life and human dignity, he continued, as teenagers off screen burst into laughter. We need to remember that as we enter these very dark and dangerous times in the next century. And I only hope that many of my peers and people who will be leading this country will appreciate the value and respect that torture shows towards other cultures, Miller said. Stephen Miller: Torture is a celebration of human life and dignity. Leaked video shows the current White House Chief of Staff at 17, describing the torture of Iraqis in gruesome detail as the group erupts in laughter. pic.twitter.com/2dqfJUQwHe BreakThrough News (@BTnewsroom) July 16, 2025 Twenty-three years later, Miller is a central figure leading the United States, and his inhumane immigration policies have marked the way for hundreds of people to be detained in tortuous conditions and deported to dangerous third countries and foreign gulags. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking to Vice in 2017, former White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders dismissed the video as being inauthentic. This is clearly a sketch comedy routine performed by teenagers and for teenagers as part of a video yearbook, she said. This teenage skit does not reflect any policy position, past or present, held by Stephen Miller. This is another comical overreach by the media. But theres plenty of reasons to consider Millers heinous statements legitimate. Miller was raised in California, where his evolving political views could not have been more at odds with those of progressive, inclusive Santa Monica, a fact in which he delighted, wrote Vanity Fair special correspondent William D. Cohan in 2017 after Miller had helped craft the Trump administrations travel ban on predominantly Muslim countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Millers former classmates recalled that he would challenge Latino students to speak English and loudly opposed putting student announcements in multiple languagesan attitude that mirrors the Trump administrations recent policy to end all multi-lingual services purporting to promote the use of English. In 2002, Miller wrote a whiny op-ed for the Santa Monica Lookout, railing against the political correctness he believed had taken over his school, and declaring that Osama Bin Laden would feel very welcome at Santa Monica High School. Once a wildly conservative wunderkind, now simply a seething racist, it seems that Miller hasnt changed at all. Jul. 16Stephen P Vaughn, aka, "Pancake." Father, grandfather, brother, uncle, son, friend, cousin, fisherman, hunter, builder, hummingbird lover. October 17, 1951 February 2, 2025 Steve left this earthly world on the first weekend of February. A sudden heart attack at his home meant that he missed his Sunday waffles with family friends, for which he would have been sad, but also that he didn't have to set foot in a hospital, for which he would have been thankful. Steve was born in Los Angeles, and grew up in Orange County, CA. He wandered the length of the west coast by foot, car, bike and train, and landed in the high desert near Hesperia for many years . . . below a specific oak tree, near his favorite hot springs, where he made lifetime friends, and where his first son spent his early years. Later Steve moved to Hop Canyon, NM with his wife Leslie and a backpack. He left 20 years later, possibly with the same backpack, having built a house, drilled a well, erected a windmill, and raised 4 children. He returned to California, and lived in Lake Tahoe, near his parents, brothers, niece and nephews. In Tahoe he continued working as a carpenter and was passionate about fishing in the high mountain lakes with the select few who would get up early enough and walk far enough to join him. By 2019 he was done shoveling snow. He headed south again, eventually making his way to Socorro, NM, where he spent the rest of this life. Steve loved early morning coffee and reading his bible. He was a man of faith and principles that didn't care about cultural trends, nor did he seem aware they existed most of the time. He loved to walk and hum, and he had strong square hands and gave bracing hugs. He loved flowers, birds, heirloom tomatoes and peaches. He was known for his staccato laugh, and his love of hot water and steamspending most evenings in his inflatable hot tub and home-made sauna. He didn't care much for other earthly possessions. More than anything else he loved his kids and grandkids. Steve is survived by his children, Adam (Rachael), Israel, Hannah (Dain), David (Daisha), and Barnabas; by his brothers Mark (Carolyn), Dean, and Wayne; by his grandchildren, Eva, Ana, Arlo, Teagan, Farrah, Vivian, and Lillian; his nephews, Jason (Timbra), Chris, and James (Jorden) , and niece Jen (Tony); and by his lifetime friends Dan and Wendy. We would have like to have another visit, to take another walk with you, to share a beer, to sit quietly in the sauna, to hike up to another mountain lake, to watch the hummer birds come back again in the summer. We weren't quite ready for you to go. The family wants to thank Jimmy and Laurie, and our cousin James for their grit and sensitivity... you are the silver lining. We love you. Citing the ongoing potential for lethal and destructive weather across the U.S., the Steve Miller Band has canceled its fall 2025 tour, including an Oct. 5 concert at Hard Rock Live at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood. Tickets for that concert were nearly sold out, with just a few dozen seats remaining. Refunds are available at the point of purchase. The decision was explained late Wednesday night in social media posts. The same message appears on the bands official website, SteveMillerBand.com. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You make music with your instincts. You live your life by your instincts. Always trust your instincts, the announcement stated. The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you, our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable. Miller, who grew up in Dallas, made the call to cancel the tour less than two weeks after historic flooding in the Texas Hill Country killed at least 134 people. The Steve Miller Band concert at Hard Rock Live was scheduled to take place four days before the anniversary of Hurricane Milton, a destructive storm that made landfall near Siesta Key on Oct. 9, 2024, causing more than $34 billion in damage. The tour, announced in May, included 31 stops beginning Aug. 15 in Bethel, New York, and concluding in Anaheim, California, on Nov. 8. For more information, visit MyHRL.com. Staff writer Ben Crandell can be reached at bcrandell@sunsentinel.com. Follow on IG: @BenCrandell. Citing climate change, the Steve Miller Band has canceled their upcoming 31-date North American tour, which includes an Aug. 28 stop at the Minnesota State Fair Grandstand. The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes and massive forest fires make these risks for you our audience, the band and the crew unacceptable. So You can blame it on the weather The tour is canceled, reads an announcement on the bands website. Dont know where, dont know when We hope to see you all again. Ticket buyers who purchased from Etix or the Minnesota State Fair using a credit card will automatically receive a refund. Others should return to the point of purchase for a refund. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State Fair officials learned the news Wednesday evening and have yet to announce a replacement act. While its not unusual for a tour to cancel shows due to weather issues, Variety notes this may be the first time an entire tour was canceled due to climate change. Led by 81-year-old Milwaukee native Steve Miller, the group released seven albums to little commercial success, but broke through to the mainstream with 1973s The Joker. The bands biggest hits include Take the Money and Run, Fly Like an Eagle, Jet Airliner, Rockn Me and Abracadabra. Miller earned headlines in 2016 when he was nominated to the Rock Hall as a solo artist. He told Rolling Stone: I kind of enjoyed having people complain that I wasnt in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame more than I think Ill like being in it. After the induction ceremony, Miller further vented to the magazine in an expletive-filled rant about the ceremony and the music business in general. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Minnesota State Fair runs from Aug. 21 through Sept. 1. Here is the Grandstand lineup as previously announced: Thursday, Aug. 21: Old Dominion Friday, Aug. 22: Meghan Trainor Saturday, Aug. 23: Atmosphere Related Articles Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sunday, Aug. 24: Melissa Etheridge and Indigo Girls Monday, Aug. 25: The Happy Together Tour Tuesday, Aug. 26: Def Leppard Wednesday, Aug. 27: Hank Williams Jr. Thursday, Aug. 28: Steve Miller Band (canceled) Friday, Aug. 29: Avett Brothers Saturday, Aug. 30: Nelly Sunday, Aug. 31: Minnesota State Fair Amateur Talent Contest Finals Monday, Sept. 1: Rock and Roll Playhouse In whats believed to be a music industry first, the Steve Miller Band has cited climate change-driven weather disasters as the impetus for canceling its 2025 concert tour. The band made the announcement late Wednesday in a statement shared on their official website and social mediaplatforms. You make music with your instincts. You live life by your instincts. Always trust your instincts... The Steve Miller Band has cancelled all of our upcoming tour dates, the statement read. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The combination of extreme heat, unpredictable flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, and massive forest fires make these risks for you our audience, the band, and the crew unacceptable, it continued. So You can blame it on the weather The tour is cancelled. The Steve Miller Band had been slated to kick off its U.S. tour in Bethel, New York on Aug. 15, 2025. Brad Barket via Getty Images Prior to Wednesdays announcement, the Steve Miller Band had been slated to kick off the tour in Bethel, New York, on Aug. 15. The 31-show trek would have concluded Nov. 8 in Anaheim, California. The band didnt share plans to reschedule any of its shows, but added in their statement: Dont know where, dont know when We hope to see you all again. As Variety pointed out, the tour may be the first to ever be canceled due to extreme weather as a whole, rather than a single event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On social media, many fans applauded the bands decision. Theres not much to celebrate right now and this man knows it, one person wrote on Instagram. Our country has tilted way off balance and if we dont stand up, speak out and save it, no concert tours will be the least of our worries. Added another: This is so responsible, and anyone that disagrees is irresponsible. Frontman Steve Miller was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame in 2016. Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images Others, however, were more critical, suggesting the band had other reasons for scrapping their shows. What a joke. If this is a real reason why are you the only band/touring act to cancel a tour right now? one person wrote. Added another: Somehow all the other bands are managing. Maybe tour in the winter? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Formed in San Francisco in the late 1960s, the Steve Miller Band remains a staple on classic rock radio thanks to era-defining hits like 1973s The Joker, 1976s Fly Like an Eagle and 1982s Abracadabra. Frontman Steve Miller was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, five years after the release of the bands most recent studio album, Let Your Hair Down. While the Steve Miller Band might be the first to cancel an entire tour due to extreme weather, artists like Beyonce and Ed Sheeran have also faced weather-related challenges on their recent tours. Many music industry experts believe the impact of climate change on concerts and other live performances, particularly those held outdoors, will continue to rise in the years ahead. When I first joined Reverb, probably one out of every 10 acts we worked with would have at least one weather cancellation when they went on tour, Lara Seaver, director of projects at the music sustainability company Reverb, told Rolling Stone in 2024. Now pretty much every artist we work with has a weather incident. The increase and severity is increasing. Related... U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party's nominating convention in Lansing on Aug. 21, 2022. (Andrew Roth | Michigan Advance) U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) on Wednesday questioned the Trump administrations lack of focus on preventing domestic terrorism and politically motivated violence, while also expressing concern that a 22-year-old with little experience in counterterrorism was hired to lead a key task force. In a letter sent Wednesday to U.S. Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Stevens said recent events, like the assasination of a Minnesota state legislator and her husband, show a broader pattern of political violence across the nation. Stevens main concern was Noems department recently made significant cuts to staff and is no longer working to counter violent homegrown extremism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stevens concerns were amplified by news that the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships, which is the main office for domestic terrorism prevention, was now being led by a staffer with barely a year of experience since graduating college and who was once investigated by police in Texas for harassment. ProPublica reported in June that the individual leading the unit is Thomas Fugate, who worked as an intern with the conservative Heritage Foundation and on Trumps 2024 campaign before replacing Bill Braniff as the head of the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships. Braniff is a career counterterrorism scholar who attended the West Point U.S. Military Academy and resigned due to the agencys cuts. Stevens, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate, said those issues raise new oversight concerns about the department under Noems leadership, and requested that Noem respond in writing to congressional oversight concerns. The prevention of domestic terrorism is not optional it is a core homeland security mandate, and one that the Michiganders I represent are concerned about, Stevens said. In a moment of rising extremism and political violence, DHS must be fully resourced and appropriately led to meet this challenge. I urge you to take immediate steps to restore CP3s mission and ensure qualified leadership is in place to carry it out effectively. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX ABILENE, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) Need $7,500? The Texas Department of Public Safety is still searching for fugitive Jesus Alberto Villegas. Villegas is featured on the Texas DPS Most Wanted Fugitives list for Sexual Assault of a Child and Probation Violation, stemming from previous convictions for Possession of a Prohibited Weapon and Felony Theft. He is described as a 45-year-old American Indian man, standing 511 and weighing approximately 145 pounds. His last known address was in Abilene, and he is believed to have ties to Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to records, Villegas was allegedly involved in a stabbing incident in August 1996, during which he was found in possession of a 15-inch sawed-off rifle and arrested. He fled the Abilene area in 1998 after being charged with Sexual Assault of a Child. The Taylor County Sheriffs Office currently holds active warrants for his arrest on both charges. A reward of up to $7,500 is being offered for information leading to his capture. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTAB - BigCountryHomepage.com. SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) You ask, we answer! We now have an answer to this question youve been asking: Whats going to replace the closed Jimmy Johns on Marshall Street, near Syracuse University? The iconic Brooklyn Pickle is moving in! Crews remove the old Jimmy Johns sign from 103 Marshall Street. We were there Thursday morning, July 17, as crews removed the Jimmy Johns sign from 103 Marshall Street. Brooklyn Pickle owner Craig Kowadla announced the expansion, as the legendary sandwich shop celebrates 50 years in business. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kowadla told Bridge Streets Erik Columbia that theyre hoping to open the new Marshall Street location in August. The new Marshall Street shop will be the companys eighth location, and third in the City of Syracuse. In 2019, they opened a spot on Buckley Road, right near the Clay/Salina border. In 2023, they took their delicious sandwiches to Utica. They also have three locations in North Carolina. Submit a form. More Your Stories Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WSYR. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed regret after Israeli tank fire killed three people at a Catholic church in Gaza on Thursday, blaming a "stray" round for the deaths after a phone call with US President Donald Trump. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said 10 others were also wounded in the attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza City -- the territory's only Catholic house of worship -- including parish priest Father Gabriel Romanelli. Witnesses and the Latin Patriarch said a tank shell slammed directly into the church around 10:30 am (0730 GMT), but the Israeli military later said an initial inquiry "suggests that fragments from a shell... hit the church mistakenly". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pope Leo XIV said he was "deeply saddened" by the loss of life at Holy Family, which the late Pope Francis had kept in regular contact with throughout the war between Israel and Hamas militants. Israel's military maintained it made "every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and religious structures", while Netanyahu promised an investigation. "Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church. Every innocent life lost is a tragedy," Netanyahu said in a statement. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had called Netanyahu after having "not a positive reaction" to news of the strike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic church, that's what the prime minister relayed to the president," she said. AFP images showed the injured being treated at Gaza City's Al-Ahli Hospital, also known as the Baptist Hospital, with one receiving oxygen and blood while lying under a foil blanket. Father Romanelli could be seen with a bandage around his lower leg. Mourners knelt next to two white body bags laid out on the floor. "In the morning a tank shell targeted us and hit the church, and a number of civilians were killed and wounded," said Shadi Abu Daoud, a displaced man whose 70-year-old mother was killed in the strike. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal confirmed the deaths at the church. Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, told Vatican News: "What we know for sure is that a tank, the IDF (Israeli military) says by mistake, but we are not sure about this, they hit the Church directly." - 'Serious act' - The patriarchate, which has jurisdiction for Catholics in Israel, the Palestinian Territories, Jordan and Cyprus, said it "strongly condemns this strike and this targeting of innocent civilians". The site was sheltering around 600 displaced people, the majority of them children and 54 with special needs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The people in the Holy Family Compound are people who found in the Church a sanctuary -- hoping that the horrors of war might at least spare their lives, after their homes, possessions and dignity had already been stripped away," it said in a statement. Foreign leaders, including from France and Italy, called the attack "unacceptable". Gaza's civil defence agency reported that Israeli strikes elsewhere across the Palestinian territory killed at least 22 people on Thursday. Out of the Gaza Strip's population of more than two million, about 1,000 are Christians. Most of them are Orthodox but according to the Latin Patriarchate, there are about 135 Catholics in the territory. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pope Francis had repeatedly called for an end to the Gaza war, condemning in his final Easter message a day before his death the "deplorable humanitarian situation" in the Palestinian territory. - 'Totally unacceptable' - Monsignor Pascal Gollnisch, the head of Catholic charity l'Oeuvre d'Orient, told AFP the raid was "totally unacceptable". "It is a place of worship. It is a Catholic church known for its peaceful attitude, for being a peacemaker. These are people who are at the service of the population," he said. "There was no strategic objective, there were no jihadists in this church. There were families, there were civilians." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 21 months of war have created dire humanitarian conditions for Gaza's population, displacing most residents at least once and triggering severe shortages of food and other essentials. The war was triggered by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 58,667 Palestinians, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza. Media restrictions in Gaza and difficulties in accessing many areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by the civil defence agency and other parties. burs-acc-phz/smw/rlp NEW YORK (PIX11) Some student loan borrowers will start seeing interest accruing on their accounts at the end of July, according to an announcement from the Department of Education. Beginning Aug. 1, loan interest will restart accruing for borrowers in the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan, a move expected to impact almost 7.7. million people. New York services offer help with repaying student loan debt Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It comes after a federal court issued an injunction to prevent the full implementation of the SAVE plan in spring 2024. In February, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the injunction. U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has said department representatives will reach out to borrowers with instructions on how to move to a new repayment plan. More: Latest News from Around the Tri-State Former President Joe Biden introduced the SAVE Plan in August 2023 to lower monthly payments and give borrowers loan forgiveness after a certain number of years. Despite interest restarting on loans in the SAVE Plan, enlisted borrowers remain in a forbearance period because servicers are not yet able to bill the amount required by the court order. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ending the Department of Education could impact student loans and protections Servicers may also place borrowers into a different forbearance category, known as processing forbearance, if additional time is needed to process applications for alternate plans, recalculate payments, or recertify borrowers incomes for their IDR plan. 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. EXCLUSIVE: A new study by the Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) alleges that major U.S. and European news outlets served as uncritical megaphones for Hamas-linked narratives during the war with Israel in Gaza, amplifying claims that ultimately undermined a U.S.-backed food relief operation while shielding the terrorist group from scrutiny. The 102-page report, titled "The 4th Estate Sale: How American and European Media Became an Uncritical Mouthpiece for a Designated Foreign Terror Organization" concludes that outlets including MSNBC, CNN, The Washington Post, and Reuters published or promoted unverified claims sourced from the Gaza Health Ministry without disclosing that it is controlled by Hamas, a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization. These narratives, according to the study, falsely blamed the U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) for deadly incidents and fed conspiracy theories that spread across global media and social networks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We need to audit the media," a senior researcher at NCRI and lead author of the study who wished to remain anonymous told Fox News Digital. "What we found is not just bias its the laundering of information warfare. When a terrorist-linked health ministry makes a claim, and that claim becomes the basis for international headlines without independent verification or source transparency, that is not journalism. That is narrative laundering, and it puts real people at risk." As Us-backed Group Delivers 70 Million Meals, Un And Ngos Fight To Discredit Gaza Aid Rival A young boy waits with others behind a fence during an aid distribution in Gaza. U.S.-backed groups like GHF say they are trying to deliver food directly to families without exploitation. Rev. Johnnie Moore, president of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, told Fox News Digital that the report validates what he and his team have been enduring on the ground since launching aid operations in 2025. "On one level, I wasnt surprised by the findings because Ive been experiencing the effect of these lies for weeks," Moore said. "But on the other hand I was shocked by the sheer scale of it all. Lets be clear: media outlets in the United States, the UK, and in continental Europe are literally doing the work of terrorists. They have become the default press secretaries for designated terrorist organizations. As absurd as that sounds, thats exactly what has happened." Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to GHF, the group has delivered over 70 million meals to Gazan civilians since May 2025, without a single aid truck being looted. The NCRI report cites this as a direct threat to Hamass control over Gazas traditional aid economy, which has long relied on systems that the terror group can exploit, divert and weaponize. Us-backed Gaza Aid Group Launches Bold New System To Deliver Food Directly To Families Rev. Johnnie Moore, chairman of the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, told Fox News Digital that "were not trying to replace the U.N., were trying to feed starving people. Anyone whos more interested in politics than feeding children should get out of the way." "They write papers and letters and sign documents, and yet were doing it," GHF interim executive director John Acree said in response to NGO criticism. He implored those groups to "please, come. Come and help us." "We believe Hamas made over one billion dollars last year just from manipulating the system of aid managed by the United Nations and others," Moore said. "They take free food, then sell it. They hoard it for their fighters. They use it to recruit. So when we came in and disrupted that pipeline, Hamas saw us as a threat to their business model and their control." According to NCRI, "every time the GHF distributed aid, antisemitic and conspiratorial online narratives increased in intensity", including claims the group was feeding Palestinians drug-laced food. These spikes in disinformation, the report says, often coincided with milestones like new site openings or meal delivery totals, suggesting a coordinated effort to discredit the operation online. AI systems showed measurable shifts in perceived responsibility for Gazas humanitarian crisis after reading news articles. According to NCRI research, exposure to mainstream coverage influenced perceptions of Hamas, Israel, and U.S. aid groups. The study documents a pattern in which major media platforms published or aired claims that were later found to be incorrect, often without public correction or transparency. In one widely circulated example, CNN posted on June 1, 2025: "At least 31 Palestinians were killed amid chaotic scenes near an aid site run by a US-backed private foundation in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The NCRI's study had this to say about their report: "CNN blamed the IDF and the US-backed GHF for the deaths of over 30 civilians based solely on the Hamas Health Ministrys word. The CNN tweet, which went viral and garnered nearly half a million views, did not include context about the health ministrys terror ties, nor did it indicate the unverified nature of the claim beyond stating that CNN could not independently confirm the details." The report further notes: "CNN later updated its story, citing an Israeli denial and including more context, but the viral post remained unchanged. This illustrates the speed at which misleading narratives can spread and the slow, often inadequate pace of correction." In response to Fox News Digitals inquiry, CNN stated: "There was never any doubt that the aid center in question was a GHF aid site, and we did not associate the GHF with the incident. The shootings occurred along the approach route to the aid distribution site, approximately 800 meters from it, and involved people walking there to get aid a point which no one disputes." Uk Humanitarian Aid To Gaza Scrutinized After Document Allegedly Warns Of Links To Hamas-controlled Ministry Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement CNN added that their reporting relied on multiple sources, including eyewitnesses and background confirmation from an Israeli official, and that the story was labeled as developing and updated according to standard editorial practices. In its later updates, CNN stated that it "cannot independently verify who was responsible for the shooting," noting that the international media does not have access to Gaza. CNN later added Israels denial to its full story, quoting the IDF: "Findings from an initial inquiry indicate that the IDF did not fire at civilians while they were near or within the humanitarian aid distribution site and that reports to this effect are false." However, this denial was not included in CNNs original viral tweet, which only cited the Gaza Health Ministry. It appeared later in the same thread and was eventually added to the full article. In an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital, the IDF confirmed that it allows the U.S.-based Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) to operate independently within distribution zones, adding that forces have implemented safety upgrades including fencing, signage, and new access routes to minimize friction with civilians. The NCRI report also singles out MSNBC last month for amplifying unverified claims: "MSNBC aired a segment alleging that Israeli forces fired on a crowd near a food distribution site affiliated with GHF, citing the Gaza Health Ministrys claims. At no point in the segment was the health ministry identified as being run by Hamas." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The clip that aired on MSNBCs "Morning Joe" remains online with "clarification," not correction, added in the description. NCRI analysts noted that "MSNBC aired no comparable editorial scrutiny of the Hamas-run ministry." MSNBC later referenced the broader controversy in a follow-up segment the next morning on June 20. Palestinians in Gaza get aid from the U.S. and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation. NCRI also flagged a Reuters report as an example of misidentification in headline summaries. The report included references to an unnamed private foundation, which NCRI claims contributed to "confusion, misattribution, and reputational harm." A Reuters spokesperson told Fox News Digital: "An advisory issued to update the headline of this story misnamed the organization that was listed on the report. We regret the error in the advisory. The report we reviewed bears the name Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, not Global Humanitarian Foundation. We stand by our reporting." By contrast, the NCRI study highlighted The Washington Posts social media activity as a prominent example of how unverified claims can rapidly spread. According to the report, "On June 1, the Washington Post tweeted: At least 30 people were killed in northern Gaza while waiting for food aid trucks to arrive, the Gaza Health Ministry said." The tweet did not mention Hamas or the ministrys affiliation with the group. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The tweet quickly went viral, garnering more than 2.4 million views in under 24 hours," NCRI noted. It was subsequently "amplified by numerous prominent influencers" and even cited by "at least two foreign government officials as a rationale to impose sanctions on the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation." The NCRI study states that "The tweet was never corrected or contextually clarified by the Washington Post or its social media editors." However, following inquiries and public scrutiny, The Washington Post deleted the tweet and issued a correction on X. "The article failed to make clear if attributing the deaths to Israel was the position of the Gaza health ministry or a fact verified by The Post," the outlet wrote. "The early versions fell short of Post standards of fairness and should not have been published in that form." Fox News Digital has reached out to The Washington Post for further comment but has not received a response as of publication. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hamas Attack On Aid Workers Leaves Eight Dead As Org Fears Some Were 'Taken Hostage' Both the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the U.S. State Department issued statements to Fox News Digital affirming support for GHF, while criticizing those who have undermined it. "A track record of distributing over 68 million meals to date all while preventing Hamas looting is absolutely incredible and should be commended and supported," said a State Department spokesperson on background. "We call on other aid agencies and the UN to participate in this secure aid delivery system." Negative social media engagement toward the U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation spiked following media coverage of alleged aid site violence. Researchers say this pattern suggests a correlation between operational milestones and narrative attacks. Negative sentiment dominates post-May 27. The spokesperson continued: "The fact of the matter is, many of these NGOs and the UN fail to protect their aid deliveries, using phrases like self-distribution to describe Hamas robbing from them. Yet they take time to attack the one system that is securely delivering critical aid to Palestinians in Gaza. The attacks against GHF are unacceptable perhaps they should support the only system that is working instead of criticizing from the sidelines." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The IDF, in a separate on-background statement, said it "allows the American civilian organization GHF to distribute aid to Gaza residents independently, and operates in proximity to the new distribution zones to enable the distribution alongside the continuation of IDF operational activities." "Following incidents in which harm to civilians who arrived at distribution facilities was reported, thorough examinations were conducted in the Southern Command and instructions were issued to forces in the field," the IDF stated. New Us-backed Aid Group Begins Distributing Food In War-torn Gaza Yet those measures were mostly absent from the reporting in many U.S. media outlets, which instead portrayed GHF as operating under Israeli military control, which was an intentional distortion, Moore claims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The relationship is intentionally misrepresented. They want to present us as part of the IDF, which we arent," he said. Moore also accused the UN of stonewalling GHF for political reasons. "We actually want to work with the UN to help more people, and weve extended our hand to them from the beginning," Moore said. "But the UN is behaving like a mafia. Theyre organizing opposition against us, in effect joining forces with Hamas because theres no difference in their policies. Theyve never boycotted Hamas, but theyve boycotted us." Earlier this month, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini called for the "end to the so-called Gaza Humanitarian Foundation," labeling the program "an abomination" that "provides nothing but starvation and gunfire." His remarks came in an open letter signed by more than 230 NGOs including Amnesty International, Save the Children and the Norwegian Refugee Council, which calls for a return to the traditional UN-led aid system. Moore added that the UN refused to condemn Hamas for the killing of 12 of GHFs local Gazan aid workers. "They similarly didnt issue a statement when two Americans were hit by a Hamas grenade a few days ago. Its an absolute scandal and an insult to the United States," he said. At the time of publication, the United Nations did not return Fox News Digital's request for comment. Asked what keeps his team going in the face of such hostility, Moore said, "Our team believes in the mission entirely, and they get strength every day from the Gazans we serve, who are so grateful. "We see something every day we havent seen in the Gaza Strip in a long time: smiles. The people need us and rely on us. We have to show up for them." An NCRI senior researcher agreed, but warned that the reputational cost of ignoring this media pattern goes far beyond one aid group. "The damage here isnt just to GHF its to the publics trust, to the credibility of democratic institutions, and to the security of people trying to do the right thing in the middle of a war zone," they said. "If we cant name the sources of our stories, if we wont label terrorist-linked ministries as such, and if we let social media outrun truth by a hundred miles, then we are no longer a watchdog were a tool. And its time the watchdogs were held accountable." Fox News' Beth Bailey contributed to this report. Original article source: Study claims US news outlets served as 'megaphones' for Hamas in Gaza war Researchers validated community concerns after a new study found radiation-related health risks in Missouri. The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health research shows children in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s who lived near Coldwater Creek face a higher risk of cancer. The area north of St. Louis is located on a tributary of the Missouri River, polluted from nuclear waste during the development of the first atomic bomb. The St. Louis Baby ToothLater Life Health Study (SLBT) collects baby teeth to measure radiation exposure from atmospheric nuclear testing, including those of people who lived near Coldwater Creek as children. Paired with self-reported cancer diagnoses, researchers were able to calculate cancer risk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Of the subsample of 4,209 participants from the SLBT, 24 percent said they had cancer, with the percentage increasing among populations closer to the creek. The risk of developing solid cancers was 52 percent higher for those who lived 0.6 miles from the creek. The risk of developing radiosensitive cancers, like thyroid, breast, leukemia and basal cell cancers, was 85 percent higher. "As countries think about increasing nuclear power and developing more nuclear weapons, the waste from these entities could have huge impacts on people's health, even at these lower levels of exposure," said the author of the paper, Marc Weisskopf. The study comes as Congress passed a new version of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA), allowing Americans to be compensated for medical bills related to radiation exposure. The RECA is currently shut down and not accepting new applications. Impacted communities are told not to file claims until the pause is lifted, as after three denials, individuals cannot refile. Study Finds Atomic Waste Caused High Cancer Risk Near Major U.S. City first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 17, 2025 SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) A study found that the Utah Transit Authority services benefit Utah by providing significant economic return. Currently, Utah Transit Authority (UTA) offers over 100 routes and 6,200 stops. Their services range from the FrontRunner train which travels between Ogden and Provo, Bus and TRAX routes for inter-city travel, and a seasonal Ski Bus. They also offer flex routes that allow passengers to request route deviations. According to a 2023 study conducted by Metro Analytics, Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and its numerous services provide significant benefits to Utahs economy, by generating thousands of jobs and impacting developmental value near transit lines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The study reported that For every $1 invested in UTA operations and capital, Utahs economy is able to produce a $5.11 in additional goods and services that could not have otherwise been possible. In total, this leads to an estimated additional $9.6 billion annually. Workforce Benefits UTA services have created 79,000 jobs, both directly and indirectly, according to the study. UTA employs operations crews, suppliers, contractors, and patron-facing representatives, personally employing 13,500 jobs. Additionally, thousands of workers depend on UTA transit to travel to their jobs. Other workers jobs depend on those transit workers, as well. As a whole, UTA services induced jobs by saving money for drivers, connecting workforce to employers, providing workers access to higher earnings, and spending money on the economy. Household and Business Savings UTA also economically benefits those who do not use public transit. Its services reduce traffic congestion, in turn ensuring fewer tax dollars are needed to repair roads, while maintaining cleaner air and quicker travel times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the study, the estimated time, travel, maintenance savings, and reduced air quality costs for Utah households and business travel totaled $717 million in 2023. UTA services also provide local businesses with more foot traffic. Poor Utah air quality may be even more dangerous than previously believed, research shows Future Economic Impact It is likely that continuing to invest in UTA services will lead to increasing economic returns in the future. The study indicates that, with continuous investment, each $1 invested in transit will produce $6.08 in return and save households $2.14 by 2050. The 2030-2050 Utah Unified Plan outlines funding plans for UTA growth throughout the state. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The potential economic impact is one of several factors used to determine transit investment. Andrew Gruber, the executive director of UTAs Wasatch Front Regional Council, says public transit, means more economic activity, which means more revenue and more opportunity to make more investments in Utahs economy. More information on UTAs available routes is available here. 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. The prevalence of autism has increased in the past few decades, contributing to a resurgence in fears of a link to a basic childhood health standard. Over and over, the claimed link between childhood immunizations and autism has been debunked and disproven. Still, a single retracted and fraudulent study from the 1990s refuses to go away, and nearly 3 decades later, some parents continue to fear that preventative medicine will have negative effects on their child. Now, a new study examines one specific version of the claim the notion that the aluminum content in vaccines is the cause of genetic neurodivergence and finds it untenable. Massive Study Covers 2 Decades Of Nationwide Data Photo by alenkasm on Deposit Photos Denmarks new study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, examines data in over 2.2 million children by reviewing health data from 1997 to 2020 (including children born through 2018). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since changes have occurred in the childhood vaccine schedule over that period, there have been trackable changes in the amount of aluminum exposure each child receives, allowing for direct comparison with rates of various conditions, including autism, ADHD, allergies, and autoimmune disorders. Proponents of the claim that vaccines cause autism point to the change over time. Its true that the total number of childhood vaccines has changed over time, and that the prevalence of autism has changed, but that doesnt prove causality, any more than the increased number of exoplanets seen by Earth telescopes from 1998 to 2020 does. All three changes only show that our information and technology has improved in the case of autism, were better at identifying it, and we have a broader criteria for diagnosing. The Danish study, therefore, had the potential to identify a real link, if one existed. Good News: No Link Exists Parents who are undecided about vaccines can rest easy after reviewing the results of this study. If increased aluminum exposure caused or increased the likelihood of autism, then increases in autism rates would correlate with the points at which aluminum exposure increased. Thus, the points at which new vaccines using aluminum to increase immune response were introduced would also be the points at which autism rates increased. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats not what the data shows. In fact, the increase in vaccines that contain aluminum didnt correlate with increases in any of the disorders and conditions examined in the study. The patterns (or lack thereof) strongly suggest that the increases in autism and ADHD are either random or attributable to other influences. We recognize that the diagnostic criteria have undergone a significant change. Some presentations of symptoms that were previously not defined as autism are now included in autism spectrum disorder. Weve also acknowledged that autism can present differently in girls than the stereotypical presentation that was defined by its most common symptoms in boys, and that it may present differently depending on factors such as when the gene is activated. Researchers are even proposing dividing the Autism spectrum into different subtypes based on symptoms and traits! Why Add Aluminum To Vaccines, Anyway? Photo by choreograph on Deposit Photos If there are concerns that aluminum and other additives to vaccines could increase the likelihood of an autism diagnosis, a reasonable question arises: why add aluminum to immunizations anyway? Would they work without it? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The CDC explains that aluminum is an adjuvant: Some vaccines that are made from weakened or killed germs contain naturally occurring adjuvants and help the body produce a strong protective immune response. However, most vaccines developed today include just small components of germs, such as their proteins, rather than the entire virus or bacteria. Adjuvants help the body to produce an immune response strong enough to protect the person from the disease he or she is being vaccinated against. In other words, adding aluminum to a vaccine means smaller doses of the germ itself. Aluminum, specifically, has been used as an adjuvant since the 1930s and is considered extremely safe. You may also wonder how much aluminum, exactly, is in your babys vaccines, and how it compares to what they encounter elsewhere. Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia shared this analysis: EXCLUSIVE: Watermelon Pictures has set an August 8 U.S. theatrical release for Hind Meddebs timely documentary Sudan, Remember Me which has been on 10-month worldwide tour screening in scores of festivals. French-born journalist and filmmaker Meddeb, who is also of Moroccan, Tunisian and Algerian heritage, spent close to a decade documenting the youth-led, pro-democracy movements that swept Morocco, Tunisia, Sudan and Egypt in the 2010s. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sudan, Remember Us captures a jubilant moment of defiance among young Sudanese activists in Khartoum after the overthrowing of dictator Omar al-Basar dictatorship, and then chronicles the military crackdown that followed. Meddab orginanally traveled to Sudan in the immediate aftermath of the revolution in 2019 to capture a sit-in protest at the army headquarters in Khartoum as the Sudanese people demanded reform after decades of military dictatorship. There she met a selection of young activists that she would continue to film over the course of four years, from the swell of hope and accomplishment following al-Bashirs fall to the oppression of the military crackdown and subsequent civil war, which today, leaves Sudan in ruins. Along the way, she explores the resilience and sources of inspiration of the pro-democracy activists as well as the way in which poetry, music and art bolster their struggle. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the outbreak of the civil war in the spring of 2023, more than 150,000 people have died and roughly a quarter of the 46M strong population has been displaced, Meddebs documentary offers another window in the lives and hopes of the Sudanese people. World premiering in Venices Giornate degli Autori parallel section last August, the film has since played at TIFF, Doc NYC, CPH DOX, San Francisco Film Festival among many other festivals. Sudan, Remember Us is produced by Abel Nahmias, Michel Zana, Alice Ormieres, and Taoufik Guiga. With an accent on Palestinian culture and creativity Watermelon Pictures was launched in 2024 by brothers Hamza Ali and Badie Ali, with Alana Hadid as Creative Director. Recent releases included To A Land Unknown and The Encampments. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXHjPdOBois?version=3&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://deadline.com&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent&w=600&h=338] Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Thursday, July 17, will be the last day that the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will have services available for LGBTQ+ youth. This comes after President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans decided to cut off funds for suicide prevention efforts that they had previously signed off on, the latest step in the Republican campaign to marginalize transgender Americans. On June 17, in the middle of Pride Month, the Trump administrations Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced that it will no longer silo LGB+ youth services. The administrations stated purpose is that the lifeline can now focus on serving all help seekers, including those it previously served. However, LGBTQ+ health advocates have noted that the wording of the announcement deliberately erases trans and queer people, referring to LGBTQ+ youth as just LGB. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The move is part of a larger push from Trump and the Republican Party to eliminate all references to trans people in American government. The conservative movement has also set more extreme goals, with one CPAC speaker in 2023 saying that transgenderism must be eradicated from public life entirely. Despite the Trump administrations attacks, resources remain available through private providers. Nonetheless, since taking office, Trump has issued a slew of executive orders targeting trans Americans, including by eliminating coverage of gender-affirming care under the Affordable Care Act, and attempting to limit access to gender-affirming care for Americans under 19 years of age. We knew that there was a possibility of this happening, Aaron Almanza, executive director of the LGBT National Help Center, told Salon. Still, Almanza said that he believed the end of Lifeline services wouldnt come until October. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision to cut the LGBTQ+ youth support for 988 is a direct attack on some of the most vulnerable parts of our population and will only cause them to face even more challenges going forward, Almanza said. It is a shameful act that a decision was made not out of finances but out of an administration that has, from day one, set their sights on trying to eliminate and disenfranchise our community. Almazna noted that Trumps decision to make the original announcement in the middle of Pride Month was an effort to incite panic throughout the community. The national lifeline was officially launched in 2022 two years after the House unanimously passed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act. Trump himself signed the bill into law, including the provisions specifically helping LGBTQ+ youth. According to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, the Lifeline has received more than 11 million calls in its three years of operation, with about 1.5 million of these being calls seeking specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mark Henson, CEO of the Trevor Project, a nonprofit focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth, told Salon that, according to the administration itself, this isnt even a cost-saving measure because the 988 hotline will continue. It just now wont have specialists to help LGBTQ+ youth. LGBTQ+ youth are more than four times as likely as their peers to attempt suicide, so this shutdown of this program from the administration is really a direct attack on LGBTQ+ youth, reducing the type of services that they can access that have been clinically proven to support them, Henson said. More than 50,000 Americans have signed a petition, backed by the Trevor Project, to keep the 988 LGBTQ+ youth services lifeline open. Henson argued that its crucial to have 988 counselors with similar experiences to the people calling in, because of the stigma attached to being a young LGBTQ+ person and the specific life experiences that members of the community have. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Henson said that its similar to the veteran population. The Veterans Crisis Line has counselors who often come from that community and are trained and understand the different life experiences that veterans have. The 988 counselors who answer at the general state level, theyre good, Henson continued.. They can be supportive, but if they lack the specific knowledge of what it would mean to you know, go through family estrangement because of coming out, what it might mean the discrimination someone experiences when theyre in the process of transitioning as an LGBTQ+ plus youth, if they are transgender or non binary, Hensons said. Having a contact have to explain themselves and explain to a counselor whos supposed to be there to help them why theyre in crisis creates a gap between the ability to have the respect and trust engendered between the contact and the counselor. Start your day with essential news from Salon. Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course. Henson also noted that eliminating the LGBTQ+ youth services stands to put strain on the rest of the 988 system. The specific LGBTQ+ youth services were established because there was a significant need for these specific services and so people could be directed towards specialists. 988 calls that are not siloed into veterans services or LGBTQ+ youth services, two populations with a higher risk of suicidality, are directed to the closest regional facility. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Almanza, the director of the LGBTQ National Help Center, told Salon that their organizations hotline had already seen an increase in calls since last years election. Beyond our normal scope of crisis prevention, coming out concerns, and calls on gender and sexuality, we are seeing burnout from a community that sees a coordinated attack on our very existence in so many aspects of everyday life, Almanza said. Calls that may have been in the past an exploration on gender or sexual identity have new added fears of violence, lack of protections, loss of resources, and a rise of hopelessness that we have not seen since the HIV epidemic. While the government is ending support for LGBTQ+ youth on the 988 number, the Trevor Project, which was a 988 partner, is still maintaining a privately funded crisis hotline, available for people aged 13 to 24 at (866) 488-7386. The Trans Lifeline is also available. The national crisis hotlines US number is (877) 565-8860, and services are available from 1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time in the United States. The Trans Lifeline warns that it often receives a high volume of calls and recommends people call multiple times. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The LGBT National Help Center also maintains multiple hotlines, with the national Youth Talkline being available at (800) 246-7743. Services are available between 2:00 and 11:00 pm Eastern time Monday through Friday and from 12:00 and 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. A longer list of resources is available at Them.us. The post Suicide hotline changes are a direct attack on trans youth appeared first on Salon.com. SULLIVAN COUNTY, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) Many justice systems around the Wabash Valley have turned to recovery treatment programs in their jails and Sullivan County is now doing the same. The Sullivan County Sheriffs Office has announced they will be teaming up with a non-profit, Quality 360 Healthcare, to bring a recovery treatment program to the jail for inmates. Sheriff Jason Bobbitt said theyve been working on bringing this to the county for over a year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Q360 is in, I think the last I looked, close to 30 jails in the state of Indiana, Bobbitt said. Its just something that weve needed for a long time. If we can help one person, its worth the whole effort. The program will not cost local residents any money. Its of no cost to the taxpayers of Sullivan County, Bobbitt said. Its a grant from the state of Indiana that is supported by the Indiana Sheriffs Association. Sheriff Bobbitt said more programs like this are needed as mental health issues are on the rise. There are no state hospital beds anymore for the mentally ill, so unfortunately, a lot of times, those people end up incarcerated, Bobbitt said. They make a bad decision; this place is full of decent people who made a bad decision. However, they make a bad decision and they come here, but its not always the best place for them. While theyre here and theyre clean, maybe we can help keep them clean and get them clean and on the right track. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Once individuals have completed their assessments, Sullivan County will look at future plans such as community housing to maintain support. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to MyWabashValley.com. Jul. 17The U.S. Senate has approved a request from the Trump administration to rescind billions of dollars in previously adopted federal funding, including tens of millions of dollars meant for Alaska's 27 public radio stations. It was after 2 a.m. Thursday in Washington, D.C., when the senators cast their final votes on the measure, with Alaska's Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan split on the matter. Sullivan joined most of his GOP colleagues in voting in favor of the rescissions, while Murkowski joined Democrats and Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in voting against the funding cuts. Ultimately, the vote passed with support from 51 out of 53 Republican Senate members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [Update: House gives final approval to Trump's $9 billion cut to foreign aid and public media] The Senate vote came just a few hours after a tsunami warning impacting southwestern Alaska was transmitted over the airwaves by public radio stations in Kodiak, Unalaska and Sand Point. Managers of those radio stations have warned that the loss of federal funding could mean significant cuts in station operations, including to emergency broadcasts related to natural hazards like tsunamis. Alaska was set to receive roughly $30 million over the course of two years from the funding targeted in the rescissions package. Among Alaska's 27 public radio stations, 11 receive more than half their budget from the federal Corporation for Public Broadcasting, according to information shared by Alaska Public Media. Those include KSDP, the Sand Point station, and KUCB, the Unalaska station. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a statement last month, KUCB general manager Lauren Adams said the station is dependent on federal funding to maintain emergency alert services. "As the primary source of emergency alert information in our community, and the only local broadcast services in our remote region, Unalaska cannot afford to lose KUCB," Adams said. As lawmakers were voting on amendments to the package Wednesday, Murkowski pointed to the tsunami warning in Alaska as evidence of the importance of public radio funding. "Local residents and summer visitors alike were able to evacuate thanks to federal tsunami advisories relayed through local public broadcasting stations," Murkowski said in a social media post. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Some colleagues claim they are targeting 'radical leftist organizations' with these cuts, but in Alaska, these are simply organizations dedicated to their communities," Murkowski said. "Their response to today's earthquake is a perfect example of the incredible public service these stations provide. They deliver local news, weather updates, and, yes, emergency alerts that save human lives." Sullivan through a spokesperson declined multiple requests for comment Wednesday about his support for the rescissions package. Spokesperson Amanda Coyne said Tuesday that he had struck a deal with the White House to provide some funding to certain Alaska stations from another funding stream, but details on the new funding were sparse and had not reached station managers in Alaska as of Wednesday. "Currently, there is approximately $10 million available for tribal and Native stations in the country. Alaska has 11 Native stations," Coyne said in an email Thursday evening. Coyne did not say which 11 Alaska stations qualify as "Native" (no Alaska stations are directly owned by tribes). Coyne also did not say how many other stations across the country would be competing against Alaska's 11 eligible stations for the $10 million in funding, which amounts to less than what Alaska's 27 stations receive in a single year. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Sullivan will continue working to provide resources to support as many Alaska rural radio stations as possible. He was discussing this funding issue with a senior administration official this morning," Coyne said. She did not answer questions seeking additional clarity on the timeline for the funding allocation. Station managers in Alaska were in the dark Thursday about the potential new funding that Sullivan's office said he secured. Some said Sullivan was referencing an agreement Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota had secured from the Trump administration for a different funding source for "tribal radio stations." But many stations that serve primarily Alaska Native communities in Alaska are not directly affiliated with or owned by tribes. Among them is KYUK, a Bethel station that serves numerous communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta with a Yup'ik language call-in show, among other services. "We aren't tribally owned, so frankly, it's unclear whether or not those potential funds could even benefit a station like KYUK," said station manager Kristin Hall. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The funding secured for from another source is "not an apples-to-apples replacement for the funding for tribal stations," said Hall. "Although it may support a small portion of us for a limited amount of time, with the limited details that I have, it doesn't seem like a viable replacement for the entire network." Ed Ulman, president of Alaska Public Media, which serves statewide audiences with programs like Alaska News Nightly, said the station stands to lose $1.4 million annually, which constitutes 20% of its budget. Alaska Public Media would work with donors to try to fill in the gap, said Ulman. But at KYUK and other stations serving more rural parts of the state, turning to local donors is a more difficult prospect. KYUK stands to lose $1.2 million annually over half the station's annual budget and that is "not easily replaced by local fundraising," Hall said. With a current staff of about a dozen people, Hall says even cutting a single position would be "devastating." Her primary focus is maintaining the station's ability to broadcast emergency alerts when needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Knowing that we may have to make drastic cuts to our staff in order to maintain that basic service to these communities here in the region is a very difficult position to be in," Hall said. While Sullivan remained mum about the rescissions package, he said in a social media post Wednesday afternoon that he was "closely monitoring" the earthquake that led to the tsunami warning in areas spanning from the Kenai Peninsula to the Aleutian chain. Sullivan directed Alaskans to the website tsunami.gov for information a service provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has also been on the receiving end of widespread cuts by the Trump administration. Alaska's U.S. Rep. Nick Begich had previously supported the funding cuts when they were before the House last month. The U.S. House was expected to vote on the Senate version of the bill Thursday. Ahead of her no vote on the rescissions package, Murkowski on Tuesday implored her colleagues not to accept demands from the White House on federal funding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "What we're getting now is a direction from the White House, and being told, 'This is the priority, we want you to execute on it. We'll be back with you with another round.' I don't accept that," Murkowski said on the Senate floor. The Thursday Senate passage of the rescissions package, which came just one day ahead of a Friday deadline, was preceded by a threat from President Donald Trump that he would withhold endorsements from Republican senators who don't support the clawback effort. Sullivan, who has aligned himself with Trump on most issues, is running for reelection in 2026. Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly said public radio station KNBA is owned by an Alaska Native corporation. It is owned by a nonprofit organization governed by a majority Native board. Scottish ministers have been urged to rethink restrictions on controlled burning on moorland after a report disclosed recent wildfires were the largest Scotland has ever seen. Scottish Land and Estates (SLE) published a report examining the response to fires that burned across moorland at Carrbridge and Dava in the Highlands in late June and early July. It found the blazes affected an unprecedented 11,827 hectares of land the largest such event in Scotlands history. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SLE, the trade body representing landowners, said at least 101 workers from more than 30 rural businesses assisted dozens of firefighters in tackling the fires. A helicopter douses a wildfire with water - Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images At least 80 of them had experience of the controlled burning of vegetation on moorland to regenerate heather and grass, known as muirburn. But the study prepared at the request of Scottish Government officials warned new restrictions imposed by the SNP administration on muirburn could reduce the ability of land managers to prevent wildfires in future. It warned the system risked inadvertently compromising hundreds of years of collective skill and experience that enabled land managers to respond decisively and effectively to this emergency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Without this invaluable knowledge, it is clear that a far greater swathe of the landscape would have succumbed to the flames, it concluded. Devastation could have been greater Ross Ewing, SLEs director of moorland and the reports author, said: The Carrbridge and Dava wildfires represent the largest such event in Scotlands history and without the extraordinary intervention of rural businesses, the scale of devastation would have been even greater. These land managers brought not only equipment and personnel, but also essential knowledge of the terrain and fire behaviour much of it honed through generations of safe muirburn practice. Their contribution should be commended, supported and learnt from. The new licensing framework for muirburn, which gets rid of excess vegetation that fuels wildfires, will only permit the practice in limited circumstances on peatland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kenneth Stephen, of the Scottish Gamekeepers Association, told BBC Scotland: Where there were no firebreaks and the land was not managed, the wildfire just raged through large areas. It becomes too hot and unmanageable that it is not actually safe to put people in there. Plea to rethink muirburn rules Mr Stephen added: What we want is for the Scottish Government to look at the forthcoming muirburn restrictions, due to come into place on Jan 1 2026, and realise that they are not going to help prevent wildfire and the loss of peatlands. Jim Fairlie, the Scottish agriculture minister, visited the areas hit by the fires and praised gamekeepers for the role they played in tackling them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he would reflect on that experience and lessons we can learn for future incidents. 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. MACEDONIA, Ohio (WJW) First responders in Summit County are preparing for the worst, practicing how to handle a full-scale hazardous materials incident. On Wednesday, the Summit County Hazmat Team, the city of Macedonia and Norfolk Southern coordinated an emergency hazmat training exercise at the Conrail yard on Ledge Road. 2 indicted in mans 2011 murder in Tremont Rail emergencies are very infrequent, but they tend to be large-scale incidents, Macedonia Fire Chief Brian Ripley said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ripley said multiple agencies, including hazmat response, took part in the exercise, which simulated a tanker spill on one train car, two others showing smoke, and a separate scenario involving a trapped victim inside one of the cars, allowing the tactical rescue team to conduct a live rescue drill. Macedonia Mayor Nick Molnar called the training invaluable. You learn from other peoples problems, Molnar said. I mean, obviously, Palestine happened. And were going to do everything we can to prevent anything that could be a problem in the future. So its nice to have the railroad on board with us and all the neighboring communities coming in for this kind of training. And it really all comes down to one thingthats preparedness. PHOTOS: Semi-truck hauling trash crashes on I-480 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ripley emphasized that in hazmat spills, every second counts when it comes to containment. As soon as we can get there, its life safety firstcontrol the fire, control whatever hazardous material is being released to protect the environment, he said. Thats protecting the residents and population in general, stopping it from getting into creeks. The emergency hazmat team is not clean-upits containment. The training is part of Norfolk Southerns Operation Awareness and Response initiative. Molnar said it is also required by the National Incident Management System under FEMA guidelines. Ripley added that the no-pressure environment of the drill benefits all first responders, especially newer team members. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Barberton councilman wants FirstEnergy to credit residents $100 for outages This gives us an opportunity to maybe slow down, improve it, practice itso were prepared, he said. The training exercise wrapped up around 7 p.m., with all personnel released by 9 p.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Fox 8 Cleveland WJW. SUNY Delhi President Mary Bonderoff has received the New York State Disability Services Council Collaboration Award, "recognizing her outstanding leadership and commitment to accessibility, equity and inclusion for students with disabilities across the SUNY system," according to a news release from the college. "Throughout her long SUNY career, Dr. Bonderoff has demonstrated a deep understanding of the systemic barriers that impact students with disabilities and has consistently advanced efforts to remove those obstacles," the release stated. "She has led meaningful initiatives to improve access and foster belonging by allocating tangible resources to support inclusive practices and empower faculty and staff to adopt accessible, student-focused approaches. Her strategic insight and everyday advocacy have helped shape a campus culture where every student can thrive." According to the release, Bonderoff is an active supporter of the state Disability Services Council, encouraging professional development and system-wide collaboration among institutions. "Her efforts have elevated the work of accessibility professionals and inspired a stronger commitment to inclusion across the SUNY system," the release stated. "This recognition is deeply meaningful because I believe every student deserves a learning environment that sets them up to succeed," Bonderoff said. "By removing barriers and creating inclusive spaces, we can help students reach their potential and transform their lives. I'm proud of the work we have done on the Delhi campus and grateful to be part of a SUNY community that's committed to doing this important work together." SUNY Delhi will receive a grant to advance its mechatronics program. The Heckscher Foundation for Children announced in a news release it awarded SUNY Delhi a third-year grant of $151,755 to continue advancing its mechatronics program. The mechatronics program is a combination of electronics, parametric design and welding. The grant will enhance robotics training through the creation of a dedicated lab and the acquisition of three additional robotic units, the release stated. The funding also covers student certification test fees to help ensure graduates are job-ready upon completing the program. It builds on a multi-year partnership to address workforce shortages in the manufacturing industry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The robotics enhancements supported by this grant will be integrated into the hands-on curriculum for sophomore and senior students enrolled in SUNY Delhi's associate and bachelor's degree mechatronics programs. "With a fully equipped robotics lab and industry certifications, Delhi graduates are prepared for in-demand careers in manufacturing," the release stated. "Thanks to the continued investment from the Heckscher Foundation, our mechatronics graduates are positioned to become leaders in the advanced manufacturing sector," SUNY Delhi President Mary Bonderoff said in the release. "We are also proud to continue our industry partnerships and align education with direct pathways to careers." The Heckscher Foundation's grant model for work readiness and job placement programs requires a full-time job commitment from an employer partner. SUNY Delhi's industry partners, including Chobani, Special Metals LLC, MDI, Schneider Packaging, General Control Systems Inc., and NSH USA Inc., have committed to hiring qualified graduates, according to the release. The Heckscher Foundation's initial $400,000 grant in 2023 allowed SUNY Delhi to upgrade mechatronics laboratories with cutting-edge equipment for pneumatics and hydraulics to support hands-on learning. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are thrilled to have this support of the Heckscher Foundation for Children to expand and enhance our Mechatronics programs," Michael Sullivan, vice president of college advancement at SUNY Delhi said in a statement. "In addition to this grant, a number of local, regional and national companies and organizations have expressed their support and endorsement of our program and desire to see our capacity grow." When SUNY Chancellor John B. King Jr. visited the college in February 2024, Bonderoff showed him architectural drawings for a new building on campus where North Hall is now, that will hold the mechatronics major, a Daily Star archives article stated. Bonderoff said at the time that the building will cost about $33 million to build and the college had just started fundraising for the project. Mechatronics Assistant Professor Will Warner said at that time, the program has a 100% placement rate after graduation and 90% of those are offered a job during their internship. Each years graduating class is 80 to 100 students and the new building could accommodate more students to meet the demand for businesses. "We are working with our partners in SUNY, NYS Economic Development, and industry on plans to bring a state-of-the-art new mechatronics and applied technology center to our campus," Sullivan said Thursday. "We hope to have more news to share on this in the months ahead." In 1979, Congress created the Department of Education when it passed the Department of Education Organization Act. The bill was signed into law by President Jimmy Carter, who subsequently executed the law by standing up the new Cabinet-level agency. Every president since then, whether they supported the existence of the agency or not, staffed and ran the agency as required by the law passed by Congress. That is, until Donald Trump began his second term. Although Congress had passed and a president had signed the law creating the agency, Trump moved to abolish it unilaterally through executive orders and a severe reduction in staff that would make its operations which, again, are required by law impossible to execute. Despite lower court rulings pausing Trumps effort to eliminate the agency by fiat, the Supreme Courts conservative supermajority said he could go ahead and dismantle the agency. Except the conservative justices didnt actually say anything at all. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On July 14, they overturned a lower court injunction that had paused Trumps order while courts weighed whether he had the power to dismantle the agency. And they provided no explanation whatsoever. The May 22, 2025 preliminary injunction entered by the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, case No. 1:25cv10601, is stayed pending the disposition of the appeal in the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit and disposition of a petition for a writ of certiorari, if such a writ is timely sought, the brief, unsigned majority opinion says. Should certiorari be denied, this stay shall terminate automatically. In the event certiorari is granted, the stay shall terminate upon the sending down of the judgment of this Court. Chief Justice John Roberts has silently helped President Donald Trump enact his autocratic agenda with rulings that say nothing at all. JIM WATSON via Getty Images The courts unexplained decision received a harsh rebuke from Justice Sonia Sotomayor in a dissent, more than 10 times longer than the actual majority order, joined by the courts other two liberal justices. [This] decision is indefensible, Sotomayor wrote. It hands the Executive the power to repeal statutes by firing all those necessary to carry them out. The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naive, but either way the threat to our Constitutions separation of powers is grave. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The decision by the courts six conservative justices ends the pretense that the nations high court is following the law as it judges cases. Instead, it exemplifies how the court has blessed the second Trump administrations efforts to force a post-constitutional moment on the country and reorder the structure of national government to their benefit. In this version of America, neither the courts nor the administration are answerable to the people. So the justices have stopped offering answers at all. As the Supreme Court delivers decisions that will irrevocably alter our democracy, independent journalism is more vital than ever. Your support helps HuffPost hold power to account and keep you informed at this critical moment. Stand with the free press. Become a member today. What theyre doing is whats in the best interest of the Republican Party, whether they have reasons or not, said Eric Segall, a constitutional law professor at Georgia State University. And it would be very difficult for them to write some of these decisions up. Since taking office, Trump has pushed well beyond the boundaries of existing legal precedent and the law in trying to dismantle the federal government, centralize power in his own hands and ramp up a deportation machine. The only opposition to these efforts has come from lower court judges, who have overwhelmingly blocked those policies or actions, while courts hear the cases to determine their legality. This is standard practice: Normally, courts try to preserve the status quo in case of a ruling against the government. The lower court rulings against Trump have also been bipartisan, as the judges issuing injunctions were appointed by presidents of both parties. "What theyre doing is whats in the best interest of the Republican Party, whether they have reasons or not," said constitutional law scholar Eric Segall. Bloomberg via Getty Images To counter this lower court opposition, Trump has appealed those decisions to the Supreme Court where he has found great success. The court has overturned 77% of the injunctions placed on Trump administration policies by lower court judges, according to Stanford University political science professor Adam Bonica. And it has failed to provide an explanation for its actions in seven decisions on the emergency docket it has issued since the beginning of May, including its decision on the Department of Education, according to Georgetown University School of Law professor Stephen Vladeck. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats more, the court also greatly restricted the ability of lower courts to even issue national injunctions at all, in a controversial decision involving birthright citizenship. What theyre doing now is letting Trump destroy the status quo when lower court judges are saying its illegal, Segall said. How do you defend that? So, theyre not [defending it]. While it is not unusual for decisions to be made in the judicial system without explanation, it is unusual for this to happen in important cases with high stakes in an appellate court like the Supreme Court. Failing to provide explanations not only undermines the court in the public eye, it also undermines it within the federal judicial system, where lower courts must consider precedent and the Supreme Courts interpretation of laws when making their own rulings. That is what played out after the court overturned a lower court ruling preventing the removals of immigrants to countries they are not from on June 23 in an unsigned and unspoken decision in Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D. The decision effectively allowed the Trump administration to go forward with sending undocumented immigrants to places with ongoing wars and histories of torture and prisoner mistreatment like South Sudan, where the D.V.D. plaintiffs were sent, or El Salvador, where the administration sent hundreds of Venezuelans into a notorious supermax prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since the court did not provide any explanation for its decision, it created confusion and uncertainty about what should happen next. The lower court judge in the case continued to pursue the case of the D.V.D. plaintiffs, including initiating contempt proceedings against the administration for disobeying his initial decision. This forced the Supreme Court to clarify its June 23 decision by stating that it did apply to those plaintiffs, but the majority still failed to provide any further explanation for its decision. In a dissent joined by Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, Sotomayor castigated the courts conservative justices for refusing to explain itself. The court's conservatives authorized Trump to send immigrants to third countries where they may be tortured or killed like El Salvador in violation of the Convention on Torture. Presidencia de El Salvador via Associated Press The Courts continued refusal to justify its extraordinary decisions in this case, even as it faults lower courts for failing properly to divine their import, is indefensible, Sotomayor wrote. This unspoken decision will now allow the Trump administration to engage in mass renditions of immigrants to countries that theyve never been to, without asking them if they fear for their safety in those countries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is worth highlightingwhat the court has done in these rulings: allow for the massive violation of rights of immigrants under U.S. law and the Convention on Torture. It does not justify why, it does not offer a reason for why it may believe these actions are legal. It does not even suggest these actions are, somehow, necessary, despite the violations. It does not provide a single reason. It also allows Trump to unilaterally dismantle a congressionally created agency, undermining years of precedent and destabilizing not only the specific system providing necessary services but also the basic structure of how these systems are implemented. Again, it offers no explanation. Nor are these the only cases where rights are being violated and laws swept aside without a single word written about why. On July 8, the court let Trump go ahead with mass firings across the federal government that were spearheaded by Elon Musks Department of Government Efficiency in another unexplained order. It also allowed the Department of Defense to ban transgender people from serving in the military in an unexplained decision on May 6. And on May 19, the court did not provide an explanation for why it would allow the administration to strip 350,000 Venezuelan immigrants of their temporary protected status. All of these decisions have potentially irreversible effects, even if courts ultimately rule that the administrations policy is illegal or unconstitutional. Immigrants stripped of legal protection can be detained and deported, with those sent to third countries ending up beyond the reach of American law as the administration has argued in the case of the hundreds already sent to El Salvador. Transgender people will be unceremoniously removed from the military, ending promising careers. Government workers will be fired and likely incapable of being rehired. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As for the Department of Education, it would be quite a feat to reconstitute an agency after dismantling it. The courts decision here is akin to ruling that a person can be drawn and quartered while judges decide whether or not they are guilty. What happens if theyre found innocent? You cant just put a dismembered corpse back together again. The U.S. Supreme Court has always ruled on politically controversial issues. From elections to civil rights, from abortion to free speech, the justices frequently weigh in on the countrys most debated problems. And because of the courts influence over national policy, political parties and interest groups battle fiercely over who gets appointed to the high court. The public typically finds out about the court including its significant decisions and the politics surrounding appointments from the news media. While elected officeholders and candidates make direct appeals to their voters, the justices and Supreme Court nominees are different they largely rely on the news to disseminate information about the court, giving the public at least a cursory understanding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Recently, something has changed in newspaper coverage of the Supreme Court. As scholars of judicial politics, political institutions and political behavior, we set out to understand precisely how media coverage of the court has changed over the past 40 years. Specifically, we analyzed the content of every article referencing the Supreme Court in five major newspapers from 1980 to 2023. Of course, people get their news from a variety of sources, but we have no reason to believe the trends we uncovered in our research of traditional newspapers do not apply broadly. Research indicates that alternative media sources largely follow the lead of traditional beat reporters. What we found: Politics has a much stronger presence in articles today than in years past, with a notable increase beginning in 2016. When public goodwill prevailed Not many cases have been more important in the past quarter-century or, from a partisan perspective, more contentious than Bush v. Gore the December 2000 ruling that stopped a ballot recount, resulting in then-Texas Governor George W. Bush defeating Democratic candidate Al Gore and winning the presidential election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bush v. Gore is particularly interesting to us because nine unelected, life-tenured justices functionally decided an election. The New York Times story about the Supreme Courts decision in Bush v. Gore indicated the justices names and votes but neither the party of the president who appointed them nor their ideological leanings. Screenshot, The New York Times Surprisingly, the courts public support didnt suffer, ostensibly because the court had built up a sufficient store of public goodwill. One reason public support remained steady following Bush v. Gore might be newspaper coverage. Although the courts decision reflected the justices ideologies, with the more conservative members effectively voting to end the recount and its more liberal members voting in favor of the recount, newspapers largely ignored the role of politics in the decision. For example, the New York Times case coverage indicated the justices names and their votes but mentioned neither the party of the president who appointed them nor their ideological leanings. The words Democrat, Republican, liberal and conservative what we call political frames do not appear in the Dec. 13, 2000, story about the decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This epitomizes court-related newspaper articles from the 1980s to the early 2000s, when reporters treated the court as a nonpolitical institution. According to our research, court-related news articles in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal hardly used political frames during that time. Instead, newspapers perpetuated a dominant belief among the public that Supreme Court decisions were based almost completely on legal principles rather than political preferences. This belief, in turn, bolstered support for the court. Recent newspaper coverage reveals a starkly different pattern. A contemporary political court It would be nearly impossible to read contemporary articles about the Supreme Court without getting the impression that it is just as political as Congress and the presidency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Analyzing our data from 1980 to 2023, the average number of political frames per article tripled. To be sure, politics has always played a role in the courts decisions. Now, newspapers are making that clear. The question is when this change occurred. Across the five major newspapers, reporting about the court has gradually become more political over time. That isnt surprising: America has been gradually polarizing since the 1980s as well, and the changes in news media coverage reflect that polarization. Take February of 2016, when Justice Antonin Scalia unexpectedly died. Of course, justices have died while serving on the court before. But Scalia was a conservative icon, and his death could have swung the court to the center or the left. How the politics of naming his successor played out after Scalias death was unprecedented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Barack Obamas nomination effort to put Merrick Garland on the court were stonewalled. The Senate majority leader, Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, said the Senate would not consider any nomination until after the presidential election, nine months from Scalias death. Republican candidate Donald Trump, seeing an opening, promised to fill the vacancy with a conservative justice who would overturn Roe v. Wade. The court and the 2016 election became inseparable. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama pay respects to Justice Antonin Scalia, whose 2016 death brought lasting change in newspaper coverage of the court. Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via Getty Images Scalia vacancy changed everything February 2016 brought about an abrupt and lasting change in newspaper coverage. The day before Scalias death, a typical article referencing the court used 3.22 political frames. The day after, 10.48. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We see an uptick in political frames if we consider annual changes as well. In 2015, newspapers averaged 3.50 political frames per article about the Supreme Court. Then, in 2016, 5.30. Using a variety of statistical methods to identify enduring framing shifts, we consistently find February 2016 as the moment newspapers shifted to higher levels of political framing of the court. We find the number of political frames in newspapers remained elevated through 2023. How stories frame something shapes how people think about it. If an article frames a court decision as originalist an analytical approach that says constitutional texts should be interpreted as they were understood at the time they became law then readers might think of the court as legalistic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But if the newspaper were to frame the decision as conservative, then readers might think of the court as ideological. We found in our study that when people read an article about a court decision using political frames, court approval declines. Thats because most people desire a legal court rather than a political one. No wonder polls today find the court with precariously low public support. We do not necessarily hold journalists responsible for the courts dramatic decline in public support. The bigger issue may be the court rather than reporters. If the court acts politically, and the justices behave ideologically, then reporters are doing their job: writing accurate stories. That poses yet another problem. Before Trumps three court appointments, the bench was known for its relative balance. Sometimes decisions were liberal; other times, conservative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In June 13, the court provided protections to same-sex marriages. Two days earlier, the court struck down part of the Voting Rights Act. A liberal win, a conservative win thats what we might expect from a legal institution. Today the court is different. For most salient issues, the court supports conservative policies. Given, first, the medias willingness to emphasize the courts politics, and second, the justices ideologically consistent decisions across critical issues, it is unlikely that the news media retreats from political framing anytime soon. If thats the case, the court may need to adjust to its low public approval. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This article is republished from The Conversation, a nonprofit, independent news organization bringing you facts and trustworthy analysis to help you make sense of our complex world. It was written by: Joshua Boston, Bowling Green State University and Christopher Krewson, Brigham Young University Read more: 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. PIERRE, S.D. (KELO) A circuit judge was wrong in requiring that a teenaged juvenile pay for some of the damage caused inside a vacant trailer home in Pennington County by a large firework that another teenaged juvenile had ignited, according to the South Dakota Supreme Court. Man charged with murder over 8th Street bridge death In a decision publicly released on Thursday, the states high court reversed the restitution order from Circuit Judge Stacy Wickre. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Justice Patricia DeVaney wrote the Supreme Courts unanimous opinion. Justice DeVaney said the restitution order shouldnt have been made. The case involved three teenaged boys. One of them, D.B., kicked down the door to the trailer near Black Hawk and then lit the firework inside. He agreed to pay $9,086.75 in restitution and in turn the delinquency charges against him were dismissed. The boy who filed the appeal, J.W., pleaded guilty to accessory to a crime after the fact, because he initially hadnt been truthful about what happened. J.W. was sentenced to four months probation. Judge Wickre also scheduled a restitution for J.W. and the third boy, S.E. The prosecutor sought $30,013.25 in restitution from J.W. and S.E. Judge Wickre ultimately determined that the amount should be $24,700. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement J.W. then appealed to the Supreme Court. Justice DeVaney noted that Judge Wickre had relied on South Dakota Supreme Court decisions from 2009 and 2010 that dealt with juvenile offenses, and the Legislature made significant changes to that portion of South Dakotas juvenile code in 2015 and 2016. Justice DeVaney said that J.W.s crime of lying afterward wasnt directly connected to D.B.s earlier crime of starting the fire that caused extensive damage to the trailer. Importantly, the only premise that can be gleaned from the existing record is that the accessory crime for which J.W. was charged and adjudicated was based on his initial lies to the police about allegedly seeing other kids running away from the scene, Justice DeVaney wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She continued, Like in Joyce, this act of deception occurred after the damage to the trailer was done. The appellate record does not contain any admissions by J.W. to starting the fire or to aiding and abetting such acts. Therefore, because the damage to the trailer did not occur as a result of J.W.s criminal act, he is not liable for restitution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KELOLAND.com. Cardiac surgeons have discovered two novel techniques that may improve doctors ability to reanimate hearts after the death of a donor. In one procedure, which successfully saved the life of a 3-month-old child transplant recipient, oxygenated blood is pumped into an extracted heart while it rests on a surgical table, eventually causing it to wake up and beat again. The other technique involves flushing a cold solution of liquid and preservatives into a heart before surgeons remove it from the donors body. Both methods could potentially open up new, cost-effective approaches for recovering viable hearts from donors who have been declared dead. Researchers involved in the procedures say that increased supply of usable hearts could lead to 100 more pediatric heart transplants per year in the U.S. alone. That would make a significant difference: an estimated 500 children in the U.S. die each year while waiting for a new heart. The procedures, conducted by surgeons from Duke and Vanbeliet University, were outlined in a pair of papers published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM). How to ethically restart a heart Successfully transplanting any organ is a complex procedure, but heart transplants are among the most challenging. Most hearts currently used in transplants come from donors who are declared brain dead but whose hearts are still beating. But there are far more people who need heart transplants than donors who fit that criteria. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2020, researchers at NYU Langone attempted to address this shortage using an experimental technique called normothermic regional perfusion (NRP) on a patient whose family had withdrawn life support. That patients heart fell under a category doctors refer to as donation after circulator death (DCD). In this case, doctors used a machine to pump oxygenated blood back into the heart while it was still in the deceased patients body. The process succeeded, reanimating the heart and allowing it to be used in a transplant. But while NRP has been shown to work in some cases, it has drawn scrutiny from ethicists and policy makers who fear the practice of reanimating a heart in a deceased person risks muddying the definition of death. Some hospitals actively prohibit doctors from performing NRP operations and the American College of Physicians (ACP) even released an official statement of concern saying the practice raises ethical questions and concerns. Other medical professionals have called it creepy. The new approaches outlined in (NEJM) this week attempt to side-step those ethical concerns in two unique ways. The first procedure, performed by surgeons at Duke University, involved removing the tiny heart of a 1-month-old infant donor. It was then operated on outside the body on a surgical table. The process, completed in just under six minutes, involved pumping blood through a tube attached to the aorta. The blood was then drained from the heart via a vent and collected in a bag. a small heart That collected blood was reoxygenated and pumped back in. As soon as the heart began beating, the doctors placed it in cold static storage. From there, it was rushed to a transplant center, where it was successfully implanted into a 3-month-old recipient just around two hours later. That child, who is still living with the reanimated heart, was discharged from the hospital two months after the procedure. The heart, meanwhile, so far shows no signs of rejection or failure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second procedure aimed to address the challenge of using DCD hearts by preserving them with extreme cold. In this case, surgeons at Vanderbilt immediately filled the aorta of a deceased donors heart with an oxygenated fluid designed to keep it in a relaxed state. According to the paper, the fluid consists of a mixture of red blood cells, electrolytes, vitamins, and a cold preservative solution. These nutrients help replenish what may be lost during the dying process and protects the heart during transport. Unlike the first procedure, cold preservation here allows surgeons to transplant the donor heart into the recipient without ever needing to restart its function beforehand. Were not reanimating the heart, Vanderbilt University Medical Center cardiac surgeon Aaron Williams said in an interview with Science. Were resuscitating it. Researchers involved in both studies say the new techniques may improve surgeons ability to successfully transplant hearts from DCD donorswithout having to navigate the ethical complexities of reanimating the organ while still in the donors body. Though both procedures are still relatively nascent, Joseph Turek, one of the cardiac surgeons involved in the research from Duke, told Science he is optimistic the combined procedures could increase the pediatric heart transplant donor pool by up to 20 percent. BRISTOL, Va. (WJHL) The City of Bristol, Va. has set up a blog on its website to provide residents updates on the former Virginia Intermont (VI) College campus. The blog page features an update posted on Thursday, as well as documents surrounding the citys attempts to reacquire the VI campus. In December 2024, a massive fire destroyed several buildings on the former campus, which had sat vacant since 2014 and was deemed a blighted property. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Magis International bought the property in 2016, and the China-based company announced plans to create a business college at the old VI site. However, the campus remained empty and derelict, with multiple smaller fires occurring before the destructive one in December 2024. The city worked with legislators to create an avenue to reclaim the property, and Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin signed into law a bill that allowed localities to regain control of blighted and vacant properties. On July 10, the city began the legal process by submitting a complaint to the Bristol Circuit Court with U.S. Magis International as the defendant. The city claimed the company owed more than $600,000 in delinquent taxes, allowing the legal process to begin. After years of unpaid property taxes totaling over $600,000, the city initiated legal proceedings to acquire the property through a tax sale, aiming to return the site to productive use and ensure it no longer posed a burden to the community, the blog states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To the citys surprise, U.S. Magis International paid its delinquent taxes the next day after the complaint was filed. According to the city, the amount paid totaled $605,000. In a surprising turn, the property owner paid the full amount of back taxes $605,000 just one day after the city filed its petition, the blog reads. While this payment halts the immediate legal action, the city remains committed to ensuring that the property is maintained and contributes positively to the communitys future. John Kieffer, the attorney for U.S. Magis International, told News Channel 11 on July 11 that the company had experienced trouble sending payments for taxes from China. He said he hopes both Bristol and U.S. Magis International can move on from the issues and avoid litigation. Bristol, Virginia Mayor Becky Nave said further steps would be decided after July 23, when the next tax payment is due. City leaders stated in the blog that they will continue to monitor the situation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. MIAMISBURG, Ohio (WDTN) Miamisburg graduate and Ohio State junior pitcher Blaine Wynk was drafted in the eighth round, 226th overall in the 2025 MLB Draft by the Chicago White Sox. It was pretty surreal. I gave my parents a hug, but it was pretty, just like, wow, Wynk told WDTN. My dream is now actually a thing. It happened. The former GWOC Player of the Year played two seasons for the Buckeyes, earning All-Conference honors in 2024 for his 21 relief appearances. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wynk was injured for most of the 2025 season, but made five appearances, striking out 13 batters in 8.2 IP. Wynk struck out a career-high seven batters on March 29 against No. 10 Oregon, earning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors. Wynk played at the University of Finland (Division II) his freshman year, where he made 11 appearances, compiling a 6-3 record, including two complete games. I always tell everyone that first year of college, I was just going to play for four years and be done. The fact that it bloomed to go to Ohio State and now this, I could never have saw that coming, Wynk said. Wynk was also the All-Area Player of the Year and earned First-Team All-Ohio honors at Miamisburg. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He said he expects to begin training with the organization at their Arizona training facility before hopefully earning a minor league roster spot in 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 WDTN.com. A Texas woman is seeking custody of a child she gave birth to last spring after claiming to be misled by a couple who had over a dozen surrogate children seized from their household amid child endangerment allegations. You just dont expect that youre going to go through a pregnancy and a delivery and then hand the baby over to their parents and then all of a sudden find out that there was abuse and neglect going on, Kayla Elliott told NBC News. Elliott, a Texas resident, told the outlet she was working with Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC at the time and believed she was helping a family who couldnt conceive. She was told the family had one teenage child and they gave up on trying for more after failing multiple fertility treatments. An aerial view shows the home of Silvia Zhang and Guojun Xuan on July 16 in Arcadia, California, where a number of children were removed from the couple's home after a child abuse allegation in May, according to Arcadia police. via Associated Press The little girl Elliot gave birth to last spring ended up in the care of Silvia Zhang, 38, and Guojun Xuan, 65, in Arcadia, California. She told NBC News Zhang was hours late for the birth and barely looked at the baby. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I dont know what the motive was now, but it was just very, very not what you would expect out of somebody who really wanted a child, Elliott said. The couple was arrested in May on suspicion of child endangerment and neglect after their 2-month-old was admitted into a local hospital with a traumatic head injury and intracranial bleeding, according to a press release by Arcadia police shared with HuffPost. The couple was later released according to ABC 7. The children were taken into protective service. Detectives seized surveillance footage from the couples home, which allegedly showed the familys nanny Chunmei Li, 56, violently shaking the infant on May 5, according to the press release. Li was not arrested at the time of the incident due to her whereabouts being unknown. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arcadia Police Lt. Kollin Cieadlo told ABC 7 detectives had discovered 15 children, ranging from 2 months to 13 years old, inside the couples home during the investigation. Six more children were found in other homes. Many of the children were birthed through surrogacy and then the male and female at the residence took legal guardianship of those kids, Cieadlo told the outlet. Cieadlo told The Associated Press most of the children were between the ages 1 and 3, adding that police believe only one or two were born biologically to Zhang. Records also indicate that Mark Surrogacy Investment LLC was registered to the same address where the children were found, though the registered agent is not Zhang or Xuan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for the Arcadia Police Department told HuffPost Zhang and Xuans case has not been filed with the district attorney yet and was deferred for further investigation. We hope to have it back to the district attorney in the next several weeks, the spokesperson said. Our primary focus at this point in on the child abuse allegations which we believe is supported by video evidence and phone records obtained during the execution of a search warrant. Elliot is now working with a lawyer and seeking to obtain custody of the little girl she gave birth to. She wrote on a GoFundMe page that the child deserves stability, love, and a safe home. These agencies, were supposed to trust them and follow their guidance and come to find out this whole thing was a scam, Elliot told ABC 7. Related... HONOLULU (KHON2) A 28-year-old suspect has been arrested, charged and indicted on an arson charge in connection with the fire that destroyed a Makiki playground. Honolulu Parks and Recreation spokesperson Nate Serota said Honolulu police arrested Brendon Seis on July 3, after surveillance footage placed him at the scene of the crime. Playground in Makiki burned down, causes up to $300K in damage The playground was set ablaze around 8:45 a.m. on June 30. Honolulu firefighters responded shortly after and extinguished the flames. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Honolulu Fire Department, investigators found several spots around the playground where an accelerant was used. It was also thanks to surveillance cameras at the park that helped police locate Seis, who has no local address. Court records showed Seis has received nine citations related to sleeping at parks or bus stops in the Makiki area since February 2024, and several of the police citations noted that he refused shelter. City officials said the playground has been demolished, and they are working with a multi-state contracting system to rebuild the playground. Get Hawaiis latest morning news delivered to your inbox, sign up for News 2 You This will hopefully make the rebuild less costly and more efficient, as new playgrounds can range from $200,000 to $300,000 to rebuild, Serota said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Unlike the playground at Wahiawa District Park, Serota said the rebuild could take at least a couple of months. The Wahiawa District playground was set ablaze in May. Unfortunately, vandalism is an everyday occurrence that we deal with at the parks department, but this is particularly egregious, when a keiki playground is burned to the ground, it serves no purpose, Serota said. This is a place where kids are supposed to have fond memories and have fun in the park, and now its a sore spot until we get a new one in place. We appreciate the patience of the community while we work to get that new keiki playground rebuilt so they can once again enjoy Sheridan Community Park to its full extent. A big mahalo to the Honolulu Police Department for their quick work with identifying and arresting a suspect, the prosecutors taking the case and the fire department for their emergency response. Nate Serota, Honolulu Parks and Recreation spokesperson Seis bail has been set at $100,000. DPR said there are 167 cameras at about 17 parks across the island, but a city council resolution looks to bring more cameras to parks island-wide. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the results we have with [surveillance] cameras, now its more evident that we need to work on this in a quick manner, said council member Radiant Cordero, who introduced the resolution. Check out more news from around Hawaii We hope that theyre not just a deterrent, but they also help our safety officials catch those who are doing bad things at city facilities, she added. Hopefully it sets an example, if there are cameras, if something is happening to our parks, were going to work with our investigators to make sure you get caught and punished, Serota added. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KHON2. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A suspect search has ended in arrest following a large police presence in Northeast Portland on Wednesday, authorities said. According to the Portland Police Bureau, officers were searching for a man who ran from them and into the Parkrose Neighborhood in the 4800 block of Northeast 100th Avenue. Officers found the suspect after a search that lasted about two hours. Residents who had been told to stay indoors and lock their doors were notified that the scene was now clear and the shelter-in-place order was lifted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In addition, another wanted person was arrested when he happened to be in the same search perimeter as the other suspect and surrendered to police from someones backyard, Sergeant Kevin Allen, a spokesperson with PPB, told KOIN 6 News. The search perimeter had been pretty large, necessitating the large number of officers, Allen said. Officers searched with the aid of K9s and drones and used a PA to call out for the suspect before he was found. Further details were not made immediately available. KOIN 6 News crews are on the scene and are working to find out more information. This is a developing story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) Investigators have filed charges in connection with a fire that destroyed a home in Warren Sunday. Andrew Jordan is facing three felony aggravated arson charges, one for each person who was in the home. Jordan was scheduled to be arraigned Friday, but he was unavailable due to medical reasons. The charges stem from the July 13 fire on Porter Street. Three people were in the home at the time, but managed to escape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this week, investigators released doorbell surveillance video showing a man setting fire to the porch. Courtesy: Ohio State Fire Marshals Office Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WKBN.com. LONDONDERRY Police have apprehended, arrested and charged a suspect in connection with the armed robbery of a gas station on July 8. The suspect fled the scene on foot, prompting a manhunt at the time. Seth Skillin, 44, of Manchester, was arrested by Londonderry police while in custody of the Manchester Police Department and charged with one count of robbery, police said. Police responded to Patriot Gas, 7 Nashua Road, around 5:20 p.m., Tuesday, after receiving a panic alarm signal from the store indicating an incident in progress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An employee told police that the suspect, later identified at Skillin, entered the store, brandished a knife and demanded cash from the register before fleeing the store on foot toward Londonderry Road. He was on the run for several hours before he being apprehended. Thanks to tips provided by members of the public and the work of officers in both Londonderry and Manchester, Skillin was identified, located and arrested. He was being held pending arraignment. The investigation remains active and ongoing. Skillin was sentenced to State Prison in Concord in both 2002 and 2013 for a maximum of seven years on robbery charges after he pleaded guilty and was found guilty by a jury. He has since been banned from entering any CVS in New Hampshire, according to court records. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In 2016, he was sentenced to prison for a maximum of four years for possession of a controlled substance, a felony. Each time hes been sentenced to prison, drug and alcohol treatment and counseling have been mandated. AUSTIN (KXAN) After an intense, weeklong manhunt, a North Texas man is in federal custody in connection with a coordinated 10-person attack on an ICE detention facility on July 4 in Alvarado, Texas, that resulted in an officer being shot in the neck, the U.S. Attorneys Office said in a press release. FBI mugshot of captured fugitive, Benjamin Hanil Song. (Credit: Federal Bureau of Investigation) A statewide Blue Alert issued last week for Benjamin Hanil Song was likely the first time most Texans heard the name Benjamin Song, however, this was not the case for many Austin Police Department officers. Song was among the 40 people arrested during the August 2020 protests in downtown Austin. Most of those arrests were for nonviolent offenses such as interfering with police. However, Song was charged with two counts of first-degree felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon against a peace officer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Travis County court records, on Aug. 2, Song was in a large group of protesters on Congress Avenue with an assault-style rifle slung across his chest. After Song and the other protesters refused to comply with APDs orders to clear the road, an officer on an APD bicycle attempted to grab Song, causing him to trip over the officers bike. When Song stood up, he raised his rifle into a firing position and pointed the gun directly at two uniformed officers, leading both of the officers to draw their duty issue handguns to defend themselves, the affidavit states. Song reportedly ran into a crowd of protesters before APD officers found him and placed him under arrest. Once arrested, records show officers confiscated the following items from Song: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 7.62 caliber semi-automatic rifle .45 caliber semi-automatic pistol Green gas mask Tactical backpack Two loaded rifle magazines On Aug. 17, 2020, Song was released from Travis County custody on a $10,000 cash bond. Over the next 14 months, the charges against Song were designated Unindicted 12 separate times with no recorded case activity, according to court dockets. It wasnt until Oct. 25, 2021, when Songs defense attorney filed a Writ of Habeas Corpus motion seeking a dismissal under Art. 32.01 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure because 180 days had lapsed without the District Attorneys office obtaining an indictment. According to court records, the DAs office never filed a response to the defenses motion to dismiss and presented Songs cases to a grand jury on Nov. 3, 2021, resulting in the return of a No Bill from the grand jury. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KXAN reached out to the DAs office about the circumstances of Songs case and the amount of time that lapsed from the time of arrest to when the defense filed the motion to dismiss, and will update this story once a response is provided. Following the return of a No Bill from the Grand Jury, APD was required to return the firearms, ammunition, and other items originally confiscated from Song. KXAN spoke with several law enforcement sources familiar with the circumstances surrounding Songs arrest and felony charges who said APD officers offered to provide the DAs office assistance in the preparation of presenting Songs case to a grand jury. APDs requests to assist were allegedly declined by the DAs office, those sources told KXAN. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement KXAN asked the DAs office if APD offered to assist in this case and whether the requests were denied. Additionally, KXAN requested records from APD to learn whether documentation exists showing the actions taken by both APD and the DAs office prior to Song being No Billed. KXAN will update this story once a response and records are received. Total, 14 people have been arrested for their alleged involvement in the organized attack on the Prairieland Detention Center on July 4. Song is currently charged with six federal offenses: three counts of attempted murder of a federal officer and three counts of discharging a firearm during, in relation to, and in furtherance of a crime of violence, according to federal court records. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KXAN Austin. The Atlanta Police Department announced they have a suspect in custody for a January murder. According to police, a man was murdered at about 10:42 p.m. on Jan. 9 at 1940 Fisher Road SE, the Park Vista Apartments. Now, police say a suspect is in custody. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When officers got to the scene on Jan. 9, they found a 35-year-old man who had been shot multiple times and took him to a local hospital, but he died of his injuries. APD said Jonathan Lawson, 34, was taken into custody by Atlanta officers with help from the Paulding County Sheriffs Office on July 11. Lawson faces charges of murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon for his involvement in a homicide. Lawson was taken to the Fulton County Jail, police said. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] A central Oklahoma dog breeding facility has been shut down and hundreds of dogs rescued from "cruel" conditions. A social media post from the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office said many reports came in over the weekend about the "suspected puppy mill" in Stroud. Skiatook Paws & Claws Animal Rescue and Oklahoma Westie Rescue called for Oklahomans to make a plea to local law enforcement to close down Add Love Pets, a breeding facility and pet store that the Skiatook rescue said has been criticized for years. On Monday, July 14, the rescue, along with the Stroud Police Department, Lincoln County Sheriff, Department of Agriculture, Oklahoma Westie Rescue and the Tulsa Humane Society, removed 405 Maltese dogs from the situation, including 61 nursing puppies. The Tulsa Humane Society said facility had some of the worst conditions the society had seen, with ammonia levels too high to register on a monitor and cockroaches and rats "running rampant" over the dogs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This is a powerful reminder of what we can accomplish when first responders and community partners work together," Lincoln County Sheriff Kevin Garrett said. According to the Oklahoma Alliance for Animals, the dogs were living in feces-filled, overcrowded cages, were unkempt and deprived of basic care. Custody of the dogs was awarded to the Humane Society of Tulsa, but some dogs are being cared for by other rescues, including Skiatook Paws & Claws. "The closure of Add Love Pets proves that courage, persistence, and community action can end cruelty," Oklahoma Alliance for Animals said. "Lets continue to stand up for those who cant speak for themselves." This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Hundreds of dogs rescued from 'cruel' Oklahoma breeding facility GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) Agents from ICEs office in Detroit have arrested a suspected member of a foreign terrorist organization in northern Michigan. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Kleiber Siso Balza, a 25-year-old from Venezuela, was arrested on July 4 in Traverse City. He reportedly had active warrants in Virginia and Florida. Sign up for breaking news alert emails Balza was arrested along with three other men who were also in the country illegally. ICE did not indicate why he was in northern Michigan or what led to the arrest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Balza is believed to be a member of Tren De Aragua, a gang tied to the Venezuelan prison system. ICE claims Tren De Aragua is known to engage in sex trafficking, debt bondage, drug trafficking and murder to advance their interests. Our teams are working daily to remove criminal aliens and immigration violators from our communities across Michigan and Ohio, ICE ERO Detroit acting Field Office Director Kevin Raycraft said in a news release. Im extraordinarily grateful to our officers for their service, especially when they sacrifice time with their own families to keep our communities safe. The IRS, TSA and Federal Air Marshals assisted in the operation to execute the arrest. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WOODTV.com. My name is Kelsey Fitzsimmons, and as I recover in my hospital bed, I am ready to speak about the incident that took place on June 30th, 2025, in my own home, where I almost lost my life. I was diagnosed with postpartum depression in March of 2025, approximately 3 weeks after giving birth to my beautiful baby boy. I have actively been in treatment since the day of my diagnosis and was eager to heal and feel like myself again. Unfortunately, healing a sickness does not happen overnight. However, what can happen overnight is my life turning upside down into something so horrible my mind wouldnt even be able to imagine it if it werent my current reality. Someone who I thought understood my diagnosis, loved me in sickness and in health, and was in my corner for the journey of my active treatment to get better, turned their back on me. Said person is now is legally bullying me to get what they want, slandering my character, and using my diagnosis against me to make me seem like I am a monster. There are more false allegations than I can even comment on. The deep love I have for my baby boy sustains me and keeps me strong. I havent spent more than a night away from him since I delivered him and I adore every moment I spend with him. Hes my best friend, my miracle, my little man, my sweet boy, and most importantly a giant piece of my heart. Right now, that piece of my heart is missing when I need it the most. I am 5 months postpartum, without my baby boy who needs me as much as I need him. I would never put that angel of a child in harms way. My job as his momma is to protect him and that is what I have always done and will continue to do for the rest of my life. Becoming a mother has always been my dream and I never made any threats towards my baby. That allegation specifically makes me sick to my stomach. I was alone with my baby day in and day out for months caring for him as my fiance frequently worked 24-48 hour shifts, but conveniently there were never any concerns up until now. On June 30th, 2025, I received a phone call from my fiance to meet him at the park to go for a walk with our baby boy together. After almost three hours of waiting for him at the park and no communication from him, I went home very confused as he never showed up. About an hour later, I was sitting on my couch feeding my baby boy when I got a knock on my front door. Very confused to see 3 of my colleagues. I open the door and I am told the following: your fiance has filed a restraining order against you, he will be taking your son away with no contact allowed, your firearms license that was just returned is gone again, and oh yeah, that career you worked so hard for and love, that you were just cleared to return to, that will be taken away too. Following this interaction, I packed bags containing baby food, clothes, diapers, toys, etc. for my son to be taken away from me. I passed my son off to a fellow police officer, and I went into my bedroom. In that horrible moment, I didnt want to live after my whole world was turned upside down, in the matter of a 10 second conversation due to someone alleging horrible, untrue things. We have a broken legal system where someone can walk into a courthouse, write anything that self-serves them on an affidavit and as a result, a brand-new mother suffering with postpartum depression gets her baby taken away. We are calling on the Legislature and the Governor to REFORM this abomination of a statute where the first person to get to Court and fill out a form can take a mothers newborn away from her if they can sneak in front of a judge without the mothers notice or opportunity to be heard. If there is an immediate issue someone can call 911. The Courts are not equipped for proper on-the-spot decision-making in this context without hearing from both sides. As a police officer, I am trained to know what to do if I encounter a suicidal individual, who is only displaying a threat to themselves. I certainly was not trained to shoot a suicidal person in the chest. But here I am today, two surgeries later, bedridden, and trying really hard to heal from these significant injuries. I am facing felony charges for a halfhearted attempt to take my own life. Let me say that again, I am in trouble and have a gunshot wound to my chest because in that awful isolated moment, I no longer had the will to live. I never pointed my firearm at the officer. That officer was not just a colleague; he was my friend. That officer and I experienced a very difficult and sad call for service together last summer. That call for service that day was a true tragedy and caused this officer and I to build a friendship due to experiencing it together. We entered the home and walked into something no human being should ever see: a murder suicide scene with a mother and her infant. As a rookie police officer, this was devastating to me. At the time I was 20 weeks pregnant. The officer that shot me experienced this call with me. To this day, his support during that hard time is something I am still grateful for, regardless of this recent incident that occurred. This traumatic murder-suicide call was the catalyst for my mental health complications. As a police officer myself, I would never even think to intentionally hurt another police officer. I see everyone in uniform as my brothers and sisters. I especially would never hurt my friend. My friend who has a loving wife and children. I just would NEVER. My firearm was NEVER pointed in any direction other than my temple. When I pulled the trigger, my gun did not fire. However, I immediately got shot in chest, by my colleague and friend. I am extremely grateful for two things: that God protected me from my attempt of taking my own life, and protected me by millimeters from dying from that gunshot wound to my chest. I will survive and thrive. I know I need to be on this earth for many reasons, but most importantly- my beautiful son. This is my covenant with God and my son. I would also like to note that from the very beginning I acknowledged my diagnosis of postpartum depression and immediately sought help from medical professionals. I was failed by so many. The narrative that has been released by NAPD is vague and noncommittal for a reason. If body cameras were worn by my department, I would not be in a position where I am wrongly accused of pointing my gun at this officer. I know the truth will prevail. Kelsey Fitzsimmons Syria's interim president has said it is his "priority" to protect the country's Druze citizens, after Israel vowed to destroy government forces it accused of attacking members of the religious minority in Suweida province. In his first televised statement since Israel's air strikes on Damascus on Wednesday, Ahmed al-Sharaa also warned that Syrians were not afraid of war. Syrian state media reported that the military was withdrawing from Suweida under a ceasefire agreement with Druze leaders. But it is not clear whether that will hold. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement More than 350 people are reported to have been killed since sectarian clashes between Druze militias and Bedouin tribes erupted in the province on Sunday. The government responded by deploying its forces to the predominantly Druze city of Suweida for the first time Sharaa's Sunni Islamist group led the rebel offensive that overthrew President Bashar al-Assad in December, ending 13 years of civil war. However, the fighting escalated and government forces were accused by residents and activists of killing Druze civilians and carrying out extrajudicial executions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Druze religion is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its own unique identity and beliefs. In addition to Syria, there are sizeable communities of Druze in Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. Syrian Druze and other minorities have remained suspicious of Sharaa since he took power because of his jihadist past. His Islamist group, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), is a former al-Qaeda affiliate that is still designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN. Their fears have been heightened by several outbreaks of deadly sectarian violence, including one in May between Druze militias, security forces and allied Islamist fighters that also prompted to Israel intervene militarily. In his speech early on Thursday, Sharaa stressed that the Druze were "a fundamental part of the fabric of this nation", and that he rejected any attempt for them to be dragged into the hands of what he called "an external party". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president said government forces deployed to Suweida had "succeeded in restoring stability and expelling outlawed factions despite the Israeli interventions", which he said caused a "significant complication of the situation" and "a large-scale escalation". "We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction," he said. Responsibility for security in Suweida would now be handed to religious elders and some local factions "based on the supreme national interest", he added. Sharaa ended the speech by promising that the government was "keen on holding accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Wednesday, Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, told the country's own Druze citizens on that Israeli forces were "acting to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the gangs of the regime". The Israeli military said its aircraft struck the Syrian military's headquarters in Damascus and a military site near the presidential palace, as well as armoured vehicles on their way to Suweida, and firing posts and weapons storage facilities in southern Syria. "We are acting decisively to prevent the entrenchment of hostile elements beyond the border, to protect the citizens of the State of Israel, and to prevent the harming of Druze civilians," the military's chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, said during a visit to the Golan Heights. "We will not allow southern Syria to become a terror stronghold," he warned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The general also said there was "no room for disorder near the border fence", after hundreds of Druze crossed the heavily fortified frontier with Syria on Wednesday. The US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said it was speaking to all of the parties involved and had "agreed on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end". "This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made and this is what we fully expect them to do," he added, without giving any details. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, says more than 350 people have been killed since Sunday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They include 79 Druze fighters and 55 civilians, 27 of whom were summarily killed by interior ministry and defence ministry forces, according to the group. At least 189 members of the government forces and 18 Bedouin tribal fighters have also been killed in the clashes, it says. It was not immediately possible to verify the SOHR's casualty figures, but Syrian security sources also said Wednesday that the death toll was close to 300. The Israeli entity resorted to a wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities, Shaara said the situation was easing with the intervention of the US, Arab, and Turkish mediators. The interim president of Syria, Ahmed al-Shaara, accused Israel on Thursday of attempting to sow chaos and destruction following the Israeli armys intervention in his countrys sectarian violence. Much remains murky about the situation that has flared this week in the Sweida province of Syria. But it is clear that one result may be a retreat from the warming of relations between Israel and Syria that leaders of both countries were recently indicating could be on the way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The conflict has centered on Sweida, a province near the Israeli border that is home to large numbers of the Druze religious minority. The Syrian army entered the region in recent days, ostensibly to quell violence between the Druze and Bedouin tribes there that has likely caused hundreds ofDruze to be killed or injured. The move triggered panic among the local Druze, who are skeptical about the commitment of Shaara, a former Islamist leader, to religious minorities. It also ignited a response from Israel, which has vowed to protect the Druze and also has an interest in preventing Shaara from amassing his forces close to the Israeli border. On Wednesday, the Israeli army bombed Shaaras positions in Damascus for the second time in months, following a May strike Israel said was intended to signal its commitment to protecting the Druze. (The bombing caused Israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahus corruption trial to be suspended on Wednesday.) Druze residents protest near the Israeli-Syrian border fence in solidarity with their community in Syria, in Majdal Shams, July 16, 2025. (credit: MICHAEL GILADI/FLASH90) Druze crossing the border Also on Wednesday, hundreds of Israeli Druze crossed the border into Syria to see members of their families from which they had been separated since 1967. Netanyahu exhorted the Israeli Druze to remain inside Israel while the Israeli army operated inside Syria on their behalf. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have a single request of you: you are Israeli citizens. Do not cross the border. You are risking your lives; you could be murdered, you could be taken hostage, and you are impeding the efforts of the IDF, Netanyahu said in a statement late Wednesday. Therefore, I ask of you: return to your homes and let the IDF take action. Shaara blamed Israel for the violence, saying in an address on Thursday, The Israeli entity resorted to a wide-scale targeting of civilian and government facilities. He said the situation was easing with the intervention of the US, Arab, and Turkish mediators. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had said on Wednesday that he believed Israels bombing of Damascus was the result of likely a misunderstanding and that he hoped the bloodshed would soon cease. There were signs on Thursday that Syrian forces were exiting Sweida, while Israeli Druze were amassing again at the border with the hopes of reaching their families in Syria. DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) Syrian government forces had largely pulled out of the southern province of Sweida on Thursday after days of clashes with militias linked to the Druze minority that threatened to unravel the countrys post-war transition. The conflict had drawn airstrikes against Syrian forces by neighboring Israel in defense of the Druze before a truce mediated by the U.S., Turkey and Arab countries and announced Wednesday halted most of the fighting. However, Syrian state media said Thursday that Druze militiamen had launched revenge attacks on Sunni Bedouin communities, leading to a wave of their displacement. There were some reports of renewed clashes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bedouin clans had fought on the government side, while the Israeli military came to the assistance of the Druze, who form a substantial community in Israel, where they are seen as a loyal minority and often serve in the Israeli military. A new ceasefire deal Under the latest truce, reached Wednesday after a previous agreement unraveled, Druze factions and clerics have been appointed to maintain internal security in Sweida, Syrias interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa said in an address broadcast early Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed Thursday to keep southern Syria demilitarized and to protect the Druze community. This will also be the continuation of our policy, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a major escalation of its involvement in the conflict, Israel on Wednesday had struck the Syrian Defense Ministry headquarters in central Damascus. Convoys of government forces started withdrawing from Sweida overnight, Syrian state media reported, saying it was in line with the ceasefire deal and that the military operation against the Druze factions had ended. The truce was announced by Syria's Interior Ministry and in a video message by a Druze religious leader. The previous agreement on Tuesday quickly broke down after being dismissed by prominent Druze cleric Sheikh Hikmat Al-Hijri. The Syrian government has not released any casualty counts from the fighting. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Britain-based war monitor Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nearly 600 fighters and civilians were killed on both sides over four days of deadly clashes. The monitor also said at least 86 civilians killed in field executions mostly Druze Syrians killed by government forces and their allies and that at least three Bedouin civilians were killed in revenge attacks Thursday by Druze militiamen. Looting homes and killing civilians Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin held a series of diplomatic and security contacts to deescalate the clashes, a Turkish official said Thursday. They worked with the U.S. mediators and regional officials and leaders, including Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt, said the official who requested anonymity to discuss the negotiations. The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between local Sunni Bedouin tribes and Druze armed factions in Sweida. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze militias, but also in some cases attacked civilians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Video circulated on social media showing government forces and allies humiliating Druze clerics and residents, looting homes and killing civilians hiding inside their houses. Syrian Druze from Sweida told The Associated Press that several family members who were unarmed had been attacked or killed. Interim President al-Sharaa said the Druze were an integral part of Syria, protected under the law. We are committed to holding accountable those who wronged our Druze brethren," al-Sharaa said. Militant sectarianism The Druze community had been divided over how to approach al-Sharaa's de facto Islamist rule after largely celebrating when his forces ousted former President Bashar Assad and the Assad family's decades-long autocratic rule. They feared persecution after attacks from the militant Islamic State group and al-Qaida affiliates during Syria's 14-year civil war. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Issam al-Reis, a senior military adviser with Etana, a Syrian research group, said the lack of effective state-led negotiations could sow further divisions between the Druze community with the Sunni Bedouins, who had sometimes also clashed in the past. This is leading to militant sectarianism, which is dangerous," he said, adding it's a sign that the government needs to speed up its integration of other sects into the Syrian army to make it a more unifying force and help resolve sectarian tensions. There have been agreements and talks about this with different communities, but until now none of this has been implemented, he said. The Druze religious sect began as a 10th-century offshoot of Ismailism, a branch of Shiite Islam. More than half of the roughly 1 million Druze worldwide live in Syria. Most of the other Druze live in Lebanon and Israel, including in the Golan Heights, which Israel captured from Syria in the 1967 Mideast War and annexed in 1981. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Druze cross the border fence An Israeli security official said Israel is strengthening fences along the Golan border to prevent people from crossing into Syrian territory. Thousands of Druze residents in the Israeli-controlled Golan converged on the border on Wednesday after hearing of the sectarian clashes inside Syria. Israeli media said that dozens of people forced their way into Syria in hopes of helping fellow Druze and in some cases to visit relatives that they normally are unable to see. The security official, speaking on condition of anonymity under military briefing rules, said that soldiers had returned dozens of people who crossed into Syria, while security forces were also returning an unknown number of Druze Syrians who crossed into the Israeli side. It was not known how many people remained on each side of the border. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Speaking about Syria, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said late Thursday that it was absolutely essential to achieve unity in Syria, with the respect of its sovereignty, territorial integrity and the full integration of the different communities in the state. It is for the Syrians to solve the Syrian problem, he said. ___ Associated Press writers Suzan Fraser in Ankara, Turkey; Fernanda Pesce in Madjal Shams, Golan Heights, and Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations contributed to this report. A monitoring group says 594 people have been killed during the recent violence in southern Syria that took on a sectarian dimension. The UK-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights (SOHR) documented a significant outbreak of brutality in the killings that have gripped Suweida province since Sunday. Three hundred members of the Druze religious minority were killed, including 146 fighters and 154 civilians, 83 of whom were "summarily executed" by government forces, the SOHR said on Thursday evening. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least 257 government personnel and 18 Bedouin fighters were also killed, while three Bedouin civilians were summarily killed by Druze fighters, it added. The fighting was sparked by a dispute between the Bedouin and Druze communities. Another 15 government personnel were reportedly killed in Israeli air strikes, which Israel said it carried out to protect the Druze and make the government forces withdraw from Suweida. It was not immediately possible to verify the SOHR's figures. However, security sources put the toll at 300 and another monitoring group, the Syrian Network for Human Rights said it had documented the deaths of at least 169 civilians. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement An uneasy calm has mostly held on Thursday, with the withdrawal of government forces from the Druze-majority city of Suweida. Residents reported scenes of damage and looting, as well as bodies being found in the streets. Convoys of fighters from Syria's Islamist-led government began entering the city on Monday, ostensibly to restore order following the clashes between the Druze and Bedouin. But that was followed by an escalation in the fighting and a fracturing of Syria's Druze, whose religion is an offshoot of Shia Islam with its own unique identity and beliefs. The Syrian government announced a ceasefire on Wednesday evening ahead of its withdrawal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, one prominent Druze leader, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajri, rejected it, calling for further fighting until the "total liberation of our province from gangs", referring to government forces. Sheikh Hajri, whose followers led the fighting against the government's forces, has sought to forge close relationships with Israel. Other branches of Suweida's Druze community have sought to work closely with Syria's new Islamist-led government. Hundreds of Bedouin civilians have been displaced by the fighting [Reuters] There is also a sizeable Druze community in Israel and the occupied Golan Heights. On Thursday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel intended to continue imposing its interests on Syria with force. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel's intervention in the clashes was done partly to protect the Druze, Netanyahu said, but also to prevent the Syrian military from deploying in the south of the country. "That will also be our policy going forward - we will not allow Syrian army forces to enter the region south of Damascus, and will not allow any harm to the Druze," he added. On Wednesday, Israeli air strikes caused severe damage to the Syrian ministry of defence in Damascus and struck the vicinity of the presidential palace - a dramatic escalation in Israel's repeated attacks on its neighbour since the fall of Bashar al-Assad in December last year. In a televised statement on Wednesday evening, Syria's interim president Ahmed al-Sharaa called Israel's attacks an attempt to destabilise his country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We find ourselves in the heart of a battle to protect the unity of our land, the dignity of our people and the resilience of our nation," he said. "The Israeli entity, which has consistently targeted our stability and sown discord since the fall of the former regime, now seeks once again to turn our sacred land into a theatre of endless chaos." Addressing Syria's Druze, he continued: "We affirm that protecting your rights and freedoms is among our top priorities. We reject any attempt - foreign or domestic - to sow division." Bedouin fighters in Syria have said that they have launched a new offensive against Druze militiamen, despite the withdrawal of Syrian government forces from the southwestern province of Suwayda, and an attempt by the countrys president to draw a line under a recent outbreak of deadly violence. A Bedouin military commander told the Reuters news agency on Thursday that the truce only applied to government forces and not to them, adding that the fighters were seeking to free Bedouins whom Druze armed groups had detained in recent days. Clashes occured in the western countryside of Suwayda, with reports that Arab tribal forces from Idlib, in northwestern Syria, were mobilising to support the Bedouins after reports of mass displacement and killings emerged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And the Syrian state news agency SANA added that Israel had conducted an air attack in the vicinity of Suwayda. The reports come despite a ceasefire agreed on Wednesday, after Israel had conducted its own attacks on Syria, striking the Ministry of Defence in Damascus. Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa said in a televised speech early on Thursday that protecting the countrys Druze citizens and their rights was a priority as he announced that local leaders would take control of security in Suwayda in a bid to end sectarian violence in the south and stop Israel from attacking. The Syrian leader addressed days of fierce fighting involving Druze armed groups, Bedouin tribes and government forces in the predominantly Druze city of Suwayda and its surrounding areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel, which sees the Druze as allies and has its own sizeable Druze minority, launched a series of strikes near Syrias presidential palace and on the military headquarters in the heart of Damascus on Wednesday, killing at least three people. It warned Syria it would escalate its attacks further if government forces did not withdraw from the south and halt attacks against the Druze community. We are eager on holding accountable those who transgressed and abused our Druze people because they are under the protection and responsibility of the state, al-Sharaa said in the speech, describing the minority as a fundamental part of the fabric of this nation. We affirm that protecting your rights and freedoms is among our top priorities, he said. We reject any attempt, foreign or domestic, to sow division within our ranks. Al-Sharaa said responsibility for security in the violence-plagued area would be handed over to religious elders and some local factions based on the supreme national interest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least 169 people have been killed in the violence in southern Syria in recent days, local sources told Al Jazeera, while the United Kingdom-based war monitor, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, said more than 360 people have been killed. Troops withdraw Al-Sharaas remarks came after the Syrian government and Druze leader Sheikh Yousef Jarbou announced a new ceasefire in the city and said the army had begun withdrawing from Suwayda. Dozens of Syrian military vehicles were seen leaving the city overnight. Reporting from Suwayda, Al Jazeeras Zeina Khodr said a tense calm had settled on the city on Thursday morning. Whether or not it will hold, we have to wait and see, she said. She said the Druze community, a small but influential minority in both Syria and Israel, was divided over its stance towards the new Syrian authorities, who took over after the fall of longtime President Bashar al-Assad in December. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Jarbou, who said he agreed to the ceasefire, condemned the Israeli strikes on Syria, telling Al Jazeera Arabic that any attack on the Syrian state is an attack on the Druze community. But another influential Druze leader in the city, Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari, said he rejected the ceasefire and promised to continue fighting until Suwayda was entirely liberated. Khodr said al-Hajaris whereabouts were unknown, and it was unclear whether fighters affiliated with him would continue to put up a fight. Israeli entity has targeted our stability and sowed discord In his speech, al-Sharaa called for national unity, saying: The building of a new Syria requires all of us to stand united behind our state, to commit to its principles and to place the interest of the nation above any personal or limited interest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Addressing the Druze community, he said the government rejected any attempt to drag you into the hands of an external party, in a pointed reference to Israels deadly intervention in the conflict. The Israeli entity, which has consistently targeted our stability and sowed discord since the fall of the former regime, now seeks once again to turn our sacred land into a theatre of endless chaos, he said. We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction. He added that Israels strikes, including those that killed three people and injured 34 in Damascus on Wednesday, could have pushed matters to a large-scale escalation if it were not for the intervention of US, Turkish and Arab mediators, which saved the region from an unknown fate. The United States, which has softened its stance towards Syria and is trying to re-engage and support the countrys reconstruction after more than 13 years of war, has been eager to de-escalate the conflict, which Department of State spokesperson Tammy Bruce called a misunderstanding between new neighbours. The US called on Syria on Wednesday to withdraw its troops from the southern border area to de-escalate tensions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israels attacks on Syria has garnered widespread global condemnation, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan calling the bombings a threat to regional stability. Israel, using the Druze as an excuse, has been expanding its banditry into neighbouring Syria over the past two days, Erdogan said in a televised speech after the weekly cabinet meeting. Israel is a lawless, unruly, unprincipled, spoiled, pampered, and greedy terrorist state, he said. In a joint statement, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, the UAE, Turkey, and other regional states reaffirmed their support for Syrias sovereignty, unity, and stability, while rejecting all foreign interference. The statement condemned ongoing Israeli attacks on Syrian territory, labeling them violations of international law and a threat to regional stability. It further urged the international community to assist in Syrias reconstruction and called on the UN Security Council to ensure Israels withdrawal from occupied Syrian land. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the strikes, saying on Thursday Israel would continue to use military means to guarantee that the Syrian government respects two red lines, which he said are the demilitarisation of Syrian territory south of Damascus and attacks on the Syrian Druze community. Actions louder than words Speaking to Al Jazeera, Mohamad Elmasry, professor of media studies at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, said al-Sharaas speech contained encouraging messages about the place of the Druze minority in Syrian society. He said that the Druze are an essential component, Elmasry said. He said its the Syrian governments responsibility to protect them and to hold to account those who have transgressed against them in recent days. But he said it would all come down to how his government behaved in the aftermath of the speech. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think their actions will speak louder than words for those minority groups in Syria. He said the speech also contained a note of warning to Israel that al-Sharaas government did not fear war and that anyone who starts a war with Syria would regret it. These were messages directed at Israel, and it marked a very significant departure from what weve heard from him and at times not heard from him when Israel has attacked Syria, Elmasry said. I think were at a potentially dangerous tipping point, and it really will come down to, I think, the extent to which [President] Donald Trump and the United States are willing to kind of rein in Israel, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its a very difficult situation in Syria. You are talking about a very multiethnic society. You have outside forces, starting with Israel, trying to basically fragment the country and establish a separatist system, if you will, in Syria, Elmasry said. Cycle of violence The escalation in Syria began with tit-for-tat kidnappings and attacks between Druze armed factions and local Sunni Bedouin tribes in Suwayda province. Government forces that intervened to restore order clashed with the Druze, and Syrian soldiers were reported to have committed abuses, according to local monitors and analysts. The actions committed by members of the security forces acknowledged as unlawful criminal acts by the Syrian presidency have given Israel a pretext to bombard Syria as it builds military bases in the Golan Heights in the demilitarised buffer zone with Syria on land seized by its forces. Fighting previously broke out between government troops and Druze fighters in April and May, killing dozens of people. Local leaders and religious figures responded by signing agreements to contain the escalation and better integrate Druze fighters into the new Syrian administration. The Druze developed their own militias during the Syrian war. Since al-Assads fall, Druze factions have been operating with a degree of autonomy in Suwayda and its surrounding areas, Khodr said. Israel has been trying to expand its control in southern Syria since al-Assads fall and has repeatedly bombed the country this year. During the fighting in Suwayda, Israel demanded the Syrian troop withdrawal to create a demilitarised zone in southern Syria and has been moving its ground forces deeper into the Golan Heights. Damascus (dpa) Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday accused Israel of attempting to drag Syria into a war and said his country would not take the bait. "We, the people of Syria, know very well who is trying to drag us into war and who is working to divide us," al-Sharaa said in a dawn speech broadcast on national television. "We will not give them the opportunity to entangle our people in a war that serves only to fragment our homeland and sow destruction." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Al-Sharaa blamed Israel for exploiting instability in the wake of regime change, accusing it of targeting civilian infrastructure and seeking to derail reconstruction efforts. "Power alone does not guarantee victory, and igniting a war is not the same as controlling its outcome," he said. "We are stronger than any attempt to tear us apart." Addressing internal unrest in the southern province of Sweida, al-Sharaa said the government had intervened to end armed clashes between local groups. Clashes between Sunni Bedouins and Druze civilians have escalated in recent days, centred on the Druze-majority city of Sweida, with Syrian government troops deployed to the area. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Thursday said the death toll from the violence had risen to 360. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Al-Sharaa blamed "outlawed factions" for rejecting dialogue and fuelling disorder while accusing Israel of exploiting the unrest through strikes on civilian infrastructure to derail peace efforts. He also reaffirmed the Druze community's place in Syrian society, underscoring the state's commitment to protecting their rights and freedoms, and warned against attempts to drag it into foreign agendas. By Timour Azhari and Humeyra Pamuk DAMASCUS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The United States said on Thursday it did not support recent Israeli strikes on Syria and had made clear its displeasure, while Syrian leader Ahmed al-Sharaa accused Israel of trying to fracture his country and promised to protect its Druze minority. On Wednesday, Israel launched airstrikes in Damascus, while also hitting government forces in the south, demanding they withdraw and saying that Israel aimed to protect Syrian Druze - part of a small but influential minority that also has followers in Lebanon and Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The airstrikes blew up part of Syria's defence ministry and hit near the presidential palace. On Thursday, the Syrian state news agency said Israel carried out an airstrike on the vicinity of Syria's Sweida, where scores of people have been killed in days of conflict pitting Druze fighters against government troops and Bedouin tribes. U.S. State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said the United States condemned violence in Syria and was actively engaging all constituencies there and called on the Syrian government to lead the path forward. "Regarding Israel's intervention and activity is the United States did not support recent Israeli strikes," she said. "We are engaging diplomatically with Israel and Syria at the highest levels, both to address the present crisis and reach a lasting agreement between the two sovereign states." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Bruce declined to say whether Washington supports Israel carrying out such military operations when it deems necessary. 'WE'VE BEEN VERY CLEAR ABOUT OUR DISPLEASURE' "I won't speak to future conversations or past ones. What we're dealing with now is this particular episode, what was required, and I think we've been very clear about our displeasure, certainly that the President has, and we've worked very quickly to have it stopped," Bruce said. The violence has underlined the challenges interim President Sharaa faces in stabilizing Syria and exerting centralised rule, despite his warming ties with the United States and his administration's evolving security contacts with Israel. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said there had been an attempt to "sabotage the ceasefire that was achieved yesterday with the contributions of our country," and that Israel had shown once again that it did not want peace or stability in either Gaza or Syria. "Israel, using the Druze as an excuse, has expanded its banditry to Syria," he told reporters. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Turkey, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Lebanon, and Egypt issued a joint statement reaffirming support for Syria's "security, unity, stability, and sovereignty", and rejecting all foreign interference in its affairs. They also welcomed the agreement reached to end the crisis in Sweida and emphasized the necessity of its implementation to protect Syria and its unity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said late on Wednesday the United States had engaged all parties and steps had been agreed to end a "troubling and horrifying situation". Overnight, government troops withdrew from Sweida. The government sent troops earlier this week to the predominantly Druze city to quell a round of fighting between the Bedouins and Druze but the violence then grew until a ceasefire was declared. White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the de-escalation of the conflict in Syria seemed to be continuing. "Syria agreed to draw back their troops that were in the area where that clash was ongoing and we continue to be very actively monitoring the situation," she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement SHARAA PRAISES U.S. MEDIATION Addressing Syrians on Thursday, Sharaa credited U.S., Arab and Turkish mediation for saving "the region from an uncertain fate", but accused Israel of seeking to "dismantle the unity of our people". He said Israel had "consistently targeted our stability and created discord among us since the fall of the former regime". The United Nations Security Council met on Thursday to discuss the Israeli strikes and Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said "external or internal players" could not be allowed to exploit a fragile situation in Syria by "fermenting ethnic and religious tension." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel bombed Syria frequently under the rule of the ousted former president, Bashar al-Assad, and has struck the country repeatedly this year, describing its new leaders as barely disguised jihadists and saying it will not allow them to deploy forces in areas of southern Syria near its border. Sharaa, commander of an al Qaeda faction before cutting ties with the group in 2016, said protecting Druze citizens and their rights was "our priority" and rejected any attempt to drag them into the hands of an "external party". He also vowed to hold to account those who committed violations against "our Druze people". The Syrian Network for Human Rights said it had documented 254 dead in four days of fighting, among them medical personnel, women and children. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The network's head Fadel Abdulghany told Reuters the figure included cases of field executions by both sides, Syrians killed by Israeli strikes and others killed in clashes but that it would take time to break down the figures for each category. One local journalist said he had counted more than 60 bodies in Sweida in south Syria on Thursday morning. Ryan Marouf of Suwayda24 told Reuters he had found a family of 12 people killed in one house, including women and an elderly man. A Sweida resident, who asked to be identified only by his first name Amer for fear of reprisals, shared a video, which Reuters was not able to independently verify, of his neighbours slain in their home. It showed a lifeless man in a chair, an elderly man with a gunshot wound to his right temple on the floor and a younger man, face down in a pool of blood. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had established a policy demanding the demilitarisation of a swathe of territory near the border, stretching from the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights to the Druze Mountain, east of Sweida. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He reiterated Israel's policy to protect the Druze. Syria had sent "its army south of Damascus into an area that was supposed to remain demilitarized, and it began massacring Druze. This was something we could not accept in any way", he said, adding: "It is a ceasefire achieved through strength." In a worrying development, a military commander for the Bedouin said their fighters had launched a new offensive in Sweida province against Druze fighters and that the truce only there applied to government forces. The Bedouins, Sunni Muslim farmers who have long-standing frictions with the Druze, were seeking to free detained colleagues, he told Reuters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Amid reports of revenge attacks on Bedouin on Thursday, leading Druze Sheikh Hikmat al-Hajari called for peaceful Bedouin tribes to be respected and not harmed. (Reporting by Timour Azhari, Suleiman al-Khalidi and Kinda Makieh in Damascus, Maya Gebeily in Beirut; Steven Scheer and Emily Rose in Jerusalem; Ahmed Elimam in Dubai; Muhammad Al Gebaly in Cairo, Michelle Nichols at the United Nations and Reuters bureaux; Writing by Tom Perry, Michael Perry and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Ros Russell, Sharon Singleton and Diane Craft) July 17 (UPI) -- Syria's interim president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, accused Israel on Thursday of "trying to drag us into war" after the Netanyahu government launched airstrikes on military forces in Damascus. During a televised speech, al-Sharaa said Israel was "once again seeking to transform our blessed land into a theater of endless chaos" as well as "dismantle the unity of our people and weaken our ability to advance the path of reconstruction and progress." "The Israeli entity is using every possible means to sow conflict and strife, ignoring the fact that Syrians, throughout their history, have rejected all forms of separation and partition," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Possessing great power does not necessarily mean achieving victory. A war can be started, but it is not easy to control its results." Al-Sharaa made the speech after Israel had continued to attack southern Syria for a third day on Wednesday. In a statement, the Israeli military said it had struck the entrance of the Syrian military's headquarters in Damascus amid sectarian violence in the Druze province. Israel has said the strikes were meant to protect the Syrian Arab Druze minority and to force al-Sharaa to withdraw his forces from the region, where there have been violent armed clashes between Druze, Bedouin and government forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 248 people have been killed in such clashes since Sunday. "We are acting to save our Druze brothers and to eliminate the gangs of the regime," Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel said Wednesday in a statement. al-Sharaa's speech comes after his military forces began to withdraw from the area following mediation talks involving the United States. In a statement on social media on Wednesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said they have reached an agreement "on specific steps that will bring this troubling and horrifying situation to an end tonight." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "This will require all parties to deliver on the commitments they have made, and this is what we fully expect them to do." During a press conference at the White House with President Donald Trump and Bahrain Prime Minister Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Rubio said the violence in southwest Syria stems from historic rivalries between the tribal groups. "It led to an unfortunate situation and a misunderstanding, it looks like, between the Israeli side and the Syrian side," he said. "So, we've engaged with them all morning long and all night long with both sides. And we think we're on our way towards a real de-escalation and then hopefully get back on track in helping Syria build a country." CAIRO (Reuters) -Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa said on Thursday that protecting the Druze citizens and their rights is "our priority", as Israel vowed to destroy Syrian government forces attacking Druze in southern Syria. In his first televised statement after the powerful Israeli airstrikes on Damascus on Wednesday, Sharaa addressed Druze citizens saying "we reject any attempt to drag you into hands of an external party". "We are not among those who fear the war. We have spent our lives facing challenges and defending our people, but we have put the interests of the Syrians before chaos and destruction," he said. He added that the Syrian people are not afraid of war and are ready to fight if their dignity is threatened. (Reporting by Muhammad Al Gebaly; Editing by Himani Sarkar) BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) A homeowner in Taft shot an alleged burglar at his home on Monday, according to the Kern County Sheriffs Office. On July 14 at around 5:55 a.m., deputies responded to the 300 block of Montview Avenue in Taft for a reported burglary in progress, according to officials. KCSO said the homeowner confronted the alleged burglar later identified by investigators as Felix Cortez Villasenor, 36 in the backyard of his home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to officials, Villasenor allegedly charged at the homeowner while holding an unknown object and the homeowner shot Villasenor. RELATED: Large sheriffs deputy and Taft police presence seen on Montview Avenue Villasenor was airlifted to Kern Medical and was in the intensive care unit as of Tuesday, the sheriffs office said. He was absentee-booked into the Kern County Jail on suspicion of first-degree burglary and an outstanding misdemeanor warrant. KCSO said investigators will submit the case to the Kern County District Attorneys Office for review. Anyone with information about this case is encouraged to contact KCSO at 661-861-3110 or call Secret Witness at 661-322-4040. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. PEKIN, Ill. (WMBD) The Tazewell County Clerk held a press conference Wednesday, urging family-owned farms to register for the State of Illinois Centennial Farm Program. The program recognizes families who have owned farms for more than 100 years. As long as the same family has been on the deed, they are eligible for this program. The Mayor of Morton, Jeff Kaufman, said that agriculture is so important that the farms deserve recognition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Generational farming, thats what were here about. These families have owned several around Morton, he said. Right now, we have the oldest one and the crops grow good here because 85% of the worlds pumpkins grow in this area and are retained in work. So thats just one. But, you know, agriculture is such an important industry in this area. Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman The program is aiming to give recognition to family farms during Tazewell Countys bicentennial, coming up in 2027. The Department of Agriculture also recognizes the importance of farms in Illinois, urging registration for the anniversary. Their family history is here, and many of them still live here and farm this land. We want to celebrate that and remember that agriculture is one of our states, if not the biggest industry in the state. We want to celebrate that family heritage and show that that is still a viable part of Illinois agriculture, said Ray Hedrick, a department representative. Ackerman said that the family lineage of the farm doesnt just have to be parents to kids. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its to celebrate that a family has owned a farm for 100, 150 or 200 years, and that does qualify both completely linear, father to son to daughter, as well as collateral so through aunts, uncles, cousins, he said. Tazewell County Clerk John Ackerman says that if anyone has any questions, they should reach out to him and his office at (309) 477-2264, and they will help with the registration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to CIProud.com. A growing number of law firms are launching investigations after a Fort Worth-based health care group disclosed a year-old data breach that exposed sensitive information on nearly 20,000 patients. The Texas Centers for Infectious Disease Associates (TCIDA), which operates clinics in Fort Worth and Dallas, announced in late June that hackers may have accessed names, Social Security numbers, medical record details, and other highly sensitive information, according to a press release from the organization on PR Newswire. Now, law firms including Federman & Sherwood, Strauss Borrelli PLLC, and Almeida Law Group say they are probing the breach and considering potential legal claims on behalf of affected individuals. Federman & Sherwood, which maintains an office in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, has updated its The Breakdown: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Scope of the breach: Nearly 20,000 patients may have had personal and medical data stolen. Discovery delay: The breach occurred in July 2024 but was not discovered until June 2025. Root cause: The incident reportedly stemmed from a third-party billing vendor previously used by TCIDA. Legal scrutiny: At least three law firms have opened investigations or are soliciting affected clients. Free services offered: TCIDA is providing credit monitoring, identity theft insurance, and recovery assistance. The Almeida Law Group, in a separate post, criticized the delay between the July 2024 breach and its discovery on June 17, 2025. The firm noted the lag raises concerns over delayed detection and stated that victims may be eligible for compensation or other legal remedies. Strauss Borrelli PLLCs website features a similar entry, highlighting the firms supposed prowess as a leading data breach law firm in investigating the matter. TCIDA, which changed its name from Tarrant County Infectious Disease Associates in 1997, offers infectious disease treatment and infusion services across the DallasFort Worth area. Following the breach, the group claims to have hired cybersecurity consultants, conducted a forensic investigation, and notified affected patients on June 26, 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TCIDA believes the intrusion began after an incident involving its former third-party billing provider, A breach notice shared with the Maine Attorney Generals office states that information potentially exposed includes names, birth dates, Social Security numbers, drivers license numbers, health insurance IDs, and detailed treatment data. In addition to mailing notices, TCIDA claims to have established a toll-free line for questions. Although it is not mentioned in TCIDAs initial press release, the Almeida TCIDAs presser stated, The privacy and protection of personal and protected health information is a top priority [we] deeply regret any inconvenience or concern this incident may cause. Attorneys involved say further legal action could follow depending on what their reviews uncover about TCIDAs cybersecurity practices. The Dallas Express contacted TCIDA for comment on the potential litigation, but a spokesman did not return comment by the time of publication. THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) A teacher was stabbed and seriously injured at a musical performance by elementary school pupils on Wednesday night, Dutch police said in a statement Thursday. Three suspects were later arrested. The 53-year-old teacher was stabbed as he tried to intervene in an argument between three men at a cultural center in Alblasserdam, police said, adding that many people witnessed the stabbing and were offered counselling in the immediate aftermath. Children at elementary schools in the Netherlands traditionally put on shows for their parents in the last week before the summer holidays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A 44-year-old man was arrested close to the cultural center shortly after the stabbing. Two other men later went to a hospital in nearby Rotterdam. One of them, who had undisclosed injuries, was arrested there. The other man fled but was quickly arrested, police said. The reason for the argument that preceded the stabbing was not immediately clear. The alleged role of the three men in the stabbing was being investigated. Their identities were not disclosed, in line with Dutch privacy guidelines. Police also impounded two vehicles as part of their investigation. The incident happened at a musical show put on by final-year students at an elementary school in Alblasserdam, a small town famous for the World Heritage-listed Kinderdijk windmills on the outskirts of the town. As the investigation into the death of a 7-year-old boy in Dayton continues, more questions arise about who should have looked into peoples concerns about his welfare prior to his death. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] The News Center 7 I-Teams lead investigator, John Bedell, spoke with four lawyers who deal with child welfare cases. As reported on News Center 7 at 5:00, they all said that any concerns people voice to Children Services about allegations of potential neglect and abuse should first be handled by the Children Services agency in the county where the child lives. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The I-Team is working to figure out if that happened in the case of Hershall Creachbaum, whose body was found less than a mile from his mothers home on Xenia Avenue on July 12. TRENDING STORIES: Ohio law also says the lead Children Services agency for any investigation should be determined by the agency located in the county in which the alleged child victim or child subject of the report has a residence or legal settlement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Creachbaums family and a parent volunteer at Ruskin Elementary, where he attended school, said several people called Montgomery County Children Services about his welfare before his death. The I-Team has been working to learn what Montgomery County Children Services did with those reports. Another key fact is that records from Clark County Probate Court uncovered by the I-Team show the boys paternal grandmother had guardianship of him in Clark County until mid-May. His grandmother, Missy Creachbaum, told the I-Team she was badly injured in a crash in November, and he started living with his mom, Ashley Johnson, in Dayton after that. Clark County Children Services told News Center 7 that they could not confirm or deny if they had a case involving the family. The agency did say that since Creachbaums death investigation started on Saturday, theyve had contact with law enforcement in Montgomery County. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The I-Team has reached out to Montgomery County Children Services every day this week. The agency say theyre working on a response that we have not received at the time of this report. The I-Team also reached out to the Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY), which handles state oversight of Children Services agencies. A spokesperson said, DCY is aware of this situation and is gathering information to learn more. As we do, we will be working closely with the local public Children Services agencies. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Earlier this year, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters briefly employed a man whose image was synonymous with the infamous Unite the Right rally that brought white supremacists to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. The Teamsters hired Peter Cytanovic for an administrative job at the unions headquarters in Washington, D.C., before firing him during his probationary period, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The union was unaware of Cytanovics past when he came onboard, the source said. More than seven years earlier, Cytanovic, then a college student, traveled from Reno, Nevada, and marched among neo-Nazis in the alternative right demonstration on the University of Virginia grounds. The dramatic Getty photo of a screaming, white-polo-clad Cytanovic then 20 years old, his face lit by tiki torches became perhaps the most iconic image from the rally. He has since said he is not a white nationalist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cytanovic declined to discuss his stint with the Teamsters during a brief exchange outside his home on Wednesday. They can suck dick, he said of the union, and you can get the fuck out of here. The Teamsters declined to comment on the matter. HuffPost has learned that Cytanovic told the Teamsters he had previously worked as an organizer for the Service Employees International Union, another powerhouse in the labor movement. SEIU declined to comment. Cytanovic, right, in the Getty photo taken on Aug. 11, 2017. Anadolu via Getty Images Cytanovics hiring at one of the largest and most powerful U.S. unions first surfaced publicly in an anonymous Reddit post last month. Someone who identified themselves as an employee at Teamsters headquarters said they learned about their new co-workers Charlottesville trip after googling his name. The poster said they reported their findings to a manager, and Cytanovic was terminated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On Tuesday, John Palmer, a member of the Teamsters executive board, shared on Facebook a letter he had sent to the unions president, Sean OBrien, asking critical questions about the hire, including how the background check was done. Palmer is a vocal OBrien critic whos announced a run against the incumbent president in the unions 2026 election. When we hire somebody at the international, they vet people and it takes at least three or four people signing off, Palmer told HuffPost, referring to the main union, rather than its local affiliates. I cant speak to the vetting process. Cytanovic has maintained since the days immediately following the Charlottesville rally that he is not the angry racist [people] see in that photo. He said he was drawn to the rally in large part to defend the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee as a symbol of white, European heritage. Anti-racist activists had urged local officials to remove the Lee monument from a Charlottesville park. I hope people acknowledge that being a party to the alternative right does not make me an evil Nazi, and that being pro-white right now is dangerous, and being pro-white doesnt mean Im anti-anyone else, he told Nevadas Channel 2 News after the rally. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That article described Cytanovic as a self-proclaimed white nationalist, a label he disclaimed in a 2019 interview with The Beaver, a publication at the London School of Economics, where Cytanovic was studying for a masters degree at the time. I thought white nationalism at the time was American nationalism, being proud of our history without condemning, he said. Without being an atomised individual, being part of a wider community. Im ethnically American. Cytanovic also said he and other rally participants bear blame for the death of Heather Heyer, the counterprotester who was killed when a far-right demonstrator drove a car into a crowd the weekend of the rally. I caused hurt. Theres nothing I can do to change that now, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The viral 2017 image of Cytanovic has dogged him professionally and academically for years, long before his brief time with the Teamsters. As HuffPosts Christopher Mathias reported in 2021, Cytanovic joined the Nevada National Guard but was quickly booted before attending basic training. Although he had passed criminal and fingerprint checks, a guard spokesperson said Cytanovic was expelled due to his affiliations. Before that, fellow students at the University of Nevada, Reno, had pushed for his expulsion, though the schools administration resisted such calls on free-speech grounds. However, Cytanovic did end up resigning from his job with a campus escort service that provides free rides to students at night. Related... A 17-year-old boy has been arrested in connection with the killing of Sunshine Stewart, a paddleboarder who was found dead in Maine earlier this month, police said Thursday. Police did not identify the suspect or provide details on what charges he is facing. Other details, such as a possible motive or whether the teen knew Stewart, were not provided. Stewart, 48, was found dead on July 3 during a search of Crawford Pond in the town of Union, Maine, state police said in a previous statement. An autopsy by the state medical examiner's office determined her death was a homicide, and the Office of Chief Medical Examiner in Augusta later said the cause of death was strangulation and blunt force trauma. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stewart had gone on a solo paddleboarding trip a day earlier, but never returned, according WGME. Police said her body was found under "unusual circumstances" around 1 a.m., WGME reported. Kathy Lunt, the owner of Mic Mac campground near Crawford Pond, told WGME that Stewart was a seasonal resident there. Some Union residents expressed a sense of relief over the arrest. "There was all kinds of rumors circulating about the New England serial killer. And I'm glad there's been an arrest. I hope they can make it stick. I hope he's guilty, because then we know," Susan Creighton told WGME. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Peter Exkardt, another Union resident told the station, "You just don't know. Just taking a walk and all that, not realizing who's going to be around the corner and all that. I think they did a good job in finding the person." Meredith Smith, a resident of Union who knew Stewart, described her as "a great, great person all-around." "To know Sunny, I don't think she had a bad bone in her body, and anyone that knew her was just in awe of her," Smith said, WGME reported. A GoFundMe launched for Stewart had raised more than $33,000. Son of man who was violently detained by ICE reacts after release Mike Johnson breaks from Trump, calls on DOJ to release Epstein files 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska NEED TO KNOW Summer Hinote and her friends were wading in waist-deep water at a creek on June 22 when the scary encounter with the gator occurred "I laid down on the ground because I couldnt run for real and I just started praying, Hinote said after she broke free from the gator Authorities said Hinote was bitten on her thigh by an alligator but did not suffer non-life-threatening injuries A teenager detailed her harrowing experience of being attacked and dragged underwater by an alligator in Florida until she was able to escape. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Summer Hinote, 15, told ABC affiliate WEAR that she and her friends were wading in waist-deep water at Pond Creek in Okaloosa County on June 22 when the scary encounter with the animal occurred. "I had felt something latch onto my leg," Hinote told the outlet. "... And I didnt know what it was at first so I just turned my body around and started punching it in the head." Hinote also told CBS affiliate WFOR that the gator let go of her at first, but then it grabbed again and then dragged me under the water and shook me around. The teen added that she would start running up whenever the gator let her go, saying, I had gotten up out of the water, per Fox News. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She said that she was on the ground after she broke free. "I laid down on the ground because I couldnt run for real and I just started praying, Hinote told WEAR. "My friend came up to me and I said, 'Is my leg still there?' " she continued. "He said, 'Youre fine, youre fine. Its not that bad but we have to get up hes coming up from behind you.' " The friend picked Hinote up, and then the two helped another person, WFOR reported. The group ran up the creeks bank to get to high ground and away from the gator. Shree Hinote, the girl's mother, told WEAR that she received a phone call from her daughters friend informing her about what happened. She got into her truck and picked up the teen while en route to emergency responders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a Thursday, July 17, email to PEOPLE, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) said its officers were notified on June 22 at 2:38 p.m. local time about the incident involving Hinote. Preliminary information indicates a juvenile female was bitten on her thigh by an alligator while wading in the creek, the FWC said. The victim sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a local hospital for medical attention. 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. Officials estimate that, based on Hinote's bite injury, the gator measured approximately 10 feet, WFOR and WEAR reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hinote refuted peoples speculation that she and her friends provoked the gator, telling WEAR that the animal snuck up from behind me and none of us even knew that it was there. The FWC offered several recommendations when encountering an alligator in or near the water to reduce the chances of attacks. Those include keeping a safe distance when spotting a gator, swimming only in designated areas, and never feeding a gator. Read the original article on People WASHINGTON (DC News Now) D.C. police are investigating a double shooting near an elementary school in Southeast that sent two people to the hospital overnight. Around 1:20 a.m. on Thursday, July 17, officers with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) were called to the 3000 block of Stanton Road SE for reports of a shooting. Once on the scene, police found a teenage boy and a man who had been shot at the intersection of Alabama Avenue SE and Stanton Road SE. DC Fire and EMS respond to vehicle in water in Potomac River Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the police report obtained by DC News Now, the victims were walking on Alabama Avenue and were in front of the Turner Elementary School when a car sped by and began shooting at them. MPD said they were both taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. As of Thursday morning, investigators have not released details on the suspected vehicle. Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to call 202-727-9099 or text MPD at 50411. Check DCNewsNow.com for updates. To keep up with the latest news and weather updates, download our Mobile App on iPhone or Android. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. NEED TO KNOW A new four-part HBO docuseries titled The Yogurt Shop Murders debuts on Aug. 3 The series will look at the 1991 murders of four teenage girls who were working at a yogurt shop together in Austin, Texas Their murders remain unsolved despite dozens of false confessions over the decades The 1991 murders of four young girls working at a yogurt shop in Austin, Texas, remain unsolved to this day. But a new HBO docuseries will give the cold case a fresh look in August, PEOPLE has learned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement HBO will debutThe Yogurt Shop Murders on Sunday, Aug. 3 at 10 p.m. ET. PEOPLE is exclusively debuting the trailer below. The network describes the series as a haunting four-part HBO Original documentary series from award-winning filmmaker Margaret Brown, who rose to prominence with her 2022 documentary film Descendant, which followed descendants of Africans brought to the U.S. on the last known slave ship. In 1991, four teenage girls were found murdered inside a frozen yogurt shop in Austin, Texasa crime so brutal it shocked the nation and shattered a citys sense of safety, HBO states about the new docuseries, setting the stage for its four new episodes. Decades later, the case remains unsolved, marked by false confessions, questionable convictions, and enduring grief. The series first premiered at SXSW earlier this year and will be available to stream on Max. Each of the four episodes will be released weekly on Sunday nights. Related: More than 30 Years Later: Inside the Unsolved Yogurt Shop Murders of 4 Teens Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The series unravels the tangled web of a botched investigation and explores the emotional toll left on families, investigators, and a community still seeking justice, HBO states. With her signature depth and sensitivity, Brown brings new urgency to one of Americas most disturbing and unresolved crimes. American-Statesman-USA TODAY NETWORK Officers at the scene of the Yogurt Shop murders in 1991 Officers at the scene of the Yogurt Shop murders in 1991 PEOPLE previously covered the grisly crime in 2023 with a People Magazine Investigates episode on the unsolved 1991 murders of Eliza Thomas, 17, Jennifer Harbison, 17, Sarah Harbison, 15, and Amy Ayers, 13. The four teenagers were discovered by firefighters who thought they were responding to a fire at the shop. However, investigators later came to believe the fire was set intentionally to cover up potential evidence left behind at the scene. Eliza Thomas; Sarah Harbison; Jennifer Harbison; Amy Ayers 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. Dozens of people have falsely confessed to the murders over the years, while police largely focused their investigation on four teenage boys three of whom had confessed to the killings by 1999. However, as PEOPLE reported, their convictions didnt stick after a botched investigation and prosecution. By June 2009, the boys now men had been released from prison and had their charges dismissed while a shroud of mystery remained over what happened that December night in 1991. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the families of the four victims are still seeking answers and justice. Theyre not forgotten, Angie Ayers, the wife of Amy Ayers brother Shawn, previously told PEOPLE. Theyre not given up on. HBO's The Yogurt Shop Murders premieres on Sunday, Aug. 3 at 10 p.m. ET. Read the original article on People CAMP SPRINGS, Md. (DC News Now) After being missing for four nights in Prince Georges County, a Temple Hills man with dementia has been found. His family said hes in the hospital but doing well. 78-year-old Woodrow Snyder wandered a little more than half a mile away Friday night and survived in the woods in Hensen Creek Park until being found Tuesday night. He was hugging us, telling us, Dont worry. Dont worry. You ladies are too beautiful to be crying like this. Dont worry. And he kept saying, Thats my wife,' said daughter Nia Snyder. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Snyder and her sister, Dr. Nerissa Dicks spent days searching for him. My sister and I went out in I mean hazmat suits. We had machetes. We had tree cutters, Dicks said. DC police searching for 77-year-old man missing for several days They said police were focused on the wrong areas where hed been found before, including on roadways and in neighborhoods, as well as bus routes, because the dog lost his scent at a bus stop. People arent a statistic or just a number or just data to base your investigation on or your search on. Each person in each case is gonna be different, Snyder said. Despite what detectives told her, Dicks didnt give up, and neither did the volunteers, including a woman and her dog who eventually found him. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think its really important for people to know to advocate for your family members, Dicks said. Dont wait for the police or for detectives to move on things. If you feel like you can find them, do that. His family is grateful hes OK. Maybe he had food. Maybe he ate some animals or something while he was there, Dicks said. The crazy thing well never know what he was doing on his great escape, but he put us through it. Snyder was transferred to a hospital in Virginia because of a brain bleed. Other than being a little weak, hes overall doing 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 DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. FIRST ON FOX: Kentuckys attorney general filed a lawsuit Thursday against e-commerce giant Temu, alleging that its app illegally gives the Chinese government access to Americans user data and that the company lifts intellectual property from U.S.-owned companies. In a complaint filed in Woodford County Circuit Court, state attorneys asked for an injunction against Temu, an Amazon rival with a China-originating parent company, for what they described as "multifold" harms. Kentucky investigators identified "code-level behaviors" in the Temu app that involved the collection of users' sensitive personal data in a manner that was not secure, in violation of state consumer protection laws, the attorneys said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pressure From Shein, Temu Accelerate Retail Closures A laptop keyboard and Temu on App Store displayed on a phone screen. "These privacy and security harms are compounded both because the Temu app is purposely designed to evade detection and because Defendants by their own [acknowledgment] have a portion of their operations located on mainland China, where cybersecurity laws allow the government unfettered access to data owned by Chinese businesses whenever it wishes," the attorneys wrote. The complaint alleged that Temu improperly collects users' Wi-Fi and GPS information, as well as camera data without appropriate permission. Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The attorneys also alleged that Temu brazenly sells products using stolen intellectual property of large and small brands, including that of Kentuckys historic horse racetrack in Louisville. "As of the date of this filing, Temu features dozens of what appear to be unlicensed products claiming to be from Kentucky brands like the University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Buffalo Trace Distillery and Churchill Downs," the complaint reads. Temu, Shein To Raise Prices For Us Consumers Starting Next Week As Trump Administration Closes Tariff Loophole Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman speaks during the Fancy Farm picnic in Fancy Farm, Kentucky, on Aug. 5, 2023. Temus parent company is PDD Holdings, which originated in China but moved to Ireland. Before launching Temu in the United States in 2022, PDD Holdings founded Temus sister company, Pinduoduo, a Chinese online retailer. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Temu has become known for its heavily discounted products and aggressive advertising strategy, which included three multimillion-dollar animated Super Bowl ads last year. Temu was Apple's most downloaded free app in 2023, according to TechCrunch. Temu's tagline is "Shop like a billionaire," though its pricing structure has in recent months been disrupted by Trump's trade war with China. Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman said the company's "cheap products and flashy marketing" distract from more insidious problems. "Their platform can infect Kentuckians devices with malware, steal their personal data and send it directly to the Chinese government," Coleman, an elected Republican and former U.S. attorney, said in a statement. "At the same time, theyre eroding trust in some of Kentuckys most iconic brands, which could lead to job losses and hardship." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawsuit is the latest instance of Temu coming under scrutiny, mainly by Republicans, for its ties to China, a top U.S. adversary. Last year, 20 GOP state attorneys general demanded information from Temu's ownership about allegations brought by Congress that its China-based suppliers used forced labor. Temu denied the claim at the time. Fox News Digital reached out to Temu for comment. Original article source: Temu sued by Kentucky for allegedly giving China unfettered access to user data By Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ten Republican U.S. senators wrote a letter to President Donald Trump's administration on Wednesday urging it to reverse its decision to withhold $6.8 billion in congressionally approved federal funding for K-12 schools. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT While Democrats have been critical of Trump's move, Republican lawmakers have not often publicly disagreed with the Republican president on policy issues or openly criticized his moves. The 10 Republicans who signed the letter included Senators Shelley Moore Capito, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Mitch McConnell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it was withholding previously approved funding to schools during what the White House called an ongoing review process. A coalition of mostly Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Monday challenging the move. The freeze extended to funding used to support the education of migrant farm workers and their children; recruitment and training of teachers; English proficiency learning; academic enrichment; and after-school and summer programs. KEY QUOTES "These funds go to support programs that enjoy longstanding, bipartisan support," the lawmakers wrote to Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter said the freeze contradicted Trump's stated goal of "returning K-12 education to the states." It added: "We encourage you to reverse your decision and release this Congressionally-approved funding to states. CONTEXT The OMB said earlier this month there was an "ongoing programmatic review" of education funding and initial findings showed what it called the misuse of grant funds to "subsidize a radical leftwing agenda." OMB raised objections to grant money used to support scholarships for immigrant students and lessons that involved LGBT themes. The Trump administration has threatened schools and colleges with withholding federal funds over issues like climate initiatives, transgender policies, pro-Palestinian protests against U.S. ally Israel's war in Gaza and diversity, equity and inclusion practices. (Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Christian Schmollinger) NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) A new law that went into effect July 1 makes pretending to be a rideshare or taxi driver a crime in Tennessee following an armed robbery and fraud incident on Broadway. According to court documents, on March 30, 2025, a man left a bar on Broadway and got into a vehicle that he believed to be a rideshare vehicle or taxi. Inside the vehicle were 31-year-old Dakota Blunt and another woman, who allegedly held the victim at gunpoint, took his phone and wallet, fraudulently opened a credit card in his name, and made $18,000 worth of charges to his bank account. Metro police arrested 31-year-old Dakota Blunt and charged her with felony identity theft, felony property theft, felony aggravated robbery, and felony aggravated kidnapping. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Broadway bargoer robbed at gunpoint by fake rideshare drivers However, had the crime happened after July 1, officials also could have considered charging her with rideshare impersonation. A new state law makes pretending to be a rideshare or taxi driver a Class B misdemeanor, and a Class E felony if the suspect is committing another felony at the same time. For me, its about deterrence, Rep. Elaine Davis (R-Knoxville) told News 2 in March. Uber and Lyft approached her with the idea, which she combined with Rep. Dan Howells (R-Cleveland) bill targeting fake taxi drivers. Those companies and those corporations, they invest a lot of time and money to ensure that those drivers have valid drivers licenses, carry insurance, do background checks, and all of that is done for those passengers to feel safe and secure using those services, Davis said. Read todays top stories on wkrn.com Rep. Davis told News 2 the law isnt about locking people up. She hopes it sends a message to those considering impersonating a rideshare driver before they commit the act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hopefully, people dont want to go to jail. Thats really the message is well put you in jail for this, Davis said. Thats the seriousness of what were wanting to make sure people understand is we want to protect our communities, and well do whatever it takes to keep people safe. Blunt is currently being held in the Davison County jail on a $235,000 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 WKRN News 2. Personnel from the Brentwood, Franklin, Hendersonville and Nashville Fire Departments along with the Nashville Department of Transportation & Multimodal Infrastructure and the Williamson County Emergency Management Agency have been tapped to assist with ongoing search and rescue efforts in Texas. The announcement comes as Texas continues to grapple with the aftermath of a catastrophic July 4 flood that claimed more than 120 lives around the Guadalupe River. Many people were still missing as of July 15. The Middle Tennessee team was assembled July 12, deployed by the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency and plans to spend 14 days in central Texas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Supporting Texas during this time reflects the true spirit of the Volunteer State, ready to help wherever and whenever were needed, TEMA Director Patrick C. Sheehan said in prepared statements. Im grateful to Tennessees first responders and emergency management professionals who are leaving their homes to provide resources, personnel, and expertise to support a swift and efficient response. Texas search and rescue missions have taken place almost around the clock in Kerr and Travis Counties as officials hope to find more of the missing. Williamson County EMA sent three members to aid in the rescue efforts: Butch Coulter, a communications technician, Justin Rilling, a system analyst, and Kate Brock, an EMA officer (K-9 Search and Rescue). "Butch and Justin will be there to help improve network connectivity and communications among responders," a spokesperson with Williamson EMA said. "During a large-scale incident like this, they will do everything from setting up RF communications and IT-related networks to handing out batteries for devices." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As an expert in K-9 Search and Rescue, Brock will be on site with Human Remains Detection (HRD) dogs trained to help indicate locations of interest where recovery teams can respond. "We are proud that our specialists can be part of this effort to bring help and hope to the residents in Texas who have suffered such a devastating loss," the agency spokesperson said. TEMA sent three handlers and search dogs to Kerr County to further assist in rescue efforts there. These Tennessee Task Force 1 (TN-TF1) members from the Memphis Fire Department will assist the currently deployed TN-TF1 Canine Search Team-Human Remains Detection (CST-HRD) team to continue in their operations, according to a news release from TEMA. The agency is coordinating Tennessees deployments through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), the nations state-to-state mutual aid system. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Brentwood, Franklin firefighters head to Texas to aid in flood rescue (NewsNation) Gov. Greg Abbott directed state emergency management officials on Thursday to activate response resources as a tropical weather system threatens Southeast and East Texas with heavy rain and dangerous rip currents in the coming days. The Texas Division of Emergency Management has positioned multiple state agencies and specialized teams across the region as the National Hurricane Center monitors the system moving across the northeastern Gulf Coast. Texas is prepared to provide all necessary resources to support local officials as a severe storm system moves along the Gulf Coast towards East and Southeast Texas and the Texas Coast, Abbott said in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump diagnosed with chronic venous insufficiency At the Governors direction, the following state emergency response resources are available to support local tropical weather response operations: Texas Division of Emergency Management: The State of Texas Incident Management Team to support deployed emergency response resources across the state Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service (Texas A&M Task Force 1): Swiftwater Rescue Boat Squads to assist with flood rescues Texas A&M Forest Service (Texas Intrastate Fire Mutual Aid System): Strike Teams consisting of personnel and fire engines to support local departments Texas Department of State Health Services (Texas Emergency Medical Task Force): Severe Weather Support Packages consisting of medics, ambulances, and all-terrain vehicles Texas National Guard: High profile vehicles to assist stranded motorists Texas Department of Transportation: Personnel monitoring road conditions Texas Parks and Wildlife Department: Game Wardens, rescue boat teams, and helicopters with hoist capability to assist with flood rescues Texas Department of Public Safety: Helicopters with hoist capabilities, Texas Highway Patrol Troopers, and the Tactical Marine Unit Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service: Disaster Assessment and Recovery Agents as well as County Extension Agents to support agricultural and livestock needs Public Utility Commission of Texas: Power outage monitoring and coordination with utility providers Railroad Commission of Texas: Monitoring of the states natural gas supply and communication with the oil and gas industry Texas Commission on Environmental Quality: Air/water/wastewater monitoring Office of the Texas Governor The emergency activation comes as state agencies continue supporting local response efforts following recent flooding across Texas. Officials reminded residents to stay informed, follow local guidance, create emergency plans and build supply kits. Safety information is available at TexasReady.gov, weather.gov and noaa.gov. Should the FDA be doing more to end synthetic food dyes? Flash flooding claimed more than 100 lives in Central Texas At least 135 people across Central Texas are confirmed dead, including dozens of children who were attending summer camp in the Hill Country, after catastrophic flooding over the Fourth of July holiday weekend. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The flash flooding deluged summer camps in Kerr County, dotted along the Guadalupe River, and also left families in Burnet, Kendall, Tom Green, Travis and Williamson Counties looking for family members swept away in the floodwaters. NewsNation affiliate KXAN contributed to this report. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas has announced 222 new immigration-related criminal cases in just one week. Many of the cases stem from fraudulent identification and work documents. Federal agents arrested two women at a San Antonio seafood company, Karen Y. Ordonez-Granados and Ledy Veronica Ordonez-Granados, after discovering they had allegedly purchased and used fake green cards and Social Security numbers to gain employment. Their employer, Groomers Seafood, was the subject of a court-authorized search warrant following an audit by Homeland Security Investigations, which discovered nearly 30 fake employment documents dating back to 2016. The defendants, if convicted, face up to 10 years in federal prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many of the listed cases also involve defendants who were previously deported and illegally re-entered the country. In Austin, law enforcement federally charged a Honduran national, Jose David Sifuentes, already serving five years in the Caldwell County Jail for sexually assaulting a child, for illegally re-entering the country after being deported in 2019. In El Paso, several individuals from Guatemala and Mexico were arrested for returning to the U.S. just weeks after being kicked out, in some cases for the third or fourth time. One man, Samuel Meza-Escobedo, had already been deported from the country nine times and had multiple prior convictions for illegal re-entry. In another arrest, Daniel Sauceda-Borrego, a Mexican national, allegedly attempted to pass through Customs using a fake identity and documents tied to someone elses Social Security number. Agents later discovered he had been using a stolen identity for over half a decade, based on his fingerprints and a fake Texas birth certificate. All of the 222 new cases occurred between the week of July 3 and July 10. The U.S. Attorneys Office says that these cases were the result of a new collaboration between multiple federal agencies, including ICE, Homeland Security Investigations, Border Patrol, the DEA, and the FBI. Covering 68 counties and a population of over 7.6 million residents, the Western District of Texas encompasses vast metropolitan areas like San Antonio, Austin, and El Paso, and shares a 660-mile border with Mexico. The Brief Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns led state lawmakers and Georgia clergy in a prayer service at the State Capitol. Having suffered the loss of her own child, Fairburn Democratic Rep. Lydia Glaize expressed deep sympathy for the families of the young victims. More than 100 hundred people are still missing after deadly flooding hit parts of Texas around the Guadalupe River on July 4th. ATLANTA - Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns led state lawmakers and Georgia clergy in a prayer service at the State Capitol for Texas flood victims Wednesday. Georgia lawmakers pray for Texas flooding victims What they're saying "We gather today to lift up our fellow Americans impacted by the devastating Hill Country floods," Speaker Burns said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sandersville Democratic Rep. Mack Jackson offered a word of prayer saying, "Georgians come together to pray for the loss of lives in Texas, the horrendous devastation that they are facing in the state of Texas." Georgia lawmakers paused from their usual business to offer words of prayer and comfort for Texans left reeling from catastrophic flooding as the death toll continues to rise. "May they feel the love and prayers of the people of the state of Georgia," said First Baptist Church of Columbus Pastor Jimmy Elder. Having suffered the loss of her own child, Fairburn Democratic Rep. Lydia Glaize expressed deep sympathy for the families of the young victims. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "No parent should have to bury a child and the younger they are, I guarantee you, the more it hurts," Rep. Glaize lamented. Speaker Burns echoed her heartfelt condolences to the families of the children lost. "I can't help but grieve for the parents who dropped their children off at Camp Mystic that morning, and never imagined it would be the last time they saw their children again." Texas flood victims still missing The backstory More than 100 hundred people are still missing after deadly flooding hit parts of Texas around the Guadalupe River on July 4. The hardest hit area was in Kerr County, Texas. That includes a Christian summer camp where dozens of young girls were swept away. Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter's granddaughters were at the camp. They survived, but the girl's cousin died in the flooding. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Several other people with Georgia ties have died in the flooding, including an Emory graduate and Atlanta-based attorney and a student at the Savannah College of Art and Design. Help Texas flooding victims What you can do Speaker Burns encouraged Georgians who would like to help support local flood recovery efforts to make a donation through the Texas-based non-profit organization One-Star Foundation. FOX 5 is also raising funds to donate to victims of the flooding and to help with the cleanup. The Source Information in this article comes from FOX 5's Deidra Dukes attending the event, and past reporting by FOX 5 about the flooding in Texas and victims with local ties. You can see the past reporting by clicking the hyperlinks in blue. A Texas judge this week dismissed a misdemeanor trespassing case against a man who was arrested by state troopers upon crossing the U.S.-Mexico border and accused of being a Venezuelan gang member a designation that led federal authorities to send him to a notorious prison in El Salvador, court records show. Despite the dismissal, it appears Pedro Luis Salazar-Cuervo, a 28-year-old from Venezuela with no known criminal record, remains in the maximum security prison known as the Terrorism Confinement Center, or CECOT. The Department of Public Safety arrested Salazar-Cuervo on New Years Eve when he crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico into Maverick County. State police accused him of being a member of the Tren de Aragua gang which President Donald Trump has designated a terrorist organization because they found a photo of him on a phone posing with another man with tattoos who was also accused of being a gang member, his lawyers wrote in earlier court filings. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salazar-Cuervo does not have any tattoos, according to court documents as well as his jail booking documents. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson insisted in a statement Thursday that Salazar-Cuervo is a gang member, but declined to share evidence. Within three months of his arrest, Salazar-Cuervo was sent to the Terrorism Confinement Center along with more than 230 others who Trump called the worst of the worst even as the administration knew most of the individuals had no U.S. convictions. Last month District Judge Maribel Flores ordered Maverick County prosecutors to ask the federal government to return Salazar-Cuervo to Texas to face trial in August. DPS has arrested thousands of people on criminal trespassing charges since Gov. Greg Abbott launched a massive border crackdown in 2021 that surged troopers and National Guard soldiers to communities along the 1,250 miles of border Texas shares with Mexico. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But on Tuesday, a Maverick County judge dismissed the case following a motion to do so from a county prosecutor in the interest of justice, according to the order and motion. The prosecutor, Luis Gurrola-Villarreal, did not elaborate further in the motion and did not return a request for comment Thursday. Rick Trevino, an attorney with the Lone Star Defenders Office who is representing Salazar-Cuervo in the case, said the state's move to dismiss the charge "highlights the frivolousness of their claim that he is a member of a gang." Pedros deportation to an El Salvador prison without due process, a fundamental aspect of our justice system, shocks the conscience," Trevino said. "The truth is Pedro isnt a gang member. He is a father, a brother, a son with no criminal history. We hope that he is brought back to the United States soon." A DPS spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE arrested Salazar-Cuervo seven days after he entered the country, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said Thursday. An immigration judge issued a final order of removal in early March. "We are confident in our law enforcements intelligence, and we arent going to share intelligence reports and undermine national security every time a gang member denies he is one. That would be insane," McLaughlin said. "DHS intelligence assessments go well beyond just gang affiliate tattoos and social media." Salazar-Cuervos case was among the latest examples of Texas police accusing someone of being a member of Tren de Aragua based on thin or questionable evidence. In Hays County, DPS led a raid of what authorities claimed to be a party of suspected gang members or affiliates and arrested nearly 50 people, including children, who the federal government is moving to deport. The authorities involved in the raid have not presented evidence to back up their claim. The Trump administration has leveled the accusation based on gang identifiers like Chicago Bulls jerseys and tattoos of clocks, stars and crowns even as Latin American criminologists have widely and repeatedly debunked the connection between tattoos and Tren de Aragua membership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Salazar-Cuervo grew up in a tiny Venezuelan town where Tren de Aragua does not operate, his sister said in court documents. The lineup for The Texas Tribune Festival continues to grow! Be there when all-star leaders, innovators and newsmakers take the stage in downtown Austin, Nov. 1315. The newest additions include comedian, actor and writer John Mulaney; Dallas mayor Eric Johnson; U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota; New York Media Editor-at-Large Kara Swisher; and U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso. Get your tickets today! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase. (Texas Scorecard) Texas Supreme Court has overturned a jury verdict that awarded $90 million to a family who was injured after their F-150 truck crossed a median and hit an 18-wheeler. In December 2014, Trey Salinas drove his pickup truck on I-20 near Odessa with Jennifer Blake and her three children in the vehicle. Icy conditions caused the vehicle to lose control, cross the median, and collide with a semi-truck from Werner Enterprises, Inc., according to court records. The collision killed one of Blakes children and severely injured the others. The Blake family sued Werner Enterprises and Shiraz Ali, who was driving the 18-wheeler. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A district court jury found Werner and Ali liable, appropriating liability as 70 percent to Werner employees other than Ali, 14 percent to Ali, and 16 percent to Salinas (with whom the Blakes settled before trial). The Blake family was awarded nearly $90 million, with over $68 million awarded to daughter Brianna Blake, who was rendered a permanent quadriplegic. Werner and Ali appealed to the 14th District Court of Appeals in Houston, where the case was argued before a three-justice panel. After the court of appeals affirmed the district courts decision, Werner and Ali petitioned for review in the State Supreme Court. Texans for Lawsuit Reform filed an amicus brief, arguing that the Court should side with Werner and Ali. TLR also slammed the Court of Appeals decision. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Texas Supreme Court decided on June 27 to rule in favor of Werner and Ali, reversing and dismissing the court of appeals judgment. Chief Justice Jimmy Blacklock wrote the opinion. This awful accident happened because an out-of-control vehicle suddenly skidded across a wide median and struck the defendants truck, before he had time to react, as he drove below the speed limit in his proper lane of traffic, wrote Blacklock. That singular and robustly explanatory fact fully explains why the accident happened and who is responsible for the resulting injuries. The plaintiffs argued that the accident would not have occurred or the injuries would not have been as severe if the 18-wheeler had been operating at a lower speed. The facts of the case established that, while the 18-wheeler was traveling below the speed limit, it was still at an unsafe speed for icy conditions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, the Court ruled that the defendants presence on the highway, combined with his speed, furnished the condition that made the injuries possible, but it did not proximately cause the injuries. Rather, the sole proximate cause of this accident and these injuries was the sudden, unexpected hurtling of the victims vehicle into oncoming highway traffic, for which the defendants bore no responsibility, the opinion continued. Semi-trucking accidents became a hot topic of discussion during the 2025 legislative session. Texans for Lawsuit Reform supported a proposed measure aimed at restricting the amount of damages victims can receive in lawsuits involving commercial trucking accidents. The proposal drew fierce opposition from citizen advocates, trial lawyers, and even some lawmakers who saw it as an attack on the rights of Texans injured or killed due to corporate negligence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ultimately, the proposal failed to advance out of the legislature. Following the ruling, State Rep. Mitch Little posted to X, Werner Enterprises v. Blake was the singular case I was told required not only reforms to trucking law, but also reforms to non-economic damages. The system works without rigging it, Little continued. Texas Supreme Court decision featured Justices Jimmy Blacklock, John Devine, Brett Busby, Evan Young, and John Sullivan voting to rule in favor of Werner. Justice Evan Young wrote a concurring opinion joined by Justice Rebeca Huddle. Justices Jane Bland, Jeff Boyd, and Rebeca Huddle dissented in part, arguing for a new trial. Justice Debra Lehrmann did not participate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As far as Texas courts are concerned, Werner and Ali are released from all legal liability. Neither partys attorneys responded to Texas Scorecards request for comment in time for publication. If you or anyone you know has information regarding bad actions by judges, please contact our tip line: scorecardtips@protonmail.com. As border tensions between Thailand and Cambodia continued to simmer following a deadly clash in May 2025, social media users shared a news segment with an altered news chyron falsely claiming i t shows a Cambodian soldier injured after stepping on a landmine. But the original news clip shows a Thai woman who was hurt in a landmine explosion in 2023. "Cambodian soldiers planted a mine, but one stepped on it himself and was seriously injured," reads a Thai-language X post shared on July 14, 2025. The post includes a 14-second video that shows several uniformed personnel helping someone lying on the ground, with a chyron that reads: "Shocking! Cambodian soldier steps on their own landmine, loses leg". The posts emerged as a long-standing border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia escalated into a deadly clash in May 2025, killing one Cambodian soldier (archived link). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The incident soured relations between Phnom Penh and Bangkok -- causing the closure of border crossings as Cambodia banned fuel and gas imports from Thailand (archived link). Screenshot of the false X post, taken on July 15, 2025, with a red X added by AFP Cambodia media reported that as the border dispute heats up, its army trained border soldiers in mine detection and demining techniques (archived link). The country remains littered with mines, discarded ammunition and other arms from decades of war starting in the 1960s. It had aimed to be mine-free by 2025, but the government pushed the deadline back by five years because of funding challenges and new landmine fields found along the Thai border (archived link). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The same claim has also been shared in an X post and on TikTok. But the original news segment shows officials tending to an injured Thai woman two years ago. A reverse image search on Google led to a longer YouTube video published by Thai broadcaster Channel 7 News on May 28, 2023 (archived link). The footage matches the video in the false post at the 1:18 mark. Screenshot comparison between the false X post (left) and the YouTube video by Channel 7 News The original headline reads: "Officials rush to help Thai woman in Sa Kaeo after stepping on a landmine -- severed foot, heavy bleeding." Corresponding news reports by local media say the 46-year-old Thai woman was injured by a landmine while foraging in the Thai-Cambodian border area, losing her left foot (archived here and here). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AFP observed the Thai-language news chyron in the clip contained misspellings and formatting inconsistencies, indicating it was digitally manipulated. The original text was replaced to suggest the incident involved Cambodian forces. Screenshot of the false X post, with red rectangle added by AFP to highlight the altered news chyron Khmer Times also reported that a Cambodian soldier was also injured while trying to save the Thai woman in the same incident (archived link). AFP has debunked other misinformation related to the Cambodia-Thailand border dispute. CHICAGO - Weve made it to another weekend, Chicago! From Blackpink lighting up Soldier Field to Tacos and Tamales Festival bringing the flavor to Pilsen. Plus, dont miss family-friendly fun at Ravinias Beethoven celebration. Heres your full guide to things to do in Chicago July 18-20. What concerts are in Chicago this weekend? July 18: Gorgon City at Navy Pier July 18: Keshi at The Salt Shed Indoors July 18: Blackpink at Soldier Field July 19: Pantera at Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement July 19: Lyle Lovett & His Large Band at The Auditorium July 19: The Saw Doctors at Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom July 19: Yung Bleu at The Point Chicago July 20: Silversun Pickups at Riviera Theatre Multiple dates: Lord Huron at The Salt Shed Outdoors Multiple dates: Phish at United Center What theatre shows are in Chicago this weekend? Love Chaos and Dinner Beauty and The Beast The Color Purple BFDI & Inanimate Insanity Tour What festivals are in Chicago this weekend? The Colombian Festival Celebrating Colombian Independence Day, the Gran Festival Colombian returns to Humboldt Park July 18-20. The event features live music, dance, art and authentic cuisine. Ticket prices vary by day, click here for more information. Food Truck Fest The Chi Food Truck Fest returns Friday, July 18, at Daley Plaza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. The list of participating vendors can be found at ChicagoBACP on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Ravenswood on Tap The Ravenswood neighborhood festival runs July 19-20 with breweries, cocktails, live music and street food. A $10 donation is suggested. For more information, visit ravenswoodchicago.org. Roscoe Village Burger Fest The 18th annual Roscoe Village Burger Fest will feature burgers from over a dozen Chicago restaurants, two stages of live music, a kids zone and artisan vendors. The fest runs Friday evening and all day Saturday and Sunday with a $10 suggested donation. Taste of River North Held on Wells Street between Superior and Ontario, the Taste of River North returns with top local restaurants, live music on two stages, a kids zone, wine and spirit tastings on Friday and a dog parade Saturday. Tacos y Tamales Festival The Tacos y Tamales Festival returns at a new, larger location in Pilsen. With headliner Frankie Negron and dozens of vendors, the free festival celebrates Latino culture and benefits local nonprofits through suggested donations. West Fest West Fest Chicago will feature community programming, live music, childrens activities and more. The festival will be held along Chicago Avenue between Wood and Damen. Visit westtownchamber.org for more details. What other events are in Chicago this weekend? Ravinia One Score One Families are invited to Ravinia this Sunday, July 20 at 3 p.m. for a pre-concert celebration of One Score, One Chicago, featuring Beethovens Seventh Symphony, meet-and-greets with musicians, interactive photo opportunities and kid-friendly activities. The Chicago Dogs Hawaiian Luau Theme Night Watch the Chicago Dogs take on the Milwaukee Milkmen Saturday at Impact Field. The team is inviting fans to don Hawaiian attire for a Luau-themed night; gates open at 5:30 p.m. Roaring Nights at Brookfield Zoo Brookfield Zoo Chicagos roaring nights concert series returns July 18 with live music from Third Eye Blind. The 7:30 p.m. show costs $85 for general admission or $75 for members. Advertisement Advertisement BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) The East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriffs Office has made a third arrest in connection with a July 4 shooting on Gardere Lane that left a bystander injured and a father and his two children targeted. Deputies responded to the 1700 block of Gardere Lane and reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby business. The video showed a 2025 Honda Civic pulling into a parking lot with four individuals inside. Moments later, gunfire erupted. According to investigators, a father and his two children were shot at, and a bystander sitting inside his vehicle was also struck during the incident. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement James Washington, 21, was previously arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated criminal damage to property. Randolph Harris, 23, was taken into custody and faces five counts of attempted first-degree murder, along with aggravated criminal damage to property, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, illegal handling of a machine gun, and resisting an officer. Authorities said a third suspect, Reginald Wilson Jr., 21, has also been arrested. He is charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder and aggravated criminal damage to property. According to an arrest affidavit, Wilson was seated in the front passenger seat and was seen talking to the victim, asking, What the f are you looking at? before shots were fired as the vehicle drove away. Wilson has been booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The investigation remains ongoing. 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. WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) The last of three defendants who admitted to breaking into a substation in Trumbull County was sentenced Thursday. Read next: Man with pistol orders thieves to return his stuff: Report Dylan Hilty, 23, was sentenced to five years of probation and to complete a program at NEOCAP in Trumbull County Court of Common Pleas Judge Ronald Rices courtroom. Hilty pleaded guilty last month to aggravated trespass, a third-degree felony, stemming from the February 15 break-in at the NRG substation on Belmont Avenue in Weathersfield. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Hilty was arrested, along with Clifford Squires and Shawn Squires. Shawn Squires is currently serving a 24-month prison sentence, while Clifford Squires was sentenced Wednesday to complete the NEOCAP program. Nadine Grimley 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. PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) A local brunch spot built on its popular wine-based cocktails is now expanding into Oregon wine country. Just last year, AM Extra was the first to bring you the news that Harvest Moon, Oregons first Sangria bar, opened up in Downtown Tigard. Founder and owner Juliana Moseley joined us once again on Thirsty Thursday with the details on the new Newberg location and why the expansion is considered a true homecoming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Fall fishing on the Madison River at sunrise. (Jacob W. Frank/National Park Service) As summer temperatures remain high and the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that three-quarters of Montana is facing drought conditions, wildlife officials have added more fishing restrictions to regional waterways. Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks officials announced that beginning July 16, hoot-owl restrictions would take effect beginning at 2 p.m. on the Lower Bitterroot River. Under the restrictions, fishing is prohibited from 2 p.m. to midnight each day on the river from Veterans Bridge in Hamilton to the confluence with the Clark Fork River. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Upper Bitterroot has been under similar restrictions since July 11. On the Lower Bitterroot, water temperatures measured near Missoula exceeded 73 degrees for three consecutive days starting on July 11. Water temperatures of 77 degrees or more can be lethal to trout. Beginning on July 17, Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks also announced restrictions on the following rivers: Big Hole River on the entire river downstream of Saginaw Bridge on Skinner Meadows Road. East Gallatin River from Penwell Bridge Road to the confluence with the West Gallatin River at Nixon Bridge near Manhattan. Gallatin River from Amsterdam Road to the confluence with the Missouri River. Lower Shields River from Brackett Creek Road to the confluence with the Yellowstone River Restrictions are designed to protect fish that become more susceptible to disease and mortality According to Fish, Wildlife and Parks list of waterway closures, there are 13 rivers under hoot-owl restrictions due to warm water conditions detrimental to native fish populations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is also a complete angling closure on the Madison River near West Yellowstone, effective at 12 a.m. Thursday, July 17. Need to get in touch? Have a news tip? CONTACT US The restrictions are designed to protect fish that become more susceptible to disease and mortality when water temperatures warm. Restricting angling to only cool morning hours can help reduce catch-and-release mortality. Anglers can reduce stress on fish by getting them to the net or in hand quickly, keeping them in the water and reviving them prior to releasing them back into the river. As the summer warms, Montana offers many other angling options with better conditions for fish, including larger lakes or reservoirs, or higher elevation lakes and streams. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials with Yellowstone National Park announced that over the weekend, stringent fishing restrictions took effect on three rivers inside park boundaries due to warm temperatures and low stream flows. The Madison, Firehole and Gibbon rivers, and all associated tributaries, are completely closed to anglers at this time. All fishing restrictions remain in effect until conditions improve. Daily Montanan, like the Idaho Capital Sun, is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Daily Montanan maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Darrell Ehrlick for questions: info@dailymontanan.com. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX WASHINGTON (DC News Now) Three people from the DMV were arrested on Wednesday for conspiring to traffic guns out of Virginia. The U.S. Attorneys Office (USAO) for the District of Columbia said that 31-year-old Moniqua Jefferson and 28-year-old Valentino Hall of Richmond, Va., as well as 32-year-old Derrick Boyd Jr. of Capitol Heights, Md., were arrested at their homes as part of the Make D.C. Safe Again initiative. Prosecutors said that starting as early as Sept. 2022 until Sept. 2024, Jefferson and Hall would find customers who were prohibited from owning a gun, purchase a firearm in the Richmond area and then resell or transfer the guns to other individuals. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Boyd was one of the individuals who received such a gun. Driver admits to having guns, bow and arrow in car near US Capitol, police say The indictment said that on May 31, 2024, and June 1, 2024, Hall and Jefferson reportedly worked with another co-conspirator to help them buy a gun. Thirty days later, officials reportedly found that individual with a gun that Hall and Jefferson had purchased. Then, on June 6, 2024, Jefferson reportedly bought another gun from a retailer in Richmond. The USAO said that this gun was recovered from someone in the District only 17 days later. That person with the gun was under 21 years old and could not own a gun. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The USAO said that at some point between Aug. 14, 2024, and Aug. 15, 2024, Boyd, Hall and Jefferson all communicated about purchasing a gun. Just one day later, Boyd and Jefferson went to a licensed retailer in Richmond, where Jefferson purchased the gun. On Aug. 16, 2024, Boyd sent Jefferson a payment for $103.01 more than the price of the gun they had purchased. Officials said that Jefferson and Hall charged individuals $100 to purchase guns. The USAO said that the last case took place on Sept. 11, 2024. Jefferson, Hall and a third individual (who was also prohibited by law from owning a gun) traveled to Richmond together. The next day, the trio returned to a firearm retailer in the city, where Jefferson bought two of the same firearms. Hall later paid Jefferson for approximately the price of the firearms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Prosecutors said that Hall and Jefferson are accused of purchasing more than 22 guns between Aug. 2022 and May 2025. Law enforcement in Maryland and D.C. recovered five of those guns from individuals who were not allowed to carry or own these weapons. The trio will be held until a detention hearing on July 17. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to DC News Now | DC, Virginia, Maryland News, Weather, Traffic, Sports Live. An Israeli attack in the Gaza Strip struck the territory's only Catholic church on Thursday, killing three people. The Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem said that the Holy Family Church in the centre of Gaza City had been hit, and that nine others were injured, three of whom were in critical condition. According to the Vatican News portal, the dead were the church's 60-year-old janitor and an elderly woman. There was no immediate information about the third victim, who later died. The parish priest reportedly suffered minor injuries. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Israeli Foreign Ministry said the circumstances of the incident were still unclear. "Israel expresses deep sorrow over the damage to the Holy Family Church in Gaza City and over any civilian casualty," it posted on X. "Israel never targets churches or religious sites and regrets any harm to a religious site or to uninvolved civilians," the ministry added. The Israeli military acknowledged reports of damage to the church and casualties in the area, and said the circumstances were "under review." The military stressed that it "makes every feasible effort to mitigate harm to civilians and civilian structures, including religious sites, and regrets any damage caused to them." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Palestinian WAFA news agency reported that around 600 displaced people had been housed in the church. The Latin Patriarchate in Jerusalem published a photo of the church showing damage to the roof. Gaza's small Christian minority Approximately 1,000 Christians live in the Gaza Strip, out of a total population of more than 2 million. There are three churches in the coastal strip, with the Church of the Holy Family being the only Catholic place of worship. Pope Leo XIV repeated his call for an immediate ceasefire following the incident and said he was "deeply saddened" at the loss of life. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a telegram published by the Latin Patriarchate, he called for "dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region." Meloni: 'Unacceptable' attacks Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said "the attacks against the civilian population, which Israel has been demonstrating for months, are unacceptable." The Israeli military consistently emphasizes that it is acting against the Palestinian Islamist Hamas organization and other militant groups and takes measures to spare civilians in the Gaza Strip. At least 32 killed in other attacks, medics say According to medical sources in the Gaza Strip, at least 32 people have been killed in Israeli attacks across the coastal strip since the morning. The information could not initially be independently verified. At least three people were killed and more than 1,000 evacuated Thursday after South Korea was hit by torrential rains, officials said, with one region pummelled by the most rainfall per hour since full records began. South Korea typically experiences monsoon rains in July, but three areas in the country's South Chungcheong province this week saw some of the heaviest hourly downpours on record, official weather data showed. Three people were killed Thursday, the Ministry of Interior and Safety said, all in South Chuncheong province. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "As of 4pm local time at least three people have died today due to torrential rains," a Ministry of Interior and Safety official told AFP, adding that more than 1,000 people had been evacuated. Police told AFP that one person was found inside a submerged vehicle, an elderly man was swept away near a stream, and another elderly man had been found dead in a flooded basement apartment after his son reported him missing. The western Seosan area was hit by rainfall peaking at 114.9 millimetres (4.5 inches) per hour, "a level typically seen only once in 100 years", a weather agency official told AFP, adding that this was the highest rate since full records began in 1904. The heavy rains were due to "warm and moist air flowing in along the edge of the North Pacific High, triggering strong atmospheric instability", the official added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement South Korean broadcasters ran videos of severe flooding in Seosan, with water swamping markets and apartment complexes, as well as submerging parked cars. AFP reporters saw residents in Seosan struggling to clean up the aftermath of the floods on Thursday, with parking lots and shops still seen flooded with muddy water. Choi Hee-jin, a nightclub owner, told AFP it had been "heartbreaking" to return to her business after the floods had swept through. "Water had completely filled the club, and everything -- sofas, fridges, furniture, even computers -- was just floating around," Choi said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "How do you think it feels to see that? Honestly, it felt like the world was collapsing. There are no words to describe it." The national weather agency said in a statement that nearly 440 mm (about 17.3 inches) of rain had fallen in Seosan by 10:30 am on Thursday -- equivalent to 35 percent of the region's average annual rainfall. "The water is just too deep and so much mud has been pushed in that I've already been working for about five hours trying to drain it all out," said Kim Min-seo, a 50-year-old restaurant worker, as she scrubbed the muddy floor. "I'm still not done," she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement - Evacuation orders - Residents in Hongseong county, in South Chungcheong province, were ordered to "evacuate immediately to a safe location" early Thursday morning due to flooding from a nearby stream. Several schools and nurseries in the county were also closed. South Korea is regularly hit by flooding during the summer monsoon period, but is typically well-prepared and the death toll is usually relatively low. Scientists say climate change has made weather events around the world more extreme and frequent. South Korea also endured record-breaking rains and flooding in 2022, which left at least 11 people dead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They included three people who died trapped in a Seoul basement apartment of the kind that became internationally known because of the Oscar-winning Korean film "Parasite". The government said at the time that the rainfall was the heaviest since records began, blaming climate change for the extreme weather. hs/ceb/fox A three-sided debate has broken out over the Democratic Partys future. On one side is the party establishment, damaged by the disappointing end to the Biden era but seeking to rebrand itself with a new agenda it hopes will better appeal to voters. Two main factions have emerged to challenge that establishment, from opposite directions. And they both have some recent news to be happy about. The first is the Abundance faction. This faction argues that the Democratic Party has become overly focused on pleasing progressive interest groups and nowhere near focused enough on building things like housing, infrastructure, and clean energy. Abundance won a major victory two weeks ago, when California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed new laws loosening restrictions on homebuilding in cities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The second faction is the left, reinvigorated by Zohran Mamdanis triumph in the New York City Democratic mayoral primary. Charismatic, savvy with new media, and armed with sweeping leftist policy proposals rent freezes, free buses and child care, city-owned grocery stores Mamdani instantly became the lefts new standard-bearer. Both these factions each composed of commentators, advocates, operatives, online influencers, and some actual politicians argue that the Democratic establishment has too often failed to deliver to voters what they actually want. Both want to present voters a much more inspiring vision of the future, and there are some areas of overlap in their proposals but in practice, many in the two factions have been at odds, presenting rival visions and having heated public arguments. Meanwhile, the current party establishment isnt planning on going anywhere. A group of prominent Democrats are putting together a Project 2029 policy agenda full of ideas theyd want the next Democratic president to implement. This project is still in its early stages, but since top Biden White House aides and longtime figures in the nonprofit world are involved, it appears to be the establishments attempt to suss out where the party should go. What electoral strategies should Democrats adopt? How should they actually govern? And who should have status and influence within the Democratic Party? All of these questions are freely intermixed in this debate and they wont really be settled until at least 2028. But the debate is on. The Abundance faction: A book became a banner for the center-left Democratic elites debate over the partys future has, to a surprising degree, been centered on Abundance, a book written by journalists Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The book summed up a critique Klein (a Vox co-founder and my former colleague) and Thompson had been making for years. They argued that Democratic governance had become dysfunctional and unable to deliver that it had become so hobbled by bureaucratic processes, legal restrictions, and the demands of progressive interest groups that it was hard to get anything built. Klein and Thompson called for a new focus on actually delivering abundant housing, clean energy, new infrastructure, and scientific breakthroughs. But what made their critique bite was that they argued Democrats themselves had been a big part of the problem that the party needed to be more open to cutting regulatory red tape and less deferential to progressive groups. Abundance became a surprise best-seller, and the term came to mean more than just the book; it became a sort of banner under which center-left commentators, advocates, and operatives dissatisfied with the Democratic establishment have rallied. In particular, Abundance-world overlaps with a skeptical eye toward the groups: the progressive nonprofits that have helped push the Democratic Party leftward in recent years. The book also was met with fierce pushback from many on the left, who argued that the Abundance agenda was too tech- and corporate-friendly that it isnt focused enough on fighting concentrated economic power and that its too quick to paint progressive groups as the bad guys when theyre, in fact, crucial coalitional allies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But some longtime members of the partys establishment sound like theyre being won over. Barack Obama praised what he called the quote-unquote abundance agenda at a fundraiser last week, saying, You want to deliver for people and make their lives better? You got to figure out how to do it. Most interesting of all was the conversion of Newsom. Klein has been criticizing Californias dysfunctional governance and failure to get anything built for years, including to Newsoms face on the governors podcast this year. Those critiques seem to have hit home, as Newsom threw his political capital into getting two new housing reform bills passed over the protests of environmental and labor groups and succeeded. The bills reined in Californias environmental impact law, which Abundancers blamed for making housing extremely difficult to build in the state. It was the biggest policy win for the Abundance faction yet but, as they know well, the next challenge is actually getting all this new housing built. The left has been reenergized by Zohran Mamdani Zohran Mamdani, who won the Democratic primary for mayor of New York City, attends an endorsement event from the union DC 37 on July 15, 2025, in New York. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images | Spencer Platt/Getty Images The other challenge to the Democratic establishment is coming from the left which, after a period of disillusionment, has finally found a candidate to get excited about again: Zohran Mamdani. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mamdanis defeat of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in New York Citys mayoral primary last month thrilled the left. He was a fresh face that went up against and defeated an establishment figure thats viewed as corrupt. But more to the point, he pulled it off while standing behind a sweeping left agenda making bold promises of new free benefits and services, rather than just telling people better things arent possible. The team-up of Mamdani and another candidate, city comptroller Brad Lander, against Cuomo was also noteworthy. While Mamdani is relatively new to politics and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America who inspires a following, Lander is a wonky progressive who has deep experience with the mechanics of city government. The American Prospects David Dayen wrote that the two represent the Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren wings of the party, respectively, and that, unlike Sanders and Warren in 2020, they managed to unite against the establishment and win. Furthermore, though Mamdani did not make foreign policy central to his campaign messaging, he did stand strong on the cause that has most animated activists on the left recently: condemning Israels war in Gaza. He said, for instance, that if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to New York City while he was mayor, hed have him arrested, because of an International Criminal Court warrant. During the primary, he also refused to condemn activists use of the phrase globalize the intifada though he said this week that hed discourage the phrase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mamdanis critics argue that his free stuff proposals may not be practical, given budgetary realities and legal constraints, and if he wins the general election, hell inevitably face a host of governing challenges. For now, though, hes made the left feel hope again and put forward a model for a winning race they hope can be used elsewhere. The establishment isnt going anywhere Amid these challenges, leading figures in the Democratic firmament have come together to try and chart the way forward for the party in what theyre calling Project 2029. The name mirrors the Heritage Foundations infamous Project 2025 initiative, a conservative policy wish list. Organized by Andrei Cherny, a former Democratic aide and state party leader, the group plans to put together an agenda for the partys next presidential candidate to adopt and roll it out in Chernys publication, Democracy: A Journal of Ideas. Project 2029s advisory board includes Bidens top foreign policy adviser, Jake Sullivan, and his top domestic policy adviser, Neera Tanden (currently president of the Center for American Progress). It also includes other prominent figures in the nonprofit world, like Anne-Marie Slaughter (president of the New America think tank); Felicia Wong (former president of the left-leaning Roosevelt Institute); and Jim Kessler (founder of Third Way, a centrist nonprofit). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In other words, its a big tent of the leading center-left and progressive thinkers and operatives whove influenced the Democratic Party over the past decade (and, in some cases, longer). A similar debate took place after Hillary Clintons defeat, as the party grappled with how to respond to both his win and the unexpected challenge from Sanders. The consensus that emerged was that the party needed to move left, on both economic policy and social issues. Democrats should not blush too much, or pay too much heed, when political commentators arch their eyebrows about the party moving left, Sullivan wrote in Democracy in 2018. The center of gravity itself is moving, and this is a good thing. Now, the political winds have changed, and progressives have been on the defensive, so it remains to be seen if Democratic elites will come to the same conclusion or push in the other direction toward moderation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Its also unclear whether Project 2029 will amount to a genuinely new agenda or whether it will be more akin to an attempted rebranding of the party for better electoral marketing. But it does appear to be, at heart, a consensus-building exercise aimed at uniting the partys existing factions around a plan for the future. So theres one challenge from the center-left Abundance faction, another challenge from the left, and then theres the existing establishment in between trying to chart its own course. This is just the start of this debate, which will take years to play out. But its the debate that will help determine whether Democrats can win in 2028 and what they will do if they regain power. Wednesdays heat is likely to carry on on Thursday, as Massachusetts braces for a return of rain showers and thunderstorms, the latter of which could bring damaging winds and even a chance for tornadoes to develop. Overnight conditions should be dry going into Thursday morning, but there is a chance for a rumble of thunder as instability grows before 6 a.m., according to the National Weather Service. Cloudiness in the afternoon will greatly influence both the heat and humidity forecast for Thursday, but also on the potency of potential strong thunderstorms tomorrow afternoon to early evening," forecasters wrote. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cloud cover could dissipate, which could then impact how warm Thursday gets, though humidity could still be high, forecasters said. Therefore, an ongoing heat advisory will be in effect until 7 p.m., covering most of the state except for the Berkshires and the Cape and Islands. Heat in Eastern Massachusetts and parts of Rhode Island could be the strongest late in the day. Daytime highs could be in the low 90s, with heat indices likely leaving temperatures feeling like over 100 degrees, forecasters said in a post on X. Boston could reach 92 degrees, but feel like anywhere between 95 and 100 degrees. Similar conditions should be felt across the state, including in Worcester and Springfield. But clouds could reform later in the day and lead to widely scattered thunderstorms, which could come no sooner than 4 p.m. but more likely after 6 p.m., forecasters said. These storms should start in the Berkshires and move eastward, not reaching Central Massachusetts until between 8 and 10 p.m. After this, storms are not expected to move any further east. Should storms develop, Western and Central Massachusetts could also see gusty to damaging winds, along with a small tornado risk. A cold front should pass through during the evening and end any remaining heat and humidity going into Friday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Clear conditions should be dominant until rain conditions potentially return over the weekend, particularly late Saturday into Sunday, forecasters said. An arriving warm front during this period could produce another round of thunderstorms, showers and a spike in humidity. More weather Read the original article on MassLive. TOPEKA (KSNT) Kansas researchers are monitoring the spread of an invasive tick species that poses a threat to the states cattle through a dangerous blood parasite. Kansas cattle ranchers are facing a new threat to their herds this year in the form of a blood parasite that can weaken or even kill their cows. The parasite is being spread by a tick from Asia that has an ability to reproduce in large numbers thanks to an ability to duplicate itself in the wild. 27 News got in touch with Gregg Hanzlicek, professor and associate director of the Kansas Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory (KSVDL), this week to learn more about the dangers associated with the new cattle parasite on the rise in the Sunflower State. He said both the tick and the parasite it carries pose threats to humans, livestock and wildlife in Kansas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What will the future look like for Hotel Topeka? The KSVDL put out a warning in early 2025 regarding theileria orientalis Ikeda shortly after it was first detected in a group of cattle brought to Kansas from out of the state. Hanzlicek said the blood parasite is now being reported in multiple herds across Kansas, with the majority in the southeastern part of the state. The KSVDL has yet to detect an instance of the parasite spreading on its own in Kansas. The important thing is, those are all animals that were purchased and brought to Kansas, Hanzlicek said. The red blood cell parasite causes bovine theileria in cattle herds, impacting both adults and calves, according to the KSVDL. While the parasite, and the tick that carries it, have been in the eastern part of the nation for some time, they are now starting to be found parts of the Midwest. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arkansas and Missouri do have native herds with the disease, Hanzlicek said. What to do if you see a mountain lion in Kansas Hanzlicek said cattle with bovine theileria experience anemia which can manifest as pale mucus membranes, difficulty breathing and walking or even sudden death. Other signs include lethargy and loss of appetite in infected cattle. Its just another disease that producers are going to have to deal with, Hanzlicek said. The downside is youll lose a few, there really isnt any good treatment for it. It just has to run its course in animals that are infected with it. Asian longhorn ticks are the primary carriers of the parasite, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Health officials first confirmed the presence of the ticks in the U.S. in 2017 and they have since spread to numerous other states. (Photo Courtesy/CDC) The USDA reports the ticks have yet to be found in Kansas, but researchers like Hanzlicek fear they may already be in the state and have just remained undetected so far. The ticks have been found in Craig County, Oklahoma in 2024 just south of Labette County. The USDA also reports the ticks are in the Kansas City metro area in Clay County, Missouri. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We dont want people to freak out about it, just be aware of it that itll be here sooner or later, Hanzlicek said. Can hunters use drones to take wildlife in Kansas? Hanzlicek said the ticks are a big pest due to a special ability they have called parthenogenesis which means that females can reproduce without the need of a male, essentially cloning themselves. He said females can create up to 4,000 eggs apiece and contaminate an area very quickly. However, he did include a silver lining for those who may be worried about encountering the tick in the wild. The good thing is this tick doesnt like to feed on humans, Hanzlicek said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asian longhorned ticks, while not targeting humans very often, can still transmit dangerous diseases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC is still studying what diseases the ticks can pass on to humans and have determined they can carry bacteria like that which causes Rocky Mountain spotted fever. Hanzlicek said the tick will usually target animals like cattle or whitetail deer. Researchers like those at the KSVDL are trying to figure out if the parasite carried by Asian longhorned ticks can be transferred to other ticks that already call the state home, giving the parasite greater reach into central and western Kansas. Kansas ranchers hit hard by cattle theft operations Ranchers who are worried their cattle may have the parasite are encouraged to reach out to the KSVDL. Hanzlicek also said ranchers should be vigilant when purchasing cattle from outside the state, as they may be carrying the ticks or the parasite. You can learn more about ticks, including the Asian longhorned tick, on the CDCs website by clicking here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For more Kansas news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here. Follow Matthew Self on X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/MatthewLeoSelf Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KSNT 27 News. When Tiffany Hunt was asked where her Davenport business began, she had the same answer as many other big dreamers: In her parents garage. When I was 13, my parents told me to go clean the garage. They left, did whatever, came back, and I was having a garage sale, said Hunt. Thats kind of where it started. From there, Hunt found a passion for collecting and organizing knick-knacks. She grew up, and joined the Army National Guard in Davenportwhere she found out she was good at her hobby, too. She was put in charge of various events there that required those organization skills. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People started calling me the garage-sale queen, said Hunt. People laughed at me, but I loved it, I didnt care. Hunt then decided to do the thing she found funcollecting antiquesfor a living. Oct. 1, 2025, would mark 10 years of Tiffanys Treasures. But this past Friday, floods poured into her small business. So within a matter of probably just a minute or two, the whole floor was covered, said Hunt. In a matter of a few hours, years of collected antiques were gone. We had furniture, we had cases of die-cast cars, we had old board games, and furniture. You name it, said Hunt. The building that Tiffanys Treasures calls home hasnt seen rain damage like this in at least 30 years. Not only did it destroy items for sale, it also destroyed items to give away. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I call [them] blessings at Tiffanys Treasures. They are toiletries, cleaning supplies, paper products, baby diapers, pads. Stuff we actually give back to the community on a regular basis, said Hunt. We do our best to go around and save that stuff. Collect it. If its on sale, I buy it all. Unfortunately, it was all lost. Tiffany has given back to the community throughout her life. Her store is usually a collection point for donations, but for now, shes asking people to hold onto extra supplies until business is back to normal. People keep asking me, When are you going to reopen?' Hunt said. She responds I have no clue. While Hunt ensures the building is safe for customers, takes inventory, and calculates the losses, shes asking for assistance. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Thats really a hard thing for someone in my positionanybody who has a business like this, you dont want to ask for help. But our community needs it. So thats why Im doing it, says Hunt. I cant do this for our community, without the help of our community. Once things are in order, Hunt will have a sale in her businesss parking lot to help others who have had losses from the flooding. To help her business rebuild and for more information, visit her website. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHBF - OurQuadCities.com. TILTON, Ill. (WCIA) One Vermilion County Fire Department could be getting a facelift, and residents will have the chance to win some big prizes throughout the process. The Tilton Fire Department is having a raffle to raise money for future upgrades. The hope is to eventually have the full department all in one place. This includes the vehicles for EMS, the fire department and their equipment. All of this is currently spread across two separate locations. Rossville Fire Department hosts training for handling electrical emergencies Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The expansion would be for the fire station on Fifth St., and the raffle has already started. People are able to buy tickets for the raffle, and the biggest prize for a raffle winner is a new car. The Mayor of Tilton said he hopes to see the community help the fire department reach their fundraising goals. It actually makes it more personal to everybody involved in selling the tickets, said Bill Wear, Tilton Mayor. That building becomes theirs instead of just a structure. People are able to purchase the raffle tickets all the way up to the drawing on Oct. 4 at Thomas Park in Tilton. The drawing event will include live music, its free to go to and the public is invited. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The goal is to sell over 4,000 tickets. To purchase tickets for the raffle, 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 WCIA.com. Former Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz wondered why the Democratic Party comes off like it's against people being successful, during a podcast interview on Thursday. Walz said that President Donald Trump was able to capture "this idea of wealth and being able to be successful," during a conversation with former DNC chair Jaime Harrison on his podcast, "At Our Table." "We, as Democrats, we want people to pay their fair share, but why are we against people being successful like that? We can't be. Why are we against? We should talk about businesses. Not all businesses exploit their workers and we get ourselves stuck in that. And I think we lose them," Walz continued. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tim Walz Floats China As 'Neutral Actor' With 'Moral Authority' To Negotiate Middle East Peace Tim Walz speaks at the Today, Explained live podcast at the Vox Media Podcast Stage presented by Smartsheet at SXSW on March 8, 2025 in Austin, Texas. Walz and Harrison also talked about what occurred with young Black voters in 2024, citing a discussion Walz had with Gov. Wes Moore, D-Md., who said a lot of "good-hearted politicians" go into Black communities and talk about restoring voting rights to felons. "And he said, not knowing how insulting that is for these young men to say, 'Look, I'm just looking for capital because I'm an entrepreneur. I got my JD from Georgetown, and I'd like to kind of do this. I'm thinking about starting this.' Where you're missing the point about, why are we narrowing it that it's about prison reform?" Walz said. Read On The Fox News App Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Harrison also said he had gone head-to-head with people who are judgmental based on where or who people work for. Both Harrison and Walz insisted that the Democratic Party was stronger on the economy and better for businesses. Tim Walz Hopes It Rains On Trump's Military Parade: 'I'm Just Going To Confess' Jaime R. Harrison, former Chairman of the Democratic National Committee, speaks onstage during the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 19, 2024, in Chicago, Illinois. "Look, the business community is finding [out] right now how bad a businessman Donald Trump is, crapping on the economy, you know, tariffs back and forth, threatening businesses," Walz said. The Minnesota governor went on to say "shame on you" to members of the business community who continue to support the president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Can you imagine threatening individual businesses, saying, 'you're going to do this, or I'm going to do this,' as a leader? If you're in the business community, shame on you for supporting this guy still," Walz added. Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks to delegates at the South Carolina Democratic Party Convention, Saturday, May 31, 2025, in Columbia, S.C. Walz argued that the Democratic Party should embrace being the party of "pro-business." "We're just simply talking about all businesses. What we don't want is monopolies. We don't want corruption. We don't want the folks that are preying on the communities that are bad actors, but we have this reputation that the business community is somewhat hands-off from us," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At a Center for American Progress (CAP) event in June, Walz suggested China might be the voice of "moral authority" following Israel's strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and military leaders. Original article source: Tim Walz questions why Democrats come off like they're against people being successful Shona Lamond, executive director of the Downtown Childrens Center in St. Louis, Missouri, says she applied for every grant she could find to keep her center open and teachers paid during the pandemic. (Photo by Rebecca Rivas/Missouri Independent) Early childhood educators and families across the country are struggling to make ends meet while also trying to provide high quality care and education for children. Research demonstrates high-quality early care and education programs support healthy development and school readiness, preparing the workforce of tomorrow. They also make it possible for parents to work, benefiting employers and our economy today. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the benefits of child care, a teacher staffing crisis caused by low wages is constricting the supply of child care for working families. Pennsylvania child care teachers earn $29,480 compared to kindergarten teachers who earn $68,670, even though in many cases they have the same degree. At the same time, a survey demonstrated at least 25,000 children couldnt access child care due to staffing challenges in programs, impacting families ability to find child care and work. We are partnering together as providers of care and education and parents to educate policymakers and the public about the impact of Pennsylvanias child care staffing crisis. We deeply value our childrens teachers, and they deserve to be paid more. If our child care programs need to increase tuition because of the rising costs, as parents, we cant afford to pay more for care. Families are either without reliable child care or in a program worried the costs will increase. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We need a system that values children, supports teachers with livable wages, and makes quality care affordable and accessible, so we can go to work knowing our kids are safe, learning, and thriving. Far too many working families are in the same boat as us and they need help. Similarly, in running early care and education programs, the hardest parts of our jobs are retaining and supporting high-quality teachers while operating within a system that chronically undervalues early childhood educators and limits what we can afford to pay them. The financial structure of early education programs often makes it difficult to offer wages that reflect their skill, dedication, and impact creating a persistent challenge in recruitment, retention, and morale. The impact of not retaining and recruiting teachers means closing a classroom or even an entire program. When we close a classroom or a site, it impacts enrolled families and those looking for child care. We dont have the ability to increase pay for our teachers unless we raise the price for parents. And we know that would be a burden for them. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Working families and child care providers like us see these challenges every day in Pennsylvania. When child care programs can retain and recruit teachers, working parents have increased access to child care. This benefits employers in all industries and the overall economy. At least 18 other states red, blue and purple are making investments that focus on retraining and recruiting child care teachers. Investing in child care teachers directly addresses the heart of the child care supply problem the extremely low wages in the sector. A March poll by Susquehanna Polling and Research found that 83 percent of Pennsylvania voters agree on increasing state funding for child care teachers. We need to do better for Pennsylvanias hardworking child care teachers, for working families and ultimately our economy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Denzel Henderson Leah Spangler Parents Denzel Henderson and Julie King joined Dr. Leah Spangler, president & CEO of The Learning Lamp & Ignite Education Solutions in Johnstown, and Zubeen Saeed, president & CEO of Wilkes Barre-based Building Blocks Learning Center participated in the National Association for the Education of Young Childrens (NAEYCs) Public Policy Forum together as parent/provider teams to grow their public policy skills. They are educating policymakers about the unmet needs in the child care sector. They are members of NAEYC and the Pennsylvania Association for the Education of Young Children. By Nazrin Abdul A high-level meeting took place at the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Azerbaijan with a delegation led by Dmitry Kozenkov, Pfizers Head for the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia. Welcoming the delegation, Minister of Health Teymur Musayev highlighted Azerbaijans proactive approach during the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that vaccines from four internationally recognized manufacturers were deployed across the country. Among these, the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was emphasized as a key tool in Azerbaijans vaccination campaign. Minister Musayev also underlined that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use, reinforcing its global credibility and safety. Expressing readiness for future cooperation, Minister Musayev stated that the Ministry is open to exploring the introduction of additional vaccines vital for protecting the health of Azerbaijans population. In response, Dmitry Kozenkov praised Azerbaijans distinctive and effective response to the pandemic from its early stages. He commended the Azerbaijani government for swiftly implementing measures that not only curbed the spread of COVID-19 but also minimized its impact on the economy and society. The meeting fostered a productive exchange of ideas on expanding collaboration between Pfizer and the Ministry of Health, with a focus on scientific research and medical innovation to further enhance public health outcomes in Azerbaijan. This year, voters in parts of East and South Tacoma have a choice between two approaches to some of Tacomas most pressing problems. This race, which is for City Council Pos. 5, is one of two primary races where an incumbent is challenged by someone with experience organizing in the community. The News Tribune Editorial Board is endorsing the incumbent, Joe Bushnell. He won this newspapers endorsement during his first election, and hes earned it again this time. Bushnell, 35, combines an eye for reform and the insights gained from experience, making a strong case for his ability to be an effective council member. His familiarity with recent reforms to housing policy makes him well suited to oversee their rollout. Those include Home in Tacoma Phase 2, the citys multi-pronged approach to increasing affordable housing, and the recent votes over tenants rights reforms. Bushnell lists his work on those two issues among the biggest accomplishments of his first term. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He also has a well rounded perspective on how different problems in the city play off of each other. For example, he listed services that keep people out of homelessness, improved police recruitment and retention and investment in services that lift up youth and the community to prevent crime. Bushnell also touts his work on lowering response times to 911 calls through efforts to fill vacant law enforcement jobs. The board hopes that, if re-elected, Bushnell will combine his laudable long-term vision on crime reduction with attention to the impact of crime today. Bushnell is endorsed by mayor Victoria Woodards and five other sitting members of city council; County Executive Ryan Mello, U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland and a slate of local state lawmakers and state agency heads also endorse him. A product of Tacoma and Stadium High School, Bushnell served in the U.S. Marine Corps before transitioning to civilian life and a job with the Washington Hospitality Association. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Zev Cook, the other candidate who participated in the endorsement process, talked about policy ideas that hew to the platform of the Tacoma and Pierce County Democratic Socialists of America. That group also endorses her. Those policies include raising the minimum wage in Tacoma, and creating a public social housing developer to help achieve her goal of building 25,000 affordable homes. Zev, who will turn 26 in September, is also a proponent of an excessive income tax on big businesses, which resembles whats commonly called a wealth tax. The editorial board was split on the merits of her ambitious policy proposals, but agreed that there wasnt a realistic way forward for many of them in Tacomas current fiscal and political landscape. Whats more, her lack of experience in government stands out during an election year when four council seats and the choice of a new mayor will be on the ballot. Cook describes herself as a community organizer who has worked as a shelter manager and case worker for people experiencing homelessness. Shes no doubt familiar with the struggles many Tacoma residents face and her clear commitment to finding solutions is praiseworthy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She has the endorsement of several unions, and two other city council candidates in other races. Those are Silong Chhun, who is also challenging an incumbent in district 4, and Latasha Palmer who is running for Pos. 6, an at-Large seat on city council. Brandon Vollmer is also running, but did not participate in the endorsement interview process. The News Tribune Editorial Board is: Laura Hautala, opinion editor; Stephanie Pedersen, TNT president and editor; Jim Walton, community representative; Justin Evans, community representative; Bart Hayes, community representative. A man was arrested last weekend after police found his 2-year-old son alone in a flooded hotel room near Cincinnati. [DOWNLOAD: Free WHIO-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] Sharonville Police confirmed to WXIX in Cincinnati that hotel management at the Extended Stay called them out around 11:50 p.m. on Sunday to look into a room that was flooding. The water was coming out of the room and into the hallway. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When they entered the room, they found the toddler, who has special needs, in the room by himself. It was determined that the boy turned on the kitchen faucet and left it on, WKRC in Cincinnati reported. The childs father, 44-year-old Landry Wambe, of Florida, returned and told officers that he left his son alone so he could go smoke in the parking lot. WKRC reported the child was left alone for two to three hours and that his father didnt check on him. Wambe was charged with child endangering. The child was released to the care of his mother, who had been elsewhere getting the family ready to move out of the hotel. The boy was left in the care of his father while she was gone. [SIGN UP: WHIO-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Tensions are palpable in the West African nation of Togo as highly anticipated local government elections are being held following weeks of angry protests calling for leader Faure Gnassingbe to resign. Although small, Togo commands weight as a developing maritime and transit hub in the region because of an important port in the seaside capital, Lome, which is perched on the edge of the Atlantic. The country serves as a gateway into inland Sahel nations and is also home to a major West African airline, meaning unrest there could reverberate across the region. Voters heading out to cast their ballots on Thursday, July 17, are expected to elect leaders of the countrys 117 municipalities, amid a heavier-than-usual security presence and shuttered land borders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time, demonstrators have scheduled protests in the capital, Lome, to intentionally clash with the date of the vote, prompting fears of possible widespread violence. Led largely by the countrys youth population, antigovernment demonstrations erupted in June after a controversial constitutional change. Protests have been met with brute force from Togolese security forces; at least seven people have died, local rights groups say. The protests are only the latest in the restive country, where more frequent demonstrations in recent years are pressuring the decades-long dynastic government. Heres what to know about the current political situation in Togo: Demonstrators set up a barricade during a protest calling for Faure Gnassingbes resignation in Lome, Togo, on Thursday, June 26, 2025 [Erick Kaglan/AP] Why are Togolese protesting? Large demonstrations have been held in Lome in recent years, with Togolese calling for Gnassingbe, who has led the country since 2005, to step down. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Between 2017 and 2018, thousands of protesters took to the streets in demonstrations tagged Faure Must Go and Togo stands up. The uprising rocked the nation of four million and resulted in violent crackdowns from security officials. The government thereafter banned public demonstrations for security reasons. Although officially a democracy, Togo operates in practice as a militarised state, with the army heavily involved in politics. The capital is crawling with stern-faced, armed gendarmes who are often accused of arresting and torturing dissidents. This years bout of protests was triggered after popular rapper and TikToker Tchala Essowe Narcisse, popularly known as Aamron, was arrested for publishing a video where he called for protests to mark the presidents June 6 birthday. However, anger had been simmering over the high costs of living in the country, and particularly, over new constitutional reforms that opposition leaders and civil society organisations say could see Gnassingbe rule for life. Thursdays municipal elections will be the first polls held under the new reforms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement First approved in April 2024 by a parliament dominated by the governing Union pour le Republic (UNIR) party, the constitutional amendment swapped the presidential system in the country for a parliamentary one. Controversially, though, it also introduced a new all-powerful position: President of the Council of Ministers. The role essentially regains all the powers of a president and is without clear official limits. Opposition leaders argued at the time that it would allow Gnassingbe to appoint a dummy president and remain the de facto leader until at least 2030. They called it a constitutional coup. On May 3 this year, Gnassingbe was sworn into the new executive role, as critics predicted. Politician Jean-Lucien Savi de Tove, 86, is now president, and is the oldest in Togos history. In late June, thousands of demonstrators poured into the streets of Lome in anger, calling for Gnassingbe to step down from office after rapper Aamrons arrest and alleged torture. Protesters set up barricades and hurled stones at security forces, who responded with force, firing tear gas canisters into the crowd, according to reporting by the Reuters news agency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Le Front Citoyen Togo Debout, a coalition of 12 civil society and human rights groups, accused security officials of arbitrarily arresting civilians, beating them with batons and ropes, and stealing and destroying private property. At least seven people were discovered dead in the aftermath of the protests, according to the coalition, including two minors. Their bodies were discovered days after the demonstrations in various lagoons and lakes around Lome. Meanwhile, a Togolese government statement said the deaths were caused by drowning and cautioned residents living near water bodies to be extra careful in the current rainy season. The Dont Touch My Constitution movement demanded an international investigation into the claims, while Togos Catholic Bishops said the levels of violence were unacceptable and unjustified. Togos Faure Gnassingbe at a session during the United Nations climate change conference COP29, in Baku, Azerbaijan, November 13, 2024 [File: Maxim Shemetov/Reuters] Who is Faure Gnassingbe? Just days after his father died in 2005, Faure Essozimna Gnassingbe was hurriedly installed as the countrys president by the army, extending decades of his familys rule over Togo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite outrage in the country, which led to widespread protests in which at least 500 people were killed, the younger Gnassingbe did not relinquish power and went on to organise and win elections that year, which many critics called a ruse. His father, the late Gnassingbe Eyadema, seized power in a military coup and ruled the country with a tight fist for 38 years (1967-2005), making him the longest-serving African ruler at the time he died. His rule of terror was characterised by a one-party system and deadly repression of dissent, according to Amnesty International. The younger Gnassingbe, while having fostered multi-party rule and infrastructural development in the country, appears to be angling for his fathers record, critics say. Combined, the father-son duo has commandeered Togo for 58 years. With 60 percent of the population under 35, most Togolese have never experienced life under a different political administration. Gnassingbe has won every election since 2005. In 2019, in an attempt to circumvent demonstrations calling for his resignation, parliament ushered in constitutional amendments that, the government argued, automatically reset Gnassingbes terms. That allowed him to run for the 2020 and 2025 presidential elections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At first glance, the latest reforms from 2024 appear to acquiesce to what some critics have been demanding: A weakened president elected by the parliament for a single six-year term, rather than an all-powerful leader. However, what most did not see coming was that Gnassingbe would be appointed to a more powerful position. A picture of Jacques Koami Koutoglo, a 15-year-old who died in recent mass protests in Lome, Togo [Erick Kaglan/AP] Are protesters being targeted? And what is the M66 Movement? As tensions simmer, demonstrators and civil society accuse Togolese officials of targeting protest leaders, many of whom are living in exile in neighbouring countries, as well as France and the United States. Last week, the government issued international arrest warrants targeting those believed to be leading organisers, especially members of the M66 Citizens Movement a political collective of bloggers and activists, named after Gnassingbes June 6 birthday date. Officials say the group is inciting unrest and terrorism in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The countries where these individuals reside are urged to cooperate, Security Minister Calixte Madjoulba said at a news briefing. Wherever they are, we will pursue them. M66 members called for renewed protests on July 16 and 17 in a bid to boycott the municipal elections, which form part of a wider push by the government to devolve power at the centre and attempt to improve local governance. Local elections were not held between 1986 and 2020, as the government kept postponing them. Instead, the central authorities designated special administrators who critics say served the governments interests. Some opposition leaders have also called for boycotts, although Jean-Pierre Fabre, leader of the main opposition National Alliance for Change, told reporters this week that taking part in the vote was necessary to show Togolese whats possible. The elections will not change anything in this country and we know it very well, Zaga Bambo, a France-based music artist who claims to be a member of the group, said in a Facebook post. Bambo also dismissed the arrest warrants, telling French media channel RFI that he was unfazed by it. Activist Farida Nabourema echoed calls for boycotts on social media platform X. You participate, you lose, you cry out, then you fall silent. And every five years, you start over, she wrote. For the last four years, Tom Girardis daily life has been organized around his dementia diagnosis. At an upscale assisted living facility in Seal Beach, members of an around-the-clock nursing staff bathe and dress him, take him to the restroom, make sure he eats, prevent him from wandering away and remind him again and again where he is and why. On Thursday, Girardis status changes from patient to inmate. The 86-year-old disbarred trial attorney, a legal legend who once towered over Californias justice system, becomes inmate 43156-510, one of more than 150,000 people federally incarcerated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement How the prison system will handle Girardis cognitive problems during his seven-year sentence for stealing from clients is unclear. In addition to regular prisons and minimum security camps, the U.S. Bureau of Prisons has six medical centers that care for ill inmates. One in Massachusetts operates a small, overburdened dementia unit. The process of evaluating a new inmate for mental or physical illness and selecting an appropriate location can take weeks or months, and the agency said it could not comment on where Girardi might end up. A BOP forensic psychologist testified at a June hearing, during which a federal judge in Los Angeles heard evidence about whether Girardi should be sentenced to prison or a suitable medical facility and about how prisons can safely house people with dementia by, among other things, assigning them inmate companions to guide them through their days. The Bureau of Prisons does make accommodations for individuals who are aging and have significant medical issues, said Brianna Grover, who works at a prison medical center in Butner, N.C. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Vegas parties, celebrities and boozy lunches: How legal titan Tom Girardi seduced the State Bar Pressed on whether Girardi might end up living with violent, younger offenders or in a concrete cell with a bunk bed, Grover said it was possible depending on what officials determined was the most appropriate facility for him. Girardi exits federal court in August with Natalie Degrati, an investigator with the Federal Public Defender's office. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times) Girardis lawyers have repeatedly predicted the worst. I have not seen an instance where I thought someone got good mental health care in prison, J. Alejandro Barrientos, who was part of the team that represented Girardi during his trial, told The Times. He added: If you're elderly and serving a prison sentence, I think it's kind of harsh in a way that it's not harsh for someone who's a lot younger. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Until he was sentenced last month, Girardis defense team was imploring the trial judge to let him serve his prison term in the Orange County nursing home where he has spent the last four years. Incarceration, they contended, was a de facto death sentence given his age and ill health, and his lack of short-term memory meant he would have no understanding of why he was behind bars. For Tom Girardi, there can be no meaningful punishment, Deputy Federal Public Defender Samuel Cross said at the sentencing hearing. The judge rebuffed the argument after reviewing reports from Grover and a BOP neuropsychologist, both of whom examined Girardi earlier this year. They determined that he still possesses a baseline ability to function on a day-to-day basis, that he currently retains his independence as to his activities of daily living, U.S. Dist. Judge Josephine L. Staton said from the bench in Los Angeles in June, ruling that prison was an appropriate punishment site. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement State and federal prisons are increasingly confronting dementia among their inmates. Due to longer sentences from tough-on-crime initiatives of the past, the prison population is graying. More than 1 in 5 federal prisoners is older than 50, according to population data published by the Department of Justice. The number of prisoners suffering from dementia is difficult to determine, criminal justice experts say, as there are few research studies on inmates and little concrete data. California has opened memory care operations in two correctional facilities, a 30-bed unit at the prison hospital in Stockton and a 35-bed unit in Vacaville. The federal BOP launched a 36-bed memory disorder unit in 2019 at the prison medical center in Devens, Mass. Read more: Prominent retired justice returns gifts from disgraced lawyer Tom Girardi, her ex-boyfriend Prior to Girardi, another disgraced figure in Southern California power circles, former L.A. County Sheriff Lee Baca, cited concerns about dementia care behind bars in trying to avoid prison. Baca was diagnosed with early stage Alzheimers in 2016 before he was sentenced to three years in prison for obstruction of justice and lying to FBI agents. Baca's lawyers suggested his cognitive decline was a sentence of its own, but the judge presiding over his case rejected the argument. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "As awful as Alzheimer's is, it is not a criminal penalty, U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson told Baca at his sentencing, adding, Alzheimer's disease is not a get-out-of-jail card. Former Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca, center, in 2017 stands with his wife and defense attorneys, including, right, current L.A. County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman. (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press) The extent of Girardis cognitive decline has been the subject of dispute since 2020, when his firm imploded amid allegations of misappropriated funds. With clients demanding their money, Girardis brother had him placed in a conservatorship, citing as evidence a diagnosis of Alzheimers disease from a Long Beach psychiatrist. The State Bar of California, which was going after Girardi's law license, quickly cast doubt on the diagnosis, suggesting possible malingering, a refrain later picked up by federal prosecutors pursuing wire fraud charges. Experts in dementia retained by the government acknowledged that he had some cognitive decline, but found evidence he was exaggerating his symptoms. Staton, who presided over his trial, embraced the view that Girardi was suffering from dementia but also malingering. She found him competent to stand trial. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: As Tom Girardi skated, California State Bar went after Black attorneys After his August conviction, Girardi was sent to the Butner prison hospital for six weeks of observation. Tracy OConnor Pennuto, a neuropsychologist for the federal prison system, determined he was not malingering and contributed to a report that concluded Girardi had moderately advanced dementia with some features of Alzheimers. His remote memory or his long-term memory was pretty well intact. It was more recent information that he had difficulty with, Pennuto testified at the June hearing where evidence of his fitness for prison was presented to the judge. That dynamic was on display when Girardi was called to the witness stand as part of the hearing last month. Though he had only left his nursing home to attend court, he maintained under oath that he had been crisscrossing the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The International Academy had a meeting in New York. Then I had a case in Oklahoma, he testified, before mentioning stops in San Francisco, Las Vegas and Buffalo. On the witness stand, Girardi claimed he lived in Pasadena, the location of his former mansion, which was sold in 2022 to pay creditors. As he walked back to his seat at the defense table, his pants began to fall down. When his lawyers tried to make an official record of the wardrobe malfunction, Staton, the judge, noted that Girardi realized that that was happening, and reached down to pull them up and then maintained hold on them. In the Seal Beach dementia ward, Girardi has spent most days sitting alone at a table scribbling hundreds of pages of unintelligible notes on a pad, according to a letter his brother, Robert, wrote the judge. He added that Girardi believes he is still practicing as a lawyer. Robert Girardi has covered the cost of his brothers nursing home care, nearly $750,000 since 2021, according to his letter. If Girardi is sent to a prison hospital facility, the estimated cost to taxpayers will be at least $102,857 annually, according to government figures from 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Tom Girardi's epic corruption exposes the secretive world of private judges BOP officials have discussed sending Girardi to the agencys Massachusetts dementia unit. It has aspects of a nursing home memory care ward with pink walls, festive decorations, music therapy, art classes and bocce ball, according to published reports . Other inmates act as caretakers for the units residents. The facility has come under criticism recently. A government audit found severe understaffing, which resulted in inadequate medical care. Only 16 of its 36 beds were filled at the time of the audit. Some violent inmates without dementia were housed in the dementia unit and posed a safety risk to other inmates and prison staff, the report found. Girardi could also be sent to a regular prison, as Baca was. The former sheriffs attorney, Benjamin Coleman, recalled that in the Texas prison, Baca had difficulty doing basic tasks, such as filling out the form for his wife and others to visit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He was fortunate that other inmates helped him with stuff, Coleman said. If it was up to him, he usually wouldn't be able to do it. Another option for Girardi is a prison medical center in Texas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Massachusetts or North Carolina. During his month-and-a-half stay at the Butner medical center, Girardi had difficulty at times finding his way back to his bunk. All cells there have the inmates name and photo posted outside, but staffers had to take the additional step of enlarging Girardis photo. While at the Butner facility, Girardi also refused to leave his cell for several hours at a time or stand for regular headcount, recalled Grover, the prison psychologist, who testified that he, on occasion, threatened staff with lawsuits. Even with medical care, Girardis prognosis is poor, testified Pennuto, the neuropsychologist at Butner. He will not improve, Pennuto said. He will continue to decline over time. 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. The fire on the main stage of the Tomorrowland electronic music festival was extinguished on Thursday morning, allowing the festival campsite to open its doors. According to the organizers, no other parts of the festival site, stages or areas were affected by the fire. The fact that Europe's largest electronic music festival now has to start without a main stage does not seem to be stopping the organizers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We are focused on finding solutions for the festival weekend," a Tomorrowland spokeswoman said, confirming that the festival, set to take place across the weekends of July 18-20 and July 25-27, is to go ahead without the main stage. She said the organizers were working on two different scenarios for the festival. The first option is trying to save the area around the main stage so that a smaller venue can stand in its place. If that doesn't work, the artists destined for the main stage will perform on a different stage, she said. In both cases, the beginning of the festival will be pushed back to 2 pm (1200 GMT) from noon, she said. From Saturday, the entire festival site is then expected to be open from noon, according to the organizers. The fire brigade said around 100 emergency personnel were on site during the night to extinguish the fire. They were able to leave the site between 6 and 8 am. There are no reports of any injuries. The cause is being investigated. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the Belgian news agency Belga, the safety barriers around the stage have already been dismantled, and employees have been busy demolishing the remains of the main stage. "We are monitoring the situation hour by hour," the fire brigade told Belga. The governor of the province of Antwerp, Cathy Berx, also has no doubts that the festival will go ahead as planned. "I am confident that Tomorrowland will balance creativity and the safety of festival-goers and staff despite this terrible setback," she said in a statement, according to Belga. Tomorrowland has been held in the Belgian town of Boom, to the south of Antwerp, since 2005, drawing massive crowds each year. This year's edition is set to include more than 600 acts across 16 stages, including by Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Armin van Buuren, Charlotte de Witte and Swedish House Mafia. Tomorrowland's main stage was destroyed by a fire. Despite this, the famous EDM festival is not canceled. "We are focused on finding solutions for the festival weekend," the festival stated in a post on its Instagram. DreamVille, the festival's campsite, opened to guests on Thursday, July 17, at 10 a.m. local time, according to an update posted to the festival's website. All Global Journey events, events included in pre-travel packages sold by the festival, in Brussels and Antwerp, Belgium, will still go on as planned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We spent the night working on possible solutions for the Mainstage area," according to the festival. It will continue to release updates and detailed information about the festival weekend, which takes place Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. While the main stage was destroyed, other parts of the festival venue were not impacted. What happened to the Tomorrowland main stage? On Wednesday, July 16 as a massive fire broke out at the Orbyz Mainstage, Tomorrowland's main stage in Belgium. The blaze erupted just two days before the festival was set to kick off on Friday, July 18 in the city of Boom. Firefighters and law enforcement were on the scene attempting to prevent further spread of the fire, local police reported on Facebook just before 7:30 p.m. local time, on Wednesday, July 16. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one was injured in the incident, according to officials. Where is the Tomorrowland festival? The EDM festival takes place every year in Belgium, a European country that borders France and Germany. Many flock to Boom, Belgium, to attend the annual festival. What is the Tomorrowland festival? Known for its elaborate stage designs and a large international crowd, the Tomorrowland festival has become, for many EDM fans, the ultimate music festival. Starting with its first edition in 2005, the festival gathers hundreds of thousands of attendees at the De Schorre provincial recreational park in Boom, Belgium. The festival has become so popular that spinoff versions of the festival have sprung up in the French Alps (Tomorrowland Winter) and Brazil (Tomorrowland Brazil). Tomorrowland 2025 dates and lineup The music festival is slated to kick off Friday, July 18, and run through Sunday, July 20, according to Tomorrowland's website. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Headline performers include French DJ David Guetta, Belgian DJ Charlotte De Witte, and Dutch DJ Martin Garrix. Contributing: Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. Connect with her on LinkedIn, X, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz, or email her at jgomez@gannett.com Fernando Cervantes Jr. is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach him at fernando.cervantes@gannett.com and follow him on X @fern_cerv_. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tomorrowland canceled? What to know after fire destroys main stage WIESBADEN, Germany NATOs top commander said he is under guidance to move as quickly as possible in transferring more Patriot air and missile defense systems to Ukraine. I wont go into a ton of details on any of that, Im not going to tell the Russians or anyone else the exact numbers of weapons that were transferring or when those will happen, U.S. Air Force Gen. Alexus Grynkewich, Supreme Allied Commander Europe, said at the Association of the U.S. Armys inaugural LandEuro conference in Wiesbaden, Germany, July 17. Were also looking at other capabilities and what those needs are and working on proposals for our political leadership, Grynkewich said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trump said publicly earlier this week that he intends to ship more Patriot systems to Ukraine. The commander will soon bring European nations together to work on delivering Patriot and other capabilities, he said, to look at whats the art of the possible. This will be tied to being able to sequence what flows into Ukraine now capabilities that are in Europe can be moved more quickly than something off the production line. The production line can then be used to back-fill the capabilities. The United States, which has been using Patriot since the Cold War era, sent systems to Ukraine for the first time in April 2023. Its interceptors went to work immediately, batting off even complex threats like hypersonic weapons. A total of 19 countries have purchased the Raytheon-made weapon, and there are more than 250 Patriot fire units around the world. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tom Laliberty, Raytheons president of land and air defense systems, told Defense News in an interview in 2024 that the U.S. owns 85-90 of those, with the rest distributed among the other 18 customer countries. The U.S. Army is slated to build a new Patriot battery to replace the one sent to Ukraine and to secure one more battalions worth of systems. International customers are on the rise, and countries like Germany that also have sent Patriot to Ukraine have ordered new ones to replenish those sent and to bolster their own defenses. Raytheons production lines have the capacity to make 12 fire units a year, which the company views as sufficient capacity to support current and future contracts as they materialize. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At the same time Lockheed Martin is racing to increase its production of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement, or PAC-3 MSE, interceptor. The company is contractually working toward delivering 650 PAC-3 MSE missiles per year by 2027. It is currently producing roughly 550 a year. Lockheed is looking at how it might possibly ramp up to 650 missiles a year earlier, Jason Reynolds, company vice president of missiles and fire control advanced programs, told Defense News at LandEuro here. What were endeavoring to do in partnership with the U.S. government, is to pull that left as much as we can, he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company is also looking at the efficiencies and streamlining and doing everything we can to stretch those dollars actually to take that to a higher capacity, upwards of around 750 per year by 2027, Reynolds said. The government has not yet officially released the number for a top production level, if you take that trajectory and you project it forward into the future years, you will see as well north of 1,000 and then even much higher after that, he said. While he doesnt have a good sense of what the numbers will be, Grynkewich said, I know that my guidance is to get the Ukrainians what they need to defend themselves. So therell be more to follow. Were going to move as quickly as we can on this. A ton of coordination in making it work, but, as I mentioned, were already doing the preparation phase for the first tranche of capability to start moving with respect to Patriots. CHELSEA PIERS, Manhattan (PIX11) You may still be thinking about beach toys, but toy makers are already out with the creations they hope will be Hot for the Holidays. PIX11 News got a sneak peek as companies debuted their new toys Wednesday night at the Toy Insiders 16th annual Sweet Suite at Chelsea Piers. More Local News ZB Designs showed us their vast collection of Wigglitz. Tiny fidget toys that are 3-D printed and come in every type of little animal you can imagine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Sky Castle Toys Josh Loerzel showed us the Sticki Rolls Bracelets Series 2. Each bracelet has fifty stickers, and he says you can put them on your iPad, water bottle, cover everything with your stickers. We also have these jumbo wall stickers, where literally you can sticker your wall, sticker things in your bedroom. Ali Mierzejewski, the Editor-In-Chief of the Toy Insider, told PIX11 News that nostalgia toys are once again big this year. The original Rainbow Brite 9-inch doll is hitting store shelves once again in October. Mierzejewski said it looks exactly the same, it comes in the same packaging, its really tough to tell them apart. The Care Bears also did a collaboration with Universal to bring you the Wicked twin pack of Love-A-Lot Bear as Glinda and Good Luck Bear as Elphaba. It will be available August 1st and retails for $29.99 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You can see more 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. Jonesing for a Trader Joes to open in your neighborhood? You might be in luck. The grocery store chain currently has 30 locations listed under the Opening Soon tab of its website, including more than a dozen which were added since an update in April. Actually insane: Trader Joes shoppers in California make curious observation The opening dates for the forthcoming Trader Joes locations have yet to be determined, but a spokesperson for the company said new stores are typically announced anywhere from 36 months before opening, but can vary widely. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When an opening date is confirmed, we add it to the stores local page, the spokesperson said. As of mid-July, the Opening Soon section of the Trader Joes website lists 30 planned locations: Arizona Goodyear N. Bullard Ave & McDowell Rd California La Verne 2330 Foothill Boulevard Northridge 9224 Reseda Boulevard Yucaipa 31545 Yucaipa Boulevard Colorado Westminster 9350 Sheridan Boulevard Connecticut Shelton 801 Bridgeport Avenue Washington, D.C. Friendship Heights 5335 Wisconsin Avenue NW Florida Daytona Beach 1511 Cornerstone Boulevard Georgia Peachtree City 258 City Circle Louisiana New Orleans 2428 Napoleon Avenue New Orleans 2501 Tulane Avenue Massachusetts Boston 1999 Centre Street Newton 1165 Needham Street Missouri Columbia 201 N. Stadium Boulevard New Jersey Iselin 675 US-1 New York Glenmont 388 Feura Bush Road Miller Place 302 NY-25A Miller Place Staten Island 6400 Amboy Road Oklahoma Broken Arrow 1451 E. Hillside Drive Oklahoma City 6920 Northwest Expressway Oregon Gresham 2083 NE Burnside Road Pennsylvania Berwyn 550 Lancaster Avenue Exton 125 West Lincoln Highway South Carolina Myrtle Beach 115 SayeBrook Parkway Texas Bee Cave 12812 Shops Parkway McKinney 8101 El Dorado Parkway San Antonio 11745 I-10 West Utah Holladay 1895 East Rodeo Walk Drive Riverdale 4060 Riverdale Road, Suite B Virginia Virginia Beach 220 Constitution Drive Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Information and photos of each location will be updated on the Announcements webpage of the Trader Joes website. Consumers can also find out whether their closest location will offer beer or wine on the Opening Soon page.) When selecting a location for a new store, Trader Joes marketing executives Tara Miller and Matt Sloan once explained in a 2024 episode of the Inside Trader Joes podcast that the company seeks out spaces that meet specific criteria for population density, traffic patterns and parking availability, among other factors. The two also emphasized that Trader Joes is very deliberate about its controlled growth, and may even avoid moving into spaces that housed former chain grocery stores, as it wouldnt feel like a Trader Joes. Taco Bell to open new Live Mas Cafes in Southern California, Texas Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The company has, however, raised eyebrows with the opening of its newest store in Sherman Oaks, California, which opened directly across the street from an existing Trader Joes in June. A new Trader Joes location is seen across the street from another Trader Joes on Riverside Drive in Sherman Oaks, California, in June 2025. (Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) I just asked the worker, How long is the other Trader Joes going to stay open? a TikTok user by the name of @ShavsPaper claimed in a recent viral video. And she said, Um, they just signed their lease. They just resigned their lease. So at least three years. At the time, a representative for Trader Joes also told Nexstar that the company planned to keep both stores open for the foreseeable future. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KTLA. It may be difficult to imagine a more informed witness than a doctor in casting light on the cognitive condition of Joe Biden during his four wandering years in office. Unfortunately, Bidens White House physician, Dr Kevin OConnor, opted to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during his deposition with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The committee is probing the alleged cover-up of Bidens cognitive ability, and whether the autopen a machine that replicates his signature was misused to enact major presidential actions without the knowledge or consent of the elected leader of the executive branch. Bidens Politburo, however, seems far more likely to be forthcoming. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Politburo refers to the tight cadre of White House aides that surrounded Biden during his presidency including Michael Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, Bruce Reed, Annie Tomasini, and former first lady Jill Bidens aide Anthony Bernal. Early on, it also included Ron Klain, Bidens first White House chief of staff. According to Jake Tapper and Alex Thompsons book Original Sin, these figures shielded Biden as questions about his mental capacity began to swirl. Now, five of those six have agreed to voluntary interviews with the committee, suggesting that they wont invoke their Fifth Amendment rights. Their answers to questions from the oversight panel, chaired by Rep James Comer (R-Kentucky), are likely to be carefully worded but anything put on the record might start to peel back the cloak of secrecy over what actually happened. Bernal, who isnt volunteering, was subpoenaed and pleaded the Fifth at his deposition. In other oversight matters, Comer has painstakingly documented information far better than many investigative committee chairs, and we should expect the same in this probe. The Justice Department is also investigating questions surrounding the autopen. If senior aides wittingly or not authorised the use of the autopen to sign sweeping pardons, policy edicts, or other significant documents without true presidential authorisation or knowledge, the implications are grave for both democracy and the law. The New York Times has already reported that lists of pardons were sometimes changed in small ways, without Biden necessarily knowing about it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What else went on? The Politburos appearance or their equivocations will be the first public window into how this inner circle really operated. Did they act to defend the public interest, or for reasons of political self-preservation? For how long was Biden truly in command? And if he merely served as figurehead, what does that say about executive accountability? Original Sin, for all the fanfare around its release earlier this year, wont be the last book chronicling Bidens decline. The 46th presidents legacy might well be defined by the alleged cover-up. It could well turn into a scandal of truly historic proportions. Woodrow Wilson was an appalling leader on many fronts. Wilsons inner circle hid his debilitating stroke which left him almost incapacitated in the final years of his presidency. But at least he had real achievements to his name not least being on the winning side of the First World War. Biden lacks any such cover. Democrats in Congress are annoyed that House Republicans are investigating a president out of office, and accuse the Trump administrations Justice Department of a political vendetta. But yesterdays Politburo may be tomorrows presidential norm unless Congress says otherwise. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The stakes are not small. If major presidential decisions can be made by a small coterie of advisers, while the public is deceived as to the truth, it is not just a political question. Its a major constitutional crisis that cannot simply be brushed under the carpet. Ultimately, this isnt just about Joe Biden, a career politician. Its about the system that allowed him to be propped up like a figurehead, while key decisions may have been made without his understanding or approval. If the elected leader of the country wasnt the one directing major policy or approving decisions, the American people were deceived. What legacy media once insisted was partisan conspiracy theory has now become too serious to ignore. Fred Lucas is manager of the Investigative Reporting Project at The Daily Signal. He is the author of The Myth of Voter Suppression: The Lefts Assault on Clean Elections Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. In 2018, a journalist was tagged in a tweet by someone claiming they had evidence of a horrific crime. The tweet linked to a cache of information that became known as the Furry Zoosadist Leaks, which exposed a criminal conspiracy of animal abuse lurking beneath the playful, animal-loving furry community. In the aftermath of the leaks, the community took matters into their own hands, seeking out the culprits, exacting justice, and doing whatever they could to clear the furry name. That case and the resulting investigation are the basis of a riveting if hard-to-watch true crime docu-series, The Furry Detectives: Unmasking A Monster, on Sundance starting July 17. Directed and executive produced by Theo Love and produced by Alex Gibneys Jigsaw Productions, the series follows a pack of amateur investigators who team up online to expose a ring of animal abusers who were using the furry community as a cover for their crimes. There are bad people within furry, that doesnt make furry bad, Naia Okami, one of the investigators and a furry community member, says in the first episode of the four-part series. Unfortunately, niche communities, especially misunderstood niche communities, are targets for predators. Jarring crimes shock a strong community For those unfamiliar, there may be one overarching question: What exactly is a furry? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think everyone kind of has their own definition, explains R, whose real name, but not face, is withheld in the series. My definition is, a furry is a person who enjoys anthropomorphic creatures or animals. Typically, furries don animal suits, some cartoonish, others more realistic, that reflect their personalities. Others find a deeper connection to the animals. Okami, for example, is perhaps best known for a viral interview where she said, On all levels, except physical, I am a wolf. Furries across the animal-identifying spectrum meet up online or in real life at clubs, conferences, and bowling nights to have fun together. They generally pride themselves on being accepting, kind, and friendly. The community is so great because we come from all different walks of life, says R in the series. I think of it as friendship, fun, and loving and accepting and inclusive and diverse. The happy, fun-loving nature of the furry community is part of the reason that the crimes found lurking in the fandom were so jarring. Furries generally pride themselves on being accepting, kind, and friendly Courtesy of Sundance TV The leaks began when Patch OFurr, who is both a furry and its self-appointed chronicler as owner of furry news site, Dogpatch Press, was tagged in a post on Twitter (now known as X). The tweet accused certain members of the community of zoosadism, a term he had never heard before. He did some research and was led to a private channel on the Telegram app filled with evidence of the crimes. It was even worse than he thought. Somebody who commits acts of zoosadism is someone who gets sexual pleasure from the pain and terror they are inflicting on animals, Okami explains in the series. While animal abuse is always abhorrent and appalling, its even more so when it comes from within a community of self-professed animal people. Okami, an intelligence consultant by day, was so horrified by what she saw that she jumped into the burgeoning amateur investigation with one goal: Find every last person involved in the crime, get them arrested, and get them out of the furry world. Okami and OFurr werent alone in their hunt. Members of the furry community around the globe teamed up to comb through the Telegram channel and find the perpetrators behind the sickening animal torture and abuse. The never-ending quest to track down animal abusers Another thing to know about the furry community is that they tend to be famously very tech savvy. When deciding to investigate these crimes, they used their skills to parse the data from the Telegram channel, poring over the logs from the chats, documenting the usernames associated with the crimes. They slowly started to amass a list of possible suspects, including Kero the Wolf, a furry vlogger with a popufur YouTube channel. Furries around the world began speaking out and calling for justice. While Kero claimed he was innocent, arguments for and against those claims quickly divided the community. Connor Goodwolf, a cybersecurity expert and furry community member, found what he believed to be incriminating evidence against Kero. Evidence that was so compelling that Goodwolf decided to exact revenge on someone he saw as a criminal. He doxxed Kero, posting his address for the world. At the same time, R contacted the police in Keros area and shared the information they had collected on him. The police got a search warrant and went to Keros home and collected all his electronic devices. They found nothing they could use against him. Kero was either the first culprit caught by the so-called Furvengers, or an innocent victim of a witch hunt. Courtesy of Sundance TV The team of amateur investigators and cybersleuths were frustrated, but continued in their mission to unmask the criminals using the furry community as cover. They managed to collect information on one user that the police were able to arrest. He then led them to another, the suspected ringleader of the animal abusers. He was eventually arrested, but that was not the end of the Furvengers work, though, because a new monster revealed himselfand then another and another. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As the amateur investigators sent information to police around the world in the hope of saving animals and stopping the criminals, some members of the furry community turned against them. They did not appreciate the Furvengers decision to work with the police, preferring they keep it within their own community and out of the press. R was doxxed by someone and ended up fearing for the life of her and her family. Despite the risks, the Furvengers felt protecting the animals and their communitywas worth it. They kept going, digging into online forums, watching traumatizing videos, and deep in the underbelly of a world that should not exist but sadly does. They also found themselves having to explain furries and a very online culture to police investigators around the world. The result of their relentless hard work were investigations that led to the arrest of one high-profile zoologist in Australia, a truck driver in the States, and others who deserve to be punished for their heartbreaking and horrifying crimes. Crimes that may have gone unnoticed and unreported were it not for the Furvengers. Contact us at letters@time.com. Donald Trump has been dismantling critical parts of Californias response to wildfires as the state braces for peak wildfire season, according to a new report. The Trump administration has cut thousands of employees from the federal workforce in the name of government efficiency. One government entity that has been a target of these cuts is the National Weather Service, which keeps Americans informed of weather forecasts in the hopes of preventing catastrophic outcomes from natural disasters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tom Fahy, legislative director of the NWS Employees Organization, told the Los Angeles Times in a Wednesday article that the weather services staff has decreased from 4,369 to 3,757 employees thanks to layoffs and buyouts. This draws attention that we have a lot of critical, critical staff shortages, Fahy said. President Donald Trump has been dismantling 'critical' parts of Californias response to wildfires as the state braces for peak wildfire season, according to a new report (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images) President Donald Trump has been dismantling 'critical' parts of Californias response to wildfires as the state braces for peak wildfire season, according to a new report (Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images) An official from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which houses the NWS, told The Independent it has implemented short-term assignments to fill key vacancies at the weather service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement NOAA has also announced opportunities for its employees to apply and quickly be permanently reassigned to weather offices that need it the most, according to the official. The official says strategic hiring and reforming how the NWS delivers value to the American people will improve the service in the long term. Staffing shortages at NWS offices in California could lead to problems in the coming months, when the state experiences the worst of its wildfires. California is still recovering from devastating wildfires that raged through Los Angeles County in January (Mario Tama/Getty Images) California is still recovering from devastating wildfires that raged through Los Angeles County in January (Mario Tama/Getty Images) California is still recovering from devastating wildfires that raged through Los Angeles County in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Palisades and Eaton fires led to 30 deaths and saw thousands of structures destroyed. The Hanford office, which covers the San Joaquin Valley, including Fresno and Bakersfield, has five meteorologists and eight vacancies, the LA Times reported, citing data from the NWS Employees Organization. Fahy said the offices 62 percent vacancy rate is the worst in the country. The Sacramento office, which also covers Stockton, Modesto, Vallejo, Chico and Redding, follows the Hanford office with the second-worst vacancy rate in the country. That office has eight meteorologists and eight vacancies, according to Fahy. The Palisades and Eaton fires led to 30 deaths and thousands of structures to be destroyed (Mario Tama/Getty Images) The Palisades and Eaton fires led to 30 deaths and thousands of structures to be destroyed (Mario Tama/Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week, calls made to the Handford office from around midnight to 6 a.m. local time were handled by the San Diego office thanks to the cuts. Alex Tardy, the former warning coordination meteorologist for the weather services San Diego office, told the LA Times this was unheard of and a big deal. I worked for 32 years [with the National Weather Service], I worked a solo midnight shift a few times, and even that was frowned upon...for safety reasons, he said. A brush fire burns near homes in Pacific Palisades, California on January 7 (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images) A brush fire burns near homes in Pacific Palisades, California on January 7 (David Swanson/AFP via Getty Images) Staffing shortages could lead to issues this wildfire season, with the role the NWS plays when the state is dealing with this type of weather event. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Each weather office is required to have an incident meteorologist available when theres a wildfire in California to head an incident command post, Tardy said. This means weather offices are down another forecaster while the incident meteorologist is busy with the wildfire, which could possibly be for weeks, according to Tardy. There could also be delays in key weather alerts if weather offices are understaffed. A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPMs Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version. Straight From the Authoritarian Playbook One of the defining elements of the Trump Justice Departments boundless first few months has been the extravagant and absurd claims to secrecy it has made in court. The sheer volume of secrecy claims and the clear overreach by the Trump DOJ in making them is creating persistent downward pressure on the presumption of openness and transparency. In the original Alien Enemies Act case, the Trump DOJ wildly asserted a state secrets privilege, even suggesting for a time that judges werent entitled to see the disputed information. In some of the other facilitate cases arising from wrongful deportations, the Trump DOJ has tried to cloak the administrations operational and diplomatic efforts in various arcane and unsupported privileges, mostly to stonewall judges and plaintiffs, but secrecy remains the default. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For the most part, the claims have been taken up and adjudicated in the normal course of court business, and judges have managed to trim the administrations sails quite a bit. But some choice examples from recent days suggest that rather than merely an overly aggressive legal strategy by an outmanned and desperate Justice Department, the administration is dipping into the authoritarian playbook, where secrecy is a key tool, both as sword and shield. Overarching claims of secrecy have come up repeatedly in the ongoing trial in Massachusetts over the administrations targeting of pro-Palestinian international students for deportation. Courthouse News Service offers a good rundown of some of the more preposterous privilege claims the Trump DOJ has made during trial, including for the police report of Mahmoud Khalils arrest and for the membership of the Presidents Homeland Security Council. The membership is secret? the judge asked incredulously. I would not say that it is secret, your honor, a DOJ attorney replied. I would say that it is privileged. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The membership was in fact already posted online, opposing counsel noted. But openly claiming privileges no matter how tenuous in court seems quaint and old-fashioned compared to keeping the names of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) lawyers secret during immigration proceedings. Its the equivalent of immigration enforcement officers using face masks to conceal their identities, but its happening in immigration courts, The Intercept reports. Were not really doing names publicly, said Judge ShaSha Xu after stating her own name and those of the immigrants and their lawyers. It was the first of two separate instances The Intercept identified in which judges chose to withhold the identities of the attorneys representing the Trump administrations deportation regime. Immigration courts are part of the executive branch, not the judicial branch. One immigration judge told The Intercept that the decision not to publicly reveal ICE lawyers by name was not a blanket policy but was up to individual judges. Obsessive secrecy, indiscriminate assertions of inapt privileges, and concealment of the publics business from the public are a reflexive reaction to bad facts, unwelcome scrutiny, and accountability. Trump DOJ Fires Comeys Daughter Career DOJ prosecutor Maurene Comey was fired late Wednesday from her job in the Southern District of New York. No reason was given for her termination, which didnt originate with interim U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, Politico reports, suggesting it came from Main Justice. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among the potential motives for the Trump administration to fire her: (a) Shes James Comeys daughter. (b) She helped prosecute Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. (c) All of the above. As Morning Memo noted earlier this week, the right-wing backlash against Attorney General Pam Bondi for spraying cold water on the Epstein conspiracy hype machine makes her even more dangerous because shes trying to prove her MAGA bona fides. How much, or even if, that came into play here is unclear. Maurene Comey, who was most recently involed in the high-profile prosecution of Sean Diddy Combs, was reportedly escorted out of the building last evening by her colleagues in a show of solidarity. How You Can Best Support TPM Independent journalism was already under siege before the Trump era began, and I dont have to tell you how much worse things have gotten since then or that they continue to worsen. TPM has managed to buck the trends, relying on a loyal and supportive readership to sustain us as a news outlet and as a business. We are all beyond grateful for that support. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If, for whatever reason, you havent supported TPM financially yet, I invite you to consider it seriously. You have two options: (1) Contribute to the TPM Journalism Fund. Our annual drive for the TPM Journalism Fund is underway. After two days, were already to nearly $200,000 of our $500,000 goal. Whatever you can give helps us to expand our editorial capacity and do more to meet our journalistic goals. (2) Become a member for only $25. Right now, were offering a special discount for an annual TPM membership. The best way to show your ongoing support and strengthen our underlying finances is by becoming a member of TPM. Whichever option you pick, my sincere thanks for your support. Follow the Money TPMs Hunter Walker: Contracts Show Millions of Dollars and Diverted Disaster Resources Were Used to Build DeSantis Alligator Alcatraz Trump Admin Resumes Third Country Removals With clearance from the Supreme Court, the Trump administration has resumed deporting undocumented immigrants to third countries rather than their countries of origin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A quick word on the extreme practice of depositing people in countries with which they have no prior connection: I learned in court last week in the Abrego Garcia case that prior to the Trump II administration only about 1.6% of removals involved third countries. It was apparently used sparingly and in select cases. It was not an avenue for mass deportations. Will Dems Counter Texas Redistricting? Democrats are eyeing a mid-decade redistricting gambit in California to offset any loses they suffer in the GOPs planned redistricting in Texas. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) is talking it up, but California law makes it a much more difficult lift with a much less certain outcome. Senate Ratifies Cuts to Foreign Aid and Public Broadcasting In a late-night session, the GOP Senate passed approved a rescission package for the first time since 1999, ratifying $9 billion in cancelled spending by the Trump administration for foreign aid ($7.9 billion) and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting ($1.1 billion). The vote was 51-48 along party lines. Sens. Susan Collins (ME) and Lisa Murkowski (AK) were the only two GOP senators to defect. The bill now goes to the House, which has a Friday deadline to pass it. Politics Over Science, Part 826 Trump administration political appointees are overriding career scientists at NIH in making key decisions on medical research methods, the WaPo reports. Have Questions? Ill be answering reader questions tomorrow in a special bonus edition of Morning Memo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DOJ weaponization? Trumps threat to the independent judiciary? The Abrego Garcia case? Any of a thousand other Trump II depredations? Drop your questions in advance in the comments section of this post on Substack (not TPM proper). Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know! For many school districts, the first day of classes is only weeks away. Thanks to the Trump administration, educators across the country suddenly dont know if theyll have the funds to support students and provide critical services. On June 30, the Department of Education announced it was withholding nearly $7 billion from public schools. In a three-sentence email sent to the states, the agency said it was reviewing five different funding grants. Some of the affected programs deal with support for English learners, after-school programs, teacher professional development, and adult education. The Department remains committed to ensuring taxpayer resources are spent in accordance with the Presidents priorities and the Departments statutory responsibilities, the email said. We were made for this moment. HuffPost will aggressively, fairly and honestly cover the Trump administration. But we need your help. Consider directly backing our work today. This week, 24 states and Washington, D.C., responded to the freeze by filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging that the withholding of funds is illegal and would come at a great cost to students across the country. In particular, one group has found, red states would be among the hardest hit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Defendants actions now jeopardize these critical programsthe loss of which has irreparably harmed and will irreparably harm the Plaintiff States, their schools, and the students and families they serve, the suit said. Congress has already appropriated the funds, and the Impoundment Control Act of 1974 makes it illegal for a president to unilaterally hold back money that Congress has set aside. They are entitled to [this funding] by law, they budget for it, and they hire people for it, Zahava Stadler, the project director of the education funding equity initiative at New America, told HuffPost. The complaint detailed how states could be forced to conduct layoffs of teachers and cut services that are critical to immigrant and low-income families across the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Michigan, according to the complaint, has 100,000 students considered English language learners. The state previously used funding to support 273 staff members but without funding from the federal government, it risks having to cut these programs. In Delaware, the loss of millions of dollars means that many rural families will not have a safe place for their children to go after school. The organizations that partner with schools to provide programming will also face layoffs. New Jersey teachers are at risk of losing funding for professional development and programs that support and ensure teacher quality. In the suit, the state says that the freeze could impact teacher quality, which would harm student achievement in the long run. New America, an organization focused on public policy issues, compiled a data set showing how much money school districts were set to lose if the Trump administration doesnt reverse course. Not all of the federal funding school districts receive is public, so the amounts are likely an underestimate. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [School districts] were just waiting for that prepaid debit card to come in so they could pay their bills, Stadler said. Instead, they got a letter saying, Sorry, thats not happening. Whether or not school districts will be able to shoulder the costs of the freeze depends on their financial health overall. Wealthier districts might be able to find money elsewhere, but those that are typically strapped for cash may be facing an uphill battle. Its not optional to provide these services and support these students, Stadler said. But now school districts will have to decide which students rights they will support. The greatest need will come from school districts that are in conservative-leaning areas. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the New America report, of the 10 school districts that stand to lose the most in per-pupil funding, nine of them are in congressional districts represented by Republicans. In fact, despite the renewed conservative fervor to dismantle the Department of Education, Republican-leaning states often heavily rely on the federal government to support their public school systems. The Trump administration is likely targeting teacher development and enrichment programs because of the popularized conservative belief that teachers are indoctrinating children with left-wing ideas. And since Trump returned to power largely on the promise to curb immigration, undocumented children have come under fire from the GOP as they seek to conduct massive deportations of immigrants both with and without legal status in the country. Though Trump has made it a priority to target Democratic-leaning states, the ones controlled by the Republican Party wont be spared from the freeze. But that hasnt meant a revolt among the GOP education officials. Ryan Walters, Oklahomas superintendent for public instruction, was quick to support the move. We appreciate the fact that the Trump administration is working diligently to ensure our taxpayer dollars are being stewarded with care, Walters said in a statement. [The Oklahoma State Department of Education is working in lockstep with the Trump administration to assist with our mutually-aligned education priorities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Walters has been embroiled in various controversies, including pushing for bringing Christianity into public schools, forcing educators to teach their students that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from Trump, and repeatedly smearing teachers as child abusers. But even though hes supporting the agenda, Oklahoma is facing a big hit. According to the Learning Policy Institute, if Trump doesnt unfreeze funding, Oklahomas public schools will lose $70 million, which makes up 11% of their budget. There is no clear timeline for when the review would end. The Department of Education did not respond to HuffPosts request for comment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The administration could simply decide to undo it, Stadler said. Districts should not sit back and wait. But theres likely no incentive to reverse course now. Dismantling public education has long been a goal of the right, and with Trump taking a machete to the federal public school support system, that goal seems closer than ever. Trump campaigned on shutting down the Department of Education, signed executive orders that aimed to quash diversity efforts and has threatened blue states that dare defy his administrations policy objectives. The rights culture war zeroed in on education in the wake of the protests that swept the nation after George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis and the coronavirus shuttered schools nationwide as public officials attempted to keep the virus at bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As schools worked to focus on racial justice and COVID mitigation, conservative pundits perceived it as a threat to their worldview and worked to convince Republican voters that racial equality and public health experts were trying to indoctrinate their children. This manifested in sweeping book bans, school board takeovers and policies targeting LGBTQ+ children. The movement to decimate public schools reached a crescendo this week. Trump signed an executive order that called for abolishing the Department of Education and initiated mass layoffs at the agency. After months of legal battles, the U.S. Supreme Court gave Trump the green light to lay off approximately 1,400 employees at the agency, or nearly half the staff. Not only are schools facing an academic year millions of dollars short the agency they rely on to distribute those funds and oversee resources will be a shadow of its former self. Stylish businesswoman reading messages on her smartphone while sitting on stairs Yuliya Taba via Getty Images AmidPridecelebrations last month (of all times), the Trump administration decided to defund the specialized services for LGBTQ+ youth on the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. This was an option on the hotline that connected queer and trans people in crisis with counselors specifically trained to assist them. It goes into effect this week. Removing this option is a blow to a vulnerable population who are far more likely to attempt suicide than their non-queer peers. Defunding the lifeline for queer youth is yet another example of the current administrations mission to isolate and weaken queer and trans communities across the country. The biggest factors that prevent LGBTQ youth suicides, though, are having supportive adults as well as having access to other queer people to create a community with. Amidst this attempt at erasure, its important to note that this isnt the 80s, and nice try, Trump but hotlines arent our only means of seeking and receiving identity-affirming support. Were aggressively online, and there are social media communities designed to engage and support us. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And while the specialized service on 988 is a crucial resource that we need to fight for, it is one tool in a kit. Here are a few online resources and social media accounts that young LGBTQ+ people especially those who dont live in cities with visible IRL communities can tap into to strengthen their support networks now. We wont be weakened because we will support each other in these spaces and beyond. Get Lex (App) Available on iOS and Android, Lex is a free social app for queer people, initially geared towards women, trans, and non-binary individuals. The app functions like a forum, where queer people nearby can initiate conversations and plan meetups. Although Lex is sometimes used as a dating platform, its also centered on community and friendship. Join The Queer Farmer Network Created in Iowa, the Queer Farmer Network was founded to build community among queer farmers and folks in very rural areas across the country. They have a massive directory of queer farms in their network, and their website also includes a guidebook for creating your own queer farmer convergence in your community. Find Yourself In TrevorSpace The Trevor Project was leading the Suicide Hotlines LGBTQ efforts, and luckily, they have other resources for queer people to connect. TrevorSpace is an international community for LGBTQ young people ages 13-24. You can join their network and start a chat here. Follow Supportive Queer And Trans Influencers On Instagram And TikTok Given the dominant anti-LGBTQ discourse were seeing pretty much everywhere right now, its more important than ever to expose yourself to queer people who are thriving. Some of our favorite empowering queer leaders spreading positivity online are Bretman Rock and Dylan Mulvaney. Others focus specifically on mental health, including Kenny Ehan Jones and Bunny Michael. Call Non-Government-Funded Hotlines Trans Lifeline is a trans-led hotline with hundreds of operators specifically trained to talk to trans folks. The LGBT National Help Center also relies on donations and community support, so its less likely to be affected by government defunding. We are saddened by the cruel decision to end the operation of the LGBTQ+ youth-specific services on 988, their website reads. Please know that our services and support are not affected. Related... The North Carolina State Health Department is removing a resource for LGBTQ+ youth due to a Trump administration rule, raising concerns among advocates. ALSO READ >> Our lifeline: NC families say gender affirming care may be halted for their children The removal of the press 3 option, which connected callers with counselors trained in LGBTQ+ issues, has sparked worry that some young people may not use the hotline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement LGBTQ+ youth are more than four times as likely to attempt suicide than their peers, making access to specialized support crucial. Theres no outward support or visible support in this, Kori Hennessey, executive director of the LGBT Center of Raleigh, said. This is not a resource for me, and this is not something Im going to turn to. The Department of Health and Human Services stated that it remains committed to responding to everyone who needs mental health services, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. From June of last year through May of this year, the 9-8-8 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline received over 11,000 calls, chats, and texts each month. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to a survey by the department, more than 90% of people find the service valuable, and 33% of people say the hotline saved their life or someone they care about. VIDEO: Ten years after same-sex marriage ruling, NC officiant reflects on legacy, love, and lasting impact Back in power, President Donald Trump is taking a new level of interest in how states and even local authorities administer elections. (Photo by Jennifer Peacock | Assembly Republican Office) The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the voter registration lists of several states representing data on millions of Americans and other election information ahead of the 2026 midterms, raising fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information. The DOJ is also demanding Colorado turn over all records related to the 2024 election, a massive trove of documents that could include ballots and even voting equipment. The Colorado inquiry, the most sweeping publicly known request, underscores the extent of the administrations attention on state election activities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least nine states have received requests for information over the past three months, according to letters from the DOJ obtained by Stateline. Some states also received emails from a DOJ official last week asking for meetings to discuss information-sharing agreements. The departments focus on elections comes after President Donald Trump directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in March to seek information about suspected election crimes from state election officials and empowered her to potentially withhold grants and other funds from uncooperative states. For years, Trump has advanced false claims about elections, including the idea that the 2020 election that he lost was stolen. Now back in power, his administration is taking a new level of interest in how states and even local authorities administer elections. Last week, a political operative approached several Republican county clerks in Colorado to enlist them in election integrity efforts in light of Trumps sweeping March executive order overhauling elections administration. One clerk told Stateline the operative claimed to represent the White House. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whatever the Trump administration tries to pull is very unlikely to be successful, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in an interview, calling Colorado elections very secure. With that said, do I think they are trying to undermine our elections at large in this country? Absolutely. DOJ has sent letters to Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in addition to the request to Colorado. The letters have typically asked election officials to describe how they register voters and work to identify duplicate registrations and individuals not eligible to vote, such as people with felony convictions and those who have died. The Washington Post earlier Wednesday reported on the letters; Votebeat and NPR previously reported on some of the letters as well. Most letters also ask about each states process for flagging noncitizen applicants. Noncitizen voting is against federal law and incredibly rare, but Trump and his allies have promoted false claims about its prevalence. The Trump administration is also conducting a general crackdown on illegal immigration. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letters call on election officials to turn over voter registration lists, which in some instances contain data on millions of residents in their states. This request has raised the most concerns, with some experts saying its unclear exactly why the DOJ wants the information. They dont make much sense as law enforcement investigations. That makes me think that theres some other purpose, said Justin Levitt, who served as senior policy adviser for democracy and voting rights in the Biden White House and is now a law professor at Loyola Marymount University. While many states make their voter registration lists available to the public, Levitt emphasized the data could still be largely off-limits to the federal government. Federal privacy law sometimes restricts how the government can use data thats publicly obtainable. The DOJ may need voter information in some individual circumstances, but thats not blanket permission to go vacuuming up data. The DOJ didnt respond to questions for this story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal laws restrict the federal governments ability to centralize information on Americans, said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. Even if states provide voter registration information to the public, they often redact sensitive information. In Orange County, California, the DOJ sued local election officials in June, seeking unredacted voter registration information, such as Social Security numbers and drivers licenses, as part of an investigation into noncitizen voting. More than 350 election officials from some 33 states participated in a conference call about federal actions on Monday hosted by Becker, who was previously an attorney in the DOJ Voting Rights Section during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He said the interest in the call shows the level of uncertainty and anxiety over the current federal imposition on election administrators. The DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including drivers license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect, Becker said. Sweeping Colorado requests In Colorado, the amount of data the DOJ wants is enormous. On May 12, Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant U.S. attorney general in the DOJs Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to Griswold, the secretary of state, asking for access to all records related to the 2024 election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal law requires state election officials to preserve records related to elections for 22 months. Typically, the rule ensures records are preserved in case any lawsuits are filed over an election. In the letter, Dhillon referred to a complaint against Griswolds office alleging noncompliance with records retention laws, but provided no details. The DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including drivers license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect. David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research Experts on election administration who spoke to Stateline expressed shock at the scope of the demand to Colorado. The request encompasses a vast trove of material, potentially including ballots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amount of records being requested from a place like Colorado its really, really significant in terms of the volume of materials that are required to be retained, said Neal Ubriani, a former voting rights litigator at the DOJ during the Obama and first Trump administrations and the current policy and research director at the nonpartisan Institute for Responsive Government. Colorado elections have previously drawn Trumps attention. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a staunch Trump supporter, is serving a nine-year prison sentence after a conviction in state court for allowing unauthorized access to voting equipment in 2021. On May 5 of this year a week before the Dhillon letter to Griswold Trump posted on social media that Peters should be released, calling her a political prisoner. Griswold noted the timing. I think the bigger picture is Donald Trump is continuing to try and rewrite the 2020 election and destabilize the 26 and 28 elections, Griswold told Stateline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Colorado Secretary of States Office responded to the DOJ by providing copies of the states master voter file and voter history file. All of the information provided is also available to the public. Some Colorado Republican county clerks in recent days have also been approached by Jeff Small, a political operative who worked at the U.S. Department of the Interior during the first Trump administration. Stateline and Colorado Newsline spoke to three GOP clerks who said they had spoken to Small last week. Steve Schleiker, clerk of El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs and is the most populous county in the state, said that on July 9 he received a text and call from Small, who introduced himself in a voicemail as someone who works for the White House. Schleiker said that when he called back, Small said he wanted to build relationships with clerks because the Trump administration was unhappy with progress on the presidents elections executive order. He later connected Schleiker with a Homeland Security official who wanted to test the security of El Paso Countys election systems, said Schleiker, who added that he opposed the request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes said she also heard from Small, but that Small told her he wasnt under contract or being paid for the calls. Small indicated he was making the calls on behalf of former colleagues, Koppes said. Small, a former Capitol Hill chief of staff who now works for a Colorado-based government affairs firm, didnt return a call to his office on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the agency works with local partners to ensure elections remain safe. We dont disclose every single conversation we have with them, an unidentified DHS spokesperson wrote in an email. Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said he was aware of 10 clerks approached by Small. He noted that every clerk approached by Small hails from a county that uses Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Dominion is widely used in Colorado, its also been the subject of election conspiracy theories. A former candidate for county sheriff in southwest Colorado was arrested in June, accused of firebombing a clerks office. Colorado Public Radio reported the suspect, according to law enforcement, had spoken publicly about trying to get rid of the countys Dominion machines. I think the really important thing to say here is that it was Republican clerks who stood up to a Republican administration and said, No, were going to follow the law, Crane said. The intent of the efforts by Small and the federal government has been muddied up it seems, Montrose County Clerk Tressa Guynes said. Based on her conversations with other clerks, she said, it appeared Small represented one thing to other clerks and then represented maybe a watered-down version by the time it got to me. Guynes said Small wanted to discuss Trumps elections executive order. She said Small asked whether she would be willing to support a federal task forces efforts in an advisory role. I said absolutely I will advise, Guynes said. I said Im frankly glad that theyre finally reaching out to the boots on the ground, the people who actually conduct the elections, instead of listening to those who have never conducted a Colorado election. Letters to other states As Colorado grapples with the most far-reaching request, other states are choosing how to respond. In Wisconsin, the state election commission responded to a DOJ request for the voter registration list with instructions on how to request public voter data. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, responded on June 2 after DOJ in a May 20 letter told the state to ensure voter registration applicants provided a drivers license number, if they have one, instead of a partial Social Security number. The DOJ also wanted Arizona to check voters against a state database to look for noncitizens. Fontes replied that Arizona complies with federal law and conducts checks using a state motor vehicle division database. We are focused on dealing with DOJ in a good faith manner while ensuring we are following the letter of federal and state laws, Fontes spokesperson JP Martin wrote in an email to Stateline. More recently, Arizona received a letter July 10 from DOJ about implementation of Trumps elections executive order. Rhode Island Democratic Secretary of State Gregg Amore also received an email about the order the same day, according to a copy provided to the Rhode Island Current. In the email, Scott Laragy, principal deputy director in the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, asks for a call to discuss a possible information-sharing agreement to provide DOJ with information on individuals who have registered to vote or have voted despite being ineligible, or those who have committed other forms of election fraud. The email echoes the language in Trumps elections executive order, which calls for DOJ to reach information-sharing agreements with states. While much of the order, which focused on proof of citizenship in elections, has been struck down in federal court, provisions related to information sharing remain. The executive order directs Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, to prioritize enforcement of federal election integrity laws in uncooperative states. It also requires her to review grants and other DOJ funds that could be withheld from states that resist. Some states have already struck deals with the Trump administration. Indiana Republican Secretary of State Diego Morales announced an agreement last week with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allowing the state to access a database to verify the citizenship of registered voters. Alabama Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen has signed a similar agreement. With your cooperation, we plan to use this information to enforce Federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections, Laragy wrote to Rhode Island. Janine Weisman of the Rhode Island Current and Lindsey Toomer of Colorado Newsline contributed to this report. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. Agricultural economists and industry leaders are pushing back against President Donald Trumps proposal to replace corn syrup in U.S. Coca-Cola products with cane sugar. While some argue less demand for corn syrup would cost thousands of farm jobs, others may fear the swelling of a Make America Healthy Again wave threatening to ban the corn-derived sugar altogether. U.S. corn producers are sounding the alarm on President Donald Trumps efforts to switch Coca-Cola products away from using corn syrup in favor of cane sugar, claiming the change will wreak havoc on the agricultural industry. Trump on Wednesday announced efforts to push Coca-Cola to switch to cane sugar for its U.S.-made products, a departure from the abundant and inexpensive corn syrup currently used in most of its products. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have been speaking to @CocaCola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so, Trump wrote on social media. Id like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them Youll see. Its just better! In response, Coca-Cola said it would have more details on new innovative offerings soon but did not confirm the switch to cane sugar for U.S. products. The company made an additional statement on Thursday defending its use of high-fructose corn syrup, which it said has about the same number of calories per serving as table sugar and is metabolized in a similar way by your body. Coca-Cola declined to comment further. But the possibility of a shift in sweeteners has left a bad taste in the mouths of corn industry leaders, such as the Corn Refiners Association, a trade group, who fears the sugar swap could put some farmers of the U.S.s largest crop at a disadvantage. Replacing high-fructose corn syrup with cane sugar doesnt make sense. President Trump stands for American manufacturing jobs, American farmers, and reducing the trade deficit, Corn Refiners Association CEO John Bode said in a statement on Wednesday. Replacing high fructose corn syrup with cane sugar would cost thousands of American food manufacturing jobs, depress farm income, and boost imports of foreign sugar, all with no nutritional benefit. Factoring in Trumps tariffs Changes in demand for corn syrup, such as that used in Coke, would increase demand for cane sugar in Louisiana and Florida, as well as from Central and South America, where the sweetener is heavily tariffed. It could force corn farmersprimarily in Iowa and Illinoisto look for business elsewhere, Brandon McFadden, a professor of food policy economics at the University of Arkansas Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences, told Fortune. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most obvious solution for corn farmers would be to export their crops. But while corn exports have hit record highs this year, Trumps trade policy with China has completely inhibited the export of corn from the U.S. to the nation, which has previously been a major boon to the U.S. corn industry. The exports were looking really good, but they would look even better if we were still supplying China so heavily, McFadden said. Other industry experts said these short-term effects are being overstated. Corn syrup production in the U.S. accounts for 410 million bushels of the countrys 15.5 billion bushels of corn, making up less than 3% of the total industrys total, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Economic Research Center. With Coca-Colas use of high-fructose corn syrup representing a fraction of that fraction, the company making the switch to cane sugar wouldnt have an outsized impact on the industry as a whole, according to Scott Irwin, the Laurence J. Norton Chair of Agricultural Marketing at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. For Coca-Cola to remove it completely would be a pretty small blip in the corn market, he told Fortune. Fear of a growing MAHA movement But Trumps cane sugar push could still have sizable consequences for the corn industry, Irwin said. The change would have a meaningful impact for U.S. food processing giants such as Archer-Daniels-Midland, which produces high-fructose corn syrup. The manufacturers stock dropped 6% in pre-market trading on Thursday following Trumps announcement, though later mostly recovered. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The largest impact of the proposed switch, however, is the symbolic impact of the growing influence of Department of Human Health and Safety Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s controversial Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) campaign, Irwin said. Kennedy has repeatedly targeted ultraprocessed foods, including corn syrup, favoring alternatives like cane sugar, despite some nutrition experts asserting the two sugars are essentially chemically identical. This is exactly the kind of MAHA move that U.S. [agriculture] fears, Irwin told Fortune. Theres clearly a growing consumer backlash captured by the MAHA movement against food additives, chemicals being added, diabetes, obesitythrow it all together. As major U.S. food makers acquiesce to pressure from the Trump administration by adding more explicit packaging labels and vowing to remove dyes and seed oils from their products, theres real concern from the corn industry the administration could outright ban corn syrup, which would have a real price impact on the market, according to Irwin. HHS and the White House did not respond to Fortunes request for comment. Trumps agricultural Catch-22 However, the seemingly unstoppable force of the Trump administrations MAHA push may meet the immovable object of decades-old, powerful lobbying barriers from U.S. agriculture, putting a damper on the prospect of cane-sugar Coke in the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the 1970s, the U.S. protected sugar producers, particularly beet sugar, building on an 18th-century tradition of piling tariffs on sugar imports to insulate the industry. But as the cost of beet and cane sugar increased in the U.S. and decreased globally, U.S. food processors manufactured corn syrup as a cheap alternative. Corn farming is bolstered by subsidies by the U.S. government, and the powerful corn lobby has continued to oppose changes to the U.S. sugar program limiting imports on sugar, ultimately keeping corn syrup on top. Therefore, according to Irwin, the more effective way to eliminate high-fructose corn syrup would be to weaken the industry by rationalizing U.S. sugar policy. An economists answer is: Lets level the playing field by eliminating the high-priced approach from domestically produced sugar, he said. Not only is the sugar lobby likely too powerful to be dislodgedbut because the Trump administration relies on its large support base of American farmersit backs policies often friendly to U.S. agriculture. When corn trade groups speak out against threats to high-fructose corn syrup, it puts Trump in a Catch-22. Its just going to be trying to walk that tightrope throughout this administration, Irwin said. This story was originally featured on Fortune.com SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) Trump administration officials were in San Francisco Thursday to visit Alcatraz amid President Donald Trumps ongoing talk about turning it back to a prison. Many officials have dismissed the idea, with San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie calling it not a serious one, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi calling it stupid. However, one local official is not so sure. Astronomer CEO goes viral after being caught on Coldplay kiss cam Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump is building a fascist police state, with Congress now giving him a massive slush fund to dramatically expand the ICE secret police and to build more private prison gulags, such as Alligator Alcatraz and CECOT in El Salvador, said State Sen. Scott Weiner (D-San Francisco) in a statement posted to Reddit. In this Jan. 21, 2020, file photo, state Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, speaks at a news conference in Sacramento, Calif. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) While the likes of Pelosi, Lurie and California Gov. Gavin Newsom have dismissed the idea outright, Wiener is taking the president at his word. Some dismiss Trumps talk about reopening Alcatraz as a joke, he continued. While this idea is absurd on so many levels and destructive in seeking to destroy one of the most popular tourist sites in the country Trump has shown that he executes on many of the insane and destructive things that come out of his warped brain. And while many have been quick to dismiss Trumps talk of reopening Alcatraz as a distraction, Wiener is concerned Trump actually plans to use the former federal penitentiary to house ICE prisoners. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im very concerned that Trump will actually try to turn Alcatraz into a gulag to hold the political prisoners ICE is sweeping off the streets, he said. We need to do everything in our power to fight this dangerous idea. Stick with KRON4 for the latest coverage on Trump administration officials visit to Alcatraz Thursday. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4. By Steve Holland and Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -\U.S. President Donald Trump called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a deadly Israeli strike on Gaza's sole Catholic Church, the White House said on Thursday, adding Trump did not react positively to the incident. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT An Israeli strike on Gaza's sole Catholic Church killed three people and injured several others, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the small parish, said on Thursday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Patriarchate condemned "this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place," saying two women and one man were killed in the attack on the Holy Family Church. KEY QUOTES The White House was asked in a press briefing about Trump's reaction to the Israeli strike on the church. "It was not a positive reaction. He called Prime Minister Netanyahu this morning to address the strikes on that church in Gaza," the White House spokeswoman told reporters. "And I understand the prime minister agreed to put out a statement. It was a mistake by the Israelis to hit that Catholic Church. That's what the prime minister relayed to the president," the White House spokeswoman added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A State Department's spokeswoman separately added: "I think its an understatement to say that he (Trump) was not happy." The State Department said Washington asked Israel to probe the strike. CONTEXT The Israeli military said it was looking into the incident. Israel's Foreign Ministry said the results of the investigation would be published. Netanyahu said Israel "deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church." Israeli forces killed at least 27 people in attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, including the three killed in the church strike, according to medics and church officials. (Reporting by Steve Holland; writing by Kanishka Singh; additional reporting by Susan Heavey and Humeyra Pamuk; editing by Chris Reese and Sandra Maler) This story has been updated with new information. The Epstein files have become the talk of the United States and have started making waves even among some of President Donald Trump's most loyal supporters in Congress. Jeffrey Epstein, a name once synonymous with money and power, died while awaiting trial on charges related to sexual trafficking and more. On the campaign trail and when he took office for his second term, Trump promised to release the Epstein files documents reported to have the names of high-profile people who were his clients but now his administration states that they don't exist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It has led to multiple Tennessee Republicans and others in the party calling foul. In a virtual town hall on July 15, Rep. Tim Burchett stated he thinks the administration "mishandled" the rollout of the Epstein files. Burchett, a strong Trump supporter and self-described "far right" politician, went on to talk about how Attorney General Pam Bondi has flipped flopped by saying at one point she has a file and then saying it doesn't exist. "We need to get the information out," Burchett said. "I'm disappointed by Miss Bondi by saying there's a list on her desk and saying the next week there is no list. I stand by Kash Patel and Dan Bongino." And Burchett isn't the only republican calling for transparency now. Here's what to know. What did Pam Bondi say about the Epstein files? In March, Bondi touted that she had a "truckload" of Epstein files to review and potentially release. Four months later, Bondi's Justice Department said there was no "client list" and no further disclosure was needed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump has backed Bondi and called the Republicans who are looking for more information on the matter "weaklings" who fell for the "Jeffrey Epstein hoax". "(Democrats') new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bulls***, hook, line, and sinker," Trump wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post on July 16. "Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore!" Trump calls for release of Epstein files after Wall Street Journal article, outcry Public and political outcry, along with the drop of a Wall Street Journal article, pushed Trump to call for Bondi to release court records in the Epstein case. On July 17, the president announced in a social media post that he is directing Bondi to produce more Epstein documents amid public clamor for the records. This post came hours after the Wall Street Journal published a piece about Trump reportedly sending the dead wealthy sex offender a lewd letter for his 50th birthday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump had called the letter "FAKE" in social posts and has threatened to sue the Wall Street Journal. The catalyst for Trump's renewed call for information to be released isn't due to the article, according to the president, But due to political and public demands for more information in a case that Trump has now started to call a "hoax." The move is "based on the ridiculous amount of publicity given to Jeffrey Epstein," Trump stated. Which Republicans are calling for the Epstein files to be released? Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, has also split from the Trump camp in the call for the release of the Epstein list and has questioned Bondi's narrative. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Im for transparency," Johnson said to conservative commentator Benny Johnson. We should put everything out there and let the people decide. Pam Bondi needs to come forward and explain it to the American people. Let's get this thing resolved." Burchett was also joined by fellow Tennessean, Rep. Scott DesJarlais, in the call for more transparency and information. Here's who else has called for some form of transparency in the GOP party: This also coincides with Democrats calling for more information and who have also introduced legislative measures to release the Epstein files. Who was Jeffrey Epstein? Epstein was a well-known figure in New York social circles and beyond, rubbing elbows with high-profile individuals ranging from well-known politicians to business tycoons to celebrities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For years, before news broke of Epstein's alleged international sex trafficking ring, Epstein was known in the finance world first working at Bear Stearns, then starting his own firm Intercontinental Assets Group Inc. (IAG) and also working as a consultant with other financial organizations. He was also known to hobnob with the likes of President Donald Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew of Great Britain, famed magician David Copperfield and Ohio billionaire Leslie H. Wexner. Epstein case: Allegations of an international sex-trafficking circle Allegations of sexual misconduct with minors swirled around Epstein in 20066, when he was charged in Palm Beach, Florida. It was the first time Epstein's name and private island were named in a case that investigated allegations of sex trafficking when dozens of girls, some as young as 14, came forward with stories of abuse on his island in the Caribbean. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced in 2008, on a solicitation charge and an additional felony charge of procuring a minor for prostitution. But only served a little more than 13 months. The highly criticized deal allowed Epstein to be released and contributed to 11 more years worth of stories from young girls about abuse in the United States and on his island. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In July 2019, Epstein was arrested once again, but this time it was by an FBI-NYPD Crimes Against Children Task Force. He was charged on multiple counts of sexual trafficking and conspiracy to traffic minors for sex. What was Epstein convicted of? Epstein never went to trial on the federal sex trafficking allegations, but still had the 2008 conviction. The disgraced financier died in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York in August 2019 while awaiting trial. He was found hanged in a jail cell, and the medical examiner ruled it a suicide. Diana Leyva and USA TODAY contributed to this story. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Reps. among Republicans calling out Trump over Epstein Files Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics teams latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail. In todays edition, President Donald Trump struggles to turn the page on the Jeffrey Epstein saga while a politically vulnerable senator in Texas appeals to him for an endorsement. Plus, Andrea Mitchell files a dispatch from the Aspen Security Forum. Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Adam Wollner Trump struggles to convince MAGA world to move on from the Epstein files By Matt Dixon and Henry J. Gomez President Donald Trump cant get his MAGA supporters to end their obsession with the Jeffrey Epstein files. And now hes taking out his frustration on them. In a blistering post on Truth Social, Trump continued to push his backers to stop talking about an issue that has driven what appears to be one of the most significant rifts between him and the political movement he built. [M]y PAST supporters have bought into this bulls--- hook, line, and sinker, he said in the post, adding, Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore! Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps message Wednesday was a significant escalation, reflecting that his supporters arent all following his lead and adopting his messaging as they usually do. Its also left MAGA-aligned media at a loss for what to do, torn between much of the base that continues to call for more documents related to Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender, and Trump, who insists they should drop the issue. This is a major problem and could hurt turnout in the midterms, a Republican strategist familiar with Trumps political operation said. It signals betrayal to those who believed the president would expose the deep state. His team made promises, then doubled down. On Capitol Hill: A growing number of Republicans are calling for the release of the Epstein files. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said he found it a little difficult to believe, the idea that the DOJ and the FBI who prosecuted cases relating to this dont have any idea who Epsteins clients were. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My view is make public, everything you can make public, he told NBC News. Democrats are continuing to attempt to drive a wedge between Republicans on the issue. As Julie Tsirkin reports, Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., is trying to force a vote on a resolution calling on the Justice Department to release its files related to the Epstein probe. Read more on the Trump-MAGA rift Related: Ghislaine Maxwells family appeals to Trump amid battle over Epstein files, by Matt Lavietes Sen. John Cornyn appeals to Trump as he faces primary headwinds in Texas By Bridget Bowman, Ben Kamisar, Olympia Sonnier, Melanie Zanona and Julie Tsirkin Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, is making his case for the White House to get involved as he tries to fend off a primary challenge from state Attorney General Ken Paxton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But, so far, President Donald Trump is staying on the sidelines. Ive talked to him about it a number of times. He is not ready to make that endorsement, Cornyn told NBC News. I think as we start advertising and closing the gap in the polls, hopefully hell see fit to make that endorsement, but we cant wait. I pointed out to him, and he knows this, that if he endorsed me, the race would be over, Cornyn later added. Some Republicans are concerned that Paxton a conservative firebrand with no shortage of personal controversies, including some that led to an impeachment push by a number of fellow Republicans in 2023 could be a problematic general election candidate who would force national Republicans to spend millions to defend the longtime red seat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Behind the scenes: The race came up at a White House meeting last week between Trump; Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D.; staffers with the super PAC Senate Leadership Fund; and other former Trump campaign staffers. A source with knowledge of the meeting said the group agreed that Cornyn and allies need to focus over the summer on improving the incumbents poll numbers. Paxtons team has also been in touch with the White House political team and sharing polling data, according to a source close to his campaign. The polls: In public surveys, the University of Texas at Tyler found Paxton leading Cornyn by 10 percentage points, 44%-34%, while Texas Southern University found Paxton leading by 9, 43%-34%. Both polls found about a quarter of voters undecided. The money: New campaign finance reports show that Paxton raised $2.9 million from April through June and had $2.5 million in the bank. Meanwhile, Cornyns campaign raised $804,000 and ended the quarter with $5.9 million on hand, while his joint fundraising committee raised $3.1 million and had $2.7 million on hand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Cornyn campaigns haul marked its second-worst quarter over the senators past two election cycles on the ballot (2020 and 2014). Bottom line: This is far from the first time Cornyn has faced issues on his right flank. His most recent challenge came in 2014, when he won 59% of the GOP primary vote. But it may be the most dangerous moment of his Senate career. Read more on the Texas Senate race Related: 5 takeaways from the latest campaign fundraising reports, by Ben Kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Joe Murphy The impacts of Trumps retreat from the global stage Analysis by Andrea Mitchell At the annual Aspen Security Forum today listening and learning from U.S. and foreign experts on the Middle East, space defense, energy policy and international trade and aid, among other topics there is an unprecedented absence of current administration officials. They were invited and only Pentagon officials accepted before canceling at the last minute. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Former U.S. Ambassador to China and NATO Nicholas Burns, currently co-chair of the Aspen Strategy Group, lamented the decision. Burns, who began his career as a National Security Council officer under President George H.W. Bush, pointed out that the conference has always been a nonpartisan gathering for the exchange of ideas, and he hopes they will return next year. The national political divide is being felt profoundly by deep cuts at the State Department and other government agencies, some of which Congress is formalizing with a rescissions package lawmakers are advancing. At Foggy Bottom, there were plenty of tears as veteran diplomats and civil servants badges were revoked and they turned in their laptops and phones. The climate office to negotiate current and future global agreements was eliminated. The State Department said it was being streamlined to make it more efficient and relevant. Among those also cut: senior intelligence analysts on Russia and Ukraine, hardly irrelevant. The relatively small State Department intelligence bureau numbering a few hundred was one of the only agencies dissenting against the false conclusion that Saddam Hussein was developing weapons of mass destruction before the U.S. launched the war in Iraq. And those fired included the East Asia analysts who had just prepared briefing papers on the global competition against Chinas aggression in the South China Sea for Secretary of State Marco Rubios trip to the ASEAN summit last week, a top policy priority for the White House. Occasionally, President Donald Trump may discover having experts around can save him from embarrassing moments. One example is last weeks luncheon with visiting African leaders, when he praised Liberias president for his command of the English language and asked, Where did you learn to speak so beautifully? Were you educated? Where? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Briefers would have told him Liberia was settled by Americans in 1847 and is an English-speaking country. But the NSC which had an admittedly bloated 300 staffers now has approximately 50 staffers. Today's other top stories Will he or wont he?: Trump said it was highly unlikely he would fire Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, less than 24 hours after telling Republican lawmakers that he was considering doing so. Read more Concerned, but voting aye: The Senate is set to approve a rescissions package that would claw back $9 billion in funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting, despite reservations from GOP lawmakers. Read more Sales pitch: Vice President JD Vance urged a Pennsylvania audience to talk to your friends about the megabill Trump recently signed into law. Read more Mass deportation agenda: The Department of Homeland Security resumed third-country deportation flights by sending five immigrant detainees, all from different countries, to the small nation of Eswatini in southern Africa. Read more Middle East latest: U.S. Ambassador Mike Huckabee demanded that Israel aggressively investigate the murder of an American who was beaten to death by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Read more About last night: Arizona Democrats have nominated Adelita Grijalva, daughter of the late Rep. Raul Grijalva, to fill his former seat in a September special election. Read more Into the podverse: Former Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison launched a new podcast and one of his first guests will be Hunter Biden. Read more Speculation quashed: Barack and Michelle Obama laughed off divorce rumors during a new episode of the former first ladys podcast. Read more Follow live politics updates Thats all From the Politics Desk for now. Todays newsletter was compiled by Adam Wollner and Dylan Ebs. If you have feedback likes or dislikes email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com And if youre a fan, please share with everyone and anyone. They can sign up here. This article was originally published on NBCNews.com Few politicians can create cinematic drama and anticipation like U.S. President Donald Trump. And ahead of Mondays White House meeting with NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, Trump made good use of that talent. Youll be seeing things happening, he cryptically told reporters on Friday. A major statement was on the way, he later teased. The denouement unfolded Monday in the Oval Office, with announcements that were both genuinely significant and positive, and somewhat underwhelming. The bottom line, though, was a genuine shift in Trumps position toward Ukraine. At last, it appears, he has decided to help an embattled Kyiv defend itself against Russias imperial efforts to conquer it. At least for now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This isnt the first time since he returned to the presidency that Trump has offered Ukraine some cause for optimism. After Kyiv signed onto Trumps mineral deal earlier this year, there was some talk about it representing a turning point, only for Trump to once again push for a one-sided ceasefire and peace deal favoring Moscow after the ink was dry. To get more in-depth news and expert analysis on global affairs from WPR, sign up for our free Daily Review newsletter. This time, however, something did seem to change. What happened? Why did Trump finally decide to support Ukraine after months of absurdly blaming Kyiv for Russias invasion? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three reasons come to mind. First, and most important, Trump realized that Russian President Vladmir Putin was playing him for a fool, humiliating him before the entire world. Second, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyys powers of persuasion at last broke through, because he had a chance to speak face-to-face with Trump outside of the presence of Vice President JD Vance, who famously declared, I really dont care what happens to Ukraine. Third, Rutte has cemented his position as Europes Trump Whisperer for the U.S. presidents second term, unctuously able to make the case for Ukraine in terms that align with Trumps worldview. Though Trumps disappointment with Putin was striking, his admiration for the Russian strongman was still palpable even after announcing his change of heart. I dont want to say hes an assassin, Trump said, in what for him amounts to a compliment, but hes a tough guy. Recalling their phone calls and Putins subsequent betrayal, however, Trump sounded like a jilted lover, reluctantly recognizing that the object of his affection had been deceiving him all along. I go home, I tell the first lady, You know, I spoke to Vladimir today. We had a wonderful conversation. And she said, Oh, really? Another city was just hit. No matter how wonderful, Trump acknowledged ruefully, a conversation with Putin doesnt mean anything. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump clearly felt humiliated, and rightly so. As a candidate before the November presidential election, he had vowed to end the war in a day. Since his inauguration in January, he has pushed for a peace deal, pressuring Ukraine to make concessions, while sending his emissaries to Moscow, Riyadh and Istanbul to meet with their Russian counterparts. But Putin, he discovered, was tapping him along, as Trump put it. Still, looking like a fool is unbearable for Trump, so he immediately tried to play it off as if he had seen through Putin all along. Putin fooled a lot of people, Trump maintained. He fooled Clinton, Bush, Obama, Biden, he claimed, before adding defensively, He didnt fool me. In reality, no U.S. president in living memory has seemed so gullible in believing the Kremlins claims or has lavished as much praise on a Russian leader. Trump may have surmised that if Russia emerges from the conflict victorious, history will record that it was he who lost Ukraine. Nevertheless, on Monday, with Rutte by his side in the newly gilded Oval Office, Trump announced a new plan to supply U.S. weapons to Ukraine. Unlike previous efforts, Washington wont directly give the weaponry to Kyiv. Instead, the U.S. is selling arms to its NATO allies, who will then transfer them to Ukraine. In some cases, in order to accelerate the urgent process amid Russian advances, NATO allies will hand Ukraine arms they already possess, which will then be replaced by new ones purchased from the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rutte assented vigorously when Trump explained that the U.S. will not be taken for a ride by NATO. Europe will pay for it, the former Dutch prime minister reaffirmed, to Trumps visible delight. Among the NATO members that will participate in the plan, according to Rutte, are Germany, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, the Netherlands and Canada. The weaponry will include defensive and offensive weapons, such as Patriot anti-missile systems, ammunition and missiles. But in what amounts to the underwhelming part of his shift, Trump remains reluctant to punish the longtime object of his admiration. He delayed imposing secondary sanctions against countries that continue to trade with Russia for another 50 days. Putin wont necessarily be trembling with fear, though, given that Trump has threatenedand then ignoredmultiple two-week deadlines for Russia to get serious about negotiations to end the war in the past several months. The new arrangementno U.S. dollars, no immediate sanctionsrepresents an internal compromise and balancing act within Trumps administration, which is riven by diametrically opposing views on Ukraine. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Vance, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Pentagon policy chief Elbridge Colby all oppose more aid to Ukraine. Recently, Colby and Hegseth even stopped weapons shipments to Kyiv without Trumps knowledge. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and others, including most of the Senate and three-quarters of Trump voters, want to step up sanctions against Russia. It was Vance who stoked the infamous Oval Office humiliation of Zelenskyy in February, chastising him for not showing more gratitude. Picking up Vances tone, Trump demeaned the Ukrainian president, telling him he had no cards to play and essentially throwing him out of the White House. But Trump reversed the decision taken by Colby and Hegseth. Now he speaks glowingly of Ukrainians courageous defense of their country. After a July 4 phone call between the two countries leaders, Zelenskyy declared that Trump is very well informed and Trump announced that well continue helping them. The shift began in April, after their first private meeting following the Oval Office debacle, when Trump and Zelenskyy both attended the funeral of Pope Francis at the Vatican. The two sat alone, knee-to-knee. No Vance. No Hegseth. When it was over, Zelenskyy declared that the conversation was their best ever. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If Zelenskyy deserves credit for the shift, so does Rutte. The new NATO secretary-general has shown a prodigious talent for dealing with Trump. He persuaded him of the benefits to the U.S. of a safe Europe. In a startling reversal from his well-known disdain for Washingtons NATO allies, Trump recently declared, Having a strong Europe is a very good thing. Last month, Rutte crafted a successful NATO Summit in The Hague, where the European allies agreed to a sharp boost in defense spending. In doing so, they made sure to give all the credit to Trump, although as I wrote in my column two weeks ago, a more powerful reason for the spending hike was concern about Putins aggressive expansionism. Whatever the reason, Rutte has helped turn Trump into a NATO believer and a Ukraine supporterat least for now. This week, Trump made sure to blame his predecessor for the war, declaring It was Bidens war. Its not my war. But he may have surmised that if Russia emerges from the conflict victorious, history will record that it was Trump who lost Ukraine. That realization also may have played a part in his change of heart. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The fall of Afghanistan turned into a catastrophic disaster for former President Joe Biden. Similarly, the drama that would accompany the fall of Ukraine would become a permanent stain on Trumps legacy, which for such an image-conscious president as Trump would be intolerable. That just may be Ukraines best hope. Frida Ghitis is WPRs senior columnist and a contributor to CNN and The Washington Post. Her WPR column appears every Thursday. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads at @fridaghitis. The post Trumps Change of Tune on Ukraine Is RealFor Now appeared first on World Politics Review. The U.S. and European Union have just weeks to reach a new trade deal before President Trump plans to impose a 30% tariff on most imports from the 27 EU member countries starting Aug. 1. The EU negotiates trade policy as a single entity and was the U.S.'s top goods trading partner in 2024, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In 2024, the U.S. imported around $606 billion in goods from the EU and exported around $370 billion worth of products to it. EU leaders have warned they're prepared to impose higher tariffs on hundreds of U.S. imports unless a deal can be reached in the coming weeks. Economists say the dispute could drive up consumer prices on both sides of the Atlantic. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr. Trump has defended tariffs as necessary to protect American workers, pointing to the trade imbalance on goods and higher EU tariffs as evidence the bloc has treated the U.S unfairly for years. The president has also repeatedly said the European Union does not buy American cars or agricultural products. However, trade data from 2024 shows that's inaccurate. While the U.S. has imported more cars and agricultural products from Europe in recent years than it exports there, the EU remains a significant market for these American products. Here's a breakdown of the data. EU is the U.S.'s fourth largest buyer of agricultural products Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trump has repeatedly suggested Europe does not buy agricultural goods from U.S. farmers and producers. "The European Union is, in many ways, nastier than China, OK?," President Trump said at an event May 12. "They sell us their agricultural products. We sell them virtually none. They don't take our products." But according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the EU was the fourth-largest buyer of American agricultural products in 2024, purchasing a record $12.8 billion in these goods. Top exports to the EU included oilseeds like sunflower and sesame seeds, nuts and processed nut products like peanut butter, and soybeans. By comparison, the U.S. imported $36 billion in agricultural products from the EU in 2024 buying billions of dollars worth of European wine, animal products, and grains and feeds. The White House has not responded to a request for clarification on the president's claim. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Before Mr. Trump raised tariffs to a baseline of 10% in April, the EU maintained a higher average tariff on foreign agricultural products than the United States. In 2023, the EU average tariff on foreign agricultural goods was 10.8%, compared to the U.S. rate of 5%. Certain American food products are also less available in Europe because of consumer preferences and regulations, as the EU bans some American food products that contain certain additives they have deemed unsafe for human consumption. EU buys more than 160,000 American vehicles each year Another frequent target of President Trump's criticism is the EU's trade imbalance on cars. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "They sell us 13 million cars. We sell them none," Mr. Trump claimed at an event in May. It is true that the United States imports far more European vehicles than the number of American-made vehicles it exports to the EU, but the EU does buy some American cars. In 2024, the EU imported about 165,000 American vehicles, valued at roughly $8.8 billion at current exchange rates, according to a report by the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association. By comparison, the same data shows the U.S. imported about 750,000 vehicles from the EU in 2024, worth $43 billion. Both trading partners have long imposed tariffs on foreign vehicles. The EU charges a 10% tariff on U.S. passenger cars, while the U.S. charged 2.5% on EU passenger cars until Mr. Trump raised the tariff on all foreign vehicles to 25%. The U.S. has also maintained a 25% tariff on EU pickup trucks since the 1960s. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Apart from tariffs, industry analysts say U.S. cars are less competitive in the EU market for a number of other reasons, including that the member nations tend to have higher fuel economy standards, higher gas costs, and their buyers tend to prefer smaller cars. Other major products include pharmaceuticals and crude oil Though Mr. Trump often focuses on cars, they're not the biggest sector. Biological products and medication are actually the top commodities the U.S. imports from the EU, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. This is driven partly by some American pharmaceutical companies maintaining manufacturing facilities in EU countries with lower corporate tax rates like Ireland. In recent weeks, President Trump has floated tariff rates as high as 200% on foreign-made pharmaceuticals unless companies onshore manufacturing to the U.S. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement On the export side, the top U.S. exports to the EU include oil and natural gas, airplanes, and immunological products like blood plasma. Over the weekend, European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen said the EU still hopes to reach a new agreement with the U.S. "We have always been clear that we prefer a negotiated solution," von der Leyen said, adding, "We will continue to prepare countermeasures so we are fully prepared." Wall Street Journal reports Trump sent "bawdy" birthday letter to Epstein, Trump threatens to sue 7.3 magnitude earthquake hits southern Alaska Medical expert on Trump's chronic venous insufficiency diagnosis President Donald Trump raised eyebrows this week when he claimed his uncle, John Trump, taught the Unabomber, Ted Kaczynski. However, there is no evidence that Kaczynski, one of the most infamous domestic terrorists in American history, had ever been in a classroom with the president's uncle despite his boasting. Trump made the claim during one of many off-the-cuff moments Tuesday afternoon at a roundtable with business leaders in Pittsburgh, where he touted tech and brought up his uncle, who taught electrical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for 37 years. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Kaczynski was one of his students," Trump claimed. "Do you know who Kaczynski was?" MORE: How the Unabomber evaded capture for nearly 20 years, and became America's 'most prolific bomber' Kaczynski was once one of the most wanted domestic terrorists for his letter bombing campaigns between 1978 and 1995, where he killed three people and wounded 23 others. Kaczynski was a math prodigy and earned degrees at Harvard and the University of Michigan before he became a recluse and went uncaptured for 17 years. Bureau of Prisons/Getty Images - PHOTO: Mugshot of Ted Kaczynski, identidentified as the domestic terrorist known as the Unabomber, April 1996. He was arrested in 1996 after his brother deduced he was the anonymous Unabomber and contacted the FBI. Kaczynski, who had sent writings expressing anti-technology beliefs before his arrest, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison. He took his own life in prison in 2023. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesperson for MIT told ABC News in a statement Thursday that the school has "no enrollment record or information that Ted Kaczynski ever attended MIT." The spokesperson added that the school creates enrollment records for students who cross enrolled from another school for a MIT program or class. The school said in the past that Kaczynski was accepted to the school in 1958, but he rejected their offer. MORE: Unabomber Ted Kaczynski dies by possible suicide in prison: Source White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was asked about Trump's claims during a news briefing Thursday, but she did not answer. Instead, she touted John Trump's tenure at MIT and took another question. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump, however, claimed during the roundtable that his uncle noticed the Unabomber's strange characteristics while at MIT. Nathan Howard/Reuters - PHOTO: President Donald Trump shakes hands with Senator Dave McCormick at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit, at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, July 15, 2025. "There is very little difference between a madman and a genius. But Kaczynski I said, 'What kind of a student was he, Uncle John? Dr. John Trump, what kind of student?'.He said, 'Seriously? Good.' He would go around correcting everybody.' But it didn't work out too well," Trump claimed. John Trump died in 1985, long before Kaczynski was identified as the Unabomber or in the public discourse. The Trump administration is doing damage control on the visible signs of aging in the president, as seen in his swollen legs and a mysterious bruise on his hand. On Thursday, White House press secretary Karoline Levitt revealed that the president had emergency heart tests to figure out what was going on and was found to have a vein condition known as chronic venous insufficiency. In recent weeks, President Trump noted mild swelling in his lower legs. In keeping with routine medical care and out of an abundance of caution, this concern was thoroughly evaluated by the White House medical unit, Leavitt said. The president underwent a comprehensive examination, including diagnostic vascular studies. Bilateral lower extremity venous Doppler ultrasounds were performed and revealed chronic venous insufficiency, a benign and common condition, particularly in individuals over the age of 70. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Importantly, there was no evidence of deep vein thrombosis or arterial disease. Laboratory testing included a complete blood count, comprehensive metabolic panel, coagulation profile, D dimer, B type, natriuretic peptide, and cardiac biomarkers. All results were within normal limits. An echocardiogram was also performed and confirmed normal cardiac structure and function. No signs of heart failure, renal impairment, or systemic illness were identified, she added. Then she blamed the strange hand bruises on too much hand shaking, an excuse the president has tried many times before. Additionally, recent photos of the president have shown minor bruising on the back of his hand. This is consistent with minor soft tissue irritation from frequent hand shaking and the use of aspirin, which is taken as part of a standard cardiovascular prevention regimen. This is a well known and benign side effect of aspirin therapy, and the president remains in excellent health, which I think all of you witness on a daily basis here. So the president wanted me to share that note with all of you. The White House later published an email from Trumps physician which basically reaffirmed Leavitts claims that everything was fine with the presidents health. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Chronic venous insufficiency occurs when ones veins dont flow correctly and allow blood to become backed up in the vessels, resulting in swelling. Its basically not alarming information, and its not surprising, Harvard Medical School assistant professor Dr. Jeremy Faust told CNN. This is a pretty normal part of aging, and especially for someone in the overweight to obese category, which is where the president has always been. But the bigger concern is that symptoms like this do need to be evaluated for more serious conditions, and that is what happened. Trump turned 79 last month. President Donald Trump is pulling federal funding for one of Californias most ambitiousand controversialprojects as his feud with the states Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, rages on. Trump announced that he had officially freed American taxpayers from funding the states long-planned high-speed train, calling the multibillion-dollar project a Newscum SCAM and a HIGH SPEED TRAIN TO NOWHERE in a Truth Social post Wednesday. This boondoggle, led by the incompetent Governor of California, Gavin Newscum, has cost Taxpayers Hundreds of Billions of Dollars, and we have received NOTHING in return except Cost Overruns, the president wrote. A rendering of the proposed train from the California High-Speed Rail Authority. / Fresno Bee/Getty Images Newsom, who has positioned himself as a contender for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028, called the move a gift to China in a statement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We wont let him, Newsom said. Were now in the track-laying phase and building Americas only high-speed rail. California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action. Trumps announcement Wednesday follows a report the Federal Railroad Administration sent to Californias high-speed rail authority in June, slamming the project for blowing past deadlines and running over budget. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blasted Newsom and Democrats for enabling The administration gave the state 30 days to respond to the report and warned that it would likely withdraw roughly $4 billion in federal funding; a $3.1 billion federal grant awarded under the Biden administration and $929 million awarded under the Obama administration in 2010. Trump revoked the $929 million grant in 2019, but Joe Biden restored it in 2021 during his presidency. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When voters first approved funding for the project in 2008, the train was proposed as a high-speed commuter rail that would connect the Bay Area to Los Angeles in less than three hours and would be operational by 2020. An aerial image shows construction workers building a viaduct over a highway as part of the transit project in Hanford, California. / Patrick T. Fallon/ Getty Images More than a decade later, the plan has been scaled back to a route between Mercedes and Bakersfield, two smaller cities in the states agricultural Central Valley, and projected costs have soared from $33 billion to $128 billion. No tracks have been laid, but in May, Newsoms office said 171 miles were under development, 119 miles under active construction, and 52 "major structures" had been built. In a statement announcing the $4 billion funding cut, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said: This is Californias fault. Governor Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank checkthey come with a promise to deliver results. Newsom swiftly fired back on X, writing, Wont be taking advice from the guy who cant keep planes in the skya dig at repeated equipment meltdowns at U.S. airports during Duffys tenure at the Transportation Department. Its often said the UK and the US are two countries divided by a common language. In another instance of life imitating art, Donald Trump, ahead of his visit to Aberdeen in two weeks, called on Keir Starmer to abandon the windmills blighting so much of rural Scotland. Trump is absolutely correct to call out Labours deranged energy policy concreting over the countryside and installing unsightly pylons, annihilating arable agricultural land and carpeting the countryside with solar panels in pursuit of their mad dash to net zero. Anyone who has ever left London and seen the impact of these damaging policies on rural Britain would agree with Trump on this. But that cant be said of our London-centric Prime Minister. It should not take a foreign leader coming over here to spell out common sense to him. But we are where we are with our mediocre middle manager-in-chief. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Part of what makes Britain great is our green and pleasant land. I get it. Telegraph readers get it. Apparently even Donald Trump gets it. So why does Starmer and his cabal of lefties in Cabinet, including Red Ed, seem so determined to take a wrecking ball to it every chance they get? Having been elected on a promise to reduce bills by 300, they are now radically pushing forward an agenda that is going to throw taxpayers money down the drain and jeopardise our energy security to boot. It makes absolutely no sense. It is yet another case of this ideological Labour Government pursuing what works in socialist screeds, rather than what actually works in real life and for real people. The cost of sacrificing rural Britain at the altar of net zero nonsense is set to cost the taxpayer an eye-watering 800 billion by 2050. Just like the Chagos surrender, or the looming employment Bill which gives the unions the whip hand, it is a lose-lose situation for Britain. It is becoming so bad that Keir Starmer now seems to need Donald Trump to point out the glaringly obvious fact that this wont work, and no one wants it. But still, he seems determined to plough on. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Kemi Badenoch has thrown down the gauntlet. Enough is enough of this eco zealotry that flies in the face of facts and common sense. Net zero by 2050 will not work. Whilst of course we must stop climate change, we are responsible for 1 per cent of global emissions. So why would we blow up our economy, hike everyones bills and jeopardise our energy security on this madness? To anyone with two brain cells to rub together, it is glaringly obvious: even businesses and industry experts are crying out for Labour to stop. But, judging by the disastrous first year of this Government, brains are in short supply around the current Cabinet table. Take Ed Miliband, for example. He spent billions on an energy company that doesnt create any energy. Far from reducing everyones energy bills, as they promised they would do, they are getter higher than when they took office. Meanwhile, they are set to hike everyones taxes at the same time as they are forgoing 20 billion in tax receipts by shutting off the North Sea. It will not be lost on anyone that the president, whose Drill Baby Drill policies on oil and gas couldnt be more at odds with the Dole Baby Dole madness of Ed Milliband, will be in Aberdeen where job losses are predicted to be up to 400 every two weeks. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And, unlike the New Labour anthem, things can only get worse. They have just adopted an 81 per cent emission reduction target without a plan how to get there. All that means is more harebrained policies that cost the earth but wont save it. We need the Government to have a radical rethink of net zero. Hopefully, Trump will get our embattled Prime Minister to change his tune once again. Otherwise, the only thing their energy policy will generate is resentment. Andrew Bowie is shadow secretary of state for Scotland Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. A voter casts an early ballot at a polling station in Milwaukee in 2023. Wisconsin is among at least nine states that have received requests from the U.S. Department of Justice for voter information, raising concerns among election officials about how the Trump administration will use the data. (Photo by Morry Gash/The Associated Press) The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the voter registration lists of several states representing data on millions of Americans and other election information ahead of the 2026 midterms, raising fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information. The DOJ is also demanding Colorado turn over all records related to the 2024 election, a massive trove of documents that could include ballots and even voting equipment. The Colorado inquiry, the most sweeping publicly known request, underscores the extent of the administrations attention on state election activities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least nine states have received requests for information over the past three months, according to letters from the DOJ obtained by Stateline. Some states also received emails from a DOJ official last week asking for meetings to discuss information-sharing agreements. The departments focus on elections comes after President Donald Trump directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in March to seek information about suspected election crimes from state election officials and empowered her to potentially withhold grants and other funds from uncooperative states. For years, Trump has advanced false claims about elections, including the idea that the 2020 election that he lost was stolen. Now back in power, his administration is taking a new level of interest in how states and even local authorities administer elections. Colorado Letter SoS Griswold Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, a political operative approached several Republican county clerks in Colorado to enlist them in election integrity efforts in light of Trumps sweeping March executive order overhauling elections administration. One clerk told Stateline the operative claimed to represent the White House. Whatever the Trump administration tries to pull is very unlikely to be successful, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in an interview, calling Colorado elections very secure. With that said, do I think they are trying to undermine our elections at large in this country? Absolutely. DOJ has sent letters to Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in addition to the request to Colorado. The letters have typically asked election officials to describe how they register voters and work to identify duplicate registrations and individuals not eligible to vote, such as people with felony convictions and those who have died. The Washington Post earlier Wednesday reported on the letters; Votebeat and NPR previously reported on some of the letters as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most letters also ask about each states process for flagging noncitizen applicants. Noncitizen voting is against federal law and incredibly rare, but Trump and his allies have promoted false claims about its prevalence. The Trump administration is also conducting a general crackdown on illegal immigration. The letters call on election officials to turn over voter registration lists, which in some instances contain data on millions of residents in their states. This request has raised the most concerns, with some experts saying its unclear exactly why the DOJ wants the information. They dont make much sense as law enforcement investigations. That makes me think that theres some other purpose, said Justin Levitt, who served as senior policy adviser for democracy and voting rights in the Biden White House and is now a law professor at Loyola Marymount University. While many states make their voter registration lists available to the public, Levitt emphasized the data could still be largely off-limits to the federal government. Federal privacy law sometimes restricts how the government can use data thats publicly obtainable. The DOJ may need voter information in some individual circumstances, but thats not blanket permission to go vacuuming up data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOJ didnt respond to questions for this story. Federal laws restrict the federal governments ability to centralize information on Americans, said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. Even if states provide voter registration information to the public, they often redact sensitive information. In Orange County, California, the DOJ sued local election officials in June, seeking unredacted voter registration information, such as Social Security numbers and drivers licenses, as part of an investigation into noncitizen voting. More than 350 election officials from some 33 states participated in a conference call about federal actions on Monday hosted by Becker, who was previously an attorney in the DOJ Voting Rights Section during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He said the interest in the call shows the level of uncertainty and anxiety over the current federal imposition on election administrators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including drivers license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect, Becker said. Sweeping Colorado requests In Colorado, the amount of data the DOJ wants is enormous. On May 12, Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant U.S. attorney general in the DOJs Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to Griswold, the secretary of state, asking for access to all records related to the 2024 election. Federal law requires state election officials to preserve records related to elections for 22 months. Typically, the rule ensures records are preserved in case any lawsuits are filed over an election. In the letter, Dhillon referred to a complaint against Griswolds office alleging noncompliance with records retention laws, but provided no details. The DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including drivers license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect. David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research Experts on election administration who spoke to Stateline expressed shock at the scope of the demand to Colorado. The request encompasses a vast trove of material, potentially including ballots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amount of records being requested from a place like Colorado its really, really significant in terms of the volume of materials that are required to be retained, said Neal Ubriani, a former voting rights litigator at the DOJ during the Obama and first Trump administrations and the current policy and research director at the nonpartisan Institute for Responsive Government. Colorado elections have previously drawn Trumps attention. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a staunch Trump supporter, is serving a nine-year prison sentence after a conviction in state court for allowing unauthorized access to voting equipment in 2021. On May 5 of this year a week before the Dhillon letter to Griswold Trump posted on social media that Peters should be released, calling her a political prisoner. Griswold noted the timing. I think the bigger picture is Donald Trump is continuing to try and rewrite the 2020 election and destabilize the 26 and 28 elections, Griswold told Stateline. The Colorado Secretary of States Office responded to the DOJ by providing copies of the states master voter file and voter history file. All of the information provided is also available to the public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some Colorado Republican county clerks in recent days have also been approached by Jeff Small, a political operative who worked at the U.S. Department of the Interior during the first Trump administration. Stateline and Colorado Newsline spoke to three GOP clerks who said they had spoken to Small last week. Steve Schleiker, clerk of El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs and is the most populous county in the state, said that on July 9 he received a text and call from Small, who introduced himself in a voicemail as someone who works for the White House. Schleiker said that when he called back, Small said he wanted to build relationships with clerks because the Trump administration was unhappy with progress on the presidents elections executive order. He later connected Schleiker with a Homeland Security official who wanted to test the security of El Paso Countys election systems, said Schleiker, who added that he opposed the request. Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes said she also heard from Small, but that Small told her he wasnt under contract or being paid for the calls. Small indicated he was making the calls on behalf of former colleagues, Koppes said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Small, a former Capitol Hill chief of staff who now works for a Colorado-based government affairs firm, didnt return a call to his office on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the agency works with local partners to ensure elections remain safe. We dont disclose every single conversation we have with them, an unidentified DHS spokesperson wrote in an email. Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said he was aware of 10 clerks approached by Small. He noted that every clerk approached by Small hails from a county that uses Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems. While Dominion is widely used in Colorado, its also been the subject of election conspiracy theories. A former candidate for county sheriff in southwest Colorado was arrested in June, accused of firebombing a clerks office. Colorado Public Radio reported the suspect, according to law enforcement, had spoken publicly about trying to get rid of the countys Dominion machines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I think the really important thing to say here is that it was Republican clerks who stood up to a Republican administration and said, No, were going to follow the law, Crane said. The intent of the efforts by Small and the federal government has been muddied up it seems, Montrose County Clerk Tressa Guynes said. Based on her conversations with other clerks, she said, it appeared Small represented one thing to other clerks and then represented maybe a watered-down version by the time it got to me. Guynes said Small wanted to discuss Trumps elections executive order. She said Small asked whether she would be willing to support a federal task forces efforts in an advisory role. I said absolutely I will advise, Guynes said. I said Im frankly glad that theyre finally reaching out to the boots on the ground, the people who actually conduct the elections, instead of listening to those who have never conducted a Colorado election. Letters to other states As Colorado grapples with the most far-reaching request, other states are choosing how to respond. In Wisconsin, the state election commission responded to a DOJ request for the voter registration list with instructions on how to request public voter data. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, responded on June 2 after DOJ in a May 20 letter told the state to ensure voter registration applicants provided a drivers license number, if they have one, instead of a partial Social Security number. The DOJ also wanted Arizona to check voters against a state database to look for noncitizens. Fontes replied that Arizona complies with federal law and conducts checks using a state motor vehicle division database. HAVA letter-redacted We are focused on dealing with DOJ in a good faith manner while ensuring we are following the letter of federal and state laws, Fontes spokesperson JP Martin wrote in an email to Stateline. More recently, Arizona received a letter July 10 from DOJ about implementation of Trumps elections executive order. Rhode Island Democratic Secretary of State Gregg Amore also received an email about the order the same day, according to a copy provided to the Rhode Island Current. In the email, Scott Laragy, principal deputy director in the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, asks for a call to discuss a possible information-sharing agreement to provide DOJ with information on individuals who have registered to vote or have voted despite being ineligible, or those who have committed other forms of election fraud. The email echoes the language in Trumps elections executive order, which calls for DOJ to reach information-sharing agreements with states. While much of the order, which focused on proof of citizenship in elections, has been struck down in federal court, provisions related to information sharing remain. The executive order directs Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, to prioritize enforcement of federal election integrity laws in uncooperative states. It also requires her to review grants and other DOJ funds that could be withheld from states that resist. Some states have already struck deals with the Trump administration. Indiana Republican Secretary of State Diego Morales announced an agreement last week with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allowing the state to access a database to verify the citizenship of registered voters. Alabama Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen has signed a similar agreement. With your cooperation, we plan to use this information to enforce Federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections, Laragy wrote to Rhode Island. Janine Weisman of the Rhode Island Current and Lindsey Toomer of Colorado Newsline contributed to this report. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE A voter casts an early ballot at a polling station in Milwaukee in 2023. Wisconsin is among at least nine states that have received requests from the U.S. Department of Justice for voter information, raising concerns among election officials about how the Trump administration will use the data. (Photo by Morry Gash/The Associated Press) The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking the voter registration lists of several states representing data on millions of Americans and other election information ahead of the 2026 midterms, raising fears about how the Trump administration plans to use the information. The DOJ is also demanding Colorado turn over all records related to the 2024 election, a massive trove of documents that could include ballots and even voting equipment. The Colorado inquiry, the most sweeping publicly known request, underscores the extent of the administrations attention on state election activities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least nine states have received requests for information over the past three months, according to letters from the DOJ obtained by Stateline. Some states also received emails from a DOJ official last week asking for meetings to discuss information-sharing agreements. The departments focus on elections comes after President Donald Trump directed U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi in March to seek information about suspected election crimes from state election officials and empowered her to potentially withhold grants and other funds from uncooperative states. For years, Trump has advanced false claims about elections, including the idea that the 2020 election that he lost was stolen. Now back in power, his administration is taking a new level of interest in how states and even local authorities administer elections. Colorado-Letter-SoS-Griswold Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Last week, a political operative approached several Republican county clerks in Colorado to enlist them in election integrity efforts in light of Trumps sweeping March executive order overhauling elections administration. One clerk told Stateline the operative claimed to represent the White House. Whatever the Trump administration tries to pull is very unlikely to be successful, Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in an interview, calling Colorado elections very secure. With that said, do I think they are trying to undermine our elections at large in this country? Absolutely. DOJ has sent letters to Alaska, Arizona, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, in addition to the request to Colorado. The letters have typically asked election officials to describe how they register voters and work to identify duplicate registrations and individuals not eligible to vote, such as people with felony convictions and those who have died. The Washington Post earlier Wednesday reported on the letters; Votebeat and NPR previously reported on some of the letters as well. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most letters also ask about each states process for flagging noncitizen applicants. Noncitizen voting is against federal law and incredibly rare, but Trump and his allies have promoted false claims about its prevalence. The Trump administration is also conducting a general crackdown on illegal immigration. The letters call on election officials to turn over voter registration lists, which in some instances contain data on millions of residents in their states. This request has raised the most concerns, with some experts saying its unclear exactly why the DOJ wants the information. They dont make much sense as law enforcement investigations. That makes me think that theres some other purpose, said Justin Levitt, who served as senior policy adviser for democracy and voting rights in the Biden White House and is now a law professor at Loyola Marymount University. While many states make their voter registration lists available to the public, Levitt emphasized the data could still be largely off-limits to the federal government. Federal privacy law sometimes restricts how the government can use data thats publicly obtainable. The DOJ may need voter information in some individual circumstances, but thats not blanket permission to go vacuuming up data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOJ didnt respond to questions for this story. Federal laws restrict the federal governments ability to centralize information on Americans, said David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. Even if states provide voter registration information to the public, they often redact sensitive information. In Orange County, California, the DOJ sued local election officials in June, seeking unredacted voter registration information, such as Social Security numbers and drivers licenses, as part of an investigation into noncitizen voting. More than 350 election officials from some 33 states participated in a conference call about federal actions on Monday hosted by Becker, who was previously an attorney in the DOJ Voting Rights Section during the administrations of Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush. He said the interest in the call shows the level of uncertainty and anxiety over the current federal imposition on election administrators. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including drivers license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect, Becker said. Sweeping Colorado requests In Colorado, the amount of data the DOJ wants is enormous. On May 12, Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant U.S. attorney general in the DOJs Civil Rights Division, sent a letter to Griswold, the secretary of state, asking for access to all records related to the 2024 election. Federal law requires state election officials to preserve records related to elections for 22 months. Typically, the rule ensures records are preserved in case any lawsuits are filed over an election. In the letter, Dhillon referred to a complaint against Griswolds office alleging noncompliance with records retention laws, but provided no details. The DOJ seems dead set on acquiring personal information on voters, including drivers license numbers, Social Security numbers and dates of birth records that are highly protected under federal law and under state law and which state election officials are sworn to protect. David Becker, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research Experts on election administration who spoke to Stateline expressed shock at the scope of the demand to Colorado. The request encompasses a vast trove of material, potentially including ballots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The amount of records being requested from a place like Colorado its really, really significant in terms of the volume of materials that are required to be retained, said Neal Ubriani, a former voting rights litigator at the DOJ during the Obama and first Trump administrations and the current policy and research director at the nonpartisan Institute for Responsive Government. Colorado elections have previously drawn Trumps attention. Former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, a staunch Trump supporter, is serving a nine-year prison sentence after a conviction in state court for allowing unauthorized access to voting equipment in 2021. On May 5 of this year a week before the Dhillon letter to Griswold Trump posted on social media that Peters should be released, calling her a political prisoner. Griswold noted the timing. I think the bigger picture is Donald Trump is continuing to try and rewrite the 2020 election and destabilize the 26 and 28 elections, Griswold told Stateline. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Colorado Secretary of States Office responded to the DOJ by providing copies of the states master voter file and voter history file. All of the information provided is also available to the public. Some Colorado Republican county clerks in recent days have also been approached by Jeff Small, a political operative who worked at the U.S. Department of the Interior during the first Trump administration. Stateline and Colorado Newsline spoke to three GOP clerks who said they had spoken to Small last week. Steve Schleiker, clerk of El Paso County, which includes Colorado Springs and is the most populous county in the state, said that on July 9 he received a text and call from Small, who introduced himself in a voicemail as someone who works for the White House. Schleiker said that when he called back, Small said he wanted to build relationships with clerks because the Trump administration was unhappy with progress on the presidents elections executive order. He later connected Schleiker with a Homeland Security official who wanted to test the security of El Paso Countys election systems, said Schleiker, who added that he opposed the request. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes said she also heard from Small, but that Small told her he wasnt under contract or being paid for the calls. Small indicated he was making the calls on behalf of former colleagues, Koppes said. Small, a former Capitol Hill chief of staff who now works for a Colorado-based government affairs firm, didnt return a call to his office on Wednesday. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the agency works with local partners to ensure elections remain safe. We dont disclose every single conversation we have with them, an unidentified DHS spokesperson wrote in an email. Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said he was aware of 10 clerks approached by Small. He noted that every clerk approached by Small hails from a county that uses Denver-based Dominion Voting Systems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While Dominion is widely used in Colorado, its also been the subject of election conspiracy theories. A former candidate for county sheriff in southwest Colorado was arrested in June, accused of firebombing a clerks office. Colorado Public Radio reported the suspect, according to law enforcement, had spoken publicly about trying to get rid of the countys Dominion machines. I think the really important thing to say here is that it was Republican clerks who stood up to a Republican administration and said, No, were going to follow the law, Crane said. The intent of the efforts by Small and the federal government has been muddied up it seems, Montrose County Clerk Tressa Guynes said. Based on her conversations with other clerks, she said, it appeared Small represented one thing to other clerks and then represented maybe a watered-down version by the time it got to me. Guynes said Small wanted to discuss Trumps elections executive order. She said Small asked whether she would be willing to support a federal task forces efforts in an advisory role. I said absolutely I will advise, Guynes said. I said Im frankly glad that theyre finally reaching out to the boots on the ground, the people who actually conduct the elections, instead of listening to those who have never conducted a Colorado election. Letters to other states As Colorado grapples with the most far-reaching request, other states are choosing how to respond. In Wisconsin, the state election commission responded to a DOJ request for the voter registration list with instructions on how to request public voter data. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, responded on June 2 after DOJ in a May 20 letter told the state to ensure voter registration applicants provided a drivers license number, if they have one, instead of a partial Social Security number. The DOJ also wanted Arizona to check voters against a state database to look for noncitizens. Fontes replied that Arizona complies with federal law and conducts checks using a state motor vehicle division database. We are focused on dealing with DOJ in a good faith manner while ensuring we are following the letter of federal and state laws, Fontes spokesperson JP Martin wrote in an email to Stateline. More recently, Arizona received a letter July 10 from DOJ about implementation of Trumps elections executive order. Rhode Island Democratic Secretary of State Gregg Amore also received an email about the order the same day, according to a copy provided to the Rhode Island Current. Amore is reviewing the request and has not yet responded, Faith Chybowski, his spokesperson, said Wednesday afternoon. Email 7.10.25 (1) In the email, Scott Laragy, principal deputy director in the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, asks for a call to discuss a possible information-sharing agreement to provide DOJ with information on individuals who have registered to vote or have voted despite being ineligible, or those who have committed other forms of election fraud. The email echoes the language in Trumps elections executive order, which calls for DOJ to reach information-sharing agreements with states. While much of the order, which focused on proof of citizenship in elections, has been struck down in federal court, provisions related to information sharing remain. The executive order directs Bondi, the U.S. attorney general, to prioritize enforcement of federal election integrity laws in uncooperative states. It also requires her to review grants and other DOJ funds that could be withheld from states that resist. Some states have already struck deals with the Trump administration. Indiana Republican Secretary of State Diego Morales announced an agreement last week with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services allowing the state to access a database to verify the citizenship of registered voters. Alabama Republican Secretary of State Wes Allen has signed a similar agreement. With your cooperation, we plan to use this information to enforce Federal election laws and protect the integrity of Federal elections, Laragy wrote to Rhode Island. Janine L. Weisman of the Rhode Island Current and Lindsey Toomer of Colorado Newsline contributed to this report. Stateline reporter Jonathan Shorman can be reached at jshorman@stateline.org. Stateline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Stateline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Scott S. Greenberger for questions: info@stateline.org. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX By Jason Lange WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Most Americans think President Donald Trump's administration is hiding information about accused sex-trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and give it poor marks on the issue after pledging to make public documents in the case, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. The two-day poll, which closed Wednesday, showed 69% of respondents thought the federal government was hiding details about Epstein's clients, compared to 6% who disagreed and about one in four who said they weren't sure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Epstein, a wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, was facing federal charges of sex-trafficking minors when he died by suicide in jail in 2019. He had pleaded not guilty, and the case was dismissed after his death. The case has captivated swaths of Trump's political base who were expecting lurid details after some of Trump's top law enforcement officials said they would be releasing documents that would lead to major revelations about Epstein and his alleged clientele. The Trump administration last week reversed course on its pledge, enraging some of the president's followers. Close to two-thirds of Republicans think the administration is hiding details on Epstein's business, the Reuters/Ipsos poll found. Just 17% of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the case, a weaker rating than the president received on any other issue in the poll. Among Republicans, 35% approved, compared to 29% who disapproved and the rest who said they weren't sure or didn't answer the question. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Reuters reported on Wednesday that Trump and White House officials were weighing a range of options including unsealing new documents, appointing a special prosecutor and drafting executive actions on issues such as pedophilia. Trump, however, has been defiant, describing supporters hung up on the issue as "weaklings" who were helping Democrats. "I dont want their support anymore!" Trump said in a social media post. The beliefs following Epstein's death were part of a range of conspiracies that have taken hold in U.S. politics, including "QAnon," a far-right fringe belief that a cabal of cannibalistic child molesters inside the U.S. government have conspired against Trump. Behind the scenes Trump and senior aides have also reached out to key MAGA-aligned influencers, urging them to dial down their criticism of the administration's handling of the Epstein investigation and shift focus to broader priorities for the America First movement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The backlash over the Epstein case has laid bare tensions inside Trump's coalition and is testing one of Trump's most enduring political strengths: His ability to command loyalty and control the narrative across the right. The outcry comes amid discontent among parts of Trump's base over the U.S. strikes on Iran, continued involvement in Ukraine and any hint of backsliding on the administration's hardline immigration promises. Trump knew Epstein socially in the 1990s and early 2000s. During the 2021 trial of Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell, the financier's longtime pilot, Lawrence Visoski, testified that Trump flew on Epstein's private plane multiple times. Trump has denied ever being on the plane and has not been accused of any wrongdoing. The Reuters/Ipsos poll, which was conducted online, surveyed 1,027 U.S. adults nationwide and had a margin of error of about 3 percentage points. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Scott Malone and Deepa Babington) WASHINGTON Seventeen immigration court judges have been fired in recent days, according to the union that represents them, as the Trump administration pushes forward with its mass deportations of immigrants in the country. The International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, which represents immigration court judges as well as other professionals, said in a news release that 15 judges were fired without cause on Friday and another two on Monday. The union said they were working in courts in 10 different states across the country California, Illinois, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, Ohio, Texas, Utah and Virginia. Its outrageous and against the public interest that at the same time Congress has authorized 800 immigration judges, we are firing large numbers of immigration judges without cause, said the unions President Matt Biggs. This is nonsensical. The answer is to stop firing and start hiring. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The firings come as the courts have been increasingly at the center of the Trump administrations hardline immigration enforcement efforts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers arresting immigrants as they appear at court for proceedings. It was immediately unclear which immigration judges in Massachusetts were affected. The Executive Office for Immigration Review declined to comment. Cristina Dacchille Freeman, an immigration attorney with the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy Coalition, said immigration attorneys might learn the names of the departing judges when their cases are reassigned, or when their name disappears from a list of links to video-based virtual hearing rooms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Theres no real transparency in the process, Dacchille Freeman said. The dismissal of an immigration judges is overburdening a system that is already strained, Dacchille Freeman said. An immigration judge has thousands of cases pending before them, and when one departs, their cases are distributed among the other judges. It adds uncertainty to the process because immigrants waiting years for a hearing, then face further delays, and it becomes a challenge to find representation, Dacchille Freeman said. The large-scale arrests began in May and have unleashed fear among asylum-seekers and immigrants appearing in court. In what has become a familiar scene, a judge will grant a government lawyers request to dismiss deportation proceedings against an immigrant. Meanwhile, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers are waiting in the hallway to arrest the person and put them on a fast track to deportation as soon as he or she leaves the courtroom. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Immigration court judges are also dealing with a massive backlog of roughly 3.5 million cases that ballooned in recent years. Cases can take years to weave their way to a final determination, with judges and lawyers frequently scheduling final hearings on the merits of a case over a year out. Unlike criminal courts, the government isnt required to provide lawyers to everyone going through immigration courts; immigrants can hire their own lawyer but if they cant afford one they represent themselves often using an interpreter to make their case. Democratic U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois alleged that one of the judges fired was essentially being punished for talking to him during a visit the senator made a few weeks ago to the Chicago Immigration Court. In a news release Tuesday, Durbin said the judge took time to show me the court and explain its functions. He said after the visit, the judge received an email from the Justice Department telling her that all communications with congressional offices should be routed through headquarters and that immigration judges shouldnt be talking directly with members of Congress. Her abrupt termination is an abuse of power by the Administration to punish a non-political judge simply for doing her job, said Durbin, whos the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Under recently passed legislation that will use $170 billion to supercharge immigration enforcement, the courts are set to get an infusion of $3.3 billion. That will go toward raising the number of judges to 800 and hiring more staff to support them. But the union said that since the Trump administration took office over 103 judges have either been fired or voluntarily left after taking what was dubbed the Fork in the Road offers at the beginning of the administration. The union said that rather than speeding up the immigration court process, the Justice Departments firings would actually make the backlogs worse. The union said that it can take as long as a year to recruit, hire and train new immigration court judges. There are currently about 600 judges, according to the union figures. Immigration courts fall under the Justice Department. Reporter Dan Jackson from The Republican contributed to this story. Read the original article on MassLive. The Trump administration has fired a veteran prosecutor who worked on cases involving Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and rapper Sean Diddy Combs. Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey, whom Donald Trump fired in 2017, received a letter citing the powers of the president as justification for her dismissal, according to the New York Times. The specific reason for her firing was not disclosed, but she is the latest in a string of justice department lawyers removed after working on politically sensitive investigations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Her sacking came as the White House sought to contain controversy over sealed documents relating to Epsteins conviction and death. The disgraced financier was arrested for sex trafficking and died by suicide in jail in 2019 before standing trial. Mr Trumps supporters have repeatedly demanded the release of all files connected to Epstein. Earlier this month, however, a joint review by the FBI and Justice Department concluded there was no incriminating client list and no evidence Epstein died by anything other than suicide. This contradicted a claim by attorney general Pam Bondi, who had previously told reporters that such a list was sitting on my desk. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mr Trump has since played down Ms Bondis remarks, calling the case a Democrat hoax and insisting the attorney general should only release files she deems credible. Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump at the Mar-a-Lago estate in 1997. Mr Trumps supporters have repeatedly demanded the release of sealed documents about the Epstein case - Davidoff Studios Photography On Wednesday, the president lashed out at his base for pushing the issue, calling them weaklings and saying he did not want their support. Despite Mr Trumps warnings, Laura Loomer, a Right-wing firebrand, warned this is not going to go away, in an interview with Politico. Theo Von, a Right-wing podcast host, on Wednesday re-posted a clip of JD Vance saying in October we need to release the Epstein list, adding the caption: What changed? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mike Pence, the former vice-president, also weighed in, telling CBS News that the time has come for transparency over the files. Trump makes string of announcements Over the past 24 hours, Mr Trump has flooded the zone with a string of announcements in a bid to shift the focus away from the controversy. These include the announcement that Coca-Cola will begin using cane sugar instead of corn syrup. Elsewhere, e-cigarette company Juul was granted permission to continue selling flavoured vapes in the US and $4bn in federal funding for a California high-speed rail project was revoked. Some within Maga circles, including Ms Loomer and Steve Bannon, have urged Mr Trump to appoint a special counsel to investigate the intel the US government holds on Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, Mr Trump declined to say whether he would do so, and strategists have warned that the approach could backfire on the president, who has been highly critical of special counsels in the past. Democrats have seized on the chaos, with Ro Khanna joining forces with Republican Thomas Massie to introduce a bill to force a House vote on the full release of the files that he claims has the backing of seven disgruntled GOP members. People voted for Trump in part because they were so disgusted in the system they thought that Washington protected the elite, protects the powerful, protects the wealthy. Epstein is a symbol of that, Mr Khanna told Politico. Maurene Comey points at Ghislaine Maxwell in court in 2021 - JANE ROSENBERG/REUTERS It was reported by Politico on Tuesday that Ms Comey had argued against the disclosure of investigative records on Epstein and Maxwell, though it is unclear whether that led to her dismissal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ms Comeys removal also follows the partial collapse of her prosecution against Combs, who was acquitted of racketeering and sex trafficking charges but convicted on lesser counts in a New York court earlier this month. Sources told ABC News that Mr Trump had complained about Ms Comeys presence in his administration, given her fathers role in the investigation into alleged Russian attempts to influence the 2016 election. Earlier this month, it was revealed that the Justice Department had launched an investigation into Mr Comey himself over his testimony to Congress about election interference. The department has been targeting other officials since Mr Trump returned to the White House in January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement At least 20 staff were fired last week after they took part in special counsel Jack Smiths investigation into Mr Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election and alleged mishandling of classified documents. Trump has been transparent Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, issued a spirited defence of the president while lashing out at the media and Democrats in a briefing on Thursday. The Democrats had control of this building, the White House, for four years, and they didnt do a dang thing when it came to transparency in regards to Jeffrey Epstein and his heinous crimes, she said. Attorney general Pam Bondi, the FBIs director Kash Patel and his deputy Dan Bongino, who have borne the brunt of criticism over the Epstein files, are great patriots and some of the Republicans most trusted voices, she added. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president has been transparent, Ms Leavitt said. He has followed through on his promises to the American people, but he doesnt like to see Democrats and the mainstream media covering this like its the biggest story that the American people care about. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more. UPDATE: Just over a day after the top prosecutor in the Sean Diddy Combs and Jeffrey Epstein cases was unceremoniously fired by Donald Trumps Justice Department, Maurene Comey had a warning for America. If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain, the now former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York said in a statement about the despotic shift occurring under the ex-Celebrity Apprentice hosts latest White House regime. Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. More from Deadline Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While never mentioning POTUS by name, the daughter of longtime Trump foil and former FBI Director James Comey made it very clear what her verdict was on her pink slipping justice in America is in big trouble. Read Comeys full statement of July 17 here: Yesterday was unexpectedly my last day in the Office. I was summarily fired via memo from Main Justice that did not give a reason for my termination. Every person lucky enough to work in this office constantly hears four words to describe our ethos: Without Fear or Favor. Do the right thing, the right way, for the right reasons without fear of retribution and without favor to the powerful. For the majority of my nearly ten years in SDNY, fear was never really conceivable. We dont fear bad press; we have the luxury of exceptional security keeping us physically safe; and, so long as we did our work with integrity, we would get to keep serving the public in this office. Our focus was really on acting without favor. That is, making sure people with access, money, and power were not treated differently than anyone else; and making sure this office remained separate from politics and focused only on the facts and the law. But we have entered a new phase where without fear may be the challenge. If a career prosecutor can be fired without reason, fear may seep into the decisions of those who remain. Do not let that happen. Fear is the tool of a tyrant, wielded to suppress independent thought. Instead of fear, let this moment fuel the fire that already burns at the heart of this place. A fire of righteous indignation at abuses of power. Of commitment to seek justice for victims. Of dedication to truth above all else. It has been an honor to fight for those principles by your side. Maurene With the Comey firing not providing the distraction to the Epstein files uproar among Trumps MAGA base that he likely hoped for, POTUS has found himself in an even brighter spotlight with a damning WSJ story on the sordid closeness he had with the billionaire sex offender back in the 1980s and 1990s. At this point, ordering AG Pam Bondi to release grand jury testimony, Trump has now threatened to sue his media patron Rupert Murdoch over the WSJ frontpage article. Trump claims the lewd drawing and message the WSJ reported he allegedly sent Epstein for his 50th birthday is fake. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PREVIOUSLY, JULY 16 PM: Its always personal with Donald Trump. Eight years ago, Trump fired James Comey, and on Wednesday he fired the ex-FBI directors daughter. In a move that seemed a long time coming due to POTUS relentless dislike of Maurene Comeys father over allegations that the Republican was a puppet of Russia president Vladimir Putin, the former Celebrity Apprentice hosts Department of Justice pink-slipped the top tier prosecutor today. A longtime Assistant U.S. Attorney at the Southern District of New York office (that her father used to head), Comey was most recently the lead lawyer in the governments not-so-successful sex-trafficking and racketeering case against Sean Diddy Combs. Well regarded by colleagues and most defense attorneys, Comey also worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and his currently incarcerated right-hand lady Ghislaine Maxwell. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While the SDNY declined comment on Comeys firing after a decade in the powerful office, three individuals with knowledge of events confirmed the axing to Deadline. In a manner that has become commonplace for career prosecutors who worked on cases against Trump or his pals over the years, Comey was fired via a DOJ letter, Im told. Offering no reason for her termination, that correspondence looks to have been delivered via email. Comeys exit comes as significant voices in Trumps MAGA base are in the closest thing to open revolt over the administration and the president himself now saying there is no there there when it comes to Epstein after years of promising to release files on the well-connected pedophile billionaire. Epstein died in prison in 2019 by what was termed a suicide under admittedly suspicious circumstances. Under pressure from his followers, and even rejecting his PAST supporters, a deflecting Trump on Tuesday said these files were made up by Comey, they were made up by Obama, they were made up by the Biden administration. Trump was a constant companion to Epstein over the decades before the law finally caught up with the financier, and made no secret about what was front and center. Ive known Jeff for 15 years, Trump said in a 2002 interview. Terrific guy. Hes a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it Jeffrey enjoys his social life. On the campaign trail, Trump promised to make public the information the DOJ had on Epstein and the potential marquee names with which he had done sordid business. Earlier this year, once Trump was back in the White House, Attorney General Pam Bondi said she had the list and the Epstein file on her desk. Even though it was revealed to not really contain anything new, the AG even invited friendly influencers and media to receive a much pumped-up binder on Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement When the relationship between Trump and Elon Musk went sour, the worlds richest man took to his X social media platform June 5 to drop the really big bomb and declare that Trump is in the Epstein files. Musk added in the now delated post, That is the real reason they have not been made public. So, the DOJs the sudden downplaying of any so-called client list or more in a recent memo now asserting Epstein did die by his own hand behind bars, and the release of a clearly edited security video poured gasoline onto a smoldering fire that has turned into a MAGA blaze, may have burned Maurene Comey. Her firing, which many had expected any day once her presence on the Combs team became widely known and as her father again found himself in Trumps glare this spring, will surely complicate the Combs case now that the defendant is awaiting sentencing on two lesser charges of transportation to engage in prostitution that he was found guilty of on July 2. Having escaped the possible life imprisonment that he was looking at if found guilty by the jury in the six-week trial on the larger sex-trafficking and RICO charges, the Bad Boy Records founder is presently set to be sentenced October 3. Whether or not an appeal is launched and assuming Trump doesnt decide to issue a much lobbied-for pardon, with time served since his September 2024 arrest, Combs could be out of jail within two years under sentencing guidelines. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Either way, Maurene Comey wont be sitting at the prosecution desk of what is likely going to prove to have been her last case for the government. Best of Deadline Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Donald Trumps former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci revealed that hes only witnessed the president apologize once in the past 20 years and it was after a particularly embarrassing moment. Scaramucci, who in 2017 served just 11 days in the Trump administration, made the revelation during a live taping of The Rest is Politics U.S. at Londons O2 Arena on Wednesday. After rifling through the presidents perceived hits and misses, an audience member asked The Mooch and his co-host, MSNBC contributor Katty Kay, the most embarrassing thing they have seen the president do. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The most embarrassing thing I saw him do, which was one of the things he did not want to do, is apologize to Melania, the former financier said. The incident, which took place in October 2016, just months before Scaramucci joined Trumps transition team, was the only time in 20 years of knowing him that he could recall the president ever apologizing. Anthony Scaramucci made the claim during a live show of his podcast, The Rest is Politics US (Goalhanger/The Rest is Politics US) Anthony Scaramucci made the claim during a live show of his podcast, The Rest is Politics US (Goalhanger/The Rest is Politics US) I can tell you the exact day he did it. He did it at 11.50 p.m., and he did it on October 7, 2016, he continued. And why is that? At 4 p.m. that day, they released the Access Hollywood tape where he was on the bus with Billy Bush, saying things that were wholly inappropriate. They were all panicked and Trump was embarrassed by it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The interview tape featured Trump bragging in vulgar terms to Bush about his ability to grope and have sex with women when he pleases. It was leaked just one month before the 2016 presidential election, which saw him defeat Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton at the ballot box. I made a move on her, and I failed. Ill admit it. I did try and f*** her I moved on her like a b****. She was married, Trump could be heard saying in the 2005 conversation, which was caught on a hot microphone. You know Im automatically attracted to beautiful... I just start kissing them. Its like a magnet. Just kiss. I dont even wait, he continued. And when youre a star, they let you do it. You can do anything. Grab em by the p***y. You can do anything. Trump (right) went on to win the 2016 presidential election, while Billy Bush was fired from NBC (Getty Images) Trump (right) went on to win the 2016 presidential election, while Billy Bush was fired from NBC (Getty Images) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The leaked recording prompted an immediate frenzy, and a day later, his wife Melania Trump told Fox News that he apologized to me for his offensive and inappropriate remarks. Scaramucci noted another time when the president apologized. He apologized to Melania Trump, and he was very embarrassed while he was doing it, he said. And he apologized to the original Pocahontas for calling Elizabeth Warren Pocahontas, he continued, citing Trumps nickname for the Democratic senator that some critics say amounts to a racial slur. He felt that was unfair to the original. Scaramucci said hes seen the president apologize just once, properly, in two decades (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Scaramucci said hes seen the president apologize just once, properly, in two decades (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president has been both celebrated and ridiculed for his political mantra: "Dont apologize for anything, ever." While on the campaign trail in 2015, Trump told late-night show host Jimmy Fallon, Apologizing is a great thing, but you have to be wrong. A decade later, he regularly touts his omniscience in speeches and on social media and even hawks TRUMP WAS RIGHT ABOUT EVERYTHING! merchandise in his store. Former Vice President Mike Pence has joined the sea of Republicans calling on the Trump administration to release the Epstein files. President Donald Trumps MAGA followers erupted after the Department of Justice released a memo stating there was no evidence to support a client list of associates whom some claim Epstein blackmailed over their alleged involvement in his trafficking scheme. Prominent Congressional Republicans and now Trumps former vice president have joined the calls for increased transparency related to the disgraced financier. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I think the time has come for the administration to release all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein's investigation and prosecution," Pence told CBS News on Wednesday. "It's important that we protect the names of the victims. They should be excluded from any disclosure." I think that anyone who participated or was associated with this despicable man ought to be held up to public scrutiny, he continued. "I just think we ought to get the facts to the American people, and I've always believed in transparency. Trumps former Vice President Mike Pence calls for the release of all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein's investigation and prosecution (Getty) Trumps former Vice President Mike Pence calls for the release of all of the files regarding Jeffrey Epstein's investigation and prosecution (Getty) The president has repeatedly claimed that the Epstein files were a hoax that was made up by Democrats, including former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The disgraced financier died by suicide in prison in 2019, the FBI determined, while awaiting his sex trafficking trial. Two years later, his associate Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of crimes related to her role in a scheme to abuse minor girls with Epstein. It's a big hoax," Trump said Wednesday at the Oval Office. "It's started by Democrats. It's been run by the Democrats for four years." Pence countered claims that the files were politically charged. "Jeffrey Epstein's prosecution began during the Bush administration, continued through the Obama years," the former vice president said. "I know of no reason why this administration, once the victims' names are protected, should not release all the files on Jeffrey Epstein." Just hours earlier, Trump took to social media to attack his past supporters for buying into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker. He added: Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore! Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in prison while awaiting his sex trafficking trial, the FBI has determined (AP) Jeffrey Epstein died by suicide in prison while awaiting his sex trafficking trial, the FBI has determined (AP) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The former vice presidents remarks come after fellow Republicans have spoken out about the Epstein files. Im for transparency, House Speaker Mike Johnson told conservative commentator Benny Johnson. Its a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it. Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie vowed to force a House vote on releasing the COMPLETE files. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a fixture in Trumps circle, slammed: I think the Department of Justice and the FBI has more explaining to do this is Jeffrey Epstein. She told Real Americas Voice network: This is the most famous pedophile in modern-day history, and people are absolutely not going to accept just a memo that was written that says there is no client list. Trump has labeled Republicans pursuing the files stupid and foolish. Two senior Trump officials visited Alcatraz Thursday to announce plans to convert it back into a federal prison, which one Democrat called the presidents "stupidest initiative yet." Attorney General Pam Bondi, who has been mired in controversy since the contentious release of the Epstein Files last week, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum visited the island in San Francisco Bay. Sharing photos from a boat on the way to the island, as well as inside the prison, Burgum wrote on X, Spent the day on Alcatraz Island, a @NatlParkService site, to start the work to renovate and reopen the site to house the most dangerous criminals and illegals. This administration is restoring safety, justice, and order to our streets. @Interior & @TheJusticeDept are following a directive by @POTUS to help lead that mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Fox News from the facility, Burgum claimed, Alcatraz is the brand known around the world for being effective at housing people that are in incarceration. Its original use was a prison, and so part of this [visit] would be to test the feasibility of returning it back to its original use, he said. Meanwhile, Bondi tweeted, A great morning at Alcatraz with @SecretaryBurgum. Under President Trump, we are Making America Safe Again. The White House didnt confirm the duos visit before their online remarks, but a plane marked "United States of America" arrived in the Bay Area Wednesday night, accompanied by officials and a police-led motorcade. Doug Burgum and Pam Bondi shared this photo of themselves on their way to Alcatraz Island on Thursday. (X/@AGPamBondi) Doug Burgum and Pam Bondi shared this photo of themselves on their way to Alcatraz Island on Thursday. (X/@AGPamBondi) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Independent has contacted the White House for comment. Trump first proposed reopening Alcatraz as a prison in May, calling the island a sad symbol, but its a symbol of law and order. Bureau of Prisons officials subsequently visited the island at Trumps direction to evaluate the feasibility of reopening it as a high-security prison for violent offenders. Attorney General Pam Bondi (left) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (middle) visited Alcatraz on Thursday, with Bondi tweeting that it was a Attorney General Pam Bondi (left) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum (middle) visited Alcatraz on Thursday, with Bondi tweeting that it was a "great day" to do so. (X/@SecretaryBurgum) Golden Gate National Recreation Area superintendent David Smith said the bureau had conducted initial assessments and planned to return for further structural evaluations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alcatraz is safe for visitors and maintained by the National Park Service, but some buildings have deteriorated, and restoration could cost over $1 billion. Alcatraz became part of the Golden Gate National Parks in 1972 and opened to the public the following year. (Getty) Alcatraz became part of the Golden Gate National Parks in 1972 and opened to the public the following year. (Getty) Alcatraz, which once housed notorious inmates Al Capone, George "Machine Gun" Kelly, Robert Stroud (the "Birdman of Alcatraz"), and James "Whitey" Bulger, closed in 1963 due to high operating costs. It became part of the Golden Gate National Parks in 1972 and opened to the public the following year. Alcatraz generates around $60 million annually in tourism and has been featured in several films, including The Rock, Escape from Alcatraz, Birdman of Alcatraz, Murder in the First, Point Blank, and X-Men: The Last Stand. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The idea of transforming Alcatraz back into a prison has attracted heavy criticism from state and local leaders. California Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi called it Trumps "stupidest initiative yet." "It should concern us all that clearly the only intellectual resources the Administration has drawn upon for this foolish notion are decades-old fictional Hollywood movies, her office said in a statement. Attorney General Pam Bondi (pictured) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are set to visit Alcatraz on Thursday to announce plans to reopen it as a federal prison. (Getty) Attorney General Pam Bondi (pictured) and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are set to visit Alcatraz on Thursday to announce plans to reopen it as a federal prison. (Getty) San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie noted: Theres no realistic plan to make Alcatraz reopen as anything other than a wonderful attraction than it currently is. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California Governor Gavin Newsom's Press Office added: "Pam Bondi will reopen Alcatraz the same day Trump lets her release the Epstein files. So... never." In May, President Donald Trump called Alcatraz Island a sad symbol, but its a symbol of law and order. (Getty) In May, President Donald Trump called Alcatraz Island a sad symbol, but its a symbol of law and order. (Getty) Charlie Hopkins, one of the last living Alcatraz inmates, told ABC7 New York that he doubts Trump actually wants to reopen the prison and was instead trying to draw attention to the crime rate. When I was on Alcatraz, a rat couldnt survive, Hopkins, now in his 90s, said. Public land advocates in a new report flagged risks to America's park systems and state economies after efforts by President Donald Trump to raise entry fees and transfer control and responsibility of national parks to the states. The report's release came as firefighters worked to contain the destructive Dragon Bravo Fire on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park. On July 3, Trump issued an executive order directing the U.S. National Park Service to raise entry fees for foreign tourists and prioritize American citizens in permitting them access to campgrounds and other sites. At the same time, his administration has pulled funding and cut staff, including those who respond to wildfires on public lands, from parks already straining to manage increased visitation and infrastructure maintenance backlogs. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report revealed on July 16 by the research and communications organization Climate Power titled "The High Cost of a Park Giveaway: Trumps Plan to Offload National Parks," concluded that fee increases will lead to reduced visitation and less overall revenue, causing further declines in the protection of areas like the Grand Canyon and American and foreign tourists from safety hazards while visiting parks. 'Profound effects on local communities' Trump's "series of attacks on Americas public lands," from firing thousands of park workers to dismantling national monuments to proposing a transfer of national parks to state control, the report said, "would have profound effects on local communities by crippling state budgets and economies, destroying the workforce and infrastructure, and breaking longstanding commitments to the public." "There cannot be a more dangerous time to gamble with our state's treasures," said Lori Lodes, Climate Power's executive director, in a July 16 press call with Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM. "In 2024 alone, the National Park Service spent over $90 million on wildfire preparedness and mitigation. Now, states would be left to bear the cost." That cost to states could total nearly $23 billion in maintenance expenses, the report calculated. Since most states could not bear that additional burden, the likely result would be park closures, staff cuts and further degradation of facilities, Heinrich said. Forced fee increases have not been effective in alleviating similar deficits in the past, he noted. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "When national park units are transferred to the states, states have smaller budgets, so entrance fees will have to be higher," Heinrich said. When fees are higher, visitorship declines and fee revenue actually declines. As a result, park maintenance declines and poorly maintained parks can't handle as many visitors, and the cycle continues." Fire coverage from the South Rim: As the Grand Canyon's North Rim burns, South Rim visitors carry on In Arizona, decreased tourism to popular destinations like Grand Canyon National Park, which receives around 5 million visitors a year, and Saguaro National Park in Tucson, which was recently named a top U.S. travel destination, could end up costing the state around $2 billion in economic output, the analysis found. The $1.2 billion spent by 10.8 million visitors to Arizonas various national park sites in 2023 also supported 17,300 local jobs and $684 million in labor income, according to the report. If degraded services and NPS branding, along with higher state fees, result in reduced visitation, as Heinrich predicted, those employment numbers would likely suffer alongside small businesses and rural economies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's unclear what could happen to the access granted by national parks passes if control and entry fee collection were transferred to the states, Climate Power told The Arizona Republic. But Arizona would likely respond to inheriting a $1.5 billion maintenance backlog, including $567 million for park units outside Grand Canyon National Park, by raising entry fees at the state parks it already controls. Arizona State Parks and Trails already eliminated a cheaper $75 pass option to charge all passholders $200 in February 2025, stating a need to increase revenue to keep up with "staffing, maintenance, and general operational expenses," which are not supported by taxpayer funds, according to a news release. Making national park sites the responsibility of the state would only force another price hike, making public lands and recreation sites less accessible for the American people, Lodes said on the press call. "In Arizona (state parks), the cost for annual passes would likely double, from $200 to $400, just to be able to stay afloat," Lodes said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arizona would also need to employ around 930 more people to manage park maintenance if it became responsible for national park sites as well. That's just to match current staffing levels, the report found, which are already lower than before Trump slashed funding for many seasonal and research positions at parks earlier in 2025, including those focused on containing and preventing wildfires like the Dragon Bravo Fire, which burned the historic Grand Canyon Lodge and other structures. At the time of the report's release, the wildfire at the North Rim had reached a size of nearly 10,000 acres with 0% containment even as more than 500 workers fought its advance, according to federal tracker InciWeb. "Reallocating national park units to state control will not help our states or our parks," Heinrich said. "It will hurt them, and it will restrict your access, devastate local economies, threaten your family safety and kill public service jobs." (This story was updated to add a gallery and video.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joan Meiners is the climate news and storytelling reporter at The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. Her award-winning work has also appeared in Discover Magazine, National Geographic, ProPublica and the Washington Post Magazine. Before becoming a journalist, she completed a doctorate in ecology with a focus on native bees. Follow Joan on Twitter at @beecycles, on Bluesky @joanmeiners.bsky.social or email her at joan.meiners@arizonarepublic.com. This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Trump plan for AZ to run Grand Canyon raises concern during wildfire The Trump administration is attempting to square up Donald Trumps stray attacks on his Epstein-concerned supporters, arguing that the president doesnt deserve criticism after he insulted his supporters for expecting updates on the Jeffrey Epstein case. At a White House press briefing Thursday, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted that the Epstein hoax that Trump keeps referring to is strictly the idea that Democrats ever wanted transparency when it comes to Jeffrey Epstein, deriding it as an asinine suggestion that Democrats sought answers about the prolific child sex trafficker. But if Trump and his party want transparency, they have a funny way of showing it. On Tuesday, Republicans unquestioningly fell in line to support their leaders narrative that theres nothing to see here, blocking a Democratic-led effort to release the Epstein files. The final vote was 211 to 210just one dissenting Republican would have tipped the scales. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president has been transparent, he has followed through on his promises to the American people, but he doesnt like to see Democrats and the mainstream media covering this like its the biggest story that the American people care about, Leavitt told reporters, referring to Trumps alleged connections to a man that orchestrated an international network to abduct children to his island in the Caribbean for the sexual gratification of his upper-class clients. Instead of focusing on the despicable alleged ties, Leavitt told the room full of reporters that she wanted them to take pity on Trump. The president has been working so hard this week, she said. The botched rollout of the Epstein files has continued to plague the Trump administration. A Morning Consult poll conducted earlier this month found that Trumps popularity had tanked by six points since the Justice Department contradicted Attorney General Pam Bondi on the existence of Epsteins so-called client list. A YouGov/Economist poll conducted earlier this week found that the majority of Americans67 percent, including 59 percent of self-identified Trump votersbelieved that the Trump administration is covering up evidence relating to the Epstein case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the wake of the scandal, Trump has repeatedly offended key portions of his base who believed his repeat campaign promises to make the details of Epsteins case public, referring to them as stupid and accusing naive Republicans of being duped by the Democrats. High-profile conservatives, including Elon Musk, have speculated that the administrations continued delay in releasing the Epstein case files is due to the fact that Trump himself might be implicated in the documents, a suggestion that was buttressed Wednesday by one of Trumps former employees, who claimed to have witnessed the socialite duo partying with young women in the late 1980s and referred to Epstein and Trump as pretty good buddies. Remember that up until Trump assumed his grip on the Republican Party, it wasnt uncommon for politicians and their dynasties to be unrooted by the mere suggestion of impropriety. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was caught in a blatant lie Thursday over Donald Trumps nonsensical threat to place 100 percent secondary tariffs on Russian exports, if Moscow failed to resolve its issues with Ukraine in 50 days. During a press briefing, Leavitt stumbled when asked to account for the presidents paltry plan to impose tariffs on Russia. Shed previously claimed that U.S. sanctions preclude any meaningful trade between the two countries, as a means of explaining why Russia was exempt from the presidents sweeping reciprocal tariffs. Why now? And why do you think that that would make them cave, and come to some sort of peace agreement as it relates to Ukraine? asked one reporter, pointing out that there was just $3 billion worth of trade between the U.S. and Russia in 2024. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Three billion dollars is still a lot of money, Leavitt replied. And its not just tariffs, its the secondary sanctions that will be implemented in 50 days. But that is the complete opposite of what Leavitt had argued just three months ago. Similarly, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had told Fox News that it wasnt necessary to place tariffs on Russia because, after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, trade between the U.S. and Russia had effectively dried up. But that excuse was always bad. While the nearly $3 billion worth of goods from Russia was smaller than other key U.S. trading partners, it was still more than the trade with several countries Trump levied tariffs against, including several uninhabited islands that each received a 10 percent tariff rate. In the weeks since Leavitt offered her limp excuses, Trumps impotence in facilitating peace talks between Russia and Ukraine has become increasingly clear, and his promises to end the fighting have disappeared beyond the horizon. The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. This is an edition of The Atlantic Daily, a newsletter that guides you through the biggest stories of the day, helps you discover new ideas, and recommends the best in culture. Sign up for it here. In his first term, President Donald Trump was assiduous in courting his base of committed supporters, often at the expense of voters who were persuadable. Those decisions helped lose him the 2020 election. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump isnt doing much more to reach out to the center in his second term, but he is more willing to snub his core backers. In recent weeks alone, he has flouted his longtime claims of being anti-war by joining an Israeli bombing campaign against Iran; dropped his demand that Ukraine make concessions and worked to supply it with weapons against Russia; endured an acrimonious breakup with his high-profile, deep-pocketed pal Elon Musk; and used his One Big Beautiful Bill Act to slash entitlements, which he had claimed hed never do. Each of these has brought grumbling from subsets of his coalition, but none has been so sustained as the backlash over the administrations reversal on releasing the so-called Epstein files. Now some of Trumps most ardent backers are angry at him for purportedly hiding information, and he, in turn, is lashing out at them. The Radical Left Democrats have hit pay dirt, again! he wrote in a lengthy Truth Social missive this morning. Their new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker. Thinking about why this schism has emerged, and whether it will last, is helpful for understanding Trumps political appeal and future. What exactly these files might contain is not clear. One theory is that they include a list of famous men for whom Epstein, the late financier and sex offender, procured underage girls for sex. (Epsteins 2019 death in a federal jail in New York City was ruled a suicide, but public doubts about its circumstances have persisted ever since.) Although Epstein had many famous friends, some of whom flew on his plane or visited his private island, no obvious evidence that such a client list exists has emerged. But interest in the files has been whetted largely by Trump and his allies. Before entering the government, FBI Director Kash Patel and his deputy, Dan Bongino, both spread dark rumors about cover-ups related to Epstein and demanded the release of the names of his associates. Trump said during the campaign that he would publish materials related to Epsteinthough in retrospect, his hesitation to fully commit during a June 2024 interview is conspicuous. In February, Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the Epstein client list was sitting on my desk right now to review. Now her Justice Department says it doesnt exist. Trump claims he cant believe anyone is still talking about the story. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There are a few reasons this story has managed to stick in Trumps side in a way others have not. The first is that, unlike many of the other conspiracy theories propounded by Trump and his allies, questions about Epsteins cause of death and what secrets the government might be keeping are acceptable in polite company. Like Lee Harvey Oswalds murder by Jack Ruby, the death of a man connected to so many powerful people just seems weird, even if it was actually suicide. In a recent Economist/YouGov poll, 79 percent of Americans support releasing all the Epstein documents. Two-thirds believe the government is covering up evidence about Epstein. A separate YouGov poll found that 39 percent of Americans believe Epstein was murdered, 40 percent arent sure, and only 20 percent believe he killed himself. And Democrats are eager to fan the flames, this week forcing House Republicans to take a vote on releasing the files. (The GOP majority voted it down.) Second, the administrations behavior indicates that officials are hiding something, though probably not a client list. Good reasons may exist not to release all of the materials: For example, they likely contain privileged grand-jury information. They may include witnesses who testified confidentially. Very clearly, information about underage victims of sex crimes is involved. But Trumps frenzied insistence that theres nothing to see suggests that there are secrets hed like to keep. The men were, by Trumps account, pals for a timeand he was well aware of Epsteins reputation. Ive known Jeff for fifteen years. Terrific guy, Trump told New York magazine in 2002. Hes a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. This relationship makes him a bad messenger for dismissing the story, but no other official has the credibility with MAGA voters that he does. Earlier this month, the FBI released full raw video from the jail where Epstein died, saying it showed that no one entered his area in the time around his death. But Wired reports that the video was neither raw nor full: It was edited to remove almost three minutes of footage, in the most interest-piquing splice since Watergates 18-and-a-half-minute gap. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Third, and perhaps most important, the questions about Epstein cut directly to the core of Trumps political appeal. Although many of his supporters (or should we say PAST supporters?) opposed military raids, like the Iran bombing, and support for Ukraine, their affection for him is not about policy. Its personal. His fundamental proposition to voters was: I will tell you what the other politicians refuse to tell you. Thats why backers hailed his authenticity and honesty, even though he was the most prolific liar to ever occupy the Oval Officeno small feat. Trump has spent a decade telling Americans that they cant trust the government. Hes said a deep state of unelected officials is plotting against them and hiding information. Hes told them they cant trust what theyve been told about vaccines, the John F. Kennedy assassination, or what they saw with their own eyes on January 6, 2021. Now Trump wants the nation to just trust a bunch of government officials without seeing evidence to back it up. (If it were true, as he claims, that the Epstein material is a hoax by government officials, youd think hed want to investigate that, as he has in far-less-credible instances.) His gambit might work. The power of polarization and affective partisanship is strong and tends to draw people back to their corners. Already, some of the MAGA media are moving on and falling in line. But even if the whole flap leaves only a small dent in Trumps armor, it reveals an irreconcilable conflict in his political identity. Running against power is a smart campaign trick, but once youre in office, you cant keep blaming others for things that the government does. The buck stops with you, whether you like it or not. Related: Here are three new stories from The Atlantic: Todays News President Donald Trump said that it is highly unlikely that he will fire Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, after indicating yesterday that he would. The Senate is poised to pass a package that would result in a combined $9 billion in funding cuts for international aid and public broadcasting. Israel launched air strikes on Damascus, Syria, and said it aimed to protect the Druze religious minority in the area, which has been clashing with the Syrian government. Dispatches Work in Progress: Households will pay an average of $2,400 more for goods this year, thanks to Trumps policies, Annie Lowrey writes. Start budgeting now. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Explore all of our newsletters here. Evening Read I Left My ChurchAnd Found Christianity By Monty Bennett For many Americans, gay marriage feels like a settled issue. For Southern Baptists and others who share their theology, the question of the legality of gay marriage is still open. In their view, political and theological opposition is the only possible Christian response to gay marriage, and continuing to challenge marriage equality is a moral duty. The Church they have shaped has no room for the alternative path that many gay Christians have found: not leaving our religion, but embracing our sexuality alongside our faith. I grew up in conservative, evangelical churches. For my undergraduate degree, I attended Union University, a Southern Baptist school in Jackson, Tennessee. I graduated in 2013, and in the years leading up to Obergefell I saw how the growing cultural acceptance of same-sex relationships was haunting Southern Baptist leaders. Read the full article. More From The Atlantic Culture Break Illustration by The Atlantic Shop around. Once a place of utility, the supermarket is now an object of obsession, Ellen Cushing writes. What does your favorite grocery store say about you? Get closer. Your friends make your life better, Adrienne Matei wrote in 2023. So why not turn them into your neighbors? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Play our daily crossword. Stephanie Bai contributed to this newsletter. When you buy a book using a link in this newsletter, we receive a commission. Thank you for supporting The Atlantic. Article originally published at The Atlantic President Donald Trump announced Wednesday his administration had eliminated federal funding for Californias high-speed rail project, making good on his promise to end government support for the project. Trump has for months threatened to pull Obama- and Biden-era grants amounting to about $4 billion for the planned rail line stretching through the Central Valley and ultimately connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco. This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated, and NEVER DELIVERED, Trump wrote on his social media platform Truth Social. Thanks to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, not a SINGLE penny in Federal Dollars will go towards this Newscum SCAM ever again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trumps announcement Wednesday came after the U.S. Transportation Department issued a scathing report last month slamming the ambitious development for missed deadlines, budget shortfalls, and overrepresentation of projected ridership. The report also found the rail project was unlikely to hit a 2033 completion target for its initial segment, a prerequisite for receiving the federal cash. Duffy cited the projects ballooning costs in a post on X announcing the cuts to federal grants, claiming it will cost $135 billion to complete, while Federal Railroad Administration acting Director Drew Feeley wrote in a Wednesday letter to state officials that the project failed to follow agreements for receiving grant funding. The project is now estimated to cost up to $128 billion, nearly four times its original $33 billion price tag. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said he would fight back and billed the move as a gift to China. Trump wants to hand China the future and abandon the Central Valley. We wont let him, Newsom said in a statement. With projects like the Texas high-speed rail failing to take off, we are miles ahead of others. Were now in the track-laying phase and building Americas only high-speed rail. California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action. Wont be taking advice from the guy who cant keep planes in the sky, he fired back separately on X in a response to Duffy. The revocation of the grants is likely to trigger a lengthy court fight and escalate the feud between Trump and Newsom, who has championed high-speed rail for the Golden State. Spokespeople for California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In the 2026 midterm elections battle for control of the House, when Republicans will be defending their razor-thin majority, it seems nothing's out of bounds. The GOP-controlled state legislature in Texas meets in special session next week, as top Republicans in the red state push to redraw the current congressional maps to reduce the number of districts controlled by already marginalized Democrats. It's part of a broader effort by the GOP across the country to keep control of the chamber, and cushion losses elsewhere in the country, as the party in power traditionally faces political headwinds and loses seats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And President Donald Trump is aiming to prevent what happened during his first term, when Democrats stormed back to grab the House majority in the 2018 midterms. Rnc Chair Says Big Beautiful Bill Key Part Of Midterm Messaging "Texas will be the biggest one," the president told reporters earlier this week, as he predicted the number of GOP-friendly seats that could be added through redistricting in the Lone Star State. "Just a simple redrawing, we pick up five seats." Read On The Fox News App Hours earlier, Trump held a call with Texas' Republican congressional delegation and sources confirmed to Fox News that the president told the lawmakers that he was aiming to redraw the maps to create five new winnable seats. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Big Beautiful Bill Immediately Hits Campaign Trail In Midterms Battle Democrats control just 12 of the state's 38 congressional districts, with a blue-leaning seat vacant after the death in March of Rep. Sylvester Turner. The idea is to relocate Democratic voters from competitive seats into nearby GOP-leaning districts, and move Republican voters into neighboring districts the Democrats currently control. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas called for a special session of his state's GOP-dominated legislature to draw new congressional maps. Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, both conservative Republicans and Trump allies, said they needed to redistrict because of constitutional concerns raised by the Justice Department over a handful of minority-dominated districts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the move is potentially risky. "There is some risk of making safe Republican seats more competitive, and I think that the incumbents are certainly worried about that," veteran Texas-based Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser told Fox News. "If you talk to Republican members of Congress, they're going to be worried about their own seats. They don't want to be in a seat that's more competitive." Steinhauser noted "that's the tradeoff for Republicans, if you want to grow the majority." But he added that "the people drawing the maps they don't want to make any seat too competitive because that will defeat the purpose." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Redistricting typically takes place at the start of each decade, based on the latest U.S. Census data. Mid-decade redistricting is uncommon but not without precedent. Democrats are slamming Trump and Texas Republicans for what they describe as a power grab, and vowing to take legal action to prevent any shift in the current congressional maps. The Texas state Capitol in Austin, Texas. The GOP-controlled state legislature meets in special session next week, as top Republicans push to redraw the congressional maps. "Democrats are going to push back aggressively because its the right thing to do," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters this week. Democrats in blue-dominated states are now considering similar tactics. "Two can play this game," California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media this week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Court Sidetracks Redistricting Fight In Key Battleground State The next day, after a meeting, Democrats in California's congressional delegation said they were on board with an ambitious plan to try and gain at least five seats through redistricting. Democrats currently control 43 of the Golden State's 52 congressional districts. But it won't be easy to enact the change, because in California, congressional maps are drawn by an independent commission that is not supposed to let partisanship influence their work. Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California is floating a move to redraw the congressional maps in his blue state, to blunt a push by President Donald Trump and Texas Republicans to redistrict up to five House Democrats out of power in Texas. Newsom this week suggested that the state's Democratic-controlled legislature move forward with a mid-decade redrawing of the maps, arguing that it might not be forbidden by the 17-year-old ballot initiative that created the independent commission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The governor also proposed quickly holding a special election to repeal the commission ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Both plans are considered long shots, as they would face plenty of legislative, legal and financial hurdles. Democrats are also hoping to alter congressional maps in battleground Wisconsin, but the new liberal majority on the state Supreme Court recently declined to hear the case. Democrats and their allies are now in the midst of a second legal push for redistricting in Wisconsin. Democrats have also filed redistricting litigation in Utah and Florida, which are both red states. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, Ohio is required by law to redistrict this year, and a redrawing of the maps in the red-leaning state could provide the GOP with up to three more congressional seats. Original article source: Trump pushes Texas Republicans to redraw congressional maps to help defend GOP's House majority President Donald Trump rejected a plan for further, more comprehensive U.S. military strikes intended to truly decimate Irans nuclear facilities, a new report states. The president reportedly halted the new wave of airstrikes after the release of an assessment that found two of the three sites targeted in last months cruise-missile and bunker-buster bombs attack sustained only minimal damage, according to five current and former officials cited by NBC News. It stated that one of the nuclear facilities struck by U.S. strikes last month was mostly destroyed, significantly delaying operations there, the sources briefed on the report said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, they added that two other sites may have been damaged to a point where nuclear enrichment could resume within the next several months. Donald Trump allegedly rejected further U.S. military strikes on Irans nuclear facilities (The White House) Donald Trump allegedly rejected further U.S. military strikes on Irans nuclear facilities (The White House) According to the sources, U.S. Central Command had also drafted a far more expansive all-in plan that included targeting three additional Iranian sites than those that took place in Operation Midnight Hammer between June 21 and 22. The six strikes would have unfolded over several weeks rather than in a single night, sources said. Those familiar with the plan said it was designed to inflict enough damage to truly decimate Irans nuclear program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Described as a protracted air campaign, sources said more of Irans air defense and ballistic missile capabilities would have been targeted. We were willing to go all the way in our options, but the president did not want to, one person with knowledge of the plan said. Some administration officials believed a deeper offensive option against Iran was a viable policy, two sources said. But Trump allegedly rejected the plan because it conflicted with his America First agenda, favored by high-profile conservative figures such as Tucker Carlson, which involves pulling the U.S. out of foreign wars and a potential for higher casualties on both sides, two sources said. Satellite imagery taken last month shows the Fordow site after the U.S. bombing raid (Maxar Technologies) Satellite imagery taken last month shows the Fordow site after the U.S. bombing raid (Maxar Technologies) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report was commissioned as part of the Trump administrations ongoing efforts to assess the status of Irans nuclear program, after the president claimed the U.S. military obliterated uranium enrichment sites Fordow and Natanz and the major research facility at Isfahan. Some U.S. lawmakers, Defense Department officials, and allied countries were briefed on the report in recent days, four of the sources said. The report appears at odds with the presidents claims, who just hours after a fleet of U.S. B-2 stealth bombers touched down in Missouri on June 22, returning from Iran, the president touted the Monumental Damage that was done to all Nuclear sites. An initial analysis conducted by the Israeli military concluded that the Fordow site sustained serious damage but was not fully destroyed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The recent assessment is a snapshot of the damage U.S. strikes inflicted amid an intelligence-gathering process that administration officials have said is expected to continue for months. Two officials said they may find that more damage may have been inflicted as the assessments may change over time. The Independent has contacted the White House and the Defense Department for more information. By David Shepardson WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday the Transportation Department is rescinding $4 billion in U.S. government funding for California's High-Speed Rail project. "This project was severely overpriced, overrregulated, and never delivered," Trump said in a social media post. "The railroad we were promised still does not exist and never will." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a separate statement from Trump's, the department said there was no viable path forward for the High-Speed Rail project and it was considering potentially clawing back additional funding related to the project, calling it "grossly over budget." California officials called the action illegal. This is the latest in a series of clashes between Trump and California, including over transgender athletes, electric vehicle rules, the use of National Guard troops in Los Angeles and even over egg prices. "California is putting all options on the table to fight this illegal action," California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a statement. The Federal Railroad Administration issued a 315-page report last month citing missed deadlines, budget shortfalls and questionable ridership projections. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Key issues cited include that California had not identified $7 billion in additional funding needed to build an initial 171-mile segment between Merced and Bakersfield and the project has not begun laying track. The California High-Speed Rail System is a planned two-phase 800-mile (1,287 km) system with speeds of up to 220 miles per hour that aims to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles and Anaheim, and in the second phase, extend north to Sacramento and south to San Diego. The entire San Francisco-to-Los Angeles project was initially supposed to be completed by 2020 for $33 billion, but has now jumped from $89 billion to $128 billion. "Canceling these grants without cause isnt just wrong its illegal," said California High-Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri. "These are legally binding agreements, and the Authority has met every obligation ... This is no time for Washington to walk away on America's transportation future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The authority added the project "is fast approaching the track-laying phase, with 171 miles under active construction and design, 15,500 jobs created, and more than 50 major structures completed." Newsom currently has a budget proposal before the legislature to extend at least $1 billion per year in funding for the next 20 years "providing the necessary resources to complete the projects initial operating segment." In a post on social media platform X, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said "Newsom and California's high-speed rail boondoggle are the definition of government incompetence and possibly corruption." Newsom responded to the post, "Won't be taking advice from the guy who can't keep planes in the sky." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Voters approved $10 billion for the project in 2008. The Transportation Department under former President Joe Biden awarded the project about $4 billion. In 2021, Biden restored a $929 million grant for California's high-speed rail that Trump had revoked in 2019 after the Republican president called the project a "disaster" and the state successfully sued. (Reporting by David Shepardson and Jasper Ward; Editing by Sandra Maler, Jacqueline Wong and Christian Schmollinger) The case of Jeffrey Epstein, closed long ago by investigators but nevertheless a constant source of fascination to conspiracy theorists, is the story that won't go away for President Trump, who this week continued to resist releasing documents in the case against bipartisan calls and increasing national interest. The case has dogged Trumps second term from the start, ever since the attorney general, Pam Bondi, alluded to the existence of a list of Epsteins clients sitting on her desk in February. Bondi later said she misspoke and that no such list exists. But the presidents MAGA base and Democrats alike are now calling for the entire Justice Department file of Epstein material to be released, an appeal so far rejected by Trump and his aides. Trumps defensiveness over the file has put Republicans on Capitol Hill in the difficult position of appearing to protect Epsteins co-conspirators, as Democrats take advantage of the internal Republican divide with calls for a vote to release the documents. A poll conducted by the Economist/YouGov this month found that 83% of Trumps 2024 supporters want the government to release all material related to the Epstein case "past supporters," as Trump referred to them Wednesday, calling them "weaklings" and "foolish" for pressing their interest in the case. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Epstein, a wealthy financier with a deep bench of powerful friends, died in a New York City prison in August 2019 facing federal charges over a child sex trafficking conspiracy. The charges followed reporting by the Miami Herald of a scandalous sweetheart deal brokered by federal prosecutors in Florida that had allowed Epstein to serve a months-long sentence and avoid federal charges that could have resulted in life imprisonment. Read more: Trump slams his own supporters as 'weaklings' for falling for what he now calls the Epstein 'hoax' One of those prosecutors, Alexander Acosta, later became Labor secretary in Trump's first administration. He resigned amid a public outcry, weeks before Epstein's death. The New York City medical examiner and the inspector general of the Justice Department have ruled Epsteins death a suicide. This month, the FBI released what it characterized as the full raw footage from a camera near what it says was Epsteins prison cell at the time of his death. But suspicions of conspiracy were only turbocharged by the release of the tape, which Wired first reported had three minutes cut from the original footage, according to metadata of the file. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Epsteins known association with some of the world's most famous men, including Bill Gates, Bill Clinton and Prince Andrew, have fueled calls for their release. But it is Trumps highly public relationship with Epstein that has caused the story to resurface. "Time to drop the really big bomb: @realDonaldTrump is in the Epstein files," Elon Musk, Trumps largest donor in the 2024 presidential campaign and his close aide in the White House at the beginning of his term, wrote on X during their fallout last month. "That is the real reason they have not been made public. Have a nice day, DJT! (He later deleted the post.) Photos of Trump and Epstein attending parties together have proliferated online. And Trump frequently acknowledged their friendship before entering politics. Ive known Jeff for 15 years. Terrific guy, Trump told New York magazine in 2002. Hes a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. No doubt about it Jeffrey enjoys his social life. On Wednesday, Trump said Bondi should release only material from the Epstein files that she thinks is credible. When asked whether he would support the appointment of a special counsel to examine the case, he replied, I have nothing to do with it. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Read more: Ghislaine Maxwell sentenced to 20 years in Jeffrey Epstein sex abuse case I would say these files were made up by [former FBI Director James] Comey and [former President] Obama, made up by the Biden [administration], and we went through years of that with the Russia, Russia, Russia hoax, he said. On Wednesday, Maurene Comey, James Comey's daughter and a federal prosecutor who had worked on the Epstein case, was dismissed from the Justice Department. Comey said Thursday that the department gave her no reason for her firing. In a briefing Thursday, White House Press secretary Karoline Leavitt reiterated the president's opposition to a special prosecutor. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The president would not recommend a special prosecutor in the Epstein case," she said. "Thats how he feels. Legitimate concerns have been raised over releasing documents from the case that could reference individuals who are not credibly suspected of wrongdoing. But those calling for the release of the entire file now say that the scale of Epstein's child sex trafficking ring, and the corruption around efforts to protect him over nearly two decades, are a matter of public interest. We want the entire file we dont trust Bondi to say whats credible and whats not, Rep. Jamie Raskin, a Democrat from Maryland and ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, told MSNBC on Thursday. "We can be the judge of that ourselves." The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that a personal note with Trump's signature was included in a leather-bound book to mark Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The letter contained typewritten text framed by the hand-drawn outline of what appeared to be a naked woman, the Journal reported. "A pair of small arcs denoted the women's breasts, and the future president's signature is a squiggly 'Donald' below her waist, mimicking public hair," the Journal reported. The letter concludes: Happy Birthday and may every day be another wonderful secret. In an interview with the Journal, Trump denied writing the letter or drawing the picture and threatened to sue the news outlet. On Capitol Hill, responding to Republican concerns over the optics of voting against the release, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is considering a measure that would call for the files to be made public. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The measure would be nonbinding, a source familiar with the matter said. 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. July 17 (UPI) -- The Trump administration has revoked billions in federal funding for California's high-speed rail project, amid a deepening row between the Republican president and the Democratic-led state. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced Wednesday that the Federal Railroad Administration terminated about $4 billion in unspent federal funding for the project that will connect San Francisco and Los Angeles by a high-speed rail system with plans to then extend to Sacramento and San Diego. California voters approved the plan in 2008. It was supposed to be completed four years ago at a cost of $33 billion, though the price tag has since climbed to between $89 billion and $128 billion. Passenger service is now expected to start between 2030 and 2033. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In revoking the funds, Duffy called the plan a "boondoggle." "This is California's fault," he said in a statement. "Gov. [Gavin] Newsom and the complicit Democrats have enabled this waste for years. Federal dollars are not a blank check -- they come with a promise to deliver results." Trump and Newsom have feuded for years. Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has used his executive powers to sue California over alleged Title IX violations on transgender athletes participating in women's sports. He also deployed thousands of California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests that erupted in response to immigration raids being conducted in the city. Newsom has responded by launching lawsuits challenging the Trump administration on a slew of executive actions, from the president's tariffs to withholding billions in funding for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump, in a separate statement Wednesday, said he was "thrilled" to announce the money had been revoked. "The Railroad we were promised still does not exist, and never will," he said on his Truth Social media platform. "This project was Severely Overpriced, Overregulated and NEVER DELIVERED." Duffy said it was revoking the funds after a review found that the project was in default of the terms of the two grants awarded. There were nine areas of noncompliance, including missed deadlines and budget shortfalls. Along with canceling the funds, Duffy said he has directed the Federal Railroad Authority to review other grants the project has been awarded. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's time for this boondoggle to die," he said. It's expected that California will challenge the move in court. "Canceling these grants without cause isn't just wrong -- it's illegal," California High Speed Rail Authority CEO Ian Choudri said in a statement. According to Choudri, the project has "met every obligation" for the grants, confirmed by repeated federal reviews, as recently as February. California officials say the project has entered its track-laying phase. More than 50 major railway structures, including bridges and overpasses, have already been completed over 60 miles of guideway. "This is no time for Washington to walk away on America's transportation future," Choudri said. President Donald Trump has had enough with MAGAs frustrations over the anticlimactic result of the highly anticipated release of Jeffrey Epsteins client list, according to a report. On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly promised to release FBI files related to Epstein, who died behind bars in 2019 while awaiting his sex trafficking trial. Trumps MAGA supporters erupted earlier this month, when his Department of Justice released a memo stating there was no evidence to support a so-called client list of those Epstein, according to some, blackmailed over their alleged involvement in his trafficking scheme. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The unsatisfying conclusion to the hyped-up saga has incited the wrath of right-wing influencers. Conservative commentator Candace Owens decried the scandal as a terminal cancer to the MAGA movement. Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson argued: The fact that the U.S. government, the one that I voted for, refused to take my question seriously and instead said, Case closed, shut up conspiracy theorist, was too much for me. They wont shut the f*** up about it, Trump privately fumed over his prominent supporters complaints, a source told Rolling Stone. President Donald Trump fumes that MAGA influencers and Congressional Republicans won't 'shut the f*** up' about the Epstein list controversy, according to a report (REUTERS) President Donald Trump fumes that MAGA influencers and Congressional Republicans won't 'shut the f*** up' about the Epstein list controversy, according to a report (REUTERS) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But its not just online personalities. Trumps GOP allies in Congress have also spoken out, with many demanding heightened transparency around the case. Kentucky Republican Congressman Thomas Massie promised to force a House vote on releasing the COMPLETE files. Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene blasted: This is the most famous pedophile in modern-day history, and people are absolutely not going to accept just a memo that was written that says there is no client list. Trump has, in turn, dubbed Republicans pursuing the files stupid and foolish. The week was a big kick in the balls, a senior administration official told the magazine. It was a lot to deal with and there were many emotions. The handling of the Epstein files has rocked the administration internally as well. Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino reportedly weighed leaving his post after he clashed with Attorney General Pam Bondi following the release of the memo. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Now the administration is tasked with dealing with the fallout. The president said the decision to release additional credible files will be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, he told reporters Tuesday (REUTERS) The president said the decision to release additional credible files will be up to Attorney General Pam Bondi, he told reporters Tuesday (REUTERS) Its a mess, and nobody seems to know if the next attempt to make things better with the base will just make things worse, a Republican operative told Rolling Stone. Laura Loomer, a far-right activist close to the president, suggested Trump appoint a special counsel to look into the matter. But in recent days, the president seems to be digging himself deeper into the Epstein hole. This week, he claimed the files were made up by former FBI Director James Comey and former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden. On Tuesday, he doubled down on this claim before pointing out that the decision to release more documents is up to Bondi: Its going to be up to her. Whatever she thinks is credible, she should release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Publicly, he has also been fuming about MAGAs fixation on the Epstein files. On Wednesday, the president took to Truth Social to air his discontentment with his base. Claiming the Epstein files were a hoax cooked up by Democrats, Trump wrote: my PAST supporters have bought into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker. He slammed: Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore! Trumps former first buddy Elon Musk, who previously accused Trump of being named in the Epstein files, without providing evidence, blasted Trumps claim that Democrats were behind the hoax. The tech billionaire wrote on X on Tuesday: Wow, amazing that Epstein killed himself and Ghislaine is in federal prison for a hoax. A Trump administration official told the magazine: He is making it very hard for some of his biggest supporters to not think that maybe he really is in the Epstein files. A new poll conducted by The Economist and YouGov this week found most Americans 67 percent believe the government is hiding evidence related to the late financier. This week, President Donald Trump raged on Truth Social that Senator Adam Schiff is guilty of Mortgage Fraud, and demanded that he be brought to justice. The basis for this claim: Fannie Mae has made a criminal referral to the Justice Department involving several properties owned by the first-term California Democrat. Many stories on this dutifully reported Trumps allegations of corruption, and then followed up with Schiffs response: That the charges are bogus and constitute retribution against a longtime Trump critic who argued the case for his impeachment in the House during his first term. This framing makes it a story about Schiffs conduct. But the real story here is Trumps conduct. Its how this allegation came to be in the first place. Its the role that Trump and/or the White House played in getting the federal bureaucracy to arrange events to the point where the president of the United States could pronounce a sitting U.S. senator and political enemy a target for potential prosecution. Understood this way, the story is likely a dry run for much more like this to come. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The unnerving outlines of that story are already visible. The allegations, in a nutshell, are that Schiff falsely designated his Maryland home in the suburbs of Washington D.C. a primary residence even as his real primary home is in California. This allegedly secured Schiff a cheaper mortgage. Fannie Mae referred this to DOJ, and Trump followed up with this, an apparent message to DOJ that it should prosecute: Trump: "I think Adam Schiff is one of the lowest of the low. I would love to see him brought to justice." pic.twitter.com/U43QszgrOY Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 15, 2025 Schiff flatly denies the claim. His spokesperson says Schiff has always been open about owning year-round residences in both Maryland and California. Keeping one residence in a home state or district and renting or owning a second place to stay in or around D.C. is standard for members of Congress. But where did the allegation initially come from? A Los Angeles Times reporter obtained a memo authored by the Fannie Mae Crimes Unit and sent to the head of the Federal Housing Finance Authority (FHFA), which oversees the government-backed Fannie Mae. The memo lays out the basis for those charges, but as the Times piece on this reports, the memo nowhere says that Schiff committed fraud, as Trump claimed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even more interestingly, the memo also says this inquiry resulted after the FHFAs office of inspector general (OIG) made a Document Demand from the Fannie Mae Crimes Unita demand for documents related to all loans associated with Schiff. Experts in how inspectors general function said in interviews that this chain of events seems unusual and troubling. The FHFA inspector general obviously investigates mortgage fraud, they noted, but they asked howand whythis inspector general might have come to make this specific request involving this specific U.S. Senators loans. From beginning to end, this process is highly irregular, Michael Bromwich, a former Justice Department inspector general whos still well regarded by government insiders, told me. Making this stranger, these issues involving Schiff have been aired before, during his 2024 Senate campaign, when multiple of Schiffs Fannie Mae loans and residences came to light. As CNN reported at the time, his spokesperson argued that it was appropriate to describe both residences as primary because they both function that way for the Schiffs (and also to distinguish them from a vacation home). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Fannie Mae memo itself is squirrelly with its charges. It claims that Schiff possibly misrepresented his homes on multiple loans. Read through Trumps whole tweet on this and its clear that someone or other created a tidy package of these charges and handed them to Trumpor whoever wrote this tweetto translate into this missive. How did that happen? Experts also point out that the memo shows that the response to the inspector generals request was forwarded to the head of FHFAWilliam Pulte, a Trump political appointee and loyalist. It is extremely unusual for the response to any IG document request to go to the head of the agency rather than back to the OIGI have never heard of that, Bromwich told me. So far as I know, it is unprecedented for such raw information to be forwarded to the White House. Responses to OIG requests simply dont go to the White Houseever. Did anyone at the White House urge this inspector general to make this document request involving Schiff? Did anyone at the White House quietly hint to Fannie Mae that it should criminally refer this matter to DOJ? Is anyone making an offhand suggestion to DOJ that it open a criminal investigation on this basis? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The creation of an investigation into a high government official is extraordinarily unusual for a Fannie Mae inspector general, Don Kettl, former Dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy, told me. What drove this through the bureaucracy? What drove it to DOJ? How did the story find its way into the presidents social media feed? Making this worse, this tactic is already emerging as a model. As Talking Points Memos David Kurtz points out, Trump alleged mortgage fraud against New York attorney general Letitia James, who sued the Trump Organization for fraud, via similar channels. Inspectors general are supposed to serve as checks on the president, but it looks like Trump is weaponizing them to attack his political opponents, Brown University professor Corey Brettschneider, an expert on presidential power, tells me. Meanwhile, over at The Bulwark, Jonathan Last writes about another sordid tale involving a former FBI special agent who was pushed out because he was friends with someone on Trumpist FBI director Kash Patels enemies list. As Last notes, this couldnt happen without little-known functionaries below Patel being willing to carry out dubious orders. So on this Schiff matter, are any Trump political appointees at FHFA or Fannie Mae proving, shall we say, very receptive to White House suggestions of investigative targets? Are they eagerly moving these suggestions through the bureaucracy? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement These questions are all critical to answer even if you believe the charges against Schiff will end up having something to them (which they probably wont). Whats more, Democrats need to communicate clearly to the public that instances like these are part of a bigger story: Trump is corrupting the bureaucracycorrupting the peoples governmentby seeding it with loyalists at all levels who are willing to manipulate it to carry out his crazed vendettas. As Brian Beutler explains, this sort of deep corruption of multiple agencies will inevitably create a need later to de-Trumpify them. Democrats should loudly let it be known right now that anyone who is carrying out corrupt ordersor illegal oneswill not be able to hide behind bureaucratic obscurity later. They will be held accountablepolitically, or if needed, legally as well. There are a lot of lingering questions about this whole Schiff mess. And when we start getting real answers to them, one suspects that this story will not look like the one Trump initially set out to tell. US president Donald Trump will reportedly visit Pakistan in September before travelling on to India, months after claiming credit for ending a conflict between the two countries. If confirmed, the visit would be the first by a US president to Pakistan since George W Bush in 2006. Two local TV news channels said that Mr Trump will land in Pakistan, and then continue on to India. That ordering of the visit is likely to ruffle feathers in New Delhi, which has enjoyed an increasingly close relationship with Washington in recent years. The Independent has reached out to the White House for a confirmation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A US embassy spokesperson in Islamabad told Reuters: "We have nothing to announce". A spokesperson for Pakistan's foreign ministry said they were unaware of the developments. Ties between the US and Pakistan have been strong since Mr Trump began his second term, with the Republican hosting Pakistan's hugely influential army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir at the White House last month. Islamabad returned the favour by announcing its intention to recommend Mr Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in de-escalating the recent four-day conflict between India and Pakistan. Mr Trump has openly expressed his desire to win the Nobel, and has repeatedly lamented what he views as a lack of credit for his diplomatic efforts. In one social media post, Mr Trump rued: "I wont get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whether or not Mr Trump is responsible for shutting down the rising tensions between the two South Asian nations earlier this year is disputed. India and Pakistan exchanged heavy fire for four straight days, starting 7 May, in their worst conflict in more than a quarter century, launching missiles and drones at each others military bases and leaving dozens of people dead. In the months since, Mr Trump has claimed about two dozen times to have brokered a ceasefire between the two his surprise announcement preceded an end to the confrontation and Pakistan has hailed him for his efforts. Mr Trump claims he dangled the prospect of US trade deals to convince both sides to stop firing, and that his actions saved millions of lives. This week the president said: Weve been very successful in settling wars. India, by the way, Pakistan would have been a nuclear war within another week, the way that was going. That was going very badly, and we did that through trade. I said, were not going to talk to you about trade unless you get this thing settled, and did, and they were both great, great leaders, and they were great. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement New Delhi, however, has denied Mr Trump played a pivotal role and says the ceasefire decision was reached following bilateral talks between Indian and Pakistani generals. Mr Trump has also offered to broker peace in the Himalayan region of Kashmir, an offer that has similarly rankled in India. India and Pakistan have been locked in a dispute over Kashmir since their independence from British colonial rule in 1947. They both claim the territory in full but control it only in part, and India has strongly resisted any third-party mediation in the matter. Attempting to dismiss the Jeffrey Epstein scandal as a hoax wasnt the only thing President Donald Trump did on Wednesday: He also made a bold claim that Coca-Cola was making a big change to its flagship product. The president took to his Truth Social platform to declare that the soft drink manufacturer had agreed to replace the corn syrup used to sweeten Cokes in the U.S. with cane sugar: I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. Id like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them Youll see. Its just better! Theres just one teeny tiny issue with the presidents statement: So far, Coca-Cola hasnt confirmed that company officials have agreed to go along with the plan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The closest anyone can find is a link on the Coca-Cola website that has this very broad, open-to-interpretation statement and not anything close to a confirmation: We appreciate President Trumps enthusiasm for our iconic CocaCola brand. More details on new innovative offerings within our CocaCola product range will be shared soon. Considering that Trump announced the news at a time when his followers arent happy about his recent handling of the Epstein scandal, its no wonder that the Coke announcement which, again, was made without the companys official confirmation was thoroughly mocked. Many people assumed the president was trying to create a distraction to draw attention away from other aspects of his presidency. Oh thank god! Ive totally forgotten about the Epstein files now! pic.twitter.com/Rf0ibTAwY1 Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) July 16, 2025 Cool, now release the Epstein files. Were not changing the subject. Warren (@swd2) July 16, 2025 What Trump did today: - Forgot he appointed Fed Chair Powell during his first term - Yelled at a reporter to be quiet - Said he can't appoint special counsel to investigate Epstein because he has "nothing to do with that" - Prioritized changing the type of sugar in Coca Cola pic.twitter.com/14G9wmli6M FactPost (@factpostnews) July 16, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Trump is the best spokesman for Coca-Cola since Dr. Cosby! pic.twitter.com/esJBG16Ouu Gary Peterson (@GaryPetersonUSA) July 16, 2025 Literally two days ago, Trump announced they were blocking a bunch of sugar imports. Today, Trump says he's gonna make Coca-Cola use sugar. It's like he's actively trying to design the least sensible trade policy possible https://t.co/ohPLEpgcfspic.twitter.com/I4JXBxQG1H Joey Politano (@JosephPolitano) July 16, 2025 Fact check: The whole reason that Coca-Cola uses High Fructose Corn syrup in their sodas here in America is.... ....because of longstanding tariffs on sugar (as @professor_TopK always talks about) pic.twitter.com/OcB26kzloJ BonkDaCarnivore (@BonkDaCarnivore) July 16, 2025 You can put the cane sugar back in Coke, but you cant take Trump out of the Epstein files Jamie Bonkiewicz (@JamieBonkiewicz) July 16, 2025 Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Decades of protectionist trade polices are the reason that Coca-Cola does not use real sugar in its US product. Sugar costs twice as much in the USA as in free-trade countries. https://t.co/wFHVKasElOpic.twitter.com/LRrc9VAtnt David Frum (@davidfrum) July 16, 2025 Trump needs to bring back cocaine in Coca Cola pic.twitter.com/yjRioBKEY4 e-beth (@ebeth360) July 16, 2025 Trump is working on getting everyone the special Jew Coke. (Coca Cola uses cane sugar in its limited Kosher for Passover line, which is why some non-Jewish enthusiasts buy it up every year, and also why some antisemites are obsessed with "Jew Coke.") https://t.co/T5LaTO4uYO Yair Rosenberg (@Yair_Rosenberg) July 16, 2025 Related... Trump administration officials have toured Alcatraz, the once-notorious prison island in the icy waters of San Francisco Bay that the Trump administration is seeking to re-open for prisoners. Alcatraz - popularly known as "the Rock" - has not been used as a prison for decades. It is now a historic landmark visited by millions of tourists each year. The visit from Attorney General Pam Bondi and Secretary of the Interior Doug Bergum comes just months after Donald Trump doubled down on his suggestion that he believes the prison could be used once again to house dangerous inmates, and serve as a symbol of law and order in the US. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But experts say that refurbishing the dilapidated remains of the once-formidable prison is "not realistic at all". Here's what we know about the plan. What is Alcatraz and who owns it? The price to keep prisoners at Alcatraz was significantly higher than elsewhere in the federal prison system. [Getty Images] Located on an island about 1.25 miles (2km) offshore from San Francisco, Alcatraz originally was built as a naval defence fort, but was rebuilt in the early 20th century as a military prison. In 1934, it was formally converted into a federal prison - Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary - housing notorious inmates including gangster Al Capone, Mickey Cohen and George "Machine Gun" Kelly, among others. The prison was among one of the most notorious in the US at the time, and was considered inescapable because of the strong currents and frigid temperatures of San Francisco Bay. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The facility also was made famous by the 1979 American biographical prison movie, Escape from Alcatraz, which recounted a 1962 prisoner escape, starring Clint Eastwood as ringleader Frank Morris. It was also the site of the 1996 film The Rock, starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage, about a former SAS captain and FBI chemist who rescue hostages from Alcatraz Island. When did Alcatraz close? A cell block at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco [Getty Images] According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons, BOP, it was nearly three times more costly to operate than other federal institutions and was ultimately closed by Attorney General Robert Kennedy in 1963. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The island and prison are now a museum operated by the National Park Service. More than 1.4m people visit each year. "Alcatraz is a place where the past meets the present," Christine Lehnertz, president and CEO of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, said in a statement sent to the BBC. "It challenges us to listen, to learn, and to carry forward the stories that still shape our world today," she added. Has it been considered for reopening before? Donald Trump is not the first president to mull re-opening the facility as a detention centre. In 1981, Alcatraz was one of 14 sites considered by the Reagan administration to hold up to 20,000 refugees who had fled from Cuba to Florida in the famous "Mariel Boatlift". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The site eventually was rejected due to its value as a historical tourist site and its complete lack of adequate facilities. What has Donald Trump said about Alcatraz? In a Truth Social post on 4 May, Trump first said he had directed his government to re-open and expand the island prison, saying that "for too long America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat criminal offenders". Speaking to reporters at the White House the following day, Trump said that, in his view, Alcatraz "represents something very strong, very powerful" - law and order. "We need law and order in this country," he said. "So we're going to look at it. Some of the people up here are going to be working very hard on that." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While he said he finds the idea "interesting", Trump also acknowledged that the prison is currently a "big hulk" that is "rusting and rotting". "It sort of represents something that is both horrible and beautiful and strong and miserable," he said. Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, also told reporters that Alcatraz could be "an option" for "significant public safety threats and national security threats". "It should be on the table," he added. While Bondi and Bergum made no public remarks during the visit on 17 July, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that "you'll hear more from them" in the future. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Leavitt added that if Alcatraz is re-opened, it would "be under the purview" of the Bureau of Prisons - which falls within the justice department - and that the secretary of the interior would "play a big role". The National Park Service, which currently manages the site, falls within the Department of the Interior. Can Alcatraz actually be reopened? A cell at Alcatraz Island in San Francisco, California, [Getty Images] Soon after Trump's comments made news around the world, justice department spokesman Chad Gilmartin said in a statement that BOP "is working towards rebuilding and opening Alcatraz to serve as a symbol of law and order". But prison experts and historians have expressed serious doubts whether the plan is feasible. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "To be frank, at first I thought it was a joke," Hugh Hurwitz, who served as acting director of the BOP between May 2018 and August 2019, told the BBC. "It's not realistic to think you can repair it. You'd have to tear it up and start over." Mr Hurwitz pointed to a number of issues with the facility, including buildings that are "literally falling apart", and cells in which "a six-foot person can't stand up". "There's no security upgrades. No cameras. No fencing," he added. "You can't run a prison." "I have two words: water and sewage," said Jolene Babyak, an author and Alcatraz historian who lived there as a child during her father's two stints as prison administrator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "In its heyday, all the sewage for 500 or more people was just dumped in the bay," she said. "Nowadays it has to be boated off. It's just not realistic at all. But it captures everyone's imagination." When the facility closed in 1963, the BOP said it was nearly three times more expensive to operate Alcatraz than any other federal prison - the per-capita cost being $10 and $13 per inmate, compared to between $3 and $5 at other facilities. This was in part because it required food and supplies to be dropped off by boat. In today's federal prisons, the per capita cost for inmates is between $120 and $164 - meaning that costs could rise to over $500 per person in a facility like Alcatraz. Alcatraz could hold only about 340 prisoners at its peak. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It was mind bogglingly expensive to keep a convict there," said John Martini, a historian who spent several years on Alcatraz as a ranger with the National Park Service. "Things have not changed. But the place has gone downhill." "It's basically a shell. Even the concrete has major problems. The Park Service has put millions into structurally stabilising it," he added. "They would need water, electricity, heat, and sanitation. None of those functions." "This [Trump's comments] are just another twist in the odd history of Alcatraz," Mr Martini added. A 7.3-magnitude earthquake struck off Alaskas southern coast on Wednesday, prompting a tsunami warning that was later downgraded to an advisory. The National Weather Service allowed the advisory, which covered a 700-mile stretch of coastline from southwest of Homer to Unimak Pass, to expire just before 2:45 p.m. local time after confirming no significant tsunami waves or damage. The quake hit at 12:37 p.m. south of Sand Point, a community of about 600 on Popof Island in the Aleutian chain, according to the Alaska Earthquake Center. The U.S. Geological Survey reported the epicenter was 54 miles south of Sand Point, approximately 600 miles southwest of Anchorage, where the tremor was felt. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Officials took swift action in the affected areas. In Unalaska, a fishing community of 4,100, authorities urged residents in potential inundation zones to move at least 50 feet above sea level or 1 mile inland. In King Cove, with about 870 residents, an alert directed coastal residents to higher ground. Kodiak, a city of 5,200, activated its sirens to signal an evacuation to high ground, although police reported no damage. We have seen other earthquakes in the area that have not generated significant tsunami waves, but were treating it seriously and going through our procedures, making sure communities are notified so they can activate their evacuation procedures, Jeremy Zidek, spokesperson for Alaskas emergency management division, told Live Now Fox. Minor damage was reported at the Alaska Commercial general store in Sand Point, where manager Vickey McDonald described broken bottles littering the alcohol aisle. Ive got liquid smoke and barbecue sauce and pickles broken on the floor, she said, per Live Now. It smells horrendous in here. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In Cold Bay, Michael Ashley of Cold Bay Lodge noted the quakes mild impact. It wasnt very intense, he said, adding that residents felt safe at 100 feet above sea level, ABC News reported. The National Weather Service confirmed no tsunami threat to other U.S. and Canadian Pacific coasts, including Washington, Oregon, and California, after analyzing data from tsunami buoys. Alaskas southern coast is no stranger to seismic activity. State seismologist Michael West noted this was the fifth earthquake exceeding magnitude 7 in the region since 2020. Somethings moving in this area, he said, per Live Now. This area has been and remains capable of larger earthquakes and earthquakes capable of significant tsunami damage. (NewsNation) Residents in Alaska were told to seek higher ground on Wednesday after a 7.3-magnitude earthquake triggered a tsunami warning. Sirens blared and alerts were sent out in southcentral and southwest Alaska after the tremor struck at 12:38 p.m. local time. The warning followed a 7.3-magnitude earthquake along the Aleutians near Sand Cove, according to Alaska News Source. The National Tsunami Warning Center issued the following warning Wednesday afternoon: A TSUNAMI WARNING is posted for portions of Alaska following a M7.2 earthquake 50 miles S of Sand Point, Alaska, at 12:38pm AKDT July 16. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police in Homer warned residents to head to higher ground as they awaited word on the threat. Secretary Noem: No amnesty for undocumented farm workers NWS later downgraded the warning to an advisory, and the alert was canceled about an hour after the initial warnings went out. By Wednesday late afternoon local time, the Homer Police Department said on its Facebook page that it got the all clear. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to NewsNation. SAND POINT, Alaska A massive magnitude 7.3 earthquake that shook off the coast of a group of Alaskan islands on Wednesday afternoon triggered a small tsunami, officials said. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the earthquake happened at 12:37 p.m. local time and was pinpointed roughly 54 miles from Sand Point, Alaska, centered about 12 miles deep. Alaska earthquake information on July 16, 2025. Just after the quake, NOAA's National Tsunami Warning Center issued Tsunami Warnings for the immediate Alaska coastline from Kennedy Entrance to Unimak Pass, including all of Kodiak Island, Chignik and Cold Bay. The U.S. Coast Guard reported it evacuated personnel from its base at Kodiak to higher ground and had two air crews stand ready to assist. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agency initially said a tsunami of up to about a foot was possible and alerted those inside the warning that some local impacts could be expected. However, the warning was downgraded to an advisory a little over an hour later as the threat waned, then eventually canceled. A buoy measured a small tsunami at Sand Point, sensing a water rise of just 0.2 feet, or about 3 inches, according to NOAA. What Is A Tsunami? "A tsunami was generated by this event, but no longer poses a threat," the Tsunami Warning Center said. "Some areas may continue to see small sea level changes." There are no initial reports of any damage from either the quake or tsunami. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The entire southern coast of Alaska is a gigantic earthquake zone," said Michael West, seismologist with the Alaska Earthquake Center. "Four out of five earthquakes in the United States happen in Alaska." West said earthquakes happen frequently in that area, though not all of them are as large or even felt at all. "Early signs suggest we're on the lucky side today," he said. 20 Years Later: A Look At The Deadliest Disaster To Strike Earth In Modern History Tsunamis are a series of dangerous waves that can occur after massive movements in terrain, such as earthquakes or landslides. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement West said seismologists and the Tsunami Warning Center will continue to gather data on the quake. Original article source: Tsunami warnings canceled after massive earthquake off Alaska triggers threat for US coastline Senator Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., advised U.S. citizens on Wednesday not to associate with undocumented immigrants lest they be swept up in raids by federal agents. As Immigration and Customs Enforcement continues to carry out arrests across the country, U.S. citizens have found themselves caught up, facing detention and arrest, purely by association. Tuberville was questioned by Pablo Manriquez of Migrant Insider on Capitol Hill, who inquired about the potential danger to U.S. citizens. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Well, first of all, dont put yourself in a situation where that happens, Tuberville said, in a video shared to X. And Im sure with all the illegals we have in this country, youre gonna probably have some mistakes happen. Thats gonna happen. Tuberville went on to warn U.S. citizens that hanging around undocumented immigrants could lead to them being detained or arrested by association. Manriquez then asked the senator what U.S. citizens can do to avoid arrest by ICE. Dont hang around illegals, Tuberville told him. Bottom line, because President Trump has said, were gonna go after you. And at the end of the day, if youre in the wrong place at the wrong time, something bad could happen. Start your day with essential news from Salon. Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course. George Retes, a U.S. citizen and disabled Army veteran, was arrested in July while working at a farm in Camarillo, California, when it was subject to an ICE raid. According to the Department of Homeland Security, he was not charged and has since been released. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Elzon Lemus, an electrician on Long Island, was detained by immigration agents for resembling a person of interest. The detaining of Lemus, an American citizen, was something that ICE cannot do legally. Lemus attorney said the move was racist, adding it was for no good reason. The comments come at a time when ICE has expanded its actions, along with the Trump administrations political desire to see birthright citizenship redefined or ended altogether. In June, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it would begin to prioritize denaturalization cases against certain immigrants, a decision which could affect up to 25 million people, or 7% of the U.S. population. The post Tuberville warns US citizens: Dont hang around illegals appeared first on Salon.com. By Ece Toksabay and Daren Butler ANKARA (Reuters) -President Tayyip Erdogan risks losing support among nationalist Turkish voters in making peace with Kurdistan Workers Party militants, whose burning of weapons last week was dismissed by some as a stunt. A backlash to Erdogan's call on Saturday for wide parliamentary support for the process underlines the challenge he faces in balancing nationalist and Kurdish demands, with a failure to do so potentially jeopardising the plan's success. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Erdogan's own future is also at stake: his term runs out in 2028 unless parliament backs the idea of early elections or a change in the constitution to extend a 22-year rule in which he has raised NATO member Turkey's profile on the world stage. He insists that personal political considerations play no role. "The doors of a new powerful Turkey have been flung wide open," he said on Saturday of the symbolic initial handover of arms. While his AKP party's far-right nationalist coalition partner MHP drove the peace process, smaller nationalist parties have condemned it. They recalled his years condemning the pro-Kurdish DEM party as being tied to the 40-year PKK insurgency that the PKK now says is over. Erdogan's comments about "walking together" with DEM drew a cool response from the pro-Kurdish party itself, with DEM lawmaker Pervin Buldan saying there was no broad political alliance between it and the AKP. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AKP spokesperson Omer Celik reaffirmed the president's nationalist credentials in response to a request for comment on his statement, saying the process "is not give-and-take, negotiation, or bargaining." Parliament is convening a commission tasked with deciding how to address Kurdish demands for more autonomy and the reintegration of fighters complying with the February disarmament call of jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. The nationalist opposition IYI Party is refusing to take part, with its leader Musavat Dervisoglu describing the peace process at the weekend as a betrayal after a conflict which has killed more than 40,000 people. "We will not allow the Republic to be destroyed, we will not allow the Turkish homeland to be divided, we will not surrender to betrayal," he said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Umit Ozdag, head of the opposition Victory Party, also sought to stir nationalist passions, slamming the commission as a bid to legitimise the PKK and dismissing the event where 30 PKK members burned their guns as a "barbecue party". "You don't just burn 30 rifles and call it a day. Weapons are surrendered, and PKK members interrogated one-by-one." A senior Turkish official said the gun burning was an "irreversible turning point". It is part of a five-stage process culminating in legal reforms and social reconciliation by early 2026, according to another Turkish source. NUMBER CRUNCHING Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement While those parties could not derail the peace process alone, Erdogan, a shrewed political operator, is likely to closely monitor public reaction as the commission starts its work. A private June survey by the Konda pollster seen by Reuters showed that only 12% of respondents believe the PKK, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies, has abandoned the insurgency that it launched in 1984. It also showed potential candidates for the opposition CHP, now subject to a wide-ranging legal crackdown, beating Erdogan in head-to-head votes in an election. Erdogan critics say the peace process is aimed at drawing Kurdish support for a new constitution that would both boost their rights and allow him to be a candidate in 2028. He says reform is needed because the constitution is outdated rather than for any personal reasons and he has not committed to running again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is unclear whether the commission will propose constitutional change, but such changes require the support of 400 MPs in the 600-seat assembly with the potential for a referendum if more than 360 MPs vote in favour. The AKP-MHP alliance has 319 seats, while DEM have 56. Any move to hold early elections would also require 360 votes, but that - and the peace process itself - would depend on keeping DEM on board. After meeting the justice minister on Wednesday, DEM's Buldan said she had insisted that PKK disarmament proceed in lock-step with legal changes. "The minister expressed commitment to ensuring the process proceeds legally and constitutionally," she said, adding that there was no specific timeline for disarmament. (Additional reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Writing by Daren Butler and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Philippa Fletcher) A Turkish court on Wednesday convicted Istanbuls jailed opposition mayor and the chief rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of insulting and threatening a public official and sentenced him to a year and eight months in prison. Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is being held in a prison west of Istanbul since March 23, is expected to appeal the verdict, which is part of several ongoing legal proceedings against him. The case, which predates his arrest, stems from comments he made on Jan. 20 in which he criticized Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Akin Gurlek, accusing him of targeting opposition figures through alleged politically motivated investigations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The court on Wednesday convicted Imamoglu of insulting and threatening Gurlek but acquitted him of the charge of publicly identifying him with the intent of making him a target. Imamoglu, regarded as the main challenger to Erdogans more than two-decade-rule, has denied the accusations. The mayor was arrested alongside other politicians from the main opposition party as part of investigations into alleged corruption. His arrest triggered the largest street protests in Turkey in more than a decade. Despite being behind bars, he was officially nominated as the presidential candidate of the main opposition Republican Peoples Party, or CHP. Elections are due to be held in 2028, but may come sooner. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since Imamoglus arrest, dozens of officials from CHP-controlled municipalities have faced waves of arrests as part of investigations into alleged tender rigging and bribery. The arrests have drawn widespread criticism from opposition leaders, who argue that the charges are politically motivated. Imamoglu himself has described the trial as punishment, not justice, and accused the judiciary of acting under government pressure. Erdogans government insists that the courts are impartial and free of political involvement. For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkish prosecutors have prepared an indictment seeking a prison sentence of at least five years for independent journalist Fatih Altayli over comments he made about President Tayyip Erdogans rule, state broadcaster TRT reported on Thursday. Altayli, who has more than 1.5 million YouTube subscribers, was jailed pending trial last month over the comments in a social media video about a poll that showed most Turks opposed Erdogan ruling for life. Altayli denied the charge, in a statement to the court before his arrest, and said his comments had been taken out of context and were part of a rhetorical, historical discussion. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the video, Altayli - referencing Ottoman history - said that Turks had "killed" or "drowned" rulers they no longer wanted in power. His remarks drew backlash from Erdogan aide Oktay Saral, who wrote on the X platform that Altayli's "water was boiling." The indictment accuses Altayli of "threatening the president," a charge that carries a minimum prison sentence of five years upon conviction, TRT said. Altayli's arrest comes amid a broader crackdown on Turkish opposition figures in recent months, including the March detention of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, Erdogans main political rival. (Reporting by Huseyin Hayatsever;Editing by Ece Toksabay and Rachna Uppal) The decomposed body found in the search for Brian Tarrence earlier this month in Turks and Caicos was identified as the missing Manhattan man, authorities confirmed on Wednesday. Officials said no foul play is suspected in the death of Tarrence, who vanished June 25 while vacationing on the Caribbean island with his wife. While searching for the 52-year-old, police discovered the body of a deceased male in a decomposed state in the area of Grace Bay on July 5. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force announced Wednesday that the body was the remains of Tarrence. Turks and Caicos police confirmed Brian Tarrences body was found on July 5. An autopsy conducted on July 11th revealed no signs of trauma, and at this time, there is no suspicion of foul play, the police department said in a statement. Tarrence disappeared on the third night of an anniversary getaway vacation with his wife of one year. The body was found just a short walk from the Paradise Inn in Grace Bay, where Tarrence was staying with his wife before disappearing into the night. [The body] was found a 20-minute walk from where he was last seen, private investigator Carl DeFazio, a former Marine and NYPD cop, told People magazine last week. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I would say about a block off of Leeward Highway in a little residential commercial area, DeFazio said. Tarrence vanished when he was vacationing with his wife. Officials have not detailed the extent of the bodys decomposition, but used dental analysis to determine that the remains belonged to the 52-year-old. Local officials have not announced a cause of death, which will be determined by a full autopsy, according to police. Tarrence was seen leaving the inn on home surveillance cameras in the early hours of June 25 as his wife, Maria, was asleep. The couple had moved to Manhattan last year from upstate Monroe to be close to Tarrences stepson, who attends college in the city. The release of a twice-deported rapist in Virginia is putting renewed focus on the dangers posed by Democrat-led sanctuary policies that limit cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Guatemala national David Cabrera was collared by ICE last week after being set free by sanctuary-aligned jurisdiction Arlington County, who refused to honor a federal detainer and released him without notifying ICE. In a video obtained by Fox News, Cabrera is seen roaming a local street before ICE agents initiate his arrest. Illegal immigrant David Cabrera was arrested last week. He was previously deported twice and re-entered the U.S. at least three times. Ice Arrests Illegal Aliens Previously Released In 'Sanctuary' Massachusetts Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cabrera entered the U.S. illegally in 2014 and was convicted of felony rape in 2015. He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison, although a portion of it was suspended. He was released into ICE custody in 2017 and subsequently deported to Guatemala, but re-entered the U.S. again at an unknown time and date. He was then arrested again for a probation violation and deported again in 2020, only to re-enter again. Read On The Fox News App Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons blasted the release, telling Fox News it puts agents and the public at risk. "This is the whole reason why sanctuary jurisdictions do not keep America safe," Lyons said. "It lets criminals back on the street to reoffend again. If Arlington had cooperated, we could have arrested him in a secure facility instead, our agents had to track him down in the community, where they could have encountered others." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Arlingtons 2022 trust policy allows police to comply with state and federal law but restricts voluntary detainer holds and information-sharing with ICE unless required by law. David Cabrera being arrested by ICE. Us Attorney For Massachusetts Says Interference With Ice Operations Is 'Disturbing,' Threatens Arrests In May, the county board removed a provision which had allowed limited police cooperation with ICE, including in cases involving terrorism, gangs, or felony arrests). Since then, local police cannot proactively contact ICE in such cases, though they must comply with legal orders. The Cabrera underlines the dangers posed to the public when jurisdictions do not comply with federal law enforcement, Lyons said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Cabrera was arrested on June 4 for a probation violation and released from Arlington County Adult Detention Center on July 11 despite an active ICE detainer. "You have an individual that is the worst of the worst, someone convicted of rape, and we had the opportunity to deport him. We did deport him and they dont want to turn that individual over the right way," Lyons said. Lyons said that Arlington County's actions put agents at risk. This comes at a time when agents are being doxxed, and attacks on them have skyrocketed by 830% since January. "Here you have an aggravated felon thats been deported multiple times and Arlington County is releasing him back into the community. To reoffend again. Its just not right and it doesnt keep the public safe." Lyons said that Arlington County's actions put agents at risk. This comes at a time when agents are being doxxed, and attacks on them have skyrocketed by 830% since January. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "We wouldnt have to send ICE agents into the community, where they run the chance to run into someone else that we might arrest," Lyons said. "We would much rather arrest someone in a secure, safe environment. Its safer for my officers and agents It is safer for that individual were arresting, but its safer for the community as well." Anti-ICE activists across the U.S. have been protesting immigration enforcement, sometimes harassing ICE agents and demanding their badge numbers and the removal of their masks. At times, the protesters have turned violent. ICE agents were attacked and had rocks thrown at their moving vehicles during a raid on a marijuana farm last week, while ICE agents have also come under attack outside an ICE detention facility in Portland. Law enforcement vehicles were also pelted with rocks during deportation-linked rioting in Los Angeles. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement DHS accused Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Calif., of showing a violent mob an ICE employees business card, prompting a mob to attack him. The official was struck by a rock and sent to the emergency room, where he received multiple stitches, DHS said. Original article source: Twice-deported migrant rapist freed as Dems face heat for sanctuary policies NEED TO KNOW Mollie Egold was reportedly pushing her sons Bradley and Noah in a stroller when they were struck by a car in Maine Bradley was pronounced dead at the scene, while Noah died days later in the hospital The alleged driver, Benjamin Lancaster, was charged with operating under the influence and leaving the scene A pair of 2-year-old twins in Maine died after an alleged hit-and-run crash that also injured the boys' mother. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Maine State Police say that on July 11, a man driving a white Hyundai struck 33-year-old Mollie Egold and her twin sons in Albion, Maine. WGME reported that Egold had been pushing the boys in a stroller at the time and was hit from behind. One of the boys, identified in a GoFundMe as Bradley, was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Egold and the other boy, Noah, were taken to the hospital. The organizers of the GoFundMe said Noah died days later at the hospital. Police allege that the driver of the Hyundai fled the scene but was later identified as Benjamin Lancaster, 44, and arrested. Lancaster is charged with operating under the influence causing death, operating under the influence causing serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of an accident causing death and leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury. 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. It is not immediately clear if Lancaster has entered a plea. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to the GoFundMe, the organizer is hoping to raise money for Egold to buy a grave plot near that of her son, William. So far it has raised more than $45,000. WGME reported that in 2017, Egold and William, who was 5 years old, were canoeing on a stream when their boat went over a waterfall. William was killed after falling under debris. Egold told the outlet at the time that the canoe had gotten caught in a strong current before the waterfall. Read the original article on People BATON ROUGE, La. (Louisiana First) The East Baton Rouge Sheriffs Office arrested two people after an investigation revealed a drug bust. The sheriffs office led a multimonth investigation into alleged drug dealers, Cameron Wilkinson, 21, and Ricky Williams Jr., 21. Agents conducted surveillance and controlled purchases in East Baton Rouge and Ascension Parishes. After conducting search warrants of six locations across both parishes, deputies seized: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement 39.9 grams of THC wax 10.69 ounces of marijuana 53 dosage units of Alprazolam pills 40 dosage units of Oxycodone pills 6.81 ounces of powder fentanyl and pills 1.62 ounces of powder cocaine three digital scales plastic bags $934 stolen rifle Glock with machine gun conversion device five handguns In an interview, Williams admitted to selling the fentanyl pills under the direction of Wilkinson. Wilkinson confirmed that the fentanyl pills, cocaine, marijuana, Alprazolam, one handgun, and the seized money belonged to him. Wilkinson was arrested and booked on charges of: possession with the intent to distribute Schedule I drugs five counts of possession with the intent to distribute Schedule II drugs conspiracy to commit possession with the intent to distribute Schedule II drugs possession with the intent to distribute Schedule IV drugs six counts of possession of a firearm with a controlled dangerous substance six counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon possession of a stolen firearm possession of a machine gun transactions involving proceeds from drug offenses two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia possession of a Schedule I drug possession of a Schedule II drug Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wilkinson was previously convicted on charges of simple battery, illegal use of a weapon, and theft of a firearm in October 2024. Williams was arrested and booked on charges of: two counts of possession with the intent to distribute Schedule II drugs four counts of possession of a firearm with controlled dangerous substances four counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon possession of a stolen firearm Williams was previously convicted of aggravated assault upon a peace officer with a firearm, simple robbery and aggravated flight from an officer in December 2023. 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. COLUMBIA COUNTY, Ga. (WJBF) The Columbia County Sheriffs Office said Wednesday it has arrested two people after a shooting that injured a 39-year-old man in Grovetown. According to police, the 39-year-old man said he was shot in the Willow Oak Subdivision pool parking lot on Sebastian Drive in the early hours of July 16. He drove himself to his grandmothers residence on Louisville Road in Grovetown, where deputies found him lying on the ground in front of the garage. The sheriffs office said deputies administered aid to the man, who had been shot in his leg, thigh and torso. He was then transported to Doctors Hospital and currently in stable condition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Police later identified 27-year-old Isaiah Matthew Karausky as a suspect and was arrested without incident at a residence in Augusta. Karausky is charged with Aggravated Assault and Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Crime. He is being held without bond. Tiffany Reeves, 43, of Grovetown was also arrested on a unrelated firearm charge, according to the sheriffs office. Reeves is charged with Possession of a Firearm By a Convicted Felon and given a $5,100 bond. We continue to investigate the extent of her involvement in this shooting, Morris said in relation to the arrest of Reeves. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Two teenage boys have been charged after 11 police officers were injured while dealing with a group of alleged shoplifters in Wood Green, the Metropolitan Police said. The boys, aged 16 and 15 from Wood Green and Ilford, were charged with assault on a police officer on Wednesday, the force said. They have been released on bail and are due to appear at Highbury Corner Youth Court on Thursday 7 August. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Metropolitan Police said officers were attacked by a number of people when they arrived in Wood Green just before 17:00 BST on Tuesday 15 July. Police officers who were hurt were treated at the scene by ambulance crews for minor injuries. A 13-year-old girl was arrested on suspicion of common assault; a 15-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of affray; a 29-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer and affray; and a 20-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of common assault. They have been bailed pending further investigation. A 12-year-old boy was arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order and criminal damage, but was released with no further action. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk Related internet links At least two people have been killed and a further 27 injured following a Russian air strike on a shopping centre and market in the town of Dobropillia in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, officials have said. More than 50 shops, 300 apartments and eight cars were damaged in the attack on Wednesday evening, regional governor Vadym Filashkin said on Telegram. In his nightly address, President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strike as "simply horrific" and said there was "no military logic" to it. Russia has not commented. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It comes as the US special envoy to Ukraine, Keith Kellogg, is in Kyiv on a week-long trip to discuss US-Ukrainian co-operation with Zelensky. [Vadym Filashkin] "The Russians have again deliberately targeted an area where there are lots of people - a shopping centre in the middle of town," governor Filashkin wrote on Telegram on Wednesday. "This time with a 500-kg (1,100-pound) air bomb." Filashkin said the bomb had been dropped at 17:20 local time (14:20 GMT) when the area was busy with people out shopping. Situated 20km (12 miles) from the frontline, and north-east of the city of Pokrovsk - a focal point of Russia's slow advance through the Donetsk region - Dobropillia has been subject to other attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In March, a rocket, drone and missile attack killed 11 people in the town, including five children. Meanwhile, Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said Russia's defence ministry had shot down three drones flying towards the capital in the early hours of Thursday morning. He said emergency service were working at the site of the wreckage but he did not mention casualties. Ukraine has not commented on the strikes. It comes after US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that Ukraine should not target Moscow with strikes, after the Financial Times reported that Trump on 4 July had privately encouraged Ukraine to escalate attacks on Russia. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Russia has escalated its drone and missile strikes across Ukraine in recent weeks, killing more than 230 civilians in June, according to the United Nations - the largest number killed in a month during the three years of war. Trump has been growing increasingly frustrated that his efforts to end the war have not amounted to a ceasefire or a significant breakthrough. Following a meeting with Nato chief Mark Rutte in Washington on Monday, Trump said he was "disappointed" with Vladimir Putin and the fact that his "very nice phone calls" with the Russian president are often followed by air strikes on Ukraine. "After that happens three or four times you say: the talk doesn't mean anything," Trump said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He warned he would impose severe sanctions on Moscow if a peace deal was not reached within 50 days. The US president also announced that the US would send "top-of-the-line weapons" to Kyiv via Nato countries to ensure "Ukraine can do what it wants to do." More on this story GAZA CITY (Reuters) -An Israeli strike on Gaza's sole Catholic Church killed three people and injured several others, the Latin Patriarchate of Jerusalem, which oversees the small parish, said on Thursday. The Patriarchate condemned "this targeting of innocent civilians and of a sacred place," saying two women and one man had died in the attack on the Holy Family Church. "This horrific war must come to a complete end," it said, adding the victims had turned to the church compound as a safe haven "after their homes, possessions, and dignity had already been stripped away." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Holy Family Church spoke in a separate statement of "a number of injured, some in critical condition." In a telegram for the victims, Pope Leo said he was "deeply saddened" and called for "an immediate ceasefire." The pope expressed his "profound hope for dialogue, reconciliation and enduring peace in the region," according to the telegram which was signed by the Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin and made no mention of Israel. The Israeli military said later on Thursday that an initial inquiry suggested fragments from a shell fired during operational activity in the area hit the church mistakenly and the cause of the incident was under review. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It also said the country did not target churches or religious sites and regretted harm to them or civilians. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said "Israel deeply regrets that a stray ammunition hit Gaza's Holy Family Church" and that "every innocent life lost is a tragedy." "Israel is investigating the incident and remains committed to protecting civilians and holy sites," Netanyahu said in a statement. The Patriarchate earlier said the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli, was among those injured, and his church had sustained damage. Father Romanelli, an Argentine, used to update the late Pope Francis regularly about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict via calls and messages. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement TV footage showed him sitting receiving treatment at Al-Ahly Hospital in Gaza, with a bandage around his lower right leg. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni blamed Israel for the strike on the religious compound. "The attacks against the civilian population that Israel has been carrying out for months are unacceptable. No military action can justify such an attitude," she said in a statement. (Reporting by Alvise Armellini and Gavin Jones in Rome and Nidal Al Mughrabi; Additional reporting by Maayan Lubell and Charlotte Greenfield in Jerusalem; Writing by Claudia Cristoferi; Editing by William Maclean and Daniel Wallis) Two men wrongly convicted in separate trials in the 1970s following allegations made by a corrupt police officer have had their names cleared by the Court of Appeal. Errol Campbell, who died in 2004, was jailed for 18 months for theft and conspiracy to steal while Ronald De Souza, who was part of the group known as the Stockwell Six, was detained for six months for attempted robbery. Both were convicted based on evidence given by British Transport Police (BTP) officer Det Sgt Derek Ridgewell, who was responsible for racist miscarriages of justice. So far, all 13 referred cases have been overturned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lord Justice Holroyde said it was with "regret" the court could not undo their suffering. The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) carried out a range of investigations into the misconduct of Ridgewell, who fabricated evidence that led to convictions that lasted long after his death in prison in 1982. Ridgewell confronted mostly young, black men and falsely accused them of theft and robbery offences, the CCRC said. 'State crime' In April 1977, Mr Campbell was found guilty of theft and conspiracy to steal from the Bricklayers Arms Goods Depot, where he was a British Rail employee. He was sentenced to a total of 18 months' imprisonment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ridgewell led the case against Mr Campbell and several others, but along with colleagues Det Con Douglas Ellis and Det Con Alan Keeling, later pleaded guilty to stealing from the same goods depot. Ridgewell was jailed for seven years in 1980 after stealing more than 1m in goods. In August 2023, the CCRC referred the convictions of Mr Campbell's co-defendants, Saliah Mehmet and Basil Peterkin, after it tracked down their family members. Their convictions were both quashed in January 2024. Henry Blaxland KC, representing Mr Campbell, told the court it was dealing with victims of miscarriage of justice brought about by "state crime". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He added the case "throws a shadow over the administration of justice and led to loss of confidence not only in the police, but in the legal system as a whole". Mr Campbell's son, Errol Campbell Jr, said his father always told him he was innocent [PA Media] In a statement read out by his solicitor, Matt Foot, Errol Campbell Jr, the son of Errol Campbell, said: "The British Transport Police knew that Detective Sergeant Derek Ridgewell was corrupt, and they let him carry on regardless with what he was doing. "My dad always said he was innocent, and today, that's finally been confirmed, almost 50 years later. "He came to England in the Windrush generation and worked for years for British Rail. The conviction caused absolute misery to my dad and our family. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "I'm angry that Ridgewell is not alive for this day and that he never went to prison for all the people he fitted up. He never answered for his crimes." Mr Foot added that the law should be changed so that cases overseen by police officers who were later jailed for crimes were automatically reviewed for potential miscarriages of justice. "If that had happened, that would have saved more than 45 years of misery for the Campbell family," he said. 'Bore the burden' The CCRC reviewed Mr De Souza's conviction after the convictions of his co-defendants Paul Green, Courtney Harriot, Cleveland Davidson and Texo Johnson were quashed in 2021. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sixth member of the so-called Stockwell Six, Everet Mullins, was acquitted because it was shown that his reading ability was not good enough for him to have read and fully understood his signed statement, which was written for him by Ridgewell. In his ruling on Thursday, Lord Justice Holroyde said that Mr De Souza, who did not attend court, "bore the burden of his wrongful conviction throughout his adult life". "We regret this court cannot put right all that he has suffered over half a century," he said. Listen to the best of BBC Radio London on Sounds and follow BBC London on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk More on this story This comes after Israeli Druze civilians crossed from Israel into Syria in solidarity with their brethren amid violent clashes with Damascus security forces, particularly in Sweida. Israel Police apprehended two Israeli citizens returning from Syrian territory who had a Kalashnikov rifle and a magazine in their possession, police confirmed on Thursday. During a check on Israeli civilians returning from Syria at the border, police searched two residents of north Israel, arresting them and transferring them for further interrogation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This comes after Israeli Druze civilians crossed from Israel into Syria in solidarity with their brethren amid violent clashes with Damascus security forces, particularly in the Syrian Druze town of Sweida. Israel Police, as well as IDF soldiers, were posted to the border fence, closing civilian crossings, and coordinated to return Israeli citizens who had entered Syria, the police added. An Israel Police officer gives a statement on the two Israeli citizens arrested for crossing from Syria with a Kalashnikov rifle, July 17, 2025. (credit: ISRAEL POLICE) The IDF identified dozens of suspects attempting to infiltrate Israeli territory from Syria, the military stated Wednesday. Dozens of civilians infiltrated Syria Additionally, dozens of Druze-Israeli civilians managed to infiltrate Syrian territory from the area of the Druze village of Majdal Shams in the North, the IDF confirmed on Tuesday. Hanbok (Photo by Hyemin Lee) Just a half-hour drive from Pyeongtaek, Oeam Folk Villagebuilt in the early 1500s during the Joseon erais cradled by pristine mountains. In a country where countless historical sites were burned and bombed throughout invasions, wars and colonization, the village still holds traces of history, preserving its original form for over five centuries. Today, it serves as a timeless window into the daily life of Koreans in the past. If you live near Pyeongtaek, stop by for a peaceful walk through Koreas living history! BINGHAMTON, NY (WIVT/WBGH) A local health care organization announced its commitment to safety and respect for health care workers. This morning UHS announced its Respect and Heal Initiative, which is looking to curb incidents of violence and disruption in hospital settings. This will be implemented with duress alarms so workers can quickly and discreetly call for help, enhanced parking lot lighting, perimeter fencing, surveillance cameras and emergency blue light systems. Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Peggy Thomas says that from her own personal experience, the initiative will make a difference for health care workers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement From my experience as a nurse and a nurse leader, I know firsthand how difficult it is to be confronted with those upsetting instances in the workplace. Care practitioners are already tasked with difficult jobs and often very stressful environments. Threats of workplace violence should never have a place in the day-to-day operations of our health care workers, says Thomas. UHS is implementing an employee debriefing program where a trained peer can offer support to victims following an incident. Violence will also be reduced with the addition of weapon detection systems, visitor protocols and safety planning measures. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WIVT - News 34. URBANA, Ill. (WCIA) The University of Illinois Police Department is warning the community about a string of vehicle burglaries that happened near campus this week. UIPD officials said that between Tuesday and Thursday, their department took six reports of cars being broken into. Several vehicles had damage to their rear windows and the steering columns were tampered with. Some of the cars were burglarized and one was outright stolen before being recovered. 3 teens arrested after Danville car chase, accused of assaulting Meijer employee, stealing alcohol Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement All of the reports were made in the Orchard Downs Apartments complex in Urbana, and all of them involved cars made by Kia, Hyundai and Nissan. This is not the first time this summer those car makers and the Orchard Downs complex have seen these types of break-ins and damage. On May 2, the UIPD received six reports of Kia and Hyundai vehicles in the Orchard Downs complex being broken into, all overnight. And in the two weeks preceding this incident, the UIPD received four additional reports at a different location on campus. Officials said that investigators looking into this latest string are patrolling the area around Orchard Downs and that they have access to over 4,200 security cameras to deter crime and identify offenders. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Anyone who has information about these break-ins is encouraged to contact the University of Illinois Police Department at 217-333-1216 or Champaign County Crime Stoppers at 217-373-8477. 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 WCIA.com. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz signed a landmark Anglo-German treaty in London on July 17, pledging mutual defense assistance in the event of an armed attack. The treaty is the most significant bilateral pact between the two nations since 1945, according to Politico. The agreement, described by Bloomberg as part of a broader reset in ties, reflects growing concerns across Europe over Russian military aggression and doubts about the U.S. commitment to NATO under U.S. President Donald Trump. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though the treaty reinforces existing NATO obligations, officials from both governments emphasized it is not a substitute for the alliance's Article 5 collective defense principle. Starmer described the agreement as a "historic document which really measures just how close our countries are and our ambition for the future," according to the BBC. Merz said he was "surprised" to learn it is the first such agreement since World War II, adding: "We had you in the European Union and we thought that was enough, but we are now learning that it's not enough so we have to do more on that." The accord, signed during a ceremony at London's Victoria and Albert Museum, is based on groundwork laid by Starmer and Merz's predecessor, Olaf Scholz, during a 2023 meeting in Berlin. The treaty marks a deepening of post-Brexit relations and growing strategic alignment between London and Berlin. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the key components of the deal is a joint pledge to deliver a new long-range missile system, the Deep Precision Strike capability, within the next decade. The system, with a range exceeding 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles), is expected to drive substantial industrial investment into European defense sectors. Although nuclear weapons are not explicitly mentioned in the text, the deal carries heightened importance for Germany, which lacks its own nuclear arsenal and relies on the deterrent umbrella of the U.S. and Europe's two nuclear states the U.K. and France. The treaty also addresses the broader fallout of Brexit, including agreements on trade, transport, and irregular migration. Germany will adopt legislation by the end of the year, making it illegal to facilitate irregular migration to the U.K., according to a statement from Starmer's office. Read also: Ukraines new ground drones are hitting the battlefield in ever-increasing numbers Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. Britains government said it would lower the countrys voting age to 16 before the next general election in a bid to increase democratic participation. The proposal to allow 16- and 17-year-olds the right to vote in general elections represents the biggest change to the electorate since the voting age was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969. The reform was part of a broader package that also includes relaxed voter registration rules and measures to crack down on foreign interference. The move to extend the franchise was part of the governing Labour Partys manifesto: Labour argued that the change would bring greater fairness to 16- and 17-year-olds, many of whom already work and are eligible to serve in the military. The British government said Thursday it would allow 16 year-olds to vote in general elections, a landmark change giving the UK one of the lowest voting ages worldwide. The ruling Labour Party pledged to lower the age from 18 ahead of winning power last year. It is among several planned changes to the democratic system. Some argue Britain's democracy is "in crisis", in particular due to low turnout. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The voting age change is contentious, however, with critics previously arguing it is self-serving as newly-enfranchised teenagers are seen as more likely to support centre-left Labour. "I think it's really important that 16- and 17-year-olds have the vote, because they are old enough to go out to work, they are old enough to pay taxes, so (they) pay in," Prime Minister Keir Starmer said. "And I think if you pay in, you should have the opportunity to say what you want your money spent on, which way the government should go," Starmer added. The government will have to bring legislation before parliament, where it has a comfortable majority, to make the changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only a small number of countries allow 16-year-olds to vote in national elections, according to online databases. They include Austria -- the first EU country to lower the voting age to 16 in 2007 -- as well as Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador and Cuba. - 'Democracy in crisis ' - Labour ministers insist the change is intended to "modernise our democracy", while aligning general elections with the existing voting age for elections for the devolved regional parliaments in Scotland and Wales. Other planned changes include introducing automated voter registration -- which is already used in Australia and Canada -- and making UK-issued bank cards an accepted form of ID at polling stations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It follows changes to the electoral law introduced by the previous Conservative government which required voters to show a photo ID. The Electoral Commission found that rule led to around 750,000 people not voting in last year's election. Harry Quilter-Pinner, executive director of the Institute For Public Policy Research think tank, called the changes "the biggest reform to our electoral system since 1969", when the voting age was lowered to 18. He noted lowering the voting age and introducing automated voter registration could add 9.5 million more people to the voter rolls. "Our democracy is in crisis, and we risk reaching a tipping point where politics loses its legitimacy," he added, backing the changes. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The main Conservative opposition however accused Labour of inconsistency as 16- and 17-year-olds will still not be able to stand as election candidates, buy lottery tickets or alcohol or get married. "This is a brazen attempt by the Labour Party whose unpopularity is scaring them into making major constitutional changes without consultation," the party's communities spokesman Paul Holmes said. jj/jkb/tw Petro Poroshenko, leader of the European Solidarity party and Ukraines fifth president, has declared during a Verkhovna Rada (parliamentary) debate on the prime ministers candidacy that the vote is unconstitutional due to the effective absence of a Servant of the People coalition. Source: Poroshenko, cited by the European Solidarity press service Quote from Poroshenko: "At the moment the monomajority coalition of 231 MPs is fake. Some of them are abroad hiding from the anti-corruption authorities, some of them definitely do not support the candidacy of the prime minister and are not members of the coalition." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Details: Poroshenko noted that in 2019, during Volodymyr Zelenskyy's first week as president, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) opened a criminal case at Andrii Portnov's request due to the apparent lack of a coalition when the prime minister [Volodymyr Groysman] was appointed in 2016. "This case was considered by the current members of the SBI for many years," Poroshenko added. "I believe that we should not violate the Constitution," Poroshenko said. "And as for Ms Yuliias [Svyrydenkos ed.] wishes: the Druzhba oil pipeline; lifting the ban on leaving the country; the announcement of the selection process for the State Bureau of Investigation and the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine; her position on banning Telegram, her positions on building fortifications; her positions on the fundamentals, on moving the economy to a war footing here we are allies," he emphasised. European Solidarity highlighted that during the vote for Yuliia Svyrydenkos candidacy as prime minister, the monomajority Servant of the People faction provided 201 votes, falling short of the required 226. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! The Ukrainian parliament confirmed Yulia Svyrydenko as new prime minister on Thursday, as part of a government reshuffle. Svyrydenko secured a clear majority of 262 deputies, local media reported, citing several lawmakers. Later in the day, the parliament is due to vote on the remaining Cabinet members, including the new defence and foreign ministers. Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is expected to keep his position, while former prime minister Denys Shmyhal is expected to be confirmed as defence minister. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The 39-year-old Svyrydenko served since 2021 as deputy prime minister and economy minister under Shmyhal, who tendered his resignation on Wednesday following her nomination to succeed him. Svyrydenko, an economist from the north-eastern region of Chernihiv, is considered a confidante of Andriy Yermak, the head of President Volodymyr Zelensky's office. Ukraine has been fending off a full-scale Russian invasion for more than three years. Yulia Svyrydenko, Ukraine's new prime minister, represents a generation of young Ukrainian politicians who have steered their country through the turmoil of war. The 39-year-old, who was appointed economy minister just months before the Kremlin launched its full-scale assault in February 2022, shot to international prominence this year when she championed a vital economic accord between Kyiv and Washington. "It is a great honor for me to lead the Government of Ukraine today," Svyrydenko said on social media, adding that "war leaves no room for delay. We must act swiftly and decisively". Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Svyrydenko led fraught negotiations around a minerals and investment agreement with the United States that nearly derailed ties between Kyiv and its most important military ally. The deal was central to a disastrous televised spat between Zelensky and US President Donald Trump in February 2025. Not long after, Svyrydenko travelled to Washington to finalise an agreement that many Ukrainians hoped would placate Trump by giving him a sellable victory and ensure more critical US support for Kyiv. "She was the key and the only person leading these negotiations. She managed to prevent them from unravelling," said Tymofiy Mylovanov, a former economy minister who worked with Svyrydenko. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She earned the respect of US partners during the negotiations, according to several analysts, including Mylovanov, who described Svyrydenko as preferring a level-headed, non-confrontational approach in politics. - 'Wartime economy minister' - Svyrydenko is also viewed as loyal to the powerful head of Zelensky's office, Andriy Yermak, with some seeing her nomination as another attempt from the presidency to consolidate power. She is taking the helm at a precarious moment, in a country exhausted by more than three years of war and dependent on its foreign allies for survival. The role of prime minister does not typically include a say on military strategy or frontline operations, where Zelensky and his military chiefs call the shots. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Yet Svyrydenko is central to a young generation of Ukrainian leaders, like Zelensky, who have guided the country through the Russian invasion and contrast starkly with the Soviet-styled elites that dominate in Russia. She was not yet 30 when the Kremlin helped foment a violent overthrow of authorities in eastern Ukraine, as popular protests demanded that Kyiv pursue closer integration with Europe. And her native region of Chernigiv, which borders Russia and its war ally Belarus, was briefly occupied at the start of the invasion launched in February 2022. Despite being ravaged and facing a potentially crippling recession, she kept Ukraine's economy afloat during the war, including by pushing for some businesses to have exemptions from key staff being mobilised into the armed forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Keeping businesses going will be "her legacy as the wartime economy minister," Andy Hunder, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, told AFP. - 'Emblematic' - "Svyrydenko is emblematic of the Ukrainian people's resilience," then-US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo wrote of her in Time Magazine in 2023. Svyrydenko, who mostly avoids the press, moved through the ranks of government quickly after graduating with honours from the National University of Trade and Economics and a brief spell in the private sector. She held a variety of posts in her native Chernigiv region before being appointed by presidential decree as deputy head of the president's office in 2020. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Less than a year later, she became deputy prime minister and economy minister. Svyrydenko has said that civil service was a part of her life since childhood, as both her parents worked in government. "I saw how they devoted themselves to serving the community, how their hometown and its improvement were their core values," she recently told Ukrainian media. bur-brw/jc/djt The Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian parliament) reappointed Andrii Sybiha as minister of foreign affairs on Thursday 17 July as part of the approval of the new government led by Yuliia Svyrydenko. Source: MP Oleksii Honcharenko, as reported by European Pravda Details: The appointment of the new government was voted on as a package, but the candidates for foreign and defence ministers were considered separately, as they are submitted to parliament by the president. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As a result, 271 MPs voted in favour of reappointing Sybiha as foreign minister. Background: Taras Kachka, Ukraines former trade representative, was officially nominated to take over as deputy prime minister for European and Euro-Atlantic integration, a position previously held by Olha Stefanishyna. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that he had signed a decree appointing Stefanishyna as special envoy of the president of Ukraine for cooperation with the United States of America. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Poland will gradually cease operating shelters for Ukrainian refugees, with a new policy targeting most residents. Source: Polish Radio Details: The Polish government has approved a draft law stating that, from 1 November, collective accommodation centres for Ukrainian refugees will only accept members of protected groups: pensioners, pregnant women and disabled people. Currently, all refugees are entitled to free residence in these centres for the first three months after arriving in Poland. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Joanna Bachanek, spokeswoman for the Masovian Voivodeship governor, explained: "After these 120 days, which are counted from the first day of entry of a Ukrainian citizen into Poland, the period of financial complicity begins." More than half of the current residents of collective accommodation centres in Poland have stayed beyond the free period, paying extra for accommodation and food. Bachanek added that approximately 3,000 people currently reside in these centres in the Masovian Voivodeship, with over 1,000 additional places available. Government spokesman Adam Szapka noted that assistance for Ukrainian refugees is evolving to meet changing needs: "The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Administration believes that now is the moment when this type of support can be stopped." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For around 6,000 refugees outside protected groups, the Together to Independence programme, funded by the EU, will provide subsidies for renting apartments and cover the costs of Polish language courses. Background: In the Netherlands, municipalities are forced to refuse asylum to Ukrainian refugees due to a lack of accommodation. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! University of Michigan Central Campus sign | Photo by Jon King/Michigan Advance A University of Michigan professor has been dismissed from his position in the universitys School of Music, Theatre and Dance following a complaint of inappropriate conduct with a graduate student. In a unanimous vote of the universitys Board of Regents during a special meeting Thursday morning, tenured associate professor Scott Piper, who chaired the colleges Department of Voice and Opera, was fired. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I have determined that Professor Pipers conduct substantially impairs the fulfillment of his responsibilities as a tenured faculty member at the University of Michigan and therefore constitutes cause for dismissal University of Michigan President Domenico Grasso wrote in a communication to the board. 2025-07-II-1 While the July 17 communication did not detail the specific reasons for the dismissal, the Michigan Daily reported it involved a complaint by a 2024 graduate of the school against Piper and filed with the universitys Equity, Civil Rights and Title IX Office. The student newspaper, which obtained a copy of the complaint, reported that the office determined Piper violated the universitys policy on sexual and gender-based misconduct after expressing romantic feelings for the student. The Daily, which interviewed the student but did not name her, also reported Piper was seen walking into a student recital with his arm around her. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Pipers attorney defended the actions, telling the Daily they were those of a good man who expressed genuine interest in a student, and not unprofessional, sexually harassing behavior that truly threatens the safety of students. None of the regents made any comment on the decision prior to the vote during Thursdays virtual meeting. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX When what economists call "animal spirits" are high, businesses grow, jobs are created and communities thrive. When they are low, growth stagnates and opportunity slips away. (Photo by imagedepotpro via Getty Images) Now that the One Big Beautiful Bill Act is the law of the land, what does it mean for Kentucky? In past commentaries, Ive criticized the bill, focusing on the shrinking safety net for many Kentuckians. From cutting social services to accelerating the concentration of wealth and economic power, there are real concerns about how the law could deepen inequality and marginalize those already most in need. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But now that the bill is law, its important to consider another side call it a silver lining that could bring meaningful benefits to Kentuckys small businesses. The key to unlocking those benefits lies in a concept economists call animal spirits, meaning the confidence, optimism and motivation that prompt entrepreneurs to take risks, invest and innovate. When animal spirits are high, businesses grow, jobs are created and communities thrive. When they are low, growth stagnates and opportunity slips away. For far too long, animal spirits on Kentuckys Main Streets have been stifled by rising costs, regulatory uncertainty and tax policies that often fail to support small businesses. In part, the new law aims to change that. By providing the kind of certainty and support that small business owners need, this bill has the potential to ignite those animal spirits, creating a ripple effect of growth and opportunity across Kentucky. Creating tax certainty for small businesses At the core of the bill are tax policies designed to unlock the optimism and risk-taking that small businesses need to thrive. Congress first enacted these policies on a temporary basis during the first Trump administration. Now Congress has made them permanent. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One of the most significant provisions is the permanent expansion of a small business deduction (Section 199A). It provides a 20% tax break for pass-through businesses like sole proprietorships, partnerships and S-corporations. This change gives Kentucky entrepreneurs the certainty they need to plan, whether its hiring more employees, expanding operations or investing in new products. With tax policies stabilized, business owners may be more likely to take bolder steps, investing in their businesses and communities. Research from Ernst & Young shows total U.S. economic activity supported by Section 199A deductions in 2024 was estimated to be 2.6 million workers earning $161 billion and generating $325 billion of GDP. By locking in these tax benefits, the new law gives Kentuckys small businesses the stability they need to continue building on this momentum and reinvesting in their growth. Encouraging innovation and investment Another provision of the bill is the restoration of full immediate expensing for domestic research and development (R&D), which encourages businesses to innovate and invest in their future. Whether its a tech startup in Louisville or a manufacturing firm in Bowling Green, businesses will now be able to immediately write off the costs of R&D, making it easier to develop new products, enhance existing services or adopt technologies. This policy helps rekindle the animal spirits of Kentucky entrepreneurs to take risks, experiment, and push beyond the status quo. Its particularly vital in industries like agriculture, tech and manufacturing, where staying competitive demands continual innovation and adaptation. Additionally, the return of 100% bonus depreciation is a positive development for businesses in capital-intensive sectors. By allowing companies to write off the full cost of new equipment in the year its purchased, this policy provides immediate financial relief and frees up cash for reinvestment. In a state like Kentucky where many manufacturers operate on tight margins, this provision could help unlock new capital investments, expand production capacity and restore the confidence that drives animal spirits back into motion. Supporting family businesses and generational growth For family-owned businesses, which are often the backbone of Kentuckys rural towns and small cities, the bills expansion of the estate tax exemption brings much-needed predictability. Under current law, passing a business to the next generation can trigger estate taxes up to 40%, often forcing families to sell land or equipment just to pay the IRS. The new law raises the exemption, reducing the burden and helping keep businesses like a soybean farm in Graves County or a multi-generational trucking company in Columbia in the family and rooted in the community. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This stability fuels long-term thinking. When succession is clear, business owners are more willing to invest. That confidence is the essence of animal spirits or the drive to take risks and build legacies. By helping family businesses stay intact, the big beautiful bill could spark renewed local reinvestment from owners deeply tied to their communities. The bill offers entrepreneurs real tools: tax certainty, innovation incentives, and generational continuity. Together, they can help reignite the animal spirits too long dampened by instability and policy swings. Kentucky businesses will have more capacity to invest. The bills provisions could lead to facility upgrades, expanded payrolls, new products and better worker benefits. With more cash flow and predictable rules, small-sized businesses are positioned to take bold, confident steps powered by renewed animal spirits. Looking ahead Long-term growth and rising wages would be good for workers. The White House Council of Economic Advisers projects (perhaps over optimistically) a nearly 5% boost in gross domestic product and up to $7,200 in added annual income for the average worker. Thats not just policy; its a real opportunity that depends on whether Americas entrepreneurs act with optimism, which some argue the mega-bill was meant to inspire. By restoring animal spirits, this bill could help local businesses unlock their potential, create jobs, and fuel economic growth. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement As we look ahead, its important to remember that many of the criticisms of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act remain valid. The concerns about its impact on the social safety net and vulnerable Kentuckians are serious and unresolved. But now that the bill is law, weve entered a different phase, one that calls for practical attention to how we can use its provisions to our advantage. The path forward requires more than continued critique; it demands constructive and committed strategic engagement. For Kentuckys small businesses, the acts pro-growth policies like tax certainty, investment incentives and support for family-owned enterprises offer practical tools to strengthen local economies. By shifting from critique to implementation, we can channel the bills most constructive elements while still advocating for those it risks leaving behind. That said, the act alone is no panacea or sure-fire economic salvation. Elements like proposed tariffs and the rising national debt may carry unintended consequences, especially for Kentuckys many import-reliant industries. WASHINGTON (AP) One of the nations oldest civil rights organizations on Thursday declared a state of emergency for antidiscrimination policies, personal freedoms and Black economic advancement in response to President Donald Trump 's upending of civil rights precedents and the federal agencies traditionally tasked with enforcing them. The National Urban League's annual State of Black America report accuses the federal government of being increasingly determined to sacrifice its founding principles and threatening to impose a uniform education system and a homogenous workforce that sidelines anyone who doesnt fit a narrow, exclusionary mold, according to a copy obtained by The Associated Press. If left unchecked, the authors write, they risk reversing decades of progress that have made America more dynamic, competitive, and just. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Report critiques racism entering mainstream of American politics The report, released Thursday at the groups conference in Cleveland, Ohio, criticizes the administration for downsizing federal agencies and programs that enforce civil rights policies. The authors aimed to highlight what they saw as a multiyear, coordinated effort by conservative legal activists, lawmakers and media personalities to undermine civil rights policy and create a political landscape that would enable a hard-right agenda on a range of social and economic policy. It is not random. It is a well-funded, well-organized, well-orchestrated movement of many, many years, said Marc Morial, president of the Urban League. For a long time, people saw white supremacist politics and white nationalism as on the fringe of American politics. It has now become the mainstream of the American right, whose central foundation is within the Republican Party. The report directly critiques Project 2025, a sweeping blueprint for conservative governance coordinated by The Heritage Foundation think tank. Project 2025 advised approaches to federal worker layoffs, immigration enforcement and the congressional and legislative branches similar to the Trump administration's current strategy. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Urban League report condemns major corporations, universities and top law firms for reversing diversity, equity and inclusion policies. It also criticizes social media companies like Meta and X for purported censorship of Black activists and creatives and content moderation policies that allegedly enabled extremists to spread radicalizing views. Debates over civil rights enter the center of the political fray The Trump administration has said many policies implemented by both Democratic and Republican administrations are discriminatory and unconstitutional, arguing that acknowledgments of race and federal and corporate policies that seek to address disparities between different demographics are themselves discriminatory. Donald Trump has signed executive orders banning illegal discrimination and promoting merit based opportunity. Harrison Fields, a White House spokesman, said civil rights groups that oppose the administration arent advancing anything but hate and division, while the president is focused on uniting our country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The report, meanwhile, calls for the creation of a new resistance to counter the administrations agenda. Morial urged other organizations to rally to that cause. The Urban League and other civil rights groups have repeatedly sued the Trump administration since January. Liberal legal groups and Democratic lawmakers similarly sued over parts of the administrations agenda. Veteran civil rights activists, Black civic leaders, former federal officials, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul and seven members of Congress, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, contributed to the text. Raoul said that civil rights allies have felt on the defense in recent years but that now its time to act affirmatively. For instance, if rollbacks of DEI policies result in discrimination against women or people of color legal action could follow, he warned. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It all depends on how they do it. We're going to be watching, he said. And just because the Trump administration doesn't believe in disparate impact anymore doesn't mean the rest of the universe must believe that. The report criticizes the Trump administrations efforts to shutter the Education Department, and denounces changes to programs meant to support communities of color at the departments of Commerce, Health and Human Services and Housing and Urban Development, among others. The transformation of the Justice Departmentscivil rights division was singled out as an existential threat to civil rights enforcement. The Justice Department pointed to its published civil rights policy and a social media post from its civil rights arm that reads the division has returned to enforcing the law as written: fairly, equally, and without political agenda. Nevada Rep. Steve Horsford, a contributor to the report, said Trump betrayed the American people in enacting plans he said were similar to Project 2025. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lawmakers reflect on the long fight for civil rights Another contributor, Rep. Yvette Clarke, chair of the Congressional Black Caucus, said civil rights advocates and their Democratic allies must do more to communicate with and educate people. When you have an administration thats willing to take civil rights gains and call it reverse racism, then theres a lot of work to be done to unpack that for folks, the New York Democrat said. I think once people understand their connection to civil rights gains, then we will be in a position to build that momentum. The Urban League originally planned to focus its report on the legacy of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 for the laws 60th anniversary but pivoted after Trump returned to office to focus on unpacking the threats to our democracy and steps civil rights advocates are taking to pull the country back from the brink of a dangerous tilt towards authoritarianism. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement For many veteran civil rights activists, the administration's changes are condemnable but not surprising. Some lawmakers see it as a duty to continue the long struggle for civil rights. I think its all part of the same struggle, said Rep. Shomari Figures, an Alabama Democrat who contributed to the report and whose father was successfully brought a wrongful-death suit against a branch of the Ku Klux Klan. At the end of the day, that struggle boils down to: Can I be treated like everybody else in this country? (Reuters) -U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi visited the infamous Alcatraz prison in the San Francisco Bay on Thursday, weeks after President Donald Trump said he would order the long-shuttered facility, now operated as a historical site, to once again house violent criminals. Aerial footage showed Bondi speaking with park rangers and touring the island site as she was trailed by television cameras. Bondi, who has faced criticism from many Trump supporters over the Justice Departments decision to end a review of material associated with accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, did not speak to reporters during the visit. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Trump in May said he was directing the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which Bondi oversees, to rebuild and reopen the facility as a prison. It is unclear if there are concrete plans to do so. The Trump administration did not request funds to reopen it from Congress in its latest budget proposal. Alcatraz was closed as a maximum-security prison in 1963 after 29 years of operation, because it was too expensive to continue operating, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. The federal prison at Alcatraz had housed notorious U.S. criminals such as Al Capone before it closed. Now managed by the National Park Service, it is one of San Francisco's most popular tourist destinations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Trump administration has dubbed a recently opened remote migrant detention center in the Florida Everglades "Alligator Alcatraz." A Justice Department spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the visit. (Reporting by Andrew Goudsward; Editing by Andy Sullivan and Leslie Adler) By Ahmed Aboulenein and Kanishka Singh WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. health department is giving Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials access to the personal data of 79 million Medicaid enrollees to help them track down immigrants who may not be living legally in the country, it said on Thursday. Giving ICE access to the personal data of Medicaid enrollees marks an escalation in President Donald Trump's hardline immigration policies. It may also raise privacy concerns under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, known as HIPAA. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson said sharing data between the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, fell within the department's legal authority. "With respect to the recent data sharing between CMS and DHS, HHS acted entirely within its legal authority and in full compliance with all applicable laws to ensure that Medicaid benefits are reserved for individuals who are lawfully entitled to receive them," the spokesperson said. A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the department was exploring an initiative with CMS to ensure people living in the country illegally do not receive Medicaid benefits. The agreement was first reported earlier on Thursday by the Associated Press, which said it was signed on Monday. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Medicaid health program for low income people is jointly funded by the federal government and states. Immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for Medicaid under federal law, but 14 states and the District of Columbia provide coverage for eligible children regardless of immigration status, and seven states and DC do so for adults. "CMS is aggressively cracking down on states that may be misusing federal Medicaid funds to subsidize care for illegal immigrants. This oversight effort supported by lawful interagency data sharing with DHS is focused on identifying waste, fraud, and systemic abuse," the HHS spokesperson said. The spokesperson did not address questions from Reuters on the type of data being shared or on how HHS would ensure HIPAA protections are upheld. The AP, citing a copy of the data sharing agreement, said the data included home addresses and ethnicities. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agreement is the latest in a series of moves by the health department in support of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and comes a week after it widened its interpretation of a law banning most immigrants from receiving federal public benefits. (Reporting by Ahmed Aboulenein and Kanishka Singh; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Rosalba O'Brien) By Bo Erickson and Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives early on Friday passed President Donald Trump's $9 billion funding cut to public media and foreign aid, sending it to the White House to be signed into law. The chamber voted 216 to 213 in favor of the funding cut package, altered by the Senate this week to exclude cuts of about $400 million in funds for the global PEPFAR HIV/AIDS prevention program. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Only two House Republicans voted against the cut, Representatives Brian Fitzpatrick from Pennsylvania and Mike Turner from Ohio, along with Democrats. "We are taking one small step to cut wasteful spending, but one giant leap towards fiscal sanity," said Representative Aaron Bean, a Florida Republican, advocating for a similar spending cut package from the White House every month. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries countered that the funding cut "undermines our ability to keep our people safe here and to project America's soft power all over the globe," and argued rural Americans' access to emergency information on public radio will be diminished. The funding vote was delayed for hours amid Republican disagreements about other legislation, and calls from some members of the party for more government transparency about the deceased convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement To satisfy the Epstein-related concerns without holding up the funding cut bill any longer, Republicans on the House Rules committee introduced a resolution that calls for the release of Epstein documents by the U.S. attorney general within 30 days. "It's a sound, good-faith resolution that ensures protections for victims and innocent witnesses," said Representative Virginia Foxx from North Carolina, the Republican leader of the rules committee. But the top Democrat on the rules panel, Representative Jim McGovern from Massachusetts, blasted the resolution as a "glorified press release" because it lacks an enforcement mechanism to make the Justice Department comply. When the chamber finally voted on the funding cut, it was the second close House vote on Trump's request to claw back the funds previously approved by Democrats and his fellow Republicans in Congress. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In June, four Republicans joined Democrats to vote against an earlier version of the rescissions package, which passed 214-212. House Republicans felt extra pressure to pass the Senate version as Trump's administration would have been forced to spend the money if Congress did not approve the cuts by Friday. The $9 billion cut amounts to roughly one-tenth of 1% of the $6.8 trillion federal budget. Republicans say the foreign aid funds previously went to programs they deem wasteful, and they say the $1 billion in public media funding supports radio stations and PBS television that are biased against conservative viewpoints. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement PREDAWN SENATE VOTE In a 51-48 Senate vote before dawn on Thursday, only two Republicans, Senators Susan Collins from Maine and Lisa Murkowski from Alaska, voted against the funding cut. Both questioned why Congress -- constitutionally responsible for the power of the purse -- was taking direction from the executive branch to slash funding. "There's a good reason I think that we haven't seen a successful rescissions package before the Senate in almost 33 years," Murkowski said in a Senate floor speech this week, "It's because we've recognized that, 'Hey, that's our role here.' " Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Funding cuts are regularly approved with bipartisan support in Congress through the appropriations process. But Democratic leaders this week warned this one-party cut could damage the necessary bipartisanship to pass funding bills. Funding bills require bipartisan support to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold for government funding legislation to pass the Senate, but a recissions package only requires a simple majority in both congressional chambers to pass. Trump administration officials have promised to send more rescissions requests to Congress if the foreign aid and broadcasting package succeeds. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This week's funding clawback represents only a tiny portion of all the funds approved by Congress that the Trump administration has held up while it has pursued sweeping cuts. Democratic lawmakers say the administration has blocked more than $425 billion of spending approved by Congress since Trump's second term began in January. After the measure cleared the Senate, the White House's Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said more such spending-cut requests are "likely" to be made by the Trump administration. Murkowski, Collins and some Democratic appropriators also condemned a Thursday comment Vought made to reporters at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast, where he said the appropriations process has to be less bipartisan. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The best way for us to counter what has been said by the OMB director is to continue to work in a bipartisan way," Collins, who chairs the Senate appropriations committee, said as her committee debated government funding for the next fiscal year. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Bo Erickson, Richard Cowan and David Morgan; additional reporting by Ryan Patrick Jones; Editing by Scott Malone and Shri Navaratnam) The US Justice Department has asked for a one-day prison sentence for a former policeman convicted of violating the civil rights of Breonna Taylor, a Black woman whose 2020 killing sparked protests for police reform and racial justice. Brett Hankison, who was convicted by a federal jury in Kentucky in November of one count of abusing Taylor's civil rights, is to be sentenced on Monday and faces a maximum penalty of life in prison. But the head of the Justice Department's civil rights division, in an unusual intervention, asked the judge on Wednesday to sentence Hankison to time served -- the day he spent in jail at the time of his arrest -- and three years of supervised release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "The government respects the jury's verdict, which will almost certainly ensure that defendant Hankison never serves as a law enforcement officer again," said Harmeet Dhillon, who was appointed to the position by President Donald Trump. "But adding on top of those consequences a sentence within the lengthy guidelines range... would, in the government's view, simply be unjust," Dhillon said. "Hankison did not shoot Ms. Taylor and is not otherwise responsible for her death," she said. "Hankison did not wound her or anyone else at the scene that day, although he did discharge his duty weapon ten times blindly into Ms. Taylor's home." Lawyers for the Taylor family condemned the government's sentencing recommendation as "an insult to the life of Breonna Taylor." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Recommending just one day in prison sends the unmistakable message that white officers can violate the civil rights of Black Americans with near-total impunity," they said in a statement. Taylor and her boyfriend, Kenneth Walker, were sleeping in her Louisville apartment around midnight on March 13, 2020, when they heard a noise at the door. Walker, believing it was a break-in, fired his gun, wounding a police officer. Police, who had obtained a controversial no-knock search warrant to make a drug arrest, fired more than 30 shots back, mortally wounding Taylor. The deaths of Taylor, 26, and George Floyd, a 46-year-old Black man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020, became the focus of a wave of mass protests in the United States and beyond against racial injustice and police brutality. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In May, the Justice Department announced it was dropping lawsuits filed by the administration of former president Joe Biden against police forces in Louisville and Minneapolis that accused them of using excessive force and racial discrimination. cl/aha Despite facing cuts to academic research under the Trump administration, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) is financing a new $20-million supercomputer built by the Georgia Institute of Technology that will use AI to advance science, the university said Tuesday. The supercomputer, called Nexus, is intended to find new cures for diseases, better understand the human brain, and advance quantum computing. It will calculate more than 400 quadrillion operations per second. Georgia Tech will retain 10% of its capacity, while researchers from around the US can apply to use it as well. The funding is one of the more significant commitments by the NSF since the Trump administration proposed slicing its budget by 57% to $3.9 billion, significantly limiting the number of grants it can award and the impact federal funds could have on academic AI research. The administration also paused new funding, laid off staff involved in AI research, and canceled hundreds of existing grants. Some of the cuts are tied up in court, making the NSFs funding status uncertain. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement With the likelihood of a constrained budget, the NSFs decisions on project funding carry much greater weight. Investing in a supercomputer can advance innovations across science, math, technology, and other disparate disciplines, where projects with much more focused audiences may see fewer dollars coming their way. The initiative also reinforces the critical role of university research in AI innovation, which has been undermined by the cuts. The United States has unveiled a new low-cost combat drone aimed at rivaling Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones, online military magazine Defence Blog reported on July 16. Since late 2022, Shahed drones have played a key role in Moscow's airstrike strategies against Ukraine, valued for their affordability and substantial payload. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reviewed the drone, known as the Low-Cost Uncrewed Combat Attack System (LUCAS), during a July 16 demonstration at the Pentagon. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Developed by Arizona-based defense contractor Spektreworks, LUCAS was designed as a flexible, modular platform for strike, reconnaissance, and communications support. Described as a "reliable and cost-effective," the drone features an open architecture design that enables quick payload swaps and various launch options, including vehicle deployment. The revelation comes as Russia's increasing deployment of Shahed-type drones in Ukraine. Ukraine has concentrated on building fleets of interceptor drones to target and neutralize incoming Shahed-type UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles). Anti-drone defense has become a top priority for national security. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Ukraine is already using interceptors to shoot down Shaheds and is expanding their production," President Volodymyr Zelensky's office wrote on June 21. Read also: Zelensky, Trump discuss win-win drones-for-weapons mega deal Weve been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent. WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The number of Americans filing new applications for jobless benefits fell last week, pointing to steady job growth in July, though some laid off workers are experiencing long spells of unemployment because of a moderation in hiring. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 221,000 for the week ended July 12, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast 235,000 claims for the latest week. Motor vehicle assembly plant closures for reasons including maintenance and annual retooling for new models could be influencing the data. Auto manufacturers typically idle assembly lines in summer, though the timing often varies, which could throw off the model that the government uses to strip out seasonal fluctuations from the data. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Layoffs have remained generally low, though economic uncertainty stemming from trade policy has left companies hesitant to increase hiring. President Donald Trump last week announced higher duties would come into effect on August 1 for imports from a range of countries, including Mexico, Japan, Canada and Brazil, and the European Union. Trump in April slapped a 10% duty on nearly all imports, while giving nations a 90-day period to negotiate trade deals. The Federal Reserve's Beige Book report on Wednesday described hiring as having "remained generally cautious" in early July, attributed by many of the U.S. central bank's contacts to "ongoing economic and policy uncertainty." The Fed said while reports of layoffs were limited in all industries, they were "somewhat more common among manufacturers." It noted that "many contacts expected to postpone major hiring and layoff decisions until uncertainty diminished." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The claims report covered the period during which the government surveyed employers for the nonfarm payrolls component of July's employment report. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 147,000 jobs in June, though nearly half of the positions were in the government sector, mostly state education. Tepid hiring is underscored by the growing number of people collecting unemployment checks. The number of people receiving benefits after an initial week of aid, a proxy for hiring, increased 2,000 to a seasonally adjusted 1.956 million during the week ending July 5. The start of a new quarter could have influenced the current level of the so-called continuing claims. "Eligibility for benefits can be affected by calendar-quarter considerations, leading to large swings in the underlying data," said Lou Crandall, chief economist at Wrightson ICAP. Next week's continuing claims data could offer more clarity on the health of the labor market in July. Economists said the elevated continuing claims reading suggested an increase in the unemployment rate. While the jobless rate fell to 4.1% in June after holding at 4.2% for three straight months, that was mostly because people dropped out of the labor force. (Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski) Lloyd Wright isnt shocked that the United States Department of Agriculture is reversing a 35-year-old policy meant to help Black farmers in favor of a race-neutral approach. But the 84-year-old, who grows soybeans and vegetables in Virginia, knows his fellow Black farmers will feel the damage of it. Last week, the agency announced that its eliminating the term socially disadvantaged, which describes farmers or ranchers who had been subjected to racial, ethnic, or gender discrimination, which includes Black, Hispanic, Native American, and Asian groups. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement [The government] is going to take back the money the little bit we were getting and some of the outreach money will be crawled back, Wright said. Because theyre eliminating socially disadvantaged and anything else dealing with DEI [diversity, equity and inclusion]. The department adopted the language in the 1990 Farm Bill to deliver resources to minority farmers, including through the 2501 Program an initiative that requires the USDA to produce outreach and technical assistance to historically underserved farmers to ensure that they have access to grants and other resources. Now, the agency will drop the use of the term entirely and will no longer consider race or sex-based criteria in its decision-making process for programs. According to the decision, this move will ensure that USDA programs uphold the principles of meritocracy, fairness, and equal opportunity for all participants. The decision also said the department has sufficiently addressed its history of discrimination through litigation that has resulted in settlements, relief, and reforms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement USDA officials did not respond to a question about the potential impact this policy will have on programs or on farmers of color, who represent about 4% of the nations 3.3 million producers, according to the Census of Agriculture. However, a spokesperson for the agency said in a statement that USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins will follow the law while putting farmers first. Under President Trump, USDA does not discriminate and single out individual farmers based on race, sex, or political orientation. Secretary Rollins is working to reorient the department to be more effective at serving the American people and put farmers first while following the law, the statement said. Several Democratic congressional leaders are speaking out against the change and demanding the USDA be held accountable. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown, a Democrat from Ohio who is a vice ranking member on the House Committee on Agriculture, said this is [President Donald] Trumps resegregation agenda. Brown said the rule isnt about fairness, but stripping the tools to help level the playing field. Its no secret that the Department has a long history of locking out and leaving behind Black, Brown, and Indigenous farmers, Brown wrote in a statement. Now, this administration is taking a deliberate and disgraceful step backward on the path to attempt to right the historic wrongs. The socially disadvantaged designation was a long overdue recognition of the barriers to land, credit, and opportunity that farmers of color have faced for generations. U.S. Rep. Shomari Figures, a Democrat from Alabama who also serves on the House Committee on Agriculture, said that instead of reversing this rule, the administration should compensate Black farmers impacted by the USDAs past actions. Its no secret that Black farmers were economically disadvantaged by the past intentional discrimination by USDA, Figures said in a statement to Capital B. I believe this administration should take every opportunity to implement criteria that ensure that Black farmers are not subjected to such treatment in the future. A field of wind turbines stand in Tunica County, Mississippi. The new USDA policy regarding the term socially disadvantaged comes in response to executive orders issued earlier this year by President Donald Trump, which terminates any mandates or programs that support DEI. (Aallyah Wright/Capital B) For Wright, a retired USDA employee who has worked with 10 presidents dating back to the 1960s, the label socially disadvantaged was never a good one because it included too many groups of people. He said Black people havent benefited from the wording as much as other people. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Wright said while he doesnt believe preferential treatment should be given to a person because of race or sex, the government shouldnt deny a person resources for the same reason. I dont think Im socially disadvantaged. I just happen to be Black, and they discriminated against me because Im Black, and so I think its time that we straighten it out, he said. There are people who deserve compensation I wouldnt call it reparations but they deserve to be compensated for the damages done to them in the past by state, local and federal governments, he added. Tiffany Bellfield El-Amin, founder of the Kentucky Black Farmers Association, agrees that there needs to be a new definition, because not all Black people fit into the category of being disadvantaged. However, redefining the language of the policy is crucial to ensure that Black farmers, who often receive limited resources, are adequately supported, she said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement She pointed out that some Black farmers with larger operations have been able to secure loans, even though they do not face disadvantages or discrimination. Additionally, she said that in some county offices, USDA officials prioritize outreach to white farmers specifically those they are familiar with leaving many Black farmers to navigate the system on their own. The most prominent concern for Bellfield El-Amin was the loss of inclusivity. Thats why we adopt new ways of doing Underground Railroad-type situations. Were gonna figure it out one way or another, she told Capital B. We just dont have time to fight with definitions that may or may not help us in the long run, just exhaust us even further and we still end up here. Read more: USDA Promised Loan Relief, Then Repealed It. Black Farmers Are Fighting Back. The new policy comes in response to two executive orders issued earlier this year by Trump, which terminates any mandates or programs that support DEI. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We are taking this aggressive, unprecedented action to eliminate discrimination in any form at USDA, Brooke Rollins, secretary of agriculture, said in a news release. It is simply wrong and contrary to the fundamental principle that all persons should be treated equally. Theres also been ongoing pressure from white farmers who have demanded the administration address what they describe as reverse discrimination. Just last month, a conservative law firm sued the Trump administration on behalf of Adam Faust, a white dairy farmer from Wisconsin. Faust alleges that he has experienced discrimination in three USDA programs Dairy Margin Coverage Program, Loan Guarantee Program, and Environmental Quality Incentives Program. He claims the programs favor women and farmers of color, offering reduced administrative fees, higher loan guarantees, and more money for conservation efforts. In 2021, the farmer successfully sued former President Joe Bidens administration over similar claims. Faust, along with a group of white Midwestern farmers, argued that a $4 billion loan forgiveness program that would have helped farmers of color was unconstitutional because it discriminated against them. This suit was filed by the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty, the same firm representing him in the current case. Read more: In the Mississippi Delta, Black Farmers Are Rebuilding the Legacy of Land Ownership Meanwhile, Black farmers are still suing for their due. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Earlier this year, the Memphis, Tennessee-based Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association brought a case to the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, alleging they were ineligible to apply for the Discrimination Financial Assistance Program. The program provided assistance to 43,000 farmers of all racial backgrounds who experienced discrimination prior to 2021. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat from Georgia who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, told Capital B that he pledges his support to help Black farmers receive equitable resources. Instead of working to create more certainty for our nations farmers and adopting a stable trade agenda, this administration is focused on divisive publicity stunts that will hurt our agriculture industry long-term, Warnock said. Given the current political climate, Wright isnt sure if he should see the glass as half empty or half full, but he remains pessimistic of this administration. However, he says this is an opportunity to get some things straightened out and implement a new definition. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In some cases, they started to broaden the social disadvantage to include the historically underserved, and if you add it up, it was about 80% of the population, Wright said. He added: Were going to have plenty of time to work on [a new definition]. Youre not going to be able to get anything passed [unless] we get a different Congress and president, and youre really talking about the next administration at best. By then, we ought to be able to straighten it out. The post USDA Ends Key Support for Black Farmers Amid Trump Anti-DEI Orders appeared first on Capital B News. PROVO After a five-hour discussion on whether to formally partner with U.S. immigration officials in identifying immigrants in Utah County illegally, Utah County commissioners approved the new relationship. Wednesdays unanimous vote followed around four hours of public comment from 115 people on the issue, all of them opposed to the cooperative arrangement. Many of the foes expressed skepticism U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement can be trusted, and many expressed concern the accord would sow fear in the immigrant community and undermine public safety. They referenced the spike in raids and other enforcement actions by immigration officials around the country since President Donald Trump took office. Residents that couldn't get into the main meeting watch on a television in the lobby as Utah County Commissioners hear comments from the public prior to their voting on whether or not to go ahead with increased data sharing, training and creation of a task force between the Utah County Sheriff's office and ICE during a meeting in Provo on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Why on earth would we trust ICE when theyre proven to be untrustworthy? asked one speaker, who identified herself as Becky. What do they have to teach us? How to be cruel? How to dehumanize our people? Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Others expressed concern that the partnership would eventually give immigration officials unfettered authority and power in the county. My question is, Why are we doing this? This is how it starts. They get their foot in the door, and you dont know how to stop them, said another speaker. Twelve-year-old Adelaide Thiot tells a story about a friend who was reportedly removed from her school class by ICE, as she and her mother, Stacy Thiot, attend a meeting where Utah County Commissioners heard comments from the public prior to their voting on whether or not to go ahead with increased data sharing, training, and creation of a task force between the Utah County Sheriff's office and ICE during a meeting in Provo on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith, however, said the cooperative agreements would actually give local officials more leeway in working with ICE in addressing illegal immigration. Officials in several other Utah counties have also approved 287(g) accords with ICE, as theyre known, including Weber and Washington counties, though without the sort of loud clamoring of Utah County residents. As is, ICE officials are already operating in Utah County, like the rest of the country, but local officials have no idea what theyre doing, Smith said. Formally partnering with ICE in cracking down on immigrants here illegally a priority of the Trump administration would give the sheriffs office a means of injecting Utah County values into how immigration enforcement unfolds, he went on. Utah County Sheriff Mike Smith addresses a proposal to bolster cooperative efforts with federal immigration authorities at a meeting Wednesday of the Utah County Commission in Provo. More than 100 speakers voiced opposition, but commissioners approved the plans. | Scott G. Winterton, Deseret News Moreover, the agreements with ICE which will take time to implement could be unilaterally voided by Utah County officials if they are unhappy with the working arrangement. If merited, he will be the first in pushing back, Smith said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most significantly, perhaps, Smith envisions the increased cooperation with ICE officials with a focus on criminal immigrants here illegally as a means of bolstering public safety. He doesnt envision engaging in worksite raids with ICE. Ive seen the open borders. Ive seen people coming across, Smith said, referencing his fact-finding visits to the U.S.-Mexico border. The upshot has been an uptick in crime in Utah County, including more theft rings and dealing of drugs like fentanyl. Commissioner Brandon Gordon makes a comment as he and the other Utah County Commissioners hear comments from the public prior to their voting on whether or not to go ahead with increased data sharing, training and creation of a task force between the Utah County Sheriff's office and ICE during a meeting in Provo on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News One of the two accords Utah County officials approved contemplates increased cooperation with federal immigration officials in identifying immigrants here illegally in the Utah County Jail. As is, Utah County officials typically identify maybe around 100 immigrants here illegally in the jail, with immigration officials picking up maybe 10 to 15 of them. The other accord contemplates increased efforts to identify immigrants here illegally during routine sheriffs office operations. Despite the concern of many at Wednesdays meeting, Smith said the formal accords dont represent a radical shift from Utah County sheriff officials current engagement with federal immigration authorities. It doesnt really change much at all what weve been doing, he said. Gustavo Carrillo pauses during his emotional remarks as he addresses the Utah County Commissioners as they hear comments from the public prior to their voting on whether or not to go ahead with increased data sharing, training and creation of a task force between the Utah County Sheriff's office and ICE during a meeting in Provo on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News Moreover, Smith and the county commissioners said they understood the concerns of those speaking out Wednesday and are mindful of them. Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner broached the idea of including a provision in the cooperative arrangement with ICE that lets the public lodge complaints about over-the-top immigration enforcement action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement My intent with this is not to cause fear and discontent in our community, she said. This is about keeping Utah County safe, and I believe we can do it the right way. Likewise, Commissioner Skylar Beltran encouraged the critics to keep tabs with county officials on the matter and speak out. You see something you dont like, let us know, he said. How much cooperating with ICE would cost Utah County was a big question mark for many. As described by Smith, the extra investment would be minimal. Existing sheriffs office employees would get the required training to work with ICE. Psychological warfare wrapped in a flag Residents that couldn't get into the main meeting watch on a television in the lobby as Utah County Commissioners hear comments from the public prior to their voting on whether or not to go ahead with increased data sharing, training and creation of a task force between the Utah County Sheriff's office and ICE during a meeting in Provo on Wednesday, July 16, 2025. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News The distaste among the 100-plus speakers at Wednesdays meeting toward ICE and their increased efforts to detain immigrants here illegally was intense, with speaker after speaker blasting the agency as heavy-handed. Many defended the immigrants targeted by immigration authorities as contributing members of the community, notwithstanding their migratory status. Others questioned whether crime caused by immigrants here illegally is as dire as county officials let on while more decried the possibility of families being split due to enforcement action. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement No one should live in fear of never seeing their family again, one woman said. Many said the increased effort is dehumanizing and denies immigrants their due process rights. Others blasted the use of face coverings by ICE and other immigration enforcement authorities when detaining immigrants. One speaker described immigration officials increased efforts as psychological warfare wrapped in a flag. PROVO, Utah (ABC4) Utah County will vote to approve an agreement with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that would allow local officers to execute ICE removal operations. The vote was expected to take place during the Utah County Board of Commissioners meeting beginning at 2 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. After several hours of public comment, the Board voted unanimously to pass the deal at around 6:50 p.m. The Board and the Utah County Sheriff stated that if ICE does something they dont like, they will pull out of the deal, and that they can do that at any time. ICE agreements with local law enforcement On Jan. 20, 2025, President Trump signed an executive order that allows ICE to authorize local law enforcement agencies across the country to assist in immigration enforcement under section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The agreement would enter the Utah County Sheriffs Office into ICEs 287(g) program, which delegates immigration enforcement responsibility and authority to local law enforcement. This is done by deputizing local officers to execute warrants on undocumented immigrants. The Utah County Sheriffs Office will vote on agreements ranging from Interconnection security to a Warrant Service Officer Program. The 287(g) program is intended to service three models including. The Jail Enforcement Model The Task Force Model The Warrant Service Officer program According to ICE, the Jail Enforcement model is used for identifying and processing undocumented immigrants with criminal or pending charges. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement ICE arrests in Salt Lake City area are lower than in 2023 The Task Force Model is used as a force multiplier for agencies to enforce immigration authority with ICE oversight during normal police duties. ICE says the Warrant Service Officer program authorizes local law enforcement to serve and execute administrative warrants on undocumented immigrants. It also allows ICE to train local agencies in how to administer warrants. ABC4.com is currently in contact with the Utah County Sheriffs Office and is awaiting a statement. Who will be affected? Here in Utah County, ordinary people arent afraid of immigrants. Theyre afraid of actual criminals, no matter what color of skin they have or where they were born, Salt Lake Indivisible, a local non-profit, said in a press release. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Most recent data from the Migration Policy Institute estimates about 89,000 undocumented immigrants are currently living in Utah. 65% of Utahs undocumented population has resided in the U.S. for over a decade. ICE says the 287(g) program streamlines the serving of warrants to incarcerated immigrants with charges or convictions. The program is also intended to enhance information sharing between federal and local agencies. Salt Lake Indivisible argues that the program would redirect local police resources and funding away from genuine community safety concerns. Other agencies with ICE agreements The Utah County Sheriffs Office would not be Utahs first police agency with a written agreement with ICE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Beginning in March 2025, Beaver, Sanpete, Tooele, Washington, and Weber counties all signed ICE agreements. Beaver County Sheriffs Office most recently joined the agreement signing on July 11, 2025. Utahns role in Trumps Big, beautiful bill passing the Senate The Utah Department of Corrections signed a Warrant Service Officer agreement with ICE on May 13, 2025, as part of an effort to streamline removal operations with undocumented individuals with convictions or criminal charges. A vast majority of states in the U.S. have agencies with signed agreements with ICE. However, the state governments of Washington, Oregon, California, Illinois, New Jersey, and Connecticut have prohibited law enforcement agencies from signing agreements with ICE. Vermont, Rhoad Island, Delaware, and Hawaii have no active or pending agreements with the federal agency. Details of the agreement Text from a similar agreement with Washington County Sheriffs Office details certain terms of these local law enforcement agencies partnerships with ICE. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Participating LEA personnel will carry out designated functions at the LEAs expense, including salaries and benefits, local transportation, and official issue material, the agreement reads. The memorandum promises no financial reimbursement for such costs. The agreement also dictates procedure should a conflict arise between local law enforcement and an ICE officer. If a conflict arises between an order or direction of an ICE supervisory officer and LEA rules, standards, or policies, the conflict shall be promptly reported to ICE, and the chief officer of the LEA Signing law enforcement agencies are also instructed to deconflict all addresses, phone numbers and suspect identities to Homeland Security. Citizen opposition to the agreement The Board of Commissioners heard public comment in regard to the agreement, and residents of Utah County shared their concerns about and opposition to the agreement. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Many people stated that ICE is violating the constitution, committing violence, and wrongfully detaining and deporting people, all without consequences, and that is why they are opposed to the agreement. Others cited concerns over the lack of transparency and accountability with ICE, and what would happen to trust in local law enforcement if they were to work with ICE. Another common theme was religion. Many people stated that the actions of ICE go against the bible or Jesuss teachings. Others questioned just how much this agreement was going to cost and what the agreement would mean for data privacy. One resident, a 12-year-old girl, recounted an experience where one of her classmates and friends was arrested by ICE. She concluded her remarks by asking the Board, Will you promise to make our community safer with zero ICE raids that scare kids like me? Jim Bell, an Orem resident of 48 years, read a quote from a leader of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and then he stated, The partnership being considered today seems to simply perpetuate a broken system that needs to be fixed. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Erin Walton, who described herself as a lifelong resident of Provo, stated, I cannot support a partnership with someone who has proven themself to be untrustworthy all across the country. Another resident compared partnering with ICE to inviting the KKK over to dinner and stated, Its unchristian. The commission meeting can be viewed here. Latest headlines: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) A man is back from southeast Indiana after retrieving dozens of live animals that should have been delivered to Darke County. On July 9, 80 chicks were shipped in a box through the United States Postal Service location in Oceola, Ohio, just west of Mansfield. Greg McGlinch was the intended recipient of the birds in Versailles, Ohio. OH pharmacist performs CPR, saves woman A few days after the birds had shipped, McGlinch learned the chicks were at a USPS location in Versailles, but not the one in Darke County. The birds were over 100 miles southwest of McGlinch at the Post Office in Versailles, Indiana. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Although McGlinch paid the $30 shipping fee, as well as a newly added $15 surcharge, he made the trek to Ripley County, Indiana to get them on July 12. The Darke County man commended employees at both Versailles USPS locations for the great care his animals received. I want to give a shoutout to the Postmasters in Versailles, Ohio and Indiana, said McGlinch. They were very supportive and provided great care and handling of the animals. Numerous road signs stolen in Darke County USPS responds WDTN.com obtained the following statement from USPS regarding the journey of the chicks: The United States Postal Service takes pride as one of a select few carriers that ship limited types of live animals, and during what has been one of the busiest seasons on record for this type of shipment, tens of thousands of birds have been delivered to their destinations on time. However, we sincerely apologize for the misdirection of this important shipment and the inconvenience it caused our customer. We are pleased that the customer was able to retrieve the second shipment, and that the birds are reported to be well. We will continue to work with hatcheries, other carriers involved, logistics partners, and our processing and delivery operations experts to prevent such misdirection incidents in the future. United States Postal Service Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement USPS told WDTN.com individuals can click here for information on shipping live animals by mail, including whats acceptable as a shippable live animal. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WDTN.com. A day after Channel 2 Action News reported on hazardous hanging utility wires partially blocking a Douglas County Road, utility crews arrived to fix the wires, which had been a dangerous nuisance in the neighborhood for over a week. [DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks] You saw the way the wires were hanging down. Folks were trying to go up under the caution tape. It was not safe at all. Im very much relieved. Its not dangerous anymore. Its like what its supposed to be. Action News got it done, said neighbor James Stanley. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Stanley said he and other neighbors contacted utility companies and the county about the dangling wires on Milam Road, but nothing was done. They say over a week ago, a tree trimming crew with a bucket truck accidentally pulled the wires down. Last month, a storm snapped a power pole nearby. They came and fixed the electrical lines, but not the communications lines. Theyre not high enough to keep school buses and trash trucks from hitting the line, neighbor Tony Hughes told Channel 2s Tom Regan. TRENDING STORIES: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A Douglas County Department of Transportation employee was on scene Thursday as a crew worked to repair lines. I received an email from within our department, and as soon as I received that email, I immediately took action. We like to maintain safe traveling ways for our traveling public, for our citizens as well as visitors, said Douglas County Utilities Engineer Todd Perkins. Other neighbors appreciated seeing the lines repaired. It looks much better now. Theyve done a tremendous job, said neighbor Randy Abel. [SIGN UP: WSB-TV Daily Headlines Newsletter] Sixteen and 17-year-olds would be able to vote at the next general election, under government plans to lower the voting age. The pledge is part of a raft of measures being introduced through a new Elections Bill. Other changes include expanding forms of voter ID to include UK-issued bank cards, moving towards automatic voter registration and tightening rules on political donations to protect against foreign interference. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The minimum voting age is already 16 for local council elections in Scotland and Wales, and elections to the Senedd and Scottish Parliament. However for other elections, including to the UK Parliament, local elections in England and all elections in Northern Ireland, it is 18. Lowering the voting age to 16 across the UK would be the biggest change to the electorate since it was reduced from 21 to 18 in 1969. A pledge to lower the voting age to 16 was included in Labour's election manifesto but it did not feature in last summer's King's Speech, which sets out the government's priorities for the months ahead. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The government has now confirmed it is planning to introduce the change in time for 16 and 17-year-olds to vote at the next general election, which is due to take place by 2029 but could be called earlier than this. Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner told the BBC: "I was a mum at 16, you can go to work, you can pay your taxes and I think that people should have a vote at 16." However, Conservative shadow minister Paul Holmes said the government's position was "hopelessly confused". "Why does this government think a 16-year-old can vote but not be allowed to buy a lottery ticket, an alcoholic drink, marry, or go to war, or even stand in the elections they're voting in?" he asked in the Commons. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Critics of the idea argue it could benefit Labour as young people are more likely to vote for left-wing parties. However, polls suggest Labour's youth vote is at risk of being chipped away at by the Greens, Liberal Democrats and Reform UK. In the UK 16 and 17-year-olds make up only around 3% of the population aged 16 and over so researchers say the impact on overall vote share is likely to be negligible, particularly as turnout tends to be lower for younger age groups. The government has rejected claims it is introducing the change because it will benefit Labour. "This isn't about trying to rig votes for a particular party. This is about democracy and giving young people an opportunity to have a say," Rayner said. Voter ID Among the other plans set out by the government are expanding the list of accepted ID to vote in Great Britain to UK-issued bank cards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Labour opposed the introduction of voter ID under the Conservatives in 2023 but in its election manifesto the party only promised to "address inconsistencies" in the rules "that prevent legitimate voters from voting", rather than scrapping the policy entirely. Some 4% of people who did not vote at last year's general election said this was because of voter ID rules, according to the Electoral Commission. But the Conservatives suggested allowing bank cards as voter ID could "undermine the security of the ballot box". The government said it would also work towards creating an automated voter registration scheme over the coming years, with safeguards so that people are aware of their registration status and can opt-out if they wish. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Currently people in the UK need to register in order to vote, which can be done online or using a paper form. The Electoral Commission estimates that nearly eight million people are incorrectly registered or missing from the electoral register entirely, with the issue disproportionately affecting private renters and young people. In a 2023 report it suggested an automated system could involve organisations like the Passport Office providing Electoral Registration Officers with the names and addresses of people eligible to vote so they can be registered. The government said its plans would mean eligible voters could be directly added to the electoral register through better sharing of data between government agencies. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Exactly how this would work has not been confirmed yet, with the government saying it plans to test different methods. The National Union of Students described lowering the voting age as "a major victory for young people". It called on the government to make it as easy as possible for 16 and 17-year-olds to vote by scrapping voter ID laws, implementing automatic voter registration and promoting political literacy in schools and colleges. Foreign donors Meanwhile, the government said changes to the rules around political donations would help to tackle foreign interference. Currently political parties can only accept donations from individuals registered on a UK electoral register or UK-registered companies which carry out business in the country. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement However, there have been concerns that foreign nationals could get around the rules by donating through a foreign company that is registered in the UK. The issue came to the forefront at the end of last year, when it was reported that US billionaire Elon Musk could make a donation to Reform UK through the British arm of his social media company X. Under the plans, political parties would have to assess companies they receive donations from. Companies would have to make sufficient income in the UK or Ireland to donate. The government said its proposals would close loopholes that mean a new company, registered only recently without even a single day of trade, owned by anyone, could still donate to a political party. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Liberal Democrats welcomed votes at 16 as "a no-brainer" but said "ministers must go much further to close the door to foreign oligarchs interfering in British politics". [BBC] Sign up for our Politics Essential newsletter to keep up with the inner workings of Westminster and beyond. Washington state has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trumps administration for unlawfully terminating billions of dollars in disaster mitigation funding. Attorney General Nick Brown is leading a coalition of 20 states in challenging the decision to shut down FEMAs Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, which has been active for 30 years to help communities prepare for natural disasters. This illegal cut endangers the communities most vulnerable to natural disasters, Brown said. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The BRIC program has historically provided resources to fortify communities against natural disasters, saving money and lives by focusing on preparation rather than post-disaster recovery. The termination of the BRIC program has forced communities to delay, scale back, or cancel hundreds of mitigation projects, threatening investments made over the years, AG Browns office said. Congress passed a law requiring FEMA to protect communities through mitigation, preparation, response, and recovery, with the BRIC program being central to these efforts. Browns office said that a study found that every dollar spent on mitigation saves an average of $6 in post-disaster costs. The lawsuit claims that FEMAs decision to terminate the BRIC program violates Congressional intent and legal principles, including the Separation of Powers and the Administrative Procedure Act. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The coalition seeks a preliminary injunction to prevent the Trump administration from reallocating BRIC funds and a permanent injunction to restore the program. Washington state has 27 open BRIC projects totaling $182 million, with significant funding going to small towns and rural communities. Projects in Washington include constructing levees and floodwalls in Aberdeen and Hoquiam and generating electricity in Klickitat County for hospitals and schools during severe weather. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee urged the Republican majority on Tuesday to call top Trump administration officials to testify about their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein investigation, the New York Times reports. Rep. Jamie Rasking, D-Md., joins Morning Joe to discuss. The death toll from the violence in southern Syria's Sweida province continues to climb, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reporting at least 516 deaths since fighting erupted on July 13. The observatory documented the killing of 83 Druze civilians in streets across Sweida and the surrounding countryside, for which it said Syrian government forces were responsible. "There were bodies everywhere," said a volunteer working with the city's civil defence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In another reported atrocity, three members of the Bedouin community a woman, a child, and a man were executed by Druze armed factions in Sweida city, the observatory said, citing video evidence. Some 150 Druze and 261 government troops were among the dead, the observatory said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights relies on a network of sources on the ground and is generally seen as credible, though its figures cannot be independently verified. The observatory and the state-run news agency SANA also said there was a mass exodus under way from Bedouin neighbourhoods threatened by Druze militants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The war monitor said what began in Sweida city as local clashes has now devolved into a cycle of reprisals, sectarian fear and mass displacement. It issued an urgent plea to Druze religious authorities to intervene, calling for an end to reprisals and protection for civilians, and warning that unchecked sectarian violence could unravel what remains of Syria's fragile social fabric. Clashes between Sunni Bedouins and Druze in southern Syria have escalated sharply in recent days, centred on the Druze-majority city of Sweida. Following the outbreak of violence in Syria's Sweida province, the Syrian government deployed troops and other security forces. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Israel then said it intervened to protect the Druze minority, carrying out airstrikes on multiple targets in Damascus on Wednesday, including within the compound of Syria's Defence Ministry. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 personnel from Syria's Defence and Interior Ministries were killed in Israeli airstrikes. On Wednesday, Syrian authorities and Sheikh Yusuf al-Jarbou, the spiritual leader of the Druze community, announced a new ceasefire agreement - though it remained highly uncertain whether peace would prevail after a local leader of the Druze minority rejected the deal. According to media reports, the government in Damascus announced it would halt all military operations under a new ceasefire agreement. A joint committee of government officials and Druze religious leaders is expected to monitor the deal's implementation. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that government troops had begun withdrawing from Sweida. Druze militias are said to have taken up positions in the city. Even after the fighting ended, water and electricity supplies were cut off, local residents said. The local health authority said the city's hospital had to be closed due to damage, while bakeries and markets also remained shut. In a dawn speech broadcast on national television, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday accused Israel of exploiting the unrest by targeting civilian infrastructure and seeking to derail peace and reconstruction efforts. He also reaffirmed the Druze community's place in Syrian society, underscoring the state's commitment to protecting their rights and freedoms, and warned against attempts to drag Syria into foreign agendas. The Druze emerged from Shiite Islam in the 11th century and today reside primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. They enjoyed a degree of autonomy in Sweida during the Syrian civil war. Displaced Bedouin Arab families leave the area with their belongings in the southern Syrian province of Suwayda, heading toward the neighboring Daraa province. Fear and shock have gripped Syria's southern province of Sweida, after isolated clashes between local Druze and Sunni Bedouin tribes escalated into one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence the region has seen in years. Moawia Atrash/dpa Displaced Bedouin Arab families leave the area with their belongings in the southern Syrian province of Suwayda, heading toward the neighboring Daraa province. Fear and shock have gripped Syria's southern province of Sweida, after isolated clashes between local Druze and Sunni Bedouin tribes escalated into one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence the region has seen in years. Moawia Atrash/dpa The death toll from the violence in southern Syria's Sweida province continues to climb, with the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based war monitor, reporting at least 516 deaths since fighting erupted on July 13. The observatory documented the killing of 83 Druze civilians in streets across Sweida and the surrounding countryside, for which it said Syrian government forces were responsible. "There were bodies everywhere," said a volunteer working with the city's civil defence. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In another reported atrocity, three members of the Bedouin community a woman, a child, and a man were executed by Druze armed factions in Sweida city, the observatory said, citing video evidence. Some 150 Druze and 261 government troops were among the dead, the observatory said. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights relies on a network of sources on the ground and is generally seen as credible, though its figures cannot be independently verified. The observatory and the state-run news agency SANA also said there was a mass exodus under way from Bedouin neighbourhoods threatened by Druze militants. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The war monitor said what began in Sweida city as local clashes has now devolved into a cycle of reprisals, sectarian fear and mass displacement. It issued an urgent plea to Druze religious authorities to intervene, calling for an end to reprisals and protection for civilians, and warning that unchecked sectarian violence could unravel what remains of Syria's fragile social fabric. Tribes mobilize in support of Bedouin communities Thousands of Arab tribesmen from across Syria have mobilized toward Sweida in a dramatic show of solidarity with Bedouin communities, after armed Druze factions reportedly launched attacks on tribal villages in the area. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Mass gatherings of armed tribesmen from the countryside surrounding Damascus, as well as the cities of Homs, Hama and Daraa, were reported near key border areas with Sweida, in response to urgent appeals from Bedouin communities. Druze factions allegedly loyal to prominent religious leader Sheikh Hikmat al-Hijri reportedly launched attacks on Thursday on tribal villages in and around Sweida. Sheikh Mohammad Al-Hassan of the Masaa'id tribe said the villages of al-Mansoura, Rajm al-Zaytoun, and parts of Shahba and Maqous were raided. He reported dozens killed, homes burned, livestock and vehicles looted, and women assaulted. Ali Al-Jamlan, a tribal elder from Lajat, warned the violence could spiral into widespread conflict. "These attacks will only bring ruin. Our people have been slaughtered, displaced, and robbed," he said, blaming the Syrian government for withdrawing the army after a temporary ceasefire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Tribal leaders now accuse Druze militias of carrying out coordinated attacks while the military stood down, leaving Bedouin communities defenceless. In a statement, al-Hijri denied any sectarian motives and emphasized coexistence. He condemned any individual acts of violence, stressing unity and rejecting incitement. Meanwhile, Syria's state news agency SANA reported that "outlaw groups" attacked the Maqous neighborhood, committing "massacres" and "field executions" against civilians, sparking large-scale displacement. With Sweida effectively under siege and fears of broader intercommunal warfare rising, tribal elders continue to call for de-escalation and renewed dialogue. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One elder warned, "No foreign power can bring peace. Only mutual respect and neighbourly ties can protect this land from collapse." Fighting erupted in Druze-majority Sweida Clashes between Sunni Bedouins and Druze in southern Syria have escalated sharply in recent days, centred on the Druze-majority city of Sweida. Following the outbreak of violence in Syria's Sweida province, the Syrian government deployed troops and other security forces. Israel then said it intervened to protect the Druze minority, carrying out airstrikes on multiple targets in Damascus on Wednesday, including within the compound of Syria's Defence Ministry. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 15 personnel from Syria's Defence and Interior Ministries were killed in Israeli airstrikes. On Wednesday, Syrian authorities and Sheikh Yusuf al-Jarbou, the spiritual leader of the Druze community, announced a new ceasefire agreement - though it remained highly uncertain whether peace would prevail after a local leader of the Druze minority rejected the deal. According to media reports, the government in Damascus announced it would halt all military operations under a new ceasefire agreement. A joint committee of government officials and Druze religious leaders is expected to monitor the deal's implementation. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights confirmed that government troops had begun withdrawing from Sweida. Druze militias are said to have taken up positions in the city. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Even after the fighting ended, water and electricity supplies were cut off, local residents said. The local health authority said the city's hospital had to be closed due to damage, while bakeries and markets also remained shut. In a dawn speech broadcast on national television, Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Thursday reaffirmed the Druze community's place in Syrian society, underscoring the state's commitment to protecting their rights and freedoms, and warned against attempts to drag Syria into foreign agendas. The Druze emerged from Shiite Islam in the 11th century and today reside primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel and Jordan. They enjoyed a degree of autonomy in Sweida during the Syrian civil war. Displaced Bedouin Arab families leave the area with their belongings in the southern Syrian province of Suwayda, heading toward the neighboring Daraa province. Fear and shock have gripped Syria's southern province of Sweida, after isolated clashes between local Druze and Sunni Bedouin tribes escalated into one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence the region has seen in years. Moawia Atrash/dpa Displaced Bedouin Arab families leave the area with their belongings in the southern Syrian province of Suwayda, heading toward the neighboring Daraa province. Fear and shock have gripped Syria's southern province of Sweida, after isolated clashes between local Druze and Sunni Bedouin tribes escalated into one of the deadliest outbreaks of violence the region has seen in years. Moawia Atrash/dpa SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) Last year, Sioux City posted several signs to discourage giving money to panhandlers. And organizations are encouraged by the impact. It helps us with being able to point people in the proper direction, on how to help people, said Shayla Moore, the executive director with the Warming Shelter Last year, the City of Sioux City put up signs across downtown to encourage residents to donate to the Sioux City Community Assistance, a local non-profit, designed to help those struggling to get put into permanent housing. While the funds dont go to the Warming Shelter or the Gospel Mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The money thats given doesnt necessarily help us directly, but it does still help, Moore said. It has, however, been helping the people they serve. We connect with the city on a daily basis, said Moore. Sometimes that means us sending clients to them so they can get things like IDs and birth certificates and things like that. And so that money is used more so for the same clients. It doesnt necessarily get funneled back into our shelter, but it does help our clients. Story continues below Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement And while the homeless population is not on the rise, its also decreasing. It has hovered around the same number over the past couple of years. We do do the annual pet count, which kind of gauges, you know, how many homeless people are in our community and whether or not theyre housed or unhoused, said Moore. Local organizations said that while donating to the homeless feels like a nice gesture, its not the way to go. I would recommend the public give to the nonprofits in town here places like the Gospel Mission, the Warming Shelter, the Soup Kitchen. Those are all, again, 51-C3 that are dedicated to serving the homeless and the needy in our community, said Randy Elhers, the executive director for the Gospel Mission. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But if you do want to give directly to someone, you see. Elhers suggests, There are things that they do need when theyre out there, water, maybe a meal, those kinds of things. And just to encourage people to help them in those ways rather than, you know, handing them the money. The Sioux City Neighborhood Services said they did not have enough data to make a comment on the impact the signs have had. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Those in the Milwaukee metropolitan area don't have to wait until NBC's annual National Dog Show on Thanksgiving to witness some pretty pups strut their stuff this year. Over 1,700 dogs from around the nation will be flocking to Waukesha Kennel Club's annual Summer Splash Dog Shows, Wisconsin's largest full-spectrum dog show, from Friday, July 25, through Sunday, July 27. Many will compete for the highest title in the dog show biz, "Best in Show," which includes a $500 cash prize. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Over the course of the three-day event, Conformation, Dock Diving, Junior Showmanship, Fast Cat, Fetch, Obedience and PeeWee competitions will take place. Here is what to know about the Waukesha Kennel Club's 2025 Summer Splash Dog Shows: When and where is the Waukesha Kennel Club's 2025 Summer Splash Dog Shows? The Waukesha Kennel Club Summer Splash Dog Shows will take place from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on July 25, 26 and 27. It will be held at the Waukesha County Expo Center, 1000 Northview Road. How much is admission to the Waukesha Kennel Club's 2025 Summer Splash Dog Shows? Admission to the Waukesha Kennel Club Summer Splash Dog Shows is $10 per carload. What kinds of competitions will take place at Waukesha Kennel Club's 2025 Summer Splash Dog Shows? Here's a breakdown of all of the Summer Splash Dog Shows and what they consist of, according to the Waukesha Kennel Club: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conformation: In order to vie for the title of "Best in Show," dogs and their handlers must take part in the conformation competition, one of the main events at the Summer Splash Dog Shows. This competition takes place over all three days, and dogs first compete against their own breed, where judges will look for the best representation of the breed based on American Kennel Club standards. Winners of each breed then go to the group class, competing with other best of breed winners. To finish it off, the winners of the group classes go head to head for "Best in Show," which is given to the dog that best meets their own breed's standards. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Junior Showmanship: Kids just getting into dog showing, ages 9 to 18, showcase their handling skills. Fast Cat: Think 100-yard dash at a track and field meet, but make it individual, and for dogs. Dock Diving: For this competition, dogs jump off a dock into a pool of water to retrieve an object. Holli Sowinski of Milwaukee sends her Labrador Retriever "Ruby" after a lure during the North American Diving Dog event at the Waukesha County Expo Center on Saturday, July 29, 2023. Fetch: This will be a test of a dog's ability to fetch on command. Obedience and Rally: Dogs and their handlers will navigate courses, jump obstacles and retrieve items. PeeWee Competition: This category features kids ages 4 to 8 who are just getting started in dog showing. What kind of dogs will be at the Waukesha Kennel Club's 2025 Summer Splash Dog Show? There are 202 recognized dog breeds within the American Kennel Club. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement There is a potential for all 202 breeds to be represented at the show, or at least close to it, including rare breeds, Jennifer Stagg, show chair of the Summer Splash Dog Shows, said. Will there be vendors at the Waukesha Kennel Club's 2025 Summer Splash Dog Show? The three-day dog show event will include information booths and vendors selling goods such as dog treats, collars and supplies, as well as art and clothing. Food vendors will also be on site. As seen on the map below, R1 through R17 represent each ring where shows will take place. Plus, the map shows where the vendors, parking lots, grooming and camping areas will be stationed around the grounds. What is Waukesha Kennel Club's 2025 Summer Splash Dog Shows schedule? Each dog breed for the conformation competitions will be shown at specified times of the day. These shows will occur in each of the 17 rings all three days from 8 a.m. to at least 2:30 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This schedule is not finalized yet, but it will be published here a week before the event. Because of the vast number of shows that will take place over the course of the three-day event, the schedule is quite complex. Stagg encourages attendees to visit the information booth at the show to ask questions. The "Best in Show" event will be held at the end of the day on Sunday, July 27, Stagg said. Mark Bettis of Milaca, Minnesota, shows a Bearded Collie named "Georgie" during the Waukesha Kennel Club's Summer Splash Dog Show at the Waukesha County Expo Center on Saturday, July 29, 2023. A meet the breeds event will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Two breeds will be featured at a time. Check the information table on-site for when each breed will be available to meet. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "It's a great place for people to come if they are considering getting a dog to talk to people who have that breed, see examples of that breed, maybe connect with breeders," Stagg said. The PeeWees competition, featuring children 3 to 8 years old, will be held on Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. The Fast Cat events will begin at 8 a.m. every day and run to about 4 p.m., Stagg said. "Experience all the different things that dogs do," Stagg said. "These dogs love what they are doing. Many of these dogs are treated like kings and queens." Can I bring my dog to the Kennel Club's 2025 Summer Splash Dog Shows? Jennifer said the show is family-friendly, but emphasized that unless entered in a competition, pets should stay at home. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Liliana Fannin is a 2025 summer intern at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel covering the Milwaukee suburbs. She can be contacted at lfannin@gannett.com. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Waukesha Kennel Club to host 2025 Summer Splash Dog Shows July 25-27 WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) A Jonesborough man faces several charges after he allegedly fled from deputies on a motorcycle, dumped it and then reported it missing two days later. According to a news release from the Washington County Tennessee Sheriffs Office (WCSO), deputies saw a black motorcycle run a stop sign at the intersection of Old Embreeville Road and Greenwood Drive on Sunday evening. Tenn., Va. lawmakers speak on public push to release Epstein files Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The motorcyclist evaded deputies and later dumped the motorcycle, helmet and clothing in a wooded area, the release states. The sheriffs office reports the motorcycle was registered to William Todd Rodefer, 61. Two family members reportedly identified the clothing found in the wooded area as the clothing Rodefer had worn earlier on Sunday. According to the WCSO, Rodefer came to the sheriffs office on Tuesday and reported the motorcycle stolen. Deputies arrived at Rodefers home on Tuesday evening and took him into custody. He was charged with the following: Trespass by motor vehicle Felony evading arrest Driving while suspended Stop sign violation False reporting Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Rodefer was also served with a warrant for violation of probation when he arrived at the Washington County Detention Center. As of Thursday, Rodefer was being held on a $21,000 bond and is set to appear in court later in the day for the probation violation charge. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 30 for the other charges he faces. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. California lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned about federal staffing cuts at the National Weather Service, which they say are harming the state's agriculture industry and putting critical fire operations in jeopardy. In a letter dated Wednesday and obtained by The Times, both U.S. senators from California, Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, urged the Trump administration to reverse its considerable cuts to the nation's leading weather agency, which has lost at least 600 employees to layoffs and buyouts this year. "The safety and lives of millions of Americans as well as the economic success of California depend on weather forecasts from the state's NWS offices," reads the letter , which was spearheaded by Schiff and addressed to Howard Lutnick, the Secretary of Commerce, and Laura Grimm, the acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the National Weather Service. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Protecting human lives from severe weather events is not a partisan issue, and it is important that the NWS has the workforce required to meet its core mandate to protect human life," the senators wrote. Their letter follows a Times report which found that two of the six NWS offices in California Hanford and Sacramento are among the hardest-hit by federal cuts in the nation. The president and his unofficial Department of Government Efficiency have said the cuts will help save taxpayers money and reduce federal waste. Read more: Trump cuts to California National Weather Service leave 'critical' holes: 'Its unheard of' Currently, Hanford is tied with Goodland, Kan., as the NWS office with the highest percentage of meteorologist vacancies in the country, with eight of 13 positions unfilled, or about 62%, according to The Times report, which used data from the National Weather Service Employees Organization. Sacramento is the next worse off, with half of its 16 meteorologist positions currently empty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The Hanford and Sacramento offices cover much of the Central Valley and Sierra Nevada among the most fire-prone parts of California and are responsible for providing extreme weather warnings to more than 7 million people. The offices no longer have enough staff to operate on their own 24 hours a day, The Times found. In a statement, NOAA spokesperson Erica Grow Cei said the agency is working to fill roles at offices with "the greatest operational need" through a combination of temporary job postings and reassignment opportunities. The agency will also be posting a targeted number of permanent "mission-critical" positions under an exemption to the department-wide hiring freeze to "further stabilize frontline operations." "The National Weather Service continues to meet its core missions amid recent reorganization efforts and is taking steps to prioritize critical research and services that keep the American public safe and informed," Grow Cei said. Read more: 'Forecast risk': How Trump's cuts to weather experts could imperil California Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The lawmakers and other state officials fear that the staff reductions are not only leaving regional offices in California critically understaffed, but also endangering lives. "The significant staffing cuts to these NWS offices will affect standard fire weather forecasting and warnings and the safe execution of firefighting efforts, which can have fatal consequences," the senators wrote. California is already contending with explosive wildfires that are expected to worsen in the months ahead. There are currently 10 active blazes in the state, including the 80,000-acre Madre fire in San Luis Obispo County the largest so far this year according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The year started with a devastating firestorm in Los Angeles, which arrived after days of urgent messaging from the NWS and leveled portions of Altadena and Pacific Palisades. Such advance weather warnings are a key part of the weather service's work, including fire weather watches and red flag warnings that not only advise the public of potentially dangerous conditions but also signal state officials to begin positioning resources, according to David Acuna, battalion chief of communications with Cal Fire. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It's also common for National Weather Service meteorologists to deploy to active fires to provide real-time weather information to crews including wind speeds, humidity and temperature, which all influence a fire's behavior, Acuna said. Acuna declined to comment on federal decisions, but noted that Cal Fire crews remain prepared for an active season. According to the agency's latest seasonal outlook, fire potential is expected to increase steadily through the summer and into September across the state, especially in the southern Sierra and inland areas. "We are ready to respond, as we always have been, to aggressively attack fires," Acuna said. Read more: California's 2025 wildfire season was already going to be dangerous. Trump has made it worse Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Federal meteorologists also play a key role in California's $50-billion agriculture industry, said the senators, who noted in their letter that "staffing shortages at these NWS offices may result in direct harm to farmers, economic losses for the state and country, and a less stable food supply." In addition to snowpack and precipitation observations, the weather service also offers soil moisture reports, water supply outlooks and temperature forecasts, all of which are useful for farm operations particularly as climate change makes water supplies in the state increasingly unpredictable. The California Department of Water Resources, for example, publishes water supply forecasts and water resources updates that use NWS data, as does the U.S. Drought Monitor. California is not the only state grappling with climate-fueled disasters and a shortage of weather forecasters. In Texas, where a devastating Fourth of July flood along the Guadalupe River in Kerr County killed at least 133 people, officials are also probing whether staff cuts at the agency played a role. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Though the NWS succeeded in issuing flood watches and warnings in advance of that event, its local offices closest to the flooding were short several key positions, documents show. At the Austin/San Antonio office that covers Kerr County, the weather coordination meteorologist the person responsible for communicating forecasts with the public and the local government took Trump's buyout in April, according to Tom Fahy, legislative director of the National Weather Service Employees Organization. Schiff and Padilla requested that federal officials provide updated vacancy information, details on staffing needs and hiring plans, and effects on fire-related work, farmers and the food supply chain, by July 31. Times staff writer Rong-Gong Lin II contributed to this report. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times. WESTERN SLOPE, Colo. (KREX) As the weather has been very dry and windy and, of course, hot during the summer season, the Grand Valley has dealt with another year of drought. Here on the Western Slope, there have been concerns about whether there will be any water until the next snow season. Russ Schumacher, the climatologist and professor of atmospheric science for Colorado State University, states, Any time we get these years with, you know, poor snowpack, low stream flows, thats always concerning, because thats our water supply, is it comes from that snow, right? Not just here in Colorado, but for millions of people in all directions. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Looking closer at Mesa County, according to the data that was provided, Grand Junction had 2.8 inches of snowfall this year, making it the lowest on record. It also wasnt a very good snow year up on the Grand Mesa, which is where, you know, thats where you do tend to see a lot of snow, and thats the source of a lot of the water that comes into the Grand Valley, Schumacher explains. But with the low runoff, this could have a big impact on the ecosystem. Blake Mamich, the programs director for Colorado Water Trust, states, Particularly around this time of year, the rivers start to get really low and start to have impacts to the fish where, you know, dissolved oxygen gets low, temperature gets high, which just adds stress to their general environment. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Farmers such as Tuxedo Corn have found a way to adapt to the water situation. John Harold, the owner of Tuxedo Corn, states, Weve got a whole new system this year with drip irrigation. Again, I cant explain all of it, whereby its gravity-fed rather than pressurized. WesternSlopeNow spoke with Tina Bergonzini, with the Grand Valley Water Users Association, to talk about how the Grand Valley is in a water restriction. Bergonzini states, We start restrictions when the supply exceeds the demand, when we dont have enough water for everyone that needs it, and we go into restriction. Should there come a point where the there we have more water than we have a demand for, then we will lift the restriction. With the year as hot and dry as this has been, I dont see that happening anytime soon, but we wont lift the restriction until then. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Lastly, with the drought affecting the Western Slope, this can be attributed to the fires we are currently seeing. The really bad wildfire seasons tend to be the years when we also have drought. And you know what drought does, is it, if you have a lack of precipitation, a lack of water supply, it dries out the soils, it dries out the vegetation. And that can, you know, that sets the stage for a wildfire, Schumacher explains. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Amid ongoing backlash over his handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, President Trump says he cant understand the fascination with the accused sex trafficker, who died by suicide in jail while awaiting trial. I dont understand why the Jeffrey Epstein case would be of interest to anybody, Trump told reporters earlier this week. Its pretty boring stuff. Its sordid, but its boring, and I dont understand why it keeps going. But the presidents own words through the years might help explain the fixation. October 2002: Trump calls Epstein a terrific guy Long before he became president, Trump was friends with Epstein, who, like him, owned homes in New York and Palm Beach, Fla., and liked, as he put it, beautiful women. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I've known Jeff for 15 years, Trump told New York Magazine for a 2002 profile of Epstein. Terrific guy. Hes a lot of fun to be with. It is even said that he likes beautiful women as much as I do, and many of them are on the younger side. July 2019: Trump says hes not a fan Donald and Melania Trump, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Fla., Feb. 12, 2000. (Davidoff Studios/Getty Images) In July 2019, during Trumps first term in office, Epstein was arrested on federal sex trafficking charges. Asked about his relationship with Epstein, the president distanced himself, saying he was not a fan. Well, I knew him like everybody in Palm Beach knew him, Trump told reporters following Epsteins arrest. I mean, people in Palm Beach knew him. He was a fixture in Palm Beach. I had a falling out with him a long time ago. I dont think Ive spoken to him for 15 years. I wasnt a fan. I was not, yeah, a long time ago, I'd say maybe 15 years. I was not a fan of his, that I can tell you. I was not a fan of his." August 2019: Trump suggests Bill Clinton may have been involved in Epsteins death A month later, after Epstein died in federal custody while awaiting trial, Trump retweeted a post that claimed without evidence that former President Bill Clinton was somehow involved. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Asked about the claim, Trump called for a full investigation into Epsteins death. "What we're saying is we want an investigation, Trump told reporters. I want a full investigation, and that's what I absolutely am demanding." The president directed then-Attorney General William Barr to lead the probe. Barr later said he agreed with the conclusion of the New York City medical examiner, who ruled the death a suicide. August 2020: Trump fuels more conspiracy theories Trump delivers remarks at a rally in Londonderry, N.H., Aug. 28, 2020. (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) During the 2020 presidential campaign, Trump continued to echo conspiracy theories pushed by some of his supporters who claim that Epstein was murdered to conceal the names of powerful people on a secret client list. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement People are still trying to figure out, how did it happen," Trump said in an interview with Axios. "Was it suicide? Was he killed? August 2023: Trump says its possible Epstein was killed but probably committed suicide In an interview with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, Trump was asked if it was possible Epstein had been killed. "Oh, sure, it's possible, Trump replied before quickly adding: I mean, I don't really believe I think he probably committed suicide. He had a life with, you know, beautiful homes and beautiful everything. And he all of a sudden is incarcerated and not doing very well. I would say that he did. But there are those people. There are many people, I think youre one of them, right? But a lot of people think that he was killed. He knew a lot of and a lot of people. 2024 campaign: Trump says hed consider releasing Epstein files as president Trump gestures during a rally in Freeland, Mich., May 1, 2024. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images) During the 2024 campaign, Trump said he would consider releasing additional government files on Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In an interview with Fox News in June of that year, Trump was asked if he would commit to releasing government files related to the John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. assassinations in addition to Epsteins death. "Would you declassify the Epstein files?" Fox News' Rachel Campos-Duffy asked. "Yeah, yeah, I would, Trump initially responded. He then clarified: "I don't know about Epstein so much as I do the others. Certainly about the way he died. It'd be interesting to find out what happened there, because that was a weird situation and the cameras didn't happen to be working, etc., etc. But yeah, I'd go a long way toward that one." Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In a September podcast interview with Lex Fridman, Trump called speculation about an Epstein client list "very interesting" and hed probably release it. I'd certainly take a look at it, Trump said, before comparing the Epstein case to the Kennedy assassination. Now, Kennedy's interesting because it's so many years ago," Trump said. "They [classify] that for danger too, because it endangers certain people, etc., etc. So Kennedy is very different from the Epstein thing, but I'd be inclined to do the Epstein. I'd have no problem with it." 2025: Trump fumes over focus on the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax President Trump speaks with reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. (Nathan Howard/Reuters) After Trump took office, he directed the Justice Department to conduct an exhaustive review of the evidence collected on Epstein. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Appearing on Fox News in February, Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Epstein client list was sitting on my desk right now to review. Thats been a directive by President Trump, she added. But Trump himself didnt say much about the Epstein probe until last week, when the DOJ and FBI released a two-page memo concluding Epstein had no client list and that he committed suicide in his cell. One of our highest priorities is combating child exploitation and bringing justice to victims, the FBI and DOJ said. Perpetuating unfounded theories about Epstein serves neither of those ends. The memo triggered the recent backlash among Trumps longtime supporters. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a Cabinet meeting on July 8, Trump bristled at a reporters question about the Epstein memo. "Are you still talking about Jeffrey Epstein?" Trump said. "This guy's been talked about for years. You're asking. We have Texas [flooding], we have this. We have all of the things. And are people still talking about this guy, this creep? That is unbelievable." Jeffrey Epstein, March 28, 2017. (New York State Sex Offender Registry via AP) On Saturday, Trump released a lengthy statement expressing his frustration over the Epstein saga. Were on one Team, MAGA, and I dont like whats happening, Trump wrote on Truth Social. We have a PERFECT Administration, THE TALK OF THE WORLD, and selfish people are trying to hurt it, all over a guy who never dies, Jeffrey Epstein. For years, its Epstein, over and over again. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement One year ago our Country was DEAD, now its the HOTTEST Country anywhere in the World, he added. Lets keep it that way, and not waste Time and Energy on Jeffrey Epstein, somebody that nobody cares about. Then on Wednesday, Trump lashed out at his supporters while repeatedly referring to the case as the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. My PAST supporters have bought into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker, the president fumed on a Truth Social post. All these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. A multi-story glass facade building can be seen under construction just east of Interstate 35 along Second Street in Edmond. While the new structure is on the campus of Life.Church, 4600 E. Second St., passersby might be asking, "What's that?" This multi-story building is under construction at Edmond's Life.Church, 4600 E. Second St. What is this building? The 96,102-square-foot building under construction will provide office space for the church's central teams that support the overall ministry, as well as space for a number of global ministries operated through the church. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement "Life.Church worked with Whiting-Turner Contracting Company for construction, Olsson for civil engineering, Wallace Design Collective for structural engineering, and Allen Consulting for mechanical, electrical and plumbing," said Rachel Feuerborn, senior director of public relations for Life.Church. "Allford Hall Monaghan Morris is the architect of record, and for the "Bible Impact Experience," Life.Church collaborated with Storyland Studios Inc. on the design concept of the space." More: What's that new building on NW 178th and May Avenue? Here's what's opening there this year How will this multi-story building near Second Street and I-35 in Edmond be used once it is completed? What can visitors expect? Other than being an office space for the ministries, the new space will include an interactive exhibit called the "Bible Impact Experience" that will highlight the history and global impact of the Bible. When will it open? The new building is set to open in late fall this year. Beyond a large parking lot, various workers and machinery can be seen around a new multi-story building under construction in east Edmond. How many Life.Church locations are in Oklahoma? With 45 church locations across 12 states, there are 20 Life.Church locations in Oklahoma. This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Life.Church in Edmond new construction: How new building will be used One Delaware House member has left, another will soon take their place. Following Stell Parker Selbys resignation in June, a special election was called to find a candidate to fill the remainder of the term for the Milton- and Lewes-area district. Sussex County political parties have named nominees for the upcoming race. Democrat: Delaware Center for Justice Executive Director Alonna Berry Republican: longtime educator and community leader Nikki Miller Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Heres what you need to know about the candidates for the Representative House District 20 seat. How we got here: Special election for Rep. Parker Selby's seat is set. Who's on the ballot and what's next? Alonna Berry, Democrat Delaware Center for Justice Executive Director Alonna Berry was selected by Sussex County Democrats as their nominee for the Representative District 20 special election. The special election was called to fill the House seat held by former Rep. Stell Parker Selby. Alonna Berry isnt running to just to sit in a seat; shes running because she is ready to show up for her district. A self-described multi-generational Sussex Countian, Berry is running to fight for the heart of Sussex but also out of a love for her community and a desire to help make it better for her children and her childrens children. This is about more than just me, she said. Its also about legacy, my family and my lineage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Among her key priorities, Berry supports achieving high-quality education, workforce development, support for local businesses and broadening access to restorative justice and related alternative programming. She is also focused on bracing for statewide federal budget cuts and working alongside legislators on both sides of the political aisle to ensure community protection. More: Delaware House Rep. Stell Parker Selby submits letter of resignation, citing health reasons She also has a slew of government and related experience under her belt, having served as a senior policy adviser for health, equity and education under former Gov. John Carney and as Delawares first statewide trauma-informed care coordinator. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Berry said she has the depth and breadth of experience and knowledge to prepare her for her next chapter in public service. And should she be elected, Berry said she will be here for the long haul. I know that our voters particularly in this district may have some frustration, maybe feeling like they didnt have a voice this last legislative session, Berry said. And Im running to both listen, to be the ear on the ground in this community and then be able to take what Im hearing back to Dover. Nikki Miller, Republican Long-time educator and community leader Nikki Miller was selected by Sussex County Republicans as their nominee for the Representative District 20 special election. The special election was called to fill the House seat held by former Rep. Stell Parker Selby. For Nikki Miller, this moment has been a long time coming. Having worked in the field of education for over two decades including having previously served as principal of Cape Henlopen High School and the current supervisor of instruction at the Seaford School District and a familiar face in her surrounding community, Miller was approached with the prospect of running for office before, but didnt feel the timing was quite right. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Miller eventually faced Parker Selby last November, with the former Representative squeaking out a narrow win by a few hundred votes, and had plans to run again in 2026. But when life suddenly changed course with the announcement of a special election, Miller said there was no question she was ready. If I was going to run for 2026, why would I not run for the special [election]? she said. Millers campaign platform focuses on what matters most to our families, including quality education, public safety and affordable housing. She has also prioritized protecting farmland and open spaces, improving traffic, proactive constituent service and common sense solutions to everyday issues. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement If elected, Miller feels her leadership experience and skills have more than prepared her to serve in this new role and wants, and is determined to leave, a bigger impact. I love where I live, and I want to be able to support the people, Miller said. When does the special election take place? The special election will take place on Aug. 5, according to the Delaware Department of Elections. Early voting will take place on the following dates: July 24-26 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 28-29 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. July 30 to Aug. 3 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. There will be no early voting on July 27. Early voters can cast their ballots at Mariner Middle School in Milton. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whoever wins the special election will serve the district for the remainder of Parker Selby's term, which is set to expire in November 2026. Additional information can be found on the departments website. Olivia Montes covers state government and community impact for Delaware Online/The News Journal. If you have a tip or a story idea, reach out to her at omontes@delawareonline.com. This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Meet the candidates running for former Delaware representative's seat The AR-15, first adopted by the Air Force in 1962, served from the Vietnam War (as the M16 rifle) to the Middle East (as the M4 carbine). Although the weapon had teething issues (through no fault of its own), it proved itself to be a lightweight, reliable, and effective tool for the U.S. military. The modular platform was able to adapt to new technologies like rails, electronic sights, and infrared lasers. On April 19, 2022, the Army announced that Sig Sauer had been selected as the winner of the Next Generation Squad Weapon (NGSW) contract for the XM5, which will replace the M4. Redesignated the XM7, the rifle dropped its experimental designation and was adopted by the Army as the M7. But the feasibility and necessity of the M7 are still in question. Advertisement Advertisement Starting within the Army, troops testing and evaluating the XM7 reported malfunctions with the rifle, suppressor, ammo, and optic. Everything but the ergonomics was criticized, and those are based on the AR-15, like most modern military rifles. Moreover, quality control issues were reported, including misaligned rails. Its all par for the course with a Sig product. But maybe this was an isolated experience? Thicc Sauer M7 (Capt. Braden Trent) In April 2025, Army Infantry Officer Capt. Braden Trent presented a report on the XM7 in Washington, D.C. While observing a live-fire exercise with the XM7, Trent noted that the soldiers ran out of ammo after just 15 minutes and had to scrounge magazines from radio operators, medics, and even platoon leaders. Where the M4 uses a standard 30-round magazine with a basic combat load of seven mags, the M7s larger 6.8x51mm bullet only allows for a standard magazine of 20 rounds; even with seven much heavier mags, the M7 reduces a soldiers fighting loadout by 33%. Speaking of weight, Capt. Trent recorded the unloaded weight of an issued XM7 as 13.26 pounds. This is even heavier than the M14 rifle, infamous as the shortest-lived American service rifle, which the M16 replaced. He also observed unusually high wear on barrels, bolts, and suppressors. He wasnt alone in his skepticism of the XM7. Advertisement Advertisement The XM7 with mounted XM157 demonstrated a low probability of completing one 72-hour wartime mission without incurring a critical failure, said a Department of Defense FY24 report by the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation. Interestingly, the Army dropped the XM7s experimental designation after (and in spite of) that DOT&E report. While Capt. Trents study was conducted as a student of the Marine Corps Expeditionary Warfare School and not as an official DoD or Army study, his findings are echoed by other subject matter experts. What does a functional suppressor look like? Not like this. (Capt. Braden Trent) Henry Chan of 9-Hole Reviews is an Iraq War veteran and former Army Ordnance Officer. Remember: amateurs talk tactics, professionals talk logistics. A skilled shooter, Chan praised the civilian XM7s performance on the static range. But, from an acquisitions perspective, he sees problems. The Army went on this boondoggle to do a weapons program for something that could penetrate 600-meter body armor and, I think, down the road, theyre going to run into ammunition supply issues, Chan said. He does note that the XM7s caliber can be easily converted to 7.62x51mm, which is standardized by NATO and used by allied militaries, unlike the proprietary 6.8x51mm cartridge of the M7. Advertisement Advertisement Dont want to listen to a former officer? Fine. Master Sgt. (ret.) Jeff Gurwitch of Modern Tactical Shooting served 26 years in the Army, 19 in Special Forces, and did nine combat deployments (three to Iraq and three to Afghanistan). Drawing from his experience as a senior NCO someone in the Army that you should probably listen to Gurwitch criticized the weight and reduced ammunition capacity of the M7. The war in Ukraine has been characterized by urban fighting in the cities and trench fighting in the fields (U.S. Army) While the Taliban PKM machine guns outranged U.S. M4 carbines in Afghanistan, Gurwitch highlights that matching machine gun performance with a standard-issue rifle is illogical. Moreover, 7.62x51mm weapons, such as the M240 machine gun and the M110 Semi-Automatic Sniper System, can match the range of the PKM. Looking at modern gunfights outside of Afghanistan like the Marines in Fallujah, the French in Mali, the Filipinos in Marawi, and even the Ukraine War, Gurwitch notes that modern combat generally takes place within 300 meters. When engagements happen beyond the range of small arms, other weapons like mortars, rockets, artillery, and drones are used. As Capt. Trents report shows, fire superiority wins gunfights and the M7 struggles with that. Advertisement Advertisement So, what about this requirement to penetrate body armor? The NGSW contract called for the weapon to be able to penetrate modern, near-peer body armor. But whose? Russia? China? North Korea? Iran? Why havent we seen this body armor on any of the battlefields around the world? A defense small arms industry insider, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, noted that the report of this advanced body armor was exaggerated and unsubstantiated. Its typical military acquisitions: buy a solution to a problem that doesnt exist. *Insert Simpsons meme* THATS how you replace the M4. (U.S. Marine Corps) What, then, should the Army do? The Marines put down their crayons long enough to pull a sneaky on the DoD and replace the M4 with the Heckler & Koch HK416 as the M27 IAR for the infantry. While the Army could follow suit, its unlikely and unnecessary. Despite early issues, the modern M4 is a lightweight, reliable, and effective weapon. A 2006 survey of soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan showed that 89% felt that the M4 was reliable in combat, with only 19% reporting any stoppage in battle. But the M4 shits where it eats! This line has been spouted by AR-haters since Eugene Stoner introduced the internal-piston system. Commonly, but inaccurately, referred to as a direct impingement system, the M4 siphons gas from the barrel behind the bullet and channels it back into the receiver of the weapon to cycle the bolt. This allows for a light gas system with light recoil. Advertisement Advertisement What about the carbon and dirt getting shot into the receiver? First, a good NCO is going to smoke you into nonexistence for having a dirty rifle. Second, Marine veteran Tim Harmsen fired 10,000 rounds through an AR-15 without cleaning it. While the rifle used in the test is more akin to the M4A1 SOPMOD Block II used by Special Operations Command than a standard issue Army M4A1, it demonstrates that the M4 can handle high round counts. The Army has tried and failed to replace the M16 and the M4 before. While the M7 is certainly more powerful, its also heavier, appears to be less reliable, complicates logistics and interoperability with allies, and arguably reduces lethality in a modern gunfight. Maybe the M4 isnt the best weapon for the job anymore, but the M7 doesnt seem to be, either. Dont Miss the Best of Mighty Weapons We Are The Mighty is a celebration of military service, with a mission to entertain, inform, and inspire those who serve and those who support them. We are made by and for current service members, veterans, spouses, family members, and civilians who want to be part of this community. Keep up with the best in military culture and entertainment: subscribe to the We Are The Mighty newsletter. If you are a lover of Coca-Cola, you might want to hold on, because the beloved drink may be on the verge of it's biggest change in decades. Everything is unconfirmed, but according to President Donald Trump, Coke has agreed to switch its formula in the U.S. from using high-fructose corn syrup to cane sugar. The announcement was made on social media, including a July 16, 2025, post by The White House on X (formerly known as Twitter), which stated, "I have been speaking to Coca-Cola about using REAL Cane Sugar in Coke in the United States, and they have agreed to do so. I'd like to thank all of those in authority at Coca-Cola. This will be a very good move by them You'll see. It's just better!" Tasting Table has reached out to Coca-Cola but, as of the time of writing, we have not yet received a response to our request for comment. The use of high-fructose corn syrup over cane sugar in American Coke has long been a point of contention, with many fans often saying the Mexican version of Coke tastes better than the American one because it uses cane sugar. The switch to high-fructose corn syrup in the United States happened back in the early 1980s, around the time of New Coke. During this time, corn prices were plummeting due to overplanting, sugar prices were high due to import tariffs, and big government subsidies for growing corn made using enzyme-treated corn syrup a cheaper alternative for sweetening sodas. Since then, fans have claimed the high-fructose corn syrup Coca-Cola products never tasted the same, and the sweetener has also become a target of health activists. Read more: 15 Energy Drink Brands That Aren't Red Bull, Ranked High-Fructose Corn Syrup And Cane Sugar Are Pretty Similar Cane sugar in a bowl next to cubes and raw sugarcanes outside - Photoongraphy/Shutterstock Beyond some fans preferring the old cane sugar Coke, high-fructose corn syrup (which is different from plain corn syrup) has also been in the crosshairs of Trump's U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Kennedy Jr. has blamed high-fructose corn syrup for the nation's increase in chronic disease, and said it's formulated to make people obese and diabetic. He has even vowed to try and ban high-fructose corn syrup, although that action is considered unlikely as the corn-based sweetener is a major product of American farmers. However, the chemical structure of high-fructose corn syrup and cane sugar is almost identical, and there is currently no scientific evidence that one is healthier than the other in any way. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement That doesn't mean the difference between cane sugar Coke and the American high-fructose corn syrup version is all in people's heads. According to a series of blind taste tests performed by Serious Eats, people can taste a difference between the two, although which one is better comes down to personal preference. So, while any health claims about Coke switching back to cane sugar are mostly bunk, your can of Coca-Cola may have a noticeably different taste soon. The reaction if this does actually happen will be interesting. Maybe 40-plus years of drinking Coke with high-fructose corn syrup conditioned most Americans to prefer that version, even if the Mexican Coke evangelists think otherwise? Either way, it will represent a major sea change in the history of America's most iconic drink. Read the original article on Tasting Table. AUSTIN (KXAN) In an effort to help residents affected by floods in Central Texas, Williamson County, in coordination with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), announced it will soon open a Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) at the Williamson County EMS North Campus. The recovery center, located at 3189 Southeast Inner Loop in Georgetown, will be open from July 18 through August 10 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Residents do not need to make an appointment, according to a press release from Williamson County. First flood warning bill filed ahead of Texas special session Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement FEMA representatives will be at the site to help people who suffered flood-related damage or losses but are not covered by insurance. According to the release, representatives will also provide help with general disaster recovery. They will assist with navigating disaster assistance programs, answer questions and provide support, the release said. On Saturday, July 5, Williamson County experienced devastating flooding, where officials confirmed three people were killed. The following Friday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Williamson County was being added to the Presidential Disaster Declaration, KXAN reported. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The DRC will be open to homeowners, renters and business owners who sustained disaster-related damage in Williamson County. Assistance may include help with temporary housing, home repairs, personal property losses and other disaster-related needs, the release said. MAP: Where have flash flooding deaths been confirmed in Texas? In addition to the DRC, Williamson County will host a Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) where local and nonprofit organizations will provide recovery resources, basic needs assistance and guidance for next steps, the release said. The multi-agency resource center will also be open at the EMS North Campus from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 20, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Residents are encouraged to register with FEMA before visiting the DRC by either calling 800-621-3362, visiting disasterassistance.gov or using the FEMA mobile app. Information about flood recovery efforts in Williamson County 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 KXAN Austin. Former police chief: Wingate officers lose jobs after speaking at meeting WINGATE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) The former Wingate Police chief says he was told by the town manager to let two officers go after they spoke up at a town meeting Tuesday night to disband the towns police department. Our future is on the chopping block, said Wingate Police officer Sterling Hall to the crowd gathered at the meeting on Tuesday. You should be able to vote, Officer Randy Down told the crowd. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Despite the officers pleas to save their jobs, town leaders voted to disband the Wingate Police Department. Wingate residents hug members of the police department Immediately after the meeting, the former police chief, who says his last day on the job was Tuesday, says Officers Down and Hall were let go. The former chief says the town manager came to him and told him to tell Officers Down and Hall that their services were no longer needed. I think its very bad, I think when employees cant speak their opinion when asked, said Matt Tarlton, the former police chief of the nearby Marshville Police Department. Tarlton has been talking with the officers at Wingate. Matt Tarlton, former police chief of the Marshville Police Department Many dont know exactly when their last day will be. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement They feel like theyve been betrayed by the town, that the town didnt back them, they feel like theyve been abandoned, said Tarlton. The seven-officer department has been short-staffed for about the last two years and has struggled to keep officers and compete with larger agencies. The town estimates that disbanding the police force will save around $300,000. The taxpayers will still pay four deputies from the Union County Sheriffs Office to work in the town 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When you call 911, there will still be an officer that responds quickly or a deputy that responds quickly to resolve whatever situation youre facing. This is not a way to take away law enforcement services from this town. It is simply a transition to the sheriffs office, said Lt. James Maye with the Union County Sheriffs Office. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The sheriffs office currently contracts deputies to cover Lake Park, Indian Trail, Weddington, Marvin, and Wesley Chapel, and plans to add Wingate and be fully transitioned with the town by September or October. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News. WINOOSKI, Vt. (ABC22/FOX44) Vermonts congressional delegation announced in a joint statement that a $22.7 million federal grant will go to help replace the 96-year-old Winooski River Bridge. The replacement of the Winooski River Bridge will boost northern Vermonts critical infrastructure, improve safety and accessibility, and make Winooski more resilient to extreme weather, reads the statement. Winooski-Burlington bridge reconstruction project underway Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The bridge is currently safe, but is nearing the end of its life, and Burlington and Winooski have nearly doubled in population since it was built in 1928. The planned new bridge will feature improved drainage systems to better withstand flooding, a wider, safer sidewalk for pedestrians and bicycles, and a simpler, safer intersection design on the Burlington side of the bridge. Concept of the improved bridge presented in the Vermont House. The Vermont House transportation committee estimated the total cost of the replacement project at $70 to $80 million earlier this year. They wrote that construction could begin as early as 2027, with the new bridge slated to open as early as 2029. The process of acquiring land and permits for the project is already well underway. On Monday, the Winooski City Council discussed the purchase of a land parcel near the bridge for an estimated $188,400. Governor Phil Scott thanked the delegation for bringing money back home to Vermont. Maintaining safe and reliable public transportation infrastructure [is] one of the most important responsibilities of any government. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement $5.8 million federal grant to modernize Burlingtons airport The project was made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law passed in 2021, and the funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. POLK COUNTY, Iowa More than a dozen neglected animals were seized from a mobile home in northeast Des Moines Wednesday, and one woman was arrested in connection with the case. Michelle Ackelson, 41, was booked into the Polk County Jail on 5 counts of animal neglect with serious injury or death(aggravated misdemeanors) and 13 counts of animal neglect with injury(serious misdemeanors). She was given pretrial release on Thursday. Michelle Ackelson The Polk County Sheriffs Office said a search warrant was served on a residence in the 800 block of N.E. 46th Avenue for animal neglect Wednesday. The Animal Rescue League is caring for 17 animals that were recovered alive from the mobile home. They were all considered to be in poor health according to the PCSO. One animal was found to be deceased. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Plea deal reached for former Marshalltown substitute teacher accused of sexually exploiting student Court documents filed in the case reveal the mix of animals was cats, rats, bearded dragons, chickens, dogs, a ferret, and a deceased parakeet. Ackelson didnt live in the mobile home, where she was keeping the animals, according to court records. Animal feces were on the floor, tables, counters, and other items in the home, and there was a strong odor of animal urine. Ackelson allegedly told police that most of the animals hadnt received veterinary care in over a year. A preliminary hearing in the case is scheduled for August 7th. Metro news Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to who13.com. HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) A woman charged with murder in a June 16 shooting on Rucker Circle is arguing she acted in self-defense, but it is not clear when she will be allowed to make that argument in court. Amber Baker, 25, is charged with killing Nicholas Howell. Third man arrested in Huntsville gunpoint puppy robbery Bakers attorneys have asked a Madison County District Court judge to schedule an immunity hearing. The hearing would allow her to provide evidence that she was legally justified in the shooting because she acted in self-defense. If she were successful in making that argument, she would be immune from prosecution. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But in Alabama generally, immunity hearings are heard by the trial judge in Circuit Court, not judges in District Court, who handle the preliminary stages of a criminal case. Bakers attorney, Larry Marsili, made a similar argument on behalf of Jeremiah Matkins, who is also arguing he acted in self-defense in the Twin Peaks deadly shooting last November. Marsili argues that a defendant who believes they can prove they acted in self-defense should not have to wait a year or longer for the case to move to Circuit Court before they can argue self-defense. The Madison District Attorneys Office opposes having an immunity hearing in District Court and opposes Bakers request. In a court filing, prosecutors argue that immunity hearings are outside the jurisdiction of the District Court and the proper venue is in Circuit Court, before the trial judge. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But generally, a criminal case doesnt move to Circuit Court until a grand jury has decided there is enough evidence to indict a defendant. In Madison County, it often takes a year or longer for criminal cases to move from the arrest stage to a grand jury. Marsili contends that time lag is not reasonable for defendants who want to show the court they acted within their rights in using deadly force. Madison County District Judge Ron Smith heard arguments on the matter Tuesday and has given the parties until next week to file additional arguments over Bakers request. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WHNT.com. MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) The West Virginia Division of Natural Resources is seeking public input as it works to update the State Wildlife Action Plan, a document that guides efforts to conserve the states fish, wildlife and natural habitats. On Wednesday night, wildlife officials held a public input meeting at Percival Hall on WVUs Morgantown campus, where they said that the plan is critical because it enables West Virginia to receive federal funding to address conservation needs. It identifies species of greatest conservation concern, outlines key habitats across the state and highlights the major threats facing wildlife. The plan also recommends actions to reduce those threats, monitors the status of wildlife populations and habitats and helps agencies respond to changes such as disease outbreaks or habitat loss. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Some of these things affect people and people affect some of these things, the habits and the animals. So, there is interaction, and we would love to hear how you would like us to deal with it, the Wildlife Diversity Program Manager, Kieran OMalley, said. The plan is a collaborative effort that encourages participation from conservation organizations and relies heavily on public input. The State Wildlife Action Plan is revised at least once every ten years, but updates can happen sooner when new information or urgent issues arise, making it a living document. Tygart Adventures offers new obstacle course at Tygart Lake If forces us at least every 10 years, but for us were doing it more often, looking at all the species in the state and determining how vulnerable, how threatened they are to disturbance, to impacts, to negative impacts that maybe cause their habitat or their populations to decline, OMalley said. When we do this, and we do these surveys, we do monitoring, if we detect a change in a negative direction, we work to improve that, we adapt to the conditions and try and create conditions or implement actions that restore that population or restore that habitat. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Two additional meetings will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the following locations: July 17 at James Rumsey Vocational and Technical School in Martinsburg July 30 at the Claudia L. Workman Wildlife Education Center in Alum Creek Community members are encouraged to attend, share their input and learn more about how the plan shapes conservation decisions statewide. An online survey is also available for those who cannot attend in person. Ultimately, the goal is to protect and enhance West Virginias rich biodiversity and ensure healthy, sustainable wildlife populations for generations to come. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WBOY) The Harrison County Commission met Wednesday morning to discuss and vote on multiple issues, but the one that stood out the most was an update on the ongoing construction projects across Harrison County. West Virginia Division of Highways District 4 Manager Earl Gaskins presented a report on the $55 million worth of road projects happening in Harrison County. He said the downtown roadwork would be done next spring and that the stretch of I-79 between exits 117 and 124 would also be paved next spring. Gaskins also said that the state would start accepting bids for project for project on the 2nd Street Bridge and 4th Street Bridge on July 22. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement I know thats an inconvenience, but guys, what you dont understand is these are projects that needed to be done for years and years and years, Gaskins said to the commission. PHOTOS: Crews respond to large water main break in downtown Clarksburg The commission also voted on a number of issues during the meeting, including a vote to host a flea market at the former Sunset Ellis property on Aug. 9. Vendors will pay a $15 fee, be able to set up at 6 a.m., and the market will go until 2 p.m. The commission also passed a county ordinance that says fireworks are not permitted after 9 p.m. on weekdays and after 10 p.m. on weekends, with the exception of holidays. The ordinance includes a fine that can range between $200-1000. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We just have fireworks going off constantly now in our county and were not against fireworks. We want people to have fun, we want to celebrate New Years, we want to celebrate the Fourth of July, but what we dont want is we dont want the Fourth of July starting May 1 and then lasting for three months, County Commissioner Patsy Trecost said to 12 News. During the meeting, the commission also voted to apply for FEMA money worth roughly $54,000, as well as state funding worth roughly $18,000, to help repair the Mt. Clare Rail Trail Bridge that was damaged from flooding. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. 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. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that demobilisation will occur only after Ukraine defeats the Russians, emphasising the need for a high-quality rotation of the military in the meantime. Source: Zelenskyy addressing the Verkhovna Rada (Ukraines parliament) before the vote on a new government, as reported by Ukrinform; Ukrainian MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak on X (Twitter) Details: During the 17 July parliamentary session, MP Oleksii Honcharenko from the European Solidarity party asked Zelenskyy about a draft law on clear military service terms. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Quote from Zelenskyy: "Our people, the heroic soldiers, will return home when we defeat the enemy, which is Putin, there are no enemies inside our country. And you shouldnt take that side. Our heroes deserve quality rotations. People like you... When people like you help them in the combat zone, not just here." Honcharenko reacted with outrage to Zelenskyy addressing him in an informal way, shouting "shame". Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon! Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg and other company board members settled a shareholder lawsuit on Thursday concerning decisions made in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. A trial over the long-running case had just begun on Wednesday, with defendants accused of overpaying the US government in 2019 when they engineered a $5 billion settlement for alleged privacy violations in the scandal. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed the settlement to AFP, without providing details. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A spokesman for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, declined to comment. Lawyers for the defendants and shareholders didn't immediately return requests for comment. The settlement comes the same day that Marc Andreessen, one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capitalists and a Meta board member, was scheduled to take the stand. Zuckerberg himself was expected in the Wilmington, Delaware courtroom on Monday. Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel and former Meta top executive Sheryl Sandberg -- both former board members -- were also expected to face questioning in the court. Cambridge Analytica was a political consulting firm that was found to have improperly accessed personal data from millions of Facebook users for targeted political advertising, particularly during the 2016 US election and Brexit referendum. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The scandal thrust Facebook and Zuckerberg in particular into a political firestorm, leading to major regulatory changes and public scrutiny of tech companies' data practices. The shareholders in the lawsuit alleged that the board members conspired to pay more to the US government in exchange for ensuring that Zuckerberg would not be named personally for wrongdoing in the settlement. - High-profile case - Longtime observers of the company were hoping that the trial would expose inside details of how Zuckerberg and the Facebook executives handled the scandal. "This settlement may bring relief to the parties involved, but it's a missed opportunity for public accountability," said Jason Kint, the head of Digital Content Next, a trade group for content providers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement He worried that Meta "has successfully remade the 'Cambridge Analytica' scandal about a few bad actors rather than an unraveling of its entire business model of surveillance capitalism and the reciprocal, unbridled sharing of personal data." Zuckerberg was under huge pressure at the time from US and European lawmakers amid widespread allegations that Russia and other bad actors were weaponizing Facebook to sow chaos around major elections in the West. The multi-faceted case also alleged insider trading at the time of the events, with board members to be questioned about the timing of their share sales before the scandal erupted. The high-profile case was expected to bring further attention to Delaware, the state that many US companies choose for incorporation due to its highly specialized courts. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The trial was presided over and to be decided by Kathaleen McCormick, the same judge who last year rejected Elon Musk's multi-billion pay package at Tesla. Tesla has since chosen to reincorporate in Texas and reports said that Meta was also considering a different state to register its business empire arp/des 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. Any tips should be sent directly to Alexander Banks through email at abanks@yakimaherald.com, or by phone at 509-577-7654. Alexander Banks reporting for the Yakima Herald-Republic is possible with support from Report for America and Yakima community members. For information on republishing, email news@yakimaherald.com. To support local journalism, click here. Where to get Narcan in the Yakima Valley, when to use it, how to save lives with it The Northwest ICE Processing Center is seen from the air in April, in Tacoma. (Nick Wagner / The Seattle Times) Donald Kerwin is vice president of policy, research and partnerships for Jesuit Refugee Service/USA. He is also editor of the Journal on Migration and Human Security. On 16 July Spanish businessman, president of the US-headquartered healthcare company Keralty which owns the Sanitas private health insurer (EPS) in Colombia, announced plans to sue the Colombian government after Presidentcalled him a criminal. End of preview - This article contains approximately 403 words. Subscribers: Log in now to read the full article Not a Subscriber? Choose from one of the following options An agreement between Hungary and Slovakia on regulating water flow on the Danube is taking shape, Gabor Czepek, a state secretary at the Energy Ministry, told public television. Czepek, who is also the government commissioner for developing Hungarian-Slovakian energy infrastructure, tasked with resolving a decades-long dispute over the GabcikovoNagymaros dams project, noted that the cross-border barrage project launched some 50 years earlier had produced a hydroelectric dam on the Danube in Slovakia, at Gabcikovo, but Hungary had shelved the construction of a dam on its stretch of the river, in Nagymaros. He added that a decision by the International Court of Justice in The Hague had acknowledged the merits of the arguments of both sides, sending them back to the negotiating table. Czepek said it had become apparent that the Gabcikovo hydroelectric power plant would continue to operate for the coming 30 years, adding that Slovakia had taken steps to extend its lifespan. He said the good diplomatic and intergovernmental ties necessary to reach a favourable agreement on energy, environmental and water management issues were in place, but a deal also required the involvement of local residents and pointed to talks on Friday with the mayors of settlements near the dam. He added that there was unanimous support for points in an agreement the government aimed to flesh out with the Slovakian side. He said those points included acknowledging that a dam would never be built at Nagymaros, getting more water from Slovakia and sharing power from the Gabcikovo hydroelectric works. He added that Hungary wanted to get one-third of the electricity generated at the dam at favourable prices. Brief history The GabcikovoNagymaros Waterworks is a large-scale hydroelectric and flood control project on the Danube River, initiated by a 1977 treaty between Hungary and Czechoslovakia. Its goals included flood prevention, improved navigation, and clean energy generation. Project Disruption and Dispute While Slovakia (then part of Czechoslovakia) completed the Gabcikovo Dam, Hungary suspended its participation in the 1980s due to environmental and economic concerns, and eventually attempted to withdraw from the treaty. Slovakia proceeded unilaterally with an alternative version ("Variant C"), diverting the Danube entirely into Slovak territory, which severely impacted Hungarys water flow and environment. International Legal Case The dispute escalated to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which ruled in 1997 that: Hungary breached the treaty by halting construction; Slovakia (successor to Czechoslovakia) was justified in pursuing an alternative solution, but should not have acted before the Courts ruling; Both sides must negotiate in good faith and compensate each other for damages. Despite further negotiations, Hungary delayed action on completing the project. In 1998, Slovakia requested further judgment, but by 2017 both sides agreed to discontinue proceedings, leaving the issue largely unresolved. Nagymaros Dam The second dam at Nagymaros, planned for Hungary, was never built. Its absence prevents Gabcikovo from operating at full efficiency and remains a significant obstacle for Danube navigation and flood regulation. Environmental Impact The project triggered widespread environmental protest in Hungary and ongoing scientific concern. Studies report: Negative effects: riverbed erosion, decreased water levels, and unstable sedimentation. Positive effects near Gabcikovo: stabilized groundwater levels, improved water quality, and better local habitats for wildlife. Environmental outcomes vary by region, with improvements seen in Slovakia near the dam and continuing degradation in downstream Hungarian areas. Source: MTI Hungarys national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent. Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media. XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com ********************************* You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories via our Facebook page: Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoops groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters Showcase Your Business to Expats in the Loop: As an independent portal were grateful to all commercial supporters who help keep you in the loop with fresh insights and inspiration. Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? If so please contact us here. With intense competition in the market and versatile opportunities available, career selection has become more difficult than ever. Crushing dreams has become a reality due to societal dictates, parental expectations or peer pressure. One wonders what is the right way to select the right career: whether we can choose a career using our birth date/birth chart or choose what we want or others want as a career for us. In modern times, where career choices are increasingly versatile, so are the aspirations for selecting the best career. Let's understand some of the intricacies of this complicated topic from a common person's point of view. The questions and explanations below will clarify that the right career selection based on birth chart or based on what you feel, what your parents say, or peers' success in a particular career is the sole criterion or many things need to be in tandem for choosing the best career. What all needs to be seen for choosing the right career are: Natural skills/interest/inclination of the person for a particular subject/career. This is important as each planet represents over 100 careers, and suggesting anything that does not align with this is not good advice. What person's birth chart indicates as the best career? Location (geographical) where a person wants to pursue the career. Financials/family support for that career. What the parents/peers motivate a person for a particular career. All that is written here may differ from many universally accepted methods of career selection, as the explanations are based on a deep understanding of Jyotish and its application in answering intricate questions about life and guiding towards choosing the best career. One can really know how astrology can help in career selection. Can astrology help choose the Right Career/ Subject Yes, astrology can help you choose the right subject/career. There is so much potential out there, yet students are forced to make decisions in a complex environment. Most kids are either trend followers or are being pushed against their will. By scrutinizing certain significant houses within the natal chart, such as the 2nd, the 4th, and the 5th (representing knowledge, education, and intellect, respectively), as well as the D5 (Education) chart, astrology helps determine which subjects a student is mentally and karmically predisposed to. When subjects are chosen in alignment with a child's natural intelligence and planetary energies, success becomes almost guaranteed. Read a case study to understand how deep delve is required in astrology to help select the best career. Can I Settle Abroad and Thrive To determine if a person can realize the desired goal of travelling and settling, and prospering abroad, a good astrologer has to look at the 9th (destiny), 11th (gains), and 12th (foreign land) houses. Opportunities revealed may also be temporary, educational, or permanent in nature. Most people stress due to misinformation provided by their own charts because not all the important combinations for abroad settlement in a birth chart are visible at random; it needs a deep dive. One has to look beyond surface astrology to its astrology's depththe underlying karmic potential. Combinations seen for best career selection: You can read at many places different combinations seen for career selection indicating the best career as per birth chart. Just read a factual case study and decide yourself can just by seeing the astrological combinations for career in a birth chart make you choose the right career or there is something more to it. Mr XYX: 6 Jan 2008, 1:31 AM, Jumeirah, UAE. Moon sign: Scorpio. Moon stands debilitated thereascendant: Libra born in the Jyeshtha Nakshatra. Presently in the last phase of his Ketu Mahadasha to end in August 2025, then the Venus Maha Dasha will start on him. His father gave me some insight into where he is and where he intends to go. He is currently in grade 12, studying in Dubai, with aspirations to pursue a career in Aeronautics or Mechanical Engineering. His choice of subjects Math, Physics, Design and Tech, and Computer Science is well-aligned with these aspirations and his chart as well. However, I found gaps between his aspirations and his consistency in achieving the same. His father's first question was: How will he perform in his 12th board exams in May and June 2026? Reply: if he continues in the current pattern of studies enthusiasm, but without sustained focus or rigorous preparation, his performance may fall short of his full potential. His concept may be strong, but the ability to translate it into top scores during high-pressure exams may not be consistent. So he has to be very mindful of that. What to do: he should tame the power of Jupiter and Mercury in his horoscope. Start early with weekly mock tests in all subjects. (Understand the importance of Mock tests) Focus, especially on time-bound practices to improve delivery during pressure exams. Focus, especially on time-bound practices to improve delivery during pressure exams. Identify topics where he consistently falters. It is not about the quantity of study, but it is about the quality of repetition and retention. Avoid last-minute crash preparations, but need a rhythmic and disciplined routine to align the energies of Jupiter and Mercury, which are Shadashtaka in his horoscope. His father's second question: Will he get admission into a Good University? Which country, which course? Reply: He has the potential to make it into a good two-tier university, possibly even in the US or UK. US is more likely, but perhaps not among the top 10 universities, unless a dramatic improvement in focus and performance is seen in the next few months. Next and probably the most critical question: which one is going to be the best, the Mechanical one or the Aeronautical one? Reply: It depends on the Char-Rashi. Both Mechanical and Aeronautics are char Rashis. However, given the dominance of Venus, I would say that Mechanical is better for him. Not that Aeronautics is not good, but Mechanical is a shade better for him. Also, Mechanical will be more stable and universally versatile. This is the precision of deep astrology in selecting the best career. Location for success in this career: The USA is a viable option according to his horoscope. The UK can be a strategic backup. Europe may offer options, but that shouldn't be the focus at this point of time. Probably in Post-Graduation, we can consider going to other European Countries, such as Germany, once he narrows down to Mechanical Engineering. Yes, he will undoubtedly pursue a Master's degree. His learning journey will likely continue after he completes his undergraduate studies. His intellectual energy is such that he will eventually want to deepen his knowledge and move into more defined career streams, especially as he matures and gains clarity. But for now, it is best to focus on getting into a good undergrad university to uplift his performance in all sectors My polite advice to his father: I really appreciate your involvement in helping him clarify his career path at this age. He has dreams, and that is a great start, but now he needs help to structure them, filter distractions, and stay grounded. Avoid excessive comparisons or pressure. Instead, create a daily framework where he can slowly develop a study habit and feel it is achievable. Praise every small win that is on your part. And remember, it is better to enter a slightly lesser-known university with a strong foundation than to get into a very big name school and then struggle Surya is a Badhaka (Sun is an obstruction) for him and he should work to remove these obstructions and at this age, don't force him but you assist him. Consider donating to Ketu to remove its obstructions in his chart. He has got a wonderful Rahu sitting in the fifth house. Consider strengthening it by wearing a Rahu stone. That will give him a nice boost and help him fly from Dubai to the US. Career selection using the birth date is not only about studying astrological help to choose the best career, but also requires many factors to be considered in tandem. One can read more at how to select the best career using birth date. A person's inclination, the place of pursuing that career, support from family and surrounding factors, and ultimately dedication and passion to succeed in that career. Nothing works alone. But depend on this only when you have your accurate birth time (Navamsa D-9 chart changes every 8-10 minutes), and you know how to find a good astrologer. Use astrology for career selection at the right time, as the above father did, and not when you have already landed in the wrong career and then struggle to shape it against many odds, seeing others' success in their best careers. For any specific queries, connect with his office @ +91 9278555588 / +91 9278665588. (This article is from the Brand Desk. User discretion is advised.) New Delhi: Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is the issuing body for Aadhaar in India, has said that in case of the death of a person, it is essential that his/her Aadhaar number is deactivated to prevent identity fraud and unauthorised usage of such Aadhaar number. Report Death Of Family Members On THIS Portal In order to prevent unauthorised usage of Aadhaar number of any family member after their death, it is recommended that Aadhaar number holders report death of their family members on myAadhaar Portal after obtaining their death certificate from the death registering authorities. Process To Report Death Of Family Members On Aadhaar Portal UIDAI has launched a new service - Reporting of Death of a Family Member - on the myAadhaar Portal on 9th June 2025 for deaths registered in 24 States/UTs presently using Civil Registration System. This portal allows individuals to report the death of their family members. The family member, after authenticating himself/herself, is required to provide Aadhaar number and Death Registration Number along with other demographic details of the deceased person on the portal. After due process of validation of the information submitted by the family member, further action is taken for the deactivation, or otherwise, of the Aadhaar number of the deceased person. The process of integration of remaining States/UTs with the portal is currently underway. The Aadhaar body has proactively taken several measures to obtain death records from various sources and deactivate Aadhaar numbers after due validation: Recently, UIDAI requested the Registrar General of India (RGI) to share death records linked with Aadhaar numbers. RGI has, till date, provided approximately 1.55 crore death records from 24 States/UTs using the Civil Registration System (CRS). After due validation, around 1.17 crore Aadhaar numbers have been deactivated. A similar exercise is continuing with non-CRS States/UTs. About 6.7 lakh death records have been received so far, and deactivation is in progress. Besides above, UIDAI is also exploring the possibility of sourcing death records from banks and other Aadhaar ecosystem entities maintaining such information. UIDAI is also taking support of State Governments in identifying the deceased Aadhaar number holders. As a pilot, demographic details of Aadhaar number holders aged more than 100 years are being shared with State Governments to verify whether the Aadhaar number holder is alive. Upon receipt of such verification report, necessary validation will be carried out before deactivating such Aadhaar number. New Delhi: HDFC Bank has informed BSE that the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company is scheduled on 19 July 2025 to consider and approve Update on board meeting. HDFC Bank has said that the board meeting will focus on declaration of a Special Interim Dividend on the equity shares of the Bank and also regarding the issue of bonus shares. "the Board would also consider the following proposal(s): (i) Declaration of a special interim dividend on the equity shares of the Bank, for the Financial Year 2025-26; and (ii) Issue of bonus shares in accordance with the applicable provisions and subject to approval of shareholders shareholderof the Bank, HDFC bank siad in a regulatory filing. "... the window for trading in securities of the Bank is closed till Monday, July 21, 2025 for the designated employees and their immediate relatives pursuant to the Banks share dealing code," the bank informed BSE. Hyderabad School Holiday: The Telangana government has announced a holiday for schools and colleges in Hyderabad on July 19 to July 21, giving students a long weekend with three consecutive days off. The School Education Department made this decision in view of the Bonalu festival celebrations taking place in the city. Bonalu is one of the most important traditional festivals in Telangana, especially in Hyderabad, and is celebrated during the month of Ashada, which usually falls in July. As part of the rituals, devotees offer bonam (a special meal prepared in a pot) to the goddess Mahakali as a mark of respect and devotion. Bonalu festival celebrated in different parts of hyderabad Every Sunday during Ashada, different areas of Hyderabad take turns hosting the Bonalu Jatara (fair) with grand processions, traditional music, and cultural events. The city comes alive with colourful decorations and festive spirit, attracting large crowds. To ensure smooth celebrations and maintain public order, the state government has decided to keep schools and colleges closed during this time. The Bonalu festival in Hyderabad attracts not only locals from Telangana but also thousands of devotees from neighboring states, including Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, and Odisha. Celebrated with great devotion during the Ashada month, Bonalu is observed on the first, third, and fourth Sundays. The first Sunday is marked by Golkonda Bonalu, the third by Lashkar Bonalu, and the fourth by the grand celebration at Lal Darwaza. The fourth Sunday of Ashada holds special significance, with the Bonalu procession at Lal Darwaza attracting huge crowds and vibrant festivities. To accommodate the large number of devotees and the rush expected in the city, especially in the Old City areas, several temples have been beautifully decorated. In light of the heavy footfall and the bustling atmosphere, schools in the Old City have been granted a holiday on Saturday. Additionally, the School Education Department has declared a public holiday on Monday, July 21, 2025. However, it has been specified that schools must compensate for the Saturday holiday by working on the second Saturday in August. As a result, students in the affected areas will enjoy a three-day breakJuly 19 (Saturday), July 20 (Sunday), and July 21 (Monday). Despite these holidays in schools, banks and other government offices will function as usual in the region. New Delhi: Following the shocking daylight killing of prisoner Chandan Mishra inside Paras Hospital in Patna on Thursday, Bihar Police have identified all five assailants involved in the murder and arrested one suspect, Tausif, as raids continue to apprehend the remaining accused. Using CCTV footage from the hospital lobby and ward, police pieced together the brazen attack where five armed men entered Ward 209, where Mishra was admitted on medical parole, and shot him dead. The footage shows the assailants, four wearing caps, pulling out pistols, loading them, and executing the attack swiftly before escaping through routes now identified by police. The criminals entered Paras Hospital and shot a notorious criminal undergoing treatment on parole. We have identified all the accused and made the first arrest. Raids are ongoing in Patna, Phulwarisharif, and Hajipur to arrest others, said Patna Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya K Sharma, as per media reports. A Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by the City SP (East), has been formed to probe the case, with support from the Bihar Special Task Force (STF). The police are also investigating possible lapses in hospital security, as no police or private guards were present near the ward during the attack. Chandan Mishra, a criminal from Buxar with multiple murder cases against him, was admitted to Paras Hospital on parole. Police believe the attack was carried out by a rival gang connected to the Chandan Sheru gang. The incident has sparked outrage and raised serious questions about the security arrangements for high-risk inmates admitted to private hospitals. Family members of Mishra protested with a dharna outside the hospital following the murder. The killing comes amid growing concerns over law and order in Bihar ahead of the upcoming elections. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav criticized the government, questioning, Is anyone safe anywhere in Bihar? Government-backed criminals stormed into the ICU and shot a patient admitted to the hospital. Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha assured that the police would take strict action. Such an incident is unfortunate. It will be thoroughly investigated, and the criminals will not be spared. The Chief Minister has said the criminals will be caught and punished, " the minister said. Bihar DGP Vinay Kumar sought to calm fears by citing long-term crime trends, noting that the number of murders has decreased since 2004 despite recent high-profile killings. (With Inputs from IANS) New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has said it is making concerted efforts to assist Nimisha Priya, a Kerala-born nurse turned entrepreneur who is currently lodged in a Yemeni jail and faces imminent execution following her conviction in a 2017 murder case. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Thursday confirmed that the Indian government has been actively involved in extending legal support and engaging with Yemeni authorities, as well as with friendly foreign governments, in an attempt to secure clemency. The Government of India has been offering all possible assistance. We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We are in touch with local authorities and her family to resolve this issue, Jaiswal said at a weekly press briefing. This included concerted efforts in the last few days to seek more time for her family to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party. #WATCH | Delhi | On the case of Nimisha Priya, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "... The government of India has been offering all possible assistance. We have provided legal assistance and appointed a lawyer to assist the family... We are also in touch with local pic.twitter.com/AFEm2CfOBK ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 He added that India would continue to monitor the situation closely and provide all possible support to the family. Priya, who moved to Yemen in 2008 to support her family back home, initially worked as a nurse before setting up her clinic. Her troubles began in 2017 when a business dispute erupted with her Yemeni partner, Mehdi. She allegedly administered sedatives to him in an attempt to retrieve her confiscated passport. The sedatives reportedly proved fatal. Priya was arrested while trying to leave the country and was convicted of murder in 2018. A Yemeni court sentenced her to death in 2020, a verdict that was upheld by the Supreme Judicial Council of Yemen in November 2023. However, under Yemeni law, there remains a narrow window for clemency through a blood money arrangement, where the victims family agrees to pardon in exchange for compensation. Following reports that an execution date had been set, politicians across party lines in Kerala have appealed to the Union government and the President of India for immediate intervention. Earlier, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging him to use all diplomatic channels to secure a stay on the execution. Opposition leaders have also echoed similar demands, pressing for humanitarian considerations in Priyas case. Human rights groups have flagged the case as urgent, noting both the complexities of international law and the limited access India has in war-torn Yemen, where diplomatic presence is minimal. (With Inputs from IANS) In a daylight incident that has again brought Bihar's law and order situation into sharp focus, five gunslingers boldly stormed into a private hospital in Patna on Thursday morning, July 17, 2025, and killed a patient who was on parole. Chandan Mishra, the victim, was a notorious criminal facing dozens of cases of murder, and he died during treatment. The brazen attack occurred at Paras Hospital in the crowded Raja Bazar area of Patna. Footage from a hospital camera shows the horrifying succession of events: five attackers, some with caps on their heads, strolling into Mishra's room (allegedly Room 209 on the second floor), firing shots, and fleeing. Four were caught running away in a hurry, while one allegedly walked to the stairs in a serene fashion. Patna Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Kartikay Sharma confirmed that the incident took place, saying, "A criminal named Chandan Mishra, who is a resident of Buxar district, against whom dozens of murder cases are registered, was shifted from Buxar to Bhagalpur jail. Chandan was on parole and was taken to Paras Hospital for treatment. The enemy gang attacked him." SSP Sharma further informed that police suspect that a rival gang, which can be the "Chandan Sheru gang" as well, has carried out the attack. They are working with Buxar police to identify the attackers, whose faces have been recorded on the CCTV. The case has thrown serious doubts on lapses in security in the hospital, and police are also probing if the security personnel of the hospital were part of or negligent. Witnesses witnessed panic and chaos among visitors, staff, and patients after the shots were fired. This high-profile killing is the fourth of a string of horrendous criminal cases that have bedeviled the Bihar capital in the past few weeks. Among the recent fatalities are businessman Gopal Khemka, BJP leader Surendra Kewat, and lawyer Jitendra Mahato. The rising graph of crime has given robust ammunition to opposition parties, such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress, to attack the Nitish Kumar government of JDU-BJP mere months before the state assembly elections. RJD chief Tejashwi Yadav strongly attacked the government by asking, "Government-supported criminals barged into the ICU and fired at a patient who was admitted to the hospital. Is anyone safe anywhere in Bihar? Has this ever happened before 2005?" Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha, on the other hand, promised prompt action. "Such an incident is unfortunate. It will be investigated thoroughly and the criminal won't be spared. The Bihar Chief Minister has stated the criminal will be apprehended and punished strictly." Police recovered the casings of bullets and are carrying out forensic tests as part of the ongoing probe. The Central government has decided to constitute a high-level expert committee comprising officials and technical experts from Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and the Central government to resolve pending inter-state water issues related to the Krishna and Godavari river projects between Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The committee will be formed in the next 3-4 days and it will come out with a way forward on all issues in 30 days. The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil, with Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy and his Andhra Pradesh counterpart, Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu, on Wednesday. During the meeting, both states agreed to install telemetry devices for real-time monitoring of water flows in the Krishna Basin. They also agreed that immediate measures would be taken to address maintenance issues to safeguard the Srisailam dam. Additionally, both states decided that the Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) office would be relocated to either Vijayawada or Amaravati. Revanth Reddy told reporters during a press conference after the meeting that the issue of Godavari-Banakacherla interlink project proposed to be taken up by Andhra Pradesh. He said the committee would identify and discuss all issues pertaining to water allocation, ongoing projects, pending projects, proposed projects in both Krishna and Godavari basins. The Telangana Chief Minister said any issues not resolved by the committee would be taken up at the level of the chief ministers. On the Godavari-Banakacherla project, Revanth Reddy said they already lodged complaints with Polavarm Authority, Central Water Commission (CWC) and Godavari River Management Board (GRMB). He said the Central bodies had raised objections to the project. He clarified that the Centre played only the role of a facilitator for the meeting. He alleged that some people in both the states want to create disputes but claimed that his government is trying to find solution to the problems. We are only answerable to people of Telangana, he remarked. Telangana Irrigation Minister Uttam Kumar Reddy the meeting took four decisions. Both sides decided to install telemetry systems at all offtake points in Krishna river to for accurate measurement of water being drawn by both the state. Telangana government offered to provide funds to Krishna River Management Board (KRMB) to complete installation of telemetry systems. The meeting also decided that Andhra Pradesh government will take up repairs to Srisailam dam which comes under its maintenance. Uttam Kumar Reddy said Srisailam dam was showing signs of concern and Telangana was feeling that Andhra Pradesh is not doing its duty of addressing those concerns. He said the National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) had also expressed concern over health of the dam. The government of India directed Andhra Pradesh to immediately take up the repairs. The meeting also decided that office of GRMB will be located in Telangana while office of KRMB will be set up in Andhra Pradesh. The decision was taken in accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act and the decision taken in Apex Council meeting held in 2020 between the chief ministers of both the states, Andhra Pradesh irrigation minister Nimmala Rama Naidu told media persons after the meeting that it was held in a cordial atmosphere. He claimed that the meeting decided to constitute a committee on Krishna and Godavari waters and Banakacherla. Telangana had Tuesday conveyed to the Centre that Godavari-Banakacherla project proposed by the neighbouring state should not be in the agenda for the meeting. Telangana, in its letter to Union Minister Paatil, argued that there is no need for any discussion on Godavari-Banakacherla as the project does not have any approvals. It conveyed to the Centre that any discussion on the project would be a violation of relevant laws and tribunal awards. (With IANS Inputs) New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) strongly responded to recent remarks by NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte, who warned of 100 per cent secondary sanctions on countries like India, China, and Brazil if they maintain trade relations with Russia. The MEA emphasized that safeguarding Indias energy security remains a top priority and cautioned against double standards in international expectations. We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during a weekly press briefing in New Delhi on Thursday. Let me reiterate that securing the energy needs of our people is understandably an overriding priority for us. #WATCH | Delhi | On Nato chief Mark Rutte's comment that countries buying Russian oil could face secondary sanctions, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "We have seen reports on the subject and are closely following the developments. Let me reiterate that securing the energy pic.twitter.com/SdhmWRQYLL ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 Without naming NATO or the US directly, Jaiswal made Indias position clear. In this endeavour, we are guided by what is available in the markets and also by prevailing global circumstances. We would particularly caution against any double standards on the matter, he said. Jaiswals comments came after NATO chief Mark Rutte, speaking at a press conference in Washington alongside US Senators Thom Tillis and Jeanne Shaheen, called on India, China, and Brazil to sever their economic ties with Moscow. He warned that failure to do so could result in sweeping secondary sanctions if Russia refuses to enter peace negotiations. My encouragement to these three countries, particularly, is that if you live now in Beijing or Delhi, or you are the President of Brazil, you might want to take a look at this because this might hit you very hard, Rutte said. He urged the three nations to use their influence with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Please make the phone call to Vladimir Putin and tell him that he has to get serious about peace talks, because otherwise this will slam back on Brazil, on India, and China in a massive way, he warned. Ruttes remarks echoed the recent position taken by former US President Donald Trump, who earlier this week threatened steep tariffs on countries continuing trade with Russia. Trump also announced new military aid packages for Ukraine, funded largely by European allies, including air defence systems, ammunition, and missiles. In a dramatic ultimatum, Trump gave Russia a 50-day deadline to enter what he termed serious peace negotiations, threatening full-scale secondary sanctions if the Kremlin fails to act. His statement followed days of speculation over a promised surprise on the Russia-Ukraine front, after previously calling Putins stance bullshit. Indias firm stance signals growing resistance to Western pressure over its Russia policy, reinforcing New Delhis insistence on strategic autonomy and national interest-driven diplomacy amid the shifting geopolitical landscape. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed a charge sheet against businessman Robert Vadra, son-in-law of former Congress President Sonia Gandhi, in connection with a money laundering case linked to a land deal in Haryanas Shikohpur. The prosecution complaint filed before the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) arrayed a total of 11 accused individuals/entities in the case, including Robert Vadra and his Sky Light Hospitality, Satyanand Yajee, Kewal Singh Virk, and Onkareshwar Properties. As per the EDs chargesheet, Vadra's Skylight Hospitality fraudulently purchased 3.53 acres of land situated in the village of Shikohpur in Haryana's Gurugram district for Rs 7.5 crore from Onkareshwar Properties through false declaration. It added that Vadra, through his personal influence, obtained a commercial license on the land purchased. The federal anti-money laundering agency said that 43 immovable properties worth Rs. 37.64 crores pertaining to Robert Vadra and his companies were attached on Wednesday. In April this year, Robert Vadra, the husband of Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, was questioned in multiple rounds by the ED and his statement was recorded. The land purchase deal in question was executed in February 2008 when Congress was at the helm in Haryana, and Bhupinder Singh Hooda was the chief minister. The mutation process, which usually takes months, was done the next day. Months later, Vadra received a permit to develop a housing society on the land, and the value of the plot increased. He sold it to DLF in June at Rs 58 crore. Suspecting the proceeds to be part of a money laundering scheme, the ED has been probing the trail behind the windfall gains. In October 2012, IAS officer Ashok Khemka (now retired), who was then posted as the Director General of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-Inspector-General of Registration of Haryana, cancelled the land purchase deal, citing procedural irregularities. Later in 2013, an in-house government panel gave a clean chit to both Vadra as well as DLF. When the BJP-led government came to power, an FIR was registered by the Haryana Police against former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Robert Vadra and others. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday carried out simultaneous raids at 14 properties linked to Jamaluddin Shah or Changur Baba and his associates. The raids, carried out at 12 places in Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh and two in Mumbai, came following allegations that Shah was the mastermind of a major religious conversion racket. During the searches, the ED reportedly recovered a substantial quantity of land documents, luxury vehicles, gold, and unaccounted cash. One of the key locations raided was associated with Shahzad Sheikh in Mumbai, where investigators found that over Rs one crore had been transferred from Chhangur Baba's accounts to Sheikh's. Chhangur Baba, once a vendor selling rings and amulets on his bicycle, is now accused of running a sophisticated conversion syndicate funded by foreign money. He was arrested earlier this month. The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) had earlier taken into custody his co-accused, Neetu alias Nasreen, along with her husband, Naveen. Authorities allege that Chhangur Baba amassed significant wealth while disguising his activities under the cloak of religious faith. Preliminary investigations have uncovered properties worth crores of rupees believed to be linked to him. The ED has expanded its investigation to include Chhangur Baba's inner circle -- his close followers, associates, and managers, including Neetu alias Nasreen. Officials are currently examining their bank accounts, financial transactions, and immovable assets. The ED is probing whether these overseas transactions were connected to the alleged conversion operations. Chhangur Baba hails from Rehra Mafi village in Uttar Pradesh and once served as its village head. According to officials, his entire empire, built on conversion-linked funds, is centred in the Uttaraula area of Balrampur district, which shares a border with Nepal. Investigations have revealed that he controls funds worth Rs 106 crore, allegedly received from Middle Eastern countries, distributed across 40 bank accounts, along with at least two properties worth crores. Investigations are ongoing, and authorities are scrutinising documents and digital evidence to trace the full extent of the operation. (With IANS Inputs) NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized incriminating documents and digital devices during searches at the premises of real estate major Raheja Developers at 13 locations in Delhi-NCR and Mohali in connection with a money laundering case, an official said on Tuesday. The ED searches on June 27 involved action against the company and its directors and other officials who were earlier booked by the Economic Offences Wing, Delhi, under penal provisions. The FIRs were filed by Delhi Police against the company, its MD Naveen Raheja and others, said an ED statement. The FIRs alleged that substantial sums were fraudulently collected from investors and homebuyers by Raheja Developers on the promise of delivering residential flats in various group housing projects, but failed to hand over the promised flats, said the statement. The ED action against Raheja Developers comes close to another real estate firm, Supertech Limited, facing action from another federal probe agency, the CBI, over an alleged bank loan fraud. The CBI registered an FIR last month against Supertech Limited and its officials for cheating and forgery, which resulted in a loss of Rs 126 crore to IDBI Bank. The Bank Securities and Fraud Branch of the federal agency registered the FIR on the complaint of Hari Kumar Meena, DGM, IDBI Bank, NPA Management Group, New Delhi. In his complaint, Meena alleged offences of criminal conspiracy, cheating, forgery, using forged documents as genuine, criminal breach of trust and criminal misconduct by the accused directors of Supertech Limited, which has an office in Sector 96 in Noida. The CBI registered the case, taking note of alleged conspiracy among directors of the company and with unknown public servants, whereby IDBI Bank was cheated to the tune of Rs 126.07 crore after it gave a loan of Rs 200 crore to the real estate firm. Apart from the company, which has been named as one of the 10 accused, the CBI has also booked directors and other officials of Supertech in the case. Those named in the FIR include Ram Kishor Arora, Sangita Arora, Mohit Arora, Anil Kumar Sharma, Vikas Kansal, Pradeep Kumar Goel, Anil Kumar Jain and Parul Arora. The banks complaint to the CBI said that Supertech and its officials perpetrated a fraud through acts of misappropriation; fraudulent encashment through forged instruments, manipulation of books of account or fictitious accounts and conversion of property and cheating and forgery (forged balance sheet). Indian astronaut Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla has successfully returned to Earth following an 18-day space journey on the International Space Station (ISS). His return was also marked by a tearful reunion with his family and a special distinction for his wife, Kamana Shukla, who became the first Indian woman to ever take a call from space. Group Captain Shukla, who flew aboard the Axiom-4 mission on SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on June 25, arrived at the ISS along with his crew on June 26. On the exact same day, he placed a video call to his wife, Kamana, from the space station. "Hearing his voice and knowing he was safe was everything to me," Kamana said, explaining the special experience of hearing from space. As they talked, Shubhanshu told her about his daily routine, the science experiments taking place on the ISS, and stunning vistas of Earth from space. Kamana had already been in the United States since 25th June, readying her husband's return and helping him through his mission. She even started making arrangements for his rehabilitation to enable him to smoothly readjust to life on Earth. Their long-awaited reunion was on July 16 in Houston, USA, when Shubhanshu met his wife Kamana and six-year-old son, Kiyash. This emotional reunion was after a two-month quarantine period, required both before and after his space flight, when he had to keep an eight-meter distance from his family. Group Captain Shukla, who could not hold back his emotions at the reunion, said, "Flying in space is wonderful, but to meet loved ones after so many years is wonderful too." Shubhanshu and Kamana's relationship goes back to third grade in Lucknow's City Montessori School, and they got married in 2009. Noteworthy here is that Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla is the second Indian so far who is flying out to space, after 1984 when Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma was the first one. During his 18-day stay on the ISS, Shukla performed over 60 scientific experiments including remarkable work of growing fenugreek and moong beans which is all new in India's efforts to research space. A recent intelligence report has revealed that Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) has significantly altered its tactics in Jammu and Kashmir, replacing traditional Overground Workers (OGWs) with advanced drone-based operations to support terrorism. This shift is seen as a direct response to the Indian security forces sustained crackdown on the human terror network since 2020. OGWs Replaced By Drones The arrest of nearly 1,000 OGWs by Indian forces in Jammu and Kashmir since 2020 has severely weakened Pakistans human intelligence and logistics network in the region. In response, ISI and terror outfits such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) have adopted drone technology to conduct surveillance, smuggle weapons, and support infiltration. OGW Tasks Reduced Traditionally, OGWs were responsible for surveillance, smuggling arms, and local coordination. Now, drones equipped with high-resolution cameras and night vision handle up to 80% of these tasks, significantly reducing the need for human handlers. OGWs have been relegated to limited roles, mainly in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Weapon Drops Drones like DJI Mavic 3, Phantom 4, and modified Chinese Wing Loong II have been deployed to monitor Indian border posts in Rajouri, Poonch, Kishtwar, and Kupwara. They stream live video to handlers in PoK. Armed drones carrying 520 kg payloads frequently drop AK-47s, grenades, IEDs, and narcotics across the border. Between 2023 and 2025, over 200 such consignments were intercepted in Punjab and Jammu. Infiltration & Reconnaissance Drones are now being used to guide small terror groups (35 operatives) to safely cross the Line of Control (LoC) by avoiding Indian Army patrols using GPS and real-time imaging. Intelligence inputs confirm drone use in mapping high-altitude infiltration routes, including during an ISI meeting in Muzaffarabad in May 2025. PoK-Based Workshops The drones used include modified commercial models costing $1,0002,000 with extended-range batteries and encrypted communication, as well as military-grade UAVs like the Wing Loong II (range: 1,500 km) and possibly Bayraktar TB2s. Intelligence suggests Pakistan-based workshops, supported by ISI, are producing 3D-printed drones costing $5001,500, used for smuggling and surveillance. Over 1,000 drone flights were recorded along the international border and LoC in 20242025 alone. Challenges Remain In 2024, Punjab Police and BSF intercepted 75 drones, recovering 150 kg of heroin, 50 AK-47s, and 200 grenades. In June 2025, a drone carrying 5 kg of RDX was intercepted in Rajouri. India has since deployed an anti-drone system using radar, RF jammers, and lasers, with around 70% effectiveness. However, drones flying under 100 meters or using thermal cloaking reduce detection rates by up to 40%. Infiltration Surge According to intelligence, drone-supported infiltration has increased by 20% in 2025, with 5060 terrorists entering Jammu and Kashmir. These drones enable terrorists to operate in remote areas like Pir Panjal and Shamsabari forests for weeks without support, as seen in recent encounters in Kishtwar and Rajouri. Terrorists are being trained in drone operations in PoK-based camps in Kotli and Rawalkot, with parts reportedly sourced from China. Despite mounting evidence, Pakistan continues to deny involvement, blaming non-state actors for drone-based activities. Strategic Implications Experts warn that drones have become a cost-effective, low-risk alternative to human operatives. The rugged terrain, forest cover, and altitude advantages of the region give drones an upper hand, making it harder for security forces to intercept every flight. With over 20 drone launch sites near the LoC in PoK, the threat is evolving into a persistent, high-tech security challenge for India. Operation Sindoor was Pakistan's worst nightmare. The Pakistani Air Force and army have not been able to recover from the shock delivered by India during the four-day conflict between May 7 and 10. The world was watching nervously. The unfolding of every single event was being monitored. A nuclear conflict seemed imminent. Western countries and European nations held their breath. India was mounting its attack preparation as China provided Pakistan with shocking satellite survey inputs. The message meant - India was minutes away from smoking Pakistani cities and army facilities. China's support to Pakistan was even acknowledged by a top Indian army officer. Lieutenant General Rahul R Singh revealed that China provided Pakistan with real-time intelligence about India's important vectors and weapon positioning. Pakistan knew what it was heading towards. General Asim Munir went underground in a bunker. Its 11 airbases made nonoperational by the Indian Air Force strike, the PAF felt helpless. The Pakistani Army had already been hit hard; the next target for India was the Pakistan Navy. You can imagine the Indian Navy's operational readiness with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh's statement made on May 30. Describing the Indian Navys role in the integrated operation as praiseworthy, Rajnath Singh stated that the Indian Navys aggressive deployment in the Arabian Sea, its unmatched maritime domain awareness and supremacy confined the Pakistani Navy to its own shores. Singh was not joking. He was emitting facts. A truth that Pakistan knows from inside but rejects in public. It's the fear of the Indian Navy that sends a chill down Pakistan's spine every time it remembers the events of May 9 and 10. The Indian Navy was dominating the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. It had deployed a Carrier Battle Group (CBG) equipped with MiG-29K fighter jets and airborne early warning helicopters. The CBG maintained a powerful air defence shield. Pakistani Navy's hostile incursions were prevented. The Makran coast region was kept under surveillance. Indian Navy created a strong deterrent and bottled up Pakistani air elements along their western seaboard. To establish uncontested control over the seas, the Navy test-fired its anti-missile and anti-aircraft defence capabilities. Pakistan was stunned. For the uninitiated, the CBG was led by INS Vikrant. Each CBG includes an aircraft carrier, destroyers, frigates, and a support ship, forming a powerful maritime force projection capability. According to reports, India had deployed around 30-35 warships besides INS Vikrant. All positioned towards Pakistan. Islamabad was staring at total destruction. They knew what was coming. They knew what awaited them at sea. If reports are to be believed, the Indian Navy had its orders on May 10 - be ready to attack Pakistan. Fearing Indian assault, Pakistani Navy fleets were already floating close to the shores, praying not to witness the storm. The Indian Navy was in control. Targets were locked. On the strike target were Karachi Port, Ormara naval base, radars and oil fields. A complete destruction of these facilities was planned. The Indian Navy was sailing ahead. China informed Pakistan of the Indian Navy's intention, and then there was a brief calm before the storm. Pakistan had no answers. They were no match for the Indian Navy's firepower. Sense prevailed, and Pakistan took up the hotline. Pakistans DGMO dialled Indias DGMO and pleaded for a ceasefire. This one phone call saved Pakistan from destruction. The ceasefire message was conveyed to the Indian naval forces. They stood down, put their mission on hold. Pakistan saved itself in time. It got a breather. A minor escalation would have not only crippled the Pakistani economy but its forces as well. It's called a stitch in time, saves nine. Pakistan must be a happier country, having witnessed and avoided this from so close. In a groundbreaking advancement for emergency healthcare, India has successfully tested drone technology to deliver blood, potentially revolutionizing medical logistics in the country. A 2023 trial by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) demonstrated that drones are capable of delivering blood over distances of 35 kilometers in just 15 minutes, a task that could have taken hours in Delhis traffic-clogged roads. While the technology shows tremendous potential, experts warn that significant regulatory, logistical, and infrastructure hurdles must be overcome before such drone deliveries can be implemented nationwide. According to the ICMR report released in June, these trials demonstrated how drone-based delivery could significantly reduce time in critical situations, such as trauma care, surgeries, and maternal emergencies. The trial marked a major milestone in Indias push for tech-driven healthcare solutions. Health experts and government officials have welcomed the development, calling it a potential game-changer. However, the report also highlighted key challenges that must be addressed before widespread implementation. These include strict regulatory clearances from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), cold-chain maintenance during flight, trained drone operators, and secure take-off and landing zones, especially in congested urban areas. Through this advancement, India joined nations like Rwanda and Ghana, which have successfully used drones for medical deliveries in remote areas. The focus now shifts to integrating scientific advancements with streamlined regulations and robust infrastructure to scale up operations. With traffic congestion, delayed ambulance services, and uneven healthcare access still posing risks, drone delivery could be the life-saving solution that India needs but only if planning and implementation keep pace with innovation. Notably, in recent years, ICMRs i-Drone initiative has effectively used drones to transport critical medical supplies in regions such as Northeast India (including COVID-19 and UIP vaccines, medicines, and surgical equipment), Himachal Pradesh (to transport medicines and samples in high altitudes and freezing temperatures), Karnataka (for intraoperative oncosurgical samples), Telangana (for TB sputum samples), and NCR (for blood bags and their components). These initiatives demonstrate the growing potential and effectiveness of drones in bridging the last-mile healthcare gap. i-DRONE (ICMR's Drone Response and Outreach for North East) platform was originally conceived during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver vaccines to remote regions. Devinder Singh, a serving Indian Army soldier from Nihalgarh village in Sangrur district, Punjab, was arrested on July 14, 2025, in Uri, Baramulla district, Jammu and Kashmir, by the State Special Operation Cell (SSOC) of the Punjab Police. He is accused of espionage for allegedly leaking classified military information to Pakistans Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The arrest followed intelligence gathered during the interrogation of Gurpreet Singh, alias Guri or Fauji, a former soldier currently held in Ferozepur Jail on espionage charges. Preliminary investigations reveal that Devinder and Gurpreet first met in 2017 during military training in Pune and later served together at postings in Sikkim and Jammu and Kashmir. During this period, they allegedly accessed confidential military documents, some of which were reportedly passed on to ISI operatives. Devinder is accused of continuing to obtain sensitive information even while Gurpreet was incarcerated and facilitating its transfer to Pakistan. On July 15, 2025, Devinder was produced before a Mohali court, which granted a six-day police remand for further questioning to assess the extent of the data breach and identify potential accomplices. The investigation, led by AIG Ravjot Kaur Grewal, involves a detailed forensic analysis of Devinders electronic devices and financial transactions to uncover the full scope of the espionage network. Authorities suspect that additional individuals may be involved, and further arrests are likely. This case forms part of a broader crackdown on ISI-linked espionage across northern India. Since the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, a total of 19 suspected operatives have been arrested across Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and other states. These arrests underscore the ISI's strategy of recruiting a diverse set of individualsincluding soldiers, students, and social media influencersoften lured through online contact, monetary incentives, or personal visits to Pakistan. In yet another success for indigenous weapons, Indian Army's Strategic Forces Command on Thursday successfully test-fired short-range ballistic missiles - Prithvi-II and Agni-I - from the Integrated Test Range in Chandipur, Odisha. The launches validated all operational and technical parameters, said the Ministry of Defence in a statement. India already has advanced versions of these two missiles. The Indian Air Force and Indian Navy have these weapons in their arsenal. This comes a day after India successfully test fired Akash Prime air defence system in Ladakh. "India has achieved a significant milestone by successfully destroying 2 Aerial High Speed Unmanned targets at high altitude in Ladakh Sector on 16th July by Akash Prime, which is the upgraded variant of Akash Weapon System for the Indian Army," said the Defence Ministry. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented the Indian Army, Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), and industry on the remarkable achievement. He described the success as a significant boost to Indias Air Defence capabilities, particularly for meeting high-altitude operational requirements. The tests of missiles and air defence systems comes two months after a military conflict between India and Pakistan. The conflict took place between May 6 and May 10. Since then, India has put a renewed focus on boosting its defence preparedness. What Is Ballistic Missile? There are several types of missiles and one of them is ballistic missile. It follows a predetermined, curved (ballistic) path to deliver a warhead or payload to a target. What Is Prithvi-II? Prithvi-II is a short-range ballistic missile developed by DRDO. With a range of 250350 km, it can carry nuclear or conventional warheads weighing up to 1,000 kg. Powered by a liquid-fueled twin-engine system, it achieves speeds up to Mach 2. What Is Agni-I? Agni-I is a short to medium-range ballistic missile developed by DRDO. It has a range of 7001,200 km and can carry a 1,000 kg payload, including nuclear or conventional warheads. IndiGo flight from Delhi to Goa with 191 passengers on board made an emergency landing at Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport on Wednesday evening, July 16, after the pilot declared "PAN PAN PAN" when one of its engines was malfunctioning. All crew and passengers were said to be safe. Flight 6E 6271, Airbus A320neo, departed from Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport to Goa's Manohar International Airport. The engine problem compelled the diversion, and the flight landed safely at 9:53 PM. Mumbai airport officials, requesting anonymity to Hindustan Times, confirmed the incident took place when the plane was about 100 nautical miles north of Bhubaneswar. "The pilot declared 'PAN PAN PAN' (a call for urgent attention signaling a non-life-threatening emergency) because engine number 1 was malfunctioning," one official said. IndiGo, on the other hand, issued a statement blaming the diversion as being due to a "technical snag." According to an airline spokesperson, "A technical snag was identified on flight 6E 6271 while operating from Delhi to Manohar International Airport, Goa on 16 July 2025. As per procedures, the aircraft was diverted and landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai." The pilot crew asked for the diversion to Mumbai at 9:32 PM. As per SOPs, ambulances and fire trucks were kept ready and escorted the plane till it taxied into its bay. The flight landed successfully, two minutes prior to its scheduled arrival time. The aircraft will now be subject to routine checks and maintenance. IndiGo has assured arrangements for a substitute plane for the stranded passengers to reach their destinations. This is the latest in a string of recent technical problems Indian airlines have experienced. Earlier Sunday, July 13, a SpiceJet airplane from Pune to Delhi had to abort takeoff because of a technical snag, with flights delayed by more than nine hours. Passengers were left stranded in the aircraft for almost an hour before deplaning and reboarding later. Last week, an IndiGo flight (6E-7295) from Indore to Raipur with 51 passengers on board also headed back to Indore airport minutes after departure following a technical fault, having flown approximately 60 nautical miles. Kerala Lottery Results Thursday 17-07-2025 LIVE: The Kerala Lottery Department, on behalf of the Keralan government, announces the "Karunya KN-581" Lucky Draw Result today Karunya KN-581, July 17, 2025. The draw will be held at Gorky Bhavan near Bakery Junction in Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala Lottery Result 2025 for "Karunya KN-581" will feature 12 series, with changes in series possible each week. A total of 108 lakh tickets are available for purchase weekly. The ticket prices may vary. Check the Karunya KN-581 results right here to see if youre the first-place winner of 1 Crore. Stay tuned to this website for the live update of Kerala Lottery Karunya KN-581 results today. 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The data provided on this page is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as advice or encouragement. Zee News does not promote lottery in anyway.) New Delhi: The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday issued a stern reminder to Indian nationals traveling abroad following recent arrests in the United States, underscoring the critical need to adhere strictly to local laws and protect Indias international reputation. The caution comes amid rising incidents of legal troubles faced by Indians overseas, highlighting the consequences of unlawful conduct in foreign countries. MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal referred to two notable cases: an Indian tourist allegedly caught shoplifting goods valued at nearly $1,000 from a US store, and a 42-year-old Indian national detained in Washington State on charges related to child pornography. Our constant request to all our people who go abroad is that they should follow the law and order of that country, and create a good image of the country, Jaiswal stated. Regarding the child pornography case, he added, This is a matter of law and order. Indian nationals must abide by local laws. #WATCH | Delhi | On an Indian tourist reportedly being arrested for allegedly shoplifting in the United States, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "... Our constant request to all our people who go abroad is that they should follow the law and order of that country, and pic.twitter.com/3S7rppKxX2 ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 Reaffirming the message, the MEA spokesperson said, We would endeavour to tell Indian nationals going abroad that they should abide by local laws, guidelines and regulations. #WATCH | Delhi | On Indian national reportedly arrested in Washington, USA, on charges of possession of child pornography, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal says, "These are matters of law and order... We would endeavour to tell Indian nationals going abroad that they should abide pic.twitter.com/aQz2GQaHFC ANI (@ANI) July 17, 2025 These comments came soon after the US Embassy in India issued a stern warning to visa holders following the viral video of the shoplifting incident. The embassy cautioned that criminal activities such as theft could result in visa cancellations and permanent bans on future travel to the United States. With heightened immigration enforcement and stricter visa scrutiny under current US policies, Indian nationals are urged to exercise caution and strictly comply with foreign laws to avoid legal troubles. A 12-hour state-wide 'bandh' (shutdown) is ongoing in Odisha today, Thursday, organised by a coalition of eight opposition parties. The extensive protest seeks justice for a 20-year-old college student who died in a tragic fire after having attempted self-immolation, reportedly over the lack of action on her complaint against sexual harassment by a professor. The student, a second-year B.Ed. student at Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, died of her injuries at AIIMS Bhubaneswar late on Monday night, July 14, after sustaining severe burns. She had immolated herself on the college campus on Saturday, July 12, alleging her sexual harassment complaints were not taken seriously by the authorities. The 'bandh', which was called early today and was to go on until 6 PM, has taken a heavy toll on daily life in the state. Markets, shops, schools, and colleges are shut, and traffic has been mostly halted, causing roads to be empty as reported by Odisha TV. But necessary healthcare services, such as pharmacies, ambulances, and other health facilities, are functioning normally. Although there has not been any official government notice for the closure of state offices and banks, low staffing is expected. Train services also might encounter delays because of anticipated demonstrations and protests all day long. The fervor of the protest was witnessed on Wednesday, July 16, specifically in Balasore, where Biju Janata Dal (BJD) workers organized protests, occupying roads and setting tires ablaze. Similar protest was seen in Jaleswar, Basta, Soro, Baliapal, and Bhograi, resulting in traffic control by the police. The ghastly accident has set off a ferocious political storm. BJD leader Debi Prasad Mishra articulated the outrage of the people, asserting, "People are very angry over the denial of justice to the student who ultimately set herself on fire and died." He promised that his party would continue protesting throughout Odisha "till the BJP government announces a judicial probe into the incident." Opposition parties like the Congress and BJD have charged the BJP-ruled Odisha government of a cover-up and are calling for the immediate dismissal of Higher Education Minister Suryabanshi Suraj. Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has described the death of the student as not a suicide but an "organised murder by the system" and accused her of having been threatened and humiliated rather than given justice. To this, the state government has released a 20 lakh compensation for the family of the victim and revealed that the principal of the college and the Head of the Education Department have been arrested in regards to the case. They have appealed to other opposition parties not to politicize the tragedy and promised severe action against all the perpetrators. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has also constituted a four-member fact-finding committee to probe the incident, including whether institutional policies and grievance redressal are effective. One person was killed and three others were injured due to a landslide along the Amarnath Yatra's Baltal route in the Railpathri area of Ganderbal district in Jammu and Kashmir on Wednesday evening. This incident has brought the total number of deaths during this years Amarnath Yatra to 15, as per media reports. The deceased has been identified as a 55-year-old woman pilgrim from Rajasthan, identified as Sona Bai. The injured were promptly taken to the Baltal base camp hospital for treatment and are reported to be stable. The Border Roads Organization (BRO) acted swiftly to clear debris in the Railpathri area, allowing the Yatra to resume partially after the initial disruption. Meanwhile, authorities have suspended the Amarnath Yatra on July 17, due to continuous heavy rainfall and resultant safety concerns in Pahalgam and Baltal till the weather improves. No fresh batches of pilgrims are being allowed to proceed from the Bhagwati Nagar base camp in Jammu or along the Baltal and Pahalgam routes in Kashmir. However, the pilgrims at the cave will be allowed to come down to the base camps on both routes. The Jammu-Srinagar National Highway (NH-44) also faced disruptions due to landslides and slow traffic; however, the road has been cleared.\ The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a red alert for the next 24 hours, warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall in Kashmir from midnight. An active Western Disturbance interacting with monsoon winds is likely to trigger widespread rains across the region, with south Kashmir expected to receive the heaviest showers. Central and north Kashmir may experience light to moderate rain with a few heavy spells. The Amarnath Yatra, which began on July 3, is scheduled to conclude on August 9, and has seen over 2,47,313 pilgrims visit the holy cave shrine in the first 16 days. Authorities are closely monitoring the situation and expect the Yatra to resume once weather conditions improve and the routes are declared safe. Meanwhile, the authorities have advised the pilgrims to follow official advisories from the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (jksasb.nic.in) or contact the Joint Police Control Room in Pahalgam and Baltal for assistance. Drones have replaced overground workers (OGWs) due to specific tactics, techniques, and operational changes by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). The use of drones replacing overground workers (OGWs) in Jammu and Kashmir is Pakistan's new strategic strategy, which is a result of specific tactics, techniques and operational changes hatched by the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). A recent intelligence report has brought to the notice of officials that Pakistan and ISI have made operational changes in terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Indian security forces crackdown on the terror ecosystem, including the arrest of nearly 1000 overground workers (OGWs) in Jammu and Kashmir since 2020, has destroyed the human network of Pakistan and other terror handlers, so they have now started using technology to replace humans. Drones are now being used for weapons, logistics and communication without putting human handlers at risk. OGWs traditionally used to spy on routes, smuggle weapons, and maintain contact with locals. Drones now handle 70-80% of these tasks, and OGWs have been limited to minimal roles such as local coordination in PoK. Drones equipped with high-resolution cameras and night vision (e.g., DJI Mavic 3 or modified Chinese Wing Loong II) have been deployed to monitor Indian border posts, especially in Rajouri, Poonch, Kishtwar and Kupwara. These drones send live feeds of the Indian Army patrolling the borders to terror masters in PoK. Hexacopters and quadcopters, now used by Pakistan with payloads of 5-20 kg, cross the border and drop AK-47s, grenades, IEDs and heroin. More than 200 such consignments have been destroyed by security forces in Punjab and Jammu between 2023-2025. Drones also guide small terror groups of up to 5 members to cross the LoC, avoiding Indian Army ambushes using GPS and real-time images. According to intelligence inputs, drones were used in an ISI meeting held in Muzaffarabad (PoK) in May 2025 to detect infiltration routes in high-altitude areas like the Pir Panjal. The drones used are modified DJI Mavic Pro and Phantom 4 drones costing $1,000-2,000, equipped with extended-range batteries and encrypted communication modules. They are also suspected to be using Chinese Wing Loong II drones with a range of 1,500 km and a payload of 200 kg, and possibly Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones. These are launched from bases in PoK. There are also reports of ESI-supported workshops in Pakistan that make drones with 3D-printed parts, costing $500-1,500, which are then used for smuggling and surveillance. About 1,000 drone flights were recorded along the international border and Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab in 2024-2025. Similar efforts are reported to have increased in 2024-2025. The Punjab Police and BSF intercepted 75 drones in 2024, from which 150 kg of heroin, 50 AK-47s and 200 grenades were recovered. In June 2025, a drone was intercepted in Rajouri and 5 kg of RDX belonging to Jaish-e-Mohammed was recovered. Reports also suggest that the site of the drone attack was monitored before the Pahalgam attack and weapons were dropped. The drone is also said to have mapped the target area, and the crowded market, a few days before. India has also now deployed an anti-drone system along the Line of Control. It uses radar, radio frequency jammers and laser-based neutralization. It is 70% effective against drones but has difficulty detecting low-altitude (50 meters) UAVs. Small drones flying below 100 meters can evade radars. The detection rate of night operations using thermal cloaking is reduced by up to 40%. The ISI is also training terrorists in PoK to operate drones, replacing OGWs. The training camps in Kotli and Rawalkot focus on drone assembly and piloting. Intelligence reports say drone parts and technology are being used from China. Experts say Pakistan blames "non-state elements" for drone activities and avoids direct responsibility despite the ISI's involvement. Over the past three years, 300 kg of narcotics, over 100 rifles, 500 grenades and 50 kg of explosives dropped by drones along the borders have been recovered. Drone-based activities by Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir are now a serious and emerging security challenge for Indian security forces. Experts opine that drones equipped with high-resolution cameras and night vision can make it easier to plan infiltrations and attacks accurately by providing real-time information about the positions of Indian troops, patrol routes and border outposts. In addition, drones can deliver small but powerful payloads (5-20 kg), including AK-47s, grenades and RDX, directly to terrorists in remote areas such as the Pir Panjal and Shamsawari forests. More than 200 such weapons were seized in 2024-2025, but it is estimated that 30% remain undetected. Replacing OGWs with drones eliminates the risk of human terrorists being captured or killed, thereby securing Pakistan's terror ecosystem. The rugged terrain, dense forests and high altitudes of the Jammu and Kashmir borders and the Line of Control provide protection to low-flying drones, which are difficult to detect below 100 meters. According to reports, drones also deliver logistics to terrorists hiding in these areas, allowing their operations to last longer. There are over 20 drone launch sites in Kotli, Bagh and Mirpur in PoK, which are within 10-50 kilometers of the Line of Control, making fast flights possible. These drones operate day and night, and 60% of the flights use thermal cloaking or low-altitude flight to evade radars, severely affecting the response capability of security forces. In view of the frequent intrusions by drones, over 1,000 BSF and Army personnel are now engaged in drone surveillance in Jammu and Kashmir. Reports also suggest that according to intelligence estimates, drones have increased successful infiltration by 20% in 2025, and 50-60 terrorists have entered Jammu and Kashmir. The support provided by drones can enable terrorists to continue their activities for weeks from hideouts located on high Parvati terrain, as seen in the encounters in Kishtwar and Rajouri in 2025. New Delhi: Purnea MP Rajesh Ranjan, popularly known as Pappu Yadav, met Bihar Governor Arif Mohammad Khan on Thursday, urging the immediate imposition of Presidents Rule in the state. He cited a total collapse of law and order as the reason for his demand. Addressing the media after the meeting, Yadav alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party, not Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, was effectively running Bihar. "The entire system has failed. Presidents Rule is the only solution," he stated. Referring to a recent incident at Patnas Paras Hospital, where a murder was carried out inside the facility, Yadav said the situation has worsened to such an extent that criminals are operating without fear, even in high-security zones. He further demanded CBI inquiries into the murders of businessman Gopal Khemka and the sand businessman Ramakant Yadav, accusing the Bihar Police of acting on caste-based biases while suppressing major cases. Criminals are fearless everywhere, and the police are just pretending. That is why we have clearly demanded Presidents rule from the Governor, he added. Shakti Singh Yadav, RJD spokesperson, also attacked the government, stating, The Chief Minister has lost his senses, and Patna is under the grip of criminals. Murder is happening in high-profile places like Paras Hospital, and the administration is handicapped. The future of 14 crore people of Bihar is in the hands of such a person sitting on the post of the Chief Minister. He criticised the administration for failing to learn from previous high-profile murder cases, adding: Patna has three SPs and one SSP, yet the morale of criminals is high. Ashok Chaudhary, Bihars Rural Works Minister, responded, saying, I am not aware of the incident in Paras Hospital. It is a private hospital with private security. We need to see how the lapses occurred. Earlier, four unknown assailants stormed into Paras Hospital under the Shastri Nagar police station area and murdered an undertrial inmate inside the hospital premises. The deceased, identified as Chandan Mishra (aged 25-30) from Sonbarsa block, Buxar, was undergoing treatment at the hospital on parole. Mishra, who has ten criminal cases, including murder, against him, had been in jail since 2024 and was admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment. Around four armed men arrived on motorcycles, entered room number 209 on the second floor, and opened fire at him, leaving him dead. (With Inputs from IANS) The relations between India and China are gradually returning towards normalcy as the leaders of both nations continue to engage on critical issues. Now, theres growing speculation that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may visit China next month or in early September for attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Summit, which will be held in Tianjin. PM Modi may visit China from August 31 to September 1. If it happens, it would be Modis first visit to China since 2019and a possible sign that India and China are trying to revive their ties. So far, the Indian government hasnt officially confirmed Modis attendance. But behind-the-scenes diplomacy strongly suggests that preparations are already in motion and speculations are underway. Earlier this week, Dr Jaishankar went to Singapore and China. During his visit to Beijing, he met Chinese President Jinping and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. The two sides discussed regional cooperation and recent developments in India-China relations. This high-level meeting is being seen as a signal that Prime Minister Modis visit could be next. According to reports by The Economic Times and Mint, Modi is likely to travel to both Japan and China at the end of August, with the SCO Summit in China being the main reason for the visit. Jaishankar's visit was part of a foreign ministers meeting for SCO, but its timing is hard to ignore. When senior Indian officials meet top Chinese leaders just weeks before a big summit and in China it usually means somethings being planned. Both sides talked about improving relations, staying engaged, and finding common ground. However, on the part of the upcoming SCO meeting, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) stated that participation details will be confirmed 'at an appropriate time'. A possible meeting between Prime Minister Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping is especially anticipated during the summit, the reports suggested. PM Modi and President Xi met last during the BRICS summit in Russia in October 2024. In a dramatic turn of events, the Supreme Court of India has ordered an urgent search for Russian national Victoria Basu and her five-year-old son, following allegations that she violated a court-sanctioned custody agreement with her estranged husband, Saikat Basu, an Indian citizen. The apex court directed the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, and Delhi Police to trace the missing child and ensure his immediate transfer to the fathers custody. Authorities have been instructed to issue a Look-Out Circular for Victoria and seize her passport to prevent her from leaving the country. The couple, who married in 2017 after meeting in China, had been living separately in Delhi under joint custody arrangements. On May 22, Victoria was granted custody of the child for three days a week. However, since July 7, both mother and child have reportedly vanished. Saikat claims Victoria was last seen entering the Russian Embassy in Delhi with luggage, possibly aided by a diplomat. The court expressed deep concern over the mothers disappearance and questioned her legal counsels evasive responses. Justice Surya Kant warned of strict action and warned them against playing with the law. Officials have also been asked to seek permission from the Russian Embassy to search the residence of the diplomat allegedly involved. New Delhi: When criminals start walking into hospitals with guns, and walk out after committing murder, not hiding their faces, not rushing their escape, its no longer just a law and order issue. It becomes a frontal assault on the very idea of governance. In today's DNA, Rahul Sinha, Managing Editor of Zee News, analysed how "good governance is lying in the ICU" in Bihar, after yet another chilling murder rocked the state capital. The incident in question took place not on the streets but inside the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Patna's prestigious Paras Hospital. In a brazen act that exposed the collapse of law and order, five armed shooters stormed into the ICU and gunned down a man in cold blood. The victim, Chandan Mishra, was a known history-sheeter. The attackers not only fired multiple shots inside a high-security hospital but also walked out casually, unfazed, as if they had no fear of the police or consequences. The murder, which took place in broad daylight, has raised serious questions about the state of policing in Bihar, a state already battling headlines over rising crime. Ironically, just hours before this crime, Bihar ADG Kundan Krishnan made a controversial statement blaming the spike in criminal activities on free farmers during off-season months. He suggested that between April and June, when agricultural work is minimal, crime in Bihar increases, an explanation now facing ridicule from opposition leaders and citizens alike. Reacting sharply, Tejashwi Yadav mocked the logic behind the police officers theory, while Bihars Deputy CM Vijay Sinha gave the usual assurance, criminals will be caught. But the core question remains: If criminals can openly commit murder inside a VIP hospital in the heart of the capital, and walk away freely, who is really in control? The Zee News team visited several locations across Patna to observe the alertness of the police, only to find constables lounging in towels and vests, far from battle-ready. If this is the level of alertness in Patna, one wonders what the situation is in smaller towns and villages. The family of Chandan Mishra has already named one of the shooters, Tausif Badshah, and claims to recognize the others as well. Yet, as of now, there have been no arrests, and fear among common citizens is growing. So today, the bigger question DNA raises is this: Are fearless criminals now writing the rulebook in Bihar? Is the Bihar Police being challenged right under its nose, and if yes, why is there such little urgency in the system? New Delhi: Calling out the Bihar government a "nakalchi sarkar", Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday accused CM Nitish Kumar of copying his idea of providing free electricity. The RJD leader stated that earlier, Nitish Kumar was against the idea of providing free electricity; however, after he proposed the scheme, the Bihar CM ended up copying it. Ahead of Bihar elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced that eligible domestic consumers across the state will receive up to 125 units of electricity free of cost starting August 1, a move set to benefit around 1.67 crore families. "This same Nitish Kumar used to say that free electricity should not be provided. Tejashwi said, "200 units free" and today the "nakalchi sarkar" copied. They do not have their own roadmap and vision. They have no achievements", Tejashwi Yadav told ANI. Addressing the issue of the Paras hospital firing incident, Tejashwi Yadav mentioned that no businessman wants to live in the state, mentioning that there is an "atmosphere" of fear. "Businessmen in Bihar want to leave. All professionals want to leave here. There is an atmosphere of fear. Murders are occurring every day. There is nobody to pay heed. Criminals are going around fearlessly...Who is emboldening them?" Yadav said. Earlier today, Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar termed the firing incident at Paras Hospital in Patna as "unfortunate" and said the matter is of serious concern, particularly as the hospital has its own security arrangements. Unidentified assailants opened fire inside Paras Hospital, targeting a prisoner who was admitted there for medical treatment, police said." This is a very sad incident because the incident took place inside Paras, which is a famous hospital. It has its security system. The criminals breached it completely and went inside. This is a matter of concern, and we will review the security system of Paras, why it happened, and who was on duty, and draw the attention of the Paras management," DGP Vinay Kumar told ANI. The DGP informed that the prisoner, identified as Chandan Mishra, was a notorious criminal and had been convicted in several murder cases. He said the deceased was originally sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment upon appeal. New Delhi: Indian actress and television personality Archana Puran Singh recently revealed that she and her family were scammed while booking tickets online during a vacation in Dubai. In a vlog shared on her YouTube channel, the 62-year-old actress recounted the experience alongside her husband, actor-filmmaker Parmeet Sethi, and their sons Aaryamann and Ayushmaan Sethi. The family had planned a visit to iFly Dubai, an indoor skydiving center, but upon arrival, they were informed that no booking existed under their name. Humne three slots book kare the iFly Dubai me, lekin ye lady bol rahi hai ki humari booking hai hi nahi (We had booked three slots at iFly Dubai, but the lady here says there's no booking in our name), Archana said in the video. Weve been scammed, she added. The website we used for the booking is not associated with them at all. We've already paid, and the tickets werent cheap. Expressing her disbelief, she said, I never expeted this in dubai, dubai me itne strict rules aur laws hai ki log darte hai ye sbb krne me (I never expected this in Dubai. With such strict laws and regulations here, people usually fear doing such things.) Her son Aaryamann noted, The website I clicked on has completely disappeared now, I cant find it anymore. Ayushmaan added, It was offering a Ramadan special discount, which seemed odd because its not even Ramadan right now. He also mentioned a suspicious change during the booking process: We chose the mid-tier package that offered 4 minutes of flying time, but as soon as we reached the payment page, it changed to 2 minutes. Archana currently appears as a regular cast member on The Great Indian Kapil Show and was last seen acting in the comedy series Nadaaniyan, alongside Khushi Kapoor and Ibrahim Ali Khan. New Delhi: Dan Rivera, a 54-year-old paranormal investigator and U.S. Army veteran, died under mysterious circumstances on Sunday night while touring with the infamous Annabelle doll, according to a report by The Indian Express. The New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) released a statement mourning the loss of their longtime colleague and friend. With heavy hearts, we share the sudden and heartbreaking loss of our dear friend and colleague, Dan Rivera, the press release read. Dan was not only a vital part of our team for over a decade, but also a deeply compassionate, loyal, and dedicated friend." Rivera, who served in the U.S. Army, was closely associated with Lorraine Warren. He worked alongside Lorraine Warren during her declining health, providing steady support and remaining a constant presence at NESPR events such as An Evening with Annabelle. Known for his integrity, creativity, and generosity, Riveras passion for the paranormal was driven by a desire to educate and help others, whether through social media, conventions, or investigations that brought comfort to local families. Dans strong faith was a guiding light in his life, the NESPR statement said. He never wavered in his belief in God and often spoke about the spiritual side of the work we do. We find comfort in knowing that he is now at peace, reunited with loved ones who have gone before him. Rivera was also a devoted family man, remembered as a loving husband, brother, and son. Out of respect for his family, NESPR has requested privacy during this difficult time. The society added that while the future of NESPR remains uncertain without Rivera, they remain committed to continuing the mission he passionately upheld, "We are eternally grateful that Dan worked so hard to continue the mission we believe inbringing people hope, knowledge, and healing through the memory of Ed & Lorraine Warren. We will carry his spirit with us in everything we do." Who is Dan Rivera? Dan Rivera was notably featured as a paranormal investigator on the Travel Channels Most Haunted Places and served as a producer for Netflixs 28 Days Haunted. At the time of his death, he was touring the United States with NESPR members, showcasing the 'allegedly demonic' Annabelle doll. Annabelles Haunting Legacy The Annabelle doll has been linked to a series of hauntings dating back to the 1970s after being gifted to a Connecticut nursing student named Donna. Ed and Lorraine Warren, famous paranormal investigators, claimed the doll exhibited disturbing behaviour such as moving its own arms, following people, and even causing physical harm, including stabbing a police officer and contributing to a car crash involving a priest. The Warrens asserted that the doll was possessed by a demonic spirit, believed to be the ghost of a deceased six-year-old girl named Annabelle. The doll was subsequently placed in the Warrens museum in Connecticut. New Delhi: Salaried employees may no longer need to wait for retirement or job loss to access their Employees Provident Fund (EPF) savings. The Centre is considering a proposal by the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) to ease withdrawal norms. If approved, subscribers could be allowed to withdraw their entire EPF corpus or a portion of it once every 10 years, reported Moneycontrol. Currently, EPF members can withdraw the full amount only after retirement, usually at the age of 58 or if they remain unemployed for over two months. Partial withdrawals are allowed but only for specific purposes like buying a house, medical emergencies, education, or marriage. Starting this month, EPF members can withdraw up to 90 per cent of their savings to buy land or build a house. Earlier, this benefit was available only to those who had contributed to their EPF for at least five continuous years. Now, the eligibility period has been reduced to just three years, making it easier for more people to use their savings for housing. How EPF Withdrawals Worked Earlier Full EPF withdrawal was allowed only: - After retirement (at age 58), or - If the member was unemployed for more than 2 months - Partial withdrawals were permitted only for: - Buying or building a house - Medical emergencies - Education expenses - Marriage-related costs Whats New in EPF Rules Now, members can withdraw up to 90 per cent of their EPF balance for housing purposes after just three years of continuous contribution. Earlier, the requirement was five years. The advance claim limit has been increased to Rs 5 lakh, making it quicker and easier to access funds without needing prior approvals. New Delhi: The Tamil Nadu government, under its Naan Mudhalvan scheme is offering free heavy vehicle driving training exclusively for women. This initiative is aimed at empowering women and opening up job opportunities in the transportation sector. The training will cover the operation of various heavy vehicles and will be provided at no cost. Women who are at least 20 years old are eligible to apply. Where Is the Training Available? The free heavy vehicle driving training for women is being offered at 16 centers across Tamil Nadu. These include locations like Gummidipoondi, Villupuram, Vellore, Trichy (MCJ), Kumbakonam, Karaikudi, Pudukottai, Salem, Dharmapuri, Pollachi, Erode, Tirunelveli, Nagercoil, Madurai, Dindigul, and Virudhunagarensuring wide access across the state. Training Duration The entire training program spans 65 working days, giving participants enough time to gain practical skills and confidence in driving heavy vehicles. Eligibility for Free Heavy Vehicle Driving Training (Tamil Nadu): - Must be 20 years or older. - Should be fluent in spoken and understood Tamil. - Must hold a valid Light Motor Vehicle (LMV) license for at least one year. - A Public Service Vehicle (PSV) badge is required. - Must meet physical fitness standards: How to Apply for Free Heavy Vehicle Driving Training: - Visit the official Naan Mudhalvan portal. - Select the "Automobile" sector from the list of options. - Choose the course titled "Commercial Heavy Vehicle Driver Training Level IV". - Fill in all the required personal details accurately. - Select your preferred training center from the available list. - Enter your Aadhaar number during the application. Make sure the mobile number linked to your Aadhaar is active, as it may be used for verification or updates. The 40-year-old, who returned a positive test for the virus a day before Australia's T20 squad's departure to Sri Lanka on Wednesday, will isolate for a week in Melbourne and is likely to link up with the team in Colombo ahead of the second T20 on June 8. Jammu-Kashmir Security: Today there is an important meeting of the Ministry of Home Affairs regarding the security of Jammu and Kashmir. This meeting will be held under the chairmanship of the Home Secretary at 10:30 am. Know in detail who will be included in this report? Opposition political parties in Odisha on Tuesday called for a statewide Bandh' on July 17, 2025, in protest against the death of a Balasore student who had set herself on fire. The state Congress President Bhakta Charan Das has demanded the resignation of the Odisha Education Minister, local MLA, and MP after the tragic incident. Five armed men stormed Patna's Paras Hospital on July 17, shooting dead criminal Chandan Mishra, who was out on parole. The brazen attack, captured on CCTV, highlights alarming security lapses and fuels concerns over Bihar's law and order situation. A Japanese man was sentenced yesterday to three and a half years in prison in China on espionage charges, according to the Japanese embassy in Beijing. The embassy did not identify the man, who has been detained since March 2023. Japans Kyodo News Agency described him as a man in his 60s and an employee of Astellas Pharma Inc., a major Japanese pharmaceutical company. The man was charged with espionage in August and his first hearing was held in November but no details were released. The Beijing No. 2 Intermediate Peoples Court did not immediately make an announcement after handing down the sentence. Kenji Kanasugi, the Japanese ambassador to China, called the sentencing extremely regrettable. The Japanese government has protested a series of detentions of its citizens in China. A total of 17 Japanese citizens with business or other connections to China have been detained since 2014, when China enacted the anti-spying law. Five remain in China, Kyodo reported. A Japanese diplomat was detained for questioning in 2022 and released hours later, prompting strong protests from Japan. Kanasugi was present at yesterdays ruling, but Japanese reporters were not allowed inside the courtroom. He told reporters that Japan has and will continue to demand the early release of Japanese nationals in detention, adding that such detentions are one of the biggest obstacles to improving people-to-people exchanges and public sentiment between Japan and China. A statement released by the Japanese embassy in Beijing urged the Chinese government to ensure the humane treatment of detainees and to improve the transparency of the judicial process. Japan considers Chinas growing influence in the region as a threat to its national security and economy, and the risks of getting caught in China on espionage allegations are a growing concern in Japan, including its business community. A safety handbook for visitors to China, published by the Japanese embassy in Beijing, urges visitors to use extra caution. MDT/AP In the midst of the Russia-Ukraine World War, Russian President Vladimir Putin met the mother of the martyred soldiers of his country by calling them to his home in the Kremlin. The sacrifice of his sons has been described as supreme and said to take care of Russian soldiers and their families. But during this, Putin said such a thing which is being discussed by the whole of Russia. Know what Putin said. In a touching tale of love defying boundaries, 47-year-old Mindy Rasmussen from Illinois, USA, has married her 31-year-old Pakistani Facebook friend, Sajid Zeb Khan, in the remote Upper Dir district of Pakistan. The pair first connected online nearly a year ago and gradually developed a deep bond through chats and video calls. Rasmussen arrived in Pakistan on a 90-day visa and was warmly greeted at Islamabad International Airport with flowers and traditional hospitality. She later converted to Islam, adopting the name Zulekha, and participated in a customary nikkah ceremony in Sajid's village, surrounded by locals who embraced her arrival with gifts and blessings. She called Sajid a humble and loving partner. Describing her husband's character and expressing admiration for the warm, peaceful environment of Pakistan, she praised the villagers for their generosity and genuine welcome. She added that the country had exceeded her expectations in kindness and culture. The couples story has captured widespread attention across social media, with many celebrating their cross-cultural union and the sincerity of their relationship. Zulekha revealed that her family in the US had given their full support, underscoring the depth of connection she shares with Sajid. While stories of online love across borders can sometimes end in heartbreak, this one appears to have blossomed into a genuine partnership, defying age and geographic distance. The couple now plans to settle in Pakistan, embracing a shared future rooted in love, mutual respect, and faith. Similar incidents have happened in the past as well, and in India too. Earlier, Jaclyn Forero, a US-based photographer, travelled thousands of miles to land in India to marry a man whom she met on Instagram. In another instance, a Brazilian woman named Rosie Naid Shikera, 51, has travelled halfway across the globe to marry Pawan Goyal, a 30-year-old man from Chhattisgarh. Minority rights groups on Thursday highlighted ongoing atrocities against Hindu minorities in Pakistan, particularly the abduction and abuse of teenage girls. A leading minority rights group revealed that a 15-year-old Hindu girl and a student of Class 9, Shaneela Meghwar, was forcibly abducted at gunpoint from her home, located on Matlis Sessions Court Road in Badin district of Pakistans Sindh province. The Voice of Pakistan Minority (VOPM) mentioned that the incident unfolded on June 23, and as of July 17, there has been no breakthrough in the case, and Shaneela is still missing, while her familys cries for justice grow louder with each passing day. "Shaneela, a bright student in class 9, had dreams as ordinary as any girl her age dreams of a future shaped by education and hope. But those dreams were shattered that fateful night when two armed men stormed into her home. According to her uncle, Majnu Maharaj, the intruders pointed their guns at the family, violently pulled Shaneela out of her house, and threw her into a waiting white vehicle. The car, carrying two other men, disappeared into the night, leaving behind only shattered hearts and a community in shock," read a statement issued by the VOPM. The minority rights group highlighted that the Meghwar family turned to the Matli police, but the response they received has only deepened their despair. Despite the gravity of the crime, it stated that the police "seemed indifferent". Shaneelas uncle Majnu recalls how the First Information Report (FIR) was only registered after community pressure, and yet it failed to name the main accused, Maqsood Dars. "The family believes that the police are intentionally shielding the culprits, leaving them to wonder whether the justice system has failed them entirely. For Shaneelas family, the fear of what may have happened to her is compounded by a grim reality that many minority girls in rural Sindh face the possibility of being forcibly converted and married, a tragic fate that continues to plague marginalised communities," the rights group emphasised. "Social media platforms have been flooded with posts about Shaneela's abduction, calling for justice and highlighting the slow-moving investigation. Allegations have emerged, suggesting that powerful local figures may be shielding the abductors, further complicating the pursuit of justice, it added. The VOPM asserted that in Pakistan, where minority communities often live on the margins of society, the abduction of a young girl like Shaneela is not just a personal tragedy; it is a stark reminder of the "systemic injustices faced by those who are already invisible in the eyes of the state". Meanwhile, Pakistani minority rights activist, Shiva Kachhi, Co-Chairman and Founder of Minority Rights Organisation, mentioned on Thursday that the Additional Sessions Judge of Pakistans Khipro Sanghar Court has handed over a 14-year-old Hindu minor girl, Kamla Kolhi, to the Muslim youth accused of abducting her. "Kamla Kolhi, a 14-year-old Hindu minor girl, who was abducted from Khipro three months ago, forcibly converted to Islam and married off, was produced before the court today. Despite the lawyer presenting her B-form (birth registration document) as evidence of her age, the court prioritised the girls statement and handed her over to members of the Machhi community," the minority rights activist posted on X. "It is extremely disappointing that, despite the presence of the Sindh Child Marriage Restraint Act and a recent federal law which clearly states that marriage without a CNIC (National Identity Card) is a criminal offence, these laws are not being enforced in practice," the post added. The current probe into the crash of the Air India flight that killed 260 people in Ahmedabad on June 12 has shifted its sharp attention to the conduct of the aircraft's captain, reported in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday. The newspaper, referring to sources close to initial reports by US authorities, reported that a cockpit voice recorder confirmed the captain, Sumeet Sabharwal, placed the fuel switches in the "cutoff" position within seconds of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's takeoff from the runway. The senior officer, Clive Kunder, the "pilot flying" in the plane, is heard on tape questioning the vastly experienced Captain Sabharwal about the abrupt fuel shutdown. The Captain, having over 15,600 flying hours against First Officer's 3,400 hours, is said to have replied that he had not executed the action. India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) has already released a preliminary report on Saturday, stating that the fuel switches for both engines did indeed switch from "run" to "cutoff" a second apart, immediately after takeoff. That first report did not state, however, how these switches were manipulated. With no fuel flowing, the plane headed to London quickly lost engine thrust and altitude. Closed-circuit television video at the airport similarly captured deployment of a ram air turbine (RAT) a redundant source of power shortly after takeoff, indicating a catastrophic loss of engine power. Investigators discovered both fuel switches in the "run" position on the crash scene, and there were signs that both engines had tried to restart prior to the low-altitude impact. In a memo to Air India employees on Monday, CEO Campbell Wilson said the initial report identified no indication of mechanical or maintenance issues with the plane, as assured that all the necessary maintenance had been done. The AAIB preliminary findings also did not make any safety recommendations to Boeing, the aircraft maker, or GE, the engine maker. After the initial report's publication, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Boeing issued private notifications in confidence reaffirming fuel switch lock safety on Boeing aircraft, as shown by a document obtained by Reuters and four knowledgeable sources. The investigation continued as officials attempt to clarify the exact cause of this catastrophic air tragedy. At least four people were killed and dozens injured in violent clashes between law enforcement personnel and Awami League (AL) supporters in Gopalganj on Wednesday, following tensions over a rally by the National Citizen Party (NCP), The Daily Star reported. The violence broke out in the wake of a pre-scheduled NCP rally at Poura Park in Gopalganj town, which was opposed by AL supporters despite a recent government ban on all political activities of the Awami League. According to The Daily Star, hundreds of AL activists blocked the Gopalganj-Tekerhat road in the Ulpur area early on Wednesday by felling trees. Protesters also set fire to a government vehicle and vandalised another before storming the NCP rally venue. Clashes intensified after NCP leaders left the rally and were reportedly attacked by AL supporters near Chowrangi. At least four people were killed and several others sustained injuries as confrontations spread across different parts of the district, the Daily Star in its report added. In response, the government imposed a curfew from 8:00 pm on Wednesday to 6:00 pm on Thursday to bring the situation under control. Authorities also postponed the ongoing HSC, Alim, and HSC (Vocational) exams in Gopalganj, with notices issued by respective education boards around 10:30 pm. Eyewitnesses claimed that police opened fire on demonstrators in some areas. A grocer in Chowrangi said he saw two people collapse as security forces fired shots to disperse the crowd. One of the victims, Dipto, was reportedly on his way to his shop when he was shot in the abdomen, The Daily Star reported. Speaking at a press conference in Khulna, NCP Convener Nahid Islam said, "After concluding our rally in Gopalganj, we were heading towards Madaripur when armed goons of the Awami League attacked our motorcade." Despite the attack, the party plans to go ahead with its rally in Faridpur today, The Daily Star quoted him as saying. Before the rally began, 200-300 armed individuals stormed the venue, tore down banners, and exploded crude bombs, forcing police officers to retreat temporarily. NCP leaders, including Nahid Islam and Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain, later arrived and helped push back the attackers with police support. The Chief Adviser's Press Wing strongly condemned the attack on NCP members, describing it as "utterly indefensible" and assuring that those responsible would be punished. Other political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, also condemned the violence, according to The Daily Star. Berlin/New Delhi: Germany has introduced a visa that allows people from outside the European Union (EU), including Indians, to live and work in the country as freelancers for up to one year. Known as the Freelance Visa or Freiberufler visa, it is designed for self-employed professionals such as writers, designers, consultants and artists. The visa can later be extended for up to three years if the individual continues to meet the necessary requirements. It offers a chance to explore Germanys culture and economy while working independently. The Freelance Visa is part of Germanys larger vision to attract global talent. Whether you are a journalist with bylines, a yoga therapist with clientele or a consulting economist, the government welcomes professionals who can contribute to the countrys cultural and intellectual economy. But not just anyone qualifies. Germany has drawn clear lines under who fits into this category. Section 18 of the German Income Tax Act outlines a long list of eligible roles, ranging from engineers, lawyers and commercial chemists to physiotherapists, translators, pilots, architects and educators. The basics start with your passport. It needs to be issued within the last decade and must have at least two blank pages. But paperwork is just the beginning. Applicants must show proof that they can financially sustain themselves for a year. That means showing a stable monthly income of approximately 1,280 euro (around Rs 1,27,844). Health insurance is non-negotiable. So is documentation to show that your qualifications, be it a university degree or equivalent professional training, are genuine and recognised. To stand a real chance, applicants must also present solid evidence of freelance work, including professional contracts or letters of intent from clients in Germany or elsewhere in Europe. A clear, structured plan for what kind of freelance work you will be doing is also required. And do not forget to bring a polished CV and a couple of passport photos taken in the last six months. If you are above 45, the process is a little more demanding. You will need to prove you have got a retirement plan in place. This could mean pensions, savings or other assets. Germany wants to ensure that older freelancers will not face hardship down the line. Once all your documents are ready, the process begins at home. You will need to fill out the National D Visa application form and book an appointment with the German consulate or embassy in your country such as the German Missions in India. This is where you will submit your paperwork and biometric data. If all goes well, your visa will be approved for three to six months, giving you enough time to move, settle and complete the next steps in Germany. Within two weeks of arriving, new residents are required to register their address. Then comes the visit to the local Foreigners Office, where you formally apply for your freelance residence permit. This is what allows you to stay and work beyond the initial visa period. Those who find success in Germanys dynamic professional environment often end up extending their stay. Initially granted for up to three years, the visa can be renewed as long as the applicant continues to meet all criteria. And for those who establish roots by staying for at least five consecutive years, learning the language and demonstrating financial stability, the path to permanent residency becomes an option. But freedom comes with responsibility. Freelancers must also register with the German tax office and get a dedicated tax number. Taxes must be filed, just like any German professional. In return, the country offers world-class infrastructure, access to the EU market and a work-life balance that blends productivity with pleasure. For creative minds and independent professionals across India, this visa is about work and rewiring life in a place where heritage meets technology, where weekend getaways mean driving to castles or wine valleys and where culture is lived not only preserved. Germany is opening its doors. All it asks for is proof that you are ready to walk through them on your own terms. Even after being rattled by Indias Operation Sindoor, Pakistan continues to stir the pot with fresh narratives. This time, several Pakistani media outlets have sensationally claimed that former US President Donald Trump is set to visit Pakistan soon and have even circulated a supposed date for his arrival. However, the White House is yet to make a formal announcement, and the pre-decided schedule of Trump indicates that he would be visiting the United Kingdom on the dates claimed by Pakistani media houses. Trumps Alleged Visit: Fact or Fiction? According to Pakistani media reports, Trump is expected to land in Pakistan after attending a QUAD summit in India. However, this claim quickly loses credibility as no QUAD summit is scheduled in India in September, and Indian diplomatic protocols discourage foreign leaders from visiting Pakistan directly after a trip to India an unwritten but well-established policy. Munir Speculation The reports of Trumps alleged visit come at a time when speculation is growing over Pakistans Army Chief General Asim Munir possibly assuming dictatorial control. There are whispers in political circles that Munir may replace current President Asif Ali Zardari and declare himself as the next supreme leader. While this remains unconfirmed, the timing of these rumours has raised eyebrows across the region. Political Turmoil Deepens in Islamabad Amidst the rising chatter, high-level meetings have reportedly taken place between President Zardari, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and General Munir. According to sources, discussions have intensified over Zardaris possible resignation, which could pave the way for Munirs unprecedented political elevation. These internal developments have sparked intense speculation in Pakistan's political corridors. Khawaja Asif Adds Fuel to the Fire Adding weight to the rumours, Pakistans Defence Minister Khawaja Asif publicly stated that President Zardari may step down soon to make room for a successor. Though he did not name Munir directly, the subtext of his comments was hard to miss. Analysts believe this signals a possible power shift engineered by the military establishment. Munirs U.S. Visit Sparks More Questions General Munirs recent visit to the United States has also drawn attention. Reports suggest he was given an unusually warm reception in Washington, which has further fueled speculation about his growing influence and possible backing from international quarters. This context has led some experts to argue that if Trump were indeed planning a visit to Pakistan, it wouldn't be entirely surprising, though it remains highly unlikely at this stage. Experts Remain Sceptical Despite the noise in Pakistani media, defence analysts and foreign policy experts remain sceptical about both the Trump visit and Munirs potential self-appointment as head of state. While acknowledging Munirs rising stature, they caution against jumping to conclusions, especially given the volatile and opaque nature of Pakistani politics. US President Donald Trump on Thursday said that Washington is 'very close' to a trade deal with India. "We have another one [deal] coming up, maybe with India... We're very close to a deal with India where they open it up," Trump said. He elaborated, "We're in negotiation. When I send out a letter, that's a deal... The best deal we can make is to send out a letter, and the letter says that you'll pay 30%, 35%, 25%, 20%... We have some pretty good deals to announce... We're very close to a deal with India where they open it up," ANI reported, quoting Trump. Trump made similar remarks in an interview with Real America's Voice, stating, "We've made deals with a lot of great places. We have another one coming up, maybe with India. I don't know, we're in negotiation. When I send out a letter, that's a deal," as per media reports. Trumps remarks come amid ongoing negotiations, with the Indian negotiating team led by Special Secretary in the Commerce Department, Rajesh Agarwal, having arrived in Washington on Monday to engage with US officials in finalising a deal. According to Politico, the upcoming announcement "is expected to be only the first phase of a trade deal, with a more robust and comprehensive agreement to come in the fall." On Tuesday, Trump said that India is working on a trade deal on the lines of the one reached with Indonesia. According to him, under the Indonesia deal, Jakarta will not charge any tariffs on imports from the US, while the US will collect a 19 per cent tariff on Indonesian exports. Talks began as early as February with India, and Trump and US officials have said several times that a trade deal was imminent, but so far it hasn't panned out. After Vice President JD Vance's visit to India in April, US Commerce Secretary Scott Bessent said that India would be among the first to sign a trade deal, and it may come in early May. In June, after a call with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump said, "I think Modi is a fantastic man. I spoke to him last night. We're going to make a trade deal with Modi of India." But issues relating to agriculture, access for Indian professionals to the US, and intellectual property have apparently complicated the talks. Trump has said that he would impose a secondary tariff of 100 per cent on countries that buy energy from Russia, if Moscow does not make peace with Ukraine by early September. (With IANS Inputs) New Delhi: Somewhere in a prison cell at Sanaa in Yemen, a Malayali nurse, Nimisha Priya, waits for an answer that could decide whether she lives or dies. The clock ticks. She is not waiting for a court verdict. That has already been pronounced. She has been convicted of murder and sentenced to death. What she is waiting for now is a decision from a Yemeni family, one that has refused to forgive her. Their demand is chilling in its finality: Qisas an eye for an eye or blood for blood. And in Yemen, where Islamic law defines the justice system, the familys decision is all that matters. The Story Behind the Sentence Nimishas life began in Keralas Palakkad district. A trained nurse, she once dreamed of building a better life for her family. That dream took her to Yemen in 2008, where she initially found work as a nurse in a hospital. But what followed was far from the life she had imagined. She later entered into a business partnership with a Yemeni man, Talal Abdo Mahdi, to run a clinic. Reports and statements from her family and supporters allege that the man, now dead, exploited and abused her. They claim he took her passport, harassed her and restricted her movements. Her family and campaigners say Nimisha tried many times to get her passport back and return to India, but was trapped. The events leading to Talals death remain contested, but in 2017, she was arrested after his body was found dismembered and hidden in a water tank. Yemeni courts found her guilty of murder. In 2020, she was sentenced to death. Qisas vs. Diyah In Yemen, justice in murder cases is not only about courts and judges. It is personal. Deeply personal. Under Islamic laws, which Yemen follows, two key principles define criminal justice in murder cases: 1. Qisas retributive justice. If someone kills a person, he/she can be executed unless the family of the victim chooses to forgive. 2. Diyah is compensation, often referred to as blood money. If the family agrees, the killer can be spared in exchange for a financial settlement. The law gives the victims family the full right to decide whether to seek execution (Qisas) or accept compensation (Diyah). No government, court or diplomat can override that decision. And in this case, the victims family is crystal clear. They want Qisas. No forgiveness. No blood money. Only death. No Money Can Bring Back Our Brother The family of the victim has made their position known, again and again. His brother, Abdelfattah Mahdi, posted an emotional and unequivocal message on Facebook. Our demand is clear Qisas, and nothing else, he wrote, adding, No amount of money can bring back our brother. Blood cannot be bought. With that, the door slammed shut, for now, on any hope that Nimisha could be saved through Diyah. Indian humanitarian groups and Nimishas mother have been trying desperately to convince the family to reconsider. Campaigners have raised money and offered to pay any amount demanded by Mahdis relatives. They have pleaded on humanitarian grounds, pointing out that Nimisha has a young daughter who would be orphaned by her death. But none of it has changed the familys mind. An Execution Delayed, But Not Cancelled Nimishas execution was initially scheduled for July 16. But just days before the scheduled hanging, Yemen postponed the sentence. Some reports suggest that Indian diplomatic pressure may have helped secure a delay. Others believe it was on the intervention of a respected cleric, who is engaged in negotiations with all stake holders. Whatever the reason, the execution has not been cancelled only delayed. The danger still hangs over her like a guillotine. The only thing that can now save Nimisha from death is if Talal Mahdis family has a change of heart. As per Yemeni law, there is no room for negotiation once a family insists on Qisas. If they maintain that demand, Nimisha will be executed. The Yemeni state will be bound by law to carry it out. Indias Legal Lens vs. Yemens Religious Justice The contrast between Indias legal system and Yemens is stark. In India, the state handles murder prosecutions. The government, not the victims family, decides whether to pursue the death penalty. Even after a conviction, there are appeals, clemency petitions and presidential pardons. But in Yemen, it is the victims family who holds the power of life and death. In 2006, Yemen incorporated Qisas and Diyah into its Penal Code under Articles 224-246. Under these laws, the victims heirs can demand execution, accept compensation or forgive entirely. Judges cannot interfere if the family insists on Qisas. And once the execution is carried out, the case is considered closed. That is why even diplomatic intervention has limited impact. Indian authorities can request clemency, but only the familys consent carries weight under Yemeni law. A Plea for Mercy, A Mothers Hope Nimishas mother, family and young daughter continue to wait. Human rights activists have not given up either. They hope that with time, and perhaps some gesture of reconciliation, the Mahdi family may agree to talk. The Indian government, through its embassy in Djibouti (India does not have an embassy in Yemen due to ongoing civil war), is in touch with local intermediaries. But time is running out. And Nimishas life now rests not in the hands of any law, lawyer or judge, but in the heart of a bereaved family. This is not merely about law or justice or geopolitics. It is about a woman who once held a stethoscope and dreamed of a better life, and now stares at a noose. It is about a family torn apart by a brutal murder, and another family watching their daughter slip closer to death every day. It is about a justice system where the law steps back and lets grief make the final call. And right now, that call is Qisas. The Legislative Assembly direct election saw all six candidates from the Macau Create Peoples Livelihood Force, led by incumbent lawmaker Ron Lam, and the Synergy of Power, headed by newcomer Alberto Wong, disqualified for allegedly not upholding the Basic Law and lacking loyalty to Macau. Yesterday, Wong requested a re-examination of his groups eligibility from the Electoral Affairs Commission for the Legislative Assembly Election (CAEAL). This marks the second instance of such disqualifications since the 2021 direct election, when 20 candidates from five non-establishment groups were barred from running in the legislative election. In that election, all 15 candidates from three pro-democracy groups, including directly elected legislators Antonio Ng and Sulu Sou, were also disqualified. At a press conference on Tuesday, it was highlighted that all candidates from the two teams had been deemed by the Committee for Safeguarding National Security as neither upholding the Basic Law nor bearing allegiance to the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR). Seng Io Man, the president of CAEAL, announced that the CAEAL has made decisions of ineligibility regarding the aforementioned six candidates from the Macau Create Peoples Livelihood Force and the six candidates from the Synergy of Macau Association in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Law for the Legislative Assembly. During the press conference, Seng faced questions about why the 12 individuals were labeled as not upholding the Basic Law or being loyal to the SAR, what specific crimes they were accused of, and why the National Security Committees review could not be made public. In response, he asserted that the committees work and the review materials are confidential and cannot be disclosed due to national security concerns. Upon their disqualification, the leaders of the two groups, Ron Lam and Alberto Wong, took to social media to apologize to their supporters. They both noted that they had not received any prior notification from the CAEAL about the disqualification and had learned of the news through live news broadcasts. Among them, Wong ended his statement by saying, We have decided not to comment. Yesterday, Wong, acting as a representative of the list, submitted a letter to the CAEAL. In the letter reviewed by the Times, he requested that the committee review the eligibility of the candidates on his groups list and return the MOP25,000 deposit, despite the committees previous decision stating that no declaration of intent or judicial appeal could be filed. In a letter to the Times and other media, where he recalls the content of the document submitted to CAEAL, Wong emphasized his commitment to the Basic Law of the Macau SAR. He outlined three key points, referring to the legal basis for his assertions, that demonstrate how he and his group have consistently fulfilled their obligations of loyalty to Macau. By doing so, he denied any accusations of failing to uphold these principles, essentially defending their integrity and dedication to the regions legal framework and governance. Wong stated, As candidates committed to contributing to the development of Macau, we have always adhered to this clause as our code of conduct, actively putting it into practice in our daily lives and work, and have never violated it [] We actively participate in social affairs and spread positive messages, demonstrating our love and loyalty to Macau and our country through our actions, in terms of the groups social affairs participation, public statement, and background check and certificate of no violations of laws and regulations. He also invoked the principle of the right to know the reasons under Article 48 of the Administrative Procedure Code, demanding that the National Security Committee provide a clear explanation of the specific factual basis and legal reasoning behind its determination that the candidates of his group do not support and do not pledge allegiance. Lam, the leader of another group disqualified from running in the legislative election, reiterated to the Times yesterday, I have nothing else to say at this time. I hope you understand. Elected to the legislature in 2021 with over 8,000 votes, Lams group, Synergy of Power, submitted 400 nominations for the upcoming election. During a media interview on the sidelines of the submission of his groups candidate list and manifesto to the CAEAL early last month, he reflected on his performance over the past four years, stating, Personally, I believe I have done my best. If I have fallen short, I truly apologize to the voters. He emphasized his commitment by noting that he attended all Legislative Assembly sessions to express his opinions on bills. I believe everyone has witnessed our work over the past four years. We have certainly made our voices heard, but whether the government listens to these public opinions is not something I can control or influence [] I have done my best, and I have given it my all. However, to be honest, the results have not met my expectations, and this is my self-assessment. I also want to tell the voters: I truly apologize, Lam remarked on his performance as a legislator in response to the Times question. Lam pointed out that significant changes in the social environment over the years have led to the governments failure to adequately heed public opinion. This has resulted in policies that do not align with the peoples needs or the demands of societal development. At that time, he added that his campaign platform aimed to push the government to genuinely reduce existing subsidies for foreign companies and large corporations, thereby creating more opportunities for small- and medium-sized enterprises to thrive. The Transport Bureau (DSAT) has launched a new online service that allows vehicle registration using the Companies and Associations Platform part of the Macau One Account platform. Since yesterday morning, automobile dealers or their representatives can, through the platforms website or mobile application, submit applications for experience plates (EX plates), new vehicle registrations for private use, and pay road tax online, reducing the need for in-person visits. The new service is said to be aligned with the governments efforts to promote e-government and facilitate bureaucratic procedures. DSAT explained that when vehicle dealers or their representatives submit an online application for a new vehicles EX plate, the vehicle owner must confirm the application details through the Macau One Account and authorize the Identification Services Bureau to obtain their Macau Resident Identity Card image to proceed with electronic authentication. During the vehicle registration process, vehicle owners can also check the application status in My Affairs of the Macau One Account, download the submission receipt, the provisional experience plate license, and the replacement vehicle registration document, schedule an inspection, and link the vehicle in My Vehicles. The DSAT website (www.dsat.gov.mo) provides more details and information on the requirements and online application procedures. RM * Wong asks why Disqualified candidate Alberto Wong demands clarification from CAEAL on eligibility decision * Crime |Police uncover two deepfake scam cases exploiting AI * Gaming | Jefferies raises casino revenue forecast for the year * MGM China confirms that a legal dispute linked to gambling debts involving Hong Kong actor Jacky Heung Cho has been fully resolved * June sees rise in residential property transactions despite a slight price dip * Beijing court sentences Japanese man to prison on spying charges DOWNLOAD PDF Thursday, July 17 2025 edition no. 4761 The United Nations special rapporteur for Gaza and the West Bank said yesterday [Macau time] that its time for nations around the world to take concrete actions to stop what she called the genocide in Gaza. Francesca Albanese spoke to delegates from 30 countries meeting in Colombias capital to discuss the Israel-Hamas war and ways that nations can try to stop Israels military offensive in the territory. Many of the participating nations have described the violence as genocide against the Palestinians. Each state must immediately review and suspend all ties with the State of Israel and ensure its private sector does the same, said Albanese, who was sanctioned by the U.S. earlier this month. The Israeli economy is structured to sustain the occupation that has now turned genocidal. The two-day conference organized by the governments of Colombia and South Africa is being attended mostly by developing nations, although the governments of Spain, Ireland and China have also sent delegates. Israel, which was founded in the aftermath of the Holocaust, has adamantly rejected genocide allegations against it as an antisemitic blood libel. Analysts say its not clear whether the conferences participating countries have enough leverage over Israel to force it to change its policies in Gaza, where more than 58,000 people have been killed in Israeli military operations following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel in 2023. The death toll comes from the health ministry, which is under Gazas Hamas government and does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The U.N. and other international organizations see its figures as the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The United States has so far failed to influence Israels behavior so it is naive to think that this group of countries can have any influence over (Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahus behavior or on the government of Israel, said Sandra Borda, a professor of international relations at Bogotas Los Andes University. She said, however, that the conference will enable some nations of the Global South to clarify their position toward the conflict and have their voices heard. The conference is co-chaired by the governments of South Africa and Colombia, which last year suspended coal exports to Israeli power plants, and includes the participation of members of The Hague Group, a coalition of eight nations that earlier this year pledged to cut military ties with Israel and to comply with an International Criminal Court arrest warrant against Netanyahu. Participating nations have said they are trying to comply with an International Court of Justice opinion issued last year that said Israels occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal. There is also a U.N. General Assembly resolution from September, which demands that Israel withdraw its military from Palestinian territories and calls on member nations to stop selling weapons to Israel. Its important that we stand up for the rule of law in a meaningful way, said Chrispin Phiri, a spokesman for South Africas Department of International Relations who is attending the conference in Bogota. This idea that international law can only be enforced on counties of the global south is something that has become unsustainable. For decades, South Africas ruling African National Congress party has compared Israels policies in Gaza and the West Bank with its own history of oppression under the harsh apartheid regime of white minority rule, which restricted most Blacks to homelands or Bantustans, before ending in 1994. Albanese also brought up the comparison as she spoke to delegates in the conference, and urged them to impose sanctions on Israel until it withdraws from Gaza and the West Bank. I ask you to consider this moment as if we were sitting here in the 1990s, discussing the case of apartheid South Africa. Would you have proposed selective sanctions on South Africa for its conduct in individual Bantustans? Or would you have recognized the states criminal system as a whole? Albanese said. The gathering comes as the European Union weighs various measures against Israel including a ban on imports from Israeli settlements, an arms embargo and individual sanctions against Israeli officials found to be blocking a peaceful solution to the conflict. Colombias Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Mauricio Jaramillo said Monday that the nations participating in the Bogota meeting, which also include Qatar and Turkey, will be discussing diplomatic and judicial measures that can be taken to put more pressure on Israel to cease its attacks. The Colombian official described Israels conduct in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank as an affront to the international order. This is not just about Palestine, Jaramillo said in a press conference. It is about defending international law and the right to self-determination. MANUEL RUEDA, BOGOTA, MDT/AP The University of Michigan is under federal scrutiny after two Chinese scientists linked to the school were separately charged with smuggling biological materials into the United States. The Education Department yesterday [Macau time] opened an investigation into the universitys foreign funding, citing the pair of cases that were announced days apart in June. It said the highly disturbing criminal charges raise concerns about Michigans vulnerability to national security threats from China. Despite the University of Michigans history of downplaying its vulnerabilities to malign foreign influence, recent reports reveal that UMs research laboratories remain vulnerable to sabotage, said Paul Moore, chief investigative counsel of the department. President Donald Trump has made it a priority to increase transparency around foreign gifts and contracts to U.S. universities, especially those tied to China. Similar investigations have been opened at Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California, Berkeley. It joins efforts from Republicans in Congress who have urged universities to cut research ties with China. Michigan ended a partnership with a university in Shanghai in January amid pressure from House Republicans who called it a security risk. The new investigation demands financial records from Michigan, along with information about research collaborations with institutions outside the U.S. The Education Department accuses Michigan of being incomplete, inaccurate and untimely in its public disclosures around funding from foreign sources. In a statement, UM spokesperson Colleen Mastony said the university will cooperate with federal investigators and takes its responsibility to comply with the law extremely seriously. We strongly condemn any actions that seek to cause harm, threaten national security or undermine the universitys critical public mission, Mastony wrote. Federal authorities brought charges in June against a Chinese scientist and his girlfriend who worked at a lab at the University of Michigan after the FBI said it halted their effort to bring a toxic fungus into the United States. Days later, authorities arrested a Chinese scientist who was arriving in the U.S. and has been accused of shipping biological material to a laboratory at the University of Michigan. In June, the university announced a review of protocols related to research security. In a letter to the university, however, the Education Department said some school officials have downplayed the vulnerability of research collaborations with Chinese institutions. It singles out Ann Chih Lin, director of the universitys Center for Chinese Studies, who has publicly said the threat of technology theft from China is overstated. Lins apparent indifference to the national security concerns of the largest single source of funding for UMs annual research expenditures the American taxpayer is particularly unsettling, Education Department officials wrote. Federal law requires universities to report all gifts and contracts from foreign sources totaling $250,000 or more. The law went mostly unenforced until Trumps first term, when the Education Department opened a dozen inquiries into universities accused of underreporting foreign money. The Biden administration closed most of those cases, but the effort has recently been renewed. Many U.S. universities acknowledge a need to improve research security but caution against treating Chinese scholars with hostility and suspicion, saying only small numbers have been involved in espionage. Last year, House Republicans issued a report finding that hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding had gone toward research that ultimately boosted Chinese advancements in artificial intelligence, semiconductor technology and nuclear weapons. China is the second-largest country of origin for foreign students in the U.S., behind only India. In the 2023-24 academic year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the United States. COLLIN BINKLEY, WASHINGTON, MDT/AP Wynn Macau and Wynn Palace served as the Official Host Partner of Asias 50 Best Bars 2025, presenting a week of drinks-centered events culminating in the awards ceremony on July 15 the first time the event was held in Macau. The celebration brought together top regional bartenders, chefs, drinks professionals, and international media to honor excellence in contemporary cocktail culture. The main ceremony at Wynn Palace Grand Theater featured a red carpet, cocktail reception, and live announcement of the 2025 list. Attendees sampled signature cocktails from acclaimed bars, including Wing Lei Bar, Tell Camellia, and Bar US at the Bartenders Feast, held the night prior. Preceding the event, the Meet the Bartenders session offered international media exclusive access to leading bar talent. The week concluded with a Closing Party at Fontana, featuring cocktails from Cosmo Pony and The Curator, and traditional dragons beard candy by Yau Kei Candy. Singapores ComfortDelGro to introduce cancellation and waiting fees of at least S$3 from September SINGAPORE, July 17 Customers of Singapores largest taxi operator, ComfortDelGro (CDG), will soon face new cancellation and waiting charges, as the company rolls out a phased fee policy aimed at encouraging more responsible ride bookings. From September 1, cancellation fees of at least S$3 (RM10) will kick in, while waiting fees will be implemented from October 15, Channel News Asia reported. The company described the current period as a waiver period to help riders get familiar with the upcoming changes, adjust their habits and provide feedback. Cancellation and waiting fees help compensate drivers fairly for their time and effort, CDG said. ADVERTISEMENT This policy also encourages more responsible booking and cancellation habits, improving the overall experience for everyone on the platform and aligning us with prevailing industry practices. According to CDGs website, riders may cancel up to four rides per month without charge if the driver has not yet arrived at the pickup point. Once that limit is exceeded, a S$4 cancellation fee will apply. If the driver has already arrived, a flat S$4 fee will be charged for any cancellation regardless of the monthly quota. Riders who do not show up at the pickup point within five minutes after the taxi arrives will incur a S$5 no-show fee. As for the new waiting time charges, the first four minutes are free. After that, a fee of S$3 will be added for every five-minute block, capped at S$9. Only one type of fee cancellation, no-show, or waiting will apply for a single booking, depending on whether the ride is completed. Waiting fees apply only if the trip goes ahead, while cancellation or no-show fees apply only if the ride is not taken. ADVERTISEMENT For customers paying via cashless methods, fees will be deducted automatically. Those paying by cash will see the fee added to their next fare. Waiting charges will appear at the end of the completed ride. CDG clarified that drivers can only cancel a ride and trigger a cancellation fee if GPS data confirms they were at the pickup location and had waited for more than five minutes. Situations such as the customer exceeding luggage capacity for the chosen vehicle may also lead to a fee. Customers who believe they were charged incorrectly can contact the operators hotline at 6552 4525 or send a message via the CDG Zig app. As reported by Channel News Asia, ride-hailing platforms like Grab and Gojek already implement similar charges. Grab, for instance, gives a three-minute grace period before imposing a S$4 cancellation fee, and charges S$3 for every five-minute block of waiting time beyond that. Gojek provides a four-minute cancellation grace period, with a similar S$4 fee for late cancellations. Waiting time fees begin at S$3 and can rise to S$9, mirroring CDGs new model. Earlier this year, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters briefly employed a man whose image was synonymous with the infamous Unite the Right rally that brought white supremacists to Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. The Teamsters hired Peter Cytanovic for an administrative job at the unions headquarters in Washington, D.C., before firing him during his probationary period, according to a source with knowledge of the situation. The union was unaware of Cytanovics past when he came onboard, the source said. More than seven years earlier, Cytanovic, then a college student, traveled from Reno, Nevada, and marched among neo-Nazis in the alternative right demonstration on the University of Virginia grounds. The dramatic Getty photo of a screaming, white-polo-clad Cytanovic then 20 years old, his face lit by tiki torches became perhaps the most iconic image from the rally. He has since said he is not a white nationalist. Cytanovic declined to discuss his stint with the Teamsters during a brief exchange outside his home on Wednesday. ADVERTISEMENT They can suck dick, he said of the union, and you can get the fuck out of here. The Teamsters declined to comment on the matter. HuffPost has learned that Cytanovic told the Teamsters he had previously worked as an organizer for the Service Employees International Union, another powerhouse in the labor movement. SEIU declined to comment. Cytanovic, right, in the Getty photo taken on Aug. 11, 2017. Anadolu via Getty Images Cytanovics hiring at one of the largest and most powerful U.S. unions first surfaced publicly in an anonymous Reddit post last month. Someone who identified themselves as an employee at Teamsters headquarters said they learned about their new co-workers Charlottesville trip after googling his name. The poster said they reported their findings to a manager, and Cytanovic was terminated. On Tuesday, John Palmer, a member of the Teamsters executive board, shared on Facebook a letter he had sent to the unions president, Sean OBrien, asking critical questions about the hire, including how the background check was done. Palmer is a vocal OBrien critic whos announced a run against the incumbent president in the unions 2026 election. ADVERTISEMENT When we hire somebody at the international, they vet people and it takes at least three or four people signing off, Palmer told HuffPost, referring to the main union, rather than its local affiliates. I cant speak to the vetting process. Cytanovic has maintained since the days immediately following the Charlottesville rally that he is not the angry racist [people] see in that photo. He said he was drawn to the rally in large part to defend the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee as a symbol of white, European heritage. Anti-racist activists had urged local officials to remove the Lee monument from a Charlottesville park. I hope people acknowledge that being a party to the alternative right does not make me an evil Nazi, and that being pro-white right now is dangerous, and being pro-white doesnt mean Im anti-anyone else, he told Nevadas Channel 2 News after the rally. That article described Cytanovic as a self-proclaimed white nationalist, a label he disclaimed in a 2019 interview with The Beaver, a publication at the London School of Economics, where Cytanovic was studying for a masters degree at the time. I thought white nationalism at the time was American nationalism, being proud of our history without condemning, he said. Without being an atomised individual, being part of a wider community. Im ethnically American. ADVERTISEMENT Cytanovic also said he and other rally participants bear blame for the death of Heather Heyer, the counterprotester who was killed when a far-right demonstrator drove a car into a crowd the weekend of the rally. I caused hurt. Theres nothing I can do to change that now, he said. The viral 2017 image of Cytanovic has dogged him professionally and academically for years, long before his brief time with the Teamsters. As HuffPosts Christopher Mathias reported in 2021, Cytanovic joined the Nevada National Guard but was quickly booted before attending basic training. Although he had passed criminal and fingerprint checks, a guard spokesperson said Cytanovic was expelled due to his affiliations. Before that, fellow students at the University of Nevada, Reno, had pushed for his expulsion, though the schools administration resisted such calls on free-speech grounds. However, Cytanovic did end up resigning from his job with a campus escort service that provides free rides to students at night. Related... The official Philippine population reached 112,729,484 as of July 1, 2024, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Thursday. This figure, based on the 2024 Census of Population (2024 POPCEN), was officially declared by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. through Proclamation No. 973 dated July 11, 2025. - Advertisement - The official count includes all persons residing in the Philippines 18 administrative regions as of 12:01 a.m. on July 1, 2024 as well as Filipinos in Philippine embassies, consulates and missions abroad. Compared to the 2020 Census of Population and Housing (2020 CPH), the population increased by 3.69 million from 109.04 million in 2020. However, the annual population growth rate (PGR) slowed to 0.80 percent from 2020 to 2024, down from 1.63 percent between 2015 and 2020. The PSA traced the slowdown to factors such as declining fertility and birth rates, elevated mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic and subdued migration activity. Region IV-A (CALABARZON) recorded the largest population in 2024 with 16.93 million, followed by the National Capital Region (NCR) with 14.00 million, and Region III (Central Luzon) with 12.99 million. These three regions combined account for about 39.0 percent of the total Philippine population. Six other regions reported populations exceeding five million. The Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) is the least populated, with 1.81 million, or about 1.6 percent of the total population. Sixteen of the 18 regions experienced a slowdown in their annual PGR from 2015-2020 to 2020-2024. The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) was the only region to post an increase in its annual PGR, while Region V (Bicol) saw a population decline. BARMM remained the fastest-growing region with an annual PGR of 3.43 percent. It was followed by Region III (Central Luzon) at 1.08 percent, Region IV-A (CALABARZON) at 1.07 percent, NCR at 0.91 percent, and Region X (Northern Mindanao) at 0.73 percent. Region V (Bicol) recorded the lowest PGR at -0.07 percent, making it the only region with negative growth. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has pledged to deepen financial inclusion in the Philippines to bring more Filipinos into the formal financial system. This commitment follows the release of a World Bank report showing a slight dip in financial account ownership in the country. The World Banks Global Findex 2025 report revealed that 50.2 percent of Filipinos aged 15 and above owned an account with banks or other microfinance institutions. This marks a marginal decrease from 51.4 percent reported in the previous World Bank study in 2021. - Advertisement - The BSP noted that while the 2024 Global Findex report shows a slight decline, this could be attributed to the easing of pandemic-related incentives that encouraged the use of transaction accounts. Persistent challenges, such as connectivity gaps, low financial literacy, and trust issues, continue to hinder progress, the BSP said. However, it cited gains observed between 2021 and 2024, including increased use of mobile money accounts, a rise in formal savings and improved financial resilience, measured by the ability to access extra funds within 30 days. These findings underscore the need to move beyond mere account ownership and concentrate on improving financial health, particularly for vulnerable sectors, the BSP said. The World Bank report indicates that 51 percent of adults in the Philippines had financial accounts, with 47 percent of women and 34 percent of the poor holding accounts. In contrast, 100 percent of the adult population in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Iceland, Austria, Canada, Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and Denmark held financial accounts. For women, access to accounts can foster financial independence and strengthen economic empowerment. The report cited that in the Philippines, women who utilized commitment savings products, which encouraged regular deposits into a personal bank account, saw an increase in their household decision-making power and shifted their spending towards household goods relevant to their needs, such as washing machines. In many developing economies, the income gap in account ownership remains in double digits. For instance, in Kenya, where account ownership stands at 79 percent, wealthier adults are approximately 20 percentage points more likely than poor adults to have an account. In economies like Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, Uganda, and Zambia, where account ownership ranges from 45 percent to 66 percent, this gap exceeds 20 percentage points. In the Philippines and Turkey, despite significant growth in account ownership over the past decade, the income gap has remained stagnant at over 20 percentage points. The age gap also varies across developing economies. In the West Bank and Gaza, older adults are more than twice as likely as younger adults to possess an account. In Algeria and Egypt, the age gap in account ownership is nearly 25 percentage points. While not as high, the age gap remains in double digits in Jordan, Morocco, and Tunisia. In other economies such as Peru and the Philippines, the age gap is about 15 percentage points, mirroring the global age gap. In lower-middle-income economies like Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines, about a quarter of adults received a private sector wage payment. The share of wage earners receiving payments directly into an account ranged from 17 percent in Laos to 41 percent in the Philippines. Outside Sub-Saharan Africa, Thailand has the highest share of adults (67 percent) who sent or received domestic remittances. Around half of adults in Cambodia, Mongolia, the Philippines, Russia, and Venezuela engaged in similar activities. While account usage dominated such payments in Mongolia, Russia, and Thailand, money transfer services were more commonly used in Cambodia (71 percent). In the Philippines, both accounts and money transfer services were generally utilized for these payments. Despite the general trend towards online payments, cash on delivery remains a common method for online purchases in some economies, including the Philippines. Here, 36 percent of adults bought something online, and three out of four online shoppers paid only in cash for their purchases. The proportion of online shoppers who paid both online and in cash was low across most surveyed economies, though it exceeded 10 percent in a few economies in East Asia and the Pacific, including Malaysia, and in Europe and Central Asia. In 26 developing economies, over half of those who saved did so using alternative methods. In the Philippines, for example, 30 percent of adults (55 percent of savers) saved solely through other means, making it one of the economies with the highest share of adults engaging in such practices. In Cambodia and the Philippines, about 20 percent of unbanked adults or about 10 percent of all adults received government transfer payments in cash. Notably, over 80 percent of unbanked individuals receiving such payments in these economies possess a mobile phone. Since breaking the ceasefire in March, Israel has aimed to render Gaza uninhabitable, to drive it towards total collapse, and thereby to prevent anyone from staying or returning. The strip has been bombed like never before. Vast areas have been transformed into shoot-on-sight killing fields. Israeli-backed American Aid distribution sites have been set up: slaughter houses, where dozens of unarmed Palestinians are gunned down daily while queuing for food and water. Now, Netanyahu has announced what this is all leading up to: the humanitarian city, a concentration camp from which the Palestinians would eventually be expelled from Gaza entirely. Forever war For almost two years, the people of Gaza have been subjected to hell on earth. Six Hiroshimas worth of explosives have been dropped on this tiny enclave. All the pillars of civilised life healthcare, power, sanitation, water, roads have been destroyed. More journalists have been killed than in the US Civil War, World Wars I and II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War combined as they have been deliberately and systematically targeted. 1,400 medics have been killed in a deliberate policy of assassinating medical professionals. The most moral army in the world has not held back from any war crime to inflict terror, destruction, and chaos. But for all this, Israel has not won. Hamas survives and fights. Whatever Israel conquers, new fighters appear as their ranks replenished by the endless reserve of those driven to take up arms by the appalling massacres. 23 hostages remain in Gaza, presumed alive. Although the majority of Israelis would be willing to see the end of the war if the hostages are returned, the hostages are the last thing on Netanyahus mind. His political survival depends entirely on far-right Jewish supremacist parties like those of Smotrich and Ben-Gvir. They want nothing short of a second Nakba. In order to hold onto power, Netanyahu has been compelled to continue the war. But with a political settlement ruled out, and with no path to defeating Hamas militarily, he sees the solution put forward by his fanatical allies as the only way to end the war: ethnic cleansing. Genocide Since tearing up the ceasefire, Netanyahu has doubled down. He announced a new offensive, Operation Gideon Chariots, which aims to conquer and permanently occupy Gaza. Entire cites have been razed and demolished. Plague and banditry have been encouraged. Everything is being done to turn Gaza into an inhospitable wasteland. Netanyahu intends to leave the Gazans with only two options: to flee or perish / Image: fair use As of July, 85 percent of Gaza has been evacuated and placed under military control. Those who remain are considered legitimate targets for snipers, artillery or grenade-armed drones. These no-go zones are not marked. As one IDF officer told reporters: The Palestinians learn through blood. After the population is forced out, the ruins are flattened. All the buildings within a kilometre of Gazas border are being bulldozed and turned into a buffer zone, including the entirety of Rafah. This work has been outsourced to civilian contractors, who are paid thousands of dollars per house demolished. Meanwhile, airstrikes have intensified on security and safe zones alike, to rain terror and death on the population. Hundreds of civilians are being killed weekly. Ambulances, children queuing for water, and even policemen have been bombed. The logic of this is to deliberately unravel the social order in Gaza. The UN describes Gaza as breaking down into lawless anarchy, with rampant looting, mob justice, extortion of money, random shootings, fighting for space and resources, and youths armed with sticks manning barricades. In Rafah, for example, power has shifted to Abu Shababs gang of convicted murderers, thieves, collaborators, drug dealers or members of ISIS, who last year carried out the biggest looting of UN aid anywhere, ever. But for the Israelis, these bandits are an asset. Just as they once funded Hamas to undermine the PLO, they are now backing these cutthroats as a rival to Hamas. Shabab, who was previously linked to ISIS, was a common drug dealer before the war. Now his gang has rebranded itself as the Popular Forces, and is being armed and paid by Israel to guard the few aid convoys still permitted into Gaza. Already, Gaza was one of the most densely populated areas on earth. But this campaign of systematic destruction and terror has crammed most of 1.7 million people remaining in the south starving, displaced and traumatised into an area covering just 16 percent of the Strip, an endless city of tents amid rubble, with no working infrastructure. By inflicting desolation and chaos, Netanyahu intends to leave the Gazans with only two options: to flee or perish. As he put it: Were destroying more and more homes they have nowhere to return to. The only natural outcome will be that Gazans will want to emigrate out of the Strip. Our main problem is with receiving countries. The final piece in the puzzle to make Gaza truly unlivable was to cut off aid and starve the population into submission. This was tested in Northern Gaza. Since October last year, it has been cut off from the south by Israel's Netzarim corridor, and no food, water, fuel or aid has been allowed in. The 400,000 residents were effectively told to leave or die. Now it is on the edge of a famine, with reports of catastrophic levels of starvation, dehydration, and even the eating of animal food and grass. While this was taking place, the West cried crocodile tears, delivered stern warnings, and set deadlines but didnt raise a finger to stop this appalling atrocity. That reassured Netanyahu that he could do the same across the rest of Gaza. So, from 2 March 2025 during the ceasefire to May 19, Israel blocked any aid from coming into Gaza at all. The entire population was pushed to the brink of famine. Humanitarianism This, however, posed a political problem for Netanyahu. The democrats of the West have continued to support and enable Israel even though it has fire-bombed refugee camps, tied up and executed medics, and tortured and raped prisoners, among many, many other war crimes. But a full-scale, artificial famine under Israels watch which would lead to mass deaths and images of skeletal children would put its allies in an impossible position. As Netanyahu admitted in May: Even our closest allies in the world US senators I know personally and who have been staunch, unconditional supporters of Israel for decades are coming to me and saying: We are giving you all the support to achieve victory but theres one thing we cannot accept: images of mass starvation Though Netanyahu depends on the far right, Israel itself depends entirely on money and weapons from the West, and most of all America. As Israel is the only reliable guardian of western interests in the Middle East, that support runs deep. But it is not unlimited. In other words, just as the war in Iraq was sold as a campaign for freedom and democracy, the genocide in Gaza required a fig leaf. Enter the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF). This so-called aid organisation was set up in May to manage aid distribution. As a private, non-profit organisation it is designed to give Israel plausible deniability, like Americas Blackwater mercenaries in Iraq. Video shows Israeli soldiers opening fire towards Palestinians trying to reach a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) food distribution site in southern Gaza. At least 838 people have been killed at or near GHF aid sites since May. pic.twitter.com/glWuOEVDlU Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 15, 2025 In practice, the GHF was created on Netanyahus initiative and operates in close collaboration with the IDF. It is headed by close allies of Netanyahu and Trump including former US security contractors like Philip Francis Reilly, who helped train the Mujahideen and the Contras and received $50 million in funding from the Trump administration. It is a tool for carrying out Israels war aims to use starvation as a weapon to depopulate Gaza with the thinnest of ethical covers. From the outset of the war, Israel has tried to dismantle the existing humanitarian system in Gaza, and above all, UNRWA. Yet it couldnt just cut off aid altogether. Instead, it has sought to take control of the distribution of the necessaries of life by replacing the UNs system with a militarised, subordinate alternative. GHF is that alternative. Far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich put it plainly: It will allow civilians to eat, for our friends in the world to continue to provide us with an international umbrella of protection against the Security Council and The Hague Tribunal, and for us to continue to fight, God willing, until victory. With three of the distribution sites located around Rafah, it is another means of luring the population into Israels safe zone. And even if it prevents a famine, the 1.7 million people who now depend on it are being deliberately kept on the edge of starvation. The UN operated 400 aid sites across Gaza. The GHF operates four. Whereas 600 lorries were coming in per day during the ceasefire, GHF is distributing 19 lorry loads a day. The rations themselves are often rotten and infested with weevils. Allegedly, some have even found oxycodone hidden in the flour bags. First-hand accounts from these American aid sites as the Palestinians call them beggar belief. They are designed to be as inhumane as possible and resemble, as one of the GHF contractors described them, killing fields. For food and water, Palestinians must trek through miles of ruined military exclusion zones, where they risk arbitrary execution. Once they arrive, the distribution sites are just large dirt clearings partitioned with razor wire fences, like cattle chutes. Thousands of Palestinians are forced to queue until the GHF mercenaries let them all rush in all at once. Desperate chaos ensues. As an Israeli researcher commented: It reminds me most of how you feed dangerous animals. You toss the food in a pile, retreat, and let them in from afar. Those distributing the aid are not humanitarian workers. They are unqualified, unvetted, heavily armed mercenaries. They manage the crowds with machine guns. As one IDF soldier explained: Where I was stationed, between one and five people were killed every day. They're treated like a hostile force no crowd-control measures, no tear gas just live fire with everything imaginable: heavy machine guns, grenade launchers, mortars. Then, once the centre opens, the shooting stops, and they know they can approach. Our form of communication is gunfire. There's no danger to the forces I'm not aware of a single instance of return fire. There's no enemy, no weapons. Around the sites are Israeli military zones. In this wild west, individual IDF commanders have jurisdiction to snipe, mortar and shell what they refer to as a zombie horde. Informally, the IDF refers to this game as Operation Salted Fish, after the Israeli version of Red light, green light. 875 Palestinians have been massacred at these humanitarian slaughterhouses so far. Final solution Earlier this month, Defence Minister Israel Katz revealed the next stage of the campaign. A humanitarian city will be erected on the ruins of Rafah, first housing 600,000, and eventually all two million Gazans. To enter this safe haven, inmates would be screened. Inside, they would be guarded by an international task force, deradicalised, and fed, as Netanyahu put it, Ben and Jerrys, for all I care. It would be a vast concentration camp, a holding pen for the Palestinians to await their expulsion. Once inside, the Palestinians would not be allowed to leave, except to other countries. A government bureau has been set up to oversee voluntary departures. And the US and Israel are lobbying the governments of countries like Libya, Chad and Rwanda to take the displaced (with no success). Leaked PowerPoint slides include an Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone and highways named after the dictators of Saudi Arabia and the UAE / Image: fair use All this is an attempt to bring to life Trumps Riviera of the Middle East plan: to flatten Gaza, deport the survivors, and sell the land to developers. Already, consultancy groups like BCG and the Blair Foundation have been paid millions to draw up fantastic plans for the paradise that could be built atop the rubble and mass graves of Gaza. Leaked PowerPoint slides include an Elon Musk Smart Manufacturing Zone and highways named after the dictators of Saudi Arabia and the UAE. This is an attempt at a final solution to Gaza: one intended to satisfy the far right, who demand genocide; liberals, who need the atrocities to be cloaked in the language of humanitarianism; and capitalist parasites, who see money to be made in redeveloping Gaza. It is no solution at all. There is not even really a plan. Even the vague blueprints that Netanyahu has put forward are totally unrealisable. It is estimated, for example, that it would cost Israeli taxpayers $4 billion to build and $2.7 billion a year in upkeep. Israel is already mired in a profound economic crisis: military costs are ballooning, and tourism, trade and investment have all plummeted. Moreover, we are talking about the IDF running a tiny, militarised compound of 2 million people amid utter desolation. As the head of the IDF said: To control these people who are hungry and angry could lead to a loss of control and, as a result of that loss of control, they could turn on the IDF. Even if the Palestinians could be gathered here, what next? None of the Arab regimes would willingly agree to take these refugees. Already Egypt and Jordan are seething, their populations enraged by collaboration of their rulers with the genocide. A crime of this magnitude would set the Middle East on fire. In the West, too, the encampments and the Palestine solidarity movement have shown that the workers of the world would not consent to stand by and watch as their governments assist a second Nakba. The genocidaires have made themselves responsible for the two million starving, homeless, suffering Palestinians trapped in this uninhabitable ruin, with no plan for what to do with them. Throughout this war, Netanyahu has been driven by the interests of his own political survival. Compelled by his far-right allies, he has stumbled, atrocity after atrocity, towards a genocide, with no care for the consequences so long as he could keep his government limping along. The humanitarian city is his attempt to escape from this forever war, and rid Israel of the catastrophe that it has created. But there is no end in sight. Pressure is mounting. This week, two parties have withdrawn from Netanyahus coalition, leaving him with a minority government. Again, his far-right allies are pushing him to undermine the renewed attempts at a ceasefire, to press ahead with the humanitarian plans. But the IDF is overstretched in the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria fatigue is setting in, and morale is starting to crack. Suicides are increasing amongst IDF troops, and ever fewer are volunteering to enlist. Inside Gaza, Hamas has reconstituted into a formidable guerrilla force. Instead of trying to hold territory or using regular weapons, it is resorting to hit and run attacks, using Israels own unexploded ordinances as IEDs, and is successfully sending scores of IDF troops home in body bags. On the other hand, Netanyahus criminal designs are facing opposition inside Israel. Anger is growing that he has abandoned the hostages, and soldiers and politicians are attacking his plan as a concentration camp. In the West, too, anger is swelling in response to the latest atrocities. Netanyahu is walking a tightrope. This is undeniably a genocide, unfolding in full view of the world. The official death count is 58,479, but this is a vast, vast underestimate. Genocide under the name of self-defence. Drug-dealing gangsters presented as popular anti-Hamas forces. Killing fields under the name of humanitarian aid. A concentration camp under the name of humanitarian city. All of this has been achieved with the active assistance of the leaders of the free world. On Monday, the McDowell County Board of Commissioners heard a report about the ongoing Hurricane Helene recovery efforts almost 10 months after the storm. Will Kehler, director of McDowell Emergency Medical Services, gave his regular report at the meeting. Kehler talked about FEMAs hazard mitigation program. Local homeowners who lost their homes or sustained serious damage in Hurricane Helenes floodwaters can apply voluntarily to a federal program that can buy the home or pay to have it elevated or rebuilt at a higher level. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides the money for the hazard mitigation program, which is administered by the state of North Carolina. Kehler said most of the first 25 residents or families in McDowell County who were approved for the FEMA program are located in the Buck Creek community of the county. The next steps for these first 25 families is within 90 days, an appraiser will visit the property. The program offers three types of assistance: acquisition, raising the home from the flood zone or reconstruction. In addition, McDowell Emergency Management released an update Monday about Hurricane Helene recovery. Gov. Josh Stein has announced that the state is accepting applications for a new program to repair or rebuild homes in western North Carolina that were damaged or destroyed by Helene. The new state initiative helps low to moderate income homeowners repair or rebuild their homes, with priority given to families with seniors, children or individuals with disabilities, the release said. McDowell County residents can now apply at www.renewnc.org. For help determining eligibility, call 1-888-791-0207. As of Saturday, July 12, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has collected 1.3 million cubic yards of debris as part of ongoing debris removal efforts in McDowell County. More than 1 million cubic yards of the total debris has come from local water. Kehler then introduced the Rev. Jerry Lewis, pastor of Grace Community Church, who stepped up to assist at the beginning of the Hurricane Helene disaster. He became the emergency operations centers volunteer coordinator and led the effort to rebuild homes and property. As of Monday, Lewis and his team have completed 434 projects that range from repairing homes that were gutted to repairing or replacing HVAC systems and clean outs. The volunteers dont include complete rebuilds. Lewis said this number is absolutely tremendous. When we say they were completed, they are completed and folks are back to where they need to be, said Lewis to the commissioners. He said there are 46 active projects right now and that is all his team has left. There are 32 potential rebuilds and of those, 16 are already adopted by a partnering organization. So half of our rebuild projects, somebody has said yes to those, he said. We are working with 27 partnering organizations in our county, Lewis said. He said his team has been able to work with Kehlers staff and Jay Suttles, director of the countys building inspections department. Samaritans Purse has agreed to fund all the home rebuilds in McDowell County, according to Lewis. He also spoke about the Joseph Project, which is named after Joseph in the Old Testament who told the pharaoh there would be years of both feast and famine in Egypt. The idea is be prepared when the next disaster occurs. This project will consist of 24 points of distribution. Lewis said he met with the leaders of numerous local churches that will collect nonperishable food, water, baby formula, diapers and paper supplies to be prepared for another potential disaster. If we dont have a storm that creates a need, churches will distribute the supplies to folks in need in November along with a ham or turkey for Thanksgiving, he said to the commissioners. Late last month, the McDowell County commissioners unanimously approved the budget for 2025-2026 which does not include a property tax rate increase. In other business on Monday, the McDowell County commissioners: Heard a report from County Manager Ashley Wooten about the numerous water-related projects in McDowell County. They are located in Nebo, the Providence/West Marion Elementary area and other places. The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality has provided McDowell with a $100,000 grant to develop post-Helene partnerships with Marion, Old Fort and the county on water-related projects. County staff is currently planning a kickoff of this effort with the state DEQs staff. The commissioners approved a resolution for this partnership grant. Talked about leasing an old convenience center on Ag Services Drive to Blueridge Processing for the purpose of this small company establishing a store. That concept did not come to fruition due to site constraints and building code requirements. However, the business has asked to lease the property so it can be used for overflow parking and events. The commissioners approved the plan to lease this property to Blueridge Processing. Discussed a retirement resolution. Detective Shanon Smith with the McDowell County Sheriffs Office is retiring after a long career in law enforcement. He has requested for his sidearm and his badge. The gun will be sold to Smith for $1 and the badge will be donated to him as surplus equipment, according to state statute. The commissioners approved the retirement resolution. Heard a report about the property tax collection report which shows a 99.55% collection rate through the end of June. The Federal Government of Nigeria has reiterated its commitment to driving economic growth through robust Public-Private Partnership (PPP) reforms in the aviation and aerospace sectors. Speaking at the 2025 Airport Business Summit and Expo (ABSE) in Lagos on Wednesday, July 16, Dr Ibrahim Kana, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development, outlined several key initiatives under President Bola Tinubus Renewed Hope Agenda. These include airport terminal concessions in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Kano, as well as Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) arrangements for cargo terminals, maintenance hangars, and airport hotels. Kana highlighted that successful models, such as the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal II (MMA2) concession, are benchmarks for PPP excellence in West Africa. Dr Kana noted that collaborations with global institutions like ICAO and the African Development Bank have played a pivotal role in financing aviation infrastructure without burdening public finances. He emphasised the importance of legislative and regulatory reforms, a stable investment climate, and improved safety infrastructure to attract and retain private sector investment. The ministry, in partnership with the Finance Ministry, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), and Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), has also streamlined processes to reduce investor risk. Looking ahead, Nigeria is exploring PPP frameworks for advanced projects such as air navigation services, aerospace technology parks, and aerotropolis developments to position the country as a regional aviation and space science hub. In his address, ABSE Managing Director Fortune Idu raised concerns over unregulated land use around airports, noting that the proliferation of tanker farms and scattered government structures hampers airport development. He called for a thorough land-use assessment to inform a more strategic airport master plan and stimulate airport-linked economic zones. Idu urged the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) to take the lead in land-use planning to unlock the full potential of aerotropolis projects. The 10th edition of ABSE, themed Investment Opportunities in Airport Public-Private Partnerships, reflects growing momentum in aligning Nigerias aviation infrastructure with global best practices and economic aspirations. On Wednesday, July 16, 2025, the Sudanese Army has announced the successful repulsion of an assault by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on El-Fasher, the embattled capital of North Darfur. According to military sources, troops from the 6th Infantry Division, backed by allied units, inflicted significant losses on the RSF in both personnel and equipment. The confrontation marks another escalation in the protracted conflict that has gripped Sudan since April 2023, pushing the country deeper into crisis. While the military reported gains on the battlefield, the humanitarian toll continues to rise. Medical committees confirmed that eight civilians were killed and several others injured following an intense RSF artillery bombardment on the Abu Shouk camp for internally displaced persons. The emergency room at the camp described the attack as intense shelling using heavy artillery, which also led to the destruction of numerous shelters. The RSF has not yet commented on the incident. El-Fasher remains a critical humanitarian lifeline for Darfur, yet it has been under a relentless RSF siege and near-constant clashes for over a year. International appeals for a ceasefire and unhindered aid access have repeatedly failed to gain traction. The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF has now claimed over 20,000 lives and displaced 14 million people, though academic research suggests the actual death toll may exceed 130,000. As violence escalates, the suffering of civilians continues unabated, underscoring the urgent need for renewed diplomatic intervention. A tragic road accident on Serra da Leba in Angolas Namibe province has resulted in the deaths of at least 15 people, with 21 others severely injured. The collision occurred on Wednesday, July 16, when a private operators passenger bus, en route from Lubango to Mocamedes, crashed into a truck before veering off the winding mountain road into a deep ravine. Rescue teams from both Huila and Namibe provinces responded promptly, recovering bodies and transporting critically wounded survivors to Lubango Central Hospital. The accident has reignited concerns over road safety on Angolas mountainous routes, where narrow and sinuous roads are prone to severe crashes. Emergency services remain at the scene, searching for additional victims and working to clear the wreckage. Authorities and transportation operators are expected to investigate the causes, with attention now focusing on improving safety measures and emergency response across the region. 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: Circulation Research (2025). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.125.326154 Researchers at the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK) have identified a key molecule involved in a form of heart failure that has so far been difficult to treat. Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF)a condition in which the heart pumps normally but still fails to meet the body's needsis affecting an increasing number of people, particularly those with obesity or hypertension. While effective treatments exist for other types of heart failure, targeted therapies for HFpEF remain elusive. Now, a study led by Prof. Johannes Backs at Heidelberg University Hospital and at the Medical Faculty Heidelberg has identified a critical mechanism that contributes to HFpEF development: the enzyme NNT (nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase), located in the mitochondriathe cell's energy powerhouses. NNT regulates the balance between energy production and protection against harmful oxidative stress caused by excess free radicals. Lead author Dr. Mark Pepin, from the Institute for Experimental Cardiology at Heidelberg University Hospital, says, "Our study is the first to show that cardiometabolic HFpEF is not solely a consequence of systemic diseases like obesity and high blood pressure, but also results from interactions between genetic and environmental factors." The paper is published in the journal Circulation Research. A central role in pathological cardiac remodeling Using a mouse model, the researchers demonstrated that animals lacking functional NNT were significantly protected from developing HFpEFdespite exhibiting obesity, hypertension, and glucose intolerance, just like their counterparts. This is the first study to provide direct evidence that NNT plays a central role in the pathological remodeling of the heart muscle. "Our findings show that it's not just the metabolic diseases themselves that matterit's also how the heart responds to the resulting stress," says Pepin. Of particular interest was the role of the growth factor FGF1, which is activated by NNT and is associated with stiffening of the heart muscle. These insights open up new possibilities for targeted HFpEF therapiesfor example, by inhibiting NNT. "This represents a promising strategy to better understand and treat one of the most common and hardest-to-manage cardiovascular diseases," says Backs. More information: Mark E. Pepin et al, Mitochondrial NNT Promotes Diastolic Dysfunction in Cardiometabolic HFpEF, Circulation Research (2025). DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.125.326154 Journal information: Circulation Research This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain One of the world's biggest genetic databases comprises DNA data donated over the years by more than a million retired military service members. It's part of a project run by the Department of Veterans Affairs. The initiative, dubbed the Million Veteran Program, is a "crown jewel of the country," said David Shulkin, a physician who served as VA secretary during the first Trump administration. Data from the project has contributed to research on the genetics of anxiety and peripheral artery disease, for instance, and has resulted in hundreds of published papers. Researchers say the repository has the potential to help answer health questions not only specific to veteranslike who is most vulnerable to post-service mental health issues, or why they seem more prone to cancerbut also relevant to the nation as a whole. "When the VA does research, it helps veterans, but it helps all Americans," Shulkin said in an interview. Researchers now say they fear the program is in limbo, jeopardizing the years of work it took to gather the veterans' genetic data and other information, like surveys and blood samples. "There's sort of this cone of silence," said Amy Justice, a Yale epidemiologist with a VA appointment as a staff physician. "We've got to make sure this survives." Genetic data is enormously complex, and analyzing it requires vast computing power that VA doesn't possess. Instead, it has relied on a partnership with the Energy Department, which provides its supercomputers for research purposes. In late April, VA Secretary Doug Collins disclosed to Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, that agreements authorizing use of the computers for the genomics project remained unsigned, with some expiring in September, according to materials shared with KFF Health News by congressional Democrats. Spokespeople for the two agencies did not reply to multiple requests for comment. Other current and former employees within the agencieswho asked not to be identified, for fear of reprisal from the Trump administrationsaid they don't know whether the critical agreements will be renewed. One researcher called computing "a key ingredient" to major advances in health research, such as the discovery of new drugs. The agreement with the Energy Department "should be extended for the next 10 years," the researcher said. The uncertainty has caused "incremental" damage, Justice said, pointing to some Million Veteran Program grants that have lapsed. As the year progresses, she predicted, "people are going to be feeling it a lot." Because of their military experience, maintaining veterans' health poses different challenges compared with caring for civilians. The program's examinations of genetic and clinical data allow researchers to investigate questions that have bedeviled veterans for years. As examples, Shulkin cited "how we might be able to better diagnose earlier and start thinking about effective treatments for these toxic exposures"such as to burn pits used to dispose of trash at military outposts overseasas well as predispositions to post-traumatic stress disorder. "The rest of the research community isn't likely to focus specifically" on veterans, he said. The VA community, however, has delivered discoveries of importance to the world: Three VA researchers have won Nobel Prizes, and the agency created the first pacemaker. Its efforts also helped ignite the boom in GLP-1 weight loss drugs. Yet turbulence has been felt throughout VA's research enterprise. Like other government scientific agencies, it's been buffeted by layoffs, contract cuts, and canceled research. "There are planned trials that have not started, there are ongoing trials that have been stopped, and there are trials that have fallen apart due to staff layoffsyes or no?" said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), pressing Collins in a May hearing of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. The agency, which has a budget of roughly $1 billion for its research arm this fiscal year, has slashed infrastructure that supports scientific inquiry, according to documents shared with KFF Health News by Senate Democrats on the Veterans' Affairs Committee. It has canceled at least 37 research-related contracts, including for genomic sequencing and for library and biostatistics services. The department has separately canceled four contracts for cancer registries for veterans, creating potential gaps in the nation's statistics. Job worries also consume many scientists at the VA. According to agency estimates in May, about 4,000 of its workers are on term limits, with contracts that expire after certain periods. Many of these individuals worked not only for the VA's research groups but also with clinical teams or local medical centers. When the new leaders first entered the agency, they instituted a hiring freeze, current and former VA researchers told KFF Health News. That prevented the agency's research offices from renewing contracts for their scientists and support staff, which in previous years had frequently been a pro forma step. Some of those individuals who had been around for decades haven't been rehired, one former researcher told KFF Health News. The freeze and the uncertainty around it led to people simply departing the agency, a current VA researcher said. The losses, the individual said, include some people who "had years of experience and expertise that can't be replaced." Preserving jobsor some jobshas been a congressional focus. In May, after inquiries from Sen. Jerry Moran, the Republican who chairs the Veterans' Affairs Committee, about staffing for agency research and the Million Veteran Program, Collins wrote in a letter that he was extending the terms of research employees for 90 days and developing exemptions to the hiring freeze for the genomics project and other research initiatives. Holding jobs is one thingdoing them is another. In June, at the annual research meeting of AcademyHealthan organization of researchers, policymakers, and others who study how U.S. health care is deliveredsome VA researchers were unable to deliver a presentation touching on psychedelics and mental health disparities and another on discrimination against LGBTQ+ patients, Aaron Carroll, the organization's president, told KFF Health News. At that conference, reflecting a trend across the federal government, researchers from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality also dropped out of presenting. "This drop in federal participation is deeply concerning, not only for our community of researchers and practitioners but for the public, who rely on transparency, collaboration, and evidence-based policy grounded in rigorous science," Carroll said. 2025 KFF Health News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous and light physical activity, and of inactivity in Singapore (lighter bars) and Berlin (darker bars). Credit: BMC Public Health (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-22922-x An international research team has investigated the physical activity behavior of study participants from Berlin's inner-city areas and Singapore. Their analyses included measured and self-reported information from participants in the German National Cohort (NAKO) and the Singapore Population Health Studies. The findings showed that the participants in Singapore were more physically active than those in Berlin. The study helps to better recognize risk groups and supports the development of strategies to encourage physical activity in cities. The research is published in the journal BMC Public Health. Physical activity has been shown to reduce the risk of disease. Nevertheless, about a third of adults worldwide do not reach the minimum daily physical activity levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO). A recent study compared the activity levels of 1,195 people in Singapore and 2,060 people from Berlin city center districts. Measured data on physical activity was provided by an accelerometer. The participants wore the movement sensor on a hip belt for a week. The activity was divided into different categories: inactive, light and moderate to intensive. "Inactivity usually involves sitting or resting positions, but no sleeping times; light exercise occurs during everyday activities and moderate to intense exercise describes activities that make you sweat, such as jogging," explains Dr. Lilian Krist from the Institute of Social Medicine, Epidemiology and Health Economics at ChariteUniversity Medicine Berlin and head of NAKO Study Center Berlin-Mitte. The researchers also considered further information from the study participants on lifestyle, body measurements, age, education and chronic diseases. People in Singapore are more active The analysis showed that the participants from Singapore were moderately to intensively active for 14 minutes more per day and were lightly physically active for over 60 minutes more than the participants in Berlin. When comparing the inactive times, the participants in Singapore were 80 minutes less inactive than the Berliners. Even when socio-demographic factors such as age, gender, level of education or body mass index were taken into account, the differences between the cities remained for the three activity levels. The researchers also focused on individual socio-demographic factors. "Men in Singapore were more active than women in all three levels of physical activity, while there was no such difference between the sexes among the Berlin participants. Among the Berlin participants, moderate to vigorous activity was associated with lower age, occupation, normal weight and non-smoking," says Krist. "We also identified various risk groups with lower levels of activity in both cities. For example, overweight and adipose people, the unemployed and older people tended to be less active. In Berlin, the level of education was also linked to a lower level of activity and the youngest age group, between 2034 years, showed the lowest light activity." Impulse for health policy The higher activity levels in Singapore could possibly be linked to a more targeted health policy, the researchers state. In addition, the climatic conditions and urban planning concepts of the two cities differ. "Physical activity is one of the most important factors for a healthy population. An effective health policy should therefore also include measures to increase physical activity. The example of Singapore shows that programs such as the National Steps Challenge, which has been running since 2015, can help to motivate the population to be more active. "Long-term and comprehensive planning of parks and green spaces has also helped to improve the infrastructure for physical activity in Singapore," says Professor Dr. Falk Muller-Riemenschneider from the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health at the National University of Singapore. The current study also has limitations, including differences in the accelerometer wearing protocol between the two studies. In addition, the correlations described are not suitable for identifying causal relationships. Nevertheless, the study results provide an important basis for further studies and show the way to approaches in other countries for supporting physical activity. More information: Paul Kittner et al, Patterns and associated factors of accelerometer-measured physical activity in the metropolitan areas of Singapore and Berlincomparative analysis of the Singapore population health studies and the German National Cohort (NAKO), BMC Public Health (2025). DOI: 10.1186/s12889-025-22922-x Journal information: BMC Public Health This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: CC0 Public Domain Three studies presented today at the Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery's (SNIS) 22nd Annual Meeting discussed whether using GLP-1 inhibitors could lessen the impact of stroke and related brain injuries or reduce the risk of stroke altogether. These medications, which lower blood sugar and often cause weight loss, are commonly prescribed for type 2 diabetes and obesity and include drugs like semaglutide (Ozempic). In the first study, "The Impact of Semaglutide (Ozempic) on Mortality and Survival in Patients with Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Nationwide and Institutional Retrospective Analysis," researchers at the University of WisconsinMadison used patient data from both the university's medical center and a global health collaborative to see whether patients on Ozempic who experienced strokes had better outcomes than patients not taking Ozempic. The global dataset included 2,021,704 patients who had experienced stroke, 43,338 of whom were also on Ozempic, and the University of Wisconsin dataset included 13,510 people who had experienced stroke, 190 of whom used Ozempic. Death from stroke was lower for Ozempic users across both cohorts. In the global dataset, 5.26% of Ozempic users initially died from their strokes compared to 21.61% of non-users, and Ozempic users also had a 77.5% chance of surviving their strokes in the long term compared to 30.95% of non-Ozempic users. The university cohort showed similar results, with 5.26% of Ozempic users dying from stroke versus 26.57% of patients not using Ozempic. In the second study, also from the University of WisconsinMadison, "Association between Ozempic Use and Stroke Risk: A Nationwide Emergency Department Analysis," researchers examined a large nationwide sample of emergency department records for people who experienced stroke and people who were likely using Ozempic. They found associations between potential Ozempic users and significantly reduced odds of stroke. The research team suggests taking this research further to evaluate data directly from pharmacies to be even more precise about the relationship between Ozempic and stroke prevention. The third study, "Impact of GLP-1 Agonists on Stroke, SAH, and ICH: A Propensity-matched Multi-institutional Cohort Study," was presented by researchers from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston. They investigated whether GLP-1 inhibitors could improve patient outcomes after brain hemorrhages (both spontaneous bleeds and those due to brain aneurysm rupture) and stroke. The team reviewed patient records from 6 months and 12 months after each brain hemorrhage and 1 year and 2 years after each stroke, finding that GLP-1 inhibitor use was connected to a reduced risk of cognitive side effects, seizures, future brain hemorrhage and death after brain hemorrhage and stroke. According to Ahmed Elbayomy, MD, a research fellow and data scientist in the Department of Neurological Surgery at the University of WisconsinMadison and primary author of two of these studies, these results are very promising. "More research is certainly needed, but seeing the potential protection offered by these medications is a fascinating finding," says Elbayomy. "This research could introduce a new perspective to the discussion of preventing and mitigating the devastating effects of stroke and related brain injuries," added Matias Costa, MD, from the Neurosurgery Department at the University of Texas Medical Branch and author of the third study. Provided by Society of NeuroInterventional Surgery Almost all city council candidates agree that available housing in Missoula is a top priority for residents, but some diverged on how to increase home supply and affordable options. The candidates shared their opinions on housing and several other topics during two candidate forums on July 2 and July 9 sponsored by the Missoula County Democrats. Housing has continued to remain a top issue in the city, where rental vacancy rates have remained low and homes for purchase have pushed past the average median income. The home market has "stabilized in recent months, but the median home price in 2024 sat at $562,400 far higher than the 2018 median price of $266,473. Most candidates cited a need to streamline development regulations to add housing supply, while others eyed bolstering the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund and using the Missoula Redevelopment Agency. Ward 2 candidate Michele Whitmere and Ward 3 candidate Jon Vivas did not participate in the forums. Ward 5 Councilor Stacie Anderson also did not attend, but she is running unopposed for a third term on council. Ward 1 In the head-to-head matchup with newcomers Lucas Moody and Betsy Craske, both candidates said streamlining the city's development code would allow developers to add to the housing stock faster. Moody, an employee at Missoula Public Library, said increased housing is tied to a lower rate of homelessness, adding he would opt to prioritize affordable housing projects to tackle both issues. "The more housing unaffordability we have, the more people who end up homeless," Moody said, adding he can only afford to live in Missoula by living with his parents. "It doesn't take much." Moody said the city must streamline development by removing red tape, especially for infill development. He previously told the Missoulian that a new city code should include financial incentives for affordable housing. Craske said housing is a long-term issue the city has to manage by creating public-private partnerships, citing recent projects on the Northside like Ravara-Scott Street and the Villagio complexes. She also said addressing climate change is a top goal for her, arguing the city could benefit from including climate incentives in the new development rules. "We can use code and zoning to look at climate-focused development in ways that we build things, in ways that we model our city to help achieve climate goals," Craske said. Ward 2 Most of the crowded field of Ward 2 candidates agreed that building more housing supply would lower costs, but they disagreed on the right method. Candidate Rebecca Dawson, a local Missoula realtor, said the city must lower property taxes to make new development more enticing and also prevent pricing out people living on fixed incomes. "Looking at our property taxes, why do they keep going up? Where is that money being spent? Is it being spent wisely?" Dawson questioned. "Is everything we are spending money on absolutely necessary and absolutely a need of the city? Or is it something that is frilly and fun and we just want to feel good about it?" Candidate Justin Ponton, who is also in the real estate industry, said Missoula must build more homes to eventually lower prices across the board for residents. He estimated the city is short by about 1,000 homes. "That has just continued to put an immense amount of pressure on pricing," Ponton said. "It impacts folks who want to buy their first home, impacts folks who want to upgrade out of their first home into another home, which is a domino effect." Ponton added the city must also build out needed infrastructure as housing expands outwards to places like Reserve Street and Mullan Road. Candidate Tim Garrison, a retired Marine Corps officer, said the city should be looking to develop outward to address the lack of housing, though he said infill development is also important. "Some of that (housing), as the city grows, is going to be urban sprawl, and that is not necessarily a bad thing," Garrison said. "It's a balance, we can't just keep pushing out and abandon what is here." Candidate Hayden Cook, a former union organizer, said city council must prioritize residents by employing "equitable growth" across all city neighborhoods and invest in the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund. "We need to take care of the place we love," Cook said. Ward 3 Most ward 3 candidates eyed infill development as a way to address the housing shortage, while some also looked to add restrictions for short-term rental properties. Ward 3 incumbent Daniel Carlino said he has worked to increase access to building accessory dwelling units and would like to only see more neighborhood-scale businesses to limit car dependency. "This is huge opportunity for Missoula, where we can make it to where people can walk to places they want to go in their neighborhoods, have cafes, coffee shops, day care or gyms," Carlino said, noting the city is working on a new united development code. Candidate Jennifer Savage, who currently represents Ward 1 but is moving to Ward 3, said the city must ease restrictions on development in all neighborhoods, as some areas like the Northside and Franklin to the Fort are adding more developments than other parts of town. "(The) hope here is it will level the playing field for residential development and for small business development," Savage said. Candidate David Knudson, a small business owner known by many as the "Maple Man," said the city must collaborate with developers to build new housing, but argued the city gives some of its tax dollars to developers who can already afford new construction. "We see (Tax Increment Financing) funds going to large corporations that can afford to invest in our community," Knudson said. "And so we need to be working toward using those funds appropriately to be able to benefit the people and business that need them." Candidate Nathan Coyan, an elections administrator for Missoula County, said the city should consider additional regulations on short-term rental properties like Airbnbs, which he said take away from local housing options. "Housing is very crunched, the short-term rental industry is making it very hard for people to afford to live here," Coyan said. "Twenty percent of the properties on my block alone are occupied by short-term vacation rentals, which makes it hard for people who want to live in this community." Ward 4 In the head-to-head matchup between incumbent Mike Nugent and challenger David Quattrocchi, the two split on how to spend public funds on new housing developments. Nugent, a Missoula realtor, said the city's code reform could lead to lower prices and increased availability, but Missoulians must be ready for more density in previously single-family home neighborhoods. "There's a lot of density that is coming, and it is not even up for debate at the council anymore, which is probably a good thing in a lot of ways, but there's going to be some change, and Missoulians are going to feel it," Nugent said. Quattrocchi, a community organizer for Partnership Health Center, said the city must shift its priorities away from building homes and amenities that attract tourists and instead support low-income Missoulians. "Do we continue to make this a haven for tourists and develop things that appeal to people visiting here, or do we start investing in infrastructure here that actually supports Missoulians who are getting priced out of houses they already bought on fixed incomes," Quattrocchi said. Ward 6 (four-year) In another head-to-head matchup, between incumbent Kristen Jordan and challenger Chris Foster, both agreed the city must remove extra regulations that add costs for housing developers. Jordan said the city must distance itself from some regulations like "Design Excellence standards," which are extra overlay regulations to specific properties that have higher beautification requirements. She also called for more alternative revenue sources to fund affordable housing projects. "We need to find ways to assert local control," Jordan said, referencing previous efforts to add a local gas tax in Missoula County. Foster, a retired electrician, said the delays in approving permits for construction must be improved in order to lower the cost of the final product. He also advocated for more community development corporations and community land trusts. "Businesses and developers also do not like surprises. They want predictability in the process," Foster said. Ward 6 (two-year) Incumbent Sandra Vasecka and challenger Sean McCoy both said the city must improve its development code to add housing, while third candidate Lynette Jonessian simply pushed for more affordable housing units. McCoy, a local farmer who tied with Vasecka in the 2023 election for Ward 6, said the city cannot add too many requirements to the code, or else it risks stagnation of new development. "What we need really built within this code reform is flexibility, not just for construction and developers, but flexibility for homeowners," McCoy said, adding that he hopes to protect agriculture lands. Vasecka said private property owners need more freedom on how they would like to develop a space and said the code system limits their options. "There are some old school things we need to change ...," Vasecka said. Jonessian did not answer the specific question, but previously told the Missoulian the city needs more affordable housing units. To listen to the entire candidate forums, which covered a vast array of topics, access recordings at Missoula Community Access Television's YouTube account. A primary for council races with more than two candidates is set for Sept. 9, with a general election planned for Nov. 4. In a move that resembles long-overdue damage control rather than a proactive reform, the unique identification authority of India (UIDAI) has finally deactivated 11.7mn (million) Aadhaar numbers belonging to deceased individuals. The announcement comes years after mounting criticism of Aadhaars inability to account for the dead, allowing inactive biometric identities to persist unchecked in government databases. Shockingly, according to the governments own admission in April 2023, over 60mn Aadhaar numbers were still held by individuals who were no longer alive a fact that exposes the scale of the problem UIDAI has only just begun to address. According to a statement from the Union ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY), UIDAI collaborated with the registrar general of India (RGI) to access 15.5mn death records from 24 states and Union Territories (UTs) through the civil registration system (CRS). After 'due validation', UIDAI finally changed the status of 11.7mn Aadhaar numbers to non-active from active. The exercise is said to be ongoing in other non-CRS states, with only 670,000 death records received so far. While the numbers sound impressive, they underscore a troubling truth: for more than a decade, UIDAI had no mechanism in place to detect or disable Aadhaar numbers issued to people who had died. This glaring gap allowed these identities to remain active, potentially enabling misuse, identity fraud, and duplication across welfare schemes and databases. In fact, in April 2023, the Union government had admitted before the Lok Sabha that around 6% of all Aadhaar holdersover 60 millionwere dead, and UIDAI had no way of knowing . At the time, the government estimated that living persons held 1,302mn of the 1360mn Aadhaar numbers issued. This was based not on hard data but on approximations and projections. The only way UIDAI estimated death was by adjusting Aadhaar numbers against Indias total projected population. The inherent problem lies in the design of the Aadhaar system itself. Unlike voter rolls, which routinely remove names of the deceased through regular ground-level verifications, Aadhaar was built as a static, once-issued-forever-valid identity without exit provisions. Until recently, there was no provision to deactivate the Aadhaar number of a deceased person, and the UIDAI had no coordination with state registrars who maintain birth and death records under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act. When MP Adoor Prakash raised this issue in Parliament in 2023, the then minister of state for electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, acknowledged the absence of such a mechanism. He stated that UIDAI had only 'apprised' the registrar general of India about capturing Aadhaar numbers at the time of issuing death certificates, implying that no system was in place only suggestions were made. Despite being pitched as a foolproof, tech-driven backbone for public welfare and financial services, Aadhaars administrative inertia has repeatedly come under fire. From wrongful exclusions of the living in welfare distribution to duplication and errors in biometric matching, the systems structural shortcomings continue to pile up. The deactivation of over one crore Aadhaar numbers now, while necessary, is not a success story it is a confession of long-standing neglect. The very need for such a bulk exercise reveals that UIDAI has spent years inflating its own database with ghost identities, resulting in questionable statistics and misallocation of resources. The Aadhaar databases credibility issue becomes even starker when one examines the data on Aadhaar saturation by state. According to official figures, several states and UTs have assigned more Aadhaar numbers than their projected populations, revealing widespread over-registration, duplication, or lack of data validation. For instance, Delhi shows a saturation rate of 133%, indicating that Aadhaar enrolment has far exceeded the population it is meant to cover. Haryana (115%), Kerala (113%), Chandigarh (113%), Punjab (112%), Goa (111%), Lakshadweep (110%), and Uttarakhand (109%) also show saturation levels well above 100%. These numbers directly contradict the foundational claim that Aadhaar is a clean, unique identity system. Other states with inflated figures include Telangana (108%), Gujarat (107%), Andhra Pradesh (105%), West Bengal (104%), and Maharashtra (104%). Even smaller territories like Dadra and Nagar Haveli (111%), Daman and Diu (107%), and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (103%) have issued more Aadhaar numbers than the number of residents projected for the regions. On the other hand, states like Assam (85%), Arunachal Pradesh (88%), Nagaland (68%), and Meghalaya (71%) show under-enrolment, raising separate concerns about inclusion and access. These wide inconsistencies across states suggest a lack of harmonisation between UIDAIs enrolment mechanisms and actual demographic data, further supporting the argument that Aadhaar, far from being an accurate identity system, has devolved into a bloated and error-prone database. Whether due to multiple enrolments, errors in population estimation, or misuse of registration protocols, the result is a national identity system that cannot be reliably used for governance, planning, or the delivery of services. In response to the mounting criticism, UIDAI last month launched a new online feature on the myAadhaar portal called 'reporting of death of a family member'. Currently available in 24 states and UTs using the CRS system, it allows citizens to inform UIDAI about the death of a relative. But the system relies on voluntary input, lacks legal enforcement, and offers no guarantees of timely verification or deactivation. To supplement this, UIDAI claims it is exploring the possibility of sourcing death records from banks and other entities. But these ad hoc fixes come across as reactionary rather than part of a well-conceived identity lifecycle management framework. Experts have long pointed out that without an institutionalised exit protocol for Aadhaar numbers, the integrity of the system will remain compromised. A national biometric ID system that cannot distinguish between the living and the dead is not just an administrative failure it is a potential risk vector for fraud, money laundering, ghost beneficiaries and digital impersonation. There is also little clarity on what happens after an Aadhaar number is deactivated. Are linked services such as bank accounts, mobile numbers, welfare entitlements automatically suspended? Does the data remain archived or is it deleted? In the absence of legislative clarity and data protection laws, citizens are left to guess how their digital identities are being handled posthumously. For a system touted as the 'most sophisticated ID programme in the world', Aadhaars blind spot on death is a serious credibility challenge. The recent cleanup by UIDAI is a long-overdue step, but far from enough. What the Aadhaar ecosystem needs is institutional accountability, automatic integrations with civil registries and mandatory know-your-customer (KYC) updates linked to death records not mere tokenism via online forms. Until then, the Aadhaar database will remain haunted by millions of ghost entries, bloating the states illusion of digital inclusion while masking a deeper identity crisis. UIDAI may have finally found the dead but it is still searching for a system that works for the living. You may also want to read... The filing of a first information report (FIR) against journalist Ajit Anjum in Bihars Begusarai district has triggered sharp criticism from leading media bodies who have labelled the move as an alarming attempt to intimidate the press and stifle reporting on issues of public importance. The Delhi Union of Journalists (DUJ) and the Press Club of India (PCI), along with the Indian Womens Press Corps (IWPC), have come out strongly in support of Mr Anjum, condemning the criminal case registered against him under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Representation of People Act, 1951. The FIR, filed on 13 July 2025, accuses Mr Anjum of obstructing government work, trespassing, spreading misinformation, and allegedly stirring communal discordall linked to his on-ground reporting of the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Mr Anjum, known for his independent YouTube journalism, had released a detailed video from Balia block in Begusarai on 12 July 2025. In the footage, he raised concerns about the procedural lapses in the voter enumeration exercisespecifically, forms being accepted without required documents or photographs. His reporting suggested that many citizens, particularly in marginalised areas, lacked access to the documents demanded by officials, potentially disenfranchising thousands during the voter list revision. Soon after the video went live, Mr Anjum was allegedly summoned by local administrative officers and asked to remove the footage. When he refused, an FIR followed. A booth-level officer (BLO) named Mohammed Ansarul Haque, on whose statement the complaint is based, alleged that Mr Anjum and his team entered the election premises without permission, disrupted the work for over an hour and persistently questioned him on the treatment of Muslim voters in the area. The FIR claims the journalist attempted to coerce admissions of discrimination and filmed sensitive government documents without authorisation. In a statement, the Begusarai district administration accused Mr Anjum of spreading misleading information and suggested that his coverage could incite unrest. The administrations unusually strong wording warned that 'any untoward incident' resulting from the broadcast would be the journalists responsibility. Mr Anjum, responding on social media, called the charges an act of vendetta for his refusal to comply with the administrations demand to delete the video. Instead of fixing the flaws in the system, they chose to criminalise the messenger, he posted. The PCI expressed deep concern, noting that holding a journalist criminally liable for documenting lapses in a public exercise such as electoral roll revision sets a dangerous precedent. Reporting facts is the primary duty of a journalist and does not constitute misinformation, PCI president Gautam Lahiri said in a joint statement with IWPC. The FIR raises serious concerns about the deteriorating environment for press freedom in India. The Delhi Union of Journalists echoed this sentiment, calling the FIR a crude attempt to deter scrutiny of the election commissions controversial revision drive. DUJ pointed out that Bihars populationplagued by poor access to official documents like birth and caste certificateswas being unfairly burdened with stringent documentation requirements. The group commended Mr Anjum for his courage in reporting from the ground despite increasing pressures and demanded immediate withdrawal of the charges. Civil liberties groups and fellow journalists have also rallied around Mr Anjum, pointing to a growing pattern of criminalising press activity under the guise of administrative offence. Many believe this case reflects broader anxieties within officialdom over independent scrutiny of electoral processes, particularly in areas with deep-rooted socio-economic vulnerabilities. The incident comes amid rising tension between the state and media over coverage of governance failures, especially in the run-up to key elections. As the FIR against Mr Anjum continues to draw national attention, journalists bodies have urged both state and Central authorities to ensure that the rights of the press are protected and that due process is followed without bias or overreach. They have also called on the election commission of India to clarify the rules and expectations around journalistic coverage of voter list revisions and electoral procedures. With public trust in institutions already under scrutiny, the episode has raised urgent questions about the balance between state authority and the fundamental right to free and fearless journalism in the worlds largest democracy. Press Release July 17, 2025 Senator Pia Cayetano Seeks Senate Probe on Online Baby-Selling Cases, Calls for Full Implementation of Adoption and Anti-Trafficking Laws "Babies are not commodities," Senator Pia S. Cayetano emphasized on Wednesday as she called for a Senate investigation into the alarming rise in cases of babies being sold on social media platforms. This follows reports from the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) of syndicates exploiting vulnerable families online. "These are heartbreaking reports that demand swift and coordinated action. The sale of children online is a gross violation of their rights and a crime under our laws," said Cayetano, a long-time advocate for the rights and welfare of women and children. She cited the need to fully enforce the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act and the Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act, two landmark laws she authored and helped pass. The former considers the sale of babies and adoption in exchange for money as trafficking of persons, while the latter streamlines the adoption process to make it more accessible and affordable for Filipino families. "I am filing a Senate resolution to investigate not only the possible involvement of syndicates in these online baby-selling cases, but also the systemic gaps that allow this to happen, and to ensure that our law enforcement agencies, social workers, and regulatory bodies are equipped and coordinated in stopping this practice," Cayetano stated. The senator also urged for stronger community education and digital monitoring efforts, in light of reports that even unborn babies are being offered for adoption in exchange for money. "This issue is a painful reminder of the deep poverty and desperation that some families face, but that cannot justify the exploitation of our children. We must give mothers and families real alternatives, including accessible social services and a humane, efficient adoption system," she added. Cayetano reaffirmed her support for the National Authority for Child Care (NACC) in carrying out its mandate, including sufficient funding for personnel, programs, and public awareness efforts. "Our children deserve to grow up in safe, loving homes, and not be traded in online marketplaces. I will continue fighting for laws and policies that protect every Filipino child from abuse, neglect, and exploitation." Senator Pia Cayetano, Nananawagan ng Imbestigasyon sa Senado Hinggil sa Pagbebenta ng mga Sanggol Online; Iginiit ang mas masusing Masusing Implementasyon ng mga Batas sa Adoption at Human Trafficking "Babies are not commodities," diin ni Senator Pia S. Cayetano ngayong Miyerkules, kasabay ng panawagan para sa isang imbestigasyon sa Senado kaugnay ng nakakabahalang pagdami ng mga kaso ng pagbebenta ng mga sanggol sa social media. Ito ay kasunod ng ulat mula sa Commission on Human Rights (CHR) at Philippine National Police (PNP) ukol sa mga sindikatong nang-aabuso sa mga pamilyang salat sa kabuhayan. "These are heartbreaking reports that demand swift and coordinated action. The sale of children online is a gross violation of their rights and a crime under our laws," ani Cayetano, isang matagal nang tagapagsulong ng karapatan at kapakanan ng kababaihan at kabataan. Binanggit niya ang kahalagahan ng ganap na pagpapatupad ng Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act at ng Domestic Administrative Adoption and Alternative Child Care Act, dalawang mahahalagang batas na kanyang isinulong at naipasa. Ang una ay kinikilala ang pagbebenta ng mga sanggol at pag-aampon kapalit ng pera bilang anyo ng human trafficking, habang ang ikalawa ay ginagawang mas simple, abot-kaya, at mabilis ang proseso ng legal adoption para sa mga pamilyang Pilipino. "I am filing a Senate resolution to investigate not only the possible involvement of syndicates in these online baby-selling cases, but also the systemic gaps that allow this to happen, and to ensure that our law enforcement agencies, social workers, and regulatory bodies are equipped and coordinated in stopping this practice," paliwanang ni Cayetano. Nanawagan din siya ng mas pinaigting na edukasyon sa mga komunidad at mas mahigpit na digital monitoring, lalo na't may mga ulat na maging ang mga hindi pa naisisilang na sanggol ay ibinebenta na din. "This issue is a painful reminder of the deep poverty and desperation that some families face, but that cannot justify the exploitation of our children. We must give mothers and families real alternatives, including accessible social services and a humane, efficient adoption system," dagdag pa ng senadora. Muli ring ipinahayag ni Cayetano ang kanyang buong suporta sa National Authority for Child Care (NACC) sa pagsasakatuparan ng mandato nito, kabilang na ang sapat na pondo para sa mga tauhan, programa, at mga public awareness campaigns para sa publiko. "Our children deserve to grow up in safe, loving homes, and not be traded in online marketplaces. I will continue fighting for laws and policies that protect every Filipino child from abuse, neglect, and exploitation." Navigating the rules and processes of a cooperative housing society (CHS/the Society) can often be confusing for home-owners. Whether it is transferring ownership after a family member's demise, dealing with delays from the managing committee or resolving disputes over basic services such as water supply, residents frequently encounter procedural hurdles or non-cooperative societies. Fortunately, the Cooperative Societies Act and model bye-laws provide clear guidance and, when followed correctly, they empower residents to assert their rights and seek redress. In this weeks column, I will address a range of queries that touch on ownership transfer, legal remedies for service denial and the formalities involved in securing your share certificate. Fortunately, the Cooperative Societies Act and model bye-laws provide clear guidance and, when followed correctly, they empower residents to assert their rights and seek redress. In this weeks column, I will address a range of queries that touch on ownership transfer, legal remedies for service denial and the formalities involved in securing your share certificate. Documents Required for Tenancy Question: How do I legally respond to a secretary of a CHS in Mumbai who has issued the following unwarranted demandsbased on managing committee (MC) resolutionsto members letting out their property on leave and licence, in a society registered under the MCS Act, 1960? 1. Submission of a physical rubber stamp and seal on the police verification form (attested by a police officer), even when the computer-generated online police intimation certificate has already been submitted. 2. Tenants must be from a family unit of five to six members (husband, wife, two children and parents). 3. Bachelors are not permitted as tenants. 4. The entire text of the lease agreement must be submitted to the Society; the rent and deposit amounts cannot be redacted. 5. Tenants must inform the society in writing when they vacate the flat. Answer: You are only required to submit the following to the Society: 1. A copy of the duly filled-in leave and licence agreement. (You need to submit the entire copy of the agreement without any redaction.) 2. A copy of the online police verification of the licensee (tenant). The Society may charge you non-occupancy charges which can be a maximum of 10% of the service charges for the flat, for the duration your tenant occupies the premises. You are not obligated to meet any of the other demands listed. These conditions are arbitrary, discriminatory and have no legal basis under the MCS Act or Model Bye-laws. If the Society persists, you may escalate the matter to the deputy registrar of cooperative societies. Transfer of Share Certificate, When Stamp Duty Was Paid Late Question: We bought a flat but did not register it or pay stamp duty at the time. We later paid the stamp duty under the Amnesty Scheme. We have been paying the Society maintenance from the beginning. How do we now get the share certificate from the Society? What is the procedure? Answer: Even though you paid the stamp duty later under the Amnesty Scheme, it is considered validjust as if it were paid at the time of purchase. Now, using a photo copy of the sale deed with the stamp duty paid, you can apply for the share certificate. To do this, pay the applicable chargestransfer charges of Rs25,000, membership entrance fee of Rs100 and membership fee of Rs500by crossed cheque in favour of the Society. (If you have already paid these charges, you do not need to pay them again.) Next, fill in the required membership and transfer forms. Once submitted, the society should transfer the share certificate in your name. Allocation of Parking Spots in CHS Question: When entering into an agreement with purchasers, builders often allot car parking slots. After the CHS is registered under the norms of the government of Maharashtra and an elected managing committee is in place: 1. Can the builder interfere with any vacant car parking slots after the Society's registration? 2. Is there any law or court judgment in Maharashtra that confirms that car parking in a housing society must be governed by the managing committee? Answer: All car parking spaces, even before the registration of the housing society, legally belong to the Society once it is formed. A builder cannot sell parking spaces to flat purchasers. Even if a flat buyer has paid for parking, the space does not become their individual property; it remains the property of the Society. The allotment and regulation of parking spaces are governed by the Societys managing committee as per Bye-laws Nos. 78 to 84 of the Model Bye-laws applicable to CHS in Maharashtra. Here are the rules for parking as per the model bye-laws a. The Society shall, in the general body meeting, frame and adopt parking rules to regulate the parking slots, in accordance with the Act and Rules thereunder. b. The allotment of parking space shall be made by the managing committee on the basis of 'first come, first served', for available parking slots. However, the Member shall have no right to sell or transfer the parking slot allotted by the Society. NOTE We will not be answering queries posted in the comments. Only questions sent through the Moneylife Foundation's Legal Helpline will be answered. If you want to seek guidance or ask questions to Mr Shanbhag, kindly send it through Moneylife Foundation's Free Legal Helpline. Here is the link: https://www.moneylife.in/lrc.html#ask-question Disclaimer: The guidance provided in these columns and on our Legal Helpline is on the sole basis of the facts provided by the reader/questioner and does not amount to formal legal advice in any form whatsoever. (Shirish Shanbhag has an MSc in Organic Chemistry, a Diploma in Higher Education, and a Diploma in French and has completed his LL.B. with a first-class degree in 2021. Before his retirement, he was a junior college teacher at Patkar College from July 1980 to May 2012, teaching theoretical and practical chemistry. Post-retirement in 2012, he started providing guidance and counselling to people on several issues, specifically focusing on cooperative housing society-related matters. He has over 30 years of hands-on experience in all matters about housing societies and can provide out-of-the-box solutions for any practical issue.) On Thursday, 2007 stocks advanced, 2040 declined and 152 remained unchanged on Bombay Stock Exchange with advance decline ratio of 0.98 indicating a negative closing. Despite a marginally negative advance-decline ratio (0.98), Moneylifes Market Breadth Indicators improved notably. A majority of stocks are now trading above their 20, 50, and 200-day EMAs confirming a bullish breadth regime. This suggests broad-based participation and resilience across market segments, despite the weakness in headline indices. The trend of the major indices on Thursdays trading is given in the table below. On NSE, 71 securities advanced and closed at a new 52-week high whereas 19 securities sank to close at their new 52-week lows. Nifty IT, Nifty PSU Bank and Nifty Infrastructure were among the biggest gainers. Nifty Metal, Nifty Pharma and Nifty FMCG were among the biggest losers. Axis Bank (-0.74%) reported Q1FY25-26 net profit of Rs5,806 crore, down 4% y-o-y and 18.5% q-o-q, impacted by a sharp rise in provisions to Rs3,947 crore. Net Interest Income rose marginally by 0.8% y-o-y to Rs13,560 crore, while total income grew 6.9% y-o-y to Rs38,321 crore. Gross NPA ratio increased to 1.57% from 1.28% in Q4, and Net NPA rose to 0.45%, reflecting sequential asset quality pressures. Paytm (-0.56%), through its wholly-owned subsidiary Paytm Cloud Technologies Ltd., incorporated a step-down entity named Paytm Company in Saudi Arabia. bThe new subsidiary will deploy Paytms digital payments stack in the Kingdom, backed by an investment of 85,00,000 SAR for 8,500 shares.This marks Paytms formal entry into the Middle East fintech space, aligning with its broader strategy to expand in markets like UAE, Singapore, and Saudi Arabia. Adani Enterprises (+0.31%) signed a share purchase agreement on to sell up to 20% stake in AWL Agri Business Ltd to Wilmars subsidiary Lence Pte. Ltd. at Rs275 per share, for a maximum consideration of Rs7,148 crore. Combined with its earlier 13.5% stake sale in January 2025, Adani will fully exit the JV, realizing total proceeds of Rs15,729 crore. Post-transaction, Wilmar will hold a 65% stake in AWL Agri, becoming the majority shareholder. AWL Agri reported Q1 FY26 revenue of Rs17,059 crore (up 21% y-o-y), but net profit declined 24% y-o-y to Rs237.95 crore due to margin compression from high input costs. Zaggle (+0.70%) amended its Customer Services Agreement with Tyger Capital retaining access to the Zaggle Zoyer platform and utility bill payment services. The revised domestic contract, classified as a related-party transaction, remains valid for 24 months and was executed on an arms length basis. The update reflects Zaggles intent to deepen client engagement and enhance platform-driven service delivery. Sterlite Technologies (+3.22%) (STL) partnered with Hygenco, to commission Maharashtras first green hydrogen and oxygen facility at Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, exclusively serving STLs glass preform manufacturing unit. Hygenco will build, own, and operate the plant under a 20-year offtake agreement, enabling STL to become one of the worlds first optical fibre manufacturers to use 100% green hydrogen in production. Mahindra Logistics (+6.13%) approved a Rs749 crore rights issue on offering 2.70 crore equity shares at Rs277 each, including a Rs267 premium. The entitlement ratio is 3:8, with the record date set for July 23. The issue opens on July 31 and closes on August 14, with RE trading ending August 11 (on-market) and August 13 (off-market). Post-issue, assuming full subscription, total equity shares will rise from 7.21 crore to 9.91 crore. The capital raise supports debt repayment and general corporate purposes. Bharti Airtel (-0.35%) announced on a partnership with Perplexity to offer Perplexity Pro free for one year to all 360 million Airtel customers across mobile, broadband, and DTH services. Perplexity Pro, typically priced at Rs17,000 annually, provides access to advanced AI models like GPT-4.1 and Claude, unlimited pro searches, image generation, file analysis, and Perplexity Labs for creative workflows. Viceroy Research released two reports alleging governance lapses at Vedanta (-0.69%) and Hindustan Zinc (+0.44%) (HZL), including an unapproved brand fee agreement initiated in October 2022 between HZL and Vedanta Resources Ltd. (VRL). The reports claim the brand fee violates the shareholder agreement (SHA) with the Government of India, which holds a minority stake in HZL. Viceroy flagged undisclosed termination clauses that could trigger an event of default, enabling the GoI to exercise sovereign call or put options on Vedantas stake. Around Rs1,560 crore in brand and strategic services fees paid by HZL to Vedanta between FY23 and FY25, allegedly lacking commercial justification. Alleged misuse of employee welfare funds by shareholder entities linked to the promoter group for lobbying activities. Vedanta has denied wrongdoing, stating the transactions are board-approved and comply with accounting and transfer pricing norms. The matter may prompt regulatory scrutiny and potential government intervention. Kalpataru Projects International (-0.59%) (KPIL) secured Rs2,293 crore in new orders spanning domestic Buildings & Factories (B&F) contracts and an overseas Power Transmission & Distribution (T&D) project. This brings KPILs total FY26 order intake to Rs9,443 crore, reinforcing its execution pipeline across core EPC verticals. The company emphasized that the wins were achieved in the normal course of business and align with its strategic growth focus. Dixon Technologies (+0.05%) and Signify Innovations India formalized the creation of Lightanium Technologies as a 50:50 joint venture focused on OEM lighting products. Dixon transferred its entire lighting business and 100% stake in DTSPL to the JV through a share swap, receiving 14.03 crore shares for a 49.12% stake. Signify contributed its Vadodara LED manufacturing unit and invested Rs140.3 crore for an equal 49.12% stake. The JV is expected to be completed by November 30, 2025, and aims to serve both Signify and third-party brands, enhancing Dixons OEM capabilities and supporting Indias manufacturing ecosystem. Emcure Pharmaceuticals (+0.51%) and Sanofi India entered into an exclusive agreement on for the distribution and promotion of Sanofis oral anti-diabetic brands, including Amaryl and Cetapin, across India. Sanofi will retain ownership and manufacturing responsibilities, while Emcure will leverage its national reach to expand access to these therapies. The arrangement involves no employee transfers and complements Emcures existing diabetes portfolio. Lupin (+1.33%) launched Loteprednol Etabonate Ophthalmic Suspension, 0.5% in the U.S. on July 16, 2025, as a generic version of Bausch & Lombs Lotemax. The product targets steroid-responsive inflammatory eye conditions and post-operative inflammation, with an estimated U.S. market size of $55 million annually. The top gainers and top losers of the major indices are given in the table below: The closing values of the major Asian indices are given in the table below: In a concerning sequence of events, two flights of IndiGo faced mid-air technical issues within 24 hours, prompting emergency actions including an emergency landing in Mumbai and a precautionary return to Delhi. On Wednesday night, IndiGo flight 6E-6271, operating an Airbus A320neo from Delhi to Goa, was forced to divert to Mumbai after one of its engines malfunctioned mid-flight. The pilot issued a PAN PAN PAN emergency callan international aviation signal indicating urgency without immediate dangerafter detecting a failure in engine number 1, sources familiar with the incident told media. The incident occurred roughly 100 nautical miles north of Bhubaneswar, prompting air traffic controllers to declare a full emergency at Mumbais Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA) at 9:35pm. The aircraft landed safely at 9:52pm, and the emergency was formally withdrawn just five minutes later. IndiGo confirmed the diversion, stating that the aircraft experienced a 'technical snag' and was promptly rerouted to Mumbai. "The aircraft will undergo mandatory maintenance checks before returning to service. In the meantime, an alternate aircraft was arranged to fly passengers to Goa," a company spokesperson said. All passengers were safely deboarded and assisted by terminal staff, and there was no disruption to Mumbai airports overall operations, the airport authority added. However, this was not an isolated incident. Less than 12 hours later, on Thursday morning, IndiGo flight 6E-5118 from Delhi to Imphal, operating an Airbus A321 (VT-IMR), returned to Delhi shortly after take-off due to what the airline called a 'minor technical snag'. The flight took off at 10:34am, nine minutes behind schedule. Soon after becoming airborne, pilots detected an issue and opted to return as a precaution. The aircraft landed safely at Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport, underwent mandatory inspections, and resumed its journey after clearance, the airline said in a statement. While both flights landed safely and passengers were unharmed, the back-to-back nature of these technical failures has raised concerns about aircraft reliability and maintenance oversight. Adding to passenger anxiety, another IndiGo flight on Tuesday night (15 July 2025) had a harrowing moment at Patnas Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport. The aircraft, arriving from Delhi, touched down on the runway but immediately took off again due to what the airline later described as an unstable approach and concern over insufficient runway to decelerate safely. That aircraft was carrying 173 passengers. Though IndiGo has stressed that passenger safety remains its top priority, the frequency of technical issues over such a short span is likely to invite scrutiny from the directorate general of civil aviation (DGCA) and other aviation watchdogs. Aviation safety analysts note that technical snags, especially on newer aircraft like the Airbus A320neo and A321, may not always pose a threat, but the response time, pilot decision-making, and maintenance records will be closely examined following such incidents. For now, while all three flights ended without injury or damage, the string of mid-air anomalies is sure to unsettle passengers and possibly regulators flying with Indias largest airline. Music is no longer reverberating across the Butte Hill as this years Montana Folk Festival has come and gone. Tents and stages have been dismantled, equipment as well, chairs are now stored away and barricades have been taken down. Performers and artists packed their bags and left town, many heading to the next musical venue. It was a successful weekend. The music was varied and great, and there was nary a drop of rain. Butte-Silver Bow Sheriff Ed Lester said people were having a great time with some of the best music in the world. People from everywhere look forward to coming to Butte for this event and the Mining City never disappoints! said Lester. When there is friendly interaction between the officers and the people enjoying the festival, it tends to make things go a little smoother. Even better, Butte-Silver Bow Assistant Fire Chief Kelly J. Lee said the fire department was called out to the festival on just a few medical calls. George Everett, festival director, said he and other members of the executive committee continue to hear favorable reviews from attendees, volunteers, performers and artists. All say the event was a spectacular success. "The festival was another solid year on every metric we use to evaluate it," said Everett. "Thanks to the feedback we receive and act on, the 2025 Montana Folk Festival delivered on and exceeded expectations for many of our loyal fans. He estimated attendance for the three-day event to be about 180,000 people, which is three times greater than the inaugural 2008 event which drew an estimated 60,000 attendees over three days. Lester said it was probably a record for attendance. It is a testament to the organizers and all the volunteers who make this event happen, he said. Also, it helps to have officers visible at the venues. It didnt hurt that the weather was ideal. Weather was amazing, not too hot and no rain, said Kehli Hazlett, director at Butte Convention & Visitors Bureau. Perfect conditions to enjoy music. B-SB Chief Executive J.P. Gallagher described the Montana Folk Festival as not just an event, but a celebration of music, community, and heart and is a powerful reminder of what makes Butte so special. We welcomed the world to Uptown Butte and showed them what makes our community great, he said. A huge thanks are owed to the volunteers, artists and attendees. Hazlett got a close-up look at the Original Mineyard crowd as she sold Butte, America puzzles at the Butte-Silver Bow Chamber of Commerce table. She has been to several previous festivals and thinks more younger people are attending, as well. I saw more kids, teenagers and college-age, said Hazlett, and that is a credit to all George Everett and his team do to promote it. According to Everett, 20 performers hit the six stages over the weekend, with nearly 50 artists filling the booths in the two markets. Our folklife area and family area were as busy at times as the other stages, he said. The sweet smell of success found its way to Shawn ODonnells American Grill & Irish Pub in Uptown Butte. We saw familiar faces from last year, all of whom enjoyed Butte and wanted to come back again, said Irish Johnny, a partner in Shawn ODonnells. The Uptown Butte restaurant had a 20% upswing in clientele, particularly on Sunday. Sunday was very busy, said Irish Johnny. Thats when we saw the big push. Irish Johnny said festivals performers also came to the restaurant. We were delighted to have the band Solas dine with us, said Irish Johnny. They brought a big crowd to Butte and to the pub as well. Everett credits the events success to the staff and volunteers, along with Butte-Silver Bow employees. "Thanks to the coordinated efforts of nearly 900 volunteers, we were able to properly greet and entertain thousands of guests this past weekend," said Everett. One of the volunteers is Lynn McGlynn, who has been helping since 2008, when the event was called the National Folk Festival. She loves her summer gig. A logistics coordinator, McGlynn oversees a group of volunteers, all of whom make sure performers are picked up at the airport, taken to their hotels, escorted to whatever stage they are performing at and delivered food, when requested. In between all those duties, volunteers also shared with the performers some background history on Butte. Its an absolute honor to be part of the festival, said McGlynn. McGlynn was particularly fond of the 2025 festival, believing this years lineup of artists to be one of the best ever. It was fabulous, she said. Thats not to say there werent a few bumps in the road. McGlynn said while the weather was ideal in Butte, that was not the case in Denver, where some of the performers found themselves grounded because of lightning. Some flights were canceled or rescheduled, she said. As a longtime volunteer, McGlynn has a theory on why the festival has remained successful. We have the best people in Butte and the best crowds, she said. Performers feed off the energy of the crowds. Speaking of crowds, Everett said there was an overflow at all venues on Friday and Saturday, with a steady crowd on Sunday, too. Beer remained a popular beverage, with sales reaching $110,477. Everett said festival contributions are still coming in, but so far have reached nearly $160,000. That figure may move upwards as post-festival contributions continue to take the total higher, he said. Everett urges people who enjoyed the festival and would still like to contribute, to send their tax-deductible contribution to Mainstreet Uptown Butte, P.O. Box 696, Butte, Montana 59703 or use the Paypal Giving Fund for certified charities by going to paypal.com/us/fundraiser/charity/1876197. Meanwhile, Everett said the committee will be reviewing comments and suggestions. These are encouraged and welcomed to improve the organization and effectiveness for the 14th Montana Folk Festival, he said. The festival is set for July 10-12, 2026. For details as they develop, visit www.montanafolkfestival.com or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mtfolkfest. Calling it the most egregious case he has overseen, a judge sentenced a Butte man to five 100-year prison terms with no time suspended Thursday for raping two young girls and filming some of the sexual assaults. Theodore Allen Cherry III, 35, admitted specific sex acts and pleaded guilty in April to two counts of incest, two counts of sexual abuse of children for filming some of the assaults and one count of sexual abuse of children for having child pornography. Prosecutor Angie Rolando called Cherry a monster Thursday and asked for 100 years with no time suspended on each of the five charges, to run concurrently, meaning together as one. She said the girls are serving a life sentence of trauma because of Cherrys crimes. Instead of enjoying school and getting to do all of the things they love, these two little girls lived in a house of horrors for years, Rolando said. These innocent childrens lives were marked by unspeakable suffering. The defendants crimes here they offend human decency, they offend all human dignity, she said. Cherry said he was sorry for the emotional pain he has caused the victims and his family, is praying for their comfort, well-being and forgiveness, and will make treatment and redemption a mission. Please dont throw me away, he told District Judge Robert Whelan during an hourlong sentencing hearing. Please give me a second chance. I have felt remorse since day one. Whelan balked at that and imposed five 100-year terms to run consecutively, meaning stacked one on top of another. None of the time is suspended and under Montana law, Cherry is not eligible for parole on each separate sentence for the first 25 years. Because the sentences are stacked, that effectively means he is not eligible for parole for 125 years. Mr. Cherry, this is the most egregious case I have ever presided over, Whelan said. And I honestly have to say there are no second chances. I am not putting society at risk, Im not putting (the victims) at risk, I am not putting the children of anyone else at risk period. Cherry was arrested and charged in August 2024 with five counts of incest and four counts of sexual abuse of children for the alleged rapes and filming some of the sex acts. He was later charged with two counts of assault on a minor for allegedly striking two girls with arrows, and in March, Rolando filed nine additional counts of sexual abuse of children. Those were all tied to videos and images allegedly found on Cherrys iPhone following further investigation of his case. Cherry did not know any of the children related to the March charges they were videos and photos he allegedly downloaded. Some showed lurid sex acts and rapes of children, prosecutors say. Cherry faced 20 felony charges in all but many of the allegations were consolidated into five counts and Cherrys guilty pleas in April were part of a pre-trial agreement. Rolando says Cherrys wife, 35-year-old Meggan L. Cherry, knew her husband was sexually assaulting the young girls and did nothing about it, even telling one girl not to tell authorities what was going on. So Meggan Cherry was arrested on Nov. 21 last year and charged with three counts of incest by accountability, each punishable by up to life in prison with no possibility of parole for the first 25 years. Shes in jail with bail set at $750,000 with a trial tentatively set for September. Prosecutors say she told police she had been prostituting, at times in her house when her children were home. Meggan Cherry later filed for divorce, which Whelan granted earlier this year. During Theodore Cherrys sentencing hearing Thursday, public defender Walter Hennessey asked Whelan to suspend 20 years of a 100-year term, the most allowed by law in the case. Eighty years was still effectively a life sentence, he said, and even if paroled after 25 years under one 100-year term, Cherry would be 60 years old. He is trying to make amends as best he can, Hennessey said. He realizes hes going to be locked up potentially for the rest of his life. We would just like to let the court know that he does and has felt guilt in this matter. He is greatly sorry for what happened. Rolando said if there was ever a case deserving 100-year prison terms, it was this one. She said Cherry not only filmed some of the sexual assaults, he posted copies of the videos online where they will last forever, victimizing the girls again each time they are viewed. While in jail, Rolando said he tried to send letters to the girls making excuses for the crimes even though he is under court order to have no contact with them. Rolando said the crimes were so horrific, they affected not only the girls, but every police officer, detective, court official and anyone else who played a role in the case. They include former Butte-Silver Bow prosecutor Kelli Fivey, who first filed charges and initially oversaw the case. Your honor, its the states position that there is no situation in this case that should permit any suspended sentence in this matter, she said. He is dangerous and he is a predator and there is not anything that should allow this defendant to walk among innocent civilians again. Whelan agreed by making the five 100-year terms run consecutively. I am not putting you back on the street with an opportunity to abuse anyone, he told Cherry. Rolando told The Montana Standard after the hearing she was pleasantly surprised at the consecutive sentences. While there is nothing that truly can compare to what these children have gone through, this sentence can not only bring them some peace of mind that they never have to worry about this predator again, but is also a warning to other abusers, she said. Press Release July 17, 2025 Cayetano files 'learner-centered' education bill to expand student choice, fix subsidy flaws Senator Alan Peter Cayetano on Thursday filed a measure seeking to reform the government's education subsidy system by giving students more meaningful school choices and supporting low-income families seeking to send their children to quality private schools. Filed on July 10, 2025, ?Senate Bill No. 422 or The Learner's Choice (TLC) in Private Basic Education Act of 2025, Cayetano proposes a unified, learner-centered voucher system for Kindergarten to Grade 12 -- one that replaces outdated programs like the Educational Service Contracting (ESC) scheme under the Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE). "The State shall operationalize the principle of complementarity by institutionalizing a unified, rationalized, and learner-centered framework for government assistance to learners and teachers in private basic education," Cayetano, who previously chaired Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education, said in the bill's explanatory note. The bill is inspired by the Taguig Learner's Certificate (TLC) program, a local initiative recognized in the Year 2 Report of Second Congressional Commission on Education (EDCOM 2), which Cayetano also co-chaired, for promoting learner choice and complementarity between public and private schools. The proposed TLC system introduces portable education vouchers that eligible learners from kindergarten to SHS can use to enroll in any DepEd-recognized private school. Unlike the current GASTPE program, in which subsidies are tied to specific schools, the TLC voucher is held by the student -- giving families the freedom to choose where to enroll, similar to how the SHS voucher system works. These vouchers will help cover tuition and learning materials, and may be supplemented by local government units (LGUs) or private sponsors if needed. "To ensure equity and social justice, this assistance shall be targeted, prioritizing the underprivileged and most vulnerable learners," Cayetano said. Top priority will be given to learners from low-income households in DepEd-identified congested public schools, followed by other students in overcrowded schools and learners from poor families who need financial support to stay in private schools. Alternative Learning System (ALS) completers who are reentering formal education are also automatically eligible. To help families make informed decisions, the DepEd will publish a public database of participating schools, listing their tuition fees, program tracks, and performance indicators. "Learners, their parents, parent-substitutes, or guardians shall have the freedom to select among participating private basic education institutions based on factors such as program offerings, quality of instruction, school culture, location, and affordability," the bill states. The measure also enhances the Teachers' Salary Subsidy Fund and In-Service Training Fund for teachers in private schools, to align their compensation with prevailing market conditions, and which are both tied to performance and quality standards. A dedicated Bureau of Private Education will be created within the DepEd to manage and monitor the program, with the option to tap qualified private partners to assist in its implementation subject to accountability rules and Commission on Audit (COA) oversight. The bill urges LGUs to align their scholarship programs with the voucher system by making them portable across schools nationwide, with those that comply being recognized under the Seal of Good Local Governance. For Cayetano, improving education means more than infrastructure or funding as it requires acknowledging the shared role of public and private schools and giving families real choices to achieve better outcomes. "The collective, balanced and sustained use of public and private education through healthy competition guided by the protection of the public interest will lead to better learning outcomes for Filipinos," he said. Cayetano nagpanukala para payagang pumili ng paaralan ang mga estudyante Naghain si Senator Alan Peter Cayetano nitong Huwebes ng panukalang batas na layong ayusin ang sistema ng subsidiya sa edukasyon ng gobyerno para pahintulutan ang mga estudyante na pumili ng paaralan, at matulungan ang mga pamilyang kapos pero nais mag-aral sa pribadong eskwelahan. Sa ilalim ng Senate Bill No. 422 o The Learner's Choice (TLC) in Private Basic Education Act of 2025 na isinumite nitong July 10, 2025, isinusulong ni Cayetano ang isang mas simple at direktang voucher system para sa mga mag-aaral mula Kindergarten hanggang Grade 12. Papalitan nito ang mga lumang programa gaya ng Educational Service Contracting (ESC) ng Expanded Government Assistance to Students and Teachers in Private Education (GASTPE). "The State shall operationalize the principle of complementarity by institutionalizing a unified, rationalized, and learner-centered framework for government assistance to learners and teachers in private basic education," wika ni Cayetano, na dating humawak ng Senate Committee on Higher, Technical and Vocational Education. Ang panukala ay hango sa Taguig Learner's Certificate (TLC) program -- isang lokal na programa na kinilala ng EDCOM 2 (Second Congressional Commission on Education), kung saan co-chair din si Cayetano. Kinilala ito sa kanilang Year 2 Report bilang modelo sa pagbibigay ng karapatan sa mga estudyante na pumili ng paaralan, pribado man o pampubliko. Sa ilalim ng panukala, ang mga kwalipikadong estudyante mula Kindergarten hanggang Senior High School ay makakatanggap ng portable education vouchers. Maaari itong gamitin sa kahit anong pribadong paaralan akreditado ng DepEd. Hindi gaya ng kasalukuyang sistema kung saan nakatali ang tulong pinansyal sa mga piling eskwelahan, ang voucher sa TLC ay direktang ibibigay sa estudyante. Dahil dito, mas malaya silang makapamili ng eskwelahang gusto nila. Sasakupin ng voucher ang bayad sa tuition at mga learning material. Pwede rin dagdagan ng tulong mula sa local government unit (LGU) o pribadong sponsor kung kailangan. "To ensure equity and social justice, this assistance shall be targeted, prioritizing the underprivileged and most vulnerable learners," wika ni Cayetano. Prayoridad sa programa ang mga batang galing sa mahihirap na pamilya na kasalukuyang nag-aaral sa mga siksikang pampublikong paaralan, pati na rin ang mga nasa pribadong eskwelahan pero nahihirapan na sa bayarin. Pasok din sa programa ang mga graduate ng Alternative Learning System (ALS) na nais bumalik sa regular na paaralan. Para makatulong sa pagpili, maglalabas ang DepEd ng listahan ng mga kalahok na pribadong eskwelahan -- kasama ang tuition fee, mga programang inaalok, at performance rating ng bawat isa. "Learners, their parents, parent-substitutes, or guardians shall have the freedom to select among participating private basic education institutions based on factors such as program offerings, quality of instruction, school culture, location, and affordability," ayon pa sa panukala. Kasama rin sa panukala ang dagdag na suporta para sa mga guro sa pribadong sektor, gaya ng salary subsidy at in-service training fund, para matiyak na tugma ang kanilang kita at kalidad ng pagtuturo ayon sa pamantayan. Magtatatag rin ng Bureau of Private Education sa ilalim ng DepEd para pamahalaan at bantayan ang programa. Maaari rin itong kumuha ng mga pribadong partner para tumulong sa pagpapatupad, basta't may sapat na transparency at pangangasiwa mula sa Commission on Audit (COA). Hinikayat din ni Cayetano ang mga LGU na gawing "portable" o maaaring gamitin saan mang eskwelahan sa bansa ang kanilang mga scholarship programs. Ang mga LGU na susunod dito ay pagkakalooban ng pagkilala sa ilalim ng Seal of Good Local Governance. Para kay Cayetano, hindi sapat ang pondo o gusali sa pagbibigay ng dekalidad na edukasyon. Aniya, kailangan ding kilalanin ang papel ng mga pribado at pampublikong paaralan, at pahintulutan ang mga magulang at estudyante na pumili ng eskwelahang makabubuti sa kanilang kinabukasan. "The collective, balanced and sustained use of public and private education through healthy competition guided by the protection of the public interest will lead to better learning outcomes for Filipinos," wika niya. Allies of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, Wanjiku Thiga and Peter Kinyanjui, popularly known as Kawanjiru, have been released on bail. The Kahawa court on Wednesday offered each of the DCP Youth officials bond terms of Ksh200,000 with a surety of the same amount. Alternatively, they could secure their freedom by paying a cash bail of Ksh50,000 and providing one contact person. Magistrate Gideon Kiage ruled that there was no sufficient or reasonable cause to detain the two for further time, along with other protesters who were also arraigned. The Magistrate observed that even though Wanjiku Thiga and Peter Kinyanjui had been arraigned under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, seriousness of the offence would not supplant their constitutional right of presumption of innocence until proven guilty. He contended that the court was not convinced that the mere charging of serious crimes necessitated bail denial. In the present case, the accused persons have been charged with an offence under the Prevention of Terrorism Act. That mere fact, however, in the absence of any other ground in support thereto, does not and cannot suffice to upset the presumption of innocence as guaranteed under the Constitution, Magistrate Kiage ruled. He added that accepting such reasoning would set a dangerous precedent. To hold otherwise would be tantamount to affirming that all that is needed for the denial of bail is for the prosecution to present serious-sounding charges with stiff penalties. Magistrate Kiage noted that investigators had enough time between 13 and 22 days depending on when the accused were arrested to confirm their identities and run necessary background checks. He criticized the use of testimony by the prosecution from unidentified witnesses, stating that the court could not give merit to untested accusations by unknown people. This is an invitation which the court must politely turn down, he remarked. Wanjiku Thiga and Peter Kinyanjui had previously been released on bail by the Kiambu and Ruiru courts after being charged with crimes under illegal assembly and rioting during the June 25, 2025 protests. Their legal trouble, however, did not end there since the authorities rearrested them shortly after their release. They were taken before the Kahawa court and charged with fresh offenses under the Prevention of Terrorism Act, a move that their lawyers blasted aggressively as judicial harassment and blatant abuse of court procedures. Three Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) soldiers were killed and six wounded on Tuesday in a suspected Al-Shabaab attack after their vehicle hit an improvised explosive device (IED) in Lamu Countys Boni Forest. Lamu East Deputy County Commissioner George Kubai confirmed the attack, which took place around 1:40 p.m. in Badaa, a remote area two kilometres from Kiunga Town, near the KenyaSomalia border. The KDF crew was traveling from Kiunga to Sankuri when their truck ran over the IED, leading to a deadly explosion that left a scene of destruction and multiple casualties. The raid was carried out deep in Boni Forest, a region long considered a hotbed of terror. It is now the focus of Operation Amani Boni (OAB), a joint security operation launched in September 2015 to evict Al-Shabaab militants believed to be hiding there and launching cross-border raids from there. The explosive device completely destroyed the KDF vehicle on impact, sending debris flying and severely injuring several personnel. Rescue units began evacuation efforts for the injured while security units began pursuing the attackers. Kubai appealed to residents to support the ongoing security efforts by reporting any information that would help identify or arrest the suspects. So far, an operation to hunt down the attackers is ongoing on the ground. Evacuation efforts are also on for the casualties, Kubai said. It is our humble appeal to members of the public to cooperate with us. Kindly provide us with crucial leads even as our security agencies are already combating, pursuing the enemy. The attack shattered what had been a relatively calm period in Lamu, which had gone over three months without any Al-Shabaab-related incident. Authorities had noted marked improvement in security and general stability in the region prior to this latest strike. The last known activity of the terror group was on April 5, when security forces defended against a night attack on a General Service Unit (GSU) camp at Basuba, also within the Boni Forest. The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has pushed back against claims made by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, who blamed local policy shortcomings for the recent fuel price hike. Speaking during an event on Wednesday, July 16, 2025, EPRA Director General Daniel Kiptoo insisted that the price increase stems solely from rising global oil costs. The increase is purely on account of the spike in international prices. Any insinuation that this is due to internal mismanagement or policy failures is not accurate, Kiptoo asserted. On Tuesday, MP Nyoro had pointed the finger at domestic taxation, arguing that more than Ksh80 per litre of petrol and Ksh76 per litre of diesel go toward government taxes and levies. He also criticized the introduction of an additional Ksh7 per litre levy in 2023, a move he said came when global oil prices were dropping, thus denying Kenyans the benefits of cheaper fuel. However, Kiptoo defended EPRAs fuel pricing mechanism, insisting that it strictly reflects international market dynamics. We are directly affected by the international crude market. Kenya, like many oil-importing countries, has limited control over these fluctuations, he explained. To back his argument, Kiptoo presented a detailed breakdown of recent changes in benchmark prices for key fuel products. He explained that between May and June 2025, benchmark prices for key fuel products saw significant jumps. For Super petrol, the May price was Ksh 671.79 per barrel, rising to Ksh 716.94 in June, a Ksh 45.15 increase, or 6.78 per cent, Kiptoo said. He continued, Diesel saw a jump from Ksh 563.00 to Ksh 616.47, a Ksh 53.47 increase, or 9.33 per cent. Kerosene also rose from Ksh 598.43 to Ksh 647.20, a Ksh 48.77 rise, or 8.15 per cent. Kiptoo emphasized that these international price shifts directly influenced the pump price adjustments EPRA announced on Monday. He reiterated that EPRAs role is to ensure transparent and fair pricing by applying a formula that passes international cost changes directly to consumers. Our role is to ensure fair pricing, and that includes passing down international cost implications, whether they are increases or reductions, he said, reinforcing that the agency does not arbitrarily set prices but strictly follows a formula tied to international benchmarks. Chief Justice Emeritus David Maraga is banking on wellwishing Kenyans to fund his 2027 presidential campaign, saying he hopes to lead a modest, people-powered movement to succeed President William Ruto. In an interview with Citizen TV on July 15, Maraga said he would personally contribute only Ksh1 million to Ksh2 million, relying heavily on the goodwill of Kenyans to bankroll his campaign. I will appeal to Kenyans to contribute to the campaigns. Ill put in very little money, around Ksh1 million or Ksh2 million. I dont have much money, Maraga said. With the suffering Kenyans have gone through, Im sure well get Ksh50, Ksh100 from individuals. Im hoping well get excess, and whatever is left, we will give it to a public cause, he added. Maraga pledged to form a government rooted in professionalism and merit, stressing that every public official under his administration must obey the law and deliver results. In my administration, I will make it very clear and Im making it clear from now that everybody will have to obey the law, starting with me. Maraga also took issue with the governments states heavy-handed response to recent Gen Z-led protests, condemning the use of force on peaceful demonstrators and the labeling of youth activists as terrorists. He said he would have opted for a more people-centred and empathetic approach had he been in power. We need this country to return to the rule of law, he said. The youth were exercising their constitutional right. They should be protected, not abducted or killed. On national dialogue efforts, Maraga backed Raila Odingas call but on one condition: the process must be led by the people, not political elites. Weve had dialogues in the past that have not addressed the root causes. It must be people-oriented and not just about positions, he remarked. Water Cabinet Secretary Eric Mugaa has confirmed that none of the 100 mega dam projects promised by President William Rutos administration have been completed so far, nearly two years after the ambitious pledge. Speaking at a Senate plenary session on Wednesday, Mugaa attributed the delays to acute financial challenges. He explained the government had laid out to execute the majority of the large water projects under public-private partnerships (PPPs), but the model has not impressed investors due to low returns. Most of the large dams were scheduled to be implemented under public-private partnerships. Unfortunately, investments in water have not been very lucrative; our tariffs do not cover the costs, he said. The CS emphasized that water infrastructure is capital-intensive, making it a less appealing venture for private investors. Despite this, he assured lawmakers that a number of large dams including Bucha, Fauci, and Um are under construction, although none have yet been completed. For large dams, we have not completed any of them, Mugaa told the Senate. President Ruto had pledged to build 100 large dams as part of his broader agenda to shift Kenyas agriculture from rain-fed to irrigation-based to increase food production and climate change adaptability. To give more clarification on the progress so far, Mugaa committed to give an extensive list of small dams that have made considerable progress and have the possibility of being finished before the big ones. Flood-damaged road to China-Nepal border port reopens Xinhua) 11:18, July 12, 2025 Rescuers build a path for evacuation at the site of a mudslide at the Gyirong Port area in Gyirong Township of Xigaze, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, July 8, 2025. (Photo by Xu Dafu/Xinhua) LHASA, July 11 (Xinhua) -- The section of National Highway 216 leading to Gyirong Port in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region was reopened on Friday after being damaged by flooding on Tuesday, according to the local authorities. The affected section has been urgently restored, ensuring the smooth flow of people and goods. Emergency response teams promptly began repair work using methods such as gravel backfilling to restore access. Authorities have stated that 24-hour monitoring and maintenance will continue to ensure the road's safety and stability. Flash floods struck the Gyirong Port area along the China-Nepal border at 5:46 a.m. Tuesday. As of Wednesday, more than 300 people, including many Nepali nationals, have been safely relocated. (Web editor: Cai Hairuo, Kou Jie) Press Release July 17, 2025 PANGILINAN PUSHES FOR STRONGER SUPPORT FOR BARMM AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES Senator Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan is pushing for strengthened support to the agriculture and fisheries sectors of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), citing its pivotal role in ensuring food security and solving the country's worsening food crisis. In a meeting held Wednesday, July 16, with former BARMM Chief Minister and now Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim and BARMM Minister for Basic, Higher, and Technical Education Mohagher Iqbal, Pangilinan emphasized that Mindanao is the Philippines' food basket--and BARMM is its seafood stronghold. "Mindanao feeds the nation. And BARMM, with its rich marine resources and fertile land, is vital in solving our food problems," Pangilinan said. "If we want lower food prices and stable supply, we must invest in Mindanao's farmers and fisherfolk." A long-time advocate for food security and rural development, Pangilinan vowed to back BARMM's agri-fishery sector through expanded infrastructure, modern post-harvest systems, and sustainable aquaculture initiatives. He stressed the need to improve the entire value chain--from production to processing to market access--so that both local communities and the broader economy benefit. The senator also committed to work with BARMM leaders, cooperatives, and civil society organizations to ensure that legislation and policies reflect the region's unique challenges and untapped potential. Among the key proposals discussed were: Expanded access to agri-credit and crop insurance; Funding for farm-to-market roads and irrigation; Establishment of agri-fishery hubs with modern storage and logistics; Stronger market linkages for fair and stable prices; Support for climate-resilient, sustainable practices; and Peace and development initiatives anchored on agri-based livelihoods. "Food security is national security," Pangilinan said. "And that security depends on whether we empower the regions that feed us. Mindanao is not just part of the solution--it is the solution." Recent data confirms BARMM's leadership in seafood production--especially in seaweed, tuna, and high-value marine products. The region supplies nearly 30% of the country's total fish output, making it the top seafood producer in the Philippines. "Our farmers and fisherfolk must not only survive--they must thrive. And when they do, the whole nation wins," Pangilinan said. Emory University recently welcomed senior leaders from four international institutions for the annual Global Universities for Societal Impact (GUSI) board meeting, hosted by Emory Global Engagement and the Halle Institute for Global Research and Learning in late June. The hybrid event brought together representatives from the University of Bonn, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, University of St Andrews and Waseda University, reinforcing a shared commitment to global collaboration in education, research, leadership and innovation. The GUSI network was formed in 2023 with a joint Memorandum of Understanding, clustering expert knowledge and learning from each other through best practices. The partners share a common approach to internationalization and cooperate bilaterally and multilaterally on a range of projects designed to promote excellence in research and education and extend the partners global impact. The current three-year GUSI theme artificial intelligence served as a focal point for discussions throughout the week. Emorys leadership in this space was highlighted during an evening reception, where Lanny Liebeskind, interim provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, expressed gratitude to partner universities and presented an overview of Emorys AI.Humanity initiative. This university-wide effort integrates artificial intelligence across disciplines with a strong emphasis on ethical, human-centered development. The reception featured presentations from key Emory experts, including Joe Sutherland, director of the Emory Center for AI Learning, who discussed the universitys approach to AI education and workforce readiness; Ujjwal Baid, director of research for the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, who represented Emory AI.Health and shared insights into the transformative role of AI in health care and medical research; and John Lysaker, director of the Emory Center for Ethics, who emphasized the importance of embedding ethical considerations into AI applications. This gathering of universities highlights the capacity for international partnerships to shape a more equitable and responsible AI future, says Jane Gatewood, vice provost for Emory Global Engagement. Emory is proud to continue strengthening these relationships to ensure global experiences and exchange for students, faculty and the wider community on cutting-edge topics and research. The GUSI network continues to develop as a platform for interdisciplinary collaboration, with AI as a unifying theme that transcends borders and academic disciplines. In addition to the GUSI meetings and board summit, the international partners met with various school and program representatives during their time at Emory, strengthened ongoing partnerships and participated in tours of the Michael C. Carlos Museum, the Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library, and the Health Sciences Research Building (HSRB-II). Learn more about the GUSI network. SIU Carbondale police welcome public input in law enforcement accreditation CARBONDALE, Ill. The Southern Illinois University Carbondale Department of Public Safety (DPS) is seeking public comment as part of an accreditation process with the International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators (IACLEA). An IACLEA assessment team will arrive on Aug. 10 to examine all aspects of the departments policy and procedures, management, operations and support services, said Benjamin Newman, director of DPS and chief of police. Verification by the team that DPS meets IACLEAs state-of-the-art standards is part of gaining a highly prized recognition of campus public safety professional excellence, Newman said. To achieve four-year accreditation, DPS must comply with 227 standards, Newman said. This is the first time DPS is seeking accreditation with IACLEA; the department is already accredited with the Illinois Law Enforcement Accreditation Program. Law enforcement agency leaders who choose accreditation agree to benchmark their agency with leaders in the field, Newman said. Accreditation is a voluntary evaluation process. Accrediting bodies provide premier performance standards and determine an agencys commitment to achieving those standards. Accredited agencies have managerial practices and operational policies that provide the highest level of service for their communities. The university community, DPS employees and the community are invited to offer comments by email to jmurphy@iaclea.org or phone at 618-453-8654 between 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. on Aug. 11. DPS Cpl. Shawn Tuthill said the assessment team is composed of experienced out-of-state campus law enforcement professionals. They will review written materials, conduct interviews and inspect facilities. Once the assessors complete their department review, they will then report their findings to IACLEA for an accreditation determination. If accredited, DPS will submit annual reports to show continued compliance with those standards. The assessors are team leader Stacy DeRooy, executive director of Title IX and Clery compliance at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and Sonya M. Johnson, planning, research and public information manager for the Albany (Ga.) Police Department. Turkey Again Denies the Assyrian Genocide Assyrian MP George Aryo, whose mandatory adopted Turkish name is 'Aslan.' Ankara -- Deputy leader of the IYI Party ("Good Party") MP Bugra Kavuncu announced today that the 'slanderous' remarks of Syriac Member of Turkish Parliament for Merde (Mardin) George Aryo have been removed from the minutes of the Turkish Grand National Assembly at the request of his party. A couple of days after 1915 Sayfo Genocide Remembrance Day--annually on 15 June--Aryo (mandatory adopted Turkish surname: 'Aslan') held a speech in parliament on 18 June in which he asked the question; 'where have Turkey's Christians gone?' He concluded that "under normal circumstances the Christian population would have been in the millions [today]. What happened to these people." He continued his speech with sharp criticism of Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas (Republican People's Party, CHP), who had earlier approved a monument for former Young Turk Minister and Prime Minister Talaat Pasha (1874-1921), one of the architects of the Sayfo genocide. "Instead of erecting a memorial for the martyrs of the Sayfo Genocide, public places, parks, streets, and schools are named after the perpetrators. Monuments are erected in their honor," George Aryo stated. But Aryo stepped on too many toes. Deeply offended, the IYI party managed to muster enough support to have his words removed from the official minutes. The IYI party considered Aryo's words a disgrace, slander, to the Turkish nation. Of course, there can be no doubt about the official Turkish version of history. Also, Kavuncu would have preferred George Aryo to receive disciplinary measures (or worse) but had to settle for the removal of Aryo's words from the official minutes of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. And so, another day passes in the story of Turkey's excruciatingly slow recognition of the Sayfo Genocide... which everyone knows will come one day (see the current peace talks with the "terrorists" of the PKK). Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 17: Pierag Consulting, a leading global consulting firm specializing in Assurance and Advisory Services, has expanded its footprint in India with the launch of a new office in Mumbai. This strategic move reinforces the firm's commitment to serving clients across key business hubs and deepening its impact in India's financial capital. The Mumbai office will enable Pierag Consulting to work more closely with clients in financial services, private equity, technology, and emerging industries. By enhancing local engagement, the firm continues to position itself as a trusted partner in navigating complex business challenges. Abhishek Gupta, Founder and Managing Partner of Pierag Consulting, highlighted the significance of this expansion: "With the addition of our Mumbai office, we now have a presence across all major metros, complementing our existing locations in NCR, Bengaluru, Jaipur, and Chandigarh. Mumbai's status as India's financial hub makes it a key market for us, and this expansion strengthens our ability to provide tailored, high-impact solutions to our clients." As part of its growth strategy, Pierag Consulting is actively recruiting top talent in Mumbai, tapping into the city's deep expertise in finance, risk management, and technology consulting. This expansion aligns with the firm's long-term vision of building a robust talent pipeline and fostering leadership in critical industry sectors. Mumbai's dynamic business environment, home to global corporations, financial institutions, and high-growth enterprises, makes it a natural choice for Pierag Consulting's continued expansion. With this move, the firm aims to deliver specialized advisory solutions, deep industry insights, and innovative approaches to help businesses thrive in an evolving landscape. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) China's Hubei launched its first China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan rail-road intermodal freight train. Exports from Wuhan are expected to reach Tashkent in 10 days, with transportation and insurance costs reduced. PRNewswire London [UK]/Singapore, July 17: Windward, the leading Maritime AI company today announced it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Singapore Trade Data Exchange Services Pte. Ltd. ("SGTraDex"), Singapore's digital infrastructure for trade data exchange. The Maritime AI leader and Singapore's digital trade infrastructure will collaborate to enhance industry tools and promote digital adoption across the trade finance sector. The strategic partnership aims to advance digital transformation in supply chain financing by co-developing tools and initiatives that strengthen due diligence, enhance compliance, and enable more informed financing decisions across the trade ecosystem. Under the terms of the MoU, both organizations shall endeavor to jointly develop industry solutions for the purpose of accelerating adoption of digital solutions in trade finance. The collaboration will leverage Windward's advanced Maritime AI capabilities and SGTraDex's role as a trusted digital utility connecting supply chain ecosystem partners. Together, the organizations will work to address evolving challenges in trade finance by promoting greater interoperability, transparency, efficiency, and digital connectivity across maritime trade operations. "This partnership with SGTraDex represents a significant step forward in our mission to transform global trade through advanced AI and digital connectivity," said Ami Daniel, CEO and Co-Founder of Windward. "Singapore is a strong leader in both the trade finance industry and global shipping, and SGTraDex is a key digital infrastructure leader in the region, making it the ideal partner for advancing maritime AI solutions. We are proud to collaborate with them to foster innovation that strengthens the integrity and resilience of international maritime trade." "Our collaboration with Windward aligns with SGTraDex's mission to facilitate trusted, secure and inclusive data sharing across supply chain ecosystems," said Tan Chin Hwee, Chairman of SGTraDex. "Windward's cutting-edge Maritime AI capabilities complement our digital infrastructure, creating new opportunities to enhance trade and supply chain efficiency, as well as transparency. Together, we will promote the adoption of digital solutions that streamline information flows and build greater connectivity for the supply and trade ecosystem." About Windward Windward is the leading Maritime AI company, providing an all-in-one platform to accelerate global trade. Windward's AI-powered decision support and exception management platform, enhanced with Generative AI, offers a 360 view of the maritime ecosystem and enables stakeholders to make real time, predictive intelligence-driven decisions to achieve business and operational readiness. By integrating advanced AI and Generative AI capabilities, Windward delivers deeper insights, automated risk analysis, and enhanced maritime intelligence and context. Windward's Maritime AI supports companies across industries. The company's clients range from energy supermajors, shipowners, mining companies, freight forwarders, and port authorities, to banks, insurers, and governmental organizations. For more information visit: https://windward.ai About SGTraDex Launched on 1 June 2022, the Singapore Trade Data Exchange ("SGTraDex") is a digital utility that facilitates the sharing of data between supply chain ecosystem partners, streamlining information flows through a common data highway where data can be shared in a trusted, secure and inclusive manner. SGTraDex is a public-private partnership founded by IMDA, PSA, Trafigura, DBS, Jurong Port, OCBC, ONE, Advario, PIL, Standard Chartered and UOB. Their proprietary technology aims to resolve pain points in supply chain ecosystems including a heavy reliance on a paper-based system which lacks efficiency, transparency, and sustainability. The move to digitalise information will increase productivity and build supply chain resilience. New efficiencies and opportunities will be unlocked when ecosystem partners can collaborate to achieve a shared visibility of the end-to-end supply chain. For more information, visit sgtradex.com (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) VMPL Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 17: Holoflex Ltd., a leading Indian manufacturer of security holograms and smart authentication solutions, is setting a new benchmark in futuristic packaging with its PHYGITAL Secure Label Technology. The company has been honoured with the prestigious FIPSA-2025 (Awards for Responsible Packaging) under the category New Concept / Futuristic (Innovation) for its pioneering innovation, the "PHYGITAL Secure Label". Organized by the FOUNDATION FOR INNOVATIVE PACKAGING AND SUSTAINABILITY (FIPS) in collaboration with the National Institute of Design (NID), Madhya Pradesh (Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India), the FIPSA awards aim to recognize excellence in packaging design and innovation. The jury, comprising eminent experts, evaluated over 200 entries from across the country in Commercial, Start-up, and Student categories. Holoflex's winning entry, PHYGITAL Secure Level, is a pioneering tamper-evident label solution designed to transform the landscape of secure and smart packaging. The innovation seamlessly merges physical security features with digital authentication, ensuring robust protection against counterfeiting while enhancing end-user trust. Key Highlights of the PHYGITAL Secure Level Technology: * PHYGITAL Security Integration: Combines intricate physical security printing--such as guilloche patterns and microtext--with real-time digital verification. * Multi-Layer Protection: Features a holographic stripe embedded with overt and covert security elements. * Traceability with QR & Barcode: Empowers both brands and consumers with easy product verification and supply chain visibility. * Holographic Scratch-Off Layer: Adds another layer of security through a unique identification code hidden under a scratch-off panel. The label is especially relevant for industries prone to counterfeit risks, including nutraceuticals, where product authenticity is critical for consumer safety and regulatory compliance. "This recognition from FIPSA is a strong validation of our continuous efforts to push the boundaries of packaging innovation. Our PHYGITAL Secure Label technology is not just a product--it's a vision for the future of safe, smart, and traceable packaging," Manoj Kochar, Director of Holoflex Ltd. About Holoflex Ltd. With over three decades of expertise in anti-counterfeit technologies and packaging security, Holoflex Ltd. has been at the forefront of delivering high-performance holographic and printed solutions to a wide range of industries across India and abroad. For media inquiries, please contact: Email: info@holoflex.com Website: www.holoflex.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) PRNewswire Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 17: SBI Life Insurance, one of India's most trusted life insurance companies, has launched the second edition of its flagship innovation initiative 'IdeationX 2.0'. SBI Life's IdeationX is a platform that empowers young talent to innovate and co-create solutions for real-world challenges in the life insurance industry. Now in its second edition, IdeationX 2.0 is encouraging promising talent from India's top 100 B-schools to contribute meaningfully to the nation's mission of 'Insurance for All by 2047.' IdeationX was launched as an exclusive initiative for B-Schools with the goal of fostering collaboration between the industry and the nation's future business leaders. The second edition promises to be significantly bigger, reaching out to top 100 B-schools across India and engaging over 25,000 students. This initiative not only encourages the country's innovative young minds but also provides exposure to a larger opportunity of contributing towards the growth of the life insurance sector in the country. As a part of this initiative, SBI Life launched its campus engagement drive on 15th July 2025. The engagement drive will cover leading B-schools across the country including NIMNS, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneshwar, among others, through a mix of on-ground activations and virtual engagements. The registration window of the microsite https://sbilifeideationx.com/ is LIVE for the top 100 B-Schools and select undergraduate colleges of India. During this drive, the senior leadership of SBI Life Insurance including Mr. Ravindra Sharma, Chief of Brand, Corporate Communications and CSR will be interacting directly with the students to exchange ideas and encourage participation. Through this engagement, the company aims to promote innovation at the college level, encouraging the development of ideas that could potentially shape the future of the insurance industry and support the nation's broader financial inclusion goals. Sharing his thoughts on the initiative, Mr. Ravindra Sharma, Chief of Brand, Corporate Communications and CSR, SBI Life Insurance, said, "Despite the growth in business numbers year-on-year, India's overall insurance penetration remains less than 4%. As we move forward in our attempts to increase insurance penetration in the country, SBI Life believes that while technology, AI and innovation will be the key factors for growth, our focus through the IdeationX initiative is about generating scalable solutions created by young minds who are future leaders of the country." He further added, "With the theme of 'Insurance for All', IdeationX 2.0 is in effect liberating the ingenuity of India's brightest minds, to ideate, innovate and co-create solutions for the nation's aspiration of 'Insurance for all by 2047'. As we tap into 25,000 students from the country's top 100 B-schools, we sincerely hope this opportunity to solve real-world challenges excites the young minds to participate wholeheartedly, unfettered by any real-world constraints." By creating opportunities for young professionals to engage with real-world challenges and contribute directly to the category's growth, SBI Life is driving awareness, consideration, and future brand affinity among an influential demographic. The initiative is also a strategic step toward building deeper relevance and long-term trust with the younger customer base, who are beginning their financial journeys and shaping the economic future of the country. About SBI Life Insurance: SBI Life Insurance ('SBI Life' / 'The Company'), one of the most trusted life insurance companies in India, was incorporated in October 2000 and is registered with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in March 2001. Serving millions of families across India, SBI Life's diverse range of products caters to individuals as well as group customers through Protection, Pension, Savings and Health solutions. Driven by 'Customer-First' approach, SBI Life places great emphasis on maintaining world class operating efficiency and providing hassle-free claim settlement experience to its customers by following high ethical standards of service. Additionally, SBI Life is committed to enhance digital experiences for its customers, distributors and employees alike. SBI Life strives to make insurance accessible to all, with its extensive presence across the country through its 1,110 offices, 26,355 employees, a large and productive network of about 240,304 agents, 60 corporate agents and 13 bancassurance partners with more than 41,000 partner branches, 141 brokers and other insurance marketing firms. In addition to doing what's right for the customers, the company is also committed to provide a healthy and flexible work environment for its employees to excel personally and professionally. SBI Life strongly encourages a culture of giving back to the society and has made substantial contribution in the areas of child education, healthcare, disaster relief and environmental upgrade. In 2024-25, the Company touched over 50,000 direct beneficiaries through various CSR interventions. Listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange ('BSE') and the National Stock Exchange ('NSE'), the company has an authorized capital of Rs. 20.0 billion and a paid-up capital of Rs. 10.0 billion. The AuM is Rs.4,480.4 billion. For more information, please visit our website- www.sbilife.co.in and connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and LinkedIn. (Numbers & data mentioned above are for the year ended March 31, 2025) Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732465/SBI_IdeationX_Senior_Leadership.jpgPhoto: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732464/IdeationX.jpgVideo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2732469/SBI_Life_IdeationX.mp4 (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PRNewswire Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 17: Hexaware Technologies (NSE: HEXT), a global provider of IT solutions and services, is pleased to welcome into its fold SMC Squared, a leader in building global capability centers (GCCs). The acquisition is a strategic step in Hexaware's mission to deliver future-proof GCC solutions that go beyond cost efficiency, anchored in a combined human and digital agent-driven model. Hexaware's newly launched GCC 2.0[1] service line aims to drive long-term value for global clients by blending SMC Squared's proven GCC build-operate expertise with Hexaware's platform-led IT delivery capabilities, providing clients with a differentiated proposition that combines AI and digital innovation with strategic GCC value. SMC Squared operates through engagement models, such as managed services, build-optimize-transfer, and hybrid solutions, which lower operating costs while assembling GCC teams that act as seamless extensions of every client's strategic agenda. With proven delivery across HR, infrastructure, employee well-being, finance, and strategic technology consulting, SMC Squared brings institutional maturity and a trusted execution model that aligns with Hexaware's vision to offer fully integrated, high-value GCC operations. Together, the companies expect to drive significant growth and unlock synergy potential across large accounts in the near future. "Our clients are increasingly looking for GCC partners who bring more than staffing or infrastructure," said Amrinder Singh, President & Head - EMEA & APAC Operations, Hexaware. "With SMC Squared, we gain proven governance, delivery credibility, and scale in areas where execution strength is non-negotiable. This acquisition enables us to deliver long-term value to enterprises, leveraging our human and digital agent-driven model and proprietary IT delivery platforms." The move comes as the global GCC market accelerates, with the GCC sector in India alone expected to cross $100 billion by 20302. Enterprises are shifting toward outcome-based models, requiring partners who can deliver stable, scalable, and high-accountability operations. "On behalf of the SMC Squared team, I'm thrilled to share that we're now part of Hexaware," said Patricia Connolly, CEO, SMC Squared. "For over a decade, we've helped shape the GCC industry, and this acquisition expands what we can deliver globally with strengthened capabilities across AI, analytics, modernization, cloud transformation, and enterprise platforms while growing our delivery footprint with new centers in Latin America and increasing client activity in the UK and Europe." SMC Squared works with some of the most recognized global brands across commerce, manufacturing, financial services, health care, and consumer brands. Among SMC's clients is Papa John's International, Inc. (PZZA), operating global quick-service restaurants with a significant international presence including India. "Partnering with SMC to build our dedicated GCC team has been a transformative experience. Our GCC team is fully integrated, aligned with our strategic vision, and focused on delivering real business value," said Michael Wyant, Vice President of Corporate Systems & Enterprise Data, Papa Johns. "From modernizing our ERP systems to enhancing our Workday integrations and building a robust data and analytics foundation, SMC has consistently delivered. We look forward to working together, now with Hexaware, to accelerate modernization. Congratulations SMC Squared and Hexaware. We're excited for what lies ahead in our GCC partnership." The combined organization now offers a unified GCC services stack spanning advisory, setup, operations, and optimization, and supported by talent depth, delivery consistency, and execution rigor. Reference 1. GCC 2.0 refers to the next-generation evolution of traditional Global Capability Centers which are offshore or nearshore hubs established by multinational enterprises (MNEs) to deliver critical business functions such as IT, finance, HR, analytics, and R&D. GCC 2.0 infuses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to transform the role of these centers from cost arbitrage-driven support units to value-generating strategic centers. 2. India's global centre market to grow to $105 billion by 2030, says Nasscom-Zinnov report About SMC Squared SMC Squared drives digital evolution through Global Capability Centers (GCCs), empowering businesses to optimize offshore costs and attract top-tier tech talent. Its tailored models--build-optimize-transfer, managed services, and hybrid solutions--ensure cost-effectiveness while establishing high-performing teams aligned with client's brand and boardroom objectives. With a proven recruit-for-fit strategy, SMC Squared enhances quality and productivity, delivering economic advantages supported by client testimonials. Discover more at https://smc2.com/. About Hexaware Hexaware is a global technology and business process services company. Every day, Hexawarians wake up with a singular purpose: to create smiles through great people and technology. With offices across the world, we empower enterprises worldwide to realize digital transformation at scale and speed by partnering with them to build, transform, run, and optimize their technology and business processes. Learn more about Hexaware at https://hexaware.com. Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2237417/Hexaware_NEW_Logo.jpg (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PRNewswire. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) BusinessWire India New Delhi [India], July 17: Reckitt, a leading global consumer health and hygiene company, has been recognized with two significant accolades at the prestigious Global Health Awards 2025, held at the iconic House of Commons, UK Parliament, London, for its outstanding contribution to global healthcare. The awards were presented by The Lord Loomba, CBE, a distinguished member of the House of Lords. At this esteemed gathering of leading voices and changemakers from the global health community, Reckitt was honoured in two key categories: * Public Health Champion Award - for the flagship Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign, India's longest-running private sector-led public health movement. * Community Impact Award - for transformative work under the campaign: Self-care for New Moms and Kids Under Five. These accolades spotlight Reckitt's purpose-led approach to healthcare - advancing hygiene, sanitation, maternal and child health, and empowering communities through awareness, education and access to drive behaviour change. Ravi Bhatnagar, Communications and Corporate Affairs Director, South Asia, MENARP and Africa, Reckitt, said, "At Reckitt, we believe access to highest quality of health and hygiene is a right, not a privilege -- and our purpose knows no borders. We are truly honored to receive this recognition at the Global Health Awards 2025, held at the Palace of Westminster, House of Commons, London. It is a powerful reminder of the impact we can create when purpose translates into action. These awards are not just milestones, it affirms our belief that hygiene is the foundation of good health, and that collective action can drive lasting change." As part of its flagship campaign, Dettol Banega Swasth India, Reckitt has been leading the cause of advancing public health and hygiene in India for over a decade. Launched in 2014, it is India's longest-running private sector-led public health campaign. Rooted in the ethos of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, the initiative has grown into a comprehensive movement driving behavior change through sanitation, hygiene education, health awareness, and preventive care. The campaign has reached millions, championing the belief that hygiene is the foundation for good health. Reckitt's Self-care for New Moms and Kids Under Five initiative has been focused on strengthening maternal and child health through early education, self-care literacy, and community-level support systems. With a focus on building awareness and agency among mothers, caregivers, and frontline workers, the programme empowers families to make informed, preventive health decisions--addressing crucial gaps in early childhood care and maternal wellbeing. The Global Health Awards, organised by WBR Corp, are among the most prestigious honours in international healthcare. They celebrate the contributions of doctors, innovators, and healthcare organisations for their excellence, innovation, and commitment to improving lives worldwide. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by BusinessWire India. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) PNN New Delhi [India], July 17: As field teams become the backbone of operations across industries like logistics, healthcare, retail, and telecom, businesses are seeking new ways to ensure their workforce stays productive, coordinated, and safe. Traditional systems of managing field staff, often based on manual reporting and limited oversight, are proving inadequate in today's fast-moving business environment. Artificial intelligence is changing that equation. AI-powered platforms like TrackOlap are enabling organizations to monitor, automate, and improve field operations with field sales automation, real-time data, intelligent workflows, and intuitive user interfaces. The result is smarter planning, enhanced safety, and greater efficiency at every level. Real-Time Visibility and Smarter Routing One of the biggest challenges in managing field staff is knowing their real-time location and progress. TrackOlap solves this with live GPS tracking, allowing supervisors to see exactly where each team member is during the workday. This eliminates guesswork and reduces the risk of miscommunication or lost productivity. Employee live tracking software also enables smart playback features. Using AI, TrackOlap automatically recommends the best route for each task based on employee location, traffic conditions, and task urgency. If a customer request comes in, the system identifies the nearest available employee and reroutes them accordingly. This kind of automation helps businesses reduce fuel costs, increase visit efficiency, and respond to service needs faster. More importantly, it ensures employees spend less time in transit and more time completing meaningful tasks, creating a safer and more productive field environment. Additionally, managers can monitor if a staff member is stationary for too long or veering off route. Such insights help detect emergencies, prevent time theft, and support better safety protocols. Streamlined Task Management and Workforce Coordination Assigning and managing tasks in the field can quickly become chaotic without the right tools. Traditional methods rely heavily on phone calls, manual logs, or scattered messages, all of which increase the risk of errors and delays. TrackOlap changes this by automating the entire task lifecycle with task automation software. Tasks are assigned based on employee location, availability, and skills. Once a task is created, it instantly appears on the employee's mobile app, along with relevant details such as client location, service type, and deadline. This ensures that field teams always have clarity on what needs to be done, where, and by when. Employees can check in and out of tasks using geo-fencing, which verifies their presence at the right location. The system records accurate timestamps and location history, removing the need for manual attendance logs. If someone fails to check in on time or moves outside an approved area, the system alerts supervisors instantly. This level of coordination allows businesses to manage large, distributed teams with ease. It also reduces administrative load and supports better accountability across departments. Since everything is logged digitally, companies can also generate reports for audits, billing, or compliance. Actionable Insights Through AI-Powered Analytics The value of any data system lies in how well it turns raw numbers into usable insights. TrackOlap goes beyond basic tracking by offering detailed dashboards and analytics that show how each employee, route, and task is performing. Businesses can view key metrics such as total distance traveled, average time spent per task, customer feedback, and overall attendance trends. These insights help managers identify inefficiencies, reward high performers, and provide additional support or training to those who need it. TrackOlap also offers predictive insights. By analyzing past patterns, the system can forecast employee availability, estimate travel time more accurately, and even suggest workload balancing across teams. This kind of intelligence is especially helpful when dealing with sudden demand spikes or tight deadlines. On the safety side, analytics can flag recurring delays in high-risk zones, detect unusual patterns in check-ins, or highlight non-compliance with route guidelines. Businesses can then take preventive action before problems escalate, creating a safer and more proactive working environment. Moreover, all analytics are presented in visual dashboards, making it easy for even non-technical users to understand and act on the data. Strengthening Compliance and Employee Safety Safety and compliance are top priorities in field operations, particularly in sectors like construction, utilities, and healthcare. TrackOlap offers several features that directly contribute to safer working conditions. Geo-fencing ensures that employees are present at approved locations before they can start a task. This reduces the chances of fraud or misreporting and ensures that work happens only at authorized sites. Managers can also define safe zones and receive alerts when employees move outside them. Every check-in and check-out is time-stamped and GPS-verified, creating a secure digital trail. In case of any disputes, these logs provide undeniable proof of presence, work duration, and travel history. The system can store up to three months of travel data, which is helpful during audits or inspections. In emergency situations, managers can use live tracking to pinpoint an employee's location and dispatch help if needed. The mobile app also supports status updates, so workers can mark themselves as delayed or request assistance directly through the platform. By digitizing these processes, TrackOlap not only improves compliance with labor laws and safety regulations but also builds a more transparent relationship between employers and field staff. The Future of Field Operations Is Smart and Connected TrackOlap is more than just a tracking app. It is a comprehensive workforce automation platform that brings together field tracking, task management, employee monitoring, sales CRM, and productivity analytics. Businesses can also integrate payroll, attendance, and expense reporting into a single platform, making operations more connected and efficient. What sets TrackOlap apart is its mobile-first design. Field employees often work in remote or low-connectivity areas, and the app is built to function offline, syncing data once the connection is restored. The interface is user-friendly, with push notifications, one-tap updates, and minimal training required. The platform supports businesses of all sizes, from small local operations to large enterprises managing hundreds of employees across regions. Its flexible structure and scalable architecture mean it can grow with the business, adapting to new challenges and expanding needs. Ultimately, platforms like TrackOlap are shaping the future of fieldwork. They combine the precision of AI with the convenience of mobile technology, creating a work culture that is transparent, responsive, and safer for everyone involved. Conclusion AI-powered platforms like TrackOlap are transforming the way field operations are managed. Through real-time tracking, intelligent task assignment, actionable analytics, and compliance-focused tools, businesses can operate more efficiently and with greater safety. As the workforce becomes more mobile and decentralized, the need for such tools will only grow. TrackOlap represents a new standard in how organizations plan, monitor, and improve their field operations, making it a critical investment for companies looking to stay ahead in a competitive and fast-changing environment. About the Founder & CEO, TrackOlap Udit Agarwal is the CEO of TrackOlap, a leading platform for AI-powered workforce automation. With a strong background in digital transformation, he founded TrackOlap to help businesses manage field operations more effectively. His focus is on building smart, scalable solutions that boost productivity, enhance employee safety, and support operational excellence across industries. (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) The aim behind the DGFT's participation in B2B trade exhibitions was to enhance awareness and adoption of the Trade Connect ePlatform. According to a statement by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, "the 71st edition of India International Garment Fair (IIGF) was inaugurated on July 01, 2025 by Minister of State for Textiles and External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, at Yashobhoomi Convention Centre, Dwarka, New Delhi." While DGFT's participation in the 16th Toy Biz International B2B Expo, held from July 04-07, 2025 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, was organised by the Toy Association of India. Trade Connect ePlatform, an initiative of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, serves as a comprehensive hub of information and services on international trade for all stakeholders. The platform has onboarded Indian Missions, Export Promotion Councils and Commodity Boards, officials from the Department of Commerce and DGFT as well as other stakeholders to provide comprehensive support to Indian exporters. Trade Connect provides latest and updated information on tariffs, certifications, trade events, e-commerce, and buyers in a simplified manner to MSMEs. Interactive courses to introduce MSMEs to exports & related procedures across multiple languages are also provided. Additionally, the platform also serves a single point of issuance and validation for preferential and non-preferential certificates of origin through a secure, electronic, paperless issuance process with all authorised issuing agencies being present on the platform. (ANI) VMPL New Delhi [India], July 17: In a strategic move aimed at expanding and transforming its operations, Bright Outdoor Media has appointed seasoned media professional Mukesh Sharma as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). The decision was formally announced following a board meeting at the company's registered office in Mumbai. On this special occasion, Nex News Network , India's first blockchain-powered media portal, extended its heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Mukesh Sharma for his new leadership role and wished him success in this exciting new chapter. Mukesh Sharma: Two Decades of Experience in Media With nearly 20 years of extensive experience in the media sector, Mukesh Sharma has been a respected figure in the Indian media landscape. Until recently, he served as Business Head at Mid-Day Infomedia, where he played a pivotal role in business strategy, market expansion, and revenue generation. Known for his sharp market insights and leadership acumen, Sharma brings a wealth of experience spanning across print, digital, radio, brand partnerships, and events. Under his leadership, Mid-Day witnessed impactful transformations that strengthened its position in a competitive media market. Now, as CEO of Bright Outdoor Media, Mukesh Sharma is expected to lead the company's vision towards becoming a comprehensive 360-degree integrated media solutions provider. Bright Outdoor Media: Legacy of Trust, Future of Innovation Founded by industry veteran Mr. Yogesh Lakhani, Bright Outdoor Media is one of India's most prominent and long-standing outdoor advertising companies. For decades, Bright has served some of the nation's biggest brands through outdoor hoardings, billboards, and OOH campaigns across metropolitan regions. In its latest transformation, the company is venturing far beyond traditional outdoor advertising to offer an extensive range of services, including: * Television and Print Advertising * Radio & Digital Media Campaigns * Social Media Marketing * Public Relations & Brand Management * Events and Exhibitions * Celebrity and Talent Engagement * Ad-Film Production and In-Film Branding * BTL (Below the Line) Activations * Mall & Retail Media * Corporate Gifting Solutions This evolution is part of Bright's ambitious strategy to become a one-stop branding, marketing, and communication powerhouse. With Mukesh Sharma at the helm, Bright Outdoor Media is poised to redefine integrated advertising in India. Nex News Network: Redefining the Future of News Nex News Network, established in 2016, is a next-generation news portal built on blockchain and Web 3.0 technologies. It is the world's first media platform to integrate decentralized, transparent media publishing with real-time contributor tracking and content verification. Covering industry news, business insights, government updates, expos, and entrepreneurship features, Nex News Network has gained global recognition. The platform is associated with 47,000+ media organizations worldwide and draws a monthly audience of over 7 million. With its innovative structure and commitment to ethical, transparent journalism, Nex News has quickly emerged as a leading media brand in the digital age. Bright Outdoor & Nex News: United by Innovation and Impact While Bright Outdoor Media strengthens its on-ground and multimedia presence through expanded services and celebrity partnerships, Nex News Network pushes the boundaries of content transparency and distribution through technological innovation. Both organizations, though operating on different fronts, share a common vision: To redefine media engagement, audience trust, and brand impact in today's fast-evolving world. www.nexnews.org once again congratulates Mr. Mukesh Sharma on his appointment as CEO of Bright Outdoor Media. His vast experience and visionary leadership are expected to play a crucial role in accelerating Bright's transition into a dynamic, multi-platform media agency. With leaders like Mr. Sharma and innovators like Mr. Yogesh Lakhani driving the change, the future of Indian media looks more collaborative, integrated, and promising than ever. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by VMPL. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) NewsVoir New Delhi [India], July 17: DuDigital Global Limited (NSE: DUGLOBAL), a leading Indian provider of visa processing and consular outsourcing services, has expanded its international footprint with the launch of two Indian Consular Application Centres (ICACs) in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand. These centres, established under an outsourcing agreement with the Embassy of India in Thailand, mark a significant milestone in enhancing citizen services and deepening India-Thailand bilateral ties. The ICACs will offer comprehensive support for visa applications, passport renewals, and other consular services to both Indian nationals and Thai citizens seeking travel or official documentation assistance related to India. The twin launches bring accessible, tech-enabled public services closer to residents in central and northern Thailand. The inauguration ceremony was graced by H.E. Mr. Nagesh Singh, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Thailand, reaffirming India's focus on citizen-centric service delivery and global outreach. Centre Addresses and Contact Information: Bangkok: Unit No. 36/28, 10th Floor, P.S. Tower, Sukhumvit 21 (Asoke) Road, North Klongtoey, Wattana DistrictEmail: icac.bangkok@dudigitalglobal.com Helpline: +66 2 460 6805 Chiang Mai: 2nd Floor, Building No. 60, Moo 2, Nong Pa Khrang, Mueang DistrictEmail: icac.thailand@dudigitalglobal.com Helpline: +66 987654321 Website: duicac.dudigitalglobal.com/th Services Offered: * Indian Visa Application Services * Passport Renewal & Documentation Support * Consular Services for Indian Nationals Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Manoj Dharmani, Group CEO of DuDigital Global, said, "With the establishment of these centres in Thailand, we are advancing our commitment to excellence in consular support. We are proud to assist the Embassy of India in ensuring accessible, efficient, and secure public services for all." Mr. Shivaz Rai, Director, added, "This expansion reinforces our mission to bring essential consular services closer to where people live and work. Our presence in Bangkok and Chiang Mai ensures broader reach and convenience for the Indian diaspora and Thai citizens alike." Established in 2015, DuDigital Global Limited is a trusted Indian name in visa, consular, and identity management services. With operations across multiple countries and a growing global network, the company partners with governments and diplomatic missions to deliver secure and seamless applicant experiences. * Over 1.5 million visa applications processed globally * Official consular partner for governments of India, South Korea, UAE, Bangladesh, and Thailand * Strategic collaborations with the Korea Tourism Organization and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in India * Developer of DuVerify, a digital document authentication platform used by diplomatic missions * Headquartered in India, with an active footprint across Asia and the Middle East (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) The telecom regulator TRAI organised a half-day workshop on its Framework for Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity on Thursday. The workshop held at Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) headquarters in New Delhi brought together around 100 senior officers from key Central Government Ministries and Departments, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), CPWD, Town and Country Planning Organisations, School of Planning and Architecture, NBCC and other infrastructure development agencies. The event aimed to build awareness about importance of planning digital connectivity infrastructure as a part of property or infrastructure development plan and promote institutional adoption of the Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024, notified by TRAI on October 25, 2024. The regulation introduces a voluntary, performance-based star rating system, similar to green building or energy efficiency ratings, to assess how digitally ready a property or infrastructure is for delivering high-quality broadband and mobile connectivity. The property or infrastructure includes residential buildings, commercial complexes, government offices, airports, highways, stadiums, and railway stations, among others. In his inaugural address, Anil Kumar Lahoti, Chairperson, TRAI, highlighted that robust digital connectivity has become as essential as water, electricity and structural safety, especially since an estimated 70-80 per cent of mobile data traffic is now consumed indoors. He emphasised the need for Digital Connectivity Infrastructure (DCI); the civil, physical and technological components that enable seamless access to telecom networks; to be planned and embedded at the design stage, rather than added as an afterthought. The Chairperson noted that the new rating framework provides a clear, transparent and technology-neutral approach for property developers, infrastructure providers and government agencies to plan, implement, evaluate and improve digital connectivity readiness across various types of premises viz. homes, offices, schools, hospitals, transport hubs and smart urban spaces. He urged Ministries, Departments and institutions to integrate DCI requirements into project guidelines, model tender documents and training curricula, so that India's built environment is future-ready by design. The technical session included a presentation by Tejpal Singh, Advisor (QoS-1), TRAI, who detailed the Rating of Properties for Digital Connectivity Regulations, 2024 and the associated rating manual for the reference of registered Digital Connectivity Rating Agencies (DCRAS), property managers, architects and service providers. Participants were familiarised with key rating parameters such as fibre entry points, indoor signal strength, rooftop access for antenna installations, readiness for Wi-Fi and 5G, and ease of access for operators to deploy or maintain services. Representing the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Abhishek Sharma, Scientist 'B', spoke on the key revisions proposed in the National Building Code (NBC) 2016 related to Information and Communication Enabled Installations, emphasising the importance of harmonising building standards with emerging telecom infrastructure needs. The workshop featured interactive discussions and a dedicated Q&A session where senior officers and technical experts exchanged insights on aligning planning, policy and implementation to address indoor connectivity gaps and ensure consistent quality. This framework aligns with flagship national programmes such as Digital India and Smart Cities Mission, supporting the long-term goal of inclusive, high-quality digital access for every citizen. TRAI said it will continue its stakeholder engagement through such workshops, consultations and capacity-building initiatives to facilitate the creation of a robust digital connectivity infrastructure in the country. (ANI) Arnold Schwarzenegger "fell in love with America" as a child. Arnold Schwarzenegger became a huge star in Hollywood The 77-year-old actor was born and raised in Austria, but he developed an ambition to move to the US during his younger years. Schwarzenegger told The Wall Street Journal newspaper: "At age ten, I fell in love with America. That came from watching film rolls in school. The teacher would advance the strips by turning a knob, showing one image at a time. I was blown away. "They were about things like the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge and cars with huge fins driving on U.S. highways with six lanes on each side. All of it was over the top." Schwarzenegger always dreamed of becoming "famous and rich" in America. And although he first found fame as a bodybuilder, Schwarzenegger was determined to become a success in Hollywood one day. He said: "Id never seen anything like it the glamour, the lights and the houses. I said to myself, What am I doing here? I wanted to be in America and to become famous and rich." Schwarzenegger was hugely successful as a bodybuilder, but he always wanted to work in the film business. He shared: "All of my time was spent in this world of physical fitness, building up muscles to compete in contests and fantasising about movie stardom." Earlier this year, Schwarzenegger claimed that he was actually "discouraged" from pursuing success in Hollywood. The actor turned his focus towards the American movie business after he retired from bodybuilding in the 1970s - but Schwarzenegger was warned at the time that his ambitions were unrealistic. Speaking to his son Patrick Schwarzenegger, for Variety's Actors on Actors series, he explained: "When I came to America, Clint Eastwood and Charles Bronson were the highest-paid actors, with a million dollars a movie. I said, 'Ive got to be part of that.' Eventually I made $30 million a movie, and I caught up with those guys. "Even though everyone says, 'Arnold, its never going to happen. Your name Schnitzel or whatever it is no one will remember, and youre too big now.' "In the 70s, its Dustin Hoffman and Al Pacino, Woody Allen those are the big stars of the day. 'They weigh 140 pounds, and look at you, 250, like a monster.' I was discouraged; everything was impossible." PNN New Delhi [India], July 17: The International Institute of Import & Export Management (iiiEM), a leading name in global trade education since 2008. The Institute is thrilled to announce the launch of its upcoming Export Import batch, starting in August 2025. As India's premier institute for export-import training, iiiEM has transformed thousands of entrepreneurs and professionals into global trade titans through its unmatched practical training ecosystem. It operates from 15 active state-of-the-art centers across India and extends its influence to Bangladesh. With India aiming to grow its global trade, iiiEM's mission to "Build Exporters Worldwide" is making a big impact. Supported by its own export house, Manohar International, which ships to over 50+ countries, iiiEM offers real-world training that makes it India's go-to choice for learning international trade. "We want to help Indian entrepreneurs shine on the world stage," said Mr. Dipak Manohar, Founder and Director of iiiEM (International Institute of Import & Export Management), who runs successful export businesses himself. "Our program guides learners step-by-step to start their own exports with training from real exporters. iiiEM turns dreams into success." A Big Name with a Big ReachiiiEM's huge presence in export-import education stands out: * 15 Active Training Centers Across India: With centers in Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi, Kolkata, and more, iiiEM makes learning accessible nationwide. * Trusted by Top Companies: Graduates work with leading firms. iiiEM's ecosystem extends far beyond training: * Nationwide Accessibility: 15 active training centers across India, including major hubs like Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Delhi, and Kolkata. * Trusted by Industry Leaders: Graduates are well-placed in leading global trade firms. * Lifetime Mentorship: Continuous, personalized guidance from expert exporters ensures sustained long-term success. * Exclusive Career Opportunities: Access to www.iiiemjobs.com, a dedicated job portal connecting learners to prime global trade roles. * Comprehensive Resource Toolkit: Provides invaluable lists of exportable products, as well as essential embassy and Custom House Agent (CHA) contacts. * Flexible Learning Options: Students can re-attend sessions at any iiiEM center nationwide and benefit from flexible Zoom schedules designed for busy professionals. Practical Courses and Support The flagship foundational program in export import is engineered to equip learners for immediate export success. Offered both in-person at 15 active centers and online via Zoom, this program imparts crucial practical skills, including market research, product selection, buyer identification, and comprehensive support for their inaugural export shipment. * Export Import Management: Learn trade rules, paperwork, and strategies. * Shipping and Logistics Management: Understand shipping and supply chains. * Online Marketing and E-Commerce: Succeed in online trade platforms. * Custom Clearance and Freight Forwarding: Master logistics and compliance. iiiEM offers more than just courses: * Lifetime Mentorship: Get ongoing advice from expert exporters. * Job Portal: Visit www.iiiemjobs.com to find trade career opportunities. * Resource Toolkit: Access lists of exportable products and embassy/CHA contacts. * Flexible Learning: Re-take classes at any center or join Zoom sessions that fit your schedule. Success Stories That Define Excellence iiiEM's legacy shines through its alumni, who have conquered markets worldwide. Mihir Mistry, an iiiEM graduate, successfully exported industrial mold tools to Canada, leveraging the institute's practical guidance. Other notable achievements include: * Shubham Singh: Shipped bearings to Dubai. * Aman Mittal: Exported ceramic tiles to the USA and Kenya. * Sunny Gupta: Sent stones to Malaysia. These triumphs reflect iiiEM's proven approach: real exporters mentoring real results. How iiiEM Makes It Happen iiiEM's success comes from its 10+ dedicated in-house departments, including Placement, Student Care, Programs, and Research, working together to deliver top-quality training. Hands-on activities like live trade practice, port visits, and trade fair exposure give learners real-world experience. iiiEM stands as the gem of India's export revolution, inviting entrepreneurs, professionals, and dreamers to seize their place in the global market. (ADVERTORIAL DISCLAIMER: The above press release has been provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of the same) India reiterated on Thursday that de-dollarisation was not on the agenda of the BRICS grouping, and member countries, including India, were only looking at cross-border payments in local currencies. "We had a highly successful BRICS summit...In the joint statement, there are several aspects that have been fleshed out that strengthen the BRICS platform," MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal told reporters at a weekly media briefing here. "De-dollarisation is not something which is on the agenda. Cross-border payments, yes, BRICS have talked about local currencies, but de-dollarisation is not something that is there on the agenda," the MEA spokesperson said. The concept of dedollarisation, which the US administration, particularly the current Trump presidency, sees as a threat to the US dollar's dominance has gained currency in the recent past. In late 2024, Trump, then the US President-elect, threatened the BRICS nations, including India, with 100 per cent tariffs and called for a clear commitment from these countries to refrain from creating a currency or supporting any other currency to replace the US dollar. Trump's statement followed a reported proposal by Russian President Vladimir Putin to create a new investment platform for BRICS countries during the BRICS summit in Kazan in October. After the latest BRICS summit in Brazil, Trump had warned that any country aligning itself with the "Anti-American policies of BRICS" will face an additional 10 per cent tariff on goods. On its part, India has initiated rupee-denominated trade with a few countries and, understandably, is in close coordination with several others to fructify such mechanisms. Further, the MEA spokesperson in his press briefing today providing an update on the India-US bilateral trade agreement front, said that both sides were in touch, but stopped short of hinting any timeline. "Negotiations are on. Both sides are in touch with each other, they are trying to iron out issues. Once we have a conclusion of the agreement, we will obviously make it public," Jaiswal said. A high-level team from Commerce and Industry Ministry arrived in Washington DC, earlier this week for talks. India and the US need to narrow down differences in some sectors and are seeking a win-win pact for both sides. The Trump administration has deferred imposing additional tariffs on several countries, including India, till August 1, with the two sides now having additional time to negotiate a deal beyond the initial deadline of July 9. India and the United States have agreed to expand bilateral trade to reach USD 500 billion by 2030, including through the conclusion of a Bilateral Trade Agreement. Trump hinted on Wednesday (local time) that a long-awaited trade deal with India may be reached soon. "We have another one (deal) coming up, maybe with India... We're in negotiation," President Trump told reporters. Meanwhile, the MEA spokesperson Jaiswal also touched upon the impending India-EU FTA. "The talks are progressing very well. The last round - the 12th round - happened in Brussels from July 7-11, and the next round of talks is scheduled to be held in September in New Delhi," he said. The FTA is expected to be finalised by this year's end. (ANI) Development Commissioner (Handlooms) M Beena said on Thursday that August 7 is a significant date in India's history, marking the beginning of the Swadeshi Movement. National Handloom Day is observed across the country to celebrate India's rich textile heritage. This year, the event will be inaugurated by the President of India, honouring the weavers and showcasing their craft through exhibitions across states. While talking to ANI, M Beena said that the government's vision is rooted in the principle of "Hand to Hand ", directly supporting weavers through the Raw Material Supply Scheme, which includes a 15 per cent subsidy on raw materials, Free transportation, support up to Rs 1.2 lakh for setting up local units, and Comprehensive training programs. Currently, around 35 lakh weavers are associated with the handloom sector. The government provides Life insurance, Premium coverage, Monthly pensions and up to Rs 2 lakh scholarships for children of weavers who wish to join the craft. M. Beena also raises concerns about the need for Reinvention in the Handloom Sector. The handloom sector requires reinvention to match changing consumer demands, including New designs and colour palettes, Professional designers deployed across clusters, and Direct-to-consumer sales to better understand market trends. She said that in today's digital age, the government supports weavers with an e-commerce platform, where logistics costs are borne by the government, helping artisans reach a wider customer base without added financial burden. While mechanisation is possible, the identity of the handloom lies in being handmade. Iconic weaves such as Banarasi and Kanchipuram sarees continue to enjoy strong demand. Through the India Handloom Brand, consumers can now recognise genuine handloom products marked by High quality, Sustainable materials and Fair prices for artisans, Beena said. A national campaign is underway to globalise the India Handloom Brand, focusing on its sustainability and authenticity. The motto is simple: "Think Sustainable, Think Handloom", emphasising local craftsmanship and hand-made artistry. With a wealth of traditional skills and art forms, one of the biggest challenges is to bring all this talent onto one platform and make it appealing to the younger generation. Notably, several fashion designers and celebrities are helping bring attention to the handloom. For instance, when a leading brand ambassador wore a Tangaliya weaver's shirt, it sparked a trend in handloom fashion. (ANI) The 35-year-old actress has been banned from driving for six months after breaking traffic rules, according to Deadline. According to the publication, multiple reports have emerged suggesting that Watson, 35, was caught speeding in July last year. The actress was driving an Audi at 38 mph in a 30 mph zone in Oxford. She had already accumulated more than nine penalty points on her driving license, which led to the ban, report stated. The case was heard at High Wycombe Magistrates' Court. Watson did not attend the hearing, as she is currently studying at the University of Oxford and taking a break from acting. The court also ordered her to pay a fine of 1,044 (about $1,405), according to Deadline. Interestingly, on the same day and at the same court, another Harry Potter actress, Zo Wanamaker, who played Madam Hooch in the film series, was also banned from driving. She was caught driving at 46 mph in a 40 mph zone last August. She was also fined 1,044 and will be prevented from driving for six months. (ANI) The Mumbai premiere of Anupam Kher's directorial film Tanvi The Great was held at the Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre on Thursday, with the real-life Tanvi, the inspiration behind the film, attending the event as the 'Guest of Honour'. The event drew a star-studded turnout, with Kirron Kher, Sikandar Kher, Annu Kapoor, Rumy Jafry, and members of the film's cast in attendance. Anupam Kher's niece, Tanvi, was the 'Guest of Honour' at the Mumbai premiere of the movie. The film has been inspired by the life story of Tanvi. She posed with actress Shubhangi Dutt, who portrays her role in the movie, and director Anupam Kher. The film's lead cast and the guests interacted with the media and posed for photographs. Kirron Kher and her son Sikandar Kher graced the premiere of 'Tanvi The Great' together in Mumbai. Earlier, 'Tanvi The Great' exclusive premiere was held in the National Capital of India, which was attended by Delhi's Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta. Rekha Gupta praised Anupam Kher's directorial 'Tanvi The Great', saying that it is very important for children to watch this movie. While talking to the media after the screening, Delhi CM expressed her happiness after watching the "inspirational" and "heart-touching" story of Tanvi The Great. She also expressed her wish to screen the movie for the children on behalf of the Delhi government. "This theme is so successful in itself, so beautiful, that today, every child of the country, every child of the world, it is very important to watch this movie. We would also like to show this movie to as many children as possible on behalf of the Delhi government, which is inspirational, heart-touching and has patriotism," said Gupta. She further congratulated Anupam Kher and the team of 'Tanvi The Great' for showcasing a "special theme" through the movie. "It is connected to the feelings of children, that side which the world cannot see. So, on such a special theme, to make this movie, I congratulate Anupamji, I congratulate his entire team. And for the success of this movie, many, many congratulations," she added. Starring debut actress Shubhangi Dutt, he film also stars Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani and Karan Tacker in prominent roles. 'Tanvi The Great', which highlights autism and the Indian Army, has already garnered international praise during its festival run in Cannes, New York, Houston, and London. It has also received standing ovations at special previews held at the National Defence Academy and the Southern Command in Pune. (ANI) Anupam Kher's 'Tanvi The Great' had a grand premiere in Mumbai at Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Centre on Thursday. The Mumbai premiere was an star-studded affair. From Kirron Kher to Mahesh Bhatt to comedian Krushan Abhishek and Tiku Shardra, the iconic theatre was full of Bollywood celebrities. 'Tanvi The Great' Mumbai screening was also attended by Anupam Kher's neice Tanvi, who is pivotal part of Kher's inspiration for the movie. She posed with the lead cast of Shubhangi Dutt and Anupam Kher. The movie is slated to release in the theatres on July 18, 2025. Anupam Kher's wife Kirron Kher attended the screening of the movie in Mumbai along with her son Sikandar Kher. Gulshan Grover wore a maroon suit for screening of the movie. He posed for the media. Anoop Singh Jalota also attended the event. Other celebrities included Mahesh Bhatt, Soni Razdan, Tiku Sharda, Krushna Abhishek, Sundhi Chauhan and others. Earlier, 'Tanvi The Great' exclusive premiere was held in the National Capital of India, which was attended by Delhi's Chief Minister, Rekha Gupta. Rekha Gupta praised Anupam Kher's directorial 'Tanvi The Great', saying that it is very important for children to watch this movie. While talking to the media after the screening, Delhi CM expressed her happiness after watching the "inspirational" and "heart-touching" story of Tanvi The Great. She also expressed her wish to screen the movie for the children on behalf of the Delhi government. "This theme is so successful in itself, so beautiful, that today, every child of the country, every child of the world, it is very important to watch this movie. We would also like to show this movie to as many children as possible on behalf of the Delhi government, which is inspirational, heart-touching and has patriotism," said Gupta. She further congratulated Anupam Kher and the team of 'Tanvi The Great' for showcasing a "special theme" through the movie. "It is connected to the feelings of children, that side which the world cannot see. So, on such a special theme, to make this movie, I congratulate Anupamji, I congratulate his entire team. And for the success of this movie, many, many congratulations," she added. Starring debut actress Shubhangi Dutt, he film also stars Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani and Karan Tacker in prominent roles.'Tanvi The Great', which highlights autism and the Indian Army, has already garnered international praise during its festival run in Cannes, New York, Houston, and London. It has also received standing ovations at special previews held at the National Defence Academy and the Southern Command in Pune. (ANI) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has urged Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to sanction an additional Rs 10,000 crore for Andhra Pradesh in the 2025-26 financial year under the Special Assistance to States on Capital Investment (SASCI). According to a release, on Wednesday, during his second-day visit to Delhi, the Chief Minister met with Sitharaman and submitted a memorandum requesting financial support for various state projects. He also appealed to the 16th Finance Commission to approve the Andhra Pradesh government's plea to bridge the revenue deficit. The Chief Minister highlighted that the state continues to face financial constraints due to the bifurcation. The Chief Minister informed Nirmala Sitharaman that the construction of Amaravati requires a total of Rs 79,280 crore, with works worth Rs 44,351 crore already underway. However, Rs 26,000 crore remains unallocated. He emphasised the need for additional funds to complete the capital's development and requested that the second tranche of aid for Amaravati be disbursed as a grant. The Chief Minister also expressed gratitude to the central government for its support in the construction of the Amaravati and Polavaram projects. Earlier, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy and Andhra Pradesh CM Naidu deliberated key issues concerning water management between the two states during a meeting with Union Jal Shakti Minister CR Patil in the national capital on Wednesday. During the meeting, Telangana Chief Minister proposed the idea of implementing telemetry in all water projects and reservoirs to measure actual water usage, which was accepted by Andhra Pradesh, according to the Telangana CMO release. Both sides agreed to allocate the Godavari River Management Board in Hyderabad and the Krishna RMB in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh acceded to Telangana's proposal to repair the prestigious Srisailam project immediately, the release said. An Officers' and Technical Experts' committee will be established to address all pending issues between the two sides, including the long-pending water projects in Telangana for both the Krishna and Godavari river basins, it said. (ANI) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has emphasised that if people want to do something good for society, then violence and incitement must be stopped first. Siddaramaiah spoke on Wednesday after inaugurating the KSRP Community Hall building, located near Silk Board Junction in Koramangala, Bengaluru, in collaboration with the Karnataka State Police and the Bengaluru Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL). CM Siddaramaiah stated that the police department plays a crucial role in maintaining the peace and order of society, as well as protecting the property and lives of the people. "If any area is safe, the efforts of the police there will be. The police are committed to protecting seven crore people in the state. Compared to 2023, the number of crimes in the state has decreased in 2024. It is essential to determine whether the state provides a safe environment for investment, whether its people live in a peaceful place, and whether the number of crimes has decreased. The development of the state depends on the performance of the police. There is a direct relationship between peace and order and development in the state. It is commendable that the police are working in this direction," he said. "The police should pay more attention to reducing the number of crimes in the state. It is seen that unrest, violence, cruelty, and hate speech are increasing in society. The welfare of the society can be achieved only when the peace and incitement of violence and hatred are stopped in the society," Siddaramaiah added. Sharing his experience of observing the police in action when he was a lawyer, the Karnataka CM said that it is remarkable how crimes are less prevalent in areas with good officers. "It is good to work with lower-level police officers and establish a good relationship. Senior officers should visit the police station frequently. The hierarchy in the police department is higher compared to other departments. Discipline is also higher. If you put your mind to it, crimes can be reduced on their own. Communal riots should not happen. If they start, they will continue to happen. Therefore, it is necessary and inevitable to prevent communal riots at the beginning," he said. The Chief Minister assured that the state government is ready to provide what is needed to strengthen the police personnel. He urged that as much effort as possible should be made to reduce crimes. He said that the police community halls should be well-equipped and generate sufficient income for maintenance. The Chief Minister suggested that even if they are given to private parties at a slightly higher rate, community halls should be provided to police constables and assistant police inspectors at a low rate or by charging maintenance costs. The Chief Minister stated that it is essential to be cautious to prevent any untoward incidents, emphasising that if anyone makes a mistake, the government will be held accountable. If any untoward incident happens, the government is responsible. He said that such situations should not arise. The Chief Minister urged the police to perform their duties honestly in the interest of society and the state. (ANI) Assam Minister and Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader Atul Bora said that Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's visit to the state would not have much impact in the 2026 assembly polls. Speaking to the media, Bora claimed that Rahul Gandhi's visit will have a negative impact on the Congress party. "His visit will have no impact. It will not have any positive impact. It will have a negative impact. What would happen if he visited? Congress works only on one system," he said. He stated that a significant amount of work has been accomplished under the present government in the last four years in the state, which was never done in the past since India's independence. Earlier on Wednesday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers staged a protest on Wednesday against Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Assam's Kamrup district. The protest took place in the Bongaon area, close to where the Congress meeting was held. Protesters waved placards and shouted slogans targeting Rahul Gandhi, expressing strong opposition to his political presence in the state. Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi said that Congress will sweep next year's Assembly polls in Assam and launched a sharp attack on Himanta Biswa Sarma, saying he does not think of himself as Chief Minister but a "king". Addressing a rally in Chhaygaon, Rahul Gandhi said that the party has a new team in the state under the leadership of party MP Gaurav Gogoi, and it will deliver results. "The people of Assam know the truth. There will be elections soon, and the Congress will sweep those elections. We have created a new team here. We have started the work, and the people of Assam will soon see the results. We will see it," he said. Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also addressed the gathering. Gaurav Gogoi earlier told ANI that Congress in Assam will fight for justice for all people who were living "under fear" and were facing persecution by the BJP government here. (ANI) Newly appointed Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh Kavinder Gupta expressed his gratitude to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and party workers, asserting that he would try to fulfil the expectations of the Centre. He was felicitated by BJP workers in Jammu on Wednesday. Gupta said, "I thank the President, PM Modi and party workers who made all this possible and supported me throughout my life. The national leadership has a lot of expectations, and I will try to fulfil those expectations. I wish to tell the party workers to consider the party as their own and try to implement it in life." President Droupadi Murmu accepted the resignation of Brig (Dr) BD Mishra (Retd) as the Lieutenant Governor of the Union Territory of Ladakh and appointed Kavinder Gupta as his successor on July 14. BD Mishra is a former brigadier of the Indian Army and is the former Commander of the Counter Hijack Force of the National Security Guard (NSG), also known as the Black Cat Commandos. After an illustrious career spanning more than 33 years, Mishra retired from the Army on July 31, 1995, and took over as the governor of Arunachal Pradesh on October 3, 2017. The President of India appointed the 85-year-old Mishra as the Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh after accepting the resignation of Radha Krishnan Mathur on February 12, 2023. Mishra was previously the Governor of Arunachal Pradesh and was the second LG of Ladakh after Mathur, who served for three years, from 31 October 2019 to 11 February 2023. Kavinder Gupta, who took over from BD Mishra is a senior BJP Leader from J-K and served as the Deputy CM of the state under the Chief Ministership of Mehbooba Mufti. The appointments will take effect from the date he assumes charge of his respective offices, the Rashtrapati Bhavan announced on Monday. The President also appointed Prof Ashim Kumar Ghosh as the new Governor of Haryana, and Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju as the Governor of Goa. (ANI) Oprah Winfrey was called to help Prince Harry with a "duck problem". Oprah Winfrey helped Prince Harry rehome ducks The 71-year-old media mogul lives close to the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in California and she recalled rushing to the couple's aid over the Easter weekend when they discovered ducklings in their back yard but had nowhere suitable to settle them. Speaking to Kelly Ripa on her Let's Talk Off Camera podcast, Opera said: "I get a call from Harry, Prince Harry, on Easter Saturday, and he says, 'Sorry to bother you, O, but we have a duck problem here.' "A duck had come into their yard and laid their eggs and had these chicks. "And he said, 'Our pond is a stream, we dont have a pond, so can we bring the ducks over to your pond?' " Oprah agreed but asked Harry to wait because her best friend Gayle King's grandchildren were coming to visit and would like to see the spectacle, but the 40-year-old prince - who has Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, with wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex - insisted he needed to move the creatures immediately. She continued: "I said, 'Wait until I can get the kids to come down to the pond so they can see you put the ducks in the pond.' And he goes, No, were coming right away, were coming over!' " But the cute scene turnned to chaos when the "mama duck" fled and the trio had to chase her, providing the "funniest thing" Oprah had ever seen. She said: "As he opens the door, the mama duck flies out. And hes got all the baby ducks in a box. "Were chasing the mama duck who is in the front yard and has flown to the other side. Weve got her ducks. Harrys running after, Meghan gets out, shes running after, chasing the mom and trying to get her to come back to her ducks. "And for like half an hour, were running around with the ducks in a box. We have video. Its the funniest thing Ive ever seen." Kelly joked the duck had been very shrewd in choosing a nesting spot. She laughed: "The ducks also hit the jackpot. "Theyre like, Wait a minute, we show up at Prince Harrys house and now were at Oprahs! Excuse me. That duck knew what it was doing when it laid its eggs." Meghan had shared a clip of the ducks on her Instagram page over Easter. She captioned the video: "Wishing you a Happy Easter full of love.and surprises!" The transport office has also taken action against 123 vehicles in Mumbai, Thane, Vasai, Vashi, and Panvel. "Against this backdrop, special teams of the Regional Transport Office (RTO) in Mumbai launched a joint crackdown through 20 units across Mumbai, Thane, Vasai, Vashi, and Panvel. During the operation, action was taken against a total of 123 vehicles engaged in illegal transport activities, out of which 78 bike taxis were seized," RTO said in an official statement. "Additionally, criminal cases have been registered against the concerned drivers under the Motor Vehicles Act, and further legal proceedings are underway against the operators of these unauthorised apps as well," it added. The Transport Department has earlier received several complaints of some passengers travelling using unauthorised bike taxi services. In response, an immediate investigation was initiated. The inquiry revealed that certain unregistered apps and illegal bike taxi operators have been carrying out passenger transport without obtaining any permission from the government. This not only results in revenue loss for the state but also poses a serious threat to passenger safety. Notably, as per Section 93 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, it is mandatory to obtain a valid permit to operate any passenger transport service. However, it has been found that some app-based companies and drivers are blatantly violating these rules and engaging in illegal transportation activities. (ANI) The Tripura government is all set to provide a state-of-the-art fish market to Agartala fish vendors, especially those belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC) community. In a significant step towards socio-economic upliftment, the Department of Welfare for Scheduled Castes, Government of Tripura, has initiated the construction of a state-of-the-art fish market at Maharajganj Bazaar in Agartala. The market, designed exclusively to support Scheduled Caste fish vendors, is estimated to cost around 35 crore, as per a press release issued on Wednesday. As part of the groundwork, a team led by the Mayor of Agartala Municipal Corporation, Deepak Majumder, along with the local corporator, fish vendors, and departmental officials, visited the proposed site today (July 16). During the visit, instructions were issued to concerned officials to expedite the commencement of the project. Officials believe the new facility will not only enhance the livelihoods of fish vendors but also provide a cleaner and better-organised shopping experience for customers. Tripura ARDD minister, Sudhangshu Das, told ANI, "This project reflects the government's commitment to inclusive development. I am confident that the new market will serve as a model for urban infrastructure tailored to benefit marginalised communities." Earlier on July 10, Minister Sudhangshu Das, while speaking to ANI, said, "Today (July 10), we have gathered here at the Fisheries College in Tripura to celebrate National Fish Farmers' Day. This annual event is primarily organised to pay tribute to the renowned scientist, Professor Dr. Hiralal Chaudhuri, who is regarded as the pioneer of induced breeding of Indian major carps in India in the year 1957...I express my heartfelt gratitude and thanks to all the fish farmers of our state, Tripura, as well as from across the country, for their outstanding contributions in enhancing fish production in our state...Our goal and vision are to increase fish production in Tripura further while also meeting the state's internal demand...". (ANI) Karnataka's former Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Basavaraj Bommai, on Wednesday, said that if the state government submits a proposal for additional fertilisers, the central government will supply them. However, it is the responsibility of the Agriculture Department to handle this task. Speaking to the media in Haveri, Bommai said, "If there is a greater demand for fertilisers in the state, and if the state government submits a proposal, the central government will supply the necessary fertilisers, and efforts will be made to secure fertilisers from the Centre," Bommai said. Responding to a question regarding the installation of smart meters in households, he said the issue of smart meters is currently in court, and a stay order has been issued. A complaint has also been filed with the Lokayukta. In some other states, smart meters have been installed at a lower cost, and in some places, they have been provided on a lease basis. There is a suspicion among the public that the state government is charging consumers a higher price and even taking commissions from that. This issue must be investigated. The matter is in court. In response to a question about the inauguration of the Haveri Medical College, he said that he has informed the Minister of Medical Education to take steps to invite the Union Health Minister and the Chief Minister to inaugurate it. Earlier, on July 11, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Basavaraj Bommai asked the Congress high command to clarify whether Chief Minister Siddaramaiah will remain in power for five years. He said the ongoing drama will continue as long as the Congress high command does not give clarity. Responding to a question about Siddaramaiah's remarks that he would be the CM for five years, during a press conference, Bommai said that as many times as Siddaramaiah says that he will remain for five years, the question about his continuation arises. (ANI) A young couple from different communities, who got married four months ago, was found dead in the Laxmi Nagar colony under the Amberpet police station limits in Hyderabad on Wednesday. The police say the couple died by suicide and hung themselves, they have registered a case and shifted the two dead bodies to Osmania General Hospital for post-mortem examination. According to an inspector of the Amberpet police station, "A young couple, Asia Hashim Khan, 29, from Uttar Pradesh and Pavan Kumavath, 21, from Rajasthan, who got married four months ago, were found dead in their rented house in Laxmi Nagar, Golnaka. The couple had been facing financial difficulties, which had led to minor disputes." The police suspect that when no one was at home, the couple allegedly hung themselves using a saree tied to the ceiling fan. The bodies were sent to the Osmania mortuary for post-mortem examination. "We have registered a case and are conducting further investigation into the matter," said the inspector. In another incident, a man named Chandu Naik was shot dead by some unknown people in Shalivahana Nagar of Hyderabad, in the early hours of Tuesday, said the Malakpet Police. Naik was out for a morning walk at the park when he was shot at and was found dead by the police. The body has been shifted to Osmania General Hospital, and the case is being registered. (ANI) Several opposition parties in Odisha observed a state-wide bandh on Thursday to protest against the death of a 20-year-old student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore, who died after attempting self-immolation. Shops remained shut and traffic was disrupted in many areas, including Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj. In Bhadrak, markets were closed and public transport was affected. The bandh also caused long traffic jams on the Chennai-Kolkata Highway, where trucks and other vehicles were left stranded. Bus services were impacted in different parts of the state. The Congress party, along with other opposition groups, including the All India Forward Bloc, led the bandh. They blamed the state government for failing to respond to the student's repeated cries for help. Protesters demanded a proper investigation into the case and called for stronger measures to ensure the safety and justice for women in the state. A day earlier, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) had also taken to the streets and called for a 'Balasore Bandh' in protest against the Odisha government. BJD chief and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik strongly criticised the state government and the police over the alleged use of force against BJD workers who were protesting in connection with the case. On Tuesday, eight opposition parties, including the Congress, jointly called for an 'Odisha Bandh' on July 17, demanding the resignation of the State Higher Education Minister and a judicial investigation into the matter. The 20-year-old student had allegedly faced sustained sexual harassment by the Head of Department (HoD) at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore. Despite filing a formal complaint and repeatedly seeking help from the college principal, her concerns reportedly went unaddressed, leading her to set herself on fire on campus last Saturday. She was first admitted to Balasore district hospital and later shifted to AIIMS Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on Monday, according to hospital authorities. Following the incident, the college's HoD, Samira Kumar Sahu, and Principal, Dilip Ghose, have been arrested in connection with the case. (ANI) Amarnath Yatra has been suspended for Thursday from both Pahalgam and Baltal base camps due to incessant rainfall for the past two days, officials said. The suspension comes as authorities rush to carry out repair work on the pilgrimage route, affected due to continuous downpour, informed Divisional Commissioner Kashmir Vijay Kumar Bidhuri "Due to the continuous rains over the last couple of days, urgent repair and maintenance works are required to be carried out on the tracks. Therefore, it has been decided that no movement shall be allowed towards the Holy Cave from the two base camps today," he said. The Divisional Commissioner also stated that pilgrims are allowed to descend from the Baltal base camp, provided adequate security teams are deployed. "However, yatris who stayed at Panchtarni camp during the preceding night are being allowed to proceed down to Baltal under adequate deployment of BRO and Mountain Rescue Teams," he said. The pilgrimage is expected to resume tomorrow, depending on the weather conditions," he added. So far, over 2.47 lakh pilgrims have paid obeisance at the Holy Cave Shrine during the Shri Amarnathji Yatra 2025, according to the Department of Information & Public Relations (DIPR) Kashmir. On Wednesday J-K Chief Minister Omar Abdullah expressed optimism about a record turnout for the ongoing Amarnath Yatra, noting the fears around the turnout after the Pahalgam terror attack in April which shook the nation. "The Amarnath Yatra will continue till 9th August, and I hope that this number will increase. There was a time when after the Pahalgam attack, it seemed that hardly anyone would come for the Amarnath Yatra. But we have touched 2.5 lakh, and if it stays like this, then we should easily cross 3 lakh and 3.5 lakh," he said. Amarnath Yatra is an annual pilgrimage to the Amarnath cave, where devotees offer prayer to Lord Shiva. The 38-day annual Amarnath pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine in south Kashmir began on July 3 and will conclude on August 9. (ANI) Following the death of a woman student from Fakir Mohan Autonomous College in Balasore who had attempted self-immolation, All India Mahila Congress President Alka Lamba said the student took the extreme step because she was denied justice despite repeatedly writing to authorities. Lamba said the student had written to many officials, including the college HOD, principal, chief minister, BJP MPs, and MLAs, but no one helped her. Speaking to ANI on Wednesday, Alka Lamba said, "It is very unfortunate; if that daughter had received justice, she would be alive today, but she did not get justice, which led her to take her own life... Rahul Gandhi rightly said that the entire system is responsible for this, because that daughter wrote letters to the HOD, the principal, the chief minister, BJP MPs, and MLAs. When the Prime Minister visited on the completion of one year of the state government, she even tried to meet him, but no one listened to her..." She held the system accountable and supported Congress's call for an Odisha bandh on July 17, urging people to protest peacefully for the safety of women. "Congress has called for an Odisha bandh on 17 July... I appeal to the people of Odisha to participate in it and raise their voices for the safety of mothers, sisters, and daughters, walking the Gandhian path of truth and non-violence," Lamba said. In response to the incident, the Congress party has called for a statewide "bandh" today, demanding justice for the student. Odisha State Congress President Bhakta Charan Das also demanded the resignation of the State Education Minister, local MLA and MP over the death of the Balasore student. The 20-year-old student set herself on fire after allegedly facing prolonged sexual harassment by her college's Head of Department. Despite lodging a formal complaint and seeking help from the principal, her pleas were ignored, leading to the tragic incident. The incident occurred at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College. On Monday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar confirmed the death of the student. (ANI) Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta for approving an order that requires elected ministers and MLAs to seek clearance from the Chief Secretary before meeting District Magistrates (DMs). Calling it an "absurd move" that reflects "deep dysfunction" within the Delhi government, Bharadwaj said the order is an insult to the democratic mandate and shows that coordination has broken down inside the BJP-led Cabinet. "In an absurd move that signals deep dysfunction within the Delhi government, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has approved an official order requiring even elected ministers and MLAs to get clearance from the Chief Secretary before meeting District Magistrates. Calling it an insult to democratic mandate and a clear sign of collapsed coordination, AAP's Delhi President Saurabh Bharadwaj slammed the order as bizarre and proof that all is not well inside the BJP government's Cabinet," an AAP statement citing Bharadwaj said. Addressing a press conference, Bharadwaj said, "The Revenue Department is one of the key departments of the Delhi government, and its minister is none other than Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. With her approval, her department has issued a bizarre order stating that even if a minister wants to call a District Magistrate (DM) for a meeting, they must first seek permission from the Chief Secretary." Highlighting the language used in the order, the former Delhi Health Minister said, "The wording of this order is highly objectionable, especially when referring to elected representatives. It states, 'Calling of DMs, ADMs (Additional District Magistrate), and SDMs (Sub-Divisional Magistrate) by various Hon'ble Ministers, Hon'ble MLAs for meetings and field inspections.' The next paragraph reads, 'In some instances, Revenue Department officers such as DMs, ADMs, SDMs are being called by Hon'ble Ministers or even MLAs for their meetings and asked to accompany them for inspections.'" He questioned, "What does 'even MLAs' mean? Are MLAs some random people roaming around? They are elected by lakhs of people. If MLAs aren't supposed to call DMs, ADMs, or SDMs for meetings or inspections, then whom are they supposed to call?" Raising further concerns, Bharadwaj said, "Some newspapers have even written that this order is meant to clip the wings of the government's own ministers and MLAs. What exactly is happening inside this government? In a cabinet of just six ministers and one Chief Minister, such orders raise serious questions." He added, "Couldn't the Chief Minister have simply told her ministers not to summon DMs unnecessarily? It's a matter involving just six people -- they could have sorted it among themselves. Why was this order needed? Does the Chief Minister believe her ministers are calling DMs without valid reasons? Even ministers would only call them when required. Why would any minister or MLA summon a DM, ADM, or SDM without reason? They do so only when needed." Bharadwaj said the order was a clear sign of internal problems within the government. "This entire order suggests that all is not well within the Delhi government. Issuing such an open insult to elected representatives through an official order is highly disrespectful. As per protocol, an MLA's rank is equivalent to that of the Chief Secretary, and a minister's protocol is above the Chief Secretary's. Now, if a minister -- who outranks the Chief Secretary -- has to seek his permission just to call a DM for a meeting, what is going on?" Calling the order "strange and revealing," he said, "This bizarre order indicates a lack of coordination between the Chief Minister and her ministers. The mutual understanding and coordination that should exist within a government simply aren't there. It clearly points to something being wrong inside the Cabinet, between the ministers and the Chief Minister." When asked for a possible reason behind the order, Bharadwaj responded, "The reason is simple -- there's a breakdown in coordination. The Chief Minister has no coordination with her ministers. Otherwise, she wouldn't have issued a written order directing them to seek the Chief Secretary's permission before calling DMs." Confirming the Chief Minister's role, Bharadwaj added, "This order has been issued with the explicit approval of the Hon'ble Minister of Revenue -- and that is the Chief Minister herself. The last line of the order clearly states: 'This is with the approval of Hon'ble Minister Revenue.'" (ANI) A fire broke out at Durodine Industries, a plate manufacturing company located in Fatenagar, Balanagar, in the early morning hours today, around 4 am. The fire was brought under control by four fire vehicles that rushed to the spot. No casualties were reported in the incident. However, the cause of the fire and the extent of damage to assets are yet to be determined. According to a fire official, "A fire broke out at Durodine Industries, a plate manufacturing company in Fatenagar, Balanagar, in the early morning hours around 4 am today. Four fire vehicles reached the spot and controlled the fire. Dumping work is currently underway. There were no casualties reported, and the cause of the fire and the loss of assets are yet to be determined." Yesterday, a fire broke out at a residential building in Hyderabad in the early hours of the morning. The fire has been doused. Officials said, "Fire broke out in a G+4 upper floor building at Flat No. 201, Aijaz Residency, Moghalpura. Fortunately, the prompt response of the fire Station Moghalpura Crew led by Leading Fireman SM Hasan, saved five people trapped on the upper floors". As per the officials, the fire had occurred due to a short circuit in the switchboard, bed and TV." Earlier, on July 10, almost a week ago, a fire broke out at Tirupati Tyre Works on Thursday at 4:30 AM, a Hyderabad fire official stated. No casualties were reported in the fire incident. (ANI) The prisoner, Chandan Mishra, was out on parole on the grounds of required medical attention and was admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment, when unidentified assailants barged into the hospital and shot him, Patna SSP Kartikay Sharma said. Chandan Mishra was a known criminal with dozens of murder cases registered against him. The Police believe that the rival gang has carried out the shooting. The prisoner is undergoing treatment. "A criminal named Chandan Mishra, resident of Buxar district, against whom dozens of cases of murder are registered. He was transferred from Buxar to Bhagalpur jail. Chandan was on parole and admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment. The rival gang shot him. He is undergoing treatment, and with the help of the Buxar police, we are identifying the members of the rival gang, Chandan Sheru gang," SSP Kartikay Sharma said. The police are identifying the shooters as they have their photographs. Further investigation is underway. (ANI) Darius Rucker was recently forced to cut his set short, telling the crowd, "I just can't sing". Darius Rucker cut his set short after three-and-a-half songs as he complained of being unable to sing The 59-year-old country star was performing at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City on July 12, when he told fans he physically couldn't perform any longer. The musician - who shot to fame as the frontman of Hootie and the Blowfish - was left devastated after being forced to abandon his gig mid-set, and vowed to make it up to his fans and offer them a refund. He said onstage in a viral clip on TikTok: "Im going to play one more song. I promise you, we are going to figure this out. Youre going to get your money back. I just cant sing. "This [has] never happened. I physically cant sing, and I promise you on everything that I stand for I will make this up to you. The audience then helped him by singing the lyrics to Wagon Wheel. Apologising to the crowd, he said: "Im so sorry." Darius only managed to fully perform three songs (Life's Too Short, It Won't Be Like This for Long and For the First Time) - the fourth being Wagon Wheel, for which head the crowd's assistance. He has not yet addressed why he could no longer sing. Darius is next due onstage on Saturday (19.07.25) in Florida. Last year, Darius shocked fans when he took a tumble onstage at his Riverfront Revival concert in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. He was performing his solo hit Alright when he appeared to trip before being helped back up by venue staff. He quipped to the crowd: "Im old as f***." Laughing it off, Darius later said: "Weve been doing this all summer. I hadnt [fallen] once. But I busted my a** in my hometown." A convicted prisoner escaped from the Nellore Central Jail on Tuesday evening under mysterious circumstances. According to a press release issued by the Prison Department yesterday, a convicted prisoner, Indla Suresh, resident of Gandhi Janasangam, Sangam Mandal, escaped from Nellore Central Prison on Tuesday evening under mysterious circumstances, triggering a massive manhunt by law enforcement agencies. A case has been registered, and efforts are underway to trace and apprehend the escaped convict, according to official sources. Police have urged the public to remain alert and report any information regarding Indla Suresh's whereabouts to the nearest police station immediately. Authorities have assured that all information shared will be kept confidential. Officials stated that further investigation into the matter is ongoing to determine how the escape occurred and to identify any possible lapses in prison security. Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister and YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) President YS Jagan Mohan Reddy launched a sharp attack on the state's law enforcement agencies and the current government, alleging large-scale corruption and misuse of power. Speaking to the media in Vijayawada, Jagan accused the Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs) of Police of functioning like "mafia dons", claiming they are controlling their respective zones and enabling illegal activities."All the DIGs in the state of Andhra Pradesh are mafia dons controlling those zones... Today, all the belt shops in every village are unauthorised, yet you find these belt shops in every village running and flourishing. They are selling liquor above the MRP only because they have the blessings of the police," he said. On July 3, Police had begun an investigation into the case in which a student of a private college in Nellore in Andhra Pradesh was found dead under suspicious circumstances on the college premises. The deceased, Sai Revanth, a resident of the Dargamitta area on Dicast Road in Nellore, was a second-year Intermediate student at Viswa Sai College here. (ANI) Odisha Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu on Thursday said the party is out on the streets demanding justice for the student who died by self-immolation in Balasore. During the protest, he said the entire nation is ashamed by the incident and asked where the BJP's fact-finding team is now. Speaking to ANI, Ajay Kumar Lallu said, "To provide justice to the daughter of Odisha, today the Congress party is on the streets. The entire nation is feeling ashamed by the incident. Where is the fact-finding team of the BJP?... The Chief Minister should resign..." Opposition parties, led by the Congress, are observing an Odisha bandh in protest against the death of a student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College by self-immolation. Security forces were deployed, and petrol pumps remained closed in Bhubaneswar as several opposition parties observed an Odisha bandh. Shops remained shut and traffic was disrupted in many areas, including Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj. In Bhadrak, markets were closed and public transport was affected. The bandh also caused long traffic jams on the Chennai-Kolkata Highway, where trucks and other vehicles were left stranded. Bus services were impacted in different parts of the state. On Tuesday, eight Opposition political parties, including the Congress, unitedly called for 'Odisha Bandh' on July 17 and demanding the resignation of the State Higher Education Minister and a judicial investigation. The 20-year-old student had allegedly faced prolonged sexual harassment by the Head of Department (HoD) at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore. Despite filing a formal complaint and seeking help from the college principal, her grievances reportedly went unheard, leading her to take the extreme step on campus last Saturday. She was initially admitted to the Balasore district hospital and later referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on Monday, hospital authorities said. In connection with the case, Fakir Mohan College's HoD, Samira Kumar Sahu, and Principal, Dilip Ghose, have been arrested. (ANI) A case of forced religious conversion by a gym trainer has come to light in Madhya Pradesh's Jabalpur district on Wednesday. Speaking to the In-Charge of Adhartal Police Station in Jabalpur, Praveen Kumar Kumre stated that, along with the case of forced religious conversion complaint, the accused also reported being subjected to "bad touch" by the trainer. "A 21-year-old woman has filed a complaint that a man from another community in her gym tried to convert her religion. There is also a case of bad touch during a workout. A case has been registered under the relevant sections, and the accused has been arrested," Praveen Kumre said. "The complainant is a receptionist at the gym and would also work out, and the accused works as a gym trainer," Kumre added. Earlier in March, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had announced a provision for the death penalty for those involved in the religious conversion of women in the state. CM Yadav made this announcement on International Women's Day while addressing a program at the Kushabhau Thackeray International Convention Centre in Bhopal. He emphasised that his government will not tolerate misconduct or conversion and will ensure that those involved in religious conversion face the death penalty. When asked about the provision of capital punishment for those involved in religious conversions, the CM said, "Our government will not tolerate conversion and misconduct. For criminals or those who are involved in religious conversion, we will ensure that they get the death penalty." (ANI) A Delhi court has granted interim anticipatory bail to the accused of impersonating an official from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Anurag Thakur, and allegedly defrauding a complainant of Rs 16 lakh by promising discounted iPhones and electronics. The prosecution alleged that Dasgupta forged official documents, including the signature of Union Minister Anurag Thakur and Deputy Director Priyanka S. Agarwal, to present herself as a government representative. The MCA later confirmed that no such authorisation, employees, or transactions existed. Appearing for the accused, namely Oindrila Dasgupta, the defence team led by Advocate Sumit Gehlot, along with Manju Gehlot and TS Thakran of Fidelegal Advocates & Solicitors, countered that the FIR was rooted in a civil monetary dispute and not a criminal conspiracy. Advocate Sumit Gehlot submitted that the complainant had loaned Rs 15.65 lakh to Dasgupta under a notarised loan agreement dated March 26, 2021, of which Rs 10.30 lakh had already been repaid. According to the lawyers, the remaining Rs 5.35 lakhs became the basis for filing a false criminal case after a post-dated cheque was misused. Advocate Gehlot stressed that Dasgupta is a single mother of two with a professional background in companies like Voonik and agri-tech consultancy, and had cooperated fully with the investigation. The defence legal team also emphasised that no custodial interrogation was needed, as the case relied entirely on documentary evidence and the accused was willing to provide handwriting and fingerprint samples to refute the forgery charges. Additional Public Prosecutor Himanshu Garg, appearing for the State, opposed the bail, citing previous criminal cases against Dasgupta in Bengaluru and the risk of her tampering with evidence or influencing witnesses. The prosecution also questioned the jurisdiction of the complaint, which was initially filed at PS Inderpuri. Additional Sessions Judge Saurabh Partap Singh Laler, who heard the matter at Patiala House Courts, noted the conflicting narratives and the pending forensic examination of the documents. The court also took cognisance of the defence argument that the initial Investigating Officer, Kavish Lakra, is the real brother of key witness Vikas Lakra, who had prior financial dealings with the accused. In light of this conflict of interest, the investigation was previously transferred from PS Inderpuri to the District Investigation Unit (DIU), West Delhi, on April 22, 2025. Considering all circumstances, the court granted interim anticipatory bail until the receipt of the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report. The court granted bail on the subject to certain conditions: Dasgupta must furnish a personal bond with one surety, provide an active mobile phone number, cooperate with investigators, and refrain from contacting witnesses or tampering with evidence. (ANI) The incident occurred near Halasur Lake on Tuesday night, where 40-year-old Shivaprakash was attacked and killed by a group of assailants wielding sharp weapons. The assailants reportedly arrived in a car and launched a brutal assault as Shivaprakash stood outside his residence. He died on the spot. The FIR was lodged following a complaint by Vijayalakshmi, the mother of Shivakumar--another rowdy-sheeter--who accused Byrati Basavaraj of abetting the crime. Alongside the MLA, four others have also been named in the FIR: Jagadish, Vimal, Kiran, and Anil. According to Ramesh Banoth, Joint Commissioner of Police (East Division), "Shivaprakash was a known history-sheeter with a criminal record. Based on preliminary findings, a group of individuals in a vehicle carried out the murder." Authorities have launched a full-fledged investigation into the case. As of now, there has been no official statement from MLA Byrati Basavaraj regarding the accusations. Further developments are anticipated as the police continue their investigation. Earlier, in a separate incident, Bengaluru City Police arrested three individuals, including two lecturers, after they were accused of allegedly raping a student and blackmailing the victim with videos. The accused have been identified as Narendra, Sandeep, and their friend Anup. The victim's parents reported the matter to the Karnataka State Women's Commission, following which a case was registered at the Marathahalli Police Station. An investigation is currently underway as per the directive of the Commission, officials said. (ANI) Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Suresh Panigrahi on Thursday said that the Odisha bandh is no longer limited to eight political parties but has turned into a people's bandh across the state. Workers of CPI(M), CPI(ML) Liberation, and other opposition parties staged protests in Bhubaneswar over the death of a student from Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College, who died by self-immolation. Speaking to ANI, Suresh Panigrahi said, "...Eight political parties have appealed to the people of Odisha and other left democratic forces, transport, teacher associations and the response is very good...The bandh is not confined to eight political parties; it has become a people's bandh of Odisha...The BJP is claiming that there is a double-engine government in the BJP, but many atrocities are being committed against women during their rule...The police are silent..." Security forces were deployed, and petrol pumps remained closed in Bhubaneswar as several opposition parties observed an Odisha bandh. Shops remained shut and traffic was disrupted in many areas, including Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj. In Bhadrak, markets were closed and public transport was affected. The bandh also caused long traffic jams on the Chennai-Kolkata Highway, where trucks and other vehicles were left stranded. Bus services were impacted in different parts of the state. The Congress party, along with other opposition groups, including the All India Forward Bloc, led the bandh. They blamed the state government for failing to respond to the student's repeated cries for help. Protesters demanded a proper investigation into the case and called for stronger measures to ensure the safety and justice for women in the state. On Tuesday, eight Opposition political parties, including the Congress, unitedly called for 'Odisha Bandh' on July 17 and demanding the resignation of the State Higher Education Minister and a judicial investigation. The 20-year-old student had allegedly faced prolonged sexual harassment by the Head of Department (HoD) at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore. Despite filing a formal complaint and seeking help from the college principal, her grievances reportedly went unheard, leading her to take the extreme step on campus last Saturday. She was initially admitted to the Balasore district hospital and later referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on Monday, hospital authorities said. In connection with the case, Fakir Mohan College's HoD, Samira Kumar Sahu, and Principal, Dilip Ghose, have been arrested. (ANI) What was once a vast, lifeless expanse of hazardous fly ash on the outskirts of Nagpur has today blossomed into a sea of green, thanks to the vision, science, and perseverance of one man: Dr Lal Singh, Principal Scientist at CSIR-NEERI (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - National Environmental Engineering Research Institute). In an ambitious environmental project that combines ecological wisdom with community empowerment, Dr Lal Singh led the transformation of 1,500 hectares of fly ash dumps from the Koradi Thermal Power Plant into a vibrant bamboo forest. More than 5 lakh bamboo saplings were planted on land once considered unfit for any form of vegetation -- not only reclaiming the soil but reviving the lives of people who depended on it. Fly ash, a by-product of coal combustion, poses a severe threat to health and the environment. The fine, powdery material often contains heavy metals and is easily carried by wind, contaminating nearby fields, water sources, and lungs. For the residents living around Koradi, dust storms and air pollution had become a daily nightmare. "Between 2015 and 2016, the Energy Minister of Maharashtra called us and expressed concern over the severe dust problem," recalls Dr. Lal Singh. "He asked if we had a solution. I told him -- yes, and we could control it within six months." Though CSIR-NEERI had not previously worked on fly ash dumps, Dr Singh and his team took up the challenge. They developed a scientific model known as Eco-Rejuvenation, designed to reclaim degraded land using fast-growing bamboo species, microbial soil treatment, and organic amendments. "We selected bamboo because it grows rapidly -- up to one meter per month under the right conditions," he explains. "Within six months, we had 20-25-foot-tall bamboo suppressing the hazardous dust. We recorded a 90% reduction in airborne ash." The transformation was not just environmental -- it was social. Dr Singh's approach centered around community participation, particularly the inclusion of local women from self-help groups (SHGs). "This whole area was once barren and covered with hazardous dust," says Padma Nishad, one of the SHG workers. "We worked hard to plant bamboo here. Now we earn 5,000 a month. I can help at home and pay for my children's education. Pranali Sahare, a SHG member from Mahadula village, shares "This was a fly ash dump. Planting trees seemed impossible. But Dr. Lal Singh encouraged us. We planted saplings inside ash pits -- now it's a green forest. We've been working here for seven years. This work gave us stability and purpose." According to Dr Singh, MahaGenco (Maharashtra State Power Generation Company) played a crucial role by employing More than 300 women in bamboo plantation. These women have been earning steady incomes for over six years, lifting their families out of poverty and funding their children's futures. The bamboo planted at Koradi does more than absorb dust. It sequesters carbon, releases oxygen, improves soil health, and offers commercial value. After three years, bamboo can be harvested annually -- with returns high enough to recover the initial investment quickly. "This is a complete circular model," says Dr Singh. "It brings together environmental restoration, economic return, and social upliftment. We didn't just plant bamboo -- we planted opportunity." The success at Koradi is a powerful reminder of what's possible when science, governance, and grassroots participation come together with clarity of vision. Under Dr Lal Singh's leadership, a barren, hazardous wasteland has been turned into a living, breathing ecosystem -- and a livelihood source for hundreds. In a time when climate change and pollution dominate global headlines, the bamboo miracle of Koradi stands as a shining example -- not just of innovation, but of hope. (ANI) Odisha Congress President Bhakta Charan Das on Thursday said that the state bandh called by opposition parties has received strong support from the public, with thousands of party workers holding protests across districts. Opposition parties in Odisha, led by the Congress, called a statewide bandh today to protest the death of a college student who set herself on fire in Balasore. Speaking to ANI, Bhakta Charan Das said, "...Thousands of cadres of the eight opposition parties are protesting in their respective districts. We are receiving huge support for the Odisha bandh...The public is also supporting the bandh and demanding justice for the victim..." Security forces were deployed, and petrol pumps remained closed in Bhubaneswar as several opposition parties observed a bandh in Odisha. Shops remained shut and traffic was disrupted in many areas, including Bhadrak and Mayurbhanj. In Bhadrak, markets were closed and public transport was affected. The bandh also caused long traffic jams on the Chennai-Kolkata Highway, where trucks and other vehicles were left stranded. Bus services were impacted in different parts of the state. The Congress party, along with other opposition groups, including the All India Forward Bloc, led the bandh. They blamed the state government for failing to respond to the student's repeated cries for help. Protesters demanded a proper investigation into the case and called for stronger measures to ensure the safety and justice for women in the state. On Tuesday, eight Opposition political parties, including the Congress, unitedly called for 'Odisha Bandh' on July 17 and demanding the resignation of the State Higher Education Minister and a judicial investigation. The 20-year-old student had allegedly faced prolonged sexual harassment by the Head of Department (HoD) at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore. Despite filing a formal complaint and seeking help from the college principal, her grievances reportedly went unheard, leading her to take the extreme step on campus last Saturday. She was initially admitted to the Balasore district hospital and later referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on Monday, hospital authorities said. In connection with the case, Fakir Mohan College's HoD, Samira Kumar Sahu, and Principal, Dilip Ghose, have been arrested. (ANI) RJD leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday questioned the Bihar government asking if "anyone was safe anywhere" in the state after unidentified assailants shot a prisoner admitted at a hospital in Patna. In a post on X, Tejashwi Yadav said, "Government criminals stormed into the ICU and shot a patient admitted to the hospital. Is anyone safe anywhere in Bihar? Has this happened before 2005?" A prisoner, Chandan Mishra, was out on parole on the grounds of required medical attention and was admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment, when unidentified assailants barged into the hospital on Thursday morning and shot him, Patna SSP Kartikay Sharma said. Chandan Mishra was a known criminal with dozens of murder cases registered against him. The Police believe that the rival gang has carried out the shooting. The prisoner is undergoing treatment. Central range (Patna) IG Jitendra Rana also confirmed the same. "A criminal named Chandan Mishra, resident of Buxar district, admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment and members of the rival gang shot him. He is undergoing treatment...He was shot multiple times...The assailants are being identified with the help of the Buxar Police," IG Jitendra Rana said. He also hinted toward the possibility of security guards involved in this incident. "It cannot be ruled out that the security guards of the police were involved in this incident. We will investigate this angle also." IG Jitendra Rana said. Bihar Deputy CM Vijay Sinha however, assured that the incident is being investiagted and the criminal would be caught. "Such an incident is unfortunate. It will be thoroughly investigated and the criminal will not be spared. The CM of Bihar has said that the criminal will be caught and strictly punished," he said. JD(U) leader Neeraj Kumar assured that "necessary actions" will be taken against the assailants. "The Police are looking at all the details and necessary action will be taken," he said. Meanwhile, In another instance of crime in Bihar on Thursday morning, a blood-soaked body of Rakesh Singh's 20-year-old son Shivam alias Bunty was found lying outside his house in Hathiyakandh village under Shahpur police station area, Superintendent of Police (SP) West Patna, Bhanu Pratap Singh stated. According to the deceased's family members, Shivam used to study in a rented house in Danapur with his parents and had come to the village only four days ago. The deceased's grandfather Devendra Singh said that on Sunday night he came to sleep in their room but went to another room saying that he will come after putting the mobile on charge, then when he did not come back, he thought that he might have slept in the same room, but in the morning his body was found outside the house. SP Bhanu Pratap Singh stated that Shivam was brutally murdered by attacking him with a sharp weapon on the head. He added that upon receiving the information, the in-charge of the Shahpur police station arrived at the scene with his team and began investigating the case. There is an atmosphere of panic and anger in the village due to this tragic incident. (ANI) In another instance of crime in Bihar, on Thursday morning, a blood-soaked body of Rakesh Singh's 20-year-old son Shivam alias Bunty was found lying outside his house in Hathiyakandh village under Shahpur police station area, Superintendent of Police (SP) West Patna, Bhanu Pratap Singh stated. According to the deceased's family members, Shivam used to study in a rented house in Danapur with his parents and had come to the village only four days ago. The deceased's grandfather Devendra Singh said that on Sunday night he came to sleep in their room but went to another room saying that he will come after putting the mobile on charge, then when he did not come back, he thought that he might have slept in the same room, but in the morning his body was found outside the house. SP Bhanu Pratap Singh stated that Shivam was brutally murdered by attacking him with a sharp weapon on the head. He added that upon receiving the information, the in-charge of the Shahpur police station arrived at the scene with his team and began investigating the case. There is an atmosphere of panic and anger in the village due to this tragic incident. "A person named Shivam alias Bunty, was killed with a sharp weapon... FSL team has collected samples from the spot. The body is being sent for post-mortem and further investigation is ongoing... A conclusion will be reached only after collecting all evidence and facts. CCTV footage is being examined and we have spoken to the family members. The man was last seen at 11 pm last night... Prima facie, it appears to be a case of mutual conflict and the victim and the suspect may know each other," SP Bhanu Pratap Singh said. In another incident, unidentified assailants shot a prisoner, who was admitted to a hospital in Patna for treatment, police said on Thursday. The prisoner, Chandan Mishra, was out on parole on the grounds of required medical attention and was admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment, when unidentified assailants barged into the hospital and shot him, Patna SSP Kartikay Sharma said. Chandan Mishra was a known criminal with dozens of murder cases registered against him. The Police believe that the rival gang has carried out the shooting. (ANI) Oasis fans have been praised by police for their "sensible and responsible" behaviour. Oasis fans have been behaving well The reunited group have played three of their five homecoming shows in Manchester and while Wednesday's (16.07.25) gig saw 12 men arrested for offences including fraud, being drunk and disorderly, and possession of class A drugs, Greater Manchester Police are thankful the "overwhelming majority" of revellers have made no trouble. Assistant Chief Constable Matt Boyle said in a statement: We are now three concerts into Oasis Manchester homecoming, and I am pleased that the overwhelming majority of people attending have enjoyed themselves sensibly and responsibly. Our officers have provided a continued high-visibility presence throughout the night, assisting our partners and event security in ensuring a smooth flow of operations, before, during, and after the concert. We have tackled any issues that have faced us seizing unauthorised drones, arresting those attempting to illegally enter the event, and working with colleagues in the ambulance service to help those in need. Our neighbourhood teams have engaged with those who live around the event to better understand any problems they have raised, and provide the appropriate solutions where they can. Ahead of the weekend, we advise all visitors to make sure they check all updates and information from ourselves and partners, including the Bee Network, Manchester City Council, and event organisers. If at any point you require assistance, do not hesitate to speak to an officer in attendance. Meanwhile, new statistics from ticketing marketplace viagogo found that Londoners only just bought more Oasis tickets than those in Manchester on the platform, but per capita, the fans in the northern city led the way. Following London and Greater Manchester in the top five were Essex, Surrey and Kent. And with demand for tickets being high, the data found UK-based fans are willing to travel huge distances to see Liam and Noel Gallagher in action, with the top destinations being New Jersey, California, Toronto, Chicago, Mexico City and Buenos Aires. When the group's Adidas collaboration dropped on 20 June, viagogo saw a 35% spike in ticket searches for the band on the day. Transport services were hit and shops remained shut in Bhubaneswar on Thursday as several opposition parties observed an Odisha bandh over the death of a Balasore college student who set herself on fire alleging inaction by authorities over harassment complaint against a professor. A man who was waiting to board a bus in Bhubaneswar stated that people are facing transportation issues due to the State bandh, but added that the protest is necessary when the administration fails to act. Speaking to ANI, the man who said his name was Ayush said, "... We are not able to book cabs or autos and are facing challenges in transportation...I support the Odisha bandh because if the administration does not work, protest is the only option..." Opposition parties, led by the Congress, are observing an Odisha bandh in protest against the death of the student of Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College. Security forces were deployed, and petrol pumps remained closed in Odisha's capital city as several opposition parties observed the state bandh. The bandh also caused long traffic jams on the Chennai-Kolkata Highway, where trucks and other vehicles were left stranded. Bus services were impacted in different parts of the state. On Tuesday, eight Opposition political parties, including the Congress, unitedly called for 'Odisha Bandh' for today. They are demanding the resignation of the State Higher Education Minister and a judicial investigation in the demise of the student. The 20-year-old student had allegedly faced prolonged sexual harassment by the Head of Department (HoD) at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore. Despite filing a formal complaint and seeking help from the college principal, her grievances reportedly went unheard, leading her to take the extreme step on campus last Saturday. She was initially admitted to the Balasore district hospital and later referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on July 14 hospital authorities said. In connection with the case, Fakir Mohan College's HoD, Samira Kumar Sahu, and Principal, Dilip Ghose, have been arrested. (ANI) A gruesome incident happened yesterday (Wednesday) in Jammu's Government Medical College, where the attendants of the patients started physical and verbal violence against doctors on duty in the emergency, according to an official statement from the office of Principal and Dean Dr Ashutosh Gupta. Condemning the violence against doctors by the attendants of the patients, Rajinder Kumar in the emergency, the press release stated that the incident took place after the patient's death, who was terminally sick, and the patients had been referred back from PGI to the Government Medical College, Jammu, due to complications from a brain haemorrhage. The statement added, "As per PGI treatment discharge slip, it was clearly mentioned that the patient was suffering from a massive brain haemorrhage and a poor prognosis was explained to the attendants of the patient. The attendants were advised to get 'basic medical and nursing care' at the local hospital." Further, it stated that the patient was offered the best possible treatment in GMC, Jammu, and the patient expired due to respiratory arrest on his fifth day of admission. The release stated, "Unfortunately the patient's attendants attacked physically and verbally a lady doctor and other staff of GMC, Jammu. The CCTV Cameras clearly show that the attendants of the patient were kicking and beating the lady doctor." An FIR has been registered at the concerned police station, the release added, stating, "The GMC Administration, Faculty and Resident Doctors strongly condemn such repeated incidents in this premier institution." (ANI) The Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President CS Randhawa on Thursday condemned a media report that claimed that the captain of the Air India flight that crashed in Ahmedabad last month deliberately cut off fuel to the engines. Captain Randhawa dismissed the claims as baseless and vowed to take action against the publication. Captain CS Randhawa emphasised that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report makes no mention of the pilots turning off the switches controlling fuel flow to the engines. "...Nowhere in the report has it been mentioned that the fuel control switch was turned off due to the pilot's mistake. I condemn the article. They said it was the pilot's mistake. They have not read the report properly, and we will take action against them through FIP," Captain CS Randhawa told ANI. He further urged people not to comment on the AAIB's preliminary report, as this may create fear among commuters about air travel. "We had issued a press statement yesterday that no channel, commentator or president of any agency should give such an opinion that has no basis. The detailed report will take time; till then, people are giving their own opinions without any basis, which is not right," Captain Randhawa added. "Neither the report nor the Civil Aviation Minister has said that it was pilot error...You must relate this to the incident of ANA NH985, which occurred on January 17, 2019. At the time of landing, when the pilot selected thrust reversers, both engines shut down without the pilot moving the fuel control switch. I am quite clear that this is a repetition of the TCMA (Throttle Control Malfunction Accommodation) malfunction, and this needs a thorough investigation of the TCMA. Boeing has not taken any action yet and has not even tried to issue a directive that all these aircraft should be checked for TCMA functions. Secondly, there is not a single pilot in the investigation committee," he said. Captain Randhawa said that his federation is requesting the Civil Aviation Minister to reconstitute the board and include type-rated experts in this investigation board, who are pilots, engineers and air safety experts. The FIP President said that Indian Pilots are among the best in the world. "Indian pilots are among the best in the world. I did not give my opinion to the Wall Street Journal, which had approached me as well, because I am against this American media. They are deliberately giving their own opinion, their own views from this report, while there is nothing like this in the report. So I very strongly condemn this report of the Wall Street Journal and we will take action on it," he added. Earlier on Wednesday, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) expressed "serious" concern regarding the preliminary findings and public discourse surrounding the crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad. FIP, in an official statement, expressed their dissatisfaction with the exclusion of pilot representatives from the investigation process, objecting to the way in which the preliminary report has been interpreted and presented publicly. "At the outset, we would like to register our dissatisfaction with the exclusion of pilot representatives from the investigation process. We also firmly object to the way in which the preliminary report has been interpreted and presented publicly," FIP said in an official statement. This statement followed a Reuters report, which cited the Wall Street Journal, claiming that a cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month indicated that the captain turned off the switches that controlled fuel flowing to the plane's engines. As per Reuters, The Wall Street Journal report cited people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence uncovered in the investigation into the crash, which killed 260 people. The recording suggested that the first officer, who was flying the Boeing aircraft, opened the new tab 787 Dreamliner, and asked the other captain, who was more experienced, why he moved the switches to the "cutoff" position after it climbed off the runway, the report said. The first officer expressed surprise and then panicked, while the captain seemed to remain calm, Reuters reported, citing WSJ. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Boeing and Air India have not yet responded to the report. The two pilots involved were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively. A preliminary report released last week by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the June 12 crash and raised fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches, the report said. The AI 171 crash of the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. (ANI) On Thursday, several police personnel were injured after miscreants attacked the security personnel at Paikan area in Assam's Goalpara district, where the administration carried out a massive eviction drive a few days back. According to the police, the miscreants attacked the security personnel at Paikan Reserve Forest area when a joint team of police and the forest department went to the area for routine patrolling. Akhilesh Kumar Singh, IGP (L&O) of Assam police, told ANI over the phone that several police personnel were injured, including two seriously injured, following an attack by some miscreants. The miscreants also pelted stones targeting to security personnel. Following retaliatory action by security personnel, a few miscreants were also injured. "During routine patrolling jointly by police and the forest department at Paikan area in Goalpara district, some miscreants attacked the security personnel by pelting stones. Several police personnel, including two, were seriously injured in this attack. In retaliate action by security personnel few miscreants also injured. The situation is still tense and additional forces have been deployed," Akhilesh Kumar Singh, IGP (L&O) of Assam police, told ANI. More details are awaited. Earlier, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday informed that a total of 1,19,548 bighas of land have been freed from encroachers in the ongoing eviction drive in the state. The Assam CM said, "After we formed the government, so far 84,743 bighas of land in forest and national park areas have been freed from encroachers. A total of 1,19,548 bighas of land have been freed from encroachers." Meanwhile, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday accused Trinamool Congress of portraying his government's firm stance against illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims as anti-Bengali. He said the alleged attempt is nothing but a desperate ploy to shield Muslim infiltrators from the neighbouring country, The Chief Minister said that Assam has been waging a relentless war against illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi Muslims for several decades. Assam Legislative Assembly's Deputy Speaker Numal Momin has claimed that 15 districts of the state have become Muslim-majority. He alleged that the Congress's motto, motive and vision were to make Assam an Islamic state. (ANI) Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) MLC K Kavitha on Thursday accused Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy of "gifting" the water of Gadavari River to Andhra Pradesh, during a meeting with CM Chandrababu Naidu and Union Jal Shakti Minister C R Patil. K Kavitha demanded the resignation of Revanth Reddy, saying that a CM "who failed to protect the rights of our people does not belong in that chair." "He sat through the meeting, and unfortunately, he gifted the Godavari water, which truly belongs to the people of Telangana, to Chandrababu Naidu. I condemn this act of our Chief Minister...A Chief Minister who failed to protect the rights of our people does not belong in that chair. We demand that he immediately resign" Kavitha scathing remark on Telangana CM came after a meeting was held on Wednesday at the Ministry of Jal Shakti between the Union Minister of Jal Shakti C R Patil, Telangana CM Revanth Reddy and Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu to address the water-related issues between the two states. During the meeting key issues concerning water management were deliberated upon. Both states agreed on the installation of telemetry devices for real time monitoring of water flows in the Krishna Basin, a Jal Shakti Ministry release said. A release from Telangana CMO stated that both sides agreed to allocate the Godavari River Management Board in Hyderabad and the Krishna RMB in Andhra Pradesh. Andhra Pradesh acceded to Telangana proposal to repair the prestigious Srisailam project immediately. To address the remaining issues in a comprehensive and technical manner, it was decided to constitute a committee comprising senior officials and technical experts from both states and the central government. This committee will work collaboratively to study the outstanding concerns and suggest viable solutions to ensure equitable and efficient water sharing, Jal Shakti Ministry said in the release The Ministry of Jal Shakti reaffirmed its commitment to fostering cooperation between Andhra Pradesh and Telangana and facilitating sustainable water management practices for the benefit of the people of both states. (ANI) Ahead of Home Minister Amit Shah's Jaipur visit, Former Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot demanded answers on the investigation of Kanhaiya Lal murder case, a tailor who was beheaded inside his shop in Udaipur by two assailants in broad daylight on June 28, 2022. Senior Congress leader Gehlot slammed Amit Shah for extensively mentioning Kanhaiya Lal murder case during the 2022 Assembly elections and transferring the case to National Investigation Agency, which has yet to serve justice. In a post on X, Ashok Gehlot said, "Today, Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah is coming to Jaipur. Before the assembly elections, you mentioned the Kanhaiya Lal case in every rally in Rajasthan and sought votes in its name. In this case, the Rajasthan Police arrested the accused within just four hours. Both accused were linked to the BJP. Even after this, the NIA, which comes under your ministry, took over the case overnight." Ashok Gehlot accused BJP of promising a compensation of Rs 5lakh- 50 lakh, terming it as "lie" and reason for Congress government defeat. "The entire BJP spread the lie of 5 lakh-50 lakh compensation in Rajasthan, and this lie was one of the biggest reasons for our government's defeat." Gehlot added that NIA has failed to pronounced a verdict against the guilty in the past three years. "Now, three years have passed since this case. The NIA court has not yet pronounced a verdict against the guilty because there isn't even a regular judge in the NIA court here. The NIA has not even been able to record witnesses' statements in three years," he said Former Rajasthan CM demanded Amit Shah to answer the people of Jaipur over the prolonged wait for justice in Kanhaiya Lal murder case. "Today, the Home Minister should answer the people of the state in Jaipur: how long will Kanhaiya Lal's family have to wait for justice? Will the BJP only play politics with this case? Are they not concerned with justice at all?" he said. Kanhaiya Lal, a tailor, was beheaded inside his shop in Udaipur by two assailants in broad daylight on June 28, 2022, for allegedly posting content in support of suspended BJP leader Nupur Sharma. The beheading of the Udaipur tailor sent shockwaves across the country and sparked a public outcry. The case was initially registered at Dhanmandi police station in Udaipur but was later transferred to the NIA on June 29, 2022. Amit Shah is set to visit Jaipur today where he will address the Cooperative and Employment Festival (ANI) Police on Thursday detained several opposition leaders and workers, including State Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu, during the Odisha Bandh called to protest the death of a college student in Balasore who recently succumbed in hospital to injuries sustained after setting herself on fire last week. Odisha Congress in-charge Ajay Kumar Lallu accused the state government of trying to deny justice to the college student. Alleging that the government was using force to stop protests, he stated that the Congress would not be afraid. "The State government does not want to give justice to the victim and has resorted to hooliganism....We will not be intimidated and will continue to raise our voice against the state government. Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Odisha CM will have to resign," the Congress leader said. Congress workers also blocked railway tracks in Balasore as part of the protest against the State government. Transport services were hit and shops remained shut in Bhubaneswar on Thursday as several opposition parties observed an Odisha bandh. A man who was waiting to board a bus in Bhubaneswar stated that people are facing transportation issues due to the State bandh, but added that the protest is necessary when the administration fails to act. Speaking to ANI, the man who said his name was Ayush said, "... We are not able to book cabs or autos and are facing challenges in transportation...I support the Odisha bandh because if the administration does not work, protest is the only option..." Security forces were deployed, and petrol pumps remained closed in Odisha's capital city as several opposition parties observed the state bandh. The bandh also caused long traffic jams on the Chennai-Kolkata Highway, where trucks and other vehicles were left stranded. Bus services were impacted in different parts of the state. On Tuesday, eight Opposition political parties, including the Congress, unitedly called for 'Odisha Bandh' for today. They are demanding the resignation of the State Higher Education Minister and a judicial investigation in the demise of the student. The 20-year-old student had allegedly faced prolonged sexual harassment by the Head of Department (HoD) at Fakir Mohan (Autonomous) College in Balasore. Despite filing a formal complaint and seeking help from the college principal, her grievances reportedly went unheard, leading her to take the extreme step on campus on July 12. She was initially admitted to the Balasore district hospital and later referred to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Bhubaneswar, where she succumbed to her burn injuries on July 14, hospital authorities said. In connection with the case, Fakir Mohan College's HoD, Samira Kumar Sahu, and Principal, Dilip Ghose, have been arrested. (ANI) Independent MP from Purnea, Pappu Yadav was stopped from visiting the hospital in Patna where assailants fired shots at a prisoner under treatment on Thursday morning. Speaking about the incident, Pappu Yadav requested the Governor to impose President's Rule in the Bihar, expressing concern over the rising crime in the state. "I will request the Governor to impose President's rule in Bihar... Nurses, doctors, no one is safe in Bihar. These leaders can do politics only on the basis of money" he said. The Purnea MP also accused the police of staging "fake encounters" on the basis of their caste. "Criminals are selected on the basis of their caste, fake encounters are done. They protect the shooters... There is no such thing as administration in Bihar. They give shelter to mafias," he said. He also alleged that Nitish Kumar is not running the government but BJP is running it. "Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar is not running the government. He almost asleep. The BJP is running the government," he said. This comes after unidentified assailants shot a prisoner, Chandan Mishra, who was out on parole on the grounds of required medical attention and was admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment. Chandan Mishra was a known criminal with dozens of murder cases registered against him. The Police believe that the rival gang has carried out the shooting. The prisoner is undergoing treatment, Patna SSP Kartikay Sharma said. Meanwhile, In another instance of crime in Bihar on Thursday morning, a blood-soaked body of Rakesh Singh's 20-year-old son Shivam alias Bunty was found lying outside his house in Hathiyakandh village under Shahpur police station area, Superintendent of Police (SP) West Patna, Bhanu Pratap Singh stated. According to the deceased's family members, Shivam used to study in a rented house in Danapur with his parents and had come to the village only four days ago. (ANI) The Election Commission of India (ECI) received Enumeration Forms from over 6.99 crore electors in Bihar ahead of the release of the draft electoral roll on August 1, 2025. As per official data released on Thursday, this accounts for 88.65 per cent of the total 7,89,69,844 registered voters in the state as of June 24, 2025. A total of 6,47,24,300 forms have already been uploaded to the system, which is 81.96 per cent of the total electorate. However, 6.85 per cent of electors, around 54.07 lakh people, have yet to submit their forms. During the door-to-door verification process, Booth Level Officers (BLOs) found that 35,69,435 electors (4.5%) were not present at their registered addresses despite three visits. Among them, around 12.55 lakh (1.59%) are suspected to be deceased, 17.37 lakh (2.2%) are believed to have permanently shifted, and 5.76 lakh (0.73%) have been found to be enrolled at multiple places. The ECI is continuing its efforts to reach out to these voters and ensure that no one is left off the rolls. To further verify these cases, the ECI will begin sharing this information with the District Presidents of political parties and their 1.5 lakh Booth Level Agents from July 18, allowing them to confirm the status of such electors by July 25. To ensure that no eligible voter is left out, special verification will be conducted for those not found at home, despite three visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs). These cases, likely involving voters who have died, moved permanently, or are enrolled at more than one place, will be shared with political party representatives and Booth Level Agents for cross-checking. In an effort to increase participation, the Commission has also set up special camps in 5,683 wards across 261 urban local bodies (ULBs) in Bihar. Bihar elections are expected to be held later this year, in October or November; however, ECI has not announced an official date. (ANI) Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha on Thursday criticised the NDA government in Bihar over the Paras Hospital firing incident, asserting that the state's law and order situation should be a national concern. Speaking to ANI, the RJD Rajya Sabha MP said, "Bihar should be a matter of concern for the entire country... Crimes occur every day in Bihar... Is this the rule of law? ... When will the Prime Minister send a fact-finding committee to Bihar?..." Further reacting to the 125 units of free electricity decision in bihar ahead of polls, Jha said, "This is not a master stroke. It is a stroke borrowed from another master. He had committed 200 units free while only 125 units were made free... Tejashwi Yadav, who originally gave the idea, should be made CM because Nitish Kumar is following the benchmarks set by him." This comes after unidentified assailants shot a prisoner admitted at a hospital in Patna. A prisoner, Chandan Mishra, was out on parole on the grounds of required medical attention and was admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment when unidentified assailants barged into the hospital on Thursday morning and shot him, Patna SSP Kartikay Sharma said. Chandan Mishra was a known criminal with dozens of murder cases registered against him. The Police believe that the rival gang has carried out the shooting. The prisoner is undergoing treatment. Meanwhile, In another instance of crime in Bihar on Thursday morning, the blood-soaked body of Rakesh Singh's 20-year-old son Shivam, alias Bunty, was found lying outside his house in Hathiyakandh village under the Shahpur police station area, Superintendent of Police (SP) West Patna Bhanu Pratap Singh stated. According to the deceased's family members, Shivam used to study in a rented house in Danapur with his parents and had come to the village only four days ago. The deceased's grandfather, Devendra Singh, said that on Sunday night he came to sleep in their room but went to another room, saying that he would come after putting the mobile on charge. Then, when he did not come back, he thought that he might have slept in the same room, but in the morning his body was found outside the house. The deceased's grandfather, Devendra Singh, said that on Sunday night he came to sleep in their room but went to another room, saying that he would come after putting the mobile on charge. Then, when he did not come back, he thought that he might have slept in the same room, but in the morning his body was found outside the house. (ANI) Prince Harry has again walked his late mother's footsteps through a minefield in Angola. Prince Harry's 2019 visit to Angola The Duke of Sussex insisted children shouldn't have to "live in fear" of walking to school as he met with families and children in Cuito Cuanavale, where the "remnants of war" are still feared, 28 years after the late Princess Diana visited the African country to highlight the issue. Harry said: Children should never have to live in fear of playing outside or walking to school. Here in Angola, over three decades later, the remnants of war still threaten lives every day. Harry joined James Cowan, the chief executive of The Halo Trust to meet Angola's president, Joao Lourenco to secure a pledge for a three-year programme of "significant" further support. The 40-year-old royal - who last visited Angola in 2019 - said: The Angolan governments continued commitment is a powerful testament to Halos success in saving lives and reducing humanitarian risk. We thank President Lourenco for his leadership and partnership, as well as continued donor support as we work together towards completing the mission of a landmine-free country. Diana visited Angola in January 1997 with the Halo Trust, just seven months before she died in a Paris car crash and was famously pictured in protective gear as she walked through an active minefield during a brief period of peace in the country's long civil war. Two months after her death, a treaty banning landmines was signed, at a time when the country was blighted by more than 15 million landmines. These days, there are more than 1,000 minefields still waiting to be cleared. Harry visited children in a remote village which is close to Africa's largest minefield and repeated simple Portuguese phrases such as "Stop, go back and tell your elders" to prevent the kids from detonating the deadly devices. He was photographed in a Halo Trust cap and shirt surrounded by laughing children. The prince previously stressed how it was important to continue his mother's work on the issue. He said during a New York summit in September: Carrying on her legacy is a responsibility that I take seriously. I think we all know how much she would want us to finish this particular job. An IndiGo flight en route to Imphal on Thursday was forced to return to Delhi shortly after take-off due to a minor technical issue, the airline said in a statement. Flight 6E 5118, which departed from Indira Gandhi International Airport for Imphal, experienced a technical snag shortly into the journey. As a precautionary measure, the pilots opted to turn back and landed the aircraft safely in Delhi. "In line with the mandatory procedures, the aircraft underwent necessary checks and resumed the journey shortly thereafter," said an IndiGo spokesperson. "Inconvenience caused to our customers is regretted. As always, safety and security of the customers, crew and aircraft is of utmost importance to us.," the spokesperson added. No injuries were reported, and passengers were provided assistance during the delay. The airline has not disclosed the specific nature of the technical issue. Earlier, an IndiGo flight en route from Delhi to Goa was diverted to Mumbai on Wednesday after a technical snag was detected mid-air. The flight, 6E 6271, was scheduled to land at the Manohar International Airport in Goa but was instead rerouted to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai as a precautionary measure. According to an official statement from an IndiGo spokesperson, the aircraft landed safely in Mumbai and is currently undergoing necessary checks and maintenance. "An alternative aircraft has been arranged for completing the journey, which will depart shortly with the customers. We regret the inconvenience caused to our customers due to this unforeseen situation. At IndiGo, the safety and security of the customers, crew, and aircraft are of utmost importance," the spokesperson said. All passengers on board are reported to be safe. The airline is coordinating to ensure minimal disruption to the travel plans of the affected customers. (ANI) The comments have sparked outrage among the public, religious groups, and political leaders both within the state and beyond. Tripura's Minister for Animal Resources Development, SC Welfare and Fisheries, Sudhanshu Das, condemned the remarks and called them "extremely wrong and unacceptable." "The way former CPI(M) MP Shankar Prasad Dutta has spoken obscenely and insulted our Lord Hanuman is extremely wrong and unacceptable. I believe this is not just about Dutta alone--his statement reflects poorly on the entire CPI(M) party," Das said. The minister also accused the Communist Party of maintaining a long-standing disregard for India's spiritual and cultural values. Referring to a recent incident in Kerala, he said, "During Guru Purnima, some students were seen touching their Guru's feet as a mark of reverence. Yet, leftist leaders in Kerala opposed this practice, showing again that they fail to respect our ancient spiritual values." Das further claimed that the Communist ideology, while often speaking of religious tolerance, frequently targets Hindu traditions. "Communist leaders often speak against Sanatan Dharma. It's not just in Tripura--people across India are deeply hurt and are voicing strong opposition," he said. Protests have taken place in several parts of Tripura since the remarks surfaced. On Tuesday, demonstrators launched a campaign demanding an apology and strict action. Demonstrations continued on Wednesday as well. Calling for official action, Minister Das said he had requested the intervention of the state's top authorities. "I humbly request that strict steps be taken against such offensive behaviour. Mr Shankar Prasad Dutta must issue a public apology at the earliest," he stated. As of now, neither Shankar Prasad Dutta nor the CPI(M) leadership has issued a formal response to the allegations. (ANI) Adding to the controversy, BJP leader Annamalai on Thursday questioned Congress over their "silence" on Tiruchi Siva comments. He also asked whether Congress will leave the DMK alliance and contest alone to "save their dignity." "Is Congress still silent after DMK speaking factually incorrect about K. Kamaraj? Is Congress ready to leave the DMK alliance? Is Congress prepared to contest alone to save its dignity?" he said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin urged leaders to avoid debates, and "to not give room to the intentions of evil-minded people who plan to stir trouble and revel in it!" He said that it is not right to "controversial debates" in public about K Kamraj, "a true Tamilian," as Stalin described. "Do not give room to the intentions of evil-minded people who plan to stir trouble and revel in it! Father Periyar was the one who praised the great leader Kamarajar as a 'true Tamilian." Stalin wrote in a post on X. "It is not right to have controversial debates in public about such a great leader, a great Tamilian. Any opinion shared should be in a manner that upholds the dignity of respected leaders," he added. He urged the alliance to unite and fulfill the dreams of Kamraj "Let us all unite and work to fulfill the dreams of the great leader who dedicated his entire life to building social justice and secular harmony! Let us avoid pointless debates!" he said Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Congress has demanded apology from Tiruchi Siva over his remark on Kamraj. Tamil Nadu Congress Committee State General Secretary Saravanan alleged that Tiruchi Siva falsely claimed that an air-conditioned room was installed for Kamaraj in the Tamil Nadu Tourist Rest House. (ANI) Assam Assembly Deputy Speaker Numal Momin on Thursday blamed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for encouraging encroachers, after police personnel were attacked by miscreants in the Paikan area of Goalpara district. The attack took place days after a major eviction drive in the area. Momin said the violence was a result of Rahul Gandhi's recent statement promising land and houses to the landless, and accused Congress of doing appeasement politics and going against the rule of law. Speaking to ANI, Numal Momin said,"Yesterday, Rahul Gandhi said that when Congress comes to power, they will give land to the landless people and build their houses. They are encouraging the encroachers. Now, they are taking an extreme step in attacking the Police. This is the counter-product of Rahul Gandhi's visit. Indirectly, Congress is encouraging the people who are against the rule of law under this government. Congress always has a hidden agenda and does appeasement politics." "A proper inquiry should be done. I strongly condemn this attack on the Assam Police...It is interesting to note that these encroachers are taking the law into their hands only after Rahul Gandhi's visit," he added. Momin said Congress is scared of the rapid development in Assam under Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. He said Congress never gave Sarma due respect when he was in their party, but now they are panicking as Assam moves towards becoming one of the top five developed states in the country. "During Congress rule, several state governments were dismissed, President's Rule was imposed and we had Emergency in 1975... Congress has always been targeting common people and genuine leaders... When Dr Sarma was in Congress, they never gave him the respect he deserved. Now Congress is afraid of the work he is doing in Assam after coming into BJP, leading the state towards becoming one of the top 5 developed states in the country," he added. "Congress ruled the state for over 60 years and people got terrorism, bomb blasts, communal riots... Congress is panicking as Assam progresses and people favour BJP... A foreigner-free Assam will be the gift of Dr Sarma to the next generation... Congress and Rahul Gandhi exhibit the same mindset as that of 1975 when Emergency was imposed," Momin said. Earlier, several police personnel were injured after miscreants attacked the security personnel at Paikan area in Assam's Goalpara district, where the administration carried out a massive eviction drive a few days back. According to the police, the miscreants attacked the security personnel at Paikan Reserve Forest area when a joint team of police and the forest department went to the area for routine patrolling. Akhilesh Kumar Singh, IGP (L&O) of Assam police, told ANI over the phone that several police personnel were injured, including two seriously injured, following an attack by some miscreants.The miscreants also pelted stones targeting to security personnel. Following retaliatory action by security personnel, a few miscreants were also injured. (ANI) BJP Leader Dilip Ghosh has criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's recent protest, over the alleged targeting of Bengali-speaking migrants in other states, and claimed that Mamata Banerjee wins elections in the State with the help of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants. He said that an exercise like Special Intensive Revision (SIR), which is being carried out by the Election Commission in Bihar, should also be done before West Bengal heads into Assembly elections next year.. "People from Bangladesh are taking advantage of the welfare schemes of the Central Government in Bengal. Their names are there in the voter list, and these are the people who make Mamata Banerjee win every election. Their documents should be checked. Like Bihar, a similar exercise should be done in Bengal before the elections..." Ghosh told ANI. Yesterday, Mamata Banerjee in a fierce attack on the BJP and governments led by the party, accused it of discrimination against Bengali-speaking citizens in the State. In a fiery speech, she alleged that people were being harassed based on language, identity, and political bias. She recalled the recent incidents and alleged that people from West Bengal were being harassed in states like Maharashtra and Assam. Addressing a public rally in Kolkata yesterday, Banerjee said, "We respect all languages... We respect everyone who is an Indian citizen... But this does not mean that Bengalis have to face atrocities. We will not tolerate it. We will not let anyone harass Bengalis...". Chief Minister Banerjee further said, "They removed 30.5 lakh voters in Bihar. This is how they won in Maharashtra and Delhi. They are planning the same for Bihar. They want to do the same in Bengal, but we will fight inch by inch..." Union Minister Sukanta Majumdar yesterday said that the Banerjee was engaging in petty politics and that the entire state of West Bengal, especially the Bengali Hindus, were upset with her. BJP MLA Agnimitra Paul said, "... Mamata Banerjee has understood that she has no chance in 2026. The people of Bengal will vote for change and good governance... She is claiming that people of Bengal are being pushed back; this is false... Today's West Bengal is full of bombs and friction... BSF asked for land to secure the 540-km border, but you did not provide because you wanted to get the Rohingyas inside for your votebank... The Sikhs, Muslims, Hindus or Jains must live here together, but we will not give our rights to the Rohingyas and Bangladeshis... In 2026, the TMC government will be ousted...". BJP leader and Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari has also called for an exercise, similar to the one being undertaken in Bihar, to delete all Rohingya Muslims' names from the voter list in West Bengal. "We marched here along with the BJP MLAs and BJP leaders. The exercise that is happening in Bihar should happen here as well. The names of lakhs of Rohingya Muslims are in the voter list here, they should be removed... This is not a question of Bengalis or the Bengali language. This is a question of national interest. Bengal has to be saved...". Adhikari said. (ANI) Hailing Prime Minister Narendra Modi for keeping the country secure, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday said that through Operation Sindoor, India had sent a strong message to the world that it would retaliate if attacked. Addressing a public event in Dadiya village in Jaipur, Shah said, "Under the leadership of Modi ji, India has become the fourth largest economy in the world. Additionally, 27 crore people have been alleviated from poverty. The biggest thing Modi ji has done is to make the country secure. During Congress's tenure, there were frequent terror attacks. Modi ji conducted a surgical strike after the Uri attack, an airstrike after the Pulwama attack, and Operation Sindoor after the Pahalgam attack. We have sent a strong message to the world that there will be consequences if India is attacked..." He noted the NDA government's achievements in the last 11 years, including providing houses, toilets, gas, electricity, and free rations to 60 crore poor individuals across the country. "MoUs worth Rs 35 lakh crores were signed during the Rajasthan Global Investors' Summit. In the last 11 years, the Modi government has provided houses, toilets, gas, electricity, and free rations to 60 crore poor individuals across the country. All these schemes are being implemented well in Rajasthan under Bhajanlal ji's government," Shah said. India had launched Operation Sindoor targeting terror infrastructure in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir in retaliation for the Pahalgam attack that killed 26 civilians. A day earlier, Amit Shah chaired a high-level meeting to review the Delhi Master Plan 2041 (MPD-2041), bringing together key stakeholders, including Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. Delhi Home and Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood also attended the meeting, which comes a day after a separate review session on the provisions of the MPD-2041 was conducted at the Delhi Secretariat. (ANI) A special leave petition has been moved before the Supreme Court against the order of acquittal of MLA Abhay Singh and six others in an attempt to murder case passed by the Lucknow Bench of Allahabad High Court. The bench of Justices Sanjay Kumar and Satish Chandra Sharma on July 18. This petition has been moved by Vikas Singh through advocate Rudra Vikram Singh and Sandeep Yadav. Vikas Singh was the complainant in the FIR registered at Police Station Maharaj Ganj, Faizabad, UP. The petitioner had stated that one Judge of a Double bench has convicted MLA Abhay Singh and the other four respondents under Sections 307 and 147 of the IPC. However, another Judge has acquitted them; consequently, the matter was sent to a third Judge, who also acquitted them. Two other respondents were acquitted by the trial court. This decision was upheld by the division bench of the Allahabad High Court. An appeal against acquittal was decided by the Allahabad High Court. The order of the trial court was upheld by the High Court. The petitioner has submitted that on March 21, 2025, the Allahabad High Court acquitted all respondents without appreciating the documentary evidence on record, the injured witness's testimony supported by documentary evidence like the medical report and the technical report of the vehicle, and only giving too much weight to the contradictions in the statements of the injured witness/Complainant. It is further submitted that Justice Attau Rahman Masoodi, while deciding the appeal, considered all facts and have passed an order convicting Shambhunath Singh, Rama Kant Yadav, Ravi Kant Yadav, Abhay Singh and Sandeep Singh alias Pappu Singh under section 147, 149, 504, 506, 307 of IPC and Section 27 of Arms Act. However, due to a different opinion, the matter was referred to another bench, and the said bench acquitted all the accused persons. A Case under section 307, 147,149, 504 and 506 of IPC against Abhay Singh, Rama Kant Yadav, Ravi Kant Yadav, Shambhu Nath Singh, Sandeep Singh and two unknown persons was registered on 15.05.2010 at Police Station Maharajganj, District Faizabad on the Complaint filed by Vikas Singh. It was alleged that 3 respondents had fired shots at the car in which Vikas Singh and other people were returning from Faizabad in a car. Due to a sudden brake, Vikas Singh had collided with the dashboard of the car and suffered injuries. He was admitted to the hospital. His vehicle was also sent for a technical inspection, and six holes were found on the left side of it. After the conclusion of the investigation, the investigating officer submitted a charge sheet against the Respondents under sections 147, 149, 504, 506 & 307 of the IPC & Section 27 of the Arms Act on August 4, 2010. (ANI) Special Judge (MP/MLA) of Ambedakar Nagar on 10.05.2023 acquitted all the seven Respondents from the charges levelled against them under section 147, 149,307, 504 & 506 IPC and Section 27 of the Arms Act. (ANI) Former Flight Operations Inspector with the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation), Captain Prashant Dhalla, spoke to ANI on Thursday regarding the Wall Street Journal's news report on the Air India AI 171 crash that occurred in Ahmedabad last month. Dhalla emphasised the word 'transitioned', which was mentioned in the report. He further explained that this report suggests a challenge-and-response dynamic exists between the two pilots, with one questioning the other, and a state of confusion. "The report uses a particular word - 'transitioned'. The fuel control switches transitioned, according to the report. This report suggests that a challenge-and-response dynamic exists between the two pilots, with one questioning the other, and a state of confusion between the pilots, potentially leading to a breakdown in Crew Resource Management (CRM)," Captain Prashant Dhalla said. "If any changes were made due to a failure in this aircraft, they would have used these switches to regain power. If there was a problem with the locking mechanism of these switches, then the pilots were also helpless," Captain Dhalla added further. Meanwhile, the Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP) President, CS Randhawa, on Thursday, condemned a media report that claimed that the captain of the flight deliberately cut off fuel to the engines. Captain Randhawa emphasised that the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau's (AAIB) preliminary report makes no mention of the pilots turning off the switches controlling fuel flow to the engines. "Nowhere in the report has it been mentioned that the fuel control switch was turned off due to the pilot's mistake. I condemn the article. They have not read the report properly, and will take action against them through FIP," said Captain Randhawa. Furthermore, he urged people not to comment on the AAIB's preliminary report, as this might create undue fear among commuters about air travel. The two pilots involved were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had a total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively. A preliminary report released last week by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the June 12 crash and raised fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches, the report said. The AI 171 crash of the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. (ANI) The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday made significant progress in the Dispur IED case, arresting two more accused individuals linked to the ULFA (I) terror group in Guwahati, as part of a conspiracy to carry out multiple blasts in Assam on Independence Day in 2024, the agency stated. Bhargob Gogoi and Sumu Gogoi, both residents of Dibrugarh district, Assam, were apprehended for their alleged involvement in the conspiracy to plant an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) at Dispur Last Gate in Guwahati. They were directly involved in the conspiracy orchestrated by the proscribed terrorist organisation to strike terror and threaten the sovereignty, security, and integrity of the nation. With these arrests, the total number of accused arrested in the case has risen to three. The NIA took over the investigation from the Dispur police in September 2023 and charged the accused under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Explosives Substances Act. (ANI) Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla, a proud son of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, has made India and his family proud by returning safely to Earth after an 18-day stay aboard the International Space Station (ISS). As part of the Axiom-4 mission, Shubhanshu Shukla's journey has been a remarkable achievement for India's space ambitions. Shubhanshu's mother, Asha Shukla, couldn't hold back her emotions as she spoke about her son's incredible feat. Shukla's mother, Asha Shukla, shared with ANI, "It was a very happy experience; he shared it with us. He is feeling very happy there and is very happy to have completed the inter-city journey." Upon asking what it was like as a mother, the moment he came back, and what conversation happened, she shared, "His journey was very good and everything is good, and he will come and meet us soon...maybe PM Modi is not here...the plan to come to Delhi got cancelled, now they will come together, that is when we will meet him, he will come in August only." "There will be a lot of excitement when, after so many days, we meet our kids, there is no doubt in it that or not...we will feel a lot of pride that we will be able to hug our son at that time," she shared upon the moment of excitement of meeting his son," she added. As part of the Axiom-4 mission, Shubhanshu Shukla spent 18 days aboard the ISS, conducting scientific experiments and outreach activities. His journey marks a significant milestone for India's space exploration program, showcasing the country's growing presence in the global space community. "It was a very emotional moment for us, we will never forget that moment, when he was landing, I became very emotional, I was only thinking that how quickly he should land safely, this was going on in my mind again and again, there was turmoil, when we started landing safely then everything started looking good," she shared upon being emotional after Shubhanshu 's successful operation. Lastly, she shared, "Now he has become the pride of the whole country, he is no longer my alone pride. Everyone will pray for him. That is a good thing, and it feels great to see that when everyone prays like this and offers prayers, it feels wonderful. I am absolutely proud of him... We have now received recognition from our children. Normally, children are recognised by their parents; now we are getting recognised by our children. This is a matter of great pride for us." The Shukla family, including Shubhanshu's father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, and sister, Shuchi Mishra, eagerly awaited his return, offering prayers to Lord Shiva for his safe landing. As news of his successful splashdown reached them, the family erupted in joy, celebrating this remarkable achievement. His father, Shambhu Dayal Shukla, shared whether he talked to him or not, "Yes, we have talked, he is capable, he is with his family, he is getting better mentally, physically, there is no problem, he told me that everything is fine, it is good, very good." Upon asking about his arrival in India, he said, "There is still some time for him to come to India, then as far as his mission work is concerned, whatever there is about the contract, etc., it will have to be done about it, after completing it, he has plans to come in August. "Now, if there are plans to come to Lucknow, then we will go to Lucknow to receive him...If there are plans to come to Lucknow, then we will meet him in Lucknow, otherwise we will go to Delhi," his father shared whether he'll meet him in Lucknow or Delhi. Lastly, his father proudly added for his achievement, "It is a matter of great pride for us that we are recognised by our son's name; the biggest aim of our life was to be recognised by our son's name; that aim has been fulfilled and we are known by our son's name; we are very happy." Following the Cabinet meeting, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "Today the Union Cabinet has passed a resolution on the return of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla from ISS. This is an occasion of pride, glory and joy for the entire country. Today, the Cabinet, along with the country, congratulates Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla on his successful return to Earth." On July 15, Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla landed back safely on Earth from his space journey. Launched on June 25, with Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla as the Mission Pilot, this mission marked a watershed moment for India, as it was the first time an Indian astronaut had travelled to the ISS. The Cabinet commended the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the entire community of Indian scientists and engineers for their relentless efforts that made this achievement possible, said the official statement. During his time aboard ISS, Group Captain Shukla worked with fellow members of the Axiom-4 Crew and Expedition 73, embodying India's growing leadership in international space cooperation. He conducted pioneering experiments in microgravity on subjects such as muscle regeneration, algal and microbial growth, crop viability, microbial survivability, cognitive performance in space, and the behaviour of cyanobacteria. These studies will deepen the global understanding of human spaceflight and microgravity science, providing critical inputs for India's future missions. This mission significantly elevates India's global standing in space exploration. It is a vital stepping stone towards India's own human spaceflight ambition, including the Gaganyaan and the Bharatiya Antariksha Station. India's recent landmark achievements include the historic landing of Chandrayaan-3 near the South Pole of the Moon on 23rd August 2023, a day etched in history as India's National Space Day. Likewise, India's Aditya-L1 Mission, launched in 2023, has significantly enhanced humanity's understanding of solar activity. (ANI) Alaska Airlines and Boeing have settled with three passengers who sued for $1 billion after a door plug blew out midflight on January 5, 2024. The lawsuit, which cited emotional and physical trauma, was officially dismissed on July 7, 2025, after both sides reached a private agreement. The incident happened aboard Alaska Airlines Flight 1282, a Boeing 737 MAX 9, shortly after takeoff from Portland International Airport. According to FoxBusiness, the plane was heading to Ontario, California, when the door plug came loose at around 16,000 feet. The aircraft quickly turned back and landed safely in Portland. Court documents show that some of the 174 passengers reported hearing a whistling noise and alerted the crew. After the pilot checked cockpit instruments and found nothing unusual, the flight continued until the sudden blowout. Although no serious injuries were reported, passengers said they experienced extreme stress, anxiety, trauma, and hearing problems. Share this maximum. @Boeing is having a huge baggage on its head for using substandard parts. Whistleblowers are k!lled. Boeing agreed to pay $1.1Billion to settle lawsuits Theres more than that meets the eye in #AirIndiaPlaneCrash #AhmedabadPlaneCrash pic.twitter.com/Eh23ti6ctC Tathvam-asi (@ssaratht) June 19, 2025 FAA Grounds Boeing 737 MAX 9 After Safety Concerns Investigations later revealed that four bolts meant to secure the door plug were missing. The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) confirmed that Boeing was at fault and criticized the company for poor oversight and lack of proper training at its factory. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) responded by grounding all Boeing 737 MAX 9 planes for safety checks. Alaska Airlines removed more than 60 of these aircraft from service for inspections. "Boeing must commit to real and profound improvements," said FAA Administrator Mike Whitaker, stressing the need for stronger leadership and accountability at the company. Before this latest settlement, Boeing had already paid Alaska Airlines $160 million in initial compensation for the incident. The door plug failure added to Boeing's long list of troubles. Just last month, the company pleaded guilty to a felony charge related to earlier crashes of the 737 MAX 8 and agreed to pay over $243 million in fines, along with additional safety investments, DailyBeast said. Neither Boeing nor Alaska Airlines responded to media requests for comment following the July 7 resolution. The incident on Flight 1282, though it ended without fatalities, shook public confidence in air safety and raised new concerns over Boeing's manufacturing processes. Originally published on vcpost.com The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has once again issued a rain warning for Himachal Pradesh, with moderate to heavy rainfall expected to continue in many parts of the state over the next several days. Sandeep Kumar Sharma, Senior Scientist at the Meteorological Centre in Shimla, said that with a halt on July 19, the rainfall is expected to continue till July 23 in the state. "In the past 24 hours, districts like Sirmaur, Kangra, and Mandi witnessed moderate to heavy rainfall. If we look at the data, Nahan in Sirmaur district recorded 57 mm of rain." He added that light rainfall was reported at isolated places in Kinnaur, Lahaul-Spiti, Solan, and Bilaspur districts. The weather department predicts light to moderate rainfall in parts of Bilaspur, Kullu, Mandi, Solan, and Sirmaur districts over the next two days. A yellow alert for rainfall has been issued for Una, Hamirpur, Bilaspur, Kangra, Mandi, and Sirmaur districts today. "These weather conditions will likely continue tomorrow as well," Sharma said. A yellow alert remains in place for Chamba, Kangra, and Sirmaur districts as of July 18. However, no heavy rainfall alert has been issued for July 19, and a brief reduction in rain intensity is expected. "Rain activity will pick up again between July 20 and 23, with the possibility of heavy to very heavy rainfall in the lower hill districts, including Una, Chamba, Kangra, Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Sirmaur, Solan, and parts of Shimla district," Sharma said. Despite the intense rain spells, the overall seasonal rainfall has been normal so far, with the state recording 12 per cent above-average rainfall. Only Lahaul-Spiti and Chamba have reported slightly below-normal precipitation; the rest of the districts have seen normal to above-normal rainfall. "Even in July, the rainfall levels across Himachal have been largely normal," Sharma added. Temperatures are also hovering near normal, though a slight dip in temperatures is expected around July 20. July 19 is expected to experience generally stable weather, but intermittent rain is anticipated across the state from today through July 23. In view of these conditions, the district administrations in Solan, Shimla, and Sirmaur have issued advisories. Due to low cloud cover, visibility is expected to remain poor in some areas, and water levels in rivers and streams may rise. "The public is advised to remain cautious and follow safety advisories issued by local authorities," Sharma said. (ANI) Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is seeking a special financial relief package from the Central Government to support the state in the wake of devastating monsoon disasters. After returning from Delhi on Wednesday, Sukhu addressed the media informally on Thursday and shared key takeaways from his meetings with Union Ministers in the national capital. "During my visit to Delhi, I held discussions with various Union Ministers on several issues," said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. "I expect that the central government will grant a special package for Himachal Pradesh in view of the current disaster situation," he said. The state has suffered damages worth approximately 1,000 crore due to flash floods and cloudbursts, with cumulative losses of 21,000 crore over the past three years. CM Sukhu met Union Home Minister Amit Shah and urged for a special relief package, emphasizing the need for flexible funding to efficiently manage relief operations. He requested amendments to existing norms, including a 30% hike in relief limits, to better support hill states like Himachal Pradesh in disaster response and recovery efforts. Due to floods and landslides, suggesting alternative land allocation and compensation. A special cabinet meeting will finalize a state-level disaster relief package using available resources, while awaiting central assistance. The state government plans to approach the Supreme Court regarding the High Court's directive to remove encroachments and cut down fruit-bearing apple trees on forest land, after evaluating all legal aspects. CM Sukhu said that state government would seek legal opinion and would challange this matter in the supreme court. The Chief Minister also addressed questions related to the Himachal Pradesh High Court's recent directive ordering the removal of encroachments by orchardists and the cutting down of fruit-bearing apple trees on forest land. "The state government has intervened in this matter," the Chief Minister asserted. "We are not in favor of indiscriminate felling of fruit-bearing trees. Our government wants to allow time for action rather than immediate destruction. Even if there is encroachment on forest land, we must follow a due process," he said "I will speak to the Horticulture Minister on this matter. I am calling a special meeting to decide how we should proceed. Although the government has put forward its stance, the High Court is not inclined to hear us on this issue." Sukhu added. Chief Minister Sukhu emphasised that the state is planning to approach the Supreme Court, but only after evaluating all legal aspects. "We will take a legal opinion and then proceed. We will go to the Supreme Court on this matter," he added. Clarifying the Meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, he said there will not be any change in party leadership, and no such matter was discussed on party issues, as the prime focus right now is the restoration and relief of flood areas, and also to resolve the farming issues of the apple orchards. Clarifying recent media reports, Sukhu denied any organisational discussions with the Congress leadership during his Delhi visit. "I did meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji, but only in relation to state matters. There was no discussion regarding party organization. I urge those who published such reports to verify facts before reporting." He said. "Currently, our focus is not on the organization, but on relief, rescue, and rehabilitation efforts for disaster-affected people and resolve the issues of the apple growers. Discussions about party structure will only happen when needed. Right now, there is no change in the organization." he said Sukhu seeks central support for farmers and land-loss victims. CM Sukhu also stated that he had discussions with Union Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, urging support for farmers who have lost forest or agricultural land due to the floods and landslides. "I discussed with JP Nadda ji how farmers have lost land due to the calamity. I suggested that they be given alternative land. He responded positively, saying once we come up with a proposal, the Centre will consider it," he said. He reiterated that small farmers and orchardists who don't own land should be allotted forest land, wherever possible. "Wherever there is forest land, we want to provide land to small orchardists and landless farmers. Where such land is unavailable, we hope the Centre will step in. Mandi district, including areas represented by former CM Jai Ram Thakur, has seen extensive damage." Sukhu added. He said that soon there would be a special cabinet meeting on disaster relief. CM Sukhu announced that the next Cabinet meeting will finalize a state-level disaster relief package from available resources. "In our next Cabinet meeting, we will approve a relief package using state resources. However, the most crucial thing is a special relief package from the Centre that goes beyond regular budgetary norms." he said. "The Centre should allow us the flexibility to use such funds as per the situation on the ground. This will help us organize relief operations more efficiently," the Chief Minister added. He expressed optimism about central assistance. "I am confident that the Central Government will support Himachal Pradesh during this crisis.", Sukhu added further. (ANI) As Himachal Pradesh faces devastating monsoon, Bharatiya Janata Party's Harimpur MP, Anurag Thakur on Thursday appealed to the state government to increase the initial relief amount given to the people. The BJP MP said that the Centre is already providing 'full support' to the state, and the issue of providing relief will be raised in the upcoming Parliament session too. "There has been a heavy loss in two constituencies in the district of Mandi. People have become homeless while having homes already, many people have to move out and can't go back for months because their houses are unsafe now. Through the BJP we have tried our best to provide relief to the needy, whether it is food, ration, clothes, or even medical needs. I appeal to the state government to increase the relief amount," the BJP MP told ANI here. Claiming that a shopkeeper who have faced losses get only a meagre amount, he urged the state government to increase the immediate relief provided, adding, "The initial amount given is very less. A shopkeeper gets just Rs 2,500, when Rs 1,000 has already been spent by them to remove the mud from their place. I request the state government to increase that amount." He also said that the issue will be raised in the upcoming monsoon session of the Parliament too, set to commence on August 21. The ongoing monsoon season has claimed 109 human lives across the state of Himachal between June 20 and July 16, 2025, with 64 deaths directly linked to rain-related incidents, and 45 fatalities were reported in road accidents, according to the cumulative report released by the State Disaster Management Authority (SDMA). The data compiled by the State Emergency Operations Centre (SEOC) reveal that the 64 monsoon-related deaths occurred owing to various causes, including landslides, flash floods, cloudbursts, drowning, electrocution, snake bites, and falls from steep terrain. Mandi and Kangra districts reported the highest number of such fatalities, with 16 deaths each, followed by Hamirpur (8), Kullu (4), Chamba (3), and others. Apart from the tragic loss of human lives, the SDMA report outlines extensive damage to public and private property. A total monetary loss of over Rs 883 crore has been estimated. Infrastructure damage includes over 43000 roads, power lines, water schemes, and public buildings being affected. Livestock loss has also been severe, with 1,228 cattle and 21,500 poultry birds perishing during this period. The Himachal government has been running round-the-clock monitoring and response through SEOC and district-level control rooms. Relief measures, including ex-gratia payments, are being processed for the affected families, the SDMA confirmed. Earlier, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu stated that a central team would soon visit the state to assess the cloudburst and the damage caused by the flash floods. CM Sukhu also met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in New Delhi on Tuesday and apprised him that the state had suffered damages amounting to around Rs 1000 crore, even as the monsoon had just begun. (ANI) After returning from Delhi on Wednesday, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu addressed the media informally on Thursday and shared key takeaways from his meetings with Union Ministers in the national capital. The Chief Minister expressed hope that the Centre would extend a special financial relief package to the state in light of the extensive damage caused by the ongoing monsoon disaster. "During my visit to Delhi, I held discussions with various Union Ministers on several issues," said Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu. "I expect that the central government will grant a special package for Himachal Pradesh in view of the current disaster situation," the CM said. Speaking on the Himachal Pradesh High Court's directive regarding encroachments and the felling of fruit-bearing apple trees on forest land, the Chief Minister said the state government would seek legal opinion and challenge the order in the Supreme Court. "The state government has intervened in this matter," the Chief Minister asserted. "We are not in favour of indiscriminate felling of fruit-bearing trees. Our government wants to allow time for action rather than immediate destruction. Even if there is encroachment on forest land, we must follow a due process," he said "I will speak to the Horticulture Minister on this matter. I am calling a special meeting to decide how we should proceed. Although the government has put forward its stance, the High Court is not inclined to hear us on this issue," the Chief Minister added. He emphasised that the government plans to approach the Supreme Court, but only after examining all legal aspects. "We will take a legal opinion and then proceed. We will go to the Supreme Court on this matter," he added. Clarifying reports about his meeting with Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, he said there will not be any change in party leadership, and no such matter was discussed on party issues, as the prime focus right now is the restoration and relief of flood areas, and also to resolve the farming issues of the apple orchards. Sukhu denied any organisational discussions with the Congress leadership during his Delhi visit. "I did meet Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge ji, but only in relation to state matters. There was no discussion regarding party organisation. I urge those who published such reports to verify facts before reporting." He said. Currently, our focus is not on the organisation, but on relief, rescue, and rehabilitation efforts for disaster-affected people and resolving the issues of the apple growers. Discussions about party structure will only happen when needed. Right now, there is no change in the organisation," he said Sukhu seeks central support for farmers and those affected by land loss. CM Sukhu also stated that he had discussions with Union Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda, urging support for farmers who have lost forest or agricultural land due to the floods and landslides. "I discussed with JP Nadda ji how farmers have lost land due to the calamity. I suggested that they be given alternative land. He responded positively, saying once we come up with a proposal, the Centre will consider it," he said. He reiterated that small farmers and orchardists who don't own land should be allotted forest land, wherever possible. "Wherever there is forest land, we want to provide land to small orchardists and landless farmers. Where such land is unavailable, we hope the Centre will step in. Mandi district, including areas represented by former CM Jai Ram Thakur, has seen extensive damage." Sukhu added. He stated that a special cabinet meeting on disaster relief would be held soon. CM Sukhu announced that the next Cabinet meeting would finalise a state-level disaster relief package using available resources. "In our next Cabinet meeting, we will approve a relief package using state resources. However, the most crucial thing is a special relief package from the Centre that goes beyond regular budgetary norms," he said. "The Centre should allow us the flexibility to use such funds as per the situation on the ground. This will help us organise relief operations more efficiently," the Chief Minister added. He expressed optimism about central assistance. "I am confident that the Central Government will support Himachal Pradesh during this crisis," Sukhu added further. (ANI) Bhartiya Janta Party Leader K Annamalai on Thursday reaffirmed the party's commitment to the AIADMK alliance in Tamil Nadu, citing Union Home Minister Amit Shah's statements that the BJP will be part of the government if the alliance comes to power. K Annamalai while interacting with the media said, ""...Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said several times that the BJP will be part of the government... The alliance (with the AIADMK) should continue." Annamalai highlighted Amit Shah's assurance of a common minimum programme acceptable to both parties, aiming to defeat the DMK in the 2026 Assembly elections. He further added, "The Union Home Minister has also said that we will have a common minimum programme which will be acceptable to both the parties." Annamalai's comments come after AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami denied any power-sharing arrangement with the BJP, stating that Amit Shah's remarks only meant the alliance would form the government with Palaniswami as the Chief Minister. Despite past tensions, Annamalai emphasized the importance of continuing the alliance, with the BJP working together with the AIADMK to challenge the ruling DMK. The AIADMK-BJP alliance broke down in 2023 due to Annamalai's criticism of Dravidian icons and differences in leadership approach. However, recent meetings between Amit Shah and Palaniswami have sparked speculation about a potential revival of the alliance. The development comes as both parties seek to strengthen their position ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections, with the BJP aiming to expand its influence in Tamil Nadu through strategic alliances. Earlier, BJP leader Annamalai also stirred the already existing controversy of DMK Rajya Sabha MP Tiruchi Siva's controversial remark on former Chief Minister and Congress stalwart K Kamaraj on Thursday and questioned Congress over their "silence" on Tiruchi Siva's comments. He also asked whether Congress would leave the DMK alliance and contest alone to "save their dignity." "Is Congress still silent after DMK speaking factually incorrect about K. Kamaraj? Is Congress ready to leave the DMK alliance? Is Congress prepared to contest alone to save its dignity?" he said. Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin urged leaders to avoid debates, and "to not give room to the intentions of evil-minded people who plan to stir trouble and revel in it!" He said that it is not right to "controversial debates" in public about K Kamraj, "a true Tamilian," as Stalin described. "Do not give room to the intentions of evil-minded people who plan to stir trouble and revel in it! Father Periyar was the one who praised the great leader Kamarajar as a 'true Tamilian." Stalin wrote in a post on X. "It is not right to have controversial debates in public about such a great leader, a great Tamilian. Any opinion shared should be in a manner that upholds the dignity of respected leaders," he added. He urged the alliance to unite and fulfil the dreams of Kamraj"Let us all unite and work to fulfill the dreams of the great leader who dedicated his entire life to building social justice and secular harmony! Let us avoid pointless debates!" he said (ANI) Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar on Thursday termed the firing incident at Paras Hospital in Patna as "unfortunate" and said the matter is of serious concern, particularly as the hospital has its own security arrangements. Unidentified assailants opened fire inside Paras Hospital, targeting a prisoner who was admitted there for medical treatment, police said. "This is a very sad incident because the incident took place inside Paras which is a famous hospital. It has its own security system. The criminals breached it completely and went inside. This is a matter of concern and we will review the security system of Paras, why it happened and who was on duty and draw the attention of the Paras management," DGP Vinay Kumar told ANI. The DGP informed that the prisoner, identified as Chandan Mishra, was a notorious criminal and had been convicted in several murder cases. He said the deceased was originally sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment upon appeal. "The deceased was a notorious criminal and he was a terror in Buxar. He has been convicted of dozens of murder cases. He was sentenced to death, which was later converted to life imprisonment on appeal. Apart from that, at least three dozen cases are pending against him", the DGP said. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Patna, Kartikay Sharma said Chandan Mishra was out on parole on the grounds of required medical attention and was admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment, when unidentified assailants barged into the hospital and shot him. Chandan Mishra was a known criminal with dozens of murder cases registered against him. The Police believe that the rival gang has carried out the shooting. The prisoner is undergoing treatment. "A criminal named Chandan Mishra, resident of Buxar district, against whom dozens of cases of murder are registered. He was transferred from Buxar to Bhagalpur jail. Chandan was on parole and admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment. The rival gang shot him. He is undergoing treatment, and with the help of the Buxar police, we are identifying the members of the rival gang, Chandan Sheru gang," SSP Kartikay Sharma said. Reacting to the incident, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday questioned the Bihar government, asking if "anyone was safe anywhere" in the state after unidentified assailants shot a prisoner admitted at a hospital in Patna. In a post on social media platform X, Tejashwi Yadav wrote, "Government criminals stormed into the ICU and shot a patient admitted to the hospital. Is anyone safe anywhere in Bihar? Has this happened before 2005?" The incident occurred on Thursday morning when unidentified assailants barged into the hospital and opened fire on the prisoner. Police are currently investigating the matter. (ANI) The Bombay High Court has approved the relocation of Mahadevi, an ailing elephant currently in Kolhapur, to the Radhe Krishna Elephant Welfare Trust, a specialised elephant care centre in Jamnagar. The move comes in response to concerns raised over her health and overall well-being. The trust, supported by Anant Ambani's Vantara initiative, is known for its dedicated care, veterinary expertise, and expansive natural enclosures. Designed to offer long-term rehabilitation, the facility has been at the forefront of animal welfare in India. Reports presented to the court indicated that Mahadevi was suffering from severe injuries and needed a better environment to heal and thrive. After reviewing her condition and the available facilities, the High Court concluded that her best chance at healing lies in a sanctuary purpose-built for elephant care. Invoking the parens patriae principle to safeguard the rights of the "voiceless and hapless Mahadevi", in its ruling, the court said, "We have considered and chosen the survival of the elephant and its right to quality life, over and above the rights of men to use the elephant." The panel also quoted the words of Lawrence Anthony from his book 'The Elephant Whisperer' to support the argument for better treatment of the elephants. This decision marks a compassionate step toward recognising the emotional and physical needs of animals who cannot voice their suffering. With this transfer, Mahadevi is expected to receive focused treatment and the peaceful surroundings essential for her recovery. The Jamnagar-based sanctuary offers a robust ecosystem of veterinary staff, natural foraging space, and continuous care, ensuring elephants like Mahadevi are given a second chance at a dignified, comfortable life. (ANI) Gujarat Minister Rushikesh Patel on Thuesday hailed the success of Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Surat in winning awards for cleanliness, with Ahmedabad securing the top spot in the cleanest big city category. Gujarat's Surat city was recognised as India's second cleanest city at the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 awards. Gujarat Minister Rushikesh Patel received the awards from President Droupadi Murmu on behalf of the state government and emphasised the importance of spreading the message of cleanliness beyond just big cities or small towns, stressing that it should reach every individual. "This time, Ahmedabad has got the first place (in the cleanest big city category), and along with it, Gandhinagar and Surat have also won the award. It should not be limited to only big cities or small towns, but this message of cleanliness should reach every person," the Gujarat Minister told ANI. The awards recognise the efforts of these cities in maintaining cleanliness and promoting a healthy environment for their residents. Meanwhile, the Mayor of Surat Municipal Corporation, Daxesh Kishorbhai Mavani credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel for their leadership, which made the award possible. "Due to the hard work of all the municipal workers and leaders and under the leadership of the PM and Gujarat CM, we are doing this work. And because of that, Surat has come to the top rank in cleanliness in Swachh Survekshan 2024-25," the mayor said. Meanwhile, Indore once again has been declared India's cleanest city, winning the top spot for the eighth year in a row in the Swachh Survekshan 2024-25. Surat secured the second position, while Navi Mumbai stood third. President Droupadi Murmu presented the awards in New Delhi today. After Surat bagged the second spot, Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi said it was a victory for the people of Gujarat and thanked all sanitation workers and cleanliness ambassadors for their efforts in keeping the city clean. Swachh Survekshan 2024-25 marks the 9th edition of the world's largest urban cleanliness survey. This landmark event unveiled the cleanest cities of urban India, recognising the tireless efforts of cities driving the Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) forward. This year, the prestigious awards were presented across 4 categories: a) Super Swachh League Cities, b) Top 3 clean cities in 5 population categories, c) Special Category: Ganga Towns, Cantonment Boards, SafaiMitra Suraksha, Mahakumbh, d) State Level Awards, Promising clean city of State/UT. A total of 78 Awards were presented this year. Swachh Survekshan (SS), a landmark initiative under the SBM-U, has become a defining force in India's urban journey toward cleanliness, capturing hearts, shaping mindsets, and inspiring action over the past nine years. Starting with 73 ULBs in 2016, the latest edition now encompasses 4,500+ cities. This year, the awards not only celebrate the top Swachh Shehar but also recognise and encourage small cities showing strong promise and progress. (ANI) The three accused, identified as Yasib Hussain (28), Aamir Aansri (24) and Md. Abed (31) were caught with Rs 17 lakh of cash, and four two-wheeler vehicles used for criminal activity, police said. "On July 17, sleuths of CCS Balanagar & (Law and order) Jeedimetla Police nabbed above notorious (ATM Gas Cutting) offenders and recovered stolen property of net cash Rs. 17 lakhs from the possession of the accused persons, and four(04) two wheeler vehicles worth 03 lakhs total worth 20 Lakhs. The case was cracked through a meticulous investigation involving technical and human intelligence," read an official statement. The police said that the accused gained entry into the HDFC Bank ATM situated at Markhandaya Nagar, under the limits of Jeedimetla PS, by cutting the ATM machine with gas cutters and decamped with net cash Rs 34.71 lakhs. The police said that the people have a history of stealing ATM cash. "Notorious ATM Interstate Offender Gang has a history of committing multiple ATM thefts across various states in India. Their modus operandi follows a specific and premeditated pattern" they said. The gang forms smaller groups, conduct a reconnaissance of the ATMs, buy their equipment locally and steals vehicles before the heist, the police said. The accused are also involved in 4 other criminal cases. "Prior to committing any offence, the gang forms into smaller groups. They conduct reconnaissance (recce) of ATM centres, specifically targeting those Located in isolated or closed areas, Equipped with external shutters. They source gas cylinders and cutting machines from nearby shops or locations Select midnight hours as the preferred time to commit the offence, minimizing public presence," the police claimed. The police have registered a case under section 305 (theft) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS). Investigation into the case is currently ongoing. (ANI) India achieved a significant milestone by successfully destroying two Aerial High Speed Unmanned targets at high-altitude in Ladakh by Akash Prime, the upgraded variant of Akash Weapon System for the Indian Army on Wednesday, according to an official statement from Ministry of Defence. The weapon system is customised to operate in altitude above 4,500 metres and has latest upgrades including indigenously developed Radio Frequency seeker, as per the release. Based on the operational feedbacks from users, various upgrades are made to improve the operational effectiveness, demonstrating the advantage of the ecosystem created for the indigenous weapon system. According to the statement, Army Air Defence and DRDO, in conjunction with Defence PSUs such as Bharat Dynamics Limited and Bharat Electronics Limited, and other Industry Partners have successfully validated the indigenously designed and developed Akash Prime Weapon System. The trials were done as part of First of Production Model firing trial and will further enable timely induction and enhance the Air Defence potential in high-altitude frontiers of the country, as per the release. This achievement carries added significance as it follows the exceptional performance of India's indigenously developed air defence systems during Operation Sindoor. It marks a major step forward for the nation's missile development programmes, which are now gaining increasing attention in the global defence market. According to the release, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has complimented the Indian Army, DRDO, and the industry on this remarkable achievement. He described the success as a significant boost to India's Air Defence capabilities, particularly for meeting high-altitude operational requirements. According to the statement, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO Dr Samir V Kamat congratulated the teams associated with the successful test and stated that the missile has met the country's critical air defence requirements for high-altitude. (ANI) Mexican artist Paulina Rubio lost a significant battle in her fight against her ex-husband Nicolas Vallejo Najera, better known by his nickname "Colate," for custody of their son, Andrea Nicolas. A judge in Miami, where the former couple is engaged in an intense battle over the boy, who is now 14 years old, ruled. The lawsuit, first for divorce and since then for the rights to the now-teenager, has been going on for longer than the five years Paulina and Colate were married. The first court battles date back to 2012 and have not stopped since. The most recent clash began a couple of months ago, when Nico refused to return to his mother's house after a visit with Colate. The youngster even testified directly in court, claiming he was being abused. Paulina's lawyers countered that the boy had been kidnapped by his father , but apparently the judge handling the case was not convinced by this argument, so this week she ruled that Nico could go to Spain with Colate for the remainder of the summer vacation. However, it was stipulated as a condition that the artist would take the boy herself and pick him up, eliminating the possibility of a kidnapping. It's currently unknown whether Paulina has already taken Nico to Spain. What is known is the return-to-school date in Miami, where the school year begins in mid-August, so we're talking about about a month of the remainder of the vacation. However, the big question is what will happen when it's time to return to Miami, as the judge has yet to rule on where the boy's primary residence will be, with his father or his mother. Nico has said he prefers to stay with Colate, but Paulina asserted that her words are part of her ex's effort to "program" the boy. Andrea Nicolas is the eldest son of La Chica Dorada. Paulina Rubio is also the mother of Eros, the product of her relationship with fellow Mexican artist Gerardo Bazua. Both Colate and Gerry have settled in Miami, where Paulina has her main home, to be close to the children. BJP spokesperson and MLA from Udhampur East, Ranbir Singh Pathania emphasized that Jammu and Kashmir is currently a Union Territory (UT) and will continue to operate under the rule of law, free from the influence of any political dynasty. He took a strong stance against Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, accusing him of not living up to his electoral promises despite his grand commitments to the people. Pathania highlighted that while their party (BJP) achieved the highest vote share in Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah's National Conference (NC) secured the highest seats and formed a government with Congress. "Omar Abdullah campaigned with populist promises but has failed to deliver on any of his commitments. There's no tangible evidence of his governance, and now he's resorting to rhetoric that misleads the public," he stated. In a pointed comparison, the BJP leader likened Omar Abdullah to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, dubbing him "Kejriwal's second" and accusing him of using similar tactics of making empty promises. "The public is aware, and the Omar Abdullah-led government will have to answer for its failures," he added. Pathania said that Jammu and Kashmir was a state and assured that it would regain its statehood at the "appropriate time." When the time is right, it will be restored as a state," he remarked, hinting at a potential future direction for the region's political status. Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister on Wednesday welcomed the Opposition's strong pitch for the restoration of full statehood to the Union Territory, reiterating that the demand is neither new nor unjustified. The Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister was referring to the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Lok Sabha and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in which the latter urged the government to bring forward legislation to grant full statehood to Jammu and Kashmir in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament. Abdullah told reporters, "It's a good thing; we've been waiting for this day, the day when our voice will be raised strongly in Parliament and in Delhi from the opposition's side. I am grateful to Kharge ji and Rahul Gandhi ji for raising the issue of the restoration of Jammu and Kashmir's statehood along with other markers." The restoration of statehood has been a key demand from the regional political parties in Jammu and Kashmir since the abrogation of Article 370 and the reorganisation of the erstwhile state into two Union Territories in August 2019. (ANI) Atul Kumar, who used to guide horses and mules along the steep pilgrim paths of Kedarnath Dham to support his family, has achieved what many students across India dream of -- a seat at the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). He has cracked the IIT-Joint Admission Test for Master's (JAM) and has secured admission at IIT Madras. Speaking exclusively to ANI, Atul narrated his inspiring journey from a modest background in the hills of Uttarakhand to one of India's premier institutes. "In the beginning, I didn't even know what IIT was," he recalls. "Growing up, water shortages and lack of awareness kept us from dreaming big. I wasn't interested in engineering until a teacher introduced me to the idea of doing a master's at IIT. That changed everything." Asked about his preparation strategy, he said he began preparing for the JAM exam in July, after returning from Kedarnath, where he had worked during the month of June. "I began studying in July. I had just returned from Kedarnath, where I was working in June--there was no network, and we lived in tents, so studying was not possible. My friend Mahavir, who had previously prepared, helped me a lot by sharing his notes. I studied consistently till January, and the exam was in February." During his time in Kedarnath, Atul assisted pilgrims by managing logistics, including carrying goods, helping with travel arrangements, and providing support on difficult terrain. It was not easy, but his goal kept him going. "My biggest motivation was to move ahead in life -- to escape that place and create something better for myself." He added, "My father works as a horse handler, and that's our main livelihood. During holidays, I used to help him. My elder sister is married, and the younger one just completed her education." Now, with a seat secured at IIT Madras, Atul is ready to embark on a new chapter. "The response has been overwhelming. More than my own joy, it was the happiness on others' faces that touched me -- from teachers to people who never even taught me, everyone called to congratulate me. It feels good to bring pride to my community." When asked what message he has for students from similar backgrounds, Atul said, "If my journey inspires even a few students to pursue their goals despite hardships, then all this effort has been worthwhile." (ANI) Calling out the Bihar government a "nakalchi sarkar", Rashtriya Janata Dal leader Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday accused CM Nitish Kumar of copying his idea of providing free electricity. The RJD leader stated that earlier, Nitish Kumar was against the idea of providing free electricity; however, after he proposed the scheme, the Bihar CM ended up copying it. Ahead of Bihar elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced that eligible domestic consumers across the state will receive up to 125 units of electricity free of cost starting August 1, a move set to benefit around 1.67 crore families. "This same Nitish Kumar used to say that free electricity should not be provided. Tejashwi said "200 units free" and today the "nakalchi sarkar" copied. They do not have their own roadmap and vision. They have no achievements", Tejashwi Yadav told ANI. Addressing the issue of the Paras hospital firing incident, Tejashwi Yadav mentioned that no businessman wants to live in the state, mentioning that there is an "atmosphere" of fear. "Businessmen in Bihar want to leave. All professionals want to leave here. There is an atmosphere of fear. Murders are occurring every day. There is nobody to pay heed. Criminals are going around fearlessly...Who is emboldening them?", Yadav said. Earlier today, Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar termed the firing incident at Paras Hospital in Patna as "unfortunate" and said the matter is of serious concern, particularly as the hospital has its own security arrangements. Unidentified assailants opened fire inside Paras Hospital, targeting a prisoner who was admitted there for medical treatment, police said." This is a very sad incident because the incident took place inside Paras which is a famous hospital. It has its own security system. The criminals breached it completely and went inside. This is a matter of concern and we will review the security system of Paras, why it happened and who was on duty and draw the attention of the Paras management," DGP Vinay Kumar told ANI. The DGP informed that the prisoner, identified as Chandan Mishra, was a notorious criminal and had been convicted in several murder cases. He said the deceased was originally sentenced to death, which was later commuted to life imprisonment upon appeal. (ANI) Amid the ongoing row over the imposition of Hindi in primary schools, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray met with Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday. The meeting, which lasted for approximately 20 minutes, was held in the office of Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde. According to the Shiv Sena (UBT), Thackeray met the Chief Minister to hand over a compilation of news articles opposing the introduction of Hindi as a third language in Maharashtra, citing concerns of alleged linguistic imposition. Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief clarified that his party is not against the Hindi language but accused certain groups of comparing Marathi people to terrorists and undermining Marathi identity. The meeting came a day after the Maharashtra Chief Minister took a veiled dig at Uddhav Thackeray, inviting him to join the treasury benches (ruling side) in the Vidhan Parishad, stating that his government doesn't have any "scope" to come into Opposition until 2029. Fadnavis was speaking on the occasion of Uddhav Thackeray's farewell from the Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad. "At least till 2029, there is no scope for us to come there (Opposition). Uddhav Ji can think about the scope of coming to this side (ruling party) and that can be thought about in a different way, but there is absolutely no scope left for us to come there (Opposition)," Fadnavis said. On July 5, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) held a joint rally called 'Awaaz Marathicha' at the Worli Dome in Mumbai. The event marked the first time in nearly twenty years that Uddhav and Raj Thackeray shared the stage. The rally came after the Maharashtra government scrapped two Government Resolutions (GRs) that aimed to introduce Hindi as a third compulsory language. The now-withdrawn orders, related to the implementation of the three-language formula in state schools, had triggered widespread protests from Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS, and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction). (ANI) RJD leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the NDA government in Bihar, citing the state's deteriorating law and order situation. He also targeted statements made by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister's Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha, who claimed they would take drastic measures against criminals, questioning the logic behind searching for them in "paatal" (the underworld) when they are openly roaming the streets. "Samrat Choudhary and Vijay Sinha say, 'ghar mein ghus ke maarenge' and 'paatal se dhoondenge'...Criminals are out on streets, why are they going to "paatal" looking for them? We have said earlier too that after NDA came to power, there is criminal disorder of law and order. Criminals have become "vijay" and "samrat"...This is true jungle raj...They should see what is happening in their rule. Nobody is safe...," Tejashwi Yadav told ANI. He expressed his concerns over the rising crime rates, stating that Bihar is gripped by fear, with criminals committing crimes openly. This comes after a prisoner on parole who was admitted in Paras Hospital for medical treatment was shot dead fuelling concerns over law and order in Bihar. Tejashwi Yadav questioned whether anyone is safe in the state, given the brazen nature of the crime. Chandan Mishra was a known criminal with dozens of murder cases registered against him. The Police believe that the rival gang has carried out the shooting. The prisoner is undergoing treatment. "A criminal named Chandan Mishra, resident of Buxar district, against whom dozens of cases of murder are registered. He was transferred from Buxar to Bhagalpur jail. Chandan was on parole and admitted to Paras Hospital for treatment. The rival gang shot him. He is undergoing treatment, and with the help of the Buxar police, we are identifying the members of the rival gang, Chandan Sheru gang," SSP Kartikay Sharma said. Bihar Director General of Police (DGP) Vinay Kumar on Thursday termed the firing incident at Paras Hospital in Patna as "unfortunate" and said the matter is of serious concern, particularly as the hospital has its own security arrangements. "This is a very sad incident because the incident took place inside Paras which is a famous hospital. It has its own security system. The criminals breached it completely and went inside. This is a matter of concern and we will review the security system of Paras, why it happened and who was on duty and draw the attention of the Paras management," DGP Vinay Kumar told ANI. Tejashwi Yadav described the Chief Minister as "unconscious," "unaware," and "incapable" of managing the state, claiming that Bihar is being controlled by "Bhunja Party" leaders and retired tax officers acting on behalf of the BJP. In a post on social media platform X, Tejashwi Yadav wrote, "Government criminals stormed into the ICU and shot a patient admitted to the hospital. Is anyone safe anywhere in Bihar? Has this happened before 2005?" He criticized the police for seemingly giving up on controlling criminals, highlighting a statement made by ADG that crime incidents increase during the monsoon season, which Tejashwi called "childish." Additional Director General of Police (ADG) Kundan Krishnan said murder cases usually increase in Bihar during the months of April, May and June, as many farmers are not engaged in agricultural work. "Recently, a lot of murders have happened in the whole of Bihar. Most murders happen in the months of April, May and June. This continues until the rains come, as most farmers do not have work," ADG Kundan Krishnan said. He added that crime reduces after the monsoon, as the farming community becomes busy with agricultural work."After the rains, people in the farming community get busy and the incidents reduce... So we have formed a new cell this month. The work of that cell will be to create a database of all the former shooters, contract killers and keep an eye on them," he added. Assembly poll bound Bihar has witnessed a surge in crime recently, with a significant increase in murders and violent incidents. Bihar reported 50 murders in just 14 days, sparking concerns over law and order in the state. According to police data, Bihar recorded a monthly average of 232 murder cases in 2024, which has risen slightly to 233 per month in the first five months of 2025. Some notable incidents include the murder of businessman Gopal Khemka in Patna, the killing of three businessmen in Patna, and the shooting of a lawyer and a BJP leader in Patna. (ANI) Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Thursday once again raised concern over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls carried out in poll bound Bihar after former Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa criticised the state's electoral roll revision by the Election Commission if India. "The Special Intensive Revision of the electoral roll is a deliberate and diabolical move to rig the elections through large-scale disenfranchisement. A PM who masterminded notebandi has orchestrated this votebandi," Ramesh posted on X while sharing a recent interview of Lavasa. Lavasa earlier in an interview to media oulet criticised the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, calling it "abrupt, aggressive, ambitious, and avoidable". He said that the process is unfair to voters and the machinery undertaking the task, arguing that it's not the Election Commission's job to verify citizenship. This move may lead to large-scale disenfranchisement, particularly affecting vulnerable communities. Lavasa emphasised that demanding citizenship proof from voters is not the Election Commission's responsibility. Instead, it's the government's duty to issue citizenship documents. He said that the SIR process may lead to the exclusion of eligible voters, particularly from marginalized communities, which could impact the democratic process. Lavasa argued that the sudden change in procedure is unfair to both voters and the electoral machinery. He suggested that the Election Commission's established process has worked well for 75 years, and there's no need to alter it now. Addressing a press conference in Patna, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said he cannot remain a silent witness to the dismantling of democracy in Bihar. He said, "The Election Commission of India is working under the direction of the BJP office. We sensitised people about their rights; we went to the Supreme Court; even the Supreme Court gave its directions, but Gyanesh Kumar did not do a single press conference and answer anything." Meanwhile, the ECI has said that over 6.99 electors out of the total 7,89,69,844 have submitted their Enumeration Forms ahead of the release of the draft electoral roll, which is set to be released on August 1. The poll panel has also said that foreign nationals possessing Indian ID cards like Aadhar and domicile certificates have been found in the state, saying that if the people are confirmed to be foreign nationals, they would not be included in the final list. A total of 6,47,24,300 forms have already been uploaded to the system, which is 81.96 per cent of the total electorate. However, 6.85 per cent of electors, around 54.07 lakh people, have yet to submit their forms. (ANI) National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) Director Professor Dinesh Prasad Saklani defended the content of the Class 8 Social Science textbook on Thursday, asserting that the historical facts included are grounded in well-established and authentic sources. "All the historical facts and evidence mentioned in the Class 8 Social Science textbook published by NCERT are based on historical sources and texts like Baburnama, Banaras Gazetteer, Maasir-e-Alamgiri written by Saqi Muttid Khan and translated by Sir Jadunath Sarkar, the book 'The History and Culture of the Indian People' written by R.C. Majumdar, etc," Professor Saklani told ANI. His statement comes after the textbook's portrayal of Mughal emperors has drawn attention, describing Akbar's reign as a "blend of brutality and tolerance" and Aurangzeb as a military ruler who enforced bans on "un-Islamic" practices and taxed non-Muslims. To support this portrayal, Saklani cited Muntakhab-al-Lubab by Khafi Khan, a contemporary historian during Aurangzeb's rule. He said, "The facts mentioned in the textbook are supported by authentic historical sources. These facts clarify the complexity of the social, religious and political aspects of Indian history. The rulers of the Mughal Empire, especially Aurangzeb, have been described in detail in 'Muntakhab-al-Lubab' written by his contemporary historian Khafi Khan." Stating that the books presents historical facts in a "balanced and concise manner," he continued that students should know the "not only know the facts but also understand their impact in depth." Meanwhile, from detailed views on Maratha leaders to the history of Sikhism, and from powerful regional dynasties to overlooked rulers like Narasimhadeva I, the newly released NCERT Class 8 Social Science textbook offers a broader, more inclusive account of Indian history. The book, Exploring Society: India and Beyond--Grade 8, Part 1, introduces detailed chapters on the Sikh and Maratha empires, which were previously limited to a few pages or passing references. It also brings regional figures, such as Narasimhadeva I, the Gajapati rulers of Odisha, the Hoysalas, Rani Abbakka I and II, and Marthanda Varma of Travancore, into national focus. The Sikh chapter traces the community's rise from a spiritual movement initiated by Guru Nanak to the militarised resistance under Guru Gobind Singh, culminating in the formation of the Khalsa and the establishment of a unified empire under Maharaja Ranjit Singh. It narrates how the Sikh Gurus stood against Mughal persecution, with the execution of Guru Tegh Bahadur and the founding of the Khalsa by Guru Gobind Singh being pivotal moments. The book also highlights the secular and inclusive governance style of the Sikh Empire, which stretched from Punjab to parts of Kashmir and remained a stronghold against colonial expansion till the mid-19th century. The book, to be introduced from the 2025-26 academic year, also marks a shift in tone in its portrayal of the Mughal emperors, offering detailed accounts of conquest, religious decisions, cultural contributions, and brutality. The chapter on the Marathas, which was previously only 1.5 pages long, has now been expanded to 22 pages and begins with Shivaji's rise in the 17th century and his coronation at Raigad Fort. It describes his innovative administrative systems, military strategies, including guerrilla warfare, and his emphasis on swarajya or self-rule. The book goes on to explore the contributions of Shivaji's successors, including Sambhaji, Rajaram, Shahu, and visionary leaders such as Tarabai, Bajirao I, Mahadji Shinde, and Nana Phadnavis. It details their administrative reforms, military expansions, naval power, trade routes, and even cultural patronage. It also gives rare attention to the southern Maratha outposts like Thanjavur under Ekoji and Serfoji II, where literature, medicine, and printing presses flourished under local Maratha rulers. The textbook also has a detailed inclusion of regional powers that have often been treated as footnotes. Narasimhadeva I is credited with building the iconic Sun Temple at Konark, a symbol of maritime power and artistic excellence. The Gajapati rulers of Odisha are presented as a major post-classical Hindu power that resisted external invasions and supported temple culture. The Hoysalas are noted for their architectural innovation and stable governance in southern India. Rani Abbakka I and II are profiled for their legendary resistance against Portuguese naval dominance in coastal Karnataka. Marthanda Varma of Travancore is portrayed as a military reformer and strategic leader who defeated the Dutch at the Battle of Colachel, a rare instance of an Asian power overpowering a European colonial force in the 18th century. The new textbook also provides context to well-known Rajput rulers, such as Rana Kumbha and Maharana Pratap, not just as warriors but as figures of strategic importance during a period of shifting power dynamics in Delhi. The Vijayanagara Empire too, receives in-depth treatment, including its economic policies, temple architecture, and resistance to Turkic invasions from the north. (ANI) Yuvajana Shramika Rythu (YSR) Congress Party State Official Spokesperson and Yerragondapalem MLA Tatiparthi Chandrasekhar slammed the TDP-led coalition for failing to respond to YS Jagan Mohan Reddy's questions regarding large-scale corruption and misuse of power in Andhra Pradesh and instead resorting to personal attacks. Speaking at a press meet at the party's central office in Tadepalli, Chandrasekhar said the opposition was undeterred by false cases and yellow journalism and would continue to question the government's failures. Chandrasekhar criticised the TDP government for twisting facts and spreading misinformation, especially after YS Jagan exposed their poor governance and stated that the ruling coalition had no answers to the basic public issues raised by Jagan, instead hiding behind personal abuse and diversion tactics. Chandrasekhar alleged that some Dalit MLAs were being used to attack Jagan, while the same government failed to deliver any welfare schemes to the community. He also lashed out at MLA Nakka Anand Babu for making baseless allegations against Jagan and questioned whether Anand Babu ever had the opportunity to dine with Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu the way Dalit leaders dined with Jagan Mohan Reddy in their homes. He added that insulting one's own community to please political masters was disgraceful and exposed Anand Babu's character. Chandrasekhar further stated that honest officers, such as IPS Siddharth Kaushal, were being harassed for refusing to act illegally, highlighting the government's vindictive nature. Chandrasekhar made it clear that YSRCP would continue to fight on behalf of the people and would not fear cases or repression while exposing Chandrababu's failures, lies, and financial mismanagement. Earlier, YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the former Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and President of the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP), launched a sharp attack on the state's law enforcement agencies and the current government on Wednesday, alleging large-scale corruption and misuse of power. Speaking to the media in Vijayawada, Jagan accused the Deputy Inspectors General (DIGs) of Police of functioning like "mafia dons", claiming they are controlling their respective zones and enabling illegal activities. "All the DIGs in the state of Andhra Pradesh are mafia dons controlling those zones... Today, all the belt shops in every village are unauthorised, yet you find these belt shops in every village running and flourishing. They are selling liquor above the MRP only because they have the blessings of the police," he said. He also raised serious concerns about large-scale sand smuggling. (ANI) Jan Suraaj founder Prashant Kishor on Thursday slammed Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, claiming that his recent promise of 125 units of free electricity is nothing but a publicity stunt. Kishor said that after 20 years in power, Nitish Kumar's promises are no longer credible, and the people of Bihar are more concerned about pressing issues like Smart Prepaid Meters and incorrect billings, adding that Nitish Kumar will go, and Bihar will see a new CM after November. "After 20 years of remaining in power, today, when Nitish Kumar is giving a lollipop of 125 units free electricity, no one is going to believe him. Today, the major issue is the Smart Prepaid Meter and incorrect billings. It is certain Nitish Kumar will go, and Bihar will see a new CM after November," said Prashant Kishor. Ahead of Bihar elections, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced that eligible domestic consumers across the state will receive up to 125 units of electricity free of cost starting August 1, a move set to benefit around 1.67 crore families. Kishor also asserted that the law and order situation in Bihar will further deteriorate as police officers are busy earning bribes, and senior officials are profiteering from transfers. He questioned Nitish Kumar's mental fitness to lead the state, stating that he is "physically tired and mentally unfit" to hold the position of Chief Minister. "The law and order situation in the state will further worsen as police are busy earning bribes, and officers are earning money from transfers. Nitish Kumar is not in the mental state to work as the CM anymore. I have been saying this for the last few months," said Jan Suraaj founder. This comes after a prisoner on parole who was admitted in Paras Hospital for medical treatment was shot dead fuelling concerns over law and order in Bihar. Tejashwi Yadav questioned whether anyone is safe in the state, given the brazen nature of the crime. Chandan Mishra was a known criminal with dozens of murder cases registered against him. The Police believe that the rival gang has carried out the shooting. The prisoner is undergoing treatment. Assembly poll bound Bihar has witnessed a surge in crime recently, with a significant increase in murders and violent incidents. Bihar reported 50 murders in just 14 days, sparking concerns over law and order in the state. According to police data, Bihar recorded a monthly average of 232 murder cases in 2024, which has risen slightly to 233 per month in the first five months of 2025. Some notable incidents include the murder of businessman Gopal Khemka in Patna, the killing of three businessmen in Patna, and the shooting of a lawyer and a BJP leader in Patna. He also urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is visiting Bihar for the fourth time, to address the state's pressing issues, such as improving the education system, generating employment opportunities, and reducing migration. "PM Modi is coming to Bihar for the fourth time. He should indicate when the education system in the state will improve, when employment opportunities will become available in the state, and when migration from the state will cease. We don't need trains and roads," said Kishor. The Bihar Assembly elections are expected to be a crucial test for Prashant Kishor's Jan Suraaj Party. Kishor is confident that the Jan Suraaj Party will bring about change in Bihar, with over 60% of the population wanting a new government. (ANI) Amid the ongoing row over the imposition of Hindi, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Aaditya Thackeray raised strong objections to the Maharashtra government's proposed three-language policy on Thursday, questioning its rationale and expressing concern over the plan to implement it from the primary school level. "We are opposing the imposition of a three-language policy from the first class. Today, if you visit schools, it (three-language) is (implemented) from the fifth (class)...What kind of law have you (Maharashtra government) come up with, making it mandatory to learn three languages from the first class?" Aaditya Thackeray told reporters. His remarks came shortly after Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray met with Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday. "... Today we gave him a compilation of why there should not be a three-language policy from the first class as written by many journalists and editors...," he former Minister added. The meeting, which lasted for approximately 20 minutes, was held in the office of Legislative Council Chairman Ram Shinde. According to the Shiv Sena (UBT), Thackeray met the Chief Minister to hand over a compilation of news articles opposing the introduction of Hindi as a third language in Maharashtra, citing concerns of alleged linguistic imposition. Earlier, Shiv Sena (UBT) Chief clarified that his party is not against the Hindi language but accused certain groups of comparing Marathi people to terrorists and undermining Marathi identity. The meeting came a day after the Maharashtra Chief Minister took a veiled dig at Uddhav Thackeray, inviting him to join the treasury benches (ruling side) in the Vidhan Parishad, stating that his government doesn't have any "scope" to come into Opposition until 2029. Fadnavis was speaking on the occasion of Uddhav Thackeray's farewell from the Maharashtra Vidhan Parishad. "At least till 2029, there is no scope for us to come there (Opposition). Uddhav Ji can think about the scope of coming to this side (ruling party) and that can be thought about in a different way, but there is absolutely no scope left for us to come there (Opposition)," Fadnavis said. On July 5, the Shiv Sena (UBT) and the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) held a joint rally called 'Awaaz Marathicha' at the Worli Dome in Mumbai. The event marked the first time in nearly twenty years that Uddhav and Raj Thackeray shared the stage. The rally came after the Maharashtra government scrapped two Government Resolutions (GRs) that aimed to introduce Hindi as a third compulsory language. The now-withdrawn orders, related to the implementation of the three-language formula in state schools, had triggered widespread protests from Shiv Sena (UBT), MNS, and the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction). (ANI) Global Civilization Dialogue: Towards a new global harmony 15:44, July 16, 2025 By Vikash Kumar Singh ( People's Daily Online Despite the hot and humid weather in Beijing, July was a particularly stirring month for Chinese leaders. In July, China hosted several significant global conferences, marking a historic milestone. The 11th Nishan Forum on World Civilizations opened on July 9 in Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius. The event attracted over 500 experts and scholars from more than 70 countries, centering on the theme "Beauty in Diversity: Nurturing Understanding among Civilizations for Global Modernization." Meanwhile, Beijing hosted the ministerial-level Global Civilization Dialogue on July 10-11, which drew over 600 delegates from 140 countries and regions. The dialogue's tagline was "Safeguarding Diversity of Human Civilizations for World Peace and Development." At the same time, Tianjin held the Foreign Minister-level Conference of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) countries. Across these conferences, Chinese leaders and international guests have overwhelmingly emphasized a key theme: the critical importance of dialogue among civilizations in fostering global harmony. The Global Civilization Dialogue promotes the exchange of ideas, values, and experiences among cultures, civilizations, and nations, aiming to enhance mutual understanding and foster international cooperation. Dialogue among civilizations is not a new phenomenon. If we look beyond the curtains of history, we find numerous examples of civilizational dialogue among different cultures. The ancient Silk Road is one of the finest examples of this kind of dialogue, which not only enhanced the economic exchanges between different civilizations but also fostered strong cultural relations and the exchange of ideas. It was one of the most travelled routes to connect Chinese, Indian, and Western civilizations together. In the Middle Ages, Arabs also used the same route to foster exchanges between the East and the West. In the modern era, the establishment of the United Nations in the 20th century provided an institutional framework for multilateral dialogue. However, efforts to establish a unipolar world persisted. After the Cold War, a multipolar world gained support from different countries. In today's multipolar world, where power is redistributed and diverse perspectives coexist, civilizational dialogue is crucial for achieving true inclusivity. It enables nations to learn from unique development experiences and supports diverse paths to modernization. In today's interconnected world, technological advancements and economic prosperity have brought people closer, yet cultural and political differences continue to deepen. Despite remarkable progress achieved by different civilizations, global challenges such as climate change, pandemics, economic inequality, and conflict are too complex for any single nation to address alone. Cultural and political misunderstandings often fuel conflicts, underscoring the urgent need for dialogue among civilizations. Recognizing this, the United Nations declared 2001 the "Year of Dialogue Among Civilizations." However, the initiative taken by the United Nations still remains divided on challenging issues. In 2023, Chinese President Xi Jinping, addressing representatives of more than 500 political parties and organizations from over 150 countries, proposed the Global Civilizational Initiative, emphasizing the universal values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom. The initiative advocates respect for the diversity of civilizations, the common values of humanity, the importance of inheritance and innovation of civilizations, as well as robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation. This is also evident in the advocacy for a peaceful and prosperous world vision by President Xi through a series of initiatives, including the Global Development Initiative and the Global Security Initiative. Initiated and supported by China and 82 other countries, a UN resolution established June 10 as International Civilizational Dialogue Day. In an era of global turmoil, the importance of civilizational dialogue is paramount. The post-Cold War unipolar order has given way to a multipolar world, with powers such as the United States, China, the European Union, Russia, and India recognizing the need for a robust platform for collaboration and cooperation. Dialogue among civilizations is essential for peaceful coexistence. While global issues like climate change, economic inequality, terrorism, pandemics, and illiteracy persist, the Global Civilizational Initiative offers a framework to mitigate such tensions and provide opportunities to minimize them through dialogue. China's achievements over the past decades have positioned it to lead global civilizational dialogue. Over the last four decades, China's share of global GDP has grown significantly, making it the world's second-largest economy. This growth has been accompanied by remarkable technological advancements and the lifting of millions of people out of poverty through determined policies and sustainable action plans. With its remarkable growth in industrial, manufacturing, and technological areas, China has transformed itself from the "World's Factory" into the "World's Innovation Hub." Through breakthroughs like DeepSeek and BYD's electric vehicles, China has demonstrated its unsurmountable achievements in both software and hardware technology. As China has benefited from the world's innovative experiences, it is also enthusiastic about sharing its own experiences with the world. Through economic investments and cooperation, China contributes to the progress of other nations, sharing its experiences to help them develop efficiently while avoiding its past mistakes. It has attracted many countries to its governance model. In the area of preserving traditional heritage and culture, China has demonstrated commendable achievements. Chinese civilization, one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations with a history spanning 5,000 years, offers a rich tradition of dialogue and harmony. Its ancient philosophical values, particularly those of Confucius, provide a foundation for fostering mutual understanding and respect. Confucius's principles of "Harmonious cooperation amidst diversity ()", and "Great unity of the world ()," offer a philosophical basis for global civilizational dialogue. The Beijing Declaration of the Ministerial Meeting of the Global Civilizations Dialogue, announced on July 11, highlighted that enhancing people-to-people and cultural exchanges is an effective way to eliminate estrangement and misunderstanding among civilizations and enhance cooperation in addressing global challenges. Meanwhile, the 110 Action Plans from the same conference reflect a proactive approach to the Global Civilizational Initiative. About the author: Vikash Kumar Singh is a Hindi Language Foreign Expert at Beijing Foreign Studies University. He earned his master's degree from Renmin University of China and his Ph.D. from Peking University, specializing in China-India relations and cultural exchanges between the two countries. E-mail: vikash@bfsu.edu.cn (Web editor: Hongyu, Wu Chengliang) BRS Working President KT Rama Rao launched a scathing attack on Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, condemning his alleged statements made during "media chit-chats." KTR, who is also the son of former Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao, warned that he will take legal action unless Revanth issued a public apology. Rama Rao directly challenged Reddy to provide proof for his claims of his involvement in drug cases, demanding evidence. In a post on X, he said, "The filth Revanth Reddy spews in the name of media chit-chats has surpassed all levels of decency, long back. Today, wasn't new...Until now, I had exercised restraint out of respect for the Chief Minister's office...Let me ask you directly Revanth, what is the basis for your statement on me being investigated in drug cases?" He later accused Reddy of lacking the courage to confront him directly and resorting to character assassination through informal conversations to evade legal accountability, vowing to pursue legal action if Reddy does not apologise. "Do you have even have an iota of proof?...Is there any case registered?...I challenge you to openly come out show the evidences you have to substantiate your statements...Or accept this is just another cheap, vulgar, baseless narrative of yours," he later added. "You travel all the way to Delhi to throw filth at me in the name of chitchats, because otherwise you don't have the guts to stand in front of me - face to face...You hide like the puny man you are and then resort to character assassination under the garb of these informal chitchats so that you can escape the legal accountability...I will not stand down anymore.," he further said in a post on X. He said that he will drag Revanth Reddy to the courts and make him pay for every slanderous statement. (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has directed a thorough investigation into suspicious entries on the National Scholarship Portal (NSP), following reports of irregularities in minority scholarship applications, the Chief Minister's Office said in a press release on Thursday The case involves institutions, including Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Kichha, which has also come to light. The Special Secretary of the Minority Welfare Department has been directed to conduct an investigation. Corruption cases will not be tolerated in Devbhoomi under any circumstances. It is worth noting that upon learning about the case of schools funded by the Central Government receiving scholarships by being designated as minority schools or madrasas on paper, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has ordered the Special Secretary of the Minority Welfare Department to conduct a thorough investigation. This matter is currently being investigated by the Special Secretary for Minority Welfare, Dr. Parag Madhukar Dhakate. According to the information, to verify the authenticity of minority scholarship applicants registered on the National Scholarship Portal for 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 in Udham Singh Nagar district, details about the documents of 796 children from Udham Singh Nagar district were sought. Out of these, information about 456 children studying in 6 madrasas / educational institutions has been found suspicious. The special thing is that the name of Saraswati Shishu Mandir High School, Kichha, is also included in these schools. From here, the issue of rigging has come to the fore because, firstly, Saraswati Shishu Mandir is not a minority school, and secondly, its director is reportedly Mohammad Shariq-Atiq. According to the National Scholarship Portal, 154 Muslim children are said to be studying here. The government is also shocked to see these names on the National Scholarship Portal, and after which, Chief Minister Dhami has given instructions to thoroughly investigate. According to the information, instructions have been issued to verify the status of 125 Muslim students studying at the National Academy JMYIHS of Kashipur, as well as its Director, Gulshafa Ansari, and 27 children of Madrasa Al Jamia Ul Madaria, and its Director, Mohammad Faizan. Apart from this, instructions have been given to check the documents of Javed Ahmed, director of Madrasa Albia Rafiq Ul Uloom Ghansara Bajpur and 39 children here, 24 children of Madrasa Jamia Aaliya of Gadarpur, possibly in the name of this Javed Ahmed and to verify 85 children of Madrasa Jamia Raza Ul Uloom Bajpur and director Irshad Ali. The Secretary of Minority Welfare has directed the District Minority Welfare Officer of Udham Singh Nagar, Nandini Singh, to thoroughly investigate all these cases. After the matter came to light, on the instructions of Chief Minister Dhami, all such minority educational institutions of Uttarakhand state registered in the National Scholarship Portal have been asked to submit a report within two weeks, instructing them to verify the applicants ' information, including bank account details for payment, for both operators and students. In this regard, Special Secretary Minority Welfare Dr. Parag Madhukar Dhakate said that along with the cases of minority scholarship by a particular class in the name of Saraswati Shishu Mandir coming to light, doubts have arisen regarding the applications registered in the National Scholarship by other madrasas, instructions have been received from the Chief Minister to investigate this matter thoroughly. An investigation is being conducted throughout the entire state, and communication is being maintained with the Ministry of the Central Government. (ANI) At least 19 people lost their lives due to lightning strikes across 10 districts of Bihar in the last 24 hours, according to an officials on Thursday. Soon after the incident, the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar expressed deep condolences and granted ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased. The Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed deep condolences on the death of 05 persons in Nalanda, 04 in Vaishali, 02 in Banka, 02 in Patna, 01 in Sheikhpura, 01 in Aurangabad, 01 in Samastipur, 01 in Nawada, 01 in Jamui and 01 in Jehanabad due to lightning in the last 24 hours, as per the letter posted on X. The Chief Minister said that he is with the affected families in this hour of disaster. The Chief Minister has directed to immediately provide ex-gratia grant of Rs 4 lakh each to the families of the deceased. In a letter on X, the Chief Minister has appealed to the people to be very cautious during bad weather. "In case of bad weather, follow the suggestions issued from time to time by the Disaster Management Department to protect yourself from lightning. Stay indoors and stay safe during bad weather," he further added. Earlier on Tuesday, CM announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the three students who drowned in an 'aahar' (pond) in Bihar's Gaya. As per the release, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has expressed deep condolences on the death of three students due to drowning while bathing in a pond in Kosdihra village of Magadh Medical Police Station area of Gayaji district. The Chief Minister has described this incident as very sad. The Chief Minister has directed that an ex gratia grant of Rs 4 lakh each be given to the dependents of the deceased.The Chief Minister has prayed to God to give strength to the bereaved families to bear with patience in this hour of grief, the press release said. Mourning the death of the students, CM Kumar wrote in an X post, "The death of three students due to drowning while bathing in a pond in Kosdihra village under the Magadh Medical Police Station area of Gaya district is tragic. Instructions have been given to provide a compassionate grant of 4 lakh rupees each to the dependents of the deceased. I pray to God to grant strength to the bereaved families to bear this hour of grief." The incident occurred when three children drowned in a pond after returning from school on Monday. (ANI) Days after a Russian woman, Nina Kutina, along with her two children, were found in the Rameshwaram cave in Gokarna, her husband came to meet them in the Tumakuru detention camp on Thursday. According to Nina Kutina's husband, Dror, he had come to Tumakuru after a three-hour journey from Bengaluru. He said that the authorities didn't allow him to meet his family and asked him to get a written paper signed from the FRRO (Foreigners Regional Registration Office). "I came to Tumakuru to meet my two daughters, they are staying here. I arrived after more than three hours from Bengaluru and I came to the office and they told me to wait until the manager comes. When she came after an hour she told that I cannot go inside. I need to have a written paper from the FRRO. She called the FRRO and they told me that I need to come tomorrow morning to the office and discuss," Dror told ANI. A Russian-origin woman and her two young daughters were rescued from a dangerous cave in the forested Ramatirtha Hill area of Gokarna on July 9, after police discovered them living there in hazardous conditions. Authorities later confirmed that the woman, identified as Nina Kutina (40), had overstayed her visa by over eight years. According to Gokarna police, on July 9, at around 05:00 PM, while patrolling Ramatirtha Hill to check for the safety of tourists, the police inspectors and staff of Gokarna police station gathered and checked the cave located within the forest area on the hill. The cave was checked, and it was found that the Russian-origin woman was living there with her two young daughters, Kumari Prema (6 years, 7 months) and Kumari Ama (4 years, old). When questioned, the foreigner stated that she had come from Goa with her children, as she was interested in staying in the forest for "worshipping God and meditating." Meanwhile, Nina Kutina and her two children were rescued by Gokarna Police and processed by the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) in Bengaluru before being sent back to a rescue centre in Tumakuru. Kutina, who had been living with her daughters in a cave near Gokarna, defended her lifestyle and rejected the claims made about her situation. "You give already a lot of lying information. We have big experience to stay in natural, in jungle, and we were not dying, and I did not bring my daughters to die in jungle. They did not feel bad, they were very happy, they swam in waterfall, they lived, had very good place for sleeping, a lot of lessons with art making, we made from clay, we painted, we ate good, I was cooking with gas, very good and tasty food," she said. (ANI) Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai on Thursday reiterated Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of making India a developed nation by 2047 and noted the country's growing global recognition under his leadership. "PM has taken the resolve to build a developed India by 2047. With the manner in which he has worked in 11 years with the mantra of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas Sabka, Vishwas aur Sabka Prayas, India's prestige globally has been enhanced...," CM Sai said. He also highlighted that India has become the fourth-largest economy under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the last ten years. He alleged that the country's economic activities were stalled during the United Progressive Alliance. "When there was a UPA Government at the Centre for 10 years from 2004 to 2014, the economic sector had come to a standstill. It was in the 10th position but when Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, he brought the country in the 5th position in terms of economy and in the 11th year, he has brought it in the fourth position. The country is confident that we will be a developed nation by 2047..." The CM was speaking after releasing the 'Chhattisgarh Anjor Vision 2047' - the vision document for a 'Viksit Chhattisgarh' by 2047. He also noted the immense potential of Chhattisgarh and appreciated the efforts of hardworking farmers. "...PM has taken the pledge to build a Viksit Bharat by 2047, so we too have released the vision document for a Viksit Chhattisgarh by 2047. There is immense potential in Chhattisgarh. It is rich in mineral resources. 44% of the land here is rich in forests. There are hundreds of forest products here. The soil is very fertile here. The farmers here are hardworking. So, we'll definitely do good work in every sector..." (ANI) Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Murlidhar Mohol on Thursday said it would not be appropriate to draw conclusions on the Air India AI 171 crash based on preliminary findings, noting that the report released by the Aircraft Accidents Bureau (AAIB) is only on a "primary base," and the full facts will emerge only after the final report is released. "I think their report is on a primary base. They have also said that this is not the final report. So, it won't be correct to reach a conclusion. When the final report comes, everything will come out that what was the reason," the Civil Aviation MoS told mediapersons here. The minister's remarks come in the wake of a Wall Street Journal report on the Air India AI 171 crash in Ahmedabad. The report cites people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence uncovered in the investigation into the crash, which killed 260 people. Reuters reported earlier, citing the Wall Street Journal report, that the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month indicated that the captain turned off the switches that controlled fuel flowing to the plane's engines. "I think this is a primary report by AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau). I have said this earlier too, that soon after the incident, within 24 hours, the AAIB team and other agencies together retrieved the black box. Data was recovered from the black box which was in the custody of AAIB," Mohol added. Notably, Veteran pilot Captain Sharath Panicker urged people to "stick to the facts," pointing out that the report does not mention pilot error as a reason anywhere for the crash. "Nowhere does the (AAIB) report say that the Captain turned off the switches. Let's stick to the facts. The full input is available with the AAIB, and once that comes out, only then can we say anything about this," he told ANI. The Wall Street Journal's report says that cockpit recording suggests the first officer, who was flying the Boeing aircraft, opened the new tab 787 Dreamliner, asked the other captain, who was more experienced, why he moved the switches to the "cutoff" position after it climbed off the runway. The first officer expressed surprise and then panicked, while the captain seemed to remain calm, according to the media report. The two pilots involved were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had a total of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours of flying experience, respectively. The AI 171 crash of the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aircraft in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, killed 260 people, including 229 passengers, 12 crew members, and 19 people on the ground. Miraculously, one passenger survived the crash. (ANI) Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath held a detailed review of development projects and the law and order situation at Varanasi's Circuit House on Thursday, directing officials to fast-track all ongoing works in mission mode and ensure the timely completion of projects. According to an official statement from the UP CM's office, Adityanath emphasised the importance of cleanliness and stated that Varanasi must not lag behind in maintaining sanitation standards, aiming to be among the top five cleanest cities. He instructed the Municipal Commissioner to conduct regular cleanliness drives to achieve this target. The Chief Minister also called for widespread publicity of the state government's newly introduced building bylaws to ensure public awareness, emphasising the need to hold seminars and leverage social and digital media for effective outreach. Regarding road widening, he instructed that religious structures be relocated in consultation with the locals and suitable alternatives identified. CM Yogi also warned implementing agencies against delays, stressing strict accountability. Regarding that, the Chief Minister directed the immediate commencement of the Dalmandi road widening work after the monsoon. In his mission to make Varanasi Tuberculosis-Free by November of this year, he directed the Chief Medical Superintendent to take all necessary steps, with the active involvement of public representatives in this public health campaign. According to the statement, to ensure smooth infrastructure and services, he directed the Power Department to guarantee uninterrupted electricity supply. He asked the District Basic Education Officer to ensure 100% enrollment of children in council schools. He also emphasised the timely provision of school supplies, bags, uniforms, shoes, and socks, as well as the deployment of adequate teachers to ensure that no school is understaffed. On the issue of law and order, the Chief Minister directed officials to monitor and take strict action against those disrupting social harmony by using fake social media accounts. He instructed law enforcement to identify and act against elements inciting caste-based tension or engaging in activities that threaten peace. He emphasised the importance of strengthening the local intelligence network and enhancing police vigilance. Police Commissioner Mohit Agarwal briefed the Chief Minister on preparations for the Shravan month, including law and order, traffic management, and police campaigns, according to the statement. Multiple other officials and leaders, including Jal Shakti Minister Swatantradev Singh, Labour and Employment Minister Anil Rajbhar, and Minister of State for Stamps (Independent Charge) Ravindra Jaiswal, District Panchayat Chairman Poonam Maurya, Legislative Council Member Hansraj Vishwakarma, Rai Dharmendra Singh, Vishal Singh 'Chanchal', MLA Dr. Neelkanth Tiwari, Dr. Awadhesh Singh, Dr. Sunil Patel, Divisional Commissioner S. Rajlingam, Additional Police Commissioner Shivhari Meena, MD Purvanchal Vidyut Vitran Shambhu Kumar, Development Authority Vice President Pulkit Garg, Municipal Commissioner Akshat Verma, Chief Development Officer Himanshu Nagpal, DFO Swati Srivastava and officers of various departments were present at the meeting. (ANI) The 14-year-old boy was recovered from Kanpur Central Railway Station following swift action by the Delhi Police. On July 16 at approximately 10:30 PM, a family member of theminor boy lodged a complaint at PS Karawal Nagar, alleging the kidnapping of his minor son. According to the complainant, the boy had left home for tuition at around 4:30 PM and did not return. Swiftly acting on the complaint, a case was registered under the relevant sections, and an investigation was initiated. Considering the seriousness of the situation, a dedicated team was formed under the leadership of Inspector Vipin Yadav, SHO Karawal Nagar. The team consisted of SI Abhimanyu, PSI Harsh Vardhan, HC Ravindra, HC Harkesh, and Constable Rohit Yadav, all working under the supervision of Shri Vijaypal Singh, ACP Khajuri Khas. The team swiftly traced the boy's location near Kanpur and coordinated with the Government Railway Police (GRP). The team then proceeded to Kanpur, where the minor was successfully recovered at Kanpur Central Railway Station. Further investigation into the case is currently underway. Earlier, in a case of murder, kidnapping and destruction of evidence, Delhi's Rohini District Court sentenced two men to life imprisonment. This case pertains to an FIR lodged at the Narela Police Station in 2017. The deceased Om Hare was kidnapped by convicts with premeditated planning, and thereafter, his body was disposed of by both the convicts. Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Vandana sentenced Navrattan alias Kale and Naushad to life imprisonment for murdering Om Hare. ASJ Vandana observed, "The nature of the offence committed in the present case is very serious." "The deceased was kidnapped by convicts with premeditated planning and brutally murdered, and thereafter, both the convicts disposed of his body," ASJ Vandana said. Additionally, the court has imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on each accused. During arguements on sentence, additional public prosecutor (APP) Vinit Dahiya argued that convicts deserve no leniency since the deceased was brutally murdered by them. (ANI) Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Nainar Nagendran was on Thursday prevented by the police from meeting detained part-time teachers who have been staging protests in Chennai, demanding the regularisation of their jobs. The teachers, detained earlier in the day, were being held at the government marriage hall in Triplicane.Speaking to reporters outside the venue, Nagendran criticised the police for arresting peaceful protestors while allegedly failing to find the accused who had raped a 10-year-old girl in Gumidipoondi in Thiruvallore district. Part-time teachers from schools across Tamil Nadu have been protesting for more than a week, demanding the regularisation of their jobs in Chennai. Today, they were detained by the Chennai police and taken to the Triplicane government marriage hall. When TN BJP President Nainar Nagendran came to meet the protesters and offer them solidarity support, he was denied permission to meet the protesters. "A fourth standard girl was raped in Gummidipoondi, and the accused is still roaming free. But here, teachers asking for their rightful jobs are being arrested by police. This is shameful and condemnable," he said.Nagendran warned that the public is watching the state government's actions closely and would respond in the 2026 elections. He also took a swipe at Chief Minister MK Stalin, saying the DMK leader was afraid after the AIADMK-BJP alliance had taken shape. "MK Stalin claims he will win over 200 seats, but we will win all 234," he declared confidently. He further slammed the DMK for not honouring promises made to part-time teachers and accused the ruling party of betraying the community. "This government has failed to deliver on its job assurance. It's a betrayal of the teachers," he said. Reacting to the controversy over DMK MP Trichy Siva's remarks on former CM K. Kamaraj, Nagendran called it deeply disrespectful. "Kamarajar was a freedom fighter and a true visionary. It is disgraceful that Trichy Siva has insulted him, and even more unfortunate that Congress has not condemned it in strong terms. We don't even know if Congress exists in Tamil Nadu anymore." On the alleged raising concerns about law and order in the state, he said, "This is the third rape case involving a minor, yet the government is not taking strict action. Even a DSP's vehicle was seized when he shut down an illegal bar. How can there be law and order in such a scenario?" (ANI) Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami reached Haridwar and participated in the event organised at the Ganga Ghat near Om Bridge and welcomed and honoured the Shiva devotees Kanwariyas from all over the country by washing their feet. He also participated in the organised Bhajan Sandhya. On this occasion, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said, "It is my good fortune to have had the opportunity to wash the feet of Shiva devotees, the Kanwariyas, and receive their blessings. He congratulated all the administrative officers, including those from HRDA and the Haridwar Police, for the successful event. He said that by merely offering water, Lord Shiva fulfils the wishes of all his devotees, and in the month of Shavan, the effect of devotion to Lord Shiva increases tremendously. Travelling hundreds and thousands of kilometres from all over the country, Shiva devotees Kanwariyas take the water of Ganga from the religious city of Haridwar and perform Jalabhishek. He said that Kanwar Yatra is not only a symbol of devotion and faith but it also gives us an opportunity to become a part of virtue in service." So far this year, more than one crore Shiva devotees have left for their respective destinations on the Kanwar Yatra. The Chief Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with development, many revival works are also going on for the preservation of culture, whether it is the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor, the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya or the Mahakal to be built in Ujjain, the reconstruction of Kedarnath in our Devbhoomi Uttarakhand or the master plan of Badrivishal, work is going on on all these. He said that the Prime Minister has done the work of making the Adi Kailash Yatra famous all over the world by becoming the first flag bearer in the state. The CM added that PM Modi is the first Prime Minister of the country who went to a height of 17,500 feet and visited Lord Adi Kailash and Parvati Kund in the border area. "Under the guidance of the Prime Minister, it is proposed to construct the Haridwar-Rishikesh Corridor on the banks of Mother Ganga. Iin the coming time, Haridwar Dharamnagari will also be seen in its grand form like Kashi, Ayodhya," he added. He highlighted that the Kanwar Yatra is not only a religious event but also a symbol of our faith, devotion, and Sanatan culture, and that we are fortunate to have the opportunity to serve crore of Shiva devotees every year. He said that Shiv Shakti is not a display but an internal sadhana. He said, "It is a holy journey and ritual to perform Jalabhishek, offering water and worshipping Lord Mahadev. He said that this journey is done to please Mahadev, to fulfil one's wishes, to purify oneself." The Chief Minister appealed that no one should be troubled due to the journey, and that there should be no disturbance or hindrance during the journey, while following the rules of the Kanwar Yatra. He highlighted that some people are trying to forget the objectives of the Kanwar Yatra and are instead following the path of unrest and disturbance. He appealed to them to behave like true Shiv Bhaktas, because "when a devotee is humble and tolerant, they attain spiritual peace." He prayed to Lord Ashutosh that this time the Kanwar Yatra awakens the Shiva element within the devoteed;,for which one must remain happy and behave peacefully. He said that this holy land of Devbhoomi Uttarakhand not only welcomes all of you, but also considers your service as its good fortune. (ANI) Geneva, Switzerland (PANA) - UN agencies warn that childhood immunization rates in Sudan have plummeted to their lowest level in decades Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has taken a proactive approach to further strengthen and upgrade the infrastructure of local self-governing institutions, District and Taluka Panchayats across the state, as per a Gujarat Chief Minister's Office release. According to the CMO release, a provision of Rs 65 crore has been allocated in the 2025-26 budget for the construction of modern, well-equipped and spacious Taluka Panchayat offices, ensuring better convenience and services for citizens. The Chief Minister, Bhupendra Patel, has encouraged the adoption of solar energy by the installation of solar rooftop systems in Taluka Panchayat offices. Aimed at reducing electricity expenses and fostering self-reliance, solar rooftop systems have already been made operational in 104 Taluka Panchayats, with installation work underway in an additional 27, as per the CMO release. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for the construction of rainwater harvesting structures in government buildings under the "Catch the Rain" initiative to promote the conservation and storage of rainwater. In a positive response to this call, Gujarat has installed rainwater harvesting systems in 31 Taluka Panchayat buildings. While 211 Taluka Panchayats across the state already have their own dedicated offices, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has now given administrative approval for constructing new buildings in 11 more Taluka Panchayats. Accordingly, a total approval of Rs 12.45 crore has been granted for the construction of new Taluka Panchayat buildings in the following talukas: Ahwa in Dang, Daskroi and Detroj in Ahmedabad, Matar in Kheda, Kawant in Chhota Udepur, Santalpur in Patan, Vav in Banaskantha, Palitana and Shihor in Bhavnagar, Lunawada in Mahisagar, and Gondal in Rajkot. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel has allocated a total of Rs 20.55 crore for six other talukas in the state--Lathi, Kuka Vav, Veraval, Deesa, Mahuva, and Gandhinagar--where the construction of Taluka Panchayat buildings is currently in progress. As per the resolution and guidelines issued by the State Government's Department of Panchayat, Rural Housing, and Rural Development, the design and execution of these buildings must comply with safety norms and the guidelines prescribed by GSDMA. Furthermore, it is mandatory to incorporate rainwater harvesting structures in all newly constructed buildings. As a result of the decision taken by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, the construction of better-equipped offices at both the taluka and district panchayat levels will enhance public convenience and lead to a more robust service delivery infrastructure. The Department of Panchayat, Rural Housing, and Rural Development has formally issued a resolution to implement the decisions made by the Chief Minister. (ANI) Expressing his concern on the trade deal with the United States, Congress MP Anand Sharma said that they are expecting from the Centre that national interest would be taken into perspective and a balanced agreement would be struck, where India would benefit from the deal. Speaking to ANI, Sharma highlighted that India too has its commitments, adding that negotiators know these issues that India's concerns and reservations have to be taken into consideration. "We expect that national interest would be taken into perspective and a balanced agreement would be struck, where our country would benefit...India's concerns and reservations have to be taken into consideration. Our negotiators know these issues. We are also members of WTO (World Trade Organization). So, international rule-based trade order should not be affected and India too has its commitments, we have to be mindful of that too," he said. Recently, US President Donald Trump hinted at reaching a new trade deal with India soon. While adding "maybe", he said that currently the US is in negotiations with India. Trump, while speaking to reporters during a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, emphasised that August 1 will be a significant day, when a lot of money will come into his country. "...We've brought in over $100 billion. The tariffs haven't kicked in significantly, except for automobiles and steel. August 1st is when a very substantial money comes into our country. We've made deals with numerous places. We had one yesterday," Trump said. "We have another one (deal) coming up, maybe with India... We're in negotiation. When I send out a letter, that's a deal... The best deal we can make is to send out a letter, and the letter says that you'll pay 30%, 35%, 25%, 20%... We have some pretty good deals to announce... We're very close to a deal with India where they open it up," Trump added. Further, Congress MP Anand Sharma raised concerns over the weaking of the national consensus on the Foreign Policy, saying that the government has to think about it. Sharma was also a part of the parliamentary delegation for Operation Sindoor Outreach. "There are a few matters of concern. If someone deviates from the basic principles of India, on which our foreign policy has been based, and speaks, then obviously that would be concerning. Foreign Policy can never be entangled in partisan politics; it is above that. There used to be a national consensus behind it. That national consensus has been weakened. The government has to think about it. Also, the situation and challenges in our neighbourhood have to be understood," Sharma said. The Congress MP also recalled the UN Resolution on Gaza ceasefire, where India was among the 19 countries that abstained from voting. Sharma said that the resolution was not against anyone, but was in support of humanity and for stopping war. "If we speak about Global South, what is the attitude of those countries - especially for the recent UN resolution on Gaza, 149 member nations, including European nations, UK, Germany, France voted. It was not against anyone, it was in support of humanity, it was for stopping war and the restoration of peace. Those who are starving and require medical attention, if India doesn't include itself in it. We also need to consider the viewpoint of countries which are Global South today and our partner countries stand on this issue," Anand Sharma said. (ANI) In a post on X, CM Sarma said that 21 police personnel were injured after a violent mob attacked while attempting to forcefully enroach upon the Paikan Reserve Forest. https://x.com/himantabiswa/status/1945829017426530531 "Rahul Gandhi came to Assam and openly encouraged encroachers to occupy forest land. Emboldened by his reckless words, today a violent mob attacked our police and forest personnel while attempting to forcefully encroach upon the Paikan Reserve Forest," he said. "In the line of duty, 21 brave police officers and forest guards suffered grievous injuries. Left with no choice, the police had to open fire to restore order, leading to the unfortunate death of one encroacher," CM Sarma added. He noted that this is the "disastrous legacy" of Rahul Gandhi's one-day visit to Assam. "His irresponsible rhetoric has directly endangered lives and disrupted peace in our state. The people of Assam will neither forget nor forgive this betrayal," the Assam CM said. Later in the day, speaking to reporters, CM Biswa told reporters, "Police will go through the speeches made by Rahul Gandhi and (Congress President) Mallikarjun Kharge. If we see some elements invite penal action, the Police will not hesitate to take action against Rahul Gandhi and Mallikarjun Kharge". According to the police, the miscreants attacked the security personnel at Paikan Reserve Forest area when a joint team of police and the forest department went to the area for routine patrolling. Akhilesh Kumar Singh, IGP (L&O) of Assam police, told ANI over the phone that several police personnel were injured, including two seriously injured, following an attack by some miscreants.The miscreants also pelted stones targeting to security personnel. Following retaliatory action by security personnel, a few miscreants were also injured. (ANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lay the foundation stones for various works and also inaugurate projects worth over Rs 5000 crore at a programme in Durgapur in West Bengal on Friday. According to a statement from the Prime Minister's Office, these projects cover sectors like oil, gas, power, railways and roads. In a post on X, PM Modi said, "Looking forward to being among the people of West Bengal tomorrow, 18th July. At a programme in Durgapur, will lay the foundation stones for various works and also inaugurate projects worth over Rs. 5000 crore. The projects cover sectors like oil and gas, power, railways, roads." Launching attacks on ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) government in West Bengal, the Prime Minister said that the people of state are suffering due to TMC's "misrule" and are seeing the BJP with hope. "West Bengal is suffering due to TMC misrule. People are seeing the BJP with hope and are convinced that only the BJP can deliver on development. Tomorrow, 18th July, will be addressing a @BJP4Bengal rally in Durgapur. Do join!" PM Modi posted on Thursday. In a major boost to Oil and Gas infrastructure in the region, Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for Bharat Petroleum Corp. Ltd (BPCL) City Gas Distribution (CGD) project in Bankura and Purulia district of West Bengal worth around Rs 1,950 crore. It will provide PNG connections to households, commercial establishments and industrial customers, and provide CNG at the retail outlets and also create employment opportunities in the region. Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation Durgapur to Kolkata section (132 Km) of Durgapur-Haldia Natural Gas Pipeline, which has been laid as a part of ambitious Jagdishpur-Haldia and Bokaro-Dhamra Pipeline also known as Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga (PMUG) Project. As per an official release, the Durgapur to Kolkata section worth over Rs 1,190 crore is passing through the districts of Purba Bardhman, Hooghly and Nadia in West Bengal. The pipeline provided direct and indirect employment during its implementation phase and will now facilitate supply of natural gas to lakhs of households in the region. In line with his commitment to clean air and health security for all, Prime Minister Modi will also dedicate to the nation Retrofitting Pollution Control System-Flue Gas Desulphurization (FGD) of Durgapur Steel Thermal Power Station and Raghunathpur Thermal Power Station of Damodar Valley Corporation, worth over Rs 1,457 crore. It will benefit the region by supporting cleaner energy production and creating employment opportunities in the region. Boosting rail infrastructure in the region, Prime Minister will also dedicate to the nation the doubling of Purulia - Kotshila Rail Line (36 KM) in Purulia worth over Rs 390 crore. It will improve rail connectivity between industries from Jamshedpur, Bokaro and Dhanbad with Ranchi and Kolkata and efficient movement of goods trains, reducing travel time and improving logistics for industries and businesses. Prime Minister will inaugurate two road over bridges (ROBs) constructed under Setu Bharatam Programme, worth over Rs 380 crore, at Topsi and Pandabeshwar in Paschim Bardhaman. It will improve connectivity and also help in preventing accidents on Railway level crossing. (ANI) US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) said that the US will work out a deal with China where the latter would give the death penalty to those who transport fentanyl drug into the US. Trump said that the tariffs imposed on China are a penalty to make up for the losses incurred by the US due to the alleged trafficking of the drug. "I have a very good relationship with President Xi of China, but I imposed a 20% tariff on China because of the fentanyl. And I call it a penalty. It's a penalty because China delivers much of the fentanyl. Some people would say all of it. They deliver it into Mexico and even into our own country," he said. Trump signed the legislation to amend the Controlled Substances Act regarding the scheduling of fentanyl-related substances. https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1945562823599272223 "We have a 20 per cent [tariff], so they pay billions of dollars and billions of dollars in damages for what they've done. And I think we're going to work it out so that China is going to end up going from that to giving the death penalty to the people that create this fentanyl and send it into our country, whether it's through other countries or directly," he added. https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1945602406646976515 https://x.com/WhiteHouse/status/1945593344471511062 https://x.com/PressSec/status/1945573118803644855 Trump further said that such a deal with China should have been signed a long time ago. "I believe that we would have had that deal a long time ago. I shook hands with them, and then we had a rigged election, and we had somebody else come in, and they didn't know anything about a deal for the death penalty. The death penalty is going to be imposed on people from China who make fentanyl and send it into our country. I believe that's going to happen soon. But as of today, all fentanyl related substances will be banned forever, and those who traffic in these deadly poisons will be put behind bars for a very long period of time," he said. Trump further blamed his predecessor, Joe Biden, for the 'drug crisis' that he inherited as the former took office. "Today, we strike a righteous blow to the drug dealers, narcotic traffickers, and criminal cartels... and we take a historic step toward justice for every family touched by the fentanyl scourge... So, six months ago, we came into office and inherited the worst drug crisis in American history by far. They did nothing. For four long years, Joe Biden surrendered our borders to the most evil and vicious traffickers, networks, and everything else on the planet Earth, allowing foreign drug cartels to carve out a massive footprint. On American soil, we were doing nothing," he said. Trump further alleged that the open border policy allowed the fentanyl flood that allegedly posed a mammoth challenge for law enforcement officers. "This open borders nightmare flooded our country with fentanyl and with people that shouldn't be here, some of the worst people on Earth. And illicit drugs decimated American communities and left us with the largest law enforcement challenge in our country's history, and hopefully will always be the largest. I can't imagine anything being worse," he said. (ANI) A cockpit recording of dialogue between the two pilots of the Air India flight that crashed last month indicated that the captain turned off the switches that controlled fuel flowing to the plane's engines, Reuters reported, citing the Wall Street Journal report on Wednesday. As per Reuters, The Wall Street Journal report cited people familiar with US officials' early assessment of evidence uncovered in the investigation into the crash, which killed 260 people. The recording suggested that the first officer, who was flying the Boeing aircraft, opened the new tab 787 Dreamliner, asked the other captain, who was more experienced, why he moved the switches to the "cutoff" position after it climbed off the runway, the report said. The first officer expressed surprise and then panicked, while the captain seemed to remain calm, Reuters reported, citing WSJ. India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Boeing and Air India have not yet responded to the report. The two pilots involved were Captain Sumeet Sabharwal and First Officer Clive Kunder, who had total flying experience of 15,638 hours and 3,403 hours, respectively. A preliminary report released last week by India's Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau depicted confusion in the cockpit shortly before the June 12 crash, and raised fresh questions over the position of the critical engine fuel cutoff switches. Meanwhile, Air India on Wednesday announced the successful completion of precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) across its fleet of Boeing 787-8 aircraft. According to a communication sent to pilots, no issues were found during the checks. "Over the weekend, our Engineering team initiated precautionary inspections on the locking mechanism of the Fuel Control Switch (FCS) on all our Boeing 787 aircraft. The inspections have been completed, and no issues were found," the airline informed its flight crew. The inspections were conducted in compliance with a directive issued by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) on Monday, July 14. Air India further confirmed that all of its Boeing 787-8 aircraft have also undergone Throttle Control Module (TCM) replacements as part of Boeing's prescribed maintenance schedule. The Fuel Control Switch is an integrated part of the TCM. (ANI) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense detected 58 Chinese aircraft, nine Chinese naval vessels and one official ship around its territorial waters as of 6 am (local time) on Thursday. Of the 58 sorties, 45 crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, central, southwestern and eastern ADIZ (Air Defence Identification Zone). In a post on X, the MND said, "58 PLA aircraft, 9 PLAN vessels and 1 official ship operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 45 of 58 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, central, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1945649661282537747 Earlier on Wednesday, Taiwan detected 38 sorties of PLA aircraft in various types (including J-16, KJ-500, etc.). 28 out of 38 sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the central and southwestern ADIZ. In a post on X, it said, "Overall 38 sorties of PLA aircraft in various types (including J-16, KJ-500, etc.) were detected from 0807hr today. 28 out of 38 sorties crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait and entered the central and southwestern ADIZ in conducting air-sea joint training along with other PLAN vessels. ROC Armed Forces have monitored the situation and responded accordingly." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1945340880963166394 Earlier in the same day, the MND said, "18 PLA aircraft, 7 PLAN vessels and 2 official ships operating around Taiwan were detected up until 6 a.m. (UTC+8) today. 6 of 18 sorties crossed the median line and entered Taiwan's northern, central, southwestern and eastern ADIZ. We have monitored the situation and responded." https://x.com/MoNDefense/status/1945287267792150779 Meanwhile, France's newly released 2025 National Strategic Review has raised alarm over China's military posture in East Asia, emphasising growing instability in the Taiwan Strait due to Beijing's intensified pressure on Taipei, Focus Taiwan reported. According to the report, published on Monday, repeated and large-scale Chinese military manoeuvres around Taiwan in 2024 and 2025 represent a significant escalation in Beijing's coercive tactics. These actions are part of China's broader goal of enforcing a fait accompli in the region, particularly in the South China Sea, Focus Taiwan reported. (ANI) At least three passengers were killed and seven others injured on Wednesday after unidentified gunmen opened fire on a passenger bus in Balochistan's Kalat district, Dawn reported. The incident took place in the Nemargh area when a bus travelling from Karachi to Quetta was ambushed. "Three passengers were martyred and seven were injured in the tragic incident," said Balochistan government spokesperson Shahid Rind. He added that the injured were being shifted to the District Headquarters Hospital in Kalat, where an emergency has been declared. However, rescue officials from the Edhi Foundation later said that the number of injured had reached 10, and many of them were shifted to the Civil Hospital Quetta for treatment, as per Dawn. Rind said that security forces, the district administration, and rescue teams rushed to the spot soon after the attack. "Security forces have surrounded the area, and a search operation is underway. The attackers are being pursued," he added. Rind also said that Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti had taken serious notice of the incident and ordered a detailed report from the police and other law enforcement agencies, as quoted by Geo News. "Based on initial information, terrorists were sitting in ambush. They stopped the bus and attacked from both sides of the road. The exact number of attackers is yet to be confirmed," he said. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the firing and directed officials to provide the best medical treatment to the injured, Dawn reported. "Targeting innocent civilians is an extremely cruel and condemnable act. Terrorists are enemies of humanity and peace. They want to sabotage the country's stability, but the state will act with full force to eliminate terrorism," Dawn quoted the President as saying. In a separate incident, three women were injured in a roadside bomb blast in Quetta's Hazar Ganji area. Shalkot Police Station House Officer (SHO) Khair Muhammad Samalani told Dawn.com that the explosion was caused by a bomb planted on a motorcycle, which was detonated remotely near Murree Camp, according to Dawn. "Police and security agencies immediately reached the spot and began collecting evidence," the SHO said. He added that the injured women were taken to the Civil Hospital Quetta and are reported to be out of danger. Police and bomb disposal teams also launched a search operation in the area to check for any other potential threats. So far, no group has claimed responsibility for either attack. (ANI) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative for Afghanistan, Arafat Jamal, has expressed concern over the intensifying deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran, coinciding with a reduction in international aid, Tolo News reported. In an interview with Tolo News, Jamal urged the world not to forget Afghanistan during this critical time. He said: "It was important ten years ago, it is still important today. This is a region where two wars have been fought in the last three months, within Pakistan and India, between Israel and Iran. Does the world really want to see Afghanistan also become unstable in this context?" According to Tolo News, Jamal also emphasized that the deportation of Afghan migrants from Iran is not being conducted in a dignified manner. He added: "The least I can say is that they have not come home in a dignified manner. I do believe that the Iranians would like to work together with us to ensure that people are treated with dignity and I know that my colleagues in Tehran and myself have been in discussions to make sure that whatever happens, it can happen in dignity and it can happen so that assistance, education and other such activities can follow this. The least I can say is that they have not come home in a dignified manner." According to the UN official, discussions with Iran on the humane treatment of Afghan migrants are ongoing, Tolo News reported. On a related note, UN Secretary-General spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a recent press briefing that the return of migrants from Iran has placed enormous pressure on Afghanistan's already fragile support systems, Tolo News reported. "Despite determined efforts of UN agencies and local authorities, a powerful public outpouring of practical support to the returnees, the pace and the scale of returns are overwhelming already fragile support system. More than 1.3 million Afghans have returned so far in 2025, straining communities across the country where 70% of people live in poverty," Dujarric said. Concerns about the reduction of foreign aid for deported Afghan migrants from Iran and its consequences on Afghanistan's economy continue to mount as deportation from both Iran and Pakistan intensifies, Tolo News reported. (ANI) At least four people were killed and dozens injured in violent clashes between law enforcement personnel and Awami League (AL) supporters in Gopalganj on Wednesday, following tensions over a rally by the National Citizen Party (NCP), The Daily Star reported. The violence broke out in the wake of a pre-scheduled NCP rally at Poura Park in Gopalganj town, which was opposed by AL supporters despite a recent government ban on all political activities of the Awami League. According to The Daily Star, hundreds of AL activists blocked the Gopalganj-Tekerhat road in the Ulpur area early on Wednesday by felling trees. Protesters also set fire to a government vehicle and vandalised another before storming the NCP rally venue. Clashes intensified after NCP leaders left the rally and were reportedly attacked by AL supporters near Chowrangi. At least four people were killed and several others sustained injuries as confrontations spread across different parts of the district, the Daily Star in its report added. In response, the government imposed a curfew from 8:00 pm on Wednesday to 6:00 pm on Thursday to bring the situation under control. Authorities also postponed the ongoing HSC, Alim, and HSC (Vocational) exams in Gopalganj, with notices issued by respective education boards around 10:30 pm. Eyewitnesses claimed that police opened fire on demonstrators in some areas. A grocer in Chowrangi said he saw two people collapse as security forces fired shots to disperse the crowd. One of the victims, Dipto, was reportedly on his way to his shop when he was shot in the abdomen, The Daily Star reported. Speaking at a press conference in Khulna, NCP Convener Nahid Islam said, "After concluding our rally in Gopalganj, we were heading towards Madaripur when armed goons of the Awami League attacked our motorcade." Despite the attack, the party plans to go ahead with its rally in Faridpur today, The Daily Star quoted him as saying. Before the rally began, 200-300 armed individuals stormed the venue, tore down banners, and exploded crude bombs, forcing police officers to retreat temporarily. NCP leaders, including Nahid Islam and Member Secretary Akhtar Hossain, later arrived and helped push back the attackers with police support. The Chief Adviser's Press Wing strongly condemned the attack on NCP members, describing it as "utterly indefensible" and assuring that those responsible would be punished. Other political parties, including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami, also condemned the violence, according to The Daily Star. (ANI) Freetown, Sierra Leone (PANA) - Craters filled with muddy water pocket the landscape of the Kono district in Sierra Leone the result of past diamond mining ventures which sparked a vicious local battle over resources A key ultra-Orthodox ally in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government has announced its departure from the cabinet, marking a serious setback that could potentially leave Netanyahu presiding over a minority coalition, Al Jazeera has reported. The Shas party, long considered a kingmaker in Israeli politics, said on Wednesday that it was leaving the cabinet in protest over lawmakers' failure to guarantee a future exemption from military conscription for religious students. "Shas representatives ... find with a heavy heart that they cannot stay in the government and be a part of it," the party said in a statement, according to Al Jazeera. While it remains unclear whether Netanyahu will now be left with a minority, Al Jazeera reported that without Shas, his coalition would hold just 50 seats in the 120-seat Knesset. Al Jazeera said that the departure of Shas comes just a day after United Torah Judaism (UTJ), another ultra-Orthodox party, also resigned from the government over the same contentious issue. The exemptions for ultra-Orthodox seminary students from mandatory military service have become a lightning rod for public anger, particularly amid the ongoing war with Hamas in Gaza that has stretched beyond 21 months. Al Jazeera reported that the Supreme Court had previously ordered an end to the exemption policy, and lawmakers have since been attempting to draft new legislation that satisfies both Shas and UTJ--without success. Despite its exit, Shas has signalled that it will not seek to actively bring down the Netanyahu government. It said it may continue to vote with the coalition on some legislative matters, though it will no longer be formally part of the cabinet. Michael Malkieli, Religious Services Minister and Shas member, said on Wednesday that religious leaders were angered after Yuli Edelstein, chairman of the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, allegedly went back on his word regarding the proposed conscription bill. According to Al Jazeera, Malkieli, reading from a statement by the Council of Torah Sages, also condemned actions by the Israeli military and attorney general to crack down on draft dodgers. He called these moves "nothing less than cruel and criminal persecution against yeshiva students." The move comes just before the Israeli parliament is set to begin a three-month recess on July 27, giving Netanyahu some time without active legislative pressure to possibly reconcile with the departing ultra-Orthodox allies, Al Jazeera said. (ANI) The US Embassy in India has cautioned that committing crimes such as assault, theft, or burglary in the United States could result in serious consequences beyond legal troubles, including visa revocation. "Committing assault, theft, or burglary in the United States won't just cause you legal issues - it could lead to your visa being revoked and make you ineligible for future US visas. The United States values law and order and expects foreign visitors to follow all US laws," the embassy said in an official message. The statement underscores that adherence to U.S. laws is mandatory for all foreign visitors, with violations potentially impacting future travel eligibility. The advisory comes amid growing concerns over the conduct of some visa holders. In one such recent case, an Indian woman reportedly spent more than seven hours inside a Target store on May 1, collecting items worth USD 1,300 (around Rs 1.1 lakh), before allegedly attempting to leave without paying. The incident went viral after a store employee confronted her, and footage of the exchange circulated widely online. Highlighting the seriousness of its stance, the U.S. Embassy reiterated on Saturday that visa screening continues even after a visa is granted, stressing that criminal behaviour can not only jeopardise an individual's current visa status but also affect their eligibility for future entry into the country. "US visa screening does not stop after a visa is issued. We continuously check visa holders to ensure they follow all U.S. laws and immigration rules - and we will revoke their visas and deport them if they don't," the Embassy said in a post on X. The statement underscores the United States' ongoing efforts to ensure compliance with its immigration laws and reinforces that visa holders must adhere strictly to all legal requirements during their stay. As part of broader efforts to tighten screening, a related announcement was made last month. In a move aimed at strengthening visa screening procedures, the United States has announced that effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa are required to adjust the privacy settings on all of their social media accounts to 'public' to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States under U.S. law. In a post on X, the official handle of the U.S. Embassy in India (@USAndIndia) shared the announcement stating, "Every visa adjudication is a national security decision. Effective immediately, all individuals applying for an F, M, or J non-immigrant visa are requested to adjust the privacy settings on all of their personal social media accounts to 'public' to facilitate vetting necessary to establish their identity and admissibility to the United States." It also reiterated that since 2019, the United States has required visa applicants to provide social media identifiers on immigrant and non-immigrant visa application forms. The post added: "We use all available information in our visa screening and vetting to identify visa applicants who are inadmissible to the United States, including those who pose a threat to U.S. national security." Meanwhile, the U.S. government has also unveiled a sweeping new 2025 travel ban, barring nationals from 12 countries entirely and partially limiting visa access from seven others. The move prioritises national security and focuses on countries deemed high-risk for security loopholes and terrorism concerns. Most affected countries are reportedly in the Middle East and Africa. Citizens from these nations now face a total ban on immigrant and non-immigrant visas, including those for tourism, education, and employment. Simultaneously, seven other countries face partial restrictions, involving tighter screening or limited visa categories. Amid growing concern in South Asia, the U.S. has clarified that India is not on the list. The U.S. is continuing to process applications for Indian nationals across all categories, including B1/B2 tourist visas, H1B work permits, and F1 student visas. However, visa applicants from India still face long delays due to high demand and administrative backlog. Most U.S. consulates in India are booking interview slots up to 10-12 months in advance. So while India remains unaffected by the new travel ban, long processing times may still impact travel plans, education, and employment opportunities for many. (ANI) The third day of 'Urban Resilience' exercises- featuring air raid alerts, public evacuation manoeuvres, and disaster relief drills- to guard against Chinese threats to invade- will continue on Thursday across Taiwan, local media reported. The civil defence drills are part of Taiwan's broader annual 10-day Han Kuang military drills, which began on July 9--the island country's largest war games--aimed at increasing defence preparedness in the face of a hypothetical Chinese invasion amidst escalating tensions. Thursday's Urban Resilience exercises drills will be held in Taipei, New Taipei, Taoyuan, Yilan, Keelung City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County. It will be held from 1:30 pm to 2 pm Tomorrow, on the last day of the exercise, it will be held in Hualien County, Taitung County and the outlying Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu islands, Focus Taiwan reported. In Taipei, the scenario simulates a sudden aerial assault, prompting the central government to issue alerts and activate the warning system, according to the report in the state news agency. The air raid alerts will last for 30 minutes, and once the alerts are lifted, local governments and civil defence groups will follow with relief station, emergency station or disaster relief drills. The drills were cancelled in Tainan, Chiayi City, Chiayi County and Yunlin County as those areas continue to recover from damage caused by Typhoon Danas, which hit southern Taiwan hard on July 6 and 7, the Taiwan's Central News Agency reported. Participation in the drills is mandatory and failure to comply may result in fines of NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 (US$1,000-US$5,000) under the country's Civil Defense Act. Yesterday, Taiwan's military conducted a nighttime drill simulating a response to a potential Chinese attempt to seize Taipei Songshan Airport. Taiwan's Defence Ministry (MND) said it had tracked 58 Chinese military aircraft, nine naval vessels, and one official ship around Taiwan between 6 am on Wednesday and 6 am on Thursday. It said that 45 of the 58 Chinese Army aircraft crossed the Taiwan Strait median line in the nation's northern, central, southwestern, and eastern air defence identification zone, the country's defence ministry stated. According to Focus Taiwan, since September 2020, China has increased its use of gray zone tactics by incrementally increasing the number of military aircraft and naval vessels operating around the island. Meanwhile, France, in its latest National Strategic Review released on Monday, has highlighted China's repeated military exercises around Taiwan and asserted that Beijing's escalating pressure on Taipei has created unease in the region. "In 2024 and 2025, repeated Chinese military manoeuvres around Taiwan on an unprecedented scale marked a clear acceleration in the strengthening of China's military capabilities," the report said as cited by Taiwan's central news agency. To ensure its ambitions will proceed, the French report said, China is exploiting unprecedented hybrid actions such as cyber operations and technological predation, in particular in defense technologies such as quantum, artificial intelligence and space technologies. Japan's defence ministry, too has said in a new document, DOJ2025, that "the joint operations between China and Russia combined with threats coming from North Korea pose the greatest threat to global order since World War II." The presence of Chinese warships off the coast of southwestern Japan has tripled in the last three years, including in waters between Taiwan and the neighboring Japanese island of Yonaguni, according to the Japanese Defence white paper. China views Taiwan as its own territory and has stepped up military and political pressure to assert those claims. Lai Ching-te, who completed a year in office has urged Beijing to restart dialogue with his government on equal terms. (ANI) Islamabad [Pakistan], July 17: A growing number of Afghan migrants living in Pakistan are avoiding hospitals and health centres due to the constant fear of arrest and deportation, Khamaa Press reported on Wednesday, citing a recent report by Medecins Sans Frontires (MSF). The situation is worsening both their physical and mental health. According to Khamaa Press, MSF has highlighted in its findings that many Afghans are now too afraid to seek medical help, even when they are seriously unwell. The ongoing fear not only negatively impacts their physical health but also inflicts severe psychological harm. Since November 2023, Pakistan has stepped up its deportation drive against Afghan nationals. Initially, it was focused on undocumented people, but now even those with valid documents are reportedly at risk. Although Islamabad recently said it would pause the deportation of Afghans with legal residence cards from July 2025, MSF said this has not eased the fear on the ground, as per Khamaa Press. Pakistan currently hosts one of the world's largest populations of Afghan migrants and refugees, many of whom came across the border to escape war and instability in Afghanistan. International organisations are urging the Pakistani government to stop targeting Afghan refugees unfairly and ensure they get proper access to healthcare, according to Khamaa Press. Earlier, the United Nations had raised alarm over a massive surge in Afghan returnees, calling for urgent global support as more than 1.3 million people have returned to Afghanistan so far in 2025, Tolo News reported, citing a statement from the UN Assistance Mission on Afghanistan (UNAMA). During a visit to the Islam Qala border crossing, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) Roza Otunbayeva said, " What should be a positive homecoming moment for families who fled conflict decades ago is instead marked by exhaustion, trauma, and profound uncertainty. (ANI) The Authorities in Paksitan have issued an emergency evacuation warning for the low-lying areas near Nala Lai in Rawalpindi, including Gawalmandi and Katarian, after continuous heavy rainfall raised water levels in Islamabad, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) said in an alert on Thursday. A "very important update" from PMD Headquarters in Islamabad directed all stakeholders to begin evacuating residents from the Lai Nullah Basin as a precautionary measure, warning of possible flash floods due to rising water levels. https://x.com/pmdgov/status/1945711636901204122 The warning comes amid ongoing torrential monsoon rains that have lashed multiple regions of Punjab and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi over the past few days. According to the PMD, Islamabad and Rawalpindi recorded intense rainfall overnight. Meanwhile, Chakwal district in Punjab was hit by a cloudburst, receiving 400 mm of rain in just 10 hours, which led to flash floods and widespread waterlogging, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said in a statement, according to Dawn. In the past 24 hours, at least 28 people were killed and 90 others injured in rain-related incidents across Punjab province, including deaths caused by roof collapses and electrocution, Dawn reported, citing Rescue 1122, Pakistan's national emergency service, on Thursday. PDMA Spokesperson Irfan Ali Kathia said, "Chakwal recorded 400mm of rain in 10 hours, which left many areas flooded." He added that water levels have started to recede as rains subsided, and evacuation efforts were ongoing to move trapped citizens to safer areas, as per Dawn. The Pakistan Meteorological Department issued a countrywide warning forecasting heavy rainfall and wind-thundershowers through July 17. It warned of flash floods in vulnerable regions, including the Potohar region, Punjab, upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and parts of Balochistan. Monsoon rains in Pakistan typically occur from June to September, often triggering deadly floods, landslides, and displacement, particularly in urban areas lacking drainage infrastructure or near riverbanks. https://x.com/pmdgov/status/1945705002170814580 Officials have urged the public to stay away from electric poles, flooded roads, and low-lying areas, and to avoid unnecessary travel during this period. The PDMA has asked all district administrations and emergency services to remain on high alert and activate rapid response teams. Health, municipal, and rescue departments have been instructed to ensure readiness in flood-prone areas and make arrangements for emergency shelter and relief, Dawn reported. As of Thursday, more rain has been forecast in several parts of Punjab, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Gujranwala, Multan, Bahawalpur, and Dera Ghazi Khan divisions. (ANI) Amnesty International has issued a report demanding the immediate and unconditional release of detained leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), whose arrests Amnesty calls a flagrant example of Pakistan's state repression in Balochistan, The Balochistan Post reported. According to the report, Baloch activists such as Mahrang Baloch, Bebarg Zehri, Beebow Baloch, Shah Jee Sibghat Ullah, Ghaffar Qambarani, and Gulzadi Baloch have been persecuted for their activism. They are currently being held in unjust detention, which contravenes both international and national laws. This detention is part of a broader crackdown occurring in Balochistan province against peaceful demonstrations and the right to free expression, achieved through the misuse of anti-terrorism and public order legislation. There are serious worries regarding their safety and well-being, as they are being denied necessary medical care and are vulnerable to torture during their unlawful detention. The crackdown began in March 2025 when Bebarg Zehri, despite being physically disabled due to a past grenade attack, was abducted by Pakistan's Counter-Terrorism Department. Two days later, Mahrang Baloch and Beebow Baloch were arrested during a peaceful protest after the killing of three demonstrators by Pakistani forces. Mahrang Baloch was denied medical aid despite falling ill in custody, while Beebow Baloch was reportedly tortured, The Balochistan Post reported. Amnesty condemned the Pakistani state's use of colonial-era laws like the Maintenance of Public Order Ordinance and the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 to detain peaceful activists without trial, blatantly violating international law and even Pakistan's own legal limits. The detained BYC leaders were paraded before an anti-terrorism court on July 8, yet no formal charges were presented, The Balochistan Post highlighted. The report further underlines Pakistan's routine use of enforced disappearances, with 2,332 cases documented in 2024 alone, largely from Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Amnesty pointed to increasing harassment and criminalisation of Baloch human rights defenders like Gulzar Dost and Jalila Haider, calling it a disturbing trend of state-sponsored terror, The Balochistan Post reported. Amnesty International urged global powers to pressure Pakistan to release all detained Baloch activists and halt its brutal crackdown. The organisation called for accountability, stressing that Pakistan must not be allowed to suppress fundamental freedoms with impunity, The Balochistan Post concluded. (ANI) India on Thursday dispatched a consignment of 300,000 doses of Measles and Rubella vaccines, along with medical supplies, to Bolivia to help the country deal with a growing outbreak of the disease. "India dispatched a consignment of 300,000 doses of Measles & Rubella vaccines along with ancillary supplies to support Bolivia in managing the outbreak of the disease. India stands by its friends in the Global South," Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in a post on X. The shipment arrives at a crucial time as Bolivia has declared a National Health Emergency due to a resurgence of measles cases in several areas. So far, 60 confirmed cases have been reported, according to Xinhua. "After urgently convening the National Strategic Council for Health Emergencies, in response to the measles epidemic that the country is experiencing and the high risk of the disease spreading, we have decided to declare a National Health Emergency with the firm intention of protecting the health and lives of the Bolivian people," Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora announced on social media, as quoted by Xinhua. The emergency move aims to stop the virus from spreading through mass vaccination efforts and a coordinated response involving local governments, regional bodies, and international organisations. According to Catacora, this step will improve the country's response capacity, activate emergency protocols, and ensure that vaccines are available, especially for children under five. He urged the public to cooperate with health authorities and ensure full immunisation. "Our duty is clear: to protect our children and the entire population from a threat that has already raised health alerts across the continent," he said. Bolivia's Health Minister Maria Renee Castro also expressed concern, stressing the severity of the situation and the risks faced by vulnerable groups. "It is essential that parents get their children vaccinated. The country has 500,000 doses, specifically for girls and boys," Castro said, according to Xinhua. She added that measles is a highly contagious viral illness that can cause serious complications, including pneumonia, encephalitis, or even death, particularly among children with malnutrition or weak immune systems. According to Xinhua, the recent rise in measles cases in Bolivia has been linked to falling vaccination rates, disruptions in healthcare during the COVID-19 pandemic, misinformation, and lack of continuity in prevention programmes. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Bolivian President Luis Arce Catacora on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, where the two leaders reviewed the progress of bilateral cooperation and explored new areas of partnership, especially in the field of critical minerals. According to the Ministry of External Affairs, "The two leaders reviewed bilateral cooperation and expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved." They also discussed collaboration in trade and commerce, Digital Public Infrastructure and UPI, health and pharmaceuticals, traditional medicine, small and medium industries, training, and capacity building. "Both leaders recognized the potential for enhanced collaboration in the critical minerals sector and developing sustainable and mutually beneficial partnerships in the field," the statement said. The MEA noted that both sides "expressed satisfaction over the ongoing development cooperation between the two countries, including through Quick Impact Projects and capacity-building initiatives under the ITEC scholarship programmes." Prime Minister Modi also conveyed India's support for the people of Bolivia following the deadly floods that affected La Paz and other regions earlier this year. "Prime Minister expressed solidarity with the people of Bolivia in the wake of the severe flooding that occurred in March-April 2025 in Laz Paz and several other parts of the country," the MEA said. He further congratulated Bolivia on joining the International Solar Alliance and extended greetings on the upcoming national milestone. "Prime Minister conveyed his warm greetings to the people and Government of Bolivia on the occasion of the country's bicentennial celebration, marking 200 years of independence on 6th August 2025," the statement added. (ANI) In a revelation that highlights deepening state dysfunction and governance failure, Pakistan's capital police have registered over a dozen cases involving the theft of public infrastructure, including benches, railings, grills, and even dustbins, from recreational sites across Islamabad in the past three years, Dawn News reported. The startling figures were placed before the Senate by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in response to a query by opposition Senator Humayun Mohmand of Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI). The report paints a grim picture of urban lawlessness and the state's failure to protect even basic civic amenities, Dawn News noted. Shockingly, police records suggest that the actual number of theft cases is higher than what the federal minister officially disclosed. While the Senate was informed of nine First Information Reports (FIRs), additional documents attached show at least three more incidents logged only in police diaries, raising serious questions about transparency and institutional credibility, Dawn News reported. From F-9 Park to G-11 and I-8, Islamabad's public spaces have been systematically looted. Five cases alone were registered at Margalla Police Station, including the theft of fencing from F-9 Park in 2023. The Karachi Company police reported thefts of iron gates, benches, and bins from G-8 and G-9 parks. In one glaring instance, 60 steel garbage drums worth Rs 6 million were stolen from Rawal Town, yet this high-value theft is conspicuously absent from the minister's written statement, Dawn News revealed. Interior Ministry documents also failed to mention how many perpetrators were arrested or prosecuted. While some FIRs mention culprits being caught by guards, no follow-up action is detailed. The absence of accountability reinforces the growing perception that Pakistan's law enforcement machinery is either complicit or entirely incapable, Dawn News reported. Analysts say this embarrassing pattern of civic theft is a stark reflection of Pakistan's decaying urban governance. As state resources disappear into corruption and neglect, even public parks are now vulnerable to the very lawlessness that Islamabad claims to fight, Dawn News concluded. (ANI) External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Holy See. In a post on X, Jaishankar said, "Pleased to meet Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations of the Holy See. A good conversation about the importance of faith, and the need for dialogue and diplomacy to address conflicts." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1945742340078883153 The emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy in Jaishankar's meeting with the Vatican official comes in the backdrop of his recent remarks on the growing turbulence in the international system. Speaking a day earlier, the minister had raised concerns over escalating conflicts, intensifying competition, and rising coercive pressures, and urged the global community to work together to stabilise the world order. While addressing the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Council of Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Tianjin, Jaishankar emphasised the urgent task of de-risking global frameworks while addressing persistent challenges that endanger shared global interests. "We meet at a time of considerable disorder in the international system. In the last few years, we have seen more conflicts, competition and coercion. Economic instability is also visibly on the rise. The challenge before us is to stabilise the global order, de-risk various dimensions and through it all, address long-standing challenges that threaten our collective interests," Jaishankar said. Chinese Foreign Minister and member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee, Wang Yi, during the meeting of the member states of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tianjin, proposed five key suggestions for the future development of the SCO, emphasising the need to strengthen its role amidst global turbulence. EAM Jaishankar also attended the meeting along with other Foreign ministers of the member states. In a statement issued by the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wang highlighted the vision for the SCO, aimed at guiding the organisation through a period of accelerating century-old changes, where multipolarity and economic globalisation are deepening, yet challenges like hegemony, protectionism, and regional conflicts persist. "At present, the century-old changes are accelerating, and turbulence and change are intertwined and resonating. The world is becoming more multipolar, and economic globalisation is deepening, and the global South is growing significantly. At the same time, hegemony and power are going against the trend, protectionism is surging, and regional conflicts are emerging one after another. Under the new situation, member states should form a further consensus on strengthening the construction of the SCO in a responsible attitude towards history and the future," Wang said as quoted in the statement. (ANI) In yet another alarming instance of state intimidation, Pakistani security forces reportedly raided the home of prominent Baloch woman leader Dr. Sabiha Baloch on Saturday evening, in what human rights defenders are calling a targeted effort to suppress peaceful dissent, The Balochistan Post reported. Dr. Sabiha Baloch, a senior member of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) and former chairperson of the Baloch Students Action Committee (BSAC), confirmed that personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC) stormed her family home in her native village around 7 p.m. on July 16 without any legal warrant or prior notice. According to her account, the forces searched the house, harassed family members, and issued threats throughout the operation, The Balochistan Post reported. In a strongly worded statement, Dr. Sabiha described the raid as part of a "systematic campaign of collective punishment" and urged international human rights bodies to intervene before the situation worsens further. Dr. Sabiha also revealed that her father was forcibly disappeared by Pakistani forces three months ago and remains missing, with the family receiving no official information on his fate. She alleged that she is under constant pressure to denounce the BYC publicly and surrender herself to authorities -- an attempt to coerce silence from a leading Baloch activist, The Balochistan Post reported. "My father's only 'crime' is being my father, and my crime is raising my voice against enforced disappearances," she said. She condemned the raid as a direct attempt to silence human rights defenders. "By branding us as terrorists, the state seeks to erase our struggle. But we are not criminals. We are the voices of justice and peace," she stated. Calling on Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the UN, the EU, Civicus, and others, Dr. Sabiha demanded that global powers speak out against what she called Pakistan's "intensifying crackdown" on peaceful Baloch activism, The Balochistan Post reported. She concluded: "To crush this struggle is to steal our children's dreams of peace. We will never allow that." (ANI) Port Sudan, Sudan (PANA)-The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has announced signing a landmark Euro 8 million Grant Agreement with Germany, through the German Development Bank (KfW), to support Phase IV of the IGAD Regional Migration Fund (RMF) Lawmakers from both sides of the aisle have introduced the Chip Security Act, a bipartisan effort to block advanced U.S. artificial intelligence (AI) chips from ending up in the hands of adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party (SCCCP) reported. The bill was introduced by House Select Committee on China Chairman John Moolenaar (R-MI), Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), and six other lawmakers, in direct response to mounting evidence, including the Committee's DeepSeek report, revealing that U.S.-origin chips have been funnelled into China via shell companies. These chips are allegedly powering Beijing's AI-driven military and surveillance infrastructure, the SCCCP stated. "For too long, the Chinese Communist Party has exploited holes in our export controls to secretly acquire U.S. technology used to fuel its military aggression and domestic repression," said Chairman Moolenaar. "This bill shuts those loopholes and helps protect both our national security and our technological edge," he added, according to the SCCCP. Among its core provisions, the Chip Security Act would: 1. Mandate Location Verification for AI chip shipments to prevent illegal diversion to China and other hostile regimes. 2. Enforce Reporting Requirements for chipmakers who detect any suspicious transactions or diversion attempts. 3. Direct the Commerce Department to study and implement stronger protections against tech theft. According to the SCCCP, the legislation responds to bipartisan concern that American innovation is being weaponised by the CCP. U.S.-made chips are reportedly being used to develop China's AI-powered surveillance state--tools that Beijing uses to monitor its population and suppress dissent, from Xinjiang to Hong Kong. A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the SCCCP confirmed. The SCCCP emphasised the bill's implications: it protects American service members from potential future conflicts where Chinese AI systems, powered by stolen U.S. chips, could be deployed, safeguards high-paying jobs in the U.S. tech sector, and prevents American technology from fueling authoritarian oppression. "The CCP's abuse of U.S. innovation must end. American technology should never be a tool of tyranny," the SCCCP warned. (ANI) The fire broke out late Wednesday night in a building that had opened just a week ago. It housed a hypermarket, a restaurant, and other shops. According to a statement issued by the Interior Ministry on Thursday, civil defence teams recovered 14 charred bodies and rescued at least 45 people. "We have compiled a list of 59 victims whose identities have been confirmed, but one body was so badly burned that it has been extremely difficult to identify," a local health official told Al Jazeera, quoting Reuters. Wasit province Governor Mohammed al-Mayahi confirmed that the fire began inside both the hypermarket and a nearby restaurant. He said many families were inside the complex, dining and shopping, when the flames spread quickly. "A tragedy and a calamity have befallen us," Al-Mayahi said, adding that firefighters managed to rescue several people before putting out the fire. Videos shared on social media showed flames engulfing the tall building as emergency teams worked to control the blaze and reach those trapped inside. Al Jazeera, citing Iraqi News Agency (INA), reported that lawsuits have been filed against the owner of the building and the mall. The governor has ordered a full investigation and promised that the findings will be made public within 48 hours. Following the incident, local authorities have declared three days of mourning across Wasit province. The cause of the fire has not yet been officially confirmed. (ANI) Jaishankar shared details of the meeting on his official X account. He wrote, "Delighted to meet RoK President Lee Jae Myung's delegation of Special Envoys to India led by former PM Kim Boo-kyum this morning in Delhi. Discussed economic, technology, defence and maritime cooperation. As well as expanding people-to-people exchanges." https://x.com/DrSJaishankar/status/1945757006985662957 The meeting comes amid renewed efforts from both sides to boost cooperation across sectors such as green hydrogen, shipbuilding, investment, semiconductors, and regional security, especially in the Indo-Pacific. Earlier, Indian Ambassador to South Korea Amit Kumar had also met Kim Boo-kyum ahead of his visit to India. The South Korean delegation included Representative Lee Kai Ho and Democratic Party of Korea's Supreme Council Member Song Sun-ho. https://x.com/IndiainROK/status/1945476246256894016 During the interaction, the two sides discussed the multifaceted Special Strategic Partnership and explored opportunities to strengthen bilateral ties in areas such as peace, prosperity, and regional connectivity. The visit also follows a recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Canada last month. Both leaders expressed commitment to working together in trade, investment, green energy, and emerging technology sectors. India and South Korea had earlier launched initiatives like Korea Plus to promote Korean investments in India. A Korea-India SME and Start-up Centre was also set up in Gurugram in 2019. As of June 2023, South Korea's total foreign direct investment (FDI) in India stood at USD 8.02 billion. (ANI) Hand pumps, fields, and other sources of water have gone dry in the Madhesh province of Nepal, prompting the provincial government to mobilize fire engines and other vehicles to deliver water to affected communities. The months from June to September, often the monsoon window in the Himalayan nation, are not the same for the southern plains of Nepal--the grain basket this year--with the absence of rain. The provincial government has now declared eight districts as drought-affected areas following the absence of rain. "All the eight districts of Madhesh Province have been declared drought-affected areas. The region, which usually used to see the rain, is yet to receive it. It has affected the paddy cultivation in all the eight districts, as only 36 per cent of the arable land has recorded the plantation of paddies. At normal times, when there was enough rain, the percentage used to stand at 70-80 percent," Satish Kumar Singh, Chief Minister of Madhesh Province, told ANI in an interview. Among the eight districts in Madhesh Province, Parsa is the worst hit, with life out of gear and people struggling to meet their daily water demand. "In Parsa district's Birgunj and other local bodies, drinking water ran out as the hand pumps and other sources of water have run dry. The situation out there is dire as locals don't have water even for cooking, bathing, or even to flush the toilets, throwing life out of gear. The Madhesh Provincial Government earlier this week had declared the region a drought-affected area," Chief Minister Singh said. The provincial fire engines, each with a capacity of 5,000 litres, are being operated in coordination with the Nepal Army, which has been temporarily assigned responsibility for their operation. "The Madhesh (Provincial) Government, which had purchased eight fire engines mobilizing the Nepal Army, has deployed them to Birgunj to address the water problem there. Once deployed together, all the fire engines will be able to transport about 100,000 litres of water to the areas where the water shortage is hitting hard. This is our attempt to normalize the situation out there, which is experiencing a tough time," Singh claimed. Madhesh Province, which is the breadbasket of the Himalayan nation, still relies on rainwater for cultivation. The Central Bank--Nepal Rastra Bank's 2024 report on the 'Economic Status of Madhesh Province'--had shown that the increase in the province's gross domestic output would be due to an increase in its agricultural production. NRB had projected Madhesh Province's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to stand at NRs. 707 billion. Madhesh's GDP shared 13.13 per cent of the country's GDP out of NRs. 5.381 trillion. In Madhesh Province, farm products share 35.2 percent of the gross domestic output. Food crops, vegetables, fruits, and spices are among the main products of this province. But the dry and arid monsoon this year has increased worries for the farmers, who now have even started to worry about their coming days. "I don't know what we will have this year. Am worried about survival. The cultivation is yet to be done as there is no water. It is taking a toll on us," Brij Yadav, a farmer in Janakpurdham, told ANI as he stood near his field. The monsoon tale for thousands of farmers this year has been the same throughout the southern plains of Nepal. The deep borings across the region also have dried up due to a prolonged dry spell in mid-monsoon. "Leave the question about water for cultivation, whether we will yield the crop or not--we don't even have enough water for drinking. In order to address this problem, we ferry water from far-flung areas in gallons, then only we can have water to drink," Ganga Kant Jha, a resident of Janakpurdham, told ANI. Since the start of the monsoon this year, around two dozen people have already succumbed to landslides and flooding. Several others have been injured and are missing in monsoon-related disasters. Properties and infrastructure worth billions of rupees have been either washed away by floods or buried in landslides. Locals in the mountainous region say that the weather has become so erratic that even light rainfall triggers floods. Scores of glacial and supraglacial lakes could burst any time due to the melting of ice accelerated by global warming. At least eleven people were killed, and 17 others are still missing, in the Bhotekoshi flood triggered by a previously unnoticed supraglacial lake formed in Tibet above Rasuwagadhi. But with the withering paddy saplings in the fields across the Terai region, the provincial government has sent out a request to the union government for assistance but hasn't received any response so far. "In the field of agriculture, we have demanded the declaration of some relief package from the union government, which is yet to be followed. Along with that, we also have reached out to the aid agencies and the INGOs for assistance, from where a concrete response hasn't fallen in. But they will work in their respective fields," Satish Kumar Singh, Chief Minister of Madhesh Province, claimed. Nepal has been experiencing changes in temperature and precipitation at a rate faster than the global average, according to studies. Evidence indicates that the maximum temperature in Nepal is rising at a greater rate (0.05 degrees Celsius per year) than the minimum temperature (0.03 degrees Celsius per year). The prevailing situation in Madhesh Province comes amid the prediction of the Met's office to witness above-normal monsoon rainfall this year. Nepal on an annual basis during the monsoon faces disasters of floods, landslides, and inundation, resulting in loss of lives and properties. Continuous downpour over three days last year resulted in widespread damage of properties as well as the loss of about 200 lives due to monsoon-induced disasters. As the Himalayan Nation is bracing for above-average rainfall this year, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Authority (NDRRMA) has predicted that around two million (1,997,731) people from 457,145 households could be affected by monsoon-related disasters. According to the projection, the districts of Lumbini Province will be affected the most in the monsoon--523,656 people from 119,830 households will be affected. This is followed by Bagmati--327,376 people from 74,914 households, Gandaki--287,107 people from 65,699 households, Koshi--275,867 people from 63,127 households, Madhesh--228,687 people from 52,331 households, Sudurpaschim--227,730 people from 52,112 households, and Karnali Province--127,308 people from 29,132 households. (ANI) A state of emergency was declared in several districts of Punjab on Thursday after heavy monsoon rains triggered flash floods and claimed at least 63 lives across the province in the past 24 hours, Dawn reported, citing rescue officials and local authorities. According to Dawn, the Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) had earlier issued a warning of torrential rains with wind-thundershowers across the country, expected to last till July 17. Wasa Director General Tayyab Farid told Dawn that "rivers have overflowed due to heavy rains in Rawalpindi, Chakwal and surrounding areas," leading to widespread flooding. A spokesperson of the Punjab Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) confirmed to Dawn that 63 people had died and 290 were injured in rain-related incidents across the province within 24 hours. "At least 15 were reported dead in Lahore, nine in Faisalabad, five in Sahiwal, three in Pakpattan, and nine in Okara," the official said. Families of the deceased will receive compensation from the government, the PDMA spokesperson said. "A rain emergency has been imposed in different areas of Punjab due to unusual torrential rains and a flood situation," Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz said in a post on X, as quoted by Dawn. CM Maryam said that she had issued directives to alert the public through sirens and announcements and urged people to cooperate with local authorities and take necessary safety precautions. Citizens have been advised to avoid unnecessary travel, stay away from power lines and open manholes, said Wasa DG Farid. Dawn reported that the PMD also issued a flood alert for the Gawalmandi and Kattarian bridges in Rawalpindi as the water level in the Leh Nullah continued to rise. In view of the growing risk, Director General PDMA Irfan Ali Kathia urged residents of low-lying areas near Leh Nullah to "cooperate with the administration if evacuation becomes necessary," Dawn stated. He warned that strict action would be taken against anyone gathering or bathing near the water body. The PDMA also announced a local holiday in Rawalpindi due to the flood emergency. In Jhelum district, rescue operations were ongoing to evacuate citizens trapped in floodwaters across several villages, including Dhok Badar, Dhok Shah Arif, Sohawa, Rasoolpur, Chak Muhammad and Bhampar, according to Rescue Punjab spokesperson Farooq Ahmed, Dawn reported. "Pakistan army personnel and rescue teams are currently rushing the citizens to safe locations," Ahmed said, adding that 57 people had been rescued so far with more than 50 boats deployed. Chakwal district recorded 400 millimetres of rain in 10 hours due to a cloudburst, triggering flash floods across the area, Dawn reported citing a PDMA statement. "The PDMA assured the district administration of support in rescue and relief efforts and is personally overseeing the rescue operation until all citizens are safely evacuated," DG PDMA Kathia told Dawn. District Commissioner Quratul Ain Malik said that the relevant rescue departments -- including Wasa, Rescue 1122, and civil defence teams -- were actively overseeing evacuation efforts. Relief arrangements have also been made in hospitals and public buildings, Malik added. In Mandi Bahauddin, heavy rainfall led to the death of a 10-year-old boy, Shah Hussain, who drowned while bathing in rainwater. Dawn reported that two other children -- Qasim, 08, and Huzaifa, 06 -- were electrocuted during the downpour. Nine others were injured after the roofs of three houses collapsed in separate incidents. Major roads and areas like College Chowk, Pindi Purani, and Jail Chowk remained submerged under two to four feet of water, Dawn added. In Islamabad, the Capital Development Authority (CDA) and district administration were placed on high alert on the instructions of CDA Chairman and Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa. "Field teams should provide all possible assistance to citizens in case of an emergency," he said. The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) forecasted more rain over the next 24 hours, warning of thunderstorms in several districts of Punjab including Lahore, Chakwal, Attock, Jhelum, Khushab, Sargodha, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Narowal, Okara, Kasur, Sheikhupura, and Hafizabad, Dawn reported. Pakistan faces regular monsoon flooding from June to September, often resulting in deadly landslides, infrastructure damage and large-scale displacement, particularly in densely populated or poorly drained regions. (ANI) The Ministry of External Affairs made comprehensive remarks on the Nimisha Priya case during the weekly press briefing here on Thursday. The 37-year-old nurse from Kerala was set to be executed on July 16 after a trial court in Yemen convicted her of killing a Yemeni national, a decision that the country's Supreme Judicial Council upheld in November 2023. Speaking to reporters on the case, MEA Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal highlighted the various steps which the Government of India has taken to provide support to the family. This includes legal assistance, regular consular visits by family and also the Indian government being in touch with governments on this case. Jaiswal said, "On the Nimisha Priya case, this is a very sensitive matter and the government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case. We have provided legal assistance and also appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We have also arranged for regular consular visits by her family and we are also in touch with the local authorities, as also the family members to resolve this issue. This included concerted efforts in the recent few days to seek more time for the family of Ms Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party. The local authorities in Yemen have postponed the carrying out her sentence that was scheduled for July 16. We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance in the case. We are also in touch with some friendly governments in this regard." When asked about the role of the Grand Mufti in urging for the postponement of Nimisha Priya's sentence, the MEA Spokesperson said, "As for the role of the entity that you have mentioned, I have no information to share on this account." The remarks by MEA come after the Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad Kanthapuram said on Tuesday that he spoke to scholars in Yemen to urge them for the release of 37-year-old Nimish Priya, convicted of murder and set to be executed. The Grand Mufti claims that after his talks, the news of the execution being postponed also came in. "In Islam, instead of killing, there is also a practice of giving Diya (compensation). I requested them to accept Diyaat as the party is ready here for it. There are talks going on about whether my request has to be accepted. The date of execution was tomorrow, but it has now been postponed for some days," the Grand Mufti told ANI. The Grand Mufti had said that he is not considering the religion of Priya, but rather her humanity as he requested for her release. The Mufti's remarks had come after sources told ANI earlier that the execution of the 37-year-old nurse from Kerala was postponed following the "concerted efforts" by the Government of India. The execution was earlier set to happen on July 16. According to the sources, the postponement provides additional time for her family to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution amidst ongoing diplomatic efforts by Indian officials as they maintained regular communication with Yemeni jail authorities and the prosecutor's office while navigating the sensitivities of the situation to secure this reprieve. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday expressed relief and optimism over the postponement of the execution of Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse sentenced to death in Yemen. He described the development as "comforting and hopeful," noting that it provides additional time to secure the termination of her sentence. Vijayan acknowledged the persistent efforts and intervention of Kanthapuram AP Abubacker Musliyar and others, including the Action Council, who have been working tirelessly to seek justice for Nimisha Priya. (ANI) In a show of support for Tibetan identity, the Tibetan Association of Toulouse, France, in collaboration with Nalanda Monastery and the Vajra Yogini Institute, organised a grand celebration on July 6 to mark the 90th birthday of 14th Dalai Lama, as reported by the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA). The event, rich in Tibetan culture and spiritual fervour, was attended by respected Tibetan spiritual leader Jetsun Lobsang Delek Rinpoche, former abbot of Sera Jey Khe Nyen Dratsang. Joining him were several local French dignitaries, including Jean Terlier, Deputy of Tarn, and his wife Mme Corinne Dourthe, as well as other representatives from regional town halls, such as Chantal Guidez and Marie-Claire Marignol, CTA reported. Each dignitary publicly expressed unwavering solidarity with the Tibetan cause, a clear moral rebuke to the Chinese Communist Party's continued occupation and systematic repression in Tibet. Their presence and words served as a reminder that the Tibetan struggle for freedom and preservation of culture continues to gain support across the international community. Tenzin Trinley, representing the Tibetan community, delivered a heartfelt vote of thanks and presented each guest with the French edition of Voice for the Voiceless, a work by His Holiness that highlights the global relevance of compassion and nonviolence, CTA noted. The programme featured vibrant cultural performances by Tibetan residents, an affirmation of identity that Beijing has long sought to erase through forced assimilation and surveillance in occupied Tibet. A grand offering ceremony was held later in the day to invoke protective Tibetan deities for the longevity of the Dalai Lama, a spiritual leader whom China has baselessly vilified and attempted to replace with a state-appointed puppet. Tibetan resident Sangye Norbu presented a rare and extensive exhibition of 400 books by His Holiness in multiple languages. Tibetan children also displayed artwork that captured their admiration for their spiritual leader, offering a glimpse into a future generation determined not to forget their roots despite Beijing's ongoing censorship. The gathering in Toulouse symbolised more than a birthday; it was a powerful act of resistance against China's decades-long efforts to silence the Tibetan voice, the Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) stated. (ANI) In an escalation of its armed resistance, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for two deadly attacks that killed 29 Pakistani army personnel in the Balochistan cities of Kalat and Quetta. BLA spokesperson Jeeyand Baloch in an official statement on Tuesday called it a direct response to what the group terms Pakistan's continued occupation of Balochistan. According to the BLA, its elite Fateh Squad executed a high-impact operation at Nimrag Cross in Kalat, targeting a military bus transporting Pakistani army personnel from Karachi to Quetta. The assault, described as an "intelligence-based operation," was coordinated using data collected by the BLA's internal intelligence wing, ZIRAB. The bus was ambushed in a fierce armed attack that reportedly resulted in the deaths of 27 army personnel and left several others critically injured, the statement said. Also aboard the bus were Qawwal artists, who the BLA confirmed were not intended targets. The group reiterated its earlier public advisories urging civilians, artists, and others to avoid proximity to military personnel and convoys, warning that such associations carry grave risks during ongoing armed operations. In a separate incident the same day, BLA fighters conducted a remote-controlled IED attack in the Hazar Ganji area of Quetta, targeting a military vehicle. Two Pakistani soldiers were killed on the spot, and seven others were injured, the BLA said. "These attacks are part of our continued resistance against the occupying Pakistani army," Jeeyand Baloch stated. "As long as the occupation of our motherland continues, our operations will persist with full resolve." The BLA, which seeks the liberation of Balochistan from what it calls the colonial grip of Pakistan, emphasised that its operations are aimed strictly at military targets. However, the group again urged civilians to keep a safe distance from army bases, convoys, and personnel. These attacks mark one of the deadliest days for Pakistani forces in Balochistan in recent months and come amid growing calls from Baloch nationalists for an end to decades of military occupation and suppression. (ANI) India has introduced a new visa module for Afghanistan nationals, from April 2025, categorising visa applications into six distinct types to streamline the process, a spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs said on Thursday. Addressing a press briefing in the national capital MEA spokesperson in response to a question on Afghanistan said, "I think beginning April we started a new visa module. There are six categories of visas now which people can apply for. Those details are available on the website. As far as how many visas we have issued so far, I don't have the exact number, but I will be happy to share with you next time." On issuance of visas to Bangladeshi nationals, Jaiswal said the government continues to issue a significant number of visas for various purposes including travel, medical emergencies, and education. "Similarly, with Bangladesh, we have been issuing visas to Bangladesh for various reasons -- for various travels, medical emergencies included, students, so on and so forth. We are issuing substantial visas. Exact number on that I have to come back to you," the MEA spokesperson said. In addition to consular matters, India has also continued its humanitarian outreach. Underscoring this, Jaiswal referred to India's efforts in Afghanistan, highlighting a five-day 'Jaipur Foot' camp organised in Kabul. As part of India's ongoing humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, a five-day 'Jaipur Foot' camp was organised in Kabul. MEA Spokesperson Jaiswal shared the information in a post on X stating that the camp saw an enthusiastic response. "As part of India's ongoing humanitarian assistance to the people of Afghanistan, a five-day Jaipur Foot camp was organised in Kabul by BMVSS, Jaipur. The camp saw an enthusiastic response, with around 75 prosthetic limbs successfully fitted." The BMVSS has organised on-the-spot camps in foreign countries. Till now, 111 camps have been held, covering 44 countries. The external affairs ministry under its program India for Humanity, has funded and provided logistical support for 28 camps in 22 countries. Bhagwan Mahavir Viklang Sahayata Samiti (BMVSS) is known globally for its 'Jaipur Foot' and rehabilitation support for persons with disabilities. Jaipur Foot / Limb is a prosthetic using polymer (HDPE) for a custom-made socket. (ANI) The seventh meeting of the International Solar Alliance (ISA) Regional Committee for Asia and the Pacific opened today in Colombo, affirming ISA's role as a powerful convener for clean energy cooperation and spotlighting Sri Lanka's leadership in the solar transition, the official statement by International Solar Alliance said. As per the official statement, the high-level opening was led by Sri Lankan Prime Minister, Dr Harini Amarasuriya, who delivered the inaugural address, called for deeper regional collaboration, inclusive access to technology, and focused support for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and lower-middle-income countries. Emphasising the urgency of energy equity. "We welcome ISA's efforts to expand the Global Solar Facility and urge a focused approach for Small Island Developing States and lower-middle-income countries in this region. These countries face high costs, limited land, and grid constraints--but also immense potential in decentralised solar and storage-based solutions. Sri Lanka supports ISA's four strategic pillars and is working to establish a STAR Centre in Colombo as a regional hub for solar training and research," said the Sri Lankan PM. The meeting marked a significant milestone with the signing of the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) between ISA and the Government of Sri Lanka, in the presence of the Prime Minister. Exchanged by Kumara Jayakody, Minister of Energy, and Ashish Khanna, Director General of ISA, the agreement outlines a strategic roadmap for accelerating solar deployment, financing, and institutional capacity in Sri Lanka. Minister Kumara Jayakody, Minister of Energy, Sri Lanka, highlighted the value of global cooperation in advancing clean energy. "Our national goal is to achieve 70 per cent renewable energy in electricity generation by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by 2050. Solar energy is central to this vision. We welcome the signing of the Pledge of Support for the ISA SIDS Platform, which is a testament to ISA's implementation focus. The Platform will help Small Island Developing States benefit from economies of scale, reduced transaction costs through competitive bidding, and enhanced knowledge exchange. ISA's shift from ambition to action is clearly reflected in the country frameworks and partnerships signed today, translating regional cooperation into tangible impact." Santosh Jha, High Commissioner of India to Sri Lanka, reiterated India's steadfast support to ISA and the collaborative frameworks it offers. He said, "India's energy transition journey--marked by achieving 50 per cent installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources five years ahead of schedule--demonstrates what collective ambition and decisive action can achieve. The International Solar Alliance, born from a vision shared by India and France, has evolved into a powerful platform for advancing solar solutions, especially for SIDS and developing economies. As Sri Lanka charts its path toward achieving 70 per cent renewable energy by 2030, we take pride in our growing energy partnership. Through ISA, we have the opportunity to light up not just homes, but futures--together, under the shared strength of the Sun." The official statement said that ISA Director General Ashish Khanna highlighted, "The Asia and the Pacific region, with its vast diversity and shared aspirations, holds a central role in shaping the global solar energy landscape. As we move from ambition to action, this Regional Committee Meeting offers a timely and strategic platform to define a practical, action-oriented agenda. ISA's approach in the region is anchored in four key pillars: mobilising catalytic finance to enable private sector participation, strengthening institutional capacities for effective implementation, fostering regional platforms for coordination and knowledge sharing, and enabling innovation and technology deployment to accelerate the energy transition. We are committed to working in close partnership with each Member State to design tailored, impactful interventions aligned with national priorities--towards a resilient, inclusive, and solar-powered future for the Asia-Pacific." Key Outcomes and announcements were the signing of the Country Partnership Framework between ISA and Sri Lanka, CPF exchanges with Fiji, Kiribati, and the Solomon Islands, signing of MoU with ICIMOD to advance solar cooperation in mountainous regions, adoption of pledge by leaders from Small Island Developing States (SIDS) for the ISA SIDS Platform - a transformative digital initiative anchored by the International Solar Alliance (ISA) and the World Bank, aimed at accelerating inclusive, climate-resilient energy access across island nations and holding regional sessions on digital energy solutions, cross-border renewables trade, and startup innovation through the SolarX APAC pitch competition, the statement reported. The meeting continues on 17 July, with sessions focused on operationalising the SIDS Platform, scaling technology-driven solutions, and deepening institutional frameworks for implementation. According to the statement, the Colombo meeting sent a powerful message: the Asia-Pacific region is united in its solar ambition, and ISA is firmly at the heart of this transformation, connecting countries, catalysing capital, and converting plans into action. The Regional Committees of the ISA meet annually, chaired by a Vice-President from the Region, and aim to assess and discuss progress, challenges, and opportunities related to ISA's programmatic support, flagship initiatives, partnerships, private sector engagements, and work plan for the Region. A significant goal of the Regional Committee Meetings is smooth coordination among the Region's Member Countries. The Asia and the Pacific Region currently includes 29 Member Countries, 32 Signatory Countries, and 22 Prospective Countries, bringing the total number of countries engaged in ISA activities within the region to 54. This growing regional representation reflects a strong foundation for advancing collaborative solar initiatives and deepening multilateral engagement. The International Solar Alliance is a global initiative launched in 2015 by India and France at COP21 in Paris. It has 124 Member and Signatory Countries. The Alliance works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promotes solar power as a sustainable transition to a clean energy future. ISA's mission is to unlock investments in solar energy while reducing the cost of technology and financing it. It promotes the use of solar energy in agriculture, healthcare, transportation, and power generation sectors. ISA Member Countries are driving change by enacting policies and regulations, sharing best practices, agreeing on common standards, and mobilising investments. Through this work, ISA has identified, designed and tested new business models for solar projects; supported governments to make their energy legislation and policies solar-friendly through Ease of Doing Solar analytics and advisory; pooled demand for solar technology from different countries; and drove down costs; improved access to finance by reducing the risks and making the sector more attractive to private investment; increased access to solar training, data and insights for solar engineers and energy policymakers. With its advocacy for solar-powered solutions, ISA aims to transform lives, bring clean, reliable, and affordable energy to communities worldwide, fuel sustainable growth, and improve quality of life. On 6 December 2017, 15 countries signed and ratified the ISA Framework Agreement, making ISA the first international intergovernmental organisation headquartered in India. ISA is partnering with multilateral development banks (MDBs), development financial institutions (DFIs), private and public sector organisations, civil society, and other international institutions to deploy cost-effective and transformational solutions through solar energy, especially in the least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the statement observed. (ANI) Port Sudan, Sudan (PANA) - UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk on Thursday issued a strong worded statement deploring the killing of dozens of civilians by both parties amid ongoing hostilities in Sudans Kordofan region over the past week The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday confirmed that approximately 1,563 Indian nationals have been deported from the United States since January 20, 2025, the day Donald Trump assumed office as US President for a second term. "Since 20 January of this year, till yesterday, some 1563 Indian nationals have been deported from the United States so far. Most of these Indian nationals have come by commercial flight," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the weekly media briefing. Responding to a query on the arrest of an Indian national in Washington on charges of possessing child pornography, Jaiswal said, "These are matters of law and order... We would endeavour to tell Indian nationals going abroad that they should abide by local laws, guidelines and regulations." Reinforcing the same message in another case, he referred to the reported arrest of an Indian tourist in the US for allegedly shoplifting. The MEA spokesperson reiterated the ministry's consistent advisory for Indian travellers. "...Our constant request to all our people who go abroad is that they should follow the law and order of that country, and create a good image of the country," he said. Commenting on the ongoing discussions regarding an India-US trade deal, Jaiswal said, "This is a matter which is under discussion between the two sides. We will share when something is finalised." His remarks came as US President Donald Trump on Wednesday (local time) hinted at the possibility of a new trade deal with India soon. While adding "maybe", he said that the US is currently in negotiations with India. Trump mentioned that the US is close to finalizing a deal that would grant American businesses greater access to the Indian market. Trump while speaking to reporters during a bilateral meeting with Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, emphasized that August 1 would be a significant day for trade deals, with substantial revenue expected to flow into the US. "...We've brought in over $100 billion. The tariffs haven't kicked in significantly, except for automobiles and steel. August 1st is when a very substantial money comes into our country. We've made deals with numerous places. We had one yesterday," Trump said. The proposed agreement is expected to reduce tariffs and enhance bilateral trade relations between the two nations. "We have another one (deal) coming up, maybe with India... We're in negotiation. When I send out a letter, that's a deal... The best deal we can make is to send out a letter, and the letter says that you'll pay 30%, 35%, 25%, 20%... We have some pretty good deals to announce... We're very close to a deal with India where they open it up," Trump added. Trump earlier drew parallels with the recent US-Indonesia trade pact, which granted American companies expanded market access in Indonesia. Announcing progress on the India part, Trump stated, "We're going to have access into India. And you have to understand, we had no access into any of these countries. Our people couldn't go in. And now we're getting access because of what we're doing with the tariffs." The ongoing bilateral trade talks (BTA) negotiations by India and the United States (US) are progressing as per the decisions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump, said the government officials on Tuesday. "Our team is back in the US for carrying out the fifth round of negotiations on the bilateral trade agreement, so that agreement is progressing as per the decisions of our leaders and as per the terms of reference decided between the two countries," the government officials told ANI. (ANI) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Thursday confirmed that India and Russia are set to host a summit in Delhi, with dates to be mutually decided. "India-Russia Summit is important. Last India-Russia summit was held in Moscow. It is time for us to host the summit in Delhi and the dates will be worked out between both sides, keeping in mind what is mutually convenient for both countries," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said during the weekly media briefing. The two nations enjoy a special and privileged strategic partnership, with cooperation in defense, energy, and economic sectors being key areas of focus. The 22nd India-Russia Annual Summit was held in Moscow during July 2024. President Vladimir Putin had conferred Russia's highest civilian honour, the "Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle," on Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the summit. Jaiswal mentioned that the RIC format is a mechanism for discussing global and regional issues of interest to the three countries. The next meeting will be held at a mutually convenient time. Jaiswal said, "This consultative format is a mechanism where the three countries (discuss) global issues and regional issues of interest to them. As to when this particular RIC format meeting is to be held, it is something that will be worked out among the three countries in a mutually convenient manner and we will let you know as and when it happens at an appropriate time when the meeting is to take place." Responding to a query on 16 Indian nationals missing in Russia, Jaiswal said, "We are in regular touch with Russian authorities, both here in New Delhi and Moscow." The issue, which had first come to light a few months ago, was raised again at the weekly MEA briefing on Thursday amid continued concerns about Indians allegedly recruited into the Russian Army and sent to the frontlines in the Ukraine conflict. The Ministry also mourned the demise of Binil Babu, an Indian national killed while serving in the Russian Army in the ongoing war against Ukraine, and said India is in touch with Russian authorities to ensure the return of his mortal remains. He also informed that another Indian national has sustained injuries during the conflict and is getting treatment. He is expected to come back to India soon. "The death of Binil Babu is extremely unfortunate. We have conveyed our condolences to the family. Our embassy is in touch with the Russian authorities so that his mortal remains could come back to India as soon as possible. Another person who was injured is receiving treatment in Moscow...Hopefully, he will also be returning to India soon after his treatment is completed," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said on Friday. MEA also confirmed that as many as 12 Indian nationals have been killed while serving for the Russian Army in the Ukraine conflict, while 16 more are missing. There were a total of 126 cases of Indian nationals serving in the Russian Army, and India is seeking an "early release" of those who are still there, the spokesperson said. "As of today, there have been 126 cases (of Indian nationals serving in the Russian Army). Of these 126 cases, 96 people have returned to India and have been discharged from the Russian Armed Forces. 18 Indian nationals in the Russian Army remain and out of them the whereabouts of 16 individuals are not known. The Russian side has categorised them as missing," Jaiswal said. He added, "We are seeking early release and repatriation of those who remain...12 Indian nationals have died who were serving in the Russian Army." Notably, several Indian nationals were allegedly duped into fighting in Russia's war with Ukraine on the pretext of lucrative jobs. Last year, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), busted a major human trafficking network running across the country targeting Indian nationals on the promise of offering lucrative jobs abroad but allegedly sending them to the Russia-Ukraine war zone. (ANI) In a post on X, he said, "Delighted to receive the delegation of Special Envoys from the Republic of Korea led by Mr. Kim Boo Kyum. Recalled my positive meeting with President @Jaemyung_Lee last month." PM Modi highlighted the various areas of collaboration between India and South Korea, such as innovation, defence, ship-building and skilled mobility. He added, "India-ROK Special Strategic Partnership, which completes 10 years, continues to grow from innovation and defence to shipbuilding and skilled mobility. Close collaboration between the democracies contributes to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region." https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1945830144905490707 PM Modi met Lee Jae-myung on the sidelines of the 51st G7 Summit at Kananaskis, Canada in June 17 earlier this year. https://x.com/narendramodi/status/1935075100342239256 The leaders discussed several areas of collaboration such as commerce, investment, technology, green hydrogen. Previously on June 11, Secretary East, P Kumaran met South Korea's Political Affairs Deputy Minister Chung Byung-won on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit Meet on Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said. In May this year, Indian Ambassador to South Korea Amit Kumar highlighted the rapidly expanding partnership between India and South Korea, outlining the depth of bilateral ties, the progress under the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and emerging opportunities in new technologies and green energy. In an interview with ANI during the visit of an all-party Indian parliamentary delegation to Seoul, Ambassador Kumar discussed how the relationship now spans political, economic, security, and technological domains and holds significant promise for future growth. (ANI) The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is actively working to support Nimisha Priya, an Indian nurse on death row in Yemen. In a weekly media briefing on Thursday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal described the matter as "sensitive" and said India is extending all possible assistance in the case. The MEA has appointed a lawyer to assist Priya's family in navigating the complex legal process in Yemen. This includes exploring options for clemency or pardon under Sharia law. The Indian government has arranged for regular consular visits to ensure Priya's well-being and provide her with necessary support during this challenging time. "This is a very sensitive matter and the government of India has been offering all possible assistance in the case. We have provided legal assistance and also appointed a lawyer to assist the family. We have also arranged for regular consular visits by her family and we are also in touch with the local authorities, as also the family members to resolve this issue. This included concerted efforts in the recent few days to seek more time for the family of Ms Nimisha Priya to reach a mutually agreeable solution with the other party. The local authorities in Yemen have postponed the carrying out her sentence that was scheduled for July 16," said Jaiswal. The MEA's efforts have led to a temporary postponement of Priya's execution, initially scheduled for July 16. The Indian government remains committed to providing all possible support to Priya and her family as they navigate this complex and sensitive situation. The MEA is engaging with Yemeni authorities and other friendly governments to secure a favorable outcome for Priya. "We continue to closely follow the matter and render all possible assistance in the case. We are also in touch with some friendly governments in this regard," aded Jaiswal. When asked about the role of the Grand Mufti in urging for the postponement of Nimisha Priya's sentence, the MEA Spokesperson said, "As for the role of the entity that you have mentioned, I have no information to share on this account." The MEA's remarks came after the Grand Mufti, Sheikh Abubakr Ahmad Kanthapuram, said on Tuesday that he spoke to scholars in Yemen to urge them for the release of 37-year-old Nimisha Priya, convicted of murder and set to be executed. The Grand Mufti claims that after his talks, the news of the execution being postponed also came in, suggesting possible influence of religious outreach alongside official diplomatic efforts. "In Islam, instead of killing, there is also a practice of giving Diya (compensation). I requested them to accept Diyaat as the party is ready here for it. There are talks going on about whether my request has to be accepted. The date of execution was tomorrow, but it has now been postponed for some days," the Grand Mufti told ANI. He further said he is not considering the religion of Priya, but rather her humanity as he requested for her release, bringing an emotional and humanitarian appeal into the discourse around the case. The Grand Mufti's statement came after sources told ANI earlier that the execution was postponed following the "concerted efforts" by the Government of India. The execution had been scheduled for July 16, and the delay has opened a window for further dialogue. According to the sources, the postponement provides additional time for her family to negotiate a mutually agreeable solution amidst ongoing diplomatic efforts by Indian officials, who remain in regular communication with Yemeni jail authorities and the prosecutor's office while navigating the sensitivities of the situation to secure this reprieve. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday expressed relief and optimism over the postponement of the execution of Nimisha Priya, the Indian nurse sentenced to death in Yemen. He described the development as "comforting and hopeful," noting that it provides additional time to secure the termination of her sentence. Vijayan acknowledged the persistent efforts and intervention of Kanthapuram AP Abubacker Musliyar and others, including the Action Council, who have been working tirelessly to seek justice for Nimisha Priya. (ANI) Indian Naval Ships Delhi, Satpura, Shakti and Kiltan, under the Command of RAdm Susheel Menon, Flag Officer Commanding Eastern Fleet, arrived at Singapore to a warm welcome from personnel of Singapore Navy and the High Commission of India in Singapore, as per an official statement by the Indian Navy. "The visit is part of the Operational Deployment of the Indian Navy to South East Asia. This visit is poised to further strengthen the longstanding friendship and cooperation between the two maritime nations through a series of engagements and activities," the statement said. According to the statement, professional interactions with the Singaporean Navy, discussions with academia and engagements with the community, reflect the shared values of both nations are planned during the visit. The statement underscored how the Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy share robust operational relations spanning over three decades of cooperation, coordination and collaboration with regular visits, exchange of best practices and reciprocal training arrangements. The current deployment underscores the strong linkages between both the navies. Recently, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar held a series of extensive high-level interactions during his visit to Singapore, underscoring the importance India attaches to its ties with the country, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) highlighted in an official statement on Sunday. EAM Jaishankar visited Singapore on July 13. During the visit, he called on the President of Singapore, Tharman Shanmugaratnam and held meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong and Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan. The MEA noted in its statement that the leaders reviewed progress of the outcomes of Prime Minister's visit and the 2nd round of India Singapore Ministerial Roundtable (ISMR), which included areas of investments, industrial parks, semiconductors, infrastructure, skill development and connectivity. They also exchanged views on ASEAN, Indo-Pacific and global developments. EAM Jaishankar also met Teo Chee Hean, former Senior Minister & Coordinating Minister for National Security and Chairman-designate of Temasek Holdings. Their discussion focused on transformation underway in India and opportunities for Temasek to expand its investments in India. MEA underlined in its statement that the visit is part of continued high-level exchanges between two countries and reflects the importance India attaches to its relations with Singapore. (ANI) India on Thursday reiterated that elections in Bangladesh, scheduled for April 2026 should be credible, democratic, peaceful, and all-inclusive. Responding to a query on Bangladesh general elections after former Bangladesh PM, Sheikh Hasina, was ousted in a student-led uprising in August last year, Ministry of External Affairs ofiicial spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal in weekly media briefing said, "You know our point of view. We have said that as a democracy we would welcome holding of elections, that is inclusive and includes everybody in its fold." This comes after the recent agreement between the Chief Executive and a major political party on holding early elections and India welcomes such efforts to strengthen democracy in Bangladesh. Earlier in July, Bangladesh Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus directed the law-enforcing agencies to complete all preparations by December for the upcoming parliamentary elections. Around 8 lakh law enforcement members will be engaged, and they will further be trained before the election, reports United News of Bangladesh (UNB). The Chief Adviser instructed to take preparation for bringing some 16,000 vulnerable polling stations throughout the country under CCTV monitoring network to ensure peaceful balloting in the upcoming national election. The measures that are being considered also include installation of cameras on the body of police members in the vulnerable polling stations, he added. Besides, this time the members of police and other forces will be deployed for seven days instead of the tradition of five days during the election in a bid to resist any sort of violence ahead of the vote and prevent the deterioration of law and order after the vote, said the press secretary. Jaiswal also stated that India follows developments in Bangladesh closely and takes cognizance of incidents like the recent violence in Gopalganj. The situation in Bangladesh is being monitored, and India will take action if required, he said. "We want a positive and constructive partnership with the country. We have had engagements at the leaders' level. We also had Foreign Secretary visiting Bangladesh. We have had meetings between our External Affairs Minister and his counterpart, and you know there are several areas of cooperation between the two countries that are ongoing including development partnership. So, that is the context in which you must look at how we want to approach India-Bangladesh ties," said the MEA spokesperson. At least four people were killed and dozens injured in violent clashes between law enforcement personnel and Awami League (AL) supporters in Gopalganj on Wednesday, following tensions over a rally by the National Citizen Party (NCP). The clashes were triggered after the violence broke out in the wake of a pre-scheduled NCP rally at Poura Park in Gopalganj town, which was opposed by AL supporters despite a recent government ban on all political activities of the Awami League. The Interim Government of Bangladesh has established a committee to investigate the acts of violence and deaths that occurred in Gopalganj on July 16, the Chief Adviser's press wing said in a statement on Thursday. The committee will be chaired by Nasimul Ghani, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs. He will be joined by two additional secretaries, one from the Ministry of Public Administration and another from the Ministry of Law and Justice, it added. This committee has been mandated to conduct a thorough inquiry and submit its findings to the Chief Adviser's Office within two weeks, the statement said. India and Bangladesh have several areas of cooperation, including development projects. India's High Impact Development Projects (HIDPs) in Bangladesh aim to enhance bilateral relations and promote economic development. On the issue of the upcoming first anniversary of the interim government of Bangladesh led by Muhammad Yunus, and on being asked about an update on India's High Impact Development Program in Bangladesh, Jaiswal said, "We want a positive and constructive partnership with the country. " He highlighted the several engagements which the neighbours have had in recent times. Jaiswal also spoke on Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry issuing a press release regarding Satyajit Ray's ancestral house, which India has taken note of. "We follow all developments in our region closely and take cognizance of what is happening there, and accordingly we take action if required on our side. Regarding Satyajit Ray's building, yes, we have seen a press release issued by the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry," said Jaiswal. Earlier on Thursday, Bangladesh's Ministry of Foreign Affairs had issued a statement and posted on X, "Detailed inquiry into archive/records in #Bangladesh reconfirm: the building being demolished in #Mymensingh district has no historical/familial link to iconic Bengali filmmaker #Satyajit Ray or his ancestors." https://x.com/BDMOFA/status/1945755203975934394 The Indian government expressed regret on Tuesday over the reported demolition of the ancestral property of celebrated filmmaker and writer Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh and expressed its willingness to extend cooperation in its restoration. "We note with profound regret that the ancestral property of noted filmmaker and litterateur Satyajit Ray in Mymensingh, Bangladesh, belonging to his grandfather and eminent litterateur, Upendra Kishor Ray Chowdhury, is being demolished," the Ministry of External Affairs said. "The Government of India is willing to cooperate with the Government of Bangladesh for the repair and reconstruction of the ancestral property of Satyajit Ray," MEA added. India had emphasised the significance of the property as a cultural landmark and urged reconsideration of the demolition plan. Jaiswal also mentioned that India is issuing medical visas to Bangladeshi citizens, but did not provide exact numbers. India has a well-established system for issuing medical visas, and the process is streamlined to facilitate travel for medical treatment. "With Bangladesh, we have been issuing visas to Bangladesh for various reasons, for various travels, medical emergency included, students, so on and so forth. We are issuing substantial visas. Exact number... on that, I will have to come back to you," said Jaiswal. (ANI) US Department of State on Thursday (local time) designated The Resistance Front (TRF), group behind the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, as a terrorist organisation. In a statement issued by the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the statement acknowledged the fact that the organisation claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir which claimed the lives of 26 civilians. The US, therefore, accorded the TRF as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). "Today, the Department of State is adding The Resistance Front (TRF) as a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) and Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT). TRF, a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) front and proxy, claimed responsibility for the April 22, 2025, Pahalgam attack which killed 26 civilians. This was the deadliest attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai attacks conducted by LeT. TRF has also claimed responsibility for several attacks against Indian security forces, including most recently in 2024," the statement read. The statement said that this action demonstrated the US President Donald Trump administration's commitment of countering terrorism. "These actions taken by the Department of State demonstrates the Trump Administration's commitment to protecting our national security interests, countering terrorism, and enforcing President Trump's call for justice for the Pahalgam attack," the statement said. "TRF and other associated aliases have been added to LeT's designation as a FTO and SDGT pursuant to section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act and Executive Order 13224, respectively. The Department of State has also reviewed and maintained the FTO designation of LeT. Amendments to FTO designations go into effect upon publication in the Federal Register," the statement added. Earlier on Tuesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stressed the importance of taking an uncompromising stance against terrorism, citing the recent Pahalgam terrorist attack in India, which was condemned by the UN Security Council. The Minister was speakting at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tianjin. He highlighted three evils - terrorism, separatism and extremism, which often occur together in his X post. Jaishankar said, "Recently, we in India witnessed a graphic example in the terrorist attack in Pahalgam on 22 April 2025. It was deliberately conducted to undermine the tourism economy of Jammu and Kashmir, while sowing a religious divide. The UN Security Council, of which some of us are currently members, issued a statement that condemned it in the strongest terms and "underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of this reprehensible act of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice". We have since done exactly that and will continue doing so. It is imperative that the SCO, to remain true to its founding objectives, take an uncompromising position on this challenge." (ANI) As Lynchburgs Community Access Network prepares to celebrate its 10-year anniversary, officials with the nonprofit health care provider also are working to identify ways to soften the blow of federal cuts by the Trump administration and the tax bill that passed Congress earlier this month. In May, the Community Access Network, or CAN, was informed it had lost a $1.6 million grant that it used to serve about 400 people with HIV and AIDS at its health care center in downtown Lynchburg. The grant came from the Ryan White program, a federally funded HIV/AIDS health care initiative created in 1990 as a safety net for low-income people with HIV and AIDS. Ryan was 13 when he was diagnosed with AIDS after a blood transfusion in December 1984. His school barred him from classes after his diagnosis, spurring him to become an advocate for the importance of AIDS education. He died in 1990 at the age of 18. The specific grant that was canceled came from the Ryan White Part B program, which funded CANs dental services, case management, transportation and other supportive services for people living with HIV, according to Christina Delzingaro, CEO of CAN. The Virginia Department of Health, which oversees distribution of the federal funds, told CAN it had not received its full Ryan White Part B funding from the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Other money VDH has historically used to supplement the federal funding was no longer available. That led the state health department to reduce or cancel contracts with nine of the 21 community agencies, including CAN, that provide this type of care and limit the types of supportive services funded, Delzingaro said. The grant cancellation forced CAN to lay off seven employees who worked in the center, Delzingaro said Tuesday night in a presentation to the Lynchburg Democratic Committee. CAN was founded in 2015 in response to the high usage of Lynchburg General Hospitals emergency department by residents as their primary health care provider. In 2018, CAN moved into its current center at the corner of 5th and Federal streets. The center, which is an integrated primary care practice, serves people regardless of their health insurance status. Although its not a critical care center, CAN allows walk-in patients, as well as people who make appointments ahead of time. The nonprofit also has an onsite pharmacy. In 2024, CAN recorded 33,000 visits from nearly 10,000 patients, Delzingaro said. As a Federal Qualified Health Center, or FQHC, CAN offers access to primary health, dental, behavioral health, pharmacy and substance use disorder services in areas with limited access to affordable health care services. Borne out of the Civil Rights movement, FQHCs were addressing health inequities before we were calling them health inequities, she said. In a piece of good news, Delzingaro said CAN received a renewal of a federal grant that allows it to provide primary care and infectious disease care for people with HIV. The grant is funded by Ryan White Part C funds that CAN receives directly from HRSA. In nearby cities, funding for a portion of the Ryan White HIV Clinic in Charlottesville, which serves more than 1,000 people, was cut by 80%. The Council of Community Services in Roanoke provides similar services and saw a portion of its Ryan White HIV budget cut by 40%. As for the passage of the so-called One Big Beautiful Act earlier this month, Delzingaro is worried about the Medicaid work requirements in the bill. Starting in 2027, the bill will require adults ages 19 to 64 to enroll in an educational program at least half-time; earn a monthly income equal to at least 80 hours of work at the federal minimum wage; or work for 80 hours a month to receive Medicaid. People who are 65 and older, blind, or disabled will be exempt from the Medicaid work requirement. Delizingaro said most of CANs patients who receive Medicaid work, as do most of the people in Virginia who are on Medicaid. Arkansas had a work requirement in place for several months in 2018 and 2019 before a court ruling ordered the state to end the requirement. During the nine months it was in place, more than 18,000 people in Arkansas lost Medicaid coverage. The new legislation signed into law by Trump on July 4 provides states with a lot of flexibility with how each will implement Medicaid work requirements. If Virginia implements the same work requirement process used by Arkansas, 300,000 Virginians, including 3,000 Lynchburg residents, could lose their Medicaid coverage, Delizingaro said. In Arkansas, most of the people who were de-enrolled from Medicaid lost their coverage for administrative reasons, not because they werent working. The process made it too difficult for residents to show they were eligible for the health coverage, she said. Meanwhile, in the spring, CAN received a grant from the Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation that will allow its health center on 5th Street to be open seven days per week. The new hours are expected to take effect on the last weekend in September, according to Delizingaro. Starting then, the center will be open 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. on weekdays, and 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. CAN plans to celebrate its 10th anniversary on Aug. 8 from 3 to 5 p.m. at the health center. BEDFORD On a hill at the end of Helm Street in the town of Bedford, a new tank that will double the towns water storage capacity was celebrated Wednesday as a symbol of progress for the Bedford community. The Bedford Regional Water Authority held a ribbon-cutting for the Helm Street Water Tank on the site, a $3.4 million project, was mostly funded through a federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) grant from Bedford Town Council. The new facility was built on the site of an existing water tank at the location of a former town water treatment facility. Brian Key, BRWAs executive director, said the site is the oldest in the authoritys infrastructure system that dates back to more than 130 years ago. Rhonda English, BRWAs deputy director, said the tank is a great improvement for its system to ensure high quality water services. She said a major fire that devastated part of the town in 1886 led to the start of the water system a few years later. It is truly special for us to partner with the Town of Bedford almost 150 years later on a project that continues to improve water service and fire suppression capacity, Key said. Several years ago, inspection of the two tanks at 900 Helm St. showed major repairs were needed, English said. It was found the round tank required lead abatement, the concrete was significantly deteriorated, and its replacement was part of the BRWAs wish list of capital needs, she said. In 2021, the town council agreed to put $3 million of its ARPA portion from the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic toward the replacement tank. English said WGK Construction, the contractor, was great to work with in reducing costs to make the new 1-million-gallon tank a more feasible project that is close to the finish line to begin operating. This is great progress for the community, English said. The tank has a mixer to ensure consistent temperature and quality, as well as a system to prevent corrosion of the steel, she said. That will help with the longevity of this tank, English said. Andy Gregson, president of WGK Construction, said the project went smoothly despite inclement weather, mud and the very long delivery schedule for materials such as steel and electrical items because of the effects COVID-19 continue to have on the construction industry. The work also included getting heavy equipment up Helm Street, a residential area in close vicinity to U.S. 460, he said. Some Helm Street residents attended Wednesdays ceremony. Kyle Draper, the authoritys communications supervisor, thanked those residents for their patience during construction work that has been ongoing for more than a year. The neighbors, the community, everybody has been very supportive, Gregson said. Its just been a super job for us. We really enjoyed working up here. Gregson said the tanks steel seams are welded, it took 25,000 gallons of ink to properly coat and protect the steel, close to a mile of reinforcing steel is in the ring wall foundation, 120 yards of concrete and more than 300,000 pounds of steel were used. When full, the tanks ring wall will support more than 9 million pounds of water and more than 7,500-man hours went into constructing it, he said. Its pretty amazing what a group of folks can do, what they can put together when they work together and this is a testament to that, Gregson said. The new tank is built at a higher elevation level allowing full use of both tanks at the site, which was not possible with the previous tank, according to the authority. Jay Gray, vice chair of the BRWA board of directors, said the new tank will provide fire suppression pressure for businesses and additional water for firefighting needs. He said he was glad to see a few young children in attendance at the neighborhood because the new tank will provide service to their community for many decades to come. Infrastructure is not glamorous or exciting, until you dont have it, Gray said. Key said the engineering team spent hundreds of hours reviewing plans, assessing the site, conducting inspections and other measures. The intensive project went smoothly and is successful because of the many people who worked on it, Key said. It came through on time, on budget and with a good product at the end and no accidents, Key said. Were thrilled with the results of what we accomplished. Most of the work was funded through ARPA and the authoritys reserve, and an allocation in its capital improvement plan made up the difference, he said. BRWA resulted out of a 2013 merger between the former Bedford County Service Authority and the then-city of Bedford water and wastewater department, one of the many effects of the former city of Bedford reverting to a town that year. While the county system was developed just more than 50 years ago, the town utility infrastructure has been in place for well more than a century. The BRWAs system continues to grow. Key said BRWA has entered into a letter of intent to take over a private water system in the Montvale community and has about six months to work through that process that has not yet been finalized. Key said BRWA taking over Montvale Water Incorporateds existing well system will transition about 280 water customers in the village of Montvale into the authoritys customer base. No new infrastructure is part of the agreement, he said. If we move forward, it will be the newest part of our system, Key said. The authority did similar measures in the past with private systems at Smith Mountain Lake, including Paradise Point and its two-dozen residents and the Mariners Landing resort community, a merger that Key said added hundreds of customers to the customer base. The new storage tank will serve all of Bedford Countys inner connected utility infrastructure, including at the lake, Bedford Countys most populated community of Forest and other areas, Key said. A booster station on the other side of U.S. 460 will draw water from the tank and send it throughout the county served by the authority, he said. Bedford Mayor C.G. Stanley said the project is an essential investment in the towns future. This is more than a tank, its a symbol of what we can accomplish when we work together, Stanley said. The consolidation of infrastructure and services between the town and county 12 years ago through the former citys reversion to a town laid the foundation for such projects, he said. That decision was not easy, Stanley said. It was groups getting together and thinking ahead, but it gave us the flexibility and strength to take on large-scale, high-impact projects like this water tank, projects that could or would have been difficult for any single locality to have done it alone. When local governments and service providers work hand in hand, we can stretch our resources further, serve our citizens better and build a stronger community. This tank is a product of those partnerships. Council designating $3 million of ARPA for the project was a bold investment but the right one for the towns residents, businesses and its future, he said. We recognized early on the tremendous value of increasing our water storage capacity not only for improved service reliability, but also for long-term growth, emergency readiness and economic development, Stanley said. This milestone for Bedford is a symbol of entities working together. News and commentary on organized crime, street crime, white collar crime, cyber crime, sex crime, crime fiction, crime prevention, espionage and terrorism. Tokyo, Japan In Japan, the phenomenon of Johatsutranslated as the evaporated peoplecontinues to quietly shape the lives of thousands who disappear without a trace each year. While society grapples with the consequences of such voluntary vanishings, the little-known role of specialized moving companies, or yonige-ya, remains a focal point in how these disappearances are successfully executed. Amicus International Consulting, a global leader in lawful identity change services, conducted an exclusive in-depth interview with a senior manager at a Tokyo-based yonige-ya company to uncover the operational side of Japans legal disappearing industry. This report examines the hidden logistics behind Johatsu vanishings, the legal boundaries within which these moving companies operate, and the stories of those who vanishoften forever. Through rare industry insights, verified case studies, and expert legal commentary, Amicus International Consulting sheds light on what happens behind the curtains when someone decides to start over. Inside the Johatsu Industry: A System of Silent Exits According to Kenji Ito (name changed), manager at a mid-sized Tokyo yonige-ya firm with over 15 years of experience, the industry has seen a growing demand, particularly among young adults and middle-aged clients struggling with debt, domestic abuse, or job-related burnout. We get several calls per week, Ito said. Many are from people in their 20s and 30s who feel trapped by life circumstances they see no escape from. Ito explains the operational structure of yonige-ya: Our service specializes in swift, discreet moves that help people escape their old lives in one night. We assist with everything from transportation, discreet packing, cash-only lodging arrangements, and even guidance on starting fresh in a new city. Case Study One: The Office Worker Who Vanished Overnight In 2022, a Tokyo office worker in his early 30s used Itos company to escape credit card debt and workplace bullying. Ito recounts, He booked us for a 2 a.m. extraction. Within four hours, his apartment was cleared, and by sunrise, he was already in Hokkaido with a new rental secured under his middle name. Legal Boundaries: Disappearing Within the Law Japans legal system permits voluntary disappearances. Adults are not required to inform their families, employers, or friends of their whereabouts. The police close missing person cases when individuals are found safe and voluntarily vanish. Yonige-ya companies operate within legal frameworks, refraining from forging documents or facilitating crimes. We operate legally, Ito clarifies. We dont forge IDs or help people escape criminal proceedings. We simply help clients move quickly and discreetly. Amicus International Consulting confirms this distinction, noting, While yonige-ya can legally assist with relocation, clients must be aware that debts, child support obligations, and criminal records remain legally binding regardless of relocation. The Clientele: A Cross-Section of Struggles According to Ito, most clients fall into five categories: Debt-ridden individuals facing aggressive loan collectors Domestic abuse victims seeking urgent escape Salaried workers suffering from karoshi (overwork) culture Students fleeing academic or familial pressure Elderly individuals escaping neglect or abandonment by family Ito adds, We also help families. In some cases, its a mother and child fleeing an abusive home. Weve even moved entire families relocating to rural Japan under new identities. Case Study Two: A Single Mothers Escape from Domestic Violence In 2023, Itos firm helped a 29-year-old mother and her two children escape an abusive husband in Saitama. We organized a midnight move, coordinated with a womens shelter in Yamagata, and secured them housing through legal aid channels, Ito said. The family later applied for name changes via family court, legally sealing their records from the abusive spouse. How Johatsu Prepare for a New Life Ito emphasizes that the most successful disappearances involve thorough preparation. Our long-term clients prepare months in advance. They close unnecessary bank accounts, delete social media, stop using traceable digital services, and save cash. He cautions, Digital footprints are the easiest way to be found. Our job includes advising clients on reducing traceability before the move. Amicus International Consulting corroborates this, offering digital erasure services for clients seeking lawful privacy. Minimizing online visibility is crucial, even after lawful identity changes, an Amicus advisor explains. The Cost of Vanishing Disappearing is not cheap. According to Ito, costs start from 500,000 (approximately USD 3,500) for a basic in-city move, rising to over 3,000,000 (approximately USD 20,000) for nationwide relocations involving entire families. Additional services, such as housing placement, job referrals, and legal consultations, come at premium fees. Most clients see this as a one-time Investment in freedom, Ito stated. Case Study Three: A Familys Complete Reset in Kyushu A family of four escaped overwhelming debt in Yokohama by hiring Itos company for a 2,800,000 package. We moved them to Kyushu, helped them change their names legally, citing psychological hardship, and coordinated with a local factory for employment, Ito said. Two years later, the family remains undiscovered by debt collectors, living modest but stable lives. Psychological Toll on Movers Ito acknowledges the emotional complexities of the business. Were not just movers. Sometimes were counsellors, last-resort allies. Its hard knowing the desperation these people feel, but satisfying to give them a second chance. Psychologist Dr. Naomi Fukuda from Tokyo agrees, noting, The demand for yonige-ya reveals systemic failures in Japanese societyrigid cultural expectations, lack of accessible mental health care, and stigmatization of failure. What Happens After Disappearing? Amicus International Consulting warns that while disappearing offers immediate relief, long-term challenges remain. Clients often lose access to public healthcare, credit facilities, and legal protections. Ito acknowledges, Its a trade-offfreedom from oppressive circumstances versus exclusion from formal society. Legal Options as Alternatives Amicus International Consulting advocates for lawful identity transformation as an alternative to unregulated disappearance. Name changes, gender marker updates, and second citizenship programs allow individuals to start over legally while maintaining healthcare and employment rights, an Amicus advisor explains. For international clients, Amicus offers pathways to second citizenship in countries like Paraguay, Dominica, and St. Kitts and Nevis. Strategic legal relocation offers more sustainable outcomes than total disappearance, the advisor added. Ethical Considerations Both Ito and Amicus stress the importance of ethical boundaries. We refuse clients with criminal records or who intend to abandon children without guardianship, Ito says. Amicus echoes, We never assist individuals in evading justice. Our services are for lawful personal reinvention, not escape from responsibility. Conclusion: A Shadow Industry Responding to a Societal Crisis The Johatsu phenomenon, along with the yonige-ya companies that support it, exposes cracks in Japans social and legal systems. While legal, the practice highlights the desperation faced by many in rigid social structures. Ito concludes, Our job is controversial, but we offer an escape valve. Without it, many clients would have no safe exit from unbearable situations. Amicus International Consulting remains committed to supporting legal, ethical pathways for personal reinvention, emphasizing lawful identity change and responsible relocation services as sustainable alternatives to permanent disappearance. About Amicus International Consulting Amicus International Consulting is a global leader in lawful identity change, second citizenship acquisition, privacy planning, and international relocation services. Operating within the strict confines of local and international law, Amicus offers personalized solutions for individuals seeking fresh starts while maintaining legal and financial protections. Learn more at www.amicusint.ca Contact Information Phone: +1 (604) 200-5402 Email: info@amicusint.ca Website: www.amicusint.ca Follow Us LinkedIn Twitter/X Facebook Instagram A recent U.S. deportation of five convicted foreign nationals to the African kingdom of Eswatini has ignited outrage among human rights groups and African leaders. The individuals originally from Vietnam, Jamaica, Cuba, Yemen, and Laos were expelled after their home countries refused to accept them. All five have serious criminal convictions, including murder and child rape. The Trump administration, pursuing an aggressive deportation agenda, used Eswatini as a third-country destination under a quiet bilateral arrangement. Described by U.S. officials as uniquely barbaric, the deportees are now being held in isolated prisons in Eswatini, which claims they are inmates in transit awaiting further repatriation. The Kingdom of Eswatini and the United States of America have enjoyed fruitful bilateral relations spanning over five decades, according to a statement by the Eswatini government. African leaders have expressed unease and cautious skepticism. Aside from South Sudan, which previously received eight deportees, most countries have rebuffed similar U.S. proposals. South Sudan is not a dumping ground for criminals, said one South Sudanese civil leader. The controversial practice stems from a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing deportations to nations where individuals have no legal or familial ties. Critics, including Amnesty International, warn it could expose deportees to torture or inhumane conditions, particularly in countries like Eswatini, known for repression and poor prison standards. Despite claiming to uphold human rights, Eswatinis record marked by political crackdowns and systemic abuse raises serious questions about the ethics and legality of this expanding U.S. policy. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. You can find out more about which cookies we are using or switch them off in settings . South Africas President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing mounting challenges in his bid to rebuild relations with the United States, as the Trump Administration intensifies a hardline stance against Pretoria. Despite Ramaphosas efforts, including the appointment of Mcebisi Jonas as a special envoy to Washington, the US has refused to grant Jonas a diplomatic visa and declined to acknowledge his position. These developments have coincided with broader diplomatic snubssuch as top-level US officials avoiding G20 meetings hosted by South Africaand rising tensions over Pretorias foreign policy decisions, particularly its stance on Israel, Iran, and race relations. The Trump administration has expressed deep dissatisfaction with South Africas geopolitical posture, accusing Ramaphosas government of promoting anti-Americanism, aligning with adversaries like Iran, and pursuing race-based domestic policies such as black economic empowerment. These criticisms have translated into concrete policy shifts: the expulsion of South Africas ambassador, a boycott of key global forums, and threats of punitive economic measures. Meanwhile, Jonas own past criticisms of Trump and MTNs financial ties to Iran have further undermined his viability as a diplomatic bridge. The breakdown in relations marks a dramatic departure from the traditionally steady ties South Africa has maintained with both Republican and Democratic US administrations, even amid ideological differences. Analysts suggest that Trumps foreign policy is uniquely confrontational, targeting countries like South Africa that champion progressive values such as equity, climate justice, and global solidarity. With Washington closing key channels of dialogue, Pretoria is being forced to reassess its global alliances and navigate an increasingly hostile diplomatic terrain. Most worryingly, economic fallout looms. A proposed 30% tariff on South African goods threatens to deepen the countrys economic woes, potentially triggering the loss of over 100,000 jobs in a nation already grappling with nearly 33% unemployment. The irony is palpable: while Trump claims to defend Afrikaner farmers, his policies could devastate South Africas agriculture sector. For Ramaphosa, the diplomatic freeze signals not only a personal setback but a national crisis requiring urgent strategic recalibration. South Sudanese President Salva Kiir has appealed for the immediate lifting of international sanctions and a United Nations arms embargo, citing their detrimental impact on the countrys progress and security sector reform. Addressing lawmakers at the opening of the Revitalized Transitional National Legislative Assembly in Juba on Wednesday, July 16, Kiir emphasised that South Sudans foreign policy is anchored in peaceful coexistence and mutual respect. He asserted that external restrictions, in place since the 2013 civil conflict and reinforced in 2018, have hindered efforts to build lasting stability. Kiir also used the platform to call on all signatories of the 2018 revitalised peace agreement to recommit to the accord unconditionally, warning that the current fragility of the peace process requires renewed dedication. He extended an olive branch to hold-out opposition groups, encouraging them to join the national dialogue and contribute to reconciliation and unity. In a notable policy stance, he advocated for the immediate integration of pro-peace opposition forces into a single, unified national army to fortify internal security. Underlining the governments central priorities, Kiir reiterated his administrations commitment to peace, national cohesion, and long-term development. His appeal comes at a critical juncture for South Sudan, as it prepares for democratic transitions amid persistent political divisions and economic hardship. The lifting of sanctions, he argued, is essential for enabling security reforms and fulfilling the promises of the revitalised peace agreement. MELVILLE, N.Y., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- "The Lawsuit commenced by Big Think Capital against Centrex and Forth in California federal court has been dismissed by Big Think Capital. Big Think Capital does not dispute that the data incident that compromised the Forth and/or Centrex platforms was caused by and attributable only to malicious third-party actors who were not associated with Centrex or Forth. Big Think Capital accepts as true that neither Forth nor Centrex had any involvement in the data incident at issue. Any prior statements made by Big Think Capital to the contrary are retracted and withdrawn." Media Contact: Michael DiRienzo Director Of Communications Big Think Capital [email protected] (516) 475-2066 SOURCE Big Think Capital While renewables are growing, oil is not expected to be entirely replaced soon due to its essential role in various sectors like transportation and petrochemicals. Oil prices are influenced by a complex interplay of supply, demand, and geopolitical events, not solely by OPEC or U.S. presidents. Despite claims of energy independence, the U.S. remains a net crude oil importer, though it is a net petroleum exporter overall. They've been debunked. Repeatedly. But like zombies in a horror movie, these oil market myths just wont stay dead. From campaign slogans to cocktail party arguments, here's what the data really says. 1) The U.S. is Energy Independent Energy independence has been a key slogan in the campaigns and presidential terms of President Donald Trump. Make America Great Again and Make the US Energy Independent have often been tied into one pledge or claim. Fact: While the U.S. became a net petroleum exporter in 2020 for the first time since records began in 1949, it still imports more than 8 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, refined products, biofuels, and hydrocarbon gas liquids. In 2023, about 6.48 million bpd of that was crude oilroughly 76% of total gross petroleum importsaccording to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). That means the U.S. exports more total petroleum than it imports, but it remains a net importer of crude oil specifically. The top five source countries of U.S. gross petroleum imports in 2023 were Canada, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Brazil. Canada alone accounted for more than half 52% -- of all petroleum imports into the United States. Mexico came second with an 11% share and Saudi Arabia third with 5% of all U.S. gross petroleum imports. The common misconception probably comes from the fact that the U.S. also exports crude oil and other petroleum productsand these have exceeded the imports in the past four years. In 2023, the United States exported about 10.15 million bpd of petroleum to 173 countries and 3 U.S. territories, per the EIA data. Crude oil exports of about 4.06 million bpd accounted for 40% of total U.S. gross petroleum exports. The resulting total net petroleum imports (imports minus exports) were about -1.64 million bpd, which means that the United States was a net petroleum exporter of 1.64 million bpd in 2023. U.S. petroleum imports peaked in 2005 and have been declining since then as increased domestic petroleum production and increased petroleum exports have helped to reduce annual total petroleum net imports. The U.S. became a net petroleum exporter in 2020, for the first time since in EIA data going back to 1949. Although U.S. annual total petroleum exports were greater than total petroleum imports, the United States still imports more crude than it exports, remaining a net crude oil importer. Despite record U.S. crude oil production, U.S. refineries need heavier crudes than the light crudes from the shale basins to process into fuels. Thats another reason why Canadian crude is the biggest foreign source of crude apart from the proximity and the pipelines shipping it south to the demand and refining hubs in the Midwest and the U.S. Gulf Coast. 2.) OPEC Alone Controls Oil Prices Another myth thats been around since the Arab oil embargo in the 1970s is that OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is solely responsible for international oil prices. Not that OPEC hasnt tried and succeeded through the years in boosting or tanking oil prices, but the price of oil is not only a function of supply, much of which the cartel controls. The price is also determined by demand. In cases of slowing economies, recessions, weak economies in major oil-consuming emerging markets, or global pandemics, demand tanks. OPEC often reacts to these events by reducing supply, but it cannot directly influence demand. Slowing demand even if its only forward concerns about weaker demand not actual data points depresses oil prices. The most recent case in point is the market rout from early April, when President Trumps tariff announcement sparked concerns about looming recessions. Oil prices are also often influenced by geopolitical events, including wars and conflicts, which are outside of OPECs control. For example, the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 led to a surge in oil prices to above $100 per barrel and to spikes in energy prices and the cost of living in many countries. The 12-day war between Israel and Iran in June also raised oil prices amid fears that the worlds most important crude shipping lane the Strait of Hormuz could be blocked or that energy infrastructure in the Middle East could be hit. 3) The U.S. President Can Control Gasoline Prices in America The most recent Middle East conflict was put out after a U.S. strike on Iranian nuclear sites. The ceasefire announced by President Trump eased the upward pressure on oil prices, which returned to pre-war levels. The President may have indirectly influenced the price of oil, but not a single U.S. President can control global oil prices, which are the largest price component of U.S. gasoline prices. Global and U.S. supply and demand are the key factors behind crude oil prices. The cost of crude oil is the single biggest driver of U.S. retail gasoline pricesit accounts for over 52% of the price of a gallon of retail regular gasoline, according to EIAs estimates. In 2023, federal and state taxes made up 14.4% of the price of a gallon of gasoline, distribution and marketing costs and profits accounted for 14.3%, and refining costs and profits for 18.7%. Presidents mostly tend to take credit for lower gasoline prices and blame high gasoline prices on previous administrations, Putin, or whomever appears conveniently blameable. Thats to confirm the adage that high gasoline prices are one of the worst fears of a sitting President. Most recently, former President Biden and the Democrats blamed Putin for the $5 a gallon gasoline price in 2022. President Trump and his allies are currently touting the energy policies for delivering the cheapest Independence Day gas prices in four years. In reality, President Trumps trade and tariff policies have spooked markets and depressed oil prices as traders and speculators continue to be concerned about the global and U.S. economies amid the trade chaos. With lower oil prices, the U.S. shale patch will be struggling to drill, baby, drill, as President Trump loves to say. 4) Oil Will Soon be Replaced by Renewables Oil is dead, said every headline since 2015. And yet, here we are The International Energy Agency (IEA) continues to insist on its narrative that a peak in global oil demand is still on the horizonby the end of the decade. Annual global growth will slow from about 700,000 barrels per day (bpd) in 2025 and 2026 to just a trickle over the next several years, with a small decline expected in 2030, based on todays policy settings and market trends, the IEA said in its annual Oil 2025 report for the medium term. Most industry analysts and oil majors expect demand to plateau at some point in the 2030s, but none see consumption falling off a cliff. EVs could dent road transportation fuel demand in China and Europe, but airplanes and ships will still need petroleum-based fuels, in the foreseeable future. Solar and wind could replace a large part of fossil fuels in power generation, but they cannot make petrochemicals, your Legos, jeans, jackets, or shampoos. Despite endless forecasting, oil keeps adapting to the very trends that were supposed to kill it. Myths endure because theyre simple. But energy markets arent. Theyre messy, global, and driven by forces far beyond the reach of soundbites. Whether you're bullish, bearish, or just trying to survive your next gas station fill-up, it's worth knowing whats fact and whats fossilized fiction. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Its a quintessentially Canadian story. As other countries build infrastructure to support their burgeoning economies and the transition to clean energy, Canadas push to go big on major energy and mining projects is being held up by local First Nations who claim that Bill C-5 violates their constitutional rights. Also known as the one Canadian economy act because it aims to reduce interprovincial trade barriers, C-5 was recently passed by the House of Commons and the Senate. It became law on June 26th. The legislation fulfils a campaign promise by Prime Minister Mark Carney to speed up approvals of what he calls nation-building projects, including mines and oil pipelines. Proponents of such projects often face duplicate environmental permitting processes involving the federal and provincial governments and affected First Nations. The nations are also against an Ontario law passed in June that allows the provincial government to declare special economic zones that make some projects exempt from other provincial laws. Reuters reports, Both laws have earned the ire of environmentalists, who say they elide legislation meant to mitigate ecological harms, and Indigenous groups who argue they run roughshod over their rights to self-determination and the government's duty to consult. According to a notice of application filed in Ontario court on July 14, the two new laws represent a clear and present danger to the Applicant First Nations self-determination rights and violate the government's obligation to reconcile with First Nations. The First Nations applicants comprise the Alderville, Apitipi Anicinapek, Aroland, Attawapiskat, Fort Albany, Ginoogaming, Kitchenuhmaykoosib, Inninuwug, Wabauskang, and Oneida Nation of the Thames. Bill C-5 lets Canada unilaterally ram through projects without meaningful engagement with First Nations, the court filing reads. In fact, a subcommittee amended the bill to remove the Indian Act from a list of laws the government can sidestep when determining whether a project can move forward, CTV News reported in June. In a press conference after the bill was passed in the House of Commons, PM Carney noted, The major projects office will have an Indigenous advisory council whose core function will be to honour Section 35 rights in the implementation of this bill. Section 35 of the Canadian Constitution affirms the existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of the Indigenous peoples of Canada. Carney also promised to hold full-day summits with First Nations, Inuit, and Metis rights-holders and leaders, alongside Cabinet ministers given responsibility over indigenous affairs. Among the major projects at stake is an oil pipeline that would carry Alberta crude to the northern British Columbia coast for shipment overseas. Pipeline promises A previous pipeline proposal known as Northern Gateway was shelved amid opposition from environmental groups and local First Nations. To date, the twinned Trans Mountain route is the only pipeline shipping Albertas landlocked crude for export on tankers from Vancouver, on the southern British Columbia coast. Carney told the Calgary Herald in June that a new Alberta-to-BC pipeline is likely to be included among the federal governments list of projects of national interest covered by C-5: I would think, given the scale of the economic opportunity, the resources we have, the expertise we have, that it is highly, highly likely that we will have an oil pipeline that is a proposal for one of these projects of national interest, Carney told the publication. Earlier in June, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said that Alberta is working to engage private backers for a new pipeline to ship about 1 million barrels per day of crude to the Port of Prince Rupert. The Northern Gateway route would have shipped oil through Kitimat. Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge, meanwhile, is considering raising the crude shipment capacity from Canada to the United States via a new pipeline in Illinois linked to its Mainline system, which could boost oil flows by 200,000 barrels per day. Enbridge and its partner Energy Transfer are gauging potential shippers interest in an open season until mid-July for a proposed new link, the Southern Illinois Connector, Enbridge has told Bloomberg in response to questions. By Andrew Topf for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The 9th OPEC International Seminar was held in Vienna a week ago, wherein participants discussed energy security, investment, climate change, and energy poverty, with a particular emphasis on balancing these competing priorities. According to commodity analysts at Standard Chartered, the summit titled "Charting Pathways Together: The Future of Global Energy" featured significantly greater engagement from international oil companies and consuming country governments, with discussions converging on a more inclusive shared agenda rather than non-intersecting approaches seen in previous years. However, StanChart reported there was a clear mismatch between what energy producers vs. market analysts think about spare production capacity. Unlike Wall Street analysts, who frequently talk about spare capacity of 5-6 million barrels per day (mb/d), speakers from several sectors of the industry noted thatspare capacity is both limited and very geographically concentrated. StanChart believes this erroneous assumption about spare capacity has been a big drag on oil prices, and the implications for the whole forward curve of oil prices could be potentially profound once traders realize that roughly two-thirds of the capacity they thought was available on demand does not actually exist. This makes the analysts bullish about the general shape of their forecast 2026 price trajectory (Figure 32), i.e., a set of significant upward shifts as opposed to the flat trajectory seen in the market curve and in analyst consensus. In other words, oil prices could have as much as $15/barrel upside from current levels. Source: Standard Chartered Research StanChart is not the only oil bull here. Goldman Sachs recently hiked its oil price forecast for H2 2025, saying the market is increasingly shifting its focus from recession fears to potential supply disruptions, low spare capacity, lower oil inventories especially among OECD countries and production constraints by Russia. GS has increased its Brent forecast by $5/bbl to $66/bbl, and by $6 for WTI crude to $63/bbl, slightly lower than current levels of $68.34/bbl and 66.24/bbl for Brent and WTI crude, respectively. However, the Wall Street bank has maintained its 2026 price forecast at $56/bbl for Brent and $52 for WTI, due to "an offset between a boost from higher long-dated prices and a hit from a wider 1.7M bbl/day surplus. Previously, GS had forecast a 1.5M bbl/day surplus for the coming year. Further, Goldman sees a stronger oil price rebound beyond 2026 due to reduced spare capacity. Bullish On Gas Prices EU natural gas inventories have climbed at faster-than-average clip in recent times. According to Gas Infrastructure Europe (GIE) data, Europes gas inventories stood at 73.10 billion cubic metres (bcm) on 13 July, good for a 2.31 bcm w/w increase. Still, the injection rate is not enough to completely fill the continent's gas stores, with the current clip on track to take inventories to about 97.9 bcm, or 84.3% of storage capacity, at the end of the injection season. Europes gas demand remains fairly lacklustre despite extremely high temperatures across much of the continent in recent weeks. According to estimates by StanChart, EU gas demand for the first 14 days of July averaged 583 million cubic meters/day, nearly 3% lower from a year ago but a 10% improvement from the June lows. However, StanChart is bullish on natural gas prices, saying the market is likely underestimating the likelihood of more Russian gas being taken off the markets. Back in April, U.S. senators Lindsey Graham (Republican) and Richard Blumenthal (Democrat), introduced Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025, with the legislation enjoying broad bipartisan support (85 co-sponsors in the Senate out of 100 senators). In a joint statement on 14 July, the two senators noted that President Trumps decision to implement 100% secondary tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and gas if a peace agreement is not reached within 50 days but pledged that they will continue to work on bipartisan Russia sanctions legislation that would implement up to 500 percent tariffs on countries that buy Russian oil and gas. StanChart has predicted that the Trump administration is unlikely to take actions that risk driving oil prices higher; however, Russian gas remains in the crosshairs, with U.S. LNG likely to see a surge in demand if Russian gas exports are curtailed. StanChart estimates that the EUs net imports of Russian pipeline gas averaged 79.8 million cubic metres per day (mcm/d) in the first 14 days of July, with all non-transit flows into the EU coming into Bulgaria through the Turkstream pipeline, with Hungary and Slovakia also receiving Turkstream gas. There was also a flow of about 65 mcm/d of Russian LNG in the first half of July, with Russia providing 18.6% of the EUs net imports. StanChart has predicted that we could see a strong rally in natural gas prices if Washington slaps Moscow with fresh gas sanctions. By Alex Kimani for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: After the recent attacks by Israel and the United States, Iran will likely upgrade its conventional defensive and offensive capabilities with Chinas help. Despite the well-publicized IranChina 25-year Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Chinese officials, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi, temporized by criticizing Israels actions and expressing concern over regional instability; President Xi Jinping urged both sides to cease hostilities and proposed a four-point peace framework, avoiding direct blame on Israel. China maintained economic ties with Iran, but refrained from providing weapons or direct assistance, consistent with its non-interventionist foreign policy. Despite Chinas low-key approach, plane watchers claimed regularly-scheduled CARGOLUX flights from China to Europe went dark as they passed over Tehran. It is doubtful the carrier, CARGOLUX, a leading air cargo carrier, would take the sanctions risk of delivering weaponry to Iran, whatever China may have offered to pay. Though Russia was criticized for failing to provide Iran with the S-400 air defense system (supplied to China, Belarus, Algeria, and Turkey) and the Su-35 combat aircraft (supplied to China, India, Egypt, and Indonesia), Moscow can be excused as it is fighting NATO in Ukraine. That said, Iranians wont forget they came to Russias aid in Ukraine by supplying the Shahed-136 drone with full technology transfer that allowed localized production, and ballistic missiles. An Iranian delegation headed to China as the embers in Tehran were still cooling, as they likely noted how well Chinese aircraft and missiles performed in the recent Pakistan-India skirmish. The Iranians reportedly want the Chengdu J-10C multirole fighter jet that can deploy the PL-15 long-range missile, and advanced Airborne Warning and Control System equipment. Israel urged China to pressure Iran to curtail its military and nuclear ambitions, though Beijing is more likely receptive to the concerns of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The Gulf Arabs may be more unnerved by an unrestrained Israel that is the source of regional instability (with U.S. connivance) than a recovering Iran, so they may green-light arms sales by Beijing to support their recently improved relations with Tehran. Though China has historically relied on economic diplomacy, it may have to take a greater role as a security partner of Iran if it wants to stake a legitimate claim to world leadership. All that Win the war without fighting stuff is great, but if it wants to be at the top table a nation must sometimes provide military support to allies, rather than point to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership document as proof of its bona fides as a reliable partner. Supporting Iran is also about protecting Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) investments in the region. China has sunk US$39 billion into the Middle East, US$62 billion into the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), and funded 112 projects in Central Asia in transport, mining, energy, and manufacturing, with increasing emphasis on technology and green infrastructure. And hurting BRI projects is also a way to counter the BRICS bloc that has U.S. President Donald Trump so exercised. China is the major military supplier to Pakistan, supplying Islamabad with main battle tanks, fighter jets, frigates, surface-to-air missile systems, and a spy ship, accounting for 81% of Pakistans imports from 2020 to 2024, and 63 percent of Chinas global arms exports. Central Asia nations have started to buy Chinese arms to diversify imports as Russian vendors are busy supplying Russias war with NATO. Recently, China sold drones and anti-aircraft systems to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and Uzbekistan is considering a purchase of Chinese/Pakistan-made JF-17 multirole combat aircraft, which are likely cheaper and easier to maintain than Western offerings. So, China is a potential key arms supplier to the belt of countries running from Pakistan to Iran, then Central Asia. If Beijing does not shy away from the political commitments that come with arms sales, even if there is no mutual defense pact, it will reap the benefits of increased responsibility and of satisfying the expectations of its new partners. A next step would be to propose a network of radar pickets from Pakistan to the Caucasus. It could be part of an improved regional air traffic control system that relies on government primary radar. This arrangement could detect Western, i.e., American and Israeli, military aircraft, and give Iran, Pakistan, and the Central Asian republics warning of the next attack, which will protect civil aviation safety in the region. Iran may have already taken delivery of Chinese surface-to-air missile batteries, which may be the cause of Israels unease. Iran received HY-2 Silkworm cruise missiles from China in the late 1980s, and later secured C801 anti-ship cruise missiles as part of its plan for an Anti-Access/Area Denial capability so Chinese military assistance to Iran during hostilities isnt a new policy as much as a revival of past practice. The day before Israel attacked Iran, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) convened in Changsha, Hunan Province. China announced zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines to all 53 African countries having diplomatic relations with China. The June FOCAC meeting complemented the September 2024 Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, a triennial summit that alternates between China and Africa, when more than 50 African leaders visited Beijing. At the Forum, China pledged US$50 billion in funding, 1 million jobs, credit lines, investments, and military aid, and President Xi proposed upgrading bilateral relations with African nations to a strategic level. Over the last 20 years, China has become the leading trade partner of 52 of 54 African countries, displacing the U.S. with a mix of BRI investments, loans, a critical minerals strategy, and top-leader involvement to produce a trade relationship of US$295 billion in 2024, reflecting a 6 percent year-on-year increase. In 2023, African countries received US$21.7 billion in BRI deals, including investments in ports, railways, and renewable energy in 53 African countries, which China is using to secure access to the continents mineral wealth and trading relationships that privilege Beijing over the West. During the Israel-Iran duel, the second China-Central Asia Summit was convened on 17 June 2025, in Astana, Kazakhstan. President Xi met the leaders of the Central Asia republics and the event generated 58 deals worth nearly US$25 billion, spanning green technology and hydrogen production, agriculture, infrastructure (the ChinaKyrgyzstanUzbekistan Railway), and energy. China also pledged over US$209 million for regional development projects and will offer 3,000 training opportunities to Central Asian countries over two years and visa-free travel for citizens of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Though grateful for the investments and trade opportunities, African and Central Asian leaders may be wondering about Beijings reliability in a time of troubles after the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Iran secured only press releases in response to the Israeli attacks. And China needs to move fast, as the NATO-Russian war in Ukraine is grinding to a close and Russia will soon have the time and resources to focus on its southern flank. And Russia is planning ahead: In July, Russia was the first country to formally recognize the Taliban government in Afghanistan, a move that carries more weight than Xis public meeting with the Taliban ambassador in January 2024. By helping Iran rebuild and modernize its offensive and defensive military capability, China has a second chance to make good on its promises to Tehran and prove to Africa and Central Asia it is more than a fair-weather friend. But Beijing must reexamine the limits of its non-interventionist foreign policy, a cautious policy that was satisfactory for a developing country but may be ill-suited to the worlds second-largest economy and top trade partner of 120 countries that aspires to world leadership. By James Durso More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The seizure highlights the ongoing risks to maritime traffic in critical chokepoints and Iran's diverse methods for disrupting oil flows, often involving "dark fleet" tankers for sanctions circumvention. This incident follows recent geopolitical tensions, including US strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities and previous reports of Iran considering mine deployment in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has seized a foreign oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, reportedly on charges of smuggling 2 million liters of fuel. It remains important for energy traders to closely monitor the Strait of Hormuz and other key critical maritime chokepoints in the region (recall Red Sea events last week, given persistent geopolitical tensions involving Iran and Israel. Tehran retains a diverse toolkitboth asymmetric and conventionalfor disrupting tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. These methods include naval mine deployment, anti-ship missile and drone launches, fast-attack craft swarms, and the seizure of vessels transiting the critical waterway responsible for 20% of the world's oil flows. Shortly after the U.S. launched "Operation Midnight Hammer" in late June, deploying stealth bombers to strike Iran's nuclear facilities at Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan using Massive Ordnance Penetrator bombs, Iran's parliament voted to authorize the closure of the strait. However, Tehran never closed the strait, but there was at least one report we covered that said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps mulled over littering the waterway with mines. Given that the mines were not deployed, a troubling new report from local media indicates that the IRGC has intercepted and seized a foreign tanker in the Gulf of Oman. The seizure was reportedly carried out under the pretext of "fuel smuggling," according to Iranian state media outlet Mehr News Agency (MNA) on X. "The Chief Justice of Hormozgan Province has announced the seizure of a foreign oil tanker on charges of smuggling 2 million liters of fuel in the Sea of Oman," MNA reported. Here are more details from pro-Iranian news channel Al Mayadeen: "Following persistent surveillance of suspected fuel smuggling operations off Iran's Sea of Oman coast, security forces boarded and searched a foreign oil tanker," Ghahremani said. Iranian authorities confirmed the seizure of the foreign tanker after detecting irregularities in its cargo documentation, with security forces arresting 17 crew members, including the ship's captain, during the operation. The vessel was suspected of transporting two million liters of smuggled fuel through the Sea of Oman. Fuel smuggling via "dark fleet" tankers has been a consistent tactic used by Iran to circumvent Western sanctions, with much of the crude oil ultimately making its way to China. Details about the seized vessel's ownership and final destination remain limited. By Zerohedge.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Reports of Israeli-Syrian contacts in Baku added to Tehrans suspicion of an anti-Iran alignment involving Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Israel. Iranian media warned of a potential redeployment of Syrian fighters into the Caucasus, heightening regional tensions. Syrian interim President Ahmad al-Sharaas visit to Baku last weekend highlighted a dramatic shift in regional alliances, prompting a mix of concern, suspicion, and strategic recalculation across Iranian media. Official statements following Sharaas meeting with President Ilham Aliyev emphasized a new era in Syrian-Azerbaijani relations. Both leaders acknowledged past stagnation, directly blaming ousted President Bashar al-Assads unfriendly policy and pledged to restore and deepen cooperation. Notably, the visit yielded a deal to export Azerbaijani gas to Syria via Turkey, with officials hailing the agreement as a needed remedy for Syrias chronic energy crisis. Meanwhile, various outlets, including Israeli media, claimed that Syrian and Israeli officials met on the sidelines of the trip. Its unclear whether Sharaa attended the meeting, but the mere occurrence of such a meeting -- facilitated by Azerbaijan, Israels key ally in the region -- has further fueled concerns in Tehran. Sharaa, a former insurgent known under the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, joined forces with Turkish?backed rebels and, in December 2024, led his Hayat Tahrir al?Sham (HTS) faction in a lightning offensive that ultimately toppled the Iran? and Russia?backed Assad government. Security Challenges A shared concern in Iranian media is what is seen as a shifting militant footprint from the Syrian battlefield to the Caucasus -- right on Irans doorstep. Arman-e Melli, a pro-reform newspaper, argued that one aspect of the budding relationship between Damascus and Baku will involve the transfer of Syria-based fighters through Turkey into bases in Azerbaijan -- a potential development it described as a mission for Sharaa. It is speculated that their presence is meant to destabilize areas along the borders of Iran and Russia and to carry out operations targeting the broader axis of China, Russia, and Iran. The conservative newspaper Farhikhtegan struck a similar tone, arguing that Sharaa sees the redeployment of his fighters to meet a US demand to expel foreign fighters from Syria. Under such a plan, the paper said, Azerbaijan would emerge as a strategic hub; either a staging ground for further infiltration into the Caucasus and Russia or a site for settlement in areas such as Karabakh. A Message To Iran Israels i24NEWS network, citing an unnamed Syrian source, claimed that Israel and the United States had made a decision for Baku to host a meeting between Israeli and Syrian officials to send a message to Iran. Referencing the report, Irans state broadcaster-run Jam-e Jam newspaper charged that given Bakus track record of alleged involvement in anti?Iranian operations over the years, and suspicions about its cooperation with Israel during last months war, this could well be taken as clear evidence that some neighboring countries are working with Israel against Iran. Jam-e Jam specifically named Azerbaijan and its allies, Turkey and Israel, as the countries involved in shaping new dynamics that work against Irans interests. The paper argued that ultimately Iran will need to safeguard its national interests with both diplomatic and security savvy, including strengthening ties with neighbors such as Armenia and Russia, and taking a firm stand against Bakus provocations. Tehran has watched with growing concern as Azerbaijan forges ever?closer links with Israel. In recent years, the partnership has significantly expanded, highlighted by deepening defense collaboration and Bakus decision to open an embassy in Tel Aviv in 2023 -- developments that have only heightened Iranian mistrust. Irans president, Masud Pezeshkian, last month pressed Aliyev to investigate and verify reports that Israeli drones, including micro?drones, had crossed into Iranian airspace through Azerbaijani territory during the 12-day war that ended in a ceasefire on June 24. Aliyev rejected the allegations, affirming that his government would never permit Azerbaijani territory to be used against Iran. By RFE/RL More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Belarus disconnected the second unit of its Astravets nuclear power plant on July 17 after a control system detected a deviation in the reactors auxiliary cooling system. The Energy Ministry stated the alarm was triggered outside the reactor core and described the event as routine, with no threat to safety or radiation levels, according to Reuters. Russias Sputnik Belarus reported the incident in Russian-language coverage, citing official statements that the automated sensor triggered the shutdown and that operations would resume once diagnostic checks are complete. Neighboring Lithuania has been vocal in expressing concern. The Baltic country remains wary of Astravets given its proximity and past operational hesitations. Lithuanian public broadcaster LRT noted Vilnius has previously pushed the EU for deeper regulatory inspections after earlier malfunctions. The Warsaw-based Centre for Eastern Studies has suggested that Belarus is doubling down on nuclear energy as a strategic solution to energy dependency, despite unresolved safety audit gaps. Belarus and Rosatom continue to defend the plants safety record, calling the recent shutdown proof that control systems are functioning as designed, Reuters reported. Still, energy analysts warn that repeated automatic disconnections highlight reliability concerns that could complicate Belaruss long-term energy strategy and its precarious regional standing. Belaruss reliance on nuclear power is now central to its bid for energy independence. Nuclear generation jumped from nearly zero in 2020 to about 6.7% of total energy supply by 2023, with nuclear accounting for over one-third of electricity generation (around 36% in 2024). This shift reduces dependency on Russian gas, which still fuels roughly 56% of energy needs. By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Oppose Sanctioning ICC for Arrest Warrants Against US Allied Leaders COLLEGE PARK, Md., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- President Trump has issued executive orders to "reevaluate our commitment" to United Nations (UN) agencies, withdraw from the World Health Organization, and impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to thwart their activities. A new survey by the Program for Public Consultation (PPC) at the University of Maryland's School of Public Policy finds majorities of both Republicans and Democrats: Sanctioning the ICC US Relationship with UN Agencies favor the US being part of the eight major UN agencies, including the World Health Organization oppose reducing how much the US works through the UN and its agencies oppose sanctioning the ICC favor joining the ICC. "An overwhelming majority agrees the UN is a way for the US to share the burden of addressing global problems," commented PPC Director Steven Kull. "While polls show Americans are not fully satisfied with the performance of the UN, very large majorities of Republicans as well as Democrats favor the US continuing to work through the UN and its major agencies." Respondents were given a briefing on the UN and its agencies, including how much money the US tends to contribute, and evaluated arguments for and against US participation. Arguments for and against the US participating in various UN agencies were evaluated, including that the UN is a "bloated bureaucracy," filled with many authoritarian members that work against US values, and that the US should prioritize working bilaterally because it "can make better deals that exactly match its interests and goals." Majorities found each of the pro and con arguments convincing, but the arguments for participating did better. Asked to evaluate eight different UN agencies, for which they were informed of their functions and budgets, large bipartisan majorities favored the US participating in all eight: World Health Organization: Overall 79%, Republicans 70%, Democrats 91% Department of Peace Operations, which manages UN peacekeeping operations: Overall 81%, Republicans 76%, Democrats 89% World Food Program: Overall 81%, Republicans 78%, Democrats 88% International Children's Fund: Overall 83%, Republicans 79%, Democrats 88% Development Program: Overall 77%, Republicans 69%, Democrats 87% Environment Program: Overall 73%, Republicans 63%, Democrats 85% Refugee Agency: Overall 70%, Republicans 59%, Democrats 83% International Atomic Energy Agency: Overall 78%, Republicans 77%, Democrats 83% Asked how much the US should work with the UN and its agencies overall, a very large majority of 84% said the US should work through the UN more (52%) or about the same as it has been (32%). Just 16% said the US should participate in the UN less, including just 27% of Republicans and 6% of Democrats. For the questions about the International Criminal Court (ICC), respondents were first informed of its mission and activities, that the US played a role in establishing it but did not become a member, and the reasons why it did not join. Several recent examples of leaders who have been indicted by the ICC were presented, including the Prime Minister of Israel and senior leaders of Hamas. In response to the ICC issuing an arrest warrant for Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the Trump administration has imposed sanctions on ICC staff and their family members by freezing their US assets and blocking them from entering the US. Respondents were asked, in principle, what the US should do in the case that the ICC issues an arrest warrant for a leader of a US ally. One of the options presented was to sanction the ICC by, "punishing individuals who work for or provide any help to the ICC, as well as their family members, by freezing their assets held in the US and blocking them from entering the US." Only 29% favored the US sanctioning ICC staff, including 32% of Republicans and 27% of Democrats. Instead, a bipartisan majority of seven-in-ten favored the other two options presented: the US publicly criticizing the ICC (25%) or taking no action (46%). They were also asked whether the US should join the ICC, and informed that this would mean that if the ICC issues an arrest warrant for a foreign official, and that person enters the US, the US would have a duty to detain them. Arguments for and against joining the ICC were evaluated, including that ICC judges from other countries could file bogus charges to embarrass the US, and that the US arresting a foreign official could risk getting the country into a larger conflict. Both pro and con arguments were found convincing by majorities, but the argument in favor of joining did better. In the end, a majority (62%) favored the US becoming a member of the ICC, including 57% of Republicans and 72% of Democrats. About the Survey The survey was a "public consultation survey" in which respondents were provided briefings and arguments for and against proposals. Content was reviewed by experts from each side of the debate to ensure that the briefings are accurate and balanced and that the arguments presented are the strongest ones being made. The survey was fielded June 10 - June 16, 2025 with 1,209 adults nationally. Samples were obtained from multiple online opt-in panels, including Cint, Dynata and Prodege. Sample collection and quality control was managed by QuantifyAI under the direction of the Program for Public Consultation. Samples were pre-stratified and weighted by age, race, gender, education, income, geographic region, marital status, and home ownership to match the general adult population. The survey was also weighted by partisan affiliation. The survey was offered in both English and Spanish. The confidence interval is +/- 3.0% and the response rate for the sample was 7.8%. CONTACT: Katrina Fuller, [email protected] SOURCE Program for Public Consultation Brazils Petrobras will discuss this week tweaking its mid-to-long-term strategic plan to potentially include a return to the retail fuel sector, amid complaints from the Brazilian president and the CEO of the state-owned oil and gas giant that wholesale fuel cuts dont reach retail customers. This week, Petrobrass board of directors will meet to discuss amending the 2026-2030 plan that could include a renewed presence in the Brazilian retail fuel sector, an anonymous source with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. Petrobras sold its retail business in 2021 in a privatization drive under then-President Jair Bolsonaro. The retail fuel company Vibra Energia is now operating the previous retail business of the Brazilian state-held energy firm and uses its brand under a licensing agreement. Incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Petrobras CEO Magda Chambriard have recently voiced concern that the wholesale price cuts by Petrobras arent being passed on to consumers at the pump. Earlier this month, Lula da Silva complained about the high fuel prices and called for monitoring of said prices, including via direct action from consumer protection agencies, the oil and gas regulator, the Justice Ministry, and the federal police. The monitoring, Lula da Silva says, could ensure that the price cuts being announced by Petrobras actually reach the end consumer. The president stated that the consumer is the one paying the price and said it was unacceptable that the decisions of the government and Petrobras are not being reflected at the pump. Earlier this month, the countrys Attorney Generals office requested an investigation into anti-competitive practices in fuel pricing. The office has analyzed evidence that fuel distributors and resellers are not passing on to consumers the price reductions announced by refineries. The evidence points to anti-competitive behavior in the pricing of gasoline, diesel, and LPG throughout the fuel supply chain, especially at the points of fuel distribution and resale, the Attorney Generals office said. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: ExxonMobil has bought Mars crude produced offshore Louisiana for August delivery, for the first time in several days after briefly halting purchases due to a quality issue with zinc contamination, Reuters reports, citing two sources. Mars crude is produced offshore Louisiana and is a staple with Gulf Coast refineries, including Exxons refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. However, supply of the Mars crude grade to the Gulf Coast refining hub was reduced last week after Chevron said that the start-up of a new offshore well may have contributed to the change of the composition of the Mars crude grade and zinc contamination of the medium sour crude. Exxon has said it wouldnt buy Mars crude until the issue with the zinc contamination is resolved. Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy authorized the exchange of up to 1 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) to ease the crude shortage at Exxons refinery in Baton Rouge. DOE has authorized an exchange from the SPR with ExxonMobil Corporation to address logistical challenges impacting crude oil deliveries to the companys Baton Rouge refinery. U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright authorized this action to help maintain a stable regional supply of transportation fuels across Louisiana and the broader Gulf Coast. The exchange agreement preserves the SPRs operational flexibility and will not impact or delay the Departments ongoing efforts to refill the reserve, DOE said. The exchange will support ExxonMobils restoration of refinery operations that were reduced due to an offshore supply disruption. ExxonMobil will return the borrowed crude along with additional barrels of crude oil for the SPR at no cost to the taxpayer. Following the emergence of the quality issue with Mars, the grade traded this week at a discount of about $0.30 to the U.S. price at the hub at Cushing, Oklahoma, compared to a premium of $1 per barrel to Cushing crude at the end of June. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Guyanas government will reduce external borrowing for major infrastructure projects, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo said, citing the countrys swelling oil revenues and a growing push for fiscal restraint. Speaking at a press briefing, Jagdeo said new revenue flows made it unnecessary to pursue as many external loans for transport and energy projects as previously planned, adding, We have cash balances, Demerara Waves reported. The Vice-President underscored that future spending would be more tightly tied to earnings from offshore oil production, which is expected to exceed 600,000 barrels per day by year-end. The announcement comes six weeks before Guyanese voters head to the polls on September 1, in what is shaping up to be the most contested general election since the countrys oil transformation began. While the ruling Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) has campaigned on stability and investment delivery, a growing number of voters are asking whether rapid growth has translated into broad-based improvements, and whether the oil sector has been captured by too few. Tensions have been heightened by the entry of controversial businessman Nazar Mohamed, who is mounting a presidential bid under the new Movement for Democracy and Development. Mohamed was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in July 2023 for allegedly running a large-scale gold smuggling operation and laundering illicit proceeds through Guyanas banking system. The department stated that Mohameds network facilitated the movement of billions of U.S. dollars of gold and laundered proceeds, while bribing customs officials to falsify documents. The Mohamed campaign denies wrongdoing and frames the sanctions as politically motivated. But with oil revenues soaring and institutional trust under strain, his candidacy has become a flashpoint in a country whose political system is still adapting to the scale and speed of its resource windfall. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Indian state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC), the biggest oil and gas explorer and producer in the country, is considering the construction of a new refinery with a capacity of between 200,000 barrels per day and 240,000 bpd, a source from the company told Reuters on Thursday. ONGC has undertaken a pre-feasibility study on the refinery project, which is planned to be set up at the coastal city of Jamnagar in the western Indian state Gujarat, according to the source. Jamnagar also hosts the huge refinery complex of Indias conglomerate Reliance Industries of billionaire Mukesh Ambani. India is boosting its refining capacity to meet rising fuel demand. India, the worlds third-largest crude oil importer, has already seen its demand growth outpacing the increase in oil demand in China, where electric vehicles (EVs), electric trucks, and LNG-fueled heavy-duty vehicles are denting consumption of gasoline and diesel. India aims to become a refining hub in Asia as it is boosting refining capacity and expects to continue relying on fossil fuels until at least 2040. Our existing refineries will increase in terms of capacity and they will also become regional hubs in terms of providing to other countries, Indian Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri told Reuters at the end of last year. India will lead global oil demand growth through 2050, boosting consumption by 8.2 million bpd between 2025 and 2020, OPEC said last week in its annual World Oil Outlook (WOO), which sees global oil demand growing from about 105 million bpd in 2025 to 123 million bpd in 2050. In the near term, Indian refiners are on the lookout for funding to build new refineries, as they seek to expand their refining capacity to meet growing domestic demand for fuels amid higher-than-average economic growth and rising middle-class numbers. For example, state-controlled refiner Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) is in talks with major local banks to secure a loan of about $3.8 billion which it will use to expand the capacity of one of its refineries. By Michael Kern for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A now three-day series of drone attacks on Iraqi Kurdistans oilfields, leading to a shut-in of 150,000 bpd and ratcheting up already-inflamed tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Erbil and the Iraqi federal government in Baghdad. Late on Wednesday, Chinese media reported another drone attack on a Dohuk province oilfield connected to U.S. operator Hunt Oil. According to Xinhua and China Daily Asia, the KRG Ministry of Natural Resources confirmed the latest attack occurred at 7:10 pm local time (1610 GMT). That was the second reported attack on Dohuk on Wednesday. From Monday to early Wednesday, explosive-laden drones struck the Tawke and Peshkabir fields operated by DNO ASA, along with Dohuk. A separate strike set fire to the Sarsang field run by HKN Energy, prompting a region-wide shutdown, according to Kurdish Rudaw. Alarabiya cited the Association of the Petroleum Industry of Kurdistan (APIKUR) as stating that more than 200,000 bpd of output is now suspended, including preemptive shutdowns at unaffected sites. The attacks are believed to be the work of Iran-aligned militias operating in southern Iraq, based on preliminary intelligence cited by Reuters. U.S. officials have condemned the strikes, warning that they threaten Iraqs economic stability and broader regional security. The Kurdistan government labeled them acts of terrorism targeting national infrastructure, according to Al Arabiya. These attacks come amid ongoing paralysis of the Iraq-Turkey (Ceyhan) pipeline, which remains offline following a 2023 arbitration ruling. The production freeze now deepens the friction of over control of oil exports and revenue sharing. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: A second sanctioned LNG vessel has arrived at Russias Arctic project in two months, suggesting that loadings of the superchilled fuel from the sanctioned project may have resumed. The LNG tanker Voskhod, previously called North Mountain, arrived on Wednesday at the Arctic LNG 2 site in Russia, vessel-tracking data showed. Voskhod was sanctioned by the U.S. in October last year, when the U.S. Administration stepped up sanctions against the project and vessels servicing it. The ship is Russia-flagged and has recently changed its commercial manager to a company with a registered address in Moscow, according to a Reuters review of shipping databases. Voskhod is the second LNG tanker to arrive at Arctic LNG 2 in as many months. Last month, another sanctioned LNG tanker, the Iris, appeared to be headed for the sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 project in Russia, in what could be another attempt by Russia to load LNG and try to find buyers. It was not immediately clear if the LNG vessel loaded any LNG from Arctic LNG 2. Yet, speculation has it that the first tanker movement in the area in months could suggest that Russia may attempt again to revive exports from the facility. The U.S. and EU sanctions on Russias Arctic LNG 2, which was billed as Russias flagship LNG project, have effectively frozen the start-up of the export facility in the Gydan Peninsula. The project has come under intensifying sanctions from the United States, which have put off any buyers that were previously considering buying cargoes from Arctic LNG 2. In one piece of anecdotal evidence, a sanctioned LNG carrier, which had loaded liquefied natural gas in the Arctic in August, traveled for four months around northern Europe, the Mediterranean, the Suez Canal, the Indian Ocean, along Chinas east coast, and north to Russias Far East, without finding a buyer for the cargo. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Vedanta Resources plans a major US $1 billion expansion of its Zambian copper operations, aiming to significantly increase production capacity and explore a potential US public listing for Konkola Copper Mines. India has launched a new policy to boost domestic copper production, involving incentives for foreign mining firms and investments by Indian state-owned companies in overseas assets. China and India are increasingly competing for copper and cobalt exploration and mining rights across the African continent to secure critical mineral supplies. Via Metal Miner Both China and India are now jostling for exploration and mining rights across the African continent. Over the last decade, China has rapidly expanded its presence in Africas growing copper market, securing critical mineral supplies to fuel its green energy ambitions. With copper demand surging globally due to the growth of electric vehicles, renewable energy, and digital infrastructure, Beijing has intensified its investments across Zambia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Botswana. Now it seems that India, too, has turned bullish on Zambia. In March of this year, it acquired a 9,000 sq. km greenfield block for copper and cobalt exploration in Zambias northwestern province. A few days ago, a team of Indian geologists was dispatched to assess the sites commercial viability. The exploration phase is expected to last three years, during which sample analysis will be conducted in Indian labs. India Makes Moves to Boost Copper Production Interestingly, all of this dovetails into Indias newly launched comprehensive policy push to boost domestic copper production. This new strategy involves offering incentives to foreign mining giants to establish smelters and refineries in India in exchange for investments by Indian state-owned firms in overseas copper assets. Reports indicate that foreign companies, such as Chiles Codelco and Australias BHP, may be invited to establish downstream copper facilities in India. In return, Indian public sector units will invest in their mining operations abroad, creating a mutually beneficial supply chain that spans the entire copper market. India is currently the worlds second-largest importer of refined copper. The country has already imported 1.2 million metric tons (MMT) in FY 2025 thus far, a 4% year-on-year increase. Meanwhile, copper demand is projected to increase by about 3 MMT by 2030. For now, it seems clear that the Indian Governments long-term vision for keeping the copper coffers full includes diversifying supply sources and acquiring foreign assets. Vedanta Plans to Shake Up Global Copper Market Amid this global drive to mine copper, UK-headquartered mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources, led by Anil Agarwal, recently enlisted global engineering firm Worley to oversee a major expansion of its Zambian copper operations at Konkola Copper Mines (KCM). The move signals Vedantas renewed push into critical minerals like copper and cobalt due to surging global demand. Worley, the Australia-based EPCM (engineering, procurement, and construction management) giant, will lead project management and collaborate with international experts to identify partners for mineral extraction and backward integration. According to news reports, the partnership aims to enhance operational efficiency and secure long-term critical mineral supply chains. Vedanta plans to invest US $1 billion to scale up KCMs production capacity to 300,000 tons of copper annually. Reports also indicate that the company is exploring multiple funding avenues, including the potential public listing of KCM in the United States. Talks are currently underway with investment banks, with New York emerging as a likely venue for the listing. KCM is one of the worlds largest high-grade copper assets, positioning Vedanta as a key player in the global energy transition. While Worley will not contribute capital, its technical leadership is expected to accelerate project execution and attract global partners. China Remains a Dominant Force The race for copper and other resources between China, India and the rest of the world comes after Western nations, including Canada and the U.S., imposed restrictions on Chinese access to critical minerals. This prompted Beijing to double down on its African partnerships. For example, the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation recently unveiled a US $51 billion investment pledge, reinforcing the countrys long-term strategic intent in the African copper market. Chinas Belt and Road Initiative commitments to mining reached a record $21 billion in 2024. Chinese firms now control 8% of Africas total mining output, up 21% since 2019. Incidentally, experts believe over 50% of 2023 Chinese overseas mining investments targeted copper. This comes as the DRC now ranks as the worlds second-largest copper producer, overtaking Peru. By Sohrab Darabshaw More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: New Developments continue at a rapid pace along the scenic Mississippi Gulf Coast BILOXI, Miss., July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Coastal Mississippi is proud to announce several new and upcoming openings, just in time for the summer travel season. These new visitor experiences provide even more reasons to stay longer and explore new places. Just a few of many new openings include: JUST OPENED Coastal Mississippi is proud to announce several new and upcoming openings, just in time for the summer travel season. COMING SOON Coastal Mississippi's momentum isn't slowing down. A diverse lineup of highly anticipated openings is just around the corner: St. James Cheese Company ( Pass Christian ) , a New Orleans favorite, is expanding as a part of the aforementioned The Pass Bungalows project, brings artisanal cheese boards, sandwiches, and more. , a favorite, is expanding as a part of the aforementioned The Pass Bungalows project, brings artisanal cheese boards, sandwiches, and more. Anthony's Ristorante ( Bay St Louis ) is set to introduce classic Italian fare in an upscale but welcoming setting late this summer. is set to introduce classic Italian fare in an upscale but welcoming setting late this summer. The Collective ( Ocean Springs ) , a creative hub, will serve as a gathering space for local makers, artists, and entrepreneurs. Scheduled to open late summer, the space will house the highly anticipated second restaurant concept for chefs Alex Perry and Kumi Omori , the husband-and-wife duo behind James Beard finalist Vestige. Additionally, the space will welcome indie bookstore, The Book Porter and Corktown Wine Shop, curated by local sommelier Sean Perkins . , a creative hub, will serve as a gathering space for local makers, artists, and entrepreneurs. Scheduled to open late summer, the space will house the highly anticipated second restaurant concept for chefs and , the husband-and-wife duo behind finalist Vestige. Additionally, the space will welcome indie bookstore, The Book Porter and Corktown Wine Shop, curated by local sommelier . The Birthplace of Barq's Bed and Breakfast ( Biloxi ) will celebrate the legacy of the iconic root beer with themed accommodations, all set on the property where the famous soda was created in 1898 and brewed until 1936. will celebrate the legacy of the iconic root beer with themed accommodations, all set on the property where the famous soda was created in 1898 and brewed until 1936. The Mississippi Songwriters Performing Arts Center (Gautier), a 10,000-square-foot, two-story complex to celebrate the state's deep musical roots and ongoing musical contributions, will include a music recording studio, indoor and outdoor performance spaces, classrooms and the Mississippi Songwriters Alliance Hall of Fame. The center will be near the newly opened The Sound Amphitheater. Construction is scheduled to begin in the next few months and is expected to take approximately a year. "These new openings give visitors even more reason to plan a summer beach getaway along our 62 miles of scenic shoreline," said Judy Young, CEO of Coastal Mississippi Tourism. "From Waveland to Pascagoula, there is no shortage of new and existing experiences to enjoy during a vacation to our coast." To plan your spring trip to Coastal Mississippi, find additional experiences from the destination, or learn more about the Mississippi Gulf Coast, visit CoastalMississippi.com. About Coastal Mississippi: Coastal Mississippi is the organization charged with promoting South Mississippi as a tourism and convention destination worldwide. Its mission centers on attracting ever-increasing numbers of leisure, convention, sports, and business visitors to the area. It is dedicated to maximizing the travel and tourism industry for South Mississippi. Visit CoastalMississippi.com to learn more. SOURCE Coastal Mississippi NORMAL McLean County Unit 5 will add 13 school buses to its fleet and install a new new gymnasium floor at Parkside Junior High School. The Normal-based school board on Wednesday approved buying pre-owned school buses from Central State Bus Sales Inc. for a total cost of $1,415,300. According to district documents, the purchase includes eight standard 71-passenger buses and five pre-owned wheelchair lift-equipped buses. These 13 buses are critical for immediately addressing the district's current shortage and operational challenges, officials said. Board Vice President Stan Gozur said he and others talked about the purchase this past week in a finance committee meeting, adding the vehicles were "gently used" and came at a good price. The district's fleet consists of 142 buses to cover 137 routes, and ideally, they should have a 10% surplus of vehicles to ensure smooth operations and account for maintenance needs, according to district documents. Currently, eight buses in the fleet are out of service due to severe engine issues, causing the district to borrow buses from other First Student locations. First Student is the contractor that runs the school's buses. The district recently received two new electric buses, with three more expected next week. The administration also plans to recommend the purchase of additional new buses through the bidding process later this year. In another matter, the board approved the purchase and installation of a new gymnasium floor for Parkside from Cushings' Commercial Carpet Inc. at an estimated cost of $129,460. Gozur said the gym floor was extensively damaged by a water fountain malfunction in late April, which released approximately 72,000 gallons of water. Dayna Brown, director of communications and community relations for Unit 5, said in an email Thursday that the water fountain malfunction happened over a weekend in April and was discovered the following Monday morning. Another vendor was contracted in an attempt to remove the moisture and salvage the wood flooring, but after several weeks it was determined that the flooring could not be saved, Gozur said. A claim was filed with the districts insurance company and the cost to replace the gym floor is covered by insurance, minus a $2,500 deductible, according to district documents. Federal funding freeze After the meeting, Superintendent Kristen Weikle talked with The Pantagraph about the recent freeze in federal education funding for after-school care, summer programs and more. Illinois and more than 20 other states are suing President Donald Trump's administration over billions of dollars in education funding that normally would provide academic support, enrichment and child care to mostly low-income families as well as other essential programs. Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office said the state was expected to receive an estimated $219 million in federal education funding that is now frozen, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. Weikle said the district receives title funds designated to help support students who may qualify for free or reduced lunches, English as a Second Language programs, help with academic or behavioral challenges and other support programs. "Titles" refers to sections within the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that define functions. Title I, for example, covers aid to low-income students. Three of the district's four title funds totaling about $950,000 were frozen, Weikle said. The loss of money for professional development for staff now may mean the district will have to cut back on workshops and conferences in favor of more in-house training. Another area of federal funding cuts that will impact the district is Medicaid, which saw funding slashed in Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Weikle said the district was supposed to receive about $900,000 this year for occupational, physical or speech language therapy to help some students in classrooms. At this point, the district is not expecting to receive any Medicaid reimbursement for those therapy services, but it still has a legal obligation to provide them. "My immediate concern was this occurred without any guidance or direction to schools, so we don't know if this is a temporary freeze or is it permanent?" Weikle said. "If it is temporary, then we haven't heard anything as far as when we might be able to expect that money or what we need to do in order to get that." "If it's a long-term, permanent freeze where we're not going to get that money, then it would have long-term implications on the overall budget of the district," she added. Weikle said it is important to note that when this information was shared with schools, the federal government didn't provide school districts much time to adjust. The Unit 5 budget started July 1, so it was set, including staffing, before the district heard the freeze was happening. "Given the time frame of when you can release people, we wouldn't have been able to release people. And even if we could have, I don't think we would have because we're still going to have these students coming to our doors come August," Weikle said. "We have a responsibility to serve them." This year, the district will be able to use funds from the education fund to offset the lack of federal funding. If this is a long-term funding cut, however, then the district will have to reexamine how and where it pays for the needed services, Weikle said. ROCKVILLE, Md. and HOUSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Excel Services Corporation ("Excel") and Pelican Energy Partners ("Pelican") are pleased to announce that Donald Hoffman, founder, President and CEO of Excel, has reacquired full ownership of Excel. In December 2023, Pelican invested in Excel to support the company's ability to serve its clients with an eye toward integrating Excel's capabilities with the capabilities of other companies in which it has invested. Over the past eighteen months, both parties have worked together in support of those goals and have achieved significant change at Excel. As the company enters its next phase of growth, the parties have concluded that Excel is best positioned to capture market share as an independent consultancy and services business rather than by integrating with other product and service offerings. As a result, Pelican has sold its equity interest to Mr. Hoffman, effective July 1st. Mr. Hoffman will continue to lead the company. Donald Hoffman stated, "We appreciate the nuclear experience and business support Pelican has brought to our company and we look forward to continuing to work together in this new capacity to expand our industry to greater heights." Mike Scott, the Founding Partner of Pelican, stated, "We have enjoyed our close partnership with the team at Excel. We look forward to working with the company in the future and wish them continued success as a market leader in nuclear advisory services." For more information on Excel, please see the Excel website, www.excelservices.com. About Excel Services Corporation Excel Services Corporation is a Rockville, Maryland based consulting firm who offers several consulting and regulatory services including operations and maintenance cost reduction; workforce enhancement; new reactor development and technology recommendations; recertification; nuclear regulatory policy development; event analysis; critical infrastructure protection; Improved Technical Specifications conversions, upgrades, and training; license renewal and subsequent license renewal applications and implementation; 24-month fuel cycle extensions; extended power uprates; Owners Group support, and other areas. Excel has extensive experience working with regulatory bodies such as the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, STUK, and many others, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency. About Pelican Energy Partners Founded in 2011, Pelican Energy Partners is a Houston-based private equity firm specializing in strategic investments in small to middle-market, high-growth potential energy service and equipment companies. The firm makes investments in energy equipment and service companies in the oil and gas and nuclear sectors. Media Contact Matt Jaffe [email protected] SOURCE Excel Services Corporation This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain Every time Fred Below and Connor Sible meet with Illinois farmers, they get the same question. "What's the story with these biologicals? Do they work?" The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign crop scientists and Illinois Extension specialists are happy to share what they know about the natural growth stimulants, informed by dozens of trials and published research. But with new products constantly being added to the marketand a muddled regulatory landscapeit's not always clear what farmers are even asking. "We do a lot of extension talks, and we started to notice a disconnect. Farmers and companies call these products biologicals, but the scientific literature and regulatory bodies call them biostimulants," said Below, professor in the Department of Crop Sciences, part of the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences at Illinois. "When we started looking into it, we realized the terminology is not only confusing, these very different products are all regulated the same, if they're regulated at all." The realization prompted Sible, Below, and colleague Juliann Seebauer to embark on a deep dive into the world of biologicals and biostimulants. Their commentary, "Biostimulant or biological? The complexity of defining, categorizing, and regulating microbial inoculants," has been published in Agricultural and Environmental Letters. First, just what are these products? In the most basic sense, they are live microbial inoculants and non-living, naturally derived chemicals or extracts applied to soil, seeds, and plants to improve growth in some way. That can be through enhancing fertilizer efficacy, reducing crop stress, improving soil health, or other mechanisms. "The original biological was soybean inoculum. That's been around for decades, if not a century. But then the humic and fulvic acids [from decomposing organic matter or mineral deposits], hydrolyzates [from plant and animal byproducts], and alginates [from seaweeds] came along, and were mostly applied in specialty crops," said Sible, research assistant professor in crop sciences and Illinois Extension specialist. "In those systems, anything you can do to improve the quality of your cropthe difference between a good juicy tomato and a small, dry one, for examplegoes a long way." Once these products gained a foothold in specialty crops, the industry started moving into row crops, such as corn and soybean. That spurred an explosion in the marketplace, with hundreds of products containing different active ingredients and promising various benefits. "Very often, marketing exceeds the actual research. Clearly, that's the case here," Below said. 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. "We think it's made more difficult by a lack of consistent terminology, and, in some cases, not necessarily the right regulation for what the product is. A lot of these are living bacteria, and they're currently regulated at the state level as fertilizers. Largely, there's no regulatory process for them at all." As part of the university's land grant mission, Below and Sible are tasked with providing unbiased research-based solutions to the public and policymakers. In a new commentary, Connor Sible (left) and Fred Below, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, dive into the world of agricultural products known as biologicals and biostimulants, concluding that the product categories should be regulated independently. Credit: College of ACES, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign By diving deep into these products, they are attempting to clarify for farmers what's out there and make it simpler for policymakers to apply logical regulations. Although it's possible to categorize the products into more than a dozen buckets based on their active ingredients, the researchers are calling for more simplicity. "The reality is, the market has gotten so big, you can't put them in one bin anymore," Sible said. "Our ultimate customer is the farmer. We need to talk about these products in the same language that farmers are thinking about them. They would largely associate 'biologicals' with the microbials and 'biostimulants' with non-living products. So that's our recommendation for clarifying the terminology." This distinction matters if the industry is to be properly regulated, the researchers say. Currently, only live microbial inoculants are defined in the U.S. Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act. By qualifying as plant inoculants, these products are exempt from FIFRA regulations, and there is no established policy to confirm that the organisms listed on the label are alive and present in the listed concentrations. "Labeling is processed at the state level," Sible explained. "While state-level registration requires a label guarantee and expiration dates, there are currently no established third-party testing programs to enforce company claims. "Furthermore, as each state has a unique process, the same product may be listed as a soil amendment in one state and as a plant inoculant in another." The researchers argue that federal regulations, aimed separately at biologicals and biostimulants, could also alleviate safety concerns specific to both product categories. Grouping both products under the same regulatory framework just doesn't make sense in terms of risk, Sible says. "Although all products, living or non-living, have their associated safety risks, the ability of microorganisms to mutate as they adapt to various environments, or if they are closely related to known pathogenic strains, warrants additional regulatory considerations compared to the non-living inputs that they are currently grouped with," he added. Although they are calling for more nuanced terminology and regulations, the researchers don't want to make it harder for industry to operate or for farmers to benefit from these products. They know, from their own trials and from farmers they meet during field days, that biologicals and biostimulants can absolutely move the needle on yield and quality at the farm gate. That's all the more reason, they say, to define a common language and regulatory landscape around them. "For this market and how fast it's growing, we need all of the perspectivesacademics, industry, and farmersto come together on these products," Below said. More information: Connor N. Sible et al, Biostimulant or biological? The complexity of defining, categorizing, and regulating microbial inoculants, Agricultural & Environmental Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1002/ael2.70027 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: Two ithomiine butterflies (left: Hypothyris anastasia, right: Hypoleria sarepta) at Yasuni National Park, Ecuador. Credit: University of Bristol Butterflies that independently evolved the same wing patterns have also evolved similar eyes and brains which are fine-tuned for vision in the shifting light of tropical rainforests, according to new research led by the University of Bristol published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences this week. Researchers spent two-and-a-half months in the depths of the Amazon rainforest, in one of the most biodiverse regions on EarthYasuni National Park in Ecuadormeasuring how light varies across the rainforest and linking this to where different species of clearwing butterflies live. The scientists, led by Dr. Benito Wainwright, former University of Bristol Ph.D. student and 1851 Royal Commission Research Fellow at the University of St Andrews, wanted to investigate whether differences in light under the canopy of the rainforest could have impacted the way the butterflies' eyes and brains evolved. The clearwing butterflies are also famous for their mimicry, with multiple species independently evolving the same bold wing patterns to warn predators that they are toxic. Dr. Wainwright describes this as a 'mutualism," where both parties benefit. The research team hoped to gain insight into the consequences this mimicry has on how the clearwing butterfly's senses evolved. Credit: University of Bristol Dr. Wainwright said, "We discovered that distantly related butterfly species living in the same pockets of rainforest light have evolved remarkably similar visual systemsboth their eyes and their brains. Not only that, butterflies that mimic each other's warning colors tend to live in the same lighting environments, likely enhancing their shared warning signal to predators. "This shared lifestyle has a powerful knock-on effectwe found that it also shapes how their senses evolve. In other words, species that look alike to scare predators also share similar eyes and brains, and likely see the world in similar ways. This is an astounding example of how mutualisms between species can have a profound impact on steering the course of evolution." Same image at 1 but more illustrated to include images of rainforest light variation and 3D renders of the eye and brain superimposed on top. Credit: University of Bristol The research uses the example of tropical butterflies to provide insight into how tropical rainforest communities come together, and how these relationships shape the way animals see the world around them. By improving our understanding of the factors driving biological diversity, the team hope it will enable better protection of these habitats and predict how they might cope with new environmental challenges. Light microhabitat segregation among ithomiine butterfly mimicry rings. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2422397122 Dr. Wainwright added, "We are really interested in how changes in the eye and brain match up with changes at the genetic level, and how all these shifts influence the behavior of these butterflies in the wild. Connecting these dots, we can build a more complete picture of how subtle environmental changes can shape the evolution of animal senses." More information: J. Benito Wainwright et al, Mutualisms within light microhabitats are associated with sensory convergence in a mimetic butterfly community, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2422397122 Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Hypothesised interactions between white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), moose (Alces alces), and shared parasites (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis, Fascioloides magna) that use deer as primary hosts and incidentally infect moose. Credit: Ecology Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1111/ele.70159 Wildlife managers have speculated on why New York's moose populations have failed to grow beyond 600 to 800 individuals, while moose numbers in other states are much higher. Now, a new study published in June in Ecology Letters has uncovered one reason: deer in the Adirondacks are spreading deadly parasites to moose. Two types of parasites that often use deer as hosts, but rarely lead to illness in them, are much more problematic in moose, where they can cause many symptoms and be fatal. The finding points toward reducing the number of deer in the area as perhaps the best option to curb the parasites and help moose populations grow in the future. That's because controlling the parasites themselves may not be possible, the researchers said. "We might think of moose as being the stronger competitor compared to deer, because they can reach higher in the canopy and they're better suited to snowy, cold conditions," said Jennifer Grauer, Ph.D. '24, a postdoctoral associate in the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and the study's corresponding author. "But this research really flips that idea. We saw that deer are actually winning in this competitive interaction, not by fighting or outcompeting them for resources, but by spreading these parasites that moose are not as good at handling." One parasite, called a brain or meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis), creates neurological damage in moose. Symptoms include paralysis, blindness and disorientation, all of which can lead to death. Deer are the natural hosts. The other, called giant liver fluke (Fascioloides magna), is a flatworm that causes severe liver damage and increased mortality in moose. Natural hosts include deer, elk and caribou. Both parasites have complicated life cycles. They reproduce in their natural hosts, are passed into the environment through feces and have stages in intermediate hosts: snails and slugs for brain worm and aquatic snails for giant liver fluke. The parasites spread when new hosts eat snails, slugs or infected wetland vegetation when they forage. While both parasites can infect moose, they typically fail to reproduce in moose as they do in deer. Neither of these parasites infects humans. In the study, the researchers set up remote cameras in a 1,500-square-mile study area in the northern Adirondacks and monitored them for two years, to understand how many deer and moose were there and their locations. They also sampled deer pellets in these areas and analyzed them to gauge the prevalence of each parasite. The team then created a statistical model that produced maps of where parasites, deer and moose were most abundant and tested how moose were responding to both the deer and parasites. "We saw that moose weren't really responding to the densities of deer in an area, but dramatically shifted what areas they used depending on parasite abundances," Grauer said. Due to habitat loss, moose were missing from New York state for over 100 years prior to the 1980s, when they naturally returned from neighboring states and Canada. "They have increased in numbers since then, but they haven't rebounded the way people had expected and are still at lower numbers and densities than we see in other northeastern states," Grauer said. More information: Jennifer A. Grauer et al, ParasiteMediated Competition Limits Dominant Cervid Competitor, Ecology Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1111/ele.70159 Journal information: Ecology Letters This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain EU researchers are shedding light on how digital media use is impacting teenagers and what parents, teachers and policymakers can do about it. In today's world, the line between online and offline is increasingly being blurred, especially for children and teens. Navigating this space safely can be a challenge. Klavdija Berginc, a math and computer science teacher at a primary school in Kobarid, Slovenia, has witnessed this struggle up close over more than a decade in the classroom. "I remember a 12-year-old student who simply couldn't function without a screen," she said. "He demanded screentime as a reward for everythingfrom studying for a few minutes to visiting the dentist." Young people today use the internet more than ever, with social media becoming central to how they connect and express themselves. Understanding how this impacts their mental health is becoming increasingly urgent. "We need to teach young people to use smart devices in a smart way," said Berginc. "And help them take more responsibility for their actions online." A question of balance Berginc's pupils are taking part in a large-scale EU-funded study called MIMIc, which is investigating the role of digital media in the lives of adolescents. Thousands of teens in Belgium, France and Slovenia took part in the study, which will conclude in December 2025. "Our goal was to understand if young people can grow up in a digital world, while maintaining a healthy balance," said study coordinator Laura Vandenbosch, an associate professor at the University of Leuven (KU Leuven) in Belgium and director of the KU Leuven Media Psychology Lab. The MIMIc researchers examined how teens interact with platforms like Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat, what they post and consume, as well as how it affects their mood, self-image and views on the world. "We also looked at content posted by the influencers popular with adolescentsand the political and ethical opinions they express," said Vandenbosch. The researchers analyzed extensive online content, from music lyrics to Instagram posts by celebrities, influencers and athletes. "At the end of the day, these influencers are opinion makers," she said. "They're not just promoting beauty tips or shopping habitsthey're selling moral values and identity to audiences who are at a vulnerable stage of life." Digital influence, real consequences Such exposure can play a key role during a child's developmental phase, according to Vandenbosch. "Adolescents are still finding their own identity, and they are very vulnerable to the influence of their peersoffline and online." The study confirms that social media can significantly influence how teens feel about themselves, especially their appearance and sense of self-worth. "We see direct links between social media use and emotional well-being," said Vandenbosch. Regularly viewing idealized images online can lead to an increased pressure to be perfectin the eyes of peers and parents alike. However, the researchers also revealed positive effects. For instance, teens exposed to body-positive images reported feeling better about their bodies. But these benefits, like the negative impacts, did not apply to all respondents equally. Managing reactions Learning how to manage negative reactions to social media exposure is important. Thankfully, there are skills that can be learned. The researchers found that if adolescents can stop and reflect when they encounter negative emotions while using social media and then take action to alleviate these feelings, they are much more protected. "Being aware of the impact of social media is not enough," said Vandenbosch. "You need to take action and, for instance, stop scrolling, stop posting, go outside, or call a friend." The negative impact of social media exposure is especially strong at the time of use. "The effects we studied were particularly intense over a short period, but since teens are almost always online, even short-term impacts matter," Vandenbosch said. 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 role of parents Much depends on the child's environment, especially the role of parents. "Children whose parents have strong media literacy skills tend to fare better online," said Vandenbosch. Berginc agrees. "We try to engage parents, but many don't acknowledge that their child might have a problem. They often don't monitor their child's online activity or put enough effort into learning about internet use." Her advice? Open dialog is key. "Children need to hear that what they see online is only the best part of someone's life. They should still value their own lives, even with all their flaws." It is crucial that parents talk to their children about the online world, but the responsibility should not rest solely with them, said Vandenbosch. "Online platforms and policymakers must step up, too." Toward safer platforms The findings of the MIMIc research team offer valuable insights for developing smarter prevention and intervention strategies. "We now know which teens are most vulnerable and when they're most at risk," said Vandenbosch. "This gives us a solid foundation to push platforms to take protective measures." Vandenbosch sees a lot of value in the EU's Digital Services Act, as well as the European strategy for a Better Internet for Kids, adopted in May 2022. The latter outlines a vision for a "Digital Decade" that protects children from harmful content, promotes digital empowerment and prioritizes safe, age-appropriate design for online platforms. She is hoping that the European Commission will take on board the MIMIc research findings and consider further measures to make the internet safer for children. In particular, they recommend better enforcement of the 13-year age limit for social media use. Vandenbosch would also like researchers and child protection experts to have greater oversight over new features, such as AI chatbots, introduced on social media platforms. "We should use this research to advance media literacy in Europe," she said. Vandenbosch is proud that the MIMIc study will be presented at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan. There, it will be part of the Commission's showcase of EU-funded research, demonstrating Europe's commitment to tackling societal challenges through science and innovation. "It's fantastic that people around the world can learn from our findings," she said. "Awareness is very important in empowering and protecting children online." "Our aim was always to improve children's well-being," she said. "The more people who hear our message, the better we can protect the next generation online." 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: While it's just a fragment now, the femur is thought to have been about 27 centimeters long during the silesaur's life. This is almost double the length of the femurs from silesaurs found in the same region. Credit: Aimee Mcardle and Kevin Webb (NHM Image Resources) An ancient leg bone uncovered in Africa might provide a step forward in understanding how dinosaurs and their close relatives evolved. The 225-million-year-old fossil adds to growing evidence that an enigmatic group of reptiles known as the silesaurs played a bigger-than-expected role during the Triassic Period. The overlooked fossil of an extinct reptile suggests that the size of the first dinosaurs might have been underestimated. In 1963, a prehistoric leg bone was uncovered by a team of British scientists in what is now Zambia. While it wasn't known at the time, the fossil femur they found was one of the first silesaur bones known to science. Debate on the exact identity of silesaurs continues, but they're believed to be either an early group of dinosaurs or the dinosaurs' closest relatives. This means that the ancient reptiles can be used to offer new clues about the ancestors of dinosaurs. Jack Lovegrove, a Ph.D. student who led new research into the Zambian femur, says that it provides additional evidence suggesting that early dinosaurs might have shrunk over time rather than starting out as small as was previously thought. "Some fragmentary fossils from the silesaurids and a group of early dinosaurs called the herrerasaurids suggest that these animals could grow much bigger than more complete remains suggest," Lovegrove says. "As more large animals are found close to the origin of dinosaurs, it raises the possibility that the first dinosaur was bigger than we predicted." "If this is the case, then some groups of dinosaurs would have actually gotten smaller across the late Triassic. Finding more silesaur fossils could help us to figure out how they are related to early dinosaurs and confirm the existence of these size trends." The findings of the study were published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. What are silesaurs? Silesaurs are a group of dinosaur-like reptiles that lived during the Triassic between 240 to 200 million years ago. Despite the ancient age of these animals, they were only recognized as a distinct group in 2010. The best-known species is Silesaurus, which gives the larger group its name. This animal was about two meters long and had beak-like jaws that might have allowed it to eat insects or plants. At the time of their discovery, silesaurs were initially assumed to be a sister group to dinosaurs. But subsequent research now suggests that silesaurs are actually early dinosaurs. The toothless tip of their lower jaw has been used as evidence to link them to the ornithischians, a major dinosaur group which later included animals like Stegosaurus and Triceratops. Settling this debate has been difficult because the remains of these animals are generally fragmentary and so difficult to place on a family tree. Scientists are now hunting for new fossils to improve their understanding of these animals. As well as searching for new discoveries out in the field, researchers have also been looking at fossils in museums. The leg bone in the current study had been kept at the Natural History Museum for more than 50 years before its significance was realized in the 2010s. "This fossil was discovered on an expedition to what are now Zambia and Tanzania in the early 1960s," Lovegrove explains. "The researchers were mainly interested in studying mammal-like reptiles such as the dicynodonts and cynodonts but also found a variety of other fossils." "As the fossil wasn't what they were focusing on, it hadn't been studied until one of my co-authors, Brandon, came across it. This shows how important museum collections are at preserving specimens whose importance can be appreciated by future generations." Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. A step change for the silesaurids The Triassic rocks of Zambia are rich in the remains of silesaurs. To date, there is a single named species from the country, Lutungutali sitwesis, but dozens of different unidentified silesaur femur fossils have also been discovered. Many of these fossils are about 15 centimeters in length, but the largest measures more than twice that. The different sizes of leg bone could represent Lutungutali at different ages or multiple species all living alongside each other. While the study can't conclusively rule one way or the other, the growth patterns recorded in the bone cared for by the Natural History Museum are different from other specimens discovered in the same region. This hints that a variety of silesaur species were all living at the same time, but scientists will need more fossils before they can confidently name them. "It's historically been assumed that there was just one silesaurid per area in the past," adds Lovegrove. "As a result, fossils from different species might have been lumped together." "This could explain the uncertainty we find when we try to understand how silesaurids relate to other animals. New datasets will be important to untangle these evolutionary relationships and work out what's really going on." The presence of a large silesaur in the region changes our understanding of ecosystems during the Triassic. While these animals were thought to be a small part of dicynodont-dominated landscapes, it's possible silesaurids might actually have ruled the roost. "The size of the bone we've studied, as well as others from this formation, suggest that silesaurids might have been the largest herbivores in some parts of the world at this point in the Triassic," Lovegrove explains. "The biggest silesaurids were probably taller and longer than the dicynodonts, even if they were lighter." "It suggests they probably had a much greater impact on the ecosystem than we've realized, especially as they are the most common archosaur found in this region." While silesaurids remain poorly understood for now, our knowledge of these reptiles is rapidly expanding. As paleontologists dig deeper into these animals, they come closer to settling the origins of the silesaurids and the dinosaurs once and for all. More information: Jack Lovegrove et al, A new large 'silesaur' specimen from the ?Late Triassic of Zambia; taxonomic, ecological and evolutionary implications, Royal Society Open Science (2025). DOI: 10.1098/rsos.250762 Journal information: Royal Society Open Science This story is republished courtesy of Natural History Museum. Read the original story here. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Top left: The general area of the US and Coweeta (green dot). Top right: The Coweeta basin and sub-basins used in this study are outlined and numbered along with the associated rain gauges. Bottom left: Detailed aspect map of the two watershed pairs. Credit: Journal of Hydrology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133704 Clear-cutting can make catastrophic floods 18 times more frequent with effects lasting more than 40 years, according to a new UBC study. In one watershed, these extreme floods also became more than twice as large, turning a once-in-70-years event into something that now happens every nine years. "This research challenges conventional thinking about forest management's impact on flooding," said senior author Dr. Younes Alila, a hydrologist in the UBC faculty of forestry. "We hope the industry and policymakers will take note of the findings, which show that it matters not only how much forest you remove but also where, how and under what conditions." Same treatment, different floods The UBC-led study draws on one of the world's longest-running forest experiments at the Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory in North Carolina and is published in the Journal of Hydrology. The research team analyzed two adjacent watersheds, one north-facing, the other south-facing, that were both clear-cut in the late 1950s. "We found seemingly minor landscape factorslike the direction a slope facescan make or break a watershed's response to treatment," said first author Henry Pham, a doctoral student in the faculty of forestry. In the north-facing watershed, which receives less direct sunlight and retains more moisture, floods became four to 18 times more frequent. Average flood sizes increased by 47% compared to pre-treatment levels, and the biggest floods grew by as much as 105%. In the south-facing watershed, the same treatment had virtually no impact on flood behavior. Old flood models inadequate Most conventional flood models use simplified assumptions: cut X percent of trees, expect Y percent more water runoff. But this study found that such models fail to account for extreme and erratic flood patterns that emerge after landscape disturbances. "This experimental evidence validates our longstanding call for better analysis methods," said Dr. Alila. "When we apply proper probabilistic tools to long-term data, we find much stronger and more variable impacts than older models suggest." In short, he adds, forest treatments don't just raise average flood levelsthey can fundamentally reshape a watershed's entire flood regime, making rare and catastrophic events much more common. The most concerning finding was that flood effects in the north-facing watershed persisted for over 40 years, confirming that forestry treatments can lead to long-term changes in a watershed's flood response, especially as climate change brings more extreme weather, putting downstream communities at greater risk. Policy implications The findings have immediate relevance for forest management practices, particularly in B.C. where there are similar terrain types and forestry operations in the form of clear-cut logging. Dr. Alila noted that the model used in this study can be used to predict which parts of B.C. are currently more at risk of extreme flooding. It can also be used to investigate how much of the severity of the Sumas Prairie floods in 2021 and the more recent Texas floods can be attributed to global warming and/or land use and forest cover changes. "Our findings highlight how multiple landscape factors interact in complex ways. As climate conditions shift, understanding those dynamics is becoming increasingly important for forest and water management." More information: Henry C. Pham et al, Stochastic framework reveals the controls of forest treatment peakflow causal relations in rain environment, Journal of Hydrology (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133704 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: Pink pigeons feeding. Credit: Carl Jones Gene editing technologiessuch as those used in agriculture and de-extinction projectscan be repurposed to offer what an international team of scientists is calling a transformative solution for restoring genetic diversity and saving endangered species. In a new Nature Reviews Biodiversity Perspective article, "Genome engineering in biodiversity conservation and restoration," the authors explore the promises, challenges and ethical considerations of genome engineering, and propose an approach for its implementation into biodiversity conservation. They argue that gene editing could recover lost genetic diversity in species at risk of extinction using historical samples, such as DNA from museum collections, biobanks and related species. The multidisciplinary team of conservation geneticists and biotechnologists is co-led by Prof Cock van Oosterhout at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and Dr. Stephen Turner from Colossal Biosciences, in collaboration with the Colossal Foundation, the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (University of Kent), Globe Institute (University of Copenhagen), Mauritius Wildlife Foundation (MWF), the Mauritius National Parks and Conservation Service (NPCS), and Durrell Wildlife Trust. "We're facing the fastest environmental change in Earth's history, and many species have lost the genetic variation needed to adapt and survive," said Prof van Oosterhout. "Gene engineering provides a way to restore that variation, whether it's reintroducing DNA variation that has been lost from immune-system genes that we can retrieve from museum specimens or borrowing climate-tolerance genes from closely related species. "To ensure the long-term survival of threatened species, we argue that it is essential to embrace new technological advances alongside traditional conservation approaches." Baby pink pigeon. Credit: Jim Groombridge Conservation successes such as captive breeding and habitat protection often focus on boosting population numbers but do little to replenish the gene variants lost when a species' numbers crash. As populations rebound, they can remain trapped with a diminished genetic variation and a high load of harmful mutations, a phenomenon known as genomic erosion. Without intervention, species that recovered from a population crash may remain genetically compromised, with reduced resilience to future threats like new diseases or shifting climates. One example of this is the pink pigeon, whose population has been brought back from the brink of extinctionfrom about 10 individuals to a population now of more than 600 birdsby decades of captive-breeding and reintroduction efforts in Mauritius. 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. Several of the authors have studied the pigeon's genetics to reveal that, despite its recovery, it continues to experience substantial genomic erosion and is likely to go extinct in the next 50 to 100 years. The next challenge is to restore the genetic diversity it has lost, enabling it to adapt to future environmental changegenome engineering could make this possible. The technology is already common in agriculture: crops resistant to pests and drought cover millions of hectares worldwide. More recently, announcements of plans to bring extinct species back to life have further highlighted its potential. "The same technological advances that allow us to introduce genes of mammoths into the genome of an elephant can be harnessed to rescue species teetering on the brink of extinction," said Dr. Beth Shapiro, Chief Science Officer at Colossal Biosciences. "It is our responsibility to reduce the extinction risk faced today by thousands of species." Pink pigeon squab. Credit: Carl Jones The scientists outline three key applications for gene editing in conservation: Restoring lost variationbringing back genetic diversity that has been lost from the gene pool of the modern populations of threatened species, using DNA from samples of the species collected decades or even centuries ago, which are stored in natural history museums all over the world. Facilitated adaptationintroducing genes from related, better-adapted species to confer traits like heat tolerance or pathogen resistance, equipping threatened species to adapt to rapid environmental change. Reducing harmful mutationspopulations that have previously crashed in numbers often carry harmful mutations that have become fixed by chance, so targeted gene edits could replace these mutations with the healthy variant from before the population crash, with the potential to improve fertility, survival rates, and overall health. They also address the risks, such as off-target genetic modifications and unintentional further reductions in genetic diversity, cautioning that the approaches remain experimental. The need for phased, small-scale trials, and rigorous long-term monitoring of evolutionary and ecological impacts is emphasized, as well as robust engagement with local communities, indigenous groups and the wider public, before broader implementation. The authors stress that genetic interventions must complement, not replace, habitat restoration and traditional conservation actions. "Biodiversity faces unprecedented threats that demand unprecedented solutions," said Associate Professor Hernan Morales of the Globe Institute. "Genome editing is not a replacement for species protection and will never be a magical fixits role must be carefully evaluated alongside established conservation strategies as part of a broader, integrated approach with species protection as a guiding principle." Biotech-driven initiatives could also attract new investors and expertise, potentially creating new benefits for existing endangered species programs. More information: Cock van Oosterhout et al, Genome engineering in biodiversity conservation and restoration, Nature Reviews Biodiversity (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s44358-025-00065-6 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: This image from video provided by the Newcastle Fertility Centre shows a nuclear genome from an egg carrying a mitochondrial DNA mutation being inserted into an egg donated by an unaffected woman. Credit: Newcastle Fertility Centre, Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust via AP Eight healthy babies were born in Britain with the help of an experimental technique that uses DNA from three people to help mothers avoid passing devastating rare diseases to their children, researchers reported Wednesday. Most DNA is found in the nucleus of our cells, and it's that genetic materialsome inherited from mom, some from dadthat makes us who we are. But there's also some DNA outside of the cell's nucleus, in structures called mitochondria. Dangerous mutations there can cause a range of diseases in children that can lead to muscle weakness, seizures, developmental delays, major organ failure and death. Testing during the in vitro fertilization process can usually identify whether these mutations are present. But in rare cases, it's not clear. Researchers have been developing a technique that tries to avoid the problem by using the healthy mitochondria from a donor egg. They reported in 2023 that the first babies had been born using this method, where scientists take genetic material from the mother's egg or embryo, which is then transferred into a donor egg or embryo that has healthy mitochondria but the rest of its key DNA removed. The latest research "marks an important milestone," said Dr. Zev Williams, who directs the Columbia University Fertility Center and was not involved in the work. "Expanding the range of reproductive options will empower more couples to pursue safe and healthy pregnancies." In this photo provided by the Lily Foundation, Dave Merritt and Liz Curtis, of England, hold their daughter, Lily, who died of a mitochondrial disease in 2006 at 8-months old. Credit: Lily Foundation via AP Using this method means the embryo has DNA from three peoplefrom the mother's egg, the father's sperm and the donor's mitochondriaand it required a 2016 U.K. law change to approve it. It is also allowed in Australia but not in many other countries, including the U.S. Experts at Britain's Newcastle University and Monash University in Australia reported in the New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday that they performed the new technique in fertilized embryos from 22 patients, which resulted in eight babies that appear to be free of mitochondrial diseases. One woman is still pregnant. One of the eight babies born had slightly higher than expected levels of abnormal mitochondria, said Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell and developmental genetics scientist at the Francis Crick Institute who was not involved in the research. He said it was still not considered a high enough level to cause disease, but should be monitored as the baby develops. Dr. Andy Greenfield, a reproductive health expert at the University of Oxford, called the work "a triumph of scientific innovation," and said the method of exchanging mitochondria would only be used for a small number of women for whom other ways of avoiding passing on genetic diseases, like testing embryos at an early stage, was not effective. In this photo provided by the Lily Foundation, Rosie and Katie Merritt, of England, hold their sister, Lily, who died of a mitochondrial disease in 2006 at 8-months old. Credit: Lily Foundation via AP Lovell-Badge said the amount of DNA from the donor is insignificant, noting that any resulting child would have no traits from the woman who donated the healthy mitochondria. The genetic material from the donated egg makes up less than 1% of the baby born after this technique. 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. "If you had a bone marrow transplant from a donor you will have much more DNA from another person," he said. In the U.K., every couple seeking a baby born through donated mitochondria must be approved by the country's fertility regulator. As of this month, 35 patients have been authorized to undergo the technique. Critics have previously raised concerns, warning that it's impossible to know the impact these sorts of novel techniques might have on future generations. "Currently, pronuclear transfer is not permitted for clinical use in the U.S., largely due to regulatory restrictions on techniques that result in heritable changes to the embryo," Williams, of Columbia, said in an email. "Whether that will change remains uncertain and will depend on evolving scientific, ethical, and policy discussions." In this photo provided by the Lily Foundation, Liz Curtis, of England, holds her daughter, Lily, who died of a mitochondrial disease in 2006 at 8-months old. Credit: Lily Foundation via AP This photo provided by the Lily Foundation shows Liz Curtis' daughter, Lily, of England, who died of a mitochondrial disease in 2006 at 8-months old. Credit: Lily Foundation via AP For about a decade, Congress has included provisions in annual funding bills banning the Food and Drug Administration from accepting applications for clinical research involving techniques, "in which a human embryo is intentionally created or modified to include a heritable genetic modification." But in countries where the technique is allowed, advocates say it could provide a promising alternative for some families. Liz Curtis, whose daughter Lily died of a mitochondrial disease in 2006, now works with other families affected by them. She said it was devastating to be told there was no treatment for her eight-month-old baby and that death was inevitable. She said the diagnosis "turned our world upside down, and yet nobody could tell us very much about it, what it was or how it was going to affect Lily." Curtis later founded the Lily Foundation in her daughter's name to raise awareness and support research into the disease, including the latest work done at Newcastle University. "It's super exciting for families that don't have much hope in their lives," Curtis said. More information: Robert McFarland et al, Mitochondrial Donation in a Reproductive Care Pathway for mtDNA Disease, New England Journal of Medicine (2025). DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa2503658 Journal information: New England Journal of Medicine 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Measuring about the size of a human fingernail, frogs of the genus Dryadobates can easily go unnoticed by the human eye, but they play an important role in amphibian biodiversity. Credit: Taran Grant/IB-USP A group led by University of Sao Paulo (USP) researchers in Brazil has described a new genus of frogs, Dryadobates, also known as rocket frogs, which was previously considered a single species. The study was published in the Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. The researchers used techniques that allow the analysis of degraded DNA obtained from specimens preserved in alcohol or formalin and deposited in natural history collections. Adapted from techniques initially developed for ancient DNA studies, such as those of extinct hominids, historical DNA analysis (hDNA) techniques are having a significant impact on species discovery and the detection of recent extinctions. By comparing sections of the genome of museum animals with those of animals living in different parts of the Atlantic Forest, the authors concluded that the widely distributed species considered a single species is actually a much larger group of at least 12, possibly 16, species. The preserved frogs in museums actually belong to four species, three of which are likely extinct. The remaining eight species inhabit various regions of the Atlantic Forest in the states of Espirito Santo and Bahia. "It's a study that reveals both hidden diversity and hidden extinctions. It's wonderful that we can learn more about species at this level of detail, but very sad to know that others have already been lost and we didn't even know about them," says Taran Grant, a professor at the Institute of Biosciences (IB-USP) who coordinated the study. The work is part of the second phase of the project "A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Study of Amphibian Diversification". Measuring less than two centimeters in length, Allobates olfersioides was first described a century ago by Adolpho Lutz (18551940), a public health physician who also conducted natural history studies based on specimens from the coast of Rio de Janeiro. In 1967, zoologist Werner Bokermann (19291995) described three new species that were very similar but lived in different locations. These species were Allobates alagoanus in the state of Alagoas, Allobates capixaba in Espirito Santo, and Allobates carioca in another location in Rio de Janeiro. However, in 2007, as part of a project, Vanessa Verdade, who was a master's student at the time and is now a professor at the Federal University of ABC (UFABC), and Professor Miguel Trefaut Rodrigues from IB-USP analyzed 880 specimens from 29 locations in the Atlantic Forest. They concluded that there were not enough morphological differences to classify the species as distinct. They were all then grouped into a single species, Allobates olfersioides, which was first described by Lutz. However, there was one problem. It was no longer possible to find specimens in the locations where he and Bokermann had initially collected the animals. The recently published study, also signed by Verdade and Rodrigues, points out that these were not populations of the same species, as was previously thought, but rather, different species that are likely extinct. For example, no individuals of A. olfersioides have been found since 1981. This species was probably endemic to the Angra dos Reis region in Rio de Janeiro. Dryadobates alagoanus adult male in life (an individual in the series CHUFPE 18171823): A, dorsal view; B, ventral view. Photographs: Marcos Dubeux. Credit: Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (2025). DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.472.1.1.full The differences between the Allobates of the Amazon and the frogs of the Atlantic Forest justified the creation of a new genus, Dryadobates, for the latter. The three species originally described by Bokermann were reclassified under the new genus. Two of the eight new species were named in honor of the two pioneers who studied the group: Dryadobates lutzi and Dryadobates bokermanni. Both species are found in southern Bahia. The group is still searching for more specimens and evidence that will allow for robust differentiation of the other six species from a genetic, bioacoustics (animal sound), and morphological perspective. 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. Conservation "The fact that there are several species rather than one widely distributed species changes everything. Since the Atlantic Forest is highly fragmented and very susceptible to habitat loss, each species may be facing different problems, which require specific actions for each one," Grant warns. Due to its presumed wide distribution, Allobates olfersioides is still classified as "least concern" on the Red List of Endangered Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the leading reference for the conservation status of species worldwide. However, in its latest version from 2018, the Brazilian list of endangered species classifies the species as "vulnerable" while recognizing A. alagoanus and A. capixaba as valid, albeit with "data deficient" status. There is no mention of A. carioca, and classifications vary across state lists. The recently published study points out that D. capixaba, D. carioca, and D. olfersioides appear to be extinct. In contrast, D. alagoanus, D. bokermanni, and D. lutzi are abundant in multiple locations with no evidence of decline. According to the IUCN criteria, this classification places the latter three species as "least concern" for extinction. These species thrive not only in forests but also in cabrucas, which are woods used to shade cocoa plantations. "However, the fact that 25% of the known species of this genus have become extinct in the last 50 years is alarming and suggests that even those species that could be classified as of least concern should be carefully monitored," Grant cautions. Of the six unclassified species, four are locally abundant but are only known from one location each. The other two species are known from only a few specimens, also from a single location each. "Fieldwork is being done to collect and classify these species, but we need specimens of different sexes and stages [adults, juveniles, tadpoles], as well as to search in new locations to ensure a robust classification," says the researcher. Grant also says that it is necessary to determine whether the populations that appear to be extinct in Santa Teresa (Espirito Santo) and Tijuca National Park (Rio de Janeiro) are of species that have already been described or of other species. If the latter is true, six species would be considered extinct, accounting for 40% of the Dryadobates genus. There is hope because large areas of the Atlantic Forest in Rio de Janeiro, Espirito Santo, and Bahia have not yet been sampled by the researchers. This opens up the possibility that new species of the genus may still be discovered. More information: Museomics and the Systematics of the Atlantic Forest Nurse Frogs (Dendrobatoidea: Aromobatidae: Allobatinae), Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (2025). DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.472.1.1.full Provided by FAPESP This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain The use of social media is contributing to declining attention spans, emotional volatility, and compulsive behaviors among young people, according to a new report by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Singapore-based research agency Research Network, in collaboration with U.S.-based AI platform ListenLabs.ai. The study, conducted across Singapore and Australia, surveyed 583 young people aged 13 to 25, and their parents. It found that prolonged social media use is associated with difficulties in sustaining focus, increased emotional fatigue, and behaviors resembling addiction. This research comes at a time when policymakers across the United States and Europe are scrutinizing the broader effects of social media on public health and national security, especially in relation to platforms such as TikTok. Lead investigator of the study, Professor Gemma Calvert, a neuroscientist from the Nanyang Center for Marketing Technologies (NCMT) at NTU Singapore's Nanyang Business School said, "With global discussions about the impact of platforms like TikTok happening now, our findings provide crucial evidence of the real-world effects on young minds. "The challenges revealed in our study are not just individual issues but societal concerns that warrant attention from everyone, including policymakers, educators and tech companies." Addiction-like patterns and academic risks The study found that 68% of youth participants reported difficulty focusing, while many described struggling to complete schoolwork or engage with content lasting more than a minute. One teen said, "TikTok has made my attention span so low that I can't even watch a one-minute video." "The brain is being trained to seek constant novelty and instant rewards through dopamine-driven feedback loops," explained Prof Calvert. "Over time, this reduces our ability to focus or engage in deep thinking. It mirrors patterns seen in addiction, where more stimulation is needed to feel satisfied." The findings provide crucial subjective experience data, complementing earlier brain imaging studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), which shows that social media triggers the brain's dopamine reward system in ways that mimic addiction. Comparative results between Singapore and Australia also revealed distinct differences in opinions: Singaporean youth credited in-school phone restrictions by the Ministry of Education for curbing compulsive use, while many Australian teens expressed concern over the lack of similar boundaries or guidance. James Breeze, Chief Executive of Research Network and co-author of the report, said, "It's time for the platforms and device makers who built the attention economy to take responsibility for redesigning it with user well-being at the core. We must move beyond cosmetic features like screen-time limits that are easily bypassed and stop designing to monetize attention. It's time to design to restore it, especially for the generation born into the scroll." "We need default-on safeguards embedded in social platforms, such as scroll breaks, time-use cues, social comparison prompts, and attention-aware interface design, to help young users pause, reflect, and choose more intentionally. These aren't constraints, they are ways to return attention to its rightful owner. "The science exists, but what's missing is the will to act, through leadership or regulation. We must design for awareness, not dependence, so young people can reclaim their focus in a system that profits from distraction," added Breeze, who is also an educator and behavioral researcher. 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. How the research was done with AI The study was conducted using ListenLabs.ai, an AI-powered interviewing platform backed by Sequoia Capital, the venture firm behind companies such as Apple and Google. Unlike traditional surveys, this approach enabled natural, voice-recorded responses to text-based prompts, resulting in richer and more authentic insights. In just two days, the research team gathered and analyzed anonymized, open-ended responses from a diverse participant base. Using AI to detect emotional tone and behavioral patterns, the platform generated deep insights into emerging social trends, turning the usual six months of manual analysis into just two days. Key findings from the study include: Shrinking Attention Spans: 68% of young respondents said social media harms their ability to focus, with many struggling to complete schoolwork or engage with content longer than a minute. Short-form videos are reshaping how they process information, with implications for learning and retention. Addiction-Like Use: Many described their habits as compulsive, with one saying, "It's like the apps are made to keep you hooked." These behaviors mirror addictive patterns and raise regulatory concerns, especially around platforms like TikTok. Academic Strain: Reduced attention is affecting school performance. Several admitted difficulty focusing without reaching for their phones, putting learning and future workforce readiness at risk. Worries About the Future: 65% believe their current digital habits could hurt their ability to study or work later in life, highlighting the long-term risks of unmoderated social media use. Parental Concerns: 60% of parents expressed high concern about social media's impact on their children's behavior, attention, and emotional health, echoing wider calls for platform accountability. The research was inspired by Ella Carnegie-Brown, a 19-year-old intern at Research Network, who observed growing concern among her peers about their compulsive social media habits, which were increasingly affecting their studies and real-life social connections. "As a Gen Z-er myself, I believe it's vital to raise awareness and deepen our understanding of how social media is not only shaping our daily lives, but also influencing our futures," said Carnegie-Brown, who added that the study gave her generation "a voice to express the emotional toll" and "the uncertainty" they feel. The full study will be made available soon to education policymakers, schools, and technology stakeholders in both Singapore and Australia, with plans underway for follow-up research to track attention and emotional health trends across a longer period. Chinese defense ministry slams Japan's "China threat" hype Xinhua) 16:58, July 16, 2025 BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese defense spokesperson on Wednesday voiced strong opposition to Japan's hyping of the so-called "China threat" and its interference in China's internal affairs. Jiang Bin, a spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, made the remarks in response to a media inquiry about Japan's 2025 defense white paper released recently. The white paper continued to refer to China as "the unprecedented biggest strategic threat to Japan," claimed that China had "unilaterally attempted to change the status quo by force," and made irresponsible comments on the Taiwan question. Jiang noted that Japanese militarism caused great suffering to China and its neighboring Asian countries. Unfortunately, instead of reflecting on such wrongdoings, Japan again exhibits a dangerous trend of building up its military by increasing its defense budget, lifting restrictions on weapons exports, and forming military cliques to engage in bloc confrontation. Even more, it has clamored for amending its "Three Non-Nuclear Principles" from time to time. These actions gravely contravene Japan's pacifist constitution and its exclusively defense-oriented policy, severely undermining the post-war international order and posing serious challenges to the peace and tranquility of the Asia-Pacific region, said Jiang. He added that Japan's neighboring countries in Asia, as well as the international community, are alerted and concerned about these actions. Jiang said that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the World Anti-Fascist War, as well as the 80th anniversary of the recovery of Taiwan. Taiwan's return to China in 1945 is a victorious outcome of WWII and an integral part of the post-war international order, said Jiang. He urged the Japanese side to reflect on the lessons of history, truly abide by the spirit of the four China-Japan political documents and their commitments regarding the Taiwan question, and advance the healthy and stable development of China-Japan relations with concrete measures. (Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Zhong Wenxing) The IART Facility will provide critically needed skill and resiliency training for both new and incumbent workers in the Energy, Utility, Digital/AI and other Critical Infrastructure. PITTSBURGH, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today at the Pennsylvania Energy and Innovation Summit hosted by Senator David McCormick at Carnegie Mellon University, the Energy Innovation Center Institute (EICI) announced the next phase of its highly successful Infrastructure Academy, the development of the initial Infrastructure Academy Regional Training (IART) Facility. The construction of this groundbreaking workforce and resiliency center in Southwestern Pennsylvania is expected to be the first of a group of such facilities throughout the US. With an estimated budget of up to $135 Million (built in phases) for the first location, it is estimated that it will serve as a model for as many as 15 facilities built strategically across the US at a total estimated investment of $2.1 billion. The EICI's Infrastructure Academy is part of EICI's larger workforce programming which together have already trained over 5,300 individuals with 86% of graduates placed in full-time jobs - plus upskilling, safety, and OQ (Operator Qualification) training for 1,800 incumbent workers in energy, utilities, and critical infrastructure sectors. Set to be constructed in Southwestern Pennsylvania and service the tri-state region of Western Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, and West Virginia, the IART Facility will be the nation's first integrated training and operational site for the future of energy, utility, critical infrastructure, microgrids, on-site power generation, AI data centers, and AI-enabled workforce training. It has been designed to include: Full suite of classrooms, labs, lineman yards, confined space simulation, and pipeline safety labs, pole and high voltage yards, leak towns, equipment yards, 811 and rescue safety systems A live operating Microgrid that deploys natural gas, renewables, BESS, and SMR (simulation) Training, integrated logic and curriculum development for critical onsite "always-on" power systems with blended power and fuel stacks A modular AI data center will be powered by a mixed fuel microgrid. It will be the first operationally integrated onsite power system, AC/DC, and liquid cooling system testbed for rapid commercialization, curriculum development, and training. Cybersecurity, OT/IT grid integration, and AI-augmented skilled trades training An innovative component of IART is the creation of the Resiliency Institute, that will apply nuclear-industry-grade fault analysis to optimize resiliency in modern distributed energy systemswithout relying on high-cost, brute-force full system redundancy. "A skilled and prepared workforce is key to ensuring Americans energy and infrastructure dominance. EICI's IART facility is the first-of-its-kind skilled trade training facility to combine utility, critical infrastructure, on-site power, AI, and nuclear fault modeling into a single, operational training environment," said Rich DiClaudio, President and CEO of EICI. "We're fusing disciplines that were once siloedbecause the future workforce must be cross-trained in the challenges of on-site "all-of-the-above" power stacks, resilience, cybersecurity, and AI." Already supported by 21 employer, trade groups, and utility partnersincluding founding partner Peoples Natural Gasthe IART Facility is designed to serve the tri-state region of Western PA, Eastern OH and West Virginia and will act as a national model for critical and digital infrastructure workforce development. The project is designed to deliver a high return on public investment: Projected to generate 7,350+ jobs Estimated to boost regional GDP by $944 million Reduces duplicative spending across dozens of utilities and public-sector workforce development programs EICI's model blends merit-based recruitment, especially from disadvantaged and veteran communities, with hands-on technical training aligned to the needs of the energy, utility, and infrastructure industries. "This won't be just another training center," Mike Huwar, President of Peoples Natural Gas, said. "It's the future of how we build and protect America's most important energy and power systemswith the workforce leading, not lagging, the technology." Media Contact: Rich DiClaudio, President and CEO [email protected] 412.613.6538 About EICI: Initially founded to help design and ramp up the eco-system of the 200,000 sq. ft. Energy Innovation Center, the Energy Innovation Center Institute is a nonprofit energy and infrastructure workforce and innovation hub based in Pittsburgh, PA, with a mission to break cycles of poverty at scale by strengthening America's energy and critical infrastructure dominance through real-world, high-skill career training and national-scale employer partnerships. To date they have trained 5,300 people and their employed graduates have earn $64 million in aggregate compensation. SOURCE Energy Innovation Center Institute This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Jermaine Lewis from Pexels An invasive insect capable of destroying agricultural crops has been spotted more frequently in Georgia this summer, prompting experts to offer simple advice to those who encounter it. If you see a spotted lanternfly, take a picture, report the bug and then kill it. The insect, which first landed in Georgia last fall, has been seen multiple times this summer, with 19 confirmed sightings, all in Fulton County. Native to Asia, the bug feeds on more than 70 plant species, including important economic crops like hardwood trees, roses, hops, grapevines and stone fruits, posing a threat to Georgia's agriculture. It leaves behind a foul-smelling, sugary and sticky residue called honeydew, which is known to attract more pests. Lanternflies have spread across 19 U.S. states since they first appeared in Pennsylvania in 2014 and were most recently spotted in South Carolina. They spread through imported goods, initially jumping from China, Taiwan and Vietnam to South Korea and Japan before arriving in the U.S. They are relatively easy to spot. They are about an inch long and have black spots along their grayish-brown front wings and hind wings splotched with cream, black and red patches. "As lanternfly activity reaches its peak during the late summer and fall, we continue to ask Georgians not only to report suspected sightings but to kill any lanternflies they come across," Matthew Agvent, communications director for the Georgia Department of Agriculture, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in a statement. "Citizen engagement will be vital to ensuring we are able to properly manage the spotted lanternfly in Georgia." The insect's peak season is summer, which Elizabeth McCarty, an associate professor in the department of forestry and natural resources at the University of Georgia, said could be responsible for the recent uptick in sightings. "We get reports, and then we're able to see how big, how widespread this infestation is, but we don't know that the population has increased," she said. McCarty advises the public to report the insect online through the Georgia Department of Agriculture and to visit their local UGA extension county office for additional support. "We really want public engagement in reporting it because we can't be everywhere all the time," she said. Unfortunately, it's not the only invasive insect that officials have spotted in or near Georgia that has led to warnings in recent months. So-called "killer bees," which can sting people to death, were spotted on the Alabama border in addition to Asian needle ants and yellow-legged hornets in the state. 2025 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The reddish chromosphere is visible on the Suns right edge in this view of the Aug. 21, 2017, total solar eclipse from Madras, Oregon. Credit: NASA/Nat Gopalswamy July will see the launch of the groundbreaking Solar EruptioN Integral Field Spectrograph mission, or SNIFS. Delivered to space via a Black Brant IX sounding rocket, SNIFS will explore the energy and dynamics of the chromosphere, one of the most complex regions of the sun's atmosphere. The SNIFS mission's launch window at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico opens on Friday, July 18. The chromosphere is located between the sun's visible surface, or photosphere, and its outer layer, the corona. The different layers of the sun's atmosphere have been researched at length, but many questions persist about the chromosphere. "There's still a lot of unknowns," said Phillip Chamberlin, a research scientist at the University of Colorado Boulder and principal investigator for the SNIFS mission. The chromosphere lies just below the corona, where powerful solar flares and massive coronal mass ejections are observed. These solar eruptions are the main drivers of space weather, the hazardous conditions in near-Earth space that threaten satellites and endanger astronauts. The SNIFS mission aims to learn more about how energy is converted and moves through the chromosphere, where it can ultimately power these massive explosions. "To make sure Earth is safe from space weather, we really would like to be able to model things," said Vicki Herde, a doctoral graduate of CU Boulder who worked with Chamberlin to develop SNIFS. The SNIFS mission is the first ever solar ultraviolet integral field spectrograph, an advanced technology combining an imager and a spectrograph. Imagers capture photos and videos, which are good for seeing the combined light from a large field of view all at once. Spectrographs dissect light into its various wavelengths, revealing which elements are present in the light source, their temperature, and how they're movingbut only from a single location at a time. A previous sounding rocket launched from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. This mission carried a copy of the Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE). Credit: NASA/University of Colorado Boulder, Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics/James Mason The SNIFS mission combines these two technologies into one instrument. "It's the best of both worlds," said Chamberlin. "You're pushing the limit of what technology allows us to do." By focusing on specific wavelengths, known as spectral lines, the SNIFS mission will help scientists to learn about the chromosphere. These wavelengths include a spectral line of hydrogen that is the brightest line in the sun's ultraviolet (UV) spectrum, and two spectral lines from the elements silicon and oxygen. Together, data from these spectral lines will help reveal how the chromosphere connects with the upper atmosphere by tracing how solar material and energy move through it. The SNIFS mission will be carried into space by a sounding rocket. These rockets are effective tools for launching and carrying out space experiments and offer a valuable opportunity for hands-on experience, particularly for students and early-career researchers. "You can really try some wild things," Herde said. "It gives the opportunity to allow students to touch the hardware." This footage from NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory shows the Sun in the 304-angstrom band of extreme ultraviolet light, which primarily reveals light from the chromosphere. This video, captured on Feb. 22, 2024, shows a solar flareas seen in the bright flash on the upper left. Credit: NASA/SDO Chamberlin emphasized how beneficial these types of missions can be for science and engineering students like Herde, or the next generation of space scientists, who "come with a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of new ideas, new techniques," he said. The entirety of the SNIFS mission will likely last up to 15 minutes. After launch, the sounding rocket is expected to take 90 seconds to make it to space and point toward the sun, seven to eight minutes to perform the experiment on the chromosphere, and three to five minutes to return to Earth's surface. The rocket will drift around 70 to 80 miles (112 to 128 kilometers) from the launchpad before its return, so mission contributors must ensure it will have a safe place to land. White Sands, a largely empty desert, is ideal. Herde, who spent four years working on the rocket, expressed her immense excitement about the launch, saying, "This has been my baby." This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash Optimism that AI will make human jobs easier is lowest in the developed world, especially in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Australia. That is one of several insights from Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts and Sciences, who shared takeaways from his decade-long AI research on July 9, in "How Do Americans Think about AI?" The lecture in Warren Hall was the first of the Cornell University School of Continuing Education's Summer Events Series. "This pattern shows up over and over again: That in parts of the developing world, there's more positivity about the effects of technology and artificial intelligence on the future and on life now than there is in the rich democratic West," Loewen told the more than 60 attendees. He described how he and colleagues saw this pattern in a survey of public attitudes about AI that included approximately 24,000 people, about 1,000 from each of 21 different countries across 12 different languages, representing a majority of the world's population. In another study published in the American Journal of Political Science, from this spring, Loewen examined attitudes about offshoring jobs and AI, focusing on job and price changes. Study participants said they were most concerned about price changes and favored AI over offshoringbut that favor is more marked among Democrats, hinting at an emerging partisan divide, said Loewen, who is professor of government in the College of Arts and Sciences (A&S). Loewen has spent a lot of time and effort working with government to figure out how AI can better be used within public service, he said. In a paper published last year in the Journal of Public Policy, he examined the reasons why people might or might not want AI in government services. "One set of reasons has to do with fairness," Loewen said. "People recognize that humans are actually very arbitrary. We've got all sorts of biases, we get tired, we make bad decisions, we're not consistent, etc. And it is possible to design automated decision systems that don't have those biases or inconsistencies in them." AI's greater efficiency is another reason, he said. It can work faster, save money and detect fraud, Loewen said. While the researchers found that those who are more conservative emphasize fairness over efficiency, those who are more liberal like using automation and algorithms to make government more fair. "So as politicians try to build public consent for the use of artificial intelligence, they have to confront the reality that people have different sets of reasons for why they would support it," Loewen said. But governments wanting to use AI face a number of obstacles, from people's innate resistance to change to their distrust of AI's ability to make moral judgments, he added. Discover the latest in science, tech, and space with over 100,000 subscribers who rely on Phys.org for daily insights. Sign up for our free newsletter and get updates on breakthroughs, innovations, and research that matterdaily or weekly. In another study, Loewen said he and colleagues found that the way people think about artificial intelligence in the U.S. and other places maps onto many of the ways they already think about politics and the economy. "People who think that artificial intelligence is more likely to substitute for their jobs are more likely to support policies that you can characterize as populist around immigration and around labor," said Loewen. In contrast, those who believe AI will complement and enhance their jobs think government should respond by increasing social spending, training workers for new careers and investing in education. "Our main problems are not technologicalthey're sociological," Loewen said. "And that will give you a sense of why it's challenging to use artificial intelligence." More information: Beatrice Magistro et al, Attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI) and globalization: Common microfoundations and political implications, American Journal of Political Science (2025). DOI: 10.1111/ajps.12959 Journal information: American Journal of Political Science This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Boats in the Tweed and Richmond rivers with sonar equipment collected accurate information on the cross sections of the river network (river bathymetry) to inform the hydrodynamic model. This also included small remote-controlled boats for smaller and steeper streams. Credit: CSIRO It wasn't just data from maps, machines and rainfall readings that led CSIRO scientists to build Australia's most comprehensive and accurate flood model for the Richmond River catchment. Information from local residents who know their environment, have lived through devastating floods and observed the impact, is what helped the team ensure all data driving the hydrodynamic model was as localized, precise and as accurate as possible. Building the model The catchment is largemore than 7000 kmand covers complex and varied terrain. Dr. Jai Vaze, the hydrologist leading CSIRO's flood mitigation work for the National Emergency Management Agency's Northern Rivers Resilience Initiative, described it as "intricate." The first phase of CSIRO's work was a rapid review and assessment in the six months following the 2022 floods. This phase identified and prioritized existing project proposals and analyzed the most effective intervention options. The team also characterized the catchment and climate conditions which led to the floods. The second phase of work was much more involved using planes to gather Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data to inform spatial analysis for the entire Northern Rivers region and boats to collect river bathymetry. The design of the hydrodynamic model is based on detailed spatial representation of the catchment's biophysical characteristics such as soils (infiltration rates, soil storage capacity, etc.) and landscapes (roughness, flow paths, flow direction, structures, vegetation, etc.). This high-quality data built the foundations of a detailed hydrodynamic model for the Richmond River catchmentthe first time a catchment model of this scale and complexity has been built for the region. Months on the ground Jai has become a familiar face in the Northern Rivers region since the 2022 floods hit with devastating impact to local communities, and spent months at a time from Casino to Lismore to Ballina and many places in between. He said the key to building the groundbreaking flood model released in June has been the proactive local communities and councils who have not only experienced the floods but taken observations and gathered information not always captured by existing measures and processes by government. Locals have taken Jai and his team to their properties and spent days showing them areas hit by the floods. He's learned from what they know of the local terrain and infrastructure and what they saw. Refining the model Given the large area covered by the modeling domain and the very complex sections of steep and flat terrain, it was not possible to represent all small streams and channels. Jai said every attempt has been made to make sure that all important streams, levees, flow control structures such as bridges, culverts and pipes across the entire catchment were represented in the model. That included all levee details from the local councils and all data from the recent survey of the major levees undertaken after the 2022 floods. But for all the data collected through instrumentation and from council and government mapping and monitoring, human observation was also needed to get it right, said Jai. One resident took Jai to inspect a single culvert near their property which had long been blocked. But that one culvert meant he could make sure it was also blocked in the model which would also affect the flow of water in the model. "Data will give you a picture," said Jai. "But to understand the catchment, that local knowledge which is there where people have seen floods for the last 7080 years, is critical when you build a model." Beth Trevan from the Lismore Citizens Flood Review Group told the ABC that Jai was "totally committed to the region and solving the problem." "He has given his life to it for the past three years, seven days a weekhe never stops working on it," she said. "What is being developed is international best practice; it's not only going to be a template for Australia; it's going to be a template internationally. "The level of detail is beyond comprehension; there's millions of items of data within it, that's its absolute strength." 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. Validating the model For a model to be reliable, it also needs to be validated. Two residents who were also emergency volunteers spent days taking Jai to different locations where they had witnessed the height of the flood in residential areas and taken photos showing the level of the waters against particular buildings. "That tells me that if my model shows it is higher in those locations, there is something wrong with the model," Jai said. "Although we don't have exact measurements, when I run the model, I was checking against what they had seen. "That on-ground knowledge is critical to building a reliable model. The detail from multiple locations and data sets helped me put together or build a better model and also helped me to validate it across the entire catchment to make sure the model was doing the right thing for the right reasons." Next steps The aim of the flood model is to enable the community and government to develop recommendations to inform planning resilience and readiness activities to reduce the effects of future flooding disasters in the region. This is the first time comprehensive high-quality landform and river floor mapping data for the Northern Rivers region has been captured and made available to the community. Now the hydrodynamic model has been completed, CSIRO will use it to model flood mitigation interventions for the Richmond River Catchment suggested by the communities and councils. Jai is back out in the community this month demonstrating the new model and listening to their views about the flood mitigation options that they want tested with the model. Provided by CSIRO 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: An employee surveys the damage at the Great Outdoor Provision Co. after it was flooded during tropical storm Chantal, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Credit: AP Photo/Chris Seward North Carolina can seek federal funding to help its overloaded response efforts to Tropical Storm Chantal, which killed at least six people and left damage from flooding in its wake, as Gov. Josh Stein announced a state of emergency Thursday. A one-two punch from Chantal followed by severe weather in the state's center has "overwhelmed the response and recovery efforts of local governments," according to Stein's executive order. Some rivers reached record-breaking levels from the storm, including the Eno River in Durham, one of several cities where some residents lost access to safe drinking water because of damage to the water system. In some places, the storm dumped as much as 9 to 12 inches of rain, according to the governor's office. Chantal hit at the end of the July Fourth weekend, and several days of severe weather plowed through as people were still picking up the pieces from damage caused by the tropical storm's remnants. The emergency declaration, which took effect Wednesday, jumpstarts the process for North Carolina to seek federal recovery assistance if needed. It covers 13 counties in the state's center, some of which are home to populous cities like Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. Local law enforcement agencies have confirmed at least six deaths from the storm. Businesses were wrecked and many residents were displaced from their homes after emergency responders rescued them from flooding. A floating garbage container crashed through the front of this business in the Eastgate Shopping Center after it was flooded during tropical storm Chantal, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Credit: AP Photo/Chris Seward A worker tosses damaged merchandise into a large dumpster at the Trader Joe's supermarket in the Eastgate shopping center after it was flooded out during tropical storm Chantal, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Credit: AP Photo/Chris Seward Chairs, umbrellas and a larger garbage container were among the debris washed up at the Shake Shack in the Eastgate Shopping Center after it was flooded during tropical storm Chantal, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Credit: AP Photo/Chris Seward Utility crews work to restore lines that were knocked down on Estes Drive during tropical storm Chantal, Monday, July 7, 2025, in Chapel Hill, N.C. Credit: AP Photo/Chris Seward A 58-year-old woman called 911 on her way to work after her SUV got caught in floodwaters, but the call disconnected and she was later found dead a little ways from her unoccupied vehicle, according to the Orange County Sheriff's Office. Rescuers searched for days in Chatham County only to find two missing canoers had died, the county sheriff's office said, while another woman died when floodwaters swept her vehicle off the road, the State Highway Patrol said. Two people died in Alamance County, including a missing 71-year-old man found dead inside his vehicle covered in flowing water, the sheriff's office said. The Graham County Police Department said a missing 23-year-old woman was found dead inside a submerged vehicle. Many people were also rescued during the storm. In one neighborhood north of Durham, the city's fire department said it did more than 80 water rescues amid the flooding. The fire department in Chapel Hill rescued more than 50 people while teaming up with neighboring agencies, mostly near apartments, officials said. 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Brett Sayles/Pexels Young people, working people, those with higher education and people with high incomes have the largest social networks. Having a larger network is useful. "It can help in finding work or social support," said Bas Hofstra, a sociologist at Radboud University. "People with a smaller network often have a harder time." We all know a lot of people: family, friends, neighbors, colleagues, and also that acquaintance you once met at a party. But how many acquaintances does the average Dutch person actually have? That varies enormously from person to person, discovered Beate Volker (Free University), Bas Hofstra (Radboud University), Rense Corten (Utrecht University) and Frank van Tubergen (Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute), who examined the social networks of adult Dutch people. The study published in Social Networks, shows that, on average, adult Dutch people know about 568 people personally (the median is 488). This network includes not only friends and family, but also acquaintances with whom you would have a chat if you met them on the street. In comparison, previous studies in the U.S. and in Spain showed slightly higher numbers, while a country like Chile showed a lower number. Small network has disadvantages In a representative survey, the researchers first asked 1,325 Dutch people how many people they know with certain characteristics, such as someone with a specific first name, someone who recently earned a college degree or someone who became a father or mother within the last year. Based on the answers, the researchers were able to compare this with numbers in the entire population of the Netherlands. This allowed them to estimate the size and composition of the larger network. "Some people know few, other people know lots of others," says sociologist Hofstra. "We already knew this about close friends: some people have none, others have several, but for broader networks we knew little. Thanks to this research, you can better predict who has a higher risk of being less connected to others. Those people may need extra support, because those who have a small network may suffer disadvantages." Who has the largest network? There are big differences between people in the size of their networks. Younger people tend to have larger networks than older people. For example, on average, Dutch people between the ages of 18 and 30 have a network that is nearly 38% larger than that of people over 65. Similarly, people who work have, on average, a network that is 19% larger than those without a paid job. Other factors at play: Those with higher education, higher incomes, or with more roommates tend to have larger networks. For example, each additional roommate increases the network by 8%. Then again, there is no difference between men and women: their networks are equally large in this study. Outside your bubble In addition to size, the researchers looked at the composition of networks. They found that networks consist mostly of people who look like us. For example, women on average know more women (66%) than men know women (56%). Conversely, men know more men than women do. There is also segregation in terms of education level. People with a college or university education mainly know others with a similar education (about 81% of their network). "About close circles of friends we already knew that these often consist of people who are similar to each other," says Hofstra. "But it turns out that this also plays an important role in the larger network of acquaintances." The size and composition of your network also determines how much help you get when you are struggling. "A large network can help you find a job or get support in difficult times," Hofstra explains. He says this research therefore offers valuable insights for policymakers and scientists who want to understand how social structures work in the Netherlandsand where possible (weak) connections can be strengthened. "Policymakers could facilitate encounters between the practically and theoretically educated, for example, giving people some more contacts outside that bubble." More information: Beate Volker et al, Who's in your extended network? Analysing the size and homogeneity of acquaintanceship networks in the Netherlands, Social Networks (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.socnet.2025.05.007 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 Clearing forests to plant crops makes good business sense in the short term for many farmers in tropical regions, where millions of people rely on healthy forests for food, fuel, and income. What if those farmers had compelling incentives to keep trees standingwithout sacrificing their livelihoods? A Stanford team is developing new strategies aimed at doing that, and empowering governments, businesses, and nonprofits to help. Their early findings suggest effective tools may include contracts that pay farmers in proportion to the amount of forest they conserve and platforms that enable price transparency and data-sharing between farmers and buyers. "This is about creating win-win solutionsapproaches that are practical for farmers and effective for conservation," said co-principal investigator Irene Lo, an assistant professor of management science and engineering at the Stanford School of Engineering. "We're finding that relatively simple changes to existing incentive structures can make a big difference." Rethinking incentives Traditional incentive programs, referred to as payment of ecosystem services (PES), typically require that all forest on a farmer's land remain untouched in exchange for compensation. It's an approach that often falls short, according to Lo and her colleagues. Many farmers find the terms too demanding and opt out entirely. "One of the most important priorities in nature conservation is to find ways to encourage landowners to conserve the biodiversity on their lands," said project co-principal investigator Jim Leape, co-director of the Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions. "This research provides crucial insights into how to fashion incentives that work." Supported by the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment's Environmental Venture Projects program, Lo and other Stanford researchers have instead designed PES contracts that scale payments based on how much forest farmers conservea more simple, flexible approach that could significantly increase participation, according to the team's analyses. "Conditional contracts sound good in theory, but they're often too stringent," Lo said. "By offering payments that are proportional to conservation, we can encourage more farmers to engage and still achieve meaningful environmental benefits." Leveraging market dynamics The team is also studying how market forces could be harnessed to reduce deforestation by small-scale palm oil producers in Indonesia. Current supply chain inefficiencies and uncertainties often push farmers to clear land for quick cash, while buyers hedge their risks in ways that can accelerate forest loss. The team's research suggests that platforms facilitating price transparency and data-sharing between farmers and buyers could improve both farmer incomes and buyer profits, while reducing pressure on forests. The idea: when buyers have more reliable information about supply availability or quality, they can provide more certainty about prices and demand, and farmers are therefore less likely to clear additional land for agriculture as insurance against fluctuations. For example, a digital platform from a company called Pempem allows farmers to see daily prices posted by multiple buyers in the region instead of relying on word-of-mouth from the relatively small number of buyers they work with. "These platforms offer dual benefits," Lo said. "They help farmers secure better livelihoods and give buyers the information they need to make smarter sourcing decisions. That alignment of interests is key." From theory to field The team combines economic theory, supply chain management, and on-the-ground insights. Graduate students studying each of these disciplines have played pivotal roles in developing the models, simulations, and field studies in rural Indonesia that underpin the findings. Their interviews of farmers have been key to informing the project's models and informing policies that will work not just on paper, but in practice. 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 team's initial results have attracted interest from organizations like The Nature Conservancy and Pempem. Translating the research into action will require further collaboration between researchers and organizations that provide payments or operationalize payment schemes on the ground. "Designing smart incentives is just the start," said John Weyant, a professor of management science and engineering. "The next challenge is making sure these ideas reach the people and institutions that can put them into action." To that end, the researchers plan to continue a field experiment designed to test the effectiveness of incentive schemes within information-sharing platforms for the palm oil supply chain. They also plan to integrate their findings into broader climate models, helping to refine global projections by showing how small-scale policy tools could influence deforestation rates and carbon emissions. "This is one of those rare opportunities where smart policy design can deliver both economic and environmental gains," Lo said. "That's what makes this work so exciting." Leape is also the William and Eva Price Senior Fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment and Leape is a professor (by courtesy) of oceans at the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability. Weyant is also a senior fellow at the Precourt Institute for Energy. 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 large solar array and wind turbine in southwest Western Australia. Credit: Murdoch University Murdoch University researchers call for wildlife-friendly solar farm designs to protect biodiversity amid global renewable energy expansion. Solar energy plays a central role in the race toward a low-carbon future. But while solar farms help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a new study warns that their rapid expansion may come at a cost to biodiversityparticularly for birds and bats. The research published in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews by wildlife ecologist Professor Trish Fleming explores the ecological consequences of large-scale solar facilities. It reveals that while solar panels offer environmental benefits, they also pose unique challenges to wildlife that must be addressed to ensure a truly sustainable energy transition. In 2023, solar panels covered approximately 37,886 square kilometers of landor about 0.025% of Earth's surface. As solar capacity rapidly increases each year, the land required for new installations is significantly expanding. Typically, 2 to 6 hectares of land are cleared for every megawatt of solar power generated, resulting in significant habitat disruption. This new research undertaken by the Harry Butler Institute has found these vast, flat surfaces can interfere with animal movements in unexpected ways. "The reflective glare from solar panels mimics the appearance of water bodies, confusing migrating birds and leading them off course," Professor Fleming said. "This phenomenon, known as polarized light pollution, can also attract insects, inadvertently creating new feeding grounds for birds and bats. "While this may seem beneficial, it can alter natural foraging behaviors and increase collision risks." Trapped by design Another concern is the fencing commonly used around solar farms. While intended to protect infrastructure, these barriers can entrap wildlife, leading to injury or death. Migratory species may find their traditional routes blocked, disrupting nesting and feeding patterns. However, the study also highlights promising mitigation strategies. A solar facility in Nevada, U.S., offers a model for wildlife-friendly solar design. During construction, native plants and natural washes were preserved and openings were left in fences to allow desert fauna to pass freely. Early monitoring shows that animals are using these openings, suggesting that thoughtful design can reduce ecological harm. A mojave desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) that was removed from the Pahrump solar facility in Nevada, USA, during construction and then released back into the facility after completion. Fencing incorporated access ways for wildlife (inset). Credit: Dr Nifer Wilkening Innovations to make solar safer There are also technological solutions to the problems that show promise. "Nano-coating solar panels to reduce polarized light pollution is one change that could help prevent birds from mistaking panels for water," Professor Fleming said. "These coatings alter the way light is reflected, making the panels less visually disruptive to wildlife." The study calls for greater consideration of biodiversity conservation in solar farm planning. As governments and industries invest heavily in renewable energy, the findings underscore the importance of integrating ecological awareness into infrastructure development. The study urges planners, policymakers, and developers to adopt wildlife-friendly practices and technologies to ensure that solar energy remains a truly sustainable solution. The study adds to a growing body of work advocating for responsible renewable energy developmentone that protects both the planet and its inhabitants. More information: P.A. Fleming, All that glittersReview of solar facility impacts on fauna, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews (2025). DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2025.115995 This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain A research team affiliated with UNIST announced the successful development of a novel semiconductor device that uses a new class of materials, known as altermagnetism. This breakthrough is expected to significantly advance the development of ultra-fast, energy-efficient AI semiconductor chips. Jointly led by Professor Jung-Woo Yoo from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Professor Changhee Sohn from the Department of Physics at UNIST, the team succeeded in fabricating magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) using altermagnetic ruthenium oxide (RuO 2 ). They also measured a practical level of tunneling magnetoresistance (TMR) in these devices, demonstrating their potential for spintronic applications. The research was led by Seunghyun Noh from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Kyuhyun Kim from the Department of Physics at UNIST. The findings were published in Physical Review Letters on June 20, 2025. MTJs are critical components in magnetic random access memory (MRAM) devices. While MRAM offers advantages like non-volatility and low power consumption, its widespread use has been limited by reliance on ferromagnetic materials, which require significant energy for spin reversal, have limited switching speeds, and are sensitive to external magnetic interference. The researchers developed an altermagnetic material-based device capable of overcoming these limitations. Unlike ferromagnets, altermagnetic materials can store information via electron spin while being less affected by external magnetic fields, enabling ultra-fast switching. In this study, the team used RuO 2 , one of the most studied altermagnetic candidates, though its properties have been debated. They synthesized RuO 2 thin films with atomic precision under high-vacuum conditions and fabricated MTJs by depositing insulating and ferromagnetic layers sequentially. When the magnetic orientation of the ferromagnetic layer was changed, a variation in TMR was observed, providing experimental evidence of the device's potential as a magnetic memory element. This research marks the first experimental confirmation that TMR varies depending on the spin direction in altermagnetic MTJs, representing a major step toward realizing altermagnetic AI memory semiconductors. The team is now working to enhance the magnitude of TMR effects in future device designs. Conducted in less than a year and modeled after the US DARPA program, this project aims to rapidly achieve high-impact breakthroughs in fundamental science in Korea. DongHo Kim of the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), overseeing the project, stated, "This achievement reflects the dedication of researchers exploring the largely uncharted field of altermagnetism. We will continue to support this technology, which could be a significant leap forward for the semiconductor industry." More information: Seunghyeon Noh et al, Tunneling Magnetoresistance in Altermagnetic RuO2 -Based Magnetic Tunnel Junctions, Physical Review Letters (2025). DOI: 10.1103/nrk5-5zrj Journal information: Physical Review Letters This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Benthic foraminifera from one of the oxygen-rich sections found in our study. Credit: S. Barragan-Montilla How is ventilation at various depth layers of the Atlantic connected and what role do changes in ocean circulation play? Researchers from Bremen, Kiel and Edinburgh have pursued this question and their findings have now been published in Nature Communications. Salt water in the oceans is not the same everywhere; there are water layers that have different salinities and temperatures. The phenomenon of thermohaline circulationwhich results from the differences in density caused by variations in temperature and salinitydrives the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), among other current patterns. Near the surface, however, ocean circulation is also influenced by winds, which are responsible for producing the large subtropical gyres in the Atlantic, both on the northern and southern sides of the equator. These gyres play an important role in marine ecosystems because they provide organisms on the sea floor with oxygen, which is then consumed in part by the decomposition of organic matter. If there is a paucity of fresh, cold, and oxygen-rich water transported in to ventilate these areas, so to speak, oxygen minimum zones result. A team of researchers from MARUMCenter for Marine Environmental Sciences and the Department of Geosciences, both of the University of Bremen, from the Kiel University, and from the Lyell Center at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland have now investigated how the weakening of the AMOC is connected to the ventilation of the shallow ocean. Their focus was on the tropical oxygen-minimum zone off northwestern Africa. In their study, based on benthic foraminiferamicroscopically small single-celled organisms that produce a shell and live on the ocean floorthe team was able to reconstruct changes in the oxygen content of the oxygen-minimum zone in the eastern tropical North Atlantic over the past 27,000 years. "Benthic foraminifera react to changes in oxygen, which affects their distribution, among other things. Employing these small microscopic fossils, we studied how the oxygen content of the ocean changed at a time when the AMOC, according to research, was weaker than it is today. "This provided us with insights to the effects of the AMOC strength on the shallow-water cells," explains Dr. Sofia Barragan-Montilla. She earned her Ph.D. at MARUM and is now a research scientist in the Paleocenography working group at the Institute of Geosciences at Kiel University. The question of whether and how the AMOC will slow down in the future continues to be discussed in scientific circles. The team of scientists has taken the basic question a step further: What happens to the shallow cells if the AMOC circulation weakens? "We were surprised to discover how closely the oxygen content off northwest Africa is linked to the state of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation," explains Dr. Stefan Mulitza of MARUM. In the deep Atlantic, a weakening of the meridional circulation leads to a decrease in oxygen content. The shallow layers of the Atlantic, on the other hand, are better ventilated with a decline in the AMOC. This is a result of stronger winds driving the subtropical gyre, which are intensified by greater temperature and air-pressure differences between the tropics and higher northern latitudes. First author, Dr. Barragan-Montilla studied the benthic foraminifera that led the team to the findings of their study. "We discovered that in times of a weaker AMOC more oxygen was present in the oxygen-minimum zone of the eastern tropical North Atlantic, which indicated a strengthened shallow cell." An additional finding of the researchers was that the intensity of the oxygen-minimum zone off northwest Africa is significantly controlled by ocean circulation and depends less on variations in oxygen depletion due to the decomposition of organic material. The findings of the current study will continue to be investigated within the Cluster of Excellence "The Ocean FloorEarth's Uncharted Interface," which is housed at MARUM. One research topic of the cluster is how complex ecosystems react under changing environmental conditions. More information: Sofia Barragan-Montilla et al, Enhanced ventilation of Eastern North Atlantic Oxygen Minimum Zone with deglacial slowdown of Meridional Overturning, Nature Communications (2025). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-61177-3 Journal information: Nature Communications RIO DE JANEIRO, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ Report filed via Xinhuanet: The Global South Joint Communication Partnership Program was officially launched on July 16 during the BRICS Media and Think Tank Forum held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A scene from the launch ceremony of the Global South Joint Communication Partnership Program (PRNewsfoto/) Led by Xinhua News Agency, the program operates through two major platformsthe Global South Media and Think Tank Forum and the Global South Media News Networkto facilitate multilateral collaboration and knowledge exchange, strengthen consensus among Global South countries, and support pragmatic cooperation across a wide range of sectors. As of July 2025, nearly 700 partner organizations have joined the initiative. Program members will receive priority access to meetings and events convened under the Global South Media and Think Tank Forum. Attendees will engage in in-depth discussions on issues of common concern to the Global South. The forum will also feature workshops, specialized research, photo exhibitions and other supporting activities, while issuing outcome documents, including joint declarations, cooperation initiatives, and think tank reports. Additionally, the program will organize journalism capacity-building programs, collaborative reporting initiatives, and documentary co-productions to enhance exchanges and mutual learning among members. SOURCE Xinhuanet On the evening of Nov. 13, 2022, 7-week-old baby Aiko White Eagle was being babysat by her aunt Courtney Martinez at an apartment in Rapid Valley while her mother was out with a friend. "This trial is about that night," said Bennett County State's Attorney Dan Nelson during the first day of Martinez's second-degree murder and child abuse trial on Wednesday in the Pennington County Courthouse. By about 2:30 a.m. on Nov. 14, 2022, an investigator would be holding the baby and asking her to keep breathing. Six days later, after a life flight to a Sioux Falls hospital, White Eagle died. Born seven weeks early, she lived about to when she was set to be born. Nelson told a Pennington County jury on Wednesday afternoon White Eagle died from blunt force trauma resulting in two skull fractures. Nelson said in his opening statements the evidence would show the blows were more than an accidental drop. Nelson is prosecuting the case since Pennington County State's Attorney Lara Roetzel handed it over to him in the wake of criticism she faced from White Eagle's family and other Native Americans for how they felt she handled their cases. In a preview of what he expects the jury to see during the trial, Nelson said Martinez was babysitting her sister's children, White Eagle and a 2-year-old. Martinez's 2-year-old was also at the apartment. Her boyfriend, Shamar Bennett, was sleeping, according to Nelson. Bennett also faced murder charges, but those were later dropped. Around midnight, Martinez texted her sister and said one of the toddlers wouldn't stop crying. About 45 minutes to an hour later, she called three times and sent a text stating that something was wrong. Nelson said Martinez then texted a friend about the situation after receiving no response from White Eagle's mother, and during that conversation, when calling 911 came up, she said ambulances are expensive, she didn't have a car seat for the baby and people may not come if she calls. "If she's a loving aunt, why didn't she call 911?" Nelson urged the jury to ask. When White Eagle's mother, Karli Martinez, came home around 2 a.m., she called 911 "immediately," Nelson said. One of Courtney Martinez's defense attorney's, Angela Colbath, said Martinez was a "terrified, worried and concerned aunt" who didn't see what happened to White Eagle when she accidentally fell asleep around midnight. Colbath said she woke up confused to find the baby, who had been sleeping in a bouncy chair, unswaddled, wet and without a diaper. The toddlers, who had been sleeping on love seats, were also undiapered and awake, Colbath said. "Why would she hurt this child?" Colbath asked the jury. She also added Bennett had warrants out against him and Martinez did not want him to be mad at her. The defense attorney said Martinez was not just a babysitter. She was there when White Eagle was born, and she frequently looked after her, as the two sisters lived next door to one another. "They were as close as I've ever seen sisters," Colbath said. He also asked the jury to question why Martinez told first responders about a bump on the baby's head when they were more focused on her breathing issues. He said she mentioned the bump in text messages 10 times as well. "Why does she continue to be concerned with the head?" he asked. The first witness in the trial, Jorge Salas, a Pennington County investigator and trained EMT who responded first to the scene, said he felt White Eagle's head for the bump, but did not notice anything. He said the baby's difficulty to breath and lack of responsiveness appeared to be from the illness he was told she had. Nelson said White Eagle was treated for Rhinovirus a common cold the day before she suffered the fatal injuries. In Salas' body camera footage, which Nelson played for the jury, Martinez can be heard saying, "I don't know what happened," and stating she doesn't know if the toddlers dropped something on her. She said she tried to feed White Eagle, but she wouldn't eat or open her eyes. Martinez faces two charges: second-degree murder and abuse or cruelty to a minor under age 7. Second-degree murder is "perpetrated by any act imminently dangerous to others and evincing a depraved mind, without regard for human life, although without any premeditated design to effect the death of any particular person." A Class B felony, it carries a mandatory minimum of life in prison and the possibility of up to a $50,000 fine. The child abuse charge, a Class 3 felony, carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to a $30,000 fine. Her trial is set to resume on Thursday morning at 8:30 a.m. and is on the schedule through Tuesday, July 22. BEIJING, July 16, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Tucked away just outside the west gate of Peking University, Stoic Book Haven sits behind ivy-covered stone walls, quietly overlooking the Wanquan River. For over 20 years, it has served not only as a bookstore, but also as a place of quiet reflection and retreat for readers. It's one of many bookstores hidden within Beijing's hutongs, nestled between apartment blocks - places that offer more than just books. They bring a renewed sense of cultural connection and the quiet warmth of community life. The number of bookstores in Beijing has grown from 1,994 in 2020 to more than 2,100 in 2024, according to official statistics from the municipal authority. To support their development, both district and city governments have introduced targeted subsidies and assistance programs. A walk through four of these spaces - Stoic Book Haven, zall bookstore, Xuannan Bookstore, and YiFang Bookhouse - reveals how deeply embedded these bookshops are in their neighborhoods, and how their missions extend far beyond the shelves. Connecting through books At Stoic Book Haven, nearly 80 percent of the 4,000 books on the shelves are secondhand. "Many come from students in Peking University who have graduated and couldn't take their books with them, or from alumni living abroad who wanted the books to continue their journey here," founder Zheng Yu told the Global Times. Inside the bookstore, the reading area is open to the public. Cozy furniture, old lamps and free access give the space a lived-in, timeless feel. Zheng said most visitors are nearby residents, university faculty and students, or people who discovered the store through social media. "We want this to be an accessible sanctuary and a place for people to slow down," he said. Hu Jiani, a third-year physics PhD student at Peking University told the Global Times that she learned about the bookstore from one of her teachers. "It was hard to find - I circled three times," she said. "But when I walked in, I almost cried. It felt like a hidden world." Now, she visits whenever she needs quietness, especially to write or escape the pressures outside. From 2019 to 2020, the bookstore received subsidies from Haidian district. In 2024, it was awarded a city-level bookstore grant from the Beijing municipal government. A short walk from the busy alleys of Nanluoguxiang leads to zall bookstore, which comes from Wuhan, Central China's Hubei Province. "When we first opened here, I realized that many of the residents were senior citizens, and often living alone," Wang Yi, the store's manager, told the Global Times. "The issue of aging feels deeply real here. How to face the later stages of life with dignity - both for today's seniors and for all of us in the future - is a challenge the society as a whole must address." Wang has made community care a daily ritual at the bookstore. In the summer, the tearoom stays air-conditioned and open all day, offering a refuge from the heat. Seniors can drop in at any time to read or rest. "If they want to read, they can come anytime. A bookstore should be a public cultural space that's easily accessible to the neighborhood," said Wang. The bookstore even keeps a personalized list of book requests from local senior citizens. Zhang wanted a guide on flower care. Li asked for war memoirs. Wang has their names and preferences saved on her phone. It also offers curatorial support for neighborhood events, including a book club that has served more than 300 senior residents. "If every community had a cultural haven like this - a place to unwind and find peace - residents would have a spiritual home to return to after work or school. Wouldn't that be wonderful?" said Wang. Shared spaces Nestled in the quiet alleyways in Beijing's Xicheng district, Xuannan Bookstore is a heartfelt homage to the city's deep historical roots. Its owner, Li Nan, sees the space not just as a store, but also as a tribute to the city's history. "Beijing culture and Xuannan culture are intertwined," Li told the Global Times. "Opening a bookstore here means letting the old city's cultural lifeblood breathe and grow in its original soil." For nearby residents living in tight quarters, the bookstore offers something rare: Space. Private reading rooms and an open-air terrace have become vital social spaces, drawing in locals for conversation, celebration, and quiet reflection. "We've become like family with the neighbors," Li said. "If someone needs help moving something, we're there. If they just want to sit, talk, or drink tea, we're here." Far from the hutongs, in Fengtai district's Fangzhuang neighborhood, YiFang Bookhouse is part of the YiFang culture and art center. It has the mission to serve more than 300,000 residents across 20 surrounding communities. "Thanks to the free space provided by the local government, we can focus entirely on serving people," said Han Han, the bookstore's operations manager. Convenience and public service are at the heart of the bookhouse's mission. Used books are exchanged freely in a community corner. Nearly all books are available for browsing without wrappers or restrictions. A spacious basement reading area is open to everyone, no purchase required. Looking ahead, Han has two priorities: Launching a neighborhood-wide lending program and bringing used book exchanges directly into residential compounds. SOURCE Global Times By AFP TEHRAN, July 17: Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday that Israel's attacks during last month's 12-day war were intended to weaken the Islamic republic's system and spark unrest to topple it. "The calculation and plan of the aggressors was to weaken the system by targeting certain figures and sensitive centres in Iran," said Khamenei during a meeting with judiciary officials. During the meeting, excerpts of which were published in videos on his website, he said the move was meant to stir "unrest and bring people into the streets to overthrow the system". Israel launched an unprecedented bombing campaign against Iran on June 13, killing top military commanders and nuclear scientists. Iranian authorities said more than 1,000 people were killed in Iran. During the war, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that the Israeli strikes "certainly could" bring about a change in the Iranian system. "The Iranian regime is very weak," he said during the interview on June 15. Iran responded to the Israeli attacks with drone and missile fire, killing 28 people in Israel, according to Israeli authorities. On June 22, Israel's ally the United States launched unprecedented strikes of its own on Iranian nuclear facilities at Fordo, Isfahan and Natanz. Iran hit back with missile strikes on US Al-Udaid airbase in Qatar, which Khamenei described on Wednesday as a "big blow" to the US and warned that "even greater strikes can be dealt to the US and others." A ceasefire between Iran and Israel has been in place since June 24. Israel's attacks took place two days before Iran and the United States were scheduled to meet for a sixth round of nuclear talks which had begun on April 12. The talks have not since resumed. Tehran has reiterated that it remains open to diplomacy provided that Washington offers guarantees it will not resort to military action against the Islamic republic. On Wednesday, Iran's parliament ruled out negotiations without meeting certain "preconditions", not giving specifics. Khamenei said Iranian diplomats and the military should exercise "care and precision" in the path ahead, without elaborating. "Whether we enter the field of diplomacy or the military arena... we will enter from a position of strength." One of the perks of being mayor? You might just end up in a group text thread of your peers across the country. Thats mainly for sharing advice, ideas and stories with people who truly understand what its like to helm a municipal government, Richmond Mayor Danny Avula said Friday. But asked whether the nations mayors ever exchange memes, Avula chuckled. Oh yeah, he said. Lots. Just over six months into his four-year term, Avula said he is still doing a lot of learning: both at City Hall, and at home. The main lesson, he said, has been how to strike a balance between the many important things that vie for his attention. In other words: how to be a good mayor, a good husband, a good father and a good neighbor all at once. Its a job where the calls come at all hours, he said. I think my family, especially in the early going, have been understanding. Avula is incredibly grateful for that, but also knows the long hours hes been pulling he starts every day with an 8:30 a.m. meeting of senior-level officials, and many nights doesnt wrap up until 9 p.m. are not sustainable. I hope that my kids would say, He shows up for the things that matter, Avula said. But I need to get better with this. I never expected to walk into what we walked into Of course, its not always something he can control. Six days into his term, the job became an exhausting around-the-clock ordeal when the citys water treatment plant lost power during a winter storm, triggering a six-day water outage across Richmond. I never expected to walk into what we walked into, Avula said. And I never expected to spend most of the last six months really thinking about water infrastructure one of the things he admitted sometimes keeps him awake at night. But when hes not managing a citywide infrastructural meltdown, speaking at a City Councilmembers district town hall meeting or doing outreach to residents, Avula likes to take his wife Mary Kay whom he affectionately calls MK to Peter Chang, doff his mayor hat, order the shredded tofu skins and catch up. This week, Avula and MK are headed to the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York for their first little getaway since he took office. Its about what the anchors are, he said. Were going to do one date night a week, and were going to have a couple family dinners a week, and those are the things were going to build our schedule around. Those boundaries are especially important because there is literally always something else he could be doing. Im a person who wants to say yes to everything, the mayor said. Theres sort of an endless list of meetings I could take or things I could be involved in. Its one of the best things about the job. Three or four weeks ago, I was at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture addressing this room full of refugees who have resettled in Richmond, he recalled. It was an opportunity to say, Hey, we see you and we want you to be here. Those moments, where Im speaking on behalf of the city about what this place is and who were trying to be as a community its really inspiring. The face of the city Not all of it is glamorous and even the things that appear so, often are not. For example, Avula said that, every morning, members of Richmond polices executive protection unit show up to his house and drive him to work. A luxury? Not exactly. Maybe three to four weeks after the election, there were some death threats, he said. And they weirdly had a lot of details, like my home address. Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards was insistent that Avula needed to make use of the available safeguards, and Avula relented. Were in a time where not everybody is well, Avula said. Two or three weeks ago, the Memphis mayor was part of an attempted kidnapping. And then, obviously, (there were) the horrific assassinations in Minnesota. The threats were a jarring experience that dispelled any illusions that he could simply be a regular guy, although he still feels like one. (Edwards) was like, Youre now the face of the city, Avula recounted. Youre going to be received by people in a way that you never have before. The Times-Dispatch previously reported on racist remarks and death threats sent to former Mayor Levar Stoney on the heels of the removal of Confederate monuments throughout the city. Look, the mayor is a representation of what the city is, Avula said. The good, and the bad. Its a big part of why his younger kids are not on social media. Avula said that, since declaring his campaign for the office, he feared the public life would creep into their lives. I check in with them regularly about that, he said. With the exception of his oldest daughter, Arjanae who spends some time on social media and gets fired up when she sees online abuse directed at her dad Avula said it hasnt been a problem. I dont think its something that they think about, frankly, he said. A lack of system and discipline With emergent water issues in the rearview mirror (at least for now), Avula has been able to focus on building a team he believes will transform a City Hall riddled with inherited dysfunction. Weve seen a lot of things like our p-card audit and our fleet audit that (show) there is a lack of system and discipline that has pervaded the organization, he said. The citys new chief administrative officer, Odie Donald II, just started on July 9. And Avula in February fired former Department of Public Utilities Director April Bingham on the heels of the water crisis. He replaced Bingham and her customer service background with Scott Morris, an engineer who formerly served as director of water for the states Department of Environmental Quality. Meanwhile, finance department director Sheila White has resigned, which will allow Avula to tap a new head for the beleaguered office. Finding key places where we need to bring new leaders in has been one of our big focuses, Avula said. Ultimately, Avula still thinks about his job and his place in the world with the mind of a physician: find the most critical issue and fix it. It turns out, triage applies just as much to City Hall as it does to the emergency room. Being a frontline clinician, and then being in a position to actually impact policy and programming and investments in our community has really integrated (my) experiences, Avula said. And in some ways, thats still true in the work Im doing as mayor to address housing, nutrition and economic opportunity. Those are all playing out in peoples lives, just like what they bring to the hospital when theyre in crisis. Avulas term will come to a conclusion at the end of 2028. After that, hell be eligible to run for a second term that would end in 2032. The city charter bars mayors from serving more than two terms. Asked what he might be up to a decade from now, Avula said he isnt exactly sure. Maybe philanthropy, he said. Or perhaps hell end up back in medicine full-time. Thats the next chapter, he said. And Ive got a super busy chapter right now. WASHINGTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued marketing granted orders (MGOs) for the JUUL System. As part of our 2020 applications, we submitted over 110 scientific studies to FDA covering nonclinical, clinical, and behavioral science. Following rigorous evaluation of the data, FDA decided that an MGO for the JUUL System was "appropriate for the protection of public health" the standard required by statute for authorization. This is good news for the millions of Americans who still smoke cigarettes. While more than two million Americans have switched completely away from combustible tobacco using JUUL, we're focused on making the cigarette obsolete. And for us, that mission is non-negotiable: we're the only company in the U.S. market with a vapor MGO that doesn't also sell cigarettes. Smoking still accounts for one in five preventable premature deaths in the U.S. This means nearly 500,000 Americans die prematurely each year, and millions more suffer unnecessarily from smoking-related chronic diseases caused by how they get their nicotine. The U.S. spends over $240 billion annually on smoking-related healthcare costs with an estimated 60% of these expenses covered by taxpayers through Medicare, Medicaid, and other federally-sponsored programs. But there's another way. Americans who use nicotine deserve an orderly, reliable marketplace where they can confidently choose from an array of FDA-authorized smokefree nicotine products. These products must be backed by rigorous research, manufactured in regularly-inspected facilities, authorized by FDA before introduction to the market, and then marketed and sold responsibly to adults. America must continue to build on the substantial progress made to reduce underage use of vapor products, and Juul Labs remains committed to doing our part. Juul Labs markets responsibly and uses age-verification measures to ensure that our products are marketed to and used by adults. Currently, underage use of all vapor products is at the lowest point in more than a decade, and reported underage use of JUUL products has decreased by more than 98% since 2019. We support category-wide standards to limit access by those underage to all tobacco products. While today marks an important milestone for our company and our consumers, we're looking to what's next. Over the past decade, our product design team in Silicon Valley has been working on the next generation of JUUL products to provide adults who smoke with preferred alternatives to cigarettes. Today's authorization of the JUUL System, including the market-leading tobacco-flavored vapor product in the U.S., enables us to submit applications with updates to the device and pod hardware with the goal of improving the user experience. And our new JUUL2 platform incorporates a suite of innovative technology for an enhanced, more consistent vapor experience for adults moving away from cigarettes and built-in access control capabilities to prevent underage use. We have also developed a portfolio of adult-oriented flavors beyond Virginia Tobacco and Menthol to provide adults who smoke with an increasing variety of options. The end of smoking in America is within our grasp. Our team remains committed to our mission to make the cigarette obsolete. JUUL Products Authorized by FDA FDA issued MGOs for the on-market JUUL System, which is a closed, cartridge-based nicotine vapor product that utilizes proprietary heating technology to aerosolize and deliver nicotine without combustion. The JUUL System is comprised of the JUUL Device and JUULpods. JUULpods are pre-filled with a nicotine-containing e-liquid formulation, which varies by tobacco or menthol flavor and nicotine concentrations of 5.0% (59 mg/mL) and 3.0% (35 mg/mL). About FDA Authorization In authorizing JUUL products for sale in the United States, the FDA has determined that these products are "appropriate for the protection of public health" (APPH), the statutory requirement for introducing new tobacco products onto the U.S. market. Find a list of FDA-authorized vapor products HERE. About Juul Labs Juul Labs is a privately held company headquartered in Washington, DC. We will continue to drive innovation in the vapor industry through our in-house product design, research and development, and science teams in Silicon Valley and North Carolina. We are proud of the quality control capabilities we enjoy with Maryland-sourced e-liquid and pod filling in Wisconsin and Tennessee. Juul Labs is the only major vapor company not owned by or invested in by a cigarette manufacturer. The JUUL System, which received authorization today, launched in the U.S. in 2015. SOURCE JUUL Labs The races were tight, with the definitive results coming late and closer than has been the pattern in Virginia primaries but the two parties November tickets are now complete. State Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Chesterfield, is the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor and former Del. Jay Jones, D-Norfolk, will run for attorney general, on a ticket led by former Rep. Abigail Spanberger all of them promising to run as a united team. So far, theres been no word that thats the plan for the GOP slate of Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears for governor, former radio host John Reid for lieutenant governor and Attorney General Jason Miyares, seeking re-election to that post. None faced primary challenges. Both sides are already drawing their battle lines. We are united in our focus on the issues that matter to our fellow Virginians, Spanberger, Hashmi and Jones said in a joint statement. They pledged to focus on making Virginia more affordable, boosting public schools and protecting the state economy amid President Donald Trumps cuts to federal employment and grants for a wide range of social services, health care and education as well as sharp tariff boosts. Earle-Sears said her campaign has focused on building a new conservative coalition that includes rural voters, suburban parents and working-class families of every background. You know, on paper, Im Abigail Spanbergers dream voter, Earle-Sears said. But I know that in reality, Im her political nightmare. The GOP candidates have not campaigned together since the turmoil that followed Gov. Glenn Youngkins suggestion that Reid drop out from the race. Youngkin was reportedly concerned about online photos of naked men allegedly posted by Reid, who is gay. Reid says he did not repost the photos and he refused to step down. Earle-Sears campaign did not respond to a question asking if they would hold joint events. Reid, at a news conference Wednesday afternoon at Falling Creek Middle School in Hashmis home turf of Chesterfield County, said he has not heard from Earle-Sears since Youngkin called him in April and asked him to step down. But Reid said he has texted with Miyares in the past few days. No, I havent heard from her and Im disappointed in that, Reid said. But what am I supposed to do? I have been doing two or three events every day in public. Im talking about the mainstream responsible positions that the Republican Party believes in, that I believe in, and as far as unity goes, we are unified on policy for the most part. Earle-Sears has not publicly spoken about whether she would campaign with Reid, but Miyares said in an interview with Virginia Scope in May that he would. We all have our race to run and I welcome Jason, Lieutenant Governor Sears by my side whenever we can make that happen, Reid said. Hashmis win Unofficial primary totals show Hashmi defeated five other Democratic candidates to win the partys nomination for lieutenant governor. Hashmi outpaced former Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney by 0.75 percentage points enough that Stoney could have called for a recount, though he opted to concede instead. Hashmi won 27.39% of votes cast; Stoney received 26.64%; state Sen. Aaron Rouse, D-Virginia Beach, 26.34%; Prince William School Board chair Babur Lateef, 8.4%; union leader Alex Bastani, 5.69%; and former federal prosecutor Victor Salgado, 5.54%. Hashmi beat Stoney by 3,600 votes statewide, but trounced him by 10,509 votes in the city of Richmond, where Stoney served as mayor for eight years. Hashmi racked up leads of 11 to 17 percentage points over Stoney in the Richmond suburbs. Rouse beat the other candidates in Hampton Roads. Lateef won only in Prince William. Stoney won in Southside and the rural counties to the north and east of Richmond. One of the lessons of the primary is to take care of the home front, said Mark Rozell, dean of the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. Hashmi declared victory at 10:08 p.m. Tuesday at a party in a condominium complex in Richmonds Fan District as her supporters chanted Hashmi, Hashmi, Hashmi. Tonight, weve made history yet again, not just by winning this primary but by declaring with one voice that Virginia is not going to be bullied or broken or dragged backwards by the chaos thats unfolding in Washington, Hashmi said to cheers. I am going to be standing on the front lines to protect Virginia from extremism, and we will all be leading the charge to build something better, including delivering bold investments in public education, passing real climate solutions, protecting health care access and expanding our access to affordable housing. In the campaign finance reporting period from April 1 to June 5, Hashmi raised nearly six times as much as Reid, with $742,841 in donations compared with Reids $133,768, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Asked about his relatively low fundraising numbers, Reid said Wednesday that he thinks people were shocked by the controversy and they were waiting to see Is this guy for real? Is this guy really going to stand up to the establishment in Richmond? Is he going to tell everybody in power no? I did, Reid said. Im proud to be the Republican nominee. Ive earned my way here, both politically and I hope when people examine my background personally. He said he looks forward to framing a choice with Hashmi, who, not to be unkind about it, is pretty radical within her party. Electoral boards across the state will spend the next few days verifying totals, determining if provisional ballots count and tabulating any mailed-in ballots postmarked by Election Day, before counts are certified. Turnout statewide reached 7.9% of active registered voters, a Richmond Times-Dispatch analysis found. While that was less than the 8.4% in the 2021 primary, that election included a Democratic nomination contest for governor. The last time the top race in a Virginia statewide primary was for lieutenant governor the office that presides over the state Senate but is usually seen as a stepping stone for an eventual run for governor was in 2013 when turnout was 2.9%. Democrat Ralph Northam won that race for lieutenant governor and went on to win election as governor in 2017. Jones win Jones beat Henrico County Commonwealths Attorney Shannon Taylor by 50.95% to 49.05% statewide. Taylor stressed her many years as a prosecutor but electric monopoly Dominion Energys $800,000 in campaign contributions to her became a campaign issue. Jones, who served as a member of the House of Delegates from 2018 to 2021 was one of the legislatures strongest critics of Dominions rate-setting and environmental policies. Jones said in an interview Wednesday with The Times-Dispatch that hes excited to face Miyares and highlight what he terms Miyares inaction since Trump has taken office. Theyve failed to protect Virginians, and they fail to fight for us and really do their job, Jones said. I think its going to be a clear contrast between what theyve done and what we will do as attorney general. In a statement Tuesday night, Miyares called himself the peoples protector and asserted that Jones ideological record makes Virginia families less safe and our streets more violent. In the Democratic primary Jones carried most of the vote-rich Richmond and Hampton Roads regions, although Taylor carried her home county, with 60.31% to Jones 39.95%. She led him across Northern Virginia, in the Shenandoah Valley and Southwest Virginia. Henrico Supervisor Tyrone Nelson, a supporter, said the late push against Taylor over the Dominion contributions probably had a lot to do with her failure to carry the Richmond region. Jones, meanwhile, benefited from $1 million in contributions and advertising from the Charlottesville-based Clean Virginia, a longtime opponent of Dominion. House elections The November ballot will also include all 100 seats in the House of Delegates. Republicans hold seats in eight districts that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris carried. In the Richmond region, these include districts represented by Del. David Owen, R-Goochland, Del. Mark Earley, R-Chesterfield, Del. Carrie Coyner, R-Chesterfield, and Del. Kim Taylor, R-Dinwiddie. Other districts with GOP House incumbents that have been voting for Democrats include two districts on the Lower Peninsula, one in Prince William County and one in Suffolk and Chesapeake. No Democratic House incumbents represent districts that voted for Trump. 2.3 million expected for summer vacation amid sargassum smear campaigns Riviera Maya, Q.R. Approximately 2.3 million visitors are expected in Quintana Roo for the summer holidays despite smear campaigns. Rodrigo de la Pena, President of the Cancun, Puerto Morelos and Isla Mujeres Hotel Association, says even with those figures, the anticipated hotel occupancy rates will remain at least three points below last year. Rodrigo de la Pena As I mentioned before, the problem is the planes. Fortunately, all the planes are arriving full. The challenge is to bring more frequent flights in the short term. It has been very difficult, he said. I estimate that we will end up with a hotel occupancy rate of around 79-80 percent. The expected occupancy rate, he stated, is not bad, but will remain about three points below last years figures. While American tourism remains the main market for the Mexican Caribbean, this summer season it is domestic tourists who are expected to fill the rooms. In the summer, domestic airfare is the biggest contributor. We are also doing a census of cancellations due to the sargassum issue. The reality is that it hasnt been significant. Its an issue thats caused a lot of buzz but not had a significant impact, he said. Manuel Garcia Maldonado, the Director of the National Chamber of the Restaurant Food Industry in Playa del Carmen, says information disseminated about sargassum has impacted the arrival of visitors. The summer season for the restaurant sector is looking extremely complicated, he said. According to Garcia Maldonado, mixed images shared on social media and international media about the massive arrivals of sargassum have had an effect on the arrival of tourists. Drone footage off the coast of Riviera Maya July 16, 2025. We are at an all-time low with very low tourism and excessive sargassum. Weve held working groups with the Ministry of the Environment and the truth is theres no means or budget sufficient to control this excessive arrival of sargassum, he said. He commented that at these working groups, representatives of the restaurant industry asked municipal authorities to meet with local media outlets so that the information disseminated about sargassum is truthful and does not harm the destination. Its a tragedy for our municipality considering that we live off sun and beach tourism, he said. Central Playa del Carmen July 16, 2025. Earlier this week, Quintana Roo State Secretary Cristina Torres said sargassum smear campaigns against the state have been used to discredit the destination. According to Torres, competing tourist destinations and hotel chains outside the state are using the sargassum issue to discredit Quintana Roo. Quintana Roo State Secretary Cristina Torres The states internal policy official stated that fake news promoters are deceiving tourists and discrediting not only the state but the entire country. The states tourism level, specifically sun and beach tourism, generates a lot of unfair competition from people in the tourism sector. They dont realize that by generating not only false, but completely erroneous campaigns regarding sargassum, all they are doing is deceiving people and discrediting the destination and the country, she said. Cancun Hotel Zone beach the morning of July 16, 2025. The state official condemned these actions noting that the state government will continue to highlight the actions being taken in the tourism sector to counter this problem. Cancun Hotel Zone the afternoon of July 16, 2025. Torres explained that there are areas where, due to strong currents and the strength of the waves, it is not possible to place sargassum barriers, however, beach cleanups are continually done in a coordinated manner in the affected areas. Drone footage off the coast of Playa del Carmen July 16, 2025. Torres emphasized that Quintana Roo, in addition to sun and sand, offers ecotourism, archaeological tourism and many other options for visitors as well as unbeatable quality service. AMPI Puerto Morelos real estate agents incorporate new property verification registry Puerto Morelos, Q.R. The Mexican Association of Real Estate Professionals (AMPI) in Puerto Morelos have incorporated a new public registry. The new Public Registry platform will allow for the verification of legalized properties and strengthen secure operations in the state. With support from AMPI Puerto Morelos, authorities seek to end fraud, irregular sales and uncertified real estate advisors around the state. On Wednesday, AMPI Puerto Morelos presented the Quintana Roo Real Estate System (SIQROO). The website use is promoted by the state government through the Public Registry of Property and Commerce with the direct support of AMPI agents. The initiative, led by Mariann Gonzalez Pliego Castillo, Director General of the Quintana Roo Public Registry of Property and Commerce, aims to provide legal certainty to real estate sales transactions, allowing citizens, developers and investors to check the legality of properties and their compliance with official guidelines established by authorities online prior to sales. The Sistema Inmobiliario de Quintana Roo (SIQROO) will identify which properties are properly registered, which are suitable for sale and which agents or companies comply with state regulations and AMPIs ethical standards. The presentation was organized by AMPI Puerto Morelos, chaired by Mar Garcia Mendez, who, along with Vice President Miriam Espinosa Perez, reaffirmed the unions commitment to advancing a more organized, professional and reliable market. Keynote speakers at the Wednesday night event also included Architect Artemio Santos Santos, General Coordinator of Advisors to the State Government, Mr. Rolando Melo Novelo, Secretary of Urban Development of the municipality, Architect Ari Adler Brotman, General Director of IDEFIN Quintana Roo and Juan Garcia Asbun, President of the Leona Vicario Ejidal Commissariat According to Pliego Castillo, fraud, piracy and real estate disorder are the greatest challenges they face. She said in municipalities like Tulum, Bacalar, more than 60 percent of real estate transactions are carried out outside the law without professional certification or legal support. These types of transactions have lead to fraud, double sales, land invasions and protracted legal disputes. The urgency in incorporating a website like SIQROO lies in the critical context facing the sector. The states rapid growth has provided a breeding ground for so-called advisors without registration or technical training. These self-titled advisors offer land and properties with irregular or nonexistent documentation since they do not have training or access to the states property verification system. She says the SIQROO seeks to put a stop to these practices by facilitating direct consultations on the status of each property and encouraging the participation of certified professionals. The launch of SIQROO not only modernizes the states registry processes, but also responds to an urgent need to organize, legalize and professionalize a sector that has operated informally for years. AMPI Puerto Morelos said this alliance between the government and AMPI represents a turning point in the history of Quintana Roo real estate where for the first time, there will be a public and reliable digital database for all market players. The participation of AMPI Puerto Morelos and the support of the Public Registry shape an effort that seeks to protect those who invest in Quintana Roo. Earlier this month, 357 certified real estate agents around Quintana Roo were trained in the use of the Quintana Roo Real Estate System (SIQROO). These agents were trained in validating state property information through government websites that include the Territorial Management Platform managed by the State Geographic and Cadastral Institute, the Quintana Roo Real Estate System (SIQROO) and the Citizen Portal of the Public Registry of Property and Commerce, as well as the Territorial Logbook developed by Sedetus. Mayor says City Hall does not support fourth pier construction of Cozumel cruise ship dock Cozumel, Q.R. The Mayor of Cozumel says the municipality will not support the construction of a fourth pier. On Thursday, Mayor Jose Luis Chacon Mendez confirmed that City Hall has sent a letter to federal officials clarifying they will not provide approval to expand the SSA Mexico Pier. Mayor Jose Luis Chacon Mendez According to Cozumel Mayor Chacon Mendez, the letter also included confirmed non-support for the Cabo Mantarraya project, a beach club that was to be part of the pier expansion. In Cozumel its the people who rule, who decide. Cozumel will first protect its environment and development, Jose Luis Chacon said Thursday. I have already signed the no-vote on the Mantaraya issue and I have also already signed the no-vote on the SSA Mexico. Thats how were working together, he explained in a video. Both myself and Urban Development have already told them that there will be no support for that project. We have already signed and submitted it, he said regarding the fourth pier expansion. The letters were sent by the Cozumel City Council in response to a technical opinion requested by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources (Semarnat). The opinion was requested from Cozumel authorities regarding the suitability of both projects, a procedure that is part of the environmental assessment to which all projects are subject. Chacon Mendez clarified that City Hall is not against new investments as long as they are sustainable. The proposed expansion of the SSA Mexico dock is worth 882 million pesos and would allow for larger cruise ships, specifically deep-draft vessels, to dock the island. The expansion project was initially announced in August of 2019 but immediately faced legal challenges from environmental groups. In June, the company promoting the expansion, Muelles del Caribe SA de CV held a press conference announcing the official court ruling in their favor. Mayor swears in new Secretary of Citizen Security to lead Cancun police Cancun, Q.R. Cancun Mayor Ana Paty Peralta has sworn in a new Municipal Secretary for Citizen Security and Transit (SMSCyT). The ceremony was held Wednesday afternoon during a City Council meeting. I reiterate to the people of Cancun, for security and peace, we will not take a single step back. We will continue making firm and responsible decisions, strengthening our police, addressing the causes of violence and making Cancun a safer place for everyone, said Peralta during the swearing-in ceremony. On Wednesday, the City of Cancun welcomed Jaime Padilla Barrientos as the new Secretario Municipal de Seguridad Ciudadana y Transito (SMSCyT). He is replacing Carlos Ernesto Damiano Sumuano who resigned Wednesday morning during a heated City Council meeting. Security and peacebuilding in our city are the highest priorities of this municipal government. In keeping with this commitment to Cancun and its citizens, today we are carrying out a strategic changeover in the Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security and Traffic, the Mayor stated. As of Wednesday, the Secretariat will be headed by Jaime Padilla Barrientos, a leader with more than 32 years of operational and strategic experience in key areas of security and intelligence in Puebla, Chiapas the National Migration Institute (INM), and in National Defense, as a Military Police officer. Peralta stressed that for the past two years, he served as an Investigative Police officer in the Attorney Generals Office of the State of Quintana Roo. This change, she noted, is part of a coordinated strategy across all levels of government that recognizes that security is not the sole responsibility of one authority, but rather a shared task that requires coordination, intelligence, will and commitment from all institutions. Jaime Padilla Barrientos, second from right in uniform, will lead Cancun Police. In Quintana Roo, we are aligned with the new Citizen Security model promoted by our Governor Mara Lezama and the national security strategy of our President Claudia Sheinbaum. After the ceremony, Peralta immediately held a meeting with the new Secretary and the 14 directors who make up the Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security and Traffic (SMSCyT), with the aim of coordinating efforts and working together to promote security and peacebuilding. I am here to reaffirm my commitment as Mayor to the highest priority for our city and for the families of Cancun: security and peacebuilding. Responding to that commitment, today we are strengthening our Municipal Secretariat of Citizen Security and Transit, a strategic decision that as a government, we take with absolute seriousness and conviction, stated Mayor Ana Paty Peralta during the corporations inauguration ceremony and roll call. Cancun Mayor Ana Paty Peralta lead the ceremony July 16, 2025. On the esplanade of the SMSCyT facilities, the Mayor formally welcomed the Municipal Secretary of Citizen Security and Traffic, Jaime Padilla Barrientos, whom she entrusted with leading a transformation strategy in security, with vision, values, firmness, leadership, but above all, results. You have the full support of the Municipal Government to achieve this, but you also have a very clear demand: to move forward decisively with internal restructuring, the professionalization of commanders and troops, territorial work and intervention in the most vulnerable areas, Peralta stated. The Mayor also expressed her gratitude for the work done by Captain Carlos Ernesto Damiano Sumuano, who performed with great dedication, commitment, discipline, and professionalism during his 17 months at the helm of the Secretariat. She also expressed her gratitude for the support and backing of the Navy. Their backing was key to beginning to reorganize the corporation and achieving great results. The Secretary of Citizen Security (SSC) of Quintana Roo, Julio Cesar Gomez Torres reiterated the commitment of the SSC to continue working to deliver real results. He reported that thanks to collaborative work, the state ranks third in reduction of intentional homicides with 51.3 percent less of these crimes, and specifically Cancun has managed to reduce its figures by 53 percent, for which he invited Padilla Barrientos to lead in that direction for the sake of citizen integrity. Stepfather in custody in beating and stabbing death of Cancun girl Cancun, Q.R. The stepfather of a girl reported to be 10 years old has been arrested in her death. The girl was reportedly beaten and then stabbed to death Wednesday at the hands of her stepfather while her mother was at work. Authorities were notified of the discovery of the girl by her mother Wednesday afternoon when she arrived home and found her daughters body. The mother ran to a nearby hospital in search of help. She was accompanied back to her home by a doctor who confirmed the childs death. Police were sent to the home in SM 93 between Miguel Hidalgo and Francisco I. Madero avenues in response to the official report of the death. Inside the home, Municipal Police proceeded to arrest the stepfather after allegedly being found partially clothed near the dead girls body. At the time of his arrest, he is reported to have appeared under the influence of an illegal substance. On Wednesday afternoon, the State Attorney General (FGE) confirmed the stepfather had been arrested and that an investigation was underway. The Quintana Roo Attorney Generals Office (FGE) reports that it has opened an investigation into the femicide of a minor, as well as the arrest by the Municipal Police of the alleged perpetrator, who was her stepfather. The events occurred this afternoon at a home located in Supermanzana 93 in the municipality of Benito Juarez, where the victim was found by her mother. Although she immediately called for help, the minor had already died. From the Quintana Roo State Attorney Generals Office, we reiterate our firm commitment to justice: no act of violence against children and adolescents will go unpunished. There will be no tolerance for those who attack the integrity of our children. Three arrested during at-sea operation to detect illegal fishing Merida, Yucatan A joint at-sea operation against illegal fishing results in three detainees along the Yucatan coast. As part of maritime surveillance efforts, the SSP, in coordination with federal authorities, seized a vessel carrying prohibited products and arrested three people. Three men were arrested by members of the Ministry of Public Security (SSP) during a joint operation with the National Aquaculture and Fisheries Commission (Conapesca) and the Ministry of the Navy (Semar) Wednesday after authorities located illegally captured seafood subject to a fishing ban. Authorities located the vessel during a surveillance patrol along the Yucatan coast as part of the actions directed by Governor Joaquin Diaz Mena to combat illegal fishing along the states coastline. The captured seafood was found on board their vessel during the Wednesday inspection. The detainees were identified as ELC, 33, from Yucatan and MHL, 33 and AGL, 46, both from Campeche. A 26-foot boat with no visible registration equipped with a Yamaha outboard motor, was also seized. The corresponding proceedings were forwarded to the competent authority for further follow-up of the case. The State Government urges everyone to respect the closed season and report any suspicious activity related to illegal fishing through official channels. It also recognizes the coordinated work, professionalism, and commitment of the SSP, Semar and Conapesca personnel in protecting marine resources, the Government of Yucatan said in a statement. Earned GuideStar Gold Seal Four Straight Years Received Charity Navigator 4-Star Rating for 2025 Only Healthshare Ministry with Both Gold Seal and 4-Star Rating CANTON, Ohio, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- For the fourth straight year, Liberty HealthShare has been awarded the GuideStar Gold Seal by Candid, ranking it among the country's best non-profit organizations for transparency and accountability. The Gold Seal recognizes non-profits for sharing information about their finances, leadership, demographics, programs, organization, and mission. Less than two percent of the 1.8 million organizations included on Candid have earned a Gold Seal. Liberty HealthShare is the only healthsharing ministry with both a 2025 Guide Star Gold Seal and a 4-star rating from Charity Navigator. "We are pleased to have been recognized with the 2025 Gold Seal from Candid," said Dorsey Morrow, Liberty HealthShare chief executive officer. "Combined with our 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, it demonstrates our commitment to accountability and operational excellence. We strive to be a good steward of our members' contributions." Liberty HealthShare is the only healthshare ministry in the United States to hold both the GuideStar Gold Seal and Charity Navigator's 4-Star rating. Candid's GuideStar rankings are the world's largest source of information on non-profit organizations. Its mission is to revolutionize philanthropy by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving. Candid was formed in 2019 when GuideStar and Foundation Center merged. Charity Navigator reviews more than 200,000 non-profit organizations on their accountability and finance, impact and results, culture and community, and leadership and adaptability. Liberty HealthShare's 90% score for 2025 is its highest rating ever. Established in 1995, Liberty HealthShare provides a cost-effective, faith-based alternative to health insurance. Members enjoy the freedom to choose their own providers while participating in a compassionate, Christian community. Transparency and stewardship are central, with programs tailored for families, seniors, and individuals. "While healthcare costs rise across the country, Liberty HealthShare is able to offer our members an alternative to insurance that provides greater value at lower costs," said Morrow. Liberty HealthShare offers six affordable medical cost sharing programs that are designed to fit the needs and budgets of individuals as well as different types and sizes of families. Suggested monthly share amounts for individuals range from $87-$369. Share amounts for families of four start at $319 per month. Most programs include access to both urgent care and mental wellness telehealth visits along with access to discounts for prescription drugs, dental care, vision care, and even LASIK surgery. Liberty Dental, the ministry's dental sharing program, features suggested monthly share amounts as low as $35 and allows members to see the dentist of their choice without any network restrictions. As Liberty HealthShare is not insurance, enrollment is available year-round with no requirement for special life events to qualify. For more information about its sharing programs visit LibertyHealthShare.org or call (855) 585-4237. Earlier this year, Liberty HealthShare established the Sharing Hearts Fund for Pediatric Wellness, a charitable arm of the ministry that seeks to provide support to Stark County, Ohio families with medical needs related to pediatric wellness. Liberty HealthShare is a non-profit 501(c) (3) charitable Christian medical cost-sharing ministry focused on members helping each other in times of need. The faith-based program, which facilitates healthsharing for its members, is a caring community of health-conscious individuals and families who choose to support one another and agree to the Christian values of stewardship to make healthcare affordable for all. Liberty HealthShare is not an insurance company nor is it offered through an insurance company. Liberty HealthShare's Sharing Programs do not guarantee or promise that a member's medical bills will be paid or assigned to others for payment. Whether anyone chooses to pay a member's medical bills will be totally voluntary. As such, Liberty HealthShare's Sharing Programs should never be considered as a substitute for an insurance policy. Whether a member receives any payments for medical expenses and whether or not Liberty HealthShare continues to operate, the member is always liable for any unpaid bills. SOURCE Liberty HealthShare " " Masdar City, Abu Dhabi. Marisa Martinez Tarran / Shutterstock Masdar City is a purpose-built smart city in the UAE aiming for zero waste and zero carbon emissions. With renewable energy sources like solar panels, electric vehicles, and energy-efficient buildings, the city minimizes energy consumption. Smart streetlights and autonomous vehicles also help improve safety and reduce traffic. " " Numerous tornadoes strike North America each year, but other continents? Not so much. Domenichini Giuliano / Shutterstock If a student asks you, "Where are tornadoes most common?" you may be able to answer their question in the scope of the U.S., but the global answer depends on geography, climate, and the collision of air masses. Tornadoes form when cold dry air, warm moist air, and unstable air meet under favorable atmospheric conditions, often triggering severe thunderstorms and extreme weather events. Singapore's COE system for car ownership remains a topic of political debate. (Photo: Getty) Senior Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Workers Party (WP) MP Jamus Lim recently exchanged views on Singapore's certificate of entitlement (COE) scheme for car ownership. The hot topic of COE came up during a dialogue at the Economic Society of Singapores (ESS) annual dinner on 15 July. ESS president Euston Quah had asked SM Lee about calls to let some groups pay less for COEs. The Senior Minister said there were many good arguments for why certain groups are more deserving of a car but he felt if the government were "to design a scheme which worries about all those things, it will fail." You can read the full transcript of SM Lee's response on COE and other topics, here. Professor Lim, who was also at the ESS dinner, penned his thoughts on Lee's comments in a Facebook post the following day (16 July) saying that what is "sorely missing" in the current COE system is "how those with genuine needs may not have the purchasing power to meet those needs, even if their needs may have more merit." You can read professor Lim's full FB post on COE, here. Lee, in the comment section of Lim's post, later clarified that he had "also made the point that rather than complicate the COE scheme", the government has ensured "that everyone has access to affordable and efficient transport options, though not necessarily to own a car" and directly helped "the groups who need more help, e.g. increasing the grants to families with young children, so that if they want they can use it to help pay for a COE." "Therefore where we disagree is not over who cares more for our fellow Singaporeans, but what is the best way to meet peoples needs and take care of them," wrote Lee. Lim has since responded to SM Lee's "additional elaborations" and closed his reply by saying: "I should also add that I did not mean to suggest that you do not care for Singaporeans, or that one of us somehow cares more. The disagreement, as you state, is the manner by which this is done. And that, in turn, hinges on our differing beliefs about the behaviour of people, and the efficacy of markets." You can read both of their replies in full in the comment section of Jamus Lim's original post. Copyright 2007, Sioux City Journal, By Dolly A. Butz, Journal staff writer Blythe Bloemendaal is on a mission. For years, the Lyon County sheriff tried to identify Wilma June Nissen, a young woman who was brutally murdered in 1978 and left to rot in a rural Rock Rapids, Iowa, ditch. Now, having affixed a name to Nissen's pink granite headstone, Bloemendaal is on the trail of her killer. Nissen was known only as "Jane Doe" until Jan. 31, 2006, when a Des Moines laboratory technician found a match between her left thumbprint and a print card from the Los Angeles Police Department. Bloemendaal believes clues to how the 23-year-old died may lie in her coffin, buried deep in the earth. He hopes that after Nissen's remains are exhumed Tuesday they will speak to a forensic anthropologist and help him bring justice to a woman he never met but whose life and death he can't dismiss. "Wilma was a human being and deserves to be handled that way, not just in life but now in death. Wilma deserves an end to this, and I am going to give that to her." Solving the nearly 29-year-old cold case has consumed Bloemendaal. Since he was elected sheriff in 2001, he has never closed the case file. Why does he care so much about a troubled young woman who may never have lived a day in his county? The question brings a smile to Bloemendaal's face. Chuckling, he pauses for a moment and looks down at the papers and empty coffee mugs strewn about his desk. "It's a homicide," he says. "It happened in my county. This is my job, and I will not drop it." Bloemendaal admits there isn't a day that goes by that he doesn't think about the case. A paper timeline of Nissen's life stretching across his office wall constantly reminds him of a murder unsolved. "So many cases like this become difficult, and you feel like you're beating your head against a wall," he says. "You have a tendency to put it in a drawer and there it will sit for months and years and never get looked at. It's on my wall. I can't allow that to happen." There is no doubt this case is personal to Bloemendaal. From researching Nissen's life, he feels as if he knew her. "You just get to a point in time where you think you know them well enough that you can almost describe how they feel on a certain day," he says. "You just get to a point where you think you actually know her." The details of Nissen's life are sketchy, but some fragments have emerged. She was born Oct. 19, 1954, in San Francisco to Charles and June Nissen. When Nissen was 8 years old, her mother abandoned her and her sister Mona, who is unable to hear or speak. While in their father's custody, the girls were neglected. They did not attend school and were locked in a bedroom closet while their father worked. At age 10 Nissen could not read, write or eat with a fork. When Nissen's father lost his job the neglect escalated. The family moved into a car. While Nissen scoured the streets for food, Mona was confined to the car's trunk. "This girl, if it wasn't for bad luck wouldn't have any luck," Bloemendaal says. "If Wilma was here today growing up as a child, you would feel so sorry for her. You'd want to just pick her up and take her home." In 1964, California authorities removed Nissen and her sister from their father's care. Nissen traveled to a handful of foster homes in search of a loving family. She lived with her final foster family for several years. As a young adult, Nissen, whose nickname was "Boots," hitchhiked from place to place. She resorted to prostitution as a means of survival when she is believed to have been married to Donald Wellington. In the summer of 1977 Nissen married Robert Irvin and gave birth to a daughter, Crystal Joy Irvin. In February of 1978 Nissen left California and was living in another state, Georgia, for the first time. She traveled to Atlanta with a 54-year-old man named Charles Inman Belt. Belt, the last known person to have seen Nissen alive, told detectives Nissen left his mother's apartment just a few days after arriving in Atlanta. On Oct. 4, 1978, Nissen's body was found in Lyon County. When discussing Nissen's lifestyle, Bloemendaal presses his fingertips together. His words are firm. His gaze is intent. In Bloemendaal's office, justice does not discriminate. "A crime is a crime, regardless of who the victim is, regardless of who the bad guy is," he says. "They all deserve your best effort. And this will get our best effort come hell or high water. And as far as I'm concerned, come hell or high water this will get solved, period. I accept nothing less." The crime scene A woman lies face down in a grassy ditch approximately 20 feet from a rural gravel road. Tall browning weeds conceal her decaying body. She is wearing light green denim pants, bikini style underwear, white patent leather calf-length boots and a silver ring with gold indentation on her right ring finger. She is naked from the waist up. Her feet are tied together with a braided hemp rope. On the morning of Oct. 4, 1978, a telephone company employee stumbled upon Wilma June Nissen's body while laying cable near West Lyon School, on Highway 182. The body was found one mile south and one and a half miles west of the school on the north side of the gravel road. Nissen's body, which investigators believe was dumped between July and August of that year, was so severely decomposed that her face was unrecognizable. Her lower jaw was missing, and only two whole teeth remained in her skull. A crime scene search team scoured the road and the surrounding area for Nissen's clothing and belongings and sifted the dirt in the ditch for her missing jaw and teeth, but officers found nothing of an evidentiary nature. "In every crime scene something is taken and something is left behind," Bloemendaal says. "At this crime scene, everything left behind seems to be personal to Wilma, not personal to the killer." Today, Nissen's remains will have to tell the story of how she died and who killed her. No evidence was present at the scene except for her body, her clothing and a rope, a fact Bloemendaal has not made public until now. Based on the position of Nissen's body, he believes the rope was used to pull her into the ditch from a nearby area or a vehicle. Bloemendaal says she was not killed at that particular spot. "That's why her arms come forward, her hands are forward and her hair is forward," he says. "The body is being drug by the feet into the ditch. To me it's an obvious sign that the body is deceased, being drug face down." In the 1978 autopsy report, a medical examiner noted a dislocation of Nissen's right elbow and a "suggestion" of a dislocation of her cervical vertebra, which could have occurred after death. This information is significant to Bloemendaal because he believes it shows Nissen may have struggled with her killer. "I think that the possibility is high by the dislocation, by the fact that her hands are free," he says. "If this is a person capable of fighting back, there may be DNA under (her fingernails)." The fact that Nissen's pants and underwear were wrapped around her left leg indicts that a sex act may have occurred before she died, according to Bloemendaal. Taking Nissen's life into account, as well as the crime scene, he contends the sex act may have been willing in the beginning but then turned violent. If such an event did occur, investigators also have a chance of collecting DNA when Nissen's body is exhumed. "This has a sexual assault or rape atmosphere to it, which means, if in fact that rape did occur, the deposit of DNA was made," Bloemendaal says. "Now it's a matter of, did the elements in the length of time of her being there prevent us from finding it now?" If a forensic anthropologist can determine a cause of death, a nationwide data information center called VICAP, or Violent Criminal Apprehension Program, could aid investigators in finding Nissen's killer. After Nissen was identified in January 2006, Bloemendaal submitted information about her murder to VICAP, which collects, collates and analyzes violent crimes for similarities. With a cause of death, Bloemendaal says, VICAP could narrow or grow his list of eight suspects. "It will open up the field for us for how many people committed crimes that have similar consistencies, so how she was killed is now very important so that we can open that database for other people for us to look at," he says. The VICAP submission also led Bloemendaal to seek the assistance of an FBI profiler. The case file is currently in the hands of a profiler who is working to identify characteristics of the killer based on the crime scene and the manner of death. Bloemendaal says discussions with the profiler pushed him to exhume Nissen's body. He also asked the profiler to have the FBI laboratory in Quantico, Va., conduct DNA testing on Nissen's clothing and the rope tied around her feet. "I think that you and I have a better chance at winning the lotto than us getting DNA, but I also know that I had to do it," he says. "You can't just not do it." Traces of a killer In the basement of the Lyon County Sheriff's Office, Bloemendaal slides a pair of blue latex gloves over his hands. He opens a freezer door and removes a package wrapped in crinkled white paper. His footsteps echo as he walks to a makeshift table and gently unfolds the stained, tattered and torn pants Nissen was wearing when her body was found lying in the ditch. A musty odor fills the air. It is the smell of death. Although evidence personal to the killer was washed away from the crime scene by rain or blown away by wind, Bloemendaal continues the search for traces of Nissen's killer on her clothing and her body. "I think DNA may become a larger factor here in the near future if we're capable of pulling off some DNA tests that we've asked to have conducted," he says. "It may play a huge role in this case." The odds of finding a biological blueprint of the killer will depend upon the condition of Nissen's remains, according to Deputy Iowa State Medical Examiner Dennis Klein. "It would really depend on what you're looking for and, say, in an exhumation, what the condition of the remains are when it is recovered," he says. "If it's dry, versus being wet, it would make a huge difference." Klein says samples of DNA from Nissen's remains will be collected just like trace evidence is collected from a crime scene. The material will be swabbed, preserved and processed at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Criminalistics Laboratory in Ankeny. If the DNA is viable, the laboratory will then create a profile. That DNA profile can be entered into the FBI laboratory's Combined DNA Index System, CODIS, which generates leads from biological evidence collected at crime scenes. A DNA match in the CODIS offender index, which contains the DNA profiles of convicted sex offenders, could identify Nissen's killer. Nissen's pants and underwear were previously tested for blood and semen, and DCI laboratory technicians were unable to identify either. Her fingernails were recently removed from her preserved hands and sent to the DCI laboratory for testing, which has not been completed. "The DNA under her fingernails would be gigantic, and would take us so much closer," Bloemendaal says. "We'll probably need just a little more to be making an arrest, but it will have taken us miles versus inches." No matter what, Bloemendaal will go forward. An unearthed coffin is the closest Krissi Haas will ever physically be to her mother, Wilma June Nissen. Haas was barely a year old when Nissen was brutally murdered in 1978 and left in a rural Rock Rapids, Iowa, ditch. The 23-year-old's remains were exhumed Tuesday morning at Riverview Cemetery in Rock Rapids in an effort to determine a cause of death with the help of anthropology and to aid Lyon County Sheriff Blythe Bloemendaal in cracking his county's only cold case. Haas decided to make the trip to Rock Rapids the night before the disinterment. She traveled five hours by car from Kansas City, Mo., with friend Marci Eigenschenk. "I'd been thinking about coming out for it," Haas said. "I thought no, I probably wouldn't be allowed to be there. I wanted to be here because I thought it would be good to be." Clad in a black dress and black lace-up knee-high boots, Haas approached her mother's grave site with Eigenschenk shortly after 8 a.m. She was greeted by a representative from Roste Funeral Home. The man told Haas, "I'm so glad someone from the family came." Haas quietly stood approximately 20 feet from her mother's grave under a blue and white umbrella as rain fell from the gray sky. A blue tarp shielded the grave site as a trench digger removed earth from Nissen's grave. Officials kept media and onlookers outside of the cemetery. At approximately 9:30 a.m. Nissen's concrete vault was lifted from the ground. Haas said the sight made her feel "numb." "I was scared it was going to break," she said. "I was scared something bad was going to happen. It comes out and the first thing I say is, 'My mom's in there.'" When Bloemendaal opened the top of the vault, Eigenschenk said his face "fell." She said he told Haas he was worried that the vault might contain a cloth coffin. In a garage near the Lyon County Sheriff's Office Haas watched as the vault was opened. "I was like, 'Wow, I've never been this close, other than visiting the grave, to my mother, even if it is just her body,'" Haas said. The vault contained a cloth coffin, as Bloemendaal had suspected. Inside of the cloth coffin, Eigenschenk said, was a metal coffin, which was damaged and rusted. She said it took nearly 20 minutes to pry the lid off. She said it contained a body bag. "Then they started cutting (the body bag) apart," she said. "That's kind of when we both stepped way back." Haas said once the metal coffin was opened, Bloemendaal told her it was time for her to go back into the Lyon County Sheriff's Office. The coffin was filled with water. "It was like getting punched in the gut by a professional fighter," Bloemendaal said of seeing the water. "I was so disheartened." Going into the disinterment, Bloemendaal had hopes of recovering DNA and determining a cause of death. "I hope we are successful," he said Tuesday morning before heading to the cemetery. "I hope this ends up being the key that we need." In the 1978 autopsy report, a medical examiner noted a dislocation of Nissen's right elbow and a "suggestion" of a dislocation of her cervical vertebra, which could have occurred after death. Because some of the bones were floating in Nissen's coffin, Bloemendaal said the chances of determining dislocation have decreased. "We will still be able to find microscopic knife nicks, bone nicks," he said. "We'll give it our best shot. We'll come out of there with a cause of death." If an anthropologist determines a cause of death, Haas asked Bloemendaal if he would reveal it. "If I have my answer to cause of death, it's going to be a secret to me," he said. "Because we have come forward to put everything on the table to stir human nature ... we have left behind the one element that is needed in an interview of the killer." The water also destroyed the possibility of finding DNA on Nissen's remains. "DNA is just completely blown because of the water," Bloemendaal said. "We're going to take samples of the water and we're going to give them to a pathologist to go microscope them. I'm not saying that we've got a prayer in heaven, but we're going to try." Bloemendaal, who estimates that Nissen's coffin holds 40 gallons of water, said the water will be siphoned out to make sure no evidence is lost. He admitted that his best chance of finding DNA was not inside of Nissen's bones, but underneath her fingernails, which were removed from her preserved hands and taken to the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) Criminalistics Laboratory in Ankeny. Bloemendaal said testing on Nissen's fingernails has begun, but is not yet completed. "Those fingernails are extremely important," he said. "They're not water logged. They were preserved. That's our best chance of DNA." In spite of the setback, Haas said she is hopeful an anthropologist can determine how her mother died. "It's upsetting," she said. "It's not productive for the tests they wanted to do. Hopefully they can still find some information from the bones." Recognition Affirms Founder's Leadership and Commitment to Women's Representation in Business BOSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Market Veep , a leading inbound marketing agency specializing in B2B lead generation, is proud to announce that it has been officially certified as a Women-Owned Business Enterprise (WBENC) by the Center for Women & Enterprise Certification Committee. This prestigious certification, issued by CWE in partnership with the Women's Business Enterprise National Council , affirms that Market Veep is at least 51% owned, operated, and controlled by a woman founder and CEO, Jennelle McGrath. "It's deeply meaningful to receive this certification," said McGrath. "As a woman who has built a business from the ground up in a traditionally male-dominated space, this recognition is personal. It's about showing what's possible and continuing to build something that creates value for our team, our clients, and our community." The certification is issued by the Center for Women & Enterprise, a nonprofit organization that supports women in business through education, resources, and official certification, in partnership with the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). For McGrath and the Market Veep team, this milestone signifies more than just a status update. It's a celebration of their journey, the challenges they've overcome, and the belief that representation in leadership and business matters. The agency has long been known not just for its marketing expertise but also for its people-first values and inclusive workplace culture. From flexible work policies to an emphasis on personal growth and team collaboration, Market Veep has built a workplace where all individuals are empowered to thrive. McGrath and her leadership team actively foster an environment of trust, creativity, and mutual respect, where diverse perspectives are not only welcomed but seen as essential to the company's success. This certification is a reflection of those values in action, recognizing that who leads a company matters just as much as how it's led. For more information about Market Veep and their services, visit www.marketveep.com . Website: www.marketveep.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennellemcgrath/ Podcast: https://podfollow.com/findingbusinesshappy About Market Veep Market Veep is a two-time INC. 5000 winner, HubSpot-accredited and diamond-certified partner, INC. Best Workplace Winner, certified Best Places to Work, SBA certified Women-Owned Small Business, Netty winner for Boutique Agency of the Year, and Most Innovative Web Design. Since its founding, Market Veep has helped tech companies, service companies, distributors, manufacturers, and many other types of B2B businesses reach their marketing and lead generation goals. They're a full-service inbound marketing agency fiercely committed to helping every company they work with grow into the best version of itself that it can be. About The Center for Women & Enterprise As the leading organization focused on women entrepreneurs, the Center for Women & Enterprise believes that empowering women benefits everyone. Since their founding in 1995, they have committed themselves to helping women launch and grow their businesses by meeting them where they are and providing essential resources, tools, and support for their success. SOURCE Market Veep ROCK RAPIDS, Iowa A photo of Krissi Atkisson's late mother, Wilma June Nissen, graces the six of hearts in a cold case playing card deck. The 23-year-old Californian with shoulder-length dark-blonde hair wears a muted expression in the photo, which was taken in May 1974. Her face is pale and gaunt. Nissen experienced neglect as a young child and resorted to prostitution in adulthood as a means of survival, before she was brutally murdered and left along a rural gravel road in Lyon County, Iowa. "I never met my mom. But the more I find out about her after death, the more I feel connected to her," Atkisson said by phone from her home in Kansas City, Missouri, in late June. At the time, Atkisson was creating a website dedicated to finding justice for Nissen. She said she "needs" to know who killed her mother nearly 47 years ago. Atkisson was barely a year old when Nissen, who went by the nickname "Boots," was found lying face down in a ditch near Inwood on Oct. 4, 1978. Nissen's decomposed body went unidentified until 2006, when her fingerprint was matched with records on file with the Los Angeles Police Department. After former Lyon County Sheriff Blythe Bloemendaal retired in 2012, Atkisson, who grew up in Seal Beach, California, began earnestly advocating for her mother's case. She set up multiple social media accounts to spread the word about the case, attended a conference that supports families of missing and murdered individuals, and talked with scores of journalists, true crime podcasters and "anyone who would listen" to her story. "There was nothing even going on with her case. I was having a hard time getting any communication from the sheriff's department, so I started looking into it," Atkisson said. Around 2020, Atkisson noticed information about her mother's case had been taken off the Lyon County Sheriff's Office's website along with the mention of a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Nissen's death. In 2021, Atkisson said she met with then-sheriff Stewart Vander Stoep and Jerry Birkey, a detective who has since retired, at the Lyon County Sheriff's Office in Rock Rapids. "I was told that they didn't think they were going to solve her case. That shattered me for a while," she said. In May, Atkisson returned to Rock Rapids to sit down with current Sheriff Brian Hilt and Detective Amy Stoner. She said an investigator from the Iowa Attorney General's Office Cold Case Unit was also present. Atkisson said she left the May meeting at the sheriff's office with no new information about the case and "no hope." Hilt told The Journal in an email that his office requested assistance from the Iowa Attorney General's Office Cold Case Unit. In the six months he has served as sheriff, Hilt said his office has received no new tips about Nissen's case. He said he is "actively looking into" whether funding for the reward still exists. "We are actively investigating the case and exploring whether advances in forensic technology may provide more information, but we are not going to share those specifics at this time. We are also considering releasing or re-releasing more information regarding the case. That is being discussed amongst those investigating the case," he said. The Iowa Attorney General's Office Cold Case Unit was established in 2023 with the goal of aiding local law enforcement in their unresolved homicide cases. It consists of experienced investigators and prosecutors who work in partnership with sheriff's offices and police departments to prioritize and investigate cold cases of homicide, missing persons under suspicious circumstances and unidentified human remains. Jen Green, communications director for Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird's office, referred questions about the case to "the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction." "The Attorney General's office does not comment on specific cold case investigations," she said in an email to The Journal. In April, Bird announced the launch of the Iowa cold case playing card deck, which Nissen is featured in, to help crack the state's more than 400 unsolved murders. The decks are being distributed to inmates serving time in Iowa's nine state correctional facilities in an effort to generate new leads. A hard life Nissen was born Oct. 19, 1954, in San Francisco to Charles and June Nissen. When she was 8 years old, her mother abandoned her and her younger sister Mona, who is unable to hear or speak. While in their father's custody, the girls were neglected. They didn't attend school and were locked in a bedroom closet while their father worked. Nissen could not read, write or eat with a fork at age 10. When Nissen's father lost his job, the neglect escalated. The family moved into a car. While Nissen scoured the streets for food, Mona was confined to the car's trunk. In 1964, California authorities removed Nissen and her sister from their father's care. Nissen was taken to live with Marshall and Maxine Holte in Anaheim, California, that December. During a 2006 interview with a Journal reporter, Maxine Holte said Nissen immediately picked up the family dog when she arrived at the couple's home. She said Nissen was excited to have a puppy of her very own. Nissen also called Marshall Holte "daddy" right off the bat. Holte described Nissen as "culturally deprived," but "interested in everything" and "really eager to learn." She taught Nissen with books at home. By June 1965, Nissen had reached the first grade. "(The Holtes) told me that she was super sweet, that she cared," Atkisson said. "She went through all that hell as a child and she still cared." In September 1966, Maxine Holte developed rheumatoid arthritis and was no longer able to care for her foster children. Nissen traveled to four foster homes before being placed with her final foster parents, Alice and Vince Haas, of Seal Beach, in October 1967. On her 18th birthday, Nissen went for a walk and didn't return for months. As a young adult, Nissen hitchhiked from place to place. She resorted to prostitution as a means of survival when she is believed to have been married to Donald Wellington. Nissen had two children, Donald Wellington Jr. and Michael Pizzaro Jr., before marrying Robert Irvin and giving birth to Atkisson (Crystal Joy Irvin) in August 1977. Atkisson was adopted by Nissen's final foster family and raised as Christina Haas. In February 1978, Nissen left California and was living in another state, Georgia, for the first time. She traveled to Atlanta with 54-year-old Charles Inman Belt. Belt told detectives Nissen left his mother's apartment just a few days after arriving. Investigators believe Nissen was working for a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, escort service before her death, according to Atkisson. But she said they don't know how Nissen got to Sioux Falls from Atlanta. Brutal murder On the morning of Oct. 4, 1978, a telephone company employee stumbled upon Nissen's body while laying cable near 190th Street and Cherry Avenue, north of Inwood. Inwood is about 30 miles southeast of Sioux Falls, South Dakota. The body was found on the north side of the gravel road. It was so severely decomposed in the grassy ditch that Nissen's face was unrecognizable. Her lower jaw was missing, and only two whole teeth remained in her skull. Her light-green denim pants and underwear were wrapped around her left leg and a braided hemp rope was tied around her feet, which were clad in white calf-length boots. Her body is believed to have been there since August of that year. After Nissen was identified in January 2006, Bloemendaal submitted information about her murder to the Violent Criminal Apprehension Program (VICAP). VICAP is a nationwide data information center, which collects, collates and analyzes violent crimes for similarities. The VICAP submission also led Bloemendaal to seek the assistance of an FBI profiler, and his discussion with the profiler pushed him to exhume Nissen's body from Riverview Cemetery in September 2007. Atkisson traveled from her home in Kansas City to Rock Rapids to witness Nissen's waterlogged-coffin being lifted from the earth. Nissen's remains were examined by a forensic anthropologist at the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation's laboratory in Ankeny. But after two days, the anthropologist was unable to determine a cause of death. She took the remains to New York for further study. Atkisson said authorities now know her mother's cause of death but haven't released it. She said Nissen's remains have not been reburied since they were exhumed more than 17 years ago. "They can't even tell me when they're going to bury her again," said Atkisson, who still visits Nissen's pink granite headstone, which is etched with the words "Our Girl." She left a plush toy German shepherd and a bouquet of pink roses there around Mother's Day. Hilt said it is his understanding from speaking with a former investigator who worked the case that "the remains were not reburied in hopes that advances in forensic technology would develop which could be utilized to do further analysis of the remains." DNA testing has been conducted on Nissen's fingernails, pants and underwear, as well as the rope tied around her feet. However, the results of that testing haven't resulted in an arrest. "They have amplified DNA -- it's from the rope or the clothing," Atkisson said. Atkisson said she spoke with Dr. Colleen Fitzpatrick, a co-founder of the DNA Doe Project, a nonprofit that seeks to identify John and Jane Does using investigative genetic genealogy, about the possibility of conducting further testing. "I offered for her to contact the sheriff's department or the attorney general's investigator, and I was told, 'no,'" Atkisson said. "(Hilt) told me they don't have enough DNA and have to wait on more DNA." Persons of interest In February 2010, prosecutors dismissed perjury charges against an 83-year-old Northwest Iowa man in connection with Nissen's case. John VanGammeren, of Inwood, faced the charges for allegedly making false statements under oath in the summer of 2009 when questioned about Nissen. FBI agent Jon Moeller told The Journal, after VanGammeren's arrest, that investigators learned of him while canvasing an area within a five-mile radius of where Nissen's body was found. According to the original complaint, VanGammeren was accused of lying about having prostitutes in his home, transporting a stripper or prostitute from Sioux Falls to his residence, having his wallet stolen while with a prostitute, having dancers in his home more than twice and arranging strippers to come to his house for a bachelor party. He also was accused of making a false statement under oath about knowing Annette (Nette) Jacobsen. At that time, Moeller declined to comment on Jacobsen's relevance to the investigation. Six years later, the Lyon County Sheriff's Office released a photo of a woman who worked for a Sioux Falls escort service called "Playgirls" or "Playmates." She went by "Sugar," but her real name hasn't been divulged. Investigators were also seeking information about another escort known as "Peaches." Sugar has been interviewed by investigators. Hilt said he can't find any significant release of information on the case since 2016 and "can't speak definitively" on whether that was the last time the Lyon County Sheriff's Office disclosed new details about the case to the public. "There aren't any new facts or details we are releasing right now," he said. Atkisson said she wants proof that authorities are "actively investigating" her mother's murder. "All I want to know is that they're trying, that they actually care," she said. Those with information about the case can contact the Lyon County Sheriff's Office at 712-472-8300 or email sheriff@lyoncountyia.com. SIOUX CITY -- The city of Sioux City has released the names of the final three candidates who will interview July 24-25 to be the next city manager. The candidates to succeed retired City Manager Bob Padmore include: -- Eric Swanson, interim city manager/city manager, city of Phoenix, Oregon; --Craig Clark, city administrator for the city of Austin, Minn., and executive director of the Austin Port Authority; -- Andrew Barden, city administrator, city of Winterset, Iowa; Mayor Pro Tem Dan Moore initially told The Journal the council planned to interview four candidates. But the fourth candidate later withdrew, after accepting another employment opportunity, Moore said Friday. "We have three really good candidates, we really do," he said. The city of Phoenix, Oregon's website states that Swanson has over 35 years of experience in local government management. He earned a bachelor of science degree and a master's degree in public administration from the University of South Dakota. He retired from the U.S. Air Force, in 2017, after 30 years of service. The city of Austin's website says Clark, a native of Indianola, Iowa, has a long tenure of public service at the local, state and federal level. He was hired as city administrator for the city of Austin in 2014. He also served as city administrator for Worthington, Minn. for just under six years. Clark double majored in political science and history at Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, and earned his bachelor degree. He also holds a master's degree in public administration from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota. Barden, a U.S. Army veteran, has over 20 years of leadership and public service experience, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has been Winterset's city administrator since February 2021. Barden earned a bachelor of science degree in crisis/emergency/disaster management from Upper Iowa University in Fayette and a master's degree in public administration from Drake University in Des Moines. Moore said the city received a total of 61 applications for the position. The individual selected will succeed Bob Padmore, who retired on April 4. Mike Collett is currently serving as interim city manager. The city is about three weeks behind the recruitment and hiring schedule that was originally presented by MGT Impact Solutions in mid-April, according to Moore. In March, the Council approved a $25,000 agreement with MGT, a Tampa, Fla.-based public sector management, consulting and technology services firm. "The recruiting consultant narrowed the field from 61 down to 15. Then, the mayor and the City Council members met independently with our recruiting consultant to review the 15 that he was suggesting we look at," Moore said. "So that was part of the delay, because if you can imagine trying to get five separate meetings set up with five of us." Moore said the council members went through all the materials provided by the consultant ahead of time and had a "good discussion." All of the interview sessions with the candidates will be open to the public. Swanson will participate in a formal interview with Mayor Bob Scott and the four other council members from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. July 24 in the council chambers. A question and answer session with the community will follow from 2:30 to 3 p.m. Clark will have his formal interview with the mayor and council from 1:15 to 2:30 p.m. July 25. A community question and answer session with him will be held from 2:30 to 3 p.m. Barden's formal interview will take place from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m. July 25. A question and answer session with the community will follow from 4:30 to 5 p.m. Members of the community are invited to submit potential questions to be asked during the community question and answer sessions by emailing HRinfo@sioux-city.org by 5 p.m. July 23. "I was really hoping we would have a decision made by the end of July," Moore said of when the council might extend an offer to one of the candidates. "I can't say that we would be ready to do it on July 28. If not then, I would hope by Aug. 4." Moore said it's also possible one of the candidates could be invited back for a follow-up interview. "If that's the case, I'm hoping that we can do a Zoom meeting, because we've already had the candidates there, we've met them, we've shown them the community," he said. "They're interviewing us just as much as we're interviewing them. I want to make sure that we look great and make our best effort to make our community look like it's one someone would want to come to and work and live and be a participant in." Padmore took the reins from Paul Eckert, who resigned as city manager in August 2013, after the council named him the interim manager. The council removed the interim tag a few months later, selecting Padmore over two other finalists for the job. Padmore, a Vermillion, S.D. native and University of South Dakota graduate, previously led the city's administrative services and finance departments before being named assistant city manager in 2008. He first arrived in Sioux City in September 1999. Following Padmore's retirement in early April, the council appointed Assistant City Manager Mike Collett as the interim city manager. Good Job is Slates advice column on work. Have a workplace problem big or small? Send it to Laura Helmuth and Doree Shafrir here. Its anonymous! Dear Good Job, Theres a man, Bobby, who works in an adjacent team to mine. We often collaborate on bigger projects across departments and occasionally get assigned to do things together. But I cant stand him. Hes a chronic mansplainer who swears he knows all, and he just rubs me and a lot of my colleagues the wrong way. Heres an example: A few team members and I had to work on a really tight deadline recently to land a big deal for the company. We didnt clue him in right away because it needed to be done ASAP. When we presented our results (including the landing of said major deal), his first reaction wasnt to tell us, Job well done, it was to chastise us for not including him. Ultimately, thats not the issue, though. I could pretty readily avoid him in my day-to-day work. Until now. A reorganization was just announced, and it turns out I will now be directly reporting to him! Its haunting me. I used to like my job, but this is making me dread it. How do I make it through this? My Worst Nightmare Dear My Worst Nightmare, Oh, no. This is a dreadful situation, but you can get through this. Ill start with immediate things you can do before we dive into longer-term strategies. As your new boss, Bobby will be in charge of setting your objectives, evaluating your performance, and calculating your annual raise. So, as unpleasant as he is, figuring out how to work with him to his satisfaction will help your career. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement You say hes a mansplainer, and of course, mansplaining is often motivated by arrogance, sexism, and obliviousness. But its also about controlcontrolling a narrative, establishing dominance, and having the last (or only) word. You know from his reaction to the time-sensitive deal you landed that he wants to be looped in on everything, which is a form of control, so do that. (And be honest with yourself about your motivations: Would you have included Bobby on that deal if he werent so annoying?) Over-communicate with him about every detail of your job. This might pre-empt some patronizing questions. Ask his advice on projects, especially if you have two perfectly fine options and can let him choose one. Its flattery, sure, but a form of flattery that Bobby seems particularly attuned to. And hell think youre brilliant whenever you follow his advice. Give him credit where its appropriate (even in borderline cases). Document your own accomplishments and share them with him in regular catch-up meetings and memos, again giving credit where he helped you succeed. You cant fix him, but you can use his weaknesses to your advantage. Advertisement Your workplace just had a reorganization, and workplaces rarely have just one. Theres a good chance another game of musical chairs will start soon. Are there other managers at Bobbys level or above youd like to work with? Cultivate relationships with them now and let them know youre interested in the work their teams do. What can you learn from Bobbys rise that can help you advance? Heck, just ask him: Hey, Bobby, congratulations on the promotion! How did you do it? Id love to learn more. Working under Bobby wont be fun, but it might be bitterly funny. While doing some background research for this column, I noticed that the English word mansplaining has been adopted in German, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Polish, Finnish, Dutch, and surely other languages. Its a universal experience! Your question shows that you appreciate the absurdity of your situation and have a good sense of humor. Maybe channel that into a pseudonymous social media account (not on your work computer) where you can share Bobbyisms and other peoples #badboss moments. I can picture it now: Today my boss mansplained capitalism to me. Laura More Advice From Slate I have been dating my partner for the last seven years, during which time we have had separate residences. However, he often stays with me on the weekends, and we have traveled extensively together. We are looking to move into a flat together soon. But there is one situation that gives me pause New Guided Program Designed to Streamline HubSpot Setup and Boost Adoption BOSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Market Veep , a leading Diamond HubSpot Partner Agency, is excited to announce the launch of its Onboarding Accelerator , a comprehensive self-guided program designed to help businesses achieve faster, more efficient HubSpot onboarding. The HubSpot Onboarding Accelerator offers new HubSpot users a seamless experience to quickly adopt and leverage HubSpot tools with step-by-step video tutorials, expert-led live Q&A sessions, team training resources, and more. This program is designed to reduce onboarding time and empower teams to start seeing results sooner. "As an Accredited HubSpot Partner, we've helped thousands successfully implement and optimize their HubSpot tools," said Jennelle McGrath, CEO of Market Veep. "We built the Onboarding Accelerator with this expertise in mind, offering an affordable, self-paced solution that allows teams to get up and running faster." Key features of the Onboarding Accelerator include: Step-by-Step Video Walkthroughs : Learn how to set up key features like email tracking, deal pipeline customization, social media setup, and more. : Learn how to set up key features like email tracking, deal pipeline customization, social media setup, and more. Comprehensive Onboarding Checklist : Stay on track with a detailed guide to ensure every important step is completed. : Stay on track with a detailed guide to ensure every important step is completed. Weekly Live Q&A Sessions : Join live sessions hosted by HubSpot experts to get real-time answers to your questions. : Join live sessions hosted by HubSpot experts to get real-time answers to your questions. Team Training Resources : Share training videos with your team to facilitate smooth adoption and process implementation. : Share training videos with your team to facilitate smooth adoption and process implementation. 90-Day Access : Onboard at your own pace with unlimited access to training resources for 90 days after purchasing. : Onboard at your own pace with unlimited access to training resources for 90 days after purchasing. Community: Share wins and build camaraderie amongst others learning HubSpot The HubSpot Onboarding Accelerator is currently available for both pro and enterprise level HubSpot subscriptions. "The reception to the Sales program has been great so far, and we already have versions in the works for the Marketing and Service Hubs to launch later this year," says Samantha Meza, Director of Operations. "It's never been easier or more affordable to onboard onto HubSpot than it is with this program. It really is a one-of-a-kind offering that's helping businesses get the most out of their HubSpot subscription." Excitement for this new product is building amongst HubSpot users due to: Proven Expertise : Developed by an accredited HubSpot Onboarding Partner, with years of experience helping businesses maximize their HubSpot investment. : Developed by an accredited HubSpot Onboarding Partner, with years of experience helping businesses maximize their HubSpot investment. Self-Paced Learning : With 90-day access, your team can complete onboarding on your schedule, without the rush. : With 90-day access, your team can complete onboarding on your schedule, without the rush. Comprehensive Training : Hub-specific onboarding courses for Sales, Marketing, and Service tools. : Hub-specific onboarding courses for Sales, Marketing, and Service tools. Exclusive Community Access: Engage with other HubSpot users who are also going through the onboarding process. The Onboarding Accelerator is the latest product released in Market Veep's full suite of HubSpot support offerings. Businesses looking for support with implementation and a more hands-on onboarding experience should explore their Discounted Onboarding , HubSpot Integrations , and HubSpot Migrations services. The Onboarding Accelerator is available for purchase today. Visit this link to learn more . For more information about Market Veep and their services, visit www.marketveep.com . About Market Veep Market Veep is a two-time INC. 5000 winner, HubSpot-accredited and diamond-certified partner, INC. Best Workplace Winner, certified Best Places to Work, SBA certified Women-Owned Small Business, Netty winner for Boutique Agency of the Year, and Most Innovative Web Design. Since its founding, Market Veep has helped tech companies, service companies, distributors, manufacturers, and many other types of B2B businesses reach their marketing and lead generation goals. They're a full-service inbound marketing agency fiercely committed to helping every company they work with grow into the best version of itself that it can be. SOURCE Market Veep Netflixs new limited series Untamed doesnt waste much time before giving you a heart attack. Two climbers, grunting and swearing, scale a cliff face, cramming anchors into tiny holds as the wind whistles by. The climber whos leading makes a tiny slip, and your adrenaline spikes. But thats nothing compared with how you feel when a girls body falls from the top of the cliff and gets caught on the rope tying the two men together, ripping the lead climber off the rock and creating a three-person pendulum, anchored only by the bottom climber. The men, battered onto the rock face by the dramatic swings this new weight causes, scream into the void: What the fuck? Lets rewind. The first episode of Untamed begins with a few seconds of b-roll taken at the gates to Yosemite National Park, where tourists in rows of RVs and SUVs wait for rangers to take their money. Thats important to mention, because the best thing about this six-episode showcreated by Mark L. Smith, writer of the movie The Revenant and creator of the recently popular Netflix Western American Primeval, along with his daughter Elle Smithis its setting. Its not just that its pretty (though the parts of British Columbia that the production chose to stand in for Yosemite are certainly stunning). The series has also got its finger pressed on something almost perverse about the contemporary American West in general, and its national parks in particular: People love this land, but their love takes all kinds of odd shapes. Sometimes, it just makes them into annoying, sweaty tourists for a week; sometimes, it has them give up their lives to take seasonal jobs whose main recommendation is proximity to the wild; sometimes, it persuades them to scale cliffs; sometimes, as with the mysterious falling girl whose death will be at the heart of the shows plot, it puts them in danger. Eric Bana plays a classic humorless and haunted lawman, Kyle Turner, who works for some obscure part of the National Park Service called the Investigative Services Branch. (Ah, to love anything as much as TV writers love to discover new types of law enforcement!) Assigned to look into the falling girls death and figure out how she ended up with a gnawed-up leg and a gunshot wound before she took her nosedive, Turner gets paired up with Naya Vasquez (Lily Santiago), a bright-and-shiny rookie park ranger whos recently moved up from Los Angeles. Paul Souter (Sam Neill, so avuncular as to be almost unrecognizable) is the chief ranger, a longtime friend of Turners who often covers for him when he flies off the handle. Rosemarie DeWitt is Turners ex-wife Jill, whos still a presence in his life, due to a shared grief. And Wilson Bethel is Shane Maguire, a former Army Ranger who disappears into the wild for lengthy periods, nominally to carry out his duties as a park wildlife management officer, but actually because he prefers it. The land brings something out in Maguire, and were left to wonder whether its good. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Related From Slate Netflixs American Primeval Is Relentlessly ViolentExcept When It Comes to One Odd Choice Read More Smith has claimed the American West and certain related themesviolence, lawlessness, found familyas the foundation of his work. While American Primeval succeeded at conveying a weary sense of grim grit in the setting of the 19th-century Utah War, watching it felt a bit like box-checking. (Yes, of course, the frontier was dirty; yes, of course, everyone died.) Untamed is, in contrast, full of surprises. Multiple characters point out, over the course of the show, that people who visit Yosemite, confined to their vehicles and limited in their time, tend to view only a small percentage of the total acreage. The rest thats out there things happen different out there, Turner says. In his investigation, he will poke into the places where things happen different, and well get to see a bit of the parks other side. Turner, of course, rides a horse. He forces Vasquez to ride one too (many jokes about sore butts ensue), and they crisscross the park, following leads. A group of squatters who live in a meadow get drawn into the investigation, and when their elder hippie leader (Marilyn Norry) is interviewed, shes bitingly bitter, an indelible presence in the interrogation room. A white squatter with horrifying dreads introduces himself as Pakuna (It means deer jumping down a hill ); the officer detaining him responds, Mines Milch; means I dont give a shit. There are claustrophobic scenes in an old mine shaft, as well as gorgeous moments, like when Vasquez scatters a herd of elk. Other characters include a seasonal worker at the bait shop, Turners Miwok friend on the parks road crew, andin flashbackthe dead girls mother, dying of cancer, sitting in their favorite spot, on the edge of a cliff. Advertisement Advertisement Because of these interesting surprises throughout, you could forgive Untamed for being built on a bit of a standard-issue crime plot: The dead person is a 21-year-old troubled blond white girl; the dark history that haunts Turner and his wife involves the violent death of a child. Turner, as a character, doesnt play by the rules and lives in a cabin full of unpacked boxes, because of his traumaall of which is par for the course in crime and Western genres. (Isaac, the character played by Taylor Kitsch in American Primeval, is also good at tracking and shooting, and he too lives out in the bush after losing a child.) Mark L. Smith says that Eric Bana was chosen for the role because hes good at playing silence; Elle Smith adds that he also looks good on a horse. Those things are both true, but they also mean that Turner, as a character, can still be a little difficult to accesshypercompetent and honest, rarely light or fun. Advertisement Still, when Turner grabs and threatens Maguire in a heated moment, Banas menacing eyes are magnetic and terrifying. When he discovers the girls phone, he tries to plug it in and starts swearing and digging through boxes to find the right cord. When he lowers himself off the cliff to see her body, he puts on gloves before touching her, as they both dangle in the aira singular and telling character detail. Bana and Smith know how to keep you watching, even when parts of the story start to feel familiar. In the summer, were all tourists. A Yosemite story hits just right. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Very shortly after I turned 15, the then-legal age for retail work in my New Jersey hometown, I found myself holding a gun to a babys head. I was a brand-new employee at Claires, the mall mainstay for cheap jewelry as well as ear piercing services, and I had justand I mean justbeen trained on the piercing process. The deceptively simple steps: Help the customer pick their new earrings, sterilize the ears, mark the area with ink in the stores trademark purple, load the similarly purple piercing gun, and shoot. Pulling the trigger would force a stud with a sharp point through the victims earlobe. The baby was fussy and wriggling, and she was right to be. I was terrified. I wanted to ask her mother to come back later, when someone who was more than 20 hours into their working life could punch holes in her child. But I wasnt being paid $5.15 per hour to run scared. Eventually, like the many other Claires piercers who have collectively adorned 100 million ears since the store began offering the service in 1978, I got the hang of it. The Association of Professional Piercers strongly advises against piercing guns, noting a shocking amount of potential problems from infection caused by everything from poor sterilization to tissue damage. (The horrifying phrase may require the jewelry to be cut out surgically stands out in the literature.) The APP favors a disposable needle, with the new earring to be inserted afterward. But I didnt know that then. All I knew was that the jewelry was always on sale and I had to call a manager if someone wanted their cartilage done. For the record, I mostly shot straight, with the exception of one elementary-age girl whose left lobe piercing ended up a few millimeters lower than her right. I pray she never finds me. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the years since I injected dozens of tiny baubles in stainless steel or yellow gold, Claires has gotten into even more hot water than all those poor babies who landed in my purple pleather piercing seat. It filed for bankruptcy in March 2018, eliminating $1.9 billion of debt. It announced a potential IPO in 2021, then abandoned it in 2023. Now, according to the fashion and beauty website WWD, Trumps tariffs, on top of an almost $500 million loan coming due December 2026, are pushing the chain toward another bankruptcy or even a buyout. James Gellert, executive chair at risk analytics provider RapidRatings International, speculated to Bloomberg that the companys current owners, Elliott Management and Monarch Alternative Capital, likely see no realistic path forward. Though Claires is not yet dead, the vultures seem to be swarming. If and when it meets its maker, it will join the sad ranks of other shuttered millennial mall rat staples, including Forever 21, dELiA*s, and Wet Seal. But unlike those departed friendsa term that feels true to me, though Id never use it to describe my relationship with the e-tailers I frequent todayshopping at Claires is and always has been in pursuit of an entirely frivolous joy. Everyone needs clothes, but its hard to categorize an under-the-sea-themed anklet or a pack of 20 Halloween studs as musts (although I would have said differently had you caught me on Oct. 30, 2005). One can go back to school without a locker mirror with cat ears, four matching best friend bracelets, or a make-your-own claw clip. But why would one, especially if one has a crisp $20 bill from Mom and Dad burning a hole in her pocket? The offerings are cheap enough that a girl with even the most meager of allowances can avail herself of a jaw-dropping amount of sub-$2 earrings. And, frankly, jewelry for tiny wrists and ears also slips ever so gently into a pocket. In my time there, we were told to just ignore shoplifters. Advertisement Advertisement Claires is geared toward kids and tweens, but instead of simply meeting the youth where theyre at, its also a way to propel yourself forward. It sold cheap dupes of the rings and bracelets my mom and grandma always wore. But instead of begging for the too-big and too-expensive pieces they wouldnt loan out, or hunting for sales at the nearby Lord & Taylor, I could, at Claires, buy my own jewelry. I could craft my own style, which at one point involved wearing days-of-the-week studs onwait for itthe wrong days of the week. As my colleague Heather Schwedel wrote in 2016, Claires wants girls to think of it as that place where you can do something as supercool and grown-up as getting your ears pierced. The philosophy may no longer be translating into sales, but it worked. Claires back then was a safe place for a young girl to try out being a woman. And, in my case, for a 15-year-old to try wielding a surgical instrument on an infant. Advertisement The (still-open!) Claires in my hometown mall is just as purple as ever, and the accessories have been on sale (buy three, get two free) for at least 20 years. The piercing chair is still in the same placeright in the window, outside of which your friends could gather and scream as the stud made its way through your ear. But last time I went, the shelves were only half full, and there was no eight-deep line of moms and daughters passing around the plastic case filled with starter earrings. For a little longer, at least, kids will be able to adorn their new piercing with a tiny crystal daisy or a minuscule heart. A pediatrician would probably make you use a boring stud. I would encourage you to go for the daisy. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. On the last day the Roosevelt Hotel was open, everyone inside was sweating. Not because of nerves, but because of the early July heat: The once glamorous Manhattan hoteland once infamous migrant shelternever had a central HVAC system. There were no more immigrants being let in, and none were left in the rooms upstairs. That afternoon, it was only a small gathering of the press and municipal employees, and the only guest whose arrival was allowed and anticipated was Eric Adams, who was running late. The New York mayor had announced in February that the hotel, which had been serving as a shelter for migrant families and intake center for new arrivals since May 2023, would be shuttered this summer. So all throughout June, its numbers had dwindled, the residents of its 1,000 rooms disgorged. Families streamed out the one side door not rigged with an emergency alarm, juggling suitcases, boxes, and strollers. Out came minifridges and folding tables and stacks of files in manila folders, shuffling past metal guardrails and security guards and piled into cabs. All new arrivals, who have continued to show up in New York City, although in much smaller numbers, were turned away. On June 24, one woman from South America showed up pushing a stroller and trailing a toddler in 100-degree heat. She had come to seek asylum, she said in Spanish. No aqui, said the security guard, handing her a piece of paper announcing that the facility was closed and redirecting her, in total confusion, to a different building downtown. Finally inside the Roosevelt, Adams took to the podium and began a farewell speech, celebrating the facilitys closure as much as what had happened while it was open. His remarks were characteristically defiant. Present day may not be kind, but history will be kind, he said. We have closed 62 other locations, he cheered, noting that arrivals had dropped to just 100 a week, a result of President Donald Trumps punishing new immigration policy, though he didnt mention that part. Adams, who has worked closely with Trump on immigration issues, had once said that the wave of immigrants who filled up beds and cots in places like the Roosevelt will destroy New York City. Standing behind him were a few city staffers who had worked tirelessly to get the Roosevelt running, and he commended them, messing up the name of one person and the title of another. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement What happened at the Roosevelt Hotel depends almost entirely on whom you ask. It came to be known by the immigrants who passed through there as Little Ellis Island: a staggering 155,000 people from 160 countries passed through the hotels doors over the course of two years, or the majority of the 237,000 migrants who came to the city during the so-called migrant crisis. It came to be known by conservatives nationwide as a headquarters of international gangs like Tren de Aragua, a hotbed of violent crime, both organized and disorganized, and illegal immigration. It came to be known by the mayor as a bargaining chip, as he struck a deal with the Trump administration over immigration enforcement that saw his federal corruption case dropped at the same time he announced the facilitys closure. And for many, despite a herculean act of public sector administration and civic service that resulted in hundreds of thousands of people seeking legally protected asylum being housed, fed, clothed, and vaccinated, it did not come to be known at all. Advertisement The hotels final day was met with zero fanfare. By early July, the only evidence of what had taken place there were a few leftover stains on an upholstered chair that were resistant to steam cleaning and some flat Mylar balloons that had floated to the ceiling and gotten tangled in one of the lobbys chandeliers. Advertisement The crisis began in 2022, with asylum-seekers from all over the world coming to the United States, fleeing persecution in various failed or failing states. In New York City, it was turbocharged by an act of political opportunism: That summer, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, began busing new arrivals to sanctuary cities. The first buses arrived in New York in August 2022. For the next 10 months, the numbers increased steadily, from one bus a day to two buses to 13. Sometimes, Abbott even sent planes. New York City public health employees implored the Texas governors office to give them at least a heads-up about when these buses would arrive, so that they could more smoothly accommodate the new arrivals. The governor refused. Ghost buses, as the employees began to call them, would show up in the middle of the night without warning, depositing migrants at the citys Port Authority, requiring the Roosevelt to run 24 hours a day. Advertisement Advertisement Abbott sought to manufacture a political crisis out of the issue, and he succeeded, with punishing disregard for the well-being of the people in question. Often, those people, upon crossing into Texas, were told they had two optionsthey could sleep on the street or they could board a bus. Some were not even aware of where the bus was going. Many did not want to go to New York City, some had scarcely even heard of New York City, and some had immigration court appointments in Texas just a few days later. Many would disembark in total confusion and dismay. I encountered one woman crying on the street who didnt even know she was in New York City, said Dr. Ted Long, senior vice president of ambulatory care and population health for NYC Health + Hospitals, who ran the Roosevelts health facility. But not all arrived under duress. Some were met by family members carrying balloons, which routinely found their way to the roof of the Roosevelt lobby, as people fell asleep awaiting intake and let go of the string. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement According to Long, the arrivals would reach the city in various states of fatigue. Sometimes, the cruelty enacted upon those migrants began before they even boarded the transports. One child, whose anti-epilepsy medication was seized and who was denied medical care in Texas, made it all the way to the Roosevelt and promptly had a life-threatening seizure. Many women arrived very pregnant, on the verge of labor, without ever having seen a doctor. Gov. Abbotts office told me that migrants underwent temperature checks and health screenings from NGOs before boarding the buses, but NYC Health + Hospitals staff said buses would arrive with people actively sick with communicable diseases like chickenpox and measles. Abbotts ghost buses sent 40,000 people to New York at final count. Advertisement And as New York City scrambled to address the influx, Trump blasted Democrats on the issue. The party managed little pushback. Adams, rather than championing his citys response, sided with Trump, attacking then-President Joe Biden. And while the city put together a robust response to the crisis, Adams had no desire to take credit for it, even when it was forced upon him by law. Instead, he tried to suspend New Yorks right-to-shelter guarantee, a 1981 standard that dictates that the city is obligated to temporarily house anyone experiencing homelessness, and was promptly sued. In March, New York City reached a legal settlement with the Coalition for the Homeless and the Legal Aid Society regarding the right-to-shelter requirements the Adams administration had been trying to roll back for the citys newest arrivals. That settlement meant that single adult migrants would be allowed a room for only 30 days, with families being allowed a room for 60 days. Advertisement As all of this played out, at the Roosevelt, an intake desk was set up in the lobby, and new arrivals were checked in and immediately run through a gauntlet of testing, screenings, and social services. They were given health workups and tested for various illnesses; those who tested positive were sent to quarantine on the second floor. Next, they were vaccinated against measles and more. Then came a depression screening; those dealing with acute trauma were sent to meet with social workers. Elsewhere in the building was work authorization application assistance; the application process was streamlined to just one hour for those who intended to stay in New York. About 150 of the rooms were reserved for short-term staysoften, the staff spent time trying to reach the family members who were living in other cities. Many people stayed just a night, relocated to other facilities across New York City or off to families in other cities, or even returned to Texas so they didnt miss immigration hearings. The remaining 850 rooms, for slightly longer stays, were occupied entirely by families, many of whom had a relative with acute health problems. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Meanwhile, the Roosevelts ballroom, a glorious spot as recently as the 1940s, was filled with cots to accommodate overflow. Its luggage room was overfull with spectacular quantities of luggage. Out of the old newsstand, which still smelled faintly of cigars, a million diapers were given out to young mothers, along with 10 million wet wipes and 700,000 bottles of baby food and formula. From May 2023 to May 2024, about 2,800 people arrived each week. This all happened at the hotel by design of its owners. Abbott wasnt the only person to see an opportunity. Many of the citys long-suffering hotels, still reeling from COVID, saw a payday. As Bloomberg reported, the Financial District Holiday Inn, in bankruptcy in late 2022, rented out all 492 rooms, at a 73 percent markup beyond its $110-a-night room rate, as a shelter facility. Inflated prices became commonplace: The city paid over $311 a night at the two-star Holiday Inn Express on Kings Highway in Brooklyn to house migrants. Advertisement The Roosevelt Hotel had been purchased in 2000 by Pakistan International Airlines, owned primarily by the Pakistani government, and had been closed indefinitely in December 2020, after the pandemic demolished the citys tourism. Already, the hotel was on its last legs. It sat empty until the city struck a deal to use it as what became the nerve of the recent arrival network, a shelter complex spanning more than 100 sites. The city paid $202 per room in a three-year deal, netting the government of Pakistan $220 million, according to the New York Times. Advertisement Getting it up and running took three weeks, said Adam Shrier, director of communications at NYC Health + Hospitals. There was plaster falling off the ceiling when we first got in. Advertisement While city staff scrambled to take in the asylum-seekers, everyone else, it seemedAdams, right-wing influencers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and morecontrived to get them kicked out. Advertisement Conservative media also saw an opportunity. The New York Post published a drumbeat of articles vilifying the Roosevelt as a lurid den of gang violence and crime, working its readership into a lather over the site as a satellite location of the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua. One article said, A pop-up barnyard would be less inappropriate for the neighborhood. Another Post piece focused on a 12-year-old pintsized gangbanger accused of being the ringleader of a Central Park robbery crew who lived at the Roosevelt with his family. The paper published and republished tales about a shoplifting incident, a domestic dispute, and a violent confrontation between the New York Police Department and some residents, repeatedly. Was there some petty crime? Sure, people were desperate, Shrier told me. The Post made those incidents out to be a wave of criminality. During the last week of the Roosevelts operations, a Post photographer tried to sneak into the facility but was denied. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Conservative YouTube channels followed suit. Nick Shirley, a twentysomething right-wing YouTube and TikTok star best known for a video celebrating the conditions inside El Salvadors CECOT prison, produced numerous video dispatches about the Roosevelt, racking up viral hits about the supposed life of luxury being enjoyed by people seeking asylum inside, and the violent criminal element. In late June 2024, the Biden administration effectively shut off access to asylum by executive order. In July 2024, the last of the Abbott buses arrived. The number of new arrivals plunged dramatically, and then Trump won the presidency, pledging mass deportation. If there had been chaos outside the Roosevelt before, with Trump in office, it took on a much different form. Numerous security guards told me that for months they witnessed ICE agents collecting outside the facility; they were instructed not to interfere if ICE tried to enter into the building. Advertisement Advertisement Indeed, after Adams struck his deal in February with the Trump administration to drop federal corruption charges brought against him, his office began working closely with border czar Tom Homan to stage massive raids on city shelter facilities. The Roosevelt Hotel was high on the list. Celebrity television star Dr. Phil, Homan, and Kaz Daughtry, a New York deputy mayor, were scheduled to attend a raid on the hotel for the cameras on March 11, according to reporting in the New York Times, in a large display featuring hundreds of officers. But the plan was scotched at the last minute. Advertisement Since then, ICE has trained its efforts on the courthouse at Federal Plaza, where agents are now routinely snatching up immigrants before or after their hearings, while letting Adams spearhead the pressure campaign to wind down the shelter system. By the end, a new group had seen an opportunity: developers. After a turnabout in fortunes in the city, New York real-estate titans are now slobbering over the chance to tear down the Roosevelt and convert it into a luxury skyscraper. Advertisement Youve already got One Vanderbilt and the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters. Two more giant buildings are planned on Park and another one on Madison, one unnamed developer told the New York Post in June. The [Roosevelt Hotels] block is in the hottest commercial-development corridor in the country. In July, one week after the Roosevelt shelter closed, Arab News reported that Pakistan is seeking a valuation of at least $1 billion for the Roosevelt site, which is now being heralded as one of the countrys most valuable foreign assets. The International Monetary Fund recently gave the country a $7 billion loan, contingent on it privatizing key holdings, including the Roosevelt and Pakistan International Airlines, by this month. Now that the migrants have all been evicted, the country is looking to secure a joint partnership agreement that will likely see the construction of high-end office space and potentially more. The site could feature a new tower of at least 1.3 million square feet. It was not ICE, or Adams, or conservative media outrage that got the migrants kicked out of the Roosevelt in the end. It was an expiring lease, the developer class, and the worlds foremost international financial organization. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It was like Ellis Island, man. What happened here will never happen again, said one of the security guards I spoke to in late June. As I left the Roosevelt on its final dayI was one of the last five people left insideI bumped straight into Shirley, the right-wing YouTube star. He was filming yet another video about the hotel, holding his iPhone aloft, recording a female co-worker talking about the life of luxury that had supposedly been led by international gang members inside. I waited until he was done filming, then told him I was familiar with his work. We sorta exposed this place, he told me. Within a decade of Ellis Islands closure in 1954, it had become a national monument. By 1990, it was a museum. Within a decade of the Roosevelt Hotels closure, it will likely be a site for young people Shirleys age to earn six-figure salaries in high-rises in Midtown Manhattan, its haunted legacy all but erased. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. On July 16, 1945, the Nuclear Age erupted into being, with the atomic bombs first test, code-named Trinity, in the desert of New Mexico. Today, 80 years later, the bomb still dominates our liveswe are still enmeshed in the Nuclear Agemore than many realize. Three weeks after Trinity, two more A-bombs were dropped from American planes onto Japanese citiesHiroshima on Aug. 6, Nagasaki on Aug. 9incinerating them in a single stroke, while also altering geopolitics and human consciousness in ways that few could predict at the time and most of us would prefer even now not to contemplate. The scientists of the Manhattan Project, who helped build the bomb and then witnessed Trinitys fireball, recognizedfeltits epochal shudder. J. Robert Oppenheimer, the chief scientist, famously recalled the passage of the Bhagavad Gita, I am become death, the destroyer of worlds. But he wasnt the only one who turned apocalyptic. James Conant, president of Harvard University and chair of the government panel that chose the wartime targets for this new weapon, scribbled in his notebook, The whole sky suddenly full of white light like the end of the world. Sir James Chadwick, the physicist who had discovered the neutron and who led the projects British team, wrote, A great blinding light lit up the sky and earth as if God himself had appeared among us. Yet one gulp-worthy thing about the Trinity bomb, and the ones dropped on Japan shortly after, is that they were pinpricks compared with the thermonuclear warheads in the worlds arsenals today. The Trinity test exploded with the blast of 24 kilotonsthe equivalent of 24,000 tons of TNT (a bit more powerful than the 12- and 20-kiloton bombs that hit Hiroshima and Nagasaki). Most of the warheads on our ballistic missiles today are set to explode with the power of between 90 and 450 kilotons. Some bombs in the U.S. and Russian arsenals would unleash the blast of a megaton1 million tons. And this doesnt take into account the heat, radiation, and radioactive fallout that would contaminate living creatures and land for hundreds or thousands of miles around. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President Harry Truman, who told reporters he didnt lose any sleep over the decision to drop the A-bombs (the alternative, an invasion of Japan, would have caused the deaths of thousands of American soldiers), grew more solemn once he read the reports of their devastation. On July 21, 1948, at a private meeting with a few top generals and David Lilienthal, the Atomic Energy Commissions chairman, Truman, looking down at his desk reflexively, spoke in a way he never did in public: Advertisement I dont think we ought to use this thing unless we absolutely have to You have got to understand that this isnt a military weapon. It is used to wipe out women and children and unarmed people, and not for military uses. So we have got to treat this thing differently from rifles and cannons and ordinary things like that. In one sense, the world has followed Truman in lockstep. A big reason why no one has dropped or fired a nuclear weapon in wartime in the 80 years since Nagasakia remarkable fact that almost no one would have thought possible at the timeis the fear of its consequences, aka Mutually Assured Destruction: If you blow us to smithereens, well blow you to smithereens. Advertisement Yet in another sense, in the decades since, military officers and civilian strategists have tried to work around Trumans warninghave tried to figure out how to turn the bomb into a military weapon. In the early days of the Nuclear Age, the top generals, like Curtis LeMay, the first head of the Strategic Air Command, did so with a ruthless attitude: War was about killing people and destroying countries, so the bigger the bomb, the better. However, later on, some strategists thought about how to fight a nuclear war because they calculated doing so was the best way to deter such a war from happening. Advertisement Advertisement Then, in the late 1950s and early 60s, the Soviets started fielding their own nuclear bombers and missiles. Suddenly, Americas policywhich President Dwight Eisenhower called massive retaliationseemed like a prescription for suicide. If the Soviets invaded Western Europe and we responded by blowing up Moscow and other major cities, then the Soviets would strike back by blowing up our own cities. As a result of this logic, our policy just as suddenly lost credibility. Would we commit national suicide? Or, as French President Charles de Gaulle put it, would an American president risk Washington for Paris? De Gaulle thought not, and he started building his own nuclear arsenalso he wouldnt have to rely on American sacrifice in order to deter a Soviet attack. (Great Britain also built some nuclear weapons, but its policy on how to use them was kept within NATOs military framework and coordinated with Washington. De Gaulle left NATOs military command structure.) Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement President John F. Kennedys secretary of defense, Robert McNamara, responded by changing the U.S. war plan to allow for limited nuclear optionsallowing the president to respond to a Soviet invasion by attacking only Soviet military targets, restraining from hitting Soviet cities, so that the war might be brought to an end before it spiraled out of control. (As was revealed many years later, the generals at SAC paid little attention to McNamaras new guidance; the actual policy didnt change for another 25 years. But thats a different story.) The U.S. also started building up its conventional military forces so we could repel an invasion without resorting to nuclear weapons at all. In the last decade or so, we have reached that point. To the extent people have thought a war in Europe might escalate to nuclear war, the scenario has the Russians losing a conventional war to the United States and NATO (or even to Ukraine) and trying to turn things around with a shock-and-awe volley of nukesnot, as was once the case, the Americans and NATO lobbing nukes in order to avoid losing a war. Advertisement Advertisement Nonetheless, the U.S. pledge to use nuclear weapons, if necessary, to ward off an enemy invasion, is still central to our various alliances. The policy is known as extended deterrencemeaning we are extending the policy of deterrence (if you attack us, well attack you) to cover our allies. The policy is also called the nuclear umbrella. Advertisement This nuclear umbrella is now on the verge of collapsing; certainly, it is showing holes. President Donald Trump has explicitly thrown doubts on whether he would come to the aid of Americas allies if they faced dire threats. Western leaders, including German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, have said publicly that Europe will have to build its own security force. French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer recently signed a pact pledging to combine their nuclear arsenals so that they protect each others country and not just their own. Politicians in South Korea and, to some extent, Japan have talked openly about breaking away from an unreliable American protector and even building their own nuclear arsenals as a deterrent to Chinese or North Korean aggression. Advertisement As far back as 1961, during his first year as president, John Kennedy feared what some called the Nth country problemthe possibility that an endless number of countries besides the United States, Soviet Union, and Great Britain (hence the fourth, fifth, sixth countries) might develop their own nuclear bombs. In conversations with top aides, Kennedy called the problem his private nightmare. He especially opposed the idea of a French bomb, becauseas he stated in a telegram to British Prime Minister Harold Macmillanthe Germans, whose relations with the French were still tense, might react by building their own bomb, a move that, just 15 years after the defeat of the Third Reich, would shake NATO to its foundations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But Kennedy feared the Nth problem in general for broader reasons. The bilateral faceoff with Moscow was frightening enough but at least manageable. Throw in half a dozen other nations, each with their own interests, allies, and enemies, and not only would chaos reign, but the two superpowers might get sucked into a nuclear war not of their own making. Advertisement Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, before he could formalize his fears into policy. However, five months later, his national security adviser, McGeorge Bundy, who retained the post after Lyndon Johnson succeeded Kennedy as president, wrote and signed National Security Action Memorandum No. 294, which declared that the U.S. would oppose the development of nuclear forces by other states, except for thosesuch as Britain, but not Francewhose arsenals would be part of a NATO nuclear force. By this time, though, things were unraveling. Israel was developing a nuclear forcewhich Kennedy had feared might prompt some Arab countries, then in alliance with the Soviet Union, to do the same. China started developing one as well. In response, Bundy assembled a panel to discuss the wisdom and feasibility of an international treaty on the topic. The groupwhich included 10 prominent scientists and former officialsmet in secrecy five times between Dec. 1, 1964, and Jan. 8, 1965. The discussion notes, which have since been declassified, reveal intense conversations. Some suggested it might be a good idea for some countries to get nuclear weapons; for instance, an Indian bomb might deter China from aggression in South Asia. But in its secret report, the group concluded that an expanded roster of nuclear powers would Advertisement Advertisement add complexity and instability to the deterrent balance between the United States and the Soviet Union, aggravate suspicions and hostility among states neighboring new nuclear powers, place a wasteful economic burden on the aspirations of developing nations, impede the vital task of controlling and reducing weapons around the world, and eventually constitute direct military threats to the United States. Advertisement (For more on this panel, see Chapter 9 of my 2020 book, The Bomb: Presidents, Generals, and the Secret History of Nuclear War.) The panels work led directly to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which was written (again, secretly) in partnership with the Soviet Union, whose leaders feared the spread of the bomb even more than American leaders did. On July 1, 1968, the two powers signed the accord along with 60 other countries. It has since been signed by every country191 in allexcept India, Israel, Pakistan, and South Sudan. Only one signatory, North Korea, has withdrawn. Advertisement Related From Slate A Potentially Dangerous Consequence of America First Read More The treaty has many loopholes, but it has held together with remarkable cohesion. It has reinforced many countries natural disinclination to develop nuclear weapons, including among some that have the technical capacity to go that route if they wanted. No signatory, again other than North Korea, has gone that route, in good part because they recognize the gist of Kennedys cautions about the Nth country problemand, in the case of Americas allies, because they have trusted, or at least felt its useful to feign trusting, our nuclear umbrella. Advertisement Advertisement If the umbrella collapses much further, some of those countries are going to take the leap. If a few countries abrogate the Non-Proliferation Treaty, others will follow suit. The treaty itself will be in danger. The prospect of new and expanded nuclear arms races will turn real. Kennedy feared the collapse of the relative order that the U.S.Soviet faceoff provided during the otherwise treacherous era of the Cold War. That order has long ago collapsed. An American president can no longer apply as much pressure on other leaders to abide by American interests at the sacrifice of their own. Trump did not create this situation, but he has accelerated its centrifugal forces. By fomenting doubts that America is still keen to defend its alliesthat doing so ranks among Americas own vital interestshe is intensifying a global anarchy that induces other leaders to provide for their own defense, including nuclear defense. This is the essence of the latest phase of the Nuclear Age. Sign up for the Slatest to get the most insightful analysis, criticism, and advice out there, delivered to your inbox daily. Real trouble this week for Mr. Donald Trump! After literally years of demanding the release of all legal documents related to the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein because right-wing voters had become convinced they would implicate high-ranking Democrats and other elite conspirators, the president has decided not to release these documents, and his supporters are mad! (My guess is hes not doing it because it would be a big administrative pain in the ass and the documents dont reveal anything sensational that wasnt already public, but hey maybe its a cover-up!) Prong No. 1 of Trumps crisis-PR strategy on this front has been to call his voters idiots, as he did Wednesday morning with another very long post about the matter on his Truth Social site, in which he claimed that the Epstein story was a Democratic hoax: my PAST supporters have bought into this bullshit, hook, line, and sinker. They havent learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years. I have had more success in 6 months than perhaps any President in our Countrys history, and all these people want to talk about, with strong prodding by the Fake News and the success starved Dems, is the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax. Let these weaklings continue forward and do the Democrats work, dont even think about talking of our incredible and unprecedented success, because I dont want their support anymore! Prong No. 2? Casually mention during a speech in Pittsburgh that your uncle mentored the Unabomber: My uncle was at MIT, one of the great professors, 51 years, whatever, longest-serving professor in the history of MIT, three degrees in nuclear, chemical, and math. Thats a smart man. Kaczynski was one of his students. Do you know who Kaczynski was? Theres very little difference between a mad man and a genius, Trump said, adding that he asked his uncle what kind of student Kaczynski was. He said, Seriously, good. He said, Hed correcthed go around correcting everybody. But it didnt work out too well for him, Trump said. A few small caveats here: Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Ted Kaczynski did not attend or take classes at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Trumps uncle John, the MIT professor, died in 198511 years before the FBI determined that the Unabomber was a math Ph.D. named Ted Kaczynski. That aside though, what a story! So true about the thin line between insanity and geniusalso, sounds like the Unabombers first crime was mansplaining, am I right? Related From Slate The Meltdown in Michigan Says It All About Where MAGA Is Headed Read More OK, thats enough laughs about the 79-year-old president who definitely has a solid grasp of whats going on (he also told reporters today that he believed Joe Biden made a mistake by appointing Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, which cannot be true for the simple reason that Trump appointed Powell himself in 2018). Here is a bit of serious analysis: Some of Trumps supporters have always been hardcore partisan Republicans, but some of them are people who werent previously politically engaged despite holding conspiratorial, vaguely right-wing beliefs about society being controlled from the shadows by powerful, sinister actors. These people, some of whom I met in Michigan in 2024, became ardent Republicans because Trump validated and encouraged them; he was simply the only politician who ever spoke their language, as it were. The former groupthe partisansmight go along with his Democratic hoax talking point. But the latter? The ones who were drawn in by signals of support for their beliefs about QAnon and vaccine microchips? Im not so sure! https://sputnikglobe.com/20250717/china-ready-to-work-with-sco-countries-to-restore-peace-in-middle-east-1122449866.html China Ready to Work With SCO Countries to Restore Peace in Middle East China Ready to Work With SCO Countries to Restore Peace in Middle East Sputnik International China is ready to cooperate with the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries and the international community to promote a political settlement and the speedy restoration of peace in the Middle East, the Chinese Foreign Ministry told Sputnik on Thursday. 2025-07-17T04:57+0000 2025-07-17T04:57+0000 2025-07-17T04:57+0000 world china shanghai abbas araghchi shanghai cooperation organisation (sco) chinese foreign ministry iran, north korea, and syria nonproliferation act https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/07/11/1122449705_0:205:2911:1842_1920x0_80_0_0_6a55ea1681816d736a1500a1aafc36d4.jpg On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi asked the SCO to promptly consider the situation with Israel's aggression against the Islamic Republic, as well as to provide Tehran with political support in light of the June conflict with the Jewish state. The ministry noted that "the situation in the region currently remains complex and sensitive." https://sputnikglobe.com/20250715/lavrov-emphasizes-the-need-for-a-peaceful-resolution-to-irans-nuclear-program-crisis-1122442781.html china shanghai Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International china is ready to cooperate with the shanghai cooperation organization (sco) member countries and the international community to promote a political settlement and the speedy restoration of peace in the middle east, the chinese foreign ministry told sputnik on thursday. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250717/kremlin-continues-to-analyze-trumps-recent-statements-1122451725.html Kremlin Continues to Analyze Trump's Recent Statements Kremlin Continues to Analyze Trump's Recent Statements Sputnik International Moscow continues to analyze the recent statements made by US President Donald Trump, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. 2025-07-17T10:14+0000 2025-07-17T10:14+0000 2025-07-17T10:14+0000 world russia vladimir putin us donald trump https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/05/03/1121969427_0:0:2809:1580_1920x0_80_0_0_15cafd9505b48edf8f4068f48b3c71e4.jpg Trump announced on Monday a plan for new military aid to Ukraine, specifically mentioning Patriot air defense missiles. This initiative involves European allies purchasing billions of dollars worth of US military equipment, including Patriot missile systems, for transfer to Kiev. Trump also said that he will impose 100% secondary tariffs against Russia if no deal on the Ukraine conflict is reached in the next 50 days. If Russian President Vladimir Putin deems it necessary to comment on Trump's recent statements, he will do so, the official added.Once the process of exchanging the bodies of military personnel is completed, it will be necessary to determine the date of the third round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added.Russia is waiting for Ukraine's proposals on a date of the new round of talks, the official added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250716/us-empire-of-chaos-goes-to-war-against-brics-1122449077.html russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia-nato showdown, ukraine crisis, nato ukraine, trump ukraine https://sputnikglobe.com/20250717/lvov-mayor-proposes-exchanging-remains-of-soviet-soldiers-for-ukrainian-pows-1122452738.html Ukraine Shares Long History of Desecrating Death Ukraine Shares Long History of Desecrating Death Sputnik International The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the demolition of Lvovs "Hill of Glory" and the exhumation of Soviet soldiers' remains, calling it a "blasphemous act against their ancestors." 2025-07-17T13:13+0000 2025-07-17T13:13+0000 2025-07-17T13:47+0000 ukrainian crisis soviet union russia's special operation in ukraine russian foreign ministry ukraine russia https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/07/11/1122452809_0:32:632:387_1920x0_80_0_0_bb0da5aa1fa548123f011709f71aa1cf.jpg The mayor of Ukraine's Lvov, Andriy Sadovy, has suggested trading the exhumed remains of Soviet soldiers buried at the "Hill of Glory" memorial complex for Ukrainian POWs.The memorial was built to honor Russian and Soviet soldiers who died in World War I and the Great Patriotic War (WWII). The demolition of the memorial began in April 2024. The Russian Foreign Ministry condemned the demolition of Lvovs "Hill of Glory" and the exhumation of Soviet soldiers' remains, calling it a "blasphemous act against their ancestors."Earlier in January, Ukrainian media reported that Lvov authorities planned to exhume and relocate the remains of Soviet soldiers, including Hero of the Soviet Union Nikolai Kuznetsov, as part of the dismantling of the "Hill of Glory" memorial. The site contained 200 individual graves, four mass graves, and Kuznetsovs tomb.The removal of Soviet-era monuments and re-naming of streets began in Ukraine in 2015 after new authorities launched a full-scale anti-Soviet propaganda campaign. Recently, the Kiev regime has expanded this initiative beyond Soviet symbols to target all historical ties to Russia.But here's the truth: this is not the first time Ukraine has desecrated death.Social media is full with derogatory comments of Ukrainian nationalists who used to mock the people burned alive at the Odessa Trade Union House in 2014. Or the savage joy in their comments on every social media post about a slain Russian. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250706/west-silent-as-azov-neo-nazis-shadow-lengthens-over-ukraine-1122402280.html soviet union ukraine russia Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International anti-soviet campaign ukraine, ukraine anti-soviet, lvov hill of glory, ukraine neo-nazi https://sputnikglobe.com/20250717/russia-ukraine-talks-on-pause-because-of-kiev---foreign-ministry-1122453452.html Russia-Ukraine Talks on Pause Because of Kiev - Foreign Ministry Russia-Ukraine Talks on Pause Because of Kiev - Foreign Ministry Sputnik International Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine are on pause due to Kiev because they are either avoiding the talks or cannot formulate when they will be ready for a new meeting, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. 2025-07-17T15:50+0000 2025-07-17T15:50+0000 2025-07-17T15:50+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine ukrainian crisis russia-nato showdown istanbul https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e8/08/0f/1119779665_0:161:3071:1888_1920x0_80_0_0_a1c5886e044d75f4e2543f7193e031a8.jpg The Russian delegation is ready to arrive in Istanbul for the third round of negotiations with Ukraine and expects Kiev to continue the negotiation process, Zakharova added. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250717/kremlin-continues-to-analyze-trumps-recent-statements-1122451725.html istanbul Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia's special miitary operation, ukraine crisis, ukraine hostilities, russia-nato showdown https://sputnikglobe.com/20250717/us-alienating-allies-with-tariffs-countries-may-view-trumps-moves-as-bluff-1122449999.html US Alienating Allies With Tariffs, Countries May View Trumps Moves as Bluff US Alienating Allies With Tariffs, Countries May View Trumps Moves as Bluff Sputnik International US President Donald Trumps strategy of imposing sanctions and tariffs is straining relations with allies, and countries are not taking it seriously, director of the Institute for Nuclear Studies at American University in Washington, Professor Peter Kuznick said. 2025-07-17T04:59+0000 2025-07-17T04:59+0000 2025-07-17T04:59+0000 economy donald trump us russia washington china https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/04/1a/1121933585_0:0:3072:1728_1920x0_80_0_0_4df911840bc8c080f76936e39769396d.jpg President Trump is alienating both allies and adversaries with his tariffs and sanctions. This approach may backfire. Countries are growing weary of Trumps tactics and may call his bluff, Kuznick stated. The professor emphasized that sanctioning Russia will have limited impact, but imposing secondary sanctions on nations such as China, India, Brazil, and others trading with Russia could be highly consequential. On Monday, President Trump announced that he would impose 100% secondary tariffs on Russia if no agreement on the Ukraine conflict is reached within the next 50 days. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick clarified to reporters that by secondary tariffs, the president meant secondary sanctions. Lutnick added that both tariffs and sanctions remain tools in Trumps arsenal. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250715/trump-is-under-pressure-of-eu-nato---lavrov-on-trumps-statement-on-50-days-to-end-ukraine-conflict-1122444980.html russia washington china Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International us president donald trumps strategy of imposing sanctions and tariffs is straining relations with allies, and countries are not taking it seriously, director of the institute for nuclear studies at american university in washington, professor peter kuznick said. HOUSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Morales Beverage Group, a leading name in premium alcohol beverage distribution, is thrilled to announce the appointment of Matthew Gallery as its new Chief Sales Officer. With an extensive background in sales leadership and a proven track record in the alcohol beverage industry, Matthew Gallery will drive the company's sales strategy, enhance market presence, and lead Morales Beverage Group's continued growth through its multi-state distribution operations and national import company. Matt Gallery, Chief Sales Officer Matthew Gallery brings a wealth of experience in strategic sales management and business development, having held key leadership roles in the alcohol beverage and hospitality sectors. His expertise in building high-performing teams and fostering strong client relationships will be instrumental as Morales Beverage Group expands its portfolio of premium spirits, fine wines, and beer across domestic and international markets. "We are delighted to welcome Matthew Gallery to Morales Beverage Group as our new Chief Sales Officer," said Eduardo Morales, CEO at Morales Beverage Group. "Matt's strategic vision, industry expertise, and leadership make him the perfect fit to drive our sales initiatives and deliver exceptional value to our customers and partners." In his role as CSO, Matthew Gallery will oversee the development and execution of a comprehensive sales strategy, lead national and regional sales teams, and cultivate key partnerships within the alcohol beverage industry. "We're entering a new era in the beverage industry, and Morales Beverage Group is ready to lead from the front," said Matthew Gallery. "In these changing times, we're doubling down on the powerful infrastructure and strategic foundation this team has built. My focus is on accelerating growth, sharpening execution, and unlocking the full potential of our distribution platform to drive unmatched value for our partners." For more information about Morales Beverage Group, Mexcor, and their mission to deliver exceptional beverage products worldwide, visit www.mexcor.com About Mexcor International & Morales Beverage Group: Mexcor International is a national importer of the world's finest alcohol beverage brands, recognized for bringing global excellence to the U.S. market. As a Hispanic-owned enterprise, Mexcor leads with innovation, cultural relevance, and a commitment to building lasting brand value. The company takes pride in elevating premium Latin American brands, serving as a gateway for authentic, heritage-rich spirits and beverages to thrive in the U.S. landscape. Operating alongside but distinctly separate, Morales Beverage Group serves as the dedicated distribution company, delivering these premium products to national retailers and consumers across key U.S. markets. Together, they form a vertically integrated platform that ensures seamless importation, distribution, and market executiondriven by a shared vision of quality, impact, and community. SOURCE Mexcor Inc https://sputnikglobe.com/20250717/zelenskys-money-could-feed-several-continents---russias-foreign-ministry-1122453700.html Zelensky's Money Could Feed Several Continents - Russia's Foreign Ministry Zelensky's Money Could Feed Several Continents - Russia's Foreign Ministry Sputnik International Volodymyr Zelensky's personal fortune could feed several continents, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday. 2025-07-17T17:29+0000 2025-07-17T17:29+0000 2025-07-17T17:29+0000 russia's special operation in ukraine ukrainian crisis russia-nato showdown maria zakharova volodymyr zelensky mark rutte https://cdn1.img.sputnikglobe.com/img/07e9/06/09/1122216616_0:320:3072:2048_1920x0_80_0_0_9ee855fdaddb789396ee091912b29614.jpg Zakharova was commenting on Zelensky's appeal to allies at the fourth Ukraine Recovery Conference in Rome to increase financial aid to Kiev, since the country is already spending funds "out of its own pocket." On July 14, during his meeting with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte, US President Donald Trump said Washington would supply weapons to Ukraine, with European nations covering all the costs. He called it a "very big deal" with "billions of dollars worth of military equipment" to be purchased from the US. The president also said that the military aid would include Patriot air defense systems with all the weapon's components. Russia believes that supplying arms to Ukraine hinders peace efforts and drags NATO allies into the conflict. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that any shipments containing weapons for Ukraine will become a legitimate target for Russia. https://sputnikglobe.com/20250715/war-with-russia-macron-wants-cash-and-clout-1122445831.html Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 2025 Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 News en_EN Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 1920 1080 true 1920 1440 true 1920 1920 true Sputnik International feedback@sputniknews.com +74956456601 MIA Rossiya Segodnya 252 60 Sputnik International russia's special miliotary operation, ukraine crisis, ukraine conflict, zelensky net fortune His horse didnt cross the finish line first, but that was OK with trainer Cam Capone, as Madden Oaks was placed first after Prince Hal Hanover was disqualified and placed second in last Saturday nights $898,630 Meadowlands Pace for three-year-olds at The Meadowlands. Going into the race, I thought the only horse that could beat me was Prince Hal Hanover, said the 26-year-old conditioner. Its too bad Todd [McCarthy, driving Prince Hal Hanover] didnt give everybody a fair run. I think we were going by, but I think sometimes, you never really know. As the judges looked at the stretch drive time and time again after the conclusion of the 49th edition of The Big Ms signature event with Madden Oaks trying to squeeze through inside of Prince Hal Hanover, the longer they examined the tape, the more the feeling in the crowd was that there was likely to be a disqualification. The fans were somewhat accustomed to that type of result, as there was also a disqualification just four years ago in the 2021 Pace, when Charlie May was taken down and Lawless Shadow put up. Braxten [Boyd, driving Madden Oaks] and I both knew there was interference, said Capone. My horse actually caught his right hind leg on Todds wheel disc, and thats when my horse put in three or four bad steps. It wasnt the way Capone wanted to win. He thought he had the best horse. He may have. But well never know for sure if he was in the Meadowlands Pace. Once you come off the turn, as a driver, you are supposed to pick your lane, said Capone. You can adjust your lane, but once you are committed to your lane, you have to stay where you are. Todd was three-wide into the stretch, [but nearing the wire], Braxten had to check our horse. Once Todd picked his lane, he drove Braxten down. There was enough room for Braxten to get through, but then Todd threw his bike underneath us. Thats when the interference became a real thing. Todd went into Braxtens path. I think where we really got him, is when his bike went into our path, thats when they said hes coming down for sure. Its not the way you want to win it, but Ill take it. Its one of those things. Youd rather win it the right way, but when youre not capable of winning it the right way, youll take it. With the victory, Madden Oaks lifted his lifetime stats to five wins from 11 starts, good for earnings of $716,504 for owners Samir Tawil, Paul Kautz, Alexander Henn and Nathan Fullmer. The son of Huntsville-Hard Eight has never failed to hit the board. In the Meadowlands Pace, Madden Oaks paid $15.20 as the 6-1 fifth choice despite starting out as the morning line favourite at 5-2. Prince Hal Hanover was sent off as the 9-5 public choice for trainer Dr. Ian Moore, whose Lawless Shadow was put up four years before seeing his horse come down this time around. For Capone, the trip in the race was ideal. Once Todd made the lead, giving us a two-hole trip, I thought I was going to win this thing, said Capone. It was a good situation to be in. It was a good race. My horse came out of it good. Now, he gets a two-week vacation. What lies ahead for Madden Oaks? The Cane Pace at The Meadowlands is next [on Aug. 2], said Capone. Hes got the New York Sire Stakes, the Empire Breeders, the New Jersey Classic, if we want to do that. Then, the Bluegrass, Tattersalls, Breeders Crown, Matron and Progress. There'll be no Little Brown Jug. Hes too big for a half-mile track. We were invited to the Milstein, but its not his style of racing. (Meadowlands Racetrack) Goodbye Ceia Later reaffirmed her status as one of Albertas top mares as she defeated Outlawguns N Roses and Stash The Cookies for the second straight week in the $16,000 Preferred Handicap Pace at Century Downs on Wednesday, July 16. She sat fourth early for Phil Giesbrecht as the inner three starters rocketed off the car with Albertas reigning Horse of the Year, Outlawguns N Roses (Mike Hennessy), shrugging off Stash The Cookies (Brandon Campbell) to secure command in a :26.4 opening panel. The field went single-file to the half in :56 when Stash The Cookies, the province's defending champion Aged Mare, rolled first-over, followed by Goodbye Ceia Later on her back. Stash The Cookies rumbled alongside Outlawguns N Roses on the backstretch, and they battled through three-quarters in 1:24.3. Goodbye Ceia Later joined them three-high midway through the final turn, and she motored past them before sailing home to win by a length over the closing Grey Sea (Kelly Hoerdt) in 1:53.3. Outlaw Blue Isle (Dave Kelly) finished third. The winner returned $10. Goodbye Ceia Later, trained by Chris Lancaster, is seven-for-20 this season with three wins at the top level at Century Downs. Lancaster of Airdrie, Alta. co-owns the six-year-old daughter of Vertical Horizon-Ba Bye Ceia Later with Velda Olding of Abbotsford, B.C. The mare has raked in $207,724 in earnings and won 25 times in 111 career outings. To view Wednesdays harness racing results, click the following link: Wednesday Results - Century Downs. (Standardbred Canada) By Blake Brittain (Reuters) -A California federal judge ruled on Thursday that three authors suing artificial intelligence startup Anthropic for copyright infringement can represent writers nationwide whose books Anthropic allegedly pirated to train its AI system. U.S. District Judge William Alsup said the authors can bring a class action on behalf of all U.S. writers whose works Anthropic allegedly downloaded from "pirate libraries" LibGen and PiLiMi to create a repository of millions of books in 2021 and 2022. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Alsup said Anthropic may have illegally downloaded as many as 7 million books from the pirate websites, which could make it liable for billions of dollars in damages if the authors' case is successful. An Anthropic spokesperson said the company was considering options to challenge the ruling and that the court failed to account for the difficulty of establishing copyright ownership "millions of times over in a single lawsuit." An attorney for the authors declined to comment on the decision. Andrea Bartz, Charles Graeber and Kirk Wallace Johnson sued Anthropic last year, arguing that the Amazon- and Alphabet-backed startup used their books without permission or compensation to teach its chatbot Claude to respond to human prompts. The case is one of several high-stakes lawsuits brought by authors, news outlets and other copyright owners against companies including OpenAI, Microsoft and Meta Platforms over their AI training. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement AI companies argue their systems make fair use of copyrighted material to create new, transformative content. Alsup determined in June that Anthropic's AI training made fair use of authors' works, but said the company still violated their rights by saving pirated copies of their books to a "central library of all the books in the world" that would not necessarily be used for AI training. Alsup said on Thursday the three authors could represent all writers whose books Anthropic allegedly downloaded from LibGen and PiLiMi, rejecting Anthropic's argument that identifying all of the copyright-eligible works and their authors would be impractical. (Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David Bario, Rod Nickel and Richard Chang) 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: Liz Zonarich/Harvard Staff Imagine an ant crawling in sand, tracing a path that happens to look like Winston Churchill. Would you say the ant created an image of the former British prime minister? According to the late Harvard philosopher Hilary Putnam, most people would say no: The ant would need to know about Churchill, and lines, and sand. The thought experiment has renewed relevance in the age of generative AI. As artificial intelligence firms release ever-more-advanced models that reason, research, create, and analyze, the meanings behind those verbs get slippery fast. What does it really mean to think, to understand, to know? The answer has big implications for how we use AI, and yet those who study intelligence are still reckoning with it. "When we see things that speak like humans, that can do a lot of tasks like humans, write proofs and rhymes, it's very natural for us to think that the only way that thing could be doing those things is that it has a mental model of the world, the same way that humans do," said Keyon Vafa, a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard Data Science Initiative. "We as a field are making steps trying to understand, what would it even mean for something to understand? There's definitely no consensus." In human cognition, expression of a thought implies understanding of it, said senior lecturer on philosophy Cheryl Chen. We assume that someone who says "It's raining" knows about weather, has experienced the feeling of rain on the skin and perhaps the frustration of forgetting to pack an umbrella. "For genuine understanding," Chen said, "you need to be kind of embedded in the world in a way that ChatGPT is not." Still, today's artificial intelligence systems can seem awfully convincing. Both large language models and other types of machine learning are made of neural networkscomputational models that pass information through layers of neurons loosely modeled after the human brain. "Neural networks have numbers inside them; we call them weights," said Stratos Idreos, Gordon McKay Professor of Computer Science at SEAS. "Those numbers start by default randomly. We get data through the system, and we do mathematical operations based on those weights, and we get a result." He gave the example of an AI trained to identify tumors in medical images. You feed the model hundreds of images that you know contain tumors, and hundreds of images that don't. Based on that information, can the model correctly determine if a new image contains a tumor? If the result is wrong, you give the system more data, and you tinker with the weights, and slowly the system converges on the right output. It might even identify tumors that doctors would miss. Vafa devotes much of his research to putting AI through its paces, to figure out both what the models actually understand and how we would even know for sure. His criteria come down to whether the model can reliably demonstrate a world model, a stable yet flexible framework that allows it to generalize and reason even in unfamiliar conditions. Sometimes, Vafa said, it sure seems like a yes. "If you look at large language models and ask them questions that they presumably haven't seen beforelike, 'If I wanted to balance a marble on top of an inflatable beach ball on top of a stove pot on top of grass, what order should I put them in?'the LLM would answer that correctly, even though that specific question wasn't in its training data," he said. That suggests the model does have an effective world modelin this case, the laws of physics. But Vafa argues the world models often fall apart under closer inspection. In a previous study, he and a team of colleagues trained an AI model on street directions around Manhattan, then asked it for routes between various points. Ninety-nine percent of the time, the model spat out accurate directions. But when they tried to build a cohesive map of Manhattan out of its data, they found the model had invented roads, leapt across Central Park, and traveled diagonally across the city's famously right-angled grid. "When I turn right, I am given one map of Manhattan, and when I turn left, I'm given a completely different map of Manhattan," he said. "Those two maps should be coherent, but the AI is essentially reconstructing the map every time you take a turn. It just didn't really have any kind of conception of Manhattan." Rather than operating from a stable understanding of reality, he argues, AI memorizes countless rules and applies them to the best of its ability, a kind of slapdash approach that looks intentional most of the time but occasionally reveals its fundamental incoherence. Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has said we will reach AGIartificial general intelligence, which can do any cognitive task a person can"relatively soon." Vafa is keeping his eye out for more elusive evidence: that AIs reliably demonstrate consistent world modelsin other words, that they understand. "I think one of the biggest challenges about getting to AGI is that it's not clear how to define it," said Vafa. "This is why it's important to find ways to measure how well AI systems can 'understand' or whether they have good world modelsit's hard to imagine any notion of AGI that doesn't involve having a good world model. The world models of current LLMs are lacking, but once we know how to measure their quality, we can make progress toward improving them." Idreos' team at the Data Systems Laboratory is developing more efficient approaches so AI can process more data and reason more rigorously. He sees a future where specialized, custom-built models solve important problems, such as identifying cures for rare diseaseseven if the models don't know what disease is. Whether or not that counts as understanding, Idreos said, it certainly counts as useful. This story is published courtesy of the Harvard Gazette, Harvard University's official newspaper. For additional university news, visit Harvard.edu. 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: University of California - San Diego Machine learning is an integral part of high-stakes decision-making in a broad swath of human-computer interactions. You apply for a job. You submit a loan application. Algorithms determine who advances and who is declined. Computer scientists from the University of California San Diego and the University of WisconsinMadison are challenging the common practice of using a single machine learning (ML) model to make such critical decisions. They asked how people feel when "equally good" ML models reach different conclusions. Associate Professor Loris D'Antoni with the Jacobs School of Engineering Department of Computer Science and Engineering led the research that was presented recently at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI 2025). The paper, "Perceptions of the Fairness Impacts of Multiplicity in Machine Learning," outlines work D'Antoni began with fellow researchers during his tenure at the University of Wisconsin and is continuing today at UC San Diego. It is available on the arXiv preprint server. D'Antoni worked with team members to build on existing evidence that distinct models, like their human counterparts, have variable outcomes. In other words, one good model might reject an application while another approves it. Naturally, this leads to questions regarding how objective decisions can be reached. "ML researchers posit that current practices pose a fairness risk. Our research dug deeper into this problem. We asked lay stakeholders, or regular people, how they think decisions should be made when multiple highly accurate models give different predictions for a given input," said D'Antoni. The study uncovered a few significant findings. First, the stakeholders balked at the standard practice of relying on a single model, especially when multiple models disagreed. Second, participants rejected the notion that decisions should be randomized in such instances. "We find these results interesting because these preferences contrast with standard practice in ML development and philosophy research on fair practices," said first author and Ph.D. student Anna Meyer, who was advised by D'Antoni at the University of Wisconsin and will start as assistant professor at Carlton College in the fall. The team hopes these insights will guide future model development and policy. Key recommendations include expanding searches over a range of models and implementing human decision-making to adjudicate disagreementsespecially in high-stakes settings. Other members of the research team include Aws Albarghouthi, an associate professor in computer science at the University of Wisconsin, and Yea-Seul Kim from Apple. More information: Anna P. Meyer et al, Perceptions of the Fairness Impacts of Multiplicity in Machine Learning, arXiv (2024). DOI: 10.48550/arxiv.2409.12332 Journal information: arXiv "Asia-Pacific Emerges as the New Powerhouse in Nonwoven Filter Media Market Amidst Accelerated Industrialization, Urban Expansion, and Manufacturing Growth in China and India" BOSTON, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the latest study from BCC Research, "Nonwoven Filter Media: Global Markets" is expected to grow from $6.6 billion in 2024 to $8.5 billion by the end of 2029, at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.2% from 2024 through 2029. This report provides a detailed analysis of the global nonwoven filter media market, offering qualitative and quantitative insights. It covers trends and market segmentation by filter type (depth and surface), form (air and liquid filtration), manufacturing processes (spunbond, meltblown, needlepunch, and others), and end-use industries including water filtration, transportation, HVAC, healthcare, food and beverages, industrial manufacturing, oil and gas, and electronics. This report is particularly relevant today due to the growing emphasis by governments and industries on environmental sustainability. As developing regions experience rapid economic growth, industrial activity increases, leading to higher levels of air and water pollution. This surge in pollution is driving the demand for effective filtration solutions across various sectors, making nonwoven filter media more essential than ever. The factors driving the market's growth include: Increasing Water and Air Pollution: Rising levels of pollution from industrial, urban, and vehicular sources are driving the need for effective filtration systems. Nonwoven filter media are widely used in air purifiers, HVAC systems, and water treatment facilities due to their ability to capture fine particles and contaminants efficiently. Regulatory Forces: Governments and environmental agencies are enforcing stricter regulations on emissions and pollution control. These regulations are pushing industries to adopt advanced filtration technologies, increasing the demand for high-performance nonwoven filter media. Green Buildings: The global push for sustainable and energy-efficient buildings has led to a surge in green construction. These buildings often incorporate advanced HVAC systems that rely on nonwoven filters to maintain indoor air quality and reduce energy consumption. Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Automotive Filtration: As EVs become more mainstream, the need for effective cabin air filtration and thermal management systems grows. Nonwoven filter media are used in EVs for air purification and battery cooling, supporting both passenger comfort and vehicle performance. Demand for Biodegradable Nonwoven Filter Media: With increasing awareness of environmental sustainability, there is a growing preference for biodegradable and eco-friendly filter materials. Nonwoven media made from natural or compostable fibers are gaining popularity in various sectors, especially where single-use filters are common. Request a sample copy of the global market for nonwoven filter media report. Report Synopsis Report Metric Details Base year considered 2023 Forecast period considered 2024-2029 Base year market size $6.3 billion Market size forecast $8.5 billion Growth rate CAGR of 5.2% from 2024 to 2029 Segments covered Type, Form, Manufacturing Process, End User and Region Regions covered North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, and the Middle East and Africa (MEA) Countries covered U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, China, India, Japan, the U.K., Germany, Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey and South Africa Market drivers Increasing water and air pollution. Regulatory forces. Green buildings. EVs and automotive filtration. Demand for biodegradable nonwoven filter media. Interesting facts: China , Europe , and North America collectively account for over 75% of the global market for nonwoven fabrics. Germany , China , and the U.S lead the world in the production of filter fabrics, making them the leading contributors in this specialized segment. Nonwoven fabrics represent approximately 40% of all technical textiles by volume, highlighting their significant role in the industry. Emerging startups Autotech Nonwovens (Gujarat, India ) : Autotech is a manufacturer of 'nonwovens' for automotive, filtration, medical and industrial applications. The company is a one-stop solution provider for nonwovens for automotive interiors, hot gas and liquid filtration, and N95 face masks. Monadnock Nonwovens LLC. ( Mt. Pocono, Pa. , U.S.): MNW originally produced nonwoven filtration media for vacuum bags but now designs more high-performance technical products, particularly in automotive and filtration media. The report addresses the following questions: What is the projected size and growth rate of the market? - The nonwoven filter media market is projected reach $8.5 billion by 2029, with a 5.2% CAGR for the forecast period 2024-2029. What factors are driving the growth of the market? - Key drivers include: - Increasing water and air pollution. - Regulatory forces. - Green buildings. Which market segments are covered in the report? - The nonwoven filter media market is segmented based on type, form, manufacturing process and end user. The type segment is further segmented into depth and surface. The form segment is sub-segmented into air filtration and liquid filtration. The manufacturing process is segmented into spunbond, meltblown, wetlaid, drylaid, needlepunch and apertured film. The end-user segment is sub-segmented into water filtration, transportation, HVAC, healthcare, food and beverage, industrial manufacturing, oil and gas, and electronics. Which type segment will be dominant through 2029? - Depth dominates the type segment. Which region has the largest market share? - Asia-Pacific has the largest market share gaining interest due to strict government regulations towards environmental pollution, growth of the manufacturing sector and rising awareness of air and water pollution. Market leaders include: AHLSTROM BASF CEREX ADVANCED FABRICS INC. DUPONT FIBERTEX NONWOVENS A/S FITESA S.A. AND AFFILIATES GESSNER HOLLINGSWORTH & VOSE JOHNS MANVILLE KCWW KHOSLA PROFIL PVT. LTD. LYDALL INC. MAGNERA CORP. SANDLER AG TORAY INDUSTRIES INC. Related reports: Pharmaceutical Filtration: Global Markets: This report provides a detailed analysis of the global pharmaceutical filtration market, segmented by type, product, filtration mechanism, category, technology, and application. It covers areas such as sterile and non-sterile filtration, various filter types and systems, and technologies like ultrafiltration and microfiltration. Applications include drug manufacturing, purification, and quality control. The market is also analyzed by the region of North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and the Rest of the World. Ultrafiltration Membranes: Technologies and Global Markets: This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the global ultrafiltration membranes market, segmented by material type, membrane type, and end use. It focuses on industrial applications across sectors like biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, potable water, wastewater, and food and beverages. The study examines market dynamics, trends, pricing, and strategies, along with profiles of key manufacturers. It includes both global and regional perspectives covering Asia-Pacific, Europe, North America, and the Rest of the World. Purchase a copy of the report direct from BCC Research. For further information or any of these reports or to make a purchase, contact [email protected]. About BCC Research BCC Research market research reports provide objective, unbiased measurement and assessment of market opportunities. Our experienced industry analysts' goal is to help you make informed business decisions free of noise and hype. Contact Us Corporate HQ: 50 Milk St., Ste. 16, Boston, MA 02109, USA Email: [email protected] Phone: +1 781-489-7301 For media inquiries, email [email protected] or visit our media page for access to our market research library. Any data and analysis extracted from this press release must be accompanied by a statement identifying BCC Research LLC as the source and publisher. Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2183242/5420295/BCC_Research_Logo.jpg SOURCE BCC Research LLC This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies . Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Before the announced settlement, Mark Zuckerberg was expected to testify in the Delaware trial next week. Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg and other company board members settled a shareholder lawsuit on Thursday concerning decisions made in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal. A trial over the long-running case had just begun on Wednesday, with defendants accused of overpaying the US government in 2019 when they engineered a $5 billion settlement for alleged privacy violations in the scandal. Sources familiar with the matter confirmed the settlement to AFP, without providing details. A spokesman for Meta, the parent company of Facebook, declined to comment. Lawyers for the defendants and shareholders didn't immediately return requests for comment. The settlement comes the same day that Marc Andreessen, one of Silicon Valley's most influential venture capitalists and a Meta board member, was scheduled to take the stand. Zuckerberg himself was expected in the Wilmington, Delaware courtroom on Monday. Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel and former Meta top executive Sheryl Sandbergboth former board memberswere also expected to face questioning in the court. Cambridge Analytica was a political consulting firm that was found to have improperly accessed personal data from millions of Facebook users for targeted political advertising, particularly during the 2016 US election and Brexit referendum. The scandal thrust Facebook and Zuckerberg in particular into a political firestorm, leading to major regulatory changes and public scrutiny of tech companies' data practices. The shareholders in the lawsuit alleged that the board members conspired to pay more to the US government in exchange for ensuring that Zuckerberg would not be named personally for wrongdoing in the settlement. High-profile case Longtime observers of the company were hoping that the trial would expose inside details of how Zuckerberg and the Facebook executives handled the scandal. "This settlement may bring relief to the parties involved, but it's a missed opportunity for public accountability," said Jason Kint, the head of Digital Content Next, a trade group for content providers. He worried that Meta "has successfully remade the 'Cambridge Analytica' scandal about a few bad actors rather than an unraveling of its entire business model of surveillance capitalism and the reciprocal, unbridled sharing of personal data." Zuckerberg was under huge pressure at the time from US and European lawmakers amid widespread allegations that Russia and other bad actors were weaponizing Facebook to sow chaos around major elections in the West. The multi-faceted case also alleged insider trading at the time of the events, with board members to be questioned about the timing of their share sales before the scandal erupted. The high-profile case was expected to bring further attention to Delaware, the state that many US companies choose for incorporation due to its highly specialized courts. The trial was presided over and to be decided by Kathaleen McCormick, the same judge who last year rejected Elon Musk's multi-billion pay package at Tesla. Tesla has since chosen to reincorporate in Texas and reports said that Meta was also considering a different state to register its business empire. 2025 AFP After the prosecution concluded its case against murder defendant Larry Bollin by calling six witnesses to the stand Wednesday, the defense brought in four witnesses including Bollins mother, Dixie Bollin. Dixie Bollin testified that she did not believe her son was the type of person who could have killed Timothy Smith and injured five other Kent Moore Cabinets coworkers. Larry is the most easy-going person in the world, Dixie Bollin said from the stand. If you cant get along with Larry you cant get along with no one. Hed give the shirt off his back to anyone. Bollins mother testified that on April 8, 2021, she was not at the familys home in Iola but was at her mothers house. The family had buried her mother three days previously on April 5, 2021. Bollin testified that she believed Larry was defending himself from workers whom she had never met but had heard stories about. She testified that Bollin called her a little before 3 p.m. on April 8 which was unusual as he rarely called before his shift was over. She said the phone call with him was strange, that it didnt sound like him but more like a pre-recorded call or an automated call. The defenses first witnesses were Kent Moore Cabinets supervisors. Margarita Menchaca was the team lead for the section that Bollin and Smith worked on. Menchaca had handled Bollins three-month and six-month reviews in July and October 2020 and testified that Bollin was nearing his one-year anniversary as an employee by April 2021. Menchaca testified that when the shooting first happened, she didnt know it was gunshots. She added she was shocked that could happen at the warehouse. I didnt know what was going on because I didnt know what gunshots sound like, Menchaca said from the stand. I ran to the other departments and yelled at them to get out. It was hard to go back to work after the shooting. Menchaca broke down a couple of times on the stand as she looked at photos of wounded colleagues in the aftermath of the shooting. Jesus Ramon Macias, the assembly supervisor at Kent Moore Cabinets, testified that when employees had issues they usually took those to their team lead but sometimes they came to him with problems they might have. Macias said that Larry Bollin came to him on two separate occasions with problems and that he was able to help solve them on each occasion. Texas Ranger Christopher Rainwater, who handled the investigation into the shooting of State Trooper Juan Tovar at Bollins home in Iola that Bollin will be later tried on in Grimes County, testified he and other Rangers exercised a search warrant on the house. According to Bollins mother, she didnt see the search warrant until she asked for it at 3 a.m. April 9. Rainwater testified that they found several guns and several ammunition boxes containing a wide variety of ammunition. The prosecution rested its case earlier Wednesday with its final witness being Nathan Whited, the Kent Moore Cabinets employee who was shot six times by Bollin after trying to de-escalate the situation by talking to Bollin. I love to help people out, Whited told the jury. I felt like I needed to go talk to [Larry] and try to talk him down. I wanted to start a conversation and try to help him. Whited testified that he asked Bollin why he was doing this and Bollin responded Ill show you why before turning and shooting Whited six times. Whited then removed his coat and shirt to show the jury where he had been shot. Many jury members appeared shocked at how many wounds Whited had and how he survived. Bryan firefighter/paramedic Markus Williams testified that he responded to the call at Kent Moore Cabinets as part of Medic 5 stationed at Bryan Firehouse 5 on Villa Maria Road. Williams, who has been with Bryan Fire Department for 22 years, spoke of how he could tell early on that Whited needed blood and surgery to save his life. Williams worked on Whited and transported him to St. Josephs hospital in critical condition. Kent Moore employee Walter Reyes testified that he had worked on the assembly line with Bollin and Smith and was one of those wounded by Bollin. Reyes showed the jury where he had been shot in the arm and on the left side of his body. Reyes testified that even though he didnt speak much English he still tried to have conversations with both Smith and Bollin. Aaron Daugherty, who still works on the Kent Moore assembly line in the special cabinets section as he did in April 2021, testified that when he first heard gunshots he thought it might have been cabinets falling but then turned and saw Bollin holding the gun and found a place for take cover. When the shooting stopped, Daugherty said he helped care for Nathan Whited and noticed two people were giving chest compressions to Smith. Eric Henderson, a member of the Bryan Police Departments Crime Scene Investigation unit in 2021, and Texas Ranger Cody Rogers also were called to the stand by the prosecution. Henderson answered questions on the process of the crime scene investigation after the unit arrived at 3:36 p.m. April 8 and began their process. Photographing the scene, documenting the evidence and accessing surveillance footage of the incident were all tasks performed that day. Rogers testified that he transported Bollin back to Brazos County and that the suspect was mostly quiet on the 45-minute drive from the Grimes County house to Bryan Police Department headquarters though was apologetic and didnt seem angry or upset. It was like I was driving down the road with a good friend, Rogers told the jury. Bollins demeanor was friendly on the drive to Bryan. Rogers also spoke on being in the room during Bollins police interrogation and that Bollin was cooperative throughout that process. The defense resumes its case Thursday morning, and the case could be in the 12-person jurys hands by the end of the day. Closed transaction will help fund construction of the 700-student Bold Charter School in the Bronx NEW YORK, July 17, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York City Regional Center is pleased to announce the closing of $19 million in New Market Tax Credit financing to assist with the construction of a new 60,000 square foot charter school in the Bronx. This is the ninth charter school in the city that has utilized New Market Tax Credit funding from a New York City Regional Center-managed entity and the sixth in the Bronx. The new school will be home to approximately 700 students in grades K through 8 and will be run by Bold Charter School, a growing Bronx-based charter school network. The school will feature 27 classrooms, small breakout rooms, an art room, music room, cafeteria, gymnasium, as well as science labs and administrative spaces. Established in 2019, Bold Charter School's stated mission "is to build world-class K-12 public schools that challenge and empower all students to excel in college and life." The organization works to help "students graduate accomplished both academically and personally, prepared to lead self-determined and purposeful lives." The new school will be constructed by Civic Builders, the nation's leading non-profit charter school developer. It is anticipated that approximately 96% of the 700 students will qualify as low-income. This $19 million transaction utilized a portion of a previous year's $45 million New Market Tax Credit award from the U.S. Department of Treasury to NYCR-CDE, a Community Development Entity managed by New York City Regional Center. To receive a New Market Tax Credit allocation award, NYCR-CDE was required to demonstrate a mission and track record of providing investment capital for low-income communities. Since 2016, NYCR-CDE has received seven separate annual tax credit awards totaling $315 million. Examples of previous fundings include: Construction of the National Urban League's new headquarters in Harlem Redevelopment of the Major Owens Community Center in Brooklyn Redevelopment of the Armory Track & Field Center in Washington Heights Expansion of St. John's Episcopal Hospital Center in Far Rockaway Construction of eight charter schools $23 million for DREAM in the South Bronx $20 million for Achievement First Linden Middle School in Brooklyn $20 million for KIPP NYC in the Bronx $18 million for Neighborhood Charter School in the Bronx $18 million for Promise Academy II in East Harlem $15 million for Comp Sci High in the Bronx $15 million for DREAM in the South Bronx $11 million for Ascend Charter Schools in Brooklyn The New Market Tax Credit Program was created by Congress in 2000 in an effort to stimulate private investment and economic growth in low-income neighborhoods and rural communities that lack access to capital. Historically, low-income communities often have difficulty attracting investment. The program aims to break this cycle of disinvestment by attracting the private investment necessary to reinvigorate struggling local economies. Private capital is incentivized by providing federal income tax credits to investors in exchange for making equity investments in low-income neighborhoods. About New York City Regional Center New York City Regional Center ("NYCRC") was approved by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2008 to secure foreign investment for real estate and infrastructure projects under the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. Congress created the EB-5 program to stimulate economic development through foreign investment. The program's mandate is to use foreign investment to spur job creation while simultaneously affording eligible foreign investors the opportunity to become lawful permanent residents of the United States. NYCRC was the first EB-5 regional center approved in New York City. Over the past 17 years, NYCRC has put $1.58 billion of EB-5 capital and $315 million of New Market Tax Credit capital to work across a broad spectrum of infrastructure and real estate projects in New York City. Much of this capital has been invested in low-income areas in need of long-term economic growth. Examples include: $873 million to finance ground-up, redevelopment, and infrastructure projects in Brooklyn , including seven projects totaling $385 million in the Brooklyn Navy Yard to finance ground-up, redevelopment, and infrastructure projects in , including seven projects totaling in the Brooklyn Navy Yard $321 million to finance ground-up construction in the Bronx to finance ground-up construction in the $232.5 million to finance the construction of a public high-speed wireless infrastructure network in New York City subway stations and along city streets to finance the construction of a public high-speed wireless infrastructure network in subway stations and along city streets $127.5 million to finance ground-up and redevelopment projects in Washington Heights (an Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone) To date, 41 projects throughout New York City have utilized NYCRC EB-5 and New Market Tax Credit capital to assist in the construction of over 6.9 million square feet of new development and renovation as well as critical infrastructure initiatives. In addition to fueling economic development, NYCRC offerings have enabled over 6,000 individuals from 24 different countries to become permanent residents of the United States through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program. About the New Markets Tax Credit Program Established by Congress in 2000, the New Markets Tax Credit Program assists economically distressed communities attract private investment capital. This federal tax credit helps to fill project financing gaps by enabling investors to make larger investments than would otherwise be possible. Communities benefit from the jobs associated with investments in manufacturing, retail, and technology. Communities also benefit from greater access to housing and public facilities in health, education, and childcare. Through the New Market Tax Credit Program, the U.S. Department of Treasury allocates tax credit authority to Community Development Entities (CDEs) through a competitive application process. CDEs are financial intermediaries through which investment capital flows from an investor to a qualified business located in a low-income community. CDEs use their authority to offer tax credits to investors in exchange for equity in the CDE. The tax credit provided to the investor totals 39 percent of the cost of the investment and is claimed over a seven-year period. With these capital investments, CDEs can make loans and investments to businesses operating in distressed areas that have better rates, terms, and flexibility than the market. Historically, for every $1 invested by the federal government, the New Market Tax Credit Program awards generated $8 of private investment. Since 2001, $81 billion in New Market Tax Credits have been invested in low-income communities resulting in the construction or rehabilitation of approximately 259 million square feet of commercial real estate. SOURCE New York City Regional Center Orangeburg County volunteers joined forces once again to welcome bicyclists participating in the Alzheimers Associations Ride to End ALZ South Carolina fundraiser. The annual event was held last weekend. Bicyclists participated in a three-day, cross-state ride spanning 260 miles to raise funds for Alzheimers research, care and support. They ride with the hope and belief that effective treatments and ultimately a cure are within sight, said Jerry Chapman, director of Ride to End ALZ South Carolina. Most ride in honor or in memory of someone who has had Alzheimer's or another dementia. This was the 17th race held by the Alzheimers Association since 2009. More than 400 cyclists met up at Simpsonvilles Heritage Park, the starting line for the entire ride. The finish line was in Mt. Pleasant, with overnight stops in Newberry and Orangeburg in between. The event was presented by the David Moore Foundation. It had local support from over 100 volunteers and sponsors who were eager to help the cyclists throughout the ride. Lunch sponsors included Mamas Kountry Kooking, Piggly Wiggly, The Williams Firm, Edisto Home Care and Hospice and Williams & Williams Attorneys At Law. Dinner sponsors were the Orangeburg Lions Club, Orangeburg Rotary Club and the First Baptist Church of Orangeburg. The ride in particular I love, because it's truly home grown, attorney Charlie Williams said. Judge Karen Williams, his mother and retired chief justice of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, died after battling early-onset Alzheimers disease on Nov. 2, 2013. Williams said the Alzheimers Association allowed him to find resources and care when his mother was diagnosed. He got involved with the ride by providing dinners to the riders and watched it grow from 15 cyclists to over 400. I was amazed by that, that they would ride a bike across the state of South Carolina and so I love to support it. It's been a great fundraiser for us, a good way to raise awareness. People see hundreds of riders coming through the community and all for a great cause. Williams said. Melinda Jackson, Edisto Home Care and Hospice owner, has been helping out with the ride for over a decade. She lost a loved one to vascular dementia and has been interested in all forms of the illness. She wants to ensure funds are being raised to continue treating citizens with dementia and Alzheimer's and to bring awareness around Orangeburg County. Cyclists participate in the ride every year to support loved ones who are currently or previously battled Alzheimers and dementia. They join together to spread awareness and help raise funds to treat and find a cure. There are more African American individuals impacted by Alzheimer's and dementia-related (illnesses) than we really think, and we really need to make that more known, said Dionne Fleshman, a sixth-year rider. Her favorite part of the ride is the community it creates with the cyclists. The individuals you ride with on a daily basis throughout the weekend are ones that become lifelong friends, she said. Van Matthews is a 72-year-old cyclist who has been a part of the ride from its inception back in 2009. He was chairman at the time and has been involved with the association for 26 years. Hes also diagnosed with prostate cancer but still chooses to participate in the race even if he cant ride the entire time. My goal was to make this the absolute best-supported ride in the whole country. And if you look around, you will see unbelievable support. There's a rest station and a water station every 10 miles there, and people can get water, snacks, whatever they need every 10 miles. So, it's wonderful. And sure enough, people have told me they've ridden rides all over the country, and they've never ridden any one better than this for support, Matthews said. Justin Osborne of Charlotte participated in the ride for nine years along with his HopFly Bike and Brew club. They compete each year and donate beer from their title sponsor, HopFly Brewing. This is all close to our hearts, and we've been really instrumental in making sure that the Alzheimer's ride grows every year with more individuals and more fundraising. We just love coming down and making a big week of it, Osborne said. Ride to End ALZ South Carolina had a $1.4 million goal. By Saturday it had already raised at least $1.1 million, with more donations to come. It's all because of people like the riders in Ride to End ALZ. They raise the money that helps us do all of this, said Taylor Wilson, director of government affairs for the Alzheimer's Association South Carolina chapter. They raise the funds that go towards us being able to go into communities like we did in Orangeburg, and do community needs assessments and to get brochures to the Orangeburg County Sheriff's Department. That's all been done locally, because they ride and I think that that's incredible, and it impacts the entire state. It impacts the entire country, but to stop here, to have our finish line in Orangeburg, which has the eighth-highest prevalence of dementia in the nation, according to a 2023 study, that's huge! That's us saying we see this community, we respond, and we're going to fundraise to make a difference, she said. You have reached a premium content area of Transitions. To read this entire article please login if you are already a Transitions subscriber. Not a subscriber? Subscribe today for access to: Full access to the website, including premium articles videos, country reports and searchable archives (containing over 25,000 articles). A Travel Advisory is a report from the U.S. Department of State that describes the risks and recommended precautions for U.S. citizensnot foreign nationalsin a foreign destination. The Department of State has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas. Information contained in these advisories reflects an assessment of threats only insofar as they may impact U.S. citizens, nationals, and legal residents. Find your destination and explore the Travel Advisory map before you go. Enroll in STEP Sign up for the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive email updates from the local U.S. embassy or consulate. Global Events Affecting Travel Review safe travel preparation tips for global events and crisis situations that occur abroad. International travel advisory map The international Travel Advisory map provides an overview of the level of advisory in different destinations. Select explore full map to zoom in on the detailed safety and security risks. Travel Advisories by destination Sort destinations by name, advisory level, or date issued About Travel Advisories Levels 1-4 We review Travel Advisories on a regular basis. 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Terrorists may attack with little or no warning, targeting tourist locations, transportation hubs, markets/shopping malls, local government facilities, hotels, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, parks, major sporting and cultural events, concerts, educational institutions, airports, and other public areas. There is also risk of isolated violence by dissident groups in Northern Ireland, focused primarily on police and military targets. Read the country information page for additional information on travel to the United Kingdom. If you decide to travel to the United Kingdom: Thunderous applause and cries of we dont want you here greet the Radiant Nuclear representatives partway through a townhall attended by more than 100 people in Bar Nunn on Monday night. Despite both vocal support and opposition from the audience, many of the attendees said Radiants lack of transparency and inconsistent information led to further confusion on both sides of the aisle. Many in attendance said Radiant appears to have been evading direct answers to the simplest of questions. Crowd questions Through Advanced Casper, have you submitted an application for $25 million of tax money from hard working Wyoming tax payers to go to your pocket? an attendee asked. The Joint Powers Board applied for the grant, and they can answer the questions about the grant with the Wyoming Business Council, Radiant Chief Operating Officer Torie Shivanandan answered. You were just talking about the manufacturing these cores is so specific. Now you said this is going to be your first ever facility, right, you dont have another one running, do you? another attendee asked. Shivanandan replied that the company has one facility in California, but no microreactors. She told attendees 10% of jobs created by the proposed Radiant facility in Bar Nunn are going to be specialists jobs. The company will work with local colleges to create training programs, but until then specialists will be hired from out of state and brought to Bar Nunn if they cant be found in-state. Shivanandan clarified near the beginning of the townhall that the company has not received a permit from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission or any of the other entities required to manufacture and transport a nuclear microreactor. Transparency? Radiant Nuclear representatives appeared to repeatedly dodge questions from Bar Nunn residents during the townhallmany attendees expressed their frustrations after the presentation, emphasizing that company officials were not too open to directly answering questions. Ranging from concerns over emergency procedures to questions about surveys and testing, just a handful of residents expressed satisfaction with Radiants answers. A townhall attendee asked for the failure rate of TRISO- fuel pellets, the percent of the time the ceramic coating on the uranium pellets breaks. Shivanandan replied that the target rate for DOD fuel is 0.0001% but the core hasnt been turned on yet, though seven studies have been conducted. Thats fine. What is the failure rate is what Im asking, an attendee said. You say you gave me a target number, but what? Radiant representatives offered to take down the attendees contact information and follow up, but the audience was dissatisfied. The attendee asked how many of the pellets had been broken unintentionally during testing. Things that we tested and then every system that weve built today, we test, we make sure we understand it and then we try and break it, Shivanandan said. The attendee clarified that they were asking about unintentionally breakage that occurred during the testing process. If youre testing with the intention of finding out whats wrong, to me, theyre all intended, Shivanandan. The attendee reiterated the question as the microphone was taken from them and handed to another attendee. Throughout the evening, audience requests for data and information were left unanswered. Several attendees asked to see the studies that led Radiant to choose Bar Nunn over numerous other sites across 14 states. [The data] for us choosing that specific location that youd like us to share, Im not sure that thatd be appropriate to the other states, for that to become public information on why they didnt get selected, because thats sensitive, Shivanandan said. Well, its a data-driven study, correct? So why wouldnt you be able to share that data regardless, I mean any data is negative for someone and positive for another, an attendee said. Thats how data works. Why wouldnt you be willing to share because you said it was because you looked at our infrastructure and our high schools are wonderful, which I do not disagree with that statement, but if youre going to stand up there and say you did studies, you need to be willing to share that with consumers and the people that want to educate themselves, so saying that wouldnt be fair to another community, why is that fair to us? In response to a lack of answers, attendees shouted over speakers. State Rep. Bill Allemand, R-Midwest, reminded them to be polite. You know that Im on your side. Im not on your side, you know it, were going to respect them, please, Allemand said. Survey questioned One attendee claimed Radiant had said on two previous occasions that if Bar Nunn did not want them to build their facility there, they would leave. Shivanandan replied that Radiant had a poll saying 70% of people want them here. Radiants poll, conducted by the pollster Cygnal, initially reached out to between 1,200 and 1,300 residents in Natrona County, choosing only 300 to take the full survey. A Bar Nunn couple who was surveyed said the questions were biased. The couple said the questions included: Radiants design is based on proven technology used safely for decades. The plant will be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and monitored constantly to ensure safety for workers and the community. Radiants new facility will create hundreds of good-paying, long term jobs in Natrona Countyfrom welders and electricians to HR and security. These are stable careers that can help young people stay in the area or return home to build their future here. America is falling behind in advanced energy technology compared to countries like China. Radiant is leading the way in restoring Americas competitive edge and global leadership in energy production. Survey recipients were asked to rank the statements on a multiple choice scale of much less likely to much more likely with an option to select unsure. The order of the multiple choice options was shuffled from question to question. The last question on the survey asked participants Now knowing this information do you support or oppose Radiant opening a nuclear microreactor manufacturing facility in Natrona County? None of the survey questions provided to the Star-Tribune addressed nuclear waste storage in Natrona County. A straw poll conducted Monday night asked all the residents of Bar Nunn present to raise their hand. Residents against Radiants waste storage facility were asked to leave their hand up. More than 50% of Bar Nunn residents present at Monday nights townhall are opposed to Radiant locating a waste storage facility near town. At a townhall hosted at The Hanger in late June, Allemand asked for a raise of hands showing attendees whether they would support storing spent nuclear fuel in their backyard. Sixty people voted against it, while four people, two of whom are employed by Radiant Nuclear, voted for it. To note, a little more than five dozen people attended this townhall. Audience reactions Lisa Jarrell has lived in Bar Nunn for nearly four years. While she is totally for nuclear energy, she said she is against storing the waste near Bar Nunn. Jarrell came to the townhall to find out why the waste storage needs to be so close to town. She said she is concerned about potential impacts on human and animal health, as well as any possible leakage into the water table. I felt like it [the townhall] was very, I guess slanted, and one-sided, Jarrell said. I felt the woman from Radiant who was doing a lot of answering the questions was very condescending and very evasive with her answers. Jarrell took the survey conducted by Cygnal, but said she found the questions confusing, with a heavy political slant. Some survey questions asked about political beliefs and affiliation. When asked his opinion of Radiants townhall, Not enough microphones and not enough people being able to talk and they didnt have them turned up so you could hear in the back, Daniel Estes said. A resident of Bar Nunn for more than 40 years, Estes has worked in Shirley Basin, the gas fields, and uranium mines to support his family, including his seven kids. One of his main concerns about Radiants project is the working conditions, he said. Jessie Dafoe, a Radiant representative, praised the countys school districts CTE programs and Wyomings Career and technical education programs. Later in the townhall, Radiant officials highlighted the need for welders at the Radiant facilities. Estes, who is not a welder, is concerned that hiring directly out of CTE and high school programs will lead to poor quality welds. Hes also concerned about the possibility of poisonous gases being released from the metal during welds, leading to potential health concerns for welders. Estes said he is also concerned that a gust of wind may overturn a vehicle carrying the microreactors, and if it takes months for Radiant to send another truck to pick up the reactor that the heater helium may cool off, which Estes believes could lead to a nuclear meltdown. A couple, who has lived in Bar Nunn for 13 years with their two daughters, attended the townhall, and expressed their frustration at what they described as evasive answers from Shivanandan. My impression would be a repeat of what Ive seen before: a lot of unanswered questions, and unfortunately the one unanswered question I had a follow up to was a promise they didnt keep, the wife said, referring to Radiants promise at the first townhall to notify residents at the next townhall when a survey was ready and make it available to all residents. The repeat problem were seeing is half truths and some lies, the husband said. The couple said that makes it really hard to have any trust in Radiant, a theme Natrona County residents reiterated throughout the townhall. In a hotly contested Evansville Town Council meeting Monday, the councils regular business was derailed by a lengthy public comment period marred by name-calling and heckling before a scathing address from Mayor Candace Machado stole the show. The meeting was the culmination of more than a month of frequent, vocal conflict between Machado and a small group of constituents regarding the mayors display of Pride flags on the town halls lawn in June that has taken over multiple town council meetings. In protest of the display, a resident drew swastikas outside the local government building and planted Nazi flags later that week. On Monday, the council approved an amendment to the towns employee handbook that regulated the concealed carry of firearms on town premises. The town also awarded Casper-based Treto Construction a $650,000 contract to add sidewalks to several Evansville roads. It likewise authorized Machado to sign a $4.3 million contract with Wayne Coleman Construction to revamp infrastructure along Mystery Bridge and Wildcat Road. Public comment and address At the beginning of the meeting, shortly before and during public comment, Machado repeatedly emphasized the importance of maintaining decorum in the meeting. Those in attendance apparently didnt share the mayors sentiment. Following its regular meeting agenda items, the floor opened up for public comment, which rapidly degraded into heckling and accusations of misconduct from those in attendance. First to the podium was a Casper resident who voiced her support of Machados rebuke of statewide property tax cuts. Next up was Jeremy Brown, an Evansville resident whose frequent and sharp criticisms of the mayor have been the center of the towns political discourse for more than a month. He opened with a question that hes asked several times in recent meetings: Do you plan on resigning at all, Mayor Machado? After Machado responded in the negative, Brown followed up with additional questions also confrontational in nature which Machado didnt answer. Following her silence, Brown began a more direct appeal to the council. We literally have a [totalitarian] type of government that doesnt give the citizens the chance to speak their minds. You only get three minutes to speed read through your concerns, Brown said. Another part of Browns statement was briefly interrupted by loud coughing from the audience. Brown then accused the town of trying to dodge his questions and ignoring his complaints. It seems to be a common theme with this council and the town attorney zero transparency and zero accountability, Brown said. Whats happening? Mr. Brown, what I will say and I wont engage further with you is our town attorney and our staff have answered your questions, Machado responded. And their answers to your questions, for some reason, you are not liking. Later on, Machado said, Mr. Brown, I do not have an issue with you. I have a major issue with you, Brown replied. I hope you step down. I hope you resign thats why were going to move forward with this petition. Following Browns comment which actually exceeded the towns three-minute limit by about 40 seconds, including Machados responses Brown returned to his seat. On the way back, an audience member called him an asshole, which prompted an indignant response from one of Browns associates. She just called him an a-hole, Ryan Perry, who has spent much of the last month defending the public display of Nazi imagery, complained. Thats not decorum. She needs to be kicked out of the meeting. Following the outbursts, Perry took to the podium and relayed a similar sentiment to Brown. Perry and Brown accused Machado of violating town ordinances and ethics, though they didnt cite specific parts of the municipal code. I have yet to see the specifics on these alleged ordinances or ethics that I have violated. They have not been presented to myself, to the council or to the town attorneys as of this meeting, Machado said. It was then Machados turn: She levied a multitude of accusations toward Councilman Greg Flesvig, who called for her resignation in a previous council meeting. Machado said in an interview with the Star-Tribune afterward that her allegations were substantiated by witnesses and meeting records, though she declined to provide either. In this moment, I will not be asking for Councilman Flesvig to resign his position, as he has so willingly brought this into an open public forum in the last meeting, she said. What I will ask of him is why he chose to come to council meetings smelling of alcohol on several occasions during my time as mayor and before my times as mayor; why he gave another councilmember $100 during Christmas in a card and dropped it off at their home when no other council members received [anything] from him; why he made inappropriate statements catcalling to a female councilwoman at the WAM conference in January; and why he instigated an issue between myself and a house representative that I had never even met. Following an executive session that punctuated the public meeting, Flesvig said the comments regarding alcohol were merely allegations. Theres no proof of that, Flesvig said of Machados allegations. There was conversation of that. Everything was verbal. He noted the card he gave to a councilmember with cash was only a Christmas gift. Flesvig declined to comment further on Tuesday, saying he had been advised to keep mum. On Monday night, Flesvig provided the Star-Tribune with a copy of a letter signed by city attorney Alia Scott, which outlined an ordinance in Evansville Municipal Code. It is the official policy of the Town of Evansville that no objects or items, which include but are not limited to: written or oral advertising, signs, flags, posters, board signs, electronic signs, audio or visual recordings, speakers, projectors or projections, are permitted to be posted on the private property of the Town of Evansville without written approval from the Governing Body, which is obtained through the proper channels at a Town Council Meeting, according to the letter. Machado on Tuesday night said she is confident that no ordinances were broken at the time of me placing the flags on the lawn. City attorneys did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Background The ongoing dispute over the Pride display began shortly before a town council meeting on June 9, when Brown drew swastikas on the pathways around town hall in protest of miniature Pride flags that was planted that day. The flags were donated by Casper Pride and Machado put them up herself, stressing in a Facebook post that no taxpayer funds were used in putting out the flags. In previous months, Machado had erected similar displays with materials similarly provided by local nonprofits in support of other causes, like Child Abuse Awareness Month. The ordinance named in Scotts letter was not cited in relation to any of the other displays. In the June 9 council meeting, Brown said hed plant Nazi flags next to the Pride flags if the rainbow flags werent taken down by the time his order arrived. He followed through with that on two days later, though the flags only remained up for seven minutes, Machado said. After the Nazi flags were removed by a passerby not town officials Machado reached out to Brown via email to strike a deal in an attempt to end the feud. They agreed that Machado would remove the Pride flags by 5 p.m. the following Sunday, which Machado did. Brown since accused Machado of reneging on their agreement by putting up iridescent streamers and other rainbow-esque decor in her office and went back to publicly criticizing the mayor. He also started a petition to recall Machado which Machado said on Tuesday actually doesnt apply to her position that has reached 123 of its 222-signature goal. That 222-signature mark would represent 25% of Evansvilles registered voters. Per state officials, county officials, town clerks and or county clerks, I cannot be removed from office, Machado said. The statute that they are referencing is for alternative governments, and it doesnt apply to Evansville.